blutverschmiert, gut frisiert @dead-mercenary - Tumblr Blog

⚔️ Certified longsword enthusiast, mediocre rider, worse duelist and occasional artist ⚔️

Own art #ye olde self reblog

art i did for the KCD2 fan zine in collab with @nathalaia who wrote a wonderful short story about when Henry meets Death!! There are so many amazing short stories and art in this zine as well!

#godmother death my queen #henry of skalitz #death

throatoftheworld

Don Quixote with Death by Theodor Baierl, 1920

keflibunni

Here's my full piece for the KCD fan zine, which you can order HERE (early bird pricing is only available until the end of July, so you might wanna get in quick!)

Profits for the zine will be donated to the Pirkstein Bell Tower restoration!

#rosa ruthard

rukkasilk

Hmm i wonder what they have in common

#oh my god #wrinkles forming in my brain in real time #absolutely mind-blowing #istvan toth

jacques-le-fataliste-23

Master IAM of Zwolle (around 1440-1504), Allegory of the Transience of Life

Coloured engraving on vellum

Via: https://www.bmimages.com/preview.asp?image=00033685001

medieval-bohemia-corner

The Inquisition is looking for a sorcerer:

I think it's me.

But you don't have to be so mean about it Mr. Inquisitor. That's just rude. Maybe I just think the fine garments look nice, huh? Thought of that?

Actually, I was half sure the man was a bandit until I managed to convince him I'm not a sorcerer and he then left. Who the fuck is spreading rumors about Henry's sorcery round here?

"Closely resemble", Henry, I think he was talking about you my guy.

medieval-bohemia-corner

#the way multiple npcs mistake henry for the devil is fascinating#because one feels like a joke#but 3+ feels like it means something#and i wonder if this wears on henry's mind at all#that so many people see him and see darkness in him#much to consider via @apoptoses

Not just the devil or a demon, but the grim reaper as well, multiple times. And whenever he is, he has the option to play along or reject the idea, but it is interesting to consider how often this happens to him. Especially because he doesn't seem to think he'd end up in heaven after he dies, yk? He seems to feel a lot of guilt over not being a good enough person or son (as we see in his nightmares), while not really feeling bad about many of his actions that he sees as justified. How much being mistaken for the devil/a demon/a sorcerer/the grim reaper and a general force of evil and darkness and death play into how he sees himself and his actions.

Whenever considering this, I always go back to KCD1, to Henry throwing up in horror and disgust after bashing Runt's skull in and how, later, when praying for repentance, he says "he was a murderer and a thief, and he deserved it. But I shouldn't have killed him". The act was justified, he keeps justifying it to himself, I always read him as being not as disgusted with the act as with the fact he did it and didn't feel as bad about it as he thinks he should.

And as you go in KCD2, he does go further and further. Gets himself involved in more torture and death, all justified to him in the moment, all hard choices that need to be made, and he tries, but violence comes too easily to him. In a way it shouldn't. The way when Hans calls him out on taking it too far with the torture of the prisoner in Trosky and Henry's only option to agree with Hans it was bad and take responsibility is essentially: "Yeah, sorry. It got a little out of hand... I got out of hand"

I often wonder if Henry sees himself as a good person at all. He sees himself as better than many he knows of and encounters. But how much does it grate on him? Being referred to as the devil while Istvan's words that they aren't so different echo in his mind? When his memory of Martin is disappointed with every kill, even ones that I'd argue the real Martin would have understood? When he knows killing and stealing are sins but he can't bring himself to feel real guilt or remorse over them? That he seems convinced he'd end his life dead in a ditch or some unmarked grave somewhere? And is his option to play along a way to derive humor out of such an unflattering comparison?

apoptoses

This is all so good because I agree- Henry does not see himself as a a good person.

And I think with Henry, as the player we can get deep into 'he's my little guy who never did anything bad' because we can try to make good choices for him. But no matter how many times you have him settle an issue with talking, or you pick the 'good' choice, there rarely is a truly good choice: just the better of two bad options.

Markvart isn't wrong. Istvan Toth isn't wrong. Henry does kill people, just like them. He kills for the side he thinks is the good side, and he kills to protect what he considers good people. But at the end of the day he's killing people's husbands, their brothers, their fathers, their sons. For everyone he kills because he thinks he's doing good, someone on the other side sees him and sees a Toth of their own.

No matter how good the player makes him there is a darkness and a ruthlessness in him that cannot be ignored.

And I totally agree, Henry is constantly aware of it. This is why his parents (aka his conscience) is extremely difficult to please at the end. Even the 'good' endings will still see him weighed down by certain decisions. There is no version of himself that he sees as an angel.

So not to derail but, it makes it all the more striking to me that Hans refers to Henry as his guardian angel if you pick a certain dialogue option on the way to Nebakov. So many people, including Henry himself, compare Henry to death or the devil but Hans thinks of him as a holy savior figure regardless of his choices until that point.

#henry of skalitz