#from what i've seen in playthroughs

[permanentlylatetotheparty]

aloy would have LOVED rollercoasters

[front-facing-pokemon]

[ratcandy]

you all know that one vine. i couldn't stop thinking about it while doing this storyline (tobe clear sozo is my wife)

[optiwashere]

Huh, I didn't even realize it'd been a year since BG3 came out until I opened tumblr this morning. Kinda wild. I didn't think much of the game's release: I like Larian's games, and I like the BG series. I wasn't ever going to skip the game, but I didn't think I'd play it at launch because I was busy working on a novel in 2023 and not doing well financially.

Thankfully, circumstances left me with a little bit of extra money last year just before launch and it meant I could spend on a video game. I needed a pick-me-up after said 2023 novel failed to go anywhere, and BG3 was right there. Like most CRPGs, I played it in basically every moment of free time that I had and did as much as I possibly could in one playthrough.

It's so odd how these small happenstances can snowball into coming back to fandom, finding some friends I might've never met otherwise, and writing a lot of fanfiction along the way. I'll probably have something more interesting to say/share when it's the 14th, AKA when I sat down and wrote my first fic for this fandom.

Anyways, it's been a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to more years to come 💜

[pinkyjulien]

There is something really comfy about Lucanis being a ~30 something year old man confirmed to be demisexual and a virgin

[artsyaprilmr]

made Ashxen in veilguard, she's the protagonist now instead of her brother 🥰

[scarlettfevor]

I just beat cyberpunk 77 (for technically the second time because I got the devil first but I couldn't stand to let that be V's ending so I redid it to get the star ending) and,,,,,, absolutely my favorite game I played this year. I can't believe I caught this game for $20. I'm obsessed with the cyberpunk world and am already planning to watch the anime,,,,insane

[usurpator]

RE puzzles are great

[knightlybutch]

[image description: a screenshot from baldurs gate 3, showing a tiefling character with scarred grey-ish teal skin, very short dark blue hair, and glowing cyan eyes. they have deep blue tattoos and freckles on the face, with a scar across their cheek and nose. their horns are grey. end description.]

i'm not very far into the game yet but here's my tiefling paladin. their name is jay, like a blue jay!

[magiefish]

Justine Florbelle is a remorseless sadist and Amnesia: Justine never attempts to devalue or underplay that about her character, but they also provide her with a fair bit of nuance through her backstory and her interactions with her father. Instead of treating her like a child, he treated her more like a science experiment, and in *some* way (that ranges from just off-handed comments to maybe CSA) always devalued and compared her to her mother, at least from her perspective. She's obviously insecure about it -- the whole "my beauty is blinding" bit -- and her egotism seems half-genuine and half-a defense mechanism against those insecurities by bragging about how intelligent and beautiful she is all the time. She also seems to have a close relationship and perhaps genuine affection for Clarice, though this is also tied up to a certain extent in her egotism. Above all else: she strikes me as genuinely lonely. I think its one of the things scrawled on the walls just before you escape the dungeon. She has all of this power and control, this supposed beauty and intelligence, but, at the end of the day, she is still completely isolated because, at the end of the day, she doesn't actually understand other people and they don't understand her.

Other than the horrific murder and violence, she feels like a surprisingly empathetic depiction of someone with low-empathy and/or a personality disorder because the story is genuinely invested in examining how these things not only negatively affect those around her, but also herself, which is absolutely not something you see that often! She conducts an entire batshit amnesia psychology experiment on herself in order to see whether or not there's any good inside of her and literally insults herself via recording while its happening, and even if she immediately reverts back to doing evil right afterwards, it definitely does come from a place, I think, of genuine insecurity and perhaps regret for a person she couldn't be. Furthermore, the game, via this amnesia plotline, does very much raise the question of whether or not Justine was predestined to simply be an evil person because of her low-empathy or if it was her father's treatment of her because of it that made her this way.

But, of course, there is still the horrific murder and violence, and the game never underplays that. For as sympathetic as Justine is, it never takes agency away from her by suggesting it was simply all her father's fault. She is a genuinely evil person who makes awful choices, and she is allowed to own that entirely without the story 'woobifying' or softening it in any way, without ever giving her the option of redemption or a last minute change of heart or some sort of mollifying 'maternal instinct,' while also deftly avoiding just making her a stock femme fatale dominatrix by giving her a degree of psychological complexity and even tragedy. And I cannot emphasize how rare that is for a female character and how absolutely baffled I am that it came out of a DLC for a video game released in 2011. It's fucking 2011 and these guys have more nuanced ideas and depictions of someone who might have ASPD than you guys do now! What are you doing!

STOP this is the feminism checkpoint. you have to comment something you like about a flawed female character. or explode

[mimiyanna]

I liked Hythlodaeus a lot more when I thought he was a woman. :/

[lotuslia]

With all these screenshots I took yesterday I can pretend they're all in the game <33 Sibling trio would definitely all be part of the chase, if one of them is involved.

(I couldn't get Yuni's vallaslin to be white without it becoming invisible sdjhfg and his front braids are missing but oh well)

[cibulovychleba]

To any kcd and hansry enjoyers coming across this post who have seen kcd only in English, I need you to know what you're missing.

Hans Capon is in Czech called Jan Ptáček

Jan has a few name variations in Czech, each less formal (and each more unserious, in my opinion). Like if you're called Jan that's on you IDs etc, but your family and friends might just call you Honza, if you prefer it

The Jan scale goes from Jan > Honza > Jenda > honorable mention Janek, but I'm not sure if this variant is relevant right now

And guess what, Henry calls Hans by these variations, which is so precious to me. Yes, Hans is a noble and yes, Henry refers to him as his lord, but he also calls him Jenda, which is very much giving village boy energy, Jenda the stable boy or something. I think it really shows, on another level, how familiar and close they are with each other, and how the relationship shifts in kcd2, how Hans is becoming Henry's closest first, his lord second, how they are on the same level now, in comparison with kcd1, where they tiptoe in some dialog options around Henry keeping his distance and Hans encouraging him to treat him less formally and rewarding when Henry actually talks back.

Side note, I'm glad at least Henry has available name variant in English people who know him use, as well as in Czech (Jindřich and Jindra – Henry and Hal)

And a cherry on top, the situations when Henry uses a less formal variant of Hans' name are rare, but one of those situations that I've seen in someone else's playthrough was specifically the march to Nebakov turned ambush. When you're attacked and fight back you get periodically prompted to follow Hans and defend him, but if you can't find him, Henry will call out and use Jenda variant. And when Hans gets knocked out and Henry finds him in dirt before facing Žižka, he kneels down to him and calls him Jan, then Ptáček, and when nothing seems to work, he calls him Honza. Which makes me think this is something Henry's mind does when everything goes to shit and he's desperate and the closest person he has left and who he loves is in danger and so he reaches, asking Hans to come back to him, not as a noble with unfinished responsibilities, but simply as his Honza.

And I'm totally normal about that.

Beside all of this

I adore Tom McKay's voice and performance, but also Richard Wágner is so good as Henry, and, his words not mine, his Henry sounds much more sillier, which is a delight. And this is such a Czech-specific appreciation, but kcd2 has many iconic Czech actors and it's honestly so amusing to both see and hear them in a video game.

[illogicalvulcans]

the real question is do i finally watch witcher s3 this week or do i continue with the elementary rewatch

[codeword-art]

I want to talk about how alone Hans really is. Straight up, before Henry barged into the picture, I couldn't even imagine how Hans spent his time.

Now, this isn't to say Hans doesn't talk to people. He clearly does, when he wants to, but the circumstances really dictate when he does. If it's him just seeking out a bit of comfort, he'll go flirt with a bath maid or woman, drink with a few laborers, or argue with annoying peasants that disrespect him, but put his ass in a room full of his "betters", and he just crumbles like a pillar of sand.

It is obvious that Hanush doesn't engage with Hans too much, even though he is his guardian. We know the Rattay priest often teaches Hans things like literature and scripture, and I'm sure other tutors have taught him diplomacy, as he's very good at it. However, Hans severely lacks social education. He's awkward, says many inappropriate things without seeming to realize it's inappropriate, and has difficulty making friends.

In KCD, Hans wanders around Rattay alone. He sits alone, he reads alone, he leans up against buildings, and stares off into space alone. He's never seen drinking with anybody, he never converses with anybody, and he just feels so isolated from everything.

This doesn't change in KCD2 either, not really. Sure, Hans has Henry as a genuine friend now, someone who not only likes him for him but also treats him equally, protects him, and stands by him, even when he's being a massive prick. However, when Henry isn't available, what does Hans do? The same exact behaviours. He isolates himself. He doesn't talk to anyone, and the few conversations he does have are very short and curt. He wanders around, eats by himself, sits by himself, and stares off into space. This does not seem to be an NPC-specific schedule thing.

Sure, NPCS do similar activities, but Hans specifically has less dialogue triggered with the Devils Pack or any of the NPCs in Von Bergows' castle. If at all, honestly, I don't remember Hans speaking to anyone at all there. He also purposefully stands apart from them as well, removing himself to the furthest parts of the Den where literally no one else but Henry goes. 99% of the time, Hans is leaning against some pillar at the Den, just thinking, or maybe people watching? I've caught him once, halfheartedly flirting with a bathhouse maid in my entire 180-hour playthrough. Then he says he takes strolls in the woods often as well.

The man can't even enjoy parties. Sure, it seems he does, but watch him more closely and you'll see he just drinks himself stupid and still stands off somewhere by himself again. At the Semine Wedding, he did this until he managed to woo Enneleyn to a one-on-one. At Von Bergows' party, he just gives up and goes to bed early, and then at the rebellion meeting, he slumps in a chair next to the fireplace and stares at the flames. Then he drinks himself into a frenzy after the wedding announcement.

It's incredibly alarming how used to this he is. I'm certain it's not because he wants to be alone, considering how excited and attached to Henry he is. He's just always been so invisible to everyone else. Literally. It isn't just that Hans isn't engaging; no one tries to engage with him. I'm not saying they're required to, but Dry Devil and Zizka very clearly have had their opinions set on the poor man from the get-go, and everyone else just seems to follow in line.

One would assume Hans would try to make more friends while he's able to. These people don't really know him yet, they're not from Rattay where Hanush has made sure to sour his name, (He also pulls this same shit at the rebellions meeting too) Yet, nothing is that different is it? Zizka treats Hans like an expensive, fragile glass cup, and Dry Devil, if talking about Hans at all, just seems to view him as a troublesome child. Hans is used to this, so he falls into his habits, not even bothering to defend himself or try to change their minds.

It's heartbreaking. This is obviously a deep-rooted issue and ties back to Han's lack of self-esteem. Oh, he acts like he has an ego, but look closer at that birdie and you'll see an empty space where any self-worth is supposed to be. He just adapts and makes himself as small and out of the way as he can. Until he's with Henry again, where he's a little more open and active, in all the good and horrible, chaotic ways. Which is why his relationship with Henry means so much to him, and why it terrifies him to possibly lose it. Especially in his romance, where I believe we get to see Hans with all his walls down and the most exposed and vulnerable he's ever been.

[wolfsong-the-bloody-beast]

As a Rookanis lover, I've got to say that I enjoy seeing affectionate Lucanis from the external perspective on a different playthrough. It's something you can't see while romancing him with Rook, because he wouldn't tell them how much he wanted to get it right and how nervous he was about it, because he wants to look good for them.

But he totally fusses over preparing the dessert for his sweetheart. Which is adorable. And he does not like it when you later tell Neve that he got flustered over it. He wants to make a good impression.

And I can't believe people say you can't be evil in this game when you can straight up lie to him that it's a bad idea. :( That's an option for Rooks who like kicking puppies.

Also...

Assassin mode: On. 😆

An interesting difference I found here is that this is the point where Rook's romance with Lucanis locks in, and they officially become a couple. Rook recognizes what he's trying to say, likely thanks to all the previous experiences they've shared together - besides all the time spent together, getting to know each other, at this point they've almost kissed, and Lucanis also admits to having feelings for Rook during Inner Demons. The romance lock-in for him and Neve happens later, though. In my playthrough (where my Grey Warden Rook romanced Davrin but still saved Treviso), it actually happened waaay later, probably because I did Inner Demons soon after it became available, and the romance lock-in scene for them happened after Blood of Arlathan. (I haven't played enough yet to know whether it always happens this way, but I assume you can postpone or switch order for certain quests, which will affect your timeline for this.) So, with Neve, he may take significantly longer than with Rook.

And that is not meant to be any commentary on the quality of the relationships. I'm just observing the bird man for science. Especially because I've seen some people say that he doesn't act consistently between his romance with Rook and Neve. But... I don't think so? He still takes it slow in both cases. This is one of the examples. But of course, Rook and Neve are two different individuals that get involved with Lucanis under different circumstances and from different positions in the team, so it makes sense that the progression is not completely the same. Lucanis' relationship is flavoured by his partner, but they both make him happy and they're both equally valid.

I've also repeatedly seen some nonsense takes about how Rook's romance with Lucanis is supposedly inferior to Neve's, how he ignores Rook's affection, and isn't actually that much into them, which is honestly insane to me, because Lucanis expresses interest in Rook way before the scene with the dessert. Not only does he eagerly play along with Rook's flirting during their first coffee date, he initiates it. Most of the time, Rook's "flirting" takes the form of caring, expressing concern, and showing support. Lucanis is not used to that and he's also experiencing the horrors 24/7. But it is him that tells them that they always manage to cheer him up ("How do you always do that?" - "Do what?" - "Break apart my perfectly gathered clouds of doom.") and when they keep being supportive, he pins them against the wall. He straight up tells Rook that he doesn't want to lose them in Inner Demons. And I could go on. All that happens before the point when he starts courting Neve on a playthrough where they become a couple. Neve gets one cute dialogue cutscene with him and a few lines of dialogue/banter, because she's a companion. There's no reason to be jelly.

But back to the post.

From what I've gathered, it seems that the first pie didn't do the trick with Neve. I imagine they still spent nice time together, but from their actual lock-in scene later, it's clear that Lucanis didn't express his interest yet (or maybe didn't do it clearly enough, because his style is pushing a snack your way and hoping you'll get the message), or Neve wasn't ready to/didn't pick up on it. After the scene with the dessert (after Inner Demons) with Rook, Lucanis writes in his 4th logbook entry about spending time with them late at night. But with Neve, it's just this:

No mention of spending time with her yet.

When Rook and Lucanis become a couple, he makes this addition in the same logbook entry:

Which is another reason why it's clear they're just not there with Neve yet at this point. Also because Lucanis then prepares another pie later for her, and that's when they finally admit they like each other. But that's something for another post.

Also, I will tolerate no clowning towards Neve on this post. We love and respect Neve in this house. Sometimes she's my boyfriend's girlfriend, and sometimes she's also my girlfriend. I will protect. I'm writing this for fun, because I want to study the bird man from all angles. It's good extra material for my Rookanis headcanons. I also assume not everybody has done multiple playthroughs, so I thought maybe other people could appreciate it.

EDIT: I've made a follow-up post.