V @V@lgbt.io

Today is one of those sorts of days you store in your mind to remember when you're feeling bad, to brighten your whole day yet again.
Everything has just been so cute and perfect.

Is it just me or has US capitalism finally worn everyone down into just letting themselves get covid
it seems like over 50% of people I know have now had it and I hear new stories every day of friends saying "yeah I finally got it, quarantined for a week and I'm back. it was bound to happen eventually."
and no one but me has worn masks in months
so nobody is helping me protect myself
What the fuck are immunocompromised people supposed to do? Let alone me and others who don't wanna get it.

Radlands is such a good game
also a perfect example of how important component quality is.
thick clicky backgammon chips, heavy duty synthetic waterproof cards, custom neoprene playmats embroidered on the edges... touching this game is bliss. and it's just a card battler, it didn't need to be produced like this, as is proven by the existence of a lower quality version that's cheap and plays great. But the greatness is truly doubled by the deluxe version's components.

"ur gay"
"bruh you literally swept me into a loving embrace right before this and we're both dudes. you have no power here. now do you wanna hold my hand in this rainy forest to keep your energy recharged or not."
"....yes..."
"🤝"
"😳"

There are way more women and LGBT people in Sky than any other MMO, too, by the looks of it.

Something tells me that the idea of a game where you aren't allowed to say The Gamer Word to someone until *after* you've unlocked holding hands and hugging them is anathema to the sorts of people who scare us off from gaming in the first place.

of course i'm a hobbyist board game nerd, every day of my life is a
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamemechanic/2661/push-your-luck
game lol

Cishet privilege is not feeling like bargaining with your life every day is normal as hell.

sure is wonderful that we live in a world where i'm glad that I'm a lesbian because it means I still get to interact with my local queer community as a stealth trans person, under the reasoning of "oh, the ratio of queer community access to chance someone will kill me in the street for existing is almost maybe manageable in this scenario! What a great trade off of my safety, it's a bargain! 💸💸💸"

Sky: Children of the Light is a very, very good game. They've actually managed to make an MMO with zero toxicity, and it turns out that all along, there was a trick to it. Simply make the game absolutely, stunningly beautiful, make the gameplay non-violent and focused on simple childhood joys like racing and hide and seek, and make it so that you literally cannot talk to anyone until you become friends - the early relationship is always purely in vibes, honks and emotes. It works, amazingly.

bluh, I have no idea if I'm alone in this, but I can't stand the standardized art style of these "____s of the [cardinal direction] ______" board games by Garphill Games.
They look like if the middle ages had Soulless Corporate PowerPoints.

has science gone too far

There's also certainly something to be said for the result of the character customization, lack of linear story path, and custom starter town - you're no longer the main character.
Getting to roleplay as someone who's potentially never met a pokémon professor and just decided one day that they're gonna leave home with the family pet and try to collect badges is great, and somehow more compelling to me than the actual plot of the regular games.

I've been having the time of my life recently with Pokémon: Crystal Clear. By far the best romhack I've ever played, it turns what was a simple and predictable game into, like, Elden Ring - that is, it becomes a fully open world game where you decide how hard you want it to be via where you decide to go, and you can go anywhere. You can even start anywhere.

This file, I began in Azalea Town with a Cleffa as my starter, and it's been the most fun I've had with a pokemon game. Highly recommend.

like, as someone who literally has bangs to cover a very big and noticeable facial scar, I get that for a lot of people, hiding or healing scars is a very good thing, and I agree, kinda, but it seems like pretty bad representation, since irl, there's usually at least mild lingering symptoms.
Maybe I expect far too much from a fantasy disability, though.
Bluh.
Also, I miss longer character limits, lol. Sorry for the spam.

Like, the worst part is, the Operator, who is by most accounts the main character of the game, can potentially have facial disfigurements very similar to the Holdfasts, with bright metallic scars that seem to be either void metal or results of an invasive Orokin surgery to control their void powers. And that never goes away, unless you redesign your character.
I would have liked for them to keep some of their scars as well.

They also have a mental clarity issue where they have constant intrusive thoughts telling them to become murderous void angels.
When you reach maximum rep, they are fully healed of all of this. No metal all over them, full clarity, etc.
I think that's kinda shitty?
They had a fantasy disability and you cure it with no lingering symptoms.