#after destroying 1 video platform

[jaejoongs-nipple-piercing]

Just found out both Aura Kingdom and Aura Kingdom 2 were removed from the App Store and retired on STEAM. What the frick, I love those games. I’ve been trying to get the game to load for months in my phone and you just get rid of it?!?

Bring back Aura Kingdom

Bring back Aura Kingdom 2

BRING BACK SUPERSTAR PLEDIS!!!!

[attheexactlyrighttimeandplace]

For the people who still think the colony of Israel has a right to defend itself:

They're not defending anything, they're just having fun killing:

Update 1 (17/10/2023) for the confused and sceptics :

Update 2 (10/22/2023): To add some context to this post following Reuters (direct link to article) attempt to verify the reality of the IDF Facebook post.

In fact, Reuters failed to verify anything: as the agency admitted in its article, its journalist "could not find the impostor's Facebook account or the publication on the platform social network".

They then contacted "a spokesperson for the IDF", who told them that " the Facebook post was not shared by one of its official accounts. He added there was only one official IDF Facebook page in Arabic that carries a verification tick "

A Reuters reporter also contacted"a representative for Meta, Facebook’s parent company, told Reuters the page was removed".

In this total absence of material evidence, and relying solely on the statements of these two sources which are the least reliable when it comes to commenting and sharing information and facts about the war against the Palestinians (the Israeli army is party to the conflict therefore It is biased and will protect its agents and soldiers- and Facebook has a history of censoring Palestinian content that could be used to document violence and help legally qualify zionist crimes).

Reuters came to this hasty conclusion:

Their main arguments are that

The Israeli occupation army never admitted to bombing the hospital and blamed Islamic Jihad, so it had no reason to celebrate.

Reuters journalists conveniently ignore the timeline. The IDF message welcoming the bombing of the Baptist hospital in Gaza was published immediately after the attack, while the controversy over the perpetrators of the attack began a few hours after its deletion.

Until the controversy, no one wondered who was behind the attack. The zionist army has always publicly assumed its crimes: it even ordered (according to the clerics who were in charge of the administration of the hospital) on several occasions the hospital to evacuate, knowing perfectly well that it was impossible. It was only when outrage became widespread that western media, including Reuters, began to question the origins of the strike. There's a post on Tumblr that pulls together the subtle changes in headlines to make it seem like Israel never took credit for the attack (even though it destroyed different 2 floors of the hospital a few days before the biggest attack).

There are other videos on Mohammed El Kurd's Twitter account showing the zionist army celebrating its strikes. There are videos on social media of zionist soldiers humiliating prisoners in their custody, so gloating on social media is not a new practice for them.

There is no reason why they should not celebrate what they consider a victory: their ministers have already publicly and clearly stated that civilians who do not leave northern Gaza, whatever their reasons, will be assimilated to Hamas fighters. So everything is consistent; in their minds, hitting innocent and defenseless civilians is legitimate and they are happy about it.

On its Twitter account, the Israeli military removed a video that purported to prove that Islamic Jihad carried out the attack, but ultimately did not prove its claims. So they also have a habit of deleting their own content when they realize that it exposes them more than it helps them.

Other journalists (Al Jazeera uses its own images: it is the only media that remained in Gaza and they filmed all the attacks, information from Channel 4) and independent experts on weapons of war and geolocation worked on the question of identifying the perpetrators of the bombing of the hospital. So far, their preliminary conclusion is that the Israeli military's claims do not match the facts and material evidence on the ground.

Full details of this debate are on the X/Twitter accounts of Lowkey and Mohammed El-Kurd (look for posts made on October 17).

2. I don't really know how Facebook/Meta works: I never had an account on it (I mean I never used it properly: I opened an account years ago, exclusively to follow the activity of a group that I was part of in life but closed it after a few weeks without interacting beyond a few likes), but on Twitter you can hide the checkmark.

Even if the checkmark cannot be hidden, there is nothing in the Reuters "report" to indicate that the Zionist army does not maintain multiple accounts - some with checkmarks and some without - and does not delete accounts that are not officials when it does not suit their interests.

They have a history of spreading fake news: from rumors about 40 beheaded babies, to accusing Palestinians of bombing themselves, to creating fake documents to accuse Hamas of planning attacks on primary schools while manipulating parents by buying YT ads shown during videos aimed at children to improve their image damaged by their violence with families, and to justify the harm they do to the children of Gaza.

I'm only making this long argument because Lowkey and Mohammed El-Kurd deleted the tweets I reposted and I think they shouldn't have done so. I understand why: it actually seems like an insignificant speck in an ocean of real crimes, but I personally consider it symbolic and indicative of the true and greater zionist project: genocide.

Genocide in international law is based on proof of intent to destroy a group, and the zionist army's mocking Facebook post establishes beyond doubt that nothing is accidental on the zionist side, everything is premeditated and based on their superiority complex over the Palestinian people.

[warframestuff]

Gargoyle's Cry 35.0.3

Tenno: The following Operation is designed for players who have finished the “Whispers in the Walls” quest. Review at your discretion!********

OPERATION: Gargoyle’s Cry

“Your attention, please.

The Murmur threat demands immediate action. Our first order of business must be surveillance. An early detection system lest we be caught sans trousers.

You would agree that a Vigile Jahu Gargoyle installed within each Tenno Dojo is the obvious solution. Not a whisper could be uttered in the system without the connected Dojos overhearing it first.

Your compliance is appreciated. The Vigile Jahu Gargoyle awaits you within your Dojo - simply place it as a Decoration. The enemy does not hesitate. We must do no less.” - Fibonacci

The Murmur encroaches on our systems, Tenno. The Whispers beyond the Wall are a new threat; we must ensure they stay confined to Albrecht’s Laboratory.

Operation: Gargoyle’s Cry is a limited-time event launching today,December 18 at 2 p.m. ET and ending on January 15, 2 p.m. ET across all platforms.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Murmur continues to scrape deeper into our realm of existence. Having devised a solution to detect such whispers, Fibonacci won’t allow such trespassing to threaten our system.

This Operation relies on Tenno across the Origin System to construct an invisible ‘living defense’ against the growing Murmur threat.

To join this living defense, or ‘Murmur Telemetry Chorus,’ you must hunt down the power source that’ll continuously power your Vigile Jahu Gargoyle. Fight against the ominous Murmur to earn new and returning rewards from previous Operations.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

Operation: Gargoyle’s Cry is no small task. Only those who have finished the “Whispers in the Wall” Quest can join and complete the event and the associated Mission. This event is for players on-content.

After finishing the “Whispers in the Wall” Quest, Tenno will find a Vigile Jahu Gargoyle decoration to place within their Dojo. This will require a member of your Clan to be capable of placing down decorations, which players will then build via resources gathered from Albrecht’s Laboratories. Once all the resources are contributed, the Gargoyle only takes 60 seconds to build.

Tenno must then complete the Effervo Mission on Deimos to collect Cursed Murmur Energy to activate the Gargoyle. You’ll acquire this energy by defeating one of the Fragmented Trio, with the whole squad earning one of three curses:

Curse of Knowing from The Fragmented Suzerain,

Curse of Seeing from The Fragmented Anchorite,

Curse of Hearing from The Fragmented Zelator.

You’ll acquire only a singular amount of one type of Curse on Normal Path but double of one Curse on Steel Path. Curse acquisition is unaffected by Resource Boosters.

The Murmur is not the only threat, however. Void Angels have breached the in-between of the Laboratories and The Indifference, desiring to consume the Cursed energy. If you do not kill the Angel lurking around, it will consume the Curse dropped by the Assassination Target, leaving you Curseless.

Return to your Dojo afterwards to lift your curse by feeding it to the Gargoyle. Spend time with your new decoration, as the Gargoyle is also a vendor, allowing you to purchase new and returning Operation items while netting progress towards the community reward.

Seek and destroy, Tenno. Uphold the living defense.

(VIDEO DEMONSTRATION OF EVENT)

OPERATION REWARDS

When you defeat one of the Fragmented Trio, you’ll acquire the event currency: Grotesque Splinters. 1-3 Grotesque Splinters are earned on normal difficulty and 3-5 on Steel Path.

Fibonacci beckons your safe return to your Vigile Jahu Gargoyle to spend your yield of Grotesque Splinters. You’ll acquire rewards like new Entrati Sigils, a Color Palette and returning rewards from events like Operation: Scarlet Spear.

New Cosmetics

Fibonacci Sigil

Fibonacci Sketch Glyph

Tagfer Sigil

Tagfer Sketch Glyph

Bird 3 Sigil

Bird 3 Sketch Glyph

Gargoyle’s Cry Emblem

New Color Palette: Cavia

Krios Signa

Returning Cosmetics

Gilded Clan Sigil

Glyphed Clan Sigil

Phased Clan Sigil

Prominence Wisp Totem

Fluctus Rahk Skin

The Ballroom Simulacrum

Weapons and Power

Ceti Lacera Blueprint

Basmu Blueprint

Stance Forma Blueprint

Trials/Eidolon Arcanes

Not all rewards are warranted by Fibonacci’s hand (or fin...). This is a communal effort, Tenno. Each feed to the Gargoyle strengthens the community, resulting in the new Krios Signa debuting from the Void into your Arsenal. If the goal is met, the Signa can be purchased from the Vigile Jahu Gargoyle Vendor!

The Vendor store will be open until February 15, 2024.

SCORING AND FEEDING

Trophies earned are determined by how often your clan fully feeds your Vigile Jahu Gargoyle with Cursed Murmur Energy before each Weekly Reset (Monday at 0 UTC).

Terracotta is one full feed, Bronze is two full feeds, Silver is three full feeds, and Gold is four full feeds. One full charge depends on the size of your Clan. A full charge for a Ghost Clan is two of each Curse, with Shadow Clans needing six of each Curse, Storm will need ten, Mountain thirty and Moon at one hundred of each Curse.

TL;DR:

Once the Vigile Jahu Gargoyle is constructed in the Dojo, Clans will fully feed it with Cursed Murmur Energy from the Effervo Mission to enable the living defense.

Feed your Gargoyle before the weekly reset for four weeks to keep the Gargoyle fully fed and earn a trophy, depending on the number of charges added.

Each full feed adds to unlocking the community reward.

All Operation Rewards can be purchased from the Vigile Jahu Gargoyle for Grotesque Splinters.

THE MURMUR THREAT

On the rare occasions when Murmur fragments assemble themselves into a whole, the result is a monstrous and potent entity. It may manifest in three different forms: The Fragmented Suzerain, The Fragmented Zelator and The Fragmented Anchorite

Together, as heralds of the Indifference, they tether down the Strands of Khra which their bizarre master must travel.

Source

[pepperycar]

For @silenzahra rewrite of ‘Need Proof’ takes place during Bowser’s wedding scene.

“Failed Him?” Chapter 1: guardian angel

Mario frantically flew around the cages, scanning for any sign of green amongst them.~~~Luigi yelped as his cage started to melt. He pulled himself to the top of his cage desperate to delay his death as best he could. He was surprised his body had enough water left to sweat and cry but he still did. Luigi opened his eyes to see his cage being lifted up. He climbed out and reached up for the top of the cage but his aching bones and sore muscles didn’t have the energy to hold on. Mario’s heart stopped when he saw Luigi falling towards the lava. Luigi’s life flashed before his eyes, his heart thudded hard and fast in his chest, each beat a new memory appeared before him. His family, his childhood, his school, his first crush ‘Destiny Dal Vachio’, his first job with spike, screwing up the first plumbing job with Francis and of course... his brother. A million images of him and Mario, each one bringing more tears to his eyes. His last memory was wrapping his arm around Mario in the commercial saying: ‘with the Super Mario Bros. You’re-a Family!’ Then Mario smiling at him in the warp zone, yelling: ‘I’m telling you! Nothing can hurt us as long as we’re together!’ Before being pulled away from him. He snapped back to reality, seeing the lava inches away from him, he closed his eyes and felt something grab him. His heart was beating so fast he couldn’t feel it. He gasped but couldn’t seem to get any air in. He was dead.. he had to be. Whatever had picked him up had to have been the Grim Reaper, pulling him into the afterlife. “Lu!” His eyes snapped open hearing his brothers voice, he looked up at Mario ‘no.. it can’t be... Mario’s dead. Cranky Kong told me. He’s flying, is he an angel?’ Luigi thought, Was he pulling him up to heaven? Or was his angel being a guardian and pulling him to safety? Giving him a second chance at life? He didn’t want to live without his brother. Deep deep down he wished he had let the lava take him, so he’d be with Mario again but ultimately, he didn’t want to die. He wanted to live, have and share a 26th birthday with his bro. Learn more recipes with his mother, get bad advice from his dad, jokes from his uncles, teach his niece how to play video games, have his grandad tell him life stories, aunt Marie give him dating advice. LIVE his life with Mario. Mario pulled them up onto the wedding alter platform. He cupped Luigi’s face with his hands, eyes wide looking at him as if to make sure he was real. Luigi pulled away in shock “no” Luigi breathed “y-you’re dead. Cranky Kong said you-“ Mario smiled and held his shaking hand to him. Luigi hesitatingly grabbed it, half expecting to phase right through him “y-you’re... MARIO YOU’RE ALIVE!” Luigi cried pulling him into a hug. A realisation then dawned on him. “Mario, why do look like a bear-raccoon thing? What happened?” He laughed. Mario wagged his tail happily.~~~~~”launch the Bomber Bill and DESTROY THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM!” Bowser shouted, the Bomber Bill headed for the castle. Before Luigi could react, Mario was already gone,chasing after it. Before Luigi could bring himself to move, he heard a loud bang and looked to see the world, himself and the others being sucked into the warp pipe. He yelped in fear and pain as everything went white. -to be continued.

Thanks @silenzahra for supporting my first fanfic. Wrote this while eagerly awaiting “anything for him” chapter 3! Enjoy some brotherly love and angst on me!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Next Tuesday (December 5), I'm at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC, with my new solarpunk novel The Lost Cause, which 350.org's Bill McKibben called "The first great YIMBY novel: perceptive, scientifically sound, and extraordinarily hopeful."b

#20yrsago Stephen King: forget piracy, boomers are just tired of buying crap https://ew.com/article/2007/02/01/stephen-king-laziness-baby-boomers/

#15yrsago Britain ordered to destroy its database of innocents’ DNA https://web.archive.org/web/20130905083503/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/dec/05/dna-database-civilliberties

#10yrsago Charity sends Amazon a cake celebrating 3d anniversary of unpaid invoice https://twitter.com/MusicBrainz/status/408000817048731648

#10yrsago Blues Brothers mall car-chase recreated in Lego https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ_uqlNgSU8

#10yrsago NSA’s talking points for friends and family — rebutted https://web.archive.org/web/20131202215105/http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2013/12/02/nsa-sent-home-talking-points-for-employees-to-use-in-conversations-with-family-friends-during-holidays/

#5yrsago Malware authors have figured out how to get Google to do “irreversible takedowns” of the sites they compete with https://torrentfreak.com/scammers-hit-pirate-game-sites-with-irreversible-google-takedowns-181130/

#5yrsago Facebook lured charities to its platform, then abandoned them once they got hacked https://www.wired.com/story/nonprofits-facebook-get-hacked-need-help/

#5yrsago Thousands of Wisconsinites turn out to protest outgoing Republicans’ plan to seize power after electoral defeat https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/12/04/coup-protests-engulf-wisconsin-capitol-outgoing-scott-walker-and-gop-move-cripple

#5yrsago Facebook made itself indispensable to media companies, “pivoted to video,” changed its mind, and triggered a industrywide mass extinction event https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-digital-media-bubble-is-bursting-thats-hurting-a-generation-of-promising-young-journalists/2018/12/03/d7887d30-f6f2-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html

#1yrago Yes, It’s Censorship https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/04/yes-its-censorship/

It's EFF's Power Up Your Donation Week: this week, donations to the Electronic Frontier Foundation are matched 1:1, meaning your money goes twice as far. I've worked with EFF for 22 years now and I have always been - and remain - a major donor, because I've seen firsthand how effective, responsible and brilliant this organization is. Please join me in helping EFF continue its work!

[thetruejerrycan]

Happy 1 year anniversary to Gungrave G.O.R.E!

A lot of you are probably scratching your heads right now wondering what the hell this is. Well, let's just say that an obscure PS2 series made its return after almost 20 years of inactivity. And Gungrave G.O.R.E feels like it picks up right after 2004's Gungrave Overdose in all but graphics.

To briefly provide some context, Gungrave is a series of third-person shooter games and is the brainchild of Red Entertainment and Yasuhiro Nightow, creator of Trigun. The player assumes control of Beyond The Grave (Grave, for short), a corpse who has been resurrected to enact his revenge on the organization that had him killed and to destroy the drug that made all of this possible, Seed. Equipped with two hand cannons named Cerberus and a transforming coffin-shaped weapon named Death Hauler, the player engages in stylish gunplay inspired by the films of directors John Woo and Robert Rodriguez, with Grave himself bearing resemblance to Antonio Banderas's character El Mariachi from Desperado.

Despite the game seemingly being made on a rather small budget, Gungrave G.O.R.E features an alumni of legendary game producers, with Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun) returning as image director, Ikumi Nakamura (Ghost of Tsushima) creating many of the character designs, Tetsuya Shibata (Devil May Cry) and Yoshino Aoki (Mega Man Battle Network) composing much of the soundtrack, and select cutscenes being animated by Digic Pictures (Assassin's Creed).

Gungrave G.O.R.E has had a rather unique development, being a console game developed by a South Korean studio, Iggymob. I encourage you to check out this video by Blue that goes a little bit into how Gungrave G.O.R.E came to be and why the fact that this is a Korean console game is more interesting than it may seem. They've included their sources in the description for further reading.

Looking at what director Kay Kim has had to say about Gungrave G.O.R.E's development, you can tell this was a game developed by the fans for the fans. When Gungrave G.O.R.E was first announced, it was slated to be an open-world game similar to Dark Souls. Later, taking influence from the likes of Metal Gear Rising, Bayonetta, and Devil May Cry, it was decided that the game would revert to its original linear mission-based structure. Kim has gone on record to say that the original open-world version of the game was "terrible" and expressed concern that this isn't what a Gungrave fan who has been waiting 20 years for another installment would want to play.

This is not something that a greedy businessman who bought the rights to a long-gone game series to cash in on nostalgia would ever care about. Gungrave G.O.R.E, whether it's a good game or a bad game, is a passion project before anything else. When this game first released last year, it was rough and naturally received patches over time. And these patches universally only heavily improved the game, such as making Grave's moveset more versatile, making the controls more accessible, and heavily altering levels to the point where some sections such as those that required Grave to platform were simply removed.

The game is in odd state at the moment. The original release on consoles and PC were published by Prime Matter, and earlier this year they released Gungrave G.O.R.E: Ultimate Enhanced Edition on the Nintendo Switch, which includes "over 100 changes" to the game including further improvements to the game's controls, further alterations to level design, new mechanics, and extra playable characters such as Gungrave Overdose's Rocketbilly Redcadillac, and Harry MacDowell. This is odd because not only are these magnitude of changes exclusive to U.E.E, which is only on Switch, Iggymob self-published this release.

I don't know what the future has in store for Gungrave or Studio Iggymob, but let us take today and every day after to celebrate that Gungrave G.O.R.E even happened because of them. Thank you for being the reason my new favorite game series made such a kick-ass return, and godspeed on future endeavors.

[coff-in]

hiii coffin! how are you!!

i had a questions abt your ocs :3 since Andrew’s assigned weapon is the cleaver and Ashley’s is the gun, what weapons does each of you oc’s have? and do u have an why?

- Dungeon Anon

hehehehe!!! i do, i do, i do!! ALSO I AM DOING VERY WELL!

SO! starting with the oldest (before andrew): alexis would use his bare hands/fists. I couldn't really think of him using a physical weapon in face to face combat, he seems to be the type of person to avoid physical altercations as much as possible. of course, as the oldest, he's ready to throw hands to protect his family if he has to-- and he's not half bad! he mostly lacks technique and doesn't have as much punch as andrew, but he makes up for it with his energy and speed.

amber (second oldest/middle child) would use a baseball bat. this is mostly inspired by my online friend who always uses long blunt weapons in zomboid, but i do think it fits amber's alt/rebel vibe! it's meant to hurt and get sore, the pain lingers and leaves noticeable bruises... they can break bones too! if given the chance, they'd add nails or barbed wire to the bat for the extra damage and the vibes

before i said amy (second youngest after ashley) would use a hatchet-- which i still think fits her. it's the tool and weapon of a hardworker, requiring the strength and skill to properly wield. i also see her with a fireaxe and hammer. i usually think of my ocs via a player would a video game, seeing them walk around in a 2d avatar/3d environment platformer (think of subway midnight! amy's mind is akin to that), and every time amy slams down with her hatchet her body does a little jump due to the physical recoil. she's the shortest somehow (5 foot flat or 152.4 cm) and not the most physically strongest so she can't properly wield her weapon. i like to think about the weapon being some sort of representations of the expectations she puts on her shoulders... they're heavy but, like, powerful. and they lead her to hit hard, and harder, and harder. she'll shock everyone with what she can do. she can hurt, and protect, and destroy if she must. she's not weak... she's useful, she promises!! i've also dreamt of her and amber using the demon summoning for dummies book as some sort of spell book... i wish we saw more of that book.

the baby of the graves siblings, aria, would have two weapons depending on the route. throughout most of episode 1 and 2 (during the neutral portion of the game), she's just use a basic kitchen knife. it's a classic weapon (especially for a yandere like her) and she pulls it off well. during the burial route she'd use metal knitting needles (she's a neet like ashley in my mind, so she's pick up a variety of hobbies to entertain herself. knitting would be one, along with embroidery, painting, and reading some of andrew's poetry and acting it out). knitting (or crocheting at least) is using one single strand of yarn to create something or it can be used to sew two different pieces of yarn together. it's supposed to be a basic reflection of their (andrew, ashley, and aria's) relationship getting closer together, intertwining their strands together to create something beautiful!

during decay, she's grab a pair of scissors. they're relationship is falling apart, slowly unraveling the tapestry they were forced to create. and if aria has to cut out parts or lose strands to salvage her favorite part, then so be it. i think it also reminds her of school and the school saying "don't run with scissors". ari always had power at school, no? manipulating her poor classmates with her acting skills to be pawns of her own game to get andrew and ashley's attention. scissors are everywhere, danger is everywhere... sometimes you just overlook it.

ANYWAY! that's for my graves siblings... as for the non blood related ocs

juno wolfe uses metal claws because i say so. i want to lean into the "wolf" aspect of his characters because he's honestly just a loyal mutt to be commanded by the graves siblings. even if they can't claw their enemies to death, he still has his teeth to rip and tear off their skin and flesh!!

coff-in uses powers beyond the human understanding because humans don't need to understand how it does the things it does. they just need to know not to provoke them into using them.

that's all :3 sorry this is long, i haven't gone to bed and have been yapping/writing stuff (non-tcoaal, sorry!) all day

please ask me more about my ocs, i love my children no matter how much suffering i put them through (it builds their character)

----

coff-in

[oopsalltes]

I'm sick and I don't know anything about bomberman besides that I want to kiss that one annoying manlet . Lay it on me

Bomberman (ボンバーマン, Bonbāman, also briefly known as Dyna Blaster in Europe[1]) is a video gamefranchise originally developed by Hudson Soft and currently owned by Konami.[2][3] The original game, also known as Bakudan Otoko (爆弾男), was released in Japan in July 1983 and has since spawned multiple sequels and spin-offs released on numerous platforms, as well as several anime and manga adaptations.

Most games in the Bomberman franchise largely revolve around two modes of play; single player campaigns where the player must defeat enemies and reach an exit to progress through levels, and multiplayer modes where players must attempt to eliminate each other and be the last one standing. Gameplay involves strategically placing down bombs, which explode in multiple directions after a certain amount of time, in order to destroy obstacles and kill enemies and other players. The player can pick up various power-ups, giving them benefits such as larger explosions or the ability to place more bombs down at a time. The player is killed if they touch an enemy or get caught up in a bomb's explosion, including their own, requiring players to be cautious of their own bomb placement. In addition to the main maze-based Bomberman games, some spin-off titles involve adventure, platformer, puzzle, and kart racing gameplay.

also there are over 60 games.

[itswashington17]

The ambassador of Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble did an hour livestream showcasing Online co-op Adventure mode in Worlds 1, 4 and 6, as well as a bit of Battle Mode. Here's some details I've found.

- Individual character stats are back with YanYan once again being the one for speedruns with her highest speed. Sadly, MeeMee has the worst speed (sorry MeeMee mains).

- You can save up to 8 customisation setups for each monkey. Easy for anyone looking to find a setup they can use, especially local co-op.

- In the Backpacks section of the customisation, there's backpacks that resembles the one AiAi wears in his Banana Blitz design.

- Remember when I said that I think there's an option to change the colour palette of the monkeys' defaut outfits? Well it's actually a thing that you can do.

- Certain costumes can also have their colour palette changed, but others are only available in separate colours.

- There's costumes where you can actually make your monkey shirtless (like shorts for boxing or swim shorts).

- There's a chat system during any Online modes.

- The main menu has different backgrounds with the monkeys changing position after each play session.

- There are red dash pads as shown in 4-1 - Dash & Dash. Don't know what they do, but maybe they're more powerful than regular dash pads.

- For Online Co-Op, the same rules apply like local Co-Op.

- The stages in this game feel very varied. There's the more traditional obstacle course style stages, but there's also some mazes (like Wonder Maze in World 2 and Elevator Maze in World 6) and some puzzle oriented ones similar to some stages from SMB2 such as having to activate switches from moving platforms to open up the goal in the middle in Spinning Switch or hitting balls that are in your way in Rolling Balls in World 4.

- While the monkeys have new voices in this game (although it's likely that it's the Banana Fritters reprising their roles, but with a different voice direction), they do say the same lines from Banana Mania, as well as a few new lines.

- Online modes allow for private lobbies which you use a code to share with other players if they want to join your lobby.

- Battle Mode has a progression system similar to other online modes in modern games which I assume by playing and winning matches, you gain XP and level up, possibly to unlock rewards.

- In Race Mode of Battle Mode, the stages start out hard, but as time progress, additional platforms and guard rails will appear to allow struggling players to finish the race.

- There are much bigger Bumpers in this game. Whether they're exclusive to Race Mode or that they also appear in Adventure Mode remains unknown.

- In Banana Hunt, there's a Fever mode that activates 30 seconds before the match ends where more bananas appear for you to grab.

- The music played in the Battle Mode portion of the Nintendo Direct trailer is the theme for Banana Hunt while the music for the official JP SMB account's short video on Banana Hunt plays during Fever mode.

- Two more modes for Battle Mode can be seen as they move to Robot Smash. Don't know what they exactly are.

- In Robot Smash, if you can quickly destroy a couple of robots, you can activate a bonus mode for your team that nets you bonus points for a limited time.

I will update this whenever I find additional details.

[alln64games]

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

NA release: 3rd December 1996

PAL release: 1st March 1997

JP release: 14th June 1997

Developer: LucasArts

Publisher: Nintendo

N64 Magazine Score: 78%

Shadows of the Empire was a big “Expanded Universe” multimedia event with this story getting a novel, soundtrack (for the novel), comic book, toys and, of course, a video game. Shadows of the Empire was released on the N64 on PC. I was originally going to use the PC version for this, as the game is identical, but it has video cutscenes with voice acting, but controller support is poor (and the HUD goes tiny). With the help of remapping buttons, I was able to create a good setup that uses modern using the strafe setup.

I played this as a kid and I do remember enjoying it.

The game starts off during the Battle of Hoth from The Empire Strikes back, with you controlling a snowspeeder. This section is great, with the snowspeeder feeling great to control and toppling AT-ATs with the tow cable is great. Unfortunately, the level isn’t very long and it’s the best part of the game (you may notice the large amount of lives – that’s more for the poor platforming in later stages). If the entire game was like this, it would be a great game, but most of the game is on-foot.

You play as Dash Randar, who in this game is essentially a Han Solo clone (the novel expands the character’s personality a lot). You’re armed with a blaster that recharges, and you can get special ammo for it (best saved for bosses). The game heavily relies on autoaim, which is especially necessary as you can’t really aim up or down in any reasonable way (the aim button lets you, but it’s far too sensitive).

Trying to setup so you can flee Hoth, you start by watching the Millenium Falcon leave (shouldn’t Vader be standing nearby?) then blast your way through the stormtroopers attacking the rebel base. The shooting isn’t very satisfying and the movement is wonky.

After blowing up an AT-ST, you make your way off Hoth and blast TIE fighters in an asteroid field in a dreadful turret section with awful controls. The game at least gives you plenty of time to react as the bombs from the TIE bombers are really slow, and you have infinite missiles – they just reload between batches of 5.

Hunting for Boba Fett, Dash heads to a junkyard planet to get information from IG-88. I absolutely hate this level as a kid due to the controls but I didn’t find it too bad – I think the ability to strafe helps a lot with lining up jumps, and I never figured that out the first time round. It’s still a very ugly planet, though – Shadows of the Empire was definitely ahead of its time for its use of greys and browns. At the end of the level you take out IG-88, who gives you information on where Boba Fett is.

This is where the platforming really does take a nosedive. Dash’s jump is incredibly floaty and not difficult to control, and the narrow paths of this level are built for you to fall off constantly. You get a jetpack half way through which helps a bit, but is not as fun as a jetpack should be due to being slow and only possible to use for short bursts.

You fight Boba Fett and the Slave 1 at the end. I ran out of ammo, but found a spot where Slave 1 couldn’t hit me, so was able to hit it a few hundred times to destroy it.

Some text explains that after this, Boba Fett escapes and an assassin tries to kill Luke, so it’s up to you to help protect him.

As Luke chills out at Obi-Wan’s home on Tatooine, Dash hears of a swoop gang heading to kill Luke. Speeding through this level is great, but it’s much better to go slowly to take out enemies. You find out information that an Imperial ship contains the necessary information.

As Luke waits outside in his X-Wing, Dash assaults the imperial ship on his own (this game makes Luke seem weak). Most of this level is messing with door switches in a large cargo hold. There’s some secrets to find, but you need to work your way, then fighting a big droid near the end. The jetpack you found earlier would have been handy, but Dash left it on his ship. On a side note, I do really like the Outrider.

In order to infiltrate a base, we need to go through a sewer. Dash has absolutely no issue diving though massive amounts of excrement as you have to find a few different items to progress. The boss fight at the end is a horrible experience, with respawning tentacles and the poor jetpack controls underwater.

Going through the base your job is to find a reactor to place charges to blow up a space elevator. Luke is also infiltrating this base to save Leia, but that’s just background information and you never get to see them during gameplay. This is another dull level.

After another bad ship turret section, we get to actually fly the Outrider, and it’s great. You don’t get to focus on shooting other ships, though: your mission is to shoot four turrets then fly into the base and blow up the reactor, Death Star 2-style. The game ends with Dash seemingly not making it (but then reveals his fate in the final cutscene).

Shadow of the Empire is not as fun as I remember. The genre has evolved a lot, and the controls are just strange and floaty. The full story is probably good, but this isn’t a good adaptation as important points are relegated to scrolling text.

The first and last levels are superb. Some of the rest are good. A sad few are awful.

- James Ashton, N64 Magazine #1

Remake or Remaster?

This game definitely needs a remake, perhaps with a few more levels added as well, with better integration of the story – perhaps even working alongside Luke.

Official ways to get the game.

The PC version of the game is available via GOG and Steam

[mariacallous]

Yesterday night, what’s left of the Trust and Safety team at X (formerly Twitter) announced the measures it was taking to try and curb the virulent spread of disinformation around the Israel-Hamas war on its platform.

The statement, issued three days after the conflict began, reads: “As the events continue to unfold rapidly, a cross-company leadership group has assessed this moment as a crisis requiring the highest level of response.”

One person who does not appear to be part of this crisis team is X owner Elon Musk.

Instead of tackling the dangerous disinformation problem on his platform, Musk instead spent yesterday night into this morning continuing to spread disinformation about the conflict, conversing with a known QAnon promoter, boosting anti-Muslim conspiracy theories, and laughing at a video detailing how transphobic content on X can get you new followers.

Musk also promoted a new feature that allows X Premium subscribers to see only replies from other people willing to pay $8 a month, which Musk said would “help a lot with spam bots” on the platform—an issue Musk previously claimed he had already all but eradicated.

“​​If successful, X will evolve to be the collective consciousness of humanity or, more accurately, the human-machine collective,” Musk posted in reply to a follower who said he was doing a great job running the company.

Meanwhile, disinformation about the conflict in the Middle East continues to rage on the platform, driven primarily by verified accounts.

Yesterday evening, X’s Trust and Safety team, which is currently leaderless after Ella Irwin resigned in June, wrote on X that it had “removed newly created Hamas-affiliated accounts” and was working with the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), an industry body that helps coordinate content moderation across social media platforms, to “try and prevent terrorist content from being distributed online.”

The Safety team’s statement also lauded the user-generated Community Notes system and said new accounts were being enrolled to address the flood of disinformation on the platform. The Safety team also revealed that it had removed “several hundreds accounts for attempting to manipulate trending topics.”

Since Musk took control of the platform just under a year ago, he has restructured it to encourage engagement over everything else. As a result, accounts that subscribe to X Premium now have a monetary incentive to post content that is engaging regardless of how truthful it is. This was highlighted clearly on yesterday night when, at the same time as the Safety team posted its update, a new viral piece of disinformation was spreading unchecked on X.

Sulaiman Ahmed, a self-described investigative journalist, posted the false claim that the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, one of the oldest churches in the world, was destroyed by an Israeli bomb. The post received over 1 million views in the span of three hours.

Ahmed is a subscriber to X Premium, which means his posts are given priority in search results and newsfeeds over other users, and he also allows followers to subscribe to his content directly through X, allowing him to profit from increased engagement with his content.

Yesterday evening, the church posted an update on Facebook dismissing the claim, adding that it was taking in refugees left homeless following Israel’s bombing campaign in retaliation to the Hamas attack that began on Saturday morning.

Despite the church’s rebuttal—and Ahmed himself subsequently admitting that the church was untouched—the disinformation spread far and wide on X. WIRED conducted a search for the “Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church” on X this morning and found that Ahmed’s original false post was the third result. Multiple other posts from verified users all repeating the lie were also promoted at the top of the results, none of which had Community Notes attached to them.

Eliot Higgins, founder of investigative journalist outlet Bellingcat, pointed out that the false information was being shared by a wide variety of accounts, all of which had one thing in common: a subscription to X Premium.

“If Musk hadn't made it so hard to research disinformation on his website, this case would be a good way to show the growing overlap of the pro-Assad, the pro-Putin, and the US alt-right griftospheres,” Higgins wrote on X, adding: “Musk hasn't given the voiceless a voice, he's just dragged us all down into the swamp, and the only people who truly benefit are shameless grifters.”

[thehyppedstories]

The Misconception called SAPA.

The average Nigerian youth is a "relative-creative"; out of his belly flows rivers of Creativity. It's his own way of battling with the day-to-day limitations saddled on him by bad government and ill decisions of his. One of such creative measures to whisk him out of depression and illicit thoughts is the birth of new words with which he makes weighty matters become obscure. One of those trailblazing words has fast become a legend. It boasts of chart topping songs, and has gone as far as hitting the number 1 position on the trends table of the highly competitive and dismissive Twitter-NG on multiple occasions. That word is "SAPA."

As the urban dictionary would have it, Sapa is "a period of lack." A regular Nigerian youth is "sapa-fied" thanks to the high rate of unemployment and low appreciation of talents. The regular person would rather have you employed in a 9-5 job than support your craft. The problem in being a 9-5ier is that it kills talents. It destroys your zeal to become your truest forms. Not only are they "silent killers", 9-5 jobs are hard to come by. Except you have "long legs" you'd walk the streets of Ikeja and Agbara and the only thing you'd return with would be dust on your shoes. It's why many youths have resigned to their fate. However, this state we call Sapa, it has been highly misconstrued. It is highly misunderstood.

Sometime ago, our dear president referred to the Nigerian youths as being "lazy." The response? It was exciting. Nigerians from all works of life came out to show their strength, their strength in creativity, career, education, entrepreneurship and craft. The world at large came to recognize the force called a "Nigerian youth." These same Nigerian youths are seen flying the national flag of our beautiful nations in art, movies, music and sports. This sometimes make me wonder, what spurs the Nigerian youth to success?

Nigerians have a saying, "pikin wey dey find party rice no supposed to fear dance." This could be interpreted to being, he who chases after success should not be scared of adversaries. What are adversaries? Adversaries are many things which we come to put into one term "SAPA." Sapa is account balance of ₦0.00, Sapa is no electricity supply, Sapa is inflated transport fare. When you hear people talk about Sapa, you'd believe it is a demon. No, Sapa is the Nigerian version of tests and trials to a believer. It is the medium by which our skills, talent and resolve are tested.

Today, in Nigerian banks are farmers who are supposed to be producing bags of garri, in the labs are book writers who chose to switch because they were looking for a means of livelihood. Are we not supposed to look Sapa in the face head-on, with boldness and declare to it that it lost before the fight started? The question lies, how do we survive then?

It's simple, you survive when you live, not when you exist. Existence lies in a valueless life. Living on the other end is a state of giving value through your talents and skills. The misconception we had all stemmed from our perception of success, we expected it to be served to us on a platter of gold- this only happens in fairy tales, to the villains. It is not enough to be talented, it is not enough to have the desire to want to be successful. How far are you willing to go to become successful? The one who can sings allows it end there, the one who can write stories comes to build his life around it. That could have worked if we were in a nation where systems had been established. Here, you have to work, but in a bid to not get lost in your work, find temporary jobs or businesses that are in line with your talents and abilities.

Learn skills, there are a million and one platforms out there today that are willing to teach you one thing or another to help you progress in your chosen field. Are you a songwriter or a vocalist? How about you learn mastering of music online. Story writer, have you ever thought of video editing before? The internet is here to make life easier for us, don't allow Instagram be your comfort zone, make it a research ground too.

Sapa should not be the reason why you're finding it hard to survive. Sapa should be a form of inspiration. It should push you to want to give your all and best. It should help open your eyes to the position you find yourself in today, what you're losing and that which you stand to gain if only you decide to stand and push. Sapa is not a demon, it's an angel that wants to direct you to the reality of who you are.

[nicotinemaiden]

Hedgehog's Dilemma - Chapter 1

Hedgehog's Dilemma (55607 words) by Evisser Chapters: 12/? Fandom: Baldur's Gate (Video Games) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con Relationships: Astarion/Tav (Baldur's Gate), Gale/Tav (Baldur's Gate), Astarion (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s), Gale (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s)

From the chaotic strands of red hair that evaded the cage of her up-do to the high-heeled platform shoes that complemented the side-opened nightgown perfectly, everything about her called to him, screamed to him, drove him crazy .

The wine wasn’t exactly helping, either.

Gale of Waterdeep, wizard extraordinaire, was drowning in it — savouring every sip, every glass, every bottle, just in case it could make him forget the fact that he followed her after all. That, time after time, he had the option to leave yet he was still here . And he had no one to blame but himself.

No one forced his hand, no one threatened him to travel with them or to remain at camp when they came back. He knew what they were about to do before any of it happened because she came looking for him, to ask for his opinion. Something that he didn’t fully believe was a common occurrence until he experienced it in his own skin. Every night, without fault, she made sure to reserve some time for him: To ask about his day, to check on his condition, to listen to anything she could do to make his stay more comfortable. It didn’t matter if he had been with her on the road, following her every step and maintaining conversation with each of their companions, she always had time for them when the night fell.

It was confusing and difficult to know that she was the same person who just raided the Emerald Grove and killed every tiefling and every druid, children included. He told her it was easy to play believe with The Cult of the Absolute, use the power of the tadpoles and turn themselves into the True Souls the cult wanted them to be. It was a logical choice if he kept his head cold. But was it worth it? Instead of decimating a cult that played with the lives of the people who had the bad fortune of being in their way, they became a part of it. Yes, every one of them knew that their objective was more important, that they would destroy the cult once they could find the source of the tadpoles in Moonrise Towers, they were just flattening the way to cut the head of the vermin.

He wanted to believe that he was at this party on this hideous night because of that promise.

He knew he was lying to himself.

He needed no more than to look at her, laughing casually surrounded by goblins, her left hand bloodied and covered by rags — a small price to pay for the brand of the Absolute, the definitive proof that she, that they, were part of them — to confirm that there was no turning back. He hadn’t seen her wear that white nightgown before, without a doubt he would have burned her naked back into his soul and his eyes would have roamed without permission for the entire length of her legs. At least he had something to thank this damned party for, even if he was in no mood to bring his desires to the light.

The others didn’t hold back, his mind too eager to remind him of the fact. They didn’t usually have the time, the energy or the means to host an event like the one they had the pleasure of indulging in tonight so it was selfish to ask them to be more… what? considerate? Towards him? Or towards the people they just sacrificed? 

The wine tasted like blood and mud and betrayal. Those people had trusted them to make their lives a tad better despite the misery and desperation that they felt. They were their last chance to a new life and… they thrust a dagger to their throats and watched as they bleed out. He was feeling sick, unable to exist in his body a minute more. The bottle slipped his fingers and it was all too late when he called on his magic to stop it. Maybe his magic couldn’t bear with him either. He could almost see Mystra laughing at him from the Astral Plane, delighted that her words were truer by the minute and that he was utterly lost without her. 

She was probably less overjoyed to hear that she had a replacement in his darkest dreams, in his sweeter nightmares.

“Everything alright Gale?”

It wasn’t her voice that made him almost jump to find two black and red orbs piercing his stare right back. It wasn’t the deep smell of a bottle freshly opened nor the genuine tone of concern that the words threw in his direction. It was the blast of undiluted, raw magic that shadowed his companion wherever she decided to go. It left him breathless and panting, the orb on his chest famished, pushing him to let it devour every last drop of such magic.

He hoped with time the feeling would make itself smaller, accustomed to her presence, her movement, the torrent of magic that possessed her. That was her. Because that was the first of his problems: She was a river of magic, a current running wild outside its channel. She had complete control over it — for someone less knowledgeable in the magic arts she could have been another wizard, just like he was. But he could see past all that. He could see the lightning of her soul, the way magic answered her without question, how his dear Mystra could do nothing to revoke nor even hinder her access to the Weave. She had everything he always needed. She was everything he always needed. 

There existed an elaborate name for people like her. He was certain to have read it inside one of the millions of books collected in his Waterdeep tower, but he was unable to call upon such a name from memory alone. He only recalled the name people gave them on the streets, the more common name for an extremely uncommon group of people. A sorceress.

He had met only another sorcerer in the short span of his life and it hadn’t been a pleasant experience, to say the least. The man was lost in his own mind, the magic riding free outside and inside his body, the person that he probably was nowhere to be seen. The price of such rough power was never simple.

And then there was her, wrecking all his knowledge in one, precise hit. The bright red of her eyes searching his — waiting, worried. For him.

He snatched the bottle from her hand, not missing the shock of her skin so dangerously close to his, and drank. He only stopped to breathe for a moment before drinking again. When he finally extended the bottle back to her he received a shake of her head and a small, knowing smile that shared with him a sadness he wasn’t aware where it came from.

“I don’t think I need to ask but if you need to vent, I’m here. If you need someone to blame, you know who. This was my choice. I may have consulted the group on their opinions but, in the end, the decision to do things this way was mine.”

He wanted to argue that everyone should carry that guilt, that he could have tried to stop it, that any of them could have voiced their concerns louder, himself included. That instead of thinking with a logical head about what was practical, he should have been clearer in the fact that he was against killing so many innocents. But it was too late. His hatred — towards her, towards the rest, towards himself — spoke for him. 

“And yet, here I am. Drinking in your company.”

She flinched, he could see. The belief that she was heartless crumbled when she reacted like that. The matter that she liked to play with people and that she begged to be played back, regardless of who the other side was, seemed harder to swallow. The group had any and all kinds of rumours and opinions about their newfound leader and he liked to listen to them all without feeding them. He liked to search for the truth that those words hid while talking to her. She was raised by Lolth’s cult, he knew it wasn’t easy to leave those teachings behind and search for something better and he knew that she had been trying long before the Nautiloid kidnapped them because he had the displeasure of meeting other Lolth-sworn drow a long time ago and they were more blood hungered than the Githyanki. He respected her for it and, on another occasion, he would have just shut up. Not tonight though. Tonight he wanted to make her feel at least a tithe of the unsavoury feelings that plagued him. 

“It makes me sick to even share air with you.”

His words were hard, his stare harder. She stepped back, the breath of her lungs catching, pausing, as if she could somehow stop breathing.

“Was it worth it? All those lives? All those children? The trust you betrayed? The sin we now carry inside because of you.”

She seemed to expect his criticism, her arms wrapped around her torso, her gaze glancing over the rest of the camp.

“You don’t seem to understand, Gale. You seem to imply I acted out of bloodlust or that I found on it some twisted source of pleasure.”

Her voice slid like silk, a permanent edge to her words that reminded everyone that if she was being kind one moment, she could turn into your worst torturer the next. Her tongue clicked, indicating a disappointment in how her companion had misunderstood her. “I would do almost anything to remove these things from our heads. If I have to bow to the Githyanki, I will bow. If I have to search every nook and crack of the damned Moonrise Towers, I will tear it apart. And if I have to drag your ex’s ass over here so that she can help us, you can bet your connection to the Weave that I will.”

She said the last part as a threat, her nails brushing his dishevelled beard, her eyes following their path until they reached his chin and changed their focus to his own brownish orbs. He wanted to shake her hand away. He wished to stop leaning into her touch every cursed time. He needed to grab that wrist and shove her under him till she learned not to mention his ex in his presence. His body demanded that he trapped each one of her words with his lips, his hands, his cock … unless she was pronouncing his name.

He reminded himself he was a gentleman — as hard as he found the search for the will to continue being one at this point — so he focused on stabilising not only his breathing but also his connection with the weave. He was angry at her, he made a point to remind himself. Furious. Her touch turned his own threads of the weave upside down, each one moving in a different direction yet all of them facing the same way. 

“I will lie, I will betray, I will fuck and I will kill anyone if that brings us closer to removing the tadpoles from our heads. I will use anything and anyone, our little worm friend and our dream visitor included. It’s not a matter of pleasure or morals, I have learned to use everything to my advantage because everyone will use me for the same reason. I’m fighting for all of us. You are welcome to your own opinion, you are welcome to hate me, you are welcome to leave and even more welcome to stay. Just know that if you decide to stay it will be under those conditions.”

He really thought about leaving. He might have been compelled to assimilate that the logical and easiest solution was to raid the grove — he had no one to blame but himself, not even her — but he could divide their paths before interlacing them even more. He could move away from her warmth and her cold, from her kindness and from her selfish decisions, from how in her voice possibilities that he would never have considered suddenly seemed the most obvious choices and from how he hated himself after it. From how he hated the person he became when they were close.

“I ought to just… leave. Nothing good can come at your side. I despise you. I loathe the person I am with you.”

She sneered, looking away, and shrugged. If any of his words affected her, as he wanted to trust they did, she didn’t demonstrate it.

“Nothing good, huh? I’m inclined to disagree.”

She used one of her hands to hide part of her smile, a side glance in her eyes that conveyed every suggestion her words did not. He should run away or even towards her, but this middle point of looking and imagining and feeling guilty for it… Every second was exasperating.

“Go ahead, leave. I want what is best for each one of you. See if there is a place for you away from us. Away from the artefact. Just don’t come looking for us when that beautiful beard has been replaced by tentacles.”

The pensive look on her face told him two things: One, she wasn’t entirely against the whole tentacle thing and he felt utterly confused about such a revelation. And two, she had won the argument before it even started. He had nowhere to go. He was alive — and tentacle-free — exclusive thanks to the artefact — if the information they’ve gathered until now was to be trusted. He had no choice from the beginning. Each time she said she would approve of them leaving her she was conscious about their choices. Turn into a mindflayer or stay. It wasn’t even a choice — not for him. He needed to stay alive, for the good of a lot of people. He drank the rest of the bottle of wine in one sweep gulp before throwing the bottle beside her foot.

“I can’t even think about putting some distance between you and me without the certainty or ceremorphosis. Great .”

She was growing tired of their discussion, her fingers gripping the opposite arm with the same force her words were thrown at him. 

“You aren’t without sin, Gale of Waterdeep. Blame me about this, blame me about the tadpoles even if that brings peace to your heart, but it was your lust for power that brought you here in the first place. I have done nothing but satiate it so that the rest of the group wouldn’t chase you out. So that you can keep living a relatively normal life. So go ahead and mourn the people who died today so that we can live. I might mourn with you, I might cry for them once alone, but I won’t regret, even for one second, doing the best to stay alive.”

She absentmindedly caressed her bandages, another sacrifice in the name of this so-called life. He didn’t even understand the need to remove the tadpoles. There was power to be gained there. Power that could bring him closer to Mystra. Power that, with the right training, maybe could stop the hunger of his orb. They’ve talked about this before, always with the same conclusion. Use it, yes. Maintaining it, no. Maybe he was used to living in constant fear of exploding to give little worms too much thought. He wanted to believe they could be an asset, just like the otherworldly dream figure had told them. He wanted to abuse the power of the artefact for as long as they could.

“Have a good night, at least. We can talk more tomorrow.”

She turned away from him and he felt it was too soon — too sudden. He had so many questions yet to ask, so many words to recite just so that others couldn’t take his place. He didn’t feel brave enough to be alone.

Wait — he wanted to shout, to join his hand in the opposite one to make her look at him again.

He was even more afraid of spending more time with her.

“Enjoy your night, Stengah of Menzoberranzan.”

He was granted a last smile, one that promised to do just that, before she started her motion once again, swinging her hips all the way to the vampire’s tent. He knew the feeling that ambushed him there because it was hardly the first time he experienced it. He was accustomed to the sour taste in his mouth watching her most honest smile pointed towards anyone else. He had been the lover of a goddess, for crying out loud, if there was a sentiment that was burned on his skin, it was jealousy. Possession. Yet just like his goddess before her, she was a free spirit. She didn’t ask for permission to take what she wanted, she didn’t walk around eggshells with the expression of her desires, and she always did precisely what she wanted. And tonight, it seemed from what little he could hear, she had the same craving for ‘fun’ as their pale mutual companion. 

He wondered if he was still looking at them as a form of torture — his mind having decided that he was due for punishment, his eyes cooperating without so much as a blink to relieve him of the sight. Her arms moved to surround his neck after displacing the bangs of her hair behind her ear, the sexiest smile he had ever seen — yes, even more so than Mystra’s, as much as it pained him to think it — adorning her red lips and a soft movement of her head to the side, her fingers playing with her partner’s white hair.

He assumed her blood would call to Astarion in a similar way as how her magic called to him. He could only daydream of being in his position, being offered everything he could ask of a person, every pleasure he could imagine, his fingers tracing the curve of her neck, the arch of her hip — and lower. He could only yearn to be the one biting his lower lip and murmuring everything he wanted to do to her right to her ear — feeling her shiver at his touch.

And yet.

Yet.

He hated her — hated himself for wanting her more than he had wanted anything.

More than he wanted to satiate the hunger of his orb, more than he needed Mystra’s forgiveness.

He coveted her so fiercely that he felt desperate to claim her. A vain notion — he doubted anyone could.

[venusstadt]

Black Women And Black LGBTQ+ Lives Matter, Too.

(DISCLAIMER: This article was originally published 6/12/20 on Medium.com, prior to the creation of venustadt.com. As such, my opinions may or may not have altered since the text below was originally written. This article has been re-published here to track my growth as a writer.)

George Floyd was murdered May 25 in Minneapolis. His murderers were Tou Thao, who jeered at concerned bystanders; Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Keung, who helped restrain him, though he was already in handcuffs; and Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, despite Floyd’s pleas for breath.

Since then, unprecedented protests have emerged in all 50 states and even places as far as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and France. Protestors of all races, religions, and ages experiencing police brutality firsthand, being exposed to teargas and losing eyes to rubber bullets. Online, people are signing petitions, circulating and donating to bail funds, and calling on brands and influencers to use their platform to speak up about black lives. And, though it may be too early to tell, we may be on the verge of revolutionary change: statues and other symbols of white supremacy and oppression are being destroyed all over the world, and with calls to defund the police, the concept of police abolition is entering the public sphere. Minneapolis City Council announced their plan to vote on disbanding their police force June 9. 

While some less astute observers may think that George Floyd’s death was the sole catalyst for these fervent protests, it was, in reality, the final straw. Just weeks prior, the murder of Ahmaud Arbery by Gregory and Travis McMichael drew national attention when the video of Arbery’s death went viral, drawing comparisons to Trayvon Martin’s 2012 death. Floyd himself joins a long list of black men and boys murdered by law enforcement, such as Philando Castile, Mike Brown and Eric Garner, who also died of asphyxiation in 2014. These names, and many more, have been rightfully plastered on posters and chanted at protests. 

Other names, however, aren’t drawing enough attention. Officers killed Breonna Taylor as she slept in her home on March 13. Though her death has led to Louisville’s banning of no-knock warrants, no arrests have been made, leading many to feel as if her case has taken a backseat to other police brutality victims. Likewise, the name of Tony McDade, a black trans man killed by police just two days after George Floyd, has so far been left out of wider media coverage. 

Though black women and girls are statistically killed less by law enforcement than black men--2.4 to 5.4 in 100,000 versus 1 in 1,000 for the latter, according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences--it is still important for those killed by police to receive justice. Consider the deaths of Sandra Bland and Aiyana Jones, or the gender- and race-based sexual violence perpetrated against the 13 victims of former officer Daniel Holtzclaw, who, according to Buzzfeed News, “deliberately chose women he thought were unlikely to be believed -- black women with criminal records from an impoverished neighborhood.” 

Unfortunately, there seem to be no specific statistics addressing interactions between black LGBTQ persons and law enforcement. However, it is worth noting that the 1969 Stonewall riots, often dubbed the first Pride, came about due to months of police violence against the LGBTQ community, culminating in the police raid of Stonewall Inn. A year later, similar protests broke out in LA after the death of black trans sex worker Laverne Turner. With the intersecting identities of blackness and queerness, it’s not a stretch to believe that black LGBTQ persons face unique challenges when it comes to police violence and navigating the judicial system. 

It’s intersecting identities like these -- blackness and girlhood/womanhood, blackness and queerness, sometimes all three -- that explain why violence against black women and black LGBTQ persons is often overlooked. These two groups are a minority within a minority, and the black community, like any community, has a long way to go in terms of misogyny and homophobia/transphobia (see the reactions to Gayle King’s Lisa Leslie interview or Zaya Wade coming out as trans). 

Recently, amid the George Floyd protests, black trans woman Iyanna Dior was verbally and physically assaulted by around 30 cis black men (and some cis black women) in a Minnesota convenience store. Around the same time, black women on Twitter held honest discussions about rape and childhood sexual assault, only to be met with backlash and crude jokes. One user even accused the women of trying to divide black people during a critical time. 

There lies another tissue. Black LGBTQ persons and black women are often forced to choose between their identities, even though these identities often combine to create a unique experience of oppression. Look no further than the recent insistence that black gay people are “black before they are gay,” or, as stated previously, the accusation that black women discussing their assault divides the race.

I’m not arguing that we shouldn’t focus on the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and other black men who have been made victims of police brutality. In a world where many more victims are silenced due to the lack of video evidence, we must amplify Floyd and Arbery’s stories so that they may receive justice. But as we fight for black men and boys, we must also remember the Breonna Taylors, the Tony McDades and victims of intracommunity violence like Iyanna Dior to reach the ultimate goal of black liberation. 

All lives don’t matter until black lives matter. Likewise, black lives won’t matter until all black lives -- black women’s lives, black trans lives, black gay lives -- matter as well.

[dimalink]

Undercover Break – tuning the levels

Undercover Break – it is arcade racing videogame. Racing with shooting. Shooting – it is a valuable part of the game. You are riding in your car, and chase different outlaws. Just like street racers and bandits. All of them need to be destroyed! You are chasing them. In a terms of you are destroying them all. You are keeper of the road. Policeman.  You are on police road patrol. And all of these are just like action movies of 80s. Just a style of Miami Vice. Or any kind of movie actions about policeman from 80s. About a good car and a shooting. All of these are part of style. It is forever classic of video cassettes. So this is a vhs format.

Videogame is made in retro style. I am a fan of system MSX2. Japanese computer from 80s. Or even MS DOS system. Just like 386 or even overpowered 486 processor. Yes, 8 bit times rules! 80s rules! Of course, it is also a videogame system Nes. All of these are also part of inspiration.

So, this is videogame about 80s, about action, about racing, about police clash with violators on the roads. 13 levels are awaiting you in this title. And you will go to earned vacation after that. Game has a story. And you can see it at the blue screen. You have a task for every level. For example, catch 7 bandits and 1 street racer. You need to destroy them all! Racing, shooting. And retro.

And, now, it is time to tell about development. It is now in final stage. I fixed everything. It is playable. And now I am playing in my levels by myself and I am is going to do some tune. So, it is time to play my game by myself. I am just racing the levels.And do some tuning to levels.

It will be everything complete, after that. I can write that it is version 1.0. And tell that videogame is done! And I need to spent some time for prepare all materials and decorations for publish game at resources and platforms. Just like Itchio and Gamejolt.

And one more moment. I make a decision, to try to set a price for a game. In size of 1 us dollar for Itchio and Gamejolt. This process, also will take some time. Because of I don’t have understanding how make such things. Maybe, even, for it is impossible.

Saying simple, I am playing my game right now. And making a finalization. And write that it is version 1.0.

After that, I will do decorations and texts and set a dollar price. It will take some time.

And now, let’s go back to 80s and vhs format. Videogame is made under a big impression from all of these things. I am a fan of VHS, movies. And this game is, definitely, tries to extend 80s a style, as maximum long as it can be. Neon night, automobile and road. Some police story. You can remember some movies like Cobra, Terminator. Mad max movie, about a very styled car. Or knight rider, tv series. Automobile that is equipped with computer. Computer and automobile. So, this is science fiction innovation.

I am a fan of style for computers consoles like MSX2. Soviet clones of Zx Spectrum – for example, like Sintez 2. Or Kvant, or Delta C. And there were lots of them! I am  a big fan about how it looks technique of 80s. Such a things like video player of 80s. In early days, they were made of metal and they were big. With 80s style of design.

So, that’s why I make a story for this game in a form of text blocks. At the blue screen. Text goes up. Just like a text at the old computer, like 386 machine or MSX2, or text to a movie. In a style of computer decoration. Story has all the time references to 80s and synthesizers. And police moments in form of action movie. Automobile, road.

So there are cool, sequences for levels. In retro style. With a cool phrases. In a style of action movie heroes of those days. So, even personally for me, I can remember Billy Idol, music star of 80s.

Game itself represents as 13 levels. In a very different places. Cities, village landscape, deserts. Night, fog, and a snow. There is a track in winter. Levels with special effects like night or snow or raining, are goes in the end.

So, 13 arcade levels with shooting. And retro theme. So this is, what it is about!

[blindrapture]

secretcity (4, 2, 1, respectively)

images taken from... probably the Sven Map DB pages, but I had them on an external hard drive for years.

One of these days, I will make videos of me playing secretcity. I will talk for hours about what these maps were and what it was like to grow up playing them alone. You cannot fathom it without first seeing how these maps were structured.

Like... imagine an ordinary office building in the goldsource engine. No monsters to shoot, no objective to fulfill, maybe there are some cute gags and easter eggs, but mainly it's just quiet ambience, faint voices, people you never see. And you are sure there is more to this, this is too small, this is hardly anything, just a fucking office building. So, frustrated, you take your crowbar and start whacking shit out of boredom.

One of the walls gives way. A brick is destroyed. So you keep at it, destroying more bricks. And it turns out there's a long dark passageway behind the wall.

So you climb in, you apprehensively see where this takes you. And it takes you somewhere else small, well-lit, and safe. Or maybe it takes you somewhere dark, with droning noises, and people in cages. Or maybe it takes you into a trap, as a giant red flashing screaming face "kills you mysteriously."

But either way, you end up back in the office building again.

Was.. was that it? Was that all to this map?

No. There are secret triggers. Like four or five mysterious buttons hidden around the office building, and they don't do anything. But when you hit all of them, another passageway opens up.

And this one takes you on a far longer path. Strange environment after strange environment, setpiece after setpiece, sprawling mazes (some with minotaurs, some eerily silent), platforms over black voids, rooms that are like an office building but Everything Is Wrong. And you keep going, through more and more Places....

secretcity takes you down a rabbit hole, but you have to find it first.

There's ambience in secretcity that can only be done in a video game and that no video game has ever done so effectively. Unnerving ambience. Eerily funny ambience. Gay furry porn hidden away in a lot of places. Never an explanation, never anyone to give you answers, and most of the maps were never even finished but they are all unfinished in the most fascinating of ways. They all imply that we might have gotten answers. (Then secretcitykeen, a "sequel" to 3 which is best played after all the numbered entries, gives us hints of what those answers would have been, and it's the most.. fucking... enticing in execution.)

secretcity is what a genuine Mystery looks like in video game format, rather than a mystery story given a video game as vehicle. secretcity is old and enigmatic and witty and wild. secretcity's imagery and themes have driven me as an artist. secretcity formed me as a gamer.

And hey, Sven Co-op is on Steam and it's free. If you install it, Browse Local Files, then add the contents of the secretcity zip files to your svencoop folder, then you can play them too. For free. :3

You can even play with me. It'd be easy as piss to set that up. And I would be thrilled to be your Tour Guide through the rabbit holes. So many rabbit holes.