#thing saved me SO MANY TIMES in constant tumblr glitches

[sir-yeehaw-paws]

Everyday I long once again for XKit’s outbox feature.

[lickingyellowpaint]

Alright, because at least one anon was curious, here are some thoughts based on, admittedly, a very brief foray into the world of sales. I'll speak only to what made my gut instinct do a confused puppy head-tilt, and obviously this is opinion, from someone on tumblr, and therefore not the end-all, be-all of advice on this...

Red Flags of Possible Scam Employers and/or Services

1) The first red flag was that the company threw me into the internal chats - chock full of pep and others' successes - before I was actually physically at work and able to understand their utility. Perhaps it’s easier from a tech perspective to fling new employees into every digital system at once. And sure, there was useful information and good insight into how the company uses those chats - lots of newbies asking questions and getting relevant good answers whilst on the floor, which IS nice - and if you're like me and unfamiliar with the tech or apps being used, it's great practice.

For the most part, though, two of the main chats were just hyping up their salespeople as they met their goals. I suspect they want you to see how much money everyone's making, how they're meeting their goals, and make you want to succeed similarly. There was already a little too much constant enthusiasm bouncing around the place for my goth ass, but hey, can't say the culture was negative! Still somewhat a nefarious psychological move, though, imho. The intent is likely to boast, dazzle, entice, overwhelm and make you envious enough to be competitive, as much as it is to inspire and inform. Just a guess.

2) The second red flag was similar in nature. In a lot of the e-meeting training sessions, there was a LOT of time spent on praising the success of those present in video meetings, a LOT of time spent on explaining the tier system of salespeople, the incentives, the commission system, cool trips you can earn... and I get that, to a degree, okay, you have a job, you wanna know how much money you can really make. Fine!

But if as much or more time is spent on those types of things than the actual training on what you need to learn to do the job... hm. Hm! I suspect more headgaming. (And no, this wasn't an MLM targeting suburban moms to employ and get all their friends onboard. This is a big company with good stock and trusted affiliates.) Anyway, this is about when my gut started to do that quiet hrrrr-uff dogs do when they wanna bark but aren't sure about it yet.

3) Language and words are key. Obviously, most people are sharp enough to know that phrases like "no out-of-pocket upfront cost" is a codeword for We Can't Legally Say It's Free But Want You To Feel Like It Is, and means there'll be payment involved at some point. It's one thing to know that, and quite another to parrot the phrase at an elderly potential customer, or one whose grasp of English isn't quite perfect. Could you, in good conscience, do that for a commission and feel good about it? Turns out I couldn't.

And that's not necessarily indicative of a scam company altogether - sales is sales, and sales language has probably been a little deceptive by nature for as long as it's been around. But could you do that for a paycheck, while being new to the job, thus not being entirely sure what it's gonna cost that little old lady or that immigrant family down the line? Could you? You may not really know for sure until you hear yourself say it, and your gut starts barking in earnest, because you don't know what their next step - that you just convinced them to take - will be.

4) I didn't know, so I tried to find out. While my followers here know I was pretty diligent with my required training stuff, you can see from points 1 and 2 that those materials weren't really meaty and informative enough for me. I tried to seek further clarification not just on my tasks, but the next steps - could someone explain them to me better, in a way that assured me I wasn't pitching a scam? Could someone send me videos or content relevant to the next step in the process, just so I understand it better for my own edification and peace of mind?

Well... maybe they tried to. I was sent a link to a video of one of the next-step-in-the-process sales guys at work... only to be denied access to that video, and though I requested access, nothing in the system ever granted it to me. A glitch? Perhaps. But when I mentioned wanting access, wanting a few more questions answered until I felt right with things, most of what I heard was:

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that."

"Don't overcomplicate things for yourself."

"That's a little above your role. Keep things simple, say you don't know, and it'll add value to the expertise of the next-step sales guy!"

"We tend to save that for more advanced training, since not all of our new people have your emotional intelligence, and might not have as good a brain-to-mouth filter, and say more to the customer than they need to."

Well... I wasn't asking in order to answer a customer's questions, I was asking to answer mine. I won't speak to what I don't know to be true, and I won't sell what I'm not sure is legit, no matter how much I'm paid to do so. And that gut-dog? Now it's a pack of dogs, and at least one of them is starting to howl.

5) It's howling kind of loudly, actually, and my (delightful, friendly, funny) managers aren't helping me quiet it down. So if they can't answer my questions to my satisfaction, I have to seek answers elsewhere.

Arguably, obviously, I should have done this from the start, but - that's when I sought out customer reviews.

And I don't mean clicking Google Reviews and just reading those.

I mean spending most of an afternoon on a deep dive into the following search terms:

"[Company Name] reviews" "[CN] scam" "[CN] Better Business Bureau reviews" "[CN] reddit" "[CN] class action/lawsuit" "[CN] Yelp/any other well-known review site you can think of”/Twitter tag/FB search

You get the idea.

Now, of course some bad actors (rival companies, annoyed ex-employees) can write bad reviews to make the company look bad. Equally, anyone who felt like it could write good reviews to make the company look good. (I wasn't about to search every good reviewer's name in our email database to see if any matched up. But a couple did include words or phrases that might be included in customer-facing marketing and mission statements and thus parroted naturally, but were definitely included in internal training vids. Just a very slight few, but they popped out at me.) Another thing to keep in mind when wanting to take all reviews into account equally is that when people are happy with a product, they don't always remember to leave reviews, so most reviews are written by the vaguely-to-deeply dissatisfied to begin with, and may not be an accurate representation of what's really going on.

Let's be fair here. As a thought experiment, look up the reviews for a company/service/product you truly love, and see if the bad ones reflect a concern you can understand, or one you'd brush off, or one that just doesn't reflect your experience at all. What works for one person/locale/reason for another, might not for someone else, and that’s understandable.

Also ponder:

Out of, let's say, 200 reviews, how many would need to be positive to get you to buy something, especially if it was something you wanted? Would a lot of negative ones make you second-guess the product or service?

How would you gauge the seriousness of the problems presented in the negative ones?

Would a company responding to the bad reviews with apologies and customer service numbers, on that same forum where all could read their empathy and solutions, be enough to convince you that the company had handled the issue by the time you're reading them?

Ponder, ponder, ponder...

aaaand, moving on.

Let's say that out of 200 reviews from a plethora of sources, 40-50 are five-star happy with the company.

Another, eh, 30 or so are two- or three-star, because something went wrong, wrong enough to leave an iffy or downright bad taste in the reviewers' mouths.

The last 110-120? One-star reviews. With at least 10-20 of those saying they'd have left zero stars if the review forum allowed it.

Some of those one-stars may be several years old. Some may have since had their issue truly resolved, and never bothered to update their review or add to it. Some have issues that boil down to, "Okay, the customer clearly didn't understand the terms", or, "That's a crazy problem but I can't relate to caring about it because [insert personal preference/reason] here."

But if a whole load of those one-star reviews tend to speak up about the same types of problems, serious ones, ones you'd find bothersome or downright tragic, ones that would cost you money in some way or another, ones that make you further doubt the integrity of the company altogether, and many of them are as recent as the last few months...

Do I need to finish that sentence?

Hold up, BRB, I have to let the gut-dogs out, they're going absolutely batshit crazy. Must be a full moon!

Or just a disorganized, neglectful, or possibly purposely deceitful company.

The old saying says there’s a sucker born every minute.

Would your conscience be cool with being paid to be one, or to prey on them?

Advice:

My advice is pretty basic: before joining, signing, buying important things, do your diligent research and trust. your. gut.

I hope the above list of experiences helps guide you in doing both.

[rnbwrv]

“The Sims 4″ Gamer Review 6/10

Hello everyone! This is Rainbow Raven Jezell (he/him) with the initial major post of this tumblr, the intro & 1st gamer review. I hope you enjoy!

Welcome to the Rainbow Rave, home of the Rainbow Raven streaming community based from my twitch, twitch.tv/rnbwrvnjezell. Here I will be doing amateur game reviews. I am by no means an expert or even an experienced gamer. All of these are my own opinions. I am writing with the primary audience of new or non-gamers in mind, those who are interested in getting started gaming in-general or in different game genres / platforms than they are used to. Ultimately my goal is to get you thinking about what you enjoy about games and whether the games I review are worth your time and money.  

“The Sims 4” - 7 years after release, is the simmer dream still alive? …Eh yeah, if you believe in it enough- 6 out of 10 stars  

[Disclaimer: I play and stream on the PS4. I have multiple packs and kits of different varieties, but I do not own them all. I have owned “The Sims 4” since 2018, and it is the primary sims game that I have played as well as my primary game overall. I stream Sims 4 on Twitch through console 2-3 times a week.]

Gameplay- I’ll be putting my reviews into 3 categories that mean the most to me. The 1st of which is “gameplay,” and I say “gameplay” for lack of a better word. What I mean is the overall experience of the game, such as the main activities, side quests, actions, and diversity of things to do in the game. Is it complex or simple? But most importantly, does its content engage with the player to pull them in? “The Sims 4” is a “sandbox game.” There are aspirations, worlds, careers, and families to engage with / build up. However, there is no “story mode.” And it might be controversial to say, but I give “The Sims 4” 3 out of 3 stars for gameplay. I never lack for activities or things to do in this game. You are only limited by your imagination. There are so many player-created challenges that can keep one occupied for years. I don’t see this as lack of gameplay in the sims. I see the open nature of the sims as it’s strongest point. For me, it is a storytelling device, and I keep coming back to the sims to create unique sims and narratives. I return to many other simmers / content creators on twitch + youtube to watch their stories / series as well.    

Aesthetics- As all of these are subjective, aesthetics really are a personal preference. For me, I give “The Sims 4” 1.5 out of 3 stars for aesthetics. I like more realistic looking games personally. Overall, “The Sims 4” has a good look; the quirky nature and styles of the sims are realistic enough but campy in the right ways. However, it was knocked down in points due to the visuals not working often because of glitches and crashing. Top simmer news sites, other content creators, and myself can name multiple visual glitches that happen every time the game is played, breaking the emersion too much to avoid deceasing the quality of the game. Also, players with strong PCs can get custom content to make their sims look more realistic or more cartoon-like. Build and buy objects can also be downloaded, often for free or much less than EA sells “The Sims 4” DLCs. Custom content allows the game to become more personalized in gameplay and aesthetics. Sadly, a lot of PC high quality tech is needed to use this content plus console players, like myself, cannot get custom content at all. With a franchise as old and well-supported by a huge fan-base as the sims, the game should be fully playable and customizable for players of all ages (teen and up) on all platforms to enjoy the whole experience, running relatively-well.    

Enjoyment- This is the hardest one to rate for me. “The Sims 4” offers a sandbox experience like no other out right out. I constantly play the sims and, for the most part, enjoy the experience. However, the experience is by no means smooth. I give “The Sims 4” 1.5 out of 3 for enjoyment. “The Sims 4” has a huge fanbase with tons of content creators + storytellers + modders that are constantly inventing new ways to play and improve the game. The blank slate of no story mode with the backdrop of the sims worlds allows a wonderful individual playground on your platform while connecting you to a community of lovely simmers. If you love the idea of creating your own sims and growing their grandkids up for generations, “The Sims 4” is for you. If you like the idea of being left alone to provide care or inflict chaos on your sims while also having a huge base of fan ideas for gameplay, give this game a shot! However, to the other side, if the past two sentences don’t intrigue you, there might not be much for you in the sims. There is no direction for how to play from the game itself and sims can feel generic on console without a lot of imagination. From a larger view, the enjoyment of the game is largely knocked down by the constant crashing and game-breaking bugs that frequently prevent the storytelling that players are tying to portray. The lack of response from the sims team is concerning. Some apologies and explanations have been posted, but it’s unrealistic to expect the average player to constantly be turning in save files for bug inspection when everyday gameplay is prevented due to those issues. Larger social justice issues like bad skin tones and hair textures for sims of color still linger while pronouns have finally made the ��laundry list” too little too late in 2021. With DLC such as “The Sims 4: Knifty Knitting” less than a year old (July 2020) excluding non-binary sims + they/them pronouns, featuring “Lord and/or Lady of the Knits,” I fail to see the sims team living up to their proclamation of being super progressive in their support of the LGBTQIA+ community. Supporting a few LGBTQIA+ content creators and adding a trans flag to new trailers (Dream Home Decorator Game Pack, 2021) does not de-construct the gender binary in the game (language such as “boyfriend/girlfriend, male/female bodies, he/she” only pronouns). The sims team listens to some of the sims community, but whether it is EA or Maxis or something else that is blocking a deeper social justice dialogue is still unclear. Only time will tell if “The Sims 4” addresses the issues with an overhaul, but with leaders discussing 10-15 years of sims 4 while sims 5 is in process, I am not hopeful.        

Overall -  6 out of 10 stars. “The Sims 4” is worth buying, especially if you’re new to the game and if the game is on sale. With 3 points for each above category (9 total), I leave a single point for myself to award games if I definitely recommend them. However, I stand by 6/10 for “The Sims 4.” The game offers an experience like no other main simulation title out there right now, but the lack of forward planning and game-improvement focus leaves many with unfulfilled dreams 7 years after release. Some of the packs are worth the time and money, but sims content for the sake of content is becoming unplayable due to bugs. I recommend buying the packs that intrigue if they go on sale while leaving out the rest. Spend your money on other games to experience, “The Sims 4” will likely be here for you to come back to with us simmers trekking along (hopefully not) decades later.  

[wish-to-grow-a-garden]

So, I just finished playing Hello Neighbor and I'm here to give it my personal rating because reasons.

First off, I'll admit that the only reason I even was able to beat it was because I used walkthroughs. Without them, I never would have figured out half the shortcuts and mechanics and secrets (more on that later), but I just wanted to see how the game actually turned out in the end because most Youtubers I watched play it kinda gave up after like the 3rd version that got released. That being said...

Overall Game Rating: 6/10

So at its core this game had potential. I WANTED the final version of this game to be better than it was. Would it ever have been the best game ever? I highly doubt it. But it could have been much more noteworthy if it had just *functioned* better. I'm also fully aware that I'm several years late, but man I just need to give my discourse and opinions to someone who isn't 9 or a completely lost parent. Anyways, allow me to explain myself in the good old fashioned Tumblr way of bullets-

The Good

Physical design. Now, this is a completely personal opinion here, but I liked how the game looked. It was colorful, it had its own distinct style. There were very few occasions when I couldn't tell what something was, and most of the time those indistinguishables weren't remotely important. I also like how the writing in the game was scrambled to kinda make it fun and nonsensical, but you could still pretty much tell what it was meant to say.

Story! Guys, the main reason I came back to this game in the first place; the reason I really wanted to see it finished and see what happened in all those chapters that I never saw finished; was because I wanted to get more of the story. I wanted to know what happened, and while I'm still not entirely certain, I have several theories. And all the theories follow the same general track with a few basic deviations, so I'd say that the game did a pretty good job of getting it's focal points across.

The puzzel aspect. I like games that make me (when I'm actually playing seriously and not just playing to get through it) think. And I wasn't using the guide every step of the way, so I had a genuinely good time figuring out what items went to what, and what I could do with certain objects that I couldn't achieve with others. I think the overall idea of "hey, run around this dude's house and work out his overly complicated, Ikea-like home full of coniptions and contraptions" super fun.

Multiple ways to reach endings. Now, mainly this applied to Act 2 in my experience because Act 1 seemed pretty straightforward and Act 3 had me frustrated for so many days to the point where I couldn't really appreciate its options (more on that in a bit), but I'm sure there were deviating paths there as well. Point is, I saw 3 seperate ways of escaping the Neighbor's house in act 2, and I just sorta thought that was cool. And considering I'm playing for myself, and guiding (playing) two children through their own files, I managed to get two of those 3 escapes. The endings were the same, but still, it's cool.

The secrets and optional pathways. There were several rooms that I never actually managed to get into when i was playing through just because I wasn't secret I hunting. But I DID take notice of them, plus there were quite a few that I just happened to find my way into during my run arounds, and I explored because hey! Secrets! And I'm sure there was a ton of extra story material I missed because I neglected a lot of them, but I can appreciate a game that leaves its little hidden details as something you sort of have to work for. If I ever find the patience and the time one day, maybe I'll go back for them.

Audio warnings. Okay okay, so I was a big dummy and played through the first 2 Acts without any sound, and only plugged in headphones for the second half of Act 3. But once I did, having the music pick up in warning when the neighbor spotted me, or being able to hear the mannequins coming was very nice.

The minigames/cut scenes. And I'm not including the Fear rooms in this because I did not take anywhere near as much intrest or enjoyment out of those. I mean the things you were just mean to sorta run through. The bits where you could see the neighbor at his lowest. The bits that showed that maybe, maybe this dude that you've been cussing out the entire game is actually just some dude who had a really tough run, and just ended up snapping. The bits that kinda make you feel bad for barging into his home and shattering all his windows and just being a general dick. The bit at the very end got me especially- when he's trapped in the room by the shadow figure, and he sorta looks out the window at you, and then just stands dejectedly in the corner. I wanted to help him. I REALLY wanted to help him. I felt bad leaving.

The Bad

Limited functionality. Oh my lord, if this game hadn't been so effing glitchy the whole way through, I might have been able to give it a 7 or 8 out of 10. But it just...didn't. There were so many times when things would just vanish from my inventory and I'd have to reload, or the puzzle wouldn't solve the way it was meant to and I'd have to Macgyver my way around it. There were also several times where I would be trying to hide in a locker/closet, and my character would get stuck in the door of said locker/closet. Half the time it would get me caught, and half the time I'd have to button mash for several minutes before I could get free. The worst possible glitch I had during my whole experience was when I was trying to get up to the roof garden in Act 3. My walkthrough told me I had to get in the trolley and stop it just before a ledge to jump up. The problem is THE TROLLEY WOULDN'T STOP. Every time I tried, I'd either glitch through the front and get hit and die, or it would just completely break the train and it would just go into constant motion, not even making its programmed stops at the different stations.

Ridiculous enemy sightline triggers. Listen, Act 2 in particular was absolute HELL to get through the first time (and even unnecessarily difficult after I took the lids through it the 2nd and 3rd times) because the neighbor could be like 3 blocks down and inside his local "Murderous Psycos Anonymous" meeting, and yet the moment I step foot in his yard he's on a dead sprint to my location. And don't even get me STARTED on the mannequins in the Fear rooms. Their sightline triggers were so ridiculously unfair that if I hadn't had the sound triggers telling me they were coming, I never would have gotten past those rooms. But the sensitivity could have even been brushed off, if it were even remotely consistent. There were other times when I would be standing directly in front of the Neighbor, shining a flashlight in his eyes and staring him head on, and yet because I was crouched and slightly out of his sightline (this happened several times in the basement of Act 1.)

Pointless enemy boundaries. By this, I mean that the Neighbor is (apparently) meant to stop at the boundaires of his property when he's chasing you and you run off home. But he doesn't . In fact, quite often I couldn't get him to back off until I was actually physically in my house with the door closed.

Extremely unclear puzzle solutions. The main reason I opted to use the walkthroughs instead of working my way through the game myself? Because without them, it would have been damn near impossible. There were so many times that I was preforming the solution to a problem and I was just like "...really?". Requiring the player to interact with one of hundreds of completely repetative and indistinguishable paintings, having to glitch a shoe through a box to switch a lever, making a specific space match a painting on the wall to open a box that was down the hall and outside...it was just kind of ridiculous. I personally wouldn't have even guessed the the umbrellas could be used as floatation devices until maybe several hours into the game, if ever at all. When you have to many objects that seem unqiue but are actually just more props to toss around, it gets kinda hard to distinguish what is actually useful and what isn't.

The Iffy

The final boss. ...okay, I have to actually admit that I had a fun time being teeny and launching nerf darts and bottle rockets at the Neighbor. Especially after all the pain of getting through Act 2. (He actually didn't bother me much in Act 3.) But like...what was it? His household was weighing on his back or whatever. The reminders of his kids were causing him pain. Okay, okay, cool....but like...there wasn't any better setting for it? There was no better way to pull it off? I was legitimately just running around and doing things just to inconvenience the tall man in front of me. I died so many times just trying to work out the toaster puzzle until I got all...like, 600 umbrellas. I don't know, it was just strange execution.

The Fear Room Powerups. I didn't know the fear rooms were necessary. I didn't know they gave you powerups. Had I not read the walkthroughs, I never would have figured it out. And even AFTER I beat them, I didn't work out that I had power ups until last minute. There was no acknowledgment that I had gained a new power, save for the sneakily worded achievements. However, I did appreciate them while I had them. They let me Macgyver my way around even more.

The seemingly unexplorable. There were doors upon doors that I wanted to get through. And doors upon doors that seemed to have no actual entrances. No secret methods. No special actions. They were just doors. Taunting me. Is it possible I missed something? Absolutely, I'd bet on it. But all I'm saying is I ran around that house a lot in all three levels, and there were some things that I was just never able to work out.

The Conclusion

Hello Neighbor is a game for the patient and the crafty. I enjoyed it. I would have enjoyed it more if it were more functional and made even a lick of sense gameplay wise. But while it isn't anywhere near the best game I've ever played, it isn't the worst either. Its playable enough if you're willing to work around its defects. I'd suggest it for a rainy day, or an especially quarentined week.

[senseless-septic-shambles]

Despair - JSE fanfic

Summary: We haven’t seen a canon appearance of Jackieboy Man for like two years so... where has he been? 

Warnings: Uuuuh, it’s rather brutal. Angst. Implied torture, but no like gore or anything. 

Word count: 3,379

A/N: tumblr and a03 hate me this took so long to post.  Uh, excuse my German, I had to use online translators because I know like two words. So yeah. Enjoy! :) Also there is another part now: Boop!

He lost track of the time about five months into it, but he was sure he had been here at least double that amount. It was hard to tell here. There was no natural light, no way of telling how many days he had been trapped in the dark.

The food was drugged to keep him subdued – he knew that - but unless he starved there was nothing he could do about it. And he had given up caring before he had lost track of the time.

Four stone walls – a basement of sorts, perhaps? Jackie didn’t know. He just knew he couldn’t escape – he had tried enough times. Food, maybe three times a week, just dry bread and a little water.

And then he started visiting, about a month after his capture. The monster in the night. The creature in the dark. The glitch on the computer. He taunted Jackie, he laughed and glitched and told him about his friends. He reminded the former superhero that he was weak. That he was unable to protect his friends. That he had failed.

“I had to get rid of you to make my move, but I didn’t think it would be that easy,” the glitch would say, giggling. “And I killed him. I slit his throat – he was weak. Weak just like you.”

He would leave, leave Jackie in a deadly silence, a silence filled with thoughts and images of the things the creature had done to his friends filling his mind. He had failed them. He should have been there. This was all his fault.

The physical torture didn’t start until about four months after his capture. Until then, the monster had been content to laugh, to gloat, to watch the guilt cover Jackie’s face as he realised that his friends had been hurt and it was all his fault. But then he got bored.

Jackie was used to pain – it was part of his job description as a superhero, after all. But this glitch seemed to know just how to make the pain unbearable, to leave him weeping and weak after each visit.

He lost track of time not long after. The pain often caused him to black out, and he didn’t know for how long. The food came more sporadically as well and he wondered if maybe that was part of the torture – to disorient him, to make him lose track of what day it was.

Pain was the only constant here, and he was beginning to lose hope he would ever be free.

Then, one day things changed.

Doors clanging and the sound of footsteps jerked Jackie from a fitful sleep. He pressed himself against the wall, alert and scared – scared that it would be the glitch, scared that it wouldn’t be. Life had gone on so long without change he wasn’t sure if he wanted change.

His door was pulled open and he shrank back, heart thumping and the cuts and burns, fresh or otherwise, throbbed painfully. But it wasn’t the glitch – instead, a body was flung into the room and the door slammed shut again.

Jackie stayed still for a long time, waiting. Waiting for the glitch to return, for the motionless figure on the ground to move. The figure was dressed in a white coat, green hair a startling colour in the dullness of his cell. And he seemed familiar.

When nothing happened for a long time, Jackie slowly moved. He pushed himself up, crouching low and in a fighting stance – his muscle memory unable to forget the years of training he had gone through despite being stuck here for so long. He dropped down beside the other man and examined him.

It was Henrik. The good doctor – his friend. He wasn’t sure what to think. On the one hand, he was no longer alone. He could get news of what was actually happening with his friends. His fading memories of a life before the pain were true.

But at the same time, his friend was here with him. His friend was stuck in this hell. And Jackie would rather he be stuck here for the rest of his life than have any of his friends go through even a few days of what he had.

He crouched down beside Henrik, rolling him over and checking his pulse. He was alive – but didn’t seem to be in good condition. His throat was bruised,  his skin pale, his breaths shallow.

“He –” His voice was rough and caught in his throat – he had barely said anything for who knows how long. He had only been screaming. “Henrik?” he managed finally, the sound barely a whisper. The doctor shifted, muttering something in German under his breath. Jackie shook him gently.

             He suddenly shot up, shouting loudly. “Nein! Lass mich allein!” Jackie scrambled back, the sudden movement sending a shaft of fear rushing through him. The two men sat pressed against opposite walls, staring at each other.

             “Jackie?” Henrik asked after a moment of silence. “Is – is that you? Nein. It cannot be.”

             “Hey, Henrik,” Jackie rasped, trying to force his lips into a smile. It was more challenging than he had anticipated – there wasn’t much to smile about here so he was out of practice.

             “How are you alive?”

             “Honestly, I – I don’t know,” Jackie admitted, looking down. “He doesn’t want me dead, I guess.”

             Silence fell between them. Jackie wanted to ask questions, to ask if Jack was alright – if he was alive or if the glitch had actually killed him. If Chase and Stacy had sorted out their differences. If Marvin was any better at magic.

             Tears were pricking his eyes – how much had he missed while stuck in this dark hole? Did his friends even remember him?

             “Jackie?” Henrik asked, moving across the room. He sat down beside Jackie and laid a hand on the superhero’s shoulder. He flinched away, unused to gentle touches. “What has he done to you,” the doctor muttered.

             “I – I’m sorry,” Jackie said.

             “What for?” The question took Jackie by surprise – what for? For everything. It was all his fault, he had got his friends hurt, he was the reason Henrik was here. If he had been there to protect his friends. If he had fought against the glitch harder. If he had done something more. It was his fault.

             “I – it’s my fault,” he said softly. “I should have fought him harder. I should have done something.” And he was crying, tears running silently down his face.

             “Of course it’s not your fault,” Henrik said. “He’s too powerful for even you to take on alone.” He shook his head, running a hand through his hair and rubbing his neck. “I still can’t believe you’re alive.”

             “How – how long has it been?” Jackie asked softly, ignoring the first part of Henrik’s comment. Of course it was his fault. Hadn’t the glitch made that clear enough?

             “Almost a year.”

             A year. Almost a year of this darkness, of this pain, of this hell. How much longer could he last?

             “What happened?” he asked, almost whispering the words. A lot could happen in a year – were all his friends still alive? Or had his weakness caused them pain as well?

“A.. a lot,” Henrik said quietly. He ran a hand across his neck again and fell silent for a long moment. Jackie felt a moment of fear – was it really that bad?

“Chase… well… he and Stacy had a divorce. It – it was messy. He… well, I had to stitch up a hole in his head. Self-inflicted.”

Jackie lowered his eyes. He should have been there for his friend. He should have been there to support him, to help him through his time of need.

“Is he okay?” he asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

“Not really. But he’s alive.”

The silence fell again, and Jackie tried to word the question he had. Or bring up the courage to ask it.

“A – and… and Jack?” he said quietly. “He said he had…” he trailed off, not wanting to put into words what that monster had told him.

Henrik muttered under his breath in his mother language.

“That monster tried. Not long you vanished. We were all preoccupated, no one noticed what was happening until it was too late. He… nearly died.” The doctor closed his eyes, as if remembering what had happened. “I managed to save him but… that monster didn’t give up. And this time I – I…” he trailed off, looking down at his hands. Jackie noticed suddenly that they were shaking.

Had something happened to Jack? He should have been there. He should have been there to protect his friend, to keep him from harm. That was his job and he had failed it. He had failed.

“I – is he alright?” he asked quietly.

“I… I don’t know,” Henrik said, seeming to be pushing the words out. “I couldn’t… I couldn’t save him… He was going to die and all I could do was put him into a medical coma. I don’t… I don’t know if it worked. Or if he’ll ever wake up. I – I should have done more!”

Silence fell again. Jackie wasn’t sure how to answer – obviously it wasn’t Henrik’s fault. It was Jackie’s – if he had been there… If he had done something more…

“What now?” Henrik asked. The words pulled Jackie back to reality, to the hard stones under him, to the pain still piercing through him. He closed his eyes, a shudder running through him. It would only be a matter of time before the glitch returned.

“We survive,” he said quietly.

“No,” Henrik said after a pause. “We escape.”

Jackie glanced up at him, shaking his head. He had thought like that, once. He had been cocky and brave, throwing himself at whatever the glitch sent his way, so sure that he would get out.

But a year had passed. Why would they have more of a chance now?

“He’s too powerful,” he said quietly. “We can’t escape. I’m sorry, Henrik. I should have done more. But you’re stuck here with me now.”

Henrik looked over at him, a deep sadness in his eyes. Jackie couldn’t meet his gaze – he looked far too similar to the glitch.

“Jackie,” he said gently. “We will get out. I promise, with two of us here we have more of a chance. We won’t be here for long.”

Jackie didn’t answer, just stared at the floor. He didn’t allow himself to hope, not here. Not after what he had been through. But maybe they could get out. Or at least survive for just a little longer.

~*~

             Nine months. Nine months and Jackie could tell Henrik had almost lost hope. They sat together in one of the few moments the glitch gave them together, when he wasn’t tormenting the other. Back to back, pressed up against each other, wanting the security of the other’s presence.

             They were quiet, which wasn’t unusual. Talking wasn’t always needed, they shared the same pain, they understood each other without needing words. Nine months being trapped in a cell brought you closer than you ever thought you could be.

             “What are we going to do?” Jackie asked softly. He often asked that, wanting to hear Henrik’s optimism. Wanting to think that maybe there was a chance for hope. But after nine months, Henrik’s optimism was lacking.

             “I don’t know,” he said softly, for the first time – usually he could think of some kind of plan. “I – I don’t know.”

             The words felt like a punch to Jackie’s gut. Henrik always had a plan, he was always the one giving Jackie hope, if only a little. To hear him so… broken hurt Jackie more than anything the glitch could do to him.

             “I think he’s distracted,” he said, after a long silence. “He’s planning something… either with us or with the community. I – I don’t know what but last time he was this distracted you showed up.”

             Henrik muttered a curse.

             “We have to stop him before he can get anyone else,” he said. Jackie agreed – the thought of another of his friends sharing this hellhole with him terrified him.

             “But what can we do?” he asked. “How can we stop him.”

             “We escape,” Henrik said finally. “If he’s distracted we can come up with a plan. We can slip past him while he’s focused on the community. We can do something.”

             “Do you have a plan?” Jackie asked, shifting to glance over his shoulder. Henrik shrugged.

             “Not yet…” he said slowly, which to Jackie said that he was coming up with a plan. He settled back down, leaning his aching body against his friend and closing his eyes.

             “We’ll do it, Jackie,” the doctor said quietly. Jackie didn’t answer, his body overcome by exhaustion. At least Henrik was sounding more hopeful. Maybe they would be able to escape.

             Their plan was put in place the next day. Using the long ago shattered frames of his glasses, Henrik had fashioned a lockpick. They hadn’t been able to use it, for fear of the glitch noticing, but with him distracted there was a chance. And, as Henrik had put it “What do we have to lose?” It was a last ditch effort, a final attempt for freedom. If it didn’t work, there was no hope.

             Fear and nervousness curled in Jackie’s chest as he watched Henrik slowly jiggle the lock. He sucked in a breath as the lock clicked and Henrik slowly pushed the door open. But he refused to get too excited – he had escaped from his cell before. The glitch always returned him.

             They stepped out together, watching each other’s backs. Slowly, they made their way through the damp halls of their prison, searching for a way out. Jackie’s heart was beating so fast – what if they did it? What if they did escape?

             He could go home.

             They rounded a corner and saw the stairs, rising up – high into freedom. The two men exchanged a look and began to make their way up, slowly, nervously, both fighting back the urge to break into a run.

             Jackie’s leg was aching, it still wasn’t healed from when the glitch had broken it about a week ago. He was beginning to breathe quickly, only after a few steps. Once he could have bounded up those stairs without even thinking about it – now they seemed endless.

             They reached the top of the steps and found themselves in another long hall – but this time Jackie could see light at the end of it. A soft breeze flew through the hall, causing goose bumps to pickle Jackie’s skin.

             “The end,” Henrik whispered beside him and the urge to run grew stronger in Jackie. They moved as quickly as they dared, hurrying down the hall. Jackie was nervous, his gut twisting and turning as he tried to push back the hope that was rising in him. They were so close.

             The exit came into view – it seemed to come out under what seemed like a bridge. Distant noises came from above – cars rushing past, people talking – normal life. Jackie had never made it this far.

             Henrik suddenly broke into a run and Jackie scrambled to follow him. If they could just get out, just get to some form of population they would be safe. The glitch wouldn’t dare follow them there. They were so close.

             Jackie’s heart was beating quickly as he ran, fighting the stabbing pain of his leg, fighting his exhaustion, pushing his body. Henrik burst out into the air and Jackie was about to follow him.

             With a sharp flash of pain, his leg buckled and he tumbled to the ground with a cry. Henrik turned back and an alarm blared through the underground complex. With a sickening thud a barred door slammed into place.

             Jackie stumbled to his feet, lunging forward in an effort to escape before the door closed. But it was too late.

             “No!” he cried, gripping the bars. He was so close. So close to freedom. So close to escaping. Henrik grabbed his hand from the other side, his eyes roving around the door.

             “We can open it,” he said, sounding panicked. Jackie nodded, searching for any sign of opening on his side. But a noise caught his attention, a noise that filled him with dread. A giggle, a high-pitched, insane giggle.

             The glitch was coming from him.

             They didn’t have time. The glitch would come for him, and then he would go after Henrik. They would be back to where they had begun and they would be punished.

             “Go!” he said suddenly, trying not to think about what that meant.

             “Nein! I am not leaving you, Jackie,” Henrik said, his face full of fear and alarm.

             “You have to go! Please Henrik!” Jackie said, speaking quickly. “I’ll hold him off. Get out of here! Please!” Tears were starting to fall again – he was so close. So close to freedom, so close to leaving behind the pain and despair. So close and yet he wasn’t going to escape. “Please.”

             “I – I. No. No I’m not leaving you. Wir gehen zusammen. I can’t let you face him alone.”

             “I can’t get out!” Jackie shouted. Maybe he could bear it a little better if he knew Henrik wasn’t trapped with him. “Just go!”

             Henrik stepped back, eyes wide.

             “Jackie –”

             “GO!” the superhero shouted. With one last hesitation, Henrik turned and ran, stumbling over the uneven ground and vanishing from Jackie’s view. At the same time, something grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head back, bringing tears to his eyes and a gasp of pain.

             He was thrown to the ground, the glitch standing over him. Shakily, he tried to push himself up, tried to fight, but the glitch kicked at his broken leg and he screamed, pain flashing through his body.

             He gritted his teeth, remembering the look of despair Henrik had given him as he ran off. Remembering all the taunts and accusations the glitch had thrown at him. Remembering how he had been too weak last time – he couldn’t this time. He had to buy Henrik some time.

             So, leaning heavily against the wall, he struggled to his feet. The glitch just smiled, moving in a way a human shouldn’t be able to.

             “What do you think will happen to your friend,” he said mockingly. “I’ve left him a gift – a trojan horse.” That horrible giggle filled the room as the glitch spun his knife, flickering in front of Jackie’s gaze.

             “You won’t win,” he panted. “They will defeat you.”

             “Will they?” the glitch said. “They’re weak and blind! All of them. And they will all die.”

             Jackie gritted his teeth and lunged, his fist in a ball. The glitch flickered, catching his hand. Jackie let out a scream of pain as his hand was bent backwards. He was forced down, his vision flickering from the pain.

             The glitch kicked him again and he let out a gasp of air – sure his ribs had been broken. Then a cold metal was touched to his neck and he looked up to see the glitch, crouching at his level, his knife at Jackie’s throat

             “You’re just my toy,” he giggled, and Jackie felt his blood run cold. Why did he ever think he could fight against this monster? Why did he ever try?

             But Henrik had escaped. Henrik was free. Henrik didn’t have to go through the pain and horror of the last nine months. Henrik was free.

             So he looked the glitch in the eye – not caring for the consequences.

             “Never,” he hissed and spat.

             The pain that came was expected. The glitch let out a hiss of anger and buried the knife into Jackie’s side. He slumped to the ground, gripping the wound. It wasn’t fatal – the glitch knew better than that. But it hurt.              He could do nothing but curl in a ball as the glitch continued to rain blows on him, kicks landing all over his body and pain becoming his only thought.

             But Henrik had escaped. Henrik was free. And Jackie could live at least a little longer with that knowledge.

[jamesdaividhunt]

written document

Jamie Baulcombe-hunt

My final project is based on my love of sailing and the structure of it is based from “The Voyage of the James Caird”, a story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and 5 companions, who in 1916 undertook a voyage of 1300 kilometres, on the high sea, to get assistance for the rest of Sir Ernest Shackleton team, the rest of his crew are stranded on Elephant Island as a result of their failed Trans-Antarctic expedition. Shackleton and a team of 5 sailed in a lifeboat only 22.5 feet through 60 feet high waves and powerful hurricanes, this voyage took 16 days and they did all they could to survive the sea, they were willing to risk their own lives to get help for the rest of their team, which they did, they got to the mainland and found help for the rest, these six men saved the whole crew with a modified rowboat and I admire their courage. I chose the story because of my interest in sailing, which is a hobby of mine and I wanted to animate something that means a lot to me.

What I did last year was a rough draft of what I wanted the animation to do and look like. This was a good time for experimenting and discovering what works and what doesn’t, such as the layout I originally chose. I was going to use both 3D and 2D in my animation for the layout, however due to the lack of appropriate software available for me to use outside of classes and a short timeframe I decided after the trail run during the 1st semester, it was not going to work out the way I was hoping. I created the boat, water and the goblet platform using the 3D software Maya. As for the characters and all the moving parts inside the boat, such as the rigging and the rudder, they were to be created using After Effects. this is what the original idea was but now I changed it to make it all 3D. The way I want to display this is by having the focus on the boat and the sea, to demonstrate how rough and dangerous it can be.

I completed the structure and build of the first version of my boat in my first semester and I will be using the same one for my final project, it will have two sails that will move around to the wind, this is to make it appear that there is wind. I will also add animation to the rigging and the rudder because they will be in constant contact with the characters. The rudder is located at the back of the boat and is used to help steer the boat in the right direction. The boat will be moving in all directions, bobbing around due to the high seas, this will be where I animate the motion of the boat and I will be using multiple cameras for the whole thing because I wish to get close ups of the characters at different angles as well as other shots of the boat at all different angles too.

As for the water my idea was to make a cloth effect that will move to objects going up and down underneath it, this way was easier to create due to the simplicity of it and yet it was creative and a different way of displaying the water effects. I have researched and viewed many versions of water, mostly in pictures and I wanted to create my own version. To make the ripples in the water I created multiple different shapes and had them placed underneath, I gave each of them animation and at different speeds they went up and down pushing on the water creating a different ripple each time. I moulded different and odd forms as my shapes and a couple of spheres, these were also made to be invisible so that if any of the shapes came through they wouldn’t interfere with the project. The idea seemed like it was a little farfetched and that it might not work, but it actually work very well and look great and it was a unique way of displaying it, which is what I wanted.

My original idea for my characters was to create them using either shapes or a simplistic look, as in basic construction, this was because at the time I thought of making them similar to their surroundings (murky and grey, possibly black and white), and that I would give the ones that move or need to be noticed one faded colour when they are in motion. However this original idea did not sit with me for the lack of style would have made them more noticeable and I really didn’t like the idea, so I altered it and gave my character a makeover, now they have their own unique style and look. I kept there faces blank because I’d like to have them express themselves with there bodies, show a new way of  expressing themselves. This new form and there new look is much better and I love how they came out. Now that they are done in sketch format I will make them in 3D Maya, model and animate along with the boat and water.

When It was getting close to the end of the first semester I hit a bad patch and was off for a number of days due to illness for various reasons and missed quite a bit of classes and fell behind so I had to get extra time to do my work and catch up. This was close to Christmas so time in university was very limited and I had to work in the library, where the internet was not very good and caused a lot of problems. Due to the limited time, bad internet, glitches and stress I was unable to complete my test run to the standard I wanted and I had many problems in presentation. I was honestly disappointed with it but it was a test run and it showed me that it is difficult to create an animation that is both 3D and 2D let alone trying to combine them into one piece.

The second semester was going on smoothly for I knew what went wrong last time and I knew what to do to change and perfect it. However due to unfortunate circumstances, my time to do my work in university was stopped by the sudden hit by the corona virus which led to the university being completely shut down. This caused a great issue for me because I could only do my university work on campus and everything was closed, even the library. This left me stuck and I even tried installing the programs on my computers at home. Maya seemed to have installed and was working fine- however I found a great number of program functions such as skeletons and render were not working. I tried to re-install the other programs I needed but none of my computers had the capacity to install all of them, not even one program. This was due to all their large sizes of the program. This left me stuck but I was not the only one with this issue and due to this the lecturers gave us a plan B. This was to work on our Tumblr and send that to be marked instead of the animation. I was really disappointed that I could not do my animation since I put so much thought into it, but I am grateful that my lecturers found a way around the issues so that we could all submit something for our final year.

Over all I think my work has gone extremely well despite all of the issues I have had. With the Covid 19 epidemic I was unable to complete my final project, but even so I was able to get a great deal more on my Tumblr to explain how my work has gone. I enjoyed researching about The Voyage of the James Caird and all the different styles that were used for paintings. I am happy with all the help and support from the university and my lecturers in these tough and difficult times. If I hadn’t got the aid and support I don’t think I would have been able to do the amount that I have done. If I was able to do this again I would invest in a laptop or computer with a larger storage space for all the programs I needed. I would have look more into The Voyage of the James Caird and I would have looked for further information about the voyage itself including reports/diaries from the time.