#the stage really adds to the lore and gives us a surprising twist in the end

[ninadove]

Hi Nina! Why transmask Felix and not transfem? Or you are fine with transfem too?

Hi Anon! Hope you’re having a wonderful day! 💖

I do like transfem Felix! In fact, I originally leaned more towards this option. The Senti-lore is extremely queer by nature, and I think it’s wonderful so many people can see themselves in the kids.

Really, it comes down to personal interpretation. Some notes below:

1. Colt Fathom is a massive douchebag.

Nothing groundbreaking here. We been knew. At first glance, you’d assume he would want a male heir for Toxic Masculinity Reasons™; but I think he would prefer a daughter, also for Toxic Masculinity Reasons™.

Colt is the kind of person who wants to elevate his own status in the world, and the solution he resorted to is marriage. This kind of alliances is frequent in the spheres he navigates, as seen in S5 with the Adrigami plot: as such, he would likely see his child not as an heir, like the GDV lineage would, but rather as something he could trade for even more power. A daughter of noble pedigree and born into considerable wealth would undoubtedly be a catch, and give him a leg up in his race against other rich jerks.

Additionally, we’ve seen how he acts around Felix — how he perceives him as a threat and a reminder of his own mortality. Peacock curse or not, asking for a son would have forced him to face the prospect of eventually being overpowered by his own progeniture every single day; but a little girl? Surely, there’s no threat there, right?

2. Felix’s first appearance gives us lots to think about.

Firstly, when it comes to Adrien’s reaction. When Amelie explains that she decided to drop by “so [they] could all be together” on the anniversary of Emilie’s fridging, this is the (adorable) face he makes:

Because he understands! If his aunt is here, surely his cousin must be here too. “All together” means all together.

Yet, when Felix actually appears, draped in dramatic lighting like the theatre kid he is, Adrien still looks strangely surprised:

Which Amelie immediately follows up by highlighting that they look “just like twins”. The characters should not need this comment — they were here the whole time the kids were growing up! Of course, there’s a doylist explanation to this line: we, the public, must understand that Identity Shenanigans Will Ensue (and they did). But what could this mean in-world?

I propose that the cousins did not always look exactly like each other — that they were perfect twins as young kids, but became more and more different as time went by. Perhaps one developed more feminine features, while the other grew up to look more masculine. If the Agrestes did not witness the early stages of Felix’s transition (probably started right after Colt’s death, so only a few months before canon), it makes sense they would be taken aback by the newly recovered resemblance between the kids.

And, of course, it adds some depth to the Identity Shenanigans. Especially if you read Adrien as genderqueer or transfem.

3. Felix exhibits stereotypically masculine behaviours every chance he gets.

This goes from wearing what is basically the Official Rich Boy Uniform (waistcoat, tie, black and white palette):

To certain mannerisms, like putting his feet on Gabriel’s desk to assert dominance against the guy who could literally snap him out of existence:

To the way he perceives himself: a cursed prince from a twisted fairytale, who systematically places himself in the role of the protector (even if it’s not always appreciated by the people in his life).

To me, this sliiightly over-the-top behaviour is very reminiscent of a child who just figured out something huge about their identity and is exploring it to the fullest — to find out what it truly means to them, and which aspects they want to incorporate into their life.

Which leads me to the most important point:

4. The Peacock Miraculous! 💜🦚

Deeply associated with Felix’s reclamation of his safety, freedom and bodily autonomy. And when we think about peacocks, what do we think about?

Colourful feathers. Panache. Ostentation (this is literally what groups of peafowls are called). A conception of masculinity that is different from social standards in most of the Western world, but is there and bold and unapologetic.

We don’t get to see Felix using the brooch for the first time — even his mum, who he trusts with everything, is absent. He needs this privacy to come to terms with his powers and make them his.

But then, when we do get to see him transform — everybody else witnesses it too. Felix goes from hiding behind Adrien’s face, ergo disguising as someone he is not, to revealing his identity to both the audience and the entirety of Paris.

This is Argos embracing who he truly is, even if the world might call him monstrous.

And finally, one more point:

5. Why would Tomoe prefer a model over a quasi-prince as a potential match for her daughter?

I get it — she has a partnership going on with Gabriel. But the woman is leagues smarter than him (What? Like it’s hard?) and could most likely find another way to turn the world into her own little dystopian dream, should she want to. Not to mention, even if Adrien is a catch by most people’s standards, he is still the bane of the GDV lineage.

Felix is the heir. Felix is just as wealthy, if not wealthier than the Agrestes. Felix is the best at everything he does (chess, horse-riding, karate) and as such should be a perfect fit for Kagami, even by Tomoe’s insanely high standards.

Yet, she keeps referring to him as this corrupting influence: not because he is a supervillain (she hangs out with them on the regular), but because he might whisper dangerous ideas about ✨ freedom ✨ and ✨ bodily autonomy ✨ in her sweet daughter’s ear while they make out dressed as Adrien’s parents. We know how important femininity is to the Tsurugi lineage: Duusu forbid this monster talks Kagami into rejecting it in any form.

So, there you have it, Anon. I’m sure there’s a lot of evidence to support other interpretations, but this is the one that resonates most with my brain! 💜🦚🏳️‍⚧️

Can’t believe I almost forgot:

“Felix” literally means happiness and luck: a weird choice from Colt, and it’s unlikely Amelie had any say in the matter. So when Argos says:

“Isn’t it great? We have everything we need to be happy!”

It very much sounds like his first name could be a conscious reclamation on his end!

#miraculous ladybug #felix graham de vanily #argos #flairmidable #feligami #senticousins #graham de family #random ramblings #Transmasc Felix Propaganda

[pyllymursu]

An essay on shame in Ape Escape 3, a character psychoanalysis on Dr. Tomouki

Over a decade has passed and I still love Ape Escape 3 as much as I loved it on the day I finished it, and the most major reason for that is one of the two villains of the game: Dr. Tomouki, a character who is still my most favorite singular character I’ve seen in fiction, and that is for a reason

He is not an often talked about character whenever someone brings up the Ape Escape series, despite being one of the deepest, if not the singular most deep character in the trilogy and the game series - not only because of the lore he offers to the game series as a whole, but the themes of shame and humiliation that are handled in his backstory

Full analysis under the cut - be aware that this will contain spoilers

Before I deep-dive into this character psychoanalysis, let me give you a brief synopsis of the game series, which is info that will come into play later:

Ape Escape is a 3D platformer video game series, that has 3 main games. The main idea of each game is that a group of apes have gotten access to intelligence-enhancing helmets, and are now led by a monkey called Specter, who has a different world-dominating plot depending on the game, and each time a different protagonist must defeat him and his army of primates

In the third installment, two twins, Satoru and Sayaka, with the help of their scientist aunt Aki, must stop Specter once again, but this time with a twist - this time around he has a human ally, and said human is the one and only Dr. Tomouki, whose character and themes we will dissect in this essay

I will use the EU translation of the game as a basis since it is more faithful to the original script, but the US translation of the game does follow a very similar premise

While Tomouki is teased as a new character and a villain in the very first cutscene of the game, he gets a proper introduction in the cutscene that follows after the first boss of the game. He is introduced as an over-the-top narcissist from the get-go, with him telling various info about him (like the fact that he is single, his weigth and heigth including afro, etc), and he is then adorned by roses. All of this is soon interrupted by Aki, and Tomouki is suddenly really humbled and surprised upon meeting her. This will come into play much later

From this cutscene forwards, the game is a fairly standard ride plot-wise, defeating a boss after boss and seeing the two man villains after each defeat with not much new lore to either character. I do want to note the cutscene after the third boss though, where the only dialogue is from Specter since Tomouki is too busy looking at his own reflection, which adds more to his narcissistic nature introduced earlier, and as a side-note, is comedy gold

Then we enter the second last stage in the game, Tomouki City, and if the game was an enjoyable ride this far, this is where things actually get really interesting

First I want to point out the enviromental storytelling in the stage - his previously established narcissism is amplified in his stage with the entire city having named after him, and his face plastered all over. There are posters of his face, there are golden statues all around, most of the catchable monkeys in the stage have afros, there stands an entire freaking tower modeled after him in the middle of the city, to name a few examples. You can almost touch his ego. And as a side-note here, I want to say that his aesthetics are on-point with the gold-purple-white palettes, heavenly-looking enviroments and roses

We get one more glimpse of this when we reach him in his boss chambers, the so-called Den of Splendor, where you can see pastiches of old paintings, but modified in his image. Then we enter his boss fight, where he fights in a mech that - you guessed it - is modeled after his face

After we jam to some Bach Invention 13 and completely obliterate his ass, this is where the real deal begins

After he is defeat, we learn of his background story - he was part of the group that created the series staple monkey helmets to begin with, with said group featuring Aki and a character simply called Professor, who is THE character behind the helmets, and a series staple character who has been featured in each main series game

Tomouki's role in the creation of the helmets was to be a test subject to the helmets, which then lead to an accident where one would be permanently stuck on his head (which we are actually teased in his introduction cutscene, where he flexes with his IQ if 1300) This drastic change in appearance led to him being a subject of ridicule by his peers and everyone around him, leading him to his current villainy

And this here, where the theme of shame and humiliation comes into full play. While on the surface level, the game and the series as a whole is still a very light experience, this moment here adds some surprising depth in a place no-one would expect it, that is a 2006 PS2 platformer aimed at children

So, let's now deep dive into the psychoanalysis here

Everything we have learned of the character falls so far falls into place in this very cutscene - we learn that his ego and narcissism wasn't played simply for laughs, but it is indeed a broken man's way to cope and re-build whatever strips of self-love he has left. We don't know whether he is trying to prove others or himself of his self-worth, so that is up to speculation, but the reason for his narcissistic tendencies is clear

It is not easily distinguished whether or not he is intentionally hilarious in his narcissistic presentation or not, but I can still safely say that if he wants to be hilarious, he wants to be hilarious in his own terms. He (and I'd dare to say, literally everyone else on this planet) doesn't want to be ridiculed by other people by a thing he cannot control, he doesn't want to be ridiculed against his will, which is in this case, is his permanent change in appearance

Speaking of appearance, usually when a character has a physical mark left of their past trauma, it is usually something like having a scar on their face, but even then that is usually integrated as a cool feature in the character's design Tomouki's case here, on the other hand, is like a slap to the face - you, as a player, have to face it, and he, as a character has too. There is nothing cool or aesthetically appealing in his current state of being. Shame is such an universal, such a human emotion (which is fitting coming from a game series that features a human vs primate conflict thorough it), and yet we don't see it handled that much in fiction, except - like I stated before - in this surprising place

After the reveal of the aforementioned lore, he is inviting Satoru and Sayaka to laugh at him like the rest, showing a glimpse of the spirit of a broken man. He tried to fight against fate one more time by joining forces with Specter, but even that attempt was futile, and he now greets defeat one more time.

While Satoru and Sayaka are still processing what is going on, Specter joins the invitation instead, only to be told off by Satoru about it, and upon seeing various people experience this part, their reactions have fallen mostly to these two categories - either to Specter's ridicule, or Satoru's sympathy. Specter then proceeds to put this plan into full action, with the specifics of said plan still being unclear to the main characters and the player. The main characters are now left to wonder how to stop this.

While abrupt, but fitting to the game's pace and narrative, Tomouki now offers to help the children instead After this small, simple act of kindness and sympathy, this man was actually set to the path of healing his faith in humanity, and helps the main characters to Specter's real hideout

From this moment on, he takes a backseat until the defeat of the final boss Again, spoilers ahead:

While Tomouki not present, it is revealed right before the final boss that the villains' plan was to split the earth in two for the two of them to rule each half. This sounds really extra spelled out loud, but is right at home in a game series as silly and insane as Ape Escape. After this, the protagonists point out that not even the apes will have a place to live if Specter decides to proceed with this plan

This bit goes to theory territory, but I am almost 100% sure that Tomouki's real intention with this plan was to indeed to end all of, well, everything. Perhaps partially as an act of revenge, partially of having serious depression (we will get here in a bit) and he somehow convinced Specter of this actually working

Fast forward to post-final boss, Tomouki appears once again before the main characters, advicing them to leave the villain's headquarters and let him stop the aforementioned plan. It is then soon revealed, that in order to stop the plan, the entire place needs to be blown up, with him along with it

But right before that, my previous statement about him having depression comes back into play here - Tomouki states that he has not been this high on life for ages, and while not spelling it out loud, this does heavily imply the character had long ago fell into depression due to the reasons stated above. After this, he thanks the protagonists, hugs his now-introduced robot friend, and ends it all

...Or so I would say, if this wasn't a game with children as its main audience - in the ending credits, it is revealed that he somehow survived all of that, and the last time we see him in the game and the series as a whole is in a photo featuring Satoru, Sayaka, Aki and various other characters from the series. Where he heads in life after this is unknown, but we are given hope that despite this man's past trauma, he now has a new direction in life with his faith in humanity restored

While the character (and the entire game) has maybe 30 minutes worth of cutscenes, there is so much lore and depth squeezed into it, whether intentional or not. While Ape Escape 3 is the only official piece of media Tomouki has appeared in to this day, his character arc in this game is such a neatly tied package, that he doesn't really need anything more, even if I am personally craving for more of that sweet Tomouki content

He goes through an insane character arc in such a short period of time, and all of it unfolds so naturally There is also a lot of lore to be found outside the cutscenes too, with the designs of the Teleborgs, the real-life trends of 2006, things lost in translation and such, but those are something to handle another time

So, TL;DR : Dr. Tomouki Ape Escape 3 is one of the most important if not THE most important in the Ape Escape lore, and he has surprising depth to his character handling very overall unhandled themes like shame and humiliation in an enviroment fairly light on story elements

Or maybe I am just overthinking as a helpless simp. Maybe.

I just think Dr. Tomouki Ape Escape 3 is neat

#p.m. arts #i don't know how else to tag this so art it is i guess lol #tomouki #ape escape #saru getchu

[guerilla935]

Review: The Turing Test

The Turing Test was developed in 2016 by Bulkhead Interactive for PC and Xbox One, Later released for all major platforms. In The Turing Test you play start the game as Ava, a scientist in cryo-sleep that has awoken to news that because of the discovery of a new dangerous life form on Europa, you must go to the moons surface and find the ground team. Avoiding any spoilers, you are confronted with 70 puzzle rooms designed to act as a Turing Test for initially unknown reasons. The game reveals itself slowly with story bits at the end of each of its 7 chapters. It uses an approach to puzzle games similar to portal, however the puzzles don’t have a crazy twist they are just logic puzzles that utilize a power and response mechanics. Meaning that most of the time what you are doing is turning on and off machines with batteries to get to a door.

So, the game itself lacks a lot in originality, the puzzles are all designed to look and feel like Portal, the room aesthetic is actually almost identical (There are even the light bridges). The type of robot vs human story presented is the same ideas in basically all of science fiction since Philip K. Dick and Blade Runner. The difference being that this game presents a number of real writings of Turing. However I believe that the game should be held responsible for the fact that it adds these in knowing that it may have done a poor job in itself to explain its topic. It presents you with the thought experiments for The Turing Test (pretty much that interview they do in Blade Runner) and the Chinese room example and present just about 5 sides to argue whether any of these actually mean that a robot could possess human thought. The short answer according to many in the field is no, and there are many reasons why an analytic mind without the creative couldn’t be considered the same as a human mind but I’ll leave that to your own research if you want to do the digging (or just play this game all the documents are here). So that was a very round about way of saying that the premise of this story really only asks questions theorized in the 80′s and failed to give them any sort of modern nuance or meaning. I will say this about it though, when presented in the first half, Tom letting you know why humans have to solve these physics based problems instead of machines feels like a celebration of the genre and how physics based puzzle games require a good portion of your creativity. A good look at why you being a human has enabled you to come up with weird and outside of the box solutions for problems rather not knowing to throw that through a window, or launch something using a set of stairs.

The meat of the game is good though. Solving puzzles feels good because they are challenging having to double back because you messed up only to then find a solution feels very good in this game. Only once did I get so stuck I had to google an answer and it was just poor explanation of how the machines work. The difficulty in The Turing Test is a very good balance. Not too easy but also not frustrating. The game presents its ideas in ways that make sense (to someone who knows games) and continues to pile together its ideas to create more complex rooms. I wouldn’t say that it gets that hard over time but it gets more complex over time. The side puzzles are very hard and borderline unfair. The first one just gives you a password that you just have to guess, and it could take a while. Another optional puzzle takes advantage of Boolean logic, even using the notations and if I didn’t have a degree in Engineering I most likely would have just had to google it because I would never have known what was going on, it just felt like the barrier to access these places were so high and most of the time rewarded so little. Most of the rewards for the bonus rooms are small pieces of lore or a “cut-scene” with a muddled message. So overall I would say that the game has a very good set of 70 main puzzles with very creative bonus rooms with very little reason to do them.

There are a few problems that I have with the story and the first is the Chinese room. The way that the game obsesses over this thought experiment is a little worn in the later chapters, I think at one point even Chris says that he is done with how obsessed Tom is with this Chinese room. I think that the reveal of the creature found on Europa is really cool and interesting to think about. However, the real plot twist in chapter 5 (although setting the stage for really cool and original puzzles) was very bad. It just seemed like an odd addition to the game that didn’t have to be there. Maybe if they wanted to just start with that and let us play with the really cool camera robot possession from the start of the game it may have fit in the story better and let us play cool puzzles a lot earlier on but throwing it where it did feels rushed and added. The quality of the game though is spectacular, the sleek space station aesthetic is well done and the acting in this game is superb (except Tom in the second half is just written in full rambles and is acted in the same manner). I was surprised how much I became attached to the ground crew and their story just through audio logs and how spooky it was to uncover things like a murder and their research. The soundtrack is also pretty standard science fiction stuff but still makes for good atmosphere.

The Turing Test is a good puzzle game, it’s only a shame that it was muddled by all these sideways thought puzzles and weird plot twists. If you were ever interested in this game I’d say give it a try especially if you like solving puzzles. It’s a short enough experience that will leave you satisfied. Also passing the Turing Test lets you know that you’re not a machine so that’s good too.

#game review #video games #the turing test #alan turing #puzzle games #portal #portal 2 #puzzles

[thewebcomicsreview]

Tonight on Legend of the Hare: Rasslevania! 

This was originally supposed to be a birthday, but then I thought of the phrase “no holds barred mitzvah” and changed it last second. do like that Jill and Riley both don’t actually know what a bar mitzvah is. Given that the next few pages portray the event as taking place in an arena (?) around a wrestling ring (??) and one of the people in attendance is a music industry scout (?!), it’s also possible that I didn’t know what a Bar Mitzvah was, or at the very least didn’t bother to change any of the later pages to account for this change. This is a really stupid plot point! And it also means that the band is tempted by money at a Jewish event, which is one of those things I probably should have stopped to consider the implications of, but I clearly didn’t consider the implications of anything I was doing on any level. In the aborted LotH Version 2, this whole scene was going to be an actual birthday party, and Riley would sing a song that would be way inappropriate for kids and the family would kick them out, which Riley would blame on Jill before Peggy showed up an arrested them all. It would be at the police station where the rabbits first appeared, and V2 was getting very far from V1 before I gave up on it.

There’s something very Scott Pilgrim vs the World-y in those first three panels, especially Jill’s band being a retro gaming reference. Who came up with that name, anyway? Also, wow, I just told Carlos to draw a generic indie wrestling poster and gave him a sample of one, but I totally passed on a chance to put a joke on the poster. Missed opportunity, past me! Also, using “Goldstein” as a generic Jewish name, bluh.  That’s lazy, it should’ve been a funnier name. If it’d been, like, “Rick ‘The Rack’ Ruckus presents: His son’s no-holds-barred mitzvah” then there’s a little character in it, the idea that maybe it’s the dad who likes wrestling and not the kid, which gives me an opportunity to have a joke later about the son being bored and also kind of helps explain why there’s no actual Bar Mitzvahing going on. You can tell how much I’m feeling a page by how much effort I’m putting into finding these spaces for a joke. In a perfect ideal word, a writer should spend as much time on a page as the artist, going over every line and background detail and trying to find ways to get as much mileage as possible out of every panel and taking every chance for a clever joke. Obviously, this doesn’t usually happen in practice. But it should! It’s very easy to pop out something passable in ten minutes as a writer in a way an artist can’t, but you should hold yourself to a higher standard and even now I don’t do that as much as I should.

Panel 3 looks like a generic alley, but I actually took a photo of an alley in Boston I liked and had Carlos use it as a reference

I’m not quite sure why I found this image so striking, but it adds a little to the sense of place that this alley has a brick road instead of a paved street, and is one of the very few visual clues that this comic takes place in Boston and not Generic City, so it was worth the time to photograph. Also, hey, that’s Eoin in a trenchcoat reading a newpaper in the background of paper three there. The original opening to Legend of the Hare would have had Trenchcoat Eoin (back when he was called Teporingo) and Mary Farrier at Doink Burger scoping Jill out as a potential rabbit champion. This never got past the first draft stage and mostly revolved around Mary being a hyper child and not focusing. Interestingly, the script I have for that opening establishes Legend of the Hare as being set in Oregon. I wonder why I set it there originally, given that I’ve never been. It might have just been a reference to Gravity Falls?

Anyway, this is the first appearance of Riley, and note that even this early he’s making fun of Jill behind her back. Old man Starflower seems to just accept what Jill is saying as normal, which looks like a joke but is also foreshadowing, since Starflower knows a bit more than was ever shown to the audience. Sadly, it never comes up in the comic because everything’s a mess, but Mary Farrier the horse champion is Starflower’s daughter, and it was through him that the rabbits learned of Jill. It’s all connected, but offscreen because I wasn’t doing anything properly.

The Lore Post for this page will be of grave importance to a few people: It’s the first appearance of Helen Alvarez, the Rooster Champion and surprisingly popular minor character! Helen doesn’t actually appear on-panel for like 40 pages, and by then she’s very clearly sick of all the “cock” jokes, but she seems to be in better humor about it here:

Dear Diary,

I don’t know if anyone’s going to read this, but if you’re reading this now, hi.

So today was odd. I skipped school and then a bunch of Roosters flew me off to Cock-Narnia. Little bit unexpected, that twist. They gave me the whole “Chosen One” spiel I’ve seen in a million fantasy novels, though they didn’t seem to know who actually chose me or why. They offered to let me go home, but I told them nah. Even a crappy Harry Potter LARP thing run by birds is better than Mom and Brad. And, honestly, I wasn’t going to make a better career choice than being the “Lady of Cocks”, so I might as well get on the Cock while I can. Got the tattoo and everything. I’m sure that’ll stop being funny any second now, but I’ve only been here a few hours so I’m going to ride the cock train just a bit more.

The cocks – there it is, this is old -the roosters are not very smart. Which I guess isn’t surprising, because they’re birds? But they can talk, so you’d think they’d be smarter than normal birds. And maybe they are, but they ain’t shown signs of it yet.

I tried to get some details on what my Cock Destiny (okay, one more) was, but no one was able to answer me. Kind of defeats the point of having a prophesied destiny if it’s a mystery, doesn’t it? If I wanted vague promises of future greatness, I’d see the guidance counselor again.

Isn’t that life, though? In that….um…..you never know what you’re gonna get? Or something? I dunno. I really don’t know anything. Supposedly once I sign up I get all kinds of magical girl superpowers, but I don’t feel very super right now. I mostly just wanna lie down. Such hero. Very amaze.

Actually, lying down sounds like a great idea right now. I need to stress over all my decisions today. I’m gonna go do that.

How was your day?

Holy hell, you can tell this lore post is old, there’s a doge reference.

#Legend of the Hare #Saffron and Sage is back in production by the way #That'll update soonish

[aion-rsa]

From Le Carré to Artificial Intelligence — The Inspirations of When the Sparrow Falls

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What if human consciousness could be digitized? Would the digital version still be human, or would it be a meaningless string of data that no longer has a soul? In Neil Sharpson’s When the Sparrow Falls, the Caspian Republic is the last holdout nation of natural born humans. There, the populace refuses to submit to the Machine, believing that neither digital humans nor AI have souls. Unfortunately, the Caspian Republic is also a totalitarian nightmare of a nation, where not one but two police organizations could come for you in the night, and you’d never be seen again.

Nikolai South, whose first-person narration leads readers through this strange future, is an agent for State Security (StaSec, or The Old Man). When he’s called in to the office of the Deputy Director, he believes it’s the end: though he’s stayed under the radar of both the State and Party Security (ParSec, or The Bastards) for more than twenty years, he’s finally done something to get himself killed. Instead, he’s given a new assignment. Popular Party writer and anti-Machine scribe Paulo Xirau has been outed as an AI, and his wife—also an AI—has been given honorary human status to identify Xirau’s remains. South is to be her babysitter and bodyguard during her visit, which is, very likely, just a very fancy way for StaSec to hand him his death sentence after all. Even worse, when Lily Xirau arrives, the clone she uses for a body is the spitting image of South’s dead wife, whose death sent South into a spiral of depression that’s held him in the same position in StaSec for the last twenty years.

South’s voice is reminiscent of a protagonist from Kafka: he’s one soul in a nation out to get him. But unlike K, he has a pretty good idea of what’s going on, and why, and his cynicism wars with the internal voice of the Good Brother, who reminds him of why he should rejoice in the successes of both the State and the Party. He’s also clever enough to realize that Xirau’s death, Lily’s arrival, and the work of Needleman Yozhik, a criminal responsible behind a ring of illegal consciousness transfers—contrans—in the Caspian Republic, are all connected. But like any good spy mystery, it’s not in the most obvious way, and the stakes of the case keep changing around South as past events come back to haunt him.

The novel is taught and intense, with hints seeded so stealthily that the big reveals (and, with the twists, there are a few) give a feeling of both surprise and inevitability. It’s hard to believe that the project, with its philosophical deep discussion of human souls and its ever-shifting spy narrative, began life as a stage play.

“I’d been tinkering with the play on and off for around six or seven years by [2017],” Sharpson explains to Den of Geek, “and when I finally finished it everyone I showed it to had more or less the same reaction: ‘Why are you doing a dense sci-fi story with tons of world-building for stage. You twit.’” While his friends may have been critics, the play looked like it would do well, and Sharpson didn’t feel he had the time to turn it into a novel. Then disaster struck: “I had two massive opportunities (a commission from the national theatre and a greenlight from the state broadcaster) both go up in smoke. In the same month,” Sharpson says. “I very briefly became suicidal and I realised that I had to divorce my sense of self worth from how well my writing was doing. So I started to write Sparrow (or The Caspian Sea, as it was then called) as a form of self-therapy. It was just so I could write something where I could say ‘I don’t care if this never gets published or if anyone even knows I wrote it. I’ll know, and that’ll be enough.’”

Despite his initial reluctance, the process of writing the novel “was a dream,” he says. “All the hard work had already been done, the story structure, themes, etc. were mostly already there. So it was literally the process of writing a book where you only have to do the fun stuff like expanding on the lore and fleshing out the characters. Writing the play took years. Writing the book took me from November 2017 to February 2018.”

Though the atmosphere may be reminiscent of Kafka, Sharpson drew on other inspirations as he built the world, particularly the film 2011 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy starring Gary Oldman. “1984 obviously was another huge influence,” Sharpson says. “Writing a future dystopia that’s not influenced by Orwell is kind of like writing high fantasy that owes no debt to Tolkien.” But one of the other inspirations for the story came out of history, in the figure of “Stanislav Petrov, the Soviet Air Officer who deliberately ignored what his system told him was an incoming American nuke and thereby may have saved the entire world,” Sharpson recalls. “I was very taken by the idea of a hero who is heroic not because he’s a man of action but because he refuses to act.”

The idea of consciousness transfers has both the shiny glow of a new technology—and the feeling of limitless possibility that a digital world inspires—and an air of menace. In part, that’s due to the distrust of the Caspian Republic toward the Machine, but Sharpson also gives hints about how things operate in the rest of the world with asides at the beginning of each chapter. In one, a U.S. politician explains a move from being opposed to building a super-intelligent AI to realizing that the U.S. must do it, if only to keep up with China.

“I’m every bit as worried as I was five years ago, if not more so,” says Sharpson. “But where we are now, asking ‘Should we create super intelligent AIs?’ is like asking if we should be using protection while we’re going into labor. The question is pretty moot. The baby is here. China has uncorked the bottle and let the genie out and the results speak for themselves.” Another is a clone-suit advertisement from a Tehran company, geared toward “female-identifying intelligences looking to add some Asian glamour to a romantic getaway in the physical realm”—which shows that racist stereotyping remains healthy and well, regardless of how post-human consciousness wants to believe it has become.

Still, in a world where contran is possible, where humanity has unlimited potential through the digital space, why set the story inside the anti-Machine territory, where the possibilities wouldn’t be explored? Sharpson explains that it came from wanting to write a Cold War thriller. “I was terrified of getting the historical details wrong,” Sharpson admits, “so I reasoned that if I created my own nation with its own history, I would be able to tell the story I wanted without getting irate emails from people who were living in East Berlin in the seventies. As I was writing, the real world was trundling along and it became a story of the world today but imagined as a cold war; Caspian is a country for people who are afraid of the future and have retreated into a nation built on nostalgia for the past.”

As for the potential in contran, Sharpson remains reserved when asked if he’d try it himself. “In the world of the book, there are two competing views on contran: The Machine World view is that you are still ‘you’ after you have been contranned. The Caspians, however, see contran as a genocice occurring in plain view,” he explains. “People are being contranned, their souls destroyed and being replaced by a highly sophisticated AI simulacrum. They view this as the AIs way of eradicating mankind. Now, as the author of the book, I know this isn’t the case. But if someone were to come up to me in real life and offer me contran I would have no way of knowing if it was on the up and up. In fact, given the inscrutable nature of human consciousness, the Caspian position would seem far, far more probable. I’d be tempted, no question, but I don’t know if I’d consider it worth the risk.”

Though the science as presented in the book makes the idea of a digital transfer of humanity seem not only probable, but an inevitable result of the growth of AI technology, Sharpson says the experts he conferred with told him “contran is flat out impossible. It’s digitising human consciousness, and we fundamentally don’t understand what that is, let alone how to render it as data,” he says. He got around that impossibility by saying “we (humans) didn’t figure out contran, we created impossibly intelligent AI and they figured it out for us. Which is really the whole meat of the setting: the AI passed us by.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Though the novel concludes quite definitively, with perhaps one lingering question about the whereabouts of a character, the questions it opens up remain interesting to play with after putting the book down. What would it be like to live in an all digital realm? If you left your body behind, would you still be you? And what would that say about the nature of the soul? The post-humanity conceits in the story, and the very grounded dystopia that comes from trying to live in the past, work together to create a sense of hope, that despite the regrets of the past, there is a future. It might be terrible and glorious at once, but it’s there, waiting for us to enter it.

When the Sparrow Falls hits bookshelves on June 29th. You can order the book here.

The post From Le Carré to Artificial Intelligence — The Inspirations of When the Sparrow Falls appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[johnsellph]

The Moment Paris-Nice Was Won

In 1972 Eddy Merckx was so confident of winning Paris-Nice that before the start of the final stage he posed for photos with a speedboat, a prize that year. Only Raymond Poulidor rocketed up the Col d’Eze to win the stage, take the race overall and collect the prize. Primož Roglič can show a cannibal-like trait at times but must also know a thing or two about not counting chickens until they hatch, or as they say in Slovenian, “not praising the day until the evening”. But on the morning of the final stage it did look like Roglič had Paris-Nice sewn up and he even had a good chance of winning the final stage too…

Many star riders had opted for Tirreno-Adriatico, but if two simultaneous World Tour races might sound incongruous to outsiders or management consultants, the format works well with a large share of the peloton able to bank a week-long stage race in mid-March and views able getting double the action. Perhaps more than Wout van Aert or Julian Alaphilippe, the one thing Paris-Nice really missed this year was the wind. Ride from Paris to Nice and long days across the plains are inevitable, and if the weather is benign, so is the racing.

We got some fine bunch sprints, but this is the sporting version of nouvelle cuisine when we’d hoped for a feast, a daily dish to be consumed in seconds rather than hours. Sam Bennett won the opening stage in Saint Cyr and would take second while Cees Bol seized the moment to take a chaotic finish, too.

Without echelons on the first two days, the time trial in Gien was the first obvious rendez-vous for the GC contenders and Roglič was the best, just behind Stefan Bissegger and Rémi Cavagna, with Brandon McNulty close, then Max Schachmann and Sacha Vlasov close by. The likes of Tao Geoghegan Hart, Jai Hindley, David Gaudu and Guillaume Martin were among those on the receiving end in a 14km time trial and they’ll face four times this distance if they ride the Tour de France.

The wine stage past Macon and into the Beaujolais was a lively one with a difficult finishing circuit. These are not legendary roads but they do offer great riding for visitors and make just as good terrain for racing as they do red wine. All talk of wine tasting was spat out with Roglič’s late surge to win solo as he crushed his rivals like they were grapes in a vat. He took 12 seconds by the line and another 13 in time bonuses with Schachmann again close by, and this was the German once again the second best. Schachmann finished 19th on the stage to Biot won by Roglič, but all were on the same time so this momentary gap didn’t cost anything.

Schachmann was back on Roglič’s wheel for the big mountain top finish to La Colmiane. Gino Mäder was the lone breakaway survivor and with a chance of the stage win, but after everyone else was dropped Roglič launched one last time to shake off Schachi and got clear, rounded Mäder and took the stage win, his third so far. Some would have preferred if he could have let Mäder win, but this was no place for gifts with Roglič being hounded by Schachmann, who’d been right on his wheel and still seconds separating the main riders on GC with a tricky stage behind Nice still to come, rather. We don’t need hindsight to see Roglič couldn’t afford to play Santa either. Name a rider who has lost a stage race because they didn’t distance their rivals enough: Roglič. Name a rider who has seen stage races slip from him on the last day: Roglič. He’d be a tragic figure if it wasn’t for all the races he wins.

The final stage of Paris-Nice is never a victory parade. Ever since the Col d’Eze time trial was abolished it’s often the most difficult and spectacular day of the week. Still, the briefing on the Jumbo team bus wouldn’t have lasted long, a stage on the same roads as last summer’s Tour de France and within easy riding of several of the squad’s Monaco apartments presented few surprises and they needed to keep a lid on the race so that Schachmann and Astana didn’t take time; maybe letting a breakaway go to mop up the time bonuses would help. “Just keeping Primož safe to bring it home“.

Which brings us to the moment the race was lost. Or rather the moments, because like many disasters, it’s not one mishap but a chain of events. The first crash on the descent from Levens to Roquette – the same used in the Tour de France’s opening stage last year, the ice-rink stage – where he dislocated his shoulder and had his shorts shredded. Many would demand days off work following an accident like this, yet Roglič was back on the bike but, however quickly we see a rider remount, these incidents are never cost-free. Muscles ache, skin burns, adrenalin has burned up energy reserves, swelling starts and more. Then Roglič crashed again on the same descent the next time and jammed his chain. He got a replacement bike but had to chase and there was a barrage, where the convoy was being held back, leaving Roglič and his Jumbo-Visma teammates to close the gap. They’re strong, but lacked a big rouleur and the likes of Oomen, Kruijswijk and Bennett were spent quickly in the chase up the Vésubie valley, leaving Roglič alone to close the final gap of less than ten seconds. This was the point of maximum danger, where the final metres are often the hardest part of the gap to close, and meanwhile, Astana and Bora-Hansgrohe had riders on the front, so it was a lone rider in yellow versus a team trial.

Roglič never gave up though, climbing as fast as he could and prompting many double takes from dropped riders coasting up the last climb and upon reaching the finish, congratulated Schachmann on his win with a fist-bump when by all accounts he might have felt like something less gracious and would be entitled to vanish inside the team bus right away (he didn’t show up for the podium ceremony to collect the points jersey). Schachmann himself said he didn’t want to win this way but he did, and not just because Roglič crashed, but because someone else had to win and all throughout he was the second best rider. It’s a small consolation for last year’s winner on his way back after that accident in Bergamo that broke his collarbone.

The Verdict Not a vintage edition because the wind didn’t enliven the opening stages and once the race reached hillier terrain, the GC battle wasn’t much of a contest either. But like a restaurant that served up a surprise dessert, the memory might be of the final dish in the hills behind Nice. Primož Roglič looked to have the race sewn up with two stage wins and being the best-placed GC rider from the time trial, but all this just left him seconds ahead of his rivals and one crash was enough to topple him from the podium. He wasn’t alone: Richie Porte, Tao Geoghegan Hart and Brandon McNulty would also crash out of the race, and the absence of Ineos’s leaders allowed Jumbo-Visma to keep a grip on the race all week, but the final stage twist just adds to the lore of Paris-Nice.

Paris-Nice is often a small dress rehearsal for the Tour. Younger riders get a go and the youth competition showed strong rides by Vlasov, Lucas Hamilton, Jorgensen, McNulty and Paret-Peintre. It’s a tune up for next weekend’s Milan-Sanremo, too. But perhaps the long term effect will be on Jumbo-Visma; the team will give leadership to some of their other riders in upcoming stage races but last week’s racing suggests they’ll play it even safer in July.

The Moment Paris-Nice Was Won published first on https://motocrossnationweb.weebly.com/

[homesteadchronicles]

One Year, One World: Day #7 (Early World Geography)

We are officially one week into worldbuilding! That might not seem like much, but we have not been dawdling about with our new world. We have been diving in headfirst to ensure that our world thrives, even in its earliest stages. If you’ve kept consistent thus far, or even if you’ve done all of these prompts so far at once, congratulate yourself! Get yourself a cup of tea and a snack - you deserve to treat yo self. Learn to celebrate the small victories now, for plenty more obstacles, challenges, and successes await us.

Today’s Assignment: Determine the landscape of your world at it’s earliest stages.

Question Prompts: ↳ How was the world first divided, if at all? ↳ What general environments existed within this world? ↳ What major landmarks or geographical features existed then (that do or not still exist in the present)?

For all of my friends and followers who happen to be closet druids, surprise! This entire segment of worldbuilding will be right up your alley! But for anyone like myself out there who would literally rather die than even think of engaging in outdoor activities, this might be a struggle. Regardless of your passion, pace yourselves. There is a LOT to work through with geography, and not all of it needs to be done at once.

1. How was the world divided, if at all?

The first question to determine is whether your world started off divide or unified geographically. Some people subscribe to the theory that our present-day world was once one, a continent known as Pangaea. Did your world begin as one, or is still one giant continent?

If it is one unified continent, are there other geographical features besides oceans that divide the world, such as mountains or forests? Are there still diverse ecosystems within this world, and where does one environment blend into the other? Do they function in perfect isolation because of a magical force, or do the two environments naturally blend together in the transitionary stage between the two nations?

If the world is geographically divided, how many continents exist? How far of space lies between them? Were there forms of transportation to travel freely between continents at the beginning of time, or was everyone stuck where they spawned? What general ecosystems and environments exist in each continent (desert, tundra, rainforest, etc.)?

Regardless of geographical division, how is the world divided relationally? If humans rule this world, they are going to divvy up the land sooner or later because they need space to live and have a family! Did one human claim a continent and another a separate continent? Did two opposing groups of the first humans divide up the space of one continent and create kingdoms? Humans can cause geographical division just as much as nature can.

2. What general environments existed within this world?

Although this subject has been touched on here and there before, it’s important to dedicate time specifically to this topic. Now, before you go and give me the high and low temperatures of each during the second month of the fourth season of every other year in both Fahrenheit and Celsius, let me preface this by saying that today’s task is to generalize the environments. You don’t need to know specifics as of yet - we’ll get to that later - but it’s best to start brainstorming now so as to have a head start when hashing out the details later on. You’re painting broad strokes onto the canvas of your world. Leave the shading for later.

What do I mean by “environment”? I mean that we need to determine the overall physical atmosphere of each specific region. The most obvious factors in this process would be determining the climate, weather, animals, and plants that make up your region.

For climate, determine the general range of temperature. Do you live in the arctic or in a rainforest? For weather, consider the different types of weather patterns. Does it snow eternally in one region, or never in another? Does it rain for three months straight on one continent and then never again for the rest of the year? Make sure these weather patterns relate to the type of region - snow in the desert is rare, if not altogether impossible. For animals and plants, there’s no need to determine the specific species as of yet. Just think of what types of each thrive in what environment. Your brain will likely link together the fact that polar bears would survive in the tundra and not in the swamplands.

But all that sounds pretty boring, right? It’s so...cliche. It’s all been done before! This is where you can really have some fun with it. Your world is still essentially a clean slate. The rules of the world are flexible, malleable to your dreams. How can you put a twist on something commonplace?

Maybe your world starts out with one country being nothing but arid desert, when a spell gone wrong or the actions of a divine being cause it to freeze over forever! Or, conversely, maybe your winter wonderland experiences a draught that drowns the land in water and turns the once-gorgeous landscape into swamplands. Your present-day characters will only see one of these landscapes, but what you determine that area of the world started as can not only add some unique lore to their stories, but physically affect them in the future.

3. What major landmarks or geographical features existed then?

In Judeochristian lore, God made the Garden of Eden, which acted as the home of humanity throughout their first days on earth. Perhaps our new world does not have a headquarters, for instance, but perhaps there is a landmark where humanity was created! A beacon of light, a crater, or simply sacred ground with an inexplicable level of spiritual activity. As with before, keep in mind how this will be remembered (and/or manipulated) in future generations. 

Don’t think too deeply on this. Civilizations have not erected monuments of their own, and thus, the number of features would be limited. If all else fails, start at ground zero! Literally. Have a flat landscape. You’ll make all the flat earthers’ days.

#one year one world #worldbuilding #worldbuilding prompt #writing resources #writing tips #writing advice #writing help #writing inspiration #writing motivation #writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writing community #creative writing #artist #author #oyow

[isolaween]

Costumes Under the Spotlight! (Part 2)

At the stage, a lone figure clad in red stood up. It wasn’t hard noticing it after the host so kindly announced her presence like that. A bright smile stamped her face, just as flashy as her outfit. It might not show actual skin, as the original one would, but the one wearing it was proud of her confectionary abilities.

“Ummmm, what a big audience you’ve brought us tonight, Riiche~.” Maya spoke in a sultry tone. Not her usual by any means, but hey. What’s the fan of cosplaying if you don’t immerse yourself into your character either. “Pleased to meet you, humans, demons and all other species present here. I’m Gaap, one of the 72 Great Demons of Hell and your host for the costume contest tonight. Let’s see if any of those brave enough to face public scrutinization by their outfits have half of the capability a demon like me would have to pull them through, ufufufu~.” (Ummmm, I hope I don’t end up offending anyone by speaking like this…) “Now, before we start, let me explain how things will work. At the entrance, some of the Pokémon you met must have handed you a sheet containing several names and numbers, correct? Like this one.” She raises one such sheet up high and lets it be projected at the screen behind her. “If any of you missed this, just inform them and they shall complete their service adequately. Or so should they hope…” (I’m sorry, my babies!!) “This is the voting sheet. Each of you has the right to vote only once, and you must provide your name when voting to assure so. For each presented costume, you must rate them from 0 to 5, 5 being those you like the most. After you’ve rated all of them, you must submit your sheet into this box right here.” Maya shows a container decorated in a style similar to her dress. “You can submit your votes until exactly midnight. After that, we’ll take the time to count them, so that we can announce the grand winner at the end. Don’t you dare to fall asleep until then!” She knocks the floor with her heels, making quite the impact. “The winner shall be granted the biggest gift a mortal could ever wish for: a witch’s wish! Ufufu, I wonder what sort of twisted desires your dark hearts are hoping to be granted tonight. I hope you have the clothes to match them!!”

The crowd salutes the ‘demon’, who gives it time to do so. Once they’re done, she looks at the voting sheet once again. “But enough of this. Let’s get to the truly hot and exciting part of the formalities. DJ!” She snaps her fingers loudly. “You know the drill. Let’s show off… our daring contestants!” The spotlights began to dance, chasing among the crowd those that 'Gaap’ announced. Their visage would be displayed for everyone to see, for that’s what a costume contest is all about: image!

“Our first contestant is actually one of the many artists that will grace our night with their talent. A not very traditional vampire look, huh? Hopefully that won’t offend the sensibilities of the actual vampires in our audience, ummm~. With you, GAKUPO KAMUI (@utatteru)!!!”

(Art by Gakupo-mun)

“Next we have… aaaaaw, how sweet! Children can be very considerate and willing to impress their friends, no? And in a place like Hive City, such homages make perfect motifs for Halloween. Dressed as an alien friend, we have STEVEN UNIVERSE (@firstgemboy)!!!”

(Art by @/skidar)

“Following that, we have what seems to be a doctor. Also a remark about it being the worst father in the world, although I can’t confirm that without evidence. And antimatter arms? Sheesh, I’m a demon, not a scientist! Don’t ask me to dwell on science. Anyhow, here is PHI (@radicalroot)!!!”

(Art by Phi-mun)

“Hooo, looks like we have some sort of witch for our next candidate! Wonder if she has a Lady title like Lady Beatrice over there. Lambdadelta is her name? Hah, it’d be pretty amusing if she were in our audience. In the meantime, let’s salute SAYU YAMAMOTO (@macabreexeunt)!!!

(Art by Sayu-mun)

“Gosh, a magician’s outfit? Aaaaah, Trucy would love seeing this! …I mean, *cough* Quite impressive for a human seeking to become equal to a witch in power. Let’s see if you can enchant your way to victory, huh? Hope you all enjoy… I’m not reading this whole name out loud, so MAGILOU (@thewitchmagilou)!!!”

(Official art)

“A god eater? Heh, can’t imagine a cute one like you going out devouring almighty beings like that, but then again this city is known from breaking deceitful perceptions like that. Just be careful with that prop, alright? May you all admire the craft of EDNA (@normincarenaqueen)!!!”

(Official art)

“One more of tonight’s idols this time and what a style! Vampire Gakupo should keep an eye behind his ear, for you never know when this gruff vampire hunter will put a stake on his heart. Oh? Is it supposed to be a clean cut anime version of this? Well, you know what you want. EICHI TENSHOUIN, everybody (@10showin)!!!”

(Offical photo)

“Now we have the first half of another matching duo, once again by idols. There’re sure a lot of you in this contest, I must say. An ‘steampunk doll’ is not something you see everyday, so points for creativity there. Hope you like the hard work of MIKA KAGEHIRA (@smilingidoll)!!!”

(Official art)

“And here’s the second half! I must say, people who like one will probably like the other. Unless the butterfly wing ends up being a make it or break it deal for them, which might help with the untie process. I’m certainly curious to see the results~. Before you all, SHU ITSUKI (@raisanutau)!!!”

(Official art)

“I must say that I’m surprised that no women have brought princess costumes so far. To think that our first one of that cathegory would be from a boy. He sure brings forth all the qualities fit for one, however, so perhaps they just saw that they didn’t stand a chance! Please make space for Your Highness RIKU NANASE (@idolish7center)!!!”

(Official art)

“Next - hoh, what an interesting style. Steven Stone is a rather familiar name. It reminds me of a character from a Pokémon game i’ve played, Roland Rock. Hope you have the hardness of a rock to stand this challenge, boy! All salute KNIGHT UNRYUUJI (@cloudwhiteknight)!!!”

(Edit of official art)

“Another vampire, although I must say the dragon friend is an interesting touch. Such a shame that you didn’t come as a cowboy, vampire, though! Even more so that your friend there didn’t submit their costume themself, for we don’t accept two people for the same submission. Hope you’ll enjoy the work of TASUKU RYUUENJI (@tasukusenpai)!!!”

(Official art)

“Now this one should be familiar to everyone. An idol that has stolen everyone’s hearts throughout the past 10 years, with a mix of appeal and talent never seen before. Her choice for the contest is an outfit that I’ll admit not to know, but I’m sure some of you do. One that needs no further introduction, MIKU HATSUNE (@cv01android)!!!”

(Art by Sour暄)

“Wow, now THIS guy understands about fashion! I completely agree with you, my fellow fashionista, anything is worth having this demonic glamour. If someone is fashionable, I’d be able to go through all sorts of crazy adventures with them… but only if they’re hot!! Here is the Pumpkin Witch, KING KNIGHT (@gildedusurper) !!!”

(Art by KK-mun)

“The next contestant has a… much more natural look, I could say. And even considerate enough to add flowers for a better smell? If I didn’t know better, I’d have long thrown a pokéball at you, my darling, ahahaha! Ah, but I jest. Each individual in this city has different skill levels that should be respected. And hopefully admired! Please admire ORI (@saviourofnibel) !!!”

(Art by Ori-mun)

“Hoo, what a beautifully stylish outfit this is! A simple enough design that showcases its true splendor in the form of cobweb patterns under the spotlight. Just like a true circus artist! And complimenting web gloves, how interesting. It’s truly wonderful seeing people use their natural talents the most like this. Ladies and gentlemen, applauses for MUFFET (@actuallymuffet) !!!”

(Art by Mumpkins (Deviantart))

“My my, this one is pretty creative, I must say! Using your own body as a prop is not something most people would be comfortable with, but you seem to have pulled it off with a T! And that modern internet aesthetic will sure gain you a couple points from the meme loving citizens, ahahaha!! Anyway, here is STAR PLATINUM (@wildberryoras) !!!”

[Aside from pixelated plastic he fashioned to look like a censor bar covering his eyes, all he’s wearing is two pepsi logos covering his unmentionables both in back and front. It’s the three piece cardboard display he constructed that are the main attraction. One side sits upon the floor while the others act as walls, a window into the world he pained into it. Neon pink and black checkerboard tile stretch into the turquoise horizon. The landscape lay nearly barren except for an oasis not far away. At the edge of a pool sit palm trees, VHS tapes propped against a pedestal, on which sits a television. Vaporwave is playing on it thanks to a phone acting as the screen, tapped there from behind. Star Platinum takes position on the display and poses like classical sculpture to tie it all together.]

(Description by SP-mun)

“…….Are you kidding me? Look, there’re ways to make use of memetic aesthetics and this is not really… *sigh*. Please, you’re a skeleton. You could have probably done a better job just by submitting yourself! Ahhh, but I digress. Everybody, enjoy the trumpet tunes of W.D. GASTER (@scirephysica) !!!”

(Edit by Gaster-mun)

“Ah, finally a werewolf! I was starting to think that the vampire lore would dominate tonight’s contest without any sort of opposition. I’m glad to see I was wrong. Especially a pastel colored one, you never see those in media. Definitely an original twist to the concept! Hope you’ll all howl for SUNNY OF THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS (@hairbeat) !!!”

(Art by Sunny-mun)

“Ah, what a fancy design this one has. That top hat of yours is your signature, isn’t it? I must say, it gives you a very gentlemanly air. I’ve once met a man who too wore a top hat all the time, and he was the most gentlemanly person I’ve ever met in my long life. But remember - a noble design means nothing if you can’t act the part! I present to you, DIO (@dioleft) !!!”

(Image source)

“And now an alien! Ahhh, what a futuristic looking dress! And those green bobbies on your head are quite charming (although I wonder why they aren’t silver to match the rest of the attire). Also really liked the makeup trick on your eyes - gives them that creepy grey alien feel for sure~. Hope you’ll all be abduted by the charms of MARCELINE ABADEER (@buryyouinmysounds) !!!”

(Image source)

“My my, another vampire? I might have anticipated myself in supposing that the werewolves stood any chance this year. A pretty traditional design this time - the paper teeth are a cute touch, though. Maybe we could say that you’re the Iron Mask Vampire! But I digress. I’m sure you shall be a respectable guest, darling. Please be kind with DRIFTER (@hyper-light) !!!”

(Image source)

“Would you look at this one! Representation for the other ways to celebrate Fall! Yes, for Halloween is but one of the many celebrations around the world this time of the year. I wonder how a Dia de los Muertos would go in Hive City, hmmmm… In any case, let’s all enjoy some sugar skulls with SOMBRA (@transl0cating) !!!”

(Official art)

“Ohhhh, a Frankenstein’s monster! Oh, I-I mean, Junkenstein’s monster. Forgive me for the confusion, miss. I can definitely approve of seeing more muscular women getting into the fun of costume making. It’s no fun if women are reduced to just being super thin and short demure mannequins, am I wrong? Hope you won’t get zapped by ALEKSANDRA ZARYANOVA (@itsonlygame) !!!”

(Art by @/kakimari (twitter))

“Now comes a bunch of matching outfits! First, a couple of cops, ready to arrest anyone disturbing the enjoyment of our citizens here present. Although I must admit, the first one’s design doesn’t really suggest me ‘cop’ that much besides the handcuffs. You sure you didn’t mix up with your roleplay costume~? Hope you enjoy the energy of CROW (@crimsongaze)​ !!!”

(Official art)

“Now the other half of this cop duo! …Oh, it’s you. I must admit, Halloween is indeed the time of the year most fit for one immersed in fantasies and acting plays. Wonder if that makes you the ‘good cop’ to your partner’s ‘bad cop’. Who knows, you might actually obtain a real ‘legend’ this time! Keep your eyes open for YAIBA (@legendoftongueflame) !!!”

(Official art)

“Now, a couple of vampires! The first one isn’t the tradiotional you’d see in old books, however. He seems to have gone with the more modern depiction of them as sexy boyfriends that’s become quite popularized in YA books the past few years. Will that exposed skin of yours sparkle, I wonder~? May the audience swoon with the charm of TITAN (@unichord) !!!”

(Official art)

“Our second vampire in this duo is more akin to the old times fashion, I see. Hah, I can already envision how this story would go. An old vampire finds an attractive young man and turns him into one of his kind to appease his encroaching loneliness that immortality brings. C’mon, it’d sell like bread! In any case, hope you’re as popular as my story would be, ORION (@aurochial) !!!”

(Official art)

“Ah, another freak of science! This time, we face the terror of eeeevil cyborgs, whose only goal in mind is subjugating all organic life to their master’s whims. I must say, I’m truuuuly terrified! That aside, I must say that this costume’s handcrafting is of top quality! I surely hope that it’ll be well seen by our guests. Hope you can survive the onslaught of MILES PROWER (@milesabovemobius) !!!”

(Official art)

“Hoo, I must say that I was quite excited when I saw the name of this costume. And also a bit afraid that our hosts wouldn’t allow it as per the rules, but it seems like we can keep the PG rating. I wonder if this is what a human/dragon hybrid is supposed to look like in YA novels. Ah, I know! I’ll include you in the story I mentioned earlier! With you, TRAVIS TOUCHDOWN (@suplex51) !!!”

[The Sexy Dragon is an Ibuki Mioda original that gives off an aura of sensual power. A “tough-love look,” you could call it.

The top is a sleeveless leather jacket, covered in brilliant green scales. The collar has been torn away, forcing the wearer to show off their collarbones to the world. Jutting down the wearer’s shoulders and spine are a set of dorsal fins, small enough to not be cumbersome while still large enough to give a sort of badass kaiju vibe.

The jean pants share the green color scheme, only with an added layer of crimson red felt underneath. Multiple lacerations to the green ‘skin’ reveal that 'muscle’ layer, which comes to look like the scars of a battle-hardened warrior.]

(Description by Travis-mun)

“Now we have a classical hero to protect us all from the beasts that here stood so far! I must say, you remind me of a certain protagonist from a videogame series that I’ve been playing recently - The Myth of Zolde, ever heard of that one? I’d highly recommend it to the audience! *Coughs* B-But I digress. Beware, evildoers, for you’ll feel the power of BAYONETTA (@txmmxrxwismine) !!!”

(Official art)

“Awwww, this one is totes adorbs, uhum~! I understand that you were forced to participate, darling, but I’d say that the chance of getting a wish for yourself is definitely worth the risk of social embarrassment. Plus, you really think you’re any worse than anyone else here? Trust me, you’ll survive this sting. Wonder if you shall be clawed by the hands - or should I saw mittens - of SASUKE UCHIHA (@tiredsasukeboy) !!!”

(Art by Sasuke-mun)

“Finally, our last contestant! Going for a style derived from tabletop RPGs, how interesting! It’s certainly a shame when we can’t obtain that one needed prop we wanted to encompass our perfect vision, but don’t worry. I’m sure that your design will be appreciated by all present anyway. Very well, let’s clap the hard work of PHILLIP DOWD (@tiireur) !!!”

(Art by Phillip-mun)

“This should conclude the opening. Now, go. Enjoy this witch party to your heart’s content! We shall meet again at the end of it all…” Once Maya said that, the curtains close, indicating the end of festivities’ opening. Have a nice evening, citizens.

#cittaween2k17 #citta news #ca news #(sorry can't @ you miku-mun #in any case voting is now open! #we'll accept forms until the 9th so pls don't miss it #may you all have a great time during cittaween!)

[capntholaf]

The Sexy Brutale

Steam’s goofing out on me, so I’m saving my review of The Sexy Brutale here for now.

NOTE: This is a sale game, for sure. For reasons I'll go into below, I really can't justify the full £15 price tag, but it is absolutely worth playing and supporting otherwise.

The Sexy Brutale is a cunning murder mystery wrapped in cabaret drapings, set in an elegant casino mansion that positively oozes with style and decedance. You play a silent priest, Lafcadio Boone, who sees his friends and fellow guests murdered in macabre and beautiful fashion, and must then make use of Majora's Mask style time looping to prevent these grizzly crimes.

Myself, and many others I'm sure, were drawn to The Sexy Brutale by its aesthetic. Like any house of vice and splendor should be, The Sexy Brutale boasts a gorgeous art style filled with warped paintings, haunting statues, and a colourful menagerie of fun characters. The graphical fidelity is pretty tame, which isn't an issue since the excellent art style carries the visual factor excellently on its own. The music is similarily fantastic, with some great jazzy swing tunes throughout the mansion, and some tracks even boast alluring and weirdly haunting vocals to boot. It's a shame then that the rest of the game's sound design is so lacking. Environmental sounds don't really have the satisfying effect the rest of the game's atmosphere deserves, and footsteps (as well as a few other noises) are obnxiously loud. Cranking the music volume up to full helps alleviate this, but it doesn't change the fact that so many of these wonderfully orchestrated death traps are punctuated with what seem to be bog standard stock sound effects from shoddy radio dramas.

This, unfortunately isn't the only area where the game falls flat. I went in expecting devious puzzles and machinations to match the game's glorious set dressing, but was sorely dissapointed by what I ended up with. To put it bluntly, the game is painfully easy. Each of the guests is killed in a shocking and gruesome manner, ways that leave you expecting a Rube Goldberg machine level of complexity behind what leads to the deed itself. Instead, it seems the staff of The Sexy Brutale couldn't manage anything beyond moving an object to a different room, or flicking a switch; seriously, I solved a lot of these puzzles by complete accident. You shadow guests until the moment of their demise, then restart the day and throw an obvious spanner in the works, and its never a satisfying solution. The first puzzle after the tutorial is a prime example. [spoiler] You follow a woman until she dies, picking up the password for the room she's skilled in as you go. To save her you... turn on CCTV camera in the room so that her husband will see, and run off to save her. It never gets more complex than that/ [/spoiler] Puzzles lack any twist or change in mechanics to dupe you, or make you think twice about what you're doing. You do unlock more 'Mask Powers' by saving the guests, but they feel criminally underused and many aren't particularily inventive ([spoiler] one litterally allows you to save the game, whilst another just gives you lore info on the rooms [/spoiler]).The gameplay as a whole is just underwhelming.

It isn't just the puzzles either, getting around the mansion itself is nothing more than a chore. The layout is confusing, and filled with seemingly random contrivances that stop you from easily navigating the place; on several occasions I had to spend a frustrating amount of time backtracking and following long, linear paths to get back to an area, constantly being met with roadblocks. You're left feeling frustrated and bored, rather than the feeling of accomplishment you'd get by finding shortcuts with the mask powers you unlock along the way. Add to this the fact that the game has a tendancy to glitch out and freeze for a few seconds whenever you enter a door (which is A LOT) and the whole experience is soured. The game has so many opportunities to give the player better ways to navigate, but all these tricks are missed. I wouldn't be surprised if this was to pad out the playtime, which was only around 6 hours for me. Short playtimes aren't a bad thing, but the content has to make up for it, which it simply doesn't here. There are a bunch of collectables to find which do unlock a few more secrects and background lore, but for me, the gameplay wasn't attractive enough to merit searching for them instead of just googling the info. Don't expect a fun treasure hunt to enhance the gameplay either; these collectables are mostly just found in the environment, which basically equates to examining everything you can as you go.

It's tragic that the gamplay is such a letdown, because as I've said, the presentation is terrific; what makes it worse is that the story buried beneath it all is equally wonderful. The Sexy Brutale keeps you hooked through the turgid gameplay with its mystery and allure. Who's behind this devious plot? Who is the mysterious blood-soaked woman who urges you to proceed? What is the source of the supernatural and magical elements at play in this glamorous casino mansion? Unlike the puzzles, all of these questions have satisfying conclusions, and the final stages of the game's plot are genuinely thrilling, and even emotional. Sadly this doesn'y permeate through the rest of the game. Though wonderfully designed, the guests and staff of The Sexy Brutale are rather flat and unmemorable, with most of their actual character seeming to be locked in a game's lore 'brochure'. You do get some fun conversations between the guests, but it's too little too late. By the time you've moved on to the next guest in need of saving, the previous ones are already forgotton. You can still hear their scheduled deaths from anywhere in the mansion as you progress, but you'd be hard-pressed to actually care, which is a frightful shame and another of the game's missed opportunities. Again, this is doubly tragic because of how well the game wraps up, and it pains me to think how much more emotional it could have been if the guests were given more time to flourish. As great as the final act is, it also comes a bit out of nowhere. The game was over before I knew it, and it feels like there should have been more hints seeded throughout the game to really let the player explore the mystery for themselves. It's still a great story with some good thematics, but that story seems to be absent for most of the game.

To summarise, The Sexy Brutal is a game that desperately needed another good few months, if not a year of extra development. The game constantly teases you each time you restart the clock, 'Saturday', but Sunday never comes. It makes me wonder if the game was cut short in production? A few more days to explore would have allowed players to become much more attached to and familiar with the characters and mansion, allowed for more difficult puzzles to present themselves as the game progressed, and would have given ample opportunity for some more clues to the final act to be hidden around the mansion. Instead, this feels like the proof of concept for a larger, more satisfying work. And if that game is ever released, you can sign me right up, and thats why I still feel happy to recommend the game, but only at a sale price. It's a game full of charm, flair, and intruige, all dolled up with sultry penache, but one that leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to substance. Quite fittingly for its decadent setting, it's very much the gaming equivilent to a one night stand. You'll enjoy youself and might even revisit it one day, but it's not one you'll be falling for; that said, I'll be spending a while pondering what might have been. If only...

P.S. If you finish the game, I can't recommend Steam user Skirlasvoud's breakdown and analysis of the plot enough, fantastic stuff. Don't read until you've finished though, because there are of course HEAVY spoilers, and the plot itself is certainly worth experiencing. https://steamcommunity.com/app/552590/discussions/0/135514402720983757/

#The Sexy Brutale #steam #game #puzzle #mystery #cabaret #Tequila Works #Cavalier Game Studios

[operationrainfall]

Title Katana ZERO Developer Askiisoft Publisher Devolver Digital Release Date April 17th, 2019 Genre Action platformer Platform Nintendo Switch Age Rating M for Mature 17+ – Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Violence Official Website

It took all of my significant willpower not to litter this review of Katana ZERO with story spoilers. The game was so brooding, engaging and mysterious that I wanted to lay it all on the table and psychoanalyze every juicy detail. But for the sake of those who have yet to play this indie gem, I decided to hold myself back as much as humanly possible. Going into the game, all I really expected was a flashy and violent game, but instead Askiisoft (the team behind Tower of Heaven and OverPowered) brought their A effort. This is a dark, edgy and mysterious game, and one I’m happy I had the chance to cover. To see why I feel that way, just keep on reading.

After watching the Nintendo Direct trailer for Katana ZERO, all I really expected was an uber-violent action game. I would have been perfectly fine with that. But what I never could have deduced was how much lore sets the stage for the story. Sure, the violence is there and it’s a lot of fun, but that’s almost just the window dressing. The lasting appeal of this game is the unique story, and the way it is told. You play a silent assassin who lives in New Mecca whom the public knows as The Dragon. Your past is something of a blur, but you have a medal of honor from a bloody war that occurred a few years back. You’re given mission dossiers by a dour therapist who checks your state of mind after missions, and also gives you a handy booster shot. If that all sounds a little sketchy, that’s good. Cause this is a game that constantly made me doubt the trustworthiness of the narrators and characters. It also quickly becomes a game where you can’t even trust your own eyes, as reality becomes twisted and time itself seems to turn against you.

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Speaking of time, that brings us to the game’s unique combat twist. For reasons I won’t get into, your character is able to manipulate time. This is not only handy, it’s necessary for survival, since one hit and you’re toast. Thanks to your time manipulation, you can literally rewind the clock when you die, and you’ll die a lot. More useful is how you can slow things down to an utter crawl. While that does give you a distinct advantage, it’s not an unfair one. For one thing, you also go slower when using this skill. For another, you don’t get any real protection, and if a slow moving bullet hits you, you’ll die all the same. Oh and you have a meter that controls how long you can slow time, and once it’s depleted, it takes a while to cool down until you can use it again. In other words, the time control is a wonderful mechanic, but it is one that forces you to use it sparingly and think strategically. In fact, the entire game encourages careful consideration. Even though it’s full of combat, each room you enter is like a miniature puzzle, and it’s up to you to solve it while ensuring your survival.

I’m more than a little pleased with myself that I managed to take this screenshot.

Having said all that, keep in mind you still have a ton of freedom in how you go about executing your enemies. There’s no wrong way, so if you prefer going full kamikaze, you’re welcome to. If you are more of a stealthy ninja type, that works too. I personally preferred the more violent style, and rarely did much sneaking. Just be flexible, cause the enemies you face are smart and pay attention, and if you alert one of them, they’ll usually bring friends to investigate. But on the plus side, they’re just as fragile as you are, and connecting once with your katana blade will do them in. Thankfully, that’s not the only tool you have at your disposal. You’ll find a variety of them as you prowl each area, and they also do a great job of killing things. Better yet, many items can be thrown at foes, which opens up even more opportunities. Items will range from blunt instruments, like daggers and statue busts, to smoke grenades and much more. Just keep in mind these items are all single use, so you’ll need to get adept at using your trusty katana.

Bet you didn’t know that being an assassin requires good mental health.

My favorite thing about the katana is how fluid and effortless it makes combat. Though you can’t throw it, it has a pretty good range, and you’re able to use it while dodging. Even better is how you can slash upwards and diagonally, and you’ll get a little bit of an aerial lift. You’re like a murderous dolphin, and have a great economy of movement. I took great joy in waiting in stairwells for thugs to patrol, leaping into the air sword-first and dispatching them. But perhaps coolest of all is how your katana can deflect bullets. Yes, you heard that right. It takes precise timing, but by freezing time just after a foe shoots a bullet, you’ll have ample time to swing and deflect it back at them. I took a while before I got good at this technique, but once I did, the combat really opened up. But before you get too cocky, understand that you can only realistically deflect two bullets before your time manipulation meter runs out, and you have almost no chance of deflecting a shotgun blast (though I did miraculously manage to do that once).

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Besides the glorious combat, there’s also a shocking amount of story. There are recurring themes about substance abuse, the horrors of war, and the resilience of humanity. I was deeply surprised by the extent of branching paths in Katana ZERO. The game will remember your conversation responses and will react accordingly. Case in point, when I snuck into a building to murder my mark, the receptionist asked why I was dressed so strangely. I picked the most hilarious option, which was that I was cosplaying as “Pinkachu”. I met that same receptionist more than once, and her belief that I was a Pokémon cosplayer not only led to humorous results, it even let me avoid some trigger happy police. Depending on your dialogue decisions, you’ll also reveal little glimpses of the plot, and open up more options. It’s really satisfying, least of all because the writing for the game is really, really good. I didn’t find any grammatical problems at all in the dense script, and that made me enjoy the experience even more. When you toss a really quirky cast of characters into the mix, you have the makings of something special.

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It would have been enough if everything I said thus far was the extent of it, but the excellence found in the other areas also applies to the visual side of things. Even if you don’t love pixel art, you’d be hard pressed not to find wonder in Katana ZERO. There’s a ton of bloody detail, neon-drenched lighting and wonderful character design. Normally I’d find something negative to say about the sound design, but that impressed me too. I love how they alternate between classical music in the calm moments and hard-rocking club music for the combat sections. The sound effects add to this as well, with the screams of foes, the gush of arterial spray and other elements that add to the grungy noir atmosphere of the game.

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Now, while I loved almost every aspect of Katana ZERO, there were a couple small areas it faltered. One is that, wonderful as the story is, it was a bit hard to decipher at times. For one, I can’t say with certainty I understand the backstory for the main character, nor the motivations of others. That didn’t make things any less enjoyable, but I also have a fuller appreciation of things I fully understand. Also, though the autosave feature worked most of the time, there was one time that it didn’t, and forced me to replay one chapter. Lastly, though the game is a lot of fun, it’s also very short. I couldn’t have spent more than 4-5 hours playing it, and though there is a bit of replay value if you want to choose different branching paths and try for different endings, I still wish I was able to spend more time in this world.

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Having said all that, it’s impossible for me not to recommend Katana ZERO. Not only is it a great game, it’s a perfect example of why I have such faith in indies. For $14.99, you get a fantastic and unique action platformer with some of the most phenomenal boss fights I’ve ever experienced. Sure, it could be longer and the plot could make more sense, but it’s still a wild and satisfying ride. And when you factor in how one ending hints at a sequel, it’s very possible my minor complaints could be cleared up in the near future. I’m really happy Askiisoft and Devolver Digital brought this gem to Switch, and I can’t wait to see the next game they have up their voluminous sleeves.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″]

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

REVIEW: Katana ZERO Title Katana ZERO

#Askiisoft #Devolver Digital #katana ZERO #mysterious #nintendo switch #oprainfall #Review #violent