#mercs adventure in gaming

[simikae]

lyn's legion shops at the armory too...

#fire emblem #fe7 #blazing blade #video games #not tagging everyone. Just beaming it into your brainhole #my art #my finished stuff #i think i said it before but they really benefited from being the tutorial group cuz they all got screentime together without the writers- #-worrying if certain characters would be dead or not #and ofc i care about a whole fe cast but you never get smaller group dynamics expanded on like this imo #bc of the nature of the games and the supports it's usually very one-on-one #there are some groups but they're usually pre established (ex justice cabal or the gerik mercs) u dont rlly get the pleasure of seeing- #-them Become Friends thru the adventure #ANYWAY ALL OF THIS IS TO SAY THEY ARE BESTIES TO ME. WHO DOES IT LIKE THEM

[swordmaid]

anyway some post bg3 hcs / rando shri’iia hcs that has been swimming around in my head that I haven’t shared yet (I think …)

- shri’iia is now growing out her eyebrows lool. the reason why she kept them shaved is that it’s very easy to change her appearance w makeup when her face is just bare but now that she doesn’t need to pretend to be someone else anymore she just grows them out albeit they’re growing out quite slowly. i think in the epilogue party they’re barely there so she probs draw them for the most part ..

- she gave up all the intel she collected for her matriarch on the menzoberranzan nobles (+ their houses) to the mirror of loss. it is her closing the door on that life so to speak, since she knows she can’t ever go back, and the knowledge that she has collected can either ruin or uplift depending on who gets it and how it is used. but shri’iia refuses to be a participant in that game anymore, and she

- that saying, her matriarch has assassins hunting her down because shri’iia knows too much and she is not meant to be ‘known’ or ‘exist’ anyway. the matriarch is nothing but meticulous, and it’s better to cut off a loose thread than run the risk of it unraveling the whole thing. not to mention that shri’iia is now an apostate of lolth, a heretic who turned away from the spider queen, and now she’s doing lolth a favour by getting rid of her.

like shri’iia’s og oath being how she will punish those who betray lolth (and her matriarch’s house) and now she is that very traitor it is so very olivia wilde nod.gif to me

- THAT saying she is travelling the world with astarion ..!!! considering that they can’t really stay in one place because she has drow assassins on her tail AND she’s very adamant on looking for a cure for his vampirism. not to mention that she is very much new to the world ..!! baby girl hasn’t left the underdark until the whole illithid shit and he spent 200 years in cazador’s kennels so now they’re travelling and exploring, living their best life but they only go out at night lol. they spend their mornings lounging and lazing about bc she can’t really go out due to her sunlight sensitivity, but when the sun sets they go out and become night time tourists with the occasional heroics (and extortion) on the side 🫶

- i also like the idea of them wearing a promise ring. i think marriage or anything of the sort is very far down the line for them, and it’s really not something they have in mind, but to have that prospect of maybe they can have something like that in the future is something that’s appealing to them. it’s also a reminder of the commitment they have for each other which I think it’s quite nice … I think they’re both a bit shy with their genuine feelings which is so 🤭🌝😳😳 kind of cute to me LMFAO.

anyway the promise rings are def stolen but I’m debating whether shri’iia looted it off a corpse or astarion stole it from some jeweller. or maybe both- like they somehow found near identical looking rings from diff people and they just decided to keep it. but the rings are made of platinum with a ruby centre stone. I think astarion’s ring is much more elaborate and intricate than shri’iia’s, with filigrees decorating the band and small clusters of gem around the prongs but the centre ruby is a much deeper red, whereas shri’iia’s band is a simpler design but her ruby is much brighter - def the highlight of the whole ring. it also matches their eyes lol

- shri’iia is also learning how to speak more fluently in the surface language/common tongue. she knew enough to communicate but she is def more comfortable speaking in drowic (both verbal and in sign language). but now that she is living in the surface, she’s def learning how to speak the language so she can communicate better. also wondering if astarion were to understand her if she spoke drowic since the elven language sounds similar - and drowic prob stemmed from it anyway - so maybe they could understand each other??? hmmm … lots of thoughts abt that anyway I also like the idea that he helps her out in that department lol

- also she is def developing a new wardrobe. since they’re always travelling to new places I like the idea of her adopting the fashion styles and trends the different region has + mixing that with her own that’s v much influenced by the fashion in menzoberranzan. anyway am I planning to make a lookbook for her some day maybe so…!

- I also like the idea of eilistraee - or members of eilistraee’s clergy reaching out to her since their beliefs and her newfound oath very much aligns with each other. but I think shri’iia is still very scarred from her worship of Lolth, and she’s very aware of the depths of her own devotion so following another goddess - or anyone else in the matter tbh is out of the question for her. this freedom she’s given is still new to her, and she wants to see what she can make out of it, and she doesn’t want to be held back by anything or anyone anymore so she is not going to be following anything else anytime soon…!! in the future she might chance her mind (or not) but for now … I don’t think she will follow eilistraee.

#the rings are def something I want to draw ….!! like I kinda have a design for them already #but I think they wore that in the epilogue party and I want to draw a lil comic of someone noticing and they’re like 👀❓‼️ #I swear I have more hcs for shri’iia but every time I think of writing them down I’m suddenly no thoughts head empty #but here’s some of the stuff that’s been floating in my head like a windows screensaver … I swear I have more smh 😔 #but I really like the concept of her getting used to her new life in the surface like it’s all part of the self discovery journey ..!! #and I def think she’ll still be an adventurer in the side but leaning more of a merc about it lmfao #like she’ll help only if she’s getting paid LOL which is very much her attitude in game anyway #shut up about bg3.

[mercizdope]

hahahaha bruh

#random #funny #twitch #kick #spicy adventures #gaming #Merc #MercylesSF #stream #streaming #music

[chadfallout76podcast]

"Deah Shroud!: A Nick Valentine Mystery" EXPLAINED and AMA

It never occurred to me to do this last year, but a lot of people have asked me questions about our Fallout 4 play in the last year in the Discord, so I wanted to open an AMA but also explain "Death Shroud!" and some of the broader themes involved in it.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Part 1: Pre-production

Before I get into the story, I wanted to explain how this production even came about. Over the years after working together on some official community projects with Wes Johnson through Bethesda, we became good friends. I took a couple of his acting classes and he talked about the Fallout For Hope charity initiative I started and asked for help in organizing the gaming community for his Alzheimer's Association fundraiser. The idea was to host a month-long digital event of discussion panels, game shows, improv and a play with as many different voices of video games, film and TV as we could round up. In our second year of his VoiceAPalooza fundraiser, I wanted to do an original old time radio show and see if could bring back as many of the cast that we could from Fallout 4. It was Wes who first suggested an adventure with his Silver Shroud character (that he voiced in Fallout 4's radio plays) teaming up with Nick Valentine (voiced by the amazing Stephen Russell). Valentine is, for me, one of the best written, unique companions in Fallout lore.

So, I reached out to Stephen Russell who had joined us before for charity work and he was all in on bringing Nick Valentine back to life! After that things moved fast with Bethesda's Pete Hines and Emil Pagliarulo joining us to have some fun for a good cause. We tried to get EVERY companion from Fallout 4 that we could, but schedule wrangling is tough, and some people are just impossible to track down or find. Matt Mercer would've loved to have joined us as Macready, but unfortunately scheduling didn't work, so the best we could manage would be a holotape (the only reason our snarky gun running merc had to take the big sleep in the story).

After having everyone plugged in to reprise characters, it was time to put fingers to keys and find the story...

Part 2: The Deep Lore

The origin of this story started with a thought: how would the NPC's and characters we love perceive modification of their universe by us? We, as players aren't the true creators of this universe or these characters (Bethesda is). If anything, we the players are the equivalent of "lesser gods", reshaping it in new ways, unexpected and subjective ways, and sometimes even chaotic ways (I'm looking at you avalanche of adult mods with realistic jiggle physics and Thomas the Tank Engine Vertibird).

It started with a mental image of the small ways in which we start out modding games, or even the first mods we (using the "Engine of Creation) actually create. I had a mental image of Magnolia doing her thing, singing away sultry in a crowded and smoky third rail when she looks one way, back the next and sees new curtains. A subtle thing, something a little startling, but in a universe where recreational drug use is met with a YEEE YEEEE WHEEEE...a change you simply dismiss as being overtired or a little too juiced.

I'm a sucker for old time radio. I grew up listening to classic radio horrors like The Whistler, Suspense, and Lights Out on vinyl records and cassette tapes when I'd spend summers with my grandmother on a little island off the coast of Canada. Getting the tone, feeling and sound to stage an old-time radio show was the easiest part of this whole process...it's baked into my brain lol. The key of course is finding the right narrative voice.

Enter: Bill Lobley. If you play Fallout 76, he is the announcer for the "Tales from the West Virginia Hills" holotapes, but before that he's a prolific voice actor, maybe best known for his role as the truly vile Jeremiah Fink in Bioshock: Infinite. He has a FANTASTIC transatlantic voice for old time radio and was perfect as narrator in the script.

Part 3: What Is Going On?!?!

I had the base idea, the voices to pull it off, but what was the meaning and message of the whole thing? I always start there. From a meta experience level, the story is about dealing with subjective reality that’s being torn apart. After Fallout 4 launched in vanilla, we the players changed that world and reshaped it with mods. The small changes in perceived reality are meant for the omniscient player (us) and are not meant to be perceived by the characters themselves...and yet, what if they were? And if they were...WHY?! The answer was right in front of me: there's a difference between something born into a world and something MADE into a world.

You take someone like Magnolia or Nick, both synths, that obviously weren’t naturally born from two people. They were conceived as an idea...a human idea sure, but still they were made, not born. Without even needing to say in the script, the Trickster from the Grognak comic books who shouldn't exist yet does IS also an idea. Some MADE into a world but not born...a different world sure, but still the creation of it. Nick, Magnolia, any synth as ideas themselves would sense that the world was wrong and being changed in a way no one else would because of fundamentally who they are and what they represent.

Everything that unfolds is because Nora as a keystone event in the Commonwealth, a focal point of the causal nexus making her a unique entity in that world. A causal nexus is the link between a cause and its resulting effects and ignore the science mumbo jumbo, because here's an example of how that works:

The Sole Survivor, Nora, listened to Kent's message, chose to answer him and put on the outfit of the Silver Shroud. As a unique figure she shifted perceived reality of everyone in the Commonwealth by becoming the Silver Shroud, acting like him and making people believe that a fictional character exists.

Unfettered belief and faith in an idea = manifested reality.

Rejected belief and faith in the idea = dispels that reality.

This HAS happened before in Fallout lore in the instance of people with horrifying backstories and personal tragedies choosing to become someone else such as the Mechanist (Fallout 3 and Fallout 4) or even the Ant-Agonizer (Fallout 3). This time however it was a unique figure who did this, a figure fated and meant to reshape the Commonwealth for good, bad or ugly.

This opened a door, the door through which another figure could influence and enter a new universe provided it take the form of something already in it...a reality side-step into the form of the Mechanist. Concurrently, the moment that happened, reality counterbalanced by making the Silver Shroud who was already believed to be real BECOME real as the ying to the Mechanist/Trickster's yang.

Now at home in reality, the Trickster found himself very much alive and unbound by story but had very little power to do much at all. He needed something more, an idea and faith that already existed in the Commonwealth with the infinite universe of ideas made, but not born like himself. His goal wasn't power, it was to sow chaos, reshaping reality into a realm for any and every idea despite the consequences to reality itself.

So what did he need? The belief in the Old Gods and a focus point of belief in the idea: a staff. The universe is as adaptive as it is remarkable and where the Mechanist had its opposite: the Silver Shroud, the Trickster needed its twin: enter Sheogorath...because what better staff to tear apart and reshape reality than the Staff of Sheogorath. There is a quest added in the new Skyrim Anniversary Edition in which you can build it for yourself with a few items: Branch of the Tree of Shades, Ciirta's Eye, Fork of Horripilation. In this universe it would have to fashioned with things FROM this universe.

Two eyes were needed:

The eye of a True Believer: Kent Connolly

The eye of a True Seer: Mama Murphy

Affixed to the top of a staff of the purest heartwood from a Twice Born Tree. Living wood from Harold, born a man who eventually mutated into a living tree.

Lastly, it had to be soaked in the tears of ages end: barrels of radiated blessed waters courtesy of the Cult of Atom.

The Trickster had no magic of his own in this universe in which to act, but thankfully courtesy of some powerful allies, he was able to make contact with shadowy cults and worshippers of the old gods who gave him the name of someone truly of faith in the old magic to make all of this work: Jebediah Blackhall, who in this spin of the universe did unfortunately get his hands on the cursed book: the Krivbeknah.

Finding allies was all too easy, as the events post main quest left the Commonwealth changed. To many, the Sole Survivor and his/her companions would be hailed as heroes. To others, they would be villains, particularly in light of what Nora CHOSE to do to the Railroad to end the synth threat for good. That's a lot of blood on the hands of heroes...

As the Mechanist/Trickster, Blackall and the Lombardos began using the staff, its changes and shifts in reality rippled backwards through time, as changing one specific thing would change its entire existence. You change some curtains and the manufacturer of those curtains only every made one pattern...the world object becomes changed universally. Tapping into the Engine of Creation to make these changes, leaves anyone MADE not born aware of them as they don't fit into the design as it shifts around them. Nick, Danse, Magnolia would all feel and see it, be thrown off for a bit before settling into the changed reality state.

At the climax when everything starts falling apart and you get everyone from GlaDOS and the Joker strolling on in, the only way to end it all is to separate the Trickster from the Staff and restore the saved intended state of reality. The Silver Shroud finds himself powerless against the Trickster...only someone from this universe would be able to intercede, hard wired into the Engine of Creation itself as an existing element connected throughout its framework and history. After sending the Trickster off packing to the moon (thanks GlaDOS), but its a little too late for reality. It collapses around them, finding themselves elsewhere...the point between the mind, creation and the outcome of reality.

After the Shroud fades away, Nick has the power and choice to roll the universe, his universe back along the tapestry of choices that led him here. They all were haunted by the choices they made the first time around, something Nora couldn't live with...that ultimately led her relationship with Danse to fall apart. So Nick decides to go back further, as far back as he can go and he finds himself back in his office with Ellie waking him up.

There are consequences to what he's done, that he's not yet aware of, ones that will become clear in our next episode. The synths remember, as he remembers...Danse, Magnolia and everyone else remembers the fall of the Institute. They all find themselves at their starting point, moving towards their intended fated position to encounter the Sole Survivor. For Nick? He's starting down the path that will led him to be held prisoner and meet the Sole Survivor for the first time.

As he'll soon discover however, things don't play out the same way this time. Moreover, while he was rolling back reality to an early saved state, he made a huge mistake and completely forgot about something and someone so incredibly important...

You'll have to wait to see what that is...

#death shroud #chad: a fallout 76 podcast #chad: a fallout 76 story #fallout 4 #fallout for hope #wes johnson #fallout #fallout fanfic #nick valentine

[the-night-that-feeds-if]

You feel a chill down your spine, the hairs at the back of your neck prickle. You don't dare look behind you... The shadow smiles.

The Night That Feeds is a dark fantasy, interactive story.  It will have heavy themes of familial abuse, sexually suggestive themes (perhaps more explicit stuff too, eventually), and other dark themes. A comprehensive content warning will be made available as the story develops.

"This is a story of love, loss, and of trying to find a home".

*** Please keep your mental health in mind when playing games with dark themes. This game won't be as dark as some others, but I want everyone to be safe and healthy when consuming dark content.

Demo currently sitting at 21k words.

✧ Features/Will feature ✧

A customizable protagonist, name, gender, appearance. 

Multiple romance options (barely implemented at this time).

Demons!  Not in the way you may think.

An interesting fantasy land that you get to explore.

!!BARELY IMPLEMENTED--MOST CHARACTERS NOT MET!!

・❥・ Romance Options ・❥・

✧.*

Captain E. Ward: Fame, fortune, infamy... All these and more follow Captain Ward. Their job is a demanding one, an important one, a dangerous one. They seem to be a commanding, playful person, but how deep do their scars run?

Age: 30

["Isn't it beautiful?" They say as they stare out into the void. Nebulous clouds drift behind, trailing the ship. "So Void-damned beautiful, and so fucked up." They look you in the eyes, and lick the edge of their bottom lip. "You sure you want this, with me?"]

They are a lonely person, they crave, and despise attention. They're afraid of intimacy, of love. What kind of life is a life in the Void? Who would willingly share that with them?

TW: Attempted murder (on them), clinginess.

✧.*

Maddock: A surly mercenary, he watches out for you, all due to a 'favor' of a nature you can't discern. The way he looks at you is reminiscent of a deep longing.

Age: Late 30's, early 40's 

["I never thought that I'd be one ta' have somethin' like this at my age. I let my dreams go in my youth." He pats the cushion next to him. "You don' expect things ta' turn out, I've been a merc for so long, felt like all I knew how ta' do."]

He's a gruff man, doesn't got a heart of gold, but if you end up falling for each other, there isn't anything that would come between you.

TW: Possessive, sexual.

✧.*

The Hunger: It's been watching you for a long time... 

Age: ???

["Oh, if it isn't my little bird, what is it? Is your wing broken? You don't seem eager to fly away this time..." It slinks closer, grinning wide. ]

An entity, not... malevolent, at least not to you.  However, it holds a sick fascination for you. 

TW: Yandereish. Stalker. Obsession. 

✧.*

Fellis: A woman who seems to be around your age, she's an eager adventurer, she took a liking to you immediately, and seems keen to stoke the flames hotter. 

Age: 22, 23

["Oh, lovey. There you are." She takes your hand in hers, placing a gentle kiss along your knuckle. "I've brought something for you."]

She thinks you're the most beautiful person she's seen. She may even take up poetry to describe her budding love for you.

NO TW. MEGA FLUFF ALERT.

✧.*

Xep: A strange person, wearing bright crimson robes, with gorgeous star decaling in gold. They wear copious amounts of jewelry, and enjoy the finer things. They were immediately drawn to you, they were forced to this back water of a town, they never expected anyone like you to cross their path.

Age: 27

["I want to hold you, please stay?" Their mouth creeps upwards, the wine has given them a positively radiant complexion, the heat blatant on their cheeks.]

They're a sad soul, after experiencing a heart break that left them devastated, they never expected to find love again.

SLIGHT TW: Mentions of suicide, heart break, mentions of being cheated on.

Credit to:  nyehilism for the sugarcube template, you've made things easier on me as an aspiring IF writer, thank you.

#interactive fiction #dark fantasy #romance #my ocs #original world #interactive novel #tntf #the night that feeds

[katy-133]

Why Spy and Sniper are opposites (and why they understand each other)

(A Team Fortress 2 meta.)

I had this in my drafts half-written for a while and then felt motivated enough to finish it up after seeing @gobbogoo's excellent meta about the professionalism aspect of Sniper and Spy's relationship.

I love foil characters. In my mind, what can make a foil compelling is when the two characters are opposites in many ways, they are also, at their cores, the same in the ways that really matter. When you get right down to it.

Mechanics (Or Far vs Close)

Sniper and Spy were literally made for each other.

In-game, Sniper and Spy are designed to counter each other. The Sniper vs Spy Update introduced multiple weapons for both Sniper and Spy that were designed to undo specifically the Spy and Sniper classes. They were introduced day-by-day in a comical, "Your new toy may counter mine, but now my new toy counters that!" fashion. Sniper's Razorback shield prevents Spy backstabbing him. Spy's Ambassador allows Spy to kill Snipers wearing a Razorback, and so on.

When you play as Sniper or Spy, different gameplay styles emerge from their different strengths and weaknesses. Sniper works well at a distance, behind the rest of his team, because his primary weapons are long range. Spy works well close up because of his ability to instantly kill with backstabs. And Spy's disguises can be more convincing if he's where the enemy team is, so he works well when he's ahead of the rest of his team.

Dirty vs Clean

Sniper roughs it with his (Cosy Camper) backpack and his camper van. Spy wears Louis Vuitton suits (or rather, "Louis Crabbemarché"--TF2 universe's counterpart), as mentioned in The Naked and the Dead comic:

Sniper urinates in mason jars and throws them as a weapon (Jarate). Spy has a special knife (Your Eternal Reward) that kills so cleanly, it instantly removes the body. Spy calls Sniper "filthy" as an insult in-game. It's something to cast scorn over, to Spy.

Spy: "You disgust me, filthy jar man!"

Alone vs Together

Sniper loves his job as a sniper for RED (and BLU). His job makes him stronger when he's at a distance from his team. Therefore, while he's not totally isolated from people, he doesn't mind being alone. He works well like that when he's working.

Sniper: "I love this job. Sunshine's free, bullets are cheap, and everybody's got a head."

Spy's Rally, an alternate Meet the Spy audio recording (as I wrote before), illustrates how Spy values teamwork and believes that it goes against the natural order of life.

Spy: "Disorder, the natural state of nature, is cheap to create, costly to overcome. [...] Nature abhors a team, gentlemen. And together, we bold few, we unnatural brothers, are going to seize Mother Nature by the throat."

Sniper finds strength in being alone. Spy finds strength in being together.

Out of vs In the Spotlight

When there was a irl figurine of Sniper being sold, Valve's blog released a post written by Sniper ("Well, Now I'm a Statue", 11 December 2012). He explains that he hates that his happened, as it goes against his wantiness to stay out of the spotlight.

Sniper: "It probably wouldn't surprise you to learn that a professional assassin like myself tends to be… discrete about things. We keep to the shadows. We avoid the spotlight. We don't host bloody dinner parties, is my point, and we don't make big bloody statues in effigy to our bloody selves."

Despite being an operative who has the ability to literally turn invisible, Spy has a flair for theatrics. He likes spectacle. In Expiration Date, when Scout apologises to Spy, Spy wants him to repeat "You're better than me," line over the PA system so that all the other mercs hear it.

Inexperienced vs Experienced in Romance

Sniper is never shown to have experienced romance and it's possible he never did. Sniper, despite his character being inspired by Crocodile Dundee, an adventure romance comedy, doesn't have a love interest. Sniper's "kangaroo wife" line is a made-up insult by Soldier.

Soldier: "I will send my condolences to your kangaroo wife."

In Meet the Sniper, we see him call his parents when he gets access to a payphone. His parents whom he sends postcards to (we see this postcard in the Sniper vs. Spy update). And it's his parents that the Administrator threatens the safety of to keep Sniper in line. It's his parents that are Sniper's priority of keeping protected. Not a girlfriend.

As essayist Kayla explains in a video meta about the mercs' past relationships, Sniper grew up in Australia, where (in the TF2 universe) the country's culture and people value large muscles due to Australium metal exposure giving Australians super-strength, as explained in the Catch-Up comic:

Security locks are punch-based (as Saxton Hale demonstrates to Miss Pauling in The Contract comic). Kids are expected to get into fist fights with each other. Meaning that Sniper is "not attractive by conventional Australian standards" in the TF2 universe (again, observation by Kayla in the video meta).

Spy on the other hand, is characterised by his past relationship with Scout's mother and it's one of the few things we know about Spy's past. Spy has an in-game line about liking his romances "in groups of six." When Scout needs advice on asking Miss Pauling out on a date, he goes to Spy for help (keep in mind, Scout doesn't know Spy is his father at this point). He has a reputation among his team that he is experienced in romantic relationships.

Spy: "I like my teams like I like my romances: in groups of six."

Where Sniper and Spy are Similar

Being Discreet and Valuing Secrets

In the TF2 comic The Naked and the Dead, we find out that Sniper knows that Scout is Spy's son. By this point, Scout doesn't know (or is heavily in denial about it). We know Sniper knows because when Sniper and Spy come across Scout dying in a hallway, Sniper leaves Spy to have a private moment with Scout, when Spy tells Scout that he's his father (or rather, Tom Jones is his father, because Spy can't bring himself to tell the whole truth).

Sniper is discreet in leaving them alone, because he never explicitly says that he knows (or what he knows) in that scene. It's mainly left unspoken. He only says one word, and Spy knows what's he's going to say. And Sniper chooses to leave because he knows that this secret is important to Spy and Scout.

Spy ability to be discreet and valuing secrets inherently comes with his job. His disguises only work as much as his ability to act like the person he's pretending to be. Spy also values the secret of his identity so much that we don't ever see him without his mask. The SFM model of Spy mask less (where we see he has hair) is a fan-made model that the fandom has collectively accepted. It has not been shown in any official Valve works. In Meet the Spy, he's always wearing his mask in the various Top Secret photos. There's also a Miss Pauling contract line for Spy in-game where she tells him that he should wash his mask. He canonically doesn't take it off.

Miss Pauling: "Spy, just between you and me, you should really wash that ski mask. Like once. There's visible stink lines coming off that thing. Anyway, I need a favor."

Kinda ironic, since Spy values cleanliness.

Are Both Willing to Put Themselves in Danger to Save One Another

Despite their differences, when they're on the same team (or even when they're still on opposite teams but have come together against a greater enemy, like in Mann vs Machine), Sniper and Spy can work together to save each other.

In the comics (The Naked and the Dead), Spy gets shot in the leg and is about to be killed by Classic Sniper (from the first Team Fortress game) while trying to infiltrate a building to save his team, but is saved by Sniper.

To do this, Sniper had to run up several flights of stairs, break down a door, crash through a window, scale the side of a building, and then climb silently into the room Spy was in. While naked and bleeding. Sniper was willing to put himself at great personal risk to save Spy.

They Both Experienced Loneliness Just Before Joining RED/BLU

I imagine that, one day, Sniper and Spy will figure out that they are not so different. If they knew about each other's pasts, they would notice a certain similarity.

Sniper's backstory (his description on TF2's website) is that he was a "tracker of dangerous game" in Australia. He would have spent a long time on his own, in the wilderness, isolated from people. He lived on a farm with his parents, not in the cities. In the comics (Blood in the Water), Sniper explains that he grew up with kids who wanted to fist fight, while he would climb up trees out of their reach and throw stones at them. He didn't fit in.

He calls his parents in Meet the Sniper, but they don't like the line of work he's in. Which upsets him, because he wants their approval.

Spy's backstory is that he had a love, Scout's mother, and ran away from her. We don't know the details of why. But we do know that he and her are still on good terms. Spy and her are seen together in Valve's promo animation for the Second Annual Saxxy Awards:

Spy appears to still love her, as at the end of Meet the Spy, he takes one of the photos of them together. Notably, the most chaste photo of the pile--it's of the two of them holding hands, walking away together.

I think that's insight on what he would have wanted in another timeline. But he ran away on his own, leaving a woman he loved (and still loves) as well as his baby son. He left his family.

This is what their lives were like before the Gravel War.

It's also worth noting that they both joined RED/BLU. They all chose a line of work that many would not, and this gives us insight into their character. Whether it was for the money, or for the chance to fight, or to combat loneliness, both Sniper and Spy found themselves working for RED/BLU.

In Conclusion

Sniper and Spy are opposites in many ways, but when you get right down to it, their cores are the same.

#team fortress 2 #tf2 #storytelling #my text #character development

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

Mercs favourite books? Doesn't have to be written in the time the game is set ofc

The TF2 Mercs Favorite Books!

teehee and all that, I love this prompt. Thank you for sending it, Anon! We're also going to have to assume half of them can even read. I kinda stuck to the classics just for funsies. Also, I added their favorite quotes from the books!

But, anyway, here we go!

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Spoilers, maybe? Probably not.

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Demo- The Anarchist Cookbook (William Powell)

Now, let's be honest. This man went through the table of contents like a checklist. I personally think Demo and Soldier took a particular liking to the entry, "Converting a shotgun into a grenade launcher." They're just so silly like that. Anyways, once he started making mustard gas, the other mercs decided that it would be a good idea for the book to go missing. Little did they know he had eight separate copies of this book. He was very proud when he finished the book. Everyone was concerned at the new horde of weapons and drugs Demo had, until he offered to share, then they were thrilled.

“If a man is to be a man, a free spirit unto himself, he must arm himself not only with weapons but with ideals and concepts he is willing to die for.”

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Engie- Charlotte's Web (E. B. White)

Hear me out! Even though this man has eleven PhDs, he doesn't like to read long drawn out novels. He doesn't like most of the "classics" or even most new books. Don't get me wrong, he loves to read. He just doesn't get why books can't be simple. He read Charlotte's Web when he was a kid, and it just kind of stuck with him. It was one of the only books he read that didn't really feel like a chore to read. He finds himself rereading it frequently. You'll catch him reading it to Pyro too, I personally think him and Pyro read books together a lot.

“I don’t understand it, and I don’t like what I don’t understand.”

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Heavy- The Odyssey (Homer)

Would you believe me if I told you this man is a huge fan of Greek mythology? He has no clue why, he was never interested in it when he was younger, or even up until he read the read The Odyssey. He picked it up from a library, it had a really pretty gold cover, so he read the description and figured why not? When I tell you this man was so obsessed with this book while he was reading it for the first time. He just like, wouldn't stop reading it? Like the other mercs were slightly worried that he was reading all the time. Because, sure, he probably reads more than the others, but this was excessive even for him. He loves the escape it provides, he likes the adventurer, he likes the fantasy. He just really loves this book.

“For a friend with an understanding heart is worth no less than a brother”

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Medic-The Tell Tale Heart (Edgar Allan Poe)

Are we really super surprised that Medic is a fan of The Tell Tale Heart? He's also just a fan of Poe in general, but alas, I will put that away and focus on the book itself. Medic loves reading the main characters' descent into madness. He also loves the idea of someone who seemingly has a lack of guilt be riddled with it, though a different medium than actually feeling guilty. (i hope that made sense) He's just a huge fan of artists using their mediums to inflict psychological torture on their creations. Also lets be honest if Medic ever went fully insane he'd be like the main character from the book.

“Now this is the point. You fancy me a mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded...”

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Scout- Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)

HEAR ME OUT AGAIN! This man doesn't read, he has ADHD and dyslexia, how can you expect him to? But! When he was in high school it was required reading and this man struggled with like the first page, but it was really important for his grade so he tried literally everything to read it, and once he actually found out a way to be able to read the book, he was hooked, as weird as that seems. He thinks old English is hilarious, and actually liked the romance, he cried when Romeo and Juliet died. He can't tell you why he loves it so much though, it just stuck in his brain and never left. He even went out and bought his own copy of the book, it remains hidden as to not alert the other mercs to his love of it, reads it once a month.

"I defy you, stars."

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Sniper- The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)

So, I know this is Snipers headcanon, but..... I gotta talk about Scout really quick. So Scout has read The Outsiders, and he loved it! (Not as much as Romeo and Juliet, but enough to also have bought the book.) So one day, he's talking to Sniper about books, and is utterly shocked at the idea that not everyone has read The Outsiders, so he literally reads this book with such conviction to Sniper, (Sniper claimed he would read it on his own but Scout know he absolutely would not.) So Sniper begrudgingly listens to the book, and actually finds himself drawn into the story.

“He sure put things into words good.”

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Spy- Dracula (Bram Stoker)

Spy would be a vampire if he could be, wouldn't ever admit that though. Okay I'm half kidding. I think Spy really likes this book for the drama of it all, the fact that it never stays the same for long, the way it borders on actual horror, but is too dramatic to actually be scary, he just ugh, he loves it so much. I think he first found the book by it just being in his home when he was a kid. His mom just left it sitting somewhere and he just went and picked it up because he was bored and just started reading. I think he was originally scared by the book, probably cried the first time he read it. Then years later, he just remembered the book that traumatized him as a kid and he was like, it can't be that bad, I'll read it again to prove younger me was a coward. So he reads it and just falls in love with the book.

"I am longing to be with you and by the sea, where we can talk together freely and build our castles in the air."

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Soldier- Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

Uh, so, do I need to put a hear me out for the third time? So I already headcanon that he likes Jane Austen, I'm so torn between him actually understanding and grasping hidden meanings and deep plot point and him just smiling and nodding along to the silly drama unfolding. Maybe both? His mom actually read it to him when he was younger, because it was her favorite book. The memories of his mom talking about and reading the book also contributes to the reason he likes the book so much. He has his mom's worn copy of the book and loves it. He'll reread it at least twice a month, always thinking about the first time he was introduced to it. Loves everything about the book.

"There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me."

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Pyro- Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)

Dont get them started with all the things they love about this book. If they could talk, they'd rant for hours. Who am I kidding they still rant for hours even though no one can understand them. They love the whimsy and insanity of Wonderland. They love the Cheshire cat and the Mad Hatter. They read this book every day. It's not even just their favorite anymore. It's the only book to ever exist 😭 On days when Pyro isn't able to read the book, they beg Engie to read it to them. Engie doesn't mind. He loves to see Pyro get all happy when he agrees.

“Imagination is the only weapon in the war with reality.”

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So that took forever to churn out for some reason, maybe because I had to actually remember reading some of these books and actually read others 😭 Sorry it's not super long or detailed! I tried not to spoil the contents of the books.

Regardless, it was fun to do, and I think I'm finally back in the swing of things! I feel more motivated, uh tons of asks came in after this sooooo expect lots of uploads after this, I think I have at least six asks right now?

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 headcanons #team fortress headcanons #tf2 hcs #tf2 demoman #tf2 engineer #tf2 heavy #tf2 medic #tf2 scout #tf2 sniper #tf2 spy #tf2 soldier #tf2 pyro

[technicalgator]

⛏️ 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛 🕯️

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Late to the party, but I finally finished the ref for my TF2 oc, The Prospector! A small, scrungly, bushy dwarf man who usually is on the defense with his motion-activated mines and shotgun!

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Ramblings and close-ups below! ⚙️

💡The Prospector is my 10th class TF2 oc, specializing in defensive game modes (Capture the Intel/Point). You’ll usually find him hanging around Engineer the most, as Prospector’s motion-activated mines are perfect to snag cloaked Spies! His melee ranges from his trusty pickaxe to the iconic frying pan, and for his 3rd weapon slot, a short-ranged weapon of some sort!

🕯️The Prospector’s full name is “Benedito ‘Bento’ Ribeiro”, and he originates from Ouro Preto, Brazil; a town with a mining history! He is a 45 latino man at the grand ol’ height of 5”4’ (and is teased endlessly by the other mercs about his height) :,]

⛏️On the battlefield, Prospector is a competitive bastard, thrilled in the high of battle and running on pure adrenaline. His smaller height also serves as an advantage despite the other’s teasing, as you’ll usually see him skittering across the map and is often overlooked >:]

Prospector doesn’t talk as much as most mercs, but will have snarky remarks for Domination lines or light insults. Other than that, you’ll usually hear him mutter insults or swears under his breath in his native language, Portuguese.

🪕Off the battlefield, Prospector is more mellow, quiet most of the times and only talks if he really has something to say. He’ll always try to appear gruff and indifferent, but he’s really an emotional bastard; easily flustered and has a soft spot for certain things (and people), such as his plants!

Prospector has a big soft spot for plants, ranging anywhere from succulents to plants from his home country (like the Walking Iris!). He’ll slowly collect all sorts of flora as a hobby, and if he’s not tending to his plants, he’ll practice music on his harmonica, or indulge in his other hobby; Lapidary!

Being a lapidarist, Prospector collects gemstones of all kinds, either from his own mining adventures or just as a collector, and will turn the gemstones into pieces of art. He has a small collection so far, creations ranging from animals to objects! Usually, a way Prospector shows his way of appreciating (or that he likes you as a mutual/friend) is leaving a hand-shaped gemstone of some kind of design in your living space!

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Anyways, that’s all I have for now, I’m really looking forward to drawing Prospector more, potentially with other mercs! Feel free to also request seeing Prospector interacting with any specific mercs (or even other TF2 ocs!✨). Thanks for sticking around this far and reading about my TF2 blorbo! 💖

#i love this lil guy sm HEHE #he is a bushy dwarf man #mwah #tf2 #tf2 oc #tf2 ocs #tf2 oc art #team fortress 2 #technicalgator art #technicalgator ocs #tf2 tenth class #the prospector #the prospector tf2

[jpitha]

Table of Contents!

Hi Everyone! I'm jpitha!

I write sci-fi shorts and stories! I have a few universes that I like to write about, mostly so I can keep worldbuilding straight. I post here and on r/HFY (a scifi writing focused reddit) and I've been trying out posting links back to here on Threads.

I like to post nearly every day. My longer works usually get posted once or twice a week, but I try and fill out the week with other stuff.

Since I have a bunch of posts now, here's a ToC to help you find the kind you want to read, broken out roughly by theme:

Multi-Part Long Reads

The Race (2 parts) First long one I did and the first time I introduced a K'laxi. I edited it from its original post as I learned more about them. Complete

Blockade Runner (2 parts) Might come back to this one later

Awakenings (4 parts, Intertwined with Hidden Depths) Complete

We Need a Ride (7 parts, 2 Codas stuff in Awakenings and Hidden Depths references it) Complete

Hidden Depths A Multi POV Adventure about when everyone on the Joint Human/K'laxi Starbase comes together to defeat an invasion force with the help of a long lost colony ship. (27, plus extra parts, Intertwined with Awakenings) Complete

Just A Little Further YA Flavored, first person adventure about Melody Mullen and what happens when she goes along on an exploratory trip to try and reach the end of the Warp Gate system. (40 parts) Complete

The Dreams of Hyacinth Cyberpunk Noir. Nicholas North is a easygoing small time crook who lives on the Corporation owned High Mars Orbital Hyacinth. When he is asked by a friend for some help, he agrees readily, not realizing what he's getting drawn into. Ongoing

Aliens are Gardenworlders

I want to live on the Gardenworld

Tumbling on a low gee world

Diary of a Human on the Gardenworld

Spacediving

Gord the Maplelegger

Gord's Tall Tale

On Lawbreaking

Gord Goes Curling

Gord Meets His Match?

Worldbuilding

Blockade Runner (redux)

Avoid Humans are Mary-Sue's

Remember that your Aliens aren't idiots

The Fire Brigade

Starjumper age

On AIs

How to Communicate Across Vast Distances

Working out the Day/Time/Date differential

The Real World is Messy

Humans Are Old (friends)

Humans get fevers

How to Communicate Across Vast Distances

Hidden Depths: A Side Story

On Cooperation

Did AIs Ever Think to Wipe Out Humanity?

The First Few Rows Will Get Wet

Slice of Life Stories

The Cyclists

Acetone is bad?

Gene's High Gee Gym

Hospitality

K'laxi and Human kids playing

Office Cookies

Humans and their Hobbies

All Human Ships Have a Manual Override

Allergies

Liver and Kidneys mean we eat anything

Frisbee tricks

Risk Tolerance

The Dinner Party

The Long Way Round

Humans Solve Problems With Explosions

Humans Play Wargames

Everyone has Proprioception

K'laxi Used to Run on All Fours

Humans Still Solve Problems With Explosions

Tattoos and Piercings

Ambassador Transport

Just One Question

Lin Makes Art

Bar fight Aftermath

K'laxi and Cats

Do it With Style

Upgrading Starbase

How are AIs Powered Anyway?

Computing Power (edited)

Outside the K'laxiverse posts

Humans and their computers

Who Is The Human?

Throwing

Mating Rituals

Hunting

Determination

Lateral Thinking

Catching

Oxygen Ain't Nothing to Mess With

Flash Fiction Friday Posts

FFF187 - You Can't Be Serious

FFF189 - Because You Need It

FFF191 - We're On Our Way

FFF200 - It's Just a Walk for You?

Encyclopedia Posts

Humans Make Friends with Anything

Human Kids Make Friends Easily

Humans Make an Entrance

Humans bring Busking

War Emergency Power

On Starjumpers and Battle

War Stories

A Matter of Scale

Just Another Merc

Time to Go

Gotcha! (or is it?)

Inter-Colony War

Always Ready

The Sacrifice

Relationship Stories

K'laxi Can Eat Waffles

Peripheral Vision

Dancing

Flirting through exercise

Nilan and Ta'reni learn about timekeeping

The Big Game

Heart to Heart

YA-esque Stories

Water Balloon War

The Birthday Surprise

Kelly and Panemi look at kittens

#jpitha #humans are space orcs #humans are deathworlders #table of contents #introduction #humans are space capybaras #humans are space oddities #scifi writing #writeblr #writing #worldbuilding

[ruthytwoshakes]

update on the cattails-tf2 crossover! :D

Made some extra designs because I felt bad about it taking so long lol. My second passes for the mercs is going well and sprites should be ready by Friday if I plan my time correctly :) in the meantime, here’s some lore for these kitties! I’ll get into game mechanics on another post.

Merasmus is Glimmer’s cousin, who joined them on the trip to the Wildwood. Merasmus doesn’t plan to stay long, and is hostile towards you at first. They claim to be the most powerfulist wizard in the lands, but their spells and curses usually fall flat. They spend a lot of time in the museum, begrudgingly helping Glimmer out with organizing the place and with studying to increase their magical abilities. Once you become friends with them, they’re convinced to stay and now cast spells of good luck and fortune on you.

Hale is a dog, but they don’t let that stop them from trying to fit in! They were raised by the mountain domain after they were abandoned by their previous owners, and traveled with jag to the Wildwood. Hale is loud, energetic, and very strong. The younger cats love playing with Hale, but the older ones are much more hesitant to let them into their shops and such in fear that they’ll break something. They mean well! Just pretty clumsy. He loves you from the start, and as your friendship grows he’ll beg you to go on adventures together, maybe beat up some voidling cats together!

Penelope is Coco’s assistant, brought here by the Forest Guardian themselves when they saw how overworked Coco was. Penelope is always busy, and a bit dismissive when they first meet you. You’ll find them in Coco’s den helping them manage the colony, or communicating with the forest guardian. Penelope has a potential rival marriage with Firebug, (pyro) which I have some very cute ideas for lol. As you grow closer, Penelope will tend to rant about her job and start to tell you her jokes that she’s writing, maybe a cutscene with her having an open mic night at Embers shop?

Helen was a previous resident of the Wildwood before everything went downhill. They managed to barely escape with their life before the voidling cats arrived. They only become a resident after you complete the main story, but you’ll get the occasional cutscene or a dialogue mention of a cat spying from a distance as you go through the game. Helen is very standoffish and her intentions in the colony are unclear. You don’t even get their name until you get 4 stars with them. They appear to have some magical properties, leftover from when the land was corrupted, you’ll see smoke come out of their nostrils and their eyes will glow a bright green when they’re upset. And how old were they again? Quite the mysterious cat.

#tf2 #merasmus #saxton hale #miss pauling #tf2 administrator #cattails #cattails wildwood story #cattails fanart #daffys drawings

[emilythedog661-tf2]

I had a TF2 related Dream

In the dream, valve had released a TF2 point and click adventure game similar the pc spongebob squarepants movie game, you first play as sniper, then medic, then scout, and then some others

i kinda remember the story and it was one night, the mercs were asleep and it goes to sniper who was asleep on his camper, he then wakes up to hears some noises outside his camper and it turned out to be some robots attacking so he goes in to warn medic as he was the other one awake, it then at one point goes to a driving mini game where medic, sniper, scout, solider and engineer drive in sniper's camper and they end up going to a circus

then the dream ended, another thing i remember is that they got the original VA back to voice the character and it was before soldier's VA passing so the game came out before 2020, also, when it goes to soldier and engineer, the pair were sleeping in the same bed with soldier on the right side and engineer on the left side

that's all for now and this was a weird dream i had so far but i have had loads of other weird dreams

#tf2 #tf2 sniper #tf2 medic #tf2 engineer #tf2 soldier #helmet party #tf2 scout #tf2 heavy #tf2 spy #bush medicine #bushmedicine #helmetparty #team fortress 2 #dreams #weird dreams #weird dream #dream #tf2 dream

[doobnnoob-tf2]

Hey,love your blog! I really like your headcannons, I feel like you really get them, y'know?

Anyways, what kinds of games do you think the mercs would like? As in, video games. Would they like tf2?

Scout: yes, he would play TF2, only as himself and he is THAT kind of Scout player. he mostly plays FPS games, competitive ones. it makes him feel like he's hanging out with his brothers again, especially when everyone starts throwing insults at each other. he somehow manages to be the only person in the lobby not actually made, but it's probably because he's instigating everything

Soldier: yes, he would play TF2. he plays a lot of FPS games like Scout does, but his actual guilty pleasure is playing those old Army Men CD-Rom games from the early 00s

Pyro: yes, they would play TF2, but they treat it more as a dress up game then actually get in and fight. they'd play a lot of games like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley or things like those. and every single game has everything decorated perfectly. they often go to someone else on the team who also likes those kinds of games for advice on new things they wanna add

Demoman: yes, he would play TF2. he has fun with it, even if it's difficult for him to play having only one eye. what he really enjoys playing are things like Umbrellas Not Included or Potion Craft, simulation games like that. they're a bit easier for him and he especially enjoys ones with choices you have to make and a story that plays out over time

Heavy: yes and no, he would only play TF2 if someone asked him to play with them. he isn't too big on video games in general. he'd really only play games with someone else if they asked him to and that's where he gets the most enjoyment out of it. playing and bonding with someone over it

Engineer: yes, he would play TF2, only as himself and he only Rancho Relaxo's all over the place after he sets up. he'd play games like Satisfactory, building factories and trying to maximize his space and resources. and it's such a big bonus if the game gives you a cute little companion like the Lizard Doggo

Medic: no, he would not play TF2, he tried once and got too angry at how everyone kept treating him when playing himself. he absolutely loves rage games. yes they serve their purpose and make him angry, and yes he knows every time he starts it up that he'll be yelling in German at pixels on a screen. but he finds that to be a good way to burn off stress

Sniper: yes, he would play TF2, but only sporadically and then he won't play again for another several months. he'd enjoy things like BOTW or TOTK. more open-world adventure type games. side quests galore, no forced tasks he has to complete and can take things at his own pace. combat is fun and he can challenge mini-bosses if he wants a real fight. that isn't to say he doesn't also sneak off to play AC at least once a day, he's gotta make sure his flowers are watered

Spy: no, he would not play TF2. he instead would play things like the Sims or City Skylines because they require the least amount of mental effort and are a great way for him to just shut his brain down for the evening

yeah, that's what being in the fandom since the game's initial release does to a man. but forreal, honestly that's the best kinda compliment I could get! I try really hard to stick with a more canon take on the Mercs, and I'm happy it appeals to people

also, I've answered one (maybe two?) asks about the Mercs and playing TF2. this one I'm just answering if they WOULD. not that it matters, but to avoid any confusion lol

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 headcanons #tf2 scout #tf2 soldier #tf2 pyro #tf2 demoman #tf2 heavy #tf2 engineer #tf2 medic #tf2 sniper #tf2 spy #sharing one braincell

[villains4hire]

Mun comforts

Comfort food: Any kind of seafood really. Fish. Meat and cheese is the safest thing for me to eat at this point that tastes good. Luck of the draw but at least I'm healthy ig.

Comfort drink(s): Chai Tea and Morning Coffee. Otherwise nothing but water, maybe a rare icecream float every few months.

Comfort movie(s): Princesse Dragon my latest suggested one in recent years. Then Tucker and Dale Vs the Forces of Evil. Hot Fuzz. Probably some more animated movies here and there but I've seen a lot, I know I enjoyed the Wakfu Movie.

Comfort show(s): Wakfu. Arcane. Final Space. Adventure Time. Bojack Horseman. Southpark. The Boys. Netflix Daredevil. King of the Hill. American Dad. Spongebob. The Simpsons. Samurai Jack.

Comfort clothing: Plush, loose clothing in any moderate temperatures. Soft fluffy clothing in the winter. I'm very simply.

Comfort song(s): I have no real comfort songs but I like rain sounds and ambience.

Comfort book(s): History Books are fun. Then I guess the Artemis Fowl series from my childhood.

Comfort game(s): Anything from the ps2 and gamecube era and below is mostly what I play. Banjo Kazooie 1-2 is a notable favorite. Then I guess 3ds, psp and some vita games. Fallout 1-2. Fallout New Vegas. Doom 1, Doom 64, Duke Nukem 3d, the Shantae Series. System Shock. Darkwood. Spelunky 2. Don't Starve. I've played a lot, but that's all I can remember rn.

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tagged by @restrainedhungr

tagging: @onlyheartaches | @undercity-merc | @kugel-bitch | @infernal-feminae | @xdeerxhealerx | @voxiiferous | @whiteswarm | @oc-menagerie | @heroesxdemons | @olliesmultimuse | @strebcr | @musegame | @clown-demon | @cxffeeshxp | @ethereallyloved | @gunslinginnhogtyin | @fire-rose | @luxieloo | @friendsamongstars | @civicrphub | @diadxrling (I'm obligated to @ you anyway) | @gettnup | @storybounded | @wintershub | @lcve-lcrn | @rebelquilled | @charmerquilled | @cauterisen | @jeff-the-gnome-king | @vortship | @sweet-chimera | @littlelegend | @enterprisingmuses | @stories-of-the-multiverse | @swcctdreams | @blackstardiopside

anyone else tbh

#ooc #munday #//Have the rare @ prompt from me #save

[powdermelonkeg]

You reblogged a post about the practical female armors mod for skyrim and now i am being sucked back into the pit of skyrim modding. any mod suggestions? its been a solid couple years since i played and there's a LOT to choose from

Oh man I haven't had a chance to play since my computer broke lemme see what my last modlist was.

(One moment while I force my broken computer to work)

So fair warning, I like survival aspects. I like it when games require me to eat/sleep/do things to live, because then the 15 cheese wheels in my inventory actually mean something besides instant health. I also really like companionship and roleplaying elements, so most of my playthroughs are built around that.

Dependencies not included:

Campfire: Camping mechanics. Supports a party of 4, if I remember correctly. Also lets you craft a few things, but I'm more interested in stargazing with my buddies.

Vitality Mode: Current iteration of "better than Survival Mode" mechanics. Eat/drink/sleep/etc. Does it very nicely with a corner icon that gets more red the worse off you are, rather than whatever SM had going on. Also lets you configure modded food items for it just by eating them!

Pronouns: Pick what pronouns you go by regardless of default body. Will attempt to exclude gendered language if possible (like, it's unavoidable with Brynjolf calling you lad/lass, but you can pick which one it falls back to) if you pick they/them. You can set percentages of different pronoun sets or even have it change randomly on a timer.

Quality World Map: PUTS. THE ROADS. ON. THE MAP. If you're doing no fast travel, this is VITAL. Base map is terrible, next question.

Delphine's Map Reveals Dragon Mounds: Because it should.

Delay the Foresworn Conspiracy Quest: Ever get sick of being roped into that quest immediately? (Makes it so that guy doesn't hand you the note unless you talk to him directly. Main Street Stabbing™ is still there)

Dragonborn Delayed: Ever get sick of being roped into THAT quest immediately? (Especially given the suggested level of Solstheim...you can pick when it happens: after returning the horn, Delphine, Alduin's Wall, meeting Paarthurnax, getting the Elder Scroll, kicking Alduin's tail at the top of the mountain, or killing Alduin)

Extended Encounters: More encounters in the wild! Mercs, adventurers, vampire attacks, etc.

Vittoria's Alternate Wedding: She can get married without you killing her! She's not in engagement hell!!! Only triggers if you destroy the Dark Brotherhood.

Immersive Realistic Party Clothing Overhaul: Wear any "rich" clothes to the party instead of what Delphine gives you. I usually use this with mods that add more fancy clothes.

More To Say: Everyone talks more about a wider variety of things. Lets you tell Meeko he's a good boy and give him a treat. Makes a few new lines with splicing, but I haven't noticed any hard cuts.

Wonders of Weather: Splashy rain and rainbows, occasional shooting stars, scheduled meteor showers

Darker Nights: What it says on the tin. I like using torches and fires, and regular nighttime is unrealistically bright for me.

Whiterun Watchtower Doesn't Start Broken: Because why should it?

Cooking Inns and Taverns: Because I need more cooking pots and ESPECIALLY Hearthfire ovens to find.

C.O.I.N.: Adds immersion by changing coins based on where you are. Ancient Nordic coins are going to be worth less than the standard Septim, while Thalmor gold is worth more. There are Dwemer coins.

More Thalmor Dossiers: Makes more lore books on characters to pick up when you're in the embassy. Also has patches for some followers. Very fun.

Bandolier: More carry weight and it looks cool.

Guard Dialogue Overhaul: Gives guards more to say, and changes their opinions of you as you complete quests.

Bandit Lines Expansion: Bandits talk more, 500+ new lines. Spliced, but it sounded smooth to me.

Alternate Start: If you're sick of the standard Helgen entry, THIS. Also the New Beginnings add-on gives even more options.

No Fast Travel: Honestly this is just a me thing, because I use Vitality Mode and want realism. Only go for this if you're like me and it won't frustrate you.

Followers (aka, my party pre-BG3)

Gore by @goredev: A young Imperial mercenary from Cyrodiil, was ambushed by Thalmor because of some traitorous members of his band. Absolute sweetheart, riveting story, fantastic found family vibes all around. 10/10 would kill for him. Updates often, so check the mod page every now and then after install.

Inigo: An indigo Khajiit who put himself in prison because he thinks he killed you. Amazing banter, very cheeky, comes with his own whistle-signal mechanics. You can buy him a horse if you have the right patch! (He interacts with Lucien right out the gate and has a banter patch with Auri)

Lucien Flavius: An Imperial scholar from Cyrodiil with a myriad of unique mechanics, letting you teach him your own skills in order to customize his battle style. He's in Skyrim looking for a (custom made, well-implemented) Dwemer dungeon. The lad has a MILLION compatibility patches that let him comment on all sorts of mods. (Interacts with Auri right out the gate)

Auri by @sotgofficial: A Bosmer from Valenwood who's having a lot of culture shock in Skyrim (where she's from, canonically, her people are cannibals and don't harm plants—she HATES Faendal with a seething passion). A fantastic character (and archer), a heartwrenching story, openly poly and likes to tease. Will be a little annoyed/depressed until you do her personal quest, so I recommend chipping away at that as you travel. I usually use her with the Refined Auri replacer.

Taliesin by @dynamite124, voiced by @nevermorepjm: My personal favorite, an Altmer and former Thalmor agent you help after he's been mortally wounded. Lots of sassy and witty dialogue, bursting with personality, changes his opinion of you over the course of the main quest. Please I'm begging you watch his trailer.

Khash by @rabbittwinrithings: Darling little Argonian teenager you can take along with you. Doesn't get sarcasm, speaks her mind often, can be coaxed into talking about her past—that's not a typical Argonian name, is it? Resident gremlin alongside Auri.

Back to normal stuff, visuals

Tempered Skins for Males/Females: Gives a decent look without airbrushing everyone because I am SO sick of airbrushing everyone... There are dicks in the setup screen (when you set whether you want them or not), beware.

Improved Eyes: Just a little tweak.

Brows: Another little tweak.

Subliminal Traps: Makes traps less obvious. It's masochistic, yes, but I like my immersion.

Awesome Potions Simplified: You look at these and tell me they aren't the coolest looking potion bottles you've ever seen.

#ask bee #skyrim #long post #this is my current follower party but sometimes i add in xelzaz or caryalind #really depends on my run

[dailyadventureprompts]

Villain: Dematoth, the Devil of No-Man’s Land

“‘Listen Crowbait, you’ve got two choices. Me, or bearing those wounds of yours for a lingering eternity, until that pain and the aftertaste of sepsis are all that’s left of you. Plenty of other sundered souls on this battlefield who’d jump at my offer, so... what’s it going to be?

War profiteers come in all shapes and sizes, and even after the fighting’s done there’s still opportunity to be found. While the victors look for survivors to slay or ransom and the corpsepickers hunt for rings and baubles, Dematoth moves among the spirits of the fallen looking for those pained, desperate, and willing to make a deal. Is a century of service worth sparing yourself the pain of a wound that will not fade? or what about a  personal escort to a cushy part of the underworld in exchange for a secret that could ruin the lives you’ve left behind?  The devil knows how to drive a hard bargain but she seldom needs to, the bodies are always piling up somewhere and a new sucker dies every minute.

Sour and Sullen,  the devil of no-man’s land cares little for the morality games of her kin, considering most mortals to be a means to an end at best and a waste of her time at worst. While the party might stumble across Dematoth out reaping fresh souls after a battle, she’s more likely to act as an unseen arms dealer among the forces of evil, offloading battalions of revanants and cursed objects to would be diabolists and greater fiends in exchange for various favours. In this way, the party can end up fighting a gang of early-game bandits only to be met with an unexpected postmortem rematch.

Hooks:

For the last few years Dematoth has been following a bloody band of mercenaries, adding fallen sadists and victims to her horde of stolen souls as the sellswords grow rich off of their contracts. This easy arrangement is due to be interrupted when the mercenaries get contracted out by another minor villain to act as muscle for a looming confrontation with the party, motivating the usually indolent devil to start getting proactive. While the heroes may have thought they were only fighting mundane threat, they’ll soon find themselves dealing with curses and other malevolent phenomenon alongside the ruthless mercs and petty despot they thought they were originally facing.

Following a number of otherworldy signs and nightmarish attacks, the party eventually realize they’re on the trail of a rampaging demon that arose from the soul of a famously wicked warrior. Tracking the entity back to the defiled tomb of its greatest foe, the party encounter Dematoth stalking the hallways on a hunt of her own. As the Devil of Noman’s land explains it, this isn’t a ghost that can be put to rest with silver and emotional catharsis, their quarry can only be bound, an art that far outstrips the party’s current skill. If they’re smart they’ll make an alliance with her, distracting and weakening the demon while she does her thing and stuffs it in her ominous skull lantern. Can the party believe her? or is there a better means of dealing with this infernal threat?

In peacetime, Dematoth likes to engineer little accidents where brave individuals get themselves killed due to their own foolhardy actions, appearing in various guises to point the avricious and the adventurous towards a sudden end. After her mark is dead, she appears, claiming to be a psychopomp who guides the courageous to their appointed afterlife after they’ve unburnded themselves of earthly regrets. This racket is an excuse to get the departed to agree to one of her deals or cough up some valuable information before the real spirit guides arrive, and can provide a delightful post-death hook for those heroes who fall in combat. 

#fiend #demon #low level #mid level #wasteland #plains #field #fighter #Cleric #mercenaries #undead #dnd #dungeons and dragons #d&d #5e #villain #warfare #monster hunt #Psychopomp

[its-the-val-pal]

LF RP and RP Contacts!

Hey you there! Stop! Are you looking for RP? Do you want to make a new connection? You okay with someone returning to the game after a hiatus?

Hi it me! I’m Val! Pretty much everyone I played with is MIA and my character’s old connections are no more, so I’m looking to make new ones. To justify this, I’ve edited/changed the character a bit and I undoubtedly have a LOT of work to do to get back proper such as making a new carrd, glamours, mods, etc. But I’m working on it and taking it bit by bit! I have other characters and alts, too, that I’m going to be updating/posting about as well.

Here’s a sample of what he looks like now and, if interested, keep reading for a general bio/overview of what I’m looking for! 

Thank you so much for your time!

General Info

Name: Zheval Seltik (Val) Age: 36 Race: Viera Gender: Male (He/Him) Occupation: Mercenary/Bodyguard/Sword for Hire Timezone: CST, but I can make most things work as long as it isn't beyond 2AM CST. RP Style: I can do semi/multi-para and everything in between. I usually change my posting style to match the tempo of the RP. Ideally I'd like to get involved with others that also enjoy writing so I can improve my style and skill. A sample of my writing can be found here, having just recently posted it to get a feel for the character.

OOC: Hello! I've been playing since launch and RPing for far longer--as far back as old school Ayenee RP chats, through WoW (Silver Hand/Moon Guard - WotLK), and many others. I'm returning from a bit of a hiatus and pretty much all of my contacts are gone, so I'm starting over! Character rebuild, catching up in game, and so on. As for what I'm looking for--Zheval's always been a combatant. He can't read/write very well and it's a typical amnesia story to justify starting over. I love exciting RP-conflict, mystery, combat, adventuring, slice of life, mature, dark, etc. I'm happy to also do hangout/slice of life RP and take things a little slower, but I see him getting into tournaments for the thrill of the fight and, hopefully, being hired by an FC or individual as a guard, mercenary, or hired hand of some sort. All that to say I do have a carrd, but it's incredibly out of date. That's going to be resolved soon and is my first priority. The general idea of the character won't change, but obviously some things will be different as he's operating in a bit of a fog. Either way, to get an idea of who he was and what was left behind, you can find it here.

I Am Looking For

In-Game RP -21+ RP partners/friends to RP with in game. I'm okay with Discord, but I'd rather do within the setting/game itself.    

Long-term RP -So the character can naturally grow and evolve. I'm not looking for relationship/ERP for the sake of having one. He has priorities and, if those ever come to completion, then maybe the possibility will open up. But I want things to progress naturally and organically and right now it's not on his radar.

Themes -I'm up for just about anything! Dark, mature, casual, criminal, heroic, adventurous, whatever. I can fit this character into just about anything as-is and welcome it!

Hooks

Bodyguard/Merc - He has previous work as a guard and is currently doing that to make enough coin to live. 

Tournament/Arena - Host a tournament? Know one? He's down. Underground, seedy dives feel right to him for some reason. 

 Ul'dahn Native - Speaking of-does your character often visit Ul'dah/Central Thanalan? Maybe the bridge just near the Grindstone? That's his home when he can't afford a room in the inn! For some reason, it comforts him. 

Amnesia Experience - Does your character have experience with amnesia? Dealing with it themselves? Think they can help him learn who he was? He'd be more than willing to hear their story and form a bond. 

Exploration - So much of the world is a fog to him, and the littlest thing stands to awaken a memory or feel familiar to him. If your character either wants to help him dig through the fog or just an adventurous sort to explore the world, count him in! 

F.C. - Does your character's initials match F.C.? The ring is all he has to go on as to who he was, and any such person is immediately interesting to him. 

Enemies - A member of his past? Want to torment him? I'm all for it! 

Frienemies - A member of his past that used to hate him? Want to start a love/hate relationship where they’re constantly trying to one-up and cause problems for each other? Let’s go!

 Ideas! - I'm up for anything else so long as it isn't much more than lore-bending. There's likely a lot I missed and I'm more than open to new ideas! 

Please feel free to DM me either on here or via discord at itsthevalpal if any of this piques your interest at all. I'm looking forward to it!

#FFXIV #balmung #balmung rp #ffxiv balmung rp #viera #looking for rp #ffxiv lfrp #oc #ff14 oc #ffxiv oc #val nunh #val covington #zheval seltik #please help i don't wanna solo this game lmao