#maud-lin

[majorasnightmare]

what is the worst thing Dirge has ever done post-amnesia (Bhaalist/Absolutist activities don't count)

OOOOOOOOO what a doozy!!

Dirge racks up QUITE the list of sins in his Bhaalist years but after the brain damage hes basically a boy scout thanks to Wyll and Karlachs influence! COMPARATIVELY.

Admittedly i'm still ironing out his End Of Questline Act 3 decisions (things like what to do with the vampire spawn, or Shadowheart's parents), so I'll stick to his Locked In Canon Decisions!!

We're also gonna exclude the things Dirge DIDN'T choose to do, like killing Alfira or punting a squirrel into a rock at mach fuck.

Act 1 has Dirge torturing Liam at Minthara's behest, an entirely selfish self-indulgent decision made spur of the moment to indulge his love of sadism and to impress a pretty girl 💜. He also lures the goblins to the grove to slaughter them en masse and then use the depleted defenses to sweep through the rest of the goblins outposts, but I guess thats only a dick move if your a goblin. He also robs the unconscious druid being kicked around by goblins, uses the headband as a key to sneak around the grove, and also loots whatever he can get his hands on because the druids pissed him off majorly. While the grove is recovering from fending off the goblins and Halsin is disciplining Kagha, Dirge also DOES steal their holy idol of Silvanus. And then steals it back from Mol (#Rude). He accidentally makes a bunch of tiefling kids cry when trying to be inspiring. He lets Sazza eat crossbow bolt. He steals that one mourning man's dowry at Waukeen's Rest. He DOES loot all the roasted dwarf corpse at the goblin camp and keeps it seperated from everyone else's food to use as his own rations. He tells the two Absolute Acoltyes next to True Soul Edwin to value their lives and flee from the owlbear before hunting them down at the goblin camp and reducing them to hamburger. You'd think he'd kill Gandrel too, but it turns out powdered ironvine is just as effective at repelling humanoid monsters as beastial ones 💔

Dirge makes a show of sympathizing with Glut's quest for vengeance before just as quickly deciding he likes Spaw more and turns it into mulch. He initially talks down the duergar at the beach before deciding the value of blenderizing them is more cost effective than maintaining some fascimile of an alliance. After finding our fro. Derryn that the Noblestalk can restore memories, instead of handing it over he splits it for himself and Shadowheart (lovingly bullying her into taking it), and leaves her with TWO losses, her braindead abusive husband still alive and kickin AND no noblestalk to take home. If we're going solely by the little red text indicator for theft, he does technically rob everything not glued down from the Zhent after proving himself reliable to them, exclusively so they don't pay as much mind to his comings and goings. At Grymforge he agrees to assist the Duergar mercenaries in collecting their fee from Nere's corpse, strongarms them into giving him half, and then after Nere is dead, immediately turning on the mercenaries to take the other half (AFTER getting them to agree the gnomes are freed).

At the Mountain Pass he gives Esther an owlbear egg instead of a Gith egg, specifically for the purpose of bullshitting a serious philosophical scientific venture by the Society of Brilliance because he wants the money but doesn't actually want to give them a real Gith egg because he doesn't respect them as an institution. He nonetheless talks the creche into handing the egg over to him anyways, and then slaughters Literally Everyone. Dirge initially goes to lightly spar the Githyanki youth refusing to fight to the death, but slips up on controlling his killing instincts and accidentally punctures the kids main aorta instead of simply stabbing to the left of it. He also vandalizes Vlaakiths portrait but we can and should all agree thats based, regardless of how angry Lae'zel gets.

Act 2 provides significantly fewer people and so Dirge is MUCH better behaved! That doesn't stop him from accidentally making Arabella cry by breaking the news about her parents probably more bluntly than he should've. He gets two Thorms to kill themselves and drinks a third to death, but how bad that is rly depends on your opinion regarding suicide baiting evil Undead. Theres also the lying and betraying you have to enact in Moonrise, since you position yourself as an agent of the Absolute, but that only counts if you consider Absolutists people. Dirge doesn't let Araj force Astarion to bite her but he DOES make everyone donate blood to get sick ass racism elixirs (nobody tell House Oblodra race realism isn't an actual science). He also partakes in good ol goblin murder and forces the unit in Ketheric's throne room to violently kill themselves but again: really only a dick move if your a goblin.

Take your pick on which one you want to consider the worst: my vote is making Arabella cry, personally

[roseeycreates-blog]

Lin talking about Women's Lib.

Lin: She was fascinating. She's always been her own woman. Always does what she wants, when she wants. Tenzin: Yeah, because she's selfish. Lin: Tenzin, why is it when a woman does what she wants, she's selfish, but when a man does, he's forceful. Tenzin: Why? I'll tell you wh- Lin: Nevermind, Baldy.

[bg3screenshotdump]

OC TAG GAME

tagged by @maud-lin !! thank you <3 <3

doing this for T'rissnile bc that gives me an excuse to make her @tav-dex card

no pressure tags💖 @dearest-and-nearest, @mercymaker, @ratchsellsfornax, @preciouslittle-bhaalbabe, @amethystinam, @ranger-danger, @onlytavs @riddleroseheart

-> BASICS

Name: T'rissnile Zauar

Class: Cleric of Lolth

Background: Acolyte

Gender: cis woman

Sexuality: Lesbian

Pronouns: she/her

Alignment: Neutral Evil

-> OTHER

Family : House Zauar is a lesser noble house, specialized in spider breeding and training Mom : Scheazalle Zauar Oldest Sister: Shi'ndrile Zauar (dead) Younger sister : Nilene Zauar (dead ) Younger brother: Durnoz Zauar Youngest sister: Y'asnae Zauar Youngest Brother: Valare Zauar

Birthplace: Underdark ( Eryndlyn )

Job: Spider tamer/keeper

Phobias: Failure, loss of control

Guilty Pleasures: She allows herself brief moments of vulnerability and attachements ( ex: soft humming or singing quietly to her spiders or herself ).

Hobbies: alchemy ( poison making ), collecting gems, training spiders

-> THIS OR THAT

Introverted/Ambient/Extrovert

Organized/Disorganized

Close-minded/Open-minded

Calm/Anxious/Restless

Disagreeable/In-Between/Agreeable

Patient/In-Between/Impatient

Outspoken/In-Between/Reserved

Leader/Flexible/Follower

Empathetic/In-Between/Apathetic

Optimist/Realist/Pessimist

Traditional/In-Between/Modern

Hard-Working/Lazy

-> RELATIONSHIPS

OTP: Minthara

OT4: Minthara, Shadowheart & Lae'zel

Acceptable Ships: Lae'zel, Shadowheart, khaga, Araj Oblodra

NoTP: any man

BroTP: Weavess ( her spider companion )

[arach-tinilith]

OC TAG MEME

tagged by @ignistigator tysm!💜

-> BASICS

Name: Naadja Duskryn

Class/Subclass: Sorcerer / Divine Soul

Background: Noble

Gender: Woman

Sexuality: Homoflexible. Definitely a strong preference towards women but she's experimental

Pronouns: She/Her

-> OTHER

Family: No strong feelings of family whatsoever. Her brother Arazai and mother Prae'anelle Duskryn are her blood relatives

Birthplace: Menzoberranzan

Job: (Formerly) First Priestess, post game House Matron

Phobias: Krakens, Lolth, Demons

Guilty Pleasures: Not too much guilt for her pleasures if she's being honest

Hobbies: Embroidery, sewing, weaving, fencing

-> MORALS

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Sins: Lust, Wrath, Sloth, Pride

Virtues: Ambition, Magnificence

-> THIS OR THAT

Introverted/Ambivert/Extrovert

Organized/Disorganized

Close-minded/Open-minded

Calm/Anxious/Restless

Disagreeable/In-Between/Agreeable

Patient/In-Between/Impatient

Outspoken/In-Between/Reserved

Leader/Follower/Flexible

Empathetic/In-between/Apathetic

Optimist/Realist/Pessimist

Traditional/In-Between/Modern

Hard-working/Lazy

-> RELATIONSHIPS

OTP: Minthara/Naadja

Acceptable Ships: Astarion/Naadja Zafyna/Naadja

OT3: Minthara/Naadja/Zafyna (and Astarion but more as a QPP)

BroTP: Naadja/Shadowheart

NoTP: Karlach/Naadja

-> BASICS

Name: Zafyna Mizzrym

Class/Subclass: Cleric/Rogue- War-Assasin

Background: Soldier

Gender: Woman

Sexuality: Lesbian

Pronouns: She/Her

-> OTHER

Family: Two “adoptive” sisters Faedra and G'eldlyn but neither have kept in touch. Zafyna longs for family but can't ever seem to keep one

Birthplace: Underdark. Specifically where is unknown

Job: Training as mistress of deamonology, then assassin. Later she becomes the squadron leader of house Duskryn's forces

Phobias: Abandonment, imprisonment

Guilty Pleasures: Watching people sleep. Specifically Naadja

Hobbies: Poetry, music and arts appreciation, demon summoning

-> MORALS

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Sins: Wrath, Envy

Virtues: Humility, Diligence

-> THIS OR THAT

Introverted/Ambivert/Extrovert

Organized/Disorganized

Close-minded/Open-minded

Calm/Anxious/Restless

Disagreeable/In-Between/Agreeable

Patient/In-Between/Impatient

Outspoken/In-Between/Reserved

Leader/Follower/Flexible

Empathetic/In-between/Apathetic

Optimist/Realist/Pessimist

Traditional/In-Between/Modern

Hard-working/Lazy

-> RELATIONSHIPS

OTP: Zafyna/Naadja

Acceptable Ships: Zafyna/Shadowheart Zafyna/Minthara

OT3: Zafyna/Minthara/Naadja

BroTP: Zafyna/Jaheira

NoTP: Zafyna/Gale

Tagging: @majorasnightmare @foxboyclit @mogruith @the-weeping-dawn @maud-lin @cacturne @alicelufenia @w-low @trappedinafantasy37 @happiartsy @oryndoll and anyone else who wants to do this!

[pettrichore]

tam amber is burdock everdeen's maternal grandfather

now hear me out. all speculation of course but it has bugged me on who burdock's covey connection was and there's really only one that make sense.

lets start with the facts:

burdock is lenore dove's cousin

burdock's covey connection is on his mother's side. specifically a "distant" cousin

alright now lets go through the covey to decide who this person could be

maude iory - nope! that's lenore dove's mother

lucy gray - lmaoo yeah no lucy gray is long gone and the would have been no child to leave behind

clerk carmine - too young and too gay. besides he has one daughter and that's lenore dove

billy taupe - long gone before he had a kid

barb azure - possibly. i think the ages probably wouldn't match up super well but the biggest issue i take with this is that she is last seen with a girlfriend and i rather not think she ended up with a man

tam amber - i feel like this is the best guess.

in defense of my choice

tam amber would be around 66 during sotr. perfect grandfather age of a 15 year old

tam amber has given burdock the most gifts from what i can tell. he made him those metal tipped arrows and likely made/taught him to make a LOT of other things (tam amber is actually the one to make most things for the covey. he's seen making fishing poles, fixing the tv, and more)

finally, tam amber's name poem/ballad tells us this in a way!!

the ballad

tam amber's name song is Tam Lin

tam lin is a scottish ballad

i am going to summarize a lot but i encourage you to read/listen to the ballad yourself. i am mainly referencing the meta version from this site wow!! a site dedicated to just this ballad!!

also fun fact: tam lin has an anonymous/unknown author AND tam amber was found by the covey as a baby when he was left on the side of the road

okay so there is warning of entering Caterhaugh (a woods and farm in scottland) for fear of tam lin specifically stating that he takes objects of value (including the virginity) of young women (esp blonde ones - thought there about the town folk)

we meet our real main protagonist, janet who is sewing or decorating and wishes for flowers and wants to go to the woods for this

she travels to caterhaugh and picks some roses (hmmmn) when tam lin appears and tells janet off, basically being like "who said you could come in here and pluck flowers and be in MY woods without MY permission??"

and janet ofc is NOT having that and says that she owns the wood or is the heir to it

and tam lin Likes that "And what they did next I couldn't say, The leaves were all around"

janet comes back pregnant, she says that a fairie was the father and then leaves

tam lin asks about the kid and what she's going to do with it

janet demands to know if he's fae or human

tam lin says yeah i'm human but i was capture by the fae. and every 7 years they make sacrifices to hell (hmm... hunger games and the tributes) and he's scared he'll be one of them soon

so on halloween janet rescues him from the fae and he warns her that they will transform him into a bunch of beasts to try and scare her but it's still him under it all

okay so what does that mean??

now not ALL the covey poems are like 100% accurate to their story from what i can tell so take this with a grain of salt BUT most of them are very symbolic of their lives or kind of follow a similar story in some way or another (this is also why i think it's even more obvious that maude ivory is lenore dove's mother)

but okay so what i take from this and how i connect it to burdock is

tam amber fell in love with a girl who came into the woods (or at least meadow) to pick flowers or enjoy freedom or find something or really anything doesnt matter but she's in his territory. they probably did have a bit of a cheeky back and forth about it being "his woods" or "his meadow" or whatever

maybe she was from the town?? but this doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of thing BUT would be interesting and a parallel with burdock and asterid

this mystery girl gets pregnant, she runs from home (which would make even more sense if she's from town) and gets pregnant and they have a kid

which i believe that kid is burdock's mother

okay that's all! if you got this far with me, thank you so much for reading. let me know your thoughts. also i dont think the idea of barb azure being bi is horrible i just think i found more reason for it to be tam amber. also sure she could have adopted but i think there's a point that's made about burdock having the voice of the covey and the ear of one too and i think it would just make more sense that way tbh

[mogruith]

Your OC as a Deity

Take this quiz as your OC and share the results!

Thanks for tagging me, @vspin! I don't know much about Rogue Trader but from what I can tell, your result is spot on!

[Think I did an accidental unfollow while I grabbed this link - whoops! If I'm in your notifs, that's why. Awkward.]

Coranzan

Dreams and Fortune

You have a free-spirited and naive nature. The physical embodiment of luck and dreams, anyone with goals or aspirations follows you in hopes their endeavors will be successful. Failure befalls those who underestimate or disrespect you.

I didn't know what to expect but I am happy with the result! No pressure tags for @pavusprince @ratchsellsfornax @majorasnightmare @maud-lin @the-weeping-dawn @bloodsol94 @beebookmagic @squidgang @albweado @mmigrainee @lutethebodies @yeehawitsjakee @tavsversion

And like a million other mutuals I should tag but my brain is tuckered out atm. But if you see this, please do it and @ me! (Especially if I've never tagged you before - have some new mutuals but I don't know if you like these games yet!)

[happiartsy]

Callow belongs to @maud-lin (hope you like the gift :3 )

Been in a bit of an art block so I decided to draw one of the characters that made me go "puppy :] ". Drawing their head was so fun especially since I haven't drawn an anthro in ages! they're very VERY square and I love it.

[dearest-and-nearest]

OC Wardrobe

RULES: Post pictures of your character's wardrobe and put your OC in the center. It can be other people wearing the clothing, it's just a moodboard.

I was tagged by my beloved @optimisticgrey and never ask a man his salary and woman how many pictures with armour she has

so, mostly armor + few casual outfits, lol

no pressure tag for @bububull @maud-lin @loony-lupus @snekkinsnerpent @whiskeyskin @scandistar @akelan @monsterlimbs @xxnutcrusherxx @loony-lupus @freaksinsmallplaces @some0weirdo @corpsesticks @queen-belial @citruskushh @rinwellisathing @toasterdrake @abysskinn

[albweado]

Art trade with @maud-lin 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼 I drew Al, their bg3 durge (with bhaal at the back I guess )

I hope you like it 🥹🙇🏻‍♀️

[majorasnightmare]

in the scenario where Dirge successfully resurrects Orin, how would that pan out? how would that be for Orin? Minthara? his friends?

OUGHGGHHGH THE WAY I THINK ABOUT THIS CONSTANTLY

so orin getting rezzed is something dirge takes YEARS to actually settle on because he goes back and forth on it so much. the biggest point of contention for him is mintharas potential reaction. orin tortured and traumatized her, and then kidnapped her to bait dirge into the temple since he was avoiding confronting her like the plague. minthara has the most tied up in this, and dirge doesnt even bring it up for YEARS cuz of this. this is actually so long im throwing up a readmore

ironically this gives minthara plenty of time to sort her feelings out. after orin kidnaps her and then dies gruesomely, minthara has dialogue recognizing herself in orin and what orin is put through. by the time dirge actually opens his mouth about orin, years after the giant brain gets her ass kicked, mintharas had a lot of time to parse things. firstly, by that point shes well settled into her life in baldurs gate. she has a manor home and a retinue of servants much like her life back in menzo, she lives a life of politicking and scheming in comfort with a devoted partner who safeguards her from assassins whom she can trust absolutely, and shes doing what shes good at with someone she loves. its a very secure stable environment for her, and as someone whos demonstrated multiple times over a penchant for self awareness and introspection, the timeframe there really lets her contextualize her experiences with orin and the cult, and orins own actions within the cult of bhaal. while initially deeply hurt and upset by dirges choice to sacrifice himself, time has given clarity to the situation, and she has a better understanding of it as the act of selfless love it was in truth: better to die and let minthara live free than to live and make her a slave to another callous god through him.

which is all to say that, unsurprisingly, minthara achieves a better understanding of dirges reasons than dirge himself, who in typical fashion has been unsuccessfully trying to occupy himself so he doesnt have to spend too much time with the thought. minthara doesnt like orin, and never will, but orin was a pawn of bhaal who devoted everything to him and was unceremoniously discarded. the precariousness of her position, vying for the love of a god who had no intention of giving it to her, produced the only results it could: a desperate, lonely woman who rejected anything that could come between her and her faith, who craved nothing more than the validation that her efforts meant something to the one figure she did everything for. And for this, Orin was stripped of personhood the exact moment she had the slightest inkling of the futility of it all. Orin is a tragedy, one that Minthara has seen again and again, and was only spared that same fate by a long chain of circumstance.

On top of it all, Orin is Dirges sister. The fight to defeat the Absolute unquestionably cost Dirge the most out of everyone. He lost his mind, his body, his personhood was ever under threat of being subsumed twice over (if not the tadpole, then Bhaal), and to best their shared foe Dirge sacrificed his health, his sanity, and then his entire past, and when yet more was asked for he sacrificed his life, permanently, to secure not just a victory but a future, with only the grace of Withers sparing him. With Orin and Gortash dead by his own hand, Dirge has nothing and no one to refer back to for even the barest sliver of help understanding himself. His past is obliterated, his connection to Bhaal severed (who himself deigned only to remind Dirge of his servitude), and there is no one and nothing to give him any hints or guides on understanding himself in the grand context of history. There is no one to tell him the person he used to be, the things he said or did, the way others saw him, how he grew up, amongst whom, where, how he came to be as a grown man and what kind of man he was. Dirge sacrificed those things for a greater cause, and even many years out it gnaws at him still in a way that isnt easily remedied. Orin is a tangible connection to that lost past in a way no one else really is. Its just her

And also, Dirge himself is in the habit of a warlock. He keeps a note of connections, what has to be paid and what is owed. Regardless of intent, Orin freed him from Bhaal, and gave him a second chance at life, a chance he neither asked for nor deserved. Its a gift that gave him the love of his life, freedom, friends, and its one he never paid back, and he rewarded Orin with death. The scales are notably tipped and Minthara is well aware hes uncomfortable with things so ajar.

All this to say, surprisingly, shockingly, shes okay. She understands. Her own feelings on Orin are.... complex, and nuanced, and unpleasant, but Dirge makes a point of saying he doesnt intend to interfere between them. Bhaal stripped Minthara of her chance at catharsis too, and that business is between his sister and her. He wouldnt take that from her a second time. When Dirge does eventually stammer out hes been thinking about Orins fate, Minthara manages to shut him up completely by having a better grasp of things than he does (since its just been a persistent dissatisfaction impossible to shake ever since her death, and looking too closely at the feeling means uh oh! we have to acknowledge we are not in fact #coping! oops.) and reassuring him. Minthara is ever encouraging Dirge to take control of his life and climb ever upwards, and to that end she ALSO wants Dirge to have a fuller context of what his past is and who he is. God if anyone needs a journey of self discovery its this blue loser.

As for the Tadpole Gang. Well. No one LIKES the idea, unleashing an unhinged unrepentant bhaalspawn changeling back on the world. But the thing is. Dirge really REALLY sucked as a bhaalist, and got a second chance. Everyone has an inkling of how shit he was. And he got a do-over, and objectively improved as a person outside the living hell of Bhaals temple. And on that point, he kiiiinda. Ya know. Personally took responsibility for overwhelmingly improving all of their lives. She IS his sister. Notably the only family member he grew up alongside (his three brothers were all much older than him and didnt really interact until his adult years, except for Zherimon who enabled the abuse and is sure as shit not going to confess to that and nobody wants to talk to him anyways). And by the point its being brought up, two OTHER situations got handled by him (Shadowhearts werewolf lineage finally manifesting, and then Dirge helping to cure Karlachs heart condition). So. Like. Does literally anyone have a leg to stand on here? Not really. Ulders alive, Cazadors dead, Shadowhearts living with her parents, Gales settling in as a college professor, Lae'zel is fighting for the prince of the comet free of Vlaakiths lies, and Karlach is rebuilding her life, and all of that is because of one (1) Neutral Evil serial killer deeply deeply invested in their wellbeing to the point of sacrifice

Dirge has LITERALLY never asked for ANYTHING from ANYONE. And it isnt some spur of the moment impulsive wish either. Hes sitting on a lot of good reasons for this. What are they gonna say? Dont repay your life debt to the sister you were forced to murder, and potentially get the only source for your childhood back, because I personally think shes yucky when you are ALSO not a great person, but YOURE fine? No absolutely no one is going to say this. Everyone makes a tight face but is too guilty to say shit to him. Yeah okay man after cleaning up literally my entire life ill help you rez your murderous sister and then we can just. Deal with that. Man.

i was talking to @arach-tinilith on discord and ended up having a LOT of jaheira thoughts on this so those are going in here too. minscs opinion is that like. Orin is evil and deserves justice, esp cuz the temple situation was profoundly unsatisfying for literally everyone. No one got what they wanted out of that. no justice was served, no catharsis was achieved, no revenge enacted. Just pointless, senseless tragedy. Minsc imo would not be down for it but i think could maybe be swayed, since he ALSO believes p strongly in redemption, but moreso by the idea that rezzing Orin would allow her to be confronted. Thats def Boo's angle at least. Jaheira on the other hand is a complication understander. She has a VERY good grasp on who Dirge is as a person, and she knows very well that hes. Well. Shit. But hes a shit person with priorities, and love, and Jaheira can work with that. More than anyone, Jaheira has the best understanding of what "Temple Of Bhaal Cult Leader" ACTUALLY entailed and what that means for who Dirge used to be, and the leaps and bounds hes improved from that. He isnt perfect, but hes better, and Jaheira respects that.

This also means that Jaheira understands that Dirge flat out didnt deserve this second life. That by ALL rights he should've died and been left to rot, and that would be justice, and rightous. But in an act of cosmic irony, or perhaps cruelty, Dirge is the one who got to get back up, instead of any of his victims. Because of Orin, a vast amount of good was done in the world, directly counteracting the obscene evils conducted in that temple, and a great foe was laid to waste. Orins assassination attempt kickstarted the saving of the world. Even if nobody else feels like thats something that needs to be paid back, Dirge does, and Jaheira understands exactly why that is. Shes also very pragmatic. The argument for "deserving" is out the window here. Orin doesnt deserve it, but Dirge didnt either, and we can see the results of it happening anyway. Shes cynical, theres a high chance this will go tits up and blow up in everyones face, but despite herself shes also an idealist. Shes seen the impossible things a bhaalspawn can do, Gorion's Ward dragged Sarevok back to life and sacrificed part of their soul, and in so doing set the foundations for Sarevok to completely turn his life around, even if that progress was destroyed in his fall back to the temple. If Orin IS capable of changing, of living, maybe not good but better, than the only person who would be able to do that for her is Dirge. I think she'd understand his reasons for it, and I don't think she'd try to stop him or begrudge him for it. If he does this, whatever happens is on him, and to an extent on her for allowing him, and I think she's okay with taking responsibility for Dirge. If Orin comes back and her actions force her hand, Jaheira won't restrain herself for Dirge's sake, but Dirge isn't asking that of anyone anyways. Just the chance to try.

So generally, no one likes it, but no one stops him. No one helps him either, but thats fine. This is a personal mission, for his own sake. He's fine doing this solo.

Which leaves the actual rezzing itself and how THAT pans out.

So as a bhaalspawn, Orin's soul upon death is immediately drawn into the Throne of Blood, which shifts locations a LOT between appearances but I personally keep it parked in Gehenna, the plane of Neutral Evil. Partly because that makes sense to me for Bhaal's domain, and also because I'm just emotionally attached to the idea. So Dirge needs to: go to Gehenna, find the Throne of Blood, find Orin in the ToB, NOT get got by Bhaal, convince Orin to return to life (cant rez someone unwilling!), and then Get Out Successfully. EZPZ.

I dont have the nitty gritty worked out because I eventually plan on sitting down with this and fleshing it out but I do have some general plot beats.

Dirge opens a Gehenna Gate through a combination of diabolist portal magic and his own plane touched blood as a guideline, and safely traverses into it. Getting into the Lower Planes isnt as difficult as getting out, and Gehenna specifically is actually Dirge's plane of origin. He was created there and even bereft of his connection to Bhaal, he remains a creature of godly, Aligned flesh. (theres a potential discussion over whether or not its even possible for Dirge to shift alignments, but thats for another time), and this connection forms an easily traversed tether back Home.

The real fun is actually IN Gehenna. The getting to the Throne of Blood im actually iffy on, but i DO know that being in the Source of his divine spark actually gets his Main Character bullshit back up and running. In the intervening time between his resurrection and now, Dirge had more or less been living as an especially durable mortal adventurer, but he isnt. Dirge is a godspawn, a Titan, and Bhaal has kept knowledge of how to utilize his heritage FROM Dirge so that Bhaal could reap the benefits of his spawns power without any threat of insubordination. The reason why makes itself abundantly clear deeper in Gehenna, seperate from Bhaal's usual control issues and paranoia. Being back on home turf means the furnace that makes up Dirges soul (a mechanism of processing Faith and Divine Essence (cannibalized from other Godspawn, usually Bhaalspawn) into power) gets a kick strong enough to start up properly. As a Bhaalist, the faith Dirge received from the acolytes and initiates was funneled directly into Bhaal through him, using Dirge's innate connection. Through this means, Bhaal could safely juice Dirge up as much as necessary through "gifts", and it didnt matter if the congregation was technically engaging in idol worship of Dirge instead of Bhaal; by treating Dirge as functionally an extension of the god himself, and with no way of processing the faith he received into personal power, it just all funnelled back into Bhaal anyways. With Bhaal's connection severed, Dirge's innate divine aspect fires up as it should without interference, and Dirge gets to actually utilize his innate abilities as both a Godspawn and a Titan.

My personal thoughts is that, when Bhaal's essence is used to create a spawn, they inherit a personal aspect of his domain of Murder thats unique and personal to them. Bhaalspawn have souls distinct from Bhaal, are their own individual people, and thus arent recreating Bhaal's domain 1 to 1. These arent as broad and vague as murder, and are usually smaller conceptually-connected aspects. Dirges particular aspect of murder is Blood, and Bloodshed, and the plane of Gehenna jumpstarts that whole machine again. Everyone say yayyy for special snowflake powers yayyyy (with autistic focus on explaining the minutae of them, which is ALSO a different post).

Actually being IN Gehenna, the second order of business is finding the Throne of Blood. Being so FR i have handwaved this shit. Theres a nonzero chance Bane's Fortress is blocking it as a three fold gate into the Kingdom of Death (Banes domain leading into Bhaal's which leads into Myrkul's who tries to catch you before you go to Kelemvor) which potentially means a Gortash reunion but im not decided. Handwaving all this.

The real meat of the matter is the metric fuckton of revelations actually IN the Throne of Blood. There is so. fucking. much. in this place for Dirge.

Firstly: the reason Bhaal didnt let Dirge use his bullshit titan heritage. Gorion's Ward is here! Cuz Dirge got them killed 🫶 Whoops. While I havent gotten to play BG1+2, I HAVE pinned down some core GW traits they have, like being canonically NB and physically taking after Bhaal's human form but having strong personality resemblance to the 4 gore spawned bhaalspawn Bhaal made in Dirge's variation of events (with GW and Dirge having the most overlap). GW is also solidly Chaotic Good but in a very Good Is Not Nice kind of way with an emphasis on Chaos. A true force of nature, whatever GW decided on was just going to happen regardless of whether or not it should be possible. The ToB also likes GW, arguably more than Bhaal, and responds to their will and desires readily, and GW has set up a small sanctuary for themselves and Imoen in the plane. GW was a goddamn menace for Bhaal, and despite being "only" a demigod, easily outstrips all the other spawn in power, and had to be killed through cheating in MiBG. GW shares Dirges strong familial inclinations and is overjoyed to meet him, unaware they had more relatives that didnt die over the course of BG1+2. Theyre also slightly miffed Dirge is taller than them. Little brothers seem to get all the height 🙄 (is 6 fucking 2)

GW quickly puts together SEVERAL things, that being: Dirge was a bhaalist, Dirge got them killed to secure Bhaal's resurrection, Dirge doesn't remember this, and also that something must have happened to Sarevok in the intervening years since they lost contact with each other (not unusual: GW is a druid/monk multiclass and shares Dirges hatred of Baldurs Gate, except GW considers the city their shithole, and no one else is allowed to ruin it; theyre not big on publicity or being contacted and had a habit of ducking out of the limelight and going off grid as often as possible). Logically whatever happened to Sarevok (who was freed from Bhaal's influence by the sacrifice of a part of GW's soul and eventually converted to Chaotic Good) happened before GWs death, as they've been miserably watching the influx of souls into the Throne of Blood ever since to reconnect with family and provide aid. Sarevok hasn't entered, which means whatever happened to him occurred before GWs vigil, which is. Upsetting. This information is a complete shock to Dirge, who has only known Sarevok as the abusive pitiful relic presiding over the tribunal, and the idea that someone as BLATANTLY good as GW having fondness for such a person is. Confusing.

Another major kick is that anyone Dirge slew on Bhaal's altar in dedication to Him circumvented the process of judgement and the condemned soul was fed directly to the Throne of Blood (this is implied by Withers if you sacrifice a companion after not killing Isobel in act 2, and this further implies that this is why Withers intervened to keep Alfiras soul away from The Dark Urge. There was apparently enough time (and leeway) to spirit her away, but the direct sacrifice of a companion to appease Bhaal doesnt really uh. have. that.) which means literally every single person killed by the Urge is here. By this point, most of them have been digested by Gehenna itself (which breaks down souls into grublike beings full of raw soul material (quintessence) which is a valuable resource in the lower planes) but a few have been able to resist the slow insistent grind of the plane. Most notably. Dirges parents :)

As the first kills of the Urge, the two of them were slain p explicitly in Bhaal's name by a child Dirge, and have persisted in the Throne of Blood ever since, maintaining a small recreation of their home (now ruined), in the hopes of eventually seeing their little boy again. They quickly figured out the kind of life that awaited Dirge in the temple, and when that life eventually killed him, they wanted to provide reassurance and love after a long miserable life in the service to a cruel, callous Father.

This is where like. The structure of things breaks down pretty bad and im less certain of the order of things. I know Dirge starts to tap into his divine abilities, I know he meets GW and has an awkward but positive time with his older (cooler) sibling, i know Dirge eventually learns that (in Dirges canon of things) Bhaal wanted to thoroughly ruin and despoil everything GW had achieved and got Sarevok killed so he could claim his soul and force more of his essence into him to overwrite Sarevok's will with his own, splitting his soul and reviving the man as a loyal husk, the current state of Sarevok as found in BG3 (which is its own thing ill expand on in more detail. later), finds his parents in the ToB and experiences All That, and that his parent's home is ALSO where Orin has been this entire time. Orin is unwilling to meet with Bhaal here in the ToB because the circumstances of her death were deeply upsetting and confusing for her. In much the same way Dirge has been avoiding confronting his grief and desire to return Orin's unintentional gift, Orin has been avoiding confronting the reality that her life thus far had been, in the grand scheme of things, utterly devoid of the meaning she had given it. This house was one of the only shelters from the storm, so to speak, and unassuming enough to not draw Bhaal's eye, so shes been hiding from him here.

The confrontation with Orin is closer to actual WRITING writing rather than just a characterization exploration, with an ebb and flow to the argument that conveys Orins turmoil, and thus I actually havent gotten around to ironing it out, but I have my guideposts. Orin doesnt want anything from Dirge, because she doesnt want to rely on him, because she feels like she spends enough time in his shadow already. Ironically, out of everyone Dirge cares about, the one MOST opposed to resurrecting Orin is Orin herself. She doesnt want Dirge to pay her back, she doesnt to be around him, and she doesnt want him to do anything for her, all because at her core she wants those exact things almost more than anything. Her grandfather has betrayed her utterly, Bhaal has never seen her as anything more than a lamb to slaughter, and the only person who has actually seen and cared for her is her brother, who she killed. By accident. Its painful truths on top of painful truths, and Orin doesnt want to confront any of it because that would mean turning her entire understanding of herself upside down and confronting the real feelings from her attack on Dirge that shes been repressing so long she forgot them in favor of the self serving lie she told in its place: that she hated him for his arrogance and presumptousness, that she always planned on ousting him, that she always wanted to kill him. But her brother was her only real friend, and the distance that grew between them when he was named Chosen wounded her deeply, and shes regretted hurting him ever since, and now theres a stranger with his face who wants to help her and its all her fault. Everything about her situation is her own fault, and she cant stand it, and she doesnt want to confront it, so she just routinely lashes out at Dirge instead.

Because this is an argument and not just events, I havent actually figured out the HOW for its resolution, just the pieces for assembling it. Those being that, pointedly "deserves" is off the table so Orin doesnt have to earn the chance Dirge is offering, that Dirge is doing this out of the love he still feels for his sister, that Dirge, BECAUSE of those feelings, wants to know her and know what their childhood was like together, that Orin does genuinely miss her brother and wishes she could go back to the days they spent training together, and that despite everything she says, Orin wants to be wanted. For herself, not for what she can do. Dirge doesnt remember her well enough to have any expectations, just the feelings hes been left with, and he genuinely believes she should have the chance to live free of their Father, and is willing to give her a chunk of his soul to make it happen.

All of that is much more important than the nitty gritty of getting in and getting out and while im sure theres some more character beats to be mined, im more concerned with hitting the major ones first. Whats important is that i DO think that Dirge IS capable of getting through to Orin, ONLY in the wake of her death being caused by Bhaal as a result of Dirge revealing the truth of her parentage. Its a level of consideration not even pre lobotomy Dirge had shown her, knowing the truth but concealing it in an attempt to protect her. In the short amount of interactions theyve had, Dirge HAS been consistent in trying to value Orin's autonomy, and I think that plus the connection and freedom he represents is enough to win her over.

Hand waving they get out and rez Orin. Dirge is a necromancer and literally makes flesh homunculi its fine.

Post Orin rezzing is... fun! Firstly is Minthara, who WANTS to fight Orin for her revenge and catharsis but... cant. Or rather. No longer wants to. In an endlessly frustrating realization, Minthara has introspected and self actualized enough that the vast majority of her rage and anger is pointed above Orin. Yes, she could fight her. She could even kill her. But what would that accomplish? What would it do? She would, what, kill another manipulated desperate woman who was compelled by fruitless faith to acts of horror, when she herself was that same woman? When she killed and tortured, first in Lolth's name, then in the Absolute's? Why did any of it happen? Why was Minthara tortured and traumatized? The same reason anything in her life happened. A God valued her less than dirt and demanded her worth be proven, through usefullness or suffering, and then she was thrown away when she could no longer serve or entertain. Its just the same shit. She hates Orin, but she hates the God that made Orin, the God that made her, more. What would vengeance give her here? It wouldn't matter a single whit to the master behind the screen pulling puppet strings. It be. Gods. It wouldnt even be satisfying. It wouldnt give Minthara anything.

Deeply, overwhelmingly aggravated by this revelation, understood initially only logically but now felt deep in her core, Minthara does not, in fact, confront Orin. Neither does she forgive Orin, but she understands her, and Dirge by extension, just a bit more. Dirge and Orin have a lot to unpack with each other, and much as Minthara loves Dirge, she has no desire to be partial to that conversation. Orin and Dirge don't really achieve closure, per se, and that front is still unsatisfying, but in a way thats more. Final. The brother Orin knew is gone, but the one she still has isn't. Bad. It might even be nice to get to know him, but the point is that its a new relationship. Dirge is... fine with this. That person wasn't him, anyways, but he can still hear about him in the way a family member can reminisce about someone they wish you got to know. Orin doesnt make any grand plans beyond figuring out what to do with her life, and she cannot stand to do it here in Baldur's Gate, surrounded by memories of her past and the people shes lost.

More handwaving but the gist is that Orin leaves Baldurs Gate but remains in sparse contact with Dirge and starts rebuilding her life in a different city, where she eventually falls into the worship of Loviatar, where she excels (and subsequently starts up her habit of mocking her brother for weaker faith again, this time with less consequences on the line), and also notably is NOT causing intervention-necessitating trouble. Its a strained, awkward relationship, because the two siblings have entirely different social circles who are opposed to crossing over, but theres an earnestness there thats still detectable. Extremely important to me to mention, but Orin is SIGNIFICANTLY better at setting up her life than Dirge is, like she is ON THAT SHIT. Despite being sheltered, Orin is much more competent and independent than shes given credit for, and outside the Temple that rly gets a chance to shine. Comparatively Dirge is still majorly floundering and I know in my soul she bullies him for it and then tapers off because its concerning enough to stop being fun.

Doesnt change that shes the better Loviatan, Dirge 😤

[juneiper-art]

ART FIGHT 2025 011

Rue for @maud-lin !!!

[baldursghaik]

OCs as Deities

finally catching up on several belated tag games... whoops haha. Thank you very much both @arcandoria and @the-weeping-dawn for the tags for this one!

Take this quiz as your OC, and tell us what realm they would hold dominion over!

Thyneron

Desire and Sexuality

you’re mysterious and alluring. when lovers seek a magnetic connection, they pray to you. you’re particularly associated with eros, erotic love, and mania, obsessive love. you exude intense magnetism and your voice is like a siren call, luring anyone and everyone you desire.

I was of two minds on this result before I thought about it. Thyneron's primary themes are death and rebirth, and I would absolutely say there's an element of dark sexuality to how that relates to ceremorphosis. If nothing else, manic obsessive love fits him to a T. Though I doubt people pray to him so much as view him as a cautionary tale about idolazation and fantasy.

Ylldras

Winter and Death

you’re known for your self-discipline and rigidity. although you may be perceived as cold and intimidating by those who don’t directly worship you, you’re actually quite fair and polite. your followers pray to you for a safe winter and peaceful death.

Now that I'm finally playing my DUrge run (... again) I feel like I can finally bother posting about him. This one is spot on. As a vengeance paladin that fights tooth and nail to resist the dark urge (and does NOT always succeed), he's discipline defined. He has to be, because he knows he enjoys dishing out "righteous" wrath entirely too much for it to be normal.

I feel like loads of people have already been tagged for this, but on the off chance, I'm hitting @themumblingmouse, @voidspearzhovae, and @maud-lin! Or anyone else that sees this and feels like doing it!

[arach-tinilith]

Last Line Written/Messy Draft Monday

@mogruith tagged me in their lovely post of virtual photography outtakes (tysm!!) just as i was finishing up my lore post for DND Naadja!

Tagging: @majorasnightmare @mischiefwife @beebookmagic @maud-lin and anyone else writing or doing art that wants to share!

[the-weeping-dawn]

Your OC as a flower

Thank you @baldursghaik for the tag! As alluded to in the tag of the reblog, this is one of those questions I not only have an answer for already but it's one which is a recurring motif through the WIP

Red Spider Lily - Lycoris radiata

In darkness blooms the spider lily...

I will always feel required to include a quote from a certain ffxiv trial, when it comes time to talk about Ilztaun and spider lilies.

There are two potential answers to give here, the other the one that happens to be painted on the lyre he gets shoved into this whole mess with, and the other...Well considering how much he tries to separate himself from Lolth, it's certainly a choice.

A choice which is poison even to the touch, and grows from the bulb itself into every part of the plant, with it's strong association with death, the link happened naturally and trying to chose anything else but the corpse flower would feel a bit too disingenuous.

Which naturally is why as said, it's various belladonna painted on his initial lyre.

Tagging: @arach-tinilith @thefloatingstone @maud-lin @mogruith @mystxmomo

[thecubspeaks]

inspired by @maud-lin i’ve decided to try and do a tav/durge line-up…

i’m very boring about my race choices lol

[galahadiant]

some of my recent artfight attacks! for @maud-lin, @freejamtime, @donttouchmyasymptote

I haven't been keeping up with posting all my attacks here but I finally hit 100 attacks this year! Find me ~percevale