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and so begins our tyranny,

[banites]

#BANITES. private, mutually exclusive lord enver gortash of baldur's gate 3. written by cole ( he / they ). spoilers are present but tagged bg3 spoilers /. violence in pursuit of power. headcanons.

blogroll: lehyndell, seeblood.

rules below cut.

disclaimer: i am currently in the process of, rather quickly, moving across the country. my activity varies heavily, and often i'm lurking if looking at tumblr at all. discord is available to mutuals. i am moving october 1. activity will likely not pick back up until mid-october.

i. cole. they / he. 28. this blog is very private and low activity, mostly for friends. i tend to post a lot of ooc. i am using the beta editor. if you knew a cole before, it was probably me. please do not interact with posts if we are not mutuals.

ii. i usually default to second person pov and present tense when writing. you don't have to match, it's just easier for me to write in. i double space words as it helps me read larger sections of text better.

iii. i tag triggers as tag /. please tag nsfw for me with something simple and easy to block.

v. gortash is a follower of bane. he takes it very seriously. he is not a kind or gentle person but can be reasoned with. heavy themes will be present.

v. gortash is bisexual. he has no preference. he is also late 30s-ish. i'm happy to ship with people i'm comfortable with ooc, and i will ship with multiple tavs due to the nature of the game. however, no ship will be inherently healthy. it requires a lot of comfort for me to explore that. in terms of canon characters, i'm typically ship - exclusive.

v. i don't usually follow duplicates.

[banites]

BANITES. private and not spoiler free, but tagged blog for lord enver gortash from baldur's gate 3. written by cole.

[banites]

hello i am moved (and very tired)

[banites]

today is the day 🫡 see you all when ive landed in another province

[banites]

are you okay with duplicates following if they're a multimuse?

ahh yes! and im happy to interact w ur other muses!!

[banites]

ok folks i leave in one week for my move, and im gonna be in a car more or less the entire week following. im still cleaning and nowhere near packed so this is more of an official notice irt activity. its already been low because of this, but i won't be looking at tumblr much until i get settled in about two weeks! discord is available, i'll still be pretty scarce there too though

[bhaals-deactivated20231113]

[drathe]

the cycle

Enver and Urge had really shitty childhoods ngl

[banites]

given the lore and my own belief that bane helped gortash escape the hells to begin with, i think the crown of karsus heist came quite a bit latter. it required careful planning. but, before that, bane gave the idea of joining with bhaal's chosen to steal power for themselves. or bane and bhaal came to that decision together. however, lore books seem to imply that regardless of how the dead three came about the decision, gortash was the one to approach durge.

the timeline is so weird to figure out but. i think it would've been before gortash was making any sort of political play for power.

either way, the plot itself wasn't figured out until they stole the crown. there's the lore book that says gortash found a diary in stash where the crown was kept by mephistopheles gave him the idea for the absolute. he took it and made it a reality, better than he could have imagined. once again it seems like myrkul was an afterthought, because ketheric didn't become his chosen until isobel was raised, and the whole plot began.

but anyway. gortash viewed the durge as a confidant, of sorts. dialogue certainly implies he thought highly of them, and considered them a valued ally, if not friend. i think he really did see the two of them claiming it all together, with or without ketheric - i think he was rather inconsequential to gortash. but durge on the other hand, they got along. they were powerful together. he wanted to see them flourish the same way he wants baldur's gate to.

when it comes to writing w durges the exact approach/dynamic obviously can change but overall i see a very cautious approach, with durge seemingly aware that they are going to be approached by bane's chosen, and has some idea of the initial use of the crown.

the religious hoax was not the original plan and one day i will be able to piece together my thoughts on the original use of the crown eugh

[banites]

BANITES. private and not spoiler free, but tagged blog for lord enver gortash from baldur's gate 3. written by cole.

[bhaalswn-arch]

There's evident frustration in his gaze, and a murderous reflection represented in his eyes at that response, or the lack of information. ( You are so very tempted to drag your hands down your face. For once in your life, the urge did not command you to murder. This is your own intentional thought. ) As papers were passed, Alkas snatched them. "I fail to understand certain ciphers that you deliberately put in. The codes. This and that. I understand some, but it is not enough to make me remember. Do you understand that? Your face. You're a stranger to me. You should be a stranger to me. Yet you're more involved in my past and I need answers. Also, please. Don't give a shit about my choice of ink now."

[banites]

there it is, you spy it. the familiar glint of something more sinister. something you grew so fond of. it's reassuring to see the glimpses, to know not all has been lost to a plot you had no hand in. nature persists, and it is a relief. attention shifts again, back to the papers. to the plot you did design.

‘ all you need to do is ask your questions, not demand you remember it all in an instant. ’ you feel discontent of your own, lips twisting in a sneer. he does not need to remind you that you have become little more than a stranger. a shadow, eclipsing his memory. you could reveal it, step aside and pull back the curtain, but it comes with risks. for yourself, for alkas' wellbeing. you have to guide him, carefully, back to his rightful place.

‘ the ciphers were hidden in each letter. never the same as the one before it, but some repeated. ’ you are curt. shoulders straighten with a deep inhale. ‘ despite what you might think, this is no game to me. of course i'm involved — you were important and still remain integral to the success of our plan. ’ your chin raises. ‘ these letters should make that clear enough. ’

[banites]

all i have to say is gortash is a freak

[nevarroes]

some proper gander

[banites]

hmm i need to think more on it but. i think bane helped gortash leave hell behind. like... giving him that escape, in return for being his chosen. and he already was on the right track for it to begin with, thanks to his anger and general ego and miserable attitude as a child. it lent to his new-found role.

he gained power and skill through weapons dealing and slaves. what doesn't make much sense for me is him being a "known slaver" yet the city wilingly supports him — i think it makes more sense for it to be a rumour, a possibility, that people found difficult to believe when he did return to baldur's gate with how he presented himself. he was a very known, prolific weapons dealer and designer without question, though.

when he did return he immediately took to politics. i don't think it was quick, though, going from a returning citizen to possible leader. i think it was a slower development, gaining trust and favour with the city for quite awhile before the absolute plot began

[aioniopyr]

my favorite assassin

[banites]

in the same vein gortash is on the cusp between neutral evil and lawful evil

[banites]

if gortash had to follow a philosophy of how society works...which one do you think he'd agree with most

it's not exact but the closest is karl popper's negative utilitarianism. at least, as gortash would understand it.

negative utilitarianism focuses on minimizing suffering. increasing happiness is secondary, but a possible, coincidental by-product of reducing suffering. it comes after.

"he's a tyrant, he doesn't want to reduce suffering" wrong he wants to improve the city. he wants to improve baldur's gate. he wants it to be a beacon of pride and power. he says that specifically, that he wants to lead baldur's gate to glory and not scorched earth.

gortash genuinely wants to see baldur's gate prosper, he just believes it must be done through his rule and his alone. it's not even necessarily with an iron fist — he wouldn't get the same support he wants if he was outright tyrannical. it's subtle. it's manipulated. it's won through dubious means. i think it's possible that his rule would become more brutal but to start, he can't operate that way. he wants control, he cannot maintain control if he forces people to suffer his rule.

"human suffering makes a direct moral appeal for help, while there is no similar call to increase the happiness of a man who is doing well anyway" is from a quote from popper about negative utilitarianism. again, i think it's very self-serving and warped for gortash. the actual morality of it for himself is questionable, and not something he's overly compelled to do, but he can see how it benefits himself.

to benefit himself he has to operate in a way that benefits the city and its people, or else it will not prosper the way he believes he deserves. his steel watch are the perfect way. the steel watchers are to reduce crime and uproar. they are meant to maintain order and protect gortash. and in a sense, everything with duke ravengard can also be seen through negative utilitarianism — he had to die/be removed, so that suffering could be reduced. because gortash is, ultimately, what's best for the city.

putting the suffering of the city first and focusing on reducing that ultimately increases his own happiness too👍