Playing Skyrim can be a pretty life-consuming activity, no matter whether you’re the kind of player who causes trouble or chills out and takes in the sights.
That’s without even taking into consideration the thousands of mods that can bring you back to the game at any time by adding a Shadow of Mordor-esque nemesis system, lore-friendly deathclaws, or overhauled swordplay to the equation.
True to form, in the case of one player on Reddit, the Skyrim experience has become so all-consuming that it’s emerged from their monitor and begun to alter their real life.
Think I've forgotten what a proper bed looks like, let alone feels like. - Ralof
The thread about this strange occurrence in the Skyrim subreddit began with a post from the player in question, user MeanForce1, who shared an image of Ralof hanging out in their actual room, crediting user interactiveact739 for the idea and captioning it: “I created a Ralof cutout by my bed so he can tell me ‘Hey, you’re finally awake’.”
Their fellow players were a little divided on whether this was a good idea, with user _-DirtyMike-_ kicking off the positive outlooks by declaring: “You need a speaker & a motion detector installed on that asap”, to which Tepigg4444 replied: “No need for a complicated setup, just play the Skyrim intro sequence audio up until ‘you’re finally awake’ as your alarm.”
On the other hand, user puppychomp was less of a fan, saying: “that would scare the crap out of me in the middle of the night”, while Azuras_Star8 added: “I know I'd wake up and punch his head off screaming ‘who (on earth) are you?’ And he'll end up saying ‘You hit like my mother, milkdrinker’."
Luckily, user Qwqqwqq was on hand to reassure the sceptics, revealing: “As someone who has a cardboard cutout in my room, you get used to it after a few nights.”
Meanwhile, a few users decided to suggest other characters they think would make good cardboard cutouts, with trukrdub99 saying: “I think I would rather have the horse thief from Rorikstead (to say) ‘You and me shouldn’t even be here!’.”
Unfortunately, user eichti86 elected to use this privilege to further an ongoing feud, arguing: “you should make a Nazeem cutout and then burn it or something.”
Regardless of whether you’re still on the Nazeem hate train, make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the wacky world of Skyrim modding.