#Heretic game emulator

[answerstonki]

Heretic game emulator

HERETIC GAME EMULATOR FULL

HERETIC GAME EMULATOR PC

single integrated launcher for all supported games that allows setting most configuration options.supports LAN and online multiplayer (no server browser yet).

HERETIC GAME EMULATOR PC

sound and music, including OP元 and PC Speaker emulation, as well as OGG music support (see this post for setup guide).supports Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, FreeDoom, Chex Quest, Heretic, Hexen and Strife.It supports the original Doom games, as well as Heretic, Hexen and Strife, and adds some extra features while staying as close to the vanilla game(s) as possible. This is a Vita port of Chocolate Doom, which is a Doom source port. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and used under license.Chocolate Doom v3.0.1 Latest version: Release 3.1 () Github repo: link Description Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms and Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Games Farm, s.r.o. Heretic Kingdoms, Games Farm, Games Farm logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Games Farm, s.r.o. Developed and published by Games Farm, s.r.o. Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms Copyright 2015 Games Farm, s.r.o. Huge number of fantastical creatures with unique fighting styles and challenges. One dark hero, 15 different characters: Devour the souls of your enemies and use a lot of different characters and combat styles.Ĭomplete a variety of diverse quests and face creatures in battle that you could only imagine in your worst nightmares! Two game worlds in one: Wander between the worlds and risk a glimpse into the dark shadow world, where you will also face enemies and solve mystic puzzles.

HERETIC GAME EMULATOR FULL

Gripping storyline in a world full of myths, destinies and legendary creatures. He can stop the demonic Penta Nera and save the world, or he can plunge it into complete disaster.Įxtensive freedom of choice, affecting the course of the game. He can absorb multiple souls, but sometimes becomes more human or schizophrenic, the more souls he absorbs. The fifth member of the order, bent on revenge, makes use of the only way to stop them and summons another Devourer: this one is different from his siblings. Since then, they move around the mortal realm as the puppets of the Devourers, as a demonic Penta Nera, and ravage the land in search of the essence of souls. It's up to him to either thwart a major threat and save the world, or to plunge it into complete disaster.Īfter four of the five members of a secret order known as Penta Nera were murdered, their souls were swallowed by a pack of Devourers. In this isometric action RPG, the player takes on the role of the Devourer, a demon that swallows the souls of the dead and then brings them back into the mortal realm as his puppets. It's an epic adventure with challenging gameplay, a gripping storyline and enchanting graphics. Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is the next chapter in the Heretic Kingdoms saga and takes place 20 years after the events of Kult: Heretic Kingdoms. Take on the role of the Devourer, a demon that swallows the souls of the dead and then brings them back into the mortal realm as his puppets. Experience an epic adventure with challenging gameplay, a gripping storyline and enchanting graphics. Shadows is the next chapter in the Heretic Kingdoms saga. Graphics: NVidia GeForce 560GTX or higher Processor: x86 processor, 3 GHz +, quad core Steam account required for game activation and installation Learn more about the Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms Model Name

[synthetic-ultramarine]

My pleroma's thesis reading list is turning out to have a recurring theme of divine/pilot relationships diverging from what is conventional for their time and place and growing to resemble the relationship models of other societies instead; it comes up in Vault of Anticipation and in the road to palisade Hounds game. The divine/pilot relationship is explicitly represented across seasons as socially constructed and as something that changes. I think this is a refreshing break from the larger media landscape, where ideas of "what a wizard is" or "what a jedi is" are frequently imagined in a more essentialist way and often not imagined by their writers as socially constructed and therefore changeable.

Anyway in the vault of anticipation, Anticipation is found to have died attempting to disprove Pleroma's conclusion that any relationship between mortals and divines is ultimately doomed to become a relationship of exploitation in the long term. Ironically, in attempting to prove that mortals and divines can have equitable relationships which do not devolve into domination and exploitation, Anticipation consumed her Excerpt, using the processing power of her human brain and leaving her a mummified husk. this Excerpt's name was "Under the cover of night, the Civet stalked mouse and berry alike", abbreviated to ⸢Civet⸣; the animal name calls back to the naming conventions of the Divine/Candidate relationship. While the Divine/Excerpt relationship is more equitable, the Divine/Candidate relationship was likened to human sacrifice. Harm or death to the human partner as a result of a relationship with the divine was considered normal in Counter/weight, but was shocking and disturbing in the twilight mirage.

Fealty and Veronique's relationship is a Divine/Elect relationship, but their story has callbacks to both the Divine/Excerpt and Divine/Candidate relationships. Veronique was recruited as a student athlete; her relative youth calls back to the teenage Candidates of the counter/weight era, who reference the child soldiers of the mech genre's canonical works. There are other counter/weight callbacks; the etymological relationship between "Veronique" and "Berenice" calls back to Cassander and the use of the javelin as a primary weapon by both partners brings to mind the iconic image of Cassander's defeat of Rigour and autocrucifixion. It's like poetry, it rhymes. Later when the heresy squad comes after them, Fealty refers to Veronique as their "excerpt," not as their elect. To the heresy squad the use of this old terminology marks their relationship as deviant/heretical and in need of dissolution. For Fealty and Veronique, deserting the principality means redefining their relationship on their own terms, and while Veronique struggles to imagine a world outside of the Pricipality, Fealty remembers a world before it ever existed, and remembers having past relationships outside of the principality's standards.

Dahlia, Commitment, and integrity are (were) an interesting one. Their relationship deviated from the standard Principality model; Commitment was always unusual with its requirement for two pilots. Integrity is as old as Fealty, if not older; its form factor is unusual, and its relationship with Sokrates was unconventional, not least because they orchestrated a coup together. The Integrity/Dahlia/Commitment triad has a divine acting as the pilot of another divine which i think might be entirely new. Dahlia is stated to be appropriating/recuperating branched ideas about bodies and about relationships with the divine. This is different from the last two examples because it's mirroring a contemporary relationship model and not a past relationship model; the branched have solved or bypassed the issues Pleroma predicted by attaining a post-post-postmodern anarchic shifting oneness with the divine. Dahlia wants to gain power by emulating that relationship model but doesn't truly understand it.

[logicaltips]

SAGAU x Millennium Puzzle!Creator and "Imposter"

The soul of the True Creator rests within a mysterious vision, only emerging to protect the Imposter from harm as they wander Teyvat in the Creator's place.

"Keep an eye on them. If you truly believe that they are the Imposter, bring them and the holy vision to me. I trust your judgement, and justice will be dealt swiftly."

Those were Ningguang's orders, and so far, Yelan followed them to the letter. From where she sat in the dice game room, she heard the bell above the entrance door ring. Looking up, Yelan could see the Imposter walk innocently into Yanshang Teahouse. "This Imposter is as stupid as they are heretical", she thought. Their meek body posture and smile betrayed the rainbow-colored vision that radiated all forms of power into the air. The Creator's vision was a heavily guarded treasure, but it was now worn on a chain necklace by a lowly mortal, who wore the same face as the Granter of Wishes described by the ancient scriptures.

If she wasn't an acolyte, Yelan was sure that even she would be swayed by its aura and their face into believing the Imposter's lies, just like everyone else. After all, all true acolytes knew the true presence of the Creator like the back of their hand, and while the vision did well to emulate it, the addition of a submissive personality was it took to cast doubt in the minds of the Liyue Qixing ever since the Imposter entered the city.

Yelan commended the Imposter's efforts to become a copy of the Divine Creator; changing their face and stealing a holy artifact. But now, as her prey walked towards her, Yelan pushed those thoughts away and replaced them with utter fury.

"Yes, keep walking towards me, you filthy heretic. Walk into my web and as a reward, your head will soon fall off of our shoulders."

The Imposter walked into the room and sat down in front of her.

"Oh?" Yelan raised an eyebrow. "You seem a bit young to be walking around on your own, especially in a place like this. Does your weekly allowance even cover a single bet?"

The Imposter sheepishly rubbed the back of their head. "No, not exactly. I just came here... to play a game with you."

Yelan smiled. "I see. It seems like my reputation proceeds me. What game shall we play? Better yet... what shall we wager? No game is fun without some stakes, after all." Her eyes wandered to the holy vision that rested on the Imposter's chest.

Her opponent immediately clutched their vision and gave a nervous smile. "Sorry, but this is too valuable for me to wager. It's very important to me. Besides, you have one already, don't you?"

A forced laugh was the response. "I see, then how about we wager something different?" Yeah leaned over the table and gazed into the Imposter's eyes. They were so beautiful.

"How about... your life, sinner?"

With a yank of her arm, strings bound the Imposter's legs to the chair they sat on and slammed the door shut.

In one smooth motion, Yelan summoned her divine-gifted bow and notched an arrow, aimed directly at the Imposter's heart.

Their shocked look broke her heart.

"Yelan? Why-"

"Did you really think that your weak aura could be masked by the All-Divine's vision? You reek of it! You have corrupted the Creator's very presence and sullied their unreachable beauty with that false face!"

The Imposter's eyes began to grow wet with tears. "No!" They reasoned. "No, the Creator- they gave me that-!"

"You dare to mention the All-Divine with your tongue?!" Her bow shook with rage. "You commited such blasphemy and yet you still speak of the Creator as if you met them! All who follow the Weaver of Worlds know that they vanished from this realm eons ago! Your lies have dug you a deeper grave, heretic!"

With that final roar, Yelan returned her gaze once more to the rainbow vision.

"I know not of what you are, whether you are a creature from the Abyss, or a lowly mortal, but that vision does not belong to you!" She reached out her hand to reclaim the vision-

"Hands off, hag! Touch it and you die!"

Yelan immediately leaped back from the Imposter, who seemed to mature just from the new confident aura that enveloped their body.

It seemed so familiar.

"This vision isn't something you can just take, Yelan. Remember why I came here? Let's follow through on that. We'll play a game. I'll wager my freedom, my life, and this vision."

Yelan scoffed. "You are in no position to negotiate."

The Imposter crossed their arms in defiance. "I am. This will be a test of faith. Beat me, and you prove that your worship of the All-Divine is faithful and true, and that I am the Imposter. After all, why would the one worthy of the omniscient, all powerful Creator's vision lose in something as... trivial as a game? But if you lose... You'll have to face a penalty game."

Yelan pondered the offer. Penalty game? What could that mean? After all, even if the Imposter wins, they're stuck in this room until she unravels her strings. If they try anything strange, her arrow will fly true, and she'll pry the vision from their cold body. If the Imposter lost... well, they just gave her a reason to believe that they aren't worthy of such a blessing.

The intelligence officer smirked. "Very well. I'll choose what game we play then. Can't be giving you an unfair advantage after all..."

The Imposter nodded. Yelan reached into the drawer of the table and retrieved some rigged dice and cards, and began to explain the rules...

After Yelan missed her daily report, Ningguang grew worried. The intelligence officer never missed a report, and the fact that she disappeared after trailing the Imposter was enough for Ningguang to send a search-and-rescue operation throughout Liyue.

Hours later, she received a written report from Keqing. Yelan was found curled up on the floor of the Yanshang Teahouse dice game room, muttering to herself as she pawed blindly at the air.

"Forgive me. Please. I didn't know. Forgive me. Please, let me out."

That was all she said, even long after she was removed from the premises. Ningguang only had her rage on her mind as she entered her office, prepared to seek the truth of the entity that did this to Yelan, until a sharp voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Nice office, Ningguang."

It was the Imposter, calmly sitting in from of her desk. The rainbow vision that sat on their chest was glowing menacingly.

"Let's play a game, shall we?"

[titanomancy]

For a game that bills itself as a boomer shooter, Boltgun owes a lot to Doom (2016). The game is structured as series of escalating encounters culminating in an arena where you’re locked in with wave after wave of daemonic adversaries until all enemies have been purged; at which point you get a bit of a breather for some exploration before the gameplay loop ramps up again.

Movement is fast and combat is frenetic, with enemies shedding health and armor ups to keep you in the game, but the resource management seems to be less nuanced than in Doom since the manner in which enemies are dispatched doesn't seem to affect the quantity or quality of powerups they drop. 

A lot of the enemies are pretty spongy but I'm not sure how much of that is playing on Hard difficulty. Ammo is plentiful throughout chapter one, as far as I’ve played so far, although it’s entirely possible to run short for any one weapon during a protracted arena purge. I find I tend to burn through armor and health before my magazine is dry.

The weapons, themselves, are all useful and distinct, and mostly feel good to wield, although the plasma gun could be snappier. The slow-moving projectile seems at odds with protagonist Malum Caedo’s Doomguy-like agility. Darktide, for all of its other faults, still has the best plasma guns I've seen in a 40k game.

The bolter is suitably beefy, splattering cultists and staggering heretic astartes, although the shotgun is downright spectacular; inflicting knockback on its power armored targets at close range.

Secrets are varying degrees of useful power-ups including super health and armor pickups, box magazines of specialized bolter shells, single-weapon buffs for the duration of the level and short timer invincibility or infinite ammo; the latter two of which I only seem to come across when I don’t have enough enemies left to make them feel really worthwhile.

Level design is extremely on brand and environments are reasonably varied in spite of the extremely Imperial aesthetic. There’s a certain degree of repetition that comes from leaning hard into the standard template construction motif, but the spaces they’re assembled into are all distinct.

I do feel that the game is ill-served by its commitment to emulating the aesthetic of mid-90s shooters, however, because it’s really not all that committed; enemies are rendered as two-dimensional sprites in the same manner as Doom, but weapons, ammo and power-ups are three-dimensional models more akin to Quake.

It’s a minor nitpick, but I think the overall experience would have been enhanced by picking a specific point in the evolution of shooters to emulate, and the fact that there’s still such an active community surrounding Doom after thirty years shows that you can go primitive and still create compelling experiences.

Nostalgia helps the game to resonate, but it’s a solid experience in its own right. If you’re into 40k and shooters, it’s an easy recommendation at only twenty bucks.

[cyberkevvideo]

I just reread your Changes to Way of the Wicked series, and I noticed that several times you recommend giving Mitran followers heretical weapons that work against Asmodean worshippers. However, the religion against which the weapon is attuned is also the religion that creates and benefits from the weapon, so a Mitran-crafted heretical weapon would work against Mitran followers, not Asmodean followers.

You are technically correct, but thankfully the rules give us a nice little loophole that can let us literally say, “A wizard did it.” The initial recommendation for the weapon property came to me by fellow GMs on the WotW boards who’ve ran the game. After a couple of them had almost completely neutral parties, it become quite obvious that holy weapons wouldn’t work very well against them. This was their solution.

In the Pathfinder RPG Core handbook, on page 549, it reads: “Note that all items have prerequisites in their descriptions. These prerequisites must be met for the item to be created. Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item's creator (although access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed). The DC to create a magic item increases by 5 for each prerequisite the caster does not meet. The only exception to this is the requisite item creation feat, which is mandatory. In addition, you cannot create potions, spell-trigger, or spell-completion magic items without meeting its prerequisites.“

It’s possible that given all the high level casters in the kingdom that work directly for the king, that someone would be proficient and skilled enough to pull this off. This also goes for anyone in the party that wants to make their own weapons heretical against Mitran followers. These weapons could be old magic weapons that were used in previous generations, or they could be newly created once it was discovered that followers of Asmodeus had surfaced.

The Use Magic Device skill allows one to emulate an alignment different from their own at DC 30. If you have the Unchained book’s Skill Unlock, you can even emulate two alignments. You can also emulate another race or class feature at lower DCs. In comparison, emulating an opposing religion for +5 DC to the check doesn’t seem that big of a stretch. Loopholes are an interesting thing to play with, especially when there’s also consequences involved (ie. accidentally making cursed items).

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

the branches and the roots

post-Spirit of Justice. Maya, still in Khura’in, looks in old records hoping to learn a little more about her family.

[on ao3]

----

The heavy wooden door, when it creaks open, dislodges pounds of dust from its frame and its intricately carved face. Maya sneezes into the sleeve of her robe. She lifts her face up out of it, stares into the dark windowless room ahead of her, and sneezes again. 

“Just wait a moment, if you think it is dusty now,” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi says. 

He told her to call him Nahyuta, so there’s a teasing Cuz or Yuty on the tip of her tongue, because family is family however distant, and family she calls things like Sis and Pearly and Nick. But she can’t quite access it. The tip of her tongue hits the back of her teeth and her jaw sticks shut and she’s avoided addressing him as anything. Plus he still calls her Miss Fey so it’s not like he’s figured it out either. 

She covers her face with her sleeve. “Okay,” she says. “I’m ready.”

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi arches one perfect eyebrow. He reminds Maya of what all the hanging scrolls of the former Masters depict; the old portraits are consolidated in the manor, a forest of women whose flaws are brushed away as they are enshrined in traditional inked artistry. He, and his mother, unreal, beautiful, the kind of elegance that Maya was told all her life to emulate and never could. The kind of regal grace that Pearly performed as soon as she was able to walk. 

(Poor perfect Pearl, such a prodigy, but of the branch family, forever damned to be nothing. Morgan was the only one who acted on making Pearl the Master, but Maya knows with the way other elders of the family looked at her when she started spending longer and longer stints down in the city, months at a time with Nick, that they hoped she’d be just like her mother and never come back. That the city would eat her too.)

They step into the darkness, their only light a flashlight that Maya holds, and a lantern Prosecutor Sahdmadhi brought. “I wonder when it was someone last came down here,” he says. His voice is muffled a little by his scarf pulled over his face to shield him from the initial wave of dust. The orange-ish lantern-light turns his skin and his hair and his clothes gold, all gold, and warm and alive, a reminder that this is not a tomb and they are not buried. “I suppose I can get estimate a range…”

He turns to the shelves on the left, closest to the door, and picks up the first scroll-container there. This dusty room in the basement of the palace - Maya kept calling it the dungeons, and Nahyuta didn’t laugh, and she felt a pang of homesickness for the family that laughs at all her stupid jokes, and then she wondered if there are actual dungeons that Ga’ran and Inga used and that’s why he didn’t laugh, and her homesickness turns to sorrow - is an archive, of a sort, but the only information they are keen on recording in here is geneaology. Carefully preserved scrolls sit stacked on shelves around the room’s walls, a number she can’t estimate because she can’t see them all at once swinging the flashlight all around. A solid-looking wooden table stands in the center of the room. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi sets his lantern down there and spreads out the scroll. 

“How did anyone do anything down here before batteries existed?” Maya asks. She shines her flashlight up at the ceiling, almost expecting to find eyes or a face leering down at her, like this is a horror movie and not still part of a very lived-in palace. Much as this room hasn’t been lived-in, or walked in, and certainly not vacuumed or dusted in. 

“There are oil lamp holders on the walls,” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi answers. “And candles.” He doesn’t quite sound disparaging but he’s pretty close to it. 

“And risk setting everything on fire?” Thousands of years of the royal line up in smoke because someone was clumsy. Someone like Maya, who makes movements too quick and too big and takes up space in an unrefined manner. 

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi doesn’t answer and moments later he’s murmuring, almost to himself, “So it’s been at least fifteen years since someone cared to come here and update anything,” he says.

“What do you mean?” Maya lowers her flashlight from examining the lamp holders on the walls so she won’t shine it straight in his eyes and approaches the table, to where he is pointing at something. The names are tricky to decipher, even after two years of extremely immersive study of Khura’inese, but one she knows is Ga’ran’s even without the little crown drawn above it, and the other is very, very long, so that must be Inga. A family tree.

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi taps his fingers between the two names, where a line is drawn between them to signify marriage, but no other line extends from that one, no other name beneath theirs. “They never put Rayfa down as their child, or as existing at all. There were rather more pressing matters when kidnapping your sister’s daughter, and forcing your sister to live as a nursemaid and your double, else you’ll kill them both.”

He says it all so dry, deadpan, because he must have gotten used to living with that over his head, become resigned to the reality of that, the way Nick almost laughs when he’s talking about his poker-playing years even if it’s an obviously bitter laugh, and like with Nick, Maya wants to hug him, but she doesn’t think he’d appreciate that. Certainly she would ask first but he’s already saying something else and the time for asking is passed. “This will have to be redone afresh on a new scroll.”

“Why?” Maya asks. “They didn’t write the princess down at all, so you could just add her under—”

Under your parents, but her eyes follow his fingers brushing across the parchment and all the muscles in his hand tighten when he reaches his mother’s name and the blackened, burned holes next to and beneath her name.

“Another reason candles are so practical for this work of genealogy,” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi says, and this time he isn’t dry or deadpan. His voice is dripping, anger barely contained, not swallowed and barely held in his mouth to stop him from spitting that fury that’s justified if unbecoming of a monk and prince regent. (Unbecoming of a Master, too. Maya’s spent two years in Khura’in trying to learn to be the Master, and she’s a stronger medium than ever but she still only sometimes knows how she’s supposed to act, how to become the Master and not Maya. Maya has too many feelings, Maya has too much righteous indignation to be as calm as the Master is supposed to be, but Her Benevolence Princess Rayfa is also full of fury and still a beloved princess, so maybe that’s okay. To feel things. To be angry.) “Fire right at hand to burn out the sinful heretics.”

“Cut off the branches,” Maya says. Morgan tried to do that literally, with her last plan, pruning the tree violently, and Ga’ran literally used fire to burn the Sahdmadhis out of the royal family. “You were a baby. You didn’t do anything wrong. You were as much the queen’s child as you were Dhurke’s.”

“I’m sure there would have been some contention over my expulsion from the family had I been a girl,” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi says. “You can’t turn a potential medium loose into rebel hands, after all. But I wasn’t, and so the only blood of mine that mattered was that of my allegedly criminal father.”

“How did you ever become a prosecutor like that?” she asks. She asked to come down here searching for something about their family long ago, wanting to find the place where Khura’in and Kurain broke apart forever, but the affairs of a thousand years ago suddenly pale in importance to what happened a month ago. What happened fifteen years ago, and twenty-three years ago. Living family more important than the dead. 

(Especially since she hasn’t ever gotten the chance to speak with Nahyuta one-on-one before. Not even talk with him and Princess Rayfa and Queen Amara together. Prosecutor Prince-Regent Sahdmadhi seems to be everywhere at once, trying to do everything all at once, the way his brother is trying to take up every criminal and civil defense all at once. Maya’s spent more time with Apollo than she expected to, but she’s got more legal experience than Datz and Ahlbi who are also trying to help him run his law office, and they need someone who knows all about it. Putting on the skin of co-counsel and legal assistant is easier than trying to find the skin of Master. And she wants to help her family, and Apollo is family, two different ways. Via Nick, and via her distant Khurainese cousins.)

“When I emerged from the woods claiming to renounce the rebels and wanting to work as a prosecutor to bring an end to them” - Prosecutor Sahdmadhi snorts, his hands curling tight around the edge of the table - “Ga’ran made a great show of being a benevolent queen willing to forgive the child of her sister’s murderer and integrate him into her regime’s legal system. And then she dragged me out of earshot of her guards and snapped a leash around my neck and told me it would be Rayfa’s noose if I ever dared step out of line.”

Maya thinks of Shelley de Killer. A sword hanging overhead to force the desired result. Her mouth is dry. She nods. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi isn’t even looking at her anyway. “Her claims of forgiveness changed the minds of no other prosecutor, and there is a reason I started prosecuting internationally. Not just because there was no fear of facing my father’s friends on the stand and damning them in this farce of justice, but because my colleagues would not be cruel for my name, and because the leash choked me a little less when I did not have Ga’ran’s eyes constantly on me. Do you know, some of the other Khura’inese prosecutors called it favoritism that she had for me. Special treatment, that she often called me to the palace, tasked me with giving the princess a cursory understanding of the legal system or assisting her at crime scenes - it was all a sick game to her. I could spend time with my sister and no one must ever know it. I imagine she enjoyed watching me try to stay detached. Watching me squirm.”

“She’s a monster,” Maya says. 

“Unfortunately not.” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi rolls the scroll back up, his fingers tight around it crumpling it, because this sheet is already tainted, already wrong, and it doesn’t matter if he ruins it. “She’s human, just as the rest of us are.” He sets the scroll aside, near his lantern, rather than put it back. There’s no reason to put it back when it needs to be redone. She wonders if he’ll burn Ga’ran and Inga out of the tree in retaliation. Like Pearly splattering gravy on the hanging scroll of her mother - destroy the records of the family that some other family didn’t want around. She doubts it, somehow, that Prosecutor Sahdmadhi would do that. 

“Now,” he says, curtly, businesslike, like a prosecutor, “this ancestor of ours who founded your channeling school, how long ago did she live?”

-

There is not necessarily a guarantee that Ami Fey will appear anywhere in the genealogy of the Khura’inese royals. It may have been her mother or grandmother who left for Japan, and simply Ami who once there decided to turn their spiritual power again into real power, not as a queen but as a Master. A wise woman with the wisdom of the dead in hand. Or Ami Fey may not have been known as Ami in Khura’in; it may have been a name she took upon leaving. 

Or she may, as they come to realize, have been a branch burned from the tree for leaving and taking their spiritual secrets with her. 

“I suppose this must be her, then,” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi says, “as we have been through everything else and…” He gestures at the shelves on either side of them. They have searched the generations that lie around the era that Ami should have lived, finding no trace of her name or a Khura’inese equivalent. What they have found, what Prosecutor Sahdmadhi concludes is the junction where their families broke apart, is another searing burn, blackened edges of a hole through the parchment, the sole person to have been stricken from the family in half a dozen generations on either side. A daughter; in the scorch marks, when they squint, the light right on the page, both of them hunched over it and struggling to keep their long hair out of the way, they can see that this disavowed disgrace was a daughter. 

“Her,” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi repeats, “or whoever came to bore her, and taught her of the powers of our bloodline. Perhaps she had only some limited knowledge some mothers before her carried out of our homeland, that she came to make her own.”

Our homeland. Does he mean that Khura’in is home to her? It is tradition in the village for the Master to study in Khura’in; did her mother think of it as her homeland? (Did she keep secret her blood’s connection to the royal family? It would have been Amara’s mother on the throne then. How did she rule - did she lay down a hand of fear that would have left Misty cautious to confess her identity, as Maya had been?) What is home - is it Kurain, or Khura’in, or Los Angeles? Is it the village she grew up in, or the city where she found her truest self? She and Apollo share a fond longing for the perks of the city, of one kind of home, and the confusion of not knowing whether to call that place home, or instead consider home the place in the mountains where each of them formed their first memories. 

“They disowned her for leaving, then,” Maya says. “They - they do that too, in my village. If you’re gone for twenty years, you’re considered dead and stripped of your rank and titles and - everything.” That’s what they say, anyway. No one has actually fully disappeared like that to test it. Her mother almost had, and then Maya would have found out whether the elders truly meant to erase Misty from the halls of the manor and the scrolls of the Masters, or simply, finally, pass her title along.

“Spirit channeling is a powerful tool, jealously guarded by individuals who want to hoard that power for themselves,” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi says. “For there to be some outsider who know the secret undermines its exclusivity and its power. It does not surprise me that the act of leaving would so be considered a betrayal, enough to leave one little more than ashes.” He touches his fingertips to the parchment. 

“Or gravy,” Maya says. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi’s eyes dart suspiciously toward her. “Never mind,” she adds hurriedly. “So then, um, we read these right to left, when it comes to ages?”

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi nods. He taps his fingers along all of the other names in a row with the burn mark, the siblings of this persona non grata, and then the row up above, their mother’s siblings. “Yes,” he says. “And our subject here was the youngest daughter of a youngest daughter, and each of them with several sisters. Ami - we will presume, for ease of referring to her, that this was your Ami who has been stricken from the tree - had nothing in her future, no position of prestige or power waiting for her.” He sighs, stepping back, closing his bright eyes and pondering for a moment, as though he may begin a recitation. “Our royal line and our country was founded on a story of two sisters - the elder, a medium so powerful she was revered as a goddess by the people she led, and the younger, who lacked the power to channel spirits but nonetheless stood as the country’s loyal and beloved protector.”

His eyes open. “It should be a position of honor, even to be a younger sister, or even to be one who could not channel. But somewhere that was lost, and being unable to channel or become queen became a source of great shame - as though the only worthy and admirable position there ever is to hold is Queen.” Shaking his head, he continues, “My aunt should have been our people’s great protector, our country’s loyal guardian. Instead she nearly destroyed us, out of jealousy, because our family has come to be such a way that for younger daughters such as Ga’ran and Ami, no future awaits.”

The equating of the two of them - Kurain Village’s revered founder, and the evil queen - makes Maya uncomfortable. Yes, they were both the younger sister, as was Lady Kee’ra, and Lady Kee’ra the younger of two as Ga’ran was, but that is all that Ga’ran shares with either of them. And that is all that Ga’ran shares with—

“I’m the younger daughter,” Maya says. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi looks at her straight on again. Honestly, even Maya has gotten bored sometimes - often - with Kurain Village genealogy and whatever else, even while she’s come to be curious about Khura’in. She wouldn’t blame Prosecutor Sadhmadhi for not wanting to hear it. But he appears genuinely intrigued by what Maya has just said, to be waiting for her to continue telling him about her family tree in Kurain. Something in his eyes urges her to continue, but she can’t get more than one more sentence out through the tightness in her throat. “And so was my mother, the Master of the village before me.”

“What happened?” he asks. She wonders what his guess is. It would be reasonable to assume that they both had older sisters who died - reasonable in any other family, but they are not any other family, the Feys and the royals. If there’s anyone in the world who could make a guess that lands close to the truth of all that Morgan Fey did, it would be Nahyuta. He could know.

And she knows when she tells him, he’ll understand. “Aunt Morgan, my mom’s older sister, wasn’t a very powerful medium. So when the elders convened, they passed her by and gave the title of Master to my mother. And Aunt Morgan had been counting on the power and status that being Master would give, and her husband had too. Her - her first husband.” The implication there tells the rest of that story. It’s exactly what Prosecutor Sahdmadhi can assume it is. “And then my mother was consulted on a murder case, and was disgraced, and she decided that should mean that she should disappear—”

“That was the DL-6 incident of 2001, yes?” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi asks. Maya blinks. “After we witnessed your channeling prowess in your trial, and I returned to Los Angeles, I researched Kurain Village and your family.”

Yes, she was going to tell him about it all - but something about the fact that he already knows it feels like a betrayal of trust. Like she was going to welcome him into her house and then he pushed past her and pulled out a copy of her front door key and used it because he’d stolen it from her a week ago and had a copy made. Except in this analogy her key is a matter of public record. “So you know about all about that ton of murder cases we’ve been caught up in,” she says, and the words still fall out of her mouth bitter. 

“Your aunt tried to frame you for murder,” he replies.

“Guess why.” That sounds bitter as well, but she didn’t mean it to. Morgan’s motive wasn’t part of the actual case as was presented in court, as became part of the transcript. But Nahyuta could know.

“I suppose I may reason that she had, at that point a daughter capable of channeling, whose only path to inheriting the title was through you.” He speaks with confidence, but his expression is puzzled. He wouldn’t know why she has suddenly soured on the conversation. She shouldn’t be mad - it saves her at least ten minutes of explanation if he knows DL-6, and then the incident in Kurain Village, beforehand - but that emotion reared its stupid head anyway. 

“My cousin Pearly,” Maya says, shaking off her frustration. She can’t stay mad at one of the few people who can truly understand. “She’s about as strong as me and ten years younger. A real prodigy. But she was - we call it the branch family, the ones descended from whichever sisters didn’t become Master. And branch family meant, she’d be nothing. She doesn’t care about the titles, but Aunt Morgan sure did.”

“And your aunt was the older daughter,” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi muses. “And passed by despite it. She acted as she did because you were the one to inherit the title - yet you are, as you said, the younger daughter, who should not have had that in her future.” He doesn’t ask a question, but his tone and his eyes make it clear that this is an inquiry.

“You said you researched my family,” Maya says. His family too, at a distance. “If you dredged up every court case with a Fey involved, you know why. You know why this younger daughter gets the title, and it wasn’t anything about who was the stronger medium.”

“I am sure I do,” Prosecutor Sahdmadhi says, “but please, I would like to hear from you - tell me about your sister.”

Maya swallows the lump in her throat and blinks to dispel the burning behind her eyes. “She was amazing,” she says. “She was - she left the village, for me. To try and find our mother, and so she wouldn’t have to compete with me to be Master. So we wouldn’t end up hating each other like our mom and Aunt Morgan did.” Her eyes burn again, after a few seconds’ respite. “I hated her sometimes anyway, for leaving me alone, but that was different than hating her like - like our moms and aunts.”

The plural emerges from her lips without really thinking, but when she does think, she realizes she doesn’t know how her mom felt about Morgan. Did she hate her for all she tried to do? Or did she love her older sister with both pity and anger instead? How did Misty and Morgan feel about each other when they were children? Did Ga’ran love her older sister or spare her only out of the practicality of needing a stand-in to channel spirits? 

“She was a defense attorney,” Maya adds, knowing that Prosecutor Sahdmadhi knows it, but now he can hear it from her, like he asked. “She was Nick’s mentor, and she saved him, and she taught him all of his tricks that he used to beat you.” She grins, despite herself. A faint shadow of a smile crosses Nahyuta’s face. He’s glad he lost. She knows that now. “I wish you could’ve met her.”

The smile fades. “Do you?” he asks. “I put you through hell, and that I did it because I thought it the only way to protect my sister is no excuse, one I cannot imagine her tolerating, not when I am sure that she too must so have loved her own sister.”

Maya runs her hand over the beads of her necklace. Mia wore a magatama until the day she died, and every day she returned after; she kept that connection to a home that she abandoned not because she hated the place, but because she loved who remained there. “I’ve been accused of murder a lot,” Maya says. “Like, a lot, you know.” She glances away from him, doesn’t see if he nods. “And you know, some of the prosecutors who did that, tried so hard to get me convicted of murder because they had perfect win records to maintain?” Tried to act as heartless demons like Nahyuta did, because it’s easier that way, easier to turn cold, to never feel. “We became friends. And are, still.” Edgeworth paid for the flight, after all. “I forgave them. I forgive you. I’m sure Sis would too.”

“You think so?” Nahyuta asks. He sounds honestly concerned that a woman who’s been dead for more than a decade wouldn’t like him. 

“Yeah,” Maya says. “She - I mean, she had experience with the blackmail thing. She spent years on a case like that. Building a case against the horrible man who leaked the news of our mother’s involvement in DL-6 to the press, building up evidence of all of the people he blackmailed to suicide and ruin. She knows you have to strike at the top. And she’d know that you loved your sister. That - that does mean something.” 

They didn’t talk about it, really, but Maya knows that, like she herself did, Mia forgave Godot-Diego for his stupid, prideful plan that ended with him killing their mother. People with good intentions and hurting hearts do ugly, painful things for love. People get trapped and can’t see another way out. She’s forgiven Tahrust Inmee for framing her for murder. People do desperate, mad things for love. Khura’in is a country of mountains and on another mountain on the other side of the sea, years ago, Maya learned a lot that she carries with her.

“Did she ever find your mother?” Nahyuta asks softly. She thinks he must be thinking about his own lost mother who he only just found. She imagines the anguish he felt when she was shot, not knowing if he would ever see her again to catch up on the lost years. She remembers lying on a courthouse couch, her sister with Pearly’s robes smoothing Maya’s hair back from her face and telling her that their mother is dead. Maya remembers not knowing how to mourn a woman she never knew and couldn’t recognize. Nahyuta knew his mother for a time when he was old enough to remember; his situation wasn’t the same, and it didn’t end the same, and Maya is so glad for it.

“No,” Maya says, and Nahyuta’s eyes sadden. “She - she didn’t. Sis thought, I guess, that - 

that if she could find out and expose that blackmailer for everything he’d done, then - then our mother would come out of hiding, I guess. Would come home. And instead, that horrible, horrible man murdered my sister, and tried to frame me, and Nick, for it.” 

There it is again, the pain behind her eyes of sharp tears gathering. “Nick and I took him down but it was too late for Sis. And she was so - she was so young, I keep thinking now, because I’m - I’m older than she was when she died. Does that make me not the younger sister, anymore? I’m older than my older sister. Am I - what am I, then, by birthright? Of course I’m going to be the Master someday, because I’m - I’m the oldest daughter now, aren’t I? Only because I’m the one that lived.”

Nahyuta doesn’t say anything. What is there to say? More than almost anyone else in the entire world - more than anyone but Queen Amara herself - he understands, has lived such a same awful nightmare, and there’s nothing to say. There’s no consolation.

“Sometimes I think I shouldn’t have kids,” Maya adds. “Most of the time I think it. And if Pearly didn’t either we could just - put an end to this. Is it worth it? For the world to have this - us, to channel the dead, is it worth it if it keeps ruining the living?” How many more neglected sons and dead daughters will their bloodline see? Why are they the sacrifice for this power to continue to exist? Why should the dead be prioritized over the living mediums who call them back?

“Maybe I’ll adopt,” she says. “If I ever want kids. Like - Nick adopting a kid worked out really well for them both. Then I could get to have kids without perpetuating this - this cycle.”

“Our shared blood spilled again and again,” Nahyuta says.

“One of my cousins, who can’t even channel, still became a nun because our family is so fucked up,” Maya says. And that’s a bit of a simplification of Iris’ choice and situation, but it’s also exactly what happened, isn’t it? Shut herself away to atone for the crime of loving her sister and also those other crimes - willing to do whatever it took to protect Maya from Morgan’s plot because she knew no other way to atone for the sins of herself and her sister and mother. “I don’t know. Am I overreacting to say that we need to swear a pact, like you and me and Pearly and Her Benevolence, to not have any biological children so that we can end the bloodline? Like is that - is that blaming the wrong thing? The blood and not—”

Not us? 

“Is our family always so damned to turn out this way?” Nahyuta asks, rephrasing her fumbling questions so elegantly. “Do we have a choice in what we become? Or say perhaps we should swear to do better - and perhaps we do, for a generation or two. And then what? The Holy Mother and Lady Kee’ra gave us the best example they could of how to protect Khura’in, how to rule and serve its people while loving each other, and look how that became corrupted. Look how Lady Ami left, and her descendants set out across the sea, and still in your faraway village older and younger sisters go to war with each other.” He gives her a sad smile, his eyes even sadder. “Of course it seems the inevitable fate of our bloodline, given what both your branch and mine have lived through, Cousin.”

“Shit sucks,” Maya says. She needs to ask Datz to teach her some good curses in Khura’inese. All she knows is how to damn people to various hells, and sometimes that just isn’t the vibe she’s going for with her swearing. 

Nahyuta laughs softly. “Indeed it does.”

Maya reaches out and pulls the scroll back closer to her. Ami, the daughter who founded her branch of their ancient family, nothing more than a nameless scorch mark. What else should Maya have expected to find? She knows how her family is, home and here. Why not a thousand years ago, the same? She should have expected it, the fire and the pruned branches. Then and now.

“Does that mean you’re on board with the no-kids pact?” She glances back at Nahyuta. “Or do I just like, really not want kids actually and I’m just trying to find justifiable excuses when ‘I don’t want kids’ can be its own excuse?” She’s babbling. The Master is not supposed to babble. “Have you ever thought about if you want—?”

Something dark and sad crosses his face. “I have no idea what I ‘want’,” he says, making a sarcastic quotation mark in the air with one hand, and Maya almost laughs because that’s some of the most informal expressiveness she’s ever seen from him. “Until a very recent time, all I could hope to ‘want’ for the future was that I would die before I was thirty and be freed of this, for no hell in death I’ve ever heard of could be worse than the one I lived.”

Maya regrets asking. “Oh,” she says. “I’m sorry.”

“I suppose that is some argument in support of your suggestion,” he continues, like the way Nick talks about being disbarred, where he blithely talks past anyone’s sympathy or acknowledgement of how fucked up it was. “Given that it was a hell my own aunt made for me. Is there anything else you wished to examine down here?”

Nick talks past it because he can’t let himself pause to consider how fucked up it was, because he’s treading water and has to keep moving and if he stops to think he’ll drown. Maya knows this because she’s done the same. She kept a smile on her face and kept moving because she had to keep Pearly’s head above water, again and again. Nick has Trucy. Nahyuta has Rayfa and the entire country of Khura’in. “No,” Maya says, rolling up the ancient scroll to return it to its place. “That’s all I was looking for down here.”

Nahyuta nods. He points her to the spot on the shelves, the carefully ordered archive of their family’s burdensome history, the spot where Ami was excised from. They stand there, after, silently, eyeing the shelves in the gloom, as though both reluctant to leave it. “I suppose,” Nahyuta says softly, barely more than a breath, “that it is not quite true to say that I have never given thought to the matter of children. What I want, I do not know. But that I am regent now, I have wondered too, as we said before, what will be next? Holy Mother forbid my sister ever become a tyrant, but what of her potential future daughters? What of - what, perhaps, of mine? How shall we safeguard our country from our own descendants?”

“I hear democracies work okay sometimes,” Maya says. And sometimes there are the Paul Atishons of the world who commit murder in the course of running for a village council position. Sometimes, there are people - greedy, selfish, ambitious people - and everything goes wrong. 

Nahyuta’s mouth twists in a small smirk. She’s certainly hedging her bets with her phrasing, she knows.

“I guess even if you decided to not have kids so they or your grandkids or great-grandkids can’t ruin everything for everyone again,” Maya says, “you and Her Benevolence would still have to restructure the entire government because—”

“Because our entire line of succession is based on spirit channeling, yes,” Nahyuta says. “Thousands of years of tradition and direct descent, and we stand poised to overturn it all.” He shakes his head. “My most immediate concern has been piecing our legal system back together and undoing all the false verdicts that Ga’ran’s rule has wrought, as you and my brother are well aware, but I have had some discussion with my mother and sister about introducing a parliamentary system.” He folds his arms behind his back, shifting his wait like he is about to start moving, and then he doesn’t, and they remain there in the dark. “Even if our family should play out its bloody feuds again, we may at least limit the casualties. Our people should not suffer from a despot’s unilateral decrees just because one sister so envies the other.”

Envy, yes - it was jealousy, and ambition, and selfishness, and people died. It was Morgan expecting that she was owed her birthright and unable to cope when her more talented younger sister overtook her as Master. It was Ga’ran expecting nothing and wanting it all the same, desiring for herself the admiration that Khura’in’s people had for her older sister, the beloved queen, but only able to make herself feared, not loved. People are dead because one sister got what the other wanted.

Kurain Village teaches that channeling is a gift from the gods, but a gift shouldn’t come with a price to pay. 

“What does Her Benevolence think of that?” Maya asks. She respects Rayfa, the princess wo held too much responsibility at such a young age and now has had her world shattered several times over and stepped up from it stronger, and she never should have had to live any of this. She should not have had to learn that her mother was not her mother and was a monster, and her father who was not her father by blood was a monster, and the other father she could have had was already dead. Like Pearly, if such a tragedy ever had to befall her, why did it have to be when she was so young? Everything Princess Rayfa went through, Maya thinks, might make her understand the same facts that Maya and Nahyuta understand. 

“She agrees,” Nahyuta says, as Maya thought she would. “Lady Kee’ra and the Holy Mother were Khura’in’s great protectors. Perhaps this is what protecting our country means now - protecting it too from the worst of ourselves.” He sweeps a strand of hair back behind his ear and the shiny gold earrings there. “And I owe a great many thanks to Phoenix Wright, and you, for first helping Rayfa on the path to understanding these such matters. For teaching her what I could not.”

“I’m glad we could,” Maya says. “I really am glad. I think Khura’in is lucky to have you both now.”

Nahyuta glances away, like he doesn’t really know how he’s supposed to respond to genuine concern and compliment. How long was he under Ga’ran’s thumb? How many years of being unable to have a heart, because it was his heart that Ga’ran used against him - how many years was he in a pit of vipers with no one who was allowed to care about him? If Maya knew she doesn’t quite remember. 

“I will do whatever I can to support Her Benevolence, and to repair all the wrongs that have been done to our country,” Nahyuta says stiffly, forcing the words out. “I owe - for all I stood complicit in, I—” He is still staring at the far wall, and he squeezes his eyes shut and takes a moment to compose himself. “I owe my father so much more, but this much I am able to do. This I may change.” He blinks his eyes shut again and twists his beaded prayer necklace around his fingers. “I cannot make it up to him, but I will try.”

Maya’s stomach sinks. 

Only once has Apollo ever broached the topic of the three days she spent channeling his father, and that was just to know if she had any awareness of what was going on while she was channeling. The answer is no and a noncommittal vague shrug, because her soul vacates her body but spirits leave behind traces of feelings on their departure. When Tahrust left her she felt at peace, a sense of justice imparted and no regret remaining, for about three seconds until she remembered where she was and that she and Nick might be executed depending on what the high priest did or didn’t say. 

After Dhurke left, she was exhausted, mostly, and a bit confused why he was already gone because she didn’t think he had yet accomplished all he meant to - but more than that sense of unfinished business, there was love. Love for all three of his children, love for his wife, love for his rebels and his country. Everything he did was for love, and for once, the choices made for love weren’t stupid and messy. And still they ended with such pain. 

Talking to Apollo then, she remembered how much Dhurke loved his son, enough that for a moment she couldn’t breathe with it. (She wondered if this was how much her mother loved her.) And talking to Nahyuta now—

“You don’t need to make anything up to him,” Maya says. Nahyuta turns his head so that she can’t even see the pained expression on his face, but she can see his hands curled up to his chest, clutching the dragon tattooed on his palm close to his heart. “He loved you. He forgave you from the start. He understood why, and he loved you.”

“Don’t,” Nahyuta whispers. “You can’t say that—”

“I know he - hey!” 

Nahyuta spins on his heel, heading for the door. Maya runs after him, grabbing onto his arm and hanging firm even as he twists in her grasp and slams the heavy doors behind them with a thunderous thud that makes the floor beneath their feet shudder. Nahyuta scowls at her; Maya scowls back, and when he breaks eye contact first, his shoulders slumping a little, Maya risks releasing her cousin’s arm. He studies his boots instead of leaving.

“I’d channel him so he could tell you himself,” Maya says, “but for one thing, I don’t know if that actually - helps. With getting closure.” Nahyuta looks at her from the corner of his eyes. A question. She goes on, her eyes stinging as she does. “Me and Nick with my sister, that whenever I’d channel her, or Pearly would, I wondered like maybe we were just picking at a scab and it’d never heal because she was here again, but she wasn’t here, not enough. She was always just out of reach, even when I got to hug her and tell her I loved her, I - I don’t know.” 

She never considered asking Pearl to channel Misty so that Maya could talk to her mother for the only time ever in her life. Both because she thought that Pearly would find the guilt unbearable, and Pearly feeling in any way responsible for what happened on that mountain is the last thing Maya has ever wanted, and because she doesn’t know what to say or how to get closure with a woman she never really knew. She had never come to terms with her mother’s disappearance, really, but then just the knowing - knowing that she was dead and no longer somewhere just at the tips of Maya’s fingertips if she reached far enough and looked hard enough - was the closure. Not closure enough, never enough, but the best Maya figures she could ever get in that situation. 

“Ask Lady Inmee if she felt the chance to say a final goodbye to her husband made the loss any less painful,” Nahyuta says. “To hear from him one last time that she loved him, when she knew that, and to tell him one last time that she loved him when he knew such.”

“Yeah,” Maya says softly. When Nahyuta resumes walking, it is to set a pace that she can easily keep beside him as he leads her through the maze of halls. She swallows her nerves, shoves aside the little bit of her mind that is convinced she is overstepping bounds, because when has she ever cared about that, and she already did once this conversation so why not finish it off? 

“And for the other thing,” she says, and Nahyuta turns his head sharply, his hair swinging, to look at her, like he’d forgotten that she started talking in a way that signaled that she had more than one point about channelings and closure, “I don’t think it would really change that much about how you feel, for you to hear your father say he’s forgiven you.”

Nahyuta stops, but doesn’t make to flee. He just stops, waiting for her to finish before they ascend to the ground floor of the palace, out of the records of the dead and back to their living family who still need their help. “I think you need to forgive you,” Maya says. 

He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t say anything as they stride through the palace, passing guards in the lived-in halls, and she expects when they reach the front gates that he will throw her unceremoniously out. But he instead steps with her into the sun, out into the colorful, bustling streets of the capital, where here in the land of the living the people they pass have nods and bows of acknowledgement - for Nahyuta, mostly, of course but Maya too, and it never fails to amaze her. She spent two years here coming to know the people while hiding a part of herself, and now they know, and that and so much more has changed.

Nahyuta stops to chat with a sweet bun vendor, and through the quick conversation Maya gathers that the woman was one of the Dragons. They come away with a pastry for each of them, and it seems like Nahyuta has waited for her to take a bite and be unable to speak for him to finally say, “You make it sound so simple. As though it is easy to - how? How am I to...?”

Joke’s on him; Maya can easily talk through a mouthful of bun, even if it’s not helpful. “Wish I knew.”

Rather than stuff it in his face, Nahyuta breaks off a small piece of the bun and pops it into his mouth. The delicate, refined mannerisms he sometimes shows almost make Maya snort when she thinks about him learning manners while living in a shack in the mountains, that chaotic, feral childhood that Apollo has described a few times. Instead of laughing, she swallows her mouthful and says, “No, really, trust me, I do wish I knew.” How to forgive oneself a guilt of the kind so deep and painful it could drive a person to consider choosing death instead - that would be a power far greater than channeling spirits. Maybe that would be a gift that didn’t come intertwined with pain, but it isn’t the one Maya has. “I wish I was any help at all.”

She waits a moment to see if Nahyuta will reply right away, and when he doesn’t, she takes a large bite of her sweet bun again and raises her eyebrows in the best disdainful look she can muster, in response to Nahyuta watching her shove pastry down her face in the most undignified of ways. He rolls his eyes. She is still chewing when he says, “You were. Thank you, Maya.”

This deserves more dignity than talking with her mouth full can merit. The delay is at least two seconds until she can say, “Oh,” a reply that still surely lacks dignity. “You’re - you’re welcome.”

A warbaa’d roars and they both jump. A dog barks, and then another, another layer of noise over the loud bazaar. Maya closes her eyes to take in the ambience, all the voices chattering, catching up with neighbors and bartering for their groceries. “It feels different here now,” Maya says. 

“What do you mean?” Nahyuta asks. 

“I didn’t notice until it wasn’t, but there was always - this kind of tension, in the air, here. Even when everyone was trying to act normal, we were all - not. We were scared and - and hiding things.” Rebels, rebel-sympathizers, secret police, and Maya the spirit medium from abroad. “It feels like I can breathe now. It feels like - well, it doesn’t feel like home. My village is so damn quiet. Not like—” She waves a hand at all the bustle around them, looking over the shop storefronts, and then she is hastily halted when Nahyuta throws an arm out to stop her from walking into the path of a yak. “But it feels like it could be a home, more than it ever did before.” Even when before had the Inmees’ lovely hospitality. How hard as that is to look back on now, with all that happened since. “The thing I miss most though, besides Pearly and Nick and everyone - I wish I could get a burger. And ramen, but mostly a good burger.”

She watches the yak trundle of sight. Nahyuta looks briefly offended on its behalf until he asks, “Have you ever been to Burger Barn?”

“I can’t,” Maya whines. “The lines. I go in and I’m hungry and I smell everything and I’m so much hungrier but then I have to wait so long, and by the time I’d get to order I’d probably have eaten my own sandals, so no, I’ve never actually had one of their burgers.”

The law office comes into sight down the street; Maya has had trouble remembering where it is, and then Datz redid the outer walls yesterday and she barely recognizes it, but she can find her way now by the dragon he painted on the wall, to go with the office sign. Nahyuta’s eyes widen and he comes to a halt, and Maya realizes that he must not have been down here yet. She gives him a moment to take it in; she’s not going to try to get used to this visage yet, not when Datz is talking about redoing the roof too. “So,” she prompts when Nahyuta tears his eyes away and they resume walking, “you’ve been to Burger Barn?”

“I recommend going before you are hungry,” he says. “Then by the time the wait is over you are not positively famished. But I find it surprising that the wait would prove to you a challenge - it should pale in comparison to activities such as meditation beneath a freezing waterfall. The Burger Barn is only slightly cold from too much air conditioning.”

“I cannot believe you went to Burger Barn before me,” Maya says. “I can’t believe this! Was it as good as they say or is it overrated? I guess you probably haven’t had enough burgers to know—”

“I made it a point to visit several other burger joints in the time while I was in America, intending to make such a comparison,” Nahyuta interrupts, and Maya cackles at the thought, remembering Apollo lamenting his brother’s habit of obsessively over-researching anything that may tangentially cross his path. Like all the trials Maya has been involved in. Like burgers. Nahyuta raises his eyebrows at her outburst but continues, “From the samples that I have experienced” - experience a burger, that would be a great restaurant tagline, and Maya nearly laughs again - “I would rate it as the best.”

“Huh,” Maya says. She’s spent years convincing herself that they have to be overrated. “I guess we’ll have to go. And with Pearly too, it can be like another dimension of our training. I can’t believe I never thought of that trick before! Just treat it like training. I’ve been locked in cold mountain caves before, like oh no, the burger line is difficult somehow.”

“Oh Mystic Master of Kurain, cousin of mine, all your wisdom yet you missed this simple fact.” He says it so deadpan, only the corners of his eyes turning up with amusement.  

Maya sticks her tongue out at him. “Nick’s got a challenger - that is the most sarcastic way of calling me wise that I’ve ever heard. But I’ll—” She stops as something occurs to her. “You - you will come back to LA someday, right?” He isn’t running from an evil queen any longer. He has a home to stay in. 

“Of course,” he says. “I have people there I must ask forgiveness of, and I should like to visit your village someday, as well, to meet our cousin Pearly.”

She’s called her that so much that Nahyuta not knowing her doesn’t know that isn’t quite her name. She smiles. Maybe once she goes back to the village, she can convince Pearl that his name is Yuty and watch what happens when they meet. That would be funny. “And I would like Rayfa to be able to meet her, as well,” Nahyuta continues. “And for her to see more of the world beyond Khura’in.”

Pearl is only four years older than the princess, has had her world upended in much the same way to learn that her mother was not what she seemed, and by following her instructions Pearl was not doing right by the people she cared about. “That’d be good,” Maya says. They stand on the doorstep of the office, stare together up at the hand painted sign above the door. “I bet Pearly would love to meet you and show you around. Go to Burger Barn. Have a fun cousins hang-out. Get to know each other a little better.”

See if together they can find a way to do better than their mothers and aunts. Change the fate of their family. 

Nahyuta smiles. “I would like that.”

[madamlaydebug]

The israelites constructed and began worshiping a golden calf which was a personified deity of a Black Woman upon further inspection it is obvious that this golden-calf is in fact the Kemetic cow Goddess Hetheru. After spending so many years in kemet and observing the complex practices, culture and spiritual system of the egyptians (a system thousands of years in the making, with roots from the nubian people of kush — the egyptians were children and a colony of the kushites. It would be thought that moses would understand that the kemetans were not idol worshipers and that the image of the cow Goddess only symbolically represents the nourishing and life giving energy of a Black Woman the same energy which is an aspect of the all-encompassing transcendental God neberdjer. So the israelites were in fact emulating a kemetian practice, the practice of devotional veneration to both the Black woman, and to God! Het-Heru, Het-heret (Het-heret, Het-Heru; G/R Hathor) - "House of Heru" Another Name known from predynastic times, Hethert represents the feminine principle, as reflected in several of Her symbols. The cow, the mirror, and the ritual rattle or sistrum. Hethert is patroness of Black Women, and professions given to Her priesthood include dancers, singers, actors and acrobats even up to Greek times the arts were under Hethert's dominion. Hethert's temples, especially that at Ta-Netjer (Arabic Dendera) were centers for both healing with a hospital/sanatorium on-site and midwifery. Priests in the temple of Ta-Netjer conducted oracles with Hethert in trance rituals held in crypts underneath the sanctuary, and any person could sleep on the temple roof and hope for a dream, which could be interpreted the next morning by the priests. Even today, one can see graffiti and game boards left behind by those pilgrims, carved into the stones of Ta-Netjer's roof. Hethert's association with both cows and the sistrum probably results from Her assimilation of the Predynastic Netjer Bat; sistrum capitals atop the pillars throughout Kemetic temples show Hethert's full face with cow's ears atop a naos style sistrum. Hethert was closely associated with Heru-Behdety at Edfu, perhaps influencing the fact that She was a patroness of Kemet's queens as Heru is to the king, so Hethert is to the queen. Some queens are referred to by Hethert's titles of "Mistress of Heaven" and "Lady of Gold." Nefertary's spectacular temple at Abu Simbel in Nubia depicts the Great Royal Wife as Hethert in many places; and her husband Ramses II is depicted in its sanctuary, suckling from the udder of Hethert as a divine cow.

[thathomestar]

A Somewhat Comprehensive List of Good Old-School FPS Games, Where To Get Them, & How To Get Them Working

I love old FPS games. The action is fast, the levels are explorable, the guns are powerful. Whether you’re tired of modern FPS games or just waiting for some new hotness to come out, there’s a lot of these old games you can play! This list will cover a lot of the old classics and how to get them running on modern hardware (assuming you’re on Windows. Some of these work on Mac/Linux though).

Of course, what defines an “old-school” game from something more recent? Well the way I see it, there are FPS games before Halo, and FPS games after Halo. Halo was such a landmark game that it shifted the entire genre, hell even the entire video game industry. So I’m going to keep this list to pre-2001 games for the most part.

STUFF TO KNOW

Before going into this wholesale, I need to say a couple of things. These game are old. They are most likely not going to work out of the box and will need some tweaking on your part. Most of the non-3D games on Steam and GOG come with DOSBox wrappers. This can be fine for some games, but often times fans have created patches and their own engines/source ports for these games that work better than DOSBox emulation.

PC Gaming Wiki is an invaluable resource when it comes to finding patches and fixes to common problems. I will also point out any fan patches or source ports for the games as I go. On Steam, the curator page Sector Effectors has brief overviews on the functionality of games so you know what you might need before you buy.

A lot of games on Steam and GOG come in bundles that have the entire series in one at a markdown price, so it’s usually cheaper to just buy an entire series than each individual game. I can link to bundles on Steam but not on GOG; those bundles will be on the sidebar underneath the button to buy the game. In the case of games (like Doom on Steam), you have to buy the bundle to get the mission packs, whereas stuff like this is typically included with the game already on GOG.

Make sure you check through the options menu of each game and make sure everything’s set up to your liking, whether it’s video options or your actual controls. The default settings for this kind of stuff in these games are tend to be really weird and outdated, so it’s something you need to check every single time.

Most if not all of these games include various difficulty modes, so whether you’re a badass coolguy like me or someone fairly new to PC shooter games, you’ll be able to play these games.

id SOFTWARE

While they didn’t invent first-person shooter games, it’s undeniable that id Software made the genre as popular as it is today with the games they made.

WOLFENSTEIN (1992/1993/2001)

Wolfenstein was originally an adventure game for the Apple II, but the boys at id wanted to put their own spin on it. What we got was intensely fast Nazi slaughtering action, chock full of gore to spill and gold to swipe. You play as B.J. Blazkowicz, a POW hellbent on escaping Castle Wolfenstein and blasting any Nazi who gets in your way.

Wolfenstein 3D - GOG / Steam Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny - GOG / Steam Return to Castle Wolfenstein - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle

Wolf3D has a source port called ECWolf, which natively supports most popular OS’s, has widescreen support, and adds an auto-map feature which is immensely helpful for getting through the maze-like levels. At full speed, Wolf3D might make you motion sick, just a word of warning.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein has a 1.42d fanpatch (second from bottom) that adds proper widescreen support. This game has some weird difficulty spikes. Grey Matter Studios, the team that made RtCW, were later absorbed into Treyarch, who later went on to make Call of Duty: World at War and most of the other good CoD games.

Call Apogee, Say “Aardwolf”!

DOOM (1993/1994/1996)

This just might be the best game ever made, though I may be a little biased. Doom was a landmark title in the video game industry, to the point that FPS games were all called “Doom clones” for a while. The last alive in your squad of space marines, it’s you versus the legions of Hell as they take over Mars and invade Earth. Try to make it out alive!

Ultimate Doom - GOG / Steam Doom II: Hell on Earth - GOG / Steam Final Doom - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle (includes Master Levels for Doom II)

Doom has a huge number of source ports, but the most notable ones as of right now (in my opinion) are GZDoom (modern features + mod support), prboom+ (vanilla-style with modern features), and Chocolate Doom (vanilla-accurate). There’s many more though, which I’ve written about extensively here. Disregard Doom 3: BFG Edition, it edits the base data files and makes them incompatible with a lot of custom content.

If you play with a gameplay mod before you’ve beaten the games, I’ll slap you.

Eat leaden death, demon.

QUAKE (1996/1997/1999)

Wolf3D and Doom were pioneers for their own reasons, and Quake’s claim to fame was its fast 3D graphics, full use of the mouse to look up, down, and all around, and intense deathmatch multiplayer. Whether you’re battling it out with Lovecraftian monsters in Gothic castles, waging war against the alien Strogg, or simply blasting opponents in the Arena Eternal, there’s intense action to be had.

Quake - GOG / Steam Quake II - GOG / Steam Quake III Arena - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle

Quake 1 has a few notable source ports. For singleplayer, Quakespasm (John Romero approved!) and Darkplaces (not updated anymore but still works great) are the go-to. I don’t really play Q1 multiplayer so I can’t recommend anything on that end. This Steam guide has some good info on Quake source ports regardless.

Another thing of note with Q1 is that the Steam version does not come with the CD audio. Short of putting a Quake disc in your computer to get that CD audio, you can download this ZIP file I put together. This page has more info about the Quake 1 soundtrack. The GOG version comes with the CD audio, but in the format of a disk image, which can be a pain to get working.

Quake II has an unofficial 3.24 patch (third from bottom) as well as source ports like Yamagi and kmquake2 (top one). Q2 also has the same problem Q1 has, in that the Steam version doesn’t have the rockin’ CD soundtrack. I put together a download for the Quake 2 soundtrack here.

Quake III Arena should just work out of install, though on Steam you might need to disable Steam Overlay as it can screw up the visuals. Outside of that though, there’s a 1.32e fanpatch and the ioquake3 source port. Unlike the previous two games, Q3A is primarily a multiplayer game, though it does have a botmatch campaign that’s fairly fun. The music should work in this one.

Shub-Niggurath awaits you...

RAVEN SOFTWARE

For a while, Raven were kind of a sister studio to id. A lot of Raven’s early games are on id Software game engines. Luckily, this means some of these games can work on source ports for the games listed above!

HERETIC & HEXEN (1994/1995/1997)

Heretic and Hexen run on the Doom engine, and actually added features that Doom originally didn’t have, like being able to look up and down, having an inventory system, having a class system, and being able to jump. Hexen itself plays fairly different from Doom, with much more focus on exploration, puzzle solving, and melee combat, with the ability to backtrack between levels.

Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders - Steam HeXen: Beyond Heretic - Steam HeXen II - Steam Steam Bundle

Being Doom engine games, Heretic/Hexen can be played using source ports like GZDoom and Chocolate Doom with little to no extra hassle. Hexen actually has a CD soundtrack much like Quake, but without a CD you get the MIDI versions of the music instead, which is fine by me since the MIDI tracks are great. If you want the CD music, you can run this WAD when you run Hexen. Check my Doom guide for info on how to do that.

The version of Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel on Steam is actually the original buggy version with no music. Download this version of it instead for working music.

Hexen II uses the Quake 1 engine, but has it’s own source port called Hammer of Thyrion. Unfortunately, like Quake 1, the Steam version does not include the CD audio. You can download the soundtrack here. Hexen II on Steam also does not include the Portal of Praevus mission pack; you can download that here.

There is actually a Heretic II but it’s third-person and not sold on digital stores due to licensing issues. It’s okay, and more of an early look at a much bigger game Raven Software would make four years later.

Evil grows darkest in the shadow.

APOGEE SOFTWARE/3D REALMS

Apogee was both a developer and publisher for PC games, popularizing the “shareware” model of distribution where a sizable portion of the game would be put out for free, and people could pay for the rest of the game. Wolf3D was actually published under Apogee, but id went solo when they made Doom. Regardless, they made some very notable FPS games.

RISE OF THE TRIAD (1994)

Made on a heavily modified Wolf3D engine, Rise of the Triad was made after Tom Hall left id since Doom’s development went in a direction he wasn’t interested in. It’s much less technically impressive than Doom, though you can choose one of five characters to play as, as well as look up and down and even bounce off of bounce pads.

Rise of the Triad: Dark War - GOG / Steam

There is one RotT source port called WinRott (and a more modern version called WinRottAPI). However, it has numerous problems and frequently crashes, making the standard DOSBox version you get with GOG and Steam the more appealing option.

Ludicrous gibs!

DUKE NUKEM 3D (1996)

The first of the Big Build Engine Three, Duke Nukem 3D is the third game in the series, the previous two being sidescrolling shooters. Alien bastards have invaded Earth once again, and Duke Nukem takes it upon himself to blast their asses out of the galaxy, cracking one-liners along the way.

Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour - Steam

Atomic Edition is the original “all-in-one” package that includes bonus campaigns which was sold on GOG, and Megaton Edition was a modern rerelease of Atomic Edition on Steam. However, these versions of the game were ripped off of digital storefronts due to Gearbox Software acquiring the Duke IP. The only version of Duke3D to buy right now on digital stores is World Tour. It does not include the original bonus campaigns, but it has an all-new 5th episode where Duke Nukem says “Bazinga”.

Honestly, just have Atomic Edition. This is the version I had before it was taken off GOG. I don’t care. Don’t give Randy Pitchford your money.

The most notable Duke3D source port is eduke32, which adds a lot of modern bells and whistles as well as some fancy new visuals. I’m not sure it’s compatible with World Tour though.

Those alien bastards are gonna pay for shooting up my ride!

SHADOW WARRIOR (1997)

The second big Build Engine game, Shadow Warrior is fairly similar to Duke3D, albeit with a (slightly racially insensitive) Asian theme. You play as Lo Wang, chopping and blasting your way through demons and monsters to stop a corporate overlord from taking over Japan, cracking bad puns along the way.

Shadow Warrior Classic (1997) - GOG / Steam (free!) Shadow Warrior Redux - GOG / Steam

The Classic version of Shadow Warrior is just the original game running in DOSBox. It works pretty well, and for the low price of free it’s worth a play! The Redux version is essentially an official source port, like what Megaton Edition was with Duke3D. It does cost money, but it runs great.

There were a couple of source ports, but the Redux version basically invalidates them.

Who want some Wang??

BLOOD (1997)

The third big Build Engine game. Blood was made by Monolith, more well known these days for F.E.A.R. and Shadow of Mordor. Blood’s a bit of a weird one compared to Duke and Shadow Warrior; its setting is ambiguous and your main melee weapon of choice is a pitchfork. Caleb is an undead gunslinger who’s on a revenge quest, slaughtering cultists and monsters along the way while cracking snide comments.

Blood: One Whole Unit Blood - GOG / Steam

Blood is in a weird situation, where it likely would have had a rerelease similar to Duke3D Megaton or Shadow Warrior Redux, but Atari has a stranglehold on the rights and refuses to do anything with it, even release the source code.

Despite that, Blood does have a couple of source ports of sorts, the standout being BloodGDX. It’s a bizarre reverse-engineered piece of work that runs in Java, but it’s probably the most accurate version of Blood you can play besides the DOSBox version. On the downside, it doesn’t display the pre-rendered cutscenes. The alternative is BloodCM, which is based on eduke32.

There is a Blood II but it’s poopy.

I live... again!

BUNGIE

A lot of people forget Bungie made games before Halo existed. This is because most of the games they made before Halo were for the Macintosh. While Doom dominated the IBM PC market, Bungie decided to carve out a niche on a competing platform, and it worked.

MARATHON (1994/1995/1996)

The guys at Bungie thought Wolf3D and Doom were pretty cool, and they wanted to put their own spin on it. The pace is a bit slower than it’s contemporaries, but Marathon’s focus is instead on exploration and story, which is told through computer terminals. Aliens attack your colony ship, and the onboard AI start to go a little haywire. It’s up to you, a lone security officer, to beat back the Pfhor and prevent Durandal from... oh never mind, there he goes.

Marathon - Free Download Marathon 2: Durandal - Free Download Marathon Infinity - Free Download

The Marathon Trilogy in it’s entirety was put up for free by Bungie, source code and all. The main source port for it is Aleph One. It should just work after install, though you might need to fiddle with the in-game options to get it to how you want it.

All three games come with hi-res texture packs that are based on the Xbox Live Arcade version of Marathon 2, and they kinda don’t look so good sometimes. You can turn them off in the Plugins menu under Environment options to get the authentic aesthetics. The Field of View of the Marathon games is a little low by default, but you can copypaste a script from the PC Gaming Wiki page to remedy that. I played with 100 FOV personally.

Make liberal use of your automap, but conservative use of your ammo. You can only save at designated save stations. Marathon 1 has background music but the other two games don’t. Marathon Infinity’s plot includes timeline hopping. Have fun!

Frog blast the vent core!

EPIC MEGAGAMES & DIGITAL EXTREMES

Before Fortnite, before Warframe, before Gears of War, there was Unreal. Epic Games is most known for the Unreal Engine these days, but there’s a game series behind that name, and it used to be Quake’s biggest competitor.

UNREAL (1998/1999)

Like most games here, Unreal was made to be a technical showcase for the engine it’s running on. This is important because visual fidelity was pretty much the game’s main selling point, and it worked. People were really impressed with how it looked at the time. You play as a escaped convict from a prison ship that crash-landed on a mysterious alien planet, simply trying to find a way to escape.

Unreal Gold - GOG / Steam Unreal Tournament GOTY - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle (includes later Unreal games)

These games should just work out of the box, but you can install the Oldunreal fanpatch to make them more compatible with modern systems and resolutions. Make sure you download the one for Unreal Gold, otherwise it won’t let you play the expansion. Unreal Tournament has a couple of patches that are needed if you want to play it online these days, as well as this fix for sound and some of the graphics.

There is an Unreal II but it wasn’t made by Epic or Digital Extremes, and it’s kind of poopy.

From where many have died, you have escaped.

VALVE SOFTWARE

Before the rise of Steam, Valve used to make games. While they don’t really do that anymore, their back catalog of developed games is impressive and impacted the industry in more ways than one.

HALF-LIFE (1998/1999/2001)

Valve’s aim with Half-Life was to make an immersive world that told a story, while also having Quake-style action as it’s main gameplay. Half-Life got a lot of praise for not only telling a decent little story, but for letting players keep control the entire time and never forcing people to watch a single cutscene. A research facility accidentally opens a portal to a border dimension, from which an alien invasion pours out. It’s up to Dr. Freeman to fight for his survival, as an all-out war commences.

Half-Life - Steam Half-Life: Opposing Force - Steam Half-Life: Blue Shift - Steam Steam Bundle (also includes Team Fortress Classic)

Half-Life is still somewhat regularly updated by Valve to keep it compatible with modern systems, so the game should just work after install. That being said, Xash3D is a reverse engineered version of GoldSrc that aims to remove some limitations and restored cut features from the original engine, though it’s not necessary to play Half-Life or it’s expansions.

There exists Half-Life: Source, which is HL1 straight ported to the HL2 engine, but it sucks. It was so bad, fans created Black Mesa, a full HL1 remaster for the HL2 engine. Black Mesa is great, but don’t play it until you’ve played the original.

They’re waiting for you, Gordon. In the test chamber...

COUNTER-STRIKE & TEAM FORTRESS

While these are strictly multiplayer-only games, I would be remiss to not include them. Counter-Strike and Team Fortress’s impacts on the world of competitive multiplayer gaming is extremely important and is worth checking out at least once.

Counter-Strike - Steam Team Fortress Classic - Steam

The original Counter-Strike should work out of the box and is still actively played by quite a number of people today. Team Fortress Classic still has a playerbase, but not as much as CS. The newest versions of these games, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2, are still incredibly popular to this day.

Enemy spotted.

LOOKING GLASS STUDIOS

I personally don’t have much experience with Looking Glass and their legacy of games, but it just wouldn’t be right to not mention them considering how important they were to the growth of the first-person genre of games. Not strictly shooters like Doom or Quake, these games pioneered the “immersive sim” subgenre with heavy focus on exploration and story over blast-up-your-ass gunplay. If you prefer a slower pace and some actual story to sink your teeth into, look no further. Though, be prepared to wrestle with some of the controls.

ULTIMA UNDERWORLD (1992/1993)

Ultima was primarily a top-down RPG series, but Underworld takes that formula and puts it in the first-person perspective. The game pioneered many advanced features not seen before in video games, and heavily inspired games like The Elder Scrolls, Bioshock, and even Wolfenstein 3D. You play once again as The Avatar, thrown into the Great Stygian Abyss to look for an ungrateful baron’s kidnapped daughter.

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - GOG Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds - GOG

There does not exist any source ports or fan patches for this game, so DOSBox is all you get. It seems that the GOG versions has a few issues, but they have fixes.

You see a rat. You see a rat. You see a rat. You see a rat. You...

SYSTEM SHOCK (1994/1999)

Video game stories about AIs going rouge and wanting to become gods seems to be a common theme in 1994. System Shock 1 and 2 are considered masterpieces by classic PC game enthusiasts. You play a cyber-hacker in the future and some corporate executive guy asks you to hack his space station’s AI to give him full control over it, in exchange for cyber implants. You agree, you do it, and as you wake from the implanting operation, the AI has pretty much killed everyone aboard and is planning on blasting major cities on on Earth with the station’s mining laser.

System Shock: Enhanced Edition - GOG / Steam System Shock 2 - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle

Enhanced Edition, much like some of the rereleases for the Build Engine games, is geared to make the game playable on modern systems, in more ways than one. For instance, in the original game, you cannot use the mouse to look around. Enhanced Edition lets you do so. It also comes with the original version of System Shock running in DOSBox, if you’re so inclined to play it.

System Shock 2 has a whole slew of mods and patches, too many for me to discern and sort through. Maybe I’ll update this once I actually play the game so I can put up only the worthwhile fixes and mods.

Look at you, hacker. A pathetic creature of meat and bone. Panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect immortal machine?

THIEF (1998/2000)

A bit of a departure from most of the games on this list, even other Looking Glass games, Thief is primarily a stealth game, focusing on moving quietly and discreetly while swiping rare artifacts and precious heirlooms. Though Garrett, the player character, often finds himself in much darker conspiracies throughout his adventures.

Thief: Gold - GOG / Steam Thief II: The Metal Age - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle (includes Thief 3 and the crappy Thief reboot)

Thief Gold has a patch called TFix that helps the game run on modern systems. Thief II has a similar patch called Tafferpatcher. Both games use the same engine, which was also used for System Shock 2.

Some people in The City are too rich for their own good. Lucky they have me to give them a hand.

ION STORM

Ion Storm is kind of weird to look back on in hindsight. John Romero was essentially forced out of id Software after Quake came out because he spent too much time goofing around and not actually working, so he got back with his buddy Tom Hall, and they formed Ion Storm. They managed to bring in Warren Spector and some other talent from Looking Glass as well.

DAIKATANA (2000)

Okay, I’ll be honest, this is not that good of a game, but it has historical significance so I’m including it. Mr. Romero was feeling a bit big in his britches and wanted to make the best game ever. This game would be Daikatana, featuring quite possibly the most infamous and aggressive marketing campaign in gaming history. You play as Hiro, and along with your allies Superfly and Mikiko, you must fix the timeline and prevent the evil Mishima from rewriting history and becoming ruler of the world.

Daikatana - GOG / Steam

Daikatana runs on the Quake 2 engine, which is fairly flexible and should run out of the box. Romero put out the source code for the game a year after release, and from that we got the 1.3 patch, which is still being maintained by the few fans this game has.

John Romero’s about to make you his bitch.

DEUS EX (2000)

While the Dallas studio was plagued with problems of ego, Ion Storm Austin diligently worked with Warren Spector to create the cyberpunk Deus Ex. The themes and topics in this game are honestly more relevant today than they were when the game released. You play as JC Denton, a cybernetically enhanced anti-terrorist agent who gets caught up in a web of conspiracies involving organizations like the Illuminati.

Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition - GOG / Steam

Deus Ex runs on the Unreal engine, so it should just work. The Steam version has a bug where music is accidentally omitted from a level, but this is fixed in the GOG version. There are some fanpatches as well, though I dunno which ones are good or necessary.

There’s a Deus Ex 2 but it’s poopy.

My vision is augmented.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES

There’s still a lot more old-school goodness to play, even though they may not be as big as the ones listed above. They may also deviate a little from definition of “old-school FPS”.

STRIFE (1996)

Even the Doom engine got an immersive sim game. Strife is a fantasy-based adventure FPS where you work with rebels to overthrow The Order. Not to be confused with Strife, the MOBA.

The Original Strife: Veteran Edition - GOG / Steam

This game was in abandonware status for the longest time before Night Dive Studios managed to find the licenses and release this modern version. It uses a fork of GZDoom and comes with a whole host of snazzy features like bloom and anti-aliasing. It even comes with the original files if you just want to play using Chocolate Doom or whatever.

DARK FORCES (1995/1997/1998)

LucasArts were famous for their adventure games, but they wanted a piece of that FPS pie too. Star Wars was and still is the hottest series in sci-fi, so it’s no surprise it had its share of games. The Dark Forces games haven’t aged quite as well as most other games on the list, but if you’re looking for that Star Wars flavor, this is it. You play as Kyle Katarn, an Imperial-turned-mercenary working for whoever forks over the most cash. The cowards at Disney retconned these games with Rogue One.

STAR WARS Dark Forces - GOG / Steam STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle (includes the Jedi Knight games below)

The Steam versions of these games are outdated and many aspects of them just don’t work, like the music. The GOG versions are leagues more functional. Jedi Knight comes with Mysteries of the Sith, which runs on the same engine.

There are no fixes or patches for Dark Forces. XL Engine is the only source port that exists but development on it has been seemingly abandoned, and it remains buggy and unfinished. I can’t even find a proper link to a download, everything keeps 404ing.

Dark Forces II has an unofficial patch and a laundry list of various fixes on its PC Gaming Wiki page. Mysteries of the Sith is much of the same.

JEDI KNIGHT (2002/2003)

Made by Raven Software, who previously made Heretic/Hexen, Jedi Knight continues the adventures of Kyle Katarn, as he obtains the powers of the Force and wields a lightsaber. Shooting sections are in first person, but lightsaber combat is in third person.

STAR WARS Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast - GOG / Steam STAR WARS Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle (includes the Dark Forces games above)

Both games run on the Quake 3 engine, so they should just work fresh from install, though you might need to mess with config files to get proper widescreen resolutions. Jedi Academy still has an active playerbase for its multiplayer!

DESCENT (1995/1996/1999)

Are you sick of being limited to running around on the ground? Then Descent might be for you! Piloting a space ship, you’re given “six degrees of freedom” to bob and weave your way around enemies! You play as a merc hired by a mining corporation to investigate and destroy a computer virus that’s hijacking their mining robots.

Descent - GOG / Steam Descent II - GOG / Steam Descent 3 - GOG / Steam

There are a couple of source ports for Descent. DXX-Rebirth seems focused on maintaining the vanilla feel of the original, and D2X-XL is more focused on adding modern features, like OpenGL rendering. Both of these should work for Descent and Descent II.

Descent 3 does not have any source ports and might require some work to get running.

REDNECK RAMPAGE (1997/1998)

While Duke, Wang, and Caleb stole the show with the Build Engine, Redneck Rampage is still a favorite among some fans. Includes a booze-o-meter!

Redneck Rampage Collection - GOG / Steam

The collection includes all three games in one package. Redneck Rampage is also on Steam but the quality of that version is so poor that you’d be better off just buying the GOG version. One source port exists but is extremely buggy, so you’re better off just playing it with DOSBox.

TUROK (1997/1999)

Most commonly thought of as Nintendo 64 games, Turok did make its way to PC. Turok is a little more arcade-y than most other games of its time, using a checkpoint save system and lives instead of just restarting the level over again like other games. Commit dinozoid genocide as Turok, Son of Stone!

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter - GOG / Steam Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - GOG / Steam

These versions of Turok are remasters done by Night Dive Studios, so they should just work with no issues. N64 soundtrack best soundtrack. They’re drum-tastic!

SERIOUS SAM (2001/2002)

Out of Croatia comes Serious Sam. Including Serious Sam as an “old-school” FPS is pushing it, considering the series was actually made as a throwback to old-school FPS. At this point, it’s done its best to keep old-school traditions alive, so it deserves inclusion. You play as “Serious” Sam Stone, traveling through time to thwart the evil alien Mental.

Serious Sam: The First Encounter - GOG / Steam Serious Sam: The Second Encounter - GOG / Steam

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter - Steam Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter - Steam

Croteam remade TFE and TSE in a newer version of their Serious Engine, and while the HD versions are the ones I’d personally recommend, the original versions still work great and some people still swear by them over the HD versions. It’s up to you and your preferences.

LET’S WRAP THIS UP

Obviously this list is not the end-all-be-all of EVERY first-person shooter that’s considered “old-school”. There’s pre-Wolf3D stuff like Hovertank 3D and Catacomb 3D. There’s stuff during the mid-late 90s like Blake Stone, Soldier of Fortune, SiN, and Tribes. Hell, there’s even stuff like Rainbow Six and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which paved the way for Call of Duty and the rise of modern military FPS. I never promised a full comprehensive list, just stuff I think is notable and fun. Though if you think there’s something vital that’s missing, let me know and I might add it!

If you need help getting some of this stuff to run, I will help if you shoot me a message, but please actually Google your problems before coming to me. Other people have this stuff figured out pretty well, and I will pretty much Google your problem if it’s something I don’t know.

Regardless, please check out these games and have fun! Each one has its own quirks. And remember:

[i-too-saw]

🕯️ The Basics:

Name: Nolanel Feran Age: 21 Race: Wildwood/Ishgardian Elezen Gender: Male Sexuality: Bisexual Martial Status: Single Server: Balmung

🕯️   Physical Appearance:

Hair: A near to shoulder-length mop of thick, curly hair Eyes: Ice blue Height: 6′6″ Build: Strong and somewhat lithe with broad shoulders and built legs. Distinguishing Marks: Scars on his forehead and right cheek, and, although always covered, burns on his hands and legs. Common Accessories: Always a clip on his left ear.

🕯️  Personal:

Profession: Dragoon aligned with House Durendaire. Hobbies: Going to church, reading the Enchiridion, hunting, blacksmithing, dissociating Languages: Common Residence: His family lives in the Brume but he’s most commonly at Congregation, Whitebrim, or wherever he’s stationed. Birthplace: Coerthan Lowlands Patron Deity: Halone the Fury Fears: A Lot. (dragons, heresy, acid, malboros, burns, shameful death, injury, sin, fear itself, social gatherings, etc.)

🕯️   Relationships:

Spouse: None Children: None Parents: Ruelle Feran and Luciane Feran -- he views them both negatively but actively loathes his mother. Siblings: None Other Relatives: None Pets: His war chocobo, Marcasite.

🕯️   Traits:

extroverted / introverted / in between

disorganized / organized / in between

close minded / open-minded / in between

calm / anxious / in between

disagreeable / agreeable / in between

cautious / reckless / in between

patient / impatient / in between

outspoken / reserved / in between

leader / follower / in between

empathetic / unemphatic / in between

optimistic / pessimistic / in between

traditional / modern / in between

hard-working / lazy / in between

cultured / un-cultured / in between

loyal / disloyal / in between

faithful / unfaithful / in between

🕯️  additional information:

Smoking Habit: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

Drugs: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

Alcohol: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

🕯️ Possible Hooks:

The Dragonsong War:

If your character fought for Ishgard at any point, there’s a good chance they shared a battlefield with Nolanel. He just might not thank them for it at first.

If your character is also in the Ishgardian military, chances are you’ve come across him as well. Nolanel spends the most time at Whitebrim Front and Falcon’s Nest. He gets the most along with fellow soldiers.

But if they’re a heretic, Nolanel’s really not gonna like them.

Ishgard:

Nolanel spends an inordinate amount of time at Saint Reymanaud’s Cathedral. He’ll sit in on successive Masses on end making annotations in his pocket Enchiridion.

Although Nolanel avoids alcohol, he drops in on the Forgotten Knight occasionally while visiting the Brume. Whatever money he hasn’t pressed into the palms of beggars goes into food.

Anyone who isn’t Ishgardian gets a cold stare from Nolanel. He’s probably waiting for them to screw up so he can rationalize his xenophobia. Interrupting the order of the city-- or Ishgardian doctrine-- is sure to get him on his feet (and fight, if need be).

Nolanel can be found in other Heavensward areas like the Sea of Clouds and Dravanian Forelands doing patrols and looking for dragons to stab.

Coerthas and Gridania

Nolanel spent the first 14 years of his life in the Coerthan Lowlands, and he visits to chill out when he can. He used to be a ranch hand and he likes to help out in the fields too. In the same line, if your character’s estate is out in the backwoods he probably isn’t too far away.

Heretic hunting can take you to unexpected places. Nolanel occasionally patrols the borders of Ishgard, and that can get him into conflict with the Ixal and occasionally some Gridanians. Sometimes he’ll cross the border, but he tries to check in with the Adders at Fallgourd Float.

He used to mine! And he totally hated it! But he can point your character in the right direction and guilt himself into coming along if they’re looking to plunge into coal and grime.

Nolanel’s a good swimmer as long as the water isn’t 90% frozen. He’s also really terrible at fishing, which he sticks to more often because he hates showing skin. In emulation of Saint Daniffen, he’s starting spear fishing.

Other

Nolanel has an acute moral sense and will intervene in what he sees is unlawful and wrong (but he has loopholes based on bigotry and fear, so he acts according to that about outsiders, voidsent, heresy, etc.)

I’m willing to send him to Gyr Abania as part of Ishgard’s participation in liberation, but other city states are a bit trickier. We can try to work something out if need be!

What I’m Looking For:

Making contacts! I’m not very good at tavern talk and neither is Nolanel but I’m willing to try my best! Nolanel’s mind is very busy, so he works best with something to occupy him outside of conversation like working together on something. Since he can be an intolerant twit, antagonism’s totally all right. I can do fights, too (just ask if you want to do any long-standing injuries). Shipping and multi-shipping’s all right as long as it makes sense for both parties!

Otherwise, I don’t ERP at all. Also, Nolanel wouldn’t be interested in training a non-Ishgardian in the dragoon arts.

OOCly, I Am:

Brianna! I’m 20 and I may be an alligator since I live in Florida. I’m also a v shy bean.

You Can Contact Me Via:

Here, which is my new sideblog for Tumblr RP. But you can also find me on my main @newty​ and my FFXIV blog @theseventhdawn​. If we’re mutuals, you can also ask for my Discord! I’m not often in-game unless I have something planned, but ofc I’ll log if you want to plot, RP, or do some PVE!

[elegantshapeshifter]

would you consider herbalism/green witchcraft a part of traditional witchcraft?

.:: “Is [X] or [Y] a part of Recon Traditional Witchcraft?” ::.

In order to answer you we have to define what Traditional Witchcraft is.This term has been used in opposition to Gerald Gardner by Robert Cochrane in order to define his Craft, that he claimed was more ancient and “authentical” than the one of Gardner.Later, Ronald Hutton in his “Triumph of the Moon” debunked the idea that both Cochrane and Gardner were heirs of an ancient Craft, so they both invented it.Therefore the term “Traditional Witchcraft”, that before was “pre-wiccan Witchcraft” now means “non-wiccan Witchcraft”, so what it actually means is not clear anymore. Consequently, I use the term “Reconstructionist” Traditional Witchcraft to mean the reconstruction of the Historical Witchcraft from X-XVIII centuries in Europe.

Hutton, in the same book, disproved the idea that Witchcraft as a cult existed, and he stated that it was only a legend.He claimed that cunning folk were always Christian and therefore witches didn’t actually exist before today.In fact, those who practiced magic for their community didn’t describe themselves as witches: they were “folk healers”, “folk magicians”, “cunning folk” or “cunning wo/men”.

However, Sabina Magliocco in her “Who was Aradia” and “Aradia in Sardinia” stated that sometimes people emulated legends, therefore she opened the possibility that somebody, especially among folk magicians, emulated these legends and went in dream or with a bunch of friends or parents, to the Sabbath. She called this phenomenon of emulating legends “ostension”.With this contribute, historical witches were again a possibility, but they were in no way the totality of the cunning folk as Murray and other pre-Hutton and pre-Norman Cohn academics thought. They were just a little part of the population who internalized in their dreams these legends and they emulated them with trance techniques, dreams and/or in real life.

So, to return to your question, herbalism wasn’t part of this legend, therefore herbalism wasn’t part of witchcraft, it was part of folk magic.However folk magicians were a high percentual of the total of witches (even if witches were not a high percentual of the total of folk magicians), because there are more possibility to emulate legends about worshipping ancient Spirits if you are at strict contact with non-physical realities.

But the majority of cunning folk were not witches, they were Christians.In fact, while today we see magic as some sort of strange thing, before the germ theory of disease (which was fully accepted only with Pasteur in 1850s) magic and medicine were not so different.Sometimes charms were used together with “medical stuff”: they were part of the cure.So to claim that cunning folk were witches because they used power to heal is like to say that a physician has to be a Satanist because where else does he takes the power to heal, if not from the Devil? As you can understand, it makes little or no sense.In fact, even inquisitors had with themselves bags with blessed amulets, they only said to avoid the “superstitious” and “heretical” ones.As you can see, it’s a subtle line the one that separates unaccepted magic and accepted magic and medicine, so folk magic was not so strictly associated with Witchcraft.

When did a person became accused of being a witch? When people accused them of having created diseases or other misfortune to other people, the land and/or animals.And how could they have done this? Who gave them this power? God, as the folk healers? No, he wouldn’t have allowed this. Therefore, the Devil.

The witch, hence, was the one who worshiped the Devil at the Sabbath.The Sabbath, however, as Ginzburg demonstrated, has its origin in the Ludus Bonae Societatis, or Game of the Good Society. The Game was headed by a Female Spirit, whose name changed from place to place (Diana, Richella, Herodias, Holda, Perchta, etc.), in front of whom people bowed, they ate and drank in a banquet in her honor, then danced and had sacred sex for her.

The Ludus was, at the same time, derived from the Cortège.The Cortège was a spiritual procession of female entities, headed by a Major Female Spirit, the same of the Ludus, which proceded from house to house to eat, drink, and dance inside them, to control if people had left food offerings for them at the table of the kitchen, and to see if all was tidy, ordered and clean. If it was all ok, then after the dance the procession Leader would have blessed the home with a wand.

The Cortège was a female version of the Wild Hunt, the procession of the dead who was lead by the Wild Hunter, a male character with many names, such as Hellequin, Odin, Wotan, etc.Sometimes the Leader of the Wild Hunt was also the Leader of the Cortège/Ludus and other times viceversa. In fact we find Hellequin as King of Fairies and Perchta as Wild Huntress.

The Wild Hunt/Cortège complex was connected with the Night Battles, spirit battles in which two group of witches fought against each other or against evil spirits to save the lives of their fellow villagers or to save the crops.This practice comes from the battle between Perun and Veles, which is a pan-Indoeuropean theme.In fact we find it also in Germany, where the “Decretum” of Burchard of Worms says: “Have you believed, as certain women are accustomed to believe, to wit that by virtue of other limbs provided you by the devil you have crossed in the silence of the quiet night through closed doors to fly into the clouds where you have waged battle on others, both inflicting and receiving wounds”.

So we can say that there was an union, around the 10th century in Germany (I say Germany because Prüm is where there was the first mention of it) of the following themes to create the Witchcraft legend:- the Wild Hunt, which came from the Germanic Einherjar. The Einherjar were those who died in battle and were brought to Valhalla by Valkyries;- the Cortège, which was the female version of this procession and later became the Ludus/Sabbath;- Wild Hunt/Cortège/Ludus/Sabbath was connected with Veles, or the underworld (“black” witchcraft) part of this theme, while the Night Battles with Perun, or the sky (“white” witchcraft) part of this theme. [No racism involved, it’s how it’s academically called, I’m just reporting it].

So we can say that Witchcraft, historically, was just this:

- Wild Hunt (and so the dreams and visions about it);

- Night Battles (and so the dreams and visions about it);

- Cortège (physical - as a procession - or in dreams or visions);

- The offerings to the Cortège (which were connected to it because it was what the Cortège ate and drank proceding from house to house);

- Ludus/Sabbath (physical or in dreams or visions);

- Visitations to the Otherworld (Elphame or the Sybil’s Paradise), because according to some academics such as Carlo Ginzburg, the journey to the Sabbath was in fact a journey to the realm of the dead, and in fact sometimes such as in Umbria with the Appenine Sybil and in Scotland with the Queen of Elphame, the feast of the spirits was celebrated in another world, which can be seen as the Otherworld;

- The offerings and the discovery of the Familiar Spirits that bringed the practitioner to these phenomena.

All the rest is something that is connected to it, but it’s not witchcraft.

For example the Familiars were part of Witchcraft only if they were guides that brought the person to the Sabbath/Ludus/etc. However, if the same Spirits were not such a guide, they were part of the folklore and popular magic and not of witchcraft: even non-witches did offerings to the fairies, however only witches went to Elphame and fairies were their helpers and guides in doing it (the journey to Elphame is analogous to the journey to the Sabbath, because both represent the realm of the dead).

Moreover, folk magic was part of the life of many witches, but the majority of folk magicians were not witches, as we saw: they were Christians.

So the same is for herbalism. It’s connected with Witchcraft, but it’s not Witchcraft (from a Recon perspective, obviously from a non-Recon one the things are different).

[fan198-blog]

Thought on final fantasy tactics: war of the lion

I honestly never really finished the game myself, just saw it and felt it has a good plot, but the lag on pc emulator just turn me off. That was like 3 years ago I think, when I am still in high school. But recently watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiJXxc9ySPI, the recap of the story, I remembered why I love Japan so much, it is the plot, Japan has always surprised me with their way of characterization and their take on things in life. The story is about Delita and Ramza, who both has their own take on life. At the end Delita said, “What do you gain from it?”, I understand that, Ramza just like how a protagonist should act, become selflessly heroic even if he is brandished as a heretic from the seemingly comfortable position of a duke’s son, definitely not a fitting end of hero, and Delita, through lie and deceit finally ascend to the throne from being a commoner. I just felt both deserve their ending. The way Delita ask for Ramza is what makes it emotional I think. Delita and Ramza grow together, and they care about each other, Delita’s lust for revenge, his manipulation, I think Ramza know of it yet didn’t mind it much. In a sense, Delita’s lost the only person who understand him the most. I think this is why I felt a bit empty watching the ending. It is sad, but there is no other way.

[mayhem-7-blog]

http://www.skyrim-beautification-project.com/hexen/

Hexen: Beyond Heretic & Deathkings of the Dark Citadel Legendary fantasy shooter from 1995 by Raven Soft / ID Soft. One of the biggest classics made with the DooM Engine for MS-DOS. Running Hexen on a modern PC with Win7/8/10, normally requires a DOS emulator, like DOSBox. With this program, you can run Hexen, or any other game that is using the DooM Engine, directly from Windows instead of using an emulator. It can run with full 3D acceleration in scaled full-screen at any resolution.

#Hexen #Game #Heretic #Classic #DOS

[naylanchan]

When video guidelines are unclear...

Several games on my YouTube channel, such as Yume Nikki and The Guardian Legend, don’t have clear video guidelines. For games without clear guidelines, I check YouTube, Reddit, and other sites to see if there are any patterns of blocked or DMCA-removed videos, as well as comments from the developers or publishers themselves (such as attitudes toward spoilers or refused permission requests). That is how I decide if a game or a series or an entire developer/publisher goes on my Do Not Post (DNP) list. This is why I would, for example, stream Final Fantasy VI but not Final Fantasy XIII, avoid Touhou, and only stream Nintendo games on Twitch but not record them for YouTube.

I’ve found some interesting things:

Yume Nikki has no clear video guidelines, but several other fangames do, including my own. I have never seen Yume Nikki videos taken down, though, not even for its special commercially available albums. IMPACT: Yume Nikki not DNP. Only fangames that don’t allow longplays are DNP.

Video guidelines and/or enforcement policies change over time. For example, Trion Worlds relaxed their restrictions on monetized videos and video channels, and Sega isn’t enforcing their “no spoilers” rules of Puyo Puyo Tetris on sites like YouTube or Twitch. Take Two (Rockstar), however, has been apparently blocking videos with GTAV cutscenes, despite their policy of allowing cutscenes to be revealed in the context of gameplay videos. Not to mention that Deep-Sea Prisoner has finally clarified not allowing videos or streams of Mogeko games: “Don’t do it. [Recording or streaming] translated versions is also prohibited.” IMPACT: Trion Worlds and Sega are no longer DNP. Mogeko/Deep-Sea Prisoner is DNP. Grand Theft Auto V is DNP, but not other Take Two/Rockstar/2K games.

Square Enix has blocked videos for more recent games before, such as those from the Dissidia Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy XIII series. However, older Final Fantasy games, such as the core series (I through VI) aren’t touched. Even then, there are only video guidelines for a handful of games. The same is true with Activision Blizzard: having blocked Call of Duty videos before, while allowing videos and streams of Blizzard games, and but saying nothing about classic Raven games like Heretic or Hexen. IMPACT: Certain Square Enix games are DNP. Call of Duty is DNP, but Heretic and Hexen are not.

For several years, I’ve been watching Atlus, Spike Chunsoft, and ZUN (Team Shanghai Alice, creator of Touhou) and their apparent negative attitudes toward online spoilers. In the case of the first two, I’ve narrowed it down to which games in particular they don’t allow to be recorded or streamed. The third is a peculiar case: no videos of Touhou games have been take down, only reposts of the Trojan Green Asteroid album, and in any case, it seems that ZUN allows for some gameplay footage of Hidden Star in Four Seasons (but don’t reveal the ending), while not allowing videos or streams of other Touhou games at all. IMPACT: ZUN/Touhou is DNP, but not Touhou fangames. Certain other games, like Persona 5, Catherine, and Dangan Ronpa, are DNP.

I could post videos of Nintendo games like the original Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Maker, but choose not to, because Nintendo uses Content ID to automatically monetize videos, which would defeat the purpose of my non-commercial YouTube channel. I’m sure you already know about this, with game journalists over the years saying things to the effect of “How dare you!” to Japanese game companies that take action on videos and streams of their own games on YouTube and Niconico. IMPACT: Nintendo is DNP. I may, however, stream Nintendo games on Twitch, or possibly create a separate YouTube channel for Nintendo. Of course, non-Nintendo games on Nintendo platforms like Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow are not DNP.

I can’t monetize anything Wizards of the Coast-related (M:tG, D&D, etc.) even if I wanted to. Here’s what Wizards has to say about videos and streams: “All streams using Wizards’ Intellectual Property must be non-commercial in nature and may not feature or promote competing games or services.” IMPACT: Wizards is not DNP, since I don’t monetize my videos anyway. The same is true with Konami and Capcom, which seem to allow non-monetized videos and streams, and with certain emulators and other software that forbid all commercial use.

It’s those things that helped shapen my occasionally updated Do Not Post list for my YouTube channel. If you're also a YouTuber, you should also have your own DNP list, but you should also contact a lawyer for legal advice.

[awesomewincollecttop]

Know Linux

Linux 

 Linux basics: 

 It’s totally free for download however you need to pay a little bit to mail order it or purchase it from a business. If you’re getting Linux for more than 2-3 PCs, you can likewise get training and assistance at a little totally free, if you pick to have it. Else it’s the Linux neighborhood on the Net to your rescue. 

 If you wish to get comfy with Linux, you do not need to release windows. Get Linux set up on a seprate partition and you can change in between Windows and Linux. There are some Linux variations that run CDs too-xandross and Knoppix. 

 You do not need to be a geek to deal with Linux. There are Desktop environments that let you operate in Linux as you operate in Linux as you would in Windows. 

 Linux hand in reducing PC costs. 

 Linux being an open source operating system, indicates that the code that runs is open for everybody to see, work with, customize and establish their own ingenious apps for it. The offer with this experimentation is that you have to share the understanding you acquired and the software application you produced with the public domain. And a business packages Linux and applications based on it with a computer system, rather a bit of the software application expense comes down. 

 Linux came into being about 11 years ago- it was established by Linux Tornados of Finland along with a group of developers from the open source software application motion. Linux was primarily something just the geeks worked with. 

 Linux is growing progressively year after year. With an enthusiastic neighborhood backing it, with huge business Like IBM and HP promising their assistance for it, it’s no marvel Linux- the marvel operating system for servers of the past, has actually likewise made it to the desktops of today. From being an OS just computer system specialists had actually heard about, Linux, in a brief time, has actually made a shift into the rewarding and high profile house PC sector. 

 Linux is based on the business OS, UNIX. UNIX and Linux are not all about simply command line things. In its 11 years Linux has actually constantly had constantly had a GUI too-in reality an option of GUIs. 

 Linux Versions: 

 There’s most likely to be numerous Linux variations too. Numerous business working on Linux have actually come up with what are called Linux circulations. 

 The popular circulations or ruins consist of Red Hat Linux Mandrake Linux, Corel Linux SUSE Linux and Debian. Real to the spirit of open source, if you download the distro from the business’s Website, it is totally free for usage. Business assemble the plans, make setup inconvenience totally free, bundle applications, include a handbook, and extend any assistance you require. 

 One note here though: the totally free in Linux means liberty of option, to rearrange, to set up a function, liberty to customize the source code. That’s the spirit of Linux being complimentary. 

 Linux much better than other OS 

 Linux users will not even bat an eyelid prior to they state a focus comes from a deep dislike of Microsoft’s practice of altering the earth for software application. A lot of it comes from the truth they are prepared to swear upon-that Linux is more steady. Linux has a much better security assistance for multi-users, lets you set up a steady server, web entrances etc, and still lets it-self to be utilized as a desktop workstation. 

 Misconceptions about Linux 

 Setup: 

 Linux is difficult to set up, isn’t it? Linux is as easy-some state easier-to set up compared to Windows. What truly baffles a lot of individuals in setting up Linux on a 2nd partition on their tough disk, when they desire to be able to utilize both running systems. 

 The majority of computer systems that are running Windows or MS DOS have one big portion of area holding the OS. These partitions are normally called D:\, E:\ and so on you might have Linux on any of these. 

 Windows 98 produces a file system called FAT32 on the whole hard drive, DOS and Win95 utilize FAT16. Linux has lots of file systems-on the most popular is ext3. You might have Linux set up on Fat32 partitions. 

 Linux is geeky and based upon text command 

 Linux has actually come a long method from being the system of geeks. It has a very sophisticated X Windows systems that has a total visual user interface-you understand, like Windows. It likewise has a great deal of window supervisor that let you deal with various levels of modification of your desktop. 

 Linux has a robust character-cell user interface where commands require to be typed in. The popular window supervisors are Sawfish, Enlightenment, Black box, after action and Window maker. 

 As for desktop supervisors, they have their own window supervisor and other tools that make you feel that you are working in Window! They have tools that enable drag and drop, have panels and taskbar- nearly like clones of windows. 

 Hardware compatibility issue and couple of applications that work on Linux 

 Well, most brand-new circulations will spot and configure your hardware in a jiffy, unless you have some truly old or unique piece of hardware. Just Win modems (internal modems driven by Window chauffeurs) deal with issues. 

 Other plans are business and you have to purchase the software-but this is primarily for the software application and training you require, and not for the assistance and training you require, and not for the software application itself. In some cases, if you have the Windows variation (as a doom) you can download a little program that will permit you to play the video game in Linux. 

 Workplace suites: Star Office, Open Office, Applixware, Corel WordPerfect 

 Graphics: GIMP, Corel Photo paint 

 Music: XMMS, Free amp, Real Player 

 Video: MTV, Xine 

 Games: FreeCiv, Tux racer, Doom, Quake, Heretic, Unreal 

 And the list is growing. 

 Linux ranges: 

 Debian is not extremely simple to set up, and that has actually been its issue, Debian likewise has its own software application comes with a. DEB extension. Upgrading and setting up brand-new software application is extremely simple. 

 The Red Hat Package Manger( RPM) format established by Red Hat has practically end up being the defector for software application circulation in Linux world. Setting up brand-new software application is a breeze. It likewise has a sophisticated and simple font management system that makes typefaces in X Windows look cool. 

 Mandrake: Mandrake Linux is now in its 9 variation. This distro can be set up on a native Windows Partition utilizing the Lin4Win tool, however this might slow the maker down. It likewise lets you do a conventional Linux set up into its own devoted partition. 

 SUSE: From Germany comes the Chameleon Distro, SUSE. Now in its 8.1 avatar, it has among the most comprehensive software application plans put together, and getting them set up is simple with yast (Yet another Software Tool) which provides a central user interface from where you can pick the software application to be set up. To name a few things, SUSE includes some spectacular 3D video games that display Linux’s gamming expertise. 

 Corel/Xandross: Corel got in the Linux distro market with Corel Linux a couple of years back. This is a Debian-type distro, and can be set up without much difficulty after resizing the Windows partition. 

 Windows applications in Linux. 

 Some applications have actually been ported over to Linux, other run with a program called WINE (Wine is Not an Emulator). Crossover, commercially offered software application likewise lets you utilize your Windows programs Linux. VMWare is another program that lets you run Windows under Linux. 

 Bottom Line: 

 The cool thing about Linux is that the majority of software application is totally free, and you can legally utilize them without fretting about piracy. If you’re fretted that Linux will not look as quite as windows can, all you have to do is inspect out some of the cool Linux user interfaces and Window supervisors.

[scteonline]

Linux for House Users

Do not raise your eyebrows or worry by hearing the word Linux. Simply take an appearance at the posts listed below and all misconceptions about Linux in your mind will vanish. 

 Intro to Linux: 

 It’s a complimentary os readily available to download however you need to pay a little bit to mail order it or purchase it from a business. Linux entered into having to do with 11 years ago- it was established by Linux Tornados of Finland in addition to a group of developers from the open source software application motion. 

 Linux is growing progressively every year. With an enthusiastic neighborhood backing it, with huge business Like IBM and HP vowing their assistance for it, it’s no surprise Linux- the marvel os for servers of the past, has actually likewise made it to the desktops these days. 

 Linux is based upon the industrial OS, UNIX. All the os attempt to cram in command line management of systems. System administrators of business utilize command lines all the times as their lifeline, however it’s not actually indicated for regulars users. 

 Tips for Home Users: 

 If you wish to get comfy with Linux, you do not need to release windows. Get Linux set up on a different partition and you can change in between Windows and Linux. For brand-new users who do not have any computer system background discovering windows or Linux both takes exact same time and sitting. 

 It is recommended that brand-new PC purchasers need to get both running systems set up and ought to utilize them similarly. If you’re getting Linux for more than 2-3 PCs, you can likewise get training and assistance at a little totally free, if you select to have it. Else it’s the Linux neighborhood on the Net to your rescue. 

 You do not need to be an excellent computer system user to deal with Linux. There are Desktop environments that let you operate in Linux as you operate in Windows. As you deal with windows, exact same holds true with Linux. 

 Linux hands in reducing PC rates. 

 PC rates are currently on their method down. And you get more option with running systems and applications. From being an OS just computer system specialists had actually become aware of, Linux, in a brief time, has actually made a shift into the profitable and high profile house PC sector. 

 Linux being a complimentary open source operating system implies that the code that runs is open for everybody to see, work with, customize and establish their own ingenious applications for it. And a business packages Linux and applications based on it with a computer system, rather a bit of the PC expense comes down. 

 Linux is much better than other OS 

 Linux users will not even bat an eyelid prior to they state a focus originates from a deep dislike of Microsoft’s practice of altering the earth for software application. A lot of it comes from the truth they are all set to swear upon-that Linux is more steady. According to a most current study Web Hosts are utilizing Linux Based Servers for hosting functions. 

 One note here though: the totally free in Linux represents liberty of option, to rearrange, to set up a function, flexibility to customize the source code. That’s the spirit of Linux being complimentary. 

 Security: 

 Linux has a much better security assistance for multi-users, lets you set up a steady server, web entrances etc, and still lets it-self to be utilized as a desktop workstation. It can be provided 10+ points on a 10 point scale for security. 

 Misconceptions about Linux. 

 Setup: 

 Linux is difficult to set up, isn’t it? Linux is as easy-some state easier-to set up compared to Windows. These days Linux Versions are simpler to set up than Windows. 

 A lot of computer systems that are running Windows or MS DOS have one big piece of area holding the OS. These partitions are generally called D:\, E:\ and so on you might have Linux on any of these. 

 Windows 98 develops a file system called FAT32 on the whole hard drive, DOS and Win95 utilize FAT16. Linux has numerous file systems-on the most popular is ext3. You might have Linux set up on Fat32 partitions. 

 Linux is extremely tough and based upon text command 

 Linux has actually come a long method from being the system of dazzling computer system users. It has incredibly sophisticated X Windows systems that have a total visual user interface-you understand, like Windows. It likewise has a great deal of window supervisor that let you deal with various levels of personalization of your desktop. 

 Linux has a robust character-cell user interface where commands require to be typed in. Window supervisors are programs that let you connect with the underlying X system and Linux OS by communicating commands. 

 As for desktop supervisors, they have their own window supervisor and other tools that make you feel that you are working in Window! They have tools that permit drag and drop, have panels and taskbar- nearly like clones of windows. 

 Hardware compatibility issue and couple of applications that operate on Linux 

 Well, most brand-new circulations will spot and configure your hardware in a jiffy, unless you have some truly old or unique piece of hardware. All hardware are effectively identified and their motorists set up. Just Win modems (internal modems driven by Window motorists) deal with issues. 

 Practically all exceptional software application for Linux is totally free and you do not lose anything by providing it a shot. And you do not even have to clean out your Windows. Simply get Linux on a various tough disk partition and totally free to change in between them as you please. 

 Often, if you have the Windows variation (as a doom) you can download a little program that will enable you to play the video game in Linux. The video games in Linux are of really high quality and functions. 

 Workplace suites: Star Office, Open Office, Applixware, Corel WordPerfect 

 Graphics: GIMP, Corel Photo paint 

 Music: XMMS, Free amp, Real Player 

 Video: MTV, Xine 

 Games: FreeCiv, Tux racer, Doom, Quake, Heretic, Unreal And the list is growing. 

 Linux ranges for Home Users: 

 There’s most likely to be lots of Linux variations too. Lots of business working on Linux have actually come up with what are called Linux circulations. 

 The Red Hat Package Manger( RPM) format established by Red Hat has nearly end up being the defector for software application circulation in Linux world. Setting up brand-new software application is a breeze. It likewise has an innovative and simple font management system that makes typefaces in X Windows look cool. 

 Mandrake: Mandrake Linux is now in its 10 variation. It can be set up on a native Windows Partition utilizing the Lin4Win tool, however this might slow the device down. It likewise lets you do a standard Linux set up into its own devoted partition. 

 SUSE: From Germany comes the Chameleon, SUSE. Now in its 8.x avatar, it has among the most substantial software application plans put together, and getting them set up is simple with yast (Yet another Software Tool) which offers a central user interface from where you can choose the software application to be set up. To name a few things, SUSE features some sensational 3D video games that display Linux gamming expertise 

 Corel/Xandross: Corel got in the Linux market with Corel Linux a couple of years earlier. This is a Debian-type variation, and can be set up without much difficulty after resizing the Windows partition. 

 Windows applications in Linux. 

 Some applications have actually been ported over to Linux, other run with a program called WINE (Wine is Not an Emulator). Crossover, commercially readily available software application likewise lets you utilize your Windows programs on Linux. 

 Bottom Line: 

 The cool thing about Linux is that the majority of software application is complimentary, and you can legally utilize them without stressing about piracy. If you’re stressed that Linux will not look as quite as windows can, all you have to do is inspect out some of the cool Linux user interfaces and Window supervisors.

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Galatians 5:19-21

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The Sisters of Saint Quiteria seek novices. Come join their ranks – or the ranks of the heretics that they are sworn to expunge from the Earth – at Ill-Dignified, a 21+ decocult horror forum where nuns with guns and necromantic flappers are the name of the game.

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