#baldur doesn’t know either tbh

[snailsfall]

[checkeredflagggs]

Three Hearts Left

Pairing: max verstappen x fem!gamer!reader

summary: fans (and friends) are shocked when they find max is married and to who

a/n: I’m only a casual gamer so take it with a grain of salt

a/n 2: sorry it’s a really late - the weather hates me personally (it is actually September and doesn’t need to be 85* 😡) and it drained my creativity also I got hella sick so 🤷🏻‍♀️

a/n 3: I know I use the name Twitter when talking about that site. I’ll stop deadnaming it when musk rat does too

a/n 4: still not feeling 100% but I wanted to get this out for max’s bday!!

catpawsgaming

Welcome to the CatTree with the paw prints 🐾 ! I’m just a cat 🐈 mom Lady™ who loves the gaming but not the camera 📷. I’ve been playing games all my life and have been streaming for 3 years — as a hobby, not a full time job. I love my 2 cats, my handsome man, and you 🫵 all my lovely fans. You most definitely make all this worthwhile so mwah mwah 💋💋 (video)

catpawsgaming

liked by user, user, user, and 6,583,455 others

catpawsgaming: here we go! Baldur’s Gate 3 has been highly highly requested — so I bought it! …yesterday and forgot about it cause curse of capitalism I still have my day job 😭 but away we go!

As always, if you didn’t manage to catch my livestream it’ll be on my page and I’ll be uploading it to my YouTube channel tomorrow! My YouTube will have the 3 usual versions (one unedited with my reactions, one with just the game play, and one with no sound at all but with closed captions)

Next stream date and game tbh announced but will probably be this Sunday with Animal Crossing (fingers crossed 🤞🤞 I finally get a good turnip price 😭😭 Daisy Mae hasn’t been kind to me lately…)

view all comments

user1: guuuurrrrrrrllll it’s about time you got bg3! We been waiting

↳ catpawsgaming: definitely worth the wait though! I had so much fun and it was so hard to stop for the night

↳ user2: for sure it was 🤣 your reactions to shadowheart and astarion were hilarious

↳ catpawsgaming: they clocked my type on point

user3: glad we convinced you to become a bard! You’ll rock it 💙

↳ catpawsgaming: ok but this the closest you will get me to actually performing so enjoy it while it lasts

↳ user3: not gonna sing along?

↳ catpawsgaming: 🤣🤣🤣 🫵 🤡

↳ catpawsgaming: absolutely not.

↳ catpawsgaming: also handsome just bust out laughing at the thought of me singing so…🙄🙄🙄 he’s lucky I love him

↳ handsome: I am very lucky liefje

↳ user3: ahhhh we were so close to her singing but also awwww cause handsome is here!!

handsome: liefje this was amazing

↳ catpawsgaming: thank you 🥰🥰

↳ catpawsgaming: but also you were laughing at me the entire night so…

↳ catpawsgaming: not sure how much I believe you

↳ handsome: well I didn’t say it was good…

↳ catpawsgaming: 🤨😒😔😢

↳ handsome: 🥰🥰🥰

user4: oh to have a man that will spend hours with you doing separate hobbies together…

↳ catpawsgaming: gotta admit it’s the dream

↳ handsome: you’re the dream liefje

↳ user4: ok there handsome, no need to get sappy here on MY comment thread

Private Messages

mv1updates

liked by user, user, user, and 2,833,736 others

mv1updates: Max was streaming today! Just a short one but highly entertaining. Jimmy (or Sassy? I’m honestly baffled and for the life of me can’t tell them apart 😢) caused a small disturbance in the middle of his stream then slept the rest away in Max’s lap 😍

view all comments

user5: that was sooooo adorable!! Love seeing more cat dad Max

↳ user6: same! And don’t feel bad admin - I can’t tell them apart either

user7: to be Jimmy…🥵

↳ user8: right? What I wouldn’t give to be sleeping away in his lap…

↳ user9: blessed be. His damn thighs man 😳

user10: ok but am I the only one that heard a female voice in the background?

↳ user11: I THOUGHT I WAS GOING INSANE?? Like there was definitely someone there

↳ user12: wait when?

↳ user10: when max turned the camera to show jimmy on top

Private Messages

catpawsgaming

liked by user, user, user, and 5,822,944 others

catpawsgaming: and Daisy Mae delivered this week! Sunday I got a price of 90 and today!! Selling price of turnips is 658 this evening!! Woohoo!

I've got my usual set up going to allow visitors to sell and I’ll be playing for about 4 or 5 hours so let’s make some cash today! I just ask you be respectful of my island.

As always, if you didn’t manage to catch my livestream it’ll be on my page and I’ll be uploading it to my YouTube channel tomorrow! My YouTube will have the 3 usual versions (one unedited with my reactions, one with just the game play, and one with no sound at all but with closed captions)

My week is looking pretty busy (a lot of traveling happening) so my next stream will probably be sometime next week and I’ll be playing Horizon: Zero Dawn! Its sequel will be coming out soon and I want to replay the first to refamiliarize myself with the game!

view all comments

user13: yeessssss! I’ve been holding out that someone would have some fantastic selling prices this week! New house upgrade here I come!

↳ user14: oh don’t I know it! It’s been a downward slump all week for me — the high was 105 😭😭

↳ user13: ouch 🤕

user15: did anyone else hear the cat meowing in the background!

↳ user16: yes! Catpaws has got a couple of cats — they’re almost never on stream (they don’t like staying in one place for long) but catpaws got them right before they started streaming!

↳ catpawsgaming: 2 of them! They’re my babies! 🐈🐈

↳ user15: awwwww 😍😍

user17: can I say something? Is this a safe place?

↳ user18: it is not but say it anyway

↳ user17: it totally looks like she’s got a wedding ring on in the beginning of this stream

↳ user18: nurse! She’s out again

↳ user19: no no no let her cook. I totally thought the same. It was literally just a glimpse but I swear that she had a ring on

↳ user17: thank you! I knew I wasn’t crazy

↳ user19: but! That does mean our catpaws is married!!!!!

↳ user17: 😱

↳ user18: 😱

↳ user19: 😱

↳ catpawsgaming: 😉

↳ handsome: 💙

↳ user17: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?

catpawsupdates

liked by user, user, user, and 3,126,918 others

catpawsupdates: we’ve had a couple of requests lately asking about catpawsgaming and her cats! These are the first and last photo we’ve gotten — she’s incredibly secretive about them so we don’t know if this is the same cat in both photos or if she has 2 bengals (peep also handsome in the first photo. Catpaws was laughing when she posted that photo cause she’s usually the passenger princess)

view all comments

user20: I LOVE THEM

↳ user21: same! Insert that meme. “I’ve only had them for a day but if anything happened to them I kill everyone else then myself”

↳ user22: extreme but agreeable.

user23: that’s sassy - I’d bet money on it

↳ user24: sassy? What? Who?

↳ user23: sassy verstappen! F1 world champion max verstappen’s cat

↳ user24: ummm? This is a page for a small time gamer catpawsgaming

↳ user23: listen. Torture couldn’t get me to admit how long I’ve spent staring at pictures and videos of jimmy and sassy. But that is absolutely sassy!

↳ user17: I’m connecting the dots as I type

↳ user18: you’re not connecting shit

↳ user17: CONNECTING THE DOTS AS I TYPE

Private Messages

Twitter

Private Messages

catpawsgaming

liked by user, user, user, and 3,712,222 others

catpawsgaming: tonight’s stream is gonna be a little late — I’m currently being held hostage by the cutest kidnapper ever

view all comments

user24: awwww

user25: your right. You simply can’t move!

↳ catpawsgaming: completely pinned down!

↳ user25: I don’t think anyone is gonna have a problem with your steam being late tonight

↳ user26: I’ve spoken to the council and we don’t! In fact we all vote for a stream of literally just the cat

↳ catpawsgaming:…you know that is an idea

↳ user26: omg. OMG. OH MY GOD!!

user23: THATS JIMMY!! I SWEAR ON MY LIFE

↳ user27: ok grandma. Let’s get you back to bed

handsome: so that’s where the little troublemaker is

↳ user28: omg hi handsome! Where’ve you been?

↳ catpawsgaming: ok I love all my fans but plz stop flirting with my man

↳ user28: can I flirt with you instead?

↳ catpawsgaming: 😳

↳ handsome: no

Private Messages

Twitter

user29: ITS MAX VERSTAPPEN AND CATPAWSGAMING!!!! I TOLD YOU ALL

↳ user30: ok but are we really gonna take a gossip page as the truth?

user31: OH MY GOD THAT CRAZY FAN WAS RIGHT?!?

↳ catpawsgamingfan: I TOLD YOU. I TOLD YOOOOUUUUU

view all comments

maxverstappen1

liked by danielricciardo, charles_leclerc, landonorris, and 8,345,765 others

tagged: yourusername

maxverstappen1: liefje I know this is not how we wanted to share our love with the world but a light in the darkness is now I get to talk about how much I love you and how you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. These past 5 years have been a dream come true — and it’s been a dream I never knew I had. Seeing you that first time, you took my breath away. Forget the trophies and the victories, the world championships and titles I’ve won — becoming your husband has topped every single one of them. I can’t imagine my life without you anymore and I wouldn’t ever want to

comments have been restricted on this post

yourusername: oh my handsome man…you are the light of my life, the moon in my night, the stars in the sky, the best husband ever and the most loving cat dad I could have ever wanted to spend my life with. Thank you thank you thank you for picking me and staying with me and fighting for me and with me 💋💋

[writteninlunarlight-years]

Uh hello!!! I found your blog and I absolutely adore it!! If it's not too much trouble, may I please have a match up from either Baldurs Gate 3 and/or Hazbin hotel? (If I missed that match ups are closed, just tell me to bug off lol)

Gender: Femme AFAB nonbinary

Age: 25 (26 at the end of this month!)

Pronouns: she/her and they/them

Sexuality: Bisexual, panromantic

Appearance: 5’4” femme-presenting with chest-length light brown hair. I’ve got hazel eyes with hella eyebags, but I wear glasses with frames thick enough to hide them. I’m white but you can tell I go outside a lot lol. I’m pretty small, most people could pick me up like a sack of potatoes tbh

MBTI: INFP as far as I understand??

Personality: Oh man this part is kinda hard… I’m pretty energetic and quiet all at the same time. I consider myself fairly optimistic and friendly. I’m defs naïve as hell though, and it doesn’t help that I’m autistic so a lot of things go over my head. I’m a really bad people pleaser and have a hard time sharing my true thoughts and feelings. I’m ride or die for my loved ones though, almost to a fault I think. I’m a pretty hard worker once I get past the executive dysfunction lmao.

Likes: Space/astronomy, horror/urban legends, snakes, avians (particularly corvids and vultures!), exploring, flowers (I’m a sucker for colorful ones), seeing other people do things I don’t know how to do.

Dislikes: sudden loud noises, feeling/being trapped, being yelled at (I WILL cry lol), passive aggressiveness, being patronized or talked down to.

Extra fun fact: I’m a teacher and I’ve been told I’m good with kids? I don’t have a lot of patience for very young kids though, unfortunately.

For Baldurs:

Race: I’m pretty boring irl, so I think I’d just be a happy ol’ human!

Class: Rogues are fun, but I might also be a Cleric.

D&D alignment: Neutral good (I’m a very by the book person, but don’t mind bending the rules if I think they’re stupid ones)

I hope I got everything?? Thank you so so much!!!!

~~~~~ MATCHUPS ~~~~~

Bauldrs Gate 3

Gale Dekarios

~~~~~ HEADCANONS ~~~~~

He loved how bubbly and kind you were to everyone when you met that fateful day after the crash.

He appreciated your intelligence and willingness to learn more about things very dear to the Wizard's heart.

When he opened up to you about Mystra, and you showed him genuine compassion about his circumstances, he was overwhelmed with a sincere sense of loyalty.

Soon, though, as you traversed through the goblin camp and shadow fell, that loyalty turned to love.

When he was tasked with dying, he was so afraid you would be willing to sacrifice him for the greater good; however, when you stopped him, he was so happy.

He shares the astral plane with you whenever you ask from that day forth.

He eventually teaches you how to project as well.

When the dangers of the illithids are gone, he happily takes you back to Waterdeep.

He was worried about how Tara would handle you, but you two became fast friends, sharing stories and knowledge.

It was a random day walking through Waterdeep when he realized he had never actually asked you to be his partner; it was just assumed.

When he finally does ask you, he makes a big grand show of it in the privacy of the tower

Once officially together, he will not stop telling everyone how much he loves you and is lucky to have you.

~~~~~ BLURB ~~~~~

You had just entered the Underdark with your group. The terrain was challenging to maneuver, and there was a threat almost everywhere with the mushrooms. However, once you found a safe place to camp, you all agreed it would be much needed. It was your night for watch duty, so as everyone went to bed, you began looking around the camp's perimeter. It was dark, cold, and damp here but not unbearable, to say the least. The fire nearby kept you warm enough, and you loved an opportunity to learn more.

As you looked at all the flora around you, you came into contact with a fascinating flower. A light blue glow surrounded the petals, and it smelled sweet. Smiling, you picked the three closest flowers and brought them to the camp to be examined. You had never seen anything like them, and they were beautiful. As the night progressed and you noted these attractive flowers, a groggy Gale woke for his turn on guard duty.

You heard him from his tent as he cursed because he couldn't conjure his cup of tea. You laughed at his antic and continued your writings. However, his cursing and voice grew more irritated by the minute. Standing, you walked over to him to ask what was wrong with the flowers in hand. As soon as you crossed the threshold of his tent, you could see the man's disarray. When his eyes met yours, the flowers in your hand seemed to fall into place. Gently, he took the flowers and began explaining how these flowers would, in fact, prohibit any magical use for anyone in its radius.

You laughed sheepishly and took the flower back from him. You left quickly and disposed of the new flower, sad to see something so pretty be detrimental to your friends. As you came back, Gale was observing your drawings. When you sat next to him, he smiled and began to tell you everything he knew about the flower, hoping to make up for it having to be sent away. With a smile on your face and a spring in your step, you wrote all you could leaning against Gales's shoulder the whole time.

Hazbin Hotel

Vaggie

~~~~~ HEADCANONS ~~~~~

At first, she is overwhelmed by your energy. Where you are bubbly and kind, she is loud and in charge.

She grew used to it over time and found your caring nature very refreshing.

She is fiercely loyal to all your ideas and passions, even going as far as to research them with you so she can make sure you have everything you need

She loves listening to you read or gush about topics that interest you the most.

Hell doesn't have stars, but she does her best to replicate the stars you tell her about from your mortal life.

She loves to be cuddly with you in the privacy of your rooms.

Out in the open, though, she is a big guard dog, making sure no one makes you uncomfortable.

She teaches you primary self-defense, so if she isn't around, you can protect yourself until she arrives.

When you learn of her past and accept her for who she is, she is overwhelmed with intense emotions.

It takes her a couple days to figure out how to properly thank you for being the best to her.

Your happiness is more significant than all to her, so expect her to never be too far away if you need something.

~~~~~ BLURB ~~~~~

After a particularly long day helping around the hotel, you were exhausted, to say the least. From Angel's antics to Alastor's creepiness, you didn't have much more steam in you. Even though you were the resident chipper person, only being surpassed by Charlie, you felt your patience grow thin, especially today. Changing into a comfortable set of PJs, you made your way to the lounge.

Curling up on the sofa, you flipped the TV on in hopes of finding something interesting. After minutes of flipping, you finally find a horror channel. It is interesting for hell that they only have one horror channel, but you would take it. After getting repositioned, you began watching the show and enjoying all the details. As engrossed as you were, you didn't notice your partner, Vaggie, joining you on the couch. Her thigh brushed your leg as she sat down, causing you to yelp.

Vaggie laughed gently at your reaction, holding her hands up in defense. As soon as you realized who it was, you calmed down and smiled at her. Now, this was a far better way to end the day. Your beautiful partner and a good horror flick. Repositioning on the sofa where your head lay in Vaggie's lap, you retrain your eyes on the TV. As you both grew more engrossed in the horrors on the screen, you didn't happen to notice the smiling demon standing in the dark corner, ready to pounce for his own amusement.

[neverhangd]

Anne Bonny in Baldur’s Gate

Since the brainrot is in full swing and there will likely be more forthcoming, here’s some assorted verse info! Character sheet to follow later.

Anne is still a pirate. She was adventuring out in the Sea of Swords, serving as boatswain (mate) of the Ranger; shortly before everything went to shit, she and Jack had a final row and agreed to part ways when they docked in Baldur’s Gate. The ship never quite made it to dock, though, and Anne ended up abducted by the mindflayers. Anne’s primary motivation sans-tadpole is to make a name for herself apart from Jack, as it so often is with her; unlike usual, however, she’s open to making that name for herself through any means possible (rather than exclusively through piracy).

The nitties and gritties are below the cut, for convenience’s sake!

Race: Human (half-elf but the dumbass doesn’t know it)

Class: Barbarian

Subclass: Wildheart (bg3) or Totem Warrior (5e)

Background: Folk Hero Legend (if you know bg3 more) or Sailor/Pirate (if you know 5e more)

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral to Good, depending current company

Appearance: 6’2”/186.96 cm, well-defined but not built-out; long red hair; freckled, sunburned, and scarred - mostly old bucks and bruises; there is a J branded into her back left side near the shoulder blade; pale green eyes.

Age: 24-28

Questline: The Dread Pirate. Highlights include a quest to find and kill (or at least maim) her ex-husband (could be either one tbh), find a way to get her a captaincy (which is A Route but not the preferred one) or otherwise help her establish herself as her own living legend (her ultimate goal and one achievable through a number of routes!). There are several romantic scenes as well, including one early on when your character can overhear another party member loudly saying a drawing “looks nothing like [pronoun],” and on choosing to investigate will find a flustered Anne trying to hide an open journal from the party member and now you. She will loudly complain that she “just don’t know how to feckin draw” and it’s “a way to practice for better cartography,” but it’s definitely supposed to be you. There’s a cute sidebar to this scene where if Astarion is in the party, even if as the romanced party, he’ll see a sketch of himself and may comment on it without realizing it’s a sketch of himself. When triggered, Anne will use that as proof that she’s an incredibly bad artist and this is all just practice for something practical and not her working through her feels at all.

In The Past

Anne’s (5e, pirate variant) background is that she served as the second in command to a pirate captain, her ex-husband Jack Rackham. She is a capable sailor, but ultimately a much better fighter.

Her (bg3) background is that she served specifically on the Ranger, and was Calico Jack’s right hand woman. Few people realize/know they were married, but most assume they were “bunking together.” Anne’s questline goal as The Dread Pirate is to find a way to recapture her folk hlegend status, this time for herself.

Going further back, Anne was the daughter of a minor lord from a kingdom in Laerakond, which they fled for Faerûn when Anne was quite young. She grew up a wealthy attorney’s daughter before eloping with her first husband, James Bonny, and trying her luck at sea. Their marriage…ended poorly. Despite his threats, Anne’s father never disowned her, and now lives in Baldur’s Gate—facts which Anne is unaware of.

This is around the time where it’s revealed that Anne’s genuinely a half-elf, her father’s bastard child, instead of just being a human with some weird but ultimately explainable similarities to elves (which is just some yada yada tbh). This can and will break Anne’s heart, who’s always believed and behaved like a human and who will now realize the likelihood of outliving all of this and who will probably break for a little bit at this juncture. H/C at its angstiest. Depending on your party makeup, this could ultimately serve as the less-tragic conclusion, as it ultimately allows Anne more time alive to pursue her/your/the party’s goals.

Anne is “surprisingly smart for a barbarian” largely because her youth was spent independently studying as a clerk in her father’s law firm.

In The Party

Anne is a wildheart/totem warrior (way of the bear) barbarian. Despite this—and because of her snobby upbringing—Anne trained for some time before going to sea as a fighter. It never fully suited her, for obvious reasons.

Anne is a reckless idiot and will fling herself bodily between you and danger if she decides you’re someone worth fighting for. If you’re someone worth fighting with, don’t worry: she’ll smack whatever caused the danger real hard for you later. She’s the first one in the fight and the last one out, given her way.

She has a dry, snarky manner about her that trends towards the hurtful and the obscene; charisma is her dump stat, and it shows. In spite of this, getting to know Anne is well worth the struggle, as she is a loyal, reliable, hardworking person at her core and only needs to be set upon some new direction to power through even the worst of circumstances.

Anne approves of decisions honoring free will and autonomy, favoring risky or violent behavior, and being insulted in return/being taken inoffensively when she says something in her less-than-congenial way. Anne disapproves of decisions honoring any form of forced servitude or action taken without prior permission/consent, favoring passive or deceptive behavior (with disadvantage if she has to act and her approval isn’t won first), and people being offended by her blunt and vulgar manner.

Thanks to years of backstory abuse you don’t need to worry about, Anne’s perception and insight are exceptional, and thanks to piracy she rolls with advantage on intimidation despite her low charisma.

Anne will refuse to be the “face” of the party as often as possible, as she prefers to lead fights, not conversations. (Despite this, it’s advantageous to have Anne in your party when having run-ins with most legal entities—she’s good in a fight, verbal and physical.)

In Play

Anne favors two-handed axes. (-insert swings both ways joke here-) She favors an unarmored/lightly armored approach and likes to throw things that’ll really mess up someone’s day—an unexpected weapon, a heavy item, an AOE thrown weapon, whatever.

Dexterity is Anne’s second lowest stat. Whenever possible, she’ll rely on brute strength or snap observations to get out of trouble.

[kingofthebottleshooters]

For the BG3 Tav ask: 6 and 44 for either or both of your Tavs!

Thank you so much for asking! And sorry it took me so long to post, I started answering it and then got distracted, so it's been sat in my drafts...

6: Your Tav’s origin story

Alexis (human, gloomstalker ranger) grew up wanting to join the Flaming Fist, but had to drop out after her father died, and her mother needed help looking after the family potion shop – not something Alexis exactly loved doing, but she was skilled enough at it (admittedly, not something I explored in game; two playthroughs and I’ve not played with the alchemy system at all lol). For a while, she kept her skills honed at the local guard post, sparring with people off duty and using their archery range, but that fell through around the time a budding relationship with one of them also collapsed; since then, she’s been focused almost entirely on the shop. She has a bit of a complicated relationship with her mother, who didn’t handle the bereavement well – Alexis often feels frustrated with her and the situation she’s found herself in, but there’s love on both sides, just difficulty expressing it sometimes.

Keira (high elf, devotion paladin) left the elvish community she was born in to move to Baldurs Gate with her parents when she was small; she’s never really understood why, but suspects that it was as much exile as anything else. Her parents refuse to speak of it, and in some ways she’d rather not know – she was happy in Baldurs Gate, and doesn’t really remember much of their life prior to that. She always had a strong drive to help people, and being a paladin was more about that than any major religious devotion, although she's always taken her oath seriously. Her parents died several years ago while she was away, and she misses them terribly (good job she's got a whole new family of choice now huh :))

44 - what song best represents your Tav?

I've got to be honest, I've thought long and hard about this, but I can't think of any! I've never really thought of characters in those terms, tbh, other than a couple of rare exceptions. Sorry!

[neechees]

i am very excited to see what you have to say about gow5 :)))

tbh I don’t even know what to think currently, I have some thoughts certainly but most of what I predict MIGHT be in the next game are either a given, or just what I’m hoping for or just some of my own theories hfdshfsf. I’m kinda wondering how long the game is going to be and how they’re going to tie everything in and how far they’re going to take Ragnarok, I feel like that’s the main factor to everything else. Like, are they going to go all the way and have an apocalyptic setting similar to gow3, or is it more of a slow burn that doesn’t happen til later? Are they planning a gow5?? I guess I’ll just list what I THINK MIGHT happen?

Ragnarok doesn’t necessarily mean an end to the *world* or even their geographical region (& it’s not even necessarily a bad thing, but it’s more of rebirth or renewal than an apocalypse), but that it’s quite literally the end of the Aesir *gods* and that’s why they wanted to prevent it so badly, and why the world suddenly became dark and scary when Atreus almost died (because Ragnarok is inevitable, he was supposed to help cause it, and something that’s meant to happen, therefore if it doesn’t, it fucks with the world)

Faye (HOPEFULLY) makes an appearance? I feel like if she did it would most likely be in the form of a flashback or a dream. When I first watched/played gow I actually thought she was going to make intermediate appearances as a ghost, or at least even once, similarly to Athena in gow3. I think they purposely held off on doing this to give us hte feeling of missing Faye just like the characters, even though we never even “met” her or saw her face. I’m just wondering if they will show her somehow just based on the collective fanbase response of vocally wanting to see her for ourselves. Even if we just get some concept art or if she makes an appearance in the stalled upcoming comic, I’ll be satisfied

The Giants Army is something that’s mentioned in mythology but also by Mimir where an army of Giants is supposed to take out Thor and Odin? But if they killed most Frost Giants (that we know of), then maybe it’s Surtr and the Fire Giants? The Fire Giants comin in to duke it out with the Aesir out of solidarity & revenge for their Frost Giant cousins sounds badass tbh but I also want an explanation for why they didn’t do it sooner? I wanna see Surtr

Thrud/Þrúðr, Thor’s daughter, makes an appearance maybe? In Norse Mythology she’s a Valkryie, but we never met her as one, and Sindri briefly mentioned that there’s some messy family drama going on with her. So my guess is that, if we see her, she’s too young to be a Valkyrie & maybe she’s sent in as a replacement to find Atreus/Kratos after Thor’s sons and Baldur died (because Thor is lazy)

Characters that I think they MIGHT bring in: Nanna (Baldur’s wife), Bastet and/or Sekhmet but briefly, Angrboda (not really as a love interest, but just a friend :) Atreus would be hinted to have a lil crush on her I think), TYR HE’S ALIVE

Those are just some ideas that I have anyway that aren’t like, already discussed, like Freya possibly getting revenge on Kratos etc. I’m also hoping for bi Kratos and genderfluid Atreus but hfuahf

[theseerasures]

Conspicuous Media Consumption, 2020

it’s that time of year again! *saddest toot from the party horn*

for those of you just joining us: it’s a “consume a different content every week for 48 weeks of the year” challenge. for a longer explanation, check out last year’s write-up here, and as always, feel free to pop in and ask questions about any and all of this content.

(same disclaimer as last year too: content for this project ONLY here, and not certain...*looks at my billion Sad Cop Lady posts*...hyperfixations.)

(man remember when i was big into X-Men comics earlier this year? better times than these, if only because no one's discoursing about Emma Frost’s woobie/war criminal ratio anymore--her w/w, if you will)

(...i swear at one point i didn’t exclusively like platinum blondes but alas)

Bitter Root (comic, 1 issue finished 1/1/2020): still very cool on a basic concept level, but runs into the Image Comics problem of just not having enough content to keep my interest beyond that. part of that is on me, for picking it up again BEFORE the second arc rolled out, but the first five issues didn’t really follow (or resolve) any cohesive story either, so...meh.

Immortal Hulk (comic, 3 trades finished 1/17/2020): still not gonna be something i care deeply about (maybe one of Bruce’s Hulksonas dyed his hair???), but i do want to give kudos to Al Ewing for sheer consistency in terms of sustaining this level of quality storytelling month by month for more than two years now. working with the dense archive of the Hulk mythos and managing to make it interesting and thoughtful is impressive even if i personally would not expend the same effort.

Disco Elysium (game, finished 1/18/2020): honestly i should have twigged onto what this year was gonna be like when the third thing i drew from the barrel was pure uncut Eastern European flavored depression. i faintly recall people ragging on it for being pretentiously cynical, but i actually thought its core slid more towards idealism than people give it credit for. also gratified that i haven’t heard anything about Robert Kurvitz using slave labor to finish it, which is a thing we have to say about our video games now!!! fun.

Watchmen (TV, 7 episodes finished 1/27/2020): i am a fool who wants to believe in Damon Lindelof and I WAS RIGHT!!! honestly still cannot believe that he pulled off this highwire act with such deft aplomb. might be my favorite TV this year, which is a pretty high bar given how much TV i ended up watching.

On a Sunbeam (comic, finished 2/1/2020): Tillie Walden rightly deserves all the praise for inventive queer storytelling, but i will say that on reread--since i first read this as a webcomic--there ARE some issues with pacing here that clearly come from the foibles of its original intended medium. still just excellent, even if after some plot significant haircuts i was having trouble telling a few folks apart.

Lazarus (comic, 1 trade finished 2/8/2020): it’s so good and i want moooooorrrreee--though obviously Rucka and Lark have the right to take all the time they need. the newer longer issues work really well with the epic prestige drama vibes of the story! i’m into it.

The Good Place (TV, 4 seasons finished 2/18/2020): i’m gonna be super honest: i actually wasn’t a big fan of the finale, nor the last season as a whole. it felt like all of Eleanor’s flaws vanished for a majority of the season, and the Chidi-centric episode where they tried to give a legible justification for why he’s Like This was...i didn’t care for it. still, it’s so good and unique on the WHOLE that we’ll literally never get anything like this ever again, and that counts for a lot.

The Old Republic (game, finished 2/21/2020): it’s an MMO so it will never actually Be Finished so long as the servers aren’t shut down, but i caught up on the content i’d missed in the intervening months. Onslaught thus far has mostly been...kinda bland tbh; going back to Imps vs. Rebs after all the shakeups in the previous expansions feels like a waste.

High Road (album, finished 2/22/2020): someone should tell Kesha not to say that word!! otherwise i was very happy with this album, and happy FOR her even though we don’t know each other. being able to find joy again in the same genre of music you made while you were being horrifically exploited is very cool.

Young Justice (TV, 13 episodes finished 2/28/2020): given how much the middle stuff dragged--STOP KILLING YOUR HIJABI CHARACTER IN HORRIFIC WAYS--i was...actually kinda mad by how the end managed to stick the landing anyway. the day being saved by Vic’s self-acceptance and Violet’s sublime compassion was A+, and even the Brion/Tara switchup was a pleasant surprise, though it relied on me caring about Brion MUCH MORE than i actually did.

Manic (album, finished 2/29/2020): do people still care for/about Halsey? i feel like even That One Song that was on every tumblr gifset ever has kinda faded into obscurity at this point. this album was...okay. i feel like people give Halsey a pass for extremely obvious lyrical turns that they wouldn’t for other folks because of her subject material--which is fine. not really my cup of tea, but i also listened to lots of Relient K this year, so that’s probably a good thing.

Jade Empire (game, 3/10/2020): the only 3D-era Bioware game that didn’t franchise out, and for good fucking reason!!! the Orientalism and appropriation really haven’t aged well, and even beyond that the story was...standard Bioware faire. even my usual “my wife’s a bitch i love her” Bioware type didn’t do it for me, and i just ended up romancing no one. it did make me think a lot about what level of cultural borrowing is accepted nowadays, and why: people still look fondly at Avatar and talk about how ~accurate and respectful it was, for example, despite it being staffed almost entirely by white folks, and the Orientalism ALL OVER the monk class in DND is still fine for some reason.

Alif the Unseen (book, finished 3/31/2020): interesting to have read this AFTER reading The Bird King last year, because it highlights how the intervening years have shifted G. Willow Wilson’s thematic interest and improved her craft. i’m actually quite fond of how her characterization work is rougher here--Alif is extremely flawed to the point of being insufferable, but it makes his development by the end more satisfying. Dina is also just good and i love her

Baldur’s Gate (2 games, finished 5/31/2020): well, having finally finished the series i’m happy to say that it...still doesn’t really do it for me, sorry. any awesome story moments were overshadowed by the EXCRUCIATING inventory management system and the combat (i still don’t know what a THAC0 is and at this point i’m afraid to find out). these games crucially lack the Home Base that later Bioware games were so good about, and that (coupled with the huge cast of characters you can drop off and never see again) really hurts the intimacy for me. by the time we finally did get one it was the Hell Dimension in Throne of Bhaal, and i was just...trying to get through it. (yes, i did just say that about one of the most beloved expansions ever to one of the most beloved games ever.) THIS particular iteration of “my wife’s a bitch i love her” was very good, but the game wouldn’t let me romance her :(

The Underground Railroad (book, finished 6/19/2020): honestly what is there even left to say at this point! it was exactly as good as every critic on the planet said it was, even with my usual aversion to hype. draining and horrifying in turns but still insistent upon a future for Black folks.

Steven Universe (6 seasons and a mooooooviiieeee, finished 7/11/2020): yes, i DID finish the show and almost immediately begin a rewatch. this series is now one of my top five most formative things, and the amount of love and respect i have for it is incalculable. that said: i once again did not love how the central conflict of Future was resolved (just the resolution--i loved the finale just fine). for all of Steven’s breakdown was built up, resolving it with “EVERYONE HUG HIM UNTIL HE CRIES” felt...cheap, especially since up until this point the show had been so good about treating trauma and mental illness with the respect and nuance it deserves. it made me wish some of the earlier, less substantial episodes had been cut so we could spend more time at the end.

What It Is (comic, finished 8/19/2020): y’all i love Lynda Barry SO MUCH. for the longest time i was worried that One Hundred Demons was more a lightning in a bottle situation but every book of hers i pick up makes me feel obscure emotions i didn’t even realize existed. the compassionate way she’s able to describe her child self and how weird and fucked up she was (and still is) is honestly aspirational.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (TV, 5 seasons finished 9/26/2020): so here’s a reversal of what i’ve been complaining about with other shows: i was mostly lukewarm-to-warm about She-Ra, but the later seasons and the finale made me much more into it as a whole. more shows should improve in stakes and overall quality as they age tbh!! i still don’t actively love Catradora (my sole quibble with season 5 actually has to do with the way Adora kept backsliding as a character to make certain Plot/Relationship things happen), but i’m very happy for them nonetheless. i can certainly appreciate a show that will go for High Feeling over tight plot. dark horse standout moments: trees growing everywhere proving that Perfuma Was Right, and Hordak and Adora seeing each other--that weirdly intimate moment of recognition.

Fetch the Bolt Cutters (album, finished 10/7/2020): again i find myself not having much to say that no one else has said. it’s good! once again love it when an artist reclaims something they’d attached with negative affect (anxiety, depression, disordered eating) for better and brighter things.

Solutions and Other Problems (comic, finished 10/25/2020): i was very into Allie Brosh’s ambition with this book, which feels weird to say but i stand by it. it’s cool to see an artist try to make a new medium work for them instead of just sticking to what already works. not all the experimentation was 100% effective, but it was still delightful and occasionally devastating to read, so.

Legend of Zelda (3 games: Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Link Between Worlds, finished 11/1/2020): this was the third time i’d played Ocarina of Time, which made it the nice, comforting groove i settled into before Majora’s Mask blatted me in the face. i’m not usually a completionist Zelda person because...the gameplay in Zelda is bad, do not at me it just is, but i really felt like i HAD to be one for Majora’s Mask since the whole point is to get attached to the banalities of the town. i’m sure nobody’s surprised that i loved it, even if it gave me an existential crisis about how life goes on in the game for NPCs when you’re not there to save them from it, and there’s not enough time to save them all all the time (also not a surprise to anyone: Romani and Cremia gave Personal Feelings). Link Between Worlds...bad. not like in a “this is a bad story by every measurable gauge” way, but i was already struggling with the 2D playstyle shift enough that for the whole story to end with some “yes it’s v sad that Lorule is Like This but trying to steal Hyrule’s privilege is Even Worse Actually” noblesse oblige bullshit left a VERY poor taste in my mouth, this year of all years. i did audibly gasp when Ravio took off his mask, though. i’m currently playing Breath of the Wild in cautious increments; it’s the first time i’ve enjoyed early Zelda gameplay, but if they wanted fully voiced cutscenes i wish they got voice actors who...knew what words sound like.

folklore (album, finished 11/6/2020): my belief that Taylor Swift is Just Fine continues, i’m afraid. i LIKED this album, don’t get me wrong, and respect her constant drive to innovate, but i didn’t love it substantially more or less than any other Taylor Swift album. mostly i’m just tickled by how she thinks leaning into the indie aesthetic means borrowing Vita Sackville-West’s entire wardrobe, though i will admit to feeling Something when she swore in a song. i think it was like. savage vindication?? you go ahead and swear, Taylor Swift. you deserve it.

Shore (album, finished 11/19/2020): do people still care about the Fleet Foxes? i think there was some Drama with Josh Tillman a while back but i don’t remember where the discourse landed with who was being more problematic. it was nostalgic for me to listen to their new album--made me remember being an undergrad who exclusively listened to men who mumbled and played acoustic guitar all over again.

Star Wars (3 movies: original trilogy, finished 11/27/2020): there is So Much bad Star Wars these days that every time i rewatch the original trilogy i’m afraid that they will suddenly be bad, but guess what! they’re not. i love these children and their hot mess stories, i love that Lando doesn’t know how to say his best friend’s name. what stood out to me this time was the way Obi-Wan described the Force in A New Hope, which strongly implied that ANYONE can be Force Sensitive; that obviously faded with each subsequent movie, but part of me does wish they’d kept it.

X of Swords (comics, 22 issues finished 12/5/2020): i am enjoying Hickman’s X-lines!!! not so much here for the Grand Conspiracy or whatever, but the character work and highkey weirdness is fabulous--they FEEL like X-Men, despite all the shakeups in-universe. this crossover is a nice microcosm of all that: grandiloquently all over the place, but still full of cool standout moments and genuine hilarity. ILLYANA DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO SPELL MAGIC.

Fire Emblem (4 games: Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Awakening, finished 12/14/2020): this was the thing that i was closest to giving up early on, but i ended up hyperfixating on it instead. that’s a credit to what the gameplay does to my lizard brain more than anything else, because the story and character writing is...insipid. it was very bizarre to witness this franchise blunder around with its animal-people racism allegory around the same time i was getting back into RWBY, and ITS animal-people racism allegory blunders. Awakening was the first time i felt anything for the franchise beyond “teehee red units disappear make exp bar go up and brain go ding,” so i’m excited for more mature storytelling in subsequent games (they MUST get better. they MUST). the child husbandry thing is...very bad tho, and Apotheosis being “challenging” entirely through the game changing all the rules is also bad.

once again no vidya games that came out this year--i’ll probably pick up Spiritfarer or Hades after the New Year, though (or maybe TLOU II! but probably not. sry Laura and Ashley). more TV and franchises this year, which made me feel In Touch with the Children but was also kinda exhausting. nothing was so egregiously terrible i dropped it without finishing! in a year like this that feels almost like an accomplishment

[codariidoescrimes]

gaymer questionaire!!!!

tagged by @the-whisky-witch tysm!!!

Rules: Fill in your answers below and tag some buddies!

Games

First game you ever played: It was ummmm... castles of doctor creep with my dad using a commodore 64 emulator. my first mmorpg was runes of magic, which is pretty dead now but I was super into it back when it was still a thing, it’s where I got into pvp for the first time Favorite game: Pathologic 2 which is a game literally everyone should play Game you’ve played through multiple times: ....the VGA version of King’s Quest 2 Game you hated at first but now love: honestly none that I can think of Game you used to love but now hate: nothing I can think of here either Your favorite game atmosphere/setting(s): fallout new vegas Game with the best group/companion(s): SW:TOR or Dragon Age 2 A game with your favorite ending: Not sure if this counts, but that bit at the theatre in the end of pathologic classic. tbh the ACTUAL endings of that game fucked SO HARD A game with the WORST ending: Star Wars: Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight did... not... have great writing (the gameplay was still super fun tho) Best character customization?: I really like what the Pillars of Eternity games do with the personality dialogue options

Hero and Companions

Your favorite playable character: My main man Artemy Burakh The funniest playable character: Purple Hawke obvs Your favorite companion(s): oh my god why would you ask me this Companions you could live without: Skadge lmao, who even likes him??

Relationships

Favorite game friendship(s): Artemy with Sticky and Murky..... Favorite game relationship(s): Doesn’t involve a player character, but Parvati and Junlei from the outer worlds was just so fuckin sweet, I mean Parvati is amazing in and of herself and then her interactions with Junlei were SO GOOD Favorite companion banter: DA 2 A relationship you weren’t sure of but loved: Don’t know off the top of my head sorry :/ A character you wish you COULD romance: Pallegina from PoE. When they said they she was on the list of companions they were bringing back and that PoE 2 was going to have romances I was so hyped until I found out she wasn’t one of them. Love my birb paladin. A minor character you wish could be a companion: Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3, she seemed REALLY cool

Fun

Shoutout to a random NPC: the individual? in the haystack in King’s Quest 2 VGA A game you love watching playthroughs for and want to play: Sea of Thieves as soon as it comes to steam, I’m always a slut for pirates Love watching playthroughs but won’t ever play: Most horror games, i CANT handle them but I love watching someone else play Online gaming or solo?: Multiplayer, but not necessarily “online” with random people, I prefer to game with people I already know Why do you play video games?: for fun and to hang with my pals :D

[clouds-of-wings]

Rating of all Bioware romances I’ve played

(Note: for a lot of people anything under 7/10 seems to basically mean it’s crap, for me everything under 3/10 means crap, 5/10 means it’s okay - because it’s in the middle - and 7/10 is already pretty good. Also if anyone else wants to make a post like this too, that would be cool, I’d like to read it.)

Baldur’s Gate 2

Jaheira - 7/10 lots of long, intelligent conversations I don’t recall at all, it seems weird to romance your mom figure tbh but nice to not have constant drama Aerie - 5/10 here you double as therapist and cause some serious character development. It’s not really interesting though and then she has a kid at the worst possible moment. I’m still torn on whether the whole “if you sleep with her when she first offers, the romance is over” was a good idea. Viconia - 8/10 starter of countless puberties the world over, you can’t just agree with everything she says or she’ll see you as weak and pathetic, which puts this romance head and shoulders over most of the rest already. Crap ending though, and a shame that they didn’t make her bi like they planned. Although, given Drow gender roles, that would have meant having to write 2 completely different romances probably. Anomen - 1/10 uncontroversially terrible, only gets a single point because you can make him betray everything he stands for, then break up with him, strip him of all equipment and leave him wounded in the wilderness, which I have done on at least 2 playthroughs Edwin (fanmade) - 6/10 the romance a million fangirls were waiting for. Starts out great, becomes unrealistic later due to too fast progression and the player’s response choices being too good. No one really talks like that. Haer’dalis (fanmade) - 10/10 the best, the amazing, everything that’s good and pure in the world, I eventually started responding as myself instead of as my character because it felt like he was actually listening to me, peering at me through the screen, and I wanted to know what he would say. The author is a professional writer if I remember correctly, which might expl- ahh no wait I just remembered that the canon romances are written by professional writers too haha oops Yoshimo (fanmade) - ?/10 too buggy to finish but great alt portrait!

Neverwinter Nights

Aribeth - 9/10 a complicated, sensitive and ambitious woman gets a boyfriend who can’t help her. Here you - spoiler alert - help your mentor cope with her husband being sentenced to death by her king for political reasons, fall in love, then she starts a war and you kill her, meet her again in hell and fight the devil together! Best storyline of all romances for sure! Aarin - 3/10 all I remember is that he tells you endless BORING stories of his life, then gives you gifts for enduring them... but my sister likes him Valen - 5/10 very attractive but also kinda boring. I don’t really like the brooding hero type. my sister REALLY liked him though, one bonus point for horns, one for “yes, my love?” Nathyrra - 3/10 I remember absolutely nothing of her romance, actually had to check while writing this whether she even was a romance option. But I didn’t hate it either, apparently.

Neverwinter Nights 2

All main campaign romances - 3/10 they were utterly forgettable, sorry I could not even bring myself to finish either of them - I don’t even remember who the male romance option was. I wanted to romance Sand and/or Shandra, but nooo we had to... I think there was a paladin and that brown-haired druid, right? And some flirts with this manic pixie dream tiefling? Who gets jealous when you romance druid lady but you can’t actually romance her instead? Bishop - 1000/10 I hated the fucker but it’s funny how realistic his “romance” is: the developers cut the plans for his romance but couldn’t be arsed to remove the writing for it that was already in the game (lol this game is such a mess I can’t believe the balls it took to even release it), so you have a guy who keeps insulting you and being a general fedora DOUCHE... and then betrays you and joins your enemies because “my love meant nothing to you”. Unintentionally great writing! Safiya - 3/10 she’s one of my favourite video game characters ever but the romance made me very uncomfortable. Safiya seems like the kind of woman who’d only be attracted to a very specific kind of person and the game doesn’t give you the option of playing as that kind of personality. I ended up breaking up with her because it felt like the game was holding a gun to her head and forcing her to say she loved me. In a way it’s a point in the game’s favour that both joinable female NPCs are complicated, strong-willed women who would realistically probably not be taken in by the rather generic responses the game allows you to give them (out of necessity of course - a game can’t give you 100 dialogue options and let all of them lead to different outcomes, that would take 293482 years to program). Gann - 9/10 honestly my favourite canon romance. Male Viconia, moody, sardonic, tired of being objectified, pretends to be arrogant as a coping mechanism (lol), it’s actually difficult to make him fall in love with you, which is great - I gained influence with him once by calling him ugly, then lost it again for saying I was sorry he lost his parents. Would romance again anytime.

Dragon Age: Origins

Alistair - 8/10 lots and lots of fun. Saw him and my warden more as bros but played the romance just because he’s so much fun to talk to Zevran - 2/10 wanted to romance him until I actually met him. Very much Not My Type. Still had sex with him in the middle of the camp minutes after Alistair confessed his love to me ahahaha Leliana - 3/10 very boring, didn’t get beyond second romance talk Morrigan - ?? have only played the game once & with a woman but would like to try her romance one day.

[neranishin]

hiiiiii. I crave people talking about Baldur's Gate characters. would you mind telling who are your fav companions in the series and why you like them?

OH BOY ummmm

Ok so the first thing you need to know, is that the first time I played Baldur’s Gate 2, I was like... 12... and had terrible taste. so my boy Anomen is way up there in my list of fave party members, because I have to save him from his shitty dad, and also himself. Because 12 year old me had terrible taste and fell for his romance novel lines, and 20+ year old me looked at him and went “Oh, honey, no, you can be so much better than this,” and refused to let go.

SO WITH THAT DISCLAIMER OF MY QUESTIONABLE TASTE OUT OF THE WAY

I love Imoen, obviously. She is my fictional little sister, and the only time I didn’t bring her in my party was in my token evil play-through. And even there, I justified it with “Rook has a soft spot for her little sister, and that is a weakness, so clearly her little sister has to be ELSEWHERE.” And then she was in the party in bg2 anyway, because of the plot, and because Rook had by then developed enough confidence/brutality that she didn’t see Immy as a weakness so much anymore.

But in every other playthrough it’s been “little sister, partner in crime, must bring along and protect.”

Lessee... I actually haven’t brought Nalia along much, but she came along on my paladin’s “I’m just gonna adopt every weirdo noble child in this city” playthrough and I loved getting to watch her grow. tbh all of my favorite companions are the ones who start out some kind of insufferable and then learn better. 

I like my personal version of Garrick, who is a slightly oblivious but well-meaning and cheerful bard, and I choose to ignore his bg2 cameo, cause what the hell was that. He doesn’t always get to come along, but he’s my boy.

I love??? Rasaad??? Rasaad is so good. My only complaint about Rasaad is that romancing him feels like it comes at the cost of his own personal mental health. So I’m probably never gonna be able to do it again and just leave him with the heretics where hopefully they can all help each other heal, instead of. like. Enabling him on his revenge obsession and watching him hurt himself over it. Rasaad bby plz

Dorn was excellent fun and wonderfully well-written, and I’m probably also never gonna be able to romance him again either, because I’ve got a huge Paladin Thing and all the paladin murder that his quests understandably require hurt me in my soul. But it was super worth it the one time I managed. Maybe if I ever get through my backlog of Bhaalspawn concepts and replay Rook.

hmmm Jaheira is my mom/big sister and I love her. Aerie is my other fictional little sister and I love her, and I’m so fuckin mad that bringing them in the same party while you play a boy results in a ton of unnecessary petty drama, because it means I’ve never gotten to see Aerie’s romance. Though from what I’ve read, I’d probably have to rewrite a bunch of it mentally anyway, sooo who knows. I just want to bring all the pre-traumatized companions under my wings and keep them safe forever. This is who I am as a person. I will fight anyone who hates Aerie. I need to find the person who draws Aerie/Imoen fluff and shower them with compliments and gratitude now that I’m not afraid to comment on things tbh. Good cute ship 10/10

I love the concept of Haer Dalis but have never actually kept him long enough to see much content ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

sorry that this has been BG2 heavy, but most of my interactions and love for BG1 characters are based on my own personal headcanons to the extent that I like... try to avoid any other interpretations because What If They Are Different. If you want to know how I interpret any BG1 characters feel free to send me another ask! And thank you!! For giving me an opportunity to think about how much I love these games!!!

[treeplays]

Shadowrun Returns spoiler-free thoughts

I didn’t know anything about the lore or the setting when I first started and tbh I still don’t know much. There aren’t any codex entries or background info given besides the loading screen text, which is less lore and more background/exposition, in a very novel-esque way. I always had the feeling that there was much more to this setting than what I was being told, nods to veteran players and such, but you really don’t need to know much to get into it.

Shadowrun takes place in a near cyberpunk future in which an “awakening” took place in the early 2000s; magic became real, along with elves, dwarves, orcs, and trolls. I actually first bought this game years ago but only barely started it, and yes I picked it up again bc all this talk of Bright made me think of it… lol

The story is a very noir-ish murder mystery conspiracy. It didn’t ever really hook me but it was fun to read and there is a lot of reading here. No voice acting at all and graphics are pretty but very different to get used to if youve never played this type of game, isometric style ala Baldur’s Gate, Fallout 1 and 2, Planescape Torment etc. The combat is turn-based so it can be very tedious but also satisfying.. those critical shotgun blasts! The weapons sound effects are nice but i didn’t get much ambience, music would be better if not so repetitive.

The game is a lot shorter than I expected and there aren’t really any branching storylines or many sidequests besides a couple. According to Steam I have 25 hours on it but take away a bunch from restarts and leaving my computer on during breaks whoops so maybe 18ish hours if you take your time. The story was kindof repetitive, go on a mission, come back to the same area, talk to everyone, buy supplies, hire companions, rinse and repeat 5 times etc. And maybe I missed something but there wasn’t much resolution to multiple story elements/characters in the ending. And there doesn’t seem to be much effect from race choices, I mean I tried out different races but ended up playing my human and it didn’t seem to affect anything, it doesn’t really seem worth replaying to find out honestly. To me the dialogue options all felt too much like the same exact character, a very fun character mind you but not really anything to differentiate multiple playthroughs. I can’t say for sure but I got the feeling that there isnt a ton of difference in conversations no matter what you choose to say. There are skill checks but again, not worth enough to make me want to play again. And aside from 2 or 3 temporary party members there aren’t really companion characters with their own stories and personalities either so that’s another downside but I hear the other Shadowrun games are much improved in that regard and in every other way too. 

So in short, a pretty good introduction, not really worth multiple playthroughs but it’s got me interested enough to check those out the other later games sometime in the future!

[elfyourmother]

📌 7. Do you have characters that you know you’ll never use, but can’t bear to get rid of/recycle?✒️ 11. If you have characters that embody certain traits of yours—good or bad—has writing them changed how you view those traits? Has it affected you in any way?

📌 7. Do you have characters that you know you’ll never use, but can’t bear to get rid of/recycle?

I don’t tbh. I tend to recycle those super old characters, either by reinventing them or cannibalizing the better aspects of them that worked into newer characters. Even my old Bhaalspawn from Baldur’s Gate became a canon immigrant to Kupopolis, I just changed the evil god that spawned her to one that fit the Kupop setting. If I’m really that attached to a character, I find ways to use them or build on them or take from them. And sometimes that’s a subconscious process. I tend to gravitate towards a lot of the same ideas and archetypes with characters. And I’m also big on shoutouts and call backs to my earlier stuff, even when no one would ever recognize them but me. Like Risane Traisere, my blood elf rogue, shares a last name with a much older roguish/spy OC from my original stuff and is named as homage to him. (Dandy doesn’t even know that!)

✒️ 11. If you have characters that embody certain traits of yours—good or bad—has writing them changed how you view those traits? Has it affected you in any way?

Mari and Khedira are sort of the embodiment of my constant struggle with sexuality (another reason they can be difficult for me to write). All of my characters deal with that to some degree (even Gisele, believe it or not) but it’s really underscored with them because they each have similarly fraught relationships with it, albeit for very different reasons. I’m not sure how it’s affected me tbh. I want to say that on some level it’s helped, but bad fandom discourse set me way tf back in a lot of respects and made it harder to write about them as sexual beings. Being around people who advocated a really insidious kind of respectability politics (even though they would swear that’s not what they were doing) for so long was...not good. Idk, I wish I had a better answer for this. It’s hard.

[grubhivemind]

-- devicefulFlightrisk [DF] began pestering decastichAmazifier [DA] -- 

DF: Hi. 

DF: Are you still on Avalon? 

DF: I was just wondering... 

DF: If anything else was happening? There? Or... 

DF: I dont know.

DA: yeah i'm still here, not pullin out yet 

DA: nothin is goin on form what i can see but i got my eyes in as many places as i can 

DA: check your local Kavi for street stories 

DA: i got this shit my man if anything happens you want updates 

DA: also i know you've been asked  how you are a million times so i'm not gonna do that but i do definitely give a shit how you are

DF: Oh, its okay... I dont really mind people asking. 

DF: Im just not sure what to say... 

DF: Theres... 

DF: A lot going through my head I guess.

DA: wanna talk through it?

DF: ... 

DF: I think I do. 

DF: It hurts too much to carry it around. 

DF: But I dont know... Its scary to even think about. 

DF: For... a lot of reasons.

DA: no judgement man 

DA: just let her rip 

DA: have at me, ramble all you gotta

DF: :( 

DF: I just... wish I wasnt thinking about it the way that I am. 

DF: I want to be angry... I want to pretend I never had anything to do with any of that. Like... 

DF: Like its unforgivable. 

DF: Because it is. 

DF: But I dont feel that way. 

DF: I can only think of what Id do if 

DF: 

DF: Theyre his family... I cant even imagine how Id react to 

DF: Its stupid. Im stupid for thinking that way!!! 

DF: I shouldve just listened to Joel!!!!!!!!

DA: woof, never thought i'd read that statement ever 

DA: obviously he'd never know about this but now he'll especially never know, we can't let his ego have this 

DA: but anyway 

DA: it's not dumb to rationalize 

DA: for many reasons, i think 

DA: for one you were into him and for two that's... yeah? makes sense? 

DA: we all kinda Rush The Fuck In™ when it comes to our family and that's like... understandable?

DF: But it doesnt matter... 

DF: Nobody else sees it that way. Even if people do, its not... 

DF: I dont know. It just doesnt matter. 

DF: I wish I was never a part of any of this. 

DF: It hurts so much... 

DF: I dont know why I ever thought things could work out.

DA: well 

DA: i'll tell you somethin jujubee 

DA: if you think somethin is worth it then they can work out... it's just give and take and i dunno man 

DA: it's a complicated situation 

DA: i'm not really a big fan of violence either if it can be avoided but not all people are like that and some shit is plain inexcusable 

DA: and mayve sometimes you try and things just still don't work out it's about how much you're willin to give up 

DA: i tried to give Sapire a second chance and that didn't work so now he's like.... gone forever i guess? which it sucks and all that but like, you have to focus on you at the end of the day 

DA: don't compromise your feelings or morals for anyone man, it might keep someone in your life but it'd just make you miserable in the long-run 

DA: and you deserve more than that :(

DF: Its so confusing... 

DF: Like... if circumstances were different... It would have been perfect. You know? DF: Im afraid that Ill forgive anything just to have that feeling back. It just... aches!!! Ive never felt so awful... 

DF: But... Its scarier thinking of how alienated Id feel from everyone else. 

DF: If I forgave it, I dont think anyone would forgive me.

DA: that's somethin you're gonna need time to think about 

DA: and i mean just because you forgive someone doesn't mean they're out of the shit 

DA: to be honest i can't really think of anything that would be a suitable punishment or penalty or whatever but i mean it doesn't have to be black or white 

DA:  also things are stupid hectic right now so taking time to think or even worrying about it later is probably best for you in this situation 

DA: shit's tense

DF: I guess youre right... 

DF: Im worried whats going to happen on Avalon too... Without Kougah there to take care of things. 

DF: I wish the people had just listened... We couldve done something. 

DF: I know... some things??? But I dont know if I can really help on my own. It feels... hopeless to try.

DA: yeah Baldur feels the same, he was actually asking me if i did any shit with music and that it might help? 

DA: to be honest i'm not keen on anyone dipping toe out the castle 

DA: also i've already got the place on lockdown so like 

DA: nah? 

DA: i get he wants to help but he's not about to solo this shit out

DF: ... Well, um... 

DF: Maybe we could work something out... 

DF: Auryhn, Kagome and Karima could come with us? They could watch out for us while we try to ... do our thing or whatever. 

DF: I just... I dont know what might happen and I dont want to stand idly by... :(

DA: mm 

DA: maybe yeah 

DA: you guys can put what you know together and try to do your thing 

DA: but we all are definitely sticking together, it's crazy out there so just.. we'll try to set this shit up and give it a go and see how it goes but if it doesn't work then i'm sorry but i wouldn't vote for another trip back in...

DF: Thats... probably fair. 

DF: I guess Ill try getting ahold of Baldur and see what we can do. 

DF: Ugh... 

DF: I really should be relaxing, shouldnt I? :( 

DF: But I cant help thinking about all this...

DA: lmao to be honest i should be relaxing too probably 

DA: Nellie's been making me chill the fuck out but ... no?? 

DA: there's so much to do and so much to think about and so much to plan for 

DA: it's impossible to waste time and there's too much going on to not be doing shit 

DA: is what it feels like, and probably is 

DA: i think it just needs to get to the point where we're not running ourselves ragged 

DA: do what we can, plan some shit out, then when it's like you gotta scrounge for shit to do then stop

DF: Yeah... That makes sense. 

DF: There isnt much I can do right now... 

DF: What have you been keeping yourself busy with? Exactly?

DA: mostly making sure this castle is impossible to get in if you're not supposed to be in it but also making sure we're not exactly sitting ducks 

DA: right now i'm doing a little minor reprogramming to some of his service bots around here 

DA: also playing host 

DA: makin some food and shit 

DA: gotta keep the guests well fed 

DA: i've also been watching the monitors i can tap into but some are too fuckin far

DF: Ohhh... Wow. You have been busy. 

DF: Id probably be doing the same. Hehe. 

DF: Im glad youre keeping safe... I think of all the places you could be on Avalon, thats already the safest. Um. 

DF: In terms of avoiding certain dangers... The weather probably isnt great up there. But even then... 

DF: Im just relieved.

DA: you know me, ever the busy bee :P 

DA: and yeah it's a chill place to be for now 

DA: tbh i wish Auryhn would drop the fuck in but idk i know he has a job also he's just.... upset really 

DA: he's a big guy but him feelings too big for him damn body

DF: Oh.... Yeah...... 

DF: I can imagine this is all pretty, um... Stressful for him, too.

DA: yeah... 

DA: i'll wear him down eventually i'm confident of it 

DA: but it's all fresh right now, he's still processing i think so yeah. it's just a lot for everyone to absorb

DF: It is..... 

DF: But... Im glad I talked to you about it. I feel a little less overwhelmed now... 

DF: At least my thoughts are sorted out a little better, if nothing else...

DA: glad to help Peapod <3 

DA: i'm glad we could talk, sorry i couldn't make it to the open invite thing but i'll get at you later 

DA: before all this i dug up some manga turned anime about two dudes whose dongs got turned into chicks and the chicks are gay for each other 

DA: if that's not a pride month shitfest of a marathon i don't know what is 

DA: give me the large gays and tiny lesbians 

DA: so yeah. strap the fuck in next time we get together

DF: Thats...... :O 

DF: That sure is the concept of an anime alright! 

DF: Hehe... Im looking forward to it.