#the best npc

[draconicsorceress]

Yesterday I decided to load an old save from my bg3 game which undid 16+ hours of progress. I have to redo at least five quests and it set me back by almost an entire act.

But y'know what, it was worth it to rescue my favorite NPC and ensure his survival into act 3.

[rubikor]

sumeru golden trio

[mirrorhouse]

BALDUR'S GATE 3 🐾 Kira the Cat

[sea-buns]

The way Ragh sees Gorgug and Riz still looking like scared, kicked puppies and he's like "Fuck, dude, this ain't happen'. Look, I'm gonna text my mom, we can spend all day talkin' through this together. We're gonna sit down and have some good fuckin' food... it'll be great! Your Crab King is HERE. Everything will be FINE."

[callmegaith]

A love letter to your faithful companion NPCs

[luckyblackcatxiii]

I love Arrigal so much, even though I know this man would--and most likely will--sell me to Satan for a corn chip. It's been so long since Saverio first met him outside Barovia, that it's great to see him within the Mists. I can't wait to meet him again <3 (and now that we were gifted a bunch of money recently, I'm sure the feeling is mutual)

[eyestrain-addict]

"Righteous Tarnished... Become our new lord.... A lord not for gods... but for men..."

[deconstructthesoup]

Remembering again that Ragh canonically started gaining weight only after he came out and fully accepted himself and now I'm crying

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

part two of an odd textual mystery analysis (haikaveh focus)

(part one of my thoughts can be found here!)

immediately after wrapping things up at the house of daena, kaveh takes to finding alhaitham solely in order to tell him what went down regarding the book (i've heard that in the CN, kaveh apparently looked for alhaitham for half a day??? help. the dedication)

alhaitham is shown to leave his perusing of a book stall to approach kaveh when called, which is an extra animation? (for me this is similar to the extra animations in the flashback scene within their house in cyno's story quest ii, with alhaitham putting the book down when interacting with kaveh)

kaveh teases alhaitham, making him guess what he has in his bag - to which alhaitham goes along with, with his own dry sense of humour, guessing that it's the book, to which kaveh counters, but actually confirms by telling him that it's The Book

kaveh tells alhaitham about the circling of names being due to him as an inadvertent instigator, to which alhaitham replies that he knew something like this would happen, ever since he saw Kaveh having circled the murderer's name - to which kaveh questions, because kaveh recalls returning the book to the house of daena after doing so?

only for alhaitham to reveal that he read the book (previously?/after?) in the house of daena.. and that kaveh left the book in the study, after he circled the name of the killer. meaning that alhaitham saw the book that kaveh took out of the library, and was comfortable enough to open it, because he knew kaveh would be fine with it, because the study is their shared space??

(this reminds me a parade of providence where kaveh stresses that it's fine to look through documents that alhaitham has left out, since alhaitham wanted kaveh to look through them, but now it seems that the study is canonically their shared place? im thinking of kaveh's birthday letter calling it 'my' study, due to him being so comfortable with his residency with alhaitham... oh :D)

kaveh being embarrassed about being caught out, but not annoyed with alhaitham looking through the book. they really are at so much more ease with each other!!

kaveh then asking if alhaitham if circled a name, to which alhaitham confirms, saying that the second one (green ink... being the complimentary colour to kaveh's red ink okay...) is his, all in order to signal a red herring to throw off the people checking out the book after kaveh, in order to avoid kaveh spoiling the killer

kaveh then questions why alhaitham only circled one, in contrast to other people, to which alhaitham rationalises by saying that circling two names is more than enough to avoid a spoiler, considering that kaveh used permanent ink when creating the spoiler

kaveh pulls alhaitham up on this and says that alhaitham only circled one name on the first page, too, because he thought it would be funny - to which alhaitham agrees, saying it's more fun that reading the book, and kaveh agrees!

in the line with their new rapport in bickering in cyno's story quest 2, this truly is just inconsequential bickering, they're enjoying each other's responses and chasing it, not misunderstanding the other and actively getting hurt. they've improved so much!!

alhaitham congratulating kaveh on officially owning the book, to which kaveh dismisses dejectedly - the camera pans out onto the traveller and paimon, but we see alhaitham say something to kaveh, continuing their banter outside of the player's knowledge

this quest essentially happened because alhaitham and kaveh are that comfortable in sharing things with each other, and believing the other to want to share things, such as alhaitham perusing through a book that kaveh checked out from the house of daena, and feeling comfortable enough to interfere with one of kaveh's actions - using permanent ink to spoil the killer, in order to avoid spoilers for the next person, and, perhaps dually, repercussions on kaveh's part. kaveh shows no upset with this action, nor alhaitham looking through the book he left in the study

it nicely ties together the beginning and the end - kaveh and alhaitham dually act as the catalyst for the quest in their actions regarding the book, and we immediately cut to kaveh going to tell alhaitham about it when the problem is sorted. we start with alhaitham and kaveh, although we don't know it at first, and we end with them? it's an inconsequential quest, v fun, and v silly, but i love how we get lil insights into haikaveh's life in their home outside of the player <333

[saberpastel]

Friends, I present to you... blorbo from my dreams

Old Man Sampo isn't something I expected or knew I wanted but boy do I want it now.

[wrinklemcdinkle]

thoughts for scheduled post

I ABSOLUTELY AN IM LOVE WITH BIRD BIRD “knock” THE KENKU

This is so honestly wholesome and sweet, I love how they both stood protectively in front of the other. I really hope we see more of them next episode because this is amazing and im crying PLZ BIRD BIRD LIVE

[robo-dino-puppy]

horizon forbidden west | nil 3/?

[calusnt]

Doodles + More talking about that AU

Have some no context doodles to help the medicine go down

So since this was originally going to be a comic, I actually have SO many doodles backed up in my procreate files. I've been visually drafting this for so long lmao

I'll release them in chunks probably

༄༄༄ 𖠳 ༄༄༄ An integral part of this AU is the relationship between Chief and Connor, and the hypothetical surrounding that. We still don't know much about the specific events that took place in the games making, just the general timeline. But in this AU, Connor figures out that the guys in the game have become sentient pretty early on, and can even interact fairly smoothly with them pre-silvertech (I worked out my own explanation for that) "Man's Best Friend" has been the name in my head for this particular AU for a while (NOT in reference to the 1993 movie by the same title), but in reference to the phrase which refers to the long history of humanity's relationship with dogs, as well as other domesticated animals. The name is kind of sarcastic for multiple reasons, but also kind of genuine..? You can be the judge of that when I finally start rolling out chapters. ༄༄༄ 𖠳 ༄༄༄ throws this at you

And a colorless version of the very top image!

[slavonicrhapsody]

*spots another Vengeance-Seeking Hornsent fan through looking at the tags in fav SoTE NPC poll* I am still seeing "he was a potentate himself because of the mask" claims here and there 😔 I honestly think he is wearing the mask for its actual function: to ward off the doubts and other things that make you lose focus, since he must keep his mind fixed on revenge. Besides he comes from Belurat and not Bonny Village (revealed if you share scorpion soup with him) and his trademark weapon implies he only grabbed a sword for revenge and didn't wield weapon before, let alone their butchering knife

These are just what I think. What do you think about him and the "discourse" though? Do you lean strongly to this or that side or neutral on both takes?

HORNSENT NATION

OK so I was always kind of kind of torn between whether I believed he was a greater potentate or not, but I was leaning towards him being a potentate… BUT then after you sent this I went on a deep dive to see if I could prove either theory, and what I found really made feel like he WASN’T a potentate???

I went through like every possible source of info in the game and listed all the possible interpretations so I’m gonna list a bunch of it here with my conclusion:

Bonny Butcher’s Cleaver: “An outsize butcher's cleaver used to dismember human bodies in the making of the great jars stored in the gaols.”

Hefty Cracked Pot: “The greater potentates of Bonny Village craft these and store them in a frozen gaol.”

From these items we learn that the jars are exclusively made at Bonny Village from dismembered shamans, are transported to the gaols, and stored there under freezing temperatures probably so the innards don’t spoil, like a giant fridge?? Then, we learn from the Belurat Gaol spirit that misbehaving prisoners are added to the shaman jars there, where their flesh “melds harmoniously” together. So the greater potentates only operate at Bonny Village, and I think it’s also implied that only Bonny Village natives are potentates:

“A record of crafting techniques of the greater potentate who roamed lands near and far. Haunted by the grotesque practice of his village of birth, he stuffed great pots with all manner of things.” (Greater Potentate Cookbooks)

It seems like being a greater potentate is kind of like, a family business, since the practice is strictly localized to the one village and this particular guy was basically born into the profession there even though he found it ghoulish. So I’m doubting that outsiders from other places became potentates?

If Hornsent is a potentate, he’d probably have to be from Bonny Village, or at the very least, live there… and like you said, I think the game is screaming that he’s from Belurat! Freyja has this to say about him:

“Do you know why the eternally dour fellow keeps his distance? He’s one of the tower’s Hornsent. I can only assume he fights for his own reasons, and carries his own burdens.”

I feel like this almost certainly means that Hornsent is from Belurat because Freyja specifically says “the tower.” Freyja and Hornsent are also standing right in front of the Belurat gate when you get this dialogue. There’s also the scorpion stew interaction with him:

Scorpion Stew: “Scorpion simmered in a black soup. Traditional meal of the hornsent. […] Once made with love by a certain elderly woman for the family table. Having long gone cold, this soup gives off a rank, sour smell.”

Hornsent says this when you give it to him:

“What’s this? Do you think me in need of alms? Ah… but this dish. Tis fare o’ the tower. I remember fondly this kin-clad scent. …Brings back memories I’d all but forgot. This, by my troth, is but a dismal copy. Indeed, I think it rather plain to see… things once broken can never be the same.”

So I don’t think scorpion stew is exclusive to Belurat by any means, since there’s many other Hornsent settlements, but I think it means something that Hornsent immediately thinks of the Tower when he sniffs the stew. I also think that him pondering this theme of “things once broken” makes the most sense in the context of Belurat… you can give Hornsent the stew only after traversing all of Belurat, beating Divine Beast, and talking to Hornsent Grandam, so you’ve seen Belurat’s ruins with your own eyes and learned that it was once a place where families cooked and ate scorpion stew together. That really resonates with Hornsent’s vengeance in the name of his murdered mother, wife, and child! Him having lived through what happened to Belurat personally just makes sense!

Ok so why does Hornsent wear the potentate mask??

I think you’re right that he’d only be wearing it for its ritual purposes:

Caterpillar Mask: “Grotesque mask constructed from countless solidified caterpillars. A ritual implement of the greater potentates of Bonny Village. Used to ward off thoughts of impurity, doubt, temptation, and other wickednesses one is vulnerable to while absorbed in divine ritual.”

Makes sense that potentates would want to banish any feelings of doubt or temptation or any other distractions when their job is to kill and dismember people… which is a sentiment that absolutely applies to Hornsent’s goals as a vengeance-seeker. Also, the jar-making is described as a “divine ritual,” and the act of seeking revenge also seems really ritualistic? Hornsent’s robe is created specifically for the purpose of vengeance:

Braided Cord Robe: “Ragged black cloth overlaid with braided cord. Attire of a vengeance-seeking hornsent. The braided cord ties together the vow of the revenger with the victims' grudges. It must never come undone. Enhances both watchful spirits and the vengeful spirits summoned by horned bairns.”

Does this not feel like a sort of ritualistic, divine invocation of revenge? Hornsent also forges new blades specifically for his vengeance, and repeats the phrase “In vengeance for the flames, my blade I wield” several times, like a mantra. Thematically, I think Hornsent wearing the potentate mask is drawing a link between the Bonny Village butchering, and the endless, bloody path of revenge that eventually leads Hornsent to ruin; both of these acts are in a way like ritually-sanctioned butchery. So while Hornsent might not literally be a potentate himself, the game wants us to THINK of the ritual violence that the potentates carry out when we look at Hornsent!

So overall I don’t think any of these arguments can like, 100% definitively prove that Hornsent wasn’t a potentate because there’s a few assumptions I made that teeeechnically might not be true (like that only Bonny Village natives are greater potentates, or that “the tower” always specifically refers to Belurat), but I now think that it makes the most sense if he isn’t a potentate!