It Is, I Think, Symptomatic Of The Way Larian Has Built This Brand: Bg3 Was Always Marketed As Being

X7/Locust City Act's V Plot Details, Tasks, and Endings!

hi everyone! I created a new sideblog EXCLUSIVELY so that I can post this text (I figured my main account is shadowbanned or smth) ANYWAY

you can read the 1-5 Acts' Summaries done by @parasolemn! They've done an amazing job and I wanted to take part in deciphering too, hehe

note: English is not my first language therefore word-guessing can be pretty hard for me. There are some minor places I couldn't undestand so I would highly appreciate your help!

UPD 10/04/2025 @parasolemn kindly helped to fill in some lacunas I had in Endings! At the weekend I'll try to edit other gaps myself

PLOT DETAILS ACT V

So what is Cunoesse’s story?

Cunoesse has brought Cuno to Hämärä Maa as a replacement for a kid she drowned three years ago.

Cuno and Jaakko – the drowned kid – don’t have much in common. Both are/were boys with red hair, and about the same build but that’s about it. Only a child’s mind would come up with a plan to replace the dead kid with an ‘identical’ one so she’d be accepted back in her tribe.

But Cuno can’t just be like Jaakko, he has to *become* Jaakko.

The Suru(?) have a coming-of-age rite that involves drinking a brew made of the bone marrow of a blind underwater cave fish. This experience has sometimes profound, sometimes devastating effect on one’s consciousness.

Perhaps this “Naming Ceremony” doesn’t happen until the Hämäräns are 10 years old, so that’s why Cunoesse never got her name, and this is the pretense under which she lures Cuno into the ceremony – a name for herself (but Cuno doesn’t know it’s also going to be a new name for him.)

Cunoesse believes that if she subjects Cuno to this ceremony and “spirit guides” him through this process Cuno might actually *become* Jaakko. Or at least accept he’s Jaakko now. She’s been laying foundation for this transformation throughout this whole journey.

Cunoesse’s people thought her dead, drowned with the boy. Hardly anyone could recognize her at first sight.

Maybe Cunoesse hid the body (under a rock in one of the caves) before she fled Hämärä Maa, so in her mind no-one can definitively claim the kid she brought back isn’t Jaakko.

Psychedelic Sequence

We want this to be a truly visually … and spectacular setpiece where you can bind the rules of everything <…> and apply dream logic.

The entire underwater showdown will be in FELD.

We can depart form/ play with the … perspective, switching into a side-view showing the vastness of the dark screen, with the C&C small figures sinking.

Experiment with overlays, filters as well as tainted and/or 3D mode/ed addictions (??) in the scene, showing people, motifs and icons elements from their journey. There can be lots of … with the visual elements reflecting decisions the players has made throughout the game.

Competitive Red Checks are the key now feature we want to test here, to create unique playthroughs and the impression of truly “fighting yourself” as the rolled value of Cuno or Cunoesse’s Red Checks affects the difficulty of the other’s counter attack.

For the first time, … and commune with each other.

Cunoesse comes out of the trip with +1 Psyche is she lives.

Blue notes:

Multiple life/death outcomes.

Swarm/Locust City side-plot reaches its conclusion.

New home for Locusts

Funeral cultural event

(another note totally unreadable for me, sorry)

_____________________________________

TASKS ACT V

The path through Act V is still largely TBD

In its bare minimum implementation Hämärä Maa could have the same density as the Deserter’s Island finale of Disco Elysium, where the game’s entire conclusion is communicated through a small number of characters – three very extensive and immersive dialogues (one of which is a stylized dream sequence) followed by a posse epilogue. Although railroaded, Disco’s finale had a “page-turning” quality to it that we should aim for as going too much into the mundane idle of the Hämärans would kill the pacing. However, since the entire journey has been about getting to the island, we should give the player at least a little more to see and do than the Deserter’s Island did.

An example of how the task chain at Hämärä Maa could look:

Face Cunoesse’s folks

Find a new home for the Locust City.

Learn how the brew works

Make the brew

Go to the caves

Survive the caves

Bring “Jaakko” to his parents.

Reactivity/Outcomes

Cuno drowns and Cunoesse is this time for real exited by her people

Cunoesse drowns and Cuno returns to Jamrock alone.

ENDINGS

Ending 1 – Jaakko Ending

Location: Hämärä Maa

Cunoesse is alive, Cuno is brainwashed

Notes:

Cunoesse’s manipulations worked. Cuno has fully internalized Jaakko.

The scene closes with Cuno diving dead-eyed among the Hämäran boys. He’s one of them now.

Loss of Identity. No more Cuno-sentences.

Ending 2 – Pale Ending

Cunoesse is dead, Cuno is alive

Location: Tréville, deserted

Notes:

With Cunoesse dead, Hämärä Maa holds nothing for Cuno anymore. He turns back, aimless.

He lands back in Tréville and finds it deserted. The prison has finally moved.

Cuno sits with him. With Cunoesse’s death, Cuno’s prison has left him too. The thing about freedom is that no one tells you where to go.

Cuno waits with the prisoner indefinitely. We fade to white and roll credits.

Ending 3 – Bad Ending

Cunoesse is dead, Cuno is dead

No notes, no location

Ending 4 – Circle Ending

Cunoesse is alive, Cuno is dead

Notes:

With Cuno dead and her plan failed Cunoesse must exile herself from Hämärä Maa again.

She goes into another Murder Hangover, back to sleep and hibernation.

The Internal Skull(?) announces “A new epoch of timekeeping is beginning”

(two another unreadable notes for me)

Ending 5? – New Tribe Ending

Cunoesse is alive, Cuno is alive

No notes, no location

BOYY-

Interview with Argo Tuulik, one of the many incredibly talented writers behind Disco Elysium who is now with Summer Eternal.

Reminder that Argo has a crowdfund and has asked for help with essentials and legal fees. If Disco Elysium reached you in some capacity, consider checking out the full story behind the legal battle and donating to the cause:

gofundme.com

Donate to Help Disco Elysium Writer Survive the Winter, organized by Argo Tuulik

DISCLAIMER: This fundraiser was disabled for several hours due to GoFundMe te… Argo Tuulik needs your support for Help Disco Elysium Writer

and here it be

This is not like a fully completed thought but yk

So I've done my first aid + CPR a few times. And every single time I try and bring up scenarios for fat folks

Specifically like 'what if someone is too large for me to wrap my arms around then to do the heimleich'

And its incredibly rare I get a decent answer.

How absolutely insane is it that me, as a fat person, is asking how to have MY life saved or to save ANOTHER life, is an impossible feat if someone is fat.

Most of the time they tell me to 'just try anyways uwu'

There has got to be a better option.

what pens do you use on procreate?

HI! here are some of the brushpacks i use

Georg's Procreate Brushes

FREE Comic Ink Brush Set for Procreate: 20+ Inking and SFX Brushes

Here's my first custom made Procreate ink brush set with more than 20 brushes for inking and special effects. It's dedicated to the great Wi

Gumroad

Disco Elysium brushset for Procreate

A brushset for Procreate, inspired by the Disco Elysium by ZAUM which I've collected/crafted over the last year, contains 40 brushes with in

and for default brushes i use

* narinder pencil

these are three of Kim's possible responses when harry tells him he's learned about the pale and all the 'stuck behind our eyes' lines make me feel insane. they have the same feeling to me as his 'abattoir' line — hinting at how much of Kim's inner life is characterised by terror, loss and isolation. he's sheltering in the safety of his skull but he's also completely trapped there.

which is why it's so good that he's so wrong. the world he lives in is one where people leak their perspectives, leave fingerprints on the world tape, where harry can figure out how to give a revolutionary high five and in doing so get a permanent buff to seeing from kim's perspective/reading his mind/whatever the fuck you want to say empathy and edc are up to. and obviously, mazov and nielsen had their own telepathic bond shit going on. people in elysium (especially massive communists) cannot stay behind their own eyes for shit. everyone is also kind of someone else. the world isn't what it is. get plasmed motherfucker

BE VIGILANT. I LOVE YOU.

Orange! The color of life, death, apricots, and fire, burning... And you.

Memory Hacks: Neuroscience Behind Efficient Memory Techniques

Memory is an elusive neural process concerning the interaction of various parts of the brain, neural tracts, and neurotransmitters. Considering popular memory hacks, we have learned how such techniques used structures and mechanisms of the brain in their own way to make the information more available. Let's carefully look into eight memory hacks and why they work on a neuroscientific level.

The Memory Palace Technique and the Hippocampus: The so-called Memory Palace, or method of loci, in its overall functioning relies on the brain's spatial memory system, enlisting primarily the hippocampus. The hippocampus is placed within the medial temporal lobe and plays a vital role in producing and retrieving spatial and episodic memories. This particular area was more significant for our ancestors with regard to orientation and mapping of their environment, a skill directly related to survival. When you visualize putting things in places you know well, your hippocampus is associating the spatial memory of that place with more abstract information you want to remember. Such an association results in a strong memory trace, since spatial memory is more robust and resilient. The technique also engages the parahippocampal gyrus, which processes visual-spatial context, thereby facilitating retrieval by mentally "walking" through the familiar place.

The Spacing Effect and Synaptic Plasticity: The spacing effect, otherwise known as spaced repetition, is based upon synaptic plasticity, which means the strengthening of synapses through repeated activity. So, when something is reviewed over a longer period of time, it strengthens the neural pathways related to that memory. This reinforcement happens during consolidation, a process heavily supported by the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Each time the information is revisited, it causes long-term potentiation-a process whereby repeated stimulation of neurons strengthens synaptic connections. LTP simply makes it easier for those neurons involved in that memory to fire together simultaneously, therefore creating a stronger memory pathway. Such periodic reinforcement will enable the memory to move from short-term to long-term storage and thus set it firmly in the neocortex for long-term recall.

Visualization and Multi-Sensory Memory Encoding: Visualization techniques capitalize on multi-sensory memory encoding to engage not just the hippocampus but also the occipital lobe for visual processing and the fusiform gyrus involved in object and face recognition. Transposing these more abstract pieces of information into vivid mental images through visualization naturally creates a deeper sensory trace, which the brain favors and finds easier to remember. When we visualize, neurons in the visual and sensory cortex fire in patterns that resemble actual sensory experience; detaied and richly encoded memory representations are thus built. This multisensory approach will include the amygdala if there is an emotional component of the visualization, thus forming emotionally laden memories which are even easier to recall because of their strength in memory consolidation.

Teaching or Explaining and the Role of Elaborative Rehearsal: Teaching others or explaining increases retention due to elaborative rehearsal, where the new information is related to the knowledge that already exists. This strongly engages the prefrontal cortex, an area involved in comprehension and planning, along with association cortices that integrate sensory information from multiple regions. Every time you teach something or explain it, you are retrieving information and reorganizing it in your own words. This practice not only reinstates the neural circuits transporting the information but also allows neuroplasticity to be reinforced through reshaping and strengthening synapses participating in this retrieval process, hence making that memory more accessible later. Teaching arouses the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and, in turn, enhances both comprehension and memory encoding.

Mnemonics, Rhymes, and the Temporal Lobes: Mnemonics, especially those with a rhyme or rhythm, enlist auditory processing centers in the temporal lobes. The auditory cortex of the brain is highly tuned for patterns in sound; for this reason rhythm and rhyme are memorable. Angular gyrus and superior temporal gyrus, both implicated in language processing, are activated when mnemonics are used to encode information as sequences or patterns. The repetition within mnemonics and rhymes strengthens sequential memory by evoking the ability with which the brain is particularly adept: remembering information in order. This systematic encoding, thus, has the potential to support the linkage of abstract information with identifiable auditory patterns and enhance recall. Moreover, the cingulate gyrus, involved in the distribution of attention, could further enhance this by focusing and encoding these rhythmic patterns as memories of items.

Diet, Neurotransmitters, and Brain Health: Nutrition can have a variety of impacts on memory and cognition, from neurotransmitters to structure. Some nutrients are precursors to neurotransmitters studied as influencing cognition. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter associated with learning and memory and whose synthesis depends on choline intake. Food containing high amounts of choline, such as egg and fish, should provide an adequate supply for the synthesis of acetylcholine in the basal forebrain. Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential for neuronal membrane health and ensure that signals between neurons are well transmitted. Antioxidants from fruits and vegetables reduce oxidative stress in the brain, which protects against cognitive decline and promotes neuroplasticity. Adequate nutrition maintains neurotransmitter function & structural integrity in memory regions such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, promoting overall cognitive resilience and facilitating higher memory capacity.

Source: Memory Hacks: Neuroscience Behind Efficient Memory Techniques

People will be like Kim and Harry is a bunk pairing because Kim deserves better than Harry.

Which like sure probably but Kim isn't gonna get better than Harry and you gotta take it from Kim's pov.

You're a 43 year old gay cop who's blind without his glasses, has back problems, wears historical cosplay to work, is a consummate professional who's married to his car and takes way too much pleasure in being a party pooper.

You're not exactly prime dating material and on top of that there's probably a lot of racist weirdos out there in the dating pool you're getting sick of bumping into.

But then up and saunters this sloppy ass bear, he's a weirdo and a fucking absolute mess who can't even remember what money is, but he's an incredibly intelligent and talented detective.

he's also weirdly kind if not incredibly creepy but he makes you laugh and gets you to enjoy yourself when you normally wouldn't and then all of a sudden he is absolutely enamoured with you, transfixed even, who thinks you're not only too good for him, but you're deserving of the best possible person and he recognizes this and he's desperately willing to do literally anything to be good enough for you. And you're over here thinking about how you've been settling for less than your worth and at least this wet dog of a man is not only recognizing your worth but seeing you as more valuable than you've ever dared to see yourself.