@reverendanthony

# Anthony Burch

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## About Anthony Burch:

I work at RocketJump and make immature comedy videos on the Internet. I was the lead writer of Borderlands 2. I also run http://t.co/McvwCM0W67

## Anthony Burch photo gallery:

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### I don't think I have the patience to play the first Witcher. Everything about it so far is boring me to death. Is the second game an improvement? Should I just skip to Witcher 3 or is that gonna mess up my understanding of the story? I wanna love this world like everyone else!

June 17, 2016
The story is pretty fucking labrynthine no matter what, but you can skip the first witcher entirely imo (in fact it makes 2 and 3 make more sense, as Triss is a real piece of shit in the first but suddenly you're buds in the second).

### DUDE just tell gearbox or someone to make zerhys (zer0/rhys) canon bc that ship, lemme tell u, it has a lot of potential

June 08, 2016
haha
Liked by: Wilson Chiu Tora Tallium sassyCornflake Vorpal_Kitten

### Is it insensitive to be hurting over your own problems when someone else with greater problems is hurting too?

June 08, 2016
No. It's natural and fine to feel pain about stuff in your own life. It's impossible not to, as well-- can you imagine getting dumped by trying to FORCE yourself not to feel sad because other countries are undergoing civil war?
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Brandon Lee Carey Jeffrey

### What's your go-to game when you feel like playing something but you browse your games and nothing seems to do the trick? Basically, what's your gaming equivalent of comfort food?

May 31, 2016
Dark Souls
Liked by: Peligro Público Vorpal_Kitten mackenzie charlton Jeffrey

### Can you recommend some books on feminism for a former "Hello M'Lady" type of guy trying to better himself?

May 31, 2016
I hear The Geek Feminist is good, and I can vouch for Feminism is for Everybody
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Lily Oliver Jeffrey

### Daniel Radcliffe hits on you what do?

Peter Flynn
May 30, 2016
give twenty points to gryffindor
Liked by: nklementyna7 Wilson Chiu Kelsey Koester Lily Oliver Vorpal_Kitten sad boy TRASEVOL_DOG sdfsdfsdffsdf Peter Flynn

### Full Metal Alchemist cosplay in Dark Souls 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aafmQMgHBc

May 26, 2016
hot
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### I was looking through my old things, and I was reminded that your review of Mad Dog McCree is one of the best 10 videos on all of YouTube. Amazing job with that one :D

wallid h fielding
May 26, 2016
thanks much
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### How important is harsh difficulty to a game being fun? I was mostly bored playing BL2 (not a slam, I stupidly didn't play co-op) with only the writing pulling me through, but my True Vault Hunter mode run I seriously got into it. Same with hating FL4 & liking Survival Mode (though that's crushing me

May 26, 2016
I mean, it's different for different people. I'm at the point where normal difficulty games don't do anything for me. I feel like a guy who's so desensitized to porn he has to watch stuff with horses.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten ekorren Midnight Tea свет Федор Михайлович Valery Owl

### I named one of my succulents after you. I call it my Plant'hon the Porch.

May 26, 2016
nice nice nice
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### So notch is being a huge prick about how "mansplaining" is a sexist term to shut down men and calling people c-words and stuff, if you want to check his twitter. In case you needed the image of another cool, respectable guy shattered by reality

May 26, 2016
cool cool cool
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Any thoughts on the new Doom? I actually like that the campaign takes the tone/story of Doom 3, but with the main character being an angry Doom/Doom 2 protag. It basically shows how silly it is to try and take the premise serious at all.

May 26, 2016
It's incredible. Both for the reasons you mentioned, and because it actually cares about a basic core loop to the combat that promotes aggression and movement rather than cover and shit.
Liked by: Ross Williams NoNane Vorpal_Kitten

### As far as I know, Anita's input on Mirror's Edge Catalyst was pretty minor. Regardless, do you think her name being associated with the game has any chance of harming its sales? You know how people are sometimes...

May 26, 2016
I'd never even heard about this before, so I wouldn't think so.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### I love to write for people. I love to make emotions merge in my stories. I just wonder. Is it vital that I change the way I write, for people to love my work? I see people like, sexual writing. (BDSM blah). People ask for this and I don't know what to do. But I want them to luv my work, jusw/o that.

May 26, 2016
If you're not writing, at least partially, to make yourself happy -- unless you've somehow managed to make a good living doing so -- you're kind of wasting your time.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Why you bad mouth Arthur? That show was okay.

May 26, 2016
Arthur was BORING AS FUCK
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### I went out and learned the essentials of Game Maker Studio and feel confident enough that I could create anything I need to make. And yet, here I am, staring at a blank editor with the same realization that hit me when I got my first video camera: This is really, really hard. hawlp pls

May 25, 2016
Take an existing genre you like and make a super simple version of it with a twist. start there.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Jeffrey

### From one pro wrestling fan to another, I want to ask... What do you say to those "don't you know wrestling is fake?" people?

May 25, 2016
"so is game of thrones"
Liked by: NoNane Vorpal_Kitten Jeffrey JahLis

### anthony this is really important ok I need to know what tiny kitten's name is

May 25, 2016
Big Dad
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Jeffrey

### For NoWrongWayToPlay: playing Dark Souls without rolling, blocking, or parrying. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0WlFd7vHtk

May 14, 2016
ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS SHIT
Liked by: Ross Williams NoNane Vorpal_Kitten

### Who's your favorite wrestler this week?

May 14, 2016
The New Day, forever.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### I have one question for you. I hope this isn't a question constantly repeated because, even in my case, that's extremely aggravating. But, What would you say, Handsome Jack's ethnicity is?

Ashley
May 06, 2016
I think he's white.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Ashley

### Why are you so Attractive ? how do I stop myself from being attracted to you ? XD

manash
May 06, 2016
listen to anything i say for more than eight minutes
Liked by: TRASEVOL_DOG Vorpal_Kitten manash

### Tiny Tina saved my life. Thank you. (and Ashly)

May 06, 2016
I'm glad we could help in some way.
Liked by: Jeffrey TRASEVOL_DOG Vorpal_Kitten

### Hey Anthony, are there plans to continue with the HAWPcast?

May 04, 2016
Yep
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Ksenia S. Laney John

### In your experience, how much does fan feedback play into improving games in terms of progressive content? If you want to see, say, more diversity, is there any value to trying to communicate that directly to company? Or is stirring up controversy in the community really the only way?

April 28, 2016
Companies don't listen to individual people unless you have a really awesome, emotionally affecting story to tell.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Lol, I just wanted to say that you are awesome.……I know, that's like the most boring thing to say to someone………I'm boring so hehe>.>

Ashley
April 28, 2016
thanks!
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Ashley

### Please give your tiny button of a kitten All The Kisses for me

April 28, 2016
k
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Did you do any work on Battleborn before you left Gearbox?

April 28, 2016
Yep. I helped come up with the basic premise (last star in the universe, many factions fighting over it) and wrote a pass of battle dialog for one or two characters.
Liked by: Luna Vorpal_Kitten

### RE: Aliens - Colonial Marines, wikipedia lists you as co-writer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliens:_Colonial_Marines

April 28, 2016
Bah. I guess technically I wrote like three or four lines of dialog near the very very end of development (the audio logs you can find where you hear Newt's mom talking to her parents), so that's not completely egregious.

Still, though. That sucks.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten wallid h fielding

### Can you speak to anything about the development of aliens colonial marines? Also thoughts on the final product?

April 27, 2016
I can't speak to its development as I did not work on it.

The game definitely sucks, though.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Jeffrey

### do you and Lindsay Ellis know each other?:) you recently shared her video on Phantom. I've been watching her show for 4 years, but never imagined that you two would ever cross paths, for some reason:)

April 27, 2016
I don't know her, but she seems awesome.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Is there a good etiquette guide on whats cool to respond to your tweets with? sometimes I chip in with a fact or quip or compliment (or link) or something and I don't want to be irritating if silence if preferred. Would be good to know!!~

Lachlan Cartland
April 26, 2016
Just don't be mean and it's all good
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten wallid h fielding

### What do you think is the best way to turn someone down?

April 26, 2016
By being honest and empathetic. The best rejection I ever got from a girl was, "hey, we could hang out, but only as friends -- I'm really sorry, but I'm just not physically attracted to you."

I was almost HAPPY to get that rejection, because it was clear and kindhearted and unambiguous.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### I know you have problems with the game, but what do you think fallout 4 does right? Personally, I think the game is way too linear, but I love all the robots and companions.

April 25, 2016
I think it's an open world shooter, and a decent one. I just don't want my Fallout games to be open world shooters.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten JahLis

### Dude, there are legit medical reasons for being circumcised, y'know? I had to have a circumcision as a child due to the foreskin being too tight. It's kind of shaming to lump aesthetics and medical reasons together. I know you don't mean to, but please consider how it can effect people.

April 25, 2016
I don't think it's unreasonable to assume I was referring to aesthetics or religion-based circumcision. I'd never oppose something done for the health of a child.
Liked by: Jeffrey Vorpal_Kitten

### I hope this isn't too personal to ask, so apologies in advance if it is... Do you think the relatively young age at which you and Davis married at all played into why it didn't work out?

April 25, 2016
I don't think so, to be honest. I mean, we were together for seven years, and seven years is the average age at which marriages tend to end, for a variety of reasons (it's when monotony can set in really intensely, seven years gives both parties a lot of time to change, etc).
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### How IS House of Leaves? I've wanted to start it but I've heard it can be a little strange to get one's arms around, kinda David Foster Wallace-like, almost.

April 25, 2016
I'm BARELY into it, but I'm liking it a lot so far. Though I say this as someone who made it through Infinite Jest and only, like, ten percent understood it despite really enjoying all of the individual bits.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Just wanted to express my gratitude here. So about 2 days ago I just found out about HAWP and then I instantaneously started a whole series marathon (yeahhh i sound a little lifeless hahaha) But truly thank you and your sister and everyone involved in HAWP. Really made my day for the year :D

Lee Yew Chern
April 25, 2016
Thanks, glad you dug it.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Lee Yew Chern

### is there anyway to become friends with someone through twitter without coming off as a weirdo?

April 25, 2016
Be hilariously funny and cool, I guess?

Twitter's rough for this.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### How can I be just like you?

April 25, 2016
Don't be just like me, I'm a doofus
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Read an article that Enter the Gungeon is almost as addicting as Spelunky. Have you played it?

April 25, 2016
I have, and it isn't. It's just very pretty. It's nowhere near as fast or strategic or freeform as Spelunky is -- it's basically just very slow Nuclear Throne where most of the guns are garbage but you have to very carefully spend your main currency.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### What's the thing in BL2 that you're most proud of? What's your favorite joke/line in the game?

April 25, 2016
Butt Stallion, probably
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### when i'm with a lady, and we are in the same bed i'm scared to make the move to spoon. like i had the chance but i have to wait for they're move first ( lets face it who wants to spoon with an ugly ass muh fugga like me :^) ) and talking wth her the next day she waits for the guys move. what do?

April 25, 2016
Personally, I always ask. There are some girls who hate it when a guy asks for permission, but whatever, fuck them. Plenty of girls find it cute, and you can quickly and easily establish consent that way.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Do you worry about how in relationships you can be completely in love together and a week later one of you can wake up with no feelings for the other? And that can just happen

April 25, 2016
Yep. It's unfortunate. Nothing you can really do about it, though, so it's not really worth worrying about.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Sorry to add on to the people who constantly bring up BL, but I want to thank you for Handsome Jack. He feels like awesome subversive deconstruction of "protagonist centered morality" and how fucked up it'd look like if someone actually thought and esp. *behaved* like a gamer-controlled protagonist.

Midnight Tea
April 25, 2016
nice nice nice thanks nice
Liked by: Dailey Vorpal_Kitten Midnight Tea

### Do you have any collections that you actively work on?

April 25, 2016
I used to collect Metal Gear stuff because The Overarching Metal Gear Canon used to mean so much to me, but MGSV's shitty ending cured me of that.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Should circumcision be illegal?

April 25, 2016
yes
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Justin says it "Pok'AYE'mon" have you talked to him about this?

Peter Flynn
April 25, 2016
i mean i say it like that too
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Okay Stephen Fry apologized... which is something... BUT HE STILL SAID IT http://smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/stephen-fry-apologises-for-saying-rape-victims-should-grow-up-20160414-go6wqa.html

April 23, 2016
YO WHAT THE FUCK
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten haruspex

### how do you feel about this trend on tumblr re: "calling out" people for liking villains or relating to them (w/o excusing their actions)? i know there are a handful of abuse victims and people with bpd that relate to HJ for example and they get a lot of shit for it. i don't think it's fair.

April 23, 2016
Yeah, it's not fair at all. People need to (A) have a more complex relationship with media and (B) be cool with other people doing so as well
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### If you could change one aspect of the education system in the U.S. , what would you change? Why?

April 23, 2016
Honestly, almost everything
Liked by: Aiden Justice Vorpal_Kitten

### Do you guys ever laugh at your own material when spitballing HAWP episodes? I picture you all sitting round a table just being like "yeah.. I guess that's funny."

Peter Flynn
April 23, 2016
We have to laugh or it isn't worth doing.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### i think without you i guess i would be accepting of a lot of people, people now in my life that are just great. i legit think i would still be an MRA if it hadn't been for you. so like thanks for that <3

April 23, 2016
holy shit thank you so much
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten mackenzie charlton sheananigans

### Did OJ do it?

April 23, 2016
prob
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### GamerGate aside, how much do you think an actual discussion on ethics in games journalism is due? If at all, how would you go about it?

April 23, 2016
basically none
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### If they asked you to be show runner for Doctor Who would you abandon Rocket Jump or have to think about it

April 23, 2016
i'd abandon my fucking family to showrun doctor who for a year
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten AnarchoDave sdfsdfsdffsdf

### I'm a HS English teacher & our curriculum was redesigned this year--same novels, but now each unit has a lens to read them through. Quarter 3's was "gender." So 1, I wanted to let you know that a LOT of my lectures/assignments/etc are inspired by things you've said or RT'd, and also to thank you :D

wallid h fielding
April 23, 2016
woooo
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### It was only today I became aware of your struggles with your marriage. It made me pretty sad. But looking at the timeline and the recent Christmas boom boom episode made me wonder. Have you and Davis worked things out?

April 23, 2016
Nah, we're divorced. I'm in a very happy relationship now, though.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten AnarchoDave

### Do you think games with strong narrative elements like Borderlands 2 will ever start including "No Gameplay" modes for people who are willing to pay full price to just sit back and listen to the audio in a sensible order? (And do you think that would be prohibitively expensive?)

April 23, 2016
Nah. Let's Plays have already basically filled that role.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### What have you been reading?

April 23, 2016
House of Leaves, The Ice-Bound Concordance
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### hey ! do you think that ocelot ever had a thing for big boss? like it doesnt have to be sexual but something more romantic-like?

April 23, 2016
Definitely. I mean, he can kiss him at the end, and he's not interested in EVA, which means that he's at minimum ace or gay
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### NOOOOOOO Stephen Fry, nooooooo :c well no one's perfect, I guess...? Pree fucking shitty though

April 23, 2016
?
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### What's a movie generally considered to be bad that you enjoy anyway?

April 23, 2016
Equilibrium.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### I saw you said you enjoy most Borderlands ships! Do you ever delve into looking for fanfic/fanart, or does being the writer make that weird?

April 23, 2016
I briefly played around with reading a twitter fanfic between a Moxxi account and a Nisha account, but that was it.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### What do you look for in an apology? Do you believe in the notion of forgive and forget?

April 23, 2016
Forgive, but don't forget.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Hey, I'm trying to not play video games for a little while like you did (while at the same time quitting porn and weed) and I feel like it's taking so much effort to not do those things that I don't have energy left to actually do other things. I'm really tired all the time. Any advice?

April 07, 2016
Watch a ton of movies or TV, maybe? Something passive that still isn't any of those things.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Will you be at PAXEast this year? I have a gift...maybe.... if i can finish it...

Tam
April 07, 2016
Nah, sorry
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### 2/2 | --NOT her as a whole entity + Jack's dialogue all but explicitly stating they didn't need to destroy her personality for it to work. Do you know what the thought process was behind doing this? B/c other than showing Jack being a monster again it just felt pointlessly nasty :(

April 04, 2016
I think the problem with Felicity is, as you said, it felt like there was a clear "out" for the situation where they wouldn't have had to kill her, which makes the decision seem more cruel.

We wanted it to feel like a moment where Jack does the wrong thing for the right reasons, to start his descent downward into evil. But we kinda borked the execution.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Sophie Lack

### 1/2 | Recently played the Pre-Sequel and was pretty upset by what happened to Felicity, it felt really cruel + unnecessary. 1st part b/c of the gross situation she JUST escaped and what the constructor scene ended up feeling like. Second part b/c why didn't we just copy her military codes and--

Sophie Lack
April 04, 2016
f
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Why would Mordecai and Brick work for Vallory (a villain/bad person)?

April 04, 2016
The Vault Hunters work for bad people all the time.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Jeffrey

### i kiss dudes, and kissing dudes is fun. but i get nothing sexual from it, which i don't want at this moment in time. what does that make me? ( i am guy )

April 04, 2016
On a spectrum, like everyone else is. imo you don't have to be super stressed out about labeling yourself -- just do what feels good.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Samantha Walden Midnight Tea

### What's your take on this? http://www.thatdragoncancer.com/thatdragoncancer/2016/3/24/on-lets-plays A while ago you talked about watching little-to-no narration LPs of visual novels on Youtube. In both cases companies don't actually see money for their work, so I was reminded of that.

April 02, 2016
I think it's a bummer to do LPs of indie games. They're not that expensive, and you buying them makes much more difference to the creator than a AAA game.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### By mentally-ill coded I meant like, she comes off as sort of the "unspecified diagnosis mentally ill" character and I was just wondering if it her vibe of being a depressed, impulsive trauma victim who treats vault hunting as some validating addiction was intentional or not? Idk. Athena is neat.

April 02, 2016
It was not. I mean, we wanted her to have some emotional battle scars, but I certainly never intended her to come off as a flippant depiction of mental illness or anything.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### bro look at this rad art http://dapperowl.tumblr.com/post/141473910664/i-bet-you-think-im-a-monster-you-think-i they have a bunch of gr8 stuff

April 02, 2016
holyshit
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Hey, Anthony! Not a funny question. What to do when you're 24, w/ no education other than full school, always been unemployed and feeling depressed? Also struggling with some kind of social anxiety (or Asperger, whatever) and living outside of NA. Even been familiar with it? p.s. nice new HA episode

March 24, 2016
I'm sorry, but I don't know what to tell you beyond a vague suggestion that you may want to seek therapy.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Why do people like undertale? I played it and not only were the puzzles frustratingly simple, the "fighting" just involved dodging stuff I mean I just don't understand whats good about it?

March 24, 2016
The story, the freedom it allows (pacifism), the incredible characterization, the small scale and focus
Liked by: Федор Михайлович Vorpal_Kitten Brandon Lee Carey свет Анархист из бюро находок

### What's "the loki problem"?

March 24, 2016
Loki has made it very difficult for the Marvel universe to have a compelling villain, because he's so good and so frequently used (three movies, probably four with Dark World) that he's basically become the norm, and any other villain feels like a distraction from him
Liked by: sad boy Zloioppa Федор Михайлович Vorpal_Kitten Brandon Lee Carey свет Анархист из бюро находок

### Favorite alcoholic drink?

March 24, 2016
I don't drank
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### How heavily modded is your XCOM 2? Be honest, it is okay to admit you have a problem.

March 24, 2016
Stop Wasting My Time, Extract All, and Overwatch All, but that's it -- not really feeling like I need too many others
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Why are 80s action movies boring to me do you have any insight there?

March 23, 2016
Because current action movies have upped the level of violence and speed to the point where the actual action of any pre-2000's action movie seems quaint and nonviolent by comparison
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### In the spirit of this new post-Zootopia world what would yours and Ash's fursonas be

March 23, 2016
Turbo already figured this out a year ago -- Ash is a fruit bat, and I'm an owl with a bow tie
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Brandon Lee Carey sheananigans

### Thanks for helping to make funny games. Handsome collection is one of the best co-op games on next-gen consoles because of the stories and characters. Which of the BL2 characters' dialog was the most difficult to write? Why doesn't Krieg's fence have a fence?

March 23, 2016
Maya was really difficult, because I had a hard time making her feel like something other than Powerful Hot Lady. I dunno if I even succeeded, to be honest.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Would Mass Effect be a better series if you removed the shooting and combat sections entirely? Speaking as someone who enjoyed a lot of them but can see they might be a turn off.

March 23, 2016
I think if you had the option to do so, absolutely. I like playing with them in there, though, because they make me feel more like Han Solo.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### awhile back you mentioned you owed Jack too much. a lot of creative people (including me) connect/relate to our characters in different ways and what you said made me think he must be personal to you in some way. what does he mean to you, if you're comfortable responding? are you sad he's gone?

March 23, 2016
He's the encapsulation of what I wanted to do with characterization in games writing, basically. I'm not sad that he's gone -- I think he needs to disappear at some point or you risk the Loki problem -- but I'm glad he existed.
Liked by: Caz Buss Vorpal_Kitten

### nothing has been affecting me lately, like i'll watch an inspirational video and only like this slim frontal bit of me will feel effected, and this massive grey cloud of nothing good and nothing bad remains stagnant and still

March 23, 2016
Might wanna talk to a therapist?
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Do you have any advices for someone who wants to start a YouTube channel ?

March 23, 2016
Do stuff that you like. Do it because you're interested in doing it, not because you want fame or some external reward.
Liked by: Lee Yew Chern Vorpal_Kitten

### Thanks for recommending Pony Island. It was awesome and very interesting. Did asmodeus trick you? I totally fell for it.

March 23, 2016
YEP
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### How miserable were you in college, looking back?

March 23, 2016
Very. Totally disassociated to the point where I only have like two memories of that entire time.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### how to cope with being super not tall like at all

March 23, 2016
Fuck shallow motherfuckers, that's how
Liked by: AnarchoDave Vorpal_Kitten

### so... was the Mass Effect 3 HAWP supposed to be the end of the season? or you're just holding off the new episodes because of... reasons?:)

March 23, 2016
We've got more eps comin
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### do you s t ill like video game or just spelunky

March 23, 2016
I like Dark Souls, and XCOM, and The Witness, and Superhot, and Devil Daggers
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### 2/2 Should I just accept that as a truth of being a white, cis, (mostly) het dude? I literally don't know what sudden identification and representation feel like, so I just shouldn't bother getting involved? (those questions aren't meant as jerky and rhetorical btw.)

March 23, 2016
I mean...kinda, yeah. Ultimately, if you're a white cishet dude, then diversity in media isn't really *for* you -- it's for the rest of people who haven't had hundreds of years of media designed specifically for them.
Liked by: Peligro Público Vorpal_Kitten

### Hey Anthony! I'm working on a comic book series rn and I wanted to ask your advice on software for story representation. It's nothing big, and I'm a total amateur, but still I would love to hear your opinion on that thing

March 23, 2016
As far as comics go? Dunno. But I always use final draft.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### I don't understand, was Athena meant to be mentally ill-coded or was that an accident? And why the choice to have Janey suddenly switch from "don't vault hunt because we're wanted" to "don't vault hunt because i say so"? It painted her in a way that made her seem like an unhealthy partner... :(

March 23, 2016
She whatnow? I guess it was an accident, because I didn't notice anything like that -- can you be more specific?

To me, Janey's "don't vault hunt" always came from a place of "you are putting yourself in undue danger and it makes me worry because I love you," rather than any attempt at exerting control over her.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Jeffrey

### I don't think what you did with Angel was misogynistic or tropey. I think it was perfect and it was needed and it was fine. Plenty of abuse victims who played the game have stated how important she is to them, including myself. I don't think it was fucked up. It helped me, so much. And others.

March 23, 2016
Well, that's good to hear. Part of me thinks, though, that she'd been even more empowering and helpful if her rebellion hadn't also been a self-sacrifice.
Liked by: Clara Bada Coello Caz Buss Vorpal_Kitten

### Watcha think about zootopia and how it deals with racism?

March 23, 2016
Loved it. Loved that nobody was out-and-out evil, just blinded by their upbringings.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Do you ever skip leg day?

March 23, 2016
yeahhhhhh
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### *watches the behind the scenes vid for Sleep Fighter*. daaaaamn, those pythons look sick!:) keep it up, the results of your workouts are undeniable!

March 23, 2016
thx bb
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Jeffrey

### I just got fucked over by a technicality (fucking bureaucracy) for my degree and can't complete it, would you say having your degree benefitted you at all?

March 01, 2016
Not in the slightest, but I am VERY lucky and VERY much an outlier as far as I know.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### What's the secret to bangin'? Is it the dick?

February 22, 2016
No, it's caring about how to make your partner feel good, while also finding a way for you to feel good as well. Sex -- even if you have a dick -- doesn't have to involve the dick as much as you might think.
Liked by: Lance Walker Vorpal_Kitten Jeffrey Kerissa Young

### You probably already answered this.. Do You agree with Anita Sarkeesian view of death of Angel? How was this misogyny? I'm trying to stay open-minded but She sounds like person who don't play games, or even like them, and want find reasons to hate.

February 22, 2016
Firstly: Anita definitely plays games, I promise you.

Secondly: yeah, I agree that it's kinda fucked up. We needed a way to add Stakes and Relevance to the end of the game, so we made the story about an abused girl, which is kinda fucked up and lazy and trope-y.
Liked by: Peligro Público Vorpal_Kitten sheananigans VertigoCharades

### About that overwatch thing, wouldn't it be wierder to make the samurai a guy who wasnt asian? I thought it was a japanese thing?

February 22, 2016
It's more that the ONLY asian guy is a Samurai.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### have been in a really dark place for the last 2 months straight. just found out about HAWP, watched the whole series in one night. gave me the belly laughs I sooo baldy needed. wanted to thank you and Ashly from the bottom of my heart. also, Pre-sequel got me out of a similar place a while back:)

February 22, 2016
Thanks so much!
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### How do you feel about the illustration on this Engadget article? http://www.engadget.com/2016/01/27/a-first-hand-quest-for-the-future-of-sex/

February 22, 2016
PAHAHAH

I mean it's pretty mean-spirited, but the look on that dude's face is hilarious.

Also if people wanna fuck in VR, cool, whatever, you ain't hurtin nobody
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### hey, Anthony! a lot of people have probably already asked you about this, but... is the Zaford family dead in canon? Hodunks showed up in TBL (although Jimbo didn't, even though his appearance had been teased a lot), also Tector was in the GOTY celebration video... any thoughts, confirmations?:)

February 22, 2016
(shrug)

I dunno. Maybe the vault hunter, in canon, didn't do that quest.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Hey, Anthony, have you ever seen the LP of [MODE] by Supergreatfriend? It's probably the closest an LP has ever come to being an art installation. I recommend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il3epSTfHx0&list=PLaSPgE4K0SB3Vi6N13DtVRF-uJq0WLCC3

February 16, 2016
What makes it special? I can't tell what's going on other than the fact that the guy is playing a weird game.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### So, played Firewatch yet?

February 16, 2016
Yeah, I dug it.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Vorpal_Kitten

### [1/2] Gryffindor and Hufflepuff seem like two sides of one thing - one is about stepping up and doing the right thing in the big flashy moments, and the other is about doing the right thing in all the little, less dramatic moments.

February 16, 2016
Man I don't even do that shit
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Are you a Scully or a Mulder? I'm kind of thinking a Scully, be ashamed!

February 16, 2016
I'm a Scully, definitely. Which means I am wrong all the time.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Brandon Lee Carey

### What's your opinion on Truffaut's 'every film that features war is inherently pro-war' as someone who made Borderlands and consumes content about how exciting fighting and shooting stuff is (ie. is it mostly harmless escapism or is making exciting stuff set in war morally murky)

February 15, 2016
I think if you're making shooting stuff exciting, you sorta kinda have a moral responsibility to contextualize that violence as bullshit in some way, or else you run the risk of, say, kids growing up playing Call of Duty and finding themselves supporting foreign wars and shit.

If your game isn't either legitimately making an attempt to explore the consequences of your violence, or obfuscating/making light of that violence so much that it's clearly just bullshit, then it feels disingenuous to me.
Liked by: Peligro Público Vorpal_Kitten Jeffrey Midnight Tea rainblooded

### Just watched the Overwatch gameplay 2 trailer and felt shocked by what seemed like overt racial stereotypes. Pointed it out to my bf and he said I was "looking for something to gripe about". The game looks fun (and yay female body diversity!) but I can't help but sideye the racial thing. Am I crazy?

February 15, 2016
I mean it is a little weird that the one asian dude is a samurai

But it does a lot of other things really well!
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### I just moved and now I have exactly 0 friends, how do I make new friends again? I can't seem to remember. It's hard after you graduate from uni.

February 15, 2016
Try comic shops? That's what I did for a little while.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Yo Anthony, did you play The Witness yet? What do you think? Also you guys are doing a crazy awesome job on those rocketjump shorts!

February 15, 2016
Loved it a lot. Can't remember ever being so happy to cut out pieces of graph paper. And thanks!
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Favorite Metal Gear Solid game, and why?

February 15, 2016
4, because it's ultimately the best kind of fan service
Liked by: Brandon Lee Carey Vorpal_Kitten

### Hi! So, I literally just went through every question you've been asked here, and I've nothing but the highest admiration for you. <3 Your insights into the BL verse were so exciting to read & I'm happy to see writers truly take stock in the characters they create. You def have a new admirer! :D

Dailey
February 15, 2016
thanks very much
Liked by: Kerissa Young Vorpal_Kitten

### I also put you in my XCOM 2 character pool, and you appeared as an alien supporter VIP who I had to punch and arrest. Get it together, Burch! Don't sell out your race for burgers.

February 12, 2016
daaaaaamn
Liked by: NoNane Vorpal_Kitten sdfsdfsdffsdf

### ANTHONY what are your favorite borderlands ships? Canon and non-canon :D also you are really cute bye

February 09, 2016
honestly, all of them. Except for the ones that ship Athena with dudes or like Jack with Angel

also thanks
Liked by: Kerissa Young Vorpal_Kitten sheananigans Jeffrey

### Just wanted you to know that I've been following your work since that Shadow of the Colossus review on the Destructoid forums and in a weird way I'm super proud of how far you've come even though we will never know each other. Thank you for the decade of great content.

February 09, 2016
oh jeez thanks
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Peter Flynn

### What do people see in the Dark Souls franchise? Every time I've died many, many times in a game, I get frustrated, depressed, want to stop playing, and wonder if I should find a new hobby. Is this my temperment being inappropriate for the game or does DS do something unique? If so, what?

February 08, 2016
If your reaction to failure is frustration and depression, Dark Souls just might not be for you. Which is totally fine.

I feel like Dark Souls is like -- like, it's like really weird porn for people who have watched so much regular porn that they've become desensitized to it.

If you've spent your whole life playing games and find the openworldskilltreeleveluprandomizedlootsidequests shit really tiresome and not demanding, Dark Souls is for you.
Liked by: smurfee mcgee Brandon Lee Carey Vorpal_Kitten Alina

### I watched the first 5 or so episodes of the new doctor who (the one starting 9th doctor) and didn't really like it, like I spent most of the Dalek epiode which many of my friends love going "why the fuck do I care about any of this?" Is there something wrong with me? When does it get good?

February 08, 2016
If you don't like it by the end of the first season, you can just stop.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### Have you listened to the soundtrack to Hamilton? It is the absolute shit, seriously, one of the best musicals ever.

February 08, 2016
I can't bring myself to listen to it without seeing the actual play.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### RE: Cyberpunk, have you ever played Shadowrun, the new videogames or the tabletop?

February 08, 2016
I played the videogame. Little too linear and party-based for me.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### What do you do with a game who's main mechanic you suck at, but you want to see what happens writing-wise. It feels disingenous or less interesting to just watch a video, as it's not your experience of the game, but gameplay frustration so often overwhelms even excellent writing for me.

February 08, 2016
Nah, just watch a let's play. Games are really weird in that they use gameplay to gate story content, and there's no way to get just one without the other, and let's plays nicely circumvent that.

That's weird, right? Some people care about story and not gameplay, and vice versa, and almost no games (other than Painkiller or other games with easily-accessible god modes) give a shit about people in either of these groups.
Liked by: Brandon Lee Carey Vorpal_Kitten Jeffrey rainblooded

### Anthony, I'm curious, you have many, many asks giving you compliments but you said recently the one about your weight-lifting made you the happiest, why is that?

February 08, 2016
Cause I've been doing tangible work on weightlifting in an effort to see tangible results, and to know that I am achieving those results from people who have no reason to point them out is really satisfying. Getting compliments on my writing is...I dunno, it's different. harder for me to take them.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### HUFFLEPUFF STANDS FOR NOT BEING A DOUCHEBAG AND LIVING NEXT TO A MAGIC KITCHEN FULL OF DELICIOUS FOOD. WHY, DID YOU WANNA BE A MAGIC NAZI INSTEAD? COME ON

February 08, 2016
Ravenclaw: learning
Gryffindor: courage
Slytherin: self-interest
Hufflepuff: FUCKING NOTHING
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten Adam R

### Why are you so mean to Uli?

February 08, 2016
Cause it was our dynamic in high school, and it's all joking. That said, you're right, and I should be nicer.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### what music do you listen to when writing?

February 08, 2016
I don't.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### If you broke up with someone, and it was nothing to do with them, you really liked them, just bad life circumstances, and you told them that, then a month later they asked you if it was even partially to do with them, would you find it more... commendable? or appreciable? for them to have not asked?

February 08, 2016
I generally try to be forgiving of anyone who's been broken up with. A shitty thing happened to them and they need to deal with it, regardless of whether or not the way they go about doing so is, I dunno, dignified.
Liked by: Vorpal_Kitten

### speaking of the doppelganger, but just fyi anthony to this day timothy lawrence has a super hardcore fandom and art of him gets hundreds and hundreds of likes and reblogs, he may've been a goofy dlc side character but people *really* connected with him, you did good please be proud

February 08, 2016
yaaaaaaaaaay

### I've been wondering, does the last of us have a worthwhile story to tell? I started playing it and the gameplay is fucking atrocious, but the cutscenes kind of interested me. Does the gameplay ever get good enough to justify this actually being a game?

February 08, 2016
If you don't like the human-on-human combat, then you never will (I dug it) but the story gets very good, yes.

### I named a character after you in XCOM and he got mind controlled and killed two other characters with a grenade. The blame is entirely 100% yours.

February 08, 2016
Least I went out HARD
Liked by: Peligro Público Lance Walker

### What makes you special or unique?

February 07, 2016
fuck good
Liked by: Adam Kolacz Matt Crowley

### I'd also suggest Timothy and Wilhelm, to the Not Great At FPS anon, since I've been in the same boat! Having pets at your command helps a LOT.

February 07, 2016
Righto

### What's your current gaming platform?

February 07, 2016
PC/PS4

### did you actually kick uli in kerbal space problem or is he just a great actor

February 07, 2016
We're BOTH great actors. I pulled my kick like a CHAMPION

### How does one break out of the feedback loop where you feel like you need to publish a creative work online to feel confident and break out of a depressive funk, but you just eat junk food and watch youtube in bed all day instead of working on any of your projects because you're depressed?

February 07, 2016
You work on a project.

It's the hardest part -- getting started -- but you have to do it.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### how good is mgsv gameplay wise?

February 07, 2016
Very, until the halfway point.

### If you won't admit TLOU is the GOAT game, will you at least admit it is the GOAT 6 hour short film? (P.S. You lift goats)

February 07, 2016
sure

### I just got the Pre-Sequel, I enjoy the borderlands sense of humor, but I'm not great at FPS, mostly cause of shitty aim (which is why my main bl2 playthrouh as zero and was frustrating as hell) Who should I play in BLPS that would work for someone who's not good at FPS?

February 05, 2016
Athena.

### Which episode of Monster Factory is your favorite so far? I think I've watched the Bloodborne episode like 10 times. "no guns all funs".

February 05, 2016
It's all about Truck Shepard for me. Or Borth Sompson.
Liked by: VertigoCharades

### I wanted to say that your writing made me play BL2. BL2 had all the charm BL1 promised and never delivered on. It was the same core loop as the first game, which was a mediocre one, but my BL1 playtme? 3 hrs, my BL2 playtime? 136 hrs. You made the difference, thanks.

February 05, 2016
wooooo thanks

### hi want to be friends

ashley woods
February 05, 2016
k

### if you could only read articles from one gaming site which would it be?

February 05, 2016
Rock Paper Shotgun
Liked by: Lance Walker sdfsdfsdffsdf

### what happened to the world? What happened to the time when would could trust each other? Why must everyone be so untrustworthy?

February 05, 2016
Everything has always been bad. We are generally less violent toward each other today than we have ever been in the history of society.

### SHUT YOUR MOUTH, HUFFLEPUFF IS AWESOME. HONEY BADGER DON'T CARE

January 30, 2016
WHAT DOES HUFFLEPUFF EVEN STAND FOR

"LOYALTY"? THAT DOESN'T MEAN SHIT
Liked by: Mask de Plainview Scar Scar Jones

### Did you enjoy season 9 of doctor who at all? I dont recall seeing you post about it anywhere. I thought it had a lot of really fun episodes in it.

January 30, 2016
Assuming season 9 is this last one, I enjoyed it a lot.

### What cyberpunk films, books, comics and games (apart from Deus Ex and Shadowrun) would you recommend?

January 30, 2016
A(s)century, Neuromancer, Netrunner...

Honestly that's kind of it, most cyberpunk sucks as much as I wish it didn't
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Looking kinda buff in that new BTS Rocket Jump vid. Been lifting bro?

January 30, 2016
yes and this ask made me happier than nearly any other i've ever received
Liked by: NoNane Ricky Coogan Jeffrey VertigoCharades

### How do you feel about sword and board style games that use physics combat systems (like Mount & Blade and Examina)? I feel like a lot of people praise them and yet I find them to be utterly unplayable.

January 27, 2016
I fucking LOVE Mount and Blade. It's one of the few games about swords and melee combat that make me actually think in terms of swords and melee combat -- I'm not just thinking about how far I need to be before I can smack the attack button, I'm thinking about how fast I'm approaching, which side of my body they're on, etc.

### Netrunner looks like such a great card game but no one plays it in my country, is there any hope of a digital version?

January 27, 2016
You can use OCTGN!

### in your gaymerx talk you mentioned being friendly and nice when requesting things from your team. don't you think any discussion should be approached this way? if you get angry about it then you'll both get into defensive mode and just keep arguing endlessly.

January 26, 2016
ya

### What's your Hogwarts house?

January 25, 2016
Hufflepuff

fucking ugh
Liked by: Adam Kolacz rainblooded Ninjustin

### In fairness to Chibnall RTD PITCHED CYBERWOMAN. Anthony, could you have saved Cyberwoman. COULD ANYONE. And he wrote the few bits of quality in S2 like Owen and Tosh's outs, and Broadchurch which people seem to enjoy and presumably is character focused not space lasers focused.

January 25, 2016
yeah fair yeah fair yeah fair you right you right
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Chris Chibnall wrote nearly all of the episodes that you recommended in your torchwood skippable list and he also wrote Broadchurch. Surely that's enough to forgive him for Cyberwoman :'(

January 25, 2016
Did he? Hrm. I mean, the Torchwood episodes I "recommend" are really the least painful ones -- ultimately, only Children of Earth feels really worth it to me, in the end.

But yeah, I did like Broadchuch.

I'm mainly just irritated they didn't ask Paul Cornell.

### why do people insist Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the most unwatchable Indiana jones when Temple of Doom is a thing that exists

January 25, 2016
YOU TAKE THAT THE FUCK BACK WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING
Liked by: Mask de Plainview sheananigans Andrew Halliday Ur Mum Jeffrey Mike Liem MacNeil

### You never seemed to fall into the GOAT camp for The Last of Us. Why not? (P.s. You fuck goats)

January 24, 2016
I loved Last of Us, but my brain just doesn't put games of that particular genre (play a level, then watch a cut scene that has nothing to do with the gameplay) into GOTY category because I find them to be inherently flawed.
Liked by: Ninjustin

### there's a girl who works at the same place that i do that i like but i live very far away and don't have a car/ just take public transportation (like a train and a bus) would that make asking her out a bit weird?

January 24, 2016
The transportation thing isn't really a big deal, unless she's some sort of dick who thinks you're not a worthy person because you don't have a car.

I'd be more concerned about the fact that you two work together.

### Does anyone ever call you Tony?

January 24, 2016
no
Liked by: Matt Crowley

### Just saw your gaymerx talk (LOVED IT). Can you please tell more of the story when a bunch of gamergaters emailed Gearbox to fire you? How'd Gearbox react (other than forwarding the messages to you)?

wallid h fielding
January 24, 2016
That's all there is to the story, really. They spent a weekend flooding Randy's email, he forwarded all of the emails to me, eventually they stopped.

### Favorite Steven Universe character?

January 24, 2016
Amethyst, easily
Liked by: Вуги

### You used to lament that HAWP was just dick jokes. That last episode was just one dick joke. I'm glad you guys are growing. Bravo!

Peter Flynn
January 24, 2016
we have a strong brand
Liked by: Kerissa Young sad boy Matt Crowley sdfsdfsdffsdf

### Steven Moffat is stepping down from Doctor Who next year and Chris Chibnall will be taking over as Head Showrunner and head writer for the eleventh series. Sounds about as good as can expected to me. Thoughts?

January 24, 2016
Chris Chibnall wrote Cyberwoman.

Chris

Chibnall

wrote

Cyberwoman
Liked by: Jeffrey sdfsdfsdffsdf

### Is Finn's bumbling and 'emasculated' character racist or is that overthinking it? i just fell down the rabbit hole of articles it didn't even occur to me people had a problem with him for 'propping up the girl'. isn't that conforming to patriarchal ideas of masculinity and fucked up?

January 24, 2016
Iiii dunno if I'd go that far. That's the kind of thinking that led to us having, for about twenty years, female characters who were only ever Marge Simpson -- intelligent straightmen who never got to have any fun.

### Can you be a Liberal and Muslim?

January 24, 2016
yes?
Liked by: Matt Crowley

### is dating people you're not really interrested in good practice for taking on more personally desirable people? i heard that somewhere basically but it just feels kinda shitty to me? like using other people as a stepping stone for your own confidence??

January 21, 2016
Eesh. I dunno what dating somebody you don't like would teach you, other than how to manipulate people into thinking you like them.

### Thoughts on the Suicide Squad trailer? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmRih_VtVAs

January 20, 2016
looks fun!
Liked by: Jeffrey

### http://www.playboy.com/articles/assholes-pussies Does this make you angry reading it or are you open to her having her own view cause I sure as hell don't know what to make of it

January 20, 2016
I despise this woman
Liked by: Ksenia S. Laney VertigoCharades Sineado Vanheusen

### https://twitter.com/BroTeamPill/status/689127223794774016?s=09 So this is getting passed around. Any comment?

January 19, 2016
I've said the same shit on this askfm, and twitter, a few times. I hate that gamergate hijacked what could have been a legitimate discussion about breaches of consent and what a complex problem it is (if you have unprotected sex with someone else, then have unprotected sex with your partner without them knowing about it, and they catch something, is that a form of rape?). It's, of course, now impossible to have that discussion in that particular context, because then it becomes just part of the screaming cacophony of abuse and vitriol directed at her, and thus serves no purpose.

He seems to be under the impression that because it was a private conversation, it's some sort of crazy stanky reveal. It's a pretty assholish thing to do, but it doesn't say anything I haven't already said a few times.

View more

Liked by: sad boy Mournful Walrus sdfsdfsdffsdf rainblooded

### What was your favorite rocket jump video that you've worked on?

January 18, 2016
Fan Friction
Liked by: Mask de Plainview Becky

### How'd you stop being so judgy about people's tastes(I'm assuming you were because of Rev Rants)? I never tell people they have shit tastes but I definitely think it and I wish I could stop. It's probably not healthy.

January 18, 2016
You kinda just get older and it stops mattering.
Liked by: Mournful Walrus

### Did you know what was behind Handsome Jack's mask from the beginning? How did the idea of a mask come about?

January 18, 2016
I never had any idea what was behind jack's mask -- the art team came up with the mask, and then they also came up with what was behind it.

### why are people mad about meme references in bl2? there are many references and parodies to other stuff too. and it's not like the whole game is about memes.

January 18, 2016
see you get it
Liked by: Mournful Walrus Mask de Plainview

### THE TINY ONE AND THE SAD FACED MOTHER AND THE BLUE TATTOO FOREVER AND EVER i still haven't forgiven you for that

January 18, 2016
nice
Liked by: Вуги

### how tall are you and ashly?

January 12, 2016
slightly short, really short
Liked by: Lance the Motivator suns_light

### Have you played Talos Principle? What do you think of it?

January 09, 2016
I really really really liked it

### What are your goals for 2016?

January 09, 2016
Keep exercising

### Do you get scared that there's a remote chance that you could slip back into your angry, bitter self-pitying 20's personality if you lost all the support systems and people you have right now?

January 09, 2016
Only every single time I'm alone for more than eight seconds
Liked by: Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II suns_light

### prostitution is legal where i am. i'm 20 and a virgin. should i hire a girl, i think the experience could boost my confidence?

January 09, 2016
I certainly wouldn't think any less of you.

### i am addicted to PMO and i can never make it past day 4. tips?

January 09, 2016
Can you surround yourself with people as much as possible? I find that helps. Also, try weening yourself off only one, rather than trying to cold turkey both? (I recommend stopping porn but continuing to masturbate, as the inverse is really hard)

### I want to give Fallout New Vegas another try, but my problem in that game is role-playing itself: What's my motivation? What headspace did you find for the Courier? The game is very open ended, which is great, but I felt like all I should do is report to the Express and ask for a new job.

January 04, 2016
Really? To me, my motivation was always to get revenge on Matthew Perry, and then to use my newfound power in the form of the chip to make Vegas a better place.
Liked by: Mask de Plainview

### Not a question, but thank you for all of the representation in BL, especially Athena. Just finished the series, & as a lesbian still struggling to accept her sexuality, seeing such a badass character also be shown as a non-stigmatized gay woman absolutely floored me. You're awesome, dude.

January 04, 2016
yussssss thanks i'm glad you dug it
Liked by: Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II suns_light Kris Ramjam NoNane Becky Mask de Plainview

### Wait, so you said you disliked Fallout 4 because it was a shooter, but you wrote Borderlands 2... Is it just because Fallout 4 isn't as good as New Vegas, or do you not like shooters in general? Just seems weird since you wrote Borderlands and that's essentially just a shooter, albeit a great one.

January 04, 2016
I like games that are honest and certain about what they are. Fallout 4 is trying to be an RPG but isn't one. New Vegas tries to be an RPG and is. BL2 is hopefully in a similar vein.
Liked by: Mask de Plainview

### What did you like about Everybody's Gone to the Rapture? I personally enjoyed it, but didn't find many who shared my enthusiasm. If there's another place to read your thoughts on it, please link.

January 02, 2016
I liked it a lot. Yes, it's not very interactive, but walking around in that gorgeous space, listening to that music, trying to piece together the character plots while listening to fantastic writing about a bunch of flawed three-dimensional people just trying to do their goddamn best? That was really satisfying.

### What do you dislike about Fallout 4? How's it shown in the pacifist run of it?

January 02, 2016
1. It's a shooter. It's not a game where you can sneak and talk and sprint your way past stuff.

2. It's pretty linear. You can kill EVERYONE or NO-ONE in New Vegas, and the game is completely fine with it, because it prioritizes your story above that the writers wanted to tell you. The fact that Fallout 4 almost entirely breaks down when you try not to kill certain people in the pacifist run, or to kill other people in a non-pacifist run (try shooting anyone in a major city, and then realize that there's literally NOTHING you can do other than reload your game, in which case why even let me have a gun at that point), shows how little they really prioritized player expression. Which is a shame, because, to me, that was where Fallout always really shone.
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### Have your relationships hurt your ability to trust partners, or have you gotten over the heartbreaks with time?

January 02, 2016
I have no problem trusting my partners. It's me I'm more cautious about.
Liked by: Becky Ninjustin

### Hi Anthony. I'm going through some really bad stuff right now, and Borderlands is one of the few things that make me genuinely laugh these days. Thank you for being awesome.

Renate
January 02, 2016
Thank YOU. I hope things turn out better.
Liked by: Becky NoNane Jeffrey Midnight Tea Renate

### do you have got a ass

January 01, 2016
ya
Liked by: Aiden Justice Rixel Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Matt Crowley Ninjustin

### Do you have a public email that it is alright to send fanmail to?

December 31, 2015
this ask works

### In BL2 there is an ECHOlog, that apparently didn't make it into the game, where Jack explains that he poisoned Wilhelm to make him more killable by the players. I am probably literally the only person who cares, but do you remember why this was cut? (If you ever even knew…)

December 30, 2015
somebody forgot to put it in
Liked by: Ninjustin Вуги

### I don't know what's the caring, positive self that I want to be and my shitty angry self talking right now. I don't know how I'm supposed to be supportive or what she wants. I want to be happy for her, and her to be happy, since I loved her, while still taking how miserable I am into account... 2/2

December 29, 2015
Personally, I think you're kind of allowed to do whatever you need to do for self-care after somebody dumps you (within reason). If it'd make you feel better to block her, block her. It's no longer your responsibility to do everything you can to make her feel happy if doing so will make you feel worse.

Would just like to remind everyone that I have no basis whatsoever for giving advice, I'm not a therapist, and everyone should ignore me.

### My girlfriend broke up with me out of nowhere because of her depression, which kind of cuts deep, the idea it wasn't my fault. I don't know what I'm supposed to do to support her. If I block her would that be for her sake or mine? Would it make me seem angry with her 1/2

December 29, 2015
.

### Don't talk shit about anyone. Game development's a very, very small world. - chris avellone. Hope no one digs up the revrants when looking at your resume

December 29, 2015
yes, just imagine if I'd ever tried to get a job as a lead writer of a AAA videogame
Liked by: Mask de Plainview Anthony Nunez professional righter sad boy NoNane sheananigans Declan J B

### What do you think about Kylo as a villain? It seemed a strange choice to me to have him be so weak and ineffectual and I can't decide if I like that or not.

December 29, 2015
I liked him. He's not scary, sure, but he's interesting and that's enough for me.

### I think you are great. I'm glad you exist. you've made a better person from hearing your hawpcasts and reading your tweets. thank you, anthony

December 29, 2015
Thax
Liked by: NoNane sdfsdfsdffsdf VertigoCharades

### Thanks a lot for that kind of frank honesty. I'm sure you know you had people wondering, and we all appreciate you speaking about a private matter honestly, even if you had no obligation to in the least.

December 29, 2015
Only so many times I can hear people talk about someone I love cheating on me when she didn't.
Liked by: Erik N

### Okay, it's none of my goddamn business and I know you've probably told the story a million times, but what happened between you and Davis? Just found out, and I'd like to know from you, and not the crap info Reddit or the YouTube comment section is spitting out. I just want to know the full story.

December 29, 2015
The truth is incredibly boring: she kinda just outgrew me. I lose a lot of my luster after seven years of uninterrupted company with me. I didn't want to split, but she did, so we did.
Liked by: professional righter Ninjustin Luis Del Valle

### Did you see this pacifist walkthrough playlist for Fallout 4? (potential spoilers in videos) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpA4nO9xD-0p4ARq2mxfBY-7osEl6E5FG

December 29, 2015
Yeah. It's amazing and ludicrous and basically proves why I don't like Fallout 4 very much.

### How easy is it for you to fall for people online?

December 29, 2015
Pretty easy
Liked by: Matt Crowley

### Well, I don't see how a decrease in sexual performance would matter that much, considering a lot of compulsive masturbators ain't bangin' anyways

December 27, 2015
There's also arguably a self-esteem correlation, as you're essentially giving yourself a dopamine addiction

### Ashly losing her whole XCOM squad (named after your group of friends) during a terror mission and having them all come back as zombies is still my favorite emergent gameplay/narrative moment of all time.

December 27, 2015
oh fuck I forgot about that

so good
Liked by: sdfsdfsdffsdf Ricky Coogan Ninjustin

### On the topic of games with heavy emotional impact, have you played To The Moon? If not I highly recommend it.

December 27, 2015
I really didn't like To The Moon. I felt like its interactivity sabotaged its story, and that the whole thing woulda been way better as a film or a book.

### Is that Christmas HAWP not really awkward for you and Davis? Why release it?

December 27, 2015
cause it's funny

### Over the last couple of days I've been watching your SGDA talk and Character is cool talks and they're excellent. Do you have any other talks I can watch and are you planning on more?

December 27, 2015
I did some GDC talks that are (I think) in the archives, and I did a GX3 talk this year that should be up sometime soonish.

### I suggest you stop talking about feminist shit. Now. Because I'm about to expose you for who you really are. And I have a paper trail.

December 27, 2015
pahahaha

I get a few of these every so often -- it's like they read the story about Arthur Conan Doyle writing "we are discovered, flee now" to his friends and then wondered if that'd work on a real person

### What do you do when you feel really tired for a long period of time, and not sure what to do in general?

December 27, 2015
Hang with friends, or play a game or something

### do you still stand by the purple ghost shirt you wore in the Christmas hawp or have you changed your ways

December 27, 2015
I don't have it anymore :(

### i know this is annoying but could you bullet point how you got over your divorce? just had a bad break up where it was her depression, not something with me, which stings even though its selfish. would have to scroll back for 30 minutes to reach that month. or if you've answered recently, thanks

December 27, 2015
I've answered recently, just go back a bit.

### hey anthony. I just finished chapter 1 of mgsv (30/50 missions) and am feeling a little burned out on the game. I've liked the gameplay, and the story is...yeah. Is it worth it to push through and finish the game?

December 24, 2015
the story and gameplay only get worse.

### I caught up on Adam Ruins Everything. So is the whole No Fap thing a result of the shame tactics from religious groups?

December 24, 2015
no, those are two separate schools of thought. one is masturbation = sin, the other is masturbation = decrease in sexual performance and weird dopamine addiction.

The latter is actually true.

### no judgement but why did you tweet at dan harmon about the borderlands reference and immediately delete it rejection anxiety?

December 24, 2015
yes

### I think the visual storytelling makes you feel for Rey more than if it was said over dialogue. She's in the shit more than Luke, and her naivity and *flying by the seat of her pants* makes her compelling to me. Kylo wanting to be more evil than he actually is I liked. Poe is more acting > character

December 23, 2015
fair
Liked by: Becky NoNane Ninjustin

### do you have any recommendations for video games with a lot of emotional impact? i've spent the last few months jumping between mindless shooters and i'm trying to find something heavier, but most of the suggestions i've found online are just games with nostalgic value.

December 23, 2015
walking dead, life is strange, passage, fable 2 (imo), mass effect series, dragon age series, gone home
Liked by: NoNane

### Just Cause 3 = Torgue's new favorite game?

December 23, 2015
torgue's favorite game is red faction guerilla

### David Tenoutoftennant?

December 23, 2015
NICE
Liked by: Becky

### my wife (borat voice)

December 23, 2015
NICE

### So it seems TFA has lead to a re-examination of the term "Mary Sue". I understand the desire to stop the term getting too gendered, but I feel it just needs to be more nuanced. Like why do I love hanging out with Rey, while this Christmas' Doctor Who being River Song heavy puts me off entirely?

Peter Flynn
December 23, 2015
Because River Song is fucking smug and irritating, and the entire universe bends over backward to try to convince us that she's badass. Like, you're gonna have a Dalek beg for mercy from her? What the fuck?

Rey is just really good at everything, but she's at least nice. And Daisy Ridley has a lot of charm about her.
Liked by: Angela Jean Jeffrey NoNane Peter Flynn

### Sucks about Max Landis, I really liked his wrestling video :(

December 23, 2015
Yeah. He's very good at pitching.

(which is why he's written lots of movies but all the movies are bad)

### What about the next Star Wars film? Are you looking forward to Luke being the next Obi-wan?

December 23, 2015
No, because I think the weakest parts of Force Awakens were those that relied on old characters. I wanna see the new folks doing new shit.
Liked by: sad boy Ninjustin

### I agree that the plot for TFA was paper-thin. I think people's enjoyment of it is a testament to how much the audience is willing to forgive if your characters are likeable and have good chemistry.

December 22, 2015
very much so
Liked by: Jeffrey NoNane

### What's your opinion on mistletoe as a Christmas tradition?

December 22, 2015
feels like something ugly men invented
Liked by: K стотыщ проблем sad boy NoNane professional righter

### I guess a bad plot is inconsequential to me if I love the characters as much as I did. You've talked about that a lot too, how you don't care how amazing a plot is if the characters suck, what didn't you like about the characters that the plot ruined the movie for you?

December 22, 2015
I loved the characters, generally, which is why I say I had fun at Force Awakens even though I don't think it's really too good of a movie.

Though I do wonder if I just liked the actors more than the characters -- I loved Rey, but I dunno how much of that love is "holy shit a girl with a lightsaber who is nice to people and not annoying".
Liked by: NoNane

### Why didn't you complain that MI:V 'didn't tell its own story' and was the exact same plot as ghost protocol and the first two

December 22, 2015
MI:V told its own story, it was just kind of a boring one. Though, to be fair, MI as a series is known for basically doing the same thing every time ("big heist!") whereas Star Wars, even in the prequels, tried to generally make every movie have at least a different plot.
Liked by: Angela Jean

### What Star Wars video game(s) do you like?

December 22, 2015
KOTOR, KOTOR2, bits of TOR, Tie Fighter, Shadows of the Empire (for pure nostalgia reasons -- that game probably sucks ass), Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy

### can i still get a girlfriend if i like to be sad and or apathetic

December 22, 2015
Not likely. People don't want to be with bummers. I say this as someone who was a bummer for a very long time.
Liked by: professional righter

### You made a comment on twitter about Max Landis. It sounded like there was more to it than just disagreeing with him about Star Wars. Is there something I'm missing?

December 22, 2015
I have heard many stories (and know people who have also heard these stories first-hand) about him beating the shit out of women and using his industry connections to sweep it under the rug.
Liked by: Naif professional righter

### I'll admit it's partially to make it chemically "feel" like Star Wars, as a jumping board to new ideas. But if you didn't enjoy the brutality of the grounded lightsaber fights or the stomach sickening Starkiller base (I don't know how it's possible that gave me chills but it did) then *shrugs*?

December 22, 2015
Yeah, Starkiller did absolutely nothing for me. It felt like the most lazy, obvious scale-up from what the death star was, except without any of the narrative context to make me understand why it exists or why it matters or what it's even doing (wait, they're blowing up Republic planets, but not Resistance ones? What's the difference? Do we know anyone on these five planets? We cared about Alderaan because Leia cared about it, because Luke and Han and Obi-Wan are headed for it, and because when Tarkin chooses it as a demonstration of power he does so just to be a lying sack of shit, so it shows what a taint he is).

Sorry, it's easy to get caught up in slinging shit about a thing that everybody else likes.
Liked by: professional righter Angela Jean

### I think The Force Awakens is a good litmus test movie like Fury Road, if people think that it didn't "tell its own story" and miss how really only one or two of the plot beat echoes feel arbitrary and the rest are all character centric, not forced, not to mention ignoring the plethora of new stuff.

December 22, 2015
That seems completely wrong to me. Fury Road *does* tell its own story with completely new characters (except Max, obviously) and not only doesn't rely on the past Max movies to provide enjoyment, but actively disregards every single thing about the series in general.

I dunno what to tell you if you didn't think stuff like the space chess, 3PO's arm, the out-of-nowhere trench run, the trash compactor, or any number of other moments didn't feel totally forced to you.

Honestly, the movie begins to fall apart for me the second Han shows up -- until then, it's an interesting new story about interesting new characters. Then it starts rehashing tons stuff and not letting these fun new characters do things of their own volition.

I can go on for pages and pages about how bad and nonsensical the plot is, to the point where the film's own stakes are undermined because of how vague its plot andj world state are (to the point that even Phantom Menace actually has a better *plot*, even though its shitty characterization means it's a worse movie), but it doesn't really matter, does it?

You liked it, I really didn't. That's fine. Neither of our lives should be drastically affected by this.

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### have you ever been without friends? my ex distanced me from everyone i knew but i only made them in the first place because he was there. people joke around and we make small talk fine but i can't seem to make any real connections. i never share my nerdy hobbies with anyone after my ex.

December 19, 2015
I was without friends in college, when all of my friends had gone to college.

This was when I decided to start doing HAWP, because I was so lonely. Maybe you can funnel your creative energy and loneliness into something similar?
Liked by: professional righter

### Have you seen the new Star Wars yet? What did you think of it?

December 19, 2015
Almost everything about its story (other than the very beginning and bits of the very end) was really bad. Everything about its characters (with the exception of the returning ones) was really good.
Liked by: professional righter

### my one crippling fear is that i will run out of things to say, and i'm known for that i can talk a lot. usually i'll think of something absolutely unrelated to what was said and it weirds people out. i fear if i run out of things to say all possible things will have been said and then i can't talk

December 19, 2015
That's why you ask questions about the other person.

### thank you for answering the divorce question... if you don't mind, a follow up question: how do I choose a therapist, or what should I look for in the first session to help me choose? thank you so much for your help. your writing has always meant a lot to me.

December 19, 2015
I honestly just went onto google and tried to find therapists near me. You have to just be okay with not clicking with a particular therapist, and then moving on.

Also, do not be shy about trying out a sex therapist -- in reality, sex therapy often has a lot to do with love and romance and emotion, and depending on the factors leading to your divorce, it might have a lot more to say about your situation than you think.

### sorry if this is too personal but how the hell did you deal with your divorce? I just got divorced myself and I feel like I might as well stop existing. nothing means anything anymore, I feel awful all the time and the only person who could help me through is the only one I can't talk to. help ):

December 19, 2015
The short answer is, "wait a while and try to be around your friends as much as possible." It's harder to cope with alone, and (at least for me) when I'm alone my dark, self-destructive thoughts tend to bubble to the surface much quicker and much more violently.

If you can't talk to other friends about it, then keep doing what you're doing now -- find people on the internet who might care, even if it's just random subreddits or whatever, and talk to them if you need to.

Though really, the best thing is talking to a therapist. I was hurting worse than I'd ever hurt in my life, but therapy gave me someone to vent to, and someone who could be both on my side when I needed them to be, but could contextualize and explain things to me when it was helpful, to the point where I now understand why our marriage couldn't possibly have worked for longer than it did and, as much as I didn't want it to happen and still miss her terribly, it was probably best for both of us that it ended.

Failing all that? Time will eventually make it hurt less, because everything hurts less with time. Do things that make you happy. Don't feel guilty about indulging in a lot of self-care, whatever that means for you (videogames and junk food? You can work the pounds off later -- do what you gotta do).

I personally had a ton of one night stands on Tinder right after my divorce, which helped my self esteem a bit, and got me used to talking to women again. Less healthy were my too-soon attempts at legitimate relationships that I wasn't really ready for (which very sadly resulted in my hurting a handful of people for reasons that were entirely my fault)

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Liked by: NoNane Jeffrey Ninjustin Midnight Tea

### How do the hell do I cope with a breakup? I feel like all my plans in life were just erased from existence and I have no one to listen to me anymore. I feel useless and utterly alone.

December 19, 2015
About to answer a question about divorce which is basically similar

### Did you think it was kind of neat if not actually significant in any way that both the big villains in The Force Awakens were nerdy, angsty, awkward young white guys trying to front and prove how powerful they are with their misguided, stubborn anger? Unintentional audience commentary much...

December 19, 2015
HA
Liked by: Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II

### Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to come off as entitled or like an asshole, sorry for causing you any distress.

Tam
December 19, 2015
It's alright. I appreciate the apology.

### I watched E4 of RJ and LOVED the discussion on racism. But it made me realize, I'm working on putting together a podcast in which some indirectly racist things have been said (by an all-white cast). I feel uncomfortable about keeping them in, but they'd also be hard to edit out. What should I do?

December 18, 2015
-Show it to nonwhite friends, see if they take issue with it
-If they do, edit the parts out or just scrap the episode entirely and start over

### wait no i have one last thing! being like "Yes he's a bi character" "no jkjk he isn't! don't be mad" is...well it's kinda mean, dude. Anyways NOW I'm done talking, thanks for taking the time to read.

Tam
December 18, 2015
I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to deal with the fact that two factions of people are hounding me for answers about a fictional character to a franchise I don't write for anymore, and both sides are saying I'm a piece of shit for different reasons depending on which side I come down on. If my attempts to understand both sides and try not to be a problematic asshole strike you as *mean,* then I dunno what the fuck to tell you. I don't owe you anything, dude.
Liked by: professional righter sheananigans Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Becky Jeffrey

### Tbh, Jack's relationships with male characters like Rhys and Timothy are so intensely creepy that I really, really, reeeeaally don't want him as the face of bi rep in Borderlands. Especially when there are so many other great bi characters.

December 18, 2015
Huh, I'd never thought of Timothy that way -- in my head it was always "Jack is so egocentric that he'd be the most attracted to someone who looks like him, because he's the ultimate asshole and wants to objectify himself."
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert suns_light Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II

### Like, I'm sorry because I know you must be getting tons of conflicting feedback, but I don't want ppl to give you the impression that it is the unanimously decided Right thing to do to make Jack bi. I'm seeing a lot of people who are uncomfortable with the idea already and for good reasons.

December 18, 2015
Yeah, I mean...

So, here's the thing. I wrote him and, in my head, I thought of him as straight. Through the years I worked on the game and got slowly less and less shitty about my own internalized homophobia, I may have accidentally made him say some stuff that comes across as gay jokes. And that's terrible, and I'm sorry if I did that (I don't remember any specifics, but people say Jack seemingly jokes about hitting on dudes in a potentially homophobic way and I believe them).

So if it's easier to believe that he's bi than that he is a homophobic character or that the universe of the game believes it's okay to make fun of gay people, then I understand that. I also understand not wanting him to be bi because it may not be fully supported in the story, or because having a psychopathic abuser being bisexual isn't exactly a step forward for bi visibility.

View more

Liked by: Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Jeffrey

### But like, there totally is evidence that he's bi in the games, if he's not bi then him hitting on men and rating them on their hotness is just one big gay joke and that's fucking shitty.

December 18, 2015
If there's more evidence that he's bi in the games than not, then he's super bi. I certainly never intended for him to come off as a homophobe, and I'd much rather have him be bisexual than that.
Liked by: Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II

### it's so funny that u could say u and the team sees athena/janey as a canonical lesbian 100x and no one respects it but the moment u say jack is whatever makes him available to romantically abuse rhys (that's the context to the ask on tumblr btw) its suddenly word of god... this fanbase amazes me

December 18, 2015
...huh.

odd.
Liked by: Kris Ramjam sheananigans Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II

### yo, do i have to subscribe to hulu plus to watch the rocketjump show past episode 1?

December 18, 2015
yuz

### Is there a full name for handsome jack? He has to have a last name.

December 18, 2015
i'm bad at last names so uh

### i dunno dude because by those lines fans could disagree that torgue is not bi-sexual as nothing points to that ( from my recollection, correct me if i'm wrong)

December 18, 2015
Torgue is definitely bisexual in dialog (no matter what character you are he refers to you as attractive)

### You and Ash ragging on Doctor Who back in the day was what got me to start writing seriously as a teen. Any chance HAWPcast might revisit that dynamic?

Peter Flynn
December 18, 2015
I mean Ash hasn't watched Who in a looooong time

### Is Jack really bi? Is this what I'm seeing?

December 16, 2015
jack's bi if you want him to be. in my head, he's straight. if nobody's felt like there is really super 100% clear evidence one way or the other in any of the games, then it's totally in your court as the fans

### no one has to be hetero in borderlands. it can be a hetero-free paradise of a franchise. i want to believe.

December 15, 2015
Aight he's bi then
Liked by: Mournful Walrus NoNane Shin Dee Manaphy Natu handsome jack

### what is your personal goty for 2015?

December 15, 2015
Invisible inc
Liked by: VertigoCharades Ninjustin

### But why make it the most bisexual coded character in the game? Otherwise he just ends up being a "no homo" joke :\

Tam
December 15, 2015
That's a fair point.
Liked by: Manaphy Natu

### How would you deal with revenge porn?

Claire Khaw
December 15, 2015
I mean, cause I'm a guy, there'd basically be no reprecussions -- nobody's gonna say, "hey, anthony's a slut."

### RE: dumpster fire clothing in Fallout 4, talk to PAM in the Railroad. Without spoiling too much, that will lead to a way to improve regular clothing a lot.

December 15, 2015
Ooh. Okay, I may do that.

### Was Literal Penis Pictures your idea? Loving the show btw. Fuck the haters!

December 14, 2015
Nope, that was Will Campos. Thank you, though!

### i would do anything for love but i won't _______

December 14, 2015
dog dick
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert

### can you please word-of-god Jack as bisexual? please??? it's christmas.

Tam
December 14, 2015
I mean SOMEBODY in Borderlands has to be hetero
Liked by: Becky Manaphy Natu

### is Handsome Jack Latin@?

December 14, 2015
nah

### Do you think it's easier to hit the big time writing about typical sci-fi/fantasy stuff than by writing about stuff like... what do regular people read about?... driveways?

December 14, 2015
yes

### why am I still playing temple run2 should I stop it's still fun but.I could be playing new things

December 14, 2015
because it's specifically designed to addict you. accept that and try to treat it like you would any other addiction
Liked by: Ninjustin

### I got around to watching Over the Garden Wall and wow. It's so good.

December 14, 2015
yez

### Will there be some streamable version of your GamerX garbage man talk? I need to know how garbage you are!

December 14, 2015
yeah, all the gx3 talks will be on youtube at some point

### Favorite Quentin Tarantino movie?

December 14, 2015
kill bill
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Is it weird that I only started having a crush on Zoe Quinn when she started kicking ass? Like, the more power she got the more I found her attractive. I feel as though I'm somehow being gross still.

December 14, 2015
I don't thiiiink so? It means you became attracted to someone for what they're capable of accomplishing rather than what they look for, which is kind of the best way to be attracted to someone, right?

### Saw you're going through X-Files, nice! Are you watching every episode, or are you using the guide you posted on Skippable?

December 14, 2015
watching every ep except for the ones my girlfriend warns me away from (guy on the internet dates fat women and uses his saliva to dissolve all their fat)

### what did you use to make the text game for your ex wife? wanted to use it , thanks

December 14, 2015
twine

### How much does aesthetics trump game pragmatism when it comes to player decisions? I remember wanting to level up in strength in Fable 2, but abandoning the entire tree just because it made my character look like a burly monster.

Peter Flynn
December 14, 2015
I wish aesthetics mattered more. I want to run around Fallout 4 in nothing but an evening dress, but I'm basically not allowed to go anywhere in the wasteland without looking like a walking dumpster fire. Like, just lemme put those sweet stats onto my regular clothes, man.

That's actually something I thought Fable 2 did well -- clothing. It did nothing for your stats and was purely decorative.

(I think male game designers tend to look at clothing as being purely functional and think the idea of looking cool just for decoration isn't inherently all that interesting, whereas you've got many lady gamers playing tons of dress-up games and shit because that shit is fun)

### Will you use the term "whipper snapper" when you become an old man?

December 11, 2015
more like fuccboi
Liked by: Becky NoNane Adam Kolacz

### Do you have anything you want to say to the 2021 version of you, then? How do you think they'll regard you, compared to how you regard the 2008 you?

December 11, 2015
Hope you don't have a kid you dumb idiot
Liked by: suns_light Mournful Walrus

### In general if you go back and listen to Podtoid, there's some really funny stuff in there and also a lot stuff you and the crew kinda "grew out of." How do you feel about the show looking back on it almost five years later?

December 11, 2015
To be totally honest, I'm really scared to go back to it because I tend to think of me-circa-2008 as a piece of human garbage. I haven't gone back and checked to be sure.

### this might sound weird but i wanted to ask you: do you think that revolver ocelot is gay or at least not straight?

December 11, 2015
I think he's either gay or, more likely, asexual
Liked by: Adam Leskov NoNane

### Is it okay to hate someone because they're dating someone you want to date?

December 11, 2015
I mean, you're basically describing jealousy. You're asking me if it's okay to be jealous? I mean, it's not ideal, but it's a fundamental human emotion. It's a bad one, but it's a thing.

### Why the fuck was Luther not a character in Fan Friction? I mean come on Anthony, Idris Elba and David Tennant? Who wouldn't want to see those two fuck. Your sister fucked up.

December 11, 2015
Hey. I was lead writer on that short, so *I* fucked up, too.

(Also Luther isn't as immediately recognizable as the others)
Liked by: Mournful Walrus

### Did anything in particular happen between you and Tiff Chow to make you so antagonistic toward her on Podtoid, or was it just immaturity (which happens)?

December 10, 2015
I had a crush on her and was a fucking horrible person about it.
Liked by: Matt Crowley

### Re: The Dating Site advice: I've met three women off OkCupid (One is now my fiancee). The first thing two of them said to me? "Thanks for actually reading my profile before messaging me; most men don't." A sincere interest in the person's identity beyond looks goes SO far. It's so easy, too.

December 07, 2015
ya
Liked by: Jeffrey Midnight Tea

### How do you pick yourself up when you're feeling under-appreciated?

December 07, 2015
Hang out with friends. Or, play a videogame thaat I'm really good at.

### How do you feel about the resurgence of strong female superhero's such as Jessica Jones and Supergirl? what does that mean for feminism in cinema?

Robert Hernandez
December 07, 2015
I want more.
Liked by: Becky Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Mournful Walrus Jeffrey

### Hey man, have you heard of/played undertale?

December 07, 2015
I'm like twenty minutes into it and enjoying it way more than I thought I would.
Liked by: suns_light professional righter Adam Kolacz

### Do you know the specific rules about being a siren? Like would someone be a siren based on if they were assigned female at birth or would it be if they identified as female? (Another way of phrasing this: could either a trans man/nonbinary person or a trans woman be a siren?)

December 07, 2015
In my head -- which no longer counts -- a trans woman could be a Siren.
Liked by: Becky Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Manaphy Natu Midnight Tea

### I wish you were a love option in Harvest Moon so I could marry you every day for the rest of my life :3

December 07, 2015
aw

weird
Liked by: suns_light

### Should you or should you not take it personally when a friend distances themself from you?

December 07, 2015
I mean I dunno how to not take that personally, but they could potentially have a lot of shit going on in their lives that means they need space...and a lot of that shit might not have anything in particular to do with you.

### Anthony if you could write a screenplay for a film that stars David Tennant what would it be about?

December 07, 2015
him making out with a brown 28 year old for ninety minutes
Liked by: Becky Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Mournful Walrus Brian Carney Ash sad boy sdfsdfsdffsdf Adam Kolacz

### I legit just signed up to this website to compliment your new profile pic on Twitter. You look so cute and happy on it, it makes me happy every time I see it on Twitter (also, congrats on Rocketjump : the show, the first ep was great can't wait to see more !!)

December 07, 2015
aw thax

### "The Internet has given rise to a mentality that you don't have to grow as a person or change at all, because SOMEWHERE, no matter what, out on the Internet is a niche group that thinks exactly the way that you think and will reinforce you no matter what." validity to this, or simplification?

December 07, 2015
Horrible simplification. Twitter exposed me to tons of viewpoints I'd never seen before. I just plain didn't understand the first thing about trans identities until Twitter.
Liked by: Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II idonthaveaname

### I'm really poor at finding dates. What's your best/worst advice?

December 07, 2015
If you're using dating sites, have basic-ass punctuation and grammar skills. Don't ever make rape jokes. Use exclamation points and be genuinely interested in something about the person other than their appearance or their media (everybody likes Game of Thrones, it's not a good first foray into conversation), then ask them about it.
Liked by: Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II

### Hot dog or burger?

December 07, 2015
veggie burgers tend to be better (unless we're talking about one particular hot dog stand in austin)

### rocketjump just came out on hulu! :D Congrats!

December 07, 2015
thanks! hope you dig it

### A couple of months ago I watched a video of you and a bunch of people playing a charades-like game, do you happen to remember what it was called? Or am I crazy?

December 07, 2015
Fishbowl? Monikers?

### You still following pro wrestling?

November 30, 2015
I just watch the big PPV events, generally

### Do you find yourself tiring of genres like sci-fi and action as you get older or basically as interested

November 30, 2015
I wish I could get more tired of them because then I'd feel a deep, insatiable hunger for the new. As it stands, I still go see Marvel movies even though I kind of just shrug at them nowadays

### Are there any other games as good and addicting as Spelunky? I need a new challenge.

November 29, 2015
NOPE
Liked by: professional righter

### Hey Anthony I have a question so I was completely convinced that I was aro/ace like 6 months ago and now I'm completely in love with my best friend of 3 years and in an amazing relationship. Am I a scumbag for thinking that as my identity even though it clearly wasn't?

November 29, 2015
Nobody's a scumbag for trying to figure themselves out.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Yoppi! Becky sheananigans Aayushi

### In regards to your "why do ladies love Bucky?" confusion, I think Jonathan Holmes put it nicely when he said that a mean person being just a little nice seems like huge character growth, whereas flitting back and forth like a real person just appears tiring. Fans also get this reaction vice versa.

Peter Flynn
November 25, 2015
I get that story principle (it's why we like Mr Darcy and The Rock), but Bucky doesn't even feel like that to me. He's a guy who got brainwashed and has basically no agency, and the second he does, he tries to be sorta nice. He feels more like an object to me than a person. Versus, say, Loki, who has a lot of really interesting inner conflict going on.

### Is there any meaning in your life that the inevitable death awaiting you does not destroy?

November 24, 2015
nope, but things don't exist just to not be destroyed

### What do you think of the sonic sunglasses on this season of Doctor Who?

November 10, 2015
sure

### Jack imprisoned and tortured his daughter for years to further his company. Jack rewarded Claptrap's help in building a Hyperion empire with a mass genocide. Jack was literally going to murder a planet over classism. He's a megalomaniacal sociopath. How does anyone think he's capable of redemption?

November 09, 2015
cause he's funny
Liked by: yavebi3783 Jeffrey Daria Drenker Monkey D. Luffy The Iron Bull sad boy Becky Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II David Kris Ramjam

### oh yeah it's been a year today since I got my bird, all thanks to you dude. No one's sure of the sex but the ladies at the shop think it's a girl. and i still don't have a name for it, except for, like, "cutie" but i call everything that. http://imgur.com/KxOFaYC

mackenzie charlton
November 09, 2015
ahhh it adorab
Liked by: sheananigans mackenzie charlton

### What did you think of the war room confrontation in last night's Doctor Who, assuming you're still hate watching it (S9 seems a dramatic step up from every other Moffat year tho)

November 08, 2015
I...hm. I really really liked the bit about how you can turn horror and war into something positive, and the bit about how all wars are just a bunch of fighting that precedes two people sitting down and talking.

That said, a lot of the stuff the Doctor says to Zygella basically felt like someone grabbing the camera and shouting, "hey, BlackLivesMatter people! Stop complaining! Be peaceful and talk with us on our terms, not yours, you big babies!"

### how old were gaige and angel supposed to be? a lot of people are bickering about it right now because i guess one is underaged and one isnt and people ship them together? i thought someone once said gaige was 18 but i cant find a source and i dont want to ship them if its illegal :(

November 07, 2015
I headcanoned Gaige as 18 because I knew people were going to sexualize her no matter what
Liked by: Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II

### i have a feeling you could totally rock a septum piercing

November 07, 2015
NUP

### So how did your uncle helping your mom buy a car lead to your entire career? We never found it. It's the ultimate backstory! It has to be told!

Peter Flynn
November 05, 2015
Man fuck if I know

I was pretty sure we were just about to find out our uncle was our dad
Liked by: Becky sad boy

### re: fan reaction to Jack's betrayal, I also think we are culturally ADDICTED to the trope of Mean, Sexy, Charismatic Dude Who Can Be Turned Good For That One Special Person (i.e. The Reader). You see it most blatantly in girl fandoms (hellooooo vampire boyfriends), but dudes are just as susceptible

November 05, 2015
Right. Which is, like -- I get it. I get the desire for that. We all want to believe that we, or our loved ones, can always find some sort of redemption. That's a wonderful, comforting idea.

I don't know how true it is, though. If your father abuses you from birth, and then he feels kind of bad about it later, that doesn't magically make him a good person who deserves your forgiveness.
Liked by: Becky Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Jeffrey Ninjustin Rainy

### Do you know that people are complaining and accusing writers that Jack was out of character in Tales because he betrayed Rhys even if you had been nice to him for whole game? Or because he didn't end up as 'good' character? How ridiculous is this? These ppl should play in other bl games

November 04, 2015
I think those people are confusing what they what with what's correct, which is something we all do (including me -- my initial instinct was to give Jack a redemption arc). We can pretend Jack is a decent guy who went wrong, but he enslaved his daughter and strangles people to death just for shits. He is a bad person.

It'd be nice for Jack to become a good person, sure, but what is that then saying? That abusers deserve as much empathy as their victims? That when an abuser says "hey, I can change," you should believe them?
Liked by: Peligro Público Lottie Lee Bohnert Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II sad boy Jay Ninjustin sheananigans Becky Jeffrey

### why did Helios have one central power core the only reason anything has one power core is so people can destroy the power core

November 04, 2015
hi
Liked by: VertigoCharades

### On the Kojima-less MGS, Ghost Babel, Portable Ops, and a couple "unofficial" MGS games are actually held in high regard. I have some faith if it is someone who worked under Kojima and knows his style.

November 04, 2015
Yeah, but those are portable games and have different expectations on them.
Liked by: professional righter

### I'm kind of stressed out and sort of depressed between academics and not having people to talk to. Did you enjoy school? I ask because you're a writer and that's what I enjoy doing outside of school.

November 04, 2015
I fucking hated school. I don't have any memories of college because I disassociated so hard. I had a couple of good creative writing classes and completely failed to flirt with some people, but that's it.
Liked by: Ninjustin professional righter

### Is it possible that a Metal Gear Solid game without Kojima could actually be better story-wise...? They have yet to be but assuming they hire a decent writer

November 03, 2015
Yes, it could be "better" in many, many regards, but it could also be less stupid and weird and random and where-the-fuck-did-you-come-up-with-that. Which is kind of what makes MGS MGS.
Liked by: VertigoCharades

### An interesting spin on No Wrong Way To Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p747PrxmZJ4

November 03, 2015
neato, adding this to the queue

### (2/2)would say sexist things, and then would act like "Oh, sorry, shouldn't say that in front of a lady." Somehow it's okay, yet saying something racist and going, oh we shouldn't say it front of black people, is not. It may be stupid, but it helped me, maybe will help others.

November 03, 2015
this is great.
Liked by: Will Murphy Samantha Dale

### (1/2)I just wanted to share something about recognizing sexism that I had a lot of trouble with before. It's a crude test, but if you replace the woman with a black person in a statement, and it sounds racist, it's probably sexist. I had trouble understanding why it bothered me when people

November 03, 2015
.
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### Do You think that Jack should have had a redemption story in Tales? I tought that he would sacrifice himself in the end but he remained asshole :(

November 03, 2015
I think Telltale did the right thing. It's tempting to say Jack is a good person deep down, that he's no different than the other characters in the game...except he's fucking awful. He's an abusive monster, and though I love redemption stories (because they tell all of us that, deep down, maybe we're not as awful as we think we are and that we can be better than we are), a story about Jack becoming a good guy would be dishonest. That's not how abusers are, generally, and stories that perpetuate that idea are probably in some way responsible for abuse victims remaining with their abusers. There is some good in everyone, sure, but a little drop of good doesn't forgive an ocean of horrible.
Liked by: Gray Lefrancois Daria Drenker Lottie Lee Bohnert Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Becky Caz Buss Bazyl Gimbazyl Jay Jeffrey sad boy

### http://images-cdn.9gag.com/photo/638154_700b.jpg Were you trying to make this joke in your Ecco the Dolphin HAWP?

November 03, 2015
not intentionally

### (part 3) but I actually got two questions. When writing Jack, was his whole backstory already worked out? Was the mark just there for the "ohh" effect, or was the entire story with Lilith already written? Also: does it annoy you getting asked about borderlands all the time? Nonetheless, thank you!

Jay
November 02, 2015
Firstly, thank you so much for the kind words. I'm incredibly sorry that you've had to go through something like that, but I'm happy the game could have helped you in some tiny way.

Secondly, his backstory got worked out steadily as we progressed through the plot and wanted to find a way to make him and Angel more directly relevant to each other. Once we'd done that, we realized Angel needed to be a Siren, and that same logic also led us, conveniently, to finding a (damsel-y) way of getting Lilith offstage in the game's third act.

Thirdly, no, it doesn't annoy me, because I'm basically a narcissist and answering BL questions gives me an opportunity to talk about myself.
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Becky Jay Jeffrey

### (part 2) Though I see my father in him, he's also very clearly bpd. Dealing with him helped me A LOT to come to terms with my own bpd, and I'm really happy he isn't just "that crazy villain", but actually human. He's still who he his, but.. it's hard to describe, he and his writing really helped me

Jay
November 02, 2015
.
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert

### (part 1) So first off, thanks a lot for Jack and Angel. As a daughter who grew up with an abusive father, I really loved how Angel was handled. I especially loved how her last words wasn't any regret, but calling her father an asshole. But also thanks for Jack

Jay
November 02, 2015
.
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert

### How adept are you at recognizing your anons?

October 31, 2015
not
Liked by: professional righter

### I kissed a guy tonight, as a straight guy gotta say it wasn't anything magic. i kissed a chick too and comparing there was no victor. it just...was. i have no idea why i'm saying this to you. maybe it feels gossipy to me and it feels like an outlet to you of speaking of gay acts.

October 31, 2015
It's cool. Maybe you're just not into guys, or into guys that look like that, or that guy. Nobody's under any responsibility to be bi.
Liked by: Peter "The Rocket" Bennett

### What could someone dress as for Halloween to actually scare you?

Jason
October 31, 2015
my dad
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert sad boy Jason professional righter Ninjustin

### On lies: I want to exp. being single in college (after not being single for 5 years), but I want to end up with my current gf afterwards. I've accepted that's probably not gonna happen, so I'm just staying with her. Is me lying about these feelings okay? Telling her outright doesn't sound beneficial

October 31, 2015
Oof. I dunno, man. I'd ask somebody smarter about this, but it seems like it'd be kinda unfair to use your girlfriend as a safety net while you explore other stuff...but at the same time, depending on how your relationship works, you could always discuss this kinda thing with her if you think she'd be receptive to it.

If you don't intend on fully going after other people, if you're not in agony with your current gf and not just using her to avoid the horrors of loneliness, then don't tell her. If we told our loved ones every little thought that entered our heads they would (and, in my experience, do) react harshly. Honesty is important, but not if it's honesty about something you never really intended to do that will only hurt someone's feelings.

### just saw freddie wong's latest instagram; goddam you look good in a suit

October 30, 2015
thanks!
Liked by: Becky Ur Mum

### On lying to people you love: I feel like it's generally a bad idea because "protecting" someone from something implies that you know what's best for them, when it's really up to them how to react or respond to something. The intent is good but I'd say lying to a loved one is best avoided.

October 30, 2015
Right.

### It's good to listen again to the hawpcast! It made me realize lots of not-so-good things about Moffat's dr who. Do you like/watch south park? I usually love it, but the last seaon seems pretty focused against PC. It's a case of "suck it up, satire affects everyone" or it's problematic?

October 30, 2015
South Park at its worst has a bullshit, mocking attitude toward both sides of any given conflict, which is a really easy and smug way to be above something and feel superior without actually taking a real stance (which of course benefits them, as they're in a position of power)
Liked by: Ninjustin

### Can I still enjoy your MGS book if I've only played Sons of Liberty?

October 30, 2015
it'll be a lot less entertaining cause it's about MGS1, but you can give it a go. I've spoken to people who never played 1 who still enjoyed it.

### yo anthony. i just wanna say, i know you feel anxious and sad sometimes, but whatever happens, just remember, you have a beautiful dick and we'd all love to suck it. you take care now

October 30, 2015
oh dear

### Is it ever fair to hide things from the people you love? Even if you are protecting them, is it fair?

October 29, 2015
Ooh. Damn.

I dunno. If you're protecting them, maybe? But you'd have to be very very careful that you're not actually just putting off telling them a necessary evil that they'll eventually discover anyway, or that they deserve to know.
Liked by: Jeffrey Stella Miracula

### To the (new) trigger warnings person: Borderlands is very upfront about it including violence. It'd be reasonable to expect a trigger warning in a game that doesn't usually or clearly involve that sort of violence. That way someone with PTSD won't get surprised and traumatised while playing the Sims

October 29, 2015
yar
Liked by: Becky

### have you seen any of izombie? I was reluctant because it looked...well...dumb, but it's actually an incredibly charming, smart show. I think you'd really dig it.

October 29, 2015
Might get around to it at some point. I'm one of like three people in the world who didn't like Veronica Mars very much so I wasn't in a rush to check it out.

### So... Best episode of Tales from the Borderlands and best moment overall. Can't be any scene you wrote. GO!

October 29, 2015
"Rhys, let me go"
Liked by: Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Caz Buss mackenzie charlton Becky

### But why do sexual abuse victims get special treatment? Sounds bizzare but there are victims of everything everywhere. There were no trigger warnings for midgets in BL. There were no trigger warnings about PTSD when countless people are killed for comedic value in BL. Everythings okay or nothing is.

October 29, 2015
Have you been reading literally ANYTHING I have been saying about triggering in the last five questions? It is a different, PHYSICAL thing that happens. "Everything's okay or nothing is" is a quick way of saying "I do not know what I am talking about and it is easier to paint everything with a broad brush so I don't have to change my views and still get to believe that I am basically a good guy and everyone else is just a big baby".
Liked by: Peligro Público Natalie Rivera sad boy professional righter Jeffrey Jesse Lee rainblooded Sineado Vanheusen

### ey yo what's your opinion on golems?

Peter Flynn
October 29, 2015
they aight
Liked by: Helena Oreo

### In your experience/opinion, is an internship a viable way to "break in" to writing vs. spending a ton of time and money on college?

October 28, 2015
I honestly don't have any experience in this area, sorry.
Liked by: professional righter

### I think western media-saturated society has collectively overestimated the value of shock humor. People laugh because it's an immediate way of dealing with discomfort. And don't even start on how we misconstrue these comedians as "pushing a boundary". Sometimes that's the same as being an asshole.

Peter Flynn
October 28, 2015
Agreed. Comedy, at its best, reveals some sort of deeper truth that may be uncomfortable or revelatory. We learn something about ourselves, or the world at large. Shock comedy CAN do this -- Louis CK -- but the vast majority of the time, "shocking" comedy simply restates shitty stereotypes and prejudices back at us in a really loud voice, making us uncomfortable (hence the laughter) but also reinforcing shitty shit.
Liked by: Decay_0 Ninjustin sheananigans Jeffrey VertigoCharades

### How do you criticize what are frankly some pretty disgusting attitudes in progressive (*cough* tumblr) communities without it looking like you're validating every MRA "SJW!!!!!!!$&$()" stereotype?

October 28, 2015
I wish I knew. It's fucking difficult, because the line between "this one particular person or group of people is awful" and "this entire philosophy as a whole responds to things incorrectly" (which I don't believe is generally true) gets extremely blurry on twitter, where the only stuff that rises above the noise is snark and anger. And people get angrier when you tell them that their anger is excessive, because it's "tone policing," which is often a real problem from people in power. But sometimes, it isn't "tone policing," it's "holy shit stop saying that you want this person to die or come to harm, or stop unloading on them with an unyielding, blind fury that makes you look like an angry stereotype of a progressive person and by extension makes the rest of us look like radicals and buffoons".

So, I dunno what to do about that, really.

View more

Liked by: Adam R sad boy Ninjustin sheananigans Jeffrey

### Why does saying it can hurt victims of sexual abuse (talking about rape jokes) matter? Shock humour is funny not because of the subject matter, it's because you're joking about something very taboo. All trigger warnings and such do is keep victims or even just wary people afraid of everything.

October 28, 2015
Why does it matter that I might be causing physical and emotional pain to someone who has been raped?

Why WOULDN'T that matter?

What's at stake if I DON'T make those jokes? What do I lose? Some people who find rape jokes funny don't get to laugh as hard? I still get to make jokes about all other kinds of taboo things.

If you've got significant data suggesting that trigger warnings make people more afraid of things and don't help them in any way, I'd like to see them. Otherwise, you're arguing for rape victims to be surprise-assaulted by the media they consume just because you think YOU know what's best for them. Which is not okay.
Liked by: Peligro Público Natalie Rivera Ninjustin Jeffrey

### Oh, I get it. So it's kind of like being a vegetarian. Sure, you're missing out on some great meals and flavours, but there still plenty of vegetarian dishes, plus you're hurting any animals in the process.

October 28, 2015
Kinda, sure.

### But the problem with your suggestion of minding what you say because you'll upset a minority, however large, no matter what you do. How about we actually do use an all-white cast in Star Wars to keep the racists happy?

October 28, 2015
For the third time: stop conflating "you'll trigger people" with "you'll upset people." I don't care about upsetting people, which is why everything I write still has sex jokes and profanity and mean characters.

I care about not triggering people, which, again, is a physical thing. If I was capable of making a video that would make the audience feel like they've been punched in the stomach, I wouldn't do that.

That's not the ONLY thing I care about (I care about not putting women or people of color in situations that perpetuate the shitty treatment they've already gotten), but that's what I'm talking about.
Liked by: Caz Buss sad boy

### What do you think of comedians with basically one mode of humor? I still watch Zero Punctuation and John Oliver on Last Week Tonight (love him) and it's always entertaining even though they pretty much just use the same joke template again and again and again (this? that's like this!!)

October 28, 2015
I dig it so long as the substance changes. I watch John Oliver because I'm learning a thing in an entertaining way, not because I'm there for the jokes. I stopped watching ZP because it felt like all the reviews started to say basically the same thing.
Liked by: Becky sad boy rainblooded professional righter

### Play Downwell yet? That shit is diamonds.

October 28, 2015
i can't get past world 2 :(

### How's your facial recognition skills?

October 28, 2015
bad

### I dunno, I guess I just disagree with the statement "X isn't funny". Sure Im not going to make rape jokes around rape victims because thats fucked up, but I dont think that means they're off the table because someone might hear and get offended. Do you think your larger audience negates that, maybe?

October 28, 2015
I'm not saying "X isn't funny," I'm saying "X stands a chance of doing a tangible harm to a percentage of your audience (potentially a very large percentage, as roughly 1 in 5 women have been victims of sexual assault), and the potential harm of that doesn't outweigh the potential benefit of making a bunch of people laugh." There are tons of things you can do to make people laugh that DON'T come with a risk of tangible harm, so why not do those things, instead? Yes, it's harder, and yes, it removes some easy avenues of comedy, but if you're at all good at your job of making people laugh, that shouldn't really be a big deal.

And, again, you have to separate "get offended" from "triggers a PTSD-esque flashback to the moment someone hurt them."
Liked by: Peligro Público Natalie Rivera Campbell MacNeil JimJamJammyJam Doug Pete K Andre Harrison sad boy Stephen Hawkins ShadowAi

### Hey, Anthony. I'm a big fan of yours but I disagree with a lot of your social views. (Trigger warnings/SJW...ism, ect) I was just wondering what made you make jump from the "Every thing is funny or nothing is" camp to "All my videos need trigger warnings". I'm not being a dick here. Legit question!

October 28, 2015
I talked to/befriended/dated people who had been personally hurt by sexual violence, and had a hard time laughing at, say, rape jokes because they were triggering. I learned that triggering isn't the same as being offended -- that it's a tangible, physical reaction on par with a PTSD flashback. At that point, it's literally a choice between "tell jokes that may cause *physical pain* to people" and "be slightly less funny".
Liked by: Peligro Público Natalie Rivera sad boy Ninjustin professional righter Jeffrey

### Are there any films you love only half or a portion of, while finding the rest of it meh or even bad?

October 27, 2015
Sunshine -- first two acts
Inglourious Basterds -- a few scenes here and there but it doesn't hang together as a movie imo
I Am Legend -- first two acts

### FUCK. YES. http://www.vulture.com/2015/10/tennant-and-tate-returning-to-the-who-niverse.html

October 27, 2015
YAZ

### what are ya favorite mass effect squad mates?

October 27, 2015
Tali
Wrex
Liara
Wrex

### I was a little confused during Rhys and Jack's final confrontation, where Jack is listing off the people who betrayed him and he brings up his girlfriend. What did he mean by that? Was he talking about Nisha or Moxxi? Thanks!

October 27, 2015
Moxxi.
Liked by: Natalie Rivera Becky Kerissa Young

### Laci Green is a known transphobe... I'd get links but I'm on mobile. I bet you could find the stuff if you looked tho.

October 26, 2015
I looked up some stuff on Your Fav is Problematic and she seemed to be pretty decent at responding to criticism/apologizing for past mistakes.
Liked by: Kerissa Young professional righter

### Any thoughts on the work of Laci Green? If you don't know who she is I've included a video for your perusal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukJoVHfEBGs

October 26, 2015
Love her.

### my problem wrt the romance/lgbt/etc aspect of tftbl is that so often in narratives queer characters are designated to the sidelines while the main characters remain that normative standard. ie the janey/athena relationship did progress substantially, but 80% of it was off-screen, & almost always is

October 26, 2015
That's fair. There's definitely always room for improvement -- I'm just personally happy about the progress we DID make.
Liked by: Natalie Rivera Becky sorryoldman Jeffrey

### Ey, just wanted to let you know that you absolutely slam-dunked that ask about the friendzone, I've been debilitatingly crushing on this one girl and reading all that helped more than you know. You're literally an inspiration. Also, you used the word "smooch" in the exact ideal amount, good job.

October 26, 2015
oh great, glad to hear it.

### (cont cont) and uh, for reference, excusing away a gay persons disappointment about rep with things like "be happy with what you have" (generalizing what was said) and/or "you're just mad about your ship!" is...pretty uncool.

October 26, 2015
That's fair. Apologies.
Liked by: Decay_0 sorryoldman Jeffrey handsome jack

### I actually really enjoyed how much LGBTA *was* in Tales! Lots of Athena and Janey, those gay Hyperion guards, Fiona coming off as very asexual and uninterested in romance; does all that not count? That "hetero focused" ask smacks very deeply of "my ship didn't become canon and I'm mad" to me.

October 26, 2015
Yeah, I thought Tales did a pretty good job in this regard.
Liked by: Becky

### @ other anon asking about the "dad" thing: it's like a tumblr fandom in-joke thing to refer to the creators of their fandom as their parents. like people calling todd howard bethesdad.

October 26, 2015
ah

### Firstly, glad to see your back I love your ask.fm. Secondly, are there any games like Gone Home that utilize gameplay to tell a story? I absolutely love that aspect of Gone Home.

October 26, 2015
Her Story, Papers Please

### I know it wasn't entirely your doing, but I just wanted to thank you and whoever else worked on the scene with Rhys confronting Jack in episode 5. For myself and a lot of other abuse survivors it was just... really empowering to play through that, and it was painful but it made me really happy.

October 25, 2015
Pierre Shorette is mainly to thank for that. My first pass was WAY too easy on Jack, made him way too remorseful. The Telltale folks were much better at remembering that he's still, inherently, a piece of shit.
Liked by: Natalie Rivera Becky Kerissa Young

### any halloween traditions?

October 25, 2015
Consider doing a costume, then don't
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I'm worried that with you off the team there will be less push in BL3 for lgbta characters. There are other people on board for pushing past the straight cis status quo even though you're gone, right? :(

October 25, 2015
Yup.
Liked by: Natalie Rivera Becky

### How to deal with self-hatred? I'm worried I might fall into depression someday....

October 25, 2015
For me, therapy and hanging out with my friends more (and opening up to them in safe situations) helped a LOT.
Liked by: Jason Jeffrey Brian Carney Ash

### Oh shit, Anthony, you diggin' Nathan For You? I've never understood why more people aren't in to that show, especially when a huge amount of it is on Youtube.

October 25, 2015
Dude basically invented a new form of comedy

### @AO3Scribe's ask, zer0 is genderless. them being misgendered in two games does not change that. if zer0 was meant to be nonbinary as multiple devs have confirmed, then they are nonbinary. it would take less effort to use the correct pronouns in future games than to make a new nonbinary character.

October 25, 2015
That's if you believe the feelings of the creator take precedence over the actual text. I'd like to believe the characters of Borderlands would be progressive enough not to misgender someone, as much as I'd like to think of zero as nonbinary.
Liked by: yavebi3783 Natalie Rivera

### I hate Assassin's Creed. You and your fans hate it. But I say this as someone who works in a high school: not everyone hates it. Whenever my students find out I'm into video games, that's their first question. "Oh cool!! Do you play Assassin's Creed??" It's mad popular w young folks.

wallid h fielding
October 25, 2015
I can see that. It's simple, but makes you feel like a badass. Hell, better they're playing that if only cause there's some historical shit
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### did you crush or keep?

October 25, 2015
Keep. I (Anthony, not Rhys) owe him too much.
Liked by: what's a gender Becky mackenzie charlton

### why do so many girls on tumblr call you dad. not even "daddy" in the kinky way, just like, "dad" and "father"

October 25, 2015
What
Liked by: Brian Carney Ash

### Why was tftb so hetero focused? One of my favorite things about the BL series is that it has so many lgbt characters, for once I feel like focus is on us when I'm in the BL universe. I know you only wrote some Jack scenes for the game, but why was such an important part of the BL canon looked over?

October 25, 2015
I disagree. I think the Athena/Springs relationship makes way more overt progress in Tales than in any other game.
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert Caz Buss Becky

### Honestly, I don't think Zer0 should be switched to vague pronouns. He has two games worth of support for male canonicity. Wouldn't it be better to start working towards a new agender character in the next Borderlands? Someone that has in game support for it, instead of just external statements?

AO3Scribe
October 25, 2015
Very fair point.
Liked by: Caz Buss Jeffrey

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWHUjuJ8zxE Hype time now?

October 23, 2015
yuz

### I REALLY want to get a tattoo of Rhys's chest markings, it being my first tattoo. My only worry is that, since nobody knows the full art from the game, that I'll get one thing and find out in a later addition that I was way off. Should I get what I think it will be, and make it my own?

October 23, 2015
Iiiii think that's up to you

I wouldn't but you do you

### how come assassins creed never gets <7 reviews when everybody hates it?

October 23, 2015
I guess the core loop or promise just clicks for some people, I dunno. I never found either appealing, so the games bounce off me like bullets off Superman.

### For good or for ill, people are never going to stop shipping characters any way they so choose, canon be damned. Do you think that's bad?

AO3Scribe
October 23, 2015
No. Art is a two way street.
Liked by: Natalie Rivera Becky AO3Scribe

### anthony. why are we still using he/him pronouns for zer0 in tales from the borderlands?? didn't you basically confirm them as agender and using they/them pronouns :(

kirk
October 23, 2015
That's actually my fault. I literally just forgot I intended to do that as I was writing a lot of the dialog referring to them -- I'm sorry. It's just so easy to slip back into gender normative stuff with Zero (especially since I've referred to them as "him" for years). It's not Telltale's fault, it's mine.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky kirk

### apparently the whole fandom is blowing up right now because rhys/jack didn't end up canon... it's like these people don't understand he was just using and abusing him? im actually a little worried these people see jack's behaviors as "affection" like that's a little worrying lol...

October 23, 2015
Yeah, that's...we never talked about that being an actual thing.

Jack is a bad guy. Yeah, he opens up a little from time to time, but I dunno if he ever REALLY respected Rhys as a person.
Liked by: Natalie Rivera Caz Buss Diana a.k.a King Ass Cheeks II Emily Becky Kris Ramjam

### I just finished Tales from the Borderlands and it was absolutely fantastic and it reminded me of how I like Borderlands 2 and that you wrote so thank you for that also this isn't a question but hey you're a cool person bye

October 23, 2015
thax
Liked by: Natalie Rivera Caz Buss Becky

### I was friendzoned today, but i still love her. What should I do?

October 22, 2015
(psst don't call it friendzoning that makes it seem like she's being cruel or selfish or something when the reality is that she's just not attracted to you at all and doesn't want to be mean about it; things made much more sense to me when i stopped thinking of it as the friendzone and started thinking of it as the uglyzone)

So, this is a big struggle. A lot of people I know have an easy time being friends with people they're in love with/attracted to. I kinda don't -- it's difficult for me.

If you'd asked me this a few years ago, I would have suggested you do what I do most of the time, and just never speak to that person ever again to save yourself the heartache.

However. My friend, who is MUCH smarter than me, recommends two things: firstly, acknowledge that this kind of thing happens all the time. You will develop crushes on people and your brain will make them into something they're not -- every crush must MEAN something, this girl must be the ONE, she must be the ONLY person who can make me feel this way. Part of getting over this feeling is understanding that, actually, there's nothing THAT special about this person. You've felt this way before, and will feel this way again, and it's just your brain saying X and Y and Z when given certain inputs about a person.

Secondly, try to accept that your brain solipsistically interprets everything in terms of ME. It's hard for us to not wish that everyone we liked was in relationships with us or having sex with us, and that's what leads to us desiring them like they're the goddamned antidote to a poison, and what makes us get so stupendously jealous when they start smooching other people. Understanding that this is just something our brain does, and that it's inherently kind of shitty ("she should be with me" implies she's not smart enough to know what she wants/what'd be good for her), and that it's NORMAL and NOT SPECIAL, makes it easier to just ignore.

Like, yes, you're in love with your friend. But it's not special. It's not a big deal. She's not the only person who could make you happy. Part of the reason you're feeling these intense feelings is specifically because she doesn't like you back (so you can imagine that it'd be SO AMAZING if she just DID like you back, rather than dealing with the messy reality of how actual relationships work). And the platonic affection from a friendship is easy to mistranslate as romantic affection, or to hope it morphs into romantic affection, so you're in this heightened state of suspense -- like it feels as if you're 99% of the way there and just need a little push.

But you're not. And that's okay. It's normal. It's just your stupid brain. And it happens. And learning to be friends with someone you want to smooch is more important than smooching them, in the long run -- you're only going to smooch so many people, but you're gonna be friends with LOTS of them, and it's INEVITABLE that you'll be attracted to some of them.

View more

Liked by: Daria Drenker Ann Ellen Skagseth Emily Brian Carney Ash Hamish Shaw Becky Bazyl Gimbazyl Row Will Murphy Samantha Dale

### Glad to see you back, Burch-sama. Have you checked out How To Get Away With Murder? It's pretty good, and has some interesting character development and diversity.

October 22, 2015
No, but I've been meaning to. I really dug Scandal.

### QUICK! Best Bond, best Bond Movie, best Bond Villain, best Bond Cold Opening, and Best Bond Theme. GO!

October 22, 2015
so i have learned to really hate james bond the older i get, BUT

pierce brosnan
casino royale
alec trevelyan (or robert shaw in From Russia With Love, except for the part where he epitomizes the dumb monologuer trope)
casino royale
you know my name

### what was that angsty teenage black and white point and click you mentioned on twitter? it had an astronaut

October 22, 2015
4 lung boy http://gamejolt.com/games/4-lung-boy/17826

### People seem to really value your opinion on games, shows, etc. Do you consider yourself a tastemaker?

October 21, 2015
pahha no
Liked by: Kriselette Chopin

### Like that other anon, I too am in love with my best friend. Going on 15 years now, actually. As much as I've tried to compartmentalize it & have other long-term relationships, it just won't go away. But I feel like if he'd ever felt something, he'd have pursued me a long time ago. Thoughts, advice?

October 21, 2015
Before I say anything, I have one MAJOR caveat:

I have been in love with several of my best friends and it has never, ever led anywhere good. I know many people who ended up marrying their best friends and having lovely lives, but I am just, personally, not someone who has ever had any luck with it whatsoever.

So, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

If you've been going on 15 years, though...yeesh. Part of me is like, "well, you made it this far without ruining the friendship, why fuck things up now," while part of me is like "but what if you just needed to say something?" As I'm assuming he's a guy and you're a girl, a LOT of guys are VERY bad at reading signals, so there's definitely some potential nebulousness there even if he hasn't said anything.

So, I guess, you could do three things:

- Not tell him, ever. It'll keep hurting inside, but know that even if you DID tell him, it would STILL burn at you. At least this way, you've made things as not-awkward as possible for him. This is risky because you'll never know for certain how he feels.

- Tell him. You'll have to word it very carefully and let him know that you want your relationship to remain positive no matter what -- that you value him as a friend and if that's all he wants, that you're happy to just continue to be that (even if you're not). If you take this option, you have to focus, as much as possible, into making it feel casual and non-stressful for him as possible. Otherwise you risk the friendship taking serious damage.

- Lie, in an effort to get him to spill the beans first. Mention, lightheartedly and with a smile, that, early in your relationship, you had a crush on him. Try to get him to admit if he felt something similar. If he does, try to find out if/when he stopped having a crush. If he can't really respond with a good answer, that might mean that he still has feelings for you. If he doesn't admit to something similar, then that's a pretty good sign that he's never had a crush on you, and you've now got the certainty you need without having put yourself out in the open. This is risky (and to be honest, probably not a great idea) because there are a hundred little ways it can go wrong.

View more

Liked by: Kriselette Chopin

### I figured a good way to not masterbate for all the peeps that need ideas to abstain. so usually i would wank at night, but i figured out that if you go for a run (1 mile is the minimum for me) or like physically work your body, then have a shower the urge to self pleasure diminishes massively.

October 21, 2015
that sounds like a workable idea but holy shit is running the absolute worst
Liked by: Kriselette Chopin professional righter

### what i've realized that a lot of the people i know are against, like, non-binary genders and sexualitys and genders outside "the norm" of sociatah. where as i am not. yeah know? cos like, who the fuck am i to say a person can not be born this way and that every one can only be born of two genders

October 21, 2015
it's easy to assume, when confronted with something you've not seen before and genuinely don't understand, that the other person is just being weird/seeking attention/mentally ill
Liked by: Kriselette Chopin

### that is super cool to hear, because my dad owns a company that produces and sells caffeinated (natural, not like jif or skippy, etc.) peanut butter. would you be interested in something like that?? http://steempb.com/

vaughn's mom ♥
October 21, 2015
i don't like caffeine
Liked by: Kriselette Chopin

### how do you feel about collectibles in games? would they ever affect a review you were going to give a game or are they generally secondary/unnecessary enough that they don't factor in?

October 21, 2015
if they exist to pad out a game that's not enjoyable otherwise, as they often are, i get irked

irk irk
Liked by: Kriselette Chopin

### (Another important note about Undertale is that it's like 5 hours long)

October 21, 2015
NOW i'm ordering it
Liked by: Kriselette Chopin Adam Kolacz

### Thanks for coming back Anthony. Talking to you is like my therapy so thanks for listening/reading what I say. How've you been?

October 20, 2015
pretty good

really good, actually -- stepping away from my twitter and ask reminded me of how not-hostile the world actually is, generally speaking. i got so used to turning on my computer and seeing hateful shit from gamerdweebs every ten minutes that I gradually began to just assume that's how things are. Stepping away for a while gave me a lot of nice perspective. (And reminds me that I lose very little by shutting off my social media presence.)
Liked by: Becky Jeffrey sheananigans

### Oh gosh, Undertale is VERY worth checking out. It is kind of like an oldschool Earthbound-style NES RPG and has difficult battles (especially if you go Pacifist), but it's a beautiful weird little game with some really amazing heart, humor and important messages in it, a real breath of fresh air.

October 20, 2015
hrmmm maybe i'll toss it on the list
Liked by: Kerissa Young Adam Kolacz

### did you like the gears of war games at all at any point?

October 20, 2015
not really

### (2/2) than essays, to be honest. Essays are for people who are already open to concepts, you and Ash get a lot of people over the first emotional hurdle the same way the Doctor makes not being violent a cool thing to emulate, you've put more good in the world than you've taken :D (#GeometryWars)

October 20, 2015
wooo this is good to hear

### I use HAWPcasts (and I would assume hundreds more than just me do) as a form of anxiety treatment, among other podcasts, since it lets me feel like I'm hanging out with you guys in a comfortable environment. They're also a more palatable delivery mechanism for feminism/socially conscious thought 1/2

October 20, 2015
.

### Burch, just letting you know you've done good in taking Borderlands from a fun, but mostly unmemorable Mad Max/Diablo knockoff, into a fun, colorful, and very memorable series. Hell, Tales from the Borderlands shows just what kind of legacy you've left. People do love it.

October 20, 2015
thanks very much. i can't take much credit considering how much of the worldbuilding and tone were other people, but thank you nonetheless.
Liked by: Becky Jeffrey sad boy Kerissa Young

### It's been awhile. Glad you're back. What TV shows or movies have you been watching?

October 20, 2015
Nathan For You, Adam Ruins Everything, X-Files, TNG, Sicario

all good
Liked by: professional righter

### ANTHONY there is no one I can talk to about this. I am legit in love with my best friend. She told me (unprompted) that she had feelings for me, but didn't want to act on them yet because she just got out of a relationship. Do I have any chance, or is it going to blow over by the time she's over him

October 20, 2015
If her feelings means anything at all, they shouldn't blow over (and if they do blow over, it's because they weren't real anyway and would have just caused you both a lot of grief had you acted upon them). It'd be much worse to jump the gun and try it now when things are still raw; if she's still raw, and the relationship fails, there'll be no real way to know if it's because you guys aren't compatible or if her battle scars from the previous relationship are messing with her.

I think the best thing you can do right now is let her know that you feel the same way, and that you want to be there for her in whatever way she needs right now.

### mr burch this is super important: do you like peanut butter??

vaughn's mom ♥
October 20, 2015
YES

### What Mary Sue article brought you back to Ask FM?

October 19, 2015
http://www.themarysue.com/borderlands-and-asexual-representation/

As I put it when someone showed it to me: articles like this are nearly the only time I can feel like I've done any tangible good in the world
Liked by: Becky

### 2/2 The guy I live with uses the N-word jokingly and makes get-in-the-kitchen jokes in front of my girlfriend. I tried casually saying sexism ain't my jam, and he looked at me like I was speaking Urdu (we are not Pakistani) How do you express "SJW" ideals in real world spaces without being an alien?

Peter Flynn
October 19, 2015
I'm not the best at it, but I generally try to do a few things:

- Be funny and casual about it
- Bring it up like you just learned an interesting thing and are sharing it, often by invoking empirical fact or self-deprecation
- Redirect really quickly so the person doesn't feel forced into an argument

For instance, I once was talking to a few co-workers (whom I really liked) who were laughing about how a girl who was considering applying for a job was probably not all that qualified for a programming job because (A) she was really pretty and (B) she posted pictures of her cleavage on her facebook.

So, I tried to make light of it by saying, "yeah, but, haha, I dunno what pictures she could possibly post that would convince me she was good at programming. Like, her holding her CS degree all [me making a flirtatious face while holding an imaginary CS degree]? Plus, like, you know, if I could feel good about myself by taking hot photos, I totally would. If I wasn't, like, a horrible brown hair monster. I dunno. Is she nice?"

This wasn't perfect, by any means, but it got one dude to go "haha, yeah, I guess that's fair" and they stopped making fun of her. But we didn't get into an argument, and I'd indirectly communicated that that kinda talk wasn't super cool (at least, not around me -- I'm pretty sure a hefty portion of the rest of the company laughed at my hyperprogressivism a lot when I wasn't around, but that's okay).

View more

Liked by: Natalie Rivera Ann Ellen Skagseth

### 1/2 How the hell does one communicate social issues outside of their nice neat echo chamber? Topics of trigger warnings, word usage and generally treating people with dignity are so simple online with a cultivated audience, but I have no idea how to debate them in real life who think it's a joke.

Peter Flynn
October 19, 2015
.

### What can people do who need therapy but can't afford it? People like you act as if it's like picking up groceries.

October 17, 2015
If you google "pro bono therapy" it's possible that you'll find something

Also I tend to assume that if someone has the access to the internet and the free time to ask questions of a guy who wrote videogame fart jokes, they have a certain degree of disposable income
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Could You eleborate on why You hate MGSV story?

October 17, 2015
https://storage.googleapis.com/hawpcast/hawpcast8.mp3
Liked by: professional righter

### Have you ever gone on a date with a boy?

October 17, 2015
yes

### What's the last romantic thing you did for someone?

October 17, 2015
i took my shirt off in front of my girlfriend

that's a pretty big gift
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### you are so god damn sexy all i wanna do is feed you homemade burritos you cut little armadillo

October 17, 2015
wat
Liked by: Kerissa Young VertigoCharades

### how much of halo did you play/ did like particularly like any of them

October 17, 2015
1-3/not really

### video games are starting till feel pointless c what do I do

October 17, 2015
read or watch movies for a while. worked for me -- i'll go for a month without games just to try it

### Hi Anthony, I just wanted to let you know that before eating at dinner, my family members each recite something or someone they're grateful for, and you are one of the people I've said.

Emily
October 17, 2015
oh wow
jeez
Liked by: professional righter

### Let's talk Dr. Ned. He can't go a sentence without mentioning not having a medical license, to the point it got hella annoying. It's like "dude, we got it." Was that the joke? Or was it just written in so much without thought to how many times it was established previously?

October 17, 2015
the latter

### If you ever write for videogames again, do you think you'll ever write something as good/funny as Saints Row IV? Is that not a worthy goal?

October 17, 2015
probably not
yes

### (2/? i lied) but... so often i think it's probably too little too late. that i'm fucking totally irreparable, broken beyond all hope, and there's just no point in trying. people my age who've had the invaluable luxury of some semblance of a healthy upbringing act like the disparity between their

October 17, 2015
YO you are not broken. There is something probably fucking cool about you, I'm certain. I don't know you at all, but I know you really opened up to a complete stranger on an ask.fm, and that takes both confidence, and a degree of self-knowledge that a lot of people don't possess.

i'd recommend you consider looking into therapy, personally
Liked by: Emily Jeffrey

### i had an awful childhood rife with abuse and neglect and consequently i feel like i have to both undo all the damage that was done to my psyche AND learn all the shit about functioning in the world that i missed out on as a kid before i can begin to make something of my adulthood. (1/2)

October 17, 2015
.

### if your a 10th grader and the girl you like is a senior will she talk to you?

October 17, 2015
if you spit mad game
Liked by: mackenzie charlton sad boy Chris Bui professional righter

### You had spoken recently about how Tina was more flirtation towards Moxxi but higher ups removed it. Why did they remove it? what do you think they where afraid of if they included it?

October 17, 2015
because they thought any sexual talk involving a young girl, even if the girl is the aggressor, was kinda weird

they're not completely wrong (see: the deleted scene from Leon where Matilda talks about wanting him to take her virginity)
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### My girlfriend is thinking of becoming vegan (even though you technically can't, hell, books kill animals through deforestation and glue) but it's making me realize I'm a piece of shit who'd rather leave and be miserable than stay despite her subscribing to rubbish logic and feeling guilted by it?

October 17, 2015
it sounds like your reasons for wanting to leave your girlfriend have very little to do with what animal products she consumes
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### How good are you at maintaining eye contact during social interactions?

October 17, 2015
not
Liked by: professional righter

### How honest are you when answering questions on here?

October 17, 2015
if i wasn't i probably wouldn't mention all the gross sex shit i mentioned
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### In your opinion, is omitting the truth the same as lying?

October 17, 2015
yes
Liked by: Ann Ellen Skagseth

### Does the intention of a lie change the fact that it's a lie?

October 17, 2015
no

### Are you more likely to reach out to the people you miss, or do nothing and hope the feeling goes away?

October 17, 2015
the latter

trying not to

### I saw you are anti skub in your last video. My question to you is, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! SKUB IS THE BEST! SKUB4LYF

Pro Skub
October 17, 2015
fuck skub you fucking skublover
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert

### So in MGS V you can take black people from Africa against their will. How has no one said anything about this?

October 17, 2015
IT'S PRETTY WEIRD

especially the bits with the children

i honestly think it's because a story has to reach a certain level of quality and clarity before people feel like it's even worth commenting on. like, duke nukem forever has a scene where you literally watch two raped (but topless and sexy) women EXPLODE, and then you can kick around their headless (but still tittified) torsos, but NOBODY really said word one about it because the story and game just weren't worth talking about.

maybe MGSV's story is just so incomprehensible and weird that it's easy for really weird shit like abducting children to get lost in the shuffle?

### Did you know that Microsoft actually uses dog noses for the thumbsticks on the gamecube controller? It takes too dogs lives to produce one controller, so if you own two controllers that's five dogs needlessly murdered for your godless 'entertainment'.

October 17, 2015
pahaha

### Do you find yourself using social media less when you're happy?

notnotsarah
October 17, 2015
yes

### I just moved in with my sister and I found a Wii just lying around... I never experienced anything on the Wii... I was thinking about hocking it... But maybe I might fuck around with it before I do... any suggestions.

October 17, 2015
zack and wiki
Liked by: professional righter

### Are there any circumstances that would ever cause you to disable anon?

October 17, 2015
that's a thing you can do? hm

### (Cont) Stop telling people how to write, if I want bad things to happen to my characters, thats my prerogative, as long as I'm not spreading hate.

October 17, 2015
If I want to say your writing is regressive, stupid, and further marginalizes already marginalized groups, that's MY prerogative
Liked by: Peligro Público Lottie Lee Bohnert Natalie Rivera sad boy Chris Bui VertigoCharades

### Saying the plot treatment of Paz in Ground Zeroes is sexist is like saying the plot treatment of D' Artagnan in Django is racist.

October 17, 2015
.

### Hey, do you think there are any parallels to be drawn between writing video games and opera? Or are they really antagonistic forms of entertainment? Why is one denied by old school fine arts experts, while the other is considered prudish and "artsy"? :( - student of arts

October 17, 2015
cause classism and elitism

opera was originally for everybody, until the rich assholes got ahold of it and started behaving as if it was only for them

that said most operas are better than most video games, so

### is it ok to watch mulan, feminist??

October 17, 2015
mulan's dope

### I've been having a nervous breakdown for the past few weeks. Where should I go for help?

October 17, 2015
therapy

### Hi Anthony. I feel like everything is butt right now. Work is butt. My boyfriend is butt. I'm butt. Exercise is butt. Partially self inflicted isolation is butt. Being the only one in the relationship who wants sex is butt. I'm frustrated as fuck, in several ways. Is there a thing that's not butt?

October 17, 2015
you're not butt.

you're not.
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert Emily Becky Jamly

### Hi Burch. How did you like MGSV?

October 17, 2015
LOVED the gameplay, fucking hated every single thing about the story

### Have you played Undertale?

October 17, 2015
the jrpg aspect scared me away, so no

### how do you deal with haters

October 17, 2015
try to ignore them, i guess

which is a privilege i get cause my haters are generally -- not always, but generally-- just harmless and annoying
Liked by: Natalie Rivera

### its been like a year and people are still insisting janey and athena aren't lesbians........ when will this pain end father

October 17, 2015
pretty soon
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Becky Kris Ramjam Kerissa Young

### Do you not think that telling a bunch of sexist jokes and then having the characters beat up the person allegedly responsible is just a means of telling sexist jokes and then exonerating yourself of any responsibility?

October 17, 2015
there's definitely an element of that, yeah. there's also ideally some catharsis for the subjects of those jokes, but it's definitely having your cake and eating it too. i've tried, when doing that in my own shit, to make the shitty jokes relatively harmless or dull ("make me a sandwich") to remove some of the sting from it, but who knows if that works or not.

### How good of a listener are you? Do you ever find it difficult to stop talking and give the other person a turn?

October 17, 2015
yes, i find it difficult. one of the most important things in life, so i hear, is being legitimately and deeply interested in other people. i've spent so much of my life being self-absorbed that listening to others is really hard. it's a skill i'm trying to improve upon though

### everything ok with you, burchman?

October 17, 2015
took a break from twitter and askfm because i was worried i was becoming a massive egomaniac who compulsively checked this just to justify my existence

i reserve the right to do so again
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young Jeffrey professional righter

### you're in an open relationship right? is it more of a sex one or a polyamorous one?

October 17, 2015
not anymore, no

### If you could give Jack/Angel a last name, what would it be?

October 17, 2015
i could have given them last names, and i chose not to, because it would have made them feel smaller to me somehow -- or maybe more real. i dunno.

### Is there more hate than love on the Internet?

October 17, 2015
yes because of the average age of internet users and how people don't use anonymity to do things that are approved of by the rest of the society
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I'm sure you've probably answered this before, but why do you keep the episode of HAWP that you're not proud of (the Geometry Wars 2 episode) up if you're not proud of it?

October 17, 2015
because it's important to me that we not pretend like we were always gorgeous bastions of good taste -- part of not being a shitty person is trying to get better and less shitty, and i want the evidence of us attempting to do that to remain. you can't have improvement without acknowledging the times you used to be shitty. i don't wanna sweep that stuff under the rug and pretend it isn't there
Liked by: Emily Becky Kerissa Young sad boy Jeffrey Will Murphy

### What makes you happiest?

October 17, 2015
making people i love really happy

just kidding

pizza and doggy style
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### BroTeamPill says he dreams about you once a week. Does that make you blush?

October 17, 2015
wat

### in one word, what's your fuckstyle, bro?

October 17, 2015
"verybad"

### RIP Burch.

October 17, 2015
I'm back

because of that Mary Sue article
Liked by: Becky sad boy Jeffrey VertigoCharades

### What's the best way to find a therapist?

August 28, 2015
I got mine by talking to my sister's therapist and getting recommendations from him. Alternately, you can yelp, or just google "[city name] therapist". You may not like the first one (or two or three or four), or therapy may not be for you, but I think it's an option worth exploring for *literally everyone.*

We get regular checkups on our body -- we should treat our mind (which is, after all, just a part of our body and susceptible to physical and chemical change) the same way.
Liked by: Brad Ramey Chris Bui Jeffrey

### The Marvelous Miss Take is in the weekly humble bundle, if you wanna share that on the social medias

August 28, 2015
O SHIT

### Do you feel the slightest trace of cognitive dissonance ranting about how Paz is a sexualized pre-teen after publicly lamenting that you failed to write enough about Tiny Tina's sexuality?

August 27, 2015
No, because you're, somehow, conflating

-"a character has sexual agency and wants to fuck people"
with
-"a character is treated as a sexual object; first as titilation, then as victim".

It's cute, watching you guys try to find gotchas without understanding a single thing about adult sexuality, or narrative.
Liked by: Becky sad boy Brian Carney Ash professional righter Eli Bernstein Jeffrey Kerissa Young

### Hey, it's Marcian. Honest question I never thought I'd ask. You often reference your low self image. And, like, how do you deal? I ask because I've been in a pretty bad place for two months and I can't appreciate anything. I feel extreme anxiety, self-doubt, self-loathing above all. advice?

August 27, 2015
T H E R A P Y
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Do you ever get tired of your modicum of fame or is knowing people care what you think a good thing

August 27, 2015
I honestly don't know. I think it feeds my ego more than it does any real, tangible help, but sometimes I get emails from people saying that my tweets or the HAWP videos helped them in some way. I dunno what to think, most of the time.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### i feel you on the thing about mental illnesses not being talked enough about. I mean, did you know that schizophrenics are actually extremely passive and rarely ever aggressive? Them being aggressive is a complete myth perpetrated by the media. No, they don't hear voices telling them to kill...

August 27, 2015
Yeah, it's...it's gnarly how far behind we (and I include myself in this, again) are in terms of discussing mental illness.
Liked by: Jeffrey Kerissa Young

### Something that DOES bug me though is the overuse of "childhood abuse" applied toward almost /everything/ in fiction. As someone personally familiar with this, I can tell you that this trivialization has overwhelmingly made the public hesitant to understand or empathize what real survivors face.

August 27, 2015
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### In your opinion, what game has the most beautiful Real-Body-Physics?

August 27, 2015
Mount Your Friends
Liked by: Nokeystothecity professional righter Kerissa Young

### Also just a reminder that MGS is a series where you can carry several large cardboard boxes in your pocket, you can freeze time to talk to somebody through your ear bones while also seeing them somehow, and a person's personality is contained in their severed arm. Realism is not a priority here.

August 27, 2015
yez
Liked by: professional righter

### Do you think Metal Gear's treatment of women is a reflection of how women are treated in armed conflicts? I mean, throughout history, women have traditionally been captured and abused physically, sexually, and emotionally or flat-out murdered, treated as "spoils of war" etc. during conflicts.

August 27, 2015
No, I think Metal Gear's treatment of women is laziness. We're talking about a franchise that has a lot of realism when it comes to certain aspects of combat, sure, but we're also talking about a franchise where a bisexual vampire can walk on water and survive bullets to the head. Choosing to disempower your (very few) female characters in generally sexual, often objectifying ways is just relying on cliche.
Liked by: sad boy Sineado Vanheusen Brian Carney Ash professional righter Jeffrey

### What's the theme of Borderlands 2, and did you know before or after you wrote it?

August 27, 2015
Initially I thought it was "personal freedom is more important than safety", but after we finished, I realized the theme is actually "friends are dope and everyone is kind of a piece of shit and that's okay." (Which is why Assault on Dragon Keep is the way it is).
Liked by: Daria Drenker Lottie Lee Bohnert Emily Becky sad boy Brian Carney Ash Kerissa Young Jeffrey

### Is psychopath really an ablest term? Psychopathy is a diagnose-able condition, and to me it feels more ablest than not to ignore and negate those with that condition. (unless it's used to refer to those without the condition, of course.)

August 27, 2015
I can't find it now, but I read an article a while back that basically said "psychopath" is actually a pseudoscientific term that doesn't really mean anything. I've also seen articles that say every major domestic terrorist has been psychoanalyzed, and none of them showed any signs of being psychopathy. I honestly dunno what to think.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Is it as mind-breaking stupid as when you retroactively declared New-U stations weren't canon?

August 27, 2015
Motherfucker, the *game* says New-U stations aren't canon. If they are, why didn't General Knoxx respawn? Steele? Every single humanoid enemy you kill in the entire game?

Choke on a Phoenix Down.
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert Jeffrey Becky sad boy Brian Carney Ash professional righter Kerissa Young nothingxs

### From what I've heard about Quiet her outfit has some dumb rational behind it, but nothing really dreadful. So hopefully it'll be a dumb and ignorable aspect of the game.

August 27, 2015
A friend told me the rationale and it's mind-breakingly stupid. It's so, so, so clearly a retroactive narrative justification for "what if we had a sniper who looked like THIS".

Thankfully, it's stupid rather than outright infuriating, so, small mercies.

### so just to be clear are you saying people shouldn't buy the new MGS or that they should but just be aware of how the game portrays it's characters? if i enjoy the game does that make me a bad person?

August 26, 2015
I'm not saying people should or shouldn't do anything. I'm definitely going to buy it, though I'm worried it'll have some gnarly shit in it.

I'm definitely, definitely not saying people are bad for enjoying a thing, which is kind of a fundamental problem that gamer culture needs to get over. Acknowledging that the shit we like has major problems doesn't make us bad people, and nobody who points out those problems is calling you such.
Liked by: vy91 VertigoCharades professional righter Eli Bernstein Jeffrey Sineado Vanheusen

### about to order your awesome book but quick question: I am a metal gear virgin, and know next to nothing. Should I prime myself with anything before reading?

August 26, 2015
You can play MGS1 if you want, but it's not strictly necessary. Gabe correctly had us summarize everything we reference in the book as if it was the first time the reader was engaging with it.
Liked by: professional righter Jeffrey

### characters who are either abuse victims and/or exhibit neurodivergent behaviour being pegged as unlikable, antagonistic, or just straight up villains

August 26, 2015
Good points. And I'm very much guilty of this myself (Tina acts the way she does because she's "crazy", I've written far more villains who have been abused as children than I have heroes).

I think as a society we're incredibly, incredibly bad about talking about mental illness, and when you combine that with all of the helpful narrative and mechanical shortcuts mental illness gives you toward an audience who doesn't have a lot of empathy for mentally ill people, you get situations like "it's okay to kill all these bad guys because they're crazy," or "this guy murdered all these people because he's crazy," even though the neurodivergent are far more likely to be victims than aggressors.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Jeffrey

### least likeable. Honestly I think batman makes a better case about individuals taking 'justice' into their own hands as that historically tends to be the case with privileged, otherwise 'sane' male individuals. I'm not excusing Rorschach's actions or political views, but there IS a trend of (2)

August 26, 2015
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### Re: your thoughts and feelings on Rorscach, I think there is something to be said how out of the whole cast, the character with the abusive childhood, arguable mental illness (psychopath is an ableist term and I don't care to use it) and lowest social standing is the one Moore aims to make the (1)

August 26, 2015
.

### Do stories need a theme or meaning to be engaging?

August 26, 2015
Every story has a theme and meaning whether it wants to or not. It is IMPOSSIBLE to set a series of events end to end and not have some sort of meaning arise from it organically (even if the meaning is "life is meaningless").
Liked by: Jeffrey

### you keep referring to a 20 year old as a "pre teen girl" instead of going " my bad, its still sexist but she isnt a teen" the insistence on describing paz, whenever you bring her up, as a teen, is obviously done so to paint her designers as pedophilic, and plays on the "japan obsessed with preteens"

August 26, 2015
TW sexual assault

No, it's to paint the reality of how she's depicted. She's a teenager in literally every single way she is physically depicted, and generally behaves (apart from being reasonably upset about *all the times she was raped*, she's not demonstrably different from Peace Walker, where she's sixteen).

And yes, my bad -- she's not a teen when she is raped and vaginabombed. She's a teen when Snake fucks her in Peace Walker, though. She's a teen when you can, immediately upon meeting her, look through her clothes with X-Ray vision and gaze at her underwear. And she's "sixteen," though she sounds and looks like she's way younger. It's the exact same shit I saw in dating sims. It's a couple of lines of dialog to make the rest of her presentation "okay."

If you want to extrapolate that I'm somehow racist against Japanese people for noticing the same thing popping up in two different kinds of games, go ahead (is this the part where I mention all the Japanese games I DO like?).

But yes -- my bad. She's not a teen. She's not a teen when she and Chico are raped by Skullface. She's not a teen when she has a bomb forced into her stomach, which is then graphically and brutally pulled out by Snake. She's not a teen when she has a bomb forced, offscreen, into her vagina. (And Jesus Christ, the number of morons saying "hey, she never SAID where the bomb was put," as if the sentence "there's another bomb, in my..." was going to end with "upper abdomen").

The fact that so many KotakuInAction doofuses are looking at the phrase "a game where the sole female character, a teenager, is raped, and then raped again with a bomb, and then murdered is inherently pretty sexist" and their SOLE reaction is "WAIT SHE'S NOT A TEENAGER" is the most ludicrous fucking willful ignorance I've seen in a while.

View more

Liked by: notnotsarah Becky Brian Carney Ash Jeffrey sad boy

### Just letting you know you have people that support you and agree with your critique of MGS, while being able to still love and remain fans of the series. Sorry about the more toxic people in the fanbase.

August 26, 2015
Appreciate it. The immediacy with which people jumped to "YOU'RE ACCUSING KONAMI OF BEING PEDOPHILES AND ALSO YOU EVIDENTLY HATE ALL JAPANESE GAMES AND ALSO YOU'RE RACIST?" was surprising, even for me.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### It's not like this is a particularly new thing on your part either, you've been ranting about how much you hate the entire JRPG genre for a long-ass time and you've never been able to give an explanation for why that couldn't be applied to every Bioware game ever made either.

August 26, 2015
Bioware games allow you self-expression, have nonlinear elements, don't require grinding, and have better stories.

We done?

### Why do you ( and the indie game population as a whole) hate japanese games/ japanese people so much? accusing hideo and the entire konami staff of pedophilia because "paz is in her 20s the same way dating sims give you 4 feet girls in pigtails in her 20s" is really gross and racist. t

August 26, 2015
Uh, nobody accused anyone of pedophilia other than you, bro.

I'm saying every single thing about Paz's design aims to convey the image of a teen or pre-teen girl, and that any narrative justification for that is exactly that -- justification. They started at "wouldn't it be cool if there was a schoolgirl in here" and justified it backwards from there, not the other way around.

### folks call themselves feminists because feminism as a movement has had a very long history. Way back then there's no denying that women had it much worse compared to men, so calling it equalism back in the day wouldn't make much sense.

August 25, 2015
Yar.
Liked by: crissy Kerissa Young Jeffrey

### So I am currently playing Fingered in an interesting way. Have to view all the clues at once in a short 4 second window, then have only 15 seconds to finger a guy. Definitely puts a lot of pressure on memory and perception of people when you don't have time to fully analyze them.

August 24, 2015
Neat. May use this for NWWTP.

### Hey Anthony, This is probably not the right place, but it's 4 AM and I'm a little drunk. I just wanted to thank you and Ash for what you've done, your HAWP show, the podcast and some of the answers that I've read have opened me to more perspectives when it comes to sexuality and female characters.

August 24, 2015
Thanks so much!
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky Jeffrey

### How did you feel about MGS4's ending?

August 24, 2015
I think it was a real bummer to pull the "actually you were a pawn in this all along" card; I hated that it was like 30 minutes of just talking about genes and memes and stuff; because we have no remake of the original Metal Gear, there is no emotional context for Snake and Big Boss squaring off for one last time.

WE NEED A GODDAMN REMAKE OF THE FIRST METAL GEAR. And now we'll probably never get one. Which is GREAT.

### Would you mind sharing you thoughts on religion and or a higher power? Do you consider yourself a member of any major religion or anything like that? Odd question but I was just curious.

August 24, 2015
I'm an atheist and honestly have nothing but contempt for religion in nearly any form, but I try very hard to not be a shitty, mean, Reddit atheist. I think religion allows people to be very stupid or very prejudiced with a societal shield to protect them, but I also think it gives a lot of people a lot of comfort and, in the vast majority of its incarnations, doesn't really hurt anyone.
Liked by: Tom Head Will Murphy Kerissa Young sad boy Adam R

### Do you believe in calling your friends out if they're being foolish or sabotaging good things or making horrible mistakes? Or do you just stand by and let them learn?

August 24, 2015
I call them out, but that depends entirely on your relationship to your friend and how big a mistake they're making (vs how big a deal it is to them).
Liked by: Garrett Glass Jeffrey Kerissa Young Nokeystothecity

### No seriously, what are you referring to when you say "morality problems" concerning MGS? I'm not sure what you mean by that..

August 24, 2015
Like, Big Boss is gonna have to turn "evil" somehow, and I feel like it's going to be through a really gnarly, potentially unearned act of horrificness.

### What's your favorite mgs game?

August 24, 2015
Story: 1
Gameplay: 3
Emotionz: 4
Liked by: Jeffrey

### (re: the disclaimer) No man the 2 page thing that Ash wrote, about how it's okay to criticize things that you like.

August 24, 2015
Oh, right, the epilogue. Yeah, that was an intentional summation of the book's themes, and an attempt to cut haterz off at the pass.

### This is a weird writer-y, question but do you ever get mad at your past self for being a better writer than your current self

August 24, 2015
No, because my past self is shittier, generally. At least, I think so. But I'll always think that, even after I become shitty, so who knows? Time is scary.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### If you had never dated anybody and just kept to yourself most of your life do you think you would be happier?

August 24, 2015
CHRIST no, but that's just how I'm personally built.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### The disclaimer at the end of your book is making me wonder. Did anybody get angry about what you wrote?

August 24, 2015
I think that's an automatic disclaimer. I don't remember writing anything like that.

### I've been wanting to write really badly but every time I get the courage to start it's directionless and terrible. How do gain the confidence to keep going?

August 24, 2015
Reddit has some good writing prompts. Or just buy a writing prompt book.

### Why do I see you judging bigotry in gaming when I see so many midgets kicked around in Borderlands?

August 24, 2015
I changed their names to "Little ____" starting in Pre-Sequel for this exact reason.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Kerissa Young

### Favorite current professional wrestler?

August 24, 2015
I really like Bo Dallas, but after this weekend I'm all about the big guy from The New Day. God, that entire match was so goddamned entertaining.

### "Yeah I mean this is the shit that I love, talk about a dream come true, I remember, in uh, Borderlands, I think there was a custom armor set you can get that's called 'Cool Cool Cool', although sometimes you don't know, it's on the bubble whether it's a reference" - Dan Harmon, Lost at Home podcast

August 24, 2015
Oh shit, really? Oh shit.
Liked by: Becky

### What's the definition of a bad friend (in your opinion)?

August 22, 2015
Someone who makes you feel bad. Or demands things of you.

Someone who is not a pleasure to be around, who doesn't make you feel better.
Liked by: nothingxs Mme Basta! Kerissa Young Sineado Vanheusen Jeffrey

### Do you think Metal Gear has got worse with its treatment of women over the years?

August 22, 2015
Considering it started at "a girl dies depending on whether or not you, as a man, are Tuff Enuff" and ends at "let's put a bomb in an underage girls vagina and blow her up after also ripping a second bomb out of her gaping stomach wound," yes.
Liked by: sad boy

### Should I tell my friends how much they mean to me? Is that too weird? Also I have horrible ungrounded anxiety that maybe they don't like me as much as I like them, still a good idea?

August 22, 2015
I haven't a clue. If you knew they liked you back, I'd say, yes, absolutely, tell them how much they mean to you. If you're honestly worried that you're a hanger-on, though, that might freak them out more likely than not.

### Man, I love mad max but the new movie The End of the Tour is really amazing and my movie of the year so far. You might really like it even if you don't know who David Foster Wallace is, just don't be fooled by Janson Segal.

August 21, 2015
I'll check it out, then. I avoided it because of Jason Segal (not that I don't like him, it just seemed weird to me that he'd be DFW).

### Did you have input into the design/look of any borderlands 2 characters? since you wrote there personalities.

August 21, 2015
I gave feedback, but I wasn't, like, co-designing them or anything. I'd just get a bunch of art of Tiny Tina dressed like a little version of Tank Girl and say, "hey, she should look more innocent and girly, like with a skirt or something," and then we'd talk it out and come to a compromise.
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert Kerissa Young

### So how come Davis wasn't in the beat up Uli scene? Woulda been nice the person being objectified get a shot at the guy who wrote it that way.

August 21, 2015
Hrm. Good point.

### on a purely title question, why is it called feminist instead of equalists?

August 21, 2015
Because history's proven that focusing on saying stuff like "all lives matter" or "focus on general equality, not individual groups that are being discriminated against" doesn't work -- it ends up being a derailing tactic that allows the status quo to remain as is.

Now, I'll grant you, the title of feminism has some problems to it because it makes it EXTREMELY easy for white women to make feminism exclusively about pushing (white) women forward and leaving other marginalized people behind.
Liked by: Angela Jean Kerissa Young Sineado Vanheusen Mme Basta! VertigoCharades Jeffrey The Iron Bull

### how many times have you compleed darksouls, AND have you ever tried the giantdad build?

August 21, 2015
At least six times. And nah, haven't tried that. Once I finished my SL1 run, I was so happy I vowed to never touch the game again and, barring a brief replay after I finished Bloodborne (just to compare the feel of combat), I haven't.

### Have you played Peace Walker? I'm just jumping on the MGS train and got the HD collection, which has Peace Walker on it. Should I play it, or stick to numbered titles?

August 21, 2015
Peace Walker's not bad. It doesn't really add a lot to the story, in my opinion, but it's fun.

### Isn't that kinda the point of Metal Gear though? You're supposed to find its treatment of women repulsive?

August 21, 2015
nnnnnah i don't think so

### if Phantom Pain starts out with really, really shitty treatment of women and morality with no signs of getting better, would you keep playing it or is that too much of a nope fuck this situation?

August 21, 2015
MGS means too much to me. I'll finish it, no matter how fucked up it is.

### I just finished my first (and second) playthrough of MGS1 and loved it. Should I play through all the main ones now? Is 2 (or any others) worth skipping?

wallid h fielding
August 21, 2015
None are worth skipping -- all matter to the overall story, though you're clearly going to enjoy some more than others.

### Burch, Phantom Pain spoilers are being posted in every forum and site I visit. How the fuck can I avoid them without completely exiting the internet for 10 days?

August 21, 2015
Yikes. Stop visiting those forums, I guess. Sticking only to blogs and being careful about your responses and stuff on twitter is pretty important.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### In the wake of Ash and you writing that book, will you be checking out the Phantom Pain?

August 21, 2015
I am fucking stoked beyond words for Phantom Pain.

And also very frightened at how fucking shitty its treatment of women, and morality in general, is likely to be.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### When you wrote that "Inside the Box: Inclusivity" where you confirm torgue, Axton as gay etc. Why did you leave Tina out of it? It just seems weird that you didn't also include her in it. It would have been quite a statement to confirm a 13 year lesbian in the game. (even if she is now confirmed)

August 21, 2015
I think because at the time, the in-game "evidence" to support that claim was really circumstantial. The stuff I'd really wanted to include in the Torgue DLC (where she frequently hits on Moxxi) was cut by the top brass.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Not to get personal, and you are free to not answer this question and have it linger in the unanswerable void... But just watched the new HAWP. Are you and Davis back together or is this an episode that was filmed ages ago?

August 19, 2015
Filmed ages ago.

### Did You wrote Jackpedia for Ep 4?

August 19, 2015
I think I did? I haven't actually seen the Jackapedia stuff in the actual game, so it's possible they rewrote what I did, but I certainly set out to write it.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### how much more excited would you be for Mad Max if they used Tom Hardy's voice and face?

August 18, 2015
Not very, because movie actors are generally very very bad at voice acting.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### 2/2 I was only able to get help once my fear for my own safety outweighed my other anxieties. After all was said and done, I don't regret going at all, and it really helped to have someone to talk to. Be safe. They're there to help.

August 18, 2015
.
Liked by: The Iron Bull

### re: The Iron Bull-I had the same problem in college. I finally went when I realized I was actually physically harming myself to deal with things (mostly punching concrete and fucking up my hands). It's humbling, and scary, and I actually cried at the receptionist's desk as I made the appointment.1/2

August 18, 2015
.
Liked by: The Iron Bull

### How can I get help from a psychiatrist when I'm too anxious to actually go and make an appointment? I'm only 15, and I feel like if I don't get help soon, I'm going to turn out dead in few years :P

The Iron Bull
August 18, 2015
I have no idea how to answer this, I'm sorry. Talk to a teacher or a counselor, maybe?

### Tales ep 4 is terrific what scenes did you write? and did you write THAT scene? I'll call it the "catch a ride" scene.

August 18, 2015
Nah. I wrote the scene where you talk to Scooter/Springs, and the scene where you try to talk your way past the two guards on Helios.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky

### I'm ugly and fat and play video games all the time. Is there a chance that I get laid at some point in my life?

August 18, 2015
Yes, but that requires (A) gaining some confidence, which is hard to do without (B) doing stuff that gives you confidence. Get good at something. Try to learn how to be good in social situations without wanting something of other people. Try to be kind and interested in others just for the sake of being kind and interested.
Liked by: Decay_0 The Iron Bull Kerissa Young Will Murphy Jeffrey

### Can you explain (or point me to an existing explanation) why some consider it necessarily good for a character to have an arc?

wallid h fielding
August 18, 2015
Because, generally speaking, good stories are about change. If you tell a story where everything stays the same, that's not really a story. And as we care more about characters than plot, generally (we may think we don't, but we do), we want to see stories that are capable of changing human beings. Even if it's in the smallest of ways, it is often satisfying to know that the events of a particular story had such importance to a character that something about them fundamentally and permanently changed over its course.
Liked by: Angela Jean Will Murphy Jeffrey professional righter

### Hey Ant man did you enjoy Ant man?

August 17, 2015
Didn't see it. To be honest, Ultron kinda made me lose all interest in Marvel movies (not that it was bad, it just proved that they're going to continue to be as consequenceless and impermanent as comics in general are).
Liked by: Angela Jean professional righter ManLikeDre

### Your top five Voice actresses? Mine are, in no particular order. Tara strong, Laura bailey, Ashley Johnson and Ashly Burch ; ) These women are angels, I am obsessed with all of them. Their talent is amazing they all should rule the world. Thanks.

August 17, 2015
Ash, Jen Hale, Sarah Elmaleh, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Cherami Leigh
Liked by: Becky ManLikeDre

### Has there ever been a time where you were struggling to beat a level in a video game and then without saying anything you hand the controls over to Ash, she rests them on your shoulder and beats the level on her first try?

Ricky Coogan
August 17, 2015
nah

### On that thing about Watchmen, I really want to write an essay about the decline of comics in the 90s and early 2000s called, "Nobody Reads Watchmen" and how all the industry and majority of readers got from Watchmen was "dark, violent and brooding heroes are what people want." Should I?

August 17, 2015
sure
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Going to give MGS1 a try. Should I go with the original PS1 version or the Gamecube remake?

August 17, 2015
PS1. Gamecube remake has worse voice acting and cut scenes.

### Where can I find your Metal Gear book?

August 17, 2015
http://bossfightbooks.com/products/metal-gear-solid-by-ashly-and-anthony-burch

### "and a bummer." did you do that one on purpose because I'm applauding you right now.

August 17, 2015
whoop

### I'm the guy who asked for Metal Gear Solid tips, and they really helped! So thanks. Just finished the game yesterday and it was pretty great. Also, fuck Metal Gear Rex.

August 17, 2015
NICE

Yeah Rex is a fuckin pain

### What do you think of Watchmen as a statement about comic books?

August 17, 2015
It always felt to me as more of a statement on people than a statement on comic books.

### I like Kingsman, don't get me wrong, but I can still like it while acknowledging the less than stellar part. If you watched it this might be worth a read! also go eat a treat bc u deserve it http://plain-flavoured-english.tumblr.com/post/126610090359/your-pastiche-is-not-subversive-kingsmans

August 17, 2015
Yeah, I can definitely dig this. I think the film's satire is at its best when it's shouting in your face (the church scene), whereas, talking with my female friends, I can definitely agree that the rest of the time it's kinda having its cake and eating it too. Like, yes, ha ha, you've ended with a buttsex joke that critiques James Bond by being far more consensual than anything JB ever did, but it's still objectifying and a bummer.
Liked by: professional righter sad boy

### What do you think makes it so you can't stop watching Doctor Who no matter how many times it fails to be anything more than mediocre (ash has the right idea I think)

August 17, 2015
It's really hard not to watch Doctor Who and see its potential. Every once in a while -- even when the show is otherwise shitty -- it manages to briefly meet that potential ("would you like me to repeat the question?"). So I wonder if I'm watching because of that.

Also, it's helpful for me to watch it and try to figure out how I'd change stuff if only as a writing exercise (Pixar recommends this).
Liked by: Angela Jean Jeffrey

### Hi Anthony who are your favourite authors Anthony hi Anthony.

Paul Dean
August 17, 2015
Hi Paul fuck you

Elmore Leonard
Cormac McCarthy
Billy Shakez
Mary Roach
PG Wodehouse/Douglas Adams
Italo Calvino

This is making me realize I need to read more women.
Liked by: Nokeystothecity professional righter Jeffrey

### Do you have best friends? And when you don't, do you feel hollow?

August 17, 2015
I do have best friends. And I don't feel hollow without them, I just very easily fall back into my old habits (lots of videogames and internet and no socializing), which can be worse than feeling hollow because hollowness at least can lead to action, whereas comfort in lonesome addiction can be tough to break out of.
Liked by: Angela Jean Jeffrey Nokeystothecity Adam R

### you may be the premiere male feminist in gaming, but to me you're just a pair of dick and balls.

August 17, 2015
Oh shit, I'm the premiere male feminist? Nice.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Everything I write somehow alludes to sex. I don't know why. Is there anything that you unintentional write?

August 17, 2015
Nearly everything I write is about loneliness in some form or another.
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert professional righter

### When I was younger I swore to myself that in any of stories, I would have mixed couples. Was I racist, not wanting two black people or two white people together?

August 17, 2015
I dunno if I'd call that racist. It's certainly...specific, but it doesn't seem to be denigrating one over the other or upholding a stereotype.
Liked by: ManLikeDre Jeffrey

### Just read your MGS book, really enjoyed it. Any chance of getting more thoughts on later games from Ash and yourself?

August 17, 2015
All depends on if someone wants to pay us to write about another game that we really really really both care about (Fable 2, Kirby Super Star, Mass Effect).
Liked by: Jeffrey

### You broke your website archive and all your amazing articles are gone

August 17, 2015
Shit I'll ask Uli

### Did you end up testing the colour blindness glasses? do they work?

August 17, 2015
Yes, I have them as sunglasses. They do not work in any significant way that I can tell.

### Hey! The book is good!

August 13, 2015
oh thanks

### Did you write any scenes in Tales episode 4 to look out for next week?

August 12, 2015
I wrote liiiiike two scenes? One and a half? Whichever ones you hate the most, I wrote those.
Liked by: Krina

### Are MRAs sending your ask.fm less hate than they were half a year ago? Or is it just that you haven't been replying to it?

wallid h fielding
August 12, 2015
Bit of both.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Thoughts on Alien: Isolation? I felt it was a tad too long and the ending was kind of lame, but overall I had a blast.

professional righter
August 12, 2015
Ditto.
Liked by: professional righter

### Thought on uncharted 4?

August 12, 2015
I'm stoked that they're FINALLY going to try to combine stealth, platforming, and gunfighting into the fights.
Liked by: Kerissa Young ManLikeDre

### The Almighty Robot Policeman is a Robocop reference, right?

August 12, 2015
FINALLY SOMEONE FUCKING GETS IT
Liked by: sheananigans Jeffrey

### I fucking hate how Silent hill and resident evil franchises have both been ruined. The first three games of both were excellent then they though "Hmm let's make it more actiony!" The originals had great atmosphere and story. Ant what would you do to save these franchise's?

August 11, 2015
Do what Shattered Memories did and go in the opposite direction -- don't add any combat at all, and focus on making the narrative systems more interesting. More walking simulator than RE4.

That, and make them really really cheaply so you can just keep making them.
Liked by: ManLikeDre

### Do you find that once you've slept with a person, it's way harder to be content just making out from time to time, instead of physcal stuff always inevitably leading to more intense sexytime?

August 11, 2015
Of course. Once you've both realized you like doing The Best Thing with each other, it's hard to just settle for anything less once you're getting intimate.

### Honestly, on the new Mission Impossible, I did notice some of the camera lingering, but I did appreciate that she managed to be a capable female character and saved Cruise's ass twice.

August 11, 2015
Yep. She's great. I'm also glad she ended the movie by going "ah, fuck it, I'm outta here" rather than joining the IMF.
Liked by: sad boy

### ur description of boring/tediois open world games is like exactly what bl2/bltps are tho?

August 11, 2015
I don't consider BL2/TPS open world games, to be honest. The games are entirely quest-driven -- there's nothing in the world to fart around with that isn't part of a quest, so it's really just a linear game (with optional sidequests) broken up by area. It's got far more in common with Diablo than Far Cry.
Liked by: sad boy Becky Jeffrey

### You know, you're a really good person. I think you might be my role model in a way. Keep on doing what you're doing? :-^)

August 11, 2015
thanks very much
Liked by: Manaphy Natu professional righter Jeffrey

### Fuck Christopher McQuarrie he found every excuse possible to get t&a shots of Ilsa. The writing's fine and I guess it could be the cinematographer, but still, fuck it stand against that shit. "oh Tom gets a wet suit but lets linger on her ass and skintight motorcycle suit, the guys get loose ones"

August 10, 2015
Really? I didn't notice all that many. But that's probably on me.

### So did you not like dragon age inquisition?

August 10, 2015
Not particularly, though I loved the quests about your companions.

### *SLIGHT MISSION IMPOSSIBLE SPOILERS* I liked the new Mission Impossible but that moment where the cool badass female character goes "come away with me" I was done. Fuck that. In the end she just wants to spend her days with Tom Cruise? Fuck that.

August 10, 2015
Fair critique. At least they didn't kiss, though.

### Did you see Mission Impossible?

August 10, 2015
Yeah. It was pretty fun. Christopher McQuarrie is officially the best guy in Hollywood when it comes to writing Trinity-esque female supporting characters.

### It seems to me that MOST open world games are boring, tedious, watered down, etc. Agree/disagree?

August 10, 2015
Agree. I think the UbiDesign is really tiresome unless the core systems have a lot of interesting emergent properties (Shadow of Mordor, Far Cry 4). I play Witcher 3 and Dragon Age 3 like someone in a trance -- I just wander around, smacking things and spamming 'A' so that an icon will disappear off the map. It's not actually interesting, it just takes up a shitload of time and makes people feel like the game is "epic" or something.
Liked by: Adam Kolacz Jeffrey professional righter

### What's your opinion on the current school syllabus? Do you think it's just fine or do you think it's flawed?

August 10, 2015
I hate the current school syllabus. I hate it. It's about memorizing facts by rote without actually encouraging people to give a shit about anything. Because everything is so regimented, you're not learning about, say, history; you're learning about how to regurgitate facts from history, or how to write an history essay.

I don't remember a single thing from almost all of my high school and college years. I remember everything that had to do with creative writing or literature, because I found those subjects interesting, but everything else was an absolute waste of my time. I had to take biology classes. Geology classes. Math classes. I have (apart from knowing how to quickly calculate a tip at a restaurant) retained none of it.

I'm sure I'm oversimplifying, but I sincerely wish school was about finding something you're interested in, or something you're good at, and encouraging you to dive deep in that direction.

Or, better yet, maybe schools should be about how to not be a shitty human being -- I can fucking tell you all kinds of stuff about the romantic themes of Frankenstein, but high school Anthony couldn't tell you a single thing about consent, or empathetic masculinity, or how to save someone's life if they're drowning.

Or, if we had to stick with the shitty syllabus, at least let students show they've learned stuff in a way other than standardized fucking tests. I am where I am today because, freshman year of high school, my English teacher allowed us to do a video instead of writing an essay. That one, simple thing made my life immeasurably better because I learned I liked telling stories, and I liked making videos with friends.

View more

Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy professional righter sheananigans

### Top five adventure games?

August 10, 2015
Machinarium
Puzzle Bots

Those are the only two whose gameplay I actually like. As far as pure charm, the others would be

Sam and Max
Day of the Tentacle
Monkey Island
Liked by: ManLikeDre

### We Happy Few is in Pre-Alpha as of the moment, but as an Alpha tester I can confirm that it is a fun and extremely interesting already. ^.^ You can also pay 60 dollars for the game and pre-alpha access if you weren't aware.

R. Morrill
August 10, 2015
Hmmm. I'm trying not to play games before they're done, but I do love the idea of crossing The Prisoner with immersive sims...
Liked by: professional righter

### How sexist is The Witcher 3? I liked the gameplay after watching some LPs. Besides the female character's attractiveness and nakedness, is there any glaring sexist stuff in the story? Please answer. Thanks

August 10, 2015
Apart from some stuff about the world and lore that's a bit weird (not necessarily outright sexist, just weird, like the fact that all sorceresses are super hot because they've glamoured themselves to be because they're actually really ugly in reality, oh and also they're infertile, oh and also Witchers are too, so Geralt gets to fuck every beautiful woman he meets), I didn't catch a lot that struck me as glaringly sexist. Triss, Yen, and Ciri all have agency, and all have distinct personalities irrespective of Geralt's influence.
Liked by: Adam R

### Anthony. To become the confident of people. You must drink the beer. Find the power of delusion. Then go and guide thy people through the gates of confidence. I may be hiccuping and not sober right now but know that this is my truth. Also I guess it doesn't affect your writing that much.

August 10, 2015
I don't drink tho

### does the fan reaction to lilith in BPTS bother you? (namely the "handsome jack did nothing wrong/it's all lilith's fault he became a villain" side)?

August 10, 2015
No, because that was sort of our goal. I think I went a shade too far in making Lilith unlikable, but the idea was to muddle the morality of how heroic Pandora's heroes actually are.

(You could also argue that Lilith and Moxxi and everyone did the right thing, they just didn't do it hard enough.)
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert Kerissa Young Jeffrey

### Have you seen Ex machina? I loved that film.Alicia vikhander is amazing.

August 10, 2015
Yep. Great movie. Alex Garland is one of my favorite people working in film today (Dredd!).
Liked by: Becky ManLikeDre professional righter

### Thoughts on the telltale, quantic dream, dontnod adventure games? And top five adventure games?

August 10, 2015
I love Telltale, I think Quantic Dream games are structurally similar to Telltale but generally very poorly written, and I stopped playing LiS midway through the first episode because some of the dialog felt jank (though I plan on going through them all once the series is done, as I hear it gets really good).
Liked by: ManLikeDre professional righter

### As a feminist, I think this is a wonderful idea. It's about defining and deconstructing the toxic masculinity that many men are pressured to conform to. Any thoughts on this article? www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/fashion/masculinities-studies-stonybrook-michael-kimmel.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur

August 10, 2015
I LOVE this.

### So I try to be aware of the privileges I have (cis het white dude). But do you think it's wrong to take advantage of that privilege? Like, if I'm in a shitty mood, and I don't want to hear about women getting harassed again, I can just close twitter, and walk away. While these women can't.

August 10, 2015
Being aware of them is a pretty damn good start. You can't just, like, live your entire life as if you had no privileges -- that's functionally impossible -- but by being aware of them you can hopefully be a better and more empathetic person.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### how do i be a bit confident

August 08, 2015
I dunno if this'll work, but it's something I do from time to time:

I am usually not confident because I am worried if I sound stupid, someone will hate me and hold it against me forever.

But then I think of how if someone is stupid toward me, I almost never, ever remember it because I'm too busy thinking about myself. And I try to remember that others are equally busy thinking about themselves, so they probably won't give a shit about what I say if it's just a little silly or dumb.
Liked by: Jeffrey professional righter Nokeystothecity

### Top games of 2015 so far?

August 08, 2015
Her Story, Rocket League, Galak-Z, other shit I'm forgetting.
Liked by: ManLikeDre Jeffrey professional righter

### In another question, you said Magic Mike XXL was one of your favorite films of the year; was that you being funny or sincere? If the latter, mind talking about what you liked about it?

August 08, 2015
Sincere. It's funny, heartfelt, and has incredibly mature and empathetic things to say about sex and self-actualization and friendship. It is a deconstruction of toxic masculinity and a celebration of sex and understanding.
Liked by: ella Harley Bird sad boy Jeffrey Nokeystothecity

### handsome jack is heteroflexible? yes or absolutely?

August 08, 2015
whatever makes you happy

### David Tennant's gonna play a real nasty villain in the upcoming Netflix Jessica Jones show, how d'you feel about this

August 08, 2015
hot
Liked by: Manaphy Natu sad boy Adam Kolacz Jeffrey

### why would you swear in front of kids in order to a joke? that sounds like a rotten thing to do. just find another way to tell it

August 08, 2015
I just don't care about kids that much. And it's usually not intentional.

### What's your most anticipated game?

August 08, 2015
MGSV. I wanna build a base and infiltrate linde's and steal all his shit.
Liked by: Nick Stebbins sad boy

### Strong female who is not attractive or beautiful female who is a damsel?

August 08, 2015
This is only a dilemma if you primarily value women by their attractiveness.
Liked by: R. Morrill

### i would like to thank you for existing. without you many lives would be bereft and deprived

August 08, 2015
jeez thanks
Liked by: professional righter

### should I fallout 3 and or new Vegas or just wait for 4

August 08, 2015
New Vegas is the only 3D Fallout game I find interesting, so I'd play that.

### Favorite film of 2015 so far? ಠ_ಠಠ_ಠಠ_ಠಠ_ಠಠ_ಠಠ_ಠ ಠ_ಠ

August 08, 2015
Mad Max Fury Road. Then, Magic Mike XXL.
Liked by: Jeffrey Nokeystothecity sad boy ManLikeDre

### What do you think of quiet look in metal gear solid 5?

August 08, 2015
pretty dumb
Liked by: Nokeystothecity

### Cake or Pie? Tea or Coffee? Choco or Strawbo milk? Fave Cheese? plz answer ಠ_ಠ

August 07, 2015
Cake, neither, neither, feta
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### hiii anthony burch i am drunk and i am high right now, my question is what do i do to make me stop hating my self so much, okthanks byeeeee

August 07, 2015
I'll let you know when I figure that one out

### Which dragon age character do you think is better or just prefer over all Dorian or Sera?

August 07, 2015
SERA SON
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Any advice for someone who is starting Metal Gear Solid and finds it really hard? I usually don't suck at games, I swear.

August 07, 2015
Pay attention to the Soliton radar at all times. Treat the game like it's Pac Man, basically.

During the boss fights, you're just gonna have to learn to deal with the shitbutt controls. Some random tips:

-- Double tap R1 with a gun equipped to fast reload it
-- If you're using the sniper rifle and are shot, rather than using the joystick to move your reticle back to where it was, just unequip the rifle, remaneuver your body, and equip it again
-- Your gun's lock-on is bigger than the bounding box on the screen, so, if you've found the silencer (which is easy enough to grab early on) you can just hold your gun out, wait until it autotargets an enemy offscreen, and then fire three quick shots to kill the enemy before you even see each other.
-- Yeah man the controls just kinda suck, sorry

### now that hawpcasts are a thing again you should get jami carignan on that next one

August 07, 2015
ya

### Will there ever be new rev rants episodes in the future? They were awesome. Especially for indie game developers who can really put some of those ideas into their games. For example i like the idea of every game having an option to turn off every cutscene and dialog so i can just enjoy the gameplay.

August 07, 2015
Nah, never. I think that kind of angry cynical takedown shit, at least in long form, is kinda behind me. I'd rather not do it anymore (especially now that I have no financial incentive to do so).

### do you cuss a lot or try to censor yourself atleast in public

August 07, 2015
I cuss a lot. I have screamed "fuck" in front of children more than a few times because I was making a joke that relied on it.

I try not to, but I don't try very hard at all.
Liked by: Lottie Lee Bohnert Kerissa Young Jeffrey

### What is the best way to bring up a fantasy/kink/fetish to a s.o. when you worry about freaking them out? Esp. If the relationship is loving and committed, and putting aside the "if they aren't willing to explore that with you, y'all prolly aren't a good match" argument.

August 07, 2015
Reminder: I don't know anything and you should probably ask smarter people for advice.

That said: I think you just try to approach it in a frank way that's about everyone getting more pleasure. Like, hey, are you into anything at all unusual, because I'd like to explore some stuff personally, and if there's anything you'd like to explore I would love to do that for you. And obviously, I don't ever ever ever want to do anything you'd be uncomfortable with, but here's my stuff -- what's yours?
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### Ur Handsome

August 07, 2015
thax
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Great that the hawpcast is back, but could I make a suggestion? Could you alternate between just having u and ur sis and the whole crew. I feel like the u and ash episodes are kind of personal and you explore topics more deeply, while having the whole crew there tends to just be a joke fest. (1/2)

August 07, 2015
Honestly, the crew of each HAWPcast is entirely dependent on who we can get in a given week. It's basically a dice roll. I agree with what you're saying, though.

### how many one directioners can your name

August 07, 2015
-Paul Giamatti
Liked by: professional righter Becky sad boy

### Why do you guys not do the bit where you walk up to Ash playing a game and ask her what she's playing anymore?

August 07, 2015
Because we forget, to be honest.
Liked by: professional righter Kerissa Young

### Have you ever watched Game Grumps? What's your opinion on it?

August 07, 2015
nah

### Would Grass type Pokemon count as part of a vegetarian meal?

August 07, 2015
no because they are sentient
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Some games would be better off without a story-line, am I right? Like The Witcher 3 has the ultimate excuse for great open world gameplay. Open World/Monster Hunter/Monster Contracts... Boom! The Main Story just gets in the way of the simplicity of the game and slows down the pace of the experience.

August 07, 2015
I agree in theory, yes, but I dunno if The Witcher 3 is the right game for that. I think open world games can benefit from having some degree of story to make you feel like there's an overall "point" to the game, but I think it's the job of that story to contextualize the more emergent systems in the game and encourage the player to fart around with them.

The actual problem with Witcher 3 isn't its story -- that's one of the best things about it -- but that the open world gameplay just plain isn't very good. There's A Lot Of It but the core loop never feels satisfying or tight or like they knew at all what they were doing.

### Was Kevin Pereira an influence for Handsome jack?

Robert Hernandez
August 04, 2015
no

### William Kristol now supports Gamergate. Help me find my sides Anthony. I can't find them!

August 03, 2015
lololol

### why ur face like that

August 02, 2015
because god is cruel
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson professional righter haruspex

### is it weird to have a fleshlight?

August 02, 2015
nah

### A very specific genie will allow you to expunge from history any episode of Star Trek TNG, discounting anything from the first two seasons because that would be too easy. Do you take the genie up on their offer?

July 31, 2015
I don't think I outright hate any episodes that aren't in seasons one or two

### any thoughts on We Happy Few so far?

July 31, 2015
I hope it's good, because I fucking love The Prisoner and also immersive sims
Liked by: R. Morrill

### Can you please tell me your secret to being skinny?

July 31, 2015
DNA

### Not criticizing, but how did Borderlands end up with 4 abuse victims? Nisha with her treatment from her mother, Angel with her treatment from Jack, Athena being both physically and emotionally abused by Atlas, and the implied abuse in Moxxi's childhood. All examples were handled so well!!

July 31, 2015
Iiii honestly dunno. If I were a shitty cultural critic I'd assume I'd been abused in my childhood, but I hadn't, so I guess I just have to assume it's because I'm a bad and lazy writer.

### may you please tell your sister how awed and proud of her for her role as Chloe Price in Life is Strange? She's like my favorite voice actor because of how smoothly she made even the most questionable dialogue sound authentic and how genuine her emotions were. She's one of the best parts of the game

July 31, 2015
will do
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Tonya Khramova

### There was no outrage about "Lava". Just a few articles critizicing the cliched design of the volcanos.

July 30, 2015
righto.

### Re Pixar's Lava Short Outrage: basically they went out of their way to make the two volcanoes very clearly heterosexual, with one looking like a regular volcano & the other a very sexualized, thin, pretty feminine volcano-ette.

July 30, 2015
I've heard none of this outrage whatsoever, anywhere, and I follow a ton of people who care about social justice. This sounds like the kind of thing people who hate SJWs shout/signal boost to make them look stupid.

### Do you read physical or digital comic books?

July 29, 2015
digital. it's way easier, and automatic if you subscribe to certain stuff on comixology.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### a-aaaaokokokok look Star vs the forces of evil is my absolute favorite show ever and you need to give it a chance. The friendship and compatibility between Star and Marco is so cute. The show doesn't shy away from Marco's mexican heritage which makes me so happy. (not the previous anon btw) iloveit

July 29, 2015
nice, i'll check it out

### Have you watched Star vs. the Forces of Evil?

July 29, 2015
no, but it looks fucking dope. should I?
Liked by: Jeffrey

### You get to travel back in time within the past six years and change something you did, but first you have to sit in a room and watch the entirety of Lost TWICE in succession do you accept

July 29, 2015
i'd go back in time and not watch lost

checkmate

wait
Liked by: sad boy Jeffrey Adam Fisher

### How do you feel about the LAVA Pixar short outrage?

July 29, 2015
outrage?

### Is it weird that I play GTA V (and Online) like Mirror's Edge? FPS mode, fists only, and running away from cops and players on foot. I've gotten to know the city well enough to be able to know where to go to get away from most players when they are driving.

July 27, 2015
cool.

### Which do you prefer as a writer and as a gamer? A silent protagonist or a loud mouth?

July 27, 2015
Silence.
Liked by: professional righter

### Re: Fifth Element, it also had a brief but awesome message about consent. Corben did the whole, "I saved your life, you're my reward" thing by kissing Leeloo and she nearly takes him out, saying "Not without my consent." Loved that.

July 27, 2015
I feel like they missed an opportunity to not bring that back in the end by having Korben ask if he could kiss her, and then being allowed to.
Liked by: muahga Kerissa Young Becky Tom Head

### I just watch blade runner. Great film. What did you think about that scene where he basically rapes her in the apartment? It felt weird. It looked like he forced her to have sex with him and she grew to enjoy it.

July 27, 2015
Yeah, I felt really fucking weird about that upon rewatching the film a couple years ago. Like, the text seems to be that he's "teaching her passion [humanity]" by programming it into her in a way an artificial person would understand (telling her to repeat a sentence back to him) but holy fuck is that so clearly a rape scene.
Liked by: sad boy Kerissa Young ManLikeDre

### Why are conservatives so opposed to gun control? I mean if they are as "responsible" as they claim, shouldn't they pass background checks and be able to deal with the waiting period that most of us want?

July 27, 2015
Because (some of them) don't trust that the government wouldn't just stroll in and start stealing guns, as if that were the next step after background checks.

### would aurelia ever manage to tone down her natural condescension enough that moxxi might consider dating her?

July 27, 2015
Doubt it.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I get wanting to distance mental illness from mass shooters, but can we really not label utter lack of empathy and capacity for psychopathic behavior without remorse a fucking mental deficiency? If it wasn't we'd have thousands of them. Media should just be more specific about HATRED-LED psychopathy

July 27, 2015
Yup. Black shooters shot people because they're black, Muslims because they're Muslims, whites because they're "crazy," which is LUDICROUSLY disrespectful to the mentally ill and prevents us from looking at larger issues.

### A dear friend of mines is getting a lot fantastic opportunities (research) for the field of psychology, and her professors continuously say how much potential she has. But, although she does enjoy psychology, her real passion lays in video game development, so she's torn. Any advice? Please?

July 27, 2015
Is it possible that she could learn to love psychology? Does she have the kind of financial freedom where she could pursue games, see where it goes, and if she fails just return to psychology?

Video game development can be very, very harsh, and not pay well at all. My immediate instinct is that if she's fantastic at something as potentially lucrative as psychology, that she might be better off sticking with that.

It's definitely worth reading some kotaku horror stories about how game development can be (at least at AAA studios): http://kotaku.com/tag/video-game-layoff-stories

### "Half-Life 3 never coming because gamers are fuckshits" - basically official statement from Valve. ngl the justice is palpable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50lSIaSR3zc

July 27, 2015
Every behind-the-scenes thing I have ever heard about Half-Life 3 is represented here, though it's comparatively less of a "fuck gamers" thing and far more of a "it'll cost us a ton of money and not make as much as a week of Dota stuff and also sounds hard" thing.

### Are you going to watch the new Mission Impossible movie? It looks like it might be good.

July 27, 2015
Yeah. I'm sure it'll be mindlessly entertaining, which is all I can ask for. (And I really like Christopher McQuarrie.)

### Have you watched this? Because this video is senseless and pointless and hilarious. im embarassed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6X5I_OFi2E

July 26, 2015
oh dear god jesus

### i just want to beat up (with words) every shitty ass MRA that bothers to search you guys up on youtube and post UNNECESSARY, IRRELEVANT AND RUDE AS HECK comments like seriously you don't deserve this!! you guys rock <3 much love from Saudi Arabia hehe!

July 24, 2015
thanks much

also me too
Liked by: JacobAlvaradoGarcia Kerissa Young

### What is so good about Fifth Element? I don't get it.

July 24, 2015
It's really really funny, has an incredible sense of momentum, and every scene has some little detail or bit of world-building that is both completely insane and wonderfully plausible.
Liked by: JacobAlvaradoGarcia Nokeystothecity Becky Sineado Vanheusen Will Murphy

### hey man, can we expect the new HAWPcast to get on iTunes eventually?

July 24, 2015
I think so

### Did you watch any of the EVO finals this year? Any thoughts?

July 23, 2015
I don't know any of the behind the scenes drama for any player, so I was again pissed that someone playing goddamn Fox won the Melee finals. Beyond that, I didn't super-duper care. BUT I did see that one guy gg after a single round in Guilty Gear, which made me feel pretty smug.

### is there a way to stop having a crush on this girl from work and like be able to look her in the eye if needed and be like a functional person around her

July 23, 2015
My only means of dealing with having a crush on someone (who likely does not like me back) is to basically cut off all contact and move to another city, so I'm not the right guy to ask
Liked by: JacobAlvaradoGarcia professional righter Will Murphy Mike Nokeystothecity

### Alright I dare you to go onto G&S's twitch stream with Dance Central and prove it's better than Just Dance.

July 23, 2015
I don't know what the fuck G&S is, but if they're people who think Just Dance is better than Dance Central, they should be sent to fucking prison
Liked by: JacobAlvaradoGarcia sad boy

### will you ever get featured on hot pepper gaming?

Dennis
July 23, 2015
no, because fuck that noise

### Is your love of Space Jam unironic?

July 23, 2015
it's half ironic

### You know that Just Dance is better though right?

July 22, 2015
FUCKING WRONG YOU DUMB MOTHERFUCKER
Liked by: JacobAlvaradoGarcia sad boy professional righter Mike

### There are (I think) six Thin Man movies -- how many have you seen and which do you recommend?

July 22, 2015
I've only seen the first, which is fun.

### Since Thin Man got mentioned and I remember there being discussions of a remake/reboot on the horizon... Should it keep some of the more misogynist elements (ie Nick punching Nora to "get her out of the way of the bullet") or adapt to remove some of those elements?

July 22, 2015
I'd remove those, certainly. As much as I love the movie, there's some weird stuff that undermines their relationship in small ways ("I'm about to do something dangerous, Nora, so you stay here at home")

### How come your mom is rarely in any HAWP episodes?

July 22, 2015
She lives elsewhere and usually isn't at Dad's house as much.

### how do I unbrainwash myself from thinking a not fat white girl is the epitome of beauty and feeling like anything else would be settling

July 22, 2015
No clue. Maybe start dating more people who aren't skinny white girls?

### is there a new RSS feed for the HAWPcast? The old feed doesn't update on my podcast software anymore...

July 22, 2015
The new HAWPcast has a new feed, I think.

### which pokeman is the most dragon

July 20, 2015
dragonman
Liked by: Frenk Underwoods sad boy

### I've always had questions about the video game industry, but here is one: Is a game's gameplay built upon the story or vice versa? In Borderlands 2's case, which was it?

July 20, 2015
Story onto gameplay.

### you may have answered this before, but when bl1 was written, how much of angel/handsome jack's story planned out?

July 20, 2015
As far as what was used in BL2, absolutely nothing. We made that up from scratch. There might have been other plans with Angel, but I never knew what they were.

### What do I do now that there is no more Hawkeye comic. How do I carry on

July 20, 2015
Read Sex Criminals.
Liked by: Becky sad boy

### How does one tell if one's libido is incompatible with that of their S/O? Is that something that can be addressed/worked on/reconciled?

July 20, 2015
Only way I know of is talking about it. I dunno if stuff like that can be reconciled, to be honest. Couldn't be with my last big relationship.

### Given all the technology we use every day at work, school, and home that requires only the input of words and symbols, what role do you think handwritten communication will have in the future, if any? Do you think we'll ever stop being taught how to physically write?

July 20, 2015
Nah, we'll always need to handwrite SOME things, and I imagine learning how to handwrite is probably a simple part of the process of learning to read.

### In creating Handsome Jack did you do any research on the psyche of serial killers/sociopaths/murderers? Also I want to say thanks for creating him. He is definitely one of the most fascinating characters I had the pleasure to know.

July 20, 2015
Thanks!

Nah. Didn't do any research for him.

### Did You Feel The Innovations in Final Fantasy XV (the demo at least) Were Enough To Captivate You To Play A 50 plus Hour RPG?

July 18, 2015
I did not play it, buzzfeed.
Liked by: JacobAlvaradoGarcia Gabriel Costantino Nokeystothecity sad boy professional righter

### wait wuh handsome jack isn't straight??? where are people getting this from i can't find it????

July 18, 2015
I said he's straight but someone else could make him not.
Liked by: JacobAlvaradoGarcia Gemma Wakefield

### Do you have anything you wouldn't want the next borderlands writer to change from your work on the series?

July 18, 2015
Oh, tons of stuff, I'm sure, but that doesn't matter anymore -- I'm certain Matthew Armstrong had lots of stuff from BL1 he didn't want me to change for 2, but he let me, and that's kind of necessary.
Liked by: JacobAlvaradoGarcia Becky Kerissa Young Jeffrey

### Did the Nemesis System in Shadow of Mordor Impress You?

July 18, 2015
Very, very much so: http://nowrongwaytoplay.tumblr.com/post/99486423288/shadow-of-mordor-permadeath-no-upgrades-run
Liked by: JacobAlvaradoGarcia Nokeystothecity

### What are your opinions on "The Last of Us?"

July 18, 2015
It's the best the-kind-of-game-that-it-is.

### What if they made a sequel to the Fifth Element that was a cross-over with Paul Blart?

July 18, 2015
oh jesus
Liked by: Cassidy Willetts Will Murphy professional righter

### Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft?

July 18, 2015
Hugghhhrhhghhh I don't really care anymore, I just get the games that don't suck
Liked by: Luna Will Murphy professional righter Kerissa Young Jeffrey

### I recently heard something floating around the web that you were sexually abused by your ex-wife, is this true?

July 18, 2015
What? No, of course not.

### Have you tried wearing the Enchroma glasses in bright light? I have a brother who is colorblind and he says they only work for him if he's outside when its sunny or in very well-lit rooms.

July 18, 2015
Yeah, I wear them while I drive. It's still not really anything to write home about -- the reds look a little brighter, but that's all. Granted, I use an older model -- dunno if they've drastically improved since then.

### so hawp s4 dvd or at least commentary is never coming right (could a commentary be a patreon reward)

July 18, 2015
I actually dunno...

### Have you and Ashly always had a close relationship?

July 18, 2015
There was a bit in the middle (puberty) where we didn't really care about one another, but we've been good otherwise.
Liked by: professional righter Kerissa Young

### After playing Borderlands 2 regularly since day one of release, I discovered something new today and I must know: was it your idea to have one of the random phrases for psychos be the entire "too too solid flesh" soliloquy from Hamlet?

July 18, 2015
yep
Liked by: Becky sheananigans Declan Hertel Jeffrey

### Aw damn, I'm sorry they didn't work. I hope I didn't hit a painful spot.

July 18, 2015
Nah, not at all. It's not a huge deal being colorblind, honestly.

### wait WHAT DO YOU MEAN JACK IS NO LONGER STRAIGHT if he is pan(ha!)sexual i will literally dance around and celebrate and uh idk donate 50$ to a charity of choice or smh PLEASE UPDATE ME ASAP

July 18, 2015
as with ALL borderlands things from now on:

it's up to the next writer. I have no say in anything anymore, unless it happens to appear in a Tales episode I'm writing for.

### Assassin Creed 3 had a wonderfully well-done native protagonist, but due to modern audiences not understanding his Mohawk cultural background gamers threw a lot of hate at his character. Ever since then Ubisoft had shied away from diverse representations, a real shame.

July 18, 2015
:(
Liked by: Bazyl Gimbazyl

### Am I high, or did you mention before that you were colorblind? If so, I thought you might like this (and may even want to get up on a pair of your own); if not, you might like it anyway. http://youtu.be/vBbCsNS8nco

July 18, 2015
I've mentioned it before, but thanks for the link. I actually own some EnChroma sunglasses and they don't really work.

### the only good thing that came about when you left gearbox is now handsome jack is no longer straight... the bisexuals can have him in their clutches now

July 18, 2015
man if my leaving caused borderlands to get MORE queer i would be turbopsyched
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Cassidy Willetts Gabriel Costantino haruspex sad boy

### what porn would you define as feminist?

July 17, 2015
Smut Peddler for sure, if nothing else
Liked by: Becky

### Do you ever wish you were surrounded by a cloud of hummingbirds?

July 17, 2015
well i fucking do now, thanks
Liked by: Becky sad boy Will Murphy Jeffrey Brian Carney Ash

### kind of felt it in the moment? And whether or not it sounds great on paper, the unknown factor did make it that much sweeter. But it's a weird clause cause you can't tell everyone, "ask to kiss unless you're good at reading people/trust each other", cause most guys will just assume what they want (2

July 17, 2015
Yeah, that's my thing. There are far more instances of dudes being taught "just go for it" (just think of how many abrupt surprise-kisses in fiction go really really really well) than "hey her wishes really matter so maybe you should ask", and I'd love to counteract that by asking for permission becoming the norm.

### Opinion of original Mad Max movies?

wallid h fielding
July 17, 2015
First one's okay, second one is fantastic, third one's okay. None of them are even close to Fury Road, though, so whatevs.
Liked by: sad boy professional righter

### i am not completely anti-porn but i think you should do more research on "feminist porn", because even those companies have histories of hiring known rapists, skimping out on pay, treating the actresses badly, and having violently racially fetishizing content :/

July 17, 2015
That's a potential problem in all porn (and most of the porn I would describe as "feminist" generally doesn't fall victim to this stuff, sometimes because it involves no actors). I'm just reacting against the blanket statement by many feminists that porn is inherently problematic and anti-feminist.

### The kissing consent thing is interesting cause obviously there's not much to be lost by having a total, 100% societal custom "ask before kissing it can't hurt". But the first time my girlfriend and I kissed neither of us asked? Because we trust each other (not just assuming that) and we both (1)

July 17, 2015
.

### what's your favorite album you could listen to over and over again

July 17, 2015
When I was a kid it was Simpsons Sing the Blues
Liked by: Harry Brown

### The way the men treat the Milk Maids in Mad Max doesn't bother me, my problem is that the movie treats them poorly. The Milk Maids aren't in the the rescue mission Furiosa cooked up. And while Mad Max is better than most movies in terms of representation It's still important to recognize mistakes

July 17, 2015
right

### (PART 7) What I really wan't to say is thank you. For the longest time I had no idea who thank for what happened for the longest time but when I found out about you I had no idea how to contact you until I found this. I hope you read this if not that's cool.

July 17, 2015
Holy shit, this is incredible. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you and your sister are doing well, and, yeah, just, thanks. I dunno what to say, but thanks.
Liked by: Tarek S Hafez Becky Jeffrey

### (PART 6) she eventually came out of the closet because of it and she is a lot happier now. But When she found out that Tina was gay like her I really can't put into words the joy she felt in that moment, it means the world to her that her favourite character is a lesbian like her.

July 17, 2015
.

### (PART 5) But what really was pretty much a life changer for her was when assault on dragon keep was released. after seeing the ending of the story where Tina accepted roland's death it inspired her and gave her the strength to accept her own sexuality the overcome her depression.

July 17, 2015
.

### (PART 4) Borderlands 2 really helped with the depression she had it made her forget about her problems for a while. But the reason why she loved Borderlands 2 was because of Tina. She loved this character so much they have the same name she though she was super funny.

July 17, 2015
.

### (PART 3) where she locked her self away in her room wouldn't talk to family and pushed away her friends. She is a huge fan of Borderlands she really like playing the first one with her friends. But she really fell in love with borderlands after the second was released.

July 17, 2015
.

### (PART 2) To start my little Sister discovered her sexuality at a very young age but understandable got really scared about it. And hid it away from the world and even though she could change it, she soon realised she couldn't so she soon suffered a huge depression.

July 17, 2015
.

### (PART 1) Hi Anthony, I was lookin got contact you for a while but wasn't sure how until I found you ask.fm. I wanted to tell you my personal story about how borderlands helped my little sister except her sexuality an feel goo about her self and gave her a lot of self confidence.

July 17, 2015
.

### Sorry, but who the hell are Nick and Norah Jennings? What are they from?

July 17, 2015
The Thin Man! Married detectives.

### Re: the Milk Maid discussion: Also, if the movie is like a big allegory for women escaping the patriarchy, and Immortan Joe/Warboys/Elephantiasis von Capitalism/etc are the personification of said patriarchy -- then the Wives represent their ridiculous standards. That's why they're the "favorites".

July 17, 2015
yup. Plus "she's my property" -- my standards are ridiculous but you must adhere to them, because your body is not your own

### Yo Ant it's ya boy dre here. Would you ever conside kickstarter or indie gogo for a project? Have a an awesome day man.

ManLikeDre
July 16, 2015
The ship may have sailed for kickstarter, I dunno.

### what makes a love story good? do you have a favorite one? whether if it's a movie, a game, book, etc... (my personal favorite is Spike Jonze's Her)

July 16, 2015
I dunno! I wish I did. If I had to guess, I'd say that my favorite love stories try to focus on sweetness over manufactured drama. April and Andy in Parks & Rec is probably one of my favorites, because it works like most really good relationships do: they just kinda get along and like each other, and then they get together, and there are occasional problems but they inherently really really like each other and get along with one another.

Ditto for Nick and Norah Jennings, or Frank and Sadie Doyle. I just really like couples that seem to care about one another -- they're so rare in fiction. Perhaps not unreasonably (most relationships don't last as long as those do, or they're not as happy), but so long as we're making indulgent bullshit, it might as well be sweethearted indulgent bullshit.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### When a new game comes out, what source(s) do you consult to decide whether to buy it? (Trailer, website reviews, fan reviews, etc?)

July 16, 2015
Reviews from publications and people I trust. Exclusively.

### Do you find it difficult to stay focused on work when you work at/on a computer? You've got literally the whole web at your fingertips, plus games, etc. Is that a struggle for you, and if so, what methods do you use to stay on task and no follow every rabbit hole tangent that pops into your head?

July 16, 2015
Considering I am answering ask.fm stuff instead of writing a script for a trailer:

yes, I find it difficult to stay focused.

I just naturally get stressed out if I have incomplete work, though, so my desire to have a clean plate inevitably sends me back to the coal mines every few minutes.

### Why don't game devs focus more on women? I mean look at the beetles, justin bieber or one direction. Their core fan base is millions of young girls. Girls are smart, dedicated fans that attach themselves to something. If devs/writers focused on that then maybe their games would sell better.

July 16, 2015
A lot of it is that game devs honestly believe, despite evidence to the contrary, that women don't play games. They just straight up don't believe it, because it wasn't the case when they grew up and they assume that every study and statistic to the contrary is just progressive well-wishing and not documented fact.

Or they shift goalposts and say, oh, well, women only play social games like Candy Crush. Which, let's say that's true (which it arguably is not, especially when you look at what games young girls are playing and see that, holy fuck, these girls are playing a LOT of Minecraft and Call of Duty). Most game devs would rather stick to what they know than try to grab at an untapped market, because marketing wisdom says that it's wiser to focus down on one thing and be REALLY good at it than to try and diversify, even if you're potentially missing out on an enormous market.

This is a really good read on the subject: http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/12/2/5143856/no-girls-allowed

View more

Liked by: Jeffrey sheananigans Baby J

### Law isn't perfect tho. All in all it's about subtlety through lived experience. Seeing the line between coherence and non-coherence, consent and lack of consent. Where you're able to tell where other people fall along those lines. If you can't, well, that's a good sign that you shouldn't proceed

July 16, 2015
Yeah, general rule of thumb for me, as of late, has been:
-Ask yourself if this is even a little bit creepy
-If there answer isn't "what? no, of course not," don't do it

### Now if BOTH parties were too drunk to establish informed consent but somehow managed to have sex, that falls under nebulous legal lines: who got whom drunk, a jury's opinion of who compelled who to have sex/get THAT drunk, etc. In practice, there probably wouldn't be enough evidence to meet burden.

July 16, 2015
.

### Re: novice feminist - If she was too drunk to give consent, but he wasn't, he'd be liable. As I understand it, legally, an intoxication defense (in the US) would likely not avoid a conviction (but may earn a reduced sentence). Rape is a general intent crime, so no need to prove intent

July 16, 2015
.

### do you think feminist porn can ever truly exist? some feminist theorists/academics are very adamant about it.

July 16, 2015
Feminist porn already exists (Smut Peddler!).

I am deeply suspicious of anti-sex or anti-porn feminists, as denying women their ability/desire to be sexual and horny is sort of the thing that society already does.

### If you were tasked with writing the next Paul Blart movie what would it be about?

July 16, 2015
It'd be a shot for shot remake of Hard Target
Liked by: sad boy

### opinion on the mass effect movie being played by apparently white mshep?

July 16, 2015
I'm not omega-psyched about it, but I get it. There's nothing that screams quality about video game adaptations inherently, so you wanna avoid risk whenever possible. That said, yeah, kind of a bummer.

### What was the last thing that really inspired you? Something that made you want to write right away or create with enthusiasm.

July 16, 2015
Conversations with people you have crushes on are always pretty good inspiration.
Liked by: Nokeystothecity

### hard or soft taco

July 16, 2015
hard

### do you ever eat from subway what

July 16, 2015
ew no

### Have you seen the Evil Dead movies? What're your thoughts on them?

July 16, 2015
Love the fuck out of them (2 and 3 more than 1).
Liked by: ManLikeDre sad boy professional righter

### (2) B) They were the ones to release the water back to the world! Imagine the grace, strength, resilience, and love it would take to do that. Having your very body used to nourish your abusers, but then to turn around and nourish the world. Not the wives, the warboys, Max or Furiosa, but them <3

July 16, 2015
Very very good points, all.

### (1) Re: The Milk Maids from Mad Max -- I think the movie still treated them pretty well despite their small role, considering A) They existed in the first place (PLENTY of media doesn't even acknowledge that that fat women exist in the world at all, much less as sex slaves/victims of abuse), and

July 16, 2015
,.

### Where did you work pre-gearbox? Also, the link to the second podcast on the hawp website doesn't seem to be working...

July 16, 2015
Destructoid. Also, it should be fixed now.

### Twitter keeps suggesting to follow you. But you're a horrible writer who promotes backward and archaic ideas about game narrative, why should I follow such a cuckold pleb?

July 16, 2015
cause occasionally i post great dick pics
Liked by: Tom Head Brian Carney Ash professional righter

### Couple bangs with condom. Completion. Drops used condom on floor. Leaves. Other couple enters without condom. Wanna get busy. Guy foolishly turns condom inside-out. They do it. Woman get pragnent from other man's spermatozoa. Who dat baby's daddy? Who is legally responsible for it? Speak, Solomon

July 16, 2015
cut the man's dick in half, that all may have half a dick

but for real what fuckin' idiot turns a condom inside out, it's the idiot's fault for doing that

### Yeah, I don't think I communicated that too well -- what I mean is that I still wanna see Far Crys and Assassins Creeds and the like, but I also wanna see POC/LGBTQ+/Marginalized protagonists with the same frequency and in the same roles as "standard straight white dude."

July 16, 2015
Right, yeah.

### What's Your Favorite Console Controller of All Time, So Far?

July 16, 2015
SNES. Felt so smooth, like a bar of soap with buttons.
Liked by: Nokeystothecity Jeffrey

### Any short films from ricket jump coming out by you? plus release date for new HAWP? Writing another game? A TV show? Anthony Burch writing a MOViE!!! Oh damn.

July 16, 2015
A ricketjump short is coming out in the next couple weeks, new HAWPs are every two weeks, I'm doing some game stuff on the side.
Liked by: ManLikeDre

### Grant Morrison or Alan Moore?

July 16, 2015
Alan Moore, though I like both.

### You are hired by Marvel to pick a hero and write a movie for Phase 4 of the MCU. Which hero do you pick and why?

July 16, 2015
Squirrel Girl, because she's the fucking best. Except I wouldn't write it, I'd have Ryan North write it, because he's better.
Liked by: Cassidy Willetts Dnomyar sad boy

### Honest question from a novice feminist: If a guy and a girl both get drunk, and they have sex which she could not consent to (due to being drunk), should he be blamed? or does the fact that he was also drunk, therein also unable to make a clear decision, absolve him in anyway?

July 16, 2015
Honestly dunno. I'd assume it's nobody's fault, as nobody was in control? I dunno.
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman

### Just another quick question Anthony my man. If I kind of base a character on you do you want to get paid for it? When it makes hella change?

July 16, 2015
wat
Liked by: professional righter ManLikeDre

### on the hawpcast y'all talked about how perfect mad max was and i liked the movie but like, remember how the thin pretty girls got to escape but they left all the fat girls behind? how the fat girls were milk machines and how nobody saved them? i dont know i kinda thought it was fucked

July 16, 2015
Hadn't considered that, honestly. I guess some of the brides could have been less conventionally attractive, but I do wonder if that honestly would have confused their purpose in the story -- suddenly, Immortan Joe looks a lot more progressive.

Unless you're saying it would have been cool if Furiosa could have snuck out some of the milk maids, which...yeah, that's a good point. Hadn't thought of that. World'd obviously be better with more body diversity amongst main characters.
Liked by: sad boy

### tbh I think we've come really far in terms of representation and social consciousness in gaming, to the point where we really just need to get more POC/LGBTQ+/marginalized people working in AAA studios. I don't want the nature of games to change, but I want to see more marginalized stories told.

July 16, 2015
I'm not quite sure what your last sentence means -- it seems like you can't have one without the other, at least in part -- but I agree, generally.

### Why do you feel qualified to write a book about MGS? Your post about The Boss shows that you have no idea what you're talking about wrt the series

July 16, 2015
*jerking off motion*
Liked by: professional righter sad boy

### In a terrifying mirror universe in which you are in charge of a new Star Trek show, who would you put in the captain's chair?

July 15, 2015
a dog

### Can a writer ever get more than a superficial representation of certain experiences if they don't share it? You can probably write a woman or black man as a white person if you just avoid stereotype and flesh them out, but can you tell a story ABOUT racial oppression or disability without knowing?

July 15, 2015
Probably not, to be honest. I've worked on stuff where we wanted to make A Story About The ____ Experience but almost none of us WERE that type of person, and we felt really guilty and weird about pretending to know what that experience is life (even if the desire to depict that was coming from a good place). Instead, just donate to and support marginalized people who make art about their own experiences.

### What's an "ambiguous rape"? And it may just be because I don't understand what the term means that I have to ask this follow-up, but why would an ambiguous rape be an "irresponsible" rape story? Rape is something fucked up no matter HOW you tell the story...

July 15, 2015
Google "legitimate rape" and the fallout from the Cersei rape in game of thrones.

The problem is that we're always happy to react appropriately to many other types of violent crime (you'd never say "legitimate murder"), but when it comes to rape we hem and haw and come up with excuses and throw guilt on the victim and try to muddy the waters of what did or didn't happen.

### Also James Bond kills/murders people for money (by just following orders). Not exactly a stand-up role model in that sense either.

July 15, 2015
Yeah, the Bourne movies are a pretty good refutation of the idea that James Bond is a hero.

### What so are you saying we have to really think about what we are showing? But all characters can't be strong and be a positive role model for their minority/race/gender ir sexuality.

July 15, 2015
Not saying that. You can make characters real people with flaws and goals and obstacles and agency, or you can make them shitty stereotypes that say shitty things. Nobody's saying you have to make characters Mary Sues.
Liked by: sad boy ManLikeDre

### I don't think you watch Orange is the new black but there were two rapes scene in season 3. And honestly it was my (and many reviewers') favorite storyline of the season. The rape scene was hard for me to watch but it focused on the victim's face because it was HER story.

July 15, 2015
I haven't watched past season one, but yeah, this sounds like the kind of thing I'm talking about (which probably explains why I haven't heard of any "oitnb rape scene is shitty and irresponsible" thinkpieces like I have with GoT).

### What really irritates me is that the same people who spout the "grow up, it's fictional" horse shit when confronted with criticism revolving around race, gender, sexuality, etc. are often the same people who cry "that wasn't in the comics!" or "that's not how the original character was!"

July 15, 2015
yarp

### So should media always, or preferably, be a positive experience? Are movies that make you feel like shit inherently worse than movies that make you feel good?

July 15, 2015
No. Again, it's about portraying something responsibly. "Lucky" by Alice Sebold is a harrowing, awful experience to read, but it's one of the most important books I've ever read because it takes the subject of rape and deals with it in the most victim-centric way possible, focusing on its aftermath and how the victim's (author's) life changed.

### How often have you been 100% certain that what you're saying is exactly what you want to say?

July 15, 2015
Not often. But I've tried very hard. The point that I'm making is that many, many creators don't even take THAT step. Most people are happy to write about marginalized groups without ever actually speaking to anyone from that group, for example.

It's what leads to people *accidentally* filming rape scenes. It's what leads to stupid, regressive characters like Bryce Dallas Howard's in Jurassic World, or fetishistic half-attempts at telling a marginalized person's story, like Jared Leto in Dallas Buyer's Club.
Liked by: sad boy Jeffrey

### Yeah, so does thst mean we need to self censor ourselves and not explore certain ideas? (The character of James bond is a terrible role model, kind of a malshovanist)

July 15, 2015
No, it means you can't make characters or situations without really, really seriously considering *what you are saying.*

You can tell a story about rape. Sure. But you have to handle it RESPONSIBLY -- don't eroticize the rape, don't use it to further another male character's arc, don't make it an ambiguous rape, and so on. If you do, you're telling people something fucked up about rape whether you intended to or not. Mad Max Fury Road handles the subject responsibly. Game of Thrones does not.

Generally speaking, people aren't really "exploring ideas" when they do problematic shit. Colin Trevorrow, when confronted about Bryce Dallas Howard's horrific character arc in Jurassic World, sorta shrugged and went, "shit, I hadn't thought of it that way, I didn't think we were saying anything at all."

Which is the problem. EVERYTHING you make says SOMETHING, and you need to be 100% certain that you're saying exactly what you WANT to say.

View more

Liked by: sad boy ManLikeDre Jeffrey

### a) she's the only big-screen female Avenger/hero role model to many young girls and b) it's not her fault she was reduced to a love interest because of her gender. Furthermore, characters give hope through representation, like how Athena's sexuality gave a woman the strength to accept herself.

July 15, 2015
Yez

### To answer your other anon, people get offended by fictional characters because they're a representation of the thoughts and ideals that goes on in our society. They mean a lot to some people. That's why I get offended by Jeremy Renner's insistence that he had a right to slutshame Black Widow when

July 15, 2015
.

### Should there be more gay lead characters in games for the sake of furthering the cause? Or should there be gay lead characters in games because its conducive to a story?

July 15, 2015
Do you think straight lead characters are conducive to story? Is there, beyond people thinking it's icky and publishers worrying it'll subsequently drive sales away, a spectacular reason that a lead MUST be straight?
Liked by: Angela Jean Nokeystothecity sad boy Jeffrey

### Did you think the Dead Fantasy Series was cool as shit? Or, eh?

July 15, 2015
loved it.
Liked by: Nokeystothecity

### Why do people get offened by fictional characters? Remember when some douches were complaining about tiny tina being racist. Even if she was a Nazi whi hated other races... she's fictional.

July 14, 2015
Because all characters are made by human beings who want you to feel things, and human beings are very susceptible to ideas and philosophies from fiction. If a character convincingly conveys shitty ideas, that can make the world a shittier place (heroes like James Bond have probably, in their own way, helped further rape culture -- a kid growing up sees Bond literally wrestle Pussy Galore to the ground before fucking her, he might grow up thinking, well, when women say they don't wanna fuck they're sometimes playing hard to get).
Liked by: Cassidy Willetts sad boy ManLikeDre

### I do love The Boss as a character, even if she's not THE BEST FEMALE VG CHARACTER EVER. That's obviously Doctor Chakwas :).

July 14, 2015
CHAKWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS
Liked by: Sean Broussard Adam R

### Which do you choose to write? A HBO/AMC show? A game with which ever dev studio? An AAA movie? You have full creative control and an unlimited budget.

July 14, 2015
ffffffff probably a show?
Liked by: ManLikeDre

### With Satoru Iwata's passing what are some of your fond Nintendo memories?

July 14, 2015
Playing Mario/Duck Hunt is one of my oldest memories. Sitting around playing Kirby Super Star with Ash for hours on end is one of my happiest.
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Becky professional righter

### Best female character in games? and why is it The Boss?

July 14, 2015
Jade. Or Glados. NO! Hammer from Fable 2, I think. Or Sera from DA:I.

Definitely not The Boss (it feels like we jumped into the 2nd game about her without any of the emotional groundwork that would have been lain by a 1st game).

### At what point in the process of writing Borderlands 2 did you get more comfortable with your writing? "For a while every word I put down felt wrong" is that a matter of finding your voice or getting comfortable or both

July 14, 2015
I never got comfortable, I just heard some people at work say they thought some lines were funny so I latched onto that as hard as I could.
Liked by: professional righter

### got any advice for how a not voogetarian can get excited about the prospect of eating salads without completely drowning them in dressing or otherwise nullifying their nutritional value? I already have the step of using spinach instead of lettuce down.

July 14, 2015
Dude if you find out, lemme know. I'm a vegetarian and I fucking HATE salads

### do you regret how racist the hammerlock dlc was?

July 14, 2015
yes

### In regards to women apologizing to men, I've always fallen back on "You have nothing to be sorry for," because I feel like the implication is more "you did nothing to warrant an apology" and less "what you did didn't offend /me/." But maybe that's condescending? I dunno.

July 14, 2015
Dunno either. Think your heart's in the right place.

### What do about social anxiety? I was at the grocery store yesterday and started freaking out b/c there were too many people there.

July 13, 2015
If you find out, lemme know. My first instinct upon entering any party is to start running.
Liked by: professional righter

### I'm on board with the idea that women shouldn't apologize as often as many of them do. As a male, is there anything I can do about it? How should I react (if at all) when my female coworker says "Sorry, but here's that thing you asked for"?

July 13, 2015
Just, really casually and with a smile, say, "Oh, no problem! You don't have to be sorry!"

Or something like that, I dunno. Just try to keep things casual and friendly so you let them know it's okay to not fall back on their usual submissive vocabulary, without coming across condescending.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### What do you think of Satoru Iwata's passing?

July 13, 2015
Fucking sad. He seemed like a really nice dude, and his "Iwata asks" were the best look into the truth of the game design process that I've ever seen. But nobody reported on them, because, I dunno, they proved that game journalists are bad at their jobs or something.
Liked by: Achro sad boy Jeffrey

### In regards to: http://gr33dsama.tumblr.com/post/123586153543 . I strongly disagree with the post. A fucked up world like Pandora would have humor as a coping mechanism. It's not a coincidence that comedy writers are a bit messed up.

July 13, 2015
Also, it's like, you remember BL1 had Scooter saying his mom's "girly parts" were like "throwing a hot dog down a skag den," right? And the first DLC was a Zombie b-movie? And the third DLC's best character (Knoxx) said stuff like "toodles" and "this planet smells like hemorrhoids wrapped in bacon"?

### Rockstar had the luxury of The Warriors being released back in the 70s, while most movie adaptations rush to meet release dates. Do you think more games should be based on movies completely out the history books?

July 13, 2015
I think if you have to make a licensed game, yeah, it's definitely better for it to be an older license, because then you've got the wisdom of ages to know what works about that license and what doesn't, what people expect and want from it, etc.

I really want Trouble in Terrorist Town to become a proper, polished game with The Thing license.

### Did you get a razor scooter when they were popular?

July 13, 2015
nah girl

### Saw the question about westerns and another really good one to watch is True Grit

July 13, 2015
YES. The remake especially. The original is fine, but the remake's fucking great.
Liked by: Nokeystothecity Richard Tran

### sorry i'm not so good at talking to people, but your writing kicks ass and you seem like a fucking great guy, thanks for inspiring my and a lot of other people

Erik L.
July 12, 2015
thanks very much
Liked by: Jeffrey Luna

### How do I stop being prentious? It's gotten to the point where I'm going to delete my okcupid account if I have to talk to one more person about Vampire Weekend. I don't attack people for their tastes I just don't connect with people who arent as into art as I am and I can't move past it. Help?

July 12, 2015
Iii have no idea. Maybe eventually you'll get lonely enough that you'll stop being that way?
Liked by: Nokeystothecity

### But like NV, Bl2 developing a personality for the series instead of just "serious and sepia" made me care about the characters and world way more, because of those moments of colour and levity, need contrast yo. I think humour in a wasteland is actually way more relatable than "blargh serious" (2)

July 12, 2015
Thanks. That makes sense, given I love NV way more than F3 (and often feel the minority in that regard)
Liked by: Cassidy Willetts sheananigans sad boy

### Perrrrrsonally I think that "hopeless, gritty, serious" atmosphere of Bl1 is the same gorram thing every FPS for the last decade tries to create and just ends up feeling dull and flavourless, same as Fallout 3 vs New vegas. Bl1 set itself apart with art style/gameplay, not writing so much. (1)

July 12, 2015
.

### Hi! I bought the Handsome Collection this week and am playing BL2 for the first time. I'm not all that far in, but already I'm digging it more than BL1 exactly because folks have some personality now (particularly Handsome Jack). Really enjoying your influence on the series. :)

July 12, 2015
thanks much.

### You ever done the skateboard thing? I tried for a little bit till I saw another kid's arm bending a way it shouldn't. Along that same line you ever broken anything?

July 12, 2015
For exactly fifteen seconds until I almost biffed an ollie.
Liked by: sad boy

### Games to movies are awful. Games based on movies are short and awful. How would write a good game of a movie?

July 12, 2015
I'd do what Rockstar did with The Warriors and really focus on making a good game first.
Liked by: Christian McCrea

### http://gr33dsama.tumblr.com/post/123586153543 I'm genuinely curious as to what you think of this post. Do you think that you sacrificed the atmosphere and dark humor of the original borderlands too much and drove it too far into over the top, silly humor?

July 11, 2015
Personally, I don't, but of course I don't because I wrote the thing.

I mean, there's a LOT of dark humor all throughout BL2 (the echo quest in the caustic caverns, Tina's backstory), so what people are actually reacting to when they say stuff like this (which is generally pretty rare, but still gets mentioned) is one of two things:
- Holy shit everyone talked way too much: i.e., I liked how BL1 had almost no dialog and I got to basically make up the big holes in the story in my head
-I don't find your shitty writing funny: which isn't exactly something I can help, but I get it.

I mean, BL2 won't be to everyone's tastes, and that's fine. But we specifically set out to address the first game's single most consistent complaint -- "there's no story" -- and I think we did that.
Liked by: Secret Firi

### Do you take some mild comfort in the familiarity of being sad, since it's been ~15 yrs I'm guessing (based on your age)? That is to say, do you just feel like yourself when you're sad? I recall a brief time in early high school when I took some solace in pitying myself. Never really determined why.

July 11, 2015
The opposite. I don't like feeling the same way I did when I was a teenager -- makes me feel like I haven't made any progress (and I was a pretty miserable teenager, so).

### So I just watched your latest HAWP video after having seen your Patreon announcement video (both of which I've enjoyed :3). You and Ash look pretty different in each one and the locations are different; were your season 5 episodes filmed a year or so ago?

July 11, 2015
yeah

### what do you think of Her Story?

July 11, 2015
Fucking incredible. Uses its constraints in such a brilliant way to make you really, honestly feel like a detective. LA Noire makes you feel like a character in a shitty detective story; Her Story actually makes you feel like a detective, following leads and trying to catch contradictions and following up on them in your own specific way.

### That last comment had the eerie ring of that "You'd be a lot prettier if you smiled" line. I think you just got anonymously negged?

July 11, 2015
oh no now i want to put forth more effort to make them like me

dammit
Liked by: Tom Head

### Fight Club does too good a job of being Tyler and convincing you how fucking awesome the club is and then becomes obsessed with its midpoint twist and turns into an entirely different movie. Which works but also means it never really addresses how fucked up it was earlier as persuasively

July 11, 2015
yeah, exactly

### Hey so I know Athena is super awesome and gay and you/she liked saved ppl's lives w/ representation, but on a FAR LESS IMPORTANT scale: Finding out Axton was bi just opened the door to me and my husband having the hottest MFF threesome in the galaxy, so high-five to you on that too, dude.

July 11, 2015
holy christ, nice
Liked by: Adam Kolacz Tom Head

### did you try xcom iron man

July 11, 2015
I played it iron man my first time through and won and hot diggity fucking daaaaamn

### When I found out about you I thought you were a dick. But you're kind of an okay dude. Cheer up.

July 09, 2015
nice
Liked by: professional righter

### so when's Ulicon 2: Electric Boogaloo?

July 09, 2015
next year

### Let's talk about why you're sad all the time.

July 09, 2015
*shrug* I have been since middle school, I dunno. It's just my default mode. Allegedly this is not uncommon in comedy writers.
Liked by: Kerissa Young professional righter

### Will you ever come to London in the UK? Ever?

July 09, 2015
Maybe someday, but I've no specific plans to.
Liked by: ManLikeDre

### talking of people not getting Watchmen's Rorshach, what do you think of Fight Club? A lot of people seem to think it's a condemnation of toxic masculinity while others see it as a celebration of it. Where do you lie?

Frenk Underwoods
July 09, 2015
I like it, but I think it's trying to have its cake and eat it too. It's definitely saying that consumerism is bullshit and the emotions people feel in a fight club are closer to our "true" selves. That it then goes kind of apeshit and turns all the people who believe this into space monkeys is I guess making a point about how all value systems eventually become corrupting, but it doesn't actually undermine its message about how fucking awesome the fight clubs were initially.
Liked by: sad boy professional righter Becky

### You didn't like the Preacher comics?

July 09, 2015
They're mean, macho horseshit that seems to hate people who aren't like Jesse and Cassidy (their big rant on how therapy is bullshit is fucking infuriating).

### By the end of Arkham Knight I was under the impression that Bruce faked his death (Hid in the Batcave idk) and the "new Batman" isn't actually there at all, but Scarecrow's toxin just hasn't worn off for criminals. Silly theory?

professional righter
July 09, 2015
I think they came up with an intentionally vague, bullshit ending to leave the door open for whatever they wanted to do later.
Liked by: professional righter sad boy

### Your point about Rorschach is the main reason why I disliked the Watchmen movie. Zach Snyder has no idea what subtlety means and the ending shot of the journal seems like it's meant to give the reader hope instead of drive home the futility of his actions.

July 09, 2015
Yeah, Snyder thinks all those characters are fucking dope as shit. In the wrong way.
Liked by: sad boy

### Hey Anthony, would you ever be willing to give a talk at the University of Arizona's Game Development Club?

HalfCanadian
July 09, 2015
Maybe remotely. I never set foot into Arizona if I can help it.
Liked by: sad boy

### I can't help but feel that the writers for this Batman read Watchmen and didn't quite get it. Bone-breaking gritty Batman puts me in mind of the scene of Rorschach breaking a guy's fingers. Do you see any similarity?

July 09, 2015
Yes, except Watchmen knew -- even if many of its readers, myself included, didn't -- that Rorschach is a fucking worthless psychopath who accomplishes literally nothing (unless you count a right-wing newspaper getting his illegible journal an accomplishment). At the end, he even sees that he is basically useless in this world and still refuses to change, leading to his destruction.
Liked by: Sean Broussard Jeffrey sad boy

### Will you accept me as your apprentice?

Garrett Glass
July 09, 2015
k
Liked by: professional righter Tonya Khramova Garrett Glass

### I would normally agree with you, but Batman's whole shtick is fear. If he doesn't kill criminals, he has to make them fear him, and he has to put on that gritty "I'll break your other one" persona to instill fear in his enemies (not the original asker, btw).

July 08, 2015
Sure, but that's a purely narrative excuse for "isn't it cool that this dude is fucking brutal and mean, isn't it badass". It doesn't change how it's weird that the game wants you to root for this sort of behavior. And besides, it's up to the creators to decide how "fear" manifests itself -- the idea of a dude coming out of nowhere and incapacitating you can be implicitly scary without the added threat of "and also he'll break most of your limbs".
Liked by: sad boy Brian Carney Ash

### But Batman isn't a cop. Never has been. Do you just not like superheroes in general?

July 08, 2015
No, but Batman is a Good Guy. And Good Guys generally do not break peoples' arms for no reason other than rank bloodlust.

Which, sure, have a Good Guy do that, but then make the story about how fucking horrifying that is and what a shitty person he is for doing it. Batman doesn't do that -- it thinks "I'll break your other one" is legitimately badass and cool because it's so Gritty and Hard.

### Can you not tell based on your Borderlands or HAWP work what good writing is with your new stuff even slightly? Really? Do you have a bunch of people you trust or is it just throw out into the world and curl into a ball waiting for everyone to firebomb you

July 08, 2015
Everything always feels different, so my instincts don't much count for shit -- sure, this short film may feel good, but I write videogames and really really really short videos, so what the fuck do I know about what looks good?

But yes, there are definitely people in my life whom I greatly trust, and it's thanks basically solely to them that anything I trust doesn't suck complete ass.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### speaking of lesbians, athena being a lesbian singlehandedly saved my best friend's life and idk who to thank for that but youre the only (ex)gearbox employee i can contact and idk why it just means so much to her and it helped her come to terms with herself

July 08, 2015
Holy fucking shit. Thank you so much for telling me this. I hope your friend is doing well.
Liked by: Cassidy Willetts what's a gender Kerissa Young sheananigans Garrett Glass Becky Jeffrey

### Do you think your experience writing for Gearbox and Rocket Jump translates to more traditional forms of writing like novels or short stories? Or are the differences so big that you wouldn't even know how to approach a novel?

July 08, 2015
The differences are very big. The part of my brain that knows how to write dialog and jokes and situations is very different from the part that understands basic sentence structure, syntax, and prose. I tried to write a novel at one point and found it pretty difficult to simply make one sentence naturally flow into the other. I don't, generally, have a super great grasp on grammar.

### Does that head canon question also applie to Tiny Tina's sexuality I.E. Her being gay is more of in your head but not well known among gearbox. Even though the game does hint towards her being gay a few times, and the wiki does state that she has a crush on maya and moxxie but doesn't say she's gay

July 08, 2015
Yeah, probably. I tried to make her sexuality more overt in the Torgue DLC but the higher ups made me delete the dialog concerning it (which Randy later publicly regretted).
Liked by: Cassidy Willetts Jeffrey Kerissa Young Becky

### On the Dan Harmon/Batman thing... But didn't the ending (minus the post end moment) accept the idea that Batman's existence and operation in Gotham is what causes all of his friends and associates to be put in more danger than they normally would be?

July 08, 2015
Not really, especially considering the 100% ending where there's a new Batman and yaaaay new Batman, we did it guys, Gotham is totally safe.

That and the entire game is about constructing a reality where a Batman is necessary and his violence is justified -- only a few of the baddies do shit just to fuck with Batman, everyone else is just trying to be a criminal and has a really easy time because the police force is 100% ineffectual and the criminals have an unlimited cash supply.

### is handsome jack a poc

July 08, 2015
no

### are you a hugger

July 08, 2015
if I know you really well and don't have a crush on you, yes

### since anita sarkeesian's mostly given from criticising meaningful misogyny and is now mostly complaining about violence (esp. violence done by women for some reason?) do you think she hates Borderlands?

July 08, 2015
I've spoken to her personally about Borderlands, and her feelings are appropriately mixed -- she really liked the Tiny Tina DLC and thinks the games are generally funny and cool, but some stuff (Angel, Lilith, the bit where you burn a bunch of people alive in their trailers as they sleep) felt off to her, and honestly feels off to me, too.

These conversations are also why my head fucking explodes when people say that she doesn't play games, because holy shit most people don't even know the trailer sidequest EXISTS.
Liked by: Emily Sean Broussard Jeffrey sad boy rainblooded

### What's your favorite Western film?

July 08, 2015
Ooh, shit. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, maybe? Or Unforgiven?

### why are you complaining about batman breaking a violent gang member's wrist/arm? should he have just let the guy go to do whatever he wanted unimpaired? where he would definitely break more laws because the cops are stretched so thin?

July 08, 2015
He had the dude on the ground in a position of total disempowerment. Replace "batman" with "cop" and see how weird that is
Liked by: sad boy

### So you wrote some of the Athena and Fiona bits in episode 3? In TPS Athena says she searched for her sister for 20 years before she finally found her on Pandora but in episode 3 she says her scarf was a present from her sister before she went on her first long away mission. What's the dealio?

July 08, 2015
what's up how you doin
Liked by: Tonya Khramova

### Would you like to WRITE for a Tarentino directed Borderlands Movie?

July 08, 2015
oh jesus christ no
Liked by: sad boy

### sorry if this is a weird question but do you have any trans headcanons or characters you regret not writing as trans

July 07, 2015
I regret not having a trans character of some sort, but I don't regret not, like, retroactively saying Maya was trans or something (because I'd prefer to have a trans voice actor in that case).
Liked by: Kerissa Young Jeffrey

### You said what's in your head is no longer canon because you left, but Athena still being a lesbian is a canon shared by the rest of the staff, and not just you, right? I wanna make sure.

July 07, 2015
I can't say what's in anyone else's head. I really goddamn HOPE they stay true to it, but I can't guarantee anything.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky

### I finished Her Story last night. I loved the game. I played it for several hours at a time over the course of 3 or 4 days, so by not playing in one session I feel like I may have forgotten things, but I felt like the story left too much up to the user's imagination. What do you think about it?

Aaron
July 07, 2015
There are a couple of things I'm specifically curious about, but I got 75% of the entries and I feel like I have a pretty decent idea of what happened in the general.

### Dan Harmon interpreted Arkham Knight's stupidly macho grim story as "I'd change nothing. I love how anti-batman the story is. To truly love batman is to accept him as a selfish psycho." Thoughts?

July 07, 2015
I don't think the game comes even near enough to self-awareness of how psychopathic Batman is.

Like, the end of the game (the normal end, not the 100% end) is basically like, "YES! Batman succeeded because he's no longer capable of being afraid! Which means that he became a hero by feeling even FEWER human emotions than he already does!"
Liked by: sad boy

### Would you like to see a Quentin Tarantino-directed Borderlands movie?

July 07, 2015
what yes obviously
Liked by: sad boy Becky haruspex Nolan Sullivan Richard Tran professional righter Jeffrey

### Do you know anything about programming, Anthony? I remember that Jonathan Blow said some interesting things about how knowing to program games was very important to design and write good games (games where narrative and gameplay are truly related, etc.).

July 06, 2015
I don't. I wish I did, but I don't -- I just don't have a very mathematical brain.
Liked by: professional righter

### you genuinely seem heavily depressed at least whenever you come on here. Is that a fair interpretation or am I reading into things too much?

July 06, 2015
I mean I'm generally a pretty sad dude, but I wouldn't say I'm depressed
Liked by: professional righter

### What would you like to see more video games do in the future?

July 06, 2015
Focus. Papers Please, Her Story, Portal, Braid, and games like them are all about taking a core idea (or small set of ideas) and exploring them fully, without adding a bunch of incidental nonsense that only serves to waste the player's time or give them "something to do".

I want more focused games that are about a specific thing, rather than a hodgepodge of ideas that exist to pad out game length and keep the player mindlessly busy.
Liked by: wallid h fielding sad boy Jeffrey

### Do you think the same rules apply to game series as movies? "Halo 5" already sounds ridiculous, but it's really Halo 7, along with Assassin's Creed god-knows-what and Call of Duty 15. If a movie series had 8 instalments you'd think "what the hell that's absurd". Should series stop after 3 games?

July 06, 2015
nothing will ever, ever stop so long as it makes money. the only reason we don't have the same kind of bullshit in movies is because you can't make movies as quickly as you can games (because sequels require the same actors being present for long periods of time, whereas you can make three Desmond AC games back to back to back on a yearly basis because you have three different studios working on them and you only need Desmond's actor in the booth for like a week total for each game)
Liked by: Tonya Khramova

### Do you have any aromantic headcanons? (for borderlands!)

July 06, 2015
not really, to be totally honest -- i'm generally pretty interested in the romantic aspect of people, so everyone has some sort of leaning or another
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### What did the Walking Dead teach you?

July 04, 2015
The limits of my vengeance and mercy; my perhaps problematic naivete even when things get really dark; my capacity to fucking hate Kenny
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Adam R Tonya Khramova sad boy professional righter

### What's your opinion on FemFreq now-a-days? I kinda lost my support after she said stupid things about Mad Max.

July 04, 2015
I think you can disagree with certain things someone says and still find their opinions generally worthwhile.
Liked by: Tonya Khramova Jeffrey

### What Does Your Intuition Tell You About No Man's Sky?

July 04, 2015
That it'll be really beautiful and cool, but that lots of people will think it gets old quickly because they're looking for a Minecraftlike or something rather than a glorified walking simulator (which is what I am looking for).
Liked by: Nokeystothecity Gabriel Costantino Becky sad boy professional righter Jeffrey

### So if you could magically time-travelly change anything of the story from BL2 or the Pre-Sequel, what would it be?

July 04, 2015
Wouldn't have damseled Lilith.
Liked by: Emily Becky professional righter Jeffrey

### You and your creative friendship team have any plans for SDCC 2015? (!!?)

July 04, 2015
I think I might be driving down, but, yeah, I dunno.

### Rocksteady have given us a good set of batman games, but how would you tackle a superman game?

July 04, 2015
Red Son. You don't play as Batman, you play as all of the members of the justice league trying to take him down. He's like Sinistar, roaming the city constantly, and you have to evade his gaze while getting the pieces you need to take him down. If your particular justice league member dies, they're gone for good.
Liked by: Jeffrey Sean Broussard Will Murphy professional righter

### have you ever ruined everything

July 04, 2015
most of the time

### So System Shock 2 is getting a card game, you gonna get it?

July 04, 2015
wait what?

### you look absolutely beautiful in a full sleeve shirt. (i prefer full sleeves over short sleeves :3)

July 04, 2015
thanks! I should buy some more henleys.

### Which did you enjoy more The last of us or Telltales walkng dead? And why?

July 03, 2015
Last of Us taught me about a character named Joel. Walking Dead taught me about myself.

Walking Dead.
Liked by: sad boy Becky Tonya Khramova Gabriel Costantino Jeffrey professional righter ManLikeDre

### Finished Pre-Sequel and thought it was great, but I'm curious, was it always planned to be a frame story like it is? It seems weird to me that Lilith is interrogating Athena about Jack's rise to power when she was there for a significant portion of it. Just curious about the process!

July 02, 2015
She's not meant to be interrogating Athena about Jack, she's interrogating Athena to know why Athena helped Jack in the first place.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### So it was YOU who wrote the caravan scene in TFTBL ep 3? I just want to thank you for writing my favorite scene in that episode then, perhaps even my favorite scene of the whole game thus far. You're amazing; Thanks! Do you have any plans to write some more? (Please do, I love your work haha)

July 02, 2015
Glad you dug it! And yeah, I'm writing scenes for episodes 4 and 5.
Liked by: sad boy Bazyl Gimbazyl triptocaine Becky

### Finally got around to playing marvelous miss take holy shit I fucking love this game Anthony!!!!!

July 02, 2015
I KNOW RIGHT SO FUCKING GOOD
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Are Zer0 and Maya asexual in canon?

July 02, 2015
In my head they are, but what's in my head is no longer canon.
Liked by: Kerissa Young AO3Scribe Becky Jeffrey

### so is the new hawpcast on itunes? can't find it... :(

July 02, 2015
It's not out until next week.

### Had my first sexual experience as a woman yesterday. The lover was really into the 'chick with a dick' thing. I felt really fetishized, but that really turned me on. You think that is okay?

July 02, 2015
Iiii haven't a clue. I think if your discomfort outweighs your comfort, it's not okay. Maybe talk to them about it?

### Will the new HAWPcast be on iTunes? I like to download that shiz straight to my phone.

July 02, 2015
I hope it will be? Uli's figuring it out.

### Present day anthony looking good in Patreon video

July 02, 2015
thax
Liked by: Becky

### wait so which Asian though?

July 02, 2015
Mom's from Thailand.

### is bi-monthly podcast "occurring or produced twice a month or every two months"

July 02, 2015
Every other week.
Liked by: Becky

### so I started Arkham Knight, and you're right about batman. He's a total asshole. And you're right about the story. It's trying so hard to be "gritty" and "dark". But it's such a fun play to me, that I don't really care.

July 02, 2015
Yeah. Fantastic open world design, abysmal tone and story. ViDeOgAmEs

### would you date an android like data

July 02, 2015
There's an episode where Data gets a girlfriend and it doesn't work out

that said, probably

### (I was the student loans person) If you have any advice for someone who's the first in her family to go to college and just really wants to get a great education and isn't sure if (a minimum of) 40k in debt by the end of undergrad is worth it, I'd really appreciate it. Really big fan of you & Ashly!

July 02, 2015
I wish I could give you a better answer, but I really don't know -- I was extremely lucky and lived in Arizona during a time where you would get free in-state tuition for certain SAT scores. So, I dunno, maybe I'll just tell you what was sorta going through my head and you can do with that what you will.

Looking back, this seems like the most obvious, simple choice in imagination: of COURSE you take the free education, you idiot. Except I'd lived in Arizona for 19 years, and hated every single one of them. I got accepted to NYU, my dream school. I wanted out. All I had to do was sign a loan that would put me $40k in debt for a single semester.

I agonized and agonized and agonized. I literally had my pen hovering above the "sign here" bit of my loan application when I stopped, put the pen down, buried my head in my hands, and realized I should just stay in Arizona and finish college there.

I got so depressed I have almost zero memory of anything that happened during those four years.

But! I'm currently debt free. If I'd spent even a single semester in NYU, I'd still be paying off the loan for it.

I also never used my college degree (BA in creative writing) for anything at all. I happen to be incredibly lucky in that my chosen field doesn't give a shit about degrees, though, so...yeah. I dunno. Ask somebody smarter and more experienced than me.

I wish I knew what to tell you. I'm sorry.

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Liked by: Jeffrey

### Big fan of your work and Ashly's just wanted to ask you what you think about this article about E3 https://medium.com/@adrianchm/the-truth-about-e3-2015-and-female-protagonists-b006094e44b1

July 02, 2015
I think that dude is generally a not-very-good game maker with not-very-good ideas and opinions.

I think he's saying accurate things in that article and making the wrong conclusions. A better article that says effectively the same thing, but focuses instead on the idea that "this is good but we have way more work to do" instead of "somehow this proves gamergate was right", can be found here: http://feministfrequency.com/2015/06/22/gender-breakdown-of-games-showcased-at-e3-2015/

It's also not nothing to say, "well, the actual numbers haven't stayed horribly different, but the marketing focus has changed" -- like, focusing on presentation in women of your marketing is a REALLY BIG DEAL, in the same way that female protagonists in games are a big deal. It's about women being visible in male-dominated spaces.

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Liked by: Jeffrey

### Just watched your season 5 video. Is Ash really asian or are you yankin my chain?

July 01, 2015
We're both half... or quarter? Asian.

### Are there any Metal Gear games you recommend skipping?

July 01, 2015
All of them or none of them.

(At least if we're talking console releases. You can skip Portable Ops and the Acids, for sure.)

### I know you don't like jrpg's but fps game have the same problem. Go here, shoot that, go here; go back. Very repetitive and linear.

June 30, 2015
The average FPS encounter has more interesting decisions for a player to make than an average JRPG encounter. Even in a merely decent FPS, I have to actively think about more stuff (positioning, aim) than I do in a JRPG (where I'm just selecting "attack" from a menu over and over again, or, in Persona 3, selecting the exact correct elemental weakness over and over so I can do an all-out attack).

I just feel more like an active participant in an FPS. And, more than that, a single encounter in an FPS doesn't generally take more than 30 seconds, and you're active during that entire time. A JRPG has you stop, go into the battle screen, select stuff from a menu, wait for the animation to complete, wait for them to attack, then repeat that cycle until one side wins, then wait through the "you won" looting screen, then go back into the game overworld.

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### Are there any jrpgs that you do like?

June 30, 2015
Super Mario RPG. The older Penny Arcade Adventures.
Liked by: sad boy Adam R Jeffrey

### What don't you like about Batman Arkham Knight?

June 29, 2015
Okay, so, first off, I love its open world gameplay. You always feel like there's something interesting to do, and you do it with almost zero fuss -- you're just gliding around and, oh, hey, it's a drone, I should take that out. No "go to this person to start this mission" bullshit except in the side missions, and even those feel elegantly tied into the overworld.

I think its stealth is the worst it's ever been. The arenas are too big, and you don't have that clean vocabulary of "perch on gargoyle = you can't be seen" that you had in the previous games because the gargoyles are much rarer and for some reason enemies can still see you a lot when you're up there. It's hard to know when you can do a fear multi-takedown and when you can't.

More than anything, though, I fucking *hate* the tone of the game. It's everything bad and hypocritical about Batman, smooshed into one game. It's a guy who is a piece of human shit, but, hey, it's okay, because he doesn't kill anyone! He just grabs a bad guy by the arm, tortures information out of him (because of course torture works), and says "you better not be lying, or I'll break the other one."
"The other what?!"
Then Batman breaks his fucking arm. For no reason, other than to be mean.
Except nobody ever really, really takes Batman to task for this shit. He's always right, he's always smartest. He's a horrible Mary Sue who teaches people that being an unemotional, sullen, vengeful shit is actually kind of cool. (Contrast this to TAS Batman and Bruce Wayne, who are functional human beings who are trying to make the world a better place, and often have a lot of emotional dimension and nuance).

It's also just so goddamned grimdark in this desire to be "serious" and "real". SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

When that one character shot herself in the head, I was fucking furious. Like, really? You're going to make me re-live her saddest moment in a hallucination, and THAT'S how you pay it off? So she can just die to make Batman sad and further his character (but not in any real way, because she didn't die due to any of his decisions -- he just gets to be even MORE sullen and brooding because "I couldn't save her," as if that means anything)? Fuck you -- she deserves better than a world so desperate to be Gritty that it makes things mean and horrible just for the sake of being mean and horrible.

It feels like the ultimate video game expression of a teenager trying to convince you he's an adult by dramatically overcompensating.

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Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Adam R Gabriel Costantino Elijah Beahm Benjamin sheananigans rainblooded

### Why do you hate jrpg's? They are awesome. Have you played a final fantasy game before?

June 29, 2015
I hate that they are very linear and noninteractive. They're long, generally poorly written movies that you have to go through a lot of grindy nonsense in order to even get to the story bits.

### (Another "how do you feel about this jrpg question incoming) How do you feel about Xenoblade Chronicles? Do you think that its more active combat outweigh the standard tediums?

June 29, 2015
I wanted Xenoblade to be closer to FFXII, where I could just program shit to happen and wouldn't have to button mash (like, there's not an interesting combat decision to be made in just pressing "attack" a lot).

### Which scenes in the latest ep of Tales from the Borderlands did you write/contribute to? I'm assuming you did the Jack-apedia (really enjoyed that btw) but what else?

June 29, 2015
Thanks. I wrote for:

- The scene with Rhys and Jack atop the caravan (and the conversation with Athena preceding it)
- A lot of Athena and Fiona's conversations after they separate from Rhys and Sasha
- Various parts of the big fight at the end
- The Jackapedia
Liked by: Emily Jeffrey sad boy Bazyl Gimbazyl Becky

### I'm another person but I too was disturbed by this prase about Fiona: "She is a woman and she is right, I can't belive this!"

June 29, 2015
Hm, didn't notice that one.

I mean, Jack's definitely kind of a chauvinist...I personally wouldn't have written that line for him, but this IS a guy who locked his daughter and Lilith up, so he's definitely got baggage about women with power. It doesn't feel spectacularly out of character for him.
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman Rainy Kerissa Young

### So. Jack, sexist or not? There's a line in episode 3 which makes him seem super sexist but then there's women in his life he's treated with a lot of respect, like Nisha. What's the deal?

June 29, 2015
Which line?

### I still have a huge backlog of 360 games I need to beat(including the Mass Effect series), but E3 got me pretty hyped for upcoming releases. Do you think I should still wait on getting a current gen system?

June 28, 2015
Only buy a system when there's a game you feel like you must play on it. If that game doesn't exist for you yet (for me it was Ground Zeroes), don't bother.

### Does your dislike of jrpgs include Persona 3? (I ask bc one of the HAWP episodes was about it.)

June 28, 2015
Yeah. I wish that game was like eight jillion times faster, almost more menu based. Like, if all of school could just feel like a big dialog tree or something (so I don't have to waste so much time running around and jamming to A button to get through fucking ENDLESS dialog), and then the fighting in the dungeons was less hellishly repetitive (like, if I win a fight by exploiting every enemy's weakness, can you just not make me do that fucking exact fight over and over again? Can you just realize that you randomly rolled the exact same group of enemies, deduct some of my MP, and make me auto-win?)

### what do you think about the passage of time

June 28, 2015
i'm super psyched about it except for the fact that it means my body degrades

### What is your choice prophylactic?

June 28, 2015
staring at pictures of bobby jindal
Liked by: Nokeystothecity

### What was the reasoning behind the "dickalicious" line Tiny Tina said in the presequel? Was there some kind of subtext to it? It just kinda seemed strange for her to say and also her reaction to it was funny.

June 28, 2015
i thought it was funny
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Dilemma: a company offers you a sweet writing gig, good pay, creative control, etc. But the restriction is you have to use the conventional jrpg structure. You have to alternate between really long nonskippable cutscenes and unrelated grinding. Do you take it?

wallid h fielding
June 26, 2015
Ffffuck. Good question.

I mean, "full creative control" and "you have to have long cut scenes" are at odds with each other, aren't they?

Nah, I probably wouldn't do it.

### Does Rocket Jump take screenplay submissions?

June 26, 2015
nah

### Yay for gay marriage! Now even the gays get to feel the horrible feeling of divorce. It seems so simple and they could easily have done this years ago. Why'd it take so long?

June 26, 2015
Because more of the country is made up of backwards fuckshits than any of us would like.
Liked by: sad boy Helena Oreo Becky Kerissa Young

### would you want to date someone who didn't want to have sex till marriage ?

June 26, 2015
NOPE
Liked by: Helena Oreo

### I instantly recognized your writing in the new chapter of Tales and man, Anthony, it felt really nice to see your work in a Borderlands game again.

June 25, 2015
thax
Liked by: Brian Carney Ash Becky professional righter Kerissa Young

### Are you doing freelance work for gaming companies? If so, which ones?

June 25, 2015
Telltale, Game Over
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Becky professional righter

### Is it worth it to play through all the Mass Effects?

June 25, 2015
YES

They are basically the closest games have yet come to what I hoped games would be as a kid. A big, epic story with choices that change the world, and also you get to shoot and fuck things.
Liked by: Adam R sheananigans Samantha Dale Kerissa Young

### Is Athena supposed to be a little goofy in Episode 3 of Telltale? She seemed like a different tone, was that intentional?

June 25, 2015
Kiiiiind of? This is the first time you've ever gotten to see her just sorta hang out for a long period of time, and when you're around a character who can do some really weird stuff, as Fiona can, you want that to bring out more in Athena than just "I am a stern badass samurai lady."

It's really egocentric, but I wrote the gag where Athena freaks out about Fiona having an eye in her pocket and that's one of my favorite things with Athena we've ever done.
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Adam R Brian Carney Ash sheananigans Becky Kerissa Young

### How did your first date ever go like?

June 24, 2015
I went to Phantom of the Opera (the Joel Schumacher movie) and had Panda Express afteward, because I am **~*~*~*~romance incarnate~*~*~*~*~**
Liked by: Nick Stebbins professional righter Kerissa Young sad boy Adam Kolacz

### I've never played a Metal Gear game. Where should I start?

June 24, 2015
MGS1.

### why did you get fired from gearbox?

June 24, 2015
I didn't, I left to join RocketJump.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky professional righter ManLikeDre

### Did you record that HAWPCAST?

June 23, 2015
Yeah, we're gonna release it once the show comes back which should be very soon (a week or less ideally)
Liked by: ManLikeDre

### "We know we sacrificed some great storytelling [in Fallout 3 by allowing] the player to do whatever they want," OH GOD TODD HOWARD NO. BAD TODD HOWARD. BAD. YOU KNOW NOTHING, TODD HOWARD.

June 23, 2015
yeahhhhh i'm just gonna go ahead and really hope people are chomping at the bit to mod that horseshit out
Liked by: professional righter

### Why do commenters think they have some right to dictate content when statistically they make up less than 0.1% of people who watched a video? Even if you throw all of them in a bucket, 4000 comments vs a video with 900,000 views... hardly insurmountable support

June 23, 2015
Because it's easy to think your voice is loud when you're alone in a room with echoey walls
Liked by: Emily Kerissa Young

### hannibal is cancelled :(

June 22, 2015
i feel nothing

### have you watch John Oliver's segment about online harassment. it's his most disliked video ever on youtube. I wonder who disliked that video. I WONDER!

June 22, 2015
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

### When writing something as gigantic as BL2, how do you keep the ideas/script organized? Is there one huge outline?

June 21, 2015
Yeah, basically. And you separate stuff out by plot vs sidequest vs battle vs contextual.
Liked by: professional righter

### I disagree with the backlash against doom's violence, but I 100% support the backlash against doom's color palette and soundtrack

June 21, 2015
I do like the more colorful photoshops, for sure. But it's kind of funny/weird that when Diablo 3 was colorful, people went "WHAT THE FUCK" and when Doom 4 isn't, people went "WHAT THE FUCK"
Liked by: Jeffrey professional righter sad boy Becky

### so new deus ex has tons of playstyle options including no-kill run ability and the demo looked pretty not butt what did you think?

June 21, 2015
Looked like more Human Revolution, which I loved. So, sign me up.

### going to go out on a limb and ask if the Hawpcast is recording anymore?

June 21, 2015
yeah, we're hoping to record an episode this week.

### Hamilton should be on the $10. Dude founded the treasury. However I would TOTALLY endorse a woman kicking Andrew Jackson's genocidin', bank-dismantlin', panic-of-1837-causin', slave-tradin' mug off the $20.

June 21, 2015
Agreed. Andrew Jackson was a piece of human fucking garbage.
Liked by: Jeffrey Dnomyar Michelle Wang sad boy Becky sheananigans

### The reasons Janey is attracted to Athena are pretty clear. Did you have any story ideas for why Athena reciprocated? This is a lady that had spent her life in forced combat, being trained to ignore beauty and personal attraction. What was it about Janey that broke that conditioning?

AO3Scribe
June 21, 2015
She was nice to her.
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Kerissa Young Becky

### I think we need more info. What do she and the ex do together? If all they do is occasionally text, who really cares? You're allowed to keep in touch with exes, even if they're jerks. But if she says things like "I'm going to spend tomorrow with my ex, and I don't want you to come"... not cool

June 19, 2015
Right, there's this, too.

### 3/2 (sorry) i feel like she chose him over me, she said she doesnt want to lose me, so why not lose him?! its been really bothering me about what i should do?

June 19, 2015
So, again reminding you that I have ZERO experience in anything even a LITTLE bit related to therapy or advice and that you should probably listen to NOTHING I say:

You should probably bounce. You can't just be in this weird position where she's doing something that's awful for her, but she wants you to enable her behavior by being around and making her happy in this other way.

### 2/2Her ex love interest is a druggy puppy murderer and too old for her legally. I found out she texts him again and i told her i really am not okay with this and that she should stop. But she insists on being friends and defending him who has hurt her feelings b4. She basically told me she wont stop

June 19, 2015
.

### 1/2 So your answers and your questioners seem like niece group of people and i thought i could ask and maybe get a genuine idea on someone else's thoughts which would be more rational than mine.So i Really like this girl and she says the same about me to the point where i was about to ask her 2 B GF

June 19, 2015
.

### How do you feel about the backlash against Doom's violence? Also, do you think it's a problem in general that games are becoming increasingly violent?

June 19, 2015
There's been a backlash? I didn't notice one.

The violence doesn't really bug me. Yes, Doom is the most videogamey videogame that ever videogamed in that it's got a bullshit nonsensical plot and is about the pure joy of visceral violence, but at least it's HONEST.

Call of Duty has far less gore, but its violence is much, much goddamned creepier because it's saying, "hey -- this is a REAL LIFE kind of situation, sort of. Even though we now use like magical robot shit in the future, it's still about TRUE WARFARE and therefore killing LOTS OF ETHNIC PEOPLE and getting POINTS FOR IT is REALLY SWEET."

Whereas Doom is like, "whatever, gore is fun and we all know it is, so here are some utterly context-free goons for you to do horribly violent things to."
Liked by: Dnomyar Becky sad boy Kerissa Young

### The U.S. Treasury recently announced that a woman will be featured on the redesigned $10 bill slated for 2020: http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/17/news/economy/woman-on-ten-dollar-bill/ Who do you think should be on it?

June 19, 2015
furiosa
Liked by: Ry BlueInkAlchemist Becky sheananigans sad boy Kerissa Young

### Is it true that pretty people are rarely good at sex?

June 19, 2015
In my experience I haven't noticed any specific correlation between attractiveness and skill at sex. Skill at sex, like in most things, comes down to experience and quality of teaching, the latter of which is far more important than the former.

I think it's just generally more surprising when pretty people are bad at it, because we assume they've had a ton of sex. Which, they probably have, but their partners just didn't tell them what they were doing wrong or whatever. (I mean, shit, when I have bad sex with a pretty person, I'm far too shy to fuck up the good thing I've got going by giving them pro-tips or whatever. Not to mention I am generally pretty atrocious at it, so there's a pot-kettle-penis situation there.)

### I just finished assault on dragon keep (late I know but still a fantastic dlc) I was wondering what did Tina consider roland? Did she see him as a big brother/Father figure person? Someone she looked up to? Or this really cool guy that she might have had a schoolgirl crush on?

June 18, 2015
whatever ya like
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### what website are you using to keep up with all the E3 news?

June 18, 2015
Kotaku

### Do you want a good girl or that bad pussy?

June 17, 2015
hmmmmm

### i wuv u

June 17, 2015
thax

### Someone compared Cersei's walk to not only real life twitter, but the fact that despite how much we're supposed to despise her, EVEN HER being subject to that kind of abuse is really hard to watch, and how people receive that abuse from outrage culture for much more venial stuff every day. Wot think

June 16, 2015
Yeah, I agree. I think it also had an aspect of the Theon torturing, where you've spent years going, "I want this fucker to PAY," and then they do, and then they KEEP paying, and eventually it becomes really difficult for you to honestly wish for their pain anymore, which shines a light on your previous feelings. "You wanted them to pay dearly," the show says, "so you got it. You don't like it? Then maybe you should wonder why you asked for that in the first place."

That said, I wish there hadn't been so many wide shots -- the closeups are way better at conveying her anger/strength, and the CG face replacement on the double was pretty bad.

### So, are you still looking forward to MGS V? It looks like it's going to be pretty solid (not sorry!) Have you seen the latest trailer? Thoughts?

June 16, 2015
Yeah -- the previews have me really interested in the open world stealth. The trailer was typical Kojima -- weirdly pretentious and random and oh look at the closeup of those jiggly borg boobs

### if you were actually a group of animals in a person suit what kind of animals would they be

June 16, 2015
puppies
Liked by: Ry Kerissa Young

### Anthony I'm so excited about video games

June 16, 2015
To my great surprise: ditto

### Omg! I never realised how similar sera from dragon age and Tiny Tina both in appearance, personalty and in....ummmm sexual preference you should probably sue bio-ware. Do you think they would get along?

June 16, 2015
I think they'd be best friends forever.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Is the recent Thief worth getting?

June 16, 2015
nah

### Mate that last season of GOT was well rubbs right?

June 15, 2015
If "rubbs" means "very good," yeppp

### my biggest hope for fallout 4 is that they'll again let obsidian take their big pretty sandbox and make a compelling game out of it

June 15, 2015
My gut says that'll never happen again
Liked by: sad boy

### Are you upset about a voiced protagonist in Fallout 4? I'm still not over my intensely harshed buzz.

Declan
June 15, 2015
Nah! Having a voiced protag doesn't make them harder to inhabit for me, because you're still choosing what they say.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### You mentioned you don't like many of your BL2 lines anymore, that most of them are too long and unwieldy, which is a sense I get reading stuff I typed years ago too. Question is, I still find most of the BL2 lines post-Firehawk pretty solid, so is it just you or is it objectively measurable as off

June 15, 2015
Nobody critiques my stuff like I do.
Liked by: sad boy Kerissa Young

### so fallout 4 yeah?

June 15, 2015
If I can get my hands on a mod that removes level scaling, and assuming it's nonlinear enough that I can play it without having to kill anyone, I'll be really excited.

Granted, it's Bethesda, so the latter doesn't sound at all likely.
Liked by: Adam Kolacz Kerissa Young

### How much input did you writers have in art assets like the various posters and corporation advertisements in the BL games? A few of us were looking at textures and there's a Dahl poster for Pre-Sequel somewhere that says "Don't Be A Girly Man!", and, well, how did THAT slip through?

June 15, 2015
Gweh. Didn't see that one.

Generally, it's kinda random -- some stuff goes through writing, some stuff the artists just concept themselves and fall in love with (or think straightforward enough that it doesn't need to go through writing).

### "The more proficient you are in something, the more you realise how much you suck at it" so does the day you start liking what you do mean it's shit? How do you tell the difference between knowing enough to know it's good and not knowing enough to know it's not o.O

June 14, 2015
hhahahah you don't hahaha oh god
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young

### I'm sure you'd love surfing, careful balance and lugging a heavy hunk of resin in the sun and sun screen and bholy fuck what if it flings up when a wave breaks and impales itself in my skull or blinds me or knocks me out- seriously why the fuck do people do this

June 14, 2015
yup

### When you wrote Handsome Jack's spoon soliloquy in BL2, did you think, "This is the best thing I've ever written?" It was as good as the lemon rant in Portal 2.

June 14, 2015
Thanks much. I thought it had potential to be good, but we used that for auditions and it was really, really hard to perform properly, so I was worried it blew.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Kerissa Young

### How much did you play witcher 3? Because the story IS steeped in character, but because it's a really long one (50 hours or so) first 10 hours are really lore-exposition heavy for newcomers. Losing shit part is mainly because of how great the writing is in all parts of the game. Especialy sidequests

June 14, 2015
I'm like 20 or 30 hours into it -- I just finished the city where you meet Triss, and I uninstalled the game out of boredom.

### Wait, you're writing a book about MGS? When can we expect to see it?

June 14, 2015
This year!
Liked by: Sean Broussard

### is super time force ultra any good?

June 14, 2015
it's aight

### Hey anthony, since I always like your opinions and the way you expose your arguments, what do you think of this? http://potestaquisitor.tumblr.com/post/121531700580/datgreymind-i-think-its-the-last-tweet-that#notes I think it has some valid points

San
June 14, 2015
I disagree with it entirely. So, here's the thing:

It's a fantasy game. It's a game whose genre is specifically about transporting yourself to another world, and feeling like a powerful, awesome badass. Yes, it is "realistic" for enemies to scream "bitch" or "whore," but what does that actually accomplish? It tells us that...what? Women get a lot of shit in this world, just like in real life?

In a game that's almost entirely about empowerment and making the player feel like a badass, THAT was the ONE "realistic" thing they chose to bring into their game?

You know what's also "realistic?" Dudes getting raped. You know what enemies don't incessantly scream at Geralt? Rape threats. Why? Because it'd be fucking weird (and when Far Cry 3 did it, it certainly WAS weird), and it'd go against the entire game's ethos of being empowering and fun and cool.

What if you were playing a black character or a gay character and characters hurled fucked up slurs at you? You'd think that was awful and nonsensical, right? You'd wonder what that added to the game, wouldn't you?

Same thing. Women already have to deal with being called bitches/sluts/whores every day, especially in the games space. Why the fuck would they want that when they try to escape into a video game, too?

View more

Liked by: Emily Ry Jeffrey San Rainy

### Anforny! Can you still enjoy the MGS series in the same way now that you are more aware of social issues and also having worked on games yourself?

Paulo Doi
June 13, 2015
I don't enjoy it in the same way. I still enjoy it, but my relationship with it has grown more complicated. That's the majority of what our upcoming MGS book is about.
Liked by: nothingxs Paulo Doi

### Whats the worst "decent" game you have played lately?

June 10, 2015
Witcher 3. I just don't see what people are losing their shit over. It's like DA:I -- big, but basically the same thing over and over, with a story far too steeped in lore/politics and not enough in character.
Liked by: Dailey Brian Carney Ash professional righter sad boy

### You done any surfing now that you're a Californian?

June 10, 2015
pahahahah that sounds fun and dangerous and involves physical exertion, of course i haven't
Liked by: Manaphy Natu sheananigans professional righter

### I guess I'm wondering why it's only 'shocking' that McFuckFace would do that, if faced with the option, and not a 'horrifying development that makes sense'. It makes sense character wise ("hundreds will die, sir" "thousands") though I guess people disagree. More arbitrarily shocking than Oberyn?

June 10, 2015
SPOILERS FOR RECENT GAME OF THRONES

I actually bought it in theory (his defining trait has been "I seek power," not "I'm a loving person"), but in practice it felt really abrupt to me. Melisandre suggests it, he says no. He loses a lot of food, and his IMMEDIATE thought, before he's really suffered the consequences of that loss, is "let's do this horrible thing."

I would have loved to see him keep marching, certain that they'll find more food or something -- to be irrational, and refuse to make the decision he knows he has to make. But the more he marches, the more he sees his soldiers falling dead around him of starvation, the more he realizes that there's no way out of this but the ONE thing he does not want to do.

Like, they *tell* us this will happen, but they don't *show* us dramatically, so it feels more arbitrarily horrible when it happens -- like they were in such a hurry to get to the awfulness (which they knew just how to shoot for maximum awful) that they forgot to make every motivation and cause seem legitimate. I bought Oberyn much, much more because every single thing he'd done and said up to that point was braggy and vengeful, and in this moment where he FINALLY has what he wants, he lets it get away from him.

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### okay so you don't like Hannibal, but did you like Pushing Daisies? I loved that show.

June 10, 2015
Pushing Daisies is one of the best TV shows of all time.

### Really? I saw a ton of outrage about 'that thing' in last night's game of thrones, more than Oberyn. Including a weird amount of "this is what happens when they 'manufacture' shocking moments" until it came out that GRRM actually told them that was going to happen, then suddenly it was okay? 1/2

June 10, 2015
I'm drawing a distinction between "this was bad and shocking for the sake of it" and "this is offensive, problematic, regressive". This week's had a lot of the former and, as far as I can tell, absolutely zero of the latter.
Liked by: Tonya Khramova

### When you think of "home" what do you think of?

Anastasia Murphy
June 10, 2015
Nothing. I haven't lived in LA long enough.

### Do you think people *occasionally* confuse "this makes me feel bad" with "this is morally reprehensible and they can't do it" in fiction? No absolutisms here.

June 09, 2015
I think this happens far, far less than people pretend it does. That's why nobody is making "this is offensive, how dare you" thinkpieces about last night's Game of Thrones, but why we got a bunch of them after some other episodes this season.

### you should read this cool interview with Bryan Fuller, creator/showrunner of Hannibal. He talks about the difference between his psychological body horror and other show's sexual horror. really cool. http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/28/hannibal-rape-thrones

June 09, 2015
I love Bryan Fuller. Hannibal doesn't really do it for me, but I fucking love that dude.

### To what extent do you think actors are responsible for participating in white washed roles? For instance, Emma Stone in that new Aloha movie? My gut-reaction is "not much, their agent probably got them the role and they're doing a job like everyone else" but then again I'm white so

June 09, 2015
I don't think actors are at all responsible. It's fucking hard to get work, especially if you're a lady, so take whatever you can get (unless it's something really offensive to you). The director is 100% responsible, and has no excuse.
Liked by: Jeffrey Kerissa Young Will Murphy Tom Head

### anthony i found the british version of your dad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRnQJe5C4RQ

June 08, 2015
my dad's not that adorable

### Sorry to bother you, but right now there's a really cool game on Kickstarter called Combat Core that's being developed by a POC. It's having trouble getting funded though, and I was wondering if you could check it out, and, if you like what you see, give it shout out. Thanks very much for your time!

Ask Man
June 08, 2015
oh fuck this looks like power stone https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1518707381/combat-core-high-powered-4-player-arena-fighter?ref=nav_search

### I know you're not at Gearbox anymore, but I thought you might still like to see this drawing. Thanks so much for the character of Timothy! http://sheanam.tumblr.com/post/120992214820/i-have-strong-feelings-about-that-timothy-lawrence

sheananigans
June 08, 2015
NICE
Liked by: sheananigans Becky

### http://tinyurl.com/nq9unmp "PUT THIS IN IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW: STEVEN MOFFAT IS A GENIUS ... HIS WORK SHOWCASES A SENSE OF WIT AND INGENUITY THAT IS PRETTY MUCH UNPARALLELED. REALLY. HULK PUTS HIM RIGHT IN THE COMPANY OF CHARLIE KAUFFMAN." He also praised Listen from last season on twittter.

June 07, 2015
Hm. Last time I talked to him it seemed like he'd changed his mind on that, but I could have misread him.

Also, Hulk is a nuanced dude -- he can think someone is a genius and feel they are witty and ingenious, and then say, "BUT..." and talk about all the stuff one could reasonable dislike about him.
Liked by: sad boy Samantha Dale

### A lot of the episodes of Community Season 6 are pretty meh. But once it gets it's stride it really becomes great again. Especially the last 5 or so episodes. The finale has been compared to MASH. It was pretty amazing.

June 07, 2015
Yeah, I watched it this week and it gets really really good again.

### So I found out that FILM CRIT HULK thinks Steven Moffat is a genius and really loves his Doctor Who. Now I can't trust anything anymore.

June 06, 2015
Incorrect. He doesn't think that.
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### Do you recognise behavioural patterns from your parents in you or your sister, or patterns from one parent in one of you but not both?

June 06, 2015
I get an angry streak from my mom, but that's about it. We're very, very different from our parents.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Ever thought of doing a podcast with other writers, discussing certain techniques, ideas, etc? Stuff to give budding writers some ideas or bring their attention to concepts they may not have been taught in primary English classes or in College level courses?

June 06, 2015
Don't nobody want me on that kinda thing

### Where can a person with no experience in the videogame industry apart from playing them and no skills un videogame programming, development or art, start?

June 06, 2015
Twine

### What do you think of gwent?

June 04, 2015
FUCKING HATE IT
Liked by: Matthew Chong professional righter

### Have you heard of the ancient Greek hero, Bophades? He was a lot like Achilles- he had just one weakness. Except instead of his heel, it was his groin. You may have heard of “Achilles’ heel”, but have you heard of “Bophades’ Nuts”?

June 03, 2015
doesn't really roll off the tongue quite as welhhehhguhhghh

### Do you find it difficult to reconcile an enjoyment of fictional violence with total abhorrence of IRL violence? I kinda view video game violence, for example, as cathartic. Is this something you struggle with at all?

June 03, 2015
Sometimes. On the one hand, it makes sense that violence is interesting to us, as if we DIDN'T find violence interesting, we wouldn't have basically brought the entire animal kingdom to heel and we wouldn't be properly scared of having violence enacted against us.

On the other hand, it's a super bummer that that is the case. I find it more intrinsically, quickly satisfying to slash things up in Witcher 3 than stretch my brain out over Infinifactory. And that's really sad, even if I know the scientific reason why. I don't think it'll make me more violent, necessarily, though I do remember how angry I was as a kid, how quick to think of violence as a solution (even if I never got into fights, I was very pro-war, very pro-vengeance), I wonder if my attraction to violence is to blame. I wonder if that same attraction makes it harder for me to find more mundane, more empathetic aspects of the human experience interesting.

I basically just wonder if it makes my life less interesting and enjoyable.

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### Did you ever play the Dragon age series?

June 03, 2015
Yep. It's good, but not Mass Effect good. Morrigan is my favorite BioWare character maybe ever, though. And Sera.
Liked by: Maxx Kerissa Young Samantha Dale

### Awesome thing about mad max you probably noticed: When the actors names appear on screen, Hardy is first left to right and Theron is first top to bottom.

June 03, 2015
yep, thought that was pretty cool

### Community finale was fucking dark and perfect

June 03, 2015
Stopped watching the season pretty early (lawnmower man). Should I stick with it?

### Would you agree that Melissa McCarthy is the female Kevin James? I just saw that opinion and totally realized those are my exact feelings.

June 03, 2015
Nah, cause I like Melissa McCarthy (though I've only seen her in Bridesmaids).

### Fallout 4 AKA that PS2 game by not-Obsidian based on that one other Fallout game that wasn't as good as any of the others

June 03, 2015
I'll never live in a world where I don't play a proper open-world Fallout game day one, but, uh, yeah. Looked kinda uggo (but that's Bethesda's engine, so...) and I much preferred Obsidian's game.

But I'm still gonna play it, cause Fallout is one of my favorite series ever.

### So Burch you been doing any new exercises or activities lately?

June 03, 2015
HAHAHAH

exercise

you're --

you're good, i like that
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson professional righter sad boy Kerissa Young

### Do you miss your old house in HAWP? Kind of has a nostalgic value whether or not it's actually "better", like Community's characters post-Troy and Pierce

June 03, 2015
Nah, I hate that place. It smells like cigar smoke and dead dogs.

### Ashly has awesome hair.

June 03, 2015
ya

### Mel Gibby over Tom Hardys, as Max that is. Agree, or disagree?

June 02, 2015
Disagree. Tom's is much more fragile, much more "mad". Mel's seems like a perfectly functional human being who is just kinda cold.
Liked by: professional righter BlueInkAlchemist Becky

### Is it wrong that I want to buy Hatred to get access to its modding tools so I can use the engine to make either a firefighter or disaster relief total conversion mod? Take something negative and use it to make something positive and all that...

June 01, 2015
You can do that with other games. I wouldn't recommend giving money to those guys under any circumstances (especially if your intent is to create a mod that requires the base game, which just means more people will buy their game).
Liked by: professional righter

### Do you allow yourself to be happy? Or like, well I'm 20, so have you found that over time you're tempted to hate yourself or be miserable but that eventually you learned you have to just like yourself and let yourself be happy instead of falling into those pits?

June 01, 2015
Dude you are so far ahead of where I was at 20, you're gonna be fuckin' solid. I didn't figure this shit out until like six months ago.
Liked by: professional righter

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E_-2wIJIzQ XCOM 2 confirmed for procedurally generated maps, mod support, avenues for stealth tactics, and snakemen. You hype?

June 01, 2015
yesssssssssssssss

### I don't feel any of the things you said after ejaculation via masturbation. But I've also never had sex so... maybe the lack of that experience is why it doesn't bother me as much as it does you?

May 31, 2015
Probably. I didn't find a real problem with it until I started having sex and realizing I wasn't enjoying it/able to do it properly because of PMO addiction. Which, unfortunately, meant it was basically too late (though I'm now doing a lot better after a more-or-less yearlong cleanse).

### On that Witcher sex thing, I keep having to remind people that Witcher 1 had collectible cards you gained by fucking women (who aren't important or characterized outside of that interaction or the quest chain leading to it). The series fucking objectifies to the max. And this comes from a fan.

May 31, 2015
Yep. It's gotten less bad as the series has gone on, but slightly less bad than sex trading cards is still pretty bad.
Liked by: professional righter

### The first time I tried quitting porn I went 60 days no problem, one night I got really drunk and relapsed ever since then I can't seem to get back on track mostly because masturbating, which I have 0 problems with, to porn is so much faster. Any tips?

May 30, 2015
The SECOND you get an urge, start doing something else. Also try to remember and hold onto the feeling you get after you've jizzed; how you feel kinda empty, kinda silly, a little dumb. Like all of the passion you had thirty seconds ago is just gone, and naive, and weird. Are you REALLY in a hurry to feel that way again?
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Is Witcher a sexist game?

May 30, 2015
Kinda, yeah. Every woman is stupidly hot and dressed like a doofus (to the point where even Vernon Roche, when speaking to Ves, goes "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING RUNNING INTO A BATTLE WITH YOUR SHIRT OPEN AND NO ARMOR").

It's got Strong Ladies or whatever, but even they're fairly objectified (Why is Ciri's middlemost button unbuttoned so you can see her tits).

That said:
It kind-of-sort-of objectifies Geralt (you get to see him in the bath like twice, but you never get to see his dick).
It has a view on sex that is either cool (everyone fucks all the time and it's not a big deal) or fucking childish (there's a big quest chain with Keira that is primarily presented as "do this stuff for me and I'll fuck you," so the sex is a silly reward), or both, depending on your view.
Liked by: Emily hanarin SallyMoune [ˈpt̪ʲi.t͡sə] варенька-заинька professional righter Месхенет BlueInkAlchemist

### Am I the only one laughing that GG is supporting Denis Dyack as a "respected veteran developer" and part of them don't even know who he is because they aren't old enough or invested enough in the game industry to know his name?

May 30, 2015
pahahah

### how do you deal with the smog in cali?

May 30, 2015
I grew up in Phoenix (third worst smog in the US), so smog doesn't bother me. I don't even notice it.

### Do you like The Lord of the Rings/when was the last time you saw them/did you know they were adapted by two women?

May 30, 2015
Yes/a really long time/no, that's neat

### my girlfriend is friends with some asshole ignorant guy who is all god loving and is against feminism, a little racist and intolerable. help

May 30, 2015
I don't know what you can do about it, to be honest. If she likes a person she likes a person -- can you think of anytime someone *convinced* you someone else was shitty?

### You are really cool! I like you!!

May 30, 2015
thanx

### Recently popped by DTOID and saw alot of comments calling for "neutrality when reporting about GG." And they brought Summa back. What in the actual fuck, man?

May 30, 2015
hahaha

### i cried when dom died in gears of war 3. i loves him

May 28, 2015
cliffy b stop browsing my askfm
Liked by: professional righter Calum Bain sad boy Big Fatty Floyd

### Are there any games that allow me to simultaneously play as a kid and a squid?

May 28, 2015
dota
Liked by: Donovan David Bulmer

### GoT stripes away so much nuance from human interaction and compresses so much tragedy. Yes people don't always have happy endings irl sure but I've never seen a show stretch so hard to protect it's villains. It's got like... anti plot armor. Just as contrived but in the opposite direction.

May 28, 2015
[SPOILERS]

But the villains DON'T have plot armor! They just don't die as quickly as you'd want.

### WHY ARE YOU NOT WRITING AMAZING BORDERLANDS FANFICTION?

May 28, 2015
because i was paid to do that for five years
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Emily Jeffrey professional righter Siobhan Gibson Becky Brian Carney Ash sad boy Kerissa Young

### typing speed?

May 28, 2015
88 WPM I TYPED THIS SENTENCE WHILE SNEEZING
Liked by: Jeffrey Brian Carney Ash

### I've got a $5 Android game/app credit. What game should I buy?

May 28, 2015
Hoplite

### Do you keep a notebook for ideas and stuff?

May 27, 2015
If by "notebook" you mean "google drive folder" and by "ideas" you mean "frothing, stupid, inanities" then yeah
Liked by: Jeffrey Ry Quaisha Thornton sad boy Kerissa Young professional righter

### Reading any Secret Wars tie ins?

May 27, 2015
A-Force, because I love G Willow Wilson.

### Who is the most beautiful girl in the world of Westeros?

May 27, 2015
Jon Snow
Liked by: Александр Кацура Ry professional righter Calum Bain Becky Kerissa Young Brian Carney Ash Michelle Wang Soapless Ahmed sad boy

### What are your thoughts on Drake? Follow up: What is your favorite Drake song? Follow up up: Fuck, Marry, Kill: Drake, Drake, and Drake?

Bill H
May 27, 2015
drake

### Game of thrones is just misery porn.

May 27, 2015
But it's not! Well, at its BEST, it isn't, anyway. Game of Thrones is a cynical, but honest look at human nature and human society. I feel the same way about it (again, at its best, not when it's completely fucking mishandling sexual assault) that I do Cormac McCarthy's novels.

They're bleak and don't conform to expectations and are deeply upsetting, but that's how LIFE is. People in your life die with seemingly no rhyme or reason, and you just have to keep going. Bad people win wars. Good people who don't compromise end up unhappy. We have so, so many stories telling us that everything is going to be okay and that we're the heroes and that the heroes always win, but Game of Thrones reminds us that, if we're being brutally honest with ourselves, that just isn't the world we live in.
Liked by: Will Murphy Becky Tom Head

### What do the other Vault Hunters think of Aurelia? None of them have unique dialogue for her when she activates her action skill, so I don't know their opinions of her. Also, do you know if Gearbox is ever gonna patch in unique voice lines towards her? Thanks!

May 27, 2015
The dialog will never be patched in because of how patching works with regard to the massive audio files.

Also, I imagine most of them despise her, but Tina thinks she's the fanciest so she loves her. Also maybe Salvador thinks she's awesome.
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Марк Легрум Kerissa Young

### Any reccommendations for non-supehero comic series' out right now?

May 27, 2015
Sex Criminals, Big Trouble in Little China, Saga, Bitch Planet, Squirrel Girl (it's not really a superhero comic, trust me)
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young sad boy

### Have you seen this? Interesting article about that troubling scene from last week's Game of Thrones. http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/all-hopefully-of-the-bad-arguments-about-rape-on-game-of-thrones-debunked/#.VV9f_jTOnkl.twitter Not sure what side I fall on but it's interesting

May 25, 2015
Read this last night. It's primarily horseshit that has reasonable answers to dumb arguments (anyone who asks "why didn't Sansa just hulk out on him" is an idiot), and a bunch of really bad, oversimplifying answers to legitimate arguments.

### Re Don't Starve: look up Tiny Tina, Wilhelm and Jack Double in the game's Steam Workshop area!

May 25, 2015
NICE, thanks

### What are good places to meet people online that aren't dating websites?

May 25, 2015
Forums for stuff you like, maybe? Or sites you frequent? I dunno. It's tricky, cause those kindsa places can get really insular and negative.

### Why haven't you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

May 25, 2015
cause that ain't my jam

i'm more into, like, hangin out
Liked by: professional righter Sarah Elmaleh

### where do you think saints row will go in future games? i wish oleg didn't die with earth. sad.

May 24, 2015
I have no idea, honestly (especially with Jaros and Holmes gone). And ditto.

### Why did people get so up in arms about FemFreq's dismissal of Mad Max? Anita is *a* feminist, she's not *the* arbiter of feminism, it's kind of a collective thing. Her points read as valid, but as someone who's looking for fault, and if everyone disagrees with her (Eve Ensler!!), then no harm done?

May 24, 2015
Probably because (A) it can be hard to deal with going "oh my god this movie is so feminist, it's awesome" and then having someone say "no it isn't [and implicitly you are dumb for thinking it was]", and (B) she said some things that are just demonstrably untrue, like the cinematography fetishizing the women's bodies.

### Been reading any web comics lately?

May 24, 2015
not for years and years.

### MAD MAX THO, ANYTHONY. MAD MAX

May 24, 2015
YA
Liked by: Sarah Elmaleh professional righter Becky

### Did you know that people have made mods for Don't Starve that put in Tiny Tina and a couple Pre-Sequel vault hunters as playable characters?

May 24, 2015
WHAT WHERE
Liked by: Becky

### I get intimidated when I see pictures/videos of parties like raves. Why do people like them so much?

May 23, 2015
I can't even begin to imagine.
Liked by: Kerissa Young professional righter

### Would you rather have Ellis from L4D2 or Ellie from The Last of Us as the 4th party member in Left 4 Dead 3, assuming the OG crew from L4D remained?

May 23, 2015
ooooh I'm tempted to say Ellie, but she's pretty "normal" and wouldn't add a lot to the dynamic -- at least, not as much as Ellis being gobsmacked by Zoey all the time.

### What's the point of parties? Should they just be banned for the common welfare?

May 23, 2015
man you're telling me
Liked by: professional righter

### Do you have any veterans in your family?

May 22, 2015
my dad was in the air force but he just fixed planes and shit

### http://www.heyash.com/someone-needs-to-try-this/ past anthony is a nerd

May 22, 2015
i still think that's a fuckin sick idea
Liked by: Becky sad boy

### Do you think "all bodies are beautiful" and pointing out women in the Middle Ages were attractive for being larger/conventional ideas of attractiveness need to change, and the fury over "dadbods" and how men need to stop being lazy is a double standard? Or do men get enough of an easy time?

May 20, 2015
Yeah, I think it's horseshit. There was a good article that basically pointed out that men get to have style trends that allow them to be fucking lazy (beards, "dadbods") whereas women get trends that involve a tremendous amount of goddamned work (vajazzling). And it's completely true. And also just personally fucking irritating because I find larger women really pretty.
Liked by: Emily sheananigans notnotsarah Omar Becky Kerissa Young

### Isn't it kind of weird to assume that women can't be violent/don't enjoy violence/making women violent heroes in an action film is like making them men? Hasn't anyone read about Olga of Kiev? It's cool to criticise people enjoying violence, but specifically to say that it's a 'male' form of power??

May 20, 2015
Yeah, I couldn't jibe with that. But maybe that's because I've spent most of my adult life trying to make Cool Violence Where Women Are Also Participating In The Violence. But yeah. It also kind of implies that women who want to use violence against their oppressors are being unreasonable or something.
Liked by: Becky

### So wait, which do you consider worse? The American chattel slavery system or the American treatment of the natives? One involves social/racist effects that are still a HUGE problem today, while the other keeps them pretty much out of sight and mind because of nearly successful genocide.

May 20, 2015
whyyy would i have to pick one of them to be my favorite when they're both fucking awful

### What do you think of Brooklyn Nine-Nine?

May 20, 2015
Dig it.

### Feminist Frequency is saying Fury Road isn't feminist :/

May 20, 2015
Yeah, I disagree with almost everything she said about it.
Liked by: notnotsarah Becky

### Re: the title of gamer, don't labels like movie buff, fashionista, etc. imply a passion for a form of entertainment or a hobby? I feel you don't call someone a movie buff if they only casually watched movies, or a fashionista if they had only a passing interest in fashion. "Gamer" can be the same.

May 19, 2015
That just seems really weird to me, as "gamer" used to encompass all gamers ever. It's weird to arbitrarily say that it now only speaks to a certain percentage of the hardcore.

### When Ash was born did you yell out "I have a baby sister. And she is perfect in every way!" ?

May 19, 2015
pahahaha
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman sad boy Becky

### Do you think rape is worse than murder? I've had this discussion with people and never gotten a clear consensus. It's like asking if American slavery was worse than what white folk did to the Native Americans. Also, what's your stance on that one?

May 18, 2015
No, rape is absolutely not worse than murder. In fact, I was talking with a friend the other day who worked in a rape crisis center, and he said that thinking of rape as "the worst thing you can possibly have happen to you" is actually part of the problem of how we treat rape victims.

Rape victims are often shunned by their loved ones because they feel as if they have been tainted in some way -- as if the victim themselves is *lesser* for having been raped, because it's the *worst thing* and now they're *damaged goods*.

If you read Lucky by Alice Sebold, which EVERYONE IN THE WORLD SHOULD, she immediately says: she'd rather be raped than murdered, without a question. Rape is awful and horrific, but treating it as the "worst thing possible" can result in some really bad treatment of victims.

View more

Liked by: Jeffrey professional righter

### This isn't a question, but OMG FURY ROAD. I just want to write the world's longest essay about how much I loved it. I was worried all the hype would sort of dampen the reality, but not even. I just needed to squee-vent to someone who also loved it. Woo!

May 18, 2015
YUSSSS
Liked by: Matt Crowley Big Fatty Floyd professional righter

### Is it bad I want the title "gamer" to be cleansed? Yes, regular people PLAY games, but they dont actually GAME. If you only play an hour of casual CoD a night, I dont feel it counts. Where as 100 hours into Bloodborne does. I'd like a title for people who dont treat gaming as a hobby, but a passion.

May 18, 2015
I mean, no word like that exists for any other medium. You just say "huge movie buff" or "massive music nerd".
Liked by: professional righter

### hey so i've started talking with this group of people online and they're all really awesome but they totally hate feminism for some reason??? we got in a fight about it and stuff.. it was pretty awful tbh, they apologized tho so i guess that's good... question is: do i still want to be their friend?

May 18, 2015
I dunno, that's kinda up to you

### I watched the second season of Hannibal. I do not get how there is a third season. What are your thoughts on that show?

May 18, 2015
I don't like it. I think it's provocative for the sake of being provocative, and I don't believe any of its characters are that dumb/easily seduced by whatever Hannibal's allure is supposed to be. It's a series about "smart" people being incredibly stupid so the bad guy can win.

### What did you think about the scene in Mad Max when the older women are meeting the brides? I loved those old ladies, and the ridicule with seeds was a very nice touch. Thank you for talking about the movie, I probably wouldn't have gone to see it without you mentioning it.

May 18, 2015
LOVED EM

### yo u seen tinker tailor and what u think of it? tom's pretty good and so is gary character but i cant really get into the movie cos it was pretty diff than the booksss

May 18, 2015
Loved it. Never read the books (though I did read Spy Who Came In From The Cold, which might be my favorite novel ever), so I liked it for what it was.

### So, you're ok with freely posting spoilers when you're criticizing how a show does things? Thanks a lot for that.

May 18, 2015
yeah basically

### I have friends who are quitting Game of Thrones now, and even though I was fucking infuriated even though I basically knew it had to happen I'm not really at the point of writing it off? What do

May 18, 2015
I think whatever you do, you're fine. It's a personal judgment thing. The show's definitely shown a really fucking weird pattern of raping prominent female characters for LITERALLY NO REASON, but it's also got some of the most compelling female characters on TV. I'm going to stick with it, though I have not been so angry at a show in a really long time.

### If you think Tom Hardy is hot (he is one sexy man) you must be looking forward to Legend, there's two of him.

May 18, 2015
The Hardy Boys
Liked by: Brian Carney Ash

### Did you watch Mad Max in 2D or 3D? If 3D, were you at all bothered by the "fake" (post-production) 3D? If 2D, did you have a hard time finding a 2D showing time / did your theater marginalize the 2D version as much as mine did?

May 18, 2015
Both! The 3D was eh, but I've never enjoyed 3D. The 2D was prominent and great.

### Have you seen Locke or Bronson?

May 18, 2015
Both. I LOVE Locke, Bronson was fine.

### the writers to Got said they changed Sansa's story and did this stuff so the actress wouldn't be absent for so long since her character does little at this point book wise. Okay so why not just make up some stuff for her to do then that keeps her in the vale? this season has been trash.

May 18, 2015
I actually LOVE everything they've done with her this season, EXCEPT for the end of tonight's episode. Having her be where she is is an incredibly sad thing that still gives her space to hone her abilities w/r/t playing the game of thrones, which she is clearly beginning to do.

### Hey so Anthony this girl I know keeps asking me what my "perfect girl" is and I feel like that's a inherently exist question but I might be overreacting, thoughts?

May 18, 2015
Yeah, I think you might be overreacting a bit. We all have a particular "type" of person we like, and it's not unreasonable to have an image of that person in your mind.

### Is Mad Max all about toxic masculinity, like literally and metaphorically with the warboys drinking gasoline and spitting it into their own rumbling engines? Do men and women share more than blood?

May 18, 2015
Haha to be honest I thought the bit with spitting the gasoline was just the fucking coolest thing I'd ever seen, I hadn't even thought about it in metaphorical terms

### Tom Hardy or Oscar Isaac?

May 18, 2015
Oooh. Shit. I mean Oscar Isaac is an INCREDIBLE actor, but Tom Hardy is also incredible and I want to touch his abs so I guess Tom Hardy.

### Do you find when a movie doesn't acknowledge the weight of extinguishing another human life, you find it unsettling, but when it does, you just end up thinking "manpain, wow he feels bad bout killing but he'll keep doing it"/"oh I've seen this before get to the point this isn't deep it's a movie"?

May 18, 2015
I think you're making it out to be more black and white than it is. There are ways to treat death and murder that give proper weight, even in shows that do it a lot. Breaking Bad is maybe the best example of this I can think of.

### Gaige is heterosexual? Damn it! Literally 80% of everything I've ever written is now based on bullshit. WHY????

May 18, 2015
sorryyyy
Liked by: Simon

### Did you watch Louis C.K's Monologue on SNL this week? It was pretty good. If you haven't, please watch it and then let me know what you think after you're done. Still a funny man.

May 18, 2015
It was fucking hilarious. I loved it. I felt a liiiittle weird about the Israel/Palestine bit just because I'm pretty pro-Palestine, but that's like, not a dealbreaker by any means. I fucking loved the stuff about racism.
Liked by: professional righter muahga

### If DC or Marvel gave you free rein to use any characters and create your own series, who would you pick? Solo, teamup?

May 18, 2015
Condiment Man as a sad existential comedy
Liked by: Jeffrey professional righter sad boy

### I saw you tweeting saying Tom Hardy is hot. Are you gay? I thought you tried being gay but didnt like it. Did you give it another go?

May 18, 2015
I'm bi. Admittedly the window of guys I wanna do stuff to is pretty small, but it's still there.

### Hey Ant. Got my prescription for finasteride today. Gotta say, knowing the potential sides I am a bit nervous to take the plunge and pop my first pill. Did you go through a stage of fear and doubt before you decided to take it? How did you overcome it?

May 18, 2015
Haha, I actually didn't because I was ignorant as fuck about its potential side effects.

### Scariest episode of GoT yet?

May 18, 2015
My anger at it was too directed at the filmmakers to really feel legitimately scared. I got fourth wall breakingly angry.

### Was it explained why the breastmilk ladies were left behind?

May 17, 2015
They weren't stuck in a bigass vault -- I imagine it was easier to get the mothers out covertly because they were.

### Now that we've all experienced the perfection that is Fury Road, are you looking forward to the Mad Max game?

May 17, 2015
Yep! I rewatched their five minute gameplay explanation the other day. It looks...okayyy? I guess? But yeah, looking forward to it, and already seeing how AAA games and the amount of dialog they often require can just kinda fuck up the tone of a franchise (there's a brief snippet of a cut scene that's just full of things the player needs to know, which is obviously great and necessary, but it sounds like A Video Game and not Mad Max).

### I love the people arguing that Fury Road is not a real Mad Max because Max is not the main character. Did they not watch Road Warrior or Thunderdome? Max is a catalyst character for us to view the kind of world he lives in.

May 17, 2015
Ugh those people exist? Ugh that's the best goddamned part

### I don't see how GoT qualifies as "scary", explain plz.

May 17, 2015
Sad/horrifying things happening because of the human capacity for evil is pretty scary

### Do you think they will change any characters sexuality? I really hope they keep Tina gay. She's a great example of a strong female character funny,likeable, sympathetic, and just happens to be gay. Shes a great example of a strong lgbt character removing that would be really disappointing.

May 17, 2015
Tina might be harder just cause I'm in constant contact with Ash, and if they ever brought her into a booth and were like "Tina likes boys now" there's probably a chance she'd go "uhh"
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Speaking of Game of Thrones, I haven't played Telltale's series yet. Have you? Would you recommend it?

May 17, 2015
It's good, I dig it!

### Do atheist really believe stuff like the Grand Canyon was formed by erosion? Seriously?

May 17, 2015
Yyyyyyes?
Liked by: RidgeBack Rogue Brian Carney Ash

### You know that dream of having a gaming gf? its not what you think it is, women don't have the natural sportsmanship or humility that men have, it's impossible to enjoy games with them.

May 17, 2015
Just because you've had a bad experience doesn't give you the right to speak for all women who play videogames ever. You come off as bitter and sad.
Liked by: Jeffrey notnotsarah Kerissa Young Tristen Feister RidgeBack Rogue Samantha Dale Becky Alina

### What is the scariest movie/game/etc you have experienced? And what about it left a mark on you?

May 17, 2015
To be honest, Game of Thrones.

For the reasons you might expect.

### Saw in Ash's GameInformer interview that HAWP season 5 is filmed and edited, any updates on when that's coming out?

May 17, 2015
Should be soon, though I know I've said that many many times. Just waiting on Uli to finish up some stuff with the site.

### Okay, so I am all for actually toxic masculinity to be washed away for good. But how do you feel about, lets say, Hockey. A sport that is rough, a decent amount of fighting and shit talking. Some guys are goons, most guys are really nice but still rough'n'tumble. Do you feel that still has a place?

May 17, 2015
Hockey and other full-contact sports personally wig me out a LOT (especially the culture around football), but I wouldn't wanna, like, prevent people from being able to play them if that's really what they want to do.

### What's Gaige's sexuality?

May 17, 2015
heterosexual
Liked by: Simon

### Was Pickle made with an intention that he would come back in later games? (This is not "will Pickle be in Borderlands 3")

May 17, 2015
Yeah, Maurice Suckling and Marek Walton wanted him to be somebody we could bring back many times.

### I don't know if I 100% agree with "new writers can/should change anything they want". For the most part yes, but giving them the power to undo very socially important aspects like erasing sexuality is NOT cool, it's really damaging and disappointing.

May 17, 2015
Oh, yeah, totally. Don't get me wrong, there are certain things I really really really HOPE they wouldn't change, I was just saying from a purely creative perspective they should be allowed to do whatever they want so long as it benefits what they want to accomplish.

That said, if the next person kills off all the gay/racial minority/lady characters, I'm going to be fucking angry, but that anger will come from being a member of the audience and not a creator.

### Were the women getting their breasts pumped in Fury Road also sex slaves?

May 17, 2015
You can't lactate without being pregnant, so, yeah, probably.

### Ever thought of having Filthy Frank as a guest on HAWP?

May 16, 2015
dunno who that is
Liked by: professional righter

### Thanks a lot for all the mad max answers, I think I have to go see it if it's not a "woman killing men is awesome" film like I thought it would be. I hope the "war boys being expendable is not cool" message is obvious even for idiots so people can't miss it. Is it obvious?

May 16, 2015
yes
Liked by: Becky

### Now that there will be a new writer coming in for borderlands 3. Would it be possible for him/her to change stuff that is canon? E.G. character sexuality maybe changing janey, Tina or hammerlock straight. or bringing dead characters back? or will there be a process to kinda of not let that happen?

May 16, 2015
They can, and should, do and change anything they want. That's what I got to do.

### If the patriarchy causes men to be expendable warriors, why is Mad Max the "feminist movie" still portraying men as expendable warriors?

May 16, 2015
Because it's specifically arguing how bad of a thing that is. The War Boys are portrayed not as psychopathic assholes, but as poor, ignorant souls who got caught up in something they didn't understand when they were young. They've been fed a line of bullshit about Honor and Righteousness and Being A Real Man, and it's nearly ruined them.
Liked by: Jeffrey Adam Robert Sherman sad boy Matt Crowley Sam McKoy Becky Keith C.

### Bring back Rev Rants?

May 16, 2015
nah

### if you could go back and add any dlc to bl2, what would it be?

May 16, 2015
slumber party
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson professional righter Becky

### I saw Fury Road. Now what do I do with my life?

May 16, 2015
watch it again. that's what i did
Liked by: sad boy Becky professional righter

### Did you have any involvement in the claptastic voyage dlc?

May 16, 2015
I helped with some parts of the overall structure (the ending, primarily)
Liked by: Becky Wolfpack Willy

### who was your least favorite character to write in BL2?

May 16, 2015
claptrap

### Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep was one of the best narratives I've ever played and it made me cry you asshole. How do you sleep at night?

May 16, 2015
on a bed as puffy as your eyes
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young sad boy

### did you pay attention to any big youtubers who play borderlands when working for gearbox (like admiral bahroo)

May 16, 2015
not really, though I did spend a long time just after release watching let's plays
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Mega rant, but seriously, I wonder how much of misogyny stems directly from men's insecurities about not being good enough, and not wanting to put the effort into being attractive/accomplished, or even just likeable and kind. They deny themselves so much happiness out of stubbornness.

May 16, 2015
This was me for a very, very, very long time. I felt like any semblance of self-improvement was "dishonest" or something. "Women should love me as I am, in my two-sizes-too-big t-shirt and awful hair and bad self-esteem!"

### Why are men so concerned that women killing violent, horrific, raping, psychotic men somehow translates to women wanting to kill them? Is it inability to understand nuance, or are they worried it'll make women stop putting up with their actual violence, misogyny and rapey-ness

May 16, 2015
yes
Liked by: professional righter

### "OMG IF THEY REALISE THEY'RE INTELLIGENT, FULLY DIMENSIONAL AND AUTONOMOUS HUMAN BEINGS WHO DON'T NEED US WE'RE FUCKED, THEN WE MIGHT HAVE TO STOP BEING LAZY MISOGYNISTIC UNATTRACTIVE WHELKS, QUICK STOP THEM UHHHHH... CELEBRATING WOMEN KILLING MEN" how about just become a decent person, dudes

May 16, 2015
yes
Liked by: Becky professional righter

### Re: The Kill Bill, harmful to men issue. It is STILL the Patriarchy that is the problem though. Women are fragile and cannot be shown being harmed, men are strong and expendable warriors. The Patriarchy hurts everyone and we all need to fight against it!

May 16, 2015
yus

### Kill Bill just shows the issue very well: When a woman dies, it's always a named character or a big deal in the plot. When a man dies, it's totally normal and you're not supposed to care about him much. This is how the new Mad Max is harmful towards men as well. They're expendable, OK to be killed.

May 16, 2015
dude the movie was called Kill Bill, i think you were supposed to care about whether Bill died or not
Liked by: Kerissa Young professional righter

### Did you enjoy Fury Road more than the other Mad Max films?

professional righter
May 16, 2015
Yep! It is my favorite of the series, easily.
Liked by: professional righter

### Are you honestly okay with a person who doesnt understand that question "Are you PlayStation or Xbox?" being in any position of authority in video games? Are you seriously comfortable with video game websites respecting their opinion when clearly they dont know anything? Anthony please stahp

May 16, 2015
Did you even read the article? She's a researcher and educator who wants people to be aware that the demographics of who plays games (50% girls) is drastically different from what we assume (all guys), and that better understanding that will make it easier for kids and adults to relate to each other (which also can mean increased sales and stuff if you make a game acknowledging that).

She doesn't need to know if PS4 or Xbone are better, because she's not making games, or dictating what games others should make. She's not the head of a goddamned game company, so keep your fake-geek-girl horseshit outta this.

You don't like her because she's a woman who is saying that women play videogames, and her research may result in games becoming a more diverse place. *That's* why you don't like her.
Liked by: Ry Kerissa Young

### If you truly cared about video games and I still think theres a part of you that genuinely cares about video games itself instead of only considering it something to be controlled to align to your political preferences then would not support Rosalind Wiseman. I hope you will see the light one day

May 16, 2015
I know Rosalind pretty well, and I'm very familiar with her work, and I cannot even begin to *fathom* where a mindless statement like this comes from.

Consider the fact that you think she shouldn't be supported because the research she's done suggests young girls play games.

Consider that the possibility that young girls play games is inherently upsetting or irritating to you.

Consider why that might be.

### "Don't self-deprecate." Do you mean in general or never? Because I tend to self-deprecate a lot..

May 15, 2015
When you're talking to someone you're attracted to, don't self-deprecate. I used to do it a lot as an attempt to be endearing, and it just comes off as false and awkward.
Liked by: professional righter Becky

### Female Mooks: I don't think the females in Kill Bill qualify. They had names, history, and more than ten seconds of screen time. Stomtroopers are mooks, the women of KB were at least characters.

Simon
May 15, 2015
Alright.

### Do I have to watch the other Mad Max movies before seeing the new one?

May 15, 2015
Nope.

### I'm still worried that Mad Max is a celebration of a woman killing men. It seems you've seen the movie now, did you ever get that feeling?

May 15, 2015
No.
Liked by: professional righter

### what's your comfort movie?

May 15, 2015
Fifth Element
Liked by: Jeffrey professional righter Becky

### Wouldn't men being *less* likely to receive sole custody of a child indicate a bias in the opposite direction? The idea that only a mother can be a true parent to the child?

May 15, 2015
Right, which is a patriarchal definition of parenthood. It implies men can't be nurturing caregivers (because they have to be Strong Men Who Provide), and that women are better positioned to be real parents (because that's what they're for).
Liked by: Alina

### do you ever feel like you're missing out on looking at colors?

May 15, 2015
Nah, because I have no frame of reference. If somebody, today, told you there was another color called "flurple" that exists, but you are unable to see, you probably wouldn't care that much. Cause what the fuck's flurple? I've gotten along fine without it.
Liked by: Caz Buss

### Anthony I rarely experience romantic attraction but when I do it's all in and there's this girl who admitted she liked me as well my biggest hang up is she is so cool and deserves way better than me I'm pretty terrible is this something I should just live with it can I get over it?

May 15, 2015
You will get over it, especially if you get together with her. Being with someone whom you care about, who cares about you, is a pretty good way to feel better about yourself.
Liked by: Becky

### http://plaidandredlipstick.tumblr.com/post/89017772278/the-reason-male-comic-book-fans-work-themselves Zing.

May 15, 2015
yup
Liked by: Becky

### Wait what? You think the movie Kill Bill has female mooks? The vast majority of people Uma killed were male.

May 15, 2015
Gogo, Elle, Vernita, O-ren, and several of the Crazy 88's. In terms of plot relevance, the vast majority of her main, named enemies she kills (all but one!) are women.
Liked by: Benjamin

### For "women aren't accountable for a damn thing" guy, I think men often have this problem of taking ways that society has wronged them and attribute those to women instead of our society. Like, "men are less likely to receive custody" has nothing to do with women and everything to do with patriarchy.

May 14, 2015
ONE HUNDRED PERCENT THIS
Liked by: swordlesbi Jeffrey стотыщ проблем Endogenous Gyro (Butt Beast) Odax Devious Vacuum Benjamin

### Did you know much about the cancelled Pre-Sequel DLC Luxy's Space Adventure? https://41.media.tumblr.com/37d7e6fd601177173da5f42feab5753f/tumblr_nobshaTtnU1re93amo6_1280.jpg

May 14, 2015
never heard anything about it to be honest

### darksouls nofap challenge rule1: when u start you can't fap til gwyn=ded rule2: if u take a break from the game you can't break the nofap rule3:no step 3. Hard mode: no-fap breaks at the ending on newgame1 the challenge, not for you necessarily but more for fans who need a reason to not fap

May 14, 2015
pahaha nice

### When feminists are getting hyped for a movie about a woman killing men in many brutal ways, it's hard to shake the feeling that as a man, I am an acceptable target of violence and feminists actually agree with this and love female violence towards men. Will we ever get random female mooks in movies?

May 14, 2015
You already did (Kill Bill).

I see what you're saying, but here are some things to consider:

- You are far, far less likely to be the subject of violence from a woman than from a man. FAR less likely.

- Women are REALLY likely to be assaulted by men. One in five chance in sexual assault. While men are 3.5 times more likely to be killed than women, they don't have to walk around for fear of being hurt *specifically because of their gender*.

- Knowing this, when you fill a story with women being killed repeatedly as mooks, that has a slightly weird connotation because it's bringing to mind the epidemic of violence against women (again, one in five, which is a fucking batshit horrible statistic that we'd absolutely refuse to ignore if it happened to straight cis neurotypical able-bodied white men)

- I asked the exact question you did at GaymerX and got a really good response from Zoe Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian (feel free to explode now, MRAs), who basically cited the Geena Davis 17% rule, and said that so long as you are careful with how the woman's pain is depicted -- don't make her pain sound orgasmic, like many video games do -- the upside of getting people used to seeing more women (if you make half your mooks women) outstrips the potential problems of making women the objects of violence.

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Liked by: Keith C.

### Just read your sister's interview in Game Informer. She's a classy broad. Also I have literally the exact same kind of anxiety is her. Dem feels. ;_;

May 14, 2015
yeah she's cool

### What do you think about Ava DuVernay and Black Panther? Is it just cool to see talent being rewarded, or is the fact they had to ask her for a *diverse* movie instead of Dr Strange or something pretty shitty?

May 14, 2015
I think I'd rather have black people telling black stories than white people telling stories about what they think the black experience is like.

### Why Bo Dallas?

May 14, 2015
Because I love the idea of a wrestler who is a walking douchey cat poster. I was at a live non-taped show and he was fucking hilarious.

### I would be so on board for furthering feminism if I didn't get called a misogynist for mentioning there are ways in which society majorly fucks men, and that women generally aren't accountable for a damn thing.

May 14, 2015
You might want to self-reflect on why you think the phrase "women aren't accountable for a damn thing" isn't misogynist.

### Help! I just bought 10 cigars and a 50-count glass topped humidor for $40 total. I need your father to come help me burn down some ciggies!

May 14, 2015
Geuhhhh you don't want him stinking up the place, trust me

### I want you to know you fell for some really subtle Baneposting here: http://ask.fm/reverendanthony/answer/127393680456. Do you feel in charge?

May 14, 2015
Pahaha. Whoops.

### Mister Metokur is a huge gamergate supporter who crashed many streams which was all part of his plan. Zoey Quinn even petitioned congress to ban him but that didn't fly so good. Are you worried that he will come after you next?

May 14, 2015
No, because I'm a guy.

### I consider myself a "sjw" but I've never understood the idea of why people can't be sexist or racist against white men. I know the answer is something along the lines of "they can't oppress white men so no" but isn't that conflating racism and oppression? If I call a potato a carrot isn't it still a

May 14, 2015
You can be sexist and/or racist against white men. You can't systemically oppress straight white able-bodied neurotypical guys in the same way that other marginalized groups can.

The only reason this gets brought up in the first place, anyway, is as a silencing tactic -- if you say "all lives matter" instead of "black lives matter," you tell black people to shut up, that their struggles aren't unique to them, and that all people have it equally hard -- and since you have things comparatively easy (you aren't being killed for your race), you don't have to do anything.

MRAs didn't give a shit about the bad things that happen to men until feminism started going mainstream, and all of a sudden, feminism is evil because it doesn't acknowledge the fact that men are more likely to be murdered, or homeless, or suffer job accidents.

Nevermind the fact that the vast majority of men, like women, are murdered *by men,* and that the things that feminism fights against -- patriarchy and toxic masculinity -- are in many cases the causes of the exact problems MRAs say women don't care about.

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Liked by: Angela Jean Jeffrey Debbie Cayce P. Alina

### Who is your favorite wrestler, current and all time?

May 14, 2015
Current: Bo Dallas
All time: Randy Savage
Liked by: Edward Cunanan

### You'd probably really like Red Hood and the Outlaws and the Runaways.

May 14, 2015
I like Runaways!

### The new Mad Max movie has a female protagonist and is being hailed as a big feminist movie. But all the villains and the randomly killed mooks are male. I keep getting the feeling that feminists want to see strong female characters kill men and that they hate men - how to get rid of this feeling?

May 14, 2015
I dunno, think harder about it?

### I was so hyped for Splatoon until I found out there's zero voice chat support. Zero. Why do you think Nintendo refuses to modernize?

May 14, 2015
Because it's a game marketed toward kids.
Liked by: Jeffrey Ry Caz Buss

### GG aside, do you think there are any major issues with video game journalism?

May 13, 2015
I'd say there's too much enthusiast stuff and not enough real critique, but that's actually getting a LOT better thanks to the altgames community and Offworld and the like.

### Have you read Matt Fraction's Hawkeye? That's a pretty good superhero comic that does not feel like a superhero comic.

May 13, 2015
ooh! And DEFINITELY that, forgot to mention that. I goddamn LOVE that comic. Wish he'd write the final issue already, though.
Liked by: Ry Becky

### why would you go from a game writer of a great franchise at a respectable company to some youtube channel writer?

May 13, 2015
- RJ is doing tons of non-youtube stuff with Hulu and the like, so it's not just "some youtube channel." And even if it were, it's one of the most popular youtube channels ever (a LOT more people have watched Video Game High School than played BL2)
- change of pace, new challenges
- Los Angeles, and the friends/family I have there

### im getting more confident in my creative work, does this mean im getting worse?

May 13, 2015
nah, you can get confident without being wrong.

### what are birds,

May 13, 2015
yes
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### Two things about the ballpit video: 1) You and Ash are some cute patoots, congrats on y'all's genetics. 2) Were the humanoid ballpit monsters made using costumes or SFX? Those things were actually pretty scary!

May 13, 2015
1. thax
2. click the link to the behind the scenes at the end of the vid! they're both.
Liked by: notnotsarah

### http://deepfreeze.it/journo.php?j=anthony_burch So apparently a think piece way past post-launch of a popular franchise that people who already wanted it probably owned it twice over now counts as "positive coverage" for the sake of an ethics violation... Can you make sense of this? I can't.

May 13, 2015
They're idiots. I honestly can't believe they're still unironically quoting my tweet about BL2, either -- the ENTIRE FUCKING POINT is that:
- GG didn't say shit about BL2 and DToid despite the connection being really, really obvious, because I'm a guy and GG was never about ethics in any significant way
- Destructoid poorly reviewed several BL2 DLCs. If they're so omg biased in my favor, why the fuck did they do that? But of course, GG doesn't ever bring those negative reviews up, because they don't know about them, because they never did any *actual research* beyond just parroting what I said even though I was saying it specifically to mock them and show how shortsighted they were. That'll teach me for being anything even remotely close to clever.

### Is it true that Mister Metokur will be doing a video about you? And if so what about specifically?

May 13, 2015
I haven't a clue as to who that is. I assume it's some GGer who will be a dumbass.

### Question about the RocketJump ballpit episode... Was he really alive at the end? Or was that just his afterlife and he really died after shooting out the sunroof? I mean how else could Charlie have survived?

May 13, 2015
*shrug*

I like to imagine he's still alive, cause it's less sad and I'm a big baby.

### How's if feel knowing that I'm subtly manipulating you towards self-destruction with hundreds of tiny subconscious signals hidden in these questions?

May 13, 2015
you're not subconsciously manipulating me

i do have to take a break from answering these to murder my sister but that's probably not related
Liked by: Becky

### I HAD A PIZOOKIE FROM OREGANOS IN PHOENIx LAsT NIGHT ANTHONY IT WAS DEICIOUS

May 13, 2015
FUUUUUUCK YOU ARE SO LUCKY

### Um, serious question? A bad thing happened to me when I was a young teenager (by someone who claimed to "love me", too), and since then the fastest way to get me to run from someone was for them to show an interest in me. 8 years later and I still don't know how to get over the crippling fear. help

May 12, 2015
I would probably consider therapy.

### Okay can we finally put this to rest?? TRUE/FALSE: KRIEG IS NOT TINA'S FATHER

May 12, 2015
Here's the thing:

We both know this is all bullshit. It's all made up storytelling stuff. So when we're coy about something, or ambiguous, it's because we specifically *want* to be coy or ambiguous, not because we just forgot to tell you or something. So, there's no answer to your question, or who/what Zero is, or any of that stuff. It's specifically ambiguous, and you just have to accept that ambiguity on its own terms.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky

### On some BL2 Promo art it says Jack was from Tantulus-- so is he from Hera or Tantulus? Or was that a silly little mixup.

May 12, 2015
shrug

### lmao i find it hilarious/really freaking sad that some dude read that question about a woman considering giving up on a job in gaming due to fear of harassment and went "you know what the real problem is here? MISANDRY."

May 12, 2015
Yeah. I mean, I get it -- I have a tendency to do this, and I think all of us do at some point. It's easier to frame things inasmuch as they effect *you*, and make yourself the put-upon protagonist of every story. And if you're a cis het dude, as I am, you're very used to the world making stories that are specifically for and about you. It can be hard to ever see yourself as part of a problem.

I've said it a few times on here, but this is why I get as riled up as I do about this shit -- if all of the GG/MRA nonsense had started up when I was young and angry in high school, before I'd learned basic empathy and respect, I almost certainly would have joined. It's just an easy place to fall into if you lack emotional maturity, or if you're angry for other reasons.

### Women are less likely to get promoted because they're generally worse at their job, kiddo.

May 12, 2015
THAT'S IT FOR TONIGHT'S "MISOGYNISTS FILL ANTHONY'S ASK.FM INBOX AND SAY BASICALLY WHAT YOU'D EXPECT THEM TO" I'D LIKE TO THANK THE CAST AND CREW, AND MUSICAL GUEST DRAKE
Liked by: Jeffrey Brian Carney Ash Becky Kerissa Young sad boy Alina

### "Misandry isn't a thing." See that's my only problem with feminism, this idea that acknowledging male suffering and persecution somehow invalidates the feminist cause. Dude, men get shit on just as hard as women do, the only difference is nobody gives a shit (assuming they even acknowledge it) becau

May 12, 2015
Men do *not* get shit on as hard as women do.

Women have a 1 in 5 chance of being raped in their lifetime. ONE in FIVE. Imagine that, at some random point in your life, you are FORCED to play Russian Roulette. Then realize *you're more likely to survive a game of Russian Roulette than a woman is to live her entire life without being sexually assaulted.*

Women make less money than men across the board, and are less likely to be get jobs that aren't deemed fit for women (look at the number if female DPs, or CEOs, or US Presidents. Or Avengers.).

Is life hard for men? Absolutely. Do men face the kind of systemic, ingrained, ubiquitous oppression that has existed for women literally since the dawn of time, *specifically because of their gender*? No. (Unless we're talking about trans men.)

People (MRAs, generally) bandy about "misandry" as if it's even remotely equal in measure to the shit women face, and it, by any objective measure whatsoever, is not. If you want to use a word to define "sometimes people are mean to men," sure, go ahead, use "misandry." But I refuse to acknowledge it as some sort of Actual Thing that men face on a daily basis.

Are there some feminists that I can't stand who sarcastically use #killallmen hashtags? Yes.

Are any of those women anywhere *near* as statistically likely to abuse, or rape, or kill the men they're talking about, compared to how likely men are to hurt women they verbally abuse online? Not even a *little* goddamned close.
https://twitter.com/BecksWelker/status/585575660430745600
http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/07/technology/yik-yak-university-of-mary-washington/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/24/1301671/-Elliot-Roger-Gunman-in-California-Mass-Shooting-was-influenced-by-the-Men-s-Rights-Movement

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Liked by: Daria Drenker Jeffrey Emily Maddie Grant Elizabeth Hocking Harley Bird sad boy Cayce P. Alina SallyMoune

### Is it possible to write an interesting character who isn't emotionally vulnerable at any point? Handsome Jack starts pretty bulletproof self-confident, but even he gets way darker when Angel is concerned, and in TPS. Veronica in New Vegas has issues with the Brotherhood, etc.

May 12, 2015
I...probably? But they'd have to be surrounded by characters who ARE, and whose emotional vulnerability serves to highlight/critique that character's lack of it.

### I can't wait for the Everybody Is Gay future that Borderlands envisions, just maybe minus the constant violence and terrifying corporate armies

May 12, 2015
ditto
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Becky Kerissa Young

### You've officially answered over 5,000 questions on here, how does it feel

May 12, 2015
i should log off all social media and kill myself

### I'm introverted. Like, really introverted. Like if I'm not specifically in the mood to socialize I find interacting with people to be exhausting. What's a polite way to get people to abstain from engaging in small talk at work?

May 12, 2015
Wear headphones all the time. Smear feces on your desk. Pay a goblin to stand guard of your cubicle, and require him to ask riddles of any who might wish to proceed.
Liked by: Angela Jean Ashleigh Johnson SallyMoune Adam R

### Hey this might seem like an odd question, but when your asked the topic of gay characters in borderlands you always bring up Janey or hammerlock as strong gay characters. But I've noticed that you never mention Tina at all, is there a reason for not mentioning her as a strong gay character?

May 12, 2015
Because Janey and Hammerlock are overt in their gayness where Tina is, comparatively, more subtle.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Half the playable cast being female in TPS worked because one was a badass super soldier and the other was the most evil person I've ever been told was a protagonist. A lot of the time it's just "yay gurl power" and it seems forced. TPS it felt so organic, incidental."

May 12, 2015
yaaay
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Not a problem because there's no such thing as too many brown people or not a problem because it'll never happen?

May 12, 2015
yes

### "weird dude co-workers" way to profile, Burch. Misandry totally isn't a thing.

May 12, 2015
it isn't, you big dumb baby
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young

### I think the reason people are getting a borderlands vibe off the new mad max trailer is literally just because of that "what a lovely day" line

May 11, 2015
I wish I'd written something that cool
Liked by: Becky

### How come you always pee when you poop, but never poop when you pee?

May 11, 2015
holy shit
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Garrett Glass Tor Henrik Melle

### The Vault Hunters sending Mother's Day cards: GO.

May 10, 2015
pay me
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Omar Brian Carney Ash

### I just re-watched Tank Girl, and she reminded me a lot of Tiny Tina. Any inspiration there?

May 10, 2015
In her visual design, yeah. Personality, no.
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### Do you get some strong Borderlands (only grittier) vibes from the Fury Road trailers?

May 10, 2015
Nah. Borderlands is basically "Mad Max in space," so if anything I get Mad Max vibes from Borderlands.
Liked by: Becky professional righter

### Do you think it's worth getting into the video game industry as a woman with PTSD? The shit I see other women go through would likely trigger really bad panic attacks/flashbacks if I ever experienced it personally, but making games is all I've wanted to do since I was a kid. Is it worth the risk?

May 10, 2015
I wish I could say "yeah, go for it," but I honestly can't say. If you went into AAA, you'd probably have to deal with weird dude co-workers (probably nothing flashback-inducing, but still weird). If you went indie and got even a modicum of popularity, you'd have to deal with GG trying to get you to kill yourself.

I honestly don't know. I'm sorry.

### Definitely not now but I'm the future do you think there might be a problem with over representation of minorities in media? I feel like this is a poorly worded question but I was mostly asking because if your comment about jack being pretty much the only straight person in bl2.

May 10, 2015
No. That will never, ever be a problem. Ever.
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Does Tina have a crush on Athena?

May 10, 2015
I don't think so? Can't remember.

### When/why did you start using the Reverend handle?

May 10, 2015
When I was like 13, when I became a member of the ULC, and because I am an idiot.

### yo, i havent played GTA5 yet, nor do i plan to but real talk homie i think you're playing it wrong fuck missions, fuck nice cars, fuck all that new shit they added. just grab your friends and try to get 5 stars and survive as long as you can also kill the randos in your game to make some enemies

May 10, 2015
That's definitely fun, but it's fun for like ten minutes.

### Why does Nisha hate Moxxi so much?

May 09, 2015
cause she thinks moxxi is phony as shit

### What do you think every day when you wake up in the morning?

May 09, 2015
"why do i always have a boner first thing in the morning"
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson notnotsarah Edward Cunanan Becky professional righter Tom Head Kimmyie Spicer RidgeBack Rogue Kerissa Young

### Okay, like, I agree that GTA Online on your own (and maybe in general given the mission/levelling/locked weapons bullshit) sucks. But like. It's literally called Grand Theft Auto. Were you... expecting to not have to steal cars?? That's... the game. That's all anyone does.

May 09, 2015
No, that's my exact complaint. It's a game about stealing cars where you steal it and have it for eight seconds. Which is totally fine, except the game also talks up how important it is to have Your Personal Car. So, cool, I wanna steal a great car to make it my personal one. But the REALLY neat cars you're not allowed to steal with any permanence, because you gotta BUY them. And to BUY them, you have to grind linear missions and shit.

It is functionally more like Grand Save Up For Stuff Auto.
Liked by: professional righter Kerissa Young

### How did you deal with the politics and structure of a developer? How did you deal with issues of asserting yourself with certain decisions?

May 09, 2015
For me, I unintentionally did things in a three stage process:

1. Be as humble and accomodating as possible. Anytime a dev wanted anything from me, do it because you respect their creative wishes and want to help make those things happen. Try, as hard as you can, not to be a pain in the ass, or a diva, or overly precious with stuff that doesn't matter or doesn't make the game better. Keep this up for at least a year and a half.

2. Do a good job. Also, subtly and casually try to insert a couple of things that you really care about, often in exchange for doing a bunch of stuff that other people really care about. Then, if those things you inserted end up being good, you can point at them later as an example of what works.

3. Start taking risks. If people like you and think the work you do is good, they'll be more likely to not raise a fuss if you, say, wanna make half the playable cast women.

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Liked by: notnotsarah professional righter

### I don't know if this has already been answered but is there a possibility of Jack being bisexual?

May 09, 2015
In my mind he's totally straight, just cause SOMEBODY in the goddamn game had to be
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young

### If you'd been given full creative license to develop a quest chain in The Pre-Sequel that would have fleshed out the Athena/Janey relationship, any ideas on what you would have included?

May 09, 2015
you would have gone on a date that ended with watching action movies at her house, also, surprise, she made brownies, and you'd have to cuddle by staying within a certain proximity of her
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Cherry Nyx Becky

### I always wonder how old Handsome Jack is?

May 09, 2015
yeah

me too
Liked by: Jeffrey

### Pick one - What is the meaning of life? / What is the meaning of Burch?

May 09, 2015
there isn't one/eat cupcakes and play videogames

### 1976 Harrison Ford or 1980 Neil Degrasse Tyson. Pick one.

May 09, 2015
Ooooof let's go with Tyson
Liked by: professional righter

### Is the reason you hate the hamburglar so much because he looks like you? When was the last time you robbled?

May 09, 2015
fuck they're on to me
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky professional righter

### Is a hotdog a sandwhich?

May 09, 2015
No. I am 100% with Tyrese on this one.

### Any tips for beating procrastination? (Especially when you can't turn the internet off.)

May 09, 2015
I've always gotten really really nervous if I've got something undone I haven't done yet, so I honestly dunno. Turning off the internet or using a program that locks you out of it might be useful, though.

### Is popularity harmful, in and of itself?

May 08, 2015
No, but it's certainly a gateway to being a massive fucking dickshit.

### Are Athena and Janey happy together?

May 08, 2015
I like to think so.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky

### HALP Whats the best response to "Don't worry your pretty little head about it"?

May 08, 2015
stab them
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson notnotsarah sad boy стотыщ проблем Kerissa Young

### also I THINK YOU'RE REALLY PRETTY <3 <3 <3

May 08, 2015
thx
Liked by: notnotsarah Becky

### Do you use the oxford comma?

May 08, 2015
yes
Liked by: notnotsarah

### Does Jack have a strangulation kink?

May 08, 2015
Yeah basically
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young Becky

### Jim Jefferies fan?

May 08, 2015
Nah, not really.

### I fucking hate the shady business of politics but i keep up to date with it and the facts. It seems people dont vote based on facts anymore or consider other things. The uk election just happened and it was a fuck up and and the poor and working class are royally fucked, yet some of them voted 4 it.

May 08, 2015
The US isn't that much better. People loooove to vote against their own interests here, I dunno how it is over there.
Liked by: notnotsarah

### Call of Duty BOps3 has me intrigued but I'm apprehensive because of the whole "brain dead dudebros buying the same damn game every year" association. What do?

May 08, 2015
Buy it if you feel like something mindless, don't buy it if you don't. I bought Advanced Warfare because internet hipsters kept acting like it was really actually great and deep and interesting, and I fucking hated it. Compare that to my experience with Codblops 2, which I expected to be nothing more than dumb fun and was.

### What do you usually do on the toilet? Other than poop, I mean.

May 08, 2015
Read comic books. Think about the mistakes I made in life.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### so i have a really good story idea for a game, i'm no established writer or whatever and poverty has fucked my university plans up. But how would you say i could take this concept further, like how i would take it to a company?

May 08, 2015
This is going to sound cruel. I don't mean to be personally rude, but it's basically like this:

Nobody will ever make a game out of your idea. Ever. Because ideas are easy and not in short supply, and the people who work on games have their *own* ideas they want to make, and it's way easier to be passionate about your own ideas rather than someone else's.

That said! Because you talked about it as a story idea, there are thankfully many resources you can use to make that game yourself. I'd highly recommend Twine, as it's super easy to use and great for narrative stuff: http://www.auntiepixelante.com/twine/
Liked by: Jeffrey notnotsarah

### Did you ever watch the final season of Parks and Rec?

May 08, 2015
I saw half the finale and didn't really like it so I never bothered.

### Does your newfound ideological distaste for Frank Miller's stuff taint your previously mentioned appreciation for Sin City? The comics or the first movie, I mean. We can disregard the second movie.

May 08, 2015
Kiiiinda? Well -- no, I don't think so. I think I just have a distaste for them because now violence doesn't impress me as much and I have to look at them structurally and plot-wise, and that is where Sin City is at its worst (there's a scene where Marv walks up to Roark's house, decides to kill him, and then goes NAH WAIT I SHOULD BE FOR SURE THOUGH and then walks BACK into the city and beats up people for another twenty pages for basically no reason).

### Is there a story behind why Zero and the Assassin Wot use the same voice files? Not just in universe, like did someone pull the soundbites labeled "Assassin Voice" and think they were supposed to be used on a mini-boss? (In-universe would be interesting too, though.)

Simon
May 08, 2015
Oh, weird. Did that happen? I'm sure there was a reason. Can't even begin to imagine what it was.

### What do you think of the fem-dom fetish?

May 08, 2015
whatever works

### England has gone to shit - You are a hottie - Can I come and live with you?

May 08, 2015
I mean english accents are pretty dope so yeah
Liked by: Becky

### I'm really worried. My sister's been dating this guy who I can only describe as a grade A jerk and the last time I saw her, she had bruises on her arm. I keep asking her where she got them, but she won't tell me anything and keeps changing the subject. It's getting really scary. What do I do?

May 08, 2015
I honestly can't say for sure, so I'd just direct you here: http://www.thehotline.org/2014/09/quick-look-police-reports-and-protective-orders/

### Ever considered going fully bald but with a big beard?

May 07, 2015
I'd look fucking grooooss because I'm so skinny. If I was bulkier, maybe.

### Not endorsing what GamerGate does but do we really want a world where one can be arrested for saying mean things on the internet?

May 07, 2015
Nobody's arguing that.

### I'm sure it's probably somewhat normal but I was wondering, I've been dating a girl now for two months and since we've started having sex I find it hard to get hard from porn and I've stopped masturbating as a result. (1/2)

May 07, 2015
Congratulations: you basically have a superpower.

### Why are public/work toilets always gross? Like... fucking always. I seriously fucking hate people.

May 07, 2015
I honestly wonder if it's just that bathroom accidents are ridiculously common, and everyone feels too guilty to stay in there to clean it up (and obviously they can leave and accept no responsibility or guilt).

### The difference is literally nothing has been achieved by GoombaGoot except harassment and misogyny. Nothing. No positive impact. Any microcosms (NOT "ethics awareness" which Leigh already kicked their asses on in one damn post) cannot possibly justify the shitstorm of horror that they came from.

May 07, 2015
Right.

### The only good impact you can argue GG had is flipping on the lights for the utterly psychotic misogyny in the gaming "community" for the mainstream, and strengthening the resolve/hopefully getting some of the worst fucks arrested down the line by the FBI. And preventing another incident like it.

May 07, 2015
.

### Dude, if you're balding don't take pills. They kill your sexual capacities. Just saying.

May 07, 2015
Thanks for the warnings, all. If my weenis starts getting weird I'll stop.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### RE: Balding. Don't take that drug called Propecia. I took it for like 2 weeks, it gave me limp dick for like 3 months after I stopped taking it. Really scary. Your hair is less important than your dick. Besides you're a brown dude, so you can probably own a shaved head if the time comes.

May 07, 2015
I'm taking finasteride and haven't noticed any weenis-related problems.
Liked by: Tom Head

### You can't say it's apples to oranges when the prophet who Islam was founded after literally MASSACRED Jews for a SLIGHT. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banu_Qurayza Radical Islam IS Islam in its purest form.

May 07, 2015
Ah. Well, there's that. (I am not the biggest fan of organized religion of any sort.)

Still, modern Islamic leaders and the VAST majority of the *millions* of Muslims are not uber-radical terrorists. We're talking less than a percent: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/terrorism-security/2015/0113/How-many-Muslim-extremists-are-there-Just-the-facts-please

GG's abusers and hatemongers do not represent less than a percent of their rank. Not even close.

### where do you get all the kool-aid you've been drinking?

May 07, 2015
maturity
Liked by: Ry Ana Torres Ser. Wartortle

### No offense, but I know a ton of funny ass/witty people who love Cards Against Humanity, your total condescension is appreciated though.

May 07, 2015
Yeah, I probably phrased that in a douchier way than I shoulda. Sorry.

Game still sucks shit, though.

### Anthony "Hangs down to his knees" Burch doesn't let the haters get to him because hate is everywhere, and you can't let a bunch of brain dead nobodies ruin the things you enjoy in life.

May 07, 2015
they call me "his knees" for short
Liked by: Angela Jean

### what do you think of age gaps? and what is an appropriate age gap?

May 07, 2015
If you think the age gap is weird, it is weird. If you think it isn't, it probably isn't.

### Please don't take this wrong. Serious question: how is it the same people telling us not to fear Islam because not all of them are like the radicals are telling us to fear GG because some of them are radicals, HOWEVER, unlike Muslim radicals, GG has yet to actually kill someone (much less broadcast

May 07, 2015
Again, because one of them is a group that happens to have horrifying fringe elements within it, and the other is a group that specifically came into existence to fuck up one woman's life and has continued in that vein since. I wouldn't give the KKK a fair shake just because they managed to make friends with some cool people.

### Any advice for someone about to switch careers and start working at a game developer?

May 07, 2015
I had a really good experience working in the games industry, but I know a lot of people who have had a complete fucking nightmare of a time (Kotaku in particular has posted some real horror stories). So I guess be careful, and don't let your enthusiasm to work in games allow you to be taken advantage of.

### Why do you still do this ask.fm if you get a lot of hateful questions?

May 07, 2015
ego probably

### Thoughts on this observation of how Jack handles stress/trauma compared to other characters; Mr. Burch? http://pandorastopdrunk.tumblr.com/post/118175798537/something-interesting-about-jack-i-realized-like

May 07, 2015
Good writeup. Basically just made me realize I probably rely on the "give em a sad backstory" thing too much.

### Are you eventually going bald? Does it worry you?

May 07, 2015
I started balding and a dude on twitter noticed before I did and suggested some stuff I could do, which I've been doing. And yeah, it worries me a little.

### Have you ever tried doing stand-up comedy?

May 07, 2015
Nah, I don't think I could. Requires way too much confidence.

### What's one place on Earth you'd most like to visit. Also, same question for anyplace off-Earth. Also, same question for any video game world/universe.

May 07, 2015
Japan. Jupiter. Final Fantasy 8.

### How does it feel to have hit the big time? http://deepfreeze.it/journo.php?j=anthony_burch

May 07, 2015
i'm lookin pretty good

### Advice for PC builder: don't buy an Antec case if you want your blood to stay inside your body.

May 07, 2015
Noted

### Brianna Wu would get a lot less abuse if she wasn't so abusive. Just saying.

May 06, 2015
I see what you're getting at, and this is only one of many messages I received to that effect.

Look -- criticizing people in your own movements is necessary to keeping that movement healthy. It's, more than that, inevitable. I disagree with the way Brianna phrases a lot of stuff, just like I disagree with how weirdly racist Richard Dawkins often is.If you can't stand Brianna, that's fine. I can't stand Total Biscuit. It's cool to make those criticisms.

Making those criticisms in the form of outright transphobia (calling her "it", using her birth name) isn't.
Liked by: Emily Zachary Michaels Matt Crowley Benjamin

### Do you have any advice on building your own pc for the first time? I think I can figure out which parts I want but I'm nervous about putting it all together, as I don't have anybody near by that can help if I fuck up. I'm bad at putting lego together so this is kind of anxiety provoking.

May 06, 2015
I have never built my own PC because I find it frustrating and expensive. I just use ibuypower.

### I remember reading in a few places when Aurelia was first announced that the character was going to be canon trans. Now I can't seem to find anything about it anywhere. What's the official word (assuming you are able to give official word)?

May 06, 2015
Nah, we never said that. I said that I wanted a trans playable character in BL3 and Randy agreed. No idea if that'll happen without me bitching about it every two seconds anymore, but, yeah, that's what that was.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Jeffrey Alina

### To everyone saying Joss Whedon left Twitter because those dang feminists chased him off: Whedon himself says that's just plain not true. http://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/joss-whedon-on-leaving-twitter#.rngVZzWRd

May 06, 2015
whoop

### Both sides are characterizing the other by the worst behavior of their worst members. I'm not saying GG isn't guilty of a lot more. But there is a broader issue at play that undercuts both, an issue of bullying and sensationalism on the internet, of using rhetoric to cover vile behavior.

May 06, 2015
Your first sentence is a false equivalency I won't tolerate. The origins of feminism are about equality and progress. The origins of GG are about shaming and harassing Zoe Quinn for fucking a dude.

That said, yes, internet bullying and the oneupsmanship of anger are real problems that are completely fucking over modern discourse.
Liked by: Emily Sineado Vanheusen

### Brianna Wu is blatantly one of those people "using feminism for their own ends" and it pisses a LOT of people off.

May 06, 2015
This is one of many messages I received with this basic theme, so I'm going to assume it's not an entirely unfounded perspective.

I've seen one or two legitimate criticisms of Brianna appear in my inbox ("if she's so interested in diversity, isn't it kinda weird her game is all white women"), but far more often are misogynistic and outright transphobic insults used in reference to Brianna. Not, like, once or twice, but it's the *norm* that I see people calling her "it" or referring to her by her birth name.

You can attack a person's views or actions without being a massive shit about it (this obviously applies to the Whedon haters as well).

### I feel perpetually insecure. First I was insecure about my brown skin/eyes. Then I was insecure about my height. Then I was insecure over my inability to grow facial hair. Now I'm insecure about my hair loss. I can't stop obsessing over physical "flaws." Is there a way to get over this?

May 06, 2015
It's kind of a catch-22, but if you get lucky once you can break the cycle permanently. If you can manage to feel confident about yourself, that stuff doesn't matter. But to feel confident, you just need to have somebody validate that confidence, once.

Like, I'm not a terribly attractive guy, but after I got married, I got confident and women started showing interest in me. I managed to keep the confidence (more or less) through the divorce, so now I'm way better at dating than I ever woulda believed before marriage.

I'm not saying get married, I'm saying if I can somehow be confident in how I appear to others, you can too.

Alternately, go to Trunk Club and see yourself in well-fitting clothes for the first time. That'll help boost confidence almost assuredly.

### Anthony! I joined a RP, and developed a relationship with another character. He wants to ERP, I am down, but do you think I need to tell him I am Trans?

May 06, 2015
I don't think so. Unless he's talking about meeting up in person, I dunno why he'd need to know that now.

### So there was a lot of talk about GG (which i'm no fan of) needing to police it's own behavior. After this Joss Whedon situation, don't we as feminists need to do the same thing?

May 05, 2015
Feminists always have. If you read Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks, it specifically calls out issues of misplaced rage and feminism being co-opted by people who want to use it to their own ends rather than make everyone's lives better.

BUT.

ALL OF THAT SAID.

To compare a bunch of people throwing really angry, stupid, immature shitfits over a single line in Avengers 2 that can be taken in a variety of ways to an *internet hate group who tried to get Anita arrested, tried to get Zoe to kill herself, and frequently refuse to refer to Brianna Wu as a woman because she's trans* is to make a massive mistake.

One is a group who is at least being consistent in their intent, but has the tendency to go about it the wrong way. The other is a hate group masquerading as some sort of ethics committee, despite the fact that every actual ethicist who has examined or spoken with them has concluded that they're a bunch of fucking dingbats.

View more

Liked by: Jeffrey Michael Marandino Carlo Lopez Adam R Xander C Brian Carney Ash Javiera Gracia Becky Tom Head Dragonite

### Why do you think the left is so prone to "demonizing" people in such a knee-jerk fashion? Joss clearly didn't mean Widow was a monster because she was sterile, the sterility was brought up because it's yet another common ground for Nat and Bruce.

May 05, 2015
Saying all this as someone who has done all this stuff before:

- Because the right has been doing it basically nonstop since the dawn of time, and that tends to get people justifiably angry
- Because when you get used to, say, an entire movement of people on the internet trying to get you and/or people like you to shut up/kill yourself/be arrested, your heart grows hard and it becomes difficult to tell the difference between someone who fucking hates you and someone who has good intentions but made a mistake
- Because of the way twitter and the internet in general work right now, anger rises above the rest of the noise much more effectively than actual discussion
- It's really really easy to score Good Person Points by being outraged, which sometimes feels to me like a natural, cynical extension of followers/favorites
- It's really easy to feel a sense of oneupsmanship -- you think YOU'RE progressive? I'LL show you how progressive I can be! And again, anger is the easiest way of conveying that desire

View more

Liked by: Dragonite

### "Irony of Joss Whedon leaving Twitter is, the celebs you're most likely to drive off are those who actually care enough to pay attention." Yay or nay

May 05, 2015
yay
Liked by: Becky

### re: Black Widow, yes she calls herself a monster, but I did not read it as her saying she's a monster because she's sterile. she's a monster because they made her one, made her a killer, & that's why she thinks she's a monster. not because she can't have kids. I don't get the hate. (I'm a lady btw)

May 05, 2015
That's fair. I can see it being interpreted in either direction, but it's Joss Whedon so I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Liked by: Becky

### Who run Barter Town?

May 05, 2015
jeff

he's real nice
Liked by: Becky

### well I mean pro wrestlers are far more likely to get seriously injured than boxers or MMA fighters

May 05, 2015
:(

### So apparently Joss Whedon deleted his twitter just now, leaving us to assume it's because of all the death threats he's getting via the platform. I understand the differing points re:black widow (even though I disagree), but is it really worth this rancor?

May 05, 2015
Course not. It's completely lacking in a desire for discussion and all about wanting to demonize for the sake of scoring points. The left, of which I am a member, is very guilty of this.

### Will the world ever really have gender equality?

May 04, 2015
Probably not. Doesn't mean it isn't worth trying for.
Liked by: Dragonite

### Would you ever go indie?

May 04, 2015
I'm not a good enough coder or designer. A writer on his own can't really be a significant indie dev unless they're an INCREDIBLE writer who can build an entire game around a story. I'm not that.

### Thoughts on Theme Park MMOs vs Sandbox MMOs (and why can't MMOs manage a decent medium like Ultima Online did?)

May 04, 2015
I never played UO, so I wouldn't know. I definitely see the difficulty. If you're making a theme park MMO, everyone gets the same boring shit. If you do sandbox, then some people -- probably a LOT of people -- are going to be on the bottom, getting subjugated by the people on top. And that isn't fun.

### How do you negotiate the shitstorm of endless inflammatory opinions that comes with being a creator, on the socially conscious front alone? You can't hope to appease every single splinter viewpoint, even as a progressive, and a lot of disparities between sj-crowds can't be resolved with logic

May 04, 2015
Try your best, be apologetic.

### I've seen this reading of the black widow/sterile thing going around and I just don't agree. She was saying that actively choosing to do something like that because becoming the most efficient murderer possible is the most important is monstrous.

May 04, 2015
She refers to herself as a monster, not the people in charge for doing it to her, doesn't she?

### Are you interested in the new suicide squad movie? If so what do you think of the new looks for all the characters?

May 04, 2015
I'm...kind of interested? The idea of the Suicide Squad is cool, but I really disliked the comics (which were mean and cynical for the sake of being mean and cynical and never took the characters anywhere), so who knows -- maybe the movie will be better.

### Did you watch the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight?

May 04, 2015
I don't like boxing. I prefer WWE, where the pain is more or less faked.

### Obligatory Batman followup: Long Halloween? Yay or nay?

May 04, 2015
Read it, didn't really care about it one way or another.

### how do you feel about fans approaching you in public? for example, if someone spotted you at disneyland and came up to say hi

May 04, 2015
it's cool

### The way Uli claps in the Black Ops episode is the funniest thing HAWP has ever done.

May 04, 2015
agreed

### Who knows man, maybe Batman v. Superman will be totally awesome and blow people away. Give the Snydes a chance.

May 04, 2015
300, Man of Steel, and Watchmen were all bad.

Fool me four times in a row, shame on me.

### About Watchmen, since the original comic played around with silver age comic tropes, don't you think it kind of makes sense for the movie to adopt action movie tropes like gratuitous violence? The movie is far from great I agree with you (The sex scene was embarrassing) but was violence the problem?

May 04, 2015
To be totally honest I didn't mind the violence that much -- it went SO far that, to me, it was reminding you that what these human beings are doing to other human beings is inherently fucking weird and not quite okay.

### Agreed on Watchmen, it had its moments but Snyder did NOT understand a lot about the source material. Early on when Dan & Laurie fight off muggers and the movie had them breaking necks, horrifically snapping bones and HRR WE'RE HEROES GONNA MESSILY MURDER EM ALL, s'like, nah. Nah. You failed, bro.

May 04, 2015
Zack Snyder is good at visual stuff. He is bad at everything else.

### Y: The Last Man, sexist or not?

May 04, 2015
I haven't finished it, so I dunno. I stopped halfway through because I couldn't stand how wummun-hating the Amazon women were (they read like "THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN FEMINISM GOES TOO FAR"), though I have really progressive friends who LOVE the comic that say that the amazons are a misstep and meant to represent the idea that women would go just as feral/evil as dudes, not that feminists are the enemy.

### the Black Widow stuff in Ultron was super weird... "I can't have children I'm a monster" "Love is for children/omg bruce I adore you". Idk Whedon seemed a little off his game, I think he made too much movie (3 and a half hours) and had to cut it down to this incoherent plot beats only mess

May 04, 2015
Iiiii kinda liked the Black Widow stuff? Her referring to herself as a monster for being sterile was weird, I agree, but I liked her and Ruffalo's chemistry. And they seemed to be kinda equals (the bit where she pushes him).

But yeah, the movie was borderline incoherent in some ways. It seemed like it was setting up SO much stuff for future movies (like why was Vision in there, what was his actual purpose beyond disconnecting Ultron's mental ethernet cable and making Thor look like a basically useless character now) that it didn't tell much of a story that mattered in and of itself. Apart from the Scarlet Witch/Quicksilver stuff.
Liked by: Becky

### Conservative isn't inherently a bad thing to be.

May 04, 2015
Of course. But the Frank Miller let's-just-fuckin'-kill-'em-all-because-that's-what-men-do brand of conservatism is uninteresting to me.
Liked by: Donovan David Bulmer

### Anything by Frank Miller? I thought you still kind of liked The Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One at least?

May 04, 2015
I like The Dark Knight Returns a LOT, though I accept it's still pretty problematic. Year One honestly just kinda bored me.

### It was pretty cool of God to add the "play as a woman" DLC after he got men out there first to please the market

May 04, 2015
pahahah
Liked by: Dragonite Becky Elijah Beahm

### Favorite graphic novel? Also, why do you dislike Frank Miller's shiz?

professional righter
May 04, 2015
Because they are extremely angry and morally simplistic/conservative, and they remind me of a time when I was extremely angry and morally simplistic/conservative.
Liked by: Benjamin professional righter

### Re: housewife. Isn't it a little offensive to assume that a person who wants to be a homemaker is just a White bigot pretending to be a woman? You're being just as gender prescriptive by implying only White men see value in a woman choosing to be a homemaker.

May 03, 2015
This is completely fair. In any other context, I'd be entirely fine with a woman who wants to be a homemaker. I'd just been recently on the receiving end of a bunch of very clearly fake questions about gender/racial norms.

### How about a Borderlands tattoo of some sort to commemorate your time working on the series and your impact on said series and its fans?

May 03, 2015
That's kinda like a band wearing its own merchandise, isn't it?
Liked by: professional righter

### Are you involved in the RJFS lessons?

May 03, 2015
Nope! Not yet, anyway.

### What is something you were really into when you were growing up, but now think is super dumb? Like any movies, shows, or comics?

May 03, 2015
bonndock saints, anything by frank miller

### So I love my girlfriend to death and never stray... while I'm at home. Whenever I go to Thailand and the Philippines to train Muay Thai and Eskrima I get a LOT of female attention (fit, white, blue eyes) and have a couple one night stands and vaykay gfs. In your opinion is that ok? Or is it wrong?

May 03, 2015
It is 100% okay if your girlfriend is aware of it. It is 100% not okay if she isn't.

### As a white male and fan of yours, I don't see a problem with your earlier assumption. The ones who put effort into defending a system usually are the ones most benefitting from it. Obviously they're not the only ones doing it, but it's certainly a statistical likelihood.

May 03, 2015
nizze

### Lauren Southern: Why I am not a feminist: https://youtu.be/vNErQFmOwq0 Your thoughts?

May 03, 2015
https://everydaygeopoliticshouston.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/a-reply-to-lauren-southerns-why-im-not-a-feminist/

### Pick one: mastadons or dog-sized elephants.

May 03, 2015
omg dog sized elephants

### What's your opinion on Smash Competitive play vs. casual play? Have you seen the Smash documentary? Do you just not care about esports stuff at all?

May 03, 2015
I think it's really neat that a game can function on two completely different skill levels. I really loved the Smash documentary, apart from the fucking godawful narration.

### Do you recommend the Watchmen film to fans of the graphic novel (and/or a general audience)? I enjoy the film adaptation but consider the comic superior. I read earlier that one version of the screenplay had Doctor Manhattan go back in time and erase his existence ... bleh

professional righter
May 03, 2015
I read the comic first, so I *hate* the movie. It fundamentally misunderstands a few things about the comic (the costumes are supposed to look kind of stupid, it's about the world and not the plot so the big digressions into nonsense like the interstitial non-comic stuff are really important, if Doc Manhattan was responsible for any deaths in Moscow then Russia would treat it as an attack regardless of whether America also suffered), and Zack Snyder is just bad at directing anything with an undercurrent of actual human emotion.
Liked by: Benjamin professional righter

### Do you have a head canon for why Jack didn't basically handcuff Nakayama to a desk until he could clone the Destoyer's eye? The mad scientist did manage to grow a mini-destroyer; seems like growing a full-sized one would have been in the realm of possibility.

Simon
May 03, 2015
*shrug*
Liked by: professional righter

### I hear the word "loser" thrown around a lot. What's a loser to you? What do you think of when you hear that word? It's a super vague word, and I always think it's interesting to hear the variations in different people's definitions of stuff like that. What kind of person would you call a loser?

May 03, 2015
I don't think I've ever used that word. It implies judgment of another's life on a generally material perspective -- that guy's a LOSER because he works at CVS or whatever. Which ignores the possibilities that (A) the dude might like working at CVS, or (B) he's working at CVS while trying to get other stuff together.

### Are there any material things you have always wanted but never pulled the trigger on buying/been able to afford? You don't come off as a guy overly concerned with material things, so I just wondered.

May 03, 2015
An electric car, maybe? But I don't live in a place with a plugin.

### Do you get sunburn easily?

May 03, 2015
nope. brown SON
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Ashleigh Johnson

### Have you seen age of ultron and what did you think? I just saw it today and absolutely adored it.

May 03, 2015
I thought it was okay. It had a lot of really funny moments, but it kinda just did the same thing as the first one -- they're already a team, so I wasn't losing my shit when they continued to be a team. I did really like Scarlet Witch's arc and the fact that Hawkeye got more to do, though.

### So did one of the Tales writers watch Sherlock and think "that's a great Moriarty line" for Handsome Jack with the "THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE DO" bit in Ep2

May 03, 2015
Weird mixup.

### I try, Anthony, I really do. But every time, every time I try to engage with my fellow humans I say "Um yeah haha y-yeah I-I agree. *voice crack* h-haha don't w-worry about it. umm...sorry." I'm such a creepy nerd. Girls must be terrified of me. What do I do?

May 01, 2015
You sound like you're better online. Have you tried online dating, or meeting friends via twitter/forums and stuff? That's where 99% of my relationships came from.
Liked by: professional righter

### How do you deal with the leftover arousing memories from a past relationship that ended badly? Also, is it wrong to rub one out to the memory of an ex while exclusively with a new person?

May 01, 2015
I don't think about erotic stuff from past relationships. Usually if the relationship went sour, most of my pleasant memories are tainted by said sourness.

It's a little weird to jerk off while thinking of an ex. Sounds like it miiiiight be a masturbation addiction thing? I dunno.

### Would doin it with someone cosplaying as Tiny Tina be too weird for you to handle? Or would the chance to do it with someone cosplaying a BL be too tempting to pass up?

May 01, 2015
nope nope nope nope no thanks i'm good nope

### So I look at the Mad Max: Fury Road trailers and think, "FUCKING HELL YES!" Then I look at the Mad Max video game trailer and go, "Meh, boring..." How hard is it to create a Mad Max game that plays to the strengths of Road Warrior and Thunderdome, and not a half assed sandbox a la Shadow of Mordor?

May 01, 2015
Eee. If you found the Mad Max game trailer AND Shadow of Mordor boring, we're just on different wavelengths.
Liked by: professional righter

### You gotta stop assuming every misogynist is a white male. I'm a white male, a huge fan of yours, and I go out of my way to be considerate of others. Every time you just assume the asshole trolling your ask.fm account is a "white dude" it makes me feel like shit. Please stop.

May 01, 2015
I literally *just said* that I'm not condemning ALL white dudes. Good christ.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### PART TIME

April 30, 2015
berhghhhhhhhhh

### Serious question: white people/men are privileged, so their feelings, emotions, pain, and struggles don't matter? That's what I'm picking up on.

April 30, 2015
No, that's not even close to what I'm saying. We're now in the middle of a tweaked "not all men" situation.

Of COURSE white men's emotions and struggles are legitimate. Of COURSE there are struggles white men have to deal with via class, neuroatypicality, physical disability, and just plain being a person.

If you want me to type out those caveats *every single time* I call out a white guy for being a racist/misogynist asshole because he can't see beyond his own privilege, I dunno what to tell you.
Liked by: Jeffrey Kerissa Young Tor Henrik Melle Sineado Vanheusen

### So making lemons out of lemonade, if you _could_ be a random everyday person from any time/geographical location in the world (including a 1950s housewife) for a weekend, which one would you pick? This is a weird question. Blame the other guy.

April 30, 2015
FDR, so I could do wheelchair tricks that nobody would ever believe
Liked by: sad boy

### favorite thing at Disneyland?

April 30, 2015
Indiana Jooooones
Liked by: Devious Vacuum

### Why do you assume all the misogynists posing as marginalized people are white? That's pretty fucking offensive (not to mention, racist) dude, kindly cut it the fuck out.

April 30, 2015
when I get questions like "I'm a brown person, how do I deal with the fact that white people are smarter and more attractive than me"? Call me crazy, but that sounds like a fucking white guy
Liked by: Jeffrey Endogenous Gyro (Butt Beast) Becky Naamah. Haughington Devious Vacuum Sineado Vanheusen

### Whats the nicest thing a girl has ever done for you?

April 30, 2015
ash separated out the red and orange sour patch kids from the green and yellow ones one time

imagine that's not what you're referring to though
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Does you have any tattoos? Would you ever get a tattoo?

April 30, 2015
No. I might get a tattoo, but I can't think of anything I can't live without having on me

### What's your favourite board, card or tabletop game?

April 30, 2015
Netrunner, Dead of Winter, Specter Ops

### idk if you had anything to do with this part but when you're trying to get to jack's office in TPS, why doesn't Mordy comment on the whole racist hotdog thing? I was just waiting for him to say something but all for naught :(

April 30, 2015
whoops my bad, that woulda been a really sick opportunity for a joke

### Opinion on white people cosplaying non-white characters? (white versions, not body paint)

April 30, 2015
So long as you're not going full blackface, it's cool.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### did you always want to be a writer?

April 30, 2015
Wanted to be an actor when I was really young, then a director, THEN a writer.
Liked by: professional righter

### Aw man, I want to be a 50's housewife so bad. Most guys nowadays want a working wife so I don't think it will ever happen to me. ;_;

April 30, 2015
hey white guys, if you could stop asking me fake questions while pretending to be marginalized people that'd save us both a lot of time
Liked by: Jayne Becky Alina Brighid

### Guy who asked about the women in Borderlands again- But Shade is a DLC NPC, whereas all those women are either playable or from the campaign, and any tragedy in Axton's background seems to be his own doing. Not to mention that the other male PCs are ok, whereas Gaige and Aurelia are the only women.

April 30, 2015
Aurelia and Gaige had perfectly happy home lives.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### Is it really that important to other people to label things like gender and sexuality? I don't feel like a man(or a woman) and my sexuality is nebulousness, I don't understand the need to label them.

April 30, 2015
Is it really important that you judge their decision to do so? If it matters to them, it matters to them. That's fine.
Liked by: Jayne CaptLinebeckSA

### I have an idea for a social network/app, but am shit at programming. Who do I turn to or market this idea to?

April 29, 2015
eee no clue, sorry

### RE Fart Jokes V Activism: if you're smart and thoughtful you can do both. You can make fart jokes that make people think about things that are important. That's one of the fundamental drives of comedy and satire. Good examples being your SJW HAWP vid, Shakespeare comedies, and the Daily Show.

April 29, 2015
reread those last two sentences and realize how absurd one of those examples is

### is there anything you worked on at rocketjump that we can watch yet?

April 29, 2015
nope, sadly

### What's the best way to improve The Fifth Element?

April 29, 2015
not possible

### What did you end up taking away from Halo, if anything, as someone who went through it as the incoherent thing it is years after the fact

April 29, 2015
That smaller scale stories work better than big ones for videogames. The original Halo actually makes narrative sense. I can track what's going on. We crash landed! We gotta get off the planet! Oh shit, this planet is a weapon! We need to stop the bad guys from getting a weapon, and THEN escape!

Every subsequent Halo gets too big for its britches -- too obsessed with their LORE and their STORY BIBLE and their FRANCHISE PLAN and their CROSSMEDIA UNIVERSE. I honestly could not even begin to tell you what happened in Halos 2 and 3, and I played them less than six months ago.

The only Halo that felt even a little bit narratively good to me after the first one was the fourth one, and that's just because they focused on Chief and Cortana's relationship (when they weren't doing stuff with the forerunners).

View more

### Why is it that white people invoke the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. like he is some black Jesus when they attempt to lecture people of color on proper conduct? And why is it they recite the same two or three lines about nonviolence and "I have a dream..." and not look at the body of his work?

April 29, 2015
Cause doing so requires the least amount of self-analysis and acknowledgement that they might actually be part of the problem
Liked by: Tor Henrik Melle

### Can you recommend any games that are similar to Gunpoint?

April 29, 2015
Ronin has a demo out. That's the closest thing I can think of.

### Meh, If I ever get my Gage, Athena or Mordy Cosplays sorted, I will make sure to hunt you down!

April 29, 2015
cool cool cool cool cool
Liked by: Kerissa Young Brian Carney Ash

### Should homeschooling ever be a replacement for public schooling?

April 29, 2015
I mean, it *can* be, like, on paper -- schools can be harsh or sad or mean places -- but I've honestly never met anyone who was homeschooled and also cool. I hate a LOT of things about public schools, but I have to admit they do teach you how to act around other human beings.

### Fall of New Haven DLC never really would've worked tho, unless they did entirely separate campaigns for Athena and Clappy. Otherwise why would Lilith even let Athena tell her story? She would've just straight up killed her instead of having her drumhead trial.

April 29, 2015
I had a plan to make it work.

### I'm getting into making my own games, but most of my game ideas are heavily inspired by SNES-era JRPGs, which I realize are very niche and not appealing to modern sensibilities. Should I just make what I like, or should I scrap my ideas and try to recycle them into a genre that's more popular today?

April 29, 2015
Make what you like. If you're not passionate about what you're making, it will (A) be bad and (B) never get finished.

### is there anything you regret not doing during your time at gearbox?

April 29, 2015
WARNING: PERVY/GROSS/OVERSHARE

I was always kinda interested in doin' it with somebody who was in Borderlands cosplay. Which I one hundred percent acknowledge is (A) massively fucking objectifying, (B) massively fucking creepy, and (C) massively fucking narcissistic, but, yeah. I dunno. Cosplay's always seemed pretty sexy to me.

Oh, and I really wanted to do a Fall of New Haven DLC.
Liked by: sad boy Kerissa Young Gabriel Costantino

### Re: messing up pronouns, as long as you acknowledge & apologize, it shows that you do care & are trying. I have a friend transitioning & I kept messing up when only some of our mutual friends knew. Now that she's basically out to us all, it's easier to use her preferred name & pronouns.

April 29, 2015
Righto.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky Elizabeth

### What's the last DVD you bought?

April 29, 2015
Master of the Flying Guillotine

### Who's your favourite female character in games?

April 29, 2015
Glados. Or Cate Archer.

### I'm a HS teacher in the US, and here's the rule about the pledge: nobody can be forced to say it, and nobody can be prevented from saying it. I personally choose not to say it--I (overall) like my country, but it is a highly weird custom. I keep thinking about Cordelia in King Lear....

April 29, 2015
That's good, but I remember an (admittedly small) stigma toward kids who wouldn't stand for the pledge, at least when I was little. So you were kinda forced to stand even if you weren't FORCED to stand.

### So my girlfriend cheated on me a year ago and I "finally" cheated on her last night. And now I feel like a petty piece of shit. Funny how you realize how much someone means to you the moment you hurt them.

April 29, 2015
I'm really sorry about all that. On a bunch of levels.

### "Insert yourself into the process" A Burch MGS game...what the fuck would that look like?

April 29, 2015
Prrrrobably awful and a disappointment, but I know nobody else will make the MGS game I desperately want (The Godfather 2 but with a Big Boss adventure crosscut with a remake of the first one or two MG games).

### My headcanon is that Scott and Ramona probably break up a month or two after the ending of the series. I mean, it only makes sense. I hope the was satire, but if it isn't, w/e. I still feel it had a really cool aesthetic and deserves credit for that.

April 28, 2015
Of course. I love the movie -- how it moves, how it looks, how it feels. I just don't dig the emotional core of it.

### How do you reconcile wanting to make video games and fart jokes on the Internet when you could be an activist or something? Not criticising, I love your stuff, just feeling a similar sentiment where art is concerned...

April 28, 2015
Cause I'm inherently too selfish and lazy to be a full time activist.

### Do you play Resident Evil?

April 28, 2015
no

### If you could change one thing about Doctor Who to make it a better show, what is it that you would change?

April 28, 2015
Right now, I'd make the Doctor actually like people. Before that, during the Matt Smith era, I would have made the stories about characters rather than Big Mysteries.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Ratzsa

### as an atheist, would you ever date someone who went to a church and wanted you to come with her/him? are there some religions that you might find more attractive than others?

April 28, 2015
Nope. Never.
Liked by: Becky

### What do you think of the current state of Konami? Kojima gone, Silent Hills cancelled, etc.

April 28, 2015
I'm honestly just curious where Metal Gear ends up, and how possible it'd be for me to insert myself into that process.
Liked by: Becky

### I'm curious about the statements you once made regarding plot being irrelevant. I agree that strong characters can make up for a weak plot, but plot is the character's reason for doing anything. And sometimes, the world of the story overwhelms any character. (Plot 1)

Simon
April 28, 2015
I don't think plot is irrelevant, I just think character is more important. Plot-centric stories can of course be cool -- that's every detective story in existence -- but character is what makes me really care about something on a deep emotional level.

### Silent Hills has been cancelled. I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

April 28, 2015
There's no way it would have been good.

### To explain the Dungeon Travellers guy: neogaf admins draw the line at creepy pandering anime sex games. Menbros cry censorship without knowing what that word actually means. Business as usual. Actual quote I saw: "Neogaf is an SJW Stalinist stronghold now." Yup.

April 28, 2015
fun

### What did you think of iron man 3?

April 28, 2015
I liked it a lot.

### Did you find that porn gave you unrealistic expectations about what sex was like IRL? I hear that can be common. Since generally actors and actresses in porn are....acting, and professional sex-ers. I sometimes worry that a partner won't be into the stuff I'm into, porn-wise (anal, roleplay, etc.)

April 28, 2015
Less that and more actual, physical brain chemistry stuff like your brain not even recognizing that being with a human being is different from, and better than, watching images of human beings on a screen. And subsequently not giving you what the French call le boner.

### DT2, continued: Atlus is publishing the game in English, and is censoring few images because Japanese are too lewd http://gematsu.com/2015/04/western-dungeon-travelers-2-four-censored-images Neogaf mods look at graphics and determine that there are way more too lewd ones. Discussion is then banned.

April 28, 2015
weird.

### I always saw Scott Pilgrim as a satire of the alpha/beta male fantasy of always getting the girl and the absurd work you have to put into a relationship to truly make it work. You have to earn about their past, respect their past and eventually TRUST them despite their past or any "bad luck" that be

April 28, 2015
If it's a satire, I don't think it undercuts its proposed message well enough. Scott STILL gets the girl, STILL gets rewarded for being a huge piece of shit just because he, eventually, was honest about it. It wasn't about Scott respecting their pasts, it was about him finally admitting he was kind of shitty. Which is fine, sure, but that doesn't mean he suddenly deserves Knives or Ramona. He deserves to be alone for now.
Liked by: professional righter Becky

### What do you think about Neogaf banning discussion on certain games, like Dungeon Travellers 2, on the grounds that they weren't censored enough?

April 28, 2015
wat

### Crusader Kings 2 any good? I've heard great things but I couldn't even comprehend the tutorial and gave up. Thinking of trying it again.

April 28, 2015
It's omega-level complicated so I didn't play it for long, but I really enjoyed what I played (even if I was intentionally ignoring like half the mechanics just to make it easier for myself).
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Why is it okay to hate cops because some of them are bad but it's not okay to hate black people for the same reason?

April 28, 2015
When black people start routinely killing cops without suffering any repercussions whatsoever, ask me this question again
Liked by: Angela Jean Ashleigh Johnson Becky

### Can you tell us anything about what would have gone on in the cancelled cruise ship Pre-Sequel DLC? That looks like it would have been about as beach episode anime as the son of crawmerax was (which was honestly one of my favorite dlcs for bl2)

April 28, 2015
Honestly never heard of this DLC idea.

### So what's up after Rocket Jump? More contract work or what? Or is that too far into the future? I hope you're enjoying your work, dude.

April 28, 2015
I hope to work at RJ for the foreseeable future.

### I'd like to be seen as a man, but I'm a 5'8" beta who can't grow a beard with anxiety and depression so I'm not. I've been institutionalized into believing I'm inferior to taller, athletic, extroverted men. I feel like I can't have male privilege because no one considers me a "real" man. Thoughts?

April 28, 2015
I'm shorter than you, I have social anxiety, and my self-esteem is generally pretty bad. Even then, I've been romantically involved with some SPECTACULAR people.

A big part of that involves not feeling sorry for yourself anymore. Stop thinking about if people consider you a "real" man (whatever that means) and try -- and I know this is hard -- to be happy or confident on your own. That confidence will make you more fun to be around, and more attractive. It's why married dudes get hit on way more often than single dudes -- once they stop panicking about whether or not they'll be alone for the rest of their lives, they chill out and become generally cooler, confident, more attractive people.
Liked by: Tom Head

### You said on here once that "Athena" wasn't Athena's birthname. Out of curiosity, if you were ever going to expand on that, would the case have been that she used the name Athena bc she preferred it or bc she didn’t remember her birthname?

April 28, 2015
Would be a lack of memory. She hates Atlas too much to voluntarily choose the name they gave her.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky

### So interestingly enough, I noticed a GG person pulling a whole "non-violence" thing about the Baltimore Riots, and I went to have a discussion with them, and then they told me to "take my concerns elsewhere" before blocking me. I wonder if they know of a word called irony.

April 28, 2015
heh

### I know you're not involved in it anymore, but why does every female character in Borderlands seem to have a tragic background? Between Tina- orphan, Maya- abused, Nisha- abused, Athena- indoctrinated, Janey- mauled, Angel- abused, and Lilith- bullied, it seems like there's some kind of pattern there

April 28, 2015
A lot of the male characters have tragic backgrounds too, don't they? Shade, Jack, Axton (kind of). And if I'd been the one to write the Borderlands origins comics, Mordy, Brick and Roland would have had pretty unhappy childhoods, too.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky

### To earlier anon: Non-binary/agender people can have all sorts of body-types and voices! Plus we don't even know if Zer0 is human/organic, which makes human definitions of what a "male" is even less relevant!

April 28, 2015
boop
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky

### I met my first [openly] transgender person the other day, and I thought I was ready, but I fucked up their pronouns 3+ times right to their face because their voice was throwing me off. Do you ever make mistakes like this around trans-friends? How does one work out the kinks of misgendering people?

April 28, 2015
I fuck this up all the time. I assume it'll just get easier with practice?
Liked by: Becky Adam R

### What have you been playing recently?

April 28, 2015
Bloodborne again, not because I'm super fond of it but because it's something enjoyable difficult/grindy/new to mindlessly play while I watch TNG on my Surface.

### What do you think of people watching video game let's plays vs. actually playing them?

April 28, 2015
It's all good. especially with games that are either super hard, super linear, or super complicated. I wouldn't dare to judge how people enjoy stuff like that.

### I know you personally advocate the no fap practice, but do you know of/acknowledge any uses of porn as healthy or at least not destructive? Asking for a friend.

April 28, 2015
Sure. Most all of my friends, when I tell them about how porn messed up my sex life, go "oh wow, really?" Because they watch porn and don't have those symptoms.

### Zero: So if a character sounds male, has a distinctly male body type, and is in fact voiced by a man, it *doesn't* make sense to default to a male pronoun?

April 28, 2015
Zero's original voice, which I preferred, was way more androgynous. I also wouldn't consider their body type "distinctly male" except in that they don't have huge breasts.
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Becky

### we do not forget

April 28, 2015
adorable
Liked by: Jeffrey professional righter Brian Carney Ash

### gamergate is here and we do not forgive

April 28, 2015
you are
Liked by: Jeffrey professional righter Brian Carney Ash

### feminism wins, equality and the destruction of the patriarchy for everyone, BUT premarital sex is outlawed! caught being lewd results in a $1000 fine! would you be okay with that?

April 28, 2015
Considering how utterly unenforceable that would be, I'd live with that

### I've resisted the CoD siren since MW2, but BOps3 looks fucking sick. Are you as hyped as I am?

April 28, 2015
Nah. Game critic hipsters praising Advanced Warfare as Actually Good This Time For Real If You Really Think About It Also I Decided BioShock Was Always Bad, followed by me actually *playing* it and finding the exact same bullshit as every other CoD ever made, soured me on the entire franchise for good.

### To the guy who is with a cheating girlfriend/unhappy with his life. "I used to think the worst thing in life was being alone, it isn't; the worst thing in life is being with someone who makes you feel alone." -Robin Williams

April 28, 2015
boop
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky

### why is the hitman series better than the thief series?

April 27, 2015
I mean, it's not, but it's certainly very different. It's about working more-or-less-freely within an enormous puzzle box and finding the most interesting/fun solution, whereas Thief is about exploring space and trying to avoid engagement.

### What is the worst season of Doctor Who in your opinion? Is it season 6 or 7? Because it should be.

April 27, 2015
The most recent one was pretty awful. Albeit in a dour, sad, distancing kind of way (where 5 was awful in an aggressively shitty and weird way).

### Whatever happened to that goat that talked to your sister on twitter?

April 27, 2015
babygoat

### Rob Liefeld offers to do a caricature of you, only requirement is he is let on board to do the character design for Borderlands 3. Would you let him?

April 27, 2015
NOPE
Liked by: Becky

### I heard someone say they thought The Fifth Element was awful (mainly b/c of Chris Tucker). How do I correct them?

April 27, 2015
With a sledgehammer to their knees
Liked by: Becky sad boy

### You know the thing about street fights, Burch?

April 27, 2015
the street always wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinz

### So i like this girl i've started talking to, and she seems too open with guys and has sent nudes to a few guys, she told me she has had bad experiences with guys using her for that. So anyway i don't know how to feel know that like 4 guys have naked pictures of her. + I made clear i'm respectful .??

April 27, 2015
It's unfortunate that guys have taken advantage of her. You should blame them for being assholes, not her for being "too open."
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### i noticed that in tftbl, all of the characters avoid using any pronouns/gendered terms for zer0 (save for bossanova, but he gets murdered kinda hard), which is pretty neat. do you know if any future episodes/games will have characters refer to zer0 with they/them pronouns? because i really hope so.

April 27, 2015
I asked Telltale to start doing that, because Zer0 should be genderless/nb. Doesn't make any sense to default to "him," as we did in BL2.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky Kerissa Young

### Which is the best Thief game?

professional righter
April 27, 2015
2
Liked by: professional righter

### Just googled Pledge of allegiance. Jesus christ, is this a thing? Forcing kids to pray to the murrican flag each day? just.. thats really creepy.

April 27, 2015
yep! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=618U-_8o31k

### In fairness to the Scott Pilgrim movie, the romance doesn't make a ton of sense either... there's pretty much no chemistry there. It makes no sense that she even likes him, let alone gets with him.

April 27, 2015
Agreed.
Liked by: Becky

### Fuck this 'Beta Male' bullshit, we are supposed to have evolved beyond that as a society. The need to validate yourself by being with someone else is the patriarchy speaking. Be alone for yourself and figure stuff out, then you can meet someone that you might fall in love with.

April 25, 2015
I dunno if I'd refer to loneliness as a need for validation, but I agree with this sentiment generally.

### Any reason why Nisha in bl2 was really weak? Counting that in blps she's pretty... Strong?

April 25, 2015
Because we didn't know she'd be a player character in PS. We made that stuff up as we went.

### I took my gf back after cheating on me for the 3rd time last night. I don't really forgive or even love her, I'm just tired of being alone. She's the only intimacy I've gotten in my 22 years of life. I feel like I'm the epitome of a beta male, I cringe at my life and hate myself. what should I do?

April 25, 2015
If you hate your life and yourself, your course of action seems pretty obvious. Being alone isn't the greatest thing in the world, but it's definitely better than hating yourself and being with someone who doesn't appreciate you.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### I love sexual women, and am very sexual myself. I also like women who are selective, though, if that makes sense. I'm weird in that I'm a demisexual who is also a depraved horndog.

April 25, 2015
I honestly just don't understand that.

### Is there such a thing as someone having too many sexual partners? I'm generally not interested in someone whose lifetime sexual partners exceeds .4 times their age. I don't like trivializing intimacy.

April 25, 2015
I think you have a personal preference for people who aren't all that sexual. Which is fine. Judging them for that isn't, obviously.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Tom Head

### A qt gril is about to throw a punch at you. What do you do?

April 25, 2015
If she connects, I punch her back. If I successfully dodge, I go "whooooooooop" and throw gang signs
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson professional righter Becky

### Re: waifu guy: he was voicing a preference in art style and was trying to be funny about it. Aaaaaand you insulted him (with zero provocation, might I add) and put women on a pedestal all in one go. Stay classy, Burch. And to answer his question of why 3d over 2d, see: Fire Emblem Awakening/if

April 25, 2015
He definitely wasn't. He was asking why someone would bother with real life women because they're all shittier than anime babes. One of numerous asks I get on a daily basis mired in not-that-subtle misogyny.
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young Elizabeth

### borderlands has had a hispanic character in bl1 and bl2. is it safe to say we'll have another in bl3?

April 24, 2015
I don't work for gearbox anymore and have no idea what will be in bl3.

### Why the fuck would ANYONE choose a disgusting 3D girl over pure 2D waifus? Literally tell me why.

April 24, 2015
A better question is why a human girl would choose you, but I think we're both pretty clear on the answer to that one
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Jeffrey professional righter Keith C. A M Becky Kerissa Young Kakashonokk Odax стотыщ проблем

### If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is it that you find so offensive about the gameplay of Final Fantasy games?

April 24, 2015
It's grindy, slow, doesn't allow for any player choice that's actually interesting, and is bordered by tons of shitty and neverending cut scenes that I have to spam X to get through. That I, again, have no player choice within.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Samantha Dale

### What's a setting that you adore, but hasn't been explored as much as you'd like?

April 24, 2015
Final Fantasy. I want a game taking place in a Final Fantasy world that isn't a shitty Final Fantasy game. Imagine a Telltale or BioWare game in, say, FF12's world.
Liked by: Jeffrey Gabriel Costantino sad boy Alina

### What's next for you? Anything exciting coming up besides more RocketJump? You're a real talent when it comes to writing, I hope you're on the way to some more huge writing gigs!

April 24, 2015
Doing more Tales from the Borderlands stuff on the side, primarily.
Liked by: Omar Becky

### Transracialism as you describe it is mostly white weeaboos saying 'I'm really Japanese I was just born in the wrong body' who appropriate the struggles of transgender people to make their racist obsessions seem more legitimate.

April 24, 2015
That's probably what it is, yeah.

### Yeah... except there are at the very least different chemical balances (oestrogen and testosterone) and neurological differences (internalizing problems vs action based responses) you can physically identify in brains for gender? Biological sex is chromosomes, nowhere in Caucasians are "black genes"

April 24, 2015
That's totally true but before we found all that out, people demonized trans people as just being weird -- like, what if there IS something transracial that is based in neurology?

### It's physically impossible to feel like another race, you can't biologically feel like one. It's not a matter of opinion, any difference race has on a person is cultural, not BIOLOGICAL. It's made up, sorry. As valid as "vaccination is a choice". That is not transphobic language I hope...

April 23, 2015
Agaaain though this is almost the exact language ignorant people use against transgender people -- if you're X, you can't biologically feel like Y.

I'm not saying I'm pro transracialism it's just super fucking hard to talk abouuuuut
Liked by: Omar

### I'm brown and I feel so inadequate next to white people. They're tall, beautiful with angular features, only race with not black hair and brown eyes, intelligent and creative, have conquered the entire world and invented nearly everything. How do I stop feeling like whites are the master race?

April 23, 2015
Stop being a white guy pretending to be a brown guy on ask.fm, for one.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jayne Tor Henrik Melle Omar sad boy Becky Gabriel Costantino Alina

### How do you feel about the idea of somebody identifying as a race they weren't born as, and pursuing surgery to make their appearance more in line with members of that race (in a similar vein to trans-gender individuals)? [Genuinely curious. I have mixed feelings that need more than 300 characters]

April 23, 2015
I had a conversation about this at work the other day and *oh my god is it maybe the hardest possible thing to talk about.*

Like, it's obvious -- totally, completely obvious -- that a white dude wearing blackface (even if it's applied by surgery) has a clearly offensive historical context. It gives me a visceral, unpleasant gut reaction.

It is EQUALLY obvious that in order to argue against transracialism, you'd have to use the *exact same* transphobic language people use to denigrate and disregard transgender individuals.

So I honestly find myself completely at a loss to talk about it in any significant way, beyond sort of shrugging and going uhhhhhh

### What work by other people makes you feel the worst about your own writing? (other than portal 2)

April 23, 2015
breaking bad, everything by joss whedon
Liked by: Jeffrey professional righter Becky Soapless Ahmed sad boy Gabriel Costantino

### It has been 8 months and people are still taking the "Gamers are dead" stuff as a literal attack. Why does gaming culture have the biggest persecution complex since Christianity?

April 22, 2015
because being bullied leads to becoming a bully

### I assume you didn't finish the game and fought great ones, right? the story is a bit clear from the item descriptions

Soapless Ahmed
April 22, 2015
I finished the game. I didn't fight the moon thingy. But even then, Dark Souls didn't require you to read item descriptions to have a sense of narrative momentum. Your view of the story was probably inaccurate if you just went by what characters told you, but you still had a clear sense of what you were doing the entire time.

### what is your review, thoughts, takes and opinions on Bloodborne in terms of, atmosphere, story, lore, endings, soundtracks and bosses, with details and who's made it your hardest bosses ever list from the game? name 3

Soapless Ahmed
April 22, 2015
Love the atmosphere. The story and lore were too vague -- it needed that One Clear And Simple Plot Thing to tie it all together, like Dark Souls had ("rekindle the flame!").

Gascgione was probably the hardest boss?
Liked by: professional righter

### My friends mock my belly button. What do I do?

April 22, 2015
KILL
THEM
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Can you explain the Idris Elba thing to me? I mean, I'm not saying he's not an attractive dude, but was he... in something recently? I'd never heard of him until everyone on the internet simultaneously fell in love with him so it just felt like it came outta nowhere. imdb super unhelpful.

April 22, 2015
Luther and Thor were when I first started really hearing about him. Though The Wire was my first exposure to him, and he's spectacular in that.

### Favorite character you wrote for Borderlands?

April 22, 2015
Jack

### Anthony how do you get over someone? My longtime crush is dating someone and I'm bummed.

April 22, 2015
I can only say what's worked for me:

- Cut off ALL contact with them. Block them on any social media. If the sight of their name or what they're doing will upset you (that's how I get), you need to do whatever you can to avoid that particular flavor of pain.
- Stop masturbating. It'll do bad stuff to your self-esteem at a time when it's already super low.
- Either try to start dating again if you're decent at that sort of thing, or dive into other things that interest you -- work, videogames, whatever.

### Do you think human beings are inherently racist?

April 22, 2015
I remember reading some study (and I know full well that a single study isn't conclusive evidence of anything, but whatev let's just roll with it) where researchers compared families who talked to their kids about racism and families who didn't.

The kids who weren't talked to about racism -- presumably because their parents felt that simply not talking about it would be the best way to handle it -- grew up to hold WAY more racist beliefs. Which might lead one to believe that people are inherently frightened by other races due to some stupid, backwards survival instinct.

This kind of makes sense to me.

### Was it also intentional that the thing with Sophis made the fact that he always called her "child" about a billiondy times more creepy?

April 22, 2015
yea

### Who's idea was it for you to voice Jack's body double in BL2, and why did you make the delivery so monotone?

April 22, 2015
my idea. I wanted the double to be a guy who hated his job and was clearly just phoning it in, and I'm pretty good at sounding like someone unenthusiastic.
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Becky

### I just wanted to say I really hope Timothy Lawrence becomes relevant again in the future you guys did a really good job with his character being its own person instead of a random body double I love it

April 22, 2015
Thanks, I'm glad you dug him. Dunno if GBX will wanna use him again or not.

### not too long ago, someone noticed that Angel's one visible eye looks surprisingly dark to be just makeup or dark circles and like is it because of either of those things or is that due to Jack like actually hitting her as some people are thinking? Or was there no reason behind it at all?

April 22, 2015
*shrug* you'd have to ask the artists

### get any sort of reaction other than the obvious parodies of Dr. Doom and Kung Lao. I was curious what humor you found in Divekick, whether if it was because you yourself had knowledge of the tournament scene (if so, elaborate?) or if u just found other things about it charming other than FGC injoke

April 22, 2015
I find Divekick funny not because of any of the injokes (which I didn't get at all), but because the idea of a fighting game with only two buttons and instakill hits is inherently just funny and cool to me. It's really really tense, but also hilariously simplistic and wrapped in a shell of knowing silliness.

### Don't you think it's kind of odd that Brianna Wu so vocally condemns other publishers, other pieces of media for their perceived lack of diversity when the only game she's involved with has an all white, all female cast?

April 22, 2015
Rev60 woulda been better with a more ethnically diverse cast, sure. But if you're arguing the cast isn't diverse because it's all women, you're talking nonsense that ignores a context where 90% of all media is exclusively dudecentric.

### single thing. Rosario Dawson and NPH are another two examples of marginalized people adding to rather than taking from. Anyway, as "the enemy" my point is this: welcome to the playground, I hope we can all have lots of fun together, but don't you dare take my fucking toys. (7/Rant over)

April 22, 2015
this was the tail end of a massively long rant I only half-read, which is enough for me to be pretty sure you're a gigantic baby who never learned to SHARE toys.

### Do you have any recommendations for games on itch.io?

April 21, 2015
anything on forest ambassador

### Was the black text story in the Techno Kitten Adventure Episode (E3 2011 Part 1) true?

April 21, 2015
yes

### Was it intentional, the implication in the wedding massacre DLC that Maya was in an abusive relationship with Sophis? (I say abusive bc there's literally no way that a romantic relationship between one person who was raised by the other could not be coercive)

April 20, 2015
yes
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young

### You obviously left for a different reason, but now Matt Armstrong left Gearbox as well. Do you know what's going on? There's no plans to drop the Borderlands franchise, I hope.

April 20, 2015
You're asking if Gearbox would drop the most lucrative franchise they own? I'd assume not, no.
Liked by: Jeffrey Omar Becky Kerissa Young

### Can you substantiate the rumours that Matt left Gearbox because he missed you so much that he couldn't bear to face another day there without you?

April 20, 2015
all true
Liked by: kianna brisson Becky Kerissa Young

### What would you do if you found out your boyfriend was really a FTM?

April 20, 2015
If I cared about them, I'd just roll with it
Liked by: Becky

### What's you opinion on dresses?

April 20, 2015
they're the prettiest and when girls wear them I get nervous because they're really pretty
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Gabriel Costantino Kerissa Young

### Why don't men approach women anymore?

April 20, 2015
they do next question
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### How's LA treatin ya?

April 20, 2015
it good

### How d'you feel bout them Star Wars

April 20, 2015
I'm interested for the new movie on its own merits. The nostalgia stuff in the trailer didn't really hit for me -- I can't see Han as Han anymore. He's just gravelly old Harrison Ford now.

### Who is the most talented voice-over artist who is not your sister?

April 20, 2015
hmmm Tara Strong, maybe?

### It really isn't. A good tip is just be yourself, don't worry about trying to get laid, and you will get laid. Having a career, hobbies, and hygiene also helps a ton. And yes you totally can "convince" women to fuck you. But you probably shouldn't. Unless you're a sociopath.

April 18, 2015
yar
Liked by: Alina Tom Head

### with me, and having sex with them. Like my current girlfriend. Met her at PAX. She was cosplaying Maya, I was cosplaying Krieg. Apparently, I had her at "RAGE MUFFINS." She's been riding my meat bicycle every since. Amazing girl. Amazing sex. Only down side is I'm sore a lot. Anyway, there's the 2/3

April 18, 2015
Right. Yes, you can "convince" girls to have sex with you (that's why PUAs were such a thing for a little while), but it's creepy and shallow and awful. It's way more about just finding people who like you that you like, which sounds like playing scary roulette all the time, but if you just do a few things to keep yourself presentable and polite and confident, it's probably not as hard as it seems.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Tom Head

### Brofist Burch. I think a big part of the fzone myth problem is how men are taught they're supposed to "get" women. Like the objective is take a woman who doesn't want to have sex with you and make her want to have sex with you. I've had much more success finding women who just want to have sex 1/2

April 18, 2015
.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Tom Head

### you kindly share some insights/ideas/links on how to get started blogging, uploading written/recorded reviews, and such? Like what all do I need to do a "rev rant?" If that makes sense? 2/2

April 18, 2015
Just do it. Just make a thing. Or find a site that needs writers and try to get a gig there. Destructoid is good for that, though they pay very little (but that's the point of them -- you start there then go somewhere that pays).

That said, videogame blogging has never looked bleaker in terms of making a living on it. It's really really rare and difficult to make any money, much less a full cost of living, off reviews and stuff.
Liked by: Tom Head

### I'm interested in one day being paid for my opinions regarding video games and other media. What's a damn good way to get started? I'm working on a masters in creative writing for entertainment, but what you said about "creating shit gets you jobs more than degrees" really stuck with me. Would 1/2

April 18, 2015
.

### "I can't imagine what her excuse is" As odd as it may sound I think she hates the idea of losing control over me, and how well I've taken the break up. She knows that the second she moves out I'm having a new girl over and I'm going to smash her through the headboard. But still, she broke up 1/2

April 18, 2015
That's super uncool of her imo. She made her decision -- she doesn't get to make things more difficult for you just because it makes her feel jealous or some shit. Gotta get rid of her.

### Capital post regarding the friendzone myth. May I add? "Sometimes you can do everything right and still fail." Sexual/romantic chemistry can be a bitch, if a girl isn't into you it rarely means there's something wrong for you, it just means she likes ketchup and you're mustard. And that's fine.

April 18, 2015
agreed

### Oh dude. That had to have sucked. Are you talking Davis? No, my ex is moving into one of her parents houses about three miles away, and my famous easy going nature is being sorely fucking tested. It's like. The fuck. You broke up with me, kindly be expeditious about it so I feel like less of a resou

April 18, 2015
Oh, what the fuck? If they're three miles away AND her parents, I can't imagine what her excuse is for not getting gone.

Might be worth telling her to move or, if you're desperate enough, just hiring a moving company and packing her shit up for her. You have a right to your own space, *especially* if she's the one who initiated the breakup.

### ------- there can be only six, she should be an absolute marvel! Respectfully, did you write yourself in to a corner there? Or was there another canonical reason why Jack especially seemed to ignore her presence as a siren? Thanks.

April 18, 2015
Cause Maya was a player character and at the time, we couldn't do any interesting plot stuff that was dependent on who you are. That's why we tried to add the Eridium addiction thing to Lilith, to make her seem "special" and separate from Maya. Didn't work, obviously.
Liked by: Omar

### One thing I didn't understand in BL2 was why Maya was seemingly ignored by the world, including Jack. At one point in his echos he mentions that he already knows of three sirens, I'm assuming that's Angel, Lilith and Maya. Why did he not at least try to capture her? If sirens are so rare and -------

April 18, 2015
.
Liked by: Omar

### so i've been texting a girl in 'merica and we're super good friends and talk about anything. I'm starting to like her more if you know what i mean. We haven't yet gone to much flirting and i was thinking about dropping a hint or just telling her but something is stopping me.i dont want to be frndZon

April 18, 2015
Okay, here's a -- here's an IMPORTANT THING for dudes that I didn't realize until way late in my life.

The "Friend Zone", as we think of it -- a place that women put you for being too friendly and not confident/aggressive enough to be considered as a sexual partner -- literally *does not exist*.

Women don't refuse sex with men because they're *too nice*, women refuse sex with men because they're *not attracted to them.*

"Can we just be friends?" isn't a sign that you weren't aggro enough, it's a sign that she *never* found you attractive and is just trying to (A) let you down easy without saying that outright, and (B) maintain you as a pal, because there's still value in you as a platonic friend. Mentally replace "can we just be friends" with "sorry, I think you're kind of ugly", and feel all your specific worries about being "put into the friendzone" vanish.

So, you're not actually in danger of "losing" anything if you drop a subtle flirt or whatever. If she doesn't pick the flirt up, it was either too subtle or she's just not into you and likely won't be.

View more

Liked by: Garrett Glass Alina Tom Head

### My ex is taking for fucking ever to move out, how do I get her to hussle it the fuck up without crossing into abusive behavior? Like, I kind of want to move on with my life and I think three weeks is enough, and I'm getting really goddamn pissed. Like I seriously hate her fucking face at this point.

April 18, 2015
I know exactly what you mean. I had to wait about a month or more for my ex to move out, and it was infuriating. I got angry and asked her to hurry up one day, though, and she just kinda threw up her hands and (reasonably) said that she couldn't possibly make the process go any faster because of the apartment move-in date and all this other stuff.

So, I mean, you can get angry at her, but I dunno if it'll solve anything.

### Have you gotten into True Detective? I'm in two episodes and it's...waaaaay duller than I expected, but seems like it could get good. Worth watching?

April 18, 2015
There are some fairly big action-y beats coming. I actually like the dull stuff more than the not-dull stuff, so maybe you'll end up digging it more than I did.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### What is your opinion on vaccination?

April 18, 2015
do it

### I love Cassie Cage, but the ludonarrative dissonance in MKX bothers me. Like Johnny Cage can do a fatality of tearing open her stomache with glee takes me out of it. Think future MK games should acknowledge figher relationships and change reactions/fatalities accordingly?

April 18, 2015
I think the more you acknowledge it, the creepier it gets. Better to just treat it like a Phoenix Down and hope people don't take it too hard.

### is male privilege real? it is evident that white women have more privilege than men of colour, and that makes feminists apocalyptically cross.

April 18, 2015
You're kinda correct, which is why "Feminism is for Everybody" by bell hooks is a really important read -- it's about how great feminism is, but also very specifically about how white lady feminism has the tendency/capability to leave people of color in the dark.
Liked by: Cassidyyy H Donovan David Bulmer

### How to write as good as Portal 2?? Cuz gotdamn.

April 18, 2015
if i knew i would probably be happier
Liked by: sad boy Alina Gabriel Costantino

### hey, I'm in a beginner's video game production class and I'm struggling with an easy way to add story to my game. I can think of some interesting ways but our ue4 experience is getting in the way. any suggestions on easy yet effective ways to do this other than a text dump?

April 18, 2015
If it's a linear game, set location triggers that play dialog when the player hits them, like some overlord is watching you or something.

### Next time you see Ash please ask her TINY TINA SKIN FOR CASSIE CAGE WHEN?

April 18, 2015
Probably never given how much of a model change that would be, and the amount of legal bullshit it'd require with GBX

### so it's been a while now, can you please tell us now what the 'Mysterious Amulet' does?

April 18, 2015
nothing

### Is DLC out of control?

April 18, 2015
No. Just don't buy it if the game isn't fun.

### How do you usually do your hair?

April 18, 2015
poorly
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young

### Why do white women love black men? Why is it that white women can't resist black men?

April 18, 2015
When white men get an equivalent of Idris Elba ask me that question again
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson sad boy Becky Gabriel Costantino

### Every time I feel sad, I fap. Which is most days. How do I stop plz help.

April 16, 2015
Come up with a new routine when you get sad. Find some other thing you enjoy doing and do that thing, and ONLY that thing, when you are sad.

### Um Can you just tell your sister that like um She literally had me on the verge of tears? Thanks to her I can look up to Cassie Cage as a role model and her voice just really solidified that. I can't put it into words but it's really good stuff. It also led to you guys' series Hey Ash Whatcha Playin

April 16, 2015
awww
Liked by: nothingxs

### Settle a bet: Is "Jess" Athena's biological sister?

Rainy
April 16, 2015
yes
Liked by: Omar

### Honestly, do you still have male privilege if you're below 5'7"? Because at that point I feel like society stops seeing you as a man.

April 16, 2015
I'm 5'6" and you're making a really big deal out of something that isn't a very big deal.
Liked by: Tom Head

### I almost fell back into fapping today but I thought of you and you gave me courage and I pulled through, but not in that way, haha. Thanks, you did it!

April 16, 2015
Congrats!

### Why are women much more eager to take their clothes off if they are on a boat? Why boats?

April 16, 2015
man i'm eager to take my clothes off on boats
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson sad boy Becky Tom Head

### A coworker asked me "as a white male how do I go about being sensitive to racism and sexism without beating myself up for being white?" My answer: "If you ever find yourself being an asshole or benefiting from pain or injustice, stop it." And this applies to everyone, I feel. Good advice?

April 16, 2015
Also do whatever you can to listen to, signal boost, and help people who don't have the same benefits as you
Liked by: Tom Head

### If you could push a button that would go back slightly in time and prevent all of the bikini shots in the race wars segment of Furious 7, would you push it?

April 16, 2015
No, I'd make a different button that put a bunch of speedo-clad dudes there. Fast is about hyperindulgence, so removing the women would be weird -- instead, just add more types of indulgences for more types of people.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Becky Tom Head

### I'm a straight white guy who plays Mortal Kombat for money and I fucking love Kung Jin, mechanically and as a character. Hateful Scrubs gonna qq, Gay Arrow ftw.

April 16, 2015
woooo

### is it just me or has Bro Team Pill become a total asshole

April 16, 2015
We stopped talking after he started supporting gamergate, so I dunno
Liked by: nothingxs Elizabeth

### Not that anon but Daredevil gets RIDICULOUSLY good by the end of episode 4 and only gets better. Your problem is you haven't gotten to see any Vincent D'onofrio yet.

April 15, 2015
I started episode 3 and was beginning to like it, but then the end bit with the spike happened and I rolled my goddamned eyes so hard I went blind. I think I'm good.
Liked by: Rebecca

### My girlfriend just got "real badasses eat chocolate chip cookies" tattooed across her back in Olde English font. Very tasteful. P.S. the most important part of Krieg cosplay is chugging two energy drinks with a sports vitamin so you can maintain eh... "enthusiasm."

April 15, 2015
holy christ
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young

### HOLY SHIT ASHLY VOICES CASSIE CAGE??? I WAS WONDERING WHY SHE WAS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER FOREVER THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THIS

April 15, 2015
yuuuup

### I think you should watch the whole Daredevil season if you can find the time. It's the Daredevil that I wanted to see on screen twelve years ago and we finally got it. It's good stuff.

April 15, 2015
Does it get spectacularly better than the first two episodes? Cause I felt like I saw all I needed to see.
Liked by: Rebecca

### RE the smash bros tournament: by putting all of the girls in one bracket, you're also reducing the chances that a girl can win the tournament. A girl will win that bracket, but no girls can win any other brackets. At best, only one girl could be in the final 4 (assuming 4 brackets).

April 15, 2015
yes
Liked by: Tom Head

### What do you do when you get super irrationally angry?

April 15, 2015
Stop doing whatever I'm doing. Exit the situation as quickly and peacefully as possible, and do something drastically different.
Liked by: Elizabeth Tom Head

### How do you keep from feeling insecure in open/poly relationships?

April 15, 2015
I haven't personally felt insecure in any of my poly relationships -- I dunno if it's something you can work on. I can't be sure, but my gut kinda says that if you aren't built for them, you aren't built for them.
Liked by: wonwoozi Jeffrey 4rkain3 Kerissa Young Tom Head

### What do you do when you feel lonely?

April 15, 2015
Try to distract myself with games or TV.

### I was hosting a Smash brothers tournament at my high school, and I put all the female gamers in a separate bracket because I figured it would be unfair putting them against male gamers. Now some people are saying I'm a bigot. Did I do something wrong? I just wanted to make things fair and inclusive.

April 15, 2015
You are assuming that female gamers are inherently way shittier than male gamers to the point of needing "separate but equal" spaces.

Just put them all in the same bucket. If all the girls lose, then they lose.
Liked by: Kerissa Young sad boy Elizabeth Becky nothingxs Tom Head Manuel Tort

### Forbes recently reported on a study claiming that video games were not a cause of sexism despite their frequent correlation. Would you agree? http://onforb.es/1CGsMXn

April 15, 2015
Was anyone arguing that games cause sexism any more than every other form of media?
Liked by: Tom Head

### do u talk dirty when u be boning?

April 15, 2015
If the other person likes that, yeah.
Liked by: Becky Omar

### Hey there, have you given a glance to The Secret World? It's an MMO with a huge emphasis on lore and puzzle solving. It even has Investigation Missions that require you to fully explore the world around you and do real-world research to complete. Also diverse as all get-out. Seems very you.

April 15, 2015
Tried it for a while, didn't really click with me. It took my least favorite aspects of adventure games (the puzzles) and combined them with MMO stuff I don't really like.
Liked by: Sindre

### Where have all the good women gone?

April 15, 2015
In the direction opposite from you, apparently.
Liked by: Daria Drenker Ashleigh Johnson Jeffrey z скевес professional righter Kerissa Young sad boy Elizabeth Becky

### Sperm blaster volley cannon

April 15, 2015
41%
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson professional righter sad boy Becky Gabriel Costantino

### If you had to give a rough % what portion of the asks you receive are rude, threatening, or incoherent?

April 15, 2015
40%
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson professional righter Becky

### Things Handsome Jack has ruined for me forever: the words 'handsome' and 'opportunity', pompadours, big bruce campbell-y chins. Have you had anything from Jack or the games you worked on in general effect your life like that?

April 15, 2015
If I ever had a kid, I wanted to name it Jack ("Jacquelyn" if it's a girl, but we'd call her "Jack"). I don't think I can get away with that anymore.
Liked by: Becky Omar

### I don't know you and you don't owe me anything, but I've had a really shitty day and it would make me so happy if you'd give a comprehensive explanation of why BBT is the worst sitcom in the history of ever. Thanks.

April 15, 2015
It mocks nerds while pretending to romanticize them. Most of the jokes are at the expense of the nerds while, at the same time, the show pretends that they're cool guys we should root for. It's absolutely hypocritical.

And also super fucking unfunny, just in general.
Liked by: Jeffrey professional righter sad boy Becky Tom Head

### OH MY GOD. Wilhelm loves trains and he died shortly after riding one in BL2. WAS THIS INTENDED?

April 15, 2015
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnsure
Liked by: nothingxs professional righter sad boy Omar Manuel Tort

### A bit of unused dialogue in Borderlands 2 was Jack explaining that the reason the Vault Hunters had beaten Wilhelm was because Jack had poisoned him in order to weaken him because he wanted the vault hunters to get the core. Can this still be seen as canon as I heard it was left out accidentally.

April 15, 2015
I always intended it to be canon, cause otherwise Wilhelm's death doesn't really make sense. Obviously Jack sent him there to die, but I dunno if Wilhelm would knowingly sacrifice himself just to get Angel into Sanctuary.
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young Becky Omar

### Curry paste: Red or Yellow?

April 15, 2015
yella

### What are the differences, if any, between traditional marriage and prostitution?

April 13, 2015
WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT YOU PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson sad boy professional righter Elizabeth Kerissa Young

### Person A and Person B are having a private, one-on-one conversation about you. Person A says you're an awful person; Person B backs you up. Would you rather Person B tell you about the conversation or not? Dumb question, but I'm asking because 5 years ago I would have said yes, and now I'd say no.

Tom Head
April 13, 2015
No, of course not.
Liked by: Tom Head

### About the cop thing, we have rights. Not saying that they will stop bullets, but I have learned to 1) be polite (being an asshole doesn't earn you shit), 2) if a cop asks to search something, tell him that "I do not consent", and 3) in the event of an arrest, say "I want an attorney", nothing else

April 13, 2015
.

### also on the cop thing, for the love of god in pull over cases, 1) call 911 and let them know where you are when the cop catches you and let them know you want to pull over in a safe area, and 2) stop putting your questionable shit in the glovebox. Put it in a trunk with a blanket over it.

April 13, 2015
.

### U be sexy. Rawr

April 13, 2015
thx
Liked by: Elizabeth

### What has been the most fulfilling thing you've ever done with your life, if you weren't going to count the Pre-Sequel trailer's Ghost Dad joke?

April 13, 2015
I'd say I'd never do anything better than that, but fucking bill cosby ruined the fucking joke by being a shithead

so I guess the Tiny Tina DLC?
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Dude about to do mescaline: as long as you're in a safe place, have a trip sitter (someone who's straight to keep you from wandering off while impaired), and don't ingest some ridiculous amount no one would EVER ingest, you'll be fine. Signed, A Reasonably Experienced Tripper.

April 13, 2015
aight
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Have you watched the Netflix Daredevil TV show yet? What did you think? I think it's pretty damn solid. Looking forward to seeing Jessica Jones later this year,

April 13, 2015
I saw the first two episodes. It's fine. It's not bad, it's not great.

### What do you think of psychedelic drugs? Am I ruining my life by taking mescaline next weekend?

April 13, 2015
Never done em, wouldn't know
Liked by: Elizabeth

### did the scene with RaceWars in fast 7 make you laugh really hard? cause it made me laugh really hard

April 13, 2015
I CANNOT BELIEVE THE MAIN TOURNAMENT IN THE FAST FRANCHISE IS LITERALLY CALLED RACEWARS
Liked by: professional righter Becky Gabriel Costantino

### So on the subject of cops, why do we, as a society let them pull the shit they do? Even as a white male they make me really fucking nervous; they're way more aggressive than they need to be.

April 13, 2015
Dunno. Maybe because we've convinced ourselves that cops are cool, and to actually admit otherwise would call too much of society into question?
Liked by: professional righter

### How does one reconcile social justice with a "survival of the fittest" mindset?

April 11, 2015
By asking that question I assume that, when you're hungry, you hit people on the head and steal their groceries, right? Because that's survival of the fittest.
Liked by: Tom Head

### Game Theory did a video on Handsome Jack. Have you seen it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5onlG_8J18 Does this interpretation validate or invalidate your intentions?

April 11, 2015
Generally validates our intentions, yeah. At the end of the day Jack is still a piece of shit and to me it's not even really a question as to whether he's a hero or not (he is definitely not), but characterizing him that way was more of an attempt to recharacterize the player characters as morally gray antiheroes, which is more fun and honest about BL gameplay than pretending vault hunters are heroic saviors or something.
Liked by: professional righter Caz Buss

### There isn't a state in the union where you can be arrested for video taping a cop, in public, so long as you aren't deliberately impeding him in his duties.

April 11, 2015
So, you just don't read the news ever, then?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/04/nyregion/after-recording-eric-garner-chokehold-ramsey-orta-gets-charged-with-gun-possession.html?_r=0

### it isn't "a few people" who abuse their power, most cops abuse their power on some level because they know they can get away with damn near anything. That said, the only "good cops" are the ones who blow the whistle on bad cops, and they tend to not stay cops for very long.

April 11, 2015
this

### As a white male, is it wrong to feel like I have no reason to be guilty over what my ancestors may (and probably didn't, I'm Irish) have done?

April 11, 2015
I don't think you have to feel GUILTY about the past, you just have to acknowledge it and try to make things right in the now by understanding history and privilege.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Tom Head Mark Davis

### Why is glorifying police "creepy?" Because a few people in a group abuse their power doesn't change the fact that the police *literally* are who allow you to live your life in relative safety, and they thanklessly deal with the shittiest dregs of society on a daily basis. Cops deserve ALL the kudos.

April 11, 2015
Because focusing on all the things that you listed, to the exclusion of the more nefarious shit about the current state of the US police, is a massive oversimplification. That kind of oversimplification leads to a culture where, say, you could hypothetically videotape a cop murdering an unarmed black guy and *you could be arrested for taking the video* instead of the cop. Just by way of example.
Liked by: Tom Head Alina

### Homophobia, sexism, racism, and sure, even transphobia are all bad. "Fat shaming?" Dude, that's just caring about someone and/or not enabling and encouraging a dangerous lifestyle. Obesity kills, like, a lot of people, bro. I'm all about social justice but how can you argue against obesity = bad?

April 11, 2015
Everyone knows obesity can be unhealthy. That's not news to anyone. Obesity can also often be genetic, which means you're shaming someone for things they can't control.

Not to mention that if the health of the obese is a concern, then fat shaming wouldn't be as utterly mean-spirited as it is. We don't reserve the kind of "ha ha, look at that dumb fatass" type of humor for, say, smokers, or reckless drivers, or any number of other people who are living far more "dangerous lifestyles".

Obesity is something people either can't control, choose not to control (because the health risks as theirs alone and they don't care about them), or *desperately* wish they could control but cannot for reasons they blame themselves for (which makes them miserable).

If you think not openly mocking those people is some sort of injustice, I dunno what to tell you.

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Liked by: Becky Tom Head Gabriel Costantino RidgeBack Rogue Kerissa Young

### Why isn't tobacco or alcohol illegal, but weed is? Like, I get that making something illegal doesn't stop it's use, but if we're going to be putting people in prison for using something, can we at least choose the substance(s) which actually kill not only the user, but other people as well?

April 11, 2015
Or just legalize marijuana.

### I saw a gifset of Ash from your most recent HAWP video about representation on Tumblr with over 10k notes on it, does this knowledge please you

April 11, 2015
ya

### What does "check your privilege" even mean?

April 11, 2015
It means remembering and being aware of the privilege you have, and acknowledging not everyone has the same benefits you do
Liked by: Jeffrey Tom Head Kerissa Young

### Anthony I really identify on the aro spectrum but sometimes I worry I'm not aro enough is that stupid or no?

April 11, 2015
I kind of feel this way about my bisexuality, but ultimately "I don't feel ____ enough" is an unnecessary feeling. It doesn't help anything, and it's all about other peoples' interpretation of you rather than you and what you want.
Liked by: Becky Tom Head

### Why is trolling a thing?

April 11, 2015
Because it's a way to exert power over another person in a way that is (A) legal, (B) "harmless", and (C) really really easy
Liked by: Tom Head

### http://lordstark.tumblr.com/post/115814202319/shitty-stuff-joss-whedon-has-done

April 11, 2015
Everybody's problematic. If they try to get better, that's what matters.
Liked by: Tom Head

### As a fan of the FAST movies, don't you think it's kind of weird to glorify criminals?

April 11, 2015
I think:
- After the fifth one the Fast crew basically become superspies working for the government, and before that their crimes are cartoonishly harmless (the first movie is about them stealing goddamn televisions)
- We currently live in a world where glorifying police is way creepier to me
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Tom Head

### www.salon.com/2014/06/22/the_skeleton_crew_how_a_motley_band_of_amateurs_solves_cold_cases_online/ Do you still think all gore photographs should be criminalized?

April 09, 2015
Hunh.

### Should gore be criminalized like CP for possession? Many people get off to it and I believe more videos are being made to satisfy the target audience.

April 09, 2015
I think so, yeah.

### Does Holly Green have some big issue with you?

April 09, 2015
what

### you didn't like GotG? really? i mean, Thor 2 was kind of lame, but GotG was so critically acclaimed and stuff. what didn't you like about it?

April 09, 2015
The character arcs felt super forced. When Rocket shouts about how he's been made fun of his whole life, it shoulda given me chills, but it just felt rote -- they didn't do the work to build up to that moment. Ditto for Quill turning into a hero really early in the story. And Drax just kinda decides everyone is his friend after he loses a fight, as if the two are connected. It's got a lot of really good stuff in it, don't get me wrong, but I just didn't enjoy it on the whole.

### Is it weird to think the writing of MOST anime and JRPGs is really shitty and simplistic?

April 08, 2015
No, because the writing of most things period is shitty and simplistic.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Tom Head

### Best film of Marvel Phase 1? Best film of Marvel Phase 2 (or if Avengers 2 or Antman, what you are most hyped for)? Film you are most hyped for in Phase 3?

April 08, 2015
Phase 1: Iron Man
Phase 2: Prrrobably Cap 2, I guess? I didn't really like GotG or Thor 2
Phase 3: Captain Marvel

### As someone who's seen 0 Fast films, should I start with the first one? Is there one you like best?

April 08, 2015
Start with the first one, yeah. It may feel rough for a little while, but once they hit their stride (fast 5) you'll be glad you watched all the others. It'd be like watching Avengers without watching Thor and Cap and Iron Man separately.
Liked by: Becky

### I just don't understand. If a girl refuses me online because she doesn't know me and I could be a rapist killer, why doesn't she have problem with having sex with the first guy she meets in a club? Couldn't he be a rapist killer too?

April 08, 2015
I have unfortunate news for you: girls aren't refusing you online because they think you're a rapist killer, they're refusing you because they don't like you or you're creepy.

A big part of deciding whether or not to sleep with someone is whether or not you feel comfortable/safe with them. People don't, generally speaking, have sex with people who make them feel unsafe. If the first guy she meets in a club seems safe and decent and attractive and into her, sure, maybe they'll have sex.
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Tom Head

### Overall, what are your thoughts on the Fast movies/ what do they embody?

April 08, 2015
I love them. I love the way they escalated into a ludicrously interesting mix of heist/superhero/spy films that all somehow involve using cars to do cool shit to things (often other cars). I love that they're thematically about friendship and family more than they're about Killing All The Bad Guys. I love that the cast is (A) generally really good, and (B) super ethnically diverse. I love that when they put female characters in fight scenes, the fight scenes are fucking brutal and fun (rather than, say, the bullshit in the latest Mission Impossible movie, where two badass chicks -- one a spy, one an assassin -- fight by pulling each others' hair shit). I wish they'd sexually objectify dudes as much as they do women during their mandatory We Are At A Street Race And/Or Party, Look How Fuckin Hot Everyone Is scenes, but yeah. I really enjoy them.

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Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Becky Tom Head

### When you envision the Borderlands universe in your head do you see it the way the game visually is (Unreal engine, cell shaded etc) or do you see your characters as real live people? I know it's a silly question, but I wanted to know if after a while you start imagining things "in engine", as it wer

April 08, 2015
In engine, I guess.
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### "Quit injecting politics into our fiction, it is alienating and regressive" and yet everyone loved Captain America 2. Why do people not critically approach their entertainment and media like they should?

April 08, 2015
Because people don't like hearing politics they disagree with, ESPECIALLY, for some reason, if they're part of a privileged group who hasn't had to self-reflect.
Liked by: Anastasia Murphy Tom Head

### Does Nisha strangle dogs of all ages or is it not evil enough once the dog is not a puppy anymore? She only ever mentions killing puppies.

April 08, 2015
Whyyyy is this distinction a point of interest for you
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### My counselor keeps on pushing me to delete my lolicon. He says it's illegal and can land me in prison. But I'm not so sure about it's legal status. Wikipedia claims it's legal in some states, in particular California (where I'll be headed soon). So do you think I should delete it?

April 08, 2015
Delete it.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### This question determines your worth as a human being: Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle?

April 08, 2015
bulba

### do you ever find yourself attracted to men?

April 07, 2015
Yes
Liked by: Elizabeth Becky

### Is it just a coincidence that Tina and Janey look similar? (imo)

April 07, 2015
Yeah, just a coincidence.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Caz Buss

### What do you think about the old Mad Max films?

April 07, 2015
Road Warrior is fantastic, Thunderdome is okay, Mad Max is whatever.

### I also wanted to see if you knew about the slight transmysogyny in one of your videos in which you wear a dress and it is treated as a joke. I just want to make sure you know about it and that this doesnt get swept under the rug

April 07, 2015
Yep, aware of that too.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I rewatched a bunch of old hawp videos and saw blackface in your first one. I just wanted to confront you on this and see if you still think its fine if you put "trigger warning blackface" over the video at the beginning, or if you know that it is not ok whatsoever even if there is a warning.

April 07, 2015
I'm aware it's not okay. I don't feel like removing something shitty we did, though -- I'd rather it stay there as a reminder that we can be shitty and need to get better.

### About porn...I need really fetishistic and bizarre stuff to even get hard, when I used to be able to get diamond hard by just looking a fully clothed girl with a sexy look on her face. Could I have desensitized myself? Any experiences with this? Do you think it's curable if I try NoFap?

April 07, 2015
You've almost certainly desensitized yourself. Nofap would help, I think.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Hey man, just want you to know that for everyone being a jerk, there are people out there who are feverishly defending you and think you're a really cool guy

April 07, 2015
<3
Liked by: Jeffrey Alina Gabriel Costantino Tom Head

### in game text of this style? How does it avoid being hard to contextualize? Does it at all? Does a lot of the text being just flavor bother you? Not saying it needs to always lead to loot or relate to big name characters, but so much of it is redundant, echoing things environment already said. 2/2

April 06, 2015
I generally don't pay attention to readables if their text exceeds more than a page. Any more than that, and you're just copypasting chunks of your lore bible at me, and I couldn't be more bored by that kind of stuff. Give me concise information that is interesting and full of character and, best case scenario, relevant to gameplay. Thief 2 did it best, I think.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Do you always read the majority of random text pickups in video games (like Fallout style, Dishonored, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, etc.)? I like the flavor they add, but so often it's ONLY flavor, and it's always hard to contextualize the snippets (Who wrote this? When?) What's your favorite... 1/2

April 06, 2015
.

### so i have been texting with a girl form another country, and we are super in sync, i'm fine with texting because it gives me a few second to think. She wants to skype call me but i'm shy and super nervous about it. i know i need to do it and plow through the nerves but i need tips. advice bruh?

April 06, 2015
There's nothing to be shy about with skype stuff. Everyone always looks dumpy 100% of the time, the conversations are always awkward. Everyone's on an equal playing field.

Just make sure to ask lots of interesting questions and be curious about her.

### If you could have any borderlands character in smash bros which would you choose and why?

April 06, 2015
tina

because obviously
Liked by: Kerissa Young sad boy

### Could you explain why you decided to keep Captain Scarlett alive? It said on the wiki that she was originally supposed to be killed.

April 06, 2015
I wanted to kill her cause she was the endboss, but franchise director Matt Armstrong liked her a lot and didn't want to kill her off cause she thought she might be (A) beloved or (B) useful later on. To him, killing Scarlett would have been like killing Catwoman.

### Got two questions: 1. Is it just the Fall of Fyrestone comics that are non-canon or is origins non-canon as well? 2. Do you consider Steele to be a siren? 3. Who's the lead writer for BL3 so I can harass them with questions instead? OK that was actually three but shhhhhhhhhhh

April 06, 2015
1. During my time at Gearbox, we decided all the Origins comics were non-canon, but who knows if that changed. 2. I don't, but it doesn't super matter because (A) she's dead anyway and (B) I don't work there anymore.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Whatchu think about The Talos Principle? I'm nearing the end.

April 06, 2015
One of my favorite puzzle games in recent memory. Fantastic writing, fantastic and clean puzzle design.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### I'm trying to go vegetarian but I like... REALLY like meat. What do?

April 06, 2015
If the only thing holding you back is that you like meat, but you want to be a vegetarian for moral reasons, then just go vegetarian. I like meat, too, but after a couple of months of vegetarian eating, I didn't miss it at all. Even today, the only thing I kind of miss is chicken and waffles. Buy Morningstar burgers, eat a lot of eggs. Learn to love Indian food.

### "most things that make guys unattractive are for a reason, and generally reflect their personalities (neckbeard, beer gut, doesn't put effort into appearance) whereas most things that make women unattractive are societal, and unrealistic expectations" agree or disagree

April 06, 2015
Disagree. Women find dudes unattractive for a whole host of silly societal/evolutionary reasons.

### A lot, and I figure you're the guy to talk to about this kind of stuff. And really, I want to thank you for even having a part in Janey/Athena, because I know they mean a lot to people, gay, lesbian, queer, and straight alike. 6/6

April 05, 2015
Thank you for sharing. If you don't believe there's enough there to justify Athena being a lesbian, then I guess the fanon gets to decide what she is. It was personally important to me that Athena be a lesbian, but if I wasn't clear enough about that (which, boy oh boy, do people get uppity when I have characters like Hammerlock and Springs specifically say what they're into and what they're not into, because god forbid), then that's my failing.

### and that means a lot to me. I want to be able to share in that feeling, to say that Athena is queer because I want to be just like Athena, and not have people scream and yell at me and force me to quit blogging in general because of it. I'm sorry to clog up your ask like this but 5/6

April 05, 2015
.

### Additionally, I think one of the biggest problems is the lack of featured queer relationships as a whole. If there were a bunch of relationships between queer characters, it would be easier to say "okay, Athena is a lesbian, cool." This is the first time there's been an on screen female pairing 4/6

April 05, 2015
.

### But for people to come down so hard on those that think differently, for those that think that canon isn't clear cut or want to believe differently, as the fandom is currently doing, just isn't right. A good friend of mine had to delete her entire online presence because of those kinds of people. 3/

April 05, 2015
.

### when someone pens me a lesbian because I'm with a woman. So I have a really hard time sitting down and definitively saying "Yes, there she is, the gay gladiator of my heart" because I don't want to support what's bothered me. I only know that she's not straight, and I love that about her. 2/6

April 05, 2015
.

### IE- Athena being a lesbian: I guess the whole thing never rubbed me the right way because you say that there's more than enough canon evidence supporting that she's a lesbian, when really all I see is that she's dating a woman. Being a queer woman, I get exceedingly frustrated 1/6

April 05, 2015
.
Liked by: Cherry Nyx

### Professional fighting game player here (Injustice, Sm4sh specifically, and eagerly awaiting MKX) I heard somewhere a lot of people think our community is "problematic." Is that true, and if so, why? We're probably the most diverse gaming community there is, I don't remember the last time a black 1/2

April 05, 2015
A lot of people think the community is problematic because of how it treats women. It's easily one of the most racially diverse American gaming communities, but then you get shit like http://venturebeat.com/community/2012/04/02/misog-apologists-and-gaming/

### How do you go about writing characters that aren't exactly like you?

April 05, 2015
I try to come up with a hook for a character and write around the hook and try to make them more interesting beyond that hook (which I often fail at).

### If I disclose that I'm trans I put myself at risk of violence. If I don't and they find out (pretty hard not to considering my genital configuration), again, violence. End result is me avoiding cis people, especially cis men. They'll whine about me being discriminatory but hey, at least I'm not dead

April 05, 2015
.

### I've read in some places that PIV is always rape. DO you think PIV is always rape? The idea sounds ridiculous to me

April 05, 2015
That is ridiculous, yes. It's to feminism what Bill Maher is to liberals or Richard Dawkins is to atheists.

### A trans person should tell their partner before anything physical happens because some people aren't comfortable with getting sexual with a trans person and, right or wrong, consent needs to be respected. Being a minority doesn't absolve you from this.

April 05, 2015
I can understand this perspective. I just don't believe a trans person should have to start a date with "hi, I'm trans" or something.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Edward Cunanan

### Here's the thing about Pillars. First off, the joke was definitely in bad taste, I won't be defending it. But the question of "should a trans person disclose that they are trans to a would-be partner?" Is something that we as a society really need to come up with a good answer to.

April 05, 2015
Sure, but the answer's fairly clear to me -- no, I don't think you should have to. Trans people are ten times more likely to be murdered if they're outed as trans, and the worst that can happen to a cis person is some mild embarrassment or, I dunno, feeling that they wasted their time.

### I wish I wasn't so angry all the time.

April 05, 2015
Meeting someone who loves you, that you love, can go a long way in making that feeling go away. Not that it's particularly easy to meet that person, but know that you're not inherently doomed to being forever angry.

### Do any parts of gaming give you anxiety?

April 05, 2015
Not really. I've developed such a desensitization to most games' pathetic attempts at "suspense" that the only thing that I can really feel anything for are spectacularly well-written stuff, roguelikes, or Dark Souls.

### Don't worry, it's the sea otters who are the rapists. River otters are probably fine. Probably.

April 05, 2015
River otters are crazy murderers

### Got any advice for a socially awkward college freshman who doesn't have many friends?

April 05, 2015
Maybe find a comic shop and try to get involved in their game nights?

### I have this recurring fear where I'm on a date or something with a girl, and some athletic 6'4" blue eyed blond hair nordic master race man pushes me to the ground, grabs the girl's arm, starts flirting with her, she gets turned on, and they go away to fuck. Every get these fears?

April 05, 2015
uhhh no I'm sorry that's a thing that happens to you

### In the whole 'Athena is a lesbian' mess, people are using the canon stated here to attack others and witch-hunt anyone that headcanons otherwise [headcanons being personal preferences]. What are your thoughts on recognizing a character's canon sexuality, but for the sake of art/writing changing it?

April 05, 2015
I think it gets really complicated when you veer into the area of minority erasure. I don't have a clear answer here, but I certainly don't mind if people fanon Jack as gay or whatever. I do, however, find it a little weird when people want to believe Athena is straight or bi or something, because it's not like Borderlands is so overflowing with gay women that losing one doesn't make a big impact.

### Here are some otters chasing a butterfly to make you feel better, Mr. Burch. https://youtu.be/bJoCulItdxg

April 05, 2015
Can't not see this and think "I bet they wanna just rape the thing"

### Why aren't the Borderlands Comics (Origins/Fall of Fyrestone) canon?

April 04, 2015
Because they flat-out contradict stuff from the games. Making them non-canon was the only way for Mikey to have the freedom to write stuff without being handcuffed by the games, and to give me and Armstrong the time to do our other jobs without having to check every script and vet it for canonicity.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky Эллэйм

### Sex on a first date: cool?

April 04, 2015
I've found it sets the tone of the relationship and now you are Sex Budz rather than Dating, but if that's what you're looking for it's cool.

### I have no interest or capacity to hold romantic relationships and I've long thought my sex drive doesn't go much beyond masturbation. Could I be asexual?

April 04, 2015
*shrug* Maybe?

### do you know who's running the @echocasts account now?

April 04, 2015
I think Linde? Not sure.

### You've been saying that whatever you say isn't canon anymore. Does this affect Ellie and Axton being a thing through the twitter account?

April 04, 2015
The only stuff that's canon now is whatever the new writers want to be canon. The Ellie/Axton thing is canon until someone decides to reverse it.

### what's your opinion on 'no hymen no diamond'?

April 04, 2015
It's slut shaming bullshit and I hope people who think that never procreate
Liked by: Selena Liu Michelle Wang sad boy Becky Rebecca Thea Aiden Chase Giovanni

### As a trans woman, you know what I love the most about the Pillars thing? Conservative gaming commentators saying if I don't disclose my trans status that makes me a rapist. These aren't attitudes that get people like me killed or anything, so thanks John.

April 04, 2015
Yep, you definitely don't belong to a group that is disproportionately targeted for violence

### were you a virgin?

April 04, 2015
I mean at one point

yeah

that's how that works
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young Rebecca Alina

### Does the knowledge that you created something that so many people enjoy ever creep in to your daily thoughts? Has it changed how you function as a person?

April 04, 2015
It's made me more of an asshole, I think.
Liked by: Alina T. A. Gruver

### Would you rather continue with your life as is or would you live in a world where you can never play video games again but every person you find attractive will want to sleep with you one time?

April 04, 2015
I like video games more than sex, so this life is cool with me.
Liked by: Kerissa Young soha

### They've had to go into hiding because of threats against their lives are you fucking retarded or something? Brianna Wu sends itself threats and you lose your mind but fuck traditionalists?

April 04, 2015
just gonna let this sentence stand as an argument against itself

### Do you think game reviewers being bribed to raise review scores?

April 04, 2015
Nope.

### How do you feel about how the rule 34 communities have taken to sexualizing Gaige so much? I've come across a surprising amount of it when it isn't Moxxi and/or Lilith, and it's pretty confusing to me. She really doesn't exhibit any sexual qualities to me, even from a lolicon standpoint.

April 04, 2015
It's a little weird. We chose to make her 18 to make that inevitability less weird.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### What do you think about the kneejerk outrage resulting in a tombstone getting pulled from Pillars of Eternity? This social justice witch hunt shit is getting ridiculous, the joke wasn't even transphobic, the joke is literally "this dude killed himself out of homophobia."

April 04, 2015
The fact that you can't tell the difference between homophobia and transphobia shows you don't know what you're talking about.

### Do you feel like mill decks sort of ruin the competitive point of the game, because it switches the goal from board control to "UM, DON'T DIE SOMEHOW, GET RID OF THE CARDS IN MY HAND SO ITS LESS FULL, SHIT SHIT"? (2/2)

April 04, 2015
In a well designed card game, that kind of deck should be risky or reasonable to defend against. Sure, you're milling their deck, but at the expense of winning the game the "real" way. If the other player's strategy is faster than your attempts to mill them out, then you will nearly always win. Yeah, it's not playing the "intended" game, but so long as it doesn't become so powerful a strategy that it ruins everything I don't see a problem with it. I really like milling decks in Netrunner, but it's REALLY risky because that means you're ignoring all the remotes and the HQ.

### As the runner of NWWtP, whats your opinion of Mill decks within card games like MtG and Hearthstone? Decks that, instead of following the typical "control the board and whittle down you opponent" structure, focus on forcing their opponent to draw through their entire decks until they lose? (1/2)

April 04, 2015
.

### What is your opinion on critics of Janey springs who say she's just a gay character and there's nothing else interesting about her?

April 04, 2015
I'd say they're entitled to their opinion, but Janey has a lot to offer to the overall cast in my opinion. She's really really nice, really optimistic, and she wears her heart on her sleeve. This, to me, makes her stand out against the rest of the cast and makes her a good pairing with somebody like Athena: they, especially in Tales, bring stuff out of one another that they would never expose on their own.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky

### http://www.businessinsider.com/report-the-indiana-pizza-joint-that-vowed-to-never-deliver-a-pizza-to-a-gay-wedding-forced-to-close-2015-4 Where's the tumblr outrage? Doxxing, harassment, destruction of people's livelihood, and complete violation of their constitutionally protected religious freedom.

April 04, 2015
Yes, this is harassment and that is bullshit. But calm down a little. No, it's not doxxing (they phoned the pizza joint itself), no, it's not destruction of people's livelihood (they didn't destroy property, they just boycotted it as is their right), and no, it's not a violation of religious freedom (that would be when the government comes in and forbids you from practicing your religion in some way).

Yes, people shouldn't harass others and I wish that hadn't happened. No, this doesn't magically make these homophobes' lives more difficult than the gay people who they refuse to serve.

### Just saw this gif of a little otter bein' cute on reddit. Might make you feel better about how awful otters can be: http://i.imgur.com/PVOXWfq.gifv

April 04, 2015
i saw this earlier and love it

### would you rather have a threeway with jack + nisha or moxxi + mordecai

April 04, 2015
I don't think I'd survive the former
Liked by: sad boy

### Who wrote Nisha's echos, the ones about her past?

April 03, 2015
Me.

### Have you seem the newest Game Theory video? It's determining if Handsome Jack is a villain or not.

April 03, 2015
Yeah, I saw it. Nice to see someone noticing the subtext we tried to put in there.
Liked by: Jeffrey Kerissa Young Alina

### ...what about someone cosplaying Nisha?

April 03, 2015
Yep.

### Can you maybe upload your GDC slides as a google doc or something? I missed the stream and apparently twitch doesn't keep archives anymore

April 03, 2015
Oh for fuck's sake. Twitch doesn't save shit anymore? Fucking great. That was a waste of a half-hour.

Anyway, here are the slides. http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1022208/Plot-Is-Dumb-Character-Is

### Anthony I'm pretty sure I've never seen you even hint that Athena likes anything but women, so... where do people get the idea she's not gay?

April 03, 2015
I dunno. Homophobia?
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky

### tumblr has been fighting for weeks over whether or not athena is a canon lesbian, and they're using you as evidence for both sides... thoughts?

April 03, 2015
I can't understand why anyone would deny the fact that Athena is a lesbian.
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Kerissa Young

### do you think you could actually have sex with someone in a Moxxi costume or is that crossing a line you don't want to go near

April 03, 2015
Pahah. Of course I could.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### smooth peanutbutter fuck you feminazi anthony booch

April 02, 2015
pahaha
Liked by: professional righter Gabriel Costantino Rebecca

### Do you have any tips for helping yourself avoid porn/masturbating when the internet makes it incredibly accessible? I'm in a long term relationship, and while the sex is fine, I feel like it would be better if I wasn't jerking off every time I'm alone and bored.

April 02, 2015
The second you get an urge, put it off -- do something else and try to put the urge in the back of your head. If you need to, tell yourself that you'll *maybe* get around to wanking after you've finished this new task you've decided to do (playing a game, watching TV, hanging out with friends). If you're lucky, by the time you're done you'll have forgotten about the urge.
Liked by: Randy T

### I just started watching parks and rec and while I think it's funny I really hate the whole ongoing jerry joke. Am I just being super sensitive or are they really awful/unfunny about making fun of him?

April 02, 2015
It doesn't bother me, but I can see why it might bother some. The gag can be interpreted as:

-These are the sweetest people in the world, but even they are mean to somebody for no good reason -- you're laughing more at their nonsensical meanness than anything Jerry does, because he's often really good at stuff (the painting, the "murinal")

- Look at that fat, stupid, old piece of shit! Fuck that guy!

It's a fine line to walk, and they walked it way better in the earlier seasons (like when they accidentally tell him he's adopted). In the latter seasons everyone just comes off like pieces of human garbage when it comes to Jerry.

### Know of any good cyberpunk games that don't throw mutants or aliens in to the mix?

April 02, 2015
868-HACK, A(s)century, Netrunner, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Gunpoint
Liked by: Alex Dunn

### If you had to cosplay a Borderlands character at a convention for whatever reason who would you go as

April 02, 2015
Whatever would most easily convince a Moxxi to have sex with me
Liked by: Kerissa Young sad boy professional righter Becky

### "More women over 30 play video games than men under 20" this only holds true if you count Facebook and mobile scams as gaming. Which is not what anyone means when they say "video games." Just saying.

April 02, 2015
Never mind that you're basically telling someone a thing they enjoy is stupid and frivolous and dumb and they, and it, are inferior to you and your tastes. AKA exactly the kind of shit most all dude gamers had to put up with in elementary school. But yeah, keep paying that abuse forward.

And again, even if you DID disregard those games, the stats on young gamers today show nearly identical gender stats for what you'd consider "real" games.
Liked by: Jeffrey Auntie Chachi Alex Dunn Becky Tom Head Cherry

### Not because I agree with it, but because I don't have the facts off the top of my head to counter, what do you say to people who whine about how diversity isn't necessary because the majority of people who play games/watch films are straight white men so it's just catering to the largest demographic

April 02, 2015
It's just plain not true. More women over 30 play video games than men under 20, and the stats are changing even more. Ash and Rosalyn Wiseman did a really big, really solid study on the gaming habits of kids today and the gender ratio is nearly equal.
Liked by: Alina

### how's my baby grant doing he went missing digitally a while ago we got worried

April 02, 2015
he fine
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### have you ever had to break up with someone who loves you? what do you do? i don't want to seem like an asshole but she is too attached and i'm not into it.

April 02, 2015
You just gotta do it. I've never been able to break up with someone in a way that didn't ultimately feel really sad, but that's just kind of how it goes.

### It's funny because you literally invented Zer0. I can't go back to sniper Zer0 after Aurelia because she puts her predecessors (successors?) to shame.

April 02, 2015
I didn't invent Zer0! I was just the first person to try the shotgun ninja thing. Zer0 was almost exclusively Jonathan Hemingway.

### How do you prefer to play Zer0? Sniper or bad-ass ninja shotgun operative?

April 02, 2015
Motherfucker I INVENTED shotgun ninja
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson sad boy professional righter Becky Gabriel Costantino

### If something feels really good at the time but later you know you'll have real regrets about it, should I do it in the first place? That chilli sauce is really good but ...

April 02, 2015
No, because the memory of regret is always stronger than the memory of temporary pleasure
Liked by: T. A. Gruver

### mad max movie looking good

April 01, 2015
YEAH IT DOES
Liked by: sad boy Brighid Becky professional righter

### https://twitter.com/dameonclarke/status/583012227545890816 - Does this mean you're still writing for Tales? Wonderful news, if so!

April 01, 2015
Yeah, I wrote a couple of scenes in Tales 103.
Liked by: sad boy Becky professional righter

### So wait what you say isn't canon yet you're saying it's canon anyways? I don't understand

April 01, 2015
nothing i say is canon anymore, the end

### I'm seeing a trans person on Twitter (who is also a supporter of a hate movement) basically spamming up the Trans Day of Visibility tag with toxic comments about how some people aren't really trans or are doing it for attention. Do I call her out and risk getting dogpiled?

April 01, 2015
Probably not worth it.

### It's funny that you have sex regularly and most of the people who make fun of you haven't had it once. Do you think of they stopped being virgins they would understand your views better?

April 01, 2015
Probably not.
Liked by: Tom Head

### How do I even know if I'm depressed? I feel that shit like that can be easily misidentified. I mean, I feel quite lethargic and irritable on random days. Does that mean I'm clinically depressed? I'm not trying to say I have it. Quite the opposite actually. I feel like I'm way too optimistic at times

April 01, 2015
Talk to a therapist.

### Do you miss printed manuals? I like the weight it gave a game case.

April 01, 2015
Yeah, but it's purely nostalgic. They're basically worthless as actual things that help me learn the game.

### Is the hawp cast ever coming back ?

April 01, 2015
Yes, once the show itself does, which should be soonish (we just need to finalize patreon stuff and shoot a video explaining it).

Now please everybody stop asking about it.
Liked by: Alex Dunn Gabriel Costantino Becky Mark Davis

### I remember a study about some monkeys where a bunch of the alphas died from a disease and the surviving community become more peaceful for generations. So although it sounds crazy animal communities can have cultures of perpetuated violence. I don't know if the same is true for the otters or not.

March 31, 2015
Also sounds like the world would be better without fucking alphas.
Liked by: Alina

### Thoughts on Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)?

professional righter
March 31, 2015
I liked it until I read Film Crit Hulk's thoughts on it, and he's clearly right, so I enjoy it a little bit less. But I still enjoy it.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino professional righter

### crunchy or smooth peanut butter

March 31, 2015
smooth

### What about the Amanda Conner Harley Quinn run? I could've sworn that you recommended it before, but I can't remember for sure.

March 31, 2015
ooh that too

### In your opinion is a PS4 worth purchasing yet? I own a Wii-U, 3DS, PC, and Xbone.

March 31, 2015
PS4 and PC are the two I use the most
Liked by: professional righter

### Do you think Dong is a problematic character from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt?

March 31, 2015
Kind of, but every single character in Kimmy Schmidt is a ridiculous stereotype. Kimmy's the naive white girl from the midwest, her boss is the whitest, richest, most unloved trophy wife in existence (except for the weird thing where she's actually Native), her roommate is a cartoon version of a gay man.

I'm not saying it's okay, but the whole texture of Kimmy Schmidt is about everyone being as loud and weird and dumb and stereotypical as humanly possible (but in ways that still make you like them).
Liked by: Mark Davis

### what do people who don't smoke or drink do for fun?

March 31, 2015
I play video games
Liked by: Kerissa Young Mark Davis Becky Alina sad boy professional righter Samantha Dale

### can a straight man have an interest in feminine cocks?

March 31, 2015
i don't even know what that means but yes
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### So there are a few hints in borderlands 2 and and pre sequel that Tiny Tina is a lesbian so is she?

March 31, 2015
yes
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Kerissa Young Mark Davis Cherry Nyx Becky стотыщ проблем

### Favorite superhero comic run?

March 31, 2015
I really liked Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman when she was just dealing with PR fallout over her book, all of Dan Slott's She-Hulk is amazing, Kelly Sue DeConnick's Captain Marvel is really good, the new Ms Marvel is fantastic, Matt Fraction's Hawkeye is amazing.

### is it okay if I see Athena as bi? I'm tired of having the lesbian label slapped on every woman who likes women.

March 31, 2015
Do whatever you want, but she's a lesbian.
Liked by: Jeffrey Kerissa Young Cherry Nyx Becky Tom Head

### Thoughts on unbreakable Kimmy schmidt?

March 31, 2015
loved it
Liked by: professional righter

### I tend to break up with girls who don't want sex enough/aren't kinky enough. Is that wrong? I've always thought of relationships as friendships but with fucking. Just never saw the point in complicating things beyond that.

March 31, 2015
if that's what you're looking for, that's what you're looking for. I might be more forthcoming about that, though -- you're looking for friends with benefits or casual sex, not a girlfriend.

### Would you have been hired at Gearbox if not for your LinkedIn profile?

March 31, 2015
My linkedin is basically worthless and has gotten me zero jobs.

### h-how do I talk do grills? I'm going to lunch with a girl for the first time ever tomorrow and have no idea what we will talk about

March 28, 2015
I AM BAD AT TALKING TO GIRLS BUT HERE IS WHAT I DO

- Ask questions, then ask followup questions. Ask about her life and be interested, but don't get too personal.
- Tell relevant stories of interesting shit. Random bits of intriguing news or factoids you've heard.
Liked by: professional righter Tom Head

### Should i get play dark souls? or skip it and get dark souls 2?

March 28, 2015
Dark Souls is easily the best. Play that one.
Liked by: professional righter

### Have you seen that Boyhood movie? Is it any good?

March 28, 2015
it's rull good
Liked by: professional righter

### as a gay dude, I can't imagine a bi guy not being into pegging. like getting fucked is the best part of being into guys

March 28, 2015
noted

### Not to burst your bubble, but otters rape baby seals... to death. Just like a fair chunk of their own females. http://news.discovery.com/animals/the-other-side-of-otters.htm

March 28, 2015
GREAT I GUESS THEY'RE NOT MY FAVORITE ANIMAL ANYMORE
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Brighid

### Are we living in a cyberpunk world?

March 28, 2015
a cyberpunk dystopiaaaaa

### what is anthony burch's version of "putting the moves on"?

March 27, 2015
Completely fucking up and being a weird, creepy, self-deprecating dumbshit. I'm the most attractive when I think someone is entirely out of my league and I don't even think I'm hitting on them.
Liked by: professional righter Tom Head Becky

### I'm actually really curious about this: are you, a bi dude, into pegging? I'm a straight guy and I am but I've always just assumed all bi men are into pegging butt I could be totally wrong.

March 27, 2015
Never tried it, but I'm pretty sure I'd dig it

### How's you breathing in LA, i cant handle the smog

March 27, 2015
Honestly don't even notice it. I lived in Phoenix, which is also a horrible place for smog.

### Are there any games that are a "so close to amazing, but completely failed at it" for you? (I'm playing Dragon Age 2 again and am just infuriated at how _close_ it came to being a masterpiece, but for a million little things that made it merely 'good'. Not even great.)

March 27, 2015
Godfather 2. If it was just twice as hard, you'd actually NEED to care about taking over territory and playing the metagame and assembling your troops and shit.

### given that ubisoft can't tell a good story in a game, would you work for them on a game?

March 27, 2015
there is NO WAY they would hire me after the shit I've said about them
Liked by: Jeffrey Mark Davis professional righter Gabriel Costantino

### What's the point of short term relationships? Why not just say that they want to pump and dump?

March 27, 2015
I'm honestly kinda with you. I've not really understood STRs. If you like someone enough to call what you have a relationship, then why would you want it to arbitrarily end?

### i dislike how the chick in rayman origins had giant tits

March 27, 2015
I can see where you're coming from, but her design was generally pretty unsexualized -- she had a midriff showing and the boobies, but the main takeaway I got from her was "really wacky and awesome barbarian lady". But yeah, all the girls in that game are like a shade too "hot" I think

### do you like 1001 spikes

March 27, 2015
I LOVE 1001 Spikes -- it does trial and error in a way where you start learning to anticipate things and you always blame yourself for fucking up. The platforming itself is basically a puzzle.

### http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/how-to-build-muscle-mass-on-a-plant-based-diet I'm a vegan personal trainer and mixed martial artist. I'd like to share this to dispell the myth that vegans can't gain muscle.

March 27, 2015
boof

### Main gripes about bloodborne so far??

March 27, 2015
Starting with what I like:

- Probably the prettiest game I've ever played, period.
- I LOVE the gun. I love how its range allows you to attempt to time your parries without putting you in great danger, and I love how the lack of a shield makes you play more aggressively. I NEVER parried in DS or DS2, and now I do it all the time.
- Large mobs of enemies are fun. Much more focus on crowd control than just making sure to avoid their first attack and swinging.
- Fun bosses.
- Stat simplification.

I like it a lot, but I just hit a moment last night that kinda took the wind out of my sails when I realized that (and we're VERY early days yet so take everything I say with an enormous grain of salt, because it's entirely likely I just haven't realized some really crucial things)

- The vials/bullets economy is just weird. I understand Bloodborne is more about protracted sessions out in dangerous areas, rather than hopping from bonfire to bonfire, but it just functionally means that if I come up against a really tough boss, I'm not allowed to fight him a lot and learn his attack animations without going to grind things that should just refill on every death (because there's an upper limit on how many you can have per life anyway!)
- The counterattacking mechanic, at least for me, just doesn't work. The timer to get your health back is so short, you have to IMMEDIATELY keep hacking away to get anything like a meaningful amount of health back. But if you're doing that, it means you're probably just mindlessly slashing, which means you're going to get hit again. The safest way to play is still, for me at least, just dodging a lot and using blood vials like estus.
- Not a lot of enemy/environment variation. I haven't entered a new area and gone, "oh man, I wonder what's in HERE" like I did in Dark Souls.
- I don't feel like I have as many choices for my character build. I really like that they simplified things -- you only upgrade weapons, you have fewer stats to upgrade, etc -- but I loved being a heavy, inelegant, havel's armor-wearing tank in DS, then being a glass cannon mage, then being a rogue...in Bloodborne, I'm kinda just slow-weapon guy or fast-weapon guy.
- I've been using the saw cleaver the entire game. Which is kinda neat on the one hand, but I just haven't found anything better, so it's a bit dull.
- The shortcuts are REALLY weird -- many of them are really close to other shortcuts, or don't actually save any time at all
- Serious lack of clarity in where I need to go sometimes -- it's easier than ever to get lost because of the lack of bonfires and the visual sameness of many areas. I found the red brooch the girl asked me to find, but I couldn't find her again -- I just cannot goddamn remember where she is, and the maps are SO big and SO wide open and SO visually similar that I'm having to do a lot more work to just remember where the fuck things are and what's relevant and what's not.

View more

Liked by: Ross Williams Gabriel Costantino

### how do you feel about trial and error difficulty in games

March 27, 2015
If you do it like Dark Souls and it's not hugely frustrating (it's about character growth and actually having a lot of options with which to get past shit), it can be fun. In 99% of all other situations fuck that FUCK THAT IN THE FUCKING FUCK IT
Liked by: Becky none

### When the most supposedly "beautiful" people on earth are: drug addicts, alcoholics, under constant stress and sometimes aren't even REAL (photo retouching and airbrushing), saying conventional beauty = health is silly. You'd be asking to see blood panels, not nudes, if you wanted a "healthy" mate.

March 27, 2015
boom
Liked by: Tom Head

### Men are objectified, sexually or otherwise, more than women actually. When's the last time you saw a fat action hero? Or a vampdrama protag who wasn't six feet tall with chiseled face, 6% body fat, and a douche haircut?

March 27, 2015
For the cheap seats, and for what feels like the millionth time:

- When dudes are made to look strong and badass, it's as a form of wish fulfillment: you want to BE that person and identify as them
- When women are objectified, you want to FUCK that person, not BE them. They are literally treated as objects, not vessels for identification
Liked by: shay Daria Drenker Marti Abernathey Jeffrey Krina Odax Carmen Selena Liu Dr. Calamity Michelle Wang

### I also want to know your favorite animal and why? Mine is the shark because it's so good at fucking shit up it hasn't bothered to evolve in millions of years.

March 27, 2015
sea otter because it's adorable and they hold hands in the ocean to prevent from drifting apart
Liked by: Becky Tom Head

### If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?

Anastasia Murphy
March 27, 2015
Shit, good point

### If a doctor gave you five years to live, what would you try to accomplish?

March 27, 2015
Probably try to write a movie.

### Would you date a guy version of you? Like, a clone or something.

March 27, 2015
No, I don't find myself attractive enough

### I bought Ground Zeroes when it went on sale the other day, partly because I've heard it's pretty great gameplay wise, and partly because you've taught me to appreciate stealth games. I was wondering if you've written anything on it, given the stories content, and that you're a fan of the series.

March 27, 2015
Just a lot of angry tweets about the ending.

### is it wrong that I wanna see more games where dudes are sexually objectified the way women typically are

March 27, 2015
no

### You say that you're much happier now that you are a feminist, but you still seemed very depressed. So how sad of a person was teenage burch?

March 27, 2015
Very

### What kind of degree do you have?

March 27, 2015
BA, creative writing

### Why is "traditional beauty" a bad thing? It's rooted in good genetics and taking care of yourself.

March 27, 2015
It really isn't. Standards of beauty are culturally defined. Overweight women were considered the definition of beauty during renaissance times.
Liked by: Becky Tom Head

### P.T.is fucking terrifying. Like I couldn't even finish it without my girlfriend in the room as an anchor of sorts. Why do you suppose it succeeded in being so disturbing?

March 27, 2015
Visuals and audio were amazing, the fact that you didn't know when something was going to happen or what it was, your feeling of utter disempowerment, the familiarity of the home growing slightly more sinister every repetition.
Liked by: Becky

### Have you ever turned down sex or rejected women who were hitting on you?

March 27, 2015
yes

### Can you tell me the last good thing that happened to you, no matter how small?

March 27, 2015
beat a bloodborne boss this morning
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton

### Do most women really care if a guy has ambitions/goals?

March 27, 2015
I think most people want someone who has dreams, yes
Liked by: Becky Tom Head

### Why do you think that male victims of abuse are treated as a joke, assuming they're acknowledged at all?

March 27, 2015
T O X I C
M A S C U L I N I T Y

### Do you think it's worthwhile trying to learn to co-write things when the other writers are fairly terrible? I know it's a skill I need to learn, and I'm no expert writer, but it ends up feeling like a slog having to fight for something in a story when they're not bringing anything themselves.

March 27, 2015
My opinion is that if you're co-writing with someone whose work you don't respect, you shouldn't co-write with them. It's not worth trying to carry them or pretend to enjoy them, because writers' rooms (the relatively small number of them I've been in, at least) thrive on honesty and mutual respect.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### do you believe I'm ghosts?

March 27, 2015
I don't believe you are ghosts, no
Liked by: Becky

### Is Athena strictly Homosexual/Homoromantic? And what is your opinion on people pairing her up with people not of the same gender [while still recognizing the canon]?

March 27, 2015
Nothing I say on these subjects matter anymore! It's up to the next writer to decide for themselves.

That said, I think of her as strictly gay.

### How did you not know Ashly was Chloe in Life as Strange until you played it

March 27, 2015
ash doesn't tell me SHIT
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### I didn't eat a proper meal in the last 3 days and I have a terrible headache. if I called 911 would they help?

March 27, 2015
no

### Did you write the Claptrap song that plays in Overlook in the Claptastic Voyage?

March 26, 2015
nope

### What would you do if you had the ability to transform into a beautiful girl?

March 26, 2015
not do it

or probably do it for like an hour and jerk off a lot and then turn back

### http://a-daks.tumblr.com/post/114632509961/disorder-is-an-ableist-slur opinion?

March 26, 2015
I find myself to be pretty generally ableist (I'm just not good at recognizing my own ableism and stuff), but this seems kinda silly.

### https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QKWKUU0XQ8U VeganMMA guy again. Thought I'd also share THE wake up call video for people in the dark about meat and dairy.

March 26, 2015
I had to stop watching this one before it could get to the footage because sad

### Have you played Claptastic Voyage, or are you going to?

March 26, 2015
probably gonna watch a let's play

### Would you eat a live tarantula for $1 million?

March 26, 2015
no
Liked by: Rebecca

### would you date a girl version of you?

March 26, 2015
To be honest, probably not. Partially because I don't like myself that much ,and partially because I probably have enough latent sexism to find a girl as loud and "funny" and talkative as me to be a turn-off or something.

### Is it wrong to want both the men and women in video games to be conventionally attractive?

March 26, 2015
kind of

### On the men/women and what they want thing... Holy shit those views are exactly what feminism wants to deal with, because that is as damaging to men as it is to women. About the only thing on there that is accurate is "has ambition/goals." Besides, people want someone they can enjoy their time with.

March 26, 2015
yar

### Is your dad circumcised? Did you ever bring it up with him?

March 26, 2015
he is (I think), and I generally try not to bring up my dick when talking to my dad
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### How should you deal with stuff you find genuinely shameful being commonly known by lots of people?

March 26, 2015
Not be super bothered by it, I guess? Kind of your only option.
Liked by: Tom Head

### When did you lose your virginity?

March 26, 2015
21

### Is it weird to be 28 and dating girls in their young 20s and late teens? Curious to hear another guy's perspective.

March 26, 2015
How late are we talking about? Eighteen is a little weird but okay, anything before that is super not okay.
Liked by: Tom Head Kerissa Young

### re: your answer a couple days ago about feminine women suffering abuse, do you not think masculine women face abuse too? i'm a butch lesbian, and let me tell you, i've suffered a lot of abuse for NOT being feminine. the "being one of the guys" thing is way more complicated than that

March 26, 2015
Didn't mean to generalize in that regard. It's just that in my experience in the places I've worked, women who act "manly" have been more accepted by dudes.

### Was JK Rowlings decision to make Dumbledore gay just another cash grab attempt at controversy for book sales?

March 26, 2015
I don't think JK Rowling needs to do cash grabs. She has all the cash.
Liked by: Jeffrey Rebecca

### "Every man wants a woman who looks like a model. Every woman wants a man who isn't abusive." To the previous anon, see how stupid we sound when we generalize?

March 26, 2015
boop

### What women want: tall, smart, hot, white, not into gaming, has ambition/goals, has money, athletic. What men want: an average or above average face, a non-bitchy attitude, not a cock thirsty slut, not horribly obese, chubby is okay. How are men more entitled?

March 25, 2015
You have literally no clue what either gender wants.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### how would you feel about a game where you choose your protagonist's gender and you kill enemies with a roughly 50/50 gender split

March 24, 2015
pretty good

### What was the process like becoming a reverend?

March 24, 2015
http://www.ulc.org/ you can find out for yourself

### Are you circumcised?

March 24, 2015
yes

### I enjoyed All the Pretty Horses mostly but something about looking back on it made me unmotivated to keep going with the trilogy. And I loved The Road, No Country for Old Men, his Sunset Unlimited script. So maybe that's a better question. What's the second Border Trilogy book like?

March 24, 2015
Personally, The Crossing is one of my favorite books of all time. I'd highly recommend it even if you didn't like ATPH.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Whoa whoa, EVERYTHING we do to our kids under 18 is "literally _____ on a non-consenting party," so maybe tone the rhetoric down a tad? It MAYBE reduces sexual sensitivity (though not satisfaction or activity), but MAYBE increases stamina. Also, it reduces STDs, UTIs, and PENILE/CERVICAL CANCER!

March 24, 2015
So you're saying if you grabbed a seventeen year old, pinned him to a bed, and sawed his foreskin off with a scalpel, that'd be fine?
Liked by: Dulcolaxx

### (To Anon) Yeah. Circumcision is worth getting all fired up about. The disease risk is lowered by literally a fraction of a fraction. And if you teach your child how to actually clean themselves properly, it shouldn't be a problem. It's non-consented mutilation. End of story.

allyson marie
March 24, 2015
boop
Liked by: sad boy Brighid allyson marie Elizabeth

### Do you... really think circumcision is worth getting all fired up about? I mean, it's a pretty small thing (that is not a pun) without much in the way of impact. (Not to mention it ACTUALLY DOES HELP PREVENT SOME DISEASE TRANSFER, but who cares)

March 24, 2015
As a previous asker said, it's literally genital mutilation on a non-consenting party.

Also, it makes sex feel worse, which means my entire life is just a little bit shittier because me and my foreskin aren't bros anymore.
Liked by: allyson marie

### I feel like I saw you mention Blood Meridian somewhere. You read it? How does it compare to other McCarthy stuff? It's Cormac McCarthy so I just assume it's worth a read, but honestly I gave up on the trilogy that started with All the Pretty Horses...kinda super dull. So maybe he doesn't shit gold.

March 24, 2015
If you weren't into the Border Trilogy, you mmmmight be into Blood Meridian? It's basically wall-to-wall horrificness. Though I liked the Border Trilogy a lot, so your mileage may vary.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### So people who use the f-word publicly should get fired? Remember when Randy Ptichford tweeted "fuck you" to someone because they made fun oofthe wattle gobbler dlc? Do you think that was justified or?

March 24, 2015
Wrong f-word.
Liked by: sad boy Anastasia Murphy Gabriel Costantino Becky soha

### How do you feel about people getting fired from their jobs (the implication being they should be homeless and starve) for making politically incorrect statements?

March 23, 2015
I think enough of America is still conservative enough that getting fired for saying something shitty doesn't always mean joblessness.

I think if someone says the n-word or the f-word, I don't care if they get fired because the fewer people we have spouting hatespeak in the public eye, the better. We *should* be outraged and taken aback when someone says the n-word, say. And I want that same kind of outrage to hit people who say homophobic or transphobic or misogynistic things.

BUT.

ALL THAT SAID.

I think the kind of outrage we facilitate on the internet is really permanent and really vicious, and that's a huge problem not just because it ruins someone's life, but because it creates a culture where no one is ever allowed to get better -- they fuck up, once, and then they're A Monster forever and ever. Which also means it's impossible to differentiate between people who really do care about making good and changing themselves versus people who are just saying so to avoid getting thrown in the gutter -- we don't give EITHER of those people a chance to redeem themselves.

So, I'm kind of ambivalent about it.

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Liked by: T. A. Gruver Gabriel Costantino

### I'm looking to get into the game industry as a developer, designer, writer, coder. When applying to a company would you value experience or past work over qualifications? Also what's your favourite animal and why?

March 23, 2015
Nobody seemed to care about my qualifications at gearbox, and I didn't look at qualifications when hiring a new writer. I just cared about quality of the writing test.

### What do you think is cuter: A girl who exclusively dresses up in frilly dresses and is all bubbly and innocent about love or A tomboyish girl who puts the manly act up but is afraid to death of thunder and insects?

March 23, 2015
Depends on if the tomboyish girl immediately huddles up to the nearest person and puts her fists to her mouth when thunder strikes
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson allyson marie Becky Gabriel Costantino

### The main thing I want from games is male and female canon fodder. I can only think of dark souls and bioshock that does this.

March 23, 2015
also thief
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Easy way to explain opposition to infant circumcision using minimal words: infant circumcision is a cosmetic surgery performed on a participant who cannot consent to it.

March 23, 2015
boooom
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I wish women wouldn't have opinions

March 23, 2015
this is the tl;dr version of half of my questions
Liked by: Tom Head Becky Gabriel Costantino Samantha Dale

### I love your display pic, mostly because my first time ever interacting or seeing your stuff was through your twitter with your twitter profile pic. May I asked for the Twitter one originates from?

March 23, 2015
Pen Ward doodled the picture I have as my profile here.

### Tomb Raider is about a woman killing lots of men, no female enemies anywhere. What would you think about a game with male protagonist killing only female enemies?

March 23, 2015
I think it'd be pretty fucked up, because punching up vs punching down is a thing.
Liked by: Tom Head Becky Gabriel Costantino

### Should game designers be obligated to change a game's ending if fans petition for such?

March 23, 2015
Obligated? No. But if you're talking about the old ME3 controversy, I find no fault in what BioWare did. To pretend that devs don't listen to fan feedback and change things during the process, and that once the game is released on the world that process should for some reason be completely stopped and the work of art considered inviolate, is silly.

### please add a display picture to your ask fm profile! pretty please!! :(

March 23, 2015
done

### Again, I wish there was something that could be done when partners don't agree on what they do with the child. If the woman decides to keep it but the man doesn't want apart of it, there should be a legal method of dealing with that because again, shared decisions. Fault of both partners and all 4/4

March 23, 2015
i like all the things you said

### irresponsibility which leads to a shared decision on how to progress (though in the end, the woman should have the ultimate choice because it's her body carrying the child to term but that's another can of worms). But no, a woman isn't evil for requesting help with the child you helped create. 3/4

March 23, 2015
.

### years down the line for back child support, despite verbal agreements. But if you seriously think that one issue is grounds to void the necessity of feminism then honey, I'd love to buy some property underneath that rock of yours. When a child is conceived there is typically a shared 2/4

March 23, 2015
.

### I do sincerely wish there was a document that a man and a woman could sign when a child is conceived by accident. Something that says "Partner 'x' and Partner 'y' agree that 'X' should have sole custody of the child without repercussions for 'Y'" because women /have/ gone after men 1/4

March 23, 2015
.

### Do you guys understand what circumcision is? Equating it to date rape has got to be one of the most outrageous things in the world. Before I word vomit could you explain to me a bit why circumcision isn't okay?

March 23, 2015
Because it's barbaric and has literally no functional purpose. It's not more sanitary, it doesn't prevent diseases that would be just as easily prevented by cleaning yourself properly, and it's literally genital mutilation. The only reason we do it is because religion and habit have convinced society it's okay.

Think of it in a different way: if I suggested that, starting tomorrow, we should slice open every baby's scrotum and stuff a jelly bean in there, you'd think I was fucking psychotic, right? Especially if my only justification for doing so was, "well, it makes my god happy" or "well, hundreds of years ago I was told that it helps stave off infection even though every modern study shows otherwise." That's how I feel about circumcision.

### How do you convince a girl she's beautiful when she's spent her entire life believing otherwise?

March 23, 2015
No clue. I try to tell them that as much as possible (assuming we're romantically involved, obviously) and just hope it sticks.

### In HAWP Ash is displayed as a sociopath: is she/has she ever been like this in real life? I know not to the degree in HAWP but in all her interviews she seems very calm whereas I myself am pretty jumpy.

March 23, 2015
no, she's the opposite.

### something and not just be flowery shit you say to be endearing. Marriage shouldn't be something you enter into lightly because you can opt out at any time OR... men should owe their divorced wives nothing. My point is there's a lot of work to be done regarding divorce/family/property law. 2/2

March 23, 2015
Why not just get a pre-nup?
Liked by: Tom Head

### Specifically, I refuse to even consider marriage as long as no-fault divorces are a thing. I just don't think a woman should be able to peace out after I've invested potentially decades of my life into her and take half my net worth with her to start her new life. Vows should actually mean 1/2

March 23, 2015
.

### Have you ever fucked another man's gf? Tell me about it.

March 23, 2015
I'm polyamorous, so that kind of thing happens a lot. That's sort of the point.
Liked by: William Colbourne Kerissa Young Tom Head

### Is there anything in feminism that you disagree with?

March 23, 2015
Mainstream feminism often prioritizes straight white women over everybody else, because it's easier to just get yours than worry about the shit being trans or gay or nb or a person of color requires you to deal with.
Liked by: Jeffrey Tom Head Gabriel Costantino sad boy

### If circumcision is alright because the child won't remember it, then is date rape alright as well?

March 23, 2015
Circumcision is not okay.

### Do you find it easy to co-write things with Ashly and Justin or anyone else in your professional career? Or do you just take turns writing episodes? Would it be harder if it wasn't comedy? I find it completely impossible to write things with others short of feedback on drafts and the like.

March 23, 2015
It's a skill you have to get better at, just like anything. We used to write completely separately until Ash (having learned from working at Valve) suggested we write together. Now it's easy to do.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### "I can knock someone up and disappear if I want to." Somehow I just don't see Anthony Burch rebelling against his Amazonian overlords and committing social media suicide.

March 23, 2015
Max Temkin would disagree.

### Modern Warfare has social interaction, teamwork, and a ton of glorious gun porn. It's also played competitively. For money.

March 23, 2015
Candy Crush doesn't have ten year old kids calling me a faggot every time I play. It also doesn't have a nonsensical and weirdly amoral story, which I consider a plus. (And if you don't, then I hope you find Tetris to be a worthless game as well).

You can come up with good and bad things about either -- and I say this as someone who hates playing Candy Crush and likes playing Modern Warfare -- but to arbitrarily say one is a "real" game and one "isn't" is exclusionary, idiotic, and clearly mired in a deep fear of letting the girls into your treehouse.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino T. A. Gruver

### "combined with lower wages across the board" Can you do my a solid and link me to some supportive data that's not subjective? I've always been a bit skeptical, especially since I know for a fact women where I work with the same job as I get away with doing far less than their male counterpart.

March 23, 2015
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/gender-wage-gap_n_3941180.html
http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/

### "it presumes equality of genders even though women generally *can't* go their way due to biological truths of having children" Men can't exactly go their own way after having children either. It's generally the end of going anywhere in life, period, actually. Regardless of gender.

March 23, 2015
I can knock someone up and disappear if I want to. A woman cannot do the same thing anywhere near as easily.

### I mean, really how can you count every social media addicted twat that plays Candy Crush amongst gamers? What depth, what artistic value, what potential for discussion and interaction is there in Candy Crush? For the sake of argument, unless you own at least one console/portable/gaming PC then 1/2

March 23, 2015
If you're determining "gamerhood" by depth, artistic value, and potential for discussion, then holy *shit* I hope you're only playing games made by Michael Brough and merritt kopas and Fullbright and Stephen Lavelle. Because if you're pretending that Modern Warfare has something drastically more artistically valuable and deep than Candy Crush, then holy shit are you living in a dream world.

### http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-6-worst-ways-in-app-purchases-are-ruining-gaming/ There are plenty of reasons to discount those games that have nothing to do with excluding women. As far as mainstream, console/PC gaming goes, women are the minority and that's ok; being in the minority doesn't 1/2

March 23, 2015
I really hope you hold the same contempt for people who play classic arcade games as you do people who play mobile games, because holy shit are those almost completely identical revenue streams.

Yes, mobile games are shitty and exploitative, with gameplay loops designed specifically to induce compulsion. You know what else does that? Almost every game you like, they're just more subtle about it. Diablo, Warcraft, Team Fortress 2. I fucking hate social games, but jumping out of your seat to say "BULLSHIT WOMEN AREN'T 50% OF GAMERS BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE THE SAME GAMES THEY DO" is just stupid and misogynist.

### There are no uncomfortable truths to being a non-vegan. For once, stop making stuff up. Please?

March 23, 2015
If you can watch slaughterhouse footage of animals being killed and not feel uncomfortable, you go ahead and do you.

### fav kinda homemade cookie/ fav kinda storebought cookie

March 23, 2015
chocolate chip/the hard sugar cookies with the crunchy sprinkles

### TotalBiscuit is also transphobic, I mean, let's not paint him as a mild mannered critic of socially conscious thinking... plus there's how Adam Baldwin is a you-know-what but "doesn't endorse doxxing" even if the people who follow him use him like a Bible to justify acting like dicks.

March 23, 2015
there is that

### Why is it wrong for a white person to drop the n-bomb regardless of context? That's textbook racism on a societal level. Really frustrating being a white fan of hip-hop and not being able to sing along to... like... anything.

March 23, 2015
The answer rhymes with "schmundreds of schmears of schminstitutionalized racism."

But obviously if you KNOW who you're hanging out with and you know they'll be okay with you saying it in certain contexts, go nuts. But are you really -- REALLY complaining that you can't use the N-word willy-nilly?

"Yes, black people, I have benefitted from hundreds of years of sociocultural privileges. Yes, I am significantly less likely to be shot dead by police, or turned down for a job, or paid an unfair wage if I actually DO get a job. But I really really REALLY want to say that word that my ancestors used to describe people like you back when we owned you!"

You see how weird that is?

### is mgtow/elements of the manosphere valid and just has some vocal, toxic minorities that don't speak for the whole (kind of like feminism) that I should just distance myself from? Or am I kind of alone in the world in that I'm for myself but genuinely have no ill-will towards women? Thanks. 4/4

March 23, 2015
So, the idea of mgtow is, on its surface, fine. It's kind of naive (because it presumes equality of genders even though women generally *can't* go their way due to biological truths of having children, combined with lower wages across the board), but people being independent of one another is a completely fine idea. Don't wanna have kids, don't wanna get married? That's completely cool -- do whatever you want. So long as it's not hurting anybody, go for it. I honestly have no idea why you need a movement for something as simple as "I am not going to marry people," cause nobody's infringing on your right to do so, but whatever floats your boat.

Functionally, though, that's not what I've seen from mgtows. You are the first person I've spoken to who identifies as a mgtow and was not simply a misogynist by another name. I see people discussing how to tear down "gynocentric" culture, how men are more oppressed than women and all women are volunteering to be victims, how rape culture isn't a thing, and all manner of other shit that has nothing to do with "going your own way" and everything to do with "making really damn sure nobody takes women or their complaints seriously." It's not even a lack of empathy, it's an active hostility.

I mean, shit, if mgtow is defined as not currently wanting to get married or have kids, *I'm* a goddamn mgtow. But the entire movement is characterized by MRAs right now, and there's nothing being a part of that movement gets you that just, like, being a dude in the world doesn't.

View more

Liked by: Tom Head

### because marriage, and especially having kids seems way too fucking dangerous for a man in western society. That said, I empathize with where feminists are coming from, and don't feel the need to work against them or antagonize women in general. I'm literally going my own way. So, in your opinion 3/?

March 23, 2015
.

### undermine the "I'm not against women, I'm for myself" ideology I hold, and which I thought was the foundation upon which mgtow stood. Simply put, I don't give a shit about women and I mean that in the least hostile way. I don't want anything to do with them aside from friendship and casual sex 2/?

March 23, 2015
.

### Anthony help. I'm at a crossroads. I've never been an MRA because... I mean, fuck. Right? But I was identifying as a mgtow for a while, and yet even that community seems to be creeping towards MRA-lite; my main issue is there's some jabs and very aggressive language on the website which I feel 1/?

March 23, 2015
.

### I said the n-word once in high school and a black lady slapped me for it. Why is reverse racism like this considered okay?

March 23, 2015
She shouldn't have slapped you, but *maybe don't say the n-word near a black person you dumb fuck*

### "who wants a ride to the abortion clinic I really hope" and hope is all you can do because you have zero rights. But we still totally need feminism. *jerk off motion*

March 23, 2015
Sounds like there's more than one potential baby in this conversation

### You DO look like the president of Iran! Which is funny because you'd both like to see America fall and make a mockery of everything upon which our nation stands!

March 23, 2015
yep, that's me

### fun challenge: find where anita ever said she doesn't care about video games. (and if you're gonna post that video where she says she's not into overly violent games, try again)

March 23, 2015
Yeah, I'm 100% certain if she ever said that at all, that douchefuck took it completely out of context.

### Anita Sarkeesian doesn't give a shit about video games though. Like she said that, she literally said that.

March 23, 2015
I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you've never met her, because I have. Chances are good that she plays way more goddamn video games than most people you know.

### "Anthony I'm pregnant with your child!" What do?

March 23, 2015
"heeeeeeeey who wants a ride to the abortion clinic i really hope it's you oh boy oh boy oh boy do i hope it's you"
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### Do you think video games will mature faster than literature or film because video games have hundreds of years of art to pull from? Is it a good or a bad thing that video games are influenced by other art forms? How long until there's a video game equivalent(prestige wise) of Hamlet or Infinite Jest

March 23, 2015
No, i think video games have matured slower than other art forms because of the stupendous technical hurdle of making one -- not just in terms of the financial hurdle, but in terms of the skill required to make one and the relative paucity of tools that allow nearly anyone to do so without a shitton of training.

### just watched the new hawp video, and you look really good! whatever you've been doing to exercise, it's working.

March 23, 2015
"buying nicer clothing"

### Why do you think it is that people who are serious about video games as art, rarely consume other forms of art? Like I've never meet someone who critically analysis video games and also reads Dostoevsky, or whatever. Is it just opinions? Selection bias? Or something bigger?

March 23, 2015
It's selection bias. Jason Rohrer, Jon Blow, Rod Humble, Austin Walker, Daniel Benmergui, Anita Sarkeesian, Nina White, Soha Kareem -- all are very well read.

### what celebrities do people say you look like?

March 23, 2015
president of iran

### 75% of the people in my Game Design unit for uni in Australia were women... at least 60% of the entire Screen Arts course is female judging by the lectures... may be just Australia or just my city, but women play games and make films, y'all. It's weird to me when people talk like they don't exist.

March 23, 2015
it simply wasn't the case when most of the people pretending they don't exist were younger, and it's real hard to get rid of that flavor of bias

### Do you think the "women are half the gaming community" point holds up if you don't count phone or facebook games?

March 22, 2015
I think literally the only reason to discount those games is specifically to exclude women. Games are great and games are fun...unless we find out that the gender we hate happens to play a particular type of game with some frequency, at which point those AREN'T real games and those people are phonies and please god just let us keep making games for our one little corner of the internet, oh god we fear change and don't like the niche thing we suffered for becoming mainstream, oh god oh god
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Tom Head

### Don't you think it's kind of fucked up that you insult TotalBiscuit when the worst thing he's done to you is disagree with you/people you like? "SJW" is used as an insult pretty much entirely because of that kind of behavior. A little bit of civility goes a long way. Jessayin.

March 22, 2015
That's probably fair. My insults have been limited to "he's a big stupid idiot," though, which don't seem like the harshest words in the world to me.

### Is it weird that any time someone tries to sell me on veganism I make a point of going out And buying myself a veal dinner?

March 22, 2015
Yes, that's weird. It sounds like you're either being a dick just to be a dick, or you're doubling down on being not-vegan to try and stop yourself from self-analyzing and coming to some uncomfortable truths.
Liked by: Tom Head

### Are you excited for Project Ukulele? (Indie spiritual successor to Banjo Kazooie/N64 era 3d platformers in General)

March 22, 2015
yezzz

### In regards to your feelings on glorified violence & pain in games, was that something you had in mind back when you were writing the Doppelganger? His frequent little reactions of confusion & horror to the crazy murderous things going on around him feel like subtle commentary on exactly that.

March 22, 2015
It was more that I just wanted someone whose personality was really distinct from the others, and I didn't want to write Handsome Jack But This Time As A Playable Character. Having someone who reacted to violence as a real person would just made sense at the time.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### if you have one superpower what would it be?

March 22, 2015
stop time

### Why are so many *guys* desperate to be "one of the guys"? Hyperconformist dudebro status is so freaking hard to maintain. As a man, I'd much rather fit in with groups of women; they're more mature, I find them attractive, and they don't demand the same level of obedience. Where's the downside?

March 22, 2015
The downside is The Other Guys call you a pussy/white knight/whatever. Which isn't really a huge downside if they're those kinds of dickbags.
Liked by: Tom Head

### What are you feelings on the concept of "the free market?"

March 22, 2015
I don't know much of anything about economics. I get the feeling that the free market needs to be regulated because corporations exist only to further their own goals and are essentially misanthropic, but, hey, what do I know.

### Who should video games be made for?

March 22, 2015
anyone and everyone
Liked by: Becky

### is you had a child what would you call them? (male and female names)

March 22, 2015
mistake and lady mistake
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Adam R

### Amy Hennig is probably the best video game writer of all time (see: Legacy of Kain) and she didn't get there by crying about the patriarchy on tumblr. Its like the women's studies major who cries about the lack of women in X prominent role. If you want a change be the change, don't cry for handouts.

March 22, 2015
you know literally nothing about amy hennig
Liked by: Becky

### So who did you choose at the end of ep 2? man, i wish you woulda streamed that yo cause it fun to see how you do you.

March 22, 2015
It's kind of not totally fair because I knew what the script was before I played it. Wasn't really making the choice as intended.

But I chose Fiona, because I don't trust Jack.

### I really like to say the N-word in the privacy of my own home. Is that bad?

March 22, 2015
i mean

why do you do that
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Semi-positive spin on the recent comments on the HAWP vids: method of weeding out shitlords. Went on a few dates with this guy, sent him the new vid since I thought it was funny. All he did was bitch about that one diversity line and now I know he's not worth my time.

March 22, 2015
Nice!
Liked by: sad boy Becky Gabriel Costantino

### worth mentioning re: male suicide. Men successfully commit suicide more than women. Women attempt suicide more than men. Women tend to use "softer" methods and men use more destructive methods.

March 22, 2015
Yeah, I've heard this stat. I dunno what to do with it. I remember when I was a (young, angry, stupid) kid, I thought it meant that men were bigger badasses because they actually do what they set out to do.

### Why did your marriage fail?

March 22, 2015
Wife was asexual, I wasn't, I get extremely irritating/boring when you're exposed to me for seven years straight.
Liked by: Tom Head

### Do you have any idea how bad your evilest timeline self is?

March 22, 2015
he's probably gotten into a lot of fights.

### Did you evacuate Loader Bot? He hates me because of that. :(

March 22, 2015
Loader bot should only hate you if you detonated him.

### Do you think it's possible for someone to enjoy and appreciate a film or show for some weird personal taste while still being able to acknowledge they're "bad", without being lumped under people with "Stockholm syndrome" or something (*cough* Lost *sputter*)

March 22, 2015
Sure. Scandal is a 'bad' show in many ways, but I love it.
Liked by: Tom Head

### How do I make myself have an existential crisis? It seems cool

March 22, 2015
turn 16, then turn 25
Liked by: Garrett Glass sad boy Tom Head Ratzsa

### I can't kiss my gf anymore without being disgusted. She told me she used to lick her ex's feet and did some oral scat in the past. She's catching on that I don't like kissing her and I don't know what to do. I am to embarrassed to bring this up to any of my friends so any advice?

March 22, 2015
Again, knowing that I have no authority with which to give advice, I can think of three options:

- Break up with her. If you don't care about her enough to let something as relatively small as footlicking and poop stuff slide, then maybe she isn't right for you anyway.

- Look up some science on how the mouth works in an attempt to logically separate yourself from your thoughts. Any gross stuff she may have done as recently as 48 hours ago is completely out of her mouth -- at this point, it's as pristine as any other mouth. Just imagine a mouth filled with toothpaste being brushed back and forth, because she does that WAY more than she does the other stuff.
Liked by: Tom Head

### Why don't you have a dog?

March 22, 2015
because it'll die eventually

### Anthony how do I flirt, and how do I tell if a girl likes me?

March 22, 2015
If I knew the answers to either of these questions I would be a lot less nervous all the time.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### Are corporations themselves a necessary evil?

March 21, 2015
probably not

### You should always add on to that IDEAL girl list -Doesn't have murderous tendencies. Also, does that mean you'd date people who aren't vegetarian/vegan?

March 21, 2015
yes, i would.
Liked by: allyson marie

### Who generally decides on the songs for a Borderlands game/Telltale episode? They're always so amazingly on point.

March 21, 2015
Telltale
Liked by: Becky

### Describe your IDEAL girl. Don't just say "Likes me and I like her back." Be as unrealistic and specific as you want.

March 21, 2015
I don't know. I want my ideal mate to be their own person, and to list out a bunch of things I'd wish for them to have just feels a bit odd to me.

There are only a couple of things that really matter to me:

- They're sweet. Sweetness is the trait I value most in all of life because it only helps, never hurts, and is incredibly rare to possess. I certainly don't possess it.

- If we fall in love, they're okay with me saying "I love you" like all the time every day, because that's a thing I do that has irritated every serious partner I've ever had.
Liked by: Garrett Glass Becky allyson marie Kerissa Young Rebecca

### Did you ever play/finish Double Dragon Neon? This ending credits song is just stuck in my head. Such a good song, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJNDP_HTFp4

March 21, 2015
DDN is my favorite beatemup of all time.

### "it's pandering" is a pretty weak argument against femthor tho 'cause straight white males are the group that gets pandered to most of all. when you've been pandered to all your life, the pandering is invisible

March 21, 2015
Yeah, I was gonna say something like this in the previous answer. Every single piece of media saying HEY LITTLE KID or HEY AWESOME WHITE DUDE WHO LOVES GUNS, YOU ARE AWESOME is pandering. Pandering is everywhere.
Liked by: Adam R

### Falcon taking up the mantle of Cap is the only thing that makes sense. Kamala Khan is adorable, endearing, and bad ass. FemThor IS pandering though, I mean for fuck's sake she has no backstory,and she was announced on the goddamn View. The View's demo doesn't give a shit about comics.

March 21, 2015
Sure, it's pandering. I'd still rather have pandering over the *absolutely nothing* that characterizes most of comics. I'd MUCH prefer more female-led comics like Ms Marvel (because we all know that Thor will eventually turn back into "real" Thor), but I can't get that upset about people doing something rather than nothing.
Liked by: Tom Head

### Why are so many girls desperate to be 'one of the guys'? Men don't care about fitting in with women unless they're faggots

March 21, 2015
Because being "one of the guys" means you don't get all the abuse and disrespect that feminine women suffer.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Edward Cunanan Rebecca

### https://twitter.com/Totalbiscuit/status/578685278342287360 Burch please stop the planet, I want off.

March 21, 2015
yeah he real dum
Liked by: sad boy

### It really makes me despair for games criticism when large once-respected game reviewers hold opinions like 'injecting politics into fiction is naturally exclusionary and in my view regressive.' People blame it on the medium being in its infancy but when is it going to grow up?

March 20, 2015
When those reviewers leave

### my legs are anal apostrophes ヽ༼⊙_⊙༽ﾉ

March 20, 2015
fuuuuuuuuuuuck
Liked by: Elizabeth Gabriel Costantino

### I like Girls AND Sopranos and I think it might be because I'm a terrible person like the characters. You've said you dislike the characters in Girls but do you like the show itself?

March 20, 2015
Yeah, I like the show itself. I can handle the horribleness of its characters in a way I can't handle the Sopranos' horribleness.

### I am hetero is it bad that I wouldn't want to have sex with someone who transitioned to being a female. I'm super tolerant just don't find myself attracted to that...

March 20, 2015
There's an argument that could be made you're transphobic, but I believe you can't really help what you are or are not attracted to.

### Re: sexual and violent crimes being largely committed by a men are symptomatic of a culture that in it's roots values violence and sexual conquest as a means of self validation. That doesn't quite do justice to the colossal amount of social/psychological factors but that's the long and short or it.

March 20, 2015
sounds about right
Liked by: Rebecca

### Do you ever have dark thoughts? Waking up in the dead of night, sweating, thinking to yourself 'maybe Ebert was right'?

March 20, 2015
Nah.

### One thing thing that strikes me with MRA's is how they see the worlds ill's coming from a lack of masculinity not an excess of it. feminism to them represents feminization and the destruction of a sense sacred masculinity. (1/2)

March 20, 2015
Yeah. I think if MRAs realized how many problems came from their male predecessors and not their female contemporaries, there would be far fewer MRAs.

### 21 M KV, I've never been in a relationship and might be in one soon but it scares me. It feels like I'm just setting myself up to get hurt. Like no matter what I won't be able to trust this person even though I really like her. I feel like I'm just unable to trust her or anyone. Thoughts?

March 20, 2015
You will probably get hurt. Dunno if that means you shouldn't do it. I probably won't be able to fully trust anyone again, but if it's between getting hurt or crushing loneliness, I'd probably choose getting hurt.
Liked by: Garrett Glass

### Have you heard of Darkest Dungeon? If so, thoughts?

March 20, 2015
Too hard right now. Will wait until it's out of early access.

### DON'T STEAL ASIAN CHILDREN!

March 20, 2015
i'll see what i can do
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### Male pedos don't outweigh fem pedos. They just get prosecuted more. Google that shit.

March 20, 2015
k

### Your mannerisms or your face or something reminds me a lot of this guy I went to school with called Steven. He stuck a jelly baby up his ass once.

March 20, 2015
2 classy
Liked by: Rebecca

### I think playing as anti-heroes and even villains works in a comedy/game context, especially given how dull "saving the world from evil" and being a generic do good hero gets. Nisha's more fun because she embraces the murder spree of players, plus some people just like darker humor.

March 20, 2015
Yeah, I really really don't like it when games ask me to kill bazillions of things and then pretend I am a Hero.

### So I never realized the concept of male entitlement/friendzone concepts until I joined the BDSM scene. Holy hell, the amount of messages some of my female friends get on a daily rate from guys who at a basic level think kinky = easy and treat them like sex objects for their fantasies.

March 20, 2015
yeeeep

### somewhat emotionally impressionable. A part of my brain tells me it’s horrendously selfish to not want to emotionally attach myself to someone over something they can’t control, but another part of me says that I am valid because I should be considering my own emotional 2/3 (sorry)

March 20, 2015
In the words of Shakespeare, "you do you."

I can only speak from personal experience and, again, have no training and shouldn't be listened to, but once I started worrying about myself in relationships and stopped worrying about the other person all the time, I started feeling a lot better. A lot more sane.

### Is it ever ok to not date someone because of their anxiety/depression? There's a person I like a whole lot but I am hesitant to become emotionally attached to them because the last person I dated suffered from pretty intense anxiety and it was very difficult for me because I am somewhat 1/2

March 20, 2015
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### In this world view political correctness becomes a threat to freedom of speech. The needy become the entitled, unable to work for independence and lacking the grace to be provided for. And rationality is pure, unbiased and objective. It's a warped worldview, but self sustaining.

March 20, 2015
Here's a few things you should strongly reconsider:
- Thinking of your side as "rational" and the other as inherently "irrational"
- Thinking that people who want to be treated fairly are "entitled" because they want the same privileges that you have (which you seem not only bound and determined to not give up, but to not even acknowledge)
- Thinking that freedom of speech is the a-number-one most important thing in the entire world. We restrict freedom of speech ALL THE TIME when it's hate speech, or shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, or threatening to murder someone. Nobody's telling the hordes of fedoras to stop having opinions, they're just saying, uh, maybe stop threatening murder and doxxing people and making games that have the exact same regressive gender politics etc etc etc
- "Freedom of speech" as you're referring to it has nothing to do with private enterprises and everything to do with state-mandated censorship. SAYING A GAME COMPANY IS BEING STUPID WHEN THEY PUT A RAPE SCENE INTO THEIR GAME, AND THEN MAYBE BOYCOTTING THAT GAME, IS NOT CENSORSHIP. If the government stepped in and confiscated all copies of the rape game, THEN that would be censorship.

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Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### I've yet to meet a diehard feminist that didn't hate men. So anecdotes ftw.

March 20, 2015
You're perusing the ask.fm of a feminist that doesn't hate men, genius.
Liked by: sad boy Adam R Harry Brown Gabriel Costantino

### Speaking as someone who remembers the emotional reaction they had to feminism when they were 16, and how stupidly damn near indomitable the male ego is, do you honestly think it's possible to persuade any of these people through argument? They have way to much fucking investment in winning.

March 20, 2015
Yeah, I dunno. I just have no idea what to do about it beyond hoping they meet a person who teaches them empathy. I feel like when I argue it's more for my own satisfaction than anything.

### Why do the amount of male pedophiles outweigh the amount of female pedophiles so overwhelmingly?

March 20, 2015
*shrug*

### I NOTICED THAT THE GUITAR IN YOUR ROOM ON THE HAWP VIDEO WAS CAPO'D IF YOU LEAVE A GUITAR CAPO'D FOR TOO LONG IT COULD DAMAGE THE NECK YOU SHOULDNT DO THAT SINCERELY, A GIANT GOON

March 20, 2015
whoops i'll let ash know
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### To "gynocentric society" guy (Jesus FUCKING Christ), dude, guys don't have to admit they hate women to hate women. I mean, people pay therapists millions of dollars every year to bring that kind of latent shit to the tips of their tongues. I've yet to meet a diehard MRA who didn't hate women.

March 20, 2015
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### Just watched the new HAWP and loved it. But it also made me think about how shows and web series struggle with keeping a consistent "feeling" for lack of a better term over the years they are produced. HAWP doesn't really seem to have this problem, or at least not to the same extent as others. 1/2.

March 20, 2015
Dunno, honestly. HAWP is one of the relatively few character-driven web series, I guess -- maybe that's a thing?

### on the subject of people attacking feminism/equality on your ask.fm: does it seem like some people are trying to troll you because the stuff they say seems so completely batshit crazy to me.

Matthew Manninen
March 20, 2015
a lot of people are trolling, some aren't.

### i have time to binge watch one show this weekend: Steven Universe or Gravity Falls?

March 20, 2015
Steven

### is the kid in that new hawp video your actual cousin? he did a great job! (the video btw made me laugh so hard. Glad you guys are back)

March 20, 2015
He is not, actually. He's the cousin or nephew (can't remember) of Dante Bosco, aka Prince Zuko.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### you also have more people go inside you

March 20, 2015
true

### "Women -- the empathetic gender" That's the common saying/colloquialism. Women are supposed to be good at understanding others' emotions. Yet everywhere I look, all I see are women who are totally self-obsessed and have no fucking clue what men feel.

March 20, 2015
You accidentally said something feminist

### Is it wrong that I'm a feminist only because it makes it easier to get laid?

March 20, 2015
Yes, it is wrong. Or would be, if you were actually being honest.

### what happens to your penis when you become. a feminist

March 20, 2015
It goes inside way more people
Liked by: sad boy

### hate the game personally, but I'm wondering how hatred fits into your destructoid argument?

March 20, 2015
Hatred is being honest about what it is. What it IS also happens to be disgusting, racist, misogynist horseshit. It gets, like, one point for being honest, and minus a million points for what it is.

### gynocentric society that values female emotion and entitlement over justice and objective facts. You seem to think a lot of mgtow/MRA go around hating women and that's not true, a lot of us kind of resent how the system shits on us and then tells us how privileged we are, and I think that's fair.5/5

March 20, 2015
Apart from the sinking ship thing (jesus christ) and the "gynocentric" bit (jesus *christ*), almost everything you mentioned are things that *feminism is also concerned with*. Dudes kill themselves and drop out far more because patriarchal definitions of masculinity discourage men from seeking help, or showing weakness, or being emotionally complex. The patriarchy shits on women all the time, but it also restricts men's freedoms by implicitly telling them that there is Real Masculinity and that everything else is Feminine Bullshit That Sucks, which means men being far more aggressive and violent (to both men and women).

Feminism is about destruction of the patriarchy because the patriarchy hurts *literally everyone*.
Liked by: Garrett Glass Anastasia Murphy Gabriel Costantino

### Men are heavily marginalized, to the point where even with all this evidence that says men have it at least as bad as women, if not more so, people like you just don't care. Men suffering and being the victims of injustice just doesn't matter, and that's kind of shitty. We live in a heavily 4/5

March 20, 2015
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### consent to making? What about men being three times as likely to be murdered as women are? What about "the all men are rapists until proven otherwise" mentality that's become so prevalent? What about the draft/sinking ship precedent that says that female lives are worth more than males lives? 3/4

March 20, 2015
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### crimes as their female counterparts? What about boys being nearly twice as likely to drop out of school because they get less help and attention than women? What about family/divorce law bias? What about male rape victims/victims of sperm theft being forced to provide for children they didn't 2/4

March 20, 2015
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### Ok so women have it rough in a lot of ways. I get that, and it should totally be addressed. But what about men being more likely to commit suicide or die on the job? What about men being more than twice as likely as women to be homeless? What about men receiving harsher punishments for the same 1/4

March 20, 2015
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### Arguing with feminists is like playing chess with a pidgeon, because it doesn't matter how good you are at chess; they'll just knock over all the pieces, shit all over the board, and strut around like they won.

March 19, 2015
- It's "pigeon"
- I liked this statement better the first time I read it, when it was copypasted from r/atheism about arguing with evangelicals
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Why should women have equal rights? Seriously, they haven't contributed a fraction of what men have to civilization. Aside from procreation and blowjobs they're pretty fucking useless, and modern women suck at both.

March 19, 2015
Just responding to this so people can see the type of asks I get every single day. "But what about all the horrible feminists," they ask, presumably not realizing the sheer goddamned ubiquity of the ignorance and misogyny you see in this ask.
Liked by: Jeffrey Anastasia Murphy Gabriel Costantino

### What's a good way to give constructive criticism? What are some things to keep in mind and avoid? How do you avoid being harsh without ignoring the problem?

March 19, 2015
Make sure to praise stuff that's good. Make sure to talk about the work and not the person. Try to see where the person is coming from with their intentions and point out how they might strengthen what they're trying to do (in other words, don't force in your own ideas -- recognize theirs and see how the current version of their thing isn't helping them get to where THEY want that idea to go).

### Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

Anastasia Murphy
March 19, 2015
Nobody, generally. It's made me a lot happier since I stopped doing that.
Liked by: Tom Head

### Where do you think this all came from? The world, its people, its life, everything. Big Bang? God made us? Something even higher? What is your opinion on the creation of everything?

March 19, 2015
http://animalfair.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/pizza-dog.jpg
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### if anything... lack of paternal rights stems from the traditional stereotyping of women being mothers...

March 19, 2015
correct

### is letting a woman drain your godly life force wrong? is it less wrong with a man?

March 19, 2015
only if she uses it to open a portal so that gozer may return and end the universe
Liked by: sad boy Becky Elizabeth Tom Head Rebecca Xavby the Skink

### Article titled 'Child Support/Custody Facts & Figures' at http://www.villainouscompany.com/vcblog/archives/2012/04/child_supportcu.html . In a shocking twist, it turns out MRAs are full of shit. '[F]athers who ask for custody (and don't give up) are very likely to get either sole or joint custody.'

March 19, 2015
oh

### What book should I read right now?

March 19, 2015
anything by mary roach

### Should sperm donors be allowed to stay anonymous?

March 19, 2015
iunno

### Remotely on par with women's? Dude, men have no paternal rights. At all. I'm not downplaying what women go through but holy shit man, really? I don't expect you to know what it's like to never get to see your child because you don't have a vagina, but it's devastating and ridiculously unjust.

March 19, 2015
Yes, that's fucked up. I was being hyperbolic, and don't mean to downplay the paternity rights issue.

### Yup, you gotta go to Old Haven first to see Janey. I had to replay the episode to see her. But the scenes with her and Athena were fun enough that I feel it was worth the restart. Also, is it weird to interact with Jack, seeing as he used to be yours? Like seeing a puppet come to life and talk back?

March 19, 2015
Hrmmm. I'd replay, but I wanna keep my choices basically as they were cause I'm weird like that.

### Good, because I was arguing against toxic masculinity, not feminism.

March 19, 2015
Oh, okay.

### What are your overall thoughts on season 3 of House of Cards?

March 19, 2015
Worst season. Best Frank/Claire stuff, but the focus on Doug Stamper, who should have just fucking stayed where he was at the end of season two because he's fucking *boring and unlikable,* is absolutely bonkers to me. Especially since his subplot ends in a way that they could have just done at the end of season 2. It was a spectacular waste of time.

### Did you actually get to meet Patrick Warburton? If so, what is he like? Did you get him to say certain lines in that audible chocolate he calls a voice? Will you ever try to get him for Rocketjump?

March 19, 2015
I didn't, sadly.

### I think people over the age of (say) 30 should be allowed to commit suicide... but I really don't think a teenager can possibly make an informed decision about that, and we should do everything possible to stop them. Agree/disagree?

March 18, 2015
Hadn't thought of it that way. But yeah, I agree.

### Why do you think people feel so much pressure to appear happy when they're not? I'm miserable, but I always end up putting on a smile around others, and I haven't told anyone even though I want to. Also: why do we want to tell people when we're unhappy? Even when we're convinced it won't help.

March 18, 2015
Because being unhappy can affect others' moods, whereas being happy is the expected default and makes life easy for everyone around you.

I think we want to tell people we're unhappy so we don't feel as alone.

These are all guesses.
Liked by: Jeffrey Garrett Glass Elodin. Naamah. Mask Haughington Samantha Dale

### Have you played Episode 2 of Tales From The Borderlands bc I just did and I laughed my ass off. Also, I loved the interactions between Athena and, well, everyone. Her and Janey are so cute together!

March 18, 2015
I didn't actually get to see Janey. Did you send Rhys and Vaughn to Old Haven first?

But yeah, I really like Ep 2. It's very charming, with lots of fun dialog.

### I think what that other guy is saying is in the event the Russians ever invade (just go with it) you won't see feminists complaining about a male-only draft. Men get marginalized in fewer, but much more severe ways than women, and all spectrums of feminism are apparently ok with that.

March 18, 2015
That's horseshit. I think people from all walks of life would start complaining about drafts, period.

The degree to which MRAs have to pretzel to make their struggle seem even remotely on par with women's everyday, non-hypothetical struggles is embarrassing.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### I find it hecka weird that someone insinuated that men have a duty to resolve routine maintenance issues. As a girl, I can fix cars, sew clothes, cook food, etc etc. Isn't this just life stuff? Either you know how to do it, or you find someone who does. Gender isn't ability, I guess.

Amber
March 18, 2015
boop
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Becky

### Ultimately, human beings, men or women, aren't able to cope with violent trauma and warfare. Like it or not, no one's getting PTSD from being nice and having emotional sensitivity, whereas soldiers get unbelievably fucked by war experiences, something men are apparently "meant for".

March 18, 2015
You just argued against war, not feminism.
Liked by: Jeffrey Gabriel Costantino Tom Head

### Jessa's got some serious antisocial tendencies and is selfish as fuck, but I feel like Hannah is more insufferable about her issues. Like, she's just as self involved and selfish and deluded and entitled as Jessa. I will say at least Hannah never told her friends she was pregnant w/o taking a test

March 18, 2015
Maybe, but Hannah's just self-involved -- she's not rude, or aggressive. At worst, she's condescending. But she's actively trying to figure out her life and why she's not happy, and I respect that. Jessa is just nonstop self-delusion.

### Are you ok with people who choose to masturbate and don't find it really has any negative effects on them? I completely agree that it CAN be unhealthy, but I don't think it's inherently detrimental. If I'm not in a sexual relationship I tend to masturbate once a day (sans visual stimulus).

March 18, 2015
Sure. All the stuff I talk about here is exclusively for people who may be addicted (which can result in symptoms like low self-esteem, being super weird around girls, and inability to perform sexually).

### Is it wrong to wish to be gay? Men seem like much more romantic partners, sigh.

March 18, 2015
No, it's not wrong. My limited experience with dudes tell me that it's waaaay easier to fuck a dude if you wanna.

### Should a person be able to end their life if they are suffering from a physical pain they can no longer bear? What about an emotional pain?

March 18, 2015
yes

### That Handsome Jack AMA a few months ago: was that you, or someone else on the writing staff? Also, do those responses count as canon? No matter what, his response to my question brings a grin to my face every time I think of it, so please pass on my love to whoever was behind it!

March 18, 2015
That was me, and in my mind all of those responses were canon (but I don't really get a say in that anymore). Thanks, though!
Liked by: Becky

### thoughts on the batgirl cover? It kinda seems like it's been blown out of proportion. I mean, the cover is paying homage to a great comic that is in the official canon.

March 18, 2015
So, here's the thing:
- When Batgirl got paralyzed in the first place, it wasn't because of any grand, important plan to say something. It was a decision made by Alan Moore basically out of spite at being forced to write the comic according to DC's whims. The decision to turn Barbara into Oracle was a way of polishing an inherently pretty fucked up, fridge-shaped turd (as Barbara's paralyzation in Killing Joke has nothing to do with her and everything to do with Joker, Batman, and Gordon).
- Batgirl vs The Joker is inherently always going to be weird and bullshit, because Joker is Batman's archenemy, not Batgirl's. Batgirl will never have a chance to do anything even remotely lasting to Joker, because anything that matters and is Joker-related is the purview of Batman. This generally isn't such a big deal (you could say the same of Superman or Green Arrow or whatever), but considering Batgirl and Joker's history, the cover was basically reminding everyone that Batgirl is, and implicitly will forever be, a victim of/inferior to the Joker. Because the entire point of her comic series is to establish her as an independently interesting character with her own agency, that sudden reminder of the time Joker paralyzed (and maybe raped) her is just tonally off. It's just weird and goes against the entire point of the comic.
- The other covers show the Joker facing off against DC Heroes, but Batgirl's is the only one that depicts the main character being terrified and crying. Again, not very empowering and, again (especially given the Joker's attire) reminds you of that time she got paralyzed and maybe-raped when this entire run of Batgirl is about having fun and taking selfies.

So, is it an ubermisogynist decision that shows DC are a bunch of woman-haters? No. But it's really misguided and, tonally, does not work for what is currently being done with the character.

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Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Becky

### okay, think I'll try to give up masturbation for a while. suggestions for a good chastity cage for someone in the 4 to 5 inches range?

March 17, 2015
I don't use chastity cages. They sound hellishly painful/dangerous.
Liked by: allyson marie

### I'm losing the narrative here. Are you saying that we shouldn't masturbate or just not excessively?

March 16, 2015
I'm saying that if you've grown up with internet porn and masturbate a lot (once a day), you might be addicted and need to consider giving it up entirely for a long time. Or at least, if you're having issues with self-confidence or sexual performance or any of that stuff.
Liked by: allyson marie

### I almost masturbated my penis but I went for a run instead victory!

March 16, 2015
Well done!

### street. And that's the other thing: with online dating it's understood that everyone is there for the purposes of courtship. A lot of men still don't get that a lot of women resent being came onto in public. In the information age online dating should be the rule, not the exception. 3/3

March 16, 2015
Makes sense to me.
Liked by: Adam R

### Has nothing to do with me being awkward, but I do meet a lot of amazing women who I never would have otherwise because they're shy and/or meeting men from the relative safety of the internet is easier for them. I've had a girl say she'd have found me threatening if I just propositioned her on the2/3

March 16, 2015
.
Liked by: Adam R

### Can I weigh in Anthony? Hi, I'm a dude. I'm educated, with a bachelor's in creative writing for entertainment, and I'm also a certified personal trainer. 8% body fat. Blue eyes. All-American genetics. I use online dating because in my experience it's much easier to find a meaningful relationship.1/2

March 16, 2015
.
Liked by: Adam R

### A very large part of why I left the Army is because of the effect toxic masculinity has on men. "Hey why do soldiers keep killing themselves?" "I dunno sir, it might have something to do with how we systematically dehumanize them then ask them to do one of the most emotionally and mentally 1/2

March 16, 2015
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### Also thank you so much Anthony for sharing my friend Brushaun's story a few weeks ago. May I have a piece of your wall again? A BLACK KID JOINED THE ARMY FOR COLLEGE MONEY AND SUFFERED HAZING AND RACIALLY FUELED EMOTIONAL ABUSE UNTIL HE KILLED HIMSELF IN A PORTO JOHN. NOBODY EVEN GOT DEMOTED FOR IT.

March 16, 2015
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### Jessa's cool as fuck, you're just threatened by her

March 16, 2015
No, I just don't think someone who throws a full glass of beer, from a catwalk, onto two hipster looking guys just because they got angry at her for spilling her drink on them, is at all a good person. Or someone who persists in putting her hands over a driver's eyes while he drives just because she thinks it's funny, even while everyone else (including her "friend") is asking her to stop. She's the fucking worst.

### I was having a conversation with a group of women I didn't know well, and when I (in the flow of the conversation), mentioned that I identify as a feminist, all three of them told me I was out of line for doing so. "Men can only be allies. Feminism is FOR WOMEN ONLY!" They were legit mad/upset.

March 16, 2015
Well, they're wrong, too.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I really like Osmosis Jones. I jerk it to it.

March 16, 2015
solid sentences
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### how did you feel after watching breakfast club?

March 16, 2015
Pissed that they still made the nerd do their fucking homework.
Liked by: Becky

### How do you feel when you have really cringey interactions with fans?

March 16, 2015
If it's cringey because the person is a dick, I'm just a dick back to them in a way that gives me the high ground by pointing out how dickish they're being. If it's cringey because the person is just awkward, it's not usually a big deal -- there are a whole host of passive-aggressive things the English language gives us that will allow us to exit a conversation pretty quickly.

### people who I can't connect with deeply or respect because of my commitment to suppressing my emotions and trying to be physically strong because that's easier than being emotionally strong." Strength and emotional depth/empathy are by no fucking means mutually exclusive, sans military ideals. 2/2

March 16, 2015
I worry the dudes who this is for probably stopped reading after the eleventh syllable, but well put nonetheless

### Masculinity logic: "I'm bad at dealing with emotions so I can just pretend that we're not supposed to acknowledge them and give into biological impulses that tell me to attack on impulse rather than restrain myself and be diplomatic because it's easier, under the guise of protecting people, 1/2

March 16, 2015
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### So why do you hate Jessa from GIRLS? Or why is she more loathsome than any of the other loathsome characters?

March 16, 2015
She's appallingly selfish, self-deluded and self-involved. She doesn't give a shit about anyone, is actively mean to people for no reason, and acts as if her choices don't have consequences. And on top of it all, she doesn't even have the courtesy to feel like a piece of shit about it. Like, Marnie's pretty awful, but at least she clearly can't stand herself.

### "Girls use online dating because they're looking for something very specific, Guys use online dating because they can't get girls in real life" True or false, in your opinion?

March 16, 2015
Don't buy it. A lot of girls use online dating because they're just as socially awkward as guys.

### How do you feel about bunnies?

March 16, 2015
cuties

### Last time I was in Toronto I had a woman scream at me because I held the door open for her. Not because she was a woman, but because she and I were going the same place and it would have felt impolite and awkward not to. Its like give the femrage a rest, sometimes people are just being nice.

March 15, 2015
That woman was a taint person.

### I mailed you a while back about doing my disabled gamers stream. Thought you would like to know that because of your encouragement, I'll be up and running in the next month. Thanks :)

March 15, 2015
nizzzzze

### Since people seem to complain that you're not talking enough about girls, what's the first thing you notice about a girl in first 10 seconds of meeting her?

March 15, 2015
Eyes, hair, whether she is currently on fire and requires assistance
Liked by: Becky Rhys Egner Gabriel Costantino

### Why do kids frighten you?

March 15, 2015
I am worried that one day I will want them, because I currently can't really stand them (at least in the abstract; I know some peoples' kids are cool).

### i was havin a p good day until i decided to yank my rod and now i cant stop feeling sad and empty

March 15, 2015
I'm sorry. Try to remember this feeling in the future, maybe? You're trading like a half-second of feeling good for a couple days worth of feeling bad, not to mention MONTHS of wasted progress

### I've been posting on 4chan for almost an entire year. First I did it ironically to let off some steam but recently I've found my self having very misogynistic views. I've stopped browsing since but I still feel like I have that "Elliot Rodger" mindset. Therapy or should more time away help me?

March 15, 2015
I personally am in favor of always trying therapy, because when I went I found it far more rewarding than I would have expected because of how we stigmatize it.
Liked by: Rhys Egner

### can I push you against a wall and slap you on the dick? it's kind of my thing, sorry >_>

March 15, 2015
uh i mean not when we first meet
Liked by: Rhys Egner

### What's your opinion on dating single mothers? I'm planning to break it off soon with one I'm going out with because I think she wants more than what I can offer (only 23 btw)

March 15, 2015
Kids frighten me so I've never done it.

### I want to agree with the Paul F Tompkins thing, it's great... but could you apply it to the thing I was describing? We KNOW the atrocities of the Congo, for purely trivial shit like coltan, it's not a matter of "they MIGHT be doing it". Computers/mobiles/vibrating controllers would be Chick-fil-A.

March 15, 2015
I may have been misinterpreting what you were asking, sorry. Yeah, it's horrific that all the stuff I use for my work comes, in small part, from the Congo. I just literally dunno what to do about that -- I functionally can't just live without my computer, as it's how I do ALL my work.

### I spent 600 dollars on lego sets this week. What have you bought this week?

March 15, 2015
a towel rack, a toilet paper holder and all the netrunner cards i haven't bought yet

### If you don't masturbate how do you charge up your JO crystal?

March 15, 2015
i buy mine pre-charged
Liked by: Becky Rhys Egner mackenzie charlton

### any good ios games you would recommend?

March 15, 2015
monument valley, helix, 868-hack, anything by simogo

### what would your porn name be?

March 15, 2015
ryan gosling
Liked by: sad boy

### Manosphere stuff, especially MGTOW, isn't about being against women it's about being for yourself. Have you been to Toronto lately? Male oppression is literally a thing.

March 15, 2015
I have been to Toronto lately, yes. I don't recall anyone pushing me against a wall and slapping me on the dick.
Liked by: Rhys Egner Anastasia Murphy

### Is it weird to respect a porn star's views on women's rights to the point that you don't want to fap to them? (Mia Khalifa, I'm looking at you.)

March 15, 2015
you do you

### All I ever hear you talk about nowadays is which guy you like. Do you still like girls?

March 15, 2015
Yes.

### I feel like men who whine about toxic masculinity are just trying to escape their inherent duties. Because someday shit's gonna hit the fan; a sink or car will break down, a thief will break in late at night, a war will start. What will your male feminist manifesto do then?

March 15, 2015
You're telling me it's worth being overly aggressive, generally angry, and disrespectful of other people so that you won't have to call a fucking repairman or a cop a couple times in your life?

Jesus.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Rhys Egner Anastasia Murphy Gabriel Costantino Tom Head

### With all due respect to "relationships without cohabitation" person, I think it's a safe assumption that they're not over 40, so can they really comment on the merits of that philosophy over cohabitation long term? And the same issues not arising? Decent evidence it's personality not lifestyle.

March 14, 2015
Could be.

### People largely become feminists because they have compassion and want to help. People almost exclusively become MRA's in opposition to feminism, which I feel confident stating given the amount that choose to linger despite the overwhelming presence of radicals. Feminism helps everyone.

March 14, 2015
This was accurate for me. I was seriously angry toward women for most of my life because I felt I was hurt and wanted revenge/justice/whatever. I became a feminist after meeting a wonderful person, hearing her stories, and trying to learn compassion.
Liked by: Jeffrey Rhys Egner Xander C Rebecca

### Fun Fact: Historically anytime a population is mostly male (think old western towns) the violence rate jumps up significantly. That is right, the reason most men aren't beating the shit out of each other and killing each other is women.

March 14, 2015
For me, one of the big things that made me really seriously think about the problems of toxic masculinity was a documentary called Tough Guise, which I HIGHLY recommend everyone watch. It's full of fucking horrifying statistics like the idea that 88% of all road rage murders are committed by men.

"Can you imagine," one of the experts says, "if that 88% of murders were committed by women? We'd be talking about an epidemic of murdering women. We'd never heard the end of it." And he's totally right, too -- we've internalized the idea that men can be violent and it's basically normal, which is also why it's nearly impossible for men who *are* physically abused by women to come forward.
Liked by: Rhys Egner Xander C Tom Head

### My girlfriend gets pissy if I don't drop what I'm doing and give her my full attention EVERY time she talks to me. And she talks to me a lot. Very bad at self soothing. Pretty much impossible to enjoy gaming/reading/film/any solo pursuit while she's awake. What do?

March 14, 2015
Keeping in mind that I don't know anything and shouldn't be listened to, I'd just tell her how you feel.
Liked by: Rhys Egner Xander C

### So not all feminists are radicals, but all MRA are? I'm not sure I agree, do you mean to say society doesn't shit on men at all? I've known some very reasonable, amicable MRA who were mostly just pissed they had their children taken from them without a second thought.

March 14, 2015
I think I've met a *hojillion* times more radical MRAs than feminists. Feminism certainly has its problematic members. Yes, there are some who are too radical ("kill all men"), but there are FAR fewer of those feminists than you would think by a country mile. Far more common are feminists who prioritize white women over any amount of intersectionality.

If you're pissed about your children being taken from you, that's cool, that's fair -- a lot of feminists agree that's kind of weird. Flying your flag in the manosphere is not the way to get me to respect that opinion.
Liked by: Rhys Egner Xander C Tom Head

### the outdated ideal of monogamy. I don't want to own or be owned, and I love having my own sanctuary that's entirely mine whenever I choose for it to be. In my experience cohabitation ends in at least one party getting very sick of the other. And that's not healthy. Relationships should be fun. 2/2

March 14, 2015
That's cool.

### Re: relationships without cohabitation: It's great because you retain your own identity, you only see the other person when you want to, and you can opt out any time. I'll pretty much never give a woman a key again. I think things like cohabitation, and by extension marriage perpetuate 1/2

March 14, 2015
.

### Health insurance, yes that is a good one. But happiness? Who says you have to be married to be happy in your relationship?

March 14, 2015
Nobody. But who says being married can't make you happier, or happy in a different way?
Liked by: Edward Cunanan

### I've been feeling lately that there is no positive incentive for people to marry these days. For women, maybe a little but for men, I can't find any. Seeing as you went through a divorce, do you think that marriage will have a place in the near future?

March 14, 2015
The biggest incentives that come to mind are health insurance and, like, happiness.

### Do you consider porn a "safe" means by which already sexually experienced people might explore fetishes that might otherwise be considered taboo in polite society? I.E. scat, trans, incest, etc. Y'know, kind of as a jumping off point.

March 14, 2015
I think so, sure.

### Not OP, but Re prostitution: if it were legalized we could focus more resources on stopping these sorts of things rather than the amount of time/money currently spent on undercover entrapment etc.

March 14, 2015
yuz

### i can barley get a fully hard dick daily without porn and i'm 18. i really have been trying to stop but life gets me down then i end up back at pmo. i'm essentially at the bottom and really need to stop this. i need like something to just stop myself. any ideas?

March 14, 2015
Here's a mental thing I try to do to stop myself from doing something I REALLY want to do but know I shouldn't (whether that's eating something I shouldn't or whatever):

I think about how everything in life is basically just a memory. I COULD eat a bunch of cookies, but then that'd just turn into a memory. And a memory isn't as good as the real thing, because I can remember what cookies taste like now and it isn't all that satisfying. Ultimately, the act of me eating the cookie is meaningless -- it's not going to give me a new, important memory. It's just going to be another unsatisfying, subpar memory that I'll honestly probably forget in like two days. And in two days, I won't remember whether I ate the cookie or not -- the only thing that will matter is the physical consequence to my body, which, unlike the memory, DOES last.

So I could either do permanent damage to my body in exchange for a useless memory, or I could just not indulge in the memory and, after a couple days (when I woulda basically forgotten what I did or didn't do anyway), suffer basically no ill consequences.

View more

Liked by: Jeffrey Gabriel Costantino Peter "The Rocket" Bennett

### Do you think relationships work best without cohabitation? Because I sure do.

March 14, 2015
I have very little experience in this regard but am very interested in it.

### Wait, so you're saying if prostitution were legal, then human trafficking, rape, and actively coerced prostitution would all be reduced? I'm not entirely sure I'm anti-legalization, mind you, but I can't imagine importing foreign girls for hooker farms would somehow stop if hooking were legal

March 13, 2015
I'm saying they'd be comparatively reduced, yes. Prostitution is currently illegal, and those things still happen in horrible numbers. Legalizing prostitution would make that WORSE? I don't see how.

### Anthony, I think you should try talking to those pretty people because it is a bit condescending to assume they only value other pretty people. You're a good guy and they might be into that so give it a shot.

March 13, 2015
fair points all.

### A fantasy MMO where all the females are 10 ft well toned giants in full plated armor, and all the men are slim twinks in chain loincloths. Would you play it?

March 13, 2015
I'd have a real hard time not jerkin' it to it but yes
Liked by: Becky

### Why has the fedora gone out of style so hard?

March 13, 2015
you're kidding, right?
Liked by: Xander C Tom Head

### While we're talking about economic coercion I really have to bring up the poverty draft, because I most certainly didn't enlist because I felt the need to save my freedom from the brown people.

March 13, 2015
yuuuuuuuuuuup

### Can I just say thanks for talking about your past? It often seems like you feel really ashamed of yourself as a high schooler, but the idea that someone can turn around and become as wonderful as you makes me hopeful about guys when I'd just about given up. Thanks for being forthright and awesome.

March 13, 2015
Thank you very much. And yeah, we're all kinda shitheads in high school, it's aight.

### You Anthony Burch are a great person. You use your position to entertain and enlighten people (when you want to listen) and that makes you a better person that most. I just wanted you to know you'

March 13, 2015
thaxgrl

### Who the fuck is The Judge? Do you mean Judge Dredd?

March 13, 2015
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.

### Anthony I've been a bit of a cunt to you from time to time and I just wanted to apologize. I was In a highly abusive relationship so anything positive said about women kind of triggered me. But I'm free as a bird now so the anger is gone. Gonna go have a threesome with two awesome ladies. Peace bro.

March 13, 2015
Jeez. Well done.

### (Re: legal prostitution) Sure, all work is arguably the result of economic circumstance, but legal prostitution can be used as a cover for human trafficking, rape, sexual violence, as well as involuntary prostitution. Plus, it's de facto classist, and perpetuates the "women as objects" viewpoint.

March 13, 2015
I don't agree that these would be problems if prostitution were legalized.

### Want to hire a personal trainer? I'll get you looking like Spiderman.

March 13, 2015
I've certainly considered it. But
(A) I'm busy
(B) I could just buy a spiderman suit
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### I like pretending to be a hot girl on Okcupid and trolling socially awkward guys :p

March 13, 2015
You're a horrible dick, then. Life's goddamn hard enough, just being someone looking for affection.

### What do you say to egalatarians who insist feminism is wrong and only helps white women/demand people abandon it in favor of identifying as egalitarian?

March 13, 2015
I would say bell hooks, who wrote "Feminism is for Everybody," identified this problem decades ago and still decided that feminism is worth saving and improving, because calling something egalitarian or equalist does far more to homogenize feminism's goals and allow white men to downplay the struggles of women.

### Do you still support the Ferguson riots?

March 13, 2015
They're not riots.

### What do you think about this? The Witcher 2 beaten on Insane, with no armor and no talents https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_V1AwY3w_0&t=222

March 11, 2015
roll attack roll attack roll attack roll attack

### Do you exercise on a regular basis?

March 11, 2015
I keep putting it off, but it's about time. Just need to get a yoga mat and a bunch of chalk for my rock wall.

### RE; messaging attractive people on okcupid Okcupid automatically filters your matches based on how attractive the site deems you to be, some magic idk how it works, so that you only get matched with people around your level of attractiveness. So message them. You're probably equally as attractive.

March 11, 2015
Hunh.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### I am fairly certain the pathetic arguments people are making on here to justify their consumption of meat are doing more to persuade me towards vegetarianism than anything I've ever experienced before, and I once had a twenty minute conversation with a guy who had "VEGAN" tattooed across his neck.

March 11, 2015
Guuh jesus

### recommend some female-led comedies, then! not trying to be a dick, i'm just genuinely looking for some recommendations and i've always respected your opinions. :D

March 11, 2015
30 Rock, New Girl, Parks and Rec, Mary Tyler Moore, Bridesmaids, Inside Amy Schumer, Broad City

### You know what the worst feeling is? When you're chatting with someone and they stop replying mid conversation. it hurts ;_;

March 11, 2015
I do this a lot, unfortunately. I just get distracted as fuck.

### If you were given the opportunity to have 100% creative control over any game or franchise, which would it be, and what would you do to improve it? (PS, "Call of Duty/can it" is not an acceptable answer)

March 11, 2015
NOLF, probably just do more of what was already working.

### when are hawpcast?

March 11, 2015
Bug Ash and Justin on twitter. Once the show comes back we'll start doing HAWPcasts, but the show has to come back.

### Are there elements of The Judge in Jack?

March 11, 2015
Maybe unintentionally. I didn't want Jack to be as outright scary as the Judge.

### Do you ever worry your life is too awesome and you were actually in a coma from the moment you randomly got successful?

March 11, 2015
a lot, actually.
Liked by: Tom Head

### Is now a shitty time to be a Republican?

March 11, 2015
I hope so.
Liked by: sad boy Tom Head

### Prostitution is (and should be) illegal because it is difficult to discern forced or coerced prostitution from voluntary prostitution. When economic circumstances are dire, it can be seen as a form of economic coercion. Not ENTIRELY sure that's not maybe a little paternal, but it makes sense to me.

March 11, 2015
You could make the same argument about all labor, couldn't you?
Liked by: Jeffrey Ratzsa T. A. Gruver Tom Head Mats B

### About being nervous around beautiful people, can you not rationalize it? You are smart, knowledgeable, cultured and funny , can you not break the mental barrier of being with people who just won a genetic makeup lottery? And one that is based on arbitrary social constructs?

March 11, 2015
Fffuuck, I wish. I'll try. This is encouraging. And you are nice.
Liked by: Ratzsa Tom Head Gabriel Costantino

### Is it weird to not be attracted to members of your own race? I can't stand white women but pinays and Latinas make my dick diamonds.

March 11, 2015
I dunno. I'm generally not attracted to chicks who look like me, but I like white girls a lot.

It seems weird, doesn't it? But it's not like it's a thing I can help.

### all people who don't succeed are people who haven't failed enough yet. put that on a wallpaper.

March 11, 2015
nice.

### Y'ever play Race for the Galaxy? Have any thoughts on it? I really enjoy it, but if Dominion is competitive solitaire, RftG feels like competitive isolation chamber redecorating. (Except more fun than that metaphor makes it sound.)

March 11, 2015
It was okay. I didn't like the isolation and ridiculous iconography.

### Is the expression "being a pussy" offensive to women?

March 11, 2015
It links "cowardice" with "femininity," so yeah, but "dick" also links "assholishness" with "guys," so it's not the greatest sin in the entire world. That said, I still try not to do it.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### the only marriageable women are virgins. anyone who tells you otherwise has an agenda

March 11, 2015
never procreate
Liked by: sad boy Kerissa Young Becky Ratzsa Xavby the Skink Tom Head Mats B

### in high school (6 years ago) I would tell girls they should smile more and ughhh I just want to go back in slap the shit out of past me. NOT OKAY.

March 11, 2015
buuhehgh well at least you know now
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Do you think there's something less endearing about HAWP when you raise its production value, or is that just toxic nostalgia

March 11, 2015
I think it's better if it looks good cause holy shit the ugliness of the seasons I shot

### So I'm working on some physics hwk at the library when I see this girl that hits all of my physical ideals (tall, cute nose, etc) sit a table down from me. She starts typing on her laptop what looks like a report so I think I shouldn't bother her so I continue working myself. She leaves. Did I f up?

March 11, 2015
I'm not really the most talented at in-person flirting, so I can't say. I mean, you certainly respected her space, and she was clearly busy and intending to stay there for some time typing, so if you HAD hit on her and made her uncomfortable, she woulda had to stay there and soak up the uncomfortableness until one of you left.

### What is all this Burchman turbomansion talk I hear? I DEMAND TO KNOW EVERYTHING.

March 11, 2015
I live in the guest house at Tubomansion and it's spectacular.

### How many times have you foisted a fantasy on a woman without bothering to get to know her, then dumped her for not living up to your ideal?

March 10, 2015
I've never dumped someone for that, but I did it all the time as a high schooler and it's super fucking unhealthy.

### How do you personally draw the distinction between feminist negativity and rage which is justified and rage which could be handled more constructively? I know ash really tries to never rage to try and inspire people to want to change but society's pretty fucked up too...

March 10, 2015
I'm not great at drawing the distinction, to be honest. I imagine it's a "know it when you see it" kind of thing.

Like, I can't fucking stand Total Biscuit, but people making fun of him for his struggles with cancer are clearly enormous assholes.
Liked by: nothingxs

### http://www.askmen.com/dating/curtsmith_500/594_why-women-arent-funny.html Hope this clears up why nobody has faith in Panderbusters.

March 10, 2015
You're just so goddamned dumb. I could just point at any given episode of any female-led comedy in the last fifty years, but jesus christ. You're just so, so goddamned dumb.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### I think of vegetarians as morally above me, but the thing that always stopped me was it felt like not eating meat because I don't have to would almost highlight that I care more about animals dying than people dying from mineral wars so I can use technology/gaming consoles. I don't NEED either.

March 10, 2015
http://transcriptvids.com/v/Ts-3SnJ2ACQ.html

### What do you think of the new male-centric ghostbusters?

March 10, 2015
It's horseshit. It betrays a lack of confidence in the Paul Feig Ghostbusters and says, really loudly and clearly, that a franchise starring all women can't be the "real" version of that franchise.
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino Tom Head Harley Bird Elizabeth Anastasia Murphy

### D'you think only messaging girls on okcupid who are "in my attractiveness range" is kind of warped?

March 10, 2015
No, I think it's human and normal. OKC did a lot of user research and found that people don't tend to message people who they think are too attractive for them, because they think it'd be an enormous waste of time.

I dunno if they're RIGHT to assume that, but you're not alone in doing it.

Wait, unless you meant you only message 9s and 10s, which is yeah real weird
Liked by: Tom Head allyson marie

### Don't forget ableist! You're ableist too.

March 09, 2015
Right, that too.

### to the person who can only orgasm with a vibe, you're probably desensitized because of only ever using a vibe. gotta dial it back or stop for a bit, to get some sensation back! :)

March 09, 2015
boop
Liked by: Elizabeth allyson marie

### Do you like to cook, and if so, is there a recipe you'd like to share with us? <3

March 09, 2015
I can do the stuff on Robert Rodriguez DVDs and chocolate chip cookies, and that's about it. Also my cookie recipe hasn't worked since I left Arizona soooo
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Checked out Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt yet? It's basically 30 Rock. Although, satire aside, I'm starting to suspect Tina Fey has never met an actual gay man.

March 09, 2015
No, but I should because I really like Ellie Kemper. But yeah, 30 Rock was full of some very funny and very not-an-actual-person gay characters.

### Thoughts on satire? I read an article a while ago about someone who stopped playing Cards Against Humanity because it's based on this awkward trust that everyone you're with isn't actually racist or homophobic, but its subversively making a "safe space" for being shitty. Isn't most satire though?

March 09, 2015
I dunno. On the one hand, yeah, shittiness is shitty and ideally wouldn't exist. On the other hand, I have NEVER had a candid, jokey conversation with someone, no matter how progressive and liberal and feminist they may be, that didn't have a helping of "I am going to say this horrible thing ironically and it's okay because we know how we both really feel." Because that shit is funny, and it lightens horrible truths if you know what you're doing, and so long as its amongst a small group of people who understand what's going on, nobody really gets hurt.
Liked by: Tom Head Anastasia Murphy Gabriel Costantino

### how did you feel about bioshock infinite gameplay wise?

March 09, 2015
It lacks all sense of planning, which is why I loved BioShock. You don't craft, execute, botch and improvise a plan, you just react to enemies by using AOE stun/damage and headshots.

### what if you were wrong

March 09, 2015
Then I'd change my views, as I have done before when I was wrong.

### So you said back there that when people make fun of you on the internet you confort yourself by saying that " you are rich and got to make videogames". Do you attach alot of importance to being rich?

March 09, 2015
No, it's just a lot easier to type than "I have lots of wonderful friends I get to live with and I am considered fairly attractive by people I find attractive and I derive a lot of personal satisfaction out of my job and overall life situation".
Liked by: Tom Head Becky

### re: Rachel Edwards and the HAWP SJW vid, I screencapped a few of her longer posts if you're interested: http://prntscr.com/6eqe9t http://prntscr.com/6eqeu9 http://prntscr.com/6eqh5z http://prntscr.com/6eqi8p

March 09, 2015
Yeah, she's pretty much entirely full of shit. From denying the idea that privilege exists (I guess literally all people who don't succeed are just super lazy, and the Paris Hiltons of the world are just really smart) to mischaracterizing feminism at every opportunity ("it encourages you to judge people solely on race or gender!" uh, what), this kind of thinking reeks of privilege and internalized misogyny.

You wanna talk about how negativity and anger have overtaken modern internet feminism to the point where it's hard to make people listen? Sure. You wanna talk about how feminism currently does, and historically often has, ignored intersectionality in favor of making things easier for white, able-bodied, neurotypical people? Great. Wanna talk about TERFs and the problems they represent to feminism as a whole? You want to talk about any of the dozens of things that modern feminism does wrong, or needs to do better? Awesome -- these are discussions that need to happen, because feminism isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

Utterly misunderstanding feminism and the way the world currently works as a means of reducing compassion and blaming people for the abuse they receive? I have zero interest in that.

View more

### Cats control vermin, dogs are used for hunting, herding, guarding. From a position of urban affluence, no, there isn't anything special about them but for a lot of people there are very good reasons not to eat cats and dogs other than how cuddly they are.

March 09, 2015
Chickens eat bugs, cows can provide fertilizer and naturally mow grass. Gerbils don't do any of those things, and we don't eat gerbils. We can go back and forth with arbitrary reasons to eat or not eat things, but you're missing the point.

### We eat chickens. Lots of people have chickens, they show a ton of affection. The battery farms are utterly barbaric. But we eat them. A lot of places non-western also domesticated guinea pigs for food (just contributing to the conversation, I basically side with you about most things)

March 09, 2015
You're nitpicking. Yes, some people are friends with chickens. But we generally don't eat dogs and cats because they are, by and large, considered friendly or special when there is nothing logically making that true. We generally agree that slicing a puppy's throat, cooking it and eating it is morally abhorrent, but we don't reserve that same horror for doing the same to dozens of other animals.

I'm making a roundabout "if slaughterhouses had glass walls most people wouldn't eat meat" argument.

### To the brainwashing guy, bad argument, consider most scientologists think of everyone else as "brainwashed" and maybe think about how you're not any worse off by people wanting to help women. You probably just suck. Stop using "female entitlement" as a crutch for people not liking you.

March 09, 2015
Boop

### What do you think of Better Call Saul so far?

March 09, 2015
It's pretty good. Interested to see where it goes. It's better when going for drama than laughs (I've only really chuckled once, in this week's episode with the old lady), but it's still really good.

### how good of a person do you honestly feel you are?

March 09, 2015
On an objective scale: not great. I am generally selfish and arrogant, I still eat animal byproducts, I don't donate anywhere near enough to charity, I am very politically inactive other than voting, and I still retain a lot of the racist/sexist/classist assumptions and ideas that society instilled in me at a young age. I am also hellishly impatient, especially when it comes to people I disagree with on fundamental truths of human existence and social structure.

On a relative scale, compared to most of the dickheads I e-interact with on a daily basis: I'm a fucking *incredible* person.
Liked by: Jeffrey Adam R Tom Head Becky Gabriel Costantino Anastasia Murphy

### i can only orgasm from a vibrator what do.

March 09, 2015
I was with a girl like this and she just used her vibrator during.
Liked by: Tom Head Brighid

### If dogs tasted good I think we would eat them so I don't really get your argument. Can you explain it from an economic view?

March 09, 2015
You think the only reason (western) people don't eat dog is because they don't taste good? You think it's just a weird coincidence that we don't eat any domesticated animals at all, that all domesticated animals that we love and show affection for just *happen* to be things we don't want to eat?
Liked by: Anastasia Murphy

### I can't find your gdc talk, is there a link somewhere?

March 09, 2015
It's not up yet. I'll ask if they can make it free in the vault, but there's no way if knowing if they will. If they don't, I'll just record myself performing it and upload it to youtube.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### I totally would eat my dogs if I needed to. Maybe because I often go hunting and skin what I eat I feel less guilty about eating meat than others do. Have you ever considered going hunting?

March 09, 2015
Not in the slightest, no.

### I sometimes wish I'd get cancer cause I think that would be only way to get people to care about me. Is there a way to get dark thoughts like that out of my head?

March 09, 2015
Therapy, perhaps?

### http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/11/06/we-should-stop-putting-women-in-jail-for-anything/ Dude. How can you deny female privilege and entitlement with a straight face? I have to know what kind of brainwashing you've been subjected to.

March 09, 2015
- One woman writes op-ed piece with relatively convincing, if naive factual support in argument of something that has not happened and likely never will
- Female privilege evidently exists across entire universe
Liked by: Anastasia Murphy

### Re: pigs -- I had a moment the other day that's had me ambivalent ever since. It was a video of a little piglet playing with a baby. Its little tail was wagging and everything, just like a dog. And I love my dog! I COULD potentially eschew meat, but never eggs, milk and cheese. You still eat those?

March 09, 2015
Yeah, I do.

### What are your favorite words in the English language? (Or any other language?)

March 09, 2015
'dog dick'

### About that HAWP, I find it hilarious when people share sentiments like 'I'm just saddened that he's pulled Ashly into this shit with him.' Why do people think Ash wasn't a feminist until you came and coerced her? Why do these people have such a hard time grasping women having agency and autonomy?

March 09, 2015
Probably for the same reason that the main insults leveled against me are "you could not control your wife from sleeping with other men." Nothing about me, specifically. All about my inability to restrict a woman's agency

(which, by the way, she never did)
Liked by: Becky Anastasia Murphy

### Saw you at GDC and just wanted to say, you looked very dapper

March 09, 2015
thax

### Hey mate, good to see you guys still churning out the occasional HAWP! As well the business with RocketJump. What would you say was the biggest lesson you learnt from writing a video game? Any fun stories from working at Gearbox? Thanks :)

March 09, 2015
Be nice and accomodating with your team, so your team will help you accomplish weird dumb shit that you wanna do. If you help them whenever they need it, they'll help you when you have an odd idea.

### Why are you so fucking beautiful?

March 09, 2015
shuks
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Glad to see some new HAWP. Hilarious as always but reading the comments made me physically ill. Have you considered disabling comments?

March 09, 2015
No, but I'll bring it up to Ash and Justin.

### Are the any foods you miss eating since becoming a vegetarian?

March 09, 2015
chicken and waffles
wendy's spicy chicken sandwich

### So Gaige's killer robot came in third in her science fair, and her rival bought off the judge's panel to take first with her knock-off of said robot. What the heck came in second place?

March 09, 2015
*shrug*

### What would your first declaration be as Pope?

March 09, 2015
"no more catholicism, let's play towerfall"

### http://www.polygon.com/2015/3/6/8159107/fat-game-characters-are-shaming-and-nasty this guy loves Ellie and I couldn't agree more.

March 09, 2015
that's todd, he cool.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### What are the best videogame soundtracks in your opinion?

March 09, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=374XUORge-s

### It's funny how the industry seems to want diversity while systematically homogenizing every single franchise into the same indiscernible pile of AAA trash instead of making different games to appeal to different tastes and demographics.

March 09, 2015
Turns out the games industry's revenue stream and production cycle is real weird

### What flawed or "broken" game would you like to see re-made given it was done under better resources, support and mentorship? A game thats potential was never realised.

March 09, 2015
ALPHA PROTOCOL

### how many takes did you have to do for the "sjw come out to play" scene?

March 09, 2015
A lot, because it's really hard to keep your fingers inside beer bottles when you have tiny fingers and the bottles are enormous and bottom-heavy.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Then what do you say to the plants that eat living organisms?

March 09, 2015
I don't say anything because they're *fucking plants* holy shit

I don't judge the rest of the animal kingdom for eating other animals because they are not intelligent enough to have any alternative. Humans CAN survive without eating animals, but choose not to because it's more comfortable.
Liked by: Anastasia Murphy

### I don't think plants WANT to be eaten. Why else would they evolve to have spicy fruits/vegetables in order to not be eaten? They may not feel pain like we do but they're designed to try to survive and reproduce.

March 09, 2015
Feeling pain is kind of the important part.
Liked by: Anastasia Murphy

### You need to remind people that you're not trained in psychology and can't help them through a lot of their problems and that they should seek professional help instead, more often.

March 09, 2015
True. I don't know anything and therapy is good, so you should probably just talk to a therapist.

### I think the main reason people don't want to legalize prostitution is because they see it as morally corrupt due to years of being shamed for their own sexuality. We are nation that's trained to be more scared of sex than we are violence.

March 09, 2015
yup

### My professor tasked me to explain America's role in global politics in two minutes or less. Played the Civ 5 video. Got an A. Thanks bro.

March 09, 2015
I'm like 90% sure you're lying, but still. Nice.

### Who is best gem and why is it Garnet?

March 08, 2015
uh sorry it's amethyst because she's fierce and hilarious and kind of a dick

### Aren't plants still living organisms? Are we not just simply switching from organisms toward which we have emotional attachment to others that we are more apathetic about simply as a way to appease our guilt and conscious?

March 08, 2015
Plants don't have nervous systems or consciousness. It's not a difficult distinction.

### Would you date a real-life version of Nisha?

March 08, 2015
No, because I'd be frightened for my personal safety.

But I'd want to.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Manaphy Natu sad boy Kerissa Young

### Do you not think "pulling a funny face" creates a culture of mocking the disabled?

March 08, 2015
I don't think so. Can't a funny face just be a funny face?

### What's your genuine opinion on cultures that eat meat being justified if they eat all kinds of meat? Like, they don't value dogs or cats higher than any other animal, so there's no real bias? I'm not sure if I'm wording this right, English is my second language - I apologise.

March 08, 2015
I find it more morally uncomfortable, but also more logically consistent.

### Why are SJW so obsessed with each other's feelings? It's kind of pathetic.

March 08, 2015
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion
Liked by: Daria Drenker Samantha Walden Jeffrey Gumba Masta Xander C sad boy Jordan Killing U. Guy Becky L. ucas Paulino

### Have you seen the replies by Rachel Edwards on the latest HAWP video? If so, what did you think of her arguments (as far as I can tell, she IS an ACTUAL woman).

March 08, 2015
I checked outta the comments a long time ago. But yes, there are some women gamergaters. Cool. There were also lots of women who fought against women's suffrage. Internalized racism/misogyny is definitely A Thing That Exists.

### Is Turbomansion as magical as I imagine it?

March 08, 2015
yeah, I enjoy it a lot. I came home one day and everyone was drinking margaritas and laughing and playing taylor swift really loud.

this was tuesday.
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### i had a dream that you were on jimmy fallon promoting the next episode of tales from the borderlands, and you had a bunch of body doubles who you did circus tricks with.

March 08, 2015
canon
Liked by: sad boy Becky

### I tried to do that Fallout New Vegas Doctor run, which started out as a lot of fun, but as soon as I followed the main quest to Prim I couldn't do anything without being caught and shot to death. Would you suggest playing through the game 'normally' first to find it easier? Big fan also btw :)

March 08, 2015
Oh god, yes. Don't play the game that way as your first playthrough. If you don't know the basic structure of the game (and therefore where you need to go/what you can skip), all unusual playthroughs are really difficult.

### I'm 28 year old homosexual and I have caught myself recently masturbating to hetero-porn in great frequency these past few months. I am in a loving relationship with my current boyfriend, but I'm starting to doubt if I'm really attracted to him. Has this ever happened to you?

March 08, 2015
I've had times where I got into unusual porn/porn that "shouldn't" appeal to me, but those feelings were never attached to doubts about my current partner. You may want to talk to someone.

### Have you ever had a booty call?

March 08, 2015
Yup. So long as everyone's clear on what is happening and why, it can be very enjoyable.

### How do you feel about the "at least I'm not Anthony Burch" meme? Your life actually inspires people because of how laughable it is. During the GDC awards twitch stream, when you showed up, the chat was filled with "cuck" jokes. So thanks for existing, you give others hope.

March 08, 2015
It's mildly irritating and mildly amusing at the same time. Every time I see something like that, I just think, "uh, you know I'm rich and got to write video games for a living, right?"
Liked by: Tom Head

### read that polygon article your sister wrote. why are girls so sexist?

March 08, 2015
-she didn't write it
-you're stupid
Liked by: Tom Head Gabriel Costantino

### What gaming websites do you recommend?

March 08, 2015
rockpapershotgun, kotaku and pcgamer are all i read. and occasionally eurogamer

### Just wanted to join the chorus saying you are good and cool and the people who vehemently disagree with those statements are almost universally misogynistic assholes so you are CLEARLY doing everything right. Also ur cute.

March 08, 2015
thank you on several different levels

### How do you feel about Zarya? Slapping tits on a man and calling him a woman does not make them progressive imo.

March 08, 2015
I think she's a badass chick with a different body type than we usually see and her visual design is spectacular.

### Hey, serious question time, did you made Maya asexual because you wanted to avoid her being in a relation ship with Kreig or something?

March 08, 2015
Those were separate decisions.

### Favorite Muppet movie?

March 08, 2015
Muppets Take Manhattan

### prostitution isn't always a victimless crime, sure pros consent to selling there bodies but what about the families of the customer. what bout the omen being exploited. i thought you were about equality and shit?

March 08, 2015
Aren't those things that would be solved by legalization? Predatory pimps, abuse, keeping violence against sex workers under the table -- all are perpetuated by the fact that sex workers aren't legally protected.

### holy shit until reading the youtube comments on the latest HAWP video (which I loved more than anything in the world btw), I didn't the large degree of ridiculous hate you get. I'm sorry, and for what it's worth, those people don't know shit. You have a positive effect on people and you're great.

March 08, 2015
thanks -- i appreciate it.

### Do you think there's a certain magic that's been lost to games since the 8- and 16-bit days, or is this just nostalgia?

March 08, 2015
It's a different magic. Everything's got its own unique appeal, and the 8 and 16 bit games had a really different view on game design (make everything long and nigh-impossible because our last memory of good game design came from arcades)

### You have 4200 answers, you tweet an average of 2461.53 times a year, and you've been on ask.fm for less than a year.

March 08, 2015
i should probably kill myself

### I wrote a rap for you. *ahem* Anthony Burch is like Tom and Jerry. Going every day like Halle Berry. It took me six months to write, I hope you enjoyed it.

March 08, 2015
that's a lot of months

### Hey, there. What, if any, work did you do on the upcoming DLC: Claptastic Voyage? Also, your hair looks great today. What kind of conditioner do you use? Good gods.

March 08, 2015
-basically none apart from giving suggestions on overall structure and some plot beats
- none
-thanks

### Justification for eating meat, any meat: because I can, I'm earths apex predator. Also veal parmigiana is fucking delicious.

March 08, 2015
This is at least logically consistent.

### Man there seem to be some awful people writing awful things about you I want to push there face in poo but I can't is there anyway I can help?

March 06, 2015
you just did
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### you still eat dairy though, right? are you aware of veal's connection to dairy farming?

March 06, 2015
I do eat dairy, yeah. I don't know about the veal connection, though

### Seriously, how is ANYONE surprised by your latest HAWP video? You've hardly been shy about your beliefs on this, even in previous HAWP episodes.

March 06, 2015
no fucking clue

### Do you have any technique to avoid being nervous around cute girls/guys?

March 06, 2015
Nope. Wish I did. I honestly just try to get as far away from them as possible and not ever look at them.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Do you think your ideas about character and plot in DLC is why Old World Blues for New Vegas was the best received of that game's DLC? Similarly why Lonesome Road was received more coldly?

March 06, 2015
100% yes, Old World Blues is one of my favorite DLCs ever specifically because of its character focus

### re: eating meat: have you seen the most recent eps of the walking dead? If you were starving, you'd eat dog. Plenty of people in the world ARE starving. They cant afford to be that picky.

March 06, 2015
That's literally not what we're talking about. You have the option to not eat meat and still get all the nutrients you need, which -- okay, you made that choice, fine, that's fine. But don't pretend it's anything other than a preference because conscious things taste better than not-conscious things. It's not survivability, it's not necessity, it's not health. It's comfort, and nothing else.

### Did you set out to make Borderlands 2 hostile and unwelcoming to heterosexual males or did it just pan out that way?

March 06, 2015
boo hoo you fucking baby
Liked by: Daria Drenker Nicole Neece Jeffrey sad boy Kerissa Young Sam McKoy Mnemonic Light Becky Tom Head Gabriel Costantino

### I don't not eat dogs because of their loyalty, sweetness, etc. I don't eat them because I view them as pets and have been raised to see that dogs are sweet. Yes, pigs are sweeties too, but most pigs i've met are in farming contexts. so eating them doesn't bother me too much.

March 06, 2015
There's no inherent logic that justifies eating one over the other, so you're just allowing social norms to define your life and moral decisions.

### Watching the new HAWP video (much giggles btw) and jesus christ a lot of your following has gotten nasty though. I'm so sorry. One of those comment sections where I feel compelled to counter with some love but it's not worth the fifty hate messages I'll get in reply. So I'm here instead. Love you.

March 06, 2015
Thanks -- I appreciate it.
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### What are your views on prostitution?

March 06, 2015
Victimless crime, should be legal, consenting adults, etc.

### I read an article on where you were talking about plots revolving around characters make the best stories and I realized its totally true. I think people like Handsome Jack because of this(and he's funny) because BL2 felt like the story revolved more around him than the VH. BTW, you're awesome! :)

March 04, 2015
thanks very much
Liked by: Ivan Aranda

### I used to be sexual then over the past few years it's come to the point of repulsing me. Do you think it's possible to become asexual overtime? I'm young btw

March 04, 2015
Yes, it's possible.
Liked by: Becky

### You seem very understanding & I have a problem that I cant talk about to anyone I know im sorry to get personal like this. When I was four I was running w/o my pants on & i fell on a rock & started bleeding but I didn't tell the doctors because they told me not to do that anymore & im still bleeding

March 04, 2015
Oh jesus what go to a doctor again, tell them what you just told me
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### why do you feel guilt for eating meat?

March 04, 2015
The shortest, easiest to understand version of this argument:

You don't eat dogs, right? Because it'd be barbaric to do so, because dogs are sweet and loving and intelligent and loyal.

Pigs are JUST as smart, as loyal, and as sweet (if not more so). But you eat them.

That's kinda weird.

### Would you ever message someone a second time on OkCupid if they didn't respond the first time? I can't imagine anything that wouldn't sound insecure and desperate and/or creepy (which is probably a good reason not to haha)

March 04, 2015
Never.

### How do you have sex right?

March 04, 2015
still figuring that out
Liked by: Becky Ratzsa

### Should Edward Snowden be given a Presidential Pardon?

March 04, 2015
yes

### Ever try to take the time to learn and play Dwarf Fortress? Do you think it will be finished in our lifetime?

March 04, 2015
No, to both questions.

### what does a writing test in a job application generally consist of

March 04, 2015
varies from game to game. Generally a short mission or cut scene. My BL2 writing one was just two or three short quests.

### is tweetdeck worth using?

March 04, 2015
yes, especially if you want to mute certain words or phrases

### http://handsomejackass.tumblr.com/post/112676295413/so-here-it-is-took-2-hours-and-was-not-actually i got this tattoo and i just wanted to say thank you for partially being responsible for it

March 04, 2015
hot damn jesus lord
Liked by: Harley Bird Kerissa Young Samantha Dale

### Why do asses use the word sjw as a pejorative? same as white knight, as if implying that the only reason anyone would ever want to help others is to feed their own sense of superiority. which is a way to deflect their own guilt, justifying it with "well only smug pricks like helping others"

March 03, 2015
yep.

### What do you mean by not paying attention to Dark Souls story? Do you not enjoy the mythology that you can build arround the world arround you?

March 03, 2015
I'm not big on capital-L Lore. Most of the hidden story in Dark Souls seems to be about Lore.

### Does being a vegetarian have any merits?

March 03, 2015
I feel a lot better, a lot healthier. Also less guilty.

### Why don't more developers who claim "dynamic choice and consequence" ever look at games like XCOM or EVE Online for those kinds of systems, instead of it being "choose 1 of 4 different pre-set and static branches"?

March 03, 2015
Because players haven't gotten good at understanding that the types of systemic stories you get from XCOM/EVE/The Sims are as interesting as scripted "content."

### Why do sjws love the word toxic so much?

March 03, 2015
Because it's, again, a good word. It implies poison that harms all it touches and spreads outward. Would you prefer I called it "bad masculinity"?
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Nolan Sullivan

### what's the last animal you pet

March 03, 2015
The two turbomansion dogs, Seymour and Koopa. I love them

### have you read the "silo" series? it's like die hard, the book, with a female MC

March 03, 2015
oh fuck

### do you worry about approaching someone when you're in a really vulnerable place but they're in an average mood and having what you say be viewed as emo melodramatic bullshit like it would sound to you if you were in a different mood

March 02, 2015
Only if I was approaching someone whom I wasn't sure would have my back no matter what.

### why is that mentality of 'second place is the first loser' so hard to get over? literally struggling with this in my first my relationship

March 02, 2015
I don't understand this mentality. I honestly can't imagine anyone but complete fucking assholes believing this to be true -- I wouldn't know the first thing to do about it, because it shows such a rampant disregard for reality and a robotic belief in the shit movies and politics and toxic masculinity have shoved down our throats for decades.

### why do sjws love the word problematic so much?

March 02, 2015
Because it's a good word. It separates "this work/person espouses ideas that are bad" and "this person/work IS bad". It allows a distance to critique the morality or message of something without condemning the thing itself.
Liked by: Carmen Gabriel Costantino

### bird https://vine.co/v/OQqHDgUdjbQ

March 02, 2015
oh no i love him so much

### what are you doing with your life

March 02, 2015
Writing sketches and being happy.
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### So looks like Virtual Reality is coming up at the end of this year to the public. Do you have any plans for it?

March 02, 2015
To not buy it until it's proven to not be a gimmick.

### Would you have a three way with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, if you were given the offer?

March 01, 2015
Prob
Liked by: Jayne

### I am now 1 month fap free. I'd give myself a pat on the back, but I'm afraid it might lead to something else.

March 01, 2015
Grats!
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Favorite Eastwood westerns? Starred in or directed, it doesn't matter.

March 01, 2015
The good the bad and the ugly; unforgiven

### What is a good gender neutral pronoun? It seems offensive and s/he might confuse my readers. They is plural. Halp.

March 01, 2015
I just say "they" because "zhe" looks weird and isn't widely known, and I don't care about the grammatical issues.

### Did you understand Dark Souls story and lore on your own?

March 01, 2015
God no. I didn't pay any attention to that stuff.

### do you think a person is in the right to complain about the design of characters in a game they haven't played?

March 01, 2015
Of course not, if we're talking gameplay. Of course, if we're taking visual design.

### Hello Commander. In light of the recent extraterrestrial incursion, this council of nations has convened to approve the activation of the XCOM project. You have been chosen to lead this initiative; to oversee our first, and last, line of defense.

March 01, 2015
All my soldiers are now named fartspurt

### have you played citizens of earth? I'm really loving it.

March 01, 2015
I heard it was a jrpg, so Nah

### do you believe it’s better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission? not just in relationships, life in general.

February 28, 2015
In relationships, absolutely 100% not.

If you're working at a place that's kind of problematic and you're in a position where you can? Yeah, do that shit.
Liked by: Becky Tom Head

### What's a Pimentaco?

February 28, 2015
wouldn't know, didn't write that line

### I love to eat my dad ass

February 28, 2015
solid sentence
Liked by: sad boy Becky Brighid allyson marie

### How are women treating you in LA?

February 28, 2015
They're way, way too attractive for me. I had to spend time around *literally the prettiest girl I have ever seen in person* and I reverted back to the confidenceless junior high version of myself.
Liked by: Becky Adam R allyson marie

### At your recommendation, I've seen High Noon and Winchester '73 (both were great btw). Do you have any other non-Eastwood, non-Wayne Western recs?

February 28, 2015
Tombstone, Open Range

### i gotta admit, i never found david tennant attractive while watchin doctor who but hOT DAMN LOOK AT HIM IN THIS PHOTOSET GOOD GOTDAMN http://primavega.tumblr.com/post/110365297640/things-that-we-lost-david-tennant-on-set-of

February 28, 2015
yuppppp
Liked by: Becky

### RE the Ratchet & Clank thing (different person) if you can, Going Commando is probably the best between writing and gameplay. Up Your Arsenal is also a really good follow-up. The Future games are a little too soft, but Into the Nexus was a good return to form. Otherwise, skip the Future games.

February 27, 2015
aight

### Do you wear contacts now? I don't remember seeing you without glasses except in your last few tweety photos, unless I'm just blanking. Anyway, lookin FLLLLLLYYYYY with that candy cig, booOOoooy. How much flyer with a pipe, tho?

February 27, 2015
Optometrist told me I didn't really need glasses that badly.
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### An alleged CIA "black site" was discovered in Chicago whose detainees claim to have been held illegally without due process. How does this make you feel? http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/25/chicago-homan-square-former-justice-officials-call-for-investigation

February 26, 2015
NOT GREAT

### you say that games shouldn't take their selves so seriously and have fun like borderlands 2 and after. Ratchet and clank does that. just spreading the love like nutella.

February 26, 2015
what are the must-play R&C games? I got through a bit of future but the lack of challenge just kinda turned me off.

### Thoughts on the game Republique? I enjoy it immensely and find that the gameplay and the narrative actually intertwine. Yet I really don't see a lot of people talking about it.

February 26, 2015
I played like twenty minutes of the first episode and really didn't like the stealth controls. I'm going to try again when the PC version comes out.

### Do you smoke? If so, what's your poison?

February 26, 2015
No, but I found out I look super good with a candy cigarette on my lip so I guess I'm just gonna doooooo that forever
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### anthony hi hello!! i'm the person who was writing about dark souls a couple of times. just wanted to let you know that i've finished it a couple of days ago :D also is it worth to play dark souls 2?? it feels like a lot of people have mixed opinions on that one?

February 26, 2015
NIIIICE

Yeah, DS2 is worth a play. It's not as good as DS1, but the DLC for it is some of the best Souls stuff that exists, period.

### "obviously opportunistic" on your mom's part, dad's part, or both?

February 26, 2015
both

### (Druckman continuation)But that goes against your argument that the problem is resource allocation and gamer's attention span. The only "good ending" in the industry, as you put it, TLOU one, is basically the hospital level, which is fairly standard, a cinematic, the epilogue walk in the woods(cont)

February 26, 2015
The hospital level is not "fairly standard." It includes a unique, one-off bit of interactivity (the doctor), is an intense and well-designed gunfight, and has two huge cut scenes at the end.

Which, again, Naughty Dog can get away with because their games aren't very long and their entire studio is built around story.

### Do you not like watching the final season of shows?

February 26, 2015
I love the final seasons. I like it when things end -- not because I'm a nihilist or something, but because in the age of franchises and sequels and shit, nothing ever actually seems to end.
Liked by: Becky

### You tend to talk about Borderlands as if the gameplay is waffles/syrup while your writing is more of the butter (it's nice but no one really misses it if it's not there) but surely the existence of Tales From the Borderlands and how they went out of their way to emulate your humor says something?

February 26, 2015
It says that "hey, the story in this FPS had potential but it clearly isn't singing as well as it could in a nonFPS"

### Parks and Rec has come to an end. I cried a little. How did you feel about it?

February 25, 2015
Didn't watch it. Was waiting for the entire season to be done to know if it's worth watching all of, or if it'd just leave a sour taste.

### Hi! So, I've been playing the crap outta Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel lately, and my favorite character is the Doppelganger. I'm asking here because I can't find this anywhere. What happens to him after events on Elpis? It'd suck if he's dead, there's so much story potential with him.

February 25, 2015
*shrug*

### Neil Druckman said that your excuse for bad endings in the industry is "pretty lame"!

February 25, 2015
That's because he's the only guy in the industry who made a good ending, because he works for a company that's like 90% about narrative.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### What are you "must-see" video game talks/presentations on the internet?

February 25, 2015
most anything jon blow does, vlambeer on game feel

### Loved your Kotaku piece. As somebody who is a fan of, like, life and shit, I really appreciate your openness and willingness to engage, especially now that I know you probably read ALL the negative shit people say about you. Please don't stop; it could be the most impactful thing you do.

February 25, 2015
thx girl

### Have you ever tried Monster Hunter? What do you make of it?

February 25, 2015
Too grindy, can't do it.

### Why do you hate AssCreed so much? I really liked AC2, Brotherhood, and Black Flag. Just really curious as to your reasons.

February 25, 2015
They're a bunch of almost-games that don't add to an actual game. The combat is its own self-contained thing that does't interact with anything else. DItto for the parkour, ditto for the "stealth" mechanics that aren't at all functional as stealth mechanics. It's a bunch of self-contained systems that don't add together into a cohesive whole that interact with one another.

Shadow of Mordor is what happens when you take all of those mechanics and make them actually work together.

### Have you ever met a police officer? What was it like?

February 25, 2015
Once in Texas (really nice and cool!)

Once in Phoenix (fucking asshole who I hope gets hit by eight buses!)
Liked by: sad boy

### How did your parents meet?

February 25, 2015
Dad saw her in Thailand during new year's eve, came back a year later describing what she looked like and how beautiful she was.

Sounded sweet as a kid, now (years after their divorce) seems creepy and obviously opportunistic.
Liked by: sad boy

### If I have a WiiU, PS4, New3ds, and PS Vita is there any point in investing in a gaming PC?

February 25, 2015
Yes. Gaming PCs are best for indie games and multiplayer stuff.

### You like Steven Universe? Would you mind telling me what the appeal is for that show? It never really grabbed my attention.

February 25, 2015
It's incredibly funny and sweet and sailor moon if one of the sailors was a little boy.

### Is your Gearbox email still functional?

February 25, 2015
nope

### Do you watch Game of Thrones and if so, which house would you belong to?

February 24, 2015
Martel, I guess? I'd like to say Martel.
Liked by: Xavby the Skink

### ANOTHER PUMPED BIRD LOOK AT HIM GO https://vine.co/v/Ox5znjXDWjV

February 24, 2015
i love him

### You feel like you've "made it" yet?

February 24, 2015
Yeah, but that it can be un"made" in the drop of a hat so I'm still scared always.

### What games are you most excited for in the next few months? I'm all about No Man's Sky, but still haven't seen a release date for that one.

February 24, 2015
No Man's Sky, BLoodborne, Witcher 3. And others I am super forgetting.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Hey I just rewatched my s3 hawp dvd. Why does Ash have duct tape on her finger in some episodes?

February 24, 2015
I think she cut her finger and we filmed like all the episodes in the span of a couple days.

### Hey Anthony, I am a high school Junior. I love writing and I love video games, with a serious passion for the industry and for the products themselves. My question to you is, what steps/advice did you take to become a lead writer for a game design company? Or for writing for a gaming magazine?

Ashlin Bell
February 24, 2015
I wrote for Destructoid just by applying, and they're still open to hiring people just based on that. I got the Gearbox job by making my own web series and meeting the right people at GDC.

### If there was an overly-exaggerated anime about the adventures of being Anthony, who would be the voice actor playing you: Crispin Freeman, David Hatter, Eddings, Yuri Lowenthal or Will Wheaton?

February 24, 2015
probably ash

### Ever watch steven universe? It's not unfamiliar to adventure time with, in my opinion, better characters from a plot standpoint and the fact that Steven is possibly the best written child in a cartoon ever.

February 24, 2015
Steven Universe is one of my favorite cartoons ever.

### So, what does a marginalized person do if they want to help look over your writing? Just send you an email like, "Hey, I am an XYZ person so if you need assistance writing an XYZ character, hit me up"?

February 23, 2015
Yup.

### anthony no fap burch http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/2ud97y/the_amount_of_girls_that_notice_me_is_insane/

February 23, 2015
boop

### are cockatiels messy pets to have? whenever i mention that i want to have a cockatiel as a pet one day, my mom goes, "but they're so dirty!" is that an actual thing in your experience?

February 23, 2015
They molt a bit and they do a poop like once every fifteen minutes, but it's not a huge deal honestly.

### Do you think "thin privilege" is actually a thing?

February 23, 2015
I think people naturally think I'm smarter/more responsible because I'm thin, sure.

### where are farts?

February 23, 2015
inside you all along

### u luv turds AND THATS A FACT

February 23, 2015
<3
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### One of my goals in life is to have the phone number/contact info of a list of people who I really admire in the games industry. Do you think this is a good goal?

February 23, 2015
No, because that kind of turns people into cheevos to be farmed rather than actual people. I've met enough Aggressive Networkers at parties that I really really learned to despise that kind of attitude.

### The Good Wife season 4 ep. with the Olympics panel and French judges is just so good. Diane's hilarious accent. The interesting switch of venue. Another classic PG sex scene. And Elsbeth is the greatest thing in any given episode. I get it, man. This show is great. Now there are four of us that know

February 23, 2015
Elsbeth needs her own show plz
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Alicia Florrick has an adorable laugh. Your thoughts?

February 21, 2015
When it's genuine, it's nice cause she spends like 99% of the show really fuckin' irritated.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### do u eat ass?

February 21, 2015
if the ass looks nice, sure
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Did you enjoy a game more if you don't know how far through you are?

February 21, 2015
No. I like having a sense of where I am and what to look forward to in terms of pacing.

### As the single, final embodiment of leaving Gearbox, please, oh great God Anthony, tell me who in the great expanse of Borderlands, in which characters vary hugely and proudly, which wonderful Borderlands lady has the best boobs?

February 21, 2015
ellie
Liked by: Becky

### hey, you dont work for Gearbox anymore, but I still have to know. x) My hus sent an ask a long time ago where he asked if you'd ship brick/mordecai, and you said you'd thing about it. did you think about it? what's the verdict?

February 20, 2015
Sure.

### you met ken Levine?

February 20, 2015
Yeah, at E3 or something one year. At a Binfinite party, I think.
Liked by: Ser. Wartortle

### Did you come around to liking the Suicide Mission at the end of ME2 and actually thinking you're a bad leader, instead of that the mechanic was bad, or were you half saying that so as to not shit on Ash's enjoyment of the game?

February 20, 2015
Nah, I still think it's kinda weird that out of nowhere you have a multiple-choice test to solve the entire game.

### diverse enemies: fallout does a pretty good job at that with like raiders and stuff and i never feel any different, they are just simple enemies and that is part of the game. I may notice they are female in a way i may notice they have silly hair. Unless the game setting doesn't allow

February 20, 2015
That's partially because Bethesda (I think) uses their character creator to create NPCs, and since you can wear anything in the game regardless of your character's gender, they needed to make gendered armor and hair and accessories and stuff.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's super okay to not have female enemies. I'm just saying it does take a *bit* of work, and I'm really glad the Bethesda games do that work.

### Why did you defend QTEs? Why should I have to press buttons during a cutscene?

February 20, 2015
I don't like QTE's, but when I did they were kinda novel and neat. There was a time period where we all thought QTE's were kind of fun. That's what led to us all getting tired of them.

### Who breaks more when filming HAWP episodes, you or Ash?

February 20, 2015
me, because Ash is an actor
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### Do you think Korra getting brutalised so much is a consequence of her gender or of the fact that she happened to be their sequel and they wanted to raise the stakes/tell darker stories with an older character?

February 20, 2015
Probably the latter, honestly.

### you played the escapists?

February 20, 2015
No -- should I?

### Not that it defends it, but in the Princess Bride book, Inigo and Fezzik get detailed and sort of emotional back stories with big chunks devoted to it. Book Buttercup is a parody of fantasy princesses, she's redonk gullible and passive. So Wesley is a hero parody too. But it's not clear in the film.

February 20, 2015
Ah, neat. Yeah, I probably woulda dug that more.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Is it appropriate to call a strong friendship between two woman a bromance?

February 20, 2015
I dunno if appropriate is the word.

"Bromance" only exists because patriarchal assumptions of masculinity say that men should not have deep, emotional connections with other man. So we can't be real and say that dudes can love one another platonically like women can -- we just come up with a funnier, alternate word to describe a relationship that should be totally normal and not stigmatized or laughed at.

### Will we ever see equal gender representation in all the random enemies that we kill in games? There's lots of push to get minority representation in protagonists and their allies, but many of these "diverse" games (including Borderlands series!) still make you only kill men. Boss fights don't count.

February 20, 2015
Right, there's a couple of reasons for this:

- A lot of devs feel that female enemies need different animation rigs or they don't look correct (breasts clipping through arms or whatever). I don't personally agree with this. Female enemies DO require different art (heads/clothing), though; if you're just making a Male enemy then you can design all of your little attachments and alt stuff around that basic guy. If you're making a female enemy, you may have to make additional attachments or art pieces or whatever (like imagine if your enemy is a shirtless psycho; the female variant now needs art to cover up her tits or whatever).

- Violence against women is definitely A Thing that gives people pause, and not unreasonably. Equality-wise, it should totally be just as fine to shoot a virtual woman enemy in the face as a virtual dude enemy, but people feel a little weird about it for various reasons.

I talked with Zoe about this at GaymerX, and she basically said that so long as the female enemies aren't making orgasm-esque noises when they're hurt, then the net gain of having a 50% cast amongst your enemies outdoes the perceived or potential harm of making a game about killing women.

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### Why are women so obsessed with getting cum on their faces?

February 20, 2015
Seems like a pretty odd thing to make a blanket statement about.

### You're in the top 8 of an event, or you are ready for your next match in the cage/ring. What song do you walk out to? List up to two.

February 20, 2015
Knights of Cydonia
this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXzg0D-cKds
Liked by: Jeffrey Shina Becky rebound nothingxs

### Are you interested in living on Mars One?

February 20, 2015
NOPE

### night crawler is worth watching m8

February 20, 2015
yeah it is

### Do you have any psychiatric conditions or symptoms of mental illness? Clinical depression, anxiety attacks, etc. If so, do you receive therapy or treatment for any of them?

February 20, 2015
I haven't ever been diagnosed with anything, no. I just get real sad sometimes, and I do see a therapist for that. Which helps a lot.

### So you and Ash don't like Princess Bride what's with that?

February 20, 2015
I dunno! It's just a weird thing. I don't find it appealing at all. My surface level reasoning (which is probably not the REAL reason but it's what comes to mind) is that I really hate how much of a Mary Sue Wesley is. He shows up and immediately kicks the asses of all the other characters, which just makes THEM a lot less cool and HIM cartoonishly perfect.

### why is Gone Home considered good while The Order is considered a shit?

February 20, 2015
Because (A) the Order isn't out yet, (B) the only thing we saw from The Order was some decent cover-based shooting and PS2-era QTEs, and (C) Gone Home is good.
Liked by: sad boy Gabriel Costantino

### Will Oscar the Grouch ever stop living in a trash can and get his life together?

February 19, 2015
he's happy to live in a trash can, don't judge his decisions

### Why does gender discrimination take priority over discrimination of height/weight/personal life choices?

February 18, 2015
Because people aren't currently doxxing and threatening people for being too short
Liked by: Daria Drenker Samantha Walden Jeffrey dire hell swan sad boy Becky Patrick Miller Karaface soha Dark Adonis

### I saw an interview of yours where you say "reading is boring, and that coming from a writer". Why do you think that?

February 18, 2015
I assume I was talking about reading pages upon pages of Lore Background Stuff in Skyrim, in which case I said it because that stuff is definitely boring.

### So now that you're leaving gbox behind can you finally tell us your head canon for Zer0? Its killing me man. Is he an alien? A cyborg? A cyborg alien?

February 18, 2015
I personally never much cared about his "real" origin story because it's the mystery that is important with him more than the answer.

That said, i definitely know what he is.
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton

### Is there a good standalone Torchwood episode I can watch with only Doctor Who knowledge? I've been trying to get into it but I can't. I'm hoping a really good episode will help me like it.

February 18, 2015
CHILDREN OF EARTH. It is by far the best Torchwood thing that exists and it is basically standalone.

### How do you feel about being linked Borderlands-related stuff now? I know you don't work for Gearbox anymore, but do you like seeing fanart and praise of your characters and past work?

February 17, 2015
Of course. Just because I'm not there anymore doesn't mean I didn't do stuff.
Liked by: TotalNerdAndProudOfIt

### If you had super powers what would they be and how would you screw it up? (I mean Spidey killed his gf one time so super powers do often lead to screw ups)

February 17, 2015
Stop time. I'd probably punch too many people to death while time was stopped and it'd look like I suddenly aged eight years in an hour

### Do you trust the Game of Thrones showrunners to make shit up on their own? Cause they write in January and that sixth book isn't even closed to finished for S6...

February 17, 2015
SHOW SPOILERS

Yeah, I do. The Brienne/Hound fight alone, despite not being in the book, was spectacularly dramatic and suspenseful.
Liked by: Becky Ser. Wartortle

### Have you made the no-fap challenge a permanent part of your lifestyle or was it a way to reset? If it was just a reset, how did your masturbation habits change afterwards? (I'm about a month into it right now myself, after first learning about it here. It's tough, but helpful. Thanks for that!)

February 17, 2015
It's a permanent thing for me now. It became surprisingly easy to give up after you've done a full reset.

### Are you a fan of reading? if so what books would you recommend? I am mostly into fantasy and i wanted to know if you knew of any great ones that are a good read

February 17, 2015
I read a bit of the Lies of Lock Lamora and it was pretty decent. I read the Night Angel trilogy and would recommend avoiding it. I finished it and immediately couldn't remember a single thing about any of the three books I'd read.

### What’s your favourite type of dessert?

February 16, 2015
Pizzookie/cookizza, depending on the place that has it.

Enormous chocolate chip cookie. Fresh, warm, gooey.

Enormous lump of vanilla ice cream on top.

The one you can get at Oregano's in Phoenix is my single favorite thing I've ever eaten, ever.

### I know I'm a little late to this party but I just wanted to thank you for all the writing on Borderlands 2. It helped me figure out my sexuality and gender and I enjoyed seeing how your writing changed (e.g. fewer memes) through the main game and into the DLC. Also your beard is rad as hell

February 16, 2015
<3
Liked by: Becky Ser. Wartortle

### "Re: write the character well the end" I think that dismisses how hard it can be. The experience (the fan was physically disabled) caused Harmon to reevaluate how he approached a potential Community character who was going to have Down Syndrome. Is it really easier for you than it is for Harmon?

February 16, 2015
You're right, I was oversimplifying.

Generally the best way to do that kind of thing, or so I hear, is to pay a person who belongs to the group you're writing about to look over your script.

### Dan Harmon (of Community) once met a fan who criticized token minority characters as shallow "inspiration porn." If you assign disproportionately positive traits to a minority character, the lack of depth or nuance makes the writer part of the tokenism problem. How do you find a healthy balance?

February 16, 2015
write the character well the end
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### You really do look like the type of person that would smoke weed.

February 16, 2015
That's fair.
Liked by: Ser. Wartortle

### Have you seen the Molyneux interview on RPS? Makes me feel bad for both Molyneux and Walker.

February 15, 2015
It mainly made me feel bad for Molyneux. He's called a liar over and over and over again, when the realities of game dev/his poor management skills/his naivete are far more likely culprits for what happened.

### I call bullshit everyone's tried weed at least once.

February 15, 2015
Except when they haven't?
Liked by: Jeffrey angeliceyestiredoflies Xavby the Skink Becky Samantha Dale Elizabeth

### PC or Mac?

February 15, 2015
PC

### Do you think websites like this hurt the gaming community or teach use to laugh at ourselves? I've seen some horrible comments in some of their articles. http://vgmmdi.com/first-official-female-gamer-discovered

February 15, 2015
I think if there's anything "gamers are dead" taught me, it's that gamers don't understand subtlety. So I'd err on the side of saying no, this is probably not super helpful.

### Do you have any red flags when it comes to women?

February 15, 2015
"Ugh, don't ask to kiss me, just kiss me"
Liked by: Becky Elizabeth RidgeBack Rogue Kerissa Young

### Dunno if anyone's asked you this before, but... do you like Archer?

February 15, 2015
Yeah, of course.

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkZYbOH0ujw You see this trailer? Any thoughts?

February 15, 2015
nope nope nope violence and sexuality conflated nope i can't do it nope
Liked by: Elizabeth

### How do you deal with a friend who may be hanging out with a really reprehensible person, as in, sexual assault suspect? How do you let them know who it is they're hanging out with? Asking for a friend.

February 15, 2015
You tell them straight out. I don't know if there's any magic bullet way to convince someone they might be bros with a rapist.

### Is "I like your head" a good opener for on OkCupid?

February 15, 2015
NOPE NJOPE NOPE NOPE

### Have you seen Kingsman? Amazing film that defies a lot of problematic tropes without "forcing" it.

February 15, 2015
No, but I want to. It initially looked like a fucking horrible kid's movie, then I watched a trailer with cursing and was like wait what why is this for adults, and then I read some reviews. So, yeah. It's on my list.

### As a longtime MK fan I think it's ridiculous the butthurt over female fighters in MKX being more realistically proportioned. I for one am thrilled, and I'm not overly concerned about social justice, I just think women look better when they're not sexualized to the point of absurdity.

February 15, 2015
It's really easy for people to think oversexualization/objectification are "important" parts of a franchise just because that franchise did it a lot. Which is obviously pretty dumb.

It's also, like -- for THIS, people are getting angry? Women still being super duper goddamned traditionally hot, except now their breasts are *slightly* smaller? It's not even like the characters are fully representative of the diversity of women's body types, they just aren't hilarious cartoons anymore. And THAT's worth getting up in arms about?
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### What's a cool way to say I live with my parents?

February 15, 2015
There is no cool way to say that. You just gotta say it and look properly apologetic and have a good story about the job market/student debt. It's "thankfully" more common these days thanks to loans, so it doesn't have the stigma it used to.

### What do you smell like?

February 15, 2015
In my opinion: not great
In some girls' opinions: pretty okay

### why dont people accept new vegas is better than 3?

February 15, 2015
3 was first so it had the value of being a surprise. Also, it was a little more polished, and a little more combat-heavy. A lot of gamers don't find nonviolent options as interesting as the violent ones -- if you're one of those, I can understand seeing New Vegas as "boring" -- the story is less "epic," the combats aren't as spectacular as the ones in F3. But if you value characterization, and roleplaying, and a world that feels a little more alive even if the stakes are smaller, then New Vegas is where it's at.

### 3.5 days in and i failed, i fapped. i started on twitter then pc magazine of all people. did an article with a porn star and then my brain went on a journey to bring back the fading fog and the seconds of dopamine. I'm not mad, I'm disappointed. now i know to get out when it's coming.

February 15, 2015
Yeah. IMMEDIATELY switch your focus to something else, something nonsexual, the second you feel something weird going on. This may mean turning off TV shows or movies that have sex scenes in them. Act like a complete goddamned prude if you have to.

### "any kind of easily accessible way to revive people means death means nothing" So does this mean that if there are ways of reviving characters but they are hard to acquire, death is still meaningful? Not asking about Borderlands specifically, but just fiction in general.

February 15, 2015
You've still done some serious damage to your world if you can bring someone back from the dead, even if it was a really difficult thing to do. Because "really difficult" is just a made up idea -- you came up with it at the drop of a hat, so now you've taught your audience that if you really wanted to, you could and would do it again.

### What can I do to stop myself shitposting?

February 15, 2015
Just remember what happened the last time you did it.

### is ur ass as svelte as they say?

February 15, 2015
does svelte mean nonexistent

### Did you ever expect this ask.fm blog to turn into a sex advice-focused agony aunt column like this

February 15, 2015
nope, but it beats answering questions about goddamn new-u every day
Liked by: Angela Jean Becky Kerissa Young RidgeBack Rogue

### ooh shit got dat big baby dick

February 15, 2015
another real good sentence, just a classic sentence all around
Liked by: Becky

### To the "female sexuality is disgusting" fellow: #1, Some women like jerks and some don't -- like my current gf for example. Just keep looking, and maybe in different places. #2, you're acting like male sexuality is consistently wholesome and admirable.

February 15, 2015
Yarp.
Liked by: RidgeBack Rogue

### your offered phone sex but are 4 days in to nofap, what do!?

February 15, 2015
DO NOT DO IT. I made this mistake in the past. I thought phone sex didn't count, but it 100% does. Ditto for Skype sex.
Liked by: Becky Elizabeth

### I immediately thought of you. Happy Valentine's (ironically from someone who also really doesn't observe it): http://s8.postimg.org/z8mnc0syd/image.jpg

February 15, 2015
guuuuuuu

### I'm not a big fan of Gawker, but on the other side, why do some people parade around Breitbart (Specifically Milo) and his disgusting, transphobic hitpieces as "ethical journalism" when they are anything but?

February 14, 2015
Because those people are disgusting and transphobic, probably

### Is it wrong to have a policy of "feel free to see other dudes just don't expect me to pay your way/buy you anything?"

February 14, 2015
No policy is wrong if you've both talked it out and are okay with it

### Does getting complimented by people you don't know make you feel good? Or does it not have much effect after years of being _iNNeRnEt_FAyMus_? Someone says the slightest positive thing about me and I turn into a complete megalomaniac

February 14, 2015
It feels a little good. Only a little, though, because if my intense lack of confidence.

### Are you super self deprecating in your OkCupid profile (if you still have one) or do you try and avoid that?

February 14, 2015
Yes, but in a funny way because that's who I am.

### Uhhhh the Vietnam War had a draft and people protested and it took TWENTY YEARS to end. We had four different presidents during those years. I have no idea what that person's argument is or where they got it from.

February 14, 2015
Ahh

### I was trying to figure a work around for the Roland no re-spawn, Claptraps as personal re-spawn stations, their antenna look like the checkpoints in BL1, and they could just chill at the beginning of the level and if they die, no re-spawn. is this a stupid idea?

February 13, 2015
ANY form of respawning in the canon ruins the canon. If there exists some easily accessible way to revive people, death in your universe now means literally nothing.

### Take me through how you would react if a prudish family member unintentionally stumbled upon a bunch of nude pics of you.

February 13, 2015
I don't have any prudish family members

### Have you ever played a game that, once you finished it, left you properly sad that it was over?

February 13, 2015
Portal? Maybe? Generally not, because most games are far too long.

### I honestly believe we need to start doing drafts again. I mean as soon as the US starts doing drafts people start rallying to end wars because of the emotion of knowing it would be their child and not some random volunteer stranger. Thoughts?

February 13, 2015
The Iraq war convinced me that public protest doesn't do shit to affect war policy anymore. I don't want anything even remotely approaching a draft.

### tell us the story of the baby goat

February 13, 2015
Baby goat
Liked by: mackenzie charlton allyson marie

### is there anything worth living for

February 13, 2015
Friends, love, video games. Cookies.
Liked by: Samantha Dale allyson marie

### Have you ever attended E3? What was it like?

February 13, 2015
It was like PAX. It's almost identical to PAX except less busy.
Liked by: Ser. Wartortle

### Congrats of the new job. But aren't you gonna miss creating universes with your motherfucking mind?

February 13, 2015
You can get the same thrill from working in TV, I hear.
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman

### i hate valentines day, makes me feel more lonely, it just exploits people for money, if you love some one why wait for one day to give them 100%. you opinion o' might burch?

February 13, 2015
Pretty much agreed. I don't hate it, I just find it kinda stupid and I ignore it.

### So what happens when we can finally send robot soldiers into war instead of humans?

February 13, 2015
I'd say "we probably go to war way more often," but we already do that a lot so

### http://www.stripes.com/news/special-reports/suicide-in-the-military/maltreated-and-hazed-one-soldier-is-driven-to-take-his-own-life-1.145941 This is my friend I told you about. Please share this, people deserve to know his story, and he deserves justice.

February 13, 2015
Jesus. I'm sorry.

### in the Army is one of the most intrusive lifestyles there is. 2/2

February 13, 2015
.

### The military is pretty damn terrible brah. Won't lie. The infantry in particular has a mindset that I just couldn't adapt to. I was, ironically, too "Steve Rogers." That and, it's basically a giant fucking fraternity and I hate that shit. Also I REALLY like privacy and independence. And being 1/2

February 13, 2015
.

### Toast is neutral

February 12, 2015
just another super solid three-word phrase
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### Neapolitan Dick-splash

February 12, 2015
I don't know what this means but I really really like it
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky Gabriel Costantino

### Re: women in the military, I dunno how Jessica Lynch is some big example against female military service, unless dude is saying that they don't attempt to rescue male POWs. The girl was in a humvee accident and ambushed; I do not see how a man would have fared better. Are their bones less breakable?

February 12, 2015
Boop

### Would it be weird to deny a blind person the right to drive? He totally wants to. Women can't keep up in training, let alone in the combat zone. Even the more Amazonian ones. I'm gonna sound like a dick but here it is: women get people killed. Look up Jessica Lynch.

February 12, 2015
Jesus Christ. The military sounds fucking awful.

### Re: fixing the rape in the military: Good luck with that, one of many reasons I left the service. (Icing on the cake was my black friend being ssystematically dehumanized until he killed himself in a porto john and nobody even lost rank for it; Army also has a huge racism problem) also it isn't 1/2

February 12, 2015
.

### female sexuality is disgusting. I've been experimenting with how to make myself more attractive recently and I've come to a depressing conclusion. Girls absolutely love to be treated like shit.

February 12, 2015
- If you're referring to the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey or Twilight, I'll point you to these Cara Ellison tweets that opened my eyes a lot: https://twitter.com/caraellison/status/565636699238449156 https://twitter.com/caraellison/status/565636869619478528

- To some extent, *people* like being treated like shit. They've done studies with puppies and...I think it was like a robot or something, hooked up to an electroshock machine? It was on a radiolab episode or something. And they found that if the thing never shocked the puppies, they were decently happy to be around the thing. If it shocked them ALL the time, they were not all that happy to be around it. But if it only shocked them SOME of the time, at completely random intervals with no clear prompting, the puppies LOVED that thing and desperately, desperately wanted to please it. We like to find patterns, and being abused (which almost always is followed by intense sweetness or apology) makes us want to work hard to find a pattern: I can make her stop jerking me around, I can make him stop yelling at me, etc.

That said I could be misremembering this so ignore me

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### I hope you understand, it's not about sexism. It really isn't. The fact is war doesn't care what you identify as, if you were born with ladyparts combat will tear you apart and you'll be dead weight. Fast. I'm not sure why, as someone who hasn't served, you have an opinion on this at all.

February 12, 2015
I'm saying it's weird to deny people the right to do something they wanna do. If there's a shit-ton of evidence saying X demonstrably and objectively doesn't work, sure, I guess. Though "if you put women in front of us they'll be raped" is a real goddamn weird reason to justify not allowing women to join the front lines rather than, like, fixing the rape problem in the military. And I'm pretty stoked about the idea of a bunch of hardened soldiers shouting "ewwww" at a bunch of bloody tampons being discarded on the front lines.

I'm also assuming you've had opinions about videogames without ever having made one.
Liked by: Becky Devon, Depressed Idealist Gabriel Costantino

### 5. Women can't meet the rigorous physical demands of prolonged combat. The military has tested this numerous times, and women just can't keep up. You can't ask a woman to carry 80+ pounds of kit 30 miles and be ready to fight at the end. You just can't. Source: Infantry for 5 years.

February 12, 2015
.

### 3. The military is already pretty rapey as is. You really want to throw women in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of sexually frustrated men who have each others backs? 4. Same reason Venus was hated by turtle fans; the infantry is a brotherhood, and that's just how it is.

February 12, 2015
.

### Re: women on the front lines: Bad idea for so many reasons, none of which are "sexism." 1. Men tend to go feral, lose sight of the mission when women are endangered/killed. 2. The "front" can be extremely unhygienic for long amounts of time, that includes *ahem* feminine hygiene. I could go on.

February 12, 2015
.

### its not frowned upon that non-ace people need sex. It's fucking awful that asexual people feel they have to have sex with their non-ace partners and end up having consent coerced and being in sexually abusive relationships because their non-ace partner dont respect the "not wanting to do sex" thing

February 12, 2015
Oh, definitely. I didn't mean that an ace person in a relationship should be forced into having sex. That relationship should just end, honestly, or open up so the non-ace person can still have sex.
Liked by: Becky

### I actually think letting the Pandas die off might really help. As you say, they're expensive and probably doomed anyway. But if they went extinct even after we worked for years against that, people might finally get the fucking point about conservation.

February 12, 2015
yarp
Liked by: Becky

### Can you be gay and not be into anything involving anal?

February 12, 2015
Yes, it's fairly common. I read something that said like nearly half of all gay couples don't go beyond third base?

### Why is it frowned upon that sex is as important in a relationship to some people as not having sex is to asexuals?

February 12, 2015
I don't know, but it shouldn't be. Sexual needs are sexual needs.
Liked by: Becky

### Should women be allowed to serve on the front lines in the armed forces?

February 12, 2015
obviously yes
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman

### What are "feminine wiles"?

February 12, 2015
dudes wantin' to fuck ladies and not knowing how to read insincerity

### Do you think there's any point to keeping pandas around? They clearly don't have adaptability skills and if something happened to change the environment they would perish just as the dinosaurs did.

February 12, 2015
No, I think it's fine to let nature take its course. Honestly, a lot of conservationists feel the same thing -- they're incredibly expensive to take care of and they just *will not fuck each other*, so what's the ultimate game plan? Keep forcing these creatures to exist just for the sake of it?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan RidgeBack Rogue

### Read me a bedtime story Burchy-poo?

February 11, 2015
one time everyone died and love is temporary
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman sad boy Kerissa Young Elizabeth mackenzie charlton Becky Gabriel Costantino allyson marie

### Can a dolphin seduce a human being?

February 11, 2015
chad concelmo is proof this is possible
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### should we celebrate diversity or try to destroy the concept of diversity?

February 11, 2015
celebrate it? There was a group of dudes with nice matching uniforms who really wanted to do the latter, and things didn't turn out great for them.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Xavby the Skink

### The latest writer of Red vs Blue referred to Handsome Jack as one of the best video game villains he's ever seen, and inspirational for his own writing (I know you don't watch it but thought it might be nice to hear, given how huge it is)

February 11, 2015
oh wow, that's really nice to hear!

### I dreamt I was shitting everywhere in a children's swimming pool

February 11, 2015
live this dream

### Have you played Rouge Legacy? What'd you think of it?

February 11, 2015
Too grindy. I don't like roguelikes where a single session can't stand on its own, and you're forced to just care about the longterm metagrowth of your character. Spelunky is pure and beautiful because every run is the same as any other except YOU are getting better at the game. Rogue Legacy requires you to grind a shitload to be effective, which means I don't care about my individual sessions.

And someone is probably about to say WELL ACTUALLY IF YOU'RE REALLY REALLY REALLY UNGODLY GOOD YOU DON'T NEED TO GRIND, but shut up. That's not how the game was designed, it's not a feasible way to play.

### re: attributing greater respect by default to taller people, you don't even do it a little bit, like a kneejerk instinctive reaction before higher level thought kicks in and you realise (not necessarily actively think about) how ridiculous it is?

February 11, 2015
Honestly I've never consciously felt anything like that, no.

### Having a female gendered brain (it's more complicated than that but for the purposes of argument) and a male body would make you more body-ill, not mentally ill. It's not necessarily a "male gendered brain" that thinks it's female, per say. Besides, gender is WAY more cultural than brain chemistry.

February 11, 2015
yeaaaaap
Liked by: Becky

### Is it wrong to end a relationship with someone because they became obese? It's not just a physical thing (although that's definitely a factor) but I don't want to be with someone who cares so little about their health or how they're perceived.

February 11, 2015
I mean, I'd say it makes you kinda shallow but that's up to you I guess.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Is it okay to just quit porn but keep masturbating or do you need to stop both to see the effects?

February 11, 2015
differs from person to person. "hard mode" is neither, and is better generally.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### As I playthrough Aurelia (FAVORITE character, btw), I have a question about her... True or False: While Aurelia’s politically neutral, she only considers it fun to kill people that entered into a dangerous situation willingly. Bandits/Soldiers = Okay. Innocents = Not Okay. Is that about right?

February 11, 2015
probably

### whats your view on weed? hippie..

February 11, 2015
never done it

### What do you think of the Persona series?

February 11, 2015
too much goddamned story

### what'd you last buy from amazon

February 11, 2015
phone holder for my car

### my girlfriend managed to deal with the difficulty curve of learning to play a FPS for the first for the first time thanks to how funny she thinks Borderlands 2 is, so good job

February 11, 2015
wooooo that's great to hear

### Should review scores be done away with?

February 11, 2015
YES

### I really liked the fact that the first friendly NPC we encounter in BL2 is Sir Hammerlock, who is also the very last friendly NPC we encounter via the final DLC for the game, Son Of Crawmerax. Made for a nice bookends-y feel!

February 11, 2015
Let's pretend that was intentional
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman

### Serious question and I think you can answer in a way that makes sense to me, Burch sama. How are transgender people not mentally ill? Not judging them but I did the math and "think I'm a chick" + "has a dick" = "wrong." Help a bro out, I'm trying to be empathic and shit.

February 09, 2015
You could make the same argument about homosexuality, couldn't you? Also gender is a social construct etc etc
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Xavby the Skink sad boy RidgeBack Rogue

### not gonna lie man, after all the many neat conversations that happened on here in regards to character and plot and diversity requests and so on, seeing all that disappear in a puff of smoke and a 'idk depends on the next writer' is a wee bit depressing for me

February 09, 2015
Then the Borderlands fandom needs to speak up loudly and clearly -- make your wishes known that the future BL games be even more inclusive and progressive than the last one. Gearbox generally listens to its fans, so you guys have the power to let them know that's what you want.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Do you find that you subconsciously attribute more respect, or automatically position yourself mentally as submissive or inferior, to taller men, purely on the basis of their being tall, and the opposite with shorter men? I hate that my mind does this because rationally height obv dont mean shit

February 09, 2015
Me? No, not really.

### Okay, well how about you then? Genuinely and honestly, would finding out someone had once been an amateur porn star make you less likely to date or employ them?

February 09, 2015
Not at all, no.

### Reaver is a mini boss in bl1

February 09, 2015
oh
what the fuck

### Do you think that Pewdie pie adds value to videogaming?

February 09, 2015
yes, because he has an enormous audience that is significantly comprised of young girls. Society doesn't look at young girls as "real" gamers, and so the more popular pewdiepie and his audience get, the better.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### I've never played Dark Souls, but I'm picking up Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne for PS4. Any point in going back to the first game?

February 09, 2015
Dark Souls 1 is better, so, kinda.

### did you give up on the sopranos should i not bother with that

February 09, 2015
Yeah, I gave up really hard like halfway through the series. The show really likes the gangster characters a LOT more than I did. I couldn't stand being around them

### Anchovy Borscht

February 08, 2015
that's my cold war counterpart
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Gabriel Costantino Xavby the Skink

### ANTHONY HI I'VE JUST KILLED ORNSTEIN AND SMOUGH AND I'M SO HAPPY

February 08, 2015
I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT

### hi anthony, as someone looking to explore the idea of open relationships more, how has going through a divorce alterted the way you date openly? I think you maybe mentioned having a girlfriend but are you also juggling other love interests too? How does that work for you, & what about the distance??

February 08, 2015
The divorce didn't really change anything about my other relationships. I am seeing several people at the moment, all of whom I care about and all of whom are long distance.

The long distance is obviously kind of a pain in the ass, but it's also a bit nice as it makes it easier to manage my time with everyone -- since no one is local, I can just schedule skype hangouts or physical visits and keep everything really organized. I understand this sounds like a robotic way to be dating, but if I'm enamored with three different people, none of whom live next to me, it's just the most convenient way.

### What do you do if you're trying to quit porn but your girlfriend can't keep up with your libido?

February 08, 2015
You can either ask her to help you and tell her how important it is to you, or you can just try to be generally celibate. One decision prioritizes your needs, the other prioritizes her wishes. One of you will have to budge.

Have I mentioned I have no qualifications to give out advice, by the way? Just occurs to me I should remind everyone of that.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Gabriel Costantino

### Not trying to call you out specifically for BL2 but what are your thoughts on the ethics of creating a game where violence is meant to be fun? Is glorifying violence ever okay? If the violence is "cartoonish" and therefore more palatable (less uncomfortable) does that make it more ethical or less?

February 08, 2015
The problem for me is when a game is full of fun violence but pretends it's about Something More, Something Really Important. I like the BL games because they have an implicit understanding that, yes, what you're doing in this game is kind of goddamned horrific, but no, it does't reflect back on you as a person because it's just a silly videogame that doesn't take itself seriously.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Devon, Depressed Idealist

### Why does everyone respect Jack enough to call him Handsome Jack?

February 08, 2015
Because I thought that was a placeholder name and it ended up not being one
Liked by: Becky

### I notice you played Snatcher, did you play POLICENAUTS as well?

February 08, 2015
nah

### How often does your height make you feel suicidal?

February 08, 2015
never

### You're gorgeous, mate, I'd love to shag your arse if at all possible.

February 08, 2015
how did austin powers find my askfm
Liked by: sad boy Becky Samantha Dale Kerissa Young Gabriel Costantino soha

### how do you get rid of sexual thoughts? thanks x

February 08, 2015
Do other stuff, distract yourself

### Dear Mr. Burch, I write you as I am currently undergoing motivational issues. I have so many different ideas I want to create and do, but at the same time fail in the execution, no matter how much I prepare/practice. Do you have any advice for an afflicted youth?

February 08, 2015
Do one. Stop preparing, and do one. Just do a thing. It's hard -- it's the hardest part -- but doing a thing is the best first step. Because then it's real.

### I work 4pm to midnight, and yet my girl get pissed off when I cook anything, ANYTHING (read: fucking rice) at night because "the smell bothers her." What do?

February 08, 2015
Tell her it's important to you that you be able to cook things and that your hectic schedule makes it a necessity.

### I found Borderlands 2's gameplay super boring the first time I ran through on single player, though the story kept me going, but for whatever reason I went back a few years later on True Vault Hunter and really really dug it? Pre-Sequel was enjoyable first run. Is that an abnormal experience?

February 08, 2015
Dunno. Pre-Sequel is a generally easier game that gives you more skills earlier, so maybe that's it?

### Should Holocaust deniers be jailed?

February 08, 2015
no, just mocked

### XCOM Long War mod ironman impossible let's go

February 08, 2015
guuu

### Are there any other animals besides us that could qualify as "homosexual"?

February 08, 2015
yes, lots of animals engage in homosexual behavior in the wild

### will you miss alamo drafthouse?

February 08, 2015
yes

### when you all at gearbox made borderlands, i don't think you expected people on tumblr to rp Reaver and Shade falling in love with eachother, but that's whats happening now

February 08, 2015
who the hell is reaver

### If you could pick one thing you're afraid of to not be afraid of anymore, what would it be?

February 08, 2015
Being a talentless sack of shit

### Martin Luther King. M L K. M L King. Milking. ??

February 08, 2015
the illuminati is real
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### What is appealing about Rogue-like games? If you die you lose all the hours you just spent playing, I don't understand how that is "fun".

February 07, 2015
It's about learning the fundamentals of a system vs memorizing level layouts. I'm good at Spelunky because I know how the game's rules work, and I'm constantly making decisions and thinking hard about what I'm going to do next.

I'm good at Dark Souls because I memorized everything and can do it by rote. I like Dark Souls, but Spelunky is better.

### ....or that was my brain being a pussy and not trying. Anyway if i get the opportunity again. Should i attempt talking to her? any tips?

February 07, 2015
Long story short, no. Don't talk to her if you're on the bus because she has no place she can escape if she doesn't want to talk to you. If you find some other time to talk to her (that DOESN'T involve following her) where she can get away and choose not to continue talking to you, go for it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Gabriel Costantino

### (1/2) today i was on the bus with no more than 5 other people, i noticed a BEAUTIFUL girl and as much as i thought about it, i didn't know what to do. She even goes to my college, i figured someone that good looking would be used to guys hitting on her and that she would already have a boyfriend...

February 07, 2015
.

### How strong are you on a scale of one-to-ten?

February 07, 2015
1

### Is Nisha canonically dead? Her death in her mission is completely optional. Can we please, please, please have her back?

February 07, 2015
Up to the next writer

### So Anthony... do you have to break up with that girl you was dating now that you moved to a new state?

February 07, 2015
no, we were already long-distance so this doesn't change anything.

### Have you ever learned how to ride a bike?

T. A. Gruver
February 07, 2015
nope

### Is it ever okay to think less of somebody because they once performed sex acts on cam to make ends meet (and there's footage of it online)? Whether it be as a potential romantic partner or friend or a potential employee.

February 07, 2015
I mean, you're gonna feel the way about that stuff that you're gonna feel. I don't see you having a lot of control over your reaction to something like that, as it reflects your own internal sex politics. You're either the kind of person who would think less of someone for doing that stuff or, ideally, the kind of person who doesn't mind that stuff at all.

It'd certainly be a better world if we were less judgmental about sex stuff, if that's what you're asking.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino RidgeBack Rogue

### Do you have any thoughts on the 2012 XCOM other than it just being great? Would you ever consider playing it on stream?

February 07, 2015
http://www.heyash.com/why-i-like-xcom-enemy-unknown/ And yeah, maybe.

### Am I a bad person if I want to put my political opponents into re-education camps?

February 07, 2015
You'd be a bad person if you voted to have that happen.

### I couldn't care less about the vidya feminism surge, the only thing about it I don't like is the witch hunt on busty vidya females

February 07, 2015
The imaginary ones in videogames? That's what's upsetting to you, and you don't care about anything else in feminism?

Does that not seem weird to you?

### How much of the Pre-Sequel vault hunter dialogue did you write? Because there's a lot of subtle pieces of dialogue that imply things that won't be expanded on, so it confuses me sometimes. [Like, can Wilhelm read, how did nisha become the Lawbringer, etc]

February 05, 2015
Kinda varies? I think I wrote around 30-40% of the Vault Hunter dialog, though it depends on which mission/which Vault Hunter.

### Can I call the squirrel who lives in my yard a pet? I feed him every day and he comes when I call his name, which is Cyril.

February 05, 2015
i checked with the police and this is allowed
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Becky Gabriel Costantino Elizabeth RidgeBack Rogue

### i've summoned solaire a few times, but he's kind of useless imo. sometimes he doesn't even go through the white light? i'll try again later, maybe it'll go better!

February 05, 2015
There aren't any humans to summon? Hrm.

Well, you can always:

- Grind a bit more for more levels or better gear (I did this my first time through)
- Use gold pine resin
- Wield your weapon with both hands and focus on dodging (most of their attacks are so strong they'll break shields anyway)

### I stopped Porn+Masturbating because my sex life with partner was ruined and never had energy/motivation. I find noPorn easy, none since day 1 without relapse. No masturbating I find harder though, relapse once or twice a week. Do you think it'll still help me out?

February 05, 2015
They refer to that as "hard mode" and it's evidently very helpful. But I guess noporn on its own is fine?

### In the Valentine's Day DLC, Maya says "There was an older man. He's dead now," in response to Moxxi's "Mr/Mrs Vault Hunter" question. Does this mean she was actually in a physical/romantic relationship with Brother Sophis, while he was manipulating her for her whole LIFE?

February 05, 2015
That was kinda what I thought, but *shrug*
Liked by: Elizabeth

### i was doing pretty well with dark souls, but then i stumbled upon ornstein and smough. i've been trying to beat them for four days and still no luck, i think my journey with dark souls will end here :(

February 05, 2015
Have you summoned help?

### Better Call Saul is coming up this weekend. You interested in that?

February 05, 2015
YES
Liked by: Becky allyson marie T. A. Gruver

### I'm starting the third season of The Good Wife and, among other great things, I gotta say their network TV approach to PG sex is Hitchcock level brilliant. Awesome puns and visual metaphors abound. Pretty rare and sophisticated use of NOT showing. Four stars.

February 05, 2015
Yeah, it's definitely a show made for my grandparents that still manages to be really good.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### I assume your mom is Arab based on the Rayman HAWP. Am I right? Have you ever felt threatened by anti Arab sentiment or Islamophobia?

February 05, 2015
That's Justin's grandma. Our mom is Thai. But no, I've never experienced any real islamophobia or easily-identifiable racism in my life, generally because I think I "sound"/"act" white.

### Just to let you know, we at the SJW Illuminati had assigned you Level 3 Disdain, but following recent revelations we've dropped you to Level 2 Disdain. You can apply to have previous Privilege Points retroactively assigned but there is a fee for the application. We apologise for any inconvenience.

February 05, 2015
goddamn fees
Liked by: Jeffrey nothingxs sad boy Becky Xavby the Skink Gabriel Costantino

### you ain't cishet either... you're like cisbi. is that a word?

February 05, 2015
*shrug*
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Becky allyson marie

### I masturbate to porn pretty often, but I've also never had a problem achieving orgasm (except for maybe a handful of times over my entire sexual history, one time involving a condom that was simply too small). Would you recommend quitting masturbating for everyone or only those with a "problem"?

February 05, 2015
Up to you. Probably not necessary.

### So what club are you apart of then? I see you as a Mixed Club kind of guy.

February 05, 2015
My dad's white, my mom is super brown. By every law ever written by the United States and/or casual racists, that makes me a brown dude (but yeah, technically mixed race). See also: Obama.
Liked by: Becky Elizabeth

### Anthony, I'm bad at determining race by voice alone. I once thought Britney Spears was black before having seen her face. Does that make me a bad person?

February 05, 2015
what no
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Did you leave any guidelines for the new writer for BL3 to follow. I am really worried that Maya will have her asexuality rewritten.

February 05, 2015
Whoever writes BL3 will do their own thing. That's how it SHOULD work -- there's no fun in writing something unless you feel like you can make it yours. I can't imagine anything less fun than being hired on as a writer and then just following a blueprint laid out by your predecessor. I hope whomever writes BL3 values diversity, but that's completely up to them.
Liked by: Becky sad boy

### i'm a mexican with green eyes and a fair skin who has often been mistaken as a white man. does this make me white?

February 05, 2015
No, which is why the word "passing" exists.

### Is any kind of adoption ethical?

February 05, 2015
Yes?

### my bad. your pink skinned father threw me off. let me rephrase: what is it like to know that as a cishet male, you"ll always be treated with disdain by your fellow SJWs? being a cuckold doesn't give you brownie points

February 05, 2015
thank you for the correction

### In honor of your new-found whiteness and to get you up to speed with things I'd like to extend to you an invitation to our next mayonnaise social at the country club. I hope to see you there.

February 05, 2015
eeee see i hate mayonnaise so

### what is it like to know that as a cishet white male, you"ll always be treated with disdain by your fellow SJWs? being a cuckold doesn't give you brownie points

February 04, 2015
I'm white? Why didn't somebody tell me I was white? I've been missing out on all the meetings.
Liked by: Becky

### to the procrastinator: http://selfcontrolapp.com/ saved my academic career

February 04, 2015
boom
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### do you think role-playing in tabletop rpg's helps you to avoid author-insertion in your writing? As you get all your wish-fulfillment out in the game.

February 04, 2015
No, I think reading bad self-insert fanfic and realizing how inherently boring you are as a regular writer person helps prevent author-insertion.

### How do I stop wanting to die?

February 04, 2015
See a therapist, maybe?
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Tom Hardy is top tier.

February 04, 2015
ya

### Whenever i should be doing college work i procrastinate a lot, from YouTube to fixing stuff. Any advice?

February 04, 2015
There are programs that can lock you out of chrome for X amount of time to force you to do work
Liked by: T. A. Gruver

### What's your writing process like for HAWP episodes?

February 04, 2015
come up with a single line or gag I find funny, write the rest of the episode around leading to, and developing that gag

### can you give us an example of something you naively assumed you could just do in game development that the development team told you "no that's literally impossible" from your BL2 early days?

February 04, 2015
"what if we had a shield that turned on and off to the tune of dueling banjos"
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Devon, Depressed Idealist Gabriel Costantino

### sex addiction is acknowledged but for the mainstream porn addiction isn't, which makes no sense considering its the same but masturbating is easier, more accessible and can start at an earlier age. why, reverand?

February 04, 2015
because highspeed internet and perpetually accessible porn is a new phenomenon

### Did anyone at Gearbox thought that you were being unfair in leaving after they had given you the writting position on a multi-million dollar franchise when you had basically only done a webseries and the revrants?

February 04, 2015
no?

### While vacationing in Florida with my parents I saw Richard Simmons. We were in a grocery store and he was filming a local ad. He kept grabbing random people to put in his add. Everyone started fleeing from him. It was funny. One of the best vacations I've been on.

February 04, 2015
i like that dude
Liked by: Becky Elizabeth

### Like seriously, that's why so many of my friends are feminists, because we want literally the same thing. If you call yourself a "men's rights advocate" and you consider feminism/women the enemy then you're just an insecure misogynist with a baby dick looking for a label. You can't have mine. Sorry.

February 04, 2015
Unfortunately I think the entire category of "men's rights advocates," by and large, has very little in common with your views.

### MRA here, am I the only one who finds it disturbing how many men try to label themselves MRA as a means to justify misogyny and are blissfully unaware that the patriarchy is the reason for all our problems? Simply put, if you're anti-feminism, you're also anti-men's rights. MINDS. BLOWN.

February 04, 2015
.

### Why are you giving away old games? (I mean I know you're moving, but are you not taking your consoles with you or something?)

February 04, 2015
My 360 doesn't work anymore so I'd be lugging around a bunch of old 360 games for no reason.

### What program do you use to write scripts?

February 04, 2015
Final Draft

### I realized that when I used to masturbate a lot, whenever I had sex with my gf, I always had to do it a certain way in order to get off. Essentially, I had to be in the position that I normally masturbated to. Was this one of the reasons why you stopped masturbating?

February 04, 2015
Yes
Liked by: Elizabeth

### have you ever had any successful experiences trying to explain to Edgy Straight White Guys why their whole persona is just really shitty when they insist that they're "just making jokes" and stuff like that? i've been trying to get through to my brother for the longest time but it's just draining

February 04, 2015
No, not really. It's hard for them to understand the concepts of punching down/privilege when it's much quicker and easier to assume people are being oversensitive. And in general, people don't like to ever admit they might have been wrong.

### Parks and Recreation Update: 5 episodes in, and the Wyatt/Knope kids have not made an appearance on screen (great news), every random name is still absurd and amazing (please add this running gag to YOUR show), and Ron just show down a drone. None of your fears are founded.

February 04, 2015
aight aight aight aight i'll do it

### Anthony, I'm trans* and I feel that it is more important for LGBTetc characters to be represented _well_ rather than simply represented. Some recent games seem to focus too much on character sexuality/identity rather than the character's, well, character. Would you agree that this can be a problem?

February 04, 2015
Of course, yeah. If you're arguing "don't suck at your job" or "don't write stuff that sucks," I'm hard-pressed to disagree with that.

That said, LOTS of people use that logic to just not include diverse characters at all, which is heartbreaking.

### do you think there's any need for explicit lgbt representation in games like league of legends where characters are more or less blank slate avatars with maybe a paragraph of flavor text that doesn't even usually specify if they're even hetero/cis?

February 03, 2015
Yes. It's incredibly popular and the entire point of it is to have a diversity of characters whom people can have as their favorites. That involves lgbt representation.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Xavby the Skink Gabriel Costantino Brighid Nolan Sullivan

### How did Gearbox in general took your decision to leave?

February 03, 2015
Most were pretty sad, which was heartwarming.

### what are benefits to quitting porn? ive been like 18 days or so (which i know isnt that long) and im not seeing benefits quite yet

February 03, 2015
you gotta go waaaay longer than that, but it ups your self-confidence and makes you (if you have this problem) less insensitive and less soft during sex.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### LA is scary, expensive, and has the worst traffic in the country. Stay safe, man.

February 03, 2015
yaaay

### First time I went on the Indiana Jones ride it broke down. Boulder stopped midway coming down. Had to get out and walk back the rest of the way. That was fun.

February 03, 2015
THE LAND OF IMAGINATION
Liked by: Becky sad boy mackenzie charlton Elizabeth

### Ever met a celebrity?

February 03, 2015
yeah but only for like two seconds. i saw mark ruffalo at sundance

he was mark ruffa-fine

mark ruffalovin it

mark ruffallaboutit
Liked by: sad boy Samantha Dale Nolan Sullivan

### Is suicide a crime?

February 03, 2015
no

### can i marry your sister?

February 03, 2015
i mean if she wants to

### Hey Anthony, congrats on the move to LA. On the subject of guys and girls why do you suppose women are allowed to be extremely controlling in relationships, and it's ok, whereas if a guy does it then it's considered insecure or even abusive?

February 03, 2015
It should 100% be considered the same for both genders. I think controlling/abusive women are forgiven or ignored, honestly, because of patriarchal sexism -- men are expected to be "strong," inasmuch as it should be *impossible* for a silly *woman* to abuse a true *man*. This forbids men from acknowledging when they're in a toxic relationship, and encourages them not to seek help. It also encourages others not to take them seriously.

### How do you deal with stupid internet shit? Every time I stumble across some gamergate assholes on reddit I get super pissed, it can't be healthy. I wish it could just ignore them but I can't.

February 03, 2015
I use tweetdeck to mute certain phrases.

### Alot of people are criticizing the writting of Life is Strange, how do you feel about it ?

February 03, 2015
Pretty much the same as those people.

### Nisha and Wilhelm are, by their nature, bad people who see nothing wrong with Jack's actions. Athena knows his actions are evil, but CHOOSES to ignore her own moral objections and help him find the vault, even with Elpis safe. To me, this makes Athena the worst of Jack's vaulters, morally. Thoughts?

Rainy
February 03, 2015
Walrus and the carpenter, huh? Yeah, I dunno. I still feel remorse makes you slightly better, and Athena obviously didn't stick around unlike the others.
Liked by: Rainy

### Do you like Bo Burnham?

February 03, 2015
What little I've seen of him, sure.

### Why did you not like The vanishing of Ethan Carter?

February 03, 2015
I didn't think the story was that good, and the "find the clues" gameplay was kinda arbitrary.

### serious question. did you ever feel like your penis didn't look right when you were younger? like its shape or thinking your forskin was too long (unless you're circumcised). or have you always felt comfortable with the way you look down there

February 03, 2015
WARNING GROSS ANSWER INCOMING

I mean I'm asian, so I assumed it shoulda been like ten times bigger (and am definitely a comparatively small dude), but women don't care about that kind of thing anywhere NEAR as much as I thought they did.

I mean, I was in an open relationship with a girl recently whose boyfriend was too big to do anal with her, so we, like, did that. She was psyched to have a smaller guy whose schwanz didn't physically hurt her during sex.

GROSS ANSWER COMPLETE
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### Do you get tingles from ASMR videos?

February 03, 2015
nah, i kinda just get a little creeped out

### Anthony you're the greatest, I enjoyed Borderlands 2 and TPS so much, and I can't thank you enough for leaving video games before causing more damage to the hobby I love. Good luck in LA! ^_^

February 03, 2015
thank you so much.

### Favorite flavor of ice cream?

February 03, 2015
Vanilla Oreooo

### i'm thinking about using tinder, but i'm a virgin and 18. Any advice? also don't get any opportunities with girls

February 03, 2015
You can, but I don't know if that's the best space to learn stuff. Tinder is generally for people with some degree of existing experience who are looking to hook up.

### yes to more indoor kids appearances. They love you and if you don't love them then you need to see a bajillion therapists

February 03, 2015
i love them obv

### O_o there's talk going around that Aurelia is trans? Tell me that isn't true, I mean as a black woman I was thrilled to finally have a character I could identify with in BL, and I'd think that you'd get a trans person to voice a trans character.

February 03, 2015
She's not trans. Or at least, we didn't conceive of her as trans.

### Monty was incredible. He was the kindest guy, and a genius both philosophically and filmmaking wise. He ripped keys off his keyboards and pressed 55 instead of 60 on microwaves because it was more efficient. He was one of a kind. This planet is bullshit

February 03, 2015
I'm fucking furious at the doctors who didn't realize he had an allergy.
Liked by: Becky

### What part of Blow's design philosophy do you think the industry is most lacking?

February 03, 2015
Elegance, basically. Games are full of bullshit that's Just There that ultimately either weaken the core loop, or just try to distract you from the fact that the core loop is fuckboring.

### Have you ever been to Disneyland?

February 02, 2015
yuszzz. I like the Indiana Jones ride because
- It's not scary
- It's not intense
- The car shakes like, a little bit. Like barely
- Indiana Jones
Liked by: sad boy Devious Vacuum T. A. Gruver

### why the fuck is your sister writing with you, she aint know writer

February 02, 2015
She definitely is. She writes a ton of HAWP.

### 50% of water in LA isnt clean in schools. DAMN

February 02, 2015
guhh

### Jesus balls, I watched Child's Play and the Remote Control Claptrap ad before going to bed. I almost wanna pitch the resultant nightmare to Gearbox for a potential horror spin-off. Either that or bleach my brain.

February 02, 2015
yw

### So moving to LA means more indoor kids appearances? Plz

February 02, 2015
who knows

### I've followed your career from being one of the best moderators for RetroforceGo, insanely driven and talented writer for HAWP, and the amazing creative mind for Borderlands 2 at Gearbox. I know you're going to do awesome for the new show and looking forward to it.

February 02, 2015
You're very kind. I am sorry if I suck.

### Why does it seem that Japanese video game developers and publishers have no issues marketing non-male protagonists? Japan gave us characters such as Samus Aran, Bayo, JRPG female protags, cute anime girls, etc. Hell, Nintendo is hyping up Splatoon, and Square Enix just published Life is Strange.

February 02, 2015
Dunno, honestly. Different markets, different (presumed) demographics? The fact that the most successful console games of all time, the CoD series, are exclusively about dudemen?

### You mentioned you were still doing video game stuff on the side despite the move, anything you can share (occasional freelancing for Gearbox?) or is it still all NDA'd?

February 02, 2015
It's a personal side project

### Anthony what are your favorite video game talks on Youtube, and do you have any favorite speakers?

February 02, 2015
I really really like hearing Jon Blow talk game design

### Jim Sterling, Friend or Foe?

Big Fatty Floyd
February 02, 2015
friend

### What's your earliest memory, period?

T. A. Gruver
February 02, 2015
bumping my head on the bottom of my crib and getting really angry about it
Liked by: Elizabeth

### dammit anthony that 'fun fact: he will miss you' broke my heart a little bit ;_;

February 02, 2015
GOOD

### I recently found out that an artist whose work I really enjoy did something that was truly horrible. Do you think fans should take an artist's personal life into account when deciding what to read, listen to, or watch?

February 02, 2015
I think it's up to you. For me, I have a hard time separating creator from creation.

### So are you a reverend? As in church?

Scar Scar Jones
February 01, 2015
as in "Univeral Life Church," as in "basically doesn't count and I'm an atheist".
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Haughington allyson marie

### (2/2) so much with confidence, and accepting my supposed abnormalities. My self-shaming about looks, behavior, feeling odd turned into Maya's "I'm awesome!" overtime, and it's thanks to you. I will miss you in Borderlands.

February 01, 2015
thank you so much!
Liked by: Scar Scar Jones

### (1/2)I want to join in the thanks. It's the first game franchise I was so passionate about, and it changed my mind about what games are and definitely raised my expectations. I bloody love Tiny Tina's add-on, it made me cry and laugh, and it was overwhelmingly touching. The game helped through

February 01, 2015
.
Liked by: Scar Scar Jones

### Thank you Anthony for making Borderlands the hilarious, awesome epic thing it is. I play borderlands 2 any time I am stressed or anxious, or whenever I just want to play my favorite game, and with 10+ playthroughs and over 400 hours on steam, it still makes me laugh everytime. Good luck Anthony

February 01, 2015
thanks so much

### Followup to HAWP being responsible for everything you have. Do you think HAWP would have maintained popularity if your dad had not participated? (I still enjoy episodes without him, but he is pretty cool)

February 01, 2015
Honestly, I dunno! Probably not?

### Why is Nisha so damn awesome?

February 01, 2015
Glad you dig her! She's one of my favorites.
Liked by: haruspex

### i seriously cannot think about borderlands without thinking about you first. i am now hopelessly in love with this franchise thanks to you. i wish you luck!! and heyooo los angeles is where i live! representttt

February 01, 2015
yes. represent, *indeed*

### I so happy for you I'm going to masturbate!

February 01, 2015
good day all around
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### So what happens to all your notes on future character ideas, plot points, and (mostly diversity related) suggestions from this ask.fm page? Forwarded to Gearbox to do with what they will, or boxed and locked away forever in an Indiana Jones-style warehouse?

February 01, 2015
Whomever writes the next BL game is probably going to just do whatever they wanna do. And that's how it should be, really -- I didn't pay any attention to the overall franchise plans when I worked on BL2. If you can't feel like what you're making is yours, you can't get passionate about it. If you can't get passionate about it, it'll be bad.

### Oh. Okay! Wolf or fox? Or mixed?

February 01, 2015
i love both
Liked by: Scar Scar Jones

### So what's the deal with your girlfriend? Is she coming to LA or are you guys giving the long distance thing a whirl?

February 01, 2015
We're already long distance, so it doesn't change anything.

### I'd always kinda hoped I might run into you in Dallas so I could tell you how much I enjoy your work and how much I appreciate your desire to be a part of a better world. Er, I hope that's not creepy. Or cheesy. Ah well, bummed to see you leave Borderlands but I'm excited to see your next proj.

February 01, 2015
thanks nayway!

### Did you like the Burial at Sea dlc?

February 01, 2015
I definitely liked it a lot more than BLI proper.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Why Obama?

Scar Scar Jones
February 01, 2015
JFK was pretty conservative in a lot of ways.
Liked by: Scar Scar Jones

### Where do MRAs come from? My theory is, bikini babes are enjoyable to look at, and when some men hear about this thing called feminism, they fear their bikini babes will get taken away from them, and they get very outraged and defensive at the prospect.

February 01, 2015
Men are taught from very early on to need/desire sex to the exclusion of giving a shit about women as people. So when women don't give them that, they get angry because this isn't how they were taught to look at the world.

This was basically me for like twenty years.
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Brighid Scar Scar Jones

### Do you envision a future when the only people able to be hired for voice work are your sister and clones of your sister?

February 01, 2015
I'd like to imagine a version of that postapocalypse where Sarah Elmaleh and Jennifer Hale have to team up to kill Ash
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### How da fuq are you gonna keep up with games in LA?

February 01, 2015
the internet exists
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Anthony "Big Dick" Burch maken millions off that Borderlands money, but even an O.G. like this pimp needs to realize that it's time to face the next chapter in his life. Keep writen them stories and keep getten yo dick sucked, BIG POPPA PIIIMP

February 01, 2015
hi that's me
Liked by: Becky

### Do you think Leslie Nielsen is funny?

February 01, 2015
Of course

### I appreciate your decision about the "Girl Games" hey ash episode, but isn't the fact that the book joke (something ash has clearly drawn for herself as a reminder) allows for the "Y... es?" joke about her not being sure kind of cool? Doesn't that cancel it out? Like pointing out it's a dumb system

February 01, 2015
Maybe? That's a pretty generous reading though

### Do you prefer Obama or JFK? Marilyn or Audrey? James Dean or Morgan Freeman? Lana Del Ray or Lady GaGa

Scar Scar Jones
February 01, 2015
Obama, Audrey, Morgan, both
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### ☆〜（ゝ。∂） Here's some good luck for your new job!

February 01, 2015
thank you space kirby

### Favourite Pope?

February 01, 2015
Olivia Pope

### Are you gonna pull a Californication on us?

February 01, 2015
I don't know anything about that show so I will assume you mean become David Duchovny

no I will not become David Duchovny
Liked by: AlexaRae Brighid Nolan Sullivan

### Dear Anthony my friend just finished Borderlands 2 and he wants me to ask you, why did you kill Roland and not kill Claptrap?

February 01, 2015
Because we wanted you to feel sad, not happy.
Liked by: Jeffrey haruspex Elizabeth Scar Scar Jones

### Do you vote Republican or Democratic?

February 01, 2015
Democrat.
Liked by: Scar Scar Jones

### You said the other day that you felt yourself getting dumber as you age, any reason in particular?

February 01, 2015
The Internet.
Liked by: Scar Scar Jones

### Are mental disorders necessary to become an artist? I am finding alot of correlation between the two in alot of fields.

February 01, 2015
Necessary? No. Common? Yes.

### What'd you think of Velvet Sundown? I played a total of two rounds and had polar opposite experiences. The first I did some great role playing with a spy lady, exchanging Bond-esque dialogue and learning to trust. The second, everyone got pissed when I role played and ignored me the whole game.

February 01, 2015
It's werewolf meets the internet, which means sometimes it's fantastic, sometimes it's awful, and sometimes it's both (having to act like a dumb internet person to get a guy typing "SHOW ME YOUR DICK" to like you and give you what info you need).

It's super imperfect, but pretty neat. They need to add an option for private rooms.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Just heard your news! As devastated as I am to see you go, I am pumped as all hell to see the gold you will produce. Good Luck.

January 31, 2015
Thanks!

### If I were to set up a tent once a week on your front lawn in LA and camp out for a night would you mind? I wouldn't do anything other than maybe say "Have a good day" when you come outside to go to work.

January 31, 2015
I'd probably be pretty scared by that
Liked by: Xavby the Skink

### Dude, you're so completely tied to Borderlands in my head, I honestly can't imagine the series without your presence, you MADE Borderlands for me. And all those character ideas & story plans! I wish you luck, but I'm incredibly sad.

January 31, 2015
Thanks. I'm sad too, but still pretty excited.

### I won't lie, I'm kinda paranoid about how much momentum in regards to diversity and certain jokes and character development arcs might be lost with you leaving Gearbox and not being there to push for them anymore. I hope I'm wrong, but still.

January 31, 2015
I'm not the only progressive person at Gearbox, so my hopes are high.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Wait, your sister is writing on that show too? That's going to be so different from working on HAWP and your other jobs. Good luck to both of you man :).

January 31, 2015
Yeah, it's gonna be really fun.

### hey man, how about one last happy or interesting doppelganger fact for the road? and maybe a 'maybe' at the very least for whether or not we'll ever see him again? best of luck, mr. burch.

January 31, 2015
Fun fact: He will miss you.

But yeah, who knows if he comes back? Not really up to me anymore.

### just wanted to say, good luck with your new project. I'll miss your writing in borderlands series, wanted to write a sappy message how BL2 helped me cope with irl things and depressing moments in life, but i'll just write thank you for the work you did in BL2 it will always be one of my fav games

January 31, 2015
Thank you so much.

### glad your leaving videogames to pursue a better medium of entertainment. wish you luck!

January 31, 2015
TV isn't better! It's different.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Congrats on your opportunity, Anthony! Can you make me a promise-- Borderlands will maintain the progressive messages that it carried in previous games, even without you?

January 31, 2015
I have no idea. Hopefully!

### so if you decide LA sucks and you wanna go back to gearbox, your old job is waiting for you?

January 31, 2015
Probably?

### Monty Oum's been hospitalized in critical condition....

January 31, 2015
oh no, I hope he's okay. I really like Monty
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### i just killed a rakk with a grenade. where is my high-five.

January 31, 2015
*smak*
Liked by: Kerissa Young haruspex

### If a significant percentage of short guys are like your anon, I can guarantee that it's not their height holding them back.

January 31, 2015
oh shiiiiit
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Elizabeth

### I just wanted you to know that since I played Borderlands 2, no video game franchise has even made me as giddily, jump-up-and-down, laugh-out-loud happy as Borderlands has. Thanks for being part of the team that gave me so many great memories. I hope the Hulu show does awesome!

January 31, 2015
thanks!

### Congrats and good luck on your new job. Do you think you'd be in this place if it werent for HAWP?

January 31, 2015
Absolutely not. HAWP is the single thing, apart from being hired at Destructoid, that is responsible for everything I have.

### oh behalf of the borderlands fandom, thank you for everything you've done for us.

January 31, 2015
Aw. Thank you for saying that. I'm so used to people saying they hate what I did and prefer BL1 (which like *what*) it genuinely takes me by surprise when someone says a nice thing.

### Imagine you like pulled on a hangnail and your entire skin unravelled like a knitted jumper

January 31, 2015
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THIS IS THE WORST THING I'VE EVER HEARD BUT PRETTY CLEVER IN ITS HORRIBLENESS
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Elizabeth

### so what made you decide to move to LA and quit working at Gearbox?

January 31, 2015
The offer was just too good -- writing with my sister and the Rocketjump guys for a new Hulu show? Being a head writer in a medium I'd never worked in before? I was perfectly happy to spend the rest of my life hanging out at Gearbox, but the offer came so out of left field I would have eventually regretted not taking it.
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### Hey so I just want to be one of those (probably thousands of) people who are telling you that they'll really miss your writing on Borderlands but also wanting to say good luck with all your rad future stuff! You did good work sir.

January 31, 2015
thanks!

### Your relationship with your sister is pretty awesome. As a parent, what would be some tips you can give me to foster this relationship between my kids? What are some things your parents did or nurtured as you grew up?

January 31, 2015
We weren't really good friends until we hit late high school/college, when our parents divorced.

So...get divorced, I guess?

### Feminism isn't objectively correct, ideas aren't sacred.

January 31, 2015
Congratulations, you disproved feminism and also literally every other philosophy in the world.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Brighid

### Wait... how short are you Anthony? because I'm 5'6" and I'm almost the shortest guy out of all my extended family. But at least I don't bang my head on doors and what not.

January 31, 2015
i'm like 5'5"
Liked by: Elizabeth

### hi, it's brick girl. I just heard that you're leaving gearbox. my husband and i are devastated. I don;t know whta Bl is going to be like without you...fuck. but, i wish you luck in your future stuff, and I'll get hulu just for you. ilu and BLands wont be the same w/out you

January 31, 2015
ilu2

### http://ask.fm/reverendanthony/answer/123784579400 I dont think you understood.. he was saying the people that tell "SJWs" to not "censor offensive stuff" have double standards and that any time a game comes out that doesn't appeal to straight males , they harass those same SJWs and whine endlessly.

January 30, 2015
Oh, misread it, my bad.

### "Short men have it easier than fat women" No offense, but has that SJW Kool-Aid made you retarded? If you're a man and you're shorter than a woman you probably don't even exist to her, and there's nothing you can do about it. At all. I'm 5'11, and if I was any shorter I'd probably off myself.

January 30, 2015
I'm short, and I do pretty well. You're spectacularly dumb.
Liked by: Jeffrey Aiden Chase Giovanni Nolan Sullivan Brighid Elizabeth Devon, Depressed Idealist

### "Don't censor offensive stuff facist" "MAKE A GAME WITH ANYTHING BUT A STRAIGHT WHITE MALE PROTAGONIST AND WE'LL HARASS YOU WITH COMPLAINTS UNTIL YOU STOP" double fucking standard much, assdicks

January 30, 2015
"Harrass you with complaints"

Booooo hooooooo

Your life must be so hard.

### Why do people equate calling out offensive content as offensive and suggesting people boycott it with censorship, but then go around saying "Don't support this person because they are feminist"? (Apologies to anyone I offended by this strawman)

January 30, 2015
BOOM
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Why does going to the dentist have to suck so much?

January 30, 2015
because life is growth through pain

### What is your go to dance move?

January 30, 2015
leaving
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Anthony what's up with advocates of "social justice" pushing for so much censorship? If you find something objectionable, don't play it. Don't tell people how to think. You can't preach tolerance one minute and then push for thought crimes and the censorship of art the next.

January 30, 2015
Oh my god you don't fucking know what censorship is.

Censorship is making a government legally restrict someone's right to free speech.

What social justice advocates are doing is calling out people for making shitty, sexist/racist art and recommending people not buy it or that major outlets like steam not carry it.

But no, please, go on about how oppressed you are.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Captain Anthony: The "let's-forget-Anthony-Saves-The-World" Male Rights Soldier

January 30, 2015
that's me!
Liked by: Becky

### Hey Anthony, why is it perfectly acceptable for a woman to not be attracted to short men, but if a man makes it known that he doesn't do fatties he's crossed the line? Weight/diet can generally be helped, height is pure genetic lottery. Double standard makes no sense to me brah. Help a guy out?

January 30, 2015
Personally, I don't think it should be perfectly acceptable for women to not be attracted to short men, but that's only one part of what you're asking.

The other part is because short dudes (and I say this speaking as a short dude) don't have to go through anything near the amount of pressure and shaming that society tosses at fat women every single day.
Liked by: Xavby the Skink

### Caffeinnase. Caffeinated mayonnaise. Thoughts?

January 30, 2015
oh god ugh god jesus god of lord of son of mary jesus is lord god ugh
Liked by: Elizabeth Becky bryn laney

### What caused you to realize you were bisexual? Or did you sort of always know? (Sorry if this question is too personal...)

January 30, 2015
Honestly? David Tennant.
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Brighid Elizabeth Becky

### Do you think all people with money are horrible people? I get that Aurelia has money AND is a terrible person, but some of her lines make me doubt that distinction.

January 30, 2015
No, I don't think that.

### 'Burch is an intolerable, hateful bigot who has only contempt for the average gamer. As such, I cannot support a project where this man is involved.' Keep making gamer babies mad, Tony. Shit's hilarious.

January 30, 2015
*jerk off motion*
Liked by: allyson marie

### As an aromantic chick, I like to think Aurelia is aromantic and pansexual. I just get that sort of vibe off of her, like how she thinks of her boyfriends.

January 30, 2015
That's cool, too!
Liked by: Elizabeth Elizabeth Haydon

### is it kinda sad/creepy to have a crush on a porn star?

January 29, 2015
not any more sad/creepy than it is to have a crush on, like, taylor swift or brad pitt or whatever.
Liked by: Xavby the Skink Elizabeth mackenzie charlton Brighid

### Hi Anthony! Did you know that the poisoning Sir Hammerlock joke you made on the echocasts twitter is very similar to one made in Left 4 Dead 2? http://left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/Ellis/Quotes#Stories (2nd quote)

January 29, 2015
goddammit

### (2/2) same state (AZ) as my family, meaning I had a support system if I ever needed help. Additionally, I will need a pretty serious surgery in about two months (par for the course for me). I def want to advance my career, but I feel limited due to circumstances beyond my natural control. wat do?

January 29, 2015
Honestly, I don't know. My immediate instinct is to say you should take a pass on it, as who knows how that surgery goes and how weird it may feel to be alone in a new city while you're recovering? But don't feel bad, as I'm sure we'll be hiring again eventually.

### Hi AB, I'm currently a screenwriter and thinking about applying for the writer position you advertised, but I am pretty concerned about relocating to TX; not because I have a problem with moving, but to put it simply I am not well bodied. I have lived on my own before, but it was always in the (1/?)

January 29, 2015
.

### Hey, southern guy here. I'm here with anon about thanking you. You've answered countless questions, and though I don't agree with everything you say, I think I'd still brofist you if we met. Thanks for being pretty awesome.

January 29, 2015
THX THX THX THX

### (2/2) Lost my train of thought--dating's a habit I never acquired and at this point in my life (24), it gets harder and harder to really care. I feel myself getting unfairly choosey and that's no good. I have no advice. Just wanted you to know it's not rare.

January 29, 2015
.

### (1/2) Crushless pereson: I've been the same way for some reason. Haven't really FELT a crazy amount of attraction since high school like six years ago. But I'm extremely introverted, so it could be the lack of immediate interaction. And as far as dating goes, it's sort of a habit. I waited so long

January 29, 2015
.

### Nothing empirical here, but on the skin color/attraction issue I remember not being attracted to black women for the longest time until I both got over my unconscious racism, met more black women, and saw more badass black women in media. So it can change, but I don't know if you can force it.

January 29, 2015
interesting.

### If I ever met you at a con, and was upfront and honest about wanting to have sex with you, but first I wanted to have a meal with you and some casual dinner conversation, would we have sex? Or would we just cuddle and watch Back to the Future together?

January 29, 2015
That's a really weird question to ask considering it's based entirely on how we got along

### can somebody become aromantic?

January 29, 2015
yes
Liked by: Becky AlexaRae Elizabeth allyson marie

### http://ask.fm/reverendanthony/answer/123691864648 well apparently if you get pleasure from your penis then that means youre not REALLY trans you just have a fetish.. yeah i dont get it either

January 29, 2015
wtf fuck that

### i havent had a crush on a girl in 5 years, i really want to care that much about somebody again but it doenst look like its happening i feel all weird about it. how normal is this?

January 29, 2015
Might you be aromantic/asexual?
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Elizabeth Gabriel Costantino

### i find black+white women so very attractive. people look at me like i'm joking when i say it because they only like whites, they racist or ignorant? i call both

January 29, 2015
A lot of people say it's racism, but I don't really know, man. You can't help what you're attracted to, you can only help how you act toward people.

### Why not make everyone in The Presequel gay? You get both diversity and the rustled jimmies of homophobes. It is a win/win situation for everyone involved.

January 29, 2015
spoilers the moon is gay
Liked by: Daria Drenker Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Kris Ramjam Becky Harley Bird F Adam R Devon, Depressed Idealist Gabriel Costantino

### Do you think there's a chance that Timothy the doppelganger would ever make a guest appearance on the ECHOcasts twitter?

January 29, 2015
he was going to for a while to commemorate his launch, but the timing didn't work out I think

### God, I've aksed you a lot of questions as anon, spewed my endless maya fandom at you, asked about all sorts of personal life things, and I never fucking said thank you. Not once. Holy shit you're seriously the best, man. Thank you for writing my favorite games and being awesome.- [continued]

January 29, 2015
it's all good bb

### At what point do you a think a trope shifts from being an important part of literary tradition to a harmful presentation of people and ideas? E.g would you consider the Gothic literary movement sexist because of the prevalence of the damsel in distress trope regardless of it's historical context?

January 29, 2015
Context is always important, but you can still say, alright, by modern standards X thing or Y thing is sexist and wouldn't fly today. That's kind of the only way to move forward.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### If life starts at conception, then why don't pro-lifers celebrate time lived (I.e. birthdays) accordingly?

January 29, 2015
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Adam R Samantha Dale

### might aurelia be gay? there's being impressed by moxxi's chest and then there's being really flagrantly delighted - aurelia being gay would explain why she has such an over-the-top reaction and make her reaction to the dude at the bar twice as iconic. i just want both hammerlock sibs to be gay tbqh

January 29, 2015
Sure, why not?

### I get really burned up by people claiming that otherkin & fictionkin have a struggle similar to that of trans issues. Equating 'I was a video game character in another life/have the soul of a cartoon' to massive gender dysphoria? No, that is massively dismissive and insulting to trans people.

January 29, 2015
That's fair. I get that.
Liked by: bryn laney

### Anthony, is it wrong if I masturbate? I'm a transwoman and apparently if you're a pre-op transwoman and you enjoy masturbating you're not really a woman? is that true?

January 29, 2015
wtf how does enjoying masturbation define a gender, everybody enjoys masturbating
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### Is it intentional that every playable PreSequel character plays into an aspect of Jack's future personality? Tim - Narcissism, Aurelia - Too much money, Wilhelm - An excuse not to get his hands dirty, Nisha - Evil as hell, and the only two characters that could give him good traits left his service?

January 29, 2015
Wow. That's neat.

Uh, yeah, totally intentional.
Liked by: Jeffrey bryn laney Becky Adam R

### https://vine.co/v/OwWeTYmPA7h

January 29, 2015
OH MY GOD

### If your goal with Aurelia was to create a character so reprehensible that I'd want to throw her into a lava crevasse repeatedly or let her die horribly at the hands of moon scavs ad infinitum, mission accomplished. Resoundingly.

January 29, 2015
Had a feeling she'd be a love it/hate it character.

### Is this accurate http://36.media.tumblr.com/d15a806753c36127d1a701adfe733185/tumblr_niuyzv96Ew1rti63ho1_1280.png

January 29, 2015
yes canon
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### I actually learned the Vivian James cosplayer was an androgynous middle eastern female. She gave her account on reddit about the whole ordeal. People, who want to uphold the idea of body positivity and women wearing what they want without being shamed about it publicly, bullied someone at MAGfest.

January 29, 2015
Yikes.

### got another stoked bird for you bro http://oldmanstephanie.tumblr.com/post/109369510727/superziggy-beakybirds-meet-groovy-a-bird

January 29, 2015
oh my god i love him
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### i've started playing dark souls and it was going alright but then i've met quelaag. she's terryfing and has so much health and i feel like i'll never be able to beat her D:

January 29, 2015
You cannnn. You can grind for more levels, or look up good weapons online and go fo rthose.

### So apparently at Magfest there was a dude cosplaying as Vivian James. Gamergate can't even find a woman to pretend to be their pretend woman. I'm dying over here.

January 29, 2015
pahaa

### to the guy in the state of depression: i was feeling the same recently, when you take away the interaction from the game it's like a movie. So i starting watching movies, good chance for me to catch up on some gems. Anyway it passed but i am still a big movie guy too now.

January 29, 2015
Nice!

### I'm going through a state of depression that's causing me to still love videogames more than anything in the world, but just completely lacking the motivation or desire to actually play them. It's pretty scary. Any thoughts?

January 27, 2015
Try looking at other stuff for fun. TV, movies, books, comics.

### (1/3) D’you think there’s much point in someone like me being on something like OkCupid when I don’t have a job or go to college or even really want to work or do anything with my life? I’m a 23 year old guy and I live with my parents. It’s kind of hard to explain my life (and it would probably

January 27, 2015
I can't say for sure, I'm sorry. Maybe yes, if it makes you feel at all better? If it starts making you feel drastically worse, I would stop.

### In the IGN Aurelia gameplay preview, you said that Aurelia can "motivate" her servants by slapping them, but I'm not seeing that skill on her online skill tree. Is it like a hidden thing?

January 27, 2015
I may be an idiot and misread a thing.

### It just kind of complicates the issue when you swing round to "no people do choose to be gay" because that logic is used to fuel so much bullshit. And there's not much evidence that you can choose your sexuality, scientifically speaking, unless you've seen a study I haven't. Just problematic...

January 27, 2015
Right. I don't generally think of sexuality as a choice, but I've seen it argued frequently by lgbt peeps that even if it WAS a choice, it wouldn't change anything and all of the arguments would still stand. Which, then, I think those same people should probably not be talking shit about otherkin.

### so, claptrap's a robot. athena's a lesbian, nisha & aurelia are w. of color. wilhelm is agender, uses male pronouns for ease of use, is more interested in robots than people (asexual?). if you did go through with making timothy bi, then all 6 player characters would be non-straight white guys, wow!

January 27, 2015
wilhelm's agender? that's cool
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Becky Elizabeth

### was hawp your first venture into creating something or had you had many creations that will never see the light of day from before hawp?

January 27, 2015
HAWP was basically the first.
Liked by: Meeki

### If you want a job at gearbox do you have to live in Texas? As in are there other studios or is it just Texas?

January 27, 2015
Generally, yes, you gotta live in Texas as that's the only studio.

### have you ever been suicidal?

January 27, 2015
Yep. All the time. Never to the point of actually attempting it, but I once cut the ethernet cable that ran into my room so I could tie it into a noose, just in case. Which then meant I didn't have an ethernet cable in my room, which was dumb.
Liked by: tyler hadden

### Because of the dopamine thing, did you enjoy games more once you fixed your porn brain?

January 27, 2015
Not really. I've always super enjoyed games (might be addicted to those, too, but I haven't experienced any outright problems from that addiction).

### The Aurelia trailer was great! But...what the HELL were Brick and Mordy doing there, that is all sorts of timeline breaking?

January 27, 2015
Mike Roth thought it'd be cool and he showed it to me and I was like...yeah that is pretty cool, so we just kinda shruged.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### I like that your Aurelia Q+A just SUPER CASUALLY drops the canon that Sirens are consciously chosen by a "Space Spirit". Like, the biggest lore out of fuckin' nowhere. Ah, but you have style.

January 27, 2015
That's just what Aurelia thinks.

### I CANT DO THIS NOFAP, i really want to do it and succeed. Anything said about it seems so simple but the matter is so complex.

January 27, 2015
It's just a matter of not doing one single thing. It's tough, because it's like one of the most fun single things you can do on your own with no equipment, but it's just the one thing.

Here's a thought -- try to be in public spaces more often? Maybe that will prevent you wanting to, you know.

I mean hopefully it would.

### Holy shit Aurelia is fucking incredible.

January 27, 2015
Glad you dig her!

### Dvořák or Chopin?

January 27, 2015
Dvorak.

I'd copypaste the accents but I'm a trash person
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### i'm currently in uni and probs too young to be considered for a job at gearbox, which really bums me out. i would love to work there one day as a writer. any advice for how to prepare for a job in game writing while still in school? ideally at gearbox but just in the industry in general too.

January 27, 2015
Make your own stuff. I got the gearbox gig because of HAWP, I made HAWP because I randomly felt like doing something.

### Watching your stream and you mentioned a shitload of spiders so I got the hell out of there. People who include spiders in their fantasy games are unoriginal hacks. If you work on fantasy in the future do whatever you can to keep them out.

January 27, 2015
Sounds like somebody's arachnophobic

### What Aurelia Q and A????

January 27, 2015
on the official Borderlands facebook page.

### I love that the guy asking about if there needs to be diversity in absolutely everything used Lovecraft-style stuff as an example, like are they aware of the fact that Lovecraft was SUPER DUPER racist

January 27, 2015
hahah I forgot about that

### im cutting down my masterbation from 7 nights a week to around 3, i aim to get to around 1 night a week but i've never lasted long coldturkey

January 27, 2015
Great!

### What places do you use to keep up with movies worth seeing?

January 27, 2015
Whatever's playing at the Drafthouse.

### What are the best under the radar games that you have played over the last years?

January 27, 2015
Gravity Ghost, Castles in the Sky, most everything on forest ambassador
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Are you behind the Aurelia Q&A? Well whomever is, if the objective was to make everyone fall in love with her, then it's definitely working! She's utterly charming, yet inherently horrible - add a tad more megalomania and she'd be the perfect foil for Jack - now I'm just dying to see them interact!

January 27, 2015
Yep, that was me. Glad you liked it!

### Do you view masturbating and watching porn as a problem for everyone who indulges in them? Or is it more of a case by case like drinking and drugs are?

January 27, 2015
The latter. Moderation in all things, etc. The shit of porn/masturbation addiction, though, is that nobody even really knew it was a proper thing until SUPER recently. Thanks to the advent of high-speed internet, porn has just drastically changed and gotten more popular/ubiquitous. Not to mention, America's puritanical view of sex/sex education means that porn is the only place a lot of people can go to get any sort of sexual experience (even if it's the wrong kind). We're only just now realizing what kind of rewiring porn can do to the dopamine centers of your brain.

### It seems impossible that you haven't played The Stanley Parable, but I don't remember you talking about it. Did you like it? Was it jokes? Yay or nay?

January 27, 2015
Loved it, yeah.

### I was born of brown parents, but I have angular facial features and straight hair. A lot of people think I'm just a tanned european when they first meet me. Do I have some form of white privilege?

January 27, 2015
I dunno. I kind of pass for white-ish personalitywise (I don't have an accent, I'm very westernized, I have a lot of white features), and I've never experienced any real racism in my life. So I'm certainly tempted to feel that white privilege is a thing even amongst brown dudes.

### My girlfriend literally refuses to give a shit about my sexual needs, like I get three or four BJs a year, tops. Keep in mind I pay for everything. I'm feeling unappreciated, maybe even taken advantage of, and I'm pretty damn close to cheating. Like, within an hour. What do? Is this normal?

January 27, 2015
If you've been open and honest with her about your sexual needs and she just flat-out refuses to fulfill them, then that's a problem.

Now, there's a fine line between "she is not taking care of my sexual needs" and "I did X, therefore I *deserve* Y". But it doesn't quite sound like that's what you're talking about here.

Maybe she's just not as sexual as you are, or maybe she's not attracted to you but doesn't feel comfortable saying so, or something. But, from my utterly ignorant bystander position, I'd say that this is unhealthy and you need to have a serious talk about it. Or consider ending/changing the relationship.

### i read something about how this girl stopped masturbating and she found herself pressuring her boyfriend for sex even when she knew he wasnt into it. its anecdotal and everybody is different i know but its still something im really afraid of

January 27, 2015
Yikes. That is scary, yeah. But it's up to every individual, how they deal with it. And obviously maintaining consent is still the most important thing.

### its just odd to ask for "marginalized" people rather than....people. and i feel the idea of marginalized people is kinda a self fulfilling prophecy. you treat them differently so of course they are gonna feel marginalized, especially when you call them that.

January 27, 2015
It's not, like, a news flash to people that they're marginalized. They're aware of it, and they've been implicitly taught by lots of society that they aren't welcome in many places, and tech is one of those places. So you have to go out of your way to tell marginalized people that they ARE welcome and that you DO want them.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### Do you think diversity is a must in literally every project? What if it just legit doesn't fit? If I'm writing a story about cosmonauts being consumed by a Lovecraftian landscape and/or their own existential nightmares, am I really obligated to make sure there's a black or female cosmonaut?

January 27, 2015
You're not obligated to do anything.

### i read a thing about how quitting masturbating makes you a bit more "rapey" this horrifies me to no end. can you speak on that at all?

January 27, 2015
woah WHAT?
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Do you feel yourself getting more intelligent as you age?

January 27, 2015
The opposite.

### Thoughts on Blue Ruin!

January 27, 2015
I loved it. Such a minimalist, pared-down version of that kinda story that still did unexpected stuff.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### What did you think of the Lady Boyle "good" ending where you don't kill her but give her to some dubious stalker?

January 27, 2015
REAL CREPPSY

### Do you worry that hiring a person because they are marginalized will simply be another form of marginalization, pushing them into a corner where they further define themselves through their trauma (bullying, racism, sexual abuse)? Maybe even afraid for their job if their trauma doesn't "pay off"?

January 27, 2015
I would worry about that if we were to hire a person *exclusively* because they were marginalized, but that's not what we're dong. We're going to hire the best person, but marginalized people often don't apply for these jobs because they don't believe they can get them.

It's telling, though, that I say one goddamn thing about how marginalized people should please apply and then every white guy shits his fucking pants like I'm stealing money from their fucking bank account.
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### Wait so it's bad to write characters and then assign race and gender because then you're not saying anything about those people, just whitewashing... but you're also not supposed to write stories specifically about characters of genders and races than aren't your own?? How do win progressiveness

January 26, 2015
Yeah, that's the shit of it. That's why I think it's fine to write outside your sphere of influence so long as you pay someone from that sphere to help you.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### To dull-ache-in-balls person, it's literally just blue balls; vasocongestion. If you get aroused and there's no release it's harder for the blood to leave your junk, especially if your body is used to cumming. Sometime it pools and that swelling can be painful. It gets easier, though. Give it time.

Nolan Sullivan
January 26, 2015
Thanks for the answer
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I want to get continue?9876543210 but have heard mixed things. did you like it?

January 26, 2015
Not really. It was another "wait what am I supposed to do to progress?" game for me.

### "I wipe the residual cum from my foreskin on the inside of my boxers." Is that a good first line for my novel?

January 26, 2015
I mean you're committing yourself to an entire novel written in present-tense this way
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Xavby the Skink Brighid Elizabeth

### P1: General writing question. Prompted by something Merritt Kopas tweeted a while ago that I can't find. The gist of it suggested that writers who aren't trans gender shouldn't be writing narrative from that perspective. I think what she was getting at is that it's more important to promote...

January 26, 2015
[diversity]

The larger issue here is appropriation, like the Genderbread Man asshole. Marginalized people understandably don't want their stories taken and exploited so a nonmarginalized person can look impressive/progressive.

The way to have your cake and eat it too, I think, is to write whatever you wanna write and then hire (as in PAY) people from the marginalized groups you're writing about to look over what you've written and help you improve it.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### i see a lot of failure stories being thrown your way so i just wanted to tell you that my quitting masturbating is going great! (still havent asked a girl out or anything but im not dying to start again)

January 26, 2015
yaaaay

### On your quit masturbating stuff, do handjobs by a partner count or is that a no-no?

January 26, 2015
Handjobs by a partner are fine. It's more about getting your brain used to the idea of orgasm = partner than it is orgasm = not-hand.

### Why do all the PoC Borderlands characters look white in the promotion stuff?? Nisha, Hammerlock, Fiona, etc. Is that some weird marketing thing?

January 26, 2015
Do they? I hadn't noticed. But I doubt it.
Liked by: Kris Ramjam

### in terms of mansplaining, absolutely a thing, how do you differentiate between a man and a woman disagreeing, and the sense of condescension that inherently comes with trying to explain something the other "doesn't understand", and a man disagreeing with a woman BECAUSE he's a man and she's a woman?

January 26, 2015
A shitty thing I do a lot is assuming the person I'm talking to doesn't already understand the specifics of what I'm talking about. If I take away my intrinsic desire to overexplain things, I get a lot less mansplainy.

That said, the biggest rule of mansplaining is trusting that a woman knows what the fuck she's talking about if she's talking about something specifically about gender/harassment/etc.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I've gone like 6 days without ejaculating and my balls have this dull ache. Normal?

January 26, 2015
I have not experienced that. You may wanna see someone.

### Here's an idea: let's not have a 4-person cast of a funny guy, a cool guy, a black guy, and a girl. Almost every 4-person game has these and it's getting quite boring.

January 26, 2015
cole train comin choo choooo

that said i love cole train

### Southern Guy here. I don't know how you did it. I got to day 8 and had a breakdown. All I could think about was sex and masturbation. I failed. I can't do it.

January 26, 2015
You absolutely, one hundred percent can. Eight days is your high score. Just try to beat that high score.

### There's a girl I like but we only talk on twitter and tumblr, she follows me back. I feel weird when I comment on something posts even if she likes it. I don't know how to advance things beyond twitter naturally. Any advice for getting her romantic attention or should I just put in a lot of time?

January 26, 2015
I'm honestly horrifically bad at bringing up attraction to someone in a casual way. I scare people off because I don't know how to be subtle. That said, my advice is to just say they're cute or something? And if they don't react in any kind of flirtatious way, then just drop it, I guess?

### Any tips on rebuilding confidence? My fiancee broke it off two months before the wedding, and it'll be 2 years since then in May. I want to move on, but I have so much hatred built up. I feel betrayed, and I've tried hobbies. I run daily and brew wine weekly. I can't even approach other women. (Cont

January 26, 2015
The only thing I can suggest is to try dating other people. The only thing that stopped my feelings of betrayal and hurt from high school/college was meeting Davis. When she left, I was worried I'd fall back into those same habits, but meeting people and going on dates has helped stave that kind of anger and resentment off almost entirely.

### Anthony I watched 4 episodes of the good wife and it's snoozetown for me. I just can't take it.

January 26, 2015
That's cool, it ain't for everybody. That said, first season is weakest by far

### Does Harry Potter (books or movies) resonate with you?

January 25, 2015
Like most people with a pulse, I loved the books. The final book in particular is one of the most epic pieces of fiction I've ever experienced -- I love how it took this incredibly huge, world-changing event and made it (A) personal to all the characters we cared about, and (B) restricted entirely to Harry's point of view. When characters we love basically die offscreen, it makes things feel much bigger and more real.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Your story writing (can't give you all the credit, as I know you're not the only writer, but you're the only one I can really contact!) has giving me a nice way to cope with my problems and vent my frustrations through relatable characters. You're rad as hell, Burch. Fuck the h8rs

January 25, 2015
you the best

### I love how some people find Sheldon's neurosis funny on BBT. My OCD prevents me from being able to enjoy, well... anything. Hi-fucking-larious. Aren't crippling disorders, unyielding prisons forged from the darkest parts of one's own mind just the best? I get such a kick out of it.

January 25, 2015
hahaha what a doofus fuck that guy also he likes comics

### Is Sir Hammerlock black?

January 25, 2015
Y
E
S

### Dating a girl and can't stand her vagina. Its an outie and its a real turn off whenever she makes me go down on her. Shes fun to be around besides that, but I can't help wishing she was an innie. Should I just break it off with her??

January 25, 2015
I'm kind of uncomfortable with the way you're phrasing that question, but I guess if you're not attracted to someone/their positive qualities don't outweigh your lack of attraction to them, then you should probably call things off.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Is there any good way for a woman to reject someone? If I'm nice (and I don't mean ambiguous, just not being an asshole), they don't actually listen to the word "no". If I show a hint of irritation or just start being dismissive I get screamed at on the middle of the street and called a cunt.

January 25, 2015
Unfortunately, I think the best you can do is be sympathetic but direct. The best rejection I ever got was from a girl who sent me, via text, the following:

"Just so you know, I'm happy to hang out, but only as friends. I'm sorry -- I find you very interesting, but I'm just not attracted to you."

Really polite and direct. Just quality stuff.

The reality, though, is that so many dudes feel they're entitled to X because they did Y. A lot of dudes will just ignore your wishes or just overreact like babies (I have done both in the past). At this point, they've broken the social contract and you're allowed to be as mean as you need to be to get them to back the fuck off. But it's certainly not ideal that you should *have* to do such a thing.

### What are Tony B.'s top fellatio tips?

January 25, 2015
- Don't bite
- Don't stab nobody
- Don't quote big bang theory while you do it
Liked by: Hitokiri Becky Nolan Sullivan sad boy Samantha Dale Devon, Depressed Idealist Elizabeth allyson marie Gabriel Costantino

### adding to the 'hand waving': i'm afraid of strange men because i've had random dudes 'flirt' with me in super rude & uncomfortable ways (one followed me), & then get upset when i said no thanks. one guy even accused me of racism for it. and i've seen worse happen to other women on the street.

January 25, 2015
yeeeep

### I'm writing a story and was wondering whether it's better to start with: defining your characters, creating plot points, or making the world as detailed as possible?

January 25, 2015
Whatever helps you get writing. All of those things are ultimately important and I think character is generally the one I consider the MOST important, but whatever you need to get started is what you should focus on. If you think really hard about any one of those things, then, ideally, ideas will spring up for the other two.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Favorite party members in Dragon Age: Inquisition? And why? I like Cassandra, Sera, and Dorian. Seeing Cassandra "break form" (I suppose) and be fun-ish and I just like her. Sera is Sera. And Dorian is Johnny Depp from Tiventer.Thats enough to keep him around.

January 25, 2015
Same, basically. I adore Sera to the end of the world. Cassandra was initially kinda dull, but once she sorta broke character and got excited about stuff I found her accidentally adorable (especially her interactions with Varric).

### How do you deal with angry people raging at you on the internet? Does the impact dull with experience or did you just never care much? Anytime people nonsensically rage at me in a comment I'm instantly upset and can't get it out of my head for hours. How do you keep sane? PS Love you.

January 25, 2015
It doesn't really bother me that much. Anger only upsets me if it's from someone I respect, and most of the kind of people who get pissed at me on the internet are people I am incapable of respecting.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### What should I say to a girl that feels insecure about herself?

January 25, 2015
Certainly not mean or objectifying things. And don't *order* them to not feel insecure ("smile!"), because that is really stressful and also kind of impossible. Just be honest and kind and if you feel like they're a special person, tell them that every once in a while (not all the time).

### Anthony help there's a guy in my grade who wears a "Meninist" sweatshirt and it takes all my willpower to not bludgeon him to death with every physical object on the planet.

January 25, 2015
Just buy a bunch of Fem Freq stickers and leave them on stuff near his desk
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### when i refrain from jerking it i get really antsy. like, can't get to sleep, way too much time spent scoping out honeys, really distracted, shitty at prioritising, maintaining habits, etc. like, horniness just takes over my brain and makes me an idiot. will it end?

January 25, 2015
YES. I promise. That's what addiction is, right? Your brain is used to this one thing to keep it balanced, and when you remove it, your brain doesn't know what the fuck to do. You just have to give it time.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### hey hey elaborate on "kinda" experience with a dude i'm v curious

January 25, 2015
Threesome with a girl, oral only with the guy, found out the guy was kinda detestable afterward.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Hey... I apologize for the villain question. I didn't mean it to get a rise out of you or offend. You brought up a good point, I just wasn't sure if there are actually room for morally awful characters like that or if they should be slowly phased out of existence.

January 25, 2015
I didn't get offended or anything, I just hear that argument a lot, especially to excuse really awful and exploitative plotting (Skullface/Paz in MGSV).

### Hey Anthony, what do you think about hotline miami?

January 25, 2015
I love the gameplay and find its story utterly uninteresting. I find games that pretend to critique violence, while providing you lots of lovely and enjoyable violence, really hypocritical and irritating.

### Athena is my favorite borderlands character, GG

January 25, 2015
yaaaay

### Is it normal to get a nice feeling in your stomach when you imagine them patting the soil down over your body?

January 25, 2015
That's pretty cool actually. I'd love to be that comfortable with the idea of dying. For me it's kind of just a blind screaming panic
Liked by: Becky

### It kind of sucks that a lot of MRA's miss the point of feminism, that is, to take down the patriarchy. And considering the patriarchy is causing literally all of the problems that MRA's are fighting against (body image, male rape, social standards, etc.) it kind of sucks

January 24, 2015
Yep.

### yo I'm making a video game for one of my classes this semester. give me some completely random thing to include and i'll give it a shot?

January 24, 2015
Corgi wearing ice skates
Liked by: Jeffrey Ivan Aranda sad boy Kerissa Young Zeh mackenzie charlton Harley Bird

### so did you ever wind up bangin a dude

January 24, 2015
Kinda
Liked by: Becky Ivan Aranda

### Is it true that only women can be called feminists and men are called feminist allies? (My mom doesn't think men can be called feminists so I thought I would make sure with you)

January 24, 2015
No, that's bullshit. Men can be feminists.
Liked by: Jeffrey alex crissy Kerissa Young Kris Ramjam Xavby the Skink Nolan Sullivan allyson marie

### Why did you use a damsel in distress in Borderlands 2?

January 24, 2015
Because I didn't think hard enough.
Liked by: Jeffrey Ivan Aranda sad boy Zeh Kris Ramjam Gabriel Costantino

### Here's a VG writer question... where do you feel you need to draw the line for morally offensive characters? A bad, evil, racist/misogynistic/disgusting character is arguably the best kind of villain to take down, but could offend certain groups of people. Does that character get a villain pass?

January 24, 2015
I don't think a racist/misogynistic villain is "arguably" the best kind of villain. The greatest villains in games:
- SHODAN
- Glados
- Andrew Ryan

And none of those people went out of their way to be offensive for offensive's sake.

### Thoughts on Gat Out Of Hell?

January 24, 2015
The flying is incredibly fun. It's a game of nothing but sidequests, yeah, but moving around the world has never been more fun.

### did you ever see yourself here?

January 24, 2015
nah

### I never did catch your thoughts on the last two seasons of Korra and its finale. Did you get around to watching them? What did you think?

January 24, 2015
Liked it a lot. It's not even close to Last Airbender, but I liked it.

### Hey Anthony, big fan of your work, and I'm an MRA. I think it's kind of unfair for you to paint us all with the same brush, man. We run the entire spectrum from reasonable, moderate, to extreme; just like the feminists we (unnecessarily) clash so often with. Please understand, just because I (con't)

January 24, 2015
Just pretend when I say "all MRAs" I mean "literally every single MRA I have ever spoken to with the exception of like, two." There are lots of shitty ways in which men get the short end of the stick, and it's spectacularly rare I find someone as interested in THAT as they are depriving women of things and telling them to shut up.

### Who are the other video game writers you admire most for their work?

January 23, 2015
Tom Jubert, Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin, Sam Barlow, Erin Robinson

### So basically, we either don't know you and have no idea if you'd rape us... or we DO know you, and there's an even higher statistical chance you'll rape us. But nah, it's cool, it's just like racism that we're wary of men!

January 23, 2015
Yep yep yep yep yep yep yep

### I mean, it's totally possible they just glide in from the Land of Fuckboy on a whim on occasion, but I have a feeling some of these people are actually following you. You usually say something socially responsible at least once a day; how are so many racists and meninist titty babies still here?!

January 23, 2015
Yeah, I dunno. Lotta MRAs just like arguing.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### Re: Schrödinger's rapists, I'd really love it if just the ladies who follow you could all kind of "wave their hands" to demonstrate to your NotAllMen anon how goddamn common it is. I'll start: hi, I'm female. 2 rape attempts, one by a friend's boyfriend, one by my own (now-ex) spouse.

January 23, 2015
Ugh. I'm so sorry.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### When is show? Keep promising but no show...

January 23, 2015
Last I spoke to Justin, he said by March at least?

### one in five women raped in their lives?.. in 3rd world countrys there will be more rape but i doubt 1 in 5 American women will be raped? i don't trust those stats. but rape is bad

January 23, 2015
"I don't trust those stats"

Cool. That's why they're so high.

### Re: One in five women: I'm sure the statistic is right, but it doesn't justify living in fear of ALL men, the same way the higher minority population of prisons doesn't justify fearing ALL black people. Yes, you ought to be more careful walking down a dark alley at two a.m., but you can't live in fe

January 23, 2015
I take issue with the original question that some women are "afraid" of all men. Yes, women are more on guard around men (because there's a 1 in 5 chance they'll be raped). Yes, women have to be a lot more careful on dates and tell their friends where they'll be (because there's a 1 in 5 chance they'll be raped). Yes, women have to be careful about drinking too much because if they're raped (which has a 1 in 5 chance in happening) then people will say they deserved it for drinking too much.

But I don't see women running away from men, screaming at the top of their lungs. I don't generally see women irrationally lashing out with violence against men.

I see women asking/demanding that men acknowledge the danger that everyday women are in. And I see men, time and time again, dismiss or reduce or react with hostility toward these very reasonable and simple requests, because god forbid they ever acknowledge there might be a systemic problem with gender roles in modern society.

View more

Liked by: Jeffrey Elizabeth Hocking Harley Bird Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### i'd like a woman to love but my family and the things i've experienced are too fucked up. why bring them down?

January 23, 2015
There are women who have also experienced fucked up things. It's okay to want to be with someone -- if they're okay with what has happened in your life, and you're okay with what's happened in theirs, why not try? You shouldn't martyr yourself before giving yourself a chance to be happy.
Liked by: Zeh

### Speaking as someone who almost killed themselves last night, you guys calling the Legend of Korra finale "bad fanfiction" with Korra connecting with her spiritual self is pretty intellectually elitist. Sorry.

January 23, 2015
I'm really sorry you almost killed yourself (I'm glad you didn't), but I have actually no idea what you are talking about or how that's remotely relevant.
Liked by: Zachary Michaels

### Re: women being afraid of all men is ok because reasons: So it's literally the same as being afraid of black people? I'm not saying there's not valid reasons for black culture being the way it is but all the same, black people are fucking dangerous, dude. Don't guilt people for acting accordingly.

January 23, 2015
Congrats

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/2674883382/3a739bdfa22123fb9df408c859b906b9_400x400.gif
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Anthony I just spoke to a cop in an AMA and she said that at least 50% of rape accusations are false. Any thoughts?

January 23, 2015
That one cop doesn't disprove the litany of other statistical evidence?

### Hawp... cast... dead?

January 23, 2015
No. It'll be back once the show is.

### Re: mileage may vary: *raises hand* at this point I'm not interested in relationships, I'm really into doing whatever I want all the time. I had a few bad experiences. That's not to say women are purely sex objects; I have a few FWB who mean the world to me, the key word is the first word. Ya know?

January 23, 2015
Sure. Like I said, it's up to the individual people.

### Have you played heroes of the storm? Is it any good? Is it easier to learn than LoL?

January 23, 2015
It's fun, and much much much easier to learn than LoL.

### Re: that last question, if you had any advice for women (or hell, even other men) on avoiding those situations (because I had no real reason to think they weren't into me; they played the role well enough), what would it be? Beyond mind-reading, how does one protect herself from that?

January 23, 2015
Honestly? I'm not sure. In a perfect world, you could just ask and be open and tell the person how bad you would feel if they were doing that to you...but guys aren't taught to be honest when asked questions like that. They'll lie, because "doesn't matter had sex".

### I don't know anyone who's into social justice and I respect your opinion so I hope you don't mind me asking this. How do women, who have no past history of any abuse, justify their fear of ALL men as being something that's okay? And how is it different than being afraid of all black people, etc?

January 23, 2015
There are a lot of reasons, but how about this:

One in five women will be raped at some point in their lives. So, like, imagine that. Imagine that every time you walk alone at night, or get drunk at a party, there's a chance that you'll be that one in five.

That's worse odds than Russian Roulette.

And not only that, if you ARE raped, you almost certainly won't be believed -- possibly not by your friends or family, and almost certainly not by the courts (because only 2% of accused rapists ever see jail time).

### I'm only through the first season of The Good Wife (which I'm really liking btw, thanks for the recommendation) and I'm already having dreams about courtroom procedure. Is this normal?

January 23, 2015
Pff sure
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Chiming in as one of the dudes less misogynistic/homophobic now for having listened to you and the hawp crew. Hopefully not misogynistic or homophobic at all, but conservative Christian upbringing is a beast to get over so I'm still trying to clean up the less conscious stuff. Life.

January 23, 2015
Yeah, it's always a struggle to be less shitty day by day. I'm certainly still doing it.
Liked by: Elizabeth Gabriel Costantino

### So I left my band because they insisted on renaming themselves "Rape Squad." Apparently I'm now a filthy SJW. What do?

January 23, 2015
Make a band called the Constentrio
Liked by: Elizabeth

### bruh look at this bird it's stoked as shit: https://vine.co/v/Od7dmUQgXKE

January 23, 2015
Oh my god. Oh. my god.
Liked by: Harley Bird

### OKAY ANON. SHREK WAS A GREAT FILM. THEY JUST TOOK IT A LITTLE FAR. DON'T YOU BASH OUR FRIENDLY GREEN OGRE.Thank you.

allyson marie
January 23, 2015
THANK YOU
Liked by: Jeffrey Elizabeth Devon, Depressed Idealist Brighid allyson marie

### "The first two Shreks weren't bad!" is going to go on your fucking tombstone.

January 23, 2015
MAN THERE WAS SOME GOOD SHIT IN THERE

### hey man you should make a character named james and then have him play videogames and say hes playing video james ;)

January 23, 2015
pahahahha

### Ever slept with someone you weren't attracted to, out of the attitude that any sex is better than none? I've found out on a couple occasions that guys I've slept with weren't physically into me, and had I known that, I'd have never slept with them. It's a gross feeling, like my consent was subverted

January 23, 2015
Once or twice, and I immediately regretted it. It's objectifying in the most literal sense.
Liked by: allyson marie

### go bac k to hell liberal

January 23, 2015
nah
Liked by: allyson marie

### What did you think of the comedic writing in Super Time Force?

January 23, 2015
"WHY DO INDIE GAMES GET AWAY WITH REFERENCING MEMES ALL THE TIME AND I DO IT LIKE TWICE AND NEVER HEAR THE END OF THAT SHIT"
Liked by: Jeffrey Harley Bird Devon, Depressed Idealist sad boy Becky Samantha Dale Gabriel Costantino

### as a society why did we let shrek become a movie?

January 23, 2015
The first two Shreks weren't bad!
Liked by: Jeffrey Elizabeth Harley Bird Devon, Depressed Idealist allyson marie Samantha Dale

### I f my dad thinks my mom is hot and everyone says i look just like my mom does that mean my dad thinks im hot?

January 23, 2015
Math checks out
Liked by: Jeffrey Adam R Elizabeth mackenzie charlton Becky allyson marie Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### do you have a favorite weapon for dark souls 2

January 23, 2015
Blacksteel katana

### Re: "mission accomplished", if you go into a relationship primarily for the purpose of sex then you're honestly not going to be that happy in one, don't do it. Even if you don't want to hear that. You should value the quiet moments that you're just happy hanging with them 100x above sex.

January 22, 2015
Yeah, this has been my experienced. I mean, everyone's mileage may vary, but I've had a million times more satisfaction and joy from just loving someone and being loved by them than just doin' it a lot. Wanting to fuck somebody whom you don't care about as a person feels super duper awesome until the exact moment you have an orgasm, in my general experience. Then you feel kinda sad, a little empty, a little ashamed. I think this is part of the reason behind the "GOD, why do women always wanna CUDDLE afterward, why can't she just LEAVE" thing men always talk about -- they don't know how to deal with that feeling, so they just want the girl to leave so they can be alone and not embarrassed.

And that doesn't even mean you have to love the person (I've had really gratifying sex with good friends), just really like and appreciate them as a human being and know that they feel the same about you. Looking at them as an object or a mission is not a good way to accomplish that.

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Liked by: Becky

### Your Doctor Who Sandman season reminds me of Mushishi, a short anime series about a dude that comes around and helps people out with spirits that haunt them. I don't watch a lot of anime, but I liked it a lot. It's the quietest, most restrained show I've ever seen. You might like it.

January 22, 2015
Ahh, I still need to watch that.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Because I mean no offense but advising you to do "10-20" pushups and situps is the type of thing I'd expect to come out of a typical gym bunny's mouth. You'll get literally no results, no muscle growth from that. Your muscles grow when they're pushed; knocking out ten every day won't do shit.

January 22, 2015
I think I'm okay not getting muscle growth (I've been told that I would look freakish if I was swole). I just wanna not die.

### The key to exercising regularly (if you're not already disposed to do so) is finding exercisey things that you find fun. For me that was bicycling (when it's not too cold) and also I bought a speedbag to hit on. Thwappita thwappita thwappita....

January 22, 2015
Maybe I need to buy another stationary bike. I used to ride that while I watched TV, and that was pretty fun.

### You have a million dollars and you CAN't donate it. What do you do?

January 22, 2015
Pay off my friends' loans, maybe? Maybe start an indie game studio?

### not tryin to b a dick but do u ever worry that trying to not offend anyone has hampered your ability to write comedy? I personally think your older work before u started being more pc was funnier (no offense).Most universally acclaimed comedians (e.g. louis ck) don't bother with that stuff.Thoughts?

January 22, 2015
Louis CK actually *does* consider not offending people very much -- apart from basic profanity that will always offend a group of people I don't give a shit about (which is why HAWP still uses profanity), Louis CK doesn't ever ever ever punch down. He makes jokes about poor people, but those jokes are about how weird it is that we're all okay with making fun of poor people. He makes fun of women, but only inasmuch as it's amazing that women tolerate men because we're the number one threat to their health. He makes fun of slavery, but he specifically makes fun of the fact that white people like to pretend slavery happened a thousand years ago.

You can make jokes about touchy subjects -- the question is how you make those jokes. And I dunno, I like our newer stuff better.
Liked by: Jeffrey Adam R Elizabeth sad boy Becky Zachary Michaels Nolan Sullivan Devon, Depressed Idealist

### What are the reservations on the Killing joke and The dark knight returns?

January 22, 2015
The Killing Joke stuffs Batgirl in the fridge, which is pretty sad and kinda arbitrary. The Dark Knight Returns is great, but I've grown to dislike Frank Miller and his politics, so a lot of the more conservative stuff rubs me a little raw these days.

### Do you watch 30 Rock? Cause it's perfect.

January 22, 2015
I stopped during the last season just out of negligence. Should probably go back and finish, though.

### Hyped for Bloodborne?

January 22, 2015
of course

### i got a girl to send me (nearly) nudes, mission accomplished?

January 22, 2015
I used to think in these terms, but I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea of *convincing* a girl to do a thing. I think it's unhealthy and kinda harmful to look at people you're attracted to as some sort of goal or opponent you need to defeat/complete/accomplish. That, at least for me, meant prioritizing charisma over honesty, subterfuge over forthrightness, and my desires over her comfort or safety.

Now, I'm definitely NOT saying "be honest with guys or girls all the time even when they haven't asked for it," because being 100% honest without prompting is a really good way to freak people out initially. But personally, I think if we stopped looking at relationships as Hunting The White Whale and more like finding a person for whom you share a mutual, honest attraction, then we would be better off.

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Liked by: Elizabeth Nolan Sullivan

### About the guy/girl that can't get past day 3. Find hobbies that take you away from the internet. The internet, while not bad, just makes it too easy to find wank material. Once you've made it 3-5 days, you'll find the need to wank diminish a bit, then you can do more internet things.

January 22, 2015
good advice

### Serious question: If we were ever to meet, would you sign my erect penis?

January 22, 2015
nah probably not
Liked by: Jeffrey Elizabeth sad boy Xavby the Skink

### Is "white guys" a racial slur? Because it's dismissive, dehumanizing, and sure as fuck offends me.

January 22, 2015
I'm -- no? I mean, "brown guys" isn't a slur. "Black ladies" isn't a slur.
Liked by: Jeffrey Carmen Elizabeth T. A. Gruver

### If it makes you feel any better, because of you and the HAWPcasts/Ash, there are probably thousands and thousands of guys like myself who are now much, much less misogynistic and just subtly sexist from 17 onwards. At least you're helping now, despite what whatever's in your past.

January 22, 2015
That's nice to think. I hope that number is greater than the number of neanderthal misogynists who dug their feet into the ground and acted twice as sexist as before.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### The fourth episode of this season's Parks and Recreation is as good an episode of television as the series has produced, at least from an emotional/tonal perspective, and it is nearly perfect in that regard. I hate everything, and I'm telling you: we're out of the woods re: Parks and Rec being butt.

January 21, 2015
Oh jeez, really? Hrm.

### anthony i really want to play dark souls but it seems so difficult and i'm scared that i won't be good at it wHAT SHOULD I DO???

January 21, 2015
Just be okay with the fact that it's really hard and you might not beat it. It's not a big deal if you don't. Also use walkthrough guides.

### Did a lot of people at your school wank off dogs? There was a trend at our school of people wanking off dogs

January 21, 2015
DUDE WHERE DID YOU GO TO SCHOOL
Liked by: Jeffrey Kerissa Young sad boy Devon, Depressed Idealist Elizabeth Kris Ramjam Gabriel Costantino Samantha Dale mackenzie charlton

### i can never get past day 3 of no porn/masturbation. It's like everything i see is a trigger and my brain wonders and then i've got about 20 porn tabs open. HOW DO YOU DO THIS!?

January 21, 2015
Just avoid triggers and play videogames or whatevertheheck.
Liked by: Elizabeth

### Thoughts on SR4 vs. 3? I just started 4: the superpowers are really fun for zipping around and blowing stuff up, but the whole simulation thing sort of breaks immersion for me. Customization and causing chaos seem less meaningful + as the only "real" person I also feel kind of lonely? Is that weird?

January 20, 2015
It's not weird. It was just a creative choice, I think -- to keep the universe relatively sane and give the franchise/game arc somewhere to grow, they made your superpowers "fictional" kinda?

### What do you think about Telltale approach to the world of Borderlands in "Tales from the Borderlands"? Did you like the humor?

January 20, 2015
Loved it. Infuriatingly.
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### If you want my thoughts on workout, a regular schedule works best (ie I do workout on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. 40 minutes on elliptical machine, then 10-20 pushups, then 10-20 situps). Gotta keep the endurance up, in zombie outbreaks don't gotta be the fastest, just not the slowest!

January 20, 2015
hrmm. i like it

### What are your favorite Batman graphic novels?

January 20, 2015
killing joke (with reservations), dark knight returns (with reservations), kingdom come

### I've never had a sibling so I'm wondering, what are some small things that siblings do that only children miss out on?

January 20, 2015
pooping on stuff and being able to blame someone

### what do you do when you fell depressed?

January 20, 2015
I try to hang out with friends or do something mindlessly passive and entertaining.

### do you ever feel angry at the world or just angry alot?

January 20, 2015
I used to, all the time.

### You're writing the next Doctor Who season. What's the story?

January 20, 2015
Like Sandman. Each is a standalone story about the Doctor coming in and changing the lives of others. He feels mythic and unknowable.
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### What would you do with a million dollaridoos

January 20, 2015
Probably donate a lot of it? I'm kinda good on money.

### Holy shit Anthony I can't do anything when I lucid dream either. I once tried to turn it into a sex dream but no one wanted to have sex. I gave up and now don't want to lucid dream anymore. Is that sad?

January 20, 2015
Nah, it's fine. Lucid dreaming isn't like just making your fantasies reality or whatever. They still feel like dreams.

### as someone who seems to have a v. similar view to you and has used that same argument almost verbatim, I should mention that someone once gave an interesting counter. Most religious texts aren't direct word of god, and as such are tainted by human perspective and open to a less binary interpretation

January 20, 2015
That's nonsensical. God can make the world but not make sure somebody doesn't mistype his speeches?
Liked by: Devon, Depressed Idealist

### A women walking her dog just went out of her way to say hello to me. I was down my driveway going into my back garden and she looked down the driveway as she passed and waved and said hello. Is it safe to say that she wants to have sexual intercourse with me?

January 20, 2015
NOPE she could just be nice

### What would you say to someone who was interested in working for Gearbox, but reaalllly didn't want to go anywhere near Texas?

January 20, 2015
Sorry :(

### can this be canon http://pancakejake.tumblr.com/post/54992290927

January 20, 2015
k
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### do u ever lucid dream?

January 20, 2015
Yeah. I don't do anything interesting with it though because I suck

### There are just as many atheistic homophobes as there are religious, it's not the belief system, it's the person. Eg. men abuse any system for power, whether it's religion to keep women in check or the financial system. Dismissing everyone because of extremists creates street harassment/Islamaphobia

January 20, 2015
Yes, there are absolutely tons of really wonderful moderate people of every conceivable religion.

The thing I find weird about that, though, is that they're wonderful moderate people specifically because they aren't following their religion to a T.

If you're a good Christian and you believe everything in the bible, then you should, by all accounts, think gays are abominations, that asking forgiveness abolishes you of all guilt and sin (even our legal system doesn't work this way), and that science is a load of horseshit. If I meet and befriend a really nice Christian (as I often do!) who doesn't believe any of these things, then that's because they've just made a specific choice to ignore a big part of the religion they subscribe to.

That's just really odd to me. It's either actually the word of God and you should follow it all, or you don't and it isn't, which means it's basically pointless as a moral guide. If you're just bringing your own morality to your life independent of religion (which most of us do -- again, we don't let murderers escape punishment just because they say they're really sorry), then what purpose does the book serve beyond justifying awful behavior?

Religious people in power have successfully used their texts to make the world a worse place, over and over and over. Without the religious texts, homophobes, racists, and people who don't believe in birth control/women being allowed to come to orgasm are just all huge assholes (and yeah, atheists who believe in these things are huge assholes). With the texts, they can get the votes they need from other people who defend their hatred or idiocy in those same texts. I don't like assholes being able to touch a book and shout, "base!" as if they're playing hide and seek.

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Liked by: Adam R Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### Caffeine addiction friend: Switch to tea. It's at least slightly better for you, and it's easier to modulate. I started with a bottle of pure leaf every other day, with a bottle of a fizzy drink on the off day. Slowly cut back.

January 20, 2015
Sounds good.

### i see what you mean but even casual jewish people and islamists get ostracized and harassed by society for others in their religion and lack of understanding? isn't saying that it's a choice to follow a religion so it's different like saying vegetarians can just choose not to be to avoid harassment?

January 20, 2015
Hrmmm. That's a fair point. Still, though, I think there's a line between "hey don't be a dick toward people who disagree with you" (which I am a big fan of) and "hey feel free to attack someone's belief systems in an appropriate venue, like if they're using those beliefs to justify X type of political stance."

But yeah, harrassing and ostracizing people based on religion (which is almost inevitably tied to race) is shitty. I'm just not super interested in going out of my way to make a game that says "Mormonism is cool" or "Islam is cool" or whatever. I'd rather just make a game with ethnic or sexual/gender minorities.

### Check your spiritual privilege, Anthony. Religion is very rarely a choice; one is often conditioned (read: brainwashed) to believe as they do and these beliefs are often reinforced with enormous social/familial pressure, especially in the case of Abrahamic religions.

January 19, 2015
I definitely appreciate what you mean -- god knows social pressures are what kept me from being a feminist for like, twenty years. That's why I say "don't be a dickbag to religious people for no reason."

Still, I draw a line between "I subscribe to a belief system that endorses a bunch of really awful things", even if you were taught that was the way things are supposed to be from a young age, from "I was born X way and there's nothing inherently wrong with being X way".

Like, the internet (if you're the kind of person who has regular access to the internet, which obviously requires a heaping of privilege) gives us unfettered access to a ton of new ideas and understanding of other peoples' lives and perspectives and the like. At a certain point -- and not ALL religious people are in this boat, depending on just how ardent your family or social structure is in keeping you religious -- you become responsible for your own beliefs.

Beliefs can and should be challenged. Beliefs are not inherently okay, and do not need to be automatically respected ("homosexuality is an abomination," "we should mutilate women's genitals to prevent them having orgasms," etc).

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### You still doin fitness, burch? I'm a fitness girl, you need any help or somethin

January 19, 2015
I stopped Insanity a week before the end because the high impact stuff was obliterating my joints, so I've switched to a super low impact yoga thing. Like fifteen minutes a day.

That said I can always use help cause I don't know shit about taking care of myself.

### does representation apply to minority religious groups society is prejudiced against as well as gender and race? is writing another cultural group even with research inevitably appropriation, given someone outside that group will never have as complex an understanding for a deep portrayal?

January 19, 2015
I, personally, don't care about representing religious groups very much. Unlike gender or race, you can choose your own religion. I don't consider it a creative responsibility to go out of my way to make religions feel included. Granted, that doesn't mean "go out of your way to be a dick to religious people," it just means that because I find most things in religion (A) voluntary and (B) abhorrent, I'm not in any rush to to focus my efforts on that aspect of society when there are so many other and more important ones.

Regarding writing another cultural group: I dunno. I think the ideal way to handle that, if you can't outright hire someone from that group, is to at least pay them for their expertise and experience and have them give whatever you're doing a once-over.

### so with your dad reading so many romance novels, does that kind of stuff give him an edge for the ladies?

January 19, 2015
not in the slightest.
Liked by: sad boy Kerissa Young

### What are good places to find out about indies no one ears about ?

January 19, 2015
I mainly just check out rockpapershotgun these days.

### If you want a "different" kind of MMO, try warframe. It's a third person shooter with left 4 dead-esque 4 player co-op (that's a blast with friends), great enemy variation, tons of events for everyone from endgame to early-game, and you get to be a badass cyborg space ninja.

January 19, 2015
I played it. It's kinda grindy, but it was fun. Didn't feel like an MMO, though -- more of a coop shooter.

### so has porn pretty much been your only vice ever

January 19, 2015
Yep. That and videogames.
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### I just got into the Evolve Beta and I noticed that not only does the cast look diverse, but the females are wearing clothing that isn't overtly sexualized/fetishistic and makes sense for their roles. Thoughts on Evolve and their character design?

January 19, 2015
I dig it.

### To be fair, I told her not to go to the party because there would be shady people, and besides I'm not convinced it wasn't consensual. Finally, I'm straight edge and despise alcohol, so I say she brought this on herself. No worries, got a new girl, doesn't matter had sex.

January 19, 2015
You're an absolute piece of garbage. I'm technically straight edge, and you're still an abysmal human being.
Liked by: Elizabeth Gabriel Costantino Kris Ramjam Brighid Nolan Sullivan

### "others say she was pretty forward" - Consent is a contract: both parties need to make a free informed decision. "Black out drunk" makes the informed part impossible. It's possible to consent while drunk, but also possible to be so drunk that "yes let's have sex" still doesn't constitute consent.

January 19, 2015
Yes.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Why don't yu partake in drugs? And is there a drug, that were it not addictive, you would take?

January 19, 2015
I'm frightened at the prospect of being in an altered state. I don't trust myself.

### I know a lot of artists/actors/etc don't ever sit down and partake in their on content. Do you share a similar view? Do you ever play your own games?

January 18, 2015
I play through everything I've worked on at least once. I'm lucky, though, to have worked on a game that is just plain goddamn fun.

### Have u ever got shitfaced or high out of ur mind

January 18, 2015
no

### Hi Anthony! I was wondering if you think video games could be a valid medium for therapy. i.e. Would it be possible to design a video game to treat depression?

January 18, 2015
Yes! I hope so, at least. There are a few people working on that exact thing. (Also stuff like Tetris has been known to help with PTSD)

### How do I break soda/caffeine addiction? (Mmmm... delicious squid girls)

January 18, 2015
Look up stats on how much damage it's doing to your body and teeth. Think about rotting away as the sugar eats, acid-like, through your molars and veins.

### On your thing on deconstruction, you seem to think deconstruction = kooky. Spec Ops: The Line, Chrono Cross, and Tales of Symphonia played it straight until it was time to "pull back the curtain" as it were. Is it not possible to deconstruct without being "kooky"?

January 18, 2015
Sure, but deconstruction can be a one-note thing. If you're saying "games are weird, virtuality morality does/doesn't carry over into real life"...well, where do you go from there?

### so what do you do when you get the feeling or whatever, that would make you start watching porn?

January 18, 2015
play games

### My fiance and I were saving ourselves for marriage, then this Saturday she got black out drunk at a party and got raped (she says it was rape, others say she was pretty forward all night) so I dumped her. Is it wrong to not want damaged goods or someone dumb enough to get smashed around strangers?

January 18, 2015
Yes. That is wrong. You should have believed her when she said it was rape, you should have been there for her, you shouldn't have thought she was "dumb" for getting drunk at a party -- a place where you're goddamn supposed to get drunk.

You responded to that situation like an awful person.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### So I have been writing an RPG world/story for a long time. Now I can't decide if I wanna deconstruct RPG story tropes or continue playing the genre straight. Any advice?

January 17, 2015
Depends on what you're trying to do. If your characters are really strong and you're just more passionate about making a solid, straightfaced RPG, do that. If you wanna get kooky, deconstruct. That's what I'd do, at least.

### You ever tried pasta?

January 17, 2015
Is this a euphemism because do you know anyone who HASN'T tried pasta
Liked by: Jeffrey Harley Bird Xavby the Skink Samantha Dale allyson marie

### How hyped are you for Splatoon?

January 17, 2015
Fairly. I'm really skeptical it's gonna sell well, but I hope it does because squidgirls

### What's wrong with MMOs? What would make them better?

January 17, 2015
Every WoWesque MMO I've played is just a really horrible singleplayer game. You're not psyched to see other people, they don't matter to you (or worse, they might steal a mission objective you want). You're just running around doing dumb, uninteresting stuff while other people do the same...until you get to dungeons, which are just like a bad coop game. Guild Wars 2 is the only MMO I even came close to liking.

They'd be better if I felt like anything I did mattered -- like mattered-mattered, actually changed stuff. Even in a small way. I'd like to feel like a nobody and try to carve out a life for myself.

### do you like Chew? it's honestly my favorite comic. I find it hilarious and smart and the world is so vibrant. If you haven't read it, you should really give it a try. I adore it.

January 17, 2015
It didn't do much for me. The characters weren't all that interesting to me, and the premise was cute but (at least in the first TPB) didn't really go anywhere.

### When do you think you're gonna top that iambic pentameter joke, bruh? It's been reigning since September. Maybe try something about Justin Beiber. People love jokes about that guy.

January 17, 2015
Probably never

### I'm a Parks and Recreation fan who hates most things, and the first two episodes of the new season were fine-to-good. It's 40 minutes of TV, and much of it was necessarily outlining the premise. It won't be bad.

January 17, 2015
I'm gonna wait until the series is done and see how people react to it. If it's bad, I might as well just have my last clear memory be of good stuff.

### Do you have any advice for someone who may be addicted to using the Internet?

January 17, 2015
Stop using it for a week.
Liked by: Carmen

### so when you quit porn and masturbating, did you tell your family/close friends? if so how was their reaction and did they support you? It's hard alone.

January 16, 2015
I didn't exactly tell my family about my masturbation habits before I stopped so uh
Liked by: sad boy Xavby the Skink

### Can yewww share what your sort-of board game is about? Everyone on the internet promises they won't steal it and make millions and drive by your house throwing pennies and laughing.

January 16, 2015
Russian Roulette as a party game.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino sad boy

### How often do you have philosophical thoughts? Do you consider yourself a deep thinker?

January 16, 2015
When I was sad I considered myself very philosophical and introspective. I think the older and happier I get, the less I think.

### I know you don't talk about MMOs much. Do you not like them as a genre, or you just don't have the time? Just curious.

January 16, 2015
I hate them a lot.

### you've read sex criminals right? it's my favorite

January 16, 2015
yeah, it's fantastic.

### you're a rad dude

January 16, 2015
thx

### Let me start with this: I have thought about taking game development as a career for a long time, but borderlands 2 and, more specifically, you, were the tipping drop that I needed to start. Leave alone the adulation, how do you plan a story board for a game? even if it is a dumb little project.

Ivan Aranda
January 14, 2015
You work with the other people on the game and see what they want to put in the game, or see what's interesting to you if it's a story-driven game. Then you just kinda do it.

Also storyboards are a thing you do for cut scenes and aren't that useful for overall gameplay flow because the player is gonna do what they're gonna do.

### Timothy Lawrence was fed up with being bullied, looked over and desperate, until one day he came across a mysterious fortune-telling machine. This summer, be careful what you wish for, featuring Tom Hanks in 'Handsome'.

January 14, 2015
haha

### I watched the new parks and rec season tonight it was super butt I die inside.

January 14, 2015
Yeahhh I was worried about that

### "Isn't that just rock climbing walls" Rock climbing walls you can fuck on. In space.

January 14, 2015
Woah you used D-Z very differently than I did

### If being white is so great how come there are so many people (see: Hispanic guy) trying to argue their non whiteness. Victim culture ftw?

January 14, 2015
Did you even read what he said, you fucking doof? He was arguing he WAS white.

### Are you ashamed of being born male?

January 14, 2015
No, I'm ashamed of not recognizing and accepting the privileges I enjoy for being a dude, and taking out my anger in my younger years on women instead of realizing I was the problem.
Liked by: Jeffrey bryn laney Becky Nolan Sullivan

### do u smoke weed

January 14, 2015
no

### Have you seen errant signal? He sounds alot like your revrants.

January 14, 2015
Yeah, I like him a lot.

### Wouldn't it be awesome if they made a D-Z for adults?

January 14, 2015
Isn't that just rock climbing walls

### I noticed you kind of stopped answering questions about people close to you. Was our questions being too personal or do you have a new rule you follow?

January 14, 2015
I'll answer all kinds of personal shit about myself. I don't have the right or the desire to do the same for people close to me.

### Do you think that Dark souls would work without the death and constant repetition loop? Could the level design, and gameplay carry it alone?

January 14, 2015
The death/repetition *is* the gameplay, so I dunno exactly what you mean.
Liked by: Ivan Aranda

### Why do you think some of videogame auteurs like Hideo Kojima or David Cage are just incapable of being objective enough to know that some subjects like rape, war children, torture, bullying, treatment of native americans are way over their heads?

January 14, 2015
I just think their reach far extends their grasp. I dunno if it's about objectivity so much as being too ambitious without actually backing the shit up with research and empathy.

### i know you're brown but you could pass as like those whites that are kind of tanned

January 14, 2015
My beard begs to differ

### i'd like to have kids with my mixed race girlfriend, but i don't want my kids to be killed by cops for playing with a pellet gun or any shit.

January 14, 2015
Sigh.

### Ever think about designing board games or card games? The relative simplicity and immediacy is really appealing. I betcha'd be good at it. I want three of your best pitches on my desk before tomorrow morning, Burch.

January 14, 2015
I am sort-of working on a board game.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### The Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled that the state can force a teenager to undergo chemotherapy. (See here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/01/08/connecticuts-highest-court-approves-forced-chemotherapy-for-teen/?tid=sm_fb). Do you think this is a good decision?

January 14, 2015
My initial instinct is "no," because if the person wants to not have to do that, they shouldn't have to do that.

### Interested in Amazon's "Transparent"?

January 14, 2015
Saw it, it's incredible, I love it.

### So the new Annie movie literally has a scene where Annie explains that "people only say no because they're scared to say yes"... it was slighlty fucking terrifying hearing a ten year old girl say that

January 14, 2015
gwehhhh
Liked by: Xavby the Skink

### You dislike numerical scores in video game reviews. Do you feel the same about movie reviews? What about Amazon product reviews?

January 14, 2015
Amazon product reviews no, movie reviews yes

### Last season of Parks and Rec. You gonna have a farewell party?

January 14, 2015
nah cause the final season will probably be kinda butt

### How many fudge you eat

January 14, 2015
all

### that painting of you looks like a Telltale version of Anthony, that is awesome! way to go, artist person!!

January 14, 2015
haha I hadn't thought of it that way

### Do Hispanics count as white? I know racially they're listed as that but I always get confused by things that ask if I'm Hispanic and since I'm of Hispanic decent I click yes but then it doesn't also let me click white because reasons I don't understand.

January 14, 2015
No? I guess?

### I HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY

January 14, 2015
i did thax

### http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/how-to-find-ethical-porn/?fb=dd Thoughts? It seems like their heart is in the right place but it pretty much says don't watch anything but big budget people, ignore new performers. Didn't really mention anything about like, sexist ideals in the actual porn.

January 14, 2015
Yeah, this honestly just feels like "you know those things you basically already do? Keep doing them, because they make lots of money for the big budget companies!"

### i've honest to god met like three girls who say that the pre-sequel made them realize they have feelings for other girls and i'd like to thank you, maurice, marek, and kirsten for doing your parts to further the gay agenda. god bless.

January 14, 2015
holy shit
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Devon, Depressed Idealist Kris Ramjam

### Ugh the Good Wife tried to address Ferguson and just completely fell on their face gdi

January 14, 2015
oop

### during my first date with a cool lady she said she fucking hated the big bang theory (almost everybody i know loves this show) is this a sign that i should keep going out with her y/n

January 13, 2015
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Liked by: sad boy Becky Xavby the Skink Harley Bird Samantha Dale Brighid Nolan Sullivan

### http://s23.postimg.org/qgz7qy7cr/burch.png Happy birthday from the girl who draws Brick all the time. I enjoyed painting your face. You're amazing, and I'm glad you were born ♥

January 13, 2015
ohhh shit i look more handsome than irl thanks
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### i hope you're having a nice day mr. burch! i drew something for you https://41.media.tumblr.com/b39b58dd4e54a31f34697ea0fb08b1eb/tumblr_ni3v5vpIEP1sjzmiko1_500.png

January 13, 2015
eeeee yaaaaaay

### Thoughts on the new season of Broadchurch so far?

January 13, 2015
Woah, there's a new season?

### What did you think of The Last Of Us? I thought it was a great step in the right direction in terms of incorporating story and gameplay. It all felt natural and it was all told through in game stuff with very few cutscenes. I felt like I was part of it rather than just watching

January 12, 2015
I felt like it was basically identical to Uncharted in terms of how it dealt with interactive narrative. It's basically one of the best examples of a type of game I don't inherently find all that enthralling, but it did its job so well I can't really care.

### I'm pretty behind on this, but I just now watched Her and ohmuhgood the tears. I'm sure you saw it, but if I remember right, in the hawpcast it was discussed you hadn't yet. Have you watched it or rewatched it since? When will we all be wearing pants that high? Would you ever be able to love an AI?

January 12, 2015
Watched it, really enjoyed it.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### It's really weird how some people think you're the sole person to 'blame' for Borderlands' socially aware writing, despite how often you namecheck other writers and the, y'know, way companies work with different levels of management and approval to go through first.

January 12, 2015
*mouth fart*

Yeah I dunno
Liked by: Kris Ramjam

### have you seen justified? that's a really good show.

January 12, 2015
Yeah, I watched it up to the end of the season with the momma character. She was great. Show didn't seem like it was changing enough for me, though.

### Just finished the pilot of The Good Wife. It is certainly better than most procedural crime/courtroom dramas, but I'm not sure how exactly. There's a stronger focus on the protag's personal life. The basic mystery of the case was weirdly good. Thoughts on what they're doing right that others don't?

January 12, 2015
- It seems to be really really really well-researched. Every episode is a great high-concept legal issue: it's rarely "oh this guy was accused of a thing, let's see if he's guilty or innocent" (Law and Order), it's "there are two defendants in a crime but they wanted to have separate lawyers so that means there are two juries hearing the same case which means they have to swap out every once in a while and can be manipulated against each other," or "because of a legal thingy this trial has to be finished in sixty minutes, so how will Alicia win AND do so at top speed?
- The main characters are smart and fun to watch without feeling like Snarky Lawyers. It's not House or West Wing or whatever where it's all whipsmart repartee -- many of the characters have a more subdued, kinda withdrawn dignity to them. But they still all have very identifiable personality traits (Will is friendly and cocky, Diane is cold but elegant)
- The side characters are much less subtle, but have REALLY entertaining hooks. Here's the most amoral lawyer you've ever seen, but she really loves her kid! Here's a neurotic pixie lady who is basically a savant detective!
- The show ties personal problems to large-scale problems in fun ways. Alicia has to deal with her kids (is she raising them right?), her cheating husband (should he be forgiven?), her job (will she be fired, and is she willing to use her connection to her husband to not be?), and other issues. And they all cross over with one another in interesting ways. Alicia's mad at her husband this week, but he has something vital she needs to win a case, so how does she deal with that dilemma?

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Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### On thought police/guilty laughs: doesn't saying "don't do it in front of people who might get offended" justify having awful opinions and just keeping them quiet? If someone's laughing at racist caricatures shouldn't they be prompted to examine why they find that funny?

January 12, 2015
That'd be ideal, for sure.

### Think we will ever get another video game deconstruction on the level of Spec Ops: The Line?

January 12, 2015
I kinda hope not. There's enough meta stuff -- it's kinda time we start doing real things. Though I say that as somebody that almost solely works on meta stuff, sooooo

### 3DS recommendations go

January 11, 2015
fire emblem

that is literally all ive bought for it

### Are you saying that Good Wife isn't worth watching after the fourth season or is it just not as good?

January 11, 2015
No, I'm saying it gets amazing at season five. I just know it's hard to recommend "JUST SIT THROUGH LITERALLY A HUNDRED HOURS OF TV AND THEN IT GETS BANANAS"
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### Is there a non-spoilery way to tell us why The Good Wife is good? Just saw it's on amazon prime instant so I don't have an excuse to not try it anymore, but man...that title. Can you tease me a lil, babe? Just a taste? Just a comparison? A theme? A structural innovation? A whatwhat?

January 11, 2015
Really smart and often fun characters
Competence porn
Good-ass legal procedural stuff, and this is coming from someone who doesn't like procedurals
Show changes pretty significantly around season 5, but is still really watchable before that
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### TO BE FAIR...the early promos for the Good Wife was nothing but her standing beside her husband as he apologizes for another affair, then bitch slapping him when it's over. I'm sure it gets better after that, but when that's the first impression of a show, it takes a LOT to change that opinion.

January 11, 2015
ughhrhghhhhh yeah The Good Wife has superceded Avatar the Last Airbender as "hardest show to convince people is good"

### Isn't Tobias basically an extension of any "dumb" or oblivious character, his humour just happens to extend to his sexuality? If it's okay to laugh at characters being really super dumb, when you're in effect laughing at "simple" people in real life, I mean.// it's like the Dean on Community

January 11, 2015
All good points.

### Are HAWPcast's coming back? I really miss them...

January 11, 2015
Yes, they will.

### What's a good team early on in Dragon Age Origins?

January 11, 2015
I did Morrigan, Wynne, Shale, and I think my dog.

### Is your near legendary hatred for the Big Bang Theory because it makes geeks look bad, people look bad, or do the jokes just not appeal to you?

January 11, 2015
yes
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Brighid Samantha Dale Becky

### Can love be pure when it's impossible to procreate?

January 11, 2015
What? Yeah, of course. That's like saying people who don't want to have kids aren't capable of real love.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### How come you don't like Angel in context of Buffy but as the lead he works?

January 11, 2015
VAGUE-ISH BUFFY AND ANGEL SPOILERS FOLLOW

Cause his context in Buffy was "he's a star-crossed lover and they're perfect together, but there's a CATCH! What if he goes EVIL?!" This is boring to me because (A) Buffy and Angel's chemistry was basically nonexistent -- they were only in love because the show told us they were, and (B) we know more or less for certain the show isn't going to kill Angel permanently, so him going evil is (apart from the properly horrific death that results), we know, temporary at best.

On his show, he had a clear goal: find redemption via the Sanshu prophecy by helping others. For most of the show's run this was okay-but-not-great, because "find redemption" is a good theme but functionally kinda vague (they'd flirt with Angel "going dark" in some interesting ways every now and again, though). In the final season, though, the show FINALLY became what it was always meant to be. Having to work with Wolfram-Hart, while ALSO still wanting to do good, put Angel in a really interesting place. He's tempted by the power and reach of what W-H can do, but he also knows without a doubt that they're the bad guys. How far does he go with the bad guys' power in order to do good? That's a legitimate conundrum and the show deals with it in interesting ways.

"How bad is a person willing to be in order to do good" is also handled really well in the Doctor Who episode Waters of Mars. And also like Shakespeare and stuff

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Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Becky

### hey Anthony, any chance you and/or Ash will be at any of the Gearbox Community Day stuff at PAX South?

January 11, 2015
nah

### I know you prefer not to talk about your family, so I apologize if the question is too personal. What is your Dad's occupation?

January 11, 2015
n/a

### Why do think so many people assume that The Good Wife is terrible?

January 11, 2015
-It's on CBS
- That name, which not only tells you nothing about the show but defines the protagonist only in terms of her husband
- That name is really bad
- The name makes it sound like it's a show about a woman consistently sighing as her husband fucks other women
- That name is so bad
Liked by: Jeffrey Elizabeth Nolan Sullivan Brighid

### Is a transwoman obligated to divulge her trans status when flirting/initiating intimacy with a heterosexual cis male?

January 11, 2015
Woof. That's tricky, and I'm certainly not qualified to answer it.

If you want my stupid and uninformed opinion, though:

I'd love to live in a world where it wasn't a big deal one way or the other. Where a trans person could not out themselves and be intimate with someone and apart from a brief moment of surprise (or maybe not even that!) everything was fine and otherwise unworthy of note.

The reality, though, is that trans people are often characterized as trying to "trick" cis people in some way (hence "traps"), which leads to cis people being irrationally and horribly violent toward trans people. Trans people are at a greater risk of physical or sexual violence (and subsequently at a greater risk for suicide) than cis people. So if only for safety's sake, I think divulging one's status as trans is probably worthwhile.

And more than that, there's no real way to know if the cis person is cool enough to be okay with someone being trans, so my instinct is to say yeah, the cis person deserves to know something that might be really really important to them (like if you're asexual, you should probably tell whomever you're dating really quickly both for your own safety and so the other person understands the boundaries of your relationship). But at the same time, the idea the cis people "deserve" to receive extremely personal information from every trans person, the idea that cis people should be responsible for shouting "I am a trans person, just in case anyone wanted to objectify or do violence to me," is clearly really fucked up in a lot of ways.

So yeah, I dunno. But I'd like to live in a world where it didn't matter one way or the other.

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Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### How do you live with yourself knowing that you are now too big to play in one of those children's playgrounds with all the tubes? I miss Discovery Zone. You ever went there as a kid?

January 11, 2015
OH MY GOD I LOVED DISCOVERY ZONE

THE D-Z

### Have you ever considered the possibility that you're unhappy because you're trying to please too many different types of people at once?

January 11, 2015
I'm happier than I've ever been, or at least the reasons I'm unhappy are pretty clear and rhyme with "shmivorce."
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### "Is it okay to find characters..." I'm all for social justice but I'm not sure I like the idea of thought crimes being a thing; you can find anything funny and it's ok; just exercise some common sense. (I.E. avoid rape humor around rape survivors, racial humor around people of color, etc.)

January 11, 2015
Very fair.

### Is it okay to find characters that are so closeted or oblivious to their own sexuality funny? Like Tobias from Arrested Development or Mr Shank from the General Knox DLC. I think it's hilarious but I always get this nagging feeling of uncertainty, despite being bi i don't feel qualified to answer.

Matthew Manninen
January 10, 2015
Yeah, to be honest I'm not super sure how I feel about it either.

### with the logic of that ,masterbating every night means your addicted, does having sex every night mean you are also addicted? and what would you call the maximum some one could master bate and not be addicted?

January 10, 2015
Sex addiction is definitely a thing, but I don't know very much about it.

And for me, I decided I was addicted when I went at least once a day.

### Boxers or briefs?

January 10, 2015
Boxer-briefs are ideal
Liked by: allyson marie

### Fan of Broad City or Workaholics?

January 10, 2015
Love Broad City, never seen Workaholics.

### Did you get a feeling that you were bi when you held the penetrator? Also, have you ever hit anyone what that?

January 10, 2015
No
Yes

### " I just emotionally have a really REALLY hard time with beautiful women being killed for comedic effect" WTF does this mean? Only beautiful women?

January 10, 2015
No, women in general. I just have an extra hard time with people I'm attracted to dying for jokez.

### So I've resolved to stop fapping as it's effecting my sexual stamina, and it seems like all my favorite pornstars are all releasing their magnum opus. Of fucking. Figures; this is like when I got a gym membership the same week Wendy's started pushing the Baconator. FUCK TEMPTATION. I CAN DO THIS.

January 10, 2015
Yes, you can.

### I think you were HAWT in HAWP omg i'm sorry

January 10, 2015
i forgive you

### In case you were ever suspicious about the Doppelganger's 'supposed' popularity, lookit all these notes man. http://kanatariaaaa.tumblr.com/post/107588400948/doppelganger-timothy

January 10, 2015
oh wow

### As someone who's written a game, is there a place in the games industry for writers? Especially as games become more story driven? Is getting a university education in various writing disciplines and doing personal projects just to work on games realistic?

January 10, 2015
It's not realistic, but it CAN happen. A lot of companies still don't really believe writers are important, so it's honestly pretty rare that companies even hire fulltime, salaried writers. But, I mean, a few of us exist, so.

### I thought that you liked Dragon Age Inquisition? I still need to dive into my copy.. Anything I should know to get the most out of my experience?

January 10, 2015
Don't feel like you need to do the optional MMO-esque bullshit. Just mainline the plot and character sidequests.

### I've came at least once every single day since I was like 12, so I have no idea what a wet dream is like. Do they really feel real? How long fapfree does it take before you get one?

January 10, 2015
They don't feel all that real. Especially if you've never had sex before, because then your brain doesn't even really know what it's simulating. It took me about a month or so until I got one, I think.

### ...? what. can you explain that, that's kind of a biggy, what's the value of the labels if being gay isn't defined by anything??

January 10, 2015
I don't know, to be completely honest. I'm tempted to say "labels don't matter" but clearly there are people who prefer to be identified as gay despite having sex with members of the opposite sex, which means labels must be important to them.

### (2/2) i will try to stop and when i have had wet dream, they feel so real. so that kind of makes me want to stop but damn my brain's to fucked up already

January 09, 2015
The wet dreams will pass (or at least get rarer) and your brain's current setup is reversible. You just have to want and care about not being addicted.

### (1.2) here goes with the insecurities.. As an 18 year old virgin who has never ever kissed a girl because i was often lacking in confidence to ask the girls that would straight up tell me they liked me. I have been looking at porn and masturbating for 5 years And realize i am addicted to it.

January 09, 2015
.
Liked by: malik inam ul haq

### Hey Anthony! I just got into Dragon Age, and I've heard mediocre things about the second game, so I'm not sure if I'll get it. Should I get Inquisition, though?

January 09, 2015
If you really like Origins, sure, go ahead. DA2 is way worse than the first game, and I honestly didn't like DAI that much, but both games still have really nice character moments ( I love Merrill in the second game and Sera and Cassandra in the third). Origins is still the best, though.

### is it gay if i masturbate with older men on webcam?

January 09, 2015
I

I mean I dunno kind of

But you can also be straight and do gay stuff and not be gay? Like I don't fully understand it, but it's generally accepted by people who know better/are smarter than me that you can absolutely be, say, a gay man who regularly has sex with women.

### Burch, will you be my January winter coat?

January 09, 2015
k

### What kinds of cigars does Papa Burch smoke in HAWP?

January 09, 2015
"Cheap ones," in his words

### how many HAWP episodes will there be for the new season? FUCKING LOVE IT

January 09, 2015
I think the normal number? Yeah probably the normal number, something like 20 or so.

### You seen that trailer for the movie The Voices with Ryan Reynolds?

January 09, 2015
I got to the bit where Gemma Arterton died and closed the trailer because I just emotionally have a really REALLY hard time with beautiful women being killed for comedic effect.

### I'm a lady considering giving up toys and masturbation for a good while. I have meatspace partners, but I also have long-distance casual friends who I really like, sexually and non-sexually. You mentioned having similar, so I'm curious as to if they began to treat you differently when you stopped?

January 09, 2015
Nope! Not at all. To be honest, I just told them exactly what was happening, and, to their credit, they were incredibly sympathetic and kind.

(Also it created more excitement for meatspace encounters, which was a nice side effect.)

(Meatspace encounters is a board game I would play)
Liked by: Elizabeth Brighid

### I wish someone would curse the human race so that anytime they acted like children they would literally turn into their child self. How do you think that would go?

January 09, 2015
I think we'd all be children during times where we really didn't want to be. I think half of all business meetings would be full of babies after a half-hour.

I'm alright with this.

### So I was watching old HAWPs, and I noticed your thoughts on FEAR 3 vs Amnesia and Penumbra. What are your thoughts on Alien: Isolation and how it manages to give you tools and weapons, but most of them don't do much in the way of outright empowering the player?

January 09, 2015
I loved Alien Isolation for that reason, yeah. You can be slightly more powerful than humans or Working Joes, but there is still one creature in the game who you can NEVER defeat in any significant way. That means tension, and fear, and disempowerment even if you have a flamethrower (though to be frank the game gets a lot less scary once you DO get the flamethrower).

### have you seen black-ish? I ususally don't go for those big network comedies but I really enjoy it.

January 09, 2015
No, but that's not the first time I've heard that. Might check it out.

### DAREDEVIL NETFLIX APRIL TENTH ASDFASBDFASDF it's gon be fucking greaaat

January 09, 2015
sure, why not?

### Have u ever had a friend you secretly hated?

January 09, 2015
Yep, in high school. Nowadays I don't keep that shit a secret anymore. If I don't like someone I just remove them from my life in whatever ways I can, and that's a lot more satisfying.
Liked by: Samantha Dale Nolan Sullivan T. A. Gruver

### Did you get a bunch of wet dreams after you stopped watching porn?

January 09, 2015
Yep. That will happen. It's an evolutionary thing -- fresh sperm is potent sperm, so if you're not getting rid of the old stuff manually, your body will find a way to get rid of it when you're asleep.

### Have you seen the Bill Maher clip admiting that molestation is better than bulluying?

January 09, 2015
God, I fucking hate Bill Maher. I feel the same way about him as reasonable conservatives hopefully feel about Ann Coulter. He's a smug dumbshit who gives liberals a bad name.
Liked by: Jeffrey Elijah Beahm Nolan Sullivan Elizabeth Brighid T. A. Gruver

### Do you think Zero Punctuation is funny?

January 09, 2015
Nah. I used to -- the very first one I saw, BioShock, made me laugh REALLY hard -- but it's just kinda the same thing over and over.

### did you watch/like Agent Carter?

January 09, 2015
I watched it, and didn't like it. Peggy is unfortunately just kind of boring: she's a Strong Female Character who is defined by her competence and very, very little else. Other than the fact that she's slightly dry and sarcastic (and, knowing that, why they chose to partner her with an even more dry and sarcastic British butler is beyond me).

### I am so damned angry all the time. How do I stop being angry?

January 09, 2015
I wish I could tell you. I was horrifically angry for a very, very long time. I didn't calm down until I met Blavis, who, to put it in the cheesiest possible way, made me a better person through her love.

Honestly, a lot of my anxiety these days is uncertainty over whether or not my anger will return now that she's gone. It doesn't seem like it will, though -- at least not anywhere near as badly as it did before.

And I think part of that is that I learned/was taught that most people are actually not that bad. They're all suffering with the same stuff as you. The pain you feel, everyone else feels, or has felt. They don't have things drastically more figured out than you do, and they're not drastically happier than you. They may just be a little better at dealing with things than you.

Or to look at it another way, if we're all really desperate for love and happiness, and if we're all suffering in some way or another, why not try to be nice to everybody? What does that cost you?

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Liked by: Jeffrey Dnomyar Becky mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### A pretty creepy old dude on a cam site offered to buy me a webcam and sex toys off my Amazon wishlist because i said the only reason i don't cam is because i don't have that stuff. Lo and behold it all arrived on my doorstep today. I don't really want to cam for him but I feel kinda bad. What do?

January 09, 2015
If you don't want to do cam for him, don't do cam for him. You didn't tell the guy you'd do this thing for him, specifically, in exchange for him giving you stuff. He may think you're ungrateful or whatever, but you didn't ask him for this and you don't owe him anything. Especially if it's something that would make you feel personally uncomfortable.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I know there's the whole "everyone hates Claptrap" running joke, but honestly I like to think Timothy could really empathize with the little guy. They're both there on Elpis/Helios serving Jack against their will and they both have serious moral objections to what he does.

January 09, 2015
hmmm

### Re: what to do in Earthbound: there's literally a guy with a "hint" sign in every town. Also you don't talk to npcs because you have to, you do it because the writing is pretty fucking great.

January 09, 2015
Yeah his hints are pretty butt-ass

Also I'm sure the writing is good, but I just can't really connect with it. I just bounce off it. I have the same problem with Wes Anderson movies -- it's just a square peg in a round hole for some reason. I felt sad when the little butterfly thing died at the beginning of Earthbound but I got the feeling it was supposed to be a joke.

### Do u like butt stuff?

January 09, 2015
Dude prostate stuff feels super cool, I honestly think the only reason more dudes don't know about it is patriarchy/homophobia
Liked by: Elizabeth Brighid Becky

### Creampies ftw?

January 09, 2015
Those have always grossed me out, but to each their own.

### To wit, I love Earthbound for the same reasons you like Gone Home.

January 09, 2015
Really? Mine seemed pretty specific to a first person immersive sim.

### yo im gonna try to quit porn for confidence, any tips?

January 09, 2015
I got a TON of questions like this.

- /r/nofap is a pretty good place for general tips and support (or at least for specific questions).
- Yes, watching porn without masturbating is still a problem and you shouldn't do it. The images are what is triggering the dopamine drip, and the dopamine is what you're actually addicted to. That's one of the problems, the other being that your body, if it's used to masturbating a lot, may not know how to get off with another person. No porn AND no masturbation.
- Yes, "edging" counts as masturbation.
- If you get an urge, think about being with someone and being unable to please them, because that's exactly what can happen if you can't break your addiction. Or think about not having the confidence to even attract someone into wanting to have sex with you in the first place. Cause that can ALSO happen.
- Use the time you would be fapping to catch up on shows you were gonna watch, games you were gonna play, movies you were gonna see, books you were gonna read. I have caught up on a LOT of good stuff by not just jerkin' it whenever I got bored.
- Try to not even look at explicit images. It can summon the temptation to masturbate. If I'm watching a movie and there's a sex scene, I try to look away. It may make you feel like a complete Puritan dork, but it's worth it.
- After I stopped masturbating, the number of people I had sex with *quadrupled.* That's not an exaggeration, and it's not an atypical story of people who have reset.
- The first month will be really difficult because you're breaking a habit. It gets easier after that. The odd urge will still make itself known, but it's REALLY important to keep the reset going for as long as you can (at least three months).
- Skype sex or phone sex is still not allowed. You're still using your own hand to get yourself off.

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### (2/2) Porn gives me material to keep vanilla fantasies fresh and interesting, and not just upping the ante all the time until I'm disgusting myself

January 09, 2015
teresting

### (1/2) As a lady, I agree that you should give your ladyparts a break sometimes or you get desensitized, but I have a counter point about the 'don't watch/read porn thing'. When i dont take in any porn, and i'm stuck with material I make up, my fantasies gets more and more taboo until theyre GROSS.

January 09, 2015
innnnn

### That's the issue: why bother "writing a better show" when you can stamp "social justice" on any piece of crap and have it get heaps of praise regardless of its actual quality? See: DA Inquisition. A by the numbers, uninspired rpg that got GotY because of "diversity."

January 09, 2015
You're making my head hurt. You think critics are so stupid that they don't ever, ever critique an otherwise bad show if it's diverse?

Have you seen the reviews Agent Carter is getting?
Liked by: Kris Ramjam

### are you having as much fun as I am watching AGDQ??

January 09, 2015
Yes!

### So I found out from the assholes at Reddit that Intel is partnering up with a bunch of groups including Feminist Frequency. What does this partnership mean?

January 08, 2015
That Intel is trying to hire more women and minorities and make the world less shitty and that those Reddit assholes are going to get a lot more crotchety.

### Super Mario RPG did turn-based combat and it was awesome.

January 08, 2015
True. I liked Super Mario RPG a lot because there were fun elements to the platforming, and the combat itself was really active (and comparatively easier than most JRPGs).

### Have you played Abyss Odyssey? It looks good to me, but I want to know if I should get it.

January 08, 2015
I didn't care for it.

### personally one thing that bothers me about korra is that whenever they try to make a morally ambiguous antagonist like amon or Kuvira, they always make them do stupidly petty or evil things in an effort to make them more evil so Korra's side always ends up in the right without making Korra better.

January 08, 2015
Yeah, in those moments you can definitely see the quality of the writing staff bumping against the fact that, at the end of the day, it's a kid's show and has to uphold the status quo.

### Do you still play Netrunner? What factions are you for each side?

January 08, 2015
Nah, not as much cause I haven't had time to go to the comic shop and play.

### have you seen this? http://ncase.me/polygons/

January 08, 2015
Yes, it's fantastic

### (2/2) it turns out A) My sex partners aren't run on batteries & can't recreate that stimulus, and B) The clit/dick WILL recalibrate if you take away the 'usual' stimulus. After not orgasm-ing at ALL for 4 months, suddenly my ladyparts were like: ALL ABOARD THE CUM TRAIN! PLZ HAVE YOUR TICKETS READY

January 08, 2015
I didn't know women suffered from the same problem! Good to know it's univeral, then.
Liked by: Becky SavageInside Kerissa Young

### (1/2) Chiming in on the porn/masturbation thing: I (a lady) genuinely thought I was "broken" for a long time, b/c while I could easily have orgasms w/ my vibrator & porn, I could never orgasm with a partner. Best thing I ever did was give my clit a break from porn and battery-run sex toys, b/c...

January 08, 2015
.

### any new shows got your attention?

January 08, 2015
It's not new, but Good Wife is my current addiction.

### If you want an example for how arbitrary diversity can (but not always) be a toxic thing just look at American Horror Story: constantly praised for it's "diverse cast" and "strong female leads" but that's all you can really say about it, it's otherwise an unremarkable, poorly written show. 1/2

January 08, 2015
How is the solution here not "write a better show," rather than what you seem to be implying, which is "don't make casts diverse"?
Liked by: Elizabeth Brighid Nolan Sullivan

### Re: JRPGS: That's fair. But I highly recommend Earthbound. If you give it a try, I also highly recommend talking to every npc/interacting with every object. Also try out the Tales of or Star Ocean series if you want to try JRPGS with more involved combat.

January 08, 2015
I just haaaaaate talking to every NPC. It's just so tedious. Even in western RPGs like Skyrim, I generally miss out on a lot of quests because I don't systematically "use" every single person I see. But thankfully, western RPGs don't generally gate mandatory content behind those interactions.

### I second what that other guy said. Play Earthbound, it doesn't have all that stuff you hate. (make sure to talk to NPCs after things happen, they usually say new things)

January 08, 2015
I've tried to play Earthbound roughly three separate times, and the "wait, where the fuck do I go and what the fuck do I do" problem is too significant for me. Also, the combat still felt pretty grindy to me. But that could just be me not being the greatest at JRPG combat.

### Have you played Valkyria Chronicles?

January 08, 2015
Yep. I love it. Though playing it again, I do wish I could just avoid the cut scenes rather than HAVING to skip them one by one.

### Do you think turn based combat is inherently shitty?

January 08, 2015
Not in the slightest. XCOM is great, Fire Emblem is great. Fallout is pretty good.

### Why no love for JRPGs? I think you'd love Earthbound, it subverts the shit out of damseling not once, but twice. Its also quirky and endearing as all hell.

January 08, 2015
I hate how JRPGs handle story. I hate it. You have the GAME, which is about wandering around and making choices about gear and doing shitty repetitive combat, and then you have the STORY, which is about stopping all of that other stuff completely dead and playing hourlong cut scenes that you can't even sit back and watch -- you have to hammer the A button just to watch a completely noninteractive cut scene You don't get to make interesting dialog choices, and you don't get any control over the story whatsoever. You just sit through a really really long movie that pauses every two seconds and forces you to press the "play" button again.

Also a lot of JRPGs aren't clear in telling the player where they need to go next, and I fucking hate getting lost in a linear game that requires you do One Specific Thing to progress the story.

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### please direct me to website of porn made by ladiez

January 08, 2015
http://quemas.mamaslatinas.com/love_sex/116735/3_femalefriendly_porn_sites_you
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### how does some porn have the potential to be harmful

January 08, 2015
Apart from the fact that a lot of porn is kinda shady in its treatment of women (prioritizing male desire and pleasure over the female's), it's highly possible to get ED from porn addiction (which in itself is pretty hard to realize you're actually addicted to, since internet porn is so new that there aren't any real systems in place to identify addiction when it happens).

Like, if you're masturbating to internet porn more than three times a week, you might be addicted. If you're addicted, you might suffer from ED problems if you ever get into a real-life sexual situation.

TOO MUCH INFORMATION WARNING

I didn't start enjoying sex or blowjobs until I realized I was addicted to porn about a year ago and did a massive "reset" where I abstained from all porn or masturbation for several months (and then relapsed due to skype shenanigans with ladyfriends, so I'm currently resetting again).

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Liked by: Elizabeth allyson marie

### how many times you tried to suck ur own dick before giving up

January 08, 2015
Twice maybe?
Liked by: Jeffrey Kris Ramjam allyson marie

### Watched Force Majeure based on your twitter recommendation! It's great! But I was taken a little aback afterwards when I saw it described as a dark comedy by some. Did you laugh a lot during it? Specifically, did you laugh at scenes like when the husband broke down and cried?

Bill H
January 08, 2015
No, I laughed at the bit with the helicopter thingy.

### How is porn, all porn, objectively harmful again?

January 07, 2015
All porn is not objectively harmful.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Will HAWP look at Spooky's House of Jump Scares? It is free, and 1000 rooms of cute terror.

January 07, 2015
Whoop, sounds like a job for Grant

### IT'S NEW YEAR WHERE IS HAWP U R SUCH A TEASE

January 07, 2015
I DUNNO ASK JUSTIN SHOULD BE SOONISH

### To defend Korra a bit, Aang never fought big bads that were the same caliber to the ones Korra fought. She was dealing with master blood benders, Metal benders, poisons, and such. It's not like Korra is weak sauce, just that the odds are more heavily stacked against her than in Aang's case.

January 07, 2015
Sure, it's just always kind of a bummer when the main character in the show is one of the least interesting to watch. She's defined by her fiery temper and determination, but she ALWAYS loses, so she's functionally only allowed to be really dour and upset at herself. And then the cycle repeats multiple times, which is just dramatically monotonous.

Her PTSD isn't a permanent part of her personality that she accepts, and it's also not a part of her that she gets treatment for and fixes -- it's in this weird middle ground where no one treats it as an integral part of who she is, even though it keeps coming up over and over and over and over.

So, you don't get to accept it one way or the other as the audience: you don't get the sympathy from understanding her PTSD is just who she is, and the triumph you felt when she Super-Permanently-For-Real-This-Time overcame said PTSD is slapped away time and time again when another thing randomly triggers a memory of Amon or whatever.

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### Can you explain to me how Gone Home was a good game? I legit do not understand the appeal. Help a guy out?

January 07, 2015
http://www.heyash.com/why-i-like-gone-home/

### "I wish we had better representation of PTSD" "wow korra is so weak and whiny"

January 07, 2015
I'm not terribly well versed in PTSD, but Korra doesn't strike me as a very interesting/accurate character afflicted with it. I don't mind that she doesn't have confidence in herself and gets scared a lot, but her solutions to those problems seem to be either "get over it" or "talk to a person who basically tells me to get over it". I mean, maybe that's a therapy metaphor? In which case, cool? But it just functionally makes the show feel, to me, like she's completely incompetent. She's the Avatar, and she doesn't win ANY fights without getting stupidly lucky or having her friends bail her out.

### Just got out of a certain movement in gaming, and I am starting to notice one of them beating his chest like a goddamn gorilla over "weak morons" that make it "hard to be openly LGBT" Why do people equate being an uncaring, intolerant asshole with emotional strength?

January 07, 2015
cause nobody wants to believe that their unflinching convictions are anything but heroic

### Is it bad to want to feel noticed? I don't mean in an attention seeking way either, I just mean the way where you want people to notice the things you've done. Whenever I've done something where I've put a lot of effort in, I feel as though no one cares. I don't get any praise so I feel bad.

January 07, 2015
Of course not! It's the 2nd-to-last part of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It's a basic human necessity.
Liked by: Harley Bird

### To guy w/ religious girlfriend: kudos for respecting her beliefs, but do you share them? Best case scenario, how serious do you want the relationship to become? Potential marriage? If so, sexual incompatibility can be a HUGE dealbreaker. Differences are common, but some are too big. Just a thought.

January 06, 2015
Agreed.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Ey Man look at this art http://40.media.tumblr.com/d9bc64e82accfc721d77cf8e1c7ae957/tumblr_nhmfhejt7w1skjonqo1_1280.jpg

January 06, 2015
cooool

### You know what, I'll shoot. With all this talk of bi representation, and how much of yourself you based the character on...what are the odds on the Doppelganger being bisexual? Could also be an interesting character point that separates him from Jack.

January 06, 2015
Hrm. Hadn't thought of that.
Liked by: Becky Kris Ramjam

### Coherence was great, thanks for the recommends!

January 06, 2015
Glad you dug it! Ahhh, so good.

### Do you ever worry that offensive/shocking jokes comprised some of the indefinable magic that made HAWP what it was, and removing those will have a detriment (I don't personally mind, but there was some energy that came from knowing you guys could go off the deep end at any second in a video)

January 06, 2015
I worry about that sometimes, but we haven't found out of really weird out-of-left-field shit to do yet, so I'm not too scared.

### 2/2 having any way to vent this kind of sexual "energy" which kind of builds up over time. What do?

January 06, 2015
Well, you can masturbate to just mental stuff. Or you can watch/read good, sex-positive porn like the artists found in Smut Peddler. There are also some porn video sites maintained by women that are a lot less objectifying.

### So I'm in a relationship with a girl who doesn't want to have sex for religious reasons, which I can respect. The problem is I don't want to look at porn because I don't feel I would be able to say I respect women if I'm watching stuff where they're just objects and as a result I don't end up 1/2

January 06, 2015
.

### "crime is connected with low-income families" poor white people manage to not kill and rape people, generally. There's far more white people living in poverty than there are even black people in the country yet the numbers are still skewed, so again, the Freudian excuse doesn't follow. Sorry. :/

January 06, 2015
"poor white people manage to not kill and rape people, generally."

I mean, this is literally just not true. You're cherry-picking, except with racism. You're racist cherry picking. Your cherries have blackface.

### Would you play a Predator game made by Rocksteady?

January 06, 2015
YEs

### Guy with the abusive gf again. As fucked up as it sounds I think the problem is my girl really needs to have her ass kicked. Like... someone, ideally a bigger, drunker woman needs to beat some fucking humility and perspective into her. In the meantime I'm going to hide a savings and move out.

January 06, 2015
Well, I'm glad you're moving out.

### I'm not sure feminism is a good idea in a society where we already condition women to believe they're entitled to everything they want. I mean you can already see the slippery slope in Anita (who makes some very good points, don't get me wrong) calling anyone who disagrees with her a misogynist.

January 06, 2015
christ almighty

### who was the lead writer of borderlands the pre sequel?

January 06, 2015
Maurice Suckling and Marek Walton.

### is grant married? cuz i wanna take him fishing

January 06, 2015
Grant is not married.

### If you could remake one movie from the '80s to be just as charming and interesting but more varied and minus all the super-problematic shit, which would it be?

January 06, 2015
Hrmmm. Maybe The Warriors?

### Why do some people want to believe that the apocalypse is going to happen in their life time? Do they think some god is going to say "Well that's the best they're going to do so might as well kill em here."?

January 06, 2015
It'd make you feel really important to be some of the last people left on earth, wouldn't it? Like you were the most important ones to god or something?
Liked by: T. A. Gruver Nolan Sullivan

### Yeah dog The Colour Of Magic and a lot of the earlier books are VERY different from what Discworld eventually turned into, there's some really cool twists on the usual fantasy tropes and worldbuilding and some super great female characters like the witches.

January 06, 2015
Hrmm alright

### So with how much some people really love Timothy, that means that by extension they really like you, how does this make you feel

January 06, 2015
Nah it just means they relate to my inferiority complex and insecurities

### Did you ever apologize to that girl?

January 06, 2015
Yeah, immediately after. We both felt bad about it. She forgave me pretty soon after but I still haven't forgiven myself because I frankly shouldn't

### Have you read the discworld novels? Or watched the TV series/movies? Or played the old DOS games?

January 06, 2015
I've read only The Colour Of Magic and stopped with the entire series, but I've been told I really really need to keep going...

### In 2013 blacks committed 5,375 murders, whites committed 4,396. Whites are 63% of the population, blacks are 13%. You're right, fear of blacks is completely unjustified. (I really don't give a shit about Freudian excuses, blacks are objectively dangerous as fuck, avoiding them is SMART, not racist)

January 06, 2015
If that stat is even true, how do you draw the conclusion "blacks are objectively dangerous" and not "crime is connected with low-income families and blacks are systematically denied economic opportunities"?

Saying "blacks are objectively dangerous as fuck" super IS racist, bro
Liked by: Jeffrey Devon, Depressed Idealist Becky Elizabeth Nolan Sullivan

### Um so like you know me and I've never told you this but when someone pointed out one of Axton's lines ended up making him bi and you just kinda shrugged about it and were like yeah I guess he's bi, that to me as a bisexual person made me feel a relief I have never known before or since

January 06, 2015
I know you?

That's cool. MYSTERIEZ
Liked by: Becky

### I just found out far cry instincts was a game. What was it and was it any good?

January 06, 2015
Far Cry + predator = nah

### So between this and the guy in Opportunity in BL2 this means that all Jack Body Doubles are actually Anthony Burch, what a plot twist

January 06, 2015
oh

jesus christ I didn't even think about that

goddammit
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Becky

### Favourite character in Street Fighter II?

January 06, 2015
BLANKA

### I keep hearing you say that you did horrible things in high school and yet I don't know what they are. What did young Anthony do that you hate so much?

January 06, 2015
I talked a girl into doing stuff (between 2nd and 3rd base). She wasn't sure and I convinced her because I thought (like a lot of boys and fucking horrible assholes) that if you eventually wear a woman down into saying "yes," that's the same thing as enthusiastic consent. And it's super not.

### "DON'T be afraid to leave or seek help just because she's a woman and you're a man" that's a LOT easier said than done. Just leave? I'm the only one working currently (if I cut her off financially it's abuse) so I'm broke, and "shelters for battered men" aren't a thing. I feel hopeless.

January 06, 2015
What do you mean it's abuse if you cut her off financially? It sounds like she's emotionally abusing you -- you don't have to take that from her.
Liked by: Becky

### The student loans, the writing....Anthony how much is Timothy the Doppelganger based on yourself

January 06, 2015
A LOT
Liked by: Becky

### No love for grant? dude's got a beautiful face, plus he's a sweetie.

January 06, 2015
yeah dog

### ever been to a strip club? any tips?

January 06, 2015
if you make it rain DO NOT PICK THE MONEY UP AFTERWARD
Liked by: Jeffrey mackenzie charlton Devon, Depressed Idealist Carmen Becky Elizabeth Nolan Sullivan

### What's the point in trying when the girl can always leave me for a better man. I'm a pretty mediocre human being, and due to OkCupid and nature's law of men approaching women, women can pick who they want to be with. It feels pointless to try. Why would a girl settle with me, an average dude?

January 06, 2015
She won't with that attitude! Yes, women have more guys to choose from generally, but a lot of guys -- not necessarily most, but a TON of them -- are fucking jerkwads who don't know how to treat another human being with respect. If you can do that, and be honest and forthcoming, and not feel entitled to or desperate for sex, and not want to move too quickly and just be okay with being who you are regardless of having another person in your life, you can find someone.

### It's my birthday today can you tell us the best peace of advice you've been given?

January 06, 2015
-Don't take out massive student loans if you can at all help it

- Don't feel like you HAVE to meet your goals, because as you change as a person your goals should change; don't feel like a failure because you're not where you want to be
Liked by: Jeffrey mackenzie charlton Becky Brighid Nolan Sullivan

### anthony i can't stop eating burrata what should i do

January 06, 2015
eat burrata

wait fuck
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Yeah, Axton dating or being flirtatious with a dude is desperately needed!

January 06, 2015
Cool cool cool will do
Liked by: Becky

### why aren't Uli Justin and Grant a boy band

January 06, 2015
Oh my god good question

### Why do you find The Cabin In The Woods's satirization of slasher-movie-sexual-violence insightful and entertaining but find the same joke off-putting in Too Many Cooks? I love Cabin In The Woods but it takes about 90 minutes to satirize a gross part of media that took Too Many Cooks about a minute.

January 06, 2015
Cabin in the Woods actually understood and acknowledged that sexualization of murder is fucking gross and stupid. It didn't even make a joke of it! There are tons of jokes in Cabin in the Woods, but when the blonde dies, it's quiet, and sad, and there's not a single joke during that entire scene. It's the most "real" feeling death in th emovie and it's meant to be unpleasant.

When the girl is running from the psycho in Too Many Cooks, we're supposed to laugh at her death because her subtitle gave her away.

They're exact opposites.

### i thought you would find this amusing. because bird. http://bohemu.tumblr.com/post/107189488508/becausebirds-naturepunk

Becky
January 06, 2015
I love that pigeonnnn

### You heard of studio killers? They're a really cool band that animate their music videos and keep the vocal talent a mystery, instead making the experience about the art created and not the face behind it.

January 06, 2015
That's awesome!

### I just found a site that's nothing but hate and trash-talking towards your whole group, primarily Ashly. Is this a new thing or has there always been unhinged people making hate shrines to you guys?

January 06, 2015
New. Cause social justice.

### Uli's alright, but Justin I mean woof woof

January 05, 2015
correct justin is a dachsund

### Yeah, going on that other person's comment, I'd like Axton to continue showing his bisexuality even while in a relationship, myself. Maybe him and Ellie can have 'how hot is that dude over there' conversations and the like.

January 05, 2015
That's fair. I don't want to commit bi erasure.
Liked by: Becky Kris Ramjam

### nah people are okay with women being verbally abusive because most still see women as more fragile and weaker than men and are therefore view their actions as less aggressive

January 05, 2015
That's probably a big part of it, too, yeah.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Is it true that sexuality is the first thing you write when you're thinking about a new character? "OK, this one is gonna be cisgender and bicurious".

January 05, 2015
Not even a little, no. I start by thinking of a one-sentence hook that will make them feel immediately distinct at a glance: super-friendly Randy Savage, the Doctor crossed with Catwoman, crazy pixie bomb expert.
Liked by: Becky Kris Ramjam

### Hypothetical question: if someone has committed rape (like, actual rape not what feminists call rape) are they set in stone as a terrible person? Is there any penance/retribution to be had?

January 05, 2015
You're getting at the basic question of if people can ever really change and atone for their mistakes, and I'm honestly not sure. I'd like to think so. I did some shitty things in high school that I really regret and feel sorry for, so I'd like to think that atonement is real.

### Anthony, can I request more bi characters in Borderlands. Ones that continue to establish themselves as bi even after they enter a relationship. I just hate the idea that if you're male, bi, and in a relationship with a woman, you're actually just straight, or if you're with another man you're gay.

January 05, 2015
Sure
Liked by: Becky Kris Ramjam

### I find Uli kinda attractive. How weird is that? Hard Mode: I'm male.

January 05, 2015
I mean Uli's a good lookin dude
Liked by: Becky

### I feel that Plz Diversify Your Panel is missing the point It seems to want to shoehorn minorities into panels, and I have a problem with that: What if some minority is put onto the panel, and has nothing to say? Is that OK by you? It should be based on merit, not whether I'm a trans woman. Right?

January 05, 2015
The "it's all based on merit" argument is problematic in a lot of ways, because it presumes that there simply are no talented minorities and we only have straight white cis ablebodied neurotypical dudes on panels because they're the only ones who know what the fuck they're talking about.

The reality is that people often subtly and unintentionally exclude marginalized people from stuff regardless of their talent (look at a lot of the work being done in alt games and how few of those people have been mentioned in the mainstream games media), which makes those marginalized people feel like they don't have a place at the table, which makes them less likely to feel comfortable applying for panels and the like, which means you get more homogeneity in speakers.

### Too Many Cooks had sexual violence? I thought it was straight up Slasher movie style.

January 05, 2015
Yeah, and slasher movies are generally accepted as metaphors for sexual violence.

### I have literally never played a Metal Gear game before in my life but I got the Legacy collection for XMAS and my friends keep pestering me to preorder TPP. What should I expect? Why do you think the series is as loved as it is?

January 05, 2015
Why the heck are your friends pestering you to preorder the fifth game in a series you haven't even played any of yet?

Anyway, it's loved because it combines fairly enjoyable stealth systems with batshit insane, but often dramatically satisfying plots.

### What are your thoughts on Wasteland 2 (if you've played it)

January 05, 2015
I wanted to like it, but I think my patience for inelegant systems has evaporated with old age. There's a lot of fiddly stuff you have to do to succeed, and death comes really quickly (which, functionally, just means you're reloading lots of old saves and replaying sections of the game you already completed).

Not only that, I just personally kind of preferred being a kinda-sorta loner in the old Fallout games. Having a party just feels a little off, flavor-wise: I liked wandering around alone. Not only that, it just means that you don't run into a lot of things that you can't do -- each party member is spectacular at something. In Fallout 1, you might run into a computer you couldn't hack and think, "well, fuck, I guess I've gotta use stealth or go guns blazing on this." In Wasteland, you just switch to the guy on your team who CAN hack.

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### Why is society more or less ok with women (to an extent) being verbally abusive? My girlfriend insults/screams in my face all the time and people are just "eh, whatever." If I treated her like that there'd be so much whiteknighting. (I know from the one time I stood up for myself in public)

January 05, 2015
Probably because of a mixture of chivalry, and the fact that a woman being verbally abusive is not as common/damaging to society overall as abuse from men. Basically punching down vs punching up.

That said, if your girlfriend is verbally abusing you, that's bullshit and she shouldn't goddamn do it. DON'T be afraid to leave or seek help just because she's a woman and you're a man
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Becky

### You gonna get buff in 2015?

January 05, 2015
nah

### "They played us like a fiddle!" Has Kojima done worse than this?

January 04, 2015
Haha, I forgot about that line. It's so close to the vaginabomb that it got overshadowed for me. But yeah..that seems like something a localization translator should have picked up on and went uhhhh

### Is making a girl your imaginary goal for exercise a bad thing? I don't intend to ever actually pursue her in real life and using the delusion seems to help me push past my normal limitations. Should I ask her permission first?

January 04, 2015
You're saying you're using a girl as motivation to work out? Like if you get super buff she'll wanna go out with you?

I dunno if I'd ask her about that. She'll probably think it's weird, because (A) why didn't you just ask her out in the first place and (B) it'll be implying that she's shallow and would only date you if you were fit.

If it's all just mental and you don't intend to pursue it, though, I guess there's no harm in it? But I'm just having a hard time seeing how you can mentally aspire to look good for someone but then not actually intend to pursue that person.

### How do you feel that Ash gets her own Wikipedia page and yours just redirects to the HAWP one?

January 04, 2015
Like that makes sense, cause she does way more stuff than me

### NOT defending rapists with this, But I think that the writers tried to do something with Spike that .. didn't work, obviously. They started out with him as the bad guy but they wanted to change that and make him sympathetic, They ended up just making it look bad and covering it with jokes.

January 04, 2015
Yeah, I agree. Making the heel turn face is always fun, but when it literally results in a story where a guy tries to rape a woman, undergoes a magical transformation in which he "changes" and becomes "good," and then she learns that she should forgive him, then somebody made a mistake.

### I've been looking around, and the only voice actor I can find listed for the Doppelganger is Dameon Clarke. Does this mean he did the scared, squeaky pre-surgery voice for Timothy as well? If so, that's amazing.

January 04, 2015
Nah, that's somebody else. I think Sonny Strait?

### this cover if I used the 'review' quote for it. x'3 - http://s3.postimg.org/mzbrto8xv/hell2_colors_l_heh_sm.png

January 04, 2015
haha

### http://40.media.tumblr.com/0164e0a7141060a70c7a77e223f89f52/tumblr_nhnmj0KDIO1saqtjpo1_1280.png I drew this based off that one tweet you made a few months ago that was "LESBIANS IN SPACE" or w/e bc this was the first thing i thought of rip

January 04, 2015
aww

### Have you tried tinder?

January 04, 2015
Yep.

Does what it's supposed to, I guess.

### Ugh, Riley. Of all her would-be suitors, I found him to be the most pathetic. 'Unngh uhngh, you're not a shrinking violet for me to protect, waahhh I feel so inadequate!" Why'd Spike have to be garbage? He was my favorite until he got rapey, and he DID sacrifice himself in the end... :(

January 03, 2015
If you delete Spike being rapey, I might be cool with him, yeah. But he just feels like the abusive boyfriend you keep coming back to because that's how abuse works...like the goddamn chip in his head that made him a "good" person? It was funny and everything, but, like, was that just an excuse for us to like a really bad, abusive person?

### Giles and Buffy. Only combo that makes sense.....her options suck.

January 03, 2015
Yeah, I guess so.

### Xander sucks. I don't have much else to say. Just that he was a terrible character. Fuck that kid.

January 03, 2015
I was with him until the wedding episode.
Liked by: Becky

### What are the best mobile games to play while pooping?

January 03, 2015
Monument Valley, Helix, Papers Please, Year Walk, Beat Sneak Bandit, Device 6

### What made you an atheist? I went to church for a while and there was always these screaming people that freaked me out and that's when I realized I thought my religion was crazy and stopped being a part of it.

January 03, 2015
Can't remember, exactly. Sometime after 9/11, though that wasn't why. I just remember thinking that if God had a plan for us, I can't see why that plan would ever include natural disasters and birth defects. Like, if his plan was "let's throw you fuckers together and see if you can behave and get along with one another," that makes sense. If that plan also includes the phrase, "also: tsunamis exist, good luck you dumb fuckers," that makes absolutely no sense to me.
Liked by: fcko Nolan Sullivan Becky Devon, Depressed Idealist allyson marie

### So, Buffy fan? Kinda curious, do you have a shipping preference for Buffy herself?

January 03, 2015
I never really bought Buffy with any of her potential suitors, to be honest. Xander was a toad, Angel and she had no chemistry (Angel and Cordy made a lot more sense in his show -- Angel and Buffy fell in love immediately Just Because), and Spike tried to fucking rape her so he can fuck right off.

And I guess Riley exists, but good lord was he dull. Yeah, I dunno...can't really see her settling down with anyone. Though Buffy herself was kinda not the most fun character on that show, so I dunno.
Liked by: Becky

### I don't get the jack fandom. Like, he's a great villain, and a great character, but there is a large community of people that seem to genuinely relate to and care for Jack. What???

January 02, 2015
Yeah, I dunno either...we went out of our way to show that he was the worst person possible in BL2.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Who's your favourite villain? Could be from books, video games, movies etc

January 02, 2015
Random list:
The Mayor (Buffy)
Anton Chigurh
The Master (John Simm)
The Judge (Blood Meridian)

### My gf and I (a man) are both cis and straight. However, she's the sole penetrator in the relationship. I, for some reason, have no desire no penetrate her. She and I both enjoy this a lot. However, I still feel gross and ashamed for my weird sexuality. What do I do?

January 02, 2015
Therapy, maybe? If you both enjoy it, then the only problem seems to be the fact that you feel gross/ashamed for something you don't need to. You may want to get over the "feeling bad" part, not the "enjoying pegging" part.
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Becky Xavby the Skink Fo Facy Aimée

### Ever realize how surreal reading is? You're staring at marked pieces of tree, hallucinating vividly.

January 02, 2015
Yes I saw that word-for-word tweet as well
Liked by: fcko not mr. McKay

### No downright evil characters? I thought Jack imprisoning his daughter from when she was like, 6 years old, and trying to wipe out all life from the face of the planet was pretty evil. But judging from all the people I see siding with and feeling sorry for him, maybe I'm in the minority.

January 01, 2015
Sorry, I meant playable characters.

### Louis CK: "You should never rape anybody... unless you have a good reason, like you wanna fuck somebody and they won't let you." Funny?

January 01, 2015
Yes. (Trigger warnings obviously)

See, the thing conservatives don't get is that it's not about never ever ever mentioning X thing, it's about doing so in a way that doesn't make the victim the punchline. The punchline of this rape joke is "holy shit rape is the most horrible thing ever and anyone who would defend it or its ambiguities is a fucking idiot." The punchline of Daniel Tosh saying "can somebody rape this chick" is, "man, it'd be funny if this dumb bitch got what she deserved by getting raped". The punchline of dickwolves is "hah, it's kinda funny those dudes will be raped for all eternity just cause of how videogames work in regards to quest completion".

Other examples of "good" rape jokes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJjdFV5ZS7s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29ArdxWYBGQ

### About Nisha: In TPS she is younger and maybe is more excited by mindless violence than when she becomes the sheriff, She matures some, She's still evil, but in a different way.. TPS was her paving the way to what would come in BL2

January 01, 2015
Sure let's go with that

### What do you think of Community?

January 01, 2015
The only reasonable opinion a person CAN have about Community, which is that it's real good except for the one season that wasn't at all good.
Liked by: fcko Becky

### Is bestiality ok? There is of course the problem of informed consent ... but what if the animal is really smart, Koko the gorilla smart for example? I bet she is atleast as smart as many of the adults we grant freedom of choice in relatioships.

January 01, 2015
MY ASK.FM HAS TAKEN A TURN
Liked by: Jeffrey Donovan David Bulmer Ratzsa Elizabeth Brighid Becky mackenzie charlton

### In 2, Nisha felt authoritarian and unforgiving. In TPS she just seems so cartoonishly over-the-top EVIL. I loved her in 2 because, aside from the puppy-killing, I never thought she was truly evil. In fact, I thought that puppy line was added to tell us "you should hate this person". Why the change?

January 01, 2015
I honestly didn't see it as a change. The puppy-killing line was our guiding star for how she could be portrayed in TPS, because we'd never had a playable character that was so downright evil before.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas

### If someone per say wrote a HAWP Movie Script and wanted to contact you guys about it. How would someone contact the HAWP team per say?

January 01, 2015
We can't accept unsolicited scripts like that cause of legal reasons (if we ever DID make a movie having read your script, you could sue us and say we ripped off your ideas).

### Back when you were hired for BL2, did Gearbox initially resist you when you tried to add the more progressive content?

January 01, 2015
Nah, not at all. Though I didn't try as much (I was more focused on proving myself), the few times I did were met with lots of good discussion. Ellie, for instance, was initially much more of a joke when I pitched her ("the legs of Moxxi and the body of Brick") and the art team made her far more believable and grounded.

### Noticed one of your 2015 wishes was the "Option to disable smash attacks on leftstick." Check out the custom controls option, you can actually do that.

January 01, 2015
WHAT ARE YOU SERIOUS WHERE

### Anthony I'm sorry but this is seriously not okay, please stop engaging people condoning incest, I know you want to hear from all sides and be open-minded but this is crossing a line and they're drawing false parallels, this is making me and my friends REALLY uncomfortable.

January 01, 2015
Righto. No more incest responses.

### "to be ok with it you have to be ok with a traumatic childhood." They used to say the same thing about being gay. I've been in a healthy, romantic relationship with my twin sister for 10 years. No trauma, loving parents. We're discrete (we have to be) but we're happy. Haters gonna hate.

January 01, 2015
good lord I still don't know anything about the world evidently
Liked by: Владимир Габатель

### Some sort of psychological trauma has to be involved in order for a sibling relationship to become a romantic one. So incest is not something you do out of your free will, but something coerced on you through trauma, to be ok with it you have to be ok with a traumatic childhood.

December 31, 2014
hrm.

### Wait what no, incest is never okay. How is that even a question?? Not every declaration of offense at something warrants a "That's fair" backdown reply.

December 31, 2014
That's definitely my gut reaction, but, I dunno. If somebody says it's all consensual, I can think it's unnerving/gross/whathaveyou and still be okay with them doing it, I guess. So long as a kid isn't involved.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Have you seen the "Bikinis" episode of undercover boss? Holy shit. I'm one of the most critical people of feminism I know, but like... holy shit. I'm legit horrified. I'm pretty sure I witnessed a sex crime.

December 31, 2014
I just looked up a summary of it and ughhhhhhhhhhh

### Whoever wrote the Felicity/Skipper and Gladstone and the other scientists and their eventual fates, I want to punch that person. It's affecting me like bloodwing.

December 31, 2014
Felicity was 100% Maurice Suckling and Marek Walton, Gladstone was 99% them, and the other scientists were mostly all me. But yaaaaay
Liked by: Владимир Габатель

### gah burch you just gave fuel to all the homophobic people in the fandom to completely rip apart all the representation in the game... i dont like where this is headed anymore

December 31, 2014
As I said, it's only canon if it's in the game...and there's more than enough canon, pro-gay content in the games that the homophobes in the fandom should have fuck-all to talk about. Athena IS gay. Springs IS gay.

### i don't care if new to the series players like the new Tomb Raider, it abandoned the original audience who loved it, making it a shooter from and action platformer isn't cool. It's like taking the loot out of borderlands and making it a simulator game. NEVER alienate the long time fans!

December 31, 2014
I think you're allowed to do that when your long time fans stop buying what you're selling. Which is what happened with Tomb Raider. So they tried to increase the size of their audience.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Look at my muscles

December 31, 2014
k

### Bless you for giving us positive representation of lesbians. Seriously man, you're the best.

December 31, 2014
thaxx
Liked by: fcko Becky Kris Ramjam

### After the CIA/24 torture controversy are you less hostile to the Hayes code philosophies you were taught in college, about how media is actually making people worse (and violent video games etc.)

December 31, 2014
No, because I think the Hayes code is inherently political -- federally censoring certain things from being depicted means that our films will only be about the stuff that the government approves of. A new Hayes code wouldn't even necessarily prohibit torture from being depicted positively, because our government clearly thinks torture is pretty awesome.

### I killed a rakk with a grenade, where the FUCK is my high five

December 31, 2014
I'll give it to you on your deathbed

### Why do you say incest is "definitely not okay?" Without going into detail, I was involved in a relationship with my brother for about a year and a half. We were both consenting adults, and our family life hasn't been damaged. What gives you the right to say that this was wrong?

December 31, 2014
Yeah, that's fair. I just have only ever seen incest in the context of rape/breaches of consent/taking advantage of mental illness or something. And, like, evolutionarily, it's not an even remotely good idea to have a kid with your sister.

### Do you ever feel weird about some of the fan art and fan fiction people send your way? Is there a 'too far' line that has been or could potentially be crossed?

December 31, 2014
Nah. I mean there's been stuff I'm super not into, like Tiny Tina sexual stuff, but, I mean, whatever works for those people.

### I see you've been retweeting a lot of things about Leelah Alcorn, which is great. But don't you think this really drives home how much we need more positive trans representation in our media? I hope whatever you work on next, you try to think about that in designing characters. You can make a change

December 31, 2014
I definitely agree.
Liked by: fcko Becky

### i love.... agender zer0....

December 31, 2014
Yeah I wanna refer to Zero as "they" and "them" more often
Liked by: Becky Harley Bird Kris Ramjam

### Tumblr's been stirring with a lot of misconception of what you say about the characters in Borderlands. Even though you worked together with other writers on the Pre-Sequel, should people take your words as hard fact and canon? People have been throwing fists at eachother [especially about Athena].

December 31, 2014
To be completely honest, nothing is canon unless it's in a Borderlands game. Like, the official comics aren't even canon, and if they're not canon, then the bullshit I spew on my ask.fm page certainly isn't. The stuff I say here is just the stuff I personally think, and as I'm not the only dude responsible for story stuff at Gearbox, it'd be unreasonable to take what I say as total gospel.

### What do you think about HBO's Girls?

December 31, 2014
I watched the first episode and disliked all the characters so much I had to take a break. I intend to get back to it, though.

### Ever play Slash? You seem like a person who would have: http://slashcg.com/

December 31, 2014
No, but I definitely want to.
Liked by: Becky

### Before you said that you guys would have HAWP out at the end of this year. What happened to delay it?

December 29, 2014
Shooting. Had to finish the last few episodes in AZ, which we have now done.

### 'Anthony Burch' is an anagram of 'horny tan chub'.

December 29, 2014
can't argue with that
Liked by: Jeffrey Kris Ramjam Samantha Dale Becky sad boy Aimée allyson marie

### Saw your Pretty Deadly recommendation, and it looks amazing! Any other suggestions for a comic noob who loves dream-like narratives, surrealism and magic realism? Or just any general/introductory recommendations? (bonus points for great story-telling and female creators) Thanks!

December 29, 2014
Sandman, for sure.

### how much weed do you smoke?

December 29, 2014
none

### So HAWP isn't dead? I thought you guys had gone your separate ways with your careers and shit...

December 28, 2014
Nah, we just went on hiatus after GT got bought out and we have to self-support now.

### Will the HAWP crew ever do another HAWPcast? It's my favorite podcast of all time!!

December 28, 2014
We're definitely going to do more HAWPcasts once the show comes back proper. I want to do it so that every week you have something HAWP related; we'll hopefully go HAWPcast, episode, HAWPcast, episode, HAWPcast, episode, etc.

### I'm going to casually leave you this Nisha/Jack fanfiction. Because you seem awesome and like you might enjoy it. http://archiveofourown.org/works/2885981

Madam
December 28, 2014
nizzzzze

### Happy Mercenary day (late) https://38.media.tumblr.com/f873dd6367cf31a9b1b0c9e985a9eebb/tumblr_nh5qeoFzQr1rlwpsao1_1280.jpg

December 28, 2014
eee
Liked by: Harley Bird

### wat u think bout that xmas doctors who? i thought it aight.

December 28, 2014
Eh. It just solidifies the problem with the 12th Doctor for me -- they haven't done the "crotchety guy who secretly cares and loves fun" thing very well: he just actually seems like an irascible dick who doesn't care about people. So when he's flying Santa's sleigh and going "wheeeee," it doesn't feel earned. He doesn't feel like a mean guy with a soft heart (like Ten often did), he feels like a jerk who occasionally and arbitrarily acts like a child.
Liked by: sad boy Becky

### "Die Hard, Love Actually" sounds like the kind of vague life advice people through up on their Tumblrs and pretend to understand. Actually, you know what? I think I just figured out my first tattoo. Face tattoo, probs. Probs.

December 28, 2014
haha
Liked by: Becky

### How often should I be getting an erection? I usually get about 3-4 a day so I'm just wondering if that's a healthy amount or should I go see my doctor?

December 28, 2014
If it's painful or anything you should definitely see a doctor. But I get like 3-4 on a really good day, probably.

### I wanted to make some Ghost Dad jokes about Tales but then I remembered and got sad/mad

December 28, 2014
thanks cosby you absolute fuck

### I'm a grown woman who recently developed romantic feelings for my adult sister. It's confusing and scary, and fearing knee-jerk reactions like "what the fuck" made it all the harder for me to accept those feelings, stop blaming myself, and try to move past them. I didn't choose to feel that way.

December 28, 2014
That's fair. I interpreted the first question as being about Ash or I, hence the reaction.

But yeah, it's definitely -- definitely not okay.

### do you build your own pc or but it pre made?

December 27, 2014
pre-made. everything i touch breaks
Liked by: Kris Ramjam

### incest. yay or nay?

December 27, 2014
what the fuck
Liked by: nothingxs sad boy Monica Samantha Dale Kris Ramjam

### my new years resolution will be to stop masturbating to your picture every day of the week. from now on, i'm only going to do that on monday mornings to help start the week off right

December 27, 2014
baby steps
Liked by: Becky

### "Not a fan of your sjw business but a creative decision you made from that perspective was really enjoyable to me and I do not see any irony in this." lol

December 27, 2014
yeaaaah

### What's wrong with Entourage? O_o

December 27, 2014
It's just about being a shallow, materialistic dumbshit and allowing/encouraging the viewer to live that lifestyle vicariously. It's indulgent without analyzing that self-indulgence in any way.
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### Little critic if you excuse me: I was born with an unusual (or funny haha) surname, and to me it was pretty dull that like 50% of all Zarpedon contacts included making fun of her name.. made me feel bad actually even it was most likely meant to be funny.

December 27, 2014
Sorry about that.
Liked by: Владимир Габатель

### Not a fan of your sjw business but I really love all the crazy shit you've been doing. Just heard about Ellie and Axton dating and that sounds really crazy, I love it!

December 27, 2014
this is a weird thing to say
Liked by: Kris Ramjam

### Do you have a favorite holiday film?

December 26, 2014
Die Hard
Love Actually
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Well, what you say goes, so here goes. Happy Mercenary Day, Burch! http://i.imgur.com/bMrcZL5.png

December 26, 2014
awwwww cutie mustache

### Happy Mercenary Day, Anthony! https://33.media.tumblr.com/976005c12d4c901fe8a669cf09429af1/tumblr_nh4ccfAy2a1u1uh1ao1_1280.png

December 25, 2014
ooooh awesome

### You're a weird, ridiculous but absolutely wonderful dude I hope you know that

December 24, 2014
thanks very much

### My lady gave my Dragon Age Inquisition for an early XMAS gift... what race should I be? Leaning towards based Qunari?

December 24, 2014
I played as a Qunari, and the occasional bits of unique dialog I got for it were reasonably fun.

### You ever watch Entourage?

December 24, 2014
Until I got angry at it for basically being exactly what it is

### Can I call you big daddy?

December 24, 2014
nah
Liked by: Kris Ramjam

### Bought anything in the steam sale?

December 24, 2014
No, I own, like...everything

### hey Anthony, just wanted to wish you & the Burch clan a merry Christmas (or whatever you celebrate if not that). I only just found HAWP & Borderlands & all that good stuff this year & it brought me lots of laughs. so thanks. (also, the Ellie/Axton stuff is <3 so thanks for that too)

Becky
December 24, 2014
merry christmas to you toooo
Liked by: Fo Facy Becky

### In the spirit of the holidays Anthony, how about one last sketch to round out the end of the year? Do you have one more (hopefully happy or positive) Doppelganger fact for me?

December 24, 2014
The Doppelganger can still grow a mustache through the plastic surgery

### Playing the new Dragon age and I'm trying to balance out my romance options. Im torn between Sera and Josephine, thoughts?

December 24, 2014
Oh my god Sera how is this even a question

### What do you think about comedian Bill Burr?

December 24, 2014
"I'M JUST TELLIN' IT LIKE IT IS"

oh my god shut up

Except for that one thing about dudes hating each other for expressing any emotion, that's good
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### In S1 of korra did you feel like Amon and the equalist had a point about oppression? I mean all the cops were benders

December 24, 2014
Yes. That's what made the finale so disappointing -- Amon had some really interesting points about what it's like to live in a world with superhumans, and I was looking forward to the show legit dealing with that and changing the political landscape.

It reminds me of a comic Alan Moore wanted to write where John Constantine tries to dismantle the Justice League because they're a bunch of omnipotent gods who judge humanity despite possessing none.

### To enjoy Risk of Rain more, don't grind. Just play through the levels as fast as you can. It becomes more and more fun as you build up your skills. (Not trying to change your mind Anthony, this is more advice for the anon who wrote in.)

December 24, 2014
I played like that the first time i grabbed it and was just crazy underpowered all the time. There's not really enough nuance in the basic combat to make it so your skill is more important than your items, in my experience. But I'm also not great at the game, so what do I know.

### Do you have any worries about Hideo Kojima dealing with controversial topics such as children soldiers in Africa, or western world torture?

December 23, 2014
Yeeeeep, especially considering his exploration of sexual violence in Ground Zeroes could be summarized as "vagina bomb"
Liked by: sad boy Devon, Depressed Idealist

### playing risk of rain right now and it's so fucking hard, and it feels like I'm almost having fun, but not. What were your thoughts on that game?

December 23, 2014
I didn't really enjoy it that much. Something about the core loop -- manage your grinding time with the possibility of dying -- just didn't interest me. I either felt super overpowered or super underpowered.

### I want to say thank you. Before playing Borderlands 2 I was always worrying about how I look because of my weight. However, ever since I saw Ellie and how much she loved herself and was loved, every time I look in the mirror I get a huge grin on my face. Thank you for that.

December 23, 2014
wooooo
Liked by: Becky Kris Ramjam Nolan Sullivan

### Is the Talos Principle worth it? How long does it take to complete?

December 23, 2014
It is VERY worth it. It took me around 15 hours to complete.

### Is there any ETA on the new season of HAWP? I check heyash.com with a hope more often than I'd like to admit.

December 23, 2014
Sometime after the new year. We just finished filming the finale.

### how is invisble inc? should I get it? I really love xcom btw

December 23, 2014
It's not quite balanced yet -- it's a bit too hard, in my opinion -- but it's REALLY good. Combines XCOM and stealth in a really, really satisfying way. You have to make interesting long-term decisions, and your moment-to-moment decisions are absolutely terrifying (all of your dudes die in one hit).

### http://www.talkjesus.com/ethics-and-morality/44574-son-playing-demonic-video-games-help.html#.UT_BN4U1DQI This is good for a chuckle. And answers "why is it ok to harass people based on religion but sexual orientation is off limits?" This. This is why. These are real people. And they can vote.

December 22, 2014
I don't think you should harass people based on their religion. I think you can totally disagree with it. I think when it comes time to debate things that have real-world merit, you can and should destroy any illogical moral stances that originate from their religion. But I just don't see the value in going out of your way to tell someone that the stupid thing they believe in is stupid. *If* it's not harming anyone -- and I think religion DOES overtly harm people in many instances, but I'm talking in everyday life -- then just, like, be cool. Don't be the reddit atheist that make the rest of the rest of us look like mean-spirited dicks.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### an Ellie/Axton and Janey/Athena double date. two happy blonde mechanics and their ex-military lovers. think about it.

December 22, 2014
awwww
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky

### so society wants people to shave their pubes, i'm a guy and i don't like them shaven and prefer them, if i'm gonna get sex i will trim them a little, and i don't mind if a girl has pubes, as long as she at least trims them a little. whats your opinion on pubes?

December 22, 2014
No opinion either way. If i'm in the position where I even get to see pubes, then god bless whomever I'm with for having horrible enough taste in men to let me that close.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### help me anthony im tired of seeing ignorant and stubborn people online

December 22, 2014
then you should probably not use social media
Liked by: not mr. McKay

### random fact about Tina?

December 22, 2014
She has recurring dreams about drowning in a pool of fudge and can't tell if it's a nightmare or not
Liked by: Kerissa Young sad boy mackenzie charlton

### .........could i get a random dr. samuels fact?

December 22, 2014
She survived the war
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### http://static.tumblr.com/60340cf2e465471952de8ced483351a6/5hvjutc/nl5ngr9ml/tumblr_static_dr1vtq34e7ksw4o04gkgkcww8.png I made a gaige pixel (with my preferred head/skin combo) plz enjoy

December 22, 2014
i enjoyed

### Can I get a random fact about all the psychos I've killed?

December 22, 2014
At least three were named Carl
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young Becky Kris Ramjam sad boy mackenzie charlton

### Mr. Blake fact???

December 22, 2014
His hair does that naturally and he learned to just sorta live with it

### Please describe for me in lurid detail the typical masturbatory and sexual practice of the average Lab Rat? Thx.

December 22, 2014
nah man i'm good

### Does Janey ever make Athena little things out of scrap?

December 22, 2014
yes
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky Kris Ramjam mackenzie charlton

### I know you're probably getting tired of these, but how about a Lilith headcanon?

December 21, 2014
She has cumulatively cried more than anyone else on Pandora, but no one's ever seen her do it
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky

### Random Gaige fact? Please?

December 21, 2014
Gaige has the highest Cheevoscore in all of the outer rim planets. She likes to play every game permadeath, no matter what game it is
Liked by: Becky

### How about a Scarlett fact?

December 21, 2014
She's absolutely desperate to be in a relationship where she and her partner(s) want to kill one another as much as they want to have sex with one another

She's kind of upset Nisha is straight for this reason
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky sad boy Kris Ramjam

### Nakayama fact?

December 21, 2014
He likes anime exactly as much as you think he would
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson sad boy Kris Ramjam Carmen boobnoodle

### lemme see.......fact about shade?

December 21, 2014
He and his dad got along really well -- they were a vaudeville style comedy troupe that wandered around Pandora
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### Ugh I'm the biggest maya fan in the world your not allowed to be doing this without a maya fact I'll cry forever if you don't.

December 21, 2014
She really really really really really really likes cake
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young Becky Harley Bird boobnoodle

### an ellie/axton fact?

December 21, 2014
Their dates consist of them running over/shooting bandits and getting naked, except not in that order
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky

### the only thing that matters: butt stallion facts?

December 21, 2014
Her nuzzles hurt like fuck
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky

### I LIKE RANDOM FACTS give us a random fact about a random character

December 21, 2014
The Body Double in BL2 has the biggest penis in the entire world
Liked by: Jeffrey Kerissa Young Becky sad boy boobnoodle

### http://news.yahoo.com/two-york-police-officers-killed-gunman-dead-nyt-001338194.html Yep. Fear of black people is totally irrational. (Neither of the cops were white, go figure)

December 21, 2014
Multiple unarmed black people murdered by cops and protected by an organized justice system so that no murdering cop suffers a single ill repercussion: just black people being dramatic

A single black guy loses his shit and kills two cops out of rage and panic: literally all black people to blame

### https://31.media.tumblr.com/8cb7209131ce5307048bb469acc7e016/tumblr_ngyeepM0GU1saqtjpo1_1280.png these two are slowly ruining my life and it's very frustrating Mr. Burch

December 21, 2014
awwww

### Got a random Krieg fact?

December 21, 2014
Some days he grows a seventh ab
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson sad boy

### Brick fact please? <3

December 21, 2014
He tries to hug really gently cause he doesn't wanna hurt anyone
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young Harley Bird Becky sad boy

### How about a Janey Springs fact?

December 21, 2014
She likes to make children's dolls out of scrap
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky

### How about a Tina fact?

December 21, 2014
Tina has never solved a riddle but thinks she'd hypothetically be real good at them
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky sad boy

### A few facts about Axton and his ex wife Sarah? I love the little hints you gave us in the game

December 21, 2014
They liked watching movies together
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### The ultimate Wilhelm question everyone's been wondering about: does Mr. Cyborg have a robotic/metal dick? Nothing at all? Or untouched flesh? Or will the mystery remain unsolved? The suspense grows in the Wilhelm fandom... B)

December 21, 2014
mm

### I drew this a while back, thought you'd like to see it! http://40.media.tumblr.com/7b5ebc9b5ccf3094fda10d1030b9cc3b/tumblr_ngkb4rIqws1u1uh1ao1_1280.png

December 21, 2014
woah daaaamn
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Yes, Tumblr is exploding a little- thank you very much for indulging us with all this extra little canon tidbits. You've seemed to touch all the most recent Vault Hunters- may we get a random Nisha tidbit next?

December 21, 2014
She has literally never failed to bring her partners to orgasm

Also she was one of the top-ranked Smasher Buds players on her home planet
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Becky mackenzie charlton Kerissa Young

### So wait, Ellie and Axton are only dating because you wanted to make her not seem like a joke? That seems kind of objectifying and shitty.

December 21, 2014
No, that's not the ONLY reason they're dating. I've wanted to pair up the characters for a while, for a variety of reasons (there are so many of them now, they all have similar hobbies, logically a lot of these people would develop crushes on one another, I think media about people being friends and caring about each other is really sweet), and I put a lot of thought into who Ellie might date. I liked the idea of Axton's brash, slightly illusory confidence butting up against Ellie's genuine self-assuredness.
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky Carmen

### random Zarpedon fact please?

December 21, 2014
She has never lost a match of thumb wrestling in her entire life
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Harley Bird sad boy mackenzie charlton

### What's Timmy's thoughts on Wilhelm?

December 21, 2014
He's fucking terrified of him, I'd imagine
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Harley Bird mackenzie charlton

### what about a random Karima fact? plllls

December 21, 2014
Karima's husband was a sub and she was a super good dom, and they made each other really happy
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky Kerissa Young

### I would love a random Salvador fact

December 21, 2014
Salvador is really really really good at cooking because his grandma taught him how, he just doesn't really like doing it
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Harley Bird sad boy mackenzie charlton

### The aftermath of some of these questions you answer is amazing. Small groups of people all losing their shit together and coming up with headcanons, it's beautiful to watch. Thank you

December 21, 2014
That happening on tumblr or something?

### Does Jack have any cats? If he has one, can it be named 'Loader Cat'?

December 21, 2014
Sure

### How about a random Athena fact?

December 21, 2014
She has never said the words "I love you"
Liked by: Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Samantha Dale Becky Adam R sad boy Kerissa Young

### http://prntscr.com/5j7by0 I drew you a picture of Handsome Jack, I hope you like it c:

December 21, 2014
haha i do

### My best friend is pretty much irl Zer0 (unnecessary height, excessive use of emotes, writes shitty haiku he takes really seriously). And then he insists on playing Maya every single time. I'm just like, seriously bro you're going against fate here.

December 21, 2014
There is no fate blah blah terminator blah blah write your haikus

### have you played through the darkness series? I don't love the story, but the gameplay itself is very interesting. It's a shooter that doesn't rely on hiding behind cover. It's a lot like playing as krieg. also, the art style is fucking awesome.

December 21, 2014
Yeah. I like the 2nd one a lot better than the first (Starbreeze games are really flavorful but always have the WORST signposting, and that's a big pet peeve of mine).
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### All the mask and multiple-face imagery with the Pre-Sequel final boss: I See What You Did There.

December 21, 2014
Ohhh I just realized that. I wonder if the artists/boss designers did that intentionally. Probably did.

### you know when you're wiping your hairy man ass and you gotta wipe through the hairs, and you pull one or something?

December 21, 2014
That's why you have to shave that man-ass

### Does Wilhelm like getting scratched behind his beard? Does he purr like a walrus?

December 21, 2014
He goes "yeah that's alright" and kinda shrugs
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson sad boy mackenzie charlton Kerissa Young

### http://40.media.tumblr.com/63e944c5ec066876ecddf6f50fc58705/tumblr_ngwsk04HXk1saqtjpo1_1280.png the gays

December 21, 2014
<3333

### Claptrap fact?

December 21, 2014
He sucks
Liked by: Jeffrey boobnoodle Samantha Dale sad boy mackenzie charlton Kerissa Young

### I love all these dumb Borderlands characters so much oh my gosh

December 21, 2014
yaAAY

### can you give us a random mr. tassiter fact???????????????????

December 21, 2014
He's never masturbated even once
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### Rand0m fact about Zer0?

December 21, 2014
no
Liked by: boobnoodle

### Can Wilhelm's mom's name be Broomhilda von Grubenfaust? Cuz that would be cool.

December 21, 2014
Knock yourself out

### Favorite Sylvester Stallone movie?

December 21, 2014
Rocky obviously

### Why do people like Season 6 of Doctor Who? Seriously, are they watching the same Season 6 I am?

December 21, 2014
Shit man I don't know

### Your explanation of Raiden is fair, however; I personally believe he was a better protag. than Snake because of that dorkiness. Snake kind of seems to have given up his humanity for the life of a soldier, Raiden shows the soldier choosing life over battle. If Snake is heads, Raiden is tails.

December 21, 2014
I mean, sure, yeah. I just don't like tails as much as heads, personally.
Liked by: Sindre

### Holy shit. I crave these random character facts. How about one for Wilhelm?

December 21, 2014
Wilhelm's mom is really nice, she and Wilhelm get along kind of begrudgingly because she isn't pro-murder but she wants him to be the best at what he does
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson mackenzie charlton

### I can't understand all of the hate for Raiden. Why did people get butthurt over a change of character?

December 20, 2014
I think it's more that Raiden was just not that interesting. I mean, the point of him was to be a commentary on the player ("Look! He wants to be Snake, just like you!"), but functionally he just felt kinda like a dork thanks to his interactions with Rose and the fact that he just plain didn't have a lot going on. (Also, he was more effeminate than Snake, which pissed off a lot of people in a sort-of-kind-of-not-really-okay way).

Snake was really gruff, but he was also kinda endearingly silly and a hopeless romantic and a horndog all at the same time. Raiden was just Inexperienced. He reacted to things almost exclusively, and never seemed to have opinions of his own.

### Unpopular Opinion: Metal Gear Solid 2 was BETTER than metal gear solid. Raiden was more relatable than Snake, and it was a good breath of change into the series.

December 19, 2014
jesus god man

### Any tips/observations/warnings for doing a Doctor Who run of FNV? Enjoying my run so far, it feels so weird to not be a murder hobo.

December 19, 2014
Lockpick and hack everything you can. Most all sidequests can be completed nonviolently, so do them. You need to get XP as quick as you can so you can make your medicine skill high (to heal the damage you WILL be taking), and you'll need computer and speech at 100% to deal with some stuff in the late game.

### did you actually plan on ellie/axton happening?

December 19, 2014
Initially no, but I read an article by Todd Harper where he talked about how it was hard to tell if Ellie was meant to be the butt of a joke or not because no "normal" characters laud her attractiveness. It's all over-the-top characters like Torgue, or Ellie herself. Because of this, it was unclear if Ellie was actually considered canonically attractive by the game itself, or if Ellie thought she was really attractive and that we were trying to make you laugh at how *deluded* she was to find herself hot.

I always felt Ellie was not meant to be a joke, so pairing her up with someone relatively straightforward like Axton felt like a cool way to go about addressing those problems.
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Becky Devon, Depressed Idealist

### Hey Anthony! I wanna get into the Dragon Age series, but I've got only enough money for maybe one game. Which should I go for?

December 19, 2014
Origins.

### I saw a dude at the Nintendo Store in New York that looked like you. Was it you?

December 19, 2014
no

### Did you expect Timothy Lawrence (aka Doppelganger) to get as popular as he did? Also. Is he alive.

December 19, 2014
No; probably
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### I feel a slight sense of relief that The Last Airbender Shyamalan movie had all the race bending, cause imagine what would have happened if it hadn't? Same shittyness but "wow Asians really can't be cast in lead roles" would have been the reaction

December 19, 2014
Yeah, probably true. Nothing with minorities is ever unsuccessful for reasons other than the minorities, but when a Mark Wahlberg movie does bad, it's because the script sucked.

### if the doctor wanted to be so very human, he would just bang all them chicks, i would.

December 19, 2014
Yeah, pretty upset the one person he presumably got with was fuckin' River Mary Sue Song

### Wubba dubba dubba, is that true? POSE FOR THE FANS!

December 19, 2014
HOOOHHH

### Hi Anthony. I think you're a cutie and from one dude to another, if I ever saw you on the street I'd probably ask you out on a date.

December 19, 2014
cool dogz

### John McIntosh is the guy who produces Feminist Frequency. =

December 19, 2014
Ah. Well, he's wrong.

### Anthony you know it's kind of fucked to preach tolerance, acceptance, and diversity, only to turn around and try to stop Hatred from happening. Its kind of ironic that "liberals" are the most anti freedom, anti expression people on the planet.

December 19, 2014
Who's trying to stop Hatred from happening? Nobody. If you're referring to people being irritated it might get on Steam, that's not the same as trying to stop it from existing. I'd also feel weird if Steam started housing rape-porn. As Steam is a program controlled by a private company, it's completely reasonable to hope they don't support something that's literally called "Hatred" and is about a white dude in a trenchcoat murdering unarmed people, that also has white supremacists working on it.

Nobody's calling for a legal ban. You're allowed to make a shitty, stupid, misogynistic, creepy thing and the rest of us are allowed to call you out for it.
Liked by: Jeffrey Justin Hebert Hans Wuerflein Nolan Sullivan Becky Zachary Michaels

### Other than Borderlands and L4D, what are good online multiplayer games for groups of friends?

December 19, 2014
monaco, payday 2, speedrunners

### So is Axton/Ellie cannon? I wasn't sure if the echocast Twitter account was cannon or not.

December 19, 2014
yeah it's canon
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky

### Today is my birthday, as a treat I would like to know a fact about you that we, the fans, probably don't know yet! Have a great day!

December 19, 2014
I played drums in elementary school

### To the injustice guy: think about injustices that have happened in the past and no longer do. In every case, the reason they stopped is because unaffected people gave a helping hand. It's vital that we do this. Ignoring it is easier/happier for the unaffected I'm sure but only prolongs the injustice

December 19, 2014
yar

### to the guy who sees injustice and ignores it, it's a pretty good fighting game and it's free on ps+ right now. I'd recommend getting it.

December 19, 2014
pahahahah

### John McIntosh says people who like Metal Gear are shitlords. Does that include you?

December 18, 2014
i don't know who the fuck that is

### Idk there isn't really too much I can do about him since he's the only person who can support me and I dont want to break up my family, etc. Its probably just better to deal with it if that sounds bad

December 18, 2014
I understand.

### what do you think about emma stone

December 18, 2014
She's pretty good at acting. At least in the, like, three things I've seen her in.

### Empire Strikes Back was better than Return of the Jedi. (Do you hate me? Can we be friends?)

December 18, 2014
No, because that's just factually true.

### I had a really shitty night last night and it kind of ended with my dad just being overall abusive to me and when I got home I was still in an absolute panic and I played Borderlands and everything felt all right for a little bit and I just want to thank you and all of Gearbox I guess

December 18, 2014
Fuck I'm sorry. Have you talked to anyone else about this?

### How'd you feel about Lydia from Breaking Bad?

December 18, 2014
She didn't get as much to do as the other characters which is kind of a bummer, but she was fine. I didn't hate her or anything.

### OMG WHAT IF TELLTALE MADE AN ADVENTURE GAME ABOUT BUFFY/ANGEL OR FIREFLY WITH THE ORIGINAL ACTORS (except maybe adam baldwin) HOW AMAZING WOULD THAT BE?

December 18, 2014
what if telltale ____ will almost always result in something that sounds fun
Liked by: Becky Harley Bird mackenzie charlton

### so i guess the devs for Hatred are like, bigots. i understand now

December 18, 2014
mmhm

### How do you feel about The Interview being tossed out because of some threats from NK?

December 18, 2014
Bad. It's pretty weird that the movie exists at all (I'd feel weird if NK had made a movie about killing Obama), but it's obviously pretty shitty that anyone is bowing to perceived pressure from North Korea when it comes to art (especially when it's not even entirely likely the hackers are North Korean).

### I'm not TRYING to be a piece of shit, it's just like....why waste your energy trying to change things that aren't any of your business? Maybe I'm selfish, but I got enough on my plate already without taking on everyone else's problems too.

December 18, 2014
"Why waste your energy trying to change things that aren't any of your business?"

Empathy.
Liked by: Audri

### I don't mean to sound sexist, but I really think that all genders are pretty damn awesome! (Trying to set a record for starting a sentence with 'I don't want to sound sexist' and ACTUALLY MANAGING NOT TO.)

December 18, 2014
well played
Liked by: Becky

### Burch please you're killin' me with this nerd http://i.imgur.com/AkNsI7v.png

December 18, 2014
pahahah awww
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Anthony I need to do some warmup sketches, do you feel like sharing another Doppelganger fact with me

December 18, 2014
The Doppelganger is really scared to apply acne medication cause he's worried it'll set off the bomb
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young

### to the guy who suggested the Atelier games, I had to play Meruru for review and while I appreciated how unusual the setup was, the game does fall back on a LOT of moe anime tropes. your patience with JRPG and moe style stuff is a big caveat for checking them out

December 18, 2014
ehhhhhh

### Anthony, you should really play the Atelier games (I'd suggest the Dusk series at the moment). It isn't all about the powerful guys saving the world again. It's more of a character-play with minor stakes (rebuilding your town, finding out what caused the world to dry up.) Also, most of the (cont)

December 18, 2014
Are they jRPGs?

### how did you feel about Martha as ten's second companion after rose? I feel she was underused and ..sort of boring

December 18, 2014
Yeah. Her whole thing being "I have an unrequited crush on the Doctor" really didn't go anywhere, and in most ways she felt almost identical to rose.

### Anthony, I kind of like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Is something wrong with me? How do I fix it?

December 18, 2014
Oh god you're beyond help I'm so sorry I'm so sorry

### I see injustice and I fucking ignore it, because it doesn't affect me. People would be a lot happier if they did that I think.

December 18, 2014
Nope! You're kind of a piece of shit.
Liked by: Jeffrey Kerissa Young Samantha Dale Nolan Sullivan F

### do you ever touch your own butt, for fun??

December 17, 2014
I'm fairly comfortable saying every single human being on planet earth occasionally touches their own butt for fun
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Kerissa Young

### FOR THE GUY WITH PAINFUL POOPS USE A SQUATTY POTTY http://squattypotty.com/ HONESTLY THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD, SAVED MY LIFE.

December 17, 2014
cool dogs

### http://lukael.tumblr.com/post/96056555540/dad-youre-an-asshole-alternate

December 17, 2014
fuckin love it
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Chris Avellone (one of the lead writers on New Vegas) has said he'd love to work on Doctor Who, would he be a good Moffat replacement?

December 17, 2014
Pff yeah man
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### Fuck you, Burch. Now I'm seeing all this bullshit everywhere, I see that women are treated like shit, non-hetero people treated like shit and so on. How do I even unsee it, Burch? Please make it stop, or I will go mad and become masked avenger who fights injustice and gonna get killed

December 17, 2014
Sorry, you're stuck with it now. It's like a superpower except not as fun
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Becky Kerissa Young

### so have you actually played bonetown? i was thinking about it, would it make me a failed human? meh

December 17, 2014
Based on RPS's review of it, yes

### what games have you played recently? anything good?

December 17, 2014
Endless Legend (too complicated for me to get to whatever makes it different from civ), Marvelous Miss Take (wonderful), Talos Principle (super great)

### one i get a job i'm going to buy so much unnecessary shit for games, can you relate?

December 17, 2014
Yep. My only real expense.

### Have you played Deadnaut?

December 17, 2014
No. Should I?

### "How would you like to die?" "I dunno. Somewhere warm, with a sexy chick nearby, maybe..." What you did there... I see it.

December 17, 2014
FUCKING FINALLY
Liked by: Becky

### I'm only a recent convert to BL, and more specifically to your writing/characterisation (which is what got me hooked), so I've only just discovered the majesty that is HAWP, but IT IS SO FUCKING FUNNY! And clever, and ridiculous, and thought-provoking. It's wonderful, as are you - so thank you!

December 17, 2014
thax thax thax thax
Liked by: Becky

### Is it weird that I'd rather use an onahole than have sex with a real person?

December 17, 2014
No, it's not weird. Sex with real people can be stressful and performative. You can be "bad" at sex with a real person, and the worry of that can make you even worse.

That said, not having sex with toys and stuff and doing more "normal" sex will make you better at normal sex, which will make you enjoy it more.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Your upbeat news for the day is that one of the main Marvel dudes recently said Ms. Marvel is their "flagship title for Marvel Now!" and they consider her a massive success. As such, she'll be getting an expanded role in 2015. What beautiful years that shine, ya know?

December 17, 2014
yaaaay

### If you could guest star on any one show (live-action, animated, whatever you want), which one and why?

December 17, 2014
Adventure Time so I could punch Ash's character in her stupid dick
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky sad boy

### My Nakayama-obsessed friends are beside themselves with how important his character has suddenly/finally become Anthony I hope you realize what you've done

December 17, 2014
I super don't

### any tips on poops that hurt your asshole?

December 17, 2014
Put your legs up on a stool or a small box (I use my trash can), like you're putting your legs into stirrups or something. Butts aren't made to do number twos from a sitting position. We're supposed to squat while standing, and putting your feet up simulates that position. It makes it easier, less painful, and less dangerous to push.

### what's it like being in the gaming industry, well higher up. do you know things that's happening early, like did you know about the telltale game of thrones before it was announced because of borderlands working with them? just curious

December 17, 2014
Shhhh
yes
Liked by: Becky

### Anthony, are you trying to find somebody to peg you on ask.fm?

December 17, 2014
Nah I'm good

### I originally only watched (or even heard about) AGDQ last year because of that commentary you did for it. But that got me into speedrunning, and then into the speedrunning community, and now I'm huge into it and I basically have you to thank for that. So, thanks!

December 17, 2014
Oh, neat!

### who'd you bone in mass effect

December 17, 2014
Liara, then Tali once Liara got dark.

### Well, that should read that I'm into PERFORMING pegging.

December 16, 2014
Right! That's cool. That's awesome, in fact.

### I realized recently that two Borderlands games in a row ended with Lilith slamdunking Handsome Jack's face off and am pretty amused by that.

December 16, 2014
pahahahaah
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### Wirt or Greg?

December 16, 2014
Greg are you even kidding me with this bullshit question

### What's your favorite kind of butt

December 16, 2014
one i am touchin'
Liked by: Jeffrey Leo Cook AlexaRae Aimée Nolan Sullivan Becky

### I was very happy to hear that you also read Sex Criminals. Brimpers unite! I just interviewed Zdarsky and it was pretty cool. Do you read Wicked & The Devine too?

December 16, 2014
Yep. Love that, too. Kieron Gillen is frustratingly good.
Liked by: Becky

### I think many people are confused about when these games takes place because they keep wondering how it's possible for BL:PS to have the Handsome AI quest coming out which is a tie in to Tales.

December 16, 2014
I'm sure they are confused.

### honestly I'm okay with shipping Athena with whoever aslong as it isn't a dude or something... something just seems really problematic about shipping a lesbian with a guy

December 16, 2014
fair

### im sure Nisha would be very into pegging Jack tho. sounds practically canon imo

December 16, 2014
yeah probably but consent etc
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Garydactyl

### Okay, then what's your favorite Adele song?

December 16, 2014
...Skyfall? Maybe?

### Re: pegging: I'm a she. Still cool. :)

December 16, 2014
Isn't that just...anal?

### I'm into pegging. I'm cool.

December 16, 2014
See he said he's cool

### Are you into JRPGs at all?

December 16, 2014
Not even a little.

### Thoughts on Adele?

December 16, 2014
She's real good at singin and bein pretty

### Is it okay if I ship Athena with someone besides Janey?

December 16, 2014
I mean you can ship whomever with whomever
Liked by: Garydactyl

### "cause super cool people are probably into pegging" whispers anthony burch

December 16, 2014
hahaha never tried it tbh

### Did you ever played Planescape: Torment? It's the best game ever.

December 15, 2014
Yes and yes

### have you ever played any ratchet and clank games? best ever, great lore, funny story and some fun weapons and platforming!

December 15, 2014
I played just the PS3 one for a little while. It was fun but felt like a shooter made for kids, so I kinda gave up on it eventually due to lack of challenge (though I loved the writing).

### Sheesh, judging by the last Janey/Athena ask, the pair seems to have really taken off. Kudos on writing likable characters.

December 15, 2014
Janey was like 90% 2K Oz! And they handled a fairish amount of Athena, as well.

### i'm honestly flabbergasted by people who say handsome jack "did nothing wrong." did they not play borderlands 2? the guy was forcing civilians into slag experimentation camps. he made scientists torture their own loved ones. a tragic backstory may explain his actions but it doesn't excuse them.

December 15, 2014
yeahhhhh

### Dear Anthony, why did Lilith punch Jack in the face

December 15, 2014
cause fuck that asshole
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Ashleigh Johnson Kerissa Young Becky sad boy Samantha Dale

### I'm at least 99% positive Jack is into pegging

December 15, 2014
Sounds about right, unless you only think that because he's a bad person, cause super cool people are probably into pegging
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Becky Garydactyl Nolan Sullivan

### Favorite bands/musicians of all time? Favorite bands/musicians of late?

December 15, 2014
Radiohead/Muse/Louis Armstrong/I don't have good or consistent taste in music/Taylor Swift
Liked by: Becky

### Is it weird for me to hate people who smoke? As in, I refuse to interact with them beyond what's absolutely necessary? I don't invite smokers over because In have to choose between making them go outside or allowing them to make me, my home, and my effects smell like shit.

December 15, 2014
No, that's not weird. If you don't like the smell you don't like the smell. I don't like people who use Axe.

### Am I crazy, or is Handsome Jack the poster boy for "villians who did nothing wrong?" His actions aren't the most savory but Lilith drew first blood, and you can't tell me Pandora doesn't need an enema.

December 15, 2014
Guys he enslaved his daughter when she was like twelve

guys he did that
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson Jeffrey Kerissa Young Jakob Brown Becky sad boy Nolan Sullivan Xavby the Skink Devon, Depressed Idealist Carmen

### Thanks for the helpful reply. I'm 100% behind unfucking all the ways society fails women, but while we're on the path to true equality can we also address the ways it fails men? Ex: Harsher punishments for same crime, custody bias, selective service, alimony being a thing post 1960, etc.

December 15, 2014
Sure, yeah. All of those are reasonable concerns to have. It would be super cool if the MRAs who fight for those things could do so in a way that wasn't blatantly misogynistic. I know lots of feminists who agree that those same things are problems, but aren't terribly psyched about joining a bunch of hateful fuckers.

COUGH#notyourshieldCOUGH

### Troy Baker said he was trying to "channel Handsome Jack" when he was voicing Pagan Min. How do you feel about this?

December 15, 2014
what the fuck where/when
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### I like to think of myself as reasonably progressive, but one thing just really doesn't sit well with me for whatever reason: "violence against women." The wording seems to imply that violence against men is acceptable, or at least more acceptable than violence against women. Can you clear this up?

December 15, 2014
I don't think the wording implies violence against men is acceptable. Focusing on one doesn't preclude caring about both.

For me, at least, "violence against women" means focusing on the ways society fails women, and how those problems would be completely, 100% solvable if we just all decided we gave a shit about them. When a woman is beaten, we ask "why didn't she leave" rather than "why wasn't that guy less of a piece of shit"? When a woman gets raped, we tend to disbelieve them up until the very last possible moment. When a woman is abused or harassed, we accuse them of doing it to themselves, or making it up, or any of the other horseshit you've likely heard from the gamergate fuckshits over the past few months.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Hey, I'm a male player of video games and I just wanted to say it's very important to me and others that you are a feminist, have sensible pro-equality views, etc. The representation in your video games matters. It seems like, from reading this, you don't get to hear this enough. Thank you sincerely

December 15, 2014
thanks much
Liked by: Becky

### why are ham and cheese sandwiches so good? what's your favorite sandwich?

December 15, 2014
guh even when I ate meat I fuckin hated ham

I like meatball subs, I guess. Or vegan meatball subs, nowadays (which are a thing and if done well they are amazing).

### Anthony I'm very fucking serious about this and I have to fucking know. What brand of condom do you use?

December 15, 2014
I don't use one brand exclusively. I haven't noticed any difference with any of the brands I've used.

### So I'm considering getting into MGS and a friend warned me "the story is amazing but it makes no sense hurhurhur." Am I taking crazy or isn't "makes no sense" a synonym for "terrible fucking writing?" How stealthy can I be? Are no kill runs possible?

December 15, 2014
The PLOT makes no sense -- it's a labyrinthine, self-contradicting confluence of bullshit. The CHARACTERS are great, and there are lots of wonderful moments between them where you feel some real goddamned drama. Just try not to give a shit about who the La-Li-Lu-Lei-Lo are.

### I read your answer to the question about the girlfriend with anxiety and, as a person with extreme anxiety, I want him to know not make her do anything too quickly. Sudden changes and conflicts only makes anxiety worse. With the job, I suggest her getting part time and then moving up to full time

December 15, 2014
boosh

### Hey Anthony I'm trying to lose weight and... well fuck man you are one skinny dude. What's your typical diet? What do you eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner? Favorite snacks? Favorite drinks? What do you make a point of avoiding?

December 15, 2014
It's just genetics for me, to be totally honest. I was born super skinny and I can never put on weight.

### How did you get so many likes?

December 15, 2014
Five likes every once in a while is not a lot of likes

### am i racist for wanting white children?

December 15, 2014
Uhhh I guess it depends why? If it's because you think white people are better, that's fucked up, but if it's because you'd be terrified to expose a black kid to a world that can obviously get away with murdering them then it's less weird.

### how often do you think janey and athena bang. i need exact figures.

December 15, 2014
"Need" is an interesting word

### Anthony I'm seriously fucking depressed. I work my ass off, about 50-60 hours a week just to cover my bills, my girls bills, and cost of living. Zer0 income to pursue what I enjoy. My girl can't hold a job because of "anxiety" and I'm really starting to resent her. What do?

December 15, 2014
Gosh, I don't know. I'd probably demand my girlfriend go to therapy -- basically make an ultimatum that if she doesn't go to therapy, she doesn't get any of my money. Ideally that could help with some of her anxiety and she could start pulling her weight.

### Creative writing? Oh dear, no wonder Tim needed a job so badly. Maybe the poor guy can write about his experiences if he survives all this crap. Anyhoo, as promised: http://i.imgur.com/mvdRnHK.png

December 15, 2014
ahhhh perfect
Liked by: Jakob Brown mackenzie charlton

### Im tryying to get an awesome beard like yours and its starting to ITCH, what do youmdo when it ITCHES, show me master? Also, how long did it take you to write borderlands 2, as in all of it, going "gold" dialog wise I mean. Also, how long does a beard like yours take to grow?

December 15, 2014
Mine doesn't itch, weirdly. Beard takes like a month to grow.

### What did you make of Endless Legend?

December 15, 2014
Watching Let's Plays, just hoping it's not as complex as it looks

### I had a girlfriend named Annie and my name is Regal. People used to call our relationship Anal. Best relaionship ever~

December 15, 2014
Well done

### Do you ever get the impression that some of the questions people ask here are dubiously-worded-totally-as-a-friend deals trying to bait you into saying something that can be used against you?

December 14, 2014
yes

### Do you read Sex Criminals by Fraction/Zdarsky? If so, what do you think?

December 14, 2014
I fucking adore it. Super funny, relatable, and honest. And also takes its core sci-fi premise to interesting places.
Liked by: Kristin K Becky

### I like to call the Axton/Ellie relationship 'Elton' because why wouldn't you

December 14, 2014
Oh shit that's also really good
Liked by: Becky

### Anthony 50 Shades of Grey is LITERALLY a Twilight fanfic with a few last minute changes. It also completely misrepresents the BDSM lifestyle, in potentially harmful ways. It's popularity with NA/EU women is VERY disturbing... and revealing.

December 14, 2014
I agree. I don't like the idea that BDSM is misunderstood as a nonconsensual thing and that 50 Shades has been rewarded for that kind of depiction. It's just going to hurt a lot of women.
Liked by: Jakob Brown AlexaRae Becky Aimée Liam Komatsu Nolan Sullivan

### Why does the world have to be so shitty?

December 14, 2014
Because humans are evolved to want more than they need and lack empathy for more than a small handful of close friends/family
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown jenni lee AlexaRae Becky Nolan Sullivan

### What do you do to pick yourself up when you're at your lowest?

December 14, 2014
Play a hard game I'm good at, like Spelunky or Dark Souls

### any tips on getting sum gud 'gina?

December 14, 2014
I made a tweet just for you

https://twitter.com/reverendanthony/status/544242033964384259

### i've been referring to the axton/ellie pairing as axel. because AXton and ELlie. and an axle is a car part :D

December 14, 2014
nice
Liked by: Becky

### I can't picture you as liking professional sports but I'll ask anyway? Are you a Cowboys fan?

December 14, 2014
noooo

### I'm literally afraid of having sex with a woman; I've turned down sex with about half a dozen, most were completely sober, purely out of fear of them deciding they were raped the next morning. How can you be a feminist when our society is like this? Men get their lives ruined for doing nothing wrong

December 14, 2014
You know that false rape accusations likely don't occur anywhere near as frequently as MRA's would have you believe, right? http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-09-19/how-many-rape-reports-are-false This article points out it's really difficult to tell, but if you're seriously worried that any woman you have consensual sex with is going to turn around and call you a rapist, you're either being really illogical or there's something about your wooing technique that is stretching the idea of consent.
Liked by: AlexaRae Aimée Brighid

### Why do you believe the Fifty Shades of Grey novels are so popular with women when they're centered around female sexual submission towards a dominant male? Why wouldn't women want equal parity or to assume the dominant role in their fantasy erotica?

December 14, 2014
Because I think what people want in sex and what people want in the rest of their lives can often be very different, and that's fine.
Liked by: AlexaRae Aimée Brighid Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### Kotaku? I check out some of their work sometimes, but daily? Really?

December 14, 2014
The Highlight Reels are fun, and they post lots of stuff that's good for No Wrong Way to Play.

### I want to become the wizard goat http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Capra_falconeri_Markhor_Parc_Bouillon_31082014_2.jpg

December 14, 2014
Don't we all

### I love Tim the Doppelganger he deserves nice things, give me a random Doppelganger fact or scene idea and I'll draw it, Anthony

December 14, 2014
His degree is in creative writing, he likes writing fantasy epics where all the characters are bears
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Ashleigh Johnson mackenzie charlton

### One time my gf's friend was getting beaten up by 3 guys. She went beast, knocked one of them out with one punch, and scared the rest of them away. She likes wearing frilly dresses, she cries when she gets presents, and she's afraid of balloons. Manliness is not required to handle shit hitting fan.

December 14, 2014
boom
Liked by: скевес Aimée Proxy Devon, Depressed Idealist Ikran Dahir. rosa Harley Bird Amelia Nolan Sullivan Samantha Dale

### What websites do you check on the daily?

December 14, 2014
Kotaku, RockPaperShotgun, io9, twitter, ask.fm.

### I literally pulled my grandma out of a burning building and I cry all the time. The idea that we have to bottle up emotions and not be a "bitch" in order to help people or be brave is literally inane. Like actually insane.

December 13, 2014
Holy shit you are cool
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Proxy Devon, Depressed Idealist mackenzie charlton

### To further expand on the hidden fanworks: A lot of people use character and place tags but not borderlands, use variations on main tags, or don't use tags at all. I could point you in the direction of some devoted blogs, but they're shy because there's a lot of porn, OCs, and other things going on.

December 13, 2014
aha, I see.

### The person talking about guys manning up and "not being a bitch when shit hits the fan" maybe doesn't realise that any one can be what they would call "manned up" and can take care of the same situations just as a "manly man" can It doesn't matter about gender to brave

December 13, 2014
Yeah, there's that
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### No, libtard, "shit hits the fan" refers to war, natural disasters, and acts of god. Its kind of sad we've had it so easy that SJW degenerates have to make up problems because they've never known real suffering, hardship, or loss.

December 13, 2014
It always makes me feel really good when dipshits use phrases like "libtard" so I very quickly don't have to feel bad for thinking they and their arguments are worthless. Saves so much time and mental energy.
Liked by: KitKatAddiction Nolan Sullivan Proxy Devon, Depressed Idealist Zachary Michaels

### are you guys close to finishing the new hawp site/new season?

December 13, 2014
yep, should be just after the new year

### If you had to put your sister into one season of Breaking Bad which season would it be and why?

December 13, 2014
Probably season one, because she stands the best chance of not dying a horrible death that way

### How can you still be interested in Witcher 3 after PSE? Also that's the last game I'd expect you to be interested in, it's full of stuff SJW usually blow their lip piercings over.

December 13, 2014
Not a single thing you just said made any sense to me

### Axton's crush on Ellie is the cutest thing in the WORLD! :D

December 13, 2014
yaaay glad you dig it
Liked by: Becky

### Do you think being exposed to the collective idiocy of people on the internet constantly degrades your overall intelligence, like catching a stupid cold

December 13, 2014
I dunno if it's dumb people, but I do worry the pace of the internet is whittling away my concentration and patience.
Liked by: Carmen

### The fact that the Doppelganger is (from the sound of it) a recent college graduate means he's literally just some kid in his early 20s now trapped in the body of a much older villain and flung into one of the worst places in all of space. Geeze, that's kinda horrifying.

December 13, 2014
Well yeah when you put it that way
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Ashleigh Johnson Harley Bird mackenzie charlton

### I'd toss your salad like your name romaine, anthony burch

December 13, 2014
i don't like lettuce

### Boys are taught to be "real men" so we can be counted on when shit hits the fan. I may not lose sleep over "muh gender identity" but I experience plenty of emotion. I even get afraid sometimes, but I man up and hold it together. Cuz, you know, I'm not a bitch.

December 13, 2014
"When the shit hits the fan?" So your primary methods of interacting with the world are denigrating others' emotions (bitches, am I right) just in case somebody needs you to open a pickle jar or carry a baby out of a burning building?

You're so, so sad.
Liked by: Jeffrey KitKatAddiction Becky Nolan Sullivan Proxy Devon, Depressed Idealist

### Damn, the fandom moves fast sometimes. http://40.media.tumblr.com/5db7be508c1ed4aaf30b3a1907c64859/tumblr_nghyrvqqd31s9ehu5o1_1280.png

December 13, 2014
AWWWWW I love it where does everyone find this stuff? I search "borderlands" on tumblr every once in a while but never seem to find most of the stuff that gets posted to this ask.fm
Liked by: Becky

### Oh, you. http://s27.postimg.org/q0sds315v/ohyou.png

December 13, 2014
awww
Liked by: Ashleigh Johnson

### Okay but... What if Janey and Athena adopted Tina... Just imagine.

December 13, 2014
Welcome To Lesbian House
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Ashleigh Johnson sad boy mackenzie charlton

### As an unofficial spokesperson for overweight people, I'd like to address that person who has a problem with us: 'Most of us are pretty decent folks! I won't judge you for a deep-seated fear without knowing your story, but it sounds like something you might wanna talk to a therapist about.'

December 13, 2014
boom

### I am thinking of doing a permadeath run of Bioshock Infinite where I make every enemy kill eachother and/or commit suicide (no guns or hook, only possession vigor). Can I post it on "no wrong way to play"?

December 13, 2014
sure

### I need your advice. I recently graduated from Franklin University for Calligraphy, Kinesiology and Nautical arts, but whenever people ask where I went, I tell them I'm a FUCK'N college graduate and they get offended. How can I educate the masses that I did get my B.S. of Interpretive History there?

December 12, 2014
Maybe don't scream "fuckin" at them really loudly when they ask about college
Liked by: Xavby the Skink Becky

### anytime someone talks about how feminism doesn't help men and destroying the patriarchy hurts them i just remind myself that i am so emotionally stunted that i literally can't bring myself to cry because i would physically hurt myself if i did in the past so i could be a "real man"

December 12, 2014
Yeah. A lot of (most) men believe in the patriarchy's definition of manliness so much that they actively hurt themselves through decisions or anger or physical pain just to adhere to that definition of manliness. Terry Crews did an interview where he talked about how his seven year old son was scared at the beginning of Iron Man, but didn't want to show it -- wanted to make people think he could handle it, that he wasn't a wuss.

Kid was fuckin' seven, man. THAT young, and society had already taught him that men don't express weakness or emotions other than anger or grim determination. And when you're taught something that wrong at that young an age, it takes SO LONG to convince you that it's actually bullshit.

### DC or Marvel bruh?

December 12, 2014
Marvel.
Liked by: not mr. McKay sad boy

### what games r u most excited about next year?

December 12, 2014
Witcher 3...

That's it as far as AAA goes. Lots of indie stuff, though. Titan Souls, Night in the Woods.

### i wuv u :3

December 12, 2014
thax

### Are you Canadian?

December 12, 2014
what no
Liked by: Becky

### whats your opinion on the dark souls series?

December 12, 2014
Love it

### I've been having a lot of trouble focusing on videogames lately. Huge games like the new Dragon Age I'm finding difficult to enjoy because i can't make myself concentrate and I just wind up missing a lot of stuff. Have you ever had this problem?

December 12, 2014
nah man i go hard on videogames

Unless it's a genre I don't like or it's too hard or I'm distracted or one of any number of other things that cause me to lose concentration

### Burch, I've always considered myself a tolerant person for the most part, but I've always had an extreme fear/hate of overweight individuals. I purposefully avoid them so that I don't say something rude, however, they accuse me of being rude for keeping a distance. Is there a middle ground?

December 12, 2014
Beyond tryin' real hard not to fear/hate them? Eesh, I dunno. If you have THAT negative a reaction to a particular body type, I think that's kinda on you.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### http://40.media.tumblr.com/41eb7e292ff1f31323d56b58f17248fa/tumblr_ngeohhahys1saqtjpo1_r1_1280.png help how do i stop drawing them

December 12, 2014
Awwww I love it I love them

### have you watched any of torchwood?

December 12, 2014
Yes. It's a waste of time except for Children of Earth, which is the best thing Russell T Davies has ever done somehow

### hey. hey anthowny. your sister just read dis.

December 12, 2014
who pretends to be my sister on ask fm

### do you think i'm bad for only buying games on sale?

December 12, 2014
What? No.

### my husband is scared that I'm going to leave him for you. can you announce to my husband that you have no interest in stealing away the weird girl who draws Brick all the time?

December 12, 2014
I cannot do that in good conscience.

But I will do my best not to steal you away.
Liked by: Becky

### [generic Axton / Ellie screaming of joy]

December 12, 2014
yay
Liked by: Becky

### anthony i want good space sci fi with queer characters where do i find it

December 11, 2014
Doctor Who, I'd say? Mass Effect?

### Do you have a FetLife account, and can we be friends on it if so?

December 11, 2014
I haven't actually heard of fetlife but I'm gonna go ahead and make an assumption about what it is
Liked by: Fo Facy Samantha Dale

### Regarding the Eighth Doctor Adventures, that's basically what they are. 40 minute to 1 hour episodes featuring The Eighth Doctor and, for most of it, Lucie Miller, whose dynamic with Eight is similar to Donna with 10. Plus, there's amazing character development and actions have real consequences.

December 11, 2014
Any in particular I should start with?
Liked by: Hasan Mumtaz

### Will you do a write up of why you like Marvellous Miss Take, like you've done with other games?

December 11, 2014
Probably not, cause its charms are easy to summarize in tweets like I have done. It's just a really clean, fast-paced, unambiguous stealth game with perfect information (like Mark of the Ninja) where if you fail, you nearly always know why you failed. The levels are really short and consumable, the visual style is great, and the game is completely nonviolent.
Liked by: Hasan Mumtaz

### Just wondering, do you limit yourself to one game until you've completed it? Or do you switch back and forth between several games?

December 11, 2014
I switch a lot. I used Far Cry 4 as a Dragon Age palette cleanser.
Liked by: Hasan Mumtaz

### Retarded people don't have the capacity to be offended so why should we be offended for them?

December 11, 2014
Holy shit is that not true.
Liked by: Jeffrey Aimée AlexaRae Nolan Sullivan Hasan Mumtaz

### So my girlfriend just told me she "spent the day looking at hot guys" out in town and well it made me feel a little uncomfortable, am I just overreacting here or do you think that isn't something people shouldn't say to their partner?

December 11, 2014
I think you should tell her it made you feel a little uncomfortable. I don't think the statement is a huge deal, but your reaction to it is what matters.
Liked by: Hasan Mumtaz

### Are you getting tired of writing Borderland games? Do you see yourself working on a new game in the near future?

December 11, 2014
There was a period of time when I thought so, but right now I'm really appreciative of Borderlands and how free it allows you to be. You can be REALLY silly and dumb or REALLY dark, or anywhere in between. It's also one of the only franchises that acknowledges how stupidly evil its main characters are, but in a fun, kind of, "eh, whatever, it's a game" way.
Liked by: Jeffrey Cherry Becky Adam Robert Sherman Hasan Mumtaz

### Did you write all of the Grandma Flexington dialog?

December 11, 2014
Yes
Liked by: daniel Hasan Mumtaz

### I just played and immensely enjoyed Far Cry 4. Are FC3, FC2 and BD worth going back and playing? There's a bundle.

December 11, 2014
FC3: no. FC2: yes, but it's VERY different, and much less about making the player feel good/satisfied.
Liked by: Hasan Mumtaz

### Jaffe just apologised for using the word "fucktard." Thoughts?

December 11, 2014
Good! Apologies are important.
Liked by: Hasan Mumtaz

### To follow up the question about Big Finish Doctor Who: if someone were to tell you that the Eighth Doctor Adventures are basically an audio version of the RTD era, but better, would you be interested in listening?

December 11, 2014
Pfffff yes
Liked by: Hasan Mumtaz

### if someone uses the word retard in a pejorative way, not actually against retarded people but in the same way as "I'm an idiot", but are otherwise a decent non-hateful human being are you supposed to write them off?

December 11, 2014
I think you're supposed to wish they wouldn't say that. If it was somebody I knew reasonably well and liked, that'd be my reaction. If it's someone I don't know that well or are just meeting, I'd write them off immediately.

### So I just crushed my balls between my legs and I'd like very much for you to please publish this so I can offer a hearty 'Fuck You' to the guy who brought it up a few hours ago :)

December 11, 2014
Yikes

### Side note for earthworm sidekick guy: as a spokesperson for the EWGROSS (Earth Worm General Relevance Organization for Societal Sameness) I must point out that Detective Frog's partner is also an accredited doctor and accomplished Opera Singer who had a bad experience.

December 11, 2014
oh god puns oh god
Liked by: Becky

### I was wondering about Krieg. I've followed you for a long time, and I've always been under the impression that you can't get behind characters that revel in violence (like w/ Drake's gleeful neck-snapping). But you wrote and love playing Krieg, so is there something different about his violence 4 u?

December 11, 2014
To me, Borderlands is inherently about shrugging and going, "eh, it's a videogame, whatever" when it comes to massacring bad guys -- everybody calls you a bandit, it's about having fun being a bad person, etc. Krieg is just an extension of that.
Liked by: Becky Devon, Depressed Idealist

### Did you know about exploding rotating office chairs? Apparently that is a thing. How do you protect your butt from the dangers of a potential exploding office chair?

December 11, 2014
wat

### Do you have any holiday rituals?

December 11, 2014
For a little while, Ash and I would always watch Four Rooms on New Years' Eve.
Liked by: Carmen

### Greatest advice about writing that you can give me at this moment.

December 10, 2014
Write a lot?

### When was the last time you accidentally crushed your balls between your legs?

December 10, 2014
Probably twenty minutes from now, since you've suddenly reminded me that's a thing that can happen.

### have you played the crew? it's great on PC, been glued to it all week

December 10, 2014
I'm not a racing game guy.

### will your sister marry me?

December 10, 2014
no

### happy 37th birthday, better late than never right!

December 10, 2014
are you a time traveler

### I'm getting really exhausted with people whining about "Sjw shoehorned hamfisted" stuff in Borderlands, Regular people with interesting personalities is shoehorning now? So torgue is a feminist, so Janey is lesbian! Why is this so horrible for everyone?

December 10, 2014
"Please make games only for me just like almost every other piece of art in the last fifty years has been only for me, I fear change"
Liked by: Cherry Becky Gumba Masta Nolan Sullivan Adam Robert Sherman Michelle Devon, Depressed Idealist

### Over the Garden Wall is your favorite cartoon ever, huh? It's that damn good? I've been meaning to watch it. A cartoon mini-series sounds pretty badass to begin with, but people seem to be really liking it.

December 10, 2014
It just has a wonderful world and tone. It feels dangerous and foreboding, but still really warm and sweet and funny. It has a comparatively complex world with fairytale rules, but it delivers those rules at a slow, satisfying pace that explain what's going on while still making it feel like you're discovering stuff.

It's also super funny.

### Who was your favourite character to write and why was it Face McShooty?

December 10, 2014
Cause it was real easy

### Who is your favourite character to play in BL?

December 10, 2014
Krieg. I like not having to use cover.
Liked by: Becky Theyre_not_people

### can detective frog have a sidekick who is an agoraphobic earthworm? He doesn't get out mulch

December 10, 2014
yes

### I'm really starting to get tired of homophobes refusing to recognize Janey and Athena are lesbian girlfriends...please shove it down our throat as much as possible so they have no choice. The gays must win.

December 10, 2014
haha, I wouldn't worry too much about that. It's gonna get hard to deny.

### When i played the part where Janey told Athena she didn't like hearing her sad and that she can talk to her any time I had to pause my game I was in tears. I had to message a friend for support. I was holding my face and blushing. It was so god damn cute you nearly killed this Lil lesbian

December 10, 2014
oh jeez

### Weren't there going to be more female enemies in Pre-Sequel? There was a nice amount of NPCs and quest givers and bosses and so on, but I remember discussion of more general women enemies too.

December 10, 2014
There are. The big baddies in spacesuits (can't remember what they're called) are all girls.

### Am I allowed to be as upset at people shipping Athena with men as I am... its probably part to me being a lesbian but I can't STAND too see fictional lesbians have their sexuality erased. It happens so frequently and it just really gets to me. Especially since there's so little HOMOsexuals in game??

December 10, 2014
I can see that being upsetting. To me it feels like an extension of the inverse ("what if Jack and Wilhelm were gay for each other"), like more of a playful hypothetical kind of thing, but it definitely has erasure as an unintended consequence. I think it's comparatively harmless, though, given the things people COULD be saying or doing with Athena.

### I've noticed that Gaige gets a bit flirty when reviving a vault hunter regardless of Gender. Is this similar to the Axton case when it was accidental?

December 10, 2014
Oh, does she? Yeah, must be -- although by the time I wrote her, we knew about the Axton thing, so maybe I'd intended to make her bisexual.

### Gah, thank you for sharing that RPS Bladerunner video. <3

December 10, 2014
Love that game. It's barely interactive and buggy as fuck, but I played it before I knew that a Blade Runner movie even existed, so it just felt incredibly gorgeous and new and mysterious.

### So, who wrote the upcoming 'Handsome AI' mission in TPS - You? 2k Aus? Telltale? All three in some sort of beautiful narrative symbiosis? Regardless, thank you - it's really cool to have the two story's intersect like that, and kind of hilarious to get a backstory to a Telltale narrative in an FPS!

December 10, 2014
It was me.

### So I watched Over the Garden Wall because of your tweet. Holy shit! That is a magical show.

December 10, 2014
Yep, probably my favorite cartoon ever made.
Liked by: KT Vargas

### Anthony, I'm happy about the feminism movement in gaming, but I am getting so exhausted of people promoting themselves as feminists, yet the ONLY thing they ever say is "gamergate bad". TL;DR Anita good and functional. Wu is hanging on coat tails and does nothing to further the movement.

December 10, 2014
Feminists say a whole shitload of things that have nothing to do with gamergate, which a cursory twitter or google search would tell you. Wu "does nothing to further the movement?" Sure, except for forming a game dev team composed entirely of women, making games populated entirely by women characters, designed to both target the underrepresented girl gamer demographic while also bringing dudes into the fold.

This entire question strikes me as a longform version of "I'm not a racist, but".
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Anthony have you seen Black Mirror? It's legit, no joke.

December 09, 2014
I've seen season 1, not 2. Season 1 is good, if the angriest thing I've ever seen.
Liked by: Adam Kolacz

### I thought it was really touching that Janey was able to help Athena grow past her military conditioning (not caring about sex/beauty/romance) and help her become more comfortable in her sexuality. Shes still uncomf with Tina calling her pretty so it doesnt reinforce the "love cures trauma" trope ily

December 09, 2014
oh weird I hadn't even thought about the tina thing, that's fortunate

### Are you a fanbase or a fandom type o' man? (Judging you so hard)

December 09, 2014
I have no idea what the difference is

### if Axton is into twins how would he feel about being in the middle of a Jack and Doppelganger sandwich.

December 09, 2014
I think he hates Jack too much to find him attractive.
Liked by: Cherry Adam Robert Sherman

### every time zed says, "next time you're bleeding to death, just think dr. zed!" i want to grab him by the shoulders and yell, "JUST MAKE IT RHYME JUST SAY, 'next time you're almost dead, just think dr.zed!' YOU'RE SO CLOSE MAN." please tell me this was intentional.

December 09, 2014
whoops
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### At any point during the writing for Janey and Athena as characters, did you ever have second thoughts about the direction you took them? And are you happy with how they turned out? Just curious, I love the characters.

December 09, 2014
I initially wrote Janey WAY more overt in her flirtatiousness, actually referencing sex and making out and stuff, and 2k Oz (in hindsight, rightfully) felt it was too much, so they toned her back a lot. And yeah, I'm generally happy with where they landed, though I think I should have made it a bit clearer Athena was into the flirting -- one fan said it felt weird to him that there was no option to tell her "no thank you," so she came off like a stalker or something.

### If we don't need Gamegate then why do we need feminism? Feminists don't have a monopoly on the "women are people" thing after all, and their trademark abrasiveness/misandry/victim bullshit is very off-putting.

December 09, 2014
Because feminism's origins and stated purpose are specific and legitimate in a way that GG's aren't (it's not 'women are people')? Because the "trademark abrasiveness" you cite is a massive oversimplification that doesn't represent feminism's origins anywhere near as much as harassment and sexism represent GG's?
Liked by: Proxy Devon, Depressed Idealist Hans Wuerflein Nolan Sullivan sad boy

### Did you expect the relationship between Janey and Athena to catch on as well as it did?

December 09, 2014
Nope! Super super psyched it did, though.

### do you get the sense gg is fading into obscurity or is it going to keep around like Westboro Baptist Church

December 09, 2014
Fading. The Colbert Report was the death knell.

### So, Spelunky. Play or pass? Currently on the fence about it.

December 09, 2014
It's the best game ever made, so, uh.

### What was your major in college?

December 09, 2014
Creative writing.

### A thing that's been on my mind: Fandoms are often driven by misogyny to be far FAR more critical of women than men and I think Lilith is suffering from this. There are blogs now saying she's worse than the man who attempted genocide because she made some bad calls. (1/2)

December 09, 2014
Maybe, yeah. It's also potentially that Lilith was a bro and now she's mean -- the easiest way to make someone feel really strongly about a character is to make them shift significantly. This is why the WWE intentionally makes their up-and-comers start out as heels, just so that when they turn into heroic faces, the audience likes em ten times as much.

### are you in charge of ECHOcasts? axton's first tweets made me laugh out loud while i was feeling really stressed about finals. thanks!

December 09, 2014
Yep, that was me. Glad you dig it.
Liked by: Becky

### How does it feel that Ash gave a keynote with Gone Home about not having player characters as blank slates, unlike your design thesis (personally I think both have their merits and limitations)

December 09, 2014
I think it's like what you said -- both have their merits and problems. Even with characters who aren't blank slates, they can still often break "immersion" by saying something so beyond the scope of the player's understanding that you feel divorced from the avatar (every once in a while Nathan Drake takes a little too much glee in snapping someone's neck, and I get horrified and uncomfortable).

### Have you ever listened to Big Finish Doctor Who?

December 09, 2014
Nah, never felt the urge. Dunno why. I've heard good things. Maybe just cause I generally don't like much classic Who?

### Hey Anthony, you're the best

December 09, 2014
thax

### What would you say Gaige and Axtons relationship is. Father daughter? Meme bro and meme sis? Best meme friends? The memeduo? Robo memebros?

December 09, 2014
Best friendz
Liked by: Вуги

### when krieg was first announced i thought his name was "craig" and im ashamed

December 09, 2014
You are definitely not the only one. A lot of people at Gearbox called him Craig.

### Dear Anthony can Tim and Gaige please be friends I would like to see them snort over video games and argue about animes thank you in advance

December 09, 2014
Hrmm

### Which Borderlands character would be the most fun in bed, in your opinion?

December 09, 2014
Nisha.
Liked by: Becky

### Borderlands Online has been announced. Are you involved?

December 08, 2014
Very little.
Liked by: not mr. McKay

### I started out as ambivalent towards Claptraps, but you guys have hated so hard on the poor bots in a nonstop onslaught that I've actually come around to feeling affection for the poor jerks, protect the Claptraps

December 07, 2014
That is 110% what we intended. Make everyone mean to Charlie Brown so you feel bad for Charlie Brown even if you'd otherwise find Charlie Brown irritating.
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young Devon, Depressed Idealist

### Dear Anthony, HAWP episodes are the best,they helped so much with my anxiety and depression,they made me a happier person and made my happy,thank you so much. Also your friend Garrett Lewis is hawt.

December 07, 2014
nice try garrett
Liked by: sad boy

### ... What is your perception of your Dad's opinion/thoughts/feelings about your marriage and its arrangements? (I've experienced 1st person perspective; I'm curious about familial 3rd person perspective that is involved in your life)

December 07, 2014
I don't tell my family shit, so I dunno.

### big dick anthony burch getten that tales from the borderland money add 5 more mansions to those canary islands fuck so much money OG i hope you've had a good week

December 07, 2014
you're my favorite
Liked by: Adam Kolacz Becky

### the person who told u that totalbiscuit said most game devs are pro GG mislead you. TB said that most devs are pro consumer. protecting the consumer is one of the main issues that drove the movement, and he said that specific aspect of GG is a good thing to get behind, BUT most GG people are idiots

December 07, 2014
It's just so irritating to me to even refer to that as an "aspect" of GG, like you can take bits you like from the buffet line of ideas and ignore all the horrible shit. Nobody on the planet needs GG in order to think customers shouldn't be fucked around.
Liked by: Cherry Devon, Depressed Idealist Nolan Sullivan Zetto Sami

### To be frank, I'm pretty concerned about Lilith being the one in charge now. She doesn't have a history of good decisions, and is in a pretty bad place personally to boot. Doesn't help that she's doing things without the other vault hunters present, and ignoring the ones that ARE present.

December 07, 2014
Yeah, I've got some work to do with her to make her likable, I think.

### How many girlfriends do you have at this point?

December 07, 2014
one

### Would Axton ever attempt to remove his head insignia piercing and change his uniform, since he's a runaway that was going to be killed by Dahl, and become more of his own person rather than just an army grunt? Or is he still proud to display himself as a Dahl soldier?

December 07, 2014
Hrm. Good question.

### whats with all the scarlett x nisha art ive been seeing on tumblr did you say something that caused this

December 07, 2014
Bethany Westmoreland and Allegra Clark cosplayed as the two of them and are buds, so when I met them I thought it'd be cool for those characters to be buds in canon

### he wasn't saying that most devs identify as gamergate, but that one of the topics that #gamergate often brings up is not treating consumers like mindless lab rats. that specific aspect of treating the consumer with respect is something that most devs agree with, NOT that most devs are gamergate

December 07, 2014
Ah. That's fine, then. Gamergate certainly doesn't have the monopoly on the idea that you shouldn't shit on people, and it's pretty embarrassing that they continually assert otherwise.

### When I play Zelda, I sing the HAWP zelda song with my GF

December 06, 2014
If you get married it's because of me
Liked by: Jeffrey Theyre_not_people not mr. McKay sad boy Becky Jakob Brown Kerissa Young Kristin K

### I don't know if you've answered this before, but what the heck is the thing on Axton's head? From a lot of angles it looks like it sicks out of his skin and isn't just a tattoo.

December 06, 2014
It's his military ranking. 'Cause Dahl soldiers are soldiers for life.
Liked by: Harley Bird Jakob Brown

### "Real horses don't run into trees very often" in Old English might be something like 'soþ hengests don næfre gan in treows for-wel oft.' Are you meaning Blackletter script when you say Old English?

December 06, 2014
....yes you win
Liked by: Becky

### should i buy wolfenstein the new order?

December 06, 2014
Yes, it's a really solid linear shooter

### Anthony help I got my girlfriend super into Mass Effect and she's spent the last three days inconsolable after finishing Thane's storyline how do I cheer her up

December 05, 2014
I'd say "play ME3," but uh
Liked by: BlueInkAlchemist Samantha Dale

### Would you ever accept fan ideas for vault hunters?

December 05, 2014
Legally, no
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Hey did you hear? Gamergate's base of operation, /gg/, is completely burned down to the ground.

December 05, 2014
yaaaay

### A gif from HAWP has a quarter of a million notes on tumblr but there's no credit!

December 05, 2014
aw, bummer

### Since you like New Girl, have you ever watched Pitch Perfect? Its screenplay was written by Kay Cannon, one of the executive producers and writers on that show. Fun movie :).

December 04, 2014
Nope, I should definitely check that out.
Liked by: Becky

### How the fuck does playing PT lead to a threesome? Fear leads to sex? Also that was the least gross thing I've ever heard please slap yourself for it. You've said grosser things than that with no warning.

December 04, 2014
GROSS ANSWER
.
.
.
You've never done the thing where you get shocked at a jump scare and touch someone for support? The touching escalates etc etc
.
.
.
.
/GROSS ANSWER
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky sad boy

### favorite shows currently airing?

December 04, 2014
Brooklyn Nine Nine, Nurse Jackie, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, New Girl
Liked by: BlueInkAlchemist

### What did Janey do with Amelia's number? Why did she even ask her out? Was it to see if Athena would get jealous or was it a rebound one night stand just in case Athena rejected her affections?

December 04, 2014
Just cause you got a job in mind doesn't mean you shouldn't apply to other places you know what I mean

### (GROSS QUESTION) . . How does a random threesome happens when you are playing a video game? Do you lead a rockstar life where threesomes are falling out of your pockets? And if so how can I achieve such a cool life of debauchery?! . . GO AWAY KIDS, NOTHING TO SEE HERE.

December 04, 2014
We were on a hangout date at the time.

### I love new girl oh my god thank you for raising awareness for this wonderful little show

December 04, 2014
Yeah man it's real good, but a super hard sell if you don't already know how good it is.

### Kinkiest thing you've ever done?

December 04, 2014
WARNING: FAIRLY GROSS ANSWER FOLLOWS
.
.
.
Once stopped playing PT to have a threesome, but we didn't turn the TV off, so the PT sinkbaby was crying through the entire, uh, session.
.
.
.
GROSS ANSWER IS FINISHED, GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS
Liked by: Daria Drenker Kerissa Young Nolan Sullivan Becky Devon, Depressed Idealist F sad boy Samantha Dale Xavby the Skink

### Is is strange that I kinda enjoy that Roland was boring? Black characters are forever portrayed as eccentric cliche comedy sidekicks or violent urban gangstas, I liked that one got to be the stuffy, socially awkward respectable, cleancut boring leader figure for once.

December 04, 2014
You woulda probably enjoyed it even more if he had, like, stuff to do.
Liked by: Becky sad boy

### You are wonderful and worthwhile, and I love what's in your heart. You're young and already so talented, but you have tons of time to improve, too, so remember that when you feeling bad about your abilities. At least your unique soul is beautiful, and that's the part you're stuck with.

December 04, 2014
Jeez, that's incredibly nice of you to say. I was having such a crap day, too.

My soul is ugly as shit though
Liked by: Becky

### I personally like the idea of Nisha being bi but liking men 90% of the time and the women she'd be into would have to fit a strict category (prolly masculine?) But I don't write the game so I guess it ain't my call!! Just thought I'd share my interpretation (I feel the same about Jack too)

December 04, 2014
Whatever works for ya

### Hey, hey Anthony.... you're pretty.

December 04, 2014
Thanks dawg
Liked by: Becky

### have you ever not had friends?

December 04, 2014
College. All four years of college. I have almost no memory of that entire period of my life, apart from doing HAWP and sitting through classes I can't even partially recollect anymore.

### you should play marvelous miss take. Hands down best stealth game ever. Fans of Monaco will be delighted.

December 04, 2014
Yeah, I love it.
Liked by: Kristin K

### http://s27.postimg.org/nj748ps81/sketches.png (fake baby, dirty pirate trick) I like a rivalry/sexual tension thing between Scarlett and Mordecai...but I also did my OTP. And Talon. (I love Scarlett too, by the way. I think she's perfect. great job with her)

December 04, 2014
pahahaha
Liked by: Jakob Brown

### I noticed when Tiny Tina calls Athena pretty she has absolutely no reaction, even stating that it meant nothing to her, but when Janey does earlier she gets a bit tongue tied. Contradicting dialogue or a clever plot device?

December 04, 2014
This was intentional. Like actually intentional, not the joke intentional I use to cover up mistakes.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### If you were in a fantasy RPG, what class and race would you be?

December 03, 2014
Brown guy
Liked by: Becky

### Do you have any solutions to when you just feel, nothing? Like not shitty, I can work with shitty, shitty has peaks and valleys emotionally, feel I can channel that into being creative anyway, but when you just, don't feel. Assuming you get that at all.

December 03, 2014
I distract myself with videogames or TV.

### What is Nishas sexuality? I assumed bi and that her line to Janey that was like "That's okay, I like Handsome" was in reference to her already thirsting for Jack and not being straight? But idk!

December 03, 2014
In my head she is straight.

### Terry Crews is like a real-life version of Mr. Torgue! Did he inspire Mr. Torgue's character at all? Or are they just parallel shooting stars of awesomeness?

December 03, 2014
Just parallels. Having Torgue compared to Terry Crews is an honor, though.

### There has been a released build of Fallout Who Vegas for over a year.... just so you know... I bought NV just for the mod and sunk 15 hours into it without going near the game's story.

December 03, 2014
Oh. Shit. Getting it now.

### Did you uses to make any real money off HAWP? I see you constantly recommending to aspiring writers to create their own work like you did with HAWP and I was just wondering if its possible to make an income off something like that?

December 03, 2014
Yeah, we make money off it.

### Did you hear about this con? It's even being held in Texas! http://www.dallasvoice.com/texas-lgbt-gaming-convention-held-austin-april-2015-10185538.html

December 03, 2014
Ooh neat, I'll take an excuse to go to austin

### I absolutely adore Athena and Janey as a couple. Since I spotted springs and the sails shield in the TFTBL episode 2 trailer I can't wait to see what happens. Did you have input with the writing on telltales part? Or did you hand them the property and they rolled with it. Cause either way it's great

December 03, 2014
Matt Armstrong and I sat in on a bunch of story meetings for both individual episodes and the season as a whole, as well as giving feedback on ep 1 throughout its production. But I didn't write a single word of the script.

### If someone was pro-journalism ethics, but against the bile which has become gamergate, would you still be against it?

December 03, 2014
That's called "being a worthwhile human being," so, sure, I guess. With the caveat that the definition of "ethics" we're discussing is the *actual* definition of ethics, and not the "wait people shouldn't be friends with people they review ever" stuff GG pushes because they literally don't know anything about anything.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Jakob Brown sad boy

### Have you ever looked at the Borderlands roleplaying community? What's your opinion of it?

December 03, 2014
Roleplaying? Like on tumblr and stuff? Haven't seen much of it.

### Are you into sci fi novels at all?

December 03, 2014
Haven't read any in a while, apart from Netrunner: Golem.

### Well I'm aromantic and basically the way I figured out I was was that everyone in my life equated "being alone" or loneliness in general to not having a significant other, and that has NEVER mattered to me. Aromantic is a lot about valuing other types of relationships more than romantic ones and yea

December 03, 2014
Being aromantic sounds sick as fuck
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Demonhighbinder

### You have a Doctor build in NV? Have you tried the Fallout Who Vegas mod? Because it's pretty damn awesome.

December 03, 2014
The only one i've seen isn't out yet. There's a released one?

### not to harp on the character since he's been brought up a lot here lately, but you know what, i could see the doppelganger as a self harmer. harming because of depression from his experiences over the past few years, feeling that each new mark on his body helps him look a little less like jack, etc.

December 02, 2014
Hunh. Not a bad idea at all.

### I think it boils down to 'Self-harm is controversial.' A lot of perspectives view it as bad, some perspectives view it more along the lines of 'hey, your body, do want you want'. I say it shouldn't be ENCOURAGED, but if someone says 'I'm'a keep doing this and it's my choice so butt out', I butt out.

December 02, 2014
hrmmmmm

### do you ever feel worthless

December 02, 2014
Most of the time, yeah

### Read any good books lately?

December 02, 2014
I'm reading Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks and it's pretty damn good so far.

### In response to your views about Big Hero 6, I think you're wrong - obviously, the movie is about ethics in games journalism.

December 02, 2014
fuck you got me
Liked by: Jakob Brown Xavby the Skink fcko

### HAWP videos are my go to pick me up for when I'm feeling down. Thank you Mr. Burch.

December 02, 2014
no probz

### there's sexual attraction(sex and the like, pretty simple)there's romantic attraction(dates and kissing etc) platonic attraction(friends) and aesthetic(the look,not as important) asexuals can still have platonic attraction or romantic without being sexually.and aromantics can be sexually or platonic

December 02, 2014
Shit. Being aromantic sounds so completely out of my scope of human understanding it's hard to wrap my head around.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Becky

### With your Doctor build on Fallout NV do you use any of the followers and take them along as companions? I figure get them to do all the violent stuff that the doc usually doesn't handle him self or don't take them because most of them do seem very self defensive if I recall

Dnomyar
December 02, 2014
I don't take them, because (A) taking them along makes the run more dull, cause you just sit around and wait for them to kill stuff and (B) if the Doctor ran with someone who bashed everyones' heads in the second there was a problem, he'd kick them to the curb almost immediately.
Liked by: Dnomyar

### Are you the type of person who, when sat at a desk, takes their shoes on and off?

December 02, 2014
Nah my feet are too stank for that

### What do you think marks the distinction between The Last of Us having beautifully crafted environments which emotionally convey the world and people dismissing use of extensive CGI in live action movies like The Hobbit or any Marvel movie lately, even if they have equal amounts of work put in

December 02, 2014
You can take your time in the Last of Us and drink stuff in. You're IN the space, so it feels immersive. In a movie, it can feel like clutter, or like you don't have enough time to appreciate it.

### How ticklish are you?

December 02, 2014
Not particularly. Though I know saying that is the quickest way to make someone tickle you.

### Reading the last few asks made me start thinking about the times I've seen self-harm portrayed in fiction. There's only been a few, and it's basically always been the maniacal villain cutting himself moments before doing something dastardly. Yeah, probably more angles to explore with that topic.

December 02, 2014
Hrmm.

### Total biscuit claims (with no sources) the vast majority of game devs are pro gamergate. As someone who actually works in the industry, do you think that claim has any validity?

December 02, 2014
No. Sounds like he's pulling that out of his ass. (Like Tobias yelling, "There are dozens of us! Dozens!")

The truth is much more likely that most devs don't even know what the fuck gamergate actually is, because its definition is this weird amorphous shifting blob. Is it an ethics thing? Something about review scores? A sexist cabal? A 4chan doxing group?

Knowing what the hell gamergate is is ultimately irrelevant to making games. I've had conversations with people at work about it (generally when they ask me why I get so worked up about it on twitter) and once I explain what it is, they go, "oh -- oh, okay. Jesus. I didn't know that's what all this was about." And then they go on with their day.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan

### Also, from a self harmer, self harm is not OK and that other anon is wrong... It isn't okay at all. Its bad, but its an addiction

December 01, 2014
Righto

### I think it'd be kind of neat to show self harm in video games, a lot of people see it on TV/movies but it's sort of weirdly involved in those, I personally think self harming IS bad because it's dangerous and it DOES hurt other people, maybe not physically.

December 01, 2014
Ah

### Oh that's not what I meant! I mean like, just a character who self harmes formerly and grew from it and stopped. We need more characters in fiction that dont make self harm out as something thats 'OK' we need more people who stop and get over it. I know thatd help me cope a lot, if that makes sense?

December 01, 2014
That definitely makes sense! I'll give it some thought.

### Uhm.... Self harm is okay? It isn't killing me and nobody else is getting hurt...

December 01, 2014
Oh, is it? My only knowledge of self-harm comes from the stuff I learned at school, which basically boiled down to "it's bad".

### Are there any plans to add a character who was a self harmer? Itd be cool to represent that kind of "trait" in fiction for once. Ya know, to help people who can't stop cope a little better? I always personally headcanoned Angel and Athena as self harmers but it'd be cool to see a canon character idk

December 01, 2014
How would you want a character like that portrayed? Would you want that character to learn to stop self-harming? Would the inverse -- a positive character who never stops cutting -- be harmful in that it implies self-harm is "okay"?

### I think I just died a little upon seeing this http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/12/01/the-flintstones-and-wwe-stone-age-smackdown-trailer-and-poster-debut they already did this with scooby doo. Why can't they just go back to meeting the Harlem Globe Trotters?

December 01, 2014
PFFFFAHAHAHA

### what do you do when youre really in a funk? besides having a fanbase obviously

December 01, 2014
Play a game I really like and am good at. Spelunky, FC2, etc.

### in BH6's defense, I think the movie would've done well without all the superhero stuff in the second half. I found Beymax genuinely interesting as an extension of the brother (ghost in the machine, I suppose). Think it'd be better if they toned down a lot of the "lets sell action figures" action?

December 01, 2014
Yeah.

The movie was written by the guys who did Cars, so, uh.
Liked by: Jakob Brown sad boy

### any advice on surviving a month without video games?

December 01, 2014
There's tons of movies, TV, comics, and books you can fart around with instead.

### What do you think of people who try to excuse what Jack did to Angel?

December 01, 2014
I imagine they're the same kind of people who think Walter White did everything he did for his family.

It's really easy to sympathize with someone you like/find entertaining. Which is interesting, but also pretty dangerous in my opinion.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Adam Robert Sherman Cherry Harley Bird

### WHY DOES HANDSOME JACK LOOK LIKE A COCKATIEL DID YOU PLAN THIS

December 01, 2014
pfffff what

### I just finished the Presequel and I hope we see more of Athena in the future. As for my question, is there any chance Gearbox could put out a cosplay guide for Torgue? I'm interested in cosplaying him but I can't find many examples of previous cosplays or full body shots to get ideas from. Thanks!

December 01, 2014
I'll ask!

### can we have more nice parents in borderlands like gaige's dad, like torgue having tina as an explosives apprentice or something, because after tim's mom and felix added on top of all the other terrible parenting in the games i'm feelin pretty sad for these poor young'uns

December 01, 2014
I'll keep it in mind.

### So you didn't like Big Hero 6 very much? Does it at least work as a big dumb hero movie?

December 01, 2014
Nope. I think The Avengers set the standard for how to do a Big Dumb Hero Movie and actually make it satisfying on an emotional level, so I don't have any patience for bullshit that just involves a lot of punching and action sequences without getting the fundamentals of character and plot. Big Hero 6 fails spectacularly in its fundamentals.

### You know? That's an interesting question... when faced with the situation of writing for a character many people love, but you hate, is it difficult to do? Is it like "Oh god, I gota give him cool lines and stuff, but its awful to write.", or is it easy to work past that and just "Do the character."

December 01, 2014
I just tried to find an angle that made him interesting to me. That's where the whole Charlie Brown schtick came from in the first place.

### I know people give you a lot of shit for "sjw pandering" but it's not much of an exaggeration to say the way you chose to present lgbt characters quite literally 'saved my life'. I was in a rough patch over my sexuality and seeing well represented lesbians in blps seriously makes me very very happy.

December 01, 2014
Holy fuck. That's amazing. I'm glad we could help in some way.
Liked by: swordlesbi Jeffrey Adam Kolacz Nolan Sullivan Zachary Michaels Harley Bird Kristin K Becky Jakob Brown

### Hey Anthony,when do you guys stream on Twitch,I really want to watch Ulisses playing Game of Thrones

December 01, 2014
I hope Uli and Ash stream on Tuesday, but no way of knowing. There's no real schedule anymore.

### Why are so many of the quest givers in TPS women? Men can ask for help to you know!

December 01, 2014
wat

### Playing Tales from the Borderlands makes me kind of miss the tone from BL1. Any chance we could get a return to that in BL3 or will it be more in line with BL2 and BL1.5?

December 01, 2014
If I have anything to do with it, it'll have to be closer to 2/1.5 just cause that's, like, how I write.

### On Maya's line in the wedding day dlc, Asexual doesn't necessarily mean aromantic. Maya could have romantic feelings for someone without being sexually attracted to them. I've actually known ace people in happy relationships

December 01, 2014
good lawd people are complex
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Who's your favorite Tales From The Borderlands character?

December 01, 2014
I really dig Sasha.

### So I'm watching somebody play BL2 and notice that in some ECHOs Jack keeps calling Blake Jimmy rather than Jeffrey just as Tassiter repeatedly gets Jack's name wrong. Nice detail.

November 30, 2014
Oh. Uh, yeah, that was intentional.
Liked by: Devon, Depressed Idealist Becky Garydactyl Adam Robert Sherman

### In response to an ask you got, cosplaying as a character of a different ethnicity or body-type is fine, as long as you don't do stuff like blackface (like using makeup to make your skin color to a different ethnicity) or wear a fatsuit, that kind of stuff.

November 30, 2014
Righto.

### I'm not 100% sure what that last person was trying to say. They don't like you writing their favorite character because of how you think of that character? Are they referring to Jack? You didn't say you HATED Jack, you just said you didn't want Jack to be -all- the games are about.

November 30, 2014
I answered them out of order, I think they were whining about Claptrap

### i think i've noticed that because you hate claptrap so much his writing is pretty fucking shitty. in tps he has /almost/ no character progression and he barely contributes to the story. there was so much i was expecting from him and i didn't get any of it because it seemed he was lowest priority.

November 30, 2014
He contributes to the story as much as Nisha or Wilhelm. He's a robot who sits around and can't betray his programming -- I dunno what else you want, other than him growing to dislike Jack and hate his programming) which he does. If you just think his dialog is unfunny, that's fair and I can't really argue with that.

### Why has HAWP sold out? Most of the recent (to the extent that any are) episodes are sponsored.

November 30, 2014
Proper HAWP is returning soon, Did some sponsored stuff because we like getting paid to do work.

Also if you think getting paid to make a video about a tank game and then spending 90% of the video flashing stupid text and images of tank johnson on the screen instead of highlighting gameplay features is "selling out," I dunno what to tell you
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan sad boy Becky Garydactyl Adam Robert Sherman

### i find myself liking you less and less. at first i was just kinda bothered by a thing here and there and it wasn't that bad but i realize now that you're in charge of my most favorite character and looking at the way you write them because of what you think of them kind of makes me sick.

November 30, 2014
tough titty ya big dumb baby
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky mackenzie charlton

### I agree that Jack has been everywhere lately & can see how some people can get tired & want him to 'die' already. But then, there's other game series with THE Big Bad that gets used over & over & is iconic to said series, like Ganondorf. It's a tough call because Jack's impact on BL's story is HUGE.

November 30, 2014
I don't want Borderlands to become The Jack Franchise, personally. It'll just make things feel stale and unsurprising, which is really bad for a comedy. (And also it sucks that Zelda always has to be about the same basic story beats -- it's not fun to play, and I imagine it's incredibly not-fun to write for).
Liked by: Kristin K Garydactyl

### Hi, cosplay question. I really enjoyed TPS and I'd love to do a Nisha cosplay, only thing is... I am white. This seems to be a very polarizing issue for many people, and the last thing I'd want to do is offend anyone. Thoughts?

November 30, 2014
Personally, I think it's fine -- it doesn't feel like you're appropriating another culture in some disrespectful way. But I understand the arguments against it (or, say, the arguments against cosplaying as Ellie if you're a smaller woman).

### I remember it was confirmed at some time that Nisha and Scarlett are friends? What kind of friendship do they have, do you think?

November 30, 2014
Kind of like Harley and Ivy, except less homoerotic? And neither is "the dumb one"?
Liked by: Adam Kolacz Harley Bird Garydactyl

### Do you anticipate any expansion on Janey and Athena's relationship? I'd hate to see such well represented gay women get drafted away out of the story ):

November 30, 2014
I don't know when the next BL thing will be, or if there'll even be another one, but I really like the Athena/Springs relationship and wouldn't want to abandon it.
Liked by: Becky Garydactyl

### Thoughts on new Star Wars movie teaser?

November 30, 2014
I'm fucking psyched to see actual, physical locations with fucking props and things that aren't CG.

### It's really interesting seeing Pandora from the perspective of non-Vault Hunters, especially the wildlife how it would feel in reality instead of just a minor inconvenience to fight. Odd that it was all Telltale, they really nailed your voice for the humor. (And AHHHH JANEY SPRINGS IN TRAILER)

November 30, 2014
Yeah, they're great.

### Is the steadily increasing number of Eden planets in Borderlands a running joke now? Because that's a whole lotta planets named Eden.

November 30, 2014
The fourth DLC for BL1 mentioned "Eden 6," so we just kinda worked off that.

### If you got the chance to write for TV, which series would you like to work on most?

November 30, 2014
Doctor Who, probably. Like every single other person who has ever watched Doctor Who.
Liked by: Kristin K

### Care to elaborate on Big Hero 6?

November 30, 2014
The main character is utterly unlikable. He's wesley crusher -- a boy genius who was born with his talents rather than having worked for them. When the movie opens in the (completely irrelevant and easily cuttable) battlebots sequence, we just learn that he's a smug dick. I don't feel the need to root for him because there's nothing sympathetic about him, until his personality-devoid brother (whom he talks to as if he's never met before -- like, you don't know he works at a college? Also who the fuck says "my parents died when I was three" TO THEIR BROTHER) gets fridged.

Then we hang out with a bunch of incredibly unfunny and bland sidekick characters who are so cheesy it hurts (that bit when they all call him on the phone in a perfectly posed tableau of concern made me want to punch something).

Then the movie tells us that revenge is bad and violence doesn't solve things -- that, implicitly, douchekid will win because he shows compassion or mercy or something.

Then they beat the bad guy by punching every single thing except the bad guy. Baymax is a healing robot who says it's important to make people better, and the plot is solved by punching everything. But since we didn't punch the bad guy, everything is okay? It's like if Up ended with Carl still keeping all of his mementos of his wife AND he stilled saved the kid -- it shows he hasn't changed at all.

I mean, the goddamn movie ends with douchekid saying "we didn't ask to be superheroes" when there was literally a scene *all about them choosing to be superheroes and picking what their powers will be and how fun it's all going to be*. It's hypocritical bullshit -- the movie pretends it's about sympathy and understanding and mercy, and it's about how fun it is to be a superhero who punches shit.

Granted, a lot of comic books and comic book movies suffer from this hypocrisy, but it's especially egregious here and strikes me as pretty gross considering this movie is marketed specifically to kids.

View more

Liked by: Yukon Cornelius Billy "The Lurch" Lodhi Jakob Brown sad boy

### http://thespectacularspider-girl.tumblr.com/post/102919064149/representation-of-women-in-video-games-the-cause How do you feel about this blog post?

November 28, 2014
all very fair points. I generally agree

### So, with all the talk about Maya being asexual: when Moxxi asks about a "Mr. or Mrs Vault Hunter" in Valentine's Day Massacre, who is the "older gentleman" Maya mentions, and what is her relationship to him? Is that her just completely missing the gist of Moxxi's question, or what's going on there?

November 28, 2014
She may not have always known she was asexual? But yeah I wrote that before I felt comfortable with the idea of her as ace
Liked by: Becky

### I'm super late to the party but what do you think of games like Gone Home and Dear Esther ? (do you consider them games, do you like that genre, etc)

November 28, 2014
Love em. Don't really mind if they're games or not because I think the interactivity adds to them, rather than detracts.

### What do you think is wrong with the people that are trying to defend injustices against women by saying stuff like "If a Woman can hit a man, a man can hit a woman" ?

November 28, 2014
They're fuckin weird. Cause also that's a reasonable argument to make as a feminist, too. I'm on team "Don't hit people in general"
Liked by: Devon, Depressed Idealist

### Am i an idiot because i find myself enamored with Claptrap

November 28, 2014
i mean yeah

### Parks n Rec: the pre-sequel http://descending-bear.tumblr.com/post/103201365199/originality-is-my-middle-name

November 28, 2014
i like it

### If you only had access to one dessert for the rest of your life, what dessert would you like it to be?

November 28, 2014
pizzookie

### you're a cool dude! you being announced as the BL2 writer ages ago is what prompted my interest in the series and while I'm just now getting around to the games, you've also been a cool person with a cool twitter presence so I wanted to say thank you for being that positive influence!

November 28, 2014
thanks very much

### hey burch look at this! http://eternal-axton.tumblr.com/post/103241724584/the-hero-png

November 28, 2014
neat

### So could you try to explain what you were trying to do with Scarlett? You seem to really love her but I personally thought she was very dull. I'd love to know why you think she's so great, since I don't seem to get her at all.

November 28, 2014
I wanted her to kinda feel like the Doctor mixed with Catwoman? Like a fun rival who you don't consider a huge threat, but you like sort of sparring with cause she's charming in her badness? Like Lupin and Zenigata or something.

### Why is David Eddings' australian accent so terrible

November 28, 2014
because the australians thought it'd be super funny and never told him how to do it better
Liked by: Jakob Brown sad boy Becky

### I wanted to start on the Dark Soul series, on which one should I start? I was planning to skip demon souls, but I don't know if I should play Dark souls or Dark Souls 2. what do you recommend?

November 28, 2014
DS1

### If the official Borderlands Tumblr shared romantic fanart of Athena and Janey Springs....does that makes them a confirmed official couple? I see people on my dash freaking out about it because they're so excited.

November 28, 2014
yes
Liked by: Adam Kolacz Jakob Brown sad boy Becky

### i procrastinate way too much, how do you deal with it? x

November 28, 2014
Getting horribly nervous if I have something due.

### so do you just write all day for work?

November 28, 2014
No, I talk to people a lot. Meetings. I eat pretzels.

### Why do you think popular culture is fixated in killing the "black character"? Even games that are progressive in someways perpetuate this rundown cliché to death.. take TLOU, progressive in women's rights and sexuality and yet EVERY main black character in the game dies or gets killed.

November 28, 2014
Because a desire for increased diversity means more black characters in general, but nobody really wants to go the extra mile and make a black character the main character. Everyone other than the main character is expendable, so these two separate ideas combine and unfortunately result in "black character dies a lot."

Same deal for "powerful woman gets damseled".
Liked by: Jeffrey Adam Kolacz Nolan Sullivan Jakob Brown

### hafve you seen any of that gracepoint show with david tennant and anna gunn?

November 28, 2014
Oh. They redid Broadchurch already, huh?

### Halo Reach is probably the pinnacle of the series, if you care enough or still have a 360. Relatively standalone, peak of dynamic gameplay, shame you missed the "golden age" of multiplayer though with all the custom forge game types and friends. Emergent gameplay and all, the campaigns are okay.

November 28, 2014
Ah, damn. Too late for me, I guess.

### It's pretty clear that fast travel is canon, but based on the need for a rocket to get to Elpis, they apparently have limits. Have you decided on what the limits are or do you just wing it and do whatever's best at the time?

November 28, 2014
Yes
Liked by: Jakob Brown

### Does Rule #34 apply to Hey Ash?

November 28, 2014
unfortunately

### How do you feel about the amount of butt songs that have come out lately?

November 28, 2014
rull good
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### So I know people have been talking to you about asexual versus aromantic in the context of Maya a lot. Has this changed your opinion regarding her and Krieg at all? I don't ask this from a shipping standpoint, but more me being curious as to how fan input changes your outlook and opinion!

November 28, 2014
No, because their relationship, to me, is about Krieg loving her while Maya finds him useful and honorable. But who knows how that'll develop.

### Hey Anthony, I'm a huge fan of your writing in BL2 and of your days on Destructoid. You're a huge inspiration and influence on me, and I was wondering if you had any sincere advice on getting into the writing industry for gaming. I have a B.S. in screenwriting but I have no idea how to break in.

November 28, 2014
Make your own thing that shows off your talent, whether that's a game or a web series. That is a better resume than anything.

### I'm buying a PS4 to play next-gen Saints Row IV when it comes out. Any suggestions for other games to buy for it?

November 28, 2014
Shadow of Mordor, Ground Zeroes

### Headcanon: Jack is only obsessed with the distinction between choking and strangulation because Nisha introduced him to breath-play and would get really annoyed when he mistakenly called it "choking". Thoughts?

November 28, 2014
Ooh. Like that.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Jakob Brown Becky

### Do you like C-3PO??

November 28, 2014
He's alright.

### What are your feelings on Far Cry 4? Aside from you having fun playing co-op with Linde. Also, no big spoilers, please. I'm only about halfway through.

November 28, 2014
It's Far Cry 3 with coop and a story that is less openly loathsome of the player.

### We love you, Mr. Burch!

November 28, 2014
thax

### Just a daily reminder that Anthony Burch is a good guy no matter what. We love you. You're okay. Keep up, you making world slightly less shittier.

November 28, 2014
thax

### Who wore it best http://kanatariaaaa.tumblr.com/post/103372674083/costume-change

November 28, 2014
Holy shit

Also Nisha + Wilhelm
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Hey, please let Handsome Jack go. It's time to let him go. Let him die. Let him go. His time is done. It's time please god

November 28, 2014
Yeahhhh

### With the Pre-Sequel and the Telltale games, what's it like having characters you wrote previously being written by someone else?

November 28, 2014
It's fine. Doesn't really faze me, since that's all I really did with half the cast in BL2.

### GAHH the fact that I get called a "White Knight" for being pro-feminism and pro-women is an amazing indication of how fucking huge babies men who are against it are.

November 28, 2014
Yeah, I've even heard some women use the term derogatorily which is odd
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Have you ever read something so good that you wanted to fuck the hands that wrote them?

November 28, 2014
good lord
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Jakob Brown Becky smurfee mcgee

### Just finished the first episode of Tales of Borderlands. While I wasn't a fan of the Presequel's humor and storytelling I think you did a fantastic job this time around. Hope you can keep up the momentum for BL3!

November 28, 2014
Tales was allllllllll Telltale, nothing from Gearbox (more or less).

### It's Thanksgiving and I just want to let you know I'm thankful for you and your writing. Also, what did you think of the first episode of Tales from the Borderlands?

November 28, 2014
Thanks. And yeah, I dug it a lot.

### Did you check out the Leaves on the Wind comic? It was a good continuation from Serenity, but just made me angry that it could have just been season 3.

November 28, 2014
I have not, incidentally. Should probably pick it up.

### Don't take this the wrong way, I like your writing, but you could stand to take a hint or two from the Telltale guys.

November 28, 2014
I am more than aware of this.

### Can we please get Diggy-Jack merch? After that stream all I could think of was how cool a T-shirt with an old school cereal box design featuring Jack would be.

November 20, 2014
http://theomeganerd.tumblr.com/post/102315498549/handsome-jacks-created-by-jim-stanley
Liked by: Becky

### Did you expect Timothy to become as popular amongst fans as he has?

November 20, 2014
Not at all. Was nearly certain people would hate him.
Liked by: Jakob Brown

### Has Far Cry 3 and 4 (and half the COD games) spawned a Manic Pixie Terrorist trope yet? Because JESUS TITS these monologues are the worst. Not even Troy Baker can save them. NOT EVEN TROY MOTHERFUCKING BAKER. Who, did I mention, IS TROY BAKER. Anyway, question. Fav Manic Pixie Terrorist in games?

November 20, 2014
I like Pagan Min, kinda! His thing about following Kanye on twitter is funny as fuck to me. I'd happily take more Manic Pixie Terrorists over arrogant Palpatine types with no personality beyond "arrogant and malevolent".
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### thank you so much for captain scarlett. i love her because i feel like i've never seen a female character written that well before. idk how to explain it but she feels like she was written very far in the future, when characters personalities aren't affected by their gender but just are. she's great

November 20, 2014
you are the only person in the world who thinks this but thank you for thinking it
Liked by: Harley Bird Becky

### Your writing is amazing, both on HAWP & BL2, you are a great human being who gives me hope for the future of video games and the gaming community as a whole. Thanks for all you've done so far, & good luck with everything you've got going on at the moment, especially those gg douchebags attacking you

November 20, 2014
thanx
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Garydactyl

### Why did you like Birdman? I know it's got a bunch of critical acclaim, but I saw on Friday and it seemed like a really cool gimmick wrapped around a really weak script centered around bland stock characters, that tried to satirize

November 20, 2014
I really liked the characters, personally. And the gimmick was kinda neat. The acting was pretty superb all around, as well.

### Hey Anthony Burch my sister and I are worried we are going to ruin thanksgiving by going on an angry feminist rant in the middle of everything has this ever happened with you and Ashly?

November 20, 2014
Kind of? My mom's pretty conservative and I don't really give a shit about upsetting her, so I just say stuff and Ash is usually the one who tries to bring me back.

Honestly, not giving a shit about your relatives is a pretty good way to handle awkwardness like that cause it means you can't feel bad. Whiiiich may be sociopathic but http://smg.photobucket.com/user/chucchinchilla/media/Mobile%20Uploads/79A0C1E4-2450-4721-B1E6-E15E622B73CC_zpsorysw2hx.jpg.html
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Hey Burch if the Doppelganger did a really good butt slam would it be known as a "Tim Tam Slam"

November 20, 2014
Tam means butt?

### how far into korra season two did you give up?

November 20, 2014
Didn't. on S3 now.

### have you kissed a boy yet!!??

November 20, 2014
yeah

facial hair is pretty unpleasant

also how fucking stupid do you have to be to get offered gum repeatedly and go "nah I'm alright" and not realize I'm implying your breath stinks
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky Nolan Sullivan Garydactyl

### I and many others are greatly disappointed in how far you have fallen since your days of writing actually funny things and providing quality insight to the industry

November 20, 2014
[jerk off motion]
Liked by: sad boy Jakob Brown Becky Nolan Sullivan Devon, Depressed Idealist Jordyn Samantha Dale

### I would like to take to you on a date. Let's go.

November 20, 2014
maybe
Liked by: Becky

### But, Burch. Moxxi, Athena, Krieg, Gaige, Shade, Nakayama, your beloved Captain Scarlett, possibly a few others...they all debuted in DLC, and look how important they've become, or what plans you have for some of them in future! And the fact that Jack's dead makes Tim's situation MORE interesting!

November 20, 2014
Fair points.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Becky

### Is Fiona of tales from the borderlands PoC?

November 20, 2014
yep
Liked by: Becky

### Did you write/have a hand in the Annie Swan ECHO Logs, or was that 2k Australia?

November 20, 2014
That was all 2k Oz.

### Let's say you're legally obligated to make a video game for Willow & Jaden Smith. What the hell would that even be?

November 20, 2014
Me quitting videogame production forever
Liked by: Jakob Brown Becky Garydactyl Nolan Sullivan sad boy

### ever seen any of the borderlands source film maker porn on rule 34? it's pretty good

November 20, 2014
The stuff I saw was pretty great, yeah.
Liked by: Becky Samantha Dale

### Someone had way too much fun with Detective Frog puns. But I think they merely skimmed the surface. I hope they're not sleeping with the fishies.

November 20, 2014
yes

### So in an interview with Moffat, he said that Gallifrey is no longer time-locked. This seems like classic Moffat: revealing MAJOR plot points through interviews rather than naturally through the story itself.

November 20, 2014
hey remember when we learned the doctor was out of regenerations about eight seconds before he regenerated
Liked by: Becky sad boy

### hi again! here's that blog post about why i think the doppelganger is fascinating and has potential. it definitely got pretty long and rambling, but i hope i got my points across okay. :) http://threeskagelpis.tumblr.com/post/103027519444/phew-this-is-probably-going-to-be-an-essay-by-the

November 20, 2014
Wow, this is so great and flattering! I'm forwarding this to Kirsten, who wrote Jack's backstory ECHOs. But yeah, this is wonderful.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan

### What do you think of the recent feminist outrage against the shirt of the guy who landed the module on a comet? Thanks!

November 20, 2014
I think the lady made a decent point and the guy apologized and it's been interpreted as an explosion of hatred or something.
Liked by: Jakob Brown

### Have you seen the Thimbleweed Park Kickstarter? Interested?

November 20, 2014
Nah. I don't really care about oldschool adventure games.

### You seem to like the new Lara croft for the less titties more person, which i do agree with. However as a fan of the series, i hated it. It removed one of the best things about the game, the puzzles and seemed to struggle with the killin of one person guilt then killing everyone and seemed more unch

November 20, 2014
I liked the character arc they wrote for Lara, personally. It tied into the character progression system waaaay better than when FC3 tried the same basic thing.

Also just play the Lara Croft games (Guardian of Light and soon, Temple of Osiris) if you miss the puzzles cause they have DOPE fuckin' puzzles.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### hi! i kinda want to waffle on at length about why me and my friends feel tim the doppelganger is a cool and possibly important breakout character - would you prefer a blog post or an email?

November 18, 2014
Blog post!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Are Maya and Gaige lesbians together? I was playing with a friend, and some things they said to each other has led me to believe this.

November 17, 2014
They don't have any character-specific dialog toward one another, I don't think.

### Hello! Quick question for those of us who are greatly concerned about Tim's wellbeing post-game: If Tim is still working for Jack post-game, would Jack have Tim's face branded/scarred to make him more "accurate", or would Jack just make him wear a mask with no brand underneath?

November 17, 2014
Up to you until an official BL thingy says otherwise.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Liam Komatsu mackenzie charlton

### In regards to the what would happen if Nisha knew about Angel thought, I could see her being really pissed off but I could also see Jack successfully convincing Nisha that he did what he had to do to protect her. Hell I could even see Nisha not even caring a bit.

November 17, 2014
Maybe, but I don't like the idea of Jack just being able to coerce or convince her of something.

### In my own experience, it was enough to just quit watching porn to improve my sex life. I didn't have to also give up masturbating. Just my own experience, of course.

November 17, 2014
Yeah, differs from person to person

### You've seriously changed me for the better. Thank you. Also sorry for all the shit I talked. My friend was nearly raped at work and it got me to reflect a bit. So sorry and thanks lol

November 17, 2014
oh jeez i'm so sorry

### hey dude elaborate on why you h8 AZ pls!

November 17, 2014
Worst politicians ever (Jan Brewer), horrible politics and racism, the people are the goddamned worst, there's no culture to speak of that isn't ripped from other places (at least amongst the crowds I ran in), it's too fucking hot all of the fucking time
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I can't speak for others, but my surprise at Tim being deemed unimportant is from..well, he's a vault hunter. He took part in some big important plot stuff! Him disappearing into obscurity would make him the first vault hunter in three games and sixteen player characters to not have some role later.

November 17, 2014
Yeah, fair enough. My immediate gut thought was, "well, he's a DLC character, AND he's basically defined in relation to a bad guy who's already dead, so nobody would care, right?"

### What are your must watch movies of 2014 so far?

November 17, 2014
Birdman, Blue Ruin

### About character full names: I always thought Mackenzie fit really well as Gaige's middle name.

November 17, 2014
Yeah, but the last name is the hardest!

### just wondering, did you guys forget to give timothy battle dialogue with athena? someone uploaded all his audio files on youtube and he doens't have any for her. i've also never heard him say anything when she activates her action skill in my game either.

November 17, 2014
Huh? That's weird. He should definitely have dialog for that.

### Farewell. I hope I've bes-toad you with some quality entertainment.

November 17, 2014
yes

### Wilhelm was poisoned? My dear Watson, that was kind of amphib-uous to figure out. -Detective Frog

November 17, 2014
yes

### I would love to be Detective Frog, he eats whatever bugs him.

November 17, 2014
yes

### Frog-get about all these damned Frog puns. Legs just move on.

November 17, 2014
no

### I newt they wood croak under the pressure. Before I bounce, just wanted to know wet land your ancestors are from? Is it true you’re a tad Polish?

November 17, 2014
yes

### Detective Frog must be swamped to get all his party guests into his Lil pad.

November 17, 2014
yes

### Those Detective Frog puns were alright, but none of them were ribbiting.

November 17, 2014
yes

### Hey, to be fair the question about Maya you answered saying she isn't asexual "visually" is really kind of hurtful, and I really hope you won't say such things in the future anymore. The way someone dresses (or wether they wear make up or not) does not represent their sexuality.

November 17, 2014
My bad, I apologize. Wasn't coming from a place of malice, I'm just trying to square the fact that she was presumably visually designed with sex appeal in mind with the idea that she doesn't actually desire sex. Still an area I'm lacking a lot of knowledge about.
Liked by: sad boy Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I'm curious, what's it feel like to look back at BL2, now that Pre-Sequel's out? To look back at all these characters you've come to love and think about in different ways, with more fleshed out backgrounds, and the various regrets and changes you wish you could go back and make?

November 16, 2014
Feel kinda mixed, I guess? Cause on the one hand, I'd obviously love to go back and, knowing that Wilhelm and Nisha were gonna be important, make their appearances in BL2 a little more meaty and weighty (and ESPECIALLY convey that Wilhelm was poisoned and unknowingly threw the fight). On the other hand, I'm pretty tickled we managed to tie so many small, weird, toss-off ideas together into something sort-of-kind-of-coherent.

### Thanks to that Cuisine Intent post, I now imagine Detective Frog sounding like either Jeff Goldblum or Vincent Dinoffrio. Which is it bro?

November 16, 2014
yes

### Detective Frog: Take a Jump at crime.

November 16, 2014
yes
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### I heard Detective Frog was a croak'ed cop.

November 16, 2014
yes

### I'd hate to be Detective Frog. He's always getting his ship toad.

November 16, 2014
yes

### i think it was easier for you to stop masterbating as you had sex at the time whilst other people don't and have no sexual release

November 16, 2014
I did it without sex for a long time as well, just in case. It's hard, but not drastically harder without sex.

### burch I'm gonna level with you my and my friends' future potential purchase of borderlands 3 now rests heavily on 'is tim still alive somewhere even in a small corner of little importance'

November 16, 2014
I can't promise he'll ever be back, but it'd be pointless to kill such a marginal character if people really like him.

### I've been wondering this for a fic I'm writing - did Nisha ever know about Angel? Considering the boxing ring that she grew up in, I feel like the one thing Nisha would never abide is child abuse.

November 16, 2014
oh fuck that's a good point. Yeah, I guess she didn't know about her, then.

### Yo Anthony check out this comic http://kayla0art.tumblr.com/post/102769124898/corporate-identity-because-i-felt-like-doing-a

November 16, 2014
yeah just saw this, it's pretty great

### Here's an old photo of my rabbits when they were babies. http://i.imgur.com/HIWjaJi.jpg

November 16, 2014
AHHHHH CUTIEZ

### Tim is so interesting! He's like the one guy who displays any sort of clear morals and horror at what's going on, an outsider from the 'nice' part of space looking in. Also, if anything happens to him you're gonna get a bunch of people storming Gearbox's gates with pitchforks & torches, just sayin'.

November 16, 2014
Hrmmm. Yeah, I guess he's still running around unless somebody murdered him.

### Is there any plans for Scarlett in the future?

November 16, 2014
Probably bring her back and try to convince people to like her as much as I do.

### So, how come no one in the B-lands seem to have last names? bonus question, what's Jack's last name/full name?

November 16, 2014
Cause last names are really goddamn hard to make sound good.

### gaige and wilhlem did meet, breifly.. Would you change what you did with wilhelm now you developed him in the pre-sequel?

November 16, 2014
Probably, yeah...

### My favorite episode of Law and Frog: Cuisine Intent is the one where he finds several frogs decapitated from the waist down.

November 16, 2014
pahaha jesus
Liked by: Xavby the Skink

### Is your mom and dad divorced ? I hope they are not (also if this question was asked before i am so sorry) thank you,aaron

November 16, 2014
yes

### http://gunpowderandspark.tumblr.com/post/102656723439/real-talk-anthony-burch-openly-talks-about-his this isn't me but you should know

November 16, 2014
yall sweetheartz
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky mackenzie charlton

### So I'm curious why there is fall damage in Borderlands, yet in Borderlands 2, there is none....Is it lower gravity? Stronger Vault Hunters? Handsome Jack's handsomeness? Cl4p-tp farted? I need to know!!!

November 16, 2014
shhhhhh
Liked by: Manaphy Natu sad boy Nolan Sullivan Becky mackenzie charlton

### Apparently destructoid doesn't host your rev rant videos anymore and half of them don't work (except for the ones on youtube)... how can I watch the rest!?

November 16, 2014
youtube's as good as it gets. lost the source files a loooong time ago.

### Hell, forget Doppelganger/Wilhelm, there's strong Doppelganger/Various Characters shipping of all sorts and most importantly Doppelganger/Being Happy going on. You've touched off a massive "Love And Protect This Poor Man" movement in the Borderlands fandom with Tim, Burch.

November 16, 2014
pahah awww

### Have you ever listened to Conditions of My Parole by Puscifer? It portrays Arizona in a really fantastical, magical way that makes me really, really want to visit it someday. Perhaps it would help you see your home state in a different light!

November 16, 2014
nnnnnnnnnah that place is the actual worst

### Why didn't you voice the Jack body double?

November 16, 2014
cause we wanted people to buy the DLC
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### What do you think of rabbits?

November 16, 2014
cuteez

### Could I ask you a favor in promoting the Borderlands Secret Santa event? Anyone's welcome to join. http://borderlandssecretsanta.tumblr.com

November 16, 2014
PROMOTED

### I like you and your vidya game characters a lot Anthonyyy

November 16, 2014
thanks thanks thanks thanks thanks you are nice
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### The Doppelganger has a line that's something like, "You don't know my name!" and then he squees and goes, "We did it, folks!" What's that about?

November 16, 2014
"You don't know jack"

### Secret Diaries of a Call Frog

November 15, 2014
paaaahaha i'm stealing this

### Burch, did you see the Wilhelm/Doppelganger shipping fandom that sprung up overnight, because hoooo-lee shit.

November 15, 2014
I did not

### Anthony Anthony look who's in the new WoW expansion https://38.media.tumblr.com/8146a6d74317f73a71eee5a372d4cef0/tumblr_nf2lxathrl1tg212xo2_400.png

November 15, 2014
WHAAAAAAAT
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky

### "In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was reported that the people from the interior of Borneo believed that slow lorises were the gatekeepers for the heavens and that each person had a personal slow loris waiting for them in the afterlife." from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_loris

November 15, 2014
ilu loris

### Look at these robot loving nerds https://38.media.tumblr.com/1efb1cdd901a3613e95f8ae874794385/tumblr_nf2205lCoj1ts0fozo1_1280.jpg

November 15, 2014
Shit, now I want Gaige and Wilhelm to meet.

### Don't worry Anthony, you could still turn the Frog joke into a running gag by making it about a long-running and highly varied series. Crime Fighter Frog, Detective Frog, Explorer Frog, Frog: Attorney At Law, etc.

November 15, 2014
I now feel this is my only possible course of action
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### re: weird spelling america vs japan manly characters - isn't that basically ignoring Katara, Suki, Asami, Ty Lee, May, and Sue Beifong? And Aang/Sokka's femininity? Also that Korra was lovestruck girly girl Book One who just happens to be able to crush a car with her biceps.

November 14, 2014
righto

### What has happened to all the videos on the heyashtwitch archives, I went back to watch past HAWP streams and they were all gone. I need me some of dat HAWP streaming gold to hold me over until you guys are finished with the next season, mang.

November 14, 2014
Yeah, twitch deleted em all, sorry

### ＷａｔｃｈｉｎｇＡｍｅｒｉｃａｎｃａｒｔｏｏｎｓ，Ｉｎｏｔｉｃｅｔｈａｔｍａｎｙｓｔｒｏｎｇｆｅｍａｌｅｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｓａｃｔｌｉｋｅｍｅｎａｌｏｔ，ａｎｄｄｏｎｔｓｅｅｍｔｏｌｉｋｅｂｅｉｎｇｇｉｒｌｓ（Ａｖａｔａｒ，Ｋｏｒｒａ）．ＴｈｅｎｉｎＪａｐａｎｅｓｅｃａｒｔｏｏｎｓ，ｈｅｒｏｉｎｅｓａｒｅｖｅｒｙｆｅｍｉｎｉｎｅ，ｄｒｅｓｓｉｎｇｉｎｓｋｉｒｔｓａｎｄｈｅｅｌｓ（ＰｒｅｔｔｙＣｕｒｅ，ＳａｉｌｏｒＭｏｏｎ）．Ｗｈｙｄｏｙｏｕｔｈｉｎｋｔｈｉｓｉｓ？？

November 14, 2014
Dunno, honestly. Maybe because Sailor Moon is written by a woman and Avatar/Korra are written by dudes?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you think a more environmental approach to storytelling (e.g. Gone Home, etc) can work in more direct/less atmospheric action games? While the approach is perfect in something long and atmospheric like Dark Souls, I'm wondering if you think this is a feasible approach to storytelling in FPS games

November 14, 2014
I mean, that kind of environmental narrative is what made BioShock really interesting.

### The reason the detective frog joke did not work is because in the scarlett dlc it's "Crime Fighter Frog".... hence why people are confused.

November 14, 2014
....GOD FUCKING DAMMIT
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### If you have trans characters in future, would you make a point of hiring trans VAs for them? FTM voices get deeper depending on how far into T they are, but MTF voices don't really change and they have to do voice training to 'get it right'. There's subtleties there cis VAs might not get.

November 14, 2014
That might be tricky (I dunno if any of the agencies we work with have trans VO actors on them), but I think that would be really important and will try to make it happen should we include a trans character.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan

### i also really really love timothy's character. having a character who's just a scaredy-cat average joe thrown into this crazy mix with a bunch of badasses is just really interesting to see. also i want to pluck him off the moon and give him a mug of hot cocoa, poor little dude.

November 14, 2014
Yaaaay! This makes me really happy and is great to hear.

### Oh no, I don't mean to imply that about sexual orientation at all, my bad! I see Tim as being quietly in awe of and crushing on pretty much everybody, look at all these cool and hot people all around me, this is amazing when I'm not being shot at or about to die in space.

November 14, 2014
ahh

### speaking of timothy, in the quest with the voiceover lady, when he's picking up books, he says something like, "oh, classical literature... like detective frog." what the heck is detective frog a reference to? or is it just supposed to mean that timothy only reads kids books?

November 14, 2014
It's...a stupid gag I made that I thought would be more popular than it was. In the Captain Scarlett DLC, Scarlett says you should go beat up a bad guy while she stays in and reads Detective Frog. "It's about a frog who solves crimes," she says. I just thought that was a really funny gag, cause I'm an idiot, and wanted to bring it back.
Liked by: Jakob Brown mackenzie charlton Xavby the Skink

### How about Tim being bi or pan or something like that? That poor shy thing seems like he'd jump at affection from pretty much anybody.

November 14, 2014
I don't necessarily think wanting affection/being shy ties into sexual orientation, though.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Re: The whole kissin' thing. I once had a lady-type TELL me to stop kissing her so I immediately backed off resumed the movie. She was extremely, sincerely offended that I didn't "know when No means Yes". People are shocked that feminists think "Consent should be taught/explained" but WOWZER.

November 14, 2014
geez
Liked by: Xavby the Skink Devon, Depressed Idealist Nolan Sullivan

### Jack is jacksexual.

November 14, 2014
I do imagine him jerkin off to pictures of himself
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown sad boy Becky Xavby the Skink Nolan Sullivan

### what do you think about handsome jack being hella bi.

November 14, 2014
If you want, sure? But like 90% of the cast is basically bi anyway so I figured making Jack straight was fine

### Hey man, a big spider just crawled into one of my shoes and is making a cool web. He seems like a pretty sweet spider and need help coming up with name ideas for it.

November 14, 2014
Taran-shoe-la
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### really tho? I can't see catcalling as ever appropriate, at least with the kissing thing there's like a potentially reasonable misunderstanding. i'm really not seeing the parallels here.

November 14, 2014
There's the same potential for miscommunication there, in my mind. The line between "that scarf looks really nice on you" and "you look really good today" and "you're really hot" can be super ambiguous depending on the context surrounding it, so we seem to have, as a society, just said "eh maybe just don't do that shit at all unless you're totally certain it's gonna be okay". I don't see why something even more physically intimate can't be treated the same.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Want to kiss ;)

November 14, 2014
aight
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I'm gonna kiss you you fucker

November 14, 2014
just ask first
Liked by: Jeffrey Gabriel Costantino Becky Nolan Sullivan

### is it really that big of a deal if you misread a situation and kiss someone who does't want to kiss you at the moment? as long as it doesn't escalate or anything i think most people would just feel a bit awkward at worst, assuming you're not like aggressive about it or antthing

November 14, 2014
Sure, but you could make the same argument about, say, catcalling. It's a microaggression, but (in my opinion, at least) it's a microaggression that further reinforces the idea that men have some sort of implicit right to/ownership over women's bodies.

### Do you think ppl tend to oversimplify the act of oppression/do you think a lot of people get mad at marginalized groups of people and see them as "forever negative" when it's honestly kind of hard to be anything but when groups of marginalized ppl have targets on their backs just for existing?

November 14, 2014
Yes. I mean, I definitely understand jumping to that conclusion -- negativity speaks louder than anything else, so if you see any amount of regular negativity from a group I understand the instinct to go, "ugh, they're all so NEGATIVE". It's way way way easier to dismiss negativity rather than try to understand the reasoning behind it.

That said, though, the opposite is also true. It's really easy to get addicted to the negativity because you're having it validated as righteous, to the point where vitriol becomes a competitive sport (there was a lot of this during the GG stuff amongst the anti-GG crowd, myself included).
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What do you headcanon Handsome Jack's sexuality to be?

November 14, 2014
He's hetero.

### Re: POC/LGBTQ characters, having a lot of them rather than just a token one apiece is good, but I think having POC/LGBTQ writers/creators is even better. Being able to contribute some of themselves to said characters would likely reduce the chances of getting it wrong (or AS wrong, anyway).

November 14, 2014
Agreed.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### to be fair though, ellen page's sexuality doesn't really affect your chances with her.

November 14, 2014
A BOY CAN DREAM
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### what about the 90/10 approach to kissing is that still all good

November 14, 2014
I've tried the 90/10 thing before with people who totally wanted to kiss me, but evidently Will Smith lied cause that shit didn't work. They waited for me to go the remaining 10 and were like uhhhh why'd you stop

### (cont) but to instruct men (and women alike) of sexual harassment and sexual violence.

November 14, 2014
I think instructing people is certainly part of it, yeah, but creating a culture of "consent is sexy" certainly wouldn't hurt. (And it would frankly be a LOT easier to convey to people than the subtleties and intricacies of social signals.)

Like, I get that some people find it unsexy or awkward if a person asks for permission.

But if we're weighing "but that's kind of a turn-off for me" vs "this will prevent people from being physically harmed or made to feel really physically unpleasant" , that's a really really easy choice to me.

There's an entire UNIVERSE of interesting things you can do once consent has been established, and all I'm saying is that maybe we should make the process of establishing consent overt and unambiguous. If the only downside to that is some people going, "aw, but that's kind of a turn off," then, like, tough titty.

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Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### (cont) Of course, there are guys who misinterpret the signals accidentally and others misinerpret them on purpose. The second kind are assholes, and are performing sexual assault. The first kind are inept, and usually stopped before. The solution to your problem should not be to directly ask, (cont)

November 14, 2014
.

### About the kissing thing, consent comes in many forms not just the robotic " Do I have permission to touch your lips with mine?" kind of deal. Romantic situations have a lot to deal with mood and subtety, so a girl might not like being asked that if it is obvious that she wants to be kissed. (cont)

November 14, 2014
.

### why don't you have an avi on here

November 14, 2014
lazy

### I think Maya can still be asexual with the way she dresses!! Sexuality is irrelevant to the way you present yourself, and people don't always dress for others (me, for example, im an asexual who shows off my bod)

November 14, 2014
Oh okay, I see
Liked by: Becky Carmen Michelle

### I grew to like Wilhelm whole bunches in Pre-Sequel so seeing the inevitable endgame montage of him losing his humanity and sanity made me really sad, Anthony. :(

November 14, 2014
He's not insane! He's happy! He got what he wanted.

### whenever i get bored i write to people booty salads/booty souffle

November 14, 2014
good good
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Holy shit Anthony, I love Tim the Doppelganger so much??? He's his own character and not just a straight up Jack imitation, I love that you guys did that, oh my gosh I feel so bad for him and want more of him in future!

November 14, 2014
Oh man, I'm really happy. I only got the one pass on his dialog, so I was really really worried people would be upset that he wasn't just straight-up Jack.

### With domestic violence (mostly towards women), rape(mostly towards women), 33% wage gaps, discrimination, overwhelming disproportion of men in leadership, are you truly dedicating time to the cause of kissing? I think that you are becoming one of those feminists who ends up hindering feminism.

November 14, 2014
Yes, I dedicated a full 45 seconds to write those two tweets. Cook and eat your own ass.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Why doesn't the rest of the world understand how bad Far Cry 3 is?

November 14, 2014
Cause it's addictive and makes freedom-constricting, but clarity-enhancing concessions to the player at every turn

### What do you think of Steven Universe?

November 14, 2014
It's fucking amazing

### What's wrong with Ellen Page?

November 14, 2014
Oh, nothing's wrong with her. She's just gay.

### About that "why is maya asexual" question, I just wanted to add that asexuality isn't very represented, and a lot of ace people say they feel broken before they find out about asexuality, and representation can help them to accept themselves, and know that they are not the only ones like that

November 14, 2014
Good points
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I can't decide between PS4 or Xbone. Halp plz.

November 14, 2014
PS4. Or a sick PC.

### Mr. Burch, myself and several other people would like to wish you a nice day. You're a great dude and we hope all things look up for you in the future whatever they are.

November 14, 2014
thanks !
Liked by: Carmen Nolan Sullivan

### Are you involved in Telltale's Borderland's game?

November 14, 2014
Very very very little.

### Your wife left you because you are a beta cuck. -Anita Sarkeesian

November 14, 2014
to be fair that is her catchphrase
Liked by: Jakob Brown Gabriel Costantino sad boy Xavby the Skink F

### Do you find yourself criticizing Silence of The Lambs for some of the same reasons or is that mostly just the tv series, given the long-running nature of it?

November 14, 2014
The Silence of the Lambs film, unlike a lot of the other Hannibal stuff, never overtly acts as if there's something redeemable/sexy/alluring about Lecter. The very first time we see him, he mauls a nurse for no reason. He climaxes the film by beating a man to death and wearing his goddamned face, and the scene is shot in such a way that we are meant to be actively terrified of him.
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman

### Regarding recent twitter post: I would cringe if a guy said "so do you wanna kiss" or anything like that. Like, have some confidence. Just do it. It's so gross when dudes continuously rely on me for affirmation. Am I a bad person?

November 14, 2014
I don't think you're a bad person, but to be totally, completely, 100% honest, I think you're, uh, making the world a much worse place.

Sorry.

It's just like -- so much of the problematic shit in male-female romantic dynamics is about men assuming consent. Be a MAN, just KISS her, have CONFIDENCE. If she says NO, she doesn't REALLY mean it, if you can get her to say yes (even if it's a halfhearted yes) you're IN THERE.

It's telling men to just *do* shit to women without knowing whether or not the woman in question wants it. Like, what the fuck? It results in men (and women) having to always be aggressors, having to always make a move, and since they've been taught "just go for it" without also being taught how to interpret social signals, it means guys going for kisses on horrified women who are now in a really shitty position of having to *physically restrain a person* from touching them.

And obviously this is a complicated problem with many contributing factors, but it would remove SO MUCH harm from the world if we all considered consent as sexy as we consider this arbitrary, frankly kind of scary notion of "confidence" that manifests itself in crossing another person's boundaries without telling them, or without even properly knowing what those boundaries are.

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Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### touchin' butts?

November 13, 2014
anytime i can
Liked by: sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### Do you have any advice for someone who wants to write video games with regards how to get into the industry, what to study, and general tips?

November 13, 2014
make your own thing that shows off your talent and taste, that is more valuable than a resume
Liked by: Diamond Feit

### Should there be more focus on positivity in sj-crowds? Like is it more beneficial to point out to internet fuckfaces they could stop being so miserable and alone if they were more positive, changed their outlook, or are they so locked into their misery/rage that we just have to deal w/ it forever

November 13, 2014
Yeah, I imagine progressives would probably be more effective if we were more positive. It's just really really hard to remain positive when the opposition is basically defending constant abuse and death threats.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### If you had the chance to, would you give Axton more development? Everyone got the spotlight but him, and that's disappointin. I get that he's a stereotype macho man but if the mannerisms were flipped on its head I would have been elated, like if he was made out to be a valley girl or real intelligen

November 13, 2014
Yup.

### What podcasts do you listen to?

November 13, 2014
Serial, Radiolab, My Brother My Brother and Me, Night Vale

### I never saw you or the whole gang play Binding of Isaac. I knew alot of you did/do, but I must know; are you better at Isaac or Spelunky? And who is the best out of everybody you know?

November 13, 2014
We're all way better at Spelunky, and generally prefer it because it's more strategic and less random. I think of our group, Linde is the best at Spelunky.

### I still listen to bisontoid while watching Street Fighter, and it's never stops being funny and interesting. It's probably one of my favorite things you and Linde have done.

November 13, 2014
man if you're still saying that after battleborn we will jump off a building

### Do you think that there is a huge lack of POC and or LGBTQ characters in games/movies/tv/etc because the writers/creators believe that if they do this they will be seen as trying to "pander to the social justice warriors"? I' think a lot of people avoid it for that fact, which is really sad

November 13, 2014
I don't think they're worried about pandering, I think they're worried about getting it wrong.

If you write a black character, or a lesbian character, and there's something problematic about them, you will get flak. If you just don't include the character, you'll get a *little* flak, but not as much. More than that, if you only write one (which is often all you can get away with, because I think a lot of companies are scared of *too* much diversity as if it'll impact their bottom line) marginalized character, then people interpret that character as representing their ENTIRE marginalized group.

I've heard people from other non-Gearbox companies tell me stories about rooms full of people saying that a female character in their game shouldn't be *too* funny/weird/quirky/scary/badass/any personality trait, because they didn't want to offend anyone.

Obviously, the solution to this is just "make a fucking shitload of marginalized characters, make them all individuals, and make them all distinct." You can't have one female character representing all women if a full half of your cast is female.

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Liked by: Michelle Diamond Feit Nolan Sullivan

### not sure if you've got my message so i'm just gonna send it again :D i like to headcanon maya as panromantic! i think it'd suit her for some reason. but i wouldn't mind her being aromantic, seeing as aro/ace people get way too little representation in media.

November 13, 2014
righto righto r ighto

### i like Capaldi as a doctor but i didn't like season 8, Clara is good but i don't think she fits with him. what do you think the next companion should be and how do you feel about them always being young hot chicks?

November 13, 2014
I understand having them always be women, cause it gives you some sexual tension (even if it's nonromantic, like with Clara and 12) and diversifies the cast a bit. Personally, I really liked it when 11 hung out with Amy and Rory, or when 9 hung out with Rose and Jack and Mickey. Having a neat group of people who can bounce off one another in entertaining ways (firefly, community, new girl) can be really satisfying.

### what does Ash do?..

November 13, 2014
act

### When someone has a certain level of internet fame, do you feel that there might be some pressure to censor themselves when browsing or commenting online to avoid "Did you hear youtuberX hates youtuberY?!"? Do you think those people have new usernames to be a incognito without the pressure of fans?

November 13, 2014
I think it's more likely they just don't say stuff rather than make up new usernames.

### I always liked the idea of aromantic Maya idk why probably just because every time I talk about how I feel like that is how I identify people say "we'll see", or "you just don't have enough experience" and yeah.

November 13, 2014
Ah, yeah, I can see that. Would give Maya something interesting to do when playing off the other vault hunters

### asexual panromantic would be my headcanon for maya tbh

November 13, 2014
coo coo

### Are you thinking about ever doing a trans man character? Trans guys have zero to no media visibility so it'd be cool to see one.

November 13, 2014
Yeah, that'd be cool.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Birderlands: The Pre-Seagull

November 13, 2014
awwww
Liked by: Michelle

### I know you're anti-PAX, but as Gearbox Community Day is at PAX South this year, any chance you and/or Ash will be there? Would really like to meet y'all & thank you in person for all the laughs.

Becky
November 13, 2014
Dunno, actually!
Liked by: Becky

### What I expected: Pre-Sequel would be the story of two-faced, ambitious treachery and bad choices. What I didn't expect: that most of that would come from people OTHER than Jack. Well played, sir.

November 13, 2014
yaaaay
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Evil Dead is getting a TV series! And Bruce Campbell is in it!! Thoughts?

November 13, 2014
Pretty excited, to be honest, though I have a really hard time imagining I will be anything other than disappointed.

### How do you feel about fans who decide to have their headcanons replace actual canon, mainly in the context of plot points you've said you'd go back and change? Like Nisha and her relationship with Jack, Angel not being enslaved so early, and so on. Is it okay for fans to have that be their canon?

November 13, 2014
Of course. Why not? It doesn't hurt anything.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### i masterbate too much, it is probably normal for society. any tips? please,

November 13, 2014
Stop masturbating, basically. Do a reset. It may not seem like a big deal now, but if you've done it enough -- ESPECIALLY if you have done it to porn -- your brain is linking dopamine pathways with porn and self-pleasure, to the point where it may be extremely difficult to achieve/maintain erection during actual sex. Masturbation is really awesome (honestly, I love porn, it's super-cool), but it's probably not worth being bad at actual sex.

This is assuming you are a guy, that is.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### why is maya asexual isn't there a thing about hot female characters having their sexual agency removed? like how ivy from soul calibur is (I seem to have forgotten the word but the writers actually came up with a reason that she doesn't have sex)

November 13, 2014
That's a good point, actually. "Be sexy, but don't be sexual" is definitely a message women get all the time...

...There's definitely a part of me that headcanons Maya as asexual, but there's another part that finds that kinda weird because she very clearly was not visually designed with that in mind (she has exposed skin, she's wearing makeup).
Liked by: Tartarus

### How's Grant doing? Haven't seen him in a while and just want to know he's still alive and didn't scare himself to death.

November 13, 2014
He's great.

### When you say Hannibal is "Mean-spirited," can you elaborate on the meaning of that in particular? In retrospect after the finale, I agree with you, I just want to know how to properly phrase my thoughts.

November 13, 2014
It seems to sympathize more with its villain than with its protagonists. It feels like a slasher movie, where the story pretends to be about "Jason Voorhees is a bad dude, boy I sure hope everyone gets away safely" but deep down, it feels -- and more disturbingly it assumes YOU feel -- that Jason is actually pretty fucking awesome and who cares about his fucking victims, he's a fucking badass.

Hannibal's weirder and more complex than that because it keeps acting as if there's something seductive about Hannibal and his lifestyle (something that can turn "normal" people to his way of thinking because "it's been inside them all along" or some bullshit), to the point where the show seems to be rooting for him over the other characters.

Which I'm not psyched about. I historically cannot stand media that tries to glorify/make us root for unrepentant murderers. I stopped watching the Sopranos, I fucking hated the idea of Rob Zombie's Halloween remake, Natural Born Killers makes me want to punch a wall.

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### Do nice people exist because the internet makes me feel like they don't sometimes?

November 13, 2014
They took stats and saw that commenters, or vocal people on the internet in general, represent literally less than one percent of the people on the internet
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### shit tony i ate too much fish pie and i think i'm going to die

November 13, 2014
that rhymed hahhaha sorry you're dying sorry bad time for that

### Have you ever been in love... with a celebrity?

November 13, 2014
No but I had a pretty big crush on Ellen Page

Backed the wrong horse on that one
Liked by: sad boy Xavby the Skink

### Yo burch, are you gojng to play Dragon Age: Inquisition?

November 13, 2014
Fuck yes. I love BioWare games dog

### I'm nearly 21 and I've only ever felt romantic/sexual attraction for one other person. I'm lonely and want to be in a relationship with another person, but I don't feel that *oomph* towards anyone. Any advice?

November 13, 2014
You might be aromantic or asexual. Is the loneliness something that could be cured by friendship or any sort of platonic companionship?
Liked by: sad boy mackenzie charlton Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Anthony do you realize that if an entire co-op team goes Doppelganger and uses their action skill while NPC Jack is present then that is literally a baker's dozen of Jacks in one room

November 13, 2014
yuuuup

### Have an Xbone yet?

November 13, 2014
Yeah, got one for Sunset Overdrive and now I'm playing Master Chief Collection cause I never played a single Halo game.

Halo's actually pretty good, guys
Liked by: Becky

### I head canon that Brick is vegetarian, Pandora just had a lot of protein rich plants. What do you think?

November 13, 2014
I think Brick considers meatloaf a vegetable.
Liked by: Carmen

### I'm sure you've been asked this before but I can't find an answer anywhere so I guess I'll ask anyway. How do you format your game scripts? I saw you use Final Draft but how do you do script stuff the player would control like interacting with a certain object leading to some dialogue?

November 13, 2014
That's done in unreal by the designers.

### I met your sister at GDC 2014. You were standing right next to her. Why did you scowl at me the entire time?

November 13, 2014
pahahah that's my face
Liked by: sad boy Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Will you be going to PAX East? It would mean the world to me if I got to meet you.

November 13, 2014
nah

### Have you ever looked at bioshock Infinite as an allegory for birth, life and death (like Kubrik's 2001)? You start in a phalic lighthouse, shoot upward, get baptized, go through violent agitation of puberty, get a daughter, raise her, try to atone for being a bad faher, and die. Or am I just crzy?

November 13, 2014
Iii did not see it that way. But I think what you're saying is valid?

### hi I'm the mun at http://nishathesheriff.tumblr.com/ and this http://nishathesheriff.tumblr.com/post/101227131166/itty-bitty-lawbringer was shared at PAX Australia with incorrect credit http://33.media.tumblr.com/403dd98c7757ca894306d5db3cdf3b29/tumblr_nesysdZEor1re93amo3_1280.jpg could you help me

November 11, 2014
I'll have Jack tweet the correction.
Liked by: Becky

### Do you like Mega64?

November 10, 2014
of course
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### so if maya's asexual, what would her romantic orientation be? would you say she's aromantic, panromantic or somethingelseromantic?

November 09, 2014
Dunno yet. What do you think?

### Inspired by the last question... do you think Headcanon is a really awesome way to do things with your favorite characters, or a big method to set yourself up for disappointment when your headcanon doesn't come to pass in a later game/film/show/etc?

November 09, 2014
For fans and stuff? I think headcanon means you're being creative, which is always good.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### i think its worth noting with that whole women being more attractive than men idea that men aren't really expected to put half as much effort into their appearance

November 09, 2014
very true

### Your headcanon = canon?

November 09, 2014
Nah.

### I recently bought Anachronox from humble bundle and fell love with the game it has a good plot and incredibly well directed cutscenes and characters with good personality. Do you have similar experiences with games you didn't know nothing before you started playing, but were blown away?

November 09, 2014
Puzzle Bots. I hate adventure games, but someone vaguely recommended it to me and I fell completely in love with it.

### Heeey, Anthony. Do you get that kind of depressed where your life isn't that bad and you don't have much reason to complain, but you're hugely depressed anyway? Sometimes? How do you deal with it? I'm asking for a friend who's name is me.

November 09, 2014
I think everyone gets that way sometimes. I don't know of any sure-fire way to deal with it, but leaning on friends is good, as is trying to do something outside of your regular routine.
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### How do you feel about non-white voice actors for white characters? I always felt Ashley in Mass Effect would've been way more interesting if she'd been a stocky black lady like her VA rather than Yet Another Bland White Girl. Like oh, the VA is more interesting than the character, sort of situation.

November 09, 2014
I'm more fine with nonwhite voice actors doing white characters than the reverse, if only because nonwhite actors tend to get employed less frequently than white actors.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Thoughts about injustice gods among us?

November 09, 2014
As someone who is awful at fighting games and kinda only cares about the spectacle of them, I enjoyed it.

### So Doctor Who's finale has arrived and I hated it. What about you?

November 09, 2014
I didn't like it and I really really really wish I could verbalize why. On paper, it's a fantastic RTD-style finale: an epic-ish thing happens with a slightly underwhelming payoff, the villain is doing lots of fun and horrible things, characters have to make really tough choices, and the action is driven by character desires rather than big plot bullshit.

But...it just didn't feel right, did it? I should have been crying, but instead I just felt exhausted and sad. When [character] died midway through the episode -- a character I really liked -- it didn't feel like a shocking thing that made the story better, it just felt mean-spirited and depressing in a way I've never seen Doctor Who be mean-spirited.

I wonder, is it because of the Doctor himself? I love Capaldi, but his Doctor lacks what I'd say is the most important thing about the character: his ability to care for every life, no matter how big or small. Because 12 doesn't seem to care about people, none of the deaths feel very impactful or purposeful. Clara really cares about Danny, but that subplot just...didn't work either. And I'm not as sure why.

Maybe because it was just too grim? Was it because the characters weren't likable enough (I don't think so -- I liked Danny a lot)? Was it because the inciting incident that put them into this situation was so odd and abrupt, that the rest of it feels like an odd, funereal epilogue rather than a race against time?

Was it because of the vagueness of Missy's plan? Because we didn't know what was at stake, we didn't really know what the Doctor's choice was meant to be? And also, he just plain makes the wrong choice (that's not really who the Doctor is, generally)? I hope it's not the latter, because that means the Doctor isn't ever really allowed to grow or change...

...Yeah, I wish I knew. I'd be a better writer if I could figure out why it didn't work.

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Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino

### yo burch after having the chance to develop jack and nisha's relationship in the pre-sequel would you have done jack's reaction to her death differently in bl2? would he have been genuinely angry vs kinda pissed off? would he have left her body in lynchwood? alternatively what would nisha's reaction

November 09, 2014
Yeah, I probably would have given him more of a reaction. Or, to be honest, I might have made her a bigger part of the story in general. BL2's narrative structure was ALL about making the player hate Jack, so everything pointed at him except for that one little optional town of Lynchwood. I now like Nisha enough that if I had to go back, I probably would have made them a duo or something (which would have also helped the dialog, cause Jack woulda had someone to bounce off of rather than just speaking in monologue).
Liked by: Kayla Rosas

### https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1933voCMAAXuQP.jpg this is me and my bird (called twelve) thank you so much for getting me into birds :)

November 09, 2014
awwww cutie bird
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### to be fair, BL also has at least one white character voiced by a non-white actor. although I like to think that brick is mixed race

November 09, 2014
Yeah, me too.

### Yo check out this Siren of color somebody drew http://cortnan.tumblr.com/post/102045330640/did-asami-in-echocast-style

November 09, 2014
oh fuuuuck that's awesome
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I think the biggest reason there's a lot of oversexualized women in media, and not so much men is because men are sexually attracted to the female body, but women aren't really sexually attracted to the male body. unlike women, men's bodies are designed for labor, not for beauty. what do you think?

November 09, 2014
I think that assumption -- that women aren't as attracted to guys as guys are to women -- is something our society and culture has taught us. Women are taught to be demure and virginal, because otherwise they are A Slut. I think, in actuality, women are just as attracted to dudes as dudes are to women (or dudes to dudes, or women to women, or whatever). Society just isn't as cool with them being verbal about those desires.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### can I high-five you

November 08, 2014
k

### how do you feel about white voice actors for non-white characters?

November 08, 2014
We did it a lot in BL2, and I'd like to start doing it less.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### admit it you just think new girl is hot.

November 08, 2014
I *also* think New Girl is hot. I like the idea that the character's name is New Girl, though.
Liked by: Becky

### NEW BEE AND PUPPYCATS CAME OUT. SO HAPPY.

November 08, 2014
yuzz
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### what do you think about matthew mcconaughey?

November 08, 2014
He's great. I think we're all agreed on that at this point, after True Detective.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### What's your opinion on shovel shovel knight?

November 08, 2014
Loved it. Really solid level design made it feel like far more than just a retro nostalgia trip.

### Why do you hate cute little girls doing cute things in videogames?

November 08, 2014
yeah, that's why i wrote tiny tina. because i hate cute things.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Becky Samantha Dale

### I've never played a MGS game outside of Metal Gear Risisng (which I adored), but seeing how into it you are made me decide to get the Legacy Collection and try all these games out

November 08, 2014
Lemme know how they are. Curious if they still hold up to someone who has never played them.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you think there would be anything to Nisha and Jack's relationship in some sort of weird emotional way or would it just be five years of great sex?

November 08, 2014
There's definitely emotional stuff.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Manaphy Natu Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Are you looking forward to MKX at all?

November 08, 2014
nah, i'm assbutt at fighting games

### I think I realised what makes Avatar and Korra such a good show, is when they're actually about shit. Book One was about equality and the 1920's, books two and three aren't about ANYTHING so they're awful, and Book Four is about Nazism and PTSD. It feels like they actually care again.

November 08, 2014
Maybe? I think it's also tempting to ascribe overall meaning to stuff that's good, and ignore the possible interpretations of stuff that isn't. Like, I could maybe argue that book 2 is about spiritual reawakening and the place of religion or something, but my ability to make that argument has less to do with whether the book is good or not. I think it's more that (as someone only 3/4 through book 2) book 1 introduced us to interesting characters and gave us a villain whose goal was clear and frightening, whereas book 2 gave us a super nebulous threat ("the spirit world will open and bad stuff will come out"), a really obvious villain, and didn't give our characters anything particularly interesting to do.

That said, though, you still probably have a point and that's a large part of it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Can you direct me to a place where you explain why you don't like claptrap? Thanks!

November 08, 2014
Does it really require explanation?

### Just thought I'd tell you that I was talking with my friends about borderlands and my friend mentioned that it would've funny if claptrap's action skill activation was accompanied by the dial-up sound

November 08, 2014
ahhhh fuck that's smart
Liked by: Becky Harley Bird mackenzie charlton

### If Nisha isn't white, what is she?

November 08, 2014
East Indian, in my mind. Hence the name.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### on the newest indoor kids, troy baker talked about how talented you are. That must feel fucking awesome

November 08, 2014
the fuck whaaat
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### What did you think of the "sea of doors" sequence in Boshock infinitie?

November 08, 2014
"god dammit"
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky mackenzie charlton

### Do you feel that just by being a reviewer, a person learns any proper techniques towards their own creative endeavors either in making a game or comic or will their own judgement be slanted in regards to their own projects?

November 08, 2014
Yes. Being a reviewer, if you take it relatively seriously, means finding ways to put words to the way something makes you feel. Inevitably, that means drilling down into precisely why something made you feel that way, which means understanding all the working parts and how they fit together, which means that you can come away from reviewing with a better arsenal of ideas and opinions that you can use in your own stuff. Most of the narrative stuff in BL2 was a direct reaction to stuff I learned I liked or didn't like when I was a reviewer.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I'm surprised you're actually tolerating Doctor Who Season 8. Like you, I loved the RTD era, but season 8 was the one which made me turn it off and not want to go back. What about it is now keeping your attention?

November 07, 2014
Just the fact that it seems to have some sort of a point with Doc/Clara/Pink's relationship that doesn't revolve around A Big Stupid Plot Question like "the impossible girl".
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you think Athena be white if you had created her specifically for pre-sequel?

November 07, 2014
Dunno. Nisha's not white, so maybe?

### How do you feel about F-Zero?

November 07, 2014
2 hard 4 me
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I'm worried by the precedent that possibly legitimate criticism of game journalists can be deflected simply by mentioning Gamergate. All it'll take is Daemon Hatfield to lie about another game like he did with Pixeljunk SideScroller.

November 07, 2014
This is also a big problem with GG. It's so loud, and ignorant, and worried about the exact wrong shit, that it's making it near impossible to talk about ACTUAL ethics. We're not talking about how Eron had his consent breached because gaters are too busy doxxing-and-harassing-but-not-really-that's-not-us. We're not talking about Call of Duty devs trying to help the US government actually create propaganda, because gaters are too ignorant about the way enthusiast media works and are instead whining about if indie devs are friends with bloggers.

And not only that, GG has been so consistently obstinate, and toxic, and downright stupid, that it's giving a lot of anti-GG people a free pass to be pretty awful just because they are, by comparison, not as bad as GG. I can't stand Total Biscuit, but the dude's a cancer survivor and I've seen anti-GG people tell him they wish he'd died of it. And because they're fighting against something legitimately awful in the form of GG, they feel that entitles them to be equally abusive to people who support institutionalized abuse in the form of GG.

View more

Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Zachary Michaels mackenzie charlton

### 10 "gamers are dead" articles being published on the same day and all written by people on the same mailing list literally is a conspiracy though.

November 07, 2014
If they'd all been published on the same day, yeah, that would be weird.

Except, uh, Leigh's post was on Aug 28, Kotaku's was on Aug 29, the Dtoid post was on Aug 31, and RPS's "post" (which was just a link to Leigh's post) was on Sept 1.

Which means it wasn't an Organized Attack, it was Leigh making a post and pushing discussion in a direction that other blogs followed up on. Like they do with all *kinds* of subjects that might be the hot topic of the week -- after the Kinect was announced, everyone had a shitload of "is it a good thing that we're making games more accessible and simple" thinkpieces. When Doritosgate happened, every blog had thinkpieces about those.

A lot of people believed that the idea of "gamers" (like the idea of "moviewatchers") is irrelevant because they're so mainstream now, Leigh put words to it, and the other blogs followed up on it. This isn't a conspiracy, it's the frigging zeitgeist.

View more

Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Zetto Sami

### Squirrel Girl is getting her own book! Get psyched, Burch!

November 07, 2014
yusssss i hope it's still just panels of her having already defeated people. I hope we never see her fight anyone

### Gamergate argued with a someone who teaches about ethics in journalism http://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/2lib15/dear_readergate_thank_you_for_proving_our_point/clv1vzw

November 07, 2014
I love that people still don't get that the idea of "gamers are dead" is not a fucking "attack on gamers." The fact that they're using these articles as justification for the movement, or even more hilariously as evidence of some sort of conspiracy, is so. So. So stupid.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Oh my god, the GERSTMANN thing? The one pretty much every other games site agreed was bullshit? The one where the journalist very obviously did NOT let his relationship with the dev OR the site he wrote for get in the way of an honest review? Jesus H. Christ.

November 07, 2014
yeeeeea
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I was wondering the other day, what was the reason Janey Spring started to talk in an accent and saying donuts, cowboys, and homophobia? What does this exactly imply about her character, since she does appear to be attracted to the same sex and what not.

November 07, 2014
She was speaking American.
Liked by: Becky

### So now gameragate is about things that happened 7 years ago?

November 07, 2014
Apparently.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### We live in a world where a man got fired from his job for making a negative review of Kane and Lynch. It's obvious that ethics is a huge problem in game journalism. If the game journalism industry is corrupt enough to cave in to AAA devs and their money then I don't see why they wouldn't also be cor

November 07, 2014
Slippery slope is not an argument.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I really want to get into the videogame industry but all of this gamergate and whatever drama is really leaving an awful taste in my mouth. How are studios actually dealing with this stuff?

November 07, 2014
Ignoring it.
Liked by: Samantha Dale Becky

### What are the last three things you watched on netflix?

November 07, 2014
Three episodes of New Girl

### You stoked for Splatoons? It's pretty much my only reason not to get rid of my WiiU

November 06, 2014
Hell yeah
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Is Doctor Who Series 8 worth watching? Didn't like 7 at all and the first episode of 8 wasn't particularly intriguing to me.

November 06, 2014
Series 8 is basically a not-that-great Russell T Davies season, which is SOOOO much better than an above-average Moffat season that I'm enjoying it. That said, it's not really great or anything. Kinda middling. But at least middling in a way that is character-centric and not douchey.
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### Thank you Mr. Burch for making and writing so many awesome characters. hope you have a nice day.

November 06, 2014
thx
Liked by: Kerissa Young Nolan Sullivan

### I get the feeling Nisha would get kicked out of any reputable BDSM club for violating their safe, sane, consensual rules. Would you agree with that?

November 06, 2014
I'd like to imagine she's really respectful of the actual rules of BDSM once she gets into consensual situations...but that may be giving her way too much credit.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Do you think that introducing scarcity of death in videogames - instead of killing 50 dudes in 3 minutes, have a handful of meaningful deaths - would be a good move for blockbuster games?

November 06, 2014
You're basically describing Shadow of the Colossus which is one of my favorite games ever, soooo, yeah, I'd be into that. I can easily imagine a game like Shadow of Mordor where there simply aren't any other enemies, and each enemy is super unique and really really really difficult to kill.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you think Anita is justified in her criticism of games' stories? Going off the Hero's Journey idea isn't it harsh to nitpick stories that have to tell a genuine entertaining tale and cater to the gameplay?

November 06, 2014
She's not criticizing game's stories as good or bad, she's pointing out gender issues. The quality is not really being discussed.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Borderlands is mediocre at best.

November 06, 2014
pahahah sick burn
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky mackenzie charlton Gabriel Costantino

### Do you ever see yourself going back to wanting to write or make films? Or are you Video Games 4 life now?

November 06, 2014
I'm up for writing whatever.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### Have you played Sunset Overdrive yet? Game is better than sex. I got the white console bundle, is it weird that I like Xbone more than PS4?

November 06, 2014
Yeah, I dig it. I'm feeling a repetitiveness already (every fight so far seems to be "get really high and grind back and forth on a thing for a long time"), but I dig the vibe and the multiplayer is so full of spectacle.

### When Claptrap shoots an enemy's O2 kit, he says "Pop, Pop!" I badly want to believe this is a Magnitude reference you were personally responsible for.

November 06, 2014
It's definitely a magnitude reference, but it was made by Kirsten Kahler, not myself.
Liked by: Becky

### Now I'm conflicted because TotalBiscuit thinks GG is, at least in some part, about ethics in gaming journalism. http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sef51b For a while I was firmly anti-GG, but this brings up a lot of good points, and I know TB to be a pretty reasonable dude. Thoughts?

November 06, 2014
My thought is that Totalbiscuit is wrong.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Devon, Depressed Idealist

### hey anthony just so you know these asks saying /v/ likes you/borderlands are lies trying to get you onto /v/, they actually have daily >you are not anthony burch threads so id advise you to stay away from that shithole

November 06, 2014
Ahhh, I see.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What exactly is the She-Hulk series you're refering to? Wikipedia's only mention of 2012 is her appearance in Fantastic Four.

November 06, 2014
https://www.comixology.com/She-Hulk-2004-2005/comics-series/11844?ref=Y29taWMvdmlldy9kZXNrdG9wL2JyZWFkY3J1bWJz
https://www.comixology.com/She-Hulk-Vol-3-Time-Trials/comics-story-arc/1679
https://www.comixology.com/She-Hulk-Vol-4-Laws-of-Attraction/comics-story-arc/1708
https://www.comixology.com/She-Hulk-Vol-5-Planet-Without-a-Hulk/comics-story-arc/1837
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### when I pee, it burns. what does this mean?

November 05, 2014
Urinary tract infection, maybe? See a doctor, I dunno.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### P.S. /v/ loves Borderlands, so very much. Athena is especially popular. We thank you for your awesome writing-fu, and humbly request that Nisha cheat death because holy shit she's too bad ass for death to claim. OMG DLC WHERE NISHA PUNCHES DEATH IN HIS FUCKING FACE FUND IT NOW PLEASE

November 05, 2014
Thanks much. And...yeah, I dunno. I feel like I have unfinished business with Nisha.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### what's a cool thing

November 05, 2014
The 2012 run of She-Hulk

For reals it's hilarious

### If you're really anti religious then why have i never seen you make any anti religious statements?

November 05, 2014
Are you joking?

### thoughts on hotline miami?

November 05, 2014
It's super fun. I hate its story and themes (any game that says "oh violence is SO AWFUL" and then makes itself extremely violent smacks of complete bullshit to me)

### Anthony, do you even Snowpiercer?

November 05, 2014
Yeah, I enjoyed it a fair amount. Really great high concept. Felt like a BioShock movie.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### Look at my great pumpkin http://38.media.tumblr.com/641957ce8b671333575b7b9803fb5b32/tumblr_necakd2Kmb1sh4rmeo1_1280.jpg (Better quality image not lit) http://33.media.tumblr.com/900a332dfd66e51f6c6eff4f847ed43b/tumblr_nejxw4ABEN1sh4rmeo1_1280.jpg

November 05, 2014
well donnne
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### If a person who has 2 x chromosomes thinks they are really a man does that make them insane?

November 05, 2014
No, because gender and self-identity -- as hard as this may be to believe, because our modern western society has DRILLED it into us that this is not the case -- don't actually have anything to do with your body parts or chromosomes. It's all brain stuff.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### Also to that Dr King guy too, I don't know why you'd try to use that argument to justify ignoring injustices feminists are fighting? By that rigid logic, you either address every issue at once or none at all, which is never really gonna help anyone either way.

November 05, 2014
yar
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Why do you still have old HAWP episodes uploaded even though they humorize things like domestic abuse and forced miscarriages?

November 05, 2014
Cause I'm not interested in editing our past to pretend like we haven't learned stuff as the years have gone by.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Gabriel Costantino Becky mackenzie charlton sad boy Zachary Michaels Nolan Sullivan

### Did you vote yesterday?

November 05, 2014
yes

### Alaska and Oregon have legalized weed. We did it, Anthony!

November 05, 2014
nizzzze
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### To that guy who was invoking Dr. King. I think King's point was that when we see injustice we should address it and try to fix it. And feminists are doing that. They are on the right side of the battle. People who oppose feminism are enabling injustice, sooooo I'm not sure why you'd do that.

November 05, 2014
yar

### Dr. King once said "ignoring injustice ANYWHERE is a danger to JUSTICE everywhere." The fact that feminists complain when stuff happens to them then turn a blind eye when it happens outside of the realm they care about just shows that true justice will never reign.

November 05, 2014
Jesus christ, are you really invoking Martin Luther King on a guy getting his picture taken at a Target?
Liked by: Zachary Michaels Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### I don't think I (we) have ever heard the story about you being an extra in a movie! Tell us more :O

November 05, 2014
Not much to tell. They filmed The Kingdom near ASU, so I drove there and stood around in a bunch of army gear for hours and hours in 100+ degree weather. I got heatstroke and vomited, and nearly passed out on ride home, which would have been bad because I was driving. When I finally got home, I gulped two glasses of water, collapsed onto my bed, and didn't wake up for around sixteen hours.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### I also disliked GTA V, but I'm interested in hearing your reasons for hating it.

November 05, 2014
I felt no freedom within the game systems whatsoever, and the story was infuriating along pretty much every conceivable axis (especially since I really liked Johnny).
Liked by: Zachary Michaels

### Why are people not calling others out about the #Alexfromtarget shit? If a man had uploaded a picture of a girl he found cute it would be creepy and misogynistic. A woman does the same and it's all in "good fun". Equal treatment isn't equal.

November 05, 2014
http://www.cnet.com/news/marketing-company-claims-responsibility-for-alex-from-target/ This guy?

I mean, pretending that it wasn't a marketing stunt for a moment, yeah, that would be a pretty creepy thing to do without someone's consent, independent of gender. If nobody's making a big deal about it, it's probably because men aren't constantly objectified (and fearful for their safety as a result) in the same way women are.
Liked by: jasmine Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Are you as creeped out by religion as I am? Namely, how kids are essentially brainwashed from birth to believe utterly implausible shit? Or how, say, Islam for example is pretty much defined by it's hard on for violence and misogyny but it gets a free pass because "it's a religion?"

November 04, 2014
I'm personally very anti-religion (I don't like how it affects and justifies peoples' political or social opinions or prejudices), but I think it's equally important to not be a dick about religions you disagree with. I've met far more mean, horrible atheists than mean, horrible Christians (and I live in TEXAS).
Liked by: Jakob Brown jasmine sad boy Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Recently, Paranautical Activity was removed from Steam. It was removed because one of the people behind it delivered a death threat to Gabe Newell over Twitter. Do you think more games should be removed from Steam due to hostile behavior from creators over Twitter? For example, Phil Fish delivered s

November 04, 2014
I think if you threaten the person who runs a marketplace, the person who owns that marketplace has absolutely no reason to support you. This isn't a matter of "he said an inappropriate thing," it's "he came into my house and said he'd kill me so I threw him out of my house".
Liked by: jasmine Nolan Sullivan

### This is not really a question and you don't have to answer but I wanted to let you know and THANK YOU SO MUCH for the amount of diversity in your characters. I can't even being to explain how important it is to me to finally have an ace character I can relate to. Thank you so so so much, honestly.

November 04, 2014
Thanks!

### If video games turn people in misogynists then how did you avoid becoming a misogynist yourself? do you think you are just smarter than the average person that consumes media?

November 04, 2014
I was a misogynist for at least -- at LEAST -- fifteen years.
Liked by: Becky Carmen Nolan Sullivan

### Favorite RoboCop movie? Is the answer RoboCop 2 because RoboCop goes soft, there's an angry brain with eyeballs, and a screaming skeleton robot who pulls off his own head?

November 04, 2014
Robocop 1 only. Robocop 2 is Frank Millery.

### Hey Anthony, why did you ever lump /v/ in with the shitcunts from GamerGate? Moot straight up bans people for starting GamerGate threads and all the troglodytes fucked off to 8chan or wherever. We're all about ironically trolling each other whilst discussing games. It's fun. Come join us some time.

November 04, 2014
Honestly, it's hard to tell where the shitslingers are coming from when you're getting it from like three directions at once. But yeah, I'm glad /v/ stood up against them.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### GTA V first person mode thoughts? What did you think of the original game? Or did you play it? Despite the obviously shitty narrative and misogyny and overblown cynicism and incoherent lazy satire, I spent hours just driving around for the fun of it. It's an amazing world despite itself.

November 04, 2014
I fucking HATED GTAV, but I hear the multiplayer is super cool and I never gave much time to it. I might pick it up if I can play the multiplayer in first person.

### Do you know any Arabic? since you have some arab background

November 04, 2014
Nope! Apart from the very small amount I tried to learn when I was an extra in the movie The Kingdom in the hopes that it'd get me closer to the camera or something.

It did not.
Liked by: jasmine Becky Gabriel Costantino

### So, are you interested in Far Cry 4? This interview with the narrative director actually made me hopeful for the game: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2014/06/16/far-cry-4s-new-approach-to-narrative.aspx

November 04, 2014
Yeah, I've heard that none of the narrative team from FC3 is involved on FC4, which is exciting.

### About people not liking Lilith: http://lassenby.tumblr.com/post/101786654783/to-anthony-burch-again

November 04, 2014
This is a really nice way to look at things, thanks!

### Just fyi but hearing Wilhelm say 'diddle' was the highlight of my weekend

November 04, 2014
paha, can't remember where we did that. Something Nakayama-centric I assume?

### Southern Guy again. Don't feel bad! You're a great writer and a pretty good person. Keep your head up. I'm not super offended. I realize change doesn't happen overnight. Thank you for passing around good favor!

November 04, 2014
Thanks. And yeah, sorry, I've still got work to do on that front.

### Do/Did you collect physical copies of games? Like did you ever enjoy collecting or holding onto nintendo cartridges? Also, I hope you had a lovely Halloween weekend, and you're a beautiful person. <3

November 04, 2014
Only Metal Gear games.

### Who wrote the Courtside/Space Slam sidequests? Because holy shit Anthony, I think that's the hardest I've ever laughed at Borderlands, it caught me so offguard.

November 04, 2014
I wrote those based on ideas by Trey Davenport, Zach Ford, and Drew Mobley. Probably one of my favorite things I've ever helped make.
Liked by: Carmen

### Southern guy again to follow up on your question. While you didn't implicitly aim it at hicks, the statement at the beginning that Janey makes while talking slow. "Homophobia, etc." Clean kill.

November 04, 2014
Donuts cowboys homophobia? I thought separating "cowboys" out made it just seem like those were three separate ideas that all encapsulate America. Point taken, though.

### Do you think we will ever finally get a gay main protagonist?

November 04, 2014
Not in a AAA game with only one protagonist. But in indie games or games with multiple protags, sure.

### Hey Anthony, you're responsible for many of the lols I've had in the last couple of years and I wear your dad's face with pride. Ages ago you mentioned a game on HAWP about what people did before the end of the world. it had a Ragnarok theme to it. I can't find the post, could you remind me? Cheers

November 04, 2014
Ragnarok theme? Do you mean the last GDC Game Design Challenge?

### How often do you find yourself indulging nostalgia or taking trips down memory lane? I spend a lot of time looking at games, tv shows, TCGs, and even the beginning of youtube channels from the past and wanting to relive experiences. I sometimes wish I was 17 years old again watching HAWP episode 1

November 04, 2014
I used to do it a lot, but now there's so much new stuff I need to check out that I feel guilty for doing so.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### you really should watch veep. It's awesome.

November 04, 2014
Yeah, i probably will.

### how was your halloween!

November 04, 2014
Good. Dressed up as Carlos from Night Vale, watched a lot of New Girl.
Liked by: Becky

### What's your process for coming up with new characters?

November 04, 2014
Sit around and try to find an interesting "hook" for them, then come up with something that makes them more than just that hook.

### How should I react to my cousin telling me science is a conspiracy?

November 04, 2014
Stop talking to your cousin, I guess? That's what I'd do.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### You genuinely like New Girl? Explain yourself

November 04, 2014
It's just really damn well-written and acted. It's a solid, funny hangout comedy.
Liked by: Becky

### got shadow of mordor as per your recommendation and I'm fucking loving it. So much fun. Thanks.

November 04, 2014
Glad you're digging it!

### What do you think of Christopher Nolan?

November 04, 2014
I dig him. He's entertaining. He's not Kubrick or anything -- Inception doesn't really have many Super Duper Interesting questions to ask -- but he's fun.

### Southern guy again. I'm confused about how to feel about TPS's treatment of "hicks" on one hand we're mostly the butt of the jokes again. On the other hand... Thank you for Moxxi. I don't completely agree with your writing of Hicks, but thank you for trying at least.

November 04, 2014
What treatment are you referring to in PS? I thought we'd gotten rid of most all of that stuff (except for the stuff about Aussie characters, which I generally did not write).

### https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1U-MxwCEAAUp2g.jpg https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1U-MsiCQAA4Kdk.jpg this is my bird i'm getting he hasn't weaned yet but it's estimated about 2 weeks i haven't got a name for him tho

November 04, 2014
awww
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Hi. I'm not feeling well. Tell me something nice about Brick? <3

November 04, 2014
If you're feeling bad and you ask him to hug you he will do so, without complaint, for as long as you want
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown jasmine Harley Bird Kristin K mackenzie charlton Carmen

### Happy Halloween, Anthony. https://38.media.tumblr.com/4e14a312bc2421bc9de49f6903d39b37/tumblr_neaohseXZx1sjzmiko1_500.png

November 04, 2014
pahahaha holy shit
Liked by: Kristin K mackenzie charlton Becky

### To "Mr. Burch" guy, the difference between violence in games and sexism is that the violence is framed both outside the games and in them as something not acceptable in the real world, whereas the sexism is written with the implicit idea it reflects how things actually are. (Men saving women, etc.)

November 04, 2014
Well said.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### https://33.media.tumblr.com/e6ed8be68f72264bf545d23da60ab338/tumblr_nebz77xc0n1t01bmko2_400.jpg I didn't carve this, but they deserve props. I also saw somewhere a pick of Jack and Nisha as Gomez and Morticia Adams. The Jack/Nisha ship is sailing at full power!

November 04, 2014
holy shit
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### how do you feel about game mechanics that reward skillful play with more power? like how in shmups the more powerups you get without being hit the better they get. On the one hand it's really satisfying, on the other I feel like the game shouldn't get easier the better you play

November 04, 2014
Yeah...I'm on the same page as you. Gradius is interesting and everything, but I'm not sure I actually *enjoy* the loop of getting stupid powerful until you make a dumb mistake out of boredom, before having to climb the entire mountain again.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Okay, but a trans girl living her life, dealing with dysphoria and self-doubt and whatnot, and then one day she wakes up and her arm is covered in Siren tattoos. How cool would that be?

November 04, 2014
That might be pretty badass tbh
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### best way to play State of Decay?

November 04, 2014
However you want, really. The game makes death meaningful, so you can "permadeath" it if you want, but that doesn't make the experience drastically more different than just playing it normally.

### While violence in games doesn't make people more violent, do you think that it can normalise beliefs about when violence is acceptable in the same way damseling/etc normalises misogynistic beliefs?

November 04, 2014
I think it can, yeah. I'm a little uncomfortable with 12 year olds playing Modern Warfare not because I'm worried they'll start punching people, but because I'm worried they might grow up to be more pro-war.
Liked by: jasmine Nolan Sullivan

### Hey Anthony! Table top DM person again. Your idea worked out, party made a http://tinyurl.com/7xhm5w3 and built a turbomansion in it. It was ridiculous and awesome. Going to let the players do whatever they want more often. WeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEE-

November 04, 2014
Nice! I'm glad it worked out. It's probably worth figuring out how to actually prepare and play the for-real game (which I never learned how to do) at some point, but random improvisation is always pretty fun.

### I have sent you messages anonymously addressing you as Mr. Burch I swear I am not the same guy ugh good god.

Demonhighbinder
November 04, 2014
I've gotten like ten more questions starting with "mr burch" so I assume people think I'm more likely to answer questions that start like that, so I'm gonna stop answering questions that start with that, cause jesus christ
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Mr. Burch, In case I wasn't clear previously. The distinction between 'real violence' and 'fake violence' is akin to 'real women' and 'fake women.' They are characters. They are not real.

October 31, 2014
You were clear, and wrong. Real vs fake violence is not the same as depictions of how women should be treated vs societal assumptions of how women should be treated.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Cherry BlueInkAlchemist

### Mr. Burch, "I think it's a bigger issue to talk about the industry as a whole, and how it perpetuates these ideas of sexism and misogyny..." (Colbert interview). I'm curious as to how you distinguish this statement from the varieties that take place within the 'games cause violence' paradigm.

October 31, 2014
"games cause violence" says "people play games and want to be more aggressive toward others." It's problematic because of an enormous jump in logic between "i enjoy playing fake violence" and "i will commit real violence".

"Being exposed to constant unchecked misogyny normalizes misogyny and sexism" is different because there's no jump. Looking at women as objects is sexism. Seeing women as damsels is also sexism. One leads to the other because they're the same thing, and being immersed in misogyny in media can determine and normalize our views on whatever the hell that media is about.

To argue the opposite is to argue that media can't possibly affect us or the way we think, which is basically to argue that all art is completely worthless, which holy fucking shit.
Liked by: Angela Jean Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Devon, Depressed Idealist BlueInkAlchemist Gabriel Costantino Zachary Michaels

### Mate, you write so well. I think Athena is the first game character I've fallen in love with. Jokes apart, any chance of short stories or something along those lines? Maybe she, Tina and Brick start a family? A family whose idea of a picnic involves punching, swords, shooting and explosives? Rock on

October 31, 2014
Thanks so much! And yeah, I dunno, maybe. That's what I'd love to use comics for.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Anthony, I am running a table top game tonight, but I did no prep because I've been busy. I'm riddled with stage fright due to not knowing what to do. Should rocks fall and everyone dies? y/n/panic

October 31, 2014
I'd do the opposite of that, to be honest. I've only ever run one tabletop game that went in a really really weird and unfocused direction, but I said "yes" to everything the players wanted to do and we basically made it into an improvisational comedy thing.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Dear Mr. Burch, Do you think Ms. Sarkeesian's argument is quantitatively and/or qualitatively different from the 'games cause violence' argument? How does she account for post hoc ergo propter hoc bias, in your opinion?

October 31, 2014
Her argument is different than "games cause violence" in that she has never said "games cause violence."
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I REALLY need a change of pace from Buffalo; how would you rate Plano as a place to live?

October 31, 2014
It's okay. It's a city you can live in. The weather is shit (unless you really like heat) and there are some good restaurants, but it's not like thriving with an amazing culture and tons of shit to do/see or anything.

### Mr. Burch, In a hypothetical situation similar to a particular scene in the movie, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, suppose two people at a table where one asks the other "Would you please pass the salt." How should one evaluate agency in such a situation? Does one individual have more or less agency?

October 31, 2014
ahhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I really enjoy Doctor Who this season. After reading all your reviews on media, for some reason I hope you like this season. Also, having watching "The Thick of It" has made me appreciate Capaldi, now, even more. This is a question?

October 31, 2014
I'm enjoying it far more than any of the Matt Smith seasons. It's still a little weird -- they don't seem to know what to do with the fact that the Doctor is kind of a dick -- but it feels like a not-that-great RTD season, which I will take over a pretty-good Moffat season any day of the week.

### Honestly, your representation has helped me come to terms with my sexuality a lot. I was in a rough spot with accepting myself as a lesbian, but seeing a nice normalized homosexual in fiction like Janey gave me a lot of hope to be proud of myself!! ;o; I'm sure you've had a similar impact on others

October 31, 2014
Ahhh yaaay thanks
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### RE 80 Days: Did you make the trip in 80 the first go around? I was at 90 the first try. I'm wondering if it's even possible the first try. I wasn't really pushing it as hard as I could have, but I also felt like the trip across the Pacific was actively trying to fuck me. I hope it wasn't, though.

October 31, 2014
I did it the first try and I am so bad at videogames that I am certain i just got TURBO LUCKY.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### To the guy depressed in Seattle: check out Phoenix Comics and Games on Broadway. They have weekly meetings/activities/game nights for any nerd niche and everyone there is a group of all-inclusive, lovely nerds.

October 31, 2014
Ooo sounds neat

### You play 80 Days on das mobile? I just finished my first trip round the globe. It's really dang good. It's got steampunk. And I kissed a hunky ex-slave dressed as Death in New Orleans.

October 31, 2014
80 Days is SPECTACULAR.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### A girl I like has started to get high everyday. Should I just act like it's no big deal and hope she stops eventually, or should I try and get her to stop.

October 31, 2014
I don't know how much you can control the actions of others. You can tell her how it makes you feel, but she'll do what she's gonna do.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### To the guy who hasnt pooped in 3 days. Here is what you do. Make a bowl of oatmeal with flax seed on top and grated ginger root sprinkled in. Pow, problem solved in half a day. (You can also add nuts and fruit in there but that's more for flavor.)

October 31, 2014
I will pass this on
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### How do you feel about sports riots?

October 31, 2014
they're fucking stupid
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Becky sad boy

### Dear the guy who keeps saying "Dear Mr. Burch," the goal of writing is to express, not to impress. Any style guide will stress the importance of clarity. You are doing what Nietschze once described as muddying your own waters to appear deep.

October 31, 2014
fucking sickass nietschze burn got DAMN
Liked by: Jakob Brown jasmine Nolan Sullivan Zachary Michaels Becky sad boy Decinis Devon, Depressed Idealist Gabriel Costantino

### http://onemagpie.tumblr.com/post/101351285279/i-fulfill-myself-drawing-groups-of-ppl I hope you'd like it :)

October 31, 2014
I LOVE IT SO MUCH
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Holy cow Anthony look at this beautiful pile of characters https://38.media.tumblr.com/5aa9fc3109fa96a424f40e50765fe21a/tumblr_ne9r0lMcpN1qennm4o1_1280.png

October 31, 2014
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE IT
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### I have it on good authority that you're a pretty rad dude

October 30, 2014
Who told you this they are lying I will kill them
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan sad boy Zachary Michaels Becky

### Hey Burch, I disagree with you on like, a LOT of things, and yet I don't feel the need to threaten or harass you... is there something wrong with me?

October 30, 2014
clearly
Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Usagi2099

### What steps do you recommend for getting into the gaming industry as a writer? Majoring in Creative Writing, taken scriptwriting courses, and trying to figure out how to get involved with what I love most. Thanks.

October 30, 2014
Make your own stuff. HAWP was what really got me the Gearbox job.
Liked by: jasmine Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### what criteria would a stranger have to meet for you to agree to kiss them if they just walked up to you and said 'hey, wanna kiss a bit?'

October 30, 2014
I'd have to be attracted to them and in a position where it made sense to do kissing
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Please Anthony you're a cool guy, which Shrek movie is your favorite?

October 30, 2014
1
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### My parents won't stop watching Big Bang Theory, no matter how many times I've told them it makes me uncomfortable. My mom likes to tell me that Sheldon is "just like you" (I have been diagnosed with Asperger's) and it makes me feel like I'm just.. something to be laughed at. Any ideas on what to do?

October 30, 2014
Have you considered telling them this specifically -- that it makes you feel mocked, especially for your Asperger's?
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton Becky

### I saw there was a guy posting about being depressed in Seattle, and since I'm from the region I wanted to pass along some specific advice, if it's ok: lots of people that get depressed after moving here, buy a sunlamp to combat the seasonal affective disorder and try to join a club of some kind.

October 30, 2014
boosh
Liked by: jasmine Nolan Sullivan

### how do you feel about goofy questions (esp ones involving boners)

October 30, 2014
feels like you asked these questions in the wrong order
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### do you ever put a sheet over your boner and pretend it's a ghost

October 30, 2014
no
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I was cheated on by one of my ex-GFs. It almost tore me apart. I know that feel bro. sorry this is happening to you.

October 30, 2014
I was not cheated on. Davis did nothing wrong at any point. Really, nobody did.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you work on Tales from Borderlands? If yes, how big is your role?

October 30, 2014
I've helped with some overall season direction and answered questions about BL lore/tone stuff, but damn near everything is Telltale. It's their show.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Decinis Samantha Dale

### I saw some game play of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, have you played as the one clan who can't go above ground without getting a penalty? I just read their description and it made me wonder if it was still possible to beat the game as that type of vampire.

October 30, 2014
Never have. I liked playing as the charismatic vampires who charm/seduce. I worried playing as the underground-dwellers just meant a game more full of combat and stealth. But the fact that that class even exists, or that the super crazy vampire class even exists, is spectacular.
Liked by: Becky Decinis

### Mr. Burch, In what manner should one distinguish between the symbolic value and the historical/political value of a brothel? Do you believe symbolism is inherently historical/political?

October 30, 2014
Yes? I think? Don't really know what you're asking.

### How do I meet people (in a romantic way)?

October 30, 2014
I met everyone I've ever been really close with over the internet. I met my girlfriend through twitter by complaining that OKcupid wasn't working for me.

### Anthony I haven't taken a shit in like 3 days please send help

October 30, 2014
The marines are on their way

They're gonna kill you though I may have misspoken about your problem
Liked by: Jakob Brown Becky sad boy Carmen Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Do you actually like your sister?

October 30, 2014
Yeah, I like Ash a lot. To the point where my friends go "goddammit I'm envious that you guys have such a good relationship"
Liked by: Becky Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### You are one of my role models and, when I got hired to do some writing for a certain online game, the first thing I did was give the leading lady a wife. I wouldn’t have done this without your influence. So all the happy and uplifting messages that came out of THAT are owed to you. Thank you.

October 30, 2014
yesss my sjw agenda yessss
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Jakob Brown jasmine Becky Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### P.S. Please forward the name "Borderlands the Thirdquel" to Randy. Thanks.

October 30, 2014
Will do.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky mackenzie charlton Xavby the Skink

### http://sueslayer.tumblr.com/post/100919247836/voice-actor-for-nisha-singing-and-being-really <-- the voice actress of Nisha singing. Now I can just picture Nisha singing with a guitar in Lynchwood.

October 30, 2014
Yeah man, she and her husband are a duo and they're really good. She (Stephanie Young) is super cool.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Decinis

### you have a gladiator character class and never once does she yell, "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!" smh.

October 30, 2014
oh god fucking dammit why did we not

jesus christ god dammit
Liked by: Jeffrey Daria Drenker Jay Jakob Brown Becky mackenzie charlton sad boy Decinis Calum Bain Nolan Sullivan

### Who is Isaiah, and why does he have a special safe deposit box in Concordia? With, like, Pandoracorns and hearts and bears and the like?

October 29, 2014
He's a cool kid from Make-A-Wish who visited us and designed the box.
Liked by: Ben Holt

### How is to be the worst video game writer and a cuckold? Are you going to use a gun, pills or rope to end your suffering?

October 29, 2014
Just reminding everyone that I almost never got these kind of threats before gamergate, and now I'm getting a LOT of messages suggesting I kill myself. Ethics ethics ethics
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown jasmine Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Do you have any thoughts on a lot of the Double Fine criticism after Spacebase DF-9? I found the Broken Age money issue reasonable considering costs and that it was a far more niche project. As much as I love, DF I imagine it does suck that game will never be "finished" and still sold.

October 29, 2014
I find it really upsetting that gamers ask for more transparency and that the second they get it, they whine like babies. Yes, it's sad that DF-9 never got finished -- it's really sad. But Tim went out of his way to explain exactly WHY that is: the project was operating at a loss, and the sales weren't bringing in enough revenue to justify continued work on it.

And instead of going, "ah, damn, it's a shame you didn't put the game's best foot forward and really implement some of the more interesting features earlier to drive more sales," or "well, that's a disappointment but that's the nature of early access," gamers wanted to crucify him.

For what, exactly? For being honest? For trying something that didn't work out? For making a game that didn't sell very well (as if the entire team isn't CLEARLY already sad over that)?

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Have you ever played Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, it's a vampire rpg. I just love any first person rpg so I'm planning on getting it on steam. Just wondering if you ever played it.

October 29, 2014
It is one of my favorite RPGs ever, especially if you get the fanpatch.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### And in the 1940's, well a brothel was sure to contain solely female entertainers and if a shoot out was to take place and they died, well I dunno its just that I don't see the misogyny commited by the developers, attempts at historical accuracy should not be considered your own personal opinion, IMO

San
October 29, 2014
I can't find the link right now, but there's a really good article about how "realism" and "historical accuracy" are things we actually cherry-pick, a LOT. We choose which aspects of history we feel like recreating; we don't bring up the horrible, disgusting skin and venereal diseases in fantasy stuff, but we're happy to bring up lotsa rape because It Was A Different Time or something. It's our decision to put prostitutes in a brothel who can be shot, our decision to put a level in a brothel in a first place. "Realism" doesn't have a lot to do with it.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Gabriel Costantino Devon, Depressed Idealist Nolan Sullivan

### Borderlands 2 reconnected me with my cousin that literally lives on the opposite end of the country and your writing helped me through a fucking terrible breakup and maybe even kinda saved my life? Thanks so much for that. Think you could give me some advice re: finding your own "voice" in writing?

October 29, 2014
Thanks so much. Regarding voice: just kinda keep writing stuff until you find something that comes quasi-naturally (cause no writing comes all THAT naturally) to you, that you find entertaining to read.
Liked by: Decinis Becky Nolan Sullivan

### If this is the kind of shit you publish I can't imagine the shit asks you don't publish.

October 29, 2014
You probably can. Some are pretty bad.

### dear mr. whatever guy: western culture is one of the only cultures in the world to have a binary gender system, which they them imposed on the rest of the world. cultures dating back to ancient mesopotamia had up to 6 genders and that's not even considering intersex people, consider that please

October 29, 2014
o shit
Liked by: Jakob Brown jasmine Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I know you'll probably tell me to aim higher or something, but I just wanted to say you're officially my favorite person and I hope brighter things come your way soon! Thank you for making me smile with HAWP and Borderlands throughout the years... sending lots of love and good vibes your way <3

Decinis
October 29, 2014
Thanks very much.

And yeah, aim higher. Neil Gaiman should be your favorite.
Liked by: Becky Decinis

### are you full on vegan or jsut vegetarian

October 29, 2014
Vegetarian, I like cheese and milk too much
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### to me the greatest thing about Jack/Nisha, other than they both seem to enjoy being both sub/dom, is that it shows that no matter who you are there is someone out there destined for you. If a blood thirsty puppy strangling sadist and a tyrannical egomaniac can find love, so can the rest of us!

October 29, 2014
believe in yourself
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Becky Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### I've always liked silent protagonists. People may think they want everyone to talk, but that's bullshit. There will always be a place for silent protagonists :).

October 29, 2014
To be honest that's kinda where I stand, too. When people demanded more dialog from their protagonists part of me was like "fuck yeah" cause I like writing that dialog, and the other part of me went "goddammit" cause I don't generally like that stuff as a player.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Mr. Burch, I'm sorry, but I don't think you're really listening anymore. Do you not subscribe to evolutionary theory that you can so easily dismiss it out of hand for the more superficial emergent property of culture? Evolutionary adaptations have no relevance now is it?

October 29, 2014
I think many aspects of evolution have a lot to do with how people are treated in modern society.

I think the fact that women are physically weaker than men on average probably leads to a social view of them as emotionally weaker (thus causing us to make media showing them as weaker damsels, thus teaching women they are damsels), and leads to many elements of rape culture.

I think, as I mentioned before, the fact that women are the ones who have to physically carry the child and recover from childbirth results in many cultural and workplace problems.

I DON'T think that women only being able to have one or two kids while men can spew come everywhere for their entire lives ties into how men are treated today, and no one arguing that with me seems to have a good, concrete example of how that might manifest.

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### also I'm not the Dear Mr whatever guy, but I think what he's trying to say is that the route of the tropes stem from biology rather than society/culture and Anita's trying to say that without words (???). I don't agree with that idea, but thats what it sounds like he's trying to point out???

October 29, 2014
I -- yeah, I dunno, that's really weird

### Out of curiosity: When it comes to Spelunky, how do you reconcile the mechanic of women as literal collectibles with your views on treatment of women in games? I checked out the freeware version of the game after you had mentioned it on HAWPcast and was surprised by that facet of it.

October 29, 2014
It personally doesn't bother me that much because you can make the women men or dogs. Like, i see where Anita is coming from on the Fem Freq video about this, but it's...I mean, yeah, the initial idea of it just being women was kind of a bummer, totally. But adding an option to swap that out with something that doesn't enforce gender norms (as you can in Spelunky HD) seems to be about as good a fix for that problem as is humanly possible, right? Short of cutting or totally changing the mechanic altogether?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I finished my first playthrough of the Preseq AND I LOVED ATHENA. I thought it was really cool how she actually has some character development as the game goes on. I hope you guys continue to do that kinda stuff in the future!

October 29, 2014
More than likely we will -- I've heard very little negativity about the more talkative protagonists.
Liked by: Decinis

### Make more HAWP that isn't shilling shitty games via sponsorships. And also stop being a cuckold. Thanks.

October 29, 2014
Please stop watching HAWP. I hate the idea that you or anyone like you might accidentally get a modicum of pleasure out of something I've done.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky Adam Kolacz Decinis Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### She did get a lot more than Wilhelm, but I think expectations for her are higher because of her larger appearance in BL2 and the connection with Jack. Wilhelm's stuff is played light, he doesn't need much more because he's arguably less important. (its ok Wilhelm I love you anyways)

October 29, 2014
Ah, I see.

Well, if we ever happen to do anything else with Nisha, I'll definitely keep this in mind and make her completely Jack-independent.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas

### You're not a bad guy. http://youtu.be/8CGopLeOPW8?t=15s

October 29, 2014
aw
Liked by: Adam Kolacz Nolan Sullivan

### Why do you married a cumdumpster? Do you choke on semen too?

October 29, 2014
ethics in game journalism ethics in game journalism ethics in game journalism ethics in game journalism
Liked by: Becky

### GG here, don't like you, don't like your opinions, don't like most things to do with you, but I'm posting this here on the assumption you might get something useful out of it. http://youtu.be/uTAxZPOtGKk

October 29, 2014
then why in the blue fuck are you following my ask.fm
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Gabriel Costantino

### I think a cool way to take a deeper look at Nisha would be to take a closer look at her interests? With Wilhelm, for example, we got his whole dorky robot thing and it was adorable. It would have been neat to see Nisha be dorky in her own way with her love of cliche Western stuff

October 29, 2014
She had her backstory with her parents and the dog -- did that not do it for you? That's a lot more than Wilhelm gets, in my opinion.
Liked by: Decinis

### Mr. Burch, My statement comes from a biological anthropological perspective. A single male can out reproduce a female by orders of magnitude. Male reproduction is less valuable than females who are more limited in their output potential. Ms. Sarkeesian presumes men are considered more valuable? Why?

October 29, 2014
Okay, sort of taking this one at a time:

-What?
-Dude *what*?
-I simply can't see how that aspect of biology has any practical impact on gender or social issues whatsoever. We don't live in a society where we're so desperate for people to reproduce that their reproductive abilities function at all into how we consider their value as people. If anything, the ACTUAL importance of reproduction and gender is that women are the ones to require maternity leave and corporations often refuse to give it to them, resulting in fewer women in high-paying jobs (which, hey, patriarchy, though I imagine that's the opposite of the point you're trying to make). We don't run around denying or awarding healthcare based on how fertile or infertile someone is.
-Really, I can't see this as anything but intensely arbitrary. Women and men are biologically different in a multitude of ways that have LOTS to do with the way they are treated and treat others in society, and the fact that, in some hypothetical caveman scenario, one woman could birth less people than one male, is about as relevant to modern gender politics as the fact that men are more likely to be colorblind or something.
-Also where the shit are you getting the idea that Anita presumes men are considered more valuable?
-Dude WHAT?

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### How did you become such a cool, cute guy? Signed The Internet

October 29, 2014
aw thanks entire internet
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky Adam Kolacz Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### To anon re: women/kids, MEN expected other men to die for women and children, else you were dishonorable. What we thought didn't matter. And women WANT to actively serve in combat now, despite varying degrees of resistance. It was never about our "value", it was about protecting "men's property".

October 29, 2014
mmmm
Liked by: jasmine Nolan Sullivan

### Hey I think you're awesome! And I desperately want to play BL2 but I haven't been able to figure out how to do so without getting motion sick. Do you know of anyone who has had that issue with certain games and found a way to deal with it?

October 29, 2014
Thanks! Found this: http://kotaku.com/5869607/how-motion-sickness-can-ruin-games-and-the-meds-used-to-fight-it

### HEY TOE-NEE, CHIN UP COWBAEY, LIFE IS A ROWLACOASTAH, IT HAS ITS UPPS AND DOWWNS, BUT HEY! YOU'RE AWN A RAWLAHCOASTA, YOU'RE DOIN' SOMEIN RIGHT -REALCOOLGUY69

October 29, 2014
Man that guy was real cool
Liked by: jasmine Becky Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### So I've been following you on Twitter/here for a few months and I think you're smart and funny and interesting (and frankly really cute) and I'm sorry you're going through sad times right now and I wish you all the best! *throws smokebomb* *melts into the darkness like an awkward, blushing ninja*

October 29, 2014
aw
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### Just wanted to stop by and say I appreciate your work in both HAWP and Borderlands and hope you can find comfort somewhere in this tough time in your life. There will always be people that care about you. I guess I need to ask a question to make this proper. Um. High-five?

October 29, 2014
*smak*
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### I felt Nisha had a lot to her character besides Jack, but her feelings on Jack still seemed to be a pretty big part of her arc. I liked that she was really in control of it, turning Jack down until she found him attractive, but it felt like her whole deal was 'fuck jack. kill bandits' at times

October 29, 2014
That's a shame. Fair points, though.

### Also Mr. Burch, I can understand and agree with pay disparity concerns (likely due to offsetting maternity leave costs). I think it unfair of you to consider rationalizing why sexual assault occurs to be synonymous with justifying or excusing it though. Laws cannot subsume free will.

October 29, 2014
I'm -- what? I have no clue what you are actually saying here. Rationalizing why sexual assault occurs? Why would you try to rationalize something like that? Explain, sure, but rationalize? What the fuck? Would you rationalize why murders occur?

### Hey, John Buttwizard the Wizard PHD. What's the likelihood that you and da crew will ever stream some tabletop rpg goodness again? Thems were the days. Thems were the bluff checkin' days because Grant wasn't a vampire. Simpler times. GG was just a glimmer in Lucifer's putrid eye socket.

October 29, 2014
Probably kinda low, cause everyone's schedule is completely awful. That said, the Board With Life podcast basically does tabletop games as a podcast and they are WAY funnier than us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wKktqqY2g0
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### What toppings do you put on your pizza?

October 29, 2014
Spinach and mushrooms

### Just dropping by to say that I love you and your sister, and you guys have really changed my views on love and acceptance (with a huge emphasis on acceptance). I sincerely hope everything gets better for you, even if this is just an ask.fm post and it might not mean much. Love <3

October 29, 2014
Thank you so much.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### How do you feel about Kill La Kill? It has overt fan service written directly into the plot, however I feel it handles its female characters very well. I'm pretty sure it even passes the Bechdel test. Is overt sexualization while also being a strong character problematic to you?

October 29, 2014
I honestly never bothered checking it out cause it was pitched to me as "a hot chick, like the really stupidly dressed chick from Gurren Lagann which was the only thing you hated about that show, basically gets raped by a suit and they fight together"

### haha the anon that was talking about how GG isn't about being offensive did call gone home "Gone Homo" in the same sentence. Made me lol

October 29, 2014
Yeah, guy's a champ
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I finished grad school in March and then moved to Seattle and I've been pretty depressed for the last like, two years? I'm feeling better now that I have a pretty ok job, and I'm not framed about bills, but I'm having a lot of trouble being creative/productive any more. Any suggestions?

October 29, 2014
MAKE yourself write/draw/whatever something. Set a deadline and have something, anything, produced by then.
Liked by: Jason Owen Black Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### I love you please never stop making content?

October 29, 2014
I won't if you promise to stop calling it "content"
Liked by: Becky Carmen Nolan Sullivan

### Dear Mr Burch. Given that it is a proven FACT that ethical games journalism is the forefront issue of our times Anita Sarkeesian is actually a giant lizard from the planet zblargg? #Yes #seriousmovement

October 29, 2014
yes

### I've never met you and blavis but you both come off as compassionate and kindhearted people. HAWP was instrumental in getting me to understand the privileges I have being a white male and helped me grow up a lot. Poop jokes and all. Hope you guys get through this intact. Are you going to GXdev?

October 29, 2014
Thanks so much! Probably not, though.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### There is a tweet of you on June 17th telling someone that you hope his family abandons him in his time of need. I cry,when I see how mean and insensitive you can be.....Then I use my tears as lube for when I'm fucking the spirit out of your (soon to be ex)wife.Would you like video for cuck purposes?

October 29, 2014
Well, I've only got the *one* family member abandoning me -- still got my fingers crossed that that dude's entire family forgets about him. And yours as well, obviously.
Liked by: jasmine Becky Jayne Nolan Sullivan Decinis Zachary Michaels

### you a cutie

October 29, 2014
thx
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### So here's a writing question. Do you think that harmful female tropes are inherently bad writing? Like, if a female character is still a physically weak damsel in distress, is she automatically a bad character? Or could a person write a damsel and have it still be considered a good female character?

October 29, 2014
You're basically asking about cliches, for which the answer is generally: sure, you can make it cool, but you have to try REALLY REALLY hard to make it cool. You need to understand the cliche up and down, and subvert it in a way that surprises the audience and isn't just the same old bullshit.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Were the other vault hunters meant to be in the closing cinematic instead of just Athena? The canon of whose there throughout the game is confusing

October 29, 2014
It's implied that they are all there at all times. We just chose the weirdness of "hey where did everyone go" over the weirdness of "hey why are there four people in this cut scene when I'm only one person" because the former weirdness is less work.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### CUCK TALES, A'WOO HOO!

October 29, 2014
alright this one's pretty good
Liked by: jasmine Becky Jayne Nolan Sullivan

### I really wanted to fall in love with Nisha. So, so, so, so badly. She is so cool. But I can't help but feel like she as a character exists too much for Jack and is based too much around expanding her existence as Jack's future girlfriend. I just wanted to express my intense frustration with that.

October 29, 2014
I felt like that was a problem in BL2, but that still bugged you in Pre-Sequel? I thought we gave her a lot to do/hate that had very little to do with Jack.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Does it make me a bad person if I'm not at all open to a relationship with a single mom? (Still willing to give em the ole pump and dump tho lol)

October 29, 2014
Reading the first sentence I was like "no," but the second sentence I was like "uh maybe"
Liked by: Jakob Brown Krysta Mewes Samantha Dale Alice F No Quarters Required Nolan Sullivan

### Those kinds of birds are extremely codependant. If you're single/in a relationship when you get them and then bring new people into your life the bird can get super jealous and attack/sqawk endlessly at it them to make them want to leave. just a btw

October 29, 2014
Oh, good note. The bird I had was a cockatiel and she didn't really mind that stuff. She was a sweetheart.

### Dear Mr. Burch, I believe you have misunderstood my question re: implicit assumptions. My point being that Ms. Sarkeesian does not properly address how women are perceived as more valuable and typically protected due to reproductive rates. Males are more expendable than females. Agree or disagree?

October 29, 2014
This is a point I see brought up a lot, and I legitimately have no idea what it means in practical terms. I mean, could you explain it to me? I've only ever heard it in the context of war (cause most soldiers are male) and, like, saying "women and children first" during emergencies and stuff. I assume it's some sort of attempt to balance the scales between women getting less money, fewer career opportunities and more sexual assault? To show that both genders have it equally bad or something?

I honestly don't understand it.

### On a completely unrelated note, favorite Ninja Turtle and why?

October 29, 2014
Michelangelo, cause he was funny. I thought he was funny when I was a kid, anyway.

### Dear Mr. Burch, Is it not also possible to agree with Ms. Sarkeesian's underlying concerns, but also feel that her methodology unintentially exacerbates the issues?

October 29, 2014
You certainly can think that, but I can't imagine why you would. She's not calling all men rapists, she's not saying "kill all men", she's not calling people bad people for enjoying games. She's itemizing and contextualizing sexist imagery and tropes in videogames.

Now, you can disagree with her on individual examples or issues. Anita thinks Bayonetta is problematic and sexually objectified for a presumed male viewer, Maddy Myers does not. They're both women, both feminists. You can disagree with individual things based on their individual merits.

That's not what I see when people talk about how the Fem Freq videos make things worse or make "implicit assumptions" about there needing to be less men in the world or something.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Dear Mr. Burch, Do you believe the biological fact that men are reproductively more expendable in proportion to women is adequately addressed in Sarkeesian's implicit assumptions (i.e. a society of women can successively propagate with relatively few men)?

October 29, 2014
That is a fuckin' BANANAS thing to attribute to Anita as an "implicit assumption." Holy shit. She talks about videogames and gender.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I've just finished borderlands presequel co-oping with my mate. I played as Athena and loved her and loved the game, also does she have a last name?

October 29, 2014
"Athena" is not her birth name.

### "I'm with GamerGate because I'm too goddamn lazy to find one of the multitudes of game critics out there who value the same things as I do and simply pay attention to that person. Game criticism now needs to be strictly homogeneous for my own comfort and validation." -- that last anon, who is dumb.

October 29, 2014
YeeeEEEeeep
Liked by: Jakob Brown jasmine Becky Nolan Sullivan

### "I'm with GamerGate because somebody disagrees with my objective opinion on a work of art AND THAT IS A BREACH OF ETHICS."

October 29, 2014
Yeeeeep
Liked by: Jakob Brown jasmine Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Yo when I get my bird do you want pics? It's just I wanna show the guy that got me into them

October 29, 2014
Yes, desperately
Liked by: jasmine mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### LOOK AT THESE BIRDS CHILLIN: https://33.media.tumblr.com/69daff5beb0254a3645161ffe7259dc7/tumblr_ndyxzlsQOC1tu0z5no1_500.jpg

October 29, 2014
oh god i'm going to die
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I'm with GamerGate because I'm tired of gaming journalism being in a state where Adam Sessler can, with a straight face, say GoneHomo is GOTY in the same year fucking GTA5 and The Last of Us came out. It has nothing to do with abusing women, stop clinging to your BS and acknowledge the fuckery.

October 28, 2014
"I am with gamergate because I have an atrocious understanding of how to value art"
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky Adam Kolacz Zachary Michaels Nolan Sullivan

### Anita thinks Twitch's new "no cam whoring" policy is misogynist, despite the fact it specifies no nudity/toplessness and applies to both genders. I'm fucking JACKED and stream shirtless for donations, but no, this is totally an attack on wimminz.

October 28, 2014
I disagree with Anita on that, too.

It is possible to disagree with Anita about things and not think she is a liar/thief/"divisive personality".
Liked by: jasmine Adam Kolacz Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### I know Anita is infallible in your eyes, but I think what the previous anon was getting at is that Anita is prone to cherry picking, has extremely divisive delivery, ran off with a bunch of people's money, and straight up doesn't acknowledge criticism; she doesn't even allow comments on her videos.

October 28, 2014
Cherry picking: Yes. When you make a series about specific instances of specific things in games, that's *literally what you are doing.* She's not making huge pronouncements about every aspect of every game, she's pointing out tropes. It's not her job to be evenhanded, it's her job to say, "hey, look at this, this is kind of problematic."

Divisive delivery: What? How is saying things in a straightforward way divisive? She's nowhere NEAR as "divisive" as ninety percent of internet personalities who insult and yell.

Ran off with a bunch of people's money: Yes, by making the thing she said she'd make. Christ. I wish I'd seen this part of your reply earlier, I woulda just deleted it and moved on with my life.

Comments: Yes, because Anita's presence summons trolls and hackers out of the woodwork who would love to trigger people just for fun. Also, you know PewDiePie doesn't allow comments either, right? Maybe that's got more to do with the fact that comments are a goddamn horrible cesspool and less to do with the creator?

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Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown jasmine Adam Kolacz No Quarters Required Gabriel Costantino Carmen John-Charles Holmes Nolan Sullivan

### How do you feel when someone on this ask.fm comes up with a good Borderlines story alternative that could have worked better than what you wrote?

October 28, 2014
"god DAMMIT"
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown mackenzie charlton Becky Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### CONGRATULATIONS anthony burch YOU'VE WON A WEEKLY SUPPLY OF sadness FOR THE PERIOD OF your life. WE'LL BE SHIPPING THAT OUT TO YOU ASAP! SINCERELY, YOUR BRAIN.

October 28, 2014
oh hey it arrived
Liked by: jasmine

### Playing as Wilhelm makes me literally feel like I'm playing as the Terminator. I would like to request that you high-five any individuals from Gearbox/2K Aus which had anything to do with creating this character.

October 28, 2014
I will touch all their hands with my hand.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### Check out this Burch/He's a fancy dancer/He'll put a real good hurt/On ya Fedoramancers/Say, who's the Burch?!/Yeah, you's the Burch!/Yeah! 80's rap!/Whatwhat? Whatwhat? ... Much love to ya, Anthony. FRESH PRINCE OUT.

October 28, 2014
I like it
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### There should be more character arcs where characters who are survivors of abuse (such as Angel, Nisha, and Jack) don't end up a) evil, b) dead, or c) both. More character arcs where survivors end up being decent ppl and not begging for death! It would send a more hopeful message to irl survivors!

October 28, 2014
Yeah, that's very true...I'll keep that in mind for the future. Damn, good catch.
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Jakob Brown jasmine Decinis mackenzie charlton Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Y'know, I wouldn't call Wilhelm 'unfeeling', even though that's what you were going for. My friends and I have found him surprisingly adorable, in that he does get excited about or interested in things despite his gruff shrugging it off. He worships Robocop & loves robots, transhumanist ace is A-OK!

October 28, 2014
Haha, alright. That's fair.
Liked by: Decinis

### Do you think that, in 1-2 decades, you'd do a 'Remastered' edition remake of Borderlands 2 if given the chance? One with not just updated graphics and effects, but where you fix a lot of the mistakes and looking-back-in-hindsight wishes that haunt you about the game?

October 28, 2014
Nah. That path leads to Lucas.
Liked by: sad boy Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Dear Mr. Burch, If I compared the gamergate anger to the Key&Peele comedy sketch, 'School Bully,' how would you feel about it and how would you interpret that? How would you feel if I said that I felt that Anita Sarkeesian is intellectually dishonest and although well-spoken, acts out similarly?

October 28, 2014
I'd feel really weird about anyone accusing Anita of "acting out."

She makes videos critiquing games. And tweets and talks at conferences. That's it.
Liked by: jasmine Nolan Sullivan

### is there going to be more Mr.Blake in the future? As vice president of Hyperion, you'd think we'd have seen more of him, and even with the claptrap robolution involved in the presequel. I just don't want him to be forgotton.

October 28, 2014
Yeah, probably. I mean, he's not dead, which means I will desperately scramble to use him to plug a plot hole or convey information at some point in the future if there's any more Borderlands.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### i feel immensely conflicted as it was both you and jontron that got me into getting a bird i'm getting it in a month

October 28, 2014
Birds are wonderful, you should totally get one.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### Would the Vault Key draining Lilith of her Siren powers if she came close in proximity to it have been functionally the same as damsel-ing her, or would that have gotten around it? Removing her über powers but keeping her agency (would also explain Angel not being able to shift away to escape)

October 28, 2014
That's not a bad idea. It would have resulted in the slightly-weird scenario of Lilith staying back at home base during the big fight cause she was le tired, but it definitely would have avoided damselling. Damn, good thought.

### I NEED MORE HAWP! THE CULT OF PAPA BURCH HAS SPOKEN. please?.. xox

October 28, 2014
Soon!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### so how come we didn't get that high five and turbo-mansion we were promised?

October 28, 2014
Because Jack is a welcher
Liked by: Decinis sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### Have you seen the tumblr blog askmrtorgue.tumblr.com ? I think it is absolutely perfect and in character

October 28, 2014
Yeah, it's pretty sweet.

### That last comment about Wilhelm strikes me as a little funny, as Wilhelm is a beardy man man but I also get a distinct asexual (maybe greysexual?) feel from the guy. He doesn't seem interested in sex or romance much, he's too busy thinking about cool robots and how can he be a cool robot too.

October 28, 2014
Maybe? I wouldn't feel comfortable outright confirming that he is or not, cause he wasn't necessarily designed with that in mind (except in that his personality was always "he only cares about money and literally nothing else," which I guess includes sexual desire). And I also dunno if it's cool to equate "person who doesn't have sexual desires" with "person who is an unfeeling merc who turns into an unfeeling robot".
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Hello! I'm wondering.. is Athena/Janey Springs a thing, or is it 100% one-sided? I like to think they're dating, but well, Athena's said something about love not being her thing... but on the other hand, there's the picture in the credits and Ath telling Tina she's 'hit that'.dammit, i NEED TO KNOW

October 28, 2014
Heh
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Given how much Jack liked Nisha in the Pre-Sequel and that their a couple by Bl2, why did Jack react with only being 'slightly pissed'?

October 28, 2014
Becaaaause I honestly didn't think we'd get a Pre-Sequel where their relationship was more developed. If I'd known then what I knew now, I probably would have made him super angry. And maybe not had her be part of a totally optional side area.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Manaphy Natu Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Thank you for making Wilhelm all that is MAN. For a game that's allegedly nonstop SJW/LGBT/wimminz pandering, I felt right at home.

October 27, 2014
so much beard

### It seems the Eridian story was abandoned in between games, Was that planned or did you just want to focus on an overarching story of Jack and Hyperion? What made you decide not to delve into the Eridians in the second game?

October 27, 2014
Initially we wanted to make the story as focused as humanly possible on our one villain. In actuality, the stuff with the Warrior and a second Vault didn't come into play until pretty damn late in production at Randy's suggestion.
Liked by: Decinis

### what's some anime you've liked?

October 27, 2014
NIchijou, Azumanga Daioh, Princess Jellyfish, MIllennium Actress, Grave of the Fireflies, Tokyo Godfathers, Samurai Champloo, Paranoia Agent
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### As someone who has watched every episode of HAWP and played both of the borderlands games you've written several times, where could I find more of your writing? I've enjoyed most of what you've done and would be interested in seeing more.

October 27, 2014
Thaaaat's pretty much it, to be totally honest.

### Have you read The Wicked + Divine yet? The first arc just finished and I'm interested in your thoughts.

October 27, 2014
I fucking LOVE The Wicked + The Divine. One of my favorite new comics, easily.
Liked by: Decinis Rachel Dellerman Nolan Sullivan

### You have many fans, myself included, but you do still know and experience feelings of isolation and loneliness? The most popular person in the world will still feel in such a manner from time to time. Being a part of a group can be both fulfilling and belittling (ie another cog in the machine).

October 27, 2014
Of course. I think everyone feels isolated or lonely much of the time, and it's something I've struggled with on and off for my entire life. The main struggle, the most important part for me, is to not let that loneliness consume or define me -- that I'm not lonely cause I'm a piece of shit or cause nobody likes me, I'm lonely cause sometimes people get lonely and that's fine.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Although there are visual novels with gameplay segments, the genre in general is low budged and niche, so even if creators wanted to make more animated experience, they couldn't. If clicking to advance text annoys you, you could play in auto-mode. There's some really nice stories in the medium.

October 27, 2014
Yeah, I'm considering watching some let's plays of Hatoful Boyfriend or that one about the girls with disabilities.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I finished playing TPS and I wanted to say, as a girl and a lesbian, I felt really welcome playing the game in a way I usually don't when I play FPSs. I'm not sure how to put it; after a while, it just felt like I could let my guard down for once. Tons of gratitude to you and the other writers!

October 27, 2014
THis made me so happy! Thank you so much for telling me.
Liked by: Anthony Nunez Nolan Sullivan

### dude, i watched a livestream of sunset overdrive and i'm so excited! your character can wear chest binders and it looked like "gender" was replaced by a "body-type" menu. or you could just have any body type (boobs, no boobs, super muscly or not) regardless of gender idk. either way: great, right?

October 27, 2014
Gahhhh so good I really hope it does well
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Hey so recently I've heard about the claptrap web series should I watch it like even though it was made around the time of borderlands 1 does it add any plot or is it just a good laugh?

October 27, 2014
There's no plot stuff in any of em.

### does that "I need to have an orgasm" tension go away after a while of not jerking off at every possible opportunity ?

October 27, 2014
Yep! It can come back after some time, but I've gone weeks without even thinking about jerking off after basically weening myself off jerkin' it. It used to just be a part of my daily routine, and once I stopped that, it didn't dig at me like it used to.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### i'm a female gamer and most of my friends are as well. if "gamur gurlz" exist, i've never met one. why would a girl lie about being a gamer? hell, sometimes when i'm playing multiplayer games, i pretend NOT to be a girl so people won't be creeps. anon, you don't know what you're talking about.

October 27, 2014
Yeah, the accusations really doesn't make any sense to me at all anymore.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Decinis Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Did anything come out of your month without video games? I'm thinking of doing something similar.

October 26, 2014
Kinda? I watched more TV. I think I should probably do a month without tv/movies/games to see if anything REALLY shifts.

It did give me less patience for games once I got back into the swing of things, though. I used to play a lot of games just for Something To Do, but after spending a month without them and seeing how many books/comics/shows/movies I need to catch up on, I feel way less interested in playing subpar games or replaying old games just for Something to Do. I feel like my time is better spent with highly recommended stuff I haven't gotten around to rather than old stuff I already know I like, or new stuff that's not really interesting except in that it's new.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### "First it was about exposing corruption, now it's about "the SJW circlejerk"? You realize those are two completely separate goals, right?" Actually they're one in the same, more often than not. I'm tired of a bunch of degenerates making everything about their alleged plight.

October 26, 2014
What are you even --

Okay, so, this is it, right? This is the point. You have two supposed goals:

1. Get rid of corruption, stop collusion, be completely transparent in games journalism.

2. Stop feminists from getting all feministy in games criticism cause games are just about fun and discussing their social ramifications is masturbatory or actively harmful.

Can you see how there is actually NO connection between those two things? How your actual ire and hatred and irritation at #2 is completely disconnected from #1? How #1 is a halfheartedly, poorly-researched excuse to try to support the utterly unrelated #2?

That's TREMENDOUSLY obvious to you, right?
Liked by: Jakob Brown Becky Nolan Sullivan Zachary Michaels

### I feel like your posts about gamergate on ask.fm are so much more interesting and eye-opening than the ones on your twitter. Do you agree that the character limit makes discussion about it impossible and gamergaters' insistence on trying to debate on twitter is part of why it has become such a mess?

October 26, 2014
Yeah, more than likely. I vent on twitter, have actual points to make on here. It's unfortunate -- my twitter followers far outnumber my ask.fm followers, so I feel like I can do more good on twitter, but inevitably the medium doesn't lend itself to doing a lot of good.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Zetto Sami

### It's not a reactionary hate movement, it's about ethics in game journalism! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B039dzwCIAA3l8B.png:large

October 26, 2014
jesus

### I'm not condoning literally ANYTHING that has been done to Zoe/Anita/Felicia, but come on, you have to admit GAMUR GURLZ are a thing, and they are the majority of women who game. And they're annoying.

October 26, 2014
None of the things you just said are true. What do you define gamer gyrlz as? I used to think they were a problem -- women faking an interest in nerd stuff to make a quick buck off its sudden surge in popularity -- but the more you find out anything about the Morgan Webbs, Jessica Chobots and Anitas of the world, the more obvious it becomes that the stereotype of the fake gamer girl is literally not real.

Looking back, this rage was just the first step of am attempt to kick women out for basically irrelevant reasons. First, it was that they didn't actually play games. Then it was that they're corrupting games. Then it's that they're making games less ethical. It's all just misogyny by other names.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Krysta Mewes Becky Nolan Sullivan Zetto Sami

### /v/ guy: Speaking of which, it may warm your heart to know some shitwaffle made a thread suggesting "anonymous" (seriously we hate these kids) go after Davis. It was... not well received; I've never seen so much abuse poured on to one sociopath who deserved it so very much. Also he was permabanned.

October 26, 2014
Jesus fucking Christ. Thanks -- I appreciate it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Then why are you people constantly harassing the women of gamergate

October 26, 2014
Not that it forgives it -- I don't approve of the anti-GG individuals who resort to the same tactics that GG uses on a daily basis -- but probably because GG in general started with the intent of harassing women and justifying that harassment, and the ignorant dupes who help the GG movement are furthering people like Anita, Zoe and Brianna being frightened out of their homes by death threats?

Again, it's bad that some GG women get doxxed. It's horrible, and I don't condone it.

"But that's the same thing as us, we don't approve the harassment of SJWs by some outlier GG individ--"

Shut up. GG was born SPECIFICALLY to harass people. Its boards on 8chan are full of attempts to organize harassment and doxxing. Anytime women are involved, almost irrespective of context (whether it's Felicia Day saying she's scared of being doxed or a female academic trying to put together a study about the cultural interests of gamers, or DiGRA having the audacity to have women academics), there is a consistent and organized effort to harm and silence these women. And every time, a cavalcade of well-meaning dupes who joined the movement because they literally don't know what "ethics" or "journalism" mean, or because they just hate "SJW" politics (which, if there's a difference between that and misogyny I'm really curious to know what it is), saying that these people don't represent them.

Sorry, they do. THey are the people who built the house you live in and have defined its direction and impact every single step of the way. Your insistence that "they don't represent us" is actually meaningless when harassment is the only concrete thing your movement has ever, ever done.

"SJW" also isn't a movement. It's just "people who aren't pro-GG."

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Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Zachary Michaels

### Have you managed to keep up with your exercising schedule? I used to go running a lot until college work got in the way.

October 26, 2014
Yeah. Doing Insanity has been helpful for that because it's specifically timed and you can do it from home.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### So I was kind of an ignorant dick. Not actively mysogynistic, but problematic in a lot of ways purely because I'd never really -thought- about all this. Playing BL2 and enjoying your writing led me to HAWP. HAWP led me here. This place really fuckin' enlightened me, so thank you for that. :)

October 26, 2014
Woooo yeah girl
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### to the person asking about nisha's last name forever ago; it's kadam.

October 26, 2014
Oh right!
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### P1. I'm a white dude. I was watching a Janelle Monae music vid and the entire cast was black and I started thinking for the first time ever, "Wow, I feel like I'm not welcome here." Then I realized it was fucking genius for inverting how minorities feel ALL THE TIME.

October 26, 2014
Oh shit
Liked by: Jeffrey jasmine Becky Nolan Sullivan

### can you give me a laymans terms version of the sjw side of gamergate

October 26, 2014
"We don't like it when people harass women"
Liked by: Jakob Brown Becky Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### is it weird that deep down a piece of me wants to be bisexual just so that i know write now what my sexuality is?

October 26, 2014
No, that's not weird at all. Sexuality is confusing and nowhere near as specific as I'm sure many people would wish.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### What happened to Zoe and Anita is regrettable but those were actions committed by people clinging to a movement out of a desire to belong to something, anything, whilst being VERY out of touch with what the movement stands for. Simply put we're tired of gaming being a soapbox for the SJW circlejerk.

October 26, 2014
Yall need to make a decision. First it was about exposing corruption, now it's about "the SJW circlejerk"? You realize those are two completely separate goals, right? And that one of those goals is basically "I don't like it when people have politics different than me," which isn't something you can actually fight against? Just make a conservative gamer blog or something.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Zachary Michaels

### "Is it really so ubiquitous that it's just impossible for you to ignore?" Well I mean, yeah, it kind of is. Especially considering the cult-like hostility SJW show anyone who publicly expresses any kind of conservative opinion. I bet you'd shit a walrus if someone tried to organize a heterogamercon

October 26, 2014
That's because you have, like, ninety percent of con's catering specifically to you. Are you really looking at anything that isn't a hundred percent targeted JUST for you as some form of persecution? Do you also think the war on Christmas is a thing?
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### "If you don't like the stuff on those sites, I don't see why the solution isn't just "go to different sites."" And yet when some headcase pisses and moans about a game "triggering" them the solution isn't "play a different game."

October 26, 2014
That's because there is an actual, physical reaction that occurs when someone is triggered. The fact that you are too ignorant to understand the difference between that and being offended at discussion of social issues is your own fault.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### As someone who is gay, thank you for including lgbt characters. It ain't forced at all. Its actually quite refreshing!

October 26, 2014
yaaay thanks
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I don't know if you care/considered this, but as a gamer with conservative beliefs, "gaming journalism" being a closed circle of token liberal SJWs leaves me feeling more or less without a voice. I'm not even anti social justice, I'm just against having the agenda shoved down my throat. EVERYWHERE.

October 26, 2014
If GG had just said straight out that it was about anger at progressivism (and not "ethics"), I'd probably have a lot less hatred toward it.

Is it really so ubiquitous that it's just impossible for you to ignore? You can't just go to generally apolitical sites like IGN or Gamespot or Game Informer? Or just avoid opinion pieces? If you don't like the stuff on those sites, I don't see why the solution isn't just "go to different sites."
Liked by: Jakob Brown Gumba Masta Zachary Michaels Nolan Sullivan

### Why do you hate visual novels?

October 26, 2014
They're movies, except if I had to press the "play" button every three seconds to make the story continue. I'd rather just watch a let's play of them or something.

### Did you ever play any TCGs? How about board games?

October 26, 2014
I play tons of board games. I played Netrunner for a while, as well.

Also, everyone should play Dead of Winter.

### To dudebro who asked about you trying to "make people like gay people" -- why do 95% of other writers try to "make people like straight people"? I mean, if we're going to get pissy about sexuality, I'd say heterosexuality gets rammed down society's collective throats FAR more often. Yet... silence.

October 26, 2014
Heterosexuality/whiteness/whathaveyou is "the norm" so we, weirdly, make exceptions for it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Hey beardy babe. Do you know of any good Twine style programs that are easy to use but have a more rigorous if/then kind of programming system to them? A lot of the Twines I try to write end up having more complicated variables and Twine gets wonky with them. And learning html is waaaaay beyond me.

October 26, 2014
I hear Inform 7 is really good.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino Decinis

### Mister Torgue seems to parallel your own journey to feminism and Gaige you described as accidentally being your Dream Girl. Are there any other semi-autobiographical characters floatin' round there?

October 26, 2014
Some of the stuff about Claptrap's loneliness is I guess based on my experience, as is Roland's general lack of social skills.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Despite Jack and Nisha being evil, I can't help but hope that there is a little boy in a cowboy hat with heterchromia being raised by Hyperion Loaders with Nanny AIs named Jack Jr wanting to get revenge on the Vault Hunters for killing his parents before he could because they missed his birthday

October 26, 2014
That kid would grow up to be a pretty big asshole
Liked by: Jeffrey Calum Bain Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Suggestion for the person who does the art: Tiny Tina having tea with Ashly Burch.

October 26, 2014
aww
Liked by: Jakob Brown Calum Bain Becky Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### Do you think it's possible to be in love with a fictional character?

October 26, 2014
Not in a healthy way, I don't think. Even the best fictional characters aren't even a tenth as complicated and three-dimensional as human beings. I'd be worried that falling in love with a fictional character would make one ill-prepared to deal with real relationships.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### something i absolutely love about nisha is that what makes her sexy is her personality alone. I'm drawing her rn and im just appreciating that she has no cleavage, no ample bosom, ect. like, exposed middriff sure but who cares??? like- as a fellow female i appreciate every woman added in the PS

October 26, 2014
Yeah, I love that about her to. That as all Matias Tapia, her concept artist.
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Jeffrey Becky Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Have you played the cave? playing right now and I think it's one of the funniest awesomest games ever

October 26, 2014
I have not -- the reviews were all kinda meh, so I skipped out on it. Maybe I'll give it a try now, though!

### Is there a way to still get your old rev rants? http://www.destructoid.com/rev-rant-rape-suicide-and-indie-games-148797.phtml I still love those and kinda miss your weekly features. People might know you as the dude who puts buttstallions in games but to me you were the first dude to spell artgame.

October 26, 2014
I think if you search for em on youtube, that's as good as it gets. The original files are all super duper lost on an old, crappy Mac I had.

### "The 98% of the world that isn't gay needs to get used to, and comfortable with, seeing gay people" I'm fine with gay people, frequently hang out with a gay friend I met at work (he is god tier Shiek omg...) I'm still not a fan of it being thrown in my face ala pride parades/your narrative.

October 26, 2014
Super psyched about your "hey, I have a black friend" logic
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton Decinis

### so people are complaining about janey's homosexuality being too "blatant" and "forced." received any complaints about nina's heterosexuality being too overt as well? i mean, there's an ENTIRE MISSION where you help her find a boyfriend. do you have a heterosexual agenda or something?!

October 26, 2014
booooooom
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Becky Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Hmm, I feel like there's been an overt amount of Lilith hate going on, and I feel like its entirely circulated around TPS ending. She made some bad calls but none of this has killed the Merits Lilith had for me thus far. Wanted to say that I still love Lilith and hope to see more character growth.

October 24, 2014
Yeah. The end of PS is one of the few times Lilith makes a really big choice that shows off her agency, and it's a divisive decision. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the hate. It's entirely my fault. Hope to fix it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### why do you think its your quest to make people "like" gay people?Why make most of the characters in BLPS? It feels forced and in your face as hell. If you really want to push your agenda do it w/out attaching it to an established product like BL. The 1st had boring plot but at least it wasnt cringey

October 24, 2014
Kiss my ass
Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino Becky sad boy Carmen soha

### I've actually heard that as much as 10% of the world's population could be gay, but with all the negative connotations and reactions and often violent lashing out still happening pretty much everywhere a big chunk are too scared to confirm it, remain in denial or don't realize it.

October 24, 2014
That sounds entirely possible.
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Nolan Sullivan

### Is it possible for someone to be unlovable?

October 24, 2014
I mean, sure, people like Charles Manson or whatever, but if we're talking your average not-murderous-psychopath, then no, I don't think you can really honestly be unlovable. Things may seem really shitty or desperate now, but there's somebody for everybody, I think.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I'm REALLY trying to like Lilith, but she just doesn't seem to have any redeeming qualities. She's not as wholesome, endearing, or precocious as Gaige, and she's not as Maya as Maya. As her writer, what am I supposed to like about her? She comes off as in dire need of a hate fucking.

October 24, 2014
Hrm. Well, I like that she's kind of sarcastic and casual, and that she really cares about her friends. Though the fact that you had that reaction means I probably need to give her something more clearly likeable to do in the future.

### In regards to the hindsight question and enslaving Angel too early: that was mentioned what, once in an echo log somewhere? That's prime retcon material right there, one that'd help the overall story that I doubt even a single person would mind.

October 24, 2014
Yeah, but it's a retcon that essentially changes who Jack is (Han shooting first) and I'm really uncomfortable with that.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### http://s27.postimg.org/4f02a5l03/overprotective.png Brick would know P:

Carmen
October 24, 2014
god yeah I saw that last night, it's so good
Liked by: Kerissa Young Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Seems like you're enjoying Hatoful Boyfriend. Got any interest in reading other visual novels?

October 24, 2014
I hate visual novels :(
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### You've said borderlands-themed porn doesn't bother you, and it doesn't bother me. However, when characters that shouldn't be sexualized at all, even in fandom are, it bothers me to no end. For example, if I see a Elizabeth (bioshock) erotic fanart, I'm disgusted. Where should we draw the line?

October 24, 2014
I dunno how much line-drawing really matters, cause it's not exactly something you can control. People are gonna (and already have) made borderlands-themed porn that I really, really, really felt weird about, but that's what they wanna do and I don't think it harms the original work in any significant way.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Usagi2099

### Dear sir or madam. It has come to our attention that you at one time claimed to be a goat. We here at Goats Institute could not find a record of your enrollment in goat sympathy classes. You will be fined three (3) goat cheese each month until you provide proof of goatship.

October 24, 2014
fuck fuck fuck they found me fuck goddamnit shit fuck
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Adam Robert Sherman Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan Becky Usagi2099

### 2-3% of the worlds population is gay. 50% of the cast of the pre-sequel are gay. Explain this.

October 24, 2014
The 98% of the world that isn't gay needs to get used to, and comfortable with, seeing gay people.
Liked by: Аракчеев. Daria Drenker Samantha Walden Krina скевес Jakob Brown Calum Bain Samantha Dale sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### I get what's the deal with Zarpedon's last name (nice greek refrence btw) but what's the deal with her first name?

October 24, 2014
No idea -- you'd have to ask Maurice or Marek.

### Just wanted to pop by and say I hope you're having a lovely day! And if you're not having a lovely day whenever you see this, I hope your day gets 24958x better :) Thanks for being you, Anthony <333

October 24, 2014
Thanks!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### How many rewrites did it take to get the nuance of Jack's arc to the point you could actually sympathise with him while still acknowledging he was deserving of his fate in BL2? That's a really complex thing to pull off, up there with Time Lord Victorious for me, well done

October 23, 2014
About three or four. I'm glad you dug his arc! I don't think we quite made it aaaall the way there, but I'm psyched it worked for you.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### Does it upset you when people wind up loving characters that they weren't really intended to love? Or is it cool that even your "bad guys" wind up being held in such high regard?

October 23, 2014
Nah, it's still flattering. You're supposed to kinda-sorta like Jack in some ways, so it's still a win.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton Decinis

### So will this war that was mentioned be a dlc or another entire game i understand if you wait to answer this due to the game just coming out this month but im highly curious

Theyre_not_people
October 23, 2014
this is the war http://tilde.club/~waxpancake/running/
Liked by: sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### I've been interested in a girl for almost two years. She recently started dating a guy that she now realizes she's never going to love. The past few weeks, she's been flirting and saying "How about me and you run away together?" and how I should move to be closer to her. Should I try and see where i

October 23, 2014
You could fly down for a date or two, if nothing else. Moving seems like a really big jump for something that's not a sure thing.

### Am I the only one that finds it ironic that gamergate claims to want to make things more open, will DoXX people who stand against them while hiding behind fake usernames and anon ability? Can we get to work on DoXXing the hardcore gamergaters? Speaking as a 6'2 guy, I'd love to just stand in front o

October 23, 2014
I don't feel comfortable using the same tactics on them they've used on others. Which has happened, and is shitty, and gives them an excuse to play the victim card arbitrarily without examining their own actions.
Liked by: Joao

### Can I just say thanks to you guys for giving Moxxi even more much needed character development in TPS? It made me really happy to see her with more depth like that, and the Ellie's logo on her overalls was a perfect little touch!

October 23, 2014
Wooo I've been waiting for someone to say this since launch, thank you
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### So if you had perfect hindsight and knew the Pre-Sequel would be a thing when you started 2, what would you change about both games?

October 23, 2014
Probably wouldn't have made Jack enslave Angel so early.
Liked by: Zach Wilson Kerissa Young

### Hey! I was wondering who wrote Felicity's dialouge for BL:TPS. I really love how her character kind of commented on the nature of humanity and how disgusting we are as people. Or maybe I'm reading into it too deep.

October 23, 2014
Maurice and Marek!

### My take on Roland was he's confident and at home on the battlefield, but is awkward in social situations. Y/N?

October 23, 2014
Y

### I like Gravity Falls too. Speaking of Mabel, do you like Louise from Bob's Burgers? If they got into a fight, who would win?

October 23, 2014
Louise is without mercy or empathy, so easily her.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you have any tips for figuring out and consistently conveying a character's voice? Either your own character, or someone else's that you're writing?

October 23, 2014
Richard Dansky has a cool exercise he does that I like, where you make a list of words that character would use quasi-frequently and then you make a list of words that character would NEVER use.
Liked by: jasmine Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Do you watch Gravity falls? Something about Dipper and Mabel remind me of you and Ash.

October 23, 2014
Yeah, I dig Gravity Falls. Mabel is my favorite.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I think a retroactive reason why Roland is so awkward about being leader is because he sorta feels guilty about everything that's happened during PS and BL2?

October 23, 2014
Sure!
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### you're cute, funny, and talented and make my heart go doki-doki

October 23, 2014
(throws turnip at you)
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Are you actually a reverend or are you just saying that

October 23, 2014
ULC
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Hey Anthony! Do you like Ratchet and Clank by any chance? :D

October 23, 2014
Yeah, it's pretty fun. The games are too easy to really hold my interest for more than a few hours, but they're gorgeous candy.

### http://s15.postimg.org/szmvw8qej/zzz.jpg I been swamped with work lately, but I'll draw you something epic when I'm caught up. keep your head above water, Anthony. we all love you

October 23, 2014
awwwww he got sleepy writing his memoirs
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan sad boy Becky Gabriel Costantino

### I was wondering who chooses the intro and credits music? Just finished TPS and holy shit was the credits song ever perfect! I think that, along with the intro music for BL2 have been the greatest musical choices I've seen in ages. They both really resonate w/ Jack for me which is perfect :)

October 22, 2014
Intro music was Mikey Neumann, outro music was just that The Heavy song again, wasn't it? Which is...I guess marketing in general?
Liked by: Becky

### Do you like gothalions videos ?

October 22, 2014
Don't watch em

### Admin for the Borderlands wiki here, trying to figure out what to name the Guardian from TPS (Unless of course you're not answering Spoiler-y questions which I'd 100% understand). Anything you can say?

October 22, 2014
We internally called her The Watcher, but that's not, like, her "real" name or anything
Liked by: The Global Network

### RE: fiction stories. I found the flow is my problem too. My experience was with scripts where every description is a concrete detail or important action, and prose is so meandering. It was hard to make the transition. Helps to find a voice that excuses your shortcomings: first person, stream of con.

October 22, 2014
Yeah, that definitely helps. If you just write as a character and, hey, the CHARACTER happens to use really meandering language and incorrect grammar, then hey.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino Decinis

### I wanna draw something cute with the borderlands girls, what should I draw?

October 22, 2014
The Borderlands girls playing with Sailor Moon action figures. Or playing D&D.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky Nolan Sullivan

### bet you got a pretty ok dick, bud

October 22, 2014
Thanks?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### you're kind of an asshole but you also do really good with girl player characters so i'm conflicted

October 22, 2014
Thanks?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Since you wrote most of Nisha's stuff, maybe you'd know - When she's using her action skill sometimes she'll say, "The name's Nisha. _____ if you're nasty." I can't ever make out or hear what she's saying in the blank because of the combat sounds.

October 22, 2014
I think it's her last name.

### I love love love the HAWP dvd easter egg of SNES Aladdin on the carpet while Ash sings Whole New World. Is there a story behind its inception/creation?

October 22, 2014
Nope! Just thought it'd be funny. Well, we were gonna make it an entire HAWP episode until we realized how super illegal that would be.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I like your name. When people are friendly, they can be like, hey, Anthony! And when they're mad, they can be like, BURCH. Anyways, now that there's more than one person sending you pictures, I'll stop being anonymous. And I'll send you a drawing later. After I draw.

Carmen
October 22, 2014
Yeah, my last name's pretty decent imo
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### So, the other day I was reading some of your socially-aware tweets to my husband, who promptly groaned and said: "stupid Anthony Burch, making me care." "About him, or about things?" "Both!" You're fantastic. Now for the unrelated question: How do you get yourself to sit down and write?

October 22, 2014
haha, thanks.

in regards to sitting down and writing, schedule time. Make yourself write SOMETHING. Make a period of time where you MUST write, and write that entire time. Ideally aim for some sort of page goal.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Shadow of Mordor for PC is currently $33 on BundleStars. Do I buy it?

October 22, 2014
YES
Liked by: Decinis not mr. McKay

### Fan of MST3K at all? If so, favorite episodes?

October 21, 2014
Manos, obviously, and Space Mutiny.
Liked by: Becky

### I dunno if it's extreme modesty or a negative self-image, but I notice you put yourself down a lot, at least in terms of looks. Because comments from complete strangers usually boost me a lot more than those from loved ones (for obvious reasons), I gotta say, I think you're hot & I totally would.

October 21, 2014
Heh, thanks.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Gabriel Costantino

### Tony baby, how's things?

October 21, 2014
aight
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I think the reason there's less character-player dissonance in pre-sequel is because of the pre-defined personalities? So you're prepared to feel like them if you chose to play as them, even the visual designs kind of convey each of them. Or maybe the writing is just consistent enough.

October 21, 2014
Maybe? Arguably you could say the same about any other pre-defined character (Nathan Drake, Sam Fisher).
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Since people have been asking about bringing characters back to life I'll recommend this for a read. http://www.avclub.com/article/fake-deaths-cheap-resurrections-and-dealing-real-g-210402

October 21, 2014
Yeah, that's a really good read...I wonder if it's not as bad if you do it with villains, cause you're not meant to love villains.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### BURCH!

October 21, 2014
hi
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### So what would you recommend for people who want to get into writing? And to be clear, what you do is more script writing or articles on your website right? So no fiction or short stories etc.?

October 21, 2014
Advice: just write. Reviews, fan fiction, original stories, web shows, twine games (especially twine games because twine is SO easy to use).

I write scripts, articles and short stories, generally.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Decinis

### Here ya go, Anthony, one cute little drawing of Ellie. http://i.imgur.com/MG5KhIs.jpg (Sorry if this came through twice, my internet dropped while I hit the ask button)

October 21, 2014
oh my guhhhhhhhhh
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Were the Quarantine quests supposed to be a reference to the Dead Island series in any way?

October 21, 2014
I doooon't think so? Maybe? Rick Porter made them and he's pretty upfront about his references, so I doubt it.

### (BLPS Spoilers possibly) I've always loved Brick. But my roommate and I just started on Ultimate Vault Hunter mode in Pre-Sequel, and I just keep gushing when he starts talking and messing around with Tina. I never thought He'd be this adorable! Were you responsible for the lines or someone else?

October 21, 2014
Yeah, that was me. It's a cliche thing to have the big guy be a softie and best friends with a little girl, but, eh, fuck it. And thank you for being so nice!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Xavby the Skink

### Finishing the pre-sequel gave me such a rush of just... Pure elation? Like... The credits music and the pictures that were shown and the ending itseLF it was just so cool oh my gosh!! I am totally pumped now *V* thank you for helping such a great game come to be! you rule

October 21, 2014
Thanks!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### actually that one was just me again

October 21, 2014
well played

### Yahtzee Croshaw writes fiction books. You could write fiction books, no prob, Bob.

October 21, 2014
We'll see. I have a hard time just getting the sentences to flow into one another. I've spent so much time writing for games and web series where you can just rely on dialog and really curt descriptions (a lot of my BL2 scripts have notes like "then the player kills a bunch of shit").
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### would you could you fuck a toon?

October 21, 2014
what

probably

### yo I do the same thing as the person you called a dick

October 21, 2014
you dick

### My issue with calling myself Anti-GG is that there's douchebags on that side too. And if the Anti-GG viewpoint is 'GG is bad because there's a lot of douchebags', then to me that's more of a reason to say that the whole thing is toxic than to take sides? Does that make sense?

October 21, 2014
Every movement inevitably has douchebags. The difference is GG was specifically made with douchebaggy goals and has continued to perpetuate those goals no matter what, while putting up a bullshit front of "we're anti-harassment" that has been proven false time and time again.

Yes, there are people who have been horribly mean from the anti-GG side who absolutely should not have. That doesn't mean that anti-GG (which isn't even a "group," it's just people who aren't part of this fucking psychotic hate movement) is "just as bad" as GG or something, because only one of these groups was formed and promoted specifically to harass women.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Zachary Michaels sad boy

### I am seeing all these people having felt what their character was feeling. While I can somewhat relate to this I suppose, in the late game I kept feeling more n' more conflicted, I suppose? Maybe conflicted isn't the right word. It was like... No, stop. No that guy is bad stop... (AMAZING GAME THO!)

October 21, 2014
That sounds fair.

### I've presented my questions to you in different ways before to make myself seem like different people so you should probably take one or two people away from however many people you think ask you questions.

October 21, 2014
you dick

### re: writing. That does give me hope! I'm going to try giving myself a deadline and just pushing. One last question, How often do you feel your stories are cliche or too generic just because you thought of them and if you could think of them everyone else can? That's my biggest fear.

October 21, 2014
I wouldn't worry too much about that, because blah blah there are only so many stories blah. It's the execution that matters, and just make sure your execution feels new (Pixar has a rule about throwing away your first five ideas cause they're too obvious).
Liked by: Decinis

### What kept you going as a writer early on? I've always struggled with the need for validation/support, and my parents constantly told me writing wasn't a "real" job. Now I'm in my 20's, still struggling with my writer-ly self worth / fighting to remind myself that being a writer isn't shameful.

October 21, 2014
Getting paid for it (Dtoid, then HAWP) helped a lot, personally. Showing my writing to people I respected who would be honest also helped.
Liked by: Decinis

### Thank you for posting that Ira Glass video! I needed that :) I have this horrible issue where I have TONS of ideas people love, but I have trouble pulling the trigger on any of them. They stay ideas, and maybe I tell someone the story verbally. But they usually never make it to paper/word processor.

October 21, 2014
Pulling the trigger is, without a question, the hardest part. But if you can do that, and keep at it, and see it to completion, you've done something magnificent.
Liked by: Becky Gabriel Costantino Decinis

### Now I really wanna draw something cute for you, if you'll have me~ Any requests?

October 21, 2014
Something with Ellie!

### David Tennant shows up at your door in full Doctor, holding chocolates, massage oils, and fresh pizza. He smiles like he just remembered something endearing and eternal about humanity. "Hey, Anthony," he says. "You make me laugh with the funny words you say with your mouth lips." What do?

October 21, 2014
motherfucker that isn't even a question and you know it
Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton Becky Gabriel Costantino sad boy

### are you the only nigga in history to get cucked so hard he turned gay

October 21, 2014
yep that's me

### Hi Anthony! I recently played through Borderlands 2 again, and I noticed that the vault hunter origin ECHOs had Handsome Jack monitoring the four as if he were trying to find people to hire. Was this because this was written before you made the huge change to the game's opening?

October 21, 2014
Not quite. The opening of BL2 was supposed to make it clear, in retrospect, that Jack never WANTED to kill the Vault Hunters (he was supposed to shoot them nonlethally in the script, not blow up a train). He was specifically luring them onto the train with the promise of Vault Hunting because he knew that only they would be trusted enough to infiltrate Sanctuary and unknowingly bring it down from within.
Liked by: Decinis

### re: writing ease. Thank golly! Anytime I write and it takes me a day to get the first paragraph out and still unhappy, I always think I'm a horrible writer and give up. Maybe now I'll actually finish a short story and ask you to read it.

October 21, 2014
https://vimeo.com/85040589 Watch this. It's really important for the exact feeling you're talking about.
Liked by: Carmen JamesNeuvo Decinis

### They may be super bad people but they are also fictional people and amazing and interesting as hell so idk yeah I kinda wanna see some of these assholes come back for more good horrible times. :)

October 21, 2014
Fair enough.
Liked by: Decinis

### Dunno. I've never really seen Jack as being worse than most of the Vault Hunters. Just w/ a different agenda. Nisha reminds me of Dexter in some ways (justifies it by killing bad guys). Nisha feels more "bad" to me than Jack. Jack feels like a good person who trusted wrong ppl/made some bad choices.

October 21, 2014
I disagree, but I'm really glad you feel that way.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### RE: The swearing - I'm surprised the devs at GBX don't just make it an option in the options menu, like you can toggle off gore and stuff. I think that'd be cool :)

October 21, 2014
Generally if you hide anything in options, no one ever sees it ever.

### I like Nisha in the Pre-Sequel because she seems super sexual but not in a way that panders so much to men. Is that the kind of deal you folks were going for?

October 21, 2014
That's definitely what we were hoping for. She's got some sex to her (midriff, slightly orgasmic noises when she hurts or gets hurt), but we wanted to make it feel legit, like she just was around to have fun and fuck people every once in a while. I was pretty scared we'd just made Another Dominatrix-Type Villain at times but I think we landed in a decent place -- she's still threatening and horrible and doesn't exist to make you feel horny/comfortable. I hope she's sexual on her own terms, not a presumed male player's terms.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### I dont mean this in a weird way, but I remember you mentioned that you're really picky about the guys you like. what's your type?

October 21, 2014
http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100424170240/howtotrainyourdragon/images/7/71/David_Tennant.jpg
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Decinis

### Do you ever worry that all your Anon asks are by one person who wants to you feel popular? because I worry about that sometimes. Not about your asks, about mine. Or whatever. You know what I mean.

October 21, 2014
Well NOW I'm worried about that

### Is it horrible that I want the Jack we killed in BL2 to have been a body double, for Nisha to be retconned back, and to see them living in a freaking turbomansion with a white picket fence and 2.5 Butt Stallions? (Okay maybe not the last bit, but they were the best duo EVER. Pre-Sequel confirmed it)

October 21, 2014
You know they are like SUPER bad people right
Liked by: sad boy Decinis mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### Well now I'm curious - how does one be "horrifically bad at sex"?

October 21, 2014
I have the cardio of a ninety year old man who died
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown sad boy Gabriel Costantino mackenzie charlton

### Since people are sending out their favorite writing moments of the Pre-Sequel, I'm gonna throw my hat in for Claptrap weakly saying "I wanna go home" right after Jack vents the air lock. It was a great moment both for him and the players, like myself, who were horrified at how grim things were. :D

October 21, 2014
Oh, that's good. It's funny -- somebody said they liked how Nisha reacted when Felicity died cause they felt what she felt, and now you liked feeling what Claptrap felt. I kept assuming we'd be getting lots of people upset that their avatar DIDN'T feel the way they felt during a particular moment, but that hasn't come up.

### I'm pretty stoked about your book. You ever think of writing fiction?

October 21, 2014
Yeah. But my prose is fucking awful.

### (Spoilers) In RDR's last chapter, did you kill the wife and brother of the guy who murder Marston, did you spare them, or did you lasso them and took them to the river?

October 21, 2014
I think I killed them because I care so little about the stories in Rockstar games that I just try to see how much I can get away with without the game telling me I failed a mission.

### Now that you make videogames, could you describe how hard it is to be as technically minute and elaborate as the Naughty Dog guys?

October 21, 2014
Oh my GOD it must be so hard. Everything in a Naughty Dog game is so goddamn polished. I mean, yes, they make really linear games which is easier than making more open experiences, but, yeah.

### What are your favourite setpiece moments in games?

October 21, 2014
I really like the White House bit in Modern Warfare 2, and the SHODAN reveal in System Shock 2.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What do you think of the recent trend that videogame developers have to make women first a secondary character and then, on a DLC or sequel, to make them the protagonist? ( Last of us, Infinite, Walking Dead etc.)

October 21, 2014
Whatever gets us more women protagonists, man.
Liked by: sad boy Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Dammit Anthony, I never expected to become so fond of Wilhelm but here we are, and now I'm actually sad about how things ended for him in BL2. Please tell me there's a backup copy of his mind somewhere that can be stuck in an old Claptrap or Loader unit so he can be the happy robot of his dreams.

October 21, 2014
Haha. Who knows. Glad you dug him, though.

### How easy or hard is it for you to write? I've been trying to write more but I'm constantly finding myself having to pause and think hard on how to say the right phrasing on something,

October 21, 2014
It's hard. It's almost always hard. Sometimes it's easy, but then you go back and find what you did probably wasn't that good. Very, very, very rarely it's easy AND good. Mostly it's just hard.
Liked by: Carmen Decinis

### Who do you think was more impressive from a technical standpoint, Ellie or Elizabeth? And narratively?

October 21, 2014
Ellie on both counts.
Liked by: Becky

### I'm with you on the Ethan Carter's story, I think they were trying to make it a little bit like the Twilight Zone - hence the clocks at 7pm - but it was more zany than senseful. Did you enjoy the soundtrack?

October 21, 2014
Loved the soundtrack, yeah.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you think that something like "The sound and the Fury" or "The tree of life" - stream of consciousness stuff - will ever make their way into videogames?

October 21, 2014
I mean, Thirty Flights of Loving basically accomplishes stuff like that.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Pre Sequel stuff: All strong swear words were censored with *beep* I wonder why. It's not an american reality show, it's K-18 game! (rather no swearing at all than *beep*, it is huge immersion breaker)

October 21, 2014
Since the game has cartoony graphics a lot of parents play it with their kids (I know, I know) and so it's an internal decision to not piss off those parents.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### On a scale of "Ugh" to "Hell yes", where do you fall on pulling some stunt like saying "You know, the Vault Hunters never CONFIRMED Nisha died..."?

October 21, 2014
Fairly close to yes? I mean, I bet if we did a stat pull, we'd find that the majority of BL2 players didn't actually find that sidequest and complete it. Which means the majority of BL2 players never killed Nisha. Which, hrmmm.
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Becky Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Have you ever met Ken Levine? Is he as God-like as his writting?

October 21, 2014
I've met him, like, once, and he said Borderlands 2 was funny, so he's my fav person ever
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman Nolan Sullivan

### How does it feel to have John Carpenter endorse your writing? It's got to feel pretty good.

October 21, 2014
It's great. Dude never EVER responds to tweets though, so I've not gotten to ever actually, like, speak to the guy.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### ugh I have no creativity today. request?

October 21, 2014
Lilith and Athena arm wrestling
Liked by: sad boy mackenzie charlton

### Are you looking forward to Dragon Age: Inquisition? Any plans on your main party, the direction of your Inquisition, or just your Inquisitor if so? And did you watch the Skyhold stream today on Bioware's Twitch channel? This is a lot of questions in one, sorry.

October 21, 2014
I am super looking forward to DA:I, but I don't know anything about the game and that's how I like it. I will probably try to fill my party with people I dug from previous games (fun dwarf guy, Morrigan)

### are you sure you're really bi, m8? every time you bring up a dude making sexual advances on you, it's with disdain.

October 21, 2014
I have had fewer good experiences with guys than with girls. Also, that is a spectacularly condescending question, "m8".
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Gabriel Costantino Becky Nolan Sullivan

### http://s1.postimg.org/fvsif6827/monster.png

October 21, 2014
woooooah nice

### Why does InternetAristocrat hate you so much? Did you fuck his mom in the ass whilst giving him a thumbs up or something?

October 21, 2014
I have literally no idea who that guy is. Is he gamergate? If so, that's why.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### http://mangotron.com/pro-vs-anti-gamergate-two-interviews/ Have you read, and what do you think of, the two interviews in this?

October 20, 2014
I checked the twitter of the pro-gamergate girl and her most recent tweet is an RT of this https://twitter.com/AnikaRoseAus/status/524099824648351744 , so I think I'm pretty good not reading any of that
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I think I want to get the vanishing of Ethan Carter after reading Polygon's review. Thoughts on that game?

October 20, 2014
It was alright. I'm glad it was short, but I wasn't hugely thrilled by the story. Gorgeous, though, and I liked the lack of combat.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### after dealing with the dahl marines in the laser eye, on top of Tassiter's whiny behavior, the limited resources, constant threats on my life, and various setbacks I can honestly legit see why Jack just went nuts and started shooting everyone.

October 20, 2014
nizzze
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Decinis

### Hey, I asked about Spelunky a few days ago. Not that you necessarily care, but I finally beat it. (POSSIBLE SPOILERS SOMEHOW OTHER READERS) Just Olmec though, no Yama yet. I have alot of trouble trying to just get to the City of Gold. I always fuck up somewhere along the way.

October 20, 2014
Niiiiiice

Yeah, city of gold is really really really hard until you've done it a few times. As impossible as it may seem, if you can beat the game normally you can absolutely beat the game on Hell.

### So after finishing the pre-sequel I can honestly say that Lilith deserved everything Jack did to her in BL2. Is this the start of her fall of darkness or something? She was so damn detestable in this game. Where you going with this Burch?

October 20, 2014
We wanted to make the bad guys seem more good and the good guys seem more bad.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Hey Anthony, I asked about your favorite board games earlier and now I'm even more curious - how often do you and your friends actually *win* at Dead of Winter? I've had a ton of fun with the game, but it seems like we all lose most of the time, traitor or no.

October 20, 2014
I've won about half the games I played. Are you doing the hard scenarios like "too many mouths"? Don't do that. Nobody ever wins "too many mouths".

### Probably super silly, but thank you for streaming! It really made my night :) It's always relaxed me to watch people play games, and it was really good to see you again too. I totally needed something to smile about tonight <3

October 20, 2014
Yeah, I wanna start streaming more if I can get my PC to not die when I do so.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino sad boy Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### You know, I really don't think retcons are always inevitably terrible. For instance, look at Valve retconning the ending of Portal so they could make a sequel, and how great Portal 2 turned out!

October 20, 2014
Yeah. It's just always a bummer to see behind the curtain and realize, oh, you guys didn't ACTUALLY have a meticulous master plan you've been following this entire time. Even if you know it academically it's kind of jarring and sad to see it in practice during an actual work
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Does the Pre-Sequel really have 500 ice puns I swear to god it had better or I will cry

October 20, 2014
Not that many, thank christ
Liked by: Decinis

### Wondering for fanfic or other writing purposes - In the Jack/Nisha pairing, do they switch on who's dominant and who's submissive? I kinda get that vibe to where it'd maybe be a 60/40 or 70/30 mix or something, where Nisha's usually dominant but Jack takes over sometimes. (Weird question, I know :P)

October 20, 2014
Entirely up to you.
Liked by: Becky Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Went on a family outing today and first thing, my brother told me that Playthrough 2 has different dialogue from the original Vault Hunters, so all day I was dying to go home and play. Incidentally, just got to the part I illustrated! Wow, did Ash and Marcus ever make that bit adorable. ugh. <3

October 20, 2014
Yeahhhhh I love that part which is why I selfishly asked for that pic
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### That last thing was more of a statement. Here's a question! Do you write much of Brick's dialogue? And if you do, can you imbue me with your superhuman ability??

October 20, 2014
Yeah, I wrote most (maybe all? can't remember) of his dialog. Thank you so much!
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Racist Hot Dog was good but I prefer Birthday Cat. Who did that one?

October 20, 2014
Rawly Pickens, an engineer at Okratron

### On the ending: should we assume that she didn't stop and check because of the large number of deadly persons in the area? Hit and run, do just enough to put a spanner in the works.

October 20, 2014
Sure yeah totally yeah sure
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I really dont get the cat wearing a birthday cap/racist hotdog joke... Like I thought that was just the scanner getting things completely wrong but then they are actual people? Please explain this to me.

October 20, 2014
The way I'd thought about it -- or at least as much I thought about it beyond the sentence "it would be funny if this game included a cat wearing a birthday hat and a racist hotdog" -- is that Claptrap was running, like, homebrew hacking programs that he thought would confuse the door identification systems to open up.

### What did you think of Deus ex Human Revolution?

October 20, 2014
One of my favorite games ever, because of stuff like this: http://nowrongwaytoplay.tumblr.com/post/100500038740/deus-ex-human-revolution-kill-nobody-run-vs-kill-em

### Have you seen the movie The Fall? What did you think?

October 20, 2014
I fucking love that movie. Everyone should see it.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### That was a killer answer about Nightvale. Anyways, I did a goofy comic instead of the emotional one. :P http://s27.postimg.org/tjs6idqcj/books.jpg Based on the damn racist hot dog. God, that part was hilarious.

October 20, 2014
YES! I'm so glad you liked Racist Hot Dog. All his lines were improv'd by his voice actor and my friend, Donald Shults. He also does a web series called Board With Life, if you're into board games.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Decinis

### So are you, like, still dating that other girl or what?

October 20, 2014
Yes.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I wish Nisha didn't have to die in BL2. I'm really attached to her at this point... what a great character (same as with Jack) :(

October 20, 2014
Yeah...same, kinda.
Liked by: Decinis

### Booty salad/booty souffle may have been the funniest thing I've heard all game long... well done, LOL. I was laughing out loud by the time Jack finished with his little spiel :)

October 20, 2014
Wooooo
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### "Rev is not a changelist description." - Was that Office CL4P-TP's line written by/a reference to you? I instantly thought of you when I heard "Rev," especially when it was capitalized :D

October 20, 2014
Nah, it's a reference to the fact that sometimes people get lazy when checking in files, so the yjust type "rev" to show it's a new revision, which is entirely unhelpful.
Liked by: Decinis

### do you like the podcast Welcome to Nightvale? I'm so back and forth on whether it seems like something you'd like.

October 20, 2014
I love it, yeah. I kind of wish they'd stop characterizing old characters via voice actors (Hiram became super uncool the second you heard his voice, Tamika sounds like a thirty year old woman), but I generally love it.
Liked by: sad boy

### you should hire me to be your hype man. someone to follow you around in public and be like "YOU THE MAN BURCH!!" or "YOU AIN'T STOPPEN THIS CHOO CHOO TRAIN" fuck i'll do it for free

October 20, 2014
you are hired/my favorite person
Liked by: Jakob Brown Becky Gabriel Costantino sad boy Nolan Sullivan F

### Big Dick Anthony Burch answering questions and crushing pussy, don't give a fuck, so much borderlands money.

October 20, 2014
oh my god if I'd known being sad would have gotten me cheerup comments like this I would have had my wife leave me ages ago
Liked by: Jakob Brown Samantha Dale Becky Gabriel Costantino sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### Do you play board games and other traditional games? What are your favorites?

October 20, 2014
I play lots of board games! I love:
Dead of Winter (oh my god so good)
Hana-Bi
Love Letter
Netrunner
Escape The Curse of the Temple

### Did you write Zarpedon's character cause she's honestly one of the most fascinating and interesting characters in the series I've seen thus far. And a very nice contrast to Knoxx's depressive apathy and jack's sociopathic malevolence as far as antagonists go.

October 20, 2014
Zarpedon was a combo of Maurice, Marek and I. Thanks for the kind words about her! We wanted her to feel like more of a good guy with a legit beef than most other villains. I dunno if we really got all the way there (playing it now, I wish she talked way more and was clearer about her motives) but I'm glad she did something for you.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### is naturally blue hair a thing in the borderlands universe or do people like maya and athena just dye it?

October 20, 2014
uhhhhh

### Just wanted to give you a quick shout that my brother and I love Borderlands 2, the writing especially, and it brought us together af. We memorized most of the dialogue throughout, and quoted it at each other all the time. Its still funny.

October 20, 2014
That's fantastic! I'm glad you two could get a little closer through our ultraviolence and fart jokes.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### what's cool, tony b

October 20, 2014
THIS FAST
Liked by: F

### how quickly do you shut down anyone trying to call you tony

October 20, 2014
probably about
Liked by: F

### why guy fieri?

October 20, 2014
WHY THE FUCK NOT
Liked by: mackenzie charlton sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### are you the one who wrote janey's dialogue in the pre-sequel? she's such a great character!

October 19, 2014
Most of her dialog was written by Maurice Suckling and Marek Walton! I did a little bit (donuts cowboys homophobia) but the vaaaaast majority of her is those dudes. Oh, and the children's book quest was Kirsten Kahler.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### This totally isn't a dig at you/inappropriate teasing - have you considered Grindr?

October 19, 2014
I did, but I have such a narrow band of dudes I find attractive that it was kind of a waste of time for me.

Also I'm horrifically bad at sex so that kinda thing just makes me nervous
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### ecchi anthony

October 19, 2014
tsundere? is that one of em?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I want a game in which I can smash capitalism. Can you recommend one?

October 19, 2014
Pretty much any game made by Merritt Kopas or Porpentine

### hey dude. i hope you're having a lovely weekend. i saw you tweet about streaming permadeath run for isolation. i think you should try it, if it ends too quickly, have a back up game to switch to? maybe more shadows of mordor? - Delicious

October 19, 2014
Yeah, I think I'll do that after lunch.

### Were you responsible for Dunks Watson in the pre sequel? If so, thank you for making my shitty day much better. I can't believe such a simple joke could be so well executed. If you weren't responsible, thanks anyway.

October 19, 2014
That joke was one of my favorites ever, cause it was Trey Davenport's (head animation dude) idea originally. He brought it to me and Zach Ford (lead designer) and we thought it was funny even while he was apologizing for it, and we spitballed ideas to make it even funnier/stupider, and then Drew Mobley (designer) killed the implementation.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Sssssssooo, is there any particular reason Angel wasn't around much in the Pre-Sequel? That was hugely disappointing

October 19, 2014
Because to be honest, the point of PS is to make Jack go from a decent guy to a shitty one. The more you bring up Angel, the more it reminds the player how Jack was basically a piece of shit from way, way before the game ever started.

This is what happens when you try to make a bad guy as unlikable as possible and then later find out you're going to make him the protagonist of a different game.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Whatcho favorite Wong Kar Wai film? Is As Tears Go By as disappointing as people say? It's the only one I haven't seen.

October 19, 2014
In the Mood for Love, easily. Haven't seen As Tears Go By, either.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Random question, but it's driving me crazy: in Athena's backstory ECHOs, Knoxx says that she was ordered to attack you-know-who's village with "thermals only." What does that mean?

October 19, 2014
In my head it meant "everyone wear thermal goggles so you can't identify the faces of the people you're shooting at".

### How I spent most of the Pre-sequel: running into windows. http://s17.postimg.org/tbeya1i1r/game.jpg How I spent the rest of the pre-sequel: annoying my husband by staring at his/Nisha's ass while he looked for the quest items.

October 19, 2014
Pahahaha
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Salvador x Gaige. Thoughts?

October 19, 2014
Ew. But whatever works for ya.

### Whats your favorite type of weapon to use in video games? Revolvers really get me going.

October 19, 2014
I dig semiauto pistols. As a kid the Colt 1911 was my favorite looking gun, and I guess that stuck. Though generally those types of guns are weak as shit unless you're playing DX:HR, so I guess revolvers, too.

### Why are you so moe?

October 19, 2014
kawaii

### is t here literally anything at all that even Nisha would balk at or feel legit uncomfortable with?

October 19, 2014
Romance, maybe? Cheesy affection?

### Is someone at Gearbox a Metallica or heavy metal fan? I've seen (what I think are) references in a couple of the games now and I was just wondering if I'm projecting, or if there's actually something there, lol.

October 18, 2014
I'm sure there are more than a few metal fans at GBX.
Liked by: Decinis

### my only question about the ending is why would Lilith punch him in the face and then walk away wouldn't she want to make sure he was dead before leaving?

October 18, 2014
yeahhhhhh

### I have two ideas today for pics. What are you in the mood for? emotional comic or a silly picture? (I'll be doing the other one tomorrow, probably)

October 18, 2014
Silly!

### I think it's amusing that both Hammerlock and Janey are BOTH the introductory characters (Besides claptrap) in BL2 and BL:PS and they are also both gay! :D

October 18, 2014
welcome to our gam--GAY PEOPLE EXIST
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Becky sad boy

### thank you for thanking guy fieri in the credits of the pre-sequel i'm sure he appreciates it and i know i do

October 18, 2014
His arteries grew three sizes that day
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Becky sad boy

### Whenever I'm playing Nisha and I activate showdown "ecstasy of gold" plays in my head. Is something wrong with me?

October 18, 2014
No, it means that you have good taste in movies.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky sad boy Decinis

### So I'm looking through Nisha's skill tree... are all those Tombstone references your idea? If so, can we be bros?

October 18, 2014
Nope! I think that was either Jonathan Hemingway, or one of the designers at 2k Oz.

### What's wrong with your back?

October 18, 2014
I have shit posture.

### did nisha's dog have a name?

October 18, 2014
Probably.

### Hey Anthony I just want to say thanks for spending time answering some of my questions. I've been feeling pretty lost/lonely lately and it always brightens my day to see you responding to the dumb shit I send you

October 18, 2014
No problem!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### So I still have a question about Jack... Was Tassiter calling him John because he was an asshole that couldn't remember names, or because John was his birth name and he changed it to Jack following his complete personality revamp because it sounds 'cooler'?

October 18, 2014
"Jack" is often used as a nickname for people named "John." Or I say "often," I mean "we used to do that shit in the 1960's and I forgot that we don't do it anymore"
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Anthony why do I keep clicking on this cookie. What am I gaining in my life clicking on this cookie?

October 18, 2014
Stop it! It's meant to be a critique of how games user Skinnerian psychology to make you do stuff you normally wouldn't do!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### Nisha may possibly be my favourite vault hunter ever. I had planned to finish the game with her first and the move onto the other characters, but I'm enjoying myself way too much to move on. This is mostly due to fun gameplay but the writing is great too. Thank you so much for this.

October 18, 2014
Thanks! That's very kind of you to say. I had a lot of fun writing her, though -- she's one of my favorite characters I've worked on, I think.
Liked by: Decinis

### Greetings from /v/. I just want to apologize for our very vocal minority, most of us are just people who want to discuss games/troll each other in a zero moderation environment, but unfortunately with that comes the occasional NEVAR PHOARGIVE troglodyte. You rule Burch, congrats on another epic game

October 18, 2014
Thanks much. And sorry about the assholes in your club.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Oh also about Nisha: Thank you for making her not care about killing felicity, because I sure as fuck didn't care about her. It was nice playing as someone who echoed how I felt about that whole mission.

October 18, 2014
Interesting! I was really curious to see if people would find playing as someone like her utterly horrifying, and I've only heard positive things. I guess our fanbase is super okay with Vault Hunters being morally ambiguous fucks, which makes me all kinds of happy.
Liked by: David Decinis

### /v/ guy again. Seriously, nobody hates "channers" more than us; this might surprise you but I don't like being thrown in with the wastes of flesh that think it's funny to terrorize Anita and Zoe out of their homes. It's not. I hope Zoe presses charges and they all become someone's prison bitch.

October 18, 2014
That's good to hear.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### /v/ guy for a third and last time. I see you keep recommending Shadow of Mordor, what exactly do you like about it? Destiny is boring me to tears (level 30 of every class a month after launch wooo) so I need a new game to play for a bit, sell me on SoM? Oh and is Serkis Gollum?

October 18, 2014
Serkis is not Gollum, but the guy doing Gollum is fine. Shadow of Mordor is great because it results in emergent stories like the one about my friend Ukrom: http://nowrongwaytoplay.tumblr.com/post/99486423288/shadow-of-mordor-permadeath-no-upgrades-run

### hey would u recommend alien isolation or evil within? I wanna a spooky game to play for Halloween

October 18, 2014
Alien Isolation is really, really, really good...if you don't die. Once you die it becomes really frustrating and loses all tension. Around midway through the game though, you get better and you start dying less and it becomes nice and tense. I like the game a lot.

### was there ever a point in your life that you identified as a gamer tho?

October 18, 2014
Sure. Five, ten years ago when it felt like geek culture hadn't gone mainstream yet.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### BAM! said the lady (or dude). https://storify.com/ShadowTodd/why-i-do-not-believe-that-gamergate-actually-conde

October 18, 2014
What a buncha goddamn turds.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### i've been following basically all your work for years now and i just wanted to write a message to say you're a big inspiration to me and i love reading your smart and sensitive thoughts on everything. so thank you!!

October 18, 2014
Thanks!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Who would you say is the de facto leader of the BL2 gang?

October 18, 2014
Maya.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan David Becky Michelle

### if there was ever a homie who knows how to go full dog mode its anthony big dick burch, that dudes getten money and pussy fuck the gamergate shitheads

October 18, 2014
pahahah thanks I guess
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Funny how gamers felt that video games should simply be enjoyed and that if a game offends you "Just don't play it"... until Torgue Flexington came out as a feminist.

October 18, 2014
"just shut the fuck up and play games"
"friendzoning is misogynist, this character is gay"
"EXCEPT FOR THAT PIECE OF SJW BULLSHIT BOYCOTT IT NOW"
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Nolan Sullivan sad boy Michelle

### So did Jack invite Nisha to watxh him strangle Tassider? Because I feel like that would be a wonderful first date for them. PS I loved blpls, would have done a couple itty bitty things differently but other than that a wonderful addition to the BL mythos, I look forward to the DLCs!

October 18, 2014
Fuck that would have been smart I shoulda done that

### So you've been saying that starting HAWP was your real big career move but I lack a sister in which to do this... how do I get a sister? Or should I just do it same as you but every shot of my sister is of an empty chair/space?

October 18, 2014
That might be funny.

That Artie dude got pretty famous just filming stuff on his own with him playing all the parts...that's a thing you could do, I guess? Or just do reviews or somethin'. Work within your constraints.

### current thoughts on identifying as a "gamer"?

October 18, 2014
Kinda weird. I don't come up with a name for the fact that I like movies cause most people like movies. Games are approaching that degree of ubiquity (at least among the internet denizens who are a part of this discussion). This was the entire point of the "gamers are dead" post Leigh did, which people ludicrously misinterpreted as her saying "I hope videogamers die".

Groups are defined by exclusion, so "gamer" is only important anymore if you really care about making sure other people aren't/can't be gamers.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### (1/2) hi anthony! i'm a long-time fan who found you through HAWP 5-6 years ago and i've been following ever since. i just wanted to say thank you for all the work you've done! your show has brightened my day countless times, and your thoughts on writing and games are always really insightful.

October 18, 2014
Thanks so much!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I don't know how much thought you put into saying a nice thing about me but it made me feel good so thank you

October 18, 2014
Woo!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Yea! How dare you spend ten minutes a day answering us. Those ten minutes can EASILY solve every single one of your marriage issues. Forget about space, working on things. ten minutes, right now, all is fixed. Don't you know? Forcing something instantly is the only solution for relationship issues,

October 18, 2014
Yeah, what the fuck?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I'd like to thank you and the rest of the Pre-Sequel writers for pissing off the babies on sites like Reddit by reminding them that spooky queer people like me exist. I'd also like to remind those people that when I'm a ghost I'm going to haunt them and be decidedly non-straight about it.

October 18, 2014
gay ghosts nooo
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino Becky

### (people from gamergate enter college, major in philosophy, and take a class in ethical theory) "oh it looks like I was actually using that word wrong"

October 18, 2014
pahhaahaha
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan sad boy

### Hey, this. -///- http://lassenby.tumblr.com/post/100271371128/to-anthony-burch

October 18, 2014
This is the sweetest thing in the world and that drawing is amazing.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino Becky

### My penis is only 4.20 inches long. I'm wondering how that compares to yours? I'm considering surgery to make it longer, would you ever do the same?

October 17, 2014
Don't get surgery. It's dangerous, and most women honestly don't give much of a shit about penis length (and would you really want to be with someone who did?). 4.20 inches is probably fine. Also, you have more than just a penis to work with.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### The 300 character limit was too little for what I wanted to say, so I posted it on a tumblr. http://lettertopodtoid.tumblr.com/post/100222728073/letter-to-podtoid

October 17, 2014
This is wonderful! Thank you so much for writing it. I'm glad Podtoid could do something for you, and that you didn't totally hate me for turning you on to Doctor Who.
Liked by: Zetto Sami Nolan Sullivan

### My favorite personal moment about borderlands is how one time I seriously wondered if a character was just straight. That is soooo refreshing of a experience. and honestly who gives a shit if janey or anyone else is open about her/their sexuality. What wrong with that anyway?

October 17, 2014
(shrug)

### Woah, people are real hardcore jerks, How do you deal with those types of people?

October 17, 2014
Either ignore them or shit on em.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### sorry i read your ask.fm a lot and follow you on twitter,and you answer a few of my questions every week. your work and you as a person have recently become big parts of me dealing with a miserable life and being alone, if people send you nasty things i hope you will ignore them and focus positvely

October 17, 2014
I really appreciate messages like this, thank you. I'm glad to have helped you in some small way.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### love you Anthony stay strong kiddo

October 17, 2014
thax
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### please say something nice to me

October 17, 2014
You are capable of making people happy
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky mackenzie charlton Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Hey Anthony, this is Alex Moreno AKA "Hank Nasty(Ghastly)" @hanknastyhk64 and I'd like to issue a heartfelt apology for anything and everything that I've said in the past. I know what you're going through and I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy. I'm done being snarky or being a dick. - Alex

Hank Nasty
October 17, 2014
I appreciate it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Hey Anthony. In your opinion is it alright, or dare I say "ethical", to write a character which voices the opinions of the creators instead of the character's own views? Some people suggest you use certain moments in the Borderlands games to be profound. (E.G. "the friendzone is misogynistic" joke)

October 17, 2014
Yes, and immediately after Torgue says that, Lilith tells him to shut up cause she doesn't give a rat's ass about his opinions on misogyny.

I swear, you write ONE character whose premise is "he's a super-macho progressive" and suddenly the entire game has an agenda.
Liked by: sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### Frank the skag pup: http://s22.postimg.org/58pj5okj5/frank.png Art requests for tomorrow?

October 17, 2014
dawwww.

Gaige and Tina playing videogames, maybe?
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### I know they're just trolling, but my heart breaks when I see people say horrible shit to you. I feel like... I don't have words strong enough. You dont deserve that. So here's something else entirely. Marry, boff, kill: Capt Scarlett, Lilith, Nisha.

October 17, 2014
Marry Lilith, boff Scarlett, kill Nisha? Or maybe -- shit. I imagine Nisha's really good at boffing.
Liked by: Decinis

### I am disgusted that you spent this much time answering questions on this fucking website instead of trying to salvage the relationship you have with someone who should be the most important person in your life. You still have this ability. Don't waste time.

October 17, 2014
I got like ten different versions of this reply at the same time. Did the channers decide "appeal to his heart" was some new strategy or something?

Don't presume to know everything about my relationships just because I'm forthcoming with some aspects of them.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### DALEKS ARE OPPRESSED. FALSE FLAG TIME LORDS WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE DALEKS SEEK THE EXTERMINATION OF ALL NON-DALEK LIFE. WE MERELY SEEK A DIALOGUE. WHY DO OTHER SPECIES *NEED* TO BE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS IN THE UNIVERSE? IT IS ACTUALLY A MINORITY OF DALEKS WHO COMMIT GENOCIDE #DALEKGATE #NOTALLDALEKS

October 17, 2014
pahahah
Liked by: Joao sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### Hey Anthony, looking to get a youtube channel started... what's your set-up? What equipment do I need to stream? Any programs/classes I should take? P.S. Thanks for making Nisha amazing.

October 17, 2014
I use open broadcaster software, a logitech headset (I also here blue microphones are good, like snowballs or something along those lines), and...I guess that's it? If you're streaming, anyway. And I guess a webcam if you wanna put an insert of yourself in the corner.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Hello Anthony, i am a friend of karasz. I saw the video that you likely written for a video that is my friend birthday one time last years ago. How did you get both in touch? Sorry if i ask this, been wondering.

October 17, 2014
Can't remember, honestly!

### Your "wife" never loved you, your "marriage" was a sham. Your sister is more succesful than you will ever hope of being. Your writing is shitty. You are nothing but a retard on the internet.

October 17, 2014
gamergate is about ethics
Liked by: Zachary Michaels F

### Again thank you, I burst into tears knowing there's someone to relate to. I am trying to become a feminist, but I am having a hard time evaluating what are the rules. It sounds simple, but is it okay to watch porn (forgive me)? Which books on feminism should I rent or own?

October 17, 2014
Look for porn made for women, or by women. Smut Peddler is a fantastic place to start and will go a long way in showing how most mainstream porn is super problematic.

Far as books go? I hear bell hooks is really good, as is Judith Butler.

### RE: Women in tech world - As a woman whose dream is to help design/write for video games, I want to say THANK YOU. To you/everyone else who is an advocate for women. I have actually found myself in fear of retaliation if I were to pursue my dream. To have you as an advocate means the world to me.

October 17, 2014
Thanks -- I hope this horrific shit doesn't bum you out too much.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### TotalBiscuit acknowledged the dangers that come with a lack of media transparency in his video covering the XB1M13 Machinima controversy. Again, it's still important to separate the emotions from the argument. For example, an insurgent shooting a foreign soldier does not legitimize occupation.

October 17, 2014
Media transparency of that kind is important, yes.

You know what movement didn't have anything to do with that, or the Mordor stuff?

I hate the idea that gamergate is somehow necessary for us to care about ethics. Sterling feels the same way.

And if I come off as angry, it's only because the part of gamergate that matters -- the part that is horrible -- is the one that *everyone who matters* sees. As Jon Blow tweeted today, the damage gamergate has done to mainstream perception of gamers is basically unprecedented. The New York Times sees it, and by extension gaming, as a hostile and misogynist place. Even more importantly, *women who might otherwise have wanted to go into the tech world* -- MANY of them, speaking to anti-GG people both privately and publicly -- now look at games as a hostile world that might not accept them.

I find it very, very hard to give a fuck about gamergate's "real" goals in the fact of all the tangible damage their "minority" has caused.

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Liked by: Zachary Michaels Nolan Sullivan

### In a follow-up post, I understand that their arguments and methods have become intertwined, but I don't believe that fearing that you'll "legitimize" terror is a good reason to totally dismiss their arguments. It strikes me as jingoistic instead of seeking a synthesis between moderates and radicals.

October 17, 2014
I think it's a perfectly valid reason when their arguments have a very very small potential impact if taken seriously (we get more disclaimers on blog posts, woo-hoo) and their methods involve people getting driven out of their homes by death threats and having their personal information leaked.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I am a nerd and women hate me. I want female empowerment, but at the same time, I want to be on top. I feel guilty for saying that, but I feel powerless and this is supposed to a male dominated world. I'm so alone. I'm emotional and I'm supposed to be a man. How should I change my life?

October 17, 2014
I don't understand what you mean when you say you want to be on top. You want to subjugate women? That's obviously not cool.

As a former raging misogynist who felt like a nerd women hated, one of the most important things you can do is try to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Change your routine in some way. I was miserable for a LONG time, until I started doing HAWP. Being creative and giving myself something to do, and taking feedback and seeing a positive response, made me get more confidence. That confidence led to a great job and a lot of love.

Do not feel sorry for yourself, because you have the capacity to change things and it's your choice to do so.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Nick Jackson Decinis

### So I never play games with other people and I'm afraid of strangers, how would you suggest I get a group since I have no friends who play it?

October 17, 2014
Find people on the r/borderlands subreddit, or on forums.gearboxsoftware.com.

### In one of the HAWPcasts, you talked about how Handsome Jack was influenced by the Joker. Are there any other characters that you had a hand in creating that were influenced by other characters?

October 17, 2014
Torgue's obviously Randy Savage, Scarlett is kind-of-sort-of the Doctor.

### I'm not trying to be rude or accusatory, but it sometimes feels like you're placing certain ethical concerns above others when they're not mutually exclusive concerns. I understand that GamerGate is filled with atrocious people, but don't you think that there's a kernel of legitimate anger there?

October 17, 2014
I think, in isolation and completely devoid of context: sure. Get disclaimers on every single blog post. Fine. It's a hassle and most *actual* journalists (eg the editors at the Guardian who REMOVED Jenn Frank's disclaimer about the fact that she knows Zoe) would argue it's actually nonsensical, but if it makes people feel better, whatever.

The problem is that you can't cave to that one thing without justifying all the abuse, and doxing, and harassment, and death threats that came with it. Their complaints about "ethics" don't exist in a vacuum. I don't want the shitty, horrible things gamergate (and the atmosphere they've created) have resulted in to be legitimized. I don't want 8chan and 4chan to feel like they can get whatever they want by the methods they've chosen to use. I don't want more assholes to senddeath threats to Anita or Zoe or Brianna or Maya if they can halfassedly, tin-foil-hatedly use conspiracy theories about "corruption" as their justification because the last time GG complained about corruption the blogs caved and agreed.

Their arguments don't exist independent of their methods.

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Since differing people have such a varying opinion of you based on who they assume you are from clips online, what's one thing you want people to take away from talking with you? One idea or thought you hope people will have.

October 17, 2014
"brown"

### In traditional journalism, writers are often urged to publicly disclose any personal associations they have with the subjects they cover for the sake of transparency. Money doesn't matter. No matter how you might feel about GamerGate, do you believe that this is a valid concern for games journalism?

October 17, 2014
Sure, if you're okay with nearly every single article you read until the rest of time mentioning that the author knows their subject.

Again, games are a really, really small industry, and, like in movies or any other small but popular industry, people befriend and hang out with and fuck other people. All the accusations thrown around -- Nathan gave Zoe "positive reviews" (meaning a single blog post listing like 15 good games, of which Depression Quest was one), Dtoid went easy on BL games cause of me (they clearly didn't) -- have generally been proven to be nonsense.

Again, if this group actually cared about ethics in games journalism in any way that didn't involve policing women and feminism, they'd be concerned about the shit in this article: http://leighalexander.net/list-of-ethical-concerns-in-video-games-partial/

But, of course, they aren't.

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I think somebody mentioned it on here before, but one thing my friends and I like to think about when it comes to fic is what Salvador said, "everybody makes mistakes". Pretty much every single character in Borderlands is horrible in some way, and good in others, to varying degrees. So much grey to

October 16, 2014
Yeah, that's definitely the idea. I think some characters have made far more unforgivable mistakes than others, but nobody's really a "good" guy.
Liked by: Decinis

### we gonna see grant/ulysseus/justin appear in next hawp season?

October 16, 2014
Yep, I think so.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I find your defense of arbitrary diversity to be a bit problematic because it doesn't seem to make a proper distinction between condescending tokenism and a genuinely positive display of inclusiveness. Could you make a distinction between the two?

October 16, 2014
In a "I know it when I see it" kind of way, yes. Don't make a complete cast of characters that work well together and then arbitrarily add another one and make them black -- just make one of the important characters you already planned to create a minority.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I can't help but get this mental image of Jack and nisha occasionally acting like a pair of twenty somethings in college. Like still in their pajamas till past noon. Eat food with their hands. lounge around like a pair of lazy shits. Pour whipped cream in their mouth with one of those foam cans.

October 16, 2014
That's...I mean, sure. Whatever works.
Liked by: Decinis

### Continuation from first Spelunky question. I played the original on PC, then on 360 alot. On PS3 alot. And now everyday on PS4. I know practice makes perfect; but do you have any tips? What little things have you changed that helped your game?

October 16, 2014
Use shortcuts ONLY to figure out the specifics of dealing with individual traps, NOT to get better at beating the game overall. It's easier to beat the entire game if you just start from the beginning, so you can get items and health and stuff.

### You probably didn't think people would love Jack but he really is a great character. I keep holding out hope he had a better body double & we just killed that guy, lol. I latch onto an awful lot with him for some reason. Favorite character in my favorite universe :) Thank you for helping create him!

October 16, 2014
Thanks so much!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### sooo this may be tmi, but your talking about quitting porn got me wondering if i was letting it have an adverse effect on my own life. long and gross details aside, it was. so thank you for being open about it. you helped me identify some of my own difficulties.

October 16, 2014
Awesome! That's the number one reason I'm weirdly open/TMI about information like that -- if it helps someone else, that's awesome.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I feel like I shouldn't be offended that there aren't any "Australian" characters with non-exagerrated voices in the pre-sequel (so far anyway), which I really am not, like at all, it's comedy, but is that a conscious thought process?

October 16, 2014
We honestly didn't realize their voices were exaggerated. That was just the Oz team thinking it was really funny. I figure if they're okay with it, that's enough for me
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Whats with all the weird people hating on Janey Springs? They're all "She's so in your face about being a lebsian, Her entire character is just to further the SJW agenda" I played five hours and I only ever heard one off-the-cuff reference to her not liking guys, Lol

October 16, 2014
Dunno. I think it's just a base level of being sliiiiightly uncomfortable with gay people. Like people who say they aren't homophobes (and probably aren't in most of the ways that matter) but get really grossed out/uncomfortable at open gay people in public.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### I'm sure you've been asked this before, but what are your views on game piracy?

October 16, 2014
Doesn't really bother me that much. I get irked when people go "no, it's not stealing cause the copy still exists" as if that's a silver bullet that makes everything totally moral, but it doesn't really upset me at all. I pirate stuff I can't legally obtain all the time.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Just finished the pre-sequel. Am I supposed to be hating Lilith this much?

October 16, 2014
I think you totally can. I kind of wanted the bad guys to seem good and the good guys to seem bad. I think Lilith may have gone too far, but I dunno.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Was the decision to make some characters in TPS overtly gay a response to people missing and/or being in denial about Hammerlock?

October 16, 2014
No, we just never specifically thought about the delivery either way. It felt normal for Hammerlock to present his sexuality in the way he did in BL2, and because we wanted to do more with NPC/character interaction in PS, we thought it'd be interesting to have Janey be more up front with Athena. It wasn't specifically about contextualizing their sexuality for the audience's sake.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### This fanfic talk reminds me, I remember hearing that writers are legally advised not to read fanfics of a series they work on, so they can't be sued if there are any parallels. Is that true? :o

October 16, 2014
If so, nobody ever told me.

### So I just finished my first play through of the Pre-Sequel and yay that was fun. Played as Clap-Trap and I admire his references to movies. Why so much Space Jam Burch? (Also, I laughed at the one clap trap making the More like Memelands! joke)

October 16, 2014
Most anything Claptrap said was all thanks to Kirsten Kahler. Regarding the space jam quest itself, that was Trey Davenport having a silly idea that Zach Ford, Drew Mobley and I then built off.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you ever miss arizona? FYI i still live here.

October 16, 2014
Not at all. I hate that I have to go back for Christmas every year.

### You may enjoy knowing this exists: http://vimeo.com/108736123

October 16, 2014
Cool! So is that trailer the entire thing, or is that a trailer for a longer video?

### Seems kind of weird that Nisha makes fun of Moxxi for being "slutty." Didn't you say that Nisha wasn't the most monogamous person herself?

October 16, 2014
I think Nisha just fuckin' hates Moxxi.
Liked by: sad boy Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Hey, I've seen some of those AU fanfics! I really wouldn't summarize it as "Jack becomes nice", since there's a lot of love for what a horrible douchebag Jack is even in the AUs. People love thinking about aspects of Jack's character, because he's a fascinatingly deep (no really) guy to think about.

October 16, 2014
That's great! I'm glad some people find something to latch onto with him, something to play around with. It makes me feel horribly proud and egocentric.
Liked by: Decinis

### fucking hate life everyday is full of awful memories no friends fucked up dick not joking fucking stuck in parent's house and life just keeps getting shittier n whaddya fucking know a new borderlands game comes out and its fucking hilarious and fun ur giving me a fucking reason to live i love u man

October 16, 2014
I'm really sorry. I hope things get better for you.

### RE: The Wiping The Slate - Jack tells you to shoot the 3rd ECHO, and Nisha challenges him, saying it'd be funny to hear the dead guy speak. And Jack has this great, "Who's the boss here, anyway?" reaction. Later Nisha says "I like it when you get all inventive" or something. Their flirting is great!

October 16, 2014
I think that's Maurice and Marek, then!
Liked by: Decinis

### hey man, in these tough times i just want you to know that you're a massive part of the reason i'm dedicating myself so hard to games and the idea of writing them/about them. im inspired by you and i want to make a difference to the scene and help create games that are inclusive and fun for everyone

October 16, 2014
THanks so much That's super encouraging to hear, especially since so many people are feeling frightened and pushed OUT of the games space who would otherwise want exactly what you're talking about.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Dude! Who drew that fanart sheet with the "surprise, I'm the wife". I wanna follow the artists work!

October 16, 2014
http://lassenby.tumblr.com/ boom

### Serious question here. What makes a penis attractive? Is it the size? the shape? the head? As someone that has one, it just looks like a penis.

October 16, 2014
Generally the person attached to it.
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Becky Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### So... Was the voice over quest written by you?

October 16, 2014
Yar.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### How are you, and the crew, all good at Spelunky? I sink so much time into it, and I have only been able to see Olmac like... 5 times, and die each time. Forget about Hell, etc.

October 16, 2014
Keep playing! The more you play and watch others play and talk to others about playing, the better you get.

### Oh my god, just played Wiping The Slate as Nisha and it's freaking perfect! That mission has to be my favorite so far, with Jack's warped sense of humor and Nisha's witty banter with him. Did you have a hand in writing that one, do you remember?

October 16, 2014
I don't thiiiink so? I wrote most of Nisha's dialog, but that particular quest was Maurice and Marek's, so that may have been them. I can't really remember, though. Can't even remember what she says.
Liked by: Decinis

### So who came up with the name Merrif?

October 16, 2014
Maurice and Marek, I believe.
Liked by: Decinis

### http://s28.postimg.org/5glwfxkqz/Scan_Image001.jpg Surprise, I'm the wife from the Brick/Mordecai question!

October 16, 2014
awwww oh my god so much cuteness
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### How do you feel about fanworks involving characters and such that you've written? Specifically of the writing persuasion - like fan-fictions, or if there was a (not for profit, of course) web-series devoted to them, or roleplayers who write as them?

October 16, 2014
I love them. The idea that anyone would be inspired by characters I wrote, and use that inspiration to create something of their own, makes me fantastically happy. I don't even care if they write the character "wrong" or whatever (I've seen alternate universes where Jack survives BL2, becomes nice, and starts dating Gaige) -- just writing or drawing or shooting anything at all is a good thing, and putting your own spin on stuff is great.

I mean, shit, that's technically all I did for much of BL2 -- taking handfuls of existing characters and rewriting them and putting my own twist on them.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### what if your actually bad

October 15, 2014
pahaha
Liked by: Decinis

### I'm not even two hours into Pre-Sequel and I'm already delighted! Between your creation and writing, the artists' designs and Dameon Clarke's voice acting, Handsome Jack is one hell of a character for the video game ages, Anthony.

October 15, 2014
Glad you're digging the game. Maurice and Marek brought a lot of good stuff to Jack (though I think most of the stuff in the first hour is me).
Liked by: Decinis

### If HAWP could be produced fast enough to tackle current events, would you make a video about GamersGate or do you feel HAWP already expresses everything you would say?

October 15, 2014
Nah, we'd definitely do one. Which may bring us more trouble than not. So I dunno, maybe it's good we're slow.
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman

### thanks for being mature and realizing that in 2014, Gay people exist and there is no reason why Video game characters shouldn't or wouldn't be gay or bisexual or anything else. You're good.

October 15, 2014
I was gonna make a "gay people are a myth" joke but I realized some people still think that in the world so
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Jakob Brown sad boy Samantha Dale Becky Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Its killing me SO bad. I love the characterizations of the payables in Pre-Sequel, but will we ever see some more context/interaction/story stuff with the Borderlands 2 Vault hunters? I STILL think Maya and Lilith are long overdue for a Siren talk.

October 15, 2014
Yeah, they're definitely gonna have to talk about that at some point.
Liked by: Becky Decinis

### I'm drawing some american animation style Borderlands drawings today, like, Disney or Bluth looking stuff. hard to explain, but. Which characters do you wanna see? Also, pairings?

October 15, 2014
Ooh. Maybe, uhm, Athena and Springs being cute?

### You're a good person. I don't know your personal life, but I know your professional one. I can't tell you to do anything, but all I wish for you is happiness. You've given it to the masses. don't let the assholes get to you, whether they're on twitter or in your head. We love you. *gives big hug*

October 15, 2014
thax
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky Gabriel Costantino Michelle Nolan Sullivan Carmen Decinis

### Anthony this isn't trolling, but I feel the need to ask it. I know you're big in to third wave feminism and all that stuff, but why are you so intend on trying to fix it in video games through passive aggressiveness when it's so prominent in every other media? Why not move on?

October 15, 2014
The fuck are you even talking about

### oh jesus nakayama is SO gay in the presequel we thank you for this blessing

October 15, 2014
Glad you dug it! I was worried it might come off as homophobic or something...like he's the Creepy Gay Stalker Guy or something, but I hope it just reads as him being a kind of pathetic dude irrespective of his leanings.
Liked by: Decinis

### re: defense of arbitrary diversity: I agree to a point, mostly down to how it's handled. The "Samus Aran reveal" is gold, whereas Torgue's SJW PSA rants out of fucking nowhere feel forced and fake. You need a little subtlety, things to be organic, or you just do more harm than good.

October 15, 2014
It's really weird that you feel entitled to arbitrarily decide What Does More Harm Than Good for the entirety of culture. I've received a lot of messages from fans who love how not-subtle Torgue is. You could just say, "sure, there are many different ways to go about doing this and I personally prefer this way over this other way," but nah -- instead, it's You're Doing More Harm Than Good, which smacks less of a genuine attempt to help and more of actual panic of the type I described in a previous answer.
Liked by: sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### Why are men so god damn defensive that sexism doesn't exist in gaming Mr. Burch why

October 15, 2014
Because they desperately don't want to believe that they are in some way harboring or allowing bad stuff to happen, because it'd mean they're complicit, because that'd mean they're actually kind of sort of bad guys. It'd mean that they're actually not the heroic underdog who got picked on as a kid and grew up to be a champion of justice -- it'd mean that they're just another person in power whose apathy or ignorance leads to harm for others.

Rather than acknowledge that this might be true -- that they might have been wrong in the past and want to change -- they instead try to deny that the problem exists in the first place. If Zoe and Anita are just MAKING UP their abuse, then there's no real problem and I don't ever have to self-critique, or self-examine, or admit I was ever wrong ever, because that actually is difficult and can hurt and can seriously change my view of myself. So, instead, I'll just deny the rape of Nanking, I'll deny the holocaust, I'll deny climate change, I'll deny sexism exists. This is not an uncommon psychological reaction.

View more

Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Adam R Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### Why do you like cocks?

October 15, 2014
Because I sometimes find them attractive.
Liked by: sad boy Becky Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### Why do you like to inject your political agenda into whatever game you work on?

October 15, 2014
Everyone injects their own agenda into things they work on (Call of Duty is arch-conservatism writ large). My agenda just happens to be one you don't agree with.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Michelle Nolan Sullivan Carmen Decinis

### Are you not interested in going back to a monogamous relationship then? I mean it seems like, if it's making Davis uncomfortable, the solution is to revert the whole polyamorous thing.

October 15, 2014
I don't really want to go into specifics solely for Davis's sake -- I don't mind being open about stuff that affects only me, but she deserves her privacy. But yes, we talked that over and it isn't really a solution.

### i still don't know what gamergate is

October 15, 2014
Then your life is fucking awesome
Liked by: Jeffrey sad boy Becky Gabriel Costantino Nolan Sullivan

### could you stop posting threads on /v/ about yourself or at least make it less obvious? thanks

October 15, 2014
If you think I have any interest in wading into that cesspool rather than just bitching on twitter where I can feel like I have some degree of autonomy, you're fucking kidding yourself
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Remember how a big train is going to come out of nowhere and smash through your life because you don't deserve good things? Well, I just caught up to it on my horse, threw the conductor out the window, mashed them brakes, and blew the whole goddamn thing sky high. Love ya, Anthony. You a good guy.

October 15, 2014
I've been thinking the train actually finally came in and fucked up my apartment, actually.

### Do you have an email for fan mail I could send shit to?

October 15, 2014
Just use this ask.fm

### Hey, so... people are already up in arms because of the reminders that Torgue is a feminist or that characters are openly queer in the Pre-Sequel. So I just wanted to thank you. Thank you so much for making this hopeful glimmer of tomorrow. Thank you for signing your name to decent works proudly.

October 15, 2014
Thanks much. I'm glad you dig it.
Liked by: Becky Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Who wrote the line "It's not kidnapping if you kill the parents. Then it's called adoption."?

October 15, 2014
I can't remember...I don't think that was me.

### Do you still get super nervous when you post HAWP videos, wondering if people are actually going to like them/laugh? Or is it more of a "I do this for myself now, so who cares what other people think" sort of thing? (Loved the most recent one, btw! It was good to see you guys. I'd missed HAWP!)

October 14, 2014
Bit of both, always.
Liked by: Decinis

### I'm not sure how much you wrote of the Vault Hunter's dialogue, but I have to say that's one of the best parts of the Pre-Sequel so far for me. Actually having a conversation with the NPC's is making me feel even more invested, and Nisha/Jack's interactions have been GREAT so far :D

October 14, 2014
Thanks, glad you're digging it. I did most all of Nisha's, Kirsten did most all of Claptrap's, and Maurice and Marek handled Athena and Wilhelm. I think. We may have actually split all that up kinda randomly, now that I try to remember.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### It's cool how candidly you talk about stuff in your life. I love that about you. anyways, I wanted to draw Nisha to celebrate the pre-sequels release. I thought this idea was cute, then I realized it was horrible, but I already drew it. so. http://s8.postimg.org/6sfxm6fol/kids.png

October 14, 2014
Oh my god that is the cutest darkest fucking thing

Jesus it gets darker the more that I look at it
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### hi! i hope you have a great day today! :)

October 14, 2014
Thanks! You too.

### can I send you an internet hug

October 14, 2014
yes
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### cutscene: https://38.media.tumblr.com/7836cd8a8e07c5ae0ccffb898c5ecd74/tumblr_ndg4jhnVN31qgqv0fo2_1280.jpg in-game: http://i.imgur.com/Vtfqh2V.jpg

October 14, 2014
Ah, I'm colorblind so I didn't even notice. Could be a lighting thing?

### re: that other anon asking how to be a writer for a game; you said "make your own thing". Would you also say that applies to people seeking a job in other areas of a game studio? e.g. modelling or art. Is actual work and putting the skills to use more beneficial than a degree in this industry?

October 14, 2014
I think so, but I'm not super sure when it comes to other disciplines. Certainly your portfolio is more valued than a list of things you allegedly did or worked at, I'd say.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Do your problems with Davis stem in some way from the nontraditional nature of your relationship?

October 14, 2014
Yeah. She thought she was cool with it and slowly realized she wasn't. So, if you ever plan on opening a relationship, do it really, really, really slowly.

### I heard you had a lot of stress and anxiety when it came to the release of Borderlands 2, is it easier the second time around, you think?

October 14, 2014
Yeah, especially cause I didn't do as much for Pre-Sequel. And cause it isn't my first game, I don't feel this deep passion and horror at "proving myself" or something like I did in BL2.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### why is nisha's hair blonde/brown in the pre-sequel now? it's black in the intro cutscene but different in-game...

October 14, 2014
??

### what was your opinion of kennedy in Buffy season 7? since the fandom seems to universally despise her, even the ones that worship joss

October 14, 2014
Man, I honestly don't remember her at all. I even looked her up in a Buffy wiki and I still don't remember her.

### I'm a creative writer, and my dream job is to write for video games like you pretty much. What sort of advice do you have for people looking to get into the field? How exactly do you get to that point, and what sorts of things do you have to do to get a job in the field? I'm clueless!

October 14, 2014
Make your own thing. HAWP is what got me my Gearbox job, not my creative writing degree.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Decinis

### sorry about all your troubles homie. stay strong and stay positive, and it's okay to cry, as long as you don't isolate yourself. you've got good friends and an awesome sister. take time off from work if you can. HAWP and BL2 has gotten me through tough times. you may be a stranger, but i love u dude

October 14, 2014
<3
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Re: Bloodborne: I just read a quote by one of the devs basically saying "we're making it easier and more linear."

October 14, 2014
Iiii dunno how much I buy that. They also said Dark Souls 2 would have an easier to understand storyline.
Liked by: sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### What is the best Pokémon and why is it Mega Beedrill?

October 14, 2014
PSYDUCK MOTHERFUCKER
Liked by: sad boy

### I'm so sorry to hear about you and davis having trouble. like... really sad to hear it. I'm not super helpful but if you ever need cheering up, you can ask me for any art requests u want. http://s4.postimg.org/ko4cbvsl9/torquelil.jpg

Carmen
October 14, 2014
awwwwww yaaay
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Burch I'm pretty close to selling my PS4 for close to what I paid for it and getting an Xbox One for dem exclusives. Is there anything coming out worth keeping my PS4 for? Bloodborne is pretty much confirmed to be the start of the Souls series' decline into casualization. Halp me Burch. :(

October 14, 2014
Where on earth did you get that from re:Bloodborne?

### davis is leaving???? :( what happened

October 13, 2014
Complicated, because of course it is. Might be coming back, might not. Wants to live on her own for a while. Still love each other, just a weird thing.

### As a fellow writer (and as someone who just really freaking admires your work) - Do you have any sort of pre-writing or writing rituals? Or is there something that really helps you to focus/tap into the inspiration to actually put pen to paper? I use music a lot in the pre-writing phase myself.

October 13, 2014
Nah. I just get anxious about the idea that something I could be doing hasn't yet been done, so I just start writing.
Liked by: Decinis

### I know you've been having a rough time lately, & I just wanted to say: You are an awesome person & an amazing writer. You deserve all of the nice things in this world :) Thank you for being an ongoing inspiration for me. HAWP, BL2, & that Jack AMA have helped me smile again after going through hell.

Decinis
October 13, 2014
Thank you so much. I hope things get easier for you.
Liked by: Becky Decinis

### I've seen people ask you how similar Papa Burch actually is in real life to his HAWP character, but how similar are YOU to the way you're portrayed in HAWP?

October 13, 2014
Mmmoderately? I guess? I can be a pretentious killjoy, but I'm generally as silly as the Ash character. Davis is the most like her persona.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Decinis

### Anthony will u be my best friend

October 13, 2014
k

### do you write the @ECHOcasts tweets? if so thank you for cheering me up oh my god.

October 13, 2014
Yep, that's me. Thanks/you're welcome!
Liked by: Becky Decinis

### i keep getting into arguments with gamer gate supporters and such who think that the sexualization of females in video games is ~*~art~*~ and they are never convinced of what i say. what should i tell or show them to convince them otherwise?

October 13, 2014
I'd agree that yeah, sexually-driven female characters can be neat. The problem is that this is basically *all we get,* to the exclusion of other depictions of women. Women generally fall into two or three categories in fiction (especially in videogames). If they're pulling the "no it's art" bullshit, then they're asking for all of their art to be exactly the same, to stagnate, and to be frankly goddamn boring.

Kate Bishop is like the sexiest character I can think of in recent memory, and it's not because she's sexually objectified, it's because she's goddamn *cool* and has agency and a sense of humor and faults and moments of goofiness.

Sexy isn't the problem -- objectification, to the exclusion of other types of characterization, is the problem.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Decinis

### With the Pre-Sequel about to be released, I was wondering - You said you wrote about 30% of this game, versus about 90% of BL2. Was the work divvied up kind of randomly? Or did each of you take certain characters? (If the latter - who wrote Jack this time, for instance?)

October 13, 2014
Kinda random, really.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Decinis

### Can we agree that Evolve is going to be better than sex? It's two amazing experiences in one game; 4 man bro-op shooter OR... be a motherfucking APEX PREDATOR. Seriously though, are you hyped at all?

October 13, 2014
Marginally? My biggest problem with the game right now is that my PC overheats and hard-restarts when playing anything even remotely graphically intensive, so I can't actually get through a full game of Evolve. And one of the two games I did manage to play a lot of consisted of a really good monster player who just basically hid from us entirely. We just ran around as a group *not seeing* anything for twenty minutes until he was level 3. It was frustrating.

Granted, I'm sure just sticking together and wandering around aimlessly isn't actually a very good tactic and I just need more time with the game to find out which tactics DO work.

### You don't have a Wii U anymore? Did you break it or did Davis claim it as hers alone?

October 13, 2014
Davis is leaving and taking it with her.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Kerissa Young

### What do you think of Destiny? I like what's there, but there's just not enough content, loot isn't based on performance/merit at all, and PvP is horribly imbalanced. Also it's hilariously obvious where content has been cut to be resold later.

October 13, 2014
I have basically the same opinion as you.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I see you managed to sneak a moon wizard in after all.

October 13, 2014
Yeahhhh I forgot about the gun wizard thing
Liked by: sad boy Becky

### So because of you, I downloaded Spelunky. Haven't played anything else on my PS4 in about a month. Thanks. Dick.

October 13, 2014
woo yeah boy yeah girl get it woo
Liked by: Becky Decinis

### Do you think Bayonetta represent a character who openly embraces humor and sexualization in her design or is simply just a kinda creepy canvas for the designers to project onto voyeuristically? Or something else altogether? Plan on grabbing the sequel?

October 13, 2014
I think she's both. She strikes me as far more of the latter than the former (I find her more of an object than a figure of empowerment given the camera angles they use when showing off her special moves).

I'd get the sequel, but I don't have a Wii U anymore.

### Have you played P.T.? What do you think?

October 13, 2014
I LOVED PT. I really really hope whatever they do with the full game is in some way an extension of what was there. The small scale, the focus on confusion and disorientating, of small details over big setpieces, the complete lack of combat...
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Becky Samantha Dale Decinis

### Is diversity for it's own sake really a good thing? I mean I'm all for tolerance, live and let live (seriously how is gay marriage even debatable) but as a creator I find it limiting/annoying that I have to appease some sort of diversity checklist.

October 13, 2014
Yes http://www.heyash.com/in-defense-of-arbitrary-diversity/
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### what do you want me to sketch to celebrate the US release of the pre-sequel? (rare non-Brick opportunity)

October 13, 2014
Hrm....maybe Torgue surprise-hugging Lilith, who is kind of surprised and only 90% into it?
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### I keep accidentally asking things anonymously, sorry. Marry, boff, kill: Handsome Jack, Ellie, Mordecai. (I don't know you well enough to fine-tune it to you, but that should be enlightening, anyway)

Carmen
October 13, 2014
Kill Jack, marry Ellie, boff Mordecai

### You can be a judgmental prick sometimes, but overall, you're good people. Stay frosty, B.

October 13, 2014
What? Fuck off.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### lycAnthony Lurch?

October 13, 2014
thaaat's stretching it i dunno

### do you prefer cuddling in bed or cuddling on a couch? because i honestly prefer the latter. sex is one thing but holding someone just feels more appropriate when sitting

October 13, 2014
Any cuddling is good. Bed is generally more comfortable cause my back is fucked up
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### yo anthony, without even reading my twitter feed, i can safely say that chances are you read some shit today on the internet that's made you either a little sad or angry. i'm here to remind you that life is short and that it should be spent being happy. have a swell day you sex machine, you

October 13, 2014
thanks bra
Liked by: Becky Samantha Dale Nolan Sullivan

### Do you think I'm a bad person because I eat meat, Anthony? :(

October 13, 2014
(shrug)
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### When I told my brother about Claptrap's pirate-ship-cannon-blasts-to-classical-music ability, he went "oh, so like a piratey, classical version of the dubstep gun from Saint's Row." So now I'm wondering - was the idea of inspired by the dubstep gun?

October 13, 2014
nah

### can you butt slam the final boss?

October 12, 2014
yes
Liked by: Jakob Brown Becky Nolan Sullivan sad boy mackenzie charlton Kerissa Young

### http://s24.postimg.org/73dta3fk5/king.jpg based on brian leblanc's amazing conan the barbarian painting. and today is a twofer, because I wanted to draw the Slab royalty, Brick and Rocko http://s24.postimg.org/5a6b814zp/royalty.jpg

October 12, 2014
ahhhhh
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### sunset overdrive comes out this week will you be playing?

October 12, 2014
If the reviews are SUPER good, I may buy an Xbone just to play it.

Also it's next week.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### what was your opinion on bulletstorm?

October 12, 2014
I loved the echo levels with no plot or anything. I really like playing the game as a tony hawk-type score attack experience.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### "I'm credited as head writer because of a dumb mistake..." Oh man, that sounds interesting. Expound?

October 12, 2014
It's not that interesting. Gearbox credits are separate from 2K Oz credits, and the only two writers were me and Kirsten, and I wrote more than Kirsten so they arbitrarily gave me "head writer".
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### You ever read something another writer wrote and feel like "fuck I will never write something as good as this"

October 12, 2014
Literally every time I read anything good
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino

### https://www.tumblr.com/blog/lassenby ugh ugh it is 99% reblogs and like, 3 embarrassing fanarts, but thank you for asking. ;o; I'll send you another Brick sketch in, like, 20 minutes

October 12, 2014
yusss
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### HEY PERSON WHO DID THE TINA TICKLING BRICK IMAGE! Do you have a tumblr or something I can link to?

Anthony Burch
October 12, 2014
Love, Anthony
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Would Jack and Nisha have an open relationship? Neither of them seems to be the type to enjoy being tied down. Well. Metaphorically speaking. Not literally. We all know they would love the literal version.

October 12, 2014
Nisha would definitely be down for openness. Dunno about Jack...
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Вуги Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### I just noticed The Pre-Sequel is $60. I was expecting $30. In your honest opinion, is it really worth that price?

October 12, 2014
I think so, yeah. It's pretty long and the new additions to gameplay are cool.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Hey if ur lookin for more comics u should check out The wicked + Divine. That rock paper shotgun dude is writing it

October 12, 2014
Yeah, it's on my list. Kieron Gillen is super good.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### if you could change anything to make the continuity clearer or more accurate considering you didnt write the first game, what would you change about Borderlands 1?

October 12, 2014
I'd probably drop some hints of Jack in there.

### saw you asking for comic recs, I Kill Giants is a beautiful comic about a little girl and the fantasies she uses to escape reality. its a tear jerker and a single volume story

October 12, 2014
Yeah, I love I Kill Giants
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I don't know if this has been said or if you have responded to something like this, or even if you can answer this but, what is your role in the writing in Borderlands the pre-sequel. head writer? Etc etc. Thanks! Loved the writing in Borderlands 2, keep it up!

October 12, 2014
I'm credited as head writer because of a dumb mistake, but no, I only wrote like 30% of the game.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Have you watched the Amazon series Transparent? If you haven't, you should look it up, it's crazy good.

October 12, 2014
I plan on hitting Transparent after I finish/decide to give up on The Sopranos.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I know that DoXXing is bad, but what if it's someone cyberstalking/real threats via social media? Is it okay to just say "420HeadSlasherXx or should I say Aaron...you live at xXxX East L. St. You're not as protected as you think. Stop it threatening". Does the possible end justify the means?

October 12, 2014
I don't know why you'd do that when you could just call the cops.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### hello mr. burch! about the grinder: do you absolutely need moonstones to get significantly better equipment or does it just increase the probability?

October 12, 2014
Just increases probability.

### http://s24.postimg.org/5cgyfuhdx/tickle.png Inked, since it's Inktober. More requests? :D

October 12, 2014
oh my god I love it you are the best
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Kerissa Young

### Ever considered making an ask.fm for Handsome Jack/ Whoever is handling the @ECHOcasts account at the time? Also, is the "!" in the title for TPS part of its official name?

October 12, 2014
Nah, cause that'd be effort. And also, no, no !.
Liked by: Decinis

### This world needs less negative nancies and more positive paulines.

October 11, 2014
Positive Miss Paulings
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky sad boy

### Looking forward to the Pre-Sequel coming out next week. Will you be streaming it at some point?

October 11, 2014
Dunno. Might be kinda weird to do that, wouldn't it? I dunno. Maybe!

### bless you for writing for the AMA

October 11, 2014
Glad you dug it
Liked by: Decinis

### I don't think RTD meant Donna won that exchange? I think it was just the Doctor knows that conversation goes nowhere fast. Which is true of real life as well, best case scenario someone feels a little guilty and then keeps supporting those systems/buying phones, just feeling a little bad about it.

October 11, 2014
If nothing else, Donna gets the last word. I feel like if you want to make it so the Doctor comes out on top, all you gotta do is make him shake his head and go "humans," and then you're done with it. But in this rare instance, Donna gets the last word, which generally means (at least in TV dialog-speak) she won.

### So you've seen Kill The Moon.. do you think that there were allusions to pro-life/pro-choice stuff in there? I'm not sure it was trying to push an explicit agenda, but I think stuff like "It's a baby!" and "It's your moon, womankind, it's your choice" are at least lazy attempts at metaphorical depth

Bill H
October 11, 2014
If anything, it felt like a suuuuuuper pro-life message to me. Earth had "the right to choose," but in the end Clara chose FOR earth, AGAINST earth's wishes, and everyone agrees that it's good that she did -- that it was the right thing to do.

Clara is against abortion even if the mother is in danger of losing her life, basically.
Liked by: Bill H

### oh i love the radio ads too! it was a wonderful moment when i realized how many jokes were hidden on the radio. i think one of my favorite bits is the fact that ellie bought air time just to delightedly yell at the clans.

October 11, 2014
Oh man, I completely forgot I wrote that. Jesus. Maybe I should play the game again.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### yo i'm gonna make a cup of coffee, you want anything?

October 11, 2014
oj

### someone made a borderlands 2 dark souls 2 mod it's awesome. http://i.imgur.com/LhGdwha.gif

October 11, 2014
wooOOOOAH that's awesome
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### I forgot to say before, you're incredible, and thanks for doing this ask page. You're hilarious and inspiring. My question is, can I draw you a picture of Brick every day? http://s29.postimg.org/q8yj67hg7/brick1.jpg You can make requests. :O

October 11, 2014
oh my GOOOOOOOOOD yes please yes

Could you draw Tina tickling Brick?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Gabriel Costantino

### i thought you said you'd never go on reddit again because of the awful shit they let happen there

October 10, 2014
I draw a line between personally visiting reddit and pretending to be Handsome Jack for three hours for work.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Something I just noticed about Kill the Moon: Clara refused to kill one animal to save the entirety of humanity BUT in the last Christmas special she cooked a turkey. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. She wont kill to save every human on earth, but will kill for her own enjoyment? Another reason to hate Clara.

October 10, 2014
Yeah, it's...they did a weird thing where Clara is acting Like The Doctor Would but no reasonable human being would ever, ever act like that given that situation. Ever. I was glad that at least they acknowledged that the entirety of humanity would be like "uh no go fuck yourselves," but I guess to make Clara feel like the moral ideal (in the way that the Doctor often is), like the Good Guy, they made her do a completely ludicrous thing. While also not calling attention to the actual evils of humanity.

Doctor Who has done this before; in Planet of the Ood, Donna talks about slavery, the Doctor says "who do you think makes your clothes," and then Donna tells him he makes "cheap shots" and that he should s hut up. *And he does.* And the point isn't "hey you live amongst slavery and injustice," it's "the Doctor shouldn't be rude."

I mean, it's a kid's show, and I get that its job is to be life-affirming and make you feel positive and not make you realize that you're probably part of a really dark, really upsetting system of exploitation that makes your life as easy as it is.

Still kinda irritating, though.

View more

Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### Who is your favourite Vault Hunter (out of all three games)? Also, assuming you wrote the radio ads in BL2, thank you so much for that. I have been known to crouch in Sanctuary or the Zaford bar for up to an hour straight, switching stations to find them.

October 10, 2014
Oh, yay! Glad you dug those. I could never really tell if anyone ever listened to them.

My favorite Vault Hunter is probably Maya or Krieg for gameplay, Nisha for personality.
Liked by: Decinis

### Have you played Ether One? If you haven't, it's a mixture of Dear Esther+The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Minds. I think you might like it!

October 09, 2014
I was gonna grab that, but I heard that to get the "full" experience you have to do a bunch of not-great puzzles.

### Re: Your Handsome Jack AMA. Have you yet taken a moment to realize you're being paid to verbally abuse people while they thank you with a cultist's fervor? How good does THAT feel?

October 09, 2014
It's odd. I like it, I guess? Beats having a real job.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### i hope you're having a better day today! as for my question, do you eat fast food or avoid it?

October 09, 2014
Avoid it at all costs. That said, I eat at restaurants a LOT, so I dunno if that's demonstrably better.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### just wondering, will you be continuing the shadow of mordor livestream whenever you feel like it? i found it incredibly entertaining. :D

October 09, 2014
Maybe? I beat it, and then beat my permadeath run, so I dunno what's left to do.

### what's the point of arguing with internet assholes? like i can't convince my dad of even minor shit, someone who has a vested interest in me, how can anyone convince misogynistic assholes of anything? people are so unbelievably fucking thick and self-centered, they barely ever change, how do you try

October 09, 2014
I don't know. It's probably just the selfish rush you get when trying to verbally smackdown someone. I dunno.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### yo wolfman, im surrounded by people i dont like most of the time. i know how lame it isounds but seeing cool people like you on the internet gives me hope of making dope friends in the future. cant wait for the site update and your buff ass return to hawpcasts and episodes. my question is hows life?

October 09, 2014
Awful! But thank you for saying nice things.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What's your favorite documentary?

October 09, 2014
The House We Live In

### I am a great fan of you writing style, what are your favorite novels (or pieces of writing in general) ?

October 09, 2014
My style is probably most directly influenced by Aqua Teen Hunger Force, to be totally honest. I like classier stuff like Wodehouse or Douglas Adams or whathaveyou, but my style is all pleb shit.

### handsome jack dating sim trailer or demo would be a hilarious april fool's day prank *hint hint*

October 09, 2014
That'd be awesome, but it'd (A) probably not reach as many people as something simple like a trailer or whatever, and (B) would probably be comparatively way expensive.
Liked by: Decinis

### Nisha has a small roll in a fanfic I'm writing, and I don't know exactly how to write her... Could you post two or three important things about Nisha that you think could help?

October 09, 2014
-She finds violence not just fun, but really satisfying on a deep level
-She likes both giving and receiving pain -- there is a small sexual aspect there, but it's by no means her defining characteristic (though she definitely likes rough stuff during sex)
-She doesn't really give a shit about anyone, but she's not outright mean -- she's just kinda flippant and shruggy, or finds things kind of cute but ultimately beneath her.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Jeffrey Decinis mackenzie charlton Becky Carmen

### is there a game that's symbolic for both you and ash. something you both played together a lot growing up?

October 09, 2014
Kirby Super Star for the cooperation, Metal Gear Solid for how it affected us both.

There may or may not be some interesting news on the latter soon.
Liked by: Decinis

### saw your tweet about jogging while depressed. i hope you're doing okay dude. exercise is good though. next time you feel shitty, just think about how awesome your job is and much close friends and family you got. you're the kind of guy i could've used as a role model as a kid. excited 4 Hawp s5, yo.

October 09, 2014
Thanks very much. Yeah, I'm extremely lucky. It's just hard to convince yourself of that when other things are really bad.

### Here to offer my sympathy pains for your exercise routine. I'm at least 80 lbs over weight and started jogging daily last week for 45 minutes. I found the only way I'll commit to it is on an elliptical machine, where I distract myself watching Netflix on my phone. Distraction is vital for me.

October 09, 2014
I'm doing insanity, which unfortunately requires you to pay attention. I used to bike while playing videogames, though, and that was great.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What did you study in college? Did you have good grades?

October 09, 2014
First film (until I found out my film program was moralizing bullshit headed by a film producer who thought we should bring back the Hays Code) then creative writing. And my grades were really good, yeah.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Is http://thepresequel.com/ an official Pre-Sequel website? I thought it was fanmade, but everyone seems to think it's official.

October 09, 2014
I'm pretty sure that's not official.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### As a man, I would like to ask, what is your advice for telling your loved one that you are sexually attracted to both men and women? I have been holding it in, but I do not think it is healthy for a relationship to just oppress your identity. The fact tht you're open about it gave me courage to try!

October 09, 2014
Just tell her. If she freaks out, then that's not somebody who would ultimately make you happy.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### Do you find American Dad funny?

October 09, 2014
no
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Have you been playing Smash?

October 08, 2014
Very little. Waiting on the Wii U version.

### Why don't you do some more Hawpcasts? I'm sure this has been asked many a time, but, I couldn't be arsed to check back through all the questions. In fact, I won't be alone in wishing you, Aaron, Brad, Jim and the old podtoid gang should just get on Skype occasionally and do another podcast...

October 08, 2014
We're going to try to do a hawpcast every other week once the site comes back up.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I really enjoyed Mordor, and I'm glad you are/did too. But am I the only one that feels it suffers a lot from what the original AC did? Thin main storyline, and while the activities are fun, there isn't enough diversity in things you can do?

October 08, 2014
I found plenty of diversity in the stealth/combat mashup, as well as farting around with the nemesis system. I mean, there's not tower defense missions or anything, but you can ride dogs. That's cool.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Carmen

### One last question, my wife is a huge Brick/Mordecai fan. Would it be possible for you to make her happy for the rest of her life and ship that pairing? I'd appreciate it.

October 08, 2014
Iiii will consider it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Carmen

### did you go to coolege?

October 08, 2014
Yeah, ASU

### Honestly I want to thank you and literally every last person that worked on Borderlands 2. That game has been something that helped define me as a person and pulled me out of a really bad state of mind. I met so many amazing people through the community. I really want to thank you in person one day

October 08, 2014
Thanks so much!
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### have you ever had alcohol then?

October 08, 2014
no

### re: a tweet you made using the word transwoman. please use a space. use of transwoman as a noun separates and others trans women and implies they are not the same as other women. thanks..

October 08, 2014
Will do. I saw Robert Yang use it in a blog post so I thought it was okay.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### if you could make two people in the borderlands universe make out who would it be

October 08, 2014
I already do that a lot.
Liked by: Decinis Becky

### Twin PEAKZZZZZZ what are your hopes for the new stuff????

October 08, 2014
That it'll be really, really, really goddamn good and have Cooper and Audrey finally fuck.
Liked by: Becky

### Ooooohhh you haven't seen Lost Highway yet. I super recommend it, and I say this as someone who also gives Mulholland Drive a 10 and Inland Empire a 5.

October 08, 2014
Ooh. Will do.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I am not gonna lie. I would honest to god buy a legit handsome jack dating sim and I am 100% certain so would a great number of other people.

October 08, 2014
Yeah, we should do that.

We totally won't, but we totally should.
Liked by: Decinis

### Please tell me that there is a chance Tiny Tina will actually be a Vault Hunter someday in a future Borderlands Game?

Jeremy McLaughlin
October 08, 2014
Dunno. We originally thought that NPCs should never be Vault Hunters, but pre-sequel kinda borked that.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Is Brick gay? I should say, please tell me that he's gay? I haven't seen anyone else who cares besides me... and it would make me so happy if he was. :D

October 08, 2014
I very intentionally never wrote him any lines that were about being attracted to women, and gave him a little "go onnnnn" when Lilith talks about tearing Roland's clothes off.

Beyond that, though, (shrug)
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Have you watched Garfunkle and Oats or Broad City? They're both really great, female-lead comedy shows that you should really check out if you haven't. Also you're all cute and junk.

October 08, 2014
I LOVE Broad City. Also thank you.
Liked by: Becky

### People have described Borderland's style as a love-it-or-hate-it sort of deal and you yourself said it's very in your face/obnoxious. Has there been any discussion at Gearbox about toning it down?

October 08, 2014
I've brought it up in my more depressed moments, but most of the people I've spoken to believe that it's far better to be love it/hate it than just sort of bland.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Decinis mackenzie charlton Becky Nolan Sullivan

### hi dude. i just finished my first playthrough of the tiny tina dlc and i really want to thank you for the ending. i literally cried. on another note there was this one part where i turned a corner and saw a horde of flaming, flying skulls coming towards us. i freaked.

October 07, 2014
Wooooo flying skulls and tears
Liked by: Decinis

### Hi Mr. Burch I just wanted say I just finished all of Borderlands 2 and the dlc (excluding some sidequests) and I just wanted to thank you so much for making this game like, it really really helped me and gave me hope for seeing ppl like me in video games and made me happy when I was sad. Thank you!

October 07, 2014
Thank you so much!
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### How much did you hate "Kill the Moon"?

October 07, 2014
It was...okay? It's kinda neat they're making the Doctor a dick and that Clara ends the episode by taking him to task for it.
Liked by: sad boy Becky

### i know you said you don't drink much, but you look like an Appletini kinda guy to me. if you haven't had one i suggest you try it out. its a nice drink to have on a lazy weekend afternoon

October 07, 2014
I don't drink at all, period, actually.

### You killed it on the indoor kids. Also you talk extremely fast

October 07, 2014
Thanks! And yeah, I always have. I need to get better at that. I felt out of breath just listening to myself.

### So out of curiosity, did you have the story behind Jack's scar planned out since the beginning? Or was it just a thing that the character designer came up with and you had to figure out a story about later?

October 07, 2014
The second thing.
Liked by: Decinis sad boy mackenzie charlton

### I WAS IN A DUEL WITH THIS FUCKING WAR CHIEF FOR LIKE 10 MINUTES, I FINALLY HAD HIM DOWN TO A DAMN SLITHER OF HEALTH, EXCEPT I WAS FIGHTING HIM SO LONG THIS OTHER CAPTAIN MILES AWAY WHO LOVES KILLING ME HEARD ABOUT IT GOING DOWN, HIGH TAILS ACROSS THE FUCKING MAP, AND KILLS ME. ERRRGHH.

October 07, 2014
pahahahaa
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### i think the reason people keep having dreams about you is because of how easily your audience relates to you. you come off as a really laid back guy that anyone can picture hanging out with and honestly you remind me of like 6 different calm funny dudes i befriended throughout my time in school

October 06, 2014
Oh, that's really sweet. That's cool.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Decinis Becky Kerissa Young Nolan Sullivan

### What do you think of the (for lack of a better term) ethical backlash against Shadow of Mordor? http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/1/6881161/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-torture-terrorism

October 06, 2014
I'm torn. On the one hand, yes -- great. Absolutely. Orcs, like aliens or vampires or whateverthehell in a lot of fiction, are basically stand-ins for Other Cultures whether intentionally or not. It's easier to kill lots of people (both in games and in real life) if you think of them as Savages. And using Orcs as your cannon fodder still feeds into that metaphor, and that's inherently problematic.

On the other hand...like, the game's fun, right? And it's fun SPECIFICALLY because of its problematic features. Interrogating people is fun. Turning them against their masters is fun. Choosing between frightening your enemies and just silently taking them out is fun. Not feeling bad about it because they're Orcs is fun. So the question becomes, WHY is that fun? Is the game really problematic because it's teaching us this kind of horrible thing is fun and doesn't want us to think too hard about it? Is the game MAKING this stuff fun? Or is this stuff inherently fun to us already, and the game just showed us how fun it is? Where did "making your enemies quake with fear" become an enjoyable fantasy? Probably not this ONE particular game, right? It's something that existed before, from our society or our history.

And if THAT's the case, is it wrong for Shadow of Mordor to make a game about that particular kind of fun? Like -- we could make every shooting game way, way less offensive if all the enemies were robots. The race/culture metaphors don't work with robots, cause they're manmade, and there's no gore...

...But we all kinda know deep down that killing robots just plain isn't as fun as killing virtual people, right? And that's totally fucked up, and weird, and wrong, and I wish it wasn't true. But it totally, totally is.

So when I look at how well SoM accomplishes some fucked up stuff, I wonder how much of that is *their* fault and how much of it is just them giving us what *we want*...when what we want is the TRULY inherently fucked up thing. And I don't know that Monolith should be demonized for tapping into a thing that's inside the people who love the game.

And I mean, I certainly prefer Monolith's treatment of the subject over Hotline Miami/Far Cry 3's where they try to hide behind either "it's a commentary on videogames" or "you're a bad person for doing this thing we demanded you do to progress". I'd rather have the honesty of a game throwing up its hands and going, "yeah, this is kinda fucked up but we tried to abstract it through layers of fantasy and gaminess so it's just about having fun and trying as best we can to not be super political about it" over the halfassed "no, we're totally making a game about how fun it is to kill people while *secretly talking about how bad killing virtual people is*" thing that's so in vogue these days.

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Gabriel Costantino Zachary Michaels

### I had a (totally non-sexual) dream about hanging out with you, Ash & someone else, can't remember who. Anyway, I went to the loo & started peeing blood as one does. You wanted to punch me in the junk to "fix" it. Just a heads up, this is harassment & I've instructed my lawyers to start proceedings

October 06, 2014
WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP HAVING DREAMS ABOUT ME
Liked by: sad boy mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### Which David Lynch movies have you seen, and what would you rate each one, scale of 1 to 10?

October 06, 2014
Blue Velvet - 9
Mulholland Drive - 10
Inland Empire - 5
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me - 3

### now what can I expect from you in season 5. are you gonna try out any new hair style or have a different fashion sense? i think you could rock a scarf. are you a fan of checkered vans? i wish i could take you out shopping

October 06, 2014
S5 was shot like a year and a half ago, so I'll be looking as ugly as usual.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### I'm still beating myself up bc after before she pushed me out of the room, the nurse whispered something urgently in my ear but I couldn't make out the words. And according to my brother, the actors sometimes give you quests AND WHAT IF IT WAS A QUEST I DIDN'T DO. Guh. I have to go back some time.

October 06, 2014
Aggghhhh I just got hardcore empathy pains. That would be such a bummer

### what are some web comics you like? I need some more to get into.

October 06, 2014
I actually don't read webcomics anymore, other than Jailbird. But Jailbird is really good.

### Twin Peaks? Is it good? It's been sitting in my netflixes for about a year and I still haven't tried it.

October 06, 2014
It's fantastic, even today. Absolutely a must-watch. Just know that somewhere around the middle of season 2, Lynch stops actively working on the show and it gets really stupid.

### Tonight's Doctor Who episode proved a theory my Christian sister (Sister Christian? MOOTORRIINN!) has had for a while. The Doctor is a pro-lifer. It's not the first time he's ranted about the poor unborn things, the lost potential of life, etc. You have a degree in Doctor Who. Weigh in.

October 05, 2014
I haven't seen tonight's episode, but the Doctor's morality can be really weird and inconsistent. It doesn't make any sense that he's not a vegetarian, and he oscillates between "I'm just an observer" and "I must fight things in the shadows" with stupendous, irritating frequency.
Liked by: Gabriel Costantino

### you either give us Season 5 of HAWP, another podcast, or a leaked sex tape of Grant, Justin, and Ulysseus. if our demands cannot be met, then prepare to have your bed pooped on

October 05, 2014
S5 will be here by the end of the year probbly
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### i like the idea of assassin's creed. i want to get unity for the co-op/stealth, and i'm considering AC 3. however i am discontent with a lot of things in the series. do you have any suggestions for good games that involve combat like AC's? thanks!

October 05, 2014
SHADOW OF MORDOR SHADOW OF MORDOR SHADOW OF MORDOR

Shadow of Mordor is what Assassin's Creed should have been from the goddamn beginning.

### do the vault hunters in the pre-sequel get unique dialogue responding to events in sidequests too or just for story missions?

October 05, 2014
Sidequests too.
Liked by: Decinis mackenzie charlton

### what's the most rebellious thing you've ever done

October 05, 2014
I keyed a Hummer once for cutting me off.

Not the sexiest rebellion there is. I'm pretty boring.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### any updates on your thoughts on the vanishing of Ethan Carter? considering getting it...

October 05, 2014
Got too Mordor distracted. Ethan Carter is currently my "if I don't have anything else" game.

### have you ever knocked a bunch of stuff over with your boner

October 05, 2014
no

### I don't know if you wrote that side mission or not, but thank you so much for giving me the chance to slap the evil out of joffery.

October 05, 2014
I "wrote" that in that "basically copying stuff from Game of Thrones and changing the names to make it goofier" can count as writing.

### Have you ever wanted to sleep inside someone's ass?

October 05, 2014
No. But it's fine if you have.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Have you ever looked at a girl and thought "Damn, I wish she would digest me."?

October 05, 2014
No.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Ever seen Repo: The Genetic Opera? 'Cause I kinda always got a Pavi Largo vibe from Handsome Jack's mask. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo1Hl4DFUwQ

October 05, 2014
I haven't! But Scott Kester may have, and he's the dude who gave Jack his mask.
Liked by: Decinis

### I just finished the tiny tina DLC and aside from lilith and maybe mordecai, it kinda seems that everyone sorta forgot or didn't care about angel. Like did they after everything that happened, still consider her a friend?

October 05, 2014
To my mind, they didn't, cause she screwed them over more than she didn't. That said, I hoped having Lilith say "hey Angel wasn't as bad as you're making out" would show they still felt bad for her.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Would you call Shadows of Mordor the first true next-gen game? Either way, keep posting more stories about your experiences with it.

October 05, 2014
I absolutely would. And yeah, I plan on making a blog post about the fun things that've happened to me.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### TWIN PEAKS MOTHERFUCKER

October 05, 2014
YUSSSSSS I am legit excited to see David Lynch revisit that world after 25 years. He still actually knows what the fuck he's doing, so I don't see it going the way of Crystal Skull.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Have you ever seen any Borderlands fanwork (fiction or art) that's stayed with you for any particular reason? Whether it was just well done, really awful or had some sort of unique aspect to it?

October 05, 2014
I love the one of Brick and Tina having tea together, the really cute drawing of Ellie I think I tweeted a while back...the cosplay of Tina and Roland...there are some others. Also the Moxxi and Nisha RP twitter accounts where they just tweet slash fiction back and forth was pretty neat.
Liked by: Decinis

### Anthony, will you kill me?

October 05, 2014
No, I don't like killing

### "Thanks for saving 75% of us" is a great line

October 05, 2014
Thanks!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### do you guys know who was responsible for the car bomb threat? or why?

October 05, 2014
No clue.

### why did zer0's voice change from female to male from the wimoweh trailer?

October 05, 2014
It's actually not a female/male change, it's a processing thing. The actor who did Zero for most of BL2 (I believe his name is Mike Turner) has a naturally high pitched voice that we then process and lower. In the Wimoweh trailer we forgot to lower it for some reason.

I personally prefer it high, cause it makes Zero more androgynous, which I really like. But it was (not unreasonably) argued that he should sound more deep and threatening, so we lowered Zero for the game itself.

### hey antonio it's me again. i looked at some mordor streams and i saw the little spiders scuttling around. they're ok but i need to know if the game ever zooms in on them or if there are any close up images of spiders at all. my mental health is in your hands.

October 05, 2014
Never.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Anthony the Presequel was made with the same engine and resources as BL2 was for the most part, right? My computer lags a little but can more or less handle BL2 okay, how much "bigger" and newer is Presequel in comparison?

October 05, 2014
I think if your PC can run BL2 it can run Pre-Sequel. I think.

### I went to Sleep No More and it was so surreal. My brother and I raided a candy store we found but bolted when we caught an actor staring and smiling at us. Then I ended up getting dragged into a room by a nurse, which I highly recommend because crazy shit goes down. Like a real life horror game.

October 05, 2014
Oh shit, you got a one on one thing? That's fuckin' awesome. I saw that candy store, too! There was nobody in there at the time, though. God, that was so much fun.

### honestly, I've found that loving yourself as much as Jack loves himself is a huge confidence booster.

October 02, 2014
I mean, whatever works

### ARE YOU PLAYING THE VANISHING OF ETHAN CARTER IT'S AMAZING YOU'D LOVE IT.

October 02, 2014
I got distracted by Shadow of Mordor. I'm only like 45 minutes into Ethan and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### hey antonio let me know if there are any spiders in that new middle earth game so i can consider getting it

October 02, 2014
There are spiders but they can't hurt you at all, and it's really easy to miss them altogether if not for a hunting challenge that suggests squishing them
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### does it amaze or bother you at all at the sheer amount of borderlands fans that are attracted to jack?

October 02, 2014
Yes. Both.
Liked by: Decinis Becky

### I call it Burgerglands.

October 02, 2014
ew jesus ew jesus

### what's the deal with podtoid anthony vs hawpcast anthony? you'd rip a game like mass effect 2 apart on podtoid and then talk about how great it is with ash, wat gives

October 02, 2014
I was way more negative back in my Destructoid days. Working on games has made me more thankful for the things that are good about them and more understanding of the things that are bad.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### holy shit Yvette Nicole Brown departed Community :(

October 02, 2014
That's sad, but at the same time they never really seemed to figure out what to do with Shirley (it's telling that in the GI Joe episode she just keeps talking about how many kids she has)

### Can we submit our own videos to the No Wrong Way To Play blog? I have a Far Cry 3 run I'm gonna try to do tonight and if it works I was considering submitting it.

October 02, 2014
Sure

### whats a cool game thats fun and free?

October 02, 2014
forestambassador.com has many of them

alternately, League I guess?

### sorry about your dog. i hope he went peacefully

October 02, 2014
More or less, yeah

### Were your born a pimp or were you certified after spending four years at The University of Pimpology?

October 02, 2014
I got an associate's
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### is shadow of mordor worth buying?

October 02, 2014
YES. It's incredibly good. Fun, brutal, polished systemic depth where you can have pretty-neat stories made really satisfying thanks to smart narrative design.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Please forgive me if you have already been asked this. How do you feel about the claims that in this (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ByAf7uZIEAAvuGW.jpg:large (Top right!)) about the inconsistencies in borderlands 2? Please answer, this is serious and not in any way an attack on your person. Thank you

October 02, 2014
The resolution was so shitty I couldn't read anything other than "cuckold," so I can't really give a shit
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I know a guy who looks just like you. The resemblance is eerie, down to the facial hair. He gets mad action from the ladies. Just in case you need a boost to the ol' self esteem.

October 02, 2014
Yes, I know of Ahmadinejad
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I've been thinking about doing drugs for a short while now. What drug would you recommend beginners start with?

October 02, 2014
I have never done drugs

### RE: "Borderbuns" my group usually calls the game "Bordermans", or if we get 4 people together to play it, "Fourdermans".

October 02, 2014
These are all better names
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### what does torgue yell after he says moral ambiguity? TASTE THE ------ CONFLICT MOTHER FUCKER thats all i got

September 30, 2014
Nietzschean
Liked by: Decinis mackenzie charlton Becky

### hammerlock says meat bicycle mode when talking about claptrap in the trailer but it says meat unicycle on screen.....

September 30, 2014
shhh shhh no dreams now
Liked by: mackenzie charlton not mr. McKay

### What keeps you going in life? What makes you hopeful when things seem like they are at their worst? My life has been nothing short of rotten lately and I feel like giving up, but I know that's not a good idea. I was curious about your perspective.

September 30, 2014
These are gonna seem like jokes but they legit aren't

- The people I care about
- The possibility of meeting more people I will care about, and who will care about me
- If I kill myself I won't get to play new videogames
- I like food a lot
- I like writing video games and if I died I wouldn't be able to do that
- Sex with people I really like
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Decinis Becky sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### Saw your "Questions you're sick of being asked", and it seems like a collection of things you, the writer, chose to leave vague. It always bugs me when people try to seek deliberately withheld answers. (See: Inception fandom; Lost in Translation fandom) Does that ever bug you, too?

September 30, 2014
A little, but that's also kinda hypocritical cause it's not like people who put vague stuff in don't also know full well it'll cause people to be curious. That's partially the point. It's not necessarily the audience's fault if they can't separate "curiosity for its own sake" from "no really, just fucking tell me"
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### at least 90% of the time i refer to the game as Borderbuns because i dunno it is fun to say

September 30, 2014
Oh my god keep doing that forever
Liked by: Jakob Brown mackenzie charlton not mr. McKay Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I thought pussy was just another way of saying scaredy cat but more adult. I mean what got called pussy first? Cats or vaginas? Does it have something to do with all cats being girls and all dogs being boys stereotype?

September 30, 2014
Dunno, but people certainly don't use it to mean "gender neutral cat comparison" anymore by a long shot.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What if the New U's are an invention from another universe put there by an alternate universe Jack who is still an asshole and likes to fuck with other versions of himself? Like a really fucked up Bioshock Elizabeth?

September 30, 2014
Sure, let's go with that, fuckit
Liked by: Decinis Becky sad boy

### how old is your dog now? the one in your hawp episodes

September 30, 2014
Dead years old
Liked by: mackenzie charlton F

### to the guy who wanted a book on writing: read Film Crit Hulk's screenwriting 101. it's awesome.

September 30, 2014
OH DUH jesus why did I not mention that
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### how old were you when you were married? was it before or after college?

September 30, 2014
22 years old, after college.

### so if I see you at a convention someday, how do I approach you for a brief chat about videogames and writing. do i need to give you an offering? churros? chocolate? perhaps a half n' half?

September 30, 2014
Just go "hey anthony can I ask you something" and then start crying
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Adam R

### I keep saying it Tina Tiny... is that okay?

September 30, 2014
no

authorities are en route
Liked by: Becky sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### you're on the indoor kids yay yay yay yay. Do you feel like you did better this time?

September 30, 2014
Yeah! I did way better. Being there in person prevents you from saying shit that's AS stupid.

### man im fucking dead inside. too stupid for school no job. sleeping in the same room at my parents house. my dick is all fucked up not even trying to be funny. all i have is videogames and borderlands is my favorite. i l love hawp too i watch it from beginning to end over and over again. i love u man

September 30, 2014
Thanks, man. I hope things get better for you.

### Does your sister buffoonery a lot?

September 30, 2014
I don't know what that means but probably

### Fancy giving one of my computer generated youth players in Football Manager a nickname? So far I've already got players nicknamed Lil Kanye, The Undertaker, Skittles and Xzylor.

September 30, 2014
Booty Salads

### im actually getting emotional over this cosplay photo https://38.media.tumblr.com/32baebf65e29fde9524a276c8a2be844/tumblr_nbr416kD171s4ntaco1_500.jpg

September 30, 2014
awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Becky Nolan Sullivan

### You probably get asked this a lot but what are some books on writing you recommend? I tried to do some writing just for kicks and I realized I have no idea what I'm doing.

September 29, 2014
On Writing - Stephen King
The Elements of Style - Strunk and White
Story - Robert McKee
Alan Moore's Writing for Comics (applicable to all mediums)
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### There seems to be a few things from borderlands you wished hadn't been done. Are there any specific things you look back on, and just think "fuck yeah, that's some good story/characters/any other shit"

September 29, 2014
Nah, cause that's arrogant as shit.

Or at least I don't say that stuff aloud.

### is roland zero's dad? what is tiny tina? may mays are cool

September 29, 2014
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### The only time I almost threw up from exercise, it was because I had eaten a bowl of pasta 15 minutes beforehand. Idk if you already knew this tip, but don't do that haha

September 29, 2014
GOOD NOTE
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### what do you normally eat for breakfeast?

September 29, 2014
Toast with peanut butter and jelly on it. I do this almost every day and it is shameful.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### why was there a narwal and the emphasis voice yelling ship that shit in the torguelock trailer?

September 29, 2014
"Ship that shit" means "fuck it, it's fine, just release it, get it out the door."

As for the narwhal, I have zero idea.
Liked by: Decinis Becky mackenzie charlton

### (Oh also! If you do mess up and miss a couple of days/weeks/months/whatever, don't beat yourself up! A lot of people give up after the first misstep because they feel like they've failed. Just start back up ASAP and don't worry about it. Messing up is miles better than giving up. Good luck!)

September 29, 2014
Thanks for the tips! I hope I go all the way and do not die and am healthy.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you collect any videogame memorabilia? Do you have any neat one off Borderlands items or know of any?

September 29, 2014
I collect Metal Gear games, but with custom artwork that makes em all look like they're part of the same cool collection rather than the scattershot collection of random-ass stuff from random-ass systems (my "Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake" box holds an MGS3 subsistence disk) that they are.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### c- When you're just starting to ease into exercise, it really isn't healthy to throw yourself into the deep end first thing. You shouldn't be making yourself feel nauseous or dizzy. Even if you have to start smaller, as long as you're consistent, you will improve and things will get easier.

September 29, 2014
Thanks! I will do all of these things. I just did the Insanity fit test today and took it WAY slower (going for distance, not speed) and didn't feel at all nauseous. Which I imagine is good.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Why does Athena look so much different in the Pre-sequel than in the Knoxx DLC? Is there an actual story reason or was it just a design choice?

September 29, 2014
Design choice. They wanted to make her look different and visually sell "tank" cause that's what her character is. Silhouette-wise, her old look was really really close to Zero.

### do you think certain words lose their initial maning by time? sexist slurs like "bitch", "pussy" and some others. i was extremely offended by the word pussy only because of the fact that "balls" is used as a praise. but, i also don't think it's that big of a deal! what do you think?

September 29, 2014
When it comes to profanity I try to err on the side of what the marginalized people feel is okay. Lots of women I know aren't cool with conflating "cowardice" and "vaginas" in the way that "pussy" does so I don't say that. But yes, all words lose their initial meaning in time.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### whenever you guys do your next HAWP cast, can you do it with webcams and dress up like cuddly animals. i think you would be great as a tiger. ash can be a panda. justin can be an ostrich. ulyseus can be a cat. davis can be a parrot. grant can be a fox.

September 29, 2014
nah

### so if New U's are just a game play mechanic, then did Jack canonically not offer the vault hunters money to off themselves cause now I'm seriously trying to picture that job under that context and it's making me laugh.

September 29, 2014
Yeahhhh that quest didn't help the confusion
Liked by: Decinis

### I decided to work out. Walking a mile a day. Just finished day three and my left hand violently shakes.

September 29, 2014
Jesus. Fitness is fucking terrifying.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### homie why you dog so hard

September 29, 2014
what do you mean

### I will make something that is gooder than bl just watch me dummy

September 29, 2014
I hope you do!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Is Battleborn called Battleborn so you can call it Bootyborn?

September 29, 2014
No, but I certainly will now
Liked by: Jakob Brown Becky Nolan Sullivan sad boy mackenzie charlton

### First time I tried starting a fitness routine, I made it about a third the way through the 30-minute video before I had to lay on the ground and try very hard not to throw up. So don't worry, that's totally normal. I ended up trying something gentler and working my way up from there.

September 28, 2014
Define "gentler." My plan was to just keep doing the same routine until it didn't make me want to throw up.

Dunno if that's healthy.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Is there anything you get MEGA tired of people asking in reference to Borderlands?

September 28, 2014
"why didn't roland respawn from a new u"
"is krieg tiny tina's dad"
"memes"
"what is zero"
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### you're awesome. your dads awesome. ash is awesome. you're all just so funny and adorable, i wish i could bake you all into a pie and eat you for dinner

September 28, 2014
boy that went somewhere I didn't expect. are you a witch
Liked by: Cherry Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### TNT = TiNy Tina :D

September 28, 2014
WOOOOAH let's pretend that was intentional
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Michelle

### What are some good documentary to watch on Netflix?

September 28, 2014
The House I Live In, Battered Bastards of Baseball, Hoop Dreams

### Kentucky Route Zero? Has played? Has enjoyed? I think it's the first instance of surrealism in games I didn't think was totally phoned in for lazy exposition. Not including that Fallout 3 (or was it NV?) DLC where you take magic mushrooms and start dreaming of bobblehead collectables everywhere.

September 28, 2014
I played episodes 1 and 2 but forgot everything about them, so I'm waiting until it's totally done to really give it a legit playthrough. I liked it okay. It didn't blow my mind or anything, but it's a nice little mood piece.

### Did you like Winter Soldier? Cause I did but I don't know why, by all means Steve Rogers should be the least engaging character, but I actually found him sort of interesting in it. Unless it's just Chris Evans

September 28, 2014
Yeah, I really enjoyed it. It was a neat little juxtaposition of Rogers' WWII-era naivete against modern war on terrorism stuff, and just generally a pretty good Jason Bourne "the guys I work for want me dead" spy flick.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you think your sister will ever get onto a big movie like The LEGO Movie?

September 28, 2014
Yeah.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### thank you for being you :) i hope you have a nice day!

September 28, 2014
Thanks!
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan Becky

### in terms of humour, what was the biggest creative difference you had with Ash or Justin since starting HAWP?

September 28, 2014
Can't think of any, to be honest. We have similar senses of humor, which is helpful.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### (obligatory did you like the new doctor who episode question)

September 28, 2014
I haven't seen it yet but I'll bet on no

### i am so glad that you don't like big bang theory. can you please explain to me what you don't like about it so i can have an easier time explaining it myself. it's one of those things thats clear in my head but hard to say out loud.

September 28, 2014
It pretends to be pro-nerd but uses the exact same stereotypes that we're socially backwards buffoons and derives laughs from us. It's laughing AT nerds, not WITH them.
Liked by: Decinis Cherry Nolan Sullivan Becky

### If you could reimagine BL2 or Borderlands in general as a completely different genre from FPS, what would it be? Point-and-click adventure? Hardcore RPG? Dating sim? Etc.?

September 28, 2014
Roguelike.

### What about people who don't follow your twitter? You won't reconsider making a curator page?

September 28, 2014
But that's worrrrrrrk
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### You kinda remind me of Chuck from Supernatural tv show. When they will make a superhero movie about you, Rob Benedict should play you.

September 28, 2014
I do not know who either of those people are buuuuut thanks!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### are you going to make a curator's list on steam?

September 27, 2014
Nah, I tweet about good stuff often enough I think

### what is best game?

September 27, 2014
Spelunky

### yes, ties would definitely help. speaking as someone who enjoys seeing a man in a tie, especially if it's a bit loosened & slightly askew... ...I'll be in my bunk.

September 27, 2014
Yeah, I need to figure out how to get a tie to look that way. When I tie a tie it just looks like I straight up don't fucking know what ties are.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan Becky

### what is your fantasy rpg class

September 27, 2014
sneakymens
Liked by: Decinis

### I don't get the love for Anita. If it weren't for the horrible threats made against her, she'd be nothing more than another middling YouTube personality. She's just not engaging as a video person. You're better served reading her resources on her website.

September 27, 2014
She takes complex feminist ideas and makes them not only palatable, but uses contemporary and accessible examples. What's not to like?
Liked by: Decinis Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan

### jesse cox does a lot of gaming playthroughs, a little voice acting and is one of the hosts of the co-optional podcast along with dodger and totalbiscuit. he was also in a tabletop video with ash some months ago. as for my question, you gonna live stream bl pre-sequel when it officially comes out?

September 27, 2014
Ahh, thanks.

And probably not.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What did you think about PT?

September 27, 2014
I loved it. I wished there weren't any jump scares, but I adored the atmosphere and the restraint.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I'm okay at humor, but it's usually reactionary or observation. It seems quite difficult to do premeditated humor. How do you wrangle dealing with "Lols go here" with your writing?

September 27, 2014
You just kind of try to think up particular types of characters and put them in weird situations. At that point you're basically reacting and observing, anyway -- you imagine Brick packing for a beach party and ask "what would be a funny thing for him to pack", and then sorta go from there. It's not drastically more premeditated than hanging out with your friends and shooting the shit.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### Seeing you sort of kind of defend Anita and Quinn bothers me so much. The fact that you would even acknowledge it makes me feel like you're not as cool as I thought you were. I just wish you didn't care. I always had a crush on you now I wanna like ugh. Yell at you or something. Idk.

September 27, 2014
Get over it.
Liked by: Carmen Nolan Sullivan

### Is your name pronounced "Anthony" or "Antony?"

September 27, 2014
"Anthony" unless you have a UK accent, in which case you can call me whatever the fuck you want
Liked by: Kerissa Young Nolan Sullivan

### will there be lesbians in bl1.5

September 27, 2014
yes
Liked by: Decinis Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Chris Cottrell Becky

### Just FYI but Brick and his "dressy shirt" in the anime beach episode DLC is both one of my favorite phrases and favorite mental images in all of BL2.

September 27, 2014
Haha, thanks

### when you were writing all the jokes about yourself being into guys, were you already aware of that interest in your personal life and making a nod to it or was that just thrown because it was something Ash, the character would do?

September 27, 2014
Just something Ash would do. Can't discount the subconscious, though.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I was gonna try to give tips for preserving a geeky/weird sense of style while still being somewhat fashionable but then I realized that I don't know how a dude would do that. Girls have jewelry, handbags, tights, etc. What do guys have? Ties? Cuff-links? That makes me sad D: (Pls don't wear tights)

September 26, 2014
Yeah, I dunno. I could wear ties I guess but I imagine that would exacerbate how preppy I look in my new threads
Liked by: Becky

### have you ever watched the show Justified? if you haven't I think you should give it a try. about a US marshal who gets sent back to his hometown in Kentucky to fight Hillbilly Druglords. it might take a few episodes to really get into it. i like it a lot better than GThrones/B-Bad/WalkingDead

September 26, 2014
I got to the end of the...second season? The one with the apple pie lady who was incredible. And I just kinda stopped and didn't feel a desire to jump back into it.

### ok but w h y do you hate claptrap i mean. i dunno

September 26, 2014
why wouldn't I

### How did you record the HAWPcasts? Skype with some plugin/extension?

September 26, 2014
We used to, but now it's better to record locally with audacity and then just sync the files up after.

### Purely from what I've heard reputation-wise, I feel like you're a better representative for feminism in gaming than Anita Sarkeesian.

September 26, 2014
Then you've heard wrong.
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman Nolan Sullivan

### you get yo hang out with jesse cox. i want to be you so badly right now

September 26, 2014
Iiii feel like a turd cause I legit don't know who that dude is
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I'll also be honest, hearing you rip on claptrap like that in the livestream you did with Lobby made me legitimately ADORE you.

September 26, 2014
Yeah girl yeah boy that's what I like to hear
Liked by: Decinis

### Wait, so you were actually nude for the Driver:SF scene? I always assumed you wore some short shorts or something that got covered by the black box...

September 26, 2014
I was wearing boxers, but do you imagine that some random christian family on christmas is going to go "oh, there's a skinny brown guy screaming while running at an elementary school, but I won't call the police because *at least he's got his boxers on*"?
Liked by: Decinis sad boy

### So we all know that nakedness is awesome on people we find attractive. But what one article/type of clothing or outfit is as sexy to you as a birthday suit when your preferred sex(es) wear(s) it?

September 26, 2014
Glasses and a scarf
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan Becky

### I'm here to stroke your ego, but honestly I don't even care dude. I'm a trans dude that sometimes leans towards non-binary pretty heavily and I got BL2 during summer sale. Playing a Zero was great for me, especially finding out that for once I wasn't projecting and this character IS like me for once

September 26, 2014
That's wonderful! Thanks to much for letting me know.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Becky

### dodger and jesse are two of my favorite youtubers and seeing you hang out with them on a couch fulfilled me with so much excitement. great stream dude

September 26, 2014
glad you dug it, thax

### Sorry, Burch, but the correct answer to the Breaking Bad question was, "The best thing about Breaking Bad is that whole scene with the guy who sells guns and vests from the back of a truck giving a speech to the cousins about a girl he wants to meet up with and subsequently pee on."

September 26, 2014
Christ, I forgot about that. That show is so good at imbuing every character with a little *something* that makes them stand out.

### You ever play videogames and get the feeling that you're wasting your youth?

September 26, 2014
yes

### But here's a actual question to: you gotta pick one DLC, any kind of BL DLC, and say it's your favorite. Go!

September 26, 2014
Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, easily.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### someone in my game design class just said borderlands 2 was the game that got her back into gaming after not playing since she was young, because of how ridiculous and fun the characters and gameplay were

September 26, 2014
nice nice nice you got her number or
Liked by: Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Becky

### There is now a small but very dedicated/curious group dedicated to trying to figure out exactly what sort of kinky shit Nisha and Jack get up to. How do you feel about this

September 26, 2014
rull good
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Manaphy Natu Decinis mackenzie charlton Becky

### do you have an eta of the new heyash website or the weekly updates? im looking forward as hell to that

September 26, 2014
We wanna get the series completely back and running by the end of the year.
Liked by: Becky

### How big was the influence of your fans when you wrote BL2? Like, things that people wanted badly on the internet before the game was released

September 26, 2014
Essentially zero. I ignored all of the fan expectation before the game, cause most of the superfans cared about stuff that had nothing to do with any work I'd already done ("you should explain why Steele had Siren tattoos").
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I'm watching Breaking Bad again -- late into season 2 -- and I can't get over the incredible consistency of the characters, even when they grow (the one exception being Hank, who changed significantly from the pilot). What's your favorite thing about the show? YOU CAN NOT SAY "EVERYTHING."

September 25, 2014
That its characters drive story rather than the other way around. The characters are put in incredibly difficult situations and their decisions are what mine everything forward.
Liked by: Samantha Dale Kerissa Young

### ill be honest hearing you rip on claptrap like that in the livestream you did with Lobby made me kind of hate you

September 25, 2014
Pahahaah

### I'm a male that has a gamertag that's a girl's name and I get some crazy stuff over Xbox Live from other male gamers. I'm changing my tag because someone attempted to hack my profile after hitting on me and I let him know I'm a straight dude. No question, just thought you'd find it interesting.

September 25, 2014
Christ
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### are we gonna find out about our characters' backstories the same way we did in borderlands 2 with the hidden audio logs? or will we be getting it exclusively from character dialogue now that they talk more?

September 25, 2014
You'll get the audio logs too. I'm pretty proud of nisha's.
Liked by: Decinis

### Is it weird that, despite seeing all the things cops are accused of doing on the news and even my own town, I still want to be a cop? Not because I can get away with murder in the name of the law, but to try and be an influence for good, that a cop can be a super hero.

September 25, 2014
I mean, that seems like the only decent reason to be a cop. I assume.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Adam Robert Sherman

### About the earlier bi/pansexuality question (not the same person): from my understanding, bi orientation includes gender qualities as part of the attraction to others, whereas pan orientation doesn't. Also hi I have a crush on you.

September 24, 2014
Tbh I have a hard time understanding what that means... Also thanks?

### Would you argue that universe and lore depth in things like Halo and MGS don't balance out surface level sexism and military shooter shallowness in the main games?

September 24, 2014
They must, cause I still plan on getting mgsv. I am prepared to get pretty upset at it though
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Bad clothing ideas to spice up your new adult look: The button up shirt BUT don't button it up. Buy your pants too short and then wear awesome socks. Fingerless gloves. Bandana, cowboy style. Bandana, gangsta style. An 80's headband. Literally all elbowpads. Mix and match these how you feel.

September 24, 2014
Pahaha done
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I just want you to know that you're a huge inspiration to me as a young bisexual male who wants to get into writing. It's nice to know that there are people like me who made it big and are well respected and all that junk. How does it feel to know that you serve as a role model to some young people?

September 24, 2014
Scared but grateful! I hope things work out for you, in all kinds of ways.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### 2 of 2: she wanted. I feel like one of Jack's major flaws--the abuse of his child--is heavily pardoned and/or disregarded. But people are also complex and rarely outright good or evil, abusive or not, and that abusive behavior is often handed down in families. Were you trying to express that?

September 24, 2014
That's a shame. I didn't want it to feel disregarded or forgiven (that's why I made Lilith say "hey this is awful" cause she's usually kind of morally gray, but even she thinks this is fucked up). I didn't want to make Jack feel sympathetic in his abuse, I wanted it to be super super super obvious that it was time for Jack to get totally murdered.
Liked by: Carmen Nolan Sullivan

### One time on a stream you sang "I got beast on my sho sho, and I want you to know know", and I just wanted you to know I STILL sing that to myself.

September 24, 2014
pahhaha I don't remember that at all
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### have you ever said something so shitty to a friend and lost him or her instantly and then spent the longest time hating yourself for it? i had a friend who helped me from killing myself but in the process called her a manipulative bitch. i'm fine now but gotta live with that guilt forever. it sucks

September 24, 2014
I've never hated myself for doing stuff like that because I am unusually good at never speaking to people ever ever ever again, even if I was close with them before. Which is a pretty awful superpower to have, but I have it.

I'm really sorry you feel bad about what you said, though.
Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman Nolan Sullivan

### Is Gotham worth watching? The trailer looked pretty cheesy to me

September 24, 2014
Ehhhhh it's okay. Not great. There are some neat moments but overall I'd wait.

### nice new clothes. ya look good.

September 24, 2014
I think I look too normal and square. But thanks. I need to find something else to make me look less professional.

### Did you hear about David Bowie being a rapist and a pedophile? I don't think I've ever been more disheartened in my life.

September 24, 2014
what?

### If you had to cast a movie version of hawp and u could get anyone who would u cast to play Anthony, Ashly and papa burch?

September 24, 2014
Everyone is the same except Anthony, who is Ben Wishaw
Liked by: sad boy

### How are you and your colleagues at Gearbox reacting to Destiny? It's phenomenally successful, but almost all the talk I hear about it is tinged with negativity. The loot system in particular seems to be outright abusive, though I wonder if that somehow keeps people playing.

September 23, 2014
We've been talking about it a lot, obviously, but just in the same way that regular gamers would. Except also through the prism of people who have worked on a BL game and can specifically see places where their design differs from ours.

### So some people might think that it's sexist how capaldi's doctor continuously makes comments about claras appearence but is it alright that I hate her character so much that I don't care? I mean the fact that he offends clara is making me love him even more...

September 23, 2014
It doesn't personally offend me, but I can see why a lot of people might find it irritating. Like, I get the gag that she's so obviously pretty that him pointing out how weird she looks is like a fun thing that makes him feel more alien, but it's also another example of a primary female character being defined and judged by her appearance/femininity.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I think a cool Thing to give Roland would be an insecurity over his own strength and leadership abilities, especially after the new Vault Hunters showed up and even defeated Wilhelm and began kicking all this Hyperion ass and making more progress than he had in 5 years

September 23, 2014
Yeahhhh that woulda been cool

shit
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### honestly the gist I got is that Roland as far as flaws go was that he was well meaning but ultimately pretty damn ineffectual and lacked the willingness or drive or whatever to ultimately beat jack or any other major group. He's a hero, but as the song goes, Pandora "Ain't no place for a hero."

September 23, 2014
Thaaaat woulda been a pretty cool direction to actually push. It's cool you found that in there, but it woulda been nicer to push to the forefront.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### (Part 1) ASMR sort of is bananas, in that I haven't seen anything that backs it up scientifically. But it works like gangbusters when I'm relaxed enough. It's got its own crazy subculture. Some of the nuttier stuff is great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBuXJSvvWn8&list=UUX70sfic86MKcid2n0mmmqg

September 23, 2014
wuhhhhhh this is insane
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### what would you recommend for someone who's interested in Athena's character and story, but less in her gameplay? Do you have to roll it as that hunter to get their story told?

September 23, 2014
Pretty much, yeah. It's just a couple dozen lines of dialog spread throughout the game that hopefully lead to a character arc, but you'll wanna play as Athena to hear that stuff.

### So what do you think of the relationship between clara/danny that moffat is trying to set up? Because I became physically ill watching their date in listen and then I think... they kissed at the end? Dont know why.

September 23, 2014
It infuriated me. They have an incredibly unhealthy relationship where she is emotionally abusive to him at every turn (like what the fuck, why are you making fun of him for killing people and judging him -- this is the FIRST CONVERSATION YOU'VE HAD), yet somehow he's the one who ends up apologizing.
Liked by: sad boy Becky

### You ever listen to ASMR? It's weird...and relaxing...and tingly. It did very little for me until I listened to more and now I'm super sensitive and get the good kind of chills a lot now, which is cool. Like, Tennant Doctor gave an awesome speech chills. Empathy chills. Nam sayin'?

September 23, 2014
This is the first I've heard of this and it sounds fucking bananas. What are your favorite vids?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### This might not be totally correct bc I only heard it from one friend who identifies as pansxual, but I think bisexual = attraction to your own and other genders (sometimes with preferences for a particular one) while pansexual = attraction regardless of gender.

September 23, 2014
Ah, okay. Yeah, I dunno. I've been attracted to people of all genders.
Liked by: Decinis Becky

### A lot of characters (Tina, Tannis, Zed, etc) imply that Roland's a great guy, but we don't hear from his POV. Maybe if we heard him talking about being buds with Tina, dealing with Tannis, arguing with Zed, etc it would have made him seem more human rather than just someone who everyone fawns over.

September 23, 2014
Yeah, that's true.

### On your Skippable list for Doctor Who s1-4 you didn't recommend skipping Love & Monsters... So you actually liked that episode more than The Idiots Lantern or Fear Her?

September 23, 2014
Yup. I like how it's about schmoes in the wake of the whirlwind that is the Doctor. And the characterization was pretty good, even if the monster was fucking stupid and the ending is fucking weird and creepy.

### I've heard that the availability of porn and the rate of rape have a correlation whereas the more easy it is to access porn the lower the rape rate will be. What do you think of that?

September 23, 2014
I can see a loose correlation between how sex-repressed a country is and that country's attitudes toward sex and understanding of consent morality.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Heya, Anthony. I have a question that's not about porn. Why are we calling it bisexual now? Isn't that enforcing gender binary crap just like anything else? I always liked pansexual. Is pansexual better? Do I just not know what pansexual means?

September 23, 2014
From what I've heard there's debate on that term. "Bisexual" can mean "people that are my sex AND all people that are NOT my sex" to many bisexuals, which is effectively identical to most definitions of pansexual.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Do you think that masturbation generally being seen as a shameful thing factors into porn being bad for you? How about porn that doesn't have negative themes? Is that better/less bad for the person watching?

September 23, 2014
I think masturbation being seen as shameful is certainly not helping. If we were more upfront about masturbation and how to talk to kids about it, then you wouldn't have problems like the "death grip" (where you are so worried about getting caught that you develop a grip that is REALLY tight and REALLY fast and unfortunately teaches your body that this is the only way you should be able to come), and we would have known about the problems of porn addiction earlier.

And yeah, porn with less negative themes is always good, because a lot of porn with negative themes (at least that I've watched) weirdly does as much to further the idea of sex and porn as being base, vile things just as much as conservative anti-porn groups do. Sex-positive porn is great and should be more common.
Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### What are your most anticipated triple a fall games?

September 23, 2014
Shadow of Mordor, by FAR. I can't wait to see if it's what is promised (systems heavy games make me happy)

### Question: Is porn still acceptable if you know the person doing it? Say a young man, woman or other sets up an xtube account to create pornographic videos of themselves because that's how they like to spend their time and it's a self confidence thing. Is that acceptable?

September 23, 2014
Porn inherently isn't wrong, in my opinion, I just think overuse of it can be really bad for your, like, physical body.

But you bring up an issue of porn content and I guess motive, which are separate but still valid issues. I think anyone who does porn consensually is totally fine and cool, whatever their reasons. So long as it's consensual, awesome.

That said, I've started exploring more porn made by/for women and have as a result looked at some of the male-centric porn I used to watch and find it really lacking and problematic in the ways that, really, most mainstream media is problematic. Women are primarily objects rather than aggressors, there are no plots to humanize or develop the characters...I know this sounds stupid, but just check out the first two Smut Peddlers and you can see what emotional, romantic, empathetic porn can look like. There's plenty of hot sex in those, but it's not about a guy coming to a slut's house carrying a pizza box. And none of the sex scenes end with facials, which is a small thing I think a lot of us have weirdly internalized but really feels odd and demeaning to me. I dunno how to read facials but anything as a display of dominance.

(That said I know a lot of people get off on receiving facials, which is cool, but I dunno how to separate the act of a woman getting on her knees and having her face soiled from a culture that tells us women are to be submissive objects that we can use and then sort of toss aside.)

View more

Liked by: Decinis Nolan Sullivan

### can you give me part of your brain so i can be creative and make something that people will enjoy so i won't be a complete failure when i die

September 23, 2014
If you think I'm not going to die a complete failure then you are more confident than I

### I don't know if I'm a good person to my female friends by not wanting to ask them out or just think of them in terms of dating because I'm a good person, or just because of the guilt I feel being scared of betraying them and being the "friend zoning" asshole type, which means it's fake not genuine.

September 23, 2014
It's fine. You're not acting shitty so you're not shitty. I wouldn't worry too much about your subconscious reasons.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### "Wat"? That's what I said. I'll ask again: Will you go to the culture festival with me, Burch-Senpai?

September 23, 2014
aight

### So whatcha think of Time Heist?

September 23, 2014
Good fun.

### who is your least favorite character from borderlands and what would you have changed about it?

September 23, 2014
Roland. He's just a bland mary sue. I'm still not quite sure how to fix him, other than giving him a more obvious Thing (the Thing I gave him was just being awkward around girls, which isn't much of a Thing cause it only manifests like once).
Liked by: Decinis

### Guacamelee was an indie game though. Borderlands 2 wasn't. Apparently, you're triple A trash :(.

September 22, 2014
Yeah, that's how I interpreted it. That said, it's impossible to feel sympathy for. Poor borderlands with all its money and some people whining about memes

### Are you friends with Bro Team? How did he come to cameo in HAWP?

September 22, 2014
Just asked him cause we really wanted him to be the voice of ash's subconscious. He was really nice and agreed.

### How do you lean politically?

September 22, 2014
Left. I'm ignorant of most issues tbh, but the ones I have any actual understanding of I'm very liberal on.
Liked by: Decinis

### "Show me your dog a hundred more times" Is that a reference or something? Because I don't understand, Burch-Senpai. You want to see my dog or "dog"?

September 22, 2014
Wat

### is looking at pictures of beautiful celebrities on google image (not even to masturbate) cheating on the no porn thing. this is a serious question

September 22, 2014
If it's titillating in a similar way I think it still releases dopamine which is the worrisome thing.

### i feel pretty good about my body actually, i just feel like a gross worthless immature failure. will quitting porn help with anya that ya think? or atleast take the edge off

September 22, 2014
Sure can't hurt! And if you don't feel better after a few months, fuck it I guess?

### a question about grant, justin, ulysseus. are they guys you grew up with or went to school with?

September 22, 2014
We met in high school and have been friends since.

### If you could choose a new forename for yourself what would you pick? Or would you keep Anthony?

September 22, 2014
I used to like Jack as a name, until I helped write two games where that's the name of the main character.

So now Anthony seems fine.
Liked by: Decinis

### you're awesome. if i could, I'd order you a pizza.

September 22, 2014
spinach and mushrooms plz
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### How did you get so smart? The only thing I know is about films and tv shows and obscure ways to kill people

September 22, 2014
I am super duper not at all smart. I don't read as much as I should and I have childish taste in media. I am one of the dumber people I know by a LOT.
Liked by: Fuck. This.

### So I'm curious: in what ways was porn making you less confident? Were you comparing yourself to the actors & your partner(s) to the actresses, only to be disappointed? Or was it more like, "Well, I've already seen naked bodies today and gotten off, so actually pursuing real sex would be redundant"?

September 22, 2014
I dunno, really. I kinda jus tthought I was a piece of ugly-ass horribleness. It wasn't until I started having sex and stopped watching porn that I started finding myself attractive. I dunno if the two are connected tbh.
Liked by: Jayne Nolan Sullivan

### am i the only one who doesn't find the concept of "the friendzone" inherently not existent? Like I'm not saying it's horrible or something but like if you're interested in someone and they just want to be friends, i don't see a problem with putting a title to that. and continuing your friendship.

September 21, 2014
It's usually used in a context of anger. She friendzoned me cause I'm too nice, etc etc. Rather than just going "oh she's not attracted to me that's fine, let's still be friends" it's this weird thing of intentionally putting yourself in a situation where you're pretending to only want to be her friend but you really just want to fuck her.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Hi long time watcher first time caller. How do you come up with your ideas for episodes for HAWP? Also what writing process do you go through for characters etc.

September 21, 2014
"thinking a lot and throwing out random ideas" and "whatever makes us laugh"

### Where do you like to go to see your gaming news?

September 21, 2014
Rockpapershotgun, Kotaku, PC gamer, Polygon
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Yeah when people bitch about memes being in a triple A game they seem to get pissed. It's like they see the big companies making the triple A games as their parents and small indie devs are their friends and when their parents try to get in on the friends joke they attack them or something like that

September 21, 2014
Yeah. Guacamelee had internet memes up the wazoo and I didn't hear word one about them.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### so like what's my motivation to quit porn if there's no reason for me to assume i'll be having sex ever possibly or at least in the foreseeable future? also if this is too personal you don't have to answer but can you still fit in a wank from time to time or is porn only part of the problem?

September 21, 2014
Wanking is part of the problem, yes. They go together, so you should stop both for a while, but once you're done with porn a wank in a while probably isn't a huge deal (I try to not indulge in either, though).

As to your first question, that's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, maybe? Porn makes you less confident, leads to not getting someone else to be with?

### have you received any harsh forms of criticism over the years as a writer that you felt was unjustified or blatantly untrue?

September 21, 2014
It kinda pisses me the fuck off that assholes complain about BL2 being nothing but memes (and not just random assholes, but professional ones). Yes, some of the challenge names are memes. Yes, Zach hid the double rainbow thing in the game. There's another 98% of the fucking game for you to enjoy, so maybe find something else to bitch about.

That's really the only thing. Most of the other complaints I've heard have enough logic to them that I understand them.
Liked by: Decinis Kerissa Young

### back when HAWP started, what exactly did you say to Ash? how did you pitch the idea to her?

September 21, 2014
"you wanna do this thing"
"ya"
"k"
Liked by: Jeffrey Adam Robert Sherman mackenzie charlton sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### was it very difficult for you to stop watching porn? I've considered it a few times but then I'm always like well what else am I going to

September 21, 2014
Yeah, it was difficult. I didn't realize that I basically have been addicted to the stuff since I first discovered it at, like, age twelve. So I've been addicted to porn more than I haven't been throughout the span of my ENTIRE life, which is kind of horrifying to think about.

I used to think that way too ("what's the harm, what else am I gonna do"), until I started having sex. There's a pretty good correlation between porn watching and ED/lack of interest or enjoyment in sex. It's a dopamine thing. Porn basically ruined sex for me, and I want to like sex, so I stopped watching porn. I resolved to stop for six months, and after I reached that point (with some moments of weakness in the middle) I haven't watched any at all. I'm not only enjoying sex more, but I feel better as a person. More confident, less ashamed.

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### which sexual position is best?

September 21, 2014
Whichever one is your partner's favorite, then whichever one is your favorite, then whichever one is your partner's favorite.

Repeat.

### what did you think about s4 of game of thrones finale

September 21, 2014
Loved it.

### you should play noir syndrome. I feel like you would really appreciate it.

September 21, 2014
I really really wanted to like it, but it just felt kind of...unsatisfying to me. Walk around spamming USE on people until you find out where the person is. It just didn't quite feel like a detection game so much as a process of elimination game that didn't require a lot of interesting mental work.

### While SHODAN is undeniably, unmatchably fuckin' AWESOME, its kinda sad that not only has the industry been unable to top her in terms of female villains in the 16 years since SS2, but that the best female villain isn't even human/humanish. That said, you brought up SHODAN, so you win all the points

September 21, 2014
I mean, GLaDOS is pretty close.

### Ever play the Fallout games before Fallout 3? Wot think?

September 21, 2014
I love love love love love Fallout 1. It was one of my favorite games as a kid. I didn't like Fallout 2 as much because it forced way more combat. Fallout 1, you could talk your way through stuff, you could ignore content, you could sprint away from fights and be tricky. In Fallout 2, you had to shoot a LOT of things.

That's also what I love New Vegas more than 3.

### Do you play assassins creed?

Kerissa Young
September 21, 2014
On and off. I keep wanting the series to be open world Thief and it keeps disappointing me, making stealth more and more irrelevant. (Except the warehouse missions in 4 and the borgia towers in Brotherhood, which I really like and should honestly be, like, the entire game)
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### are your parents retired?

September 21, 2014
My dad is, sort of. My mom still works.

### what's your favorite season of HAWP? i loved every season but i believe the first season was the best. something very soothing about humble beginnings

September 21, 2014
Generally my favorite seasons are the most recent one we did.

### hey anthony i love what you do, i'm gonna let you finish. but ash is the best burch of all time. OF ALL TIME.

September 21, 2014
yeahhh i'd probably agree tbh

### if i sent you a jar could you cum in it and send it back to me so i can make a week's supply of semen sandwiches

September 21, 2014
WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF THIS? WHY IS IT SATISFYING TO YOU TO MAKE ME UNCOMFORTABLE AND FEEL UNSAFE?

### What's your favourite drake song?

September 21, 2014
I dunno if it's my favorite but "best i ever had" is probably stuck in my head the most often
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I want to know what your opinion on action sports is. Stuff like Skateboarding (not penny-boarding, etc, but street skating like in the game Skate, or even OlliOlli kinda), Snowboarding/Skiing, BMX street or downhill, etc. Do you think its dangerous and foolish? Or cool, but too dangerous to try?

September 21, 2014
I mean, if it makes you happy. I'm not doing anything even remotely dangerous so you do you

### Burch, how did you get so good at Spelunky? I can barely get out of the jungle area... I say it's black magic.

September 21, 2014
Keep trying. Move slowly. Be careful. use the shortcuts to learn individual traps that are specific to each world, but if you're trying to win ALWAYS start from the very beginning.

### How does Beast feel about your relationship with another woman? Especially since it seems to be that she is a cat owner.

September 21, 2014
Beast is hellishly jealous
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Lady who actually got her college degree in game dev here. Didn't actually get into the biz, partly because of the recession and real life necessities getting in the way. But...mostly turned off by the gross disheartening shit going on in the industry. Sad to see it's still going strong years later.

September 21, 2014
Guhhhhh this is the saddest thing in the world to me.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### do you have any input on character designs or are you strictly involved with writing?

September 21, 2014
Yeah, I get input. Tina's original design didn't have a skirt or anything girly, she just looked like a Tank Girl tomboy which I didn't think worked for her personality.

### what's the most adorable memory you have of doing HAWP with Ash?

September 21, 2014
Probably her doing mouth farts in Katamari Damacy

### ignore the hate homie. keep doin what you doin, your fans will always love u <3

September 21, 2014
thax

### How much does fashion cost?

September 21, 2014
too goddamned much
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Burch-Senpai, will you go to the summer festival with me?

September 21, 2014
show me your dog a hundred more times and i'll think about it
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### In my experience, a lot of the people who are against feminism don't actually understand what it is. They conflate it with radical feminism, Dworkinism, or a "kill-all-men" attitude that NO real feminist actually has. They think feminists are a group who just go around castrating men or something.

September 21, 2014
Yeah, I imagine that's true. And they see some anger from feminists and immediately connect it to THAT image in their mind, rather than 'we are angry because nobody goddamn listens and we keep getting harrassed and subjugated'
Liked by: Vaida Plankyte Nolan Sullivan

### in the hawp season 1 episode "a brother in need" you left an annotation saying that there was supposed to be footage of ash dancing to soldier boy. was that ever recovered? can you just get her to do it now?

September 21, 2014
Nope, never found it! It's probably better in the theatre of the MIND, though.

### favorite pormstar

September 21, 2014
I don't watch porn anymore, but I used to like Stoya a lot

### Love Borderlands 2. Seriously. Would bake cupcakes. Why does it feel like it climaxes at Where Angels Fear to Tread though?

September 21, 2014
We thought it'd be cool to do a Dark Knight thing and have a seeming climax, then pull the rug out and make stuff super worse.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### NAME YOUR TOP 5 ANIME GO

September 21, 2014
Azumanga Daioh, Paranoia Agent, Samurai Champloo, can't think of two others
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### tell us a spooky story mr. Burch

September 21, 2014
I'm behind you
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Kerissa Young

### Do you see yourself ever going indie? Or doing anything other than writing for triple-A devs?

September 21, 2014
I don't have enough skills to go indie. I can only write and I'm not THAT good at writing.

### You ever feel the only way you're going to get rid of a toxic friend is if they have a workplace accident and die?

September 21, 2014
yes

### how did you not get arrested filming the driver: san francisco hawp

September 21, 2014
It was Christmas and we got lucky as shit
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### How did Mr. Burch feel about Wreck It Ralph? I have a reason for asking, but am not addressing it just in case you didnt see it. I dont want to spoil things.

September 21, 2014
Loved it, cause I have a soul and shit
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### who is your favorite female villian from any videogame franchise?

September 21, 2014
SHODAN, of course.

### overall, i think borderlands 2 story was awesome and the characters are funny enough for me to be able to enjoy the story on multiple runs. it felt both laid back and intense at different points. the humor was very witty and fresh. i don't get why people shit on its story/humor. insight?

September 20, 2014
The humor is:
- Loud
- Really immature
-Omnipresent.

So if you don't like my sense of humor, then you get it OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER again. There are also probably too many jokes in the game; some reviewers referred to it as "desperate" in its attempts at comedy which is pretty fair.

### how consistently are you a le to beat spelunky

September 20, 2014
Regular mode? Nearly 100% if I'm actually trying. Hell? 1 out of every 5 or 6 times,.

### It took me a second to get the joke, but the FALL of Nakayama made me laugh a whole ton. A+

September 20, 2014
2clev

### what do you think about strangers butts

September 20, 2014
Depends on the butt obv

### JUST now noticed the hidden easter egg of confirming Handsome Jack's Doppleganger in the Torguelock trailer. Perfect. :-)

September 20, 2014
Yeah, that was definitely intentional. Definitely intentional, that.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### MORE LIKE HAHAFUNNYFUNLANDS 2

September 20, 2014
thanx
Liked by: Samantha Dale

### do you enjoy having a beard or do you prefer to be clean shaven, i've seen you in both

September 20, 2014
i like having stubble. Beards are smelly and I look hideous clean shaven.

### what projects are you currently working on?

September 20, 2014
an unnanounced thing, another unannounced thing, and a wee bit of battleborn.
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### "feminism is not ok." i wonder what that guy's opinions are about the systemic oppression of half the world's population? "yeah i'm ok with that though"

September 20, 2014
pahahaha
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### wake up in the morning feelen like Anthony Burch;"hey whatcha playen girl"

September 20, 2014
yeah that's me
Liked by: Becky

### wanna fight

September 20, 2014
no

### Totally agree, feminism is not "ok". It's awesome!

September 20, 2014
woooo yea
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I hope Burch-Senpai notices me...

September 20, 2014
done

### I just played the Vine game you made about your girlfriend and I only have one thing to say to you: AWWWWWWWWW!

September 20, 2014
hee hee
Liked by: Becky

### hey i need a place to stay for the night i'm coming over to your house

September 20, 2014
k don't come on my sheets
Liked by: Becky

### I was recently given 2014 thief. is it worth playing

September 20, 2014
ehhhh not in my opinion, no. Way too linear.

### Hey man, I know you're not fond of MRAs but is there going to be any MRA bashing in TPS?

September 20, 2014
nah
Liked by: Carmen

### My mom has had cancer for years and I was in emotional denial about it. Motivated by Tina's DLC, I called her and we talked about her illness // It sped up recently. I won't get to talk to her again. You indirectly gave me my only "real" conversation with my mom before the end. Thank you.

September 20, 2014
Holy shit. Jesus, I don't even know what to say. Thank you. I'm glad it could help you in some way.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Feminism is NOT ok.

September 19, 2014
pahahhahahaha
Liked by: Becky sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### omg torgue's voice actor is named chris RAGER? that's great.

September 19, 2014
Yeah, he's super great. Really nice guy.

### So I decided months ago I'd play Nisha because she's great. Now I realise Wilhelm's actually a Cool Old Dude, so I wanna play him. But Athena has a great skillset, so I wanna play her. All this to say - I'm glad awful shitty Claptrap is the 4th, so that I only have to play the game 3 times.

September 19, 2014
I like you.
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### how did dameon enjoy recording all the vault hunter voices ("SUPER ROBOT VIOLENCE FUN TIME")

September 19, 2014
He enjoyed that a little less than the other lines, I imagine, cause he didn't get to adlib like he does on all the other Jack lines (cause he was matching existing lines).

### i wish i was you

September 19, 2014
It's cool man, you're cool

### could we get a dick pic

September 19, 2014
#2topical
Liked by: sad boy Travis Smith Fuck. This.

### So a few of us are dying to know, was Torgue and Hammerlock in the latest trailer a choice based on just randomly choosing those, or a nod to the Boomlock shippers?

September 19, 2014
To be honest it was originally just intended as a Torgue-only thing, because I wanted to do what we did with the Hammerlock trailer for BL2 but not use Hammerlock again. Then I got some good feedback from BL franchise director Matthew Armstrong that our characters are often more fun when they play off one another, so I thought Hammerlock would be a good character to take some of the edge off Torgue's voice and spare Chris Rager the throat pain.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Becky

### I'm 15 and I make dad jokes. What does the future hold for me?

September 19, 2014
literally a thousand babies
Liked by: Jakob Brown sad boy mackenzie charlton Becky Fuck. This. Nolan Sullivan

### Loved the new borderlands trailer, haven't laughed that much in a while. Mr Torgue should be in everything. Will you be coming to PAX AUS again? Didn't get a chance to meet you last time.

September 19, 2014
Probably not.

### I make super mediocre fanvideos for borderlands, I recently did this one to show how excited I am for the Pre sequel. http://youtu.be/mHhCTVKNhWw

Michelle
September 19, 2014
nice!

### do you feel your age?

September 19, 2014
Yes. I have had a really bad week in terms of making shitty dad jokes and being awful.

### Play any more of Eidolon since StreamFriends? I put maybe ten hours in. I beat it in the sense that I'm satisfied with how I ended it myself. I've never enjoyed having a journal in a video game so much. I wrote about 70 pages. I thought my story was cooler than theirs, though. As I'm like to do.

September 19, 2014
I tried to, but seeing how far Jack was and how much stuff he'd uncovered kinda killed my desire to explore for myself, weirdly.

### If you're allowed to tell us, which character does Caitlyn Glass voice?

September 19, 2014
She's Thorn in Battleborn.

### If Kojima came to your door, and asked you to redesign Quiet, and the only parameter he gave you was she had to remain female, and didnt have to appear "sexy", but did have to appear fit. How would your vision of Quiet turn out?

September 18, 2014
I'd just make her cool in a way that didn't show a shitload of skin. AKA the basic look that makes Big Boss and Solid Snake cool.

### You don't want to create children or you don't want to have kids in any capacity?

September 18, 2014
Both. If I wanted a kid I would probably adopt. But I don't want a kid cause I like having free time.
Liked by: Becky

### a day in the life of internet O.G. anthony burch : get yo dick sucked, make dat gaming money, get yo dick sucked while playing some farcry 2, eat some fucking steak and potatos, get yo dick sucked some more, snort coke off some Double D titties. is that accurate?

September 18, 2014
Apart from all the dicksuckin' and coke, yep.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### What is your favorite alcoholic beverage? Did you and Ash ever do any drinking games, like with Mario Party?

September 18, 2014
I don't drink, actually.
Liked by: Becky

### any future plans for streaming on twitch?

September 18, 2014
Yeah, I wanna get back into the swing of it when I have more free weeknights.

### you ever plan on having kids or is that a strict no no?

September 18, 2014
I have no desire to ever have kids. Which means that I'm actually just spending most of my time terrified that I will someday want to have kids.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown TJ Jones Becky mackenzie charlton

### Have you ever gotten to a point where you got sick of most video games and you just play the same few over and over again? lately, all I can seem to stomach is borderlands 2, starcraft 2, and diablo 3. anything else i look at just makes me wanna take a nap.

September 18, 2014
Yep. I play Far Cry 2, Dark Souls, Fallout New Vegas, and Spelunky over and over and over.

### Question about Quiet from MGSV. Do you feel her outfit would work if it was like, a crop-top or more sporty-type bra? Something thats still sexy/cute without it being all about major cleavage? Also if they gave her average size breasts to lessen the sexual aspect of her design would it help much?

September 18, 2014
It's not the specifics, it's the weird desire to make her sole visual impact be "SEXY". So many other characters in MGS have really interesting and cool designs that convey things like "COOL" or "GRIZZLED" or "SLEEK" or "OLD AND HAIRY" or "PSYCHOPATHIC", and the ONE female character we've seen in MGSV is conveying the same exact thing that *every single* lady in videogames already conveys. It's objectifying and irritating. The degree to which they've taken it is even dumber because logically snipers don't dress like that at all, but the base idea it was borne out of is inherently shitty.

### I know I already said so on Twitter, but, that Torgue video is amazing and makes me so happy. Thank you. THANK YOU! :D

September 18, 2014
np

### Do we hate Big Bang Theory for the same reasons? I can't stand it because it's basically blackface for nerds.

September 18, 2014
Yeah, basically.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### do you have an estimated date for when season 5 of HAWP will premiere? i'm guessing not til 2016.

September 18, 2014
Ask Justin and Ash when the web site will be done, and that'll be when.

### Torque yelling "gender equality," Janey having a crush on Athena, hating on memes...! This is going to be the best Borderlands game yet, and god knows I loved the past 2. Thanks for enforcing the representation, Anthony. You rock.

September 18, 2014
thax thax thax thax
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton Kerissa Young

### my belly hurts from laughing at that new trailer with hammerlock and torgue. ya did good burch.

September 18, 2014
thanks! I'm really proud of it.

### I'm a man in an extremely abusive (mostly emotional) relationship. What do?

September 18, 2014
End it *right now.*
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton Kerissa Young

### Hi, I am every bully from the 80's and I hear you're a funny guy. So, tell me a joke, funny guy. Come on, joke boy. You think you're funny? Make me laugh, funny man! *bestows wedgie*

September 18, 2014
Ha ha...I just...oh jeez. I, uh -- c'mon, not with J-J-Jennifer around, I can't--
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton

### Of all the silly things that you got your father to do in HAWP episodes, was there ever anything that you asked of him that made him go "that's where I cross the line."

September 18, 2014
Nope.

### You curse so much that you should get your name changed to Fuck Fucking Fuck.

September 18, 2014
I'd protest and say I don't curse THAT much, but, yeah, you're probably right.

### do you guys still sell the "would you kindry" shirts?

September 18, 2014
nah, they were kinda racist
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Does that video which just got released mean Torgue will be in the Pre-Sequel? Or was that just as a promo kind of thing?

September 18, 2014
Which video? But yeah, he's in a few sidequests.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Wouldn't you really like 3 more seasons of "The Thick of It" that are super good? I mean, that's worst case scenario for "Veep" going in. Ianucci writes insults and curses better than anyone, and Veep is chock full of amazing language. Plus, Veep is super well acted

September 18, 2014
Alllllright. I'll do it. The Thick of It was just really good at crushing my happiness and making me horribly cynical.

### You once said in a hawpcast something along the lines of "the netrunner community is less likely to be rude about losing in a store tournament than the Magic the Gathering crowd"? Was that from experience or an unfortunate image we project?

September 18, 2014
Just an assumed image. I've never played Magic.

### I take it you didn't like The Thick of It?

September 18, 2014
No, I loved Thick of It. I'm just wondering if Veep is too similar to it.

### i watched a talk that you did in texas and you mentioned your college years a little bit. do you feel like going to school was a waste of time? if you had come up with the idea of doing a show with your sister beforehand, do you think you would've just bypassed higher education?

September 18, 2014
My college years were a pretty big waste, but I have the luxury of saying that because I got a job that doesn't give a shit about degrees.

### So how much of Jack's rage after Angel's death is genuine rage and sadness over the loss of his daughter, how much of it is just him trying to manipulate you into feeling guilty as hell and how much of it is just him being pissed off that it's fucked up his plans slightly?

September 18, 2014
Up to you!

### Forced to choose, would you rather be a citizen of Gotham City and running the risk of being a casualty, a Marvel Mutant with the power to control dairy products and hated for no reason, or be regular person in the Walking Dead universe just before the outbreak and be constantly on the move?

Thom Clyma
September 18, 2014
Marvel Mutant. I bet I could find some sick uses for dairy control. Floating cows and stuff.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I found out about Hey Ash last year but didn't watch it until a little while ago and loved it. I wish I had a sister to play games with. Have you two always been very close? Also, I want to send her a fan letter but can't seem to find an appropriate e-mail address other than her business one.

September 18, 2014
Not always, but as of, like, me going into college we became super close.

### Can you be my therapist?

September 18, 2014
no

### i wanna rub u down in fucking olive oil and lick it off while you say to me "hey frank, whatchu sucken on?"

September 18, 2014
ahhHHHHH jesus christ

### I know you beat yourself up for the New-U machines not making a ton of narrative sense, but hearing how fucking funny their dialogue is convinced me to buy the game. So your least favorite jokes in Borderlands are the direct cause of at least one sale. :)

September 18, 2014
yaaay
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Cherry

### Do you watch Veep? You should absolutely watch Veep.

September 18, 2014
Even if I've already seen The Thick of It?

### How do you feel about Parks and Recreation (the show, not being outside, because: the outside is the worst)? I am a huge Community fan, but I think, despite Community's narrative innovation and pure hilarity, the characters, sincerity/heart of P&R push it ahead. Schur and Harmon are both brilliant.

September 17, 2014
Yeah, I can see that. P&R is the sweetest show ever made.
Liked by: Cherry Nolan Sullivan

### It's a little of both, really.

September 17, 2014
I can only speak for myself, but I got really sick of feeling ashamed at being attracted to other people. I wanted to NOT be, don't get me wrong -- I wanted to reach into my brain and poke it real hard and say, "STOP IT, MAN, I fuckin' GOT a wife, calm DOWN," but I couldn't. And I didn't feel comfortable hating myself for something I had no control over but didn't want to do.

People aren't made to fully, 100% satisfy every single need and desire of any other person. And we're not designed to only want to be with one person (spread the seed, multiply, etc).
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I'm entering a contest to be a writer for a semi big name website. Is there much of a career in being a journalist or should it be taken more of a side-project? Any suggestions for what kind of editorial I should write for the submission? Should I be myself or aim to be what the want?

September 17, 2014
If you're talking about games blogging: no, there are almost no ways to make a career in that anymore. That's why everyone is running to patreon to support themselves, because the industry doesn't have the infrastructure to pay the people who write about it because writing isn't actually valued that much.

Write about something you really really really really care about.

### I saw a nerd on the internet yelling about how we shouldn't be pointing out problematic things in Borderlands to you and that social justice doesn't belong in videogames. Should I stuff them in a locker

September 17, 2014
I mean don't stuff em in anything, just tell em I said it was okay

### Do you think a FPS could ever have a realistic version of improving marksmanship? Like early in the game,you can't shoot for shit so you have to waste ammo and risk your life to slowly improve. Would that work in this generation or would too many people get annoyed over the required work?

September 17, 2014
That sounds like a PC game I would play.

### I want you to do hawpcasts and talk about doctor who, because I value your opinion on it and your banter about it is entertaining.

September 17, 2014
Once we get the site redesigned we're talking about alternating between HAWP episodes and HAWPcasts, so you're always getting something from us each week.
Liked by: Becky

### I keep hearing that you've confirmed Maya is somewhere on the aromantic spectrum is that true?

September 17, 2014
It's basically just my headcanon, but that's how I feel.
Liked by: Becky

### Even though it's not really any of my business, and I know it shouldn't bother me, and I don't want it to bother me, the concept of an open relationship still weirds me out. It's complicated because even if I don't tell anybody or act on that feeling, I still feel like a bad person. Am I?

September 16, 2014
Wait, what feeling are you talking about? Thinking open relationships as an idea, or the feeling of still being attracted to someone else even though you're already in a relationship?

### Why do you suffer through games like GTA V and Watch Dogs when you have every reason to stop playing?

September 16, 2014
I did stop playing Watch Dogs. I stuck with GTA V to see if they were going to turn around the awful shit I'd seen, and also to sort of know The Competition and be part of The Conversation. Which is a stupid reason, and something I should really stop doing.

### So when I was watching the PAX stream I saw that Randy Pitchford challenged you to the ice bucket thing, are you gonna do it?

September 16, 2014
No, I paid the money.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Oh my God I hate Cards Against Humanity so much. I've worked as a comedian/writer, and I finish last ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the time. I get progressively more embarrassed and furious as the game continues and by the end I am miserable and wholly insufferable. How bad of a person does this make me?

September 16, 2014
It makes you effectively identical to me, so I hope it doesn't make you a bad person.
Liked by: Becky

### do you think you should kill me

September 16, 2014
I mean

no

### I accidentally made eye contact with a woman at the bus stop and did an I'm uncomfortable now but don't wanna look like a grumpy asshole awkward smile and I feel like I've done something disgusting how is that fair

September 16, 2014
Your fear is that you looked like a doofus, her fear might be that she thought you were going to corner her and creep on her or touch her or something.

It's fair. It's shitty, but it's fair.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I saw that teaser with Quiet...how are people supposed to do sexy and/or sex appeal without it coming off as pandering or disrespectful/stupid/whatever? What are some positive examples in games..hell, any media of women being sexy and owning that without it coming off as lazy pandering?

September 16, 2014
Mae West.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### So if Gaige was based on your dream girl, does that make Jack and Nisha's deal based on your dream sex life?

September 16, 2014
No, I'm not *that* kinky.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas

### What is your favorite radio station in Saints row?

September 16, 2014
Classical, always.

### Regarding the new Smash Bros., are you bothered that the Duck Hunt dog is now apparently partners with the very ducks he is supposed to be enemies with?

September 16, 2014
Nah, I think it's kind of cute, like Kirby and Dedede becoming friends.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### If they weren't on a Death planet, do you think Roland and/or Lilith would adopt Tina?

September 16, 2014
Yes.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Nooooo why do you hate owls?? They're so beautiful and interesting! And frequently cutely goofy as fuck. https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7000049664/h67BFEF5A/

September 16, 2014
They eat rats and I think rats are cute.
Liked by: sad boy

### Has anyone ever wanted to have sex with you simply because they like HAWP?

September 16, 2014
Probably?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### If it turns out that intelligent alien life does exist what would this mean for video games? Would they have better video games an laugh at our pathetic human games?

September 16, 2014
It would mean they would kill us
Liked by: sad boy

### how do you like living in texas, did you ever think "someday i will live in texas"

September 16, 2014
I'm not super fond of Texas, but I fucking HATED Arizona, so I'm pretty happy to be in Texas.

### Anthony, are the rumors about you not having an ass true?

September 16, 2014
Correct. My thighs are directly connected to the small of my back.
Liked by: Manaphy Natu mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Have often do you actually care about a game's story?

September 16, 2014
All the time, if it's clear the game cares about its story (meaning not putting huge chunks of shit in unskippable dialog or cut scenes, showing care in how the story is told).

### How much time do you spend thinking about your skull being crushed

September 16, 2014
Can't tell if this is a threat or a question about fetishes. Either way, not much

### can we kickstarter the hawpcast instead of hey ash if you need money we're desperate plz plz need feminism and audible moffat bashing

September 16, 2014
We haven't necessarily ruled that out as a possibility.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### I would like to thank you and your sister for being such a strong influence on me personally, and being great people in general. Also butts.

September 16, 2014
Thanks!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### My Girlfriend is a Big Bang Theory lover, what do i do?

September 16, 2014
Open relationship, date someone who likes Community
Liked by: Jeffrey mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan Michelle Zach Wilson sad boy

### I was watching a documentary recently and it stated that people often equate the trustworthiness of atheists to rapists. What's your reaction to that?

September 16, 2014
That it's pretty fucking stupid, especially because our society *also* isn't actually very good at defining rape or rapists.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Did Handsome Jack really love Angel?

September 16, 2014
I think he thinks he did.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### You should jump in front of a train next time you get a chance, faglord.

September 16, 2014
k

### Is Mr. Torgue based on Randy Savage?

September 16, 2014
Yep. Randy Savage but with a more obviously soft, mushy center.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### when my friends suggested borderlands 2 to me, i was like, eh, not a big fan of sci-fi. months later, it went on sale on steam, and they bought it for me. i've been addicted to this game ever since. it has an amazing storyline and a diverse cast. thanks for writing it, yo. i hope i meet you one day!

September 16, 2014
Thanks, I'm really glad you enjoyed it!
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Becky

### Anthony are you still there we love you

September 16, 2014
Yes and thanks
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan Becky

### you said nisha is a bandit and jack hates bandits but jack's dating a bandit i'm so confused

September 16, 2014
She's a bandit who kills bandits.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Did your like Listen? Plus curious of your thoughts about paul cornell(writer of father's day and human nature two parter) saying it might be the best doctor who episode ever.

September 16, 2014
I did not like Listen, no. I think Pink and Clara's relationship is awful, I think Clara and the Doctor's relationship is awful, and while I adore the ending in isolation, it has almost absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the episode.
Liked by: Becky

### i remember like YEARS ago i saw this comic floating around tumblr about what media written by "SJWs" would look like and one of the characters was a black gay double amputee and it was meant to be like "haha SJWs are so stupid this would never work" and now years later i just realized: hammerlock.

September 16, 2014
Pahahaha. That's fucking awesome. Fuck 'em.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### If your wife's bio says she lives in Texas. Do you live in Texas? If not how does your marriage work? Curious cause in debating starting ldr.

September 11, 2014
We live together, yeah.
Liked by: Becky

### A couple weeks ago when class started we had to introduce ourselves and one of the questions were "who are your personal heroes" and I put you and gabe newell

September 11, 2014
Thanks but god damn
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### vry important quest chin: does pre-sequel has a stronger opening than bl2's glacier pace

September 11, 2014
Yes, much stronger. You get your action skill at level 5, cooler weapons start dropping quicker, and the game basically accepts that you have a base level of FPS understanding.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Gavin Hammon

### Do you like certain types of birds over others? (I like penguins more than I would parrots, for example.)

September 11, 2014
Nope! All birds are sick as fuck.

Except birds of prey because they make me sad. I hate owls.
Liked by: sad boy

### now that the vault hunters exchange banter in the pre-sequel, what happens if there are two people playing the same vault hunter in a team? do the copies ignore each other or are they like "holy shit, it's another me!"

September 11, 2014
They ignore each other.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton sad boy Jordan Cameron

### You watch Rick and Morty? I love it. Film Crit Hulk loves it. You love it. Dan Harmon does stuff.

September 11, 2014
I've seen the Mr Meeseeks episode, and I liked it. I should watch more.

### What episode of Hey Ash? do you consider is the best? The worst?

Inseams Lemurs
September 11, 2014
Persona 4, Geometry Wars

### Honest opinion of destiny? Is it a buy

September 11, 2014
Nah, not really. It's a polished game that has made me feel nothing.
Liked by: Cherry Nolan Sullivan Jordan Cameron Fuck. This.

### You're on the shit list. Watch yourself, boy,

September 11, 2014
Pahahaha are you foghorn leghorn
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### have you played screencheat? I played it at pax and loved it. I think you would really like it too.

September 10, 2014
I haven't, but I really want to.

### I'm 26 and never so much as kissed anyone. Does that make me weird? Is it something I should hide from others? I'm kind of afraid to try to date people now, especially since I don't have any money.

September 10, 2014
No, it doesn't make you weird. I didn't do a lot of stuff until pretty recently. Sometimes shit just takes time and that's fine.

To be perfectly honest, I don't think it's something you need to hide from others so much as something that you never should have much of a reason to bring up. It could make someone you're on a date with more nervous and anxious, cause most people don't want the pressure of being someone's first kiss.

### What song brings you to tears?

September 10, 2014
Vale Decem because I am a fucking idiot dork idiot

Piano Concerto No. 2 by Shostakovich

Da Butt

### Did you just imply that Batgirl is boring or am I reading too much into that? If not, that's not cool man. Batgirl/Oracle is fucking awesome :).

September 10, 2014
I actually don't know a lot about Oracle beyond what I saw in the Arkham games, and she's pretty dull there.

(And the Killing Joke obviously, but that's so depressing I can't count it.)

### Good morning mr. Burch, what do you think about video game Hotline Miami?

September 10, 2014
It's fun but I hate that it does the "we are a critique of violence, we will show this to you by HAVING A LUDICROUS AMOUNT OF VIOLENCE" nonsense that Far Cry 3 is also guilty of

### Say anthony, how connected are you with the Tales from the Borderlands writing team because there's been a lot of fandom speculation about Rhys being trans due to siren like tattoos under his collar. Can you shed any light on that?

September 10, 2014
I worked on some high-level story stuff and the overall season outline, but I don't know about that specifically.

### Have you heard about how they're considering rebooting Ghostbusters 3 with an all female lead cast? What do you think of this? Will it just become Bridesmaids with ghosts (which actually doesn't sound half bad)?

September 10, 2014
Bridesmaids with ghosts sounds incredible soooo
Liked by: Becky Fuck. This. Nolan Sullivan

### do you think jack and nisha cuddle

September 10, 2014
yes, albeit covered in lots of fluids and leather and stuff when they do
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Becky Fuck. This. mackenzie charlton sad boy

### Whose decision was it to make Roland and Lilith a thing between games? F'real they're adorable and i love that Roland doesn't seem to know how to girlfriend

September 10, 2014
That was me. It felt like the most interesting way to give them something to do and I made both of them awful at relationships because I have no experience in being smooth
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Becky Fuck. This. mackenzie charlton sad boy

### Is there any reason, that you know of, for a dev team to not include customizable controls. As a disabled gamer that shit can be infuriating. I know I can use outside software, but it's the principle of spending 60 bucks and things not working out of the box.

September 10, 2014
Dunno, honestly. I assume it's difficult from the code or UI side or something?

Most decisions like that that aren't Big Features usually come down to time and money and how many people will care that a thing is missing. Unfortunately, stuff like colorblind modes or recustomizable controls are often not high on that priority list.

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCJmiQSmye0 This is the kind of shit that needs to stop. No one should go through this.

September 10, 2014
Yep.

### What is your favourite Saints row NPC? You can't vote yourself!

September 10, 2014
Kinzie 4 life. Nerdy and sexual and funny and an information-dump Batgirl type character who isn't boring.
Liked by: sad boy

### Do you have any thoughts about how to improve some of the ableist language and character treatments in Borderlands? I think its a standout series as far a representation but having a character and enemy class called ps*cho is kinda...iffy dontcha think? Maybe another name for them?

September 10, 2014
I think about this a lot and I honestly don't know what to do. We could call them something different, but the basic gag of them (look how crazy they are) is still the same, and the core idea of "pandora turns people into psychopaths" is so integral to the tone and lore of the game that I don't think I could ever really convince anybody to get rid of it like we did with "midget".

Unless I could make some sort of weird gag out of the psychos going sane and being really really erudite to the point where *that's* funny, maybe? I dunno.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Regarding your answer about "Getting dates". I have met three ladies off of OkCupid. You know what the first thing two of them ever said to me was? "Thank you for actually reading my WHOLE profile before messaging me". Men, the bar is so low. SO. FUCKING. LOW. You just have to be a decent person.

September 10, 2014
The girls I've dated have told me absolute fucking horror stories of dudes just messaging them and saying one of the following things:

hey

you're hot

my dick died i want to bury it in your ass

wanna fuck

how are you

DO NOT SAY ANY OF THOSE THINGS.
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton

### Give a high-five to whoever came up with the concept of goliaths, especially loot goliaths. I'm playing with a friend who's never played BL2 before and seeing him react to an Ultimate Badass Loot Goliath for the first time was beautiful. (It involved a lot of screaming and running).

September 09, 2014
His name is Ruben Cabrera and he is fucking great..

### What are your thoughts on video game emulators?

September 09, 2014
fuckit, do it
Liked by: Jordan Cameron

### As an artist I'm really curious what it's like playing through a game you had such a large part in, do you focus on all the little mistakes you might have made or do you try to enjoy what everyone else on the team brought to the table in the final product?

September 09, 2014
Both. I have to play BL2 with the dialog off, especially if I'm playing with friends, because the sound of their not-laughter is the loudest thing in the entire world.
Liked by: Michelle mackenzie charlton

### is sex/romance a cheap trick to get viewers interested/invested in a story?

September 09, 2014
I don't think so. Romances are utterly unconvincing and uninteresting unless well-written (think of the last action movie where you *really cared* if the guy saved the girl he was chasing). In order to make sex/romance interesting and investing then you have to do the work to make that romance good.
Liked by: Michelle

### I don't know, Burch... I like the jokes the Doctor makes..at least some of them. And Peter Capaldi is very talented at comedic as well as dramatic acting. He can pull it off.

September 09, 2014
Yeah, some were pretty solid ("Stop talking about how would die slower!" "Yeah, cause it'd be me, right?"), but some were just like...

Like when he is free of the handcuffs and just goes "because I'm already FREEEEEEEE" like an eight year old it just felt...undignified. It was a youthful Matt Smith gag, not a Capaldi gag.

### I'd love to see a female Doctor too, but as we talked about before, Moffat and his people aren't quite capable of writing one... To be fair, Moffat did pen the only Doctor Who thing with a female Doctor in it (That Comic Relief sketch back in 1998/9) I'd rather wait for a better team to come along..

September 09, 2014
Yeah, and the gag there was "HAHAHA WOULDN'T IT BE FUCKED UP IF THE DOCTOR WERE A GIRL MAN HOW STUPID ALSO SHE'S A LESBIAN AND THAT'S INHERENTLY FUNNY MAN WHAT A WORLD RIGHT"

### what is your response to rumors that i love you

September 08, 2014
can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of these claims
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown sad boy Becky Nolan Sullivan

### hot damn anthony burch, you got a wife and a girlfriend??? shit i barely can get dates nowadays!! damn you a playa

September 08, 2014
Funny where being a moderately famous and a feminist can get you amongst people who are attracted to skinny ugly brown dudes
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Fuck. This.

### What was the inspiration behind Gaige? Since she's the best and all.

September 08, 2014
Art-wise, I'm not super sure -- you'd have to ask Scott Kester, who designed her.

Personality-wise, she's just a more fun and friendly version of the girls I had crushes on in high school. Iiii just realized I basically wrote her as my dream girl that's pretty weird jesus christ holy shit that's weird ahhh fuck
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown sad boy Michelle mackenzie charlton Becky

### Thoughts on latest Doctor Who episode "Robot of Sherwood"?

September 08, 2014
I really didn't like it. Elements of the Doctor and Robin Hood waggling their dicks at each other was kind of neat, but I dunno -- Capaldi is old enough and dignified enough that I feel like there's a really thin line on how to write him correctly. At his worst, he gets a lot of cheeky and childish Matt Smith-style jokes (Robin and Doc in the dungeon). At his best, he feels like a smart, funny old grumpy dude (Doc being mean to Odyssey after he saves her from death -- or really the Doctor in Into the Dalek in general).

### Can someone make a video game where if you die in the game you die in real life?

September 08, 2014
This was basically the subject of the 2010 Game Design Challenge: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99115-GDC-2010-Game-Design-Challenge-Real-Life-Perma-death

### do bosses scale differently in the pre sequel? they always seemed 4 levels above me and i always ended up sniping from a distance for 15 minutes since i play solo instead of with friends

September 08, 2014
I dunno if bosses specifically scale differently, but the game is certainly a lot more manageable on singleplayer (which I also play primarily) than BL2. The new tools you've got and the little tweaks 2K Aus and GBX made to make the game loop more fun on the moon have made solo play much more reasonable.

### What do you think of http://honeybadgerbrigade.com/ ?

September 08, 2014
Didn't know of it before you asked.

Seems pretty fuckin' weird.

### FUCK THE BIG BANG THEORY

September 08, 2014
mhm
Liked by: sad boy Becky Nolan Sullivan Fuck. This.

### I'm a guy and I have rape fantasies, and they're all submissive ones. The idea of a woman or a group of women bearing down on me, dominating me, tearing my clothes off and having their way with me....Those thoughts keep coming to me. Is that fucked? Am I fucked?

September 08, 2014
I don't think that's fucked, no. I get submissiveness -- it makes sense to me, at least. Life is hard and making decisions are hard because you may do the wrong thing and then be blamed for it, and maybe you'll do something the other person doesn't like...the fantasy of being submissive might be the fantasy of all of that hard, complicated stuff just being done for you. Your decision matrix shrinks down to exactly zero, which can maybe be considered comforting in a fantastical kind of way?

I dunno. Either way you're not fucked, except inasmuch as one of the previous askers pointed out that our sexual desires are shaped by society and society has kind of messed all of us up.
Liked by: Michelle Becky Nolan Sullivan Fuck. This.

### So I just recently got an Android phone. Any games you'd recommend for it?

September 08, 2014
HOPLITE. It's an incredible and simple turn-based roguelike about being a badass soldiermen with a shield and a pole. Also Bounden, if you've got a friend/loved one to play it with.
Liked by: Fuck. This.

### What bird is the hardest difficulty?

September 08, 2014
I think Macaws, maybe? I can't remember. Big ones are really difficult.

### Do you thInk Doctor Who would be improved if they switched from Female Companions to Male Companions? I think so. It's been a while since they've had a consistent male companion, and they can't write female companions for shit. It's one issue amongst many, but it's one they could deal with and fix.

September 08, 2014
I dunno. The companions lately have definitely been a problem, but I don't think it's a female/male thing. Though certainly Moffat, as of late, writes far better men than women: Rory was a million times cooler than Amy, and Soldier Guy is a million times cooler than Clara -- I dunno if that's his latent sexism rearing its head or something.

I think the larger issue is that Moffat just needs to be better at, like, writing characters. I'd personally rather see a female Doctor (Olivia Colman plz) before seeing more male companions.

### How can you not like Winston?

September 08, 2014
It's not that I don't like him (I like Ernie Hudson), it's that he serves literally zero purpose in the plot. He doesn't show up until halfway through the movie, he has no discernible personality traits, he doesn't play off the other characters in a specific or entertaining way, and he comes into an existing triad dynamic without disrupting or adding to it. He feels like a vestigial part of the script from back when Eddie Murphy was going to play him. Any modern script writer would look at that screenplay, go "what the fuck is this dude doing here," and then delete him.

### What do you think are actual important problems with videogame journalism that people should be talking about?

September 08, 2014
-Lack of diverse representation amongst many games blogs
-Focus on talking about superficial aspects of games rather than their cultural/thematic content, ie what they are *saying*
-Vague, nonspecific discussion of design rather than detail-oriented or experiential analysis like this http://critical-gaming.com/blog/2014/8/31/i-dig-shovel-knight.html
-No real vocabulary for how to talk about games that don't adhere to existing guidelines of what games "should" be
-Frequent focus on self-celebritization over actual game analysis and criticism (there's a thin line between this and actually cool self-insertion that people like Cara Ellison or Jenn Frank do where the story is about how they relate to stuff and the people who make the games)
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I'm tired of asking about this gamergate BS so I want to know something much more important. What's a good bird for first time owners?

September 08, 2014
Budgies are evidently one of the easier ones, I think. If you go to something like petsmart they actually have difficulty ratings for each bird. It took some degree of self-restraint not to have my gamer tendencies kick in and pick the hardest one just cause I like Dark Souls
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Becky

### Damn son u got a wife and a gf? Ur pussy eatin game must be next level

September 08, 2014
pahahha
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Okay, I had failed spinal cord surgery, now I almost can't walk, I don't have money for new operation(or living). I spend 99% of my time thinking of best suicide method. So, what would you suggest?

September 08, 2014
Therapy. Therapy therapy therapy. Or a GoFundMe to get you cash flow, or talk to a lawyer. But first, ask someone far more qualified than me exactly what you just asked.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Are you at all concerned with how many people out there think Handsome Jack lives up to his name and is super hot? Like, you wrote this evil, awful (and admittedly charismatic) douchebag villain and there's still an army of women (and men) who want to diddle him.

September 08, 2014
Dameon has that effect on people.
Liked by: Michelle Becky

### Hey not sure if your want/are aloud i talk about this but since you aren't head writer for the upcoming borderlands the pre-sequel do you think people he played the last 2 games would enjoy it because the game seems to have a different feel to it and it has me iffy on the subject.

Theyre_not_people
September 07, 2014
Yeah, they'll enjoy it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I like you.

September 07, 2014
I like you too! Probably. I dunno. You might like big bang theory, who knows
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### Why do you have such a negative opinion of 4Chan?

September 07, 2014
Why *isn't* yours negative?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### And also if you can tell us what was the original plan for Roland's death. Also if you've even read either of my comments it's highly appreciated your a great writer and you've brought lots of laughs to me over the years so thanks Anthony

Theyre_not_people
September 07, 2014
I can't, cause it's actually something we wanna potentially save for later.

### Hey man, just want you to know that in amongst this gamergate bullshit I have a lot of respect for you. This shit needs to be called out. It doesn't matter if decent people are a part of this, they're still aligning themselves with a movement that does gross things in the name of 'progress'.

September 07, 2014
appreciated
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Zoey raped Eron. He proved it in the Zoey post. How can you support her? Forget about everything else, except that one thing. How can you stand by her?

September 07, 2014
I don't stand by those actions. I actually legitimately do not. If you look at my earlier ask.fm posts, that's what was initially frustrating to me about this: assuming the stuff whatshisface said is true, then there's a really legitimate conversation to be had there about infidelity and consent.

When Max Temkin's rape victim came out and basically exposed him, and he effectively told her to stop talking or he'd sue her and also that he was a good guy who couldn't do that, it resulted in an *extremely* positive online conversation (driven mainly by feminists) about the nature of consent, and rape, and how to respond to rape victims. The conversation was so good that it made me realize that our modern culture has incredibly fucked up and insufficient definitions of what consent is. We define consent as "if you eventually convince her to say yes it's cool" or "if she lets you do it but doesn't say no it's cool" rather than "anything less than enthusiastic consent is not consent". It made me re-examine things others had done and even things I'd done in my own life, and I was incredibly happy the conversation had happened. It was relatively civil, to boot.

I would have *loved* to have that conversation about Eron's post. I do honestly believe that cheating on someone and then having unprotected sex with them under false pretenses is a serious breach of consent akin to rape (imagine if one of the other partners had an STD, for instance), and I would have loved to have the discussion revolve around that.

But it didn't, because of course it didn't, because she's a girl and a vocal feminist. So it turned to harassment and doxing and misogyny, and I don't feel at all comfortable legitimizing and supporting that kind of abuse by jumping into the pit of misogynists and trying to drive the conversation to something else.

Now that I think about it, this is a direct parallel with the non-misogynists in gamergate. They believe you can take something hateful and wrong and either ignore or redirect the awfulness of it and still have your point exist independent of that awfulness. I don't believe it was possible to decry infidelity and not subsequently legitimize and further the harassment campaign that blog was made to create and further.

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Liked by: Adam Robert Sherman Nolan Sullivan

### i don't think being critical of sex and fantasy is about demoralizing or demonizing anyone or policing what other people do with their bodies, but instead asking *why*. just because some people find it arousing or empowering doesn't make it void of criticism or erase every other woman's experience.

September 07, 2014
That's completely fair. I misspoke.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I've been mulling over something you tweeted a while ago. Do you think movies like Ghostbusters and Star Wars 4-6 would be better if they had more character arcs?

September 07, 2014
I think those films are at their best when you really feel their character arcs, yeah. The "yeehaw" moment in ep 4 is one of my favorite moments in all of cinema -- it still gives me chills to this day -- because it is a perfect climax to Han Solo's arc he's been building toward for the entire movie. Luke getting his shit wrecked by Vader is a fantastic ending to his arc as someone who starts off pretty optimistic and looking for wisdom and ending as somebody who is too rash and cares about his friends to a fault. Return of the Jedi doesn't really have any legitimate character arcs, which is why it's the weakest of the original series.

Luke halfheartedly considers going dark side for like a minute at the end, but it's really unconvincing and he pulls back from it immediately. For some weird reason he starts the movie already believing Vader has good in him, which is dumb and gives him nowhere to go unless he *actually* succumbs to the dark side. It would have been far more interesting to start him from a place of anger and malice where he really wants to kill Vader, and then learns to be merciful and forgive Vader after Vader saves his life. It would have given him more interesting stuff to do in the movie (other than just being generically "wise" all the time), and more than that it woulda put us in his shoes: we as the audience have every reason to think Vader is just a complete evil fuck, so it would have been more impactful for us to realize at the end that, no, maybe there's some good. Luke starting ROTJ by saying "there's good in him" just removes that moment of revelation for us. It tells us how to feel rather than letting us just feel how we feel and then discover those feelings are wrong.

And yeah, I think my recent rewatch of Ghostbusters would have been more satisfying if there'd been more friction and conflict amongst the team -- if Gozer's return was what sparked Ray and Peter to stop being mean/confrontational and start being legit friends. As it stands, the "see you on the other side, Ray" moment just kinda falls flat -- like it's a thing you're just Supposed To Say before the last fight. I also would have cut Winston cause what the hell is that character for

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### i had a conversation with my feminist lit teacher about borderlands 2

September 07, 2014
Was the conversation her going "you are stupid that is a stupid game how did you get in here"
Liked by: Zachary Michaels sad boy Nolan Sullivan

### Whenever I think about gamergate, MRAs, 4chan, etc, my mind goes back to this scene in TMNT1. Shredder is giving a speech to his new recruits. Young, angry people gaining new power by joining his quest for terror. He says, "YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE SOCIETY REJECTS YOU." Basically 4chan in a nutshell.

September 07, 2014
Yeah but the foot clan's masks are way better than that guy fawkes stuff
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### take a step back and re-evaluate how intersectional it is because right now there's no room in it for people who have had negative experiences because of a lack or interest of trauma.

September 07, 2014
That's entirely fair. I think you're right. On the whole I think social movements in general need to work on intersectionality (I had a conversation with a friend the other day where she pointed out that a lot of socially progressive people getting angry at TotalBiscuit were basically using ableist slurs against him and the like).
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### idk man the problem is fantasizing and sexualizing rape doesn't stop it from being violence. sex doesn't happen in a vacuum immune to outside structural influences. it can and does replicate inescapable systems of power and dominance. i just think that maybe the sex positive movement should

September 07, 2014
.

### It sounds like you've have a pretty tough and stressful few days Anthony so here is a cute video with a bord in it to help. http://youtu.be/TbfJXsMPVSk

September 07, 2014
i love bord

### InternetAristocrat is going after you pretty hard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpwyEq_m0zc&t=30m36s

September 07, 2014
I know you mean well by letting me know about shitlords talking smack about me, but I really don't need to know.

### can you tell me what gender is a social construct means? all the sites i have gone to aren't fuckwit friendly

September 07, 2014
There was a really good piece by either Maddy Myers or Samantha Allen about this, but I can't find it.

Basically -- and I'm not well-versed in this so I may get some specifics wrong -- we think of gender as a thing you actually have at birth. We think of that gender as being directly connected to your sex (your body parts) and we treat you in kind.

The argument, which is allegedly supported by a lot of studies (again, I'd love it if I could find their original article about it because it's readable in a way scholarly shit isn't and I'm basically doing this from shitty memory), is that our idea of "gender" as we discuss it in modern society -- as a fixed, biological thing we have at birth -- isn't actually real. That there's actually nothing in our brain that irrevocably says "you are a boy" or "you are a girl". That it's all social norms and assumptions that happen from the moment you come out of your mom that we force on you. We say you have THESE parts therefore you a GIRL, therefore you act like THIS.

Like, imagine a world where we had some sort of really important social classification that was directly tied to the color of your hair. We said you are a SIGMA because your hair is BROWN and sigmas should therefore act like THIS. But inside you don't feel like that, that's not really who you are, and indeed there'd be nothing biologically linking your personality and sense of identity to your hair color other than society.

(I'm not saying that changing a gender identity is as simple or flippant as changing your hair color, I'm just trying to point out the potential arbitrariness of how we discuss gender.)

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky mackenzie charlton

### Your reductive take on GamerGate mirrors conservatives approach to Ferguson. Intense focus on negative elements looting/harassing at the expense of people trying to make a positive change. You empower them by allowing them to disrupt what is an important discourse betweens gamers and the gamingpress

September 07, 2014
If anybody's doing the empowering, it's the unfortunate masses who have been co-opted by 4chan and trying, unsuccessfully (ask Jenn Frank) to turn it into something not misogynist while also acting as the movement's PR campaign.

It's not as if we're talking about a fringe group that formed spontaneously out of an otherwise noble organization. We're talking about a hate group that was created out of hate, propagates abuse, and then convinced a lot of well-meaning people to join and legitimize their abuse after the fact.

The roots of the tree are poison.

That's why the anti-gamergate crowd created the #gamerethics hashtag. If we want to have a legitimate discussion about ethics in games and games journalism (and there are SO MANY legitimate discussions to be had about that), we should have it in a context entirely divorced from Zoe and the 4chan harrassment. Gamergate can't make any form of legitimate progress when they're still based from and working with misogynist abusers.

Nobody's saying "don't talk about ethics," we're saying "don't use a misogynist hate organization to talk about ethics."

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### As someone who is heavily critical of some (but not all) portions of the SJW movement, I think it's absolutely abhorrent what some "men" have done to Zoe and Anita. PROTIP: attempting to silence someone is an admission of being wrong/afraid/both. Bunch of fucking pussies, if you'll pardon the candor

September 07, 2014
"pussies" is a heck of a weird word to use in this context, but I support the basic idea

### I have an unreasonable fear and/or hatred for fat people. I hide it well, but every time I have to interact with one it gives me flashbacks to middle and high school, constantly being harassed by a fat guy because I was "too scrawny". How can I overcome this barrier?

September 07, 2014
Befriend a nice fat person online, I guess? I dunno. That's rough. It's really hard to not pay the abuse of your childhood forward (ask Mike Krahulik, or me when I wrote for DoubleViking) but I think it's super super important that you don't.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### was it intentional for the sheriff and captain scarlett to look similar? i've always thought they did and imagine them having the same place of origin because of it.

September 07, 2014
Nope. Just wanted more brown people in the game.

### considering the previous four episodes were either promotional vids and/or contest entries,has season five of HAWP officially started yet?

September 07, 2014
Not quite. We've got like half of s5 shot, just waiting on rebuilding our website and setting up some sort of funding model.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What do you think about men who have rape fantasies?

September 07, 2014
I'd be surprised if most men hadn't had at least one. (I have.) They're fucked up and pretty wrong and uncool, but you kind of can't control what gets you there, I guess? It's definitely different for men than women, though; one's about control and quite possibly hate and dominating another human being (creepy), one's about abdication of control (far less creepy).
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Like I feel so fucking stupid right now I don't even know what to do. I mean yeah, it's hard to not roll my eyes at some of the SJW stuff but you guys never HURT anyone, you guys never tried to ruin anyone's lives just because you didn't like what they had to say. What the fuck is wrong with people?

September 07, 2014
As cliche as it is to say "hurr hurr 13 year old boys," I do think back to who I was at 13 and I can say with 100% certainty that I would be on the side of MRAs and gamergate. I was lonely, I was angry, I wanted people to respect to me and listen to me and give me power, and being an internet misogynist was the best way to go about that. Nobody can tell you what you can't do online and that feels freeing.

It's the one aspect of society (other than buying power in media I guess) where teenage boys have their anger and loneliness not only justified, but amplified. You stand in a crowd and here a bunch of teenage boys yelling, you go, oh, they're teenage boys, I get that anger, and you kind of just dismiss it. That same teenage boy hides behind an avatar and suddenly they've got more power to not be immediately dismissed, and to drown out conversations.

Sitting in the Anita/Carolyn stream of Gone Home this weekend (it was utterly troll free and wonderful) made this come into really sharp focus. Trolls of the kind I woulda been in my youth feel like this ubiquitous and eternal thing that we just can't change. And that's upsetting, because it's literally just a super small minority of teenage and 20's boys dominating the conversation out of anger. Which I get, but it's fucking horrible.

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### as someone who has been raped it bothers me that sex positivity seems to take precedent over survivors. don't you think it's a bit weird that rape/sexual violence is so normalized in our society that we can fantasize about it and not ask questions about *why* because sex is somehow above criticism.

September 07, 2014
Yeah, I guess it is weird. But I also think it's a little weird/difficult to demonize people for the thoughts/desires themselves when they can't control them. It feels like thoughtcrime, or something, I dunno. But from that Laci Green video, I think she does a pretty good job of asking and trying to answer questions about them, certainly (fantasy of lack of control, etc).

Like, pedophiles who are aware that they have a serious problem and seek mental help, right? We could demonize them for having the thoughts or try to make having those *thoughts* feel demonstrably and drastically different from any *actions* so people feel safe discussing them and seeking help for them.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### http://angelwitchpaganheart.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/thought-of-a-feminist-gamer-on-gamergate/ Sums up my feelings better than I ever could. What happened to Zoe/Anita is disgusting, but #NotYourShield has proven that a diverse group of people are tired of gaming media being used for agenda pushing.

September 07, 2014
I mean, okay (unless you believe that #notyourshield was primarily made by 4chan and is filled with a ton of sockpuppet accounts, which I'm not sure if I buy but maybe), but, two things:

(A) The basic arguments being raised by even the most moderate and reasonable people in these movements are basically irrelevant. I've worked on all sides of this issue (gamer, journo, dev) & arguing that blogs shouldn't cover or discuss or promote games by people they know is both impossible, and wrongly presumes that knowing someone makes you incapable of judging their stuff. Anyone who has worked in either of these industries would immediately know that -- the games world is simply too damn small, and when you go to interview or review or preview or simply hang out at an industry event, you meet people and befriend them. You literally can't not.

This is how all entertainment industries work. Film is *entirely* an incestuous industry where fans and critics and creators bounce off one another all the time. FILM CRIT HULK is friends with Edgar Wright, and still writes (positive) criticism of his movies. Does that mean HULK is a biased shill of a monstrosity for doing so? No, it means he likes Edgar Wright's movies and that's why he wants to talk about them.

More than that, even supporting someone on Patreon doesn't mean that you automatically love their work and will review it highly any more than giving EA $60 for Titanfall means the same thing. You can give money to a thing or person and still not like their work because, in point of fact, *that's exactly how all reviews work anyway*. That's what *all of us* do when we don't like a game we paid for.

I donated around $100 to Jason Rohrer when he needed it and I still don't like the Castle Doctrine. I befriended a really nice community manager at Monolith and then I gave FEAR 2 a 4 out of 10. I *co-hosted a podcast* with Alex Ryan, a tester on Condemned, and then gave it a shitty review score. He was upset, but that's how this works.

This drive to stamp out corruption has seemingly only targeted independent devs and journalists. Why did gamergate not go after companies for having big marketing campaigns on websites, or flying people out for previews, or any of these other things? I personally don't believe that stuff is inherently problematic so long as you're up front about it, but by gg's logic that stuff is corruption that should be rooted out. But it wasn't, not even close, because people were too busy trying to get Jenn Frank fired for not including a disclaimer that she actually DID include, which the Guardian thought was too unnecessary and silly to ACTUALLY include.

(B) The vast majority of the actual progress made by gamergate and notyourshield have been the abuse, harassment and eventual retirement of people like Jenn Frank and Mattie Brice. We can pretend the movement didn't originate out of misogynist harrassment, but we can't pretend that its most tangible results aren't STILL misogynistic.

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Matthew Manninen

### Oh, I liked the Roland death cutscene! I thought the whole setup with things happening behind him and his fall revealing Jack going 'SUP was really effective staging!

September 07, 2014
If you'd seen the scene as it was planned, it would have been the best scene in the entire game. for reals.
Liked by: Becky

### Anthony I'm all for not harassing fat people or making jokes out of fat characters, but promoting obesity is pretty harmful. Ellie is funny, entertaining, and even endearing... but it's also a miracle her heart hasn't exploded. Celebrating obesity is like celebrating substance abuse. BBW = cop out.

September 07, 2014
I don't think we were "celebrating obesity," just celebrating different body types. It's not as if anyone is ignorant to the possible health hazards of obesity. Fat people are shamed and criticized from pretty much every direction in media -- the occasional work saying "hey you can be fat and find yourself beautiful and that's cool" does not seem unreasonable to me.
Liked by: Michelle Nolan Sullivan Becky mackenzie charlton

### Looking over Zoe's info dump... I'm at an honest loss for words. So what if SJW shit can get a little obnoxious? How the actual fuck does that merit a bunch of sociopaths plotting the ruination of a woman's career and personal life? I applaud Zoe biding her time while they all hung themselves.

September 07, 2014
Yeah. Like Merritt Kopas was saying on twitter, it speaks volumes that Zoe had to be the one to investigate and expose her *own* harrassment.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### You know, I used to call myself "MRA" thinking it meant "someone who is critical of the more extreme aspects of the SJW movement" but it's become clear to me that I was very, very, VERY wrong. MRA = fucking sociopath. I'm sorry for talking out of my ass Burch. I hope we can be bros. <3 Nisha <3

September 07, 2014
I thought you were signing that as Nisha and got hellishly confused like you were doing a weird RP
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Okay, I gotta ask. What's the deal with everybody complaining about memes in BL2? Is that what we're calling pop culture references now? I can only think of maybe 2-3 legit memes off the top of my head, I feel like complaining about memes in BL2 is actually a meme in itself now.

September 07, 2014
I think it's that seeing a AAA game use memes is like hearing your granddad try to use cool slang or something. Guacamelee used as many memes as BL2 did, but nobody got upset cause (at least, this is my theory) indie devs feel more connected to the "real" gamer that interacts with memes daily.
Liked by: Michelle Nolan Sullivan

### So you have a girlfriend AND a wife? Why even be married? What's the point? I just don't get it.

September 07, 2014
People are complicated and no one person can satisfy every aspect of any other one person's needs and desires.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### The one thing you wish that wasn't pulled from bl2?

September 07, 2014
Roland's death was originally planned to not be a cut scene. I'm still bummed that changed.

### Burch, will you scratch my ass? It's itchy....

September 07, 2014
if i'm dating you, sure

### I want to rub my phallus on your sister's pussy.

September 07, 2014
I don't
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### have you learned anything recently that you think is really important?

September 07, 2014
"Don't try to make an inflammatory and complex statement on twitter"
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Have you played Dragon's Dogma? While they got hit by budget cuts partway through development, it still does some really interesting things with the class system and has a bunch of PoC and queer characters. While the narrative is altogether meh, the main quest has some fantastic missions

September 07, 2014
It's been on my list for a really long time now, I just keep forgetting to pick it up. I'll check it out, though.

### all of this gamergate stuff makes me feel frustrated. i want to help but i'm afraid making things worse. what do i do? how do i help?

Matthew Manninen
September 07, 2014
Well thanks to Zoe's infodump today, it's basically done. Just hang out and be cool to people and call out harrassment when you see it and signal boost women.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### What do you think about women who have rape fantasies?

September 07, 2014
There's a really good Laci Green vid about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsA4Ter2VPA

Basically, it's fine.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Is it bad that I laughed in the bit when Whatshisface soldier guy cried? Because that was possibly the cringiest thing ive ever seen.

September 07, 2014
Yeah, that kinda came outta nowhere...

### http://www.reddit.com/r/TumblrInAction/comments/20cvaj/anon_nails_why_sjws_are_harmful/ Take some time to check this out, self-critique is important and it raises some very valid points. (It's also dripping with anti-SJW agenda but asking for 100% objectivity is asking a LOT from the human race)

September 07, 2014
I think you and I have different definitions of "very valid."

I think calling someone out for saying the f-word (not "fuck") or the n-word, if they're close to you, isn't some sort of horrible thing that breaks down your relationships or cuts them out of your life. It's a reasonable thing to ask of someone if they care about you, and presuming you're not doing it like a fucking weirdo, it should be a completely drama-free conversation ("hey man, could you not use that word? It just bums me out, that's all").

As for this "preying on weak people like a cult" thing...that's, I don't even know how to begin to explain how ludicrous that is. Especially coming from 4chan, who exists solely because of how they manage to entice, organize and manipulate young and angry men into blaming and harrassing women for their problems.

To summarize.

SJWs at their worst: You are an irritating, condescending nag to be around.

MRAs at their worst: You harass women into quitting the games industry for good because they are women. You dox people and call their homes and threaten their families. You send Anita Sarkeesian child porn. You walk into Santa Barbara with a gun and start shooting women who you feel wronged you in the past.

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### i want to work in the game's industry when i'm an adult but just reading about the harassment and threats that other female game reviewers/devs put up with gets me all choked up and scared and i honestly don't know what i'm going to do when that shit happens to me.

September 07, 2014
I hope things will be different right then. But you're certainly not at all wrong to be scared. I wish things weren't the way they are.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### As someone who started watching HAWP in '08 at the young age of 15, I just wanted to say it makes me so damn happy to see you and Ash both being vocal about feminist issues everywhere and knowing that not all people you once (and still) looked up to are misogynistic asses. So thanks!

September 07, 2014
Thanks for watching! And not hating me!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What is you gaming guilty pleasure? (Mine is Koei Warriors games).

September 07, 2014
Playing Far Cry 2 over and over and over.

### did you managed to sneak some rad new memes in the new borderlands

September 07, 2014
With any luck there are none in the game at all. I *think* I caught them all on my last review pass.

### Have you spoken to Mike Sacco since the Tiny Tina thing a couple years ago? I think he was looking to talk to you on Twitter yesterday but apparently you might have him blocked.

September 07, 2014
Yeah, I did. I gave the whole Tina debacle more thought a few months after it happened and got really really upset at how it had gone down and how much incredible stress it had caused me because of the way he handled it.

Today I talked to a good friend who says he's a bit different now, though, so I unblocked him.
Liked by: Michelle Nolan Sullivan

### Does Moffat not realize how boring Clara is?

September 07, 2014
Apparently not, cause nothing seems to change with her. Whatshisface Soldierguy was more compelling in his first 120 seconds of screen time than she's been in countless episodes.

### whats your girlfriend like? (im sorry as fuck if this is intrusive)

September 07, 2014
She's lovely! Smarter and cooler than me by a country mile.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I don't think you're ever top your work at Double Viking. You've peaked, Burch.

September 07, 2014
Geuhh. That's shitty. I wrote a bunch of misogynistic horseshit driven by anger and loneliness.

### Have you played Cards against humanity?

September 07, 2014
Yes. I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't like it. Dunno how much of this is due to my being a professional comedy writer and never having won a single goddamn round of it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### So I keep having dreams that somehow involve Chris Pratt... is that usual?

September 07, 2014
yes
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Kirk or Picard?

September 07, 2014
Picard. Hands down.

### anthony burch: paladin of logically obliterating sexist internet fucksticks

September 04, 2014
fuck paladin i roll necromancer

### Could you ever envision yourself undertaking a New Vegas-size writing commitment for an RPG/player freedom game?

September 04, 2014
I'd need help for something like that, but sure.
Liked by: Secret Firi

### You told someone below you needed to make some more money before you could start HAWP again. How can I help do that? It appears all of your shirts and DVDs are unavailable. You're making it hard for me to give you dollars and / or receive hollas. Make a feminist gaming shirt or let me give $?

September 04, 2014
We're trying to figure it out on our end first. Shirts and DVDs are coolb ut not sustainable -- we need a new model entirely.

### How do you think the Australian humor in the pre-sequel is going to be received? As an Australian, I'm a little concerned some of the references I've seen might go over the heads of American audiences (like the gun with the Australian insults). What did you think of what you saw?

September 04, 2014
I dunno! It'll probably be fine. I didn't see anything in the game that made me horribly confused/irriated or anything. It's just aussie jokes.

### What happened with Double Viking?

September 04, 2014
I just kinda left at some point. Can't remember exactly when -- wait, I think it was when I got hired at Gearbox. I left all the sites I wrote for then.

### Are you and Ashley still married?

September 04, 2014
yes
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton

### Isn't void stuff about as pulled out of RTD's ass as the archangel network in S3E13? The only difference is doomsday combines the plot climax with the emotional climax, while the psychic network really just feels like a narrative transition to get to the actual climax of the episode.

September 04, 2014
That's a really really good analysis. I hadn't considered how the made-up deus ex machinas relate to the emotional climax.

### I know it's almost two months out, but any interesting Halloween plans yet?

September 04, 2014
Might dress up as Marshall Lee and hang out with a Fiona and Prince Bubblegum. Dunno.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### "Just completed my first permadeath run of any game on any game (SH3)." I AM A FUCKING IDIOT. Meant to say of any game on my first attempt.

September 04, 2014
Holy shit well done

### What's worse: someone who looked at the nude celeb pics or someone who masterbated to them?

September 04, 2014
What? What? What? What? What/

### Why do you think it feels different killing enemies in borderlands 2 than games like gta v and bioshock infinite where it's a little unsettling

September 04, 2014
Cause the enemies in BL2 are effectively not real people. They look cartoony and they say cartoony things and the other characters tell you not to feel bad about killing them.
Liked by: Secret Firi

### 42 more days until the Borderlands release, are you nervous?

September 04, 2014
Nah. I didn't write all that much of the game so I don't feel that soulsplitting terror I did during BL2's leadup.
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton

### if jack was willing to poison wilhelm to manipulate the vault hunters would he be willing to do the same to nisha?

September 04, 2014
Shit. Good question. Shit. That would have been an interesting thing to explore. Probably would have if we'd planned all this stuff out super super early.
Liked by: Secret Firi

### wut up

September 04, 2014
nm

### is there less grinding in the pre sequel than bl2?

September 04, 2014
Yes. The XP ramp is faster, and you get skills earlier in the game.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Secret Firi Becky mackenzie charlton Gavin Hammon

### A good response to anyone throwing around that stupid 'They shouldn't have taken nude pictures in the first place' argument = You try working a job that requires to travel all over the place, usually without your partner, without any sort of sexystuff over the phone. Famous or no, people have needs.

September 04, 2014
Yeah. It's just sex shaming.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Secret Firi

### Do you know if the cultures surrounding other art forms are as toxic as the culture surrounding video games? this stuff is insane

September 04, 2014
They are absolutely not, which is what's so concerning about this. Anita posted about tropes in movies for years with no problem. Then she posts about games, and...

### Trying to think of non-spoiler way for this to be expressed. What ending to the Walking Dead season 2 did you get? I got...the one...with the...thing. You know. You get it. He got it. Ok. Also, general thoughts on the season? Episode 2 pissed hot feels on my heart. So did 5.

September 04, 2014
I met CoolHat.

That character's name is CoolHat and nobody will ever be able to convince me otherwise.

### You sure do travel a lot, is it all work related stuff? Or did you travel this much before you got your job at Gearbox? Does being a game writer really mean you have to constantly be going to all these different places?

September 04, 2014
It's work stuff or hanging out with cuties.

### So this skippable tumblr thing you run... are you serious with all your recommendations? I mean you recommended skipping 30 episodes of torchwood. Will I really be able to fully enjoy the show from just that?

September 04, 2014
Yep! At least, I think so. The blog is super super super subjective.

### hey tony if i could i would be u

September 04, 2014
das crazy

### hey tony i like the things u do

September 04, 2014
o wow

### you should update skipabble more often i want to watch things but not all things thanks

September 02, 2014
I would happily do so, but to be honest I haven't seen that many other TV shows. I'm relying on others for posts now.

### u seem chill

September 02, 2014
Thanks!

I'm not.

### Is it all right if I look at the ones that were proven to be fakes?

September 02, 2014
Iiiiii...guess? I dunno. That still feels a touch odd for reasons I can't quite put words to.

### What did you think of the recent South Park game?

September 02, 2014
It was pretty cool. Did some things I never ever thought I'd see in a game. I also haven't watched the show in forever so most of the jokes were new to me.

### So how has your pax been in general?

September 02, 2014
Good! I saw lots of friends and ate lots of really good food.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I didn't have any emotional reaction to Amy and Rory either, and honestly found it forgettable. Now that I think about it, Moffat hasn't really made me care about anything that happens in later doctor who, do you think we'll ever see something emotionally deep like Tennants departure again in DW?

September 02, 2014
Nope! Not from Moffat.

### Just completed my first permadeath run of any game on any game (SH3). How long after beating Far Cry 2 on the highest difficulty did you stop getting requests to take peoples virginity? (asking so I have a ball park idea of when the requests will dry up)

September 02, 2014
I still get that shit. Sometimes it pauses for a little bit but then I'm like "what if I played the game with only a flamethrower" and the hotties just start throwing themselves at my door so I gotta grab a shovel just to get groceries
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky mackenzie charlton

### My mom said to me "Those women should have know that would happen if they did that. They shouldn't even care since they're so good looking. Don't know what they're complaining about." How do I even?

September 02, 2014
Take naked pictures of her and leak them and ask her again.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### So...nude layouts in playboy or whatever the fuck: good (consent given) Stolen nude pictures: bad (consent obviously not given) Is that about right?

September 02, 2014
Yes.

### Celebrities nudes of Jennifer Lawrence, etc have leaked on internet...how many times have you peeked?

September 01, 2014
None. Looking at a naked person is only fun for me if they've consented to my looking at em. It should, and does, feel dirty and shitty otherwise.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Nick Chowder Becky Sabina Maria Gavin Hammon

### Did you have any emotional reaction when Amy and Rory died?

September 01, 2014
Nope. I wish I had.

### sup burch. how has the ok cupid thing panned out? i tried pof.com once and it was an unmitigated disaster, messaged like twenty girls, got 0 replies....is that one any better? or do they all just suck?

September 01, 2014
OKcupid has worked pretty well for me, surprisingly. I just wrote my profile to be as funny and not-actually-informative as possible. And mentioned that I wrote BL2, so I get some nerd cred.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Becky

### please tell me you're not voicing the body-double dlc character.

September 01, 2014
I would never voice any character that actually matters. I'm not good enough at voice acting/horrible enough of a person to do that.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### whats the deal with your obsession with guy fiery?

September 01, 2014
why *aren't* you obsessed with guy fieri
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Anthony I love you I love so so much

August 31, 2014
<3
Liked by: Becky Fuck. This.

### Balls are weird. It's an organ that hangs outside the body because it doesn't work in warm places. They get in the way a lot. I also don't get why some people like their junk to get stepped on.

August 31, 2014
yeah dog that ain't me

though evidently the pain and pleasure centers of the brain are really close so that's why i guess?

but yeah that ain't me
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Fuck. This.

### how does bi anthony feel about dicks

August 31, 2014
they're pretty cool. balls are weird though.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Fuck. This.

### Someone builds a fully functional Dalek. Moffat has it sent to kill you. How do you defend against it?

August 31, 2014
become a mary sue and talk it into killing itself evidently

### QUICK AHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE JAPANESE ANIME

August 31, 2014
Azumanga Daioh for TV (I'd say Paranoia Agent but the ending is kinda dorky), and either Grave of the Fireflies or Millennium Actress for movies.

### how do you think wilhelm felt about losing his luscious beard between the presequel and borderlands 2?

August 31, 2014
pre-sequel is a tragedy because it is about loss

specifically facial hair-related loss
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Fuck. This.

### "Suck Ashly's diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick" You owe me a new keyboard Burch. Spat my tea everywhere. Comedy fucking gold.

August 31, 2014
THanks!

### Shulk confirmed for Smash so I think it's safe to assume DUK HUNT DOGE is legit as well. Are you ready to crush dreams? Will you laugh in people's faces from the center of the screen? (D-do you need a Ness main to team battle with? :3 )

August 31, 2014
YES LET'S LAUGH AT SOME FUCKERS
Liked by: Becky

### I just saw the announcement for the new installment Saints Row 4 Gat out of Hell. What did you think of it? I also know that you are a fan of the Saints Row 3&4. But what is your opinion on Saints Row 1 &2?

August 31, 2014
Psyched. I don't like 1 and 2 very much in retrospect, but at the time SR2 did some pretty hilarious stuff (pimps as an entire gang unto themselves).
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Totoro as a movie or Totoro himself? Because if you dislike Totoro, then you're obviously a nihilist and have no soul. He's too cute to be hated.

August 31, 2014
Booooth...I think Totoro's too creepy to be cute and the movie suffers as a whole because of it.

### I had a dream last night we were hanging out and then disgusting half-beetle half chipmunk babies started scurrying along the ceiling and dropping down onto us and we had to flee for our lives. Why must you bring destruction and despair wherever you go

August 31, 2014
how i do
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Do you read video game reviews?

August 31, 2014
yes, but only from RPS or PCG

### Burch-Senpai, I baked you a cake. But since I don't know where you live, I'm just gonna eat it. MMMMMM CHOCOLATE!

August 31, 2014
enjoy it in my stead

### Jontron just was on a Co-optional podcast and I feel like he cleared some stuff up that he couldn't have done in 140 characters. Just wondered if you were interested in hearing it maybe. Also curious about your opinions on him/the scandal around him.

August 31, 2014
Considering his followup Anita responses to Tim Schafer, I'm not interested in what that guy has to say in his own defense.
Liked by: Matthew Manninen

### i really want to like shadows of mordor but their is no character customization or character selection, theirs just talion and i don't even like how he looks

August 31, 2014
Yeah, Talion's generic as fuck. I get the feeling they made him that way cause they're doing dangerously interesting stuff everywhere else and had to be boring narratively to prevent the money men from exploding

### With the intense amount of creative focus that needs to be dedicated to endings, do you feel that branching a story's climax in games will probably just dilute whatever ending the player receives? It's hard enough to craft one immensely satisfying ending, let alone 3 or 6...

August 29, 2014
I like having branching storylines that reflect legit choices I made (small variations in the dialog at the end of Wolf Among Us, for instance, or the Fallout 1 endings that were branching and modular, so you got different voice-only epilogues for everything).

I think small variations work better than big ones for the exact reasons you mention.

### Do you think any good can come from PAX this weekend regarding women in gaming? If so, how much of the good do you think will fall on deaf ears or just be preaching to the choir?

August 29, 2014
I think PAX would have to do something fucking spectacular (donating all profits to RAINN or something) to actually do some good in this context. I'm sure some devs may say neat things, which will be nice,
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Sup Tony? How you do?

August 29, 2014
Pretty good.

### Did you like the new Tardis interior?

August 29, 2014
It's fine, I guess. I actually did like the Matt Smith one a lot because you couldn't really see the edges of the set, so it felt more dreamlike and possibly infinite. The Capaldi one just looks like A Tardis Set, albeit a really pretty one.

### MRA guy here. So I just saw the pic you retweeted from Anita. Holy shit. I am... so fucking sorry for ever aligning myself with those people. That's fucking horrifying. Like seriously... I am so fucking sorry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIWHMb3JxmE Consider me... I dunno... not MRA guy anymore.

August 29, 2014
Glad to hear it!
Liked by: Matthew Manninen Nolan Sullivan Scott Mendenko

### All anime is shit except for Totoro.

August 29, 2014
Iiiii am not a huge fan of Totoro...
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I have been a big fan of HAWP for a couple of years and it has helped me through a lot of hard times. Out of curiosity are going to make a 5th season? BTW writing of Boarderlands 2 was amazing! You did an amazing job.

August 29, 2014
We plan on it! Just need to find a way to get money for doing so.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### When you said fedoramancers all I could think of was Gaige in a fedora

August 28, 2014
she'd make it work

### Saw you post something about the Sopranos on the twitters a few weeks ago. I just finished The Wire for the first time and looking for something new (to me) to watch. I think I started watching The Wire after hearing you and Ash recommend. So, Sopranos. Whatcho verdict so far?

August 28, 2014
Just finished season two. It's getting better. It's not mindblowingly good so much as I imagine it was just really really good *for its time*, but it's good.

### Why is it a problem for the doctor to kill someone? I always thought the new series made him so unwilling to kill because of what he had experienced during the time war, But that doesnt mean he wont. It doesnt make him "not the doctor". Remember the time 6 pushed someone into acid?

August 28, 2014
Old Who had an awful lot of the Doctor being violent, but nu-Who has made pacifism his primary characteristic ("make that the foundation of this society -- a man who NEVER would"). Not that it's consistent with the series overall or anything, but that if you've only been watching from Nine to Twelve, that's been the through-line with him.
Liked by: Becky Erin L W

### As someone who very much wants Zoe Quinn and SJW journalism called to task, I have to condemn the actions of people doxxing and harassing Zoe Quinn, as they, more than anyone, are making objective discussion impossible. Also holy sociopath Batman you should never harass/threaten anyone, regardless.

August 28, 2014
Yes. Much as it pains me to agree with anyone who wants "SJW journalism [whatever that is] called to task", I do.

### Is the reason I haven't enjoyed the master because I never watched the old series? he's kind of insufferable to me, and not because the episodes were bad. I guess I figured he'd be more menacing and dark due to his name and significance.

August 28, 2014
Nah, I never watched the old series and I really liked John Simm (until they made him Goku). I dunno, I just love villains who have a lot of fun being evil and are immature about it rather than Palpatine-esque.
Liked by: Becky

### What is Liliths sexuality? Like there was something mentioned between her and Moxxi I think but I dont know if it's ever been confirmed

August 28, 2014
It depends on whether you think being attracted to Moxxi is in any way an indicator of your sexual orientation.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Would you ever want to do a stop motion episode of Hey Ash, alá Community?

August 28, 2014
That sounds like effort, which is the antithesis of everything HAWP stands for.

### Its the actors, man. The actors in Doctor Who are by and large pretty damn great and cool to watch. There's just enough of them to keep poor saps like you and me hooked in even though we'd much rather do something more fun, like jump in front of a bus, or contract an STD.

August 28, 2014
Yeah, that might well be it. And the show's overall charm and concept, so you get good actors saying cute stuff.

### I wish that Moffat would go back to just being a staff writer rather than being the Showrunner or such a driving force behind the show... He did better that way and so did the show. Outside of the production team and people who've already worked on the show, who would you like to see as a Showrunner

August 28, 2014
Outside of people who already worked on the show? People who work on other shows I like, I suppose -- the Avatar dudes, or Whedon, or whathaveyou. Or Stephen Fry or Neil Gaiman.

### Have you ever had ailments like depression, etc?

August 28, 2014
Nah. Nothing diagnosed, at least.

### To be fair, they did play around with Clara's fear which almost made her feel human, but like you said, she doesn't have much personality....I'm still enjoying the show, faults and all. Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Watching a show that you hate or you'll likely hate?

August 28, 2014
Because I am an idiot.

I honestly can't think of any other explanation. I love the idea of Doctor Who, but I hate almost everything Moffat has done with the show, and I know full well it won't get any better until he's gone.

So I'm just an idiot.

### once I thought that a good exercise to write true gender/sexual orientation/ethnicity-inclusive stories would to just write the characters without any of those defined, their personalities, romantic interests etc, and then just randomly assign gender/sexual orientation/ethnicity. What do you think?

August 28, 2014
It's not an awful way of doing stuff, but it also means you're not telling stories about those peoples' specific experiences.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### how many genitals are generally involved in sex

August 28, 2014
Many as I can get
Liked by: Becky

### This ask fm page used to be fun to look at, but it seems that a lot more assholes have discovered it. I'm sorry about that. I truly support everything you do and agree with your beliefs. I'd just like to say that with all the hate you get, some of us really respect and love you and your work.

August 28, 2014
Thanks much. I should probably just stop responding to the assholes, but, eh.
Liked by: Erin L W

### I can definitely agree with the Clara having no personality thing, but the "edgy" bit where he may have murdered something was pretty good if you ask me. It sort of made us question this new doctor and whether he is the same as all the others.

August 28, 2014
I questioned it for a bit, but not long. I think there's many things you could push on the Doctor's personality that I might believe (his cowardice, his anger, his loneliness, his arrogance), but his capacity to murder another person in cold blood just isn't one of them. He's either not the Doctor, or he's who he always was except Moffat is just cheekily pretending he isn't.

### Psychologist here, telling people to just "stop" self harming because of their "bad attitude" is like telling someone with depression to "just be happy". It's a symptom of various mental illnesses.

August 28, 2014
Sounds about right.
Liked by: Erin L W Becky Nolan Sullivan

### have you ever had a lot of sex

August 27, 2014
once
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Whats your opinion on self-harm? I went in a discussion with my friends who thinks it's a mental sickness, but I just think its a bad attitude that the person should just learn to avoid.

August 27, 2014
I think you should probably do more research than just asking me, to be honest. My understanding is that it's a mental condition, but I don't know anything about anything.

### So what exactly didn't you like about deep breath? I mean it was better than 90% of the other episodes Moffat has written and it had an interesting plot with a lot of tension and great pacing. ALSO: this episode made it feel like Jenny and Vastra were actually a couple, which i thought was great

August 27, 2014
-Suffered from some of Moffat's weirder habits, like putting stuff on screen arbitrarily to keep you from getting bored, without actually making those things relevant at all to the story (like, the dinosaur basically had nothing to do with anything, and was completely cast aside with no real payoff)

-Spent a weird amount of time giving Capaldi Matt Smith-esque jokes that felt kind of flat and embarrassing, like he was your grandfather with dementia or something

-Clara still has no personality, so any moral conundrums surrounding her fall flat; I didn't really buy her not believing the Doctor was the Doctor, especially because (as Charlie Jane Anders pointed out on io9) the companion is our surrogate, and we've already accepted 12, so it's weird for Clara not to

-Halfheartedly trying to make the Doctor seem edgy by maybe-implying he maybe-murdered someone. Either he did kill the guy, in which case he's clearly not the Doctor as this is the ONE thing that has defined the modern Doctor; or he didn't, in which case playing cutesy was basically pointless.

-I love seeing Jenny and Vastra, but their relationship made me kinda uncomfortable; Moffat handwaves it with a joke, but they are super duper not equals at all -- Jenny just does whatever Vastra says. The same thing happened with the Amy/Rory relationship and it made me equally uncomfortable then.

View more

Liked by: Erin L W

### So Joss Whedon came out in defense of FemFreq. How awesome is that?

August 27, 2014
Extremely awesome. The more smart mainstream people can support FemFreq, the more the fedoramancers get angry.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### So which Doctor Who assistant has been your favorite from both the old and new?

August 27, 2014
I really liked Rose, even though/because of the fact that she was (A) kind of a shitty person/girlfriend, and (B) the show didn't shy away from that. I also liked Donna cause it was nice to have someone who didn't want to fuck the Doctor.

Classic Who, I'd have to go with Sarah Jane.
Liked by: Erin L W Becky

### The Rani was in 2 stories, yeah not the greatest but she was still a good villian. Also if its a new audience, chances are they didnt know who the Master or Davros were until they saw them in the new series. It could still happen and I think it might be more interesting than another master...

August 27, 2014
Yeah, maybe. It just seems like you'd be going through a lot of hoops to basically point out another Time Lord villain who isn't the Master, when people already fear and enjoy the Master.

### "I don't need your condescension or your approval." Well actually, you kind of do, not me personally perhaps but gamers as a whole. We're how you make a living. A lot of people find your SJW pandering insufferable. Hell, I'm only buying Battleborn because you've got nothing to do with it.

August 27, 2014
I'd be more than happy to not take money from people like you. You are not necessary. If every fedoramancer who felt appalled at my attempts to make the world more inclusive stopped giving me money, I wouldn't give two shits. I'd probably be happier, knowing that my audience is comprised primarily of people who don't irritate the shit out of me.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Matthew Manninen Erin L W Nolan Sullivan Becky John-Charles Holmes

### Crisps/Tropes v Women guy here: I tweeted my support for feminism as a concept less than an hour ago and already I've been called an SJW, MLK wannabee and righteous. How do you persevere because I'm fatigued after just 1 hour of this shit?

August 27, 2014
I have no idea. Irritation alone, I guess.
Liked by: Erin L W

### I hate early access games because it seems like they never get finished. Why the hell is it so successful?

August 27, 2014
People like paying for dreams, I guess? They hear a list of features and promises and want to help those risky things become reality. Sometimes it works, often it doesn't.

### just called a fedoramancer a fedoramancer and he's all like "what's a fedoramancer" LOLS

August 27, 2014
hehe
Liked by: Becky

### Do people know that they can disagree with you without being assholes?

August 27, 2014
Plenty do. And I'm an asshole sometimes. It's hard not to be, often.

### I got distracted during the matt smith cameo when I realized "that phone off the hook was literally the most thought that went into anything in that Christmas special". I never thought I'd miss Amy, but even she had more of a personality than Clara... if only by virtue of Rory and Karen Gillan.

August 27, 2014
yeah, Clara is Competent And Strong And Slightly Sexy which is utterly meaningless.

### See Guardians of the Galaxy yet? Dat after credits scene...

August 26, 2014
Friend of mine ruined it by pointing out how much better it would have been if they'd used the original shitty costume, maybe even with Caroline rhea next to him.

### Remember when Tiny Tina said "fart"? Like... I feel this subversion of expectations of gender roles was a powerful moment in that a young lady could be seen to appreciate things typically reserved for men (re: butt smells) and honestly this was one of the most feminist moments in gaming also fart

August 26, 2014
No joke, that's kiiiiinda what we were going for, slightly? That and hey ash in general. Most lady characters aren't allowed to be lowbrow.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### "These are also jokes" Something tells me you don't object to say... Chappelle's stereotypical portrayal of a white man. It's kind of hard to respect the SJW when they constantly do the same things they condemn others for whilst doing all sorts of mental gymnastics to justify it.

August 26, 2014
When black people systematically oppress and marginalize white people, to the point where a black chop can shoot an unarmed white kid for no reason and get away with it, THEN we'll talk.
Liked by: Matthew Manninen Nolan Sullivan

### Seriously, I love you Burch but you make it damn hard sometimes.

August 26, 2014
Fuck off. I don't need your condescension or your approval.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### He probably meant the 11th Doctor's cameo, Anthony. Did you like his cameo?

August 26, 2014
Oh, right. Sure, it was kinda neat. Io9 had a good post where they pointed out how weird it is that the entire episode is about Clara bring shit for not accepting the doctor, except she's out surrogate and we already accept him, so those moments felt kinda flat.

### "Probably the master as a girl" Its more likely to be the Rani honestly

August 26, 2014
The problem is, nobody actually, really cares about the Rani. She was in one story, the story was awful (so I've heard), and she means so little to this new audience that there's no way moffat would bring her back. Hell, he invented a NEW DOCTOR just to avoid putting McGann in the finale.

### Favorite Pokémon ever?

August 26, 2014
Psyduck motherfuck

### The cameo at the end of Deep Breath. Did it make you roll your eyes and grumble, did you think it was a nice touch, or was the sheer overwhelming power of your indifference enough to have absolutely no effect on anything whatsoever? (Or somewhere in between. I'm not fussy. Just want your thoughts.)

August 26, 2014
What, the stuff with Probably The Master As a Girl? I'm into full-on indifference mode.

### When does Deus Ex Human Revolution get good?

August 26, 2014
Hrm...I liked it immediately, so if you don't like it right away you might wanna just pull the ripcord.

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5-51PfwI3M comprehensive explanation of why Quinn and her supporters are morally bankrupt pieces of shit and why there's a movement against her, and as a bonus, why SJW are the cancer killing gaming and why you all need to just fuck off back to your tumblrs.

August 26, 2014
ololololol

### I always thought RE: angel and the new-U's: Maybe her DNA was unable to be scanned by the machines or she otherwise removed herself (If she had control over the stations that is)

August 26, 2014
Feh, but then you have to have like little explanations for every single other character that's not Angel as to why they're not in the New-U. Every single character death now needs to come with a paragraph of explanation as to how they're not in the new-U machine. Imagine if every Final Fantasy death scene had to be preceded by someone checking their pockets and going "damn, I wish I'd brought some Phoenix Down, and also nobody around this area sells any, and also if the body goes cold then I can't use a Phoenix Down on it at all."

### Do you play any fighting games?

August 26, 2014
I played a bit of Tatsunoko vs Capcom, and some Towerfall and Nidhogg, but that's it. Oh, and Divekick.

### Re: alleged homo/transphobia in GTA5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gutCFMc5khY people seriously need to learn how to take a joke, which is all the GTA series is.

August 26, 2014
These are also jokes:

http://www.racist-jokes.info/

### Duck Hunt Dog confirmed for Smash so my question for you, Mr. Burch... HOW FUCKING HYPED ARE YOU? DAT DOGE TOOK YOUR GAMING CHERRY.

August 26, 2014
I AM SO FUCKING PSYCHED. I really really really hope that shit ain't a hoax, because I will main him. I will main him and understand him from the inside out and I will deal out the pain that he inflicted on me as a child.
Liked by: Becky

### So if Battleborn is being headed by Linde and the Pre-Sequel was only 20% Burch... are you still full-time writer? I assume you don't just wander around trying not to get fired.

August 26, 2014
Yeah, I've been working on an Unannounced Thing while doing my bits of Pre-Sequel.
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton

### "It's okay. It's BIG, and it's got a lot of references, but the core loop isn't hugely satisfying. But it's certainly not bad." Are we talking about Borderlands 2?

August 26, 2014
ohhhhhhh #ohhhhhh

### Good lord, the writing for Borderlands 2 is so awesome it makes me want to punch myself in the face. You did good, Major props and I can't wait to play the presequel!

August 26, 2014
Gah, thanks so much. That's very kind of you.

### You mentioned that you liked the original Sin City when it came out, but you didn't enjoy the new Sin City. What's your current opinion of the original one (if it's changed)?

August 25, 2014
I think the story is really fucking problematic from a gender perspective, and it straight-up lionizes punching dudes in the face if you don't like 'em in an entirely unironic way. It's full of stories that are really pretty and spectacular, but (A) lack any narrative tension whatsoever cause everyone's basically a superhero and (B) feel like they're written by a sixteen year old boy who has questionable opinions regarding the opposite sex (every single story in the original Sin City is about protecting or avenging women. EVERY single one. Except for the one that opens the movie, which is about, uh...shooting an unarmed woman cause she wanted you to.)
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I just saw snowpiercer and I just do not understand the hype. Can you explain what you liked so much about it?

August 25, 2014
It was a cute action movie with a quirky Big Idea that characterized the dumb action. It was the BioShock of movies.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### grant stream five nights at freddy's grant stream five nights at freddy's

August 25, 2014
yeah he should

### Are you a fan of Family Guy/American Dad or McFarlane's work in general?

August 25, 2014
Family Guy makes me laugh from time to time, but it's obviously kinda shitty and lazy in a lot of ways. It's comedy porn -- it doesn't care about imagination/character/consistency/meaning so long as it can get a laugh. Which is fine, because if I'm laughing, I'm laughing. But yeah, I don't love it wholeheartedly like I love, I dunno, Parks and Rec or Brooklyn Nine Nine.

### I'm considering buying retro city rampage and saw you had it. Worth it?

August 25, 2014
It's okay. It's BIG, and it's got a lot of references, but the core loop isn't hugely satisfying. But it's certainly not bad.

### Doesn't it make sense that, given Jack is in control of the Hyperion Respawn Machines, he could selectively turn it off for Roland, while still allowing the Vault Hunter to use them... because reasons?

August 25, 2014
Nope. Cause why wouldn't he attach Angel to the New-U's?

Trust me, I've looked at this from every conceivable angle.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### I know you don't like being in front of the camera but rewatching HAWP, especially the Persona 3 and Wind Waker episodes, I keep noticing what great timing you have. I think you're a really gifted performer as well as writer. Do you think being one has helped with the other at all?

August 25, 2014
Thanks much. That all comes down to editing, though, more than acting. But yeah, I'd definitely agree acting makes you better at writing, as much as I hate to say it.
Liked by: Becky

### i got a 4 on my ap test

August 25, 2014
fuck AP tests

### Since the Every Simpsons Ever marathon is going, what's YOUR favorite Simpsons episode ever?

August 25, 2014
Prob the one where Homer thinks he's gonna die. I cried.

### Do you think Mark Gatiss would be a good successor to Steven Moffat as Showrunner for Doctor Who? Or should they look outside their team for a new perspective?

August 25, 2014
Ehhh. Gatiss's episodes have been universally okay.

Paul Cornell would be my vote. He has the dedication to characters and emotion that I think RTD had.

### What is your favourite kind of fart, both from a comedic point view and also from a "mmm, that was an enjoyable fart" point of view?

August 25, 2014
"toot"

### And your finishing move?

August 25, 2014
doing a toot and crying

### The Doctor had some great lines in that episode..but yeah, the writing wasn't great overall. Like the two previous Doctors, he elevated that shit.

August 25, 2014
WOahhhhh TWO doctors where you at woahhhhh

### I bought a bag of crisps, got home and realised they said they were "MAN CRISPS". I won't be buying them again but am I allowed to at least finish the bag? D:

August 25, 2014
Yes. Finish the bag while watching the latest Feminist Frequency. Cancel that shit out

### what about lab grown human meat

August 25, 2014
Uhhhh I mean morally I'd have no problem with it but i"m not psyched to try it

### Would you be cool with me naming my in-game ship "The Flying Burchman"?

August 25, 2014
Yes. Do that.
Liked by: not mr. McKay

### Do you have any aspirations to write/make a serious game in the future without humor playing a central part? Do you think expression through mechanics is worth exploring, or do you prefer "arcadey" gameplay like borderlands?

August 25, 2014
Yes, I'd love to do a serious game with serious mechanics. I dunno if AAA is the place to do that, but yeah, I'd love to know if I'm capable of writing something that doesn't subsist entirely on poop jokez.

### Okay let me clarify 1) You are a Anita worshiping poop 2) You used to not be an Anita worshiping poop.

August 25, 2014
correct

### I blame you for the Smash bros. leak.

August 25, 2014
the people deserved to know the truth
Liked by: not mr. McKay

### Anthony I honestly thought you of all people would actually want honesty and freedom from censorship in games journalism, where it was actually about news not zealous-liberal opinion pieces. I just ask what would the old Rev Rants days Anthony think of you now? Because I know he'd be disappointed.

August 25, 2014
What the fuck are you even talking about?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### "Capaldi is great, the writing is not." The idea of you criticizing anyone's writing is pretty damn surreal, but what didn't you like about it?

August 25, 2014
Fuck off.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### How is Grand Theft Auto 5 homophobic or transphobic? Its most beloved character fucks anything that moves. And some things that don't.

August 25, 2014
http://gaygamer.net/2013/10/grand-theft-auto-v-misogyny-transphobia/

### So what did you think of the new Doctor?

August 25, 2014
Capaldi is great, the writing is not.

### Anthony I'm looking for a game that actually delivers on the whole relevant morality thing, but pretty much everything I've tried gives you the options of Super Cape Man or Kitten Rapist without much grey in between. Can you recommend a game where this is done right, where choices have meaning?

August 25, 2014
Hrmm...The Walking Dead, or XCOM. Wait! Papers Please. Without question, Papers Please is absolutely what you want.

### hey it's samit i missed you

August 25, 2014
you're not samit samit is dead and so are all of his grandchildren

### Are there any movies left in the year that you're looking forward to?

August 25, 2014
The Congress looks pretty bananas, in a fun way.

### Do you listen to podcasts, and if so have any recommendations?

August 25, 2014
Radiolab. Radiolab Radiolab Radiolab. It's the best. And also My Brother My Brother and Me. And Welcome to Night Vale.

### If lab grown meat became a thing would you eat it?

August 25, 2014
Without hesitation! It's the killing-animals part that bums me out, not the meat-being-delicious part.

### Borderlands 2 was so much fun I actually bought it again at full price since I got it for cheapies during a sale. Goddamn that writing <3

August 25, 2014
Thank you so much!

### To be clear, your total involvement in Battleborn is ZERO?

August 25, 2014
It's barely, infinitesimally higher than zero. I came up with the story concept of "the last star" before Linde came about, but that's literally it.

And honestly having heard some of the stuff Linde has written, you should be fuckin psyched I otherwise had nothing to do with it. Linde is fucking KILLING the dialog in this game.

### What is your go to dance move?

August 23, 2014
poop my pants
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Samantha Dale

### Do you strictly avoid meat? Like, do you ever eat seafood?

August 22, 2014
Nope, no seafood.

### Speaking of Tomb Raider, what are your thoughts on the reboot? Did you like it and are you looking forward to the sequel?

August 22, 2014
I liked the reboot WAY more than I thought I would. Really anticipating the sequel.

### "And you can shove your "feminazi" bullshit up your fedora-clad asshole." You know what Anthony? I'm thinking a lot of your anger comes from insecurity of knowing that YOU could never rock a fedora. Your head is too misshapen and pube-covered to rock some dapper/swag headwear.

August 22, 2014
I wore a fedora for like a year in high school because I liked fedoras.

It didn't go well.

That said, my head is pretty misshapen.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Erin L W

### Have you seen this picture? It's not about gaming journalism, it's about an abuser. https://thezoepost.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/screen-shot-2014-08-19-at-6-36-13-pm.png

August 22, 2014
Yeah, again, that's the angle of the whole ordeal that I think there is something potentially valid to discuss (again, assuming it is true). Again, the fact that this aspect of it is being completely silenced and overwhelmed by doxxing and bullshit about "conspiracies" and out-and-out misogyny is infuriating.

The number of people whom I've seen argue this specifically, though, on these grounds, is effectively zero.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you have any advice for someone who's sick of being emotionally drained from drama/scandal and just wants to enjoy him/herself?

August 22, 2014
Don't go on the internet.
Liked by: Erin L W mackenzie charlton Becky Nick Chowder Gavin Hammon Kerissa Young

### "Are you seriously advocating for the former option over the latter? Are you that indifferent to other people? Are you that selfish?" Yeah because fuck censorship. Everything is ok, or nothing is.

August 22, 2014
That is absolutely, historically untrue. Would you be advocating a game where people say the n-word over and over? Or what about child pornography? Or yelling "fire" in crowded theaters?

"Everything is okay or nothing is" is complete and actual bullshit.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Nolan Sullivan Becky Gavin Hammon

### Jack has his blue wrist tattoos, and there's a picture of Rhys with his shirt open a little and a patterned blue tattoo across his chest. Both the same blue as the siren tattoos. I've wondered about the Siren inspiration as well! Like, maybe that would be a symbol of power to some people?

August 22, 2014
interesting. I honestly never noticed that.

### On triggers, rape, PTSD and all that: I figure a former soldier who suffers from PTSD would not be happy if their game of The Sims was intruded upon by an unexpected gunshot or explosion.

August 22, 2014
Yep! You just put it more accurately and succinctly than I ever could have.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### What would past Anthony have to say about Borderlands 2 in a rev rant, if he received a future copy sans your name

August 22, 2014
Hrm. I dunno. I hope he would like it. He'd hate that some of the biggest moments in the game are cut scenes, but I also hate that, so, eh.

### Why do you suppose Japanese devs generally get a pass from SJW scrutiny? Is it because they tend to ignore or even ridicule SJW criticism (see: Kojima, Kamiya... holy shit, Kamiya) or is it just accepted that Japanese culture isn't going to change any time soon? (and by "soon" I mean "ever")

August 22, 2014
Probably the latter. It's a weirdly racist thing to say "all of Japan is basically sexist", but lord knows we say it a lot.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Why did RTD not cast Ashly as the Master

August 22, 2014
Gahhhh that would be funny.
Liked by: Nicole Wong Erin L W

### Are there any plans for novels in the BL universe to expand on the vault hunters? I'd be very interested in a look into Zer0's past, find out more about who/what he is and why he does what he does.

August 22, 2014
There aren't any PLANS for it right now, but that doesn't mean we might not eventually do it.

### Have you played P.T?

August 22, 2014
Yes, I loved it. I hope the full game will be at all like it, but I'm nearly 100% sure it won't be.

### Jack's last speech is my favorite thing ever.

August 22, 2014
Thanks!

### So Anthony, what do you and your fellow degenerates plan on doing now that JonTron and TotalBiscuit (the first of many) are now openly calling you SJW types on your double standards and bullshit?

August 22, 2014
Probably have sex with women and high five people
Liked by: Jakob Brown Gabriel Costantino Erin L W Samantha Dale Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Are you watching the leftovers? I'm fucking loving it.

August 22, 2014
I hate Lindelof, so I'm waiting to see if it goes anywhere that matters.

### Fuck marry kill: grant, uli, justin

August 22, 2014
yes
Liked by: Erin L W

### Did you write Torgue's dialogue?

August 22, 2014
yes

### Re: rape survivor: OK why not just pick a different game? I'm not trying to be insensitive, but you're basically saying "I can't swim, so nobody should be allowed in the pool." Video games are an opt-in experience, and you can generally take one look at the box and know what you're in for.

August 22, 2014
Why the fuck -- okay, here's the two options:

- We keep making games that have random, unexpected triggers that cause a certain percentage of the audience to cry and shake and feel vulnerable and relive their experiences again, so it's like they're being raped, again, in the comfort of their own home, when they thought they were just signing up for something fun and breezy. We will keep doing this because, uh, I guess we really like rape triggers in games? We like it when games explicitly do things that will hurt other people, because we just don't care about those other people?

- We just don't put the triggers in, and the rest of the game stays pretty much entirely the same. This takes, what, an hour of work?

Are you seriously advocating for the former option over the latter? Are you that indifferent to other people? Are you that selfish?

View more

Liked by: Erin L W Nolan Sullivan Becky

### I ship Jack/Lilith. Is that SUPER weird considering what happened to Roland?

August 22, 2014
yes

### I made some chill Handsome Jack thing. http://imgur.com/BtEK0Cv

Michelle
August 22, 2014
nice!

### It's kind of how I don't really get how "damseling" is inherently a bad thing; is every female character supposed to be Xena from now on? Can a female character never be at a disadvantage, in a tough spot she can't get out of on her own? Not to mention this is all fiction, does it really matter?

August 22, 2014
oh jesus christ shut up
Liked by: Jeffrey Demonhighbinder Erin L W Nolan Sullivan Kerissa Young Becky

### So a pic of Zero Suit Samus' alternate costume was released and has caused quite the shit storm amongst uggos and "BBW." Are female characters not allowed to be sexy anymore? Fapbait is a vidya tradition, and there's nothing wrong with that.

August 22, 2014
There is, as a matter of fact, because it's the basically only goddamn way women in games are ever, ever, ever portrayed. It's not even that the characters are always sexy, it's that they're always sexualized in the SAME WAY. Skinny, young, lithe. Samus's original build in the first Metroid was this gorgeously muscular, fuckin' Amazonian stature. She looked like one of the Snoo Snoo women from Futurama, or Hammer from Fable 2. Then they took that and made her Zero Suit Samus, who basically looks like a lithe cheerleader, who always poses in such a way that her boobs are showing (seriously, look at how she holds her gun in the new Smash -- it's nonsensical).

It's easy to say "there's nothing wrong with this" when it's been specifically designed to cater exclusively to your demographic. It's pretty fucked up to say nothing should ever change just because it benefits you, though, don't you think? Isn't that kind of selfish and immature and shitty?

View more

Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Matthew Manninen Erin L W Nolan Sullivan Kerissa Young Becky

### How long can Claptrap wait for someone to reciprocate the high five?

August 22, 2014
Not that long. Five seconds? I dunno. Not so long that you'll get upset.

### I'm of the belief that videogames are currently a very immature medium. No one quite knows how to tackle story in a concept that books and film has done. But I think it's important that games do eventually address serious issues like rape. As a game writer, how would you attempt that?

August 22, 2014
Short answer: dunno. I probably wouldn't even try because that's never happened to me and it should maybe be a story told by someone whom it HAS happened to, or at least with their help and support. But I guess I'd make it more about the victim and the reprecussions rather than the MGSV "what if a bad guy did this to prove he was bad" bullshit.

### Is it wrong that, despite being absolutely disgusted with some (most) of the things being lobbed at Zoe Quinn on the internet, I have nevertheless lost respect for her? Like, the way people are talking about and treating her is REPREHENSIBLE, but I still am so disappointed by her hypocrisy. HALP

August 22, 2014
I mean, you can totally feel however you wanna feel, that's fine. If the stuff in that article is true, I'd be surprised if anyone didn't find it pretty off-putting and shitty. So long as those feelings don't put you in the same bucket as people fucking doxxing her and her family members, you're probably good.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### i'm not gay but i would drunk make out with you for sure

August 22, 2014
coo
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### How did u meet the board with life crew?

August 22, 2014
Donald works at Okratron, where we record BL stuff. He and I became friends and started hanging out.

### If I'm playing Nisha, who would you recommend having on my team to compensate for her fragile-ness? Like someone who can provide defensive abilities that apply to allies?

August 22, 2014
Athena for sure.

### Just to expand on "stay out of the pool" I, like many veterans, have PTSD. Is it fair for me to pick up Call of Duty and complain about being triggered? Is it fair for people with my condition to demand no more guns in games or film?

August 22, 2014
Call of Duty sells itself based on the promise of guns and warfare. It would be ludicrous of you to go into that game assuming that you might not find objectionable material.

If we're talking about rape, or racism, or sexism, or ableism, no game in the history of videogames has explicitly sold itself based on that kind of stuff. What happens is, somebody picks up a game expecting to have a good time, and then something completely out of nowhere comes in and triggers them. And usually, that shit isn't even integral to the plot, or doesn't make sense with the rest of the game's tone, or whathaveyou (Tomb Raider had a fair number of moments like this).
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I noticed that both Jack and Rhys have blue tattoos. Is the color a coincidence or do guys in the Borderlands universe sometimes get blue tattoos in emulation/homage to the Sirens?

August 22, 2014
They what? Where? I don't think they do.

### A witch has cursed you. Your penis is now a bird. It has no legs and is attached from its waist down. It doesn't need to eat since it gets all of its nutrients from what you eat. You still pee from it. How would you live your life from now on?

August 22, 2014
Probably with Davis loving me like eight thousand times more than she already does
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### I think the existence of MRAs as an organized group is a good sign. Hate groups don't exist when everybody agrees with them, they exist when that opinion is in the minority. The KKK didn't exist until after slavery, for example. The last, long gasp of a slowly dying breed. Thoughts?

August 22, 2014
Hrm, that's interesting. Hadn't thought of it that way.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### If I ever meet u can I give you a titty twister? Always been a dream of mine

August 22, 2014
Absolutely not.

### contd

August 22, 2014
...her?), and hacked her skype account and the skypes of people associated with her, and called her a dumb slut, and tried to tie it all up in some horseshit about ethics in journalism.

This isn't about a person doing a bad thing and the rest of us condemning and talking about that bad thing.

This is about a bunch of angry MRAs trying to annihilate a woman, and taking great pleasure in the fact that she may have done something to, in some small way in their minds, justify that annihilation. She's a feminist AND bisexual AND had sex with a lot of guys AND has depression AND makes indie games about feelings AND is cute? Shit, it's like 4chan's least favorite things all rolled into one! How wonderful! It's Christmas! Let's abuse her and threaten her because *ETHICS ARE IMPORTANT!*

So, yes, that's what makes me angry about this. And you can shove your "feminazi" bullshit up your fedora-clad asshole.

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Liked by: Matthew Manninen TJ Jones Nolan Sullivan Becky

### "Yeah, I got angry." Why exactly? Why do you feel compelled to defend her from criticism? She's an objectively terrible person who did some objectively terrible things; being a feminazi doesn't absolve her from that.

August 22, 2014
Pretty much exactly the kind of bullshit you just said is what makes me angry, honestly.

Look, here's the fuckin' deal, okay? If this was purely about the things she did -- and it's also entirely possible that those accusations aren't true, but let's say they are -- I would be among the chorus of voices condemning those actions. Not the "corruption" or "ethics" bullshit, because (unlike every single person I've seen complaining about her on the internet) I've worked on both sides of the journalism/dev line and shit doesn't work that way. Nobody considers it worth having sex with someone they don't already wanna have sex with just to sell three more copies of their game. Also, Depression Quest? The fucking proceeds from sales go to charity. And Nathan? He never reviewed Depression Quest. So if we're trying to play some sort of "this is proof of corruption" game, that's absolutely an irrelevant waste of time on every front.

But no, I'd honestly condemn those actions because (again, if they are true), having sex with multiple partners, and then having unprotected sex with someone who doesn't know about the other partners, is basically a kind of rape (imagine if one of those other partners had HIV, for instance). In much the same way that Max Temkin coercing a girl into doing something that she didn't want to do, even though he says it was all consensual and they didn't even have sex, is basically rape. And the Temkin thing was extremely useful to me because it brought to light issues of consent and the way we treat rape victims.

I, and others, learned a lot from that shitstorm because of how Temkin was taken to task by feminists in a way that was aggressive and unapologetic, but ultimately as respectful and not-fucking-bonkers as is possible when you're talking about a man who refused to acknowledge that he may have raped someone and then threatened to sue her to keep her quiet, all while constantly pointing out what a good guy he is for donating to feminist causes. Consent and sex are really complicated and nuanced and I was pleased to see that discussion surrounding Temkin. And I would have been equally pleased to see that kind of discussion surrounding this issue. It would have been painful, but it would have been really goddamn informative.

But that didn't happen.

What happened was, people doxxed her, and called her and her family, and then pretended that there was "proof" that she doxxed *herself* (which, by the way, is a CONSTANT method of silencing that these fucking people use every single time a prominent woman receives abuse -- they always, always attempt to say that the victim basically made up the abuse to make her look hysterical/dishonest. They did the same thing to Anita.), and then spread around naked pictures of her while also calling her out for being a slut ("but the pictures were for a porno shoot" -- okay, and? Does that change the fact that these are clearly being distributed with an intent to cause harm and upset...

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Liked by: Matthew Manninen Nolan Sullivan Becky

### you truly love cocks like no other man on this earth

August 22, 2014
I mean, everybody's love is unique so that's probably accurate
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### So is Davis trying to date other people as well or is it just you?

August 22, 2014
It's both of us.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What's your beef with JonTron exactly?

August 22, 2014
Used the word "retarded" to describe something and when someone asked him to maybe not do that because it's offensive, he refused/shat on them, and then when more people brought up how weird that was, he fucking pulled out the GAZA SITUATION as a reason that everyone should leave him alone.

Then he basically said a bunch of dumb, catty shit about Zoe cause he had a confrontation with her on that reality show, and hid behind "Well we should be looking at the intersection of journalism and ethics and indie games" and other horseshit that only adds more fuel to the abuse fire under the guise of legitimacy.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### how come like all the women in borderlands are /atleast/ moderately attractive and only like 2 of the men are? more hot men. anthony. write sexy men.

August 22, 2014
Who are the hot men? I gotta know so we can find out how to make more hot ones.
Liked by: Becky

### Nah bruh there are a LOT of devoted Nisha aka Sheriff fans out there, we/they are asking because we love her not just because you're a fan of her. We were disappointed in such a cool character's poor use in BL2 so we're fuckin' pumped to see her be awesome in Pre-Sequel.

August 21, 2014
That's awesome!

### Re: Nisha hype: It's funny because I like her aesthetically but her playstyle seems kind of braindead. I'm probably gonna play her for her trophy and that's it. Wilhelm will probably be my main because he looks like he'll be a monster, and Claptrap looks like god tier support and lulz.

August 21, 2014
She's actually really challenging to play. her action skill is comparatively "braindead" I guess compared to, like, Athena, but because it's got such a short duration and cooldown and because she has almost no defensive skills to speak of, she's an uber glass cannon. You have these very brief spurts of INCREDIBLE damage, but if you can't take everyone out in that moment, you're kinda fucked and have to find a way to not die. I like her a lot.

### Despite listings on the Gearbox website (and retailers), does the proper title of "Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!" contain the "!" or not?

August 21, 2014
Doesn't have the exclamation mark, i think.

### I see a lot of posts on your twitter about tinder and other dating sites/apps and I was confused. I thought you were married? Did you & Davis get a divorce? If not, why are you on such things? Sorry if this was too personal, I'm just curious.

August 21, 2014
Poly, son. Wooo
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky Kerissa Young

### I guess the Zoe Quinn situation being "none of your business" went right the fuck out the window?

August 21, 2014
Yeah, I got angry.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you have a picture of Beast that gives a cheer up kind of feeling?

August 20, 2014
Yes. It's a picture Davis drew of me, her and the Beast, except Beast is the size of Falcor from Neverending Story. It makes me really happy.
Liked by: Becky

### Do you find it weird that nisha, the evilest of the new vault hunters, seems to be the most anticipated playable character? At least it seems that way based on all the questions you get about her.

August 20, 2014
I honestly think Claptrap's more anticipated. I imagine I'm just getting a lot of Nisha questions because I've mentioned how fond I am of her.

### Isn't going to and supporting PAX despite the fact it's run by assholes who are making the world worse sort of like... living in America? Except you get an easier choice to not to to PAX (you're not a huge hypocrite is all I mean)

August 20, 2014
We all support shitty stuff all the time, but it doesn't hurt to try and minimize the amount of shitty stuff you support in general.

### Anthony here's one thing I don't understand: if you don't like something or it triggers you why not just stop playing? Why do SJW go looking to censor/ruin things that other people enjoy just because they don't enjoy them? What happened to tolerance being a two way street?

August 20, 2014
Because that blows.

Say I'm a rape survivor. Just, thought experiment. I'm a rape survivor, and I spend a lot of my life feeling unsafe, and reliving those events in my head. Being at parties is now more difficult for me, it's harder for me to become intimate with people (even people I really like), and I have this constant, omnipresent feeling that I'm not safe.

Now imagine I pick up a video game because I want, for a small period of time, to feel like I have control over something. Because I want to feel safe, and have a little fun, because we're all entitled to that.

And then imagine I pick up the game and the first thing I hear an enemy say is "I AM GOING TO RAPE YOU", or I see my protagonist almost get raped, or any number of things that could trigger me -- things that the developers could have really easily not included in the game.

Now I'm triggered, and I'm shaking, and maybe crying (because triggering isn't a synonym for "I am offended," it's an actual physical reaction), because I dared to try to pick up a videogame, and because the developers thought their ability to make a weird rape reference were more important than my desire to feel safe and have fun.

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Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### did you guys forget about the stream or are ya'll just super busy? i'm sorry if i sound demanding or whiney i just miss you guys

August 19, 2014
Mix of both. I hope to get back to it soon.

### do you think zer0 thinks of the other vault hunters as friends? he just seems distant in that respect especially due to wedding day massacre

August 19, 2014
I imagine him as more of a loner.

### https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=black+palm+cockatoo+nz&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=4PPyU6LRAcqjugSzpIGoBg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=562#q=black%20palm%20cockatoo&tbm=isch the bird of death, or the most badass creature ever i'm not sure which

August 19, 2014
It can easily be both
Liked by: Steve Kerr mackenzie charlton

### What about birds do u and Davis love? I had a bird when I was little and all I remember is that it would chirp constantly while I tried to watch tv

August 19, 2014
Sweet, loyal, caring, makes beautiful noises (Beast is a girl so she doesn't chirp very loud or frequently), loves to be cuddled and petted, doesn't make huge shits, can't physically harm us, is the cutest

### bread box vs ash who's bigger?

August 19, 2014
Bread box. Ash is the relative size of a toast slice
Liked by: Becky

### Do you know about this Zoe Quinn scandal?

August 19, 2014
Yes. It is not my business.

### I think Burn Gorman getting a Snow-sword through the throat counts as an instance of cathartic violence in Game of Thrones, unfortunately, although that was also off-book material

August 19, 2014
Yeah, that's one of the only instances I can note of that. And like you said it's off-book. The other cathartic instance I can think of (in the final episode, where THAT character fistfights THAT character) is also off-book, weirdly.

### how is grant so grant how be more grant

August 19, 2014
this sounds like grant typed it

### Your beard. I need it.

August 19, 2014
You didn't say the magic word. (Puts out cigar on your chest, looks confused when you don't react, is subsequently punched and has beard taken anyway, you go save John Connor)

### You ever heard of giantess porn where the guy gets shrunk down and then is basically eaten by the girl?

August 19, 2014
Yep! I do not at all get it buuuut I try not to judge.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Is Ash taller or shorter than Ewok?

August 19, 2014
ash IS ewok

tell no one
Liked by: Becky

### Baby Salvador still had the beard, right? Also was he nicknamed 'Salvadorable'?

August 19, 2014
pahahahah yes

### https://www.google.com/search?q=flower+beard&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=5FzyU-_RGMKsyQTm0YIw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ

August 19, 2014
ohhhh.

I think if I did that I'd look like a serial killer.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### link to your OKC profile plz

August 19, 2014
nahhhh

### You don't have a Wikipedia page and Ash's height is not listed on hers. I googled for about 30 seconds and still could not find out if you're the same height cuz you're in no pics together standing It'd take 2 seconds of typing to answer this question without the snark.

August 19, 2014
i have literally an entire web series worth of videos of me and ash standing next to one another.

also why did you want to know this
Liked by: Gavin Hammon

### is nakayama modeled after you?

August 19, 2014
No, but thank you for making me feel like the ugliest man in the world
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Are you at all hyped for Evolve?

August 19, 2014
Yep! I love any sort of unusual online multiplayer game, and I trust Turtle Rock's pedigree.

### Anthony I game with my girlfriend and she's... not the best at fps. Like she died before Knuckledragger. Who is the easiest character to pick up and play on Elpis? Who is the Gaige/Axton of the pre-sequel?

August 19, 2014
Either Athena (going down the Phalanx tree, which is all about survivability) or Wilhelm (going down the Dreadnought tree, which is also all about survivability). If aiming is her problem rather than survival, go with Nisha.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Borderlands 2 taught me how to quick scope, now i do it all the time as a crutch. thanks a lot, dicks.

August 19, 2014
l2p nub
Liked by: Becky Gavin Hammon

### Question: if Nisha is a cowgirl, can she ride horses and if yes, has she ever ridden Butt Stallion?

August 19, 2014
oh shit
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Becky

### Is it canon that Captain Scarlett and Nisha are friends? Ive seen a few people talk about it but havent ever found any official source.

August 18, 2014
It's canon as far as I'm concerned, cause two cosplayer buddies I met were the first people I saw to cosplay as both characters at the same time.

### Is S5 going to be released on DVD in a combo pack with S4 dual-disc crystal packaging special edition+ pre-order now and pay $5 extra plus DLC we cut from the actual show put Papa Burch into every episode for only a $80 season pass buy it now

August 18, 2014
No, it'll be free to play and you'll have to pay per episode

### Who was the cutest baby Borderlandser

August 18, 2014
Obviously salvador. Obviously.
Liked by: TJ Jones

### you should do flower beard

August 18, 2014
?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### When's the last time you played Netrunner? Haven't heard you talk about it lately so I was just wondering if you still play it.

August 18, 2014
My schedule's been weird so it's an off and on thing. I mainly teach newbies how to play these days.

### any idea how to cope with the dread that comes with being in your early twenties?

August 18, 2014
Realize that your early twenties aren't actually that bad. And that you're still young.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Yo, you gonna start streaming again soon boo?

August 18, 2014
Yeah, once my schedule calms down.

### time to answer the most important question you're ever gonna get: how good is jack and nisha's sex life?

August 18, 2014
Better than anyone else's in the BL universe by a long shot.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas Becky Nolan Sullivan

### if pirate boat claptrap is a thing then does that confirm that captain scarlett is in the game too

August 18, 2014
No, sadly.

### Burch, care to speak on the police brutality in Ferguson?

August 18, 2014
It's really bad.

### so are your parents like divorced or something bc we only see your mom in like one or two episodes of hawp

August 18, 2014
Yep.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Are there any episodes in S5 of HAWP you've already realized are hurtful before even releasing/have jokes present-Anthony wouldn't write anymore?

August 17, 2014
POtentially, yeah. We're gonna show a few around to friends before releasing them.

### Care to give any hints for where we might at least start to look for these cool things that apparently no one's picked up on yet?

August 17, 2014
Where's the fun in that?

### I've never played a procedural game but Starbound looks like it mitebkewl. Have you tried it yet?

August 17, 2014
Yeah, but I bounced off it for some reason (I think cause it was way too early access). I'll check it out again soon.

### Sometimes going off the beaten path in a game is the most fun! "Oh hey what's that over there?" "I don't know, let's go climb and jump on it, race you to the top!" "Whoa, look at that character, they look interesting!" "Let's talk to 'em! Oh hey, look at this texture detail here, haha!"

August 17, 2014
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Playing WITH a game vs playing a game.

### I don't think anyone, MRA or no would condone what happened in Santa Barbara. That guy didn't do what he did because he was "MRA," he did it because he was completely insane and truly believed women owed him sex. You can't paint an entire group with the same brush as one extremist, Burch.

August 17, 2014
He *specifically said* he killed women because of his MRA beliefs. This isn't a guy who plays videogames being blamed for murders tangentially.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### "I'm a shitty empathy-less fuck and SJB's point it out too much so I could just as easily perform mental gymnastics to convince myself I'm actually a hero because otherwise I have to feel bad, and I'll ask for 'respect' to derail cause I can't actually articulate a logical argument for my point"

August 17, 2014
hehe
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### thank you for the amazing writing in bl2. as a female gamer it's nice to play a fun game, but it's even better to play a fun game with outright, positive regard to feminism and interesting, complex female characters. im excited to see this continue in 1.5. thanks.

August 17, 2014
Thanks so much! We wanna do a lot more and be less shitty in the future, but this means a lot to me.
Liked by: Becky

### While I don't have a lick of support for the MRA fuckhead, don't you think Ash has a point in general with the "positivity trumps negativity" approach? Unfaltering assholes need to be shouted into submission, agreed, but usually vitriol just shuts down ALL discussion and doesn't engender sympathy.

August 17, 2014
Of course, I completely agree with this. I just draw the line at having a condescending MRA tell me that I'm being uncivil when, holy hell, I've been pretty goddamn civil. I haven't threatened anyone, or called for physical harm to befall someone, or even directly insulted anyone (other than this MRA guy).

That guy's not somebody who can be swayed, that's somebody who wants to use faux-politeness to appear the better man.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### http://womenagainstfeminism.tumblr.com/ Thoughts?

August 17, 2014
There are always, always, always people like this.

### Will the pre-sequel have cut-scenes? I watched the claptrap trailer and it showed a lot with handsome jack in them

August 17, 2014
Yeah, it'll have cut scenes cause production constraints are a thing.

### My point is this: if you can drop the smug, vindictive, pretentious, token liberal shit for one second and conduct yourself with some civility you'd be surprised who's willing to listen. The alternative just fosters misogyny and puts people on the defensive.

August 17, 2014
Hey everybody, an MRA is telling me to be polite or he and his friends will be *more misogynistic*!

You hear that? Misogyny is the fault of the *feminists!* Man, we're dumb!
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Scott Mendenko Becky Udz Mmu

### ANYWAY why No Mans Sky?

August 17, 2014
Why NOT No Man's Sky? It looks super beautiful, and I really like procedural games (Sir You Are Being Hunted is one of my favorite games of this year). Even if it's just a game about walking around and exploring planets, those planets look super beautiful and you evidently don't have to kill stuff.

### Again with the putting of words in my mouth. Did it ever occur to you that I agree with... pretty much every point in that wall of text? All I'm saying is while were fixing all that shit lets get those three big things fixed too. Forget angry fedora tier misogynists and talk to me like an individual

August 17, 2014
Okay, no problem.

You, an individual, have aligned yourself with a misogynistic, hateful group known as the MRAs. You, an individual, are happy to conflate "shitlord" with "feminazi" because you're so very precious with your feelings.

I have no need to respect you, an individual.

### Same lady who posted about exploring earlier: me & all ladies I know who are bigtime gamers (which is most of them), we're super invested in depth, I suppose? So when we play a quality game, we love to squeeze every drop out of it, to see what makes the game and story tick & all the little details.

August 17, 2014
That's interesting. Brianna Wu did a lot of playtesting with women for her iPad game Revolution 60 and some of the stuff she mentioned was really interesting...we've been making games for dudes for so long, I'd love to see more focus testing and research done on women gamers.
Liked by: Becky

### What's your opinion of Half-Life: Opposing Force? In my opinion, it's on par with the original Half-Life itself, I love it so much.

August 17, 2014
I love it, and I'm not just saying that cause of my employer. I really like the idea of playing as the bad guy and, in the process, kind of sympathizing with him. I TOTALLY shot at Gordon duriing that brief moment where you see him escape to Xen, and I was like -- wait, why did I do that? Why did I *want* to kill Gordon? Just cause it's cool? Or cause my morals are to some extent shaped by my avatar?

I mean the answer is probably "just cause it's cool," but I remember having fun with that dilemma as a kid.

### You put a LOT of words in my mouth re: civility. You know its possible to be MRA and believe feminism has some, if not a lot of validity to it. My concern is things rubberbanding too far and then SWM becoming marginalized aaaad... the wheel keeps on turning.

August 17, 2014
Yes, we're all in horrible, horrible danger of straight white males becoming marginalized if women and minorities got equal rights and opportunities in the world.

Or, maybe you could just worry about that when it starts happening rather than trying to shut everything down now? Oh, right, because god *forbid* anything changes for the lot of straight white men. Better to pretend you're, what, defending against a hypothetical future dystopia where SWM are treated like everyone else currently are?

Are you John Connor?

### Honestly? We're all arseholes. Everybody looks back on themselves every now and then and cringes. The important thing is that we improve each day, and for fuck's sake -accept ourselves,- past faults, present faults, future faults and all. I think you're a positive role model in that regard.

August 17, 2014
Thanks. I appreciate that. But I do feel a bit -- a touch -- of self-loathing can be good for keeping an even keel on stuff. On remembering what kind of person *not* to be, because of where you came from and what you did before.
Liked by: Becky

### You would fixate on the lifeboat example. The point is men are indoctrinated to give, women to receive. The other point is men are marginalized in less but arguably more significant ways; reproductive/paternal rights, keeping what they earn, being able to CONTINUE FUCKING LIVING

August 17, 2014
I'd say "arguably" is stretching it.

Yes, those three examples are problematic, and I'd love for them to be fixed and made more equal. Yes. I would. Honestly. Equality is great. I want equality.

The problem is that this kind of desire for "equality" shouted by fedoramancers only ever seems to come down on the side of dudes. Dudes who say, nah, rape isn't underreported and underbelieved. Nah, women are just underrepresented in nearly every single tech field just cause they're untalented or decide not to do stuff. Nah, women should pay for their own contraception and not have it covered by insurance cause I still gotta pay for my own condoms.

This isn't about equality, this is about trying to complain that (white) men somehow have it worse so you don't have to do jack to improve the lives of women and minorities. If men are disposable because they can impregnate a bunch of women (which, what -- I've heard this bandied about a lot and completely fail to see how it has *anything to do with anything*, especially considering how getting pregnant sucks for the woman in about a thousand different more ways than it sucks for men), then, feminists are whining about nothing and I'm not a bad guy!

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### I know you didn't create them but based on how you wrote them and your own opinion, how would you describe the original vault hunters sexualities? Also go BL2 for having bi people in it, it's great to get some representation!

August 17, 2014
I imagine all of them are straight except for Brick, who is bi or gay. But that's just my dumb headcanon and doesn't count. And Lilith probably had sex with Moxxi once, but that doesn't make her gay.

### Anthony what is everybody's favorite type of pizza

August 17, 2014
I mean probably cheese, right? That's the default you get if you don't know what anybody wants.

### I notice that Athena and Nisha can gain stacks of stuff like Prepare For Glory and Order. Do they ever react in dialogue to getting insane amounts of this stuff, like how Gaige will react to having tons of Anarchy?

August 17, 2014
Nah. The stacks increase and decrease much more quickly and frequently than Anarchy did, so it woulda gotten super duper annoying.

### "Don't believe them when they are raped?" What country do you live in because in the USA in which I live not only are rape claims assumed to be true until proven otherwise, but a woman who regrets a previous consensual act can retroactively declare it rape.

August 17, 2014
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/06/why_cops_don_t_believe_rape_victims_and_how_brain_science_can_solve_the.html

Read a book. Specifically, "Lucky" by Alice Sebold.

### MLK Jr had plenty of excuses to be an asshole, but he chose to rise above and foster unity and understanding, and as a result he got a lot of shit done. Just something to think about. Then again I'm pretty sure 90% of SJW don't care about progress and just want to be on the bandwagon.

August 17, 2014
Christ almighty. We're not talking about using nonviolence to stop violence. We're not talking about sitting down and taking your beatings from cops and fire hoses because there's strategic social value in having press film that stuff and show it to the rest of America so that they'll be disgusted.

We're talking about you and your MRA budz using the idea of "respect" and "civility" as buzzwords to stop feminists from saying things you don't like. If you can recoil in horror at the ideas of privilege, or that the Santa Barbara shooter was an MRA and that that wasn't a fucking coincidence, or any number of a thousand inconvenient truths and then pretend that the feminists are the problematic ones for bringing them up in the *first* place, because it's not *respectful,* then hey -- you've won! You didn't have to self-examine, you didn't have to have an actual discussion, you didn't have to be knocked off your high horse by even a single peg.

You just get to paint the opposition with the "disrespectful" brush and dismiss them entirely out of hand! Or, tone police them into saying a bunch of noncommittal, indirect things that minimizes their suffering and their points whilst ALSO weakening their arguments!

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### "your views on social justice put you close to Hitler" not the views so much as the method and the demonization and abuse of anyone who dares to criticize, question, or ask for an explanation, and the utter refusal to compromise or debate constructively.

August 17, 2014
Oh, boo hoo. You can find a shitload of constructive discussion on my twitter or in previous ask.fm answers on this page. Or in articles I've written, or podcasts I've been on, or or or or or.

Not endlessly kowtowing to everything an MRA says (like, say, equating "shitlord' with "feminazi") just because they're asking for "civility" does not equal disrespect.

Like how uberconservatives want to have discussions with gays about denying them marriage, but get suddenly uppity and appalled when the people they're trying to oppress and silence have the temerity to be upset or demand respect. The "hey, show some respect" game exists solely to benefit the people in power so that they don't have to (A) actually engage with the ideas at hand that might imply they are actually guilty of either doing bad stuff or, through social structures, have been party to bad stuff or (B) have a discussion that they can't immediately eject from the moment it becomes too "disrespectful."

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### Wait, where is it said that Brick is into dudes?

August 17, 2014
It's not directly stated, but Lilith says to Roland "I am going to rip off your clothes," and Brick says "go onnnnn..."

Which, to be fair, could just mean he wants to hear about them fucking cause he likes Lilith. But, eh.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Speaking of fully exploring and whatnot, are there any easter eggs or just lines you wrote that no one seems to have picked up on yet? I mean, I know a lot of people were surprised with the whole 'Brick is into dudes' thing

August 16, 2014
Not everything has been caught yet.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Got to agree with the MRA. Don't use 'shitlord', it's so cliché. Call them whiny piss-babies or fedoramancers or members of a hate group instead.

August 16, 2014
Pahah. Fedoramancers.
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Scott Mendenko mackenzie charlton Erin L W

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp8tToFv-bA Thoughts?

August 16, 2014
I really dunno if I buy this concept. "We put women in lifeboats first, ergo men are disposable" is inherently a weird conflation to me, not to mention "we say 'women and children first' in rare emergencies" is exactly on par with "we never put women in power, don't believe them when they are raped, and are generally okay with objectifying them".

### What are you going to do with yourself once the SJW fad is over? Are you going to reinvent yourself again in a few years and make posts on the internet about how ashamed you were for being a token liberal douche that bandwagoned the victim culture of the late 2000s/early 2010s?

August 16, 2014
yeah, that's exactly what i'm going to do

I wonder if people like you in the 60's thought civil rights were a dumb fad, or thought gay rights were a dumb fad, or thought literally anything that extended compassion and help to people who don't look exactly like you was a fad.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Erin L W

### MRA guy again. I'd appreciate it if we didn't use the word "shitlord." I can manage to not refer to anyone as a feminazi (see! being civil with people you disagree with because they're still people is fun!) so please, misandrist collective, keep your buzzwords to yourself.

August 16, 2014
I'm pretty sure conflating "shitlord" with "feminazi" is a really fucking weird thing to do. One is saying "your views on social justice put you close to Hitler" and the other one is saying "you're shitty." Which I do believe MRAs and people who unironically use the word "misandrist" are.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Most anticipated game?

August 16, 2014
No Man's Sky, probably.

### If heterosexual white males who follow Abrahamic religions do indeed hold all the cards, then why do you suppose the small, but very, VERY vocal (on tumblr at least) SJW movement insists on being so caustic and unconstructive? More flies with honey and all that.

August 16, 2014
Cause they're angry at having lived at a disadvantage their entire lives. I mean, yeah, it'd be ideal if everyone could be incredibly polite to ignorant and combative bullshit questions like "do you not think white males are human beings," but I can see how it can get tiring and irritating to have to constantly defend yourself and explain fairly obvious social inequalities all the time.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I just can't fathom so many people skipping large chunks of BL2 like Lynchwood. Me & my friends? We closely investigate every map, corner, off-limits boundary, echo log, easter egg and texture. I mean, why WOULDN'T you? (Fun fact: we're all ladies. Every lady I know who plays BL2 does this.)

August 16, 2014
That's really interesting. I, on the other hand, am always really surprised when anyone finds anything. BL is such a follow-the-waypoint game that I think we unconsciously teach the player not to give a crap about anything that doesn't have a big green diamond attached to it.

That said, it's great to know that some people really enjoy exploring! And surprising/interesting to know that y'alls laydeez. Wonder if there's something there.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Is Claptrap's dependency on Oxygen explained in the Pre-Sequel or is it there so he can use the Butt Stomp/Jetpack like the other characters?

August 16, 2014
It's the latter.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### are we gonna see any interactions between nisha and moxxi

August 16, 2014
You have one or two brief conversations with her, yeah.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Are white men just not people to you? Serious question.

August 16, 2014
That is the opposite of a serious question and you goddamned know it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### do u ever get bored of playing video games?

August 16, 2014
Yes. I am finding myself getting more and more tired of games. Or, at least, I'm getting less and less patient with so much of the unexamined bullshit that we put into a lot of them. Extraneous features, unskippable and numerous cut scenes, games that don't have an actual core loop but instead just cram a lot of random bullshit in and assume that your OCD will make you spend hours and hours just doing the random bullshit...

### With all you've learned in the social justice/feminist department since writing Borderlands 2, do you think it'll be harder to be funny within all the limitations to comedy that not offending people brings? If you're less funny because you're a better person, probably that's fine. What think?

Gabriel Costantino
August 16, 2014
I dunno. I still think I'm decently funny.

### Borderlands 2 totes should have been called MORE-DERLANDS

August 16, 2014
shit you're right
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Classist? What jokes in BL2 were classist? I'm not sure what you're referring to...

August 16, 2014
Setting trailers full of rednecks on fire.

### Anthony please give whoever chose Come With Me Now for the new trailer a big sloppy kiss for me because I love that song and it's actually been a specifically Borderlands connected song for me for quite a few months now

August 16, 2014
2K Marketing, I believe.

### Have you ever used "I wrote borderlands 2" as a pick up line?

August 16, 2014
It's like the second line of my OKC profile, so, I guess.

### Where did you find that guy you went on that date with? The only dudes who try to "date" me are married to women and really just want me to fuck them. It was hot at first but now its'a kinda meh. oh and does that guy know you make games/follow your twitter?You kinda called him creepy online

August 15, 2014
Nah, he doesn't follow anything. I met him on OKcupid. Wanted to date his wife, she invited him along and I said sure, he took over the date and was weird.

### Since there are LGBT characters and things in Borderlands 2, did that cause any issues in countries where that stuff is illegal or frowned upon?

August 15, 2014
If so, nobody's ever told me. It's weird -- the game gets localized into a bunch of languages, but after we send off the script, we never hear ANYTHING back -- I just talked to a Japanese fan who said the Japanese localization was some of the best they've ever received, which is great, but I'm only just now hearing that two years after ship! It's bizarre.

### do you watch the guild

August 15, 2014
nah

### About this bad guy stuff, you've always struck me as an asshole. You still are. That doesn't mean you haven't changed a bit. You're a more caring, self aware and socially conscious asshole. That's in no small part thanks to Davis. Go tell her you love her, because from I see, you're a lucky bastard.

August 15, 2014
Fair enough.

### I have a lot of love for the Wedding Day dlc, largely because of Hodunk Holler. It was nice to see an actual "functioning" community on Pandora, with a church, homes, music, dancing, fishing and all the little everyday details of living, as compared to the usual barren shooting gallery zones.

August 15, 2014
Haha, I'd never thought of it that way. That's all the level design team to thank!

### god i have so many stupid questions about playing as claptrap but i wont bug you with them so instead i'll ask you whats your favorite skill tree for Nisha?

August 15, 2014
Fan the Hammer, cause pistols are super OP and she makes them even more OP.

### How does your dad feel about you being bisexual? Is he open-minded? What about the whole being a cuckold thing? He just strikes me as kind of old-fashioned. Like in the SF4 episode of HAWP the whole "fucking figures..." line came out a little too naturally for my taste.

August 15, 2014
Pretty sure he doesn't know. If he did, he probably wouldn't care that much, he'd just shrug and go "uh, alright"

### A mysogynist for 20 years? I'm sorry, but that seems to beg a little bit of elaboration.

August 15, 2014
I'm 26. I met my wife six years ago.

### Have you ever been to Thailand? Roaches. Roaches everywhere. But Tom kha gai is literally better than sex so it evens out. Also DEM BEACHES

August 15, 2014
I went once when I was a baby, but for some reason I'm not super jazzed to go back. I think I'm honestly letting my stereotypical assumptions about what Thailand is (and my mom's few stories about it, which were all shitty) cloud my thoughts of it.

### does nisha wear purple lipstick or blue lipstick, because in the cosplay guide it's purple and in the demos/trailers it's very pale blue and as a potential cosplayer, this is making me kinda anxious.

August 15, 2014
gaaaa i wish i was not colorblind so i could answer this

### What about past you was so misogynistic?

August 15, 2014
Copied from an email to a friend:

I wrote for a "men's humor" site, which is about as problematic as you'd probably imagine. I was single, and young, and alone and angry, and so I did what society unfortunately teaches young, alone and angry men to do, which is to blame women. And be creepy, and stretch boundaries of consent, and just generally be an awful piece of shit that I'd go back in time and murder if I could.

Then I started doing Hey Ash with my sister, and I started trying to work against booth babes and oversexualization of female characters. It started from a place of negativity -- "I am angry at hot women being shoved in my face because I inherently hate hot women" -- but by talking to Ash and reading feminist stuff, it started morphing into something that actually began to resemble real feminism. And then I met my wife and fell utterly in love with her, and began to realize that back in my angry days, it was *me* who was the problem, not women, and I tried to backpedal and change as hard as I could.

Then, the more I read from women in games, and feminist writers in general, the more disgusted I become with my behavior in the old days. And now it's at the point where I'm learning so much every day, I get disgusted with myself as recently as three years ago (there are ableist, classist, and body image jokes in BL2 that I'd hopefully never make today).

So TLDR: I was a really really really really shitty person and have been trying to get marginally less shitty every day since I met my wife.

View more

Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Erin L W Becky

### I'm bird sitting my brother's cockatiel while he's on vacation (she'll be 13 soon) and can't help but notice her favorite toy is the mirror. Is she vain? Is something wrong with her? Also, she won't let women touch her, but loves me and my brother. Is that common?

August 15, 2014
She may be attracted to the bird in the mirror? I don't know, actually -- you may wanna ask davis at @oddlookingbird

### what are some good games to zone out to maybe with music

August 15, 2014
I really like Spelunky for this.

### http://ktla.com/2014/08/12/couple-obsessed-with-world-of-warcraft-sentenced-to-prison-for-child-neglect/ Check out these lovely people. Also good example of men having more accountability; both found guilty of same crimes, man goes to jail over a year and a half longer than the woman because tits.

August 15, 2014
YES, I get it, sometimes men are discriminated against like in cases of child custody or, uh, I guess, child neglect sentencing. I'm super super sad for this guy, boo hoo.

The other 99% of society works against women more than men.

### Seriously your dad is the best part of HAWP. Ash is hit or miss, you're basically just a Flanderized version of yourself (doesn't make you any less of a sexy devil) and Davis is just there at best and annoying as hell at worst.

August 15, 2014
go fuck yourself
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### butts or boobs?

August 15, 2014
why would anybody have to choose
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton

### That jab on AC was epic. No lie. Do you think ubisoft even intends to resolve the narrative (what narrative amirite?) at this point?

August 15, 2014
(shrug) It can get really really hard to resolve huge stories like that over multiple games while ALSO keeping enough narrative threads alive that people don't lose the desire to buy the next game and find out what happens next (I don't really buy that this is a thing that people do -- I think if people like your story they go COOL MORE FROM THOSE PEOPLE if it ends on an actually conclusive note).

### In your opinion who won Gamescom? Also do you hate Kojima for basically telling SJW to fuck off?

August 15, 2014
Did Kojima say that? That's a fucking bummer. But not surprising given his track record.

I have no idea who won Gamescom cause I was in a box the entire time doing press stuff.

### sometimes i get sad I'll never meet/hang out with you or Ash. Are you as cool in real life as you are in HAWP/Hawpcast or is it an elaborate ruse?

August 15, 2014
Neither of us are cool at all

### nisha is straight are you telling me nisha/captain scarlet never happened don't do it burch don't do it

August 15, 2014
I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I'm not DIDN'T NOT happen

### "my dad is a fucking buffoon" wow why would you disrespect your father like that? For reals.

August 15, 2014
Automatic familial respect bugs me.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Would you like a free gym membership? You need to lift, bro.

August 15, 2014
I'm just going to continue my trend of only dating girls who are attracted to waifishly thin brown men with oversized heads.

### There's no heterosexual white male PCs in BL2. I'm feeling marginalized and without a voice and stuff.

August 15, 2014
2sad

### As an MRA, I'm attempting to mask my philosophy of discrimination in vague terms that sound equitable if you don't think about them very hard. (This isn't the same person as before -- I'm just translating his subtext for everyone.)

August 15, 2014
hehe
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I see critics and/or internet shitlords who hate social justice bashing you a lot and it always bums me out so much. You're a huge inspiration to me and the things you've created have honestly helped me get through tough times in my life. I just want you to know you're really great, man

August 15, 2014
Thank you very much! That's very nice of you to say.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What country would you ideally move to if given the option to migrate Gearbox?

August 15, 2014
Scotland.

Dem accents.
Liked by: Calum Bain Becky

### I do believe people get triggered And can be immensely effected by it I also believe some people misplace the word for annoyed Is that good or bad or it is what it is?

August 15, 2014
It's better to err on the side of caution, isn't it? The downside of believing someone is NOT being triggered when they ARE is that you've caused them serious mental and partially physical harm. The downside of believing someone is actually being triggered when they AREN'T is...nothing at all.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Are you and Ash the same height?

August 15, 2014
it would take literally two seconds of googling to find this out
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### do you think nisha uses the fact that shes mega hot to manipulate people

August 15, 2014
I don't think Nisha manipulates people through charm. She's violent enough, and enjoys violence enough, that that's generally how she gets her way.

### Have you ever considered a "guest" character for borderlands? Like Duke Nukem or something?

August 15, 2014
Nah. Borderlands is so close to being absolutely shit bananas that we want to try to avoid (at least within the realm of BL -- I'm happy for BL characters to show up in other stuff) getting too meta/silly with crossover stuff.

### As a writer, what feelings do you have towards other studios, graphic novel writers, etc. making something canon that you would not for your characters? For example, if someone were to revert Moxxi to an unironic sex symbol? Or if they made Handsome Jack cool but in a way you hadn't planned?

August 15, 2014
Or, sorry, I misread. If somebody made Jack really cool in a way I hadn't planned, that'd be awesome. I'd only be bummed if someone fucked the character up.

### As a writer, what feelings do you have towards other studios, graphic novel writers, etc. making something canon that you would not for your characters? For example, if someone were to revert Moxxi to an unironic sex symbol? Or if they made Handsome Jack cool but in a way you hadn't planned?

August 15, 2014
If it's a character I created (Jack), I'd be really upset. If it's a character I've written for and tried to shape (Moxxi), I'd be bummed, but wouldn't really have a right to be outright upset. I was just one person amongst many who got to write for that character.

### P!nk's "Bad Influence" as Mad Moxxi's theme song. What do you think of that idea?

August 13, 2014
yus

### Hey Burch, what got you into gaming? Do you remember your first game? I was fortunate enough to have a big brother who got me a SNES w/ Donkey Kong Country and Earthbound, and the rest is history.

August 13, 2014
mario bros duck hunt combo. first gift from my parents remember receiving.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### This is an odd question but do you think being into social justice has effected you negatively in any way?

August 13, 2014
Not nearly as much as being a misogynist for 20 years surely did.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Anthony, while men have always had more privilege, they've also had a lot more responsibility and accountability. As a MRA, I don't oppose the empowerment of women, I just want the correlation between power and responsibility upheld, which for whatever reason is something modern feminism objects to.

August 13, 2014
wat

### Hey Burch, where's your mom from?

August 13, 2014
Thailand and India.

### When writing characters and story elements, how much do you plan out that we never see in game? Do you come up with an entire character's backstory or elements of the world we'll never see?

August 13, 2014
Most of the stuff I plan you hear about. Some stuff I plan stays offscreen but can shift according to where I need to take the story later.

### How do you feel about robots slowly replacing all human jobs? What would you think if robots/super computers made a video game?

August 13, 2014
they do it's called assassin's creed OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
OHHH
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton

### if Jack doesnt start out so bad in the pre sequel what initially attracts him to nisha because damn girl is scary

August 13, 2014
He's superficial. And evil can be sexy.

### "I follow a lot of social justice people" sometimes I wonder if you're just playing a character, Burch. :/

August 13, 2014
deal

### Jack/Nisha is great. But picture this--Athena/Nisha. Eh? Ehhh?

August 13, 2014
I think they're too different. And Nisha's kinda-straight.

### If Ash and you were a superhero duo, what would your respective abilities be?

August 13, 2014
Ash would yell stuff and make people hold their ears like a dolphin

I would die

### Have you thought of revisiting the first two Turtles movies in the wake of the new movie? I'd recommend it. They're still fun to watch :).

August 13, 2014
Really? TMNT2 was my Favorite Movie as a kid, and I've been scared to rewatch it in case it ruins Da Magic. I dunno if I could handle enjoying the ninja rap ironically instead of just legitimately.

### Going on your ask.fm is how I detox from reading ignorant/insensitive comments on a variety of other websites. Where do you go to remind yourself there are people talking sense on the internet?

August 13, 2014
Twitter. I follow a lot of social justice people.

### Robin Williams is dead, and that's fucking terrible.

August 13, 2014
Yeah, it is.

### So are you looking forward to the new season of Doctor Who at all? I mean there's meant to be more focus on drama rather than action, no more "fairytale" bullshit, smaller story arcs instead of 3 year silence bullshit and moffat is only writing 4 episodes? Also its Peter Capaldi. What do you think?

August 13, 2014
I think Moffat's still the showrunner so I'm not turbo hopeful. But I'm going to definitely watch it, and probably still bitch about it, even though I've had three seasons of moffat to teach me that that shit ain't gonna change.

### As a fan of Kojima's work in MGS, did you also like Zone of the Enders?

August 13, 2014
It was okay. I'm not super duper into mech combat. And the story was less amusingly bananas than an MGS story.

### do you think far cry 4 can surpass far cry 2 for you?

August 13, 2014
Nah, probably not.

### k i'm gonna blast 'Bad Romance' whenever jack and nisha interact in the pre-sequel now jsyk

August 13, 2014
i like it

### so like you've never even had the slightest ambiguous feelings of attraction to guys before six months ago?

August 13, 2014
No, I definitely had. I mean, David Tennant and Brad Pitt exist.
Liked by: Becky

### I started listening to old podtoid and you were a bad man

August 13, 2014
I agree.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### do other planets in borderlands have psychos and the like? because jack's twitter comments make it sound like he's not from pandora, but his mean grandma had a psycho buzz-axe.

August 13, 2014
That's only cause we didn't have the memory to put Jack's grandma's body there with an axe in her back. We had to compromise and just put a bloody axe there to show she'd died. Whiiich evidently did not really work

### I heard you like fanart.. I just leave this one here ok? http://goo.gl/k97hVq

August 13, 2014
aww

### You say the guy you went out with was cocky and I keep thinking that means he kept telling you his high school football record.

August 12, 2014
It was perilously close to that
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### apologies if this has been asked before, but, the whole bisexuality thing, has that been a thing the whole time or...? I mean obvs you didn't just become it a week ago but like were you always out about that? I feel like there's been a lot of hinting but wasn't sure if cause you was idk thanks ily

August 12, 2014
Only found out about six months ago. I was attracted to a guy, thought it wasn't a big deal. Then I got attracted to another, and it became obvious that this was now a trend.

### Vietnam veteran reporting. I'm glad you think some of the guys I know who had whatever lives they had planned for themselves torn away so they could go get butchered in the jungle were "privileged." I've never seen a feminist demanding to be subject to selective service. Just saying.

August 12, 2014
I'm not, like, *pro* the draft. I'm really sorry you and your friends got drafted. I don't think the existence of the draft 50 years ago invalidates my argument about current social inequality, though.

### ima steal yo gurl burch

August 12, 2014
oh noooo

### do you think I'll ever find love

August 12, 2014
Yes.

### You mentioned liking Far Cry 2 because of its morality. But on the surface, isn't it odd that the protagonist accomplishes his anti-war goal of stopping an arms dealer by killing hundreds of people?

August 12, 2014
Yeah, that's kind of what makes it interesting. It tries (and mostly fails outside of the buddy system, to be perfectly honest) to interact with the basic hypocrisy of FPS games in a more than surface way.

### So yeah, your fans are with you, Burch. Nisha survived, and she's on a crusade to end Pandora's lawlessness once and for all in Borderlands 3.

August 12, 2014
Hehe. I'd certainly love to bring her back somehow. Wonder if it'd be more fun to have her as a villain, or as a really untrustworthy but necessary ally...

### Will we be seeing any of Moxxi's other children in the future?

August 12, 2014
Hell, who knows?

### What ever happened to the many dried up seas on Pandora? Was there somekind of cataclysm or are they just part of the natural order of things on Pandora?

August 12, 2014
I think there's a line in the General Knoxx DLC about this. Or an unrecorded one, maybe. I think the idea was that Atlas took the water for use elsewhere.

### why you so anthony?

August 12, 2014
can't help it
Liked by: Becky

### In your "unannounced project" that you're working on which totally isn't Borderlands 3, can you guys have enemy diversity beyond "bullet sponges?" I liked Borderlands 2 but I was mostly playing for the narrative, gameplay was extremely repetitive and uninspired.

August 12, 2014
Really? That's a bummer, I don't feel that way at all. Goliaths that change form based on if you shoot their helmet off, invisible stalkers, robots you can blow limbs off...
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Could you settle a debate for us, Anthony? This is one that's been raging across Tumblr ever since that one piece of concept art of HJ smoking in the floaty chair hit the internet: does (or did) Jack ever wear glasses? The bigger and nerdier, the better.

August 12, 2014
As far as I'm concerned, he super did.
Liked by: Becky

### Why aren't all the playable characters in Borderlands as awesome as Nisha? Only Gaige and Zer0 come close.

August 12, 2014
You haven't even played as Nisha yet!

### How old is too old to not have had a job?

August 12, 2014
When you can't support yourself and desperately want to, I guess?

### Why hasn't there been a character in Borderlands who has a skill that makes their grenades and/or rockets do more damage when they aren't looking at the explosion?

August 11, 2014
Shit, that might be the best idea or the dumbest idea.
Liked by: Jakob Brown Calum Bain Becky Adam H. Condra Michael Futter mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan not mr. McKay Kerissa Young

### I really hope we get another love letter from claptrap for the presequel like we got for bl2 (and dishonored i guess??? )

August 11, 2014
That was just an off-the-cuff marketing idea by our super cool marketing department, but who knows? Maybe it'll happen again.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### for your tumblr blog: Playing as an archer v dwarven machinery in Skyrim, try and catch your rebounding arrows.

August 11, 2014
just queued it up, thanks!

### Moxxi's scarily fertile, what if she'd had a kid with Jack? I imagine it'd either be the best looking, most manipulative and egotistical little shit there was, or a Laugh Rule homely sweetie pie nerd that disappoints both parents.

August 11, 2014
geuhh i don't even wanna think about it
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Kerissa Young

### Do you think that guy you went on a date with might stalk you now or did he not give that creepy of a vibe?

August 11, 2014
Nah, I don't think he would. He was too busy being kinda cocky and self-important. I think stalkers need to be more self-loathing than that.

### For someone who hasn't been following your twitter feed much for the last forevers, would you mind bringing me up to speed on why you're on dating websites (when you have number one best wife already) and dating dudes? Sounds pretty great, but what started it? Side note: you are a pretty cool guy.

August 11, 2014
Open relationship. Also t hanks.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### How often do Jack and Nisha hook up if he's on the moon and she's in Lynwood?

August 11, 2014
Fast travel exists solely for quickies in the BL universe
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton

### DO YOU LIKE SPOOKY THINGS also does zer0 have/brush his teeth

August 11, 2014
2 mysterious

### i was on youtube and there's a video of all of the sheriff's diologue in bl2 and one of her lines is "everyone has kids it doesn't make you special" while she's apprently torturing a guy, but i feel like it's kind of implying she has kids too???????? or does she just mean other people she's tortured

August 11, 2014
I presumed it meant other people she's tortured, but that's an interesting angle...

### Do you consider yourself a person of color? Did you ever think of yourself as otherized as a kid?

August 11, 2014
I do consider myself a person of color, but kind of halfheartedly -- my dad literally still thinks I am white (my dad is a fucking buffoon), so I was kind of subconsciously raised to think of myself as white. I acted that way and was treated as pretty white as a result. I don't think I've ever had a racial slur hurled at me.

I'm biracial and bisexual but have never actually had to deal with the negative consequences of either.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you ever post on /v/?

August 11, 2014
Nope.

### "Recent studies suggest that an abusive man is more likely than a nonviolent father to seek sole physical custody of his children and may be just as likely (or even more likely) to be awarded custody as the mother." http://www.nnflp.org/apa/issue5.html

August 11, 2014
How about that.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### To answer the guy's question about orientation toward being attracted to trans women there are two answers: 1) he doesn't need to focus on labels, but if he wants one 2) He is heteroflexible.

August 11, 2014
coo
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I just wanted to say thanks for that tweet about Jack finding programming/engineering stuff easier than PR/the internet. It's nice to know that he is good at his actual job but just generally a fucking awful meme-loving fuck online.

August 11, 2014
"generally awful meme-loving fuck" is on my family's coat of arms
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Becky Samantha Dale mackenzie charlton

### You guys at Gearbox are really awesome at diversity, but I only really see hispanic and black characters. The only East Asian characters I've seen are Nakayama and Zer0 (and this is only based on him sometimes displaying kanji on his helmet). Will we be seeing more East Asian characters?

August 11, 2014
Hopefully yes!
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What's your favorite video game of all time? (Not mine!)

August 11, 2014
Far Cry 2
Liked by: not mr. McKay

### you answer a lot of fucked up questions, i find it really hard to talk to intolerant people i know because im rather quick to anger, do you have any tips for keeping a cool head when discussing this kind of stuff?

August 11, 2014
About five years ago I was basically a version of the type of people I argue against now, so I just try to remember that. And I try to remember how someone furiously being shitty when defending their point made me more likely to dig in my heels, so I try not to do that very much. (Other than with the racist guy, cause whatever fuck him).

### Is it gauche to go 'hey look what I did' and link you fanart? Borderlands 2 makes me very happy and I wanted to share what I drew! http://tinyurl.com/m8t6orm

August 11, 2014
Considering I fucking love fanart, no it is not gauche. That is fucking awesome and adorable. (I also just had Jack link it on @echocasts)
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan Kerissa Young

### How do you enjoy Louis CK and Archer if you dislike offensive jokes? Like there's nothing wrong with it, but I thought you liked those shows??

August 11, 2014
I do like those shows. And for the most part (with some notable exceptions), those shows do offensive jokes responsibly without making marginalized people the butt of the jokes.

It's the difference between a Dave Chapelle sketch and a white comedian saying "black people are so dumb, am I right?"
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Anthony, how did you get the job for lead writer of BL2? If I want to write for a living, what are some pointers?

August 11, 2014
Make your own stuff. I got the job because of HAWP.

MAKE YOUR OWN STUFF. This is the most important thing. Make something you're passionate about, make it to hone your craft and get better, and try to get people to see it.
Liked by: Becky

### So Nisha loves Jack... Does Jack love her back? He didn't seem too broken up about her death after the Vault Hunters killed her.

August 11, 2014
I imagine it was more one-sided. I think Jack liked her a lot, though. She probably held most of the affection.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas

### ily

August 11, 2014
u 2
Liked by: Becky

### What's your favorite game (board or video or otherwise) that you played this week?

August 10, 2014
This week? Probably Crawl.

### "to avoid triggering people" I don't know how some people make it through life. I'm all for a degree of sensitivity but there comes a point where you need to toughen up or change the channel.

August 10, 2014
http://psychcentral.com/lib/what-is-a-trigger/0001414 That's not how triggers work.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Can you explain to me your perspective on why the disclaimer for Girl Games episode is necessary? My perspective it really isn't transphobic. I dont feel it is being fearful of it. Just being juvenile an dumb (those are not insults)

Alexander Buck Jacobs
August 10, 2014
The image of penis=man vagina=woman is inherently kind of transphobic and bioessentialist.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### So, why did you put up these disclaimers on old HAWP content?

August 10, 2014
To avoid triggering people and to apologize for our shittier, less sensitive jokes.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### "I know what Zer0 is." See on the one hand I want to know, and yet on the other I think a part of his appeal is the whole "w-what are you!?" factor. It'd be like seeing Master Chief's face.

August 10, 2014
Correct.
Liked by: Becky

### Just spoke to my friend Stephanie (a transwoman) she says as far as she knows "trap" refers to how hilariously insecure some men can get when they find out they're interested in/have had relations with, a transwoman. "FUCK THIS BRO I'M NOT A FAG MAN" It's playful amongst polite company.

August 10, 2014
So it's like gay guys using the f-word or black people using the n-word?
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### My apologies, Anthony, I wasn't aware some considered "trap" to be derogatory. I always thought it referred to a specific type of trans individual, namely, someone who very easily passes for their intended sex. I have a couple friends who are "traps" and they've never objected.

August 10, 2014
They'd probably be in a better position to answer than me, but my understanding is that it furthers the transphobic idea/joke that trans women exist only for the sake of cishet men, and that that existence is meant as a big attempt to "trick" men rather than just being who they inherently are.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Who is the coolest person you've ever met?

August 10, 2014
FILM CRIT HULK is pretty cool. As is Brendon Chung.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Burch, I'd like to second the "keep Nisha alive" initiative. She's simply too awesome to kill off. SP made the "good" ending to inFAMOUS 2 canon because that's what most people picked... see what I'm getting at here?

August 10, 2014
Yeah, it's one of the things that's kind of shitty about branching in story stuff...you just have to make an authorial call. But it doesn't seem to bother people much, thankfully.

### OK, seriously, what is Zer0? (I swear to god if you say "a number")

August 10, 2014
I know what Zer0 is.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### re: pizza: OLIVES. SPINACH. FETA CHEESE. TRY THAT SHIT.

August 10, 2014
Ooh. That sounds really good.

### So my girlfriend is working all day tomorrow which means I have the entire house (and 48 inch HDTV in the living room) to myself... what should I play?

August 10, 2014
Off the top of my head: Last of Us PS4, Ground Zeroes, OlliOlli...

### Hey Burch, how come it's 2014 and there's still wars and stuff? Shouldn't we have outgrown this as a species by now?

August 10, 2014
I am the perfect person to answer this question

### How does thin privilege make sense? I used to be 270 pounds and I'm down to 180 of muscle; I went from being seriously unhealthy because of obesity to looking like Tom freakin' Hardy (FOR YOU) and it's not because of privilege, it's because I worked my ass off (literally) in the gym for two years.

August 10, 2014
I was mainly thinking in terms of fat shaming, not that thin people all are thin naturally and therefore have it easy or whathaveyou.

Also please tell me you didn't actually lose weight just for me oh dear
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### "goddamn lightning bolt" Alright, that's fair. "Blueshell" I will fight you, Burch.

August 10, 2014
Not All Mario Kart Items
Liked by: Becky

### Anthony, I'm curious as to your opinion on this: I've always been attracted to women, but now I'm kind of interested in (passable) traps too. What's my orientation? Like all other kinds of men, especially the quintessential flamboyant gay man do nothing for me, but this one type... thoughts?

August 10, 2014
Firstly, I'd politely urge you to not refer to trans people as "traps."

Secondly, I'm probably not super qualified to comment on your orientation, except to say that (A) I believe trans women are women, period, so (and this is just me talking and I could be wrong) if you're attracted to women then their birth genatalia doesn't really matter -- you're still heterosexual, or (B) orientation doesn't really matter because we're all sliding on the Kinsey scale anyway.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Do you believe in thin privilege?

August 10, 2014
I mean, that makes sense.

### Choose one: Have Moffat direct a movie about your life OR be unable to recognize faces?

August 10, 2014
ffff I really like faces so I guess Moffat movie. Though he's a writer not a director, so who knows how that'd go

### I'm all for Nisha being alive. I know you're not into retcons, but like you said, it was an optional zone that not many people played (I did). Since it felt like such a poor use of a great character, she could totally survive & crawl off to lick her wounds because nobody bothered to check closely.

August 10, 2014
Yeah...I'm certainly rolling that around in my head.

### At one point Nisha says she "loves the guy" in reference to Jack, but is she actually capable to forming that kind of emotional connection with another person or is it a superficial thing. That's really the only word I know to describe what I'm trying to ask.

August 10, 2014
I think she's capable of love. She's attracted to really fucked up stuff, but I think it's still love.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas

### Are you a vegetarian or vegan, and is it out of preference/morals/nutrition?

August 09, 2014
Vegetarian (I couldn't survive without lactose and eggs). It's out of moral stuff.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### "just how much my being a dude has given me stuff that women don't have." Such as? Legit question.

August 09, 2014
literally all of the forms of privilege I have mentioned in previous answers as well as everything mentioned here (which is relevant because videogames are where i've made my living):
http://www.polygon.com/2014/4/23/5640678/playing-with-privilege-the-invisible-benefits-of-gaming-while-male
Liked by: Erin L W

### What kind of pizza?

August 09, 2014
Any kind without meat, I guess? I like mushrooms/onions/olives/spinach. or just cheese.

### Also just... holy shit, kudos for being so interactive with your fans. Are you going to be making an appearance at any cons in the Northeast US any time soon? I want you to sign my loot chest. ;_;

August 09, 2014
Nothing comes to mind, sadly. I'll be around PAX (but not at it), though.

### Hey brosef, fist bump?

August 09, 2014
ya

### Oh wow, I see even the KKK asks you questions from time to time. While I don't share that gentleman's er... enthusiasm? Can you understand how it gets old, being demonized for being white? Being told you owe people something, being told how easy your life is? It can make some hostile.

August 09, 2014
Of course, I get it. Nobody wants to feel like they're not the underdog, like they haven't worked as hard as possible to achieve what they got. I get it.

That doesn't make it less true or important to understand, though. I'm a guy, and it was hard for me to reconcile the amount of privileges I got as a guy, especially because my life was such a goddamn bummer. It was difficult and painful and upsetting to acknowledge just how much my being a dude has given me stuff that women don't have.

It's also made me a better person and improved my relationships with women a thousandfold.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I'm all for equality. I truly am. I guess what I've always wondered is this: in order for men and women to be equal, doesn't that mean women have to stop being the protected sex? My grievance with feminism is once you bring up the accountability that comes with privilege you get called a shitlord.

August 09, 2014
Women are protected in so many fewer areas of modern life than men are. Beyond child custody and divorce, they're still more likely to be raped, or not believed for being raped, or to not get a job, or to not get paid as much if they get a job, or to be harrassed and have to silently deal with it, or to have their rights denied by male lawmakers, or or or or or or or.

Yes, it's a bummer that courts weigh in on the woman's favor more than dudes when it comes to custody. That doesn't change the fact that women and minorities are still way more fucked than white men in nearly all aspects of modern society.

The answer to this also isn't to just go "fuck it, total equality, give nothing to anyone, let it be a meritocracy" because that's not how people work. If you want everyone to cross the finish line at the same time, you don't take away everyone's powerups and assume the racer in 8th place will just be Good Enough to speed their way to first. You give the racer in 8th place a goddamn lightning bolt and a blu eshell.

View more

Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### i hate my job if i could choose any job it would be to be your witty fast-talking butler (I'm not English though)

August 09, 2014
I would love a Jeeves! That'd be fucking sick. Cause then I'd say stuff like "fucking sick" and you'd tut me.
Liked by: Becky

### Like seriously, is it racist to acknowledge that the overwhelming majority of violent crime is committed by blacks?

August 09, 2014
Yes.

Violent crime is generally committed by people suffering from systemic pressures and lacking conventional options for self-betterment. See The House We Live In, which initially discusses drug trafficking and violence only in relation to black neighborhoods, then expands to explain how low-income whites are turning to identical measures because of jobs dying and the rising meth market.

And as far as that Somalia bullshit goes, you could have easily talked about the violence in the Middle East, or in Russia and the Ukraine, or anywhere else in the world where economic and cultural pressures lead to violence, but you focused on Somalia and black people because, surprise, *you are a fucking racist.*
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Will you be my princess?

August 09, 2014
sure

### Burch I don't want to turn your wall into a flame war but if I may respond to the black man in question? Perhaps the problem is the "norm" for you people is a penchant for violence, theft, and the glorification of materialism and misogyny. This persists in the absence of whitey, see: Somalia.

August 09, 2014
holy shit never fucking speak to me ever again
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What's Mama Burch think of all the shenanigans you get up to, both youtube and gamewriting-wise?

August 09, 2014
She thinks it's kinda cute. I dunno if she fully understands it.

### I had a weird dream there was a new HAWP where you cross-dressed (you shaved and put on makeup, so you actually looked p cute) and yelled at someone in Russian. And then I was playing a Pre-sequel demo as Nisha, who got scolded by a Hyperion scientist with a Boston accent who called her "Bambi."

August 09, 2014
yeah that's all canon
Liked by: Becky

### how'd the idea of censorbot happen?

August 09, 2014
Going through and having to censor my own work.

### Who is voicing Wilhelm?

August 09, 2014
Guy named Bryan Massey.

### What's your favorite food?

August 09, 2014
pizza
Liked by: Becky

### Hey can I ghostwrite borderlands 3 for u. I have zero writing experience + terrible grammar

August 09, 2014
you're hired
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Becky not mr. McKay

### is beast clipped?

August 09, 2014
Yeah, but the wings grow out so we gotta redo it every so often.

### How do you feel about Destiny? Are you interested in it at all?

August 09, 2014
Yeah, I think so. I've never really cared for Bungie's worlds or lore or anything, but it seems kinda fun.

### On Jack being "out of character" for failing to grasp Twitter functionality - I have to imagine that with a man like Jack, there was a significant amount of taking credit for other peoples' work, because "I funded it" or "I conceived of it in the first place". I wouldn't worry about it. :)

August 09, 2014
Yeah, alright. I can buy that.

### If I may, a black man, towards the guy on being a hard working white guy, might I suggest that the fact that you always HAVE rely on hard work earning a reward as opposed to either being "guaranteed" through initiative or having to be exemplary against the norm is part of what that privilege is?

August 09, 2014
This.

### Don't you think it's kind of fucked up for people to be crying about "MUH GENDER IDENTITY" and "YUR PRIVLUGE" and "MUH TRIGGER ALERTZ" while there's people with actual problems in the world? And by problems I mean there's people who literally don't know if they'll be alive at the end of the day.

August 09, 2014
That's a really shitty argument to make. Just because other people have it worse, we're supposed to completely ignore the VERY REAL problems of people in the first world? We could literally make that argument about anything. Isn't it kind of fucked up to just ask questions on the internet when people are dying elsewhere in the world? Isn't it kind of fucked up to play videogames when people are dying elsewhere in the world? Isn't it kind of fucked up to eat ice cream when people are dying elsewhere in the world?

That's not actually an argument, it's an attempt to shut down discussion you don't agree with but can't legitimately respond to.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan mackenzie charlton

### Is Nisha dead in canon?

August 09, 2014
Dunno. The reality is that 80% of BL2 players never actually killed Nisha cause they never went to Lynchwood. And I really like Nisha.

### Have you seen the Appleseed Trilogy? It's got super strong female characters and satisfying character arcs.

August 09, 2014
No, I'll check it out though.

### Does Jack eating pretzels need to be cut because some people have eating disorders? If you're not trying to actively hurt people… you're making art and art reflects reality and reality hurts people, not you. You're exploring reality through art to create joy. It's not really *you* upsetting them.

August 09, 2014
Yeah, but just because you're not trying to actively hurt someone doesn't mean you can by sheer ignorance (so few people DO actually want to actively hurt people). Not to mention, "art reflects reality" is true, but we also get to choose which parts of reality we reflect. There's a really good Wired article about how in Ronald Moore's new show, a time travelling woman shows up in the middle ages and immediately gets almost-raped. Well, that's "realistic," but so were all of the gross venereal diseases and random little bits of everyday life. But we don't include THOSE just because they're "realistic," so when we make choices in art that's not actually why we make them.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Riddle me this: if you're not involved in Battleborn... what are you working on?

August 09, 2014
Pre-Sequel and an unannounced project.
Liked by: Becky

### Why is damseling only damseling if the damsel in question is female?

August 09, 2014
Because there isn't a centuries-long history of media where men have their agency taken away so they may be rescued by women. We do not currently live in a society that is ruled by women, where men are subjugated in numerous small and large ways.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Which is worse: Bad representation of women in media, or no representation of women in media?

August 09, 2014
Why should we have to choose?

### I'm constipated, what do?

August 08, 2014
Take fiber supplements and rock back and forth on the toilet
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### You can either break up with Davis, or tomorrow Ash will wake up as Amy Pond in a Moffat written episode, what do u do

August 08, 2014
Staying with Davis. Ash can deal with that shit
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young Nolan Sullivan

### Anthony, my purchase of the Pre-Sequel hinges entirely on one thing: does anybody say "see you, space cowboy" in it? A "see you, space cowgirl" for just Nisha is also acceptable.

August 08, 2014
...shit
Liked by: Becky mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan

### When you were writing Jack's dialogue had Clarke already been hired, did you have him in mind, or did he just audition and you all realized you had stumbled upon something wonderful?

August 08, 2014
We always hire after the dialog (or at least the first pass of it, and we do a lot of passes) is done. Otherwise we can't really know the full scope of the character's personality.

### ASK.FM EXCLUSIVE: BURCH DISAVOWS TELLTALE'S INTERPRETATION OF HIS CHARACTER, WATCHES AS STOCK PRICES PLUMMET

August 08, 2014
nooooo

### How do you feel about a decent portion of questions asked about you here being about your sexuality/sex life? While you've definitely helped some people (myself included) understand more about relationships and love, do you wish those questions were about something less personal/intrusive instead?

August 08, 2014
I don't mind at all. I think it's important to normalize stuff like bisexuality or polyamory, and talking frankly about it is the best way to do that.

There's also the off chance that somebody cute reads one of those answers and is like daaaamn Anthony is poly lemme jump- on - dat- shit and then suddenly I'm makin' out with a cutie just because of ask dot fm.

shut up it could happen
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young Nolan Sullivan

### Krieg finally takes off his own mask, revealing Jack's old, unscarred face. PLOT TWIST!

August 08, 2014
nda broken u have ruined secrets

### How do you feel about all the Twitch drama. Also it's sad to see your VODs go, your Far Cry 3 videos were great.

August 08, 2014
Upset, obviously. Fucking copyright and legal bullshit ruin everything good. We really can't just enjoy ourselves? We can't just share media and art like they're goddamn meant to be? I don't give a fuck if people share HAWP videos or play Borderlands 2 or whateverthehell, why should anyone?
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### "Feh"? Your inner eighty year old man is showing...it's adorbs.

August 08, 2014
I've been eighty years old since I was eleven. You should see me shirtless. The bones are collapsing in on themselves.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### So much of life sucks already and is awful, why are people trying to make even less joy available by tearing apart certain types of humor because 'not literally everyone can enjoy them'. Like I don't mean humor that mocks others, but even on the off chance it could upset a few it's not allowed.

August 08, 2014
There's definitely a line somewhere (someone on twitter told me a person tried to convince them "shit" was offensive to people with crohn's disease) but as a dude swimming in privilege I don't know where that line is, and it's easier and less soulkilling for me to err on the side of caution with that stuff.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### No offense Anthony, but as a white male I can assure you my life isn't any easier than anyone else's. If anything, it's harder; no employer or school feels obligated to hire or accept me to meet some quota, I have to get by on merit alone.

August 08, 2014
I mean, literally every single study ever done on this topic disagrees with you, but it's hard to convince someone that their personal experience is or isn't typical or accurate.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Have you put any thought into Nisha's background? As in what made Nisha the person we'll see in the Pre-Sequel and the person we saw in BL2. I mean, I'm just assuming and correct me if I'm wrong, that she wasn't born a puppy killer, so I think it'd be nice to know a little bit about what went wrong.

August 08, 2014
Yeah. We sprinkled around some ECHO recordings in one of the maps that tell you her backstory, and I'm actually pretty happy with them.

### What would Jack be like if he'd been raised by the "good" grandma?

August 08, 2014
Probably a lot nicer. And therefore not in Borderlands.

### Hey Burch, huff jenk erryday.

August 08, 2014
wat

### Top three games of all time and why?

August 08, 2014
Far Cry 2 cause morality and immersion
Shadow of the Colossus cause morality
Fallout New Vegas cause player choice

### It's promotional stuff, not canon. Most gamers don't/won't even know that it existed. So you shouldn't worry too much if it's entirely "in character" or not.

August 08, 2014
Ehhhh, yes and no. The whole thrust of ECHOcasts is being able to interact with the character directly, so making the character less character-y is kind of a bummer. Kind of. But I got to make a Bible Black joke, so whatever.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Are you a fan of Earthbound?

August 08, 2014
Nah, sadly. For some reason I always just bounced off it. I've tried to play it three or four separate times but it's never clicked with me.

### Anthony, have you purchased an Xbox One or PS4 yet?

August 08, 2014
PS4. Probably won't grab an Xbone until Sunset Overdrive is out.

### So I saw a fish playing Pokemon on twitch and am now wondering if a bird could do the same.

August 08, 2014
It'd be harder unless the bird stayed in a cage the entire time. This was the basis for Maya Angelou's famous poem, I Know Why The Caged Bird Walked Around in Circles For Eight Hours Instead of Choosing a Starter Pokemon.
Liked by: Becky

### Are you guys focusing on contract work to see if you can sustain viewing figures/financials with a youtube audience rather than GameTrailers, or are they just because money and boredom (that must be at least a year's wait if someone hires you, given both your schedules...)

August 08, 2014
We need moneyz.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Saying "goddamn" is mocking religion, but having a game which depicts the idea that aliens exist and Earth is not God's sole creation, as well as one where the primary gameplay mechanic is MURDERING people and robbing them for fun (joy of greed), isn't mocking religion? That seems oddly selective...

August 08, 2014
Yeah, I mean, I dunno. I'm an atheist with basically zero respect for any religion (but respect for individual people) so I can't claim to understand it, but I definitely got an email from someone pointing out that, hey, you keep puffing yourself up as this paragon of inclusivity, but every other word out of Handsome Jack's mouth is denigrating my god.

Which I really couldn't argue against. It felt like a fair point.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### More like Bored Lands. I'm 130+ hours into it. When does it get good?

August 08, 2014
haha

### Loving the Jack twitter, but it's starting to feel a little out of character? For an engineer who's built some crazy amazing tech shit and would possibly debate with gaige about robots at a tech conference and all that jazz, him failing so hard at basic internet feels weirdly clashing.

August 07, 2014
Yeah, I'd agree with that. But, you know. Feh.

### You should tell whoever designed Nisha that they knocked the ball out of the park! Her design is a really great combination of cute and tough.

August 07, 2014
That was Matias Tapia.

### To better my a sensitivity, I used to say "a vagina" when asked what I look for in a woman or "my dick" are those two lines off limits now? Are they super offensive? ( sorry, still learning and humor is my thing when it comes to picking up ladies)

August 07, 2014
They're kinda weird things to say, especially because they imply only women have vaginas or that only people with vaginas are truly women.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### How's that dating tabletop game coming along? I personally won't use it since I never go on dates but it might be fun to stalk someone on a date that's going to play it and then interject when they break the rules...

August 07, 2014
Just redesigned it, waiting on updated DavisArt.

### Burch....feed me

August 07, 2014
k

### Using OKCupid, have you gotten the one-word message yet? "hey", "sup", etc

August 07, 2014
Nope! All my messages have been super nice.

### Hey what did you think of Blink, anyway? Same Q for the other standalone Moffat episodes before he became headwriter. (I kind of hate them but I'm the only one I know who does.)

August 07, 2014
I liked Blink a lot as a standalone. Really tense and lots of great ideas, and Sally was pretty fun. I used to love Girl in the Fireplace but now the ending pisses me off so much that I can't anymore. Doctor Dances was great and showed Jack at his best.
Liked by: Becky

### People ask you what type of dudes your into but what about girls?

August 07, 2014
All kinds I guess? I dunno. The band's much less narrow than it is with dudes. Weirdly tend to dig white ladies, though, cause my mom is brown as fuck and I guess I'm opposite-Oedipus
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### Anthony, I just watched the Nisha reveal video IGN did, and I'm getting the vibe that Nisha is essentially "tvtropes: the character." (This is not a bad thing. At all.) Was this intentional?

August 06, 2014
Huh?

### Hey Anthony, what's your favorite episode of Doctor Who, and why is it "Blink?"

August 06, 2014
Gridlock, maybe? Cause I like what it has to say about religion. Or, no, probably the Human Nature two-parter because it made me cry. Or the season 2 finale because it made me cry AND was epic.
Liked by: Becky

### Where did your sister get the dildo-bat?

August 06, 2014
Volition because they are best

### How much of Jack's dialogue did you write? The "dicks, I was talking about dicks" line is one of the few "laugh out loud" moments I've ever had while gaming. Just that whole rant... fucking great.

August 06, 2014
With the exception of like two lines of dialog Mikey wrote, and the bits Dameon adlibbed or embellished on the fly (which was a fair amount, I'll grant you), I wrote it all. The "dicks" thing was me.
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### Have you seen Guardians of The Galaxy yet? What did you think?

August 06, 2014
I thought it was okay. It felt like the character arcs didn't grow naturally -- we were told They're Friends Now! but I didn't actually feel like they had any reason to truly become friends.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I'm curious, are you ok with the the disgusting levels of bias against men in divorce/family law? As an aside, I'd like to thank you for answering so many of my questions so far; here's hoping we can continue to be civil, even though we may disagree. (See American media? It CAN be done!)

August 06, 2014
No, I'm not okay with that.

### "burch needs to separate his political views from his games bleearrrgh" what political views are they even talking about? women and lgbt people exist? flying cities are cool? dave is an asshole? all of these are true, why is there controversy?

August 06, 2014
I told him to eat a butt and he said that was a typical liberal thing to say sooooo I guess I need to start making liberal butt eater shirts
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Becky Kerissa Young

### If Davis wanted to have another man's baby, how would that make you feel?

August 06, 2014
Pretty weird.

### Alright Burch... time to ask you something that actually matters: Charmander, Bulbasaur, or Squirtle?

August 06, 2014
Bulba
Liked by: smurfee mcgee Nolan Sullivan

### Is your sister single?

August 06, 2014
No

### How do you feel about this? http://www.polygon.com/2014/8/5/5948989/zelda-nintendo-sheik-gender-cosplay

August 06, 2014
Cool. It would be weird to say "you know that version where she acts like a total fucking badass? Yeah, she needs to be a guy to do it."

### "white dudes got those roles because of systemic, inherent social inequality going back hundreds of years." Yeah or maybe some, even most of them worked their asses off. The problem with your way of thinking is the complete disregard for these "white dudes" as individuals.

August 06, 2014
I'm sure many of them did work their asses off, Life, in general, is pretty goddamn hard.

It is also statistically, measurably, verifiably harder for people who aren't white dudes.

If a company gets two job applications, one from a guy named John and one from a girl named Aisha (or any other "black-sounding" name), they are *fifty percent* more likely to call John than Aisha: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/capideas/spring03/racialbias.html

If you're a woman working amongst men, you are far, far more likely to be the victim of sexual harrassment, you are less likely to get jobs that are generally considered to be "for men", and if you DO get the job, then you get to look forward to making an average of 23% less money than your male counterparts who do the same job.

So, yeah, many white dudes have worked very hard to get where they are (Not All White Men?). That doesn't change the fact that holistically, systemically, making a living in America is much harder for marginalized people than it is for white dudes.

View more

Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### What would be the best way to get your opinion on something privately, so it doesn't seem like I'm pandering for an endorsement.

August 06, 2014
Email me. My twitter handle at gmail.

### When it comes to these pretty men you want to sex are you wanting to get it or give it or a bit of both?

August 06, 2014
(shrug)

### Question: I heard you refer to Nisha as a Villain in presequel stuff. I've always viewed her more as the antagonist but the player as the villain against a hero that "sorta deserved it", especially as the protag did all the wild west evil stuff against someone who fought for law/order. Thoughts?

August 06, 2014
She strangles puppies.

### OR HER (oops, i'm not sexist deliberately :( )

August 06, 2014
hold me back sis hold me back
Liked by: Becky Erin L W

### YOU TELL HIM ANTHONY

August 06, 2014
hold me back bro hold me back
Liked by: Becky

### why is the writing in borderlands so bad? also why is the gameplay even worse?

August 05, 2014
A better question might be why you sought out the person who wrote the game to answer those two questions that aren't ACTUALLY questions, just an opinion you angrily throw at a creative person in the hopes that doing so will make you feel oh so temporarily worthwhile as a human being and not the miserable nothingness that you actually are.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown SOBER ROBO Becky Nolan Sullivan Kerissa Young Jordan M. Gonzales

### Who was behind the smoke/skybox effects in Vault of the Warrior? Whoever he/she/they are they should know that they're a wonderful and talented person, and their mother is a classy lady.

August 05, 2014
Our FX team, I guess? They're awesome.

### It might be too late but can we throw a thank you to Chris Pratt for existing on the credits of Pre-Sequel?

August 05, 2014
the thank you I do have is way better.

### I think you've been asked this before but do you watch/like Orphan Black?

August 05, 2014
I much prefer s1 to s2, but yeah I watch it. It's mainly the Holy Shit Tatiana Maslany Show.

### How canon should we consider the things Jack says on the Twitter? Like obv convos from the Twitter won't end up in the game, but like, DOES he actually have a nice grandma? Things like that.

August 05, 2014
Yeah, he's got a nice grandma and a mean one.

### Is Davis as much of a sweetheart as she seems to be on HAWP?

August 05, 2014
Davis is the sweetest human being I have ever or probably will ever meet.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### What's your "type?" I'm talking about men btw.

August 05, 2014
Pretty boys. David Tennant types or bishonen or whathaveyou.
Liked by: Becky Erin L W Nolan Sullivan

### but i find far cry 3 better in every way

August 05, 2014
welp

### Do you feel characters like the Master and Tiny Tina (I suddenly realise how much I need that fanart) who play being insane for character or laughs reflect badly on mentally ill people irl? Or are they harmless expressions of art and entertainment, like the violence

August 05, 2014
I certainly hope they're not. I can only speak for Tiny Tina, but I hope her personality and backstory make her sympathetic rather than an object of mockery.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What's your favorite planet, and why?

August 05, 2014
earth because david tennant is on it
Liked by: Becky

### W-will you be my friend? ;_;

August 05, 2014
k

### Anthony, you refuse to be a part of a panel/podcast/etc. that doesn't include at least one woman. Isn't that kind of arbitrary, not to mention hostile towards men? I'm all for the best person getting the job, regardless of sex, but why does there have to be some sort of quota?

August 05, 2014
Because we've tried the "just give the positions to the best people" route for years and years and years, and it always, inevitably and almost invariably, results in all white men. Not because people are inherently awful or prejudiced, but because our society is set up in such a way that white dudes simply more likely to be in those sorts of roles because you've seen other white dudesin those roles and you've aspired to them, and those white dudes got those roles because of systemic, inherent social inequality going back hundreds of years.

Trying to get more diversity on panels and stuff is an attempt to combat this inherent inequality.
Liked by: TJ Jones Becky Nolan Sullivan

### I can't believe how amazingly ridiculous the Jack-run twitter is, I'm nearly crying with amusement, whose idea was it? Is it you that's typing that stuff out?

August 05, 2014
The basic idea of "somebody trying to do social media but they're fucking awful at it" was 2K's with some tweaking from Gearbox's marketing team (Steve Gibson, Chris Faylor, Jeff Skal, Erica Stead, Kelly Romeo, Sean Ahern, Lilith Lindwall, Andrew Goldfarb -- I believe they also created all the art). But yeah, I'm typing all the stuff.
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### ~40 million years ago there were penguins taller than your sister.

August 05, 2014
man there are currently penguins taller than her
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### FilmCritHulk argues that in filmmaking the emotional execution of a moment takes priority over the logic, does that affect how you think of RTD Who finales?

August 05, 2014
That's RTD in a nutshell and I love RTD, so yeah

### This you father, i want date you wife since open relations.

August 05, 2014
guhhhhhh

### hay antony this is your wife, davis (i think it's davis, it might be davies. i cba checking) i am divorcing you irl

August 04, 2014
darn
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I don't know if anyone's sent this to you but you should check out this bit of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. I think you'll like it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9xgt2PNGL8 (PS dont read the YT comments)

August 04, 2014
yaaay john barrowman kiss the entire world

### IYO which is more harmful to society, the specific language someone uses, or the attitudes that choice of language is giving expression to? Which is better to eradicate?

August 04, 2014
They're not completely separate things that don't affect one another. The former can lead to or exacerbate the latter, or lead to a more insidious and subtler form of the latter.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### okay legit dude bird question time how to you look after beast when he/she/whatever is alone? i'm the dude getting a bird soon

mackenzie charlton
August 04, 2014
We leave her in her cage with some treats/toys. You gotta make sure she's not bored, cause she'll start plucking feathers otherwise. Gotta give em plenty of stimulation like toys or whatever. Ideally, you have someone hanging out witht hem as much as possible (when we leave for any extended period of time, we give her to a birdsitting friend of ours).

### A few people have headcanoned that if Angel had the freedom to be her own person, she might have developed into someone who's genderfluid or androgynous. What do you think?

August 04, 2014
I mean, sure, that sounds good.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Fun Shaundi or Moody Dick Shaundi?

August 04, 2014
Moody Dick Shaundi. But obviously the answer is either of them, after they meet the other and end up being more complete human beings.

Such a brilliant goddamn character angle.

### Rewatching early HAWP and how do/did you feel about all the "Lol Anthony so gay" jokes now that you are openly bisexual?

August 04, 2014
I don't mind them. With very few exceptions (Gears of War) the humor isn't meant to be laughing at gay people for being gay, but from other stuff (the fact that he makes Davis dress up like Solid Snake). I mean, I guess the Anthony and Ash characters' bisexuality is probably a reflection of stuff I didn't know about myself yet?
Liked by: Nora L Becky Nolan Sullivan

### If Davis wanted to create a bird/human hybrid and marry it would you be cool with that?

August 04, 2014
yes
Liked by: Becky

### Are you also the lead writer on Pre-Sequel?

August 04, 2014
Nope, I didn't write very much of it -- less than 20% of the entire thing probably

### i'm so happy that jack and nisha is a thing it's literally my favorite pairing in the entire series A+ thank you so much

August 04, 2014
Glad you dig it

### If Davis wanted another husband would u be cool?

August 02, 2014
yes
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### How much creative input did you have with Zer0? Whose idea was it for him to have such a hard on for haiku?

August 01, 2014
I wrote all his dialog, but artist Kevin Duc told me -- jokingly -- that it'd be funny if Zer0 spoke exclusively in haiku. For a long time, ALL of his dialog was haiku, and we toned it back from there.

### If the situation of another possible wife came up, what would be some of the things you would have to consider first and foremost? Like Ms. Davis' comfort with it? Same house or separate?

August 01, 2014
Yep, would probably have to have conversations about all those things. Everyone's altogether comfort is more important than anything else.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### When you say The Warriors, what are you talking about? Do you mean that PS2 game based on the movie or some completely different game that I don't know about?

August 01, 2014
PS2 game. The Rockstar one that's basically the best Final Fight game ever mixed with a satisfyingly small open world and platforming sections and oh god i need to play it again
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Did you ever consider telling Anita that she was wrong about Angel? IMHO Angel is pretty much the anti "damsel;" she's behind pretty much every major event in both games, is ultimately responsibility for Jack's fall, AND she dies on her own terms. If Angel is a damsel then so is Andrew Ryan.

August 01, 2014
I didn't consider telling her she was wrong cause I don't think she was wrong, honestly. Even though she architects a lot of stuff, she is still totally the damsel-you-must-mercy-kill trope. Even if there's a reason for it in the story (which I believe there is), it's still a trope.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### To what extent, if any, are you involved with Battleborn?

August 01, 2014
I came up with the conceit of the last star, but other than that, absolutely zero. Writing-wise, that's all Linde, Keith Schuler and Randy Varnell.

### What is the point in getting married at all if you're just going to have an "open relationship?"

August 01, 2014
To show that you love someone a lot and want to spend the rest of your life with someone? And also insurance and stuff.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### Whose idea was the open relationship? If your answer is "MUTUAL!" then my question defaults to: who first suggested it? I've never had any issues with monogamy or expectations thereof, so I guess my larger, thematic question is: how did you two decide to do this? What were the discussions like?

August 01, 2014
Mutual, but I was the first to suggest it. We both agreed that the others' happiness was important to us and that if either of us wanted to explore other relationships, then that's totally cool. We took it really slow (after that discussion I didn't go "COOL" and then do a flying swandive into another woman's vagina) and always, always always checked in with how the other felt. If at any point Davis had told me she was upset, or I told her I was upset, it would have ended.
Liked by: Jeffrey Nolan Sullivan Kerissa Young Becky The Late Wendy Cooldown Udz Mmu

### Is The Warriors better than Red Dead Redemption?!

August 01, 2014
In my opinion, yeah. I love the core gameplay and how the story and open world stuff works WITH the core loop rather than AGAINST it, where Redemption's story and gameplay and open world character growth all live in completely separate worlds.

### What does your shirt say in this video and where did you get it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2quwSd3kZRk&feature=youtu.be

August 01, 2014
http://www.redbubble.com/people/sadgi/works/10655757-rad-bird?p=t-shirt&ref=work_carousel_work_portfolio_1
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I totally support your open relationship, I'm just a little curious. Say you're dating someone and it gets serious, you really love this girlfriend. Would marriage ever be an option? Even if it's not a "legal one". Would that technically be poligomy? Or is marriage never an option besides w/ Davis?

August 01, 2014
I dunno. If I loved someone enough I certainly wouldn't object to a sorta-marriage, though I do have to admit that polygamy inherently sounds a little creepy if only because of, you know, the history of abuse and horribleness it implies. But in principle I have nothing against a bunch of consenting adults who love one another marrying multiple people, so I probably would be fine with doing it myself.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### You heard about what happened at Comic-Con?

July 31, 2014
?

### I'd argue a majority of the divorce rate stems from people getting married too quickly/for the wrong reasons/without living together first/out of lust alone rather than compatibility, which leads to cheating. People typically cheat because they grow apart from their partners, not out of boredom.

July 31, 2014
That's fair.

### Should open relationships be the norm?

July 31, 2014
In my opinion, yes. So many relationships end in divorce due to infidelity that one of two conclusions can be drawn:

- Everyone is immoral and needs to try harder to remain faithful
- The core idea of monogamy is flawed, because affection is not a limited resource

I believe in the second idea.
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan Kerissa Young

### Why wasn't Tina invited to Wam Bam Island?

July 31, 2014
Maybe she was and was just packing during the entire DLC.

### Nisha tops Jack during sex because he is a weenie confirm/deny

July 31, 2014
I don't think being on bottom makes you a weenie.

### I just remembered that you voiced the Jack Body Double and now I can't stop laughing, what was it like recording that?

July 31, 2014
Embarrassing.

### Are you involved with Tales from the Borderlands at all? As a story consultant, maybe? Also, what did you learn as a writer when you visited Telltale Games?

July 31, 2014
Consultant's probably the right way to put it. I've been going over there and talking to them quasi-regularly about story, and it's been really fun.

I learned that story is fucking HARD.
Liked by: No Quarters Required

### Funny how Michael will rush to help you kill Trevor, but Trevor will berate you over the phone when you ask him to help you kill Mike. Evil has standards.

July 31, 2014
Yeah, I guess they were trying to go for a thing where Trevor is a psycho, but at least he's a LOYAL psycho, which counts for something. Except it totally doesn't count for anything because he's a piece of human waste.

### Do you like Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff?

July 31, 2014
I saw the AIDS and Stairs ones and those were pretty funny. Beyond those I didn't check it out that much.

### Vault Hunter pillow fights?

July 31, 2014
87 bazillion procedurally generated pillows
Liked by: No Quarters Required Becky

### Do you like crypt of the necrodancer?

July 31, 2014
Yeeuh. Danny B is my friend and it has some of his best work ever. And it's just plain fun.
Liked by: Becky

### Do you think the vault hunters would keep Dukino as a pet? Or can they keep something alive that long?

July 31, 2014
That's a pretty cool idea, actually. They could definitely keep stuff alive on their own presuming nobody (eg Nisha) kills it.

### Brick isn't biracial??

July 31, 2014
Ooh. Let's say that. That makes way more sense than him just being white.

### Lilith's dad looked pretty dark in the backstory comics, but she's like super pale. Also are those things canon?

July 31, 2014
The comics exist in their own separate canon. The games have their own canon, the comics have their canon. It's like Hitchhiker's.

### i think it's you and jontron that made me really want to get a pet bird i really want a bird now

July 31, 2014
get one! birds are amazing

### Are you still rocking a beard these days? I've really grown mine out again. I consider you and Linde to be my beard gods.

July 30, 2014
I rock a beard primarily out of laziness, and I'm still lazy, so, yeah. It's goin' strong. It varies length depending upon
- If a person I'm attracted to prefers it a particular way for smoochin'
-If it gets so long I can -- ugh -- smell it

### If you could go back in time and rewrite any movie (since time travel somehow allows that), what movie would it be?

July 30, 2014
I'd change the ending of Chinatown to be "forget it, jake, it's [long mouth farting noise]"

### who would win in ANY kind of game (poker/chess/etc): Athena or Nisha?

July 30, 2014
Athena, cause she cares about strategy. Nisha doesn't give a fuck.

### Do you like the Fallout series? If so, which game is/was your favorite?

July 30, 2014
Yes, I adore the Fallout series. Fallout New Vegas is my favorite RPG of all time.
Liked by: SOBER ROBO

### How difficult would it be to flirt with someone like Nisha? She seems like the kinda girl that would punch you in the dick the minute you started showing any signs of being nervous. Or if you were too overconfident. Or if she just didn't like you.

July 30, 2014
You just gotta be (A) confident, and (B) show her that you're a fucking hardcore murderer badass with your actions.

### So apparently OkCupid experiments on their users. Have you been experimented upon?

July 30, 2014
Probably. Though I assume there's only so much data you can mine from a guy whose "you would like me if..." consists of "if you're into brown dudes who can quote all of the fifth element at you"

### luv u

July 30, 2014
luv u 2

### What was your favorite piece of playground equipment as a child? What's your favorite now?

July 29, 2014
Slides. Then and now. Slides for life.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### If you could make one jump in time (forward or backward) and continue living your life from that point, when would you jump to?

July 29, 2014
I might go back to the moment where I met Davis, because everything got a lot better from then on.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### What's it like being/having been someone with somewhat low self-worth and being thrust into this position where people constantly tell you how amazing you are? Has it actually affected how you feel about yourself?

July 29, 2014
It's very odd. It's made me feel good, and also really very frightened that once I fuck up (and I will), all of that goodwill might disappear and leave me feeling even worse than before. But for now I am trying to enjoy it.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky No Quarters Required

### What's your favorite Dominion setup?

July 29, 2014
Like the card game? I like running cards that allow you to trash other cards. A lean deck is a happy deck.

### What is your favorite alcoholic beverage?

July 29, 2014
water on the rocks
Liked by: Becky

### How do you feel about prominent people in the video game industry (like Jonathan Blow) being openly critical of modern games/design techniques?

July 29, 2014
I think criticism is good so long as you're not being an unrepentant dick about it, and while Jon is super straightforward, I don't think he generally says what he says with the intent of just being a dick or hurting peoples' feelings.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### Did you kill Trevor at the end of GTA V like you wanted?

July 29, 2014
Fuck yes I did. Almost made the bazillion hours of awfulness worth it, but not really.

### If Jack could pick between Nisha and Moxxi who would win?

July 29, 2014
Nisha. Moxxi is too nice, Jack's not compatible.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas

### Is Jack's heterochromia a hint at him having funky genes, like the sort of funky genes that would result in having a siren daughter? Or are they just a random "look how cool and handsome I am" detail?

July 28, 2014
I think it's more the result of artists really liking asymmetry.

### Games journalism seems kind of cynical lately, between Triple A predatory behavior and Indies throwing hissy fits I think its important that we remember that we chose this entertainment for a reason. So I ask you, what was the last game (any kind) you truly enjoyed?

Kristie
July 28, 2014
I really really dig OlliOlli.

### you recently tweeted that nurse jackie has your two new favourite tv characters of all time. over toph and sokka? REALLY?

July 28, 2014
I mean, NEW favs. I'll always love Toph and Sokka.

### You're at Summer Slam tonight? Have you always been into wrestling, or did you guys just decide to go on a whim? (I was big into it in the 90s but haven't watched in forever)

Becky
July 28, 2014
Total whim. We watched a bit of WWE on TV randomly and decided to check it out. It was SO FUN.

### What song is currently stuck in your head?

July 28, 2014
Theme from The Good The Bad and The Ugly
Liked by: Anthony Nunez

### What do you think a gender-swapped Borderlands would be like? Mad Mark, Dr. Patrick Tannis, Sally the Gunzerker, Pretty Jackie, Lady Hammerlock, etc. Omg would Brick be called Briquette.

July 26, 2014
Considering genderswapped Borderlands cosplay is my favorite thing, that would be awesome.
Liked by: Anthony Nunez Kerissa Young Becky

### You mentioned buying the female Thor comic. What did you think of it?

July 26, 2014
It's not out yet, is it? I don't think it or Cap do their big changes until october.

### Sup Burchinator. How has life been treating you, man?

July 26, 2014
Pretty good. You know. How are you?

### The big complaint I've seen about Scarlett is that she's boring. She has a great design and voice actor, but she didn't really do much outside of a few 'haha I'm female Jack Sparrow' quips, and then she was just sort of...gone. The DLC ended suddently with not a bang but a drawn out fart noise.

July 26, 2014
Fair enough.

### I like to picture pre-sequel!Nisha as the brash, loud and cocky type. is she anywhere close to that?

July 26, 2014
Yes.

### why wasn't brick black?

July 26, 2014
Dunno. He was made during BL1 and I only joined Gearbox during BL2.

### Why do u call ur wife blavo

July 26, 2014
yes
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I just looked up the IMDB page for Borderlands after the ask about a live action Borderlands movie and I am really impressed that Colleen Clinkenbeard voiced both Lilith and Tannis! I never even noticed in the game. Also "Clinkenbeard" sounds like the name of a steampunk pirate captain.

July 26, 2014
Colleen is super super cool. She's one of the best voice actors I know, period (she also voices Scarlett).

### Seeing as Nisha goes for genocidal maniacs, I'm pretty sure it's a good thing she wouldn't be into you.

July 26, 2014
She's super good at sex though.

### Speaking of The Walking Dead, what did you think about Lilly? A lot of people seem to really hate her but I think she's great for at least trying to lead the group. I also feel like she's under a lot of stress and losing her dad made her snap.

July 26, 2014
I liked Lily. I felt really bad for her after what Kenny (ASSHOLE) did. I didn't LIKE the things that moment drove her to, but I understood them.

### I'm currently playing mirror's edge. Everyone loves it, but for me, it's been kind of meh. What is your opinion on it?

July 26, 2014
It's a really, really almost-good game. I hate that so many of the levels are about Finding Out Where The Fuck To Go And How The Fuck To Get There and not about momentum and speed.

### Who is your Borderlands waifu?

July 25, 2014
Probably Scarlett, Ellie or Nisha.

Unless I'm drastically misinterpreting what a waifu is.

Also I just now realized none of those characters would actually be into me.That's...a weird feeling

### I honestly think the handling of Kenny's disposition towards Lee was one of the only failures on Telltale's part in TWD. Unless you always side with him or always disagree, his behaviour towards you is simply inconsistent. I call that bad writing/game design, moreso than a bad character. Thoughts?

July 25, 2014
I know a lot of people who really like Kenny, so I'd disagree. He seems to embody the "we should take care of ourselves first, and stop pretending that it's possible to be a good person in this scenario" apocalypse philosophy and a lot of people I've spoken to align with that.

### the thrilling conclusion to the chris pratt thing you tweeted: http://ohmymangum.tumblr.com/post/92786245055/stop-chris-pratt-before-its-too-late-2k14

July 25, 2014
oh god he is great

### are you going to eurogamer london in september?

July 25, 2014
Probably not, sorry.

### dream cast for a live action borderlands movie. Cast Axton, Maya, Krieg, Jack, Moxxi, Roland, Lilith, Brick, Mordecai, and whoever else.

July 25, 2014
I'd honestly just cast their voice actors. They all look pretty damn similar. Brick's voice actor, Marcus Mauldin, is black and Brick isn't, but whatever.

### When I am stressed out or depressed I play civ (there is something ultimately satisfying about utterly destroying a culture and literally salting the earth behind you) What games do you play to relieve stress. Also talking about civ, do you play and whats your go to leader?

Kristie
July 25, 2014
I play Far Cry 2 or Deus Ex Human Revolution in times like that. Or Dark Souls or Spelunky (cause they're so hard but I'm good at them so I feel like, hey, I'm pretty neat).

I generally play Civ as Abraham Lincoln but I am bad at Civ.

### Is there any other type of game genres (like rpg, rts etc) you'd like to write?

July 25, 2014
I'm up for writing pretty much anything, really. Though I imagine writing an RTS would be a pain in the ass.

### Can I say how much I appreciate the changing art style and tone of the Borderlands games? With each game there's more exaggerated style and vivid coloring and humor and the series moves further and further away from boring generic fps blandness.

July 25, 2014
That's very kind of you! I'm sure the team will be very flattered to hear that.

### http://milch-tuete.tumblr.com/post/92457750738/quick-sketch Axton and Maya make the cutest friends

July 25, 2014
awwww

### Yeah but....young kid who can barely protect himself...or son of the man who owns the farm you wish to stay on? Don't tell me you weren't thinking of self interest. Who's the asshole now?

July 25, 2014
I was thinking of self-interest when I saved Carly. When I saved random dude, I was thinking logically. Also Duck was fucking dumb, I'm not saving him just for running over an innocent man with a goddamn plow or whatever it was.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Why'd you try to save other guy instead of Duck? Duck's a young kid. That's fucked up, Burch.

July 24, 2014
Duck's dad was RIGHT THERE. It's Kenny's responsibility to protect his stupid kid, not mine.
Liked by: Becky SOBER ROBO Jordan M. Gonzales Kerissa Young

### I have ideas for stupid games that I want to make for myself, but I have no knowledge of programming or code, what would you recommend I do, its something Ive thought about doing for awhile.

July 24, 2014
https://www.idlethumbs.net/forums/topic/9201-gamemaker-watch-me-handcraft-a-video-game/

or
http://workshops.ko-opmode.com/
Liked by: Becky

### As it is the Batman 75th Anniversary today, who do you think is the most underrated Batman Villain? Favorite Batman Film? and Best Joker?

Kristie
July 24, 2014
I gotta be boring and say Heath Ledger, Dark Knight. But I always really liked (I believe?) Solomon Grundy, who was really sad and sympathetic in an Alan Moore story where he was just in love with mannequins or something? I may be misremembering.

### FilmCritHulk has gone on record saying he loves Lost; respond.

July 24, 2014
waaaaat

### if u really want to bang a dude why don't you try out grindr?

July 24, 2014
...good point
Liked by: Becky

### I've found out your true identity. Your mission is compromised: https://31.media.tumblr.com/dca4cd6690abfec6e657c2c21704be60/tumblr_inline_n6xyk5CItE1qm3xpn.png

July 24, 2014
hahaha that's i mean that's not hahah it couldn't

abort mission
Liked by: Becky

### did you ever play state of decay? I'm really enjoying it.

July 24, 2014
SO GOOD. Best zombie game ever.

### Is there such a thing as gaydar? Do you have a good gaydar?

July 24, 2014
If there is, I certainly don't have it.

### Alright Burch, what's your beef with Kenny?

July 24, 2014
I saved other-guy instead of Duck, and Kenny was a selfish piece of shit for the rest of the series. Everything was shitty and snarky and didn't trust me, and he's an asshole who prioritizes himself and his family over getting along as a group.

### What's your opinion on asexuals?

July 24, 2014
My opinion is they exist.
Liked by: SOBER ROBO

### is there a cure for Borderlands fever?

July 24, 2014
It's fatal
Liked by: Samantha Dale mackenzie charlton Kerissa Young Becky

### How awesome was it being in Saints Row?! Any other series you'd love to voice cameo in, as self or character?

July 24, 2014
It was amazing. Those guys are super cool.

I don't generally like voice acting so there's nothing else I necessarily wanna be in. That said, if Adventure Time ever does a genderswap episode with one of Ash's characters, I totally wanna voice that.

### Chris Pratt for live action Axton

July 24, 2014
I just came
Liked by: Becky

### What do you do when closure isn't an option in a failed relationship? I cut off contact with the person, but still constantly think about them to the point of horrible sleep due to nightmares. It's been a year, should I be worried?

July 23, 2014
Honestly, this kind of thing made me miserable for YEARS. I spent most of my college years being miserable over past relationships. I hated it when people said stuff like "just decide to feel better and you will." I still hate that shit, in fact.

Really, the thing that worked for me was funnelling that sadness and anger into something productive. My breakups, combined with loneliness from my friends going to different colleges, is what gave rise to Hey Ash and my hosting Podtoid. And those gave rise to my meeting Davis and getting married.

I can't pretend it's a simple A-B relationship between "just make stuff" and "you'll meet someone and get married," but it worked for me.

### So I live with my best friend and his partner is coming to visit for an entire month. I don't mind being civil with his partner, but I just don't like them. They're a fine, accomplished person; I just have no desire to be friends with them. I don't know what to do. Do you have any advice?

July 22, 2014
I don't know if this is smart -- in fact it probably isn't because people often say I am too curt -- but it's what I'd do:

Say the absolute minimum you need to in order to not come off like an AGGRESSIVE dick, but otherwise make it clear, via silence and understatement and avoiding them, that you don't actually like them very much. They'll learn to not engage with you and, so long as you're not out and out horribly mean while you try to avoid/ignore them, they won't have much cause or support for coming out and arguing with you about why you don't like t hem.

### How do you let go of hate you have for people?

July 22, 2014
Wait a while and do other things that matter to you. And try to be more successful than them.

But more importantly, cut off all contact with them first and foremost. I've never believed in trying to be amicable with someone you hate, cause that generally only makes it worse.

### So is Game of Thrones dark humor?

July 22, 2014
No. Game of Thrones never wants you to enjoy ANY of the deaths. Even when a horrible person you didn't like dies, it's not in a way where you're meant to punch the air and scream "fuck yeah".

I actually feel like Game of Thrones has some of the most responsible violence I've ever seen, even as horrific as much of it is.
Liked by: Adam R Becky

### Do you think Betrayal at House on the Hill would be a decent port on the Wii u? With the one who turns using the Wii u gamepad?

July 22, 2014
Ooh. That's really smart. Yeah, I dunno why we never got a proper tabletop-feeling game out of the WiiU.

### Do you feel differently about people having horrible things done to them but not dying? If you don't, is that basically an admission that Krieg was a terrible person before the whole lab rat thing happened?

July 21, 2014
My issue isn't people having bad stuff happening to them/dying period, it's the act of that being played for laughs. You're supposed to darkly laugh when a character gets his head blown off in Burn After Reading, but I couldn't. You're supposed to darkly laugh when most of the characters in Fargo die, but I just can't.

The hope with Krieg is that you weren't supposed to go, "ha ha, fuck that guy," you were supposed to initially feel sorry for his situation (while still finding his weird dialog funny).

### Is it just that kind of dark comedy that turns you off, or do you find yourself less receptive to dark comedy in general these days?

July 21, 2014
It's just that very particular kind of dark comedy that involves decent people dying horribly. I love something like Evil Dead 2, where generally peoples' deaths aren't something you actually laugh at (you mainly laugh at the fucked up stuff the deadites say or how Ash reacts or whatever), or something like Kill Bill where you're laughing at the bad guys' deaths or whatever.

### Even if you don't watch Korra anymore (understandably) you should check out the Original Airbenders episode from Book Three, it's really good and pretty much standalone

July 21, 2014
I may do that!

### Plot twist: we find some old box of belongings of Handsome Jack's from his early days at Hyperion. Zoom in on the name: "John Hodunk".

July 21, 2014
canon

### What would a crossover between Borderlands and Doctor Who look like?

July 21, 2014
Probably the Doctor getting shot to death eight seconds after he leaves his TARDIS, Sylvester McCoy style

### Do you like True Detective? And what about Fargo?

July 21, 2014
I liked True Detective until the end. I'm hesitant to watch Fargo because the movie really really really disturbed and depressed me (I can't handle horrible things happening to innocent people under the guise of "dark comedy").

### david tennant comes to your door and asks you to spend the day with him, but only if steven moffat decides what your day consists of.

July 21, 2014
Considering Moffat doesn't seem at all interested in gay romances, I guess I pass
Liked by: SOBER ROBO

### Do you want us to submit HAWP for a streamy?

July 21, 2014
You can, but it won't win. Our viewership is nowhere NEAR big enough.

### What do you do about relatives who constantly try to convert you to their religion?

July 20, 2014
I mention I'm an atheist by putting enough stank on it that they generally stop mentioning it.
Liked by: Becky

### How does it feel to have been making silly videos on the internet with Ash a few years ago, and now you are a Writer, and she a Voice Actor? Cause that seems like it'd be pretty cool to me.

July 20, 2014
It's very, very, very weird. I feel extraordinarily lucky and scared all the time.
Liked by: Becky

### What are your "TV essentials"?

July 20, 2014
The Wire, Breaking Bad, Firefly, RTD's run on Doctor Who, Last Airbender, Game of Thrones, Parks and Recreation.

### You might be interested in some adaptations of Shakespeare's Richard II, Henry IV i and ii and Henry V the BBC did in 2012 called the Hollow Crown. It stars Ben Whishaw as the eponymous Richard and Tom Hiddleston as Prince Hal/Henry V. Superb acting and superb male eye candy.

July 20, 2014
Yeah, I actually watched Hollow Crown a few months ago. I really really liked it (and didn't expect Richard II to be my favorite given how little I've generally heard it referenced compared to the Henry stuff).

### do you watch hannibal? it's amazing.

July 20, 2014
I do, but I don't like it that much. It feels mean-spirited and pretentious to me.

### how do you know if your in love?

July 20, 2014
Dunno. I always just kinda knew when I was.

### Other than David Tennant, who are your top male celebs that you want to bang?

July 19, 2014
Idris Elba, Chris Pratt, Ben Wishaw
Liked by: Becky

### Do you think you'll have a kid someday? I bet you'd be a super cool dad who'd teach that kid well in regards to being a decent and emphatic person who's socially aware and all that jazz.

July 19, 2014
I highly highly highly doubt it. I would be an awful dad -- I am selfish and like spending my free time on dumb bullshit, not keeping another person alive.

### Have you played incest and child murder simulator Crusader Kings 2?

July 19, 2014
Yep. Died an old, lonely man who tried to release his treacherous son out of prison so I wouldn't die with no children left, then he tried to overthrow me again, so I murdered him.

### David Tennant and I are looking for a third. You in?

July 19, 2014
You could be Hannibal Lecter and I'd still say yes
Liked by: Becky

### Really? I loved this season of Louie. Thought it was the best yet. The hour-long episode about him as a kid with jeremy renner was awesome.

July 19, 2014
I loved the Jeremy Renner two-parter. That was amazing. The whole foreign lady thing just left a sour taste in my mouth.

### What's your opinion on this latest season of Louie?

July 19, 2014
I thought it was honestly kind of weird and rapey. And not just the "if you weren't so stupid this would be rape" scene.

### Do you watch horror films? If so, which is your favorite?

July 19, 2014
I generally don't like horror films. I don't find it enjoyable when horribly violent stuff happens to characters who are either innocent or likable (ESPECIALLY if they are attractive girls). If I wanna go YEEHAW and punch the air at violence, I watch action movies.

### Have you read The Art of War by Sun Tzu?

July 19, 2014
Yes. A looooong time ago, though. I recently saw a history channel documentary on the book in the context of other great battles in history, though, and that was great.

### Do you think in your later years you'll do sports commentary for video games?

July 19, 2014
Nah. I know nothing about e-sports games.

### If we do get overtaken by bird overlords, do you think Davis would emerge as the Shadow King (the power behind the throne)? Do you think your chances of being spared would increase or decrease in that situation?

July 19, 2014
Yes. I'd probably still get killed though, cause Davis is loyal to Beast.

### You mentioned you loved Minerva's Den a while ago, so since Gone Home and Bioshock are two of my favorite things I bought it during the Steam sale. Unfortunately it is really unstable on PC and crashes a lot. Is it worth it to keep going or should I watch it on Youtube?

July 19, 2014
Keep going!

### How do you feel about birds that are quickly becoming too intelligent and could easily one day take over our world as we know it

July 19, 2014
yaaay bird overlords

### What was the sad indie game you mentioned on the Sadness and Spoilers HAWPCAST before rage quitting after you realised you shouldn't have mentioned it was sad before telling people and then just never said the game?

July 19, 2014
Photopia, I think.

### Do you have a good up-to-date photograph of yourself showing your face that you could share? I need it for reasons.

July 19, 2014
Uhhh I mean google probably has one

I get the feeling my identity is about to be stolen

### I noticed you guys seem to be using "little" in place of "midget" in The Pre-Sequel, so good on you for that! I was always uncomfortable seeing that word thrown around so much in BL2.

July 19, 2014
Thanks! Yeah, it took me a long time to figure out that's a shitty word.

### is it hard to play a game knowing you wrote or worked on it? does it take some of the fun away from actually playing the games, or are they just as enjoyable knowing that despite knowing whats going to happen, the gameplay and mechanics are still fun?

July 19, 2014
Yes. Thankfully, my additions are relegated exclusively to story stuff, so I can just turn off all the dialog and still enjoy myself.

### How old is Beast?

July 18, 2014
About four years.

### How do you feel about spiders that eat birds?

July 18, 2014
sad :(

### What kind of bird is Beast? And are there any types of birds you'd recommend to someone who has never owned birds before?

July 18, 2014
Cockatiel. And Davis says cockatiels or finches are good for first time bird owners.

### Why are you such a cutie magnet?

July 18, 2014
What, with Beast and Davis? Davis is one of the few cuties I have attracted and she basically brought Beast along.

### Anthony u got mad jokes were u the class clown in school?

July 18, 2014
Yeah, pretty much. I think most people develop humor early cause they have nothing else to really contribute, and I wasn't that cool otherwise. So, JOKES GUY

### What are your go to recipes to make for company?

July 18, 2014
"buy cookies from a store"

### How do you feel about DOTA 2 being broadcast on ESPN?

July 18, 2014
Super cool.

### So I was looking at the display screens in the original four's hangout/base of operations in Santuary, and I notice a chubby pinup girl (which is awesome) and I was wondering who's was it? Was it Mordicai's? Brick's?(I know he likes dudes but he could be bi/pan) or even Lilith's? Is she bi/pan?

July 18, 2014
I like to imagine everyone has a pretty inclusive standard of beauty on Pandora and so it could be anyone's.

### How do you feel about birds that eat other birds?

July 18, 2014
sad :(

### You and your fart jokes.... Question: You see a butt. What do you do?

July 18, 2014
climb it

### Does your love of birds have anything to do with dinosaurs?

July 18, 2014
Nah. It has everything to do with Davis, who taught me how to love birds, and Beast, who is the best and most loving pet I've ever owned.

### How do you think the situation in Ukraine is going to play out in the pull between European and Russian spheres of influence, especially now that an airliner was shot down by what looks to be Russian backed speratists?

Lance M
July 18, 2014
i write fart jokes in videogames
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### i just realized that athena's skill tree is called "ceraunic storm" and not "ceramic storm." i thought she was going to throw elemental pottery at people ;_;

July 18, 2014
saving that for our game adaptation of the movie Ghost

### Birds on skateboards dropping important truths really need to be featured more in t-shirt design if you ask me.

July 18, 2014
I hate "put a bird on it" cause it's true

And I like birds than most people

### im watching the athena video on gamespot with your commentary and you're quickly becoming one of my favorite people over the past few months omg

July 18, 2014
heh heh thanks

### Do you think you'll get to a point in your life where you just won't play video games anymore?

July 18, 2014
I hope not.

### What are the best table top games, that are family friendly, in your opinion?

July 18, 2014
Once Upon A Time, Hana-bi, Love Letter...really, most tabletop games that aren't CAH are family friendly. Alien Frontiers is great.

### hey a lil bit ago you got a question about 8tracks and that site is basically this cool place where you can make fanmixes for whatever you want like for a certain mood or maybe even a fictional character!! it's really cool and apparently there are some for BL characters so yeah! :D

July 18, 2014
Ooo neat

### there's a very much new gameplay videos from presequel in gearbox site, are those purely just gameplay, or is there whole lotta 'spoilers' that i don't want to see?

July 18, 2014
No spoilers, not really.

### I imagine it's a fuck-up that you regret but how did the domestic abuse scenes in HAWP get by anybody on the team?

July 18, 2014
I honestly just found more awful shit allowable back then. Through the half-decade we've been doing the show we've slowly gotten more progressive and sensitive (hopefully). We still make mistakes all the time but we're trying to make fewer and fewer.

### Your hair looked fluffy and nice in the Athena gameplay walkthrough and I liked your t-shirt.

July 18, 2014
Thanks! I love that shirt. I need to get my hair game right though

### You're a good man, Anthony.

July 17, 2014
I do not agree with that but thaaaaaanks
Liked by: Becky

### Anthony what do you think of the second season of The Wire? On Skippable you said it was the only season you could skip because it's not directly related to the Barksdale/Marlo storyline, but do you actually like the season?

July 17, 2014
Oh yeah, absolutely. It's a fantastic dissection of unions and blue collar crime. It's just "skippable" in quotation marks if you only care about the "overall" plot, but that's missing the point of the Wire.

### So considering you've said you'd write Jack differently in 2 given the Pre-Sequel (at least I vaguely remember you saying something to that effect), would you re-visit Jack's reaction to Nisha's death? Or is it canon that after he hangs up on you he throws a total fit of rage?

July 17, 2014
I dunno. Probably not? He sure didn't seem to give much of a shit about Nisha for 90% of the game considering he never even once speaks to her or mentions her.
Liked by: Лук Вуги

### Where did the reverend in reverendanthony come from?

July 17, 2014
Universal Life Church.
Liked by: Becky

### Do you have a reason for not wanting to drink? As long as you arent an idiot who gets shitfaced drunk, it can be very enjoyable and from seeing what else you've said it seems like it would help you to feel more comfortable socially.

July 17, 2014
Dad was an alcoholic before he had me, sort of baked it into my brain that I had the capacity to be an alcoholic too. And knowing how self-loathing I can get that is probably accurate.

It's also been long enough that I've gone without drinking that part of me is like, eh, fuck it, why start now.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### You are wonderful man, Anthony. You made me think a lot about important things, like feminism, equality and much more other.

July 17, 2014
Thanks much.
Liked by: Becky

### I don't remember Scott actually wanting to date Knives like that at all, that may be association on your part. It seemed way more out of confusion/it was easy than lust. He never acts like he's attracted to her, didn't even hold hands. And he has a panic attack when she kisses him.

July 17, 2014
Yeah, could just be association on my part. I see "college boy dating high school girl" I think "piece of shit who can't find anyone his own age so he goes to a vulnerable girl who doesn't know any better so she can be his human comfort food."

### So, Kacy Kashinara (sp?)? Awesome or what? Not just the fact that she's a woman in the competition, but that she's TINY. And she NEVER second guesses herself.

July 17, 2014
Yeah, that was the best goddamn thing ever.
Liked by: Becky

### What's your stance on alcohol\smoking? Do you drink\smoke yourself? Do you think all this mind-expanding through drugs is good or not?

July 17, 2014
I don't do any of those things but am fine with anyone else doing those things. I don't trust myself enough to use mind-altering stuff because I'm already pretty shitty.

### I really disliked how they simplified Scott in the movie tbh, since they stripped out his moments of genuine sincerity/actual chemistry with Ramona. MEW plays Ramona like she hates him, and he comes off far more lustful and shallow than the comics, by stripping out all the down-time conversations.

July 17, 2014
There's one scene in the movie that they cut that singlehandedly makes their ENTIRE relationship more genuine and sincere and I'm so sad it's gone. Ramona actually jokes with Scott and smiles. Without that she just seems like she fucking hates him and is only hanging out until something better comes along, which just feels off.

### RE: difficulty telling race in the games: I think a big part of it is the lighting, shading and general design/atmosphere of the locations. A lot of it is dark, tinted and "washes out" some aspects of character coloring. Until Wam Bam all we ever saw Hammerlock in was really shadowy oft. blue places

July 16, 2014
Yeah, that makes sense.

### He's only like 6 years older than knives in that series? It's not like he's doing something moral wrong. It's not like he's a monster. I mean, the way he treats her is more fucked up than anything. He's just a tactless/graceless douchebag at most.

July 16, 2014
I might just be biased cause of personal experience, but I think college-age dudes who date high schoolers are scumbags. I know how confused I was about life during high school, and the last thing I'd want is some more assured (me at 20 was WAY different than me at 16 by LIGHT YEARS), predatory college guy using my desperation and confusion to get some sex out of the whole equation.

### I've been watching ATLA again and I think one of the things that make it better than Korra is the fact that the story is kept simple (basic relationships/goals, stories take 1-2 eps to tell, etc.). Do you think its worth it to try and tell EPIC tales or keep it low-key and uncomplicated instead?

July 16, 2014
I don't necessarily think the problem is a simplicity/complexity problem (though I'm in favor of simpler stories over more complex ones, certainly). I think Korra's problems were mainly focused around character and motivation. The show felt like the dorky love triangle was more important than Korra making forward progress on her quest to defeat whatshisface, and they brought in Asami (who is cool, but kind of irrelevant), and the conflict between the three leads was all romantic and that was inherently kind of uninteresting to me. Especially when it's so fucking obvious she should just date Bolin cause he's actually a character.

### So since Wilhelm is white, does that mean he could be tanned/robotic effects on his pshyical complexion/or slag/ect by the time of the second game?

July 16, 2014
Sure. Let's go with that.

### To the anon who wants to quit smoking, what worked for me was this book called Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking. Hiiiiighly highly recommend it

July 16, 2014
Cool!

### Anthony plz help how do I quit smoking

July 16, 2014
Iiii do not know I'm sorry. Maybe see a therapist?

### So are people upset that Thor is now a woman? It's not like this isn't the first time he's been a woman. Hell Loki was a woman for a while too.

July 16, 2014
I guess a dude on io9 is more upset because Marvel is now acting as if Thor is a TITLE and not a CHARACTER, which I guess is a "reasonable" thing to be angry about as far as comic book canon goes, but here's a weird thing I've learned:

COMIC CANON IS FUCKING IDIOTIC AND DOESN'T MATTER AT ALL

COMIC FRANCHISES ARE A SET OF CONSTRAINTS FOR YOU TO TRY AND TELL YOUR OWN STORY WITH CERTAIN HORRIFIC STIPULATIONS, LIKE "YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE WORLD IRREVOCABLY"

WITHIN THAT FRAMEWORK A LADY THOR IS FUCKING AWESOME WHO GIVES A SHIT IF IT'S NOT "RIGHT"
Liked by: Becky

### You may not have liked Scott Pilgrim but have you might want to give Seconds a shot. Female lead character. Not dating a high schooler.

July 16, 2014
Yep, Davis and I plan on grabbing it.

### You should try Lost at Sea, it's his first graphic novel, really different in tone. Sort of like Chris Ware.

July 16, 2014
Oooooh. Chris Ware is my favorite ever.

### Did you not enjoy the other characters at all? Not Wallace? To me the series always came off as a criticism of Scott, not an advocation…

July 16, 2014
It's definitely a criticism of Scott, but it took him six books to find out what a piece of shit he is, which is a really irritating form of fiction to me. The game Catherine had the same problem: if the sack of shit would just come clean early like a normal human being (I can't relate to secrecy about infidelity, at all) most of that shit would have been avoided.

### What do you think of Bryan Lee O'Malley's work?

July 16, 2014
I saw the movie first and kinda skimmed the graphic novels. I find Scott so detestable as a person (I knew people like that in high school -- seriously, who the fuck dates a high schooler when they're in college, it's fucking gross) that it's hard for me to enjoy being in that world.

### Have you seen "Journey To The West" on netflix? It's from Stephen Chow and has the same core visual language as Kung Fu Hustle, but this time he uses it to make one of the most gender and sex conversant movies I've ever seen. Definitely worth a watch!

July 16, 2014
Shit, I forgot that was out. No, I'll definitely check it though. I loved Shaolin Soccer (Kung Fu Hustle less so, but it was still good).

### just want to say i have a pic of you, dan harmon and kanye west on my vision board

July 16, 2014
one of these things is not like the other

### What's your opinion on the human race? Are they still worth it or should we start over with another one?

July 16, 2014
The human race is responsible for the Fifth Element so I'd say we're good

### It might just be me, but Wilhelm appeared to be a POC in Borderlands 2 and he's much paler in The Pre-Sequel..

July 16, 2014
Really? This is the second person i've seen ask about this. So weird -- I wonder what it is that makes race so hard to read in our game. He's always been white as far as any of us know.

### Will HAWP try to have a panel at GaymerX in the future? Wait, there's gonna be more GaymerX cons right?

July 16, 2014
I don't think HAWP or GaymerX are big enough to justify a full HAWP panel, especially when we wouldn't have anything to say on diversity other than "we have really fucked up in the past and don't wanna anymore"

### If you weren't in the gaming business/a writer what kind of profession would you be doing?

July 16, 2014
Teaching, I guess? I don't know. Probably would have killed myself a while ago.

### what s ur opinion on white people?

July 16, 2014
some are pretty cute
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### hey borscht play dwarf fortress

July 16, 2014
too complicated :(

### 1. If you could be any animal, what would you choose? 2. If you could be any animal, but still maintain your human mentality and intelligence, what would you choose? 3. If you could be human, but have the mentality and intelligence of any animal, what would you choose?

July 16, 2014
bird
bird
bird
Liked by: Becky Nolan Sullivan

### How was GaymerX?

July 16, 2014
Dug it a lot. Really chill, very friendly atmosphere, not a bunch of stuff screaming at you all the time. Weirdly, the Ouya lounge was where I had the most fun. A lot of really fun local MP games there. Including one where you're a duck and there's a button assigned for "quack"

### Do you eat cheese? I ask because I've never seen pierogies with meat in them (though I know they exist), and I'm trying to figure out how they wouldn't be vegetarian. I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm obsessed with pierogies. They're delicious grilled.

July 16, 2014
yes i do

### do you ever listen to borderlands 2 fanmixes on 8tracks

July 16, 2014
no what is that

### Do you believe video games should really interact with one's genitalia?

July 16, 2014
wat
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### How come your sister is in everything all at once? I'd ask her but she hasn't used her ask.fm in like a month. Also, do you think society might one day reach some kind of MAXIMUM OVERBURCH in which she has a total monopoly on the voice acting industry?

July 16, 2014
Dunno, everything's just coming up tinyburch

### is shovel knight as cute and amazing as it looks?

July 15, 2014
Davis thinks so!

### Which do you enjoy answering more: Serious questions about topics that you care about, or silly questions that let you go nuts with a three-word response?

July 15, 2014
Serious ones, probably.

### I'm your steam friend? would it be weird for me to want to play a game with you?

July 15, 2014
No, that wouldn't be weird. That's kind of what steam is for.
Liked by: Becky

### Are you looking forward to Homestarrunner coming back later this year? Do you think they could make a good comeback, given the length of their absence?

July 15, 2014
Yeah, i trust em.
Liked by: Becky

### Pierogies or ravioli?

July 15, 2014
Never had vegetarian pierogies sooo ravioli i guess

### What do you consider to be your go-to comfort food? For sad days when a pet dies.

July 15, 2014
Cake. Also how often does a pet die that you can only eat comfort food on THOSE days
Liked by: Anthony Nunez

### If David Tennant was wearing a Tiny Tina costume and wanted to bone, you wouldn't do it?

July 15, 2014
shit
Liked by: Becky

### average looking jacob

July 14, 2014
only if i were drunk jonathan

### You would totally bone a Tiny Tina cosplayer. Forbidden Love...

July 14, 2014
Ew no jesus ew no

I mean I hope I wouldn't

### Which game has the best music? Other than Katamari Damacy, of course.

July 14, 2014
Hrm. Metal Gear Solid 1 maybe. Or Minecraft. Or Morrowind or Crypt of the Necrodancer.

### U N L I M I T E D C R U M P E T S

July 14, 2014
aka my new tattoo

### What made you guys at HAWP decide to add annotations at the beginning of your videos giving quick disclaimers about the subject matter?

July 14, 2014
We learned about triggering and how much damage that can do to a person. It took like forty-five minutes to add trigger warnings to every video, which is an incredibly small investment for the potential harm doing so may avoid.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### That's it! That's the answer! The character based on Ashley Davis... is Tiny Tina's shady-ass crumpet dealer.

July 14, 2014
I like it, you're hired
Liked by: Becky

### I agree that your writing for Moxxi turns an otherwise troubling character into something redeemable. I especially enjoyed the mission where the idiots are tossing pickup lines at her... and you then hunt them down and kill them :D PS to that guy: who ever looks at money they're given geez

July 14, 2014
Thanks much!

### does jack leave the mask on during sex

July 14, 2014
yes
Liked by: Becky

### would you have sex with someone in borderlands cosplay or would that just be too weird?

July 14, 2014
You kidding? Of course I would.

Unless it was Tiny Tina.
Liked by: Becky

### Steven Moffat has said in interviews that he rejects that the Tenth Doctor actually died because that would be TOO SAAAAAAD. Also, actual RTD quote: "the Time War wasn't just spaceships and super-zooming battles, it was a disgusting, horrific, temporal hell." Cut to 50th anniversary- ZIP BAP BOOM

July 14, 2014
Guh. Guhhhhhhh. Guh.

### Would Handsome Jack spend a lot of time online trying to start advice dog memes that compliment him? Hero Jack, Nice Guy Jack, etc

July 14, 2014
Nah probably not

### where does the "Truxican Wrestler" come from?

July 14, 2014
Would have to ask Mikey or Randy, that's a BL1 thing.

### Ok so again I'm not good at math but I calculated a rough estimate of how many crumpets TIna has eaten. You're welcome. It was way over 300 characters so: http://clankie.tumblr.com/post/91695975230/more-alright-i-am-no-math-so-this-could-be ((please ignore my blog theme I am homestuck trash))

July 14, 2014
this is canon now

### which characters you've created would u bone?

July 14, 2014
Most of them except Tiny Tina

### What's your thoughts on circumcision?

July 14, 2014
bad

### What would date night with Jack be like

July 14, 2014
not subtle

### where is tiny tina getting all these crumpets. she has supposedly had enough crumpets to sustain her for thirteen years of life, and i'm no math but that's a lot. where is she getting them. when you find them for her, the crumpets are in bandit camps or random other areas. who's leaving them there

July 14, 2014
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH

### Seriously, will you be my Papa Bear? Or do I need to improve my seduction skills?

July 14, 2014
It would, uh, kinda depend on us being attracted to one another. And I'm unfortunately finding that I find a very narrow band of the male population attractive.

### I think you've gotten better at Moxxi, especially in the DLC! She comes off as a lady who knows sex sells but is also working to build up a business empire, who wants a lot of the stupider fighting to end. Like she's one of the few on Pandora keen on building a civilization and believing in heroes.

July 13, 2014
Thanks much.

### Moxxi made me really uncomfortable in the main game of Bl2. Like she was just there to be oogled. I just kind of cringed whenever I had to interact with her. But her role in the Torgue Dlc really redeemed her character for me. When she said all that was a defense mechanism I teared up a little.

July 13, 2014
I don't think I'm generally very good at writing Moxxi. She's meant to be an aggressive Mae West type who is sexy but in control, but I've found it very hard to write that in such a way where she doesn't also feel like an object.

### How does Lilith find enough vegetables for a salad on Pandora ?

July 13, 2014
There are plants and stuff.
Liked by: Becky

### Where do you come down on the "writing women/PoC's" debate? Like between "you're making excuses if you say you *can't*, just write them like any other interesting character, race/gender are arbitrary" and "whitewashing/you're making everyone like you by not thinking about it/using stereotypes"?

July 13, 2014
I go back and forth on this constantly. I often just try to make the race and gender arbitrary because Borderlands is a game that's not really about Big Issues and if the goal is to make more diverse and likable characters, then I can just make them likable irrespective of their bodies. On the other hand, I did write a fair few characters that were explicitly made to convey certain ideas (Karima vs Dave), so...yeah. I haven't personally figured it out yet.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### I remember you playing quite a bit of DayZ on stream a while back, but did you ever try Rust? Also on a similar subject, what do you think of Early Access in general?

July 13, 2014
I love Early Access as a way to get feedback early. Too many games wait too long to get balance or usability feedback.

However, I HATE that Early Access somehow convinces devs that they ONLY need to cater their game to the super-dedicated people who give feedback during Early Access. Xenonauts and Don't Starve are both built without playable tutorials, presumably I guess because, hey, OUR forums are full of people who didn't seem to need a tutorial and were perfectly happy to make their own wikis for us -- that's good enough!

### I don't know if Borderlands is something that would ever work well in live action, but let's say there was some sort of live action BL movie or special. Any actors/actresses you have in mind as suitable for any of the characters? (Yes we know Ash would be live action Tina no question there)

July 13, 2014
brie larson as every character

### You walk down a dark hallway, all the way to the end. As you get closer, you can see dim lights. Candle lights, with rose petals all over the place and George Michael playing in the background. I'm standing at the edge of the bed, covered in honey holding glasses of wine. Will you be my Papa Bear?

July 13, 2014
oh jesu
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Nolan Sullivan Becky

### just bought and played sir, you are being hunted as per your recommendation and i fucking love it. Thanks. Any other similar games you would recommend?

July 13, 2014
There's not a lot like Sir out there -- it's inspired by stuff like STALKER or Far Cry 2 or Thief, but it's the first out and out sandbox stealth game I can think of. Those three games are great, though. (If you play Stalker, get the "complete" mod)

### this is my favorite thing in the world watch it and try to not laugh at how amazing it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJEoASUMZbI

July 13, 2014
oh jesus i saw the original when i was a kid
Liked by: Anthony Nunez Nolan Sullivan

### my friend is so mad that it's called the "pre-sequel" because the actual term for something like that is an "interquel." however i think borderlands: the interquel would sound super weird and too sophisticated for a game such as itself.

July 13, 2014
I agree.
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Becky

### I left a rather forward note in the dollar I gave you for using "diet bisexual", because I'm terrible at flirting or knowing when someone is interested in me. Hope you didn't find it too creepy! It was very nice to meet you and I enjoyed our short chat. A bit embarrassed otherwise I'd tweet this :-/

July 13, 2014
OH GOD I DIDN'T EVEN LOOK AT THE DOLLAR I JUST POCKETED IT OH SHIT

Gaah I'm sorry. Probably for the best, though -- I was feeling profoundly unsexy and not interested in anything/anyone for much of the time.

### COLIN FARRELL FOR SEASON 2 OF TRUE DETECTIVE MY LOINS ARE BOILING SWOON SWOON YAY

July 13, 2014
This bums me out. The showrunner tweeted "two female detectives" and deleted it, so I guess that means two more white guys...which wouldn't be so inherently weird if the first season hadn't (for 90% of its length, anyway) done such a good job of being a deconstruction of the shitty stereotypical white american male cop guy
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan

### real talk though: say borderlands 3 is a thing that happens. what's the possibility of (an older and less 'crazy', for say) tiny tina being a character in it (quite possibly the explosives extroardinaire)? i feel like her vault hunter character could easily be put together.

July 13, 2014
Maybe! I dunno. I could see us going any number of ways if that even becomes a thing (which there's no guarantee it will be). That said, it could be kinda fun to always jump forward each sequel by a few years. I wouldn't mind seeing a more grown up Tina.

### If somebody puts their thing in your butt or vice versa will you tell us?

July 13, 2014
I will.

Didn't happen, though.
Liked by: Becky

### You're often questioned about Borderlands 2 canon, inner lives of characters, and other inexplicit things. How do you decide what to answer and what to leave to fan imaginations?

July 11, 2014
If it's something I care about potentially answering in the future, I don't answer it. If it's something I won't answer but seems really important, I won't answer it. I try to only answer fairly insignificant things, cause it's more fun for the fans to suss stuff out.

### Found it: http://38.media.tumblr.com/2d1ee6d7d1bbd8aaa2eae3d7d9a8ed35/tumblr_n0y4b15BbJ1qdcry4o1_r1_500.jpg

July 11, 2014
oh holy fuck, nice
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### How old you be now? 26, 27?

July 11, 2014
26.

### How do you feel about the Warhammer 40k universe?

July 11, 2014
I've only played the Space Marine videogame but I liked it. It's got a tone I haven't seen -- it's so goddamn aggro and bananas that it's almost parody, but not quite, but almost.

### YOU'RE ON THE NERDIST ON MY COMPUTER YOUR FACE YAY

July 11, 2014
yay

### So, the people at Telltale. Are they the coolest people ever, or are they the coolest people ever?

July 11, 2014
They are.

### Do you ever feel like your brain actively tries to fuck you over?

July 11, 2014
Yes. Like literally anytime I am around someone I respect or am attracted to.

### How do you describe an optical illusion to a blind person?

July 10, 2014
woah
Liked by: Nolan Sullivan Kerissa Young

### Can I hug you? Also me and my partner would like to marry you.

July 10, 2014
Sure, go for it.

### How do we know your flirting with us?

July 10, 2014
I will almost never flirt because I am really scared of making someone uncomfortable. (I spent 10 years making people uncomfortable and I feel guilty for it).

I will always wait for the other person to make the first move, but I'll also probably unintentionally smile a lot? I guess? I'm awful at this stuff.
Liked by: Becky Kerissa Young

### How often do you get together with your Gearbox coworkers (not including Linde) outside of work? Any preferred ways to chill?

July 10, 2014
Not-parties.

Board game nights, going to movies at the Alamo Drafthouse, playing games.

### Are you a fan of Dan Savage? He seems to be the champion of non-monogamy. And have you read The Ethical Slut? It's how my ex and I set the guidelines of our open relationship. Yours seems to be pretty straightforward (har har) but it's still an interesting insight into non-traditional relationships

July 10, 2014
I know very little about Dan Savage. He's been funny and forthright on stuff I've seen him on (Real Time), but I know a lot of people take issue with the way he speaks about transgender people. So I don't really know. Definitely should read that book, though.

### What's the piece of fanart (either for HAWP or BL) that you've always wanted to see forwarded your way, but no one's created yet?

July 10, 2014
handsome jack riding butt stallion like that one picture of napoleon

### If you could eradicate one "-ism" (racism, sexism, etc.) from existence, what would you get rid of?

July 10, 2014
feminism

TWIST ENDING
Liked by: Anthony Nunez

### You can end any war on the planet peacefully, but every time you have sex from now on you have to picture an MRA in a fedora, do u accept

July 10, 2014
(sigh) yeah I guess so

### So, new Gearbox IP, do you have anything to do with it?

July 09, 2014
Nope! I did a very small amount of narrative stuff during preproduction but the rest is alllll Linde. And he's super fucking good

### Is this real life? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE-K_ck9BHo

July 09, 2014
what the FUCK that is cuterrifying

### http://therareandferociousswamprabbit.tumblr.com/post/78304527978/daveyoufool-neither-courage-wolf-nor-calming This reminds me of Mister Torgue so much.

July 09, 2014
Haha, yeah I guess so.
Liked by: Becky

### in seattle this fall, during pax, will you do a meetup?

July 09, 2014
I mean, we'll be around seattle during that time, but we're far too disorganized to do a proper meetup. Maybe you'll see us, though?

### Is it true that you're a goat?

July 09, 2014
hahahah where are these rumors coming from that's

haha

that's ridiculous

### You said before that new-you stations were non cannon so are they going to be in the pre sequel

July 09, 2014
Yep. And they're still not canon.

### Why is Dick Dawkins such a shithead?

July 09, 2014
I dunno. Came as a shock and a bummer to me when I found out how weird he is about race issues and, uh, playing an electric recorder onstage. I really liked the God Delusion a lot.

### wait is Axton named after Jeff Axton? If I become friends with you do I get a Vault Hunter named after me??

July 09, 2014
yes and maybe

### You can add the fact I can't pee straight any more to the list of reasons porn is bad for you.

July 08, 2014
goooooooooooooo

### Imagine a Borderlands cartoon series on adult swim or similar, how (in)conceivable would that be? I picture a lushly designed and animated 2D cartoon with wicked dark humor and violence and surreal messed-up-ness, Venture Brothers style.

July 08, 2014
Yeah, that'd be pretty nuts.
Liked by: Becky

### Nakayama is a loser baby walking trashcan and I love him so muchu

July 08, 2014
well, shit. I'd say I'm sorry for killing him off but his death was probably my favorite thing about him

### I have a friend who doesn't like cherries. How do I convince him he's wrong?

July 08, 2014
(i don't like cherries)

### https://38.media.tumblr.com/2ac575847259ebd3420a31d024b9fef6/tumblr_n8bulgBzV01qhnz31o1_500.jpg jack and his body doubles

July 08, 2014
aww

### What's Jack's favorite flavor of ice cream

July 08, 2014
babies

### What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?

July 08, 2014
vanilla oreo.

### What's it like being you?

July 08, 2014
You feel like a huge asshole all the time, but you are extremely comfortable and happy. But you feel like a dickbag and a hack who is about a stone's throw from losing everything when people see just how bad you really are.

But you're also weirdly self-involved and marginally narcissistic as a result, even if that narcissism manifests itself as violent humility.

But you're extremely comfortable and happy, so it's pretty awesome overall.
Liked by: Becky

### Do you think you'll ever go back to streaming semi-regularly?

July 08, 2014
Yeah, as soon as my monthlong gaming fast is over (mid-july).

### To expand on the Nakayama and Shade asks, it's definitely because they're goofy fanyboyish loser nerds in over their heads. A lot of socially awkward fans (a possibly surprising percentage of them women) really, really identify with them and find them cute in a weird roundabout way.

July 08, 2014
Heh. Well, that's pretty neat.

### I would like to, and conversely, would like you to thank whoever put that concept art of Mordecai hatching a new Bloodwing in the end credits, for easing that wound (literally just occurred to me you could have put another one of those moments in the presequel goddammit)

July 08, 2014
Haha, thanks. Yeah, we wanted that to be a little "aw, well that's nice at least" but most people seemed to think it was a flashback and that was just baby Bloodwing.

### Let's put our hats on backwards and talk about pop music.

July 08, 2014
celine dion

### Are there going to be more female enemies in the presequel? Being able to play as a female is great and all but it's still kinda weird fighting dudes exclusively.

July 08, 2014
there are female bandits. Mainly just bulky astronaut types, but they're females.

### Will you ever come to Russia? Maybe for some convention?

July 07, 2014
Maybe if Gearbox press stuff ever brings me there, sure.

### I think people like Nakayama and Shade so much because they are such big fanboys and people can relate to them. (Sorry if I asked this question twice. There was a connection error while asking this and I don't know if it went through)

July 07, 2014
Hunh, that makes a kind of sense. Shade was definitely supposed to be a hyperextreme version of the general loneliness I felt after high school.

### If it's any consolation I thought Scarlett was rad as hell. I heard the players were originally meant to kill her after beating Roscoe though. What happened there?

July 07, 2014
Matt Armstrong saw that I intended her to die in the script, and he basically made the point that Scarlett had/has the potential to be a sort of fun nemesis character -- a catwoman type who you never really consider a mortal threat, but who occasionally can show up and ruin your plans in a fun I-know-you-mean-well kinda way (Lupin/Zenigata, Sly/Carmelita, etc). If we killed her, that door would have closed.

### Is the HAWP crew ever gonna come to canada?

July 07, 2014
Nnnn probably not altogether, but Ash and Davis go there occasionally for various reasons.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### RE: fandom. A lot of it is findable if you really dig, and find the right blogs and tags that you can then branch out from and explore through. It's like a Hammerlock hunt, and the reward is Nakayama fanclubs, Shade porn and more Alternate Universe Jacks then you can shake a bandit at.

July 07, 2014
Man, the Nakayama/Shade love is so bizarre to me. They're so much less cool to me as characters than, like, Scarlett or Nisha. Is it just cause they're dudes? Or because their DLCs de-emphasize them so the fans feel like, ooh, I can give them they attention they deserved but never got in the story?

Or because they're just better characters? I hope it's not that, that'd be a bummer.

### Why aren't there any female "juniors"?

July 07, 2014
woah

### Pretty sure the saddest moment of my life was when I first noticed the puppy paws Brick wears around his neck. Please tell whoever did his updated design that they're history's greatest monster for me.

July 07, 2014
I thiiiink that was Scott Kester? I think? But yeah, they thought it'd be kind of amusingly brutal/sad to say that Brick had lost ANOTHER puppy between BL1 and BL2, so I wrote in the thing about the Sheriff killing his dog.

### What would you think if someone produced a Borderlands fangame? No money or anything involved, of course, but just doing it for a love of the series?

July 07, 2014
I, personally, would be super psyched. But legally you'd probably be in trouble.

### What exactly are Angel's siren powers? Like, Lilith has phase walking, Maya has phase lock, and i dont believe they mention what Steele could do, but what is Angel's siren power? Is it the Phase Shift? if so, what does that mean?

July 07, 2014
yes

### What do you think Mr. Torgue thinks about hippies?

July 07, 2014
He probably finds them confusing but supports their right to express beliefs even if he doesn't agree with them. He also probably thinks some of them are hot

### what/ who/ how did you think of (when) writing all of kriegs dialgoue?

July 07, 2014
A lot of the writing was really just me trying to ape Raison Varner's writing style; he wrote much of the dialog for the BL1 psychos and did about half the BL2 psychos' dialog as well. He hits a great combination of horrifying, confusing and funny that I wanted to replicate with Krieg.

### Did you write charactres of BL2 before you seen concept art, or artists draw their concept art after they read what you wrote?

July 07, 2014
Bit of both. The player characters existed before I wrote anything for them, but NPCs like Jack or Hammerlock or Tina based their concepts on discussions with me.

### The Borderlands fandom has a lot of amazing headcanons and fanfic and art in it, but it can be really hard to find because a lot of said fandom avoids the main tags, or doesn't tag, or turns off indexing. Which is a shame, because there's some fascinating shit in there! Also, porn. So much porn.

July 06, 2014
That's a bummer. Yeah, I do a "borderlands" tumblr search every once in a while and I don't find a lot of headcanon/fanfic/porn, just general (but still cool) stuff about digging or not digging the game.

### Kinda weird how you guys brought BroTeamPill for that HAWP booth babes episode. You guys have crass humor with a point, BroTeam videos tend to just try to be offensive as possible for laughs.

July 06, 2014
Really? I dunno, I feel like Bro Team is kinda trying to be so exaggerated that he's arguing for the opposite. The Bro Team character is so stupendously aggro and cishet masculine that he becomes a parody of that very idea.
Liked by: Naruto Uzumaki

### I'd suggest giving it a read. There is more than talk of gamifying reality. It talks a great deal about game design in such a way that it has social impact. My favorite example is a puzzle game designed to fold proteins. It was proven to be more effective at folding proteins than distributed folding

July 06, 2014
I'll check it out, then.

### Best cuisine in the world?

July 06, 2014
hot pockets

### Taken from the deepest wilds of Tumblr http://pastebin.com/DCUhdegJ

July 06, 2014
hehehe
Liked by: Becky

### Have you read Dr. Jane McGonigal's "Reality is Broken". If so, what are your thoughts on it from an industry perspective? How does the ability for games to impact society fit into your vision of social justice?

July 06, 2014
I have not, but I inherently feel a little weird about gamifying reality to make people do things they wouldn't do otherwise. I don't have the intelligence or research or logic to back up that feeling ,but, yeah. It just feels kinda weird.

### I've gotta ask. Face McShooty. Where the BALLS did that idea come from?

July 06, 2014
http://www.theonion.com/video/hot-new-video-game-consists-solely-of-shooting-peo,14325/

That. I remembered that and thought, fuck, if any game should have a quest that is literally just that, it's Borderlands.

### I heard you like gender-swapped cosplay. Check this out: https://38.media.tumblr.com/1fb13233bb63ad4828dce5c740f64f8b/tumblr_n8aryzxdbr1qahcito1_500.jpg

July 06, 2014
holy FUCK this is one of my favorite things i have ever seen
Liked by: Becky

### I'm almost done with Infamous: Second Son, and although the story is kind of bland, I like the characters and holy fuckshit the gameplay itself is so phenomonal and fun. Also it looks great. Have you played it? you should. It's really good.

July 06, 2014
I didn't stick with it very long to be honest -- the gameplay seemed like Infamous 2 but not quite as fun, and I disliked the protagonist almost immediately. Does it get better partway through? I'm definitely grabbing the standalone dealy with the girl protag.

### Yeah the gameplay made it fun, but the writing that went along with it just kicked it up a notch. The things that were said, stuck with us and had us shouting "did you hear that?!?!" over our laughter.

July 06, 2014
Thank you very very much. You are extremely kind.

### Is there a chance that you will write a Borderlands novel in the future? maybe focusing primarily about handsome jack's personal life and stuff - i think that would be great!

July 06, 2014
I started a Borderlands novel a while ago. Wrote a prologue and half of one chapter before I realized I don't know how to write novels. I've got none of the vocabulary or muscle memory for just making a scene move along with description. I can write stage direction and dialog reliably, but doing actual prose is a huge struggle. I hope to get better at it. I'd certainly like to write a novel at some point, but who knows. I could just be one of Those Guys who says that shit forever and never does.

### Do Paul Hellquist and Hunter Hellquist have any relation?

July 06, 2014
I'm bad at coming up with names so I just stole them from people I worked with on the project. Hunter Hellquist is Hunter Wright (designer) and Paul Hellquist (creative director).
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### you should go back on the indoor kids, it sounded like you and ash were terrified and holding back on it, but I know your weird feminism/gaming/fucking everything you love to talk about would delight them and make for a great episode. Go for it.

July 06, 2014
We were fairly terrified, but I doubt I'll ever get any less terrified of stuff like that. Kumail and Emily are awesome though.

### http://www.9thcx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/nichijou16-6.jpg Left to right: original character, Tomo, Osaka, Chiyo. The only difference is the hair color. How is this even legal?

July 06, 2014
yeah, i still can't tell any of the nichijou characters apart but it's cool cause they're all pretty funny.

### Don't worry, you haven't actually ruined any lives. You're just getting played.

July 06, 2014
yaaaay!

### would it be accurate to describe hammerlock as a parody crossover of steve irwin and david attenborough

July 06, 2014
Nah, not really. I didn't write him to be a parody of anyone in particular -- just a (hopefully) neat twist on the knowledgeable British gentleman.

### I tried to read the manga of Nichijou but only got three pages in, because literally every character looked like the art was plagiarized from Azumanga. In fact for the first minute I thought it was Azuamnga fan fiction. Was I being too harsh? Should I give it another chance?

July 06, 2014
I haven't gotten all the way through the anime but Ash likes it better than Azumanga, which is crazy high praise.

### Can I just say how cool I find it that there are so many cyborgs with so many unique designs in BL2? Transhumanist upgrades & replacements intrigue me a lot in scifi, and it makes sense that there would be so many cyborgs in a universe as dangerous as the Borderlands one.

July 06, 2014
Yep, most all of that is from our character concept artists (Scott Kester, Matias Tapia, Amanda Christensen and others). They love cyborg-y stuff.

### Ken Levine went on record saying that he hates all the Elizabeth porn out there. How do you feel about Borderlands porn that contains characters you created? Grossed out? Weirded out? Strangely aroused? Or you just don't mind?

July 06, 2014
With the exception of Tiny Tina (because she's underage), I'm perfectly fine with any porn based on characters I helped make. Granted 99% of that porn exists purely because of their physical appearances (which I had comparatively very little to do with), but it's neat that anyone likes characters enough to want to watch them fuck, or that something about them just turns on people in a particular way. That's cool.

But again I'm sure most of it is just "that concept design is hot yeeeah doggie" which, sure, cool, whatever gets you there.

### For the ultimate fandom feedback test you should make a Tumblr where you don't say it's you and just post away with all your personal Borderlands headcanons, ships and opinions and reblog stuff you like and see what sort of responses you get. Explore the dark heart of fandom for the purest truths!

July 06, 2014
Haha that's a super good idea. If anyone ever found me out, though, I'd basically be guilty of breaking NDA and could be in huge trouble.

### me and my friends have never had so much fun playing Borderlands 2. I just wanna say, you are something special in this little industry.

July 06, 2014
thanks so much! 99% of the fun comes from the actual gameplay, though, which is due to a whole lot of other people (paul hellquist, creative director, perhaps being the prime one)
Liked by: Becky

### The thought goes that Hammerlock has a history with loud boisterous burly guys and would be charmed by Torgue's positiveness, and Torgue would dig Hammerlock's manly gentlemanliness and wellgroomed facial hair. The ship actually has a strong following, with shipnames like Torguelock and Boomhammer.

July 05, 2014
Torguelock and Boomhammer

god damn that's good
Liked by: Becky

### Eh, so you probably accidentally ruined some guys life. Maybe an official apology is in order?

July 05, 2014
I am really, really sorry. I didn't realize just acknowledging that I'd seen it would somehow lead people to his IP -- I thought the asker was being overly cautious/confused cause they were still anonymous when submitting the question.

Are they actually doing stuff to the poor guy? That's horseshit.

### Did your opinion on Hammerlock and Torgue change, then? I remember when it was first brought up with the reasoning behind it you seemed super into it.

July 05, 2014
No, I probably just forgot the reasoning or forgot how I felt about it then. My memory is atrocious.

### Do you ever see the Borderlands franchise expanding to different medias? What do you think of a Borderlands anime/movie?

July 05, 2014
If a Borderlands anime was more Nichijou/Azumanga Daioh than Akira/Dragonball/whateverthefuck, I'd be super into it.

### Anthony Grandma Rosita is Salvador's beloved grandma C'MON

July 05, 2014
oh duh typical rook move anthony

### How do you feel about Borderlands' suicidal-psycho cover art, since you're always trying to remove content which could be viewed as insensitive?

July 05, 2014
If it were a picture of a guy actually blowing his head off, I'd be pretty uncomfortable with it. As it stands, I think the fingers thing is pretty cool and thematically appropriate (BL itself sort-of pretends to be a hardass game about megaviolence but is ultimately pretty harmless).

### Do you check borderlands-related tags on tumblr? If so, which?

July 05, 2014
I search "borderlands" sometimes. That's about it.

### Jack/Axton and Torgue/Moxxi are your ships then? aahhhh, great! :)

July 05, 2014
I don't have any ships of my own!

Other than LIlith/Roland which I guess isn't a ship cause I made it canon
Liked by: Kerissa Young Becky

### Oh lord ships, do certain fans think super hard about The Ships. Sometimes it's delightful, like the amount of steam that Torgue/Hammerlock has picked up in recent months, sometimes it's the most nonsensical thing in the world. And some of it is outright terrifying.

July 05, 2014
I could see Torgue/Hammerlock in a roundabout way

### (ﾉヮ)ﾉ*:・ﾟ Tina and Gaige treating each other like adopted sisters

July 05, 2014
ooh neat

### Who would win in a fight: Grandma Flexington or Grandma Rosita? Bonus Round: Mexican Standoff between Grandma Flexington, Grandma Rosita, and Handsome Grandma. Borderlands Grannies, they're TOUGH.

July 05, 2014
A google search tells me that Grandma Rosita is a muppet, in which case Grandma Flexington would just love her cause she loves adorable things

### OH MY GOD YOU TOUCHED IT! HELP, POLICE! STRANGER DANGER!

July 05, 2014
shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit

### Which is the best Rainbow Road and why?

July 05, 2014
N64 cause it's pretty much the only one I played incessantly. And the music.
Liked by: Becky

### Not usually a shipper, but ever since the end of the Torgue DLC, I've shipped Mister Torgue as Moxxi's next husband. What do you think? And further, what do you think of fan-shipping as a whole? Got any favorite ships?

July 05, 2014
I haven't seen a lot of fanshipping other than the scant ones on borderlands-confessions.tumblr. Most of the ones I've seen are like Axton/Jack, which is hot or whatever, but it's mainly based on a physical thing rather than "oh these two characters seem like they'd get along really well" which is kinda more cute and interesting to me. Torgue and Moxxi could be interesting, but I imagine Moxxi finds Torgue pretty loud and obnoxious.

### wouldn't it be cool if tina was in the pre-sequel in a future trunks kind of a way

July 05, 2014
I have no idea what Future Trunks means beyond something Dragonbally but I'm making it up in my head and let me tell you it is hilarious

It is a clothing trunk piloting the delorean

### Just saw your tweet about being bi - can I just say how awesome? Not that being bi - gay bi or straight (or other) matters in the scheme of things - I just love that you are (mancrush ftw). On my side of things, I grew up in similarly uncertain waters. Happy with myself now though. Love C.

July 05, 2014
Thanks! Glad to hear you're happy with yourself.

### Will you please touch this?

July 05, 2014
no

maybe

### Your overshare is pretty tame. Real overshare would be something like the hex triplet corresponding to the colour of your glans penis.

July 05, 2014
oh jeez oh god

### Do you like the Jpops?

July 05, 2014
I've heard no Jpops other than the one song in MGS4 and any sound Jami Carignan makes on a given day

### Sup Burchy?

July 05, 2014
sup

### hi its me the CEO of gearbox u r fired please pack ur shit up and leave immediately

July 05, 2014
oh nooo
Liked by: Becky

### If you had to give up one of these two things forever, which would it be: Butt sex or Pizza?

July 05, 2014
Are you kidding? Butt sex. You can have bad butt sex (I mean, I'm assuming, I've never had butt sex).

You can't have bad pizza. You can have pizza that's not as good as other pizza, but it's nearly -- NEARLY -- impossible to have bad pizza.
Liked by: Becky

### Is it weird to hope that you hook up with a hottie at GaymerX or PAX? As a fellow bisexual, I just want others to be happy & have sexytimes. Good luck! May the odds be ever in your favor.

July 04, 2014
stanley tucci narrates all my orgasms
Liked by: Becky

### How do you feel about the Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel cosplay contest and the fact that it is not inclusive for POC and anybody who isn't the same body type as the currently revealed characters since the contest is accuracy based?

July 04, 2014
I can't speak for the judges, but I'd be surprised if they marked people down for body type/skin color given that accuracy is only one of the criteria (and doesn't necessarily mean more than "accuracy to the costume").

Also, Nisha's a POC if that makes any difference.

### if jack had been wearing a sideways baseball cap i would never have been able to take him seriously again. even replaying bl2. "every soul back in Sanctuary will die staring at their own lungs as I rip them from their chests." "yeah but that baseball cap tho."

July 04, 2014
Yeah, it's not a huge loss.

### Have you ever taken posts from this ask page, or twitter or elsewhere, and shown them to your coworkers and bosses? To go "Look, we made the right choices, we've done something great here for fans that needed it"? If so, has it helped you gain ground to make even bolder choices in future games?

July 04, 2014
We get a fair amount of fanmail directly to the Gearbox contact email, so I usually don't bother sending stuff from my twitter/ask (cause it comes off as kind of self-aggrandizing). But receiving stuff like that definitely helps.

### In an alternate universe Anthony Burch is a still a fedora-clad MRA but still got to write Borderlands 2. How would it have turned out?

July 04, 2014
A lot worse, I would hope.

### YOU JUST DESTROYED MY LIFE WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU???

July 04, 2014
FFFFFUCK I'M SORRY FUCK FUCK

### Anthony, why did you do that? I sent you that 4chan link so you could know about what was going on and ignore it. Now everyone on /v/ is asking who sent you the link. Once the mods back track through all the board posts, they'll figure out it was me. They'll put my full name and address on /v/.

July 04, 2014
AHHHH FUCK I assumed since you posted this anonymously it wouldn't matter! I'm super sorry, fuck ass shit fuck ass fuck

### So, I watched the new Pre-Sequel video and Handsome Jack sounds kind of different..? Was that intentional to make him sound even younger/sillier or...?

July 04, 2014
The original gag for that video is that all the font was gonna be super 90's Saved By the Bell shit, and Jack was going to be wearing a sideways baseball cap and he'd sit in a chair backwards before he Got Real With You about The Moon. We directed him to speak with an accordingly cheesy voice.

All that other stuff turned out to be way too expensive for a dumb joke, so the result is that Jack sounds kinda cheesy, which is really no big deal.

### Just a weird shoutout thing? Taught English at a HS in rural Idaho. I started a GameClub and mentioned your name in passing for whatever reason. One of my students did a squee and waved her hands like they were on fire. The thing you helped make is doing big things in small places. Keep it up.

July 03, 2014
Aw man that is awesome.

That student is dumb as fuck expel her
Liked by: Becky

### Are you happier now or a year/two years ago?

July 03, 2014
Equally happy. Last four years have been the happiest of my life. Now, FIVE years ago I was goddamn angry and miserable.

### Ahh...so I bump into you during Pax in Seattle, can we take a trip to BrownTown?

July 03, 2014
If we find each other attractive!

### Tomorrow, we duel. High noon. Main Street. Choose your weapon: a hot glue gun or a staple gun.

July 03, 2014
Oh jesus staple gun hot glue would be horrific

### Did Gearbox censor the lines in the game to make them funny or did they just not want swears in the game? Like i understand the humor standpoint behind Torgue but near the end when Claptrap starts spouting swears, I guess I didn't understand why he got censored out.

July 03, 2014
We censored Claptrap's swears cause he's a robot and you get free swears that way. "Part of his programming" etc etc

### So you're into butt stuff.....are you going to Pax Prime?

July 03, 2014
Nah. I'm gonna try to be in Seattle during PAX Prime, but I'm not going to PAX itself.

### So do you and Jim Sterling still keep in touch or did you two fall off?

July 03, 2014
I haven't really kept in touch with anyone from Dtoid other than Linde. Not by choice or anything, it just sorta happened.

### Zer0 only has four fingers was that an artist's choice or did you write that in?

July 03, 2014
That was ALL the artists.

### What do you miss? Any certain people, places, things, TV shows, etc.?

July 03, 2014
Firefly. The restaurant Oregano's. My innocence.

### How do you differentiate between the useful type of criticism being civil, calm, constructive, likes/dislikes, and the more vitriolic type, "telling you how to write your show", such as criticism of Moffat's writing, which is well deserved, but not phrased in a way the former philosophy would accept

July 03, 2014
If it pisses me off and is mean I ignore it. If it's delivered with even a modicum of empathy, I listen to it. Or try to.

### Hi Mr. Burch! I love Borderlands so much, but I have a Mac! :( Do you have any idea whether the pre-sequel is coming out for Mac?

July 03, 2014
No clue, sorry :(

### Favorite Team Fortress 2 class?

July 03, 2014
spy

### Did you ever have to count really carefully for Zer0's haikus to make sure you didn't fuck up and regret it forever?

July 03, 2014
Yep. But I'm pretty sure I still fucked up a few and I do regret them forever.

### how's your week been so far?

July 03, 2014
Been aight.

### borderlands 2 is so gay, I mean that positively. I feel very at home in this universe, almost as much as New Vegas. Thank you for making this game and thank you for making protagonists like Maya and Zero.

July 02, 2014
yay thanks for saying nice things

### I just realized that in both "A Meat Bicycle Built For Two" and "Sexy Booth Babes," the protagonist has an inner voice that tries to help them woo a pretty girl, only for their outer voice to blurt out something about trains. I'M ON TO YOU, ANTHONY BURCH.

July 02, 2014
I also made like two short films in high school with that EXACT premise, so, uh
Liked by: Becky

### If you could have any character from Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, or 4 show up in Phantom Pain to see them in Phantom Pain's 1984 setting, who would you bring in?

July 02, 2014
I want a remake of the original metal gear where David Hayter takes mission direction from Kiefer Sutherland and is then betrayed.

And I want a game which chronicles the falling out between Big Boss and Zero.

These are the two most important events in the entire Metal Gear canon and they both appear entirely offscreen. I want *THOSE.* Anything else is basically whatever.
Liked by: Udz Mmu

### Please don't stop oversharing

July 02, 2014
k
Liked by: Becky

### What if you replaced al of Wilhelm audio clips with the Wilhelm scream.

July 02, 2014
We intended to have Wilhelm's death scream be the Wilhelm but we fucking forgot god dammit
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Calum Bain Becky

### I wonder if Kojima anticipated that there would be a fair amount of dudes cosplaying Quiet and looking amazing. http://kylemistry.tumblr.com/post/90308335220 Does this give you the tingles? 'cause it's giving me the tingles.

July 02, 2014
Yeah, I dig this a lot. It still doesn't excuse how fuckin weird Quiet's design is to me, but it's cool that this dude did that.
Liked by: Becky

### Oh man, how much is that "Deathtrap for Cutie" thing going to bother you? It's got to be in the "a whole lot, forever" neighborhood, right?

July 02, 2014
yyyyyes
Liked by: Becky Udz Mmu

### Why do you care so much about demographics that account for such a small fraction of sales?

July 02, 2014
It is a misapprehension that women account for "a small fraction of sales". They represent half of all gamers. There are also a fair number of gamers from other marginalized groups -- enough that it's not ludicrous to want to care about them.

That said I don't make decisions about inclusivity based around sales because I believe inclusivity is about making the world better.
Liked by: Becky

### you're amazing but you kinda overshare dude xD

July 01, 2014
fair enough

### Butt stuff more like YUCK stuff

July 01, 2014
NEIN
Liked by: Becky

### Argh. I'm so sorry! Here it is again. http://pestilent-defiler.tumblr.com/post/90414958008/rambles-about-ellie-and-being-a-fat-woman

July 01, 2014
Thanks so much for writing this. I hadn't even realized how shitty Claptrap's fat jokes were -- sorry about that. I'll make an effort to cut that shit out in the future.

### just got me a wii-u. what are some cool games to check out? I already own mk8

July 01, 2014
RAYMAN LEGENDS

### do you like anime? if so do you own anime swag?

July 01, 2014
I haven't seen that much anime. I like some anime. I have no swag. Anime or otherwise.

### I just want to +1 what you said about porn. For most of my life it was my single favorite thing, but eventually something I read convinced me to try quitting it. The transition was very difficult, but after my withdrawal stopped, I found that my depression had been cured AND my performance improved

July 01, 2014
Yeah, agreed. I watched porn pretty consistently until I got married, because (thanks America!) nobody ever tells you any consequences to sex or anything adjacent to it with any honesty -- they just say "don't" and sort of leave it there. If I'd known porn can cause ED and shit like that, I wouldn't have watched anywhere near as much of it.

### Dan Harmon mentioned he played Borderlands 2 on the latest Harmontown, just so u know

July 01, 2014
Oh, neat. Did he like it at all? Say anything about finding it funny or something?

### I tried to contain my feels about Ellie in 300 characters but yeah, no. Blogged about it. Tl;dr I was wrong in my impressions, she's awesome, and body positivity rocks. http://bit.ly/1iPs469 Also, you win for talking with your fans!

July 01, 2014
Looks like that link only goes to an ask.fm page :(

### oh no, you went back on your wedding vows with the butt stuff! :o

July 01, 2014
I didn't do anything to HER butt. Important difference in the eyes of god.

### I think it would take a lot away from Krieg if Maya or anyone else just "fixed" him. It perpetuates the 'beauty and the beast' trope that honestly just makes me uncomfortable. Like this guy is really messed up but a pretty girl likes him so he does a 180 in the space of an upbeat montage??

July 01, 2014
Yeah, I think I agree. It also kinda disempowers Maya in a weird way, where she only exists to make this dude better.

### good job on borderlands 2, I especially love how you wrote handsome jack and I love him - as a character handsome jack is a fucking assholkeep up the good work

June 30, 2014
thanks very much

### Does Zer0 have a gender? or

June 30, 2014
or

### Burch, you're pretty skinny.....are you one of those unfortunate souls afflicted with noassitis?

June 30, 2014
I slide off chairs it is horrific
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Is it weird to make a Borderlands game without a playable siren? It seems a bit weird to me. Sure there are only so many sirens, and this game is about Jack, and maybe you have more interesting ideas for character classes. But... it felt sort of like a Borderlands thing. (Look - not anonymous! =P)

Erin L W
June 30, 2014
Nah, I actually like it a lot. I sometimes get worried that the only powerful chicks in our game have to be Magical Siren People as if regular women in the BL universe can't be really hardcore. I like that Nisha and Athena have nothing "special" about them.
Liked by: Becky

### what would you say to 20 year old Anthony burch if you traveled back in time?

June 30, 2014
"Try out butt stuff, it's pretty great. Also stop watching porn it's legit bad for you"
Liked by: Becky

### Did you also write "A Meat Bicycle Built For Two" and "+5 To Punching"? I love those!

June 30, 2014
I did.

### Reddit is a site that happily hosts content like r/greatapes or r/theredpill. If subreddits like r/n-ggers get banned it's for disrespecting the sanctity of the voting system, not their content. Fuck Reddit and fuck their useless (http://i.imgur.com/X9cMLxf.png) administration.

June 30, 2014
Jesus. Okay, nevermind, fuck reddit.
Liked by: Becky

### Ellie used to make me cringe because I saw her as a cheap laughs caricature of the Fat Acceptance movement. Thanks to reading about people that her character has helped, and your reply to the concern troll a few hours ago, I'm a fan. You and Ellie are awesome. This fat woman thanks you!

June 30, 2014
Oh no. What about her made her feel like a cheap caricature to you?

### *sexts*

June 30, 2014
o lawd

### How would Gaige and Tiny get along in your head?

June 30, 2014
Gaige would be straightman, I guess, and Tina would probably fall in love with Gaige pretty hard.

### I read here that in an alternate ending to BL2, you were going to drive a car into a lake and die by drowning? Can you elaborate a bit more on that? What would have lead up to it? http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/community/articles/1047/inside-the-box-fart-jokes-and-tragedy

June 30, 2014
That was a joke. It's a reference to the Silent Hill 2 "lake" ending.

### I know this is a bit of a heavy topic but what do you think of MRA as a whole? And what of reddit?

June 30, 2014
I stopped using reddit for a while because they allowed r/beatingwomen to exist. I like reddit as a whole -- it has some of the funniest commenters on the internet, and a lot of fun, diverting stuff -- even if much of its userbase can be pretty sexist.

I have no interest in MRAs. I used to be an angry misogynist and I got over that. I understand why a man or a group of men might blame women for their personal unhappiness (men are taught that if you're just nice and decent and, thanks to romantic comedies, PERSISTENT, then you will get the love of your life), but that's no excuse for the horseshit MRAs suggest.

### Aside from you, my other favourite writers are Matt Stone and Trey Parker (the guys who make South Park). Do you have any opinions on them or their work?

June 30, 2014
They're alright. I like bits of South Park like anybody else and cringe at some of the politics (who can HONESTLY say that pussies and assholes are closer together than dicks and assholes? You really think Janeane Garafalo is closer to Sadam Hussein than George W. Bush?).

### I'm an amateur writer and I whenever I try to include a LGBTQ or some minority character, I'm always afraid that it feels like I'm crow-barring them in just for the sake of inclusivity. I'm aware that this is ridiculous but I can't shake the feeling. Have you ever gotten that feeling while doing BL2

June 30, 2014
All the time. I'm always really scared of creating a token character or a stereotypical one. That's why most of the LGBT characters in BL2 are "gay" in that they every once in a while mention that they're attracted to the opposite sex. They're not, say, Shore Leave from Venture Brothers (who Robert Yang pointed out as an example of a really good, unapologetically gay character).

So I guess you could do that? Or just try to think of a character irrespective of sexual orientation/race/gender and then after you've built them and written some dialog, go back and change them? This may sound token-y, but it can be helpful to prevent saying, "okay, I'm going to make a black character, so..." and then inadvertently drawing on decades of cliches that the media has taught you about black people ("he's an ex-con!").

View more

### have u seen 22 jump street?

June 30, 2014
I haven't, but I really want to.

### Interesting how basically none of these "people" have accounts. It's almost as if you're sending messages to yourself, or something.

June 30, 2014
I mean, I have literally no way to prove otherwise.

But lolololol angry much

### Is that article seriously implying that gay people have reached SUCH a state of acceptance and privilege in society that they're no longer oppressed, and are selfish to not dedicate resources elsewhere because they're so well accepted? Would you go to Africa and shame them for not donating to Syria?

June 30, 2014
That's not necessarily what I took from it, but I see what you're getting at. I think the author was primarily frustrated with how we're all so happy with all of the progress the LGBT movement has made, when in reality we only care about the LGB aspect of it and still consider trans people weird, like they're pretending to be something other than their birth gender.

### I hope I'm not reading into this right, but the character Ellie isn't making it so fat people think its okay to be fat is she? I understand having a better self image, but that could lead to continuing an unhealthy life style. If she lost weight would that be a betrayal of some sort?

June 30, 2014
Ellie is definitely trying to make it okay to be fat. Obviously there are health concerns to obesity, but fat people have had those screamed at them from every corner of society for years and years and years.

Compare it to depictions of smoking, I guess (which as I understand it is FAR more dangerous than obesity) -- we all know smoking is dangerous but it's almost always used in the context of making someone seem cool. If we can do that with cigarettes, why can't we have characters who are confident and happy with their bodies?

### What do you think of Krieg x Maya?

June 30, 2014
Part of me wants to keep them separate, keep the relationship one-sided (Krieg loves her but she's aromantic) because I kind of don't want the characters to be happy (happiness doesn't necessarily lend itself well to drama).

The other part wants Maya to "cure" Krieg in some way and then start dating him.

### I am a larger person, and I used to be very ashamed of that. I hated myself and what I was. My hate ruled my life. Ellie taught me how to love myself. Ellie solely taught me how to have a better body image. Thank you so much for saving me.

June 30, 2014
Ahhhh holy shit messages like this make everything worthwhile ahhhhhh thank you so much
Liked by: Becky

### important followup question: what's your sexuality?

June 30, 2014
I'm attracted primarily to women, but have been attracted to enough men (generally of the pretty, often androgynous variety) that I consider myself bisexual.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I dunno, I think the Ashley Davis character, if there was one would be more complicated than 'too nice for Pandora.' I'd say the 'fun sweet missions' would involve a lotta murderin'. Like "I made everyone cupcakes but these bandits stole them. GO KILL THEM ALL!!! And don't get blood on the cupcakes"

June 30, 2014
That's a pretty good thought, actually.

### I miss classic cheat codes! Do you think we will ever see a resurrection of cheat codes, or has DLC, trophies, and less difficult gameplay made them obsolete?

June 30, 2014
Probably never, unfortunately. I think cheat codes used to exist so the developers could test/skip certain things easily after a build, and now since everything can be built on a PC or whatever you can just use developer commands (which you then shut off after the game ships to avoid people irrevocably breaking stuff).

### I need your pants, your boots, and your motorcycle.

June 30, 2014
you forgot to say plz

### so...how do I go about having sex with you

June 29, 2014
You be someone I find attractive and you ask me nicely. I'm going to be at GaymerX next weekish, so uh yeah
Liked by: Becky

### We ever gonna see Ellie beat the shit out of something with the big ol' wrench she carries in the concept art?

June 29, 2014
I hope one day!

### wait actually, look at this one http://38.media.tumblr.com/5f8a936010345b28b5328172265fb4da/tumblr_n7urytInbQ1tbmb35o2_1280.jpg <<welcome to lynchwood

June 29, 2014
neatooo

### I wanted to let you know borderlands 2 had quite an impact on me. Honestly before I played that game I was quite closed-minded. But after seeing all these gay or bisexual characters displayed in such a casual way, especially characters I liked (torgue), I came to be more accepting. Thank you.

June 29, 2014
Seriously? Shit, that's awesome, thanks.

### Is there any video game you think would work well as a live stage production or a play? The only games I've seen this pulled off with are Ace Attorney, Persona 3, and Persona 4.

Jordan M. Gonzales
June 29, 2014
i wanna see someone make a sam beckett-esque play of papers please where you can be rejected entrance to the play
Liked by: Jordan M. Gonzales

### Is there some place we can email you personally? I would love to go more in depth about what I said earlier, i hate only having 300 characters to say things to you.

June 29, 2014
twitter handle at gmail

### Do you think Salvador and Ellie would get along? I imagine them laughing loudly at each other's terrible awful jokes and pranks. Maybe Sal's into mountain-climbing, eh?

June 29, 2014
Yeah, they probably would, now that you mention it. I'd never actually thought of pairing them for a dialog scene but that might be fun.

### Accusing post (it's pretty dumb): http://dontaskidontknow.tumblr.com/post/90171639091/honogumas-i-received-this-on-space-email Explanatory post: http://the-midnight-penguin.tumblr.com/post/90180340504/damedonger-sueslayer-sighs-for-1000-years

June 29, 2014
Ah thanks. ffffffffff weird

### people paint your characters on the sides of buildings how does it feel bruh

June 29, 2014
Krieg's not *my* character, really -- he's the product of many different people, including Scott Kester (visual design) and Paul Hellquist (gameplay design). Buuuut that said yeah it's pretty neat.

### Pssst, hey you, you with the beard there. You're a delightful person, worth more than a million butthurt 4channers and MRAs. Keep on rockin' in the free world.

June 29, 2014
Thanks, you are sweet

### I know fetchquest games aren't popular, but I find them oddly relaxing. I'm working my way through Skyrim, which is mostly fetchquests. What other games would you recommend for someone who likes fetchquests (which is to say, they might not be good games overall, but scratch that fetchquest itch)?

June 29, 2014
WoW, probably.

### Sending messages to yourself, seriously? Your pandering faux-social justice writing is unacceptable. Even mainstream people are realizing how truly awful you are. I'm on to your greedy sensibilities and the way you abuse your sister. You're not fooling me, you've been made.

June 29, 2014
pahahahahaha

### Hey Burch, would it be cool if I name my future kid after you?

June 29, 2014
Sure. That's -- I don't know why you would. But sure.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I think nice things about you.

June 29, 2014
Thanks!

### Anthony why doesn't Gaige have a talent tree skill called Deathtrap For Cutie

June 29, 2014
oh god dammit GOD FUCKING DAMMIT
Liked by: Jeffrey mackenzie charlton Becky The Late Wendy Cooldown Udz Mmu

### I just downloaded the wattle gobbler DLC… wha... WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS

June 28, 2014
hehe

### As an Old English enþusiast, I þink we should revive þe letter þ in modern English. Does þis sound like a good idea to you?

June 28, 2014
IT LOOKS LIKE A "B" AHHH

### You should put a character in the next Borderlands game that is like (maybe even played by) Davis. Like a character that's too nice for pandora, but is very lovable and gives fun sweet missions.

June 28, 2014
I've definitely considered it.
Liked by: Becky

### What was the most disappointing game ever for you?

June 28, 2014
Can't think of one -- generally before I play a game I've read a review or something so I know if it's something I'm going to like, or something I will probably find unenjoyable. I guess Deus Ex Invisible War was kind of a bummer?

### Have you ever considered putting swear words and more blatantly adult content into borderlands?

June 28, 2014
I'd personally love to curse more, cause cursing is great, but it's not really my call.

### I just want to publicly say that anyone who doesn't believe that the gaming community is absurdly sexist should just watch what happens in the SGDQ chat anytime a girl is visible on camera. Holy hell.

June 28, 2014
Guhh that's why I pop out the window or fullscreen it.

### Do you read Homestuck?

June 28, 2014
Nah.

### Was the kind of creepy way Axton talks to his turret intentional or did it just come off like that to me.

June 28, 2014
Was not intentional. Whoops.

### Do you have any thoughts re: Oculus Rift?

June 28, 2014
I hope it gets amazing. I played the Game of Thrones vignette they had at SXSW and it was really really neat, but we'll have to see if it ends up being as much of a gimmick as motion controls inevitably were (as much as I love Zack and Wiki, that's one of the only games that felt like it lived up to the potential of motion controls. That and Dance Central.)

### In the 80s, there was a strict policy against credits in video games (to prevent talent poaching), which is a stark contrast to today's VGs which border on excessive. Which approach appeals to you more (and why)?

June 28, 2014
Credits for everything. Games are in a really weird position where the marketing drives perceived credit, which means you often get people thinking that Peter Molyneux was basically the sole voice behind Fable or CliffyB was the only guy who mattered behind Gears of War, when that simply isn't true.

### You are such a disgusting fucking human being.

June 28, 2014
Hey you've never seen me fuck, it's not entirely disgusting

Just kidding it's pretty gross when I fuck

### Which classic Doctor is your favourite, then? Please don't say Four. Everyone says Four. xD ...Well, I mean, you can say Four if you WANT, but, y'know... way to be average... :P

June 28, 2014
Two, actually. In the Three Doctors, the way he says "you've redecorated! I don't like it!" is so good -- somehow better than the way Tennant says it, which is a sentence I didn't imagine myself saying.

### What do you think of this awesome Handsome Jack portrait? http://38.media.tumblr.com/ba7d295a30361b51cecb5c958a49efd9/tumblr_mz3zkinfUw1qjm4z5o1_500.png

June 28, 2014
I think it is scary in a good way.

### Figures /v/ would do shit like that, cant handle good people in the game industry. I want to say, Im a transman working my way thru college with plans to be involved in game dev, youre one of my inspirations for hope that I might be able to work in a less toxic, more accepting environment. Thank you

June 28, 2014
Ahhh thank you so much! I hope the industry is less horrifically shitty once you're out of college.

### http://souplaws.tumblr.com/post/88896944502/yesterday-at-tpyurban-graffiti-2ndsaturday street art

June 28, 2014
holy fuck

### Update: the post accusing you has ~300 notes while a post explaining that it was a 4chan hoax has ~1500. It sucks that there are people who fell for it, but 5x as many people know it isn't true.

June 28, 2014
Oh, good. I'm kinda curious to see the tumblr posts, actually, if you got em.

### Hey man, you don't have to publish this but just a heads up: Some assholes from /v/ are using Space Email to say you raped and murdered a girl and dumped her body, and now someone's screencapped it and spreading it over Tumblr, believing it to be true and not knowing who you are

June 28, 2014
What the fuck
Liked by: Chris Smells

### Have you watched any classic doctor who? It's just that I don't think I've seen you mention anything other than the reboot.

June 27, 2014
A bit. I really love City of Death and Genesis of the Daleks. I basically made myself watch at least one story from every Doctor.

### I just finished Wedding Day Massacre and if your intention was to make me feel like the most horrible person in the galaxy, well MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. (It was fun tho I laffed thanks Ant)

June 27, 2014
Nice! Yeah, we wanted to fart around with how bad a person the player inherently is when they play the game, but in a fun "yeah but fuck it" way. I'm really glad it worked for you.

### Are you looking forward to the next Mass Effect game? And that untitled project that Bioware is working on?

June 27, 2014
Of course. I trust BioWare.

### Do people attribute negativity to female/PoC characters more easily than to "plain old white guy" characters? Eg. people shit on Black Widow for wearing a (tactical) bodysuit, despite that Captain America basically wears one too, and Hawkeye's outfit actually shows MORE skin than hers.

June 27, 2014
Yeah, I think so. It's the whole thing of a male character standing on his own, but a minority character is implicitly representative of their entire minority group. So we criticize them more harshly when we don't necessarily need to. (That said, it seems pretty odd that Black Widow's special move, which she has used like six times, is "I put my vagina in your face and then toss you down.")

### Burch, when you've outgrown your beard, may I keep it?

June 27, 2014
No. Its roots will bury themselves deep in the crevasses of your soul and there will be no respite from the horrors

### For some reason, every time Prinze/Vega calls me Loco -- as either Shep, but ESPECIALLY FemShep -- I want to throw him into a vat of element zero. If he were an Elcor he'd be like, "Unapallogetically mailing it in: See ya, Loco." (Sarcastically: I'm super-pumped for his role as a Qunari in DA3)

June 27, 2014
Hahaha. I still dig him. I especially liked that his first "getting to know you" conversation was a fistfight.

### hey burch don't watch anime

June 27, 2014
what why some anime is sick

### https://31.media.tumblr.com/f9cf83795aa01032a02cd1ed6c0bf135/tumblr_myleagKaF41rsrv5vo1_500.png the hero

June 27, 2014
pahaha

### As a lady who likes Vega and who's talked w. other ladies talk about Vega, I didn't see anything particularly lewd. He's cocky and jokey but his interactions with MaleShep and FemShep came off near identical. If you do purposely flirt with him on FemShep, he immediately gets flustered and backs off.

June 27, 2014
Aw, that's cute.

### Vega is awful if you're playing as Femshep imo. He flirts/makes lewd comments, even if you're in a relationship w/ s/o else. Like, when he gets a tattoo and he suggests you get his name "somewhere special." And you have to flirt back! I'm his CO! I should be able to tell him off for insubordination!

June 26, 2014
Aw, that's a bummer. As BroShep we had what I initially felt was this really interesting quasiflirtatious relationship that I could have turned into friendship or fucking based on choice. Only afterward did I realize he was straight and just weirdly cocky to me.

### Spent any cash on the Steam summer sales?

June 26, 2014
Yeah. Got DmC and Mirror's Edge (another copy just for my PC).

### Have you ever read Hyperbole and a Half? (If not, I recommend starting with "Party" or "Dog,"/"Dog's don't understand basic concepts, like moving." And then reading all the things.)

June 26, 2014
I read her thing on depression, which was fantastic.

### How accurate is HAWP as far as your sibling relationship with Ash?

June 26, 2014
Not at all. We get along and haven't tried to kill each other more than once or twice.

### Is there anything you hate that pretty much everyone else likes? Bonus points if it makes you seem grouchy. For example, I hate the beach and convertibles.

June 26, 2014
The smell of flowers, parties, sports, being outdoors, Veronica Mars, Assassin's Creed.

### I am friends with you on steam and it said on the presequel page that you already own it on steam. Do you have a playable copy? I love you, but also I kinda hate you right now.

June 26, 2014
Yeah, I get regular steam builds.

### Exactly how much money would one have to pay to get a DLC that was just Tiny Tina, Torgue and Hammerlock having a tea party that you've been invited to

June 26, 2014
Probably a lot. We already did a tea party quest!

### I think Mass Effect 3 is good and I think the Starchild stuff is, you know, kinda cool, Revelation Space similarities be damned. Does that make me some kind of loser? (But, yeah, Freddie Prinze, Jr. was terrible as Vega.)

June 26, 2014
Whaaaaat I really liked Vega until I found out he wasn't gay.

### What ever happened to Anthony Saves the World? That shit was fucking rad.

June 26, 2014
Was it, though?

### Apparently Firefly averaged about 4 million viewers an episode, but Fox cancelled it anyway since it was attracting the wrong kind of audience for their advertisers. It had nothing to do with low viewership, hence why it sold a fuckload of DVD's and got a movie, they just didn't want it to succeed.

June 26, 2014
I hope TV as we know it is trampled to death by Netflix and Amazon.
Liked by: Becky

### Thanks the for feedback, it means a lot! I wrote a few more pieces on the same subject, if you're interested in learning more about LoL daidalwrites.blogspot.com

June 26, 2014
I'll check it out!

### How do you feel about the White Walker plot line in GoT, as far as your hatred of "big question" cynical storytelling in TV goes?

June 26, 2014
My problem with "big question" storytelling is when the writers create a question so confusing and so mysterious, and so integral to your understanding of the work's entire world, that you basically don't understand the stakes of the show. I can't be scared of Dyad in Orphan Black because I have no clue what the hell they want to do. I can't be interested in anything from LOST because I don't know what the shit it means for anybody on the island, and the vagueness of the threat allows them to do essentially whatever they want with almost no explanation.

The White Walkers have some mystery about them (who are they?), but they represent a clear threat. They're not a Big Question because you don't really need to know their backstory to be frightened of what they can do. They're basically frost zombies, and even if the entire series ended and that's all I ever knew about them they would have still served their purpose.

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### Favorite position?

June 26, 2014
Libertarian

Just kidding liberal

### Does the tofu make you a better writer?

June 26, 2014
Nah. Just slightly more smug.

### Do you have a favourite game you go back to again and again? Sort of like comfort food but videogames?

June 26, 2014
Far Cry 2, BioShock and Metal Gear Solid.

### Have you ever actually played much of BL2 yourself? If you do, what class do you personally favor playing as?

June 26, 2014
I really like Krieg, cause I hate taking cover and he's designed to encourage reckless play. Beyond that, Maya is really neat.

### So how did the pre-sequel come about? Was it the warm fan reception to Jack, your own love for Jack, or just the need to tell this part of the story? Or more of a 'the studio wanted another Borderlands game' thing

June 26, 2014
Combo of all of those in varying amounts.

### Over 880 answers on your ask fm page...how does it feel, fancy pants?

June 26, 2014
Jesus I must have a lot of free time

### This sounds more interesting than it'll end up being, doesn't it? http://www.movies.com/movie-news/rambo-5-news/16091

June 26, 2014
Iiii dunno if I trust the Rambo movies to understand the ultimate point of No Country for Old Men.

### Just started Bioshock and BL2. BL2 was a blast (thank you). Bioshock, less so. Tbh, I only got Bioshock because it is a "classic" and "important" game. Have you ever felt obligated, but not excited to consume a classic piece of media? Have you forced yourself to watch a movie or play a game?

June 24, 2014
All the time. I'm lazy and cowardly enough that I generally just want to stay in my comfort zone and play the same stuff over and over (I'm still really bad at this, and don't play enough new and different indie games), but I think it's important to go back and check out old stuff to understand the history of a medium.

### Is everyone that works at GBX as awesome as you? If a fan were to send a strategy guide to the headquarters, could the entire team sign and send it back? (Also Ash if available.)

June 24, 2014
If you sent a guide in there's no guarantee EVERYONE would sign it, but the receptionist would definitely put it at the front desk and send an email out requesting that as many people sign it as had the time.

### there is no fall damage in Borderlands. Do you like fall damage in games? Also, did you have anything to do with the michael mamaril tribute? that was fucking beautiful and awesome of gearbox to do.

June 24, 2014
Depends on the game. If fall damage is used to punish carelessness (Dark Souls), sure. If it's used in a game that's otherwise pretty batshit just to be "realistic" (GTA) it bums me out.

I wrote Mamaril's dialog in the game, but otherwise I had nothing to do with the tribute.

### So the lift cable is fraying and time is short. You know the fire is spreading, at least two of them are coming up the stairwell, possibly armed with shotguns and more aftershocks are expected any moment. Is now the appropriate time for a kiss, or do you wrench open the door and surge to the piazza?

Paul Dean
June 23, 2014
***always time for smooches***
Liked by: Becky

### Hey, would you mind looking over a piece I wrote about chess and LoL? I'm looking to clarify league a bit for people who have a hard time entering the genre. http://goo.gl/ISocUH

June 23, 2014
This is fantastic! I had to look up some LoL terms (I suck at the game and haven't found out how to get better) but it's a really really good look at design between two seemingly dissimilar games.

### What are your thoughts re: Better Call Saul? Excited? Worried? Some other word that I should let you come up with on your own?

June 23, 2014
Excited. That character was cool, and Vince Gilligan has earned enough of my trust to fill the atlantic ocean. Assuming trust is a liquid.

### Do you think you didn't go far enough with the grey area morals in BL2 or that maybe you even went too far? There's a few parts where it feels like you guys went "Oh crap we made Jack too interesting and likable we need to ram in some ECHOs of him being ridiculously evil to make the player kill him"

June 23, 2014
We only went too far when we asked the player to do shitty stuff, I think. But even then I dunno if I'd clarify the Clan War mission (where you have to burn sleeping Hodunks alive as they sleep in their trailers) "going too far," although some fans have. I actually like that mission because I don't look at Vault Hunters as heroes -- they are, like the player, in it for the fun of violence and the greed of getting new loot. There's not a HUGE difference between entering a bandit camp and slaughtering everyone compared to burning the Hodunks' trailers as they slumber.

### I've been following the NMMOP project. i'm launching a podcast soon, and I'd like to have women present in the show, but I'm realizing that the pool of people I'd want to have on as guests (ie my immediate friend base) is probably 4:1 M/F. And the first two recordings were 4:1 as well. How improve?

June 23, 2014
Invite more female guests on? If not, podcasts are kinda deemphasized in the overal Plz Diversify Your Panel idea -- "podcast" as an idea was meant to refer more to something like Giant Bomb's E3 podcast, where in three straight days of recording they only had on five women or something like that (probably misremembering that, but that basic idea).

### The ball on game is simple: get several balloons have someone (that's not one of you four) fill them up with water and cologne/perfume at random. The group pops balloons above head. The loser gets the smelly balloon---then has to take that smell out in public doing something silly/embarrassing.

June 23, 2014
Yeesh. hardcore.

### After hearing Grandma Flexington stories Ive grown to like Mr Torgue a lot more, hes just so sweet, did Ashly voice act Grandma too? If yes she's very talented, if no she's still very talented

June 23, 2014
No, I believe that actor's name is Jessica Cavanagh. She's amazing.

### are there any runs at SGDQ you're looking forward to :O

June 23, 2014
SS2 in 20 minutes sounds fun.

### Hey Anthony. I'm having a rough day and was about to write you this weird sort of personal rant and then realized that you don't know me, and that would be awkward, so... I just wanted to say your silly internet videos always make me smile. Thank you so much for that.

June 23, 2014
I'm so sorry you're having a rough day. I hope it gets better, and thank you for all the nice stuff you said.
Liked by: Becky

### I don't mind you getting into Twitter beefs because more than often, I think you're right to get angry about the shit some people say, but sometimes I worry that one day you're gonna piss off the wrong person and there'll be consequences. Please don't get fired, man :(

June 21, 2014
Yeah, maybe. I'd have to say something *super* fucking bananas to get fired, though.

### What would you really like to make a game about?

June 21, 2014
If I tell you, it's been scientifically proven that I won't want to make the game as much. So I won't tell you, sorry.
Liked by: Erin L W

### I want to challenge you, Davis, Papa Burch and Ash to water balloon cologne/perfume balloon. On that note, who's the luckiest out of you four? (I.e. The cosmos wants to have sensual intercourse with you)

June 21, 2014
I'm probably luckiest? Cause nothing bad's ever happened to me and I got successful via a fluke.

Now that I've typed that, I will be hit by a train made of anthrax.

Also I have no idea what that balloon thing is but it sounds smelly

### Does it make me a bad person for wanting Handsome Jack's Hyperion sneakers to be an actual Gearbox product I can buy and put on my actual physical feets

June 21, 2014
Yes.

### What's the secret to a healthy marriage?

June 21, 2014
Hrm. I dunno. I think maybe that Davis and I are just naturally compatible in a bunch of tiny ways? Like, I like to play videogames and she likes watching people play videogames. We both like food a lot. We both hate parties and both don't drink and both are liberal atheists and both decided to become vegetarians in the same moment.

I hear people say "relationships are work," stuff like that, but I dunno -- I feel like relationships are about finding someone you really really really enjoy being around, and if you gotta work for it or make huge sacrifices to be with them or change who you are, that's just against the point of a relationship for me.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Jake Vitela Adam R

### Just read on your twitter that you're gonna give up games for month. Have you done that before? If so what was it like?

June 21, 2014
Never done it before. Hoping to, like, read. And stuff. I dunno.

### People always talk about Anita Sarkeesian videos and it annoys me a bit. I don't dislike her because of her views or anything. I don't care for her because of her presentation. She's just not engaging as a video personality. Does that make me an asshole? I can't be alone in thinking that..

June 21, 2014
I hear a lot of people say that. I don't personally agree -- I like how straightforward she is -- but that doesn't make you an asshole.

### anthony burch more like anthony borscht

June 21, 2014
fuck thats good

### Man I loved your answer about addressing trolls on twitter. I also like the fact that your insult kind of reveals a potential repercussion of their current behaviour, trolling family members could quite plausibly cause them to abandon you. Sorry this is a comment.

June 21, 2014
Thanks!

### Idk if you've heard of the game Dys4ia from two years back, but it's a really great indie game about what it's like to transition between genders. You could play through the whole thing in 5 minutes and it's freeeee

June 20, 2014
Yep, played it.

### Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4 and Erica Anderson from Catherine are the closest to positive depictions of trans characters/people I can think of...though they're not perfect, for reasons dozens of people have already discussed.

June 20, 2014
I stopped playing P4 pretty early (something about the huge amount of cut scenes combined with a distaste for the combat), and I don't remember much of Catherine...and what I do remember I found really weird in a not-cool kinda way.

### I lost a lot of respect for you when your response to a snarky comment on twitter was something along the lines of "i hope your family abandons you in a time of need". That's cutting things kinda personal don't you think?

June 20, 2014
No, I don't.

Look -- if some asshole troll decides they want to try and ruin my day by saying I'm a talentless memespewing hack, or calling me Anthony Bitch, or doing one of any number of shitty underhanded things to make me upset, then I'm entitled to say whatever the heck I want to try to make that guy feel bad for doing it in the first place. I have no responsibility to take the high road and ignore someone who went out of their way to attempt to hurt my feelings.

I didn't say I hope he got cancer, cause he might have someone in his life who actually did have cancer and that might cut closer to the bone than I would like. I didn't say I hope someone he loved died, because I don't have anything against his loved ones. I didn't say I hope someone set his pet on fire, or that I hope he gets murdered, or call him a slur, or any number of a thousand of awful things I *could* have justifiably said to a troll. I said I hope his loved ones abandon him when he needs them, which is pretty tame as far as insults go.

I'm not interested in "not feeding the trolls," or letting them have the last word so they can go on thinking they can say shitty stuff with no consequences. If that causes you to lose respect for me, that's fine. But being a creative person can be hard -- you doubt yourself a lot, you feel awful at every piece of negative feedback while finding it very difficult to enjoy the positive feedback. You lose sight of the things you're good at because you only see the mistakes you've made (when I think about my work on Borderlands 2, I don't think "people really liked Handsome Jack generally," I think "people really hated the eight internet memes in the game, I wish I hadn't put them in"). If somebody decides they want to go out of their way to make my life harder and cause me more stress, I want them to be punished for that.

I do not find that unreasonable.

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Liked by: Erin L W mackenzie charlton Matthew Manninen

### Are games as mainstream , derivative, and ultimately mediocre as the movie industry?

June 20, 2014
Maybe. I think games might be doing better, because I can't think of a mainstream movie equivalent to Telltale's stuff, and I can't see something like Gone Home being as universally praised and talked about in film.

### how many times have you gone through skyrim

June 20, 2014
One. Two, if you count the time I tried to play as a destruction mage, got halfway through the game, and realized doing so was basically impossible unless I crafted a bunch of OP gear that made my spells cost almost zero mana.

### grah, just finished mgsV ground zeroes, and the whole sexual violence against a kid not being acknowledge really disgusted me. Makes me not want to even play the phantom pain. blech. thoughts?

June 20, 2014
Watching the Phantom Pain 30 minute E3 demo, the repeated phrase from Tropes vs Women in Videogames came to mind:

"As always, please keep in mind that it’s entirely possible to be critical of some aspects of a piece of media while still finding other parts valuable or enjoyable."

I love that the horsie poops. I love that you can put a balloon on a sheep and hang out with him in your base. When the game comes out I am going to recruit an army exclusively of sheep, if possible. I think the game looks ridiculously fun. I am curious to see how Big Boss changes through the game and where the story takes him.

I am really, really really not looking forward to seeing how Kojima tries to make the game Dark and Serious and Difficult. I do not trust him to *not* make creepy sexist stuff, to *not* be exploitative. I love Metal Gear -- I've loved it for years and years -- but the dude has a serious blind spot when it comes to gender representation and it makes me really angry.

But: sheep soldiers.

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### My partner is starting to make the transition from researching biology to researching online communities especially those centred around games. There's some of interesting work being done at the moment, especially on gender, have you seen much of it beyond Anita's work?

June 20, 2014
Nope! Would love to see some, though.

### Supporting evidence of the importance of Drag Race http://theblot.com/magic-mystery-rupauls-drag-race-7719228 and a question, do you know of any positive rather than exploitative depictions of a drag or trans characters in games?

June 20, 2014
You know, I can't think of a single one.

### I've been waiting with bated breath since the last Gearbox Community Day, when is Scooter's Sex Adventure coming out

June 20, 2014
probably a couple months after the day I get fired for screaming "no, I will not write that" a thousand times at the top of my lungs
Liked by: Dio

### quit picking your nose

June 20, 2014
no

### why are you such a cutie patootie?

June 20, 2014
aww

### How do you manage to keep yourself on-task writing wise for things that need to be done on a tight schedule, like a video game? I love writing but I have a hard time keeping myself moving on a regular basis.

Lance M
June 20, 2014
Well, when it's your job and you're surrounded by other people who work WAY harder than you for WAY longer, it becomes surprisingly easy to get stuff done quickly. (Especially when others are relying on you getting done in order to finish their work).

Seriously, I am basically a phony. I have less than half the amount of work to do than any other given Gearbox employee.

### I had a nightmare that beast died last night and I literally woke up in a sweat and had to check your and davis' twitters and social media to make sure everything was okay.

June 20, 2014
This is the sweetest message I have ever received.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Oh hell no, Ru Paul is a celebration of drag culture. It's a truly good show that shows the diversity of people in a community that is oft maligned. I really cannot recommend it enough. And with the recent re-release of the first season you can get in on the ground floor.

June 20, 2014
I just bought a season on amazon and will watch it!

### Not too long ago on a stream, Uli or Grant or someone asked you how your board game was coming. Are you creating a boardgame or working on one?

June 20, 2014
I'm working one two. One is currently in talks with some publishers (it's a party game about Russian Roulette) and Davis and I are independently producing another (it's a dorky little fantasy game you play on a date while you're waiting for your food).

### I always loved the little character development details in BL2, like Moxxi and Marcus being wistful, regretful exes. Think those two will interact again in future, maybe work things out a little?

June 20, 2014
That's a good idea. They probably should, especially since they're characters who allegedly have a history but have literally never spoken to one another in the actual games.

### do you ever get a postpartum depression when you release a project? i just put out my third album and i'm feeling super down

June 19, 2014
I've only put out one huge project, BL2, and I got something akin to postpartum depression from that, yeah.

I've been told that the only way to deal with it is to fully understand that the release will *never* be worth the work you put into it, and you *must* enjoy the process of creation. I've been lucky enough to be able to enjoy some of the reception (cosplay and the like), but I think this is still basically good advice.

### Have you watched any/much Ru Paul's drag race. Although not specifically trans focused, there is some overlap and lots lessons to be learned.

June 19, 2014
I've seen the part where that one girl has the most hilarious laugh of all time, but not much else. Is it not a transphobic look-at-these-people-and-laugh-fest?

### what are your feelings on the wu-tang clan

June 19, 2014
The RZA seems neat?

I'm sorry, I'm really not cool at all

### There's a major under representation or misrepresentation of overweight people in video games. They're either useless, nonexistent or scumbags. That was different with Ellie. Was there very any consideration of making her (or another overweight God/Goddess) a playable character? Is there any notion

June 18, 2014
Thanks so much for the kind words about Ellie!

We talked about it briefly, but it would have broken our trend of coming up with new playable BL2 characters (woulda been weird to have five new PCs and then Ellie). And, in 100% honesty, we had a brief worry that she'd clip through doorways as most of the ones in the game were built for skinny characters like bandits or most playable characters.

### Seeing the abuse that's hurled at creators like you really dampens wanting a career in it :/

June 18, 2014
Eh. If you only wanna do it for praise, then you're probably not doing it for the right reasons anyway. And besides, there's been more nice people than mean ones, generally.

### how tall are you then? i was gonna guess 5'9'-5'10"

June 18, 2014
5'7" or 5'8". Ash is eight inches tall so I look way taller in comparison.

### Is there truth to the PC-master race, or are PC's actually better than console.

June 18, 2014
I personally prefer PCs.

### To quote my friend after showing her the Street Fighter HAWP, she just replied with an exasperated sigh, and "That moment when a fucking six foot tall guy looks better in a Japanese schoolgirl uniform than you do"

June 18, 2014
Boy h boy am I nowhere near six feet tall. "You are a lot shorter than I thought you be" is what people say instead of "hello"

### It occurs to me that Martin has a cubic assload of strong female characters, before most other modern writers. Do you think this was a conscious concerted effort on his part, or that it just happened? Also, who would WIN in the aforementioned Ellie vs. Brienne battle?

June 18, 2014
From the few interviews I've seen with GRRM it's clear that he did that intentionally. He based a lot of stuff in ASoiAF off history, and there were lots of interesting women in history to pull from,

I mean, Brienne would obviously win. Ellie is sweet and good with cars, but she's not a melee fighter. If she had a gun, Brienne would certainly be dead, but I assume we're talking fisticuffs.

### Think of all the people sending you stuff about how they would totes bone you (aside: I would totes bone you) and just think of how many people who would totes bone you but won't sexually harass strangers over the internet. It's got to be a fair amount of people.

June 18, 2014
It is definitely surprising. Especially considering the implications of the totesbones given the whole open marriage thing.

### Powderpuff girls is coming back. Thoughts? Also, when will Ash guest star? Get on that shit Burch.

June 18, 2014
ash would lose her shit

### you are totally not ugly :)

June 17, 2014
thanx, trying to learn to take compliments so i'll just say thanks

### What percent of the to-be-released season of HAWP is written by you?

June 17, 2014
Ash and I wrote nearly all the episodes together.

### Do you try to address the name change within the game somehow, or do people just have to pretend that they were always called "little bandits" .

June 17, 2014
It just happens, nobody says anything about it.

### How many Jacks could Ellie benchpress at once?

June 17, 2014
All Jacks.

### So, if there were a time/place where the two were on equal footing in a one-on-one, no guns allowed brawl... Would cheer for Ellie or Brienne of Tarth?

June 17, 2014
Oh, that's mean. I'd have to cheer for Ellie because I helped create her, right? If I don't cheer for her nobody will.

### How does your employment for Gearbox work? Are you contracted project-by-project? by timeframe? Or are you a full time Gearbox employee? or on, I dunno, like, retainer?

June 17, 2014
I'm full-time, salaried. It's pretty awesome.

### Can you recommend any Netrunner decks that only use the core set? My group are finding the starter decks kinda lacking corp side (except for Jinteki) but not everyone has the time to sit down and build their own deck.

June 17, 2014
http://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklist/6878/tutorial-corp-deck

http://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklist/6386/tutorial-runner-deck-kate

Be careful, though: these decks presume you're playing either with two core sets, or that you're playing on OCTGN. Specifically I'm referencing the Toolbox, which there is only one copy of in the core set (for some weird reason). If you only have one toolbox, switch out the second toolbox with an Infiltration.

### isn't it kinda problematic to have a "midget" class of enemies?

June 16, 2014
Yes, which is why they're not called midgets anymore. In the presequel you'll be fighting Little Bandits, Little Enforcers, etc

### I'm straight, but I've always been passionate about gay and lesbian rights. I am liberal and open minded, but I'm also 30, so I'm old as shit and out of touch, and I feel overwhelmed by trans issues. The anger from each side makes me hesitant to engage. Help?

June 16, 2014
Just retweet stuff marginalized people say or ask them for help with stuff. That's what I try to do, cause I don't know shit about shit and assume they're in a much better position to talk about what affects them.

### Do you think video gamez is sexie??

June 16, 2014
occasionally.

### Instead of just cutting the gender roles 50/50 in your game, why not just have the gender be interchangeable. Like FemShep. Aside form all the extra work to have two voice actors do the same lines and character model stuff.

Anthony Nunez
June 16, 2014
That's just not the way Borderlands characters are built, technically or philosophically. Diablo has character *classes*, but Borderlands has *characters*. Characters who can show up in other games as NPCs, with specific appearances and personalities.
Liked by: Anthony Nunez

### So there's this rumor going around that you don't like Jonathan Holmes. What's up with that?

June 16, 2014
What the fuck? Where did that come from? That's not even remotely true. I like Jonathan a lot.

### How do you come up with jokes when writing, that aren't spontaneous, just you sitting down at a blank page and having to come up with something funny

June 15, 2014
I almost never have a totally blank slate. Either I'm working on a game and certain things must narratively happen (the player needs to fight through THIS type of map), or it's for a HAWP and I've either got a single gag to work off (I have a big list of individual dialog gags that I often build episodes around) or a game to work with.

Though a lot of the time, Ash and I write HAWPs together which makes that process even easier.

### Is it possible to find you wearing a skirt funny without being transphobic (I know you're not trans), or is that just funny for visual reasons

June 15, 2014
I dunno. I do wonder about this. Part of me hopes that the two times I've crossdressed (once as Peach, once as Sakura) had a point to them beyond "ha ha he's dressing like a girl" which is definitely inherently transphobic. The Sakura thing was a deliberate mockery of people who wanted to sexualize Ash (here, have a sexualized version of the ugly guy), and the Peach thing was meant to be a gag about how Ash didn't view me as an equal even after her character arc was meant to culminate in that exact realization.

That said, yeah. I dunno. I certainly hope it doesn't feel transphobic.

### How often do you have to change your story ideas around to better suit gameplay? Do you keep all the ideas you don't get to use stored away to use in the future?

June 15, 2014
A fair amount, and yes. There's a big document on my work computer labeled "BORDERLANDS IDEAS" that fills up with stuff I don't use.

### I noticed that when you play Spelunky, you jump on spider webs until they disappear, even if you're just passing through them once. Is there some sort of benefit from doing that?

June 15, 2014
Not really, I'm just super paranoid about having to escape from a bomb or something and getting stopped by a web.

### Burch, will you have my babies?

June 15, 2014
alright

### Do you have any plans to include nb characters in Borderlands? While you've been super inclusive otherwise, all the characters so far in the BL series have been binary, and it would be nice to see some representation, especially since you've publicly discussed wanting a trans playable character.

June 14, 2014
Yeah, I'd like to. I have no idea how I would at this particular moment (Torgue: SO WHAT GENDER ARE YOU, Char: No. Torgue: AWESOME), but I want to be as inclusive of as many types of people as possible.

### Is hygiene a thing that actually exists on Pandora or is it more of an abstract concept I mean look at all those washing machines used for everything BUT washing

June 14, 2014
pahaha. Never really noticed that.

### would you hi-five me if i asked you really nicely

June 14, 2014
yes

### I'm trying to make a friend of mine get BL2 so he'll play it with me, how do I sell it to him

June 14, 2014
"you are my friend do this thing it is a very small sacrifice to make me happy"

### So after seeing everything from the upcoming sunset overdrive, I have very mixed feelings. What are your thoughts on it?

June 14, 2014
It looks so good that I'm angry it's an Xbone exclusive.
Liked by: Nick Stebbins

### Is cross-dressing for HAWP fun or "GAAHH, GET ME OUT OF THIS THING"?

June 14, 2014
It's fine. Neutral, really.

### How do you deal with the pressure of being a lead writer? Eg. people get angry at you personally, and there will inevitably be people whose opinions you respect who don't actually like what you do.

June 14, 2014
I get sad/angry/tense a lot and try to ignore it.

### I FOUND ANOTHER BIRD ON A SKATEBOARD: https://24.media.tumblr.com/2e98c29fc41c3bd3901cb04de2594738/tumblr_my4yl2pkxD1r9ptzno1_1280.jpg

June 14, 2014
yussss

### if you wrote 30/40 % o' presequel then who wrote the 70/60% ?

June 14, 2014
Kirsten Kahler, Maurice Suckling, and Marek Walton.

### The Doctor lands on Pandora. What happens?

June 14, 2014
He dies.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Has internet fame affected papa burch in any way?

June 14, 2014
Yes. He is really really weird around girls now. If you are a girl I would recommend not being near, or talking to, Papa Burch. He gets flirty in a really not-cool way.

I wish I was joking.
Liked by: Andrew Zimmer

### Does it feel weird to know that at any one time there are groups of people all spazzing out together over what you've created and looking for any more details they can get?

June 12, 2014
Not really, because I didn't personally create the stuff they're psyched about. I'm one person on a huge team, so I don't get that kind of megalomaniacal "LOOK AT WHAT I HAVE WROUGHT" thing.

Still, it's really really neat that some people like what I do, and I'm endlessly grateful for it.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### Would you rather write something starring David Tennant, or star in something written by Joss Whedon?

June 12, 2014
I hate acting, so the first one. Also I could have sex with him
Liked by: Erin L W

### Do you have a favorite game in the Zelda series?

June 12, 2014
The original, I guess? even though I didn't beat it? Maybe Ocarina, I dunno. I like Zelda less and less every year, unfortunately.

### After seeing more of it in action how do you feel about Far Cry 4? (Also just saying Ash should go on an Elephant Killing Spree in a potential HAWP episode)

June 12, 2014
They mentioned that when a coop player comes in, the story turns off and you can just fuck around in the world with all the tools.

THIS IS ALL I HAVE EVER WANTED. Tom Francis had an idea of just buying and running a second copy, just so you could keep the story turned off in your own game, and I think that's a badass idea.
Liked by: Erin L W

### What's your favorite multiplayer game that you CAN'T play anymore because there's no one left to play against?

June 12, 2014
Perfect Dark.
Liked by: Erin L W

### If they do a remake of The Fifth Element, do you think Ash could/should play Leeloo?

June 12, 2014
Only if you don't show the boobies because that would be weird for me.

Also don't remake the fifth element it's perfect what are you doing

### Favorite Disney villain?

June 12, 2014
Hades, Hades, Hades. A bad guy who had so much fun being the bad guy. He's one of my favorite villains ever, honestly.
Liked by: Dio

### I played Munchkin for the first time tonight, and I get what you mean when you say it's a terrible "take that" game. Even though I eventually won, I hated it because I got screwed over so much at the beginning. Are there any games that use the "take that" mechanic in a tolerable (or even fun) way?

June 12, 2014
Nnnnot that comes to mind, no. "Take that" as an idea is inherently kind of a disruptive, anger-causing thing, because it's not about counteracting someone's genius plans with your own plans, it's about someone going "NUH-UH" right when you're in the middle of doing something cool. Netrunner is all about fucking up the other person's plans, but you do it through your own planning and strategy rather than just saying "TAKE THAT" and thoughtlessly screwing someone just because that was The Thing To Do.

### Have you read any books?

June 12, 2014
One.

It was awful.

### How do you deal with so many sexist fucknuts on Twitter? I would probably just cry.

June 12, 2014
If they're not being horribly mean, I try to convince them to see my point of view until they do become horribly mean. Sometimes that results in me getting really agitated and probably being a lot shorter than I should.

### do you have any other aspirations beyond video game writing? like feature films, comics, novels, being better than ash, etc.

June 11, 2014
Pretty much all those things. But videogames are my favorite.

### C'mon. Try and tell me that she doesn't look white: https://31.media.tumblr.com/7f77be9219614fe672ecbc9172eb82dc/tumblr_n6z3y7UI7z1tbzvleo5_r1_1280.jpg

June 11, 2014
You may have a point with that picture.

She looks black in the game, though! As does Sasha.

### when you say 50% ratio female-males you mean enemies and boss too right?

June 11, 2014
There are female enemies and bosses, but not at a perfect 50/50 ratio.

### "That might not have been Link in the Wii U Zelda trailer, producer teases" http://venturebeat.com/2014/06/10/zelda-creator-teases-that-we-didnt-see-link-in-wii-u-trailer/

June 11, 2014
I'll believe it when I play it.

### About what percent of the writing in the presequel is yours?

June 11, 2014
Like...30%? 40%?
Liked by: professional righter

### Sorry if you've spoken or written on this in some other context, and obviously it was all cinematics, but what are your thoughts on the new MGSV trailer?

June 10, 2014
I'm excited for MGSV, I can't not be, but I'm more wary of Kojima approaching Difficult Topics after the horrendous way Ground Zeroes handled rape

### and now that I've fallen down the MGS rabbit hole today, thoughts on the "Chico is Quiet" theory( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9DtyqOX2L8 )?

June 10, 2014
weeeird

### So how about that Nintendo show?

June 10, 2014
Open world Zelda sounds neat. I wanna play Splatoon.

### Is it bad that I do not mind female leads, the idea of trans leads, etc. Or replacing male heros with female ones (ie Zelda instead of Link). But hate the idea of making Mariette or Linkette, or gender bending a iconic character instead of just making a new female hero/ use an existing one?

June 10, 2014
To each their own. I personally wouldn't have minded a bit if the person who threw off that cloak in the Zelda presentation was named "link" but happened to be a girl, but I can see why that might come off as sort of condescending ("we're not willing to make a new female protagonist, so here, we put boobs on this existing character").

### As a writer, whom do you count among your most important comedic influences? Are there any works -- television, film, literature, 'zine, etc. -- that have had a notable impact? (I've always found these questions fascinating, because sometimes people are like "Andrew Dice Clay," and I'm like "wat?")

June 10, 2014
Louis CK, Firefly, and, to be honest, a lot of funny people on Twitter who can use the constraints of the medium for ultimate humor value.

### Do you fold or scrunch or wrap it around your fist like a gauntlet?

June 10, 2014
Scrunch

### UNCHARTED FOURRRRR NAUGHTY DOG GET IN MY PANTS.

June 10, 2014
Sounds like Sully's gonna die.

### First of all, "American anime" is not what you'd call it. Second of all, Samurai Jack. *drops the mic*

June 10, 2014
What would you call it?

Also I never saw Samurai Jack sooooo

### Will there ever be female bandits/psychos in BL? My girlfriend was super pissed that people get so up in arms about strong female pro/antags, but forget that, realistically, there would be women amongst the "nobodies" as well.

June 10, 2014
I really really really want female bandits/psychos in future BL stuff. There are some female scav bandits in presequel, which is cool (they're actually in big bulky space suits, so they're not assigned to body types you'd expect -- that was a really cool choice by the 2k Aus guys, most notably Maurice Suckling)

### Why does it seem like Ubisoft is giving us another badass and charismatic villian while we play as the boring guy in far cry 4?

June 10, 2014
They wanna do the thing where your protagonist is basically-but-not-quite an empty shell, which I understand. It's meant to allow the player to superimpose themselves on the avatar whilst also allowing the avatar to ask questions the player might ask and react the way the player might react.

### GRIM FANDANGO REMASTER FOR PS4 AND VITA. HOW YOU FEELS?

June 10, 2014
Happy, generally. Grim Fandango is stupendously goddamn hard and illogical. As far as adventure games go it's got one of the best stories, worlds, and cast, but it's still an adventure game.

### re- Hannibal "It's just kinda violent for the sake of violence" but I think this misses the shows goal in asking the question: is there beauty in violence? And if so what are the costs for that beauty? Yes it is indulgent, but explicitly so and with reason. PS you're rad, did you see True Detective?

June 10, 2014
Sure, that's fair. That's just not a question that interests me, I guess. And when you make Random Joe #254 look like an angel cause his flesh has been peeled off his back, it's hard for me to personally care when something meaningfully violent happens to characters who matter.

I saw True Detective and liked it until the ending (thought it was a deconstruction of Heroes Like Those Two Guys and ended up just being a validation of them).

### /r/beatingwomen has been banned. So that's like 1 less shitty subreddit in a sea of them

June 10, 2014
Whew. Very, very happy to hear that.

### LITTLE BIG PLANET 3 WAS JUST ANNOUNCED AND YOU CAN PLAY AS A BIRD IT LOOKS GREAAAAT

June 10, 2014
SWOOP SWOOP HASHTAG SWOOP HASHTAG SWOOPLIFE

### So is that a sort-of confirmation for a trans character in Borderlands that's not going to have gender be treated like a big deal or deception or be written with a chip on the shoulder? Could it be? Please? T-that's okay...

June 10, 2014
Randy Pitchford and I have both publicly mentioned that we really want a playable trans character in a future BL game, whenever that happens/if it does. Not that that's a guarantee (I'm only one dude), but I really want that to happen.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Most underrated Breaking Bad moment(s)? (Mine is when The Cousins go to by bulletproof vests from an arms dealer, and the guy gives an amazing monologue about meeting up with a girl who likes to get peed on. SCIENCE IS A MYSTERY.)

June 09, 2014
"Mister Magorium's Wonder Emporium.

Two copies."

### In regards to one of your tweets, are you passionate about Trans*/LGB rights? How do you think Twitch users would feel about an openly Trans* streamer? Are gamers ready for a Trans* lead character?

June 09, 2014
I'm passionate but also completely ignorant, and slowly trying to get less ignorant, but we'll see.

I dunno how people would respond to a trans streamer or lead character, but it's about goddamn time they get one whether they want it or not, because trans people exist.

### does mordecai prefer boxers or briefs? what's hammerlock's favorite tea?? what's handsome jack's shoe size??????? we need to know EVERYTHING anthony

June 09, 2014
aaaaaaa
Liked by: professional righter

### On Skippable, you said that Avatar: The Last Airbender "has no right to be as good as it is." I have no idea what the hell that means...

June 09, 2014
It's a Nickelodeon show,so you know nobody can ever die, and yet it's still incredibly suspenseful. I also never expected an American anime to be that good, or to have so many serial elements on a channel like Nick.

### You don't care for the Hannibal show? Why?

June 09, 2014
It's just kinda violent for the sake of violence, so the individual moments of gore have no emotional impact for me, even when it happens to characters I care about. (GoT, conversely, has TONS of violence but uses it really well so that every death is horrifying and sad).

Also, it seems to think that Hannibal is like this somewhat seductive, cool guy who could plausibly convince people to join him (we're meant to wonder if Will actually likes Hannibal at the end of s2), which feels completely implausible and arbitrary to me.

### I thought you guys hated the Tomb Raider reboot? What changed your opinion between the announcement with Lara not being girl Nathan Drake, and the final game?

June 09, 2014
I was nervous about the TR reboot cause of how much it seemed to get off on brutalizing Lara, and the end product has a fucking OBSCENE amount of needlessly horrific death scenes, but other than that I really enjoyed it. It combined linear setpieces with quasi-open hubs really well, and it handled the "I grow more powerful via violence and that is both a good thing and a bad thing" theme a thousand times better than Far Cry 3 did. I actually *felt* more powerful at the same time that Lara felt more powerful, to the point where, at the end of the game, she's screaming "YOU SHOULD BE RUNNING" or something like that at enemies I feel it too.

### Do you have any desire to/have you read TFiOS or seen the film?

June 09, 2014
I kinda wanna watch the movie, if only because I've not actually watched a full-on Weepy Romance in a long time.

### How do you stay so skinny, man?

June 09, 2014
Genetics.
Liked by: TJ Jones

### Right now, Aisha Tyler is giving the Ubisoft e3 presntation. I love her as an actress, comedian and YES AS A GAMER. Lots of people hate her but she does game. What are your opinions on her?

June 09, 2014
I love Aisha Tyler. She's funny and generally came off as the least robotic person today.

### I'm hungry, Burch. What do you normally eat?

June 08, 2014
toast with peanut butter and jelly, or fake chicken quesadillas

### will there be any new HAWP sketches coming out soon?

June 08, 2014
Yeah. We've got a bunch of season five recorded, we're just figuring out logistics of where the episodes will be.
Liked by: Erin L W

### One of my favorite KOTOR moments had this woman who programmed her droid to sound like her old husband and it was explicitly stated that she has sex with the droid. It became suicidal. Now call me crazy but didn't something similar happen in Borderlands? I'm probably fusing the two series in my head

June 08, 2014
I don't think we had any sexbots.

### Since I see it recently mentioned, what do you want out of the next Mass Effect? I guess I would prefer a sequel to 3 over a prequel(no offense), as a post Reaper invasion setting would seem ripe for smaller scale drama, but Bioware need the courage to pick a canon ending, and alienate some players

June 08, 2014
I'm up for whatever BioWare wants to do. Mass Effect was one of the few game series that properly *ended*, with actual *closure*, so they've got a lot of work to do. But I'm certain they can do it.

### Who's your favorite Mass Effect character? And who did you romance?

June 08, 2014
Wrex is my favorite Mass Effect character by far. I romanced Tali because she's basically SpaceDavis.

### How many ridiculous nigh-unanswerable questions about Borderlands do you get per day?

June 08, 2014
A surprising amount. And it's not that they're unanswerable so much as I don't wanna take away anything from fan fiction writers who really care about niggly facts about the BL verse like how old it is or whatever. That's the reason fanfic exists in the first place -- you're supposed to have fun coming up with it.
Liked by: Anthony Nunez

### Do you have any gaming guilty pleasures? (I mean, games you kind of understand are shallow and/or objectively crappy or weak, but, even though you might be embarrassed to recommend them publicly, you derive almost irrational pleasure from playing. Basically.) Why do said games appeal to you?

June 08, 2014
Shooters in general. I wish I could love headier games like strategy or MOBAs, but I'm just no goddamn good at them at all and I don't think my brain works in the way necessary to become good at them. So I'll grab DOTA, play it until I'm done with the tutorial, then abandon it, but I'll happily play Wolfenstein The New Order all the way to the end.

### LOOK AT THIS KITTEN THING ISN'T IT THE BEST: https://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3ko9hqidd1rr85udo2_250.gif

June 08, 2014
that's a baby jaguar or cheetah son

### Were you ever the fanfiction or headcanon type when you were younger?

June 08, 2014
Yes. My fanfiction.net account name is "Raimi." I wrote Half-Life and Fallout fan fiction. It is atrocious.

...Though that said, I didn't write for the first Borderlands, which makes everything I did in BL2 fan fiction.

### Do you ever like to pretend two things are vaguely related somehow? Sometimes I like to pretend Saints Row is a very distant prequel to the Borderlands series

June 07, 2014
Far as I'm concerned that is canon. Would have to ask Steve Jaros.

### How different would things be if Angel had been born a normal non-Siren girl? Would Jack have just continued being some middle management nobody or worked somewhere else? Would he have found some other way to take over Hyperion and go after Pandora?

June 07, 2014
(shrug). I leave that to the fan fictioneers. If I thought about that it'd be work and pfff work who does work on their off time

### are you gonna be at e3

June 07, 2014
nah, sorry.

### What did you think of Fallout New Vegas when it came out?

June 07, 2014
"too bad this crashes so much because it is the single best RPG I have ever played"
Liked by: Erin L W

### Are you looking forward to the Guardians of the Galaxy movie?

June 07, 2014
Very much so. I like James Gunn and I like Chris Pratt and I like Chris Pratt's abs.

### Do you ever try pulling off sexy moves with your glasses? Like in the movies?

June 07, 2014
Did once. Davis divorced me.
Liked by: Erin L W mackenzie charlton

### How much input do you have on the trailers? The Argyle quote form the latest trailer sounds like something you would write.

June 07, 2014
I have effectively zero input on the trailers. It's all Mikey (often Richard Jessup and Brian Thomas, I thiiiink?) and the marketing department.

### Does Beast ever make noise when you're trying to sleep?

June 07, 2014
Nah. She's a sweetie and gets tired the same time we do.

### Did you ever envision something like the pre-sequel existing while you were writing Borderlands 2?

June 07, 2014
Nope. Not even close. If I had, I might not have made Jack so evil so early in his life.

### I accidentally typed Borderlands as Birderlands in a text message and now I want to know, would you play Borderlands if all the characters were replaced with birds?

June 07, 2014
oh my god that is so much better than the borderlands that currently exists

### How often do you guys do the Spelunky HAWPcast thing? I always seem to miss them.

June 06, 2014
Not very often at all, cause Ash's schedule is ridiculous

### Did ME3 make you cry in the KOTOR2 botched ending sense or the muh-so-deep-star-child-it's-like-poetry-it-rhymes sense? You have a third option (it's coloured green) if you cried at the end of the Citadel DLC.

June 06, 2014
Saying goodbye to my friends (Mordin, and then Tali) made me cry. For whatever problems we all might have with spacebaby, ME is essentially a story about friendship and characters and on that front, it delivered (ESPECIALLY with the Director's Cut where you actually get to speak to your loved one before you head to the final area).
Liked by: Adam R

### how much input do you have when it comes to the visual part of the character design?

June 06, 2014
Generally the artists are awesome and know what they're doing, so I don't get involved at all unless it's a character I've created or that I need to fulfill a specific purpose. In that case, I just give them general ideas on what the character's supposed to be (Jack was "a dude who looks like he could be the hero of someone else's game") and they roll with it and make awesome stuff.

### Um have you seen the fallout who vegas mod project? Because I am buying new vegas this week just for the mod.

June 06, 2014
WHAT NO

### Was Jack meant to be a big goober or was that an unintended result of the art and voice acting and he was written to just be an evil asshole

June 06, 2014
Depends what you mean by goober, I guess?

### I love it when I see "Anthony Burch ruined Borderlands with his social justice stuff a bloo bloo bloo." Keep making the whiny manbabies cry.

June 06, 2014
I have to admit I find that pretty satisfying, too.
Liked by: Erin L W Kerissa Young

### How are you liking Walking Dead Season 2?

June 06, 2014
SPOILERS

I'm digging it. Carver's a cool villain, and I've enjoyed seeing Kenny again even though I fucking hate Kenny. It's cool to sort of pick up my relationship with him in a different context, and have him clearly like me more than I like him.

### You and Ash (okay, mostly ash) gush about Dance Central several times in HAWP. Did you have anything to do with the Harmonix "Dance Break" in the latest Pre-sequel trailer, or was it just a happy coincidence?

June 06, 2014
100% coincidence.

### do you get involved in easter eggs or is that more of a coder thing?

June 05, 2014
It's often coders and level designers and artists just havin' fun. Everybody puts little bits of silly into stuff they do, so there are LD-specific eggs, art-specific eggs, writing-specific eggs, etc.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### I wasn't too sure about the title "Borderlands: The Pre-sequel" at first, but hearing Dameon Clarke/Handsome Jack scream it so enthusiastically in the Ozymandias trailer changed my mind. Question: did you alter Clarke's voice in any way for the trailer? It sounded a bit more high pitched imo.

June 05, 2014
I don't believe so.

### Are we gonna see Jack's wife in the Pre-sequel?

June 05, 2014
Nah.

### What games have made you cry?

June 05, 2014
Walking Dead, Fable 2, Mass Effect 3.

### In BL2, one of the citizens is talking about Jack's face, and says "Dun dun DUUUNNNNN!!!" -- according to the subtitles. But the voice actor says something closer to "duhduhduhduhhh." Was this just an error on the actor's part, or was there a copyright issue, or...?

June 05, 2014
It was me and one of the voice directors (either Chris Sabat or Eric Vale, can't remember) hearing that in the booth and going "eh, that's funnier than doing the generic DUN DUN DUNNN" and then forgetting to change the text.

### Handsome Jack more like Average Jack look at that soul patch bless your art team

June 05, 2014
Yeah, they're really good. It definitely looks like a younger version of that dude.

### I want to cut you, Burch. See if your BARK is worse than you- WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LET GO OF ME!!

June 05, 2014
wat

### Do you like to be on tops or bottoms?

June 05, 2014
Oh. Uh, either, I guess. Top? Cuddling. I like cuddling.

### Would you guys ever make a hawp movie?

June 05, 2014
I dunno. It'd be weird. Most sketch groups that do movies end up making movies that feel like 90 minute long sketches, which is often really unfortunate and doesn't quite work. We'd have to find something that worked as a movie first and foremost.

### Whoa, just saw the new Handsome Jack design for Pre-Sequel! How much Monsters University-style retconning did you guys wind up doing for Pre-Sequel to make the storyline between the various games flow better?

June 05, 2014
Surprisingly, very little.

### I used your Netrunner pitch on my friends, it worked and now we've had a few games with starter decks. So thanks! Also, so this is actually a question, what sort of decks are you currently playing?

June 05, 2014
Woo! I'm farting around with a Tenma run-all-the-goddamn-time deck and a Weyland ice advancement deck, but I'd like to try some weird Jinteki stuff and a Rihanna deck.

### I read somewhere that the term "white knight" was invented by people who wanted to shame those who stood up for women's rights. I have no clue whether this is true or not, but do you have any thoughts on this?

June 05, 2014
That's certainly the context in which it's used. Nobody really tosses that out as a compliment. It's basically a way of either calling out creeps for being condescendingly protective of women (very rare), or of shutting up male feminists by insinuating that their passion must have some pervy ulterior motive (which is how I exclusively hear it used these days).

### Oh my god, I have a phobia of ants and I had pretty much the same experience playing Fallout 3 and walking into that infested factory. I haven't touched the game since ;_; (Fortunately, spider-ants are alien enough not to be scary). Why would you get sent to prison?

June 03, 2014
Vehicular manslaughter or something? Something accidental due to a really small mistake. And I'd go to prison and probably die.

### Thoughts on the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who?

June 03, 2014
Good dumb fun. Moffat is really good at dumb fun when he has to do it in a standalone episode.
Liked by: Erin L W Aliztair

### Thoughts on the pre-Hotline Miami games of Cactus?

June 03, 2014
I like Clean Asia! a lot. That said I've heard he's sketchy around girls so my enthusiasm for him has diminished

### Mel Brooks is on the phone. He wants to turn one HAWP episode into a full-length Broadway musical. Which episode do you nudge forward as a suggestion?

June 03, 2014
I hang up on him because I respect him too much to let him make a mistake that big.
Liked by: Anthony Nunez Kerissa Young

### HAVE YOU WATCHED MALEIFICENT YET? ARE YOU GOING TO? ITS AMAZING

June 03, 2014
really? rottentomatoes says otherwise.

### Tops or bottoms?

June 03, 2014
i honestly do not know what this means but it sounds mean

### Do you have any phobias? I have arachnophobia and it is the fuckin worst. I remember on Skyrim's release I was using toggle collision to try to check where the giant spider in Bleak Falls Barrow was and ended up walking directly into its face and triggering a panic attack.

June 02, 2014
No capital-P phobias, no. I am really scared of going to prison, though, I guess (I couldn't stick with Orange is the New Black for this reason).

### Some people sure seem awful offended when their favorite game franchises make an effort to be more inclusive. Do you ever worry about losing fans this way, or are you happy to see people like that go?

June 01, 2014
The people who are currently excluded by mainstream video games far outnumber the people who would actually not buy a game because it's more inclusive.

### It's been a while since I watched No Country for Old Men. What is it about the movie that struck such a chord with you?

June 01, 2014
The nihilism of it. The way it fucked with the very format and structure, how it set up your expectations in a very specific way and then completely confounded them in an intentionally "disappointing" but more meaningful and poignant way.

### If you look up beautiful in the dictionary there would be an accurate description of you, because the dictionary isn't a picture book you weirdo.

June 01, 2014
Some dictionaries have small pictures I dunno also thanks

### you guys are super busy, so HAWP doesn't come out nearly as often. I am so fine with this, since everything else you guys make is gold. Have you ever considered ending HAWP?

June 01, 2014
Nah. It's easy enough to do and pretty profitable, and a lot of fun.

### GAME that has had the most profound emotional impact on you?

June 01, 2014
Papers Please. or Walking Dead, or Shadow of the Colossus.
Liked by: Zivilyn Bane

### I'm really sad right now.....what makes you happy, Anthony?

June 01, 2014
Being with my wife, or my friends, or playing good videogames/eating good food/watching good movies or television/reading good books, petting my bird, writing stuff.

I'm sorry you're sad -- it'll pass, eventually, but I know that's not a huge comfort.
Liked by: Jake Vitela

### You know what would make for an incredible series of shorts? Mister Torgue doing GI Joe-style moral lessons.

May 31, 2014
oh fuck that would be really fun. he could talk about social issues and stuff
Liked by: Adam R

### Film that has had the most profound emotional impact on you?

May 31, 2014
No Country for Old Men.

### A million years ago back when you and Davis would play Spelunky on stream, whenever you would pick Davis up I wanted to say something like 'Oh look, Anthony Burch is removing agency from female characters again' but I never got the chance to and I regret it to this day.

May 31, 2014
Well, you got around to it.

### Woooo could come off as a sarcastic way of blowing people off. "I like your stuff, Anthony." "woooo" Like a slow clap. I know you don't mean it that way. Just saying.

May 31, 2014
oh fuck me, thanks for telling me that. I had no idea. I imagined it was a legitimate "wooooo!" not a "yeah, yeah, woo-fuckin-hoo" thing.

### If you were a bird, what type of bird would you be? Also would you still have a beard?

May 31, 2014
BEARD COCKATIEL
Liked by: Ruby Armstrong Kerissa Young

### My arm hurts. Do you offer massages?

May 30, 2014
If you is a cutie and don't mind extreme pain when someone with no experience destroys your bicep muscles.
Liked by: Ruby Armstrong Kerissa Young

### Reading through your other answers, you seem generally onboard with the idea of fanfic. What are your thoughts about Anthony Saves The world fic...? Is that a bridge too far because you're in it / the characters share your same names?

May 30, 2014
I mean, I'm fine with anything anyone wants to write as far as fanfic goes, period. Long as it makes oyu happy. (And there's not gonna be anymore ASTW, so)
Liked by: Becky

### The Hudsucker Proxy? I''ll admit that it's interesting, but it's still one of the weakest films the Coen Brothers have worked on. Certainly worth watching once just to experience how crazy and odd it is.

May 30, 2014
It's my favorite style over substance movie ever.

### Has "woooo" become your new catchphrase?

May 30, 2014
It's just an easy way to say "thanks" that has more personality to it.

### Fave Bioware romance?

May 30, 2014
Morrigan. For me, DA:O was all about how much my relationship changed with Morrigan from moment to moment. I don't remember anything about the plot, but I had SUCH a hard time deciding whether I trusted her enough to (do that thing at the end). She was a great character.

### Given the opportunity, would you burn Reddit down?

May 30, 2014
Only the fucking shitty misogynist violent subreddits. I'd love to be able to go back to gaming and gameofthrones.

### What do you think of skinny pigs? http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Skinnypigs2.jpg

May 30, 2014
awww/ahhhhh

### Who named the character skins? Krieg's are hilarious!

May 30, 2014
That was me.
Liked by: Erin L W Kerissa Young

### How would you work Far Cry 2's buddy system into GTA IV, since you've played both and seem to have your fair share of problems with IV.

May 30, 2014
"Niko, my cousin," Roman says, until he is run over by a jeep, ending the cutscene prematurely. "Hey man," Warren Clyde steps out and says, "let's go do a bunch of morally unjustifiable stuff to find a single NPC hidden within this city." Except I haven't heard him because I've already stolen his jeep and am driving off, intent on running over the Jackal.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### anybody you particularly admire/look up to in the video game industry?

May 30, 2014
Most of the indies I am acquainted with like Tom Francis, Cara Ellison, Zoe Quinn, Matt "The Torso" Thorson, and Jason Rohrer. Also Clint Hocking, Richard Lemarchand, and Brenda Romero for managing to straddle the line between AAA and indie sensiblities in super cool ways.

### What comprises Anthony Burch's essential cinema?

May 30, 2014
Blade Runner, Hana-Bi, La Strada, Wild Bunch, No Country for Old Men, Cinema Paradiso, Up, The Big Sleep, Brick, The Hudsucker Proxy, Army of Darkness, The Godfather, Kill Bill, The Iron Giant, Brazil, other things I can't think of right now

### I just want to let you know that since you opened this ask.fm thing and have been talking about the process that went into writing Borderlands 2 a little bit, it's a huge inspiration to my own project I'm working on so thanks for giving me an inspirational kick up the ass to finish this thing

May 30, 2014
Awesome! Actually doing something on your own is one of the hardest things, but it's one of the best and most important. I'm super super happy to have been of help.

### Your wife kinda sounds like a Disney princess.

May 30, 2014
She absolutely is, except she's her own person and not defined by my agency.
Liked by: Erin L W

### i heard you like birds so here is a gif of a bird skateboarding: https://31.media.tumblr.com/d084fdfe178a7b1410529c120ce056dd/tumblr_mtphcgsSQu1qbhoheo1_400.gif

May 30, 2014
ahhhhhh

### LOOK AT THIS RIDICULOUSLY PHOTOGENIC CLAPTRAP https://24.media.tumblr.com/cf39ff71a144adc3b07a920a627eb023/tumblr_n647x1vvA11t25q58o5_1280.jpg (cosplayer is AtemuMustang btw)

May 30, 2014
I've seen the before, actually! It's awesome.

### If you were an animal, what would you be?

May 29, 2014
A bird so I could still hang out with Davis all the time.

### Have you ever watched Gravity Falls? Do you like it?

May 29, 2014
I haven't, but I hear that I really need to.

### Everytime I read about pax "horror stories" are mentioned but never fully explained. Would you be willing to share any pax horror stories?

May 29, 2014
I've not had any horror stories. Everyone I've met at PAX has been very nice and cool, or, at worst, kind of socially awkward.

### Have you listened to the Big Finish audio productions of Doctor Who? If so, what are some of your favorites?

May 29, 2014
I have not. Should I?

### What is your spirit animal?

May 29, 2014
I've heard it's racist/insensitive to use the phrase "spirit animal" flippantly, like one's making fun of native american culture.

That said, it's an owl wearing a bow tie.

### Is there anything in your Rev Rants that you look back on and disagree with?

May 29, 2014
I disagree with the personal attacks I made on developers, calling them stupid or evil or whatever. I don't think I disagree with any of the stuff I said about the games themselves, though I'd have to go back and watch them (which I super don't wanna do cause it'd be weird).

### Do you think John Barrowman is attractive? From reading your earlier answers im trying to figure out what kind of guys you like and I dont know what androgynous means and also cant be bothered to google it.

May 29, 2014
John Barrowman isn't androgynous, he's just universally attractive. He looks like a hotter Clark Kent.

"Androgynous" means "appearing to be of indeterminate gender." So boyish looking girls, or girlish looking boys.
Liked by: Anthony Nunez

### Your response to my open relationship talk makes me like you even more. If nothing else, we'd probably be ok friends in real life...maybe. You're alright :).

May 29, 2014
woooo

### This piece mentions you and talks about that issue with Ground Zeroes http://www.pixelitis.net/features/kojima-take-things-far-metal-gear-solid-v-ground-zeroes

May 29, 2014
Right, thanks.

### That's cool. And I know you're married, but you seem pretty damn open-minded. Your wife might not share that, at least on the issue of open relationships. Which I'm sure is "FUCK NO" for a good number of people. Open relationships may be difficult to navigate but they're not impossible. Just saying.

May 29, 2014
My wife and I are of the same mind about open marriages. I love her more than anything, and if she thinks something or someone will make her happy, then I want her to be happy. I don't believe sex with people outside of your marriage changes or reduces the love you have for the person you married.

That said, the issue may be moot cause it's real damn hard to successfully hook up if (A) you're wearing a wedding ring and (B) you're horrible at flirting in the first place.
Liked by: Erin L W Jake Vitela Kerissa Young Chris Smells

### I meant for us, but whatever lol.

May 29, 2014
OH RIGHT

whoops

### I'm not faulting you, dude. Those skinny guys are really pretty. I'm trying to lose weight though....THERE'S STILL HOPE!

May 29, 2014
just jog in place while staring at a picture of a hot bishonen dude. play a sick sports montage song on a boom box

### And what was so offensive about Ground Zeroes? Are you referring to the tapes or the general story or both? Or how they handled Paz? The way they dealt with her was one of the last things that should've happened (being purposely vague here). Going that way...it was really fucked up.

May 29, 2014
The Paz stuff, yes. I tweeted about it a while back if you wanna find the specific arguments I ended up having about it.

### Will there be more swearing in the pre sequel?

May 29, 2014
Nah.

### Bishonen? So you like sexy, androgynous, borderline anorexic guys? How can I possibly compete with that??

May 29, 2014
Yeahhhhh skinny androgynous dudes are kind of my jam, sorryyyyy

### About the earlier PAX/Seattle meetup question, I was wondering specifically about a thing with fans. Any plans for that?

May 29, 2014
That sounds like it'd take effort and planning, which isn't really how we roll. We roll lazily and ineffectively.

### NEVER FEEL RELUCTANT TO ACCEPT A COMPLIMENT. YOUR WRITING MAKES MANY PEOPLE HAPPY WHILE YOUR OPENNESS TO FEEDBACK AND CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS ARE FUCKING OUTSTANDING. ALSO YOU ARE A VERY PRETTY GUY. ACCORDING TO MY SISTER. WHO IS GAY. TAKE THAT AS YOU WILL. THE POINT IS, LOVE YOURSELF.

May 29, 2014
you are very very very kind. Also I have no idea what to do about the fact that a lesbian finds me pretty. But that's cool. And I will do my best.

### What's it like working with Gearbox/2K on the upcoming Borderlands games? Do people approach you like, "Hey, do you think this character would say that?" or "Would this be something that would happen on Pandora?"

May 29, 2014
It's a constant back and forth where they review my scripts and I review theirs and we give feedback. That kind of "X wouldn't do Y" stuff always ends up coming out in this process and it's been pretty natural.
Liked by: Jake Vitela

### What do you think about Lilith's original pitched name, Dr. Lilith Cashlin? Did you and Mikey ever discuss bringing that in, or was it ignored for previously established reasons?

May 29, 2014
This is literally the first time I have ever heard that name. I had a brief discussion with BL2 producer Matt Charles about giving surnames to the 4 BL1 Vault Hunters, but we decided it'd be really really hard to find a last name that didn't feel super weird.

### if you could hijack a delorean to go back in and could switch one great unsuccessful game with one not-so great smash hit game (but only after a separate adventurous mishap of having to reunite your parents as teenagers) which two games would you swap?

May 29, 2014
Far Cry 2 and Far Cry 3.

### I remember you from your early Dtoid days. What are some of your fondest memories from working there?

May 29, 2014
Hanging out at Dtoid HQ in SF during GDC.. Just being in a big house with a lot of my friends who all had the same passion and job remains one of my favorite memories.

### What did you think of Ground Zeroes? Are you looking forward to The Phantom Pain as an MGS fan?

May 28, 2014
I liked the nonlinear stealth. I really didn't like the story. I'm excited for Phantom Pain, but pretty scared it'll be as inelegant and offensive as GZ.

### which is your favorite famous cat?

May 28, 2014
the titular Darn Cat

### What is, in your opinion, the best (gameplay) intro to a game. By this I mean the gameplay before they show the title card. My favorite is of course the last of us, but I also liked the newest tomb raider's.

May 28, 2014
It was after the title card, but the plane crash in BioShock was wonderfully mysterious.

### pax badges sold out super quickly and it is like, 80% scalpers. I pity PAX since they can't do anything but I didn't get a badge and a lot of people are pissed. Thoughts?

May 28, 2014
Scalping of that scale is pretty shitty. I'm not going to PAX, but hanging out in Seattle during that time. Maybe you could do that?

### What is your favorite cartoon network cartoon pre-Adventure Time?

May 28, 2014
Powerpuff Girls.

### I would also like to be added on the "would bone Anthony burch" list

May 28, 2014
you all have awful taste/thank you
Liked by: Erin L W

### Make it four, baby. Are you into big dudes?

May 28, 2014
I'm more into pretty bishonen boys or David Tennant types, sorry :(

But I am very flattered!
Liked by: Erin L W

### Any plans for a HAWP meetup in the Seattle area during PAX?

May 28, 2014
We'll be wandering around Seattle randomly going PAX. Not attending the show, just hanging with all of our friends who are there.

### justice http://kotaku.com/metal-gear-solid-vs-sexy-cosplay-gets-even-better-1579939327

May 28, 2014
wooo

### In contrast to that earlier ask, my man-crush on you is decidedly non-platonic. When you were doing that panel at PAX where everybody was dressed as Spelunky characters I remember thinking 'man, Anthony Burch is real cute.' How do you stay so pretty?

May 28, 2014
Man, it is still so bananas to me that anyone finds me even remotely attractive. It took me 20 years to find one person who thought I was not-revolting and now I've met, like, three.

### I just watched the clip of Pre-sequel gameplay that included the "Little" enemies and I gotta say, "Little" does come off as a lot less obnoxious than "midget." It makes them kind of endearing tbh. I'll probably eat my words when one of them comes at me with a shotgun though lol!

May 28, 2014
woooo

### Yay, you answered my two parter! Can I say that as somebody who is an aspiring writer, I've developed something of a platonic man crush on you? To paraphrase Tesla, I appreciate how you think both deeply and clearly.

May 28, 2014
You are very kind.

### 1- Did the bullymong name-game quest come from a dispute during development about what to call them, as I like to imagine it did? 2- It's cool you're looking to use more inclusive language, did you try to find alternatives to the "politically correct" terms? IE wee folk for little person?

May 28, 2014
1. Pretty much.

2. I erred on the side of caution. If I made a stink about changing a name to be more politically correct and then *still* fucked up and offended people, I'd look like a doofus.

### Watch this http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9WBqHdI5Bdw It's awesome,

May 28, 2014
holy shit she looks exactly like david tennant

### what is your opinion on being able to play as claptrap in the pre-sequel? Personally, I'm not too excited, since i'm afraid it will ruin him as an npc. Then again, I know practically nothing about the game so I could be wrong.

May 28, 2014
I think Jonathan Hemingway, Tommy Westerman, Matt Armstrong and Kirsten Kahler (writing) did a really good job making Claptrap feel different and crazy as a player character whilst still retaining the personality that you know and love/loathe. He doesn't feel like an insanely overpowered badass; he feels like Claptrap even from the very core of his skill design. Which is super-impressive.

### I'm a non-vegetarian that loves to cook for others. If I were to invite a vegetarian over for a dinner with other non-vegetarians, what foods would you suggest that aren't "talking down" to them (ie "Eh, just give 'em a salad")? Or is there no such thing?

May 28, 2014
For me? Pizza always works. Cheese or vegetarian pizza is always awesome. (Of course, if they're vegan, that's different). Or pasta. Or Indian food.

Probably the best thing to do would be to toss out a dinner idea beforehand and ask them if that's cool.

### Suppose in the ending of Ground Zeroes that the second bomb was placed in a non sexual location in Paz or in Chico, do you feel that may have improved it slightly?

May 27, 2014
Slightly, sure. But the Ground Zeroes thing does so much wrong that it's still going to end up a problematic scene.

### Thank you for answering my previous question. But for clarification: So, as long as something isn't getting in the way of people's enjoyment of the game, you don't mind saying it? How do you say what you feel should be said without upsetting people too much? How do you strike that balance?

May 27, 2014
Generally, just by asking people, and erring on the side of caution. Fart jokes will never offend anybody. Torgue screaming about explosions and sharks will never offend anybody. Stuff about sex/race/intelligence gets scarier, and you just ask around a lot for that stuff.

### Have you heard the 'Breaking Down The Borders' song by Miracle of Sound? It's a Borderlands tribute song!

May 27, 2014
Yeah, it was really neat.

### Have you ever read this article? http://www.deltaheadtranslation.com/MGS2/DOTM_TOC.htm

May 27, 2014
Yes.

### Wait wait wait do you think that people that eat meat pay a moral price?

May 27, 2014
I mean...kinda, right? You'd think someone who killed or ate a puppy had done something slightly morally questionable. Pigs are just as intelligent as dogs, but we eat them anyway. I don't think that's a tremendously controversial opinion.
Liked by: Erin L W

### What is your honest opinion on the ending of Borderlands 1?

Imnot Creative
May 27, 2014
Probably the same as yours, and everyone else at Gearbox.

### I know that you hate what Steven Moffat has done to Doctor Who, but what is your opinion on Sherlock?

May 27, 2014
I really like Sherlock. At its best, it's full of great character stuff, which is what Moffat's Who lacks. It honestly feels like two completely different writers to me.

### are you also gonna take the word retarded out of the game? (it was in a torgue commercial, little but stood out to me when I heard it.) this word in particular offends me alot, having mentally disabled friends and relatives

May 27, 2014
Yeah, I wrote that line before I was ever on the lookout for stuff like that. To my knowledge there is no other use of that in the subsequent DLC or Pre-Sequel.

### Have there been complaints about the psychos? They personify the slang term. :/ The name being deemed problematic feels like legitimizing the comparison between them and real mentally ill people like me, and I've never been offended until now (and still not by the characters). Ugh, that sucks.

May 26, 2014
I've gotten one or two, yeah. My thoughts on the subject are more or less the same as yours, but I'm still not sure.

### Dont you think that replacing the word midget is kind of removing what makes Borderlands awesome? I tell my friends it is a game where you can use billions of crazy guns to blow off the head of an insane midget. Now I have to tell them you can blow off the head of a little person. There is a 50% dec

May 26, 2014
I got like three questions about this, so I'll answer them all here:

Borderlands is a game about over-the-top violence that doesn't take itself all that seriously. If somebody has issues with violence, then they shouldn't be playing the game, because it's pretty clearly about enacting over-the-top violence. So I'm not in favor of censoring the violence in any significant way.

That said, when people come to Borderlands wanting to have crazy fun with their friends while picking up guns and shooting stuff, they're coming for an escape. They're not coming to have things that bother them in real life thrown back in their faces again. Many Christians don't wanna hear "goddamn" hurled every second, many little people don't wanna hear or see "midget" (which, to some little people, is basically the equivalent of the N-word for black people). Some women don't wanna hear the game's enemies shout words like "bitch" or "slut", because they have to deal with that shit in everyday life.

If Borderlands is meant to be a fun escape, then it doesn't make any sense to carry over the shitty bummer stuff from real life.

The thing that "makes Borderlands awesome" is the game design and the art style and the general tone, not the use of degrading or insensitive language.

(That said, I still have no clue what to do about the psychos.)

View more

Liked by: Jake Vitela

### If Ellie got the chance to smooch any Borderlands character she wanted, who would it be? And (or) on that note, any plans for Ellie to someday have a significant other? The logical next step for showing her as a positive character would be her having an awesome relationship, I think.

May 26, 2014
Hm, good idea.

### So ignoring all the baggage about the ending and other writing decisions in Mass Effect 3, giving EDI a sexy fembot body was kinda weird and a little hamfisted, right?

May 26, 2014
It kinda took me off guard, yeah.

### I've heard that instead of the word "midget" they'll be called "little" in the presequel. Is this true? I think it's a step in the right direction.

May 26, 2014
Yes, it's true.
Liked by: Jake Vitela

### If at some point we find that plants actually FEEL, would you consider your stance on vegetarianism null?

May 26, 2014
If plants could feel pain, but it was measurably less pain than animals feel, then I would still eat plants. I'd err on the side of causing the least amount of pain in order for me to survive.

That said, plants don't have nervous systems, so when people pull out this question they're usually referring to plants having a reaction to harm, which isn't necessarily the same as pain.

Though what's *really* going on when people ask this question is that they feel like vegetarians, just by existing, are silently judging them. So they throw out stuff like this in an effort to say, "Ha! But what if vegetarians ALSO cause pain?! That means you're no more morally righteous than me, and I can keep eating whatever I want to without paying any moral price whatsoever!"

### What's the best way to get my friends interested in playing Netrunner?

May 25, 2014
Tell them it's poker meets magic the gathering meets cyberpunk.
Liked by: Aliztair

### Best open and closing themes for a game?

May 25, 2014
Hard to beat Will The Circle Be Unbroken.
Liked by: Aliztair Anthony Nunez

### I've been wondering why there wasn't a smallest sign of Athlena at the BL2, like not even a mention. And do not say that "we'll explain that in pre-sequel" because that game wasn't even imagined when BL2 writing was on (I belive).

May 25, 2014
For a little while we thought we'd do class-specific missions, and Athena would have been the questgiver for Zero's stuff. That went away for resource/production/me being shitty and not having cool narrative ideas reasons, and Athena just kinda fell by the wayside. Her personality is pretty similar to Roland's (determined, military, leader, stoic) so it didn't feel necessary to include her.

There was a brief time when I wanted to have her killed offscreen by Jack to show how evil Jack was (a la Helena Pierce) but I'm really really really really really really really glad Paul talked me out of it.

### How do you think Icarus Proudbottom’s World of Typing compared to Icarus Proudbottom Teaches Typing?

May 25, 2014
I did not know World of Typing existed and now I am playing this game.

### Please tell me there will be plenty of Doctor who references in the pre-sequel like there was in BL2

May 25, 2014
Not as many, but the intensity of them will make up for it.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Dumb question, but do you play the old school Netrunner or FFG's Android: Netrunner?

Cameron Neil
May 25, 2014
FFG

### Yo how does the Burchinator get turnt up on the weekend?

May 23, 2014
what what what the what what what
Liked by: Calum Bain

### You're at a party. On a scale of 1-10, how comfortable would you be if... A. ...a group of random people called you over to chat? B. ...a group of random people called you over to chat while playing Dominion? C. ...a group of random people called you over to chat while playing Netrunner?

May 23, 2014
A. 1
B. 8
C. 6

### Hey man, I read your article about why diversity in games is awesome and I thought this might be a useful resource: http://diversitycrosscheck.tumblr.com/ It's a tumblog that connects writers with ppl from marginalized groups who are willing to share their experiences. Keep writing good shit!

May 23, 2014
holy shit, this is awesome
Liked by: Erin L W

### I think I prefer Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon over Borderlands 2 in terms of length and gameplay. Humor runs even. Does this mean we can't be internet buddies?

May 23, 2014
That's absolutely what that means.

### You have a time machine (and assurances that paradoxes and other you're-a-horrible-person-if-you-bring-this-up-as-a-serious-quibble nonsense won't be an issue), and can use it to be in the writers' room for three seasons of television (e.g. THE SIMPSONS season 6). Which do you pick, and why?

May 23, 2014
Breaking Bad for seasons 1, 3, and 5. Cause that shit is amazing, and I'd learn about setting up a world and characters, (1) seeing exactly how far you can push and still make them sympathetic (3), and how to end something satisfyingly (5).
Liked by: Jake Vitela

### How about "Burch the Lurch"?

May 23, 2014
Justin used to do that, actually. He liked the South Park episode with the "More like Stan DARSH" guy so he'd be l ike "Anthony Burch? More like Anthony...LURCH" and then I'd look at him weird

### Do you have any interesting nicknames? I've seen people on the interwebs call you "the Burchinator."

May 23, 2014
What? Who calls me that? Destroy them.

I don't have any nicknames. My uncle tried to give me one ("Boom Boom"), and then my dad got jealous and tried to give me one ("DJ," as in "Dave Jr," but functionally "fat girl from Full House") to overrule my uncle's, but both those nicknames were pretty dorky and never caught on.
Liked by: Anthony Nunez Kerissa Young

### ngl i thought the little symbols on Axton's face were supposed to be elevator call buttons for the longest time.

May 23, 2014
Art Director Jeramy Cooke and lead concept artist Scott Kester wanted to give Axton something unique and defining so that if you ever saw a screenshot of him, you'd immediately know that he wasn't just Random Call of Duty Guy, but that he's specific to Borderlands. That's where they came up with the ranking symbols on his skin.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### How do you think it is going to feel seeing your characters in someone else's hands? How does it feel ANTICIPATING your characters saying words you didn't write?

May 23, 2014
I think I'm not a particularly good writer and that many people can do better with my characters than I could, in many instances. I'll probably still go "rrrgh X person wouldn't say that" but it's not like they're *my* characters -- Borderlands existed long before me and will exist long after, and even if it's a character I came up with like Jack or something, he belongs to the franchise more than he does to me.

### That polygon op-ed about audience was interesting. But one thing about how this topic is broached vexes me. If games are regarded as artistic expression, is it always reasonable to request, or from some corners, demand they be inclusive? That just feels akin to saying they are malleable products.

May 23, 2014
I think somehow we've all been convinced that mainstream media *aren't* malleable products more than they are artistic expression. When a movie gets shown to a focus audience and they change the ending, or a publisher suggests changes to a book or whathaveyou, then we're talking about a malleable product. If you're being awesome and independent and doing something that is perfectly and unabashedly *you*, then that's awesome, but it's also rare. People freaked out about the ME3 director's cut ending as if that wasn't something that *most* mainstream movies do a hell of a lot of the time.

And games which don't include women/people of color/queer people generally aren't doing so out of some personal desire to *say* something, they're generally doing so out of fear. Fear that they don't want to lose sales, because what if people are less likely to buy a game with gay people in it (they aren't). Fear that by making a horribly controversial political statement like "these people exist," they'll be coming down on a hot button political issue that may scare away potential customers. They don't realize, as @AlcopopStar pointed out on Twitter, that saying "Tomodachi life is a game about just havin' fun, don't worry about it" IS a political statement whether you want it to be or not.

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### What's the worst thing about writing for video games?

May 23, 2014
Mean people. It's weird to spend three years of your life (and I got lucky; many people spend more time on projects) on making a single thing good, and it comes out, and somebody just says something mean and shitty and personal with the explicit intent of making you feel bad, and it generally works.

I did this far too often as a blogger myself. Attack the game, sure -- by all means, that's fair. Attacking people (as I often did with UbiSoft games, say) is just mean-spirited and not constructive and cruel.

### How do you feel about fan reactions to characters being completely different than expected? Like, Scarlett not really going anywhere, but Nakayama getting a fiercely devoted little following. Any you found particularly interesting?

May 22, 2014
Nakayama has a following? That's weird, I didn't know that. But yeah, it was a super-bummer that Scarlett didn't catch on (to the point where I kinda wanna bring her back just to try again). I was really pleasantly surprised by the reaction to Mister Torgue, especially given he's just a DLC character. It's flattering, obviously, and frighteningly ego boosting.

### Are there are battles you lost during the production of BL2 that, in retrospect, you're glad to have been overruled on? If so, could you explain a little about your thinking, then and now?

May 22, 2014
I honestly can't recall anything I got overruled on that I ended up eating my hat over. Hrm. Maybe I'm just so arrogant I'm misremembering to make myself feel smarter.

### What's something you've learned recently that you think is very important?

May 22, 2014
This: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~drkelly/DFWKenyonAddress2005.pdf

### Is there a character you regret so much to the point of wishing you could go back and completely remove them from the Borderlands story and universe?

May 22, 2014
Not at all.

### Will Mr. Blake be in the presequel? Like will you able to physically interact with him like in Borderlands 1?

May 22, 2014
Nah.

### One of my least favorite things about Moffat's run is how he makes the Doctor deal with the Slender Man-looking Silents. He turns every human on Earth into unwitting genocidal killers against the Slendies bc of the actions of only a subset of that race. And he smiled when he did it.

May 22, 2014
Yeah, that was goddamn odd. Though even the old Doctor is sometimes kinda bloodthirsty (Jon Pertwee just punched things ALL THE TIME), but yeah. That episode and Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (where he lets Walder Frey kill himself) felt weird to me.
Liked by: Erin L W

### have you thought of a breaking bad skippable list, for condensed viewing?

May 22, 2014
I like that show way too much to ever consider skipping any of its episodes, to be honest.

### Krieg says some pretty interesting things in his Raving Retribution dialogue. Should you get the opportunity to write BL3, would you expand on that, or would you rather leave it a mystery?

May 20, 2014
(Shrug.) You put stuff down so you can pick it up later if you wanna.

### Why do you hate River Song so much? Is it because she's a Mary Sue or is it deeper than that?

May 20, 2014
It's cause she's a Mary Sue. The script and characters decide she's a super smart super sexy super badass within like 45 minutes of your meeting her, despite her having done almost nothing to justify that reaction beyond being *infuriatingly* smug.

I loathe River Song in the same way I loathe the first guy who portrayed Daario Naharis in GoT.

### The Jack line "I know it must be hard going from dining on the finest sirloin to choking down burgers for cash" is brilliant in its execution. What was your inspiration? Are you a professional comeback writer?

May 20, 2014
more like you're a comeback writer

SICK BURN SO SICK HASHTAG SO SICK
Liked by: Erin L W

### I'm of the notion that Eddings should voice every character, except Tina. Cause that voice is foiiiiiine. Do you agree?

May 20, 2014
Good to know Eddings found my ask.fm.

### I once heard you say on a podcast that you didn't like Jessica Chobot. Although the PSP picture is dumb, I think that she's more than proved what a gamer and nerd she is. I really like her. Have your thoughts on her changed?

May 20, 2014
Yeah, i feel like an asshole for judging her way back when. The polygon article they did on her was super good and gave me a "YES OKAY the PSP thing was dumb I am also a human being" vibe

### check it: http://ionil.tumblr.com/post/76595724658/valentines-day-present-i-made-for-mav-we-are

May 20, 2014
awwwww

### You didn't like Time of The Doctor? I could've sworn that you liked parts of it anyway..... He went out protecting many people as he always did. Always moving from place to place, being forced to stay. The actual regeneration was a bit abrupt, but it was far from the worst episode Moffat has done.

May 20, 2014
It felt like a two or three parter slammed into one hour. The pacing was so wonky that I didn't even realize what Doc was trying to do with the town until after he'd already aged, which is really goddamn weird.

### http://gr33dsama.tumblr.com/post/84793016113/this-headhunter-is-the-death-of-me-you-guys

May 20, 2014
I love this piece of fanart so much. It's so sweet.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### When Maya goes really high in the vehicles she starts freaking out. Is she afraid if hights?

May 20, 2014
I thought it'd be kinda funny if the superbadass was scared of heights.
Liked by: Manaphy Natu Erin L W Kerissa Young Skyler Murphy

### When I play video games where I have to play a male character, I usually don't feel apart of the game (unless it is the Last of Us or The Walking Dead Game b/c Ellie and Clementine r my bbys) Do you feel any disconnect when games force you to play as a female.

May 20, 2014
I felt far less disconnect playing as FemShep than I do when playing as a male who says things I don't wanna say.
Liked by: Becky Anthony Nunez

### How often do you browse fan stuff? Or is it mostly a 'whenever someone brings it to your attention' thing?

May 20, 2014
i check vaulthuntercollective.tumblr.com and borderlands confessions, but that's it unless people send me stuff. That said, please do send me stuff, it's great.

### But... But Jon Hamm is so handsome

May 19, 2014
That's why I just look at still photos of him for 48 minutes every week.

### Do you watch madmen? You should watch madmen

May 19, 2014
I don't think I'm intelligent enough for that show to really work on me. I finished season...three? Two? And felt no compulsion to go back. I just can't be arsed to care about what happens to any character who isn't Roger or Joan.

### :O has anyone ever been overtly racist towards you? I mean like other than stupid jokes from schoolmates and such.

May 19, 2014
No, I'm very lucky. I have a pretty "normal" voice in that I have the accent of an educated, American white dude. My name is also pretty ethnically neutral.

### I've noticed that a lot of Handsome Jack's abuse of his daughter gets glossed over if not outright ignored. Did she do something to warrant the level of abuse she endured for the duration of her life/for it to get swept under the rug so much?

May 19, 2014
Nobody deserves the amount of abuse Angel endured.

### You're not up to the challenge? I'm not baiting you or anything. I just want to know what you find interesting about Borderlands 2 as a game and what you think other people will get out of it.. So much stuff in that game. The world just seems overwhelming to me..

May 19, 2014
Alright, sure. Diablo meets Halo if neither game took themselves seriously.

### Do you ever get "randomly selected" for search at the airport?

May 19, 2014
It's an ongoing joke that I never get searched because I'm so clearly shady-looking that no TSA agent wants to look like an obvious racist.

### Any thoughts on Brick's background? Maybe I'm just influenced by his voice actor, but I always saw him as having some black in his family tree, like a grandma or something.

May 18, 2014
That sounds good to me.

### Is Handsome Jack supposed to be a good guy turned bad or a bit more nuanced than that?

May 18, 2014
"Nuance" isn't exactly my strong suit, but I wanted him to be a likable bad guy, or an evil antihero, or something like that. A slightly more assholish version of the good guys.

### Is ash on any kind of social media?

May 18, 2014
@ashly_burch

### I'd say Matt Smith showed plenty of dimension in spite of the scripts he was given. You dislike Moffat so much that it makes it difficult for you to see/acknowledge that.

May 18, 2014
Yeah, maybe. I can certainly see scenes where Matt Smith Is Sad, or Matt Smith Is Angry, but they didn't connect with me on a personal level due to the writing so I can't really judge whether they were good performances or not.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Explain Borderlands 2 to me in 300 characters or less please.

May 18, 2014
nah
Liked by: Skyler Murphy

### I'm a HUGE fan of HAWP and in a lot of your videos you kinda depict Ash as liking girls- well specifically boobs- why is that? Just curious

May 18, 2014
We thought it'd be cool for both Ash and Anthony to be gay.
Liked by: Erin L W Becky Anthony Nunez

### Does being biracial affect your life in notable ways?

May 18, 2014
I can get away with WAY riskier jokes than my white friends.
Liked by: Jeffrey Becky Skyler Murphy Jake Vitela Kerissa Young

### speaking of character sexuality...what do you see Mordi as?

May 18, 2014
I see Mordy as heterosexual.

But, again, none of this is canon/matters until it's in the game. Don't take anything I say as gospel.

### Someone else has probably already asked something similar to this but, a while back when you mentioned thinking of Maya as asexual...that doesn't mean that she's not pan/bi romantic, right? Please?

May 18, 2014
I was thinking (which means literally nothing at this point cause nothing's set in stone) that she'd be aromantic because that's clearer to convey through dialog. If she's asexual but romantic, then the characters sorta have to sit down and talk about the full definition of asexual, and how she's attracted to people but doesn't want to fuck, and stuff that might read kinda awkward (not because it's about asexuality, but because it's a discussion about fucking -- I had Ro and Lil have a couple of discussions about fucking in BL2 and we cut them due to universal feedback that they sounded really really weird, like your parents talking about sex).
Liked by: Adam R

### Well, I don't think Fiona looks completely white, but her skin is light, her hair is kind of light (and doesn't look like natural hair for a WoC), and her eyes are green. It's not BL's art style. She's looks at least 50% white.

May 18, 2014
It's just weird that I've heard this exact same discussion about Hammerlock and Nisha as well.

### My first Saints Row game was 3, largely going off of your recommendations in your videos. Maybe I hyped myself up too much for it, but I just didn't like it (though I still played the whole thing). Would I like 4 any better? Or should I go back and try 1 or 2 instead?

May 18, 2014
1 and 2 aren't really worth your effort. 4 is a pretty different game thanks to the superpowers, but if you didn't find SR3's vibe funny you probably still don't need to play it.

### Fiona's a WoC? I see a standard Irsh-named lady with pale eyes and reddish hair, am I missing something super-obvious?

May 18, 2014
Yeah, she's black.

Hrm. Nobody seems to realize when characters in the BL art style are black. That's odd.
Liked by: Jake Vitela

### So, do you and ash get your big hearts from your mom or you dad?

May 18, 2014
from our enemies when they have been cut still beating from their bodies
Liked by: Becky Anthony Nunez Skyler Murphy

### How do you guys choose the voice actors for your characters? It seems like so many of them fit so well. (Ash as Tiny Tina, Dameon Clarke as Jack, Brittani Johnson as Angel), though there was one that kind of jarred me every time I heard it, but it might just be my Daikatana flashbacks.

May 18, 2014
Boring answer: auditions.

### Do you think a new Doctor will shake things up enough, or are you counting the days until Moffat leaves as Showrunner?

May 18, 2014
Counting days. Nine into Ten was a nice change, but the show was still effectively RTD to the core. Capaldi is one of my favorite actors ever, but I doubt he'll have much to work with. Sometimes people are like "yeah but Matt Smith, right" which I can't even really respond to because I'll never know if he had dimension, because Moffat's writing never allowed for that.
Liked by: Erin L W

### You don't hate EVERYTHING after RTD, do you? It might be worth revisiting some of those episodes. A lot of important stuff happens and you like Matt Smith at least, right?

May 18, 2014
I like the eleventh hour, the anniversary special, the girl who waited, and the doctor's wife. That's literally it.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Like your skippable blog. Are you going to cover the rest of new Doctor Who?

May 18, 2014
I dunno. I hate everything after RTD so it'd basically just be "skip all of these episodes except for Doctor's Wife and Girl Who Waited k byeeee"

### What is your heritage? Does your family still celebrate their heritage, or have they adopted other mannerisms?

May 18, 2014
half white (dad), quarter thai and quarter east indian (mom). My mom goes to Buddhist temple every once in a while but other than that she's pretty Americanized. Dad still celebrates his white heritage by being relatively affluent.

### Is Tannis jealous of Moxxi's and Gaige's robot-building skills? Speaking of which, is Moxxi or Gaige the better robot-builder?

May 18, 2014
Nah, I don't think tannis cares. And Gaige is better at making *killer* robots, Moxxi's probably better at friendly ones.

### Is Fiona a WoC? She looks different in most pictures. Or do you not have a say in her design and have no idea. Or is she just supposed to be vague?

May 18, 2014
I had almost zero say in her design other than saying "ahhh she is great." But yeah, she's a WoC.

### Have you given up hope on a Half Life 3?

May 17, 2014
Yes.

### it seems to me that Deadpool would fit brilliantly in the Borderlands universe. What do you think?

May 17, 2014
Nah. Deadpool fits better in universes where he's completely out of place and the only "funny" guy. There are a lot of "funny" people in BL.

### Hows Papa B? Whats he been up to?

May 17, 2014
Probably smoking cigars and reading bad romance novels and slowly getting larger like a lopsided pool toy being inflated.

### How hype were you when you got the job at gearbox?

May 17, 2014
Ran around my house, collapsed on the floor.

### what beast doin?

May 17, 2014
She just napped with Davis and I. It was adorable.

### No, I'm pretty sure that it's a shit game. You and your pretentious nonsense...

May 17, 2014
It's so weird to me that somebody would track me down just to be a dick. (And STILL be wrong about Far Cry 2.)

Also that wasn't a question.

### Far Cry 2 is a good game.

May 17, 2014
yeeeuh

### Don't you at least kind of wish the driving segments of Far Cry 2 were shorter?

May 17, 2014
Yeah, a bit. After spending enough time with the game I've learned to use the bus stations a lot to cut out most of the driving, but driving is definitely one of the more monotonous parts of the game (especially if you consider the fact that it's easiest/most obvious to just drive through checkpoints, which means your car gets damaged, which means you get out and repair it so you can drive into the next checkpoint and get your car damaged, and and and and)

### Far Cry 2 is not a good game.

May 17, 2014
incorrect
Liked by: Matthew Manninen

### I want to go into the gaming industry after collage (I will be majoring in game art and design), do you have any tips for someone going into this line of work?

May 17, 2014
Make your own stuff. Your own games, your own video series, whatever. I only got the GBX gig cause of HAWP.

### How do you balance toning down your sense of humour for writing Borderlands, versus Hey Ash which is supposed to have a sort of shock value and intentionally offensive tone to it?

May 17, 2014
HAWP isn't supposed to be intentionally offensive. We just can get away with more cause we can curse and talk about fuckin'.

### I'm happy that your PC is dead!!

May 17, 2014
2 cruel

### Weird request, but can you say that Nisha is supposed to be Indian again so I can take a screenshot in case people start insisting she's white, a la Hammerlock? Sorry!

May 17, 2014
Nisha is Indian. I am Anthony Burch. I really like the movie Godzilla Final Wars.
Liked by: Nick Stebbins

### Can you get Jami Carignan to be on the next hawpcast? that would be rad

May 17, 2014
that is a super good idea

### Ever consider coming to Atlanta for DragonCon?

May 16, 2014
Yeah, I've heard it's fun.
Liked by: Becky

### If you were given the reigns to any game franchise you wanted in order to reboot & rewrite it, which one would it be?

May 16, 2014
All the franchises I love have much, much better writing than I am capable of, so I wouldn't bother. I mean, it'd be funny to take something I didn't like very much and go nutshit with it. Call of Duty but bizarrely liberal and progressive.

### Do you play any of the Bethesda RPGs?

May 16, 2014
Yes.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### Are you coming to NY for any events or any reason anytime soon?? Would love to meet you! Big fan!

Danny Navedo
May 16, 2014
Not that I know of, sorry.

### Are you really colorblind? If so, what's the hardest part of being so to deal with?

May 16, 2014
Playing MOBAs that don't have properly fleshed-out colorblind modes. Green (good) characters and red (bad) characters in HOTS are really difficult to differentiate.

### What's it like having the coolest sibling ever?

May 16, 2014
Really neat. I like Ash a lot.
Liked by: Calum Bain

### I know you've been watching GoT, but have you tried Vikings and/or Back Sails yet?

May 16, 2014
Nope.

### I had a dream last night that you gave a talk at a convention or something and nobody laughed at your jokes even though they were pretty funny and then we were chatting at Starbucks and these two little old ladies tried to "rescue" me from you because they thought you were gonna try and kidnap me or

May 16, 2014
sounds plausible

### Why does the far cry series go to all these exotic location but the main characters are always white?

May 16, 2014
The main character is not white in Far Cry 2!

### What did the psycho do after dumping their significant other? (Wipe)

May 16, 2014
ew

### Why is Tannis so cute? Cause she's such a Dahl.

May 16, 2014
oh god
Liked by: mackenzie charlton Calum Bain

### Borderlands tattoo http://24.media.tumblr.com/ad124c3ff8f96702ef3f2476802d1c8b/tumblr_metuw68bvU1ru80qfo1_500.jpg

May 16, 2014
Nice. Also ouch.
Liked by: Kerissa Young

### They're going to put bits of Frozen into Once Upon a Time. Thoughts?

May 16, 2014
Weird/cool.

### Have you ever watched Foyle's War?

May 16, 2014
Nein. Should I?

### Will there be any women with musculature between Athena and Granny Flexington? Also will there be any chubby women (not Ellie large, but not siren skinny)? (Sorry for asking all these kinds of questions, I just really like diverse body types)

May 16, 2014
I hope so in the future, yeah.

### In your opinion which game do you feel handles moral choices the best?

May 16, 2014
XCOM. http://www.heyash.com/why-i-like-xcom-enemy-unknown/

### So now that we know (just a little) about far cry 4, do you think it's possible it could be a really great game like 2? People are worried about racism, but 2 was fine, and although 3 was a bust, I think this could be a great return to series. thoughts?

May 16, 2014
Clint Hocking isn't at UbiSoft anymore sooooooo

### Hodor?

May 16, 2014
i don't read lord of the rings
Liked by: Erin L W

### Will there be any very muscular women in the pre-sequel?

May 16, 2014
Athena's pretty muscular.
Liked by: Kerissa Young Jake Vitela

### As far as story, characters, etc. Far Cry 2 was superior. But what features/mechanics do you think were done better on FC2 vs 3?

May 16, 2014
FC3 really nailed the mechanical freedom of immersive sims better than FC2 in a lot of ways -- the enemy variety forces you to use more tactics, and you just plain have more tactics to use. FC2 incentivized getting a sniper rifle and camping for super long periods of time, where FC3 encourages you to maybe try being stealthy, or plant a bomb under something and lure people to it, or lead people into wildlife, or other stuff. As a result, walking around the world and taking over outposts is WAY more fun in FC3 than FC2.

That said, FC2 is a much more immersive and harrowing experience as a whole. Walking around in FC2 is scary on higher difficulties (on normal it's just irritating) because the world exists to bend you to its will and not vice-versa. Your guns decay, you get malaria in the middle of combat and have to improvise around it, and if you wanna look at your map then you aren't allowed to have your guns out. It's very intentionally a less "fun" game and as a result I feel far more drawn into its world and themes than I ever did with FC3.

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### yoo check out this awesome claptrap cosplay: http://24.media.tumblr.com/0132ed898ced6e0e7766258cf8762705/tumblr_n3270oqBvh1t25q58o3_1280.jpg

May 16, 2014
awwww awesome

### Are you and Ash twins?

May 15, 2014
No. I'm a couple years older than Ash biologically. She's like eight years older than me mentally.
Liked by: Jake Vitela

### Did anybody in particular inspire the characters you've written?

May 15, 2014
jack is evil nathan fillion. torgue is introspective randy savage. tiny tina is ash.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Erin L W Calum Bain Skyler Murphy Benjamin Jake Vitela

### Why didn't you get another bird and name it Beauty? Would it give Beast a complex?

May 15, 2014
because beast is already beautiful duhhhhh

### How difficult is/was it to balance the over the top, crosses-the-line-twice Borderlands humor and political correctness?

May 15, 2014
pretty hard considering i didn't really give a shit about political correctness when the project started and slowly started being less of a dick as the production went on
Liked by: Jake Vitela

### As a vegetarian, do you eat meat flavored things?

May 15, 2014
Yes. a lot.

### hi it's your wife Davis. I'm divorcing you. Peace

May 14, 2014
darn
Liked by: Skyler Murphy

### You have a nice face. Yes. And you are awesome.

May 14, 2014
thax

### what is your current (musical) jam?

May 14, 2014
let it go from the frozen soundtrack. wish i was kidding

### I always find it disconcerting when developers and publishers refer to games as "Products." Do you feel that term undercuts the medium in anyway?

May 14, 2014
yes

### How do you feel about the fact that so many people love your video game characters to the point that they tumble over each other like eager puppies to try and winkle the slightest piece of extra minute detail about said characters out of you?

May 14, 2014
Flattering in a way that is resulting in irrevocable, legitimate damage to my sense of humility. I'm actually really worried about it.

### While playing as Maya, I left the room, and when I returned, my uncle and dad were talking about my uncle's dog Abby, who had recently died. And out of nowhere, Maya says the "I HATED the goddamn Abbey" line. It was awful and I threw Maya off a cliff as punishment but ngl, it's funny looking back.

May 14, 2014
eeeeeee
Liked by: Skyler Murphy

### Did you also think of the gun effects? (Example: The Sandhawk pellets turning into a bird, Unkempt Harold shooting seven pellets)

Imnot Creative
May 14, 2014
Nope! Matt Armstrong.

### Are you wearing socks right now? Post a picture.

May 14, 2014
yes.

no.

### Have you thought about bringing poor Knoxx back from the dead again just for a laugh or two?

May 14, 2014
We (meaning Paul Hellquist, Matthew Armstrong and I) feel pretty strongly that death should be permanent in BL as far as narrative stuff goes. The last thing we want is a superhero comics situation where killing characters means nothing.

### It's Samit. How about a BrownTown reunion?

May 14, 2014
By which I assume you mean "hey we should hug"

Because anytime we hug

welcome to ultimate browntown

### If somebody enjoys scantly clad females in games, damsels, etc. But also acknowledges how those are shitty tropes, and wishes there would be more equality and fairness in the industry, while still wanting some of those things to stick around in moderation. Are they a shitty person?

May 14, 2014
No, of course not. I used to come down way hard on ANY sexualized female characters (and still do to some extent) but Ash put it in understandable terms for me: the problem isn't sexualized female characters themselves, it's that *literally no other type of female character designs exist*. With the exception of FemShep, there are almost no videogame females who are *not* sexualized in some way, however badass or cool they may be otherwise (even Jade from Beyond Good and Evil has an exposed midriff for no discernible reason).

Sex is cool, sexuality is cool, but habitual objectification just for the sake of it, and at the exclusion of other stuff, is not.
Liked by: Jeffrey Jakob Brown Erin L W Benjamin Jake Vitela Adam R

### I think the autism question was referring to how the flavor text for one of the missions says that Patricia Tannis has Aspergers, and then it's never mentioned again. I haven't really encountered anyone who was "offended" by it, but most people don't seem to have picked up on the flavor text at all

May 13, 2014
Ah, okay. I got an email from someone with Aspergers pointing out it was pretty ignorant and bummed them out. I basically just apologized and said I'd try not to do something like that again.

### What would you say has been the most surreal moment on your journey from "guy who does cool stuff on the internet" to "head writer, hotly anticipated AAA video game?"

May 13, 2014
pretty much every step feels surreal and undeserved. Going on panels, being with voice actors, doing interviews, getting asked this question. It's making me into an arrogant asshole. Or more of one.

### Where do you think your use of "fair enough" originated from? I know that may be a strange question, but you've used it so much over the years, it's basically your catch phrase. I'd like to know how it started.

May 13, 2014
Man, that's my catchphrase? What a boring-ass catchphrase. Shit. I honestly dunno where it came from.

### How do you feel about the people with autism that were offended by your portrayal of it in the game?

May 13, 2014
Huh?

### Which vault hunter do you play as the most?

May 13, 2014
Maya. I like support Maya with short Rez cooldown.

### Is Zed jealous of Maya's healing abilities?

May 13, 2014
Zed doesn't care enough about legit healing to be jealous, I think. He may be slightly irritated that she stops people from dying so he can't get at their organs, I dunno.

### Why do you always sound like such a dick?

May 13, 2014
I wonder what you think this question makes *you*.

### Which scene was the hardest for you to write?

May 13, 2014
Angel's reveal and Jack's turn from someone who's just jokes into someone who's actually fucking angry. First couple revs of that scene weren't hardcore enough, and feedback from Paul Hellquist and Mikey Neumann helped bring it back to somewhere where it felt like Jack actually changed.

### Who did you side with? Zafords or Hodunks?

May 13, 2014
Zafords, just cause they're less popular in the canon.

### I'm in my 20s, but still struggling to figure out my sexuality. The other day when you talked about being bisexual, it really struck a chord with me. It made me realize that how I've felt for a long time is more common than I'd've ever thought. So... thanks. That was a boost I really needed. :)

May 13, 2014
ahhh I'm so glad I helped in some small way.
Liked by: Becky

### I just watched like 80% of all the HAWP videos in one sitting and honestly i dont think ive been this happy in a long time. Thank you to everyone involved, i really needed a laugh. Fyi a side effect of watchin ash too much made me hyper.

May 13, 2014
Thanks! Glad you like the show. We kind of owe everything to that show and we're still pretty proud of it.
Liked by: Erin L W Jake Vitela mackenzie charlton

### Let's say Jack was successfully cloned by someone, but had no memories; he's a blank slate. Would he still turn into the same genocidal monster all over again? Would his quest to be "the hero" lead him to side with the vault hunters this time around? The question of Nature Vs. Nurture, I suppose.

May 13, 2014
The people I've spoken to about their children have (anecdotally) mentioned that it felt like their kids were to some extent already formed when they came out. I think nurture can help, but Jack's enough of a crazily unrepentant douche that I imagine he'd probably still be a dick.

### if you liked Frozen, you should definitely take Davis to Wicked if you ever get the chance. Pure amazing.

May 13, 2014
I shall. I need to see more musicals.
Liked by: Becky

### Did you ever harvest a Little Sister?

May 13, 2014
Only on second playthrough out of morbid curiosity.

### Which Jackie Chan film is your favorite?

May 13, 2014
I legitimately like Shanghai Noon a lot.

### When you were writing Gaige or Krieg (or really any characters) Did you ever have even a slight idea of who you wanted their VA's to be or were you more focused on just giving them likeable personalities at first before even thinking about giving them actual voices

May 13, 2014
Yeah, you have to have a basic idea so you can write something to give to casting. But that said, both Jason Douglas (Krieg) and Luci Christian/Cherami Leigh (Gaige) blew the characters out of the water and really made them work. That goes for pretty much all the voice actors; the characters on the page are always kind of stupid and fake-sounding until a voice actor makes it all sound natural and cool and suddenly, at least for me, things just click and I feel like the character is working.

### I'm glad to hear that you liked Frozen. Such a good movie. Why did you like it? What did you like about it?

May 13, 2014
I liked that it was a movie about two women, and that both of them were likable in different ways even though one was kind of the villain, and that they had desires and goals that had nothing to do with men in the end. And that Let it Go song is the fucking shit

### How do you pronounce 'voracidous'?

May 13, 2014
like this: "voracidous"

### Which characters do you dislike the most? Be it because you dont like writing them or you just dont care for them.

May 12, 2014
I don't dislike any characters I write for because if I did I wouldn't write for them. You have to find something you like in the characters you write because you're going to be spending so much time with them that you have to make it fun for yourself.

### How do you feel about all the gender-bending Borderlands cosplay out there? For instance, the majority of Handsome Jack cosplayers I've seen have been women.

May 12, 2014
it is honestly one of my favorite things ever. Not exaggerating. Ever.
Liked by: Erin L W TJ Jones Becky

### can we see your face awesome writer person?

May 12, 2014
i mean, google exists.
Liked by: Becky

### Where do you think you'd be if instead of everything you've done with games be it "reviews" or writing, what if it was with movies from the start, with "hey ash watcha watching"?

May 12, 2014
i'd probably be way less successful because there is a greater history of film criticism and it's harder to stand out there.
Liked by: Skyler Murphy

### Do you feel the lack of player character interaction in a story, seemingly gliding over it affecting things without their own input, can actually harm a player's ability to immerse themselves, or does the disconnection help? (eg. player characters having an arc and dialogue vs being blank)

May 12, 2014
The irony of working on Borderlands is that I've *always* preferred silent protagonists, but every single thing we do, people always ask for more vocal protagonists. Writing-wise, a chatty protagonist gives you more options, but every time I play a game with a chatty protagonist I inevitably have to go "god dammit that's not what I woulda said" and it takes me out. But Borderlands isn't really a very immersion-centric kind of game, so I guess people really wanna hear their characters have arcs and personalities which differ from their own.

### What character(s) are the hardest for you to write?

May 12, 2014
Any new character before I've found their voice. I have to start typing out monologues (which I know I will not use) just to find something that makes their personality immediately readable and, ideally, kind of funny.

### what if maya and axton hooked up? could you see it happening?

May 12, 2014
Questions like this are either (A) things I plan on answering eventually, or (B) things I have already answered in my head that will never make it into the game, in which case it's better to just not answer so the fandom can have their own fantasies and fiction and thoughts about what would happen. If I said what I thought would happen it'd kind of take the fun out of it.

### Is the Hyperion corporation and its downfall a metaphor for being closed-minded? Eg. All the Hyperion payroll is white, predominantly male. Like one big Aryan Brotherhood, with the moonbase being the group's swastika.

May 12, 2014
Sure, why not.

### Do you actually hate some of the characters or do you just write them and comment about them in a way that shows you do because its funny?

May 12, 2014
Bit of both.

### Who's the coolest person (that you don't work with) that you have met?

May 12, 2014
Freddie Wong's really really nice, as is Sean Vanaman. Patrick Fugit's pretty cool other than the fact he looks like Jesse Eisenberg.

### Do you know anything about actually programming games or are you purely a writer?

May 12, 2014
Just a writer. I have no *actual* skills.

### Ever think you'd have a go at writing horror?

May 12, 2014
Nah, I'm not a huge horror guy.

### which character design do you like the most in pre-sequel?

May 12, 2014
Athena. She's 100% badass with not even a hint of sexualization.

### is there a HAWP season 4 dvd coming?

May 12, 2014
Yeah, I think so.

### Did you have an idea for how the soundtrack of Tiny Tina's AoDK reflected its plot of the DLC as you were writing it? Alternatively, did you hope that some of the parody found in the DLC would be reflected in its soundtrack?

May 12, 2014
I don't think too much about the soundtrack. I just trust that Raison and our contracted composers do something great, and they always do, so it's cool.

### What does an Aaron Linde hug feel like? I imagine it feels like being hugged by a surprisingly amicable bear.

May 12, 2014
you are entirely correct

### Why are you such an asshole?

May 12, 2014
Fair enough

### What is the most brilliantly written game you've ever played?

May 12, 2014
Walking Dead.

### What are your thoughts on silent protagonists? Seems like it's something that's going away, from my perspective. Is it easier or harder to write stories that revolve around silent main characters?

May 12, 2014
It's easier and harder in different ways. Easier in that you don't have to do as much work with your player character commenting on plot stuff and NPCs responding to them with special lines. harder in that now you need to make every NPC basically say all the information the player needs in monologue form, rather than having your character ask questions and stuff.

### How do you deal with rodeo-ers in Titanfall? If I hop out of my Titan to deal with them, they blow me up with satchel charges!

May 12, 2014
Electric smoke or a cluster missile to the ground.

### How do you feel about Ellen Page?

May 12, 2014
She is best.

### How many times is fart or fart related words mentioned in borderlands 2?

May 12, 2014
Very few. I make fun of myself for doing fart jokes far, far more often than I actually make them.

### Did you write Fleshstick's name into the quest where you have to lure him into the tea party just to make your sister say 'Fleshstick"

May 12, 2014
Never occurred to me that it'd be weird until the game came out and people brought that up. Whoops

### Favorite breakfast food?

May 12, 2014
Waffles. Or breakfast tacos. I cheated and said two. I have that power.

### My boyfriend has a man crush on you. He thinks your writing is brilliant and your humor is right up his alley. Do you sign like random postcards or strategy guides if sent to you?

May 12, 2014
Sure, just have him send it to Gearbox HQ c/o me, with included mailback postage and stuff.

### Do you want to continue writing games? Was it an enjoyable experience for you? Would you want to work on more humor-based games or maybe something more serious?

May 12, 2014
I absolutely love writing videogames and could easily see myself doing this for the rest of my life. I also love writing humor, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to try out something more serious just to see if I could do it.

### If you had to learn another language, what one would you choose?

May 12, 2014
I tried to learn French using Memrise cause I knew I was going for a business trip, but when I got to Paris everyone either already spoke English or was mean so i was like "fuck this".

I'd learn British.

### So are you and ash two sides of the spectrum when it comes to personality? You being super mellow and her being super excitable?

May 12, 2014
God no. If anything we're the opposite of that. I'm the stupid immature one and Ash is a goddamn adult

### If our primal instinct is survival and the need to "belong" why is "clamming up" and getting so anxious so common? Are we as a species becoming ironic evolutions?

May 12, 2014
Man, that's interesting. I hadn't thought about that. I think a lot of people including Davis and I should have been selected out a long time ago.

### 16 bit was the best era for games. Fact or Fiction?

May 12, 2014
I think PS2 had the greatest games.

### Do you speak another language?

May 12, 2014
just english, bad english, and fifth element quotes

### How do you feel about MMOs?

May 12, 2014
I do not like them, with the partial exception of GW2 (which I liked for a bit before I stopped), TOR (which had a neat bioware-type story that was hampered by the fact that it was an MMO), and EVE (which I have never played but sounds emergent and interesting in a way other MMOs are not).

But generally I do not care for them.

### Still Samit. Remember the time you got blackout drunk and we made out? I think that's why I'm pregnant. When we held hands...it impregnated me.

May 12, 2014
oh god what did i do what has this ask.fm become

### Samit here. Am I pregnant?

May 12, 2014
always

### View of England/UK?

May 12, 2014
Loved it until I read Paul Dean's account of what it's like to live there http://paullicino.tumblr.com/post/82695981848/on-poverty

### Which of the vault hunters do you think would be able to live in our world without ending up in jail?

May 12, 2014
None. They're all misfit toys.

### Will Grant ever get his nose checked?

May 12, 2014
Knowing grant probably not

### Do you think Peter Capaldi will be a good doctor? Side question: have you seen the thick of it? If so, do you like it?

May 12, 2014
Peter Capaldi's good at everything.

### check out these cool posters tho http://24.media.tumblr.com/ce27e405134170e14f859781cf9bccfe/tumblr_n1tyzhNFf31qlwhaco1_500.png

May 12, 2014
neato

### I want to get a borderlands tattoo, but I don't know what to get.

May 12, 2014
thennnn do not get one

### Who are you going to play as in the pre-sequel? Athena, Wilhelm, Nisha or Claptrap?

May 12, 2014
I'm playing through now as Nisha, so something different at launch. Probo Athena.

### I like to think that Gaige sees Claptrap as a rare piece of machinery since he's the last of his kind, and she actually like him and play along with the whole minion thing, is this acceptable?

May 12, 2014
Shit that's a really good idea
Liked by: Calum Bain

### What's the origin to the name Reverend Anthony?

May 12, 2014
Universal Life Church. Thought it'd be fun to be an official reverend. it stuck and shouldn't have cause it's pretty dumb. If it weren't just My Thing and really easy to remember I would have switched to everything just being "anthonyburch" all the time.

### do you recommend any other webseries that your fans may enjoy while we wait for the new season of hawp?

May 11, 2014
board with life, vsauce, bro team pill
Liked by: Calum Bain

### Ya know what! -Hug- Yer awesome. Thank you. -flees-

May 11, 2014
thax

### Do you ship Claptrap and GLaDOS by the way?

May 11, 2014
Nah

### Really? When you look at the buzz axe's info text it specifically says that it was his grandma's personal disciplinary weapon.

May 11, 2014
Oh, whoops.

### So going by his rough upbringing and his granny's buzz axe, does this mean that Handsome "Kill All The Bandits" Jack himself is technically a bandit, or banditspawn at the least? Irony!

May 11, 2014
He hired bandits to kill her, it wasn't her buzz-axe I don't think.

### wouldn't lilith feel weird about roland living alone with another woman? (patricia tannis)

May 11, 2014
Nah. She knows human sexuality's complicated and she trusts him. You know how it is.

### In one of the talks you did (think it might have been "Dying Is Funny"), you mentioned that Roland probably felt like a Mary Sue to a lot of people. If you could rewrite him, what would you change to avoid this?

May 11, 2014
I'd make him less confident in himself as a leader, maybe. Or have some other characters dislike him. As it is everyone thinks he's the greatest.

### is it true that krieg was originally going to be female?

May 11, 2014
No.

### Genderbent krieg http://coolbyproxy.deviantart.com/art/Female-Krieg-367976139 They have more genderbent borderlands

May 11, 2014
fucking AWESOME

### Would Lilith and Roland have ever patched things up if things went different in game?

May 11, 2014
In my mind, yeah.

### If you were a person inside the Borderlands universe, what would you be? Some sort of writer stuck in Sanctuary?

May 11, 2014
Dead.
Liked by: Erin L W Calum Bain

### I always thought that Daisy didn't kill herself, but pretended to to get Scooter to leave her alone and then she relocated to Overlook.

May 11, 2014
Let's go with that! I much prefer that.

### Since you don't eat meat, what are some nice vegetarian dishes you'd recommend to folks?

May 11, 2014
I love to take Morning Star chicken patties, cut them up, and make chicken quesadillas with them, with spinach and pico and cheese. It's fucking awesome. Also the black bean tacos at chipotle are great. Neither Davis nor I cook so we kinda just rely on finding good places to eat/things to buy cause we are laaaaaaaazay

### Mr. Burch, you tease. If Jack was really that tall, then wouldnt Lilith also be something like seven feet tall? I dunno about anybody else but I headcanon (that word sure gets thrown around on here a lot) Jack as being a few inches over six foot. He seems like a gangly, lanky dork.

May 11, 2014
ahhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

### What does Maya think about Tina and Krieg's crushes on her? Or does she know?

May 11, 2014
Hrm. Dunno. It's a little weird answering questions about canon stuff when they're things I intend to address later, like I'm spoiling stuff I haven't even fully through through right now.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Vault hunter thumb and/or arm wrestling contest. Who wins?

May 11, 2014
Krieg cause nobody wants to touch his hands
Liked by: Calum Bain

### How could you came up with a character like Torgue? Your perception of the characters it's changed in the DLC afetr you hear the actors playing the characters in the main game?

May 11, 2014
It was basically just Randy Savage times a million. It wasn't until he got a DLC and I talked to Ash about him that I realized it would be fun to make him super friendly and socially conscious.

### I would like to hear the conversation Lilith and Maya had when they met. I could imagine them being pretty excited

May 11, 2014
Maya would probably be really excited and Lilith would be like "calm down I don't know shit about our heritage I just fuck people up"
Liked by: Calum Bain

### about how tall is handsome jack? he's one of the only main characters that doesn't get that stat on his info card and he's basketball player sized when you fight him in the end, which i feel is prooobably an exaggeration to make him easier to hit in the fight? is he really that super tall?

May 11, 2014
Yeah. Maybe he wears lifts.

### Why doesn't Axton like Tina?

May 11, 2014
Cause he finds her irritating. Just cause I like Tina doesn't mean the characters do.

### hOLLa holla get dollar??? ? Canada

May 11, 2014
yeah why not

### Why don't you make papa burch a playable character in one of the future BDL games or DLC?

May 11, 2014
Cause Saints Row already did.

### Dan Harmon is fired again, NBC executives break into your apartment, hold Davis hostage, and offer the possibility of a sixth season of Community if you replace Dan as showrunner do you accept or allow the show to die

May 11, 2014
I allow the show to die. Harmon is Community. I wouldn't want someone taking over HAWP other than Ash and I.

### Whit which caracter of BDL2 do you feel you have more in common with?

May 11, 2014
This sounds like a dorky cliche but every character I write for inevitably has something in common with me. Roland, Lilith, Hammerlock, Torgue, Krieg and Athena are all really awkward at romantic relationships. Jack, Torgue, Tina and Claptrap all have really juvenile, loud senses of humor. The Meat Bicycle vid, I only realized after the fact, was basically a remake of a short film I made in high school about being really shitty at asking girls out.

Basically I'm just super unoriginal and just write characters like me cause I know me.

### I'd love to see more representation of people on the autism spectrum in the games I play. You guys at Gearbox are better than most by just having one character on the spectrum but I still want to see more as wikipedia tells me there are only 6 ASD characters in video games. So, more ASD characters?

May 11, 2014
Hrm. Interesting thought. I'm not averse to the idea of including more ASD characters.

### are the borderlands characters generally aware of planet earth and/or civilization? LOL

May 11, 2014
nah

### which character have you wrote the most for over the series?

May 11, 2014
I guess Jack, thanks to presequel.

### How do you feel about the popular webcomic Homestuck?

May 11, 2014
don't read it.

### Dear mr Burch, how do I get a girlfriend

May 11, 2014
Internet. Be charming and don't expect stuff from people, don't feel entitled to stuff, be nice without ulterior motive. Be confident, be interested in your own stuff and use your stuff to show who you are (Davis became attracted to me through my writing, podcasts, and web series). Read Dr Nerdlove's stuff and take everything to heart except the "antagonistic flirting" and "false time constraint" bullshit.

### how much has it cost to make the borderlands series as a whole?

May 11, 2014
Man I do not know ANYTHING. I write FART JOKES. Gearbox is bigger than individual people.

### I had this thought, like what if Axton had signed up for Hyperion instead of Dahl, but ultimately I couldn't decide if he would become a badass rockstar killing machine like Wilhelm, or would they just shoot him early for being insubordinate? Following orders isn't his strong suit.

May 11, 2014
Yeah, he woulda super-died if he'd joined Hyperion. Or just went AWOL on, like, day two.

### If it helps, asexuality isn't necessarily the lack of wanting to have sex, rather than the lack of feeling any actual attraction to any reproductive organ. An asexual wanting to have sex is kinda like when you have a craving for a specific food but you don't know what food it is you're craving.

May 11, 2014
Man, that's such a subtle distinction (to me, at least because I'm a goddamn oaf). I need to find out more about this.
Liked by: Adam R

### Is Booker afraid of god?

May 11, 2014
no, he's afraid of http://youtu.be/GFn-ixX9edg?t=5m15s

### how will Claptrap get up stairs in the pre-sequel? Especially when he is inside and he cannot use his jetpack

May 11, 2014
This is justified in story dialog.

### Claptrap doesn't have fingers. How does he fire a gun?

May 11, 2014
yes

### I absolutely love the idea of Maya being asexual! I literally cannot think of another character who identifies that way, so it would be amazing if that made it into official canon somehow. Was it something that was there from the outset of writing her in your mind?

May 11, 2014
Yeah. I had her backstory in mind for a while, and it seemed to lend itself to Maya, either by training or by nature, just not being all that interested in sex. I think I need to do more research on what being asexual is actually like before I could confidently write her that way, though (historically I've kind of just shrugged and gone "you don't wanna have sex with anybody, cool, I guess that's the end of it" but it obviously must be more complex than that. Need to find that one documentary.
Liked by: Adam R

### will any of the vault hunters from either BL1 or BL2 be making an appearance in the pre-sequel?

May 11, 2014
who knooooows

### Yeah see here's the link http://www.destructoid.com/rev-rant-what-151210.phtml The page is still there but no video

May 11, 2014
That mighta been hosted on Dtoid's youtube and they took it down, dunno. Either way it's one of my douchier videos so I'm not sad to see it gone.

### will the pre-sequel be more story-driven than BL2?

May 11, 2014
It'll be pretty much AS story driven, except with way more dialog from your player character. Your character will be a more active participant in the story than in BL2 where you kinda just stood silently while people talked at you.

### It's confirmed that all Sirens are born female, correct?

May 11, 2014
So far all Sirens have been female. that doesn't mean that they necessarily always will be, especially if we get into cis vs trans

### Will the pre-sequel have any dlc characters like bl2 did?

May 11, 2014
(shrug)

### Were there any passionate arguments against inreasing the BL2 level cap, or was everyone on board from day 1?

May 11, 2014
Pretty much on board.

### What are your thoughts being handed a character like Moxxi and having to write for her?

May 11, 2014
I initially had trouble with Moxxi cause I don't like oversexualized female characters, but the more I wrote for her and talked to the people who had created her the more I kind of dug her. She's actually sex-positive, which is good, and even though she's obviously designed to be an object she's always in control -- she's meant to be like Mae West, where she's constantly talking about and using sex but she's acting upon other people rather than them acting upon her.

That said, I also felt like I wanted to give her more stuff to do, so I made her a tech whiz and gave her innuendobot and came up with the thing about her basically using sex as a facade and a defense mechanism.

### There's a glitch where, if you start a duel in Sanctuary, Maya can phaselock and move Johnny Waffles around. Is there a reason this is unfixed or no one actually know about it?

May 11, 2014
It's hard to patch stuff post-launch and that's a pretty low-impact bug all things considered.

### Regarding HAWP's recent sharing of the writing responsibilities: is this mostly because you didn't want to write them anymore? Or do you like your friends' scripts, or what?

May 11, 2014
Not at all, we just all wanted to write more and felt it'd be fair to split up the duties anyway.

### Is the Claptrap unit in the presequel just a random Claptrap unit, or is it supposed to be the same Claptrap from Borderlands 2?

May 11, 2014
it is THE Claptrap from BL2.

### Is Talon Bloodwings baby, or just another bird/egg that Mordy happened upon and kept?

May 11, 2014
Baybay.

### I know you watched game of thrones. But have you read a song of ice and fire? Also I'm slightly diss appointed in you cause you used to wear a fedora.

May 11, 2014
Nobody is more disappointed in me for that than me. But no, I don't read the books.

### Hey what happened to the Rev Rant with your silent befuddlement at the guy calling Metroid Prime the Citizen Kane of games? I would love to watch that again.

May 11, 2014
Did I take it down? I may have taken it down cause it was too mean.

### How exactly is Handsome Jack's age? (that would help me for a fic im writing.)

May 11, 2014
Thirty...nine? Maybe? Thirty-eight? Man I dunno anything

### Speaking of Tannis, there's audio of Tannis's alternate reaction to Roland dying. The one where she says that she knew one of the VHs would die, but that she wanted it to be Mordecai, because she really liked Roland. Was it changed bc it was too emotional, too long, or too cold towards Mordy?

May 11, 2014
Iiii actually can't remember. I think it was probably too far for Tannis -- I didn't think she was in tune enough with her emotions to fully accept and mourn Roland like a normal person would. I preferred the idea that she'd try to be analytical about it and still sad.

### Did you have to change the colosseum ending of BL2 for production reasons, or creative ones?

May 11, 2014
Bit of both. Would have required a lot of additional art, and Randy believed the players needed to get to the "real game" (doing sidequests and stuff) as quick as possible. I don't know if I completely agree with the decision, in the end -- the beginning's by far the slowest part of the game -- but in hindsight it makes a lot of sense.

### Apologies if you've already been asked this, but you mentioned a while back that you played Mass Effect. Did you ever play any of the Dragon Age series as well, and if so how did you like it?

May 11, 2014
Yes. I love Dragon Age Origins, as Morrigan is one of my favorite bioware romances ever (I was good, she was mildly evil, we sort of tried to meet in the middle but I ultimately decided I couldn't trust her with my demonbaby, it was bittersweet)

### What does a typical day at Gearbox look like? Do you show up and write for 8 hours and go home, or....

May 11, 2014
Varies wildly. Some days I don't go to GBX at all, because I'm at Okratron doing VO recording. Some days I show up at GBX and I write a bunch of stuff that's got nothing to do with the game like documentation, or marketing stuff. Early in production, I'll show up and just be in meetings all day as we try to figure stuff out. But a typical day, I guess the majority of the time, involves me showing up, writing stuff I need to write that I've learned either via email or by talking to somebody who needed something.

### So how's Deputy Winger doing after the whole vault hunters taking down the sheriff thing? He still in Lynchwood, or did he get the hell away from there? I liked him, he seemed like a sweet guy.

May 11, 2014
I imagine he ran. And either settled down or got eaten.

### you know how roland is kind of awkward and sometimes lilith has to "translate" what he's saying to the player? i headcanon that's a side-effect of prolonged exposure to tannis.

May 11, 2014
Hahah, that's cool. I imagine it as him just never having had a girlfriend.

### So how the hell did a weenie like Jack get with Moxxi?

May 11, 2014
He's good looking and charming. Chicks dig confidence. Also, I like to imagine Moxxi thought this guy might be worth keeping an eye on just in case.

### I imagine Zer0 and Sal competing for kills (kinda like legolas and gimli for LOTR). Being really competitive bros. Zer0 making taunting haikus when his score is higher, Sal cussing in spanish and mooning him whenever he killed a badass. Killing buds.

May 11, 2014
Given the sheer number of badass enemies in the game Sal would basically just need to wear his shorts around his ankles. That said I like the idea of them being friendly rivals, that's supercool.

### why did handsome jack have to die? why did claptrap have to live?

May 11, 2014
because life isn't fair
Liked by: Aliztair

### Is it true that birds that stare at their reflections too much go insane? I had a friend who told me that when we were picking out bird toys for my parakeet.

May 11, 2014
I have no clue. Beast doesn't really care about her reflection that much, she'd rather eat a crumb

### I really like the idea of Axtons ex-wife. I think if she ever did come to Pandora (or they happened to cross paths, not likely) he might try to flirt with her, but she would just sorta brush it off and pat him on the head. I have her crack paired with Moxxi as becoming Moxxis 1st wife. Cute.

May 11, 2014
Haha that's awesome.

### One day I hope I can write videogames as entertaining as you do

May 11, 2014
That's very flattering. Pick someone better to admire. Erik Wolpaw's good.

### I pair Zed with Tannis, in a really love to hate to tease manner. Hate sex and kinky kind of thing since Tannis is so weary of dirt and Zed is like 90% dirt. Mutual teasing and taunting, fighting that dissolves in a staemy manner. Are you okay with this?

May 11, 2014
I am okay with anything you want to do with fictional things you like. I don't personally see these two hooking up, but fandom belongs to fans soooo go nuts and make hot fan fiction it's cool.
Liked by: Вуги

### (that question was from my uncle who works at 2K uh huh yup)

May 11, 2014
hahaha, cool.

### What would work best for the next Bioshock: floating city, volcano city, underground city, 4th dimensional space between spaces, space station city, rotating clockwork city, just 1970s New York but with Bioshock and facism, DaVinciPunk city, Rapture again, Columbia 90 years into the bad future, a ci

May 11, 2014
I want a BioShock game set in literally anywhere because I want more BioShock. That said 70's is pretty unexplored.

### Do you have any pets?

May 11, 2014
I have a cockatiel named Beast and she is the fucking coolest. My wife Davis taught me to love birds and now I *fucking really love birds*

### Gaige x Zer0 is the best OTP

May 11, 2014
aight
Liked by: Лук Вуги

### Would you rather live in a city under the sea or a city above the clouds?

May 11, 2014
above the clouds.

### how many questions have you received that have made you just sit down and re-evaluate whether or not this was a good idea

May 11, 2014
a few

### I secretly ship Gaige and Axton, i think they'd be total techbro nerds together. What would you think of these too hanging out , like even platonically?

May 11, 2014
They'd be cool friends. We actually cut a thing from BL2 where your characters would say stuff to each other when they were idle (for production reasons) and I think Axton would hit on Gaige, then find out she was only eighteen and go hooooo shit let's back that up I'm Axton let's be superplatonic friends

### Why are all sirens white? From a design standpoint, I think a siren with really dark skin would be fun because it would be hard to tell she had tattos until she used her powers.

May 11, 2014
Yeah, maybe! I'd love it if the next Siren were a PoC or trans or something that wasn't a straight cis white female.

### Why does Mordy have an accent in Bl1 but not Bl2?

May 11, 2014
Cause the actors are different.

### Tell me something interesting about Axton?

May 11, 2014
I AM NOT YOUR LOREMONKEY

### I think if the vault hunters ever had a slumber party Zer0 would dress as Slenderman

May 11, 2014
Sure.

### Which characters are the most fun to write dialogue for? In addition to this question, who at Gearbox do you love writing with?

May 11, 2014
I love writing with Aaron Linde who has been one of my best friends for years. I like writing for Torgue, Tina, Jack, Ellie, Brick, and NIsha, but really all the characters are pretty fun to write for.

### Could a siren accidentally use her powers like when they are asleep and have a nightmare?

May 11, 2014
Probably. I imagine when they're young they hurt a lot of people on accident. Like in Frozen except with murder instead of snowmen
Liked by: Garrett S

### I made a (not the best) ceramic thresher! ( I made it with white ceramic clay, which is a pain in the butt) http://kalekeriae.tumblr.com/image/83461704780

May 11, 2014
that is fucking awesome

### I am massivley in love with Gaige but feel she's hopelessly underused; will we get more of my waifu?

May 11, 2014
Maybe. People seem to really dig her so who knows if she shows up in post-BL2 stuff, if we even end up doing any post-BL2 stuff.

### Do the other vault hunters know what Krieg and Zer0 look like without masks?

May 11, 2014
Dunno.

### Torgue sitting on Tannis would cause her to have an explosive nosebleed, thus covering Torgue in blood. You would kill Claptrap (the last of his kind) to make Tannis have a blood geyser all over Torgue? (Or is she strangely okay with that handsome fucker?)

May 11, 2014
I think Tannis would weirdly not consider Torgue any sort of threat or social challenge. He's just cool with people being who they are and might represent a transition point for her.

### If the BL2 Vault Hunters ever show up as npcs in future games, will Deathtrap get any characterization? It'd be interesting way of getting into the whole robot sentience thing that shows up in the background, and I think it'd be cool trying to understand emotion via robot body language

May 11, 2014
I dunno. It might be weird to give him a voice and personality given his lack of one in BL2.

### How does Krieg fit on the bunks in HQ?

May 11, 2014
Poorly.

### Dude you are awesome for answering all these. Kudos to you.

May 11, 2014
Thanks.

### Who was Brick going to slow dance with?

May 11, 2014
Lilith, in a platonic friendly way. Or anyone nice he met at the fertility festival.

### I have always felt that Brick and Mordecai both have platonic, almost familial relationships with Lilith. Am I correct?

May 11, 2014
I've felt that way, yeah. I think they love each other as best best best friends do.

### When are we going to blowup that moonbase? And if we aren't, hinting that we might was just mean.

May 11, 2014
Sorry.

### How did Maya get Zer0 to not kill Krieg when they all met up?

May 11, 2014
I imagine she had some explaining to do to everyone, yeah. And that most of them still don't quite trust Krieg.

### Is Gaige as fond of Tina as she is of her?

May 11, 2014
Not quite. Gaige thinks Tina is kind of neat, but Tina's probably like AHHHHHH over Gaige.

### Who drives the most with the Bl2 vault hunters?

May 11, 2014
Gaige, probably.

### Who is your favourite doctor?

May 11, 2014
Ten
Liked by: Aliztair

### How often does Zer0 use deception to freak out his friends?

May 11, 2014
I don't imagine Zero being super playful. But every once in a while, for maximum humor value.

### All of the human characters in the presequal look white

May 11, 2014
Well, Nisha ain't.
Liked by: Garrett S

### What would you say to people who are mad about Maya being asexual because it messes with their 'ships'?

May 11, 2014
I mean, Maya's only asexual in my head, I never made it overt in the game, so she's technically *not* asexual if you don't want her to be.
Liked by: Adam R

### Okay, big question. Are the New-U stations canon to the world of Borderlands, or is it just a game mechanic for the players to keep playing?

May 11, 2014
Game mechanic. They're as canon as phoenix downs in FF7.

### I was a pretty sheltered child, and whenever my friends are talking about something I don't want to know about, and I ask them about it, they have a safety word so I'll know not to press on. Does Maya have one too?

May 11, 2014
Oh shit, that's a really good idea. I may steal that.
Liked by: Garrett S

### when's the next hawpcast?

May 11, 2014
No clue, I should ask Ash.

### Would the Borderlands characters like video games?

May 11, 2014
Yes, very much so. The Bunkers and Badasses modules also double as a metaphor for videogames.

### Is the pre-sequel gonna get a neat collectors edition like Borderlands 2 did?

May 11, 2014
(shrug)

### Hey, do you know if anyone is making plushies out of the critters on Pandora? I have been looking for a Cyclone Stalker Plush, a huge one.

May 11, 2014
Etsy? Dunno.

### Are there any game genres you generally avoid?

May 11, 2014
i'm atrocious at puzzle and strategy games and they make me feel dumb and sad, so i often keep my distance from them. That said Braid and XCOM are two of my favorite games ever, so

### I'd like to see some more female rats. And maybe some younger characters in the future. Any thoughts on if that would be doable?

May 11, 2014
I hope to see more female enemies. You'll be getting at least one youngish character in presequel.

### Will we be seeing any transexual or gender queer characters in the upcomeing games?

May 11, 2014
Answered this earlier, but my hope is yes.

### What chance is their of us getting to see Dukino?

May 11, 2014
Yeah, we probably should bring him back at some point.

### With games having more of a focus on writing now, how would one go about getting into that field? I'm trying to build up a portfolio and work on amateur projects, but do you have any tips?

May 11, 2014
Just write. Make your own stuff. Make videos, make small games. Show off your style and talent and passion. Write for a blog.

### Bl2 vault hunters have a spitting contest, who wins?

May 11, 2014
Salvador because he spits randomly like a shotgun and everyone else gets wet and too grossed out to keep going. Krieg would win but he keeps spitting on the inside of his mask and almost drowns.

### Why does Maya have that gap on her body suit? The one right on her hip. Maya strikes me as very practical and leaving one random part of her body exposed to UV radiation and shrapnel just doesn't make any sense. Also, if it is to allow her markings to cool down her pants leg would be ripped off too

May 11, 2014
You'd have to ask the art team.

### I only started playing borderland because I could play as a girl

May 11, 2014
Cool! I hope you like the presequel with its 50% female playable cast.

### I got to know, Did you use my Interview request for HAWP:Borderlands 2?

Imnot Creative
May 11, 2014
Nah.

### Have you realized Axton said something very offensive when he said he got 'gypped'? Do you regret it? Or did it somehow slip your notice?

May 11, 2014
Holy shit, I just realized that saying is derogatory. I had no idea it had anything to do with gypsies. My bad, I'm sorry.

### Will we ever see Vault Hunters 2.0 interact with each other?

May 11, 2014
Maybe one day!

### Do you think Elizabeth and/or Eleanor from Bioshock could be sirens?

May 11, 2014
Nah. Though if I wanted to kill both franchises that's how I'd do it

### was jack born with heterochromia or did it develop when he got his scar?

May 11, 2014
born with it. or maybe it's maybelline.

### Whats your favorite class to play as out of all the Borderlands games?

May 11, 2014
i really like psycho and maya.

### So if Roland was the leader of Vault Hunters 1.0, who is the leader of 2.0?

May 11, 2014
in my mind, maya.

### You would kill the last living being of an entire race, just so Tannis could cover Torgue in blood?

May 11, 2014
wait what

### Krieg and Zer0 having poetry slams need to be a thing

May 11, 2014
Oh god poetry slams. Oh jesus

### one thing you hat the most?

May 11, 2014
Fedoras.

### Do you feel there's any weight to the theory that Hideo Kojima takes a cue from The Producers and continually does his damnedest to try and kill the Metal Gear series?

May 11, 2014
Nah. Those games are too intentional to just be attempts at narrative suicide.

### I, personally don't believe in censorship. I feel it dillutes situations, especially in games and movies. Would Torgue agree (considering his company keeps him on a leash?)

May 11, 2014
Yes, he fucking would.

### If Torgue suplexes someone, do they explode?

May 11, 2014
Sure.
Liked by: Adam R

### On a scale from Scooter to Tannis, how scholarly is Maya?

May 11, 2014
She's the closest to being schoarly right behind Tannis. She's hungry for knowledge and discovery in a way the other Vault Hunters are not.

### Is there anything you regret writing?

May 11, 2014
yeah, there are a few off-color jokes about Scooter being so creepy his girlfriends commit suicide/run away and get killed by the player that now feel way too dark and too far to me now. And some stuff in the Hammerlock DLC.
Liked by: Imnot Creative

### Are there ever things you really wish you could retcon but can't?

May 11, 2014
I don't like retconning at all, so no. I've tried to keep my retcons as quiet and as not-jarring as possible. I wanted Jack's involvement in BL1 to slide in as easily as possible, hence the quest where you hear him tell Angel to say her exact words that start BL1.

### Does claptrap regularly try to assimilate with equipment, or was it a one time thing?

May 11, 2014
One time thing. He got lonely.

### Is weird knowing that a lot of strangers know intimate details about you?

May 11, 2014
Nah. I chose to give the answers.

### which characters would be the most likely to manage to settle down with a traditional happy family somewhere? as much as you can in a place like that, that is.

May 11, 2014
Torgue, Hammerlock. Maybe Ellie. Really, most of them like wandering and being free and in danger too much to really settle down.

### Anthony you are the best if I could cook you dinner I would! thank you for being great! also heres an actual question since I don't wanna leave you hangin: who would win in a fight (a pillow fight, let's not get domestic here) a sloth or a half asleep koala with terrible hand-eye coordination?

May 11, 2014
Koala. Even the slowest koala is faster than the fastest sloth.

### Who is nerdier, Lilith or Maya?

May 11, 2014
Lilith by far. Maya's read lots of books and stuff, but Lilith was into tabletop roleplaying and got made fun of for being nerdy.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Do the Vault Hunters all sleep in the Crimson Raider headquarters?

May 11, 2014
Yep.

### Will we be seeing mote Karima? And if we do will she have her stutter?

May 11, 2014
Maybe one day, and yeah she'll have her stutter back.

### So will Tannis, Claptrap or Torgue sit atop the iron throne?

May 11, 2014
Torgue will sit on Tannis's lap. Claptrap will be scrapped to build the throne.

### you said theres a fanart board with tat bon female psycho can you link me to the board?

May 11, 2014
Dunno where it is, sorry. I meant a physical bulletin board at the office.

### will mordecai ever end up with someone who makes him happy? please say yes

May 11, 2014
I hope so. Or he'll get really close to happiness and then die because that's cooler.

### just how overall shitty is the future in the BL universe? Little tidbits like the ads for the vacation beach planet are nice, is it sort of like Mass Effect where some systems/galaxies are Mad Max Xtreme like Pandora's, others are iffy, and some are really normal and nice parts of space?

May 11, 2014
I mean based on what's been written so far, some planets are pretty "normal" with police and everything (Eden-5, where Gaige grew up), which means there's gotta be a spectrum. Pandora is totally the ass end of the universe, and something like Eden-6 is probably hedonistic paradise, so stuff's gotta be in the middle.

### ANTHONY I just watched a very sad movie do you have any jokes to cheer me up :'(

May 11, 2014
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv8d_ry-u-Q
Liked by: TJ Jones

### Was Tannis in love with Roland and/or open for coitus with him and Lilith?

May 11, 2014
I think she platonically loved Lilith. I don't think of Tannis as someone who is yet open to physical intimacy. That said, I also am not the person who created her (Mikey Neumann), and I only wrote around half of her dialog in BL2 (the rest was Mikey), so my opinion on that front isn't super duper relevant.

### Was the Zombie Island DLC from BL1 canon? So Ned really was his brother and not Zed in disguise?

May 11, 2014
It implicitly has to be canon because characters from zombie island show up in the robot revolution, and the robot revolution is referenced as canon in BL2.

### Would ANYONE in the current canon of BL be able to beat Tannis at chess?

May 11, 2014
No. Maybe Tina because Tannis would be so irritated by her that she'd forfeit and leave.

### can you tell us a little bit more about zed's backstory?

May 11, 2014
I honestly don't know much about it. He was a BL1 character and I didn't have anything to do with BL1, and I didn't really get around to writing more for him in BL2. I always imagined he was a black market organ dealer.

### You guys are too hard on claptrap. His struggles are real. He's that kid that always needs help and ultimately will never be able to repay you, but he tries. One day, he will be all that remains between you and death. The way he deflects insults with his innocense is uplifting. Go Claptrap.

May 11, 2014
Nah fuck that guy

### will shrek every become a playable character

May 11, 2014
Yes

### Would Handsome Jack be able to beat Tannis in a game of chess?

May 11, 2014
No.

### you've made a lot of people very happy tonight

May 11, 2014
yaaay i don't know why but yaaay

### Ellie was kick ass, was it difficult to push for a nontraditional beautiful woman or were the devs on board?

May 11, 2014
Not difficult at all. My initial idea for making her nontraditionally beautiful was actually way too dumb and cartoonish (Moxxi's legs with Brick's upper body) and art director Jeramy Cooke and concept artist Matias Tapia pushed her in a much more realistic, interesting, and respectful direction. A TON of people at Gearbox are interested in doing stuff outside the norm like that.

### If you hate him so much why is he a playable character i mean i dont hate him but i got a soft spot for pathetic characters

May 11, 2014
Because we are insane.

### Are there any subjects you know waayy too much about? (i.e. doctor who canon, etc.)

May 11, 2014
Doctor Who (new series) canon, Metal Gear Solid canon, the script of the Fifth Element, etc.

### Would you say Jack had a strangle-hold on his competition to get his promotion to become the face of Hyperion?

May 11, 2014
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82ANkjVEpYk

### I am so pumped to play powerful ladies Athena and Nisha in Pre-Sequel! Though, aside from a handful like Ellie, all the women in all BL games are skinny & traditionally beautiful. Could we have some plain or even ugly ones? Big meaty tanks? A playable muscular female berserker would be incredible!

May 11, 2014
I'll keep that in mind for the future -- more nontraditionally beautiful women. (I personally find Ellie really attractive)

### Why is Johnny Waffles so mean to Claptrap? I mean he sounds like he has a legitimate grudge against our favorite hyperion robot.

May 11, 2014
Johnny says what we're all thinking.

### I thought Clap-Trap was annoying in the first game but I found him rather endearing in the second, I credit your writing.

May 11, 2014
Thanks! We tried to make him a charlie brown so that the people who found him annoying in the first game (me) would maybe have an easier time liking him.

### Burch for president? With vice president Burch?

May 11, 2014
I'd vote for Ash and my dad, yeah

### So if you're more for the player characters having dialogue now, is that going to be something we'll see in the Pre-Sequel?

May 11, 2014
Yes, absolutely. The player characters will have more to say about the plot, nonplayer characters will respond to them specifically, etc.

### Why do you hate Claptraps? Thinking like that caused the revolution m8

May 11, 2014
Why WOULDN'T I hate claptraps?

### why does everybody hate claptrap so much

May 11, 2014
Cause he's awful.

### I think social justice warrior is used to refer to people who use social issues as an excuse to bully and harass people? a lot of the time for genuine ignorance/minor missteps instead of outright bigotry (or sjw who go too far "cis scum" etc) but like everything its used pretty inconsistently so idk

May 11, 2014
Yeah, I mean stuff like "cis scum" is pretty over the line, or threats of violence, or whathaveyou (I got into an argument with a few trans people when one of them said they wanted to break the legs of someone who defended the PA boys), but I've been called an SJW once or twice and it never had to do with being a bully.

### So is Jack actually as smart as it seems? Did he really design some of the Hyperion technology we see? He seems like a really smart engineer/mechanic and that doesn't get outright stated much

May 11, 2014
Yeah, I wrote him kind of weird where he's technically smart but acts like a total immature bro. In my mind he's actually really smart though. (Smart enough to manipulate the BL1 vault hunters without them knowing about it, at least).

### I was under the impression Jack stole the shirt from his predecessor when Jack made his "grab" for power of Hyperion. Was he always spiffy dressing, even as an underling?

May 11, 2014
You'll see.

### what's your opinion on white chocolate in comparison to other types of chocolate

May 11, 2014
Not hugely into it.

### Are there any people that aren't necessarily good looking you find attractive due to their intelligence?

May 11, 2014
Stephen Fry, Neil DeGrasse Tyson. And others I know personally and don't want to embarrass.
Liked by: Becky

### Why are there little to no female common enemies in Borderlands? every psycho, goliath, rat and marauder is male and that always kind of threw me off a bit.

May 11, 2014
I answered this a bit earlier, but mainly animation and modelling time. In the future I'd like to get more female enemies.

### what is the deal with jack's patched-up eye-searingly mustard yellow shirt is it like a favorite sweater from his nobody days or something

May 11, 2014
man he likes yellow he just has different tastes don't hate on him

### If you could retroactively reset the ending of ME3 to payoff all your assembled fleets and show your companions and basically be good/allow you to sacrifice yourself for Wrex, but at the cost of ensuring the end of Game of Thrones would be just as disappointing as the original ending, would you?

May 11, 2014
Nah. I didn't hate the ME3 ending THAT much. And I'm really really hoping GoT ends satisfactorily. Though that's an interesting gamble -- if I DON'T do that to ME3 and GoT's ending still sucks, then I just lost out twice. Hrmmmm... yeah I'd probably still live with ME3 as is.

### You mentioned something about Brick and Torgue. So.. is Brick bi / gay? He's my fave, punching things in BL1 was the best and the actual development of character and personality in 2 is great. I'd kinda like to actually be his friend. Or at least give him a puppy.

May 11, 2014
Iiiii...so, Brick has a line when Lilith talks about tearing Roland's clothes off where Brick goes, "go onnnnn." And Lilith wasn't talking about tearing HER clothes off, sooo.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Samit here, does Crispin Freeman's voice just make you sploosh, or is that just me?

May 11, 2014
Probably not just you. But he's aight.

### If the whole of the Borderlands Series was to become a movie in order and all do you think it would be any good?

May 11, 2014
Dunno. It'd have to be good in a way that the games are not. Borderlands games are specifically written as games first -- just sort of arbitrarily plopping the characters from one thing into another would be hard to do properly. Not to say it couldn't be done.

### The link to your ask.fm got posted on a few popular Tumblr's who are all discussing your answers, that's why you're getting more questions

May 11, 2014
Ah, thanks.

### I was sad that Scarlett didn't make any other appearances in the other DLCS(at least not that I know of). Do you plan on bringing her back given the oppurtunity?

May 11, 2014
Yeah, totally. I'd love for her and Nisha to hang out at some point.

### Was there ever a character in Borderlands you wished you could explore deeper but couldn't due to narrative or it getting cut or whatever? Kind of like what you're doing with Nisha and Wilhelm now?

May 11, 2014
Nisha and Wilhelm exactly, yes. nisha had a couple of sidequests and a title card get cut, and Wilhelm had his most important bit of narrative (Jack poisoning him) fall through the cracks accidentally.
Liked by: Kayla Rosas

### Mister Torgue is the perfect combination of huge burly loud shirtless guy, guitar solo and meat loving demolitionist, and progressive socially aware loyal best friend, all without coming off like some sort of cheesy meme somehow. He's very much my favorite character and I hope there's more of him!

May 11, 2014
Thanks very much! I'm glad you dig him.
Liked by: Adam R

### Are there any particular fan made characters that you really like?

May 11, 2014
There's one we have on our fanart board that's a female psycho-type character. Something with bone in the name, maybe? her splash screen text was "alive ain't her style," and it's awesome.

### It has been confirmed that Krieg is not Tinas father. But it is possible that he is related to her in some other way, you think?

May 11, 2014
Ain't nothing been confirmed.
Liked by: Erin L W

### When BL2 came out and people started playing it and giving feedback, did you ever just go "wow, i should have thought/done that!" and maybe planned on taking it to whatever project you worked on next?

May 11, 2014
Yeah, when people asked for more dialog from their player characters. Also did somebody post about this to a borderlands forum or something? getting a lot of BL questions tonight.

### sky dive from 500ft into water to make out with david tennant, or stand in a pit of spiders for 10 minutes to make out with nathan fillion

May 11, 2014
skydive for tennant. he's hotter and i'm scared of spiders.
Liked by: Becky

### I dunno if you have been asked this yet. But are Krieg and Tina related in anyway? Lot of fans suspect Krieg is Tina's father because the inner voice sounds like Tina's Dad from the recording.

May 11, 2014
People do suspect that, yes.
Liked by: Erin L W

### You've awakened a hungry beast with this ask page, Mr. Burch. How do you feel about the fact that there are so many devoted fans so interested in the characters, story & world of this shooty game series?

May 11, 2014
Incredibly, incredibly, incredibly flattered and lucky and horribly arrogant and surprised and embarrassed and undeserving.

### Has the fandom ever reacted to a character totally differently than you expected? Which characters' popularity has caught you off guard?

May 11, 2014
I wanted Scarlett to take off more than she did. I like her a lot and am kinda bummed nobody seems to care very much about her. I was surprised Torgue got as big as he did -- I liked him but didn't realize he'd become so known amongst the community.

### Have you listened to "Welcome to Night Vale"? It seems perfect for you.

May 11, 2014
I haven't, but I'll check it out.

### will we be seeing more developed areas of Pandora in future? after spending so much time wandering empty wastelands dotted with shacks and small settlements, I absolutely loved the urban city location of The Beatdown in MTCoC! I want to see more (please)!

May 11, 2014
Who knows? Developed areas are generally harder to make than more terrain-heavy maps, but we'll see.

### Have you ever done anything particularly sneaky regarding Borderlands online communities, like participating in discussions using an alias?

May 11, 2014
Nah.

### Are the Sirens born or is it something that happens? Kind of just realized I wasn't sure although I've seen it talked about by fans in either way. Kind of just wondering if its something in the world that has been confirmed.

May 11, 2014
Nothing's been confirmed.

### When Krieg has the skill 'Silence the Voices' and hits himself in the face, he says 'CONFUSION!' is that a reference to pokemon? Me and my friends were debating it, so I gotta know. :3

May 11, 2014
Nah, sorry.

### You mentioned in a HAWPcast (pre-BL2-release, I think) that the jokes you wrote for the game got a little less funny every time you read them. If you could pick one joke, and have that joke be eternally preserved as funny as the moment you first came up with it, which would you pick?

May 11, 2014
Something with Ash, probably. Some Tina thing. the "runnin runnin runnin" song, mayhaps.

### Other developers have approached fans to include their content in the games somehow (original items, voice acting, etc.), have you ever considered doing things like that?

May 11, 2014
Not really. Just scheduling voice acting is such a difficult process to begin with, I wouldn't wanna complicate it further to get a (likely) inferior performance.

### Have you ever come up with characters that you just wound up hating after a while?

May 11, 2014
Nah.

### ever think on getting a tattoo?

May 11, 2014
I wanted to get a tattoo of 0451 (DX/System Shock reference) but goddamn Steve Gaynor stole the idea and got the tattoo AND didn't mention that shit was my idea in the gone home commentary MORE LIKE STEVE LAYMEOR

### god damn i know its fan made but they did a damn good job http://videogame-art.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/VideoGameArt_Borderlands2_Fuse01_KrisFancsali.jpg

May 11, 2014
wowwww

### Can you tell us which characters were queer that weren't mentioned as such in game?

May 11, 2014
I can, but I don't wanna do the Dumbledore thing and say it if it doesn't feel represented in text. I tried to give all the queer characters a line to signify that they were, however subtly.

### Did Handsome Granny abuse the hell out of him when he was a kid or did he get her killed as revenge for some petty b.s like she forgot his 39th birthday?

May 11, 2014
I imagine she was horribly mean to him.

### What is the "sweet spot" for game manuscripts, in pages?

May 11, 2014
Totally depends on the game and how the dialog is delivered. BL2 is a linear game with sidequests, whereas something like walking dead is a completely different, much larger beast.

### favorite character? (besides tina)

May 11, 2014
I dig Jack. and Nisha.

### How would you feel about Tina being a playable character in future games? (once she's 18 or older)

May 11, 2014
It'd be cool! She wouldn't have to be 18, either.

### Zer0: Alien, robot, other?

May 11, 2014
maybe

### what do children on pandora do for fun?

May 11, 2014
get eaten
Liked by: Erin L W

### if you could have any creature from the borderlands universe as a pet, which would you choose?

May 11, 2014
Mr Torgue

### Could you ever see yourself writing something that wasn't comedy?

May 11, 2014
Yes!

### Is there a possibility of seeing a return of the Atlas Corp as a huge entity the likes of Hyperion, or explore other manufacturers like Tediore?

May 11, 2014
Anything's possible.

### In my mind, Jack tried to bring back the fedora and then had to kill everyone who laughed at him. Which was everyone who saw him.

May 11, 2014
truth

### fav borderlands gun brand?

May 11, 2014
Tediore.

### Salvador was bisexual, right?

May 11, 2014
I don't think so. Did I write something bisexual-y for him?

### I headcanon Maya as being asexual. Can you see that, or is it totally out of the question?

May 11, 2014
I headcanon that exact thing.
Liked by: Becky Adam R

### Are there any characters that are canon queer that you haven't had the chance to mention?

May 11, 2014
Yep.

### What's the easiest way to make you laugh?

May 11, 2014
Mixing highbrow with lowbrow.

### Do you like to wear hats?

May 11, 2014
no. I used to...sigh...wear a fedora in high school. BEFORE it became a weird redpill thing! But it was still awful.

### Are you a fan of wrestling or just a fan of Randy Savage?

May 11, 2014
Just Randy Savage. I'd say I was a fan of wrestling itself but Beyond the Mat made me really sad.

### How many pages was the manuscript (dialogue/descriptions) for borderlands 2?

May 11, 2014
Couple hundred? Not a huge script, all things considered.

### are you actually pissed at the person sending the specific asks or are you just a little annoyed?

May 11, 2014
Little annoyed.

### I don't know about bumping uglies, but in another universe, I could sorta see Jack and Gaige interacting? They're both excited obnoxious loud violent dork engineers, I could see them arguing about robots and having crazy conversations.

May 11, 2014
Oh yeah, totally. I could see them at a debate about robot sentience rights.
Liked by: Erin L W

### I remember awhile back on Twitter you said when the next Borderlands game rolled around if you were still writing for it one of the player characters could be trans. Is that still standing? I'm a transguy and I always thought a male identifying siren would be really rad. Anything would be rad really

May 11, 2014
I still want a trans player character very much! I dunno if it'll happen (I'm just one dude) but if the time comes I will push really hard for it.

### So, with unique responses and such, do voice actors get paid a heftier sum? Paid by the line? The number of words in a manuscript? Or is it all contractual? "You will do this game for X regardless of lines/words"?

May 11, 2014
You pay voice actors for a base amount of hours and don't exceed that in the booth. If you end early, they still get paid the full hours you booked them for.

### Out of curiosity, have you seen any original characters for Borderlands 1 and 2 and what are your thoughts on them?

May 11, 2014
I've seen a few, and they're all super awesome.

### In your opinion, was Jack a good Husband/father that made the wrong choices after Angel's ascension into Siren-ism, or was he always just a lowlife who only cared for self satisfaction going after his own ambitions?

May 11, 2014
I think he's an awful, opportunistic monster who used his grief in a really bad way.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Does Jack have a last name? And if so what is it?

May 11, 2014
If he does I don't know what it is.

### Do you answer every single question people throw at you on here or are there some that are so brain dead that you ignore?

May 11, 2014
I ignore a few.

### So um. How/when did Angel kill her mom? And how/why/when did Jack get that mask?

May 11, 2014
hi

### any pairings (canon/soon to be/ just you) you prefer in Borderlands?

May 11, 2014
I have one in mind for the future that would be AWESOME if I can pull it off. Or would make the people who don't like the gay characters roll their eyes even harder, but whatever.
Liked by: Becky

### Hey, it's Samit. Would you like to do a sports?

May 11, 2014
let's do b-ball

### did you make any guns? or was that game devs too?

May 11, 2014
All the devs. Matt Armstrong, primarily, first and foremost.

### Is Jacks wife still alive in the time of the pre-sequel? Will we see or hear anything from or of her?

May 11, 2014
you're not gonna see her.

### where do the bandits get their clothes?

May 11, 2014
STOP IT

### So Gaige and Jack. Would they have bumped uglies, under the right circumstances? (((also what circumstances))))

May 11, 2014
Gaige would fucking HAAAAAATE Jack, in my opinion. And I honestly don't think Jack is shady enough to creep on an 18 year old girl when he's double her age. Any circumstances where they'd bone would basically involve them having different personalities. In my humble opinion. But my opinion doesn't matter because the canon ultimately belongs to fans and stuff

### if nakayama did manage to successfully clone jack what are the odds that he would have tried making out with it

May 11, 2014
100%

### how long does it take for a hyperion loader to be shot from the moon base down to wherever it is the player is fighting?

May 11, 2014
okay for reals is this just one person asking weirdly specific questions about the logic of a universe where people explode guns when they die

### Why isn't Butt-Stallion a vehicle and/or somebody's special ability?

May 11, 2014
Cause Butt Stallion is a touch TOO goofy to be as important to gameplay as all that. BL is about being funny AND kind of badass, and doing too much with Butt Stallion would tip that balance in the wrong way.

### why are there no female bandits?

May 11, 2014
There are some in presequel. in BL2 we didn't build any female models or female animation rigs, which is a bummer, but also slightly understandable as it's a lot of work for a form of equality that is, to be fair, slightly creepy (I totally believe that we should have male and female enemies for equality's sake, but when I hear a woman get shot to death I can't help but think of real life domestic abuse and rape and stuff).

### So two men walk into the biggest bar in Ontario. Honestly, I thought they'd see it coming?

May 11, 2014
oh you

### How does it feel to know you can look at peoples headcanon on the internet and if you wanted to you could say "that would be canon" but they'd never know

May 11, 2014
Honestly? it makes me feel like a supervillain, like I can just point at stuff and go THIS SHALL BE DONE, bwahahah
Liked by: Becky

### how do you get varchids to pod in tundra express?

May 11, 2014
I believe they pod randomly. There's nothing you can do beyond wait. I *think.* Not sure.

### who came up with the badass idea? like every one saying it and/or being it?

May 11, 2014
No clue, actually. I wasn't around for BL1, but somebody on that team presumably.

### gun you farmed for the most?

May 11, 2014
I don't farm. I generally hate farming. I just power through with bad guns.

### if bl2 was live action who would you want to play the vault hunters?

May 11, 2014
Brie Larson. All of them, Brie Larson.

### how long do you plan to keep this ask.fm thing going?

May 11, 2014
no clue.

### how do the people of pandora get electricity?

May 11, 2014
mmhm

### So how does working at Gearbox compare to Grandma's Boy?

May 11, 2014
never saw it

### how do the psychos who don't have shirts on survive the cold and ice of the southern shelf?

May 11, 2014
yes

### Have you ever experienced a better rounded and thought out universe than that of the ME series. Everything just feels as though it is right.

May 11, 2014
Deus Ex, probably? Or Thief.

### Do you have a Tumblr account? Would you consider one?

May 11, 2014
I have nowrongwaytoplay.tumblr.com . Anything beyond that I use either this or twitter for.

### for some reason i want there to be another kid in the pre-sequel

May 11, 2014
You never know.

### are the hyperion engineers natives of pandora or where they brought there with hyperion?

May 11, 2014
I imagine most are brought there. Hyperion wouldn't trust Pandoran natives.

### Why is there so little avian representation in the borderlands series? And why is Bloodwing the most rounded female character? I loved her line that's all like "bawk-ca-wawk." Genius. Pure writing genius.

May 11, 2014
i do what i can
Liked by: TJ Jones

### was mordecai an alchoholic in the first game, or did that start in the gap between bl2?

May 11, 2014
It started in the BL2 gap when I tried to come up with something to differentiate him from the others. Probably not the smartest way to go about it, but that's what I chose.

### Do you ever think about last names for your characters? Or do you just come up with one name and go "Yeah, good enough"

May 11, 2014
The second thing! I'm so fucking bad at naming characters. jack wasn't even supposed to be called Handsome Jack, that's just a doctor who reference I assumed would be placeholder
Liked by: Erin L W

### what time is it where you are?

May 11, 2014
9:52. Weird question.

### is the sheriff of lynchwood PoC or is it just the lighting?

May 11, 2014
She's PoC. East Indian in my mind.

### Did you get a little teary eyed before the final mission in ME3? Has any game brought you to tears?

May 11, 2014
Oh man, of course. I cried in the director's cut of ME3 when Tali said keelah se lai to me, I cried in Fable 2, I cried in Walking Dead. I think there are others. MGS4 got me teary-eyed in the microwave corridor though the tears didn't flow. I've cried at more games than movies.

### where did the sheriff of lynchwood get her cool fucking hat

May 11, 2014
Hat store

### when do you think they'll release an actual trailer for pre-sequel

May 11, 2014
(shrug)
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### how old is mordecai, and how did he and bloodwing meet?

May 11, 2014
(shrug)
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### In which all the "narrators" have their own twist on the story. Tina vs. Torgue vs. Markus for example. Can we ever expect that type of shark jumping?

May 11, 2014
I dunno, maybe? DLCs are where we generally play around and do crazier stuff, so nothing's off the table.

### I'd like to see a DLC that just jumps the shark (since the DLCs are usually told by someone it's easier to say it's not entirely canon) in which all the previous awesome bad guys (a la Steele and Jack) are brought back as cyborgs riding cyborg raptors that shoot lasers and missiles or something cont

May 11, 2014
errrr

### Oooo, on the Mass Effect thing, what are your opinions on the ending to the trilogy? Do you think they were right to add the new stuff or should they have stuck to their guns!? Also, favourite character?

May 11, 2014
I mean yeah, space baby was kinda weird and out of nowhere, but the entire rest of the game so beautifully tied together EVERY SINGLE dangling plot thread that I have to really admire it. It may have stumbled in the last hour, but the entire rest of the game was so good at providing closure. SO good.

### then how old is angel?

May 11, 2014
Like 19? I think? I had the logic worked out somewhere, I don't fully remember. I think Jack had her pretty young, though. He may be 35-40.

### would you ever voice act?

May 11, 2014
I am bad at acting and do not generally like it, and my voice is the least appealing thing about me. Sooo, no, probably not.

### how old is handsome jack?

May 11, 2014
Somewhere in his late twenties, early-mid thirties.

### Do you have a favourite mission in either game!? Favourite DLC?

May 11, 2014
I really like Assault On Dragon Keep as far as DLCs go, I'm most proud of that out of anything I've worked on. Mission-wise? Hrmm...I really like the plot mission where you meet Tina in BL2. Skyler Jermyn did a LOT to fill that mission with little bells and whistles and pieces of polish to make it feel great. He's awesome.

### Do you think feathers on dinosaurs or cool or lame?

May 11, 2014
Cool! And factual.

### Will we one day find out why the Eridians just... Proofed or is that a plot thread that will probably never ripen?

May 11, 2014
I care about that plot thread. I don't like it when people just disregard plot stuff so given enough time, I hope we can wrap everything in a cool way a la Mass Effect. That said, writing is hard, writing over many games is harder, and writing over a long period of time is superhard, so stuff will inevitably change and twist and sometimes fall through the cracks (we didn't plan on Presequel being the way you'd go to the moonbase, but here we are).

### do the writers contribute in making the skill trees and action skills to the characters?

May 11, 2014
Nooooo, not at all. The brilliant character designers like Jonathan Hemingway, Paul Hellquist, Matt Armstrong, Tommy Westerman, Rob Hieronymus, etc are to thank for that.

### why is there portable medkits in bl1 but not in bl2? not complaining just curious

May 11, 2014
You'd have to ask Paul Hellquist for certainty, but generally the feeling was that rummaging around in your inventory during a gun fight broke game flow and felt kinda weird. The intent was to put health regen more in the world via pickup syringes and health regen player skills.

### Any chance the characters from their version will ever make the leap in to one of your BL games? Or do you prefer writing your own characters from scratch?

May 11, 2014
to give a dumb non-answer: nobody's ruling anything out.

### can you confirm/deny the presence of patricia tannis in the pre-sequel or tales from the borderlands?

May 11, 2014
I wouldn't feel comfortable saying in either direction.

### what kind of music would handsome jack listen to? in terms of bands/genres from earth

May 11, 2014
Ffffffuck I have so little taste in music I don't even know. Pop? He'd probably like fun pop stuff like Katy Perry or Nicki Minaj.

### So little to no input whatsoever from Gearbox, just lending them the assets?

May 11, 2014
I mean we're giving lots of input, but all the production is being done by Telltale ultimately.

### please tell me theres something like the shoot him in the face quest in presequel

May 11, 2014
Depends on what you mean by "like."

### If Tannis were ever to evolve from NPC to PC, what do you think her powers would be? Something along the lines of creation, like Gaige (with a machine that doesn't work quite the way it's supposed to) or something more... Explodey?

May 11, 2014
I'd want blood to shoot out of her nose and damage enemies.

### I saw you on the gametrailers podcast when you were on, you spoke very well, you're a funny guy!

May 11, 2014
Thanks! I vaguely recall being a stupid asshole on that podcast.

### What is the deal with the telltale BL game, who is contributing what?

May 11, 2014
It's allllll Telltale. Myself and Matthew Armstrong (franchise director) are having meetings and consulting with them, but it's a Telltale game through and through.

### Do you enjoy the press tours for BL2? Podcasts/panels etc..

May 11, 2014
Yep! It's always sad to be away from my wife but they're fun.

### fav gun in bl/bl2?

May 11, 2014
I love purple tediore shotguns because as zero, you can throw tediores withotu breaking deception so if you fill your inventory with tediores you can get off four throws before taking a shot

### what is handsome jack's favorite food?

May 11, 2014
Pizza because even though he is a bad guy he's not a fucking monster

### I'm glad somebody agrees, I get shit on a lot for saying Lost....lost me (It's too late to think of another word) after the first season when there was never any pay off.

May 11, 2014
I stopped around season 3, couldn't handle all the trumped-up cliffhangers and stuff.

### Even without knowing if Steele was a Siren or not, Angel's dark hair and blue eyes, which is common among middle-eastern heritage (which later spread to Polish and Irish). Is it not possible that Angel is only half-cauc, and her mother was from Middle eastern/Asian descent?

May 11, 2014
Oh wow, that's neat, I hadn't considered that. Let's say yes. I'll keep that in mind if we ever happen to meet Angel's mom.

### do you think there will ever be any cannon non-binary and/or transgender characters in the borderlands universe?

May 11, 2014
i REALLY want there to be! I sincerely hope we can get a trans character into whatever the next BL thing is, if there ends up being one.

### does handsome jack go for girls only or does he some times dance with dick as well?

May 11, 2014
Jack is straight.

### What are your opinions on Lost (if you watched it)? Lack of direction?

May 11, 2014
I really disliked it. I don't like mystery-centric storytelling where the answer to the mystery doesn't justify all the time and bullshit and suspense surrounding that mystery. LOST and Moffat's Doctor Who don't build up to HOLY FUCKs, they build up to Oh Okay So I Guess That's the Answer?s. I don't like character being second fiddle to story.

### The Borderlands universe isn't going to have some contrite bullshit ending like "I was the monkey all along" is it? (Heston and the original Planet of the Apes is really the only medium that can do that without it being a cop-out).

May 11, 2014
I mean, I hope not. I don't think so.

### who picks the opening songs for the borderlands games?

May 11, 2014
Mikey Neumann and Randy Pitchford

### Looking forward to new Star Wars? Did you also hate Episodes 1-3?

May 11, 2014
Not really to the first question (I'm REALLY irritated there's only one new female character and I don't generally like JJ Abrams) and generally yes to the second question.

### Hey Samit again. Long time listener, first time caller. Earlier, it was mentioned that all the Sirens seen as of yet have been white, but I always pictured Steele (due to the lighting) as an Asian/Pacific Islander. Of course you didn't write her, so I guess you wouldn't be completely sure?

May 11, 2014
I would love it if this wasn't really Samit but a bunch of separate people pretending to be Samit. But yeah, I know nothing of Steele.She wasn't even canonically a Siren until Mikey's comics

### Also, we have a Eurovision Song Contest in Europe (it's terrible but great at the same time) and a transgender singer won tonight after 37 countries voted, was another good step.

May 11, 2014
Awesome!

### What do you imagine will come first, first woman president, or first openly gay?

May 11, 2014
Woman.

### I agree completely, there is sadly a lot of people who refuse to believe it, even when presented with it. It's a sad state of affairs.

May 11, 2014
Yeah. But it's getting better, I think. I didn't even know trans was a proper *thing* until like a year ago.

### Is it weird answering all these political questions on the internet?

May 11, 2014
Nah.

### If you weren't a writer what other career would you pick?

May 11, 2014
Teacher, maybe? I dunno. I was perfectly happy to just write ABOUT games my entire life until writing FOR games became an option, so I'd probably do that. Or, I dunno...shit, yeah, I dunno. I have no other skills.

### Why do you think sexuality is still such a big issue in America?

May 11, 2014
Because people misunderstand it. I think people still think of homosexuality as a "choice" and not a biological thing. Same with non-binary sexual identities. Most people I've casually talked to about trans people in my everyday life don't realize it's an actual, biological brain thing and not just some person going "man I feel like pretending to be a woman and putting myself at high risk of rape or murder in the process"
Liked by: Diamond Feit

### Do you believe in any God? Do you follow a religion?

May 11, 2014
Nah dog

### You describe your past self as misogynistic quite a lot. Anything in particular that made you go, "Wow, this isn't cool, I gotta change"?

May 11, 2014
Honestly, getting married and seeing more feminists on twitter and hearing their perspectives. I was very insulated in misogynistic web cultures (I wrote for DoubleViking.com for a while) and was so used to getting hurt in relationships that I basically demonized women and inherently did not trust them. It wasn't until I saw posts from women talking about harrassment, being hit on, etc that I realized *I* was mostly being awful in most of my dealings with women, and I saw how I'd probably made them feel, and how shitty that is to live in that space all the time because you are an attractive girl.
Liked by: Diamond Feit

### What is your biggest pet peeve?

May 11, 2014
Casual sexism
Liked by: Diamond Feit

### Arkansas recently struck down the ban on same-sex marriage. Our first same-sex couple got married today! It's nice to see that Arkansas isn't the furthest behind in social change. How much longer until it's completely accepted in the US? (Best guess)

May 11, 2014
Ten years? Less?

### What caused the divide between you and Ash, if that isn't too personal.

May 11, 2014
I was young and mean.

### Open marriage!? I was unaware of this (then again there is no way of me knowing that, nor should I). Here is to many more years of happiness! *raises glass*

May 11, 2014
Yeah it's never really come up cause I'm shitty at spitting game and announcing "hey I am in an open marriage in case anyone would like to have sex with me" on twitter is a quick way to come off like a doucheturd

### Have you and ash always been close, or was it something that came with age?

May 11, 2014
Age. We were really close, then we were really not close, then we became super good friends and more or less have been since.

### How long have the two of you been married now?

May 11, 2014
Almost four years holy shit almost four years. In all that time I have utterly failed to take advantage of our open marriage and Hook Up With A Honey but it's been the happiest time of my entire life.

### Most underrated films/directors/books that people just don't tend to know about?

May 11, 2014
I adore Takeshi Kitano, but he's an acquired taste. I've talked to a few friends I've tried to turn onto him and they just think his shit is really boring, which is fair, but Sonatine and Hana-Bi are two my favorite movies

### Who is your favorite voice actor? Male v/a and Female v/a?

May 11, 2014
I'll only pick VAs I haven't worked with/met to make it fair. Female: Tara Strong. Male: Nolan North, cause holy fuck his work in portal 2 is underrated

### I have only seen the movie as of now, desperate to see the stage show too though. The songs in it are just beautiful, Hathaway really was magical in it, such passion in I Dream a Dream. God it's good.

May 11, 2014
Yeah, check it out live if you get a chance. If they do it right, Master of the House alone justifies the cost cause it's basically a rapid-fire sleight of hand sequence

### I love how much you love Davis!

May 11, 2014
She is my favorite person and I'm super glad I married her and it's gonna be a real bummer when I fuck up and she leaves my ass

### Any opinion on the first openly gay footballer being drafted to the NFL?

May 11, 2014
yaaaay

### Will we see any other Sirens in the future? Out of 6 random women chosen from galaxies full of billions of varied humans, the 3 (4?) we've seen so far have all been white, which is going against statistics somewhat. PoC Sirens would be awesome!

May 11, 2014
Good point. If we meet another Siren I'll push for her to be a PoC. I'm only one dude, though, so no promises!

### Are you and Paul Hellquist actually wonder twins? If so, what are your super powers?

May 11, 2014
Paul's wonder power is being really good at both story and design, and mine is I can turn into a sponge

### What did Davis say when you told her about being bi-sexual? Any adverse reaction (I'd hope not)

May 11, 2014
No, not at all. She wasn't really surprised cause I'd had a fair few "got DAMN that guy we hang out with is hot jesus that's weird why do I think he's so hot" conversations with her. She is, as always super-supportive and sweet and wonderful.

### You should come back to England, would be an pleasure to meet you one day!

May 11, 2014
I'll let you know if I do, anonymous person.

### Do you keep hard-copies of your original manuscripts? If so, ever thought about signing them and auctioning them for charity?

May 11, 2014
There's not really an "original manuscript" per se because I so rarely ever print out the script. During production and recording the script remains a digital file that gets updated frequently on perforce. Maybe I'd print one and Paul Hellquist and I would sign it for charity at some point, but I doubt anyone would really care about it that much.

### Also, Les Mis <3 Did you see stage show or the movie? Preference?

May 11, 2014
Both. I saw the movie first and really enjoyed it, so I see the benefits of both. The movie's version of I Dream a Dream is put in a way more logical place, narratively, and Hathaway really kills it better than the stage actress I saw; the play has an immediacy the movie lacks, and doesn't have Russel Crowe, and the version I saw had this cool rotating thingy on the stage that they did hellishly cool stuff with, and the Master Of The House number is 100 times better live.

### Do you know anything at all about a potential (lets be honest, certain) BL3? Id assume next gen, id hope you were on the writing team!

May 11, 2014
I can say with 100% honesty that nobody at Gearbox is working on BL3 at this moment and we haven't even had a single serious discussion about it.

### How're the parents?

May 11, 2014
They good.

### So, I kind of imagine Pitchford running through the office pulling coins out of people's ears and guessing cards at the office. What is he actually like to work with? Does he give regular magic shows?

May 11, 2014
My single favorite thing about randy is that he will pretty much, if you catch him at a reasonable time, always be happy to do a magic trick for you. He is good at magic. I don't think he does regular shows? I dunno.

### Even been to England? Have any plans to visit us!?

May 11, 2014
Yes, I went to London once for BL2 press stuff. I saw Les Mis and hung out with people with pretty accents and generally really enjoyed myself. Granted I also read Paul Dean's really good blog post on living in the UK and now my opinion of the country has dwindled, but I definitely liked spending what time there I did.

### I admire you for having the confidence and comfort in who you are to be so honest and open with us!

May 11, 2014
hashtag yolo

### How do you cheer up a friend when they're feeling down?

May 11, 2014
I have no idea. I am really bad at this.

### What is your biggest regret from the past? Was there someone you tortured that in hindsight you wish to apologize to? Are you secretly a terrorist, but won't know until you go under sedation like Total Recall?

May 11, 2014
I mainly regret not treating the people I cared about better, and being creepy/weird toward women.

### There are plenty of rp blogs for the characters of bl. I have seen ones for Zer0, Gaige, Maya, Axton, Kreig, Moxxi and even Hunter Hellquist. As well as a few original characters that are based off of psychos and nomads and lab rats. Pretty sure there is an rp blog for clap-trap.

May 11, 2014
Hunter Hellquist hahahhahaa

### What where the reasons most of the unique dialogue in ttaodk wasn't used? I thought the extended fart joke was hilarious :p

May 11, 2014
The fart joke didn't really play that well in practice. If you didn't find it funny it was SO. DAMN. UNFUNNY. Like three separate people told me it didn't work until we finally cut it. Some of the other unused dialog just fell through the cracks for some reason or another. I personally miss Maya having to roleplay as Brick, because when Martha said the line "Hi, I'm Brick. I'm a Siren," she kind of laughed midway through and I thought it was an adorable bit of characterization for Maya that she'd laugh.

### You delve deeply into inclusiveness with humans, would you feel the same way if androids/cyborgs/robots start demanding rights a la Deus Ex and Bladerunner?

May 11, 2014
It'd depend on if the bots had self-awareness or could feel pain and had a preference not to feel pain. I'm a vegetarian because I don't believe in harming living things, so if a bot could fit that definition of living it would deserve rights and protection.

### RevRant videos basically opened my mind to game design (now my Major). Following u since, where I don't always agree with u, I think I've grown a lot as an inclusive writer/design. I certainly respect your influence in the industry today, & wanted thank you for that influence on me as a designer.

May 11, 2014
Thank you! I'm glad my dumbass videos did something for you.

### There's a theory out there that Ellie is actually Motor Momma's daughter that Moxxi snatched away before she could be cannibalized, leading to her raising her ex-girlfriend's kid as her own. Accurate, or outlandish and impossible as hell?

May 11, 2014
Outlandish, but funny. It was just more viable to modify Ellie's model for Momma than make an entirely new one, sooooo

### What areas of the pre-sequel can't you talk about?

May 11, 2014
uh.

### Is there gonna be a yoteslaya reference in pre-sequel?

May 11, 2014
i do not know what that is, so probably not.

### just wanted to say that i really appreciate your efforts to make the games you write more inclusive. i'm not straight, white, or male, so I rarely get to see characters like myself represented in games, but your articles on inclusivity and your willingness to listen really give me hope!

May 10, 2014
wooooo thanks i need to do more but woooo thanks

### i've seen some of the rpers, they basically run blogs in character as certain bl characters. there's an ask mister torgue blog that is pretty much wonderful.

May 10, 2014
yeah, marcian links me to his torgue thing all the time. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this isn't marcian asking the question in a backwards attempt to see what I think. wait is his name not marcian i forgot

### Have you or ashly smoked weed? I know ashly burch has a web show based on being a stoner but I never see any dank nugz on it

May 10, 2014
I've never smoked weed. Can't speak for ash.

### Since there has been a few questions about the borderlands fandom, I have been wondering. Have you come across any of the BL RPers? Is there any you like?

May 10, 2014
I have not. what is that.

### What computer do you use to game on?

May 10, 2014
I dunno. Something I got from ibuypower a couple years ago for a grand or so. I've got a titan that dies when it runs unreal engine games. so there's that.

### So with the recent revelations (or really confirmations) of details about the Sheriff and Hammerlock, are there any other Borderlands characters with certain details to them that you think a lot of players and fans might not have picked up on?

May 10, 2014
Yeah, but nothing I wanna overtly point out cause the work should basically stand on its own.

### What were you like in high school?

May 10, 2014
Pretty much the way I am now, except way more misogynist, angry, sad, mean, arrogant, and awful.

### Is Torgue interested in marriage and procreation and/or adoption? What name would he theoretically pick for his spawn and/or adoptee?

May 10, 2014
he'd probably adopt because there are plenty of kids out there who need love already. He'd let them choose their own name because Torgue believes in self-actualization

### So Torgue would be opposed to High Fiving people for doing good jobs? Or making big fucking explosions.

May 10, 2014
Torgue considers high fives the explosive contact of palms rather than one hand holding another.

### Out of every question you've received so far, which one is your favorite?

May 10, 2014
the one where samit was like "this is samit" and i was like "fuck off samit"

### What did you think of Sunset Overdrive, if you've got a chance to see the new videos?

smurfee mcgee
May 10, 2014
I'm super excited for it. I love shooters that are (A) really fast and (B) don't take themselves particularly seriously so I'm pumped.

### i love the grey morality! the fact that the heroes and their friends in borderlands are almost all murderous assholes themselves, and salvador shrugging off his would-be hangers with an "everybody makes mistakes". nothing is black and white, i hope there's even more grey in future borderlands!

May 10, 2014
you'll probably dig the presequel, then. It doubles down on that kinda stuff.

### yeah I can see how social situations would be scary. I would fine with our social interaction being like "whats good ant?", "nah chillin, u already know", "nice. peace out slime"

May 10, 2014
i'd be crying by syllable four

### Oh, I've seen that same AU! I never thought of it as Jack turning "nice" so much as being a tired, defeated asshole who'd lost everything and was figuring shit out in the desert. I've noticed that a lot of fans are extremely interested in what makes Jack tick and the grey morality of the series.

May 10, 2014
yaaaaaay that's what we wanted grey morality yaaaay

### Will there be a HAWPcast about The Lego Movie?

May 10, 2014
i imagine we'll talk about it when we do the next one, yeah

### Have you ever hung around the Grunts in Titanfall? They do/say some pretty interesting/funny things.

May 10, 2014
i saw that youtube video.

### Are you watching Steven Universe?

May 10, 2014
yes and i may actually like it better than adventure time which is insane

### In the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve, was Jack going out of his way to use same-sex couples as test subjects or was it just a coincidence that the audiologs we found included a pair of wives and a pair of husbands?

May 10, 2014
Coincidence. Jack is not a homophobe. I wanted to include more same-sex couples to normalize alternative sexualities to the player. Not just to show that Pandora is a place where people have generally moved past sexual discrimination, but so that, say, young kids playing the game might be exposed to same sex couples in a really matter-of-fact way, where it just feels as normal as it should in real life.

### What do you think of the term social justice warrior?

May 10, 2014
I think people who use it as an insult are kinda dorky, because as far as derogatory names go, a synonym of "champion for equality" is pretty fucking cool. I'd certainly consider myself an SJW.

### Hey man, I'm considering buying Titanfall, but I'm not sure. Do you think $60 is worth it for a game with only multiplayer?

May 10, 2014
I personally love it, but the servers are getting less and less populated. Unless you've got friends to play with I might recommend against it.

### How much BL fan output have you seen outside of cosplay? Fanart, fanfic, headcanons, AUs, gif sets, the works?

May 10, 2014
I saw one alt universe canon about Jack surviving BL2 and going nice and dating Gaige, I've seen a bunch of fanart on vaulthuntercollective. I also read vault hunter confessions.

### How long do you think the Borderlands series would last? The BL universe has pretty much tons of possibilities for other story lines but do you think Gearbox would allow it to go past BL3? (The Pre-Sequel is technically 3 but it's more like 1.5)

May 10, 2014
(shrug) I'm just a writer. The franchise belongs to smarter people than me.

### This is a dumb question, but I have to know: What's it like seeing fans make porn/smut involving characters you wrote? Flattering or creepy?

May 10, 2014
I've only seen horrifying porn about Tiny Tina. I haven't seen any of the presumably less creepy/more hot stuff with non-underage characters. But yeah, it's more flattering than anything else.

### whoa whoa wait Hammerlock is black? that's fantastic, I was never quite sure because of the game's lighting!

May 10, 2014
Case in point.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Whaaaa? How do people not know Hammerlock is black? We see a close-up of his face in BL2 when he's introduced! Unless they think he just has a really really dark tan.

May 10, 2014
That's pretty much what everyone thinks, yeah. That or that the lighting is weird. I didn't realize people thought this way until fairly recently.

### I never played Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt, but I have a friend who has and he says it's kinda weirdly racist. Like it takes place on the Pandoran equivalent of Africa and the enemies are "Savages" that yell "Ooga booga!" Is it supposed to be satire or something?

May 10, 2014
I fucked that up, to be honest. I should have caught the "ooga booga" stuff but didn't during recording, and I wanted the savages to be white (so it was Hammerlock, a black dude, fighting against white natives). Unfortunately I fucked up the first bit and a lot of the other stuff doesn't read (you can't tell the savages are white and most people don't know Hammerlock is black).

### After you die your legacy will remain for some indiscriminate amount of time. Right now your legacy is Borderlands 2 and Hey Ash. Is there anything else you would really like to add to that legacy?

May 10, 2014
"He really didn't like Samit very much"
Liked by: smurfee mcgee

### Will there ever be a moment in the Borderlands universe where all the Sirens are in one room together, would there very presence phase a rift in the space-time continuum?

sterling coe
May 10, 2014
I dunno. Probably not to the spacetime thing? They'd probably just hang out.
Liked by: sterling coe

### if you were ever in nyc would you hang out with me?

May 10, 2014
Maybe? If I'm in NYC it's probably for work so I'd probably be busy. I'm also generally scared of social situations.

### Why don't you like Steven Moffat? I just remember you making a joke about it in hawp and never quite understood what the problem with him is.

May 10, 2014
He writes like Lindelof/Cuse, which is to say he puts a huge percentage of his effort toward Being Clever and making Big Questions that he never pays off in an interesting way that justifies all the mystery. He prioritizes plot and spectacle over character (when RTD has Martha crushing on 10, they explore it and it changes their relationship and drives action; when Amy makes out with 11 it's forgotten in the very next scene).
Liked by: Erin L W

### favorite character to play as in bl2?

May 10, 2014
Probably Krieg, because I tend to play singleplayer more than multiplayer and Krieg is a dynamite SP character.

### with the unique dialogue will there be unique responses?

May 10, 2014
Yes, on occasion.

### do you perfer the first bioshock or the second?

May 10, 2014
First for story, second for gameplay.

### How do you do?

May 10, 2014
How do YOU do?

### Why isn't MISTER TORGUE an interstellar arm wrestling champ? Do those sexy GUNS just rip off challengers' arms?

May 10, 2014
Mister Torgue believes that if you're holding someone by the hand it should be because you love them very much, not because you want to cause them pain

### In the pre-sequel will there be a claptrap related reference to that scene in doctor who s1e6 where the dalek "elevates" up the stairs?

May 10, 2014
No, sadly.

### What's the favorite state you've visited?

May 10, 2014
San Francisco is probably my favorite place in the world, so California. Then maybe Seattle, then Utah because Salt Lake City is so gorgeous.

### how did you meet davis?

May 10, 2014
answered this in an earlier question. through innanet blogs.

### Why isn't there a metric time system? 60 minutes, 60 seconds and 24 hours seems horribly inefficient, wouldn't you agree?

May 10, 2014
Yes. At the very minimum, using a 2400 system would make so much more sense than what we currently have.

### Have you ever played Deadly Premonition?

May 10, 2014
gave up at the squirrel keys. loved driving around talking about movies though.

### I really liked Handsome Jack in BL2 because his motives seemed realistic and good, but his methods were morally reprehensible. Will Jack be closer to the hero he thinks he is in BL2 in the Pre-Sequel? Or can you not reveal that much?

May 10, 2014
Yes and no.

### Who is your all-time favorite game writer? (Outside of Gearbox and inside).

May 10, 2014
Brendon Chung.

### If you were able to get any Firefly actor to voice a BL character of your creation, which actor would it be and what kind of BL-themed character would you make for them? (PS: I really enjoy reading your insights on writing and game design. Really liked "Dying is Funny..." in particular)

May 10, 2014
Nathan Fillion as Handsome Jack's brother.

### was nisha always called nisha when she was just the sherif ?

May 10, 2014
Nope. had to come up with a name for her during Presequel development.

### just say "baby jane" if you aren't allowed to answer this will there be unique dialogue in pre-sequel?

May 10, 2014
there will be.
Liked by: mackenzie charlton

### I wanted to say Handsome Jack dethroned my previous nearly lifelong favorite villain of all time, that being Ganondorf. Sorry, G, you'd probably kick Jack's ass, but he's way funnier. Is there anything you would have done differently about writing Jack in BL2 if you could go back and change it?

May 10, 2014
Nah, probably not. I might have him say "goddamn" a bit less cause I got an email from a Christian who said it made him feel excluded, but that's probably it. And he probably had a few "bitch"es I wouldn't keep nowadays.

### would you ever want to write for a more open-style game like a walking-dead or mass effect style RPG with branching storylines? do you think you'll ever get the chance to do so with gearbox?

May 10, 2014
I'd be interested in doing something like that, sure.

### fuck, marry, kill, any of the borderlands characters

May 10, 2014
i'd probably fuck a majority of them. Marry Ellie or Scarlett, probably
Liked by: Anthony Nunez

### Do you remember what you came up with to be your final words on Hey Ash in case your character had to regenerate into Justin?

May 10, 2014
I think it was something like "ash, I have to tell you something... i hate you so goddamn much" or something like that.

### Sir Hammerlock has a history with loud, excitable action guys and has been pretty lonely. Do you think Mister Torgue would hit it off with him? Because Mister Torgue and Hammerlock apparently have a strong "ship" following in the Borderlands "fandom". I think it's very cute and fitting!

May 10, 2014
Hmm, holy shit. That makes a lot of sense -- Taggart was kind of a big, brash dude. I'd kind of imagined Brick and Torgue, but maybe Torgue and Hammerlock would be way more fun even just in terms of dialog. They should totally meet up at some point.
Liked by: Cameron Neil

### Hey, just wanted to say that I play a lot of games, from Bioshock to Titanfall, and Borderlands 2 is up there as one of my favorites. Great humor, great characters, and great story! Also, shout-out to the people responsible for the loot system and gun names. Gotta love the Double-Penetrating Harold!

May 10, 2014
glad you dug the game. All of the gun names and the loot system in general was thanks to Rob Hieronimus and Matthew Armstrong. At least on BL2. My understanding is Armstrong made the system with some others on BL1, but you'd have to check his twitter.

### I really liked far cry 3, not as much as 2, but although the story was cliche, it was fun to hate vaas and the gameplay was nice. What did you dislike about it? Also, news is that far cry 4 will be in the snowy Himalayas...thoughts on that?

May 10, 2014
I didn't like that the story seemed to hold contempt for its audience. I LOVED the open world stuff but didn't like that the story missions were linear and, again, connected to that story.

### Who was the last character (in any medium) that really blew you away with how they were written and presented?

May 10, 2014
Pam in Archer. Or the two leads of Broad City. Or Walter White.

### Have you seen Rick and Morty? If so what are yah thoughts. If not, well.. why not?

May 10, 2014
a few episodes. I should watch more. I saw the Mr Meeseeks or whatever episode and that was really good.

### Have you started playing the second season of The Walking Dead?

May 10, 2014
yes, I really like it. I think the second episode felt really good, even as somebody who goddamn hated Kenny. I had a lot of interesting shit to deal with (hiding deaths, etc) and had choices to make about the characters that changed my relationships in cool ways (I still chose to be mean to the pregnant chick cause she's awful).

### Did you see frozen? what did you think of it?

May 10, 2014
i haven't. i've heard mixed things, but i get the feeling i really should.

### What's your biggest regret about borderlands 2? I loved it btw:)

May 10, 2014
I killed the black guy and damseled the powerful woman.

It was the cleanest, easiest, safest way to end the second act and I knew it was shitty as I came up with it, and i had like six months to find a way around it, but I just couldn't because I'm not that good of a writer. And i hated, hated, hated that I did it, but I have nobody to blame but myself. I will try not to in the future.
Liked by: Adam R

### Are you bisexual?

May 10, 2014
Yes. I have been, and continue to be sexually attracted to certain men/types of men. Never sealed the deal cause the ones I was attracted to tended to be straight, so I guess I'm bisexual *in theory*, but whatever. I've had to hide my fair share of boners while talking to hot guys, so I figure that counts.

### will we ever see any of the other Hodunk sisters? i like to think of Scooter as being this scrawny little baby brother in the middle of a brood of huge burly tough sisters

May 10, 2014
I dunno. Maybe, hadn't thought about it. Ellie's technically a Hodunk sister, remember.

### Mega man, X, Link, Samus, Mario, or a Belmont?

May 10, 2014
uhhh X I guess?

### If you were provided with them, would you wear smoking jackets 24/7, and always carry a bubble pipe with you?

May 10, 2014
nah. high school me would have.

### I know you've started getting into Netrunner, but how much experience do/did you have with Magic?

May 10, 2014
basically none.

### Think I saw a tweet or something a while back from you stating how you really liked MGS4. I am a HUGE MGS fan and where I did certainly enjoy 4, I lean way more towards 1,2,&3 in my fondness. What about 4 do you think you enjoyed so much that other fans overlook/disagree with?

May 10, 2014
it's kojima at his worst (long cut scenes, a really dumb twist ending that ruins most of what came before it, soda monkey) but also, at least narratively, at his best. it's so crazy epic and emotional and fan service-y that I can't help but adore it. I spent like twelve years of my life with solid snake, and kojima gave him such a wonderfully bombastic sendoff. the microwave corridor almost made me cry, basically, and the final fistfight made me shout YEAHHHH at my TV.

### Do you have an opinion on Halo? I can understand the lack of appeal, but in terms of your personal gaming ideals (emergent gameplay plz plz) I'd think you would have come to it before CoD:MW2. Halo is that in spades; vehicles, map verticality, genuinely varied weapons, gametype creation, forge etc.

May 10, 2014
i honestly never got to play any halo games to completion because i got the microsoft consoles too late.

### Do you have any strong opinions on the final fantasy series? Ash seems to indicate she used to be invested in the series. are you "JRPGs were always poop" or "they have become poop", basically.

May 10, 2014
i think they were always poop and i used to like poop. i have a harder time with poop now.

### If you've played the series (knowing your usual distaste for JRPGS), how did you feel about Soraya Saga and T. Takahashi's writing in the Xenosaga series? Contrite, genius, or flat? Did the themes appeal to you at all, or did it all just annoy you?

May 10, 2014
Never played Xenosaga because yeah, I hate JRPGs, basically.

### How good does it feel knowing so many people have played BL2 and have loved what you (and others) did with it? Must be a nice affirmation of your writing prowess :D

May 10, 2014
In all honesty I feel like a piece of shit for getting as much credit as I do, because so much of what makes the game fun is thanks to people whose jobs are simply less easy to understand than "writer." People latch onto "writers" or "creators" cause they don't quite know what "designer" or "art director" means.

It feels fantastic to have people like what I did, of course, but I also really really really need to be careful about not becoming an egocentric rock star shithead about it because I cannot goddamn stand people like that. I still think I have a loooooong way to go in terms of writing ability, and I'm nowhere near good yet.

### On the subject of Banks, you should totes read Against A Dark Background. It has everything from a city state of Bohemian androids, to a clan of militant solipsists! (Oh right, this is meant to be a question, right?)

May 10, 2014
will do.

### Who is the most fun character to write/play as in the pre-sequel?

May 10, 2014
To write? Nisha, cause she's really evil in a casual-but-not-mean-but-not-quite-nice-either kind of way. To play? I really like Athena, but everyone's tastes will differ.

### IF you could visit any country in the world, where would you like to go and why!?

May 10, 2014
Japan, because Davis and I promised ourselves we'd honeymoon there and we still haven't had our honeymoon because I've been so busy.

### hey freakazoid wanna go for a mint?

May 10, 2014
DO I

### Any thoughts on the Irrational closure on the back of such a commercial success?

May 10, 2014
sad. I liked irrational.

### Would you feel worthy of participating in a game jam?

May 10, 2014
No, because I am really shitty at game design and have no talent at using game creation tools. This is the thing I am most ashamed of as someone who works in game dev. By, like, a lot. I should at least fucking know game maker or something but I get too scared of math (i'm awful at it and it used to overwhelm me to the point of tears in school) and I'm a lazy fuck, I guess.

### Rapture, Columbia, or Midgar?

May 10, 2014
Rapture.

### Who are your favorite Borderlands characters to write? Who are some you didn't care much about or outright disliked when you started, but gradually came to appreciate in some way?

May 10, 2014
I really like writing Tina (cause it's basically just the Ash character from HAWP and I know her). I've grown to really really enjoy writing Nisha the Sheriff, because she's just casually the most sadistic person in the world. Jack's always fun, too, just because you get to write him in a really casual way where he digresses and uses colloquialisms and is kind of a dork. I had a hard time with Ellie for a while because I think my agenda with her ("make a character who is unconventional-looking but not a joke, make her confident) was overwhelming her personality. It wasn't until fairly late in development that I sort of found her voice, and decided she was a fun-loving person with a malfunctioning moral compass who thinks offensive/horrible stuff is kinda funny. She'll kill lots of people she doesn't like and laugh about it, and she'll ask you to steal a baby cause whatever it's just a baby they can make more, but she'll always have a high-five and a pat on the butt ready for you if you really need one.

View more

### What is your point of view on the Culture books (and other works) by Iain Banks?

May 10, 2014
Iiiii have not read anything but him because I am an illiterate goon who plays too many videogames. which ones should I check out?

### Do you feel it is harder to write a good female character to male? Females tend to get dismissed more in pop culture it seems. Or is it harder to have them connect?

May 10, 2014
Yes, it's harder. I think subconsciously if I think of a character as female from the start I put certain constraints around what she can and can't do. I don't mean to, I don't do it intentionally, but I think years and years of absorbing media about how women can only be damsels/madonnas/sluts/whatever still subconsciously picks away at my brain when I'm trying to think of a character. Part of me wants to adopt a writing style where I write everyone as men and then randomly go through and turn half of them female, because my gut says that'll make them more rounded characters.

Like, Tina in Bob's Burgers is one of the best female characters on TV right now, and she was just a male character whose gender got swapped at the last moment. It's a bummer, obviously, that guys can't write distinctly female characters with the same quality that they can write male ones. Which is another good reason we need to see more stuff written by women, about women.

View more

Liked by: Erin L W

### What are your thoughts about the possible cancelation of Community?

May 10, 2014
It's not possible, it's assured. And i'm obviously very sad because it was great once Harmon returned.

### Do you have a dream project (existing IP or your own creation) that you could work on? What would make it a dream project? What would you focus on story-telling wise? What would be the most important thing to convey to the audience?

May 10, 2014
part of me would like to be a showrunner on doctor who, because i have the life goals of a ten year old boy.

Another part of me would like to work on a TV show with Ash, cause that'd be neat. Something character-driven about women being funny/cool, with epic stuff in it a la Serenity/Doctor Who.

### Were you as underwhelmed with season 3 of Sherlock as a lot of others?

May 10, 2014
No, not at all. I LOVED the wedding episode, because it was just characters hanging out and shooting the shit and I love that kind of thing. The other episodes were whatever, typical sherlock I guess.

### Any regrets about Rolland?

May 10, 2014
I regret that his death occurred in a cut scene. The second control gets taken away, you subconsciously go "welp something important is about to happen and everything seems fine so it means one of these people is probably going to die".

### Don't know if these can be answered without spoilers, but is Mary Watson from S3 of Sherlock a good female character? I want to say yes, but I don't know if she falls into the "most obvious subversion of the stereotype" trap. Did your opinion of her change as the series progressed? Thanks!

May 10, 2014
Iiii dunno. She's kind of three-dimensional, I guess, if being a traitor-type thing is a dimension. But ultimately the story still isn't hers. It's about how John and Sherlock react to the knowledge of who she is. She didn't feel as round to me as the two leads at the end of the day, which is probably to be expected but still kind of a bummer.

### Gotta go fast?

May 10, 2014
sure yeah sure

### Skeleton Lords were cool for sure, except the bloody pinwheel enemies, they can be so frustrating! Any thoughts on the "Project Beast" screenshots? Expecting to see a full announcement at E3?

May 10, 2014
I'm mainly interested in how From Software game with shotguns would work.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Have you been approached to work on any other projects since joining up with Gearbox? Do you have a fixed contract? Anything you would like to work on?

May 10, 2014
i've been approached to work on some other stuff, yeah. I can work on anything else so long as it's not something that'd obviously compete with gearbox stuff.

### I agree, in DS2 they seemed to just throw more enemies at you to make it harder instead of putting you in unique situations that required something of you. Also, too many bosses were just humanoids.

May 10, 2014
that said i LOVED the rat and skeleton horde bosses. Fighting large numbers of easily poppable enemies was something new for the Souls series and I really enjoyed it. And that one giant who rips off his own arm had such great nonverbal characterizaton to him.
Liked by: Erin L W

### Do you get time to watch many TV shows, you seem like a guy who would really appreciate a well written, in depth story? If so, what do you reccommend?

May 10, 2014
I'd recommend the boring, obvious ones: Breaking Bad, the Wire, Twin Peaks, Firefly, RTD's run of Doctor Who (everything with the ninth and tenth doctors). Also check out Paranoia Agent.

### I just want to thank you for the writing on BL2, I spend literally hundreds of hours playing that game, a great world with imaginative, funny characters.

May 10, 2014
thank you so much for the kind words. a lot of credit should go to everyone else on the team, including creative director paul hellquist, art director jeramy cooke, lead level designer jason reiss, and lead concept artist scott kester.

### I know you were a big fan of Dark Souls, how did you like the sequel in comparison? Or Demon's Souls for that matter!?

May 10, 2014
Dark Souls 2 is okay. Demon's Souls is okay, I prefer its world structure to any of the other two games in the series. Both DeS and DS2 lack the beautiful simplicity of Dark Souls, though, where it's just you and the estus and your skill. The fact that you can brute force your way through DS2 feels like it gave them license to make the game arbitrarily harder in some ways. In Dark Souls there is maybe one section of the entire game that feels like a slog (New Londo ruins), and the rest are difficult in fun and interesting ways. All my time in DS2 felt like a slog, personally.

### What's the most disappointing game that you were excited for before release?

May 10, 2014
Hrmmmm. Ground Zeroes cause of the ending, maybe? Or Uncharted 3 just because it was so hard? I dunno, I don't get super-excited for most games anymore -- or at least the ones I do really deliver (Deus Ex Human Revolution, Fallout New Vegas) wait maybe Fallout 3 because it mandated violence where 1 and 2 didn't.

### Are there any specific game endings that really had an effect/left an impression on you. Enslaved made me think about things strangely.

May 10, 2014
last of us for sure.

### Beards?

May 10, 2014
ya

### I saw a tweet regarding you deciding to not attend a PAX event due to issues with the PA folks. Can you expand on this? Will you no longer be attending PAX events? Did I make that tweet up?

May 10, 2014
i'm not overly fond of how jerry and mike have acted toward LGBT and rape issues. I forgave them once, then that same PAX (which I attended with a lot of ambivalence) Gabe mentioned that he regretted taking the dickwolves shirts down, and I thought, cool, great, now I feel like a dumbshit for giving them the benefit of the doubt. So I don't feel comfortable endorsing their stuff anymore.
Liked by: Erin L W Cameron Neil

### Grand Budapest Hotel: great movie, or greatest movie?

May 10, 2014
I usually have a hard time connecting with wes anderson movies, but i liked it a fair amount. probably my fav of his movies.

### April Ryan, from The Longest Journey, is like the best damn protagonist in gaming history, yet nobody ever talks about her. Why is there no love for this remarkable woman, even among the crowd who get all sabre-rattly about more ladies in lead roles?

May 10, 2014
really? i thought a lot of people really liked her. I hear about her a fair amount. Or maybe I'm just remembering the voice actress having lots of medical issues and TLJ fans coming to help her. I personally couldn't stand TLJ just cause of how adventure game-y it was (the thing with the rubber ducky and the pliers, oh god), but I should probably watch a longplay just to see who she is

### What's the first game you remember really impressing you, really standing out with a theme or an idea?

Paul Dean
May 10, 2014
Definitely Shadow of the Colossus. When I reached the third (or fourth, can't remember) boss and realized it couldn't possibly hurt me, and that I'd been straight-up *murdering* all of these bosses without really thinking twice about it, and that the game managed to make me self-reflect in that way without uttering a single line of dialog, I feel like I gained a greater understanding of what games are capable of.

That or Metal Gear Solid 1 because there's a part where you see a naked man's behind and that's funny

### As a follow up to The Walking Dead question, what specifically did you regret? Taking a life, or that a Clementine saw you do it?

May 10, 2014
the latter made me realize the former. her humane response to it made me go oh fuck why did I do that? it was just becasue I was angry and didn't like him, not even out of self defense, shit, what is wrong with me. The thing I love about telltale's games is they make you realize stuff about yourself you didn't know. thanks to walking dead and fables, I know that I (A) am really bad at taking sides cause i want everyone to be equally happy and like me, and (B) my anger can get the better of me

### do u like anime? manga? doble rainbows?

May 10, 2014
trying to get into more anime. i like azumanga daioh, samurai champloo, everything satoshi kon ever did.

### Do you have a P.O. box for fan mail?

May 10, 2014
nah, not really. you can just email me or send stuff here.

### Any games coming up that you are especially looking forward to?

May 10, 2014
watch dogs, I guess? Phantom Pain, maybe? ooh, Miegakure.

### If you could one thing without any consequences, what would it be and why?

May 10, 2014
sex a lady

### Do you see a future where HAWP content (episodes, hawpcasts, other) is being put out more regularly? Do you have any ideas on how to better infor

May 10, 2014
I hope so. I'd love it for ash and justin to do that as their fulltime job.

### worst movie you ever saw?

May 10, 2014
indy 4

### I only know you from HAWP (which is so funny and creative) and I follow you and your wife on twitter. I can't help but notice how much of a lovely couple you both make. Where did you meet Ashley? Sorry that it's not a gaming related question.

May 10, 2014
destructoid, the blog i used to write for. our mutual friend aaron linde worked there with me and introduced us. we chatted a while, i flew her to my place for a weeklong date (which was in retrospect FUCKING STUPID because what if we didn't like each other, we'd have been in my parents house sharing a room for a fucking WEEK) , realized we really liked each other and moved in a couple months later

### you should totally host a preview of HAWP season 5 for the community like in Gmod cinema or something

May 10, 2014
that'd require workkkkk

### favorite avatar the last airbender character?

May 10, 2014
toph, duh

### Will you come to Canada to eat cookies and hug?

May 10, 2014
I do like cookies and hugging, and if Ellen Page and Scott Pilgrim have taught me anything it's that there are tons of cute people in Canada, so i'd consider it.

### Since you were sort of recruited for games writing in a (probably; i.e. HAWP) unusual way: A.) How did that effect you in the early stages of your career and B.) What is your insight about breaking in to such a career?

May 10, 2014
I second guessed myself ALL. THE. TIME. I spent my first two years at Gearbox convinced they were going to realize "oh fuck what the fuck did we do we had a guy who writes 60 second poop jokes write our multimillion dollar action game what the fuck" and fire me. I was terrified about it pretty consistently.

Regarding B, just do your own thing. Make something that shows your talents and passions, because that's better than a resume. Like you noticed, HAWP is the entire reason I got the Gearbox job.

### Do you find it strange when you become friends with a fan?

May 10, 2014
Not really. Assuming the person is cool, it doesn't matter.

### can you tell us more about handsome jack, his wife, and angel? their relationship as a family and stuff

May 10, 2014
I could.

Ain't gonna though.

### bands that you like a lot? music ,whatever

May 10, 2014
i have so little taste in music it is actively embarrassing. that said, muse.

### Thank you for making a character like Ellie! <3 She was the first character I ever had the courage to cosplay and I had a blast.

May 10, 2014
ahhhh i'm so glad you cosplayed as her! that's exactly the sort of thing we wanted to happen. I was sometimes worried that she came off a little too obviously "I am large and find myself really sexy and who gives a fuck if you disagree" to the point where she'd be more of an idea than a character, or come off patronizing, or something. So to hear that you cosplayed as her makes me calm down and go, whew, okay, we probably did something right.

### top 5 favorite books?

May 10, 2014
the spy who came in from the cold, catch 22, hitchhiker's guide, consider the lobster, haunted

### Biggest regret in The Walking Dead game?

May 10, 2014
killing the first cannibal.

### Since I know the last stages of Mario 3D World really burned you and Davis out, favorite non-RPG Mario title(s).

May 10, 2014
fffffffffffff non-RPG? cause super mario rpg is the best. i love super mario 64 more than most games because of how nonlinear its platforming mechanics are (it has the most fun speed runs of any game ever).

### What do you think gives rise to consciousness?

May 10, 2014
i vaguely recall reading something that it's our brain's way of justifying its internal programming to itself? like we actually make decisions before we consciously know we're going to, which means our conscious brain just decided to pretend like "oh yeah i decided to do that"? i'm dumb as shit.

### h theou write about being inclusive, and I love it, however; being a southerner, I feel that we (Southerners) get the shaft a lot in books, TV, movies and games. We're not all sister-bumping low IQ mechanically inclined rednecks. When do you think we could possibly see a less stereotypical southerne

May 10, 2014
yeah, i've been kind of fucking that up myself, too. that's a good thought -- I tried to keep too many more new southern characters from showing up in BL2 cause BL1 had so many and I didn't want BL to feel like "the game about southerners", but it's probably time to bring in a southerner whose personality isn't so stereotypical and negative.

### Thoughts on 4th wall breaking characters?

May 10, 2014
depends on the story and what it's trying to accomplish. if it's funny and feels appropriate, i really really like it. or in MGS where the texture of the universe is just about being inherently 4th wall-breaking, that's awesome too

### Did hawp crew leave gametrailers for particular reason, or was it something as simple as your contract was up?

May 10, 2014
we haven't left permanently or anything, but yeah our contract was up. we may re-up with them, dunno yet.

### What do you think about Heroes of the Storm? Also when is a beard long enough to go out and chop trees with your hands?

May 10, 2014
i like it. i dunno how far along it is, and i'm not experienced enough at MOBAs, to really say if it feels balanced or deep enough, but I definitely UNDERSTAND more of it. When I play LoL and I die my immediate reaction is usually "well what the fuck, I have no idea why that happened nor any idea of how to prevent that from happening again", whereas every HOTS death has been like" fuck yeah okay i know what I shoulda done there"

### mmmm soooo, what game do u like a loooooooooooooooooooot? hey, i love what you did in borderlands 2, really, spent hours playing with my friends, thanks a lot, please be the lead writer for EVER <3

May 10, 2014
thanks very much for the kind words. i'm glad you dug the game. i really like far cry 2, bioshock, fallout new vegas, the walking dead, metal gear solid, mark of the ninja, sir you are being hunted, titanfall

### Favorite non-Far Cry 2 game(s) for no kill runs

May 10, 2014
gunpoint, sir you are being hunted, deus ex human revolution

### Hey Anthony, wanna go bowling?

May 10, 2014
i hate bowling

### Do you have any advice for an artist who hasn't found an audience yet?

May 10, 2014
there's a weird dichotomy where oyu have to (A) keep trying whilst (B) acknowledging that certain aspects of what you do might totally suck and that's why you haven't found an audience. try to put more stuff out there and get feedback and ALWAYS be trying to improve

### I want to expand my video game knowledge/get better at them but I have no idea where to start. Any tips?

May 10, 2014
i dunno, what are you into? freeindiegam.es is a great site for checking out indie titles that aren't usually represented in stuff. maybe look around for the "best" games of genres you haven't played and try them out
Liked by: smurfee mcgee

### Favorite time zone?

May 10, 2014
PST cause it looks like pissed

### Do you believe in God?

May 10, 2014
nah

### Hey it's me, Samit.

May 10, 2014
fuck off samit

### Do you watch speedruns in secret?

May 10, 2014
it's not a secret

### whens the last time you had a burrito ps. do you like burritos?

May 10, 2014
couple months ago. they're alright. tacos are better. i like crunchy stuff.

### Have you seen that borderlands machinima trapville? What are your thoughts on it if you have?

May 10, 2014
i haven't. i think i saw the teaser? did they make a full series?

### Are you jealous of Ashly getting to fly jets and drive fast cars for Geek and Sundry?

May 10, 2014
hell no. that stuff sounds exciting and i legitimately hate exciting things like that

### I'm making new Corp and Runner decks after sleeving my copy of H&P. Which new identities should I use as my starting points?

May 10, 2014
i LOVE express. haven't really clicked with any of the new jinteki idents; i went for the gambling-centric one but evidently people at my comic shop really look down on the whole gambling mechanic so i gotta find something new

### "For the Horde!" or "Glory to the Alliance"?

May 10, 2014
iiiii do not like warcraft that much sorry

### Is it more challenging to write the characters in the Borderlands Presequel? I would think it would be difficult to invest yourself in characters whose ultimate fate is largely determined in BL2. Or is it more freeing because the consequences are short lived? Maybe Wilhelm was into basketry, idk

May 10, 2014
doesn't really make a huge difference, weirdly -- with the exception of wilhelm i already knew who these characters innately were (athena and claptrap because i'd played their games, nisha because i created her personality) , so it was just a matter of expressing those personalities through the plot. knowing where their arcs ended made things a little easier, if anything. I didn't write them as characters who knew their ultimate fates so it's like eh no big deal

### What's the most rewarding part writing for Gearbox and what's the hardest part?

May 10, 2014
most rewarding: reading feedback from people who enjoyed it, seeing them cosplay, knowing some people enjoy what you worked on. hardest part: spending years of your life on something that just sort of comes out one day without a lot of fanfare. i got quasi postpartum depression after BL2 launched; like i just expected everything to change, for there to be a big explosion and that there'd be a parade or something, but it was just another day. that was really depressing, until I started seeing that people enjoyed the game. it wasn't this like life-changing thing to see that people enjoyed it, but it's a slow burn of happiness that's felt pretty good in the long run.

### sup´ do u like dinosaurs?

May 10, 2014
they're alright

### Hey Anthony, what do you see the gaming industry drifting toward? (sorry for the vague question)

May 10, 2014
no clue, to be honest.

### Will you make anymore HAWP videos? Even if they're not sponsored episodes?

May 10, 2014
yes, we have an entire season shot already. we're just trying to figure out where it'll live

### Least favorite HAWP episode? (Why is this the question I jumped to...)

May 10, 2014
either the domestic abuse episode or the gears of war episode; they're tone-deaf and unfunny in an offensive, not-cool, punching down kinda way

### Did you mean James Dean? Or are you talking about the baseball player Paul Dean... There is also a minister who died in the 1800s who goes by Paul Dean.

May 10, 2014
paul dean from shut up and sit down
Liked by: Paul Dean

### How many pringles cans do you reckon you can get up that butt?

May 10, 2014
many as i goddamn want if i believe in myself

### If you could work on any series in any medium what would it be?

May 10, 2014
TV

### What happened to Legos? They used to be simple.

May 10, 2014
i never liked legos

### watcha playin'?

May 10, 2014
hahaaaaa you

heroes of the storm

### why so low

May 10, 2014
wat

### Have you seen this little girl's Ashton Kutcher fanfiction: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NctRVC2O3NM ?

May 10, 2014
i could tell that shit was fake less than fifteen seconds in.

### whats your favorite colour?

May 10, 2014
blue

### True or false: you are brown

May 10, 2014
tru

### Why are you so fucking charismatic and cool and where can I find a friend like you

May 10, 2014
you just did booooooooooooooooooooooooooom

### in one HAWP episode your grandmother was speaking Arabic, are you part Arab? can you speak Arabic? (also, how is your grandmother, she wasn't really sick was she?)

May 10, 2014
Fun facts! 1. That wasn't my grandma, it was Justin's. He's part lebanese, part cuban. 2. She's not sick. 3. I'm half white, quarter east indian, quarter thai.
Liked by: KimBerry

### While I admit that Kojima poorly handled Paz's character in MGSV, do you think there are other strong female characters in the Metal Gear series such as Meryl and EVA?

May 10, 2014
Fortune's pretty cool, and The Boss is neat even if she's horrifically underdeveloped in terms of her relationship to Snake. EVA's too sexualized to take seriously, and Meryl (at least until MGS4) is too defined by her relationship to Solid Snake to stand on her own. I really really like Sniper Wolf, even if her character model is kind of boobalicious. She's particularly three-dimensional: she loves her wolves and is kind to Otacon, but is still a merciless killer who, when the chips are down, doesn't give a rat fuck about Otacon if he wants to get between her and her target.

Language: English

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