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unsteadyshade · 4 years ago

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day 2: sports AU

a/n: it’s late, it’s ridiculous, but it’s here. expect shenanigans.

Blake stared at the test that was just returned to her, the failing grade seeming to mock her. She'd bombed assignments before, but to fail in history, her best subject, was new. She only had herself to blame, considering she had studied the wrong material and had no clue what anything on the test was referring to.

Sighing, she shoved the test in her backpack and slowly made her way across the lecture hall to the stout professor. He was one of the oldest that taught at Beacon University yet also one of the most easygoing, which Blake hoped would mean that asking for a retake would be a simple request. Surprisingly, it was not.

"Professor Port, you know I always pass your exams and complete my assignments. I'm just asking for one chance to retake this test."

For his part, the professor did hear her out before firmly shaking his head, unwilling to budge on his decision. "You know what the syllabus says. No retakes for anyone, not even one of my top students."

"But-"

"I'm sure you'll do better next time! It's just one low grade."

Despite knowing that her professor had a point, Blake couldn't help but feel frustrated with herself. She just knew that she would've passed if she had studied the correct material. Blake nodded and was about to leave when he spoke up again.

"But that syllabus is old. Maybe it's time I update it…" He mused, stroking his mustache. Blake couldn't help but feel a little surge of hope at that. But then he continued. "It would have to be done with certain conditions in mind, however."

"Conditions?" Blake briefly wondered if this was even allowed but didn't want to press her luck. Then again, knowing how eccentric the dean was, it might be overlooked.

Chuckling, Professor Port shook his head. "One condition really. You see, you're not the only one who flunked that test. I would usually just let you three go, but they also asked for a retake, and I offered this condition to them, so it would be unfair to not give you a chance too."

There was amusement present in his voice, and Blake didn't know how to take that before nodding hesitantly. How bad could this condition be?

In the week since her conversation with Professor Port, the days seemed to pass by normally for Blake, so much so that she had forgotten about their chat until he requested that she stay after class. She didn’t think anything of it, having already taken the previous test over again earlier in the day. What did catch her off guard was how ridiculous his condition actually was, and she expressed as much to her childhood friend and roommate.

Velvet, who was usually busy with her photography assignments, had found time to talk to Blake while waiting for her photos to develop. The older woman was seated on her bed and was now staring at Blake in disbelief before it shifted to a thoughtful look. She was familiar with Professor Port, having taken him already. Blake hoped to hear how ridiculous his condition was, but Velvet just shrugged.

"It could be worse."

"Really?" Blake asked skeptically.

"It's not like he's asking you to join the team. You just have to attend one practice."

"Still-"

"I also heard that he's good friends with the coach, so he'll know if you and your two classmates who made the questionable decision to accept his deal attended."

Sighing, Blake leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes and lamenting her lot in life. The professor had given her a specific practice session he wanted them all to attend, which just happened to coincide with a book signing she was looking forward to. A cancelled book signing, Blake reminded herself sullenly. At this point, all she was hoping for was that the team and her classmates were tolerable.

A flash brought her attention back to her roommate, Velvet smiling as she usually did after getting a good picture, and Blake groaned. She wrapped her blanket around herself, burrowing in and refusing to face the world. Velvet’s voice was soft when she spoke again.

“If the coach lets me stay, maybe I can come and watch?”

Blake stuck her head out and looked at her roommate, hope shining in her eyes, making Velvet roll her eyes fondly as she raised one of the many cameras scattered around her on the bed. “I also might be able to get pictures for the school paper-“

“No-“

“-Since we both need to find a story anyway. Think you’ll make front page news?”

Velvet smiled at Blake’s glare, one that turned softer as she considered her friend. “Maybe this can be a good thing. You never know when you’ll meet new friends... or more.”

Blake knew that Velvet wanted what was best for her, but she desperately wanted to talk about anything but her empty love life now. Instead, she smirked and decided to focus on something much more fun. “Maybe I can even have a relationship story that rivals yours.”

“Blake!”

“But meeting during a volleyball practice is definitely less interesting than having a girlfriend offer to pose naked-“ Blake ducked to avoid the pillow sailing towards her, laughing loudly.

By now, Velvet had her face buried in her hands, attempting to hide her growing blush. “I really wish Coco would stop sharing that story with everyone…”

“Well no one said you had to accept her offer…”

“She was...very convincing…” Velvet managed to say, only continuing this conversation after hearing how Blake was in a much better mood now.

Amused now, Blake just shook her head. The last thing she’d do is fall for a rich or flirty woman like her friend.

What she didn't expect to find when she attended the practice session was a rich woman and a flirty woman. Of course, those weren't her first thoughts, but she'd never say that out loud. Blake was simultaneously relieved and embarrassed when Velvet had to nudge her to get her to stop subtly staring at her classmates who were now stretching.

Unfortunately for Blake, her staring was noticed if the raised white eyebrow and wink from the blonde was any indication. Then they both proceeded to stretch deliberately slowly and in ways that showed off their toned-

Abruptly turning around, Blake quickly walked away to hide her blush, though she wasn't sure if she succeeded after hearing a loud laugh from behind her. It managed to sound friendly, as if inviting her to laugh along, and Blake couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

A familiar snap brought her attention to Velvet, who was smiling, though there was mischief in her eyes. She hummed in approval at her picture before placing a hand on Blake's shoulder and speaking solemnly. "Bless your bisexual heart."

Blake sighed and glared at the ground. Out of all of her classmates who could've been roped into this, it had to have been the two who managed to pique her interest. She couldn't help but wonder how they both failed a test before shaking those thoughts away.

Blake's priority was just to get through this practice session. Then she'd be free and wouldn't ever have to talk to them...though that didn't mean she couldn't have a bit of fun while she was here. Her sudden smirk prompted a sigh from Velvet. "Do I even want to know what you've got planned?"

"Probably not. Just make sure you get some good pictures," Blake said before slipping away to change.

Velvet sighed and just raised her camera in acknowledgement. If nothing else, she hoped that this would be a good opportunity for photos. She greeted the coach, who reminded her of the blonde in personality and looks and settled on the bleachers to watch the chaos unfold.

If Velvet had known how utterly entertaining just one practice session with three girls in denial would play out, she would've invited her girlfriend. Coco would've made it all the better with her running commentary, but alas she'd settle for pictures and timestamps for now. If those three didn't do something after all the tension displayed between them, Velvet resolved to make a slideshow with all the evidence and invite them over to their dorm, sit them all down, and explain in detail how there was something there. It would be up to them to define what that was.

While waiting for Blake to finish changing, Velvet decided to look through the pictures. There were quite a few, but she wasn't sure how many she could actually use. Velvet had waited until Blake had stepped out of the locker room before she had readied her camera, and the matching not so subtle stares she was given made for a great but unusable picture. The last thing the university paper needed was a front page spread of what girls looked like when trying to subtly look over each other in ways that implied more than friendship.

When the next picture popped up, Velvet smirked. How could she not when all three girls were staring and trying to hide they were doing so with varying levels of success? She couldn't blame them though; it was obvious why Pyrrha was in charge of the team.

As she continued to flip through the pictures, Velvet found that there were a number of action shots she could use, but she found that her favorites were the candid shots. There were small moments of care between them interspersed between intense shots of them bantering, though Velvet liked to think that they were flirting in their own way, considering the verbal barbs poked and prodded but never crossed a line. Their teasing smiles reassured Velvet.

She looked up when she sensed someone standing in front of her, and she was quietly curious after seeing Blake's nervous yet excited expression. Blake was eyeing one of the candid shots, a small tentative smile on her face, and Velvet quickly wrapped her friend in a hug when she told her about the date she had in a few days. Velvet didn't know if they would join the volleyball team, but she was hopeful for their date and what would come afterwards.

a/n: this went through so many different versions to get to this point. it ends here, because i got inspired for other prompts while this was in progress, but i had to finish. the other prompts will definitely be late too, but they’re coming. the next one features a child. also on ff and ao3.

#bees schnees week #bees schnees #bee’s schnees #better late than never #slowly but steadily #been too busy enjoying all the new content and got distracted

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samanthasroberts · 6 years ago

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Fatal encounters: 97 deaths point to pattern of border agent violence across America

In the last 15 years, agents with Customs and Border Protection have used deadly force in states up to 160 miles from the border, from Maine to California

For six long years the family of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez have been caught in a legal saga seeking justice for the 16-year-old who was killed by a US border patrol agent who fired 16 times from Arizona into Mexico.

Ending criminal proceedings that have dragged on since 2012, a jury last week cleared agent Lonnie Swartz of second-degree murder and could not agree on a verdict for two lesser charges of manslaughter. The shooting has compelled judges up to the US supreme court to deliberate whether the American government can be sued in civil court for wrongful deaths on Mexican soil – placing the incident, and eight other cross-border fatal shootings, at the center of scrutiny surrounding the use of force by agents in response to allegedly thrown rocks.

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However, lesser known are similar shootings which have occurred inside the US. Such as that of Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, who was shot and killed “execution-style”, in the language of a wrongful death complaint the government paid $850,000 to settle. An Arizona agent responding to an alert from the National Guard in 2007 alleged Rivera threatened him with a rock.

Ten years later, the Department of Justice settled another wrongful death claim involving a rock-throwing allegation in California for $500,000.

The shootings are only part of a larger litany of Customs and Border Protection agency-related violence inside the US. Encounters have proven deadly for at least 97 people – citizens and non-citizens – since 2003, a count drawn from settlement payment data, court records, use of force logs, incident reports and news articles.

From Maine to Washington state and California to Florida, the deaths stem from all manner of CBP activity. Border agents manning land crossings and a checkpoint have used deadly force, as have agents conducting roving patrols – up to 160 miles inland from the border.

Quick guide

The US border patrol force

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How big is the force?

Already the largest and most funded federal law enforcement agency in its own right, the border patrol is part of the umbrella agency US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). CBP’s approximately 60,000 employees are split in four major divisions: officers who inspect imports; an air and marine division; agents who staff ports of entry – international airports, seaports and land crossings; and the approximately 20,000 agents of the border patrol, who are concentrated in the south-west, but stationed nationwide.

What are its powers?

The border patrol enjoys extraordinary police powers. Agents operate checkpoints where they stop motorists everyday without suspicion, and in the interior of the country up to 100 miles, they can board planes, trains and buses. There is no geographic limit to which agents can otherwise conduct stops amid roving patrols, though they are technically required to have reasonable suspicion to do so. Extending from not only land borders but also the Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf and Great Lakes coasts, the 100-mile zone encompasses two out of every three Americans, 12 states in their whole or near entirety and nine of the 10 biggest cities in the nation.

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Pedestrians were run over by agents. Car chases culminated in crashes. Some have drowned, others died after they were pepper-sprayed, stunned with tasers or beaten.

But the majority of victims died from bullet wounds, including shots in the back. The bullets were fired not only by agents conducting border enforcement operations, but also those acting in a local law enforcement capacity and by agents off-duty, who’ve shot burglary suspects, intimate partners and friends.

Among the incidents, one agent also died following an exchange of gunfire with a family member who was found dead. Another agent was killed by friendly fire. Border agents sustained non-deadly shots in two incidents.

Deaths by state

The picture compiled from official documents and news reports is incomplete, but indicates that at least 28 people who died were US citizens. Six children, between the ages of 12 and 16, were among the victims whose ages were disclosed.

The federal government has paid more than $9m to settle a fraction of the incidents thus far. A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson did not comment on those cases but pointed to the agency’s National Use of Force Review Board, which has investigated 30 significant incidents since June 2015. Each of its 17 reports made public have found the use of force to be compliant with agency policy in effect at the time. Local boards also review incidents, but only those that do not result in serious injury or death.

Here, the Guardian looks at eight fatal encounters with CBP agents that happened inside the United States and the larger patterns of incidents to which they relate.

Agents getting in harm’s way

Valeria Tachiquin Alvarado Composite: Southern Border Communities Coalition

A US citizen and mother of five, 32-year-old Valeria Munique Tachiquin Alvarado was shot and killed by Justin Tackett, a border patrol agent and former police officer, in a suburb of San Diego, California in the fall of 2012. At the time of press, a wrongful death suit filed by Alvarado’s family was nearing judgement after four years of litigation. According to court records Alvarado attempted to drive away from an apartment where Tackett and six other plainclothes agents had begun questioning her and others without a warrant.

After Tackett climbed on and then off the hood of Alvarado’s car, her family’s suit alleges, she attempted to reverse away from the agent, who fired at Alvarado 10 times, hitting her nine.

“A part of me was taken away and there hasn’t been justice,” Alvarado’s mother Annabell Gomez told Guardian. “Everyday I wish it was a dream, but I wake up and she’s not here. Life is not the same without her smile,” said Gomez. “She loved her kids and life.”

As a sheriff’s deputy in neighboring Imperial county in the years prior, Tackett was suspended four times following a string of incidents that took place in the span of 19 months, involving unlawful searches, illegal detentions and reckless behavior, before he resigned upon receiving a termination notice, court documents detail.

A review of 15 CBP shootings, each targeting the drivers of moving vehicles over the course of two years, was conducted the year after Alvarado’s death by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). A nonprofit overseen by a board of police chiefs, that was commissioned by CBP to study its use of force policy, PERF found that in many cases, border agents “intentionally put themselves in the exit path of the vehicle”, thereby “creating justification for the use of deadly force”, with some shots “taken out of frustration”.

Unreasonable force

Settled by the Department of Justice under attorney general Jeff Sessions for $500,000 in 2017, the shooting of 41-year-old unarmed father of two Julian Ramirez Galindo took place near the California border in February 2014. Agent Daniel Bassinger alleged that Galindo, who was a street musician in Tijuana, hurled a basketball-sized rock at him from above. But according to the family’s lawyer Scott Hughes, the medical examiner’s report is at odds with the agent’s version of events, detailing a man of slight stature who died from two downward trajectory bullet wounds.

PERF’s review of CBP’s use of force policy the year prior recommended a revision prohibiting deadly force against “subjects throwing objects not capable of causing serious physical injury or death”, citing that in some cases, “agents put themselves in harm’s way” instead of moving out of range. “Too many cases do not appear to meet the test of objective reasonableness,” the report notes, recommending corrective action be taken if agents use deadly force when alternative responses are possible.

Bassinger was back at work within six days, NBC San Diego reported. One month later, then CBP chief Michael Fisher enacted PERF’s recommendations. But the lawyer Hughes, a former military police officer, thinks the problem runs far deeper.

“We can no longer tolerate shooting unarmed people in the United States,” he told The Guardian. “These officers are woefully under-trained,” he said. “They find themselves in situations they don’t know how to react in and they resort to shooting their way out. When in fact, they really don’t need to.”

Shootings found to be justified

Jose Luis Arambula Composite: Jose Luis Arambula/Eduardo Silva

In May 2014, unarmed 31-year-old Jose Luis Arambula died in a pecan grove in his native Arizona, shot behind his left ear. After bailing from a car later found to be filled with marijuana, Arambula ran from agents before one fired at him multiple times from a distance of 60-70ft, according to the local Pima county sheriff’s office, which investigated the shooting. That office, citing the agents’ account that Arambula made a “punching out” motion towards them, found deadly force to be justified. But in the view of lawyer Jesus Romo Vejar, who filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of Arambula’s mother, the scenario was quite different. “It was a bad shooting,” he said.

The case is among a set of shootings that have been dismissed on technicalities or in favor of the defendant agents, including suits filed by the family of unarmed 18-year-old citizen Juan Mendez, who was shot in the back from a distance while running from an agent in Texas in 2010; unarmed 20-year-old Gerardo Lozano Rico, who was also shot in Texas in a fleeing car in 2011; unarmed 19-year-old citizen Carlos Lamadrid, who was shot in the back while climbing a ladder at the border fence in Arizona in 2011.

In many cases, “the facts are favorable”, said the lawyer Vejar. “But the judges are not favorably deposed.”

Northern states

In one of at least eight fatal encounters in northern border states, 30-year-old Alex Martinez, a US citizen from Washington state who had a mental illness, was shot 13 times after his Spanish-speaking father called 911 in 2011, according to a complaint sent to the attorney general and secretary of homeland security in 2013. Describing the border patrol’s arrival alongside local law enforcement officers, Martinez’s father told local community organizers: “The first thing they asked was, ‘Is he from here or is he from Mexico?’” Local law enforcement alleged that Martinez hit a sheriff’s deputy with a hammer, reported a Washington newspaper. But his family disputed that account, saying that Martinez held a flashlight and tripped. “We saw it with our own eyes and without there being any need for it,” said his father. “They did something unjust. Something that should not be taken lightly,” he said. “And border patrol did it all.” The local sheriff’s office found the shooting to be justified.

An agent stationed in Michigan shot and killed a person at a card game while off duty. In Minnesota, a pedestrian died after a fatal accident involving a car driven by a border agent.

On-duty border agents serving as back-up to local law enforcement have shot and killed two people in separate incidents in Maine, both involving armed men of whom one fired at agents, according to the state’s attorney general which found the shootings to be justified.

In Montana, agents on patrol shot Jeff Suddeth, a US citizen who they said had a stun gun. At the inquest which cleared agents of wrongdoing, Suddeth’s mother, who described her son as bipolar, told local media: “He lived 36 years, and in 15 minutes they took his life. I guess that’s the law.”

Mural Photograph: c/o Border Patrol Victims Network

Unrelated to border enforcement

Steven Edward Martin Composite: Steven Edward Martin/Bobbi Felix

In an incident unrelated to immigration enforcement, 21-year-old US citizen Steven Martin was shot and killed in Yuma, Arizona in 2008. An agent was driving by the gas station, where Martin was parked, when a friend, who was black, allegedly ran out of the store holding two cases of beer. The agent fired on Martin’s car, according to a wrongful death suit filed by his mother. The suit also alleged that the agent did not subsequently request medical help for Martin, who was bleeding on the scene and died four hours later, on Christmas Eve. The case settled for $350,000 in 2013.

With the exception of “regulations prescribed by the attorney general”, border agents with reasonable grounds have the authority to make non-immigration arrests, “for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States”, under the Immigration and Nationality Act. No such regulations can be readily identified however, and the Department of Justice did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Every year over Memorial Day weekend, Martin’s family gathers to celebrate his memory. “My son was an amazing person who had a heart of gold,” his mother said. “He would give his last dollar to help someone out. He was a hard worker, spent his money on his cousins and sister and brother. He loved being around his nephew and would have loved to meet his nieces. There are still times I don’t know how I can go on without him.”

‘Non-lethal’ force

Picked up by agents more than 70 miles from the border, in Orange county, California, Tomas Orzuna was denied medical care after agents beat, pepper-sprayed and then handcuffed him in a suffocating, face-down position, according to a lawsuit brought by Orzuna’s parents, which does not specify his age.

Force considered non-lethal has proven otherwise in a variety of circumstances. A man was pepper-sprayed at the Rio Grande river and then drowned. A man was hit with a stun gun inside a rental car and it immediately exploded. Four men were Tasered or beaten in separate incidents and then died. Agents fired explosives at a boat filled with migrants and one woman drowned.

Deaths have also occurred through alleged neglect or malice. A mother and her 16-year-old daughter drowned after agents ordered them to swim back across the Rio Grande river. Another 16-year-old was compelled to drink liquid meth by agents, after telling them it was juice, and died. An on-site paramedic at a border patrol station assessed that a man in custody was faking a seizure, a report by the San Diego medical examiner’s office detailed, but he had ingested a packet of drugs and died after being left alone in his cell.

Among cases which have settled, payments vary widely. Orzuna’s parents received $15,000 in 2012. The family of Anastacio Hernandez-Rojas received a $1m settlement in 2017. Beaten and Tasered five times, at a land crossing in California, Hernandez-Rojas’ cries for help were captured on video.

High-speed crashes

Israel Caballero Composite: Israel Caballero/Bound Boxing Academy

In August 2017, 18-year-old Israel Caballero, a US citizen, was among three people killed in a crash following a high-speed border patrol pursuit outside of San Diego, California. Initially stating that a license plate check linked the car to a homicide, the border patrol has since said no one in the vehicle was wanted of any crimes. The father of a one-year-old, Caballero worked as a landscaper, following a stint of competitive boxing throughout his youth. “What happened to him was totally devastating,” coach Juan Medina said of the former champion. “Israel was a very respectful young man.”

The incident is the latest among a string of fatal crashes that raise questions about CBP’s stated vehicle pursuit policy, which dictates that agents can commence and continue emergency driving only as long as the benefits outweigh the immediate danger posed.

In an Arizona crash resulting in a $350,000 wrongful death settlement, a car flipped when agents in pursuit threw a tire deflation device in the road, killing a 40-year-old mother of three. In a Texas crash, an eyewitness testified in court that a CBP vehicle bumped into the van they were pursuing. The crash left bodies and personal belongings strewn across a highway, resulting in nine fatalities. “When it comes to human smuggling it becomes tough,” a Texas police chief told the AP regarding pursuits. “You do look at it in a way that these people were just trying to come here to have a better life,” he said.

Off-duty shootings

Shot by an off-duty CBP agent using his service weapon, 15-year-old Darius Smith died near a train station in a suburb of Los Angeles in May 2015. The Los Angeles county sheriff’s office said it would not release video of the incident, but that the video backed up the agent’s account that Smith and two other teens attempted to rob him. Conflicting details swirl around a bb gun investigators say they found “close by” Smith’s body – but was not spotted by a man who held the teen’s hand until paramedics arrived, the Los Angeles Times reported. A football player at his high school, Smith dreamed of making it to the NFL his mother told local media. “He always had a smile on his face,” said a friend who now plays college football, dedicating his games in Smith’s honor.

The incident is among ten off-duty shootings by CBP agents since 2005 identified by the Guardian.

Since early 2018, a Texas border patrol supervisor was charged with murdering his romantic partner and her one-year-old son. A CBP officer in Miami shot and killed a man who entered her home, suspected of burglary, and a Texas agent shot a man described as a childhood friend.

Previous years have seen the federal government pay a $750,000 settlement to the family of Bassim Chmait, a 20-year-old Arab American; and an agent was incarcerated after shooting 27-year-old Adam Thomas, a father of two. Both men were the neighbors of agents, while a number of other off-duty fatal shootings have involved intimate partner violence and domestic disputes.

The Guardian’s list of fatal encounters with CBP agents can be accessed here. This story is published in collaboration with the CJ Project. Reporter Sarah Macaraeg can be contacted at [email protected].

Source: http://allofbeer.com/fatal-encounters-97-deaths-point-to-pattern-of-border-agent-violence-across-america/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/fatal-encounters-97-deaths-point-to-pattern-of-border-agent-violence-across-america/

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allofbeercom · 6 years ago

Text

Fatal encounters: 97 deaths point to pattern of border agent violence across America

In the last 15 years, agents with Customs and Border Protection have used deadly force in states up to 160 miles from the border, from Maine to California

Embed

Ten years later, the Department of Justice settled another wrongful death claim involving a rock-throwing allegation in California for $500,000.

Quick guide

The US border patrol force

Show Hide

How big is the force?

What are its powers?

Was this helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Pedestrians were run over by agents. Car chases culminated in crashes. Some have drowned, others died after they were pepper-sprayed, stunned with tasers or beaten.

Deaths by state

Here, the Guardian looks at eight fatal encounters with CBP agents that happened inside the United States and the larger patterns of incidents to which they relate.

Agents getting in harm’s way

Valeria Tachiquin Alvarado Composite: Southern Border Communities Coalition

After Tackett climbed on and then off the hood of Alvarado’s car, her family’s suit alleges, she attempted to reverse away from the agent, who fired at Alvarado 10 times, hitting her nine.

Unreasonable force

Shootings found to be justified

Jose Luis Arambula Composite: Jose Luis Arambula/Eduardo Silva

In many cases, “the facts are favorable”, said the lawyer Vejar. “But the judges are not favorably deposed.”

Northern states

An agent stationed in Michigan shot and killed a person at a card game while off duty. In Minnesota, a pedestrian died after a fatal accident involving a car driven by a border agent.

Mural Photograph: c/o Border Patrol Victims Network

Unrelated to border enforcement

Steven Edward Martin Composite: Steven Edward Martin/Bobbi Felix

‘Non-lethal’ force

High-speed crashes

Israel Caballero Composite: Israel Caballero/Bound Boxing Academy

Off-duty shootings

The incident is among ten off-duty shootings by CBP agents since 2005 identified by the Guardian.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/fatal-encounters-97-deaths-point-to-pattern-of-border-agent-violence-across-america/

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nazih-fares · 6 years ago

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When it comes to Ubisoft, I have a sort of admiration for a key franchise of theirs: Assassin’s Creed. After seeing the game evolve from a simple adventure game to dabbling around with multiple new game mechanics and settings, last year’s Assassin’s Creed Origin marked one hell of a change for the series. Ditching the focus on stealth for a broader and modern RPG appeal, Assassin’s Creed Origin set the standard for the franchise in the future, and this year’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey does not intend to revolutionize the formula, but rather evolve it with a focus on the notion of storyline choices and role-playing mechanics.

Before we start this review, here’s a very important note to make, which might or not push away fans of the series. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is like Origins a prequel to the history of the creed itself. While it was thought that last year’s game told the origins of the Creed, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is set 400 years before that, right in the heart of the Peloponnesian war which saw the Athen-led Delian League fight against the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League. For those that played Assassin’s Creed Origins and the rest of the franchise, this might make the whole timeline a bit confusing, considering Bayek (from Assassins’ Creed Origins) was the creator of the Assassin’s Creed with the Hidden Ones, which later on was shaped into the more modern version of it thanks to Altair in the first Assassin’s Creed released 11 years ago. So how can a story set 400 years before Assassin’s Creed Origins actually tell another… Well, an origin story?

Well, without revealing too much of the story, I can tell you Assassin’s Creed fans that all pieces will fall in together into one perfect “Aha moment”. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey offers you for the first time the opportunity to choose to play as either a man, Alexios, or a woman, Kassandra, throughout the entire adventure. While this is not technically a first as Assassins Creed Syndicate also had both a male and female protagonist in Evie and Jacob, the difference here is that Alexios and Kassandra’s stories will play differently, and while there’s a common narrative, there’s a lot of story branches that depend largely on your pick of the character and eventually decisions you make in the game.

Like with Assassin’s Creed Origins, the same modern time character – Layla Hassan – is at the base of the storyline, who wants to learn more about the origin of the Assassins and henceforth their relations to the Isu or the First Civilization, a humanoid species that is believed to be the creators of humanity and the Pieces of Eden. This will then take us to Ancient Greece, where we learn that Alexios and Kassandra are direct descendants of Leonidas (that same one from the movie 300), who became outcast and mercenaries after a tragic event in their early youth. No matter what your choice of character is, you will wield a weapon inherited from the first civilization on top of rest of your Greek mercenary gear and armour.

While Assassin’s Creed Origins was mostly around a mass of land in the Egyptian Nile Delta, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is quite an interesting game map since it’s set in Greece, split into regions stretching from northeastern of Attica to the far reaches of the Aegean Sea, each under the control of a Spartan or Athenian leader. The leaders unlock contracts you can accept since you’re a mercenary, knowing that other will scour the land and have a contract on your head which goes higher based on your decisions in the game. For example, if you assassinate too many guards of another faction or loot in plain sight will turn you into an outlaw, making your missions harder with more higher level enemies, unless you decide to clear the bounty by paying some drachma (Greek currencies). These same bounty hunters as well can be quite challenging to defeat, and the longer your bounty, the higher the loot level is when defeating these mercenaries. In short, a definite upgrade to the Phylakitai mechanics in Assassin’s Creed Origins.

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But the greatest change that a travel back in time to Ancient Greece did is the region’s typography, and its effect on the gameplay mechanics, now bringing a key feature from the Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag days: the naval combat. Although present in a basic way in Assassin’s Creed Origins, naval combat in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is a more complex update from the Black Flag and Rogue chapters. While it brings many known elements like customization on numerous parts of your ship such as stern, sails, and more, as well as combat mechanics like ranged volleys, boarding and ramming, there’s added RPG elements to that part of the game as well. The most drastic change is building your ship’s crew (the Adestria), where you can recruit and assign up to four lieutenants that will enable different combat bonuses and will also help you during the ship boarding. Lieutenants, like it is the case with gear, have a different level of rarities, and while some are easy to obtain by just simply knocking them out during mission then offer them to join your ranks, others have dedicated missions to finish and usually are the rarest. On top of all, this change brings back as well the shift to naval exploration, with a bigger option to find loot in an underwater shipwreck, but also discovering uncharted islands full of mystery, like it was the case with Black Flag.

As mentioned before, the series is moving its focus towards traditional RPG, and this time Assassin’s Creed Odyssey bring systemic choices that can alter narration on the sidelines of scripted quests. Your decisions in conversation will affect missions, very much it did in previous games that tackled on that idea such as the Mass Effect series, even on the front of romance with NPCs. But most decisions are devoid of any sort of right and wrong, but dialogue choices will change Alexios or Kassandra’s character into a more brutal or compassionate one, as well as the way NPCs speak to you on the long run.

But the RPG part is most noticeable in the upgrade to the equipment system, where statistics are more important than ever before when defining the play style of your character. It is not only possible to modify the numerous armour pieces ranging from legs to helmet, but also to add various additional bonuses, known as engraving, which can, for example, add a certain amount of extra damage with melee attacks, boost stealth or buff long-range attacks.

What finally makes your experience unique is in the way your skills sets are applied, whether you want to focus on stealth, melee combat or long-range fighter. Because the skill tree is different in comparison to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, with no branches intertwined between each of the three trees (Hunter, Warrior, Assassin), your ability points will mould either Alexios or Kassandra into the deadly mercenary you want it to be. Your character’s level up also affects your stats, and now it’s much more useful to shop at merchants to upgrade your gear – either by crafting or direct purchase – than it was the case with Assassin’s Creed Origins, where the progression was more toward finding loot. Finally, the game on top of baseline abilities that are known like whistling or using eagle eye with Ikaros, there’s also Ranged and Melee abilities you’ll unlock and can assign to shortcut keys including Spread Shots, Venomous Attack or the Bull Rush, expanding your arsenal.

Graphically speaking, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is a step above its predecessor. Even if the engine is the same, Origins’ land offered huge expanses of sand, and on the opposite Odyssey has environments that are far more varied and colourful. Whether on land or at sea, the game is a treat for the eye, with a dynamic weather system, day and night cycle, and will look even more gorgeous if you own an Xbox One X making use of the HDR (and I assume the same experience on the PlayStation 4 Pro). Although I did notice a great upgrade on the front of animations, whether movements in general or collisions (especially at sea with naval combat), there are still some small hiccups. Facial expressions show immense depth on skin features, emotions and not just on humans but animals as well, but some conversation show some weird lip sync issues and stutter with the body movement. Nevertheless, the game is amazing to look at, and you’ll probably waste so much time in the photo mode which makes a comeback from the previous episode, especially if you’re using the game’s new exploration mode which removes all screen “clutter” like HUD elements.

Ubisoft has certainly decided to give the PC gamers a proper edition of Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, and as such that platform version is not, in fact, a port. That’s the most important thing to note in this segment, as it should give you an idea of how well the game runs on PC. If you checked out the minimum requirements you’ll know the game is actually designed to run on a variety of hardware, and higher settings won’t need something extravagant. As always, make sure your drivers are updated and you have the latest patches before diving in.

Speaking of diving in, let’s take a look at that performance! Since we prioritize smooth framerate a ton, we started off on Ultra but brought it down to High, and we’re happy to say that Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey stayed at a steady 60 at that preset for most of the time we spent with it. We saw some hitches and drops every so often, but it was a consistent framerate for the most part. We didn’t try for 4K because why would we, so it’s important to note that my experience is reflective of the 1080/Full HD. As for visuals, the game is just brilliant, and we were able to enjoy the whole shebang on our test PC without turning down any settings. If you really want it to shine visually and you don’t have a top-shelf card, you’re gonna have to settle for something closer to 30.

Assassin’s Creed Origins was reviewed using an Xbox One and PC downloadable copy of the game provided by Ubisoft. The review was tested on an Xbox One X and a PC running Windows 10, with an 8GB NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1070 fitted on a 4th Generation Intel i7 4790 3.6Ghz CPU and topped with 16GB of RAM. The game is also available on PlayStation 4 in both retail and online store releases. We don’t discuss review scores with publishers or developers prior to the review being published (click here for more information about our review policy).

With a new world to discover, Assassin's Creed Odyssey continues on the path set by Origins, giving more choice to the players, with a bigger focus on RPG and the comeback of naval warfare. A definitive evolution of the series, and shouldn't be missed. When it comes to Ubisoft, I have a sort of admiration for a key franchise of theirs: Assassin's Creed.

#Action Adventure #Assassin&039;s Creed #Platformer #Remastered #Singleplayer #Stealth #Ubisoft #Ubisoft Quebec

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cic-a-trize · 6 years ago

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ER Adventures! YAY!

So. First things first, I am my own version of fine. A little better than fine actually. Before I continue this post, I want to get that out there.

Saturday morning I woke up around 7:45 and I knew I'd have to go to the bathroom soon (long, complicated story about my condition that I don't share), so I played around on my phone a bit, then put it down to transfer from bed to my chair.

I couldn't move my right arm. Okay. I couldn't move my right leg. Okay. I had complete paralysis on my right side. Okay. I allowed myself to completely and silently panic for 5-10 seconds per my agreement with myself, and I waited a few minutes to see if it would subside.

It did not.

I woke Preston up, and my speech was slurred. I managed to get out "Preston, something is wrong" (which I have now learned is an awful way to wake someone from a deep sleep) and explained what was happening. He had me sit my bed up and try to move my right hand, which I could do with much difficulty. I was able to take a drink and not dribble all over myself, and within ten minutes from onset the paralysis was gone but my right side was extremely weak. Weak for me. Weak like baby.

After going to the little disabled's room and thinking and praying about it, I decided that I wanted to be seen and evaluated by a doctor, and since it was Sunday, that meant another visit to the ER. Honestly, I always get such amazing treatment at the St. Vincent LR ER that I was nonplussed about going but admittedly a tiny bit terrified about why.

(Backstory break! My most recent MRIs have shown evidence of previous strokes. Not TIAs, as I originally thought, but actual strokes. Obviously they have not been serious, because aside from maybe possibly the facial drooping, I don't have any lasting damage that I'm aware of, except the dead parts of my brain. But, like, 🤷‍♀️. When there are benign tumors on your brain, it's hard to tell what is and isn't related to the neurosarc.)

Based on my past and present and the knowledge that I was not at "Bridget-level" normal, I wanted to see a doctor. Worst case scenario, it was nothing and they send me home with a sticker.

We got to the ER and it was fairly empty. I signed in and went immediately to triage, and then immediately to have an EKG done (which, in case I forget to tell you later, was fine), and then when the phlebotomist was checking my veins they came in and told him not to bother because they had a room for me and would access my port for everything. (YAY lil port! Good job!)

So I am whisked away to a room and get onto a gurney which, I kid you not, had a crank to raise and lower the back. Apparently I was also whisked away to 1956. (Stay tuned for my massive rant about why a hospital has to hold onto every piece of equipment for as long as possible but I've never seen crank powered automatic rifle. It'll be a doozy!) I get settled, I meet approximately 19 people who introduce themselves kindly but I will never remember their names or functions. They hook me up to the BP cuff and sticky leads to something and those cool pulse ox thingies now that are adhesive so you can actually move your hand without the machine thinking something is terribly wrong and you have died but really you're just trying to get under the blanket, MACHINE. Geez.

I'm sorry, where was I? Ah yes. So they access the port to get blood and administer contrast for the MRI. I had a CT scan (Bridget-fine) and a brain MRI (Bridget-actually looking pretty good). The port needle hurts like a bitch when they put it in because it's nine feet long and shaped like a witch's crooked finger. BUT! My arms are bruise free and I no longer feel like the port was done for nothing. If all that ever happens is easy blood draws, it was worth everything.

A neurologist came in and talked to me and tested my strength and seemed really confused that I didn't have a neurologist and I was like, "Working on it, hot stuff" and my main ER doctor was amazing. He listened to me, and when I told him that I waited to see if maybe it was sleep paralysis he looked me dead in the eye and said, "Don't ever do that again. Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again." and I said "yes sir" like he was my dad. It was an intense five seconds.

Long story not even remotely short, the ER doc, Neurologist and Hospitalist on duty (who was also there when I had my blood clot) agreed that after taking into account what I told them and what they saw on the scans, it was not a stroke and was more than likely neurosarc related. The neurosarc can cause swelling, and meningeal swelling can cause excruciating headaches, and can cut off oxygen to the brain and mimic a stroke, but it doesn't leave any dead tissue behind. (The More You Know 🌈)

At first they were going to keep me overnight for observation, which I did NOT want to do, but Doc came in and said that they all felt I was good to go home. And he asked me if I was okay with that, which I thought was awesome. So after about 7 hours we left and I’m still slightly off, but I felt so much better.

Two moments that really stand out for me: 1) There were probably three nurses, the CT tech, and Doc in the room and they were prepping me to go CT. When I'm scared but trying not to be, I tend to focus on minutiae to keep myself sane and on task. It suddenly occurred to me that not only had my insurance changed since my last visit but now it was Medicaid and I told them that and asked if they needed my card and they all just...looked at me. The CT tech literally said "We'll worry about that later. Right now let's worry about your brain." And I was like, "Oh right. That ol' thing."

It may seem silly but I seriously wondered if they needed to stop and make sure whatever they were going to do was covered or whatever, which is ridiculous because they can't refuse you treatment even if you don't have insurance, but this is the medical culture that's been built for us. Normally I don't worry about medical bills because you can't squeeze blood from a stone, but it's still so effed up.

2) Three different doctors and even more nurses listened to me, and in some cases deferred to my knowledge of neurosarc because it's so rare that very few doctors or nurses have a working knowledge of it. But I have been doing this for almost three years, so I know lots about it. I also know my body, and what's normal and abnormal, and in some cases I know what I do and don't need. It's a sad testament that I am really impressed by that, but I am. The computer spit out its little blurb on sarcoidosis and the discharge nurse was like, "We have some info here about sarcoidosis" and I didn't mean to but I laughed. As kindly as possible I told him we didn't have to go over that because I've been diagnosed for over two years and all that paperwork was going to mention was pulmonary sarc which doesn't help me at all because neurosarc was a weird and rare beast, but thank you! Then he rolled me out and we got food because we were both so hangry and then I slept the sleep of the comatose for about five hours. I’m up now because I had to do my methotrexate injection, but once I wrap this up I’m getting some chocolate milk and heading back to bed. Bastian is not so patiently waiting for me to do so.

ER visits are so exhausting. I am so blessed to have access to quality healthcare, and access to information about my disease.

Also, I really really really want you ALL to take this lesson thingy away from this post: Copy it, print it, hang it on the fridge, get a tattoo, I don’t care. Know this:

YOU ARE YOUR OWN BEST HEALTH ADVOCATE.

If your doctor doesn’t listen to you, find a new one. Yes, it’s a pain in the ass. I know, I’ve been through it often, but doctors don’t know everything. They are extremely educated and knowledgeable, yes, but I can pretty much guarantee that combined Preston and I know more about neurosarc than most of the doctors and nurses I saw today. Sarcoid itself is rare, and only about 15% of sarc patients have neurosarc. It’s not that hard to understand why every doctor wouldn’t know everything about it. My last ER doc told me he probably spent a week on it in his residency. We’ve been reading everything from the Mayo Clinic and the sarcoid center at Cedar-Sinai in NYC (love you Cathy!) and other places and I’ve been living it for years.

I repeat: IF YOUR DOCTOR REPEATEDLY DISMISSES YOU AND YOUR CONCERNS, FIND A NEW DOCTOR. Just because you’re not an MD doesn’t mean you don’t know your body. This goes double if you’re a woman. You deserve to be taken seriously because it’s your body. You live there. And it’s your job to take care of it.

It doesn’t matter if no one else thinks anything is wrong: IF YOUR BODY IS TELLING YOU SOMETHING IS WRONG, SEE A DOCTOR. It doesn’t matter if everyone says it’s “all in your head” because a) literally everything is all in your head because that’s where your brain lives, and b) even if it’s “all in your head” it’s still real. If you hurt, the pain is real. If you are having strange symptoms, those are real. If they come out in a few years and say neurosarc is completely psychosomatic, it doesn’t matter. I’m still in this chair. I still have these tumors.

If you’re avoiding going to the doctor because you’re scared of what’s wrong, go anyway. GO ANYWAY OMG. I put off seeing my doc about my weird leg problems because I was absolutely terrified it was going to be ALS. Not my best decision. And then, for three months I was repeatedly told that I had fatal brain cancer, so. I get it. I promise. But if something is really super bad, the sooner you find out and start treating, the better. Especially something like ALS or neurosarc that can take years to diagnose and tons of different doctors.

And lastly, BE HONEST WITH YOUR DOCTOR. Embarrassed about something with your lady parts? I don’t care, they don’t care, they’ve heard it all before. If one of y’all dies from cervical cancer because you were too prim to talk about your vajaje, I will be so pissed. Guys, some of my symptoms and side effects were SO EMBARRASSING AND HEARTBREAKING at first. I never, ever wanted to talk about any of it, with anyone, but I had to. And honestly in a few short months I went from shame crying in the shower for 30 minutes to looking at a doctor I had never seen before and saying, “Hey, yo, what’s up? My bladder muscles aren’t working right now and it’s getting to be a puddle problem.” Because peeing your pants, despite what Billy Madison will tell you, is not cool. It sucks, and it’s a damn mess, and if I can do something about it I’m going to.

Eventually you will lose the ability to be embarrassed about things like that. I can no longer muster one single give-a-damn about pretty much anything. Stuck on the toilet in a country club because there are no bars and one of the cooks has to come into the ladies and help me stand up? Eh. 🤷‍♀️ And medically, I seriously said today, “I’ll take off whatever you want, let’s just do this.” As a girl who used to sleep in her bra because she was so ashamed of her body, I’m now a medical exhibitionist. The MRI tech was very careful asking about my weight, and I said “Look. I have no medical shame. Ask me anything, tell me anything, squeeze me into that machine like a sausage, I don’t care. Just take care of me as best you can.” And before the MRI, I told him what I needed: a washcloth over my face so I didn’t open my eyes and go all Wicker Man, and something to hold my knees together because now I am hella bow-legged and I’m not fighting to keep them from falling off the table and messing this sausage test up.

And I’m not special. I don’t have some magical superpower that makes me able to do this. It’s been developed over years and it helps that I have a sense of humor about all of it, but I had to start at the beginning just like everyone else. In 2015 I was very “well, um, see, my leg is a little weird and I’m sure it’s nothing and I’m sorry to waste your time.” Now I’m telling MRI techs “No, I don’t need a blanket, I’m hot as hell and about to be reborn through a magnetic vagina, so you just deal with my fat thighs, okay? Thank your God I’m wearing shorts so you don’t have to see my granny panties. LET’S DO THIS.”

If you’re reading this, I love you. Some more than others, sure, but I care for all of you 😘 I want you to be healthy. I want you to be empowered. I want you to get the care you deserve. So this one time, listen to Aunt B because she knows what she’s talking about.

#neurosarc #neurosarcoid #sarcoid #sarcoidosis #medical advocacy #er #emergency room #magnetic vagina

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yeswesaythings · 8 years ago

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Australia, and Some Stops Along the Way

I: Pretend that I haven’t been here for the past seven weeks already and I know nothing about Tasmania. Tell me about it.

S: You probably still don’t know much about Tasmania.

I: True.

S: There’s a lot to say.

I: Okay, explain to me about it.

S: That was sarcastic. Um, what exactly do you want explaining?

I: I guess that’s a hard question for someone that has lived here their entire life.

S: Yes, very much.

I: I mean, I guess the usual notion when people think about Australia, they think, “Oh, it’s a dangerous place that is full of animals that want to kill you.” How true is that?

S: That is half true.

I: Half true? Okay, so-

S: It’s not to the extent that everyone would think. It’s not like everything is trying to kill you. Only half the things are trying to kill you. But the fact that they’re trying to kill you is there.

I: Okay, so you have to go out of your way, though, to find the animals that are trying to kill you?

S: Depends where you are, really. If you’re in a populated area like this, then yeah, you have to go out of your way, but if you’re out in rural areas, it’s going to be much easier.

I: Okay. I guess I’ll tackle a lot of Australian stereotypes because I think that’s the main thing to tackle. I mean, people think of Australia, they think of the accent. First of all, you were telling me that it’s not just one accent throughout the entire continent.

S: No, it’s very different, like, somewhere down here in Tasmania compared to the mainland. I’m assuming because of the separation. But I think the mainland have a more posh sort of style to it.

I: I mean, is there- In America, for example, the southern accent is kind of seen as less sophisticated and “These people are simpler and not as intelligent.” Is there sort of that-

S: That’s sort of what it’s like here.

I: So people look down at Tasmania?

S: All the time.

I: Really?

S: Yeah.

I: Okay, so that’s kind of the go-to punching bag.

S: Yes, very much.

I: Why?

S: I don’t know. Maybe because we’re the nicest state ever?

I: Does that have anything to do with- I mean, the entirety of Australia was a penal colony. But Port Arthur was located in Tasmania, and that’s where basically the prisoners of the penal colony went.

S: Sure, but so was Sydney.

I: Oh, so Sydney also had that, too? But Sydney doesn’t have that-

S: No, Sydney was the first settled place in Australia, then Hobart was second.

I: Okay, I guess it’s still odd. Sydney is usually seen as one of the typified Australian cities, while no one knows who Hobart is at all. Do you have any speculation of why Tasmania is not well known outside of Australia?

S: See, that’s another thing. I’m not sure why not. I guess it’s just, again, it’s not directly part of Australia and maybe the culture is very different.

I: True. Well, this is always a fun question to ask: The food. What’s the epitome of Australian, or at least Tasmanian, cuisine?

S: Well, Tasmania has superior seafood. Definitely.

I: I would guess being an island would help.

S: Most of the food in Australia, though, in general, is a mix of every other culture around the world. We don’t really have our own thing.

I: Sounds like America. I wonder if that’s just a product of Western cultures as a whole, that they just don’t have their own and it’s just an accumulation of all the others. I know vegemite is primarily Australian. It was one of the main foods I was told about before coming here.

S: Have you tried it?

I: I have, and it is- It’s not bad. But it’s not necessarily good either.

S: It’s a very stereotypical thing when people think of Australia, but how much did you eat exactly?

I: I took a piece of bread and then, basically, spread it on there.

S: The key is to spread it thin.

I: Okay, I mean, I didn’t just glob it on there-

S: Whenever I see reaction videos to people outside of Australia eating vegemite, they put really thick amounts on the thing. It’s like pure salt.

I: Yeah, that was the thing, it was like someone made a jelly out of soy sauce. That’s the best way I know how to describe it.

S: That’s a good way of explaining it.

I: And it’s not a flavor that I just tasted and was, like, vomiting everywhere as a result. But it was- Yeah, salty is the main thing, but to such an extreme that is becomes less of a flavor enhancer and becomes the flavor itself.

S: Ultimate question for you: Is Promite a big thing over in America?

I: Promite? I don’t think so. What is that?

S: Promite is, as far as I know, the American version of marmite, which is the original.

I: I mean, we probably have it in grocery stores in our- I don’t know if we’d put it in our “ethnic foods” section or something, but it’s not common.

S: Well, you know how there’s marmite for England, and then vegemite sprouted from that for Australia. Promite was the thing for America, what I thought.

I: It might be, but it’s not something that you’re going to find too often. You’re going to have to search for that.

S: Because we can get that in our supermarkets.

I: You can get the American version in- Huh, not to bash America too heavily, but anything that is too weird looking, we have a tendency to automatically assume it tastes bad. And so you have this thick, black sludge, and it says, “You spread it on toast and it has a salty flavor.” Well, they’re going to turn their nose up at it and say, “Eh, I’d rather not,” and stick with things they’re more familiar with. Deep conversation on vegemite. So, that came from England-

S: Marmite came from England.

I: So, what’s the difference between marmite and vegemite then?

S: There’s not much difference, really. But marmite’s better, in my opinion.

I: No bias, because you’re Australian, of course. So, you’ve lived in Tasmania your entire life?

S: Yes.

I: I guess that answers the question of why you came to the University of Tasmania. So, is it the only university in Tasmania?

S: It is. I guess it’s the only public one. There’s private ones, but they go through UTas anyway.

I: Okay, so UTas sort of has a monopoly on the education of the island. So, is it common- What do you call- What’s the demonym for people who come from Tasmania? Tasmanians?

S: Yeah, Tasmanians.

I: So, do Tasmanians usually go to the mainland for education, or do they stay in Tasmania?

S: Some do. I don’t think most do, though. Most stay here.

I: It’s a nice place. I don’t blame them. Okay, so what are you majoring in?

S: I’ve actually got three majors. So, there’s maths, games and creative technology, and ICT professionalism.

I: So, the big question: What do you plan to do?

S: That’s a difficult question at the time.

I: No one I have ever asked has any clue.

S: I know what I want to do, but I don’t know what I’m going to do to get there.

I: Okay, so what do you want to do?

S: Well, I want my own game development studio.

I: On par with things like Valve and Steam?

S: Not that big. Well, that’s a good angle. But before that, baby steps.

I: What kind of games are you looking to develop? Cerebral ones or more shooter style?

S: Cerebral. Well, a mixture, I guess? You need to reach a more general audience, but I like making things go a little bit different.

I: So, you’ve told me a bit about this research class that you’ve been doing throughout the year. Tell me about that. What exactly are you doing in that class?

S: Well, that’s called Serious Gaming. A serious game is pretty much a game with meaning. So, a game that isn’t for entertainment, or not primarily for entertainment.

I: What’s an example of that?

S: Most education games would be a serious game if their primary goal isn’t entertainment.

I: Okay, so for example, an anatomy type game? I mean, what’s the definition of game?

S: I got a bit of a shaky definition. It’s usually defined as a form of media that provides fun.

I: So, as long as you’re having fun, it’s considered a game?

S: Yes, and then you go further into asking, “What is fun?”

I: I think people have a better grasp on what fun is than what a game is. So, this game that you’re developing right now, what’s its goal?

S: So, that one’s for stroke rehabilitation. So, the idea for that- Stroke patients have to repeat movements over and over again through their rehabilitation, and it gets kind of boring for them. But if you can incorporate something fun, something that means something to them or something that gives it meaning, then they’re going to be repeating the tasks over and over again, willingly.

I: And they don’t have to think about it too much.

S: Yeah.

I: When I was at the cross country team at my university, before school started, we had to do a concussion test. Essentially, we gave it a baseline for how our cognitive abilities were, you know, without a concussion. And so if we ever did get one, we would basically have to take that test over and over again until we were back at our base level. But that was awful to do because, first of all, that was staring at a screen for twenty minutes and these weren’t high tech computers that they were using and it was basically a bunch of, “Here’s a bunch of words. Try to memorize as many as you can. And then tell us the ones that were there. Here are some shapes. Now we’re going to take them away. Now which of these shapes were the ones that you just saw?” You know, things like that. They were looking at memory, how well you could reason and think and memorize things without any damage to them. And the thing I remember walking away from that thinking is, “I hope I never get a concussion because I don’t ever want to do that again.” So I can definitely see the use of what you’re developing. What tasks are you having them do in order to release the monotony?

S: Physical tasks or in-game tasks?

I: Both.

S: Well, physical tasks are usually arm movement, so using a robotic arm that will move them around a big table screen, depending on where they look.

I: So, it’s based on motion sensing with the eyes? Do you know how that works, exactly?

S: I’m not entirely sure. That’s not my field.

I: And then, the in-game activities, what are you having them do?

S: Well, we’ve just come up with the concept. Essentially, we’re trying to go down the mobile games route. Mobile games are generally the thing you can repeat over and over. So, we’ve got a demolition game.

I: Something similar to Angry Birds?

S: Not quite. Yes, but no. The aim is to knock over the building. So, you get a building or structure, but you have to put bombs in, and sticks of dynamite. And then when you detonate that, the building falls like it was on a construction site of something.

I: But I’m guessing that the strategy and the movements are going to be something that takes a bit of thought to them?

S: Yes and no. They look at a spot where they want to plant a bomb, for example. They can go and plant it there. But it’s that layer there of having them playing a game that will enable to move without realizing that it’s still rehabilitation.

I: For something like this, why don’t you just use Angry Birds or something along those lines?

S: Something like that would need a bit more reconstructing.

I: So, where do its deficiencies lay?

S: In its physical capabilities.

I: So, you’re not doing enough movement?

S: Well, if you have to move the slingshot in Angry Birds and pull back on it, that’s kind of not a very effective movement for the rehabilitation. They need to be able to do more. Bigger movements.

I: Something that’s not just a straight line?

S: Yeah, the machinery should be able to do all that.

I: For what you’re trying to improve, what is, at the moment, the time is takes a stroke victim to be rehabilitated?

S: It depends on the severity. There are a few different grades of stroke. I think, actually, in most cases, you’ll probably be in the hospital for a week and you’ll be fine afterwards. I think it’s only a 30% chance that you need rehabilitation after that week.

I: So, if you are in that 30% who need rehabilitation, do you have any idea how long that will take?

S: I think it can take people anywhere between three weeks to eight weeks to months to years.

I: It’s going to be a case by case situation. Has there been lots of research that shows that rehabilitation becomes less effective as time goes on because the people get bored in doing the movements?

S: Yes, definitely. That’s where a lot of the idea of bringing entertainment into it came from. You should be able to, theoretically, last a bit longer.

I: Are you hoping to reduce the time that it takes or are you basically just trying to boost morale or retain people?

S: Morale is a huge part.

I: Because the people getting bored in rehabilitation, is it because it just stretches on forever because they get bored, or do people just leave and they just don’t come back?

S: It’s mainly because they get bored, but also if they’re doing it for a long time, and not seeing any results, they get discouraged, “Oh, this isn’t effective.” But that’s another way a game can come in, a game can show progress. So if you can show them that they’ve made progress, then they’re not going to have the discouragement.

I: It’s like things with little medals and ribbons and whatnot. They have them on the pedometer on my phone, it’ll buzz and say, “You’ve walked 6,000 steps today! Here’s a little medal for you.” And even though I can do nothing with that medal, and it has no monetary value at all, it at least tells me something: “Hey, I did something.” And it keeps track of steps per day, so I can take a quick glance and see, oh this was a day that was good, this way a day that was bad, so I can see what you’re doing there. Is that a Fitbit?

S: It’s a Garmin vivofit.

I: Okay. Yeah, exercise. Do you see this- How far into development is this?

S: Well, our specific project or games for stroke rehabilitation in general?

I: Oh, so is this part of a larger project?

S: It’s the start of something that will hopefully get somewhere.

I: How far along is the general notion of using games to help people for rehabilitation?

S: How do you mean?

I: How new is that?

S: It’s not really a thing. Well, I guess it’s been a thing for a couple years, but it’s not been in play. So, the idea of this project is to research. Well, not so much our part, but the CSIRO team is seeing how effective games are for that. And if that’s successful, it could very well lead on to everyone doing it.

I: Your personal part, how far along is that, so far?

S: Right now, up to this stage, it’s all been about targeting the behavior of a stroke patient, which is like, where the boredom and stuff like that comes from. So that’s how we determine all that. And then working out what kind of counter we could use.

I: Have you met and talked with a lot of stroke patients?

S: We haven’t talked to any of the patients. We’ve only spoken to rehabilitation staff and researchers.

I: What have they pointed out as the major points to consider?

S: They pretty much pointed out the same stuff that we’ve already discussed.

I: So, basically the big problem is the boredom from the repetition and the monotony, so there needs to be something to entertain people. I guess it would be hard to find people that have suffered from strokes in the area. I don’t know where you would- Unless you go to a hospital.

S: Well, I’m not quite sure on the details yet on when they’ll be tested. So, I’m not sure if they’re going to be tested before or after we’ve finished the projects.

I: Do you see this going past not just stroke victims but people that have-

S: Oh yeah.

I: Like, any kind of physical rehabilitation, people in car accidents, just any physical injury?

S: I think it could be applied to most physical rehabilitation.

I: Do you see any- What’s the word I’m looking for- restrictions to it? It can help, but there’s going to be a point when it can’t do any good anymore?

S: That’s very possible. But I think the point of stroke rehabilitation is to reconnect the things in your brain, let it (?) into your movement so you can get your movement back, so you can think about how you’re going to move and to get your motor- Is it motor-neuron movement?

I: You’re the one doing the project.

S: Yeah, so I guess it really depends if they reach a point where- It’s all up to the patient- if they reach a point where they think that it’s not going to go any further, then it’s not going to go any further. But, once again, that’s where an alternative rehabilitation, like games, comes in. Because if you keep offering them even newer games, changing it up every now and again, then they’re not going to have that thought as often.

I: Have you, yourself, gone through the motions of trying to do something similar to what they would do and how quickly you become bored with it.

S: Not really.

I: Okay, that might be something to try out, just- I don’t know how long a rehabilitation session would go, but every night, fifteen minutes, half an hour, you do those motions.

S: That also varies from patient to patient, though. Some people could be there for fifteen minutes, some people could be there for an hour, some people could be there for six hours.

I: You’re keeping that in mind with the game, though, because even a game, after six hours, can get really boring as well.

S: That’s the part that we really need to tackle.

I: Let’s keep going with the idea of boredom. That, as a topic, is interesting because, well, why do we get bored with things?

S: Hm, that’s true. I hadn’t really thought about that.

I: Because something can hold our attention for hours on end, even if it’s not necessarily changing wildly, but then something can change too rapidly, and after a few minutes we become bored with it.

S: I think it might be something to do with how the mind prefers taking in new stuff all the time. So, if you’re seeing the same stuff over and over again, you’re seeing the same result from the same actions, it’s not realty stimulating.

I: But then why do people find comfort in things that are familiar? Is there a sort of familiarity in boredom?

S: Well, I guess if you know something’s safe, then you’re going to keep doing it that way. You won’t deviate into a way that’s going to be not safe.

I: Okay, but it still seems-

S: But, boredom I think is sort of the balance between safety and boredom in that instance.

I: That’s the “ideal”- Well, maybe not the ideal, because there’s always a bit of risk that might be ideal. Maybe at one end, you have risk and excitement and there is sort of the ideal in between and on the other hand, you have boredom and familiarity, and there’s something in the middle there.

S: People who get bored and wingsuit, that’s pretty dangerous. But I guess it’s not boring because it’s something completely new.

I: You can look at boredom almost as- If you considered that you had a set of everything that you could be doing, that boredom becomes a larger and larger subset of that to a point. And so hypothetically, it would be a bad thing if you were able to everything possible because it would get to a point where everything would be familiar, everything would be boring. But at the same time, if enough time has passed- Maybe you haven’t done something for a while, you got bored from it. But then you let time pass and you go back to it again, you can find new interest in it.

S: And that quite often happens.

I: So, boredom isn’t a permanent state of mind. It’s temporary, provided enough time.

S: Perhaps it links to short term memory.

I: So, we become bored with things, but only in the short term, because we forget how boring they were to begin with?

S: I think you’d remember key aspects of whatever the activity was, you’d forget the details. If it was meaningless, and you were just there for the sale of being there, then you’re not going to remember it very well.

I: We remember the high, interesting points and anything that’s boring or uninteresting just gets thrown away because what’s the point of remembering anything about it? In the way of teaching and boredom, this is something I’ve noticed. I’m taking four classes, two of them are math classes and two of them are more on the arts side of classes. And in both categories, I have one of the classes that I find really interesting. And on the other hand, I have one that’s really dull. Now, you could chalk it up to, well, I’m a math major and therefore, I should find the math classes, the arts classes sort of a bit on the boring side. But in both cases, there’s an arts class that I find interesting and there’s a math class that I find interesting. There’s a math class that I find boring, there’s an arts class that I find boring. And I think that that’s one of the things that teachers or professors or anyone that’s going to be in a teaching position has to keep in mind, that it doesn’t matter how well they may know the material, if the student is bored, that they have a hard time of remembering the material, understanding the material, and so it doesn’t do any good. They’re basically there, but there’s no actual learning, just lecturing. I don’t know, what are your thoughts on that are?

S: Oh, I’m going to agree 100%. I’ve been in classes before where I’ve sat there, thinking, “I already know this, or I have no interest in it. So, just forget the whole thing happened.”

I: There have been some classrooms that have gone to games to make things interesting, and have a done a similar thing as the stroke rehabilitation project, where it may be something that’s a bit repetitive or boring, but they’ve gone and circumvented that by introducing a game to make it more interesting. I think there have been classes that have used Minecraft to teach various subjects, ones that you might not necessarily think: Economics, or history, or something. But you put it in the field of game and suddenly it has that idea of- Or that feeling of being entertaining.

S: I think when you play a game, you sort of forget what you’re doing, in a sense. So you sort of draw a separation between the fact that you were doing something not very interesting.

I: So, it’s a distraction, almost?

S: Yes, well, that’s what games are. They’re distractive. They can obviously distract you from-

I: Is being unaware of your learning-

S: I think that’s one of the best ways to learn.

I: Is to be unaware that you’re actually learning? Interesting. Of course, as soon as people then catch on to it, it ruins it.

S: But think of when you’re learning everyday things when you’re younger. You just learn it from observing it and it’s not like hard learning. But you would have retained all of that to now.

I: True, yeah, I guess that’s one thing with the modern education system. Because it’s so structured, and you’re supposed to go to elementary school and you’re supposed to go to middle school and you’re supposed to go to high school and it’s all very structured.

S: Here it works differently.

I: Oh, okay. But there’s still that- You go to school at a certain time and you sit in a classroom and you’re there because you realize you’re expected to learn. And it’s that structure, by itself, that gets rid of any notion of unawareness. You are extremely aware because you are in that setting of, “I’m here to learn things.” And so, in a way, the school setting might not be conducive to learning for that reason.

S: There’s a pretty high rate of people as well, who’d be leaving education like that, not really retaining anything they’ve learned or retaining the things that they didn’t think they needed to learn.

I: There’s this usual complaint in classes, especially math classes, but honestly, the complaint could go for any class depending on what the major of the person is: “When am I going to need this? When am I ever going to use this?” Especially in mathematics. Oh, the Pythagorean Theorem, the quadratic equation. I’m learning this, but I don’t see where it’s being used.

S: I pay the most attention, probably, in games and programming and that sort of thing because I know that I’m going to use them and they have a direct practical application.

I: Yeah, application helps in the progress of learning. If you can see how this is being applied in a sense, then it’s easier to learn it. But at the same time, for example, people hate word problems. So, if you gave them: Solve 3x + 5 = 7, but then you told them some word problem that, in the end, basically involved solving that same thing, people have an easy time solving the algebra equation, but the word problem completely loses them.

S: True. That’s because it’s not, I guess- They learned how to do it non-practically, and then they have to apply that.

I: So, it makes sense that you would teach math in a very theoretical side because then it doesn’t limit you in a single way of thinking about something. But at the same time, it limits you on the scope at which you’re seeing things. You see numbers as just things that you move around and they’re just symbols, whereas you lose all grasp of what it is, why it came into being in the first place. So people can think, “Why do we have negative numbers at all? There’s no negative anything. I can’t have a negative book. I can’t have a negative table.” But then you get into the idea of finance and into debt and things like that. But if you don’t know anything about finance, you don’t know where that would be applied, it just becomes a thing that you have to keep in your head, but without any context.

S: Back on that elementary school, middle school, high school thing.

I: Oh yeah, how is it different here?

S: Well, it’s even more different in Tasmania than in the rest of the country. So, in Tasmania, we have primary school, secondary school, which is high school, and then college, then uni. So, primary is from kinder, which I guess is preschool?

I: What age is that?

S: That’s like four or five.

I: Okay, that would be kindergarten.

S: Well, primary’s from then to year 6.

I: It varies in the States. Sometimes it can go from kindergarten through fifth grade, is considered elementary school. Sometimes kindergarten through fourth grade can be considered elementary school. It sometimes also just depends on the year. I mean, my parents went to a high school that was tenth grade through twelfth grade, that was the high school. And then sixth through ninth was the middle school. There’s no real set setup, honestly.

S: There’s this thing that I think people think is strange about this one is year 11 and 12 is college.

I: Is college university or completely interchangeable?

S: Yeah.

I: Interesting, do you know why that is?

S: I’ve never actually looked into why that is. Because we’re probably the only people in Australia that do it.

I: Yeah, because that was something I was hearing people say, coming out of college. And it was like, are these people that are coming from community college or something? Are these people transferring from elsewhere?

S: See, that’s just from high school, or your equivalent of high school. See, I always get confused the other way around. When people outside of here say college, and I’m thinking, “Oh yes, that’s year 11 and 12.” But they’re actually meaning university.

I: Yeah, I think all of the slang is also what people really know about Australia. All the shortened nicknames: Aussie, Tassie.

S: Slang is huge in Australia.

I: Not that it isn’t huge in other places, too, but it always seems other people’s slang is just that much more interesting.

S: I think if you talked to the average young Australian, you’re going to hear slang in at least every sentence

I: Well, children learn from their parents, so I guess that means that the parents are speaking it.

S: True. But like you said, Tassie and Aussie and all these things, have you ever heard what we call McDonald’s a lot?

I: Oh, Macca’s. I don’t think anyone actually says it, but at one point, Mickey D’s was the McDonald’s nickname.

S: I’ve heard that used before. Not in Australia, but I’ve heard it used.

I: We’re the country that made “fleek” and “bae” and the words “on point” and all those kind of words.

S: I, sadly, use those.

I: I don’t judge. But it’s always interesting to see, because we can look at a culture and say, “Oh, they have such an interesting and weird slang,” but then you completely ignore how many words you use that aren’t in the dictionary.

S: Oh, probably half of what I say isn’t in the dictionary.

I: Alright, I think that’s a good note to stop on. Thank you!

#australia #tasmania #boredom #medicine #education

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