#(I'd probably like to use this if I actually played)

[merilaurecus]

Companions reactions to finding out Modern!Tav can't return to Earth and is stuck in Faerûn for good

This was on my mind for a while. It's post-game, a while after the defeat of the Netherbrain but before the reunion party. The group is still together.

Gale (Professor Dekarios ending)

Already thinking about a spell that actually can do it.

Can't help but feel a little hopeless when even Elminster said it's not possible.

But this man won't give up until he really runs out of options (ambition™️).

One of the few companions that can offer you a place to stay.

Also will offer a hug or an evening together (certified Gale girlie here, if that was me I'd probably confess to him; not that night because I'd be too overwhelmed with leaving what I knew behind, but the next night I'd be like "fuck it, I had a feelings for him before anyway, might as well").

Compassionate and understanding, though he'd try to be around to make sure you are doing well enough not to do anything stupid (yes, I mean the worst option here beginning with the letter S).

Meal cooked with love is on his to-do list (homemade hundur sauce I'm looking at you).

Even when he's down in his research he'll look out for you from time to time.

Also doing the sad eyes when he thinks about the situation. When he was told it wasn't an option he was rather terrified.

Still he prepares a worst case scenario books to teach you stuff about Faerûn. Prays he doesn't have to ever use them.

Karlach (yeet into Avernus with Wyll)

Yo this girl will be your shoulder to cry on.

But she'll probably cry with you together.

She knows how it feels more than she'd like.

But she can leave Avernus from time to time, can't imagine being stuck there forever.

After crying together she'll remain strong for you, probably won't leave your side in fear of you doing something stupid too.

Can't help much with magic but cheering you up? You've got this. Long chats to drive your mind away from the situation about any topic other than that, cuddles, that sort of things.

Also helping you gain some physical strength so you can survive here.

Hugs. Hugs. And once again - hugs.

Will look out for you most of the time if she can't be near.

Astarion (vampire spawn in Baldur's Gate)

He won't even dare to make a joke about it.

I mean it.

He may not know being stuck in other world, but being a slave with no way out of it gives him an idea of what kind of situation you're in.

Won't be the cuddliest or shit, but will keep your Earth clothes in a good shape (tailor time). Just so you have something from there to last longer.

Much like the others, he'll look out for you in the night, but will do it his sneaky way. Just enough for him to know you're alright without you noticing.

He'll say how he feels about your situation in time though. May even offer a hug. He's not Karlach but after all the events he's more open to physical contact with his friends.

Ready to teach you more stuff about Faerûn if nothing works to get you back to Earth. Especially archery. And sneaking. And stealing.

Shadowheart (Selûnite edition)

Let's be honest, all of these people were torn apart from their homes in one way or another.

Shadowheart can relate to you, though her experience is different too.

She doesn't remember much, but you do.

Approaches you with good (but weak) wine and allows you to pour your misery out.

Tells you you have a place to stay with her parents (let's go the happy endings route).

She's not a wizard, but will keep an eye out for every piece of knowledge about travelling through different worlds.

You've been to Shadowfell and Avernus after all.

Will talk you out of sacrificing your memories to Shar. She knows all to well she'd take everything from your little desperate soul.

Flowers are her language of love.

Will also animal speech Scratch and the owlbear to play with you instead of her, telling them how bad you feel.

Soon you can't get them off you, but it does put a smile on your face.

When no one is looking she'll pray to Selûne to guide you your way back home.

Much like everyone she looks out for you, ready to teach you about Faerûn as well (if she hasn't already she'll teach you how to heal yourself when you're alone).

Lae'zel (Freeing Githyanki/Orpheus sacrificed)

At first she found your tears weak.

Then she realized what it would feel like not being able to return to her people.

She felt that to the gut.

She'll show you more tricks to make your enemies fall quick (lmao I rhymed this one).

Also will keep an eye out for a knowledge that could bring you back to Earth (you know, Githyanki and their tons of knowledge).

Not much talkative but you'll see understanding in her eyes soon enough.

If you're a sword fighter she'll give you one of her sharpest ones. Githyanki language of caring is either combat or weapons you know.

(Daddy) Halsin

He also remembers being somewhere else against his wishes, though as a slave.

A single thought of not seeing sun again if he was to stay in the Underdark forever gives him creeps.

You need a hug? A cuddle? He'll be there for you in either form you choose.

You're not escaping whittling and druidic magic lessons. Just so you can get your mind off things and also heal/defend yourself should the situation call for it.

Offers you a place to stay, you're welcome anytime.

Not much of a cook but will pick the finest berries and find the biggest honey comb in the forest.

Looks out for you in some small wildshape (raven or a squirrel probably) when you sneak in the night to cry alone. Should he see situation is bad will approach you in his usual bear form.

Strongly believes there's a way - you've done much that was thought to be impossible. Especially you, someone who had almost no previous experience with weapons or magic.

He's old and wise - will keep thinking about it in hopes some solution will remind itself.

Wyll (yeet into Avernus with Karlach)

Banished from his home he understands a bit of your situation.

Haven't been to other world with no way back, it was his decision to go to Avernus with Mommy K, but he knows Karlach and it helps him understand it.

Another shoulder you can cry one, the Blade does not judge.

Still you're fresh to Faerûn and he'll hate to see you dead before your time, so he'll offer you fencing lessons (I can hear that eyeroll, Lae'zel).

Asks about the dances back in your world and gladly learns them (belgijka jumpscare).

Looking out for you when you go somewhere alone (especially at night).

In Avernus he'll look for some knowledge about travels to different worlds. It's another plane of existence after all.

Jaheira, Minsc & Boo

Minsc is happy to have his friend here forever only to understand the situation after either Jaheira or Boo explains it to him.

Jaheira feels for you more than she'd like to show, but you'll see care in her eyes.

Just like Halsin she'll research her memory for anything that may allow you to return.

Minsc apologises to you after the scolding.

Won't help much tho, he'll be just an emotional support (together with Boo, of course).

Jaheira asks all the Harpers to keep an eye out for any book or a scroll related to your problem. Also will ask any of her old friends to do the same, even if it means her repaying that favour. She can still go fast when she wants to!

[suratan-zir]

first three photos - Syrnyk when I first got him 4 months ago, very sick and malnourished (likely due to illness, not because he was starved) VS. now

He actually looks younger now somehow.

a boring story about Syrnyk's ear under the cut

After a couple of months of Syrnyk living with Skritch (and Baton), I noticed one day that his ear was swelling up. It wasn't infected, just had a "balloon" of liquid inside. I'd never seen anything like it, but a quick search told me it was an ear hematoma. It's common in cats and dogs, but rare in rats. I figured the vet would probably tell me to drain it until it went away, but I took him to the clinic anyway. And, as expected, that's exactly what the vet said to do.

The pocket was filled with clear liquid, like you'd get from a blister caused by uncomfortable shoes. Skritch loves to pull on ears during play, not aggressively, he doesn't bite through the ear, but he twists and pulls. That's probably what happened to Syrnyk. It took over a week of draining his hematoma with a syringe, which didn't help with the bonding process at all, especially since Syrnyk was already very skittish and not used to being handled. But I think we're friends now.

The vet also told me that once healed, his ear would look "chewed up and ugly," and, well, yeah, that's accurate, lol. The hematoma got replaced with cartilaginous tissue, so it's no longer the thin, transparent rat ear. It also sits much closer to his head than his unaffected ear. But it doesn't bother him, and that's all that matters.

Just throwing it out there, if you ever notice something strange with his ear, that's why.

[lissomelace]

So I procured an embroidery machine several months ago (and then proceeded to not use it, because I absolutely could not lose momentum on another project I was working on).

Anyway, I finally got around to opening it up, figuring it out, and deciding on an embroidery digitization software. For my first project (beyond pre-made patterns to figure out my machine), I chose what I THOUGHT was a simple option.

(spoiler alert: it was not)

I'm a huge fan of Tolkien's heraldic devices, so I went for this one:

This one is Earendil's. While I'm usually on the 'these look like quilt blocks' train, I decided to try my hand at digitizing it. So I blocked it out in Krita (I am no digital artist, but I very much enjoy the multi-brush tool, and it was very effective at this:

(the colors aren't meant to be accurate, just distinct from each other)

Muddled around in Embrilliance for a while, got it on my machine (a Brother SE630 I have named Pityaháno), and this is what I came up with:

(I apologize for the photo quality, the light is not good at this time of day)

I'm actually pretty happy with how it came out, for a first draft. I did some refining while it was going, stitch direction and such. And I need to work on aligning the sections better, and perhaps reducing the satin stitch borders where they overlap.

This was done with brothred cotton embroidery thread and YLI 60wt cotton bobbin thread on linen fabric. Digitized with embrilliance stitchartist level 1. Source for the heraldry is Tolkien, of course, via the tolkien wiki.

I do have to get on my other projects (Halloween is COMING and as usual I am behind), but I'll probably be playing around with this a little more when I have time. I'm very excited to do more of this!

If anyone has advice about machine embroidery/digitizing, in general or with regards to this piece specifically, I'd absolutely love to hear it!

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

ok sorry i'm just. ????

rant and spoilers ahead because i gotta yell into the void a little

first of and most of all. WHY does it sound like Solas front and center of everthing now??? Including both Inky's and Rook's stories/motivations???? Like okay i understand that Solas will inevitably be important in Rook's story and that's chill! We knew he was gonna play a part in this story! But why do they make it sound like half or Rook's purpose is just there to further Solas's story/character

and it quickly becomes clear that Rook will have their own unique relationship with Solas, as the Inquisitor did before them. I think what's been fun for us, too, is trying to build Rook as kind of almost a mirror of Solas.

Epler also acknowledges that the Inquisitor “obviously has a very personal relationship with Solas,” one that will need to be reckoned with in The Veilguard.

“And I'd say the Inquisitor, to some degree, feels guilty or responsible for what Solas is doing to the world. So while we're not going to get too far into details about what role they may play, they absolutely are somebody who is going to be interested and invested in the outcome of Rook's journey in The Veilguard.”

Why. are you telling us how our Inquisitor is supposed to feel about this?? When you play DAI you agree to play The Inquisitor, yes, but you don't agree to play someone who Cares About Solas. Like. Yes. I get that he is important. That much has been clear since Trespasser. And i'm ok with that! But how come you say "this is a game about Thedas and a world in conflict" and then also talk like this story is About Solas, Actually.

The other thing i absolutely do not get and do not like. At All

Those decisions are: who your Inquisitor romanced (with the options gender- and lineage-locked in the same way that they were in Inquisition), whether or not you disbanded the Inquisition, and whether you vowed to stop Solas or save him.

?????

No "who drank from the WoS"? No "who is Divine"? No "does OGB Kieran exist"? No "is Hawke alive" (Varric is there. SURELY he cares about this a lot)? No "what happened to the Mages & Templars"? No "were Wardens banned from the south"? Arent't those uh. Really Relevant Decisions???? WHY is one of the whole grand three (3) decisions that carry over if Inky wants to save Solas or not. I mean ok i guess i get it cus that was The Big Decision TM at the end of Trespasser but again. Why is that the big thing that matters. out of all the things that SHOULD matter.

There's not as many decisions you have made up to this point that have an impact on what's happening in Northern Thedas.

But it’s also part of the advantage of moving the setting up to Northern Thedas, Epler says, with the prior games in the series taking place in Southern Thedas, a significantly different region both geographically and sociopolitically.

Uh. Yeah they do. See above points and also some that i forgot probably. Northern and Southern Thedas don't operate independently from one another that's not how this works. Especially again with things like the WoS or the Divine decision. Also half our companions from the other games are from the north?? Like yes ok i know get what you mean kinda and it's true to an extent but not like this

for one, the team focused on choices that they felt they could react to meaningfully – not just a cameo or one-liner.

“There's never a sense of, ‘Oh, that decision doesn't exist.’ But maybe we don't touch on it in this particular title,”

The. Cameos and one-liners are what make it special though?? You can't say "We want those stories to be personal." and then say you're not making any of those small decisions matter. And i don't mean matter as in having A Big Impact TM but i know that a lot of us LIVE for those small tiny nods to previous decisions that make the world feel actually alive and connected. I understand that we can't have full on-screen cameos or questlines or whatever for every little tidbit but not even. idk. Background convos about what's going on in Orzammar? Gossip about Ferelden's monarch? A line from Varric about Bartrand? Dunno man. Again not to mention the Big Things like Kieran. or the Well of Sorrows consequences. Or the Divine (which. yknow. is directly relevant everywhere except maybe Tevinter??). Those were always the things that made importing a worldstate so charming! because you could see the small little impacts that you have on the world. The tiny things like the line about the pigeons in Ferelden in DA2 or a wartable mission with Wade and Herren in DAI are so so special to me

[pushing500]

I love seeing your rimworld stories! They’re such a joy to see on my dashboard, currently a big fan of a mechanitors message!

will we ever get a tour of the outposts perchance? if they’ve got their own map setups like Sparks does.

I'm so glad you like my stories, especially the Mechanitors. I'm not used to playing with smaller colonies, so I've been having a lot of fun getting to know Mechi and Kwahu so well, as they are the only people allowed to remain on the map for an extended period of time lmao

Unfortunately, the outposts do not generate maps of their own, which is very sad :( but probably a blessing for my poor laptop

I have thought about making a new save file using the same world seed to build my own interpretations of where the Arwell (and Arno) crew might have set up, but haven't actually done it yet. I like to imagine they've repurposed an Ancient Danger or one of the Ancient Complexes into a base of operations.

Seed and coordinates for Arwell if anybody feels like having a crack at it themselves. I'd love to see what people think the gang is up to over there!

[lazylittledragon]

isn't it weird how if you get up at 7 or 8, do your work all day, then have free time and go to bed at 11 that's absolutely fine

but if i said i get up at 10, do fun stuff in the morning then work in the evening and go to bed late, i could be called lazy, nevermind that i'm getting just as much or MORE work done as i would in a traditional work day

[0x4468c7a6a728]

i've gotta program something soon...

[robo-dino-puppy]

horizon forbidden west | aloy 113/?

[dragonanne4fun]

.

[black-and-yellow]

Louie is un-scam-able (he has No money)

[penisbutterjellytime]

Gamers, Mutuals and Gamer Mutuals time to fight

A bunch of games that have been collecting dust in my steam library

Would play DA orgins, pretty sure its said to play them in order but 1.) I had it on steam and played less than an hour of it but now anytime I open it it crashes and 2.) I don't have a ps3 or 4

[invinciblerodent]

oh sometimes i'm overcome with the realization of just how sentimental a bitch i am

like i really am straight up just playing make-believe with these characters like they're digital barbies

okay so in Iona's inventory, i've had this necklace

since very early in act 1.

it was in Aradin's chest at the Grove, and it was the first thing "we" managed to get with the "I distract them with conversation/busking and you steal everything that isn't nailed down" act/trick I had thought up for her and Astarion. I thought it'd be kinda cute for him to, at the end of this test run, present it with a ~theatrical flourish~ once just out of earshot of its original owner, and for her to ~graciously allow~ him to drape it around her neck, as a hamfisted and silly act of mock-courtship they both know is false. (it was kind of a... "we both know what this is all about and where it's headed, but wouldn't it be fun to play make-believe and pretend it's something entirely different" type of thing.)

I thought it'd be cute, if a touch bittersweet for her to keep it, just slotted away in her little "sentimental items" pouch, like.... next to the dog toy, her old wedding band, and the other useless junk she couldn't bring herself to throw away or sell.

and then today, i found this as I was selling stuff in the Glittering Gala.

it's the same design. and i like to describe Iona's eyes as "amber" when I write about them (they're kind of a reddish/yellowish, pretty medium brown). and she looks much better in golds and reds than she does in blues and silvers.

so. um.

guess who got this bloody thing "sneaked" into her inventory at the long rest.

if you think i won't 1.) exit a trading screen abruptly, 2.) switch controlled characters, 4.) buy a silly and utterly useless junk item AS that character (thought about just picking her pocket but.... we have 35k gold. why would i.), and 4.) keep it in that character's inventory until it "seems like" the PC isn't "paying attention", and then 5.) drop it into their inventory "unnoticed", all for LITERALLY NO GOOD REASON other than just to act out a silly little gesture and support the little fanfic in my head, well.

you'd be very wrong.

((and i was grinning and giggling downright embarrassingly the whole time too))

[leafy-m]

So I hit my 700th edit for the WHA wiki today, because I am a totally normal person

[thepandalion]

not to be annoying or anything but it's been 9 years since the release of indie game undertale

[lieutenantselnia]

I currently have to write a thesis, work on the biggest project in my entire study programme and will have to start preparing for my bachelor's exam at some point, and my brain thinks now it's a good time to get back into Red Dead Redemption 2👍

[piningpercussionist]

What's it even like at Ramona's place. Also is her cat cute and fluffy?

Well, it's not the most spacious place, for starters. Julie has us all beat on that I think, with Neil and Stephen's place coming second. Then maybe my place? I'm not really sure... DEFINITELY not Scott's.

But it's alright. Ramona knows what to do with the space she has, I think. And she just tucks whatever doesn't need out into her little bag that she's got, so there's never really any clutter, unless Scott's provided it. She's got, like, multiple stories to it? Like, one and a basement, or something- in addition to the ground floor, I mean. We've discussed playing down in her basement, sometimes, for practice? She seemed pretty receptive.

It's nice being over there. I dunno. She hasn't done a whole lot with it, but it's nicer hanging out there than it is here, usually. Wish she was less busy so I could come over more... I mean, I could visit Scott when he's there I guess, but it's not really the same. Besides, I wouldn't want Ramona to come back from work and have to chase me off to get some rest or something?

*Kim sort of snickers a little.* Or she'd come back to me trying to hide Scott's body. She doesn't deserve to deal with that.

Anway, more realistically, she's probably exhausted after running around all day, being the only Amazon delivery person in our area and all. Even if she was fine with me lingering, I'm not sure I want front row seats for the two of them being lovey-dovey or whatever. Gross.

And Gideon... Gideon is probably one of the cutest cats I've ever seen. I didn't really like cats too much before now, but I think I've been converted or something. He's just the sweetest thing, sometimes, and Ramona's managed to get him nearly completely desensitized to being picked up, held, moved around- he just genuinely doesn't care, so long as you aren't hurting him.

He's a short haired cat, I think, but he's super soft- Ramona tells me it's because we're always petting him. Something about the oils in our hands making his fur softer? I think I get the general idea there. His fur is like... deceptively dense though? You can sink your fingers in a little and muss it up if you want.

Heh. I don't recommend trying to mess with his stomach at all, though. Gideon's generally pretty forgiving, and doesn't really bite or scratch people from what I've seen at least, but one time Scott tried to give him belly rubs while he was all splayed out on the couch... the attack afterward was pretty tame so far as the initial strike went, but he got Scott good, and there was like... blood, everywhere. You'd think he nicked an artery or something, but no, it was just Scott doing what Scott does.

Is there some sort of like... thin-skinned or heavy bleeder debuff he's got or something? Or was it just him being a moron and splattering it everywhere? Anyway, Ramona had it handled pretty quickly, and tiredly, so that's probably something really typical for them.