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good-grade-in-cleric · 4 months

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A quick breakdown of the hierarchy of the Shaodw Thieves for my own benefit because Forgotten Realms lore loves more than anything else to contradict itself, especially when the CRPGs get involved. The main sources cited below will be Baldur's Gate II (2E, Sep 2000 CE, 1369 DR), Cloak & Dagger (2E, Jun 2000 CE, 1370 DR), and Lords of Darkness (3E, Oct 2001 CE, 1372 DR). For Baldur's Gate II, i am primarily cross-referencing the wiki with my own limited screenshots, so be prepared for some holes there. Hopefully, i can someday replay the game with a focus on getting more information out about these guys and reblog with that additional information, but let's not get ahead of ourselves

I may be a bit obnoxious in how frequently i point to my sources, but that's because my head is spinning looking at my notesheet for this. How did i let them get so disorganized? Oh dear

The general structure of the Shadow Thieves places the Shades at the top of the hierarchy followed by the Cloakmasters then the Guildmasters then the Silhouettes then the Rank and File and Raw Recruits

Bases of Operation

The Shadow Thieves are headquartered in Athkatla, the City of Coin. From 1303 DR to the time of Troubles, their headquarters was the Shadow House (C&D, p103 and 111). Although it no longer functions as the headquarters of the entire organization, it does still act as a decoy headquarters (LoD, p172). The Shadow House is the base of operations for "one part of the organization" (C&D, p104), or "just three of the guilds in Athkatla" (C&D, p111). The true headquarters is explicitly left up to the DM's discretion in Cloak & Dagger, but by 1372 DR, it is confirmed to be a large and well-protected underground complex underneath the Gilded Rose on the opposite side of town from the decoy (LoD, p172)

They also converted a building in Athkatla in 1303 DR into a training complex called Assassin's Run, and Gorion's Ward is able to visit two of their guildhalls in that city (C&D, p103; BGII)

Shades

In the highest tier of the Shadow Thief hierarchy exist the six Shades who have divided their territory amongst them (C&D, p104; LOD, p172). Together, they form the Shade Council (C&D, p104) or the Shadow Council (LoD, p172)

The current Grandmaster of Shadows, the leader of the Shades, is Rhinnom Dannihyr (C&D, p104-105; LoD, p172). Formerly a Guildmaster of Spies in Athkatla, he took over after Bhaal absorbed the life forces of his worshippers during the Time of Troubles and killed the entire Shade Council (C&D, p103). In addition to that, he was Iltarch of Amn's Council of Six which was the highest governing body in the country (C&D, p105). Rhinnom keeps his affiliation with both of these councils secret from the other (C&D, p105). Despite being human, he has lived for over a century but maintains the appearance of youth through magic (it is unclear whether the benefits of this de-aging magic extends past appearance) and is biding his time to push his way through the ranks of the Council of Six (C&D, p105)

As a note, it appears that the Council of Six has been replaced by the far less clandestine Council of Five sometime before 1479 DR, but House Dannihyr still holds a seat on the council (Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, p92)

Another Shade is Rheax Bormul. He rules over either the Alandor Sect (C&D, p105) or the operations in Amn (LoD, p172). This is likely just a matter of semantics between sources considering the Alandor Sect is described as including "Athkatla, Crimmor, Purskul, Keczulla, Amnwater, and northern Amn" (C&D, p105). He hopes to someday take Rhinnom's place as Grandmaster of Shadows (C&D, p105)

The wiki makes mention that Aran Linvail answers to Rheax Bormul, but it cites as its source "the Baldur's Gate novel". This is not something i would normally accept as a source, but i wanted to take a look anyway to see if i could make use of their wording. BG2 was not specified, but in the games, Aran only appears in Shadows of Amn, so i only checked that one. Admittedly, i did not read the entire book, but i did read Abdel receiving the mission to kill Aran Linvail, that fight scene, and when Abdel reports back to Bodhi after killing him as well as some smaller segments here and there. I could not find the source, but whatever. I should have known it would be a fruitless search from how it was cited on the wiki

Cloakmasters

Back to the sources i actually do intend to cross compare, it varies by source how many Cloakmasters answer to each member of the Shadow Council. One source claims that exactly two Cloakmasters serve each Shade for a total of twelve (LoD, p173). The other claims that each Shade has at least two Cloakmasters, with Athkatla alone having ten (C&D, p104 and 106). Every city with a population of 10,000 or more has at least one Cloakmaster as well as another Cloakmaster for the more rural areas around those cities, or a city where many foreigners trade may receive an Cloakmaster for the purpose of facilitating information from said foreigners (C&D, p104)

Due to their close proximity, the Cloakmasters of Athkatla are all careful to respect the authority of their Shade and the Council of Shades (C&D, p106). The Cloakmaster of Athkatla'd Bridge District, Dinnom Baraizal, is especially loyal to Rheax (C&D, p106)

Guildmasters

Every Cloakmaster is served in turn by 10 Guildmasters (C&D, p104; LoD, p173). Whereas the ranks above Guildmasters are defined by geography, the Guildmasters each control a number of smaller guilds within a single speciality (C&D, p104; LoD, p173). Lords of Darkness gives as examples: smuggling, extortion and blackmail, theft and burglary (LoD, p173). Cloak & Dagger presents what seems intended to be a more complete list: "assassins; beggars; bounty hunters; burglars; con artists and tricksters; cutpurses and pickpockets; enforcers and thugs; racketeers; scouts and spies; and fences, smugglers, and pirates" (C&D, p104). These are the middle managers of the guild

Silhouettes

The final noteworthy tier are the Silhouettes. There are dozens of Shadow Thieves who bear this title, but they are all decoys for the true powers within the guild (LoD, p173). They may hire out external groups, guilds, and individuals on a contractual or permanent basis (C&D, p104). They may pose as guildmasters, but in truth they report to and act to obscure the true Guildmasters (LoD, p173)

Sporting a name that makes you question his mother's love, Renal "the Bloodscalp" is a Silhouette of Burglars based in Athkatla who enjoys donning a disguise to join teams on their missions (C&D, p108). Additionally, he hides Aran Linvail in his base of operations, labelled on the map as simply Shadow Thief Guildhall (BGII). Him being as Silhouette also checks out as he is Gorion's Ward's main point of contact for the Shadow Thieves after properly entering the city and before they might conditionally receive an offer to join (BGII)

Oryal Forestal is a Silhouette of Spies based in Athkatla (C&D, p108). He joined at the same time as Renal Bloodscalp, and the two have long been close friends and partners (C&D, p108)

(Cloak & Dagger, p104)

Most information indicates Silhouettes and Guildmasters are two distinct ranks, but the above quote could not be completely ignored. An important piece of additional context for the above quote is that it comes immediately after describing the roles of Guildmasters, blurring the lines between the two. The segue is somewhat unclear as i'm sure the Shadow Thieves prefer, so there are a number of potential interpretations of this. The one that i think is most internally consistent is that, as part of their role as decoy Guildmasters, Silhouettes are only called by their proper title while in private or are even sometimes considered a subgroup of Guildmasters

After all, part of the role of the Silhouette is to be the fall guy for the real powers, and "[o]stensibly they are 'guildmasters,' but in actuality they control nothing and have no authority." (LoD, p173)

Any other interpretations i will leave to the floor as i've got enough going on here already and could make a whole post on that alone

The Rank and File

The average rank and file Shadow Thief is unaware that they are part of the guild structure at all and is largely irrelevant to the goals of this post

Shadowmasters

The Shadowmaster is a rank which i can only find evidence for in Baldur's Gate II. This is a problem. Aran Linvail, chiefly, is identified as a "Shadowmaster" (BGII). Although she is heavily implied to be lying about her rank to lure you into her ambush, the Shadow Thief Ama claims to be the Shadowmaster of eastern Esmeltaran (BGII). While the validity of the claim is highly dubious (if not outright stated to be false in a line i don't remember), we can still glean information from it. Firstly, Shadowmaster is an actual title within the context of BGII. There's no reason to make up a new rank if your goal is to have people believe you. Secondly, this Shadowmaster rank is tied to geography rather than specialization. This means the Shadowmaster is not meant to correlate to a Guildmaster or Silhouette but rather a Cloakmaster or possibly even a Shade. These greater titles are also more accurate to the scale and scope that Aran is implied to be operating at

The wiki states Aran Linvail dies in 1369 DR. This is likely to align with the events of the novelization, but it does technically allow for him to be replaced by Rheax Bormul by the time of Cloak & Dagger if we are to believe he was a Shade. However, the way Rheax is described in Cloak & Dagger lends itself to an image that he has been in the position for some time

I believe Shadowmaster is more likely meant to analogue to Cloakmaster. There are likely multiple Cloakmasters in the city. Additionally, Shadow Thieves generally only know the one superior they report to, those that report to them, and a small number of equals (C&D, p104). While Silhouettes such as Renal Bloodscalp are said to report to Guildmasters, it isn't unreasonable to assume that there is some wiggle room there, and some may report to Cloakmasters instead

Also, it counts for literally nothing, but i'm still holding onto that unsupported line on the wiki about Aran Linvail reporting to Rheax Bormul, which would make him a Cloakmaster

All in all, i will be considering him as a Cloakmaster moving forward

The Ward's Guildhall and What is Going on There?

If one is playing as a Thief in Baldur's Gate II, then they have the option of taking over a Shadow Thief guildhall for their stronghold, but as mentioned, the CRPGS can have a sometimes contentious relationship with the lore books. This leads to the question: if Gorion's Ward accepts the thief stronghold and takes over management of a guildhall, what exactly is their rank?

The obvious answer is that this would make them Guildmaster, but no one loves misdirection quite like a Shadow Thief, so i'm hesitant to accept that off the bat. Also, i would not be who i am today if i did not overthink every inconsequential detail

The key evidence (all sourced from BGII) is as follows:

The Ward's guildhall is labeled as a guildhall, and they are referred to as a guildmaster

This same was true for their predecessor, Mae'Var

Mae'var intended to work his way up the ladder by assassinating Renal Bloodscalp

You report to and pay your quotas to a Silhouette

Your immediate underlings operate a diverse range of specialities*

*(Specifically: house-breaking and safe-cracking; assassination and racketeering; pickpocketing; smuggling; and blackmails and possibly also racketeering again)

Now all of this can be waved aside as the game simplifying and altering the structure for the better gameplay experience for the player, but let's take this at face value

The Ward and Mae'Var are labeled as guildmaster(s) yet report to a Silhouette, the position that most traditionally hires outside aid, even up to permanently contracting entire guilds. They view him as their superior to the point that one of them intended to assassinate him to take his place, but if they are Guildmasters, then he should be reporting to them. Taking his place would be a definite downgrade in both power and security if Mae'Var were truly a Shadow Thief Guildmaster

Why replace Mae'var's guild with more contractors once he's been dealt with? Well simply put, there's power in numbers and money in that power

What of Aran Linvail then? Why would a Cloakmaster show his face to an outside contractor? Because i lied, and he's a Silhouette. The fake title that is not substantiated by any other source is to deploy an illusion of power. He and Renal are operating on multiple layers of nonsensical chicanery

But why would the Shadow Thieves go through all the work of hiring outside help only to disclose who they work for anyway. That's begging for problems. At that point, why not do what they say they're doing and make you an actual Guildmaster? This is all so bizarre and convoluted, even for the Shadow Thieves

Because the job of a Silhouette is to make you think they are a powerful figure in the Shadow Thieves and to take the attention from the actual powers that be

Because fuck you is why

#dungeons and dragons #dnd #baldur's gate #bg2 #shadow thieves #charname #gorion's ward #oc: perlaufen #<- that's one's just for my personal archiving #now to make a post justifying why he's definitely totally a real guildmaster anyway #it's like aftercare to me

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needlesandnilbogs · 7 months

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Notes on City Spies: Mission Manhattan

(copied from discord by way of blogspot)

P4: Kat is in fact 14 now.

P6 Sydney or Paris is 16. Also ily kat.

P8 awwwww Rio making a friend p11 lol mood

P12 oooh oh dear

P23 PERSON IN GLOBE?????

P33 ooh new motherism we love. Also I bet the bomb is in the tiara.

P37 and this dude would be in on it.

P53 another very Murderbot line.

P62 CAIRO NOOOOOO

P67 awwww, Rio has such a big heart I love him

P69 any time they play tourists things go wrong. Just saying.

P70 lol he named this lady after his editor

P76 lol James PONTI and the PONTE, hmmmm? Also I love kat so much

P78 clemmie?

P86 wait clemmie and mother never officially divorced? DUDE

P103 I LOVE BROOKLYN SO MUCH

P104-5 I LOVE KAT TOO MAYBE MORE THAN BROOKLYN

P106 TRU AND C ARE FRIENDS??????

P108 very diplomatic, Ponti.

P110 oh boy. Gertie, huh???

P114 tru is grandma now. Also fic this story

P130 lol that's such a sibling moment I'm love

P133 yes Monty, this is about the haggis (alas this means Monty doesn't keep kosher or else they get kosher haggis) (wait, is kat vegetarian? Look for textual support for this)

P136 oh dear... this is not going to lead to PROBLEMS, is it?

P139 awwwwwwwww

P145 awww more support for my brooklyn&beny family fics

P168 oh NICE ONE PARIS SO PROUD

P175 oh no the clemmie sads but also MONTY CALLED MOTHER CAIRO'S DAD TO ALL THEIR FACES IT'S PROGRESS

P186 note to self Brooklyn, beny, kat pov of that missing scene

P192 FINALLY RIO RECRUITMENT

P207 RIO I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

P224 oh boy

P233 YESSSS KAT

P244 Rio I love you so much

P246 yet again the nautilus shows up

P271 OH NO I HOPE EVERYONES OKAY

P316 oh nooooo

P318 it has been 13 months since start of book 1

P323 awww at least he's being honest about it?

P326 nooooo!!!

P330 patience and fortitude.... yesssssssss paciencia y fortaleza

P344 I love when the adults have fun with things and also when Monty's just like yeah there's the confident kids I'm raising, tell me what's going on, and SHES PROUD OF PARIS AAAAAA

P353 I love you Sydney

P372 OH THERES THAT LINE I LOVE U RIO

P379 YESS YES YES STACKS FTW THEY SAVED THE DAY WITH LIBRARY POWER

P381 YESSSS REAL NAME THIS GIRL

P384 "kat, you're incredible" "I get that a lot" LOVE LOVE LOVE ON ALL PARTS AND IM SO PROUD OF MY GIRLIE

p389 lolllll Mrs. G best new character now

P394 I LOVE YOU BEATRIZ

P399 lol C ily

P406 ohhhh clemmie. Oh boy. Well, that's a sequel hook. (not evil au when)

Team eval notes: awwwww Cairo's getting to know them!!! I need to write this scarab in universe fic tho. Also!!! Kat being kind with primes!!!!!!!

DONE I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE. Total time 2hrs 5 min.

I also wish to make clear that I have about half of that missing scene written and it is eventually going to make it to ao3

#city spies #reading #geeking out

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ng-scanlations · 3 months

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Yoroiden Samurai Troopers 30th Anniversary Art Book (2021) P83 - P103

Interview with the directors of the show, Masashi Ikeda (#1–19) & Mamoru Hamatsu (#20–39), screenwriter Ryosuke Takahashi, key animator/armor/character designers Akihiro Kanayama & Hideo Okamoto, planner Koichi Inoue, and toy developer Hitoki Makino.

A translation of the interview by The URWWS can be found on the YSTRW wiki here & here

Check out the rest of the pages of the interview from the artbook here.

#ronin warriors #samurai troopers #YST 30th Anniversary

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dotglobal · 2 years

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Body En Thrall (p103) from Indigenous Woman (2018) by Martine Gutierrez

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mzksgr · 1 year

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驚くべき有翼ドラゴン

【元絵】

題名：Figura prodigiosi Draconis alati (1678)

驚くべき有翼ドラゴン

作者：不詳

媒体：挿絵

掲載：Kircher, Athanasius; "Mundus Subterraneus Tomus II.", Amsterdam, 1678; P103 Fig

アタナシウス・キルヒャー『地下世界』(第2版) 第2巻

【使用作品】

スイスの竜 [補1-304]

『水木しげるの世界妖怪大全』 (1993)

当該挿絵

当該挿絵掲載ページ

#元絵 #不詳 #挿絵

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kaitlin-murphy · 3 years

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"After John James Audubon (American Woodsman)" 2021.

Vintage posters, Franklinia alatamaha seeds, cotton, antique frame, plywood, plexi, glue, hardware, vintage lumber, iron oxide stain, light-reactive sound device, 1950s sound recordings of Vermivora bachmanii, vintage darning egg, vintage needle and spools, Sturnus vulgaris skull, wool socks knitted by Bobby Wilcox, original wallpaper digitally designed using copyright free historic images, printed by SpoonFlower Inc, self-published zine.

I was invited by Goucher College Curator and Director of Exhibitions Alex Ebstein to create this installation for the "Rediscovering Goucher's Lost Museum" exhibition in fall 2021. Documentation photos generously made by Vivian Marie Doering @vivianmariephoto on Instagram.

Artist Statement:

“On the whole, the task of turning Audubon’s original images into marketable engravings proved to be an extremely labor-intensive process that relied, almost immediately, on the work of dozens of artisans, often working directly under Audubon’s ever-critical eye. But the work process went well beyond the engraver’s shop. Unseen and unheralded others likewise made a critical contribution to the project: the papermakers who produced the huge, high-quality sheets Audubon required; the copper smelters who turned raw ore into clean ingots; the miners who extracted the ore from the earth in the first place; and so forth, back through all the prior steps of production. In that sense, The Birds of America was not just an extensive work of art, not just an example of the sole genius of the lone, struggling artist. It was, rather, an ambitious business venture that relied on a complex labor process and an extensive supply chain, an enterprise in which the artist became not just the designer of the work, but the administrative manager of dozens of people, many of whom could be called artists in their own right, and a marketer to prospective customers, many of whom he had to track down wherever he could find them, on both sides of a very wide ocean.”

--Gregory Nobles, John James Audubon: The Nature of the American Woodsman, 2017. p103

Beyond the ‘supply chain’ of compensated workers existed a backdrop of the truly Unseen and Unheralded – the enslaved Black people whose supportive labor was violently coerced; and the work of Maria Martin, an ‘artist in [her] own right’ whose labor was given, and taken, freely due to her faith and her standing as an unmarried, white woman in the Antebellum South. Utilizing the exquisite Martin-Audubon collaborative painting, "Bachman's Warbler", as a jumping-off point, this installation is a visual exploration of the cultural and structural scaffolding that made such erasure possible during that era, as well as two examples of natural history showcased by the painting that have been lost and found - the now extinct Bachman's Warbler (Vermivora bachmanii) for which this painting and a few short sound recordings are our best documentation of the species' existence, and Franklin Tree (Franklinia alatamaha) a species native to the southeastern US that narrowly avoided utter extinction thanks to the collectors John and William Bartram, and that now exists in scattered cultivation across the country.

This project is not meant as a wholesale ‘cancel’ of John James Audubon or early American naturalists – whose work, at times disturbingly tainted by prevailing beliefs and customs, nevertheless paved the way for the scientific fields of biology and ecology today. This installation is, rather, an acknowledgment of the conflicted entanglements between history, nature, people, race, gender, ideology, belief, imagery, and power.

Collections are essentially a grandiose form of appropriation, recontextualizing objects for myriad purposes. This installation plays with two traditions: collections and appropriation, by appropriating and recontextualizing Audubon’s work, as well as other historical illustrations from various collections, and using metaphor and allegory as tools to tell the story. It would not have been made possible without the help, labor, and/or support of many unseen and unheralded, including the anonymous archivists at the Internet Archive, New York Public Library Digital Collections, and Cornell’s Macaulay Library, collectors on Ebay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, and Bazaar in Hamden, the production team at Spoonflower, and most especially Alex Ebstein, Bobby Wilcox, Seth Adelsberger, Denise Wilcox, Patti Murphy, Wyatt Hersey, Jenny Rieke and Oona McKay.

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1kpj · 2 months

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법륜스님: 깨달음

Start Date: 07/11/2024

End Date: 07/16/2024

P88: 바로보고 올바른 판단, 정견과 정사유를 지해라 한다.

P103: 사람들은 자기 욕구를 만족시키면 좋아 하고 그렇지않으면 싫어한다.

P150: 우리는 너 나 없이 병이 없기를 원하고, 곤란이 없기를 원하고, 장애엾기를 원하며, 마장이 없기를 원하고, 일이 쉽게 되기를 원하고, 자기에게 이롭기를 원하며, 사람들이 내게 순종해 주기를 원하고, 모든 공덕이 나한테 돌아오기를 원하고, 불명확한 것은 낱낱이 속 시원히 밝히기를 원한다. 이 중에 우리가 원하지 않는 것은 하나도 없는데 <보왕삼매론> 에서는 왜 수행하는 데 있어서 이 원하는 마음을 내지 마라 하는가? 그것은 우리의 모든 고통이 이 열가지 원하는 마음에서 생겨나기 때문이다.

P159: 결심이 확고부등하면 마장은 생겨나지 않는다. 결심이 약하기 때문에 회의가 일고 마음이 흔들리는 것이다. 내 속에 있던 과거의 업장이 나에게 회의 라는 마장으로 나타나는 것이다. 단번에 마장의 고비를 넘어설 수 있어야 한다.

P163: 잘못 맺은 관계라 함은 내가 이롭고자 하는 마음으로 맺은 관계다. 내가 이롭고자 하는 마음이 상대에게 상처를 주고 의리를 상하게 하니, 상대를 도와주고 이해하려는 태도로 전환할때, 사귐은 길게 되고 그 사귐 속에서 행복을 얻게 될 것이다.

P165: 뜻이 다른 이를 이해하는 자세로 살아 가는 것이 교만을 없애는 최고의 수행이다.

P188: 깨달음이 지속되려면 첫째, 마음이 깨끗해야 한다. 욕심을 버리면 마음이 깨끗해진다. 둘째, 마음이 밝아야 한다. 착한 사람 중에 오히려 늘 슬퍼하고 울음이 많은 어두운 사람이 ��다. 정을 주지 말라는 것이 아니라 정을 끊고 마음을 밝게 가져야 한다는 말이다. 셋째, 마음이 가벼워야 한다. 자기가 일으키는 생각에 사로잡히지 말아야 한다. 생각에 사로잡히면 마음이 무거워진다.

similarities between Buda and Jesus can be realized here. Good light reading and I will come back to this book time to time to

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frishtasaura · 7 months

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Week 2: First Time Working With GDevelop.

This was my first ever platform game on GDevelop! I got the basic things done and am currently very excited to work with GDevelop this semester!

And then I got to add a cute and slimey enemy.

While designing the game and through the reading I realized that not every type of game is attractive to everyone. As everyone have different genre preferences. In the reading particularly, in Chapter 4 it talks about “The nature of Play” and that “play is not anyone thing, but rather a state of mind” after Fullerton talks about how everyone comes to game with different agendas and desires (Fullerton, P103-104). Though, chapter 3 assisted me with understanding objectives in games. That objectives should be challenging to achieve, but they are also achievable. Therefore, this gave me the motivation to implement challenging platforms and increased number of enemies in an area for the player to face and battle against to win making the game thrilling and exciting to play. In the chapter 5 Fullerton mentions economies in games, which is very interesting because I still haven’t implemented a system where the player can potentially upgrade through some sort of exchange. E.g coin exchange. That is what I will be implementing next when I upgrade and I have a feeling that the players reviewing will also talk about me implementing coins and exchanging it into some sort of power or something interesting.

Fullerton, T. (2018). Game design workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, Fourth Edition. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

#GDevelop #Firstplatformgame #elevator pitch #Readings

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4komasusume · 10 months

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想像の翼をNTRの世界へーー後藤羽矢子『ボクの妻はNTRれない』

ボクの妻はNTRれない (バンブーコミックス)

posted with AmaQuick at 2023.11.25

後藤羽矢子(著) 竹書房 (2023-09-14)

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　今回取り上げる『ボクの妻はNTRれない』は艶笑４コマです。艶笑とは「おかしみが含まれた性風俗の描写」。艶笑譚(たん)という表現があります。下ネタ、エロネタをメインにしたジャンルです。1990年代から2000年代に4コマのジャンルで流行りました。ももせたまみさん、さんりようこさん、荻野眞弓さんなどはこの艶笑4コマで人気を博し、活動の幅を広げました。4コマ史の中でも外せないジャンルと言えます。今回取り上げる後藤羽矢子さんはこのルートではなく、成年向け作品で実績を上げ「まんがライフ」で『どきどき姉弟ライフ』の連載を始めました。艶笑４コマを手掛けるのは４コマ漫画家として実績を上げてからなのですね。

　予備知識として持っていてほしいのですが、タイトルにある「NTR」とは寝取られ、寝取りの略語です。今作では寝とられのほうに主眼を置いています。男性向け成年ジャンルの一つで��。自分の妻や恋人が第三者と性的関係を持つことをテーマにしたジャンルで、倒錯した性癖を満たすシチュエーションとなっています。

　荘司貞雄（しょうじさだお）と妻である心寧（ここね）は仲睦まじい新婚夫婦です。ただ貞雄に心寧に知られてはならない秘密を抱えていました。それがド級の寝取られ属性を持っていることです。

　結婚を機に寝取られ属性を卒業とした貞雄ですが、人妻を得た事実により興奮する現実を手にいれてしまいました。妻への愛と同時に寝取られ妄想も育むことを決意するのでした。この貞雄の寝取られ妄想が１話完結で描かれる構成になっています。

　貞雄の妄想から繰り広げられるのは定番の寝取られから、最新の寝取られまで多岐にわたり描かれます。

　最初に取り上げる寝取られ妄想は「電マ」、電動マッサージと配達人です。寝取られでは古典的シチュエーションで、欲求不満なんでしょと言って寝取られる妄想です。貞雄のこだわりとして竿役のビジュアルをしっかりイメージするというのがあるので、どの妄想でも熱いドラマが見れます。この妄想をするためだけに電マを通販する貞雄の拗らせ具合がわかるエピソードになっています。

　秀逸なのは電マにエロのイメージを持っていない心寧の反応を描くことで、貞雄の拗らせ具合がより強調することができているのです。

　この寝取られ妄想はリモート寝取られ。ネットミームにもなっている「オタクくん見てる〜？」ですね。貞雄がリモート寝取られの歴史について語るのですが、写真送付、ビデオレターの様にタイムラグがなくリアルタイムで見せつけられ、無力感を味わうことになるシチュエーションです。社会のインフラ設備の拡充とともに、趣味嗜好の世界も変化していることが貞雄の妄想により語られています。

　この貞雄へのツッコミを入れつつ、愛ある夫婦仲を描いているのが秀逸です。

　かなり拗らせた寝取られ癖を持っている貞雄と無垢な心寧という当初の構図は後半になると変化してきます。心寧にスーツフェチの性癖があることが発覚するのです。

　心寧はセックスの最中にスーツを着た貞雄を攻めたいという妄想をして、気分を上げるテクニックを編み出します。ただこのように非常に後ろめたい気持ちになるのです。この心寧がスーツを着た貞雄とセックスをする機会に恵まれると…。

　愛欲ハンターの表情です。貞雄は寝取られ妄想を満喫しながら心寧に対して後ろめたい気持ちを持っていましたが、心寧の覚醒によりメタ的ながらも妄想の源である存在から抜け出し、二人は同じステージに立つことになりました。

　寝取られという性癖はジャンルとして成立するほど人気を集めていますが、忌避する人もまた存在します。心寧のスーツフェチへの覚醒は、艶笑4コマの「笑」を成立するための仕掛けの一つです。この仕掛けはまだあります。

　貞雄の尖った性癖にツッコミを入れる後輩の存在。貞雄に寝取られ属性を含め性生活全般の相談を受け、その都度ツッコミを入れます。この相談シーンがテンプレートとなっているのです。このシーンを入れることで取り上げるテーマの説明と貞雄の志向に対するツッコミの双方を両立させています。ちなみに貞雄に冷静にツッコミを入れている後輩君ですが彼は妹属性持ちです。

　リアル寝取られの否定。貞雄はあくまでも妄想として寝取られを楽しんでいるので、リアル寝取られについてはたびたび否定する言動をとっています。

　１話目で声高らかに「虚構と現実の区別をつけろ」と彼の寝取られへのスタンスを明確に示しています。心寧の元担任が略奪婚をした話を聞いた時もその行為を非難しているのです。この現実への寝取られ否定を際立たせる演出として、貞雄の寝取られ妄想仲間が心寧を妄想で寝取ってやると宣言したオチがこれです。

　妄想でさえもリアリティのある寝取られはやれない。ということは現実に知り合いの人を寝取るのはかなりハードルが高いことであることがこのオチから連想できます。

　そして貞雄の心寧への愛情。このぶれることのない軸を描いています。

　同じマンションに住む人妻から粉をかけられた時も間髪入れず心寧以外のパートナーはありえないと答えています。また田舎でおじいちゃんやおばあちゃんに心寧が孫の顔を見せてほしいと囲まれた時も心寧を守る壁となるのです。

　このように寝取られという背徳の快感を笑いに昇華する仕掛けが作品のいたるところに配置してあります。寝取られは現実で考えると不倫や略奪愛になるのであくまでフィクションとして楽しむことを強調しているのです。

　最後に後藤羽矢子さんには『アスクミ先生に聞いてみた』というお悩み回答４コマがあります。この作品内は生徒の疑問にアスクミ先生が回答を出すという形式の４コマです。後藤羽矢子さんはこの疑問に対して回答を出すという展開を色々な作品内に取り入れています。『ボクの妻はNTRれない』ではこんな感じで描かれています。

　心寧が抱いているセックスでの悩みについての回答です。歯に衣着せぬぶっちゃけ感ですが、笑いを含んでいて機知に富む回答です。男性からのこの回答はなかなか出ないなと感嘆しました。さらにこのお悩み相談から心寧のスーツフェチへの覚醒につなげるところが上手いのです。

　令和の艶笑４コマとして寝取られというシチュエーションの多々を楽しめる作品です。成人向け作品も手掛ける後藤羽矢子さんの本領発揮がされています。

(量産型砂ネズミ）

人はエロスと共にあり――後藤羽矢子『お嬢様の痴的好奇心』

春夏秋冬お酒は幸せの味ーー後藤羽矢子「うわばみ彼女」

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画像出典　竹書房　『ボクの妻はNTRれない』　P9,P10,P54,P55,P109,P117,P6,P8,P46,P69,P98,P103 掲載順

#量産型砂ネズミ

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