#its like everything after flux is following up on a completely different first 2 seasons where these two actually had a relationship

[zombieweek-g]

chinball did everyone involved in this show so fucking dirty

[tanadrin]

Notes on the Taurahe Language

by Loremaster Surazh Sher'an, of the Royal Society of Silvermoon

Published in the Journal of the Royal Society, in the 6853th Year of the Sun and 5th year of the Regency (619 K.C., 27 A.O.D.P.)

Since the Third War and the reestablishment of diplomatic and trade contacts with the peoples of the western continent of Kalimdor, several new frontiers in natural philosophy have been opened up to the scholars of our Society, in areas botanical, historical, thaumaturgic, and, not least of all, linguistic. Though the tongues of the Eastern Kingdoms have been well-covered in the scholarly literature, and even those of Draenor have had several monographs published on them since the Second War[1], the languages of Kalimdor remain woefully understudied. The most tentative work relating Thalassian to the Darnassian languages has been undertaken[2], but of the other Kalimdorean tongues, nothing substantial has been written.

In the interest of attempting to make my own modest contribution to the study of the Kalimdorean tongues, I would like to offer the following preliminary analysis of a language entirely unstudied by our loremasters at present and, I believe, spoken nowhere in Quel'Thalas, and in precious few places in the Eastern Kingdoms. I refer, of course, to Taurahe, the tongue of the Shu'halo, or, as they are known to outsiders, the Tauren. The Taurahe language is most interesting, being related neither to the tongues of Draenor nor of the Easter Kingdoms, and seeming to have no antecedent in any of the ancient mother-tongues of Azeroth, like Proto-Troll, Proto-Vrykul, or Ancient Kalimdorean. Furthermore, it is a language currently in flux, insofar as the way of life of the Shu'halo has changed enormously since the arrival of the Orcs in Kalimdor and the incorporation of the Tauren into the Horde. Although I cannot capture either the complexity or dynamism of this language in a brief article, I hope to pave the way to more extensive future analysis.

1. Taurahe in Context

The Shu'halo are a tauroid race of bipeds, native to eastern Kalimdor. First encountered in the dry coastal regions around Bladefist Bay, in what is now Durotar, an alliance was formed between Warchief Thrall and Chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof of the Bloodhoof Tauren in 6833 YS, during the Third War. At that time, all Tauren clans[3] were nomadic; after the tumultuous events of the war and the defeat of Archimonde at Mount Hyjal, the Bloodhoof Tauren and a portion of the other clans settled at Thunder Bluff in Mulgore, with several satellite towns like Bloodhoof Village being founded nearby. Many seasonal Tauren campsites have been converted into permanent settlements, like the Crossroads and Camp Taurajo, facilitating trade with Durotar and supporting a larger population of Tauren.

Despite the adoption by some of a settled lifestyle, many Tauren remain nomadic or semi-nomadic, some for political reasons[4], others simply out of tradition[5]. Because of the hunting lifestyle of the Tauren, and the number of rites and rituals which center around hunting, the creation of permanent settlements and urban centers has not been widely welcomed in Tauren society. Much of the shift in Tauren culture is down to the charismatic leadership of Cairne Bloodhoof; though his authority nominally extends only over the Bloodhoof Tauren, he is highly regarded by the other Tauren clans, and holds considerable influence in Tauren society at large. It remains to be seen whether these new developments in Tauren society, and the importance of Thunder Bluff as a political and economic center, will outlast their chief architect.

As is to be expected, Taurahe vocabulary centers primarily around the historical Taurahe way of life: terminology of the natural world, of geography, travel, hunting, and hunting- and pathfinding-related technologies is quite extensive. The Tauren have traditionally been a shamanistic people, like the Orcs, and so have an extensive vocabulary of shamanistic and natural thaumaturgy. Lacking an understanding of the arcane, or of other planes, their vocabulary for arcane thaumaturgy is limited, and most of their vocabulary around these kinds of sorcery has been borrowed from Orcish and, more recently, Thalassian. Of some influence also has been the Night Elven tongue[6], since the Tauren have a long history of intermittent contact with that people. Almost all vocabulary related to metalworking, alchemy, wheeled conveyance, shipbuilding, and large-scale warfare is directly borrowed from Orcish, with a small subset of loanwords from the language of the Darkspear Trolls.

Taurahe is not a unified language; each sub-clan has its own dialect, resembling most other dialects within their clan, as clans have historically tended to migrate together and to maintain close ties in marriage and trade. Any clear geographical distribution of the dialects has been substantially confused by many centuries of migration, and the spreading of various features and loanwords between migratory clans and sub-clans. Even so, not all forms of Taurahe are mutually intelligible; furthermore, the prestige form of the language has often varied according to the internal politics of the Tauren clans, with the emergence of a preeminent leader or tribe altering the lingusitic center of gravity of the Tauren people. Since the establishment of Thunder Bluff, the Bloodhoof dialect spoken there has been treated as the de facto standard, both among Tauren and within the rest of the Horde; therefore, it is the Thunder Bluff dialect that shall be treated here.

2. Writing System

Taurahe has not traditionally been a written language. Tauren society has historically been based extensively on oral traditions, which supply everything from legal and ritual formulae to history and mythology, which, based on the study of different versions among different clans, have remained remarkably constant over centuries or even millennia[7]. Although the Tauren have had contact with literary societies such as the Night Elves for many centuries, they have generally eschewed writing for most culturally significant applications, ascribing far greater prestige to orally transmitted traditions. Most Tauren elders have committed the equivalent of dozens of volumes of history and poetry to memory; some, such as Hamuul Runetotem, are said to be able to recite what would fill a hundred books in any Orcish library.

Nonetheless, Tauren have some knowledge and respect for runic sorcery, and have applied it to the totems they wield in battle and use for ritual purposes. These "runes" seem ultimately to be of Night Elven origin, despite no extant tradition of their use in Night Elven society. Potentially, they date from before the Sundering, given their similarity to arcane runes used in Quel'thalas and the contemporary aversion to arcane magic among the Kaldorei.

Almost all written forms of Taurahe found now in Kalimdor are, however, recorded using the Orcish writing system. Orcish uses a combination of phonetic and logographic symbols, having descended from an earlier logographic stage[8] some two centuries before the opening of the Dark Portal. Foreign languages, when recorded in Orcish, typically use only the most common logographs, relying instead on extensive use of the phonetic symbols normally reserved for inflection and particles. The syllabic nature of phonetic Orcish, however, renders it a poor fit for Taurahe, which has a completely different phonetic inventory. Therefore, in this article I have preferred to rely on the superior Thalassian alphabet to transcribe the sounds of Taurahe, which are in fact quite simple for the Elven tongue to pronounce.

3. Phonology

Taurahe forms generally CV syllables, making it at least phonetically one of the less vulgar languages of the Horde. It rarely admits consonant clusters, only occasionally permitting certain syllable-final glides and certain syllable-initial affricates. The fifteen consonants as transcribed into Thalassian are as follows:

p b t k m n s sh h ch (a velar or glottal fricative) l r w y (a palatal semivowel) ts (affricate)

Taurahe has five vowels, which may be either short or long; in most dialects, although not Bloodhoof, the long consonants are in fact diphthongs, and even when speaking Bloodhoof, Tauren tend to preserve those diphthongs if present in their native dialect. The five primary vowels are /a e i o u/; the long vowels are most usually realized as /a: ei i: o: au/. Less common are /au/ and /ai/ or /ie/ for /a:/ and /i:/. Grimtotem Tauren has a completely different system of long vowels, /ae ei ie oa ue/.

4. Noun Classification

The declension of the Taurahe noun is only for four cases--the nominative, the objective, the locative, and the relative--but is greatly dependent on the classification of the noun, based on what appears to be both an animacy and social-role hierarchy. The former is not unlike the animacy classification of some Zandali languages, while the latter bears a (passing) resemblance to the "gender" categories in human languages, but both should probably be treated on their own terms, as the Tauren system is both distinct and more regular than either. Roughly speaking, Taurahe noun classification is between inanimate or abstract, sessile or natural, dynamic-animate, fully sapient, and elemental or divine nouns on the one hand; and provider/loremaster, hunter/leader or shaman/spiritwalker on the other. The social role classification is somewhat more difficult to understand as a regular process among the less animate nouns, and is also not fixed: one noun may migrate between all three categories according to circumstance and usage, without the reclassified noun necessarily being considered a new lexeme. Inflecting a noun according to another animacy category is, however, a standard part of new noun formation.

There are at least six or seven distinct declensions of Taurahe nouns; my Tauren interlocutors have not been able to agree on the precise number, and it may be that comparison to the Thalassian system of declensions is in fact entirely inapplicable here.

5. Verb Nuclei

The Taurahe verb is formed from affixes attached to a single root, a "nucleus" which may be built up with both prefixes and suffixes and even, in some cases, infixes. Roots generally encompass a single semantic concept, which affixes may extend and alter in ways which would, in most other languages, necessitate the derivation of a new word. For example, "kuto," "fight" with the telic, transitive affixes forms the verb "karutoha," "to win [against sb.]", while with the impersonal affix forms "ukuto," "to fall into disarray." The impersonal form can be further modified by the personal, passive affix, "uma'ukuto," "to be routed in battle," which despite the presence of the impersonal affix alters the valency of the verb. All told, Taurahe has perhaps one-tenth the verbal roots of a language like Orcish or Common Human (to say nothing of the refined Thalassian tongue), but dozens, and possibly hundreds, of verbal affixes. Few of these affixes are truly exclusive of one another, and a deeper syntatic analysis is required to determine how, exactly, the valency, tense, and aspect of the final verb are determined.

6. Taurahe Words and Phrases

The following phrases are taken from interviews with my Tauren interlocutors. I traveled to Thunder Bluff and Bloodhoof Village for a period of eighteen weeks and interviewed approximately a dozen Tauren of four different clans. This is but a small sample of the corpus I used for my analysis, and with the aid of an colleague who has been transcribing Taurahe lore from Orcish to Thalassian script, I hope to soon begin work on a more complete grammar of the Taurahe tongue.

Vocabulary

-she/-sha: Affix denoting natural phenomena, celestial bodies, and the divine, cf. "An'she," the creator-sun. shu: Clan, tribe, political grouping. Cf. "Shu'halo," the Tauren people. halo: 1st person plural pronoun. We, ourselves. apaa: watch, guard ro: path, road apa'ro: the Waywatcher, Malorne -ah: augmentative affix por: lore, wisdom, custom, law por'aa: ancient wisdom, longstanding (and therefore inviolable) custom alo: within, inside ne[e]: to be (cf. "ishnee," "let be," or "ichnee," "to remain, to always be") pawne: spirit, soul owa: to dash, to bolt, to run tanekaa: blue; cf. Taunka "taunka," "winter," and the Taurahe idiom "bluest [i.e., coldest] of winters" manii: to shake laata: to shake; with the causative infix cf. "Laakotamanii," "the Earthshaker." isha: grave, serious, deep awaak: doom, ill fate, misfortune eeche: white ala: to walk mo: dream ala'mo: druid, i.e., one who walks in dreams haurakemani: the Earthmother shu'halo: a Tauren, the Tauren ahee: language; to speak

Phrases:

Pawne chi owako lehe "[May the] spirits guide you"

Ya shu'kushaa "For the Horde"

Namak'ehe shu "Victory or death"

Chi shu'ma'hewa "I've been expecting you."

Lehe shu'po'halo wota'ano kuu "May my ancestors watch over me"

Rek'ala'mo ya kusho'ake ne "Cat druid is for fight"

Notes:

[1] See especially Magister Thoradiel's "On the Orcish Tongues" and its follow-up, "The Draenei Dialects." Loremaster Harran of Dalaran's groundbreaking work, "The Eredar-Draenei Family" dissects the relationship of the demon-languages of the Twisting Nether to the Draenei tongue, but N.B. that possession of this volume is forbidden in Dalaran, Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff, and Stormwind owing to its extensive analysis of demonic incantations; the nearest available copy is to be found in the Black Library of the Royal Apothecary Society, in the Undercity.

[2] Magister Gal'an's "Some Darnassian-Thalassian Cognates", Notes of the Royal Society, 6851 Y.S., issue no. 3.

[3] Taurahe "shu," variously translated as "clan," after Orcish usage, or "tribe." A "shu" is any extended kinship group, and the term is sometimes applied to large political groupings of any kind, e.g., "Shu'kaldo," the Night Elves, or "Shu'ekate," the people of the east, i.e., the Alliance.

[4] Most notably the Grimtotem who, while having diplomatic relations with Thunder Bluff, are not technically part of the Horde.

[5] E.g., most of the Wildmane Tauren.

[6] Now called Darnassian after its principal dialect, but functionally the same as Proto-Kalimdorean.

[7] The consistency of Tauren oral traditions is bolstered by analysis of their (admittedly scant) attestations in Night Elf histories. Several important entries are found in "The Annals of Kalimdor," vols. XLIV to LXX, currently held in the Sentinel Archives. The author acknowledges that the currently strained diplomatic relationship between Quel'Thalas and Darnassus may make consultation of these codices difficult.

[8] "Old Orcish Pictographs," Proudmoore, Jaina. Journal of the Linguistic Society of Dalaran, vol. 53, no. 2.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

It’s November. That means your seasonal depression is settling in for the long haul, the 2020 election is a year away, and the Congressional Democrats are taking the impeachment inquiry into its next, very public phase. This week, some transcripts of formerly closed-door testimony were made public, and televised hearings will now follow.

Given that there are three months until the Iowa caucuses and the official kickoff of voting season — aka, political consequences time! — we’ve been thinking about the various ways that impeachment might affect each party’s 2020 electoral prospects. And there are a lot of them. So while we’re not oracles over here, we can already divine how this could end. Think of this as your wham, bam thank you ma’am primer on impeachment and its potential 2020 outcomes.

I) Things Are Bad For Trump And Very Good For Democrats

This set of scenarios imagines a black and white version of the moral-political universe: the American people believe Trump abused his power and they push to punish him personally and his party more broadly.

1) Trump loses everything: In this version of events, the public impeachment hearings become appointment viewing for the nation, attracting tons of attention and meaningfully shifting public opinion. The Democrats pull off the synthesizing of facts and narrative in such a way that a majority of independents and a healthy swath of Republicans turn against President Trump. (Right now, FiveThirtyEight’s average of polls asking about impeachment and removal from office shows 47.5 percent of Americans in favor, 45.6 percent opposed. Currently, only 11.1 percent of Republicans think the president should be impeached.) So much does the tide turn, in fact, that Trump loses his congressional allies and is forced to resign. Think Nixon. Mike Pence becomes president, but only for a few months; the public sees Pence as irrevocably linked to Trump. Like Gerald Ford’s eventual fate, but all sped up. Even sympathetic Republican voters stay home in key states, while key swing demographics move toward the Democrats. Pence loses the election and what’s worse, the GOP loses the Senate, as vulnerable senators are seen as having done too little, too late. Ouch.

2) Voters abandon Trump but stick with the GOP: Congress remains split along partisan lines and few in the Republican Party end up pulling a Fredo on Trump. He doesn’t need to resign and stays at the top of the GOP ticket in 2020. But the televised hearings are damning to Trump — the public doesn’t like what it sees, and remembers that come November. The impeachment proceeding lowers morale among Republican voters who aren’t part of Trump’s hardcore base (the president currently has a 41.3 percent approval rating and a 54.6 percent disapproval), leading to lowered turnout particularly among reluctant Trump voters in key states. (We first identified reluctant Trump voters in the wake of the 2016 election as Republicans who had cast their ballot for the president unenthusiastically. This group tends to be better educated than the rest of Trump voters, though like most of the president’s voters, they are white, and middle-aged or older.) This scenario might look like the 2018 midterms, when independent voters went for Democrats by a 12-point margin. In this scenario, Trump loses the election but things are a little better for GOP as a whole; it keeps the Senate. Democrats get two houses: the White House and the House of Representatives.

II) Things Are Bad For Trump But OK For Republicans

This set of scenarios imagines a post-impeachment political landscape that has rid itself of Trump. The Republican Party is in a state of flux, trying to figure out what comes next after the end of an administration and party platform driven by a single, powerful personality.

1) President Pence: Impeachment hearings go really badly. The tide of public opinion turns against Trump and he loses his allies in Congress and is forced to resign. This scenario is a little like the one we started with, except with one key difference: Pence becomes president and wins the general election. He draws huge turnout from Republican voters who love Trump — the campaign charges them up about the unjust fate of Trump — while also reassuring reluctant Trump voters that he, Pence, will make for a steadier hand on the till. Currently, it should be noted, Pence has a net average approval of -5.5 percent according to a Real Clear Politics average; Trump is at -12.0 percent.

2) The Republican Civil War: The tide of public opinion turns somewhat against Trump, but not enough to shake the faith of leading GOP figures — Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham still watch the Super Bowl with Trump. But certain rebellious GOP figures are fed up and have had enough of hiding their concerns: Mitt Romney joins Jeff Flake (remember him?) in calling for Trump’s impeachment and removal. The moderate GOP caucus falls in line with these figures and the whole lot of them decide to throw their support behind the candidacy of Bill Weld, or, even better, back Romney in a longshot primary bid. They know they probably won’t win, but they siphon off support from Trump and lodge enough attacks for the president to be mortally wounded come general election time. He loses, and Romney et al finally settle in to implementing the 2012 GOP post-mortem plan to win back Latinos.

III) Things Go Very Well For Trump And Backfire On Democrats

Oops. The Democrats took a gamble on impeachment and lost. Their narrative doesn’t gel on TV; the details of the Ukraine scandal are too mired in diplomatic minutiae. People can’t keep track of the cast of characters. Who’s Kurt Volker again? Wait, what did Gordon Sondland do that was so bad? The Fox News apparatus proves to be a powerful story-telling voice for the president’s side of things, and Democrats can’t push their advantage.

1) Trump wins: The House remains split along partisan lines — nothing really changes after the vote to open the inquiry. Few if any Republican senators vote against Trump during his Senate trial. And after watching a whole lot of CSPAN-style television, the American public is divided over what they’re seeing, a la Brett Kavanaugh. (Republican support for now-Justice Kavanaugh only increased following his testimony while Democratic opposition ramped up.) The election is a squeaker. A combination of semi-ambivalent Republicans and low-energy Democrats — perhaps their base isn’t entirely thrilled about their nominee? — leads to Trump winning the election. The Democrats keep the House, the Republicans keep the Senate. Late night shows’ writer’s rooms get a little ‘70s retro, firing up the cocaine to fuel them through four more years of comb over jokes.

2) Utter chaos and destruction for Democrats: Congress remains split along partisan lines and the televised hearings leave the American public divided, a la Kavanaugh. Republican voters are angry, though. Really angry. The election is a squeaker but Trump pulls through, thanks to his enthused base, reluctant Trump voters and independents who think that the Democrats have led the country through a national pain in the neck for naught. (Independents are the real surprise, given nearly half of them supported impeachment in early November 2019.) The Democrats not only lose the White House, but also the House, as Democratic members from more moderate districts are punished for having put the president on trial. The Democratic gains of the 2018 midterms are all but completely reversed as college-educated whites from the suburbs — the Trump era’s stereotypical swing voter — make their way back to the GOP side of the dividing line.

3) The weird mixed-bag: The public hearings are damning but Republican voters and elected officials stick with Trump. Democratic voters nationwide are ready to dump Trump, though. Turnout on both sides is high. In certain key swing states, vulnerable Republican senators are ousted (a recent Morning Consult poll shows sliding net approval ratings for some Republican senators up for reelection). The Democrats keep the House, miraculously win the Senate and come out ahead in the popular vote, too. But in a re-hashing of the 2016 election, Trump wins the electoral college. The nation goes to bed confused on Nov. 3, 2020, and spends the next four years wondering whether there was ever any other way things could have ended.

[wsmith215]

NCAA tennis champion Estela Perez-Somarriba has unfinished business at Miami

Across the NCAA, seniors were left asking “What if?” in March, after the coronavirus pandemic canceled the remaining winter and spring sporting events. Here are the stories that show the sudden, complicated, controversial and emotional endings athletes have been coming to grips with over the past few weeks.

On the morning after the NCAA announced it would allow seniors playing spring sports to return for an additional year following the cancellation of the remainder of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, Estela Perez-Somarriba woke up in her apartment in Coral Gables, Florida, and knew what she wanted to do. She was going to return home to Spain, self-isolate with her family and prepare for the start of her professional tennis career.

But by that afternoon, after a few hours to let the weight of her decision sink in, Perez-Somarriba had changed her mind. As the defending NCAA singles champion, she thought she had unfinished business to take care of. She loved her time at Miami and wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to the team or the school.

She was going to stay. Perez-Somarriba became the school’s first athlete to announce her decision to return with a letter on the athletic department website. She hasn’t second-guessed the decision since.

2 Related

“It was a challenging decision, but I’m really attached to UM, and finishing my college career the way I always dreamt of is important to me,” she said. “There’s still so much I want to give to this program. I think only student-athletes could relate to this, but when you spend so much time with your coaches and your teammates and representing the university, it means so much and is just so special.

“I was also concerned about all of the uncertainty [at the professional level] right now, and there are so many questions about tournaments, traveling, sponsorships and my own family being quarantined in Madrid. I realized it was going to take quite a while to go back to normal. So I thought, I’ll use this time to get better, to keep practicing and keep improving. I’m pretty sure I made the right decision and am excited about next year.”

Now the 21-year-old will have one more year to expand upon her prolific collegiate career, which has already cemented her in Hurricanes lore. Perez-Somarriba became the second Miami player to win an NCAA title last spring (Audra Cohen in 2007 was the other), and with a 141-23 record in singles play, she has the most wins in school history (a record she broke in January). She’s a two-time ACC Player of the Year, a four-time All-American and the 2019 recipient of the prestigious Honda Award.

While she says she tries not to get too wrapped up in accolades, she does hope to repeat as NCAA champion next season and admits that she feels some motivation when she knows a record is on the line.

Head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews knew Perez-Somarriba was a gifted tennis player when she first arrived on campus as a freshman, but the coach admittedly didn’t think Perez-Somarriba was capable of being the best in the country. Yaroshuk-Tews had some concerns about Perez-Somarriba’s fitness but was immediately impressed by her work ethic and willingness to improve.

“I remember when she first came in, we had the whole team line up at the Watsco Center to run sprints,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “And she made it back to the line and didn’t look very good. She was gassed, and her face was so pale, I was just about to tell our strength coach to let her sit the next one out. But then he blew the whistle, and she just took off. She went from looking like she was about to pass out to sprinting past everyone. We still joke about it, but that’s [the] thing with her. Once the whistle blows, she’s ready to go, no matter what.”

Estela Perez-Somarriba is the second player from Miami to win the NCAA women’s singles title. Manuela Davies/USTA

That drive and never-quit attitude have been the hallmarks of Perez-Somarriba’s time at Miami, and she has tried to soak up everything she can from the school. She is lauded by the coaching staff for her tireless efforts, on and off the court, and for doing whatever she can to improve her game. With Perez-Somarriba one of two seniors on a team otherwise entirely made up of freshmen, Yaroshuk-Tews asked her to step up as a leader. In typical fashion, she more than responded to the request.

“For the past three years, she’s understandably been focused on herself, but she was able to step out of that box and develop herself as a leader and become one of the better leaders that I’ve ever coached,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “The girls really respect her and listen to her, and her personality started to rub off on them in an amazing way. It will be fun to see her get another year with them.”

Like most schools across the country, Miami closed its campus, including athletic facilities, and switched completely to online distance learning in March. Perez-Somarriba stayed at her apartment off campus, where she has been the past two months. She completed her bachelor’s degree in economics (with a 3.928 grade point average) and will graduate at the school’s delayed ceremony in December. She has been staying in shape with frequent runs and by using a stationary bike and some dumbbells she bought for her apartment.

She has been reading, cooking, Facetiming with her family in Madrid, finding new plants for her apartment and indulging her curious nature by researching anything she finds interesting online. A self-professed homebody, she hasn’t minded the downtime or being on her own. Yaroshuk-Tews says it’s Perez-Somarriba’s maturity and focus that have allowed her to continue to thrive, despite the unprecedented circumstances.

“She is the only kid that is asking during the pandemic to get into the equipment room to get some kettlebells and is setting up a personal gym in the living room of her apartment,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “She is not the most talented of all the kids I’ve coached in terms of athleticism, but her work ethic and her approach to her practices is honestly like nothing I’ve ever seen in my life. I don’t think I’ll see anything like it again, either. You typically don’t see players that are as successful as she is but that are as humble and grateful for every single thing that’s given to them. When you mix that with her level of work ethic, the results are exceptional.”

Although the tennis courts on campus remain closed, a public court nearby has opened up as Florida eases its restrictions, and Perez-Somarriba and two of her teammates have been using it several mornings a week. The team has stayed in contact with frequent Zoom meetings, and Yaroshuk-Tews knows she can count on Perez-Somarriba to keep everyone’s spirits high with her positive attitude (and is appreciative that there is guaranteed to be at least one student-athlete on the call who didn’t just roll out of bed.)

Although so much remains in flux, Perez-Somarriba is determined to carry on as usual and is viewing her fifth year as the perfect opportunity for transition. She will look to defend her NCAA title (and break a few ACC records on the way) and complete a master’s degree in sports administration, but she also hopes to play in some professional events in the summer and fall, if and when the season resumes, to bolster her ranking and give her much-needed match experience against a higher level of competition.

As most of the players on the WTA tour skipped the collegiate level to turn professional as teenagers, Perez-Somarriba knows her résumé will be slightly different than those of many of her peers, but she has watched other college-stars-turned-pros, such as Danielle Collins, Nicole Gibbs and Kristie Ahn, succeed in recent years, and they have provided her a blueprint of what’s next. Still, she has modest goals to begin her career.

“I would like to make it to the top 100,” Perez-Somarriba said. “I just want to work hard every single day and just know that I gave it a shot, and I tried my best, and I did it the right way. If it works, great. If not, it doesn’t work. I just want to know I did everything the best I could to make my dreams come true.”

Perez-Somarriba got a taste of that dream when she played teenage phenomenon Coco Gauff at a sold-out homecoming exhibition match in February in Delray Beach, Florida. Gauff, then 15, was weeks removed from her fourth-round run at the Australian Open, in which she knocked off defending champion Naomi Osaka, and Perez-Somarriba was thrilled about the opportunity to play her.

Perez-Somarriba was coming off a win with her team at Georgia Tech, and her teammates and many of her friends were in the crowd to cheer her on against Gauff. She says she wasn’t intimidated by the moment and was excited to have the chance to gauge her skills against someone such as Gauff. Perez-Somarriba lost 6-3, 6-3 in 75 minutes, but she was pleased with her performance, and it fueled her belief that she could play at the next level.

“This is going to sound crazy, but I learned from that match that I could play against anybody,” she said. “Coco is such a great player, and she’s so young, and she has so much potential, but the fact that I was playing against her and kept it pretty tight, and I never felt as if I didn’t belong there. I actually felt comfortable and relaxed in that scenario and environment, and that has motivated me a lot. It gave me a lot of confidence, as well as exposing some of my weaknesses, so I left knowing some things to work on, and I’m still trying to improve [in those areas].”

For Yaroshuk-Tews, who watched proudly, the match was an incredible reminder of how much Perez-Somarriba has improved in her four years at the school.

“I just sat in the stands and took it all in. I just kept thinking, ‘Here’s a kid that came to the University of Miami, and I thought she, at best, would maybe be a No. 3 player for us, and now is out there playing Coco Gauff in front of a sellout crowd.’ The environment was unbelievable, and Stela more than held her own. It was just amazing to see how far she’s come.”

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[tomb-of-ash]

Computer Virus Simulator Creator Interview

Guest article by Wing See Li.

For the first time ever, it brings me great pleasure to present the readers of the Tomb Of Ash my first, unexpected interview with the creator of Computer Virus Simulator, D. Jagielski (thedarkhog on Twitter). At the moment, he is responsible for almost everything for the upcoming indie 3D platforming/collectathon game ranging from character and asset modelling to level design except for the music (as stated in the interview).

How did this come about? While I’m minding my own business surfing the internet and flicking through the web pages of Facebook and Twitter, I suddenly received a tweet from D. Jagielski (also known as thedarkhog) while I’m scrolling up and down the notifications list. It’s not every day a random stranger abruptly asks me to do an interview with him/her so I immediately accepted his request. Besides, I might as well snag the opportunity while I still can! And the rest is history!    

Now with further ado, here is my first interview with D. Jagielski!  

What games inspired your Virus Computer Simulator game?

D. Jagielski: Mainly early 3D games such as Alpha Waves/Continuum released by infogrames back in either 90 or 91, not sure right now - one of the first if not the first 3D platformers, way before Super Mario 64. Also, demoscene. And it's Computer Virus Simulator. ;)

What inspired you to use a computer virus as a character?

D. Jagielski: Originality. To my knowledge it has never been done before and I needed something to stand out since I've knew full well I won't be only 3D platformer in town by the time of release. Also this gives me free reign to do as many obscure computer jokes as I please.

Can you tell me a summary of the story of the Computer Virus Simulator game?

D. Jagielski: For now story is still in flux. I think I'll do it with loosely connected story arcs, similar to what some web comics do. This will make possible to extend the game's story as long as it is vialable commercially and as long as I have ideas to do so. Each "arc" will be 5-10 levels long, with demo having its own arc.

Is there a main antagonist? Can you describe to me what he/she looks like or show me a picture of him/her?

D. Jagielski: The Creator, who is, well, creator of The Virus has a rival and there will be few clashes between the two, but he's not the same "main antagonist" in the sense that Neo Cortex is for Crash or Gruntilda for Banjo.

Does the Computer Virus have its own moveset?

D. Jagielski: Yes. While it's not final, for now it consists of dash, acting both as mobility ability as well as attack, ground pound, gliding, jumping and wall jumping.

You can also pick up upgrades that allow you to shoot.

What does your game development team compose of? Or is it just you developing the game, composing music, programming, testing the game etc?

D. Jagielski: I am doing most of development, including levels, coding graphics and all the sounds within the game. For music I rely on CC and outright public domain chiptunes. I wish I could hire musician for the projects, but the game has basically $0 budget.

Are you planning on launching a Kickstarter campaign for this game?

D. Jagielski: I am from one of those countries where you can’t launch Kickstarter, but IndieGoGo is pretty much in the cards once demo is ready.

Speaking of launching this game, do you have an estimated release date? What platforms are you planning on releasing this game on?

D. Jagielski: I don't know when I will be able to finish the demo and this is prerequisite for the IGG campaign as I think that in the current crowdfunding climate it is important to give potential funders something more than just a nice video to base their decisions on, especially on IndieGoGo.

But I'll try to do this before this year is over, hopefully.

Will there be a hub world in your game? A lot of 3D platformers have hub worlds.

D. Jagielski: Actually, the whole main menu itself is playable and has an area where you can select level you want to play. You will be able to play the levels in any order you want to, but of course preferably you'd play them in order. From the main menu you can also get to the level editor.

Is your game open-world? Or is it in the vein of Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World etc?

D. Jagielski: Some levels will be linear while others will be more open. It all depends on needs of the specific area. The level editor contained within the game, same one that I'm using to create levels for the game and which will be available to the players as well allows for both kinds to be made.

How many levels and worlds will there be in total? Do they each have names?

D. Jagielski: The target point at which game will be considered finished is 100 levels. They will all have names.

What are the names of the levels? Can you name a few examples of the levels for me?

D. Jagielski: The level currently in development is called "Datacolumns".

Will the game have bosses, mini-bosses and a final boss? If so, what are the names of them?

D. Jagielski: Yes, it certainly will have bosses, but at this point I don't know what kind of bosses they will be as I've simply not this far in the development to have to create one.

Due to me working on this alone I have to concentrate on one thing at a time, for now it is level design.

How long have you been working on this game for?

D. Jagielski: I have been working on the Computer Virus Simulator since 2014.

What are the programmes you use to develop your game?

D. Jagielski: I'm developing the game using Unity3D and Blender for artwork.

What is the software you use to compose your music?

D. Jagielski: I don't compose the music. Music in the game as of right now is Creative Commons and Public Domain chiptunes.

Are they placeholder music?

D. Jagielski: Not sure at this point. Whether I'll use it in the final product depends on how successful my IndieGoGo campaign will be (planning to launch it in flexible funding so at least I'll get some money for development). Although I really like the tune that is currently being used for the main menu area.

Are you planning on adding vehicle and turret sections in your game? Or are you not following the trend of most old platformers? Old platformers mostly have turret and vehicle sections.

D. Jagielski: I don't know at this point whether this would be done.

I guess this will depend on Early Access feedback on it and whether people will want me to do it.

Will there be any power-ups or abilities?

D. Jagielski: Yes, there will be. One such ability that I've forgot to mention is the ability to create a checkpoint anywhere in the level so if you die, you'll respawn in the place where you set the checkpoint instead of having to start the entire level over.

Number of these checkpoints is limited though (at the start of the level it's just 2 checkpoints), but you can collect checkpoint orbs to add more. Usually checkpoints orbs are given away before any harder parts of the level.

Will there be any save states?

D. Jagielski: You won't be able to save mid-level. The only way to preserve that progress is through placing checkpoints in a smart manner. All other data such as level high score, how many times you've completed specific level and so on will be preserved automatically. The game won't feature lives system.

Will there be DLC, season passes, microtransactions etc in the future?

D. Jagielski: Definitely no microtransactions or season passes, but there may be DLCs (as in, proper expansion packs) if game proves to be popular enough.

Will there be any NPCs to talk to and help?

D. Jagielski: Not sure about that yet.

What are the main objectives in the game?

D. Jagielski: Every level has its own goal you need to complete in order to finish it (and unlock level exit plate). Sometimes you'll have to collect certain amount of data stored in datagrams; sometimes you'll have to kill certain amount of enemies, sometimes other things, sometimes a mix of any of the above.

Is the computer virus is the only character you can play as or there is more than one character to play as?

D. Jagielski: The Virus is the only one. You don't need more than him.

What or who inspired the Computer Virus character?

D. Jagielski: I see, I see… Well, he's just a Computer Virus, that's all. As for what he looks like, it was based on old 8x8 pixel art thing of mine that then I've replicated in Blender using Grid object which then I've extruded to make The Virus actually 3D.

Will the characters, levels and worlds be colourful and vibrant? Where do you get inspired from for level and character design?

D. Jagielski: Yes, they will be colourful. As for inspiration many of level concepts are based in part on various demoscene demos and early 3D games. Other sources of inspiration include nature and architecture.

What are the collectibles in the game, including the main collectibles?

D. Jagielski: At this point there's a gun pickup, datagram pickup (datagrams can also be destroyed by careless shooting, so be careful where you shoot when you have to collect datagrams), checkpoint orb pickup. The game isn't a collectathon by any means (it's more close to Super Mario 64 and Crash in terms how pickups are used), but there will be many different items that just add score.

What or where is the gun gameplay inspired from?

D. Jagielski: Take any 3D platformer that has user-created projectiles and you'd be mostly correct. The projectiles travel a short distance then disappear (or disappear after collision with a solid surface, whichever comes first). The projectiles are real objects as well, since we're way past the point where hitscans were necessary for performance reasons.

How many guns and weapons are in the game?

D. Jagielski: For now there's only destructive gun.

Why did you include gun gameplay in your game?

D. Jagielski: Because it makes gameplay more interesting and are especially useful while dealing with high hp enemies. Also some of the enemies such as Bad Pointers are immune to the Virus' dash and ground pound ability so using gun is the only way to actually harm them.

What or where are the guns and weapon designs inspired from?

D. Jagielski: I don't want to discuss this at this point.

What is the main currency in the game?

D. Jagielski: There is none.

Will there be any gameplay mechanics or mini-games to add diversity to your game?

D. Jagielski: Yes, there will be minigames, however you'll have to be smart to unlock them.

Are there any upgrades to the guns, weapons, abilities etc?

D. Jagielski: Yes.

After getting a game over, do players start from the last time they saved or they start from the previous level/world they visited?

D. Jagielski: There's no game over, because there's no lives mechanic. You can create a checkpoint mid-level to be respawned at that point, however there's limited number of checkpoints and if you die without setting one, you'll have to start level over.

Does your Computer Virus character have idle animations?

D. Jagielski: At the moment just one.

Can you describe the idle animation without revealing any spoilers?

D. Jagielski: No.

Is there going to be fall damage if the Computer Virus falls from a high platform, ledge, cliff etc?

D. Jagielski: Fall damage? In a platformer? Don't be ridiculous.

What engine (e.g. Unreal Engine 4, Unity) do you use to develop your game?

D. Jagielski: I'm using Unity.

Why did you choose not to include fall damage in your game?

D. Jagielski: Because only crazy people would enjoy such a thing in a platformer of any kind. I am firmly against fall damage, even in genres where it makes more sense to have it such as first person shooters, open world games, RPGs, and so on. Fall damage simply punishes you for exploring.

What if you don't make that jump and the ground is several hundred meters below you? Having to get back up there for another attempt is punishing enough, you don't have to kill player over it.

Will there be any vehicles or a method of transportation to travel from one level or world to another?

D. Jagielski: You'll be able to play levels in any order from a list in the playable main menu.

Will there be any trophies, skill points or achievements?

D. Jagielski: There will be, although available only in campaign levels to avoid someone making an achievement farm and putting it on the workshop.

Will there be online multiplayer or split-screen local multiplayer?

D. Jagielski: There will be no multiplayer. Computer Virus Simulator is a single-player experience.

Will there be a co-op mode?

D. Jagielski: No.

Will there be any cutscenes? Will there be any loading screens featuring characters or the main character doing an animation?

D. Jagielski: I don't think there will be any cutscenes, as I don't want to take away control from the players. But there's dialogue system implemented that shows up at the bottom of the screen where the player can stop and read what the characters are saying or continue on with the level.

There's going to be in-game conversations with subtitles at the bottom of the screen?

D. Jagielski: For the loading times, game's so fast when it comes to loading new level that no load screen is necessary. Put one just in case, but it only blinks and doesn't consist of much other than the "Loading..." text.  There will be conversations at the bottom of the screen using text boxes. Think SNES JRPG games or what Yooka-Laylee/Banjo had only it doesn't take control out from you and you are free to ignore it and carry on if you like.

If the game ever comes out on consoles, will it be released on a disc or a cartridge?

I don't know if I will go physical with the console players at this moment.

Only digital at the moment?

D. Jagielski: At the moment, yes. Plan to release to Windows/Linux/Mac then if the game is successful enough (it will be) I'll port it to consoles. However whether it will be physical or digital at this point is unknown to me as I have first make the thing before thinking of porting it to the different platforms.

Are you thinking of hiring more people to help you with game development?

D. Jagielski: Once I have money to do so, yes.

If people are willing to help you for free, will you hire them?

D. Jagielski: There are some serious legal issues with that if I want to do business, so no.

Do you ever get creative block? If you do, how do you get over it?

D. Jagielski: Rarely do, however I've found that if you force yourself to do for few minutes, the block subsidies.

Do you listen to music to help you concentrate? If you do, what music and songs do you listen to?

D. Jagielski: https://play.spotify.com/user/1181262013/playlist/17PBXT1lem0dRwA4VZZGUN?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

Does the music and songs you listen to inspire your game?

D. Jagielski: Not really.

If your game ever becomes successful, are you planning on developing a sequel?

D. Jagielski: There will be no Computer Virus Simulator 2.

Will there be merchandise if the game becomes successful?

D. Jagielski: Yes, there will be merchandise when the game becomes a success.

Will there be a series? Or you're going to work on a new IP?

D. Jagielski: After Computer Virus Simulator I'll be working on a racing title.

What will the racing game be called?

D. Jagielski: I have not decided yet.

Do you have a link to your Computer Virus Simulator Indiegogo campaign?

D. Jagielski: Campaign will launch once the demo is complete which it isn't at the moment.

What are the links to your social media and your website if people want to keep up to date with your game?

Follow me on Twitter (@thedarkhog) or read the devlog on tigsource 

Are there other links too? I've heard the computer virus have his own Twitter account.

D. Jagielski: Yes. It's @VirusSimulator *hopes his drive won't be formatted overnight*

Are you on Instagram and Facebook? It's a shame your Facebook page of your game is deleted.

D. Jagielski: Not on Instagram, no, and Facebook I've made only for few games there which I don't play anymore.

Couldn't keep it up and found better to concentrate on Twitter and my tigsource devlog. Maybe when I'll be able to hire someone to support it for me.

If it’s possible, will you be releasing this game to handheld consoles and smartphones?

D. Jagielski: Handhelds maybe. But it would be nightmare to play on a smartphone or even a tablet. This game needs a physical controller, be it mouse and keyboard (which is preferred) or gamepad.

Would the price of the game vary from port to port/version to version?

D. Jagielski: No, I don't think so. As for Early access there will be three tier pricing: When the game is launched as an EA title, when it is halfway done and when it launches officially, lower the less of the game is complete.

Does the Computer Virus have a signature ability or a signature weapon?

D. Jagielski: Haven't thought about it yet, but in future he'll be able to take over other processes and make them do his bidding. Maybe this could be it?

Is the computer virus a hero, villain or an anti-hero?

D. Jagielski: I prefer to not reveal that information yet.

What are the features and aspects that make your game stand out from other 3D platformers?

D. Jagielski: I think the level editor is the biggest one. Because this is the same editor I am using to create levels for the game and I will continue to do so, you'll have as much power to create your own unique levels as I do. No other 3D platformer that I know of allows for that sort of thing.

It’s been a distinct pleasure doing an interview with you and especially, my first interview at that! Hopefully, we should do this again sometime.

D. Jagielski: Hopefully. Have a good night.

By Wing See Li for Tomb of Ash

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Keep Up To Date with D. Jagielski and Computer Virus:

TIGForums: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedarkhog and https://twitter.com/virussimulator

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