#and trying to play skyrim on it will probably kill it for good

[hareofhrair]

Help Me Choose An Internet Stunt

I want to do something crazy to try and raise money to make my life less bad! Proceeds go to: getting a cleaning service to un-fuck my depression nest, buying a self cleaning litterbox, and food!

So here's the concepts that are in the lead so far:

Curse of Strahd Any% Randomizer with Ice Traps— I DM my very first ttrpg, and it’s curse of strahd, but the plot elements, characters, and encounters have all been randomized, I’m marathoning till we kill strahd but the pool of players drops in and out as they feel like it, and also chat can donate to hassle everyone in dubiously humorous ways. Pros: could be real funny? Cons: could go on actually forever and then I’d die. All the players decide to go have lives at the same time and i have to play by myself. Also I still haven’t finished the curse of strahd campaign I’m in so I’d get spoiled :( --Some of my friends I play DnD with seem interested in this one, so that's good! This is definitely the nuttiest option that would require the most work and has the highest potential for being a complete disaster.

First Boss Boss Rush— I play a bunch of games trying to get to and beat the first boss as fast as possible. Pros: likely to take a long time and be very entertaining to people who enjoy watching people be bad at video games. Cons: might suck for anyone who does not like watching people be bad at video games. --Need to work on a list of games for this. Thinking Hades, Cult of the Lamb, that kind of thing. What are some games with notoriously pain in the ass bosses?

Modathon— I start a game of Fallout 4 or Skyrim and at every donation milestone add more mods until the game crashes or I complete it. Any% to start, stretch goal for 100% --I'd make it New Vegas but that shit is so unstable to start with I worry we wouldn't get far lmao.

I Make A Quilt— I learn how to quilt and marathon until the fucking quilt is done. Donation incentives to make me watch the Room while quilting. For every fifty dollars I add another square. Pros: i have. a quilt at the end. Cons: probably boring. Hand pain. --This one isn't a complete ass pull. I recently inherited a ton of quilting supplies and I need to learn anyway so I can help finish a relative's legacy project, for anyone worried I was foolishly offering to jump empty handed into a craft that requires an enormous initial investment. I'm just foolishly offering to marathon an incredibly labor intensive project that generally takes even skilled craftsmen months of work!

[kerubimcrepin]

Liveblog - Dofus, livre 1 : Julith [PART 11]

As I've mentioned, Kerubim and Julith have Beef.

As far as she is concerned, whether he was behind her framing (he wasn't) he is one of the people to blame. He defeated her that fateful day, and then she never saw her son again.

I've already went into detail, on the way "killing" her has affected him, (A mixture of horror and duty. Killing a mother and making a child an orphan for the sake of a city. Being grateful for her dying because it made him a father instead. Feeling awful for that thought.) but it is interesting, how he reacted to her turning out to be alive, when he killed her with his own hands.

Seething. Perhaps even coping.

This is chichala, which we had seen. I suppose he uses it to buff himself up before the boss fight. Drinking alcohol before a fight is very much RPG logic.

Sadly, there are no interesting buffs to it in-game:

I think a lot about the way Kerubim, Joris, and Atcham would be characterized in video game logic, by the way. I still have no working theory of how the hell their fighting styles would synergize. Would Joris be their buffer/debuffer? Their glass canon? Both? And do any of them take ranged weapons on missions...?

They probably do. It'd be kinda dumb not to. Personally, I like to imagine that Atcham would be the one using those, most of the time. He has that "skyrim stealth archer" vibe to him. (Though they're all melee users, through and through.)

Despite how smug he is at a couple of moments, he really was struggling during this fight.

My honest reaction whenever Kerubim does this fucking face is just:

This is very much a "deeply mentally ill adoptive father (who inadvertently ruined his child's life by adopting them to atone for his sins + because he was abused as a child) fighting through an army for his child before dying in their arms and saying they're the only good thing he ever had" look for him.

Another reason that one has to support both women's rights and wrongs when talking about Julith, is that, like.,.. what was she playing at, here? There are two possibilities:

That she would destroy whoever has the dragon's soul and set it free, giving her an advantage.

That Kerubim would shield that person.

Either one is good. :)

Either way she was perfectly willing to risk/attempt blowing up a random, innocent person, who was hiding from her.

My personal headcanon is that while Julith is physically stronger than Kerubim, she lost ten years prior because she couldn't stop thinking about The Baby. Where were they taking Joris? Did Bakara leave with him? Is Joris alright? Didn't Jahash give him to this cat man, who was now trying to kill her? What the fuck is going on, who did this, why, why, why?

I imagine seeing him lose for the exact same reason brings her great pleasure.

the nonbinary slay here was insane

Guys I think this might be bad for Joris's long term mental stability.

On a more serious note, I think there should be more content about Joris fucking hating Julith. During the movie? There's too much going on to work out what he feels.

But after? He has all the time in the world to hate her for everything she did.

I do think that he probably grew up and found whoever framed her to take revenge on/to get justice. But hating her, and wanting to clear her name of the crimes she DIDN'T commit so she could have some peace in death, so that people would stop smearing her name, — are two things that can coexist.

Like to slap his bald scaly head, reblog to slap his bald scaly head.

Kerubim never changed his stupid ass baka "George George the Farmer Farmer" name.

Though we've been knew.

BAD. I DON'T LIKE THIS.

AND she recognizes him by the blue eyes. AND, this implies that, for the entirety of the Dofus show, — and the entirety of Wakfu as well, since he, once again, has yellow eyes there, — he had dragon eyes.

Imagine being Simone, waking up at 3am, realizing because you forgot something in Joris and Kerubim's bedroom, sneaking in, and seeing this.

It also raises some questions about adult Joris, because we know he no longer has Grougalorasalar in him. The easiest explanation is that he spent so much time with the dragon, that after their final separation, his eyes couldn't change anymore.

After all, — the changes the dragon made to his height/skin/hair are permanent. It would make sense that, with time, even his eyes would be permanently altered.

I don't think it's a sad thing, by the way. Imagine going your whole life with beautiful brown eyes that look a bit like your adoptive father's. Then imagine suddenly having blue eyes (scary) and that they're your Dead Father's Who You Never Met but whom everyone misses. Like which pair of eyes would you choose? Because I think there IS a right answer to this riddle.

I think Julith has convinced herself that whoever took her and Jahash out wouldn't want loose ends, and that Joris was taken out as well, or something. Maybe that's why he wasn't really on her mind.

Mind you, this is a tinfoil hat headcanon.

This is so beautiful, to me... She was so emotionally stricken by seeing him again as his mother, that his father, who was both fatally wounded and stricken by seeing her perform deeply painful dark rituals on his son after traumatizing him, could land one last hit on her to save said son.

Julith has been a mother for a grand total of a few days to a month, while Kerubim has been for 10 years. Of course, her first concern is getting surprised it's him, and not that she hurt him. Because she couldn't even dream that she'd ever see him again.

There's a tragedy in that. She never even had a chance to learn how to be his mother, or who he is as a person, — she was the mother of an infant. Her love for him is far more theoretical than Kerubim's.

It's a love for Joris not as a person, but as a lost opportunity.

So she has no regrets about hurting him, — and she will hurt him as many times as it takes, if that's what it takes to get back her family.

[trickstarbrave]

skyrim's MSQ has a lot of logical issues and annoying railroading but there are a couple of things that rly make no sense to me

delphine getting into the sacred tomb of jurgen windcaller and taking the horn that she knows the dragonborn will be after. i dont know how she knows the ldb will be asked to go get it by the greybeards, but i can excuse that with her being an active scholar and archaeologist which she is shown to be before that point (no i dont know why she is then dismissive of scholars later on). im really confused how she managed to get it and get out without setting off any of the puzzle traps

why she put the note there. what if i missed the note. what if the note fell off into the water and was unreadable. like it seems not very good as a plan

she gives us a passcode in the note and then tests us to see if we're "really" the ldb and not with the thalmor. i could be a dragonborn AND allied with the thalmor, it isn't impossible. the thalmor, while bad guys in the story to a cartoonish degree, are not the big bad. thats alduin. regardless of if alduin is rly gonna end the world or just try to rule it again, the thalmor would want to oppose him and control the dragons (something the ldb can do). the ldb could be a thalmor sympathizer easily.

the general assumption the ldb is going to be allied with the blades even if the game acts wishy washy about it. there is no way to refuse delphine's quest to kill paarthurnax and no way to kill her instead. in vanilla you can delay this quest and be locked out of the blades until you do, but there is no way to NOT be allied with the blades. why even give us the facade of choice here asking us existential questions about what it means to be good and acting like we have a choice to make when we absolutely do not (and bethesda will probably say paarthurnax is killed canonically for this reason)

the entire thalmor embassy section. we get some world building for the thalmor but logically it makes no sense to be in this questline in this spot. "the thalmor might be behind the dragons coming back" is such a wild leap of logic, as is "thats why we need you to infiltrate the party" like this isnt super risky, liable to get me killed, and is unlikely to have a reward. if she said we need to know more about dragons and the thalmor might have information on any surviving blades members because she doesnt think shes the only one left alive, that would make more sense

although i still hate this quest because it doesnt matter if you are a super stealthy rogue who can make your way through undetected or a warrior in heavy armor cutting your way through all of them, the results will be the same: you are caught and malborn is held hostage where he either is killed there or has his entire life ruined having to live in hiding for the rest of his days. why give us a stealth mission if there is gonna be no reward for being stealthy? "oh well not every person will play a stealth build--" im not asking for non-stealth build characters to be locked out of this quest im saying maybe stealth characters dont get fucking caught at the end if they go thru the place undetected

you have to join the college as part of the main storyline which i think is rly dumb. i know ppl hate magic in skyrim and the ppl of winterhold are paranoid but come on guys you dont offer enchanting services to normies? you wont just let me look around the fucking library after i proved im dragoborn? the magic sucks in this game anyways and the college questline is underbaked, why am i being railroaded into this one. you dont make me join the thieves guild. cmon

the thalmor just kind of become irrelevant around halfway through the story. what do you mean i was caught breaking into the embassy and now they just kinda don't care? you'd think they'd report me to the empire aligned cities' guards or order a hit put out on me.

does bethesda even know if alduin was actually gonna eat the world or just try ruling again. bc its really not clear at all and i think that is an important distinction to make

[745voiceofthepeople]

So I currently have plans to write a story where I isekai Rhaenyra Targaryen into Skyrim…my question is what side of the civil war do you think she’d be on 🤔

More importantly do you think she’d spare Paarthurnax or not?

This sounds like a really awesome story idea! One that I’d read rather obsessively😉

In regards to the civil war. I believe the Rhaenyra would ultimately side with the empire of Tamriel. Putting aside the obvious equivocations between between Targaryen and Imperial dragon motifs, I think Rhaenyra would support the empire for several main reasons.

Rhaenyra comes from the Targaryen dynasty. She is the heir (though disputed) to everything they are in Westeros. The Targaryen’s were Valyrian conquerors who took over Westeros (sans Dorne) via “Fire and blood”. And while their were no large secession movements from any of the kingdoms in Rhaenyra’s time she would be unlikely to be sympathetic to break away provinces of a greater polity.

Another reason could be ambition. If Rhaeneys is the dragon born on your story or Isekaid into her, she would have a claim on the Septim empire. After all the current dynasty of the Meads have no dragon blood to speak of. They were Colovian warlords that were eventually chosen to replace the defunct Septims by the Elder Council. While the amulet of kings is no longer in play, Rhaenyra technically has a greater claim on the imperial throne (by right of being dragon born). But due to Rhaenyra experience with wars over succession disputes I don’t know if she would want go down this route. But maybe she would.

Perhaps the racial prejudices of the Stormcloaks may also come into play. Rhaenyra in the show is shown to have a good relationship (at least at the moment of this post) with the Velaryon’s. Who probably have darker skins tones. Perhaps due to Summer Islander blood? Suffice it say, she would not be best pleased with the prejudices of Ulfric and his government. That said, I have no idea what Rhaenyra’s opinions on non-humans like Mer or the beats folk would be at the start.

And lastly sympathy for Elisif the fair. While their situations are not exactly the same, they are similar enough for Rhaenyra to perhaps sympathize with Elisif. Being passed over by large section of the nobility in favor of a male claimant. Denied what they view to be their rightful title because of people favoring her husbands killer (Elisif) or more blatant misogeny/westerosi traditions (Rhaenyra). And since Elisif supports the empire, Rhaeneya may do likewise. Solidarity and all. Rhaenyra also might see Elsie’s naivety and might want to help her out of it. So she’s not just a puppet to Tullius or anyone else.

But I can also see areas were she would be sympathetic to the Stormcloaks. The first being personal, depending on exactly when Rhaenyra is sent to Nirn and is she is the Dragonborn one not, the first experience she has with the empire is not…pleasant. What with her being almost executed without trial and all.

I can also see her supporting the Stormcloaks about religious freedom. Maybe. Rhaenyra is not as religious as say Alicent Hightower, but in the show Rhaenyra did undergo certain Valyrian rites. Now whether that would be enough for Rhaenyra to sympathize with Talos worship being outlawed I am uncertain.

At the end of the day though, I feel Rhaenyra potential reasons for supporting the empire would be greater than the Stormcloaks. But the prerogative of which side she joins is of course yours @itspronouncedjulia

Rhaenyra was a dragon rider in her first life. She would definitely spare Paarthunax. I think so at least. Rhaenyra would likely be happy to finally encounter a dragon that isn’t trying to kill her like every other one she encounters in Skyrim. In regards to crimes in war, I can also see Rhaenyra forgiving Paarthunax on account of his being remorseful and actively attempting to “make up for them”. Such as helping Kynareth, teaching Nords to shout, and teaching the last dragon born.

This a great idea idea @itspronouncedjulia , and I look forward to reading the story! I hope this helped in at least little ways.

[eye-of-yelough]

uhhh what would ur other ocs think of gort (me personally i love thinking about how he would break each one of my characters mentally & physically in a way specifically crafted entirely for them but that’s not an ask i should send i think)

so i thought the question was “how would gortash manipulate your ocs” and answered that question as well so. you’re getting the answer to both cos i don’t wanna delete. its kinda long so 👇

Leo Hawke, Dragon Age 2: kill kill kill bite devour mutilate. Gortash is everything he hates and everything she wants to be. cool, commanding, smart, feared, respected, loved, powerful. swag off the charts, i know he’d love the outfit.

How he’d manipulate him: easy. kill the only family he has left, Anders and Isabela, or keep them from her. actually yeah locking Anders up in solitary confinement, somewhere he spent an entire year before, that she regularly holds him about when he gets claustrophobic or has nightmares about. the thought of Anders in a small dark cell all alone with his thoughts would break him and he’d simply do Anything to ensure he’s not in there a moment longer than he has to be :/ that being said her first instinct would simply be to kill the man, and he’d definitely try, even if it’s a dumb idea. and honestly not to hype my own oc up too much but if anyone could, it’d be her. one woman (not really a woman) army of a reaver when a loved one is on the line. monster. could probably cleave his way through a dozen lackeys and at least 2 steel watchers solo before getting tired, and that’s only if they’re even in the way.

Slater Adaar, Dragon Age Inquisition: she’d be smart enough to know to be terrified of him. just be a useful tool while keeping as much distance as possible and keeping an eye out for the exits at all times. run at the first opportunity, no heroics.

How he’d manipulate her: i am realising i don’t actually know her all too well. autistic qunari sera romancing artificer pursedog butch lesbian who just wants a normal life away from politics and armies and magic and sainthood, damnit. that’s all i’ve really got on her. so, i guess using the promise of a normal life. tell ya what, she’d make a great deep cover secret agent. she is definitely an oc i could stand to make more interesting lmao

Vice, Skyrim: competition, quite simply. he has a thing about dragon imagery, right? subtler than the sun stuff, but it’s there? but is it about being a dragon himself, or subduing them. either way, they’d scoff at his posturing. underestimate him for sure, letting their ego and lack of respect for humans stop them from being smart. they have lawful evil no empathy aroace megalomaniac in common, so they’d definitely have an interesting time together :)

How he’d manipulate them: power. specifically the power to do their human experiments in peace. freedom from legal consequence, basically. it would be difficult to dominate or even get a good read on Vice and their desires tho, even for Gort. i mean. they don’t speak. and have pretty good control over their emotions. they’d be playing psychological 4D chess and it would be so entertaining. (remembers it doesn’t have to manipulation, it can be about breaking physically) OH YEAH. YEAH that’s the one. it would still be HARD to keep them down, draconic force of nature that they are, but i’m sure the gorster would be able to figure something out.

uhh . oh man is that all my ocs. i mean no, there’s my newish tav, “we have Romeo’s zeke at home” Ginger (half elf, same face shape, ranger, shart romancer??! i promise this is a coincidence idk how it happened) uhh i have a Khajit oc i’ve never talked about whose name is Ace and i have nothing else on him. OHHH GALE MY DRAGON AGE CIRCLE MAGE OC WHO DIDN’T WORK AS SURANA. uhh yeah he’d simply have no use for that old woman sorry. i need to change her name man can’t let her get confused with the bg3 wizard.

how could i forget Jack, Jack Valentine, my gta 5 guy i’ve had for like 3 years and also never once talked about despite loving him forever even if i’ve kinda forgotten him lately cos i haven’t played it in ages. kind of a self insert type, or at least the closest oc i do have to one, so. he’d make an alright lackey, i think. he’d probably hate the gort but ultimately fall for his shit after a while. like with gale he’d be very disposable.

man i need to think of better ocs these guys are boring

[lapinaraoflimbo]

it really needs to be said how good it is to have games that actually end. This is a massive massive problem with a lot of games. You take games like the Elder Scrolls and they're probably perfectly fine to never end. The gameplay loop of Skyrim tessellates. It can be repeated forever and ever and never really get old. The enemies level up, you level up, and you're playing the same game at the end of the session. It's a game that's not designed to end and it's a really good game for it.

But then you turn around and you can start to see a lot of games that try the same endless content trick but with non-tessellating gameplay. There's a certain point in most games where escalating the core gameplay repeatedly causes something to break. The games become too hard or the grinding becomes too monotonous or the creature designs start to lose their charm. And in a good game there is going to be either a hard or a soft ending at that point so that the game can still feel rewarding.

Endings in video games are a very nebulous concept. Video game narratives are largely player driven and so a lot of games can't have a cohesive narrative ending or don't really end with the traditional narrative.

Dark Souls famously has no ending. You beat the game and then you wake up right where you started for a round 2. This is, unlike something like Skyrim, an incredibly intentional choice. The gameplay of Dark Souls does not tessellate. The experience found in NG+ is different from the experience in NG and the experience in NG++ is different from those. Players are intended to give up at some point in the game. There is no ending except for one the player creates. The player gives up, and the chosen undead goes hollow.

There is a deeply unsatisfying feeling to dark souls because of this. One that is speckled with extremely satisfying moments almost as if it's leading you along with a breadcrumb trail. Beat the boss, celebrate your victory- but remember that there's still more to do. There's still more to get done. And eventually, no matter what you do. You are always going to leave a challenge unfinished.

In a game like dark souls this is not just a gameplay decision but a narrative core of the games as well. it's not a continuation of gameplay to keep the player invested but a continuation of gameplay as a comforting curse. "you will give up, eventually. You will go hollow, eventually. Just like everyone else." And the player, eventually, gives up. There is no way to escape the curse of the undead. We all have to accept that at some point. And it's okay- it's an unescapable fate of the undead, after all.

But, Dark Souls is not the only game to do that. In fact- this is a very common occurance in video games. There is always something more to do. There is always another +2% damage and always another rank and always another reward that's just 100 kills aways and another achievement that's just out of reach. Every game makes you The chosen undead now. Every game sends you on a pointless quest with no end. Every game will only end when you give up and lose your humanity.

But dark souls always told you that there was no end. There was no goal. Dark Souls never tried to hide the fact that you would eventually give up and go hollow. Maybe we didn't believe it, but the game never hid it from us. Learning to give up and learning to leave the game behind is a part of dark souls.

But when a modern game give you that extra thing to do. When it presents its quests it tries to hide that from the player. "there's an end. You just have to be good enough to get to it." it says. You're still the chosen undead, your quest will only end when you go hollow, but the game is pretending to be something else. it's tricking you into believing there is an end.

And this time we'll have to learn on our own that it's okay to give up, when we're presented with a never ending quest

[alexanderdragonborn]

So I'm currently finishing my story with the Dark Brotherhood. I am excited about posting the story as soon as possible. For now, I thought I should post some spoiler alert. *story is still in edit*

#

Windhelm...home of the Stormclocks. I can't wait to get out of the city as soon as possible. It seems that everyone hates my kind here.

I sighed and went to walk towards the docks. Hopefully Solstheim won't be too bad.

Then it's true, what everyone is saying? That Aventus Aretino is doing the Black Sacrament? Trying to summon the Dark Brotherhood?"

*The...the Dark Brotherhood? Did I hear that right?*

Idesa: "Oh, Grimvar... always with the nonsense. No, no, of course not. Those are just tales..."

*Mother...*

Grimvar: "Fine. Then I'll invite him out to play. He lives right there. I'm going to knock on his door..."

Idesa: "No, child! Wait! That boy, that house - they're cursed."

Grimvar: "Ha! Then I'm right. I knew it. He's trying to have somebody killed!"

Idesa: "All right. I won't deny it, child. What you heard is true. But Aventus Aretino walks a dark path. His actions can lead only to ruin. Now, enough. We will speak no more of this. I am the only friend you need."

*No...*

On second thought Miraak can wait. I can't let this kid do this.

#

Somethings wrong here." I sighed in frustration.

"What do you mean Xel?" Remi says as she sits by the fire.

"Ever since we returned to Skyrim Misara is distance towards me. In fact she's beginning to become more anxious." I replied

"So it wasn't my imagination? Do you think shes upset that she killed...well you know Grelod?"

"Probably. But did you also notice how she froze when Aventus called her an assassin? Almost like shes hiding something?"

"Well if I was called assassin and I wasn't I would probably freeze too. But I see where you're coming from. Have you talked them about it?"

*Thats a good point but I'm not sure if thats the case*

"Not yet but I am considering bringing it up. You don't think shes going to become an assassin do you?

I don't think so. She's a thief not a killer. The only time she didn't feel bad about killing was the orc in Raven Rock or bandits.

"I remember. Frankly Raven Rock is better of without him but this is different. She jumps whenever we try to get her attention" I responded.

"That sounds like a conversation you two should have soon. It sounds like she needs someone to talk to" Remi replied.

"She usually leans on Lucien but our friend is currently busy right now. I can try to talk to her if you like l? Inigo asks.

"Best that we give her space. She looks like me when I'm focused on my experiments." Remi said.

I sighed and look up at Misara. She's holding on to the necklace and rubbing it slowly. It brings her comfort when things become too much. I wish I knew what was going on. Shes uneasy about something but what?

Guilt? Maybe. Fear? She is afraid. She didn't get caught for the murder so its probably not that.

*What are you hiding Misara?*

#

"Sleep well?"

"What? Where am I? Who are you?"

"Does it matter? You're warm, dry and still very much alive. That's more to be said then for old Grelod hmm?

You know about that?

Half of Skyrim knows. Old hag gets butchered in her own orphanage. Things like that tend to get around. Oh but don't misunderstand. I'm not critizing it was a good kill. Old crone had it coming but there is a slight problem.

I don't like where this is going...I said

#

We entered into my home only to get tackeld by Kaidan?

Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened to you. He asked

The Dark Brotherhood happened. What happened to you? I replied

They must have slipped me something. Woke up a day later with a pounding headache and you were gone. Been tracking you since. I'm so sorry.

I killed the assassin. It was the leader.

It was thier mistake to cross you. Maybe let a guard know while we're in town. I don't doubt someones looking to bring down the dark brotherhood.

"Misara!" Khash yelled as she ran towards me. I quickly picked her up and hugged her.

*They won't trust me soon* I thought. *I just know it*

#

"Xelzaz...I can't destroy them. Its a conflict of interest"

"I'm trying to understand why it is though Misara. Clearly something is holding you back. Please I want to help you but I can't if you don't tell me what it is."

"I can't tell you." I backed away from him. I can sense he's hurt

I...see. Look if you want to keep it to yourself thats fine but just know its not healthy to keep hiding this. I won't push you" he responded in a disappointed tone.

"Xelzaz if I tell you I'm worried that you'll hate me. I'm scared that it will ruin our friendship"

"It might not but what makes you think that I'll hate you?"

You really want to know? I asked

Xhu Beeko, I do" he responded. He reach out hoping to grab my arm to comfort me but I didn't let him.

*sighs* okay...well my mother left me when I was a child. I don't remember her very well."

What's that got to do with destroying the Dark Brotherhood?

Because...She was a member of the Dark Brotherhood...Astrid sent my Dad a letter. She revealed that I had a brother. My brother is part of that group." I held back a sob. I slowly back away from him. Bracing what might happen.

"Well, that's...something I wasn't expecting to hear. That does answer a few of my questions though"

*coming soon*

[skellybonesandtrees]

Top 5-10 favorite video games?

Preamble to say the only consoles I ever owned were a Sega Genesis, as a kid, and I played a shit out of that with my sister. And an X-Box 360, where I mostly played one game I also owned on PC. I'm a PC gamer.

Going from how much play and replay time I got out of them

10. Bloons TD6 - A simple tower defense game, you can even play this on mobile. It's a fun time killer. Like most games, I feel like, if you're good at math, you'll do better at it. I'm not good at math. But I have fun. I always go back to it when nothing else works.

9. Darkest Dungeon - I actually only have 82.6 hours in this game but the only reason I don't play it more, is, again, I'm bad at math, and not good at it, but I really like it. It is the type of game where suffering is the point tho, so if you're into that, I recommend. Turn based RPG game. Really cool art too.

8. Orcs Must Die 2 - Another tower defense game, but this one is a blend with a shooter. It's quick paced and fun and the characters and orcs are funny. I love this one.

7. Frostpunk - Dystopian ice age city builder. The art is also amazing. Again...math...so...I do what I can...which usually means turning down difficulty but I still love it. It's a bit depressing but...I like that.

6. Banished - Medieval/Cononial periods inspired city builder. The base game is good enough, but I admit I can no longer play without one of he handful of massive mods that make it a lot more involved and rewarding. Also, I like going all agricultural age all over the map. Playing it right now in a borrowed laptop and enjoying it still.

5. Stardew Valley - At first glance I didn't think I'd enjoy it so much but I played the heck out of this during the first leg of the pandemic. There's a lot to do in this game, farming, animal husbandry, mining and killing monsters, making friends with locals, choosing one of the handful of dull villagers to tie the knots with, having babies who never grow up, meeting the wizard, finding the witch hut, sailing to an island with more crap to do. It's a lot of fun. One of the games I miss playing since my laptop broke again.

4. Don't Starve [Together] - Survival games have a special spot in my introvert, lonely heart and DS is one of the first I got into. It's got beautiful Tim Burton-esque art and funny characters and music and it was very spooky to me when I first played it. I probably played the co-op version, Don't Starve Together, longer, because I played it with friends as well as alone because it's doable and DST offers thing you don't have in the regular game.

3. Dark Souls - I actually only managed to get my hands on (it was a gift) this game and try it recently. I gave up multiple times because it's more than challenging. It's hard. Probably not for "pro gamers" but it was for me and I beat it the first time only with the help of a cheaty mod that let me turn down difficulty. I have played it the normal way several times since and it's definitely taught me to play defensively and to actually think about my moves more than any other game. I know it's an oldie, but I love it and miss it since the pooter when poof.

2. The Long Dark - Another survival game and possibly my favorite. You're alone in Great Bear Island (Canada). Probably alone in the world after a geomagnetic storm that took out electricity and nothing works anymore and the world is getting colder. There's a story mode but I actually never played it much, I play survival mode. You can make it as difficult or as easy as you want. It's challenging and you can die from hunger, from cold, from predators, all that good stuff! I am currently playing it in my borrowed pooter.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - This one gets the first spot because I've played it, A LOT, in both PC and x-box 360. The replayability for me was great. I played it many times, trying different builds. And yes the game is buggy and glitchy as hell and it's got many issues, but I love it. I love the freedom it gave me to do what I wanted. It countered all of its weaknesses for me. I never had a beefy enough computer to play it with all the best mods, but I dream of the day I winthe lottery and buy the best PC to really beef up this game and play it all over again.

[zhaoly]

_

help i've been sucked into the pit of fnv what is happening to me i need to SLEEP

the first time i played this game i thought it was just all right, finished it more out of a feeling of obligation (lol) than anything else

even tried replaying it a few times over the years and just couldnt get back into it to finish a run

but after watching the show i decided to give it another shot and why am i so into it now?? bruh

i'm yanking the reins trying not to add too many mods to it and i think i've reached a good medium of QoL + visuals + bug fixes/tweaks, which definitely makes the game way more enjoyable but also like the fact that i started digging for mods already says a lot

not sure what happened between then and now to make my perspective on the game change so much? honestly i think it's just bc i was still a baby gamer back then and didn't really appreciate the game for what it was? or something lol? pretty sure the only major single player "rpg" i had played at that point was skyrim which i thought was the greatest thing ever

now i'm like omg the choices! so many! people's reactions to the choices! i mean i was surprised when benny even had a reaction line after i killed everyone in the fort. apparently cursor lucullus puts on a hazmat suit if you nuke cottonwood cave which is hilarious 😭 i just love the details like that. what is happening to me. how did i play this game years and years ago and think "meh" and now i'm obsessed.

ngl i would've killed for an independent vegas ending with benny, sorta bonnie and clyde style but i think stuff like that is probably more bioware/dragon age style ending and probably won't ever be seen in a fallout game

also full dreadwolf reveal is next week !! i've never been this hyped for a game before

[pizkwat1]

Stormcloaks or Imperials?

So, obviously the real answer is "who would your character side with?" And really, the negotiated settlement route is the best choice, kicking the can until hopefully either the Thalmor play their hand and piss off the Empire enough to abandon the concordat and legalize the cult of Talos again or the Markarth incident is forgotten and Skyrim can regain the autonomy it had previously. But, if we're applying real-world ideology to a fantasy setting, and if a side has to be declared "right":

The Stormcloaks have a right to self-determination in the face of the Empire's denial of their right to free worship. Skyrim remaining in the Empire would probably be better for the Nords and Tamriel overall, but that can't be dictated to them. "It's for your own good" can't trump human rights.

Yes, Ulfric is racist. Deeply racist, his man Galmar evoking the Ehlnofex race war from literally before the dawn of time. Racist not just against the Dunmer, which is honestly almost understandable (how would Mexico feel about American refugees? Especially if Americans lived a thousand years and most of them were alive for the Mexican-American war?), but actually more racist against Argonians, which is honestly pretty weird. (Why? Because of Umbriel? The Knahaten Flu? That was generations ago. Under Hoag Stormcloak they weren't banned from the city. It honestly doesn't make sense.)

Ulfric did also prompt the crackdown on the cult of Talos in the first place. Remember the Markarth Incident? Reachmen (a whole other issue) took over Markarth, and a militia led by Ulfric took it back and said they would occupy it until the Empire legalized Talos worship. Prior to that, Talos worship was definitely illegal in Skyrim as with everywhere else (play Elder Scrolls: Blades), but it wasn't very strongly enforced in Skyrim. After Ulfric's stunt, it was very strongly enforced. Now, it seems most likely that Ulfric did this because he was stupid -- if he was smart he wouldn't have killed Torygg. It can't be ruled out that he did it to create instability in which he could gain power. But it does seem more likely that he was just stupid. But Ulfric's demands were not unreasonable. He voted Green when he should've voted Dem, in essence, and blew it all up. He wasn't pragmatic, but he shouldn't be faulted for idealism.

(The Altmer in Windhelm do not make Ulfric not a racist by the way; The Pocket Guide to the Empire, I forget which edition, pretty much definitively establishes that most Altmer who live outside of the Summerset Isles are exiles. Ulfric would be predisposed to quite like an Altmer political exile.)

Ulfric is a bigot and frankly a bad leader. It really should go without saying that Ulfric is not the entirety of the Stormcloaks. In Riften we see several licensed Argonian merchants and even landowners fully accepted, and a Dunmer holding a prominent position in Dawnstar even despite his shady past. (The latter might be called a token exception, but you gotta remember every city in that game has like 30 dudes in it so Erandur is like 3% of Dawnstar's population.) The Stormcloaks are united by their cause, not by loyalty to Ulfric. The only Stormcloak Jarl who actually seems to even like him is Skald of Dawnstar -- that's probably because, again, Ulfric is probably stupid, and the Jarls know it. Ulfric is undoubtedly an extremely problematic element of the Stormcloak administration, but not really a very powerful one, and to reiterate, a flawed administration, even a bigoted one, does not exempt its people from a right to independence. (There are some recent real-world examples which I feel it would be disrespectful for me to bring up.)

By the way, this is very different from the American civil war. The Confederacy seceded explicitly because the federal government was trying to remove a form of oppression. The Stormcloaks rebelled because the Empire was reasserting oppression. As evidenced by all the talk from Windhelm's Dunmer and Argonians about "ever since Ulfric came along," Windhelm was not a racist city prior to the rebellion. Ulfric's oppression of Windhelm's racial minorities is less akin to Confederate slavery and more akin to American internment camps in World War Two (which to be clear were very bad, and also very different from fighting a war to preserve institution chattel slavery. All throughout human history you see a flareup of xenophobia during wars. War is bad.)

You can also consider the alternative. From a utilitarian perspective, an Imperial victory is worse because the suffering of two small immigrant communities in one city is replaced with the suffering of a religious group representing something like a third of all of Skyrim. (No suffering is not an option because The Elder Scrolls is diet grimdark.) Again, the negotiated settlement really is the best option, but that's a cop-out, so, Stormcloaks. That said, in most of my playthroughs I went Imperial lol.

[super-lad]

indulging myself on talking about my bg3 party (spoilers below):

Silas - Wood Elf - Assassin

Went for Dark Urge since its the only origin character you can customize, but Silas is actually my Skyrim OC whose been inexplicably transported to the Forgotten Realms. Won't get into specifics since the Dark Urge gives him amnesia, but it's fun to play an evil character trying and failing to resist their impulses. The Dark Urge storyline is actually a bit similar to Silas's actual backstory, but, alas, he doesn't remember it and probably never will. He does still have PTSD with bows (he's not sure why), so dual swords and throwing knives are his go-to.

Gameplay-wise, he lacks in raw power and depends on Advantage while staying invisible. Basically, he needs to one-shot people each turn to not die, which is pretty in character for a compulsive murderer. He is quite squishy, however. Well, the whole team is. I'm thinking of multiclassing him with Fighter or Barbarian to get a higher Armor Class (which is also a shoutout to his Skyrim storyline).

Romance-wise, I'm going for a main love triangle with Astarion and Wyll. Hopefully, the two characters are OK with polyamory in the end. Plus, the two have a great dichotomy; think Kara Danvers vs Livewire. And trying to keep approval from two opposite sides of the moral alignment chart has been... slow. Silas got no action in Act 1 besides a chaste kiss with Wyll and Astarion is just beginning to tolerate him. To speed things up, I gave Astarion an open tab on Silas's blood. This diagnoses Silas with acute anemia. Symptoms? An almost constant penalty in his Ability Checks. Worth it? It better be!

Astarion - Arcane Trickster

Astarion is someone I didn't care much about and planned to replace for a better party member. Alas, I got annoyed with his constant disapproval of my character, which made me determined to see him like Silas in the end. His jaded personality is clearly a result of his traumatic past, so I'm interested to see how much he changes when given a (comparatively) healthier dynamic. I like that Silas and Astarion have similarly evil tendencies, so I'm curious to see whether they make each other worse or better.

Gameplay-wise, he works similar to Silas. Squishy and needs Advantage to be good. He's our main archer, which keeps him off the frontlines, so he doesn't die as much. Doesn't use magic much in combat either, but he does have all the utility spells helpful in non-combat situations i.e. Feather Fall.

Wyll - Warlock

Wyll is the Kara Danvers of BG3. He's a superhero with a seemingly unattainable level of altruism. As you can imagine, I was obsessed. And like Supergirl, he has a hidden dark streak, which is interesting to see play out. Being good is a choice. He always chooses good despite the cost. Silas definitely idealized Wyll when he first met him hoping to become a better person by osmosis. However, after discovering the Warlock's powers come from a Fiend contract, Silas became disillusioned. I think its clear that our resident superhero could change the Dark Urge, but Silas isn't sure if he's ready to let go of that. And I'm curious to see how how stagnant Wyll's morality remains as the story progresses.

Gameplay-wise, he's our biggest damage-dealer. His spells can hit and debuff multiple enemies HARD. Still squishy, but he makes up for it by killing before they can get to him. Plus, it helps to have Silas and Shadowheart keep them distracted.

Shadowheart - Cleric

Shadowheart was someone I, too, planned to replace at the first opportunity. And I did. Once we got Karlach, a buff giantess devil-lady with a heart of gold, it was bye-bye healer, hello absolute unit with lethality that far outstrips anyone else in the party. And I love LOVE Karlach (I'm still going to pursue her and lae'zel's personal quests), but at that point, the main trio had been with Silas throughout 80% of Act 1, and I was surprised to find Shadowheart had grown on me. She's actually quite witty and complex once you get past the masochistic goddess she worships. We also come across her fellow fanatics a lot throughout the story, so its fun to see someone become conflicted with the religious dogma they were raised with. I also like that she's a twist on the typical healer archetype. She's not altruistic like Wyll. She worships darkness, but not because she's evil, but because it's all she ever knew. I'm most interested to see where she is with her faith in the end.

Gameplay-wise, a healer is indispensable as we all know. She actually has the highest strength stat in the group, so she's good utility i.e. moving heavy objects. Furthermore, to help mitigate the team's squishy problem, I gave her heavy armor proficiency so she's become pretty decent at soaking damage. Her spells are from the Trickery Domain, so she has a lot of buffs and debuffs, which has been critical in reducing how many hits the team takes. Essentially, since I don't like to change their original classes for roleplay reasons, I'm turning her into a pseudo-Paladin which has proven really fun to play around with. I'd say she's definitely grown the most in usefulness.

[havroth-traveler]

Infamous: The Set Up

A few days getting resting and setting up my little warehouse was all I needed before I was ready for my next jump. I walked to the Entry Hall and pushed the big red button. There was a buzzing noise like the lights were about to go out, and a packet of paper appear. I was ready to go become a Pokémon.

The problem with my plan was immediately apparent. The words across the first page were not "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon". None of those words were listed. Instead I read "Infamous" in black, blocky letters.

Its had been several years since I played infamous, or infamous 2. I was in Russia when Second son was released. The general plot of the games was terrorists start bombing not-new-york-city, and the explosions fallout gave some people super powers. Then at the end of the first game, a mega bomb went off and destroyed most of the city. The second game came in hot with the MC going to Not-New-Orleans, to escape the explosion, and some kind of plague bringing lava monster. While looking for McGuffins, he finds a cult which has its own problems. The end of the game is unalive all conduit, or the normies.

I took a deep breathe having refreshed my mind on the first 2 games, and started the next page. The first thing that stood out was that The World assumes only good Karma endings on the games. It took a me a minute to think about it, but that means that the jump must be starting after the most recent game. I'm not really sure what that means in any practical sense, but I probably wont be dealing with a plague.

I circled the options for random starting place and age. I will be appearing in Empire City, as a 22year old. Its not a great sign that the description lists very high crime, and calls the area a wasteland. I'm glad I spent at least some time brushing up my survival skills in the Pokemon jump, even if I am rather rusty after spending the better half of the jump in prison.

I took the drifter/drop-in background. There was only a few choices for conduit powers. Even fewer after I discarded anything that requires modern tech, since I don't know if Ill have access to it in future jump. I'm pretty sure I'll be going to Skyrim at some point. Smoke, Cryo, or big M maybe Concrete. It does say I could recharge it by touching buildings, and that means that anywhere there is civilization I could recharge. The best tool to avoid jail would probably be Concrete for walls, or Smoke for smoke screens. I chose Smoke.

The next page was obviously not where is was supposed to be. I had seen enough to know that the drawbacks were listed after everything else, almost every time. Here they were, and two fo them were circled already. Shorted, which meant I'd only have half the power capacity I should have had. Normally it would be worth 100 CP, but the "CP" was crossed out and replaced with "BMP". I guess > really wants me to keep investing into the body mod. The second drawback I was gifted was "Greenlit" Looks like one of the local gangs will try to take me out. The reward for this one looked pretty good, +300 CP. I checked the top of the page, and saw that I now had 1300 CP for the rest of the jump.

Drifters got Stength(to lift a car) for free, and Toggle and Energy Form half off. I also grabbed Durability and Regen. The ability to take a couple of bullets and get right back up again were definitely going to be useful in Empire City.

Satisfied I turned to the next page, Equipment. I immediately circled the Freebie, a safehouse. I also grabbed the Lightweight body armor(-50) some concealed Kevlar will be useful in almost any setting and definitely one where a gang wants to kill me.

The rest of the items took a bit more thought. A weapon that I could use to channel power would be very handy. As would an alternate way to charge my power. However since I already had half as much power as I should, and had a passive power regen(thank you body mod) I would probably most need just an extra battery. I circled the BioCapacitor.

That out of the way, and considered a vehicle, but I already had a solid bike. My but was saved by the free camping equipment in Pokemon though. I doubt the wasteland of Empire city would be so convenient. I grabbed the Bug Out Bag.

The last few hundred point were spend on the Glock and the hypervisor. If I am going to be a ghost with a gang chasing me, I should be prepared for some violence and a peak through a door will made all the difference.

I circled the last item as the warehouse faded to black. I opened my eyes staring at dingy drywall ceiling, the first gray light of dawn dispelling the gloom.

---

Doc

Character sheet

First post

[trickstarbrave]

i wrote smth....

im writing out of order again sorry

anyways this is from the vivi au. post azura shrine being destroyed i gotta go back and write that. and their introduction. and stuff.

vivienne from @mulberrycafe

--

It was quiet, just the two of them warming up by the heartfire. It was the dead of night, the only sound being the crackling embers and wind outside. Vivienne had woken up after everyone else went to sleep, being left beside Steren who opted to stay awake to watch over him. It’s not like he wanted to go back to bed after all that anyways. 

“... Your parents are dead then.” Vivienne finally said. Steren stiffened slightly. 

“... Yes.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Vivienne asked quietly, and Steren had to sigh. 

“I knew it would make everything a lot more… Awkward.” He had said he ended up there after trying to make a deal with a daedric prince to see his parents again. If he had said plainly that his parents were dead everyone would know he didn’t want to be alive anymore. What were they supposed to say to that? The only reason Steren didn’t end himself in the wake of his despair and disappointment that he’d never see his parents again was because he knew it would only compound his suffering. Even if he killed himself they wouldn’t be in any afterlife he would go to in this world, and he doubted Azura would suddenly look upon him favorably. 

He still didn’t know what the “Good” Daedra wanted with him. Steren thought Azura would be content that he fulfilled the prophecy with little complaints. Just like he said, he killed one of his fathers and said goodbye to the other on her orders. He did everything right. He played it by the book, and Azura was said to be one of the most benevolent princes. 

Yet here she was, trying to kill his lover and calling him Vivec. Here Mephala was, ordering his lover to kill him with that accursed fucking sword. He had no doubts Boethiah wouldn’t react the same, trying to take something from him or kill him for her own benefit. He was playing a losing game. 

“But I could have tried to help you.” Vivienne argued. “I-I could have--”

“Shh…” Steren wrapped one arm around him gently. “Vivienne, you did help me.” 

“No I didn’t--”

“Vivi,” Steren placed one hand on his cheek, his thumb stroking the skin, looking into his duo colored eyes. “You didn’t have to know to help me.” In all honesty, Vivienne trying to reassure him constantly or watching him like a hawk would have probably only put a strain on their relationship. “But you did. You helped me more than you know.” Steren took a breath, trying to steady himself from his emotions.

“When I met you I had nothing. I was in a world I didn’t know, a time I didn’t understand, in the most bizarre circumstances. I was used to nothing but being pushed around and thought I had… Nothing else to live for.” Steren continued stroking his skin. “I wasn’t ready to talk about it. I was certain it was over for me. And yet…” He felt a tickle at his heart and the subtle sensation of tears trying to sting at his eyes. “I started to feel… Alive again.” He took another breath. “I started to enjoy the walk. Enjoying seeing Skyrim.” His arm around Vivienne grew a bit tighter. “I… Enjoyed listening to you laugh. Listening to you sing. Watching you smile.” He knew Vivienne wasn’t always sincere, but it was never out of malice, just fear that the people he loved wouldn’t stay with him if he wasn’t. And besides, Steren wasn’t always sincere either. “I… I wanted to be here, with you. More than anything.” 

“But your parents,” Vivienne said softly, “If they’re dead in your world, what if they’re alive here?” It made sense to guess. Azura was typically one to try and give people what they asked for, at least somewhat. Steren also toyed around with the idea himself; what if in this world Nerevar or Voryn were still alive? He found a book at the college that offhandedly mentioned the nerevarine defeated Dagoth Ur, and shortly afterwards Baar Dau fell and many still blamed the eruption on Dagoth Ur. It was possible that somewhere in this world one of his parents had been brought back to life and was living out there. But then again, they wouldn’t really be Steren’s parents, now would they? If the nerevarine actually was Nerevar reborn, that meant Steren was never born and thus, no one for Nerevar’s soul to cling to. And on top of that, what if they didn’t even want to be acknowledged as Nerevar at all? They could have their own life and identity they built for themselves. 

How uncomfortable would it be to have someone come up to you and call you “Nerevar” and to be told they’re your child from another lifetime and another world? Even if they believed him, that would only add to their problems. They wouldn’t know anything about Steren. They wouldn’t love him. They wouldn’t have been waiting for him. They were probably still processing everything from their time in Vvardenfell. And that was only considering if Steren could find them. Did he really want to spend years, decades, or even centuries chasing after his past again? Chasing after his ‘family’? 

“I’ve spent so long chasing after answers of who my parents were.” Steren confessed. “Who I was supposed to be.” Steren had died one lifetime chasing after that, and all it had really done was gotten him killed. “I put myself in harm's way time and time again for those answers. But…” Steren’s eyes were firm in their resolve. “I know everything I need to. I know who my parents were. And I know that they loved me more than anything.” Gods did he know that. Even mad and crazed as Dagoth Ur, Voryn Dagoth still loved him. Still called Steren his son. Still wanted to have Steren in his arms and mourned the time he lost to see Steren grow up. And Nerevar loved him so much he couldn’t bare to leave him alone even in death, and continued watching over all of his descendants. 

“I don’t want to spend more of my life looking for versions of my parents that won’t even remember me. They might be considered the same by a daedric prince, but they won’t know me or remember me. They might not even love each other in this world, let alone had me.” It was kind of hard to fathom is parents not loving each other--far harder than to imagine himself never being born. Steren was born of a union that was forbidden, after all, and it was easier to picture Nerevar never going through with the pregnancy rather than risk his child being hurt or left alone like he inevitably was. 

“But…” 

“Vivienne,” Steren continued. “I’m happy here.” He was being completely honest. “I’m happy being with you. I’m happy waking up getting to see you every day. Far more happy than I ever was chasing answers.” He then smiled softly, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “I’m choosing to be here with you. I’m choosing to be happy.” 

Slowly, Vivienne settled down, snuggling into him properly. He wrapped the blanket around the both of them, letting them share each other’s warmth and sit in silence to listen to the crackling fire. 

“I don’t know if you’ll be safe with me…” 

“Is anywhere in Tamriel really safe?” Steren asked, making a joke, resulting in Vivienne suppressing a laugh.

“I’m serious,” Vivienne countered. “I… I don’t know why Azura did that. I don’t know why she called me Vivec--why she hates me. I’m not Vivec.” 

“No, you aren’t.” Steren reassured him. “I would know it if you were.” He had met Vivec before, after all. In multiple lifetimes. He knew the warrior-poets mannerisms, his strange habits, and his way of speaking. He knew his flaws and how he tried to do what he thought was right even if it hurt others, or how he could be self-serving when he wanted to be. But Vivienne was… Soft. Insecure. Afraid--afraid of being alone, of being abandoned, or being hurt. If he lied and seduced it was because he thought he had to to survive, not to gain something more than he already had. Vivec was selfish because he started with nothing, and Vivienne was scared because of the same circumstances rather than selfish. “I didn’t think Azura was one to judge people so harshly based on appearances alone…” Sure, Vivienne’s skin condition was odd, but just as easily he could have been cursed at birth by Vivec out of spite or as a misguided “blessing”. 

“But the power--I-I destroyed the statue--”

“You are also dragonborn.” Steren added. “I’ve seen you devour a dragon’s soul and leave nothing but bones behind. Other stories from the nords say the dragonborn can level mountains or destroy entire cities. It’s not impossible you killed some daedra and destroyed a statue.”

“It doesn’t… Feel right.” Vivienne admitted. “Sorry, I’m not making any sense…”

“You’re tired.” Steren reassured him. “We can worry about it in the morning.” He then scooped Vivienne up, now that the two were warmed up properly. “In the meantime, why don’t we sleep a little bit more?”

“Mm…” Vivienne hummed softly.

Tucked into bed, Steren was even more firm in his resolve, holding Vivienne close to try and wash away the helplessness he felt as Kaidan had to carry Vivienne back instead. 

He was happy here. He was choosing his own happiness over the past, for once. He was deciding to leave whatever the Good Daedra had planned behind and to make his own happiness if they wouldn’t give it to him. His parents were dead and he would never return to their arms being in another world, but that didn’t mean he had to despair. He found something just as important right here, in his arms. 

No matter how much the daedra tried to take this happiness from him, Steren wouldn’t let him. He finally had something all his own, and he wasn’t going to let anyone take it from it. Not now, not ever.

[rosysdreamjournal]

dream about dusty old house

i dreamed my family and i bought a huge dusty old house. it wasn't haunted, it was just really dirty. my mother and father brought home chicken for dinner, but they forgot the sides. when it was time for everyone to sleep their first night at the new house, i dozed off on the couch before i could go to my room. In my dream, i had a dream. i was playing skyrim and i did a quest for a dude living in a cave where i had to track down ancient artifacts from around the province. once i had found them all, the guy revealed that they were all fake. we fought and at one point, he rolled down the hill in front of the cave, and i thought he was dead. when i went down to find him, the guy's son showed up and revealed that he had some crazy plot to destroy the world or something that i had essentially made possible by killing his father. i killed him next and then found that his dad wasn't really dead. i helped him up and he became a potential follower. i woke up in my dream and found myself on the dusty couch in our new dusty house. i had a blue hankerchief that I covered with snot since it was so dusty. i put it on the coffee table and decided i would just continue to sleep out there instead of in my room. however, as i rolled over, i noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye. i stood up and found it was a centipede with two large furry legs/antennae coming out of the front of its body. i grabbed a shoe and tried to smush it, but it flied away. i was left wondering if it was a centipede since i know centipedes can't fly. then, i woke up for real. i left my room to go get on the couch, but as i lied down, i wondered if that was a good thing to do. like, maybe i would be awoken by another strange bug in the real world?

there was also another dream somehow worked in there where i was at a restaurant and left my table to go to the bathroom. when i came back, i didn't recognize anyone at the table, but they somehow knew me. there was a girl possibly my age or older, a younger girl that was probably 8, a younger boy than even her that was probably 4, and a guy that was probably my age, i dunno. he was smiling really wide, so i asked him what was up. he said he had set up a bunch of pranks for me. i was hesitant to sit down, but when i did, nothing seemed to happen. i looked at the underside of the table and found that there were a bunch of random objects taped there. after a few seconds, a neatly folded pair of underwear fell in my lap. the prank guy started laughing and trying to explain his weird prank. it somehow involved a mop that was holding the underwear up, and then when i sat down, it dropped it. i didn't really understand even after all of his explaining, though. the 4 year-old had a tablet sitting on the table in front of him and was watching a weird cartoon on it.

[msmeiriona]

My elder scrolls characters really wouldn't be that interested in a valentines day sort of thing.

No but seriously I have two different Dragonborn that I swap between based on where my brain is, and, obviously Eirsabet is 100% a Brynjolf girl. Her characterization would not hold up without that, the frustration is a key structural element to her story. Her love life is... Not simple, but still follows reasonable paths.

But Inri? Telvanni Inri, born a Chimer in the 1st Era when the Chimer and Dwemer were allies who had just freed Resdayan?

She's another story. She's ANCIENT, she's VAIN, she's an incredibly powerful sorcerer. She's attracted to power, strictly powerful Mer, and almost exclusively other sorcerers. If you look around, not just at Skyrim, but at LITERALLY ALL ES CANON, the potential partners for her circa 4e201 when she gets roped into Akatosh's bullshit, you're looking at..... I mean is Divayth Fyr back in Nirn or is he hopping planes again? Cause that was a hookup she would repeat (The rare cases where the House was able to drag her from her home in the Velothi mountains were all BIG events, you think he wasn't there when the choice to accept the terms of the Armistice was made? Please. And he has a reputation in the 2nd era she would have wantex to put to the test.) Knight-Paladin Gelebor? He might be a bit too goody-goody for a ruthless Telvanni like herself, unless he's got some hidden dominance tendencies.

If he hadn't forced her to kill him Arch-Curate Vyrthur was PROBABLY a closer match. Hell, if she was less of a Mer supremacist, there might be some other options hanging around, though Harkon isn't smart enough even if he were elven. And she'd be too threatened by Valerica's skills to take up with an elven AU of her.

There's probably Psjics that she'd be willing to bang, but the second they tried to play superior with her outside a bedchamber she'd be gone faster than their own disappearing isle. Assuming she didn't try to kill them for the insult.

I have never claimed Inri is a good person. She's not. Neither is Var, my Nerevarine. I'm only not bringing her up because Var is aro-ace and was originally imprisoned because she stabbed a guardsmen who wouldn't stop hitting on her. (He was fine. Her short blade skills were trash at that point. The improved on Vvardenfell)

so yeah, Eirsabet is my only Elder Scrolls OC who would have anything like a valentine. And she'd be spending it crashing some rich persons party to rob them blind.

[multiplayingorg]

Dear Most Trendy Gamer in the World

| Repost: Originally posted by Rer on December 6, 2011

How's it going big man? Its been quite some time since we last had a chat. You know it always amazes me how cutting edge you are given your age, you always seem to have the newest technology or the latest toy craze in stock.

It seems like the holiday chain letters have started back up too, tis the season to be blogging!  So with that in mind, I too, would like to write you a quick little letter.  I know over the past few years I haven’t asked much from you, what with having younger siblings who needed your Christmas cheer much more than myself, so maybe this year I can kind of pool all of that unspent good-will?  Anyways here’s what I’d love to see from you Big Red.

1. To start, could you maybe help out the United States with some of our current woes?  What with the economy not doing so hot, Congress at each other’s throats, and bills like SOPA on the horizon, I think its about time for a refresher on the ideals of empathy, understanding, and all around good nature towards one’s fellow man. Its a tough first pick I know, so just do your best.  Now with that rather less than cheerful bit out of the way lets move onto some more game-centric wishes.

2. Can we please get some fresh blood into the AAA-MMO development cycle?  Surely by now someone must have thought of something awesome, or at least revolutionary (and I mean actually revolutionary not just ‘oh we’re gonna change or add one big feature’), to try out in an MMO.  Can you maybe swoosh by some CEO’s office and just leave him a note (after you’ve eaten his corporate milk and cookies) about how doing something risky and new might be a solid endeavor in 2012?

3.  As an addendum to wish #2, it’d be really awesome if you could make a small sidetrip to CCP’s headquarters when you do your Reykjavik run.  Just give all of developers, artists, programmers, Q&A folk, and other members of the CCP team a big thank you present on my behalf.  If I had to guess what they might want most it’d probably be a break to spend some time with their families, and given all of the hard work they pounded into Crucible I’d say they’ve earned it.  Its a good thing you make your rounds in December because if I was writing this in July I probably would have said to drop a giant mountain of coal on top of their office, but its cool, they’ve got their heads on straight and are finally back on the path of

4.  This one’s a bit more personal.  Do you think you could find a game that’s multiplayer, not time intensive, and is something both my sister and I would love to play?  We don’t hang out as often as I’d like, but looking through my Steam library its hard for me to find a game we can both play and enjoy together in the span of say, 30 minutes.  Not an MMO either, she’s low on funds, and I want to spend time with her.  Not her and one million other people.

5. Mass Effect 3 is going to feature a fully fleshed out Co-Op campaign.  Honestly, this more than anything else excites me for the game.  Could we maybe see other popular titles consider adding Co-Op play to their games as well?  I can only imagine how awesome it would be to have a friend helping me kill Templars in Assassins’ Creed, or having an actual buddy at my side in Skyrim instead of a lifeless NPC (Sorry Lydia but really you have no soul).  Just make it an optional thing, that way no one feels left out if they dig running around worlds unseen on their own.

6. Oh, oh, oh, and could 2012 finally be the year that developers bridge the gap between consoles and PCs?  That way no one feels remorse for buying a game on their PC only to be unable to hang out with friends who have it for the XBox 360 or PS3.  That would be super ballin’ Santa, work that Christmas magic!

That’s all I got Papa Noel, keep warm and be merry this month.  Hell maybe on the 26th you can take a break, sit down, and play some Skyrim, that game kicks ass!