#it also reminds me of the snowy zen one i did a while back | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lilmissbeanie · 4 years

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Tetsuro Kuroo x F!Reader. Fluffy Word Count ~ 4.3k Happy very late birthday to a dear friend of mine, I hope you had a great day girl!

KozumeKenma is going live!

The girl grinned at the notification that flashed up at the top of the screen of her phone. Her favourite streamer who she had been watching since he started streaming, she had just randomly found him playing some Minecraft years ago and decided to watch, she had been a loyal follower since that day, his streams always made her laugh and she loved how relaxed he was, she would often pop up in the chat, commenting on the game. Kenma had recognised her as one of his top fans, she had VIP status on his streams and he always said hi to her. Y/n had noticed that he was looking a little more run down recently, so she would often pop up telling him to hydrate or go get some food. She often used buying a treat for Kenma through streamer treats and he would often scold her for another pizza or ice cream Sundae, but Y/n knew he didn't mean it especially when it was her favorite pizza, she had been sending water with them too as the boy seemed to live on soft drinks.

Opening her laptop she turned it waiting for it to load up, it usually took a little while now, she needed to get a new one, this one had to be about seven years old now so it was starting to get a little slow now but it still did the job for now anyway. While she waited, her fingers tapped against keyboard on her slightly cracked screen of her phone,

Snowy Bluewolf: Happy wednesday! How are you?

She heard Kenma chuckle, of course she was the first to message the chat. “Hey there, as always you are straight in the chat Wolfie.” Kenma gave a smile seeing her username, Snowy Bluewolf. “I’m good thank you, how is your lock down wednesday going?”

Snowy Bluewolf:: Ah you know the usual, I got out of bed, moved to the couch to play on the ps4 and haven’t moved since unless to get food or another drink.

“Ah, what have you been playing today?”

Snowy Bluewolf: Just some bloodborne, still terrible at the game

He chuckled, “It is a hard game wolfie, the offer still stands, anytime.” She smiled, she had told him she had started playing bloodborne over the lockdown and that she was finding the game incredibly difficult and he had offered to help her out if need be.

Snowy Bluewolf:: I heard orphan is a bitch to beat so I will give that one a few tries and then I may take you up on the offer! Thanks, Kenma!

“Okay, the rest of you, stop being jealous, you all know Wolfie has been here since day one and she is super loyal follower so of course I’m going to talk to her!” Kenma rolled his eyes playfully at the jealous messages in chat, Kenma looked dead in the camera with a playful look in his golden eyes as he teased the rest of his followers “She is also one of my mods so watch it.”

The girl laughed, she had never abused her power as a mod in his discord or in the twitch chat she only kicked those who didn’t obey the rules. She also was friends with Kenma. On discord they were quite good online friends now and they do play games together in private and they do have quite a laugh together.

“Right let’s get on with the stream!” Kenma said getting straight into the game.

Y/n had gotten her laptop all set up and ready now, she lounged out on the sofa, getting comfy for the Animal Crossing New Horizons stream. She would lurk in the chat making sure that everyone was behaving, she rarely had to time out anyone, but she liked to keep an eye making sure everyone is behaving, over the eight years she has been a part of Kenma’s streams and been a mod she had only have to ban about a couple hundred people though she had timed out a lot more than that, she reckons she has hit over the thousands or more.

She smiled as she watched Kenma update his island, trying to make it five stars, he had built his orchard, a zen garden and a flower garden, it was looking quite stunning so far. Had been streaming about an hour and half when she noticed he had yet to have a drink.

Snowy Bluewolf: Oi, Kenma! Hydrate would you, have some H2O smh

“Ergh, Wolfie you are starting to sound like my friend Kuroo.” He sighed, grabbing his water bottle, and having a drink. “Always telling me to drink something...” He tightens the cap on the bottle.

Nekomasbestcaptain: I heard my name? What shit are you saying about me now?

Y/n giggled at the fact his best friend had been lurking in Kenma’s stream this whole time, Y/n knew of Kuroo his best friend but had never spoken to him even as a mod all these years. “Nothing Kuroo, just saying Wolfie is as bad as you, reminding me to hydrate.”

Nekomasbestcaptain: Wolfie? Oh, you mentioned her before. One of your mods, right?

Kenma glanced at the chat quickly, before replying, “Yep.”

Snowy Bluewolf: @Nekomasbestcaptain hi! I am the one making sure he stay’s hydrated and that he eats

Nekomasbestcaptain: @Snowybluewolf haha thanks he does forget like all the time.

For the rest of the stream Kuroo and Y/n chatted and flirted back and forth, Kenma rolling his eyes at his two best friends.

To: Kenma From: Kuroo Sent: 04:14pm Dude, how can I talk to wolfie other than through your streams?

To: Kuroo From: Kenma Sent: 08:17pm Discord.

Kuroo had never downloaded an app so quick in his life, he created his account, got Kenma’s discord tag added to him then begged him to allow him to join his discord server before tracking down Y/n and private messaging her.

The months of lockdown flew past, Y/n and Kuroo bonding over the course of three months, they had gotten to the point they would video call in bed usually with Y/n falling asleep while they chatted which he found super cute.

Nekomasbestcaptain: Hey, Y/n seeing as lockdown is finally over, did you, maybe fancy going for dinner?

Kuroo sat at his desk in his home office as he chewed on his lip as watched her name pop up at the bottom of the chat bar in discord, before disappearing and reappearing again.

Snowy Bluewolf: Sure (*ﾉ▽ﾉ) I would love too. Rather than going out for now, maybe we could have a stay at home dinner, like we each cook a course and share one?

The grin was spread across both their lips as they stared at their phones, the crushes they had developed over the past few months had come clear and they had slyly admitted it to one another and Kenma hated how they were with each other yet loved it cause they both deserved to be happy. Kuroo’s eyes sparkled as he read the message.

Nekomasbestcaptain: Sure, who’s place shall we do it at? I don’t mind travelling to yours.

Snowy Bluewolf: We can do it at my place and I’ll pop out and buy the food for the mains if you don’t me doing that course.

Nekomasbestcaptain: Sounds like a plan. I'll make the starter and we could have a cheese board for dessert?

Snowy Bluewolf: You are talking my language rooster boi! So, friday?

Nekomasbestcaptain: Friday is perfect, 6?

Snowybluewolf: 6 is perfect, I’ll send you my address on friday

Y/n couldn’t help but squeal she had a date with this beautiful man, it may be a home date, but she had a date. Kuroo flopped back in his desk chair, he had done it he had finally asked her out.

Friday rolled around in a flash both arguing over who was buying the cheese, in the end Y/n won to buy the cheese and crackers but Kuroo said he would be buying the wine. Y/n decided to make a sushi from scratch, Y/n wasn’t going to admit it, but she did want to show off a little. She had all the equipment she needs to make sushi at home she had just never used the sushi kit she had brought.

Kuroo had spent days trying to work out what he would make for the starter, he finally decided on tempura. He wanted to make a mix of vegetables and fish. He knocked on her door, with a few bags in hand.

The door opened shortly after, he was met by a h/c haired girl, her e/c eyes peering up at him, with a shy smile on her face, “Hey rooster boy.”

“Hello Chibi-chan,” Since he discovered she was the same height as Kenma he had begun to call her Chibi-chan, he loved how a light blush covered her cheek bones. He smiled at her leaning down pecking her forehead, not chancing more yet seeing as this was the first date. Biting her lip, she stepped back gesturing for him enter, trying not let the blush erupt over her cheeks from the feeling of his lips against her forehead. It was a small innocent gesture that caused goosebumps erupted over her skin as she knew the small peck had a deeper meaning behind it. The pair had become comepletely and utterly smitten with one another.

Showing him into the open plan kitchen sitting room “Can I get you anything to drink?” She asked leaning on the counter, “I brought some wine with me” Kuroo grinned pulling a bottle of wine out of one of the bags. Y/n smiled in return, opening the cupboard by the fridge pulling out to large crystal-clear wine glasses, while opened the bottle with the corkscrew. “What have you planned for starters?”

Tetsu gray orbs met hers as he poured them a glass each, “I was thinking of making Tempura. What are you doing for mains?”

The girl took a sip of the wine and sighed, her eyes widening at the smooth taste coating her tongue and the velvety texture running down her throat, “Well I was goinf to make sushi but I’m thinking screw the starter and mains and let’s just have a cheese and wine night, Tetsu this wine is delicious what is it?”

“Cabinet Sauvignon by a California vineyard called dark horse,” Kuroo swirled the wine in his glass before smirking “and I won’t say no to a cheese night.”

Y/n emptied out the carrier bags taking everything that needed to go in the fridge and placing it there, before giving him a playful look with raised eyebrows at the 3 other bottles of wine she removed from the bags. “Tetsurou are you planning to get me drunk this evening?”

“What?” Elongating the word, “No! Whatever gave you that idea?!” He gasped, placing a hand over his chest struggling to keep the fake offended look on his face, before they both cracked up laughing, the pair relaxing in each other presence for the first time that evening.

“So, cheese and wine night?” The nod of Kuroo’s head joined with the twinkle in his eye was all Y/n need to grab one of her wooden chopping boards, the crackers from the cupboard before she pulled the fridge door open and snatching the selection of cheese, she had brought earlier that day from the fromagerie, the strong-smelling shop contained a wide variety delicious French cheese.

Y/n wasn’t sure what kind of cheese Kuroo would like she got some milder ones as well as some strong ones, the milder ones being those like brie, camembert and cantal, a cheddar like cheese, the stronger ones like Roquefort and stilton. She had gotten quite a mix of hard and soft cheese too. Taking all the cheese out of their respective wrappings before placing them on the wooden board.

Kuroo watched each of her movements carefully from his seat at the breakfast bar, she did everything so gracefully and he was awestruck by how beautiful she was, he already thought she was when they video chatted but seeing her in person was a whole other ball game. He watched as she stood on her tiptoes, reaching into the cupboard to get down two small side plates, her flowing red blouse riding up slight allowing him to catch a glimpse of her smooth looking s/c skin of her waist. The way she bent over as she rummaged through the fridge looking for something, gave him perfect view of her arse in her skin-tight dark blue Levi's over the rim of his wine glass as he took another sip. He glanced away as she straightened up, turning around with some chutneys in hand, making it seem like he was admiring the apartment rather than the owner of it.

“Did up want to sit here or move to the sofa?” She asked gesturing towards the dark blue loveseat with a pair of matching armchairs that was placed opposite a flat screen TV on that was mounted to the wall with a light oak sideboard under it, he could see through the glass of the doors that it contained a PlayStation four, Nintendo switch and a range of games and DVDs, separating the two was a coffee table that matched the sideboard, light oak with a glass top. “Sure, the sofa sounds good.”

Kuroo grabbed the two glasses wine and made his way after y/n to the sofa as she made her way over to the coffee table with the wooden board with the cheese on before they both when to grab the condiments and utensils.

“Hey, google, shuffle wake up and smell the coffee.” Y/n called out to her google home which sat on the side board under the TV.

“Okay, I’ll shuffle the Spotify playlist wake up and smell the coffee.”

The gentle strumming of the guitar of Comethru by Jeremy Zucker played threw the Google home. The pair got comfy on the loveseat, letting the music flow through the apartment, they both snacked on the cheese and biscuits chatting and talking about their days at work. “It’s nice to not having to go into the office that often yet I do procrastinate while I’m at home.”

“Oh god I am just the same and Kenma is not helping when he streams when I am trying to work.” The girl laughed as she sipped at her wine enjoying the smooth texture.

“I have Kenma’s streams playing as background noise these days myself.” Kuroo added with his own deep chuckle as he watched the girl drink her wine and the way the tip of her tongue darted out over red full lips, temptated to kiss them to discover how soft they are , “This one is nice.” Kuroo said grabbing another cracker with some brie with the fig chutney, Y/n hummed agreeingly in response as she had her own mouthful of blue cheese and cracker, taking a sip of her wine before responding, “The fig chutney does go well with brie, try the blue cheese with a sip of wine.”

He did as she suggested and his eyes widened at the mixture of mouth-watering tastes, “damn that’s good.” He grabbed another chunk of the blue cheese, placing it on his plate and grabbed another cracker. The cheese board didn’t last long between them even with the six different cheeses they keep eating until there wasn’t even a crumb left.

“Whoa, I’m stuffed.” Kuroo sighed as he flopped back on the cushions of the sofa, they had finished a bottle of wine and began the next. Copying his movement, Y/n made herself comfy on sofa, the music still softly playing in the background, 1994 by Alec Benjamine harmony filled the room. “God, I love cheese nights.”

“I have decided, this,” He gestured to the empty plates, board and the bottles wine “Shall become our first tradition. We will have regular cheese nights.” Kuroo said, nodding in agreement with his own decision with a proud smile. A gentle smile crossed her rosy lips again, the look in her jewel-like eyes holding a matching look, nodding in agreement with his idea. Their first tradition, Y/n was filled with giddiness and tried not to squeal at the fact he wanted to start making traditions with her, “I’d like that.”

His grey eyes watching as she curled her legs up under herself, her left elbow resting on the back of the couch, her chin resting on her on the palm of that hand and in her right hand held the wine glass which rested on her knee. The small ball jumping up on the sofa between them broke him out of his trance of checking her out. His eyes landed on the black kitten whose large blue eyes were briming with curiosity. “Oh, there you are Luddy.” Sitting up slightly, the h/c leaned forward enough to gently pet the kitten, the second Y/n fingers met the top of his head, Luddy began to purr, his blue eyes closing in contentment.

“Did you have a nice sleep baby?” Y/n cooed to the bundle of fur starching behind his ear making him lean into his touch, Kuroo was in awe as he watched her coo over the small creature. “Do you want some dreamies?” The kittens eyes seem to fly open at the word dreamies as if he understood what his own had said, he looked at her and gave her a small meow. Y/n giggled placing her glass down on the coaster before standing up.

“Okay you make friends with Tetsu while I grab the dreamies.” Starching the back of Luddy’s head, Y/n gathered up the plates and knifes an placed them on the wooden board along with the chutneys and taking them to the kitchen, leaving Kuroo and a kitten staring at one another, molten grey eyes staring into inquisitive sapphire blue ones. In the background you could hear dishwasher being loaded and the opening and closing of cupboards as Kuroo gently reached a handout allowing the small cat to sniff his calloused fingers, from all those years playing volleyball, before Luddy rubbing up against the man's large hands purring, he stood up walking over to Kuroo sitting down on his lap, allowing Kuroo to continue to pet him, purring happily at the affection. Y/n watched the interaction from the kitchen smiling, before shaking the bag of dreamies, causing Luddy’s ears to prick up and turn to look where the sound came from, he jumped over the back of the sofa trotting his way towards the sound of the treats. Kuroo watched as Y/n opened a ball with a few holes in it, pouring the treats in, shutting it and placing it on the floor for Luddy who ran up to it and batted the ball across the room causing the treats to fall out of the holes. Y/n walked back over to the sofa, grabbed her glass of wine off the table, taking a seat next to Kuroo, whose arm was resting across the back of the sofa, where she was sat it looked like it was placed around her shoulders. Trying his luck, he placed it around her shoulder and tugged her into his side, “Come ‘ere.” To which she responded to his tug by curling into his side, head resting on his chest while he drew gentle circles on her shoulder happily relaxing into the sofa with her curled up to him.

It was peaceful as the pair led there on the sofa curled into one another, the only sound in the room was Luddy’s ball rolling around and the music still quietly playing, “This is nice Tetsu,” Humming in agreement, he kissed the top of her head allowing his lips to linger inhaling in her soft scented shampoo. He could get used to this, ruining the perfect scene was a loud ringtone going off.

"Is Kenma really streaming at this time?” The girl sighed untangling herself from Kuroo to get her phone from the kitchen counter where she had left at the start of the evening. “Ya know, he only lives around the corner,” Y/n turned to look at Kuroo confusingly as her eyes met with his that held a mischievous glint, “and I have a key.”

Y/n confusion turned into a smirk as she caught onto what Tetsuro was planning, her eyes brighten up and nodded in excitement, this would be the first time she was meeting her favourite streamer and she would gate crashing his apartment with his best friend. “Can we stop and buy food and drinks for him? I bet he hasn’t eaten.”

Kuroo couldn’t help but be just as enthusiastic as her, seeing her excited was contagious and made him just as excited. “Of course, we can” He smiled pulling on his shoes and jacket as Y/n did the same. “Luddy be good while we’re gone. Mummy loves you baby.” She blew a kiss towards the kitten who was sat on the sofa looking at the pair with a bored look in his eyes as they stepped out of Y/n apartment door. They made their way to local convenience store fingers entwined together as they searched for Kenma’s favourite soft drink and a few bottles of water before going to the pizza takeaway and order the largest pizza they could with Kenma’s favourite toppings. Y/n couldn’t believe how close they lived together, Kenma live barely 2 streets over, they had the same local takeaways and supermarkets she was surprised they had never bumped into one another before.

Kuroo entered the code to Kenma’s apartment building, saying hi to the kind looking receptionist who knew him very well with how often he visits his best friend, Y/n sent a wave to the lady behind the desk who returned it with a smile. “Back to see Kenma I see Kuroo, and who is this?”

“Hi, yep!” He popped the p “This is Y/n she is my girlfriend and actually I met her through Kenma streams she’s one of his mods and he decided to stream during out first date so we thought we would come and crash his stream” The lady giggled and nodded, noticing the blush that exploded over h/c girls cheeks as she heard Kuroo tell the receptionist that she was his girlfriend. “Pleasure to meet you Y/n have fun crashing his stream.”

“pleasure to meet you too. And thank you we shall.” The girl replied with a smile as Kuroo tugged on their entwined hands towards the elevator, he hit the button for the eighth floor and watching the doors close as the pair made their way up to his floor, Kuroo fished his set of keys out of his pocket, “So we’re going to sneak in and sneak to his stream room and throw the door open and yell at him to hydrate right?”

“That’s the plan.” The girl nodded bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was so excited to do this. The bell ding in the elevator signalling they had arrived at the eighth floor, stepping out the made in along to apartment 803, Y/n took the carrier bag from Kuroo’s hand as he slipped the key into the lock carefully turning it to unlock the door quietly, they slipped inside stylish modern apartment, they both took there shoes and jackets off, placing the bottles of water and one of his soft drink bottles on the counter, before sneaking there way towards Kenma’s stream room.

Showing three fingers Y/n began the silent countdown, She knew the whole stream would see this as Kenma had recently moved his stream room around so his back was now facing the door.

3...

2...

1...

Kuroo threw the door open “YO KENMA! HYDRATE!” The pair yelled at the same time, they watched as the streamer jumped five foot in air out of fright and the stream chat was moving at a mile a second asking what was going on. Kenma pulled his cat ear headphones off his head placing them down on his desk slowly turning around in his desk chair to find Kuroo leaning against the door frame one arm around his date and in his other hand was his Kenma’s drink while Y/n was snuggled into his side with the pizza box in hand. Both of their face held large cheeky grins.

“Kuroo? Wolfie?” He questioned, Kuroo was the first to speak between the couple, “This what you get for crashing our date with your stream”

“Oh, so now I have to plan my streams around your dates?” Kenma sassed them. The h/c cocked an eyebrow before replying, “Yep, you do.”

Kenma laughed at her response, watching as the pair stepped into the room, Y/n thrust the pizza box into his hands “bet you haven’t eaten yet tonight so here it’s your favourite.” Before she pushed his chair with him in it out of the way and crouching down to be eye level with the webcam seeing herself in the video, of the stream managers on Kenma’s second monitor, “Hey chat! It’s me, Wolfie! You best be all behaving while I am not there to mod you” She winked into the camera, noticing Kuroo making his way over to her kneeling down behind her, he was still taller than her, he placed his chin on his head, reading what the chat was saying.

It was exploding with laughter over how they made an entrance, to how pretty Wolfie is and how handsome Kuroo was. “He is handsome isn’t he but hands off he’s mine.” Y/n replied sticking her tongue out at the chat.

“This gorgeous girl is mine so back off lads I can see yall eyeing her up.” Kuroo growled out playfully.

Kenma just sat in his chair chopping happily on his pizza while shaking his head at his two best friends who had just stolen all the limelight of his stream, which had gone from a Bloodborne stream to just chatting in a matter of seconds, with a gentle smile on his face glad they were happy together.

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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The Witcher Tales • Eurogamer.net

Hello and welcome to the first of our Clash of Fans write-ups. This week we’ll be getting together in pairs (virtually) and forcing each other to play a beloved game. Then we’ll chat about what we made of it all. First up is Spintires and Thronebreaker!

Thronebreaker

Chris: I have sort of fallen off of collectible card games over the last few years, and in the back of my mind I think they’ve all become variations on Hearthstone. This is wrong, obviously, but it’s taken Thronebreaker to remind me of that. For the first ten minutes I was filtering everything through the question of – how does Hearthstone handle this? But very quickly that ceases to be meaningful.

A few initial observations – there is so much here beyond the cards. The overworld map, the resources and all that jazz, the camps. And the writing. God, so much storytelling all over the place. I am a story-skipper by nature, and you can just about do that here, but it’s clear the care and pride that’s involved in bedding this card game into the Witcher world.

Two more things – the animated cards are absolutely dreamy. I love the lighting and sense of caricature – huge hands and golden light. Then there’s the board. I get the sense that you could almost play this on a pub table with the grain of the wood standing in for the different rows. There’s a lovely sense of a game that has emerged from the stuff you find in a tavern, the stuff that’s lying around.

There’s a murkiness to Thronebreaker which is in keeping with the darker Witcher world.

Bertie: Can I just say I am so glad you’re playing this. Thronebreaker didn’t really make much of an impression the first time around and I’ve always thought that was a great shame. It wasn’t a spectacle like The Witcher 3 and that hurt it. But actually it’s a really indulgent, um, experiment I guess, and you can feel that quality as you explore. I actually think it draws characters as vividly as The Witcher 3 and tells some stories as powerfully, and the way it plays around with the rules of Gwent to keep the combat experience interesting – particularly in the puzzles – is masterful. There’s a lot of love and care in this game.

Chris: It’s definitely got that thing I love about card games in that it feels like as much as you’re making a hand you’re designing and programming a little machine to do in the enemy for you. I also love that the battles themselves really do a good job of making you feel like you’re moving an army around and dealing with lots of units on a battlefield.

Areas change, though. Here’s Bertie in the snowy dwarf land of Mahakaman later on.

Overall I prefer the puzzley battles to the main events. There’s something really gripping about dealing with boulders falling towards you in the first one of these I played. I love that this game is about tweaking the rules of a game that’s already established. I think I would get a lot more out of it if I’d encountered Gwent in The Witcher 3. Just that opening up of the potential of something, that messing around with the boundaries that have been established.

What I’m left with most is what you mentioned – the care and enthusiasm that has gone into this. I appreciate the game itself and I can imagine wanting to really learn it and understand all the nuances. But more than that, I am moved by how much the developers clearly love what they’re doing. Thronebreaker feels like a game that’s been over-delivered in the best way. They couldn’t stop adding story or little flourishes or little puzzles that momentarily turn everything on its head. In that respect it’s properly a game that comes from the best places: love and enthusiasm, a developer that can’t help itself, that’s properly under the spell of its own work. You know this team – do I have that understanding of the game right, do you think?

This is a story battle in Mahakaman with some altered rules. It’s not a puzzle battle though, which are particularly bespoke.

Bertie: Over-delivered is a wonderful way of putting it – that’s exactly what it feels like! And I’m glad you clicked with the puzzles because they’re my favourite. They’re like riddles in how they give you everything you need to solve them but you need to work your brain to get to the solution. I love that feeling, especially when you eventually nail it.

I don’t know if you’ll have time to get to it but a few hours in the game takes a wonderful turn. I remember feeling a bit nonplussed by Thronebreaker. I mean, it was nice but I wasn’t bowled over. Maybe it’s because I had trouble relating to a monarch’s storyline. But then it all changed.

A major story event at the end of the first main area flips everything on its head, and your Queen Meve suddenly finds herself vulnerable and exposed. The story gets personal. She’s stripped of the power she had and has to rebuild from scratch, recruiting people she considered enemies moments before. This is a great idea because not only do you know them very well from the fights you’ve had so far, you’ve built up an enmity towards them, which fuels the dialogue and story to come.

It’s here the game really begins.

Here’s a quick look at how the game begins. It’s a lavish production. Reminiscent of Heroes of Might and Magic if you ask Bertie.

Spintires

Bertie: What on earth have you signed me up for? Trucks and hills and mud? The kind of mud you curse whenever it rains and you’re in one of those make-shift car parks in someone’s field and it gets waterlogged. You spin the wheels trying to get out only to dig yourself deeper while everyone looks on disapprovingly because you’re doing it all wrong and then the farmer has to come and tow you out, which I suppose, now I come to think of it, is what Spintires is all about.

It’s hard though isn’t it? It took me about 10 minutes to get out of my parking spot, although to be fair, I’m not much better in real life. Spintires doesn’t really explain anything, it just chucks you the keys and off you go – well, off you try to go. It’s slow going. There’s none of this barrelling along country tracks like a rally driver, no sploshing through great piles of mud, no crashing through trees and bushes and over fallen logs. All of that holds you up or breaks you.

It’s nothing at all like all the other car games I’ve played, or in games that have cards, like Grand Theft Auto, where you can off-road in a breezy, relaxed way because realism isn’t really the aim. Getting around in Spintires is hard. It’s as hard as accidentally driving in tractor tracks and getting marooned on the middle bit, wheels spinning uselessly like child’s legs dangling from an adult’s chair.

But what am I actually supposed to do?

This jeep isn’t very good.

Chris: This is definitely how my Spintires experience started too. I think what I love about this game more than anything is that I jumped into it and realised I was never going to be any good at it, so that freed me up to allowing myself to be bad at it and enjoy it. I have enjoyed making progress so incredibly slowly in this game. I got to a point where I enjoyed all the mistakes and accidents and all the times I did one stupid thing and properly screwed myself up. I hate to throw around words like zen, but Spintires can be a pretty calming experience if you don’t care about getting nowhere.

Have you had a proper close-up look at the mud yet? This is one of those games that reminds me that the best things in games as far as I am concerned is material physics. I love to zoom in close on the tires as they’re churning through the stuff. There’s such a lovely grainy feel to the mud in this game. It feels a bit like magic?

Ah, now, a tractor! That’s better.

Bertie: Tractors are bloody amazing! I took out a crappy truck and failed at the first mud pile, but then I got in my tractor and oh my goodness gracious it’s a transformation, nothing can hold me back. I even went for a swim in a lake and it was fine. What a machine. Mind you, those wheels are as big as a person, and I love how the game represents them being softly inflated so as to give extra traction, which makes it look like you kind of flump along. Attention to detail!

Talking of detail: have I seen the mud? Have I seen it? I’ve wallowed in it. I’ve revelled in it. The mud is glorious! It’s like a squelchy beast undulating around you. A dirty octopus that clamps its suckers on you. I can almost feel its muddy grip through my keyboard, me fighting to get free, urging my brutish mechanical champion onwards.

There’s something so ironic about needing something so brutish to conquer such a serene landscape, my black smoke sputtering and engine grinding as I force myself on. There could be no clearer contrast between machine and nature, no clearer signal that these machines do not belong there. But it’s that which gives it its thrill, as this person-made beast conquers nature. It’s disgusting and beautiful at the same time.

But this tractor is everything!

Chris: Yes! Oh man, the ugly beauty of this game is off the charts, isn’t it? In a way Thronebreaker and Spintires, which are so completely different, Thronebreaker being so fully featured and sumptuous and over-delivered and Spintires which is so weird and specific and threadbare in a lot of places, in a way they come from the same place? The passion has overwhelmed the projects in both cases, and sort of defines both of them? CD Projekt could not stop embellishing this simple card game. With Spintires, the commitment to mud makes for a game that has fascinating tunnel vision?

Bertie: Singular games, that’s what they are, which makes them more fascinating to me. I reckon CD Projekt had big ideas about a suite of games like Thronebreaker, which is why it tried so hard with it, but it fell on deaf ears so the plan was abandoned and it remains an overlooked overachiever.

But who comes up with an idea like Spintires? Someone with an obsession, like you say, for sure! I wonder about them. I picture them travelling the world to find giant new machines to test drive so they can take back their experiences and program them faithfully into their game. Big-wheel hunters, they could be called. It actually sounds like quite a fun thing to do, and that’s probably why it translates so well in the game too.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/the-witcher-tales-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-witcher-tales-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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trvlbug · 7 years

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Visiting Chimayo? Santa Cruz Lake Overlook campground

Chimayo is the best-known of the small towns along the High Road between Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico. It's famous for its miraculous church, and people from all over come to see it.

I'm one of those people, having visited Chimayo a dozen times in the past. But I never even knew about the lovely lake campground just a few miles away... until now!

Santa Cruz Lake

Santa Cruz Lake is located just a couple of miles southeast of Chimayo, as the crow flies. It's a good-sized lake, surrounded by the tan, eroding hillsides that make up the landscape in that area. The lake itself shimmers in the midst of this desert scenery, particularly enticing on a warm summer day.

Campsite view, overlooking Santa Cruz Lake, New Mexico

I saw a handful of boaters, slowly floating around the lake with fishing lines trailing out behind. There were also some people fishing from the lakeshore. So I don't know what kind of fish are in there, but fish there must be!

There are campgrounds at both ends of the lake. The North Lake campground is where the boat ramps are. I read that it had no cell service, so I opted for the Overlook campground at the south end, instead.

There's a hiking trail that takes off from the road a bit west of the campground, and runs down to the edge of the lake. There, it intersects with another trail that winds around the south edge of the lake. This gives you access to a number of shady little beach spots right by the water -- perfect for lunch, fishing, or just relaxing in the shade with a good book.

Hike down to the lake for a shady spot to relax

Santa Cruz Lake Overlook Campground

The Overlook campground is up on a bluff a few hundred feet above lake level, and you get wonderful views of the lake and the surrounding hillsides. The best sites are those directly overlooking the lake, while others are further back around a small loop drive. I pulled in early afternoon on a Saturday and was able to get a lakeside spot, but the primo sites did fill up later. On Sunday, the campground emptied out.

In addition to a good location and nice views of Santa Cruz Lake, another thing I loved about the Overlook campground was the cell service! I had good LTE service on T-Mobile, which is always a big plus.

Another good thing? This is where I met Tom the treasure hunter, a pretty interesting story!

The Overlook campground is run by the BLM. There is a pit toilet (a bit stinky, but usable), and garbage collection. The individual sites all have shaded picnic tables, which also provided rain protection to sit outside during the afternoon monsoon. This place isn't free, but it's a reasonable $7/night.

Chimayo and its mystical Santuario

By far the most famous thing in the area, and one place you should visit for sure, is the Santuario de Chimayo. This small church was built on the site of a miracle, where a holy cross kept appearing to one of the early settlers, buried in the ground.

People would move the cross away, and it would reappear, buried back in the same spot. Eventually they realized that the cross must really belong here, in this special place, and so a church was built on the spot.

The miraculous Santuario de Chimyo

The building itself is a small two-towered church, made of wood and adobe. It has a rustic charm to it -- nothing fancy or grandiose. It gives you the feeling of an authentic New Mexico small-town church, created by local builders, not some famous architect.

But the inside is where you'll be surprised. There are assorted crutches, canes, and braces hanging from the walls. These are relics left there by people who came to the Santuario crippled, and were able to walk away without assistance after being miraculously healed. There are also photos and letters from people testifying to the wondrous benefits they received after visiting this holy site.

Every year there is a procession where thousands of pilgrims walk to the Santuario, some making the trek from as far away as Albuquerque. The church has a lot of believers in its miraculous powers - supposed to reside in the very dirt that the church was built on.

And you can take a little of this healing dirt with you! There is a hole in the floor where you can scrape out some of the dirt, and take a little plastic bag of it home with you. Some people say to rub the dirt on your body where the problem is. Other people even eat the dirt, but I didn't try that part!

I used to have a zip-lock bag of healing dirt, and I never got sick as long as I had it -- that's the extent of my personal experience!

More to do in Chimayo

Chimayo is also famous for a couple of other things - weaving and chiles. The town has had weavers working here for well over a century. You can visit Ortega's weaving shop, which has been in business for 7 generations. If you're lucky, they'll have someone weaving while you're there, so you can see the process.

Chimayo is also famous for having some of the best chile peppers in New Mexico. Shops in the area sell different types of dried or crushed chiles, and chile powder too. Every once in awhile, I need to get back there to restock - it really is good!

And finally, the Rancho de Chimayo is a great stop for lunch or dinner while you're in the area. The restaurant is in a historic ranch house that has many small interconnected rooms, in the style of buildings back then. Sometimes it feels like running a maze finding your way to the bathroom. There's also a big patio for outdoor dining when the weather is good.

St Francis and chile ristras outside the Rancho de Chimayo

Driving the High Road

It's certainly possible to visit Chimayo as a day trip from Santa Fe, but it's much more fun to make it a stop along the High Road that runs between Santa Fe and Taos.

The High Road is a beautiful drive, along twisty little roads in the mountains of the Carson National Forest. Some of the valleys along the way remind me more of Switzerland than New Mexico!

The towns you pass through are all quite small, and must seem very isolated in winter when the mountains are snowy. You'll see scattered artist studios, and some restaurants and shops, but the main draw is the scenery. Starting from Taos, the route takes you through Rancho de Taos, Penasco, Trampas, Truchas, and Chimayo before you get back to the main road into Santa Fe.

It's a good idea to look up the route beforehand, though it is better marked than it used to be. It's not like you take one highway the entire way -- you have to make various turns onto different numbered roads.

And when you get to Chimayo, you can camp at the Santa Cruz Lake Overlook campground!

Santa Cruz Lake Overlook campground - BLM Organized campground. Campground on a bluff overlooking the lake. Access is via a short drive on a good gravel road. The best sites have great lake views, and you can hike down to the lake, too. Campground has shade structures, picnic tables, pit toilet, and garbage collection. Good LTE internet on T-Mobile.

Rating: 5 ***** Altitude: 6,666 ft GPS: 35.96470, -105.91800 Price: $7/night

Questions? Comments?

Have you been to Chimayo and its famous Santuario? Did you know about Santa Cruz Lake, and have you ever been there? I'd love to hear about it in the Reply section below!

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PHOTO CREDITS: Deanna Keahey

The post Visiting Chimayo? Santa Cruz Lake Overlook campground appeared first on Uphill Zen.

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#Visiting Chimayo? Santa Cruz Lake Overlook campground

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