Tabenings: Tylmarande Edition

Not a lot going on smut-wise this week, I spent much of the weekend working on someone's costume for Halloween. No, not mine, I have plenty already in my closet.

Fun discussion from last week on video games and their possible mind control / corruption themes. I am as it turns out a big fan of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, and have re-installed it (and applied the fan patch) a couple of different times. I can rarely bring myself to fight through the interminable Hollywood sewer, but I do love me that Heather, rrr. There's a mod I apply to her, 'nigh-naked Heather', and... well. Rrr Heather. Also a fun game aside from that, I've rarely seen its equal in sheer atmospherics.

I also did Star Wars the Old Republic for six months or so when it came out - some fun corruption there, including as mentioned the girl who joins the sentient bugs (Tabico? Enjoying girls turned into bugs? Who would have thunk?) I understand that there has since been an update or two which allow for same-gender romance (at least, of a specific NPC) but thus far that hasn't been enough to lure me back in. I did enjoy several of the different class story arcs, though, at least one of which (Imperial Agent) played with mind control liberally.

And I do recall that set of Silithus quests! Mmm Cthulhoid Bug Overlords.

Now one instance of video game corruption that hasn't come up, but was exceedingly powerful to me - and those who recognized the name in the title are nodding their heads - was from Neverwinter Nights, the isometric Dungeons & Dragons based game from 2002. Aribeth de Tylmarande, smexy elven paladin, is seduced and corrupted into a Chaotic Evil blackguard during the main story quest.

At this remove, a lot of that storyline was pretty forced, and the seduction was sadly not all that seductive, more "look at how badly they treated you - why not join team CE?", but at the time good damn did it push my buttons. I loaded and replayed and loaded and replayed the scene where she gives in and converts to evil oh so many times.

And then in the Hordes of the Underdark follow-up campaign, you can find her wicked spirit in the underworld and get her to sign up with your party, either by returning to the light side (*roll eyes*) or remaining as a wicked, wicked, naughty girl (*rrrr*).

Heh. I'm tempted to go play it again right now just for that, and I don't even own the game any more.