Ahh, Outer Wilds, My Love. It Is Your Fifth Birthday Today!

ahh, outer wilds, my love. it is your fifth birthday today!

you have brought me. so much. you taught me everything i hold dear, all the values i keep close by everywhere i go. you showed me so many beautiful and tragic things, inspired me to create so much, you have brought me tears through music and love and friendship and a silly little story.

you were so much more than anyone thought you'd be. you were just a little thesis project but then you became a life changing game that has touched so many people in such specific ways.

you have counseled me through grief and through confusion and taught me that really, the most important thing is that we are here right now on this massive but oh so small rock in an even bigger and scarier and uncaring universe.

so many quotes that i live by, so much symbolism, i could get lost in the pages of your story for hours(and i do)

you have made me a happy, loving person. for that i will forever be thankful.

thanks to alex beachum and kelsey beachum for creating such a beautiful story(and for weaving it into a game in such a perfect way)

thanks to andrew prahlow for giving me the gift of music that i will forever cry to

thanks to all the writers, the artists, the animators, the programmers, the playtesters, and the backers at mobius, thanks to all the people at annapurna who helped produce it, thanks to everyone who had an impact on this game.

you have brought a game that is truly remarkable. i will never have enough words to truly show my appreciation, so i must hope that this art will suffice.

happy birthday, outer wilds.

"our curiousity goes with you on your journey. you walk in the footsteps of those who came before you, and your path guides those who will follow later."

(inspired by @ciearcab's piece here (beware of dlc spoilers!) )

Brittle hollow gouache thing

Crystal Chasm

More gouache stuff

When I say “school should be disability accessible”, I don’t just mean we need handicap rails and EAs. Kids should be able to miss a day without failing out of school. You shouldn’t be dismissed from clubs because your attendance record is “spotty” (true story). I once missed an entire week of school because of a terrible, unending migraine. I was expected to keep up with my studies despite the blinding pain that came with working on my computer. When I heard my teachers say that you couldn’t miss exams, I asked what I would have to do to be excused from them. Their response? “Either get a doctor’s note an hour before the exam or death of an immediate family member.”

I cannot express how rigid this expectation was. First of all, with my condition, I wouldn’t have enough warning about my sickness to go to the doctor and request a note. For many people, this is exceptionally difficult, especially with the current shortage of medical professionals. Next, it ignores the fact that my schedule may not line with theirs because of my medical needs. Once, I had to visit a hospital a province away (which I was on the waiting list of for over a year) on the same day as an exam. I begged my mother not to take me because I was so nervous that I would be marked as an automatic fail. I was lucky enough to make it work, but that’s only because of my spectacular support system consisting of family members and wonderful doctors.

Disabilities aren’t always about needing a bus that can accommodate wheelchairs. It’s already difficult enough for many of us to maintain school attendance without the harsh punishments involved for skipping a day. We need to be able to miss school without being punished. Only than can you claim that the school is “accessible”

normal outer wilds gameplay wdym