Not Just Your Healers

A blog run by two girls who game and who are a little tired of the stereotypes surrounding women in gaming.

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Just checking to make sure, but trans women are welcome here, right? Looking out for my sisters. 🏳️‍⚧️

Of course! Trans women are, in fact, real women. - Mod Cat

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Meet Cat's D&D Characters

It's fairly obvious from the things that I post...well, everywhere, but I'm a massive D&D nerd. So, let me introduce you to some of my (many) characters! Maybe you can draw some inspiration for your next game.

Name: Erdin Lurjax Medrax

Race/Class: Dragonborn Sorcerer

Erdin is a character I play in a Discord play-by-post server. He's the runaway son of a would-be tyrant who wanted to use the magic of their draconic bloodline to take over the world. All Erdin wants is peace and safety - but he's willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people he loves from his father's nefarious scheming. Recently, he reconnected (well, sort of) with his estranged older brother and fell in love with a former cop wood elf.

Name: Agene Wildwatcher Valu-Nakane

Race/Class: Goliath Barbarian

Agene is a no-nonsense, calm under all circumstances except in a fight woman with a wicked wit and a more than wicked axe. Also, she has a dire tiger companion named Yarkye! In an early session of her campaign, she cut the rope of an escaping cultist with an excellent axe throw, pinned him down, and spit in his face. She's awesome.

Name: Wheeze Wallwalker

Race/Class: Air Genasi Rogue

Wheeze is, and I say this with all affection, a kleptomaniac little shit. He's your classic every-man-for-himself rogue who's just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing. In one of the campaigns I played him in, his best friend was a lizard blizzard wizard.

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Hayley's Most Played Games

This is gonna be a little personal maybe then we can become a little closer and become gaming pals! I’m gonna go through my top played games by hours played. I will include my opinion on the game which will obviously be biased as someone who has played HOURS of the games!

#1: Dead By Daylight

I have the most hours in this game then I feel is absolutely necessary. At the moment of typing this, I have 1,880.4 hours. I give this game a like 6/10, keeps me playing solely because I can play this game with friends while still getting to laugh at the misfortune we face (whether I’m suffering, my friends are suffering, or the killer is suffering).

I would like to think I am pretty good at this game so when I face less experienced killers, I am a bit of a bully, not flashlight clicking and T-bagging, just good at running them. I have had my fair share of face camping, tunneling, and dying by daylight to say I will keep coming back to this game BUT only for playing with other people.

#2: The Sims 4

At 1153 hours, the rating for this one for me is 5/10, which again feels more than necessary, but the fact that I thought I had 500 and then opened Origin to see that many hours is SHOCKING.

I can't play vanilla Sims 4 since my little mind was opened to mods in Sims 2 and 3 (I no longer have my full collection of Sims 3 DLC, which is the only reason I don’t play that one instead of Sims 4). This is a game I don't reach for unless my friends can't play games with me.

#3: Stardew Valley

At 450.1 hours, this is a 10/10 for me. It says something that I have ALL the achievements in this game, I have a perfect run in my saves that I will never open again but never delete. It is my trophy.

AND the mods for this game! Some are weird or silly, others are cheat-y, others change gameplay, but the ones I will always have an interest in, solely because it is interesting to see what other people come up with, are the NSFW ones.

The creativity for any of the mods you can find are amazing – thank you, modders, for making the games more real, in any and every way!

Play More Games

This is all I’ll include for now. I dedicate a lot of time to the games/mods I thoroughly enjoy. I can provide a list of mods for Sims or Stardew Valley if anyone is interested.

Thank you for reading and game on!

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Hayley's 4 Games With Great Representation

My first experience playing a female character was Lara Croft. I felt, playing a female character as a little girl, that I could do that, too…or, at least, I could imagine because I am NOT fit enough to do any of those things.

I was open to a whole new world; I didn’t know you could play a woman! I guess that’s how it is with other forms of representation. I am a pansexual woman, and to me, it’s amazing to see more games include pronouns, body options, and love interests. I haven’t played a game that only has a straight cis male as the main character in a while. That’s not to say I hate male characters - most are badass, ahem Batman – but if I can, I will always choose to be a female. The option of your character being just a little bit more like you is so freeing.

So, I would like to point out some games with amazing representation!

Coral Island is currently in early access, has tons of romance options, and the pronouns/body types to fit your ideal gaming you!

Sims 4 has AMAZING representations. While the Sims franchise has always had amazing support for their LGBT+ community, Sims 4 added female and male categories for clothes that is removable so your character can wear both, you can also choose your sims pronouns, voice, and walk style.

Animal crossing New Horizons may not be the most overt in representation but you can choose skin tone and hair styles. I think it’s very easy to create a non-gendered or non-binary character. Especially since clothing isn’t gender based!

Error 143 is a visual novel with a very hot character named Micah. You can choose your pronouns. Jenny Vi Pham has worked very hard with the voice actor on the character to even voice some names which is amazing! There is even a $10 NSFW little DLC, which is also very hot. You can find this on Steam and Itch.io!

Well, this is my list of representative games. I only included the games I played, let me know if there are ones I missed, I’m certain I did! I would love to add more to my collection!

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Cat's Go-To Cozy Games

Screenshot by the author.

I'm one of those people that might best be referred to as "high-strung." I'm constantly obsessing about my work, my chores, my family, and all the other moving parts of my life, to the point that it gets a bit difficult to relax.

So, of course, I turn to video games. Specifically, I tend to play a lot of cozy games - sims, worldbuilding, low-stakes survival, that kind of thing. It makes me happy to create a little virtual life with low-stakes adventures I can enjoy at my leisure without the pressure of competition or timed events.

If you, like me, are looking for a way to wind down, I've got a couple of recommendations.

Stardew Valley

Screenshot by the author.

Stardew Valley is the classic cozy game. It's got everything: cutesy retro graphics, a little town, a customizable farm, cute animals that you can name and pet, magic and mystery, and sprinklings of romance.

I've played well over 300 hours of this game in the last few years and I'll happily play 300 more. I still haven't found every secret! On top of that, this game has one of the most helpful and welcoming communities on the internet, which is lovely.

Slime Rancher (1 & 2)

If you're a fan of self-guided adventures with adorable characters, Slime Rancher (both the original and the sequel, which is currently in early access) should be your go-to. It's a game all about taking care of precious little blob creatures with different themes. The soundtrack is incredibly relaxing, the story is bittersweet and relies on exploration, and the mechanics of the game are simple to pick up and consistent across games.

My personal favorite character is bOb, and no, I will not elaborate beyond saying that he likes chickens and that's the best thing ever.

Minecraft

Image from Mojang.

Yes, it's a meme. Yes, it's totally worth it. There's something ridiculously relaxing about wandering through a cuboidal world, making a little house, interacting with villagers, digging through caves, getting pet cats, and seeing what else the game has to offer.

For the ultimate relaxing experience, I recommend playing in peaceful mode and simply building a massive farm.

Travellers Rest

Screenshot by the author.

Love the idea of a business sim, but make it fantasy? Then Travellers Rest is the best possible game for you. It's a low-stakes fantasy game where you run the tavern that adventurers go to between adventures. You can cook food, brew drinks, rent out bedrooms, and craft interesting new furniture to make your tavern even better. And there's a cat!

The game is still being updated and created in early access, so if you jump in now, you get to influence how the game is created, which is just awesome.

Armello

Image from League of Geeks.

Armello is a digital board game with a cool fantasy premise: you're playing to take the throne from a king corrupted by evil magic called Rot. You play as a variety of cute (and sometimes a bit spooky) animals from various houses each with different abilities and powers in the game.

It's low-stakes even when playing against your friends, the music is beautiful, the art style reminds me of the Redwall books, and it's perfect for people who love board games in person.

Cozy Games Rule

I know there's a stigma about girls only playing "cute" games, but the truth is they're perfect for anyone and everyone who wants to take a little time to chill. Cozy games are meant to be comforting, so why not let anyone enjoy them if they want to? I think we could all use a little comfort nowadays.

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Misogyny In Gaming: Hayley’s Experiences with COD and Sexism

Photo by Mélanie THESE on Unsplash.

Why do you play games, and why do you play them in the style that you do? I play games to have fun and feel like I am accomplishing things, so I end up as sort of a completionist. There are times that I want to turn on music and have a good time with others and times that I want to turn on my music and turn off my brain.

One thing I do not want when playing games is to be harassed for my gender. There have been times where I’ve been told I “play like a girl” as an insult, or told I wasn’t allowed to play because it was a “man’s game.” Let me be clear: if I suck at a game, it's not because of my gender, it's because I suck and I am playing to be better.

If there were a true disparity in how different genders play games, I’d say it's that most women aren't as toxic to men while playing in a co-op game as many men are to women. I can rage with the best of them, but it seems to me that the boys/men who say sexist things to me aren't saying it because they are simply angry. At least, it’s not because they’re angry at the game.

I also wanna add that, despite stereotypes, there aren't gendered games. I was raised playing Call of Duty and The Sims in equal measure, but I stopped playing Call of Duty. It wasn’t because COD was a "man's game;" it was the environment. If I made call outs in that game, I was told by other players they were going to SA me; I was 11-16. If my friends defending me, they would be call them a white knight trying to just get in my pants, or I was called their bitch.

I'm still curious about why. Was this just seen as cool, or do you mean what you say? If that’s the case, what do you expect out of it? Why is it that as soon as some men hear a woman make a call out, they foam at the mouth and lash out?

Gaming should be a space for everyone. If you can’t play without lashing out at someone who’s playing alongside you for something as ridiculous as their gender, then maybe you should consider whether you need to be playing at all.

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Meet the Bloggers - Hayley

While we're setting up the content for this blog, we thought it might be a good idea to create a "meet the bloggers" series so you can get to know us. Next up, Hayley!

Hayley is an artist, entrepreneur, and Twitch streamer with a passion for games she can dig into and enjoy. Her Threadless shop features cute bears, punny fruit, uplifting florals, and more while her Twitch chat frequently features Dead by Daylight survivor gameplay. You can also commission Twitch emotes and other designs from her Etsy shop.

When she's not at her day job, designing, or streaming, Hayley loves hanging out with her adorable dog, a tiny terrier named JackJack.

Fun fact about Hayley: her hair is bright blue and she rocks that!

GAMES

Dead by Daylight

Stardew Valley

Don't Starve Together

Dungeons and Dragons

OTHER INTERESTS

Comic Heroes. Her favorites are Batman (and crew) and Deadpool.

Food. Hayley loves anything that tastes good. From fried to sweet and everything in between, she loves a good meal! (And yes, she can definitely cook.)

Media kit under the cut:

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Meet the Bloggers - Cat

While we're setting up the content for this blog, we thought it might be a good idea to create a "meet the bloggers" series so you can get to know us. First up, Cat!

Cat is a freelance writer and editor for hire. She's been working in the gaming industry for three years now and is currently an editor for SUPERJUMP magazine as well as a writer for Fantasy Topics.

She likes casual games and survival games on easy mode. When she's not working or playing video games, you can usually find her taking care of her cute kid, playing D&D with her friends, or curled up in bed with a good book.

Fun fact: Cat designed the current profile pic and banner!

GAMES

Dungeons and Dragons

Stardew Valley

Undertale and Deltarune

Slime Rancher

Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon Scarlet

Tetris (yes, for real)

OTHER INTERESTS

Books! Scifi/Fantasy specifically, but she'll read almost anything.

YouTube! She watches Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, Vlog Brothers, and Sierra Schultzie, among others.

Baking! She really loves making cookies and brownies.

Music! She plays the ukulele (badly).

Media kit under the cut:

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What's up?

We're Not Just Your Healers, a blog about women in gaming and gaming in general. We're still working on getting some content together, so keep an eye on this space for that!