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easternmind · 1 year

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The weird and wonderful history of Kowloon as a digital interactive space - Part II

This article is the continuation of a previous post.

Any comprehensive history of 20th century Hong Kong is not complete without a chapter entirely dedicated to the architectural and urban planning puzzle that was Kowloon Walled City. Quite unlike any other slum in Asia or elsewhere in the world, the extreme conditions under which its inhabitants lived captured the attention of various international journalists and photographers whose reports of this accidental labyrinth, in turn, inspired some of the most remarkable artistic explorations of our time. In this regard, video games did not remain impervious to the powerfully stimulative imagery, as much a reference today as it was when its hardened concrete walls still stood tall.

Kowloon's Gate Suzaku VR - Jetman - 2017

Kowloon's Gate made a most unexpected comeback twenty years after the original episode via the crowdfunded VR project Suzaku developed by Jetman, a studio founded by and composed almost exclusively of ex-SME/Zeque staff. While it is not the remaster many had hoped for, essentially consisting of a walking simulation through some redesigned locations from the original, it does a commendable job in faithfully replicating its instantly recognizable, light-starved alleyways in competent high-definition. It is also the only VR-compatible entry from this list, granting it a degree of uniqueness over its counterparts.

Stranglehold - Midway/Tiger Hill Productions - 2007

Stranglehold is the result of a collaboration with Hong Kong movie director John Woo, developed as a direct sequel to his heroic bloodshed classic Hard Boiled, featuring Chow Yun-fat in the role of detective 'Tequilla' Yuen in his unending confrontations with organized crime. One of the game's most unforgettable levels, Slums of Kowloon, takes place during a particularly rainy day, seemingly in those last days when the zone had been emptied of residents and demolition work was well underway. The visual representation of the quarter is suitably evocative, its buildings in complete state of disrepair, the remnants of local businesses or places of prayer still discernible from under the piles of steel and cement rubble.

Resident Evil 6 - Capcom - 2012

For all its shortcomings, Resident Evil 6 partly succeeds in taking the first two episodes' concept of parallel storylines and realizing it to a much fuller extent. Its choice of different characters translates into entirely different campaigns, locations and playing styles. The very first scene in Chris/Piers' campaign occurs in the fictional Chinese city of Lanshiang, modelled after real-life Hong Kong. The mayhem in the main streets forces the player to take a detour into a location named Poisawan, which bears a striking resemblance to the Kowloon district. Though an unofficial representation, it is among the most skilled replications of the scenery we find in the vast photographic repository of the area. The degree of minutiae with which the district's haphazard electric installation is replicated, alone, suffices to demonstrate a true commitment to authenticity.

Paranormal HK - Ghostpie Studio - 2020

Few would dispute that Kowloon is, itself, naturally conducive to sentiments of dread and anxiety. Paranormal HK is a 2020 made in China production reviving the defunct neighbourhood in a gripping, blood-curdling contemporary ghost story. The player is the cameraman of a paranormal-themed TV show exploring the zone during the evening of the Zhongyuan festival, a scheme suspiciously akin to that of Akira Ueda's 2004 game, Michigan: Report From Hell. As a result of the thorough research work performed by its creators, as well as the impeccable usage of contemporary 3D graphics techniques to achieve accurate lighting conditions, players may momentarily experience the feeling of walking into a photo of the actual city as it existed in the mid eighties.

Sifu - Sloclap - 2022

Notwithstanding of its renaissance during the 128-Bit era, the beat 'em up genre is commonly associated with the arcade games of the late 80s and 90s, the period of time when it flourished and, arguably, reached its zenith. The simplicity of controls and ease of access sufficed to attract players to the arcade cabinet, while the frequently extreme levels of difficulty of advanced levels ensured a steady flow of cash for arcade room owners and game development companies alike. Nevertheless, the genre has but perished and, in many aspects, recent years have indeed elevated it to unforeseeable degrees of complexity. Sifu, by Sloclap, synthesizes the elation of digital hand to hand combat simulation with the real-life complexity of mastering a martial art.

As is the case of previous entries in this list, Sifu makes no admitted reference to Kowloon or Hong Kong. However, the designers left little to the imagination in what pertains to their inspirations when taking on the task of constructing the game's environments. Another notable coincidence stems from the fact that this production was made possibly with the support from a celebrated independent game funding group going by the name Kowloon Nights.

Stray - BlueTwelve Studio - 2022

Stray is one of the most revered independent video games in recent memory, and justifiably so. The long development process yielded many benefits, judging from the consistency and attention to detail that engrossed many an avid player. That the main character is singularly charming feline may have played an equally crucial role. The creators have made no effort to conceal the fact that the notorious Hong Kong district was a pivotal influence to the design of its nameless city. The first indication can be spotted in the game's earliest footage, in which a black cat traverses a street where a particularly conspicuous sign boasted the initials HK. Stray is less concerned with presenting a precise replica of Kowloon than it is about summoning the very essence of its atmosphere. Moreover, in an exquisitely poignant way, its ending lends an entirely new meaning to the term walled city. In the future, robots may well take the place of humans. Invariably, the Walled City is no more. Slitterhead - Bokeh Game Studio - Work in Progress

An sequence of unconscionable mistakes from the part of Sony Computer Entertainment's management galvanized Keiichiro Toyama to part ways with Japan Studio, as it once was, and establish his own game production label. Their debut title, Slitterhead, is described as a grotesque survival horror experience, a genre within which the author moves with matchless ease. Among the few certainties regarding this project is the fact that it will take place prominently - if not exclusively - within the Kowloon City province. A wide variety of aspects included in the preview footage leave the viewer optimistic as to this being one of the most accomplished portrayals of the district ever seen in a video game. Subtle yet telling signs already demonstrate the creator's in-depth knowledge of the quarter's architecture and history. Take, for instance, the suggestive image of the airplane flying mere meters above the top of the buildings. Although the growth of Kowloon was for the most part ungoverned, buildings did not rise above a certain height, even as inhabitants claimed for increased availability of space. This is due to the fact that airplanes landing at the nearby airport would be required to make their descent at relatively low altitude, performing a tight curve as they soared just above the enclave, thus preventing construction from expanding upwards. Another scene shows a child playing on the rooftops of the buildings, which once again is consistent with the documented habits of residents who, starved for sunlight and open space elsewhere within the city limits, had little alternative than to take the stairs all the way to the top.

Warehouse Kawasaki Arcade

I would be remiss not to make some form of allusion to Warehouse Kawasaki, an arcade built to replicate the Walled City with unthinkable detail. Though its ultimate purpose was for visitors to engage in digital entertainment, the venue was scrupulously put together. Point in fact, many of the objects used in the construction of the five floor amusement centre were imported directly from Hong Kong. Like so many other Japanese arcades, it closed its doors in 2019.

In recent years, a rather similar initiative was taken by the Chinese in their attempts to build unique mall spaces. The 文和友 malls in mainland China, found in Changsha, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, attempt to reproduce the walled city aesthetic. Local residents inform me that these are increasingly lacking in foot traffic, for which reason the majority of their stores are closed. Other digital replicas of Kowloon

A number of other videogames set in or deriving inspiration from Kowloon could not be featured in this article. A frequently cited reference in this context is the action/adventure game Fear Effect, one which I emphatically dispute. No doubt remains as to it being located in a futuristic version of Hong Kong, yet I could discern no parallels with the walled city, save for those scattered second-hand visual motifs that were no doubt imported from sci-fi classics such as Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell.

The Utelek Complex stage of Deus Ex: Makind Divided presents a similar situation, where the overall atmosphere of the futuristic favela bears some resemblance to Kowloon, without meeting the specificity quota that would warrant a more comprehensive exploration.

The 2004 Shout! original Kowloon High-School Chronicle for the PS2 is a unique case, in that it borrows the city's name despite taking place in a massive, Tokyo underground dungeon that is later revealed to be a maze-like Egyptian pyramid. The odd choice of title remains unclear. Shadowrun: Hong Kong game (screenshot above) contains a very direct mention of Kowloon as the place in which an entire episode comes to pass. Another project still in development, Kowloon's Curse (screenshot below), is following the lead of many popular independent horror games in recent memory by using a visual design and structure that elicits memories of the late Playstation/early Dreamcast era. A short prequel episode was made available earlier this year, for free.

Additionally, I refrained from mentioning the Kowloon maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, as I perceive both games to be insufficiently relevant to merit study or contemplation.

A space that refuses to be forgotten

(China rooftop stage from The King of Fighters 2003)

It would be a gross overstatement to claim that Kowloon is a recurring location or level design motif in videogames. The relationship between digital games and the real life ghetto has been one of sporadic references. What makes the subject so engrossing pertains to the quality of the relationship, particularly that of a small cadre from among the titles featured in this article. Kowloon's Gate was one of the most relevant game creations of the 32-Bit era, a game deserving of reverence and cult following inside and outside Japan. Likewise, Shenmue II is the second instalment of a truly ground-breaking and highly advertised series whose production costs alone were unmatched until quite recently.

Moreover, this is an affair that is far from concluded. The unexpectedly high number of allusions to Kowloon in videogames released or revealed just last yet demonstrates that its aesthetic is still very much present in the minds and hearts of artists and designers working in the field. The walled city lives on as a digital demarcation that is certain to resurface time and again in years to come.

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ospreyeamon · 1 year

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the falls of the revanchist jedi

The narrative doesn’t directly examine why the Jedi who followed Revan and Malak fell. It is spoken of as a given – they followed Revan into war, so they followed Revan into darkness. That’s not how people work though. That’s not even how people under the influence of the Dark Side of the Force work. Spending twenty years as Palpatine’s thrall didn’t prevent Vader from throwing his Master into the reactor shaft to save his son. Revan can murder every NPC available to be murdered until reaching Rakata Prime only to pull a 180, redeem Bastila, and be feted as a hero of the Republic, Sith-eyes and all.

All but one of the surviving Revanchist Jedi who followed Revan and Malak into the Mandalorian Wars followed them again into the Jedi Civil War. Even the Exile, that lone dissenting actor, can say that they would have fought with their fellows against the Republic had their connection to the Force not been severed; that they were unable, not unwilling. Yet, the Exile can also say that they would not have followed Revan and Malak in attacking the Republic, that they went to war to defend the innocent. Many of the other Jedi who joined the war effort alongside them must have felt the same way, in the beginning.

Many of the soldiers of the Republic like Carth Onasi returned home after the Mandalorian Wars were over, even those like Saul Karath who would bow to Revan again. What then are the factors that led every surviving Revanchist Jedi, save the Exile, to follow Revan from the Mandalorian Wars into the Jedi Civil War?

1) The Mandalorian Wars changed the Jedi who fought in them. The Exile’s dialogue provides the different reasons why they might have left to fight in the war – to protect the innocent, to test their power, to defend the Republic, to win glory – reflecting varying motivations of Knights and Padawans recruited by Revan and Malak. However, despite the differences in the initial reasons for defying the Jedi Council to answer the Republic’s call, they all would have gone through similar uniting experiences during the war. Terrible experiences. Shared hardship often serves to reinforce group identity.

Older Jedi like Kavar and Arren Kae had fought wars before, but the initial expedition led by Revan and Malak was almost entirely composed of young Knights and older Padawans. Military morality, ethics in warfare, tends to be rather twisted from the perspective of modern western civilian morality. Your ability to prosecute the war and the safety of your soldiers takes priority over the lives of enemy, and sometimes even allied, civilians. Ruthless is more than a virtue, it’s a necessity. Collateral damage is an inevitability. For young relatively inexperienced Jedi, raised on ideals of valuing all life and always seeking non-violent resolutions, the transition to military command positions where they were not only required to kill, not only required to led troops to their death, but required to give orders which they knew would directly result in the deaths of civilians would have been distressing.

We know that the Exile once led troops directly into a minefield during the Battle of Dxun, but I think that barely scratched the surface. We aren’t given the full laundry list of the Mandalorians’ war crimes, but at the very least it includes the crime of aggression, murder of civilians, use of child soldiers, and conscription of captured civilians into the Neo-Crusaders and for forced labour. Given this disregard for the lives of civilians, I consider it likely that the Mandalorians also used hostages and headquartered themselves inside buildings like schools and hospitals. I suspect both sides used poison weapons, nuclear weapons, torture, and executed prisoners of war.

2) The Battle of Malachor V was a purge and a crucible of conversion. Kreia, HK-47, and the recording of Bastila Shan all say it; “a series of massacres that masked another war, a war of conversion”, “the intention was to destroy the Jedi, break their will, and make them loyal to Revan … Revan was "cleaning house" at Malachor V”, “to convert the last of the Jedi who fought beside [Revan] – and murder those who would not”. The Jedi in the radius of the Mass Shadow Generator would have included the Jedi Revan did not believe would agree with the plan to invade the Republic.

I think many of the Revanchist Jedi had already been falling by inches before Malachor. The Mandalorian Wars were brutal and one of the major symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is emotional dysregulation. Irritability, anxiety, depression, guilt, anger – the ongoing effects of trauma make a person more susceptible to inadvertently drawing on the Dark-Side of the Force. Using the Dark-Side of the Force was forbidden by the Code enforced by the Jedi Council, but the Revanchists had been pressured to compromise their ethics in other ways to effectively prosecute the war.

For any Jedi who had not already fallen, the detonation of the Mass Shadow Generator was a final blow they could not withstand. They all fell – into the Dark-Side, into death, away from the Force.

This was the conversion that Revan desired. The moral conversation – the acceptance of actions that violated their previous moral code, the previous moral code that would not have permitted making war on the Republic. The conversion in the Force – pushing Jedi to the Dark-Side ensured that they would not be accepted back into the Order by the Jedi Council even if they desired to return.

3) The Jedi Council’s decision to exile the Jedi who returned to face them was a gift to Revan and Malak. The Council’s judgement might have been rooted in their discomfort with what the Exile had become but the reason they publicly gave is that the Exile disobeyed the Council to follow Revan to war. That reason applied equally to every single other Revanchist. By exiling the one Revanchist to return the Jedi Council exiled them all, whether or not they intended to. They may not have, but by deciding to keep secret the true reasons behind their sentence of exile they ensured the other Revanchists could interpret their judgement no other way.

Telling the Revanchist Jedi they would never be welcome to return to the Jedi Order ensured that they would never go back. Onwards was the only path left to them.

4) Revan was extremely charismatic and competent. The Revanchist Jedi had already decided that Revan and Malak judgement was better than the Jedi Council’s when they chose to defy the Council’s orders to follow them to war. Revan, Malak and the Revanchists then won the war for the Republic. In fact, Revan even discovered the shadowy threat the which had been the Council’s justification for sitting out the war through engaging in it, while the Jedi Council remained ignorant.

The Republic government probably bungled the early stages of the Mandalorian Wars by not intervening sooner. The Mandalorians were committing more than enough war crimes for them to justify it, but they allowed Mandalorians to expand their territory, build their forces and industry, and entrench their advantage. When the Republic did enter the war, it wasn’t because the Republic leadership had made a strategic decision, or even a moral one; it was because some corrupt politicians organised bribes to fast-track Taris into the Republic because it was under threat and they wanted to protect their business holdings there. The Jedi Council was also tangled up in the culture of corruption; Lucien Draay was given a seat on the Council even though he’d been accused of planning and assisting the murder of four Padawans because of his powerful family connections.

The Old Republic was more an aristocratic republic than a democratic one. Alderaan, Onderon, the Empress Teta system – they were all monarchies during this period, not democracies. If aristocrats could hold power through right of blood and plutocrats through wealth, then why shouldn’t Revan lead the Galactic Republic by right of merit and conquest?

Revan was secretive, but at least some of the other Revanchist Sith knew about the shadowy threat – the True Sith Empire. If the Republic was going to need to fight another war against an even greater enemy, surely it would need better leadership. Leadership like Revan.

#Meanwhile in a Galaxy Far Far Away #kotor meta #Revanchist Jedi #Revanchist Sith #Revan #the Jedi Civil War #the Mandalorian Wars #the Battle of Malachor V #Darth Malak #The Jedi Exile #knights of the old republic #war crimes cw

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dailycharacteroption · 2 months

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Conversion Corner: Starbound Species part 2

The Glitch

While yesterday the species in question blended two themes that went well together (plant people and tribal culture), today’s subject is an exercise in anachronistic duality.

Originally created by some forgotten culture, possibly the Ancients, the automatons that would come to be known as the Glitch were created as part of an advanced civilization simulation, with individual units meant to represent individuals in the simulation. However, due to a coding error in their programming, their development stopped at the medieval period, leaving the majority of them to act out a life of feudal pastoral farming. Even those that break away from their programming into full self-actualization still do often favor those aesthetics even when they wield more advanced arms and armor.

Despite being incredibly sophisticated sapient machines, the outer casing of most of these automatons is simplistic, clunky, even primitive, often evoking retro science fiction aesthetics (Some even have a fake synthetic “brain” in a glass dome), all of which clashes with their medieval attire and tools. Additionally, they do not farm for no reason, for they do eat, albeit to extract the methane as fuel from the digestive process rather than any nutritional value. Additionally, while they do not reproduce in the organic sense, a bonded pair of Glitches can enter a trance-like state and assemble a new member of their kind with factory-like speed and efficiency. Perhaps most perplexingly, their programming requires them to also harvest and prepare “medicine”, which seems effective when applied despite all logic indicating that it should not work. Perhaps to even awakened glitches, this placebo effect activates reserves of repairing nanites within themselves?

The personalities of these robots can vary a lot just like any other sapient, however, most are stuck in a medieval way of viewing things. What’s more, their mechanical voices and visages can make articulating emotion difficult. As such, they tend to preface their sentences with a word indicating their tone, similar to Mass Effects Elcor, or perhaps more of a direct reference to the character HK-47 from Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.

I wasn’t able to glean if there is a unifying government among the glitch, but we do know that they have an agrarian medieval society, complete with serfs, barons, lords, and the like, and most are content to act out those roles. However, those that have evolved beyond that programming often leave to travel the stars to find purpose, though they are met with pity by their kin, who view this erratic behavior as a disruption to the careful cycle of their lives and society as a whole. Even still, such outcasts often gather in like-minded groups, possibly forming into approximations of knightly orders, for good or ill, though chivalry and honor are commonly valued traits across the entire glitch people.

Glitch

Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Str, +2 Wis, -2 Int

HP: 4

Size and Type: Glitches are Medium Constructs of the Glitch subtype. Unlike other constructs, they do have a Constitution score.

Archaic Arms: Glitches know how best to apply weapons of their limited tech level to gain maximum results. They gain a +1 to attack and damage rolls with analog weapons. Additionally, they do not take the damage penalty of weapons with the archaic property as long as they are proficient with the weapon.

Curiously Robotic: Glitches are immune to bleed, disease, death effects, poison, nonlethal damage, and sleep effects unless those effects specify they affect constructs. Glitches can be affected by effects or spells that normally target only humanoids, but receive a +4 racial bonus to saving throws against such effects. SROs must eat and drink and they must recharge their internal batteries by entering an off-line mode that is similar to sleep for 8 hours every day. SROs do not breathe or suffer the normal environmental effects of being in a vacuum.

Hardcoded Honor: A glitch gains a +2 bonus to Will saves against effects that would compel them to perform an action inimical to their beliefs.

Healing Circuit: In addition to being constructs and thus able to benefit from spells like make whole, Glitches count as living creatures for the purposes of magic healing effects that work on living creatures, though the number of Hit Points restored in such cases is halved. A character can use the Engineering skill to perform the tasks of the Medicine skill on Glitches, but they can also benefit from Medicine checks and medicinals. Glitches also heal naturally over time as living creatures do, and can benefit from magic or technology that can bring constructs back from the dead, as well as effects that normally can’t (such as raise dead).

That should do for today, but tomorrow we’ll look at something a little more… piscine.

#starfinder #conversion #starbound #race #glitch

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renegade-skywalker · 6 months

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Ghost in the Machine

Summary: The Jedi Exile discovers and decides to fix up the clearly-tampered-with HK found in her cargo hold to less-than-stellar results, and to further find that she is forever haunted by Revan's ghost.

Rating: T Word Count: 3,875

~~~

“Not bad, Exile!” Brianna applauded, miming clapping her hands together though the Echani did nothing of the sort. “No really, please try harder.”

“Damn, I didn’t realize you were also a professional insult comic,” Eden breathed, still winded from Brianna’s surprise roundhouse kick to the face. “But sure, I’ll try again.”

Eden fell into formation, trying not to relish in the smile threatening to spread across the Last Handmaiden’s face as she fell into stance across from her. The cargo bay was the perfect place to spar, so it was no wonder Brianna had found refuge here. Aside from it being the last claimed space on this tiny freighter, the room was spacious enough to roam and not feel boxed in, whether you were fighting real or imagined opponents. Or simply just trying to sleep.

Eden remembered the sad excuse of a room Brianna had tucked away in Atris’ secret academy, and though Brianna hadn’t adorned or claimed the cargo hold in any way other than by sleeping in it, it still felt more lived-in and homey than whatever the girl had back on Telos.

“Alright, promise not to go lightly on me, okay?” Eden pleaded. “I really want to learn. I mean it .”

“If you say so,” Brianna shrugged, the pleasure clear in her eyes even if she had the discipline to control her expression. The Echani immediately feinted left and jabbed right, high then low. Eden caught both jabs but fumbled on the second, losing her footing by the time Brianna grabbed the arm Eden meant to block with, intending to upend her center of gravity. But this time, Eden countered by shifting her weight, disorienting the Echani enough to catch her off guard.

“An improvement, certainly,” Brianna said, even-keeled. Eden was already out of breath and wanted to laugh. “But there’s one thing you haven’t considered--”

Just as Brianna moved to knock Eden down again, the Hawk jostled, sending both women against the far wall and onto the floor in a painful heap.

“Okay, now that, I didn’t do,” Eden said, grunting.

“I’m going to kill that pilot of ours,” Brianna seethed as she peeled herself off of Eden, gravity still forcing them downwards even as they struggled to right themselves. “That idiot doesn’t know how to-”

Eden was about to laugh despite how much her ribs hurt when a flickering on the wall above her alighted in her peripheral vision.

“Wait a tic,” Eden interrupted, now pushing Brianna off her with more force than intended. With a half-hearted sorry, Eden stood and, fighting gravity as the ship’s g-force stabilized again, approached the flickering wall with great interest.

“I shouldn’t be surprised that moron damaged something,” Brianna said, setting herself upright beside Eden and dusting herself off. “Wait, is that supposed to do that?”

Eden was fidgeting with the wall now, which she quickly realized was a panel. She rushed across the room to her pile of clothes, finding her hydrospanner within seconds, and with a little prodding the loose panel soon became an entire secret compartment, now no longer hidden.

“Is that-?”

Before Brianna could finish her thought, both women had fetched their weapons from across the room and had them drawn, at the ready, aimed at an opponent they quickly realized was--

“I think it’s deactivated.” Eden said tentatively into the tense silence that followed. Brianna shook her head, unsure, keeping her staff poised towards the dilapidated HK that slumped in the now-open access hatch behind the secret panel. Eden tip-toed forward, hand extended half-expecting to be vaporized before she got a chance to truly examine the thing.

“Are you certain?” Brianna asked, her voice a cautious whisper, as if the droid might overhear them. “These machines have been hunting you across the galaxy. Seems a bit of a coincidence one turns up hidden on the very ship you stole as a getaway. I think it’s a trap.”

Brianna held her quarterstaff aimed at the HK’s half-collapsed intelligence module, but Eden deactivated her lightsaber as she stepped closer. Switching out her saber for a blaster pistol, its nose edging toward the droid, Eden’s eyes scanned the entirety of the HK, keen on finding any signs of life.

“Key components are missing,” Eden said, her voice faraway, her mind racing. For a moment, Eden felt as if she were back on Tatooine again, inspecting a shipment of junk dumped on her doorstep by either a dehydrated scavenger eager for credits or a bargain-hungry Jawa, their glowing eyes alight like a used landspeeder salesman keen for a good trade. Part of her was comfortable, an old self settling into new skin like a fond memory. But another part of her knew Brianna was right. “Someone dismantled this thing, deliberately.”

It wasn’t the usual pieces that were missing, not the parts someone might grab for when in a tussle. The vocabulator, control cluster, droid processor and the chassis were all missing. Either someone needed a lot of credits, and badly. These parts didn’t come cheap, but they also weren’t easy to access. Especially for an older model, by the looks of it. Only someone with a lot of time - and a lot of know-how - would think to pilfer these parts over other chunks of the bronze plating that were much easier to get to and easier to fence. Or, whoever did this didn’t want the droid to be restored at all, short of destroying it entirely, knowing the parts would be hard to find.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Eden whispered, frustration already washing over her as the cargo door swooshed open.

Brianna swung around, her quarterstaff still aimed at the HK but revealing a small knife from her boot to point at the door yelling excuse me! just as Atton’s head poked inside, his mouth opening and then promptly closing upon taking in the scene as well as Brianna’s and Eden’s attire. Or lack thereof.

“I’ll just… see myself out,” he said, his face turning red, but before he could disappear, Brianna had wrangled the pilot into the room with her knife-laden hand and pointed him towards the dilapidated droid.

“I’ll forgive you for your inane maneuver a moment ago if you can tell us anything about that !” The Last Handmaiden hissed as Atton was thrust into the room, his face growing redder by the second. Before his eyes could roam too freely across any part of Eden as they had back on Peragus, Atton’s gaze fell on the droid, and as if under the same spell drew out his blaster and nearly fired before Eden placed a hand on his wrist, setting his aim askew before he could do any potential damage.

“He wouldn’t know anything about this, Brianna,” Eden said, never taking her eyes off the HK. It was familiar, but not in a way that was remarkable enough for a specific memory to return to her. The HK’s that had open fired on her on Telos had been of the same make, and even if the rest had been silver -- HK-50’s -- something about this particular HK-47 did not sit well with her.

“Brianna?” Atton balked, blaster still poised as he spun around to look at the Last Handmaiden, “Your name is Brianna ?”

“Really? That’s what you’re taking away from all this?” Brianna snapped, her knife-hand now planted on her naked hip, annoyance radiating off her in waves of heat and undulating rage. “You just had to say my true name in his presence, didn’t you?” This last jab Brianna aimed at Eden, her voice softer now, as if not only to relay the difference in her brand of annoyance but also in the hopes that Atton might be too stupid to pick up on it despite standing right there.

“Atton, how fast can you get us back to Onderon?” Eden asked, ignoring Atton and Brianna’s usual back-and-forth as her memory raced, recalling every merchant they’d encountered and their respective inventory.

“We’re already on course to head back to Dantooine,” Atton said after gawking between both women, unsure of where to keep his eyes and who to respond to. “Why do you want to go back to Onderon?”

“I need to buy something.”

“Buy--?” Atton echoed before connecting the dots. “Oh.”

“Do you think this wise?” Brianna asked, the consternation still clear on her face as well as in her voice. Despite Atton’s confusion as to what was going on otherwise, his expression changed to match the Last Handmaiden’s.

“Yeah, what if this droid takes a shot at you the first chance it gets?” Atton said, gesturing with his blaster. “That’s what they’ve all done so far.”

“Not the one on Peragus,” Eden mused. “Besides, if I can get one of them to talk, maybe I can figure out who’s been sending them after me in the first place.”

Atton and Brianna exchanged looks, ultimately shrugging in unison before eventually relinquishing their weapons.

“If you say so,” Atton resigned, leaving the room before heading back to the cockpit to adjust the Hawk’s coordinates. Without a word, Eden began shouldering on her clothes again, but Brianna just watched.

“It’s more than that,” she surmised, Brianna’s eyes reading into every minute action Eden’s muscles made as if it might betray some clue. “It’s not just about the assassin droids, is it?”

Eden only smiled, knowing the expression did not meet her eyes.

“No. No it’s not.”

~~~

“You never did tell me exactly where you got this ship,” Eden pressed, her elbow leaning heavily into the door frame leading into Kreia’s quarters as Atton so affectionately called everyone else’s haunts aboard the Hawk. “But you didn’t know about the secret compartment, did you?”

“It’s no wonder it’s there,” Kreia admitted, though no emotion betrayed itself over her placid face. Her exposed mouth remained still beneath her lowered hood, the old woman’s head barely moving as she acknowledged Eden’s otherwise unannounced entrance. “We learned it belonged to a one crime lord, Davik Kang, did we not?”

“That we did,” Eden sighed, already annoyed. Her gaze bored into the upper part of Kreia’s hood, where she knew the woman’s eyes were, dormant in the dark, wondering if she could see her through the Force as Visas did. “But you didn’t examine the thing before taking off? There was no sign that you might not have been alone?”

Kreia shook her head. There were plenty of times where Eden was not sure if Kreia was lying or not, or at least sheathing the truth beneath a veneer of half-truths and vague notions. This time, she felt it. The woman was earnest in her ignorance. In fact, Kreia hated it. A wave of unease radiated off of the woman as Eden thought it, validating her claim as well as resenting it, sensing both Eden’s accusation as well as her attestation in one fell swoop.

“Perhaps it is the doing of the HK that bested us both aboard the Harbinger,” Kreia offered with an air of corroboration, though Eden still sensed the ire in the old woman’s words. “That machine was full of secrets and subterfuge, far more advanced than the others we’ve encountered.”

“True,” Eden agreed, pushing off from the door frame and crossing her arms over her chest. “So, that’s it then -- you know nothing?”

Kreia almost sneered, but she hardly had to. Eden felt her disdain through the Force, a ripple of apprehension fluttering towards her in the open room, before dissolving into tired calm as Kreia inhaled and exhaled with purpose.

“To my displeasure, yes.”

“Understood,” Eden said, taking her leave, meaning it but also not. She knew the woman was keeping something from her still, but her surprise at the news of the droid hidden in the cargo bay was enough to tell Eden that at least Kreia had no knowledge of its presence before being told moments ago. The woman knew something, and was hiding it. Just… not that.

Eden did not know if it made her feel better or worse.

~~~

“Was this really worth the effort?” Bao asked slowly, his voice even softer than usual at Eden’s side as she slid the chassis into place, the final piece of the HK puzzle.

His question wasn’t so much about his own curiosity as much as it was an observation, his uncanny knack for speaking Eden’s deeper thoughts into existence despite her denial at the reality of it all. While Bao rarely spoke of his own inner world, he was always gently coaxing Eden out of her own, knowing full well the tumult that stormed within -- even if he was not ready to let her do the same for him. At least not yet.

The module clicked , satisfying some baser part of Eden, at least enough to soothe her nerves before the anticipation simply ate away at her to nothing.

“It delayed us quite a bit, nearly costing us the situation on Onderon,” she admitted. “So it better be worth it. Have your saber at the ready.”

Bao nodded. Eden swallowed, nodding back at him, and turned to the HK. Its eyes were vacant, dark, but once she flipped the switch they grew from hollow brown to bright amber. It awoke.

“Diagnostic: HK-47 activated. Running checks through primary systems,” the droid began in a low gurgle, its voice modulator growing smoother with each syllable. A low hum began in the belly of the thing, eventually encompassing the entire workspace as circuits lit up and several sparks snapped as old wiring finally came to life. Eden and Bao exchanged looks, only this time Eden enacted her lightsaber so it glowed a deep molten orange, setting the HK’s bronze plating aglow.

“Assessment: It appears I have suffered considerable damage and dismemberment. I can feel all the cracks in my motivators,” the HK drawled incredulously. “And my control cluster seems to have taken several repeating blaster shots at close range. How crude.”

Something about this HK was… off . Much like the HK-50 that tried to shuttle her off of Peragus at the expense of everything else living on the station, this model had the same brand of snobbish superiority. The other HK’s they’d encountered were frank, sure, but none had this much personality right off the bat. Most of them just had a single quip ready for her before opening fire, but like the one that had managed to hold Eden hostage, this droid had quite a tongue.

“Why were you in our storage hold?” Eden asked, her voice more timid than she’d intended. Her brain was too busy making calculations to cast her voice more commandingly, but she cringed nonetheless.

“Answer: I do not know, Master-” Don’t call me that, Eden hissed before the droid rambled on, “It is curious I was here - although this place does seem familiar.”

The droid’s intelligence module spun about, its eyes flashing as if taking in the scene like a person awakening from a coma.

“Extrapolation: Perhaps someone was already in the process of rebuilding me. It may be that I was needed for some task.”

Eden’s mind swam with so many questions but there was only one that made its way to her mouth.

“Are you… okay?” she asked, her eyes still pausing over the droid’s exposed bits and rusted portions of its outer shell. There was evidence of blasterfire but Eden wasn’t convinced that was the machine’s cause of death, so to speak.

“Answer: If by ‘okay’ you mean the loss of almost all my existing assassination protocols, then no, I am not okay. Furthermore, I seem to have no discretionary control over my vocabulator, causing me to reveal my true function as an assassin droid of unrivaled sophistication.”

Eden crossed her arms over her chest, though she sensed Bao bristling at her side. “You look a lot like a series of droids that have attacked me. Anything to say about that?”

“Answer: Oh that is impossible, Master. If I were out to kill you, you would not be speaking.” Eden shot Bao-Dur a pointed glance, not that she was happy or proud about the fact just relayed to them both. Bao held his weapon ready nonetheless. “And regardless, I am a unique model. Why, to think that there would be other versions of me would be unacceptable.

“Well, there’s at least four other now-defunct versions of you in the galaxy.” Eden huffed a laugh, to which the droid only balked.

“Master, I must inform you that your attempts at humor are wasted on such a droid as I. As I have expressed, I am unique .”

“I can just blast him, General,” Bao whispered sidelong to her. “By rifle or by my arm, we can be rid of the thing sooner than you can say the word.”

Eden appreciated the offer but shook her head, hoping the sentiment translated as Bao unwittingly backed down yet again.

“Trust me, there’s a series of HK-50 units sharing your model and function that we have encountered on multiple occasions,” Eden said deadpan, though the suspicion did not leave her voice. The droid perked up at that, either noting her observation for future personal investigation or taking it as an affront.

“Very well, Master,” the droid drawled, “Though please know that this discovery is also causing me some degree of anger. And humiliation.”

“ Are you alright?” Eden echoed from before, this time not stopping Bao-Dur as he took another step closer to the droid, his right hovering over his blaster as his left hovered precariously over the button of his lightsaber.

“Mockery: Am I alright? Oh yes, Master, why, I am fine,” the droid groaned, looking at Bao’s display as if it were merely an inconvenience and not a direct provocation. “Statement: I mean, I have only just been re-activated, only to find that there are sub-standard duplicates of me running around all over the galaxy, corroding my good name. But if they are in fact hunting you, then I look forward to the opportunity to meet these units - and educate them in proper assassination protocols!”

If the HK could huff in indignation, Eden imagined the droid would have.

“Conclusion: So it seems I need you - for the time being.”

“So it’s true?” Eden pressed. “You’re an assassin droid?”

“Recitation: Yes , as I said, I am an assassin droid. It is my primary function to burn holes through meatbags that you wish removed from the galaxy… Master .”

“What did you say?” Eden asked, her voice a husk of a whisper now.

“Master,” the HK repeated. “Oh, how I hate that term.”

“No not that, Maker never say Master again,” Eden said, finally disabling her saber and slumping to what was eventually to the floor. Bao-Dur moved to catch her, but Eden preferred this, the ground, as ridiculous as it was. “The… the other thing.”

“Query: Meatbag?”

Eden nodded, though her head felt detached from the rest of her body as she did so. Bao-Dur moved awkwardly beside her, still hovering as if he might catch her though she’d already descended to the floor and made a temporary home there, so after bending and unbending, Bao finally decided to crouch by her side and place a hand on her shoulder, anchoring her to the present if anything.

“Hey did you manage to--?” Atton’s voice spirited into the room, cutting the silence like a knife. Eden’s eyes darted up towards the garage entrance just as Bao’s did, the droid spinning around on its core hinges to face Atton directly at the intrusion. Atton’s eyes widened to disks as he took in the scene. “Uh… activate the droid?”

“What does it look like?” Bao-Dur asked, his voice even though Eden sensed the bite in his words beneath every syllable.

Atton swallowed as he entered the room proper, looking as if he wanted to do the opposite despite taking a few steps closer. “I’ll take all of whatever’s going on here as an uncertain but unmistakable yes.”

The HK extended an arm, as if a blaster were attached though no such thing was equipped, and instead held an empty socket aloft in Atton’s direction.

“Offer: I can dispense of this meatbag if you wish,” the HK suggested, “Just give the order--”

“No!” Eden hissed, shooting to her feet. “No and no.”

“Affirmation: As you wish,” the droid surrendered, sounding thoroughly disappointed as it turned back to Eden.

“Did you find out who’s been sending these things after you?” Atton asked, taking a step back as if the droid might rescind its offer to spare his life for now. Eden shook her head.

“It’s not one of them,” Eden said. Bao spun around to look at her now, just confused as Atton was.

“How do you know that?” Bao-Dur pressed, careful to ensure that his inactive saber was still facing the droid just in case it became a threat. “You asked the machine no such thing.”

“I know because I remember this HK unit specifically,” Eden said. She glanced at Atton this time, making sure she caught his eye before adding, “Unlike the one on Peragus.”

“What does that mean?” Atton asked.

“I modded this droid, twelve years ago,” she began, her voice hitching as the memory returned to her in full. Don’t call me meatbag, Alek had seethed. Eden had merely laughed, but it was the last thing she wanted to do now, despite the howl building in her throat at the irony of it all. “For Revan.”

“Revan?!” Bao-Dur and Atton both repeated at varying volumes and levels of surprise.

“Attestation: Revan, yes, that name does ring familiar,” the droid said in what Eden could almost call fond recollection.

“Just because you modded this droid to kill for Revan doesn’t mean she didn’t specifically want this droid to kill you, no?” Atton asked, eyes blazing as he reached for his blaster.

“For once, I agree with Atton,” Bao said as he enacted his saber, while Atton mouthed a despaired Hey! “I knew her as well as you, and after the way she set us up at Malachor? I wouldn’t doubt she meant for us all to perish on that moon.”

Bao-Dur’s lightsaber raged a silent sapphire in the din of the garage, and for once so far the HK was speechless.

“You may be right,” Eden sighed, her hand thrumming the button of her own saber but failing to flip the switch. “It can’t be a coincidence that a series of other HK’s were modded to assassinate in the wake of this one.”

Whoever did this knew me personally, Eden thought, the idea still too new, and too painful, to consider out loud. Or Revan.

“Admission: I recall Revan, but I do not recognize your face, Master. Despite my referring to you by such a title. I can call you something else if you wish.”

The droid almost sounded apologetic, but Eden knew it was only her perception. Or wishful thinking.

“You can call me Eden,” she sighed. The HK nodded, its eyes blinking once before verbally confirming her request.

“Confirmation: I shall call you Eden,” it echoed.

She should have felt relieved, but Eden only felt hollow, forever haunted by Revan’s ghost and cursed to follow her memory no matter what she did.

~~~

Notes: I posted this to AO3 in 2022 but never posted it here. I still rather like it writing-wise, but like a lot of stuff I write/post for kotor 2 this is a future snippet from my ongoing novel-length fic Out of the Abyss that can be read/enjoyed without the greater context of that retelling.

#kotor 2 #star wars #the jedi exile #hk-47 #atton rand #bao-dur #brianna the handmaiden #kreia #and revan haunting the narrative like always #my writing

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ruthlesslistener · 2 years

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If we consider the separate corpse dumping pits in a vacuum yes soul master would be worse, but PK was the one who created a kingdom with a class divide that allowed soul master to snatch up folks without being noticed. Whether he intended it or not, PK ended up enabling soul master. I'm not phrasing this right, I know PK once aware of soul master's actions disproved of them but that doesn't change that every flaw in hallownest's structure, from social to economic, is a result of his negligence.

I dunno at least that's how I felt playing the game. At every misfortune I met from bosses to the structural issues with the caverns (crumbly floors, thorns, spikes, why is there so many spikes???) I cursed the creator of this kingdom, so I personally view the sins of his people as his own sins, or at least view him as partially responsible

Anyways all of this could have been avoided if PK just used his small form to become a civil engineer instead of a god king

... actually the structural issues with the caverns might have been worse if he did that nevermind

(branching away from the main topic I Do wonder what a mortal disguised PK would be like. The only god we seen in HK attempt something like that is Grimm and even then all he does is simply not advertise himself as a god, he very much does not attempt to blend in into the mortal populace, perhaps aware of how his eerie aura would prevent him from doing so. Would any of the higher beings be able to truly blend with mortals if they wished? Or would that be impossible?)

?? Anon, PK had little to no influence on the society of Hallownest beyond the most basic shit like 'throw your entire self into your purpose until you die'. Like yeah I think he encouraged learning about the soul arts and engineering, bc thats kinda his whole thing, but what's even MORE his thing is just..not participating in the society of Hallownest at all, to the point where people speculated about what he looked like because they just straight-up never saw their king. Hallownest's society and social class systems is something that likely was inherent to the beetle tribe before he became their god, which is something that I assumed because a.) There are multiple tribes in Hallownest with their own unique cultures that aren't entirely because of their gods, b.) He's the polar opposite of the Radiance, who obsessively exerts control, c.) He actively formed treaties with tribes that his own populace considered uncivilized savages and beasts (the mantises and spiders), and d.) His own Great Knights are formed of social rejects like Ogrim and foreigners like Ze'mer. Pair that with the fact that the retainers in the White Palace are clearly noblebugs that lend nothing but empty minds and inane chatter who are only useful if exploited for soul or killed, and it paints a very clear picture that PK was not at all involved in the social structure of his own kingdom. In fact, he's probably the exact opposite. And that's not neglect, per se- though he is neglectful- that's just more proof that the people of Hallownest are much more than which faction are aligned with which other god. PK had nothing to do with it. To gods, mortals are pretty much livestock, so I assumed that he paid about as much attention to the social ills of Hallownest as a farmer would for a chicken's pecking order- sure, maybe it seems alarming and like something you should fix, but really they're just gonna keep going at it, so why bother if it doesn't affect the quality of the food you're getting out of them? The Beetle Tribe had a pretty clear hierarchy that resulted in a lot of social ills, but considering the fact that the bugs of Hallownest canonically worshipped the Void before the Radiance came around, I think its safe to say that the hierarchy there was around for centuries before the Pale King took over. He just built the city that they lived in- and if the donations fountain is anything to go by, he did try to siphon off the economic issues at least a bit. He had very, very little influence on their social life

I'm not exactly defending the dead baby pit here, but PK didn't enable the Soul Master at all- he actively opposed him, bc again, he's losing chickens. Contrasting the horror of the Soul Master's slaughter to the dead baby pit is supposed to make you wonder whether mass murder for salvation is really any better than mass murder for power, and the fact that PK was horrified and disgusted by the Soul Master's body count while piling up his own also gives us more context on how he must have felt about the vessel pit- aka, terrible. It highlights the disconnect between the two while also pointing out that both were terrible no matter what their intentions were.

He might have tried to make it seem like he had everything under control, but he very much did not, so pinning all the blame on him when he was only one facet of all the shit going wrong in a very divided world just seems kinda, idk...shitty to me. It takes blame away from the Soul Master, who was the pinnacle of a powerful rich man throwing others under the bus to get what he wanted, to pin it on PK. I certainly am not trying to defend PK here- everyone knows he fucked up- but pinning all of the ills of Hallownest onto only one guy takes away a lot of the nuance and character of the people he was trying to protect, people who were already reduced to livestock and body counts in the war between him and the Radiance, so personally for me that's really :/. He's an important part of Hallownest's downfall, but he's really not that important

#i just rlly fucking hate it when people forget that like. the tribes were there and had culture before the gods had beef #these were people!! and people are messy and nuanced and have terrible traditions #hollow knight #anon #reply

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livedrawtercepat · 1 year

Video

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LIVE DRAW TERCEPAT HARI INI 8 APRIL 2023 | RESULT SYDNEY SINGAPORE HONGKONG

#live draw hongkong hari ini #live draw hongkong #draw hongkong hari ini #pools live draw #live hk hari ini #hasil hk hari ini #live draw sydney hari ini #live draw sydney #draw sydney hari ini #live syd hari ini #hasil syd hari ini #result syd hari ini #live draw singapore hari ini #live draw singapore #live sgp hari ini #hasil sgp hari ini

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zenless-zone-zero-updates · 2 months

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Zenless Zone Zero Version 1.1 Twitch Livestream Incentive Program

Dear Proxies,

Registration is now open for Zenless Zone Zero's first Twitch Livestream Incentive Event. Complete streaming and watching tasks for the chance to win cash and Polychrome rewards!

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Installing this plug-in will allow your viewers to become all kinds of cute Bangboo to accompany you as you stream.

Viewers can draw exclusive Bangboo avatars via watching streams and participate in the Boss Battle to obtain a Golden Bangboo Avatar~

Install Bangboo Buddies now!

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Each participant can obtain daily stream rewards for up to 21 days in this event.

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A4. Yes, there is. First come, first served.

The daily stream reward refreshes its available quantity daily, and the page displays the remaining rewards for that day.

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Q5: Can I claim my rewards together on the event page after the event ends?

A5: This is not advised. Rewards are limited, and you might miss out if they have been claimed up to the limit by others.

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A6: The results announcement and information collection period is from September 15, 2024, 10:00:00 to September 29, 2024, 10:00:00 (UTC+8). You must complete the information registration by the end of this period. Cash rewards will be distributed from October 15, 2024, 00:00:00 to November 13, 2024, 23:59:59 (UTC+8). We will complete the distribution of all cash rewards within this timeframe.

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A7: No, this is unnecessary.

Q8: Can I start streaming as soon as I complete my registration?

A8. Yes. But please take note that if you start streaming before the stipulated streaming period, your streaming data will not be collected and recorded.

Q9. My stream videos are automatically deleted after 14 days. Will this affect my streaming data during the event?

A9. No. Your streaming data will be collected in real-time during the event. Deletion of videos will not affect your streaming data in any way.

Q10: Can I only stream Zenless Zone Zero?

A: No, there are no restrictions on streaming other content. However, please be aware that this event only tracks the data of your Zenless Zone Zero streams in the Zenless Zone Zero category. Data from other content you stream will not be considered.

Q11. Do I need a microphone and camera to participate?

A11. No, they are not compulsory.

Q12. I changed my Twitch username during the event. Will this affect my participation rights?

A12. No, it won't.

Q13. How will I receive notifications?

A13: The daily streaming reward, weekly check-in reward, hours watched milestones, and share page reward need to be claimed manually on the page; no notifications will be sent. For the Most Watched Rankings and Star Creator Leaderboard rewards, please check your HoYoverse-linked email and complete the information collection survey during the results announcement and information collection period. Viewer bonuses must be claimed on the Twitch Drops page on the Twitch platform; we will not send notifications.

Q14. How can I confirm that I have registered successfully?

A14. Once you have completed your registration, a window will pop up on the page, showing that your registration is successful.

Q15: Will my event participation rights be affected if my channel is closed?

A15. Unfortunately, yes. If your channel is not publicly available (closed or set to private) during the event, your qualification will be jeopardized.

Q16: Can I unlink and re-link my UID and Twitch channel during the event period?

A16: No. For this event, live data tracking and reward distribution are based solely on the linking information provided during your initial registration. Changing the link midway may result in you being unable to receive rewards.

Q17. Do you have a quick start guide to streaming on Twitch?

A17. Yes. Please visit this page: https://www.twitch.tv/creatorcamp/zh-tw/setting-up-your-stream/quick-start-guide-to-streaming-on-twitch/

Q18. How do I choose Zenless Zone Zero as my Twitch stream category?

A18. PC: Log in to your account > Select your profile > Move to "Creator Dashboard" > Select "Stream Manager" > Select "Edit Stream Info" from "Quick Actions" > Check the pop-up window to configure your stream > Enter "Zenless Zone Zero" in the search box and select it > Select "Done"!

#zenless zone zero #zenless zone zero updates #zzz #zzzzero #official #twitch live stream program #formatting this was not fun

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pbaintthetb · 7 months

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Burya Role Reversal au- full DGS/GAA2 spoilers

Aight, so now that I've finally finished the game I thought I might note down some of my thoughts of key points that would happen in this theoretical role reversal au, armed with the knowledge of what Kaz's goddamn secret was

Cut for length and/or spoilers for both games

Ryunosuke dies- so the first difference is that after Ryunosuke eats all the chicken legs there is a chicken shortage for dinner. Kazuma eagerly signs up to not have chicken for dinner as a confirmed chicken hater, and thus is the one to eat the drugged portion whereas Ryunosuke is awake to see Pavlova and get murdered

Ryunosuke is a stowaway, while being in a first class cabin does suggest the occupant is aware of his prescence maybe it was also a coincidence. Or perhaps Ryuonsuke actually met his sticky end in the corridor. Regardless the crew decides the neatest end to cover up the murder of a man who isn't even supposed to exist is actually to just dispose of the evidence rather than set up a frame job. Ryunosuke's corpse is thrown overboard* Sholmes, being the only other person who knew Ryunosuke was there, eventually helps Kazuma prove it

*undecided if in this role reversla Ryunosuke is actually dead, because regardless if youre dead when you get chucked into the ocean it's unlikley to end well. However if this is also a fake death as in canon then a few options, one, Sholmes sets up the lie (unlikely he doesn't ahve the same motivation as canon) OR a series of unlikely lucky coincidences, i.e. they're not that far from HK coastal water and a fishing boat happens to be there pretty much as Ryunosuke drops and somehow falling into the freezing ocean from height actually just gives him the shock to regain conciousness instead of, idk, breaking his ribs, accidentally breathing in water and drowning

Sholmes, knowing of both Kazuma and Susato and having been unsuccessful in suggesting Kazuma should return to Japan as a result of his friend's untimely death is very, very, eager to keep an eye on them both. Aside from the assasination threat they are the child and ward of a dear friend and Sholmes is quite worried that Kazuma is going to spin out because he's not doing so well

Kazuma never stops wearing his headband in this, it's the closest thing he's got to a memento of Ryunosuke, after all. Well, other than copies of their identical uniforms. No armband or katana inheritance here

Post McGilded Stronghart makes subtle noises aboout Kazuma killing Gregson already. Kazuma, who in his mind has so very little left to lose now (rip Susato), points out that he came to England to learn get revenge on Van Zieks and the point of the visiting students is to get sent back once done. Stronghart angrily concedes to let Kazuma attend precisely three trials before he needs to do his duty... or face a sticky end of his own

Now this is a problem with timeline in a ryunosuke lives because it implies Ryuonsuke somehow gets to england like, nearly a year before kaz does, but I like the idea that in this au Ryunosuke doesn't wind up under Van Zieks like Kazuma does, but with no memory and a fondness for literature and the english language winds up with Natsume (in his second trial) goes off looking for a lawyer for him,,, and finds Kazuma and Susato

Around the time of the Eggert Benedict trial Ryunosuke eventually (accidenally) wanders his way off to Stronghart- he is curious about British law after alll, and winds up being co-counsel for Kazuma (perhaps after Susato leaves?). A development Ryunosuke is thrilled about and Kazuma is horrified by. Especially when Stronghart comes to personall tell Kazuma actually, 3 trials is not enough, why doesn't he defend a few more :-)

Kazuma cracks and confesses to Sholmes after the eggert trial, he would tell Ryunosuke but he just got him back and doesn't want to lose his trust so soon. Sholmes bundles Gregson off ASAP, Susato is recalled to Japan

See after the Eggert Benedict Trial Kazuma's grace period is up and he's meant to start assasinating so there is a gap in trials... unfortunately Gregson has gone awol (huh how funny). Still Stronghart has leverage and Kazuma is still in a very sticky position

In the gap Kazuma is desperately trying to get Ryunosuke to return to Japan (without telling him why), Ryunosuke refuses- he may not know what's going on but Kazuma is his best friend and he made a promise. Simultaneously Sholmes is trying to get Kazuma to return to Japan (telling him why) Kazuma refuses. (He hasn't done what he came here to do yet.) Sholmes is this close to drugging him and stuffing him on a steamship, but somehow he suspects Kazuma would find a way to come back and at least Sholmes can keep an eye on him this way.

Anyway those are some of my ideas, I'm torn about a. if ryunosuke is alive and b. like while i really do like the idea of meeting him via natsume, it also is kinda too ealry so idk. Also this whole thing was actually originally meant to be about how I felt Kazuma would deal with Ryunosuke's death way worse than the other way around becuase a. he's so angry b. ryunosuke dying is much more his fault than kazuma dying being ryuonsuke's fault and c. he's so much more isolated in it becuae susato doesne't know ryuonsuke so they can't grieve together and stuff?

I also originally considered kazuma not being intersted in 1-5 but i love gaaac 1 gina so much so, BUT kazuma in this au kind of gives up on trust but that's when ryunosuke is dead. Anyway i had a lot of fun thoughts about kazuma nad gina interacting in 1-5 where Kazuma refuses to trust people nor accept anybody's trust. But if Ryuonsuke is alive.... Similiarly, the lack of interest wasbecause initially before I knew much about spoilers Kazuma was honestly just moping and working on his plan (to take down van zieks) and like didnt actually care about trials. But now where the only way he's pushing back his assasination mission by doing trials he might care more. My first thought was he holds off on trials becuase 3 isn't many... but Stronghart probably wouldn't like that. So now we have kazuma strongarmed into trials for people he might genuienly feel bad for (gina). Also gina's complete lack of trust in people and systems could mesh really intrestingy with this jaded Kazuma

Alternatively, Ryunosuke does come back in 2-3,, not 1-4/2-2 and perhaps the only thing he does remember is this guy with a katana and billowing headbands who constantly talked about reforming courts or... tldr amnesiac Ryuonsuke makes his way to Stronghart trying to chase his memories. Stronghart is like the cat who got the cream (it's not hard to see Kazuma has been spinning out about something and now this guy shows up who dresses the same...) So stronghart lets Kazuma have an extra trial, perhaps, just to push leverage

either that or around 2-3 kazuma figures out gregson had something to do with his father's death/snaps a little further and calls gregson back to london to ask about it on the pretext of thsi case. (Sholmes is... uh not happy, to put it lightly, when he finds out)

anway great thoughts

#great ace attorney #burya au #kazuma asogi #ryunosuke naruhodo #also kazuma 100% completely loses his shit at sholmes at some point #the happy go lucky act drives irks him so much and he 's sick of feeling like an untrusted prisoner in this house #because sholmes is watching him either because he thinks he's at risk of being assissinated or assassinating someone #sholmes would theoretically tolerate this but not in front of Iris

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dzthenerd490 · 10 months

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Document of Interest: K Class Scenarios

The Foundation contains anomalies to better understand them and see if they can be possibly utilized to better the Foundation's understanding of technology and science. However not all anomalies can be utilized and instead can be quite hazardous if not utilized properly. The common anomaly can cause a dozen casualties on its own but there are also anomalies that can wipeout entire countries, even the world. When an anomaly is capable of something like this it is all the more reason they are to be contained and understood to prevent such a thing from happening. Below is a list of possible Scenarios of what could happen if anomalies are left in the wrong hands or to their own devices. The Foundation refer to these as K Class Apocalyptic Scenarios, K standing for Keter as Keter Class Anomalies are the most likely to cause these scenarios.

- AK Class Memetically Spread Behavior Scenario - when societal norms begin to change. Such examples include: saying hello being replaced with kissing strangers on the lips, drinking water no longer considered essential or even normal, worrying about safety being replaced with taking more risks, and money being considered essential to living a normal life.

- BK Class Before Invasion Scenario - When an invasion from another dimension is imminent. All known threats that can activate said scenario are extradimensional aliens, GoI: The Black Queen's Insurgency, GoI: The Three Moon's Initiative, GoI: The Factory, or an SCP Foundation of superior power.

- CK Class Reality Reconstruction Scenario - When an anomaly changes random aspects of reality of both big and small degree. Can either lead to normalcy being completely destroyed or the eventual extinction of humanity and/ or the destruction of earth.

- DK Class Dead Greenhouse Scenario - When all of humanity on earth is dead but the earth is still available for habitation. The earth has not been destroyed or claimed by a Species of Interest or hostile GoI form another dimension.

- EK Class End of Human Consciousness Scenario - When the consciousness of all humanity gets obliterated, corrupted, or infiltrated by an anomaly.

- FK Class Collapse of Chemistry Scenario - As the name implies a dreaded scenario when the laws of physics have altered down to the atomic level. The only recorded instance of this scenario happened was when an alternate SCP Foundation unfortunately had a CC Class Scenario where the carbon element was no longer able to support or create life.

- GK Class Hostile Greenhouse Scenario - When the environment or climate of the earth has become deadly to humanity.

- HK Class Deific Subjugation Scenario - When a god has appeared to take over earth and humanity. Scenario Qualifies for both hostile and benevolent Deity Class Anomalies.

- IK Class Collapse of Global Civilization Scenario - When every aspect of civilization all over the world has collapsed either due to anomalous influence on humanity or massive destruction all over the world. Has a broad range of possible sources, as such can possibly happen alongside another K Class Apocalyptic Scenario.

- JK Class Eternal Despair Scenario - When multiple anomalies cause an XK Class Scenario at once, leading to a scenario where the earth or humanities chances of survival are beyond recovery. Even if it is possible to survive, just living becomes such a struggle that dying seems more merciful by comparison.

- KK Class Anomalous Reclaim Scenario - when all known and unknown anomalous Species of Interest reclaim the earth.

- LK Class Species Transmutation Scenario - When one or multiple aspects of humanity is altered into something else. In the worst case, the result is something extremely anomalous.

- MK Class Broken Masquerade Scenario - When the anomalous world and/ or the SCP Foundation becomes common knowledge to the public.

- NK Class Grey Goo Scenario - When an anomaly is able to self-replicate and does so to the point that it either fills the world or breaks the veil of secrecy before it can be stopped and contained.

- OK Class Omega Species Uprising Scenario - When Multiple Large Scale Class Anomalies reveal themselves to the public and/ or reck havoc on humanity. Leading to unavoidable change or destruction on earth.

- PK Class Singularity Scenario - When an all-powerful anomaly collapses several timelines and dimensions together to create a single reality that is incredibly unstable. The only known example of this is The Reset.

- QK Class Quantum Degeneracy Scenario - When an anomaly is able to change the laws of physics of our universe resulting irreversible destruction and possible the end of the world.

- RK Class Broken Alliance Scenario - When the Foundation is betrayed by one of, a few, or all the organizations within the ACPA. Leading to a civil war the Foundation will not win or not win without great loss.

- SK Class Dominance Shift Scenario - When a Species of Interest overtakes humanity as the dominant species. The less likely chance for this scenario is when humanity declares war against a previously unknown Species of Interest, changing humanity forever.

- TK Class Restructuring Scenario - A restructuring of all aspects of reality in our universe, our timeline the laws of chemistry and physics, as well as the human consciousness. The closest example to this is The Reset.

- UK Class Foundation Domination Scenario - [Data Expunged by Order of the 05 Council]

- VK Class Diplomatic Break Down Scenario - When relations with a powerful extra-dimensional organization or God fails leading to a war for reality.

- WK Mass Extinction Scenario - When a non-human species on earth gets wiped out by either an anomaly or the incompetence of humanity. Leading to possibly irreversible damage to the ecosystem of a certain area and possible the earth.

- XK Class end of the World Scenario - When one or more anomalies causes a massive amount of destruction on the earth and/ or a massive loss of human life. The most common of the K Class Scenarios.

- YK Class Spontaneous Consciousness Scenario - When originally inanimate objects around the world start to suddenly come to live with various degrees of consciousness and develop various degrees of anatomy similar to humans.

- ZK Class Reality Failure Scenario - When aspects of our reality get destroyed one by one until it reaches the point that all of reality fall apart and gets destroyed. Typically caused by anomalies that can destroy anything without limitations.

SCP: HMF Documents of Interest Hub

#DZtheNerd #SCP: Horror Movie Files #SCP Foundation #SCP Fanfiction #SCP AU #SCP #Document of Interest #SCP Document of Interests #K Class Scenario

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