Hi, I'm Elinor! Baldur's Gate 3 and the Dark Urge x Enver Gortash still has me in a chokehold. My writing is on AO3 (also as elinorbard), mostly rated Mature or Explicit.
✨ recent fics: ✨
Heaven Is Not Fit to Hold Us (Explicit, Ch. 8 / ??, post-canon) The brain is defeated, Baldur's Gate is burning, and Ta'av is reeling in the aftermath. With her last link to her past severed, she faces an impossible choice: does she try to be the hero that others seem to think she is, or does she defy fate and the gods in pursuit of her heart's desire?
Body Count (Mature, 1k, during canon) Elegy, the Dark Urge, paves her path back to Baldur's Gate with corpses—and lovers. A 10x100 drabble sequence.
That Deathless Death (Explicit, 5k, pre-canon) Elegy, the Dark Urge, seeks out her ally, Enver Gortash, and finds his god waiting for her instead.
The Heart Cannot Be Broken (Mature, 2.5k, post-canon) The Netherbrain was defeated, but Archduke Enver Gortash rules Baldur's Gate with an iron fist. In the face of betrayal and tyranny, Wyll chooses resistance and hope. (A gift for incognito_ghost!).
✨ elinorbard's masterlist: ✨
series: sex and violence, one is just the other (Dark Urge/Gortash) ✨
I Knew You When (Mature, 8.6k, Act 3) Ta'av, the Dark Urge, confronts Gortash and discovers the truth about their past.
A Banite and A Bhaalist (Mature, 5.1k, pre-canon) Gortash meets a captivating Bhaalist who is nothing like he expected.
Bad Idea (Explicit, 10.7k, Act 3) Ta'av gambles on her newly discovered connection with Gortash and makes things messier than ever.
get in my bed, I wanna kill you (Mature, 7.9k, pre-canon) Gortash tests the boundaries of his alliance with the Dark Urge - and the limits of her temper.
A House, A Home (Explicit, 21k/3 chapters, Act 3) After visiting the House of Hope, Ta'av lets Gortash draw her back into the mystery of their shared past.
our strange duet (Explicit, 8.4k, pre-canon) Gortash hires the Dark Urge to assassinate one of his rivals in a way that happens to require a night at the opera.
what she came for (Explicit, 7.6k, pre-canon) Gortash finds his life disrupted when the Dark Urge decides to bring him three gifts. (Gortoween: A Bloody Mess)
Guilty Pleasure (Explicit, 8.4k, Act 3) One bad decision gets Ta'av arrested. Several more get her brought before Gortash to beg for her freedom.
Blood, Iron, and Rot (Explicit, 13k/2 chapters, pre-canon) Gortash and Ta'av travel to Moonrise Towers to forge an alliance, and their partnership is irrevocably changed.
Dead Girl Walking (Mature, 8k, Act 3) Ta'av descends into the Undercity for a long overdue reckoning with Orin the Red, and Gortash finds her in the aftermath.
Marked, Mine (Explicit, 2.3k, pre-canon) Ta'av makes sure her lover will always know he belongs to her. An expansion of a flashback from A House, A Home. (Durgetash Week 2025, Day 2: Domestic/Bondage)
A Little Prayer (Explicit, 5.8k, pre-canon) Gortash's work is interrupted when Ta'av seeks out his help with a new kind of uncontrollable urge.
Masquerade (burning faces, turning heads) (Explicit, 2.7k, pre-canon) Ta'av and Gortash attend a masquerade ball in celebration of a momentous victory. (Durgetash Week 2025, Day 4: Masquerade/Voyeurism)
the best of you belongs to me (Explicit, 2.9k, Act 3) Unable to sleep, Ta'av goes for a walk in the middle of the night. Gortash isn't pleased.
Chosen (Explicit, 11k, pre-canon) Gortash and Ta'av achieve their greatest triumph… and Gortash meets the Chosen of Bhaal, again.
Choice (Mature, 1.8k, Act 3) Ta'av and Gortash confront each other while Baldur's Gate sits on the edge of ruin. (Gortash Week: Ruler/Redemption)
Heaven Is Not Fit to Hold Us (Explicit, Ch. 8 / ??, post-canon) The Netherbrain is defeated, Baldur's Gate is burning, and Ta'av is reeling in the aftermath. With her last link to her past now severed, she faces an impossible choice: does she try to be the hero that others seem to think she is, or does she defy fate and the gods in pursuit of her heart's desire?
series: death and politics (Dark Urge/Gortash, modern AU and canon) ✨
Deadly Ambition (Explicit, 55k over 13 chapters, AU) U.S. Congressman Enver Gortash eagerly accepts Governor Richard Bhaal’s invitation to join his presidential campaign as his running-mate. In the process, he discovers the true mastermind behind the campaign: Bhaal's daughter, Elegy, who is as ruthless as she is charming. Together, they will do anything it takes to win the election… but will their web of deals and deception fall apart when they find themselves relentlessly drawn to each other?
Congressman Gortash's Office (Explicit, 2.7k, AU) Elegy Bhaal stops by the office of Congressman Enver Gortash; smut ensues. (Gortash Week: AU/Dealer's Choice)
Cold, Cold Heart (Mature, 4.3k, pre-canon) Gortash is confronted by the leader of the cult of Bhaal, and he is determined to find her again, despite her warnings. (Durgetash Week 2025, Day 1: First Impressions)
The Lamb and the Knife (Mature, 3k, pre-canon and canon) A story of Orin the Red, her sister Elegy, and the tragedy that befalls all children of Bhaal. Written for the Dead Three zine, Blood, Bones, and Tyranny.
That Deathless Death (Explicit, 5k, pre-canon) Elegy, the Dark Urge, seeks out her ally, Enver Gortash, and finds his god waiting for her instead.
Body Count (Mature, 1k, during canon) Elegy, the Dark Urge, paves her path back to Baldur's Gate with corpses—and lovers. A 10x100 drabble sequence.
other fics ✨
The Heart Cannot Be Broken (Mature, 2.5k, post-canon) The Netherbrain was defeated, but Archduke Enver Gortash rules Baldur's Gate with an iron fist. In the face of betrayal and tyranny, Wyll chooses resistance and hope. (A gift for incognito_ghost for the BW3 fic exchange!)
revenge tastes sweet and so are you (Dark Urge/Gortash; Mature, 1.5k) Gortash reunites with his favorite assassin. A companion piece to Black-Eyed Susan by flamemittens for the Love in Faerun exchange.
Hunger for Blood (Dark Urge/Astarion; Explicit, Chapters: 8 / ??) Astarion and the Dark Urge discover they have a hunger for each other and a hunger for blood.
My other loves include: D&D 5e; Critical Role; Kushiel's Legacy; The Witcher; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Ninth House; Stardew Valley; LOTR; ASOIAF.
“I have something important to tell you but can’t message u pls message me ” - accidentally reported you scam
“I love your story and want to illustrate it dm me at discord” - commissioner scam
“I saw your post looking for artists to draw (x) and would love to draw it it sounds like a lovely idea and im an artist” - commissioner scammer who DM’d you when you didn’t ask
“Did you send me this link for free tumblr premium?” - accidentally reported you scam
“ your account is limited please kindly verify at (scam link)” - verification scam
In my short time on Tumblr ive noticed that you all are very fond of gortashes titties. Hrm. interesting. Needless to say this will be going in everyones file.
canon is what happens in the text. e.g. merlin tries to poison morgana
a headcanon is a fact that you have personally made up as an elaboration of canon. it is your invention. e.g. i think morgana and gwen had a teenage lesbian situationship before the events of canon. or, i think modern morgana would love evanesence.
an interpretation is how one reads the existing text. it is not an invented fact nor is it a headcanon, it is a reading. e.g. i think merlin tries to poison morgana out of misplaced self-hatred. or, i think that one line was delivered with suppressed malice and shows a nuanced relationship.
fanon is the general fandom’s accepted headcanons and interpretations that elaborate or recontextualize canon. e.g. merlin is a badass waif and morgana is a bitch.
these are all different words with different meanings.
"They’re both so performative, but in opposite directions. Astarion performs confidence and seduction because it kept him alive. Gale performs competence and charm because he is terrified of being useless, dangerous, or unwanted. They’d annoy each other SO much at first because each one can see the other doing the act and thinks, gods, is that what I look like?
But underneath all the vanity and sarcasm, there’s such a good emotional match. Gale is patient and romantic and wants to give love in tangible ways - food, words, magic, comfort. Astarion is wary as hell, but he also craves luxury and safety and attention so badly. Gale would make him feel cherished. Astarion would make Gale feel desired without worship involved, which is probably exactly what Gale needs after Mystra."
"gale choosing humanity over the crown, astarion choosing freedom over ascension, both of them stepping away from the huge tempting power-up that would make them “safe” by making them worse. there’s something really lovely in them building a smaller life after all that. and it would still be funny, obviously. astarion in waterdeep being dramatic about the weather, gale trying to introduce him to respectable wizard society, astarion immediately insulting three academics and charming the fourth. gale apologises with his mouth and looks proud with his whole face"
vs. Karlach/Wyll
"I mean, those two are almost implied in the Blade of Avernus, Karlach and Wyll traversing hells together ending. Karlach's dialogue about doing this with someone she loves is both in romanced Karlach ending, and if she's just with Wyll! Karlach was my first romance, and when I saw a non-romanced Karlach and Wyll epilogue for the first time, I just felt such a "it should've been me! Not him!" feeling that it's hard to say there's nothing there. Also, Karlach has been through tough times. She deserves a fairytale prince to sweep her off her feet - what companion doesn't, really, but still. Also, Karlach will stand up for Wyll when he gets too self-sacrificing, I'm sure of that, and he deserves that, too. They're dear to each other, is all I know, and they'd be good together. After they get out of Avernus, I'm sure they could have a good, comfortable life in Baldur's Gate, adventuring, and when needing a break, having a nice house in the upper city to belong to."
I wanted to add more Wyllach propaganda! They're so fun because their stories are already DEEPLY intertwined. You know that post that goes
the most compelling ships for me always stem out of one thing: the characters have a profound, ongoing effect on each other's sense of selves. when they are apart, the characters' actions are still affected by each other. the way they approach the world changes because of the other.
That's Wyllach, in the actual text of the game. We see this happen for them, even if you don't play their romance!
Karlach begins the game having lost EVERYTHING to betrayal. She has unwillingly been stolen away and made into a monster, and her heart is literally and figuratively dying because of it. There is no future for her. But she is mad enough to fight! She wants to believe the world is better than it is, and she wants, very badly, to have a chance to live in it.
In Wyll, she finds someone fighting for that better world to exist -- and he chooses, again and again, to put himself on the line for HER future, too. She's spent ten miserable years alone as Hell's unwilling soldier, and it would be so easy to give in to cynicism and rage. But a world with people like Wyll in it? That's a world worth believing in.
Wyll begins the game larger than life: a dashing hero, a monster hunter, the savior of refugees -- but the paladin he seems to be is marred by the man he actually is. He has dealt with a devil for the power he uses to save people. More than anything, he wants to do good, but a devil's pact leads so easily to evil, no? His patron deceived him into hunting Karlach; he spares her, but in seven years of deception, how many other Karlachs did he not see?
In Karlach, he finds clarity and strength. She is kind and good despite everything, and she will never submit to the circumstances that have trapped her. To be the hero he wants to be, he MUST change, even though it will mean enduring punishment and horror -- but it's worth it to ensure people like Karlach have the chance to live.
They have both been isolated, deceived, and chucked into the blender, but in each other, they find a kindred spirit. As the game shows:
Wyll sacrifices his own humanity and hard-won reputation as a hero to ensure Karlach has a future.
And even though Karlach would canonically prefer to die rather than go back to the Hells that shackled her, she would do it to save him. (A lemure is a mindless devil that other devils enslave for the war effort.)
By the end of the game, Wyll is the only person outside of the PC who can convince Karlach to live. He offers protection and companionship knowing he has grown into someone who can actually keep those promises, and she will walk back into Hell on the strength of her belief in him.
And AS A FINAL BONUS, they also have a custom, just-for-them set of epilogue animations if they have romanced each other! Wyll blows a kiss and Karlach catches it, which is the cutest thing in the world.
It's like I always sometimes say: vote Wyllach! <3
okay not to ocpost again but the worst thing about having an oc is sometimes they become The Character to you. and you need to talk to someone about it like wow I can’t stop thinking about The Character… but in order to do so you have to like sit them down and explain everything about your oc first. and then it’s just you explaining your writing ideas. i need to talk about them the same way i would talk about any random character i love to someone.
we need to bring back old school tumblr communication and im so serious. sending an ask to a mutual just to say hello. seeing three different asks in your inbox all asking how your dentist appointment went. seeing a post you think one of your mutuals would enjoy and tagging them/sending it to them in the dms. nowadays its just silently liking a post or (if youre feeling extreme) replying under posts. WHAT HAPPENED TO US!! we used to be a proper community!!!! #LetsBringWhimsyBack
it’s so special to me that so much of fan culture is textual analysis for the love of the game. like thank god there are people in my phone who are also thinking about this thing i love so much that they are writing transformative fiction as character studies and setting clips of the show to music with theme-relevant lyrics and writing long text posts analyzing every line of dialogue like!! yay!!!
like even if we ignore covid & the flu, which is what most people mean when they ask this sort of thing, that is just the nature of human history. there's many other things you can "get" and any of them can cause permanent injury. we are SO lax about "stomach flu" but getting norovirus multiple times is Not Good.
luckily we have power to lessen the risks, even if you're unwilling or unable to mask. Such steps include: Washing your hands.
everyone get more educated about public health NOW.
