#ketheric is also there i guess

[insanostyle1231]

my professional bg3 villains tierlist

[anderstrevelyan]

I think my favourite thing about this sequence is Ketheric using fancy scroll paper, and also signing his own full name and title while refusing to use Gortash's. Power moves.

(I think he just calls himself "Ketheric" in the other notes to Gortash! But he does call himself "General Ketheric Thorm" in notes to underlings like Balthazar.)

[mourn-and-watch]

idk i love that ketheric is devs' special princess out of all three chosen like. orin is the crazy murder woman, the cult leader, sarevok's daughter, almost-destined-to-be bhaal's chosen, blood and gore and violence aesthetics and all. gortash is the tyranny guy, the power hungry usurper with almost cartoonishly evil grin and lil devils embroided on his clothes. and then there's sad dead geezer. he's voiced by jk simmons. he has the most badass introduction. a whole act is built around his story. he could've been a recruitable companion

[natjennie]

sorry but ketheric thorm's intro cutscene goes so hard. like way harder than orin or gortash could ever be. they're like preppy tiktok influencers but he serves real cunt.

[slayerdurge]

having played a decent amount of bg3 now i can say with absolute certainty that i'm going to durgetash hell

[veliseraptor]

i call this one "fight went pretty good.jpg"

[tamajam]

self care is replaying act 1 and 2 of baldurs gate one million times forever <3

[amatres]

finally. i killed him.

[vibingandsimping]

You guys have NO clue how hard I laughed at this. Ketheric is an out of touch grandpa whilst confirming Gortash is a nerd. Also got me thinking and so here’s a little… thought.

The day the item broke had you devastated. The invention was something you kept around for years. Honestly, it became more of a comfort and support thing than it’s intended purpose. You tried fixing it- but it only made it worse. You weren’t an artificer of any sort. The sulking was involuntary; unrealized. The way your lips curled downward and eyes held disappointment first caught the attention of the maids. Next, it was Gortash himself. The dinner he laid out was extravagant, as per usual, but you weren’t particularly interested. No, you kept poking at the food on your plate. Odd, he thought to himself, this was your favorite meal. What’s wrong? He questioned and snapped you from your daze.

Nothing, you retorted shortly, he shouldn’t worry. His eyebrows furrowed and his lids squinted. That was the wrong answer- you could feel it. Shifting uncomfortably, you relented and explained the situation. He tutted- what a simple issue. His lack of sympathy made you feel… inferior. You dug your nose deeper into your plate and finally took a few bites. Mostly to focus on anything but the way he crawled under your skin. His eyes lingered on you that dinner- observing. It was made a point for the next couple of days to try and not sulk around him. Though, you guessed you must’ve unintentionally avoided him altogether.

One evening you returned to your quarters. As you sighed and rubbed your neck something caught your eye. It couldn’t be- you tripped over your feet as you hurried to the bed. The item you’d broken was fixed on the bed. Polished and repainted, even. It looked better than new. You were soaring as you plopped your weight onto the edge of the mattress. How did it-? Oh… The smile that graced your face felt almost foreign. Gortash must’ve spent his time repairing it for you. Even with all his paperwork and duties as Archduke. A ball of guilt settled in your chest. Now you regretted being so passive aggressive with him.

You thanked him for it later. He shrugged and brushed it off- claiming it wasn’t a big deal. That he hoped you’d gotten over yourself now. You knew that was his way of saying ‘you’re welcome’. Don’t nag him on it, though. He doesn’t have the time or patience for his methods to be questioned.

[synchodai]

What's the appeal of Gortash?

Look, I've seen this question floating around, and I understand, man, I do. I'm not going to try to convince the naysayers by going on about his traumatic backstory, greaseball charm, or his chemistry with the Dark Urge. No, this is BG3 — everyone has trauma and a hot bod.

I'll be speaking only for myself and for my own tastes here, and the reason why I'm personally obsessed with this man is because he is my favorite kind of antagonist: an ideological antagonist.

ideas as a weapon

The Chosen of the Dead Three are all threats, but they administer violence through markedly different ways. Military threat, bodily threat, ideological threat — the third one so mundane and subtle that sometimes it doesn't even register as violence.

Ketheric (and his army) is your collective antagonist which threatens society as a whole and whom the factions must band together to defeat. Orin (and her dopplegangers) is your personal antagonist which undermines the bonds and trust between companions. But Gortash's deal is challenging your perception and beliefs of how things should be. The lure of his Steel Watch is that people are willing to sacrifice personal freedoms for security — a balance you and your companions struggle with throughout the game yourselves.

There's a reason why he's the one who controls the Baldur's Mouth and why he's all anyone can talk about in this goddamn city. Mindflayers operate on ideas, and so does he, except his psionics is ideology.

Gortash is the reason why the cult is called the Absolute, because his is the philosophy of absolutism.

the absolute and absolutism

Absolutism (not to be confused with moral absolutism) is the political movement that rose in response to the decline of the monarchy as a ruling institution. In general, absolutists believed the ideal society was one of complete unity that followed a single, central power (usually in the form of an absolute monarchy).

Guess who also had that belief? Well, if we read Gort's political manifesto...

What is progress? Progress is the movement of society and culture towards a state of collective unity. Without unity, mortals, each with their own individual agenda, blunder against each other, causing friction, conflict, war. Unity - peace and prosperity - is achieved when the collective follows a single agenda, that of one superior person. Runaway egocentrism, that urge often miscalled 'free will', is the one true enemy of Unity. Free will must be eliminated. Control of the brain is the key. The Netherese tadpole is the perfect tool. Tadpoled, the brain is freed of egocentrism to follow the agenda of Unity. The tadpoled brain is a happy brain. There is no conflict, except against the enemies of Unity. And the brain is all you need - once freed from its agendas of 'free will', it can also be freed from the frailities of the mortal form. The brain can live forever in a steel body, or even better, control that body from afar. This is progress. This is the Ultimate State. - Lord Enver Gortash

Thomas Hobbes, daddy father of political philosophy, believed power should be concentrated in a being known as the "leviathan." Hobbes, of course, was using them term "leviathan" as a metaphor for an ideal government institution that holds all the power, but in Baldur's Gate 3's case, the leviathan manifests physically in the form of the Netherbrain and whoever gets to control it.

There are a lot of words people use to describe this political philosophy: authoritarianism, fascism, the Grand Design, pick your poison. Tyranny is a great catch-all word for it. The world of absolutism and the cult of the Absolute is where everyone is powerful and immortal with their mindflayer abilities and steel bodies, but ultimately subservient to the state. Basically, it's the sacrifice of 'free will' in exchange for power.

we are all in danger of agreeing with gortash

Throughout the game, we are constantly being challenged with how much of ourselves we are willing to surrender in exchange for power and a purpose. Gale loses his personality and ideals in exchange for godhood. Shadowheart loses her memory and the possibility of love to be the leader of Shar's church. Wyll gives his soul to Mizora to save Baldur's Gate. Astarion gives up his remaining humanity to become a Vampire Ascendant. Lae'zel, when siding with Vlaakith, ultimately gets gladly consumed by her, fuel for the Gith queen's rise to power. And Karlach values her freedom and right to be an individual so much that she's willing to die for it.

In some ways, there's something even revolutionary about Gortash's desire to supplant the gods and replace them with a mortal human being. After all, he doesn't want to give power to Bane. He wants the absolute authority to be himself (and the Dark Urge). If he succeeds, it'll be the ultimate underdog story of a slave who crawled through Hell and became a god through his own resourcesfulness.

See, sacrifice for the good of a collective purpose is not necessarily a bad thing. But to give away all your autonomy to an authority is to be consumed, and some people want to be consumed, to lose themselves to be part of something bigger. There's a reason why Tyranny falls under the domain of death — because tyranny and its many faces (facism, authoritarianism, etc.) demand death of the self.

And it IS supposed to be tempting, to shut off our brains and be possessed by someone more competent in a time where everything is scary and complicated. In times of crisis, society's historical inclination has been to reach for dictatorship and martial law. This is ultimately the appeal of gods and authoritarians. We want someone to make the right decisions for us because we fear failure and pain more than we value autonomy.

But if there's anything BG3 stands for as a game and makes it a cut above the rest, it's allowing players to make decisions — especially objectively wrong ones.

a single point of failure

The greatest irony of Enver Gortash as a character is that he's supposed to be this genius inventor but makes the most rookie mistake any technical designer can make — all his plans have a single point of failure. He engineered it to be that way. The Steel Watch has one (1) place where they all operate from. His office where you fight him is trapped to the nines but has one entrance and exit. All his key hostages are kept in one location. The godsdamned netherbrain becomes a single point of failure once the netherstones are reunited.

That is the game showing us why absolutism absolutely suuuuuuuucks as a political doctrine. Having all the power does not in fact make you impervious — if anything, it only magnifies the precarity of your situation. True security and safety is found in actually trusting others and spreading around the responsibility instead of betting it all on big netherbrain.

As a craftsman, I think Gortash himself realized this. The teachings of Tyranny and his political manifesto say one thing, but his actions and reality say another. He knows the he and the Dark Urge do not share a united vision, but he still offers them an equal alliance. Sharing equal power is not only necessary for checks and balances, it's also something that he personally misses.

Because at the end of the day, this megalomaniac who was so narcissistic to think that he should be making all the decisions for everyone else is just a human man. And it's not power or unity or perfection or security that motivates humanity, it's our social bonds. He is the way he is because something about his parents, just like everyone else. All of the Dead Three Chosen are like this. They do what they do because of they are afflicted with the all-too human condition known as "wanting community recognition."

To quote another fantasy franchise filled with evil people: "We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy."

conclusion

I like Gortash because I think he represents the shadow of this game's themes on the value of free will and equating vulnerability to true strength. The bigger they are, the easier to score a critical hit and all that. But spread out your power and trust in others, and suddenly everyone is covering everyone's weaknesses and if one falls, the structure still stands.

The reason I'm so obsessed with the Dead Three villains is because they're all walking contradictions. The Chosen of Necromancy brings his daughter back to life as a healthy and whole living being. The Chosen of Murder fails to murder the one person their god actually wants them to murder. And the Chosen of Tyranny is willing to share their power. These contradictions are where we find these glimpses of humanity — flawed and complex individuals instead of simple monsters that represent one evil.

Do you like political philosophy references and Enver Gortash? May I then interest you in my fic which is basically my manifesto on the Dead Three Chosen and their respective belief systems?

Now that I've said my personal piece about politics, please don't let that overshadow the fact that Enver Gortash does indeed have nice tits. I wholeheartedly agree that should be the pervading discourse about him.

[kawareo]

The bg3 community has a big problem with not thinking the characters are pansexual, when they clearly are, here's all the bad takes i've heard (this from queer people) on tiktok/twitter/etc "Minthara is a lesbian and HATES men" "Gale only like women, and only feminine ones" "Wyll is a gentleman, he would only date women" "Karlach clearly only has dialogue talking about men because of her heteronormative upbringing" These people are insane

Where is that post about how bitchy or mean women in media are always headcanoned as lesbians

Minthara hating men is funny to me though because ingame she openly admires and respects both Ketheric and Gortash for their leadership and/or war mindset

Gale 'i quite enjoy your musk' Dekarios suuure likes only femenine women

I'm standoffish around Wyll so I might be reaching here, but to me it sounds like calling him a Gentleman is just a nicer way of calling him boring. (Also, why couldn't a gentleman date a man??) But also Wyll openly fawns over how pretty Astarion is and about Halsin, more than once, and that's just from the top of my head

Oh wow, a big muscular lady is a lesbian? Call the news, we have something groundbreaking. (I'm still playing a Wylach romance so I do have a bias but cmon) Idk what heteronormative upbringing they're talking about though. Having a mom and a dad? In a world where homophobia doesn't exist and never has? It's so stupid, especially with Karlach whos whole thing is being open and honest about her feelings; but sure, make up straws to reach for that explain away her straight up stating that she wants to fuck a specific man

Headcanons are one thing (like personally, i see Minthara as being slightly more into women than she is into men, and opposite with Karlach) but ffs I don't get it why people need to argue about canon so much when it's literally spelled out for them

Tbh I didn't know this was such a big problem, but i guess it just means I'm happy here in my oblivious corner where people make sense

[alpaca-clouds]

Trying to figure out Gortash's backstory

As I said before, I am right now very much inspired to write a redemption story for Gortash. Like post-canon, Gortash lives AU (because I still hate that he dies), and he actually gets a chance to redeem himself. Not only like: He turns good, but he actually does something good enough to be considered a redemption. And he does so without dying.

But... Yeah, that story is going to be from Gortash's POV, which means that I very much need to come up with some fillings for the big ass holes that the game leaves in terms of his backstory.

We don't know how old he is, but I would estimate him to be around his late 30s or early 40s. Which means we kinda have like 20 years to fill up.

While the entire timeline of Raphael "buying" him from his parents and him escaping the hell is very vague, he was probably somewhere between 18 and 20 when he got out of the hells. And the exact stuff what happened in between is vague. Even how he escaped the hells is not quite clear. I mean, was Helsink responsible for that? Or how did he get out?

And then he starts to do illegal weapons trading once he is back in Baldur's Gate. Which is fair. I am going to assume that he is actually going to throw some stuff in there that is of his own making, given that he clearly is a tinkerer.

Given Karlach is 30, I do not think he hired her before she was 15, so at max she has worked for him just a couple of years.

I mean, technically those details don't matter. What does matter however is: How does he become a Chosen of Bane, and how does he get into contact with the Dark Urge?

As quite a few people have pointed out: Technically the Dark Urge existing is very confusing given that they have been created by Bhaal and Bhaal was dead for about a hundred years until ten years ago. So unless Durge is ten years old, this does not fully make sense. Sure, technically speaking Durge could be immortal, I guess, but... Well.

See, the issue I see with Gortash is, that I just do not pick him as the religious type. I do not see him going to the Banite church and actually give enough fucks to make himself a name in the church and after some great show of faith getting the status of chosen. I mean, if you talk to him, he just... Ketheric is devoted to Myrkul, sure. And Orin was indoctrinated into the Bhaalist cult from her birth onward. But Gortash? He would follow nearly every god if that god gave him powers. At least that is my reading of him. Sure, the entire tyrant thing plays well with his pompous and kinda narcissistic personality (and I mean this in a neutral way - given how he grew up narcissism in a medical sense is to be expected), but... Like, had Oghma thrown him a boon, he would have served Oghma, right?

So, why is he a chosen?

Usually chosen are either one of two: Either, they are very dedicated to the god and have proofen themselves to them over and over again, or they have something (power, knowledge, influence) that the god is interested in. As I don't see Gortash falling underneath the first umbrella, the second one could be it. Was Bane interested in Gortash maybe, because Gortash had a lot of knowledge about the hells maybe? Was Bane originally interested in the crown or something else that Gortash knew about? That would be one possibility.

Though, there is another one. Because it just so happens that in the lore of Faerûn something happened just 8 years ago, that could have given him chosen status without him doing shit for it. Even though it would also mean, that him being a chosen is almost random. Because 8 years ago the second sundering happened. And during the second sundering for a variety of reasons the gods picked quite a lot of chosen. And yes, that included the Dead Three as well. And a lot of those chosen were in fact not people super dedicated to the gods or anything, but just people who generally aligned with the domain and alignment of the god in question. And I cannot help but wonder: Was Gortash just one of the chosen Bane got from that event?

It would work out fine. Because there is one thing that keeps bothering me: Sure, Gortash kept secrets from Karlach. But she still was his personal bodyguard. And she had no idea that he was aligned with Bane. Which makes me think that indeed he was not a Banite when he sold her off to Zariel.

And yeah, I cannot help myself. The timeline would work out rather well: Gortash becomes a chosen closely prior the events of the second sundering, but after he sold of Karlach. After a bit the Dark Urge (who somehow very much is an adult, because I guess he time travelled or something) finds him. The two hit it off (whether romantically or platonically) and come up with their grand evil scheme. At some point Ketheric joins.

Of course, there is one big hole in that explaination, though: Who are the other people working for Gortash while he just is a black market weapons trader? If he was a Banite it would be easily explainable (other Banites), but like this it leaves open the question: Who are they and what happened to them?

I don't know. I am rambling. But yeah. I like this asshole. And his story is fun to think about.

[merrinla]

Lift the Shadow Curse. Cut content. Part I

It was supposed to be one post, but because of the audio limit, I had to split it into two. So this part will be mostly about the portal ritual and the next one will be about other details.

Some of the lines below are in the game, the rest are from the early access patch 8.

During the cycle of development, Halsin has gone through many changes. He was originally just another side npc in the camp, but the community adored him so much that he was promoted to a full companion. Previously his story was more related to the main plot and the Thorm family, but later it was retconned. In the full release Halsin's personal quest is to find and rescue his childhood friend, a fey boy, from the Shadowfell. This special child is the only one who can cure the land from the shadow curse. And according to some files, this quest was previously also different from what we see in the game.

Bones of Contention

Before starting the portal ritual, the player had to find three bones of contention. To do this, it was necessary to defeat three bosses - the Hospital boss, the Tollhouse boss and the Distillery boss.

As we know from the game, these are Malus Thorm, Gerringothe Thorm and Thisobald Thorm.

Ketheric's daughter, Isobel also took part in this quest. The player could give her the bones to research. Who else could help us with the secrets of the Thorm family better than one of them.

After that, you had to bring the bones to Halsin and he crushed them as it was necessary for the ritual.

In the release version this part was replaced with a quest Wake up Art Cullagh.

Thorm blood

There is a flag in the game with an interesting name that isn't used anywhere - "SCL_ShadowCurse_Knows_NeedsBloodOfThorm". Unfortunately, there is no detailed description. So I can only guess.

Most of the flags "SCL_ShadowCurse_..." are related to Halsin's quest. I doubt this one is an exception. If the Thorm bones were part of the portal ritual, then maybe the blood was too. And it's not necessary to kill someone for that. Well, depends on how much blood you need. If we needed a volunteer, then only Isobel comes to mind. According to another flag, the player could ask her about the blood. But again, there's no details.

Maybe the Thorm blood was needed to open the portal (reminds me of DMC3) or lift the curse. Maybe it was Ketheric's blood that was needed because he started it all. And he definitely wouldn't have shared it voluntarily, so it would have ended up in a boss fight. The same as it is in the game. Or something else.

The ritual

Unlike the release version, the player didn't defend the portal, but Halsin while he conducted the ritual. This prayer is longer and has different words. During the combat, his voice was louder and more intense.

The player could interfere with the portal

In the game Halsin repeatedly warns that only he should enter the portal and nobody else.

Now it's important that only I pass through the portal once it opens. The magic is fragile - any mistake, and our one chance will be lost forever.

If there's any interference with the portal, then our one chance is lost forever. And so am I.

Let's begin. Remember what I told you - we won't have a second chance here.

Let's begin. Whatever happens, do not attempt enter the portal, and do not let anything interfere with it.

Even if you want to enter the portal, it won’t work. The scene ends only after Halsin has used the portal himself.

But earlier the player could attempt to enter the portal before Halsin. And it would have collapsed it. Not to mention that this would make Halsin furious and after that he would leave the camp.

Halsin was returning from the Shadowfell through the Shar Temple

The description of one flag says that Halsin explains how to find him after he is entered the Shadowfell. Which means he was returning in a different way than in the game.

And according to some lines it was the Shar Temple.

Once I've entered, go to the Shar Temple and look for a sign of my spirit. I can't say for certain how it'll manifest. But you'll know it when you see it.

Hah. Once I've entered, you must seek the place where Shar is loved the most. Look for a temple dedicated to her. There will be little separating the realms of light and dark in such a place. Once you find it, look for a sign of my spirit. I can't say for certain how it will manifest, but you'll know it when you see it.

I don't know exactly how the player was supposed to find Halsin (Halsin didn't know that either). But it seems he must have seen you or something that he could see with your help. In the game, right before the ritual begins, Halsin says "You are the beacon that will guide me home." I guess we really are.

I see you! Hold on! The path home is becoming clear!

Nearly there! Just hold on a little longer!

And when did he finally succeed, there was no limit to his happiness.

It worked. Oakfather's mossy beard, it worked!

Better than alive, triumphant!

Oh, my friend. I think my embrace would break you in two, such is my gratitude. But as you can see, my hands are full... [with Thaniel]

After which, it seems he went with Thaniel not to the camp but to the Last Light Inn. Maybe because Isobel's magic protected this place from shadows.

But now, I can tend to him, and the recovery can begin. Find us at Last Light, and thank you. The sun will soon rise over these lands.

Promise

Another part of the portal ritual was the dagger Promise that Halsin gave to the player. And we could even ask him about this weapon.

I've heard the theory that the dagger could be a beacon for Halsin. But, alas, I couldn't find any more information other than a brief description.

A leafy pattern is carved into the dagger's blade. It glows faintly in the dark.

I wonder if this weapon has its own story as the glaive Sorrow.

The dagger is still in the game, but you can only add it to your inventory via the console.

-----

Well, this is too much for one side quest (3 bosses + Shar Temple), so I understand why they changed it. I don't think Halsin was a companion in this version yet. Otherwise, he would have joined the party only at the end of Act 2.

[the-reeses-lair]

I had this idea of turning the boys and Sephirot into ponies (because yes i like ponies and making things into ponies), so I doodled up the Kether boys as ponies (and brothers in this AU i guess)

We got X as the smol bean he is. Curious, wants to help, a dork. 2nd youngest and favourite of Hokma (cuz he doesn't try to cause trouble. and he is smol bby.)

Ayin is next, with a judgmental stare because you took the last piece of the cake that Hokma made.

Abel, I had to remember how he fucking looked so I think I got it right. The oldest of them all, the wisest, and the most done with Adam's bullshit.

Abram is... still how he normally is. X tries his best to cheer him up, Abel and Ayin give some words of wisdom from time to time, and Adam torments him (as all little brothers should lol.)

And then, we got the crazy man himself! Adam is the youngest of the 5 and he can't fly. At all. He doesn't have the magic that lets pegasi fly, so X uses his magic to help him 'fly' (that's what the gold glow around him is; it's X's magic.)

I'll draw up the Sephirot and Angela at some point because i am invested in this idea. also no cutie marks because fuck that shit, i can never think up good ones for shit like this. same with names for them so if anyone wants to make up names for them (and the Sephirot/Angela), go for it!

(also before anyone asks, yes I was inspired by the kiwi ayinlings by @sentienttoastah)

✧☾✧ DO NOT USE OR REPOST MY WORK ANYWHERE ✧☾✧

[little-tyrant-gortash]

✨ Look away, I'm saving myself some Gortash headcanons ✨

My favourite thing is that this is just lying around in the illithid colony, free to take just before you descend to fight Ketheric:

I've been thinking about this a lot. My character said that "I feel... glorious" when they came near it. When Karlach left it, she said "Ah, right. Not happy, just psionicked".

And the design? It's a stone, but it has this casing which resembles... the head of a dragon.

Bane's favoured beast is the dragon. Which makes me believe Enver added the case around the stone, so he could set it down like that.

He definitely spends time here, more than in the Moonrise Towers; where Ketheric has his orderly office and chambers, and Balthazar has his chaotic, gruesome laboratory. I haven't found a room for Enver there, though. Which makes me believe that he really doesn't stay there for long. He works down here.

It makes sense he'd put that stone there... beside a "True Mind" and a "Willing Mind", Balthazar's notes, Mol's eyepatch, and the Letter for Forgiveness written by the Dark Urge. Which begs the question: the Dark Urge came here with Gortash? (I'd say a big fat yes to that.)

Balthazar's notes confirm that Enver built a machine with which one could talk to the minds directly, and the head itself on that pedestal after you put one of the minds in the construct confirms that Gortash visits the place and asks the brains questions.

Balthazar complains in his notes that Enver leaves the skull shavings along his workbench, and guess what, you find a severed head on the workbench beside it with other tools and devices. Let's talk about the sentimental value of the Prayer for Forgiveness; right under the tools Enver uses there, between a brain and a bottled eye...

Now back with the Resonance Stone, which makes people feel "Steeped In Bliss":

It affects their victims, of course, but it also affects them. I find it interesting that it makes you feel great, energized, but at the same time you end up having mental disadvantages and vulnerability. I still pick it up and bring it with me to the main chamber because boy, that last fight is tough and I definitely need advantage on physical checks. Thanks, Gortash! I'll thank you when we meet in Baldur's Gate!

Then, when you talk to the brains separately, this is the True Mind:

And this is the Willing Mind:

Beggar's Rest is in Waterdeep. Boy has been busy, travelling all across Faerûn, huh. Convincing innocent, unsuspecting girls to lend him their brains - and they're doing it for him, willingly, at that. It's insane how good he is at persuasion. 👀 (It worked even on me haha!)

Remember kids: even if you're a bard - he'd have use of your brain and voice. You could be his little bird in a cage (or rather, brain in a cage). Delightful, isn't it? 🖤

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

Feeling oddly nostalgic seeing an unexpected smattering of Pacific Rim posts on my dash. Made me wonder where the Jaeger Pilot AUs have gone, all the fun drift compatibility stuff? I suddenly rather badly want Aylin and Isobel being in each other's heads and being super used to and excellent at being in each other's heads, in a giant winged robot fighting kaiju. With a big sword. It's called... the Lady of Silver or something like that. Notable for its unique silver shield ability that has saved their crucially positioned shatterdome on many an occasion.

Oops, I have ideas manifesting in great numbers… putting them under the cut.

Aylin is some sort of Jaeger Program wunderkind who's been involved with it pretty much all her life, and who is not truly drift compatible with anyone for the same mysterious reason she is incredibly great at piloting - she can pilot a jaeger all by herself for great stretches of time, which is unheard of and very much Not Recommended, but she seems to have a near-supernatural ability to bear and recover from the mental and physical load. And so I guess they… let her do it and kind of wash their hands of it because they can't really afford to be picky, and she's just so damn good at it and very efficient, and, ultimately, it's her own nervous system to fry, right?

Until, of course, Isobel bursts onto the scene. She isn't even at the base in a piloting-related capacity, initially - her father is the general that runs it, and she is some sort of medical expert, has devoted her life to studying the drift and related phenomena and its effects on pilots, and is ultimately seeking to improve it and the neural interface somehow. So she's working with the pilots, checking in with them pre- and post- missions and similar, and then during some fairly routine test it turns out that she and Aylin are drift compatible on some totally unprecedented and miraculous level. Also, obviously, they're in love and Isobel shows actual care and concern for Aylin's well-being as a person rather than a weapon and all that good stuff.

Isobel decides to take to the frontlines, go through training and become a pilot, showing great aptitude herself. The two pilot the Lady of Silver with resounding success for a while, despite Ketheric's disapproval (among many other things he cites as concerns, Ketheric's long-ago drift partner was his wife, Melodia, who died of illness related to the imperfect radiation shielding in the old jaeger models).

The future, for a while, seems bright, their contribution is really turning the tide of the conflict, especially when it comes to Isobel's super special shield… until Isobel is targeted and killed, or near-killed, mid-mission, mid-drift - Aylin just barely survives the incident, something nobody would have ordinarily survived, managing to bring whatever is left of the jaeger (and Isobel) back to base somehow, at great personal cost. Ketheric blames her for everything - officially for some misconduct and the failure of the mission, privately for not protecting his daughter, and has her court-martialled and jailed. But then it turns out that for the same reason Aylin was extraordinarily capable at piloting while also being horrible to drift with initially, her abilities can be harnessed using a process developed by Ketheric's chief scientist Balthazar, and so she gets regularly taken out of her special solitary confinement and plugged into some kind of interface that enables Ketheric to pilot the extremely powerful jaeger, now rebuilt as Nightsong, by himself (at least, that's what it looks like to an outside observer). The shield, however, remains impossible without Isobel.

Years later, Isobel gets brought back to life, or out of whatever suspended state she was being kept in, via some unprecedented and horrifying experimental procedure Ketheric authorises his creepy head scientist Balthazar to perform, possibly involving using actual kaiju-related DNA/parts/tech etc., something from beyond the Breach and created by the Precursors (I needed to look this up, but it might go great with extra helpings of the Absolute brain-fuckery parallels - like, say, they have developed damaging and invasive "T.A.D.P.O.L.E." tech trying to supplant "regular" drift), the very enemies they are supposed to be protecting the world from. Obviously Ketheric has in the meantime secretly switched to actually collaborating with them, in his obsession with bringing Isobel back, and this is causing a huge crisis and endangering the very existence of humanity.

Then, well, things happen with other characters presumably involved, also Jaheira is there taking over the shatterdome, but ultimately Aylin and Isobel are reunited after Ketheric's defeat and ousting. And they still return to drifting and fighting the good fight in their reclaimed jaeger, even though they are both, honestly, extremely in danger of chasing the rabbit and all that, but they can't bear to idly stand by in the face of innocents, nay, the world being in danger. You know how they both are.