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#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.

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.

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.

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.