gortmit :}
I know it’s been a few days but I need you to know how fucking funny it is that the first durgetash post after your Guy Interlude(tm) was Disney villain Gort 😂 Nothing could have been a more perfect return to regularly scheduled programming
(Also thank you for all your art and writing. Any time you release a new fic chapter it’s legitimately a highlight of my day <3)
(late reply cause I wanted to respond with this specifically lol)
RIGHT back to the schedule baby!
Salami Bhaalivna is a simple creature
Finally posting chapter 1 of my fic Picking Up the pieces! For the occasion, I’ve redrawn my first durgetash comic based on the chapter below. Hope you enjoy!<3
So I just learned that diabetes can make not only your blood, but also other... bodily fluids... taste sweet. So if you or your loved ones are tasting a little too sweet lately, consider this a PSA!
Durges are the reason Enver can't have nice things
Omut (right) is shamelessly stolen from the darling @prawn-haunted! Hemlock (left) is mine♡
Closeups of the tieflings below because tumblr and I can't agree on resolution, apparently
Flustered Gort is me fr
You might need to take a propa ganda at this one
The Chosen of Bane, getting flustered? It's more likely than you think
or: Gortash realizes his alliance with a bhaalspawn is going to be a touch more complicated than he thought
Enver "no I'm not in love with The Dark Urge, what are you talking about" Gortash
Enver "they live?" Gortash
Enver "kill Orin for me and I'll literally give you the world" Gortash
Smooches for babygurl
Gort studies! I find him really difficult to draw in a more semi-realistic style, so I guess I gotta practice
Hemlock is all of us durgetash shippers
Let them kiss babygurl pleasee
The dark urge (to draw Gortiddies)
and yes Hemlock has blood splattered on their undies, what of it?
Ever start making art and then you're done and you realize it's the middle of the night? yeah me neither
Anyways, this is an illustration from chapter 1 of my durgetash fic Picking up the pieces which is in the works, so enjoy the sneak peek♡
Snowfall
Another experiment with drawing Gorty, already feeling more confident with his features!
Ugh, whyyy is Gortash's outfit so detaileeed?? like calm down my man (yes i'm just bitter because i'm trying to draw him)
Gortash has a 'love' for humanity and it's making me sick cuz that's perhaps why I even like him. Cuz it's twisted and messed up and rotten, so fucking rotten, but it's there, and his every step and every plan of his strives towards the betterment of the status quo in some way and advancement of humanity in a way that's just making me sick.
In this essay I will-
Ok so William Shakespeare's character of Richard of Gloucester is very much the archetype for the Tyrant in western literature and I just have SO MANY THOUGHTS about the way Enver Gortash wears that particular crown... (Not to mention how the fangirl in me just loves some of Richard's dialogue and could easily see it coming out of Gortash's mouth, and I'm trying so hard NOT to write a whole ass fic just so I can get Gortash to say, "I am not made of stone.")
WHO IS RICHARD III?
In real life, he was the last Plantagenet king of England, and a controversial figure, but I'm just talking about how he's depicted as a character in William Shakespeare's play Richard III (and to a lesser degree in Henry VI) . In Shakespeare's plays he is written as the quintessential scheming, backstabbing, duplicitous tyrant who will stop at nothing to gain and keep power. He concocts a massive plan in which he will manipulate the whole of the English aristocracy into crowning him king, by creating a situation in which they will be so desperate and angry at an imagined enemy that they will beg him to assume power over them. Sound familiar?
"Since I cannot prove a lover (...) I am determined to prove a villain." They have different backgrounds, but with both Richard of Gloucester and Enver Gortash there's a driving current of otherness compared to the ranks of the nobility that they're manipulating. Gortash is from a working class family but clawed his way up to join the ranks of the well-bred elite through cunning and ingenuity (and lots of crime). Richard was born into a noble family, but is physically disabled and is often mocked or insulted for it. In context, Richard uses the phrase 'since I cannot prove a lover' less as a complaint about his love life and more as a general example of how he has doesn't fit in with his peers. Basically, "You don't accept me? I'll make that everyone's problem."
"How sweet a thing it is to wear a crown..." Both of them survived trauma and violence, which was directed at them by people against whom they were powerless at the time. Gortash was sold to Raphael as a child and spent years as a target of every kind of abuse his master deigned to throw at him. Richard saw his father and brother brutally tortured, then murdered by the queen of their country, while he could do nothing to stop it. In both cases they internalized at a young age that violence = power = safety.
"Was ever woman in this humour won? (...) I, that kill'd her husband and his father, to take her in her heart's extremest hate (...) and yet to win her, all the world to nothing!" Both Richard and Gortash are platinum-tier smooth-talkers, who are skilled at getting other people to act the way they want through use of charming words. Richard shoots his shot with Anne despite the fact that she knows full well he murdered her last husband and she literally spent the first half of the scene wishing death on him. But by the end of the scene he's convinced her to marry him. Gortash, similarly, can talk the player character around to siding with him against the Elder Brain in spite of having just spent the first 2 act of the games trying to unravel his evil plots. Why? Because they're both just. that. smooth. They both have a way of manipulating others with a smile and good cheer - they sound so reasonable, even when you KNOW you shouldn't listen to them.
"Why strew'st thou sugar on that bottled spider, whose deadly web ensnareth thee about? Fool, fool! thou whet'st a knife to kill thyself." Both of them have are underestimated partly because of their ability to be charming, and partly because of their status as outsiders. Gortash because of his working class background, and Richard because of his disabilities. In both cases, there are people who find them repulsive but generally toothless (Queen Elizabeth and Ulder Ravengard respectively) who live to regret it. In both cases there are also people who ring the alarm bell that this creep is up to no good, but who aren't heeded soon enough.
"And thou unfit for any place but hell." "Yes, one place else, if you will hear me name it." "Some dungeon." "Your bed-chamber." They both have a little bit of that freak in them and seem to get off on trying to fuck people who want them dead. See: Richard with Anne. Durgetash in general.
"I'll be at charges for a looking-glass, and entertain some score or two of tailors." Gortash and Richard are both exceptionally well-dressed, to the point of vanity. Gortash is described as handsome in the game, but even fans who dig him can admit that he has a very unconventional style of attractiveness. His teeth are discolored, his skin is blotchy, he's pushing late middle age, and he's got the sort of flat features that other fans have pointed out are typical of boxers and other people who've gotten punched in the face a lot. Similarly, Richard is described as hunchbacked and with features so deformed that 'dogs bark at (him) as (he) passes by'. Yet, despite not being conventionally pretty, both of them seem to spend a lot of money on their clothes. ... this is getting long, so I'm going to end this here. Might do a part 2 later if the brainrot is still upon me.
A Halfling Cleric (least played race and class combo!) main character with nuanced morality, a layered backstory, and who engages in sincere, messy non-monogamy
Humor in conversations, from puns to jokes to Enver Gortash deadpan snarking at the Morninglord Lathander himself
A serious, nuanced look at how an ascension-chasing Astarion would be in a relationship
A Tavtash pairing that makes sense with the underlying character motivations while still respecting a historical (and future) Durgetash pairing
Melting hot smut in multiple pairings and scenarios that fit into the story as a whole
A full chapter dedicated to the Temple of Bhaal and the emotional Descent to the Underworld experience of a Reject-intending Dark Urge
An ending where we don't have to choose between the Emperor and Orpheus!
Roah Moonglow enjoying milk tea. Yes, that's an entire bullet point on its own. Y'all don't give enough love to her
Lots of DnD lore shout-outs, from the MC's deity to Barovian implications to reminding everyone that their favorite new-beginnings god has a cataclysm named for him
I talk up A Little Wicked a lot, and that's because it deserves it. It's a longer fic, 57,000 words in eleven easy-to-split-up chapters. It's an act 3 rewrite, with no copied scenes, but with new spins on many in-game events (let's just blow a hole in the Szarr Palace lmao,) and it's written by someone who genuinely likes and understands all the characters they write about. It's my first novel-length fic, and anyone who drops in my DMs about it raves about how emotionally invested they become, how true the characters are to the game, how this little fellow Zefira Shadebrook is someone they come to love!
I know, maybe people are like "eh, a halfling having sex" - but give me a chance, please! If you love Durgetash, if you love the bastard Enver Gortash, if you can just try one Tavtash story (that ends in Durgetash!) and give me a chance to impress you, please try reading A Little Wicked. It will be worth your time.
What if this is Gortash's way of having a plan to betray the others. Just as Durge is planning to end the world, with himself and Gortash as the last living beings, what if Gortash was planning on "liberating" Durge from their bhaalspawn flesh and blood. Durge would be a part of Enver's perfect order. Maybe both of them are hatching plans to subvert the other for their cause, tyranny and murder respectively. This is a wild rabbit hole indeed.
Let's say, Durge somehow defies daddy Bhaal and Gortash does not bite the grass.
Let's say, despite tireless efforts Bhaal doesn't rly like letting go of his kids, esp not those crafted from his own flesh and blood.
Let's also say, Gortash, the mad unethical scientist, would find 'ways' for Durge to get rid of the burden that is their Bhaalspawn body (essence may be gone but that body still Bhaals property technically).
And now, cuz I'm feeling funny, what if the Steelwatch and the whole consciousness/souls bit Gortash got going on is precisely with that in mind? After all, Gortash is a tyrant obsessed with freedom. And Durge is his equal. So of course he'd assist in their escape from their own hell, too. And if what they need is a new vessel to store their consciousness, well, Gortash and his mechanical puppets are happy to oblige.
I'm onto smth I know it (and this is definitely not just a scrapped ending that I've been reconsidering again)
Another thing about Yurena's horns decorations/jewelry, since it's all from Gortash. For a long time she just had the two rings, then eventually a chain around one of them too. But in the current day she also has little studs in her horns, which are also from Gortash, naturally. It took a long time for Gortash to even suggest such a thing, and even longer for Yurena to agree to it, because I imagine tiefling horns are like goat horns and therefore have nerves and shit (read; putting something like those studs in would hurt). And like Yurena has no problems with pain, both having a high pain tolerance and generally not finding pain as a bad feeling, but to trust someone to potentially hurt her like that? It took a while, not to mention Gortash insisted on spending plenty of time so close to make sure each stud was perfectly placed, perfectly symmetrical
Gortash: I'm not hurting you, am I?
Yurena: You'd be bleeding by now if I cared
Gortash: I didn't ask if you care, just if it hurts
Yurena: I'm not the first tiefling you've met
Gortash: You're the first one whose horns I've touched. It's never come up before
Yurena: If you must know, fine. Yes, there's pain each time the jewelry is put in. Be careful closer to the base of them if you care about it so much
Gortash was in fact extremely careful. At the end of it all, Yurena has more horn decorations to treasure and Gortash is left admiring his art - and Yurena
My biggest head canon for my Durge and Gortash is that Gortash was the one that decorated her horns. Yurena wears chains and rings and stuff on her horns and I fully believe Gortash started that with the rings, he probably was given some silver rings but he likes gold so he just.. put them on Yurena's horns. Something like this;
Gortash: I have no need for these, and silver would look good on you. Would you like them?
Yurena: Your fingers are much larger than mine
Gortash: Ah, right. Hm. Here, I have an idea *puts a ring on each of her horns* see? They look lovely like that
Yurena:
Yurena: Do you have more
Picture of Yurena below to show off her horn jewelry
Fun fact everyone when I found out there's no way to save him I stopped playing that run for a week and made a new save because I hated it that much
I do refuse to acknowledge the death of Gortash. I shall feign that his demise be but a Mandela effect.
Currently writing a sort of continuation Durgetash AU where my Durge character (Yurena, because she's my main Durge character so why not) convinces Withers to bring Gortash back after everything that happens, and the two of them (now both having been given new life) are free from their gods and decide to simply travel Faerûn. In it I lean into them putting old skills to new use, and that leads to Gortash inventing a camera for Yurena. This is essentially how him showing her it goes
Gortash: I made this, you can look through this lens and then click this button and it will take a picture of whatever you see through the lens. I'm working on a device that connects to it to see all the pictures you take but for now you can see them on this too Yurena: *staring at him through the camera* This is so sweet of you, what made you do this? Gortash: Well a while back you said something about wanting to capture a moment forever, and I wanted to make that happen for you. Plus I always have admired that creative spark of yours, now you can make the beauty you see last forever. Anyway I started thinking about what I could- Yurena: *click* Gortash: ...what was that Yurena: You said I can make anything beautiful last forever Gortash: My dear, I'm honored, may I see the picture Yurena: Sure Gortash: *staring at the picture of him mid sentence, not at all posed for a picture*
And that is how Yurena gets Gortash to be speechless for a solid minute because he can't decide if he hates the picture because of how unflattering it is or if he loves it because he knows she's seeing the beauty of his mind at work and it's such a wonderful feeling to be loved
I should post about Yurena soon like I did for Echo
Oh how do I know I have a really bad hyperfixation character? My coworker got me a sticker of him. And when she gave me the sticker I did a little stompy feet stim and immediately felt pain in my bad leg but that's fine, I have a Gortash sticker now. Look at him, look at how cute he is
I need 20 more
"What's on your mind?" Oh nothing just that Durge knew their feelings for Gortash were wrong in Bhaal's eyes but all they could do was ask for forgiveness. It wasn't the admiration that was wrong, the connection with another person, but rather that Gortash is the Chosen of Bane. "Forgive me, Father, for I cannot help but admire the Chosen of your sworn foe: Enver Gortash."
These two are all I think about anymore. They make me sick. I love them
Thinking about how on more than one occasion my favorite character from a piece of media has been a dark haired man that the fandom and/or my friends compare to some sort of nuisance animal (rat, raccoon, etc), is one of if not the primary villain of their media but is not introduced in the beginning, but instead has a very short appearance semi early on, then truly shows up later, also is genuinely a genius but also is a little silly sometimes, and also is devoted to his god while being able to be read as having a god complex
This is such a specific type but something something two nickels, or in this case two husbands
Gortash fans are saying this?! Gortash fans?! Fans of a guy:
-Who violated Karlach's bodily autonomy
-Sold Karlach into slavery
-Who experimented on people
-Streamlined the interrogation of people's brains in a jar by using an elven woman's head to voice their thoughts in that Mindflayer pit. One of those brains was a child's by the way.
-Ran a dictatorship through the Steel Watch with innocent civilian brains running them
-Whose own fans admit that part of Gortash's appeal is his "rapey" look?!
And they have the gall to act self righteous about nonexistent creepy behavior from a character?!
I fucking HATE the Facebook girlies sometimes.
Ripped this from the comments of a post in a Gortash simp group that was talking about which of them smelled better/worse
The amount of people who think he's creepy TRULY confuses me. Like where do you get this from, who hurt you????
He's an autistic man who loves animals and nature and has a soft spot for orphaned children????? If you romance him, he is the most loving, comforting, and supportive character in the game and is ALL ABOUT CONSENT????? And you think he's A CREEPY PREDATOR????
A silly comic of the Chosen playing Minecraft..