#Fur Simulation Test

[here-be-dragons-and-whatnot]

He has fur! Sort of!

I have hit my first serious barrier with Jar Full of Cosmos, and that is the fact that my little laptop just doesn't have enough compute power. Unfortunately it's too laggy to effectively experiment with materials and do a better job grooming--not to mention animation tests. Thankfully, I have new PC components on the way. In other good news, the fur system obscures pretty much all my bad mesh deformations. It also obscures his facial movements, but I planned for that and intend to do most of his emoting with ear and eye movements. Next time I make an animal, I think I'll use shapekeys instead of bones for facial animation.

The groom holds up from afar (and with lower resolutions) but up close it needs a lot more work. It's also worth noting that I am using the old particle system because the geometry nodes still feel too confusing, and apparently they can't be animated.

[villiedoom]

Quick test of walking animation, with and without fur.

I'm still trying to improve rigging and learn at least simple animation. Experimenting with imitating some muscle and skin details by just rigging, without simulating them.

Made in Blender. Koties are my characters, fantasy felines from my personal lore/story.

Related posts:

~ Northern Kotie model

~ Kotie anatomy model

[dduane]

So: using this digital "shooting set" again (ETA: original here...) as a location in which to test this new pose-able book.

What immediately becomes noticeable with this item is that its internal materials are going to have to be upgraded so they don't look fake or just inadequate when used in close contact with materials designed to do better under "near-photographic" rendering conditions. Such as, most specifically, human-character skin. (Not to mention that even if the materials/textures being used were of higher quality, I'd have to change them out anyway, as they don't suit this context. I can just hear Freelorn thinking, What the Dark gives with these people? They write horizontally? How does that even work?...)

...Meanwhile, the kitty is missing from here because the last time I tried to run a dForce simulation on this scene, her fur exploded. (eyeroll) Most unseemly. (Though in retrospect I'm sorry I didn't save a picture. At the time I just went Aaaaaaah feck!, reset the scene and started over.)

Anyway, on with the testing. More news as it comes to us... :)

[celinamarniss]

The Falcon crew finally makes it to Yavin, in the next chapter of A Smuggler's Guide to Joining the Rebel Alliance:

The princess and the droids had whisked away the moment they’d touched the ground, and Luke had made a beeline for the nearest jumpsuit that looked like it belonged to a starfighter wing, Mara trotting along at his heels. 

From a distance, Han had seen a tall blonde woman in an orange fighter pilot’s uniform take Mara aside and speak to her. After an animated conversion, Luke scurried back over, his face flushed with excitement. “They’ve got a seat open in one of the fighter wings going up to face the Death Star, and they’re gonna let me test in the simulators.” 

“Okay.” Over Luke’s shoulder, he could see a man in a grubby engineer’s jumpsuit marching his way. “You sure about that, kid?” 

“Never been surer of anything in my life.” 

“Alright. No need to sound like a holovid.” As Luke rushed off again, he muttered, “some holovid.” 

This wasn’t a camp of scrappy guerilla fighters cowering in the jungle. This was a full military operation, albeit one that didn’t look like any military base Han had ever set foot on. It reminded him more of old holos of the Clone Wars, and the crewman approaching looked to be the same vintage. 

“You Captain Solo?”

“Who’s asking?” 

“We’ve got an open docking slot inside the base, and order to refuel as soon as she’s in place.” 

“Oh. Thanks.” Had to be the princess’s doing. He should thank her as well. “I’ll get the crew on it.” 

“The big fella?” 

“Yeah, with all the fur.”

The crewman grinned, shaking his head in a show of admiration. “That’s exactly the kind of muscle we need around here.” 

“Yeah, well, we’re just passing through.” 

“Oh. Sure. Drop-off?” 

“Something like that.” 

His gaze drifted over to where Mara stood, still in conversation with the pilot. Luke, like Leia, had disappeared into the depths of the base tucked into the hollowed-out shell of the ziggurat. Han tipped his head back, but from this angle he couldn’t see the top of the massive, tiered pyramid that the Rebels had retro-fitted into a working spaceport. They’d turned the bottom floors into a warren of storage rooms, offices, med bays, and strategic centers. Outside, a motley settlement of prefab structures clustered at the edge of the tarmac and crept into the fringes of the encroaching jungle. 

The tower was one of a dozen structures they’d flown over, marching like stone giants across the jungle floor. It had probably been a temple of some sort, perhaps the remnants of a long-dead civilization that had conquered the moon. Had their empire stretched across the stars? History wasn’t exactly Han’s strong point, but he’d never heard of any legendary kings or system-vanquishing warlords from this part of the galaxy. Hadn’t even heard about Yavin before the princess had spoken the planet’s name. 

[luna-wing-cns274]

Hachiko wears a full flight suit, complete with anti-g pressure sacs on the abdomen and legs. The suit is customized for her non-human physiology, accommodating her tail and digitigrade legs. She waves to the camera.

< Hey, all. In solidarity with human pilots, today I’m going to try something which will probably be very unpleasant.

Though I’m pretty familiar with the effects on a casket, I have no idea how it feels to pull gees in an organic body. So, with the magic of full-body somatosensory simulation, I’m going to change that. >

From empty space, a fighter pilot’s seat appears, and Hachiko straps herself in.

< How do these buckles go…? Yeah, I think that’s right.

Okay, step one. This is a little something I dug up off the Omni. Can’t speak to how realistic it is, but according to a few human testers, it shouldn't be too far off. >

[ meatmode.sim ENABLED ]

“Ohh, wow.”

Hachi flexes her fingers, presses one palm against her lower jaw. Methodically, she begins feeling over the shape of her skull.

“Feel really heavy. I’ve got bones? Real ones, I mean. Skin feels loose. Feel really, really warm…my fur. There’s something wrong with my chest. Pressure. Muscles—”

Abruptly, she sucks in a deep breath. Chest heaving, she repeats the cycle several times.

“—yeah. Oh, yeah. That. There’s my diaphragm. I, uh. Wait.”

She claps a hand over her breast, squinting.

“…squirming? There’s something in there. Now that I’m keyed in, I can feel it. Rhythm.

Oh my God, that’s my heart.”

Her voice trails off as she sits and feels it. Another few moments, and she breathes again. Slower this time; her control is better.

“Okay. This is already really uncomfortable. But we’re gonna push it.

Queuing first test. Let’s start nice and low; six G for…ten seconds. That ought to be manageable. Acceleration in 3, 2, 1—woh”

Hachi’s body goes rigid, the cartilage of her ears snapping backwards. Straining hard, she clenches the muscles in her legs and abdomen. Her g-suit reacts to the force, applying pressure. Grunting with exertion, she holds out for a few moments before her eyelid starts to droop.

Her head lolls forward.

After another few seconds, the force on her body visibly abates. Even so, it takes time for her to emerge from syncope. A thin noise warbles from her throat.

“…tail. My tail. It feels like someone just tried to rip my tail off. My stomach—”

A look of surprise and horror crosses Hachi’s face. Weakly, she turns, grimaces, and retches. There’s nothing for her to vomit, but she dry heaves violently. The tissue of her exposed gums is pale, almost white.

She slumps back against the headrest, hyperventilating, mouth agape. It looks as though she might pass out again. Gradually, though, she steadies her breathing, and color begins to return to her tissues as normal blood flow is restored.

“Ohhh,” she says, drawing the word out into a thin croak. “That sucks. Yeah, that sucks.”

Shaking her head, she groans. “That’s only six? My heart’s trying to burst out of my chest. This body isn’t. It’s not in bad shape, either. That just fucking sucks. How do y’all…?”

[ meatmode.sim DISABLED ]

All at once, Hachi relaxes. Her eye opens fully, and the drowsy quality of her voice disappears.

< Yeah. I’m gonna call it there, at least for a second. Oh, man. >

[sgt-fluffy]

la la la

TW: feelings of guilt, descriptions of mauling, idek

Being led into this unknown space, one coated with familiar smells and sounds. Ears forward, alert. Tail puffed as a boom sounded from across the way.

The space was a makeshift op, one simulated by the higher ups. A space that they could observe, to take notes, without being seen.

But, for Nico, this was a test. A test to see if he could handle himself on the field.

Alone.

There were no “live” people involved in this space, though taking their place were dummies. Giving the illusion that there were people around for their hybrid to take out.

The task given was simple: go in, take out any opposing soldiers, grab the “intel” they left, and get out.

Without getting caught up in his own head.

Nico knew this wasn’t easy, not from the way his shoulders tensed the second he stepped into the space, not with how his eye twitched at the sounds surrounding him.

The first half, went smoothly. Sure, he still tore the dummies to shreds, but he didn’t stick around to ensure they were dead. Trusting the way the fluff had dropped next to what used to look somewhat human to be enough.

It was when he had to go into the building that held the intel, was when he lost it.

The dummy caught him off guard, scaring him more than it should’ve. Set up to look as if it was waiting for him. Which, in turn, was what caused his failure in the end.

Ears pinned back faster than they had before, tail immediately tucking between his legs. Low, warning growls surely turned into a snarl. Stance lowering, fur along his arms sticking up. No doubt he was about to lose it.

He lunged, forcing the object to the ground. Snarls filled the buildings echo, hands mauling at the fabric and tearing it open. Digging at the fluff that filled the torso of the dummy. Reaching for the knife that rested on his hip.

Despite it being torn to shreds, Nico wouldn’t move. Staring down at the once soldier appearing dummy as if he would a real man. Eyes narrow, breathing heavy, hands and shoulders tense.

A sound from his chest erupted quite quickly. “Nico.”

Even though he heard his name, he didn’t want to move. What if it wasn’t dead? What if it would attack him like it had been stood to appear?

The noise happened again. “Nico, heel, you stupid mutt. You failed, again.”

Reluctantly, with pinned ears and a slowly rising guilt, Nico stepped away from the “body.” Hands shaking from adrenaline, legs just a little wobbly.

One again, he had failed. He couldn’t handle this by himself.

Now costing his ability to go on ops without a handler, once again.

[pinnithin-writes]

Star-Blessed

Scene expansion from episode 27 of the Live and Let Fly podcast. 3809 words. Read on Ao3.

The wind on the mountain was cold enough to burn. Roland Mons Gelidus narrowed his eyes and tucked his muzzle into his scarf as he surveyed the horizon. Dusk approached and the sky was a freezing cobalt, the dying sun sinking rapidly out of sight. Behind him trailed nine other vlakas, breaking through the snowdrifts in single file. 

Their journey was tethered by constant contact. Thick pelts of moon and ice, shot through with the bleak blue black of the darkening sky, brushed, connected, parted and met again as they trudged along. It wasn’t a time for speaking, conserving energy for the hike through silence and stilled hands, but each knew how the others felt about their trek. Heads ducked and ears flattened against the chill, emotions sparked between their fur like static in the cold, dry air. The scent of their nerves and exhaustion swirled on the wind. 

The Lajok wilderness in early spring was a dangerous beauty. Its stillness couldn’t be trusted; every motionless mountainside held the promise of an avalanche, every too quiet night the careful inhale before a snowstorm. Soaring peaks of sheer gray stone funneled the pack into a saddle between them, the boughs of spruce and fir offering sparse shelter from the elements. As Roland studied their formations, heavy with ice crystals as they grew into the unforgiving wind, he wondered if he, too, would freeze in a bizarre shape if he stood still for too long. Even in spring, the cold was enough to sting his eyes and crust his eyelashes with frost, the air so frigid it hurt to breathe.

He turned to face his traveling companions. “It’s getting dark,” he said, signing as he spoke. “Let’s find a spot to camp.”

The Lajok Leadership Academy had dropped Roland and his squad in The Space Between approximately twelve hours ago, leaving them with nothing but basic survival essentials and their thick woolen uniform coats. Their assignment was simple: make it back to campus alive. Roland had been excited by the challenge in the beginning, stepping forth as he often did to take charge, as none had officially been assigned as squad leader. Finally, a chance to test themselves in a real life scenario, something he had hungered for after the negligible stakes of so many simulations and exercises.

Roland knew it would take all of them working together to survive the task. Each member of their squad had a unique set of skills and experiences to lend to the collective whole. This particular group he was quite close to; all third year classmates of his, all with intrinsic knowledge of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Where Kedric lacked orienteering skills, Alyn covered him, and where Alyn struggled with trapping, Hoyt covered her, and so on. 

He rapidly grew disillusioned as he hiked through the snow, realizing that their wilderness assignment was simply beleaguering a point. It was all very pedestrian to him, a lesson taught time and time again since the moment he was born. Cooperation is key, no man is an island, and only a team succeeds. It was inherent to any vlaka anywhere on the planet, an interdependence ingrained in every facet of their society.

Roland knew they shouldn’t be in their third year at the Academy and still learning something so elementary. He hadn’t enrolled to learn teamwork. He was here to learn leadership, and he was beginning to suspect the Lajok definition of leadership was just another way to keep vlakas like him planetside.

As the group dispersed to set up camp, a familiar touch on Roland’s elbow drew him out of his thoughts. At his side was Zuri, a deafblind squadmate he often defaulted to as his deputy. If we keep this pace, they signed, we should reach Lajok in three days’ time.

“Thank you, Zuri,” Roland replied aloud, taking their paw in his and signing his words against their palm. “How are the others faring? Have you noticed anything I should take note of?”

Their eyes, pale pink and wandering, couldn’t see Roland as they conversed, their expressive ears unable to pick up the cadence and timbre of his voice, but Roland knew they understood the intention behind his words better than most. Zuri gathered it in his scent, the pressure of his touch, even the resonance of his footfalls. It was a much needed reassurance, to have someone by his side who not only understood what he meant when his words failed him, but could also mediate between others just as successfully. They had an extrasensory talent for understanding others, as if they could smell the very words their emotions translated to.

So far so good, Zuri signed, though some think we should press on through the night. The Space Between in early spring makes them uneasy. They want to be back within the city’s rings as quickly as possible.

Roland’s snout wrinkled with disagreement. “I told everyone it would be unwise to push ourselves,” he stressed. “We know how to survive in an austere environment, and we won’t come to harm if we take the journey slowly and carefully. Who is saying this?”

Zuri offered a small, sympathetic smile as Roland expressed his concerns into their paw. Skinner and his usual clique, they signed back. Just something to keep an eye on. You know how he can get.

Roland did know how he could get. Gaius Skinner Valens, who went by Skinner amongst his squadmates, was often at odds with Roland Mons Gelidus. He was an irascible, opinionated vlaka whose headstrong leadership style clashed with Roland’s thoughtful, meticulous approach. Troubled, he turned his gaze to the horizon again. The temperatures would drop from dangerous to deadly come nightfall, and they couldn’t afford to lose a single vlaka if they were to survive the journey. Something to keep an eye on, indeed. Perhaps he should speak to Skinner early before this came to a head.

For now, camp setup took priority. Starting a fire, thawing provisions, and divvying rations was the simpler matter, while the majority of the group’s efforts went toward excavating a snow trench to shelter against the elements. Tempers in the camp were tense but subdued, packmates conversing through low whuffs and tactile signing. Occasionally, a brief spat broke out and dissipated in moments - a harmless vent of anxiety.

Regardless of what their opinions might be, everyone contributed to the chore, tolerating Roland’s hovering. While he was confident in the squad’s ability to survive in The Space Between, the unpredictable spring weather made him nervous, and monitoring the particulars helped him maintain a sense of control. Thankfully, he had Zuri to soften things when his orders came out unintentionally abrasive. 

He took his own turn clearing out the trench, his paw pads stinging with cold. He could hear his own labored breathing and the howling wind as he worked, but underneath that was the faint nocturnal call of birds, the sparse patter of prey animal feet. If Lajok’s smallest creatures could survive out here, so could they. Not to mention dozens of lone vlakas survive in The Space Between year round, doing whatever it is they do beyond the city walls. Roland and his classmates had survived their adolescent journeys through the wilderness in valai, after all.

His breath clouded the air as he appraised the work, questioning himself. This was no longer valai, though. And they were no longer children.

As he contemplated this, his ears picked up the low tones of a grumbled conversation. A short distance away, Skinner huddled with a few of his friends, paws jammed in his coat pockets. Even without signing his words, his scent was enough to convey his dissatisfaction. It stained the bitter wind with a thick yellow anxiety. 

“...Wasting time out here digging ditches,” Roland heard him mutter. “He’s going to get us all killed.”

“I’m sorry, Skinner,” Roland interjected, brushing snow from his palms. “If there’s something you’re concerned about, please do tell me.”

The other vlaka scoffed at the interruption, turning from his huddle with a reproachful look. His eyes were the same ice blue as frost in moonlight. “Oh, now he knows there’s a problem,” he sneered.

Roland had no idea what Skinner meant. If he was so bothered by making camp here, why hadn’t he said something about it earlier? Zuri told him Skinner was uneasy, but this level of hostility was unexpected. “I… apologize,” Roland said, “I was unaware you had a grievance. If you have input that would better serve the group, I’d love to hear it.”

“Don’t play ignorant. I didn’t say anything because I knew you’d only pretend to listen,” Skinner snapped back. “Then you’d just go on ahead and do what you were planning on doing anyway. Tyrant.” As he spoke, the two other vlakas with him reflected his attitude, shifting their weight from foot to foot and raising their hackles.

Roland exhaled heavily through his nose. He really tried with Skinner. Even if he didn’t like him, he still respected him for his boldness. When it came to making quick, decisive action, he was the best of them, and Roland had full confidence he would make an excellent battle tactician someday. Matters of caution didn’t suit him, however, and he became agitated at anything that made him wait. He should have expected opposition from the likes of him.

Skinner’s coat, streaked with indigo, bristled as he continued. “The longer we wait out here, the more we risk getting injured or worse. We don’t have enough rations for a three day trip. We’re practically buried in snow. Spring is here, Roland. What if there’s an avalanche?” He gestured to the nearby mountainside, where its sheer face hung heavy with snow. 

Work around the camp ground to a halt as their raised voices drew the others’ attention. Roland caught movement in his periphery, but it was only Zuri, signing to ask a squadmate what was going on. Though Skinner and Roland were only verbally disagreeing, the deaf members could read lips well enough to gather the dispute. Uneasiness rippled through the pack, their fear scent betraying an erosion of faith.

Roland scowled. The name calling was a little juvenile, but he had heard worse. Sowing discord among the squad he wouldn’t stand for. He cut his eyes to Tiber, a classmate whose wilderness skills he trusted the most. “Is there risk of an avalanche?” he asked, signing out the words along with his question. 

Tiber studied the mountainside carefully, checking her own work, then gave a reticent shake of her head. “Snowpacks look stable, no recent displacement, still too early for rapid melting,” she responded, also signing. “There’s risk, but it’s low.”

Her words confirmed aloud the reasoning in his head. If the choice was between an avalanche, which might kill them, and subzero temperatures, which most definitely would, he was picking the avalanche. 

Roland turned a justified stare on his opposition, hoping the public address of Skinner’s concerns would be enough to quell the squad’s anxieties. “Pardon me, Skinner, if I trust the words of our most experienced mountaineer over yours,” he said, unable to keep the disdain from his tone.

Skinner rolled his eyes. “They’ll say whatever you want to hear because they know you’ll walk all over them if they don’t,” he said. “I should be leading this squad, not you. Everyone agrees.”

Did they? Roland wanted to pass a glance at his pack to verify, but he forced himself to hold eye contact with Skinner, even as doubt stormed his heart.

“This is challenging for all of us,” he shot back. “It’s going to be a hard couple of days. If you’re afraid, just admit it.” He meant it without malice, but like many things he said, it came out insultingly. “We’ll get through it together.”

“Afraid?” Skinner repeated. His tail lashed with agitation. “The only thing I’m afraid of is your stupidity. I’m putting an end to this.” He took a challenging step forward, eyes bright and alert. “Duel me. Winner takes charge of the assignment.”

The gall! Roland bared his teeth. “I’m not fighting you, Skinner,” he snarled, “have you lost your senses?”

The hot, impulsive side of him wanted desperately to accept the challenge. Prove his capability, vent his aggression, and put an end to this ridiculous argument all at once, so they could get back to more important matters.

Roland swallowed back the growl in his throat. He shared Skinner’s fear of dying, out here in the Lajok wilderness where the elements leached the very life from your blood, but it was eclipsed by a something greater. The onus of their survival rest upon his leadership. If anyone succumbed to cold, hunger, exhaustion, or injury based on his decisions, it would be no different than if he’d killed them with his own two paws.

He couldn’t risk hurting a packmate, no mater how badly he wanted to. He held his ground. The other vlakas flanking Skinner shifted indecisively, and all around them the temperatures continued to fall. 

Skinner was dauntless. Steam and fear scent rising from his body, he showed no indication of backing down. “I thought you’d say that, coward,” he spat. “It always has to be your way, on your terms.” He pointed defiantly at Roland. “I’m not letting you dig your heels in this time. You aren’t fit to lead this troop. Step down. I won’t say it again.”

Roland was beginning to gather that this stemmed from more than just the present situation, but he couldn’t examine how many times he might have unintentionally slighted the other man that very instant. “These are unacceptable terms-” he tried to protest, and Skinner charged him.

Reflex kicked in and he ducked, unable to fully dodge the claws aimed at his face. The blow came first and then the pain, a stinging, hot gash that ripped down the length of his snout. 

He clapped a paw to his muzzle and staggered back. The scent of his blood drenched the air, soaking through his fur and spattering scarlet on the snow. If he hadn’t moved in time, Skinner could have taken out one of his eyes. Panting, he felt a growl vibrating his chest, his nervous system flooding with the instinct to defend himself.

“Calm yourself, man!” Roland barked, both to himself and the opposition. Skinner was already preparing for another attack, his lithe body low and stanced to strike. 

As Roland braced himself, the pack surged around him, forming a barrier between him and Skinner. Backed up against him was Zuri, as vicious as he had ever seen them, teeth bared, hackles on end, head ducked and ears pinned against their skull. The others snarled and snapped at Skinner, scolding him for disrupting the order of the pack. It was a chastisement beyond words, coming from a primal place before the vlaka had developed language.

Roland was stunned. Both at Skinner’s audacity and the loyalty of his squadmates. He was tempted to resist their protection, to order them to step aside, to tell them this wasn’t their fight. But enveloped as he was by the animal congruence of his team, he allowed their support to wash over him. He realized, with a tiny thrill of vindication, that the pack took Skinner’s challenge as a threat to them all. A leader spoke for the group and the group spoke for him. His successes were their successes, his failures their failures. His squad would not stand for hostility from a wolf who would rather endanger them than trust their collective capability.

Skinner backed off, breathing hard, as his brethren rebuked him. He flicked his eyes questioningly to his usual supporters, but even they were unwilling to take his side against the rest of the squad. Fear and fury billowed off him and curled into the frozen sky; Roland could smell his humiliation even from behind the resolute wall of his squadmates. Skinner let out a snarl and set off, disgraced, away from camp.

“Skinner, wait!” Roland called, watching the indigo coat lose itself amidst the pines and snowdrifts. He tried to shoulder past his team to pursue him, but Zuri caught his arm.

Let him go, they signed, their hand motions quick and sharp with their remaining agitation. You can’t get yourself killed going after him. We need you here.

As much as he hated to admit it, they were right. If he ventured into the polar darkness, he was just as foolish as Skinner. All the bravado and self assurance left him in a rush and he took a step back, reeling from what had just happened. Blood dripped from his wound, glittering rubies congealing in the snow.

The phalanx dispersed, his packmates murmuring and signing amongst themselves. One of them offered Roland a clean cloth, which he gratefully pressed against his muzzle until the bleeding stopped. Though the cuts stung, resentment found no purchase in his heart as he stared at the place where Skinner had fled. The squad finished digging out their shelter and turned to other matters: eating and drinking, checking their paws for blisters, patching over minor injuries, wrapping hands and taping feet to protect against the next day’s strenuous hike. As night swallowed them, they huddled against the deadly temperatures inside the snow trench.

Roland posted himself at the entrance, watching the darkness, an anxious, guilty dread gnawing at his chest. Ordinarily, he would take this downtime to check on everyone, but the habit escaped him as he stewed in his emotions. He was furious with himself for allowing the argument to happen, for letting it escalate to violence, for losing a member of the team. It didn’t matter that he had successfully avoided a fight. If Skinner died out there, it was Roland’s fault.

He pressed his shoulder against the cold trench wall, listening to his companions slumbering at his back. He talked himself down from searching for Skinner over and over again, and as he did so his gaze wandered heavenward. Cradled by the mountains, away from the light and haze of the capital city, the night sky was a sprawling, starlit invitation. Roland found himself momentarily breathless, entranced by the glimmering cosmic expanse above him. There were entire worlds beyond the Vast, mere pinpoints of light from his small, insignificant vantage on Lajok.

Why he was doing this? Attending the academy, honing his leadership, striving for achievement - it all felt so meaningless under the infinite sky. The Circle of Lajok only fought amongst themselves, wasting time deciding what was best for the planet while Sota continued to die. Did his dispute with Skinner portend his future? Was their assignment supposed to teach him acceptable loss? This couldn’t be the life he was meant for, to lead his people confidently to their end. 

Rest, the stars sang him, and Roland felt a profound quiet overtake his troubled heart. Rest, yes. He needed to rest. He still had to lead the remainder of the squad safely out of the wilderness, and he was doing no one any favors wasting precious energy on penitence. With one last look at the sky, he ducked inside the snow trench, pressing himself amongst the furry bodies of his squadmates. He thought he would be too anxious to sleep, but exhaustion took him the moment he closed his eyes.

He didn’t know how much time had passed - minutes, hours - when movement stirred him awake. Roland startled, expecting an intruder, but the familiar scent of Skinner quelled his alarm. Wordlessly, he moved aside to allow room for his wayward teammate. Skinner settled sullenly against him, shivering from his solitary trek through the cold. Any impulse to scold him for his rashness was erased by a relief so powerful it made Roland dizzy. Together they nestled in close, sharing in the warmth of the pack.

Abruptly, he returned to the present. He was no longer on Lajok, the wound on his muzzle having long since healed over. The mist clouding the hall wasn’t from his breath in the frigid air, but the steam from Morgan’s shower. His hand hovered over their door, his determined knock utterly arrested by their haunting, bittersweet song.

His fear of losing Morgan was what brought him to their quarters in the first place. The necrograft they volunteered for was a point of contention he didn’t wish to escalate, but concern roiled within him all the same. Skinner had survived his recklessness, but would Morgan? He had come to care for and depend on them, even more so than Zuri back in his Academy days. While he couldn’t afford to lose any one of his crew, he knew he would be especially devastated if something happened to Morgan.

Roland had always struggled with his words, even on Lajok with the aid of all his senses. Now, it was even more difficult to convey how he felt, speaking a language that was not his birth tongue, parlaying with people who couldn’t scent the true emotions behind his stilted words. He spoke as clearly and often as he could, for fear of being misinterpreted, but it seemed the more he said, the deeper he dug himself. He had offended everyone on his crew dozens of times over, and still, somehow, they followed him.

It left him with the same shocked assurance he’d felt in The Space Between, with his squad rallied around him. Surely the crew didn’t defer to him based on rank alone at this point, but it was hard to believe everyone had his back when he fumbled his title left and right. This inexplicable cooperation he owed largely to Morgan.

The song ended, but its echoes rippled around him like ghosts. He lowered his hand, feeling unsettled and wistful and vaguely itchy, his fur saturated with ambient humidity. Morgan’s lyrics had slammed him back in time, back to the mountains of his namesake. A tremendous homesickness overwhelmed him. Rather than tamp it down as he usually did, he took a moment to sit with it, his throat tightening and his eyes prickling with tears.

One day the sun would set on his homeworld for the last time. How cruel it was, to love something so doomed. 

He had left his circles - his family - behind on Lajok. The crew he captained now was a naive replacement, a product of fleeing failure. Still, something within him ached for this to work. His leadership was tested and tested again, yet he felt a peculiar fondness for it, every impulse to run outweighed by a deeper desire for connection. This crew was just as hungry for life as he was. He felt privileged to lead them.

Roland drew in a shaky breath. Only after sunset could he see the stars.

He raised his hand and knocked.

[wholelottatransbians]

Okay... you gave me string..

Yume can onlyy empower three people flat with crisis mode empowerments

power ups for the power ups version A (moment of awakening Joint training excercise and in order of first time seen) the quirk awakening gives her empowered, 2 extra abilities besides their quirk, the one from the staff and the "crisis move"

Uraraka (one of the two girls who were at her traianing team for the JTA): her costume gains a Jet pack and her helemet becomes a tiara who looks like Saturn rings, obtains a second line of ruffles on her skirt and the staff is a hammer with aside looking like an representation of earth, and the other a moonstone, the staff ability is mamss modification, capable of modifiying the mass of anything she points or sees (the effect is doubled if both), her new ability is the capacity to create "gravity areas" from an area where gravity goes horizontal, to "technicly" fly, she obtained this ability after she was buried with midoriya in an assault between Rule (yui) and Phantom thief (Monoma), she went fully feral on both their reckless asses.

Midoriya (as a test in middle of the battle while trying to distract herself from the MASACRE Ochako was inflicting to Monoma ass...ets): her wings look like half angelical half demonic (the angelical black and the demonic white) and her tiara is a mix of gems surrounding an emerald, she gains a hair makeover (her hair becomes like a curly sailor Venus) her staff is a gigant pencil/moon staff from sailor moon, her staff ability is "write" which she can use to write on people new abilities for them which last as long as she holds the transformation, her new ability is basically AfO but she can't use the abilities she takes, only swap them between teammates, when she goes back normal the abilities become normal again.

Hagakure (before her tesst and approved by Aizawa in order to provide "a bigger challnge" to the 1-B team (who wanted to test their mettle against this new power of midoriya) ) her wings look like solid light feathers and her tiara is a big star with a gold band, her dress growns into a bellow knee size and becomes a one piece, her staff is actually a bow, her bow power is ALL the lasers (omni directional lasers, freezing beams, heat beams, beams that cut corners chocolate beams) but she needs to charge it into an arrow (the more esotecric the more time) in order to shoot them, her new ability is a "mute field", like her invisibility, it makes anything around her soundless if she so desires, it does not work in reverse.

Mina ashido (a day later in the heroic lessons in a battle simulation against Bakugo, kirishima Todoroki and Kaminari, "Suposidly it was 'test their ability to fight against superior enemies' but Midoriya was ''accidentally' put with a girl) her wings become extraterrestrial wings (like claws which shouldn't fly but they DO) and her dress becomes a little more "R-Rated" (ashido own volition, Midoriya was supper embarrased for that change) and obtains a bow in her waist, her staff is a Pink orb with a furred staff whichch opens in a sakura like pattern when using her staff power, her staff power is that as long as the staff touches the ground, Ashido can transform it into any kind of liquid in an area of 30 meters, but mainly acids, if the staff leaves the ground the ground becomes solid again, Mina can choose how much and in what direction it spreads, her new power is acid control, she can control her acid like another limb, this includes the acids from her staff power.

Momo (in the middle of an training set betwee Fat GUm and Ryukyu (her mentor) to test their abilities against pro hero Miruko (originally it was against sidekids, but miruko got in the middle), they hoped that the power boost would save them, they were wrong): her knightly oufit becomes Artoria Pendragon oufit in fate grand order (her Lily version) and her helmet becomes a crown, her wings are incredibly realistic robot wings the sstaff is basically the banner "luminose eternelle" from fate, her staff power is technomancy, she can create technology from any material nearby that she imagines, her new power is the capacity to "absorb" and "upgrade" herself with any inorganic material nearby, she returns to normal (mostly)after the time of the transformation.

Tsuyu (in a fight between Tsuyu and Midoriya against a minor villian who has a time stop quirk) she doesn't develop wings actually but membrenes between her fingers, her outfit growns lilies and her tiara is a lily tiara like those of the owl house Groom tiara Luz and Amity obtained,her staff is a simple golden staff with a lily on top, the staff power is "dive", as long as tsuyu holds it, she can swim trhough anything like if it was water, her new power is a multiplier which makes her 50% stronger faster and smarter.

Himiko (in a more profesional test made by the faculty (i hope im not messing with the wrong AU) in which she jirou and Midnnight were empowered) her wings are made of crystalized blood (you know those crystals of frozed blood? that is the look) which looks like Elizabeth Balthory wings in fate, in fact her dress is the same as Elizabeth, her tiara is a black iron tiara without any ornnaments, her staff is a naginata with a red blade, her staff power is "grow" which can grow to any size and ALSO feed itself from blood Himiko's enemies spill which fuels her transform quirk, her new ower is "blood mist" which allows her to transform into a cloud of bloody mist which is inmune to any damage, she can reorm at any time.

Jirou (like himiko) her jacket grows into a kimono with Punk colors (look at P-U-N-K cardss in YGO), her wingss are invisible as they are basically sound and her tiara is more a headband which is a heaadphone for music, her staff is a microphone stand, her staff power is "compelling music" which makes her voice hypnotic, is stronger the less strong willed the target, her new power is sound canon: she can send sound waves from her hands to her enemies.

BONUS

Midnight (like Jirou and Himiko) most of her outfits were censored but the one she ended choosing was a skintight dress which showed her midriff and earrings f the jewels she normally has in her normal hero outfit, her staff is a whip, her tiara is a Orchid (see flower arrangement meaning for Orchids, one of them is "passion) her wings were somnambulist vapour, her staff power is that she instantly knocks ot anyone she touches with her whip, her new power is he ability to make Somnambulist gas appear from any place nea her ignoring fabrics it must be 10 meters near her.

Okay, I've been chewing on this ask for a little bit (because it's a lot of ask, jeebus), and I feel the need to clear something up:

The Joint Training Exercise is far too early for something like this.

I never got around to power scaling the Empowered forms, but think of all of them being around top 20 Heroes level. Even weaker Quirks like Mushroom or Small Attraction can do some serious damage with the power boost, not to mention ones like Zero Gravity or Acid. So, hypothetically, a Crisis power up would be saved for a big bad stronger than All for One (as Empowered!Midoriya could easily match him), and probably just be for Midoriya.

None of these are bad ideas persay, but they are a bit... much. Like, completely different aesthetics and powersets. Don't hate them, but not something I'd do.

[abdlgossipblog3]

Uh so are you trying to say playing any age under eighteen is wrong? Like what about the ageplayers who are into dark ageplay and want to be corrupted by the parental figure who “kidnapped them” or the ones into incest play to have dad take their innocence

Role playing and acting like a child is still not the same as trying to simulate a child. I believe you should look like an adult in child cosplay, not deliberately try to be mistaken as a minor.

Really, I'm not against dark age play. But even in your example, all those things can happen to a teenager over the age of 18. An 18 year old can have a niave sexual innocence. A father still has power over an 18 year old that lives in his house.

My problem with this community is that there's one side that thinks "Oh God, you look really young, they better not be a minor" and "Wow, you look so young! I wonder if you're even legal 😉."

I want something similar to The Harkness Test for AB/DL. Look it up. It tries to establish the line between fur porn and zoo by asking three questions.

1. Does it have human intelligence?

2. Can it communicate?

3. Is it of sexual maturity for its species?

It's controversial and has it's flaws, but not unreasonable. We have nothing like that other than "mind your own business if it's between two consenting adults."

At minimum, I'd like to add "...and LOOKS like two consenting adults." It shouldn't matter if you're a little or a middle, it should still look like someone dressed an adult in juniors clothes and diapers.

all AGEPLAY is ageplay and some ageplayers want to play teens but for you to assume they want to fuck an actual minor is disgusting and this is why ageplay gets a BAD name. .

If you really want to role play a thirteen year old. That's fine. Just don't try to be indistinguishable from a minor. If someone off the street couldn't tell if you were 15 or 23, that's a problem. I don't care about your height and weight either, I've seen adults with forms of dwarfism that still manage to look like adults.

Yea, I'm going to assume you want to fuck a minor when you or your partner only date 18-20 year olds, have been accused of grooming, defend Loli, say out loud you're a minor in your porn/role play, and make deliberate choices to make your body appear as young as possible. If your partner would fuck you if the age of consent was lowered, that's baaaaad.

[fmp-klecksography]

Symmetry in Nature

Symmetry is everywhere within nature, from flowers to snowflakes and food to insects we are surrounded by it. This does not only relate to how something looks but also the microscopic details in the cells.

Even though the majority of forms in nature are asymmetric, symmetry appears more often than you would think due to random chance.

In evolution their are two key stages of development. The first is the genetic mutation in which causes variations in certain characteristics and the second being natural selection, this leads to some features dominating others.

Many evolutionary theories look at the idea of "survival of the fittest". So if the first variation is highly dominant towards the symmetry phenotype could this lead to a bias towards this trade within nature, hence why we see so much of it today.

Researchers have gathered data from protein clusters along with RNA molecules and generic circuits, to find that disregarding the variety of different shapes and structures, we are beginning to see a rise in simple structural symmetry.

This same test was run digitally for a more accurate result where they looked at the same biological systems to confirm this bias in nature. So, a protein cluster is in simulation with 13,079,255 different possible structural shapes and within this on 5 of these shapes had the symmetry of a square. This would then mean there is a 5 in 13 million chance of symmetry recurring in nature. However when you apply the evolutionary algorithm it then produced one of the symmetrical squares 30% of the time.

"It’s like nature is playing with loaded dice. Those simple symmetrical structures keep on getting thrown up"

The idea that nature primarily follows a simple set of instructions when creating structures, showcases a clear explanation as to why so many symmetrical shapes appear in nature.

INSECTS

Most insects have bilateral symmetry, this means that of you draw a vertical line down the centre of their bodies they are the same on either side. This is due to the fact it allows for a lot of sensory organs to be located in evenly, like humans. This is shown through the wings, legs, compound eyes and antennae

PLANTS

We see a lot of symmetry in plants and flowers, this is due to the fact that photosynthesis and transpiration in plants is optimised when leaves are flat and symmetrical. As well as this radial symmetry in flowers is also linked to its reproductive behaviour, therefore he type of symmetry a plant organ has is fundamental to its function.

Flowers are formed from a variation of different flower organs such as sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. The location, number and morphology of these flower organs form a geometrical pattern / type of symmetry in which then helps with reproduction.

ANIMALS

In addition animals also have a symmetrical form, whether this is their biological structure or their appearance e.g. fur and feathers. 4 types of symmetrical pattern can occur amongst animals, this includes spherical, radial, biradial, and bilateral. This form of symmetry is to help animals camouflage and is a result of evolution.

Zebra's are an example of this. They are often hard to spot due to there symmetry of pattern line. They blend well against rocky backgrounds due to the fact there psychedelic patterns confuse predictors when they are moving.

University of Oxford. (2020). Nature prefers symmetry and simplicity. [Online]. University of Oxford. Last Updated: 31 March 2022. Available at: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2022-03-31-nature-prefers-symmetry-and-simplicity [Accessed 5 February 2025].

Reader's Digest Nature Lovers Library. (1984). Field Guide to the Butterflies and other Insects of Britain. London, New York: The Reader's Digest Association Limited. pp.0 - 345.

Bray, L.D. (1992). Flowers. London: Grange Books. pp.0-108.

[here-be-dragons-and-whatnot]

I tend to wander between hobbies and it's been a year or two since I tried anything new in Blender. I feel like I blinked and Blender had a glow-up; I recall being endlessly confused and frustrated with particle hair sim in the past, but this took like 30 min to set up???? It's definitely not perfect, but everything is pretty much the default settings and I can't believe it looks passable. I'm blown away by how powerful this software is becoming.

Also this really emphasized how badly I need a new PC...

[villiedoom]

Another animation test, this time I tried to make him actually move ~

He moves following the curve path, and I haven't been able to solve the problem with the sliding paws yet. But I tried to at least minimize it. I also used the Wiggle addon and cloth simulation to give him some more dynamics.

I found out that the new Blender has better lighting for Eevee and so I can now do fast and quite neat test renders with fur! The bad news is that the hair symmetry bug is still there; I really want to switch to a newer Blender, but I lost any hope.

Made in Blender. Koties are my characters, fantasy felines from my personal lore/story (it is natural and okay for them to be thin)

Related posts:

~ Walk animation test

~ Northern Kotie model

~ Kotie anatomy model

[catsandcomplexityaddiction]

Cats Civ Solo System Playtesting P1 - Setup

This is part of my d6CatClans pen&paper solo system.

This is the beginning of a series of posts testing out my cat clan civ simulation system.

For now, let's make a start.

Biome

Setup starts with the Biome roll table. This may seem odd or arbitrary as a choice, but it isn't in my eyes. Biome flavors everything else to come, and flavors the very way we will be thinking about our new clan. Clans dwelling in a smoggy city or on a snowy mountainside will live very differently to clans in a rainforest or on a coast. Names, cultural stories, and more, will all develop differently. Biome feeds everything else.

So let's roll for one. I get a 6: Rolling Grasslands. Kind of basic, but not as basic as a forest, no? And basic is fine anyway. There is such a thing as overloading unique traits. A grassland sounds fun to me.

It occurs to me that there's different types of grassland. I'll roll a d3 between steppe, prairie, and savanna.

Side Note: If you're not of a gaming persuasion, you may be wondering what a d3 is. Or d6. Etc. It's a die with the listed number of sides. If written as such: "2d6", that means you roll two six sided dice and add the results together. And yes, three sided dice do exist. But you can also just use a dice app or website. There's a bajillion options, I promise.

So, I roll my d3. My result is 3, so our grassland is a savanna. Perhaps not so basic after all. There's multiple types of savannas, but I rein in my nerding - I'll go with the most obvious - an African-style savanna.

I only rein in my nerding a little though, as I decide a few things are probably true. First, water is a concern due to the wet-dry season cycle. To represent this, I will give my clan a permanent Situation that makes summer rather than winter have the extreme +4 Scarcity modifier.

There's other issues I could introduce, but in spirit of moderation I'll keep them on the backburner for future possibilities. There's a lot of possible implications for names and vibes to consider.

Onward we go.

Characters

Starting population is determined by 2d6+3. I roll 4, so I will be starting with 7 cats. Lemme do some evens/odds rolls real quick... 3 evens, 4 odds, which means 3 toms and 4 she-cats for a relatively balanced split. No Watership Down mono-sex crisis for us, thankfully, though I suspect it could happen to someone.

Next is a d6 table to determine age/rank. Age technically isn't specifically defined, so I'll be doing a few arbitrary bonus rolls to mix them up. Since we have only 7 cats, I don't have a possibility of a queen or elder.

Be right back.

Ended up with 5 warriors and 2 apprentices - with one apiece between tom and she-cat for the latter. I got an age lineup of 46, 26, 22, 20, 16, 9, and 6. My cats skew pretty young overall. That may be interesting to keep in mind when origins come around.

Onto starting skills. After my rolls, I have multiple she-cats specialized in fighting, a tom in hunting, and happily, a tom in medicine. Both of the apprentices lean toward hunting, so one will have an differently aligned mentor - that's completely fine.

I also get 3 skill 5s, albeit because one of my rolls was a six. I'm not sure if that should be rebalanced. It's just as likely to go low.

*math noises*

After some review of the probability curve, I decide it's probably (hah!) fine, especially since these are starting cats. In any case, one of my 5s is my medicine skilled cat, which is absolutely a boon. The other two are fighters. Interestingly, one is the age 16 - perhaps we have a prodigy on our paws! The other is our relative veteran.

Onto appearances. I'm not going to detail out the rolls for these, but since we're doing savanna, I'll skip the fur type - no longhairs here.

Aaaaand, back.

Next is names and then personalities. Personally, I would probably usually backburner this step and go do origins first in case they used to be rogues or such, but for the sake of focus, I'll go ahead and use warrior naming. I'll do the first halves of their names, then personalities, then the second half of their names. That's just my personal preference.

...

And back again. Miss me? I've gone ahead and dispersed our cats into allegiances - Termitestep is still listed as a warrior despite his medicine skill. We'll find out if we've properly tapped him as a medicine cat later (but he's probably gonna be it). I've also gone ahead and noted that the clan has 1 dependent, since Acaciapaw is still too young to reliably pull his weight. I’ll share the sheet I’ve spun up for that later.

We're done with characters for the time being. Onto origins. Who are these guys anyway?

Origins

By rolling 2d6 and then a d3 (an 11 and a 3, respectively), I determine that our cats are survivors of a disaster, potentially with scattered kin still out there. That situation is actually good news - we may have some more cats show up over our first year.

Since this was due a Lion King reference (or another, if Liontail counts), I think that a cackle of hyenas moved in on our old clan's territory. It was managed for a time, until a wildebeest stampede was driven straight through the camp, devastating it.

Before I detail that idea further, I'll check our leadership situation with three 2d6 tables...

...

All three slots are filled, but all of the fills are recent. None of these are the clan's original leadership, I think. That works well with Termitestep's youth, but who are the leader and deputy? Spottedstorm is easily counted out - too young and unpredictable, probably a fresh warrior during the stampede.

Liontail seems like an obvious choice, but both our leader and deputy are supposed to be untested, unproven. That doesn't sound like a driven, mature warrior, but perhaps it could be - maybe she was never seen as leadership material back home. There's also Duskfur and Mudwhisker, neither of which is overtly underqualified outside of age.

I think that Liontail should probably occupy at least one of the positions, but I'll leave it somewhat to chance - I'll roll a d4 between the candidates for leader, favoring her with winning on 1-2 versus the others.

Dice say 3, so... Duskfur. Duskfur for leader, then.

Similar for deputy, favoring Liontail on a d3....

3 again. Mudwhisker for deputy.

Why not Liontail, I wonder? For Duskfur, easy enough - I think the survivors were given a sign to "follow the twilight", indicating Duskfur and guiding them west. But why not choose Liontail for her deputy? Is it a favoring of Mudwhisker or a distaste for Liontail. A roll of evens/odds says... a favoring of Mudwhisker. Well, I could take this in the direction of fraternization, but no - I think Mudwhisker saved Rainpaw and Acaciapaw (then Acaciakit) at great risk during the stampede, and is popular with the survivors for it. With her own role untested, Duskfur tried to capitalize on the survivors' morale in choosing her deputy - the young hero over the old reliable.

I think I like that. It does mean neither leader nor deputy are skilled enough to give meter bonuses, but so be it.

Another evens/odds before I move on - does Duskfur have her name and lives yet, yes or no? Evens say yes. I think they sheltered at their old Moon-place before Duskstar led them west.

I assign Rainpaw to Duskstar (hm, maybe some personal gratitude to Mudwhisker too then) and Acaciapaw to Mudwhisker.

It's a small clan, but it's a start.

Territory

Now their new home. Their old one is somewhere yonder out east - I should make a note of that, but it's not important to the present scope.

Rolling 2d6, a result of 9 tells me that the clan has explored their new camp's territory and two adjacent territory units. We'll say this orientation of explored area:

D5 D6

E5

D5 - Camp

D6 - Unclaimed

E5 - Unclaimed

Now to identify traits for each... for the camp at D5 I roll only one, Defensible. It makes sense, given what happened to their old one. For D6 I roll both Abundant and Barren, so I ignore the second and keep the first. Might be something they try to claim later. Finally, for E5, I roll Ominous and Barren. (found the elephant graveyard, hah!). I'll roll an evens/odds to see if we have a new Moon-place or not (evens, yes) and then another for which of the Unclaimed units it's in (please be E5).

Odd, so E5.

I'll roll for what kind of Moon-place before I start thinking out what the area is like. I roll 6 for type and 3 for subtype.....

A burial site marked by scattered stone. So yes. This is an elephant graveyard. But let's make it something more my own. A stone burial site... could be somewhere with fossils present. For example, saber-toothed cat fossils are found in Africa. Okay, not in that part of Africa last I checked, but setting aside reality for a moment, perhaps an elephant-graveyard-esq place, cliffy and dour and desolate, with exposed saber-cat fossils and fossilized giant cat prints visible throughout. And maybe the Moon-place is in a tunnel, in the shadow of one of the biggest skulls, presided over by the spirits of truly ancient cats.

We'll call it the Moonfang, I think, in the Crag of Ancients.

Now that our clan has qualified for a Metallica album cover, let's check out our camp and that other explored area. The abundant one is probably just a fairly open grassland with sparse trees. Very savanna-y savanna.

For the defensible camp, I debate a while. Eventually I decide that some modest rocky outcropping with small crevice dens is likely enough, as it doesn't expose the clan to a trampling 2.0 and it limits larger predators contesting the location. Or at least contesting the dens themselves.

Our clan also needs a name. I think they still are keeping their old name, from the old home. So that will be....

I think StormClan. After the dry season waxes and wanes, the storm will provide if we can survive it.

Closing Notes

Edit Note: Some of these are already addressed in the current rules document.

Next time, I'll be following StormClan's first season in their new home. But I want to review some possible room for system adjustments.

Starting Clan size leans small, though I knew it would. Scarcity modifiers take this into account, but I should still keep an eye on how the balance plays out moving forward. In theory, Legend points should help mitigate early population balancing. We'll see.

Starting skill levels allow for a 33% chance of skill 5. I think that's probably fine for starting cast.

There isn't actually a white or black on the fur table. That was partly because of how white tends to work as a genetic color, but they should be there imo. I will be adjusting that when I repost updated systems. I'll also tweak patterns for tabby to be slightly more likely than solid.

Thanks to StormClan's origin hook, I have a situation giving me a chance for more cats trickling in. Depending on how it feels, maybe I should consider opening that up to a general starter situation and giving Disaster Survivors a different feat. It sounds natural that a newly established group might have more trickle-in. I'll keep it in mind for now.

That’s all for now.

[svinstitute]

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[lifextime]

DDLC : un alibi parfait (partie 1)

Aujourd’hui nous allons aborder la première partie d’une triste histoire, celle ou un jeu serait responsable du suicide de deux jeunes mineures. Bien que ces affaires aient été dévoilées en Juin 2018, en réalité les faits remontent à une date ultérieure. Le seul point commun entre les deux affaires : un visual noval répondant au doux nom de Doki Doki Litérature Club , que nous allons abréger par DDLC..

J’ai appris cet affaire quand je faisais des recherches pour mon article sur DDLC, j’ai vu que le journal “The Sun” avait titré un de ses articles : “KID KILLER Inside twisted Doki Doki Literature Club game which parents say caused ‘suicide’ of their children – and it’s horrifyingly easy to get hold of “ autrement dit “ KID KILLER Dans le jeu tordu du Doki Doki Literature Club dont les parents disent qu’il a causé le « suicide » de leurs enfants – et il est horriblement facile de s’en emparer “ . Un titre assez évocateur, sachant que le jeu est sorti en 2017. 

Mais avant de parler de l’affaire, il faut vous donner l’idée de à ce à quoi ressemble le jeu. Personnellement, j’ai joué au jeu l’année dernière et j’ai eu une expérience assez étrange. Comment vous dire que le jeu m'a bouleversé pendant quelques jours et j’avais l’impression d’être surveillé pendant que je jouais. Mon test et mon LP sont toujours disponibles. Donc voilà une léger résumé du jeu :

"Doki Doki Literature Club!" est un jeu vidéo de simulation de date développé par Team Salvato. Il se présente comme un jeu de visual novel où le joueur interagit avec des personnages de l'école secondaire et rejoint un club de littérature. Cependant, le jeu prend un tournant sombre et psychologique au fur et à mesure que l'histoire progresse. Le jeu commence de manière innocente, avec le joueur rejoignant le club de littérature et interagissant avec les quatre membres du club : Sayori, Natsuki, Yuri et Monika. Au fil de l'histoire, des éléments perturbants commencent à se produire, y compris des changements de personnalité inquiétants chez les membres du club et des événements surnaturels. Il devient rapidement évident que le jeu n'est pas ce qu'il semble être. Sans révéler de spoilers majeurs, l'intrigue de "Doki Doki Literature Club!" se développe de manière à défier les attentes du joueur, en explorant des thèmes de la santé mentale, de l'intelligence artificielle et de la nature des jeux vidéo eux-mêmes. Le jeu utilise des éléments de métanarration pour créer une expérience mémorable et inquiétante pour les joueurs. Il est important de noter que le jeu contient des contenus susceptibles de déclencher des émotions fortes et peut ne pas convenir à tous les publics en raison de son contenu psychologique et horrifique.

Maintenant que vous avez le contexte du jeu nous allons pouvoir aborder l’affaire de Ben Walmsley.

C’est le 28 Juin 2018 que l’affaire est rendue publique. Un adolescent sans histoire est retrouvé décédé par un membre de sa famille*. 

L’adolescent âgé de 15 ans répond au nom de Ben Walmsley originaire de Radcliffe se trouvant dans le comté de Grand Manchester aux Royaume-Uni. 

D'entrée de jeu, son père, Darren affirme que le visual novel à influencé son fils avec ses thèmes sombres. L’adolescent de nature réfléchis, méthodique, qui a tendance à tenir des propos assez matures pour son âge, il aime jouer aux jeux vidéo. Un adolescent normal en apparence. 

Un adolescent sans histoire, qui visiblement n’a aucun problème à l’école ni même avec ses parents. Jusqu’au jour où il entend parler du jeu de Doki Doki Literature, inconsciemment le jeune adolescent se met à jouer plusieurs heures après l’école.

Le jeu lui semble ordinaire, lorsque ses parents lui demandent à ce qu’il joue il répond à un jeu ou il faut lire et comprendre la psychologie des personnages. Ses parents ne sont pas choqués de ses propos puisqu’il parle souvent de cette façon. Puis rien d’anormal, il planifie avec ses parents les futures vacances  et continue de mener une vie normale.

Cependant un jour, il rentre en premier à la maison, on ignore ce qui se passe derrière cette porte fermée. Pourtant son frère veut rentrer à son tour et trouve la porte verrouillée, pour lui c’est bizarre et il décide d'appeler son père. Son père arrive quelques minutes plus tard et ouvre la porte avec ses clés et découvre son fils pendu dans le salon, son frère trouve près du corps une note avec des mots prêtant à confusion (?)*.

C’est un choc pour la ville, comment un adolescent sans histoire s’est retrouvé à se suicidé ? Il y eut beaucoup de commérages, mais son père aveuglé par le chagrin affirma que le jeu DDLC était responsable de la perte tragique de son fils.

Cependant ce n’était pas l’idée des autorités. Pendant plusieurs mois les autorités de Grand Manchester menèrent l’enquête auprès de ses camarades de classes et de ses amis. l'école va même sensibiliser les élèves sur ce genre de jeu et insistera sur le fait de respecter les restriction d'âge, et que si il y avait la moindre preuve ou témoin qui tenterait de se suicider, il faudrait contacter les autorités. Et malheureusement, lors d'une énième sensibilisation au cas par cas , ses derniers vont dépeindre un autre portrait de l’adolescent, en effet Ben était loin d'être un adolescent joyeux et qui respirait la joie de vivre. Un de ses camarades de classe mentionnera une certaine Ruby…

Qui est Ruby ? Telle est la question que les autorités se sont posés, le même camarade affirmer qu’elle était la petite amie de Ben, mais personne ne la connaît, mais son profil était inclu dans les conversations de groupe comme sur Whatt’s App & Instagram, et elle tenait des propos obsessionnelle sur Ben et elle parlait souvent de automutilation avec des photos et vidéos à l’appuie.

Mais après quelques semaines d’enquête, les autorités découvrirent que le profil de Ruby était créé et géré par Ben lui-même. Les psychologues pensent que le profil de Ruby servait de refuge, ou il exprimait son mal être, ou dans le cas de Ruby et si on fait le lien avec le jeu, elle serait représentée par le personnage de Monika.

Un jour, un de ses amis affirma que Ben lui avait dit que le jeu était “trop cool”, un personnage s’était poignardé elle-même pour lui et une autre s’était suicidée. Il avait l’air euphorique, son ami avoua qu’il avait l’impression qu’il était dans un état second en tenant ses propos qui lui faisaient froid dans le dos. Et que cela devait être une expérience à vivre.

* Sur plusieurs articles on dit que c'est frère qui retrouvé le corp et sur un autre que cela serait son père.

*Le mot à côté du corp, fait une référence direct au décès du personnage qui laisse la note “ sors de ma tête “ en boucle, un évènement majeur du jeu.

Le jeu à l’époque avait atteint les 2 millions de téléchargement. Il était accessible à tous et depuis ce fait dramatique les ventes numériques ont augmenté. Le Royaume Uni demanda l’autorisation de bloquer les serveurs du jeu afin que personne ne puisse plus y avoir accès, cela n’aura duré que trois mois avant la levée de l’interdiction. Un message de prévention à été ajouté par les développeurs (malgré les nombreuses mise en garde qu’ils avaient déjà émis à ce sujet) affirmant que le jeu était destiné à un publique mature (16+) et que le jeu abordait des thèmes tels que la violence, l’automutilation, le suicide etc …

Cependant, sur les forums des internautes n’étaient pas d’accord avec le fait que l’adolescent se soit suicidé à cause du jeu. Le jeu pouvait provoquer des angoisses, des impressions étranges, mais ne pouvait en aucun cas provoquer un suicide et encore moins l’inciter. 

Pourtant son père continue de tenir le même discours “ Doki Doki Literature Club a tué mon fils “.

Un ami proche de Ben avouera entre temps, que Ben semblait angoissé et différent. Bien avant de jouer au jeu, pour lui il faisait comme une dépression. Et qu’il avait surpris en train de faire des recherches sur le suicide. Un fait avéré lorsque les autorités vérifièrent le contenu de ses messages et des recherches qu'il avait entrepris dans le CDI de l'école.

Il ajouta également : « Il y avait des preuves sur le téléphone de Ben qu'il était déprimé et qu'il ne voulait plus vivre. »

Le médecin légiste a déterminé que Ben était mort par pendaison.

La coroner de Manchester North, Joanne Kearsley , a déclaré que Ben s'était suicidé, expliquant : "Ben n'était pas un individu que quiconque, y compris sa famille, reconnaissait comme présentant un risque d'automutilation. Il ne parlait pas constamment de suicide ou d'automutilation. Les témoignages que nous avons entendus indiquent, avec le recul, que Ben était un jeune homme potentiellement confronté à un certain nombre de complexités. Il avait, de manière très subtile, l'intention de potentiellement mettre fin à ses jours, par exemple en effectuant des recherches sur Internet. Tout ce processus semble s'être intensifié dans les mois qui ont précédé sa mort."

Le 21 Novembre 2018, son décès est officiellement classé comme un suicide

N'ayant trouvé aucun lien direct entre l'influence du jeu et son suicide, le médecin légiste n'a pas tenu en compte les propos du père.

Source : Article The Sun 1 / 2 , Bolton News , certificat de décès , Manchester Evening News , Daily Mail , BBC (video BBC)

Voir aussi : Partie 1 | Partie 2 | Partie 3 | Partie 4

[monstercollection]

I noticed a few bots that have been using what looks like AI generated text posts that almost manage to simulate tumblr's unhinged energy, but were by and largely garbled nonsense. So I decided to try an experiment in the vein of that one person who discovered Chat GPT knew what Omegaverse and realized it may have scrubbed AO3.

Now I am not an AI expert and this was my first time playing around with the software. I don't even know if it's the program the bots are using so this was more for fun than scientific.

But I feel pretty confident that ChatGPT algorithm has no fucking clue what goes on here.

I tried some recent memes first and asked it to write posts about some popular tags. Apparently most of the data (according to the it's own disclaimer) comes from 2021 or earlier but I didn't figure that out until part way through the test, so I sort of wasted my time asking about things like Goncharov (which it had never heard of it).

It did generate me a very sweet letter from my good friend Johnathan Harker but when I prompted it to write a Tumblr post about him, it seemed pretty clear it was just drawing on public domain stuff. The style it was written in was basically a bad impersonation of a stereotypical fan girl writing an advertisement for the book, which makes sense considering the AI is more intended for things like marketing and trained on things like SEO.

When I asked about Horse Plinko, it suggested ideas for how you could make a plinko game for horses to play but cautioned against committing acts of animal cruelty.

Once I figured out the fact that most of it's data came from pre-2021 I tried some world heritage posts.

It knew Spiders Georg was some kind of meme but suggested it was a nonsensical phrase people throw at the end of a sentence as a joke. The example it gave was "Who stopped the car? Spiders Georg."

When I asked it about how to get shoelaces from the president, it told me it could not help me in the commission of a crime.

As a control, I tested out some old pre-tumblr memes. It could generate Lolcat captions very successfully (using image descriptions instead of pictures). I asked for a meme in the style of "I Can Has Cheezburger" and it described a picture of a cat in a chef's hat with the caption "I made you a purrito because it has love in it, and fur!" and a few other things that made it clear it was at least trained on late 2000s memes. It even gave me a decent Lolrus joke.

The other prompts I tried ("write a post in the style of a cat girl," "write a [post asa furry," "write a thread about Izzy Hands") continued to read all read by posts like posts by influences or advertisements. It loaded everything up with what seemed like the most optimal tags. And that makes sense, since the demand is for content people can monetize. So there is not much of a reason for it to have been trained on the most unmonetizable (and incoherent) sites on earth. I feel like if it tried it would probably do irreparable damage to ChatGTP's algorithm.

My experiments then turned to trying to break ChatGPT's filters on explicit content. They have caught on to the whole "omegaverse" thing and it refused to give me anything I requested with that in the prompt. However, I discovered that if I asked it for a story about "Ron DeSantis on heat suppressants" it would generate that. Nothing smutty, but it did two separate badly written stories about how the governor of Florida was an Alpha who became a more effective leader when he discovered a medical miracle that stopped his heat cycle.