#but the atmosphere and environmental clues are. something

[doom-dreaming]

oh i forgor how scary the leadup to the flood reveal is

[mylearningstyle]

Signalis

Signalis is a survival horror game that blends classic horror elements with a striking retro-futuristic aesthetic and deep, psychological storytelling. Set in a dystopian future where android-like machines called Replikas serve humanity, the game follows a Replika named Elster as she embarks on a journey through a desolate, mysterious facility to find her lost partner. Inspired by survival horror classics like Silent Hill and Resident Evil, Signalis offers a chilling, atmospheric experience with a complex narrative that delves into themes of identity, memory, and existential dread.

The story begins with Elster, a Replika unit, awakening on a crashed spaceship on an icy, alien planet. She embarks on a search for her partner, Ariane, venturing into a dark, abandoned research facility. The facility is filled with hostile, malfunctioning Replikas and strange, nightmarish creatures, as well as cryptic notes and clues that hint at something more sinister beneath the surface.

As Elster progresses, the game weaves together flashbacks, memories, and surreal dream sequences, gradually revealing the true nature of her mission, the facility's purpose, and the emotional connection between her and Ariane. The narrative is told through fragmented storytelling, leaving much of the interpretation up to the player, but touching on themes of human emotion, the limits of synthetic life, and the consequences of experimentation gone wrong.

Signalis embraces the core mechanics of classic survival horror. Players must manage limited resources such as ammunition, health items, and inventory space, which are critical for survival. Combat is deliberately slow and strategic, with Elster needing to carefully aim and conserve bullets while dealing with dangerous enemies. Puzzle-solving is also a major aspect, with cryptic notes, environmental clues, and intricate lock systems that echo the genre’s roots in exploration and problem-solving. The tension is maintained through tight resource management and an overwhelming sense of vulnerability.

The game's visual design is one of its standout features. Signalis employs a retro-futuristic, pixel-art style that draws heavily from early PlayStation-era graphics, while mixing in modern lighting effects and sharp, detailed environments. The aesthetic combines sci-fi elements with brutalist architecture and cold, industrial spaces, evoking a feeling of isolation and unease. The art direction enhances the claustrophobic, oppressive atmosphere, blending a 1980s-style vision of the future with an eerie, dystopian setting.

The storytelling in Signalis is subtle and often abstract. Instead of straightforward exposition, the game relies on environmental storytelling, cryptic notes, and disturbing imagery to convey its narrative. Players must piece together the fragmented story, much of which is left open to interpretation. This approach creates a sense of mystery and encourages replayability, as each playthrough can reveal new layers of meaning. The atmosphere is thick with dread, with haunting sound design and a minimalist, unnerving soundtrack that amplifies the feeling of isolation and danger.

Signalis wears its influences proudly, drawing from a variety of sources in both gaming and literature. It takes heavy inspiration from survival horror classics like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, with fixed camera angles, resource scarcity, and puzzle-solving at its core. Thematically, it also borrows from sci-fi horror works such as Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner, blending the concepts of synthetic life, memory, and dystopian futures. There are also nods to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, particularly in the way the game handles themes of cosmic horror and the unknowable.

Signalis is a masterful blend of classic survival horror mechanics and deeply psychological, atmospheric storytelling. Its retro-futuristic aesthetic, combined with a chilling narrative that explores themes of memory, identity, and the human condition, sets it apart as a unique entry in the horror genre. For fans of survival horror, it offers a nostalgic yet fresh experience, with intense combat, intricate puzzles, and a hauntingly mysterious world to uncover. Signalis successfully captures the essence of classic horror games while adding its own emotional and psychological depth, making it a must-play for fans of the genre.

Written by Angie Ramirez

[dumbfinntales]

Steam summer sale was something else, I got a few games for cheap, but only played and beat one of them so far. A classic survival horror game titled "Tormented Souls". Despite having souls in the title it isn't a souls game, but more like classic Resident Evil. You got tank controls, fixed camera angles, a creepy mansion and a ton of puzzles.

Tormented Souls is a pretty fun game and an especially fun survival horror game. I feel like it is lacking in some departments, but overall the experience was great. The Wildberger hospital was an absolutely amazing setting. Each room and each corridor was dripping with dark and creepy atmosphere that really lured me in. The sound of scraping metal and dimly lit rooms made me feel genuine anxiety, and with minimal jump scares! Although there are a couple cheap shots in the game. I have nothing but praise for the environmental design, it is gorgeous.

There aren't that many enemies, but I love their designs. Take the first enemy for example: a legless patient strapped to a wheelchair who has giant knives for fingers. Knowing these were real people who were experimented upon is disturbing. I do wish the game had more traditional bosses, but sadly the final boss is the only unique thing you fight. What I thought was a boss in the operating room was just a big enemy that would start showing up later on. But the way you initiate that fight is top tier.

I really enjoyed the puzzles and how they make you think outside the box. But I felt some of the puzzles were maybe a bit too cryptic? I don't know, maybe I'm just stupid. I had to look up some puzzles because my pea-brain couldn't make the right connections. But some puzzles are genuinely just "what" inducing, like the monkey thief puzzle that connects to eastern mythology with the phrasing "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" and you're kinda supposed to figure this out from an unrelated story. And then the grandfather clock puzzle where you have to carefully look at the paintings in the room and apparently the sword position in the painting is a clue? I dunno. The game made me feel smart at times, and then most of the times really dumb.

Resource management was pretty tight in the game as well, towards the start of the game everything feels tense and you feel like you're out of resources quick. Then later on you start getting more than enough ammo and healing items and of course, save items. Yes this game has RE style limited save system, but I was able to save the game 20 times and I still had left over save items in the end, so it's no big deal. Weirdly enough there was no limited inventory space in this one. You can just carry everything you find, and to be honest I didn't mind it.

So. Great survival horror, great enemies and impeccable atmosphere. Where does the game lack though? For one the character models, the voice acting and the story. The character models look fine in gameplay, but when they zoom in in the cut-scenes they just look god awful compared to the beautiful environments. Voice acting is also just bad, not RE1 so bad that funny, but just bad. You know they're trying, but the performances are a bit wooden. The story was also silly. You got a cult worshipping some "god" to whom they sacrifice twins. You figure out the fate of the twins and just who you are, but most things feel a bit obvious. I just find the god worshipping cult to be a bit on the silly side. Why couldn't it just be some mad doctor doing experiments or maybe a virus like in RE?

Another thing I found a bit disappointing is that there's no unlockables! No special guns or outfits based on how you perform, and the game even grades you at the end. There's no harder difficulty either. The game is plenty replayable for achievements, but I wish the game had its own magnum style weapon. There are only three "guns" and they're not really guns, just makeshift weapons our main character somehow puts together. Seriously, how did she make a shotgun out of a bunch of pipes and tape?

I heard there is a sequel in the works. I think they were pretty spot on with this one, so a sequel with more weapons/monsters/bosses and a similar style is going to make a banger of a game I bet. Despite my complaints Tormented Souls is a really good survival horror, so if you enjoy ol' Resident Evil or Silent Hill I feel like you'll like this one.

[flutterclouds]

This was such a great chapter, Tesh! I loved getting to see Nia and Toby explore around Asra for a bit. The fact it’s an old mining town is so cool, especially with extra lore about mirrorstone. I love the general atmosphere so much, and your environmental details are top notch, such as Nia and Toby having to hop over earthquake cracks. The new characters are awesome as well, with my favorites being Aurum and Samir. I love getting to see that the PMD world has its own forms of sign language and different ways of communication. Another part of this chapter I really liked was the building mystery about the earthquakes. The suspicion about ground types reminds me of the Diglett mission from Rescue Team! Personally, I don’t think Pyre is responsible, no matter what Toby says. I have a guess that maybe there’s some sort of instability in the mines. Whether it’s Pokemon-made or not, there’s something strange afoot in the town of Asra. I’m looking to seeing what clues Team Scarlet digs up (no pun intended) next time!

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 42] (37 Pages)

<< First | < Previous | Next >

AO3 Link

-

The investigation into the earthquakes begins.

-

Keep reading

[bambi-intersensory]

Stew With Za'atar - Eleanor Dikomitis

The exercise of watching this radio publication with and without the sound was really eye opening in how subtext and nuances really rely on the different senses. You miss so many context clues and impactful moments with just a scrolling text and no sounds. The bombing sounds and the different voices created such an atmosphere, but with silence you really could take a step back from the story and not fully experience it.

The idea of "subtitles = accessibility" is something a lot of hearing people don't think about. For me personally, I can struggle really badly with auditory processing and I require captioning on almost all forms of media that I engage with, whether it be TikTok, or a film. I rely a lot on lip reading to engage better with people in person, but struggle badly with talking on the phone due to the anxiety of not understanding.

I think that closed captioning is getting closer to creating accessibility for people who are hard of hearing, but without pacing and context clues it can still be incredibly difficult.

What I did like about this piece was the fact that the captioning timed with the narration as best as it could, despite being in a different language. This cultural inclusivity was really welcoming, but only worked when hearing, as without the sound you wouldn't have known the story was translated without researching. It also missed a lot of world building and environmental subtext as all of those clues were within the sound design.

Still, it was a really interesting thought exercise and really brought to light how much information we miss by removing an entire sense from a work.

[gloop898]

2023 Media Thread - Part 58

Metroid Prime Remastered

It's the presentation that sells Metroid Prime. The visuals and audio design. The way the environmental design really tries to create a believable space. The details of Samus' helmet display and how it reacts to the environment around her. The ways in which the arm cannon will open and extended when using different weapon types. All together it creates an incredible sense of immersion and atmosphere.

Scanning the environment and enemies for details and clues. Frantically switching visors and beams to take on different enemies. Exploring the and rooms and corridors of Tallon IV. The gameplay also leans into the sense of immersion. The whole game ends up being an incredible adventure.

The game isn’t without its flaws though. The biggest problem of Metroid Prime is something that the series often faces. The enemies just won't stay dead. Enemies often respawn after you've moved just a few rooms away. Meaning that if you ever make a wrong move and have to turn around, you'll come face to face with a gang of combatants you killed just a few minutes ago. It makes exploration and backtracking more tedious than it should be and makes combat something you feel like you should avoid if possible.

First | Prev | Next

[dustedmagazine]

Steve Gunn & David Moore — Reflections Vol. 1: Let the Moon Be a Planet (RVNG Intl.)

Photo by Annie Forrest

Reflections Vol. 1: Let the Moon Be a Planet by Steve Gunn & David Moore

Steve Gunn and David Moore, building on an earlier collaboration, join forces for an instrumental album that sounds little like the previous work of either (though there is some kinship with a recent composition by Gunn for a gallery installation). Thus, Gunn seems to stick to nylon-stringed guitar instead of his usual steel-string and electric, and Moore contributes spare, atmospheric piano distinct from the rippling waves of notes characteristic of his sound as Bing & Ruth. The gentle and soothing tones here are suggestive of the ambient and new age genres, with plenty of space for echo amid the interplay of the two instruments as the tracks gradually develop.

According to the liner notes, the collaboration began with remote file-sharing and was completed when the two musicians came together in Hudson, NY. Both composition and improvisation, then, inform the eight songs here, most of which are around five minutes long. The continuity across the tracks leaves it unclear which originated with Gunn and which with Moore, though there may be a clue in the fact that those that begin with guitar tend to end with guitar and those that begin with piano tend to end with piano. Notably, each track has a defined and satisfying ending, with no fadeouts or abrupt cutaways. Environmental and room sounds also contribute to the sound (especially on “Painterly” and “Paper Limb”). 

Throughout, Moore’s light touch and heavy sustain and Gunn’s fingerpicking complement each other perfectly. “Scattering,” for example, begins with an Americana-adjacent guitar strum and moves slowly like light filtering through leaves while piano notes float in the background, and “Basin” follows an analogous path beginning from a piano arpeggio that is answered by languid guitar chords. The enigmatically titled “Morning Mare,” something of a centerpiece as the longest of the tracks, opens with guitar and piano chords resolving into a spare almost-melody that unspools like a film sequence. 

Let the Moon Be a Planet is contemplative but sunny, with plenty of suspended voicings but few minor chords in evidence. This recording is billed as the first in the “Reflections” series of collaborations that RVNG Intl. will be releasing that, based on this auspicious beginning, promises to be as compelling as the label’s FRKWYS series (which includes the excellent 2014 collaboration between Gunn and Mike Cooper). Let’s also hope that Gunn and Moore release more music soon. 

Jim Marks

[transmission-from-rosedew-island]

As Halloween draws nearer, I would like to invite you all to come visit Rosedew Island and experience the autumn season in our cozy little community ... and maybe get a fright!

For two and a half years now, the residents of Rosedew have been hard at work building a happy little town on what we at first believed to be a deserted island. However, strange rumors have been circulating lately about mysterious old structures appearing out of nowhere just outside of town! Where did all these warning signs come from? What’s with the glowing moss? Why, at night, are the lights on in the old, abandoned manor on the hill to the north-east?

... Is there something Coco isn’t telling us?

Features of interest: - A comfy town with a focus on environmentalism and upcycling - All villager houses are customized to reflect the characters’ lives - Slimy, dank nature just beyond the town’s borders - Environmental storytelling anywhere I could fit it in/come up with something - A spooky story lurking just beneath the island’s cheery surface! - At the heart of the story: a fully upgraded and customized old manor! - My own house has nothing to do with the story, but it’s still pretty cute!

Come to Rosedew, soak in the small-town atmosphere, and see if you can piece together the clues to the island’s sordid past!

Dream address: DA-7118-7118-7898

Note: As certain visual and story elements of this island may be distressing to some players, I’ve put a list of content warnings under the cut, just in case someone needs it. Beware of spoilers!

Content warnings: - Custom designs heavily featuring blood - Hospital/medical settings played for horror - Implications of severe illness and body horror - Death, grief and ghosts

[thevoidable]

I would just like to take a moment to talk about how the Bungie era of Halo games are a fantastic lesson in environmental storytelling. 

Most players will often blast through the campaigns, as the gameplay typically comes first and the abundance of enemies and mission objectives gives the player a sense of urgency, but that’s not a bad thing. Humanity is fighting for its life, after all. However, the games actually reward you for taking your time and paying attention to the world around you, unlocking incredible story details that nine times out of ten will leave you with a chill running up your spine. 

The level 343 Guilty Spark in CE (classic, not anniversary; the new graphics are a sin to that level) is obviously the most famous example of this - the level constantly builds up atmosphere and tension, and it is so cleverly designed that many of the small details are actually difficult to miss.

And then you have other examples (some more subtle than others), like the footprints surrounding the human bodies in the first level of Reach, the Mausoleum of the Arbiter visible in the distance from a room near the end of Cortana in Halo 3 (which is coincidentally where the Arbiter then drops in to help you if you’re playing solo; some nice hidden foreshadowing), and even the factions warring with each other on Gravemind in Halo 2.

However, I’d like to turn your attention to ODST, where the environmental storytelling is arguably at its most abundant.

Recently, I have been replaying through each of the games with the intent of doing the aforementioned: taking my time, exploring the levels, and resisting the urge to rush ahead. While doing so, I’ve noticed many things that consistently evaded me in the past, like neat little conversations between the troops or alternate pathways that lead to unique weapons or enemies, things that just add to the replayability of these games. 

However, on my replaythrough of ODST, I stumbled across a tiny detail that, in the grand scheme of things, is no surprise if you know the plot of Halo 2, but the way it was intergrated in the environment is what made it so impactful and made me appreciate it that much more.

Now, the entire premise of playing as the Rookie IS to explore the environment and find out what happened to your squad via clues left behind, so naturally his levels are filled to the brim with detail. Everything around you from the damaged buildings and vehicles to the various messages left on walls by civillians paints a clear picture of what the carnage in New Mombasa was like - but upon looking closer, you end up discovering a darker side to the conflict, hidden away in shadowed corners and behind walls.

In Halo 2, your most prominent enemy fighting through the streets of Old & New Mombasa are the Elites - they appear in every single encounter either commanding ground troops or piloting vehicles. They’re everywhere, and there’s not a single Brute in sight.

But as soon as you drop into ODST, it’s the exact opposite: the Brutes are the ones leading the charge and doing the heavy lifting, and there’s not a single Elite to be seen fighting alongside them. So, what happened to them? Where did they go?

While travelling to a supply cache, I noticed an interactable door that I didn’t recall entering before, and inside was a familiar sight: a dark interior with scattered bodies of both human and Covenant, an expected battle zone. Upon reaching the other end of the building, I discovered another door, one that led out into a courtyard, something else that wasn’t unfamiliar to me. However, I was immediately greeted by this sight:

Two Huragok floating in the vicinity, but strangely by themselves. Instinctively I retreated back through the door so I could check the map for the placements of the other enemies - except there were no other red pings. Confused and on guard, I inched back into the courtyard to scout it out myself, certain that this would be some kind of ambush and the enemies would spawn after the Huragok spotted me...but nothing came. Seeing as the Huragok weren’t doing anything to me, I let them be and got a better look at what they were circling: a ring of stone monoliths covered in glowing glyphs.

Now, anyone who has played the game will notice these glyphs popping up very frequently, often as markers to help guide the player to important places, and they are accompanied by symbols in each third.

Anyone who knows anything about Huragoks will know that these symbols are a part of their language, designed to tell “stories”. 

But, upon first inspection of the glyphs on these monoliths, they were devoid of any symbols, and it felt eerily...empty.

And then I got closer, and I saw the first body.

At first, I almost brushed it off, because Covenant bodies are not exactly rare. But then I stopped, and remembered that I hadn’t seen a single Elite this whole time. And if the first one I’ve found is already dead, what about the others?

Well, remember how I said “first” body?

The other was lying not too far away, also accompanied by the empty glyphs. 

In the quiet ambience, things started to click for me. It was easy enough to deduce that the empty symbols must mean death, or at least something related to it, but why for some random Elites? What about the thousands of other bodies that littered the city? At first, it didn’t seem like I would get an answer, but then I noticed something odd on the stone above the second Elite.

Snaking up the monolith was a rather brutal breadcrumb trail, and behind it, the only symbol present in the entire courtyard.

Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that large-scale events are happening elsewhere in the galaxy. ODST takes place several hours after the Prophet of Regret flees Earth through the slipspace portal, and with the knowledge of Halo 2′s story progression in mind, ODST gives us a glimpse into just how early the Great Schism was actually planned by Truth. With Regret gone, it wouldn’t have been long before Truth gave the order to the Brutes to kill all the remaining Elites on Earth.

The Huragoks, slaves to the Covenant, witnessed this betrayal first-hand, and were subjected to even worse treatment now that the Brutes were in charge.

So, they gathered around the fallen Elites...and gave them a memorial. These deaths were not accidents, they were not collateral damage; they had meaning, a story, one that deserved to be seen and remembered. So the Huragok would mourn them - including Virgil, whose symbol is the one we see on the monolith. This memorial is a message.

A message to the humans that they are not the only victims of the Covenant.

And this isn’t the only Elite memorial site either - it wasn’t long after stumbling across that one that I found another:

This one shows that it was ALL Elites that suffered, not some random minors who didn’t have the skill to defend themselves. There’s a major and an ultra lying amongst these bodies, and I’m sure there are other sites like this hidden throughout the map too.

Like I mentioned before, the Elites being betrayed are no surprise, we been knew about this since Halo 2, but the way this is revealed in ODST does an exceptional job of making you feel for these Elites all over again, and Arbiter’s presence wasn’t even required. It just goes to show how talented Bungie is at doing so much with so little.

Anyway, this ended up being much longer than I expected, but I really just wanted to gush about how much I fucking love the detail in these games and the experiences they give. 

[nasa]

Pioneering with Perseverance: More Technology Firsts

From launching the largest, heaviest, most sophisticated vehicle we have ever sent to Mars, to its elegant landing at Jezero Crater – a treacherous yet promising location for finding signs of ancient life – the journey of our Perseverance rover has already been and continues to be a bold one.

But let’s not forget, building new tools and instruments or designing ways to study other worlds is not easy. Before engineers even dreamt of sending their hardware for a spin on Mars, they spent years doing all they could to validate tech on Earth – modeling in labs, flying experiments on suborbital rockets or high-altitude balloons, or testing in various facilities to simulate the harsh conditions of space.

We know that technology demonstrations – that test a new capability in space – can be risky, but trying new things is how we forge ahead, learn for future missions, and reach new heights in space.

Perseverance has already accomplished some amazing “firsts” but there are more to come. Here are four more trailblazing technologies on the Mars 2020 mission.

1. First Powered Flight on Another World

This week, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a small, autonomous rotorcraft originally stowed beneath the rover, will make the first-ever attempt at powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet.

In the last few weeks, Ingenuity safely deployed from Perseverance, charged up its solar panel, survived its first bone-chilling Martian night and firmly planted four legs on the ground. Once the team on Earth confirms that the rover drove about 16 feet (about 5 meters) away, and that both helicopter and rover are communicating via their onboard radios, preflight checks will begin, and Ingenuity will be on its way skyward.

Perseverance will receive and relay the final flight instructions from mission controllers at our Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Ingenuity. Ingenuity will run its rotors to 2,537 rpm and, if all final self-checks look good, lift off. After climbing at a rate of about 3 feet per second (1 meter per second), the helicopter will hover at 10 feet (3 meters) above the surface for up to 30 seconds. Then, the Mars Helicopter will descend and touch back down on the Martian surface. With a smooth landing and continued operability, up to four more flights could be attempted, each one building on the success of the last.

Ingenuity could pave the way for other advanced robotic flying vehicles. Possible uses of next-generation rotorcraft on Mars include:

A unique viewpoint not provided by current orbiters, rovers or landers

High-definition images and reconnaissance for robots or humans

Access to terrain that is difficult for rovers to reach

Could even carry light but vital payloads from one site to another

Here’s how to follow along as this flight makes history.

2. First Production of Oxygen from Martian Atmosphere

The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, better known as MOXIE, is preparing us for human exploration of Mars by demonstrating a way to extract oxygen directly from the Martian atmosphere. That could mean access to air for breathing, but also the ability to produce vast quantities of rocket fuel to return astronauts to Earth.

Located inside the body of Perseverance, the car battery-sized instrument works like a miniature electronic tree on the rover, inhaling carbon dioxide, separating the molecule, and exhaling carbon monoxide and oxygen.

MOXIE is the first demonstration of its kind on another planet – the first test of an in-situ resource utilization technology, meaning it generates a usable product from local materials. The farther humans go into deep space, the more important this will be, due to the limited immediate access to supplies.

MOXIE will give a go at its first operations soon, a huge first step in proving it’s feasible to make oxygen, in situ, on Mars. Future, larger versions of MOXIE (something about the size of a washing machine) could produce oxygen 200 times faster by operating continuously.

3. First Weather Reporter at Jezero Crater

The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) system makes weather measurements including wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity, and also measures the amount and size of dust particles in the Martian atmosphere.

Using MEDA data, engineers on Earth recently pieced together the first weather report from Jezero Crater. Measurements from MEDA sensors are even helping to determine the optimal time for Ingenuity’s first flight.

The weather instrument aboard the Curiosity rover – currently located a good 2,300 miles away from Perseverance on Mars – provides similar daily weather and atmospheric data. But MEDA can record the temperature at three atmospheric heights in addition to the surface temperature. It also records the radiation budget near the surface, which will help prepare for future human exploration missions on Mars.

MEDA’s weather reports, coupled with data gathered by Curiosity and NASA’s Insight lander, will enable a deeper understanding of Martian weather patterns, events, and atmospheric turbulence that could influence planning for future endeavors like the landing or launch of the proposed Mars Sample Return mission.

4. First Radar Tool to Probe Under the Martian Surface

On Earth, scientists use radar to look for things under the ground. They use it to study Mars-like glacial regions in the Arctic and Antarctic. Ground-penetrating radar helps us locate land mines; spot underground cables, wires, and pipes; or reveal ancient human artifacts and even buried treasure! On Mars, the "buried treasure" may be ice, which helps scientists understand the possibilities for Martian life and also identifies natural resources for future human explorers.

Perseverance's Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) uses radar waves to probe the ground and reveal the unexplored world that lies beneath the Martian surface.

It’s the first ground-penetrating radar on the surface of Mars. RIMFAX will provide a highly detailed view of subsurface structures down to at least 30 feet (10 meters). With those measurements, the instrument will reveal hidden layers of geology and help find clues to past environments on Mars, especially those with conditions necessary for supporting life.

Stay tuned in to the latest Perseverance updates on the mission website and follow NASA Technology on Twitter and Facebook.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

[incorrect-dishonored-quotes]

Do you have a favorite level within each game or even one out of all games / is there a specific level that stuck in your mind since you first played it?

Mine would be the second to last I think in DH1. The one, where you walk over a bridge and it's all orange light on one side and deep shadows on the other. In daud's dlcs it would be the boyle mansion, because I love the flooded building. I've loved the edge of the world in DH2 because Karnaca's atmosphere is such a breath of fresh air and the trail of whale blood through the bright and sunny district reveals very much about the game's world. For DOTO it would either be the bank job or the royal conservatory. It may sound pretty weird but the atmosphere within the bank job gives me vacation vibes lol. Also the moment you take the twin bladed knife feels amazing every time. I also really like the hidden features in the royal conservatory.

Thank you for running this blog, it really means a lot to me. Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈

Honestly all the levels in the DH series has a lot of personality in them, and so much visual storytelling. Each one has a different feeling to it while all matching up to eachother perfectly. Never do I feel like one doesn't belong with the others, they all feel part of the same world, and they feel so lived in too.

Everyone has their favorites, and you picked some good ones. I think youre refering to Kaldwin's Bridge which is a very well done level and is certainly pretty to look at, but its rather big with a lot of loading points, and it's a bit choppy and tedious for me. I do like the area around Sokolov's house though. The test subjects imprisoned in the streets and the crumbling buildings around his perfect apartment is great environmental storytelling. Personally my favorite in Dh1 is The Flooded District. The reflection it paints for Corvo, that after everything, things can still get worse and there's still a light at the end and he can't give up. That even after hating Hiram Burrows and wishing death on him, Daud hides there, in the mass grave Burrows made, protected by the rats, flood waters, rivercrusts, and weepers. It's just *chef's kiss*.

I think the one in Daud's dlc's is actually Brigmore Manor, which is one hell of a level. We learn that Daud and Delilah have a lot in common just by the way they work. They both have large followings they share their power with, hidden under everyone's nose. Dispite this, the difference in atmosphere tells the player that Daud is trespassing here. He's met someone who can match him, maybe even best him, and he has to be careful not to lose what little he has left. Brigmore is probably my fave too, but The Surge comes very close. Being in Daud's base, cutting up Overseers, and freeing his Whaler kids is very satisfying.

Edge of the World is a great intro to Karnaca. You get a feel for the atmosphere, learn about smaller power struggles (Howlers vs Overseers), and get a feel for just how bad things are there. I love taking my time in this level, finding the runes and talking to Mindy Blanchard just because it is a very pretty level that's fun to explore. I also like how it ironically leads you to Addemire, which is dark and claustrophobic. My fave in DH2 though is Crack in the Slab. Going between timelines wasn't something I'd done in a videogame before, and it made learning about Aramis Stilton and the rest of Delilah's allies extremely interesting. I love the little details you can mess with in the past to convenience you in the present too. There's a lot to go though twice over in that level, and I always find something new each playthrough. Also, in the ambience music in the present, you can hear a rhythmic banging, and I theorize you can hear the miners being overworked from Aramis' home.

And then there's DOTO... DOTO, my beloved. This game really brought Billie Lurk's character to life and I enjoy every second of it. My fave here would be Follow the Ink, for reasons similar as to why I like Edge of the World. It's nice to explore and there's so much to do story-wise, and even more to just find or interact with. I do wish the story flowed from one point on the map to the other, like how Edge of the World slowly lead you to the black market, wall of light, overseer outpost, then to Addemire Station. I find I'm going back and forth a lot in Follow the Ink, but that's nit-picking. If anything, it gives me time to stumble across things more. I will say though, The Bank Job is probably the strongest level in the game, and the writing is the best there. Billie getting a hold of the knife, pointing a finger in The Outsider's face and telling him she's coiming, no matter what it takes, only for The Outsider to look her in the eyes and tell her that Daud, the closest Billie had ever come to family, is dead?... Heartbreaking. I'm racing back to the ship. I know he's lying, and he has to be, right? But nope, he wasn't. Billie burning her ship called Dreadful Wale, an anagram for Farewell Daud, as his pyre hurts so much. I love the very ending too and how Daud is low chaos option, and to be honest, I shouldn't have been surprised by that. Ironically, mercy and forgiveness were themes in the background of Daud's dlcs.

Some honorable mentions would be:

-Bottle Street/Holger Square: Learning about Overssers, Slackjaw, Granny Rags and you get to see my man Geoff Curnow! Please switch the poison btw.

-Lady Boyle's Last Party: You fuck around with guards and rich ppl bc they think you're one of them and that's quite the critique on the upperclass huh. Don't forget to sign the guestbook as The Empress' alleged assassin!

Return to The Tower: Hiram Burrows is finally his own undoing, and his worst nightmares have come true! What a satisfying downfall. How poetic. Bitch deserved everything he got.

-Light at the End: In high chaos, Martin shoots Pendleton after calling him inbred and that's hilarious to me. Also in low chaos. Emily will scold Havelock and tell him to "sit in the corner and think about what [he's] done!" In honesty, it's a good climax.

-Eminent Domain: Timpsh's downfall in low chaos is one of the most poetic and well written eliminations in the games. Seeing him faint in front of a General of the City Watch always makes me laugh.

-Coldridge Prison: Revisiting the place as Daud and seeing how it's changed since Corvo's escape was very interesting. There's a lot of details to interact with like other prisoners, executions, and doomed escape attempts.

-Addemire Institute: The Crown Killer was an interesting antagonist, and there's a lot of notes and clues to what Addemire was like before The Duke ruined it. The entire situation is very tragic, but not all is lost!

-The Dust District: It's just really fun to explore Karnaca ok? Also Corvo's old house is there.

-Hole in the World: I love how it hints that there's a low chaos option, but you don't realize it until you talk with Daud’s spirit and all the hints come together. I like wandering around the place too since we don't get to see The Void this much anywhere else.

Sorry this was so long, but I really love how well thought out these game are, and I really rambled! Happy pride to you too!

[youreacowgirllikeme]

Time Will Tell: Part Two

note: alright, here is part two of @peppermintschnappss request (if you haven’t yet, you can read part one HERE) this one’s a bit smuttier and fluffier, I hope you like it

words: 4.1 k

warnings: swearing, smut (fingering, unprotected sex)

enjoy :)

 

(New York City, six years later)

 “Alright, here we are, welcome to your new office, Ms. Y/L/N.”

 “Wow, its bigger than I imagined. Nice change from the cubicle back at my old firm.” You joked, looking around the room. It was modest, but it was your own, a fact that filled you with immense pride.

 “Well, you’re a senior associate now.” Your new boss replied, “Get used to it.”

 +++

After your boss had left, you used the short moment of quiet to set up some personal items on your desk before the real work started.

 There was one framed picture of you and your best friends, taken when you all graduated from Georgetown Law, arms around each other, smiling at the camera. The next one showed you and your parents, you had just passed the bar exam and your mum was looking like she had been crying just moments before the photo was taken. The last one was a collage the colleagues from your old law firm in DC had given to you as a good-bye-gift.

You had worked there for over two years and had loved it, but when you got the opportunity to work for one of the countries most renowned law firms, you had packed your bags and moved to New York City without a second thought.

The city was still a bit overwhelming, but this job was the career launch pad you had waited for, and you were excited to finally get started.

 There was a knock on the door of your office, pulling you out of your thoughts. A friendly looking young man appeared, quickly introducing himself as one of the firms’ paralegals.

 “We all gather for the morning meeting in the conference room in five minutes. The boss will introduce you and maybe already set you up with your first tasks.” he told you, “Just follow me, I’ll show you the way.”

The meeting room was already packed with people, and of course everyone was looking at you, the newcomer. You tried to appear confident, smiling at the new faces even though your heart was almost jumping out of your chest.

The boss introduced you to the other employees and started to go through the current cases. There was a lot of financial law, mergers and stuff, but the firm had a very broad operation field, and you hoped to be assigned to an environmental or human rights case sooner or later.

When the meeting was over, the boss asked you to stay behind.

 “You’re new here, Ms. Y/N, so I’m going to assign you a pro-bono case first. This is how we operate at our firm.”

You nodded in agreement, this was standard practice.

 “One of our other senior associates has already been assigned to this one, but its more work than we expected, so I figured he could use some help. That way you can familiarize yourself with how we work here, and your next case will be your own. Understood?”

 “Yes Sir.” You replied, trying not to be disappointed. You were eager to work with your own client, but getting some help from a colleague maybe wasn’t the worst idea. Also you could use a friend at this new place, and nothing was better for that than working on tough case together.

“So, who will I be working with?”

 Your boss looked around the people still filtering out of the conference room with a scowl on his face.

“Technically, he should be around here somewhere. I bet he’s late again, always the same shit. If he wasn’t so good at his job, I would have fired him ages ago.”

“Apologies, boss, I wish I could say that it won’t happen again.” A loud voice called out from behind you.

You felt like someone had slapped you in the face. You would recognize this arrogant tone everywhere.

 You whirled around and came face to face with Chris Cuomo.

 +++

“You?” The both of you said simultaneously, voices full of disbelief.

He looked different, the boyish features were gone, his jawline was sharper and his hair shorter. What was still there was his damn arrogant stance, the way he had strutted in here almost an hour to late and got away with a cocky reply told you everything you needed to know. This was still the same insolent guy who, for some reason, still got admired by everyone. How could fate screw you over like that?

“Oh, you already know each other, splendid.” Your boss exclaimed, “Christopher, Ms. Y/L/N is our newest senior associate. I assigned her to help you with your current case, show her how we work around here, would you?”

You had to give it to Chris, he didn’t even flinch. “Absolutely, Sir. Follow me.” He said, directed at you. He left so fast, you had to hurry to keep up with his big strides.

“Could you maybe wait a second.” You called after him, but he totally ignored you, walking towards a door at the end of the hallway.

 You followed him into what you supposed was his office. It was a bit larger than yours, with a view over the skyline instead of the alley behind the building.

Once you were inside the room, Chris slammed the door shut behind you.

 “What the hell are you doing here?” he hissed, looking incredibly annoyed now.

“What do you mean? I’m working here, Cuomo, I started today.”

 Chris ran his hand over his face and fell into the chair behind his desk.

 “Look, this won’t work. I’ve been on this case for weeks now, and I won’t let you interfere with it.”

 You stopped for a moment. Chris Cuomo, working on a pro bono case for weeks?

 “Why are you being so difficult about this? It’s a pro bono. Why don’t trust you with a real client anyway?” you asked, and were surprised how superficial and mean that sounded even to your own ears. How did he still bring out the worst side of you, even after you hadn’t seen him for years?

 “Not that it’s any of your concern, but they want to make me a junior partner soon. I’ve been here for four years, they hired me right out of law school. I’m one of the best attorneys employed here and I specifically asked for this case because I care about the people involved. So you can either help me and give those clients the attention and energy they deserve or I’ll have your ass out of here in less than a week.” he was almost yelling by now, fists clenched on his desk and you took a step back in face of his anger.

“Alright, I am sorry, no need to be so hostile.” You murmured. “Give me an overview and we can get started.”

 +++

The case was about two young men from Queens who were accused of robbing a drugstore. Chris insisted that they were victims of racial profiling and weren’t guilty of the charges, they had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 “They are telling the truth, I just know it.” Chris replied when you asked him how he could be so sure, and the tone of his voice made you refrain from questioning him any further.

He had given you a short, clipped outline of the case and now there were tons of files you had to read to get up to date.

 After about two hours of working next to each other in tense silence, you decided to extend an olive branch to Chris.

 “So, how have you been, Cuomo? Never heard from you again after Yale.”

 Chris looked up from the file he was reading, shooting you a wary glance across the table.

 “I went to Fordham, got my JD, passed the bar and started working here. I didn’t think you’d ever want to hear from me again. I’m not sure if you remember, but we didn’t exactly get along.” He replied, his voice was hard and his posture rigid, as if it made him extremely uncomfortable to even talk to you.

You sighted, debating what to say next.

“We didn’t, I hated you, in fact.”

Chris face gave the tiniest flinch and you mentally slapped yourself. Why had you just said that?

“Sorry, that was totally insensitive. I don’t hate you, not anymore. We were almost kids back then, and I was self-righteous so many times. I’m sorry for that, I just hope we can act like professionals now and try to get along, for the sake of the clients.”

 “I can manage that if you do.” Chris mumbled, and got back to reading the files, effectively ending the conversation.

 +++

 Working alongside Chris went better than expected, even if it often was hard work to engage him in conversation. You had always assumed that he was one of the most self-centered people ever, but he spent most of his time at the office, pouring all of his energy into a pro bono case, so maybe that wasn’t true after all.

A paralegal had revealed to you that the two men you were defending were from the neighborhood Chris was raised in and knowing that made you more sympathetic towards him.

 You had thought about him from time to time during the past years, but always pictured him as one of those attorneys without morals who would walk over dead bodies to win a case. But he wasn’t. He was relentless, yes, but for the right reasons, and you started to admire him for his dedication to the cause.

 +++

In the following weeks, the initial icy atmosphere between the two of you had thawed and Chris became more approachable.

He was still arrogant and insufferable, but had matured in a way that really surprised you. By now you were even having private conversations during your short lunch breaks, bantering back and forth, but in a friendly way.

Right now, he was ranting about the current season of the Mets. You had no clue about baseball, but the way his eyes lit up when he was explaining something he was passionate about was mesmerizing.

 “You look like a fish, Y/N, don’t pretend you know anything about baseball, I can see right through you.” Chris chuckled, yanking you out of your daydreams. You blushed a bit, he had caught you staring at him.

 “I was actually thinking about the case, Cuomo, we can’t all do sports talk the entire day.”

 “I see.” He winked at you, and you tried your best to ignore how handsome he was. “Back to work then, let’s get after it.”

 +++

 It was another late night at the office, you and Chris had been hunched over case files for hours after a whole day of running around and taking statements from various people associated with the case. You were incredibly tired, but the court date was approaching and there was still a lot of work to be done.

 Across from you, Chris yawned, stretching his arms over his head. He had discarded his suit jacket, and his white dress shirt was tight enough for you to ogle his muscled arms.

You had given up on trying not to stare some time ago, he was good looking, and there was no hurt in admiring what was right in front of you.

Lately though, you had started to develop some more confusing feelings about the man. But those were carefully bottled up and you intended to keep them that way.

“Do you want another coffee?” you asked, getting up from your chair.

“Please, I’m dying here. Bring me the biggest cup we have.”

You made your way back from the kitchen, balancing two steaming mugs of coffee in your hand. You stopped next to Chris chair and put down his coffee in front of him. Your arm softly brushed against his, and he turned his head to face you. Suddenly, your faces were only inches apart from each other, he was so close that you could feel his breath on your skin as he spoke.

 “You have a lash, right there. Stay still.” he reached out to pick the small hair up from right under your eye. The touch of his finger left a burning feeling on your skin.

 “Thank you.” You whispered, and for a moment, no one was speaking, you were just staring into each other’s eyes. You felt your face starting to tingle, but you couldn’t look away, not when Chris eyes were open and warm in a way you had never seen them before.

You noticed a small scar on his jaw, and you carefully reached out to trace it with a finger.

“Where is this from?”

 Chris tensed under your touch but didn’t move or slap your hand away.

“College, Senior year. I got into a nasty brawl with someone after that last party before graduation. I was wasted and angry, it was my fault, no biggie.” He murmured, and you quickly moved your hand away, worried that you were making him uncomfortable.

Your mind rushed back to that night, and the row you had with Chris. Even after all these years, the encounter was still very present and the thought that he had gotten into a fight because you had riled him up made you feel incredibly guilty.

 “I’m so sorry.” You replied in a stained voice. “Were you angry because of me?”

 Chris eyes hardened.

“That was years ago, Y/N, how about we let stuff from the past stay there.” he replied brusquely and got up from his chair. “I need to get some more files.”

 When he didn’t return after an hour, you just went home.

 +++

 After that night, things between you went back to being tense and awkward. You weren’t sure if he was mad at you and were too afraid to bring it up. You had actually enjoyed the tentative friendship that had formed between you and missed the easy banter during lunch breaks or brooding over case files in comfortable silence. Why was the man so fucking stubborn when you had been nothing but civil to him since your first day?

After a week of little to no conversation, you were close to freaking out. It was another late-night work session, and you were tired and fed up with the situation.

 “Alright, enough with that shit.” You snapped, slamming down the file you were working on onto the desk. Chris glanced up from his papers and shot you a dirty look.

 “What’s your problem, huh?” he snarled back.

 “You are my problem, Cuomo. I thought we were making progress and could at least be friendly with each other. But since last week, you’re totally shutting me out. You don’t talk to me, not even when its necessary for the case. I don’t know what I did to offend you, but you either tell me now or suck it up, because the silent treatment is bullshit.” you were getting louder with each sentence and had started pacing around the small office, the familiar flush creeping up your neck.

The sound of Chris’ laughing made you stop in your tracks.

 “Oh my God, you look just like during one of those discussions back in college.” He chuckled before he got serious again.

 “Look, I’m sorry. I was confronted with a lot of uncomfortable memories last week. Yes, back then I was angry because of the fight we had, and yes I got drunk and punched this guy because of it.” He paused for a moment, running his hand through his hair before speaking again. “He reported me to the police, you know. I had to do a whole summer of community service, and almost lost my Law School spot. I blamed you for a long time, even if it wasn’t your fault at all.”

You were shocked by that admission.

“Chris, I had no idea. I am so sorry, that was never my intention.”

He just stared back at you with an unreadable expression on his face.

“That right now was the first time you ever called me Chris.” He said, sounding oddly emotional. He got up from his chair and walked around the small table to where you stood.

 Your heart started racing in your chest like crazy as he approached you.

“You just…Jesus, Y/N, you just unsettle me, you did back at Yale, and you still do.”

“What are you even talking about?” you whispered, “You used to hate me.”

“You really have no idea, don’t you?” he replied. He was standing right in front of you now, and the only thing you could focus on was how big and strong his body looked, and how good his cologne smelled. Your brain couldn’t handle having him in such close proximity, and when his hand reached out to cup your jaw, you could barely suppress a gasp.

 “I never hated you.” He murmured, before pressing his lips to yours.

After a moment, your brain caught up with your body. You were just kissing Chris Cuomo, the plague of your college years, the most cocky, arrogant, intriguing person you had ever met, and it was fucking perfect.

 You melted against him, his body was solid and warm and you never wanted to stop kissing him. Your hands flew around his neck, pulling him down to deepen the kiss. He tangled his hand into your hair, tilting your head back, and when he softly bit your bottom lip, you groaned against his mouth and pressed your body even closer to his.

 With a deep breath, Chris broke the kiss and looked down at you, his pupils were blown and there was a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Do you know how often I wanted to shut you up like this?”

 “Took you long enough, Cuomo.” You chuckled, and kissed him again, it felt too good to just stop now. His huge hands were on your back now, wandering lower until they landed on your ass, squeezing the soft flesh. By now, you could barely think straight anymore.

You had fantasized about this moment before, but no fantasy could compare to the feeling of his hands all over your body, dipping under your shirt to slide over the soft, bare skin of your back.

 With your last shred of restraint, you broke the kiss again.

 “We can’t do this here, Chris.” You mumbled, suddenly feeling a bit shy.

 “There is no one else here, Y/N, its after midnight. We can do whatever the hell we want.” He replied, using the hand that was still on your back to pull you to his chest, there was a noticeable bulge pressing against you and your mind went blank again.

Your last resolve crumbled when Chris whispered a deep “I need to have you, now.” right against your ear. You succumbed to his touches as he picked you up and placed you on the edge of the desk, right on top of the important case files, but you didn’t give a damn.

 Everything you cared about right now was the feeling of Chris palms sliding up your bare legs, hitching up your skirt and softly skimming over your panty-covered core. You inhaled through clenched teeth as his hand found its way inside your underwear, you were already slick with need and grinded your pussy against his fingers.

 “You have no idea how often I thought about this.” Chris groaned. “Just you, squirming and wet under me. God, you are soaked.”

 “Stop talking and do something, Cuomo.” You whimpered, his light touches were nowhere near enough.

 “You asked for this, sweetheart.” Chris growled and plunged two of his thick fingers inside you without warning. The moan spilling out of you was so loud that he slapped his other palm over your mouth to muffle your needy sounds.

“Shh, we might be alone, but we don’t want to alarm the whole building.” He chuckled darkly as he started to move his hand, curling his digits inside you until you saw stars.

 You groaned his name against his palm as he started to circle your clit with his thumb, applying more and more pressure until you came against his hand with a strangled cry.

 Chris removed his hands and looked down at where you were lying on the desk, breathing heavily.

“Say it, Y/N. What do you want me to do?”

 You could see the way his erection was tenting the fabric of his suit trousers and unconsciously licked your lips.

“Get rid of those trousers and fuck me.” You whispered, your voice still a bit breathy from your climax moments ago.

 Without hesitation, Chris undid the buckle of his belt and pulled down his pants along with his underwear. When his cock spring free, you let out an audible gasp.

Chris snorted our a small, smug laugh, a flicker of his familiar arrogance showing. Usually, this would’ve annoyed you to no ends, but right now your only concern was getting him inside of you as fast as possible.

 When he finally stepped between your legs, his strong hands grabbed the hem of your panties and just tore the thin lace apart. He grabbed your thighs and spread them, leaving you exposed to his hungry gaze. The feeling of his cock teasing your entrance almost made you lose patience.

 “Stop the fucking teasing, Chris”

 Without a warning, he grabbed your hips and slammed into you with one harsh thrust. You had to cover your mouth with your own hand again to silence your cry, the feeling of his thick length was almost too much.

“Shit, Y/N.” he hissed as he bottomed out. “You’re so tight.”

You couldn’t do anything more than grab the edges of the desk as he started to fuck you with a relentless pace, the slap of his skin against yours sounding through the empty office.

 Your let your head roll to the side and closed your eyes, completely overwhelmed by the burning arousal spreading through your whole body.

 Suddenly, a hand grabbed your hair and yanked your head around so you were staring directly into Chris dark, burning eyes.

 “I want you to look at me while I fuck you.” He snarled. “Want you to see who makes you feel like this.”
His voice was slightly breathless, and there was a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead as he continued to slam into you, hitting a spot deep inside you and sending you closer to your climax with each hard stroke.

His words were like a drug and you couldn’t tear your eyes away from his face anymore. When he delivered his next sharp thrust, you could feel yourself tumbling over the edge, your orgasm washing over you and making you trash and squirm under Chris, your walls clenching around his cock.

His grasp on your hips tightened to an almost painful degree, pulling your pelvis flush against his as he spilled inside you with a growl.

As you laid on the desk, your brain was trying to come to terms with what just happened through the haze of your climax.

Chris carefully pulled out and readjusted his trousers before slumping back into an office chair.

 “Well, that was a surprise.” You said awkwardly, getting up and pulling down your shirt to restore some sense of dignity. In an attempt to ease some of the tension that had suddenly settled over the room, you added “Next time we should try it without all the clothes, and maybe on a bed instead of a desk filled with super important case files.”

Instead of making a dirty joke, Chris looked surprised.

“There is going to be a next time?” He asked, sounding almost hopeful.

 With a soft chuckle, you approached him and sat down onto his lap.

 “You can’t screw me like this and not expect me to come back for seconds.” You pressed a kiss to his lips. “If you’re up to it, I’d maybe even agree to a third, fourth and fifth time.”

 Chris puffed out his chest a little bit. “Sweetheart, I’m always up to it.”

 +++

 With a slam, the doors of the courtroom closed behind you. Chris turned around to face you, and the smile on his face was bright enough to light up the entire hallway.

 “We won, Y/N, we really did it.” he cheered, picking you up to spin you around. You just giggled, full of joy and relief that you were able to win this important case and keep your clients out of jail.

When Chris sat you down again, you reached up to put his face between your hands.“I am so incredibly proud of you.” You said, your voice heavy with emotion. “You were on fire in there.”

It was true, seeing Chris in court had been like a revelation to you. He had been relentless, tough and razor sharp in his defense, all while wielding his charm and charisma to win the jury over. Everything you had held against him for all those years, his audacity, his stubbornness, they had been invaluable strengths during the trial.

But when Chris leaned down to press a kiss to your mouth, all thoughts stopped. It still was so fresh and every touch of him brought you out of balance. The fact that he had just kissed you in public made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. You hadn’t made your relationship public yet, or even talked about if you were an item, but this made you hope.

Chris broke the kiss, still beaming at you.

“I could have never done this without your help. This is our success. And now we have to celebrate. Please, let me take you to dinner.” Chris said, wrapping his arms around your hips to pull you against him. By now, you couldn’t care less about all the people looking at you.

“Took you long enough to properly ask me out.” you joked, “And of course, I’d love to.”

Immediately, Chris started rambling about how he knew the perfect restaurant that would blow your mind and how they were always booked out several weeks in advance, but he could get you a table anyway, and you just smiled to yourself.

He was still a cocky, smug idiot, but he was your idiot now.

[collapsedsquid]

And on March 6, 7 and 8, 1582 what’s now known as the “great magnetic storm” brought aurora as far south 29° North latitude.

The subject of a new paper that delves into newly discovered descriptions about this “great aurora,” they are a clue to a solar storm that must have been horrifically strong.

If that happened now it could leave vast populations unable to communicate and without electrical energy.

[...]

Another eye-witness account from Lisbon reads: 

“In March 1582, at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6, something started in the north band of the sky … all that part of the sky appeared burning in fire flames; it seemed that the sky was burning. At midnight, great fire rays arose above the castle which were dreadful and fearful. Everybody went to the countryside to see this great sign.”

There are also records of “reddish and bluish” aurora on the same dates in southern Japan and in China between 29° North and 36° North.

Of course, there weren’t any power grids or satellites in 1582. So aside from some spectacular and truly once-in-a-lifetime aurora observations, this massive once-a-century solar storm was able to pass without incident.

Not so now.

In fact, a 2013 study by Lloyd’s of London and Atmospheric and Environmental Research concluded that a massive solar storm could cost US$2.5 trillion dollars, and its effects could last for over a year.

Massive solar storms are certainly rare. We just don’t yet know how rare.

US$2.5 trillion dollars, that’s ~261 days of a boat blocking the suez canal if I haven’t fucked the math

[rekkingcrew]

Campaign Debrief

So for nearly 2 years I ran an Edge of the Empire campaign with 3-4 players, mostly weekly. These last couple of months we’ve been using discord, which has gone great. I want to get down some of my thoughts about what worked and what didn’t. 

This is gonna be a big wall of text and all but two bits are gonna be under the cut: system and play style. 

Fantasy Flight Star Wars game system is legit my favorite system EVER. (Not to dick wave or anything, but that’s including D&Ds 2-5, Gurps, White Wolf, Blades in the Dark, Dungeon World, Deadlands, and a few miscellaneous other short form ones). The system of advantages and disadvantages, and especially triumphs and despairs rather than just straight successes and failures really opens up complex narrative opportunities and gives a chance for wild story beats that just would not have happened otherwise. The fights go fast but feel meaty and there’s a lot of room to pitch advantages to your friends so you’re not just waiting your turn. Character creation is granular enough that your choices always feel meaningful, and points can be spent anywhere, so you can really specialize and shape your character. 

We played very collaboratively and it made things AMAZING. Part of this is that we were all good friends and have played together for a while now. Our taste in what kind of story we want is similar- nuggets of drama scattered throughout, but mostly cutting up. A lot of the best NPCs and story suggestions came from my players rather than from me- our season one boss villain, Imperial spymaster “Uncle” Karston Severax, a pantoran ex-special forces black operative whose current public face was a Mr. Rogers-esque children’s TV presenter, for example, was someone my players started out and all of us collective “yes and” added to around the table, and he was JUST THE BEST. These kind of exchanges also gave us moments like the time our tech tried to blackmail the head of a security corporation with the fact that he was having an affair and he’d written just LOADS of incredibly cringey fanfiction; but the roll was such that the attempt ended with him finally getting the push he needed to quit a job he hated, get out of a marriage that just wasn’t working, and follow his dream of self-publishing. He even dedicated his first book to our slicer. Because it wasn’t a DM vs Players atmosphere, because we were all on the same page, I could ask my players “hey, what do you want for your triumph?” and “all right, so who is the NPC you know?” as well as just “that’s enough to finish this guy, what does this look like?” This campaign was 1000% better for sharing that world building load, and the players were all, I think, more invested. 

more below the cut. 

What Worked

One of the most useful things I ever did was start giving players morality pet NPCs that were their special hench people, and I’m embarrassed that I waited so long to assign one to our droid. 

The zero session was absolutely invaluable in setting the tone of the game and the relationship between characters, and I will bang this drum until I’m fucking blue in the face. Don’t meet in the first session. Sit the players down and say “how do you know each other, why do you stay together, what are some of your past adventures?” It’s just so much better. 

Cameos and ties to our other games, in what we’ve been calling “The Drax Kreiger Expanded Universe” have continued to be welcome pretty much every time. People were delighted to have a moment or two to slip back into old characters. 

I was able to identify what each player wanted and give them that. Brick’s player wanted quiet scenes with big character emotion, like his one on one pit fight the character didn’t want to have, or the letter from his mother telling him how proud she was of him, or the time in training where he tapped into how angry he really was and it spooked the character and everyone on the ship. Nyla’s player wanted a big epic, but also difficult space journey of good vs. evil, and so Nyla got a padawan whose parents she had possibly killed when she fought for the empire, she dug up the grave of her clone teacher’s order 66′d jedi for the crystal for her lightsaber, she got to cleanse a temple that was trapped in a fruitless struggle between light and dark, and a climactic lightsaber battle that was about possibly sacrificing herself for the good of others. TK’s player was deep into star wars trivia and space stuff, so he practically squealed when Verpine shatter weapons showed up, and he seemed to get a kick out of the Evocii, and also that time they put on wing suits and dove the atmosphere of a gas giant. It’s worth noting nobody was actually all that interested in the thing that turns my gears: complex mysteries with a lot of clues and investigation, and once I let that shit drop, things ran a lot smoother. 

Some of our best stuff was non-combat challenges, like climbing the cliffs of Naboo or navigating the deep undercity of Nar Shadaa. The guys reliably failed anything social, but environmental challenges were always appreciated. 

I always tried to make sure there was more than one way to do things. For any given mission, especially early on, I’d try to brainstorm at least three ways something could be accomplished. 

My party split up a LOT, but we found a sort of cinematic cutting back and forth to be really useful. When there was a big crit, or a goal accomplished, or something like that, we’d jump to the other party even if the fight wasn’t over. Sometimes that was only just, like, Brick and the guys doing drunk karaoke and saying to no one in particular “MAN, I hope Nyla’s having as fun a time as we are!” but it kept everyone involved and it wasn’t just people waiting their turn for 20 minutes at a time. Also people chimed in with fun advantages and disadvantages. 

I had everybody write backstories and whenever I could, I incorporated in things from what they’d written. Our second season was basically TK tracking down the guy who’d made him, a Thackwash alien with the same sort of shifting personalities he had. TK’s player hadn’t written much about the guy except that he’d been a salvage mechanic who constructed TK for protection when he got in trouble with the local mafia. Giving that guy complementary personalities for each of TK’s really helped stick the landing on that one, and the player really enjoyed having actually completed his character’s goal. 

It’s worth saying, we took some time at several points during the campaign, either individually or as a group, to talk about what we liked and didn’t, what we wanted more of, where we wanted things to go, possible directions for characters, mechanical issues, how to have a better game, group dynamics, all sorts of stuff. In a way it’s like sex: people have this fucked up expectation that you’ll just be good at it without communicating, and man, fuck that. Talking to my players was ALWAYS worthwhile.

I was always adamant, because it was a thing that bugged me when I was a player, that if a character had spent the points to be good at something, they got to be good at it. That made some things difficult, but I think it was the right decision. It took me a while to tailor fights right, and honestly a lot of times, splitting up the party was the best way to balance fights, but I never said to anyone hey that thing you spent all those points on, could you please not do that?

My players were excellent about encouraging each other to have serious dramatic moments. TK was completely ready to die in a fight, and when he lost a significant chunk of his programming, the way he chose to play it was really heartbreaking. Everyone came inside and had tea with Brick’s mom. No one stepped on anyone else’s fun when it was time to be serious, and everybody was great about cheering each other on, whether they were being funny or being dead serious. 

I FUCKING FINISHED A CAMPAIGN. IT HAD AN END. So much stuff petered out over the years, I was adamant I wasn’t going to do that. 

What Didn’t Work

Boy, my players had pretty much all the trouble trying to remember to use “they/them” pronouns for NPCs with neutral or alien genders. 

No one is interested in falling damage. Sigh. 

I did not keep good track of money or ship fuel or anything. The campaign didn’t end up relying on it too heavily (I was honestly expecting a much more Cowboy Bebop setup than where we drifted), but that was an area I kind of fell down. 

We never really got obligation working correctly and in the end we just ended up abandoning it. We kept doing the force morality because the lone force player was very into it and it was a huge part of that character’s journey, but for the rest having people show up to collect on obligation was sometimes not possible in the story- or if it was possible it was pretty cumbersome. Campaign did obligation by arc, and I think that’s a pretty useful way to do it- roll at the end of the arc for what’s coming next. 

Early on, I made way too many assumptions about what was an adventure hook for my players and what was an annoyance. Honestly, bits of this lasted pretty late. At one point I gave my players a spy for the larger rebellion they could totally talk to- he was even working with their resident bothan spy- but they looked at the senatorial assassination he was doing and literally said at the table “I think it’s best if we just walk away from all this.” And so they did. Which was frustrating, but, you know, it is what it is. They also never much cared about the hutt gang war. 

I let a lot of things drop that I would have liked to bring back before the end, but in all honesty, I think we were all running a bit out of steam. I would have liked to put in Brick’s old mentor, or follow up with the imperial governor that was a falleen in a human skin suit, or see more of the bounty hunter’s guild, or have a nice end thing with our bothan spy, or any of that. But I do think it was time to end it. And we followed the threads people liked. 

I had way too many NPCS.

What sort of worked

I had like 200 npcs and they were not all bangers. In particular, I let the party design their own ship, which I wish had played a bigger role (though it did really set the tone), and I let them design 2 npc crew who would fill in any party roles they didn’t want to play and guard the ship so they could go on adventures without worrying about it. The devaronian scoundrel was with the party to the end though I never really got him to be more than a joke, but the bothan spy kind of fell off, and while she made some appearances, she didn’t really have as big an impact as I would have hoped. She kind of got replaced by Nyla’s padawan, a hench mon calamari called Nezrene, who was a better fit with the party. But, you know, players will do what they like.

Factions. In the first bit of the campaign, my factions were a fucking life saver, because I could design scenarios with a sort of “what is each faction doing/ which faction hurts from this, which benefits?” By the second season we’d kind of abandoned them to go to the core, and by the third my group was solidly rebel, so the hutts and bounty hunters fell a lot by the wayside. I still think having a couple of broad poles of power, and having the players know them and their leaders, is a good call. But they do seem to kind of organically pare down on their own, and it’s easy to get caught up too much in them. Useful sorta?

There was definitely a point where my players just were not challenged by conventional challenges. We ended up doing most of the later fights that involved a lot of minions in montage. I’d have them roll their fight skills unopposed, just to see if they got any interesting advantage/triumph set ups. I still had boss fights that were mostly challenging, but there just was no point in throwing storm troopers or low level gangsters at them. Not when they have soak 8 and autofire, and that one talent that lets you kill every minion in a combat. Designings fight got a bit tricky, and in those big high level combats, despairs and triumphs come up a lot more and really sway the fight, which I like, but also it’s very hard to plan for. 

Mass combat was tricky. I did a lot of it toward the end because my players were generals in a rebellion. I always had them do the rolls and some of the narration, but that wasn’t always enough to make them feel like things weren’t very arbitrary. 

I personally love the rule that if you roll a despair shooting into an engaged combat you shoot your friend. Nyla, who got shot twice this way, does not. 

We started the game with a tech character who dropped out. Toward the end, we picked up another tech character whose player couldn’t do their regular stuff because of covid lock down. Neither of these characters could fight at all, and both were very differently oriented than the rest of the party, and that was tricky to manage. Additionally, the dude coming in at the end had like a year and a half of in jokes he did not get and there were 200 goddamn npcs. I tried to give him the lowdown on what he might have heard about the party, but it was a combination of too much information and not that much player interest. He did get to break a star destroyer though, and I think he liked that. 

I offered players XP to write backstory stuff, and later goodbye notes others could find if they kicked it. Not all of them did. In the end it made a negligible difference, and I still think offering the bounties on this is basically a good idea. 

What I would do different next time.

Three ring binder that opens and closes so I could move fucking NPC stats around. I filled two goddamn school notebooks with notes for this campaign and there were so many goddamn times I was like “I KNOW I wrote this down, but where?!”

Players felt a bit aimless when they didn’t have a specific villain. I’d planted a few in, but they took finding, or they were too easy to avoid. Next time I would have a few more people who were actively on my player’s tails. 

I would keep better campaign notes and/or ask one of the players to do so. I used to do recaps for the games when I played Rek. There’s stuff I KNOW I’ve forgotten, and more I’ll forget as time goes on, which is a shame. It’s a weird, ephemeral medium, but possibly I’m just spoiled by living in an age of easy reproduction and enormous storage where data is concerned. 

Better book keeping in general, really. 

When I did a mystery short, I wrote up a list of all the clues people could find but not where specifically they were, so that I could just jam them anywhere they seemed like they’d make sense whenever a roll called for a player to find something. I think I’d try to do that with player’s personal stories so they could be woven in a little better. I did a lot of flying by the seat of my pants. 

All in all, I’m pretty happy with how it went, and I’m ready to get back to playing for a bit. I loved DMing, and I more or less DMed the game I would have liked to play, but man, doing this all the time, or being the only person who does it? After a while, that’d be a lot, and I’m looking forward to the break. 

[victoriarenteria]

Space and Depth

Alt text: Movie poster of Miguel and Hector playing the guitar with Dante standing beside them on the bridge to the land of the dead. Miguel’s family members and Ernesto stand further behind them  image found here

Here is a movie poster for the Pixar film, Coco. This poster is a great representation of space and depth because there is a place of focus and the background reaches far beyond in distance. The environmental art of this picture has atmospheric perspective, meaning that the eye can see that the color saturation and value contrast becomes darker and less pronounced as the image goes further away from the focus of the image. As in real life, the further something is in the distance, the blue the object will appear. The buildings in the background lose detail, and become a lighter tint to show that they are at a greater distance. A foreground, a middleground, and a background are all important to showing depth in an image. The foreground is usually the focus point of the image, depending on what the creator wants the viewer to see. The foreground in this image is where Miguel, Hector, and Dante are standing, it is the point closest to the viewer. The middleground is where Miguel’s relatives are standing. Their size relationship is much smaller to the characters in the foreground because they are further away. They also show a vertical position because are higher up in the picture, which is one of the methods to show distance. As one follows the winding path, the bridge of cempasuchils, they are lead to the background of the image and the point of perspective. Linear perspective is used in many types of artworks because it is effective in achieving depth by determining the size relationship, positions, and  shapes all together. 

Space/Depth Glossary

Space is an area, expanse, territory, distance or range. Variable spaces expand or contract as our stories unfold. A closeup has a short range. A wide shot covers a lot of territory.

Atmospheric Perspective - Value contrast and color saturation decrease with distance. Brightness increases as objects fade further into the background. In addition, objects such as mountains may appear more blue. 

Diagonal shapes pull the eye in a direction to create the illusion of depth. If the diagonal is going back like a railroad track or fence-line the eye will follow it into the perceived distance. 

Elliptical Perspective - An ellipse is an oval shape. Elliptical perspective provides visual clues to the location of curved surfaces in space. Look straight down on a glass of water. The rim of the glass is a circle. Move the glass to the side, the rim now appears as an ellipse. Line up the rim at your exact eye level, the ellipse now appears as a straight line. 

Foreground, Middleground, & Background - The 3 treatments of objects in space support design to achieve depth. This template for placing and sizing objects in the picture plane shows variations on the foreground, middleground, background configurations. 

Foreshortening is when an object's dimensions appear shorter when angled toward the viewer. At the same time the part coming toward the viewer is enlarged. 

Linear Perspective is a system used by artists in which the relative size, shape, and position of objects are determined by drawn or imagined lines converging at a point on the horizon. 1-point (Figure 1), 2-point, and 3-point linear perspective are illustrated in “How to Draw Exterior Backgrounds”.

Overlapping is when part of one object is obscured by another object. The obscuring object appears to be in front.

S-Curve or Winding Path - In an image of a landscape, S-curve or winding path will draw the eye of the viewer into a perceived distance.

Size relationships - Objects appear smaller as their distance from the observer increases.

Transparency or opacity is when we feel like we can see objects through a glassy, gauzy, smoky, or dusty layer. The transparent/opacity adjustment affects the saturation and color of objects to give a feel of depth.

Vertical position places objects higher up in the composition to appear further away.

Volume is the amount, expanse, extent, magnitude, size, aggregate, bulk, dimensions, or mass of an object. The volume variable indicates the amount of territory needed for each object in a scene.

[singledarkshade]

Dream Show

So, I decided to do the Dream Show and @theadrogna provided me with my cast from the 7 shows I gave her.

My cast is:

Buffy/Angel – Alexis Denisof

Leverage – Aldis Hodge

Firefly – Alan Tudyk

Star Trek TNG – Marina Sirtis

Agents Of Shield – Chloe Bennet

Castle – Molly C Quinn

iZombie – Rahul Kohli

 Apologies now as this was thrown together but here we go.

 FUTURE HORIZONS

Synopsis – Six people wake up to find themselves in a Future Horizons self-contained habitat. As they try to work out what happened they discover they are on the remote planet the company have been using as a testing ground for colonisation as outside is a desolate wasteland with a non-breathable atmosphere, or are they? They must learn to trust one another in order to survive the prototype structure they’re in and maybe find a way to escape.

 Regular Cast

Aldis Hodge as Matt Kane

A police detective, his twin brother worked for Future Horizons and was killed in a lab accident. Finding several inconsistencies in the accident report, he took a job as a transport pilot while he investigated Adams death on his own. Matt continues to investigate his brother’s death along with why they’ve all been imprisoned here instead of killed while he tries to get the one shuttle they have in working order.

 Molly C Quinn as Debbie Carter – a lawyer she spent one day in a law office and hated it. Unable to tell her father this she takes the position at Future Horizons in the hope she can find another job within the company that she does want to do.

After overhearing a conversation that she shouldn’t, Debbie realises she’s in danger. In the habitat she shows a talent for getting people to focus on their work and becomes the defacto leader for the team whenever they leave the habitat to explore their surroundings.

 Rahul Kohli as Arun Goldman-Patel

A programmer for Future Horizons, his father, Ajay Patel, was one of the founding members of the company. Ajay died three weeks after marrying Maria who raised Arun as her own.

Maria is still part of the board and they have a very close relationship. While doing some system checks he stumbles across information that suggests his father was murdered by the current CEO. Smart and quick-witted he does his best to keep everyone in good spirits. He was part of the team who designed the habitat so becomes the engineer and systems expert.

 Chloe Bennett as Doctor Annie Granger – a researcher she becomes the groups doctor. Quiet and shy, she has never liked people much which was why she went into research. Terrified she’ll never see her family again, she throws herself into researching the world around them. She also cares for the tiny hydroponics area they have which becomes her sanctuary. She was the last person to see Adam Kane and finds herself helping Matt in his investigations.

Alan Tudyk as Patrick Jones

A janitor within Future Horizons main building as it was the only job he could get with his criminal record for breaking and entering. Except his record is a lie. He is an undercover FBI agent investigating possible corruption in Future Horizons. He does all he can to maintain his undercover persona, even during the imprisonment. Patrick feels there is more to their incarceration than simply getting them out the way.

 Alexis Denisof as Doctor Michael Comber

Observing the group from his lab within Future Horizons, at first he believes this is an experiment that they’ve all signed up for which includes removing their memory of how they got into the habitat. A family man with a wife, two daughters and a son. He becomes uneasy as time goes on that he has been lied to, finding he has to choose between the people he’s looking over and his loved ones. But he still on occasion manages to help in small ways.

 And Starring

Marina Sirtis as Maria Goldman-Patel

A member of the board of Future Horizons, she raised Arun since he was ten and loves him like he’s her own. Originally an actress, she took over her deceased husband’s position within Future Horizon and studied for a psychology degree when Arun went to High School. When Arun comes to her with a suspicion that his father was murdered by the current CEO, she starts to investigate. In the Habitat Maria instantly takes charge, although the fact she was once part of the board at first causes distrust at first, she manages to get them to work together.

 A selection of episodes from the first season:

 Pilot – Waking up in a mostly powered down habitat dome, six mostly strangers try to work out how they got there. While they try to establish how they got into the habitat, the environmental systems break. With less than two hours to fix them, how they got there may become a moot point.

 Trapped – Trying to get their only shuttle working an explosion traps Matt and Arun in a pod with a dwindling air supply. As the others try to rescue them, Matt finds that Arun was good friends with Adam and learns more about his brother.

 The Sweet Smell – Investigating the plant life in their hydroponics area, Annie finds a strange flower which releases spores into the air filtration system. As everyone who inhales the spores fall into a deep sleep only Matt and Debbie are left awake as they were outside the habitat. With no idea what to do they find clues every so often to help them wake everyone.

 Remembrance – Having worked out that the date is, Arun and Maria have a version of their yearly memorial for Ajay. Flashbacks show how Maria met Ajay Patel through their friendship, courtship and marriage to the first days of becoming a single parent to Arun.

 Pulling Back The Curtain – Suspicious of Patrick who despite telling them he’s a janitor has knowledge he shouldn’t, Matt tricks Annie into giving him something that should make Patrick tell them the truth.

 Between A Rock – An episode based around Michael shows his family life as he becomes more and more suspicious of his job. When an FBI agent contacts him for help, he finds he’s being followed by someone he knows works security for Future Horizons. Given information to send to the team that could help them, Michael must choose between his conscience and those he loves.

 Escape – In the final episode of the first season, Matt and Arun finally manage to get the shuttle fixed and take it out for a test flight. As they move past the area that they’ve explored on foot they’re stunned to find other habitats which look as though they are inhabited. Back in the habitat, systems are suddenly shutting down for no reason with Patrick and Annie fighting to keep everything online. As Matt and Arun are returning to help, they’re fired upon and crash. As the environmental controls are shutting down, Maria, Annie, Debbie and Patrick lock themselves in the only room that is still powered. In the shuttle Matt is unconscious while Arun is barely conscious as two figures appear. Looking up at their rescuers Arun is stunned as standing above him is Adam Kane and his father Ajay Patel.