#my durge and astarion do get a happy ending though | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

meanbossart · 3 months

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i just need to take a second to gush about how much i love durge drow and astarion, they feel so fleshed out and perfectly written together in their fucked up wretched ways. They really inspire me to write more for my own tavs, hopefully one day ill be able to say im as happy with my own work as i get when seeing yours. I have to ask though, do you have any tips on drawing head shapes and faces? or maybe about wrinkles? i find i really struggle with that stuff when drawing and i adore how expressive and grungey all your art looks!

First of all thank you so much, I love hearing what people think of the two of them together 😭

Honestly you've hit on something that's quite near and dear to my heart, I love developing and figuring how to draw and stylize different faces to get the most unique, interesting looking results - everything about the details is highly rewarding to me. What does x type of nose look like from this angle? In this style? How can this eyeshape best translate to my art? How different does a face look when its making this expression? What does that MOUTH DO? etc etc.

In fact you kind of inspired me to put a little tutorial/guide together the last hour lmao and what a blessing it is that the two current subjects of this blog serve as great models here, being that their faces are basically polar opposites!

When it comes to heads, you've probably heard it a dozen times before that you want to think of them in terms of geometry and facets; my process to drawing them is pretty conventional so I won't spend too much time on it, but it goes something like this:

Obviously I don't do every single one of these steps most of the time, which is just something that comes from practice/developing muscle memory, but it is helpful to start off this way for two main reasons:

By making these guide lines and splitting a head into pieces like this, you'll have an easier time seeing and understanding it as a multidimensional object, and in turn, facilitate It for you when you venture out into doing wacky angles and lighting.

Making different headshapes starts HERE. notice how Astarion's "face" slate is narrower and longer, how my durge's jaw pieces sit lower on the head, how all of the same pieces came together in the same way but we ended up with one real pointy elf and a real brick of a drow - making characters look different successfully begins very early in the sketching process.

The next thing you want to do branches out into every day life: start noticing yours and other people's facial features. How does an upturned nose look from a high angle? How does the size of someone's cheekbones affect what they look like when they smile? How about when the light hits them a certain way? Does someone's lip shape changes when they pout? When they laugh? How does a person's hairline change the shape of their face? You do NOT need to creepily sketch every stranger you see on the bus, but get into the habit of actually noticing what people look like when you talk to them - when you look at pictures, when you watch movies - make a mental list of interesting ways mouths, noses, and eyes can come together in a variety of different proportions to make completely distinct looking mugs, and how they change depending on how you are looking at them.

Light and shadow play a HUGE role in how faces look, too, basically as crucial as actual bone structure does. As you see up there I tried to rough out how natural, head on, and underhead light would look on these two very different looking guys, and while we can see definite patterns, there are small differences that come to be because of the sizes and shapes of their features.

Here is a very, very basic look at how some of these features come to look the way they do, how they interact with one another, and how they compare between a blocky, rather conventionally "masculine" head and one that's much softer and slimmer.

Note please that it is not one or two characteristics that give a chaarcter their "look"; you can reduce a face to eyes, mouth, and nose through stylization and still have them be recognizable, but if you want to do more than that, you have to consider the whole package! Chin, cheeks, brows, direction of the jaw, slope and size of the forehead, depth of eyes, ridge of the nose, etc - I know this is probably far more than you bargained for, but if you start making note of a FEW of these things now and slowly add on, this will eventually become second nature to you.

Similarly, understanding how these characteristics come together will help you with rendering light and shadow in a realistic way, and predicting what their facial expressions may look like - if no two people are alike, neither are their smiles. :)

Lastly, remember that I'm no expert - I have developed my own methods and semiotics and yours may look slightly (or vastly) different, and that's fine! I hope only that by sharing this it has given you a base to work off of.

Anyways, I HOPE this has been helpful and not just the unsolicited ramblings of a face pervert.

#ask #art #advice #tutorial #astarion #DU drow

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salemcantupdate · 8 months

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Baldurs Gate shipping and who I am actively in love with

SO, currently romancing Gale because Astarion rejected me, full one said “I don’t wanna have sex with you, UGH, EW, imagine.” But Gale is so cute??? I don’t get whenever I see hate for him, especially cause we had astral projection sex which was absolutely fantastic. Wyll kissed me but I said “haha nah Gale” and I think I accidentally romanced Karlach??? I don’t know. Oh I also hugged the Guardian love him.

Now for shipping

SHADOWHEART AND LAE’ZEL IS SO FUCKING REAL TO ME OH MY GOD THEY GOTTA GET DOWN RIGHT NOW

They ARE rivals to lovers

Wyll and Karlach… they’re best friends. I’m sorry but all the women look like absolutely lesbians to me and I love that for them

But Wyll is so sweet and so cute and I do adore him, he’s so fun, but I built him so badly haha. Anyways, he is a WHORE, he flirts with EVERYONE, SLUT BOY, and he needs a happy ending. Don’t know with who though. And Karlach needs a short woman to peg.

Astarion is 100% asexual and I love him cause he’s just like me frfr which means he needs to be with me and only me. But also genuinely I think Astarion can only be happy with a redeemed Durge??? Like I think that’s the best path for him. Two monsters learning to be good together… GAH ITS SO CUTE. Either way, he’d need to be with someone who isn’t overly horny

Also once again I absolutely adore Gale. Gale is so good and so loving and he also absolutely loves body worship like he is hozier he was on his knees and worshipping his Goddess Mystra, loving her and now HE CHOOSES YOU IN HIS ROMANCE. HE BDKDCJKWHCISJDKWJD. I love him, so who should he be with? He’s more on the basic side overall, easy to get approval from, but also extremely romantic and loving, and autistic just like me frfr. So… actually maybe Wyll??? Wyll has some self worth issues especially after going all devil and Wyll is also a romantic? But ehhh… I dunno, it just doesn’t feel right.

Anyways, Halsin. I love the daddy bear man like YES he is absolutely fantastic and I love him so so so so much I want him carnally. But also I can’t really see him with most people haha. Maybe Gale though, imagine the astral projection scene but then Halsin is a bear, that’d be hilarious. But nah, I honestly like Halsin/Astarion/Reformed Durge Throuple. Essentially, finishing Astarion’s personal quest before initiation with Halsin will ensure that Astarion doesn’t get any self doubt. They are all on different parts of their journey for improvement, both Halsin and Astarion have severe issues with self doubt along with sexual trauma, and all of them have a “beast” inside. Durge with the Urge, Astarion being a vampire, and Halsin with his difficult-to-control wild shape. Plus Halsin to me is one of the most respectful and consent-focused characters, which I think would work well with what Astarion needs.

Ok so I wanna ship Karlach with some cute bard girl or something, someone just as fun and nice as she is. And you know what? Wyll and Gale is starting to grow on me. They’re both characters who try to “woo” Tav before doing anything, Gale with the Weave and Wyll with his dance.

Imagine, Gale teaching Wyll the secrets of the weave, likely Wyll has never interacted with it properly as his magic comes from a devil. This could help unlock Wyll and on some level separate him from Mizora. Oh wow, both these men have been manipulated and abused by extremely powerful non-humanoid women. They’re both self sacrificing gits who want to be the hero, both sacrificed much for power. I think it would start when Mizora first appears in camp, maybe. Gale would go to comfort Wyll over the transformation, maybe even compliment his horns. During the night of celebration Gale would see Wyll by the beach and offer to show him something magical, aka the Weave scene. They make some jokes and Wyll mentions the dancing, Gale prods, and Wyll says maybe another time.

GAH

I FEEL LIKE A FUCKING GENIUS

Alright, so, summary

Lae’zel and Shadowheart

Karlach and cute girl (if Alfira survived Durge I’d choose her but oh well)

Durge, Astarion, and Halsin

Gale and Wyll

EDIT: This post is no longer accurate to my views or feelings on the matter! I will write another one eventually since I actually know the characters a lot better. This was legit written before I even got to act 2 and I barely did anything in act 1

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bloodycyrano · 3 months

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In reference to my previous post, Here's team tadpole and their relationship with Gales kids.

Lae'zel: She will swear she doesn't like kids until she's blue in the face, and even request that they don't call her their Aunt, but if she hears one other little bastard kid is being mean to them? All bets are off. She's teaching these children the art of war- And she's only stopping at that because Gale and Karlach said she's not allowed to hit someone else's kid.- If you keep the Githyanki egg and Lae’zel raises the gith child at the end of your playthrough, the kids will play together.

Astarion: Is 100% teaching these kids bad words and how to pickpocket. He's surprisingly great with kids, even though he pretends not to like them much. He's secretly jealous that the kids call him "Mister Astarion" and not "Uncle Astarion", even though he's heard them refer Wyll, Halsin, Karlach, and even Shadowheart as Aunts and uncles.

Wyll: Wyll fuckin adores these kids. He and Karlach visit Gale regularly to check in on him and the little ones. The only issue is that when Durge and Astarion are visiting at the same time as Wyll, they're much more.. Mischievous. Don't ask for sugar in your tea, because it HAS been swapped with salt.

Karlach: Karlach is so fucking proud of Gale, and she wastes absolutely no time beaming about it, either. She loves the kids, she loves having extra excuses to visit, and she's just all around so happy that things worked out well and now she's got two little kiddos to spoil rotten if Gale lets her.- She cannot be allowed to go shopping with the kids, because she'll get them absolutely anything they ask for.

Durge: Durge has never really liked kids, but they can sympathize with any emotional or sensory issues they might have. Durge isn't particularly maternal/paternal in any way shape or form, but they are begrudgingly good with kids. They're proud of Gale, and as the kids get older, they do get much more protective. They also make sure the kids know the absolute most vulgar insults known to man should they need to use them, and if they ever have problems with their gender identity, durge knows first hand how to help and support them through it. (I headcannon durge to be nonbinary). Durge would kill for these kids, and isn't afraid to answer weird or morbid questions about death or how the world works.- Unfortunately, Gale did have to ban discussions about the decomposition process at the dinner table.

Shadowheart: Wine aunt. Shadowheart is a wine aunt, and apparently has experienced identity crisis hard enough to lift black hair to white overnight. Cool aunt Shadowheart is 100% prepared to take those kids out for some pampering and bring them back home with a new outlook on life. As much as Gale loves the rest of team tadpole, Shadowheart or Durge are the two he calls when his kids are having some big feelings he doesn't know how to help with.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate meme #bg3 durge #astarion #dark urge #baldurs gate tav #gale dekarios #lae'zel #karlach #wyll ravengard #shadowheart

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jinxxedmisery · 4 months

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I did a quick little sketch (by quick, I mean it took me like 2 hours lol) I still struggle with feet and shoes...

I just saw a pose on pinterest and thought omg, what if Astarion and my tav... but he's biting their thigh 🤭

Ofc, I had to name it.. thirst... and I added the "Happy" symbol to kind of cover a sketch I did on the same page... You know... it wasn't originally supposed to be just one piece, I was practicing poses and I liked this one way too much to just leave it or risk messing up when I redrew it.

This is entirely self indulgent.. and intended to be Spawn Astarion because he's so babygirl 🥰😘😍

🤣 also I don't think I posted but I got through the Cazador fight not too long ago.. and

Spoilers and dumb ramble ahead:

For most of my day, I sat there wondering how the fuck I would beat that bastard... he was one shotting Shadowheart with his fucking lightning bolt, then sending his gas minions after the survivors. Astarion being in the ritual made it 10× more difficult.. so... I cheated... and fuck... It should have been obvious...

I LITERALLY FORGOT FOR THE ENTIRE FUCKING DAY THAT VAMPIRES ARE WEAK TO SUNLIGHT.. I blame Astarion and his parasite as well as Alucard for that one honestly.. the day walker thing kind of made me forget that omfg immunity to daylight is an exception, not the rule..

So I felt stupid.. once I got that, it was so much easier.. oh and almost constantly had Astarion in stealth kill mode until Cazadick was gone.

Also side note.. the VA for Cazador is perfect.. Like they really sells the "I'm a pathetic little worm, and your worst nightmare, fear me while I bitch and cry" LOL and again that's a compliment.. Larian really succeeded in making an evil character extremely grating and hatable which again, a good thing, not a bad thing.

The heartbreak I felt though afterwards when Astarion screams and cries.. God.. the second I got to this scene, I KNEW I couldn't let him ascend, doing so would be so cruel.. and yes.. this is ascended Astarion slander, I don't like my men too domineering.. maybe a little bit, but not enough to like kill innocent children and eat their hands or some shit lmfao (Doing a durge run too.. where I'm going to ascend Astarion and be a horrible bastard that eats babies) and I don't like that he loses the genuine feelings he has for tav/durge and becomes what he sought to destroy, an abuser.

Now.. the graveyard scene... I had tears in my eyes.. Honestly, the reason I love Astarion so much is because he is quite relatable. I will not go into detail, but I was.. SAed and abused as a kid. And honestly.. Seeing the bit where he scratched out his death date, made me feel hope.. for myself... For my own healing.. it truly meant so much seeing another survivor of abuse begin anew, find themselves again... even though I have done that already myself for the most part, I've found purpose, passions, love, heartbreak, etc and I've found some level of beauty in the life. I related quite a lot to the line about sex feeling tainted.. I am at a point where it no longer feels as terrible, I feel genuine enjoyment in it... (Can't do casual sex though.. That would trigger me into a ptsd attack) And I think part of that was letting myself go at my own pace, making sure my partners knew, and having control and the ability to consent and revoke consent at any point. Emotional attachment helped a great deal too.

I've rambled on enough.. but... Let me end this off by saying, If you went through unspeakable horrors at the hands of those who you thought were supposed to protect you, You are not alone, Even if you do not see it now, there is light at the end of the tunnel, keep on living, keep trying to find joy in little things. It does get better, what was done to you was horrible and you did not deserve it. I promise, you will see better days. You will be happy again, even if you feel like the pain will never end, there is always moments of calm.... live for those... live for your pets, live for your friends, the people around you, live for that cute thing you just ordered, live for that movie or TV series you're excited about watching... even the next patch for bg3.. or more Astarion content if that's your reason right now... and take it one day at a time. You will be okay.

If you need to vent out some shit, I'll listen, I may not know what to say or be able to offer comfort, but I will always lend an ear, even to a total stranger if they need it.

That's all from me, goodbye, until my next post.. whenever that will be ❤🖤❤🖤

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y-rhywbeth2 · 5 months

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Assorted thoughts about Astarion's epilogue that I have only seen in video because patch 4 broke my save files and I have to replay the whole thing to get there.

From what I've seen everyone's good endings seem a little... overly good and free of consequence? But at the same time I haven't seen everything with my own eyes and everyone deserves to be happy, so whatever. If I want angst, there's fic.

Sooo... is it that unromanced Astarion disappeared after the scene at the docks and nobody could find him, or did you assholes just not try? I will be generous and assume the former.

Stop stabbing the table you little gremlin. ...although I'd probably enjoy doing that, if I could get away with it.

I still hate that outfit with the ruff.

Not surprised Larian is doubling down on the "no cure" angle. I don't really care if Astarion remains a vampire or if he goes the cure route, so long as he's happy - although I do think in his shoes I'd look for some way to day-walk anyway, on practical grounds alone.

Hiding a knife behind his back while asking an unromanced Durge if they're showing any signs of being under Bhaal's control... I adore a pragmatic bastard.

---"I could've told you that [you can kill people in a socially acceptable manner]" ---"You realise I don't actually pay attention when you talk, right?" ^This is why I both love him with all my soul and also want to push him off a roof.^

Delighted and validated by Astarion feeding by taking jobs as a bounty hunter or something like that. That was 100% what Vel was suggesting to him post game. Like "Hey, have you considered bounty hunting? if my memories of killing people for fun and profit, and the last month or two of everyone suddenly celebrating instead of getting mad when I murder has taught me anything; if you eat the people the majority want dead, you can have all the blood and money you can get your teeth into and nobody will have a problem with it."

And then there's Ascended Astarion... who I will put under a read more to save space and for those who'd like to avoid the uglier side of endings.

So I don't think Larian read the supplement Van RIchten's Guide to Vampires (it's from 1992, but as far as I know it's also still the most comprehensive write up of D&D vampire lore, and some of it still looks to apply here (or at least, it can).)

But the first thing I thought of, watching him constantly turn into a bat, is that it reminded me of the vampire psychological development stages. Stage one is where a vampire is drunk on their shiny new powers and just will not stop showing them off. (Stage two is the "find out" stage of the fuck around process, where the vampire discovers they're not as invincible as they believed and descends into full blown, paranoid monstrosity.)

Then "I will be watching." "I/We need to eavesdrop on everybody."... Oh, the paranoia. How's that thing where the curse of vampirism is twisting the trauma and fear going for you, my dude?

"I'll never forget the time we spent together, though. And I know you'll never forget about me. Until next time, darling." ...might be his expression or the datamined epilogues where he still wants his ex, but that feels like a threat to me? Might just be a jab after being dumped...

And, oh yeah, we're definitely looking at vampire bride/groom tier stuff here: Just sit on the decorative pedestal I built for you and look pretty until I'm in the mood to take you down and play with you. Stop complaining about how you're bored and want freedom!

The PC isn't weak by any measure, they could become a rival.. AA isn't my ending of choice, but I am morbidly fascinated with the concept of Tav and Astarion as toxic vampire divorcees: Two angry, powerful "lovers to enemies" vampire lords "sharing" territory; passing the centuries obsessing over each other; fighting each other; sometimes maybe hate-fucking, and generally making their bad relationship everyone's problem.

#AA isn't my ending (it's an angsty AU “what could've been” for me) but I'd love to put him in a jar and shake it.#more vampire lore babbling; and I thought I'd exorcised it all...#Somebody should probably take the knife off of Astarion but it's not going to be Vel #Who did not learn the lessons he was supposed to over the course of this adventure #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #astarion #astarion ancunin #...I may regret putting this into the tag system #bg3 spoilers

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cass-the-mess · 4 months

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🌺 About Me 🌺 I'm Cass, I'm 24

I'm an avid reader of all things and more recently and tentatively, a writer as well. I write mostly for myself and to help clear my mind, therefore I am not consistent in producing material, but I'm ever so grateful to see that people enjoy what I put out, and it motivates me to write even more!

*** This blog is mainly NSFW, what I post and repost may containt adult themes, please browse at your own risk, I do not want to interact with minors and I will block accounts that do not display their age on their blogs. ***

💫 My interests as of now are mainly Baldur's Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, God of War, Call of Duty Cold War & Call of Duty Modern Warfare II.

💫 I do not follow a set schedule for writing (even though I wish I could), but I do tend to post in advance when I'm planning to release something!

💫 I'm a veterinary nurse and passionate about all things animal health and welfare, so you might randomly see me post about such things to raise awareness! I am open to questions, but please know that I can only offer advice and any medical concerns should be addressed by a veterinarian! ❣️🐶

🌺 Masterlist 🌺 Call of Duty 🌺

** PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS FOR EACH WORK, THERE MAY BE THEMES THAT COULD MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE **

Callsign: Zero (18+ Captain John Price X Reader) (Ongoing Series on AO3 - ON HIATUS)

2 years ago you saved John Price from an untimely death, only to disapear without a trace before he could thank you properly for getting him back home safe. You show up again 2 years later to help the task force defeat a new enemy. Tensions rise as you show your true colors and navigate through unresolved issues that puts you and your new team at risk. Are you willing to finally open up or do you keep pushing everyone away to keep yourself "safe".

TW for each chapter may differ, I flagged specific ones at the beginning of each new chapter, but general cw for canon typical violence, gore, past s*xual trauma.

Was it Real (18+ Vikhor "Stitch" Kuzmin x Bell! Reader)

Bell manages to break out of Adler's mind control early on in the game. She infiltrates the KGB to hopefully reconnect with the current leader of Perseus himself Stitch, angst ensues, old feelings emerge, betrayal happens, they deal with it in the most reasonable way: Shmex :)

CW: Dark themes, dubious content, SMUT, office sex, ex-lovers to enemies to lovers? Stitch is a bad guy ish, possessive sex, degrading, PWP, canon typical violence (this is COD) but not the main theme of this, they're in love but it's complicated because she's a double agent, not really a happy ending but also not a sad ending.

Take me Home (18+ due to violent & distressing themes Captain John Price x Reader)

What if Price was the one to fall by the hands of Makarov?

TW: Major character death, blood, gore, injury description, ANGST!! No happy ending here folks.

🌺 Masterlist 🌺 Baldur's Gate 3 🌺

To Build a Home (18+ Halsin x Durge!Reader x Astarion) (WIP)

Set 6 months after the events of the game, you deal with the aftermath of rejecting Bhaal and the urge, you and Astarion finally decide to go see Halsin in Thaniel's realm in hopes of rekindling your old flames.

TW: TBA

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tripleyeeet · 3 months

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I CANT BELIEVE I MISSED SHOW AND TAV! you best believe i have yet another tav to talk about. i am infected with OC disease i cant stop making them.

(keeping it brief this round because its like 4am.)

here is my half-elf durge sunny (short for sunshine)! nobody bothered giving him a proper name as a child, instead he was mostly referred to as simply The Dark Urge, or Bhaals Chosen. he couldnt remember being called anything when he woke up from the nautiloid though, so introducing himself was kind of awkward. the lack of name troubled dear shadowheart so she insisted on calling him something. sunshine started off as a sarcastic nickname (i mean look at the guy he is 6'5, jacked as hell and has the worlds worst resting bitch face) but it caught on. even sunny himself starts to introduce himself as 'sunny'. i always think its hilarious to imagine someone asking him what sunny is short for and this big hunk of beef having to answer 'sunshine.' with a straight face.

his romance is a little complicated.. he definitely has feelings for shadowheart throughout the events of the game. but after dealing with the urges and the tadpole and gortash and orin and bhaal.... this guy is just a (barely) living wreck. whatever relationship they had beforehand is practically decimated halfway through act 3 because sunny just cuts himself off completely from shadowheart. he starts sleeping around (literally anything with a pulse. i think they should neuter this guy) and just generally avoiding any sort of committment or relationship of any kind. not necessarily out of malice but out of fear? protection? he just thinks shadowheart is better without having to worry about him all the time. he is fully aware of how poorly he is put together and he doesn't want shadowheart to keep picking up the pieces. this dude also has 0 communication skills (what being raised in a murder temple does to a mf) and is scared of his own feelings. anything not related to murder and blood is new to him and he does NOT want to deal with it. i also think meeting gortash has a real effect here...coming face to face with an ex-lover and realising just how fucked up your relationship was is sure to make you rethink a few things.

the game ends and sunny is left in limbo. like here is a guy who was sculpted from bhaals own flesh to be the last man left alive and is now just let loose into the world with no idea who he is. he isn't like the rest, he was never a person before all this. he wasn't made to be a person. does he even have the right to be a person after everything he has done in bhaals name? he goes to helpsastarion in the underdark. both because he and astarion are very close friensd but also because he believes that helping the 7,000 spawn acts as some sort off repentance. the idea of sunny and astarion being in charge by themselves is actually kind of terrifying but i think they'd manage okay... they'd be good for each other i think. i'd like to think that after some well deserved healing and reflection that they might end up together... there was definitely an initial chemistry but they were both a little too bonkers to do anything about it. only after they have taken the time to figure themselves out though... i just want them to be happy. i also like to think that shadowheart and nocturne are a happy couple after the game because I'll be damned if she doesn't get her happy ending too.

(i lied about keeping it brief.)

okay, he may be big and spooky because of the dark urge stuff but deep down in my heart that guy is the definition of a sunshine. look at that cute face!

also absolutely love his character arc and the hardships he goes through. they definitely feel really true to how i feel a redeemed durge would end up reacting. especially in regards to relationships.

shame about him and shadowheart! but glad he potentially finds a partner in astarion because that poor vamp needs some loving too 😤💚

#asks #sunny #show and tav

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mournmeal · 1 month

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Good evening my mourning doves! I’m in the market for some longterm roleplay partners / friends for Baldur’s Gate 3! Please read it all to avoid confusion BEFORE reaching out. If this all sounds good to you then feel free to message me! I won’t bite. …. I’ll bite you if you ask. THE VOICES. Sorry it was my demons.

Also wanted to add just in case this may apply to someone’s interest, if you are seeking for a Tav ( or Durge ) to write with, are fine with them being a woman and you are wanting to write Astarion ( Spawn or Ascended ), Raphael, Haarlep, any of them you can also reach out to me!

( And for anyone who finds this and recognizes me, I promise to work on your reply early tomorrow or at some point tonight. )

ABOUT MYSELF :

• I’m 24 and you can call me Asta. Any pronouns are fine by me.

• I will only write with adults who are 20 and will gladly accept older. Please do respect this boundary.

• I’d say my style is Multiple Paragraph Novella. A sucker for details and tend to get carried away when enjoying the roleplay. No need to match length, but do give me something to work with. I write in third person.

• Currently unable to work, but have intentions to work from home. Though this means I will be very active. And at ungodly hours …

• I have decided to no longer be ghost friendly. This goes for myself and others. So, to avoid wasting handing out my discord I’d prefer we feel each other out before that exchange. If I get busy with anything I will properly give a heads up. Should I be away for a long period of time.

• I am comfortable writing mature content ( whether that be dark themes. containing violence, blood, dead dove, to smut. ) However I do not want mainly smut focused roleplays. And I do not want to be thrown in head first into smut. Rich Plot with smut my beloved. THOUGH we can still make nsfw headcanons whenever we please.

WHAT I OFFER :

• A longer term writing partner and friend. I’d love to vibe with you ! Match each other’s energy. I don’t want the connection to be transactional. Let’s bond over our silly little game with our silly little characters.

• Love writing OC x CC. And would love to hype up the ship of your Tav / Durge with the character you want.

• Currently accepting double ups! I am more than happy to play any origin character you desire. Or any other characters. Examples being Rolan, Raphael, Haarlep, you get the idea.

• Parings can be MxM. FxF. FxM. NBxF. NBxM. Whatever! This is a safe space. Trans Tavs/Durges are always welcome!

• Me being absolutely down bad for your Tav / Durge. I will hype that babe up like my life depends on it. If you can’t tell, I adore when people create their own characters and give them lore. Flood me with pictures of them, with your headcanons, ALL OF IT. I crave sustenance. Me having to resist the urge of saying our Tav’s should kiss.

• We can have our own little discord server to send moodboards, headcanons, music, videos edits, and the list goes on. Let’s gush over our characters and ships like insane friends do. Literally. Go crazy. I will chime right in any hour. … As long as I’m not napping.

• I enjoy sprinkling other characters into my writings to really help set the scene or add some more depth / detail to our storyline. So if we end up in a situation where they are needed or if we just want them there from time to time for plot - I can do that.

• Also? If you have BG3 on computer WE SHOULD PLAY IT TOGETHER SOMETIME. Let’s go create mass chaos. But be warned I do encourage trying to fight everything.

WHAT I’D LIKE :

• Honestly damn near everything I already stated above. LMFAO.

• Longterm writing partners / friends only. Consistency will be important. As I’m also going to try and be that way too. So if you know you ghost don’t bother.

• I’d like to write as my Tav / Durge who is a female. ( I plan to make more with various gender identities for other runs! And sexualities. This one is pansexual.)

• For her love interest in think maybe Astarion? ( Spawn or Ascended. ) Raphael? Haarlep? My answer may change depending on my muse at the moment so who knows. ( You can still want for me to write as them for you! )

• Would love for our Tav’s / Durge’s to interact! Love making headcanons for them. Creating a dynamic for them.

• Anyone who wants to write dark themes here and there! Dead dove is allowed! We just need to discuss it of course for each other’s comfort. Eat up whatever drama we want going on.

• Speaking of drama. Should you want some where some other character seems to have eyes for your Tav / Durge to get some jealous action … I will fuel that fire. As I’ve said before. We can go crazy. It’s roleplay, let’s have fun!

• Let’s make moodboards, throw / bounce headcanons, share music, create au’s even, whatever we want.

• If anything else comes to mind I’ll throw it here or in our messages. But yes. Message me if interested!! Look forward to meeting you!

#baldurs gate roleplay #baldurs gate rp #bg3 rp #baldurs gate 3 rp #baldurs gate 3 roleplay #Baldur’s Gate 3 RP #Baldur’s Gate 3 Roleplay #SHUT UP I DONT KNOW IF THIS SHIT IS CASE SENSATIVE OR ANYTHING

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asikaia · 7 months

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I’ve finally finished baldur’s gate 3!! This is absolutely one of my all time favorite games now, and the replay ability is insane, I already have 4 more ongoing characters and plans for many more) but I do honestly have some gripes about the endings. (Spoilers ahead)

Like, I get that it’s unrealistic that everything turns out well and everyone is completely fine, but at the same time, it’s a video game, let me be a delusional people pleaser and give everyone their best endings. I’m actually also really annoyed that if you free Orpheus, like I did, you have no choice and have to become a mind flayer (which, in retrospect is in line for Dahlia’s character, as she’s so self sacrificing to make up for her past mistakes that of course she would do this to save her friends and the world) but then if you don’t free Orpheus, you lose Lae’zel and Karlach?? Which again, I get losing Lae’zel, though I just wanna have every companion be fine and do what they want to do.

Thankfully I was mostly happy with the rest of the character endings I got, though I don’t think I should’ve encouraged Lae’zel to follow Orpheus at the end because she looked like she regretted it and wanted to stay, which absolutely broke my heart. And I’m also a little upset at the complete lack of closure my character, Dahlia got with Astarion after romancing him. I chose to follow Karlach and Wyll to Avernus, which otherwise, I would be happy with, and I don’t know if I would’ve gotten more closure if I didn’t follow them, and let them go ahead.

But other than these little gripes I have, it was of course such a wonderful experience playing this game, and I cannot wait to explore all the possibilities. I’m already super excited to fully start playing my full Durge Evil run, though at the same time, I know it’s gonna hurt.

#baldur’s gate 3 #baldur’s gate spoilers #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #baldurs gate tav #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 posting #bg3 spoilers #bg3 ending #baldur’s gate 3 ending #bg3 ending spoilers #bg3 durge

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ryttu3k · 10 days

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More Dark Urge questions by @daemon-in-my-head ! Previously - set 1 (post also links to previous question sets), sets 2-3.

Here, we have set 4, set 5, set 6, and set 7, because I procrastinated on these for so long that every time I got near the end, another post would appear!!

Content warning for all canon-typical Durge stuff, plus incestuous sexual harassment and mention of pregnancy in set 4, question 6.

Set 4

1. The song that describes you Durge best from your own perspective?

I Want To Live is more Astarion-coded than anything else, but honestly, it works great for a resist!Durge too (and it's a duet, and he's romancing Astarion so it can work for both of them simultaneously!) "There's more to do if we can only live"…

2. OK and now the song that your Durge would actually sing along to because they like it?

Probably something upbeat and bouncy? Pre-tadpole, it'd be the kind of… 'extreme violence set to cheerful/energetic music' vibe. Post-tadpole, it's a lot more genuine and optimistic, haha.

3. What was your Durge's dream before everything happened? What did they want to become? Did they want to stay with their family or did they strive to go adventuring?

Tavias is a people pleaser, deeply insecure, and needs to be needed and wanted, and Father Comes Before All, so his dream was honestly 'do whatever Bhaal wants of me'. It was the impetus for him originally pushing away his fairly justifiable horror at the Temple and cult, knowing that if he did well enough, maybe his true father would return and like him, and it continued to motivate him up until Orin's attack. His dream would have been to carry out Bhaal's plan of omnicide, although he did have a secret quiet desire that Gortash would be by his side the whole time, and that Gortash would be the very last life he took before his own.

If we're talking before he killed his foster parents, honestly, his main desire was to find somewhere where he belonged.

4. Did your Durge ever fulfill that dream or did the temple and cult get in the way? Did they simply discard it? Why?

I mean. In a way XD He assumed he had fulfilled his dream by finding the Temple, his ~true~ family. He actually does end up finding a place where he belongs post-tadpole, though - with Astarion, with Halsin, with Jaheira. With people who love him for himself, not his heritage ;_;

5. What does Durge think of family? Describe it with one word.

Messy.

6. Sarevok, what was his relationship with your Durge like? Did they like each other? Was it complicated?

They goddamn loathed each other. From Sarevok's perspective, when Tavias first comes to the Temple in 1472, there are only a few remaining Bhaalspawn - himself and Orin, Abdel, who famously disavowed Bhaal, and Veikang, who's been keeping quiet for all these years. Sarevok sees himself as the head of the Cult of Bhaal, and Orin as his heir (having already pit her against Helena two years earlier, and Orin being the survivor). Now there's this child, an outsider who knows nothing of the cult's ways, who's being positioned as the new leader - and worse, he's far more 'pure' than even Sarevok is, than even Orin, his bespoke Bhaalspawn grand/daughter, is. It was instant resentment.

On Tavias' part, he initially did want Sarevok to like him. Sarevok was kin. His older half-brother. He had always wanted older siblings, and now here was one who knew all about the strange place he had found himself in, only for Sarevok to dislike him? Very crushing. His disgust and dislike started growing as Sarevok made no secret (behind closed doors, of course, had to present themselves as a happy family to the cult!) of his own dislike, and definitely amped up as he learned about Orin's parentage - and Sarevok's plans to create an even more pure Bhaalspawn. Tavias was, at least, treated as a boy from the moment he arrived, but Sarevok was well aware that Tavias had the right anatomy to get pregnant, and pretty much… would try to convince him that the two of them would create the Ultimate Bhaalspawn.

Tavias was 16-17 at this point, more or less leading the cult on a daily basis after his successful murder spree, and, uh, had got very well-accustomed to using violence to solve all his problems. He told Sarevok that if he ever laid a hand on him (or the then-14-15-year-old Orin), Tavias would get revenge so violent and gory that even Bhaal would go, "Hmm, that may be a bit much", and more or less banished Sarevok just to running the Tribunal instead of the entire cult. By 1492, he thinks Sarevok is both washed-up and a disgusting old pervert who would be better off dead, and frankly, he's all too happy to kill his big brother when he finally returns.

7. Does your Durge know of Sarevok's past? What do they think about it?

He learns the 'official' version pretty early on, and all the messy details a few years in. It doesn't do much to improve his view on him, just reinforces the fact that he failed. In 1482, after Abdel and Veikang die and Bhaal returns, Tavias uses the fact that Sarevok's death wasn't required as evidence that his earlier resurrection around the time of the Crisis removed any essence of Bhaal from him; he was no longer relevant. It was just Tavias, and, less importantly, Orin (being only part Bhaalspawn), who would represent Bhaal in the future. Tavias was pureblooded, Tavias was the Slayer, Tavias had the Urge, Tavias was Chosen. Sarevok? He was yesterday's news.

8. Education in the Temple, what did it look like? Did they enjoy it?

Yeah, more or less! He had essentially four streams of education - a general education that any kid in Baldur's Gate would get, because Bhaal's heir would not be an uneducated hick. He was given Bhaal-specific education, about the history of the cult, of Bhaal, of the earlier crisis, and of other things relating to the gods. Technically, should Tavias had wished, he could have 100% qualified as a Cleric of Bhaal instead of a sorcerer. As it was, though, he was a sorcerer, and so learning to use his arcane abilities was the third stream; finally, he (and everyone else in the Temple) was given combat training, with a special focus on assassination and, uh, vivisection. He enjoyed it for the most part, although he's still not a fan of literature studies.

9. Did your Durge ever attend a gathering of High Society with Gortash? Did they fit in, did they charm their way into the upper echelon's heart or were they despised?

Oh yes, and he loved it. Tavias knew how to turn up the charm, even if he came across as… kind of disconcerting; on the other hand, the upper echelon was fairly used to 'disconcerting'. Lots of dirty secrets going around! But yes, he did take a lot of enjoyment in dressing up as the most beautiful person in the room and charming the pants off everyone. And if the occasional back-room murder happened, even better! :D

10. Ketheric Thorm's dream, reviving the dead. What did Durge think of it? Did they consider it a sacrilege as Ketheric wanted to reverse the death Durge so loved to sow, or could they understand the desire of wanting to reclaim a loved one?

He could vaguely understand it in abstract terms, but did not relate. By the time he met Ketheric, he had well and truly pushed aside any sentimentality, had been drinking the Bhaalist Kool-Aid for nearly two decades, and there was no one he thought would be better off alive than dead. His goal at this point was to murder the world, after all, and he genuinely believed the world would be better that way. The timeline is a little unclear on whether Isobel was resurrected before Tavias was attacked or not, but he definitely knew that the desire to bring her back was why Ketheric had turned to Myrkul, and also thought it was a stupid idea and a sign that Ketheric was a weak link in their plans.

Set 5

1. The Gate has more than just one cult dedicated to an evil aligned Deity. What does your Durge think about the Sharran Outpost establishing itself within their turf? Were there any sort of run-ins that escalated?

Honestly he just kind of takes it as a given that there are other cults and the like around the city, and the Sharrans aren't too close to the Temple. He doesn't like Sharrans - removing someone's memories when they could, say, be twisted and put towards murder instead seems like such a waste! - but he tolerates their presence (and, of course, they'll stay out of the Undercity if they know what's good for them :) ). For run-ins, I feel they would probably try to stay out of each other's ways, for the most part.

2. How did your Durge feel seeing the bodies of their brethren being ogled by the general populous in the Hall of Wonders? Disgust, pride, nothing?

A bit of disgust, if only because they're not being presented right, dammit. Museums set up a narrative with their exhibitions, whether intentionally or otherwise. Oh, some definitely try to be impartial, but every museum is going to go, okay, what story are we telling here? And they tell a story of Bhaalists as losers, Bhaalists as failures, Bhaalists as irrelevant, and - no. Bhaalists are very much on the rise again, thank you very much, and those bodies and relics should be displayed with care and pride, not as, "Look at this sad figure!"

3. Nine Fingers has dedicated herself to keeping peace between the warring underworld factions no matter the cost. What price did the Bhaalists require under Durge's leadership?

More or less the same as the Sharrans - try to stay out of each other's way. The Cult are more powerful and are backed by an actual deity (well, quasi-deity), but the Guild are far more numerous, and have their fingers - pun unintended - in far more pies. In a one-on-one conflict, a Bhaalist would win, but en masse, the Guild and their allies could probably do a fair bit of damage to the Temple. So they try and keep things… more or less chill. There's probably a bit of collaboration - if a Bhaalist needs some pressure put on someone in a more 'diplomatic' way than Bhaal would approve of, or if a Guild member needs someone disposed of but without the Guild itself being implicated, they could scratch each other's backs.

4. Speaking of Nine Fingers, what was your Durge's relationship with her like? Was it amicable or did they regularly come for each other's throat?

Yeah, amicable. Keene is a bit older than Tavias, and was a little surprised when he started openly leading the Cult when he was only in his teens, but hell, she was already doing Crimes at his age. So long as he's competent, no issue there.

5. The Zhent may follow Bane, but what did the Bhaalist leader think of them and their operations?

Useful at times. Pretty widespread, good contacts for smuggling in particular. He would let them use cult safehouses as drop spaces at times in exchange for a cut.

6. Mercenaries are a valued resource even for death cults and almost any significant operation in Faerûn. Did Durge ever hire any, and if so, what for?

Oh yeah, and similar to the kind of collaborations done with the Guild or Zhentarim. Sometimes, they'd identify a promising new member, send them on a test mission, and if they passed, they received an offer to join the cult. ('No' was not actually accepted. You become a cult member, or you become a murder victim.)

7. Did Durge have a last name? Why or why not and if they had any, where did they get it from? Was it self made or inherited?

Nope. In his childhood, he'd just use whatever his current foster family used, and after going to the Temple, it kind of… wasn't necessary. "Tavias who?" "…Tavias the HEIR OF MURDER??"

8. Does your Durge have a symbol of their own? What is it?

Ooh man haven't thought about it before but the Bhaal skull with added in dragon horns would be cool as hell.

9. Did your Durge have any familiars? Why or why not, and if yes, what were they?

Not unless Sceleritas counts!

10. Does a portrait of your Durge exist somewhere in Faerûn? How did it come to be?

Oh yes. Sarevok most likely had at least a few commissioned of the kids as they were growing up, and Tavias himself definitely had one commissioned in full regalia after Bhaal's return and being officially named Chosen.

Set 6

1. Durge flayed themselves at least once, why?

Sex, probably. Maybe as a pentinence thing? I feel he was quite willing to try Abdirak's methods because he was used to pain for pentinence and it just sort of… resonated. Alternatively, another way of communing with Bhaal? Taking himself to the brink of death or something.

2. What did they think when they wrote the Prayer down? Why was it so important for them to have a physical copy of it?

Kind of… a desperate attempt to get all his thoughts about Gortash out of his head, he'll do what he's told, he's a good boy, he really is. (It was a massive bit of downplay, saying he 'admired' Gortash. Tavias was in love with him, and if Gortash had asked if they could scrap their plans and leave their masters and make their own story, he would have been tempted.) He never ended up 'officially'. Uh. Submitting it? Praying it? Whatever, he wrote it down intended for Bhaal but had second thoughts and hid it in his room. It shows up in the colony solely because Orin found it there post-stabbing and brought it to Moonrise to taunt Gortash with, and left it in that room in the colony out of a moment of carelessness.

Gortash never ended up seeing it before Tavias found it again, recognised his own handwriting, and promptly had a panic attack at the implications.

3. Balthazar is an infamous necromancer and has extended his 'life' far beyond what should've been. What did Durge think of him?

The man has a sense of style, no doubt there, but Tavias doesn't like him at all personally. Necromancy certainly has its uses, but when it's used to prevent or even reverse death? Yeah that shit's not okay with Bhaal. He also got the impression that Balthazar personally thought little of him, and given how patronising Balth is about Tavias in his notes about Kressa's preoccupation with Tavias, he entirely correct.

4. The Warden hates Durge. Why? What did they do?

Swanned in like he owned the place. Mentioned offhandedly that if she wanted a professional to take care of the prisoners, he would be willing to give her a few pointers. Stared a little too intently at her.

5. The Worgs in Gortash's warehouse, what's the story behind them?

Just security, I think! I don't think Tavias was super involved in all of Gortash's plans, so he may not have even realised they were there.

6. Minsc is quite infamous, did Durge have a hand in the disappearance of his statue? Was it originally their plan or did Orin do something successfully by herself for once? How would your past life Durge react to it?

It was his idea, yeah. Minsc was a known enemy to Bhaalspawn, and he wanted to make sure he could get control of at least one possible obstacle by tadpoling him. If he had been able to find Jaheira, he would have done the same to her. Of course, Jaheira ends up adopting him and Minsc ends up his uncle, so… works out in the end!

7. If your pre-lobotomy Durge could say anything to your post-lobotomy Durge, what would it be?

I think he would be incredulous, but there's enough of the previously sweet kid there that there may also be a bit of envy. He'd openly be angry that post-lobotomy Tavias is rejecting his heritage and his gifts, but there'd be this underlay of, "Why can you do it, and I can't? Do I have to lose myself to be free?"

8. What was Durge's greatest nightmare?

Being cast aside by Bhaal, being told he was irrelevant and useless and unwanted.

9. What do they think of other deities? Especially those of their race or good aligned ones?

Ooh, answered this in an earlier post, will copypaste! "He thinks very little of Bane and Myrkul, considering them the weaker parts of the Dead Three. He has some passing interest in Mystra, although that becomes disgust and loathing after he befriends Gale, is a bit frightened of Lathander, doesn’t have a lot of consideration for Shar other than, “Well, she exists”, although he also ends up pretty disgusted by her after everything with Shadowheart, and is pretty sure Selûne would hate him on instinct but has no negative feelings towards her in return, and is really quite gratified when he’s able to help Aylin." Pre-lobotomy, it's pretty universally a combination of (somewhat performative) disgust and dismissal, and a bit of wariness / fear of those specifically opposed to Bhaal, especially Lathander, Tyr, and Helm.

10. Drizzt is quite famous in Faerûn. Did your Durge have an opinion on the man who betrayed his origins and rose to become a hero?

Drizzt is… a story figure, mostly. Like he knows he exists, but eh, so do a lot of people. Post-lobotomy, I think he'd be a bit more fascinated by him, I can just see him and Astarion starting a mini-bookclub, haha.

11. What would past Durge think of their new companions? Would they like, love, dislike or despise them?

Ooh, don't think he'd like them much XD;; He'd have some passing admiration for Lae'zel's willingness to FIGHT EVERYTHING, but Shadowheart is Suspicious(tm) as a cleric of a different god, Wyll and Karlach both seem too nice and good, and ditto Halsin but with added wariness, since Halsin is an Archdruid and over three hundred years older than him and not to be messed with (whereas he's pretty sure he'd be able to take Wyll and Karlach). He'd be more interested in Gale as a fellow Chosen, but see him more as a cautionary tale on why not to displease your deity or you'll be personally fucked over. I think he'd still find Astarion attractive, but more in a, "I think it would be hot to fuck someone who looks and feels like a corpse" kind of way XD;;

12. What does their handwriting look like?

Generally neat if he's taking time and effort, but when he's stressed, he writes too quickly and often blends letters together. It looks like that on the Prayer.

13. If they could have one modern thing in Faerûn, somehow through magical means or something, what would it be? Luxury toilet paper, a smartphone (no, charger or internet is not included), a history book for research perhaps?

Anxiolytic medication. :)

14. Shoes on or off in the temple? After all it is their home, so what’s their rule? Did they enforce it on others too?

Generally 'on' is advisable for most, given that it's… kind of gory underfoot. Heh. He does occasionally slip off his boots just to, er, enjoy the experience!

15. If they could rewind time to any moment of their choosing once, would they do it? And which moment would it be?

Ooh man rewinding is always a bitch. I feel he'd want to redo his first meeting with Bhaal and compose himself a bit better instead of getting a bit panicky and overwhelmed XD;; Post-lobotomy, obviously, he'd go back and make sure he never killed his foster parents…

Set 7

1. What is the worth of a single mortal life from the perspective of their former self?

"Only the value which snuffing it out gives to Father."

2. How does Durge actually view death? Is it a mercy, a gift, or perhaps just nature's course?

Bhaal's mandate. Something that people should embrace and welcome (be grateful when he murders you, dangit!), because the world is a shitshow and it'd be better off if everyone was dead, him included. Probably… probably fair to say that his views on death are a bit warped XD;;

3. What languages does Durge speak?

Mostly just the Baldurian dialect of Common, little bits of ritualistic Infernal, and a bit of Draconic. He can read and write in Espruar, although his pronunciation of Elvish is woeful (post-adventure, Astarion and Halsin help him out with it, and much to his delight, Halsin is also teaching him Wild Elvish).

4. How old are they when the game begins? Did their age affect them or how they view the other Chosen in any way?

31, although he looks more like early 20s due to his half-elven background. He's definitely the youngest of the Chosen - while Gortash is a reasonable 10-15 years older than him, he sees Ketheric as well and truly over the hill and an old relic who's no longer relevant.

5. What was their greatest display of self-control?

All the times over the last twenty years he hasn't killed Sarevok.

Seriously, if Bhaal had ever given him permission, Sarevok would have been a smear on the ground.

6. Did they ever lose control and what happened when they did?

Aside from one very specific time where he lost control and it ended up with him being eleven years old, holding a kitchen knife, and covered in his foster family's blood? XD;; Oooh yeah, several times. It usually ended with, well, a lot of smears on the ground. He more or less tried to 'ride the wave' and let Bhaal take the wheel, although he didn't absolutely love losing control. It was mostly a begrudging acceptance of, "Well, might as well happen."

7. Being divine and all that might have it side effects. Which one did your Durge have to endure? Did their immunity to poisons perhaps also meant they couldn't use potions or did they have a certain effect on people?

Pluses, +4 charisma modifier. Downsides, -1 strength modifier. Also if he had stayed Bhaal's Chosen he would have been functionally immortal.

8. If they could critique one thing about their father and get away scot-free, what would it be?

He has a few things to say about the downstairs anatomy he had been born with!! Also tbh he isn't entirely sure everything has to end in blood and murder. Like. Like can he maybe keep enough of a supply chain going for cinnamon rolls? Can he just kill, like, 99% of the world? Can he keep Enver alive?

9. Did Durge use utensils to eat or did they decide to embrace the old fashioned way Bhaal intended?

He has perfectly good manners when necessary! As a general rule, he only prefers being covered in the blood and viscera of his enemies, not, like, grease and crumbs from his dinner, y'know?

10. Speaking off, what's their diet like? Do they actually exclusively do the cannibalism bit or can they be convinced to eat normal food?

lmao definitely not exclusively cannibalism. He generally does eat like a normal person! Just that you have to ask pretty delicately just what meat is being served XD;; Has a definite sweet tooth. His favourite drink is Amnian dessert wine, his favourite foods are cinnamon rolls, and he loves fresh fruit, especially grapes. If you're having dessert with him, you're probably good to go!

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 spoilers #the dark urge #oc: tavias

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parasite-core · 4 months

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😭 Someday I’ll get an ending where I have a Durge who gets to be happy with Astarion. But apparently Adramelek’s run isn’t it. I came so close, too. Their relationship was beautiful, Addy escaped Bhaal’s hold and Astarion overcame Casador’s cycle. It took me fighting Orin 3 times to actually kill her in a way that triggered Bhaal taking Addy’s blood instead of the game thinking Addy had failed and needed to be revived by Bhaal and would slowly go insane. I was determined to get a good ending for them just this once.

But Addy had to save Orpheus, he wouldn’t betray Lae’Zel by letting the Emporer or a mind-flayer’d party member feed on him. So once he was free the only option Addy was given was to either become a mind-flayer himself or make Orpheus do it, Karlach was no longer given as a choice, and the second option still felt like a betrayal, he couldn’t, so he had to undergo ceramorphosis himself even though he had fought against it so hard. It just kept getting the better of him time and time again. First the astral tadpole forcing him to accept it, and now him having no choice but to go fully mind-flayer. Honestly it ended up a very thematic tragedy if nothing else with how that happened. Dice tell a story and all that.

But in the end Astarion didn’t know how much of the real Addy was left, and honestly even though Adramelek is clinging to his old identity he doesn’t even know for sure how much of his genuine self is left and how much is an act. They decided it would be best if they stayed friends for now while they figured things out with his new form. On the bright side Astarion at least seems like he’s happy and he’s living his best life, which is more than I can say for him in my last playthrough.

#bg3 #bg3 spoilers #bg3 durge #bg3 astarion #durge x astarion

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thedragonagelesbian · 8 months

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1 (because I think I got here late and would love to know more about Cyrus Generally as well), 5, 26, and 31

1. Tell us about your Tav! Name, class and subclass, race, pronouns. Do you have a headcanon for where they're from? Their family? Are they a Dark Urge? Or did you choose an Origin Character? Was it an easy decision?

asdfkpofjsaf i know my cyrus posting is. inscrutable at times, especially since he was originally a Dragon Age 2 character, so here is the definitive primer on bg3!cyrus

Name: Cyrus Hawke

Race: Wood elf

Class (main timeline): Paladin in Act 1; Paladin/Barbarian multiclass for Acts 2 & 3

Subclass (main timeline): Devotion in Act 1; Oathbreaker/Wildheart (bear) for Acts 2 & 3

Class (came back wrong timeline): Paladin/Sorcerer

Subclass (came back wrong timeline): Devotion/Shadow (mod) in Act 1; not sure if he'll end up breaking his oath in the same way in Act 2, but the plan is to take most of his sorcerer levels in Act 2 since the shadow sorcerer mod has some fun mechanical interactions with the Shadowlands

Where are they/their family from: Cyrus was born to Leandra Amell, the runaway heiress of a noble family in Evermeet (Faerun's equivalent of Valinor, isolationist elven paradise), and Malcolm Hawke, an eladrin warlock who had scorned his archfey patron. Because Malcolm was being actively hunted by his patron, Cyrus was born and spent his earliest years on the road.

Malcolm was killed by his patron when Cyrus was quite young (<20, baby by elven standards), and Leandra passed away a few decades after that. At the time, Cyrus was still very much a juvenile for an elf despite (in accordance with D&D lore) looking like an adult by other humanoid standards. He ended up in Baldur's Gate immediately following his mother's death and spent ~50 years there as an orphan in the Lower City.

Cyrus self-identifies as a Baldurian, but his actual relationship with his hometown is much more complicated. When he lived there, he loved many of its people and wanted to protect them, whether from the opportunism of the Guild, the overreach of the Flaming Fists, or the cruel indifference of his orphanage's headmaster. But that sense of expectation and obligation, especially to the other orphans, was often strangling. Cyrus grew quite accustomed to sacrificing his own happiness and desires to take care of them.

When he saw his first opportunity to leave the city without feeling like he was abandoning people who needed him, he took it without hesitation.

Durge vs Origin: Cyrus is an origin character. I didn't even consider going Durge for him. From playing him in DA2 and spending basically the whole summer yelling about him, he was already a very well-established character in my mind, so I didn't really want/need the extra story and world tie-ins that durge offers.

I also knew pretty quickly that I wanted to play him, rather than coming up with a new OC. This is because he is my most specialist boy ever, but also because for my first playthrough, I wanted to get into the game itself, rather than spending too much time thinking about who this person is and what their connection to the world is.

5. Do you remember the first humanoid enemy your Character killed? Was it the first person they've ever killed, in your opinion? Would they have been bothered by it?

It was the looters in the cathedral right off the beach-- he persuaded the ones outside to fuck off, but failed the roll for the ones inside the building itself, and they were automatically hostile when I had Astarion pick the lock.

I think he was bothered by that particular set of deaths just because 80% of the time, he prefers to de-escalate and resolve situations peacefully... in those other 20% of cases, though, he is quick to draw blood. Threatening his friends, hurting innocents, and being a careless or cruel authority figure are all great ways to encounter the righteous paladin fury simmering behind that affable, easy smile.

So, no, it wasn't his first kill. I think that honor probably went to a bandit who attacked him and Leandra when they were traveling alone after Malcolm's death. It was very messy, poorly executed, and terrifying, leading to the scars Cyrus has on his cheek and throat. The encounter also drove him to learn swordplay and defense so he could be ready the next time around.

26. What was your favorite enemy? Did your Character have any memorable fights or moments in combat that were ripe for headcanons and interpretation?

Even if Cyrus smited Minthara into oblivion, I am fascinated by her and her women's wrongs and her evil paladin wiles, and I look forward to learning much more about her when I do a more morally dubious playthrough.

As for the second question... god, I wish I had a better answer! Bc I love this question and thinking through the relationship between combat mechanics and narrative, but... the Act 1 combats didn't have as much personal/emotional investment as Acts 2 & 3 for me. Also, because I was playing on explorer mode, those emergent moments of super close calls and near (or actual) deaths didn't happen very often.

When I do my paladin/sorcerer run though (on regular difficulty this time), I will be very curious to see when 'strength of the grave' triggers for the first time (drop to 1hp instead of 0 once per long rest). Violently flirting with the line between life and death is sure to be very stressful for him :)

31. Does your Character have new or old phobias or superstitions that affect their story?

This is super low-hanging fruit, but Cyrus is very sensitive to how his body is modified, so the whole tadpole situation is. Immensely yikes. He tries not to ever use the tadpole powers, even in benign instances such as sharing thoughts and feelings with companions. He'll only resort to it if he absolutely has to. If I remember correctly, the only times he used it in Act 1 were to free Shadowheart and to interfere with the goblins' interrogation of the dead mindflayer.

And, of course, the Dream Visitor's suggestion that he should be encouraging and inculcating these powers is politely but firmly rejected.

#cyrus bg3 #thank you <33333333333

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