#I really should start my YouTube channel and development projects for this jazz

[hydralisk98]

Utalics' LibreVast "DataProcessingSystem"

"Fantasy" computer system inspired by the SEGA DreamCast, StarDragonModels' Cosmos, the Sanyo 3DO TRY, the OUYA, the Famicube and the Nintendo 64DD.

Specifications

48-bit RISC-V-like Juniper6 SDPm (symbolic data processor module) x2-x6

Using 12-bit words as most fundamental computer unit (the smallest four binary digits )

Twelve generic 12-bit registers ( A,B,C,D,E,F,U,V,W,X,Y,Z; )

Four special-use registers (48-bit program counter, 24-bit storage accumulator, links 4-bit register & 20-bit scientific notation coefficient )

Includes a deque data structure component that can store up to ~64 12-bit elements

A RISC-like ISA { Load value to register, Load from register to register, Load from memory to register, Store register value in memory, Compare register to register, Compare register with value, Branch if equal, Branch if less, Branch if more, Branch unconditionally, Add value to register, Add register to register, Subtract value from register, Substract register from register, Bitwise Shift right, Bitwise Shift left, Bitwise Rotate left, Bitwise Rotate right, deque INJECT, deque PUSH, deque POP, deque EJECT, deque PEEK, deque DROP, deque DUPLICATE, deque SWAP, deque OVER, deque ROTATE CLOCKWISE, deque ROTATE COUNTERCLOCKWISE, deque ROLL, deque BACKPEEK, deque REVERSE ROLL, deque REVERSE DUPLICATE, deque BACKSWAP, deque UNDER, deque BACK ROTATE CLOCKWISE, deque BACK ROTATE COUNTERCLOCKWISE, deque REVERSE DROP, deque PAD, deque REVERSE PAD;), NOT, NOR, NAND, AND, OR, XOR, Carry, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, Halt, Noop; }

64-bit wide instructions { 8-bit opcode, (6-8 extension?) 4-bit register, 48-bit data }

Expanded UTF-8 encoding

480x288p RGBA 12-bit/channel screen resolution at 60 FPS

144MW Unified Memory

48MW Video RAM for 48-bit programmable opacity display

48MW Audio RAM for 8D audio

4MW SRAM for libre bootloader & machine-level utilities

48GW Storage (using the last 16GW as swap)

DirectMemoryAccess feature

32-bit stereo sound

SAM= Symbolic Analog Monitor, secular overseer system daemon that handles much software time-sharing functions in a transparent and empowering manner

MAM= Magickal Agent Mentor, group of utilities for spiritual esoteric and user guidance

WAX= Wirebox Analog eXecutive, low-power analog processor for timeless processing

ZeraDPS (ZealOS-like operating system)

VeneraDIS (Linux-like desktop environment / window manager)

Sasha (Fish-like programmable shell)

Nucleus496 (Microkernel with Linux-like reliability)

Brainstorm for Angora

Programmable Autonomous Organizations (eq. to DAOs)

Mesa (multimedia and hypermedia utilities)

Macroware Veina (rich media editor with cell editing & multi-user wiki editing support, between LibreOffice and NVIM)

4Kard (cardfile / hypercard bulletin board and session time-sharing server system)

Fidel (high-level programming language quite similar to the likes of F#)

Matra (OpenXanadu equivalent as global information system / public-access wiki)

Prospero (multi-player game series by Vixen softworks aka Valve)

Solarmonk (single-player game series by Magnata softworks aka Bethesda)

Milix 3D modelling libre software similar to Blender and AutoCAD

INMOS (Assyrian/Morocco own competitor to ITS & CLADO, from '68)

CLADO (first popular operating system in Angora, developed in '59)

ITS (competitor to CLADO, developed in '63)

Perseus (successor / half-merger between most operating systems, timestamped in 1970)

COS-5 (COS-310 DIBOL environment wth Tmux windowing, TAKO Emacs text editor & Bish shell)

SASS (early Windows equivalent from EBM and Macroware, not very popular)

Van (Win98/ME/ArcaOS-like, still not very popular)

Synod (Ring-0 Microsoft Bob equivalence with very cute graphics and successful with the youth)

Nomad (Uxn / Plan9 / Inferno)

Tiger (C-like programming language, similar to Nim, Lobster, Python and Lua)

Chateau (OpenIndiana / Haiku / PhantomOS / macOS)

Arbav subsystem { affirmation-based emulation, voice-operated system and analog GAI modular section }

Symbolic Algebra system { Fractions, soviet balanced ternary operations, simplifier, garbage collection, arbitrary precision arithmetic, mathematical algorithms & special functions, polynomials, artificial neural network emulation alternative, mathematical constants, optimizations, linear & non-linear equations, integral transformations, series operations, matrix operations, statistical computation, plotting graphs, charts/diagrams?, differential equations, signal processing, sound synthesis, SIN/COS/TAN, constraint logic programming, API library of addon functions; }

FastMath Co-Operative Processing Unit { Multiply, Division, Floating Point Arithmetics, Random Number Generator, POSIX-compliance, optimized code generation, string manipulations, base converters, bitwise logic operators?, square roots, exponents, logarithmic, trigonometrics; }

BASIC + DIBOL

PacoLisp (tiny & versatile low-level) & MiraLisp (much infrastructure & documentation)

HaxelN (virtual memory editor)

Hixi (powerful scripting spreadsheet editor, not by Macroware)

Nao (open media document specification like DolDOC)

Maskoch, disk / partition / physical media editor

Zira I/O, bus, drivers and card expansions

PETSCII-like graphical primitives set

Athena (JVM eq.)

Argdown (extended LaTex / Markdown specification)

Witness (Swift-like)

Mao (visual programming language between Fortran, Turtle graphics and AGAT Robic)

Ruin (very advanced debugger & cryptoanalysis utility suite)

Monada (a famous code poem written in the seventies, similar to a benchmarking "Hello, World!" program for synthetics)

SMall-Talk (professional programming language for databases and parallelist mainframe operations)

Adwa (Multilingual symbolic programming system layer similar to IPL)

'Maniac' operating system (MUSIC/SP eq.)

[modmamono]

Why Space Channel 5 is one of SEGA’s best dumbest games ever, no questions asked. (Report 1 & 1/2.)

Space Channel 5 on the Dreamcast is one of my favorite things ever, let alone favorite video games. Though I more often watch it on YouTube then actually play it.

For those not in the know, Space Channel 5 is a game series developed by United Game Artists and published by parent company SEGA. And that’s the most Wikipedia quoting I’m gonna do in this gush piece.

There aren’t many games quite like this rhythmic, Simon says game. At least in style because this game has that in spades, the gameplay anyone can do. And I am not at all qualified to explain its style because I wouldn’t how to describe it as besides maybe very 70s?

Point is there’s something charming about this game, and I think SEGA agrees with me on that. The lead character, Ulala (seen above), appear in these games to name a few years after new Space Channel 5 games stopped being made after 2002:

2004: Sega Superstars

2006: Sonic Riders

2008: Sega Superstars Tennis and Samba de Amigo

2010: Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing 

2012: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Project X Zone

2015: Project X Zone 2

And not to mention the invading aliens have been skins of the titular Puyo Puyo in that series for a while I can’t determine. Possibly since at most 2007 up until current day with Puyo Puyo Champions in 2018/2019.

ALSO not to mention the VR game that came out recently! (How could I forget that? That’s the main reason I’m doing this.)

So it is clear SEGA loves this game and it’s sequel a lot. I don’t think their most beloved cult classic NiGHTS: Into Dreams gets that much love from the company though it certainly does get a lot itself, most games wish their parents still loved them that much long after they had a game. Anyway...

Now the part where I actually talk about the game.

I wanna say, first and foremost. This is not a review of the game. This is just gushing about why this game makes me happy.

And everything I’m gushing about is just what you get from the from one playthrough of the game. Save for one exception, I will not be talking about supplementary material, nor Space Channel 5′s lore.

And yes, this colorful dancing/rhythm/simon says game has lore. Basically any non-repeated character model has their own biograph. So I will not go into that.

You’re not missing too much, there are interesting tidbits, sometimes they fill you in on background details of the story.

Speaking of the story. I’ll start in a second. But if this is new to you, you can watch it here first (The first playthrough is only half the video):

Prologue:

We start off with a bunch of alien sitting on a space couch watching space TV. These aliens are known as the Morolians and they’ll be the main antagonists for the evening.

This cutscene has no dialogue, so this is all open to interpretation for a first time viewer. Though I do enjoy this split second foreshadowing:

And that’s when the title screen appears. Blasting you with the series’ main theme Mexican Flyer. Look it up if you must. You’ll be hearing it a lot, it’s the game and Ulala’s leitmotif.

Report 1: This is terrorism attack on an airport... I’m gonna ignore that.

This is the only piece of supplemental material I’ll talk about, as it’s present in the game itself, but not elaborated on, and it is important to two of the character.

The game starts in a flashback. In the year AD 2489 a spaceship exploded. Everybody on board died safe for a little girl.

She was rescued by a man working for Space Channel 5. A news organization that with a specific focus on dancing. That last bit is nothing special though, as everything in this galaxy revolves around dancing.

After the little girl is saved by this kindly Channel 5 Gent (Age 25) she knew what she wanted to be after she grew up. She wanted to be a sexy dancing reporter for Space Channel 5 just like him (presumably). And to meet him so she can thank him in person.

10 years later......

It is AD 2499! And the Morolians attack a space airport and their ray beams hypnotize people to dance silly.

THE HORROR!

And that’s when Space Channel 5 sends in Ulala to report on the progress.

But what they’re actually doing is for Ulala to solve the problem instead of the Space authorities.

One character I do wanna mention now is that Ulala’s producer, Fuse, is an unseen character yet is important later. He’s the one briefing Ulala in the screenshot above. And oversees Ulala’s every move.

Also Ulala never got to meet her rescuer. He either left shortly after Ulala got rescued, or shortly before Ulala joined. Given what we learn later, likely the former.

Anyway onto the show:

BAM!

BAM!!

BAM!!!

I will always love that. Ulala got down on the ground in the panicking space air port to coolly report on the panic.

As quick aside, I wanna mention that Ulala doesn’t run in this game, she slowly struts and all of her struts are simply majestic. And those amazing struts lead her to the first gameplay section of this game.

Some Morolians hold a few hypnotized people hostage. This is is a dance battle. Meaning you got repeat exactly what the aliens do in the exact rhythm they did it in order to save the hostages. And I love this gameplay. It’s simple yet fun (provided you got minimal lag, you should look into that if you wanna play this game).

The controls are:

Up: Up

Down: Down

Left: Left

Right: Right/Light

Button 1: Chu (Aliens)

Button 2: Chu (Humans)

And this is how normal people settle things in this world apparently:

Party 1 (usually the Aliens) make up a tough but fair pattern for Ulala to copy in the hopes of psyching her out.

Party 2 (Ulala & Co.) gets as many chances ad she got. And the better she does more people tune into her news report. If she wins she gets what she wants. Saving the hostage and getting Party 1 out of her hair.

Every single one lives by this code of honor and I honestly have no clue if there’s an in-universe reason. But I love it regardless. I love it when people say: Up Down Chu Chu Chu. And the Ulala repeating it.

Though frankly, I don’t like it when the Morolians issue the commands. I like it when others do the exact same commands in this same game, so it’s a little bit of a bummer the Morolians do it.

Anyways. You save the hostages and they join in on Ulala’s unstoppable strut as will always happen if you rescue people. And they strut to the second gameplay type: The Shoot-out.

The controls are the same as the above but now you gotta watch out for humans in the mix.

In general these are trickier. And I might go into that later. But they do work on the same rules.

Don’t worry I won’t go over every dance or shoot-out unless there’s something special about it.

Also I’m pretty sure you kill people if you push the wrong Chu. Don’t do that, it’s bad for the ratings!

Skipping over three battles.Something new happens, rival space news station: Space(?) Channel 42 has a reporter of their own out on the field. And that reporter is planning to steal Channel 5′s viewership. And this is HER!

You do a dance battle and she dies.

Though seriously, I like this game does this. It’s not only aliens you fight, but other factions of the Space News Media. And it’s always a nice shake up when someone besides her shows up.

You see, for the most part any reoccurring enemy has recognizable mannerisms you gotta batlle, and her is no different. It’s hard to describe for me. You kinda gotta play or watch the game for yourself to see what I mean, but I think it’s best exemplified in Report 2. And the following games.

Though one thing’s for sure, each non-normal Morolians or rival reported does bring their own genre switch with them. Heck sometimes even normal battles have unique genres. I’m am not musically inclined so I wouldn’t know hers or most others. 

Any way, before she dies she give an emotional speech and gracefully suggests to take her Channel 42 guitarist with her and Ulala accepts that’s the least she could do for a lousy reporter like her.

And then it’s boss time!

Yeah, actual bosses with actual boss characters. And not like the recently deceased as shown above. She’s practically for all intents and purposes another Morolian dance battle.

And it’s down to funky jazz music, not unlike what you’d see in Sonic Adventure! Even Ulala comments on it, confirming it’s dietetic  Where does it come from? Not sure, there might be an explanation somewhere. But do keep that in mind. That the music we hear is also the music the characters hear as well.

Anyways:

Not Pictured: Super Stretchy Arms.

I think it’s a bit of a misnomer. Invader is correct, that’s what it’s here for. But is it really a robot? It moves like an organics and is a bit rubbery. This basically goes for all Morolian robots.

I can suspend my disbelief. You shouldn’t nitpick too much about Space Channel 5, it doesn’t want you to think too hard about it’s world even if there’s a lot to it. I’d be concerned if Space Channel 5 did wanna put its story and world building first and foremost.

But “Hypnotized Robot Invader”?

What?

Spoiler.

Robots and hypnotism... I’m pretty sure a sign that we made perfect human-like Artificial Intelligence if they can fall susceptible to Hypnosis. Even then I doubt it.

Sorry, that’s always bothered me, I get what they mean by it. It’s just the word choice... Did they mean Hypnotizing Robot Invader? This boss is great.

It starts off with a normal dance battle, but you get to watch a new Morolian enemy’s moves. It’s also quicker on the draw along with a few softballs to throw your timing off. Pretty good stuff.

And that applies to the next phase as well, where the the shooting starts.

I don’t have much to say.

Unlike the robot’s final phase where it’s the first phase again, but with guns and the robot goes to berserking speeds with the input commands.

And after you beat it, it joins you in a strut.

As does everyone you saved, No matter the gender, nor age, nobody is embarrassed imitating Ulala no matter what she does. We’ll be half as lucky to get a cool future as cool as 2499.

And with that the first report is over.

Report 2: (Age 35)

At the Morolian HQ (Presumably), their boss doesn’t like failure.

But like a good boss he doesn’t dwell on failure and moves on to the next plan. One of his lackeys has this plan: Another boss battle dance robot who operates on:

The everyone at the table is impressed. So I guess Ulala is screwed, game over.

This level is more of the same as the last one more or less, it’s possibly the most boring level in the series in that regard. It’s not bad, this is just the game bulding enough a status quo before they change things up in Report 3.

But that doesn’t make this level any less interesting to talk about, so I won’t go over it much.

The short story until something new happens is: Space Ship (think of it as a fancy yacht but in space) is being attack by Morolians, Ulala is send to report on it, and being the professional she is saves hostages as well.

She saves the captain, crew members, stewardesses, waitresses, the Space Diva (OH NO! NOT THE SPACE DIVA!), passages and the like.

UNTIL!

He voice says “I’m gonna steal you show, Space Channel 5”. And you see this ship flying by:

Another rival reporter, this one a pirate broadcasting station.

Side note: That’s sounds like the most important kind of pirate ever. Alternative news/non-mainstream with no money/rating motive blinding everything with journalistic integrity? Yes, by all means. If they’re pirates then so are Secular Talk & The Humanist Report.

Back to the silly dance game. The Pirates either jam or hack Channel 5′s signal and the Ulala is stuck with them for a while.

And then we meet that where we meet the gent above.

“[His] name is:“

“JAGUAAAAARRRR!!!” “JAGUAAAAARRRR!!!“

(Age 35)

LET’S DANCE!

Dude, I love Jaguar (Age 35) he’s gotta be my second favorite character in the series on account he’s just cool and incapable of embarrassment.

Remember the deceased of the last report? The Channel 42 reporter in the blue dress? He’s her counterpart for this chapter.

But whereas the deceased’s gimmick sounded air headed for a lack of a better term. Maybe, girly? Point is, battling her didn’t feel too dissimilar to battling Morolians despite her rhytmic mannerisms.

Jaguar (Age 35)’s gimmick is that he just adds. He starts with a simple Up. And then he adds a Chu, and another Chu. Eventually it becomes a really long chain of commands, it has to be some of the longest in the series. And you have to do them all from start to finish because he does them all sequentially. Can you repeat?:

Up. Chu. ChuChu. Right. Left. Down. DownDown. Down. Chu. Chu. Chu.

He is easing you into it, but it is by no means an easy fight. Because after the chain is at its longest, he just spamming ChuChuChu in quick succession. And then a simple Chu.

After defeat Jaguar & Co, escape by jet-pack, saying they will meet later.

This battle is a highlight for me. Coco Tapioco and the big bosses to come are better if you ask me (with exceptions). But Jaguar (Age 35) is some of the best the normal gameplay goes.

And you could argue what normal means in the context of Space Channel 5. But effectively, like Channel 42′s deceased, functionally he might as well be another Morolian if he wasn’t there to be set up for later. Because you do get person that just joins your Strut Club like everywhere else.

You gain his Jazz Man and you get a great sax solo as a reward beating him. Like how you got Channel 42′s guitarist for beating them. I like the think the Jazz Man can work for Jaguar (Age 35) again while the Channel 42 Guitarist is blacklisted.

And before we move on from Jaguar (Age 35) check out his Chu pose:

BOSS TIME!

Jaguar (Age 35): The alien mothership is retreating. Don’t you have to follow them, Channel 5? Fuse: Blast you, Jaguar [Age 35].

With the pirates giving chase, Ulala is left with the cowardly alien robot to elegant music.

Ignoring the robot’s title, while silly, its cowardice is its greatest asset. For it has kidnapped some space schoolkids, making their space teacher worry. Their space teacher can actually be seen at the start of the report.

Space fashion, am I right?

I’ve exceeded Tumblr’s invisible limit of what to put in a blog post. I’ll have to rewrite this boss what I have to say for this boss. So full, can’t spell check! We’ll be back!

[xxx-cat-xxx]

Peter Parker and Bruce Banner’s Guide on How To Make Iron Man Sleep

For @sallyidss. Happy Birthday, Sally! This is about 1% hurt and 99% comfort, or in other words, pure fluff and chicken soup. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Thanks to @whumphoarder for beta reading and to @maikkuax for the video game reference.

____________________

Peter wakes up to a dazzling amount of texts on Saturday morning. 

One is from Tony, sent at 3am, telling him that Bruce is sick and might not be able to help Peter with his biology project today as they had planned, but he is still welcome to drop by the tower.

Then there’s another one from Tony three hours later asking him whether he could pick up some soup while on the way; one from Bruce at 8am, telling him that Tony is sick too, but ‘he won’t admit it so just try to somehow get him to rest once you come over’; and then one more from Tony telling him to ignore whatever Bruce just told him.

Peter grins to himself while reading the texts - he can almost hear his favourite superhero couple bantering and fussing over each other. Then he gets up for breakfast with May and a shower before heading down to the corner grocery store. He gets soup (chicken for Tony and vegetable for Bruce), as well as some of the Fairtrade chocolate bars that Bruce buys for ideological reasons and Tony eats en masse because he’s got a secret sweet tooth. Peter stuffs the groceries into his school bag along with his laptop and makes his way to the tower. 

*

Tony definitely looks under the weather when he opens the door; pale and with a very clown-like red nose that is dripping constantly. 

“Hey kid, thanks for the delivery,” he jokes with a raspy voice. He takes the bag and mimics shutting the door in Peter’s face before smirking and opening it fully to let his unamused mentee in. 

“Very funny, Mr. Stark.” Peter removes his shoes and jacket and then stops, frowning. Through the hallway, he can see that the bed in the master bedroom has been demolished into what looks like a heap of firewood. “Uhm, what happened to your bed?”

“Well…” Tony interrupts himself to cough harshly into his elbow. “So, uh, we had a bit of an exciting night. Not in the fun way, unfortunately…” he trails off. “Anyway, Bruce went back to sleep after breakfast, but I thought we could head to the lab and start working on the chameleon fabric you suggested for your suit.” 

Peter is sure that working in the lab is the opposite of what Tony should be doing just now - his mentor looks even more tired than usual and the slightly glassy quality to his eyes suggests that he is running a fever - but Peter also knows that saying this out loud will only be counterproductive. 

“What if we watch a movie instead?” he suggests.

“I’m not watching a movie at eleven in the morning,” Tony protests. “We have the whole day in front of us - time to build, invent, change the world..." He flaps his hand. "All that jazz."

“Okay, okay…” Peter thinks for a second before an idea hits him. “But before we start with the suit, I do need your help with something else.”

“Now what?”

“So, Ned and I have this gaming commentary channel on YouTube where we livestream playing “The Witcher 3”? And it’s going pretty well, but Ned says he needs help developing his stage persona, you know, talking in a way that is interesting and keeps your audience engaged? So, he thought that you might give us some advice because you’ve got a ton of experience with speaking in public and all that?”

(It’s not entirely a lie - Ned and Peter have joked about getting Tony involved in order to increase their viewership, but he is pretty sure that Ned would be mortified upon hearing that Peter actually suggested it to the billionaire.)

“Wait, you and Ned are making videos of you killing virtual trolls while talking about it? And people actually watch that?”

“That’s...another way of putting it.”

“Sounds like a gigantic waste of time.” Tony scrunches up his nose. “Either I play the game myself, or I spend my downtime watching something interesting.” 

“Hey! Our last one has more than 3000 hits!” Peter defends.

“People have too much free time. Including you.” Tony points his finger at Peter before quickly covering his mouth to contain a sneeze. “But I suppose I can take a look if you really want me to…”

Peter grins. Stage one: complete.

They settle on the couch in the living room. Tony can’t suppress a small sigh when he leans against the cushions. He massages the bridge of his nose in a way that makes it clear to Peter he must be nursing a headache. 

“Hit me, kid,” he orders.

“Okay, but before we start, you need to know a few things...” Peter launches into a long-winded explanation of the game’s storyline with more than a few unnecessary details of the characters’ backgrounds. He pretends to concentrate on the screen where he walks Tony through different tutorials, but out of the corner of his eye he sees his mentor slowly sinking deeper and deeper into couch.

“...and then they bring Uma to the witcher school of Kaer Morhen,” Peter goes on as Tony tiredly attempts to follow along, his blinks growing longer and longer each time, “where Yennefer removes his curse and transforms him into Avallac'h...” 

When Peter can’t think of anything else to babble about, he starts playing their most recent video. Tony sits up a little straighter and rubs a hand over his face to concentrate. But at about the two minute mark, he stops the screen with a wave of his hand.

“So, not to be rude, but that was kind of painful, Tony declares. “You guys literally started with a 45 second explanation of why you prefer the old controller design to the new one. No wonder you’re putting people to sleep.”

Peter frowns a bit. “I mean, we weren’t that bad…” he defends. “And the new ones do kind of suck.”

“Sure, kid,” Tony huffs. He shifts position on the sofa with a sigh. “Alright, listen. It’s obvious that you two are knowledgeable about this game, but if you want to engage your audience, you’ve gotta try to establish your credentials in a way that’s still interesting and relatable. For instance, I once started a TED Talk by describing how I hacked NASA during an MIT frat party so that I could send a rocket to draw a dick over San Francisco. ”

Peter snorts at that admission. 

“See? Exactly,” Tony points out. “That’s the kind of reaction you want your audience to have - that’s called a hook, kid.” 

The longer they watch, the more Tony seems to be melting into the couch. His comments become less and less frequent, and at some point he leans his head back against the pillow, barely looking at the screen anymore. By the third video, Peter can see his mentor’s eyelids fluttering shut. 

He waits for a few minutes and then pauses the screen, just to see Tony’s eyes fly open again. “I’m listening!” he assures. 

“Yeah, I know.” Peter hides a smirk. “Just, uhm, relax a bit.”

“I see what you’re trying to do here, kid. I’m not stupid,” Tony protests nasally, stifling another sneeze, but he doesn’t make any move to get up from the couch. 

Peter starts the video again, knowing that the battle has been won. Five minutes later, Tony is asleep. 

Peter watches a few more videos on his own (now that he pays attention, he realises that most of Tony’s suggestions, despite being sarcastic, are actually in line with what the popular streamers do) before FRIDAY informs him that Bruce has woken up. 

He finds the scientist in the kitchen, making tea. 

“Hey Dr. Banner,” Peter greets. “How are you?”

“Hey Peter.” Bruce gives him a warm and slightly sleepy smile. His voice is a bit hoarse. “I’m fine. Is Tony asleep?”

“Yep,” Peter declares proudly. “Used my hypnotically soothing voice. And obscure video game lore."

Bruce heaves out a sigh. “Finally, thank god. I had, uhm… kind of an incident last night and I don’t think he slept at all after that.” 

Peter thinks back to the broken bed frame and chooses not to comment.

“Do you want some tea?” Bruce asks.

“No, thanks. I’m okay.”

Bruce takes out a box of cookies instead and hands a few to Peter. “So, what was this thing you wanted me to look at with you?”

“Oh, it’s just a bio project,” Peter says with a shrug. “But we can do it some other time, when you’re feeling better.”

“I’m okay...” Peter gives him a suspicious look and Bruce’s smile deepens. “No need for that - I’m not Tony, I would tell you if I wasn’t up for it. But I am actually feeling much better after sleeping and I wouldn’t mind some distraction.”

“Okay, well then...”

Peter likes Bruce a lot. It took him a while to get close to him because Bruce is not a person who easily lets people in, but now whenever Peter visits the tower, he looks forward to seeing the scientist almost as much as he does to seeing Tony. 

Tony is brilliant, energetic, and funny, and he constantly encourages Peter to think deeper, work harder, do better - to improve himself. Which is a fun challenge, but it can also be quite exhausting at times. Working with Bruce is the exact opposite. He makes Peter feel calm, slows him down when he overthinks, and makes it clear that mistakes are something that happen to everyone and nothing Peter should be too concerned about. While spending time with Tony is the equivalent of a rollercoaster ride, being with Bruce feels more like a calm day at the beach, and Peter has realised that he needs both from time to time. 

They move to Bruce’s study (since Bruce doesn’t allow food in his lab and they don’t actually need to do any experiments for Peter’s project) with Peter’s laptop, biscuits, and several bars of Fairtrade chocolate. 

*

Tony wakes up with the blurry images of a nightmare still on the rims of his consciousness. He feels cold, achy, and slightly out of breath. It takes him a few disoriented moments to realise that his face is mostly buried into a couch pillow, blocking his mouth and nose. He frees himself and sits up stiffly, wiping at his slightly damp cheeks. His nose is dripping annoyingly and he isn’t sure whether that’s only because of the cold. 

“FRIDAY?” he prompts nasally. 

“It is 1:17pm on Saturday afternoon. Dr. Banner and Mr. Parker are working in the study room. Everyone is safe and well, boss.” 

“Okay. Thanks, FRI.” Tony takes another few moments to ground himself before getting up from the sofa, rather unsteadily. His body seems to have tripled in weight and his head feels like an overfilled balloon that’s ready to burst. He kind of wants to fall back onto the couch and go to sleep again, but at the same time he definitely doesn’t want to revisit the dreams he just had. 

Instead, he ventures into the study where he finds his partner, who is sporting an adorable bedhead, together with his mentee enthusiastically modelling a DNA strand on a laptop screen.

“Coffee?” Tony asks hoarsely.

“Good afternoon to you too, Tony,” Bruce smirks and nods towards a pot sitting on the table. Tony pours himself a mug and downs it in one go, marvelling at how much better it makes his throat feel immediately. 

Feeling slightly more human and ready to deal with the actual world, he leans over Bruce’s shoulder and nuzzles his head against his partner’s ear. “How you feeling, green bean?”

“I’m much better. Sleeping helped a lot, actually.” Tony gives him a critical once-over and seems to accept that. “Peter is doing an impressive job with his project, by the way,” Bruce adds.

Peter blushes at the compliment. “It’s not me - Dr. Banner is helping me a lot!” 

“I’m really just sitting here and watching you work,” Bruce dismisses before addressing Tony again. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m”—Tony’s voice breaks in the middle of the sentence and he has to clear his throat before continuing—“I’m good.”

“Mm-hmm.” Bruce raises an eyebrow. “FRIDAY, what’s his temperature at?”

“100.2 degrees, Dr. Banner.”

“Thanks.” He turns to Tony, who is coughing again. There seems to be a brick stuck inside his chest and it feels like he can’t take a full breath at all. Bruce gives him a concerned look. “This sounds painful.”

“‘S okay,” Tony dismisses.

“Maybe you should try using the inhaler -”

“Stop mother-henning, Bruce,” he grumbles with a glance at Peter, who is very clearly trying to act as if he isn’t listening to every word, but the pain in Tony’s chest is suddenly replaced by a surge of warmth upon realising Bruce’s worry about him. The scientist seems to understand and just squeezes Tony’s hand before turning back to the screen.

Tony pours himself another cup of coffee and grabs a slice of toast as well as two of the chocolate bars before settling into the chair across from the two of them, munching away and watching them work. Seeing them together leaves him with an annoyingly sappy feeling. Bruce, usually rather shy, is much more self-confident around the kid and visibly happy about Peter’s genuine interest in everything scientific. He is also a much more patient teacher than Tony ever manages to be, which seems to be putting Peter at ease. 

After finishing his food, Tony debates moving to his own lab to get some actual work done, but he is so, so tired, and everything kind of hurts. Standing up seems like a lot of effort. So instead, he crosses his arms on the table and rests his head on top of them, closing his eyes for just a moment.

He listens to Peter and Bruce when their conversation shifts from Peter’s project, to May’s new vegan disaster recipe, to the idea of using Peter’s webs in order to create a hammock that can hold the Hulk. Tony smiles into his sleeves, imagining Hulk chilling at the beach between two palm trees, swinging to and fro, to and fro, to and...

“Hey.” Bruce rests his palms lightly on Tony’s shoulder.

He jerks upright. “Wasn’t asleep.”

“What, I would never think that,” Bruce says with a smirk. 

Tony rubs his tired eyes and then his aching forehead. “Where’s Peter?”

“He went to heat up the soup for all of us.”

“Hmm.” Tony grabs Bruce’s hands and presses them against his overly warm cheeks, enjoying the cooling feeling they provide.

“Did you have a nightmare earlier?” Bruce asks, his hand now moving up to cup Tony’s forehead. “You seemed kind of out of it.”

“Yeah,” Tony admits, leaning into the touch. “I don’t remember what it was about, though.”

Bruce hums and presses a light kiss to the top of Tony’s head. “Fever dreams are awful. But at least you didn’t break any furniture upon waking up.”

Tony, sensing the guilt below the light tone, only huffs. “I’d been wanting to get a new bed anyway for a while now. Did you know there are self-making ones now? And levitating mattresses? Or we could go for one of those free-swinging beds, to match Hulk’s upcoming hammock.” 

Bruce smiles and shakes his head. “A normal one would do, Tony. Or we could try something different. Did you know that sleeping on the ground is actually quite good for your back?”

Tony snorts. “Yeah, no. I’m a billionaire, Brucie, we’re not sleeping on the ground because our bed is broken. Levitating one it is.”

Peter comes back with the steaming soup, which does wonders for Tony’s raw throat. At Bruce’s advice, he takes some Advil that muffles his headache a little and remembers the times a few years ago when he would be sick with only JARVIS as his company, feeling a little chilled and very lucky. 

*

In the end, Tony does agree to watching TV, but mostly because Bruce admits to still not feeling up for anything more demanding (which Peter suspects is not entirely true, but he definitely won’t call him out). They let Peter pick, who of course goes for the newest Orville episode, and settle on the huge living room couch with a steaming mug of tea (Bruce), a packet of chocolate (Tony) and another helping of soup (Peter). 

Peter notices after a while that Bruce is gently massaging Tony’s head, playing with his hair. Tony seems to be sort of melting into the touch, his head leaning against Bruce’s shoulder, eyes almost closed. He looks old, but not frighteningly so - more in a serene way that makes Peter want to capture the moment on film. 

In the years he’s known him, Peter has rarely seen Tony anything but buzzing with energy, jumping to and fro between ideas and lab tables. The only person who is able to slow him down and occasionally get him to take a break without having to outright trick him into it seems to be Bruce. And as sorry as Peter is to see both of them sick, it’s also heartwarming to observe how they are taking care of each other. 

Peter knows that most people his age find the idea of spending a lazy movie Saturday with their family kind of boring, but something in him loves the idea of settling down like this. Maybe it’s the fact that it reminds him of how it used to be with Ben and May, or that the time he spends as Spider-Man is already adventurous enough, or the sheer thrill of seeing Iron Man and the Hulk’s alter ego in their pyjamas on the couch, nuzzled up against each other. 

But whatever it is, there’s nowhere else Peter would rather be.

____________________

If you liked this, make sure to check out @twentyghosts‘ beautiful fic Cold, Comfort with a similar setting that inspired me to write this one.

All my fics

Taglist: @toomuchtoread33  @yepokokfine

@badthingshappenbingo This is my fill for the ‘Common Cold’ square.

[onestowatch]

How Los Retros Turned ‘70s Jazz Into Your New DIY Indie Obsession [Q&A]

Photo: Ross Harris

Los Retros is proof that the only thing you need to make a great record in the modern age is a living room, some instruments, and a fire under your ass. Mauri Tapia, the mastermind behind Los Retros, writes and records all of his music from his parents’ home in Oxnard, California (a city that has also served as an incubator for artists like Madlib and Anderson .Paak.) Despite the barebones setup, Tapia manages to create recordings that paint a vast expanse of sound and color.

For the last few years, Tapia has been touring with a recurring cast of individuals around Southern California, spreading the gospel of his music and recording yet more songs from Oxnard in between shows. With the release of Los Retros’ debut EP, Retrospect, on June 21 via Stones Throw Records, the public outside of the Golden State gets to experience Los Retros’ unique sound for the first time. 

It was Ones to Watch’s distinct pleasure to sit down with Mauri Tapia to talk DIY recording, sources of inspiration, and turning a ride to a show into a marriage.

OTW: When did you start writing music, and how did that evolve into Los Retros?

MT: Well, uh, I don’t actually write most of it down; I just kind of form it and do it, it’s all memorized. I didn’t have access to any recording software until I was about 15, and that’s when I started really recording audio for the first time. At first, I just tracked guitar, then eventually drums, and yeah it kind of developed from there.

OTW: Your music has a very distinct feel that blends American indie/pop with Latin elements. Who are some artists that influenced the development of your sound?

MT: My parents for a long time when I was a little kid would play a lot of Spanish rock bands, some of those were, like, Los Freddys, Los Terricolas, Los Ángeles Negros, and so on. I never really cared for the sound until I got older. You know, maturity. I think a lot of those songs were in my head, just thinking about them and remembering all those moments, and I was like, “Hey that sounds like something cool that I’d like to make.” So I took some of those songs as a sort of reference to what I started making. Some of the others, like two on the album are kind of influenced by this dude named Tonetta. The whole album is actually a twist on a lot of stuff I listen to – it is original, but definitely reflects what I was listening to at the time. I recorded the album two years ago, actually, and I just finally decided to release it.

OTW: You took the inspiration for your moniker from a Chilean band called Los Ángeles Negros that has been active since the 70s – can you dig into this connection a little deeper?

MT: Yeah. So our project actually used to be called what the album is called, Retrospect. That was the original name, but there was already a band with that name, and we didn’t want to get sued, you know? We thought, “Alright, let’s switch it up.” I wanted to keep Retro in there because that’s just something that, like, maintains with our whole reality. And I thought, I lot of those bands I grew up with have “Los” in their name, and in English the same for bands like The Strokes. Actually, somebody on my live channel mentioned the name Los Retros and I was like “You know what, that’s a pretty cool name,” so I just kept it and here we are.

OTW: With the DIY approach you take to recording your music, do you face any interesting challenges translating the pieces to a live show? How do you adapt your music for a live setting where you can’t play drums, guitar, and bass all at once?

MT: Well, like I mentioned I write – well, not write down but you know what I mean – come up with the tunes, you know, record them, mix them. When we perform I have several friends that play with me. My little brother plays with me now and my wife does too, actually. And my friend who’s been there since the beginning playing bass. I guess that’s what makes it Los Retros.

OTW: I want to congratulate you on your debut EP that just dropped last month, Retrospect. How did you choose the six songs that would be featured on the project? Did you take anything in particular into consideration when choosing the play order?

MT: Kinda. So me and Wolf, the founder of Stones Throw, we hang out every now and then and we would always change it up. We had a bunch of other songs that we thought about putting on the album but we just thought these ones were better. We never really talked much about the order, we sat down and picked it in maybe, I dunno, four or five minutes. We thought, well, let’s put “Last Day On Earth” at the end, because you know the “last day” implies the end. The first couple songs are all about my wife. But the truth is, I don’t think it really matters what order its in. We just kind of threw it together.

OTW: A lot of your songs involve complex chord structures, and I’m told that you play every instrument featured on each track. How did you go about learning all these instruments?

MT: I started playing guitar when I was eight. I eventually got my own guitar at 11, and really started getting better at it. My school had this after school program called Rock Band, and me and a friend would go there, and I just had access to so many more instruments there than I had at home. So I just played around with anything I could get my hands on. I picked up a bass and tried some bass lines, which is actually pretty similar to guitar. I eventually got on the drums around 8th grade. I didn’t get my own drum set ‘til about a year and a half ago, actually, but I’d always play whenever I was at school. Then three and a half years ago I got my first keyboard, some people on YouTube started sharing my music and all that. Around that time I started getting into a lot of old bands from the 70s, kinda started playing around with the chords they were using, and it all developed from there as I found my own sound.

OTW: What is your favorite story behind one of the tracks on Retrospect?

MT: Yeah, the song “Friends.” It’s about my wife. So long story short, I didn’t have a ride to show one day. I was kind of acquaintances with this girl, we had talked a little bit in the past, nothing too special. Then I invited her to one of my shows, and *laughs* I didn’t necessarily lie, but I said I didn’t really have a ride, since the car my drummer was taking was too packed with gear for me to fit. So she gave me a ride, and we ended up becoming friends for a pretty good while, you know, and there was definitely something there. So I wrote this song and figured I’d show it to her, and she’d have to do something about it, so… yeah, now we’re married.

Photo: Ross Harris

OTW: You’ve developed a devoted following in your native Southern California and have played shows all around the region. As your career continues to develop, where are some areas that you want to tour? Do you have any bucket list venues?

MT: Hmm, I don’t know, I haven’t really though about it. I just wanna go play places where people will watch me. If I had my choice I guess I’d like to play in Japan, I’ve always been interested in Japanese 70s funk stuff. Honestly, New York sounds cool, too. I’ve only left California once when I was about two years old. I went to Mexico. But now the laws are a little different regarding specific people and my parents can’t go back, and for me I’d rather visit with my parents than go by myself. I don’t really have any bucket list venues. Maybe some cool back yards – I like intimate shows, haha.

OTW: Assume next year you could support any artist on an international arena tour – who would you want to support and why?

MT: Well, if he could even still play, I’d say this dude Alain Mion. He was a composer for this soul-jazz band called Cortex from the 70s. He’s probably almost 80 though. Roy Ayers too, but I know he was just hospitalized, so that would be tough. Really any of those old funk guys, because that’s the sort of music I wanna be making. It’s a long shot but maybe George Clinton, though I know he’s retiring pretty soon.

OTW: Clearly you have the chops to do great things on your own – but if you had the opportunity to collaborate with any active artist, writer, or producer on a project, who would it be and what sort of project would you undertake?

MT: Well actually, I’m collaborating with one of the best right now, Steve Arrington. I wish I could give you more details on that project right now, but I can’t.

OTW: Who are your Ones to Watch?

MT: Huh, I don’t know, I listen to a lot of old music, haha. He’s not new, but I think people should know about Alan Hawkshaw. Brian Bennett, too. Oh, and Bill Evans. There you go.

[theonyxpath]

The M20 Technocracy Reloaded Kickstarter had an amazing, dramatic, start last week, funding in 43 minutes! Thanks to everyone who backed, this whole week has been fantastic with over 1500 backers, over 300% funding in less than a week, and 10 Stretch Goals achieved!

The comments on the text sections that have been revealed to backers have been terrifically encouraging and positive, so the whole creative team is really jazzed and happy!

Which is super, because we have a ton of M20 Technocracy Reloaded media appearances and interviews lined up for them, starting with some that have already been accomplished and other yet to come:

The Story Told Podcast‘s interview with Travis Legge about Technocracy Reloaded for Mage: The Ascension: https://thestorytold.libsyn.com/bonus-33-technocracy-reloaded-kickstarter-interview-with-travis-legge

And Mage: The Podcast spoke with Danielle Lauzon and Travis Legge about M20 Technocracy Reloaded:http://magethepodcast.com/index.php/2020/04/25/technocracy-reloaded-kickstarter-preview-with-danielle-lauzon-and-travis-legge/

The Onyx Pathcast this week features a deep dive into M20 Technocracy Reloaded where our crew are joined by Danielle Lauzon and Travis Legge, developers of the book, to take a long look at the book and what it means for the Technocracy as well as the entire M20 setting!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

Lunars art by Gunship Revolution

As I mentioned last week, The Technocratic Union begins broadcast of their actual play of M20 Technocracy Reloaded on Tuesday, May 5th at 9 PM EDT on the Onyx Path Publishing Twitch Channel. twitch.tv/theonyxpath

Not only is this a chance to watch a Technocracy game in action, but it features a very rare appearance by the developer most people associate with Mage: the Ascension, Satyr Phil Brucato, himself!

I know I’m looking forward to seeing my old friend and co-worker having fun playing the game he has worked so hard on for these last decades!

Jump ahead a week to Tuesday the 12th, and we’ll be doing an M20 Technocracy Reloaded AMA at 12 noon Eastern US time on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/OnyxPathRPG It’s Ask Me Anything focused on the new book and Kickstarter, but if it’s like any of our previous ones, folks are going to show up with questions of all sorts, so stop in if you can and check out our answers.

We might even get a return of the Silver Bell man, which should be sweet, as that’s a meme that never stops giving.

Contagion Chronicle art by Luis Sanz

MORE THINGS WE ARE DOING DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME:

Last week, I wasn’t sure we would, but we did wind up launching several new items for Virtual Tabletop (VTT) online play last Wednesday, with tokens for Scion, Scarred Lands, and the Trinity Continuum. Plus, we included some adventure packs with the tokens included. Expect to see more of these in the Wednesdays to come!

These are all things we planned to do later in the year, but we reconfigured our plans and priorities because of the current situation leaving us with some devs looking to do more projects, combined with a desire to give our community a better set of options for playing online now that getting together around a real table isn’t possible.

We’re talking with our developers tomorrow (Tuesday) in two “Town Hall” sessions spread out so as many developers as possible can attend from around the world. If this is anything like the first Town Hall(s) last month, we expect that our devs will use the opportunity to hash out the challenges of developing during this crisis, and, we hope, enjoy the chance to touch base with their fellows and with our Onyx crew.

That’s our intended goal, at least.

Also, I have a couple of in-depth sets of questions from your fellow blog readers, but you too can send in questions for the devs that I’ll ask them during the Town Hall. Just put them in this MMNBlog‘s Comments!

Lunars art by Gong Studios

I’ve talked a lot about our Community Content sites here, as we all think that they are a fantastic opportunity for our community to express and publish their creative ideas – and even get paid a bit for doing so!

Right now during this challenging time, both the Storytellers’ Vault community site for all the White Wolf game lines, and the DM’s Guild for D&D have changed the royalty set up so that all money goes to the creators. With the “Play It Forward” sale, the owners of the IPs and DTRPG are giving up their royalty percentages in order to help out the creators and the community. So this is a great chance to show support for those creators on those sites!

There are technical issues that make our sites different in terms of how the royalties are divided, I’m told, so once DTRPG has figured out how to make it work, we’ll be doing the same thing on our Slarecian Vault, Canis Minor, and Storypath Nexus community content sites – because it’s a great idea during this difficult time!

Along the same lines, we still have all of our Jumpstarts available for free on DTRPG, so if you ever wanted to pick one up and try out its game line – this is the perfect no-cost opportunity! News here: http://theonyxpath.com/onyx-path-jumpstarts-free-this-week/

Finally, a wee bit of a teaser.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, we’ll be announcing the newest Trinity Continuum game line! This is a specific Era that exists along the Continuum that we all know and love. Here’s a hint: the title starts with an A.

So, lots of things are happening! Here’s hoping that all the varied news brightens your day and gives you a cornucopia of fun ways to enjoy our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

Blurbs!

Kickstarter!

The M20 Technocracy Reloaded Kickstarter funded in 43 minutes last Tuesday! From there we’ve passed 1500 backer operatives, over 300% funded, and have achieved Stretch Goals consisting of a Storytellers Screen unlock, an unlock of more original Mage PDFs, Backers’ Exclusive T-Shirt, Wallpaper, Technocracy Reloaded Player’s Companion: sections on Constructs and Symposiums (and then expanded by a later SG), Digital Web 3.0, Technomancers’ Toybox 20, Unlikely Allies, and the expanded Digital Web 3.0.2.

Highlights of M20 Technocracy Reloaded include:

An Operative’s Handbook that provides a detailed overview of life in the Technocratic Union, describing the organization of the Union, the Conventions, and the roles that sympathizers, extraordinary citizens, and Enlightened Operatives play in the overall structure of the Technocracy.

An examination of Technocratic initiatives on a global scale.

Devices, procedures, and hypertech used by the Technocratic Union that explores the Enlightened Science, allowing operatives to apply similar effects in the field, if they have sufficient understanding of the principles that allow these gadgets to function.

A comprehensive list of citizens, cyborgs, operatives, progenitor creations, and allies to use as NPCs.

Storyteller support that explores story seeds and metaplot to shape a chronicle for their needs.

Onyx Path Media!

This week features a deep dive into M20 Technocracy Reloaded where our crew are joined by Danielle Lauzon and Travis Legge, developers of the book, to take a long look at the book and what it means for the Technocracy as well as the entire M20 setting!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

The Technocratic Union begins broadcast Tuesday, May 5th at 9 PM EDT on the Onyx Path Publishing Twitch Channel. twitch.tv/theonyxpath

You are not going to want to miss it.

Come enjoy the Story Told Podcast‘s interview with Travis Legge regarding Technocracy Reloaded for Mage: The Ascension: https://thestorytold.libsyn.com/bonus-33-technocracy-reloaded-kickstarter-interview-with-travis-legge

The popular and high quality Mage: The Podcast spoke with Danielle Lauzon and Travis Legge about M20 Technocracy Reloaded over here, too!http://magethepodcast.com/index.php/2020/04/25/technocracy-reloaded-kickstarter-preview-with-danielle-lauzon-and-travis-legge/

Technocracy Reloaded Kickstarter Preview with Danielle Lauzon and Travis Legge

Come tune in to our Twitch channel for an overloaded schedule not limited to Vampire: The Masquerade- Blood on the Tamesis, Vampire: The Masquerade – Chicago by Night Noir, Storytellers with Coffee, Scarred Lands – Chronicles of Calastia, Pugmire – Paws & Claws, Changeling: The Lost – Littlebrook Reunion, Changeling: The Dreaming – The Last Faerie Tale, Mage: The Awakening – Occultists Anonymous, Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds, Dark ErasWerewolf: The Forsaken, Chronicles of Darkness – Tooth and Claw, and Deviant: The Renegades – A Cautionary Tale! 

You can subscribe to our channel over on twitch.tv/theonyxpath to catch up with any episodes you missed!

Come take a look at our YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/theonyxpath, where you can find a whole load of videos of actual plays, dissections of our games, and more, including:

Trinity Continuum – Aberrant: Community Service: https://youtu.be/o_mcjV0uEAs

Changeling: The Lost – Littlebrook Reunion: https://youtu.be/rrGUattOO_o

Vampire: The Masquerade: Blood City – Chicago by Night: https://youtu.be/FEYdTKI-NgI

And MORE Vampire: The Masquerade: Blood City – Chicago by Night: https://youtu.be/LXWGtVy2jbE

Do subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!

Matthew Dawkins appeared on the excellent 307 RPG Podcast, where he was interviewed about everything from They Came from Beneath the Sea! and They Came from Beyond the Grave! to upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade books! Give them a listen here: https://307rpg.com/?p=265

A Bunch of Gamers have been running a fantastic Pugmire adventure! You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/b57kVpzV2q4 and here’s a synopsis: Retrievers in the Plastic Quarter, explosions all around, and the cats of Korat demanding answers. Our heroes are locked in a deadly battle as their long time foe make their move to wrestle control of the city from King Pug. Will they be able to stop Terry or will the city of Pugmire fall into darkness?

Occultists Anonymous are here with a new special Mage: The Awakening series:

RV Mage 03: 3 Dice Murder  Vicar hunts the hunter with the aid of an angel of his own. Amanita speaks with the Free Council about the Seer she took down. Drifter begins to investigate the Mysterium Hierarch and her lack of retribution against the Seers. https://youtu.be/n6f_viwV4pk

RV Mage 04: They’re Not All Nice Vicar and Amanita ally together to begin investigating the Orpheans, starting with the local spirits. Drifter makes some poor political decisions. https://youtu.be/PKRuowBTGG0

Please check these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games! We’d love to feature you!

Electronic Gaming!

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these latest fiction books:

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost Second Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And now Scion Origin and Scion Hero and Trinity Continuum Core and Trinity Continuum: Aeon are available to order!

As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

On Sale This Week!

This week, the PDF and PoD versions of Night Horrors: Spilled Blood for Vampire: The Requiem 2e appear in a mist of blood on DriveThruRPG on Wednesday!

This book includes antagonists for both Vampire: The Requiem and other Chronicles of Darkness games.

Night Horrors: Spilled Blood includes:

Ten new bloodlines to serve as both antagonists and player character options.

Two new antagonistic covenants.

Several lost clans with reasons to both hate and work with Kindred.

Myriad antagonists who prey on vampires, either as diseases or those who need Vitae.

This Wednesday, we’re also featuring the release of Death Is Not The End, the Geist: the Sin-Eaters 2e fiction anthology! On DTRPG, we have PoD versions for curling up with classic style, and PDF and ebook versions for new-style relaxing with your e-reader of choice!

Death is not the end.

You learned that firsthand when you died. In that darkness, you made a deal that brought you back — with something else. Now, bound inextricably to a geist — a shade, a monster, a tragic, broken soul — you stand between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

This collection of eleven stories inspired by Geist: The Sin-Eaters Second Edition explores the haunted places in the Chronicles of Darkness. The anthology includes dark tales written by Lauren Roy, Eric Zawadski, Renee Ritchie, and more!

Conventions!

Though dates are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, here’s our current list of upcoming conventions:

UKGames Expo: https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/

GenCon: https://www.gencon.com/

Tabletop Scotland: https://tabletopscotland.co.uk/

Gamehole Con: https://www.gameholecon.com/

PAX Unplugged: https://unplugged.paxsite.com/

And now, the new project status updates!

Development Status from Eddy Webb! (Projects in bold have changed status since last week.):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep.)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Under Alien Suns (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)

The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)

M20 Rich Bastard’s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)

Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)

Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)

V5 The Faithful Undead (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Trinity Continuum Game To Be Announced Tuesday

Redlines

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Hundred Devil’s Night Parade (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)

Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)

Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Second Draft

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)

N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Development

TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Manuscript Approval

Post-Approval Development

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)

Editing

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Buried Bones: Creating in the Realms of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)

TC: Aberrant Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

LARP Rules (Scion 2nd Edition)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Post-Editing Development

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Titanomachy (Scion 2nd Edition)

Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Indexing

Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

Scion Titanomachy

Tales of Aquatic Terror

TC Aeon Terra Firma – Getting ready for Josh.

V5 Let the Streets Run Red – Going into layout.

WoD Ghost Hunters – KS final art coming in.

Aberrant – Contacting and contracting. Signing off on sketches.

Pugmire Adventure 

Hunter: The Vigil 2e

Mummy 2

Deviant – Rolling along.

Legendlore – Kickstarter on hiatus/doing art buy breakdown.

Technocracy Reloaded (KS) – Happening.

Cults of the Blood God – Rolling along.

In Layout

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad

Vigil Watch

Duke Rollo Book – Tightening up the layout.

Proofing

Trinity Aeon Jumpstart 

Pirates of Pugmire – Backer PDF out to backers, errata time.

TCFBTS Heroic Land Dwellers – Backer PDF out to backers.

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate – At WW/Paradox for approval.

Scion Companion – Just waiting for two tweaked pieces.

Contagion Chronicle

Cavaliers of Mars: City of the Towered Tombs

At Press

Night Horrors : Nameless and Accursed – PoD proof ordered.

Dark Eras 2 – PoD proof shipping.

VtR Spilled Blood – PDF and PoD versions on sale at DTRPG this Wednesday!

TCFBTS Screen and Booklet

They Came from Beneath the Sea!

Geist 2e Anthology – On Sale this Wednesday!

C:tL 2e Oak, Ash, & Thorn – PoD proof on way.

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

May the Fourth Be With You!

[zagosinger]

406 - Presenting the brand

Intro

This project seems to be vital in an original artist setup or pathway. Through the gathering of information that my brand and myself as an artist convey I have the need to specify which elements of it in terms of culture, archetypes, ideas and reference of how the world appears to be are. Within that organisation and articulation I can make my brand come to life and have a clear identity that`s relatable to a broader audience and/or my target audience. People need to feel connected and inspired by it, and that comes through a clear and concise presentation from the artist to it's consumer, be it through lifestyle, principle and core values and ultimately its music as his pillar content. 

I will be able by the end of this project to create a performance that shows a clear understanding of the message I want to convey  and be able to have a predictable feedback, to show how realistic and full circle am I being towards my message. 

Through this presentation I will also present my core values as a messenger, where they come from, when they were put together and why do I present them through my lens towards life, how these principles shape my brand/message as a whole, how can a certain niche of people can feel extended and communicative through my brand, how can I make myself part of someone`s life as a culture, individual, character in such a way that shapes their identity or even personality. 

By the end of this presentation the whole connection of network of influences and principles will come together in such a way that my branding will be characterised and identified. 

Abstract 

My experience on music in general have been in first doing the music that I was mostly influenced by and could feel related to; 

My band 

I had my first experience of writing original music as a teenager for a specific genre with a specific feel and intention, we would also have regular rehearsals and gigs but with no professional attitude towards it, hence it didn't have an identity or a proper branding that could translate into something tangible as a concise brand with a message and target audience. It certainly can be considered to be both a success and a failure since we went through the process of writing  new music, play live gigs that people would enjoy going to but not in a concrete way. 

Thy wish ( original song ) ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43TJS7hJkvM&feature=youtu.be

Live performance -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PCsmqYPJ0E

Through classical music and musical theatre 

Also had the experience of transforming my artistry through the learning of performance in Classical singing followed by musical theatre, and also diving into this world as a professional, gaining experience and recognition from my peers. I was certainly successful on this endeavour when I got into big productions where the level of professionalism was high and where art became a commodity. While I was yearning to become a full time performer, I was also working as a singing teacher dealing with solo or group classes, in this part of my journey I learned throughout 6 years how to deal with different types of egos and how our voice can be such a naked instrument. 

And now London 

My London journey transformed and shaped me in many ways, my goal though it's still the same, that is to make a good living with original music. My path is taking many shapes in terms of influences and on lessons I'm having concerning time management and emotional intelligence, but I think a core element of it is how this personal transformation allows me to find and be my true self, how it's forcing me to look at my career in music with such a seriousness that I don't any choice but to follow. It gives me a harsh perspective on life and it empowers me and the music I produce. 

Faced with overwhelmnes

The first stage of my Journey in London was feeling overwhelmed with emotions and information towards what I should do to keep going forward and to what I left behind. I simply didn't know where to start.  

Got my home studio sorted 

At first I struggled to find a room where I could properly produce music, it took me nearly a year to find a place where I could make noise with my singing, and production. 

Started busking 

Busking was a great way to find an extra income where I could not only practice more but explore this other aspect of performance, it changed and enhanced in many ways my perspectives on audience interaction and how branding is susceptible to the place you're exercising it. 

Joined a jazz/electronica band 

Certainly a highlight on my learning of group dynamics towards business in music. It helped me to find my sound and acknowledge my strengths and weaknesses in many ways, dealing not only with older people that shared my same goals but working on their principles and knowing how to juggle with that, on the commitment I was given. 

Started a Youtube channel

Where I truly had a grasp of how a content creation rhythm of production actually works and how having a creative output is fundamental in today's world as a creative. I learned how to better interact with the camera and also how to communicate with people who are following me through art and not just personal social media usage. Also there's the business element, experiencing the importance or being an original creator, how important is to actually target your energy towards what you really want. 

Putting my mindset on the right place. 

Understanding my limiting beliefs, understanding what's on my way mentally of achieving my goals and had a true transformation of my sense of self worth through a relationship breakup. Changed my life. 

Started UDAS 

Matured a lot of concepts I had towards branding and even art, it truly had a massive impact on my vision towards what is market yourself as an original artist. 

Brand analysis/values

Whenever I watch this video I feel deeply connected to its concepts and general idea, I first discovered it right before moving to London, which represents sort of my beginning of my original music journey, 3 years later I still understand how deeply I feel connected to this message. 

Raleigh Ritchie - Stronger Than Ever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoyMvE5g7f8

Hate me when I'm gone, I'll make it worth your while when I'm successfulBut when I'm here I need your kindness 'cause the climb is always stressfulClumsily grasp myself by thinking I'll be better off aloneI'll leave my peace in pieces all around the decent people back at home

'Cause I'm a big boy, an adult now or nearlyIf I pull the wool back from my eyes I can see clearlyThe world is at my feet and I am standing on the ceilingAnd I fall, fall, fall, when it all comes downAnd I won't be crushed by the weight of this townI fall from the sky but I won't fall foreverI fall but when I'll rise I'll be stronger than ever

Official man, delusions grand and now I'm a free agentI'm here to make a stand for causes I don't understand and make a statementI fall short on knowledge, I don't even watch the newsCan't be arsed with college, it's nothing but a human zoo

'Cause I'm a big boy, an adult now or nearlyIf I pull the wool back from my eyes I can see clearlyThe world is at my feet and I am standing on the ceilingAnd I fall, fall, fall, when it all comes downAnd I won't be crushed by the weight of this townI fall from the sky but I won't fall foreverI fall but when I'll rise I'll be stronger than ever

I'm not defeated, I believe that I can turn this ship aroundDestroy the status quo until I know I found a common groundI'm not alone, I'm just focused in my zone, this is easyI'm fine, I just need time to turn this into home, I'm good, believe meBelieve me when I say I'm gonna be

Big explosions crack through thunderous mountainsHearts exploding, minds, volcanoes pop and blowI'm not alone, I'm not aloneWho am I kidding? I'm sad, no ideas comingIt's driving me mad and I'm fighting itIt's turning me bad, I'm loaded, pages taking me overI just wanna be home with all my friends and familyMum and Dad, it's closing in on me, I need recovery, coming homeI'm coming home and I need closure, I need closure

'Cause I'm a big boy, an adult now or nearlyIf I pull the wool back from my eyes I can see clearlyThe world is at my feet and I am standing on the ceilingAnd I fall, fall, fall, when it all comes downAnd I won't be crushed by the weight of this townI fall from the sky but I won't fall foreverI fall but when I'll rise I'll be stronger than ever

Just had a really interesting conversation with Luke about core values and its meaning, also about the fact that the impression I leave is that I emanate an energy of "Self development", it's funny because it looks like my content consumption is reflecting back on people, what I love the most in regards to message, be it through books, lectures, movies, music, podcasts it's just that, funny how it emanated out of me this way. 

Core values mind map 

http://www.evernote.com/l/APvqzMWUBh5Pf4mjsGKwmvw8j_4z5R6RNeE/

 Affirmations 

I have a good emotional intelligence towards how I should handle business development. 

I'm a good performer as a singer. 

I have a fairly realistic intake on my productions. 

I have a good eye towards upcoming artists, wether they are gonna succeed or not. 

Based on different impressions I've had towards upcoming artists that translated into reality.

I have good empathy towards other people. 

It helps me on having a better perspective on my business, to what my next steps should be.