#they really should have made it about polybius

[sisyphean-desire]

hey. Hey can you. Give the details on the theory that ralph breaks the internet has evidence that turbo is alive. Smiles really sweetly!!!

oh hi did misery send you here

its actually not the second movie, thank god, i hate that horror show

im pretty sure its from an official racing game with Disney characters? but it isn’t just the case of ‘ohh he’s here. we give no explanation.’ he actually talks about how he’s very happy he Isn’t dead and “not diet cola sploded” so this mf just got like said into another goddamn racing game but this being the internet… he could still leave his game and go fuck around and throw rocks at everybody. do with this info what you will. turbo isn’t dead. he just didn’t show up in the sequel cuz it sucked. should have made it about polybius instead.

[thatguywhodoesstuff]

Some thoughts about the in-universe “Amazing Digital Circus”

I’ve been seeing a lot of people posit a lot of interesting theories about the exact nature of the Circus and it’s relevance to the show’s universe, and after a brief conversation with @robotoast03, I’ve come to some conclusions of my own:

The Amazing Digital Circus is an in-universe urban legend

My working theory is that TADC was a VR video game being developed as some sort of gaming revolution in the field of player immersion and interaction through VR headsets, but it was shelved and fell by the wayside after a number of “unfortunate workplace accidents”. Because of the nature of the “accidents”, the C&A company probably sunk a lot of time and resources into covering them up, more than likely leading to it closing down because of bankruptcy and/or controversy. Sometime after all of this occurred, either because someone from the company leaked information or there was an ad campaign prior to the coverups and the company going under, people started looking into TADC. This inevitably caused more people to meet the unfortunate fate of getting trapped in the VR world, which quickly led to a “Lavender Town Syndrome” or “Polybius” style rumor about whoever played the game just disappearing not long after. As more people looked into it and started giving their personal accounts and opinions, it eventually spiraled into a full blown conspiracy theory that is heatedly debated on certain corners of the internet, which could have had a hand in most of the cast getting trapped.

This theory has also led me to another idea (buckle up, it’s gonna get weird):

The show takes place in a copy of the Amazing Digital Circus game, possibly the only one ever made

My reasoning for this takes into account the show’s aesthetics being similar to a 90s/early 2000s computer game and that one promotional image of Jax playing a Nintendo 64 console in a room full of paraphernalia from that era. Not to mention the rundown appearance of the C&A offices seen in the pilot and the fact those same offices use old model computers that were prevalent during the 90s, which fits the typical appearance of a long abandoned business. Given these key visual cues, I think that the in-universe game was developed at some point during that period of time, and I feel it’s reasonable to presume that the game has some of the constraints present in games of that period. Specifically that, as a 90s game (even one advanced enough to utilize VR headsets and run sentient AIs), it is unlikely that the game was connected to an online server, let alone one which multiple people playing their own copies of the game could get stuck in the same digital world through. If this really is the case, I like to think that the copy of the game was somehow indirectly passed down from one member of the cast to the next.

Edit: A thought that just crossed my mind that could back up this theory: if The Amazing Digital Circus game was well known in-universe and ran on an online server, more people would regularly be getting trapped. Given how everyone acted when Pomni showed up, it would stand to reason that a new performer showing up is a rather infrequent occurrence. From as far as I can ascertain, there has been less then twenty performers in the circus including the main cast, and each of them probably appeared one at a time, with perhaps some exceptions here and there.

TLDR: I probably just word vomited a lot of nonsense, but I thought I should share it. If anyone else has any ideas for or against this theory, I’m more than happy to hear them.

[iianian69]

INTRO POST!!! (recommended to read b4 follow)

i havent made one of these yet and ive just had my site pinned to the top of my thing so i should probably actually write something up

INTRO BELOW!! ^_^

first things first, call me scout, erik, or jeremy! i also dont mind other kin names (eg. polybius, junkrat/jamison, dan, etc)

im fictionkin, gay/bi, transmasc, polyam, and im also fictosexual and objectum!! ^ (DNI if you are anti objectum and ficto for obvious reasons >_<)

married to sniper and medic... i also like blu scout very very much

INTERACT!!! - tf2, ow2, pink city, btd6, other fandoms im in (more listed on my strawpage, which i will link at the bottom of this post), OTHER SCOUT KINS!!* idm doubles, and i think you guys are cool. hello all you fellow scouts out there

THINISH ICE/EEHHH.. - hazbin hotel/helluva boss fans (ur ok if u dont support vivzie and are critical of it.. thats chill by me!! :3), people who post tons about most spy ships (spyma, spy x pyro or blu spy x blu engie are fine i like those. others im not very sure about just for personal reasons)

DNI PLS! - SPY X SCOUT. NEED I SAY MORE. proshippers, homophobes/transphobes/abelists, anything along those lines, zoos, etc!! (u get the idea, basic dni criteria and allat), * medic x spy or sniper x spy shippers.. * i have to move this to dni.. it weirds me out really bad i hate i

*I WILL NOTE! 90% of my blog is me posting/reposting gayass art, mostly sniperscout, mediscout, and the occasional red scout x blu scout, so if u are uncomfortable with that u are not obliged to follow me, i understand since im a similar way with seeing sniper x spy and medic x spy

THANK YOU FOR READING AND FOR FOLLOWING!! if ur interested in learning more about me, feel free to leave me asks or check out my strawpage! (feel free to leave me anon art on my strawpage.... i love seeing what people draw for me)

[ntls-24722]

God please, I want to marry all your DJ designs

That question for all of the DJs

Will you merry me Mr music man ?💍

Not:(LOVE YEAR ART)

#DJ MM LOVER FOR LIFE

THANK YOU BOOK AGARGARGAGH🦀

but as for the proposal...

this is an ambitious ask to answer, because of right now, there are 62.5 DJMMs out of the list of 86 Music Men and counting i have

and i am going to personally go on the mission to draw... each of their responses.

But I should probably eliminate the ones that are taken just to make this easier since it'll just be a hard "no,I'm taken" and Deejay Memento Mori + Meeboop are kids, so they're also eliminated, which leaves us with.... 44.

like... slightly more manageable.

I haven't talked about a lot of these guys, So I'll put a little desc for each!

Without further ado

"Will you marry me?"

1. Clavier! Sorry, it's a little hard for her to imagine marrying anyone after she killed her girlfriend on the day said girlfriend was going to propose to her. That's what being a religious fanatic drove her to do, not out of a devotion to a god, but in order to ensure herself an afterlife. The concept of a soul and a supposed afterlife for everything with a soul for someone without a soul and has seen nothing after her death, is very troubling

2. Lieutenant Armadillum is a requested MM based off of the prompt of just. "rolly polly." So I made her a part of security. With all those armored plates I wasn't sure what else she could be. She can be nice, but she takes everything literally, or as an order, and has a problem with volume control. Congrats to you and your new, loud wife

3. Walbergi/The Entertainer Piece... um. Hmm. I was almost not going to put him here because I would think he's more similar to MM than DJMM but him alongside the next two are actually just pieces of DJMM, all his jobs just assigned to their own Music Men. Walbergi (and the eliminated singer duo Lovebugz, which namely are taken) Are composers/musicians, but Walbergi is specifically a mantis entertainer that has the entire dancefloor as his wings. He is also really arrogant and feels superior to everyone around him... including you. Sorry.

4. The Security piece is, to some degree, also arrogant. At least he's quieter. He's the bouncer, and he has accepted your request, but with his constant desire and and usually ready opprotunity to beat the tar out of things he's around, I'm not entirely sure if that's a good thing.

5. Custodian Piece! He's the janitor and he's very lonely since he spends most of his time in the tunnels and slithering across the floor to clean it, he's kind of a people pleaser and would be over the moon to be proposed to. I'm not sure if he's good for hugs considering his entire underside is a mop. he recplaces it often, he showers yes, but he is also a full time custodian... i'm not sure if the feeling of hugging a damp wet mop would ideal

6. Polybius. um. Not sure what to say? He's haunted, he's enourmous, and he's single, and ready to mingle (htough, take caution, because he might be trying to trick you into playing a game and hypnotising you. or something.) Gamer bf?

Blood and organ exposure (more like an organ diagram, ish) below the cut!

7. The masquerader. Now we're getting into the SOS lore section of the list. This guy was the first success in shapeshifting, and could've been a lot more if he didn't try to escape by killing and taking the identity of a researcher. It almost worked, but he messed up the eyes. Typically, you only have 1 pupil in each, not 3. He was shot dead the moment his back was turned, and totally died. He doesn't like humans... at all. Sorry.

8. The entertainer does, though! He's the one survivor of the brain surgery done to instill robotic motions and an "algorithm" for their behavior. He died not due to surgery, but being left to starve to death, but in his lifetime he was able to figure out that the scientists in the Oort Cloud are not there on their own will, and he convinced the Vanessa of SOS to do something about it. Nonetheless, he doesn't have the same resentment, and he accepts your proposal, mostly due to having no idea what marriage is.

9. In SOS, the mastering of shapeshifting was a detrimental time for the creations of the Oort cloud, as now they could make living concept art. While some were whimsical re-imaginings of what the final product could be, like a more welcoming and humanoid "bee" design, some were made for shits and giggles, which is a horrifying concept when someone has to live through being a living product of "shits and giggles." Nonetheless, this bee is a queen bee, made her own hive, and does not want any other royalty around, especially not human royalty.

10. Dolomedes is another weird concept, less based off an idea but from a pre-designed mask - a fisherman... who has no idea what a fish is. His head is in the clouds, and he accepts the proposal.

11. Lucorum is not just any member of the queen's hive, but the queen's personal guard and is the loud and proud bestie of Dolomedes. That being said, she cares few for any other people. Sorry.

12. This is just one individual from a massive colony of asexually reproducting failures for shapeshifting - instead of exhibiting changes to themselves, they literally have a new person grow out of them that instead exhibits those changes. Most of them don't feel romantic attraction - And due to human trauma like 99% of anything from the Oortcloud, none of them would accept the offer.

13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Volupe's polycule may be a very open relationship, but none of them at least even know you. The council has decided not to accept the proposal.

This will be continued soon. I just need a while to draw + write the rest (ToT)

[ashensdotcom]

REALLYYYYYYYYY LONG RAMBLE ABOUT ASHENS INBOUND!!!!!

crossposted from my spacehey

so one of my favorite youtubers Ashens is making a new movie and it looks reallyyyyyy cool and I'm so excited for it!!!! he's done two other movies before, but both of them are comedies, and this upcoming one is a horror so I'm excited to see what it's gonna be like!!! and I love love love horror movies also, so even unrelated to ashens I'm excited to see it!! :D 

it's called Turn Back and it's a folk horror (I LOOOOOOVE FOLK HORROR AAHHHHH IM SO EXCITED IM SO EXCITED i need to watch way more folk horror movies for sure) and it's TOLD IN REVERSE it's gonna be so cool to see how that's gonna be executed, I love movies that you have to sit on and think about and then watch again and only Then do you only Start to get the full picture aaahhskgjjss that's what the wicker man is like to me (WHICH IS ANOTHER EXCELLENT FOLK HORROR FILM) and that's one of my favorite favorite favorite movies of all timeeeee and it's really funny to reflect on it because on my first watching of it I actually didn't like it very much but then I gave it another chance and THAT'S when it really clicked in my brain hehehe

if the movie sounds interesting to you it's doing crowdfunding rn on turnbackmovie.com !!! there's some really cool perks I'M SO EXCITED TO GET MINE AHHHHHH 

the ETA on the movie is late 2024 / early 2025 SO IT GIVES ME SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO!!!!! :D it's like a christmas gift hehehe!! 

and speaking of movies ashens has made, my mom said she wants to watch ashens and the quest for the gamechild AND ashens and the polybius heist with me!!!! yaaaaay!!!!!! (also if you want to watch them they are free on tubi!!!!! at least here in the USA they are :P I know tubi isn't the same from country to country but HOPEFULLY it's available for free on there in your country too!!) (I learned that because my british friend wanted to watch The Saint starring roger moore and I was like ohh it's on tubi for free!! but she said it wasn't available in her country even though it was on mine :( which sux :,( aaa) 

I actually had totally forgotten I introduced my mom to ashens lol, my mom doesn't like youtubers who shout and scream and stuff, and tends to have an aversion towards high-energy stuff in general, (which is a lot of what I like ESP MUSIC but it's ok) so I was like ohh I have the perfect idea!! since ashens is very mellow in all his videos and stuff I can watch them with my mom and so I showed some of his stuff to her and she likes it!!!! 

which I had completely forgotten about when I was showing her the trailer for polybius heist xP I didn't think she knew who he was bc I forgot I showed him to her so I was like oooo you wanna watch this cool heist movie with me so bad oooooooo 

and she was like ok!! and i was like HUH WHAT REALLY ?! and then I told her about the quest for the gamechild n she said she wanted to watch that one first (since it came out first) so I'm soooo excited to watch both of them with her x3 

and then I came back later and I was like mamaaaa I need help making a financial decision :P which was y'know me buying a perk to support the funding for turn back . and TL;DR she was like "you should treat yourself" bc I don't buy things for myself very often.. she was like "it's almost valentine's day you can be your own valentine" WHICH.... TRUE!!!!!!!! I can't remember her wording but she said something like "imagine if you had a partner what you'd buy for them" and iwas like .......... ur right....... I am my own partner........ and I do buy things for my friends quite a bit so... xP might as well get something for myself ur right........ SO IM GETTING THE ASHENS RETRO DVD COLLECTION!!!!!! AAAAHHH!!!!!! IM SOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!! 

that's actually quite an emotional thing to me... (in a good way) 

because like y'know I haven't been an adult for very long, I graduated high school literally not that long ago and I haven't been in the workforce for super long y'know so I never really like.... idk I did get money as a gift sometimes and I'm not gonna act like I didn't bc I am grateful, but it's not the same as like... actually Consistently Making Money and Having Money To Spend y'know? so whenever I saw youtubers advertise their own merch I was always like "ohh this looks cool but I don't really have that kinda money to throw around this much" so it was always like "damn. looks cool" and left it at that

and I thought that was what was gonna happen with the retro dvd collection too!!! bc the perk to get it is freaking expensive!!!! BUT LIKE...!!! I'M AT A POINT IN MY LIFE WHERE I CAN SPEND THAT MONEY EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE AND IT NOT BEING A PROBLEM!!! WHICH IS CRAZYYYYYYYYYY LIKE I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO GET IT. THIS REALLY COOL LIMITED MERCH THAT'S LIKE SUPER EXCLUSIVE AND IS GONNA BE REALLY COOL AND IT'S SIGNED BY ASHENS TOO AAAHHHH AND IT'S JSUT. IT'S SUCH A UNIQUE FEELING OF SEEING SOMETHING REALLY COOL AND KINDA VAGUELY DAYDREAMING ABOUT HAVING IT BUT JUST DISMISSING IT BC UR USED TO DISMISSING STUFF LIKE THAT BUT THEN YOU REALIZE THAT YOU'RE AT A POINT WHERE YOU ACTUALLY CAN GET IT. LIKE IT'S AN ACTUAL POSSIBILITY NOW. AAAAAAHHHHHHHH I have so much to look forward to which I'm really grateful for :,3 

LOOK I HAVE A PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY EVER BACKED A CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN BEFORE EVER IN MY LIFE SO THIS IS A REALLY COOL FEELING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT ONLY AM I BUYING AND GETTING COOL STUFF BUT ALSO MY MONEY IS GOING DIRECTLY TO HELP THE PRODUCTION OF THE FILM!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAHHHH!!!!!!!! SUUUUUUCH A COOL FEELING!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK SORRY THAT WAS SOOOOOOO LONG!!!!!! I just love love love ashens' content so much I could talk about it for so many paragraphs more but I'm not gonna make this blog any longer x) I just needed to get all of this out of my system instead of sending it all into one of my friends' DMs lol!!

so excited for turn back!!!!! yay!!!!!!

[lokiondisneyplus]

SPOILER WARNING: Do not read if you haven’t seen Season 1, Episode 5 of “Loki,” now streaming on Disney Plus.

I think it’s when Alligator Loki ate President Loki’s hand that I realized I was in love.

To be sure, I was always into “Loki,” Marvel Studios’ third Disney Plus series and the first devoted to exploring a single character: the god of mischief as played by Tom Hiddleston. From the first episode, I dug the absurdist deadpan humor imbued by head writer Michael Waldron, and I was immediately smitten with how director Kate Herron employed ’70s sci-fi brutalism and a particularly British affinity for bureaucracy to build out the world of the Time Variance Authority.

“Loki” looked unlike anything I’d ever seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an increasingly difficult prospect given there are now 26 discrete iterations of the MCU — soon to be 27 with the impending debut of “Black Widow.” As the show has progressed, that feeling has only grown more acute as “Loki,” in its exploration of its title character’s identity, managed to carve out its own unique personality not just in the MCU, but also in the grander landscape of sci-fi storytelling.

To put it as simply as I can, “Loki” is a cosmic-yet-intimate time-traveling romantic action comedy about how Hiddleston’s sexually fluid narcissist finally learns how to fall in love with himself — or, rather, the female version of himself who has lived a whole lifetime of harrowing experiences apart from his own. In doing so, the show has proven that not only can the MCU work on television, it can thrive on it.

Marvel Studios’ first Disney Plus series, “WandaVision,” was a fabulous first step onto TV, proving that the MCU, itself an experiment in creating an episodic series of blockbuster feature films, could shrink itself down to the scope of an American sitcom. Its exploration of grief and the restorative power of comfort TV could not have been more relevant to an audience enduring a devastating pandemic. But as it unfolded, the escalating mystery of what was actually happening on “WandaVision” — Evan Peters showing up as Pietro-but-not-actually-Pietro, Kathryn Hahn hiding in plain sight as Agatha, Elizabeth Olsen unwittingly responsible for almost everything on the show as Wanda — began to overwhelm it. Fans and major entertainment news outlets alike began wildly theorizing each week — it’s Mephisto! it’s Magneto! — and the pressure to achieve a Marvel-sized scale, service a wide ensemble of MCU characters, and resolve all its narrative strands made the final episodes of “WandaVision” feel, to some, misshapen.

Marvel’s follow-up series, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” meanwhile, was at once more conventional and more ungainly, with five separate antagonists (John Walker, Karli Morgenthau, Helmut Zemo, Sharon Carter and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine) operating at cross-purposes and overshadowing the two title characters meant to be at the heart of the show and the exploration of being a Black man in America meant to drive it.

“Loki” avoids all of that, because it’s the first MCU show that understands to its bones that the best television is about its characters first, and its story second. The lasting pleasure of longform storytelling is allowing the audience a far deeper understanding of who is on screen than a two-hour movie can allow. That sensibility is already woven into the MCU: Watching Tony Stark, Thor, and Steve Rogers grow and changed over multiple features has been central to the franchise’s unprecedented success. But while Marvel’s conviction to make their shows the same way they’ve made their movies makes sense, it’s also had the paradoxical effect of making “WandaVision” and “FAWS” feel too overloaded with their characters doing stuff than just letting them be.

Each episode of “Loki” does just that. In Episode 1, Loki and Mobius (Owen Wilson, never better?) sit and talk about why Loki does what he does; in Episode 2, they ruminate on the nature of accepted reality while trying to solve the mystery of the variant Loki’s whereabouts. In Episode 3, Loki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino, an instant star) spend the entire hour walking through a doomed planet getting to know each other, and casually coming out in the process. Episode 4 is when the story shifts into a higher gear, with Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ravonna Renslayer emerging as its true antagonist, but even that episode allowed for several extended scenes of human connection, between Ravonna and Mobius, Loki and Mobius, and Sylvie and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku, richer with each episode).

This week’s penultimate episode, “Journey Into Mystery,” introduces several new Loki variants, a critical new location in the Void (the purgatory at the end of time into which all pruned entities are dumped) and a blockbuster movie sized enemy in the monstrous, timeline devouring Alioth (re-imagined somewhat from the comic books). And yet, there’s still time for Loki and Sylvie to sit on a hill, share a conjured blanket and quietly express how much they mean to each other, and there’s also time for Classic Loki (the great Richard E. Grant) to get a deeply satisfying character arc. After explaining how his own existential despair at his lot in life allowed him to live well past his encounter with Thanos, Classic Loki’s encounter with Loki and Sylvie reinvigorates his sense of glorious purpose — and helps Loki to understand he’s more powerful than he’s ever allowed himself to be. It’s a full meal in miniature, and Grant makes the most of it.

All the while, Herron and writer Tom Kauffman work in all manner of delightful alternate reality Easter eggs, from the USS Eldridge (purported to have been part of an experimental cloaking and teleportation device in 1943) to the Polybius video game (purported to be a government psy-ops scheme). More notably, there are also some MCU Easter eggs, including the Thanos helicopter and the Living Tribunal that flit by quickly and appear designed to tickle Marvel die-hards and pleasantly mystify everyone else. And then there’s Alligator Loki, a flawless creature who should be protected at all costs.

There is one blink-and-you-missed-it moment, though, that could be something more, when the Qeng Enterprises logo shows up on the Avengers tower. In the comics, Tony Stark sells that tower to Qeng, which is secretly connected to the same Marvel boogeyman that’s haunted “Loki” from its premiere: Kang the Conqueror. The decrepit house Loki and Sylvie are stepping towards at the end of the episode also looks like it could — could — be Chronopolis, Kang’s HQ in the comics, although the TVA itself could be that as well. In any event, it’s been well documented, here and elsewhere, that Kang could be the entity who is really behind the TVA, especially since “Lovecraft Country” star Jonathan Majors has already been cast in the role and will appear in 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”

If “Loki” does introduce Kang in its finale, however, then the show is stepping onto its highest, thinnest tightrope yet. This is supposed to be a show about Loki, not about a villain that, within the world of the MCU, remains a total unknown. It’s a massive risk for any series to bring in a brand new character — let alone the Big Bad! — in the final episode, so this could be another example of an MCU series serving the larger franchise at the expense of its own story. That would be a shame. Sticking the landing, after all, has always been troublesome for TV because TV is so much more about the shared journey than the ultimate destination. And yet, if anyone in the MCU knows how to alight onto safe ground despite impossible odds, it is the god of outcasts, who lives to survive.

“Loki” streams new episodes Wednesdays on Disney Plus.

[ohsotwistedwords]

Polybius

By Snapdragon

          It was July when the machine came in. My father had ordered some new arcade cabinets for his arcade; it’d been his dream to run one since he was little and then he was teaching me how to run it so one day I’d inherit it. So, I was working on maintenance and helping him with his finances. But, I wanted a more fun job when the cabinets came in. I’ve always been a kid at heart. Video games and dumb stunts were my thing back then, and I always wore the bruises proudly. So, when dad boasted he’d gotten a rare, one of a kind, arcade cabinet I had to get my hands on it. 

          “We should test it out, make sure it’s actually fun.” I’d said. I was hoping he’d say yes. Summer was almost over and I’d have to go back to mom when she moved back home, after living in France for two years as a tour guide. “Cain, we’ll find out how well-liked it is later. We don’t need to test it.” He said with a grin. “Well, I want to. Maybe it doesn’t even work— if it’s so rare, there must be a reason like the machine breaking down.” I said. “Or maybe there just weren’t that many of them made. Besides, Joey wouldn’t sell me a broken machine.” He said. “Dad, please.” I said. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Fine. You can play after we finish moving the machines in.” He said.

          Moving the machines in was easy. It was kind of strange, putting them in place of the older machines I’d grown up with like Pac Man and Tempest. Polybius, the arcade cabinet, was certainly different in appearance. It was a black arcade cabinet instead of an eye-catchingly bright color. On it, outlines of neon green triangles and circles decorated the side. If I had to pick an arcade cabinet to compare it to, in terms of how plain it looked, I’d probably say Tempest— albeit hesitantly. Even Tempest is more eye-catching than Polybius.

          When the moving was finished, my father went home. We lived right next door to the arcade, so he wasn’t concerned about leaving me behind. So, I booted up the cabinet and took out a stack of quarters and put one in the machine. It booted up beautifully, but the graphics were all geometrical shapes. I played as a triangle, and fired at two triangles superimposed on each other. The two triangles put out circles and squares, which my small triangle had to shoot before being hit. But, it was… out of place. Colors and complex patterns covered the screen each level I cleared, and the lights flashed. I was on a high level, with blue and green lights and a moving diamond overlay when I glanced at the time. 

         It was one in the morning, which was strange. It had only been four PM when I finished moving the machines, and yet I couldn’t remember when my feet started to ache or that I’d beaten more than five levels. Stranger still was that my father hadn’t called me home, but when I asked the next morning he told me I’d been home. I’d come and grabbed more quarters, and something to eat. I didn’t remember any of that, but I’d found another roll of quarters in my pockets and my clothes smelled like hoagies. 

          The apparent amnesia was common when I played, but I chalked it up to having fun. After all, time flies when you’re having fun and I had difficulty remembering what I was doing if I was thinking about something else. I thought I just enjoyed Polybius, and that was why I kept going back when I finished work and playing for hours. I couldn’t sleep, either, but I chalked it up to thinking about the arcade cabinet constantly. I wanted to play badly; something was drawing me in. It didn’t help that I only had one friend, Kyler. It wasn’t that I was disagreeable, but rather that I didn’t care how many friends I had. My parents were divorced, sure, but I had a good family, a good job, and a future. Life was good. If only it stayed that way.

          I didn’t know anything was wrong until I came out of my Polybius-induced stupor and Kyler was there. Which was strange; Kyler was blind. I would play arcade games with him, sure, but I’d have to guide him the whole time by telling him where to move. Seeing him adapt to that was always interesting, but even I had trouble determining where things were in Polybius. And besides, he liked calmer games like Pokémon where he could memorize layouts and only needed occasional updates on what was around him. 

          But, while I stared and wondered where he came from, the triangle he was playing as was blown up by a rogue square. He didn’t speak to me as he inserted another quarter and kept playing. He got hit almost immediately. The silence was odd— if I didn’t say anything, he’d say something to me and tease me for missing something or not talking fast enough. So, I put my hand on his shoulder.

          “Kyler? When did you get here?” I asked. He spun around, eyes just slightly off from where I was. “What do you mean? You called me and told me to come here?” He asked. Then he paused and took out his phone. At the press of a button, it started reading off his notifications and the time. It was six in the morning, and he’d had seventeen missed calls from his mom and dad. “Six in the morning?! I could’ve sworn it’d only been five minutes…” he said. “I don’t remember calling you; when did you get here?” I asked. He paused again, then rubbed his face. “Uh… seven, maybe seven-thirty. Shit. I need to go home.” He said. I knew he lived a few blocks away, and I didn’t want him walking home alone at night. Not with his white cane, which I couldn’t help but think would mark him as a target for would-be muggers. “Let me drive you home. It’s pretty late.” I said. He agreed, and we got in the car.

         “Cain, I kind of remember a little bit now. Not much, but… the cabinet apparently spoke, I think.” He said halfway to his house. “It did?” I wouldn’t doubt it, even if I couldn’t remember it speaking. With a little more effort, though, I remembered faint words on the screen, though the memory was too blurry to make them out. “It did.” He said with a sigh. I was very concerned, at that moment, that I couldn’t remember what just happened or that Kyler and I had been hanging out for almost twelve hours. Or could only remember a picture of the machine and not even know when I saw it.

          Either way, I had work in an hour and a half. And I wasn’t even tired. I tried not to think about Polybius, not to play it again, but I found myself inserting a quarter into the machine as soon as I was done with work. With a quarter already in the machine, I resigned myself to playing just a little bit. I don’t remember what happened after that, but I came to in some tunnels underground. Kyler was there, arm linked in mine and his free arm sweeping the ground with his cane. I didn’t even know there were tunnels under the town. Neither did Kyler. We wandered for hours, and exited the tunnels about an hour later. 

          Days had apparently passed from the time we played the arcade cabinet and we ended up in the tunnels. We were declared missing in the time we didn’t remember, and our  parents were upset. Kyler’s, because they thought he’d been kidnapped, and my father because he assumed I got hurt and stranded alone somewhere. He was mad when I told him I didn’t know what happened, that Kyler and I ended up in some tunnels under the town. He said there were no tunnels, that I was lying. I know I wasn’t, and I knew I wasn’t lying then either. I saw things, then. Shapes, mostly, flitting across my vision and people in my peripheral vision who weren’t even there. It went away after I slept. And things like that just keep happening.

          I have to destroy the machine.

          So, I stand with a baseball bat I’d hidden in the supply closet. The machine flashes to life, as if it knows I’m here. “Salutations, Cain.” The words appear on the screen. I take a step closer as my arms and legs feel like jello. I just have to get in one good hit, one good hit and this nightmare is over. But, then, against my will the bat falls out of my hands and clatters to the floor. My legs move of their own accord, and I stand in front of the machine. “You think you can mock me, Cain? I cannot be destroyed so easily.”

          I’m curled up in a corner, next thing I know, and I’m being shaken. “Cain, have you been here all night?! You had me worried sick!” It’s my father. “What time is it?” I ask. My words are slurred, and it feels like there are dull needles just behind my eyes. But I’m still not tired. “It’s eight in the morning!” He says. I’ve been here for… over twelve hours. Have I been in this corner all night? It can’t be; my limbs aren’t stiff. “Are you sure you’re good to work today? You’re really out of it, Cain.” My father says. I look around; the baseball bat is nowhere to be found. “Uh… y-yeah, I think so.” I say.

          So, I stand and get to work opening up. Footsteps shuffle behind me. “Maybe taking the day off would be good for you. I don’t think you’re up for working today.” My father says. I shake my head and refrain from wincing at the ache it causes. “I’ll be fine. Just need to move around a bit.” I say as I unlock the front door, our early gamers already waiting outside. Well, I suppose it’s less that they’re early and more that we’re half an hour late. I stick near Polybius today, and what strikes me more than anything is the long line. It’s so orderly it’s baffling, and then anyone who has played stumbles out quietly. Without touching another arcade cabinet. Maybe the machine is affecting more than just me. The thought sends chills down my spine. It feels… right. I have to try to destroy it again tonight.

          So, after a long day, I dismiss everyone in the line like I’ve been doing every day since Polybius showed up. But, once everyone is gone, the urge to play comes back. I fight against it and fill a bucket with water before going back to where Polybius stands. Dropping water on it may break some other cabinets, but I don't care. I just want this one gone. It flashes to life again, showing a laughing face. I feel like jello again, and stumble forward only to carefully put the bucket of water down. This time, when I come to, I’m in my room. There’s blood on the floor, and a hot ache in my arms. My arms are covered in blood, so I take a dirty towel to wipe it away. I’ll clean them after they stop bleeding. Except, when I wipe it away, more oozes up out of my arms. There are cuts in my arms. I pause. I don’t remember doing this, either. But, it feels right. Like all the other times I’ve come to in odd places, from the tunnels to alleyways.

          I really can’t keep doing this. Polybius needs to go. But right now I need to clean up all the blood on the floor and get my arms situated. So, I take a few more dirty towels and wipe up the blood and take turns pressing down on each arm to stop the bleeding. When it stops, I throw on a long-sleeved shirt and head to the bathroom. I examine the wounds more closely, as I wash them with soap and water while ignoring the stinging. They look like clean cuts; I think a knife made them. But I don’t know. There wasn’t a knife around me when I came to. 

          I go to work again, like every day, but I stop a group of three teens. “I have a job for you, if you’ll take it. You’ll make a hundred bucks each.” I say. They squint at me. “What kind of job?” One asks. “I’ll give you the spare key to the arcade, and you’ll destroy Polybius after hours.” I say. The stout one shrugs. “Pay us first, then we’ll do it.”

***

          I come into work, like everyday. And immediately walk up to Polybius. It stands, with its screen smashed in and dents in its sides.

[thefloatingstone]

If you’re doing Self Quarintine (and you should be if you can help it) here’s some Youtube recommendations! Some of these I have posted about or recommended before but with almost all of us stuck indoors now’s a good time to remind you of some cool things you can watch for free!

I’m not gonna imbed the videos, I’ll just post the link because otherwise I would only able to post 5 and I want to collect a few so you can make a playlist or something. (I could make a playlist too but then I couldn’t tell you what each video is and you can’t pick and choose which one sounds interesting to you)

In no particular order:

Polybius: The video Game that doesn’t exist

An hour long documentary in which the youtuber did extensive research to find the origin of the “Polybius” Urban Legend, which speaks of an early arcade game reportedly seen around the early 1980s which reportedly gave people migraines, insomnia, nausea, subliminal messages, and in some cases heart attacks.

The Universal S

A shorter video in which LEMMiNO does his very best to try and track down where exactly this S that we all drew in middle school comes from? Why does literally every country on earth seem to HAVE their children draw this S?

I also recommend LEMMiNO’s video on the Dayltov Pass Incident and the perplexing UFO cases

Down the Rabbit Hole: Henry Darger

Fredrick Knudsen has an incredible fascinating series called “Down the Rabbit Hole” which simply focuses on... anything you can discover and go digging into. From weird internet personalities, to bizarre happenings in history. This video is about the artist Henry Darger, a man who lived in the early 1900s and for all intents and purposes had a perfectly average, lonely life, until it was discovered just before his death he had spent literally decades writing and drawing a fantasy world in what is possibly the longest piece of literature ever written.

I also recommend his video on the Hurdy Gurdy

Bedtime Stories Channel

I’m actually just gonna link the whole channel for “Bedtime Stories”. If you like weird and creepy stories, all of which at least claim to be “true” then Bedtime Stories is great. Coupled by illustrations and subtle sound effects, Bedtime Stories is literally listening to someone tell you a story about such things like hikers who mysteriously went missing, Sightings of Bog Men in Florida and giant Birds over Chernobyl, as well as weird and unsettling murders that remain unsolved. Sometimes the facts are a little dubious or have been disproved, but that’s not the point of the channel. It’s here to tell a creepy story, not give you a documentary.

A Journey Through Rule of Rose

Rule of Rose is a Survival Horror gave for the PS2 which has rather bad gameplay... but a FASCINATING story with just as many layers and symbolism as Silent Hill 2 could boast. It tells the story of one young woman traveling back into her own childhood in an orphanage in the 1930s, and all the horrors that contains. From repressed grief, abusive relationships, child neglect, abuse, and bullying... but it ALSO contains symbolism of societal class structure, politics, eating the rich, and how power structures work. Not for the faint of heart, but HIGHLY recommended.

I also super highly recommend his video on the similarities between Silent Hill 2 and Solaris

Clemps Reviews Crisis Core

Mr. Clemps is a great internet gamer who reviews JRPGs and other games he simply enjoys. Sprinkling in a heavy dose of comedy and very fast jokes and observations, Clemps’ videos are always upbeat, fun, and incredibly enjoyable to watch. I’m linking part 1 of his Crisis Core video in which he explains why the PSP game remains a personal favourite of his despite its flaws.

I also recommend his video on Eternal Sonata

Defunct TV: The History of Dragon Tales

Defunctland is a channel that deals with theme parks and theme park rides that are no longer standing, or which are no longer around in their current form. Defunctland also has a sub series though, called “Defunct TV” where they look at the origin of children’s TV which are no longer airing. I recommend the video on Dragon Tales which is incredibly wholesome, and a genuinely uplifting and soft story of good people trying to make good things for children. (I also recommend the videos on Bear in the Big Blue House, Zoboomafoo, and Legends of the Hidden Temple)

Hagan’s Histories of Polar Exploration

A Playlist for Diamanda Hagan’s videos about the doomed Franklin Expedition from the late 1800s, where England tried to find a passage through the Northern Arctic to the Pacific Ocean. This went horribly horribly wrong, with every member of the Expedition dead. Over a 100 years later we are still fuzzy on what EXACTLY happened, but apart from the arctic chill, there is also evidence of faulty canned food, a series of bad decisions, and cannibalism. Caution advised for this series.

I also recommend the rest of Diamanda Hagan’s channel. She is NOT for everyone, but if you enjoy somebody reviewing Z grade indie movies as well as just BIZARRE films, really bad Christian media bordering on Science Fiction (without making fun of religion itself) hot takes of classic (and modern) Dr. Who, an introduction to Red Dwarf, She’s an EXCELLENT channel to check out.

Good Bad or Bad Bad: Pass Thru

A half podcast half review show where two guys watch a terrible film, decide if it’s “Good” Bad or just Bad Bad and tell you if you should watch it too.

That’s it. That’s the whole show.

I recommend diving into the untold madness that is one of the best(?) bad film makers currently still producing batshit insane movies, the immortal Niel Breen.

There is literally nothing I can say that’ll prepare you for Niel Breen.

(I also recommend their more recent video for “Dancin’ It’s on!”)

History Buffs: Apollo 13

Do you like History? Do you like movies ABOUT History? Do you want to know if the movies about history you watch actually resemble what really happened in any way at all? History Buffs is an EXCELLENT channel, which does talk about the merit of a film itself, but is mainly focused on letting you know just how true to life that historical film you watch is. I highly recommend his longest video which covers the space race between the USA and the USSR, leading to what is known as “The most Successful Failure in NASA’s History”. The Infamous Apollo 13 and where the words “Houston, we have a problem” came from.

If you’re not interested in Apollo 13 however, I also recommend his video on the movie Casino, as well as his video on the female philosopher, Agora.

The Internet Historian: The Goodening of No Man’s Sky

With videos with literally MILLIONS of views, you probably already know the Internet Historian. But I still want to recommend him very highly because his videos are just THAT good and entertaining. I recommend his newest video, documenting that time we were all pissed off about No Man’s Sky, the difficulties the game studio was in when the game released, and how they have been working hard to finally create what is now a truly brilliant game which is winning major awards. A really good underdog story of how a video game company actually saw what was wrong with their game, and FIXED it.

I also recommend his video on Fallour 76 as well as the Failure of Dashcon

8 Creepy Video game mysteries

Hey. Did you know that sometimes there’s some REALLY weird shit in video games, hidden easter eggs which took literal decades to find as well as just a lot of “what the actual fuck?”. Oddheader is a channel with a dedicated discord and Reddit form solely focusing on trying to find or replicate bizarre video game finds, mysteries, and hidden glitches. Even if it means getting in his car and driving to a specific arcade just to check a rumour about Street Fighter II’s arcade version. So if you like getting spooked by weird game shit that’s not just some dumb creepypasta, this is a great place to start.

I also recommend his video on weird discoveries in DVDs and movies.

Red Letter Media: Best of the Worst

Look you already know who Red Letter Media is.

You know... these guys:

Here’s a video of them and Macaulay Culkin watching 3 terrible movies together.

I recommend literally any and all of their videos. Their discussion on Carpenter’s The Thing is amazing.

The Impact of Akira: The film that changed Everything

Ok trying to pick just ONE Super Eyepatch Wolf video is literal torture. Originally I was going to suggest his recent video on Final Fantasy 7 for the PSone but I realised I recommended something FF7 related with Clemps, so instead I will recommend The Impact of Akira, a video talking in depth about Akira both as a film as well as a manga, how it completely and utterly changed the anime industry both in Japan as well as the west, and why it is still a meaningful and one of the most important anime/manga even to this day, still being unsurpassed despite so much competition.

However, ALL of Wolf’s videos are incredible, so I also recommend his videos on wrestling (despite me not caring about wrestling at all), His video on how media scares us, The bizarre reality of modern Simpsons, Why the Dragon Ball Z manga is great, and literally any other video he’s made. He hasn’t made one bad video yet.

Was Oblivion as Good as I remember?

Exactly what it says on the tin. The Salt Factory goes back to playing The Elder Scrolls Oblivion and now with hindsight and modern sensibilities, gives feedback on his experience and whether Oblivion still holds up. This isn’t a super in depth review of the game’s mechanics or how its put together or how it was made. This is simply one guy talking about his experience replaying it with somejokes thrown in and how he felt revisiting it. It’s pretty good.

I also recommend the video he did on Morrowind (because I’m biased).

Weird Japan Only PS1 games

Thor High Heels is SO GOOD and deserves SO MUCH MORE subs than he currently has. THH focuses a lot of obscure and lesser known games as well as big popular titles like the Yakuza series, talking about what he likes about them, what he thinks is cool, and just what kind of atmosphere and mood a certain game has, even if the game itself is kind of ass. He’s done several videos on games that were only released in Japan, as well as videos talking about the fashion in Squaresoft games and how it inspired as well as was inspired by real world street fashion, the aesthetic of PC-98 games and other topics. He also styles his videos and thumbnails after promotional art for video games from the 90s and generally just has an excellent style to his channel over all. Very chill.

Blue Reflection Review

ValkyrieAurora is a channel run by Sophie where she talks about games she personally likes and enjoys. Her videos are really laid back and her voice is really calm and pleasant to listen to. She’s made a bit of a reputation for herself as “The channel that talks about the Atelier Games” and general is just a really enjoyable channel worth checking out if you just want something soothing to listen to.

Ancient Chinese Historians Describe Japan

Voices from the Past is a channel were historical text is read out loud in english. These can be anything like the above video where Chinese historians describe the people of Japan around 297 AD, Accounts of “Dog-Men”, or the worlds oldest letter of complaint from 1750 BC. If you’d like something interesting historically to listen to but don’t want a full blown history lesson, this is a really good way to hear contemporary people talk about their experiences and what they thought about each other in their own words, without opinions or input given by the narrator.

The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet

Whang! is a channel that covers weird internet stories, some horrifying, some curious and interesting, and some just plain weird. His video on The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet and its update, are about a song which was recorded off the radio in Germany around the 1980s, and after one person online asked if anyone knew who the artist was as they couldn’t find any information, led to the realization that NOBODY online knows where this song came from or who sang it. It’s a fun mystery to look into that, unlike some others on this list, is not creepy or unsettling, although perhaps a little frustrating.

I also recommend his video on The Most Mysterious Anime theme song, and the haunted Ebay Painting.

5 Lost, Destroyed, and Locked away Broadcasts

Yesterworld is similar to the Defunctland channel in that it talks about obsolete rides, theme parks and other forgotten pieces of entertainment. Although the majority of the channel focuses on movie rides, rollercoasters and Disneyland, I recommend the video on lost and locked away broadcasts which you can no longer see. I also recommend the video about Lost and Rediscovered movie props.

The Nightmare Artist

I talked about this one recently as I just discovered this channel. This video is about the renowned Polish artist Zdzislaw Beksinski who painted surreal and horrifying paintings during his lifetime. There is no mystery here or anything like that, it merely talks about the impact WWII left on Beksinski and how the trauma his country and people suffered influenced his painting, and how certain images and motifs can be seen to directly reference this terrible part of Poland’s history.

Disabilities in Prehistory

Modern media likes to portray how “savage” the ancient past is, and tell us stories of how any person born with a deformity or disability would be thrown over a cliff or dumped in a well because they would be too big a drain on a community to look after. But here’s the thing... according to archaeological evidence, it turns out our ancient ancestors actually did their best to look after its disabled members to the best of their abilities. This video talks about archaeological finds of people who had genetic disabilities and what we can learn from their remains. TREY the Explainer is a great channel for archaeology and also talking about what answers we could have for sightings of cryptids. (not ALL of which we have answers for)

I also recommend his video on Pre-Contact dogs as well as Homosexuality in Nature and the Genetic History of the Ainu.

Decoding “The Secret: A treasure Hunt”

“The Secret” was an art book released in the 80s full of beautiful paintings, but it is also more than that. The book has a fantasy story talking about 12 fantastical races who left wonderful treasures for humans to find,and the book’s paintings and riddles will tell you where you can find each of these treasures which are yours to keep if you can solve the puzzle... and the treasures are 100% true and can actualy be found and claimed, if you can solve the riddles in the book. The video tells the story of the artbook, who was behind it, what the treasures are, how many have been found and various other facts and details.

I also recommend the videos on this channel “The Game: A scavenger Hunt” and “The investigation of Erratas”.

5 Ancient Inventions That Were WAY Ahead Of Their Time

I would recommend you be careful with this channel as its main focus is existentialism and rather alarming topics such as “how close are we to the apocalypse” and other things whose titles alone are enough to upset me. However this video is nothing like that. This video is exactly what the title suggests it is. 5 ancient inventions that were so incredibly ahead of their time you’d think they were made up. From the computer used by ancient Greeks to steel swords we don’t know how to replicate, this video is a great mix of mystery and history.

Although I caution you with this channel, I recommend Joe’s other videos about mysterious books, as well as his video on the most inbred people in history.

However, I know I keep repeating this, I highly recommend caution with this channel. Perhaps its just me and the topics of life and existent are just triggering for me, but I’d recommend maybe just doing a search for the titles I mentioned and not to go searching through the video library unless you’re not bothered by this kind of thing.

-

Anyway I could keep going, but I think that’s a LARGE amount of videos to keep you occupied for the time being as well as some suggestions for further viewing.

Please enjoy, let me know if you found something interesting, and look after yourself!

If you enjoyed this list at all, please consider tipping me for a coffee

☕️ Ko-fi ☕️

[meta-squash]

Brick Club 2.1.5 “The Quid Obscurum Of Battles”

“Quid obscurum” means “what is unclear.” Hugo starts this chapter with a description of mud, rainy skies, and late starts. We have gone from clear, crisp descriptions of the ruins and the recovering nature surrounding, to fragmented, strange muddled (and muddy) descriptions of these confused bits of battle, missing the middle of the action.

I’m catching a few similarities between Waterloo and the 1832 rebellion. The first being consistent heavy rain just prior to the battle.

Also! More carts! “If the wheat and rye flattened by that multitude of advancing carts had not filled the ruts and made a bed under the wheels, all movement, particularly in the valleys toward Papelotte, would have been impossible.” Again, society (this time society created by Napoleon) using and flattening laborers, the poor, conscripted soldiers, prisoners, women, etc, in order to succeed and move forward. And this time, the carts aren’t holding goods, but weapons. This is a violent progression, the oppression is not the same as that of “regular” society.

I really like the way that Hugo paints this picture of Napoleon as a very calm, methodical leader when it comes to battle, “holding all his artillery in hand like a pistol” and generally having a lot of control, but then in the next paragraph he shows us exactly why this battle was different: it began “furiously, more so than the emperor may have wished.”

When Hugo describes the clothes of soldiers, battalions, war in general, it’s a complete list, a full paragraph of describing the more prominent and important pieces each type of solider is wearing. In comparison, the revolutionaries hardly get any description of clothes. There is a small smattering of descriptions of clothes. Instead, they way Hugo lists uniforms here, he lists diverse DIY or guerilla or hoarded weaponry that the revolutionaries carry.

“Each historian traces the particular lineament that pleases him in this hurly-burly.” Again, history is never just facts. It’s a tale. Anyone who is talking about a certain event or moment in history is going to take a certain angle, follow a certain path, and see everything from that vantage point. But there are so many other angles and paths that any other historian or storyteller could take. Hugo knows this. That’s why he will not profess to tell the history of Waterloo. One person can’t tell the entire history, because one person cannot trace every single lineament within the battle.

“The immobility of a geometric plan tells the story of a minute and not day.” And here Hugo reveals why I struggle so much to visualize these battle layouts. A diagram is static. It shows where a certain person or army is in a certain instant, but it can’t show the chaos of movement, the oscillation of battle and the constant struggle for power moving forward and back over maybe a few dozen yards at a time. Painting and writing are easier mediums: painting doesn’t necessarily profess to capture a whole day, but it can capture the chaos of movement, and writing can capture both chaos and an entire day.

(Also Hugo’s absolute hatred for math and geometry gives me so much joy.)

Rembrandt was a Dutch painter in the mid-17th century. His painting style was an intensely layered paint with almost chaotic strokes. He did portraits and landscapes, as well as etchings.

Adam Frans Vandermeulen was a Flemish painter, also in the mid-17th century. He was known for his paintings of military scenes. He didn’t capture battles from close up, but took a more wide, panoramic approach, showing the broad stretch of battlefield.

Polybius was a Greek historian around 150 BC. He described the rise of the Roman Republic and the related various battles and conquests. He believed that historians should only record what they were able to view or what they were able to learn from interviews of people who were present, analyses of documentation, and examination of geographical info. He emphasized explaining causes of events rather than simply recounting them.

Jean Charles Chevalier Folard was a soldier and military author in the early 18th century. He formulated his theories about battle tactic by writing a commentary on Polybius. He argued for the use of the cuneus of ancient warfare rather than the contemporary thin battles lines.

Hugo points out a distinction between a battle and a combat. Instead of large groups facing off against each other, battles degenerate into little skirmishes, pockets of fighting and scattered groups scrapping it out. Then the army is no longer an army but “regiments” and the historian cannot talk about the moment in history as one huge moment, because it’s no longer made up of one huge moment. It is now a collection of events and moments within each regiment, and a historian must pick which one to follow because it’s impossible to talk about the event from a birds eye view.

(This, I think, is why Hugo claims Rembrandt to be better than Vandermeulen. Rembrandt’s paintings are closer up; he usually painted portraits. Vandermeulen preferred a landscape-like panoramic view, which means he was painting the entire army, not getting in close to a specific regiment or soldier.)

I think this middle-chaos is mildly reflected in the 1832 rebellion, though not for quite so long. We do get a moment, in between the funeral procession proper and the start of the rebellion proper, where everyone is running about, finding places to build barricades, collecting and distributing munitions, contacting each other through gamin messengers. Everyone has a task and is running to and fro to complete it, but until the barricades are built, there’s really no way to talk about that chaotic, mid-creation part of the rebellion as a panoramic whole, just as there’s no way to talk about this shapeless combat as a panoramic whole.

[aion-rsa]

Marvel’s Loki Episode 5: MCU Easter Eggs and References

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This article contains Loki episode 5 spoilers.

Marvel’s Loki episode 5 is a big one. Yes, we know…last week felt like that. And the one before it, too. But this one really IS, with the entire episode taking place (as DoG’s Kayti Burt put it) on top of a literal “trash pile of MCU and Marvel Comics Easter eggs.”

With that in mind, let’s have some fun with all the incredible Marvel references they managed to sneak into Loki episode 5.

Journey Into Mystery

You probably already know this, but Journey Into Mystery was the book that first introduced the Marvel Comics version of Thor, with Loki following shortly after. The title eventually was just renamed Thor since the Asgardians had become the primary focus of the book for years by that point. However, Journey Into Mystery was revived a few years back, with its primary focus being on the adventures of Kid Loki this time around.

Thanos Copter

The Lokis pass a helicopter with “THANOS” on the side. This is a reference to Spidey Super Stories #39 from 1979. The all-ages comic featured a story of Spider-Man and the Cat (Hellcat) taking on Thanos, who was on the hunt for the Cosmic Cube. He flew around New York City in his own helicopter with his name on the side. The reference comes up as a joke here and there, including an issue of Deadpool. Even Thanos’ giant two-sided blade weapon from Avengers: Endgame has been considered by many to be a sly reference to the Thanos Copter.

Ecto-Cooler

While the Lokis are all drinking wine, Kid Loki is shown drinking Hi-C Ecto Cooler. The Slimer-based citrus drink was a tie-in to The Real Ghostbusters cartoon of the 1980s and lasted into 2001 due to its popularity. Afterwards, it became a fondly-remembered relic to time. Ecto Cooler made a brief return in 2016 to coincide with the Ghostbusters reboot. Sadly, there’s no news of it coming back for the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie.

Speaking of Kid Loki…

Kid Loki

Kid Loki seems to be wielding a flaming sword, which looks an awful lot like Laevateinn, the sword he wielded in the Loki: Agent of Asgard comics.

Polybius

In the background of the Lokis’ lair, we see a Polybius arcade machine. Polybius is a long-running urban legend. Supposedly, back in 1981, an arcade machine was set up in Portland, Oregon, watched over by various men in black. The game was so addicting that it caused fights to break out and horrible side-effects to its players. We wrote more about the decades-old mystery of Polybius right here.

Pretty sure there’s an old Williams Space Pinball machine in there, too but that’s not as wild as Polybius.

The Void

Fittingly, the realm where all the pruned victims end up is called the Void. In the comics, the Void is a dark, inexplicable, and possibly biblical entity that acts as the evil side to the Sentry. During the storyline Siege, the Void murdered Loki, which facilitated his rebirth as Kid Loki.

Alioth

Alioth first appeared in Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1, the same 1993 comic that also introduced Ravonna Renslayer to the world…and one that features Kang as its central villain. Hmmmm…

Oh, and Alioth was co-created by Mobius M. Mobius inspiration/model Mark Gruenwald, who gets another shout later in the episode.

Vote Loki

The “politician Loki” who we see leading (inasumuch as they can/want to be led) the loose coalition of Variant Lokis is modeled almost exactly on the version of Loki from Marvel’s Vote Loki story by Christopher Hastings, Langdon Foss, and Paul McCaffery. In it, Loki ends up running for President, with his ridiculous campaign built on the “honest” deception of openly lying to the American people inadvertently aided by a credulous news media. It’s a good read and you should check it out.

This episode also engages in the old MCU/Star Wars tradition of someone getting a hand cut off…in this case it’s our pal, “Vote Loki.”

Frog Thor

A frog resembling Thor is shown in a jar labeled “T365.” Wouldn’t you know it, Thor #365 is the issue where Loki transforms Thor into a frog. Yes, it was a whole thing. Walt Simonson’s run on the Thor comics is really spectacular.

“Frog Thor” also got a mention in Thor: Ragnarok, during the “play within the movie” seen as “Loki” apologized to “Thor” for turning him into a frog.

You know, there’s even an independent wrestler with a Thor Frog gimmick. Life is beautiful sometimes.

Classic Loki

So it appears that Classic Loki is basically what would have happened if “our” Loki survived the opening of Avengers: Infinity War, which he did by allowing Thanos to kill a duplicate while he disguised himself as some debris. Classic Loki went into hiding and developed a taste for brighter greens and yellows, and aged into Richard E. Grant, before he was pruned by the TVA and found himself here in the Void.

Classic Loki’s line about “the god of outcasts” comes from 2019’s Loki #5, by Daniel Kibblesmith and Andy McDonald:

“I am Loki. God of outcasts. They see themselves in me. And I in them. All of us, alone together. It’s why my stories always end with someone trying to put me in a box. And begin with my spectacular escape.”

Later in the episode, Classic Loki and Kid Loki literally “exit stage right,” in what feels like a very deliberately “stagey” moment that plays on the Shakespearean overtones of all of this.

The Living Tribunal

On the ground in the Void there’s a large severed head…and it’s that of The Living Tribunal, a cosmic entity created by Stan Lee and Marie Severin back in 1967. The presence of a Living Tribunal (even one who is dead at this present time), whose entire purpose for being is predicated on the existence of a multiverse, means that the TVA is trying very hard to cut all ties and any evidence of the fact that the multiverse is already out there.

U.S.S. Eldridge

The USS Eldridge was a real Cannon-class destroyer in the U.S. Navy in use from 1943 to 1992. It was supposedly sold for scrap after it was decommissioned but Loki posits that perhaps it was an unwanted Variant in the Sacred Timeline. Perhaps this is because the ship was rumored to be subjected to the “Philadelphia Experiment” that was supposed to render it invisible to the human eye. The story is sadly probably a hoax.

There’s a not exactly great 1984 movie called The Philadelphia Experiment which adds time travel to the equation, making this little callback even more Loki appropriate.

Is That Stan Lee?

At about 9:38 there’s a mural in the TVA headquarters. On the right there’s a guy in prescription shades, with a familiar moustache and salt-and-pepper hair. We’re not saying that’s Stan Lee, but…

The Castle

Yes, we know, that ominous castle sure looks like Doctor Doom’s  home of Doomstadt, but…it’s probably not (or is it?). More likely, this is Castle Limbo, home of Kang the Conqueror (or…is it?).

We unpacked these possibilities some more here.

The Music

The “heroic Loki” theme at the end sounds like it’s about to break into Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.”

Speaking of, the regular Loki theme is very similar to the part of the Delfonics “Ready or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide From Love)” that was sampled for Missy Elliott’s “Sock It To Me.” The original (also sampled for the Fugees’ “Ready or Not” and Dr. Dre’s “Still D.R.E.”) was about the inevitability of love, and Missy’s song was about sneaking into somebody’s house to get your back blown out, so basically the same thing. Could have some bearing on Loki and Sylvie’s story.

The music that plays during the “Loki brawl” is this show’s equivalent of Scooby-Doo chase music. That’s a good thing, by the way.

Pixar, is that you?

Was that the Pizza Planet truck? Mobius’s ride, a station wagon with a slice of pizza on top, immediately brought to mind the popular Pixar easter egg/elaborate timeline mcguffin that has appeared in every Pixar movie to date. Also, very nice touch having Lightning McQueen himself drive it.

An even nicer touch is the license plate on the car Mobius is driving: GRN W1D. As in “Gruenwald.” As in (say it with us, kids!) Mark Gruenwald, the Marvel writer and editor who Mobius is based on.

Ant-Man

At one point on the ground in the Void we can spot a gigantic Yellowjacket helmet. Yellowjacket is the codename for several size-shifting superheroes in the Marvel Comics, but is best known to MCU fans as Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross from the first Ant-Man flick. 

Guardians of the Galaxy

There’s lots of crashed spacecraft, one of which kind of looks like the Dark Aster (Ronan the Accuser’s ship in Guardians of the Galaxy), and there may be a Helicarrier hanging around. There’s also a flying saucer that vaguely resembles the ship from John Carpenter’s The Thing, and a pirate ship that if Doctor Doom were actually the villain of this show (he isn’t…or…is he?) would make us think of that character’s very first appearance in Fantastic Four comics, where he sent Ben Grimm back in time to become Blackbeard. No, really.

Miscellaneous Time Variants

The fate of the Lokis is reminiscent of What If? #12, otherwise known as What If the X-Men Had Stayed in Asgard? At the end of the story, after tasting defeat yet again, Loki begged Those Who Sit Above in Shadow to allow him to rule Asgard. They agreed by sending him far into the future at the end of time. As reality started to break down, Loki went out laughing in the face of oblivion.

The bus ad at the beginning is for Calum Ross, who is an editor on the show. 

The shot of all the Lokis walking as the camera swoops overhead is very much reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies.

Loki and Sylvie are cold in The Void. But wait a minute, aren’t they both Frost Giants? Why then would Loki conjure a green blanket? Unless he wants a convenient excuse to cuddle up with his Variant…

Loki is drinking “RoxxiWine” pinot noir…out of a box…which is a nice touch.

Is that weird, very large plant in the bowling alley hideout supposed to be a Variant Yggdrasil? Or wait…what if that’s Plant Loki?!? He’s green, isn’t he?

Next to Alligator Loki’s kiddie pool there’s a copy of The Mystery and Lore of Monsters, a 1930 book by Charles J.S. Thompson.

The tower we all keep thinking is Avengers Tower is in fact Qeng Tower, the headquarters of Qeng Enterprises, the company that Tony Stark (mistakenly) sold the old Avengers tower to in the comics.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Spot anything we missed? (Probably, right?) Let us know in the comments!

The post Marvel’s Loki Episode 5: MCU Easter Eggs and References appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3Az8Dbv

[eliminatedtheimpossible]

Cryptographers and the Hunt for the Anser

A client stood in the sitting room of 221B this morning with a disconcerted gaze and the annoying nervous habit of tapping their foot while talking. They detailed how their friend and business partner had disappeared from an out of the way antique bookshop the two co-owned. It was odd that the client had chosen to come to me, as the person in question had only been missing for twelve hours. Normally, I am my client’s last resort, not the first. They hadn’t yet contacted the police. That was interesting. 

After yesterday’s odd comings and goings, John was more than happy to join me with today’s case. I take it that whatever matter occurred between us has now been resolved. There are several times during our partnership where I will admit, I have underestimated John Watson. 

While our client spoke, John listened diligently scribbling notes in a small casebook he uses to review and recount our adventures. I expected his scribblings to note the obvious: the name of the client and their missing business partner, where they were last seen, and the stringent schedule the missing person adhered to which made their disappearance all the more out of character. However, upon inspecting his notes, it was evident John was becoming better at observing than most of Scotland Yard’s idiots. 

.- .--. .--. . .- .-. / .-- . .- -.- / .-- .... . -. / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . / ... - .-. --- -. --.

It was the rhythm tapped out by the client’s restless feet. It was a clue more valuable than anything which had left the client’s mouth. As John and myself are familiar with Morse Code, him from his military background, myself from the necessity of my own occupation, we were quick to translate it. 

‘Appear weak when you are strong’ 

This meant little to me at first. Obviously, it was a message but what did it mean? In the end, it was John who recognised the words as a quote from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, a piece of literature which was important enough for me to have not entirely deleted from my memory but not so important that I should be able to quote it. Again, John’s military background saved us some time. Though with it being the twenty-first-century, he really only saved us a Google search.  

We soon took our search across town to the client’s bookshop. Where little excavation led us to discover a copy of The Art of War. Within the front page was another note, this time a series of vague, seemingly nonsensical numbers. Of course, another code. 

42.22.52.51.34.53.34.25.14.22.11.54.55

This was another simple cipher for anyone familiar with cryptography but for those unfamiliar with the art, such as my companion John, I will inform you it is a Polybius Square cipher. Without an encryption key, the deciphering of the code would prove difficult. However, upon finding the referenced quote from the previous code amongst the pages of the text a scrap of paper fell from the book revealing the key. 

Any original suspicions I had regarding my clients and their possible involvement with the government or more nefarious agencies were put to rest. As the more deeply my companion and I delved into the case, the more it felt like a children’s scavenger hunt. John, as always, was a little slow on the uptake and was quick to scribble out the encoded message. I have placed the encryption key within this text so that the readers are also able to decode the message. I hope this task will prove to be as trivial to you as it was to me. 

The next piece of the puzzle stared up at me from John’s notebook. ‘I am unknowable’. Given the nature of our scavenger hunt thus far I found the next logical place to search annoyingly simple. The theme of today’s case, as the reader has likely already noted is ciphers and cryptography. Therefore, with my expansive knowledge of out of the way topics, regarding my work, it was simple to guess. Ask yourself reader, what is an unknowable cipher likely to be found in an antique bookstore? 

Placed on the front desk under several hardback Oscar Wilde novels was a copy of The Voynich Manuscript. Nestled between two crudely drawn images that vaguely resemble plants was a final sheet of paper. This message wasn’t encoded. 

While writing up this recount of the case with my knowledge of the events which come after finding this piece of paper I can see it for the innocuous scribble it was. However, I will admit at the time the note sent a shiver down my spine as I looked down at the address of 235 Baker Street.

I have never been the type to make small talk with our neighbours. I knew very little about them other than what I had heard in passing. Their landlady Mrs. Turner often had tea with Mrs. Hudson on Sundays. Her tenants were two men, a married couple. According to Mycroft, they posed no immediate danger and so they have been filed away in my mind as unimportant. This was a mistake. 

Upon arriving at 235 Baker Street I found myself ushered into the sitting room by a man who eerily fitted the description of my client’s missing business partner. I came to realise something was very wrong. One look at the smirk on John’s face told me everything I needed to know. I turned from John to watch as my client entered the sitting room, his eyes also trained on John. My client, their missing business partner, and our neighbours Jonathan and Shannon Norbury were one and the same. 

John had orchestrated today’s case and the subsequent goose chase as something of a ‘lesson’. There was some insufferable monologue involving ‘a taste of my own medicine’, ‘immoral experimentation’ and chastising about my inability to recognise my own neighbours. Needless to say, John is not invited to join me in my next case. 

S.H.      

[dxsole]

🎰

SEND 🎰 FOR ME TO PUT OUR MUSES INTO A RANDOM LIST GENERATOR THEN POST THE FIRST FIVE AS POTENTIAL SHIPS! 

Still Accepting

1. Evelyn Hooper & Penjani

At the very least Penjani would probably be able to converse with our Ghost Host with the Most, which I’m sure Ev would appreciate– They probably can talk a lot about the mystic realm and learn a lot from one another; Penjani about the world beyond her own and Evelyn about the things she’s missed (also Penjani can turn into certain animals and idk I get the vibe that Evelyn will be very !!! seeing otter penjani…otters are just cute :3)

2. Murray Manson & 85

Oh, that’s actually a pretty good one, 85 is a rather chill person to hang around, a fairly quiet and understanding sort. I like the idea of them being friends at least…but please note she is a thief and very sneaky– I think the only downside is that she’s so quiet and stealthlike that she’ll just appear in his place and freak him out…

3. Ray Valentine & Donny Penzag

Oof, I don’t wish Donny on anyone…if Ray’s alright with a big flirt with big muscles and exactly 2 brain cells, well, Donny’s the man for her. Donny would be a great person to help with shooting but also the worst seeing as he’ll…likely run from anything too scary. Oh well…

4. Bunny Hocksetter & Angus Mannix Kearney

Absolutely terrible because no one should have to suffer with Angus, but rather fortuitous seeing as Bunny’s cravings will more than likely be sated due to Angus’ job. And she wouldn’t need to hide much with Angus as well, seeing as he’s rotting from the inside and spends half his time as a hellhound. Hopefully, she likes dogs!

5. Polybius Broom & Viola “Yang” Yates

A match made…okay, well, it’s not that bad…just really bad for everyone else. Polly’s a tricky sort and Viola is a chatterbox that will go along with any suggestion and on occasion attempts to stab people. Also, Polly might have to deal with games now as well; creating elaborate clues, codes and puzzles for the police was Yang’s job when she worked under her father; Polly’s not the only one who knows how to toy with people.

[attract-mode-collective]

"weLCUM to the motherfucking Queer matrixXx"

In part 1 of my recap of stuff tweeted during the later half of May, over at @AttractMode, I mentioned that one thing that kept me awfully busy… hence the backlog and two-part recap for Tumblr & Medium… was Death By Audio Arcade X Dreamhouse II.

The proper/full name of the soiree was Ova the Rainbow: DreamBoxXx, which is where most of these photos were taken, with a few from Death By Audio Arcade X Dreamhouse I; the photographer on the behalf of Gothamist was there for both opening & closing parties, to help add color to their story...

... BTW, the arcade will open one last time, this Friday (June 8th). Doors open at 7!

And as for the rest of last month... well... back to the subject of arcades for a sec; it’s a dream of many to have the full experience at home, though space is obviously the primary issue. Thankfully you (or your Lego minifigs to be exact) have options (via @ActionFigured)...

This Blast City shirt was designed on a CRT monitor, making it extra legit (no word if it was in TATE orientation tho; via theyetee.com)...

I basically know nothing about Avail, though appears to be a Target or H&M-like retail entity for Japan? Well recently they had a Gradius shirt for sale, but I missed my chance to save a copy of the PDF circular from which it made its seemingly sole appearance.

Hence why I had resort to blowing up this screencap (via miki800.com)...

There's actually a 2nd Gradius tee, and we thankfully have a far better look at it this time (via miki800.com)…

... I almost have to wonder if the 1st one was a mock-up or placeholder or something, cuz I seriously cannot find an image of it anywhere.

Few things get me as giddy as a nice 180 camera turn around with sprites (via segacity)...

And 3D turnarounds of polygonal characters are cool, provided that they’re watercolored (via typhlosionofficial)...

Same (via @BauceSauce)...

Sorry, but the sight of shelf after shelf, all bucking under the massive weight of countless carts & discs, is an eyesore IMHO. Instead, a modest pile of software with plenty of breathing room work best for me (via sixteen-bit)...

Such a beautifully personalized iPhone is essentially an iPhone for life (via miki800)...

A (video game) toy chest… a (video game) treasure chest… basically both? (via miki800)...

Remember hearing about Street Fighter 2 X Transformers? Well, they're finally here (via tfw2005.com)...

To be honest I have enough toys. Whereas I could always use more storage! Hence my interest in these SF2 USB sticks. But I can’t decide which World Warrior I want to see in such sad shape all the (via miki800.com)...

Time for another crossover, specifically Virtual On X bunny girls; a custom model kit of Angelan (via shop2000.com)...

A look at all the Tokyo Game Show poster girls since 2010 (via videogamesdensetsu)...

The first Famciase of 2018 to get my attention now has a fake ad to go with the fake game (via pepesalot)...

I'm 99.99% confident that this gaming set up/living quarters (via @miaumiauzmiau)...

... belongs to Polylina, aka Poririna, aka SEGA SATURN GAL (via this old post from a few years back)...

Note the similar pink curtains...

Who wears their Space Invaders shirt better? This guy (via shmups)…

Or this gal (via thesensualeye)...

The chairs for Space Invaders Frenzy has seen some serious shit (via oh-log-n)...

It’s a Space Invaders bathroom cuz why not (via it8bit)...

Nothing illustrates the harsh game making environment better than this one dev’s cardboard facade, underneath his desk, to emulate home (via videogamesdensetsu)...

Kitchen pantry cat’s prices are way better than bedroom closet cat’s (via @tatuya01)...

Memorial Day took place near the end of May, naturally, which meant another opportunity to repost my fave video starring the greatest soldier of the 20th century (via this other old post from years ago)...

Memorial Day weekend was also when I decided to post a bunch of YouTube vids; remember that one explaining why wiggling Sonic 3D Blast for the Genesis produces a level select? Did you also remember to subscribe to the channel? If so, you’d already know how Sonic R did transparencies on the Saturn...

Do you like Famiclones? Do you like Jackie Chan? Then you might like...

... I ended up going down a Jackie Chan rabbit hole, which resulted in a high-quality version of the infamous soundtrack to Hong Kong 97. Which in turn led to the discovery that the loop is actually a small portion of a full-length song entitled "I Love Beijing Tiananmen".

Sorry to ask everyone to click out, but I have a limit on how many videos I can embed in a single post and all.

Come to see what NES game Bithead1000 broke the bank on, stay to hear him bitch about Trapper Keepers...

Spoilers: it was Metal Storm, and can you believe that it managed to grace the cover of Nintendo Power? Not complaining of, more impressed than anything else (via shmups)...

Time for some bonus Bithead1000, which I’m not posting cuz of the aforementioned technical limitation, plus it has nothing to do with games anyway: hearing him talk about old school rap made my Memorial Day and hopefully it'll make yours, no matter what date it is.

Yet another video I must abstain from embedding is Johnny Cage performs 4'33". Hopefully all of you fans of Mortal Kombat/experimental compositions/shitty webtoons do not feel slighted (via roman55)...

Another look at the “New Aero City” stick, this time with the intended color scheme of yellow for both the balltop & buttons (last time they were red, as seen here; via hibachicandy)...

It’s the guy made Metal Gear and the guy who made Kong: Skull Island, playing Xevious & Ikaruga (via xtheo.ca)...

The beginning of the ultimate road trip (via lazywaifus)...

Like many others, I spent an entire morning pouring over that epic game collection before it was set to be auctioned off at the end of the month; my wish list included a SuperGrafx, TurboDuo, CD-i, Nuon, and Donkey Kong for the OG GB sealed… (via bodnarsauction.com)...

Alas, I couldn’t make the trip to Edison, NJ for the auction. Thankfully, @textfiles could; be sure to check all the photos he posted on May 31 for all that he saw...

Am surprised it took this long to see something like this (via @gamesyouloved)...

… The same source also posted this Sonic gif; I’ve looked everywhere for the source but zero luck… can anyone point me in the right direction?

Back to the aforementioned auction, or should I say the mass acquisition of old games; it’s always been a secret plan to collect a bunch of Super FX carts in order to extract the chips, for... something? (via pixelpolygon)

Thought check out what the Mega Drive/Genesis can do without the help of any fancy chips (via vidgam)...

...BTW, am aware of the fact that equally amazing programmers can probably push the SNES in crazy ways if given chance.

Am also familiar with the SVP or Sega Virtua Processor that drove the 16-bit version of Virtua Racing (which I enjoy better than the 32X version).

Re: the auction one last time: so the real reason why I didn't bother with making that trip to Jersey? There wasn't a Divers 2000 CX-1 on-hand (via anthony10000000)...

Here’s someone really enjoying a game of Zaxxon (via arcadezen)...

And someone... well... maybe enjoying a game of Polybius? (via dualvoidanima)

Okay, so this gif ain’t related to video games per say, yet this came up in a Tumblr that I frequent for super cool shit, plus the music video it’s from is neat, so there ya go (via mendelpalace)...

Speaking of sources for content, worlds collided with the surprise appearance of Just One Boss (which I first encountered at Death By Audio Arcade's Lo-Fi Game Night several months back) at obscurevideogames...

Worlds continued to collide with the surprise appearance of Attract Mode's Dark Souls print by Judson Cowan, in a recent article in Kotaku on the subject of Dark Souls Remastered...

One last last thing: I’ve long considered Suzuki Bakuhatsu to be THE game that best represents the Attract Mode a e s t h e t i c & I’m super happy that the RetroPals finally got around to playing it...

[weedle-testaburger]

Me again, got some good news. I am nearly finished drafting two pieces of my coursework. I should be finished with them both soon. Still got a few more to go but I'll burn that bridge when I get to it (to quote Warrior's Gate). I'm having my lunch now. Also, odd question. Do you know about Polybius? The urban legend. Those things never interest me, but Polybius is an exception. I think it's fascinating.

Sounds good! And yeah I do vaguely, tbh I just know it from that one AVGN video though and I didn't really like that one much bc I have a very low tolerance for horror. It was well-made but just not really my thing.

[crappierpasta]

Polybius

If you’ve been in the arcade community for any amount of time, you may have heard of a game titled “Polybius.” Released only in a small arcade in a suburb of Portland, Oregon, it is infamous for causing severe side effects in those who played. Nightmares, amnesia, depression, suicide...the works. Little else has been known for decades, but an employee of the developers’ company has recently disclosed several details about it.

The first surprise is who actually developed it. A mysterious company named “Sinneslöschen” is listed on the title screen, and many speculated the game was simply commissioned to an unknown game developer by the United States military for unknown purposes. No matter what it says on the title screen, however, they actually hired a different company, one you’ve almost certainly heard of: Nintendo.

As you may know, Donkey Kong was Shigeru Miyamoto’s first game. It was developed in 1981, the same year as Polybius. Nintendo had been hurt by overestimating the appeal of their recent game, Radarscope, and Donkey Kong was a desperate gamble - an unconventional game made by an unknown designer that could make or break the company.

...or so we assumed, anyway. It turns out that Nintendo had another ace up their sleeve. Hiroshi Yamauchi, then president of Nintendo, had heard about the US military’s desire to build a game to be used for psychological attacks. He managed to get the contract and ordered Miyamoto to create the game, using the opportunity to make the game he really wanted to (Popeye, though it was later changed to Donkey Kong due to copyright) as incentive.

Miyamoto was given some kind of outline by the military, which he has since refused to discuss. The normally cheerful Miyamoto became quiet and withdrawn, not letting anyone (even Yamauchi) see his work on Polybius. The strict and forceful Yamauchi reportedly stormed into Miyamoto’s office to demand he reveal his progress. Yamauchi came out, looking frightened. Miyamoto had somehow gotten him to back down, which those employed at Nintendo at that time unanimously agree had never happened before or since.

Miyamoto finished Polybius and handed all of the necessary information for production to an army representative who came to Nintendo’s office - no one else saw the game. Miyamoto remained withdrawn for some time after, locking himself in his office every day until he emerged with a completed version of Donkey Kong. He was back to his cheerful self, with no acknowledgement of his strange behavior before. He had recovered, but the saga of Polybius was just beginning.

Creating a game takes a great deal of work. How Miyamoto managed to hide traces of his work on Polybius is quite baffling to the people aware of the incident. The solution to this was recently discovered by a Nintendo of Japan employee. In the employees’ lounge of Nintendo of Japan, there is a Donkey Kong arcade machine - one of the very first manufactured.

Donkey Kong was made from modified Radarscope hardware, and it seems Miyamoto used this trick to hide the remains of Polybius. A few months ago, a Nintendo employee was playing the arcade machine. He was distracted, so played in an unusual manner. The first sign something was happening was that the line on Mario’s face appeared to curve downward, as if he was frowning.

The employee, intrigued, kept playing. The graphics started to fall apart. Pixels would ghost, leaving images behind when moved, or they would move away from their objects. While this was happening, the employee was startled by an angry shout. Miyamoto had entered the room and was furious. He yelled at the terrified employee to never touch the machine again, and yanked the cabinet’s cord from the wall.

Everyone in the lounge was stunned; Miyamoto was never known to act like this. He was known for being friendly and calm. After Miyamoto regained control of himself, he apologized. There was nothing to worry about, he claimed; he was upset about something else and had lost control of his emotions. However, this employee was familiar with the development of Polybius and didn’t believe him. He knew he was on to something. Later that day, he managed to obtain a disc with a copy of the original Donkey Kong code, and took it home.

This employee copied the code to his computer and started hacking into it. He couldn’t find anything, however, so he focused on recreating the situation on the arcade machine. Like string unraveling, he found more and more oddities as he got closer to what he had done earlier. As he suspected, the game eventually devolved and led to a title screen displaying one word: “Polybius.”

He posted what he had done up to this point online. The last thing anyone heard from him was that he was about to play the mythical game. It is unknown what happened next; he was found the next day, dead. He had committed suicide. It was one of the most gruesome suicides ever reported in Japan.

Someone who lived close by had been among those who read the employee’s progress reports online and had saved them. The employee had destroyed his computer during the suicide, so the police found no evidence that Polybius was involved.  The person who gave the disc with the copy to that employee confronted Miyamoto, showing him the proof that Polybius was involved. Using it for blackmail, he managed to obtain an off-the-record summary of Polybius, which has been made public online.

The leaked details of the game, at this point, were that the gameplay was similar to Tempest and the enemies were amoebas. The Tempest part is actually true - the game takes place against a solid black background where you control a human head that moves back and forth, shooting enemies that come at you with scaling that emulates 3D movement. The enemies are easy to mistake for amoebas, but on closer inspection are actually faces with different expressions on them. Miyamoto gave them some names and descriptions:

Hope: A twisted, threatening smile with no eyes.

Love: A blank expression. The eyes are lifeless.

Truth: A sad face with red tears visible below the eyes.

In a novel twist for the time, each enemy is dealt with differently. Your character’s bullets only work on the Hope enemy. Love should be avoided, while you should let Truth collide with your character. There is a bright flash whenever you fail to do the right thing to an enemy type, but the game does not keep track of lives and can only end if no buttons are pressed for thirty seconds.

The flashes have a physical and mental effect on the player. Due to this, most players will be compelled to quit after two or three. Three flashes make most players feel dizzy and nervous, and cause vivid nightmares for the next few weeks. If a player takes a few more, they will forget not only the game, but most things necessary for independent life. Players who are stricken with this kind of amnesia will have to be cared for for the rest of their lives.

A very strong-willed person may be able to resist the amnesia stage and keep playing. After a few more flashes, they will be rendered unconscious for a time. After recovery, they will madly do everything in their power to commit suicide. The army kept one person who experienced this alive, actually. After nearly thirty years, he still must be constantly watched to prevent him from killing himself.

This was all the information Miyamoto was willing to give, but there were still quite a few unanswered questions about the game. With this information released to the internet, though, the hunt for more was on. Someone claiming to be involved in the project has come forward online; for obvious reasons, however, he does not want his identity revealed, and has avoided going into personal details beyond that.

Polybius used a pattern of lights the military had been working on to produce an effect similar to epilepsy in a person viewing them. The technique had been refined to the point where the light pattern could cause specific effects depending on how they appeared. For the flashes of light to have the desired effect, however, they had to be viewed with a degree of concentration. This is why a video game was chosen for the testing process. The arcade machine was to be used to test the effects on a wide variety of people without informing them of the seriousness of the experiment.

Obviously, the plan to test Polybius on innocent, unknowing people was horrible from an ethical standpoint. The rather cold Yamauchi was willing to go along with it for the money that would save his company, but Miyamoto wouldn’t. As the designer, the true nature of the game couldn’t be hidden from him. Miyamoto was shown three flashes immediately after being assigned to the project. He would keep getting them whenever the effects faded until he finished the game. This was the cause of his odd behavior during the game’s development.

The natural question after hearing all this is whether the experiment was a success. The army detained several people who had suffered the effects of the flashes during the game’s short test in Portland and, without exception, every last test subject responded to the flashes in the expected way. However, attempts to create an antidote to the effects were unsuccessful. Tricking people into playing an arcade machine obviously wasn’t a very practical way to deploy a weapon, either. Due to this, Polybius faded from memory.

...until, that is, technology made a few advancements. The level of concentration needed to make the flashes have their effect can be attained by reading text. The flashes themselves are fairly easy to display on any type of monitor, too. Now that computer monitors displaying text and linked to a limitless network are so common, I’m sure you can put two and two together. However, the military probably isn’t going to send flashes into your computer. 

Then again, the secret is public now, and the flashes CAN be found in a common arcade game...

(Written by KI Simpson. You can download the game from Sinnesloschen.com, too!)

[ryanssecurityengineering]

Week 1 Notes

REFLECTION

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the Week 1 lectures so I had to watch the lecture videos on OpenLearning. Richard is so engaging! This is one of the few times I have wanted to stop the lecture video and go for a break, he seems very passionate about Security and teaching in general.

I liked the introduction to security as attackers only care about vulnerabilities. If there is even a 1% chance of something bad happening, a attacker will try to exploit it 100% of the time. This is what makes security scary and difficult - you can never be sure.

He talked about ways you can burgle a house and there are so many its not even funny. Just goes to show what we think is secure, really isn’t.

WHAT IS SECURITY ENGINEERING?

Mind of an attacker VS mind of a defender - You may think your house is secure by looking at all of the safety features it has, but all an attacker cares about are the vulnerabilities. Doesn’t matter how many safety features you have, one vulnerability and it’s all over. We overestimate the security we have.

Vulnerability - State which makes it possible to be exposed or attacked.

Threats - Anything that has potential to cause harm in the system.

Exploits - Taking advantage of a vulnerability (e.g. exploiting a zero day vulnerability in Windows).

BRIDGE SECURITY vs COMPUTER SECURITY

Why can’t computer be as safe as bridges? What determines the strength of a bridge or the security of the system? Engineering.

Bridges are secure due to many iterations and things we have learnt over time. We have not yet reached that state in security engineering.

The definition of Engineering - the usage of scientific principles to build machines, structures and more.

THE PROBLEM WITH COMPLEXITY

As technology involves, humanity has an urge to improve technology through complexity. E.g. from the first aeroplane to the aeroplanes of today with autopilot. But this increases the chance of security problems.

Could a system become more secure by making it more complex? E.g. tie a knot gazillions of times. Perhaps, but you might introduce more insecurities.

SECURITY BY OBSCURITY

In mid-1800s Europe, countries would use special codes to communicate with their embassies and ambassadors. The messages travelled on horse, and they used codes to decrypt messages. If you know the code, you could undo it, otherwise you couldn’t. Every country could decode every other country, and every country thought their code was unbreakable!

Things that are obscure are probably never that hard to unravel...

Kerckhoff’s Principle - The strength of a code should not reside on the mechanism of the code being secret. The strength of a code should reside in the key - you can change the key if discovered.

The system must be practically, if not mathematically, indecipherable;

It should not require secrecy, and it should not be a problem if it falls into enemy hands;

It must be possible to communicate and remember the key without using written notes, and correspondents must be able to change or modify it at will;

It must be applicable to telegraph communications;

It must be portable, and should not require several persons to handle or operate;

Lastly, given the circumstances in which it is to be used, the system must be easy to use and should not be stressful to use or require its users to know and comply with a long list of rules.

SOME SIMPLE CODES AND CIPHERS

Stenography - trying to conceal a message in a message.

Codes - Way to convert a message into another.

Substitution - Replace characters by another character.

Transposition - Changing the order of the letters in the message so it doesn’t make sense.

Jefferson’s wheel

Playfair cipher

Polybius square

Codes vs Encryption - With codes, the message is still there just in some different order or encoding. However with encryption this is not the case and relies on a key to decrypt the message. Without the key, you would have to do reverse engineering which is mostly impossible if the encryption is good.

Transposition cipher:

BRUTE FORCING PASSWORDS

Imagine an 8 character alphanumeric password. Each character can be any number of any uppercase or lowercase character. The whole password has 62^8 possible permutations.

Converting this number in terms of binary would be something close to (64)^8 == (2^6)^8. This is 2^48. You can brute force this password in a few days.

THE CIA TRIAD

Confidentiality - Only the people that should know it, know the info. No one outside of A and B should know it.

Integrity - Some assurance that the information stays valid. E.g. checking if the hash of an object remains the same. Information should not change in transit from A to B.

Authentication - Checking the people is who they say they are. Checking B is actually B.

NEWS TODAY

Russia wants Tinder information - scary how the government needs this??

Australian law requiring backdoor into every software

Sony PlayStation Network hack.

HALIFAX EXPLOSION (From course textbook)

What happened?

The incident caused the largest man made explosion prior to the atomic bomb

SS Imo was carrying a large shipment of explosives through port Halifax

A misunderstanding between SS Imo and SS Mont-Blanc caused a collision course

Sailors abandoned ship prior to collision and escaped the explosion

Resulting explosion killed 2000 people and injured 9000

Vince Coleman, a local train dispatcher was notified of the explosion about to occur and stayed at the dispatch station to prevent trains from entering Halifax saving 1000s and allowing stopped trains to be used for the recovery effort

How could this have been avoided?

HUMAN WEAKNESS OF THE WEEK (From course textbook): Adjusting our frame of mind.

Examples include the Halifax incident where bystanders did not evacuate/take any action after seeing sailors running through the town in fear, as well as 9/11 where those in the second building failed to listen to evacuation messages quickly enough.

This is often because people are caught in their daily routine, unable to quickly shift between the mind frame of work or having a meal at a cafe, to emergency mindset.

For an example of how to break this, listening to new music or sitting in a new spot during a lecture

Confirmation bias