#is if they put the time in and we see how tiny interactions combined with simply years with each other. it's weird it's solid but also not

[rubykgrant]

There's something painfully ironic about them not being able to creatively write Sigma in restoration when that's part of his whole shtick. He's the creativity(/ambition) AI.

Yeah... we didn't get to see enough of it explored during the Project Freelancer seasons, because stuff was getting blended together with what Reds and Blues were currently doing/Epsilon stuff, so there was a lot of missing moments where we had to read between the lines (sometimes I wish things had happened slightly different; instead of going into season 6, we had a solid season of the Freelancers, so our first intro to Wash is him being the dorky Freelancer, and we get more of the other Agents before they had the AI, including a deeper look at Tex. then we'd see the introduction of each AI, and how they interacted with their Freelancer partners, etc- but Alpha is still kept a mystery. when it all falls apart, THEN we get season 6, Mr Serious Agent Washington, the Meta, and the Alpha Reveal... but I digress)

One of the most compelling bits of info we have for Sigma was Price saying- "The Meta wanted to be human". That is SO IMPORTANT. Even before Maine got injured and was paired with an AI, he had been fighting as a soldier who was constantly put in situations where he had to kill, or push himself so hard he might die. He was still a PERSON though (that little bit when Carolina wants him to be a counter-wight and he hesitates, saying it was too high? like, he's risking his life almost every day doing dangerous nonsense, but being this high up makes him nervous! a whole person is in there!). Sigma was certainly manipulative and a little selfish when it came to his own goals, but ultimately, what did he want? The idea of "humanity", in which you could be treated with a certain amount of respect, dignity, and freedom. How can he get that? He knows the Fragments were taken away from Alpha, and Alpha came from a human mind. Which person was that? A man who was willing to let the world burn, as long as he got what he wanted. The Director was Sigma's "role model" of humanity, and Sigma's whole deal was having the ambition to go FURTHER, succeed where others failed. He didn't just turn Maine into a big puppet, he saw what Maine also wanted, and said- let's do this together (also, my person thoughts about becoming the Meta; it is more than just being a "hive mind" in agreement, this is an entirely new "person", not just the combination of others. when the AI were gone, the Meta was gone, and Maine was alone)

Also, Omega was the Rage AI, but I think we can all agree Alpha had PLENTY to be mad about. Without all the information to put this anger in perspective, Omega was just a tiny EXTREME, and thus, not very pleasant to be around. We didn't get to see the first version of O'Malley start to be more vocal until he found a place in Doc (and I have a WHOLE opinion on who Doc was definitely plural the whole time, he's just had a bad habit of ignoring his own negative thoughts, and thus not letting these other parts of himself speak up. Omega may have opened that door, but O'Malley was definitely part of Doc), and as horrible as he tried to be, he was probably a lot more happy when he could just be an obnoxious antagonist. We only get a brief look at the memory of the original Omega AI with Epsilon, and while he was trying to have some fun with anger issues, he still said- "I'm here if you need me". If he has the chance to be accepted, and process all this anger (his own, Alpha's, whoever he is with), Omega has the potential to be PROTECTIVE (and though Tex certainly isn't a frail damsel in distress, the fact that she was really the Beta, and Alpha was worried about her, can imply that Omega always wanted to join her again for similar reasons). Anger isn't just a bad thing, it can be righteous fury, and a natural response!

[theothin]

People are talking a lot about fairies these days, aren't they. Or faeries? Is there a difference?

fairies sitting on a rainbow cloud

Pretty straightforward, even if the right image doesn't quite follow the prompt. Also I'm not sure what's going on with those fairy wings sticking out of the cloud-rainbow. Unsurprisingly, these seem to be the tiny kind of fairies.

faeries on a magic boat

Here, I switch to spelling it "faerie", and it seems to go along with them being bigger than the first ones. We're getting a fancy magic environment, but also a lot of distortions in the faeries themselves. I wonder if that's a result of the more fairy-tale style, it'll be interesting to see if that continues.

faerie men and women riding dolphins

Here, I tried to get more gender variation in the faeries. No visible success, but you never know. The anatomy seems less bad than the previous batch, but still pretty wonky in places. It's interesting to see the differences in location and in the color of the dolphins.

Of course, there's a more relevant marine animal to see a faerie interact with. And let's see if we can get a masc faerie while we're at it.

a faerie man feeding a walrus

Here, it seems "man" overrode "faerie" in the AI's logic. Like with previous walrus prompts, the walrus's tusks are pretty messed up, and both images have different issues with the feeding process. Can we do better?

a male faerie riding a walrus over the ocean

These guys might be a bit more faerie-like, but with no wings. The AI seems really resistant to the idea of male faeries - the systems pick up all sorts of associations from the training data, and some of them can be quite troublesome. Let's try one more time to get past this.

winged male faeries leading a walrus through a cave

Now that's a funny little discovery. I've been selecting the Artistic style for these scenes so far, but this time I accidentally selected Anime instead, which seems much more open to male faeries. Also the walruses are much more cartoony and have wings. What does the Artistic style do with this prompt?

winged male faeries leading a walrus through a cave

Huh. Another winged walrus, but this style remains steadfastly opposed to putting faerie wings on men. Also the right walrus looks more like an elephant.

Anyway, we haven't gotten enough out of the faerie/fairy question. Let's revisit that.

fairies lifting a walrus up into the glimmering sky

Back on the fairy spelling, but looking most similar to the ones from the second and third sets, complete with distortions. Also I have to say, I did not expect either of these lifting methods. But let's assume it works out somehow.

fairies and a walrus in a cloud lake

I wasn't entirely sure what a cloud lake would mean, but sure, that's pretty cloudy. It's important to properly care for your walrus, even if you live in the sky.

Finally, let's see the anime style's take on this.

fairies and a walrus in a cloud lake

Are the fairies small, or is the walrus big? The one on the right looks pretty elephant-like again, and its tusks look weirdly floppy. Also it's wearing what looks like a combination of a blanket of clouds, a wig, and what looks a bit like fairy wings. Not sure what's going on there.

I'm also not sure what the fairies wanted with this walrus, but fairies are known for kidnapping humans, so who knows how ethical it is. Maybe they left a changeling walrus behind. Whatever it is, I hope it works out for everyone involved.

[satoshi-mochida]

ASTRO BOT launch trailer, ‘Behind the Scenes’ series episode one - Gematsu

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team ASOBI have released the launch trailer, first of five “behind the scenes” episodes, and new information for 3D platformer ASTRO BOT.

Get the details below, via Team ASOBI studio head Nicolas Doucet on PlayStation Blog.

New Launch Trailer Gameplay

Let’s start up with new worlds and new gameplay, introducing Handy-D, a cheeky monkey on Astro’s back that lets Astro climb, swing, and slam using its giant hands. This is a returning mechanic we’re taking to a fuller level by mixing it with the core platforming. You will also find Muteki (which means invincible in Japanese), a fitting name for Astro’s iron armor that lets him roll around spiky areas, fit inside tight spaces or get blasted like a cannonball! Finally, you’ll also catch a glimpse of Astro turning into a tiny weeny mouse which makes the world, and every surrounding stomp feel huge through the DualSense wireless controller. One of our favorites right there!

Also visible in this new trailer is the way the bots you rescue will affect the adventure. There are 300 total bots to rescue in ASTRO BOT, of which 150 are PlayStation cameos. We put a ton of love into animating these characters, so they re-enact funny moments from their respective games. So, no matter who your favorite PlayStation characters are, you’re bound to have a laugh with them. Once rescued, these little guys can combine to perform group actions that let you explore more of the hub planet. In the video, you can see a few of the PlayStation characters working together to make a running wall for Astro to get to higher places.

And finally… the part that a lot of you have been wondering and asking about ever since sharing our first trailer: The hero gameplay! So, yes, at a very few key moments in the adventure, Astro will get to borrow some special abilities from some PlayStation heroes. In this video, we can see how Kratos shares the amazing Leviathan Axe for Astro to use in a God of War-infused level. We won’t talk more about this because we believe it is one of the nicest features to discover by yourselves. We simply hope you find it to be both a faithful and fun tribute to the original material. We’d like to take this chance to thank all the game teams out there who gave us their trust and support to make this big PlayStation celebration possible.

There are still many other things we have not talked about! So we are very excited to see your reactions when Astro lands on September 6. Before going, we have a few more announcements to make: Please remember to collect your four special Bots in ASTRO’s PLAYROOM, pre-loaded on your PlayStation 5. Once rescued, you will be able to take these bots to the new game and add them to your starting crew. And in the last few hours preceding the ASTRO BOT launch, we will hold a special celebration countdown inside ASTRO’s PLAYROOM. Please come and check it out. Talking of the final countdown, as we approach ASTRO BOT‘s launch on September 6, you still have time to pre-order the game and receive early unlock of costumes and paints for your DualSpeeder as well as the Digital Soundtrack and Digital Artbook if you opt for the Digital Deluxe Edition.

Behind the Scenes of ASTRO BOT

And finally, we also invite you to check out our behind-the-scene series. These are quite short and snappy videos and a fun moment for us to sit down and reflect after many months of continuous work. We hope you enjoy these videos too. They will roll out as follows:

Episode 1: Crafted Gameplay (August 30) – Members of Team Asobi discuss what it takes to make a platformer feel good.

Episode 2: Techno Magic (TBA) – Discover how Team Asobi uses technology to create magical moments.

Episode 3: PlayStation Fiesta (TBA) – Learn how the PlayStation cameos came about, and the level of collaboration needed with other PlayStation Studios to bring this celebration to life.

Episode 4: Overflowing Charm (TBA) – We focus on the fun features of Astro Bot, from graphics to animation and all other charming touches.

Episode 5: Being an Asobi (TBA) – An insider’s look at what it means to be working at Team Asobi and features some of the young talents from the studio.

And that’s about it! The only thing left for us is to thank you for all the months of care and support leading to this launch. It has been a fun ride to go from a pre-loaded demo to taking Astro to the big stage. But it would never have happened without the encouragement from you, the players.

ASTRO BOT is due out for PlayStation 5 on September 6.

Watch the trailer and first behind the scenes video below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

Launch Trailer

English

Japanese

Behind the Scenes Series Episode 1: Crafted Gameplay

[luimagines]

Mafia imagine: Mr. Wiggles

Legend held a small gift bag and he took a breath to let out any nervousness out of him. He seen them nervous about their surroundings and try so hard not to bump into anything all morning and the group so this idea came to him as he walk to the playroom were the child is likely at this time then seeing the playroom door open, legend knock on the door to let them and their wolf know that their not alone now.

Legend: hey kiddo, it's me legend.

The child look up from the floor while they stop moving their hands on a book thats cover in Texture and turn to were they heard legend as wolfie watching from the couch.

Blind child: h-hello legend. How-w is you-ur day?

Legend slow enter the room and made as much small noises as je can yet letting them know were he is at all times. Once he infront of them, he get on his knees while holding the gift infront.

Legend: my day is okay but I got you a gift.

This made the child confused and til their head a bit making their bangs til to one side of their face as legend smile .

Legend: here open the gift.

Legend gently hand the gift bag while he gently guild the tiny blind child hands to the gift bag and help them pull out the stuff elephant at have a few small bells attach with. The bells let put a soft noise that the child ears twitch to hear the sound.

Legend watch them feel the soft stuff animal and the bells too, legend glad he took time on checking the stuff animal and make sure it's safe enough for the child.

Legend: It's a stuffed animal buddy, and it's an elephant .

The child hugged the stuffed animal and looked up to try face legend with a smile. Legend smile again, glad they like it.

Blind child: thank you big brother legend.

The child says with a gentle and happy tone that legend feels all his past worries disappear and he lift his hand up to pat the blind child head.

Legend: no problem buddy, what will you name the stuffed animal?

The child let out a hum thinking of the name til their ears pin up.

Blind child: Mr. Wiggles

(Couldn't thelp it)

Bonus!

Legend yawned as he headed to the kitchen of the base to go get something to drink as he enter the doorway to the kitchen but stop and see the stuffed animal is moving completely on its own and soft bell noises whenever it moves. Legend blink and rub his eyes to hope he's Hallucinating, but mr.wiggles is still moving, even picking up a water bottle and turn to faced the doorway. Legend confused as mr.wiggles walk over til it face legend and it use its trumpet as in tell legend to step aside which legend did as Mr . wiggles walk all the way back to the blind child's room as legend stand there.

Legend: oh shit......that...its.....hope boss never finds out.

Uh-oh.... There is more to Mr. Wiggles than meets the eye. o.o

This is very cute though. XD

Legend would have been very awkward at the beginning, but unable to stand by and do nothing, he goes to get the kid their own toy- making sure that it makes noise since it's not like they'd be able to interact with it visually.

Small fun fact about Mr. Wiggles. I actually thought that it would be really cute if they got a baby toy. I was basing him off of the soft plushies that I see in the baby section but combine it with some other toys I've seen. For example, when my dogs were puppies we got them this little flat, crinkly zebra that has teething nubs for the feet and they loved thrashing him around.

So I thought it would be cute if an elephant had Dumbo sized ears but they were also crinkly. Make it soft enough to hug, firm enough cuddle with and add a bell for further enrichment and now you have Mr. Wiggles. :D

[coffeeandjournaling]

Mini Reviews II

I don’t know what it is about space, but it makes me feel things. Have a handful of small and short games in space with a dash of emotional investment.

Low Battery by Batts

emotionally devastating :)

who doesn’t wanna be a little robot

play if you admire the attempt to create even under dire circumstances

One thing I love about solo experiences is that they really manage to get you into the head of other characters without any meddling from outside. This is especially true when mechanics and story/premise work together to get you there. Low Battery balances your character’s energy (Battery) and feelings (Melancholy, both signified by a D20 respectively) against the time that passes. With what little time you have left, can you find inspiration to create something? I was struggling with the D20s and watching the time and trying to decide on a move and – well, the robot is struggling, isn’t it? Struggling to stay conscious, to take in as much as it can for the time it has left in this universe and maybe, just maybe leaving something behind, something that proves it was here and tried to make a connection to the world around it. For me, time ran out too soon – but I still wrote a little poem about it:

Every time We create something It’s as if we chip off a tiny piece Of the universe As we see it To carry around in our pocket.

You, an Astronaut by Hannah Shaffer and Evan Rowland

short, no prep required

an interactive narrative

more reflective than focused on a goal

This is a very short, narrative experience that I recommend reading with some suitable background music. Personally, this is right up my alley: you get a few choices to “sway” the narrative to your liking, which usually tells you something about yourself in the end. You are put into the shoes of an astronaut waking from their cryo-stasis due to their ship having veered off course and sending out a distress call. While you wait for an answer, you ruminate on your dreams and the memories connected to them. Similar to Low Battery, it sports a gorgeous layout that combines NASA images with the narrative, all put into a simple, retro-style mock-up of a spaceship UI. I don’t want to give away too much – it really is short. But I do feel that the themes of queerness and belonging come through strongly. Games like these either fit you like a glove or fall flat for you. For some reason, I was reminded of the Lifeline games, which I love dearly.

Letters to Europa by Lola Johnson

an exercise in self-reflection

a hopeful look into the future

relaxing and motivating

Epistolary games have their own special charm, perhaps because keeping in contact even when we’re far apart is something we’ve done forever as humans – this need to stay connected to someone we care about, no matter the odds.  In the case of Letters to Europa, you write a message to a loved one on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Messages take about a year to arrive, and thus are sent in packages all at once. After you’ve finished your package, you switch over to the other character, writing back to the person on Earth. This, to me, felt like a conversation with myself, first putting down my thoughts about the given prompt, then trying to get some distance and reflect on it through a positive lens. I took the prompts quite literally and went with how my last year has gone – kind of a mixed bag. The prompts for the Earthling seem a little more sombre, more morose. Just as the other character has left Earth, though, embodying them makes you leave that behind (and that’s what the game says, too, ‘give yourself permission to let […] go’). It settles you in a more optimistic mood, no matter how depressing your Earthling’s messages might have been. This is a tiny game that relies heavily on how willing you are to engage with it – but if you can, in whatever medium you choose, I think it’s quite effective.

[danglovely]

Kim Possible Episode Tiers: The A-Tier

Since most of the episodes in the show are quality, the A-Tier is best defined as episodes that have a thing that makes them stand out. In addition to being quality, there's a reason to remember them.

This is also the largest tier, so strap in.

Coach Possible: The Kim coaching B-Story runs a little flat, but Jr. putting together a nonsensical plan that results in hypnotized Kim and Ron dancing in cages in a nightclub is what I live for. There's an underrated ending fight as well that culminates Kim fighting a Chuck E. Cheese robot, to catchy dance music, while Ron launches an evil disco ball to its destruction.

Bueno Nacho: Another iffy B-Story about petty work squabbles, but it's one of the precious early-series moments where we get to see Drakken and Shego at the top of their game. This was actually back when Drakken was still menacing, despite kicking off the tiny oversight that ruins his plan trend. Also, the lean.

Tick Tick Tick: The first episode in the production order. It does feel weird because they hadn't settled on the animation or the characters yet. That said, there is some amazing hero-villain banter in this one that they nailed right out of the gate.

Steal Wheels: The reveal that Motor Ed and Drakken are related pays off big time and it's sort of a shame that more team-ups between the two didn't happen. There are a couple of good things about the B-Plot here as well: (1) We sort of get a glimpse into how close Kim and Ron are, because she doesn't know what to do with herself when he's not there. (2) Always good to see Felix and have a character voiced by Jason Marsden.

Bad Boy: I honestly considered moving this lower, but I decided against it because the Attitudinator is too good of a concept to ignore. This episode drags a little bit because it gets bogged down in the exposition -- They felt the need to go through the whole process of Drakken not feeling evil enough, them going to the convention, explaining why Kim and Ron went to the convention, Ron being a bully for a bit . . . like get to the Evil Ron stuff already!

It's only a minor complaint though, this is still the A-Tier.

Mad Dogs and Aliens: Terrible B-Plot in this one because I never understood why Ron wasn't touched by Jim and Tim taking on the mantle and him immediately jumping in to show them how it's done (it's also kind of forgettable, it took some brain racking to remember it). The A-Plot is gold though. Bitter Drakken and apathetic turned jealous Shego reconciling the consequences of multiple episodes of Season Three wasn't really something I thought the show was capable of.

The New Ron: I've written it before, but the Seniors are brilliant villains. Combine a criticism of obscene wealth + Ron giving them the idea + the motivation for world domination being boredom . . . it's just a glorious recipe for a unique, comedic delight. I also relate to Ron's cowlick problems.

Monkey Fist Strikes: It's another villain introduction for a very good villain. I think what really puts this one up there for me is another top fight scene. Another good music selection (that I'm not sure really how to describe other than giving off a Sherlock Holmes vibe). It results in Ron coming through, by himself, and leaving Fist cinematically strewn across the Tai Sheng Pek Kwa insignia and surrounded by four broken idols.

Odds Man In: What a surprise, another sort of weak high school B-plot. The interesting aspects here are Drakken getting caught up in the sort of corporate villainy he had previously expressed distaste for (see Rappin' Drakken). Also, Wade goes on a mission with Kim!

Mind Games: I love the body swap concept, but fiction always sort of does it the same way. Freaky Friday, Gravity Falls, this episode . . . it's all sort of the "I didn't understand how hard you had it" thing. What makes this episode A-tier is Drakken and Shego's interactions over the body swaps and the Neutronalizer are some of the funniest bits in the series.

Low Budget: I love Frugal Lucre. I love that he is voiced by Richard Kind and I love the idea of trying to hold the world hostage without spending any money.

Crush: I made a whole post about how this is a really good Ron episode. It also might be the exception to this tier where it's just really high quality all the way through, but without anything particularly high concept about it. That's probably why it aired first.

Car Trouble: All of Shego and Drakken's interaction with Dr. Freeman are fantastic. It's too bad he wasn't a recurring scientist like Bortle. It's also a better B-plot than most because Sadie was a perfectly likeable vehicle.

Go Team Go: One of the brief glimpses we actually get of Shego's past. I'm not sure if I'm 100% sold on her brothers or not, but undoubtedly this is one of the more interesting episodes. Plus, evil family.

A Very Possible Christmas: I've taken to watching this on Christmas. A lot of gushy holiday feelings between the two lead pairs. The ending is a little weird though.

Dimension Twist: There is an element of cringe here -- It's weird to put Shego in a very milquetoast Friends parody. There's a lot of good as well (trap trap, Drakken's book) and honestly, I just want to see what else the Pandimensional Vortex Inducer can do.

The Ron Factor: I wrote a whole post about this one too. It's a very interesting subversion of the metanarrative within the show and the only reason it isn't S-tier is that Global Justice annoys me a bit. Could definitely have used more Gemini in later episodes though.

Sick Day: This is the best of the sub-15 minute episodes and the whole point of them is to go for quick laughs and nothing else. I would say it achieved it here with both sides having to quickly adjust to illness and the introduction of Hank Perkins.

Hidden Talent: "Say the Word" is a certified banger. I also like to see Drakken taking initiative to try and be a step ahead of the heroes. Don't forget, the only reason he loses here is because he tries the most complicated way of finishing off Kim ever.

Overdue: The second best of the 15-minute episodes. Once again, we're only here for jokes so we're going to see what happens when Ron tries to rush through defeating a bunch of different villains. It's enjoyable.

Oh No, Yono!: It's the end of Monkey Fist. It's a satisfying coming-of-age conclusion for Ron and a heartwrenching moment when Kim gets turned to stone. It's only not S-tier because Yono's presence detracts from Ron's real archenemy.

Exchange: For as good as this episode is, it's also very much a setup for what the series planned to do with Ron in the future. We've seen him succeed on his own at this point, but Exchange is interesting in that it creates a part of his life that Kim just can't be associated with.

The Twin Factor: The first of like a hundred mind control plots. It's fun to see brainwashed Shego and Kim and it was important for the series to actually develop Jim and Tim a bit, lest they be pigeonholed into one-joke obstacles for Kim to overcome.

[eloquentornot]

Remember this post and how I assumed that I wouldn't be able to tell if there had been any mysterious notes left for False because it's just the world download and not the server itself?

Well.

I was wandering around near fWhip's area, and I decided to have a look at the Fae villagers in the mushroom circle, see if they still had their custom trades, and as soon as I crossed the threshold of the circle, something popped into my inventory! Allay sounds with no allays in sight! Aaaaahh!!!

(Perhaps it is worth noting here that, when I first opened the world download, I spawned inside Gobland itself. I presume this is just because that's where fWhip logged off for the last time when he was preparing the world for download, but it's quite interesting that I should receive a note intended for a member of the very empire I just so happened to start in!)

A note presumably for fWhip, then, asking for a fresh modern day version of the ancient creeper skull the Fae got Jimmy to get them that time, most likely. Perhaps this was made for fWhip before he decided not to get involved in the Fae storyline, or something?

Still though, the fact that whatever caused these notes to appear is still active in the world download after all... I suppose maybe there never was anything set up for False, at all? Or perhaps she or someone else did activate it, and it was never shown?

The Fae still have their custom trades, by the way.

But still, this is the same mushroom circle where other quests took place. I wonder how the command blocks knew which players to give which books. Maybe it was a combination of command blocks and admin invisible players, for the more complex interactions?

...Was this intentional, for the world download? Were we meant to be a character from Gobland, getting this note? But I was put into creative mode by default, stuck in that mode with commands disabled, I had to "open to LAN" to enable cheats and get spectator or survival mode, so it can't have been intended for a survival experience! (Unless I somehow messed something up? I didn't change any settings at all, though. I'm playing in 1.20.1, if that could make any difference.)

I got a creeper head from the creative inventory and placed it, and dropped one on the ground, but nothing seemed to change, so I picked them up again. (I've been trying not to change anything in the world so far, and if I do ever make my own build in it I'll make sure to take screenshots of how the area looked before.)

But I did notice when I placed the head, particles of a sculk sensor. I enabled cheats again and went into spectator, finding one command block, the source of the allay sounds!

But, I looked around some more, and I couldn't find any others. I'm still not totally sure how that book got in my inventory. Maybe there's an even more well hidden command block somewhere else. Maybe there are things hidden under the plant I found near Cogsmeade that I couldn't see in spectator mode, solid blocks with no air between...

I'd have to totally dig the areas up to be sure, and I don't want to do that just yet.

Even though I was flying around in creative mode, it was such a shock to suddenly get a Fae note, to hear the sounds!! This is amazing, and I'm definitely looking forward to finding even more secrets next time I explore!

(Contents of the book under the cut.)

Page 1:

Hello Tiny Creature

What is it you do all day in the caverns of Gobland that you so rarely visit the surface?

Perhaps you are counting your trinkets and polishing your treasure...

Page 2:

We have a proposition for you, tiny creature.

A small favour for us in exchange for pure raw gold!

All we ask for is a creeper skull. A fresh specimen for us to study...

(Page 3 is blank.)

[jazzytrait]

So... Emilee needs to put herself out there more. She did what most people do in a new town: she got an app. Basically... I WANT YOUR SIMS. More info below the cut.

Now, I know a lot of people gameify these things like reality shows. I don't watch reality shows... so I have NOT ONE SINGLE IDEA of how that works. Sorry.

Still, we can have fun doing this the old fashioned way. What will happen: 1. I'll load all the potential matches into the game and stick them all on a single lot in the neighborhood. (sucks to be them) 2. One at a time, I'll have them go one dates with Emilee. 3. We'll check their first impressions and see how they get on. (There will be no selfie with interactions - that's basically cheating.) 4. If it goes well, they'll get a second date. 5. Whoever has the highest combined relationship (friendly + romantic) at the end of 3 dates, will get to start dating her officially. 6. Aging will be temporarily turned off so we can get this done properly. About Emilee: 1. Favorite Movie: Get Him to the Greek 2. Favorite Radio Stations: Blues, Spooky and Alternative 3. Favorite TV Show: Community 4. Likes: extreme sports, the smell of fresh laundry, street food, the sound of snow crunching beneath her feet, mystery novels, sketching, painting, snowboarding, rock climbing, hiking, cooking 5. Dislikes: rom coms, slugs, people who chew with their mouth open, wet socks, gummy bears 6. Goals: Enjoy life to the fullest. She's not entirely sure if she wants a family just yet. She's got too much to do before she adds kids to the mix. 7. Career: Freelance artist / Yoga instructor

What Emilee is looking for: 1. Can have cc (please include with files) - Maxis Match or Maxis Mix 2. Male or Masc Female young adults only 3. Any traits 4. I may make tiny adjustments to fit my defaults and preferences. 5. I'm only accepting up to 8 sims (because more than that is just too much.)

How to apply: Tag me in a post with your sims' picture and info. I'd like to know: 1. traits 2. zodiac (for the lols) 3. short backstory 4. skills, likes/dislikes 5. hobbies 6. short "About Me", etc. Once I have all the sims for the dating to start, I'll make a big post with all their Simdr profiles based on the info you give.

Entrants: 1. Leonardo "Dodo" Harper by @akitasimblr 2. Arati Narang by @m0ckest 3. Devon Hearn by @challengedsimmer 4. Isaac Flores by @sweetestsimvotion 5. Sloane Huxley by @piinkplumbob 6. Cyrus Huxley by @piinkplumbob 7. Omar Murphy by @simsinfinitylt 8. Cassandra by @wastelandwhisperer

[stargazer-sims]

Water Elements Building Experiments & Tutorial - UPDATE

Okay, since my last attempt to post this got reported, let's have another go, shall we?

----------

Hello friends! I've been experimenting (as usual), and since I'm currently obsessed with making things related to water, of course my experiments are water-related this time.

After building the play park, which incorporates a pool, a splash pad and a "flooded room", the idea came to me to see what other kinds of water objects I could combine for interesting gameplay/storytelling.

Behold! (the rest is under the cut, so people who may find these images upsetting do not have to see them)

Experiment #1

A very pregnant (and very uninhibited) Zia is relaxing in this water feature. He even brought out a toy from his inventory to entertain himself while he cools off.

how to do this

To do this yourself, you'll need TwistedMexi's amazing mod, T.O.O.L.

First, build your water feature, either inside a room or outdoors. This one's indoors, obviously. To build it, first construct a flat square in the size you prefer, then put walls around it to create a room (or a room within a room, in the case of the one I made). Next, lower the flat square by one or two clicks. Then, turn the walls you built into half-walls. Anything between 0.25 and 0.75 wall height will work. If it's any taller, your sim won't be able to get into it.

Next, go to the buy catalogue and select a the square kiddie pool. Place it wherever you want inside your water feature, and then use T.O.O.L. to resize it. I scaled mine down to 0.025 so I could still see it but it wouldn't be visible in pictures.

Now add whatever decoration you want for your water feature. Fountains, water emitters, lily pads...whatever!

Once you've decorated the area, the last thing to do is add the water. Go to the Terrain Tools in build mode and choose the water icon,and then just click inside your water feature, and it'll fill up. You can change the water style at this point as well. I used "swimming in sparkles" but you can use whatever you prefer.

Go back to Live Mode and click on your tiny kiddie pool. You should get the interaction to "Lounge". Click that, and your sim will relax in the water just like Zia is doing up there.

__________

Experiment #2

This was done with the birth pool from @pandasamacc Realistic Childbirth Mod. This one also requires T.O.O.L.

When Zia said he wanted to give birth naturally, this is absolutely not what Davey thought he meant! Zia is still working on learning English, and he was trying to tell his friend he wanted to give birth in nature. In any case, Davey's first assumption still wouldn't have been that Zia wanted to labour in a pond in a public park. But, Davey is Zia's friend, and he trusts him, so Davey's willing to humour him (and he hopes no one calls the police on Zia for public nudity).

how to do this

First, use the terrain tool to build a pond. You can make it any size you like.

Next, place a platform in your pond. It makes sense to put it fairly close to the edge of the water. You can lower it to your desired height. I lowered mine two clicks, but then raised it to one because the water was a bit too deep for my liking. Honestly, this will take some trial and error, because pond-building is by no means an exact science, but once you get it the way you like, I'd suggest saving the lot to your library for future use.

Once you've built your platform, get the birth pool from the buy catalogue and place it on your platform. It should be close to the edge, unless you want your sim to be completely surrounded by water while labouring/giving birth. Resize the pool using T.O.O.L. You can make it as small as you want, as long as you can find it to click on it later.

Lastly, fill your pond using the water option in Terrain Tools.

*** NOTE - the birth pool doesn't work in water features (like in Experiment #1). I tried it, but even with the birth pool at its correct size, the action just kept cancelling out.

I like that the midwife got into the pond with him. It's a little awkward that she's fully clothed, but at least the animations still work and the mod is still fully functional this way.

She's able to check him, and the animation still looks good.

Taking a little rest, and asking the midwife "how much longer?"

I really like how this ended up looking with the pond, although I think I want more water for the final form of this setup.

Zia didn't have much longer to wait, as it turned out! H looked like he was in agony, but he pushed like a champion when his body told him to, and...

Purple baby girl is here!

I had to censor this because there's a baby and fictional alien private bits under those flowers, but I hope you can still see the position of the midwife's hands. This actually looks better here than it does in the birth pool.

Zia's hand and arm position looks weird though, unfortunately, because normally he'd be holding onto the edge of the pool. This would look better with some sort of decoration at the edge of the pond. Even pillows would work, if you're not into the rocks and plants aesthetic.

I personally feel like I'd like the water to be deeper. Originally, I had it deeper for the cuddle animation and didn't think I liked it, but after seeing the actual birth animation, I've changed my mind. Definitely needs more water, but this still looked okay for experimentation purposes.

First snuggle with the little one ♥

Again, I think this setup could benefit with some sort of decoration /support at the edge of the pond, because it looks like he's leaning on nothing and it looks very awkward and uncomfortable.

You can also see my tiny pool here. I sized it up so I could find it, but I figured out a workaround for that. Instead of having a visible (even if small) pool, I later made the pool as tiny as I did for the kiddle pool in Experiment #1 and then just added one tile of flooring to my platform in a slightly different colour than the rest of it. That helped me figure out where to aim, to find the teeny-tiny pool

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this odd little experminent/tutorial. If you use this, please let me know, so I can see your creativity!

[saturrnss]

MISFITS PART 2

Namora x black!fem!mutant!punk!reader

~Inbetween~

The warriors p.o.v

They come back to talokan. The long haired man goes to put his whale back while the rest follow Namora to a moderately small bungalo decorated by talokanil children. They enter the place and namora lays you down on a hammock made of cotton filled vibrainium-infused rope.

When she sets you down, the bracelet that you were wearing at the time of the attack somehow had slipped off and fell to the concrete ground. It was one of those things were you could place a tiny picture inside, usually used for loved ones.

After hearing the noise it made, she picked it up and inspected it (for safety reasons) She opened it to see a middle aged man and woman- The woman's hair in braids, the man's in dreads, holding eachother in a loving embrace. You were a perfect combination between the two, she looked at you and then back at the picture.

It didn't take long for her to put two and two together. The long haired man that gassed you walks into the room. "You ready, Namora?" She turns to him. "Yes Attuma." Namora and most of the warriors follow her to the door way except the youngest one- who was reluctant to go.

"What if we lose our rank?" The warrior says. "He couldn't possibly be that upset with us" Attuma says almost rolling his eyes back, not even wanting to think about the possibility. "I mean, think about it! If the dweller escapes and tells the upper world about talokan they will come looking, and if they find us... we might lose our homes! It will be all our fault"

Namora walks up to her. "Dacey, what have we done with surface dwellers in the past?" "....discarded them" Dacey says, looking down with a frown. "And what will we do if this one steps out of line?" "....Put their head on a stick."

"We are more powerful than 3 surface dynasties combined." Attuma says walking up to the both of them. "He knows what's best for the collective and if he doesn't allow us to kill the dweller then 8.5 times out of 10 he's correct." The 1.5 missing worries her. "Talokan will not. Move. Again. I'll make sure of it."

It takes a few moments but Dacey finally agrees, and they dive into the waters to meet with- him. with the man who they rely on. Their guidance, Their diety, Their Supreme.

The feathered serpent God- K'uk'ulkan.

...

A couple mintues later, they swim up to his almost- divine throne as he was sitting, the man greeted them all and vise versa. "Was the mission successful?" A powerful voice says. "Yes." Attuma says. "Did you kill the metal worker." They both look at Eachother. "Not exactly," Namora said. "We tried but they just...wouldn't go down." "....How do you mean?" The God says.

"We thought that we had a easy advantage," Attuma said. "They looked like the average, weak surface dweller. But when we landed strikes that should have killed they just...."

He was trying to find the find the right words. "They what?" "Regenerated." The gods eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "They're a mutant, k'uk'ulkan." Namora says. The man's eyes widen and he sits up. A mintue of silence occurred with the feathered serpent in deep thought.

"Should i place them back on land before they wake and- "talk" to them if they ever try to tell people? Should I see for myself?" He finally speaks. "Okay. I will speak to the surface dweller once they have awakened, you all may now go.

They start to swim back, Attuma whispering "see?" In dacey's ear- but the God calls for them before they could swim further out.

"Do not, interact with the surface dweller unless you have too." They all nod in agreement and go their separate ways.

...

A/N: I'M BACK BITCHES

Wp: sevenstarcigs

Tiktok: sevenstarwp

[polizwrites]

PoliZ's WIP Update: 7 Feb 2024

A busy IRL week, which cut into my writing time/energy.   I  touched  4 fics (1 new works & 3 WIPs) for a total of 1525 words.  

On Ao3, I posted: 

NamNori -  Tony from another dimension sparks some revelations - eventual Stony.    

Ringing In the New - newly established Stony ficlet with some mature content.

On the Edge of Disaster -  CA:CW fix-it, but just barely. 

The Secrets That We Keep -  Stony secret identity & FWB ficlet

On Tumblr I posted: 

Finding a Partner -  Steve & Natasha go dancing (potential pre-slash) 

I’m juggling  19  😬 active/semi-active WIPs with my current  deadlines being the Tony Stark Bingo & Stony AU Bingo which both wrap in mid-February.    

See  below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me   prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding  any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

Bucky Barnes Bingo  - [BBB_R5]   (Ends 10 31 Jan 2024)

Ended up with twenty-six fills  and  an assisted blackout!   Masterpost coming some time this week. 

Tony Stark Bingo Round 7  - [TSB_R7]   (ends 15 Feb)

Twenty-six  fills and two WIPs as of the moment  - getting an assisted blackout, thanks to a couple of adopted squares! 

* A2 - KINK: Concubine -  This will get filled with Chapter Two of  The Sultan’s Gifts  whic will also fills my SAUB Gentle Dom square and the Build a Bucky Bingo February prompt Fingering.  It’s coming in at 1065 words and will post on Friday.  A third smutty chapter (filling my SRB Multiple Submissives squares) is  currently sitting at 441 words.  

* K5 - AU: Anime - I had Vague Ideas of doing a “Battle of the Planets” (my first anime and a childhood favorite)  fusion, with Tony as Princess, Steve as Mark and Bucky as Jason - but wasn’t sure who to put in as  Tiny (Happy? Thor?) or  Keyop (Vision?) -  JARVIS would have been their 7-Zark- 7 of course….  if I have time/spoons/inspiration - I may do something with this.   

* Jan Adoptable: Enemies to Lovers -  working to fit this into another Flash Fiction Friday-inspired fic -  To Earn the Dragon’s Heart  was written for prompt  [#FFF237 A Fool’s Quest] and will also fill my SAUB AU: Fantasy square.  The fic is inspired by CoffeeOwl’s really cool dragon!Steve/ indebted!Tony prompt in the STB Discord server.  The expansion is up to 1045 words and will hopefully be posted on the 14th.  

Stony AUniverse Bingo  [SAUB_R1] (ends 15 Feb)

Another brand-new bingo I’m helping co-mod!   I’m up to fourteen  fills, four  WIPs and several  crossover ideas in play.  Not sure I’m going to get a blackout - but I’ll do my best!  

* S1 - Edging - Posted  Ringing In the New to Ao3 on Monday -  where Tony makes a suggestion to Steve improve/change up their love life. It crossed over with a Flash Fiction Friday prompt: How Do You Use ‘It’? and came in at 335 words.

* S3 - AU: Wings -  think I need to pivot on this - maybe I’ll be self-indulgent and do a second remix of some part of Take What Was Wrong (And Make it Right) from Steve’s POV - since  the first remix  is Bucky POV (and therefore tricky to make Stony-focused) 

* S5 - Accidental Baby Acquisition - see BBB Yelena Belova  - this may have to come off the table/pivot to something else.  

* T1 - AU: Fantasy -  see TSB  Enemies to Lovers. 

* T2 - Adopting a Cat - combined this with a Flash Fiction Friday prompt  [#FFF236 Fight or Flight]  for  Feline Fight and Flight  - which will probably get a better title before I post it to Ao3.😁 This No Powers established Stony ficlet - where Tony’s rescuing a stray cat and Steve helps out -  came in at  390 words. 

* T4 - AU: Canon Divergence -  Filled this with  On the Edge of Disaster -  a  CA:CW last-minute partial fix-it from Steve’s POV that also filled a Flash Friday Fic fill   [#FFF209 On the Edge] as well as my SRB Fix-It square.  I’ve gotten one cranky comment on it already.  🙄🙄🙄

* O2 - Omegaverse - I have a Vague Idea inspired by  @kandisheek’s lovely art piece.  

* O3 - FREE - used this in combination with a previous  Flash Fiction Friday prompt:   [#FFF235 Little Pink Houses]  to come up with  Those Old Crazy Dreams (Just Kind of Came and Went) which was posted to Tumblr and came in at 461 words.  I may tweak it a bit before posting to Ao3 before this event is over.   

* N2 - Mutual Pining - crossover with CABB Royal Knight?

* N3 - Gentle Dom - see TSB KINK: Concubine above

* N5 - AU: Multiple Identities - Posted  The Secrets That We Keep  to Ao3 this morning.  It’s a first person present tense alternating POV ficlet with mutual pining (and secret identity) Stony. Inspired by the  Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF225 I Can't Tell], the ficlet came in at 340 words.

Captain (America) Bottom Bingo - Round 2 [CABB] (ends 28 Feb 2024)

I signed up for a 3x3 card for this bingo and have six fills, two WIPs and a couple of crossover ideas.

* B3 - Royal Knight - see SAUB Mutual Pining.

Post July Break Bingo  [JBB_23p] (Ends Apr 2024)

One fill on my  2x3 non-fandom-specific card - still working on  potential crossovers.

* A1 - “It’s you. It’s always been you.” - I may be including this in a Canon Divergence prompt I have on one of these cards 😁

* B2 - Character’s personality is split into two different beings – I’ve never played with Bucky & the Soldier being two different people, but this seems like the perfect opportunity! Will see what might be a good crossover on one of my open cards.

*  C1 - Touch Starved – another good fit for a Bucky-centric fic. (Steve or Tony or Clint).

Steve Rogers Bingo - Round 3 [SRB_R3] (ends  15 Jun 2024)

Seven  fills and one WIP - need to ponder possible crossovers, especially with  CABB.  

* A1 - Steve can actually dance just fine - Matched this up with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt  [#FFF238 Take My Hand]  for   Finding a Partner -  where Steve & Natasha go dancing (potential pre-slash). It came in at  239 words and will post to Ao3 before the event is over.    

* B4 - Fix it  - See SAUB AU: Canon Divergence

* C5 - Exes to Lovers  - crossover with  CABB - "B1 - "All I wanted was for you to be happy."  – Bucky or Tony as the Ex?   SAUB S4 - Arranged Marriage  might be an additional crossover  

* D1 - Multiple Submissives -  see  TSB  KINK: Concubine

Bucky Barnes Connect Four - Alt Jun-iverse [BBC4_R2]  {Ends June 2024}

The good folks over at @buckybarnesevents  have opened this event up early!  You sign up for a single row card of four squares and the challenge is to see if you can combine any/all into a single Bucky-centric AU fanwork - although you can also create 2-4 separate fanworks if you want.  

The combo of prompts on my first card [Reality Show,  Omegaverse, Talent/Manager, Royalty] sparked an idea that I’m about 230 words + misc notes into already -  Alpha!Bucky as a technical prince   who gets talked into joining a reality show that is supposed to match him up with an omega… but there’s a twist!   I’m torn between striking while the iron is hot vs spending time on the fics that have a looming deadline…  🙃

Hawkeyes Bingo [HB_R2] {Ends TBD] 

Just signed up for this fun Tumblr event - got a 3x3 card and want to swap out one square, but otherwise am looking forward to creating more  Clint-centric content and trying my hand at a bit of  Kate Bishop fic as well!    

*A1 - Werewolf AU -  possible inspiration to continue A Hairy Situation? 

* A3 - Awkward Flirting – this might be a good entry into my first femslash fic with Kate/Yelena?    

Build-A-Bucky Bingo [BaBB_R1] {Ends Oct 2024}

Another fun year-long  event from the folks at  @buckybarnesevents!  Each month there’s a list of prompts and you choose (at least) one  each month for your card!

* November:  Crackfic - DONE  

* December: Wingman  - DONE

* January: Wingfic  - DONE

*January: Polyamory - DONE

* February -  Fingering -  see TSB KINK: Concubine 

Warm and Fluffy   Bingo  [WFB]   (no end date)

Four  fills on my card, courtesy of   @warmandfluffybingocards  - need to try for another crossover or two! 

————

On  other creative fronts:  I am working on a Taylor Swift figure as a commission;  I still have one figure to go for one of my Marvel Trumps Hate  auction winners:  Captain Rambeau aka Photon. If  you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations, check  out Stuffed With Character    over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 150!).   These soft stuffed figures are  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design   requests  for any fandom!

[mostmagical]

hello . it is in fact THAT part of your week .

let me set the scene for you (am not a writer, but we shall try)

zo comes back from her physics exam, defeated and dulled. not even the 'little treat' she bought for herself is enough to brighten her mood. but then . she follows a reblog to nic mostmagical's blog and sees that she has a chapter of FDAH to read . crops watered, skin cleared mood (mostly!) fixed etc etc

HI (first of all, what is this "not a writer." @zodoods makes great,funny and often heartwarming comics and that is WRITING)

sorry it took me a bit to respond I have been offline!!! which I know it probably seems like I'm online all the time because I actually have a queue that runs with no queue tag and I schedule my self reblogs so no one knows

putting the rest of ur asks under cut

I'M GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT!!!! ngl I get nervous that chapters without direct lovesquare interactions are boring- which is why I do not believe I would ever be able to master the art of the slow burn- but I'M SO GLAD. parkour marinette is based on me. irl. contorting my body to try and find my neighbor's hamster because those guys are TINY. and then combined with that scene from stormy weather where she is dashing around the apartment trying to catch manon when she's babysitting. silly girl

adrien will be okay :) eventually :)

HONESTLY I KINDA WISH I WENT WITH PLAGG ANYWAY. but I had the idea too late and I wanted to post the chapter and I have this too much thing where I don't know how to end things and I think I would have ruined the stage for the next chapter. but a lot of people keep commenting on plagg so maybe I'll make a bonus IDK. he is a main character technically and I love to let plagg shine.

THANKS FOR READING ZO!! I hope your exams went well or if you still have more that they go well💕💕💖💕💕💖

[taperwolf]

When I was browsing at a local thrift store, I came across something that I might have picked up — if I didn't already have one in storage somewhere.

This is the Sony Watchman FD-C290 TV/Radio alarm clock. It has an LED clock display, an AM/FM radio, and a tiny television. You'd expect something of this size to be a little LCD display, and ten or twenty years later you'd be right — but this little guy came out in the late 1980s, so those didn't exist. No, this thing has a CRT.

(This photo is taken from a teardown of the related FD-20 by experimental-engineering.co.uk .)

Now, the story of how I came to have one of these is a bit odd. My senior year in high school — 1993-4 — I got together with another guy in my class to do a science fair project. Now, we were in rural Wyoming, and it was pretty rare for even people in big cities to have access to the internet, but our bright idea was to build a virtual reality setup.

I'd picked up a book with a CD attached which included a software package called Rend386, which would display, in real time and on 80386 and 80486 PCs, very constrained virtual worlds. These were incredibly simple, of course; to my memory it was primitive-based, where you could define cubes, cylinders, and spheres, and combine those into more complex shapes, with a degree of animation and interactivity possible. I don't think there were hardware 3d graphics available yet at all in the PC world, so this was all running on incredibly overtaxed CPUs. But it did give a glimpse of what VR would become.

The software supported two bits of repurposed game hardware: the active 3d glasses Sega made for the Master System, and the Nintendo Power Glove. By some coincidence, those two items, and a couple of Sony Watchmans (one standalone and one in a clock radio), were standing dusty on the electronics shelf of the local Ben Franklin/Ace Hardware, and by further coincidence my mom worked there at the time; she talked her boss into discounting the stuff to be purchasable by our meager funds.

The glasses worked by blocking one eye, then the other, while you looked at a screen that showed the scene from each eye's viewpoint in synchrony. The PowerGlove worked by having bend sensors to detect your hand making a fist, and ultrasonic sensors to detect its position in 3d space. The book gave directions for building a circuit to interface the two to a PC, which my friend followed, since he was the one who knew how to solder. (I wouldn't learn until decades later.) And this all actually worked, most of the time — you could steer your avatar, rendered by a single floating hand, around the simple world via joystick, see everything in 3d, and pick up and drop designated objects by moving your hand into them and making a fist. Of course, the frame rate was terrible, and using the glasses cut that in half, but it was all pretty exciting at the time. One of the big demos was navigating around some objects and walking onto a Ferris wheel, which would lift you up in the air and everything.

The book had some stuff about getting two VGA cards to run on the same machine, in order to output the two stereo views at the same time, and to use expensive displays and optics to create a head-mounted display. But our quick-and-dirty plan was to take the VGA signal from the computer, convert that down to NTSC video and use an RF modulator to put it on a TV channel, and feed it into the two Watchmans, which we'd affix to the glasses, one attached over each eye; they'd both be showing both views, but you'd only be able to see the proper ones. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and technical skills, and the science fair hit when we were still displaying on a big CRT. We actually went to the state science fair with that project, though it didn't get much love from the judges there.

I inherited most of the equipment afterwards — my friend claimed the standalone Watchman — and I'm not entirely sure if I still have the PowerGlove or not. But I do have the clock radio. Somewhere.

[dotphiintern]

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[jcmarchi]

‘Strange Metal’ is Strangely Quiet in Noise Experiment - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/strange-metal-is-strangely-quiet-in-noise-experiment-technology-org/

‘Strange Metal’ is Strangely Quiet in Noise Experiment - Technology Org

Rice University physicists find evidence of exotic charge transport in material.

Physicists Liyang Chen (left) and Doug Natelson. (Photo courtesy of D. Natelson/Rice University)

True to form, a “strange metal” quantum material proved strangely quiet in recent quantum noise experiments at Rice University. 

Published in Science, the measurements of quantum charge fluctuations known as “shot noise” provide the first direct evidence that electricity seems to flow through strange metals in an unusual liquid-like form that cannot be readily explained in terms of quantized packets of charge known as quasiparticles.

“The noise is greatly suppressed compared to ordinary wires,” said Rice’s Doug Natelson, the study’s corresponding author. “Maybe this is evidence that quasiparticles are not well-defined things or that they’re just not there, and charge moves in more complicated ways. We have to find the right vocabulary to talk about how charge can move collectively.”

Rice University physicist Doug Natelson. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

The experiments were performed on nanoscale wires of a quantum critical material with a precise 1-2-2 ratio of ytterbium, rhodium and silicon (YbRh2Si2), which has been studied in great depth during the past two decades by Silke Paschen, a solid-state physicist at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien).

The material contains a high degree of quantum-entanglement that produces a very unusual (“strange”) temperature-dependent behavior that is very different from the one in normal metals such as silver or gold.

In such normal metals, each quasiparticle, or discrete unit, of charge is the product of incalculable tiny interactions between countless electrons. First put forward 67 years ago, the quasiparticle is a concept physicists use to represent the combined effect of all those interactions as a single quantum object for the purposes of quantum mechanical calculations.

Physicists Silke Paschen (left) of Vienna University of Technology and Qimiao Si of Rice University. (Photo by Tommy LaVergne/Rice University)

Some prior theoretical studies have suggested that the charge in a strange metal might not be carried by such quasiparticles, and shot noise experiments allowed Natelson, study lead author Liyang Chen, a former student in Natelson’s lab, and other Rice and TU Wien co-authors to gather the first direct empirical evidence to test the idea.

“The shot noise measurement is basically a way of seeing how granular the charge is as it goes through something,” Natelson said. “The idea is that if I’m driving a current, it consists of a bunch of discrete charge carriers. Those arrive at an average rate, but sometimes they happen to be closer together in time, and sometimes they’re farther apart.”

Applying the technique in YbRh2Si2 crystals presented significant technical challenges. Shot noise experiments cannot be performed on single macroscopic crystals but, rather, require samples of nanoscopic dimensions.

Graduate student Emine Bakali (left) and her supervisor Silke Paschen of TU Wien in front of the molecular beam epitaxy chamber of TU Wien’s clean room that was used for the growth of the YbRh2Si2 thin films. (Photo by Maxwell Andrews/TU Wien)

Thus, the growth of extremely thin but nevertheless perfectly crystalline films had to be achieved, something that Silke Paschen, Maxwell Andrews and their collaborators at TU Wien managed after almost a decade of hard work. Next, Chen had to find a way to maintain that level of perfection while fashioning wires from these thin films that were about 5,000 times narrower than a human hair.

Rice co-author Qimiao Si, the lead theorist on the study, said he, Natelson and Paschen first discussed the idea for the experiments while Paschen was a visiting scholar at Rice in 2016. Si said the results are consistent with a theory of quantum criticality he published in 2001 that he has continued to explore in a nearly two-decade collaboration with Paschen.

“The low shot noise brought about fresh new insights into how the charge-current carriers entwine with the other agents of the quantum criticality that underlies the strange metallicity,” said Si, whose group performed calculations that ruled out the quasiparticle picture. “In this theory of quantum criticality, the electrons are pushed to the verge of localization, and the quasiparticles are lost everywhere on the Fermi surface.”

Natelson said the larger question is whether similar behavior might arise in any or all of the dozens of other compounds that exhibit strange metal behavior.

“Sometimes, you kind of feel like nature is telling you something,” Natelson said. “This ‘strange metallicity’ shows up in many different physical systems, despite the fact that the microscopic, underlying physics is very different. In copper-oxide superconductors, for example, the microscopic physics is very, very different than in the heavy-fermion system we’re looking at. They all seem to have this linear-in-temperature resistivity that’s characteristic of strange metals, and you have to wonder if there is something generic going on that is independent of whatever the microscopic building blocks are inside them.”

Source: Rice University

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Pikmin 1+2 Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

For this Pikmin 1+2 Review, we survive a crash-landing, on an uncharted planet, and a strange but exciting discovery for Captain Olimar! Rebuild his spaceship with the help of tiny plant creatures called Pikmin and explore an overgrown world in this HD version of the Nintendo GameCube classic.

Pikmin 1+2 Review Pros:

- Decent graphics. - Download size - 2GB (1GB each). - Games are separate downloads. - Combination of both cutscenes and in-game interactions. - 3 save slots in each game. - Tutorial pop-ups as you play. - Motion control support. (optional) - Local leaderboards. - Fast loading times. - A full 3D world with 360-degree camera control. - You play as Olimar. - You can speed up the game text interactions. - Pikmin - little leaf-like creatures that you can throw around and command to collect, and break items within the game world. - Uses an incubator/onion to put flowers in and get Pikmin out of them. - Shows the amount of Pikmin needed and how many are doing it on the Interactive parts. - Different Pikmin colors represent different things they can do. - Clear Hud showing how many Pikmin you have etc like how many are busy or inactive. - Watch as the Pikmin grab items and walk over to the incubator without you needing to tell them. - The goal of the game is to get ship parts so you can leave the planet. - The ordering of the Pikmin is easier when using the right stick and bumper buttons as it's more precise than the old unwieldy way. - Zoom in and out button, you have three to use. - When you have a load of Pikmin waiting to be pulled up out of the ground you can hold the button down and Olimar goes faster and does all the Pikmin without you moving him. - The game plays out where you have a set amount of days to get all the parts. - At the end of the day you get a breakdown of how many Pikmin you have, Pikmin lost and any left behind. - The save game happens between days. - World map level select. - Rewatch cutscenes in bonuses in Pikmin 2. - You can replay levels. - When starting on a new planet/location you can choose how many Pikmin to take out of the onion/incubator. - At the top of the screen, you have a timer that shows when it gets dark. - Nighttime has a warning and you need to get all Pikmin near the onion so they can sleep and be safe. - The high score section in Pikmin 2 goes more in-depth detailing how many Pikmin and what colors were born, fought, saved etc. - Local two-player battle mode in Pikmin 2. - The menus in Pikmin 2 are a lot better and more in-depth including maps and icons. - I like that the first game is how Olimar and Pikmin met and the second game doesn't do that again and instead has the Pikmin remembering Olimar. - Pikmin 2 introduces Louie and you hotswap between the characters at will. - In Pikmin 2 you can have the characters go solo, change leader or have them combine to be one group. - Different sizes and weights of objects determine how fast the Pikmin will carry the item to the base. - The ship in Pikmin 2 communicates with you and gives out orders, tips, tricks, and tutorials. - Find and return hidden treasures and cash them in at the ship. - You still cannot play at night in Pikmin 2 and you get a different end-of-day report. - Mail is a new thing IN Pikmin 2 and has story tidbits. - The menu in Pikmin 2 in between levels lets you view the treasure hoard and Piklopedia where you can view details like treasure value, Pikmin list to an enemy type, and creatures defeated on encountered enemies and treasures found. - Fully animated clip of entries in the Piklopedia and treasure hoard. Pikmin 1+2 Review Cons: - Cannot rebind controls. - The camera is still not ideal and can make seeing objectives hard. - A lot to take in initially. - Takes some getting used to controlling the Pikmin. - Pikmin seem to die very easily and it's not always clear when it happened. - There is a slow pace to it especially in a new planet/location. - The cursor makes it really hard to be precise especially when using a controller. - It's not always clear what you can interact with or how to actually interact with items. - Some interaction points don't show the number of Pikmin needed until you put at least one Pikmin on them. - Looks a bit rough in places. - All the menus are not as smooth as you would like and it feels like they don't fit. Related Post: Skautfold: Usurper Review (PlayStation 5) Pikmin 1+2: Official website. Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Store Links - Nintendo Read the full article