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[ri47]

少女！髑髏！ビーム！

you might have already heard that rin's showing up in a few other places

[ri47]

Release: OMEN​/​CONSTANCE

Presenting OMEN/CONSTANCE - Soundtrack for Oneiric Roleplaying, the next release from Ri47 Heavy Industries

this album's been a while in the works, and I'm happy to finally have it done! following up the previous ttrpg soundtrack I wrote, NOMAD/VIRTUE, I thought it'd be interesting to make an album that focuses less on music for action sequences and more on those quieter moments that don't necessarily take place on the scale of mechanised warfare

so without further ado, here's 46 minutes of otherworldly atmospheres, unsettling revelations, and stories spun in astral silk

included in this album are ten tracks, including three experimental ambient tracks intended to lend a tense emotional atmosphere to any scene without necessarily implying a specific physical locale

while this album was assembled with gothic and eldritch horror in mind, pulling influence from survival horror classics, it also works nicely in plenty of other genres, bringing a unique otherworldly atmosphere to any table

as a bonus, two variant colours of the album art are included, whether you want to enjoy OMEN/CONSTANCE in tones of Masque Red, Royal Yellow, or Chaos Crawling

as always, thanks for listening!

[ri47]

OMEN/CONSTANCE: Worldscapes

when NOMAD/VIRTUE released, it included a few mecha sound effects. this time around, I teased that there would be something similar for OMEN/CONSTANCE, and as we near release day, I feel a bit more comfortable revealing it!

included with the soundtrack pieces on OMEN/CONSTANCE, Worldscapes are eldritch horror themed ambiance for use in scenes that are a bit too tense for music. the central goal of these pieces was to create soundscapes that didn't convey any specific physical atmosphere, but conveyed plenty of emotional atmosphere

as always, thanks for listening! please look forward to a concrete release date for OMEN/CONSTANCE sometime in the next day or two, depending on how quickly I can finish the mixing on the last track

- Rin

[ri47]

[Q1-2024] A RI47 Heavy Industries Not-Quite Quarterly Report: The Power of Paranoid Thinking

So let's do a quick summary to avoid scaring anyone: Ri47's fine, Rin's (hello!) health isn't really any worse than it usually is, no major projects have been cancelled besides a standalone short story, we have a new mascot, and we're staring down the barrel of several simultaneous releases. 2024, god willing, if all goes to plan, is set to be a busy year... but a normal year.

That's it! You can scurry along now if that covered most of what you were curious about. It's rambles past here.

I promised I'd put something together like this, and since I've set aside the time today, when better to make some announcements and clarify some things going on under the bonnet. It's nothing especially massive, but radio silence felt less ideal as an indicator of the fact I'm hard at work

Without further ado, let's get into the thick of it

A New Face

You might have caught that there's a new face around here. The girl in the black hat is named Łucja (/ˈwu.t͡sja/) and she'll be taking over as the actual mascot for Ri47 Heavy Industries going forward!

There were a lot of motivations around making Łucja, but it can mostly be boiled down to wanting a design to represent the creative side of Ri47 which also doesn't appear as a character in any of the works proper. As much as Pagan is a dear character to me, she's just not an excellent mascot (or author mouthpiece, given that she's an awful person lmao)

She's entirely monochrome, she's got a distinct funny hat, and her outfit is partially stolen from a band I enjoy. Perfect.

Additionally, Łucja is entirely incapable of death, although it still doesn't feel great. It's probably best not to bother her with that sort of thing.

What's up with VesalBlood?

The next chapter of ALTERNE: Diesem Fernen Traum is nearing its release (about 80% done), so if you've been following that series, I hope that's welcome news!

VesalBlood's releases slowed down a bit in the final months of 2023 and the early months of 2024. I wish I could say it was because I was working on something more impressive, but the actual reason is that money is money and I needed to work on projects which produced that sort of thing

There is no actual hiatus on VesalBlood besides my usual glacial pace, but I'd be lying if I said that my work hasn't been eating into my ability to write at the pace I'd like. It's neither here nor there, but it simply is

In a perfect world, I'd probably devote all my time to finishing one long-term project at a time, but that's just not a viable way to be a working artist of my type under any economic system at the moment. The Kishar System setting survived the latter years of my schooling, so rest assured it's not going anywhere unless I go somewhere as well

There may be a few surprising announcements relating to VesalBlood coming at some point in the next few months, but there also might not. To keep a little transparency here, it largely depends on whether I get some calls back

What's up with Armored Blade Jetkaiser?

Armored Blade Jetkaiser continues apace, albeit I've had to delay it a bit as well, due to some surprise complications necessitating the reworking of some key aspects of the combat system

I'm still weighing whether I want to release the first pre-release editions without the dogfighting ruleset to get it out the door faster, but it feels like that'd be a bit of a betrayal. Maybe I'll put it up to a poll soon? Who knows.

At any rate, Armored Blade Jetkaiser is Armored Blade Jetkaiser, and that means it's a solo project that I'm working on in my second layer of free time (what I do after I do the things I do in my free time) so it was always bound to be a little extra slow

What's up with OMEN/CONSTANCE?

OMEN/CONSTANCE is coming. No delays are expected, because I didn't actually set a release date. At any rate, it's coming about as fast as expected!

It should be entering the final stage of work soon, since we're only a song or two short of release. Look forward to it! There might be a few surprises on this one

RI47? In My Project?

While I'm not at liberty to discuss the specifics of it quite yet, I'm going to be featuring on a few projects! Watch out! Or don't! I'll be here, regardless. I'll make a point of saying more once I can.

As it stands, the projects are game-related, and I don't have to actually make the games for once

Lovely! Lovely!!

Wrapping Up?

Mostly! Before I forget, I'll probably throw Chivalry Without Honour on Bandcamp as a single at some point in the next few days. If you enjoy that track, you can pick it up, probably!

Also, I've finally worked out the ideal portion of salt to cut the burnt taste from my instant coffee! I won't write it down here, because discovering that is an important (and personal!) milestone in every frugal caffeine addict's life, kinda like learning which brand of inexpensive vodka won't make you sick.

You've really gotta learn it for yourself! But it's worth it!

See you soon!

[ri47]

extremely minor update! the tagline for this blog has been changed from "For want of wings, I cast away my skin" to "Endless war on the waking world; manufacture harsh experiences" in order to better reflect the fact that I release more than just VesalBlood under Ri47 these days

the former tagline is still going to remain VesalBlood's, naturally

thanks for your patience! I'll have more interesting stuff to say soon. maybe enough to warrant an actual "State of Ri47 Update" post for once

- rin

[ri47]

with two ambient tracks and one combat track, all three of the OMEN/CONSTANCE preview tracks have been revealed. expect a few more surprise tracks in the actual album. until then, please look forward to it!

when the album's ready, it will be available in the usual place

[ri47]

how do I persuade other people to stop ghosting my girlfriend or to just generally acknowledge her existence? she's gets lonely whenever I'm not around and I would like it if people didn't look at me like they'd seen a ghost whenever I suggest they try chatting with her.

check out VesalBlood and Armored Blade Jetkaiser. I don't think they'll help, but it's firmly within the scope of what this blog can offer

[ri47]

[Preview] Armored Blade Jetkaiser: Archetype

While Jetkaisers don't slot cleanly into a normal class system, the exact nature of one's interface with their holy frame can be sorted into several martial schools, which are known as Archetypes.

An Archetype is more like an ideology, a way of thinking, than it is a true set of rules. An Archetype is, in the truest sense, a choice of path towards heaven: the vein one follows to the burning heart of divine peerlessness.

While an Archetype might inform the way a Jetkaiser fights, its effects are most strongly felt outside of combat, represented in flourish and theatrics. Even still, there are certain circumstances where one's Archetype might decide the outcome of a duel.

Additionally, each Archetype selects a Path Symbol to carry with them, representative of the way they have chosen to follow. Examples are included, but not necessarily the only options.

Included in Bootleg Angel, the first pre-release edition of Jetkaiser, are three Archetypes. More may come in the future, along with instructions on creating homebrew Archetypes.

-

🦗十重の変身幻想 〜 Ten Illusionary Shifts

Ten Illusionary Shifts is the path of change, justice, and chivalry. Those of this Archetype interface with their holy frames as extensions of themself, an object worn tightly against their body that can be ready at a moment's notice if only given the cue.

Holy frames used by these Jetkaisers tend to take on a semi-organic appearance, layers of chitin-like material resulting from the blend of their being with the divine engine on their backs. A Jetkaiser who follows this path is never truly disarmed unless they are truly dismembered.

Path Symbols

A recognisable article of clothing left to you by the one who saved your life, the thread of their memory laced deep along the seams

A physical photograph of someone you can never forget, stained and mistreated, but never truly lost

A borrowed name, a stolen face, often worn in place of your own

🗡️精作悲嘆の坐禅 〜 Meditations on Perfected Misery

Meditations on Perfected Misery is the path of duality, loss, and endless improvement. Those of this Archetype interface with their holy frames as semi-autonomous companions, lending some of their Azariel's power to the armour itself, splitting their will into two.

Holy frames used by these Jetkaisers take the form of animal familiars when inactive, shifting into traditionally-styled suits of armour when activated. A Jetkaiser who follows this path sacrifices themself—for their own sake.

Path Symbols

A tattoo marking a regrettable past affiliation you just can't shake off, the seal of a soul with terrible deeds undone

A burning scar, an aching memory, and an irreplaceable lesson left to you by someone for whom you'd rather not find respect

A scent of blood that cannot be washed away, the subject and consequence of many an unfortunate misunderstanding

🌹使徒の輝ける殉教 〜 Visionary's Shining Calvary

Visionary's Shining Calvary is the path of resistance, beauty, and martyrdom. Those of this Archetype interface with their holy frames as beautiful weapons, love made manifest, irremovable from their very nature as a being.

Holy frames used by these Jetkaisers take the form of "enchanted" (or cursed) weapons, taking form as an exteriorisation of their inner world and wrapping their bodies in protective arms. A Jetkaiser who follows this path sharpens their heart against the rocky shore of reality.

Path Symbols

A pin, brooch, signet, or other trinket that carries a floral crest, wreathed in the distant reek of a past lover's perfume

An amulet held to the heart, ringed in glass and metal, summoning memories of home when squeezed tight in bloodied palm

A hazy memory of the one you sought to become, idolatry sinking through the mirror's cracks

-

TL Note: all of the Archetype names were written in Japanese first and worked backwards to English in homage to questionable fan translations of the late 90s and early 2000s. they are intentionally indirect translations that make some weird choices on purpose

TL Note 2: because I used a japanese bible I had around for help with the translation on a lot of these, you can't say "none of these words appear in the bible" because most of them do

[ri47]

it felt like Jetkaiser could benefit from having at least one stock design for the grunt enemy equivalent, so I went ahead and threw one together

-

Veins humming with liquid godcorpse, automatic confrontation units, more commonly known as Autofedes, are a flashy -- and often impractical -- method of completely overwhelming an objective. Against Jetkaisers, however, their true threat becomes clear.

While unworthy of note on their own, Autofedes' nature as swarm infantry has resulted in them claiming the lives of many experienced pilots. Just as quickly as one might notice the telltale buzzing of their inefficient holy engines, they might find themselves surrounded by mechanised blades from all sides.

While they may appear to move independently, there are no known variants of Autofede which avoid reliance on a weighty intelligence core, serving as the thinking (and reacting) centre for all its tethered Autofedes. In this sense, a group of Autofedes can be considered the swarm bodies of their core. Without the core, they are nothing more than useless piles of metal and blood.

By necessity, the intelligence core is bound to an implanted Azariel, the neural stem inside serving as the contractee. Because the Azariel is aware of its non-sentience, only a core which has begun to develop its own sense of self can utilise holy arts through its Autofedes.

In spite of the great expense in creating an Autofede swarm, their armour is not on par with a true holyframe, and thus they are easily cleaved by a Jetkaiser's weapon in a single blow.

(I imagine they move a bit like the stiffer machines from Automata)

[ri47]

i can't sleep so have an entirely vibes-based Pygmalion from @ri47's VesalBlood

[ri47]

I've posted a few bites here and there that give examples of what pygmalions actually sound like, but it's always fun to post another every now and again

this is technically the first sound from a gorgon-type, though. what a pain it must be to have a telepathic focus strong enough to kill

[ri47]

Jetkaiser Setting Material: Akashic Artefacts

When the term Akasha is used in the study of the godcorpse, it most often refers to a conceptual place in time, the terminus, where things might be pulled from with the full record of their existence engraved upon them, regressing towards the moment of their creation

In short, Akasha is just as much the moment of nonexistence, when something truly ceases to be, as it is the moment of the item's fulfillment of purpose. When something is no more, it goes to Akasha.

Akasha rests at no specific or consistent place in time for the things which are pulled from it. Similarly, it is impossible to pull something from Akasha which currently exists or ever will exist so long as the pulled object remains in conceptual existence. An item pulled from Akasha is unique, and is referred to as an artefact

All of this means that, in effect, an artefact is an item which can never be recreated and does not otherwise exist. To pull something from Akasha is to violate the very fabric of the world, and in removing the artefact from its own weave, it will begin to correct itself, regressing towards the beginning of its existence at rapid pace until it ceases to exist

Artefacts pulled from Akasha require a great deal of energy, proportional to their conceptual and spiritual weight, making them utterly impractical for the fabrication of items with many uses. A component destined for a single purpose, however, is not beyond reason.

Because of their warped chronology, blades and other striking surfaces pulled from Akasha are often considered to be self-repairing. A person, however, would be impossible to create.

There is one exception to this rule, which is a loophole that has come to be known as homunculus fabrication.

A person, in the divine scheme, is eminently useful. A person without a soul is merely a body containing knowledge, and devoid of the soul to find its purpose, it instead reverts to the single purpose which it artificially implanted within it: its magnum opus.

A homunculus is a soulless body pulled from the moment of its nonexistence, split away from its soul, to be imbued with a single purpose in its fabrication as an artefact.

In its smallest and least developed form, a homunculus bears the weight of all knowledge and is paralysed by it such that it cannot speak. As it ages, it regresses backwards towards its conception and forgets, and through the manipulation of the order in which information is forgotten, it can retain that which it needs to fulfill its purpose in the time which it is entangled

Carrying a decaying-yet-complete knowledge of existence in its form, a homunculus will ceaselessly pursue its magnum opus -- absolute purpose -- until its very existence fails.

To date, there have been only several dozen instances of true homunculus creation since the first artefact was pulled from Akasha.

While homunculi are generally not considered to be living things, the official stance of the trade unions being that they are classified in the same category as expensive computers, there is some evidence that this is untrue.

Left to their own devices, a homunculus with a flawed or impossible magnum opus will begin to experience visions of the homunculus dream, a sort of shared dreamspace among all sentient artefacts which can perceive it.

At the centre of this dream is a voice, known by many names, most commonly The Clarion, beaconing the inhabitants of the dream towards nonexistence. A compelling call to suicide, answered nearly as often as it is heard.

The stance of the trade unions on this matter is, again, one of plain disagreement: the homunculus dream is the intermingling of a folk story and mass hysteria

Further, a homunculus with a defective magnum opus is required by law to be reported and terminated, should it not terminate itself. In the rare cases where homunculi are rumoured to have escaped this fate (most often by being created in the Far, the absolute edge of the unions' reach), all trails soon run cold.

To date, due to the incredible rarity of homunculi, there isn't a single confirmed case of an extant unbound homunculus.

Whether a homunculus can be implanted with an Azariel, being a godcorpse artefact themselves, is unclear. Even without an Azariel, it stands to reason that a homunculus would be able to operate a holy frame using only the residual divinity inside of their body.

Prolonged exposure to radiated divinity from an Azariel leads to Jetkaisers experiencing a similar phenomenon to the homunculus dream, a shared neural space where those bound to the same Azariel can communicate instantaneously and with perfect clarity over great distances merely by locking eyes.

As of 2994, proclaimed in the early years of the Third Cycle by Provisional Minister of Economic Prosperity in the Inner Colonies, Cretia H. Markos II, the creation of homunculi is considered unlawful in all trade union affiliated territories.

A crime in the mortal degree, necessitating the destruction of one's divine circuit and the removal of one's genetic templates from all cloning facilities.

[ri47]

Forgive me if this is already answered, but what does non-pygmalion/jackal transport look like? What's the state of things there?

as a rule, barring extreme top crusts in the places where most people live (a lot of Kishar is inherently an extreme top crust), personal vehicle ownership is rare. spaceships designed for interplanetary travel aren't all that advanced, outside of the ones containing necromatrix-based daemons to regulate the ship's functions, but those are the kind generally used by civilians. FTL isn't really a thing

on planetary surfaces, most civilian centres use trams and trains to get around. in more rural areas, cars, 'cycles, and trucks aren't unheard of, and the exact nature of ownership there varies. for example, sometimes a community shares one bus or plane for transportation to larger cities. sometimes a family has a car that's a bit of an heirloom. sometimes your father just has a cool motorcycle.

you won't find very many "hovercraft" outside of very specific military applications, although some of the KHU upper class do have things along those lines for avoiding contact with the general public

non-human earth animals past a certain size (read: most things bigger than a cat) aren't really common anymore, but at least one breeding stable of horses is kept by a Kishar lineage, mostly for show. somewhat recently on Irra, there were some efforts to domesticate the predators (ophiotaurs specifically, which are about the size of an aurochs) for transportation usage, but this almost immediately backfired and resulted in yet another grey contractor station becoming nothing more than a stretch of stampeded ruins

planes still exist, with maglaunched spaceplanes being a fairly common way to move human passengers to into orbit for ships that are large enough to render landing impractical. civilian air travel is about what you'd expect, except with more VTOL in locations with built-up infrastructure

moving fortresses are a fixture of surface wars, whether that takes the form of enormous weapons platform aircraft that are designed to never ground or city-sized trains that move without rails. some of these get large enough to necessitate their own internal tram systems

[ri47]

Everything blended into a mechanical symphony of white noise as I closed my eyes and turned from the world.

[ri47]

do you think meilin is an asuka

fair warning, this is a bit of an informal and silly answer to a silly question that inherently requires me to discuss my own intent a bit. I'll put it below a break, in case you want to preserve the intentional ambiguity of characterisation that Diesem Fernen Traum has going on

spoilers below the break, in addition to spiritual spoilers for what's going on in some heads

I don't really consider Meilin to be an Asuka, but that's more because Teres and Elyz are the characters who map most cleanly onto that sort of thing (and honestly Becket vir Gweir has some shades of her in him as well)

if I had to connect Meilin to any specific NGE character, I'd probably say she's closest to Misato, but even that's a bit stretch. Meilin is an absolute mess of a person whose load-bearing ego is about all that keeps her together. it only cracks through in her internal monologue sometimes, but Meilin isn't nearly as collected as she has to believe she is

I wouldn't want this to be mistaken for her being insecure, because her confidence is definitely real. this isn't like that

Meilin's sense of self-appreciation is deeply entangled in her outward expressions of love towards others. which is all to say that she sees performance as sincerity and, in thinking she's a gift to others, often comes off as being entirely self-serving when she gives her company to them

or in other words, Meilin is a bit of an inversion of how I usually write protagonists. she's not a bad person trying to speak in the vocabulary of nice people, but a sweet person who's only been given a vocabulary of authority and exploitation

you know how Misato kind of tries to be her dad, but better than her dad, but also still contains strands of that same vulnerable teenager she was before she tried to overwrite herself with that stronger person? Meilin is also trying to be her dad, and unfortunately for Meilin, her dad is the avatar of the human resources branch for the military industrial complex

for disclosure's sake I took a while answering this anon because you sent it right before the end of Rain Arc (chapters 1-6) and giving an honest answer before that would've been a bit of a spoiler lmao

[ri47]

Bootleg Angel: an abbreviated test version of the character creation for that one unreleased rider-inspired ttrpg rin promises she hasn't forgotten

playtest groups will be receiving a copy first, along with patrons, when it's ready. no promises on a specific date, but it'd be nice to finish things up before we reach that end date I set for FestaBlood

[ri47]

turn your back on mother nature

Diesem Fernen Traum: Cylinder Spiral released one year ago today