#dredge trader

[raindrop-stimmies]

Trader (dredge) stimboard!

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[prim-moth]

Some of my faves!

[tvstaticanger]

SPOILERS FOR DREDGE UNDER CUT:

i couldnt leave this in the notes because god ur so fucking right. i was mostly going off skin design but these are fantastic. may i also offer a few additions (also im not currently up to date on season 10 cause uni so based off of vibes i have so far)

the chamber of sea critters could be a couple of things, my first thought was the shrines but i think it has the vibes of either the ruined lighthouse or the like fire temple in devils spine

iskalls obilisk could be the ruined lighthouse?

i think cleo as the shipwright? based solely off vibes and her pirate thing on the empires crossover

if mumbo's the scientist i think his lama should be the dog (for the bit guys)

and maybe tango as the photographer?? again mostly off vibes but her thing in pale reach give me tango and his warden in double life (not to completely leave season 10 but vibes

anyways @hermmm ur tags are wonderful and amazing <333 i also love dredge so thank u for filling my brain with wonderful au ideas

idk if anyones said this yet but grian is the fisherman to gems collector and im right

[ozzies-perch]

Where are my Dredger enthusiasts at? (I love this lil fella!)

HC of the day: Used to be an Ex-sailor, traveling the sea to find high-quality scraps until p03 decided that dredging up the metals from the sea is more efficient and would help him get to the old_data. Dredger still misses sailin' around but it is what it is.

ALSO DO YOU SEE MY VISION???? (this is the second crackship I've come up with and obsessed over. first one being Trader and Grimora. don't ask. I just like old people being in love.)

[ghoul-foolery]

Flufftober, Day 11

Blindfold / Drunk Confessions

Prompt List - Kink/Flufftober Master List

//

> Drunk Confessions > Nora/Hancock >Tags: Drug and Alcohol use, with a side of anger issues, abrupt ending > Words: 2272

//

Hancock was fucking drunk. Maybe a little high, too.

Hancock being drunk or high wasn’t a terribly rare occurrence. For Hancock it was practically a state of being. It was far more rare for him to be sober. Nora would often catch him taking swigs out of his hip flask while on the move, sipping on booze far more than he ever sipped on his water. When they hunkered down for the night he was cracking open a bottle, or looking for one to imbibe in for the night. Chems were a constant. If he wasn’t sucking on pills, he was huffing at jet.

It bothered Nora at first. There was a nearly constant concern that the drinking, and the chems would fuck him up so bad that he wouldn’t be combat effective, more of a hindrance than any real help – but it had never, ever, once been a problem. Ghoulism had either made his body capable of withstanding debilitating amounts of drugs and alcohol, or his poor body was just terribly accustomed to his lifestyle. 

Which was why it was troubling that Hancock was fucking drunk. 

Standing in the middle of an evacuated Third Rail, his sawed off in one hand, a glowing bottle of mystery liquid in the other, Hancock was swaying on his feet – stumbling though he was not moving. It was as if the room was spinning, and he was struggling to remain standing. 

“Jesus, what happened?” Nora asked, standing at the top of the stairway that led into the bar proper. “Did someone drug him?”

“I mean, he probably did?” MacCready drawled, peering over her shoulder. “Some trader from down south sold him some moonshine I think?”

Fahrenheit sighed cigarette smoke as she said, “Moonshine, Nukashine, whiskey, gin, tequila…” She was sitting in the faded red chair just beside the metal detector. Out of view, putting a firm wall between her and a shotgun blast. Smart girl.

They watched as Hancock teetered backward, bumping into the arm of a couch. He whirled around, twisting in a tight circle, brandishing his gun. “C’mon out heere you sonnovafuckin’ bitch–” Hancock hollered. Even staggering drunk, his slurring voice took on a dangerous knife-sharp edge. Drunk and angry. Great.

He took a deep drink of the glowing liquid. The bottle glug-glug-glugged in the lingering quiet.

Nora ducked back as the barrel of the gun panned along the room of the bar. 

“Hold on,” she said, keeping her voice low as she retreated from her stairway vantage point. “You had ‘Cready come get me from Diamond City for this? I was only staying the night. I would have been back tomorrow–”

The shotgun exploded, echoing up the stairs. Nora flinched, nearly succumbing to the sudden urge to drop to the floor. Fahrenheit didn’t move. 

“Yer gonna wish this was a fuckin’ nightmare, y’fuckin’ hear me?!”

From the stairwell, MacCready muttered an almost forlorn, “There goes the jukebox.”

“Yeah, I’m not sticking around to accidentally get shot, I’m sorry. I’ll help him through his hangover tomorrow if that’s what you want.”

When Nora went to leave the Third Rail, Fahrenheit lurched to her feet. Stepping right into Nora’s path. 

“I want you to go talk to him.”

“And get shot?” Nora scoffed. “That’s funny.” It wasn’t funny. It was even less funny that MacCready had to come get her from Diamond City just so she could be in on such an unfunny goddamn joke. 

When she went to step around Fahrenheit, she side-stepped back into the way. 

“He won’t shoot you.”

“He shot a jukebox.”

Another blast of the shotgun– 

“There goes a table,” MacCready sighed. 

“And a table,” Nora added. “Please, you won’t go down there because you know he’ll shoot anyone on sight. He’s pissed, or he’s hallucinating, or he’s both and I’m not–”

“It’s because of you,” Fahrenheit interjected, the first dredges of emotion pulling at her burnt features. Annoyance. It was in the roll of her eyes, the tightness that thinned her lips even as she took a drag of her cigarette. 

“What the hell did I do, I wasn’t even–”

“Shut the fuck up and listen to me. Someone said some shit about you and he flew off the handle. He shot the guy. We had to evacuate the bar.”

Nora wanted to say that it wasn’t like Hancock to needlessly fly off the handle, but the image of Finn’s pained face flooded her memory. That was different though. Action had prompted action, and Hancock needed to send a message. Someone running their mouth in a bar didn’t warrant violence. The half-empty glowing bottle in his hand must have contributed. 

“I want you to try and talk him down. Get him to his room.”

“You can’t just let it run its course?”

Fahrenheit’s brow quirked just before her face was shrouded in cigarette smoke. “It’d be bad for business.”

“I’m going to call his name from the stairs. If he shoots at me, then I’m walking back to Diamond City and you’re dealing with this.”

Nora didn’t wait for Fahrenheit’s agreement. Instead she returned back to the top of the stairs, just beyond the metal detector. MacCready was crouched, peering down into the bar. Nora followed his eyes, watching as Hancock swiveled and teetered towards the bar. He leaned across the counter to survey behind…

“C’mout here you asshole…”

Making her way down a couple of the stairs in an effort to put some distance between her and MacCready - no sense in both of them getting shot - Nora called out gently, “Hancock?” 

She didn’t intend to immediately duck down behind cover, but the second Hancock started to scramble back upright, she flinched and hid. 

“Nora?” It was strange, the way his voice pulled out of that dangerous timber, and fell into something that seemed light, and eager. 

There was no shotgun blast, no growling threats… 

Nora chanced a glance back towards Fahrenheit, who seemed to be loitering just in sight strictly to deliver an ‘I told you so’ type of look. Rising from behind cover, Nora started to make her way down the stairs, feeling a little less hesitant.

“Nora!” Hancock fell into an eager step towards her – or he would have. The moment he moved forward, he started staggering to the side. It was like he was on a ship in the middle of the north sea. Walking straight seemed to be an impossibility. He staggered into a chair, a table. The booze sloshed. The gun clattered–

“Hey, hun. Why don’t we put the gun down, huh?”

The shotgun was immediately discarded. It was practically tossed against the table. And then the hand it had occupied immediately reached. It extended out towards her, and he took a stumbling step towards her. Nora lurched for him when it looked like he was going to fall to the floor but he recovered just before he was too far gone.

The radiation-eaten fingers immediately took hold of her arm as soon as she was close enough. Just at the elbow. 

“What’s this I hear about you causing trouble?” she asked as she placed a steadying hand at his waist.

“Heyou,” He drawled out. He gave her arm a tug, but only succeeded in pulling himself in closer. “Sunshiiiine.” When he brought the bottle up towards his mouth, Nora was assaulted with the smell of paint thinner and rotten fruit. 

Jesus, and he’d had over half of the bottle. 

“Hey,” she said, catching his wrist before he took a drink. “Why don’t you give me that?” 

It was like she was talking to a toddler. Calling attention and making suggestions instead of straight demands. And it worked. Hancock relinquished the bottle with glassy black eyes and a lopsided smile – and then his arms were looping around her shoulders. He sank against her in a heavy embrace. 

“Didn’ think y’were ever comin’ back,” Hancock slurred into her ear.

The bottle was quickly abandoned on the table, right next to his gun, just before she put her arms around his middle to support him. She was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of the mysterious liquor, gun grease, and fireworks.

“I was coming back in the morning. I told you…”

Hancock grumbled something that slurred together and became muffled when his cheek pressed against her ear. It sounded a little dejected. His arms tightened. 

Rubbing her hands against his back, Nora said, “I don’t know what you said but I’m here now. I’ve been asked to get you to bed.”

“Nora wants t’take me t’bed!” he crowed into the empty bar – he crowed right into her fucking ear. “Y’here that, you fucking fuck–”

Nora grimaced, trying to create a bit of space between them even as she grumbled, “It’s just you and me down here, hun.”

“He fucking–Nora, he fucking said–” He was whirling away with a startling amount of speed, reaching for the gun.

In a panic, Nora yanked him back in towards her and when he tried to pull away again she took his face into her hands and tried to anchor his attention. His cheeks were warm, verging on hot. The surge of urgency in his body faltered. His hands came to cover hers and his glittering black eyes seemed to go soft. 

“Hi, Nor…” He murmured. 

“It doesn’t matter what they said. Let me take you to bed, Hancock, okay? I’ll stay here tonight.”

“No Diamond City?”

The lingering need to be annoyed at the situation faltered under the weight of sincerity. There was such a soft, genuine sort of hope in his voice. It was as if not going to Diamond City was some kind of gift. It made her think of when she had informed him that she was running to Diamond City to catch up with Nick. He’d given her an easy smile and told her that there was no rush, that he’d be around whenever she was ready to hit the road again. 

Had that been a lie? 

“Nope. I’ll stay here.”

“With me?” So incredibly, deeply, hopeful. 

“Sure, hun. C’mon.”

Getting him out of the bar was a chore. MacCready didn’t help. Fahrenheit didn’t help. In fact, both of them had made themselves scarce at some point after Nora didn’t immediately get shot in the face. It wouldn’t have been bad if Hancock would allow even an iota of space between them, but he was sticking to her like glue, and his swaying frame was difficult to steer – especially when it came time for the spiral stairway in the State House. 

Thankfully he wasn’t too heavy, otherwise they would have both taken a tumble or two.

When she finally got him into his bedroom, his bedside lamp was on. She tried her best to deposit him on to his bed, but he wouldn’t let go and she was pulled down with him. They flopped and bounced into the mattress, Hancock snorting out a delirious little laugh. Nora extracted herself from his heavy arms and his gripping hands, pushing herself to her feet. 

“Alright, Mister Mayor,” Nora huffed, a little winded from the stairs, a little winded from scrambling away from his clinging hold. She tossed his hat to the foot of the bed. “Let’s get you ready to—“

Hancock sat up in a wave of flailing limbs. His legs kicked out, his arms reaching and hooking around her hips as he said, “Y’said y’d stay.” His head pressed into her stomach. 

Nora heaved a sigh, but had to fend off a growing smile. “I did. Do you plan to sleep with your shoes on, though?” 

He tilted his head back, neck and chin pressing along her torso, so he could meet her eyes. Nora dragged her hand over the mottled skin of his scalp, and his eyes closed. 

“Hancock?”

“Mm?”

“Will you drink some water for me?” Her nails scraped the nape of his neck. “Then we’ll go to bed?”

Another soft hum as he replied, “I’do fuckin’nything fer you, sunshine.”

It took a little care and patience to pry herself away from Hancock’s relentless hold, but the moment she put a little space between them he started to yank at his boots, and try to work himself out of his coat. She wanted to ask what kind of comment made him fly off the handle. What could have possibly been said that would make him want to kill someone? She decided not to ask. Hancock was looking more relaxed, more willing to wind down and commit to sleep. 

After retrieving a couple of cans of water, Nora made sure Hancock drank one before placing the other at his bedside. She helped him get settled, relocating some of the Hancock regalia, before she settled into the vacant side of the bed. She kicked off her boots, and unlatched her Pip-Boy, then slid under the covers. She settled on her side, facing him.

Once he was asleep she would make her departure. She would sneak out and get a room at the Rexford like she usually did–

Even his hand wavered as it reached across the empty space between them. His warm fingers coiled around hers. Then he closed his eyes. 

“Good night, Hancock,” Nora said quietly, fondly. 

Hancock dragged their joined hands towards him, pressing a sloppy but quick kiss to her knuckles. 

Poor guy, she’d have to give him hell about it when he was sober. Nora squeezed his hand once, and closed her eyes.

He drew his lips back to her hand, and he slurred a soft, “‘m so fuckin’in love with you,” against her knuckles. 

Nora smiled, her cheeks warmed - her eyes popped open -- wait – "What?"

Hancock's breathing was steady and even as he drifted into an alcohol induced sleep.

[copperbadge]

I own a sous-vide machine and have a reasonable level of experience with deep-frying, so lately I've been trying to reproduce Shake Shack's fried chicken nuggets. Shake Shack cooks the chicken sous-vide first and then breads and fries it after, so the chicken is exceptionally moist while the breading is still crispy (the downside being the breading doesn't stick as well, but I've never been able to make breading stick very well anyway).

Attempt #2 this morning came out pretty well, as you can see, although I believe I have managed to accidentally clone Chik-homophobi-A instead of Shake Shack.

I sous-vide cooked chicken thighs, cut into nuggets, at 140F for two hours (breast at 155 comes out too dry) then cooled them, dredged them in beaten egg white, and tossed them in bread crumbs seasoned with Trader Joe's pickle seasoning and salt before frying for 2-3 minutes. I like TJ's pickle seasoning and putting it in the breading was great but between using breadcrumbs instead of batter and the faint pickle-juice flavor, it did give very Chik vibes.

Next time I'll try brining the thighs first and doing a batter instead, although it's pretty cool to know that the egg-and-breadcrumbs works well for it.

[ID: A rather bad photograph of one of my plates, with several chicken nuggets sitting on it; they are irregularly shaped, golden brown, and flecked here and there with seasoning.]

[i-like-dredge-now]

Another Dredge thing with MINOR SPOILERS from the Collectors pov so uhh read please

Something interesting occurred today.

He came to us. The Fisherman. He approached us with the gall to want to forget. Forget? Forget!? How could we forget her? We can bring her back! We must! We cannot just toss that sentiment away.

…Yet I couldn’t bring myself to deny his request. It’s concerning, very concerning. Could I not refuse because of his willpower? Or was it because he is me, and I am him? Or it was the best decision that hadn’t occurred to me but was made anyway?

It matters not now. He has forgotten. Hasn’t seen me as his mirror. Hasn’t remembered her. We are returning to the Marrows, after all the years together on this island, because the Fisherman found they need a new angler. If the lighthouse keeper is still in Greater Marrow and that old trader doesn’t recognize us we should be well undercover. I have been wondering who the new mayor is anyway…

Okay yeah that’s it bye bye

[totallynotpuri]

Dredge AU, but The Fisherman is a cross-country truck driver.

The different ports are diners (Gale Cliff's Air Man camp could be called Vine and Dine Diner, the Greater Marrow lighthouse is a diner called The Lantern, etc), the Trader is a fellow trucker who somehow is always on the same route as you, and the Collector is an alcohol store that is always open for business.

Instead of fishing, The Fisherman gets to pick up stuffed animals that tie them to the front of his truck.

[incorrect-primarchs-quotes]

I've got BG3 to finish, Dredge, Cult of the Lamp and freaking Tears of the Kingdom too. I don't need to play Rogue Trader. I don't. I have it, it can sit and wait its turn to be played. Or so I keep telling myself. But no, no thanks to you and all your recent posts, I've bought it and I'm gonna start it after work.

(No seriously thank you for making me want to play it ^_^ )

[fashionablyfyrdraaca]

2023: a summary

post your favorite and/or most popular creation from each month this year. (it’s okay to skip months!)

i was tagged by @vindicia thank you elise!! it's' been really fun running indiegamesource with you :D

tagging (feel free to ignore if you were tagged already or dont want to); @quickhacked @lxdymaria @anzellla @neloangelo @minaharkers @fatalwhims

January popular: Drakengard/Nier series favorite: Frostpunk quotes, generator graphic, and Anakin + Kanan comparison graphic

February popular: HK-47 wanting to Kill favorite: Sad Mission Vao

March popular: Link's Awakening favorite: An original character graphic

April popular: Dredge character art favorite: Fallen London + videogame cats

May popular: Dredge favorite: Kratos in God of War (2005)

June popular: Solar Ash favorite: Original character graphic and Frostpunk 2

July popular: Neva game trailer favorite: Wolfenstein

August popular: Sea of Stars trailer favorite: Tenar X Ged

September popular: The kittens from Stray favorite: Warhammer Fantasy

October popular: Einar in Palia trailer favorite: My LOTR Return to Moria dwarves

November popular: Daniella - Haunting Ground favorite: Old ass Berserk videogame

December popular: nintendog puppies favorite: my warhammer rogue trader oc intro graphic

happy new year!!!

[krikeymate]

dredge au (me again):

im thinking of all the ways richie can come back and terrorize the girls bc i love angst so this is what i came up with (which probably isnt very good but hey):

Amber lives on little Woodsboro, and she hears of these new comers. she herself was from the mainland, a long time ago, and she hasnt seen Sam and Tara for a long, long while. but it’s unmistakable, the love they have for each other, Amber would recognize it anywhere, shes never seen two people be so devoted to each other.

She remembers that Richie had an interest in them, back when she was on the mainland. and so, she writes a letter, sends it off with an uknowing traveling merchant, the letters R.B. on the seal. she tells this merchant that the dockworkers would know who to give it to.

Richie receives a letter, from someone he knew ages ago. A young woman, who he had the great (mis)fortune of knowing years ago, when she was so young, so innocent. The letter tells him where to find Sam, where to find his prize, but the letter is also a warning.

‘The sea must grant you passage. You need to give something it wants, in exchange for your safety.’

Enclosed in the letter, he finds a ring with the initials S.P.

‘Bring this to the Collector, before you take your revenge. He has a special interest in it.’

And so, with only the knowledge the letter provides him, he takes his leave, and makes haste to Woodsboro.

My dear intended, we're engaged now, sorry, don't make the rules.

Anyway. I love you? This is a great call.

I think I made their ages 20 and 15. Canonically Tara is older than her peers but here she gets to be younger. Amber is 17 and left 2 years ago under a scandal. The Freemans are well-known merchants, and their daughter being caught in bed with someone (Ritchie) other than their intended (Wes, of the Hicks, son of the one law enforcement officer not under someone else's payroll and due to follow in his mother's footsteps (they want him under their payroll, hence the engagement)), was quite the scandal. It reflected poorly on them, so they sent her away, to live with her trader uncle, Dewey. (He's got something going on with the mayor of Greater Woodsboro, it seems, always exchanging letters with G. Weathers, but neither leaving their respective islands).

The arrival of the Carpenter sisters causes quite the stir, it has the town people in a tizzy. Newcomers are rare. Newcomers that stay are rarer. Newcomers that stay and fish and live never happen. Amber used to play with the sisters as children, before social convention kicked in and she was reminded they're not the sort of people one of her status associate with. She would still enjoy the younger sister's company on occasion, she enjoyed the look of awe and admiration she would send her way as she gave her a taste of the other side. The older one was trouble.

She receives monthly news of the happenings from back home, from family, from friends left behind. The news that Tara Carpenter has fled engagement from Ritchie of the Bailey's, and that he's offering a reward for knowledge of her whereabouts, is intriguing. (They don't like to lose what is theirs, and a substantial debt was wiped clean, they're owed their reward). She pens him a letter.

He offers money - of which he has plenty - of the opportunity to leave the godforsaken little island she is trapped on, to move back to the mainland, to a city, if only she would be so kind to reveal the location of his intended. He sends it with gold, weighing the letter and his words.

She sends him back a location, a warning, and a special ring from her uncle's hidden collection. She tells him to bring her money with him. She's learnt so much about the sea and its magic since she's been here, she's sure it will eat him alive. But not until she gets her money. Perhaps it will even leave her the boat.

[sekhithefops]

Sekhi's Big Boopin' "Games I Played in 2023" List.

So, since my buddy @moxpunk did one of these I figured I'd join in on the fun. As with her list...

There's gonna be spoilers.

There's gonna be a lot of games.

This will be limited to games I didn't play until 2023. Either because they came out this year, or because I didn't get around to them. I got into some, like Elden Ring, good and hard... but I got that one in 2022 for example.

Ready? Here we go!

Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader:

So this is one I started just recently, but its a hell of a lot of fun so far. Owlcat is the same company that made the Pathfinder CRPG games (Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous,) and they brought the same level of love and detail to the 40k universe. Its still a bit buggy, but unlike Bethesda they have an excuse of actually being a smaller indie studio and, unlike Bethesda again, they actually patch their games so give it a month or two if bugginess is a deal breaker, but I heartily recommend this one!

Steamworld Build:

A city management sim set in the cutesy cartoony robot-wild-west world of Steamworld. Its... okay. Its not horrible, but its not something I really feel like I'm going to get too huge into. If you're into city management games then go nuts, but in my case I've already got a lot of games that do what its doing already so it just feels like one more to the pile for me. Sadly that happens a lot these days with how many indie games come out every week anymore.

The Caligula Effect 2:

I got the original a while back but wound up returning it as it didn't grab me, but the sequel always had my eye so when it went on sale during the Steam Autumn Sale I wound up nabbing it. The sequel, happily, is far better than the original one. A great soundtrack (if you like Japanese music, which I do) and some fun as heck characters with an interesting presence of an evil Vocaloid whose music pulls anyone with regrets into a very anime Matrix essentially. Its weird, but most good RPGs, especially modern ones, are gonna be weird. Its part of their charm.

Bonus points for my fellow LGBTQA+ peoples, one of the main characters is cannon non-binary. Try to guess which one. :D

Dredge:

A fishing sim with a Lovecraftian twist. Fish up your catch to make money, but don't be shocked if some of the stuff you fish up has multiple eyes, or whispers dark secrets, or just wants to slap you with a tentacle. It can be fun, but also a bit frustrating at times too. Solid B+.

Undernauts: Labrynth of Yomi:

Hm. Its... hm... its... something. Its certainly something. A first person dungeon crawler with turn based combat along the lines of the old Wizardry games, but... well... very surreal dark urban fantasy set in Japan... sorta... except its evil parallel not-Japan.

Its... something. But it sure as hell isn't worth $60. Do what I did and wait for a Steam sale if you're gonna give this one a go.

Dungeons 4:

I was a big fan of Dungeons 3 so I fully admit to bias here, but I'm having a blast with this one. A ton of over the top cheesy tongue in cheek parody of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and more in a game that basically does very well with the formula of the old Dungeon Keeper games that EA completely fucked up. The humor might not be your thing, but this is a good one for my collection.

Flipwitch: Forbidden Sex Hex:

Go ahead and mark my blog NSFW like every other queer person Tumblr, I'm including this one! I swear I felt like I was having a bit of a stroke when I first played it. I found the one good adult video game on Steam! A retro style 2-D metroidvania game where you play a witch that can swap sexes at will. You use it for sex of course, but also some really interesting puzzle mechanics that can involve swapping between male and female in mid-jump to bypass barriers and other obstacles as well as dodge enemy attacks. They took kinky sex stuff and made a good game! I didn't think that actually happened on Steam!

My Time at Sandrock:

I really don't know what to say here, I just don't care for this game at all. Its just... eh. I think its because I tend to favor Survival/Crafting games which have a lot more creative freedom than this one does, but... well yeah. Its not a bad game, but its bad for me. Moving on.

9 Years of Shadows:

You are a knightly woman who is backed up by a magical plushie who you recharge by hugging it and singing to it in a world where color has been consumed by a ravenous shadow. Dear gods its a Care Bears special.

Blacktail:

A really unique take on the old Slavic legend of Baba Yaga, set in a fairytale world where you play as Yaga (or is it Baba?) Its quite the trip, though I didn't play it for very long. Its one of those games I keep saying I'll finish one day and then OOO! SOMETHING SHINY!

Coral Island:

Its... alright. Its Stardew Valley but on a tropical island... but thats kind of the problem. Its Stardew Valley but. It runs into the same problem that the aforementioned Steamworld Build did where I already have other games I like that do the same thing. So yeah... decent enough, but don't be shocked if it's just another for the pile.

Dragon Quest Treasures:

A spinoff of the recent Dragon Quest installment (number eleven if you're keeping track) where you play as the thief character Erik and his sister when they were kids as they go on an adventure to become treasure hunters. Its... well... its alright, but it just didn't click for me. I feel like some of these Dragon Quest spinoffs are coasting on name recognition sometimes and this is definitely one of them that gives that vibe. I haven't tried the new Dragon Quest Monsters title yet though so maybe that'll be good.

Gunbrella:

Boy Devolver Digital does some weird shit don't they? Its a decent enough metroidvania style game where you play as a man on a quest for revenge with an umbrella that is also a gun. You uncover occult mysteries and it all has this 1920s Noir-ish vibe to it. Its a fun enough game... but I only played it for an hour and a half and I'll be damned if I could tell you why.

Persona 5 Tactica:

Look. I loved Persona 5, I even had fun with Strikers... but for crying out loud Atlus the bottom of the barrel has been reached. This one is a perfectly fine entry if you really like tactical RPGs a-la Disgaea and the like, but I think we're all ready for Persona 6 now! Don't even get me started on the damn mobile game.

Remnant 2:

The dimension hopping adventures of a heroine with an acid-flamethrower, a cursed rifle that shoots fingerbones, and her companion Captain Sparky McBorkbork the Wonder Dog. What more need be said? Its fun as hell, give it a go.

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew:

A pirate stealth 'em up where you command a ghost crew of undead swashbucklers fighting the not-inquisition with a sentient pirate ship that has the power to reverse time in a way that allows you to use the stealth game 'that didn't happen' mechanic in a way that fits into the story itself. I've been hearing people say that it seems weird this didn't do better... but I think I might know why it didn't.

Shadow Gambit's release date: August 17th 2023.

Baldur's Gate 3 release date: August 3rd 2023

To quote Messir Robin Williams: "AHA! A CLUE, SHERLOCK!"

Two games that, at a glance, are very similar (top down, mouseclick to move, RPG elements, etc) but one of them was a LOT bigger hyped than the other. Yeah... Shadow Gambit got overshadowed it seems.

Survival: Fountain of Youth:

A survival game where you're part of an expedition in the Age of Exploration from Spain to find the mythical Fountain of Youth. Its quite the title and very involved. You need to worry not just about food and water but things like sunstroke and sunburn, exhaustion, and the like. That being said it's still early access so maybe give this one some more time in the oven. Its neat so far, but they're planning a lot more for it.

Wildmender:

A cozy game with a twist. Your world was reduced to lifeless desert by someone fucking around with shadow magic and now you need to help restore it. Go from a tiny spring next to one of the few remaining trees into a massive garden by reawakening other springs, connecting them via digging rivers, and growing plants along the bank to bring life back to the desert... and occasionally fight shadow demons with a magic mirror. Good times.

Aces & Adventures:

I'm normally not one for card based games, but this one grabbed me and I wound up really enjoying it. A sort of combination of five card poker and Dungeons & Dragons where you pick one of five classes and adventure through the world and history to save it from an evil god. I stuck with mage and found that as long as I played it right there was very little that could touch me, but there's four others who seem neat too.

Evil West:

This came out in 2022, but I didn't play it until February 2023 so I'm counting it! A spaghetti western meets Van Helsing where you play a vampire hunter who literally punches the undead to death using steampunk weaponry and a shitload of guns. Its a heck of a fun ride that evokes the better action games from the 360 era. Think Warhammer 40k: Space Marine but set in the Wild West and using vampires instead of orks. There ya go.

Marvel Midnight Suns:

It is such a damn shame they screwed up the marketing for this so bad because my god this was fun as hell. Make your own character, then hang out with Spiderman, Captain America, Blade, and Deadpool of all people while saving the world from H.Y.D.R.A and Cithon. I had an absolute blast playing it and it genuinely saddens me that we might never see a sequel because they dropped the ball so hard on getting word out there.

Octopath Traveller 2:

An amazing follow up to the original game with much improved gameplay, some of the most endearing characters I've seen in a JRPG in a long time (I actually commissioned myself cosplaying Agnea because I liked her so much,) and some absolutely incredible music. Its really astounding what Square Enix can pull off when they remember why we loved them in the first damn place.

Also Ochette. She is a precious bean.

Lies of P:

Forgot to add a few of these as I played them on PC Games Pass and they weren't on my Steam list, but yeah one of those I played there was Lies of P which actually is the reason I got back into Elden RIng. Lies of P is a superb Souls-like that, while difficult, is never too difficult to stop me entirely (except for Laxasia I mean jesusfuckingchrist how am I supposed to dodge that?) I hear that either the DLC or the sequel will be their take on the Wizard of Oz which, given what I know of the works of L Frank Baum is going to be freaking nuts. Hell they'd barely need to change the Wheelers at all to make them into souls-like monsters, and I'm pretty sure I actually did fight flying monkeys in Elden RIng.

Hi-Fi Rush:

I didn't wind up finishing this as I'm just really not that great at rythm games, but ye gods did Bethesda get it right with this one. Really Yahtzee said it all back in his review before the Escapist collapsed and he and his cohorts fled to form Second Wind: "Hi-Fi Rush was simultaneously announced and released on the day of the Xbox showcase, which is something you only do if you’re really fucking confident in your game’s instant appeal and high quality. And by all the locally sourced meatless lasagnas in Hell do I hate to admit they were probably right to be." I didn't finish it, but what I did play was damned amazing.

Guardians of the Galaxy:

I forgot I even played this one until my Games Pass account reminded me this morning, but in hindsight it was pretty dang neat. I got to hang out with some of my favorite Marvel characters, I got to meet Adam Warlock who was one I'd never heard of but I wound up looking up on the wiki after the fact, and I got to meet Cosmo who is the goodest comrade. It was funtimes. Yahtzee, formerly of Zero Punctuation and now Fully Ramblomatic, calls these sorts of games a 'Ghost Train Ride' but, well, sometimes its fun to go on those if they've got some nice visuals and good voice acting.

Sea of Stars:

This one is one of those "I should really go back and finish this one day" games that I know, deep down, I probably never will get around to. A lovely throwback to classic SNES/Early PS1 era RPGs with lovely sprite-based visuals and some really fun enemies (I especially enjoyed the ghost pirate captain.) Definitely worth a try and I really will go back and finish it at some point no really pinkie swear.

Warhammer 40k: Boltgun:

Funny how this list begins and ends with a Warhammer game. I swear that wasn't intentional, I was just going through my Steam library and saying 'oh right, that one.'

Boltgun is a lovingly done boomer shooter set up in the Warhammer 40k Universe and is actually a direct spinoff of W40k: Space Marine from the 360 with a fragment of Inquisitor Drogan's power source serving as the principal macguffin you're after through the whole of the game, meant to bridge the gap between that fun ork-stomping simulator from a few generations back and the upcoming sequel this September (Imma 'cited. :3)

Its fun, its cheap, its short and sweet. Go blow up some heretics.

And yeah, thats the last of them. There were others, but none really worth mentioning. These are the ones I still remembered for whatever reason. Happy Holidays everyone. Here's hoping we get some more memorable titles in 2024.

[technofinch]

okay lengthy and needlessly dramatic exposition time :3c

In the middle of a mountain range that no one particularly cares about, there's a hole. Inside the hole is - well, that's the thing. It's different every time.

Nothing ever comes *out* of the hole, unless it's being carried, and there's no more gold and gems in the hole than there are in any other hole, and really it's quite annoying to get to, so overall the hole serves as no more than a fascinating bit of trivia and steady (if unglamorous) work for an ever-dwindling number of adventurers and sight-seeers.

A safe distance away from the hole is a town. Legend says that a local baron made it his mission to find the bottom of the hole, losing an arm in the process and eventually getting himself lost entirely. The town is called Baron's Reach. It has very few inhabitants.

Most people meet Silvaire Goldengrain, the tall dark-haired woman who runs the inn and tavern for the few tourists that pass through to see the hole. She's seen many adventures ride into town and very few leave.

Most people also meet Megan or Henry Ito, the twins, but very few people meet both. While one of them mans the trading post in town the other journeys to a city, bartering exhumed treasures for useful things like food and clothing. Neither of them are seen without a sword at their hip or a grin on their face.

In the squat grey stone chapel is the priest, Peregrine, worrying over her portents and bones. Adorning the walls are a variety of holy symbols and relics of varying faiths, none of which seem particularly well kept. Still, her healing spells work as well as anyone else's.

The sturdiest house in town serves as the home of the Aines family, though most of the life occurs outside in the workshops and kennels. Paula works the blocks of uniform grey stone cut and delivered from the hole while her husband Yosh carves, saws and sands the beams of even-grained oak into wagon wheels, rafters, and utensils. Their child, Beasley, full-grown now but still the youngest in town by far, works with their dogs, designing a breed small but sturdy enough to venture into the hole in place of mules or horses.

On the short road from Baron's Reach to the hole is another building, this one once-temporary and bearing a plaque with the crest of Unseen University. In it reside Bevan the Wise, tenured professor of physiomagical identity in the Transmutation School, accompanied by the indefatigable Chorby Short (in the throes of research for her dissertation on the use of mathematical signatures in divination).

In the opposite direction, further into the hills, is a grand house made from the same grey stone and even-grained oak as everything else in town, adorned in ornate carvings and inlaid with tasteful jewels utterly unlike those typically dredged up from the hole. Kennedy lives there, and rarely leaves - they have their food and supplies delivered by the traders, and overpay by nearly double regardless of how much Megan or Henry actually charge them.

The rarest sight in town is Becker, the fire-blooded goatherd who maintains their living well above the treeline in even the coldest months. Only on rare occasions do they venture into town with hair, milk, and meat to trade, and they never stay for long.

Baron's Reach is quiet, and small, and the hole is silent and infinite. Each of them have their secrets, each has its dangers. Their fates entwined like a barnacle and her whale. What answers can be found, here, in the Depths?

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Paraná Waterway: Brazil, Uruguay and Bolivia back Paraguay

Brazil, Uruguay, and Bolivia Friday supported Paraguay's stance regarding Argentina's decision to charge tolls to barges sailing through the “Port of Santa Fe-Confluencia” section of the Parana River, it was reported in Buenos Aires after a new meeting of the Commission of the Paraguay-Parana Waterway Agreement.

Also endorsing Paraguay's view were private traders such as the Permanent Commission of Transportation of the La Plata Basin, an entity composed of the users of the waterway of the five signatory countries of the Santa Cruz de la Sierra Agreement.

Argentina had admitted that the toll rate does not respond to dredging interventions and justified it on the grounds of signaling services, which have not been proven to have been rendered.

”The four countries concluded after eight months of dealing with the issue in the Commission of the Agreement in which ample opportunity for justification was offered by Argentina to conclude the work of the technical body and raise the discussion to the level of the Intergovernmental Committee of the Waterway (CIH),“ the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry said in a communiqué.

Continue reading.

[drackpa]

I really love Dredge but it felt extremely unfinished. I m aware that this isn't a big publisher and that there is a roadmap but if something feels like a let down, it feels like a let down.

It starts out feeling like such a fantastic game with a variety of interesting characters and their stories. I thought we'd meet more of them: different traders and fishmongers, more people to help and get to know. People who change (maybe in weird ways) or die. But new people stop appearing a few hours in. The same traveling trader is present at every location through the game. There are also a few characters that seemed really interesting and as if they had something more to say or do but nope, you do one fetch quest and that's it. In the beginning of the game you help a woman who builds a small house on an island. Nothing happens with her after that. You can visit her but it's always the same dialogue. This happens with some other characters too and it makes the world feel so empty.

Overall the last two to three locations feel very boring. Lots of the same, very short fetch tasks with a bit more murky water. Compared to the beginning of the game, this feels generic and uninteresting.

I managed to finish upgrading my ship COMPLETELY half way through the game. This is something that could have been slowed down or made more interesting by having the before mentioned different traders or even more upgrades. Maybe building plans to find etc. I also managed to catch all fish pretty quickly and never struggled with it. There is one power that makes it ridiculously easy to catch the strange fish so as soon as I had that there was no challenge anymore.

The last two areas felt so boring, I even stopped playing the game for a few days despite the fact that I was hyperfocussed on the first few hours on my first day and forgot to eat because of it.

The true ending is wonderfully done but very predictable. The "secret" ending is not secret at all and I thought it was the default ending. You basically get it if you are the type of player who likes to explore every inch of a map and the map here isn't really big and there aren't that many islands to explore.

I loved the fishing mechanic but almost never used it for the last few hours except when a quest requested it. I never farmed for money but ended the game with over eight million.

The game tries really hard to be progressive and that's not a bad thing. But among quite a few female characters there are only two women who are vital for the main story line to make sense. And one of them doesn't talk or appear the entire game and is the generic sexist love interest to give the male protagonist a tragic backstory/motivation. There are also some character of color, which is neat but they are all incredibly unimportant. So I wouldn't really count this as counter-lovecraft. It's all well in lovecrafts spirit: women and poc do exist but they are aids and observers in a white mans journey. And with "man" I not only mean the protagonist who is entangled in this story, it's also other white men who are vital to the main story line. Maybe this is a commentary on how men fuck everything up constantly and are the only ones feeling important enough to get into this mess while women are just trying to chill and live their life. But idk that's kinda boring and I like women who do stupid shit if it's not framed as if they are doing the stupid shit because they are women. I am not one to clutch my chest in agony when media doesn't fit my perception of how good stories should be done. It just makes the game more boring to me. Which wouldn't be such a huge problem if some other parts of the game weren't so boring as well.

All of that aside, this game is really good! For the first few hours. But it's a huge drop after that. I hope the devs will keep updating the game and I will definitely come back to it at a later point. Fantastic ideas, beautifully done. Just unfinished

[cleverthylacine]

The last one's not very funny tbh because what it usually means is that people have actually found out the hard way that the item that should contain no Y did in fact contain Y.

I don't know what the deal with bones and bananas is, but I DO know that all the frozen macarons at Trader Joe's contain WHEAT.

Macarons are made with almond flour. Celiacs should be able to expect them to be safe. There is no fucking reason there should ever be gluten in macarons.

But sometimes there is, as I discovered after eating them at the Hello Kitty food truck at an anime con in 2015. The only good thing about that was that I managed to avoid projectile vomiting on my very expensive lolita dress.

And once I had a resident at work laugh at me for asking if there was gluten in a meat dish but there are horrible people who dredge meat in flour before cooking it and you HAVE to ask.

So yeah it is dumb that there are water bottles labelled gluten free but oh my g-d you have no idea how often people will sneak gluten, or peanuts, or soy, or whatever it is you don't want, into something that should in no way have that ingredient.

obviously im of the belief that labelling food abd the ingredients it contains as clearly as possible is really good practice, and i highly approve of it

but the specific sense of comedy thats invoked in you when you look at a dish that is almost entirely a certain ingredient and theres a little sign next to it that reads “THIS ITEM CONTAINS [INGREDIENT]” is something that cannot be ignored