#Esther The Wonder Pig

[tilbageidanmark]

What's for dinner

[thesiouxzy]

💔💗🧁🐷🦃💗

[mutant-distraction]

Esther the Wonder Pig

[zeondraws]

Definetely noticed how much I am learning about the game through trial and error. Some details I just don't notice, until a certain moment where it clicks in my head.

Earlier this morning I rewatched the videos from the developers and noticed they did show closeups of a few crew members, including Muir and I was like- Wait, that's him!

I remember watching that video before, but not quite understanding who these characters were, or maybe the way they got rendered threw me off.

Seeing how much I am learning here makes me wonder, how come I don't do the same with other topics? There is so much I could learn, if I had the motivation or the drive. It's hard on some days.

Either way, I feel like making a small post for myself with various links/image references. At one point I have to make a mega post to link each of my research posts, so that it's easier to pinpoint.

Here are some face closeups of a few crew members

Innes (I am sorry everyone it looks like he's half bald)*

Gibbo - Gibson

Muir

Brodie, Edit: I think the two images are actually Dobbie? But I'll check up on this in the future again

O'Conner (This one was a bit hard to identify, but some folk on discord helped me)

Roper

Video Source:

*In the Cantines I noticed another person that looks similar to the model, that I linked to Innes. Tho that person wears a red suit, while Innes wears blue. Tho I still think the above pictures fit for Innes, we never get to see him without his hat. So it's hard to say for me.

Helpful Link for the Achievements (scroll down for a List of Achievement Timestamps):

(I still need 3 of them)

Ripped 3D Models on Sketchfab (You need an account to view Muir, Addair, Trots and Rennick):

What I also did was looking through reddit to find tiny pieces of information here and there. I am not sure how deep I want to dive in for this game, considering it's quite time consuming to check small details (replaying the entire game again each time). But here are two Screenshots I grabbed from TheChineseRoom's comments on Reddit.

And of course their Youtube Channel has a bunch of Videos about Behind the Scenes. Quite interesting listening through them. Helps me to get a small glimpse into the Industry and how things work.

I think I have rambled for long enough, I gotta tidy up XD Been posting so much about this game, hope it doesn't get annoying.

Either way, if anyone has something else to add to this, feel free to tell me.

[nerianasims]

Is Esther McVey actually somehow worse than Suella Braverman? She certainly doesn't seem any better. And her job will be to "tackle the scourge of wokery"? It also looks like she's an anti-vaxxer, so that's great.

It appears that the least-bad Tory whom Sunak appointed in this latest reshuffle fucked a dead pig and accidentally started Brexit. Wonderful. Sunak's main trait is corruption, but I am failing to see how this complete mess is going to line his pockets and those of his buddies. The incompetence is breathtaking.

[marsbars9]

Intro post ig

Hi I’m mars bars I’m a pansexual Australian minor who has verbal and motor tics. I really love pigs, heartstopper and red white and royal blue my favourite of those is definitely pigs. I really like music and play bass. My idol is Esther the wonder pig.

Do not interact if you are weird towards minors, a bigot or don’t believe in tics.

[werehamburglar]

Hello hello! Just stopping by to hear a little about whichever WIP(s) you want to share about! What do you hope readers pick up on from your WIP? What do you hope is their favorite aspect of it?

Since a lot of what I'm working on is dependent on things that came before, I'm hoping that people pick up on the smaller threads running between them and consistent little character beats and references.

For example, I'm running a Lake Wonder game called Slime Time that takes place from March 11th, 2023 and has currently stretched on in-canon to the 15th or 16th of that month while the Seltzie Boys deal with a thawing UFO and Ernest's dad hitting him with a car. This takes place simultaneously to PP2, which starts the night before with Tiff and Denny (and Andy, secretly) setting out for Pine Valley. In one of Tiff's early chapters, I drop this line:

[Ivan Cunningham], admittedly, was acting kind of odd when she saw him earlier today, like he wasn’t quite himself.

This is a reference to something the Seltzie Boys found out when they set off the sprinklers at the high school: Ivan Cunningham has been replaced by a goo version of himself. So, it's mostly things like that-- little nods to other events that happened, be it by direct knowledge or some in-character speculation.

Other times, the big thing is repeated phrases and motifs leaking from character to character. Tiff repeating "the only way out is through" comes back up from its Unholy Water days to both her and Denny, especially because Denny gives it as advice later on; but it also mixes with a sentiment from Esther that's evolved from a point in Tiff's worldview, that being:

This is, of course, inherently linked to this same sentiment but in a different form. Between the two of them, it's "Things are going to work out because they have to (I do not have another choice)" versus "things are going to work because we're going to make them work," and these bleed in and out of each other.

Plus, I have little points of imagery and description I put in to signal other things. Like, each character has certain imagery I put in over and over again. For Tiff, it's conspiracy boards, things that inexplicably glow, and stars; Bloodsaw is steam, stigmata, dirt in your mouth; Kay has bone thorns, bats, and (even pre-parasite) a description of "something gnawing" in her stomach; Duckie has her pigs, clowns, and fucked-up senses; Cory constantly refers to music (both pop culture reference and comparison to instruments); and Denny has a recurring line of "teeth suddenly too sharp" (and feeling her heart in her teeth) and references to protective roles. So, when they're having moments that are supposed to ring with the bells of someone else, I'll intentionally pull in imagery from said person in the hopes of invoking them on a subtextual level.

For example, when Denny is standing out on the back porch in PP2 after Tiff takes on the parasite and things go incredibly wrong (to the point of, gasp, characters being vulnerable), we get a couple references to stargazing and we get this moment:

This is something we get at the same time that we're invoking Kay motifs for Tiff because of the decision she made-- not hungering for normal food, stepping out into the snow, and the concept of eating in general. Like, I pulled it in intentionally-- this lack of appetite that suddenly sparks back into being the moment you're faced with something you shouldn't be eating (like, say, a dead clown. Or an uncooked rabbit. Or a decomposing deer).

Honestly, like-- the fact that Kay really doesn't like meat is another little peppered-in thing and I'm not sure how obvious it is, since we haven't spent much time with her. It isn't as present as, say, Tiff's sleep issues or Denny's extensive CD collection.

(Honorable mention is the deer scene in PP2 being a reference to Blowfly Girl. I've got an absolute fascination with that deer story.)

[thesiouxzy]

Esther the Wonder Pig has passed 🙁 She was quite a gal! Coincidentally, a photo of me reading her book to B showed up in my TimeHop yesterday

Esther’s story is very inspirational. Please think before you eat. Leave animals off your plate, especially pigs. They are extremely sensitive & intelligent beings (proven to be more so than dogs, which says a lot!)

Rest in peace, sweet Esther. You & Corno are together again 💗🐷🦃💗

🐽 Here’s a Ted Talk Esther’s dads did a few years ago. It shares her story 💗🧁🐷💗

Here’s a link if you’d like to learn more about Esther The Wonder Pig 💗🐷💗

Esther made me see pigs in a very special light. She is the reason I like to spend time with the residents at Central Texas Pig Rescue 💗🐷💗

[troger]

her insta lives on 💚

[sylvidoptera]

When the Transformation happened, the world went crazy.

Once it was figured out exactly what happened - though no one understood how or why - the minority of people who still had human form had been seen as dangerous and to be destroyed. No one knew what the actual death toll ended up being, but it was high. It turns out that scared, angry humans turned into large animals can do a lot of damage; even roots and vines can be dangerous when wielded in fear.

Her mother was very quiet now. Of course, she'd always been quiet... but the fact that she was now creeping along on vines and seeking out sun for her green, dimpled body was new. Cucumbers essentially had little to no calories and her mother had used them to ease the hunger pangs brought on by constant dieting to win her husband's approval and affection.

Esther hadn't been surprised a bit when her father turned into a grunting pig. Before the change, he'd been a rutting animal for the majority of his life anyway so she just thought he'd been punished by God. Apparently it helped that his favorite Sunday meal was a heaping pile of spare ribs.

Her parents were big on God's Punishments for Sinners. Though she knew they never expected themselves to be on the receiving end.

Looking at the gloves on her hands to protect her fingers, she set out to dutifully care for her charges. God's punishment had either skipped her or the chewing she'd been doing on her fingers for as long as she could remember counted as ingesting the flesh of an animal.

With a slightly twisted smile, she wondered what her parents would say about her pica now... if they could form words. Out in the cities, she knew that strides were being made by the few humans left in the world to try to make word boards and specialized computer interfaces so their changed friends and family could communicate clearly again. But here on the farm, where she had spent so long isolated as a freak and being told she was a demon for wanting to ingest her own skin, no such thing was forthcoming.

Esther hoped they never made it this far out. Or at least, if they did, it would be after her parents passed on. She had no desire to hear anything else they had to say to her. It was enough for her to know that they resented the fact that she still had hands and words and was a rare commodity in this new world - one valued for the things her chewed up fingers could manage that hooves and vines could not.

Suddenly, all humans become the last creature or plant they ate. The majority of humans are now sentient lettuce heads or beans, or anthropomorphic chickens and cows. But what concerns everyone most are the people who are still human…

[melorasmushrooms]

God I love being a teacher, specifically an arts teacher because I will give you the most goddamn enthusiastic and dramatic reading of Esther the Wonder Pig you ever did see

[jcmarchi]

Still Wakes the Deep Review - I Sea Dead People - Game Informer

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/still-wakes-the-deep-review-i-sea-dead-people-game-informer/

Still Wakes the Deep Review - I Sea Dead People - Game Informer

There’s something quite special about Still Wakes the Deep. A horror game, quintessentially Scottish through and through, with an atmosphere so tense you could hear your heart pounding as you explore areas, has the right ingredients to make for a memorable experience. Additionally, it’s made by The Chinese Room, the studio behind multi-awarded titles such as Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. And yet despite these advantages, it still falters when it comes to the fundamental facets.

Still Wakes the Deeps puts you in the shoes of Cameron “Caz” McLeary, an engineer working aboard the Beira D oil rig, which is located somewhere in the North Sea. Caz, who’s having domestic troubles, will soon experience much worse, as what was initially thought of as a machinery malfunction leads to something darker and deadlier. His fellow workers all know that something has gone wrong, but when you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, you don’t really know if help will ever arrive. What follows is a tightly woven, dread-inducing romp where you’re not entirely sure if anyone will survive the night. Think of it as The Thing meets Amazon’s The Rig – just replace the glowing spore pods with actual monsters, and you’re on the right track.

Right from the onset, Still Wakes the Deep immerses you in its setting thanks to a talented voice cast composed of Scottish actors. To be clear, I’m Filipino and I know next to nothing about Scotland, save for the fact that figures like William Wallace and WWE’s Drew McIntyre are from thereabouts. Despite this, I was hooked, especially when characters started churning out regional slang after slang, some in the Glaswegian dialect.

[embedded content]

Granted, I did have a hard time understanding the thick accents and certain terms; for instance, I wondered who “Leckie” was, only to realize that it’s another word for electricity. However, this just proves the studio’s dedication to offering an authentic experience, and I appreciated having a little glimpse at a culture and dialect I’m not familiar with.

Likewise, I found the layout of the oil platform nothing short of fascinating. Yes, the facility consists of small rooms, narrow hallways, and large decks, and I mostly revisited the same areas during my playthrough. However, a certain creative flair arose when I realized how each area looked and felt different due to the events that transpired as I progressed. For instance, corridors accessible beforehand might be flooded down the line, and open doors might become barred later, covered in a mysterious pustulent growth. Interconnectivity also comes into play, especially with facility maps that point to my location as I reach new sections.

Moreover, the game has its fair share of context-sensitive interactions, such as using fire extinguishers, unscrewing ventilation shaft covers, and removing latches off contraptions. There are also several platforming sections, where you jump or shimmy across gaps or climb on ladders, with quick-time event button presses to prevent you from falling. And, yes, there are some parts where you have to swim to safety. All in all, these sections are simple, straightforward, and unchallenging to a fault, though they served as welcome respites from the core theme: body horror.

What drew me in within the first few hours of playing Still Wakes the Deep was the sense of foreboding. As mentioned earlier, the machinery malfunction on the oil rig leads to eldritch nightmares “waking from the deep.” At first, I could only see a few glimpses of what’s in store, like some red sinewy branch jutting out from the water or a vine-like object stretching across several corridors. Then, things got progressively darker, with the tense atmosphere building up thanks to spectacular shadow and lighting effects.

Shortly thereafter, I’d hear the pained moans of a worker begging for help and the bloodcurdling screeches of another who’s been driven mad. And then I’d see what had happened to them: words like macabre and grotesque are understatements when I saw people who’ve been smashed into fleshy blobs, faces frozen in a death scream. They have multiple limbs, clickety-clacking as they move about, all while calling out Caz’s name. One of them is actually just a big head with little arms who chases Caz all over the facility. The creature designs, as well as people who are in the throes of mutation, are gross, vile, and downright impressive to boot.

Sadly, Still Wakes the Deep botches the “survival” in “survival horror.” The single most surprising part of the game is that all these eldritch creatures, no matter how scary they look, are dumber than a bag of rocks.

Since there’s no combat or weapons, I primarily relied on stealthily making my way through rooms crawling with enemies, sometimes throwing bottles to create a distraction. If a monster so much as spotted me, all I had to do was hide underneath a desk, walkway, or pantry, and they’d be none the wiser. Those long limbs they have? They just clickety-clack; they don’t clickety-grab. Those sharp serrated teeth and gaping mouths? They won’t bite you if there’s a structure above your head. They’d see you, and then they’d forget about you after a few seconds, or they’d simply wiggle in front of you. 

Outside of chase sequences, which were few and far between, there was very little to excite me upon encountering these monsters once I realized the A.I.’s limitations. Coincidentally, blurry and spotted outlines do appear on the edges of your screen when staring at these entities and their otherworldly goop, though there are no other effects; it walks up to the line of including debilitating “sanity” mechanics, but since they aren’t actually present, it felt more like a tease.

Still Wakes the Deep is a relatively short game (I completed the campaign in under five hours). The story is strictly linear, akin to some of The Chinese Room’s other games, with no collectibles or secrets. While it’s true that the game builds on the setting, atmosphere, tension, and body horror, it flubs the most crucial aspect: the moments when you actually face the creatures. It’s like if The Thing was “from another world,” but it’s revealed to be E.T. due to how harmless it is. In the end, this romp through an infested oil rig might look slick, but it spills over and slips when it matters most.

[laresearchette]

Friday, February 09, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: SUNCOAST (Disney + Star) JEFF DUNHAM: I’M WITH CUPID (Paramount+ Canada) JERSEY SHORE FAMILY VACATION (Season 7 Premiere) (Paramount+ Canada) SHE CAME TO ME (Paramount+ Canada) MEET ME IN ROME (The Roku Channel) JOE BOB'S VERY VIOLENT VALENTINE'S DAY (Shudder) SUPER BOWL GREATEST COMMERCIALS XXIII: THE ULTIMATE COUNTDOWN

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA SAINDHAV SMALL TALK UPGRADED WOLF LIKE ME (Season 2)

CBC GEM BLUE VALENTINE MY MUM YOUR DAD

CRAVE TV 50 FIRST DATES AKILLA’S ESCAPE CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE THE DEPARTED EARTH MAMA EDGE OF THE KNIFE ELLA AND THE LITTLE SORCERER JOHN Q A LOBSTER TALE LICORICE PIZZA MAID IN MANHATTAN THE NOTEBOOK PERCY POETIC JUSTICE RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: UK VS. THE WORLD (Season 2, Episode 1) STARSHIP TROOPERS SUICIDE SQUAD (2016)

DISNEY + STAR CYPHER SUNCOAST

NETFLIX CANADA ALPHA MALES (Season 2) (ES) ASHES (TR) BHAKSHAK (IN) DESPICABLE ME DESPICABLE ME 2 DESPICABLE ME 3 A KILLER PARADOX (KR) LOVER, STALKER, KILLER (GB)

FIBA BASKETBALL (SN) 9:20am: Women's Basketball Olympic Qualifying: Canada vs. Spain

NLL LACROSSE (TSN5) 6:30pm: Desert Dogs vs. Thunderbirds

TRAFFICKED VOICES (documentary) 7:00pm: Canada's sex trafficking industry is reaching a national crisis level. Three survivors of trafficking tell their stories.

WARRIOR STRONG (Crave) 7:15pm: Trying to save his career, a suspended professional basketball player returns home to coach his former high school team.

NBA BASKETBALL (SN1/SNOntario) 7:30pm: Rockets vs. Raptors (TSN2/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) 8:00pm: Hornets vs. Bucks (SN1) 10:30pm: Pelicans vs. Lakers

NHL HOCKEY (SNEast/SNPacific) 8:00pm: Penguins vs. Wild (SNWest) 10:00pm: Oilers vs. Ducks

RIVALRY SERIES HOCKEY (TSN/TSN4) 8:00pm: United States vs. Canada

MARKETPLACE (CBC) 8:00pm: A cyber scam known as pig butchering combines investment schemes, romance scams and cryptocurrency fraud; meeting people who lost their life savings and the trust of their loved ones.

MILLION DOLLAR ISLAND (Discovery Canada) 8:00pm: Wheel winner Jake is in charge of who will be chosen for the next elimination challenge.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF JERSEY (Slice) 8:00pm: Reunion

BOLLYWED (documentary) 8:00pm: With two renos and peak wedding season underway, Kuki decides the whole family needs to attend all customer weddings together.

GARAGE SALE MYSTERIES: PICTURE A MURDER (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm: Jenn gets the photos in an antique camera from the estate of a recently deceased and seemingly wealthy photography enthusiast printed, and one of the pictures leads her to believe that the man's death was anything but accidental.

ABOUT THAT (CBC) 8:30pm

THE FIFTH ESTATE (CBC) 9:00pm: A look at hate groups that are targeting kids on social media, where they are lead to self-harm, plan violent attacks and end their lives; and how police are often unable to act.

AKILLA'S ESCAPE (Crave) 9:00pm: A drug dealer finds his moral code challenged when he interrupts an armed robbery and captures one of the gang members who is a 15-year-old boy.

EDGE OF THE KNIFE (Starz Camada) 9:00pm: A tragic accident causes an anguished man to retreat deep into the forest where he is transformed into a "wild man."

THE SUMMIT AUSTRALIA (Discovery Canada) 9:30pm: Sam's betrayal costs the group more than time and money; Jans finds a way into Brooke's heart; shifting loyalties force contestants to wonder who they can really trust.

LITTLE BIRD (CTV) 10:00pm: The Little Bird family comes together to mourn death and celebrate life; Esther and Golda are changed by this journey, which has strengthened their bond; Esther has finally found what she's been looking for.

CRIME BEAT (Global) 10:00pm: An innocent victim, 28-year-old Mila Barberi is gunned down while picking up her boyfriend, Saverio Serrano from work.

RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE UK VS THE WORLD (Crave2) 10:05pm (SEASON PREMIERE): Nine drag queen legends, famous for having appeared in international versions of RuPaul's Drag Race', compete inRuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World'.

EARTH MAMA (Crave) 10:35pm: With two children in foster care, Gia, a pregnant single mother pitted against the system, fights to reclaim her family. In her close-knit Bay Area community, she works to make a life for herself and her kids.

[tabijozwick]

Banned Books Week 2023

October 1-7, 2023 is Banned Books Week for 2023. During this week, people are encouraged to read books that are challenged or banned from schools and public libraries. Here are some of the banned/challenged books I read in the past.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain This book has been challenged due to racism and offensive language, despite the fact it was published in the 1870s for a story that took place in the 1840s. I believe a lot of people use their presentist thinking as a reason to challenge this book and not take the historical context into consideration. This book, I have read several times, and it is one of my favorites. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank This book has been challenged because Anne Frank wrote about the changes in her body caused by puberty and her own sexual awaking. I believe she wrote those things because when she started writing her diary, she didn't plan on having it published. It was when she heard of a radio broadcast about collecting diaries after World War II that when she decided to change her focus from just writing for her own personal record for publication. When the diary was first published, her father Otto did not include those entries, but today's editions will have her original diary, her edited diary, and the diary edited by Otto. I have read at least the original edition of the diary and have not read the most recent editions in both print and graphic comic form yet. The True Adventures of Esther the Wonder Pig by Steve Jenkins, Derek Walter, and Caprice Crane  This one, while it's a children's book, it should have its own entry. Esther was adopted by Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter, who was at time, a same sex couple (I do not know if they identify as gay, bisexual, pansexual, or whatever, but I do know Steve had dated at least a woman in the past when he wrote the first memoir about Esther.) Steve's and Derek's relationship at the time (if you follow them on Facebook, you will know that they are now split) was the reason why the book was challenged. It's a good book to read to the kids, especially those who like pigs. Other banned books I read include To Kill a Mockingbird, Slaughterhouse-Five, Cather in the Rye, Bridge to Terabithia, and Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. Take the time to read a banned book for Banned Books Week.

[mpxesther]

Esther watched him. Again, all he did was confuse her. He had been the one asking her so many questions and arguing with her on her line of reasoning as if he had been reaching for something. Yet, she was expected to feel like there was no ulterior motives? For someone who seemed too interested in her powers while also not believing her line of thinking, he sure expected her to just tell him as it was with no consequences.

So far, all she is had received was punishment, no reward.

"If I told you that you crossed the line, would you have really stopped? You were rude to me from the jump. All I wanted was to make a friend. You painted me as some nefarious person. And then, it became a rabbit hole of you grilling me over my powers, making comments that were not called for, and questioning my line of logic as if I was stupid." She complained at him. He really painted her as the bad guy in this situation when he sure was not a saint himself. Esther knew she had crossed a line too, and she at least was willing to apologize for it.

Esther's brows burrowed, shaking her head. "You did tell me to use you as a guinea pig, and then, the incessant questions startled me. I will admit that I am on guard with these powers, because I am sick and tired of losing my memories. But then, I felt for you, and the combination scared me. Because, I am not strong enough yet to ignore these visions." Esther knew she was lost in a ramble, whether it made sense was up to him.

"When you had your medical situation, I grew worried, and it was a great chance to avoid both in the future." Esther wondered if he really cared her explanation, or he sought to disparage her. Regardless, she kept a brave face as she tried to explain herself. In the end, it was all she could do.

"I am aware my decisions were not my smartest, and I am genuinely sorry for any hurt I put you through." Did she regret them? Yes. But, she was a demigoddess who worked toward the future. She could not change the past.

Her apology fell on sharp but disbelieving ears; no, he didn't trust the sincerity in her tone; it was just another trick. The coldness of his stare remained unchanged as her words lingered in the air amid the falling snowflakes. He watched as she continued to cling to her instrument--another part of the act, surely. She was a good actress, he could give her that.

He remained still as she continued to explain, Vitas appearing like an eerie doll standing there, pale and porcelain and frozen, only blinking on rare occasion behind those silver-rimmed glasses, his left eye obscured by the dark locks that had escaped the small ponytail at the base of his skull.

Esther's explanation only served to make him more angry. Even if she was telling the truth, it still angered him. For one, he hadn't known he was hounding her about her powers at the moment she had done that; he'd thought he'd actually backed off quite a bit, but he must have misread his own actions. And for two...

The sound of a raven's caw pulled him out of his silent stewing, prompting a single and definitive blink in acknowledgement. Another beat of pause...and then a reply.

"People keep devising creative and nonsensical alternatives to avoid saying what they really mean," he spoke on a low, deadpanned drone...his baritone having an eerily even quality to it. "It is infuriating. You are infuriating. There is no need to forge a convoluted and invasive plan like that. Just fucking tell me when I have crossed a line."

Another pause.

"What did I say that gave you the impression I would force you to use your power?"