#and omg my drawing ideas are so fragmented now

[citrusbugz]

Where it all begins...

[loudlypanickinginvenezolano]

Brain pit, but make it the size of alaska.

Ok so i finally got around watching Sonic Prime, and yeah I know, but, work and life just kept getting in my way so it really did take this long to watch. And when I saw that old Eggman, I was just like, oh, its that Gerald? And while I am not 100% sure…something tells me he actually wasn’t.

And like…

Okay so now this is a new brain pit, and the idea is still…that, okay? I haven’t really sat down and thought it out completely to fill in the holes…

While they do their…evil thing down there, the ARK could be 100% functional up there in space, safeguarded by the Chaos council. And Shadow and Maria could be running that! I just thought of it as I was writing its way too obvious isn’t it? But…it really doesn’t speak to me the same way.

Or…we could go with:

the death of Gerald is what pushed them, as a family to rebel against the government until they just lose it with greed and became this evil dictatorship (In the case of the old uh apparently his name is Doctor Done-It and like that´s funny but anyway he was the start of it all? The one that set the example? ) and now we have Shadow in stasis still until the current time/ occurrences just like what happened in canon. Until…

I love any kind of interaction between Metal Sonic and Shadow and Rusty Rose seems like someone that seriously kicks ass, and them together? It would be chaotic, and I just wish I knew how to draw just so I could have them both in a piece.

And if she goes to the good or goes just neutral Chaotic…I would love if she was the one to bring Shadow over…or down. Whatever it Is, its good.

She just walking around with Shadow under her arm, OMG.

Would you believe me if I say that wasn’t what I was planning on writing?

Anyway.

The old man, Doctor Done-it, right? Now, what if he was Gerald?

This is what I mean I say I haven’t thought it out fully? Because if he was Gerald, then what happened with the Ark? What happened with Maria? Did he succeed?

The point is…I want this old man, Doctor Done it whose real name is Gerald, to have this little hoglet just following him around, that´s literally his retirement project. Or his little helper?

Or… Maybe Maria wasn’t sick this time, or maybe it was just a different illness or maybe he succeeded. Maybe she just took a different route to live her live and she is away doing what she loves and Geralds just wants this little thing to protect her and had only her In his eyes after her last bout of depression caused by the death of her cat.

Support animal? For her? For him?

I don’t know :´)

But Sonic comes, you know? And now, I don’t know what will happen with this in the second season, I think he will win over the council but whatever happens he just…sees little grumpy hoglet and goes…no. not this time. :´) not on my watch.

So he takes Little AU! Shadow away from Gerald and gives it to Rebel :´)

I think she´ll give him to whatever version of Vainilla is there? But she would keep around as to actually be the elder sister figure we love Rouge as.

And now because I have Sonadow brainrot….

Sonic really just went around leaving  his chaos energy signature, making ripples wherever he went. And I refuse to believe this…shard or fragment dimension aren’t subject to change and to their own laws and reason of sense…

So now that he was there, that he left a stele of his own being… why wouldn’t he appear on these dimensions, but now as…you know. A resident or being of that dimension.

A young, tiny and blue speedy hedgehog, no more than a kid…just looking at them from underneath a palm tree? To keep going with the theme.

And then we´ll have Nine as an older brother now :´)

And now a more brash, feral Sonic with however you plan on having Shadow act.

Just don’t give me coffee, please, i´ll keep coming up with this ideas.

[lostinthewiind]

Omg you are so talented! Bless this blog 😊 Can I make a request for something sweet and fluffy with our fav murder baby Ron Speirs? Maybe where he cheers his s.o. up after a hard day + struggling with self-esteem issues? I hope that‘s not too specific!!! 🙈 Thank you ❤️

Golly, you’re much too kind! Thank you for reading my stuff! 

This is my very first murder baby Ron Speirs fic. Fingers crossed it turns out okay! Hopefully, I can really capture his murder essence with my words.

“You Did Not Kill That Boy”

Drawing your knees up to your chest, you closed your eyes and focused on your breathing, slowly trying to return the rising and falling of your chest back to its normal rhythm as you rocked back and forth on the bed.

Your head hung low as the events from that day flashed through your mind, causing your heart rate to increase, directly opposing the work you were putting in to calm down.

To put things plainly, it had been a real shit day. On what was supposed to be a routine patrol, Easy Company walked right into a German ambush. You had been the only medic present, so it was up to you, and you alone, to patch up the men who had gotten hit. However, your mind had been elsewhere. 

Ronald Speirs.

After the first Kraut had popped out of that damn bush, he had rushed forward, taking lead and directing the men into a plan of action. You hated when he did that; when he purposely put himself at more risk than necessary. 

While the Lieutenant and his men counter-attacked, you were left to pick up the pieces of the damage that had already been created.

Kneeling beside the bleeding soldier, his glossy eyes fixed on you as he pleaded over and over again for you to save him, you kept looking up to find the man you loved. There was a young man dying in front of you and all you could think about was Ronald and if he was okay or not. 

Hearing the doorknob twist, your head shot up and you wiped away the tears that you hadn’t even noticed had fallen from your eyes. You hoped you looked okay; like you hadn’t just been sitting in silence, bawling over the fact that you were a pathetic excuse for a medic.

“Ah, you’re here.” Ron smiled as he entered the room, closing the door behind himself before making his way over to the desk, placing a quick kiss on the top of your head as he passed by. “How was the rest of your day?”

You swallowed hard at the question. You hated lying to him, but you knew if you started to tell him the truth you would break down into tears again. You hated looking weak in front of him. He already had enough to deal with as it was with being a Lieutenant and the leader of Easy Company. He didn’t need to be burdened with your problems too.

“It was fine.” you forced a smile. “Yours?”

Ron sat down at the desk and began flipping through the various documents he had carried in with him. “Ah, you know, usual stuff after an attack like the one we had today,” he muttered, his tongue sticking ever-so-slightly out of the corner of his mouth as he searched for something in particular. “Had to fill out a report, check on the guys, draft a few letters home to the families of the men we lost.”

The face of that poor boy that you had failed to save flashed before your eyes. You felt sick to your stomach when you remembered how he begged not to die, his words coming out in gurgles as the blood spilled from his lips like a crimson waterfall. You could hear his voice in your ears so clearly it was as if he was sitting right behind you.

He had been so young and you had let him die. 

Before you knew it, you had broken down into a puddle of self-pity; tears running down your cheeks as you covered your mouth with your hands in order to muffle your sobs. 

Ron looked over at you from where he was sitting at the desk, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and his hands freezing mid-action. He had no idea what had happened — or if he had said something — that would have made you cry. He played back the previous short conversation between the two of you in his head, but he was still at a loss.

“Darling?” he slowly stood up from his chair and walked over to the bed, crouching down beside it and placing a comforting hand on your thigh. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

His question only made you cry harder as you tried to explain, but the only noises that came out were gasps and desperate hiccups. 

Ronald was no closer to figuring out what the problem was, but his mission was to find out and make it stop. He couldn’t see you like this. It broke his heart.

Crawling onto the bed, he wrapped his arms around you, squeezing tight and pulling you into his lap. “Darling.” his lips ghosted over your ear as he whispered to you. “Why are you crying? Please, tell me so I can make it better. What’s wrong?”

Burying your face into his neck, you grabbed fistfuls of his shirt for support and sucked in mouthful after mouthful of air. “I-” your lips quivered as you spoke. “I killed that boy!”

After the words flew out of your mouth you broke down again, your tears soaking Ron’s neck and the collar of his jacket. The worried man recalled mentioning the men that had died that day and having to write letters home to the families. Suddenly, everything made sense.

“Oh, Y/N, no you didn’t.” his heart shattered into millions of little fragments as he hugged you as close as he could to his body. “You didn’t kill him. The Germans did. The Germans killed him.”

“I should have saved him!” you screamed out, the words tearing through your vocal cords as you forced them out in between sobs. “He begged me to save him and I let him die! I was too busy looking for you and he died in my hands! I’m a terrible medic!”

Pulling your head out from the crook of his neck, Ron cupped your face in his hands and made sure you were looking at him. “You did not kill that boy, you hear me?” his voice was stern but his thumbs were gentle as they wiped away the tears under your eyes. “You are not a terrible medic.”

Your small hands moved from his uniform to his arms, your fingers wrapping around his wrists. “I was so worried about you.” you had managed to calm down a little. You took long, deep breaths as you looked into his eyes, focusing on how his irises appeared as an auburn colour from the yellow hue of the single lamp in the corner of the room. “You ran right out into the gunfire. I thought you were going to die.”

The corners of his mouth tugged into a small smirk. “Don’t you know by now that I can’t die?” he quipped, attempting to lighten the mood and succeeding.

You let out a noise that could only be described as a cross between a laugh and a snort. “Don’t try and be funny.” your smile faded just as quick as it had appeared. “I’m serious.”

“So am I.” he leaned forward and pressed his lips to your tear-soaked ones. “You didn’t kill that boy. Don’t you think that for even a second because it’s not true. I watched you work on him. I watched you battle death itself. The bullet went right through his throat. There was no saving him. He was dead from the moment that German lined him up in his sight.”

Inhaling deeply, you sat up straight and dried your face with your wrists. “Yeah?” you choked out.

“Yes.” he nodded, his palms still glued to the soft skin of your cheeks. “I wouldn’t lie to you. I respect you too much. I love you too much.”

A warm, genuine smile spread across your lips. Finally, for the first time in hours, you felt like you could breathe easy. The elephant that had been sitting on your chest and pushing you down into the ground had gotten up and sauntered away. 

“You know, if you were this sweet to everyone, people wouldn’t think that you kill POWs for sport.” you joked, a toothy grin replacing your previous closed-lipped smile. 

“Mmm, I don’t think so.” he gently removed you from his lap and stood back up again. “This side of me is for you and you only.” he captured your lips in his. “Besides, I like the men being scared of me. It makes getting them to do things easier.”

You shrugged as he wandered back over to the desk. “Fair point.”

Collapsing into the wooden chair, Ron looked over at you and sighed. “Feeling better?”

“You have that effect on me, yes.” you attributed your calmer demeanor to his comforting and caring ways. “If only you would just stop running towards the enemy in the first place.”

Ron glanced toward you, a wicked grin on his face. “Now where’s the fun in that?”

[idontworkforsega]

*drum rolls Presenting another list of cutegirlmayra’s amazing work! TA~DAH!!

“Boom!Sonamy: I need more jealous/concerned sonic please. Whatcha got miss?” | “Anymore Sonamy Sonic Boom headcanons” | “Ok, I got an idea! A Sonic Boom Prompt (doesn’t have to be necessarily sonamy-ish) where the gang go on a death defying mission! Like chock full of action! I’d be interested to see how you’d do this :)” | “I was thinking of a prompt that there is going to be a half hour special of Sonic Boom that features time travel where Eggman sends Sonic to the future and he meets the older version of the team, but they’re angry at him thinking he abandoned them! What do you think Mayra?? :3” | “Anymore Sonamy Sonic Boom headcanons?” | “Hiya~ it’s Alii. I got a prompt for ya! I was reading the other prompt that you wrote for an anon, and it definitely got me thinking: What were to happen if Sonic and Amy were official, but had to keep it hidden? I’m picturing them stumbling to do so, especially Amy. Try to keep them as canon as possible, which I know is hard, but it can be done!! Also, if you could, I would love to see how suspicious Tails gets. He’d probably pick up on Sonic’s change of behaviour? aa thank you!! xx” | “Ok this is just a Sonic Boom! Prompt, and you don’t have to do it if you don’t have time. Anyway, one of my major Sonic Boom headcanons for me is that all the team have mysterious pasts. So this would take place when they’re on their way to find Lyric and they find an old wise man in a temple they fall into. The man tells them they need to know their pasts in order to be a good team, so he uses his magic to help them see eachothers memories. I hope you get really detailed, but anything is great!” | “How about just headcanons for Knuckles (as in character development-ish)” | “Can you do a boom!prompt telling the story of when the gang met sonic for the first time? And possibly add some sonamy? Like what they first thought of him. (I’m sorry if this doesn’t make sense xD) Thanks!” | “Mission Prompt for Sonamy” | “If you still are doing the meme prompt, can be the letter I with Sonamy? 👉👈” | “Hey, if you wouldn’t mind, could you do something with Sly/Carmelita with F from the second prompt meme? That would be amazing!” | “Mission: Prompt 4” | “Mission: Prompt” | “Oh oh oh! Can you do a boom!sonamy prompt where amy is totally stressed out bout stuff and almot pulling her hair out (not literally lol) and so sonic takes her out for a night on the town! If you please, :)” | “OKAYOKAYOKAY SO I SAW THE THING ABOUT HOW THE SONIC BOOM GANG WERE THE ORIGINAL ANCIENTS AND I TOTALLY FLIPPED COULD YOU DO A BOOM!SONAMY PROMPT BUT INSTEAD OF SONIC AND AMY YOU COULD WRITE ABOUT THE ANCIENT AMY AND ANCIENT SONIC AND THEIR STORY?? I AM SORRY BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY NEED MORE INFO TO WRITE ABOUT THAT BUT YOU COULD MAKE IT UP FOR ALL I CARE IM SORRY IM YELLING I JUST LOVE THIS IDEA (okay I’m calm now)” | “@elyzahere My internet isn’t letting me ask you this, so I’ll have to write it out here. Hope you don’t mind. ^,^’” | “Pssst, can you whip up a little modern!sonamy for me? I’ll leave the story or mood or Anything to whatever ya like, really! :D” | “Ok! A Sonic Boom Prompt where the gang is after a fox girl villain (who just so happens to be really pretty) who holds the last crystal fragment in her clutches. After drawing straws, Sonic is forced to flirt with her. That way, Amy, who has the best sneaking skills, would be able to take back the crystal piece. Amy hears them flirting and thinks Sonic is being serious and gets her heart broken…you do the rest!” | “Boom!sonamy prompt: Sonic and Amy have a flirting competition while no one is around XD” | “OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THE SLY COOPER AU!!! I actually loved, could you do another boom! sonamy sly cooper au? If you want, you don’t have to. But yeah, thanks!!! <3” | “Can you do a boom!sonamy prompt where sonic gets really beaten badly and amy is healing him? (cough cough beauty and the beast reference coughcough) And make it really fluffy! Feels galore if the missus don’t mind ;D Thanks dear!” | “have you got any lifestyle headcanons for the main sonic cast? like, a routine they always do, something they can’t stand, a particular belief they hold? this is just for any characters you like/ make headcanons about :P not really a prompt, just wondering :)” | “hey, a bit out of your norm, but could you please write something for the chaotix? headcanon, theories, anything like that? thanks very much, lovely :)” | “Here’s a prompt : Sonic Boom : Sonic and Amy are forced to share a room (or more importantly, a bed) after the team finds a village, can you write something about how they would react to that, and how they would make it work? That would be interesting!! (and evil >:D ) KAY BYE!!!” | “I would lile some cute fluff boom!sonamy, please! Whether it be flirting, singing, dancing, cuddling, anything!! Thank you, dear!” | “Okay, okay, I’m done messing with you~ Here’s a CANON prompt! (Modern) Sonic gets blasted by a laser that took his speed away! Now, he was to walk around like a normal person until Tails finds a way to fix him. WHAT WILL HE DO?!? (Just a little funny thingy)” | “Hey can I as for a special request..? Uhm, I know we all love sonamy ,everyone’s otp as well as mine and I really do love your cute stories but uh…I’m trying to get over someone and I was wondering if you could maybe make a story where Amy moves on..? Or where they except that they can’t be together and that’s it’s okay. I know it’s not very modern but maybe boom..? You don’t have to but I hold her dear to me and wonder how she would handle a break up/ getting over someone…” | “Prompt maybe: After a lot of arguing in the gang, the group decides to sit down and say nice things about each other (most of which are really corny) and then sonic and Amy’s turn gets quite cute and yea… :)” | “How about this for a prompt: Sticks sees this new guy in the village and likes him. Only problem is, SHE’S TOTALLY FREAKING OUT CAUSE SHE LIKES SOMEONE, THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE, SHE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO, and is generally freaked out (like her reaction to most things). So she tells Amy who tries to help. Take it away~” | “Heya! Could you do a Sonamy Boom Prompt that can be anything you want but on one condition: you have to include these three objects/things, in no particular order: 1. Enerbeams 2. Stars 3. A Distraction.” | “Prompt!(BOOM) (Since Amy is keeping this a secret, I decided to go that route) Sonic walks into Amy’s room to get some old books she asked for, when he stumbles upon a drawer full of love notes, poems even photos with red hearts drawn with marker around his face!! Of course, being the nosy hedgehog he is, he decides to read them all!! What will happen when Amy finds out? WILL she find out? How would Sonic react? What will be the concequences? MWAHAHAHA!” | “Prompt! Or two prompts! PLEASE! ANYTHING! MY SONAMY FIRE HAS BEEN REKINDLEDDDD😍😍” | “can you do a boom prompt about something in the 1920’s? like a detective thing? Sonic as the detective, amy as his client, knuckles and tails as the assistants? (and could you somehow add a hint of sonamy?) Idk thought it would be interesting. I’m sorry if this is weird XD” | “September cold: can you cheer me up? wildcard for sonic headcanons, whatever is on your beautiful mind :) thanks xxx” | “"strong amy” for her birthday? yes please! boom prompt maybe? however you want it…“ | "Can you do a boom sonamy prompt where sonic calls amy beautiful? Like he just says it and she freezes and is like "Wait what?”“ | "boom!sonamy prompt: Amy and sonic just being awkward around eachother, like their hands touch or something and they flip out? Just awkward and embarassing fluff!! Thaaaaank you!” | “Could you do a Sonamy Boom Prompt where Sonic and Amy are in a duo mission when after slightly flirting with each other, Sonics enerbeam goes hay wire! It ends up wrapping around them, forcing them to be quickly pushed together and they accidentally kiss….? (And try to mention somehow that enerbeam is controlled by actions from innermost thoughts or heart, so subconsciously, whether he knew it or not, Sonic wanted to give her a hug.😋) …did that make any sense at all?” | “Boom!Prompt, Knuckles’ backstory, where he use to be really small,and everyone kept calling him weak,then he decided to train himself,to become stronger and bigger.” | “Prompt! :(Modern) Sonic was running around at night when he noticed Amy sitting on a cliff, watching the stars. He gets confused, and nervously walks up to her. Turns out, she okay, and they end up just having a cute little conversation while laying rather close to one another (But not too close, according to Sonic XD), watching the stars! :D OOH! I just thought of something, PUT A SHOOTING STAR IN THERE TOO!X3 (P.S:Just so you know, not all of my prompts are for advice, I LOVE to read them!!:D)” | “Prompt :(Boom) While fighting Eggman, Knuckles gets separated from the team. As he finds his way home, he encounters a cute, young, and loud girl who claims that she’s lost her family. Being the hero he is, he agrees to help her. But, she’s a pest. She keeps setting off traps and gets into in danger, and she won’t shut up! Knuckles get’s irritated and yells at her. As the little girl ran off, he tried not to think about her safety, but, is Knuckles really a tough guy on the inside? Hint: NOPE!” | “Hmmm… Not sure if I want it a sonic and tails or Sonamy headcannon. But it’s where either sonic tries to ask tails about his "funny feelings” for Amy, trying to make sense of it, or just asking plain advise. OR tails finding out and confronting sonic about it (add some humor too? :D)“ | "Boom!Sonamy Headcanons (Cause they popped up in my head lol XD)” | “You may have already answered this, but what kind (if any) Sonamy moments do you think will be in Sonic Boom?” | “More Sonic boom headcannons please?” | “do you have any bonding headcanons for Knuckles and Amy in Boom? :)” | “Do you have any more Boom!Shadow headcannons?” | “Wait, question! For headcanon 49, what is Amy’s backstory?” | “So I heard that Shadow is confirmed to be in the Sonic!boom world. Got any headcannons between him and the gang?” | “Wait, you ship Tails and Sticks, right? I think you’re the one who got me shipping them :’D do you have any more headcanons about them? Because they’re ADORABLE.” | “Can you do a boom!sonamy prompt about sonic and amy raising a child? I don’t think you have done this before, have you?”

And while I was rechecking a few prompts on your blog…boy, I found the gold mine!! But I’m not sure if I already found some of them before and included it on the previous list I sent to you, and there are a few more lying around here that I am not so sure if I already submitted on the previous list…Can you please send the list back to me? Is that even possible?

If so, THANK YOU! ~ <3

----------------------

Once again, thank you for this post! But like previously stated with (x) <-- your other list, it’s a little difficult to know which ones I’ve found and which ones I haven’t.

If anyone could let me know if I haven’t reblogged any of these, me and Cutegirlmayra would be very much obliged!

Thank you once more for your contribution in saving many of @cutegirlmayra​’s amazing works! Continue to help the cause! We all want to be able to read her stuff in an easier way!

[gamerszone2019-blog]

How AI: The Somnium Files Blends Absurdism, Love, And Dreams Into A Murder Mystery

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/how-ai-the-somnium-files-blends-absurdism-love-and-dreams-into-a-murder-mystery/

How AI: The Somnium Files Blends Absurdism, Love, And Dreams Into A Murder Mystery

Like many mystery-driven adventure games, AI: The Somnium Files is a little tough to talk about. It’s not exactly action-packed in its moment-to-moment gameplay, and most of the intrigue in games like it comes from the ways in which they challenge your investigative skills and decision-making–plot twists and character dialogue are often at the heart of it all. This is very much the case when it comes to games under the direction of developer Kotaro Uchikoshi, best known for the Zero Escape series.

Since AI: The Somnium Files was first revealed, we knew that it would channel similar gameplay elements from Zero Escape, but it’s aiming to be an evolution of that. As private detective Kaname Date, you travel between reality and a dream world to unravel the truth behind a series of murders. Its overarching theme revolves around a pun for the word eye: “eye” as in your sight, “ai” the Japanese word for love, and A.I. as in artificial intelligence. Not to mention all the murder victims have one eye gouged out as well. Date himself has one eye that’s actually an A.I. companion named Aiba (a Japanese-English pun for eyeball). And the real name of A-Set, the virtual influencer/idol behind music videos and promotional materials, is Iris.

Last time we spoke with Uchikoshi-san, he talked about love, story details, and the dream world’s Psync mechanic, but there’s still more than meets the eye. To get further insight into what’s going on, we corresponded again via email and dug into the game’s direction. We were also able to loop in the English localization team lead Alex Flagg for additional perspective on what it’s like to deliver a dialogue-heavy Japanese game to a Western audience.

If you’re not caught up on AI: The Somnium Files, check out our interview with Iris “A-Set/Tesa” Sagan or our hands-on preview with the game from GDC 2019. The game launches for PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch on September 17 this year.

Can you explain the “Somnium” world? It’s the key to solving mysteries, but are these people’s secrets, true feelings, dreams? How does Kaname Date use that information throughout the game?

Kotaro Uchikoshi: Somnium means “dream” in Latin. So a Somnium world would mean “dream world.” Dreams are made from fragments of memory stitched together like patchwork. Hidden inside are people’s secrets and suppressed feelings. It’s Kaname Date’s job to interpret what he sees in the dream to solve mysteries and move forward in the investigation. For example, there’s something like this: A girl was alone at the scene of the crime. However, she suffered mental trauma and now has aphonia, so she can’t talk. So, Date will dive into the girl’s dream world and find a lead: she heard a phone ring. Then, Date will return to reality, go back to the scene to investigate and look for a cellphone somewhere. Something like that.

We’ve seen AI being both dead serious, cheery, and sometimes outright absurd. How do you strike a tone that comes together?

Alex Flagg: Through a lot of hard work! Uchikoshi has this amazing ability to blend Wikipedia-diving information dumps, absurdist theater, and sex jokes into a gripping and touching story. What I’ve discovered by playing and localizing his work is that you can get away with a lot that seems narratively inconsistent as long as you’ve already captured the audience’s attention with an intriguing plot and interesting characters. Uchikoshi taught me that tone can fluctuate wildly, as long as the heart is centered and steady. Because if your heart is fluctuating wildly, you’re probably having a heart attack and are about to die. You know, narratively speaking.

KU: This is a hard question. All I can say is…by watching the balance. If I were to compare it, it’s like a barista or a mixologist. Their jobs are very sensuous, and it’s hard to put into words how they balance the ingredients. Or maybe it’s similar to hitting on someone. You can’t always be serious and cool and you can’t always be energetic and carefree. They’ll just brush you off, won’t they? It’s important to understand when to be serious and when to be energetic… What I’m trying to say is that everything is balanced out by things and you can’t just explain it away with words. Having said that, my pick-up techniques have never been very successful. I bet Alex is really good at it, so next time I’m in LA, maybe he can teach me a few tricks!

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AI: The Somnium Files – Official Gameplay Trailer

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There’s some body horror, light gore, and morbid imagery in your games, AI especially. Do you ever have ideas then stop yourself from going too far?

KU: When I was writing the scenario for AI, the character designs weren’t finalized yet. That meant that I only had a general idea of the characters while writing. That’s why I didn’t feel much guilt putting the characters through some really tough times. When the designs came in, I thought, “OMG, so cute!” That’s when the characters started to really exist. But then it crossed my mind. “Ah, why did I do that to them…?” I didn’t want to have a guilty conscience about it, so I thought, “Could I at least try not to put them through the darkest of my ideas?” Because of that, some scenes are now milder than the original idea. But this isn’t censorship, this is love. Love for my characters. I decided to tone down some things, but the story isn’t any less interesting or fun because of it. Please don’t worry about that.

What are your thoughts on canonical endings in games with branching storylines? How does AI handle that?

KU: I remember watching a Hayao Miyazaki documentary, and he said something like, “I’m over this, I don’t want to do this” while drawing original cels. Branching routes are like that to me. It’s so much work. I scream, “Augh! I’m over this, too much work!” while writing the story too. In AI, the story splits from the decisions you make in the Somnia. To put it simply, picking either the “A” lead or “B” lead changes how the story unfolds. Branching stories are a pain in the ass for the creator, but to the player, there’s nothing better. There’s a lot of interesting elements in this game due to the branching paths, so please look forward to it!

What are some important things Akira Okada (assistant director) has brought this time around for AI that you didn’t think of?

KU: Of course Okada-kun was a huge contributor, but AI was created from multiple ideas from all the staff members. For example, Aiba turning into a cute girl in Somnium, the video game inspiration behind a certain action scene, one of the stages from one of the Somnia. All of those were ideas from the staff. I mean, the Somnium parts, from the setting to the structure, was mainly done by Okada-kun and Yamada-san. I have nothing but respect and appreciation for the staff.

Are there any particular difficulties that come out of having to do a simultaneous Japanese and Western release?

AF: Oh, absolutely. Working side-by-side with the Japanese creative team is a totally different experience than picking up a completed project and adapting it.

KU: Thanks to the hard work from Alex, Kazu [Okura], the other Spike Chunsoft Inc. team members, and [community manager] Dave Kracker, I didn’t really have any trouble with simultaneous shipping. So, to the Spike Chunsoft Inc. team of course, the development staff in Japan, and the Chinese localization staff: I thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart!

You get to control Aiba in the Somnium world, but you only get a limited time to investigate.

What are some Japanese- or English-only quirks you get to put in the game? Are there some unique things players will get out of either language option?

AF: The Japanese and English are largely the same, script and presentation-wise. There are a few times here and there that, say, a joke was intentionally not localized, or a character’s voice performance in the English has a slightly different feel than the Japanese performance, but for the most part they are two versions of the same game.

Some jokes or one-liners might come across differently in either language. And one thing that we’re very proud of is that A-set’s debut single, “Invincible Rainbow Arrow,” is fully localized, right down to matching the Japanese rhyme scheme and poetic meter. So if you are playing in Japanese, you will hear the Japanese version of the song; if you are playing in English, you will hear the English version.

How involved are you with the performances of the voice cast?

AF: The translator for this project, Kazu Okura, and I were either there at Bang Zoom! studios or listening in over voice call every single day of recording. While we offered feedback and direction, especially during particularly intricate or complicated scenes, we can only take a little bit of the credit: it was our audio engineer JP Aller and voice director Chris Faiella that really helped the words come off the page and become something incredible in the performance.

What’s the toughest aspect for localizing AI that folks might not realize?

AF: I would say the humor is by far the most challenging aspect of localization, especially “dad joke” humor, jokes that are intentionally bad. If you localize that joke to make it genuinely funny, you aren’t exactly matching the tone of the Japanese. If you localize the joke to make it unfunny, you run the risk of the audience not realizing that the joke is supposed to be bad, it’s supposed to make you roll your eyes and groan. AI is full of these kinds of jokes, so my translator and I worked very hard to make them funny…but not too funny.

“Tesa, aka A-Set, you bet.” was totally the localization team’s idea, huh?

AF: Yes, it was. Her slogan cheer is different in the Japanese and the English. In the Japanese, it goes something like “volatile solvent of the net world, Aseton, aka A-set!” It’s a wordplay on the honorific “ton” added to her stage name “A-set,” making it sound like “acetone,” the chemical solvent. Keeping it “Aseton” in English would be clunky, invite mispronunciation, and lose the cuteness factor of the Japanese wordplay. So we decided to go with “Tesa,” a cute, easy-to-say nickname that utilizes the game’s prevalent motif of reflection (“Tesa” is of course “A-set” backwards). There was a time we briefly considered making her nickname “Ace,” but Zero Escape fans will know why we decided against that.

A-set has been a huge part of AI’s lead up. Besides being a major character and idol, what was the idea behind breaking the fourth wall with A-Set’s YouTube channel?

KU: One of the themes of this game is dreams and reality. So by linking the real world that we live in with the artificial world of AI, I tried to express the analogy (or is it a metaphor?) of “dreams and reality,” or something like that. Iris (A-set’s real name) is the goddess of rainbows in Greek mythology. She is said to be the messenger girl that delivers the words of the gods. Rainbows are also sometimes called the “bridge of heaven,” so you could say that A-set is the “bridge” between fiction and reality.

With all the lead up to AI and A-Set at the forefront, how involved are you in her video content?

AF: Very involved! Our team and the creative team in Japan were sharing ideas for videos and story beats for months, coming up with the general “plot” of her YouTube channel together. Once that was more or less in place, we localized and recorded each video based on Japan’s video, which was incredibly difficult because of the fast pace they had to be produced. Often times we didn’t even have a final video render to look at while we were recording, so we had to feel it out by the script alone. But it came together beautifully.

How’s she been as a promotional partner?

KU: She was amazing! I know there were times I pushed her, but she didn’t make a face and took everything very seriously. I thank her from the bottom of my heart. Also, she smells really nice. A sweet scent that tickles a person’s heart… If she comes on screen while playing AI, please put your nose up to the screen. I’m sure you’ll start to smell irises…

Will A-Set’s presence in our real world play into events in AI?

AF: “Our real world”? What a peculiar way of phrasing it. You can see her, hear her; she is information in the universe and she occupies space in your mind at this very moment. She exists in this world the same way I do right now, typing away at my computer, communicating with you only through ones and zeros. One and the same.

KU: I already kind of answered this, but Iris is the bridge that connects our world to their world. As long as she exists, both worlds will continue to be linked.

How much tequila have you drank since the A-Set interview we did?

KU: The situation has changed. Currently, rather than me drinking tequila, it’s more of tequila drinking me. My office is always full of it. That’s where I wrote the game’s story. Just like one of those caterpillars in the bottles of tequila.

Source : Gamesport

[lovestructionworld]

Ashes to Beauty...Literally LFM #29 June 5, 2016

“Ashes to Beauty...Literally”

These are a few pertinent scriptures to the testimony below:

-Malachi 4:6 "He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction."

-Luke 1:17 "And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord".

-Isaiah 61:1-4 "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." Emphasis Added

ASHES TO BEAUTY...LITERALLY

When I was four years old my father left my mother and our home. From that time on, until he died, he lived four hundred plus miles away in South Bend, Indiana.

I can still remember spending that first night away form my father at my Grandmother's house, which became our home for several years, until my mother was able to get on her financial feet. I don't remember crying over my Dad leaving the first time. So, I must have awakened the next morning to the first of thousands of days with no man in my life.

I was too young to understand "divorce", "single parent family", and "broken home". I wouldn't be aware of the chasm of fatherlessness I had endured for at least twenty more years, because being without a father became my almost daily normal. I wasn't aware of what I missed.

Early on, my father would only visit, irregularly, every three or four months. At the time, I absolutely adored my father. When he would come, it would be all I could think about for the week prior to his arrival. And as soon as he walked through the door, I struggled having fun with him, because I so dreaded Sunday afternoon, which was his regular departure time. As he was leaving, I would cry and beg him to stay until I couldn't see his license plate. And for that night into the next day, I would be racked with depression. The pain of it was torture and created deep, hidden wounds within my soul.

When in town visiting, my Dad would stay with my mom and me. I would sleep with him just to be as close as possible for those short few days. In the mornings, I would sit on the edge of the tub to watch him shave and comb his hair. He would tickle me all the time and was very affectionate, always hugging and kissing my cheeks. He loved to fish, which eventually became a love of mine, because that's what we would do during many of his visits. And I always felt safe when Daddy was around. I was a true Daddy's Boy.

By the time I was a teenager, my father's issues became more and more apparent, and my tears dammed up as I learned to block the pain of the emptiness and of his leaving. I can remember starting to enjoy my friends more and really not wanting to be around him. Many, many times I commented to myself inwardly, as well as verbally to others, "I'm never going to be like my Dad".

Passively sowing judgment in my heart toward my Father's and his flaws became the norm. I reaped a harvest of trouble from this judgment of him, even though he "seemingly" had the more apparent issues. I'm thinking Jesus' vision corrective teaching on the 'specks' and "planks" would be appropriate here.

When I became an adult, he wanted me to visit him to go fishing and pushed me hard for this, but I always found a reason for not making the four hundred mile drive. Even though I was a Christian, I figured he wasn't good to me, so why should I be good to him, completely bypassing "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Little about me was golden with so much pain. I eventually cut off relationship with him and within a year, he passed away. It was the second worst decision of my life.

I barely shed a tear at the news of my Father's passing in 2001. Matter of fact, I know it sounds terrible, but I was relieved. Ouch! It’s true!

I took the trip up to attend to his body. He had wanted to be cremated, and the Funeral Director said it was illegal for me to transport his ashes across state lines. They had to send them to me via U.S. Mail. And when his ashes arrived at the Franklin, Tennessee Post Office, it was like I was picking up a used car part from a junk yard. I had zero emotion. I even saw a friend at the Post Office and made a joke about my Dad's ashes to his horror.

My Dad's ashes stayed in my utility vehicle for over 30 days. I would only think of them as I would turn a corner and hear them bang off of the opposite wall in the storage area. I eventually forgot that they were in the back until a friend asked me where I had scattered his ashes. He rebuked me strongly, when he found out his ashes were still in my vehicle. I laughed at Bob that day.

So, I made a quick plan to take and spread his ashes over some body of water on my way to Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a business meeting. I didn't care which one...lake, pond, puddle, whatever. It was what he wanted, but a pain to me. And I knew I was wearing a suit to a business meeting that day, making it convenient for me to gitterdone funeral style and to get Bob off my back.

I found a small public lake and removed his box of ashes from my vehicle. It was an extremely windy day, which was a little scary with me scattering ashes. But, I could tell the wind was straight-line and blowing out of the north in one direction making an easier aim of it.

As I walked out to the edge of the water, a thought (Holy Spirit's Voice) occurred to me to ask God for my Dad's "anointings". I wasn't real sure what anointings were at the time. I had heard of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob each giving their sons their 'blessings'. But what I heard was "anointings". So, I held the box of ashes, and maybe with a little tear in my eye, I said a prayer to God on behalf of my Dad. Arrogantly, I thanked God for the "little" bit my Dad had and I might get...anointing wise.

I had angled myself in such a way that his ashes would easily fly out across the water away from me. I drew the box back as one would draw back a Frisbee to fling, and then I fffllluung his ashes up into the wind.

Now two days prior, I had bought a brand new pair of $175, black, Johnson and Murphy, cap-toed shoes. I was so proud of those shoes and the first scuffs on the bottom of the soles happened that day. As soon as I sent my Dad's ashes flying, the wind made a strong and abrupt change of direction sending the ashes directly down and backwards. You guessed it! My brand new pair of Johnson and Murphy’s were covered in the grayish white ash of my father. My suit was relatively free of ash, but my shoes looked as though I had been walking in snow. So much ash had blown back onto my shoes that small bone fragments of my father's were even inside and along the crevices of my shoes making my walking prickly.

My immediate reaction was panic and to throw out multiple expletives, because I was so grossed out. Sadly, I was crying more about my shoe condition, than the loss of my Dad. I bounced around kangaroo-like and in panic for several minutes as I attempted to bang the dust off of my shoes to know avail. So, I started using my hands to try and brush off the ash. I realized, "now my hands had my Father's ashes on them". I finally gave up. My shoes were so dusty and there was no way to clean them except with a faucet and paper towels, which were no where in site. OMG...the moment…was absolutely surreal!

I dejectedly started slowly walking back to my Ford Explorer and suddenly the Holy Spirit spoke to me within my spirit and said, "I've given you your father's anointings". There was a pause, only for a few seconds, and then the dam of my pain broke. I began crying harder than I had ever cried up until that point in my life. This was an event generated out of heaven. My shoes weren’t the real target. God had blown his breath...His life giving Word...into the ashiest part of me, my wounded soul, and He began a process of beautification (healing and deliverance) in me toward my Dad. I could even feel a measure of healing within my vehicle as I pondered what had happened to me.

And as I sat there, God began impressing up me that no man's life is a complete waste and that even though my Dad had severe issues, he was still valuable to God and had been gifted by Him.

I remembered that my Dad's passions were as a writer and speaker. He constantly wrote about everything for which he cared, and his desk was covered with yellow legal pads inked with his ideas. He loved to speak and prepared for his great moment by attending Toastmasters speaking club meetings for years. He always dreamed of changing society with pen to paper and great speeches. Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan and Bush Sr. all had an opportunity at reading my Dad's mail because he would boldly send his thoughts directly to the White House. I'm surprised the Secret Service didn't pick him up for questioning. Ha!

I tired of hearing him talk about all "that world changing stuff" when he was alive. On this windy day, all I knew was, I had my Dad's anointing and it felt good to me.

This was a new feeling, given that my high school and collegiate experience was filled with dread of creative writing, grammar and public speaking. But, could I really have a heart, like my Dad, for writing, speaking and changing the world for the better? It seemed impossible, but I knew what had happened was a miracle. The Holy Spirit had sealed it with his obvious power move. He assured me of what he was going to do, even in all my fear. The enemy came to steal the passing of this anointing to me from my Dad. But Holy Spirit swooped in with His powerful love to take back what the enemy had stolen...So awesome is our God!!!

The moral of the story is this as you soon celebrate Father's Day 2016, you have all been given different kinds of fathers. Some of your fathers have been the kinds of men they should have been and other haven't. If the latter, honor your Father for whatever good attribute you can find. Instead of being bitter at your father and his issues, repent by finding something positive. Embrace it, even if it is just one thing.

Never stop taking care of you father no matter how poor of a Dad he's been. I absolutely regret cutting off my Dad, even though I had every worldly right to do it. Remember, your children are watching and so is your God.

Give to your Dad even when he hasn't given to you. This will help stop the sowing and reaping cycle of judgment that might be keeping the spirit of misery empowered within your family. To do this you must allow the Holy Spirit to restore your heart to your Dad as written in Malachi 4:6. Ask the Holy Spirit for this restoration with tears and watch Him begin to move.

And be for your children who you would have wanted as a child. If you have recurring issues affecting your children negatively, do something about it right now. Don't wait! Get some inner healing. Rejoin a church and begin serving. Make solid men friends at church who know how to raise children and ask to be mentored by them. Humble yourself. Start pursuing God more deeply and your kids will start drafting off of your pursuit. If you are refusing this, Google "Scripture", "Millstone" and "little ones".

Also, repent to your wife and children for your past failings as a husband and father...all of them! Change!...for the good. "Set your face like flint" to reach your spiritual destiny here on this earth for you and your children's sake. Be a true patriarch, unshakable, strong, a wing of protection and shade under which your wife and children can be at rest and peace no matter how hard marriage or life gets, like our God is to us. And when you fail…let Jesus wash you in His blood and forgive yourself.

If you are a Dad, who presently lives far away from your young children because of marital separation or divorce, find a way to move within a few miles, even if it costs your 50% of your salary. There isn't ever any excuse not to continue being a close by, active and nurturing parent. Two weeks out of the year on summer visits isn't enough. Every other weekend is difficult on your children, as well. There isn't an expectation of young children to sacrifice themselves for their parents in scripture. But, the opposite can be said of the parents of young children. There is a huge difference between a biological sperm donor and devoted father. Geographic distance creates the former and is the beginning of the disconnect between Father's and their children.

I've heard it often and flippantly said, "the kids will be better off if we divorce or if they divorce". These kinds of statements are what leads to the situations I've just mentioned above. What really makes children better off is having their fathers willing to honor their marriage vows no matter what severe issues arise with their wives. Children need Dads to find Jesus and humble themselves. Children always, always get the short end of the stick within their parents broken marriage. They pay the heaviest price for their parents new found, so called "freedom". I've experienced this and I've witnessed it among my friends and family. I'm concrete on the subject and am immovable from giving up these positions. Holy Spirit could have me bring to bear one hundred scriptures right now to prove this point. But so often the desire to alleviate pain overrides scripture in a believers mind.

All of what I've just said is achievable only by the breaking of one's self-will and the bending of both knees to the Trinity...God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit...the perfect Father/Son relationship. Just because you have said, "I believe in Jesus", doesn't mean this has happened. Christianity is a process and journey more than a one time event...per the "work out your salvation" scripture (Philippians 2:12).

Today, I still have the shoes as you can see below. They've been resoled at least six or seven times and I'll NEVER throw them away. They'll always be covered with the memories and anointings of my Fathers.

I really do miss my Dad. The loving feelings I had for him as a child have fully been given back to me, through healing and deliverance of the Holy Spirit. I wish Dad was still here. I would show him off to all my friends, and I'd drive 400 miles to take him to some fishin' hole on the water he loved so much.

Brian