#CD Calculator

[never-obsolete]

The Way Things Work (1994) Calculator

[tooboredtothinkofaname]

[smartzelda]

Sometimes it's frustrating having worked in video game retail and knowing anything about game/console prices and deals watching people just. Say things online

"Look at this nintendo add for the SNES you could get the console and super mario world for like $100! Companies never do that anymore they're so greedy hahaha"

Yes, companies still bundle consoles with games. And yes, often this means the games come at a reduced price. (Mario Kart World for Switch 2 is $50 in the bundle versus the $80 for physical. When Gamestop was bundling games and controllers with new ps5s to keep away scalpers in like 2022, the games included often would be discounted between $10 and $20 for that bundle.)

Don't get me wrong. Of course less than $200 for a console and a first party game would be swell these days BUT. When you decided to get up in arms over prices these days, did you adjust for inflation? (Because like. It's one thing if the new console you're doing comparisons with the old one is much more expensive even when factoring in inflation. But also like some of those old consoles adjusted for inflation are worth about the same if not more than a switch 2, then it's like...okay? At that point the prices aren't the problem. The root issue is the companies not paying you in accordance with rising inflation.)

Believe it or not YES. Nintendo still does console deals where you can buy their most recent home console with a first party game added in for free! (Listen to me. Listen. In 2021 and 2022 for Christmas it was possible to walk into a video game store and buy a $300 switch bundle that included Mario Kart 8 deluxe and like 3 months free Nintendo Online. In like 2022/2023 for Christmas they also did $350 switch oled bundles that included Mario Kart 8 deluxe and 3 months nintendo online for free. The price of a console for a $60 video game and 3 months of the online service. This isn't some mythic business practice that stopped happening in like 2005 or something. I promise.)

Yes obviously the companies are greedy. They use deals to pull you in to get you to spend more than you expected. They also often have more sales than you're even aware of because they benefit more from people paying full price. They underpay people and they use whatever excuses needed oftentimes to raise prices to keep that profit rising. But it does no one any real good other than allow people to get pissed off to lie or assume things which aren't true. There are so many reasons to dislike companies (esp. Nintendo), you don't need to rely on acting like things used to be so much better in cases that they're not, or treating things that are industry wide standards/issues as something one company is the sole perpetrator of.

Moral of the story, maybe perhaps like do a bit a research instead of assuming whatever thing that pisses you off greatly is 100% true, and direct your ire in the right direction. Ground yourself emotionally and mentally, know what's going on. Be pissed at corporations. You're allowed to be fuckin pissed at corporations. Just please know what tf you're talking about and what exactly the root issue is

[ssaalexblake]

I genuinely forget that not all people go through life with some kind of background noise almost all the time and seeing somebody say how many times they listened to their top song being insane and it being 46 times... We are not the same.

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

I have a rule for myself that I can make one(1) frivolous under-50-dollar purchase per pay period and the rest of my money is reserved for gas and such and today. well. I have gotten a very sparkly pullover hoodie that I've been pining after for two months and would have been WAY too expensive had I not had a gift card to use for it.

[welcometoteyvat]

desert pavilion chronicle (scara artifact set) calculated as being better than wanderer's troupe for sethos normal attack playstyle.... noooooo dont make me farm yet another domain ....

[nightmare8-420]

Wtf is radio shack and why is there so much stuff of it

[maryse127]

*laughs in 181 song Final Fantasy XVI playlist*

[boombox-fuckboy]

Standard CDs still only being 74-80 minutes long in 2025 feels like a major failing of technological priorities.

Putting a CD into my car's CD player and getting glorious podcast audio will never not be a weirdly novel joy.

Currently Playing: Camlann

Next target: The Vesta Clinic.

Then? Who's to say.

[simpxxstan]

svt + nerdy y/n!!

a/n: this is absolutely self-indulgent. i'm sorry if i'm writing slower than usual, i'm trying to get back on track!

sfw content. gender neutral reader and established relationship.

very mildly suggestive (pg13 audience only!). nerd here refers to anyone with academic interests or a general high level of interest in uncommon/niche topics. i've tried to make the concept of nerd as inclusive as possible.

seungcheol

not a nerd himself but will encourage you 100% to be a nerd- buys you new pair of glasses when your eyesight worsens, new documentary CDs and even membership of a hundred foreign journals.

defo has a sapiosexuality kink- you can guess how attracted he is to your intelligence. but he's the smarter one on the streets, so he'll take care of you in every way possible while you stay in your little geeky bubble.

it's always baby let me recharge your phone bill for you; baby please eat your meals on time; baby you can't stop drinking water because of exam stress; baby if you're pulling an all-nighter, call me over, i don't want you to stay up all night alone.

jeonghan

loving jeonghan involves so much cuddling and lazy time when you both just lie under the blankets, his head is on your stomach and your fingers in his hair. it's at these moments that he encourages you to read out for him and he hums along whenever you pause to check if he's fallen asleep.

but jeonghan draws the line sometimes. he is supportive- but only when you're not trading off your time with him for the sake of peering into books.

you can sit with me and solve bivariate normal distributions or whatever you have to do, he whines into your ear. but you keep tickling me and i mess up the calculations! he laughs at this, i can't help it if you're just so ticklish, baby.

joshua

three years ago, joshua would've laughed if someone told him he would be more interested in the latest discoveries of astrophysics than in who's winning the la liga matches. but here he is- successfully converted into a nerd entirely because of your influence.

joshua was ridiculously easy to convert. all it had taken was the shiny, lovesick look in your eyes when you'd ask him if he wanted to watch a documentary on alternate universe theories with you, and he'd said yes in a heartbeat. and then it had just been a spiral into the metaphorical black hole. and he does NOT regret it, as long as he gets to spend time with you.

josh is this getting too boring? you'd quietly ask after an hour of the documentary, guilty for being too absorbed in it to even look at your boyfriend and see how he's faring. but joshua is melting at your concern, so even if it was a little bit boring, he'll reassure you sweetly, not at all baby! this is so new and interesting!!

jun

yes he may be from china, but clearly you know more about his own roots than he does! whenever you're watching news, jun loves it when you fill him up on some quirky background info that he didn't know about, but adds so much value to the context of the news.

in awe of your academic capabilities and keeps bragging about you to everyone. feels so proud when he can contribute to something you're passionate about too. he CANNOT fathom why someone as nerdy and intellectual as you should want to be with him.

junie, you're so smart! you praise him after he reports a profit he's making on a stocks investment. he shyly giggles, not like you, baby. you shake your head, i may be book smart. but you're street-smart!

soonyoung

hyper and calm partners!!!! he used to get annoyed with how you would pore into your books all day and how focused you were on your studies, but now he sees the charm in it all. it makes you happy, and in turn, he gets to wrap himself around you and be as clingy as he likes.

he really tries to follow with your nerdiness, his enthusiasm is there he swears! it's just not his fault that his attention span is so low and he ends up staring at your lips more than actually listening to you.

baby are you even listening? you ask, pouting. it drive him even more insane and he ends up giving in to his instincts and kissing you. yes baby! i heard everything!

wonwoo

WILL BE GEEKY WITH YOU! i imagine the two of you sitting next to each other at a table, him focused on his games and you're focused on your studies, your feet in his lap, and you're both sharing the same cup of coffee.

he loves collecting pretty little diaries for you, because he knows you write little poems and trivia in those diaries. whenever he's out on tour, he's bringing a locally-made diary for you, and if possible, he customises it with your name imprinted on it too.

wonwoo, there's a new adaptation of pygmalion getting shown in the theatre! do you want to go watch? i want to take notes from this adaptation and write about it on my blog... you need not even explain so much, wonwoo bought the tickets already when you began to talk about it.

jihoon

feels so giddy when he comes home from work and the first thing you do (in between his kiss attacks) is tell him a new fact you learnt today in whatever is your latest obsession.

jihoon loves his personal space, so when he's found you who's equally fond of your personal space and interests, it's literally a match made in heaven. they say it'll put distance between the two of you, but it really does quite the opposite!

jihoonie, can you help me learn this table? maybe ask me randomly and i'll try to answer. jihoon wants to tell the table to self-destruct from the entire world because you're near to tears trying to mug it up. but he doesn't. instead he says, love, how about i make a song for you which simplifies this? like a mnemonic but nicer.

seokmin

man was too desperate to get out of school to understand why you choose to be a nerd. but it's hella cute, so he doesn't need to understand. he's obsessed with your quirky habits- the way you bite your lips when you're finding a topic difficult, the way your glasses slip down your nose and you irritatedly push it up again, the way you crave the hot chocolate he makes when you're under exam stress.

admires your smartness so much! WILL brag about it to everyone he meets. WILL bring up the fact you told him yesterday, in today's conversation with his members just to show off your smartness.

posts stories about you being so cute while working hard for your exams but it's just you with oiled hair, acne breaking out like hellfire, and cramming notes at breakneck speed (you don't talk to him for an hour after this, but he doesn't get why you're so embarrassed, he only sees cuteness.)

mingyu

another one who WILL be nerdy with you. mingyu's always been a curious boy- even as a child, he would be drawn into new ideas easily. nothing is different now, and mingyu sits with you often when you're studying, his hands often wandering to your shoulders to massage them, and bringing you a regular supply of ramen and snacks.

you have a habit of repeating to yourself what you read, so mingyu steps in and asks you to talk to him and explain the topics to him as if you're teaching him. safe to say, he gets VERY turned on after such mock 'teaching' lessons and eventually loses focus on what you're saying.

gyu do you remember that paper i wrote last month? yeah, it got selected for a journal. you say it so nonchalantly that any other person would think you're showing off. but mingyu knows how much it means to you, and you're only downplaying it because you think mingyu won't think it to be a big deal, as most academic snobs tend to do. but lucky for you, mingyu knows exactly how precious an achievement it is to you, so he shows his appreciation to you instead of merely saying it (by showering you with kisses that make you tingle all over).

minghao

OH oh. will listen to your rants with the sweetest subtle smile on his face. will buy encyclopedias and reference books for your mini library. will take you to speaker sessions, workshops and other such informative events across the city, even places you've no idea about.

the most ardent supporter you could have asked for, he is in awe of your mental capabilities and your intelligence. you both have a lot of quality time where you're just sitting together and doing your things, but minghao values it like no other activity in the world.

hao? there's a new parcel at the door. you call him when a delivery arrives and he's at work. open it. he may not be around to see your reaction, but he can sure imagine the grin that's bursting out on your face when you squeal his name into the phone on seeing the hardcover special edition version of your favourite collection of essays.

seungkwan

lots of wide-eyed wondering at why you would want to stay rooted at a spot and read books over playing badminton with him. he wants to complain that you've chosen your academics over him, but that'd be a lie, so he can only half-heartedly whine about it.

comes around to your point of view as soon as you start showing him documentaries (on animals living in the Himalayas, as per your latest obsession). it begins with him finding the animals cute, to eventually finding you cute when you animatedly talk about them. and once he's totally converted, it's fairly easy for you to convince him to help you with exams.

expect eye rolls, smug smiles and hair being brushed back nonchalantly when the questions he had asked last night from your texts actually matched with the ones asked in the exam. i told you, baby, he whispers in your ear. now i want my reward, you've been drowned in books for way too long and not paying any attention to your boyfriend.

vernon

it was a surprise to him as well when he realised he's got a massive sapiosexuality kink. as someone who's run as far away from the education system as he could, he doesn't even know why he finds it so attractive when you're being nerdy. but, well, he does.

he loves hearing you talk about whatever it is that you're learning lately, and sometimes something or the other catches his attention. and then, you know he'll dive right deep into it to know all about it, until his curiosity is satisfied.

nonie, what's the video you sent me? you ask him when you return home from uni. i wondered if you've watched this one. it explains the theories of why the harappan civilization disappeared so well. you can only smile at his enthusiasm, i bet you've been looking at conspiracy theories again, nonie. the guilty grin on his face says it all.

chan

chan listens so well, but you can't really blame him if he doesn't retain the information. he's elated simply to have you wrapped in his arms as you talk about what happened in your classes today, and his nose in the crook of your neck so he can smell your lovely scent. intermittently nods his head (just wants to rub his nose on the soft skin of your neck) and hums in agreement of what you just said (suppressing moans when he can feel your heartbeat quicken when he presses kisses to your neck too).

it doesn't matter what your new niche is, but he's indulging it. he admires your ability to stay focused in a field as demanding as academia, and he's all for you to go ahead with your interests and education as long as you want to learn.

you wake up to post-its on your forehead every day when chan has had to leave early for work: get out of the house and get fresh air. shampoo hair today, interview tomorrow. practice the introduction speech again. drink water and take vitamins. STOP DRINKING COFFEE. and you giggle at each of them, because they're all things you've tried to remember for yourself and forgotten, so chan reminds you like this, but his cute handwriting and the little XOXOXOs he's drawn all over make your heart melt.

[girlkisser13]

dating jeremy gilbert would include

• jeremy gilbert is the kind of boy who would give you his whole heart even if it was already cracked down the middle.

• but let���s be real— jeremy’s whole heart is held together with duct tape and grief.

• when you first get together, he’d try to convince himself that you’re just another person fate is going to rip away from him.

• but the more time passes, the more terrified he gets— not because he thinks you’re going to leave, but because he knows he’d never survive losing you.

• you’d catch him staring at you sometimes with this haunted look in his eyes, like he’s already mourning you— and when you ask him what’s wrong, he’d just shake his head and kiss your forehead, whispering, "nothing… just making sure you’re real."

• jeremy is such a golden retriever boyfriend— soft-hearted, loyal to a fault, and always looking at you like you’re the best thing to ever happen to him. even when you’re just sitting there doing nothing, he can’t help but smile at you like a lovesick puppy.

• golden retriever boyfriends who will burn the world down for you >>>

• he’d bring you coffee exactly how you like it without asking, every single morning. even if he’s barely slept or dealing with his own issues, making sure you’re okay is always his top priority.

• when you’re having a bad day, he’d show up with one of his old flannels and wrap it around your shoulders without a word— because he knows that sometimes comfort isn’t about fixing things, it’s just about being there.

• he'd always let you wear his hoodies without even asking— honestly, he prefers seeing you in them. they're a little big on you, and he melts every time you show up in one with sleepy eyes and messy hair.

• he’d totally make you mixed cds with handwritten tracklists like songs that remind me of you.

• he is 100% a forehead kisser. anytime you’re worried or tired, he’ll press a soft kiss to your forehead and just linger there for a second, like he’s trying to pour all his love into that one little gesture.

• jeremy is incredibly protective in that quiet, subtle way— not overbearing, but always making sure you’re safe. walking on the side of the sidewalk closest to the street, standing just a little bit closer to you in crowded rooms, slipping his hand into yours when he senses you’re anxious.

• he would never try to keep you out of the supernatural mess— he knows better than anyone that pretending something isn’t dangerous won’t stop it from killing the people you love.

• instead, he’d train with you— teaching you how to shoot a crossbow, how to use vervain, how to spot a vampire before they spot you.

• but even if you’re capable of handling yourself, he’d still put himself between you and danger without even thinking about it.

• he’d pull you behind him in a heartbeat if something supernatural walked into the grill— one arm out like a human shield, eyes flicking toward the exits, mind already calculating how to get you out alive.

• if you ever got hurt— even a scratch— jeremy would blame himself completely. he’d sit by your bedside all night, fingers wrapped tightly around your hand, murmuring apologies into your hair even after you’ve told him a hundred times it isn’t his fault.

• he ALWAYS walk you home— even if you’re perfectly capable of defending yourself. when you tease him about it, he’d just shrug and say, "i’d rather be safe than sorry."

• he leaving his hoodies at your place on purpose just so you’d have something that smells like him when he’s not around.

• he would absolutely tuck your hair behind your ear during conversations without even thinking about it.

• he keeps one of your hair ties on his wrist at all times— partly because he likes having a little piece of you with him, partly because he knows you’ll always forget to bring one

• you become his favorite thing to draw without even realizing it. he’d sketch you in moments when you weren’t paying attention— curled up in bed, laughing at something on your phone, biting your lip while you’re reading.

• one day you’d find a whole notebook filled with little drawings of you— some half-finished, some perfect— and he’d get all flustered trying to explain it. but the truth is, drawing you is his way of keeping you with him, even when you’re not there.

• he memorizes all your little habits without even realizing it— how you like your coffee, which book you always reach for when you’re sad, the exact song that always makes you smile.

• he pretends not to notice when you fall asleep on the couch during movie nights— but the second your head hits his shoulder, he’s pulling a blanket over you and tucking you closer like you’re the most precious thing in the whole damn world.

• jeremy’s love language is physical touch— full stop. he probably doesn’t even realize how touch-starved he is until you’re in his life, giving him all this soft, gentle affection he never thought he deserved.

• he always has to be touching you somehow— pinkies linked under the table, his hand resting on your thigh while he’s driving, his fingers tracing lazy circles on your back while you’re curled up on the couch together.

• he likes to take you on midnight drives down empty roads, one hand on the steering wheel and the other laced tightly with yours, just needing to feel you close.

• jeremy is the type of boyfriend who wants to build a whole little life with you.

• you could be brushing your teeth together in the morning, both half-asleep, and he’d just lean over out of nowhere to kiss your temple because he can’t believe he gets to have this with you— something soft and normal in a town that steals every good thing away.

• he tries so hard not to let his darkness touch you— but there would be nights where he’d wake up gasping for air, hands shaking as he reaches for you in the dark.

• and you’d always be there— brushing his hair out of his face, pressing soft kisses to his forehead, whispering, "i’m here. i’m not leaving."

• jeremy wouldn’t just love you— he’d worship you in this quiet, aching way that would absolutely ruin any other person for you. <33

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

HC the only reason Miguel gave Hobie a watch in the first place is because he genuinely doesn't know what Punk is

Miguel most likely thinks Punk is just some really old Boomer style that Hobie is WAY too into.

Cause like let's be real, he's from 2099 - he probably can't tell a punk from a greaser from a grunge person from an emo. To Miguel

He probably looks at Hobie the way WE look at Noir.

He probably can't even understand Hobie.

Pop Quiz!! If you met someone from like 1915 RIGHT NOW would you know if they had electricity and phones and photos and radios yet? Were they still using telegraphs? Could women vote yet??

I don't know!!!!!! Couldn't tell ya!!!!!!

Now apply that to Hobie and Miguel

The thought of Hobie being able to reverse engineer his watch didn't even pass his mind cause Miguel's most likely like 'When are you from? 1978? I'm surprised you even know what a computer is. Did you all even have electricity then? Cars? Don't look at me like that - I'm a geneticist not a historian, Brown.'

All he knows is that in Hobies world cars don't fly and therefore he is Ancient and Old™️

We all see Noir as like an old geezer regardless of age but no one ever suggests that how Miguel sees Hobie vjhoohchvoh

Like Miguel completely disregarding Hobie cause he's like 'Hobie? That Boomer? Sure. His generation can't even send an email without downloading a virus. What the hell is he going to do? Put my calculations on a CD-ROM? A floppy-disc?? Lyla, be realistic.'

SO REAL. Cause let's be honest HOW ELSE IS HOBIES STORING ALL HIS DATA 😭😭 He has no SD cards!! Only these!! Floppy Disks!!!

Thousands upon thousands of these

Like what other explanation is there 😭😭 HUH??? Why else would Miguel disregard him so hard!!

Everytime Hobie talks instead of being like 'this snotnose kid-' Miguel's more like 'sure like imma take pointers on how to run a society from a fucking Boomer yeah right I saw what you all did to the economy'

Hobie probably be playing punk music and to Miguel it sounds like old show tunes coming out a vintage tin radio

Hobies music is so old it's 'classical' now 😔

Miguel has absolutely no idea what punk is and tbh???? He doesn't fucking care. Why? Cause that's some old people shit.

[fear-is-truth]

❛ THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES ❜ - T. LANGDON

ⓘ love language : a person's characteristic means of expressing and experiencing love

꣑ৎ ‎ :‎ masterlist﹒request / chat w me ! ﹒꒱ note. i love him

words of affirmation ➛ ˗ˏˋ tate relies on verbal reassurance more than anything else. this need to be told he’s loved or wanted traces directly back to his mother—constance offered praise in fragments, conditional and inconsistent, delivered only when he performed well enough to deserve it. tate learned early on that affection had to be earned, and over time, that became the framework. now, your perception of him becomes the baseline for who he believes he is. verbal affirmation functions as some sort of moral buffer—if you still want him, then maybe he’s not beyond saving. ˊˎ-

────୨��────

acts of service ➛ ˗ˏˋ tate will do anything for you, and that’s not always a good thing. he doesn’t just take your side like any supportive boyfriend does, he eliminates the opposition—if you so much as complain about someone, he’s already planning what to do to them come halloween. “i did it for you.” and he’ll wait, eyes wide and almost innocent, for your approval. in his book, love means devotion without limit. when tate does something awful in your name, he doesn’t expect you to be upset; he expects gratitude. maybe even a kiss. you don’t get to be mad. not without hurting his feelings. because in his twisted logic, you asked for this. you trusted him with your anger, and he handled it the only way he knows how.

────୨ৎ────

quality time ➛ ˗ˏˋ this one’s especially intense. tate has nothing but time—literally—and he wants to spend most of it with you. not necessarily doing anything, simply existing in the same room is enough. when you tell him need space, he interprets it as rejection.

jealousy is instant. tate doesn’t trust your friends. in fact, he fucking hates when you spend time with anyone who isn’t him, and he doesn’t always lash out. sometimes it’s this withering silence, bottomless, brown eyes slowly blinking, saying “you forgot about me” without words. that insecurity mutates into guilt-tripping & manipulation. “it’s just better when you’re here,” or “you’re the only light i’ve ever known.” he’s super possessive of your time because it’s the only currency he has left. ˊˎ-

────୨ৎ────

physical touch ➛ ˗ˏˋ tate has little concept of personal space. he’s constantly seeking some form of contact, and that need tends to override any awareness of your boundaries. this behaviour oscillates between harmless gestures such as holding your hand, sitting beside you on the stairs, resting his head in your lap, to slightly more calculated acts of intimacy: sometimes during arguments, he’ll kiss you mid-sentence, press his forehead to yours when you’re trying to think. when he spoons you, he presses so close like he’s trying to merge himself into you. other nights, he asks you—softly, almost embarrassed—to hold him instead. he likes when you wrap your arms around his stomach, tuck your face against the back of his neck. it makes him feel small in a way he doesn’t hate. safe, even.ˊˎ-

────୨ৎ────

receiving gifts ➛ ˗ˏˋ not particularly high on his list—but only because there’s not much tate can offer in the traditional sense. he can’t exactly browse for things when he’s tied to the house. but what he can give, he gives entirely. goes without saying that he he keeps every little thing you’ve ever gifted him. he gives what he can in return. stuff he’s made—love notes, sketches, burned CDs, a rose painted black, or knickknacks from his childhood. ˊˎ-

�� fear-is-truth 2025 — all rights reserved. do not modify, repost, translate, or plagiarise my content.

[revoevokukil]

Ciri's Trilogy

Ever since The Witcher 3 was published, concurrently with which I first read A. Sapkowski’s works, I have wanted a trilogy of games about Ciri. Any fanfiction would do, including CDPR’s one. Fanfiction, because I believe Sapkowski wanted to leave Ciri’s future open to the imagination of everyone. It’s part of her charm—she gives hope that anything at all can happen. Hence, in all honesty, I just wanted to continue imagining her story: beyond the end of Lady of the Lake, beyond the end of The Witcher 3. I want to read more about Ciri. Period. Consequently, I am now elated, but also terrified.

I don’t take issue with Ciri, the witcher, I take issue with Ciri having gone through the Trial of the Grasses. I hope CD Projekt Red will change their minds about this, or at very least makes it work differently on Ciri—the Child of Destiny—than on other witchers. For starters because, as Geralt notes in Sword of Destiny, the witchers believe the Child of Destiny would not need the Trials. Ciri is special. She is a mutant carrying the blood of elves, mutated in conjunction with the human genome. Elder Blood, witcher-trained, magic-capable, princess, heir of an Emperor & descendant of another such beyond the stars, prophesised mother to another even more powerful mutant saviour, if not a saviour of elves herself. She is extraordinary; she does what witchers do despite of it all, despite not getting or needing the mutations.

’What can you know about saving the world, silly? You’re but a witcher.’

But now she is just… also one?

The sceptic in me says the only reason they went for Trials for Ciri was to keep it close to how the gameplay holds up. To have a "witcher-eyed", female protagonist upholding their brand. So it could be about potions and signs additionally to what Ciri would have had by default → oils + magic + Elder Blood. I would like for them to give us witcher Ciri, but book-Ciri - a witcher girl setting off after monsters while remaining herself, with her own struggles and unique perspective on the universe. This here feels more like a PR move, and I don’t like it in the grand scheme of things; even while seeing a rough and capable Ciri tickles my heart in a special way. There were other ways to gamify her abilities; they are giving her magic use anyway, after all. It feels a little cheap. In fact, I can see how Elder Blood—Ciri’s uniqueness—is precisely how CDPR can handwave away the Trials, but isn’t the “cosmetic” aspect of it exactly the point? It makes the decision hollow, a ploy, but if you were to give this decision depth then you would run the risk of overstacking your protagonist and forgoing the spirit in which her character was conceived and relates to witchers and the world.[^1]

Moving on. This was the only part that I did not like and, as ever, there are ways of writing yourself out of this. (I dearly hope they have writers who love book Ciri.)

A few years have passed since the end of The Witcher 3 when The Witcher 4 begins. Witcher Ciri wants to be the hero. She has always wanted to do the right thing; she is always picking sides. She is young, she is idealistic, and she is furious. It’s what seems to unite the Ciri in The Witcher 4 with her at the end of The Witcher 3.

"She's almost obsessed with the way she lives. There are some moments where you have to go with your heart instead of always going with the calculated calls. And this is what I love in Ciri. She's less calculating, following her heart, her passion, her gut feel.” - Source

In both the published and draft endings to The Witcher 3, Ciri chooses potentially fatal, self-sacrificial “rituals” for the greater good. She chooses; you, the player, cannot do anything about it. (In the drafts you could, but it turned out to be a bad decision.) In the trailer though, it seems like Ciri is almost running away from herself, or something else, by the way she dives into this life. This intrigues and has storytelling potential - getting what you have always wanted is one of the most dangerous things in the world.

The world and people keep disappointing her, however, and, as the monster used in the trailer not very covertly insinuates: “fate cannot be changed”, "you weren't supposed to come back.” In this sense it almost feels like The Witcher 3 should have been Ciri’s story from the very beginning, because they are revisiting important beats from it and, after only a few years, are likely to handle loose threads. Ciri’s struggle is with having been born to exceptionality, to a destiny larger than life, yet desperately trying to make it smaller for the sake of her soul.

The insinuation made about Ciri’s life through Mioni—the peasant girl offered in sacrifice to a local “God” for the greater good of the community—is not subtle. This is Ciri fighting off the echo of her own story, trying to change such fates in principle. For Mioni, if not for herself. Saving her from being ritually sacrificed—as in prophecies. The monster she faces, by the way, preys on trauma. No subtlety here, whatsoever.

“At first glance, it seems that it is just the flower that is floating on top of the water,” says Kalemba of a cleansing sequence in a bathtub. “But the fun fact is that this is a very Slavic kind of flower. This is a special flower that people in the medieval era were using in special moments to defeat evil. It is very symbolic. Every single frame here is very meaningful.” - Source

But the world and people keep disappointing; Ciri's good deed goes unrewarded, and Mioni dies anyway. Because in principle the Mechanism is set up in a certain way and it is running and it is not easy to grind it to a halt without casualties. How much then is Ciri ready to sacrifice if she is wont to pick a side and fight no matter what? Such questions, I intuit, may become relevant later in her trilogy, but the seeds are sown. Because frankly, in the trailer, Ciri comes off as in The Tower of the Swallow: she has figured out philosophy. It’s a little naive and lacking in experience, seeing the world narrowly, focusing on her truth. It’s very youthful. It’s also—curiously enough—backtracking from the end of The Witcher 3.

What happened in-between The Witcher 3 and The Witcher 4, and, overall, the books and the games? I predict that in Ciri's first solo they may be doing a parallel in the spirit of Lady of the Lake’s ending - Ciri running away from herself/past/failure while attempting to build a new life. It's relatively safe, it's solid. Additionally, in CDPR's original concept for The Witcher 3's "witcher ending," Ciri was meant to experience a profound disillusionment with the witcher's path. After facing the harsh realities of the profession, she would abandon it entirely, choosing instead to traverse the universe in search of ways to atone for running from her destiny—a destiny that demanded she use her extraordinary powers for the greater good of many beings across different realms. It’s possible a double-bottom is hiding in plain sight.

I hope they will explore a truly morally ambiguous Ciri, letting her be messy and problematic rather than simply heroic. I hope they address her past experiences with nuance, not shying away from the ugliness. I hope they let her get drunk in her obsession with the witcher life for a while, break hearts, slowly begin stitching her own back together perhaps. I hope they navigate into the heart of her magic, touch the painful humanity within without forgetting that she has an origin story already, and dare to explore her as Her.

Footnotes

[^1]: I am also sure they go through with the plot where facing the White Frost has locked or seemingly robbed her of her Elder Blood abilities, for better or worse. And since this is going to be a trilogy I will further bet she will get those abilities back as the stakes for her climb higher and higher toward the end game. The other pathway would be that she starts out as having it all, so to speak, and ends up with nothing at all (but we did not see her blink here, I think, so I doubt this); finally "normal." At whatever cost. Narratively in a computer game, for a character who is the Grail, THE person who could do it all, this sort of shuffling makes sense. You can keep the gameplay fresh.

[renamami]

That time when Reiji was doing a fire performance in a toukuten cd and he was doing advanced calculations in his brain only to toss the baton up, have it hit some highly flammable shit, and cause the entire event to erupt into flames

[bappablipblip]

[SPOILERS FOR Warframe 1999 Quest]

Headcanoning that Quincy Isaacs, the Cyte-09’s protoframe, canonically does not use the warframe’s abilities as much as the others because of his hatred for Albrecht Entrati.

When you play as each member of the Hex during the quest, you’re able to use the abilities of the warframe strains each of them have. They also have cutscenes /animations where they actively use them:

- Amir when he’s first introduced at the arcade

- Aoi when she’s first introduced in the cd shop, when she lifts the truck off of herself, when she tries to hold the reactor together, her introductory trailer. She even admits to not being able to fully control her powers yet (requires guidance from the Drifter)

- Arthur’s introduction in Whispers in the Walls, when he first meets the excalibur/drifter

- eleanor when she needs to speak to people before severing a good part of her tongue, when she controls the techrot, when she comments on knowing about the drifter and operator (in passive dialogue)

- lettie when she heals

Quincy is not really seen displaying his abilities. Right off the bat, it’s noticable that he’s an excellent shot, but he has a history of being in the military. It doesn’t mean he uses his powers to be accurate, it could just mean that he’s a great soldier.

One can argue that it is because cyte-09 is not a flashy warframe. It was only a functional weapon that was meant to be a soldier. Thus, there isn’t any outstanding point where u can test out all his abilities.

BUT, even when you play as him, you’re only able to shoot through his gun, you don’t have access to his abilities like the other hex members.

In the bad ending 1999 quest, he dies because a tank locks in onto his position and he calculates that he can’t stop it from firing, nor can he dodge the blast in time. If he were to jump from his position down onto the ground, he’d be surrounded.

Also, protoframes are notably less durable than full warframes (as seen with amir’s death, as well as eleanor’s and lettie’s), so he’d probably die from the fall.

It seems that he uses his 4th ability exalted weapon throughout the whole quest, though which may have been the only ability he actively uses. He does not make an effort to learn or understand his other abilities out of pure spite. That being said, he’s a remarkable fighter for surviving this long on just one ability.

In the good ending, once the Drifter gets close enough with the Hex, they are able to connect with the members on a more personal, emotional level. They’re able to guide each member because their built relationship allows them to tell them exactly what they need to hear. On top of that, the Drifter is also trustworthy to them, so it is easier for them to listen more.

The Drifter is the one to show Quincy what other abilities he can do because of their experience with other warframes.

It’s also fitting that Quincy received the Cyte-09 strain. It is a warframe that was so purely functional with solely militant purpose that only the batch number remained. In a war, you count the number of soldiers per battalion, you don’t list the name of every soldier.

That’s just my feelings on it!