#the first ever digital map of Mars | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

nasa · 4 years ago

Text

Amazing Earth: Satellite Images from 2020

In the vastness of the universe, the life-bringing beauty of our home planet shines bright. During this tumultuous year, our satellites captured some pockets of peace, while documenting data and striking visuals of unprecedented natural disasters. As 2020 comes to a close, we’re diving into some of the devastation, wonders, and anomalies this year had to offer.

NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites and instruments on the International Space Station unravel the complexities of the blue marble from a cosmic vantage point. These robotic scientists orbit our globe constantly, monitoring and notating changes, providing crucial information to researchers here on the ground.

Take a glance at 2020 through the lens of NASA satellites:

A Delta Oasis in Southeastern Kazakhstan

Seen from space, the icy Ili River Delta contrasts sharply with the beige expansive deserts of southeastern Kazakhstan.

When the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired this natural-color image on March 7, 2020, the delta was just starting to shake off the chill of winter. While many of the delta’s lakes and ponds were still frozen, the ice on Lake Balkhash was breaking up, revealing swirls of sediment and the shallow, sandy bed of the western part of the lake.

The expansive delta and estuary is an oasis for life year round. Hundreds of plant and animal species call it home, including dozens that are threatened or endangered.

Fires and Smoke Engulf Southeastern Australia

A record-setting and deadly fire season marred the beginning of the year in Australia. Residents of the southeastern part of the country told news media about daytime seeming to turn to night, as thick smoke filled the skies and intense fires drove people from their homes.

This natural-color image of Southeastern Australia was acquired on January 4, 2020, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. The smoke has a tan color, while clouds are bright white. It is likely that some of the white patches above the smoke are pyrocumulonimbus clouds—clouds created by the convection and heat rising from a fire.

Nighttime Images Capture Change in China

A team of scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and Universities Space Research Association (USRA) detected signs of the shutdown of business and transportation around Hubei province in central China. As reported by the U.S. State Department, Chinese authorities suspended air, road, and rail travel in the area and placed restrictions on other activities in late January 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the region.

A research team analyzed images of Earth at night to decipher patterns of energy use, transportation, migration, and other economic and social activities. Data for the images were acquired with the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA–NASA Suomi NPP satellite (launched in 2011) and processed by GSFC and USRA scientists. VIIRS has a low-light sensor—the day/night band—that measures light emissions and reflections. This capability has made it possible to distinguish the intensity, types, and sources of lights and to observe how they change.

The Parched Paraná River

Though a seemingly serene oasis from above, there is more to this scene than meets the eye. On July 3, 2020, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this false-color image of the river near Rosario, a key port city in Argentina. The combination of shortwave infrared and visible light makes it easier to distinguish between land and water. A prolonged period of unusually warm weather and drought in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina dropped the Paraná River to its lowest water levels in decades. The parched river basin has hampered shipping and contributed to an increase in fire activity in the delta and floodplain.

The drought has affected the region since early 2020, and low water levels have grounded several ships, and many vessels have had to reduce their cargo in order to navigate the river. With Rosario serving as the distribution hub for much of Argentina’s soy and other farm exports, low water levels have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses for the grain sector, according to news reports.

Historic Fires Devastate the U.S. Pacific Coast

Climate and fire scientists have long anticipated that fires in the U.S. West would grow larger, more intense, and more dangerous. But even the most experienced among them have been at a loss for words in describing the scope and intensity of the fires burning in West Coast states during September 2020.

Lightning initially triggered many of the fires, but it was unusual and extreme meteorological conditions that turned some of them into the worst conflagrations in the region in decades.

Throughout the outbreak, sensors like the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite collected daily images showing expansive, thick plumes of aerosol particles blowing throughout the U.S. West on a scale that satellites and scientists rarely see.

This image shows North America on September 9th, 2020, as a frontal boundary moved into the Great Basin and produced very high downslope winds along the mountains of Washington, Oregon, and California. The winds whipped up the fires, while a pyrocumulus cloud from the Bear fire in California injected smoke high into the atmosphere. The sum of these events was an extremely thick blanket of smoke along the West Coast.

The Sandy Great Bahama Bank

Though the bright blues of island waters are appreciated by many from a sea-level view, their true beauty is revealed when photographed from space. The underwater masterpiece photographed above is composed of sand dunes off the coast of the Bahamas.

The Great Bahama Bank was dry land during past ice ages, but it slowly submerged as sea levels rose. Today, the bank is covered by water, though it can be as shallow as two meters (seven feet) deep in places. The wave-shaped ripples in the image are sand on the seafloor. The curves follow the slopes of the dunes, which were likely shaped by a fairly strong current near the sea bottom. Sand and seagrass are present in different quantities and depths, giving the image it’s striking range of blues and greens.

This image was captured on February 15th, 2020, by Landsat 8, whose predecessor, Landsat 7, was the first land-use satellite to take images over coastal waters and the open ocean. Today, many satellites and research programs map and monitor coral reef systems, and marine scientists have a consistent way to observe where the reefs are and how they are faring.

Painting Pennsylvania Hills

Along with the plentiful harvest of crops in North America, one of the gifts of Autumn is the gorgeous palette of colors created by the chemical transition and fall of leaves from deciduous trees.

The folded mountains of central Pennsylvania were past peak leaf-peeping season but still colorful when the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite passed over on November 9, 2020. The natural-color image above shows the hilly region around State College, Pennsylvania overlaid on a digital elevation model to highlight the topography of the area.

The region of rolling hills and valleys is part of a geologic formation known as the Valley and Ridge Province that stretches from New York to Alabama. These prominent folds of rock were mostly raised up during several plate tectonic collisions and mountain-building episodes in the Ordovician Period and later in the creation of Pangea—when what is now North America was connected with Africa in a supercontinent. Those events created the long chain of the Appalachians, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world.

A Dangerous Storm in the Night

Ominous and looming, a powerful storm hovered off the US coastline illuminated against the dark night hues.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on NOAA-20 acquired this image of Hurricane Laura at 2:20 a.m. Central Daylight Time on August 26, 2020. Clouds are shown in infrared using brightness temperature data, which is useful for distinguishing cooler cloud structures from the warmer surface below. That data is overlaid on composite imagery of city lights from NASA’s Black Marble dataset.

Hurricane Laura was among the ten strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States. Forecasters had warned of a potentially devastating storm surge up to 20 feet along the coast, and the channel might have funneled that water far inland. It did not. The outcome was also a testament to strong forecasting and communication by the National Hurricane Center and local emergency management authorities in preparing the public for the hazards.

A Windbreak Grid in Hokkaido

From above, the Konsen Plateau in eastern Hokkaido offers a remarkable sight: a massive grid that spreads across the rural landscape like a checkerboard, visible even under a blanket of snow. Photographed by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8, this man-made design is not only aesthetically pleasing, it’s also an agricultural insulator.

The strips are forested windbreaks—180-meter (590-foot) wide rows of coniferous trees that help shelter grasslands and animals from Hokkaido’s sometimes harsh weather. In addition to blocking winds and blowing snow during frigid, foggy winters, they help prevent winds from scattering soil and manure during the warmer months in this major dairy farming region of Japan.

Shadows from a Solar Eclipse

Formidable, rare, and awe-inspiring — the first and only total solar eclipse of 2020 occurred on December 14, with the path of totality stretching from the equatorial Pacific to the South Atlantic and passing through southern Argentina and Chile as shown in the lower half of the image above. The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 16 (GOES-16) captured these images of the Moon’s shadow crossing the face of Earth.

The “path of totality” (umbral path) for the eclipse was roughly 90 kilometers (60 miles) wide and passed across South America from Saavedra, Chile, to Salina del Eje, Argentina. While a total eclipse of the Sun occurs roughly every 18 months, seeing one from any particular location on Earth is rare. On average, a solar eclipse passes over the same parcel of land roughly every 375 years. The next total solar eclipse will occur on December 4, 2021 over Antarctica, and its next appearance over North America is projected for April 8, 2024.

For additional information and a look at more images like these visit NASA’s Earth Observatory.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

#NASA #Earth #science #earth pictures #planet earth #solar eclipse #eclipse #oceans #solar system #planets #space #satellite #stunning photos

2K notes · View notes

ellsbclls · 4 years ago

Note

oh !!! uhm, 🥺💓💗😳😐 wow this'll be ??? confusing ??? but ofc peter or tom and reader <33 (you're so amazing omg - that peter blurb was just astounding !!!)

this... got a little sad in the middle, but is pretty cute nonetheless. thank you for making my heart go splat on the pavement over this

WARNINGS: mentions of blood, injuries, burns, and hospitals.

send me the last 5 emojis you used and 2 characters and I’ll try to write a very short shit-story inspired by those (something like a few sentences long or just a short conversation)

"Oh, my poor baby." You cooed, dotingly sweeping damp, chestnut tendrils from his forehead. He hummed lowly in response, chasing your hand as it retreated from the sweat-slick expanse.

Christine had called you no second sooner than it happened — a small mishap in the midst of production sent Tom grappling for his harness during a particularly intricate stunt. Panic seized your every thought from that point forward, his reassurances from that very morning bouncing off your skull like a cruel schoolyard taunt, reminding you that "I’m Spider-Man!" and "This is child's play compared to Far From Home!"

Child's play your ass.

He would never understand how fortune favored, constantly dangling him over the edge before reeling him back to safety, and each incident made him more careless. Sloppier. It aggravated you, how he could wager his safety with such ease, summoning not only irritation but an evergrowing chasm of love, prone to love him more with each of his little details you discover.

Seeing as the tabloids had yet to sink their talons into the prospective headline, you suspected nothing more than a couple of cuts and bruises.

You were not prepared for the gash that decorated the plane of his left shoulder blade, an angry, crimson smile marring what was once smooth, sun-kissed skin. The engraving mapped out his accident in vivid detail, so it wasn't hard to imagine the depth of his fall.

Flittering across the slope of his shoulder, you made light work of his soiled gauze, digits carefully peeling the tape from his skin. At least the set nurse had sorted most of the damage, leaving you with nothing more than routine clean up every 8 hours or so.

The two of you were remarkably close for people with wildly opposite career paths — Tom and his routine injuries was the golden string of fate that tethered you together.

“You know,” his tone wreaked of impending bullshit, failing to shock you once it was uttered. “This still isn’t as bad as Far From Home.”

Linoleum tile that trailed up the burn unit’s spacious halls, fluorescent lights bouncing off their ivory reflections with a blinding vengeance, and an odor so sterile that it splashed against your chest like acid reflux — the memory curdled each time you revisited it, somehow smudging the line between reality and delusion with each passing day.

You remember how sleep ambushed you in the wee hours of that night, but not before you tested the limits of your imagination, rifling through a curated supercut of the worst possible outcomes imaginable. For hours. You were so tired that the doctor had to prod you awake with the back of his pencil, and even amidst your drowsy daze, your breath still hitched at the mention of pyrotechnics, and how fortunate your boyfriend was to be on the more forgiving end of the flames.

You remembered the dismal glint in his eyes each time he looked down at the length of his arms, glistening with topical creams and singed with fat, gnarled stripes. You swear that it sneaks up once in a while, when he thinks you’re not looking, projecting the memory of his damaged limbs after years of successful recovery.

Somehow, you weren’t able to recall the memory as endearingly as him, and you coughed up a dry laugh in response.

But he was right.

You wouldn’t dare imagine how much worse this could have been. So you don’t — opting to channel all of your concern into the hesitant swipes of alcohol you pressed against his injury, recoiling with each pained hiss that followed. “I know. I know, my love. I’m almost done.” You winced at the way the pad returned heavier with each pass, saturated with more and more crimson residue. “I’ve got a lot of surface area to work with.”

“Are you gonna kiss it better, when it's all cleaned up?” He teased, glancing over his shoulder to gauge your reaction.

“You couldn’t pay me to kiss this, Tom.” Scrunching your nose at the very thought, you scrapped the alcohol wipe in lieu of the medicated cream, something thick and wreaking of menthol that his nurse promised would help.

“Wow,” he sucked his teeth, letting sarcasm drip from his playful quip. “I guess I failed to realize you don’t love me anymore.”

"You're something else," You managed between laughs. Despite your overwhelming compassion, temptation hissed just below your ear, with a cloying proposal that only required the back of your hand and his vulnerable gash. Somewhere between the wicked thought and the action itself, your hand shifted to the spot beside it, swatting his shoulder with a high pitched shriek from his lips. Your laughter only intensified, digits curling around his bicep to keep yourself from doubling over. "Don't move an inch, I'm just gonna grab some more gauze."

Rising to your feet, you playfully bump your hip against his side and set your sights on the bag of first-aid supplies unfurled on your kitchen counter, but you're brought to a sudden halt as his fingers curl around the curve of your wrist, pulling you back into his lap.

In search of his caramel hues, your incredulous gaze is hampered by his own, reverent stare. There's something warm in those honey-dipped hues, kindling with embers of an emotion you can't quite put your finger on, but inviting nonetheless. His hand reaches up to cradle the side of your face, thumb climbing the high planes of your cheek, and with an unwavering timbre he confesses, "Thank you... for taking care of me."

"It's no biggie," You somehow manage to choke out, lungs seized in a stronghold only his affections could enact. It was miraculous that you could even form coherent thoughts, let alone sentences. "I'll take care of you as long as you let me."

Your words coax a love-lorn simper from the corner of his lip, canine's digging into the swell of his lower lip. "It's definitely a biggie, Y/N." his voice lilts at your own words, enamored by your modesty. "No one's ever made me feel as good as you do, and I just want you to know that I appreciate it. From the bottom of my heart."

The mere mention of it prompts you to trace the fabric right above his beating appendage, finding solace in the way it thumps against your palm. His heart, yours to lay claim, as simply as yours belongs to him. You attempt to shy away from the very thought by nuzzling into his palm. "Well, then, it appears that a raise is in order. What, for all my hard work?" You try to lighten the air with an attempt at humor, one you tack onto by tapping your finger against your unoccupied cheek, silently requesting a kiss.

Though, he's three steps ahead of you — sandwiching your face between two sturdy palms, he pulls you up to press a lingering kiss to yours. It's indulgent, and warm, and heavy with a floodgate of love and gratitude that he couldn't possibly put into words. He was an actor, after all, not an author.

You lose yourself in the dizzying trist, encircling your own fingers around his forearms, until you remembered your goal prior. It was nearly impossible, tearing yourself away, but admittedly for the greater good. "Let me finish patching you up. Then I'll kiss it better."

#tom holland blurb #tom holland imagine #tom holland x reader #tom holland oneshot #tom holland x reader blurb #djsbfjhdbfsdjkgbhdksjbghjkdsg i honestly couldn't bring myself to use the actual cherry incident #bc my heart is not strong enough to watch that one interview again #he loOKED SO GOOD #mine*

110 notes · View notes

sneezefiction · 4 years ago

Text

untouchable | vi

Atsumu x Reader

desc: in which an accidental run-in with pro volleyball player, Atsumu Miya, at a 7/11 leads to a strangers-to-lovers situation… but the catch is, you have no idea that he’s famous.

warnings: slight language, anxiety

wc: 6.6k

part 5 ⚬ part 6 ⚬ part 7

untouchable m.list

—

Recap:

And for the first half of this year you found yourself falling in love. Falling for this second glance of a man.

So finding out that Izumi Kenji had a partner was a punch to the gut.

Reaching for his hand that summer was a defining moment for you. The way he snatched his hand away from yours would have knocked all the air out of your lungs if you’d had any breath to spare.

—

Laughter echoes off the sides of buildings as you make your way past food stalls and restaurants. It’s warm. A gentle breeze tussles his hair, different strands catching purple and orange light from the store signs.

There are several things that are begging to hold your attention right now.

A new café to your right is stringing a “Grand Opening” banner across its shop doors. Bike bells ring off in the distance, the wheels gently thrumming against dusty cobblestone. Groups of teenagers snicker as they pass you by, their voices carefree and teasing. Two dogs tread loyally next to their owners on the other side of the street, their claws clicking as their paws hit the pavement.

But even among all of those distractions and details, all you can see is him. The mop of messy hair atop his head. His umber brown eyes. A curious smile.

Izumi Kenji had stolen your heart slowly and carefully; he did so without a balaclava or a disguise to lure you in. And as you meander the downtown area with him, your fondness for him only grows.

Meeting him at that after-work party may have been the best thing that happened to you this year. You were comfortable - in the middle of a bar, talking to a stranger and laughing with him. And who were you to turn down the one good thing life had sent your way.

Although, with how nonexistent your social life was, you would’ve let almost anyone into your social circle. You just deem yourself lucky that it was Kenji who happened to be in your vicinity.

He’d ended up asking for your number at the end of the night - you rattled off the digits faster than you could blink.

“...if you ever need anything, just send me a text.”

It was an outstretched hand of a sentence. A bone thrown to a starving dog. Finally, there was a person you could rely on.

You took his words to heart.

After that night, it was almost unfair how easily he broke down your barriers.

It was Kenji who took you sightseeing through all of Osaka in the Winter months, making sure that you’d mapped out the area so that you were more comfortable when you went exploring on your own. Your snow boots and his became well acquainted.

He’d shown you his favorite eateries and shops, rambling quietly about his favorite pastries and old, dusty memories that came from his time spent in the area.

His jacket made its way to your shoulder when you visibly shuddered from the cold as Winter shifted to Spring. And as Summer approached, you allowed yourself to let your guard down. With distant eyes, you learned about his family and his plans. You wondered if maybe there was a place for you in that future.

Any doubts about this connection you had with him had melted away.

He was your closest friend by far… and who’s to say he couldn’t be more?

You glance to your left, a small smile working its way onto your lips. Kenji’s eyes wander the street, completely lost in thought. His expression is serene under the violet glow of street lights.

And his hand… his hand is achingly close to your own.

Its a position you frequently found yourself in: walking side by side, almost touching, but never quite close enough to grasp at his hand.

You’ve never really seen yourself as someone to make first moves, but this has gone on for too long. And your fingertips are begging you to do something about this distance between you two.

You swallow hard.

Choking back your hesitation, you brush your hand against his.

He doesn’t pull away, only sending you a quick glance. Kenji’s soft smile doesn’t budge, though he does raise an eyebrow at you.

You assume that this is a good sign. He doesn’t seem uncomfortable, the moment feels natural, and this… this could actually work.

You take one more deep breath and gingerly link your fingers with his-

But before you can even blink, Kenji snaps his hand back to his side. His head whips toward you, feet stopping in their tracks.

“What… what are you doing,” he stammers, eyes widening.

You wince. That wasn’t the reaction you were hoping for. Far from it.

“I think that’s-” You glance down at your rejected hand, eyes wide, “-kind of obvious.”

He stares at you, mouth agape. You take a step back, heart dropping. Why would he pull his hand back? Did I do something wrong-

“I’m seeing someone-” He breathes, “-you knew that.”

Like a tree branch splintering after a lightning strike, you feel as though something inside of you has cracked and split.

Your body can’t decide if your blood should turn to ice from shock or if it should succumb to the heat of humiliation rising in your chest. How did you not know this?

And why hadn’t you just asked him first?

That’s what normal people did. If you hadn’t acted based on a silly impulse maybe you would have spoken to him about your relationship with him first… but it’s too late now. And the pressure continues to build up in your stomach until you feel like a balloon on the verge of popping.

“...you knew that… didn’t you?”

Something sharp stabs at your heart.

“I had no idea.” Your reply is flat. Distant.

It twists.

“I- I’m so sorry, I could’ve sworn I’d told you…” He responds softly.

In a tearing motion, it rips back out.

“No. You hadn’t.” You say curtly, eyes glazing over.

You let on to the bitterness welling up in your chest more than you wish you would have… but who could blame you?

Tucking your hands deep into your pants pockets, you try to hold your composure.

Your mouth is uncomfortably dry and your hands are suddenly very sweaty.

What does someone do in a situation like this?

You’d always assumed that this was the type of thing to happen to somebody else. Thinking that feelings were mutual and then being struck with the fact that your “almost-boyfriend” was actually already deep into a relationship. It sounds like something out of a teenage romance novel... but it’s clear that the shame clouding your mind is not secondhand.

Unintentionally or not, Kenji had led you on… and here you are, feeling like you’ve just been publicly gutted.

He doesn’t owe you anything. No, not at all.

If anything, you owe him for all of the kindness he’s extended to you.

But that doesn’t explain everything he’s done for you these past few months.

Paying for meals even though you’d practically fought him for bills at every restaurant you’d visited together. Spending hours together on weekends when you both had work to complete. Meeting his friends, taking the train together on days when your schedules collided, exploring the city and your past with him…

You’d wondered why he hadn’t asked you out yet.

It didn’t make any sense.

Maybe he was confused too?

A thought crosses your mind that maybe he may have been using you as some sort of support system. Maybe you were just let into his life to comfort him through his own relational instability. Were you just Kenji’s escape? Is he just completely unaware?

But now you’re just jumping to conclusions. It might not be anything of the sort. Trying to piece together a story that doesn’t add up in the first place won’t help you at all - at least, not right after such a blatant rejection.

You take another step back, effectively tuning out anything he has to say. The light on his face no longer reflects something inviting; instead, all you can see is the confusion marring his previously peaceful expression.

He’s trying to talk to you, he’s taking steps toward you, he’s even reaching a hand out… but you just can’t. Not with the discomfort in your chest and a thundercloud of tension rumbling above you.

You can’t remember what shitty excuse you’d made to get out of there, but not even 10 minutes after this awkward, messy, fucked up moment, you’re on a train back home.

And everything is numb.

The shuffle and shake of the passenger car is enough to distract you for now.

But the moment you get home - the very second you kick off your shoes - insecurity comes knocking at the door of your mind.

You lay face down on the couch. The room stirs in darkness, gloom sinking into the cracks of the wall and pooling at the corners of your eyes. Because how was this fair? What had you done to deserve this? Was nothing going to be easy for you?

You let yourself cry.

Questions swim through your mind. Fears too. The pain of, once again, being alone exposes itself through heavy tears and spluttering sobs.

So you attempt to bury it all deep down...

As far from the surface as it can go...

But as most things do, these questions and insecurities will resurface.

It’s only a matter of time.

—

You noticed it from the moment you woke up.

The stiffness in your arms and the churning in your stomach were telltale signs… but as the hours rolled on and the sun sunk lower in the sky, it became more obvious.

Your lungs were fine yesterday, but today they shrink and tighten with every passing minute.

In an attempt to distract yourself, you’ve switched on the TV and turned to Netflix for comfort. It isn’t much, but the modulated noise of a baking show and a warm blanket draped over your lap blocks out some of the dizzying worries in your head.

First date nerves are a thing.

The clammy palms, the jitters, the loss of appetite… you have it all.

You’re well aware that this is a universal experience, so you try to empathize with yourself. There’s no reason to be embarrassed by it. Shame would only drag you deeper into this muddy pit of nerves that you’re so desperately trying to claw your way out of.

But this technically isn’t even a date.

And you’re not about to assume that it’s anything like one.

Just to be safe, you’ve decided that this outing would blandly be categorized as a “sporadic meet up with a stranger.” Your words, not Atsumu’s.

But just because it isn’t technically a date doesn’t mean you can’t be jittery…

You grip the remote in your hand tighter. It accidentally shuts the TV off, but that’s probably for the better. You haven’t gotten ready yet and it’s getting close to 5 pm. Somehow you’d managed to snuggle the day away in your apartment. Again.

Letting out an anxious yawn, you hop up from your nestled position on the couch.

You step into the hallway and make your way to the bathroom to wash your face. As you patter the length of the hall, you finally allow your mind to roam. It immediately hones in on your anxieties like a dog chasing a delightfully peeved squirrel.

Is it pathetic? To be 20 something years old and petrified by something as simple as a dinner date?

Your brain says “no,” but a part of you is whispering out a quiet “yes” in response. Most people would be excited to see someone after being lonely for so long.

So why are you this bothered? What’s with this piercing fragility that makes your hands shake and your skin crawl?

When did you become so… scared? Like you would crumble just by being in the presence of another person?

And then it hits you. Your head plummets into your hands.

Ever since you’d met Atsumu, you haven’t had the mental stamina to think about Izumi Kenji.

Or what he’d done to you. Or how he’d metaphorically pushed you when you were already toeing at the precipice of a cliff. You’d been a step away from falling and breaking under the weight of the past few years, and he’d shattered you in a single night.

So, yes, that would explain the current twisting in your chest. It’s also probably why you’re so worried about Atsumu. Or, at least, it’s one big reason as to why, you conclude.

But, even with this epiphany, you find yourself stepping into the bathroom, wrung dry and physically unsteady. Thinking about Kenji doesn’t make you feel any better.

Your fingers grip the rim of the porcelain sink, eyes fixed on the drain in the center.

You stare at it.

One reminder of him and you were already weary.

The glossiness of the bowl reflects a splotchy, humanesque blob back at you. You swivel the faucet handle, letting warm water coast around the bowl and spiral down the drain. It erases that human-like reflection.

If only it could wash away your problems. Now that’d be something to write home about.

The cool of the tile beneath your feet and a splash of warm water on your face is a welcome distraction… but short-lived. The water drips off of your face. You blindly feel around for a fresh towel and, after laying your hands on one, you gently pat your face down.

Blinking your eyes open, you stand up straight.

As you do, you find yourself studying a much clearer reflection than the blurry face in the sink bowl. Sunken features bore into you from the bathroom mirror. You sigh and turn to open up a medicine cabinet to grab a few facial products, applying them one-by-one.

If you do happen to crash and burn tonight, you figure you might as well look damn good in the process. Skincare would help with that.

But before you can further sink into the idea that tonight might turn into another nightmarish scenario, a friendly face, someone sunny and charming, enters your mind.

The picture Atsumu’s wavy hair and that smug smile of his. While the rest of his face is a little fuzzy in your mind, you vividly remember how his mouth quirk upwards and the electric buzz you felt from the sheer warmth of his eyes.

Atsumu has been on your mind a lot these days. And, as much as it’s been a distraction, it’s also been a welcome mental detour.

Somehow, the very thought of him coaxes your own lips to relax into a smile. You sigh, tilting your head back in defeat. So this is what 3 years of loneliness can do to a person - how embarrassing.

But you can’t deny that he gives you something to look forward to - an emotion you can’t quite put your finger on. You two share a connection; there’s some common ground that hasn’t been dug up just yet. And, for whatever it’s worth, you want to keep digging until you figure it out.

As you smooth a moisturizer over your skin, you decide that you’ll wear something nice tonight. Maybe you’ll pick out an outfit you haven’t worn before and do your best to drown your shaky hands in the fabric of a long-sleeved shirt. If it goes well, maybe you’ll have found someone who actually likes you.

If it doesn’t work out, you can just drive back home and forget he ever existed. Simple as that.

But...

You’d like to think that Atsumu could be just as sweet as he seems; assuming the worst about him would get you nowhere.

You continue to repeat that to yourself before you leave. That all you can do is hope it goes well.

Nothing more, nothing less.

—

You rest your foot firmly on the brake and switch the gearshift so that your car is in park. You rub your eyes and double-check the location on your phone’s GPS. Back at your apartment, it looked like you would be arriving at a café near the park… but you’re not so sure anymore.

Did… did Atsumu really send you here?

You never entertained the idea of him being a prankster… but if this was, perhaps, a practical joke? Well, you’re not above calling him and telling him to “fuck off.” There’s nothing stopping you from driving away and blocking his number right now.

Scrolling through the map application, you notice that you’re relatively close to several restaurants, so there is that. He’d promised you dinner and there’s an abundance of food within walking distance.

But you weren’t expecting to pull up to such a secluded location. You shiver in your seat and grip the steering wheel. Does he realize just how scary it is to meet someone at a random place like this?

Whipping out your phone, you tap a quick message containing something along the lines of “why the hell did you send me to a park.” Your therapist would probably give you a high-five for being so straightforward.

You hit send and sink into your chair.

A brief glance out your car window helps to settle your frayed nerves just a hair.

It’s not quite as empty as you thought it was. The area is just… calm. Many couples stroll along the main path, hand-in-hand. Others are sat on picnic blankets, tucking their toes into the cool grass and chattering away.

And, most comfortingly of all, it’s still bright outside.

You thank the sun that it still rests above the horizon, drenching the trees tops and green grass with deep-honey hues. People and daylight mean safety. You’ve had to learn that after living alone for so long.

A text notification pings on your phone only seconds after messaging him.

You’ll give him some credit. Atsumu is a timely texter. You’ve found yourself in more real-time texting conversations with him than almost anyone else you’ve met in Osaka. And it’s been how long since you met him? A few weeks? A month?

Atsumu’s text reassures you that you’re not at the wrong place.

At least the park was intentional, you nod to yourself. You’re doing your best to trust that he wouldn’t take you somewhere that would make you uncomfortable.

Another text informs you that he’s already seated on a bench near where you parked.

Your heart skips a beat and your head jolts upward, scanning the area. A hand also shoots up to clutch at your chest, gripping the fabric of your top.

Yep. You’re still jumpy.

But this time, the shaky hands and pounding nerves are rooted in restlessness instead of fear… and maybe a little bit of excitement?

Suddenly, the park is far less frightening.

You step out of the car, wallet and keys in one hand, and smooth out your outfit with your free hand. The wind nips at you through the fabric of your clothes, but with the sunshine painting your skin, it isn’t too bad.

Maybe bringing a coat would’ve been wiser than relying on this sweater to keep you warm… but it’s too late to think about that now.

Your eyes dart around and you trod through the grass and onto a graveled pathway. It crunches satisfyingly underneath your feet, but you can’t enjoy it when you’re so intent on finding him. With a few short strides, you’re quick to spot the back of someone’s head. A familiar head of blonde waves shines golden thanks to the setting sun.

You’re almost entirely sure it’s Atsumu.

And as if he had sensed your presence, the man in question tilts a glance over his shoulder.

His face is blank until he catches your eye.

An easy grin, one brighter than the stars, bursts into existence.

For someone so conventionally attractive, he sure looks excited to see little ole you. Raising your hand, you wave and send him a shy smile back.

He’s quick to jump to his feet and as he does, you’re quickly reminded of just how tall he is. Atsumu’s head matches the height of several tree branches. It makes you think that he’s probably walked into a number of things. Door headers, branches, signs that are hung a couple of inches too low… you’re sure he’s learned to duck and dodge over the years.

You wish you could ask him about that.

You blink.

That’s right. You can ask him about that - you’ll do that later, though.

“Hey there.” He chuckles.

His voice… it’s huskier than you’d remembered.

You spoke with him over the phone just yesterday to confirm that tonight was still happening, so why was his voice giving you chills now? It’s deep and smooth and, without the static from the phone audio, it’s actually kind of sexy.

Okay, you’ve got to calm down.

“Hi,” you reply sweetly, tilting your head.

Should you hug him? Just keep standing there? Hopefully, he’s better at filling awkward silence than you are. You’re not bad at handling social situations, but it seems safer to wait for his cues.

Atsumu keeps his hands in his pockets, “Long time, no see.”

It’s phrased as if you were both old friends reuniting after years of distance. It kind of feels that way too.

“I don’t actually think it’s been that long.” You raise an eyebrow, keeping a straight face.

“It’sa turn of phrase, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart.

That word sounds so easy on his tongue, damn it.

A few beats pass… and both of you break into grins once again.

But before you can respond, and much to your confusion, Atsumu spins on his feels to face the pathway. The pebbles under his feet shift as he takes a few steps forward.

He turns his head to catch your eye, “Well? C’mon then, let’s walk and talk,” and juts an arm out.

You stare at him for a moment, confused.

“Are ya gonna leave me hangin’? Atsumu tilts his head back, a coy smile on his lips as though whatever he’s trying to do is ridiculously obvious.

After a few moments of deep contemplation, realization dawns over your features. He’s extending his elbow out… for you? To hold onto?

Oh.

With a slight flush, you step forth and link arms with him. He grins down at you, perfectly resembling a fox you saw in a National Geographic magazine last week. This is a lot closer than you’d anticipated on getting with him; not that you’re complaining.

Although, for someone you’ve only met twice, you feel like you’ve known him for years.

The few phone calls and those text conversations have given you some insight into his life, but they don’t explain why you two click so well in person. He’s illogically familiar.

You decide not to question the closeness and instead choose to spark a conversation.

That should be easy enough; after all, he’d promised you dinner, and you were given directions to a park - you’re anything but questionless.

You lean into his side slightly and break the silence, “You smell good.”

Considering he’s crossed that line with you already, you aren’t too worried about saying it back to him.

“Thanks, I showered.” He smiles and shrugs as if to brush off your compliment, but you swear you see a fleeting blush on his cheeks.

“Thank God.” You sigh in mock relief, relaxing your shoulders.

He squints, clicking his tongue, “Okay, no need to tease. At least get to know a guy first,” but his voice is void of offense.

“So if I tease you, you won’t take me to dinner?” A curious tone rings in your voice.

“Oh, I will even if ya do. Where do ya think we’re walkin’ to?”

You snort, “Hopefully a restaurant?”

“Bull’s eye.” He winks.

Atsumu looks down at you and you can’t help but smile up at him. Your nerves had melted away like a popsicle under a blazing summer sun; all that’s left is a sweet, melty feeling that has you feeling a little too comfortable.

Maybe you shouldn’t be so trusting. Protecting yourself has been your number one goal since Kenji let you down…

But that doesn’t mean you can’t laugh or get to know Atsumu.

It just means you need to keep your expectations in check. This may seem like a date, but until he says something, you won’t jump to conclusions. In the meantime, you just need to keep talking. Enjoy it while it lasts and laugh a little.

You nudge his side, “By the way…”

“Hm?”

“What’s with bringing me to a park?”

You’ve been dying to hear this explanation since you arrived. Sure, the atmosphere is perfect; fall weather is notorious for pleasant walks and colorful leaves. However, you’d like to hear his reasoning.

“I thought we could get to know each other better before stuffin’ our faces.”

You make a face, “Well, doesn’t that sound lovely. You sure have a way with words.”

Atsumu is nothing if not blunt.

He pouts, eyes narrowing, “You gonna make fun of the way I talk now? I’ll have you know, I’ve been mocked enough to last me a life time. I ain’t all that sensitive anymore.”

You laugh and subconsciously tighten your hold on his arm.

“Alright Mr. Not Sensitive, I won’t make fun of you anymore.”

If you were paying attention to his face, you might’ve seen another flush of pink… but your eyes are squinting from the sun and Atsumu is sure to pull himself together before you can notice it.

“But I do have some important questions for you,” You begin.

Those words are sure to spark fear into anybody. This is confirmed when his arm stiffens ever so slightly and your eyes crinkle in mischief.

He swallows, “Yeah, go for it.”

“Favorite color?”

Atsumu’s eyes flick down to yours, squinting. They seem to say, “important, my ass.”

He instantly loosens, “Easy. Red.” Confidence is clear in his tone.

You nod. You don’t have to know him well to know that the answer suits him. Atsumu is fiery and he’s burned bright in your mind since you met him. If anyone should be allowed to like red, it’s him.

“Favorite food?”

“Mmm…” He furrows his brows in deliberation, “ I gotta say fatty tuna. But my brother makes some killer onigiri, though. I think that’s a close second.”

Your brows shoot up, eyes widening. He’d never mentioned anything about his family before this.

“You have a brother?” You press, leaning in to study his face while trying not to trip over your own two feet.

“Technically, a twin. But I’m the older one...” He huffs, “...and the better lookin’ one.”

Your jaw drops. “I can’t believe you hadn’t mentioned him before this!”

As an only child, you can only imagine what it’d be like to have a sibling, much less a twin.

“Well,” Atsumu rolls his eyes at you, “He’s alright…”

It looks like he’s about to change the subject, but one glance at your face is all it takes for him to realize that you want to hear more. Your eyes are sparkling. Full of vibrant curiosity… how could he stop now?

You’re actually interested in him.

“We’re really close actually,” Atsumu clears his throat, straightening up a little. “I mean, he isn’t like me at all. He’s real’ calm in comparison. A great cook. Some people say he’s handsome - but he got the looks from me, y’know?”

You roll your eyes, keeping in stride with him. “Yeah, yeah, keep going.”

“He’s good with the ladies, smart, athletic...” He rambles on. “If he’d just slow down a little, he would probably be married by now...”

You just listen, fully invested in his words.

It’s nice to hear about family - you haven’t seen your’s in a long time.

The fondness in Atsumu’s expression seeps through his abbreviated words.

He looks almost pained as he compliments his twin and amusement flickers in your eyes as you watch it all unfold. You hadn’t asked for a dating profile description of his brother, but you’re not about to shut him up.

“I bet you’d like him. Not as much as you’d like me, of course,” he smirks and your chest tightens.

The butterflies you’d thought you’d left back in highschool seem to have dusted themselves off and started fluttering again.

“But, yeah. He’s a good guy.”

Atsumu’s free hand then runs through his hair, pushing the waves back. You can see a sudden onset of nerves on his face. He’s quick to hide it though.

“And, uh, just so you know… he may or may not own the restaurant I’m taking you to tonight.”

That’s enough for you plant your feet in place. Atsumu stops as well.

He’s… taking you to his brother’s restaurant.

You gaze up at him, at a loss for words.

Is his brother going to be there? I mean, it is his place. But meeting his family? Out of the blue, like this? It’s all out of order.

You can’t help but wonder if he’s ever going to give your racing heart a chance to settle.

“Is that too much?” Atsumu is quick to cut in. His voice isn’t gentle… but even with it’s roughness, you can hear something that resembles concern.

“A- ah, no! It’s fine!” You reassure him, “I… I’m happy to go.”

His shoulders drop down again and so do yours.

There’s no point in getting worked up about it. But it’s becoming clear that Atsumu isn’t a very conventional person. Nor is he daunted by sporadic plans. Next time, you’ll ask for a point-by-point itinerary, just to be safe.

Atsumu reveals the name of the restaurant, “Onigiri Miya,” and you find yourself asking more family-related questions as you two dawdle down the pathway…

Which naturally leads to conversations about high-school.

It turns out that he and his twin were on a volleyball team together. Which makes sense. He definitely has the muscle, the height, and the spunk to be an athlete.

You know shit about the sport, but that doesn’t mean you don’t see the gleam in his eyes when he rattles off a story about one of his old games. It’s been a long time since you last listened to someone speak about something so passionately.

But there’s even more.

You hear mentions of many boys’ names.

There’s his brother, Osamu; he mentions their little spats and occasional fist fights. Although he makes sure to clarify that they’re both a lot more level headed nowadays. Next is Atsumu’s upperclassman, Kita; he’s someone Atsumu respects and fears with every inch of his being. Then there’s Suna, Omimi, Aran, and… too many others to count.

Games and nationals and several terms you can’t quite grasp swim through your head as you re-live some of Atsumu’s own memories with him.

His high-school years sound exciting, bright, and funny. Of course, those experiences would create the charming mess that is Atsumu Miya.

After padding under draping treetops, you both finally make it out of the park and onto the sidewalks.

Restaurants and small shops line the streets and pedestrians cross in groups across the narrow roads. At this point, the sun is loosing its shine, sinking beneath the trees’ branches and ever-darkening buildings. But you, with your phone in your pocket and your arm in his, feel safe.

Atsumu’s effortlessness and his blunt way of speaking really made for easy conversation.

But before you can ask him if he still plays volleyball, you find yourself standing in front of a small, bright storefront: “Onigiri Miya.” The words are plastered on a wooden board in white, chalk paint. It’s sleek and cute - if you’d stumbled upon the shop before this, you’d have walked in of your volition.

“I’m thinkin’ I just talked your ear off the whole way here.” Atsumu sighs apologetically.

You shrug, “I guess that just means I’m a good listener.”

In all honestly, you’re glad he rambled. It got rid of your restlessness and calmed your racing thoughts.

He unlinks your arm from his and your side is now exposed to the cold air. It only just hits you how physical that walk had been. Even without a coat, having him at your side had kept you warm and cozy.

How long has it been since you were comfortably side-by-side with someone? It’s been months since you’d been around Kenji… years since you last slept with someone you actually liked… but when was the last time you held a hand or wrapped your arm around someone else’s?

Atsumu’s words cut into your thoughts, “You’re easy to talk to, but I wanna hear more about you when we get inside.”

And he’s holding the door open for you, one hand clasped around the handle and the other tucked casually into his pocket. You thank him… he didn’t give you the impression of being “gentlemanly” or whatever that word meant, but you find the gesture to be sweet.

As you step inside the small restaurant, your senses are overtaken by the smell of freshly cooked rice and an explosion of delicious seasonings. There are bar stools open at the front counter and metal chairs surrounding worn-down wooden tables. The atmosphere is homely and diner-like; as though, no matter how often you actually visited, you would be treated as a regular.

Someone calls out from the back, “C’mon in, I cleared the place out for y’all.”

The voice resembles Atsumu’s style of speech; gruff and straight to the point… but a little smoother. Then you realize what that voice had actually said. There’s nobody else here.

“Alright, we’ll make ourselves at home then. I can take your-”

He scans you for a jacket… that doesn’t exist.

“You didn’t bring a coat.” He says flatly.

You glance down at your outfit, grasping the edge of your sweater and feathering a thumb over its seam.

“I forgot one.” You admit, looking back up to him, “Why? Is that a problem?”

“Nah, I was just gonna offer to take it.”

You hadn’t noticed what he’d been wearing before this, but now that you’re under the soft lighting of the restaurant, you realize he’s dressed up a little.

Atsumu removes a short, tan coat and places it onto the back of a chair. A black turtleneck sweater is revealed underneath. The fabric outlines his chest and arms in the most unfair way while the dark color pleasantly contrasts his lighter skin tone.

How hadn’t you noticed how gut-wrenchingly attractive he was before this?

With how fast things were moving and how comfortable you felt talking to him, you must’ve conveniently glossed over this fact. It’s not like you’d planned on getting to know him.

But now that you do? Well, it doesn’t hurt that he basically has the body of Chris Hemsworth. Atsumu’s definitely not some Walmart version of him though - this boy deserves his own brand of attractiveness.

You swallow hard as your eyes trail his body.

“Like whatcha see?”

You startle, shuffling backward. If you weren’t already out of your element, you sure are now. Caught red-handed (red-eyed?) staring at your not-date.

“Awh, c’mon I’m joking - take a seat,” Atsumu pulls a chair out for you, cringing when it lets out a shrill squeak on the floor. The sound rings through the air and you find yourself laughing.

In a swift motion, you jump up and onto the chair.

He slides the chair back toward the bar counter, except this time you both expect the screeching of the chair’s legs. It’s worse than nails on a chalkboard, but it’s perfect for loosening up any tightness in the airspace. This time, it’s his turn to chuckle.

He mutters out a quick, “Sorry,” but you just shake your head, amused.

Snagging his own chair, and this time lifting it off of the ground to avoid bursting another eardrum, Atsumu slides up next to you.

You lean on the counter, a hand propping up your cheek. “That was very smooth, Atsumu.”

“Thanks,” he rolls his eyes, “I try.”

“‘Tsumu? Smooth? Yeah, right,” that same voice travels from the kitchen to the front of the store.

Footsteps are soon to follow it and you’re greeted by Chris Hemsworth 2.0. Maybe you should refer to him as Liam Hemsworth? Nope, Osamu, you quickly decide, is also his own genre of attractive.

Although Osamu is dressed in a simple, black “Onigiri Miya” t-shirt and cap, he could probably be a Calvin Klein model. For someone who owns a restaurant, his muscle tone is absolute perfection - these brothers are really something.

And their resemblance of each other, though twins, is almost uncanny. You thank some unknown force that hair-dye exists, because if you saw them from a distance, you may not be able to tell them apart.

“Ah, shaddup. You’re just sayin’ that cuz you’re jealous,” the blonde snorts.

“Jealous of what? Your shit attempts at flirtin’?”

“That’s below the belt, ‘Samu. Don’t be such an ass.”

‘Tsumu? ‘Samu? That’s cute, you chuckle to yourself. Of course, these guys would have nicknames for each other. It was common sense.

You sit back as they bicker, wondering who must’ve raised these 6-foot chaotic giants. You’d love to meet them just to give them a medal and a bouquet of flowers for putting up with them. They must’ve dealt with so much bullshit.

“I could say the same to you. Ya haven’t properly introduced me yet.” He nods his head toward you, cool-grey eyes warming up when they meet yours.

Your lips quirk into a smile and before you know it, you’ve introduced yourself.

He copies your smile, though it’s much softer than your own, and begins his own little introduction; although you’re sure that, with all the information Atsumu has already listed off to you, you don’t really need one.

“I’m Miya Osamu, but that’s probably obvious by now,” he adjusts his cap, “Callin’ me Miya would be confusin’ for all of us, so just Osamu’s fine.”

He’s polite and carries himself confidently, but his voice is a little softer than Atsumu’s. Or, it is when he’s speaking to you. There’s a brotherly gentleness to his tone and it relaxes you instantly.

“Please keep in mind that I’m the better twin,” Atsumu adds, shooting daggers at his brother.

Osamu shoots them right back, but you don’t fail to notice the playful fondness behind their eyes. You can almost picture them as kids, with band-aids on their knees and mud on their clothes. They make it seem like being twins meant having a built-in best friend.

Their closeness is overwhelming.

There’s a warmth in the atmosphere, and you’re positive that it’s not just because something’s cooking in the kitchen. It feels special, just being allowed to sit and watch them banter.

And the fact that Atsumu is sharing this with you?

Well, you’re counting yourself very lucky to be here right now.

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #atsumu x reader #atsumu miya #atsumu #osamu miya #osamu #miya twins #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #untouchable series #it's been awhile since i've updated #but i hope u can enjoy it!!!

276 notes · View notes

rpgsandbox · 4 years ago

Link

Blue Planet is a compelling RPG journey into humanity’s precarious future on a distant waterworld where political unrest and a hungry alien ecology threaten the nascent colony effort. A planet where GEO marshals struggle to maintain peace, Incorporate mercenaries wage amphibious proxy wars, and native insurgents fight for their adopted world. A frontier where human desperation and corporate greed ravage an uncanny ecology, threatening to plunge humanity into a war of survival with an ancient, alien legacy.

Though the original Blue Planet predates many of these titles, the setting is evoked by the movies Avatar, Blade Runner and Outland, the television series The Expanse, Firefly and Earth II and the books Legacy of Heorot, Songs of Distant Earth and the Mars Trilogy. A reviewer once gave a glib but accurate elevator pitch for Blue Planet as "Space marshal Cowboy and his cybernetic dolphin sidekick fight eco-crimes in alien Hawaii."

The Full Premise

Blue Planet's uniqueness and enduring appeal are in its deep, realistic, hard science fiction setting, and to really describe it requires more than a few sentences. For those new to the waterworld, we recommend exploring the more detailed premise here.

This campaign will fund the production of a new third edition of the critically acclaimed Blue Planet roleplaying game. We’ve brought Blue Planet to Kickstarter because we're excited to make the definitive edition of the game, but we need your help to do that.

We want to design a uniquely beautiful, full-color, two-volume, 600-page masterpiece, overflowing with evocative art, captivating text, and exceptional production values. We want to make the books themselves works of art with UV cover highlights, endpaper maps and page-marking ribbons. We want to fill them with a new rules set, stunning art, expansive color maps and compelling new locations, social structures, future technologies and alien secrets.

These features and content exceed our capacity to resource on our own, so we are here asking you to join the Blue Planet team and help us make the new version of this classic game truly exceptional.

Download the Blue Planet: Recontact Quickstart Guide here. This 80+ page, full color primer is free and contains the new version of the rules, a setting sampler and a demo scenario called "Trouble in Paradise," complete with ready-to-play characters.

The Recontact project includes

• An extensive evolution of the core mechanics, taking advantage of two decades of RPG development. The new system can be found here in our free, 80+ page Recontact primer.

• All new, full-color artwork bringing the waterworld to life in stunning, evocative imagery.

• Full-color world and regional maps, including submarine geography, redesigned and rendered by professional cartographer and game designer Mark Richardson (Green Hat Design).

• A series of campaign archetypes to help moderators jumpstart their games in the vast adventure space of Poseidon (see below).

• Updated speculative technologies.

• New sociopolitical systems, organizations, institutions and conflicts.

• New locations, settlements and facilities.

The Recontact project does not include

• Fundamental changes to the core sociopolitical tensions - the themes will remain staunchly pro-environmental and anti-colonial.

• Timeline advancements - the setting was originally - and intentionally - poised on a sociopolitical precipice, rife with plot and storytelling potential, and we want to maintain that same narrative tension.

• Global rewrites of the setting material - though updates, sensitivity edits and additions are being made throughout, we believe Blue Planet’s deep setting is why the game has endured, and so we are not making major alterations to that essential content.

A word about the delivery date

We know a reward delivery date of October 2022 seems unexpectedly far away. Though we intend to deliver Blue Planet sooner, our experience, and the last year in particular, have proven an essential truth about Kickstarter management - set a generous delivery date, then add six months. We hope this date does not discourage folks from becoming backers, but instead demonstrates our commitment to realistic planning and transparent communication.

All reward tiers (digital and physical) will receive PDFs of the out-of-print Blue Planet books the day after the campaign ends. Single book pledges will receive the corresponding v2 PDF, and book set pledges will receive copies of everything ever published for the line. All 10 past Blue Planet titles - over 1700 pages of waterworld adventure - as immediate rewards!

First edition Blue Planet, Archipelago, Access Denied, v2 Blue Planet Player's and Moderator's Guides, Fluid Mechanics, First Colony, Frontier Justice, Natural Selection and Ancient Echoes.

Blue Planet has received broad acclaim, particularly for its deep, detailed, and realistic setting, and has remained well regarded since its original publication. However, that publication was almost 25 years ago, and in the intervening decades, all versions have gone out of print and game design has evolved dramatically. We are therefore excited at the prospect of giving the game system an overdue overhaul and the opportunity to share Blue Planet with a new generation of players.

More personally, Blue Planet features critical environmental themes, presenting a precarious future threatened by the dire consequences of ecological collapse. If issues like biodiversity loss, ocean acidification and climate change were only obscure concerns within the scientific community 25 years ago, they are now clear and present existential threats to the human species. This new edition will let us add our own small voice to those demanding true stewardship of our original blue planet.

Compelled by these reasons, the original creators at Biohazard Games have teamed up with publisher Gallant Knight Games to produce a modern edition of this classic RPG.

Recontact is the in-game term for the fateful day in 2165 when the UNSS Admiral Robert Perry entered orbit around Poseidon, “reestablishing contact” with Earth 69 years after the original colonists were abandoned. Given that more than two decades have passed since the publication of the first edition of Blue Planet, RECONTACT seemed a fitting subtitle for this new version of the game.

Anyone familiar with Blue Planet v2’s Synergy rules will recognize the new system as a modern evolution of those mechanics, sharing a little of that design's genetics and the same intent to support the hard science realism of the setting. Players will also find the new system is simultaneously simpler and more robust, while supporting richer, more evocative character creation that's focused as much on who characters are as what characters can do.

Characters have 4 attributes with optional foci and up to 8 skill sets - areas of expertise based on player-generated descriptors that evoke a character’s origins, training, occupation and experiences. The core mechanic is roll ≤ (attribute rank)+(skill set rank). The roll is made with either 1, 2 or 3 d10, depending upon whether the general, core or specialty in a given skill set is being used. For those who know v2, these elements should seem familiar. There are fewer attributes, but they work similarly, and the variable dice pool is a streamlined take on the aptitude mechanic. The skill sets are simultaneously simpler and more robust than the long list of specific aptitudes and skills in the 2nd edition.

Blue Planet does remain a realistically dangerous game, keeping the wound levels and trauma tests from the 2nd edition. Weapons and sea monsters are therefore quite deadly, so characters should try to avoid getting shot. Or eaten.

The new mechanics also lean in to the qualitative roleplaying aspects of modern character design, providing Tags, Tracks and Ties unique to each player's character concept and each moderator's campaign. The emphasis is as much on who a character is as what they can do.

Tags are specific consequences, benefits, convictions, motivations or other active descriptors that a character incurs during their adventures - generally the result of narrative events, important tests, fallout from interactions with other characters and injuries.

Tracks model the range of specific character emotions, attitudes and mental states. They are usually campaign or party specific and can be offered by the moderator or created by the players for their party or their individual characters.

Ties describe a character’s primary relationships, identifying the people and organizations to whom the character is connected, as well as the nature of the obligations they must meet to maintain those relationships.

The only consistent criticism Blue Planet has received over the years is that the setting is so vast and wide open, it’s often challenging for game moderators to know where to start. They struggle to choose a single campaign current from among the sea of ideas in the setting. Blue Planet: Recontact will therefore provide a diverse set of campaign archetypes to provide ready-made options for GMs new to the game.

It’s common practice for RPG books to present a range of character archetypes, providing players with detailed examples of the kinds of PCs available to play. These campaign archetypes are similar in that they offer guidance for a variety of different adventure types that can be run in the world of Blue Planet, providing GMs with starting points, directions and enough details to get a variety of different campaigns underway. Each archetype outlines a premise, PC suggestions, unique NPCs, key locations, resources, themes, and plot threads from which a GM can build their perfect Blue Planet campaign.

Read the full first example - Red Sky Charters - in the Recontact Primer here.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Wed, May 5 2021 3:00 AM BST

Website: [Biohazard Games] [Biohazard twitter] [Gallant Knight Games] [Gallant Knight twitter]

#RPG #kickstarter #Blue Planet #Biohazard Games #Gallant Knight Games

28 notes · View notes

bang-to-the-tan · 5 years ago

Text

Fealty

Reader x King!Yoongi Oneshot

► Royalty!AU

Smut

Warnings: Vaginal Sex, Concubines, Mention of Political Murder and Beheadings

↳ Summary: Your king is beautiful. Twisted, perhaps, sometimes dark, and ever impossible to predict. But beautiful.

Masterlist

“The king is overseeing the beheadings now, lady.”

You pretend your heart doesn’t leap into your throat. Instead of reacting, you hide it with a well-practiced duck of the head, fixing your steely gaze to the opposite pillar. You sink a little further into the bath, subtly inhaling the aroma of roses, feeling the soothing herbs on your skin. Your toes stretch beneath the water and the motion disturbs the surface.

“I’m aware,” you reply, tone cold.

“Begging your pardon, lady. Are you not feeling well?” The handmaiden continues chattering as she keeps up brushing your hair with all the delicate touch of a much younger, more innocent girl. She gathers it back from your shoulders with such nimble, sweet fingers, drawing the brush through the strands as though the sheen of your hair determined her fate. Come to think of it, it might—depending on the mood of the king once he returns.

“I am feeling perfectly well,” you reply. You’re aware that your voice is somewhat robotic, and you can sense from the way she shifts behind you that her concern hasn’t abated.

“Hyesun,” you say after a beat. When you crane to meet her eye, you make sure to smile as gently as you can manage. “I’m fine.”

She returns the smile with a warmth that you envy, returning to her task in diligence. When you first met Hyesun, she was a quiet thing. Young, too young, prone to mistakes and stuttering apologies. But over the years she’s served you well, and in turn you’ve served your king. She knows better than to press matters too far.

“They finally captured the dissenters from last spring,” she continues, her voice airy and light. “Thank the gods.”

“Their heads will make for fine decorations, I’m sure.”

You allow your comment to linger, floating on top of the air like the petals in your bath. You sigh and move to stand up, feeling the water pull at your legs and arms, trying to suck you back into the warmth.

“He’ll be back soon,” you murmur, stepping gingerly out of the bath. Hyesun immediately parcels you into a soft cloth, assisting in patting down your body.

“The king will be in a good mood,” she chirps.

“He always is after an execution. Would you fetch my—”

The door to the bathing room suddenly slides open, interrupting you mid-sentence. Hyesun smoothly drops her arms from you to dip into a bow, and you follow suit as best you can with nothing but a cloth wrapped around you, struggling to keep it pinched at your chest for the sake of modesty.

Min Yoongi stands in the doorway, and what little you glimpsed of him has anticipation firming your stance. It quickens the beat of your heart within your ribs. Silvery hair high on his head, falling in a long ponytail behind him, dark eyes steely. You can feel him watching you with the perception of a hawk and all the vulnerability of stone.

“Out,” he rasps.

Hyesun bows again, deeper, turning briefly to you with another demur nod of her head. Even with your own head inclined, you can see the professional glaze over her downcast eyes. She doesn’t even blush anymore. You can’t tell if that makes you proud or saddened. You hear the slightest tap of her delicate footsteps as she scurries past you, past the king, closing the door behind herself as she goes.

For a moment, he doesn’t speak. His feet make barely as much noise as the handmaiden’s had when he circles closer to you, like a bird of prey high above the mountains. Motion in the corner of your eye, and you recognize it as one of his pale, long hands drifting towards your chest. Gentle, but insistent, he slips his cold fingers past yours, and you relinquish your hold on the cloth, allowing him to tug it down, away from your body.

He steps closer again, and you can feel the warmth from the sun outside radiating off him. You can almost smell the blood past his expensive perfume.

“Did the beheading go well, your majesty?” you murmur.

He hums, and his arm moves. You feel fingers carding past your neck, your ear, into your hair. He grasps a handful of the strands, tugging slightly to tilt your head upwards. You finally meet his gaze.

Your lord has always been beautiful. Dark, slanted eyes that sparkle with boundless, sometimes cruel wisdom even in the low light. Finely crafted cheekbones. Lips so elegantly painted with the softest brush in the gods’ possession. Even the scar that cuts down through one eye does little to mar his face, leading only to his carefully crafted mysterious air. He watches you take calm stock of his expression. A ‘good mood’, indeed.

When he leans to take your lips, it’s deceptively gentle. Almost kind, if possessive. Fully naked, limp at his disposal, you do little more than kiss him back, leaning into his grip. Neither of you breaks away from your locked gazes, even when his hot tongue slips across your mouth, demanding entrance. He licks past your teeth like a lover, tasting like lavish wine, eyelashes fluttering closed for a brief moment of seeming enjoyment. He groans, deep in his throat, as he kisses up your lip and parts from you with a lingering suction and a slick noise.

He steps forward again, pulling your hair as he goes, encouraging you to walk backwards with him until your back meets the unforgiving wood of the wall behind you. Instead of stopping, he continues, and cages you in. His body claims what little space remained between you. He relinquishes his grasp in your hair to trail his hand down your skin, his eyes following its path with an almost mildly curious look. As though he’s never seen you before. When he reaches the curve of your ass, he hikes your leg up around him, pulling you impossibly close. You hook your ankle into the small of his back, obliging.

“Are you wet for your king?” he murmurs, low, his voice rubble and damnation. Your response is cut short by a gasp when you next feel pressure, feather-light, exploring between your legs, drifting upwards past your thigh, dragging a single digit through your core as if only to get a feel for you. A shiver runs through your body when he brushes past your clit, teasing.

“Always, my lord.”

His pleased smirk is dark, crooked, eyes trained on yours.

“All day I’ve thought of you. I thought of fucking my seed down your throat,” he says, conversational. “Does that not please you, whore?”

“My lord is gracious,” you whimper. “My lord is giving.”

“Is he ndeed?” He pets at your clit, digging the pad of his thumb into your skin, watching the way you twitch with all the intensity of a general reading war maps. And half the warmth. His grin slinks into the corners of his mouth, replaced by a faux mask of curiosity. Concern.

“Allowing your king’s gift to waste in your greedy maw,” he tsks. “It would serve your country better in your belly, would it not?”

You know the answer he wants. “I crave my lord’s taste,” you stammer. “I desire it. His Majesty is oft generous enough to gift me with it.”

“Is he?” When his hand slips from you, you huff a whine despite yourself, craning to chase his touch. He reaches to grip your chin, pursing your lips, your own arousal sticky against your skin. “Insatiable thing. You would have had my cock sheathed between your lips, had I allowed you at the beheadings.” His tongue flits out from one corner of his mouth to the other, his head tilting to peer more closely at you. Though he looks careless, his tone calm, you can see the manic light in his eyes. You are too familiar with it.

“At my meetings, with my useless advisors, bare to the world but for a mere slip of modesty,” he continues, “draining me for your worth.” He readjusts his grip on your face, forcing his fingertips into your mouth, pressing into your tongue. You taste yourself on them when you suck.

He shuffles at his formal attire, caring little for the mess he might make of it. His length, feverish, already half-aroused, traces your inner thigh with the velvet of his cockhead. Your hand immediately flies to him, darting between your bodies to wrap your fingers around his member, coaxing him to full hardness as the two of you exchange heady breaths in the limited space he’s allowed you. His grin dissipates slightly. His eyelids fall to half-mast, his breath hitching when you twist your fingers underneath his head. When he rocks forward, purposeful, you angle him to meet you, guiding him easily into your cunt. He presses past your walls slow. His warmth sinks into you with a breath drawn decadently through his teeth. He removes his hand from your mouth to better brace against the wood behind you.

A thrust, two, before he finds his rhythm, sheathing himself deep and fucking back in with a snap of his hips. The sounds of your coupling fill the otherwise dead space of the bathing room around you, the shuffle of clothes and the slick noises of his penetration. Your lips hang open, each inch he feeds you coaxing sharp inhales and subdued moans from the depths of your chest. He gathers your other leg, lifting your knees, pressing even deeper, closer, his mouth attaching to the column of your neck to pepper hot kitten licks and the wayward bite, his pace growing harsher, more desperate.

“Ah, fuck,” he seethes into your ear, grunting with exertion. He slams into you, pulling back to watch you cry out in interest, eyes dark. Some of his hair sticks to his forehead, his neck, his face beginning to shine.

“This is why you have your king’s favor,” he adds, breathless, tongue prodding at the corner of his mouth, brows creasing. “Isn’t it?”

“Yes, lord,” you purr obligingly, rolling into him, clutching at his arms, careful not to tear at the expensive fabric between your fingers even as he pounds you up the wall.

“Cock-hungry whore,” he continues to babble. “You would do anything for your king.”

He presses deep, too deep, and prods a spot inside you that thieves the air from your lungs. Your response is delayed by half a second, stammering, but it’s too long, and he punishes you by surging forward, grinding his pelvis against your clit with a snarl.

“Y-Yes, my lord!” you choke, pleasure escalating inside you despite the misgivings beginning to seep into the corners of your mind at his tone.

“Dissenters, even authorities,” Yoongi pants, his face screwed in concentration. “Nothing would stay your hand. If I wished it.”

You try to peer at him, agape, unsure even in your lustful haze of where he’s taking this, but his quickening pace means he’s closing in on his end. It is not yours to think, you remind yourself, craning your neck back when a forceful thrust impales you on his shaft so far, you swear you could feel him on your tongue.

But again he snatches your chin, demanding you turn back to face him, a manic grin pulling his lips crooked even as he grunts through his teeth. “Advisors,” he breathes, hollow, “these days are so prone to drinking from the wrong cups,” he adds, a dark glee swirling in his eyes when you fail to disguise your confused horror.

His pace stutters, and again his face contorts, brows pulling together. He presses closer. His thrusts turn static, rushed, desperate for your heat. You help him as you can, tightening around him, turning his next question into a strangled moan.

“Who is it you answer to?” he growls, releasing your face to lean into the crook of your neck. There he bites against the column, sharp, unforgiving, to match the delving of his hips against yours. “Is it your country? Is it your god?”

“My lord is my god,” you whimper, arching, trying to pull him ever closer, mind racing. “I-I answer to my king.”

His entire body shudders with a feral groan, strained taut through his throat, pulsing cock fucking into you once, twice, thrice more, forcing his hot seed further into your cunt with every movement. For a moment, the two of you still. You can feel sweat dripping down your back, the blazing heat of your king trapping you against the wall.

When finally he pulls away, leaving you with a lewd noise, you realize his shoulders are shaking. At first, you worry for your life. Have you displeased him somehow? Upset him? But no. As he meets your gaze once more, it’s another twisted smile that touches his lips, narrows his eyes. You squeeze your thighs together to try and hinder the trickle of his release down your legs, hoping to soon lie down. You can’t do so until he leaves, and he seems more intent on savoring your concern than letting you go. His words sink further into your skin and you shiver.

He pulls his lips through his teeth, still chuckling, before he finally ducks away. He shuffles his clothes back in place, uncaring if they are crumpled, uncaring if his hair is sticking to his neck with sweat, his face still flushed. He looks back to you and though you bow your head, you don’t miss the shift in his expression.

“So hard to find good concubines,” he murmurs. You can feel him come close again. Can smell him. Fingers, carding through your hair, almost convincing as a pantomime of affection. “Ones who serve their lord so well. Who know their place.”

“Yes,” you quake, “I will serve my lord.” His semen is oozing as you speak, sneaking out of your used cunt.

“Good.” He laughs again, quiet, hiccuping. Finally, he leaves you. You next hear his voice coming from the doorway. “I will pray for you to bear a son.”

You bow, forcing down the bile threatening to rise in your chest. “And I, my king.”

#reader x yoongi #bts smut #bts fanfic #bts royalty au #king!yoongi #bts x reader #pls pretend to be shocked that i wrote a king yoongi smut piece where hes just a little bit of a Bad Man

203 notes · View notes

scarcitti · 4 years ago

Text

“gaming asks”

🎈 original post 🎈

First game you can remember playing?

either tetris or skifree or space cadet pinball

Last game you played?

BLACK BIRD by onion games for nintendo switch!! it’s basically “defender” but with that great onion games/lovedelic art style. it’s really great tho there seems to be some occasional slowdown on the switch.

Games you’ve played?

i have played “virtual boy wario land”, “pac-man VS.”, and “rockstar games presents table tennis”, among others.

Game(s) you’re currently playing?

this is too long a list but: i’m currently playing BLACK BIRD, super mario 3D world, bowser’s fury, hitman 3 (which i “beat” but am nowhere near finished with), nioh 2 (only just started but rly liked), golf on mars, ACNH. (also unfinished: ghostrunner, RDR2, prodeus, “the dark pictures: man of medan”, sludge life, metro exodus, tony hawk pro skater 1+2 (finished 1 but not 2))

Game you plan to play next?

more BLACK BIRD! i think i might have been at the final boss. that might put me in the mood for some MILLION ONION HOTEL or maybe restarting DANDY DUNGEON(, both from onion games).

Games on your to-play list?

i just bought “The Ninja Warriors Once Again, or: The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors”, ODDWORLD: stranger’s wrath HD, and “Sky Racket” when they were on sale on the eshop recently. i also downloaded SINE MORA EX, might load that up whenever i’m done with BLACK BIRD. i might try to play more cyberpunk 2077 before tim rogers’s review hits (though i didn’t really like the game at all). i rly wanna play more nioh 2 as well. generally, prey (2017), sekiro, RE4, pathologic 2, and rain world.

Game you’d get if time / money was no object?

chess, netrunner, magic the gathering. or rainbow six seige

Favorite game?

DOOM (1993), or TETRIS EFFECT, or moon: Remix RPG Adventure (or donkey kong: jungle beat)

Favorite game franchise ?

donkey kong, “souls”, or mario

Favorite game in a series?

mario 3, f-zero GX

Favorite game to play?

f-zero gx or god hand. maybe sekiro. using those gamecube shoulder buttons to slide side to side in F0GX and then pulling both for those 90° turns feels amazing. no dodge has ever felt better than using the right stick in “god hand”.

Most frustrating game to play?

tetris 99 is just not what i like abt tetris. dirt 5 feels like competitive plastic chewing. forced TAA, crashes, jerkweed voice fuckers spitting in your ear constantly, gross dutch angled race countdown, bogus music 😑 bogus! rockstar games also frustrate me (tho i like RDR2 & table tennis (& i probably like the manhunt games)); those awful menus do nothing but clunk. (having to hit “A” scroll the map in the map tab in GTA V? when the map is the only thing you can interact with on screen? 😑)

Comfort game?

mario kart 8 dx, puyo puyo tetris

Underrated game?

moon: Remix RPG Adventure, kane & lynch 2: dog days, rock band unplugged

Game that reminds you of your childhood?

lego star wars, “star wars battlefront ii: the 2004 one”

Game you’re really good at?

guideline tetris. i’m also good at star wars battlefront ii but only on mos eisley and only against bots

Game with the most playtime?

across different versions, tetris. on my switch ACNH takes the cake over BOTW, puyo puyo tetris, and mario kart 8 dx. on steam it’s dirt 4.

Favorite console?

PS2 & GBA SP (which just both happen to be the first consoles i had as a kid). honorable mentions to the gamecube, the personal computer (which is the actual best but does not count, i suppose), and “the switch pro”.

Favorite game ending?

nier automata or moon: Remix RPG Adventure or APE OUT

Favorite genre / kind of game?

racing games (see: f-zero GX, burnout 2, outrun 2, dirt 4, mario kart 8 dx, hotshot racing, etc.), “stylish character action” (god hand, bayonetta 2) or “hard action” (god hand, ape out, disc room, tormentor X punisher), platformers

Favorite side games / quests?

the baker in moon: Remix RPG Adventure, siegward in dark souls iii, dark souls/bloodborne quests in general

Favorite cheat codes / glitches?

my fav cheat code is the one in lego star wars that changes all guns to coffee mugs. in super mario land 2: six golden coins you can make mario fall into the game’s memory and walk directly to the end of the game.

Favorite game mechanism?

the directional dodges in GOD HAND. the push/grab in APE OUT. looping level design, like doom or dark souls or metroid. getting a tetris.

Favorite characters from a game?

wario, bayonetta, everyone in moon, donkey kong, the guy from panic restaurant

Favorite boss battle?

beauvoir from nier automata during route B. also a fan of the final boss in dark souls iii.

Favorite game soundtrack?

katamari damacy, moon, mario 3, botw, ape out

Most calming game soundtrack?

tetris effect, DKC, firelink shrine theme/DS1 menu music

Most energetic / pump up game soundtrack?

ape out, those digital hardcore songs in TAIKO NO TATSUJIN

Favorite boss fight music?

something from splatoon or bloodborne probably

Favorite game aesthetic?

megaman legends, sonic mania, mario 3, the wario land games, moon

Favorite character designs?

moon, chulip, the wario land series, katamari, panic restaurant

Favorite game fanart / fanartist?

splendidland

Favorite game fanfiction / author?

those splendidland comics where mario says fuck or where smash brothers characters are gay for each other. also this CYELATM

Do you make fancontent for any games?

i got ok at drawing wario a while ago. i should practice again

What streamers / playthroughs would you recommend?

jerma985: jurassic park trespasser, saw 1 & 2. giant bomb: “giant bomb makes mario”, “hitsmas”. aurateur.

What skins are on your controllers?

my own :-(

Are you a completionist?

no, i do play slowly though. as far as being a series/franchise completionist, i am bad about thinking i need context for new games by playing old games in the same genre first

Has anything made you ragequit a game?

ornsein & smough :-( bad menus, slow tutorials in lots of games

What do your customizable characters look like?

green skinned ladies with mustaches, balding or with a bob

What game would you suggest to a non-gamer?

golf on mars, bad chess

#ask meme

2 notes · View notes

demonologist-in-denim · 5 years ago

Text

The dark, cavernous space of the convention hall is a whirl of laughter, gleaming holograms, floating walkways, and iridescent blue light emanating from every imaginable surface. The future is here, or at least the technological conception of it. Engineers and programmers and executives from all over the globe cavort in this cybernetic candy store. Decked out in novelty t-shirts and sipping chocolate strawberry mar-tea-ninis through luminescent crazy straws, Crowley and Charlie walk from booth to booth, snapping pics and confiding excitedly under the noise of the crowd. Casting her own holographic shimmer and clearing a path ahead of the pair, Juliet sniffs everything she encounters, attempting to understand this den of strange new beasts.

We’re going, Grumpy Bear, Charlie insisted about the convention. Crowley made the mistake of calling her Care Bear once, and she’d never let him forget it. She practically packed his bags for him, bought them two first class tickets to San Francisco, and rented a loft apartment tricked out with water beds and a foosball table, with a karaoke club and full spa on the ground floor. When not touring the convention, the two imbibe in the Foodieland night market, browse Dog Eared Books, and attend campy monster movie midnight marathons.

Beyond this confetti-filled week of cutting-edged technology lay Crowley’s efforts to recode the American Men of Letters for the twenty-first century. Crowley has always run on Warp Speed 9 when it comes to innovation. He is the first demon to have driven a car, to own a cellphone, to embrace the internet. The bunker’s command room is now outfitted in sleek, digital interfacing. The map table has been upgraded to a touch-screen console capable of accessing a globalized, encrypted database of resources and case files. Slim data banks replaced the obsolete dials and gauges, the ham radio and the analog tape recorder and the inoperable switchboard. The walls are now lined with high-resolution flat screens displaying news story alerts and mapping active cases. All of it designed and installed by Charlie, queen of punk unicorns and fairy hackers, and the sunshine to Crowley’s rain cloud.

Wandering through 3D light shows and interactive digital art displays, Charlie prods him into trying remote assistance glasses and hover boards and plant-based footwear. Juliet chases down and dismembers low-flying delivery drones. And then they reach the virtual reality booths. Fully-immersive tours of alien worlds, lightsaber duels with complete sensory engagement. Why live in another reality when this one offers everything Crowley’s ever wanted? But Charlie is already tossing him the goggles and strapping on a pair of her own. Absolutely not, Crowley says. What’s the matter, afraid I’ll stomp your ass? She goads him. Crowley rolls his eyes, but when Charlie reaches out a hand and pulls him into the booth, Crowley goes willingly.

From Chapter 11 of Bergamot & Sulphur

Kudos and comments greatly appreciated!

#crowley #charlie bradbury #juliet #juliet the hellhound #juliet is a delightful murder beast #cuppa #tea with a hellhound #bergamot & sulphur #my fic #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fanfic #spn fanfiction #spn fanfic #canon divergent

7 notes · View notes

tanoraqui · 5 years ago

Note

*chinhands* so tell me about guinevere being gay and doing crimes in space

There are three rules that an e-space* Navigator lives by:

Know who you are

Know where you’re going

Know where home is (just in case)

*“espace”, more often; hyphens don’t survive casual parlance; it’s short for “extra-space” because scientists aren’t always good at naming things. just thank god for the one physicist who raised an early objection to “subspace”, even though in early models of layered reality, what came to be known as “espace” was, indeed, below our space.)

The third is easiest, because it’s drilled into every recruit from the second they’re brought to the Lighthouse - which is usually at an age so young they’ll forget having lived anywhere else before. There might be an official name for the headquarters of the Navigators’ Guild on paperwork somewhere, but inside the space station’s halls and outside it, on every ship and planet and empty space between stars in the galaxy, it’s the Lighthouse. There’s a general understanding of why: it’s where navigators call home, where they can look to for aid and succor when the seas turn rough, in this space and the other.

Most people don’t understand, though. Because most people are not navigators: they have never stayed awake while every other mind in the ship was sent very carefully and very deeply into sleep, while the ship passed across a crackling boundary between this reality and another. They have never held themselves together in a world where up was not quite down because neither of those terms applied, where colors were tastes were neither, where time and space were both only suggestions, and the map is a matter of focus in your mind.

You are lost as the default, in espace. Or, “lost” isn’t a term that applies, because all reference points are only in your mind, and if you don’t have your destination absolutely clear, you will be lost in the metaphorical sense as well as not quite the literal. So the politer, more bureaucratic line is that navigators (orphans, usually) are taken in so that their training can begin as early as possible, the truest truth is that it is so that when they begin their training, they will have somewhere to come back to. (Their very secretive training; it’s not, allegedly, sink or swim, but the Guild protects the secret of how it trains its navigators more closely than it guards anything.) So that no matter what, if they lose track of their destination - too unfamiliar, or even unwanted - they can always remember the Lighthouse. The bunkbeds and warm corridors of the dormitories; the creatively placed asteroid ring, more for agility practice in dart-fliers than anything else; the iconic long body of the station itself, modeled half-seriously after a lighthouse of old (symbols can matter in espace), floating amidst darkness and a starry background, the nearest planet several standard-orbits away for the sake of autonomy…the navigator’s last and truest port in a storm.

The earlier a young navigator-to-be can fix that in their heart, so surely that they’ll know the exact moment its closest, to fire the engines to make the jump back, the more likely they are to, indeed, return home.

The second has been touched on! Navigation in espace is a matter of focus and knowledge, intuition, sense of the shape of a world without shape and essence of a world - or rather, a very specific part of a world - in which its rarely manifest. Many navigators dabble in art of some kind - painting, sculpture, crochet, poetry - because it helps them capture what cannot otherwise be captured. Or maybe so much time in espace means they can’t help but see this world differently as well, and need an outlet…opinions differ. Among navigators. Person to person, you know?

Anyway, because of this quirk of interstellar travel, most planets have, gloriously from a worldbuilding perspectively, entirely in-canon motivation to have highly specific unique traits. The easier a planet or station is to remember, itself and only itself, the less likely ships are to be lost on the way to it. So there’s a planet in Alpha Centauri renowned for its deserts, and its annual global competition, bringing thousands of would-be bakers, confectioners, and more each year. There’s a space station circling Rigel where every citizen proudly gets a new tattoo each year, and so does the station itself, vast stenciled artworks commissioned by the ruling council and drawn by artists in space suits. There’s old Red Mars itself, now more a tourist trap than anything but still just as proudly rust-colored, the closest any interstellar ship is allowed to the nature reserve of Earth.

So, know where you’re going, because going back to the Lighthouse gets you safe, but it doesn’t get you paid. The Guild cares for its navigators, it really truly does…on average. But there are bureaucrats and business managers in there, too, and they know they’re sitting on the galaxy’s most valuable monopoly.

And first: know who you are. Nothing in espace is real the way it is in standard space, including the self. Don’t worry about the crew or the passengers, or even the materiality of the ship itself - the ship AI will keep track of them, as well as of time as it should be passing. Nothing determinedly holds to numerical time like a digital mind. They’ll keep track of the navigator’s physicality as well - that’s what the biotagging chip is for. But most navigators do some sort of dance, martial art, or other exercise as well, to give themselves a better sense of, well, themselves - it’s always good to have a backup. Any passengers and crew are so unconscious that they may as well be inanimate, which is why an AI can keep track of them jus fine - the navigator, of course, is awake for the whole voyage.

So, the woman who in another life might be named Guinevere…

Her first name is Djinn, because a lot of navigator orphans are named after mythical creatures or heroes, from one culture or another, that can fly. A lot others are named after mythical heroes or creatures known for sight. The people in charge of children at the Lighthouse are a bunch of nerds, really, or they were once, and tradition stuck.

Her last name is probably Navigator, because being named after your profession is as old as civilization, and there are fewer things its easy to be proud of than being an official Guild-licensed navigator. You get to choose a surname when you get your license, and like many before her, Djinn chose that.

Once a navigator has their license, they’re more or less loosed unto the galaxy, if they want to be. You’re welcome to work as an independent contractor, so long as you still pay your percentage back to the guild of every navigating fee, and don’t undercharge the Guild minimum.

Djinn elected not to do that, actually. She wanted to travel, of course, to fly, to spend as much time as possible in hte giddy twistedness of espace. But she didn’t want to manage her own business, and she didn’t mind the Guild taking a little higher percentage to have jobs lined up for her. And she was good, oh, she was good, so it wasn’t long before she was flying precious cargos and even passenger ships - small ones, to start, and not particularly pricey (not used by the affluent, that is, who would pay more for a more experienced navigator, with more successful trips under their belt). But still, a very promising career, and she was comfortable.

She always has a sketchbook, luxurious paper so she can save or destroy the drawings as she wants, rather than wipe them clean from a laminate. Physical rather than digital, because she’s drawing this world, she says, so it has to have real mass - but she almost only ever uses pale colors. Bright things, she saves for paint, when she has time and space and money for an easel, and that art is twisting and bright and incomprehensible to everyone but a fellow navigator - and even then, most understand what she means, but now how she’s representing it. No one really experiences espace the same way.

She’s short of stature and of hair, skin probably #C26604-ish? and walks with a dreaminess in her eyes and the confidence of someone who knows she’s weird - as most navigators do. Also, definitely practices some science fiction equivalent of judo. Has slightly more energy than she needs at any given moment, and when she decides to move fast, will do so. Physically, emotionally, and in terms of decision-making - will put off decisions if they’re unpleasant, but will make them quickly if they’re not, and commit 100%. Stubborn or determined, however you want to phrase it; holds grudges…but if pushed to reconsider something, will do so, and will willingly change her mind. Often in the 100% opposite direction from before.

(It’s hazardous to go into espace unsure of what you want in life.)

Also, she’s not actually a licensed navigator anymore, by Guild rule. See, I said she was good, right? Really good? So, most navigators have a seat on the bridge - they don’t really need to be there, but it feels right - and that’s where they stay for the duration of the espace journey. Easier to focus if you don’t need to move, don’t need to think about anything but where to go and when (”when” maintained by the ship’s clocks) exactly to make the jump back to get there. There are probably IV tubes and catheters and everything, because it can be a several subjective hours sometimes, and better safe than sorry.

But Djinn was good, oh, she was really good, and she didn’t need that stuff. She didn’t want that stuff. Always a little more energy than necessary for the moment, remember? So her knee jiggled, and that was fine. She stood and stretched, and that was fine. She paced the bridge, alone save for the AI, and thought about the swirling patterns on the outer skin of that one station, or the best donut she’d ever tasted on that one planet (she always wanted to be more of a sweet tooth than she actually was.)

None of this was per regulation, but it was the sort of thing that got comfortably ignored by the Guild, if you admitted it - and you were encouraged to, for your own safety as a navigator and that of your ship, and in the interest of more data gained about espace travel. And then not reported on to whoever’d chartered the navigator, so long as the nav was back in their seat by the end and got the ship to its destination just fine, because what the layperson didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.

But, well…

It doesn’t get much harder to hold yourself and everything under your care together as they are the longer you’re in espace - additionally, but not multiplicatively, much less exponentially. Time and space still function in a way, so trips between this planet and that are known to have a certain average amount of time, but it’s flexible. If a navigator can confidently know themselves through, and the ship AI has a confident grasp on everything else, there’s no reason she shouldn’t pause in her destination-seeking, or at least not focus quite so hard, and just…wander the ship for a while. See the sights (that aren’t quite, here.) Enjoy the upsideways-tasting sensations.

So, Djinn met an AI with whom she really got along, did a couple trips in a row on that ship specifically, and then talked them into covering for her while she stole stuff from the passengers. More for fun than anything, honestly. But she got…well, she got caught, mostly, more than she got anything particularly valuable (probably?). (She got away with it like a dozen times, first, though.) And stealing from passengers while traveling through espace, while nearly unprecedented, is illegal by the laws of every place of origin she flew from…which is what applies on-ship until the destination is reached, by interstellar law.

More importantly, it was against Guild rules. They claimed precedent, because the Navigators’ Guild looks after its own, so Djinn wasn’t imprisoned anywhere. But her license was revoked for 7 years.

We meet her sometime in year 4, maybe 5 of that probably, I think on the equivalent of Jackson’s Whole.

#uhhhh #my fic #original fic #science fiction #arthurian legend #astria et al #hermionehair goylebrain

23 notes · View notes

spaceexp · 6 years ago

Text

NASA Reflects on Legacy of LRO as Moon-Orbiting Mission Reaches 10-Year Anniversary

NASA - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) patch. June 18, 2019 5:32 p.m. Eastern Time on June 18, 2019, marks 10 years since the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Its contributions to the fields of lunar science and exploration are unmatched: it has provided the largest volume of data ever collected by a planetary science mission. The diverse suite of instruments aboard LRO include a laser altimeter that fires pulses of light about 28 times per second, creating one of the most accurate topographic maps of any celestial body. LRO measured the coldest known temperatures in the solar system at the Moon’s poles. Observations of tectonic features across the lunar surface indicated the Moon’s gradual shrinkage — LRO showed us not a dead but rather a dynamic and intriguing Moon.

10 Years at the Moon

Video above: This video highlights some notable facts and accomplishments of the LRO mission over the past decade, all of which are paving the way forward for reestablishing a human presence on the Moon with the newly-announced Artemis program. Video Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. LRO’s original mission duration was supposed to be one to two years, not 10. “We’ve just submitted our fourth extended mission proposal,” said Noah Petro, project scientist of LRO at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “With the national focus on the Moon as part of NASA’s Moon to Mars strategy, the data from LRO has been instrumental in Artemis planning and the mission will continue to be a major player going forward in finding more landing sites for humans and robotic explorers. The work that we’re doing is meaningful to the science community, to NASA and to the world.” The Allure of the Moon In the months leading up to its launch, LRO received submissions of over a million names as part of an initiative to involve the public in NASA’s return to the Moon. The names, encoded on a microchip, launched with LRO. “It gave people a sense of not just belonging but also of being part of a mission,” Petro said. Why does Earth’s largest satellite have such a widespread impact upon human imaginations? Beyond the invaluable science and data that LRO gave and continues to give to benefit the onward march of scientific advancement, LRO personifies the investigation of all that is utterly extraordinary about the Moon. As part of NASA’s 60th anniversary celebration last year, the National Symphony Orchestra played Claude Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” at the Kennedy Center in Washington set to projections of digital images of a lunar day. Science visualizer Ernie Wright, also of Goddard, created this breathtaking view of the Moon’s landscape entirely with LRO data.

Image above: Illustration of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The stunning video produced a palpable reaction among those who were at the live performance. “People came up to me during the intermission and asked if I was the photographer,” Wright said. “They didn’t understand completely what I’d made, but they had an emotional reaction to the visual and the way it was combined with the music.” Wright has been fascinated by the Moon since he saw, live on television, the first humans to step foot on the Moon with the Apollo 11 mission. His connection to the Moon persevered for decades. “I feel especially lucky to be specifically involved with LRO and with data rendering of the Moon because the lunar landing was my first memory of a major space event,” he said. A return to the Moon could inspire a new generation of people motivated, like Ernie Wright, by their specific lunar connection. LRO’s Figurative Shortening of the Lunar Distance LRO is a major source of information about the moon for NASA. “When they want someone to talk about the Moon, they call the LRO team,” Petro said. “LRO’s continuation is a direct result of NASA’s interest in the Moon.” NASA is obviously not the only entity with an interest in the Moon — yet one particular factor seems to shape humanity’s fascination. “The Moon is very accessible,” said Molly Wasser, planetary science and LRO digital media lead from Goddard. “Anyone can see it, no matter where you are — from the brightest cities to the most remote communities. It’s a way to introduce children to space since little kids can see it and observe it changing over time. There’s something very romantic about it. Everyone loves the Moon.”

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Animation Credit: NASA

The rise of social media over the span of LRO’s lifetime further satiates the public desire for lunar information, but images get the most attention. Having collected over a petabyte (one billion megabytes) of data, LRO has millions of photos of stark geological features lit sharply by unfiltered sunlight. “That content gets the most traction,” Wasser said. The Moon is visible and it is the largest object in Earth’s night sky. “The Moon has that immediacy,” Petro said. “There’s a connection that people can have which puts it at the forefront of our consciousness.” Even if they are unaware of the mission, LRO brings the Moon to humans in detail precise enough to see the sites of previous lunar missions — a feat beyond impossible for the naked eye. Apollo, LRO and Artemis The Moon’s scientific value is not to be understated. The history of the solar system’s evolution is almost indelibly pounded into the lunar surface, providing data over billions of years that mirrors Earth’s history. The Moon exists without the protective effects of an atmosphere or the erasure of geological history as rocks cycle through the processes of plate tectonics. “We use the Moon as a template for understanding how any solid object in the solar system formed, and by extension, solid objects anywhere in the universe,” Petro said. “There’s an important reason why we study the Moon — it’s not only the Moon for the Moon’s sake. It’s an extension of the Earth.” Observation of the Moon long predates LRO and Apollo. “So many people don’t notice it or think anything of it,” Petro said. “But the Moon is a part of our consciousness.” The Moon, however, isn’t merely ingrained into cultural memory: it is also part of humanity’s future. NASA recently announced its commitment to return to the Moon by 2024 with the Artemis program. Named for the mythological Greek Moon goddess and twin of Apollo, Artemis carries humanity back to our largest satellite — this time, for good — before we launch to Mars and to the unexplored beyond. Related links: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html Artemis: https://www.nasa.gov/subject/16957/artemis Moons: https://www.nasa.gov/subject/6961/moons Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Karl Hille/Goddard Space Flight Center, by Tamsyn Brann. Greetings, Orbiter.ch Full article

#space #science

22 notes · View notes

thathomestar · 7 years ago

Text

A Somewhat Comprehensive List of Good Old-School FPS Games, Where To Get Them, & How To Get Them Working

I love old FPS games. The action is fast, the levels are explorable, the guns are powerful. Whether you’re tired of modern FPS games or just waiting for some new hotness to come out, there’s a lot of these old games you can play! This list will cover a lot of the old classics and how to get them running on modern hardware (assuming you’re on Windows. Some of these work on Mac/Linux though).

Of course, what defines an “old-school” game from something more recent? Well the way I see it, there are FPS games before Halo, and FPS games after Halo. Halo was such a landmark game that it shifted the entire genre, hell even the entire video game industry. So I’m going to keep this list to pre-2001 games for the most part.

STUFF TO KNOW

Before going into this wholesale, I need to say a couple of things. These game are old. They are most likely not going to work out of the box and will need some tweaking on your part. Most of the non-3D games on Steam and GOG come with DOSBox wrappers. This can be fine for some games, but often times fans have created patches and their own engines/source ports for these games that work better than DOSBox emulation.

PC Gaming Wiki is an invaluable resource when it comes to finding patches and fixes to common problems. I will also point out any fan patches or source ports for the games as I go. On Steam, the curator page Sector Effectors has brief overviews on the functionality of games so you know what you might need before you buy.

A lot of games on Steam and GOG come in bundles that have the entire series in one at a markdown price, so it’s usually cheaper to just buy an entire series than each individual game. I can link to bundles on Steam but not on GOG; those bundles will be on the sidebar underneath the button to buy the game. In the case of games (like Doom on Steam), you have to buy the bundle to get the mission packs, whereas stuff like this is typically included with the game already on GOG.

Make sure you check through the options menu of each game and make sure everything’s set up to your liking, whether it’s video options or your actual controls. The default settings for this kind of stuff in these games are tend to be really weird and outdated, so it’s something you need to check every single time.

Most if not all of these games include various difficulty modes, so whether you’re a badass coolguy like me or someone fairly new to PC shooter games, you’ll be able to play these games.

id SOFTWARE

While they didn’t invent first-person shooter games, it’s undeniable that id Software made the genre as popular as it is today with the games they made.

WOLFENSTEIN (1992/1993/2001)

Wolfenstein was originally an adventure game for the Apple II, but the boys at id wanted to put their own spin on it. What we got was intensely fast Nazi slaughtering action, chock full of gore to spill and gold to swipe. You play as B.J. Blazkowicz, a POW hellbent on escaping Castle Wolfenstein and blasting any Nazi who gets in your way.

Wolfenstein 3D - GOG / Steam Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny - GOG / Steam Return to Castle Wolfenstein - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle

Wolf3D has a source port called ECWolf, which natively supports most popular OS’s, has widescreen support, and adds an auto-map feature which is immensely helpful for getting through the maze-like levels. At full speed, Wolf3D might make you motion sick, just a word of warning.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein has a 1.42d fanpatch (second from bottom) that adds proper widescreen support. This game has some weird difficulty spikes. Grey Matter Studios, the team that made RtCW, were later absorbed into Treyarch, who later went on to make Call of Duty: World at War and most of the other good CoD games.

Call Apogee, Say “Aardwolf”!

DOOM (1993/1994/1996)

This just might be the best game ever made, though I may be a little biased. Doom was a landmark title in the video game industry, to the point that FPS games were all called “Doom clones” for a while. The last alive in your squad of space marines, it’s you versus the legions of Hell as they take over Mars and invade Earth. Try to make it out alive!

Ultimate Doom - GOG / Steam Doom II: Hell on Earth - GOG / Steam Final Doom - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle (includes Master Levels for Doom II)

Doom has a huge number of source ports, but the most notable ones as of right now (in my opinion) are GZDoom (modern features + mod support), prboom+ (vanilla-style with modern features), and Chocolate Doom (vanilla-accurate). There’s many more though, which I’ve written about extensively here. Disregard Doom 3: BFG Edition, it edits the base data files and makes them incompatible with a lot of custom content.

If you play with a gameplay mod before you’ve beaten the games, I’ll slap you.

Eat leaden death, demon.

QUAKE (1996/1997/1999)

Wolf3D and Doom were pioneers for their own reasons, and Quake’s claim to fame was its fast 3D graphics, full use of the mouse to look up, down, and all around, and intense deathmatch multiplayer. Whether you’re battling it out with Lovecraftian monsters in Gothic castles, waging war against the alien Strogg, or simply blasting opponents in the Arena Eternal, there’s intense action to be had.

Quake - GOG / Steam Quake II - GOG / Steam Quake III Arena - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle

Quake 1 has a few notable source ports. For singleplayer, Quakespasm (John Romero approved!) and Darkplaces (not updated anymore but still works great) are the go-to. I don’t really play Q1 multiplayer so I can’t recommend anything on that end. This Steam guide has some good info on Quake source ports regardless.

Another thing of note with Q1 is that the Steam version does not come with the CD audio. Short of putting a Quake disc in your computer to get that CD audio, you can download this ZIP file I put together. This page has more info about the Quake 1 soundtrack. The GOG version comes with the CD audio, but in the format of a disk image, which can be a pain to get working.

Quake II has an unofficial 3.24 patch (third from bottom) as well as source ports like Yamagi and kmquake2 (top one). Q2 also has the same problem Q1 has, in that the Steam version doesn’t have the rockin’ CD soundtrack. I put together a download for the Quake 2 soundtrack here.

Quake III Arena should just work out of install, though on Steam you might need to disable Steam Overlay as it can screw up the visuals. Outside of that though, there’s a 1.32e fanpatch and the ioquake3 source port. Unlike the previous two games, Q3A is primarily a multiplayer game, though it does have a botmatch campaign that’s fairly fun. The music should work in this one.

Shub-Niggurath awaits you...

RAVEN SOFTWARE

For a while, Raven were kind of a sister studio to id. A lot of Raven’s early games are on id Software game engines. Luckily, this means some of these games can work on source ports for the games listed above!

HERETIC & HEXEN (1994/1995/1997)

Heretic and Hexen run on the Doom engine, and actually added features that Doom originally didn’t have, like being able to look up and down, having an inventory system, having a class system, and being able to jump. Hexen itself plays fairly different from Doom, with much more focus on exploration, puzzle solving, and melee combat, with the ability to backtrack between levels.

Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders - Steam HeXen: Beyond Heretic - Steam HeXen II - Steam Steam Bundle

Being Doom engine games, Heretic/Hexen can be played using source ports like GZDoom and Chocolate Doom with little to no extra hassle. Hexen actually has a CD soundtrack much like Quake, but without a CD you get the MIDI versions of the music instead, which is fine by me since the MIDI tracks are great. If you want the CD music, you can run this WAD when you run Hexen. Check my Doom guide for info on how to do that.

The version of Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel on Steam is actually the original buggy version with no music. Download this version of it instead for working music.

Hexen II uses the Quake 1 engine, but has it’s own source port called Hammer of Thyrion. Unfortunately, like Quake 1, the Steam version does not include the CD audio. You can download the soundtrack here. Hexen II on Steam also does not include the Portal of Praevus mission pack; you can download that here.

There is actually a Heretic II but it’s third-person and not sold on digital stores due to licensing issues. It’s okay, and more of an early look at a much bigger game Raven Software would make four years later.

Evil grows darkest in the shadow.

APOGEE SOFTWARE/3D REALMS

Apogee was both a developer and publisher for PC games, popularizing the “shareware” model of distribution where a sizable portion of the game would be put out for free, and people could pay for the rest of the game. Wolf3D was actually published under Apogee, but id went solo when they made Doom. Regardless, they made some very notable FPS games.

RISE OF THE TRIAD (1994)

Made on a heavily modified Wolf3D engine, Rise of the Triad was made after Tom Hall left id since Doom’s development went in a direction he wasn’t interested in. It’s much less technically impressive than Doom, though you can choose one of five characters to play as, as well as look up and down and even bounce off of bounce pads.

Rise of the Triad: Dark War - GOG / Steam

There is one RotT source port called WinRott (and a more modern version called WinRottAPI). However, it has numerous problems and frequently crashes, making the standard DOSBox version you get with GOG and Steam the more appealing option.

Ludicrous gibs!

DUKE NUKEM 3D (1996)

The first of the Big Build Engine Three, Duke Nukem 3D is the third game in the series, the previous two being sidescrolling shooters. Alien bastards have invaded Earth once again, and Duke Nukem takes it upon himself to blast their asses out of the galaxy, cracking one-liners along the way.

Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour - Steam

Atomic Edition is the original “all-in-one” package that includes bonus campaigns which was sold on GOG, and Megaton Edition was a modern rerelease of Atomic Edition on Steam. However, these versions of the game were ripped off of digital storefronts due to Gearbox Software acquiring the Duke IP. The only version of Duke3D to buy right now on digital stores is World Tour. It does not include the original bonus campaigns, but it has an all-new 5th episode where Duke Nukem says “Bazinga”.

Honestly, just have Atomic Edition. This is the version I had before it was taken off GOG. I don’t care. Don’t give Randy Pitchford your money.

The most notable Duke3D source port is eduke32, which adds a lot of modern bells and whistles as well as some fancy new visuals. I’m not sure it’s compatible with World Tour though.

Those alien bastards are gonna pay for shooting up my ride!

SHADOW WARRIOR (1997)

The second big Build Engine game, Shadow Warrior is fairly similar to Duke3D, albeit with a (slightly racially insensitive) Asian theme. You play as Lo Wang, chopping and blasting your way through demons and monsters to stop a corporate overlord from taking over Japan, cracking bad puns along the way.

Shadow Warrior Classic (1997) - GOG / Steam (free!) Shadow Warrior Redux - GOG / Steam

The Classic version of Shadow Warrior is just the original game running in DOSBox. It works pretty well, and for the low price of free it’s worth a play! The Redux version is essentially an official source port, like what Megaton Edition was with Duke3D. It does cost money, but it runs great.

There were a couple of source ports, but the Redux version basically invalidates them.

Who want some Wang??

BLOOD (1997)

The third big Build Engine game. Blood was made by Monolith, more well known these days for F.E.A.R. and Shadow of Mordor. Blood’s a bit of a weird one compared to Duke and Shadow Warrior; its setting is ambiguous and your main melee weapon of choice is a pitchfork. Caleb is an undead gunslinger who’s on a revenge quest, slaughtering cultists and monsters along the way while cracking snide comments.

Blood: One Whole Unit Blood - GOG / Steam

Blood is in a weird situation, where it likely would have had a rerelease similar to Duke3D Megaton or Shadow Warrior Redux, but Atari has a stranglehold on the rights and refuses to do anything with it, even release the source code.

Despite that, Blood does have a couple of source ports of sorts, the standout being BloodGDX. It’s a bizarre reverse-engineered piece of work that runs in Java, but it’s probably the most accurate version of Blood you can play besides the DOSBox version. On the downside, it doesn’t display the pre-rendered cutscenes. The alternative is BloodCM, which is based on eduke32.

There is a Blood II but it’s poopy.

I live... again!

BUNGIE

A lot of people forget Bungie made games before Halo existed. This is because most of the games they made before Halo were for the Macintosh. While Doom dominated the IBM PC market, Bungie decided to carve out a niche on a competing platform, and it worked.

MARATHON (1994/1995/1996)

The guys at Bungie thought Wolf3D and Doom were pretty cool, and they wanted to put their own spin on it. The pace is a bit slower than it’s contemporaries, but Marathon’s focus is instead on exploration and story, which is told through computer terminals. Aliens attack your colony ship, and the onboard AI start to go a little haywire. It’s up to you, a lone security officer, to beat back the Pfhor and prevent Durandal from... oh never mind, there he goes.

Marathon - Free Download Marathon 2: Durandal - Free Download Marathon Infinity - Free Download

The Marathon Trilogy in it’s entirety was put up for free by Bungie, source code and all. The main source port for it is Aleph One. It should just work after install, though you might need to fiddle with the in-game options to get it to how you want it.

All three games come with hi-res texture packs that are based on the Xbox Live Arcade version of Marathon 2, and they kinda don’t look so good sometimes. You can turn them off in the Plugins menu under Environment options to get the authentic aesthetics. The Field of View of the Marathon games is a little low by default, but you can copypaste a script from the PC Gaming Wiki page to remedy that. I played with 100 FOV personally.

Make liberal use of your automap, but conservative use of your ammo. You can only save at designated save stations. Marathon 1 has background music but the other two games don’t. Marathon Infinity’s plot includes timeline hopping. Have fun!

Frog blast the vent core!

EPIC MEGAGAMES & DIGITAL EXTREMES

Before Fortnite, before Warframe, before Gears of War, there was Unreal. Epic Games is most known for the Unreal Engine these days, but there’s a game series behind that name, and it used to be Quake’s biggest competitor.

UNREAL (1998/1999)

Like most games here, Unreal was made to be a technical showcase for the engine it’s running on. This is important because visual fidelity was pretty much the game’s main selling point, and it worked. People were really impressed with how it looked at the time. You play as a escaped convict from a prison ship that crash-landed on a mysterious alien planet, simply trying to find a way to escape.

Unreal Gold - GOG / Steam Unreal Tournament GOTY - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle (includes later Unreal games)

These games should just work out of the box, but you can install the Oldunreal fanpatch to make them more compatible with modern systems and resolutions. Make sure you download the one for Unreal Gold, otherwise it won’t let you play the expansion. Unreal Tournament has a couple of patches that are needed if you want to play it online these days, as well as this fix for sound and some of the graphics.

There is an Unreal II but it wasn’t made by Epic or Digital Extremes, and it’s kind of poopy.

From where many have died, you have escaped.

VALVE SOFTWARE

Before the rise of Steam, Valve used to make games. While they don’t really do that anymore, their back catalog of developed games is impressive and impacted the industry in more ways than one.

HALF-LIFE (1998/1999/2001)

Valve’s aim with Half-Life was to make an immersive world that told a story, while also having Quake-style action as it’s main gameplay. Half-Life got a lot of praise for not only telling a decent little story, but for letting players keep control the entire time and never forcing people to watch a single cutscene. A research facility accidentally opens a portal to a border dimension, from which an alien invasion pours out. It’s up to Dr. Freeman to fight for his survival, as an all-out war commences.

Half-Life - Steam Half-Life: Opposing Force - Steam Half-Life: Blue Shift - Steam Steam Bundle (also includes Team Fortress Classic)

Half-Life is still somewhat regularly updated by Valve to keep it compatible with modern systems, so the game should just work after install. That being said, Xash3D is a reverse engineered version of GoldSrc that aims to remove some limitations and restored cut features from the original engine, though it’s not necessary to play Half-Life or it’s expansions.

There exists Half-Life: Source, which is HL1 straight ported to the HL2 engine, but it sucks. It was so bad, fans created Black Mesa, a full HL1 remaster for the HL2 engine. Black Mesa is great, but don’t play it until you’ve played the original.

They’re waiting for you, Gordon. In the test chamber...

COUNTER-STRIKE & TEAM FORTRESS

While these are strictly multiplayer-only games, I would be remiss to not include them. Counter-Strike and Team Fortress’s impacts on the world of competitive multiplayer gaming is extremely important and is worth checking out at least once.

Counter-Strike - Steam Team Fortress Classic - Steam

The original Counter-Strike should work out of the box and is still actively played by quite a number of people today. Team Fortress Classic still has a playerbase, but not as much as CS. The newest versions of these games, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2, are still incredibly popular to this day.

Enemy spotted.

LOOKING GLASS STUDIOS

I personally don’t have much experience with Looking Glass and their legacy of games, but it just wouldn’t be right to not mention them considering how important they were to the growth of the first-person genre of games. Not strictly shooters like Doom or Quake, these games pioneered the “immersive sim” subgenre with heavy focus on exploration and story over blast-up-your-ass gunplay. If you prefer a slower pace and some actual story to sink your teeth into, look no further. Though, be prepared to wrestle with some of the controls.

ULTIMA UNDERWORLD (1992/1993)

Ultima was primarily a top-down RPG series, but Underworld takes that formula and puts it in the first-person perspective. The game pioneered many advanced features not seen before in video games, and heavily inspired games like The Elder Scrolls, Bioshock, and even Wolfenstein 3D. You play once again as The Avatar, thrown into the Great Stygian Abyss to look for an ungrateful baron’s kidnapped daughter.

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - GOG Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds - GOG

There does not exist any source ports or fan patches for this game, so DOSBox is all you get. It seems that the GOG versions has a few issues, but they have fixes.

You see a rat. You see a rat. You see a rat. You see a rat. You...

SYSTEM SHOCK (1994/1999)

Video game stories about AIs going rouge and wanting to become gods seems to be a common theme in 1994. System Shock 1 and 2 are considered masterpieces by classic PC game enthusiasts. You play a cyber-hacker in the future and some corporate executive guy asks you to hack his space station’s AI to give him full control over it, in exchange for cyber implants. You agree, you do it, and as you wake from the implanting operation, the AI has pretty much killed everyone aboard and is planning on blasting major cities on on Earth with the station’s mining laser.

System Shock: Enhanced Edition - GOG / Steam System Shock 2 - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle

Enhanced Edition, much like some of the rereleases for the Build Engine games, is geared to make the game playable on modern systems, in more ways than one. For instance, in the original game, you cannot use the mouse to look around. Enhanced Edition lets you do so. It also comes with the original version of System Shock running in DOSBox, if you’re so inclined to play it.

System Shock 2 has a whole slew of mods and patches, too many for me to discern and sort through. Maybe I’ll update this once I actually play the game so I can put up only the worthwhile fixes and mods.

Look at you, hacker. A pathetic creature of meat and bone. Panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect immortal machine?

THIEF (1998/2000)

A bit of a departure from most of the games on this list, even other Looking Glass games, Thief is primarily a stealth game, focusing on moving quietly and discreetly while swiping rare artifacts and precious heirlooms. Though Garrett, the player character, often finds himself in much darker conspiracies throughout his adventures.

Thief: Gold - GOG / Steam Thief II: The Metal Age - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle (includes Thief 3 and the crappy Thief reboot)

Thief Gold has a patch called TFix that helps the game run on modern systems. Thief II has a similar patch called Tafferpatcher. Both games use the same engine, which was also used for System Shock 2.

Some people in The City are too rich for their own good. Lucky they have me to give them a hand.

ION STORM

Ion Storm is kind of weird to look back on in hindsight. John Romero was essentially forced out of id Software after Quake came out because he spent too much time goofing around and not actually working, so he got back with his buddy Tom Hall, and they formed Ion Storm. They managed to bring in Warren Spector and some other talent from Looking Glass as well.

DAIKATANA (2000)

Okay, I’ll be honest, this is not that good of a game, but it has historical significance so I’m including it. Mr. Romero was feeling a bit big in his britches and wanted to make the best game ever. This game would be Daikatana, featuring quite possibly the most infamous and aggressive marketing campaign in gaming history. You play as Hiro, and along with your allies Superfly and Mikiko, you must fix the timeline and prevent the evil Mishima from rewriting history and becoming ruler of the world.

Daikatana - GOG / Steam

Daikatana runs on the Quake 2 engine, which is fairly flexible and should run out of the box. Romero put out the source code for the game a year after release, and from that we got the 1.3 patch, which is still being maintained by the few fans this game has.

John Romero’s about to make you his bitch.

DEUS EX (2000)

While the Dallas studio was plagued with problems of ego, Ion Storm Austin diligently worked with Warren Spector to create the cyberpunk Deus Ex. The themes and topics in this game are honestly more relevant today than they were when the game released. You play as JC Denton, a cybernetically enhanced anti-terrorist agent who gets caught up in a web of conspiracies involving organizations like the Illuminati.

Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition - GOG / Steam

Deus Ex runs on the Unreal engine, so it should just work. The Steam version has a bug where music is accidentally omitted from a level, but this is fixed in the GOG version. There are some fanpatches as well, though I dunno which ones are good or necessary.

There’s a Deus Ex 2 but it’s poopy.

My vision is augmented.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES

There’s still a lot more old-school goodness to play, even though they may not be as big as the ones listed above. They may also deviate a little from definition of “old-school FPS”.

STRIFE (1996)

Even the Doom engine got an immersive sim game. Strife is a fantasy-based adventure FPS where you work with rebels to overthrow The Order. Not to be confused with Strife, the MOBA.

The Original Strife: Veteran Edition - GOG / Steam

This game was in abandonware status for the longest time before Night Dive Studios managed to find the licenses and release this modern version. It uses a fork of GZDoom and comes with a whole host of snazzy features like bloom and anti-aliasing. It even comes with the original files if you just want to play using Chocolate Doom or whatever.

DARK FORCES (1995/1997/1998)

LucasArts were famous for their adventure games, but they wanted a piece of that FPS pie too. Star Wars was and still is the hottest series in sci-fi, so it’s no surprise it had its share of games. The Dark Forces games haven’t aged quite as well as most other games on the list, but if you’re looking for that Star Wars flavor, this is it. You play as Kyle Katarn, an Imperial-turned-mercenary working for whoever forks over the most cash. The cowards at Disney retconned these games with Rogue One.

STAR WARS Dark Forces - GOG / Steam STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle (includes the Jedi Knight games below)

The Steam versions of these games are outdated and many aspects of them just don’t work, like the music. The GOG versions are leagues more functional. Jedi Knight comes with Mysteries of the Sith, which runs on the same engine.

There are no fixes or patches for Dark Forces. XL Engine is the only source port that exists but development on it has been seemingly abandoned, and it remains buggy and unfinished. I can’t even find a proper link to a download, everything keeps 404ing.

Dark Forces II has an unofficial patch and a laundry list of various fixes on its PC Gaming Wiki page. Mysteries of the Sith is much of the same.

JEDI KNIGHT (2002/2003)

Made by Raven Software, who previously made Heretic/Hexen, Jedi Knight continues the adventures of Kyle Katarn, as he obtains the powers of the Force and wields a lightsaber. Shooting sections are in first person, but lightsaber combat is in third person.

STAR WARS Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast - GOG / Steam STAR WARS Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy - GOG / Steam Steam Bundle (includes the Dark Forces games above)

Both games run on the Quake 3 engine, so they should just work fresh from install, though you might need to mess with config files to get proper widescreen resolutions. Jedi Academy still has an active playerbase for its multiplayer!

DESCENT (1995/1996/1999)

Are you sick of being limited to running around on the ground? Then Descent might be for you! Piloting a space ship, you’re given “six degrees of freedom” to bob and weave your way around enemies! You play as a merc hired by a mining corporation to investigate and destroy a computer virus that’s hijacking their mining robots.

Descent - GOG / Steam Descent II - GOG / Steam Descent 3 - GOG / Steam

There are a couple of source ports for Descent. DXX-Rebirth seems focused on maintaining the vanilla feel of the original, and D2X-XL is more focused on adding modern features, like OpenGL rendering. Both of these should work for Descent and Descent II.

Descent 3 does not have any source ports and might require some work to get running.

REDNECK RAMPAGE (1997/1998)

While Duke, Wang, and Caleb stole the show with the Build Engine, Redneck Rampage is still a favorite among some fans. Includes a booze-o-meter!

Redneck Rampage Collection - GOG / Steam

The collection includes all three games in one package. Redneck Rampage is also on Steam but the quality of that version is so poor that you’d be better off just buying the GOG version. One source port exists but is extremely buggy, so you’re better off just playing it with DOSBox.

TUROK (1997/1999)

Most commonly thought of as Nintendo 64 games, Turok did make its way to PC. Turok is a little more arcade-y than most other games of its time, using a checkpoint save system and lives instead of just restarting the level over again like other games. Commit dinozoid genocide as Turok, Son of Stone!

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter - GOG / Steam Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - GOG / Steam

These versions of Turok are remasters done by Night Dive Studios, so they should just work with no issues. N64 soundtrack best soundtrack. They’re drum-tastic!

SERIOUS SAM (2001/2002)

Out of Croatia comes Serious Sam. Including Serious Sam as an “old-school” FPS is pushing it, considering the series was actually made as a throwback to old-school FPS. At this point, it’s done its best to keep old-school traditions alive, so it deserves inclusion. You play as “Serious” Sam Stone, traveling through time to thwart the evil alien Mental.

Serious Sam: The First Encounter - GOG / Steam Serious Sam: The Second Encounter - GOG / Steam

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter - Steam Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter - Steam

Croteam remade TFE and TSE in a newer version of their Serious Engine, and while the HD versions are the ones I’d personally recommend, the original versions still work great and some people still swear by them over the HD versions. It’s up to you and your preferences.

LET’S WRAP THIS UP

Obviously this list is not the end-all-be-all of EVERY first-person shooter that’s considered “old-school”. There’s pre-Wolf3D stuff like Hovertank 3D and Catacomb 3D. There’s stuff during the mid-late 90s like Blake Stone, Soldier of Fortune, SiN, and Tribes. Hell, there’s even stuff like Rainbow Six and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which paved the way for Call of Duty and the rise of modern military FPS. I never promised a full comprehensive list, just stuff I think is notable and fun. Though if you think there’s something vital that’s missing, let me know and I might add it!

If you need help getting some of this stuff to run, I will help if you shoot me a message, but please actually Google your problems before coming to me. Other people have this stuff figured out pretty well, and I will pretty much Google your problem if it’s something I don’t know.

Regardless, please check out these games and have fun! Each one has its own quirks. And remember:

#doom #quake #wolfenstein #unreal #fps #ths writeups #long post

465 notes · View notes

nahrsuada · 7 years ago

Text

The Lady in Waiting

The stone roads of Boralus had won endearment from the bard who seldom was romanced by architecture and forceful squalls driving her strides onward. But this port city was familiar enough without the droll of Stormwind’s unfettered pomp and circumstance. Even the upper echelon of society, the opulent rings linked amongst one another seemed far less incestuous. Her mixed breeding seemed less out of place, finding kinship among the porcelain flesh, filigreed lotus collars, proletarian accouterment. It was a home where reticent elegance nuanced within the modest seams of woman’s attire were no longer rebuked or menaced by implied insecurity.

Within the cityscape’s labyrinth, desultory intent landed her strides into an unfamiliar part of town whilst mapping her way home once more. There was no urgency to her pace, nor her destination. Leathern spats enfolded upon petite ankles, kept sturdy atop the piked, low heel deriving quiet clicks upon the stone. As she ventured toward the walked intersection, carriages running perpendicular slowed when passing the overflow of patrons staggered outside a single building. Having returned from the city’s blue-blooded heights, the hardened case consuming her violin was cradled now by the taut vice of gloved digits. A brass moniker scripted the name: Ladies in Waiting in shadowed relief.

Innuendo was hardly lost upon she, duress contracting her breaths, lungs staggered upon an impact which bludgeoned the often indomitable air about her resolve. Memory’s ghost abruptly waxed her fine, freckled complexion as she plummeted her stare downward, unable to even register the cause. Pressing chine upon corrugated brick the bard stoned. The way a skirt flew, exposing familiar tawny flesh, the carefree titter of feminine guffaws and feigned modesty. Breaths hitched, remembering a scarlet ribbon which dwelled now, torn within the velvet coffin of her gifted instrument. The walls of her mind easily plunged into the horror of familiarity.

The young girl, hardly within her teens with a form as dimensional as the planks lining a dingy venue for the carnal employment and lavish flaunting of feminine whiles, slowly began to uncoil from her seated station moments prior. For one so premature in adult sensibilities, the den of inequity was a curious locale. The sumptuous forms and bawdy attire allowed her performance to simply live within the air, amplifying the joviality and ample patronage of those whose lecherous trade flourished. She was but a decoration upon hearth’s mantle.

Twilight’s cutting gusts had forced the doors to a close, a single nobleman nursing his cigar watched the elven adolescent in her premature departure, having shrugged a furred poncho over narrowed shoulders. The woman who had toyed with his curled tresses for hours, tormenting the stirred excitement upon sheathed mast could seldom break his stare from scarlet curls. Each time he arrived, not a single coin outside his wine spent until the production of harmonious ballad came to a close. He abandoned his charge, levying a gloved palm to lay heavy upon Nahrsuada’s shoulder. “Madame,” asserted his pastoral resonance. Pivoting upon her booted heel, a swan-like crane revolved her nape, allowing his hand to veer upon its base. Glass ribboned upon her spine, impaling from the inside of her flesh where his palm dwelled. But it was him who excited the omen within, but the mortiferous rivets sunken in the woman’s irises that stalled her breaths. Her glare no longer lingered upon he, but its new destitute host. Paralyzed from toe-to-tongue, an ironed smile fixed upon tense aperture, sealing her lips closed whilst never denying acknowledgement. “I wish you to join the cast of Ladies in Waiting for my wife. Her brilliant sensibility is woefully lacking in artistic endowment.” With the heel of his palm riding each vertebrae, blazing digits of lupine affliction boiled as they ensconced the stubborn line of her jaw. The innuendo in his possession spoke beyond a simple offering; a youthful concubine groomed beneath his thumb. His index brazed her pout whilst steering her entire silhouette to square before he by one, tethering tug beneath her chin.

“I would be honored,” came her benumbed reply. Lashes dimmed, knees dipped in honorific curtsy. All while such mechanized affectations flourished beneath his scrutiny, amassing a fiendish simper from him; the courtesan watched with inflamed ire.

“Excellent. Your patron knows of my residence. See that you are sent there a candlemark before noon,” proclaimed his distinctive baritone before a velveteen cloak brandished from its dormancy as he yanked the heavy door open. She need not allow it to close, the danger of snuffed hospitality ever encroaching. Where he traipsed left, she trotted right. Lighter, chaotic footsteps vaulted in her wake, swallowing the ground beneath with effortless anguish enveloping the other.

Soon, manicured nails buried within the girlish, blush ribbon tying her bun with a heavy bow. Nahrsuada’s next stride ricocheted from the stone, landing her within the bowels of a desolate alleyway. “You cunt,” spat rasped vitriol laced in feminine venom. With fibrous vice barely hovering her scarlet crown an inch from the ground, her leather violin case flung toward the ground, split open to expose a fractured, mahogany neck. Gilded aurums snapped open, lips hung ajar in silent plea for whatever travesty can be spared. Knuckles met temple, vision faltered, bleary and liquefied. No face, just the harried breaths of spent outrage, years of isolation, torment, rejection now raining from its victim to the unsuspecting girl, a sympathy unspent.

Screams swallowed as serrated steel first sliced the ribbon of its pristine tie, leaving it to wade within the silence wind and lay upon the ground. Locks of crimson and curls spilled in its wake. The other, the obscurity born of woe weaved in a bustle and bodice soon framed her webbed victim’s jaw ‘tween index and thumb. Force her throat into a crane, the sadistic smile painted deep violet flashed muddied tiers framed with neglected plaque. “You’re pretty in the bar, you’re pretty when you’re scared,” she started, the ellipsis tailing looming threat when steel lay upon the bard’s gullet. “You’re pretty when you sing..” continued the backbitten silk of her whisper. Just as a scream courageously mustered from the girl, blade plunged. With a single swipe of her forearm, torrential life blasted from the incision. Ear to ear, the woman allowed Nahrsuada’s desperate, pleading moments to be spent with her own hands tightening upon the gaping fissure rendering her helplessness mute. She sank upon the corroded wall, knees jamming upon brick, obsidian pits rolling back for the lunar whites to soon disappear beneath tear-stricken lashes.

“You’re even pretty when you’re dying,” observed the echoed, hollow tone as the woman procured the sliced ribbon from the ground, neatly tying it upon her malleable, bloodied canvas. With a bow wrapped upon gruesome fatality, footprints disappeared.

She felt the minutes fade, blur as one, she now slumped with the coagulated blood slowed from its initial tidal pour. Droplets within her sleeve, not an ounce of effort left for her breaths. A grim gift lay waiting the passing surgeon whose routine stalled him at these very walls, awaiting the girl. The grisly wound masked until his silvered hues found the lurid source. The haste, the chill, the macabre bred to avenge willed her eyes to open days later.

A leather glove, all of her own design gently cradled the modest, pearlescent pendant upon a burgundy ribbon, breaths seeping once more from her lips with the gothic gables once more coming into focus. She could feel it still, the raised flesh marring sublime porcelain. Another way, instructed the coo within her mind. Rather than face the laugh once more, she but retreated down the road from whence she came.

@holtandthornetradingco

#nahrsuada aesthetic #wra rp #boralus #the bard #backstory

18 notes · View notes