I find myself thinking about how Purrcy fits into the kawaii template of vulnerability and harmlessness. Purrcy does have these visual signifiers. I do want to help him. I am also terrified of him.

Do I love this game, or do I hate it? Am I being a downer because of latent mobile game snobbery?

My adult brain feels desperate to chase after lights in the forest, lights I haven’t seen in some time. As a child, I knew better.

Ranking Elden Ring’s goth femmes from “least” to “most” goth.

Starfield is Bethesda’s biggest game to date. More to explore, more dialogue options, more NPCs. So why don’t I feel attached to any of the characters?

It’s easy to get lost in the aesthetic pleasures of Hammer’s smooching Draculas and bangin’ 1970s haircuts on 19th century characters; you might gloss over the more ethereal wardrobe choices.

“There’s a bunch of different subcultures under the punk and goth umbrellas. Doesn’t always have to be about wearing black and being angry.”

“I’m a faun, you dork!”

Why can’t I marry Serana? I would like to take this up with Todd Howard personally.

A holiday gift guide that just might save your skin.

Organizing books makes me not care that I’m a decaying meat-coated skeleton living by the light of a dying star. I love skeletons! I love stars! Who cares, just let me read!

Ms. Blue’s aesthetics speak volumes: she wears librarian clichés – cardigans and tortoiseshell glasses – with bodycon animal prints, statement jewelry and long, blue nails.

I watched the 1935 thriller The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (released in the U.S. as Phantom Ship). I took notes while watching, which include helpful annotations like “what is even happening” and “yikes this is racist.”

The main question I have while considering Wytchwood is, why isn’t this my life? Should I acquire a goat companion? Would the goat get along with my cat?

Were Ben Throttle and Maureen Corley secretly boning after all?

Hunters/Gatherers/MacGyver-ers Assemble!

Romance and courtship in the post-dystopia.

Deirdre goes to a magical land of friends and Flash.

One more couldn’t hurt, right?

If I overheard someone talking about a bookish goth who listens to Rumours on repeat too much, I’d assume they were talking about me.

“I would be grateful to see the forest come to life.”

Roach is always there for me.

Deirdre played these Beauty and the Beast-inspired games so that you, dear reader, don’t have to.

I mean, really now, who hasn’t wanted to be friends with a talking, alcoholic skull?

The concept of turning artwork into reality—into an escape—has never been more tempting.

This spectral figure makes an impression as a great storyteller long before she’s ever introduced.

Animal Restaurant is a mobile game that does the impossible: It makes promoting in-game ads adorable.

Deirdre desperately wants to be friends with Jesse Faden, someone similarly comfortable with the surreal and unexplainable.

Who doesn’t love obsessively pondering over fictional characters’ tarot readings?

If you’ve never dabbled in goth subculture, you may not realize how many gothic sub-subcultures exist.

American McGee’s series seemed like a natural extension of Deirdre’s lifelong Alice in Wonderland obsession.

Deirdre survived a lonely summer by escaping to an equally lonely game.

Why bother trying to date in a dating sim when you can play with one very good dog!

Deirdre lists some of the best cat (or cat-looking, at least) familiars in pop culture.

An adorable cryptid from Microsoft’s 1991 Entertainment Pack for Windows makes it onto Deidre’s friend’s list.

For someone who constantly jokes about dying, the chance to date a ghost carries its own morbid comfort.

Just let players bang the robot, Todd Howard.

If the outbreak happened outside my window, I’d be digging through drawers for my most metal band shirts and cursing my lack of foresight in not purchasing a black Violator babydoll.

Just like Willow from Don’t Starve, Deirdre can’t control what goes on in the world. But she can keep her sanity meter up in the meantime.

Hidden in Microsoft Encarta ’95 lies one of the foundational goths of Deirdre’s childhood.