Talk:Ansur

Hi all, more info about why I made my latest edit coming soon. Gotta make dinner first. ArcaneFocus (talk) 03:09, 26 September 2023 (CEST)

Dissecting Ansur

Hi all, ArcaneFocus here. After my latest edits to the hotly contested history of Balduran and Ansur, I wanted to document my justifications here (because when I don't write it down I have the memory of a goldfish).

1. First and foremost, I think Ansur's page should be about Ansur's story. The Emperor and Balduran have their own pages to potentially debate their story and perceptions of events on.
2. Regardless of how you, personally interpret The Emperor, there are many reasons to label him as being an "unreliable narrator." I find the TVTropes page on this idea to be very helpful ([Tropes - Unreliable Narrator]) but to me this means that we should avoid treating The Emperor's words as *undeniable facts* in terms of interpreting exactly what happened or what emotions were felt in the events leading up to Ansur's death.
3. Ansur tells us a number of things in his "own words" that we can still use to write "Ansur's Story" and describe Ansur's perception of events while completely avoiding questions of whether or not we believe The Emperor.

Ansur's own words. Put into a spoilerbox because quotes are big.

Spoiler warning! This section reveals details about the story of Baldur's Gate 3.

"I am Ansur, Heart of the Gate - butchered in flesh, risen in spirit."

"Answer me, faessi: why have you come?"

• Draconic dictionary says that "faessi" means coward.

"Vrak. My words aren't meant for you - they're meant for him."

• Draconic dictionary says that "Vrak" means child.

"Have you come to dance on my bones, Balduran? Was slaying me not satisfaction enough?"

• Confirms that Ansur still sees The Emperor as being the same person as Balduran.
• Confirms that Ansur identifies The Emperor as being his killer.

"You had every choice. You were becoming illithid. I offered you merciful death; you chose to fight."

• Implies that Ansur has a negative opinion of illithids.
• Confirms that Ansur sees his attempt to kill The Emperor as a "merciful death."

"I gave you everything, Balduran - and you repaid me in slaughter."

• Confirms that Ansur is still mad at The Emperor, as if that isn't obvious enough.
• Once again, Ansur still believes that The Emperor and Balduran are the same person, regardless of whether or not that is actually true in whatever story the game has.

As always, please feel free to ping me on the discord if you have additional thoughts. ArcaneFocus (talk) 04:09, 26 September 2023 (CEST)