Super Happy Love Award: positivity and video games
Each blogging award is truly valued. To show my appreciation, I’ll usually devote an entire post to one of the questions posed by the nominator rather than answer the entire set. This gives me the chance to write a unique article and dedicate it to them to properly thank them.
But every now and again, an award comes along where it feels right to not do this and instead follow the rules to the letter. This is the case with the Super Happy Love Award received from Emily at Monsterlady’s Diary recently (thanks so much!). Following the nomination track backwards reveals it was a tag created to heal the internet: as shared by Pinkie from Pinkie’s Paradise, we should give love to those who deserve it and praise the individuals who have done something important for us.
There’s so much going on in the world right now and we could all use a little more positivity. It’s an important message so that’s why I’m going to stick to the guidelines and not be a rebel for once. Here we go…
The rules
Prompt 1: tell us about a person you love
There’s only one person who has my heart completely. They make me smile whenever they walk into a room; we have interesting conversations every day; and they show me affection to let me know they want me around. You know who it is: our cat Zelda. She’s never far away and is usually trying to sit on my keyboard while I blog, when she’s not appearing in our streams and stealing the show. I guess my husband Pete and stepson Ethan are alright too, because they make me laugh with their stupid songs and give me chocolate.
Prompt 2: write something about a fandom or a franchise you love
There’s nothing else I could write about for this answer other than the adventure genre of video games. I guess you could say that Later Levels is one big love-letter to them; I’ve been playing since discovering The Secret of Monkey Island as a kid and point-and-clicks will always have a special place in my heart. I know that many will say the genre is on its way out, but storytelling is such an important part of being ‘human’ that it won’t ever die completely and will simply continue to evolve. Long live the adventure game!
Prompt 3: tell us something about a character you love
Murray from the Monkey Island series may have had his body blown to pieces by a cannon but did he let it hold him back? No. Many would have been crushed by this tragic accident but my favourite skull turned it into the opportunity he’d been waiting for: to become a demonic overlord and conquer the land of the living. Despite his reduced state, he still considers himself to be an object of pure evil and dreams of spreading chaos throughout the Caribbean – showing that sometimes all you need to get you places is a positive mental attitude.
Prompt 4: tell us something about a piece of music you love
I adore the To The Moon series and get tears in my eyes whenever I hear Everything’s Alright by Laura Shigihara. The words beautifully encapsulate how difficult it can be to explain to someone just how much you love them, and how if you have that special person next to you then everything is going to be ok. The third instalment in the series, The Imposter Factory, is due to be released later this year and I can’t wait to play it; expect a marathon stream of all the titles (and a few Twitch tears) when that happens.
Prompt 5: show us why you love a piece of media so much
I played Eastshade a year ago and it’s now one of my favourite games, thanks to the way it tackles the RPG genre. When you look at the individual parts of a painting in real life, it’s easy to notice some tiny imperfections but look at that piece of art from afar to take in its entirety, and it’s amazing; that’s just how I feel about this release. I’m not sure I’ve ever had such a peaceful and relaxing gaming experience which lasted over 15 hours, and would highly recommend it to anyone who needs to escape for a little while.
Prompt 6: write something about yourself that you love
This prompt is the hardest because it’s far easier to write something positive about those you love than yourself. I thought long and hard about an answer, but still couldn’t come up with one. It turns out I’m still figuring ‘me’ out and you know what? That’s ok. It shows that there’s still room to grow and improve regardless where you are in your life, and there are always new things to discover at any age. That means there’s more to look forward to in the future – including many video games.
The tags
These six awesome people have kept me sane during the UK lockdown over the past month. I’d like to thank them for the conversations, streams and memes, and for putting up with Pete’s singing!
And that’s the Super Happy Love Award done! Thanks once again to Emily from Monsterlady’s Diary for the nomination, and to everyone in the WordPress community for supporting each other during these difficult times. Let’s continue that positivity and get through this together.
Kim View All
Video game lover, Later Levels blogger and SpecialEffect volunteer. Big fan of wannabe pirates and fine leather jackets.
Write something about yourself that you love: A missed opportunity to say “my husband” xD
LikeLike
I don’t think I need to say that… I think he’s got a big enough ego already. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Still, a missed opportunity. And still, I hope you tell him frequently enough 🙂
LikeLike
Why do you think he has that ego! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you do a Twitch marathon of all the To The Moon games I will be very pleased 😀
LikeLike
Oh yes. This will be happening. Regardless of how much Pete complains that I really don’t need to play the first two games AGAIN. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
They’re only short!
LikeLike
Yeah, but they don’t contain enough explosions for him! ha ha
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not surprised that your cat is named Zelda 😉
LikeLike
And even more not surprisingly, her brother was called Link! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
*weeps uncontrollably*
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw Dan… don’t cry… they’ll be more Spider-Man…
LikeLike
Spider-Man is so last week Kim. Also I was weeping for the big loves I’ve been feeling these last few months from you and the rest of the community. I don’t think I’d have survived the year this far without you all! ♥️
LikeLike
*weeps uncontrollably*
LikeLike
And I’m loving spending my lockdown with you all. I’m so glad to have you as a friend and we are all just waiting for Pete’s album release!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now That’s What I Call #KaraokePete – Volume 1. Featuring all the hits including:
– She’s Such a Furry Cat (Ode to Zelda)
– It Wasn’t Me, I Didn’t Shoot First
– I Need Tea
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those titles are just perfect. Number 2 is very accurate for GTA nights!
LikeLike
We’ll see how quickly he ends up saying ‘I didn’t shoot first’ tonight. 😉
LikeLike
Thank you so much for doing this tag! Some great answers you have there as well. It’s kind of funny that you are the first one I think who really went in depth on their pet in the tags I have seen. I expected more of them. I love Monkey Island, despite how part 2 ended. Murray is an amazing character and I was so happy he returned in Tales of Monkey Island. I hope he can rule the islands someday! He deserves it.
LikeLike
Murray is awesome! If I ever work up the courage to get a tattoo one day (it’s going to take years ha ha), it’ll end up being a little Murray skull 😉
Thanks so much for creating this tag. We need more positivity in the world right now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on DDOCentral.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for the Blapril material! 😭
Oh and thank you for being an awesome friend, too, I guess. You’ve seriously helped me through so so many sad things this year. You rock! 🙂
LikeLike
Nah, you just need someone to remind you of how awesome you are sometimes. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person