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starr-fall-knight-rise · 5 years

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Humans are Space Orcs, “This is War.”

This arc is going to be exciting, I hope you guys like it.

“Commander, the Burg have broken through the defense Nexus and are making siege on the Gromm homeworld. We have sent ships to supplement them, but we won't be able to last much longer. How soon can you arrive.?”

“Immediately chairwoman. Give me the change to mobilize the fleet, and we will come drop in to assist. Have some of your your cruisers sent in with shield generators. We would be more combat effective, if all our time was not spent in maneuvers.”

“It will be done commander.”

“One more thing, chairwoman.”

“Yes commander.”

“Get me a forward report of battle progress, I want numbers, estimates, power outputs, weapons, anything you can give me, I want to know about it.”

“You will have it, Commander.”

The hologram disappeared, and Commander Vir pointed to one of the communications specialists, “You, get the fleet online, immediately.”

“Yes sir.”

There was a moment of verbal silence as the room was filled with the distant clattering of feet thundering through the lower decks preparing for battle stations.

Four young soldiers sat in the corner of the room wide eyed and nervously watching the proceedings unfold as their insides churned.

What a day to be a new recruit.

Bright blue light erupted around the room, and fifteen figures stepped out of the ether in various stages of wakefulness and or dress.

“Commander.” One of the men Said salluting, he was older maybe in his early to mid fifties though he looked better than a lot of men twice his age

“Captain Eklend, Koslov, Ho, Silva, Bassi, you five are active?”

“Yes, Sir.” They chorused

“What this is about?”

“War, Captain, The Burg have perpetrated an act of war against the GA. You five are needed immediately with my ship on the front line. The rest of you, prepare yourselves for standby. I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket.”

“An act of war!”

“Yes ,they are attempting to invade the Gromm homeworld.”

“What reason could they have-”

“Their reasons don’t matter for now. For the moment we focus on providing support to the Gromm and the GA. Have your crews ready as soon as possible, and initiate an instant warp. I know it will be rough on the coolant systems, but if you back charge that energy into the rail guns and cannons, that we should be able to arrive prepared. I want jets ready to provide in-atmosphere air support if necessary and as instantly as possible. Am I understood.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alert me as soon as you are ready, and make it quick. My people will have the coordinates to yours immediately “

“Yes, Commander/” Fifteen salutes, and fifteen holograms gone dark.

Commander Vir turned to the bridge crew, “Prepare for an instant warp, like I was saying before, make sure you back charge the rail guns with the excess energy put off by the core. We don’t want to smoke ourselves out with the heat.”

Turning, he took a seat in his chair, and despite his clothing, a star-wars T-shirt and a pair of heelies, no one would have assumed he was anything other than the commander. A door clattered behind them, and the small blue Drev from earlier burst through the door and ran across the deck to her seat.

“Sunny-”

“Yes! Preparing to back charge the railguns, commander. Loading bunker busting rounds, and loading flairs.”

“Good.” He barked.

With one hand he reached over and toggled the Comm switch.

His voice once relegated to this room, now echoed down the halls with a commanding echo, “Crew of the harbinger, this is your Commander speaking. At this moment the Burg have declared war on the GA and are attempting to overtake the Gromm planet for its strategic location within the GA. All of you are to report to your battle stations immediately and prepare for war. All vehicles, flying or otherwise, should be ready for takeoff. I want marines prepared to to insert by drop ship at a moment’s notice. All non military personnel are to return to their quarters, or a safe room away from the outer hull of the ship. Please make sure to go over any and all escape pod procedures in case of an emergency…..”

There was a moment of solemn silence.

“I understand that this is our first military engagement, I understand that you may be frightened, angry or even shocked, but I make a promise to you now, that I will do whatever I can to keep all of you and every last member of earth, and the GA safe. If you follow me in this goal I guarantee, there is no army, no species, no force save deity who can stop us. My fellow humans, and my brothers and sisters Drev,... let us show them what it means to wage war.”

He shut off the comm jaw set face staring forward.

With one hand, he reached up and pulled off the eyepatch revealing an inhuman mechanical replacement underneath.

“Commander, Captain Kozlov is ready for warp.”

“As is Captain Bassi.”

“Captains Eklend, and Ho. Have reported in.”

“Captain Silva is ready, Commander.”

“Than we warp in five, four, three, two, one….”

***

The burg Commander stood at the head of her ship pincers clicking in great pleasure as she watched another one of the GA ships fall under her onslaught.

Their shields were powerful, but their weapons were measly.

Their scientists had known this for a while. The GA were soft creatures born of government and economics and not of chaos like her people . They would rather, sit back and defend themselves like a wounded Curdling licking its wounds tan to stand and fight, and now they had insulted her people one last tie.

Her previous successor, had failed in his mission, one that should have been easy considering their ability to exploit the GA’s soft and trusting laws, but he had lost his temper and given himself away before the end.

However, the time for stealth was long past, now it was a time for war. For the past few years, since their withdrawal from GA peace talks )she chittered her mandibles disgusted at the very thought they had once been willing to parlay with such disgusting creatures) they had traveled the galaxy in search of greater resources, stocking themselves for ward, creating alliances with other entities in the vastness of space.

The GA would fall for their insolence against the Burg,, and she would be the one to usher them into a greater future.

Who knows, perhaps she might even become queen.

The thought of sitting, fat and happy at the center of the hive made her insides wriggle with pleasure.

Another GA ship fell breaking into pieces and falling towards the glittering surface of the Gromm planet. The shards sparked and sizzled as they were deflected away from the planet’s defence nexus.

It didn’t matter though, it wouldn’t be here for long.

She planned for that.

And that is when her alarms began going off. She whirled in a circle towards the group of grumbs at her back. They pulsed and oozed in time with the engines of the ship controlling the interior mechanisms with their bodies, which had been fuzed into the mechanisms. When this ship died, they would die with it.

“What is happening.”

“Your glory, ships have appeared from warp, and they ae firing on us.”

“WHO.” She demanded, “I must see!” They gurgled and mumbled as they got to work scrambling to do their best and find a suitable answer for her. The ship drifted around so the viewing platform faced outwards.

Ans that is when she saw them.

Two strange ships on the horizon, and as she watched, three more followed in quick succession, flashing into existence against the black backdrop of the expanse.

She would know those ships anywhere.

Hard, brutal and malignant like their pilots, “Slimy Maggots!” She spat grinding her pincers together.

“What is it, your glory?”

The sound that came through her teeth was nothing more than a warbling hiss “Humans.”

The air around her pulsed with the wave of an incoming transmission. She accepted with an angry flick, her legs chittering back and forth across the ground. And then she saw it, that ugly hideous thing with its bulging bulbous eyes and sofy maggoty flesh, rubbery like a worm.

It blinked at her revealing that mouth full of toxic venom which had been such a hindrance to her people.

She knew this human well, if not from personal contact, than form the hostires.

For to forget a grudge was to forget one’s honor.

“Disgusting human, have you come to join your fellows as their dust is sprinkled by the solar wind.”

“Let's drop the niceties shall we.” The human responded it’s voice a horrible throbbing humm inside her head, “Now that we are here, You have two options you will surrender to the GA and live, or you will fight and you will die poorly. Which shall it be, this is your first and final warning.”

She chittered her mandibles together in laughter.

“You are mistaken human. For it is YOU who will die poorly, and there is no surrender.

“Is that a no than?”

She spat at the screen, “You will die screaming.”

“I said, is-that-a-no?”

“NO.”

“Very well.”

And then she …. She saw something, or she thought she saw something.

A flash of light, like a fire ignited behind the slimy outer layer of the human Iris. It was both cold and hot burning and cold, chaotic and still. The longer she stared the hotter the little fire grew, until it felt as if she could feel tongues of flame licking at her shell,

“Do you have gods, burg.”

She wasn’t entirely sure where this was going but the mesmerizing nature of the eyes caused her to grow still, unable to be silent against the burning question.

“Yes.”

“Do you pray.”

“Only over the pyres of our dead.”

The human bared his teeth slimy coating of venom sparkling under the light.

“Then Pray.”

#humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #HUMANS ARE WERID #humans are space oddities #earth is a deathworld #Earth is space Ausralia

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jaguarwong · 3 years

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A rambling diatribe on retro-gaming elitism

There’s a lot to be annoyed about in the world today - obviously - especially with the various types of mess we’re all living with in every country in the world.

But a particular, and specific annoyance in the retrogaming hobby/lifestyle/environment/zeitgeist, is the hive-mind attitude from an increasing number of the most vocal (and seemingly most affluent) participants that this is, or should be, an extremely expensive hobby/lifestyle/etc/etc.

It’s impossible not to notice an underlying, deeply unpleasant, atmosphere of elitism in many of the communities I visit. An attitude of ‘you’re not doing it right’ directed at anyone who doesn’t have their Neo Geo AES hooked up to a 20” PVM via OSSC. (I have no idea if that example makes sense, nor do I care.)

This is the kind of arms-race attitude that fought to keep PC gaming an exclusive club for decades, and it has gradually seeped into retro gaming's language and ecosystem almost undetected.

The simple joy of rekindling one's nostalgia for Super Mario World, or re-experiencing the simple fun of games lost with the arcades, is being obfuscated by a collective need to quantify, update, and monetise every aspect of vintage computer entertainment.

It’s the kind of environment where you might expect the gateway drug of emulation to be met with the utmost scorn, but instead the self appointed guardians of retro (You can have that for your quiz team/band name, BTW) have positioned emulation behind a paywall of Retron 5s, Mega SGs, and (only the latest and most expensive) Everdrives. Any excited newcomer asking about the best controller to play retro games on their laptop is quickly overwhelmed with talks of latency, resolutions, and refresh rates.

If it wasn’t bad enough that forced exclusivity exists, it actually appears to be having it’s desired effect.

You can see it both in the way questions are asked and in the tone of the responses. You can see it in the photos of someones latest, expensive, haul and the other even more expensive stuff in the background - almost, but not quite, out of focus.

People don’t ask where they can find a cheap CRT, they ask if their $100 Trinitron is ‘good enough’. A joyous celebration of a bargain buy, or a long lost attic discovery, will be met with derision and disbelief, the underlying accusation that unless you can afford the inflated eBay prices for a barely average Sega Saturn game, then you aren’t worthy to own it.

Which brings me neatly to the event that triggered this rambling blog entry.

There was someone on a Discord server I’ve been frequenting who stated, blankly, without malice, that “all the good Saturn games are 100+ dollars”.

Why would they think this? Simply because it’s what the gatekeepers want them, you, and everyone else to think.

These are the people who, when a collective question is asked, wouldn’t dream of recommending any of the dozens of fantastic, better even, Saturn games you could buy for the price of Burning Rangers.

It’s this sub-group who don’t want you enjoying Sonic the Hedgehog for free when they’ve invested $200 in a Mega SG. The only way their post-purchase rationalisation can cope is by attacking the perceived difference in quality, by claiming they seek a ‘purer’ experience, and by attempting to undermine the simple pleasure of just playing old games by insinuating that someone with a secondhand NES Mini isn’t doing it right.

Now I just want to be clear that I’m not claiming to be some kind of saint who never judges anyone else's choices, nor am I saying that there aren’t benefits to some modern retro products, but the weaponised affluence I’m seeing increasingly around retro gaming communities is something else entirely.

Admission 1: I strongly believe that by downloading a thousand roms and picking one to play for five minutes before switching to another, then another, then another... your assessment of them will lack a psychological bond of choice, expectation, and - yes - sometimes investment that adds to the whole experience of a game.

But this is no less true of a pack of illegal roms than it is of someone with thousands in disposable income spending a tenth of that on a game they’ll probably never play.

Cost, value, and investment are relative terms. The kind of ‘bond’ I’m trying to describe between a player and a game can be gained through the investment of time, the effort of research, and the expectation of finding out for oneself if that game from your childhood holds up 20 years later.

Admission 2: I think games from the previous century should be played on a CRT television whenever possible. Pixels look better with real scanlines - it’s an incontrovertible fact - and the colour depth offered by that massive, humming monstrosity wedged into the corner is really something lost to the ages.

But it’s not a prerequisite of fun. And it’s especially not necessary to find the most expensive, most instagrammable, most egregiously hyped PVM to enjoy a game of Super Mariokart with your kids.

When I say: "I think these games should be played on a CRT", I mean ANY CRT. I’m typing this in a room with 6 of the things, two of them were free, and the whole collection has been compiled for the total cash investment of £26.

As someone born over 4 decades ago I’ll let you into a secret: The geometry has always been rubbish, the hum has always been loud, the picture has always flickered and no one ever cared about resolution or refresh rate or input lag when playing Tornado Low Level on their ZX Spectrum in 1984.

It’s entirely possible to argue a convincing case that you’ll get a more enjoyable retro experience from a wonky Bush portable TV than from any professional quality display equipment. And beyond that, if you can’t find a tube telly or don’t have room for one, use an LCD - it’s better than nothing, and the filters some emulators have these days are great.

It comes down this:

If you’re lucky enough, or have worked hard enough, to have the disposable income necessary to buy $400 RGB Scart cables and a professional monitor the size of a family car - and that’s genuinely what you want for your retro gaming experience - That’s cool. You don’t need anyone's approval or respect, you’re doing what you want to do the way you want to do it - and that’s a life lesson for everyone right there. But it’s your way, and nothing more than that.

This nonsense of idolising only the most expensive elements of this hobby has to change and we, the members of these communities, are the only people in a place to do that.

So the next time you see an excited new Dreamcast owner looking for game suggestions, mention the best ones first, not the most expensive.

When you come across a reddit picture of someone's game collection don’t immediately look for the over-priced ‘rare’ game they haven’t got, look for the ones you have in common and can have a conversation about.

And if you ever, ever, see someone being criticised for playing roms, or using composite cables, or playing on a flat screen TV, or any of that postering gibberish - step into that conversation and ask what games they love? What happy memories do they have? What is it about retro games brings them joy?

Because this is the real value of games.

They bring us experiences and memories to savour forever, they engage with us in a different way to that of films and music - and that difference should be cherished.

Games exist to bring us pleasure. Sometimes that pleasure is tinged with fear, and sometimes it’s truly dark and doesn’t feel like pleasure at all. Sometimes the pleasure comes from intellectual stimulation, sometimes from mindless entertainment.

But whatever form it takes, this pleasure, this… fun… cannot be tempered by technology, and it must never be attributed to any scale of monetary investment.

The simplicity of Retro Games is joyous, they are heartbreaking, they are brilliant and they must never be withheld from those who measure value in the size of their smile, by those who measure it in the size of their wallet.

You better get the aspect ratio right though, or I will hunt you down!

#classic games #retro gaming #sega #nintendo #playstation #gaming

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schmidtsource · 4 years

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Bright Side of Solitude

August is coming to a close, ladies and gentlemen, and fortunately it was far less of an ordeal than July. It was objectively better than August of last year, too, so we’re kicking this off looking at the bright side!

First and foremost, I finished Final Fantasy VII, and swiftly moved onto my next adventure in the series: Final Fantasy X. The former was definitely an experience in the best of ways, and I’m glad to finally be able to have that experience under my belt and understand why it’s been regarded as a classic all this time. Excusing the dated aspects that are inherent with a nineties game, I’d say the adoration it received is warranted. I’m glad that I’ve been able to commit to my resolution to play more games this year. JRPGs continue to serve as meaningful escapism for me.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but another one of my resolutions was to keep a private log for whenever I feel compelled to share something dark, and I’ve got to say that’s been a very wise decision: especially considering the times. I’ve spent the month in isolation, which means August was my second longest solitary streak to date, and for those who haven’t had the pleasure, long-term isolation is a pretty taxing experience once you pass the twenty-day mark. At least this time around I didn’t hit forty days. That’s when things start to feel… strange.

I certainly recommend anyone who’s got a lot of dark thoughts on their mind commit them to a journal. It’s a compromise between sharing and internalizing your troubles, and I’ve found it to be very therapeutic and effective for organizing issues to unpack in a healthier fashion.

Anyway, AfterEffects tutorials are off to an excellent start. I enjoyed the six-hour intro course enough to add all of Jake Bartlett’s Skillshare courses to my to-do queue, so I’ll be chipping away at those for the next few months. The lessons themselves total just over forty hours, but with the additional practice I put into each one, a single course with two hours of material can easily reach five of fiddling. Learning is a marathon here, that’s for sure, but the progress so far has been good and I have every confidence it’ll all be integrated into my work in a meaningful capacity down the road. I’m pacing myself since life can’t pause while I learn new tools, but I’m feeling all sorts of swell about the future when it comes to this program’s place in my toolbox.

I have a vacation scheduled for September fourth through to the thirteenth, and I intend to make that a productive time. I’m still locking down the agenda for that period, but I intend to make it count. I’d like to treat it as though I’m working for myself full-time, and look back on the time to gauge what that sort of future could look like today. I’m pretty sure a lot of it will go into tackling a video for the seventh of September and powering through one of the meatier AE tutorials covering 3D environments, but I still need to lock down exactly what that time should produce. Maybe I’ll put attention into streaming assets for Schmidt Times to improve channel growth, or get back into a Hollow Hive project to get that ball rolling again. The first week of September is going to be all about plotting that out and locking down my agenda.

I can’t say I’m pleased that the vacationI intended to have as a real break back in July ended up being disrupted by my arm numbing ordeal, so I think it’d be responsible to squeeze in some genuine days off during this vacation, but at the very least I’m optimistic this break will be less burdened by health concerns.

Speaking of health, my wisdom tooth surgery went far better than anticipated. I was so worried about the sedation, but I came out of it with my senses intact. I don’t know what happened with my first procedure back in the day that left me a disoriented mess, but I’m glad that wasn’t the case this time. The antibiotics really knocked me on my keister and I’m still dealing with the aftermath of that, but the surgery itself seems to have gone well. No pain, so that’s a gain!

For this time next month, I want to look back on September as a time for meaningful steps forward. Bear minimum, my “vacation” should bear some delicious fruit that’ll inform the last few months of the year. As always, I intend to do a lot of thinking and reevaluating along the way, but I hope I come out of September with a firm game plan and a lot to talk about. Let’s see how it goes, folks!

#SchmidtSource #Schmidt Times #content creator #game developer #video editor #blog #indie #youtuber

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ivbenjaminart · 7 years

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LEGACIES - Carcer Nox Atreha

[Entry 1 - The Fallen Prince]

This is a live document and shall be updated throughout the course of my investigation. I have granted you access so that I might get your thoughts and insight. Of all those that sit at the Black Table, I trust your judgement the most. Perhaps you will see something that I have missed. Bear with me on the more obvious or redundant details, as they could prove to be paramount later. Like you, I believe in leaving no stone unturned. All roads thus far lead to Carcer. To know him and understand him will be the key to dismantling this machine of treachery and disorder forming in the shadows. How many people did he influence? Who remains loyal to him within our empire? To what lengths must I go to bring an end to his machinations? I will begin this profile with a promise--whatever it takes, the Prince will be brought to justice. Carcer Nox Atreha was born in 764 AE on the planet Arkouda, our primary agricultural installation. He is one of less than ten cross-species offspring that claim Imperial citizenship. His father is the current Primarch, Ursor Mahlak Nox, a descendant of the Atohkthun United Tribes exiled along with the rest of our people from Diadem, while his mother is the late High Lady Eirwyn Nox--a verthandi Oracle. Suffice it to say the union of his parents was incredibly uncommon. I would not consider the Imperial people racist, per se, but we are a very isolationist culture and have little interest in intermingling with other species--save, of course, for ensuring their politics don’t interfere with our own. His birth came on the tail end of the year’s Sol Movement, just as the second unprovoked war with the Diadites, our genetic ancestors, began. The first five years of his life are nearly impossible to follow as our information networks were devoted purely to wartime use. A census taken in 765 indicates he was no longer a resident of Arkouda so it can only be assumed he and his mother were likely moving from starship to starship as his father ascended the ranks of the Ordo Militaris. (note: cross reference ship logs on all main Dreadnaughts in service between 764 and 770 for possible mentions of the Nox family--though information about the boy at such a young age may prove inconsequential, he is, indeed, a special case) (additional note: confirm date of Ursor Nox’s transition from Ordo Cultio to Ordo Militaris--were family records ever updated to reflect this? Our level of unpreparedness for war at the time is becoming embarrassing).. A psychological evaluation in 771 AE is the first time he resurfaces on paper--for my records, the results suggest he suffered very little trauma despite the chaotic prelude to war. Perhaps this is a sign of strong mental fortitude...or perhaps, given his recent foray into terrorism, something else entirely. Carcer’s life took another unexpected turn no less than an octan after the war had ended. Rather than returning home to the farmlands of Arkouda, the heads of High House Tempus bade the Nox family to stay in the capital--quite publically, in fact. In a move to openly challenge the current Primarch, Tiberius Fratrem, Lord Verum and Lady Iustitia Tempus had put forth Carcer’s father, Ursor, as a worthy successor to the throne. Traditionally, protocol for such things encourages some modicum of privacy. However, as you are well aware, if House Tempus is known to be anything other than honest it is brazen. With the support of more than a third of the High Houses, Inquisitor Celeritas Tempus presented the challenge to the Hierarchy. Unsurprisingly it took less than three solans for a judgement to be made. Ursor was given the Throne. I can recall the excitement, however muted, my mother and father expressed in that moment. As you can imagine, it was a coup for the men and women of the Ordos; a lowborn family now sat in the most powerful seat in the Imperium. And to do so they removed, not only a highborn, but a Fratrem at that, whom had spent the duration of the war, and I say this entirely subjectively, sitting on his backside, twiddling his thumbs, hoping for the best. I am sure you can empathize. It was not the first time a lowborn family had been elevated to the hierarchy, of course, let alone the seat of Primarch. Silvia Dominus (not to be confused with the current fugitive, Agent Silva Dominus) of Ordo Scientia had been found worthy of the title Primarchess in 301 AE, though unlike their predecessors the Nox’s ascension was met with open adversity. Not only was Ursor Nox lowborn, he wed an alien wife and fathered a half-breed son. No one but a full blooded Imperial can ever sit on the Throne, which meant that Ursor took the title of Primarch with no heir to inherit it, and no means to produce one. It is as such that Carcer was named Prince in title and title alone. He would never wear his father’s crown I must in good faith retract my previous statement--the Imperium does not directly encourage racism, but there is something about our culture that makes it an inevitability. It is odd to me that in search of a means to defend my people from an ultimate evil I discover more of our imperfections. I digress. From this point on I can find nothing to suggest that Carcer’s life wasn’t typical of any boy born in the Hierarchy. His family was relocated to the moon of Tartarus orbiting our homeworld of Tenebrae. He began primary education at the Schola Academia. His mother and father both seemed loving and attentive, despite both maintaining positions of vast importance (his mother, again, was an Oracle of the verthandi people. And while I do not believe in their superstitions, she was clearly a woman of great importance to them). I am left to speculate, however, that while his lifestyle may have been nothing short of traditional he must’ve met some friction while he tried to live it. After all, he could not very easily blend due to his verthandi features and, as I said, Imperial people are not fond of outsiders. The year 775 AE was one of horrific tragedy within the Hierarchy and where I firmly believe Carcer began down the path that would lead to betrayal. <Private entry begin> <Reminder set> [Review reports on the deaths of Lord Verum and Lady Iustitia Tempus, three solans prior to the following events. Has no one else of our office questioned this?] <End private entry> On Hollesti 17th, 775 AE House Nox’s shuttle was enroute from Mathaire to Tenebrae. On its final approach to their home on Tartarus it suddenly, and inexplicably exploded. Between the catastrophic explosion and debris, official reports leave the death toll at twenty-seven--four staff on the ground, the entirety of the ship’s crew, and two of its three passengers--Inquisitor Celeritas Tempus and the High Lady, Eirwyn Nox. The third passenger and the only one to survive the incident, was the Prince-in-title, Carcer. As inexplicable as the shuttle’s destruction is the boy’s survival. Scientific studies show that Obscura are capable of generating an aura of anima powerful enough to shield them from the extreme temperatures and destructive vacuum of space. Knowing this, it would suffice as an answer to how he survived, were it not for the fact that Carcer was not an Obscura prior to the explosion of the shuttle. By all accounts, it is physically impossible for a person to become one after birth. The only individuals to ever become Obscura rather than be born Obscura were the first--to that end, Carcer Nox Atreha was lowborn, and the Obscura phenomenon only ever occurs in the offspring of the originals’ descendants--thus, never outside of a High House. I am not going to pretend to understand the how or the why--I was born in the Ordo Militaris, so even rudimentary science is beyond me. Every Imperial citizen knows this is impossible, however...and yet we also all know the story of the Prince who became an Agent. Suit cameras show that it was several hora after the explosion before rescue teams pulled Carcer, then age nine, from the wreckage and rushed him to a medical facility on Tenebrae. Shortly afterwards, doctors confirmed his status as an Obscura (were it not obvious from the purple glow of his eyes); medical records show he was subsequently discharged with no reported physical trauma. Despite having a surviving eyewitness to the incident, no cause could be determined for the explosion. There is a single report--more of a side note, really, where Carcer claimed to have been attacked by a hooded man aboard the ship before its destruction, but given that forensics was able to identify all of the passengers onboard in the debris and Carcer appeared to have sustained no injuries related to struggle (albeit, hard to prove considering the accelerated healing of the Obscura), it is likely some proactive interference caused by the trauma of the incident. Regardless, tradition prevailed, despite the abnormality of his condition. Enlistment records show he was sent to the Schola Obscura for training under the ISA immediately after his mother’s rites were concluded in the Necropolis. I will not be so callous in my review of this man to say that I do not empathize with his situation. He was given little time to mourn the loss of his mother before he was uprooted from his life (which had been nothing but chaotic since his birth) and thrust into the hive of secrecy and lies that is the Imperial Security Agency. Records of his first six montreta at the Schola Obscura show nearly a hundred outbound calls from his personal chambers to his father. None were answered. His father was Primarch, of course, but….be that as it may, to leave your child alone and confused and scared and hurting on a path he did not expect to walk with abilities he does not know how to control...it was cruel. I respect His Majesty deeply and find him to otherwise be an honourable man...but it was cruel. Carcer’s path forward is, by far and large, the most documented and referenced file in the history of the Schola Obscura, and in some cases the Imperium itself--a godsend for this investigation. In short? His progression was accelerated. He was four years behind schedule, and though the Obscura are considered ageless, they seemed keen on catching him up to speed quickly. Perhaps it was the publicity. For all the work they do in the shadows, the ISA does love its time in the spotlight and having a name like Carcer Nox suddenly in their ranks gave them more than the usual fifteen centons. To familiarize him with the specialised education of the Agents he was put under the strict tutelage of Magister Silva Dominus. To help manage his stress, which, at the time, was considerable, Academy psychologists recommended additional time allotment be provided for physical training under the sometimes harsh mentorship of Magister Tactus Irae. His education came fast, expectations were high, and all the while the legend of the Prince grew. His name was on the headline of countless news stories and the subject of endless online discussion. The Imperium had suffered grave losses in such a short time that having a new, young face to focus on seemed enough to distract our people from it. He had become an overnight sensation. By thirteen, reports about the boy seem conflicting. Psychology work ups describe him as machine, tending to spend his free time studying or training rather than socializing with his peers (though a brief review of popular Arc Link searches from fellow cadets’ personal terminals show ‘Carcer Nox interview’ and ‘Carcer Nox shirtless’ are almost as popular as queries for ‘free movie download’ links). Through most of his interviews, of which there were many, he comes across as poised and confident, even charming, though avoidant of any questions regarding his family. His superiors, along with his academy test results, paint the picture of a young man who was an exceptional leader in the field, able to keep a cool head in high stress situations, and an effective detective--were the circumstances different, I can objectively say he would have made a fine Inquisitor and I am certain you would agree. In just four short years he had not only caught up with other cadets his age but surpassed them, with unit rosters showing him placed in the same class as cadets Lance Fratrem and Lex Argentum, both four years his senior. Despite being their junior it appears he somehow became the leader, if you wish to call it that, of their posse of troublemakers. Immediately following Carcer’s academic promotion, there is an increase in disciplinary files surrounding the three (note: See reports on their involvement in Project Deadzone. How they could go from dismantling a domestic terrorist cell to becoming terrorists themselves leaves many questions unanswered) though it did not appear to impede their path towards graduation, which they achieved six years later. This is where I’ve hit my roadblock. Even given the emergency powers granted to our office, it is near impossible to follow his path from that point until now. What mission dossiers and reports I can access are either redacted to the point of being unintelligible or missing altogether, though I have included them in this report (can your brother assist in these matters? He seems to have a penchant for finding information no one wants found). The Agency’s lack of oversight has been as much a thorn in the side of my investigation as it was in my dealings with them before the incident. Regardless, I must press on. Missing dreadnoughts? Stolen weaponry? Monitoring outposts destroyed? To make matters worse tension is rising in the Realtin Republic--even in the Diadite DMZ. Carcer Nox Atreha may have been the rising star of the Agency and everyone’s favourite soldier...but unless I can stop him and his allies, he may very well be the virus that leads to our destruction. --Inquisitor Apollo Trevellus Josh Hamano ©2017 Face model: Josh Hamano

#legacies #legacy of the stars #webcomic #legacy #sci fi #concept art #character design

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jobdxb · 6 years

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Recruitment in Al Futtaim Group Customer Insights Manager (Dubai, AE)

No two days are the same at Al-Futtaim, no matter what role you have. Our work is driven by the desire to make a difference and to have a meaningful impact with the goal of enriching everyday lives. Take our engaging and supportive work environment and couple it with a company culture that recognises and rewards quality performance, and what do you get? The chance to push the limits every single day.

As a humble family business that started on the banks of the Dubai Creek in the 1930s, Al-Futtaim has expanded to a presence in 31 countries, a portfolio of over 200 companies, and 42,000 employees. You’ll find us in industries ranging from automotive and retail, to finance and real estate, and connecting people with international names like Lexus, Ikea, Robinsons, and Adidas. Our team is proudly multicultural and multinational because that kind of diverse representation gives us the global mindset to grow and impact the people, markets, and trends around us.

Come join us to live well, work better, and be the best.

The objective of the role is to contribute to the Group’s CRM strategy, with a strong focus on delivering data analysis and actionable insights to support all Group Brand stakeholders.

This role will be based out of our corporate offices at Dubai Festival City and will directly report to the General Manager-Group CRM

Core Competencies:

Identify opportunities to drive customer value through CRM activities at Group level

Provide a detailed and complete understanding of customer bases across all Group Brands leveraging the new Group CRM Platform and the Single View of the Customer (Hybris Marketing Platform)

Provide Corporate Marketing and business units with models (both segmentation and propensity) to aid targeting and understanding of customer behavior across businesses and Brands.

Own the delivery of insight and business intelligence which are cross-divisional, making recommendations to divisions and brands, for them to implement

Review customer data for trends, patterns and casual analysis to assist Brand and Divisions in understanding customer behavior cross brand and divisions

Advise business units of appropriate marketing actions based on the relevant information to ensure maximum Return on digital campaign investment, in collaboration with division marketing team

Propose appropriate and common measurement methodologies across the Brand and Divisions to understand digital campaign performance and implement for corporate digital campaigns

Perform and support marketing campaigns analysis to determine business impacts and Design, enhance, and distribute marketing reports that clearly communicate campaign and/or business results, for corporate campaigns

Identify data quality issues in the CRM DB and address the data cleansing actions that will be managed and executed at Division/Brand level

Industry Experience (Must Have):

Previous experience from working as a data analyst with focus on CRM and Customer Analytics

Mathematics and/or Statistics Bachelor’s degree or higher with at least 3-5 years previous work experience within Insight CRM space and 3-5 years in a Consulting or Market Research Agency

Strong understanding of data mining techniques, statistical concepts and predictive modelling. (e.g., neural networks, multi-scalar dimensional models, logistic regression techniques, machine-based learning)

Experience with Big Data technologies (eg. Hadoop, Cassandra, Hive, Pig, Impala, Parquet, etc.) and large Data Warehouse implementation (Oracle, Teradata, GreenPlum, SAP Hana, Netezza TF) or Data Lakes implementation (Microsoft, Oracle, Teradata, Cloudera, Amazon, …)

Experience in Reporting architectures (eg. SAS, MicroStrategy, Oracle, SAP BO, Pentaho, Tableau and Cognos)

Experience with predictive analytics tools (eg. SAS, SPSS, MATLAB)

Experience in CRM Modelling, Analytics & Campaign Execution (eg. MS Dynamics, SAS, Unica, Teradata, Oracle

Expertise with the Microsoft Office suite (including advanced Excel skills with embedded Pivot Tables & Macros; advanced PowerPoint usage for storyboard design and presentation)

Familiarity with marketing disciplines and particularly CRM to aid understanding and delivery of business objectives.

Passion for Analytics

Understanding of business financials, ROI & profitability

Ability to present complex information in simple terms with clear recommendations based on data insight

Maintain a good knowledge of relevant analytical and statistical techniques

Maintain a good technical knowledge of SAS, SPSS and other analytical and modelling software.

Ability to work in a fast paced environment, adapt easily to changing situations and demonstrates flexibility in juggling priorities

Problem solver with a can do attitude

Strong customer focus mentality

Teamwork

REF: AW

We’re here to provide excellent service but a little help from you can ensure a five-star candidate experience from start to finish.

Before you click “apply”: Please read the job description carefully to ensure you can confidently demonstrate why this opportunity is right for you and take the time to put together a well-crafted and personalised CV to further boost your visibility. Our global Talent Acquisition team members are all assigned to specific businesses to ensure that we make the best matches between talent and opportunities. We not only consider the requisite compatibility of skills and behaviours, but also how candidates align with our Values of Respect, Integrity, Collaboration, and Excellence.

As part of our candidate experience promise, we also want to make ourselves available to you throughout the application process. We make every effort to review and respond to every application.

#IFTTT #Blogger

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intergalacticrp · 7 years

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NAME :// AE-RA KANG ORIGIN :// TEEN TITANS AGE :// TWENTY-TWO JOB :// HITMAN FOR SLADE WILSON FC :// LEE YEJI

And if you're still breathing, you're the lucky ones. 'Cause most of us are heaving through corrupted lungs. Setting fire to our insides for fun Collecting names of the lovers that went wrong

BIOGRAPHY ://

If you asked her, Ae-ra would say her life began when she turned 13.

Born to a mundane family on a planet that had nothing redeeming to it, Ae-ra’s life was day in and day out; absolutely normal. She hated it. Nothing exciting happened, no one did anything that was noteworthy, and everyone followed the same boring routine. It aggravated her to end giving her a sense of restlessness that forced her to act out. Getting into trouble and causing mischief where she went was the only way she could get some spark of excitement in her otherwise boring life.

Her family tried to get her to reign in her rebellious streak, but nothing worked. On some level she did feel bad about it, but those feelings were quickly pushed away. Not like it mattered in the long run, her family was content with the boring life and she was not. Ultimately it got to a point where she couldn’t take it anymore and just ran away. In the middle of the night when everyone was asleep she snuck off with absolutely no direction to go other than to get as far away from this planet as soon as possible.

It was too easy, maybe to the point of being concerning, but either way she did it. She got away! Life as a runaway was as glamorous as one imagined it to be, which meant it wasn’t in the slightest. Ae-ra lived life for the next couple of months sleeping in slums and wet streets, stealing for food, at some points fighting others to defend herself. Living like that hardened her in ways nothing else could. The streets weren’t for people like her, and she knew it. But everyone had to start somewhere and if she had to claw her way out of rock bottom so be it. It was survival of the fittest and she’d look down on everyone from the top.

Mikron and Baran were friends she never thought she’d have, but she’d sooner risk her life than ever admit that out loud. The three met by accident caught in a middle of a territory fight, and while initially their trust in eachother was nonexistent, life put the trio together and now their bonds run as deep as an ocean. They were outcasts just like her and together they ran streets. That is until Ae-ra enrolled in the Hive Five.

Brother Blood was the one who found them in the midst of a heist and shielded them from the cops. There she learned of the Hive Academy that he was running and offered the three of them a spot. School was the farthest thing from her mind and she thought he was initially crazy to want to take in some street kids like them, that is until she saw what Hive Academy was really capable of. Ae-ra saw an opportunity out and took it with a firm grip. With documents legalizing them as actual people they enrolled in the school with the plan to wipe everyone behind them. They rose in the ranks of the school with Ae-ra leading her small trio to the top. Nothing was going to get in the way of her reaching victory.

Graduation Day came quickly with a job offer already waiting for them at the end of it. Slade Wilson was no joke and a big name in the Underworld community, but if he saw potential in them who was she to pass that up. Jinx became her new name, a name which spread like wildfire in her line of work.

Jinx was dangerous and wild as they get. The rumor mill spreading around those who met her got cursed, an actual witch in their midst. She almost likes the rumors, almost. The feeling that there’s more to the world than what’s around her is still here, maybe even more so with her line of work. Sometimes she wonders if she did things differently would the outcome have been better for her. It’s not a thought she likes to linger on, she can’t be weak. Not with the things she has to do, but it’s there. Always there.

But good has never been an option for her, so she might as well live up to her namesake and spread a little badluck everyone’s way right?

AESTHETIC ://

Lipstick wearing, face to the ground, no smile attached, trying not enough, mean girls never have to try. Headphones in but no music playing because it’s easier to listen when no one is talking. Lips like a flatlined heartbeat, no need to race when it is already one. Stars dangling from shoe strings in a room that can no longer belong to a child. Too cold to find peace, too hard to stop trying. She speaks.

MISC ://

Killing is easy, it’s the getting information first that always trips Ae-ra up. A few too many times it’s shoot first, stab first, poison first, ask questions later. This is something she is working on. It’s something that she’s going to have to work on faster if she doesn’t want to be unemployed.

At a young age, Ae-ra decided that she was bored with the home life that her parents had more than willingly offered her and she took to the stars. It was far to easy to get off of whatever rock she was born on, far too easy for a child to run away. And the vastness around her was just enough for her to be able to hide forever. From time to time she thinks of them though. Will look up the status of the planet that she left them on just to make sure that they’re okay. That they’re still alive. She’s never going back, but sometimes she wonders what it would be like if she did. What they would say. Would they hug? Would they yell? She barely remembers them, some days. Others, it’s like she never left.

She joined the Hive Academy and learned skills that would help her further her life. Taught her a trade, even if that trade was trickery and murder. The Hive Academy is a portion of why she is the way she is.

She’s as wild as they come, unfocused and wide eyes when the time is right. When the night hours are upon her, she becomes on with them, with the darkness that lies inside of her. That’s why jobs at night are always so much easier, because she no longer has to think. Anything can hide in the darkness. She can hide in the darkness that the night provides her.

CONNECTION ://

Mikron O'Jeneus and Baran Flinders : They were there for her when no one else was.

Slade Wilson : Slade is Aline’s employer. Gave her the codename “Jinx”.

Victor Stone : He’s too kind. They have bumped into each other a few time and his joyous nature is sickening.

AVAILABILITY :// OPEN || TAKEN BY BLAIRE

#disney rp #animated rp #bio rp #skeleton rp #literate rp #female #teen titans #ksenia solo #taken #tf #ae-ra kang

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irmacuckoo · 6 months

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#the hive of five [aes]

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irmacuckoo · 6 months

Text

Irma Cuckoo of The Stepford Cuckoos

Full Name: Irma Cuckoo [Frost]

Nickname(s): None

Age: 26

Birthday: November 11th

Species: Mutant

Abilities: Telepathy, Organic diamond form, Telekinesis, Telepathic hive mind

#irma [text]#the hive of five [aes]#only one me [faceclaim]

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jobdxb · 6 years

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Recruitment in Al Futtaim Group Customer Insights Manager | Group Marketing | Al Futtaim Group | Dubai (Dubai, AE)