#Artic Computing

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[electricpurrs]

i just watched a really cool video by Segan Hawkes called Horror of the Inhospitable and i thought about recommending the video to my friends, but after watching the video i thought it'd be more fun to first recommend the games talked about in the video, since playing them for yourself really adds to the experience, and the first four are cheap or free games on itch.io that deserve the love

so, going for it:

Horror of the Inhospitable

(five horror games about the winter)

Truss

Itch.io, name your own price, 20-30 minutes. A game about isolation

That Which Gave Chase

itch.io, $5 USD, 45-60 minutes. A game about being a sled dog musher traveling through the artic

Winter Walk 2006

itch.io, free, a couple minutes. A game about seeing something scary on your computer

It's Snowing

itch.io, rpgmaker game, name your own price. A game about cleaning up the mess you left in the snow last night

The Long Dark

Steam, $10 USD. a survival game about surviving when it's cold, and the lights are out

Have fun!

[hers-underwraps]

They are all literally just a little Desert family

(Because they're both from deserts (Australia and the Artic)

Look guys, they're all one big family and you can't convince me otherwise

Let me explain

First you've got the father-daughter relationship between Natquik and Dashi. They go on so many missions together and Natquik adores Dashi so much. He's even got a photo of her hanging up on the wall in his den!

She's always out there doing supply runs in risky weather, doing Artic research and they even set out on a lil mission with just the two of them to check out seismic activity! It really helps affirm the father-son relationship with Natquik and Barnacles. Look at how happy they are when dropping him off.

They're just like "Bye Dad!"

The way Dashi and Natquik always talk to each other out of genuine interest/concern as well! For example when Natquik's calling about the fox situation and Dashi says "What the Captain meant to say is how are you enjoying your vacation" or when Natquik calls them to check that dashi got home safely and had some hot coco. They are just the cutest!

Second, you've got the Koshi and Barnacles big brother-little sister relationship. These two are such a wholesome duo because I feel like these two are just on the same frequency. Also the fact that Koshi is always stealing Barnacles's mannerism (e.g. pose/catchphrase) very much reminds me of younger sibling behaviour.

The way Koshi is able to talk to Barnacles like they are equals and call him out on stuff makes their dynamic a lot more fluid.

Barnacles is definitely able to take off his "children serious" filter and can be a little bit more like himself around her. For example, in the raven's episode where he says "A conspiracy, you mean they're plotting against us?!?!" and Koshi says "Nah, you know that's what you call a group of raven's."

Also when they do their little bluff with the raven's it's so funny because two aren't naturally the best actors (ngl Barnacles's acting is abysmal have you seen the bald ibis episode).

These two have definitely got something wrong with them but they are also so obsessed with learning and understanding other behaviour and I think they have an unspoken bond over that which I think is really neat.

Third, we've also got this rarepair Tracker and Koshi duo! They lowkey give me “omg it’s my favourite cousin” vibes because they instantly click really well. These two get an entire episode together (the billabong mystery) and they are such a good combo. Between their shared excess knowledge and wits they work well together.

Koshi invited Tracker to go and study Australian birds (also I love that she knew that he loved birds) and they both end up causing a bit of chaos. Koshi also helps Tracker by showing him the ropes of Australia is great to see.

The "Home Run" moment for me in terms of their dynamic was when Koshi gave Tracker her mystery sister's notebook to write their adventure in. This book means a lot to Koshi, she takes it everywhere and she usually uses it to write about her adventures with Dashi. So for her to give it over to Tracker meant that they’d formed a pretty strong bond.

Tracker taking the time and care to write their adventure in her notepad shows that he really likes Koshi as well. These two are the duo I never knew I needed.

Fourth, speaking of Tracker admittedly, he and Dashi haven't had a great deal of interactions, most of them being computer calls. Their relationship is definitely one that's formed around mutual friends. If I were going to put a label on it I'd say they're giving off that "third cousin that I see once every few years but also happens to know everything about me" vibe.

Their most notable interaction was their first call in the deep freeze special. Tracker definitely takes a liking to Dashi (as to what type of liking that is based on his tone...) but generally, they seem to have positive interactions in the calls they do share.

Tracker said it was “really nice to meet you” and honestly it would be really nice if these two get an episode together in the next season of Above and Beyond.

Fifth, obviously we've got the Dashi and Barnacles power duo here. Their bond is probably the foundation of this little desert family. Ironically I also don’t want to put a label on it because theirs so many ways to go about interpreting it (I could go into a deeper dive for them but that’s for another post…).

These two have genuinely been in the trenches together. They were quite literally parenting the original squad in the original series and they now share major leadership roles in above and beyond. They’re got each others backs, they’re keeping everyone (including each other) alive and managed.

They express so much genuine concern for each other and are usually there as when the other is in strife. Barnacles is literally having a full on mini meltdown when Dashi first flying to Natquik, clearly they mean something to each other. Whether it’s a “trauma bond so strong we founded a family” or “Bestied so hard our families combined” situation these two are like this 🤞.

There are also other examples I could talk about like Koshi and the cubs hanging out and getting along nicely or characters that aren't probably going to get a chance to interact like Koshi and Natiquik since Natquik never leaves the Artic and I highly doubt Koshi has a reason to go there but my point still stands. These two "families" of characters have had several interactions and entire episodes dedicated to them to the point where it could almost be interpreted as a deliberate choice. Nearly all above-and-beyond episodes with Professor Natquik feature Dashi. Tracker and Koshi got an entire episode dedicated to them despite having limited interactions before. There are also several episodes that feature a 2 artic + 1 aus trio or 1 aus + 1 artic in them.

The nail on this coffin for me personally for the desert families was definitely the "Artic Blizzard" episode with "Billabong Mystery" further solidifying it.

For example, take this scene where Dashi's first priority is making sure that the cubs are ok once the wolves are scared away instead of running to see if Barnacles is ok. She understands that the cubs are vulnerable and highly protected members of the "Artic family" hence genuinely worries about them despite them not being her own "Blood" family, which is what most of them are more naturally inclined to do.

She's worried about their safety throughout the whole thing and has to entirely place her trust entirely in Natquik and Tracker as most other options are not viable due to the nature of the Artic.

(Also off topic, Dashi driving into the wolves honking at them and shouting on the speaker to get away from the polar bears was so in the character of her I genuinely giggled)

Thinking about this from a practical perspective, some octonauts/agents would be far better suited to handle missions in the Arctic, yet Dashi is chosen by the writers reoccurring in these adventures which I think is a great way to allude and represent the struggles of family. The trusting in them to show a new culture, to get you to safety, the fear surrounding unfamiliarity and anxieties surrounding acceptance when you are completely out of your depths is illustrated through the forming the "desert family"

This idea is then continued in the Billabong mystery episode where it's Tracker having to trust Koshi in an alien environment. Furthermore, the episode is told through a flashback, which gives Tracker the power of having the dominant narrative voice. His recalling of the events, despite being filled with mishaps and miscommunication leading to problems is generally positive. This episode can give insights into the importance of forming strong and positive connections with others when learning to adjust to the many complications and quirks that come with families. By being able to create a sense of belonging for others within the preexisting family structure in an organic way (e.g. by using commonalities and demonstrating both the highs and lows), the idea of the "desert family" being an intentional choice.

Also, I love how the stronger bonds with the "desert family" structure are upheld throughout the group interactions. They had all three of them lined up and proud of the cubs during the badge ceremony. They could've left them out and made it a personal thing with just the cubs and barnacles but they instead chose to celebrate family achievements with the whole (which we love to see). Furthermore, looking at the snowball fight, for example, they all instinctively split up into teams (Dashi+Natquik) vs (Tracker+Barnacles) vs (The Cubs) which I think is just stinking adorable and has also been repeatedly shown as a strong duo with "familiarly connotations" in previously episodes.

So that's why I think these guys are a "Desert family" and I think that this should be appreciated more.

I have a method to the madness. No this is not some delirious delusion, but I think an intentional choice in order to educate others on complex topics in accessible ways and further develop the characters.

Now, all thats left to do is hope for an episode of all of them together!

Peace out!

<3

[gamesception]

This has been around for a few months, but I'm only just hearing about it. Artic Base for homebrew 3ds lets your physical 3ds connect wirelessly to a modified version of the Citra 3ds emulator (available for android, linux, mac, and windows), so that the emulator can read game files from the 3ds and write save files back to it. You are emulating the game - contrary to some youtube videos you are NOT streaming the game from the 3ds - but all the files are taken from and go back to the 3ds, so there's no piracy involved and no need to find or download roms. Unless the games on your 3ds are themselves pirated, in which case shame on you you naughty child!

This allows a switch-like experience where you can play a game portably on your 3ds, then when you get home boot up the same game and the same save file to play on a bigger screen in higher resolution with a more comfortable controller via citra, saving your game back to the 3ds. It also lets you take advantage of Citra's ability to play multiplayer online even though the 3ds servers are down by emulating a local connection over the internet. It's also an easy option to stream or record gameplay if you're into that without the trouble of installing a capture card mod onto your 3ds.

Now, granted, this was all already possible by copying save files back and forth from your 3ds memory card to your computer, but to do that you still had to go through the bother of setting up citra and getting your game files on there - either by finding roms or by dumping the files yourself. That could be a pretty significant hassle, but Artic base handles it all for you.

There is a downside - every time you load or save anything in your game, that data has to be transfered between your 3ds and Citra over wifi, which does add a delay and some slowdown whenever that's happening. But most of the time gameplay runs very smoothly.

Anyway, Artic Base requires a modded 3ds. Instructions can be found HERE. The process isn't very difficult, but read the directions carefully and take your time, as there's always a risk of breaking a device when installing custom firmware if you mess something up. Don't rely on video guides for this process! if the video is out of date, it might give you instructions that are no longer correct for the current methods and files!

Even if you're not interested in Citra, modding adds so much utility to the 3ds that you really should look into it if you have one. Button remapping, using larger memory cards (I wouldn't go over 128gigs), backing up save files, backing up entire games so you don't lose access to them if the aging cartridges go bad, even community ports of entire games like Doom or Off or Fallout, access to the pretendo network which is slowly rebuilding online functionality for 3ds and wii, the ability to stream from your computer to your 3ds, access to h-shop to download game updates and patches no longer available from nintendo after the e-shop's closure, and so much more.

Anyway, once you have a modded 3ds, Artic Base can be found on the Universal Updater app. I prefer the .cia version over the .3dsx version, so you don't have to go through Homebrew Launcher every time you want to use it. If you want to install it manually instead, it can be found HERE.

You also need a modified version of Citra to connect to your 3ds, which can be found HERE.

[yes-i-write-fanfiction]

Okay, an Au for the Daemon au! Humans have their own equivalent to Daemons, but its different from Cybertronians. In older times when tech wasn't a thing, sometimes some Metal ore or other mineral ended up becoming a small lifeform connected to the human touching it. In modern times, devices being touched by a Human will on are occasions become a Transforming Robotic lifeform.

Simply put, humans aren't born with their 'Daemons' they are born sometime later in their life, when in contact with either a Metal deposit or a electronic device. So basically the Human's 'daemons' are miniature Transformers.

Not all of them are human level intelligence and are more smart animals then anything.

Raf's Familiar(instead of Daemon, humans call them things like Familiar, shikigami, etc.) Is just a full on Computer Console with a root mode thats a Fusion of a Cat and a Tortoise, called Tora-Mod.

Jack's Familiar was a Electric Fan, but it was eventually able to scan a new alt that was a four Rotor Drone, its Root-mode is a Fennec Fox with a Backpack with two of its four Rotors from its alt-mode are usable. Its name is Fennefan(pun on Finnigan, Fennec+fan).

Miko hasn't Gained her Shikigami(Shikigami being the Japanese term for them, so she can call them that) yet. She keeps a 6 pound metal ball on her person just incase. Though she is often seen with a Wild-One, a large Kitsune who often treats her like her own child, This ones name is Taiyo-miko(literally Sun Priestess). Miko sees her as more a Parent then either of her biological parents.

Fowler's used to be an Old Tin Robot toy before scanning a Drone similar to Fennifan. His Root mode is actually humanoid and has human level intelligence, and speak is Western drawl, even looks like he's a Cowboy. His name is Out-tin(outing, Outlaw, and tin).

June's Used to be a old TV, but scanned an Electric Scooter(moped), and her Root mode is an Artic Fox(yes, a Familiars Root mode can often be hereditary in some way). Her name is Foxtrot. She actually is a Point One Percenter, with a Cryo-laser, so June wasn't Captured by Arachnid, because she was put into statis.

Though, Familiars are capable of reproduction on their own, with out their offspring needing a Human Partner, so earth has a Small 'Cybertronian' population, as the Autobots and Decepticons see it when they first arrive, before learning the truth. 'Wild' Familiars are often more intelligent and powerful, and even larger, then Human-born Familiars. Often having even Mythical creature alt-forms or Root-forms. Wild-ones are basically regular Cybertronians, but they can feed purely on electricity and solar energy and even Biological matter(human food) . Many Wild-Ones are human level intelligence and can speak. Wild-Ones do have some Culture from forming Clans and even towns off away from usual human Towns and Cities.

Honestly, when June ends up being in the inner circle, she definitely brings Baby photos of both Jack and Fennefan because the Autobots become more relatable and easily connected to due to Familiars and Wild-Ones being a common and accepted concept on earth.

Cool idea! I like the thought of mostly random electrical objects suddenly gaining sentience, makes me wonder if people try to influence what their 'daemon' will be by keeping certain electronics close.

[multiversemaker169]

Here's my idea for an Inside Out 2 x Fnaf 2 game.

This game will be a sequel rather than a prequel and takes place after the funtime buffet being rebranded with the old animatronics being replaced with new ones.

The new animatronics

.Anxiety the poodle

.Envy the frog

.Embarrassment the panda bear

.Ennui the pine marten

.Nostalgia the artic fox

The fractured animatronics

.Fractured Joy

.Fractured Sadness

.Fractured Anger

.Fractured Disgust

.Fractured Fear

The reasons the old animatronics are damaged

.Joy was used as take apart and put back together attraction like Mangle.

.Sadness had an accident where she fell and broke her face.

.Fear was stored away and forgotten. He would be bitten and torn by rats.

.Disgust had a door close on her wing and had to rip it off to free herself.

.Anger had a chip installed in him to make him more kid friendly. Forcing him to be cheery and only tell kid friendly dad jokes instead of his trademark comedic swearing, yelling, and finger pointing to expose the absurdities of life(he was originally programmed to entertain adults). He hated being forced to be someone he's not. One day, he decided to rip out the chip from his head to free himself. This wasn't without consequences, though, ripping out that chip caused him to become extremely aggressive to the point of attacking anything that moves. He was considered too dangerous, so he was locked away.

Game mechanics

The main mechanic is putting on a Bloofy mask to trick the animatronics into thinking that you're one of them. Though there are a few who aren't fooled by the mask.

Those who are fooled by the mask

.Joy

.Sadness

.Fear

.Envy

.Nostalgia

The other mechanics

.Anger works just like Withered Foxy. When he's outside your office, you must shine your flashlight at him.

.When Disgust gets into your office, you must point your pocket mirror at her to show her fractured appearance and make her go away to try to fix herself up.

.Anxiety will be in the computer room to make computer documents about her plans for the future. When you hear her having computer problems, you must switch to Cam 7 and click on her computer screen to fix it.

.Ennui will try to try to get into one of the four party room vents to climb into your office, and you'll have to find which vent she's in and activate the security lasers to block her from entering your office.

.Embarrassment isn't like the others. He is able to see that you're just some innocent security guard and will actually try to help you, but he only appears occasionally.

Another thing is just like the last game, Fear doesn't have a jumpscare. Instead, he'll try to take away your flashlight, leaving you defenseless against Anger.

[talisverse]

I've always kinda wanted to know how your versions are similar/different from the ogs, story wise i mean! you already have wonderfully different visual designs! you've probably talked about some of their stories before I probably just missed it (⁠´⁠-⁠﹏⁠-⁠`⁠；⁠)

I have talked about their backstories, there on this blog somewhere. I don’t know which version of the rogues to compare them to though. I’ll just give a brief summary.

Edward: hosts a game show for his crimes, very book smart (trivia), cringe fail, divorced

Jervis: looking for his childhood friend Alice, invented a dream machine at Wayne Tech, trapped in a wonderland dream while awake

Scarecrow: parents were both doctors, murdered his father after mother’s death, worked at Arkham as a psychologist, special connection to crows since childhood

Arnold: worked on a puppet tv show, detective scare face tried to solve a real murder on set, now they interfere with police investigations for blackmail and other gain

Babydoll: I think she’ll be the same as BTAS

Joker: professional clown that never laughed, the circus collapsed/burned which he found hilarious, unsure of where the joker toxin comes in

Poison Ivy: plant scientist, got her DNA altered after a lab accident, becomes a carnivore, has a vendetta against humans

Harley Quinn: therapist in Arkham, wanted a silly fun lifestyle, humdrum until she met Joker, they become best friends, joker toxin unsure??

Catwoman: lives on the streets, wanted to be a magical girl since childhood, steals from the rich and gives to the poor

Polkadot man: experimented on since childhood to gain superpowers, mother wanted him to be a hero, perpetually sick due to alien parasites (dots), currently quarantined in Amanda Waller’s facility

Bookworm: works at public library, funding cut and threaded to close, other options didn’t work so he resorted to crime for money, anger issues

Mad mod: British fashion designer, kept mod fashion alive, thinks he deserves to be queen of England, inspired by Teen Titans episode “revolution”

Calculator: college student, major in robotics and computer science, main character syndrome, loves mecha anime, making his own mech suit (the calculator)

Hugo Strange: works at Arkham in pharmacy, regularly mixes medicine and creates something new, random patients fall victim to testing them, original creator of fear toxin

Mr Freeze: scientist working in Artic lab, wife sick in Gotham hospital, neglect caused her to pass before he could find a cure

[pareidoliaonthemove]

A New Policy

Part Two: VIP (Very Important imPosition)

(And since Tumblr is being a pain and I can't find Part One here, you can find it here on AO3).

Apolline Morel looked up as the door gave its discreet chime.

And swore.

She had been the Invoicing and Reception Operative at Tracy Industries’ prestigious Custom Transport Paris office for the last seven years, and had seen all sorts of eccentric – and rich – persons come through the door, and by far Francois Lemaire was the worst of the worst.

She and her colleagues had often dreamed and schemed about refusing the obnoxious idiot service, and they had initially been overjoyed at the thought that they had official permission from the highest authority – Scott Tracy, CEO and homme de rêve – to do so. Until they realised that they would have to tell Lemaire that they would not sell whatever it was he wanted.

To his face.

Apolloine, as had all her colleagues, had consoled herself that the chances of having to actually do so were remote. After all, the Blacklisted persons had all been notified that they would no longer be served by Tracy Industries businesses, non?

Non; or at least, Lemaire hadn’t got the message. Apolline’s heart sank as the man burst through the secondary doors, a damned hovercamera flitting around him, and his wife – Madeline – trailing behind him, with the air of a woman who knew she was about to witness a train wreck and was helpless (and disinclined) to stop it.

“And here we are, at our first stop towards adventure! The luxurious offices of Custom Transport Paree” – Apolline rolled her eyes as his English-language monologue made a point of over-emphasising the proper (that is, French) pronunciation of the city – “where the best designers and technicians will spare no effort – and I will spare no expense – to ensure that I, Francois Lemaire, will be in comfort as I forge yet another world first! The first person to drive up Mount Everest!”

Apolline remembered his previous ‘expedition’ to Everest. It had taken three sherpas to carry the man’s cheeses to the top of the mountain. The outcry from the amount of rubbish that had been left on the top of the mountain – not just holy, but considered an actual goddess – had been the final straw that saw the Nepalese severely restricting access to the mountain. Never mind the idiocy on the descent that saw the man trapping himself and three sherpas in an ice cave. With a yak.

Lemaire’s monologue ended with a flourish as he presented himself to the desk. The holocamera drifted out for dramatic wide angle. “I am Francois Lemaire. Adventurer. Explorer!”

A pointed cough from behind him. “Oh, and this my biographer, Madeline Lemaire.” A vague handwave behind him.

“Your wife.” It was muttered, and not meant for Apolline to hear. Apolline met the woman’s eyes, and was surprised when she smirked. “Give it to him good” was mouthed silently.

Apolline didn’t have a chance to acknowledge Madeline, Lemaire had resumed speaking. “And I have come here today, to Custom Transport Paree to order the construction of a car that will enable me to be the first person to drive up Mount Everest!”

He struck a pose, clearly expecting some kind of accolade or ovation.

Apolline smiled at him, tightly. “Does Monsieur have an appointment?”

He stared at her, bewildered. “I am Francois Lemaire,” he repeated. “Explorer? Adventurer? World Famous? First person to visit Halley’s Comet? I brought the Solar Wind off you people!”

Apolline typed into the computer, as she tried to figure out how to handle this. “Francois … Lemaire …”

The computer beeped before Lemaire could list more ‘accomplishments’.

Apolline looked at the display. Apparently Lemaire had also brought a bathyscape, Artic snowcrawler, and submersible from them as well.

Across the client file display in big, violent red letters was the words ‘Account Closed. Blacklisted’. Apolline’s eyes widened. Management wasn’t taking any chances here, were they?

She took a deep breath, and went for broke. “I am sorry, Mr Lemaire, it appears you do not have an appointment, and that you no longer qualify for a client file.”

Apolline had once been visiting friends in Sicily when Mount Etna had undergone it’s biggest eruption in recorded history. The effects of the volcano had nothing on Lemaire’s reaction.

“I AM FRANCOIS LEMAIRE!!!” he screamed. “I AM WORLD FAMOUS!!! I AM RICH!!!! YOU CANNOT REFUSE TO BUILD MY MOUNTAIN CLIMBING CAR!!! I WANT IT!!! AND YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE IT TO ME!!!”

Apolline got to work on the computer as the man continued his tantrum. DM channels; where was … Ah, here. Blacklist: Situation. She started typing rapidly.

Name: Apolline Morel

Section: Invoicing and Reception, Custom Transport Paris

Details: Francois Lemaire arrived office, no appointment, demand construction of ‘mountaineering car’ to be ‘first person to drive up Mt Everest’. Became hysterical on being told no longer qualifies for client file. Request assistance.

She hit send and eyed the time display discreetly inlaid into the desk’s surface. Response within ten minutes, the memo and training packages had said. Well, she’d be testing that promise out today.

She didn’t think she could stand more than ten minutes of this.

They were seven and a half minutes in and Apolline hadn’t seen evidence of Lemaire drawing in a breath as his high-volume tirade continued non-stop. Behind him, Madeline was disinterestedly examining her nails as the holocamera zoomed around the room erratically, closing in and out from Lemaire and careening around in circles, apparently controlled by Lemaire’s hand gestures, his wild gesticulation had sent it haywire.

She was just about to try again to speak when in the ceiling a previously unknown holoprojector flared into life.

Lemaire was finally silenced as everyone in the room stared in shock as a hologram – a very high quality, almost solid appearing hologram – of Scott Tracy appeared standing behind the desk, next to Apolline, as large as life, and almost as physically real.

Mr Tracy turned to Apolline. “Ms Morel,” he said, smiling slightly at her. “I am sorry that you have had to deal with this. Please, take an extended lunch break – with full pay.”

Apolline quickly swiped her employee card at the terminal, logging her out of the system and securing the terminal, and she stood, fighting the urge to curtsy to her employer.

“I am sorry to have bothered you, Mr Tracy. Thank you for your assistance. If you need me, I shall be in the employee lounge, sir.”

Scott smiled, and nodded. “Thank you, Ms Morel. Please take your time.”

He turned back to Lemaire as Apolline backed away, awed to be in the presence of the legendary Scott Tracy, even if said presence was a holographic one.

In the background, Madeline grinned at her, and gave her a discreet ‘thumbs up’ – Apolline smiled back at the woman, and mouthed ‘thank you’ to her.

Holographic Scott Tracy had turned his attention to Lemaire as Apolline ordered the elevator to take her to the second floor. “Now, Mr Lemaire, I believe there are some matters we need to clear up…” was the last thing she heard as the elevator doors closed.

It seemed like every member of Custom Transport Paris’s staff was crammed into the employee lounge.

Apolline barely had time to register this fact when Andre, her manager, seized her by the arm. “Apolline, are you all right? It must have been awful, dealing with that terrible man!”

“I’m fine. But what’s everyone doing here?”

“Word got around that Lemaire was here. We all wanted to see what would happen when you refused him service.”

Apolline snorted. “Thanks. Nobody thought to help me?”

“I think you had plenty of help, without us.” Andre gestured at the security hologram of the lobby and reception desk on display in the centre of the room.

Apolline stared. A holographic Lemaire was scowling at the equally unimpressed holographic (double-holographic?) Scott Tracy. “What’s happened?” she asked.

“After you left Mr Tracy ‘reminded’ Lemaire that he had been blacklisted, and no Tracy Industries companies would serve him.” Andre started.

“And Lemaire kicked off about how that it was illegal,” snickered Juan, one of the designers.

Andre glared at him. “Mr Tracy’s just finished going through the legal details of why and how that is allowed,” he continued. “Mr Tracy either has a very thorough knowledge of business and customer service law, or he has been very well briefed, very quickly.”

“Shhhh!” someone hushed from near the hologram. “It’s starting to get good!”

Everyone pushed closer to the hologram, those in front sitting or kneeling down to allow a better view for those in back.

The tiny Lemaire was pouting, “I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss, nobody died! Anyway, if the car that your company provides fails, you run International Rescue. You can stop people dying because your company provides inferior products.”

There were outraged gasps around the room. Most of the designers were casting longing looks at the door with clenched fists, but were being held in place by their friends from other departments.

Lemaire kept going. “Is that why you started International Rescue? So you can play the hero when your substandard products fail and put people in danger?” He was attempting to poke the hologram in the chest with his fingers. “You put me in danger! I could have got back from Halley’s Comet if your company had given me a safe spaceship.”

Scott Tracy’s eyes blazed. “MISTER Lemaire. I must warn you that, as per the signage, for security purposes the premises integrate security cameras, and that what you are saying is slander.” A hand appeared from behind Mr Tracy, disappearing into a red and black checked sleeve, and lightly touched his shoulder. Muttered words and Mr Tracy made a visible effort to calm himself, before speaking again and the hand disappeared.

“Mr Lemaire, your stated purpose for commissioning a quote ‘mountain climbing car’ is to ‘drive up’ Mount Sagarmatha–”

“Um, No! I’m going to drive up Mount Everest! I said that VERY clearly. Mount EVER-REST.”

“Mount Sagarmatha, and after your disastrous previous ‘expedition’ – and the numerous crimes you commited during that time–”

“What ‘crimes’? Now how’s slandering who? I committed no crimes!”

Mr Tracy stared. “You mean other than making false statements to gain your climb permit? Fraudulently claiming you had climbed other 8,000ft peaks? Fraudulently claiming you had appropriate insurance. Mistreatment of the Sherpas you hired? Interfering with burial sites?”

Lemaire shuddered. “I was not going to share a camp site with corpses,” he declared. “After all that fuss they made about ‘polluting’ the mountain, you think they’d clean up the corpses. Health hazard, that is.”

“Mr” – and there was no mistaking the disdain in that title – “Lemaire, Mount Sagarmatha is a recognised burial ground. It is dangerous to try and remove from the mountain anybody who cannot realistically be saved. What you did – pushing the bodies off the mountain – was a crime. And as such, the Nepalese Government deported you and banned you from ever returning to their country again.”

Lemaire waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not going back to Nepal. Why would I want to? Much better to drive up Mount Everest from Tibet. The route is all planned.”

There was a sigh. “In any case, other than approved helicopters at both North and South Face base camps, no mechanised vehicles are permitted on Mount Sagarmatha or Mount Chomolungma. Even Thunderbirds are forbidden under normal circumstances. As per our agreement with both the Nepalese and Tibetan Governments, International Rescue do not respond to calls from the Holy Mountain, other than at the request of the governments.” The disembodied hand returned, resting comforting on Mr Tracy’s shoulder.

Apolline shuddered. How many calls for help from dying mountaineers had they been forced to ignore? He heart ached, but she realised that the phrase ‘Holy Mountain’ was how Mr Tracy reminded himself that his help, there on a literal goddess, was not appropriate.

Lemaire sniffed. “Nobody will deny me. Nobody turns away the money I can pay. I’ll drive up Mount Everest. I’ll be the first person to do it, and the world will be watching.” He turned away. “And I’ll make sure everybody knows that Tracy Industries refuses to serve customers.”

Suddenly Lemaire spun back, again stabbing fingers at Mr Tracy’s holographic chest. “And don’t get any ideas about stealing my idea! I’ll sue you into poverty if I find out you’re even thinking about driving up Mount Everest before me!”

Lemaire turned again and flounced out of the building, the holocamera faithful tailing him, with Madeline reluctantly behind. Scott Tracy’s hologram remained, standing in front of the reception desk, hands on hips and frowning at the retreating ‘explorer’

In the employee lounge, people erupted into cheers and catcalls at Lemaire. There were backslaps and hugs all around.

All of which fell to awed silence as the hologram of the reception lobby disappeared to be replaced by the lifesized Scott Tracy. An eyebrow went up at the packed room, before he spoke. “Ms Morel?”

Apolline stepped into the holograms reception field – although she suspected from his reaction that when Mr Tracy accessed it, the reception field was greatly expanded – assisted by a push from Andre. “Yes, Mr Tracy?”

His eyes raked her, assessing, “I wanted to make sure you were alright after your … unpleasant … experience earlier.” His eyes darted around the room. “And I must say, I am very pleased to see you so ably supported by your colleagues.”

Mr Durand, the General Manager, stepped forward. “Please forgive us, Mr Tracy. Mr Lemaire has in the past been an unpleasant person for many of our staff to deal with. When it became apparent that he had returned, despite his Blacklisted status, many people hoped for the satisfaction of seeing him turned away.”

Mr Tracy nodded, thoughtfully. “I hope I didn’t disappoint.” A pause. “And, to further reassure you all, the recording of Mr Lemaire’s statements here today will be forwarded to the Nepalese, Tibetan, and Chinese Governments. If anyone is foolish enough to supply him with the vehicle he is trying to purchase, he will be stopped before he can get anywhere near the mountain.”

There was a general murmur of approval throughout the room, and Mr Tracy frowned again. “Mr Durand, you said that Mr Lemaire has been unpleasant do deal with in the past. Can you please forward to an elaboration on that to my email? And sometime in the next fortnight, please provide a list and broad details of any comparable clients. It appears we need to educate some of our customers as to how to behave politely in public.”

The General Manager nodded, as another murmur of appreciation went up around the room. Mr Tracy turned back to Apolline. “Ms Morel, I am deeply sorry that you had to deal with that outburst earlier. If you feel you need it, please do not hesitate to take time off. I will make sure you receive full pay for any time.”

Apolline gathered herself. “Thank you for your kindness, Mr Tracy. I am perfectly all right. I do not need any time away from work. And it is I who should apologise to you. I am sorry that I disturbed you to deal with this matter.”

Mr Tracy smiled easily. “No apology necessary, Ms Morel. I am afraid we did expect something like this when we instigated the Blacklist, it’s why we set up the Blacklist DM. The people we have been forced to refuse custom are … not known for their social skills, and tend to operate with little regard for safety and the welfare of others.”

Apolline bowed her head. “Then I am sorry that you have to deal with them, Mr Tracy. Hopefully, this will be the last time.”

Mr Tracy sighed. “I doubt it, Ms Morel. Unfortunately, other companies will build what he wants because they cannot afford to turn away commissions. And they will wash their conscience by saying it falls to others to ensure the rules he will break are upheld.”

Someone else spoke up then. “Do you really not rescue people off of Mount, uh –”

Mr Tracy smiled. “The highest mountain in the world? It does get rather confusing about the name issue, but it was only fifty years ago Nepal and Tibet agreed on the official height of the mountain. And as for agreeing on an official name … Well, miracles do happen.” Then he sighed. “And yes, as I told Mr Lemaire, unless we get official requests from the appropriate governments, we do not respond. It is part of the agreement International Rescue has with the Council of World Governments that allows us to operate. We wouldn’t park a Thunderbird in a church, we will not park one on the mountain. Everyone who climbs the mountain does so knowing the risks, and they must accept the consequences.” He seemed to wilt, “It’s hard, but we must do it.”

A klaxon sounded, and a voice announced, “International Rescue, we have a situation.”

Mr Tracy glanced over his shoulder, before turning back to his employees speaking rapidly. “I’m sorry, I’m going to have to go. But thank you again, Ms Morel for your sterling work in a difficult situation, and thank you, everybody, for your support of your colleagues. It’s always a pleasure to see people who work together and look after each other. Mr Durand, I look forward to working with you to ensure our people are treated correctly. Tracy Island out.” The hologram fizzed and blinked out, the view of the empty lobby returning.

“Wow.” Apolline didn’t realise she had spoken until Andre placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Do as Mr Tracy says, Apolline, take some time. I’ll take over the desk for the rest of today.”

Apolline shook herself, and went to speak, but she saw the rest of the company nodding at her, encouragingly. She reconsidered. “Thank you, Andre. I think after this morning a break from reception will be welcome. I will work on invoicing today, if I may.”

Andre glanced at Mr Durand, and they both shrugged. “If you feel that’s best for you, Apolline,” he said.

Mr Durand nodded. “And before everybody returns to their work, may I please request that you provide me with details of past … unpleasant encounters, both with Mr Lemaire and other clients, as Mr Tracy requested. Hopefully we will be able to prevent further such displays.”

The room broke up, Apolline snatching her lunch from the refrigerator before joining the huddle of Invoicing and Reception staff returning to their backroom offices. As she joined in with her own stories of horrible customers, she felt a sense of pride. Not just in herself, but in her colleagues – her friends. Coming to work was still a pain many days, but Tracy Industries went out of its way to treat its people well.

And today proved how far out of its way it would go.

Notes:

I MAY have been fantasising a bit about employers who actually care about and support their employees.

I may also have been catching up on some reading / viewing and had a convergence of Mt Everest (name used for simplicity) related 'texts' (most of which is 'Dead Lucky: life after death on Mount Everest' by Lincoln Hall) - and I now understand MORE about the logistics of doing so, and understand LESS about why anyone would be so insane as to wish to do so.

I hope everyone has employers and colleagues as supportive as Apolline has.

[the-moon-and-stars-4ever]

Heyy

I hope your still doing the marauders character thingy (dont wanna be annoyibg)

- i actially have a really good relptionship with all pf my family

- i play guitar (lead, rythm, bass and acoustic) and I enjiy singing (but I cant sung fpr the lofe of me-)

- i m indescisive af

- im one of the top of the class for of all three sciences, and maths (but i dont enjoy them - i just find them easy)

- i really Enjoy writing and readyng but eNglish is one of the only subjects i struggle at

- music is the knly class i can be botherd to study for

- my schuol didnt offer computer science so im learning it in my own time

- i have a small but close friend group

- but ive recently gotten better at talking to people i dont know that well in class!! (ive struggled for quite a while)

- im kinda a compulsive lier BUT I SWEAR IM TRYING TO FIX UT

- i also do maladaptive daydreaming but i cba to fix that

- i LOVE reading - i think i mightve already mentioned that

- i listen to all kinds pf music but my fav genre is probevly rock or indie or metal or country

- some fav artists: artic monkeys, poor mans poison, nivarna, abba, rhcp, tool, lily allen, led zeppelin, the doors, queen, beatles, pink floyd, david bowie, neighbourhood, joan jet & the blackhearrs, guns n roses, metalica, ani di franco

Ive just realised ive been rambling dor aged im so sorry ill stop now lol

i kind of want to say pete but i think i'm gonna go with remus <3

[multifandomsimagine]

Imagine working in the Kids Next Door Arctic Base with Numbuh 60 as a drill sergeant

All the new cadets who came to the Artic base were young and nervous despite the tough persona some of them tried putting up. The sector was one of the more farther out bases compared to the other ones seen around the globe. Those were warmer and more comfortable treehouses as sectors were set up between the branches and leaves compared to how the Arctic base used roots and was hidden under the ice.

It left kids feeling a bit isolated and the freezing temperatures only made things worse. But it was the perfect place to train them. No distractions in sight. Only forty-two levels of training equipment and plenty of time to train while being watched over by you and Numbuh 60 though you went about it in different manners.

It was the age-old dynamic. Numbuh 60 was the uptight and mean drill sergeant that the cadets were scared to bump into and dreaded being in his group while you were the kind and sisterly one who they looked to bandage their wounds and give them treats. But one thing was the same for both of you, the cadets looked up to you both and enjoyed getting praises from each of you.

Watching with a smile as Santiago knocked down the last dummy with the V.E.G.G.I.E., you clapped as the computer announced that the simulation was finished. Walking down from the observation deck, you entered the training field alongside Numbuh 60. “Good work Santiago,” You told the cadet when you reached him, affectionately ruffling his hair. “Your aim with 2x4 technology has definitely improved.”

“Thank you, sergeant!” He said hands behind his back and chest puffed out. He then turned to Numbuh 60 who was surveying all the fallen dummies in the ground.

Numbuh 60 simply dismisses him with a nod, apparently having nothing to critique which makes Santiago smile when he realizes that. Saluting you both, he rushes off the field probably to go meet his friends and tell them what.

“You’re getting soft Patton” You teased, poking him in his side once Santiago was too far to see. “You normally have hundreds of critiques.”

He rolls his eyes as he moves out of your reach. “Just call the next cadet.”

[highretrogamelord]

ZX Chess I for the ZX81

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[wackytheorist]

I found something VERY VERY INTERESTING about point nemo(aka the coordinates of quesadilla island)

Quesadilla island lays here at 48°52'36.0"S 123°23'36.0"W, Sofia(the robot that maximus built if you forgot) gave these coordinates to the players...

but an interesting thing is the space yard cemetery(2nd image) is located eerily close to quesadilla island(perhaps ON quesadilla island). The picture and most of the source comes from a Wikipedia article. I know I might sound crazy but here is some speculation, quotes are from the artical I linked.

" This location has been chosen for its remoteness and limited shipping traffic so as not to endanger human life with any falling debris."

But in quesadilla island, life is THRIVING and its a perfect place so why is it not covered in debris? AND why is the federation so obsessed with being perfect.

And now my theories commence, even a minor inconvinence such as the rain brings GREAT dangers such as the code. What is the resistance's REAL goal. Why are they against the federation.

I think that the island REALLY is a dome, the eye of the raging storm in point nemo and the islanders are lab rats for the federation. Why else would they own the oceanic pole of inaccessibility?

Another thing is that perhaps the reason why the shadow virus exists, and why the fed seem like they dealt with this before is because it comes from space, and the codes come the technology is old rubble left in the dome. They came from those weird computers didn't they?

The weather is perfect unless tampered in the code, only the binary monster can do that it IS remnants of code.

Also its part of the resistance -> which had sofia -> who told us the location of quesadilla island = The resistance was here before the federation dome?

[allstartrekgames]

Star Trek: Lower Decks: The Badgey Directive

Original Release: 2022

Developer: Mighty Kingdom

Publisher: East Side Games

Platform: Android/iOS

The Badgey Directive is an idle clicker game set on the USS Ceritos. Boimler is doing training in the holodeck doing menial tasks when Mariner spices things up by challenging the computer to create a task Boimler can’t win – the computer recreates Badgey who then sets the crew on tasks taken from the history banks – past missions from previous shows.

The game itself is quite simple. Icons charge up, when they’re ready you tap on it to get merit points. You spend these merit points to upgrade the icons and unlock new ones, which lead to more merit points. You can add a member of the Ceritos crew to a task to collect the merit points automatically. On top of merit points, you can get latinum (which is spent to skip requirements for buying/upgrading new things, or dilithium which is spent on upgrading characters and simulations.

What makes the game work are the little story segments you get as you hit milestones. The dialogue is extremely charming and it’s great seeing the Lower Deckers take on these missions. It’s great seeing them talk about the Kelpians and Saru, and to chase the artic explorer from the Enterprise episode “Regeneration” and realise that these unknown aliens the NX-01 faced were the Borg.

Getting in the way of this game is the adverts. If you don’t watch the adverts, your merit points are effectively halved. If the adverts were harmless, I wouldn’t mind, but I was served adverts for fake apps, apps aimed at taking advantage of gambling addicts and even adverts for games about sexually assaulting women. It massively sours the experience and it desperately needs some moderation.

I got to episode 16 before I hit the inevitable “wall” where progression turned from a few hours to weeks. At this point, the chore of playing wasn’t worth it to see more snippets of the story. I would much prefer this game in the form of a digital comic.

[moku-and-his-madness]

i have nice pictures for you, sunshine!

OOOOOHHH RRRRRGGRGRGGGGRRGVGJFVGRWBHJFVBRBVHRjhj

i likey the shinto shrine :3

and the artic/computer lookin one

thank you you liddol moonbeam

[allegedly-human]

Funnily enough if this is the scene I think it is he is diagnosticing someone who's in the Artic by cam and he just put porn music as she undressed after he literally brought her at his home in his computer