#goldkirk

i was about to say "cult of the lamb" but um. given the subject matter you should probably give that one a hard pass actually. still mentioning it in case anyone else is looking at this post for recommendations but FOR YOU SPECIFICALLY... MAYBE NOT.

i LOVE nitw so much! it's such a special game, i remember watching a playthrough of it long before i actually got to play it for myself and just feeling like. that it was such a unique and well-crafted game. i haven't played the other two but i'm tangentially familiar with oxenfree, so i get the general vibe you're going for i think. so let's see...

shelter 2; i consider this a pretty relaxing game but some people get super stressed out by it, because you're a mother lynx raising cubs and they CAN die (from starvation, getting killed by predators, etc). the shelter series in general falls under here.

graveyard keeper; i don't even know if i'd call this "cozy" given the subject matter LMAO it's a sort-of farming sim but you're desecrating the dead to do it. i never got very far into this so i don't know shit about its story; i think i found the stamina system too frustrating to bother with it for long, even though i REALLY LOVE games that let me butcher meat and use body parts for stuff.

outer wilds; i will tell you nothing about this game except that you should play it. sorry. kjsndfkjsdfn

my child lebensborn; heavy heavy HEAVY trigger warnings for child abuse (including implied sexual abuse from an authority figure/teacher) in this one but i really liked the story and gameplay. you in particular should tread carefully for this one if you do play it, but for me i really liked taking care of this like... abused, neglected kid and getting to try my best to give them a better life.

the beginner's guide; not necessarily 'cozy' as such, but definitely relaxed-pace gameplay and a really good story.

dredge; fishing game with eldritch horror in it. i never finished this one but i really liked it when i was playing it!

i feel like Wandersong doesn't have quite the same type of darker elements to it but i think i still have to recommend it anyway because a) it's fun b) it reminds me of NITW and c) almost nobody i know has played it KJNSDKJFN

grimshire ofc

Pre-patrol vibing

two kirk

Sorry for not posting since, what, November? My life has had a lot of downs since then and I've honestly just been trying to stay afloat. But I'm not here to talk about me!

Today's post is going to be a little different.

Today I want to pay tribute to an author who's works have gotten me through a lot shit the last couple of months. With heavy focus on mental health, trauma recovery, and learning to accept yourself, Goldkirk is one of the best authors on the archive in literal years.  

SHUTTERBUG

Batman - All Media Types

goldkirk

Teen

Word Count: 313648 / 8 works

In-Progress

“or, How Tim Drake Found A Family, Became A Photojournalist, Learned To Love Coffee, and Grew Up, not necessarily in that order.

Tim Drake is thirteen, runs the famous BatWatch blog that has spiraled hilariously out of control, has absentee parents that suit his purposes just fine, is training himself to run the streets at night, and is doing absolutely peachy, thank you.

Alfred and Jason disagree, and get Dick and Bruce involved in figuring out their weird nextdoor neighbor kid’s life. Everything goes uphill from there.” 

~ Latchkey, first work in series

God where do I even begin? This series...means so much to me. Tim Drake’s (and the rest of his family of course!) journey has resonated so deeply with my soul. I’ve laughed, cried, and screamed (seriously? That shit in Black Bird wrecked me) during all three times I’ve read through this wonderful series. This is one of the works that has more than earned its place as one of the greats, and will continue to do so in its latest work Hymn (focused on the newest edition to the family, Damian). Please go give this a read right away!

LEGEND HAS IT

Batman - All Media Types

goldkirk

General

Word Count: 14784

In-Progress

“Tim Drake has a lot of secrets, and his secrets are buried deep--deep enough that even he doesn’t remember them, and hasn’t for years.

But after the worst year of his life--Dead Year; so many people he loves lost, so many changes happening, and so much sadness and grief, even after he got most of his loved ones back--he’s absolutely tantalizing to certain kinds of creatures that haunt the dark. Including one who already hunted for him once before, a long time ago, who will stop at nothing to finish the job this time around.

Good thing Tim has unbelievably stubborn family and friends on his side. He’s going to need all the help he and his newly rediscovered powers can get.”

Okay. GUYS. This is a fusion of Batman and the wonderful and terrifying world of Coraline. It’s very new and still in its starting stages but this is SO. GOOD. This is by far one of the most interesting concepts I’ve seen in YEARS, and I’m already obsessed.

FREAKIN’ ME OUT

Batman - All Media Types

goldkirk

General

Word Count: 19240

In-Progress

“Bruce hadn’t set out to become a doctor.

Bruce hadn’t set out to become much of anything, really, but life didn’t seem to care what Bruce intended. He finished out high school like Alfred wanted, booked a one-way ticket to Thailand, and set off to either find himself or die some way that would make him feel like it was worth the extra years in between.

And then fourteen years later, he found himself working his first day on call as a full-fledged pediatric general surgeon, of all things, at Gotham Children’s.

And Bruce?

He was the best.

Bruce is a doctor, in a world that took a few major left turns. His kids always seem to find him anyway. (one chapter for each child, not in chronological order).”

Awesome, it’s never too late to become a gamer! I’m also a newer PS4 owner (but longtime xbox owner) since my PS4 and the VR were my xmas gift to myself this year :D And I know it’s intimidating with how much is available and maybe not being sure what’s worth it. But I’ll vouch for all of these in no particular order: 

The Last of Us (I finished this game and loved every bit of it, I even pre-ordered TLOU 2). Soma (brilliant mix of scifi and horror. Fun game with an intriguing concept. I will say my emotions were a wreck by the end). What Remains of Edith Finch (indie game that is beautiful and weird and will probably make you cry. I highly recommend it, it’s an experience for sure). The Evil Within 1 and 2 ( tbh it’s straight up anxiety inducing horror, idk why I do it to myself but I love these games even though I am stuck on a boss fight in both of them lmao). Batman: Arkham Knight (obvious pick from me lol. I will be honest I haven’t beaten the game myself even though I’m super far into it because it gets difficult and time consuming.. but I’ve seen the 5 hours of all the cut scenes on youtube 😂. Side note, the Arkham VR game made me geek out hard). The Telltale Batman Series (oh man, these games actually put me in some hard moral dilemmas and it’s super fun to play in this version of the batman universe). Observer (beautiful scifi tech noir game with definite horror elements). The Dishonored Trilogy (I played the 2nd one first as Emily Caldwin and fell in love. There’s fantasy elements, dark magic, assassins, political strife, and an immersive story/world). The Wolf Among Us (also a telltale series that puts you in moral dilemmas, based on the very famous comic, Fables, which I should probably read). Detroit Become Human (Scifi with a very interesting story. You play as 3 main characters who are androids and there’s so many ways the game can go based on your choices. Side note, this game introduced me to the actor Bryan Dechart and I’m so glad it did). Little Nightmares (omg this game. It’s hard to explain. A simple summary is that you are little and big things want to get you/eat you. Artistic for sure, but eerie throughout, with horror being the main genre). Among the Sleep (A creative, creepy indie horror game which puts you in the perspective of a literal toddler. You can’t really run from the scary stuff and you can’t fight on account of you being a toddler. Makes for an interesting game).

!!!

I’m cackling about the half-written grocery list, omfg.  but yeah, you’re very right.  and I posted the chapters anyway because I figured they wouldn't be awful to someone else's eyes.  i’m trying to embody that one post... let me see if I can find it real quick

...

THIS POST

because like... why do you need perfection??  you don’t!!  just get something out into the world!  someone somewhere is bound to like it, and that’s worth everything tbh.

I mean, Sam’s reason is a lot what Shiro called him out on - he wanted to see it for himself, because the footage he saw was adorable.  

But also, a huge part of Shiro’s problem in Spectrum Verse is the constant need to present himself a certain way: completely infallible.  He accepts no mistakes from himself, and believes that any time he fails to be the perfect Black Paladin, he’s showing that he’s really broken and messed up.

But being a kid is the opposite of that.  Kids are expected to mess up, expected to act out, expected to need help: all the things Shiro can’t allow himself.

So, yes, part of Sam’s reasoning is selfish, because he sees Shiro as his kid and he wants to get to see him smol. (Especially when he knows actual Smol Shiro had a time of it, and he wants to treat Smol Shiro right).  But also, it happens ot neatly tie in with Shiro’s issues, and would be an interesting avenue to explore what Shiro’s afraid of in a gentle way.

For Shiro’s perspective, at the end of the series he sees the value in the idea.  But for the most part, he’s not comfortable with it - half out of his issues, half because he’s naturally a pretty private guy.  Kid emotions are Big, and it completely wrests away the control he clings to so desperately.  Shiro doesn’t know what to do with himself when he doesn’t have responsibility for everything around him.  Just be a little kid and play games and hang out?  Sounds fake, he’s busy.  Also, he can’t control these swells of emotions and that’s terrifying, because that means everyone can see it???  

Basically, it’s not something Shiro enjoys.  But the benefits (a fun afternoon despite himself, lots of physical affection because he’s smol and cute and they can, unable to supress the stuff he normally keeps locked up) are actually pretty damn good for him.

How I came up with it is nothing to complex, lol.  I wanted a deaged fic where he kept his mind, because I love those.  Then I thought about how it would affect Shiro and how it would be the opposite of what he wanted.  Then, when Sam was around, I thought about what Coran would catch him up on, and ‘I have little kid footage of Shiro’ is one of the first non-work things he’d share.  And I thought Sam would love it and want to see it himself, but he’d also find it intriguing that Shiro couldn’t help showing emotion, and there we are.

Thank you for asking!  it’s nice to go in on an older one