#Ocean Exploration Simulator But There's No Ocean

[greetingsfromdigitalworlds]

Another year, and I aten’t ded!

(Games: Shutter Stroll, Promesa, Mendel, Frame of Mind, Cloud Gardens, ISLANDS: Non-Places, Apartment, Space Garden, PATTERN, 36 Apples, Clawfish, Subliminal, Ocean Exploration Simulator But There’s No Ocean, Atuel)

[curioscurio]

[Short Story]

80 Percent

One day, we developed the technology to completely map out and visualize every single living creature and object in the ocean. The machine had been running for a few years and received an extraordinary amount of funding from scientific organizations around the world.

When it finishes its job, the results are to be instantly shared around the world.

On the final day of the countdown, everyone started getting giddy with excitement and curiosity while waiting for the results.

"This is really magnificent. Who knows what incredible forms of life we're going to find?" An intern in New Zealand bounced with nervous energy and smiled.

"I hope it's hiding epic and delicious sea monsters, like in hollywood movies!" A lighthearted seafood chef in Spain jokes.

"There could be a sponge out there with the cure to cancer!" A sick child in America coughs out to their nurse.

Oil and fishing industries everywhere were hosting company parties; celebrating the new abundance of supply to support the crushing weight of demand.

A salaryman in Hong Kong playfully groans. "Anything but the same old boring fish we see all the time. I'd love to see something like a never-before seen creature with octopus-like intelligence!"

"It's nice to know that, despite all of mankind's careless neglect of the ocean, there's still an abundance of nature still untouched by humanities pollution." An environmental activist in India comments.

Deep in the middle of the Atlantic, a scientific research boat sits filled with passionate marine biologists.

Someone hastily bought a cake to celebrate the hard work everyone had put into the project over the years. The team didn't know what kind of discoveries they'd run into, so it was decided that a baby shower themed cake would have to do. On the top, in blue frosting, was written: "Congratulations! It's a____!"

Presumably, the blank was to be filled in once the data from the machine was compiled.

The machine beeps once, echoing throughout the research vessel, and everyone races to the screen as fast as their legs will take them.

They read the results.

No one says anything.

"That can't be right. Someone go and reset the device and run it again." The head scientist sighs, confident that they had run into an error.

Another twenty minutes go by.

The machine beeps once.

The updated model is largely the same as the previous one.

"...maybe it's not done loading." Someone shatters the silence, and the crowd of scientists flinch, but no one dares take their sights off the screen. Nobody breathes. It's the same outcome on the third try, as well.

The visual simulation on the computer screen shows a complex 3D model of all the life in the entire ocean.

There are whales gliding between continents, sharks feasting on squids, and squids feasting on sharks. Gorgeous and intelligent octopus that can change the color of their skin at will. A pod of humpback whales could be seen off the coast of Antarctica. All of the diverse and colorful life living in the ocean swim before their eyes in a transparent globe of digital seawater.

It looks just like a modern map of the ocean as we know it.

"I don't understand. It looks exactly the same." Someone whispers.

"Exactly. Humankind has only been able to explore around 20 percent of the entire ocean on planet Earth." The head scientist gulps, eyes still hooked to the glassy screen.

"So," someone's voice begins to waver. "You're saying that the other 80 percent..."

No one answers. No one blinks.

"It's... empty. It's not detecting any life signs that we haven't already discovered. It's empty." Someone says.

Someone thinks about pollution.

Someone thinks about shark fin soup.

Someone thinks about the stock market.

Someone thinks about a pet store; shelves lined with dozens of fish that float upside-down and belly up at the top of their tanks.

"... we're all that's left." Someone says.

[roach-works]

Video games

Reverse Unpopular Opinion meme: i'm having a hard time figuring out how being enthusiastic about videogames is an unpopular position? lots of people like videogames, last time i checked.

my favorite thing to do when i was a kid was play a modified version of spyro the dragon. we had a gameshark that was in japanese so you just had to randomly methodically click through various menus you couldn't read and then record on a notepad what the results were when you started the game. through trial and error i figured out how to run the modification that let spyro full-on fly in every level, so i just used the game as a flight simulator most of the time.

also i would regularly fly spyro out of bounds and examine the level from the outside until i hit something weird like a waterfall from behind or the ocean from underneath and it would trigger spyro's death i would also sometimes just fly him out into the offstage void until i started getting scared. i now have a very particular and hard to explain phobia of infinite digital voids! it's why i can't use 3D modeling software without crushing existential terror.

unpopular video game opinion: i still firmly believe that kids should be allowed to explore and adapt media, especially video games, that scares them and challenges their sense of reality and lets them do weird fucked up things. i think this is much better for kids than restriction and overpolicing. i would love to fly spyro out of bounds and kill him from underneath the ocean again. i would do it the first chance i got.

[majosullivan]

Castle Swimmer Dashboard Simulator

🪸 classycoral Follow

If there’s one thing that I’ve learnt while traveling the sea, it’s that prophecies can really range from being the silliest of tales to the most horrific things you will ever of having the dismay of laying your eyes on

🪸 classycoral Follow

Like I’ll visit one castle and their prophecy will be ‘It’s been destined that the beacon will use this frog to predict the future so we can prepare for it :)’ and then the next castle I visit will have a prophecy like ‘It is been foretold from centuries past that the beacon shall arrive and save us from a plague that has been taunting us since ancient time. Through sacrifical ritual, they shall free us from this torment’

#like who is coming up with these #are you guys doing okay???

154,879 notes

💧 oceaneyes Follow

I heard there’s hot singles at the bottom of the God Mouth

⚜️ minigod-fucker Follow

out of the way boys I’m about to GET IT

⚜️ minigod-fucker Follow

got trapped in unending darkness surrounded by voices

9,264 notes

🪷 through-the-reef Follow

I’m currently traveling through the Purple Peaks and it’s absolutely gorgeous here! I have no idea why there seems to be so few people living here, it seems wonderful!

🪷 through-the-reef Follow

GIANT CRAB, GIANT CRAB, GIANT CRAB-

13,521 notes

✨ give-that-axolotl-a-knife Follow

Does anyone else feel like the surface god is just toying with you how they please. They think they’re so funny. Well I’m about to be hilarious

🎼 beautifulabyss Follow

this feels so threatening, are you doing okay op?

24,957 notes

🌊 squids Follow

Being alive is so wonderful because there is so many beautiful places in the ocean you can explore and so many fascinating creatures you can see. However there are also the unending horrors

6,496 notes

🖼️ ocean-landscapes Follow

The Blue Hills

832 notes

💰 needling-on Follow

GUYS I MIGHT BE GOING INSANE BUT I’M CURRENTLY OUTSIDE TRAINING AND I SWEAR I JUST SAW ONE OF THE RULERS AT MY CASTLE GO FLYING OUT THE CASTLE WINDOW

💰 needling-on Follow

NOT INSANE, A GROUP OF HIS PEOPLE JUST CAME SWIMMING OUT CALLING AFTER HIM, OH MY GOD I CAN’T BREATH

💰 needling-on Follow

UPDATE: THEY’RE COMING BACK WITH HIM NOW AND HE MUST HAVE FALLEN INTO A SCHOOL OF PRETTY VICIOUS FISH CAUSE HE’S COVERED IN BITE MARKS AND THERE���S STILL ONE BITING HIM. I FEEL LIKE I’M GOING TO CRACK A RIB

284,047 notes

♠️ mistressofthedarkseas Follow

Alright guys which mini god from the ones y’all know about do you think you could take

♠️ mistressofthedarkseas Follow

IN A FIGHT IN A FIGHT IN A FIGHT

♠️ mistressofthedarkseas Follow

Blocked blocked blocked. None of you are seeing the light of the surface

69,638 notes

🌺 lesbiankelp Follow

Life is so fucking unfair cause kelp dragons are SO beautiful and magnificent and enchanting and I would do ANYTHING to get up close to or even pet one, but the moment one would see me they would immediately try to swallow me whole like a shrimp

#they’re so pretty and for what #AND FOR WHAT?! #I just want to give them a little kiss on top of your head… #is that too much to ask?

2,749 notes

🔱 poisedposeidon Follow

THE BEACON IS TWENTY???

🔱 poisedposeidon Follow

THEY SHOULD BE AT THE CLUB…

💧 oceanxeyes Follow

h

HUH?

🎼 beautifulabyss Follow

I’m sorry, the beacon is WHAT?

🫧 bubbly-bubbles Follow

🪸 classycoral Follow

No because like my castle’s prophecy is nearing 200 years old and I’ve met a ton of people whose prophecies are over twice that age. How in the name of the Surface God are they only 20?

🌱 seaweed-brains Follow

Okay this post just unlocked some long dormant memories in my brain and if I don’t talk about it with someone outside my castle I think I’ll lose my mind so you guys better be sitting down.

For some context: until around 7-8 years ago, my people were under almost constant threat of these giant sea snakes because they had unknowingly killed the head of their den. Savage things. Would take any opportunity to attack us. We couldn’t even find a new castle cause they would follow us everywhere. Because of all this, our elders ended up creating a prophecy, which stated that the Beacon would eat the carcass of the head snake, causing the rest of the sea snakes to leave us alone.

So when I was like 13, the Beacon had arrived at our castle to fulfil our prophecy, and as you can expect, we were all very excited and I remember trying to get to the front of the crowd as fast as possible to see them. They were like nothing I have ever seen before and have seen since, we all were in complete awe of them. However, the thing about them that ended up surprising me the most was that they were young. Like, pretty damn young. They looked a little younger than me. So while our monarch quickly went to make sure all the preparations were complete, they entrusted my parents with making sure the Beacon was comfortable, giving my family the opportunity to have small chat with them. Curiousity getting the better of me, I asked how old they were. 13. They said they’re 13 years old. They were MY age. I didn’t know what to do at that point and basically throughout the entire time our prophecy was being completed, my mind was just stuck thinking about if I was destined to eat that giant smelly snake

🔱 poisedposeidon Follow

Ex

EX-FUCKING-CUSE ME???

🎼 beautifulabyss Follow

WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT

♠️ mistressofthedarkseas Follow

I need a whole day to fully process that prophecy alone what in the actual fuck

🌺 lesbiankelp Follow

Did…

…did they eat the snake carcass?

🌱 seaweed-brains Follow

THE WHOLE THING…

🫧 bubbly-bubbles Follow

🪸 classycoral Follow

and people still think I was exaggerating about how wild prophecies are. How in the entire sea does being attacked by sea snakes lead to the Beacon needing to eat a giant carcass? Who is coming up with these solutions? Show me their workings

💧 oceanxeyes Follow

The Beacon arriving at another castle to help people fulfil their prophecy, only to find that it’s another one written by freaks:

🐚 sandyshells Follow

t

th

…the beacon is real?

🔱 poisedposeidon Follow

🌺 lesbiankelp Follow

HELLO?

🌫️ surface-and-beyond Follow

Sandy get back here right now what do u MEAN you didn’t know the Beacon was real???

🐚 sandyshells Follow

MY PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS SAID THE BEACON WAS JUST PART OF ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY…we were always told growing up that prophecies and the lot were just stories and such. You’re telling me that there’s actually a divine being going around helping people by eating snakes and stuff???

🌫️ surface-and-beyond Follow

Y E A H

🐚 sandyshells Follow

WHAT THE HELL

♠️ mistressofthedarkseas Follow

This whole post is a mess holy shit

498,690 notes

[oranjeleeuw]

hows the pacific rim au going ???? its such a neat idea and i need ppl to draw concept art for it

DO I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU MY FRIEND

First of all, life happened and happened for good, I couldn't write much before but Now. NOW is the time.

I planned and plotted a lot during the whole year I first came up with the idea and I have a kind of strong base for the AU. I also have a brilliant beta by my side, my dear friend Frog (@faramircaptainofgender), so hopefully during this summer this idea will be shared with you all outside our little friend group.

I'll take this opportunity and shamelessly turn my answer into a main post for the AU.

 ╔════════════════╗

the title:

Human within the Machine

[brief synopsis]

The Nations of the world developed a simulation where future Jaeger pilots can practice for in-action cases. Max Verstappen outshines every other contestants in the history of drifting, there's only one problem - he's no team player.

Charles Leclerc is determined to stop the Kaijus and end their reign, once and for all. He lost his parents due to kaiju attacks, now he feels responsible not only to avenge their deaths, but to bring a brighter future to his brothers.

Jaeger engineering is living its golden age, there is money in it and many enthusiastic contestants who are not entirely aware of the horror that awaits them out at the ocean.

[disclaimer]

There’s no main plot (as in: I am not planning on detailed world-building neither to save the world from kaijus, I am smaller than that), the endgame is to get Max into an active combat where he drifts with Charles and they’re in the Il Predestinato (the legendary Jaeger that has been out of service for a decade, waiting for the right co-pilots). Everything before and in between are just themes I desire to explore within the possibilities of this AU.

 ╔════════════════╗

I have a playlist that helps me to stay inspired, songs are not in order yet though, but as I said earlier, chapters are meant to be kind-of standalone scenes, existing in their own moods and settings.

Each chapter will have its own chosen background music linked to them. I also added many symphonic songs just to get in the mood for some combat scenes.

 ╔════════════════╗

[good to know]

Roles: In the case of HwtM we have active and passive characters in this story. Due to the fact that many scenes are set in drift-memories, where not everything is factual and we are in the mix of memories and feelings, some characters will only appear and speak through these moments. Therefore they fall into the passive category - they are the legends. I will talk about them in their own post but the gist of it is what I wrote above, they cannot speak for themselves so we will only see them through tilted lenses: idolised, villanised, or the mix of both.

Which also means another thing - everyone is an unreliable narrator.

Teams and Jaegers: Since this is the golden age of Jaeger engineering, we will have many-many Jaegers. So far I named only a few, but to stay true to the source material, I'm trying to make them just as cheesy yet compelling as the ones were in the movies. The constructor teams from real life are not so different from what they represent in HwtM, but I altered some of their names to fit more into the world (older names or older sounding names of some teams since the future that Pacific Rim has is basically our present. I was aiming for some retro-vibe).

Here, they are different detachments under the Pan Pacific Defense Corps, in the Jaeger Academy division. I’m planning on working with Merc, Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and of course Redbull.

Mercedes is called Benz

Ferrari is called Alfa Romeo

Red Bull is Toro Rosso

The other two stay under the same name.

Ships to look out for: it is a Lestappen-centered story (if I am really honest with you, it’s Max-centered first of all) but on the side-lines we will look into some depths of Carlando, Galex and Maxiel in…some way. Please-please keep in mind, that these won’t be fully developed romantic relationships in the fic, I’m reporting from the minds and souls of these boys, objectively perceived scenes between them will be rare and much more comrade-like.

 ╔════════════════╗

That is all I planned to share for starters. Feel free to ask about the process or anything really, that is related to this project, it’s my beloved child and can’t wait to share it all with others!

[hymnism]

release the list

(i feel like i should mention these are all games ive personally played so if any of these make you go "why isn't [GAME] on here it's probably cuz i haven't played it. anyway)

(obligatory mention to hades/disco elysium/omori since they're some of my favorite games but im sure everyone already knows about them. they are lovely games and you should play them 👍)

darkest dungeon ($25) - turn based roguelike where you recruit mercenaries and send them on dungeon explorations and make sure they don't die of stress or starvation alongside the regular monster attacks. notoriously difficult. imagine bloodborne but turn based

ftl: faster than light ($10)- real time roguelike where you control a small crew and pilot a spaceship on the run from a rebel fleet. manage power and weapons on your own ship while targeting critical systems on the enemy

loop hero ($15)- a roguelike where your character will automatically walk in a loop while you use cards to add terrain with different effects such as spawning monsters to give you loot or increasing your healing. very unique with a beautiful pixel artstyle and banger soundtrack

moonlighter ($20)- a roguelike rpg where you go dungeon diving and try to bring back as much loot as you can so that you can sell it in your shop

shadows of doubt ($20)- early access. a first person sandbox detective simulator where each case is procedurally generated. randomly generates a town with npcs that all have names and addresses and relationships. put together clues from a crime scene and try to catch a killer before they strike again. work odd jobs between cases to keep yourself fed and housed

ultrakill ($25) fast paced first person shooter with a style system ala devil may cry. you play as a robot fighting through the layers of hell. mankind is dead. blood is fuel. hell is full

crypt of the necrodancer ($15)- a rhythm based roguelike dungeon crawler where you and your enemies are only allowed to move on beat. banger soundtrack goes without saying

everhood ($10)- a rhythm based rpg where you play as a red doll who had their arm stolen and is trying to get it back. battles involve moving between 5 lanes to avoid enemy attacks. if you like undertale you'll like this

spiritfarer ($30)- management and adventure game where you play as a spiritfarer who needs to care for spirits on her boat before leading them into the afterlife. incredibly charming and touching game. you will cry

let's school ($20)- management sim where you build and manage a school and help students graduate by setting up different courses. addicting and has a very cute artstyle

let's build a zoo ($20)- management sim where you. well where you build a zoo. a very silly game that includes a morality system where you can choose to be eco friendly and help repopulate endangered species or you can exploit your animals for their meat and produce. also has an animal splicing mechanic. haven't you ever wanted to make a giraffe with a duck head

the wandering village ($25)- early access. a city builder with the twist that you live on the back of a giant wandering beast named onbu. you help care for onbu as he wanders though different biomes that force you to adjust your resource production as some things become unavailable (such as water in a desert)

frostpunk ($30) a survival city builder where you build around a central core and try to prevent everyone from freezing to death in progressively colder temperatures

monster sanctuary ($20)- a metroidvania style creature collector with a unique combo meter that will continue to build and increase your damage based on the number of "hits" you can perform (healing buffs and shields also count as hits) and each monster has different skill trees that you can upgrade and customize

coral island ($30)- farming life sim with a unique underwater area where you can live and farm and raise aquatic plants and animals. you work to help restore the island after and oil spill ruined the surrounding ocean. i should mention that although this game is technically not in early access it is still unfinished and missing large chunks of gameplay/interactions/story. however there is still a healthy amount of content and is still a fun game as it is

apico ($20)- a beekeeping sim where you keep bees to make and sell honey while also breeding and releasing them to help restore their numbers in the wild

spirittea ($20)- a management and life sim where you manage a bathhouse for ghosts and help the townsfolk who think they're haunted (they're right). basically a cross between stardew valley and spirited away

cloud meadow ($20)- early access. this is a porn game ⚠️ a farming sim where instead of regular animals you have anthro characters and you can breed them either yourself or with each other and have them help in combat or on your farm. very cute artstyle and amazing animation work

[liongoatsnake]

ESSAY: My Hearthome in ABZÛ

by Ocean Watcher from House of Chimeras (He/they) I was inspired to write this essay after attending the panel, "No Place Like Home: On Hearthomes" at Othercon 2024 Note: This won't be the official home of this essay. I'm planning on adding it to our system's website, The Chimeras Library sometime in the future either as a standalone essay or part of something bigger.

My Hearthome in ABZU

by Ocean Watcher from House of Chimeras Date Written: 15 August 2024 Approx. Word Count: ~2,180

Approx. Reading Time: ~17 minutes

“They say home is where the heart is, and for most people it consists of four walls and a welcome mat. For me, it’s the ocean.” ~ Bethany Hamilton, Soul Surfer. Directed by Sean McNamara. California: Sony Pictures Releasing, 2011.

Defining Hearthome

A hearthome is a location, whether real or otherwise, that an individual has a strong emotional connection toward to the point it feels like a “home,” typically despite never having lived or spent a significant amount of time there. The specifics on what qualifies as a hearthome within this general definition is largely up for personal interpretation.

The location in question can be as all-encompassing as a whole planet all the way down to something much, much smaller. The location could be a real place (whether that be one that still currently exists or a location that once existed but doesn’t anymore), a setting depicted in fictional media, or something else entirely. It can also be a specific easily named location or merely a general description of a place. Finally, the exact kind of emotional connection and feeling like “home” a location can elicit can range from a feeling of familiarity, of comfort and relaxation, safety, nostalgia, homesickness, and/or more. In short, within the definition of hearthome there are many possibilities on how the experience can exist.

The term used to describe someone who has a hearthome or the state of having a hearthome is sometimes called hearthic, though not everyone uses it. (So, for example someone might say “I have a hearthome in [insert place here]” rather than saying “I am [insert place here]hearthic.” Whether hearthic is used or not alongside the term hearthome is largely personal preference.

Describing ABZÛ

ABZÛ (also written as Abzû) is a video game initially released in 2016. The game fits within several genres including adventure, simulation, and art video game. It has no dialogue and so the story is told solely through visuals. The main draw of the game is the graphics put into the diverse ocean environments and the wide range of marine life that inhabits each area. Most of ABZÛ is home to animal species that can be found in today’s oceans; however, there are over a dozen or so species that appear in the game that went extinct a long time ago.

The gameplay itself consists of the player controlling an android diver exploring a large variety of ocean environments in a vast ocean and getting to see a myriad of marine life at every turn.

Knowing the backstory of what occurs isn’t needed, but for some context: Deep at the bottom of this ocean was a primordial source of infinite energy. Where the energy permeated from the ground life spontaneously came into being. An ancient civilization discovered they could collect and use it to create (marine) life whenever and wherever they wished. However, at some point, they created machines to automate the process. The creation of these machines caused a disruption of the natural flow of life as they took up so much energy they drained the vitality of the ocean away. The civilization disappeared, leaving their machines to continue to operate. The objective of the player-controlled robot diver, another creation of the ancient civilization, is to return the energy back to the ocean and put an end to the machines causing the destruction.

ABZÛ is overall a short game, with most players seeming to complete it within an hour and thirty minutes to two hours, on average.

Home is Where the Heart Is Indeed

So, my hearthome is ABZÛ.

To start, I want to put some context between the game ABZÛ and my hearthome ABZÛ. The environments in the game are striking and hold an emotional importance to an extent that I have labeled it as a hearthome; however, the ABZÛ that I think of in my mind’s eye and thoughts is not just an exact mirror of the game. That is because the ABZÛ I have conceptualized in my own mind is laid out like a normal(ish) ocean thanks to some noemata I have.

The noemata I have reads that all the “game-y” elements necessary for it to function as, well, a game, aren’t present in the idea of ABZÛ that makes up my hearthome. So, all the things necessary to keep a player in a defined area and on a specific path are absent. Further, all the different locations shown in the game would exist in a much more natural way. Plus, even more biodiversity would exist than shown in the game itself (as it is only populated with a little more than a few hundred different species whereas a more realistic ocean would have tens of thousands). Basically, the concept of ABZÛ in my mind looks and functions a lot more like a natural ocean (if a much, much more vibrant and filled with even more aquatic life, one).

I also have noemata that reads that while the old structures of the civilization still exist in a way like how they appear in the game, the inverted pyramid machines have long broken down and been reclaimed by the ocean and there are no unnatural dead zones. (So, I guess, one could say my hearthome is based off how things look at the end of the game.)

So, there is all that.

That is all well and good, but now I want to cover why exactly I distinguish ABZÛ as a hearthome; why I feel it warrants a special label of significance to me at all.

Not to state the obvious, but games are meant to be emotionally and/or mentally moving. They are meant to make a player feel something. ABZÛ is no different. It is meant to be a “pretty ocean” game, if you will. The environments in ABZÛ certainly reflect a more idealized and concentrated concept of ocean life (the magnitude of marine life at any particular point in the game itself being far more than an ecosystem could sustain). So, of course, the game is meant to be visually stunning and calming (save for a section in the game roughly 3/5ths in) in relation to the ocean, but my feelings for the game go deeper than what would be normally expected.  

It is true that much of the allure I have toward ABZÛ could be dismissed as merely as a natural consequence of my alterhumanity being so immersed in the ocean if not for the fact there are aspects of ABZÛ that draw out emotions and noemata that can’t be easily waved off in that manner. There are plenty of ocean-themed games and whatnot, yet it’s this specific one I have this connection toward. I have no idea why exactly I have a hearthome in this game specifically. I couldn’t tell you why. For whatever reason, its ABZÛ that resonates with me so strongly.

The biggest thing that stands out for me is the fact the area in the game that holds the most profound feelings of familiarity and belonging is the underwater city. At one point in the game, some underwater caves open into a vast underground space where a half-submerged city exists. (My view of things through some more noemata looks a lot more like an ancient city proper because, again, ABZÛ is a game so what exists is a lot more simplified and limited.) It is a city abandoned and in ruins and yet every surface is still covered in tile and brick of beautiful blue hues. Plants like trees, flowers, and vines populate the space above the water, lily pads and other floating plants pepper the water’s surface, and below sea plants like kelp, sea grass, and so much more cover much of the floor. Sunlight shines down from high above; my noemata filling in with the idea the city resides within a long extinct volcano rising above the ocean’s surface. Animals are everywhere both above and below the water. It’s this place I gravitate towards the most.  

But what exactly do I feel?

Something about it resonates with me. It is a place that feels like home to a part of me. Something about it feels deeply right and missed despite never having lived there nor do I feel like it is a place I am “from,” in any specific way. The feelings my hearthome draw out of me can mostly be best described as comfort, relief, safety, and rightness. There is something familiar about it, even upon my first playthrough. There is maybe even a tinge of nostalgia even though I strongly feel like there isn’t anything past-life-like at play as to why I have this hearthome. It just feels so familiar and comforting to me.

Starting out, my feelings also included what I can best describe as a yearning or longing to want to be there, even if only to visit. There was a desire to know a place like it with my own eyes as much as I knew it already in my heart somehow. So, there was a bit of almost homesickness there too. All these feelings are described in the past tense because of something that happened a bit after first playing the game.

Sometime after first playing ABZÛ, a sunken city with strong similarities to the one in the game was discovered in the ocean in our system’s innerworld. It is not a perfect exact copy, but it has all the same elements and looks how my hearthome appears through the lens of the noemata I have. I know I didn’t consciously will the location in our innerworld to come into existence, no one here can make such blatant conscious changes to our innerworld; however, I’m far less certain if my discovery of the game and the emotions it elicited didn’t cause the sunken city to appear in our innerworld as an involuntary reaction. (Not long after its appearance, several other areas in the game also found their way into the ocean of our system’s innerworld.) Since its appearance and discovery, I spend much of my time in these impacted areas, especially the sunken abandoned city. Since its appearance, the location has become a much beloved place to be, not just for me but also for many other aquatics in the system. The area is aesthetically pleasing and interesting to move around in. There is a lot of wildlife so hunting instincts can be indulged and so on. When not focused on fronting it is a nice place to exist in.

I’ve been aware of my emotional connection to the setting depicted in ABZÛ since July 2018 after playing it for the first time. Since buying it on Steam, I’ve logged many hours on it and have played through its entirety several times. However, I had not labeled my feelings towards this game as a hearthome until recently. Back then, I never questioned or analyzed my feelings surrounding the environments in the game. I knew it soothed something in me to play the game, going out to the sunken city in the innerworld for a while, or even just imagine myself swimming in one of my favorite areas, but I didn’t think about why exactly that was the case.

I didn’t make the connection between my experiences with ABZÛ to the term, hearthome until August of 2024. The moment of realization came while listening to the panel, “No Place Like Home: On Hearthomes” at Othercon 2024. Upon Rani, the panel’s host, describing the meaning of the term, I realized my feelings towards ABZÛ fit perfectly within the word. It wasn’t even a particularly jarring realization, and I am not sure how I had never made the connection before. Since that realization, I’ve come to label my feelings around the game, ABZÛ as my hearthome.

On the topic of alterhuman terms, I don’t use the term hearthic to refer to my state of having a hearthome at this time, solely because the word just doesn’t feel right when I try to use it in context. That could change, but for now, that is that.

I do consider my hearthome to be a part of my alterhumanity. My hearthome certainly fits neatly into my wider alterhumanity; ocean life and all that. That being said, I don’t think my hearthome has as strong of an impact on my daily experiences as other aspects do. My feelings around my hearthome are most often closer to something in the background more than anything. It is still there, and it is still important, it is just not as blatant and impactful in my daily life compared to something like my phantom body from my theriotypes. The fact parts of the game now exist in the innerworld and are prime locations for me to go after fronting to alleviate species dysphoria is perhaps the most blatant way my hearthome impacts my greater alterhumanity.

Bibliography

505 Games, ABZÛ. 505 Games, 2015, Microsoft Windows.

“Glossary,” Alt+H, https://alt-h.net/educate/glossary.php . Archived on 19 Apr 2020: https://web.archive.org/web/20200419100422/https://alt-h.net/educate/glossary.php

Lepidoptera Choir. “Hearthic” astrophellian on Tumblr. 9 April 2022. https://astrophellian.tumblr.com/post/681107250894503936/hearthic . Archived on 30 September 2022: https://web.archive.org/web/20220930143533/https://astrophellian.tumblr.com/post/681107250894503936/hearthic

Rani. “No Place Like Home: On Hearthomes,” Othercon 2024, 11 August 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYVF_R6v50Q

[dykerikki]

h2o dashboard simulator

mutual 1: charlotte did nothing wrong

mutual 2: do you think wilf and max ever explored each others bodies

mutual 3: starting my annual rewatch so i will be out of contact next week as the s2 finale will make me ummmmm. busy

mutual 1: what are you doing 🤔🔍

mutual 3: dont worry about it 👍

mutual 4: lets all walk into the ocean while gazing blankly into the moon. wednesday work for u guys?

[mutual 7 reblogged this 34 times]

mutual 3: i am seeking refuge in a remote church in the irish countryside for crimes against village roadshow pictures australia

mutual 1: #omg bella hartley core!

mutual 5: *lesbifies a character**bisexualifies a character* *transgendifies a character* *translesbifies a character*

mutual 6: heres an itemised list of everything charlotte did wrong and why that makes her the coolest girl in the world

mutual 7: [the silent lurkerr]

blog you have never seen in your life: *pastel moodboard with NO h2o content* #coquette #girlinterrupted #femalehysteria #h2o

mutual 8: season 3 hate

mutual 9: season 3 hate

mutual 10: actually season 3 slaps

mutual 10: (5 minutes later) season 3 hate

mutual 2: LADIES! if your man wears bucket hats, loves fishing and is Keeper of the Secret THATS NOT YOUR MAN! thats gold coast television heartthrob of several, perhaps TENS of people worldwide, lewis mccartney

mutual 8: *picture of byron surfboard. yep thats his nameee its byronnnn Surfboard!* i know when you knock on his head its got an echo

mutual 5: banned from tumblr for saying what julia did to louise

mutual 9: what did she do?

mutual 5: she fucked that old woman!!!!!

[reveriedraffs]

ִ ࣪𖤐 Waiting Room ideas part 3 𐦍༘⋆

Here is part 3 for ideas on how your waiting room might look like:

1. Underwater Grotto

If you have some phobias of ocean or big things and especially underwater then please ignore it. But it's kind of a thrilling idea to have a waiting room underwater so i decided to put this in first place.

2. Retro diner

I am sure you are used to this word and if not then it's fine because after looking at pictures you will find out that I am talking about some vintage retro type diner place.

3. Astral Observatory

waiting room as an astral observatory with telescopes, star charts, and celestial-themed decor, allowing you to explore the cosmos.

4. Tropical Rainforest Canopy

waiting room to resemble the lush canopy of a tropical rainforest, complete with hanging vines, exotic flora, and ambient rainforest sounds.

5. Futuristic Space Station

futuristic space station setting with metallic accents, simulated space views, and high-tech equipment for an otherworldly experience.

Here the part 3 of the waiting room idea is over.

However there will be more parts but do not try to copy my ideas. It's all my ideas and if you want to post on other social media then Tumblr then Please give me credit.

⊹ ࣪ ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ๋࣭ ⭑

╰┈➤ Part 1𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

╰┈➤ Part 2𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

╰┈➤Part 4𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

ཐིཋྀ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ The book for detailed about shifting realities 𐦍༘⋆

(\ (\

(˶ᵔ ᵔ˶  )

─ꐑ─ꐑ──────────────             🍓

[transparencyboo]

Alright kids, today I am once more gonna tell you about a real game for true gamers, so buckle in and get ready for a swimmingly wonderful time. This is Aquanaut's Holiday, a 1995 Playstation game developed by Artdink and directed by Kazutoshi Iida (who would go on to direct Tail of the Sun and Doshin the Giant). It is essentially an underwater exploration simulator, where you control a submarine and venture into the wild marine yonder. This game is so good I bought it twice!

Savvy game players might look at this premise and assume elaborate systems and mechanics tied to it. What is the mission? What is the goal? What am I supposed to do? How do I score points and earn extra lives? Well, you don't, the game isn't about any of that. In defiance of medium conventions, particularly for the time, Aquanaut's Holiday presents a scaled back game experience with little more features than what's needed to fulfil its noble goal: To be relaxing.

With no further elaboration, we are let loose into the ocean and encouraged to find our own way, discover our own adventure, create our own fun. And this place is massive, you can swim around in the murky haze and just observe the barren sea bottom pass by for minutes on end without seeing much of anything, your long journey only registering as a feeble spagetti string on the blank map. Impatient players, or those simply testing it out for a quick spurt, will likely be discouraged and disregard the game as primitive nonsense of a bygone era. At surface level, there simply does not seem to be much of anything to this one. I've heard people describe Aquanaut's Holiday as "a game where you only swim around and look at fish", not necessarily derogatory, but not in praise either, just a neutral "huh, I guess that's a thing" – the game equivalent to those tacky aquarium VHS tapes.

I've had a half-distant relationship to this game. I've long understood its philosophical richness purely in relationship to its brethren Tail of the Sun and Doshin the Giant, two of my all-time favorite games, which also appear unassuming and scaled down at face value. Yet, somehow I've never fully sat down with this one to unravel all it has to offer. "Some other time", I told myself. Well, some other time came and went, so now I will tell you what you need to know about Aquanaut's Holiday!

Starting out on my journey of properly playing the game, I actually read the manual for once. Can you believe there's actually little tips and tricks together with crucial information in there? Huh! Turns out reading manuals is a good way of parsing any game made in the last century, highly recommended activity. Always check the manual! Reading this, I learned the peculiarities of the submarine's controls, I learned what all the little cryptic HUD symbols meant, I learned about setting up buoys and building reefs, I learned that the weird effects that appear when pressing the shoulder buttons is for singing to the fish, I even learned that the submarine is called Holiday. In particular, I learned that the game itself acknowledges the individual user experience with the succinct words: "Each player will experience AQUANAUT'S HOLIDAY differently."

So is that all there is to Aquanaut's Holiday? You float around in bliss and marvel at the ocean life? Well, yes, kinda. You certainly need to vibe with that angle if you're gonna get anything out of the experience, in practice Aquanaut's Holiday will indeed just be about drifting for long periods looking at nothing, helplessly fumbling in its massive barren world. Watching sea mile after sea mile pass by as the vast nothingness makes your mind wanders. But every now and again you wake up from your soft daydreams with a start, staring at some unknown structure that has appeared before you.

This is where Aquanaut's Holiday shows its true brilliance. Through sheer simplicity it has made you fascinated by the smallest things. Be it the ghastly inexplicable monuments or the sighting of a rare animal, you will feel rewarded for the very discovery itself. There is no logbook, no special cutscenes, no acknowledgment of what you've seen. That is for you to create yourself. I always dispatched a buoy for my own reference and marked it yellow, which in my book meant "notable discovery". These were by far the highlights of the game for me, and motivated me to slowly but surely criss-cross around the ocean, charting more of the map as I narrowed the world down and made the unknown known. Yet so much of the map remained blank, my path never made any great dents into the untraveled waters, there was so much yet to see.

With this established as my main takeaway from the game, you might feel increasingly compelled to give it a go yourself. Heck, you might even want to reach the elusive and mysterious goal. Because despite its simplistic structure, Aquanaut's Holiday indeed has an ending like so many other games. It is nothing special, mostly a pat on the head and the end credits, but it felt special to reach such a surreal point after years of assuming the game had nothing of the sorts. That's why I will now give my quick guide for how to master Aquanaut's Holiday like a real pro gamer, since there is very little information online and no definitive guide. I can't exactly say this is one either, but I think it will provide you with more help than I ever had.

Starting off, the metric for reaching the goal is the biodiversity of your artificial coral reef. This is a spot of ocean immediately west of your dock where you can place blue, yellow and red blocks to create a habitat for fish and other marine life. The reef builder is accessed by pressing Select twice, which toggles the RETURN prompt, to which you press Start and enter the port menu, where you can pick BUILD REEF. Here you see a simplified grid of your reef garden, a material meter and a fish meter, press X to select a slot and then X, Square or Triangle to pick a color block to place. To fill your fish meter, you need to place more blocks and then literally hang out in the area and watch the fish appear. I've found conflicting takes on how to build reefs for efficient growth, with people stating certain formations like circles and tunnels as better. My takeaway is that it's not about shape, but the sheer amount of blocks. The manual states that different fish are attracted to different colors, so make good use of blue, yellow and red equally. Apart from that, go off and build anything you want!

However, you will need sufficient building material. Starting out you do not have what you need to build a bustling habitat. That's where exploration comes in. Navigating the ocean fills out grids on the map, this in turn earns you more reef blocks. I don't know what the conversion rate is between uncovered map grids and reef blocks, but you'll need quite a bit, so expect this to be majority of what you do. To make your exploration easier, you will want to set out lots of buoys. This is done by pressing Select once to toggle the BUOY prompt, to which you press Start and dispatch a buoy. This puts a marker on the map which you can conveniently fast travel back to. Since the pause menu always returns you to the port, buoys are crucial for finding your way back to where you were. You can have 256 buoys, so don't be afraid to use them for quick access around the ocean.

In other words: Set out, try to see as much as possible and return to the base to build. That's the essential strategy for reaching the goal. Be ready to do this for hours on end, get acquainted with this world, have fun with it. I listened to several episodes of our friend @hotcyder's excellent podcast Bullet Time while just floating around the ocean uncovering remarkable and unremarkable sights. I had some splendidly relaxing evenings over a week or so. All in all it took me 16 hours, if you're being efficient it'll probably be faster, but maybe if you're even more chill than me you'll take even longer. In my opinion, the longer it takes you to beat Aquanaut's Holiday, the cooler you are!

Eventually I hit a point of my exploration where the game showed me a funky little cinematic of the entire world map being filled out, presumably as a reward for having uncovered a certain high percentage of it. At this point I knew I was ready for the ending, so I went to the reef builder and started throwing blocks absolutely everywhere until I had run all out. After that I just sat and gazed at my monstrous creation for a few minutes, hopped back into the reef builder and watched the end credits.

The final reward was a funky experimental fish mode where I can travel around the ocean super fast and rotate models of the sea life in front of the screen. A most excellent prize and a dignified conclusion to this masterpiece.

/Kiki

[cookinary]

Hey guys, if you want some music

I've been putting together a playlist of what my AUs' themes would be

I'll be making a list under the cut of which song matches which AU (so don't check it out if you wanna figure it out for yourself!)

Da OG boi: Banana Man - Tally Hall

Android: Robot Rock - Daft Punk

Backrooms: H A L L S - CG5

Basically Villain: Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio

Beyblade: Beyblade Metal Fusion French opening

Brothers in Arms: Turn the Lights Off - Tally Hall

Cartoon: Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand

Clone: I think I'm a clone now - Weird Al

Cyberpunk: Organic Self - Noisecream

Demon Banana: Demons - Imagine Dragons / Phoenix - ft.Cailin Russo and Chrissy Costanza

Dragon Pilot: Dragon Pilot Hisone to Masotan outro

Escaped Experiment: Monster - dodie

Explosive Personality: MINECRAFT CREEPER RAP - Dan Bull

Ghost: Ghost - Confetti

Godhunter: Godhunter - Aviators

Honey I shrunk the kid: So What - Three Days Grace

It's just a game: Losing My Mind - Mystery Skulls

Mad Guy Dead: MAD RAT HEART from the Mad Rat Dead OST

Mad Switch: Fuck You - Lily Allen

Magic: Dementia - Owl City ft. Mark Hoppus / ROACHES - Luluyam (I picked these songs because Mage is psychotic because of everything he went through)

Mountains: Les bronzés font du ski

Murder Drones: Disassembly Required - Liam Vickers

Mutant: Captive Normal from the Hi-Fi Rush OST (PLEASE CHECK THIS GAME OUT) / I'm My Own Master Now (Platinum Mix) from the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST

Nyankees: meow - lvusm

Pacific Rim: Pacific Rim main theme

Phoenix: Phoenix - Netrum & Halvorsen

Pokemon: The Journey Starts Today - Walk off the Earth

Portal: Who I am - CG5

Post-Apocalypse: Survive - SOARA / Wasteland Outlaw - MAJESTY

Radioactive: Radioactive - Imagine Dragons

Reaper: The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash

Sailing Seas: The Seven Seas - F-777

Sea Monster: Ocean Man - Ween

Simulation Collapsing: ECHO [Cover] - Alfakyun

Space: Starman - David Bowie

Spare: I Can't Decide - Scissors Sisters

Supers: Speed of Light - Joe Satriani

Swap: Sweet About Me - Gabrielle Cilmi

Tanuki: Heisei era Tanuki War (Spirited Season) from the Pompoko OST

Therianthropy: Wild Slide - Jules Gaia / T-Rex - K.Flay

Time Agent: This Time - PXL

Time God: Temporal Tower from the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky OST

Time Loop: Stuck in a Timeloop - Animadrop

Totally Spies: Here We Go - Totally Spies season 1 opening

Turning Red: Pandas Unite/Nobody Like U from the Turning Red OST

Unaware Eldritch God: God - Jake Daniels

Untitled Friend Game: Goose Goose Revolution - TheLivingTombstone

Werewolf: Animal In Me - Solence

Witch Vampire: Happy Halloween Rap ver. - nqrse

Zombie: Macabre Rotting Girl - Kathy-Chan / Stay Alive - FFM ft. Felix Bushe / INFECTED - STARSET

Junkyard King: Junkyard King - Navie D

Rookie Mistake (AU where my sona is present): Idontgivea***k - Rabbit Junk

And EMPIRES by Electric Swing Circus isn't for an AU but I thought it was a good fit for vanilla Ophelia

[greetingsfromdigitalworlds]

Seadreams.

(Game: Ocean Exploration Simulator But There’s No Ocean)

[simlicious]

My game recommendations

I had a reblog in my drafts folder for a couple of days to keep working on it and when I was done I saw that the original poster sadly deactivated reblogs on their post. They lovingly suggested that simmers should indulge in other games too, and I couldn't agree more. It is a special feeling to dive into a new game, learn new mechanics, and have a very different experience from the last game you played. I really put a lot of work into my answer, so I decided to make a new post for it.

I'm a simmer and a gamer (simming since 2000), gaming since 1994 or so. I used to play Everquest II way back when and dabble in Elder Scrolls Online but I quit for Baldur's Gate III which has me obsessed for months now, highly enjoyable. Sims 3 has fallen a few steps on my top 10 list in recent years, but I use it as a creative outlet anyway and do not tend to judge it against other games much. I do judge Sims 4 though, which is a sad state of affairs. I can have fun in it if I spend the time in CAS, or for the first 6 hours in a new expansion - but it's just too expensive for its little value, especially compared to other games on this list.

City Builder/Automation games:

Factory Town: super chill cozy vibe, automate logistics for your pixel-people town. Lovely game

Timberborn: build a town for cute beavers!

Farthest Frontier: a nice city simulation with some logistics and events such as raiders invading the town

Satisfactory: one of the most ambitious automation games, with amazing graphics, for people who like to puzzle, analyze/calculate, and really use their heads while gaming. I like to play it as a challenge and see how far I can take my spaghetti conveyor belts!

Frostpunk: a harrowing/grim atmosphere, dystopian, make hard choices for your town

Simulation games:

Roller Coaster Tycoon and Planet Coaster: I love building super scary rollercoasters and then riding them and trying to get people in the park to ride them too

Strategy games:

Anno 1800: I can spend my entire life in this game it feels, it is engaging and relaxing all at once - love this so much!

Action/adventure games:

Assassins Creed Origins: stunning world, super detailed visuals and fun combat mechanics

Scifi/Exploration

No Man's Sky: At first I thought this was more of a casual game, but prepare for a lot of grinding and long-ish quests. It is fun to discover new plants/creatures and name them!

Survival games:

Raft: great to play with friends too and it has a relaxed vibe but also survival mechanics that keep you engaged

The Long Dark: I love the art style and music so much, the story mode is great, the survival mode can be very challenging depending on settings and it is super immersive. Wrap yourself in a warm blanket to play 😂

Subnautica: my favorite game ever before Baldur's Gate 3 dethroned it! It is a game that will guide you to leave your comfort zone time and time again, but you choose when you feel ready for it. You can really follow your own pace and exploring the vast, beautiful, and terrifying depths of this ocean planet is absolutely immersive and filled with surprise and wonder. It has also very chill and calm base-building elements to counteract the scarier moments. The soundtrack is one of the best in terms of evoking feelings/ building atmosphere, do not turn off the sound while playing this game!!!

Storytelling games:

Life is Strange: a classic, it's fun to explore what we could change and what the consequences would be if we could go back in time.

Firewatch: very emotional and touching, leaving a lasting impression

Casual games:

Bridge Constructor Portal (the dark humor is a bonus, it's fun and trains your analytical thinking!)

Carcassonne (like the tabletop game, chill puzzle game)

Simulacra (you uncover a mystery on a phone, interesting idea!)

Retro Games:

My favorite old/retro game would be Black & White (from 2001), which I played when it originally came out, I loved it so much! The free camera was revolutionary at the time. You play a god who is powered by worshippers whom you can either provide and care for or reign terror over, and your actions decide your alignment, good, neutral, or evil. You get a creature that you can train (and will be more or less useful to your goals or disrupt them depending on how well you train it). IIRC, you can train the creature either in the story mode or sandbox/skirmish mode and then go back to story mode with a stronger creature. The mouse gestures which activate miracles in the air felt like a revolutionary new idea back then. The game is not available officially anymore, but it is downloadable from some abandonware websites and the community-made patches so it is still playable today! Writing this, I had to reinstall it right away... the nostalgia!

RPGs:

Cyberpunk 2077: it's just iconic, the city energy and car drives are nice, the story is interesting and it feels immersive

The Witcher 3: great quests and story, beautifully crafted open world

Baldur's Gate 3: I could also talk for hours about Baldur's Gate 3. If there is one game out there that everyone should have tried once in their life, it's that one. It really lets you try any strategy you want and did not actually expect to work in a video game, but in BG3, it does. Even cheaty ones like pushing enemies from a cliff or using explosives to blow stuff up. If you got surprise-attacked but have no weapon handy, you can throw a grease bottle at the enemy that can make them slip and fall, and then you can throw your burning torch at it to light everything on fire. You can stack boxes to climb up to reach something (or throw a goblin body onto someone's head, because it's perfectly normal to carry those around with you). You can be sneaky and steal stuff, even rewards from enemies. Don't like fighting? You can talk your way out of most fights if your character has the necessary skills and still complete quests that way. 95% of NPCs have something to say, and if you click them again, they will have another line. The narrator is awesome. The companions have so much character, the banter is great and every character has its own story arc and goal, the voice acting is phenomenal all around. Definitely get the talk-to-animals skill and use it on all animals, you'll have hilarious conversations! It's worth every penny, even if it's not on sale (and I hardly ever buy a game at full price, so that is saying a lot). Thanks for reading, I hope you feel inspired to try some new games! Have fun 😊

[jaakap]

Stardew Vally

Introduction

Stardew Valley, developed by ConcernedApe (Eric Barone), is a delightful farming simulation game that invites players to escape the hustle and bustle of modern life and embrace the simple pleasures of rural living. Whether you’re tending to crops, raising animals, or exploring the mines, there’s something enchanting about this pixelated world.

Gameplay and Mechanics

Farming and Community Building

At its core, Stardew Valley is about rejuvenating a neglected farm. You’ll plant seeds, water crops, and harvest your bounty. The seasons change, affecting what you can grow. As you expand your farm, you’ll build barns, coops, and other structures. The sense of progression is satisfying, and the daily routines become oddly comforting.

Social Interaction

The heart of the game lies in building relationships with the townspeople. Each character has their own backstory, likes, and dislikes. Completing quests, giving gifts, and attending festivals deepen your connections. Whether you’re romancing a fellow farmer or befriending the local blacksmith, these interactions add warmth to the game.

Exploration and Adventure

Beyond the farm, there’s a whole valley to explore. The mysterious mine beckons, filled with monsters, ores, and secrets. Combat is simple but engaging. Fishing, foraging, and spelunking provide variety. And don’t forget the seasonal events—the Egg Festival, Luau, and Stardew Valley Fair—where the community comes together.

Art Style and Music

The retro-inspired pixel art is charming. The landscapes change with the seasons, from snowy winters to vibrant springs. The soundtrack, composed by ConcernedApe himself, is soothing and memorable. Each track captures the mood perfectly, whether you’re strolling through the forest or tending to your crops.

Themes and Relaxation

Stardew Valley celebrates the joy of slowing down. It’s a game where time passes gently, and there’s no rush. The cyclical nature of seasons mirrors life’s rhythms. Amidst the chores and responsibilities, you’ll find moments of serenity—a sunrise over the ocean, a cozy evening by the fireplace.

Conclusion

In a world filled with high-octane action and complex narratives, Stardew Valley stands as a tranquil oasis. It’s a game that encourages you to breathe, connect with nature, and appreciate the little things. Whether you’re a seasoned farmer or a greenhorn, this pixelated paradise awaits.

[russellius]

Life in the Fast Lane: George Russell Has Momentum Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix

The F1 driver and IWC Ambassador is adamant of a strong season ahead with Mercedes.

By Josh Bozin 21/03/2024

“Right now, I want to be as fast as possible. It’s that simple.”

These are the words spoken boldly by George Russell, the 26-year-old Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 driver—and IWC Schaffhausen ambassador—who, despite a 2023 season riddled with shortcomings and heartbreak, remains as confident as ever in his abilities to compete in the Formula 1.

“There is a fast car in there, it’s just about dialling in the performance,” he tells Robb Report at an exclusive event celebrating IWC’s newest Chadstone boutique. “Personally, I feel like I’m performing at a great level.”

As we approach this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix—the third race of the 2024 F1 season and one of its toughest—Russell, as always, is poised and focused on the task ahead. With a racing style that’s “fast, adaptive, and precise,” and a teammate in seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS know what it will take to reclaim the dominant run of wins it was once accustomed to.

Below, Russell discusses the challenges associated with Formula 1, the growing awareness of mental health in sport, and his partnership with IWC which has afforded a newfound appreciation for the world of watches.

-

Robb Report: George, it’s great to see you back in Australia! We spoke last year and you mentioned a newfound appreciation for the ocean. During the off-season, did you manage to get away to any exotic or tropical location?

George Russell: Well I had every intention of doing so [laughs] but I actually got really ill at the end of last year and had to cancel all my plans and just stay at home. After Abu Dhabi, I spoke with the team doctors and they were like, right, you need six weeks off.

RR: So 2023 really was a rollercoaster ride for you, wasn’t it?

GR: It was, yeah. I’m glad it’s out of the way. But no, I’m definitely going to do a bit more exploring this season. I was hoping to go to Japan after this week and do a bit of exploring between Kyoto and Osaka but after Melbourne, I have to head back home to the UK and jump straight on the simulator.

RR: Have you had the chance to reflect on the season that was, and what are some of the things that you do to cope with the mental and physical pressures that come with a new season (and racing in general)?

GR: I think on the mental side, it’s important to talk about this and be open and honest with those around you. I’m so fortunate that my trainer, who travels with me every single race and has been with me for seven years, understands the racing world. So when we have these conversations, whether it’s to and from the track in the morning or during a session at the gym, that’s a really good way for me to release whatever maybe in my mind or for him to soundboard or bounce ideas off. Or really, just to hear me out.

On top of that, I do talk with a professional psychologist, which I think is really important. I think the views around mental health and talking with professionals is that you only do it when you need it and when you’re down in the dumps. Whereas my view is you want to be talking with those around you, whoever it may be, so that you don’t find yourself down in the dumps.

On the physical side, this sport is very demanding of its drivers. If we take this week, for example, I flew in last Sunday, jet lag hit me hard on Monday. Tuesday, I hit the gym but couldn’t go all out because you’re fatigued and you’ll do more damage. You need to let the body rest and recover. Wednesday, I’m doing events all day. I’m with the team Thursday at the track. And then, you know, come Friday it’s just racing, racing, racing. Sunday night, I fly back and come Tuesday, I’m back on a simulator. So it’s important on hitting that winter hard [off-season] because once the season starts, you just don’t get the time to increase your muscle mass or your fitness.

RR: A few weeks ago in Saudi, the team didn’t get the results you were hoping for. As we head into this weekend, do you know where the car is at in terms of performance, and what are the things you can do as a driver, however small, that will help optimise the team’s performance?

GR: We don’t yet know where the car is at… If you take Red Bull out of the situation, the grid is so close in Formula 1 at the moment. So that’s why you don’t know where we are in terms of performance because one tenth of a second is all that separates us from the likes of Aston Martin, McLaren and Ferrari. I mean, I qualified P3 in Bahrain. If I was two tenths slower, I’d have been P8. And that can change your whole weekend.

Sure, the car isn’t performing as we expected at the moment, but we’ve got some indications why that may be. We’re making some small changes ahead of the weekend in Melbourne, but it’s still early days, we’re two races in, it’s a 24 race season, and we need to utilise every single race right now to maximise the learning of the car before trying to optimise the last millisecond of performance.

It sounds a bit crazy that you’re still trying to learn during races, but we only get three days of testing. Fortunately, we have a week off between all of these races, so it gives us time to digest the data and be very thorough with that and try and pick off what we need to do.

RR: Are you feeling confident though ahead of the weekend?

GR: A driver’s role ultimately is to drive as fast as possible. Personally, I feel like I’m performing at a great level, especially over the last couple of races of the ’23 season. Right now, I feel like I’m doing well and you know, obviously you’ve got Lewis [Hamilton] as my teammate. You can only really use your teammate as your benchmark and I’ve got probably the best benchmark of all of the drivers. So we’re pushing one another. we’re trying to motivate the team and direct the team in the right way; that’s all we can do.

RR: Last month, the sixth season of Drive to Survive returned to Netflix. Obviously, the series has helped introduce a new generation of F1 fans but I’m sure it has its disadvantages, too. What are your thoughts on the series and with the added spotlight that it brings, how do you best deal with all the outside noise?

GR: I haven’t seen it yet [laughs], but I think it’s been amazing for Formula 1. It’s shown the sport through a different lens, which has been really important. And it’s brought so many new fans into the sport, as well as a younger audience. I think we’re seeing more females than ever watching Formula 1, which is also incredible, as well as a really a diverse group of people now supporting. Of course, as these things are, it’s of course, dramatised – that’s what TV is for. I think that’s why a lot of drivers have mixed views on the show. And for them [Netflix], it’s always important to find a narrative and a story.

To be honest, last year I made the decision to focus more on the performance rather than too much time with the Netflix crew because you do have to give a lot of time to developing the story and the narrative. And for every interview I’m doing, that’s two hours spent that I’m not talking to my engineers, or I’m not training, or I’m not talking to my psychologist, or I’m not on the simulator. I had the view of, will this make me faster? And I concluded, no, it won’t make me faster. Right now, I want to be as fast as possible.

RR: Let’s talk watches! You’ve spent some time with IWC now as one of its global ambassadors, and I’m guessing you’ve been wearing the new IWC Pilot’s Performance Chronograph that launched in Las Vegas last year. Has it been getting some wrist time of late?

GR: It’s the second edition of the Mercedes team watch and I’ve got to say, I really like its style. I think this model is a slightly elevated variant from the first one – it looks fast and aggressive, especially in its contrasting black and neon green colours, and add in the Petronas green that we see on the race car; it totally changes the watch.

You know, I didn’t know much about watches before joining IWC, and I wouldn’t say it was really a passion of mine the past, but since visiting the IWC manufacture in Schaffhausen, seeing the precision that goes into every single watch and how fine the details are is incredible. To be honest, the details are far finer than what we actually have in Formula 1.

RR: Do you prefer it on rubber or with a different strap option?

GR: On rubber, it brings a slightly sportier look to the piece. But I like bracelets and other materials, because it looks a touch classier – you can still wear it casually, but it gives you that option to dress it up. It’s super versatile.

RR: So would you say you’re more of a Pilots/Performance watch kind of guy, or do you prefer the timelessness of a good dress watch, like your IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar?

GR: I’m very fortunate because now I’ve got a number of options [laughs]. I would say I probably go towards the Portugiesers. Smart casual is my dress code of choice, and I think the Portugieser goes really, really well. I’m lucky to own the Portugieser Annual Calendar with a white dial and black leather strap. But I’ve also got the Boutique Edition, which I really love with its touch of navy.

[evasive-anon]

PROJECT HALF-A MISSION GZ-001 | AUDIO LOG 001

Masterpost.

FIELD TEAM THETA MISSION REPORT MISSION ASSIGNMENT GZ-001 T-Minus 00:00 TRANSCRIPT

[Audio log starts] [Sound of footsteps echoing in the containment chamber] Agent L (L): This is Agent L, leader of Field Team Theta, reporting in. We've gathered in Containment Chamber-XXXX at The Ghost Portal for our final mission debrief. The scientists are preparing to open the portal, and we'll be boarding the Specter Speeder shortly. [sound of the chatter of GIW scientists as final checks are completed] Agent P (P): (eager) It's finally happening! I’ve had all my equipment ready for weeks. I even unpacked it so I could pack it again after creating improved models in my excitement. Agent O (O): (amused) I may not have packed twice but I’ve been dreaming off this day for so long I could claim at least a thousand hours in the somnus simulation. Agent N (N): (wistful) Nothing can beat the thrill of being the first to see the unknown. Agent M (M): (sincere) I imagine you would be the one to know, N. I cannot imagine anyone here has seen more of the unknown than you and your ‘Lost City’. Agent N (N): (doubtful) Not sure I can claim that for a fact with you on the team, Agent M. A Lost City was by its nature seen by someone before. I imagine the depths of the ocean you explored were far less traveled. [sound of a door whooshing open, chatter quiets for a moment, leaving just footsteps as the team boards the Specter Speeder] Agent L (L): (calmly) Remember, everyone, our mission objectives are clear. We're here to explore the Ghost Zone, gather data on entities and anomalies, maintain communication with the GIW lab, and, if necessary, capture or destroy any ectoplasmic entities we encounter. [sounds of seatbelts clicking as agents are seated] Agent M (M): (dutifully) And let's not forget to stay vigilant and rely on each other. Teamwork is crucial for our safety. Agent N (N): (stage whisper) Sounds like somebody is aiming for de facto second in command. [Agent O is heard snickering.] Agent M (M): (embarrassed) It’s not like that! We’re about to embark on a very important mission and we’re being recorded. Some decorum should be expected. Agent L (L): (resigned) I appreciate your efforts, Agent M. [sound of the Ghost Portal opening] Agent O (O): (excited) The portal's open, y’know what that means. To infinity. . . and BEYOND. Agent N (N): (laughing) I know you have kids, O, but I think the rest of these nerds are too old or single for your references. Agent P (P): (quietly) I understood that reference. Agent M (M): (bemused) I admittedly did not. Agent L (L): (sighs) Agent O, prepare to launch.  [sound of the Specter Speeder engines starting and levers being switched, O can be heard faintly humming to the tune ‘You Got a Friend in Me.”] Agent L (L): (firmly) Once we're through that portal, stay alert and stick to the plan. We're Field Team Theta, and we've got a mission to accomplish. We do not know what lies beyond that Portal but we know each other and our skills.  Agent N (N): (enthusiastic) Go Team Theta! Agent L (L): (quietly) Just my luck I got assigned the rowdy ones. [Audio log ends]