#codecs explained

[warmcoals]

What's wrong with VLC?

truth is im not quite smart enough abt digital video to explain it in detail myself. but the short answer is, VLC cant always handle all the information in a video file, esp for files made by fanatics (i.e. anime rips). vlc will have a weird purple rendering issue or the subs won't work or something and there's no way to fix any of that.

MPC (media player classic) has a bunch of custom codecs, subtitle sync and font options, can play a whole folder of vids in order without a playlist, detailed access and tinkering of audio tracks... there's way more options, features, and technical benefits than i can explain.

here's a link to the downloads list, just pick the one that sounds right and itll run right out of the box ezpz. and here's a link to describe many of the benefits, if yr curious for info. basically: VLC is Alienware, MPC with K-Lite Codec is a perfect build-yr-own computer. for total free. give yrself a better machine!!!

[anhedoniashoujo]

creating a custom text tone of the sound of good dialogue options from the coffin of andy and leyley that i will be attaching to very specific contacts

[justabrick]

It perplexes me that all the other Winds have their motivations and reasoning aknowledged and analyzed, meanwhile Sundowner's gets habitually reduced to just "when you kill civilians lmao". I mean, it IS funny, the man is the embodiment of the incoming ham trope, after all.

Mistral and Monsoon have incredibly tragic backstories and Sundowner technically doesn't. It's not tragic on account of him being... well, no explanation needed, but it is still quite fucked nonetheless.

He had a basic bitch childhood compared to his squadmates. Poverty sucks no matter where you are, but it's nothing compared to the absolute horrorshow the other two went through. Instead, I think the formative experience that really created the monster that is Sundowner came way later in his life.

Lemme quote Kevin here: "Anyway, an IED put him out of action for a few years, but then cyborg tech brought him outta retirement." Nice and casual, easy to pass over, Sundowner himself doesn't even talk of it at all, as compared to Mistral and Monsoon who explain their past with appropriate gravitas.

But I'll give it a bit (a lot) more attention because I think it's the definitive thing that made Sundowner who he is by the time we see him. So what did exactly happen to force him out of the battlefield? If you're not squeamish, proceed to put in "dismounted complex blast injury" in your search bar and navigate to the image tab. If you don't feel like ruining your evening, which I wouldn't blame you for, I'll describe somewhat briefly. It's highly likely he lost both legs, and nearly as likely sustained massive injuries to the pelvis as it's the typical scenario. Not a small chance that he had either one or both arms ruined as well.

That covers "put him out of action" part of the quote, now I must highlight another important bit - "for a few years". You don't normally say "a few years" unless it's at the very least three. So by the end of it what we have is Sundowner, hopelessly disfigured and helpless, left to stew in his misery for years.

For a man who lives and breathes battle like him, it must have been a living nightmare, the absolute worst possible scenario in which his career could have ended in his eyes - left to slowly rot away while being pitied. And it is stated in one of the optional CODECs that disability pay outs are a joke, so it's a pitiful existence even on the financial front. I bet he wished that explosion actually just killed him right then and there.

Is it any wonder then that Sundowner glorifies war as much as he does? He's spent his entire life in it, it has given him the feeling of control he lacked initially, money, plenty of opportunities for power trips, and a home away from home. The two periods of life he was a civilian are marked by a feeling of powerlessness, and his time fighting - a feeling of power.

And it's just war itself he glorifies, too, not any pretty reasoning for it like "freedom" or justice, which I think is important. May be an odd opinion, but I think the guy is the opposite of a patriot of his county, which is pretty amusing considering the extremely stereotypical southern accent. It's even in several aspects of his design, as well. He's a full blooded American, but his body is designed to resemble a Japanese shogun, he fights in a Chinese sword fighting style, his song title is "Red Sun". Just one of these would be a fun detail, two - a curious coincidence, and three is just piling it on in my opinion. Compare and contrast with the other two 'murrican characters - Armstrong and Khamsin which have nothing mixed in that would contradict their national identity.

And aside from these "hints", he straight up celebrates the worst terrorist attack in American history. And a curious detail. His quote: "Demand for PMC's is about to skyrocket. Like the good ol' days after 9/11!". Assuming in mgs universe it happened in 2001, Sundowner wasn't in a PMC to really feel these "good ol' days" himself, as he only became a merc in 2008.

He may have been a lot like Khamsin prior to the injury actually, dressing up his sadism and bloodlust under the guise of some higher purpose. But after getting chewed up and spat out by the machine he'd have a lot of time to ruminate on why exactly he did what he did and wanted what he wanted. At least three years to have an epiphany on inherent human cruelty. An accurate observation in my opinion, but he chose the absolute worst route by believing that it should be embraced rather than fought.

Why better yourself when you can justify your shortcomings as just following an instinct? It's pretty pathetic when you think of it.

But yeah, I think there is an interesting character hiding under all the ham. He's just not very talkative about it unlike his colleagues. Interesting and utterly monstrous. He does have some positive traits though, two in fact - it's them juicy thighs.

[bigusbossus]

speaking of bb's huge schlong i hate when im watching a mgs video and they get ot the point of explaining the stuff with bb and they only ever say that "yeah the radiation made him infertile" like... yeah but know what it else it did... it made his cock bigger... like he says so in a codec call with paramedic where shes yapping about godzilla and how hes big bc of the radiation so bb is like "omg is that why my pants have been feeling so tight" like this is literally what happens

his weenor is humungous

[omamervt]

Codec cutscene conversation of Otacon explaining to Snake what a Simp is.

[linashirou]

Yesterday, I don't exactly remember how or why, but I felt motivated to create my own version of The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. Honestly, I came across so many versions before making mine that perhaps that's one of the reasons why my motivation lasted as long as it did XD.

It was challenging to mentally prepare myself to replicate the positioning of Gustav's faces. It was a real struggle trying to figure out how Hal's glasses would behave in that position, and even though I used the BJD as a reference, I couldn’t quite translate it "successfully" into the drawing… I still don’t know how to draw glasses, sorry.

Lina’s face was tricky because I found that the original reference had a longer face than hers, so I had to make adjustments.

Now, I’m super happy with what I created (which is rare), and I want to explain some of the choices I made *smiles*. This drawing was made using bases and references in Krita.

Hal:

His clothing is a photograph of a motherboard that I pixelated in certain areas and stained with a watercolor texture brush. Then I duplicated the layer and saturated it to give it the orange tone but still preserving the green. I also used a square texture pencil, imitating the decorations in the original painting, and finally applied an oil painting filter. (I also did this on Lina’s dress and the layer with the oranges.)

Lina’s dress, the cape, and the cosmos

These elements follow similar processes. I drew the hair textures for both Hal and Lina myself. The stars, grass, and flowers in Hal’s hair are brushes. The sunflower and roses are PNGs, and the background texture is another photograph.

Symbolism

Hal’s tunic: The motherboard is obvious. The orange color seems to take over the green of the motherboard, symbolizing Lina’s presence in his life.

The grass: It’s filled with blue roses, representing Snake. (I’ll always make this representation because I adore Snake, and even though I ship Hal with Lina, Snake will always be present near Hal.)

Hal’s head: It features daisies, which could also be interpreted as sunflowers, referencing the two women in his life. These are on his head because they are his biggest concern. The large Sunflower on the ground represents Sunny, pixelated because she also knows programming.

The orange cape: Inside the cape is the cosmos, an important symbol for my fic. Hal’s parents met at NASA, and one of my big headcanons about Strangelove and Hal is that she would have taught Hal to observe the night sky at an early age (inspiring his interest in extraterrestrial theories, as mentioned in the MGS2 codec, even if it was a joke). The image of the starry sky is also linked to Lina through her birthmark, a characteristic that is both positive and negative in the story and one of the traits she shares with me. For this reason, it’s near her (and also have stars over her hair) ("It was as if the cosmos had marked you to show you were the one.")

Lina’s dress: It features daisies ("Margarita" in Spanish, my IRL name), which are summer flowers that bloom in June, my birth month and my Hal’s fan birthday. These are pixelated, symbolizing Hal’s presence in Lina’s life and her career as a programmer. Daisies represent purity and true love, and they had medicinal properties.

Oranges on the cape: The oranges symbolize food, tied to Lina’s role as a chef, her work/facade she initially adopts to hide from the antagonist. They also symbolize fertility, virtue, fidelity, optimism, energy, and creativity. Additionally, in color psychology, the color stimulate appetite. (And that's a fact as food, because they activate the gastric juice)

At Lina’s feet: There’s a neural programming network, reminding us that she is an AI programmer. The same function is carried out by the code above it.

This also serves to highlight a little, yet significant, detail: Hal is an engineer, skilled in both hardware and software, capable of building a Metal Gear (like Huey); while Lina is a programmer, AI developer (like Strangelove) who is obsessed with response times.

[metalgearstranding]

Revolver Ocelot's Familial Story: an Untapped Potential

I've watched this MGSV review some time ago, and Keiv Review Things mentioned something that I rarely see pointed out by fans or critics of MGS:

"You can have an intricate story with a message about culture, the futility of revenge, and surround that story with inherently interesting characters. But what good is any of that if you don't do anything with these characters? This is a larger issue with this series, but the sheer volume of horrible shit everyone endures only to just gloss over because they got a job to do makes it far more problematic in this game."

It's always been one of my personal pet peeves with Kojima's writing. On the one hand, I love his characters, they're so cool. He allows them to be human, flawed. He doesn't judge them, which I find very refreshing.

What I don't like about his characters, is that he writes amazing backstories for them, but for a guy who's WAY too into tiny details, Kojima doesn't seem interested in exploring the emotional ramifications of those backstories...? Like Keiv said, it's just... glossed over.

In my opinion, the most glaring example of untapped story potential is Ocelot.

(Just a note before I start: I mention the novels and other sources outside of the main games many times. It's a bit of a Schrodinger's cat situation whether everything in those is considered canon by Kojima or not, so keep that in mind I suppose.)

THE (MISSABLE) REVELATION IN MGS3

During the final fight with the Boss, she opens up her suit and reveals a long, sinuous scar snaking down her body. She explains that she was pregnant with the Sorrow's child in 1944, and gave birth on the field of battle to a baby boy. That child was then taken away by the Philosophers. That's an interesting info on its own, but it really only matters if you've heard a very specific, missable codec call earlier in the game.

If you keep calling EVA after falling in the crevice, Snake will ask her how Ocelot ended up with the rank of major despite being so young. EVA says that she heard Ocelot is the son of a legendary hero, that his mother was shot in the gut during battle and gave birth to him right there. EVA also heard that after they stitched her up, the scar was shaped like a snake.

If you paid attention during that call, you can easily put two and two together later and come to the conclusion that this legendary hero is the Boss, and that child is Ocelot. This raises two important questions:

1: Did the Boss know Ocelot was her son?

2: Was Ocelot aware that the Boss was his mother?

Sadly, none of the games offers any answers.

...Unless you speak Japanese that is. And have access to either the MGS3 or Peace Walker novelization, neither of which have been translated into english. Not officially at least. Thankfully, a fan translation exists for both of them.

In the MGS3 novel, before Snake gets to the field for his confrontation with the Boss, we are treated to her inner thoughts:

“The image of Snake came to mind. And the image of Ocelot, young and growing, made her smile. Her Adamska had become a fine young man." (page 296)

This is confirmation that yes, the Boss knew that Ocelot was her son all along. On the same page, we also get an answer to the second question, as well as a new, devastating revelation:

"She tried many times to make Snake leave the area. She failed to do so, but as it turned out, it gave her what she really wanted. It saved her from another plan: to use ADAM, who didn't even know who she was, and it saved her from destruction. (…) Thank you, you saved our family."

Not only Ocelot didn't know the Boss was his mother, but if for whatever reason Snake hadn't been up to the task, Ocelot would've had to be the one to pull the trigger. Such, tasty, tasty potential for drama, tucked away in a novel that probably very few people read...

What about Snake, did he know about the link between Ocelot and the Boss in MGS3? Snake can be a bit dense, so even if you as a player manage to get EVA's codec call and make the connection, there's no telling whether Snake did. There's no mention in the MGS3 novel either, because the codec calls themselves aren't featured in it. The fight in the WIG between Snake and Ocelot isn't in the novel either, so there is no reason at all for Snake himself to draw a link between Ocelot and ADAM since they don't exchange names.

So we don't know for sure if Snake knew, right? Yes and no. You can know for sure if, again, you speak Japanese. In the "Doublethink" codec in MGSV, Snake (the real one) calls Ocelot by his real name, Adam. But according to this post, in the Japanese version, Snake apparently refers to Ocelot as "junior”, as in “son of the Boss". This is explicit confirmation (for Japanese fans at least) that Snake was aware of Ocelot's parentage, and also that at some point, Ocelot himself learned about it, maybe through Snake or Zero.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN OCELOT, ZERO AND THE BOSS

Speaking of the devil, we learn in MGS3 that he worked with the Boss, but we get to learn a little more about them (and Ocelot) in the novel. This is a conversation between the Boss and Zero (David Oh is Zero's real name):

"Two NSA codebreakers defected to the Soviet Union four years ago. I was never informed by the CIA during my time in the US though. After that, he seems to have been engaged in intelligence work in the Soviet Union. Their codenames were ADAM and EVA."

She knew this. She had the information and waited conscientiously for the reason why no news had come, so as not to fall into the Soviet trap. Zero was somewhat alarmed by her. She paused.

"I'll ask you again. Why did you help me?"

He felt a grip on his heart at the question. It was as if he heard the creaking of a strongsoul that had silently survived a secret fight.

"In the fall of 1944, when you flew to France, you passed a soldier with a baby in his arms at the airport."

The Boss stared at him with an expressionless face. He was convinced that any lie, no matter how trivial, would be discovered. Trembling, he finally gave a slight nod. Sweat was dripping from his temples. She still said nothing. She kept her neck tensed and her eyes closed, as if she could conquer any pain, anger, or fear.

He was truly ashamed because she did not blame him.

It was an autumn night when the Allied landings at Normandy had been a success and the war was set to end early the next year. The military plane that landed in the middle of the night carrying David somehow took a crying baby with it in the turnaround. He intuitively knew the identity of the baby. So, he overlooked it.

She had a bright future ahead of her. As Commander Eisenhower's confidant, there would be plenty of work for her to do in the army and in politics after the war. But The Boss never abandoned her family. So, during the red hunt, David continued to defend her on the witness stand. He had committed a crime.

"...Yes, that's right. I knew that child was going to be your biggest scandal someday."

He didn't even regret it. That boy, little Adamska, would soon be twenty years old.

After all, he wanted to atone for his sins by trying to protect her from the red scare.

There was no hope of forgiveness. Therefore, she had kept Zero away from the Cobra Unit. But if he was truly going to work with her from now on, an apology was in order. (page 242)

The translation is a bit rough (or my reading skills might be failing me, entirely possible lol), but to recap, this passage seems to tell us that Zero crossed paths with baby Adam soon after he was taken away from his mother (and they were taking the child back to the US from what I understand?). He had an opportunity to say something, do something, but he didn't. The communist panic was in full swing at the time, and because of her relationship with the Sorrow, the Boss was suspected of being a traitor. As Zero says, “that child was going to be your biggest scandal”. So to protect the Boss against herself, safeguard the bright future in front of her, Zero didn't tell her what he knew about her son. Zero didn't regret his silence, but he still put himself on the line later on, publicly defending her, even lying to the authorities to protect her.

It's possible Zero might've been keeping tabs on Adam as he grew up, maybe he knew he was working as a codebreaker. Even if had known that, Zero was not informed that he had “defected” however (it's quite obvious the defection was as real as the Boss's, it was just an excuse to send Ocelot as a spy in Russia). It's possible that the higher ups at the CIA didn't trust Zero knowing he was close to the Boss.

This also seems to say that the Boss knew her son was a codebreaker, and that he was one of the two who had “defected”. Maybe Zero told her, maybe not. Either way, the Boss knew enough about Zero's involvement (or lack thereof) that she didn't include Zero in her Cobra Unit.

We know that post MGS3, Ocelot's real allegiance lies with Snake, but otherwise, Zero specifically is who he ends up working for. Ocelot seems genuinely loyal to him until the Patriots dissolved (as a reminder, originally, the Patriots was a group composed of Zero, Ocelot, Snake, EVA, Para Medic and Sigint. Their goal was to make the Boss's vision of the world a reality, but they couldn't agree on what that was supposed to be, so Snake left and Ocelot silently and permanently switched his true allegiance to him). Considering Zero's affection for the Boss as well as possible lingering feelings of guilt, what was his relationship with Ocelot like once he came to work solely for him? Did he just consider him coldly as another employee or did he have warmer feelings for Ocelot because of who his mother was? Could it be possible he thought of him as a son perhaps? I think it's likely that Zero was the one who told Ocelot that the Boss was his mother at the very least. That could explain Ocelot's loyalty to Zero pre-Patriots if he felt an actual kinship with him. Maybe that info was then shared with Snake and the other Patriots once the group was formed, and maybe Snake felt it was a good reason to put his trust in Ocelot from that point on.

THE WASTED OPPORTUNITIES OF PEACE WALKER (AND THE PHANTOM PAIN)

Peace Walker introduces a character with a strong tie to the Boss, Dr Strangelove. She was in love with the Boss, and she wanted a child with her. Strangelove knew the Boss had a baby of her own with the Sorrow, but it's unknown if she knew the identity of that child, where he was, and what he'd been up to.

Could Strangelove have been potentially interested in getting in contact with Ocelot? Had Ocelot been in the game, would he have wanted to know more about his mother from Strangelove's point of view?

What about the mammal pod? How would Ocelot have reacted to it? Would he be disgusted? Sad? Would he see it as an opportunity to talk to the mother he barely knew? The mammal pod was just an AI programmed by Strangelove, with information she gathered from the government or was aware of personally, so we don't know if info related to Adam was in the bank. So let's say there was not, how would he have felt if the pod hadn't reacted to him at all?

And then there's Snake's scar. In Peace Walker, Snake wears the Boss's scar on his chest. The scar from which Ocelot was born. Sure, it was utilitarian in the context, Snake used it to hide a wire saw, but it was still a powerful symbol. Even in relation to the Boss only, Snake doesn't even talk about it, and it disappears entirely later. It's a damn shame, because it was such a good physical manifestation of the emotional scar she left him... But beyond the cool hiding place for his saw, what was Snake thinking about when making it? From what I've seen, a couple people headcanon that Ocelot helped him with it. I really love that idea, it would've made the whole thing a bit much more interesting.

Ocelot not being in Peace Walker was already a wasted opportunity, but then the mammal pod is brought back in Phantom Pain and we STILL don't get one scene, one line even implying Ocelot had any meaningful contact with it.

THE SORROW AND LIQUID OCELOT

There isn't much about the Sorrow in the main games aside from a tiny cameo in MGS4 in which he ousts the ghost of Psycho Mantis.

However, the Sorrow has another cameo in the MGS2: Bande Dessinée digital graphic novel. There are a few story differences from the game, and one of those is an apparition of the Sorrow alongside Liquid's Snake's ghost. He expresses disappointment in Ocelot: "No son of mine would have allowed this madman (Liquid Snake) to take control of his will. No son of mine would've been so pathetically weak."

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the canonicity of whether or not Ocelot inherited his father's powers and was really possessed by Liquid Snake's ghost via his grafted arm still seems to be up to debate in the fandom (we know Ocelot eventually replaces that arm, and uses a combination of nanomachines and hypnosis to turn himself into Liquid). For what it's worth, in the bande dessinée, he does seem genuinely distressed, but we're so used to Ocelot pretending to be what he's not, it's hard to say if he's faking it somehow. If he wasn't truly being possessed by Liquid, it's possible he had started with the hypnosis already, or had deluded himself somehow into thinking Liquid was possessing him. Either way, the Sorrow showing up is so interesting.

"No son of mine would've been so pathetically weak". This is a truly harsh, heartbreaking thing to say to your child. There's always the possibility that if the possession was real, Liquid could've been manipulating Ocelot and it wasn't the Sorrow at all. It would serve his agenda after all, considering the hate Liquid harbors towards his own "father". We don't know much about the Sorrow as a man. All we know, is that despite not being a part of Ocelot's life, he loved his son enough to die for him. The Boss herself was a tough love (you could make a case for "abusive" if you wanted) kind of substitute mother for Snake, so it's not impossible the Sorrow would have been the same sort of man. If it was really him, we can only conclude the guy was an asshole and that Ocelot was better off not having him in his life. If it was hypnosis or a delusion, then that obviously says more about Ocelot than the Sorrow.

Ocelot being absolutely terrified at the idea of being a disappointment to his father would explain so much about him, about why he goes to such extremes to accomplish his missions. It makes you think, why did he end up like this? When he learned who his mother was, was he also told the story of her killing the Sorrow so that Ocelot's life would be spared? He could've developed survivor's guilt from this, leading him to becoming a bit of an overachiever in a way (I'm sure someone actually qualified in psychology could have a field day with this lol). The MGS4 novel implies that Ocelot saw Big Boss as a father figure (that's another can of worm entirely, personally I think the kiss on the cheek in the game itself -among other things- implies something different, but for the sake of the argument, let's say it's correct), so the lengths he goes to to free him from the Patriots would be another example of Ocelot doing everything he can not to be a disappointment to a parental (or authority) figure. All of that adds another layer to Ocelot that could have been very interesting to delve further into.

THE ABANDONED CHILD

Metal Gear as a series happened because Snake and Zero couldn't get over the death of the Boss and in trying to make her will (or what they interpreted as her will rather) a reality, majorly screwed the pooch.

Ocelot is the Boss's biological son, but that connection doesn't directly affect anything else happening in the game. Ocelot was already working for the US government, Snake could've ended up trusting him because of that. We don't even know if Snake DOES trust him because of Ocelot's affiliation in particular. If you interpret the Boss's will as “let the world be”, then Ocelot (and after that Snake) achieved that by destroying the Patriots. But that happened as a result of Zero's actions, that wasn't Ocelot trying to make the Boss's will a reality. So in the end, Ocelot being the Boss's son ends up being just cool trivia. Kojima could've just removed that codec in MGS3 and it wouldn't have changed much in the grand scheme of things.

Part of the MGS message is that your genes don't dictate your destiny and your choices. I guess you can say that Ocelot not sharing his mother's desire for peace is another example of that message, but it's not satisfying to me because Ocelot doesn't decide to do that. He doesn't purposefully rebel against her, he just keeps doing what he was already doing, what he was taught to do since birth. He does that in Snake's interests, and in the MGSV truth tapes he seems to at least support Snake's idea of a nation of soldiers, but is he just going along with it or did he ever have his personal opinion of what the Boss's will was supposed to be and how HE would've actualized it? We don't really know for sure because despite having so much of the spotlight on him in the games, we're given very few opportunities to get to know the man behind the wild cat.

I used to dislike Ocelot in MGSV because I thought he was out of character and kinda boring. I changed my mind entirely when I saw someone point out that Ocelot on mother base with Snake didn't need to pretend and grandstand. He was as close to his true self as we've ever seen him. Even if Kaz's characterization wasn't there to provide contrast, MGSV depicts a much wiser Ocelot than what we see in Snake Eater. It makes perfect sense that he's got a good, calm head on his shoulders, because to play four-D chess the way he does, you have to be in control of yourself. Even when it comes to his “torture fetish”, the way he talks about it in one of the tapes shows that he's actually humane about it (as humane as torture can be I guess lmao). We also see a softer side to him, with the kids, and with DD. Even maybe some good ol' jealousy towards the fake Big Boss's interest for Quiet. Ocelot is a man perpetually hiding behind masks, but he's not an unfeeling psychopath. Which is why it's so frustrating to me that we're denied even the tiniest glimpse behind the mask when it comes to his parents. A couple more peaks behind the curtain to show his vulnerability and humanity would've made an already great character amazing in my opinion.

When I think about all of this, I have to admit that I low key end up somewhat resenting Snake in a way lol He gets so much character development because of his relationship to the Boss, whereas Ocelot gets basically nothing. Ocelot was not raised by her of course, but he met her, he saw the huge influence she had on Snake. SURELY Ocelot has an opinion or feelings about all of that, right?

Knowing what Snake meant for his mother and vice versa, was he ever envious of Snake's relationship with her? Did Ocelot resent his mother for not telling him who she was when they were finally reunited? Has he ever caught himself wishing she could've told the Philosophers to go fuck themselves, and rescue him from them?

Ocelot himself not having anything to say about his mother sucks, but Snake not having anything to say about it either also sucks. A single scene, a single codec call where they could've talked about their relationship to her would've added SO MUCH to the characterization of both Snake and Ocelot.

So yeah. I actually like that Kojima leaves things up to interpretations, that he doesn't always go for good endings, or even satisfying endings. But he created such fascinating characters, I can't help but think he could've done even more with them...

(If you guys have anything to add, know of information I might not know or missed, or a correction to make, my inbox is always open!)

[hatredmadeofgold]

honestly your take on my erotic machine samuraiden ask is so poetic and wonderful and I'm injecting it into my veins. but honestly I was also thinking about idk some repair type scenario and Raiden touches something on Sam's cybernetic arm and Sam, not used to this, involutarily makes a noise like that vine with the woman seeing the fake rat. I love the idea of inner workings being sensitive tbh.

Hey again :] Sorry for taking so long to answer these asks, I am very busy during weekdays sadly 😭

Hmmm well his cybernetic arm is a prosthetic, so it wouldn't be permanently attached to his organic body but I think that nanomachines connect the artificial nerves inside the arm to the brain, creating a perfect symbiosis between organic and inorganic. Repairing a prosthetic isn't something I could imagine anyone but a cybernetic engineer/orthopaedic technician do in that case. But Sam's prosthetic getting damaged badly during battle and Raiden checking on him and doing some sort of quick 'diagnosis' with his cybernetic eye, that I can see happening.

In real life, damaged nerves can become hyper- or hyposensitive, depends on what, how, where, and also how the recovery goes. For Sam's arm being a prosthetic, inorganic and organic have to match perfectly. In my last response to you, I already explained that for a combat cyborg to have the highest efficiency, they'd need the identical sensory input of that of a human, maybe even enhanced input. We get our sensory input from the nerves of our body. So the same logic can be applied to Sam's prosthetic arm. We have seen what he can do with it, the movement speed and accuracy are incredible.

Raiden of course isn't so gentle with Sam in general. Even shows that sadistic side of his — he's both a sadist and a masochist in my book; enjoying pain only when he can inflict even more pain to the other in return — and he 'accidentally' touches an open laying artificial nerve of the damaged arm while checking the damage.

Now, those open laying artificial nerves in Sam's arm could be hypersensitive. It's overwhelming and painful even. Add also into the mix that I think of Sam as a masochist (him being sadistic is more of a persona, not a part of who he really is), so the noise he makes is a mix of shock, and pain, but also a bit of pleasure. Not that Sam would ask for Raiden to do that again of course, they are both too proud to admit such things out loud. As long as they are sober at least.

But I believe that Sam hadn't been taught of the complexity of the cybernetic, or how they work in perfect sync with his body, aside from the part with the nanomachines maybe — hence the surprised response to the sensitivity. Raiden knows that Sam gets off to pain (but that wouldn't stop him even if he didn't know either).

Perhaps teases him about his lack of knowledge about the inner workings of his prosthetic arm. Maybe that can be code for "I know you enjoy that when I hurt you" that Sam knows to interpret that way.

It's unfortunate that MGR didn't pick up Raiden's lightning powers from MGS4 again, but I do imagine that he still has them.

Now in other areas of the damage, the artificial nerves could be hyposensitive. Imagine Raiden using his lightning powers to send electric shocks through Sam's arm. He says that he needs to test "if the sensors still respond at all", but Raiden doesn't know how to fix a prosthetic like Sam's either — it's just some bullshit to tell Sam that he's going to play with him a little bit for his own entertainment and pleasure. But in fact, the electric shocks that go through the artificial muscles and nerves go directly into Sam's pleasure centre, and he's struggling hard to not let that show. Again, his pride is at stake here, they are out in the open and either of them could be interrupted by a codec call. Not exactly a situation in which he wants to get caught being a horribly turned on mess.

Perhaps Raiden might continue messing with Sam until he gets him to that point where he cannot keep up his act, and Sam is an incredible actor, so that takes a lot to break it.

I could take this further and write an entire detailed scenario of them fucking during field work because of injuries and the analysis of the damage, and nanopaste only being used after the climax has been reached but oh well. Might put that on my idea list for smut for later.

Some last commentary that isn't directly relevant to the topic:

Although the lore of MGR says that a cyborg's move set is nothing more than new program code, I doubt Sam would rely solely on that. All of Sam's skill as a swordsman is entirely that of his own, not something a program code could replicate. Decision making and muscle memory go hand in hand after all. Cyborgs relying entirely on their bodies following their programming might also be why he could defeat them so easily... 😉

I also do not believe in the metal boob thing that fanon came up with. Concept art and screenshots alone show that it's a part of the suit, not part of his actual body. Also from a medical perspective, it would be completely unnecessary and also batshit insane to touch the surface area of the torso, remove skin and muscle tissue for some shiny but otherwise useless metal piece when the affected area is Sam's right forearm. Because the shape of the metal part also doesn't suggest that it replaces the muscles that connect the chest and arm muscles. It is purely there for aesthetics.

Anyway, it's fun answering these asks 💕 So feel free to drop in any more ideas, suggestions, prompts. I can ramble about these two for hours, it's a huge passion of mine c:

[digitaldetoxworld]

Data Analysis: Turning Information into Insight

 In nowadays’s digital age, statistics has come to be a vital asset for businesses, researchers, governments, and people alike. However, raw facts on its personal holds little value till it's far interpreted and understood. This is wherein records evaluation comes into play. Data analysis is the systematic manner of inspecting, cleansing, remodeling, and modeling facts with the objective of coming across beneficial information, drawing conclusions, and helping selection-making.

What Is Data Analysis In Research 

What is Data Analysis?

At its middle, records analysis includes extracting meaningful insights from datasets. These datasets can variety from small and based spreadsheets to large and unstructured facts lakes. The primary aim is to make sense of data to reply questions, resolve issues, or become aware of traits and styles that are not without delay apparent.

Data evaluation is used in truely every enterprise—from healthcare and finance to marketing and education. It enables groups to make proof-based choices, improve operational efficiency, and advantage aggressive advantages.

Types of Data Analysis

There are several kinds of information evaluation, every serving a completely unique purpose:

1. Descriptive Analysis

Descriptive analysis answers the question: “What happened?” It summarizes raw facts into digestible codecs like averages, probabilities, or counts. For instance, a store might analyze last month’s sales to decide which merchandise achieved satisfactory.

2. Diagnostic Analysis

This form of evaluation explores the reasons behind beyond outcomes. It answers: “Why did it occur?” For example, if a agency sees a surprising drop in internet site visitors, diagnostic evaluation can assist pinpoint whether or not it changed into because of a technical problem, adjustments in search engine marketing rating, or competitor movements.

3. Predictive Analysis

Predictive analysis makes use of historical information to forecast destiny consequences. It solutions: “What is probable to occur?” This includes statistical models and system getting to know algorithms to pick out styles and expect destiny trends, such as customer churn or product demand.

4. Prescriptive Analysis

Prescriptive analysis provides recommendations primarily based on facts. It solutions: “What have to we do?” This is the maximum advanced type of analysis and often combines insights from predictive analysis with optimization and simulation techniques to manual selection-making.

The Data Analysis Process

The technique of information analysis commonly follows those steps:

1. Define the Objective

Before diving into statistics, it’s essential to without a doubt recognize the question or trouble at hand. A well-defined goal guides the entire analysis and ensures that efforts are aligned with the preferred outcome.

2. Collect Data

Data can come from numerous sources which includes databases, surveys, sensors, APIs, or social media. It’s important to make certain that the records is relevant, timely, and of sufficient high-quality.

3. Clean and Prepare Data

Raw information is regularly messy—it may comprise missing values, duplicates, inconsistencies, or mistakes. Data cleansing involves addressing these problems. Preparation may include formatting, normalization, or growing new variables.

Four. Analyze the Data

Tools like Excel, SQL, Python, R, or specialized software consisting of Tableau, Power BI, and SAS are typically used.

5. Interpret Results

Analysis isn't pretty much numbers; it’s about meaning. Interpreting effects involves drawing conclusions, explaining findings, and linking insights lower back to the authentic goal.

6. Communicate Findings

Insights have to be communicated effectively to stakeholders. Visualization tools including charts, graphs, dashboards, and reports play a vital position in telling the story behind the statistics.

7. Make Decisions and Take Action

The last aim of statistics analysis is to tell selections. Whether it’s optimizing a advertising marketing campaign, improving customer support, or refining a product, actionable insights flip data into real-global effects.

Tools and Technologies for Data Analysis

A big selection of gear is available for facts analysis, each suited to distinct tasks and talent levels:

Excel: Great for small datasets and short analysis. Offers capabilities, pivot tables, and charts.

Python: Powerful for complicated facts manipulation and modeling. Popular libraries consist of Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, and Scikit-learn.

R: A statistical programming language extensively used for statistical analysis and statistics visualization.

SQL: Essential for querying and handling information saved in relational databases.

Tableau & Power BI: User-friendly enterprise intelligence equipment that flip facts into interactive visualizations and dashboards.

Healthcare: Analyzing affected person statistics to enhance treatment plans, predict outbreaks, and control resources.

Finance: Detecting fraud, coping with threat, and guiding investment techniques.

Retail: Personalizing advertising campaigns, managing inventory, and optimizing pricing.

Sports: Enhancing performance through participant records and game analysis.

Public Policy: Informing choices on schooling, transportation, and financial improvement.

Challenges in Data Analysis

Data Quality: Incomplete, old, or incorrect information can lead to deceptive conclusions.

Data Privacy: Handling sensitive records requires strict adherence to privacy guidelines like GDPR.

Skill Gaps: There's a developing demand for skilled information analysts who can interpret complicated facts sets.

Integration: Combining facts from disparate resources may be technically hard.

Bias and Misinterpretation: Poorly designed analysis can introduce bias or lead to wrong assumptions.

The Future of Data Analysis

As facts keeps to grow exponentially, the sector of facts analysis is evolving rapidly. Emerging developments include:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning: Automating evaluation and producing predictive fashions at scale.

Real-Time Analytics: Enabling decisions based totally on live data streams for faster reaction.

Data Democratization: Making records handy and understandable to everybody in an business enterprise

[velvetjune]

Played some hours of MGS4 Guns of the Patriots. It’s so weird and funny. Spoilers:

Everything is happening all t he time. Ads, information, multiple screens and controls, different conversations all at once. I listened to a podcast episode about the game itself where the hosts outright said ‘I’m sure the player is on their second or third run of the game while listening to this.’ It’s 100% on purpose (the on the nose AI, tagged ID weapons, war economy, etc etc), but it’s a big change from 1-3.

Playing Rising before this added a lot more context than I would have expected. Unphazed by the moo-ing giant robots

Another MG game, another massive parallel to Shadow Moses

Drebin appearing out of nowhere to take up a long cutscene explaining the intricate backstory and mechanics behind a weapons shop. His pet monkey is downing multiple cokes in the background. I buy multiple playboy magazines and nothing else.

Old Snake laying down for a full minute so he can listen to pop music to heal both psychologically and somehow physically (same).

If you call Otacon in the trash, there’s a magical codec conversation where Snake talks about being smelly and covered in bugs.

MkII has the cutest animations and is perfect.

Enemy designs, particularly the one with marionette puppets, are 10000/10. Girls night out! And Vamp looking good!

Snake and Otacon are married. I missed these guys so much after playing games centered around Big Boss. Also they should NOT be raising a kid. She’s doing Otacon’s job half the time, while living off of instant noodles, burnt eggs, and handheld video games to keep her entertained.

Campbell faintly in the background while I’m watching Sunny on the baby cam and reading about Drebin’s shop: this is REALLY important information about the story snake you NEED to pay attention

Johnny “akiba” IBS diversity win. Shitting his pants constantly (I’m so sorry for your team, Meryl). When I died as Snake, he got a flashback of seeing Johnny’s ass out after being caught by enemies—I’m sorry to that Snake that had that be his last moments.

I’m in love with Meryl’s design and her bullet earring. Such a step up from her character in 1 that still retains that same character and her efforts to be a soldier.

I’m bad at this game on normal mode and died many times. It glitched a lot in the frog unit fighting and Snake got stuck in a neverending loop of being kicked down by a frog soldier before being able to get back up <\3

Mei Ling getting a high ranked and powerful position = fantastic! Otacon saying she got it from sleeping around with older men and Snake saying he has a chance = terrible!

big naturals snake

the snake crawl on the ground focusing on his ass?

Naomi CRYING at seeing Old Snake’s body???? Be nice to him

The B&B unit is there to be a sexy villain, literal model under their beast appearances, but I do like the concept of them transforming into beasts from war, and how Snake himself is a beast. Will Snake shed his skin and get a sexy reveal like the B&B unit? I can only hope (this is a moot point because Old Snake is already hot and sexualized)

Blue roses fit in with the beauty and the beast thing going on and Snake’s artificial and ‘determined’ fate, but my mind always goes to Twin Peaks.

Knowing Raiden will appear somewhere with a new cyborg body is now the least strange aspect about metalgear solid 4. He’s still an absent father like in Rising! How the hell does Rose get with Campbell in this game, then back to Raiden in Rising….. Worst couple award

^He called Snake soon after and he is NOT deepthroat. Terrible at being undercover, both Snake and I immediately recognized him

I became emotionally attached to the random group of prisoners that led me to the mansion and gave little hearts when I bumped into them. Spent too long defending them before realizing I just need to go ahead and find Naomi.

Snake’s psyche rapidly going down when told he had 3 months left, then rapidly going up when I hit the secret command that let him stare at Naomi’s chest

Almost fell for Laughing Octopus being MkII/Otacon

The gameplay is closer to Snake Eater’s, but with the addition of a shop and locked weapons, and, like that game, I struggled more with switching weapons and learning the controls. It’ll probably be easier as I keep playing, but it’s taking longer to adjust and I already know I’m going to ignore 99% of the weapons. It’s also considerably less smooth than the master collections games and V, so I often miss my shot or the animation lags. Unsurprisingly, I prefer V’s that improved on pretty much everything, but I also like the simplicity and controls of the second game. Every game in between those dealt with having so many tutorials, healing/weapons to keep track of, somewhat clunky controls and cameras, etc. combined that made them feel more dated and less fun than the earlier ones.

Going to contradict myself, but Snake’s psyche bar and the various ways to keep his stress levels down is unbelievably clever and unique. So much dark sad humor when it shows up in any cutscene with Snake’s issues comically piling up. It’s not the only game to do this (Disco Elylsium is one of my favorites!), but i love its integration into the story and strange options for dealing with it. The animation of him rubbing his back if you crouch for too long or his psyche going up with back compression—it’s a stark contrast from the first game and it’s effective!

This game is ugly to look at (very desaturated). I’m also very biased towards the intense blue-green of the first two games and the style of the MG ones! However, the live action ads and blend of tech with humans/environments is very cool.

I want to see more Liquid Ocelot.

[exeggcute]

finished playing mgs2 for the first time in like eight(?) years and I almost hate to say it but a lot of the dialogue/patter in this game is mid to bad. and I know it's hard coming off the heels of mgs1, which has the whole story about its english script localizer taking some liberties that weren't totally faithful to the original but added a lot of charm (at least in my opinion), whereas mgs2 allegedly took a more dialed-back approach.

but I don't think it's just a script problem because there are so many moments where the actual line reading is stilted or awkward! they'll be talking too fast, or in a kind of lifeless voice like they're reciting parts out of context, or conversations feel stitched together, and it's especially jarring when those awkward parts come from hayter or randolph or eiding, who all gave stellar performances in the previous game. (I guess you could argue that campbell is Supposed to sound weird for Plot Reasons but I doubt that's intentional since he's meant to be a normal unassuming guy for 90% of the game. plus the fact that it doesn't explain all the other lukewarm moments from other characters who don't have Plot Reasons for it.) although cam clarke was still right on the mark for all five of his lines.

AND THEN mgs3 comes along and everything sounds... fine. good, even. it's not hitting the exact same cadence as mgs1, but hayter is at his prime, there's an excellent supporting cast, general codec patter is lively, and even the history-lesson-with-a-twist infodumps are thoroughly listenable. maybe the cobras have a little less panache overall than dead cell but it's a tough race when the latter includes barry dennen and phil lamarr. I don't know why or how things took such a dip but I'm at least glad they leveled back out.

also I forgot how all the final levels in mgs2 are named after parts of the intestinal tract, which is funny when I have to google "stuck in ascending colon" or will inevitably be talking to my gastro in a week and when he mentions the ileum I'm gonna be like "ah yes... just like arsenal gear."

[justabrick]

"Say you bring this whole place down, waltz outta the rubble with all these precious brains... Nothing changes. All the guys in charge are long gone. And we've got offices 'round the world."

I'm in an analytical mood again, so bear with me.

All the guys in charge are long gone.

Isn't it curious that Sundowner is implicitly excluding himself from 'those in charge'?

How much power over what's happening does he actually have?

It's all speculation, naturally, but I think it's possible to fill the gaps based on some other topics explained in decent detail in CODEC calls. Namely: Desperado, World Marshal and operation Tecumseh. And a little general cyborg info. So, operation Tecumseh – a false-flag operation planned by Steven Armstrong to ensure the revitalization of the war economy and his subsequent election, giving him free rein to reorganize America as a "survival of the fittest" society. Raiden and Maverick deduced that it involved President Hamilton's visit to the Shabhazabad region of Pakistan, and assassinating the President while making it seem as though Pakistani rebels were responsible for the assassination. And Desperado existed only to become the perfect scapegoat in this plan. Why I think that? First, reputation. It's as if Desperado LLC is purposefully trying to present itself as overtly evil to the public, it's aknowledged several times throughout the game.

What a name it is indeed. Quoting a dictinary: "A desperado is someone who does illegal, violent things without worrying about the danger." And the listed synonyms are: criminal, thug, outlaw, villain. Lovely. It's like writing "I'M EVIL" across your forehead. And speaking of exactly that. Agressive branding. We get to see three PMC's in action throughout the course of MGR's plot: Maverick, World Marshal, Desperado. Of all three of them Desperado marks their property the loudest. Raiden doesn't have Maverick's logo anywhere on his body, believe me, I've scoured all of his shiny metal ass for it. Regular Maverick soldiers from the prologue don't have the horse head anywhere on them either, neither do their vehicles. Only Gemini have these cute, easily missable pins on their jackets.

And I don't think I've seen World Marshal's logo on any of the enemies we fight, both their soldiers and and their UG's seem very "default" in that regard. Meanwhile Desperado:

(render by Yare-Yare-Dong) Especially prominent on Excelsus, a humongous advertisement for Desperado's involvement in the assassination, a good half of the final fight takes place on a giant Desperado logo.

Even the Winds themselves are branded like cattle, right on their chassis loud and clear.

All this to say is that they're advertising themselves as thugs and seem to be actively chasing publicity for it. No wonder, such reputation would make them a very convenient and believable target to pin the blame on. Why look deeper into it and try to find a potential secret third party behind them if this PMC already has an established history of extreme behavior? You'd think it would be pretty difficult to start out and grow with such presentation and their preferred clients being... fringe groups to say the least. That brings me to the idea that Desperado was never truly independent, and was always nothing but Armstrong's tool. Just a couple highlights to suggest how much money they must be getting from him. Quoting Kevin: "Of all registered PMC troops, we're still talkin', what, 3% have enhancements? Maybe 5%, tops? (...) Plus the surgery is highly specialized -- expensive as hell. Not to mention maintenance costs after that." Desperado is majority cyborgs. Imagine the costs. And the cherry on top - EXSELSUS. Boris: "I know Desperado makes good money, but this is not a thing thugs like that could purchase."

But even if they did start out independent it doesn't really matter, since with the amount of money Armstrong invested in them, his fist is so deep up Desperado's ass that he can use it like a Muppet. Seems Kev thinks the same: "Probably, given Desperado and World Marshal are basically one and the same. Careful down there..." There is no way Desperado could have continued to exist after Tecumseh. They're an american organization involved in an attempt on POTUS's life, they'd be torn apart immediately at the very beginning of the "war on terror" that Armstrong planned. The only possible excuse they could have used, as Raiden told Courtney, is to claim that their client set them up. But... That would never work with their track record of international terrorism and a history of assassinating high ranking politicians like N'Mani. And after all this exposition, let's circle back to the original question.

How much power over what's happening does Sundowner actually have? Chief Operating Officer of Desperado Enforcement LLC... sounds pretty nice if you don't think about it too much. Now let me put it more... idk, truthfully. De facto leader of a terrorist group that tried to kill the President. Scapegoat to end all scapegoats, eh? Especially with his colorful history of investigations for atrocities like torture and desecration of remains.

And Armstrong absolutely did intend for him to die as a result of Tecumseh. Don't believe me? Look.

What is Desperado? Lawless gang. And Sundowner - an extremist and a madman. Yeah. And when I'm calling him a scapegoat I'm not implying that he's innocent at all, dude's a monster. However! However. The real force behind the entire plan is undeniably Armstrong and World Marshal, NOT Sundowner and Desperado. Sundowner doesn't even believe in Armstrong's dream to be honest. None of the Desperado bosses we fight do, for that matter, but it's a topic I'll elaborate on in some other obnoxiously wordy post. Senator wants a future where everyone is free to fight their own wars, to fight for what they believe in. Does Sundowner personally fight for some kind of grand ideal? Well I guess he wants to see the return of war economy, but not to bring his country prosperity or anything, no no no. He wants war for the sake of war, just because that's what he loves, and what he thrives in. Sundowner is consumed by bloodlust, and the specifics of the cause that allow him to feed it don't matter all that much. Another proof is that he doesn't really care about the cause is that he yaps about Tecumseh to Raiden. First time in the server room can be chalked up to overconfidence (though I doubt it), but he actually answers Raiden's question on what's gonna happen in his last CODEC call, essentially sabotaging the entire mission by giving Jack a lead to follow. Could have kept his trap shut and Senator would have gotten what he wanted. But what about the quote "Even at mach two you wouldn't make it!" tho? Well I have a couple thoughts, they have to do with Sam.

So, Monsoon sent him to go "report to the chief." Safe to assume he went up to the server room, and him and Sundowner discussed what to do next. Ever wondered how Sam got to the spot his duel with Raiden takes place? Well there's this one easy to miss CODEC with Wolf in file 6: "Raiden: A World Marshal helicopter crashed in this vicinity earlier. It was en route to deliver a cache of cyborg repair materials. Should you locate any conspicuous crates, cut them open. See what is inside." Obviously his bike is still parked in Denver and I sincerely doubt Jetstream rawdogged it almost all the way to Solis on his own two legs, so that crashed helicopter is likely to have been his transport.

Server room is directly connected to the roof and helipad, Sundowner must have been the one who specifically sent him off to Solis. He is Sam's direct superior, let's not forget that. One of CODECs once you arrive at Pakistan: "Still, they've got to know I'm here. Sam was smart enough to figure out I'd take that launch vehicle." Idk if it's just Sam himself who figured it out, to be honest. Sundowner is shown to know a whole lot about Raiden, child soldier training, his experience with VR, the Patriots – it's reasonable to think he'd know of his connections in Solis as well.

So yes, I believe Sundowner purposely sabotaged Armstrong there. He's a lot of things, but he ain't stupid.

On the topic of sabotage, the way he was "defending" the HQ as Raiden advanced up the building is quite something. Not feeling like booting up the game to get the screenshots, but if you look up at HQ in the beginning of file 5, the building is utterly shagged. The only structural damage Jack himself caused I can think of is slicing up the helipad and everything else is basically Sundowner ordering the security to bomb the hell out of their own skyscraper.

And I see why he'd do that. It's logical to grow resentful of the company and the man that's setting you up to either get thrown in prison or killed as part of their plan. He can't not know that it's the fate that awaits him, he's aware what Tecumseh entails and he knows that all the blame will be pinned on him. So he might as well make his swan song as bombastic and destructive as possible.

There's also a big chance that he's actually indentured to World Marshal much like a lot of it's contractors, and that tie is likely to be stronger than the average cyborg's, because custom chassis are EXPENSIVE. I personally interpret the way he became involved with Desperado and by extension World Marshal as Armstrong plucking him out of some metaphorical ditch and offering him a way to escape the crippled potato life he was forced into after his run-in with an IED. It's not a charity though, and the price is what I was talking about above.

That would also explain why he's such a good sport about losing to Raiden. He must have lived with the knowledge of the exact date his life would end, either literally or by being dragged into court, so he's already made his peace with it. The other Winds seem to have done so too, judging by resignation in their last words. Not Khamsin though, that dumbass was definitely in the dark and it shows.

So in conclusion, does Sundower have power? Over day to day operations of Desperado – yes, over his own fate – ha. Haha. No. In the grand scheme of things his death does not matter. All actual strategic decisions are made by Armstrong and other "guys in charge" whoever they may be, meanwhile Sundowner is just a figurehead to pin their actions on.

At least Raiden gave him the death he would have wanted. It is flattering to fall to the state of the art cyborg who suplexed a Metal Gear. But that's just my speculation. I hope there are some interesting thoughts to find here even if you don't agree with the overall picture.

[la-li-lu-le-lol]

Given your fanfics, I'm sure you have a lot of thoughts about the supernatural in the series. Would you want to talk about it?

I would! Thank you! Please enjoy my very long-winded unleashing of nerd energy under the cut.

I like to think of MGS's setting/genre like how you would describe a chocolate sundae. (Yes, I know. bear with me.) The grounded, realistic war and politics and mission stuff, that's the vanilla ice cream on the bottom. That's the foundation. The science-fiction elements are the chocolate syrup drizzled all over the ice cream. And finally, the little bits of unexplainable, creepy paranormal weirdness are the sprinkles and cherry on top.

Except sometimes Kojima likes to mush the crunchy paranormal bits into the sci-fi syrup until you can't really tell it's there anymore, lol. Don't get me wrong, I love science, and I love applying science to spooky things. But (imo) you have to do it with a delicate touch if you want to preserve the mysterious appeal of the supernatural. And Kojima, who is a man who LOVES EXPLAINING THINGS, does not always do it with a delicate touch, looool.

Another point - So, canonically, psychics and spiritual mediums and elemental control and ACTUAL GHOSTS are a thing in the MGS universe. That's so fucking cool to me that I am kind of shocked that it wasn't weaved more into the plot. (MGSV does this better than the other games, I will touch on that in a sec.) Like what if codec technology was developed by mimicking telepathic communication? What if the Patriots recruited psychics to help them mind-control and propoganda-ize people to bring the world into MGS4 and MGR times? What if Ocelot inherited some psychic abilities from The Sorrow and that could explain how he's so good at 4D chess and persuasion/hypnosis?

I think that's my problem with how some of the supernatural was handled in mgs, that a lot of it just felt like decoration (or sprinkles!) for the sake of being weird and it wasn't actually plot-relevant or given the love it deserved, or a lot of it was blended a little too heavily into the sci-fi syrup for my tastes.

For all the flaws MGSV has, one of the things that I absolutely love about it is how fucking weird parasites were, and how heavily they were integrated into the plot because all of it was just so interesting. Quiet and the parasite unit and those hospital missions and the vocal cord parasites, all that stuff slapped, fr. Now, if only they made it just a touch less science-y, and just a touch more mysterious...

[archoneddzs15]

Sega Saturn - Phantasm

Title: Phantasm / ファンタズム

Developer: Sierra On-Line / Infini Entertainment Technology

Publisher: Outrigger

Release date: 8 August 1997

Catalogue No.: T-36001G

Genre: Interactive Horror

When CDs started flooding the market in the first few years of the 1990s, many people thought the future of video games lay in interactive movies. The veteran adventure game designer Roberts Williams became affected by this craze for a short while and under her supervision, famed gaming enterprise Sierra On-Line presented its own take on the new fashion: Phantasmagoria, a seven-disc extravagant monstrosity complete with live footage, digitized graphics, and stylized medieval-sounding choirs.

If getting scared is the only thing you look for in a horror game, then Phantasmagoria might not be as disappointing as it turned out to be for those who expected good adventure gameplay. Roberta Williams apparently had enough of innocent fairy tale storytelling in her King's Quest series and unleashed what must have been the darkest images concocted by her imagination onto this title. The game contains some of the most disturbing, unsettling scenes in the history of the medium - but that's not what makes it horrifying. Rather, it is the perpetual building of suspense, the long stretches of wandering preceding the brutality, during which not much is happening, but many things are foreshadowed, resulting in a convincingly ominous atmosphere.

Spanning a massive 8 - yes that's right, EIGHT - discs, Phantasmagoria takes Sega Saturn owners into the world of mysterious horror. You may know this game under its western PC title of Phantasmagoria. I'm not too sure why they changed the title for the Saturn, mind you. Probably easier for the Japanese to say Phantasm [ファンタズム] rather than Phantasmagoria [ファンタスマゴリア], I guess. (I think I saw a Japanese Phantasmagoria billboard for the PC which actually made the name change to Phantasm).

All this is further enhanced by technology. The superbly detailed graphics are all digitized images, looking strikingly real and immersing you in the nauseating opulence of a haunted castle. The much-hyped video sequences may be too numerous and pointless in many cases, but they create a peculiar bond between you and the protagonist, as you watch her react to everything she notices in photorealistic detail.

Those videos of the heroine adjusting her hair or curiously poking suspicious household items may be mundane, but that is exactly what makes the ensuing horror effects more prominent and long-lasting, but what is really so bad about it being on the Sega Saturn is the people who ported it to the Saturn decided it'd be a good idea to use the crappy Cinepak video codec! Ugh. Looks blocky as hell compared to the PC original. Another downer point is that the guys over at Infini or Outrigger have dubbed everything into Japanese! Why can't they just subtitle it? Surely it would be easier. (I do know there is apparently a fan-translation of this out in the wild these days.) Oh, and from what I heard, this Sega Saturn version is apparently censored compared to the PC original. Why? This means I can't see all the deaths, and I can't witness the r*pe scene in Chapter 4's intro anymore.

Still at least the gore is quite nice if you're into that sort of thing.

Note to anyone looking to buy this: as I mentioned, Phantasm came on 8 CD's, and a traditional Sega Saturn game disc jewel case could not store that amount of CD's so it came on two 4-CD cases. I'll explain the two cases.

Red CD Case:

Disc 1 (Chapter 1)

Disc 2 (Chapter 2)

Disc 3 (Chapter 3)

Disc 4 (Chapter 4)

Blue CD Case:

Disc 5 (Chapter 5)

Disc 6 (Chapter 6)

Disc 7 (Chapter 7)

Disc 8 (Chapter 7 Ending Chase)

[thirstyforred]

i love how jjba narrator will sometimes stop to explain somewhat mundane things, tell me about doner kebab like it's mgs codec narrator man

[dontmindme2600]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

It’s no problem, I love answering questions like these!!! But also that’s a RRREAALLLYYYY hard question for me bc it changes depending on what I’m currently obsessed with lollll and it’s even harder for me to rank from least favorite to favorite so,,, if you don’t mind I’m just gonna keep it to anime/games and list like off the top of my head in no particular order!! If that’s ok:

-Yusuke from YYH (I’m a sucker for the “punk guy with a heart of gold” trope and also the first episode/chapter where he shows up to his own funeral and gets shocked at how much everyone misses him is like,,, the only anime/manga scene that actually makes me cry lmfao. It added a lot more depth to his character as well and I thought it was cool that Togashi managed all that in literally the first volume)

-Illumi from HxH (his design is iconic and I just think he’s cool. It’s honestly mostly the design… I wanted to only do one character per series for this post but Chrollo and Kite are also up there)

-Jolyne from JJBA (funny, badass and kinda relatable in a way??? Like I’m not very confrontational at all but somehow I just. Get her. I also love the way she speaks lmao)

-Spike from Cowboy Bebop (Looking at my blog theme I bet you could never guess! there’s a lot of reasons I like him but to keep it brief I just think he’s very fun to analyze bc his character is so complex if that makes sense?? Also he’s hot which is a bonus)

-Ginko from Mushi-shi (just seems like a cool dude!! Helpful and knowledgeable)

-Vash from Trigun 1998 (How can you NOT like him,,, I immediately liked him since his intro in episode one lmao. Forever mourning the loss of his accent in the 2023 version)

-N from Pokémon (This one’s the hardest to explain for some reason but tbh I just think that he’s cool! His backstory and mannerisms are really interesting and as a Pokémon fan it’s nice to see when they get really creative with the human characters! Also keeping true to my one character per series rule here but Guzma and Team Skull as a whole are also hilarious and I love them)

-Majima from Yakuza (specifically the version from 0, but I like all of them. He just makes me laugh lmao which is super fun!! But he also shows that he’s actually a very respectable guy on a lot of occasions, which bumped him up for me. Oh also his intro in 0 IS SO GOOD)

-Klavier from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (I’m ngl I just think he’s hot but also he made me laugh a lot… and it was always just generally really fun/interesting whenever you got to talk to him in game)

-Otacon from MGS (Like a lot of other characters on this list it just started with him being really funny. I mean come on you really can’t beat a character introduction where you hype the dude up to be this super serious science hacker guy, and then when you finally meet him he pisses his pants and rants to you about anime… Aside from that his codec calls are really fun, Otasune is a good ship, and his character development as he ages is also interesting)