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maniactypewriter · 4 years

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The backlog Week 4 [where the hell have you been edition]

I LIVE! In all seriousness, when im at school, I don't have access to my gaming computer and my laptop doesnt have enough space free for a project like this. Anyway, I am back for the next month, so let's get to the first game(s)

Anomaly warzone earth + Anomaly 2 playtime: 4 hours total

Im bundling these two together as they are very similar in game play. In Warzone Earth, you play as the 14th platoon deployed into the heart of the Anomaly, a giant mysterious dome that crash landed on top of Baghdad and tokyo. As the platoon leader, its your job to make sure the convoy of APCs and walking missile platforms gets through the level safely. The game refers to itself as a tower offense game. Essentially its a tower defense game, but instead of placing down towers, you are the targets that the towers are shooting at. Your vehicle team is constantly moving forward and its your job as commander to choose the right path for the vehicles to drive down and to strategically deploy the four power ups at your disposal. Your tools include a repair which heals your units, a smoke screen which makes enemies less likely to hit your units, and a decoy, which enemies will shoot at instead of your units. Usually the player is spending their time babysitting the convoy and rushing to collect more powers as they are dropped from killed enemies. Each mission has a different objective, but it usually devolves into, get to a place and kill all the towers.

Anomaly 2 is much the same as its predecessor. Set in the far future after an alien invasion, the earth has frozen over and humanity’s numbers are dwindling. Humanity’s only hope is a single convoy on their way through a frozen america to get to New york. As this is the future, humanity's weapons have evolved as well. The standard ACP with a gatling gun on top has evolved into a car with two gatling guns. And it also turns into a walking mech flamethrowers mounted on either arm. Bad ass. The power ups have also changed a little. You have your standard repair bubble, there is a focus power up which will tell all your units to focus fire on one tower you want particularly dead and an emp type power up which will disable enemy towers for a short while. Anomaly 2 also has multiplayer, but I didn't play that as it is most likely dead at time of play.

Antihero playtime: 70 minutes

Antihero is a competitive digital board game where each player plays as a master thief in a victorian england type setting. As the leader of a thieves guild, you have to go around a burgle the good people of “London” to fund your operations and buy pieces to put around the board. You can hire urchins to occupy specific buildings for special bonuses, hire thugs to block access to areas, and gangs to off your opponent's units and hunt down targets (as well as making a little extra dosh along the way.) this game takes advantage of being a digital board game because everything your opponent does is done mostly in secret. Obscured by the smog of war, you can not see what your opponent is doing, which could spell your doom if you aren't fast enough to look into his territory with your master thief.

I am not great at this game. I couldn't get past the second level on easy mode that's how bad I am. However, I can see it is a fun game, and I can see how this game’s multiplayer was popular for a time. However, I dare not go there as I fear that I may be utterly stomped by a player who has had several years more practice than I have at this game.

Apotheon playtime: 4 hours

Apotheon is the story of one greek guy not named kratos going to olympus to kick the butts of all the greek gods. The most striking thing anyone playing this game will notice is the artstyle. It is drawn to resemble Greek pottery paintings. You know the kind. The ones that depict Hercules doing his trials or some other greek hero doing something impressive. Anyway, story. The earth has been screwed over by the gods because chronic rapist Zeus decided to revoke humanity’s access to the things that are necessary to life. Hera picks you as her champion then sends you to mt Olympus to gather the gifts of the gods and maybe smack some sense into her cheating husband along the way. The game play is a 2D mix of dark souls and metroidvania games that are so prevalent in the modern day. However, Apotheon came out before the current wave of soulslikes so there is some small growing pains. Combat is kinda clunky and your character can sprint at 30 miles an hour but immediately slows down to a crawl whenever he so much as touches a staircase. Combat as mentioned before is mildly clunky. It uses a physics engine to do all its swings and stabs. Heavy weapons like a club have a wide swing arc and is directed by which way you tilt the left analog stick. The Reliance on physics to get the job done can lead to some interesting results. I saw one raider in the first area get launched into space after being double teamed by me and a friendly malita man. Apotheon is an interesting game with a stunning artstyle and compelling exploration. Which in this modern age of soulslike metroidvanias, is all you really need to stand out.

Aquaria play time: 1 hour

Speaking of metroidvanias, Aquaria. As the name suggests, the game is an underwater metroidvania mostly concerned with puzzle solving over combat. You play as Naija, a lonely fish lady who can use the power of song to do magic. As a fish lady, you can swim around the oceanic caverns with relative freedom. The game wants to be played with a mouse and keyboard, as my attempt to play it with a controller was thwarted swiftly. As is fitting for a game where the protagonist’s main power is singing, the game has a killer soundtrack. In the little bit ive heard when I was playing, it was some pretty good music. Visuals are decent. The game has a hand painted aesthetic, however some of the animations are kinda stiff and stilted. This game was originally released in 2007 after all. Small indie metroidvanias were not knocking it out of the park yet in terms of animation yet (im sure someone will correct me on that point eventually…) the small amount I played had me swimming around a claustrophobic map going around and solving puzzles that lead me to new areas and new song powers. One of the first i got was the ability to pull around large rocks. The second allowed me to transform into an old fish goddess and shoot energy missiles at hostile fish. While the game is focused on puzzles and exploration, that doesn't mean it is devoid of combat. I feel as this is the weakest part of what i played. I gave up on the game when i died to a puzzle boss who’s apparent solution didn't work. There is probably a lot I didn't see in my short time with the game. There is a whole cooking mechanic that I didn't fully grasp, as well as pets and the ability to decorate the main character’s house with special decorations you found out in the world. I may revisit this game at some later point, but for now its going back into the backlog as I search for more interesting games with less obtuse boss fights.

Armello playtime 2 hours

Armello is yet another digital board game. Set in a fantasy version of zootopia, the king of the land has fallen ill with the Rot. and all the clans of the land have sent their strapingest of adventurers to go and try and claim the throne for themselves. This can be done in one of four ways. Having the most honour points (gained by killing other players, or completing quests), gather four spirit stones and cleansing the king of Rot, having the most Rot yourself, or just straight up murdering the king. In the few matches I have played, the easiest one to achieve is the Honour victory, although that might just be my play style. Like most board games, rounds are taken in turns. Each player has a certain amount of hexes they can move, and landing on spaces will have different effects. Most events that happened as a result of landing on a space are luck based. “Perils” have you rolling dice, quests have you selecting from a circle of icons trying to pick the one that will net you a reward, and a random spinner that could give you anything from rot to gold to teleport you to the other side of the map. Once everyone has had their turn, day turns to night and new monsters spawn on the board. When the sun rises again, the king dies a little from his fantasy aids and gives the person with the most honor points the choice between two Decrees which will most likely be terrible for everyone involved. On top of all this, players have access to a hand of three cards. Which have various effects. Proper use of your cards can lead to victory or defeat depending on who you're playing as. Armello has an online mode, but like the other online modes in this batch of games, I dare not touch for fear of getting crushed. The game also has an online store where you can buy new skins for your dice and new character packs. It's a fun little board game, but im putting it on the shelf for now because i’ve had my fill and have no friends to play it with.

#Anomaly warzone earth #games #video games #writing #review #reviews #Apotheon #Armello #antihero #aquaria #board games #metroidvania

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thornfield13713 · 7 years

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5 hcs about an au where Belle is a boy (you already did female rumple)

So I did - I’m assuming that you don’t want the role-reversal aspect as well, so here goes. Also - I have a personal grudge against the name ‘Beau’, and, in any case, it sounds a bit too modern for the character. I may use it for this world’s ‘Lacey’ equivalent, who….well, if canon!Lacey was Rizzo from Grease, Beau is liable to be more like one of the guys from that movie. So, male Belle’s real name is here going to be ‘Benedict’ because…well, it’s on my list of French male names, it suits him and also I just like the name,

1. Young Sir Benedict of Avonlea is in a very different situation to Lady Belle of Avonlea. As the son of a minor noble, he is expected to fight, where Belle is kept behind the lines, and he has had much more access to education than Belle might have done. At the very least, he has not had to fight for the right to be educated in politics, strategy, and all he needs to be the next lord of his father’s lands. When Rumpelstiltskin offers his bargain, then, Benedict is part of a group of fighters who have just fallen back to the castle, bringing with them the last survivors of the fall of Avonlea. He’s seen his share of war and horror against the ogres, and may suffer from a bad case of PTSD that he’s trying desperately to cover up. And a chance to end this awful war, where he’s seen friend after friend die around him to buy seconds more time for their people to get away…he would do anything for that. A lifetime enslaved to Rumpelstiltskin seems like a small price to pay in comparison to all the death he has seen already.

2. Rumpelstiltskin is a lot more hostile towards Benedict than towards Belle, mostly due to his own issues with war and with nobles, particularly noble men, and particularly noblemen who are also battle commanders. He’s never quite got past his hatred of the men who drove him off to war all those centuries ago. A lot of barbs about honour and glory and all the reason to spend men’s lives get thrown around in the early days, until it becomes clear that Benedict is a) haunted by his wartime experiences, b) the sort of commander who actually thought of his men first and c) actually decent enough company. He’s even worse at being a household servant - in this case, Rumpelstiltskin’s valet - than Belle was, as a noblewoman would at least have learnt how to sew, but he was intelligent and seemed almost unable to stop himself from arguing with Rumpelstiltskin whenever he thought Rumpel was wrong. And…well, after a few centuries, finding men attractive stops being nearly as big a deal as it was when Rumpelstiltskin was young, and still caught up in this world’s very medieval ideas about homosexuality. On Benedict’s side…well, he’s a young nobleman, and so expected to sleep around a bit, and with no women other than camp followers for miles and no desire to get one of said followers pregnant and feel obliged by his honour to marry her, it seemed more prudent to sleep with other men while on campaign, where no-one would bat an eye at a couple of soldiers finding comfort together so long as they were discreet about it.

3. As I mentioned in my lesbian Rumbelle post, the Enchanted Forest is mostly inspired by Victorian takes on the middle ages, and its attitudes to homosexuality follow suit. Regina is a product of said times, and so her attitude shifts. She knows of relations between men, because they are considered a criminal offence and she has seen men hang for it before, even under Leopold, although such matters were not often brought before the king. It is also considered impossible for True Love to exist between two men in anything but a platonic sense. It doesn’t take long for her to notice something between Rumpelstiltskin and his valet, but the ‘induce TLK’ plan does not come into her head because she does not seriously believe it to be a possibility. Benedict does end up kissing Rumpel - and still gets turned out even without Regina’s interference because Rumpel’s issue was far less ‘I think you’re a plant’ than ‘I am desperately in love with you and that scares me because love has always hurt me before’. Regina still captures Benedict and tells Rumpel that he’s dead, hanged for sodomy upon his return to his people, because the ‘True Love’ aspect is less important to Belle’s imprisonment than that she is someone Rumpel cared about enough to lose his cool - possibly fatally - if she were to be killed in front of him, and the same applies here.

4. This follows over into Storybrooke, where Benedict’s situation is about the same as Belle’s in all respects until the curse breaks and Jefferson (who has a pretty shrewd idea of what’s going on with Rumpel and his manservant from his time working for the Dark Castle) lets him go. They reunite at the wishing well, return to town, and the wraith thing happens. Ben is every bit as angry and disappointed as Belle was in canon, but the thing is, women in society even today are encouraged not to show anger because it invites accusations of irrationality. Men have no such social issues in place, and this changes the way Ben reacts to anger as opposed to Belle - Belle tries to stay calm and leaves when she can no longer control her temper, because she is used to being dismissed - by her father, by Gaston - whenever she does. Benedict has no such compunctions and is quite willing to get into an impassioned argument with Rumpelstiltskin about the whole ‘getting revenge on Regina’ thing. While Belle and Rumpel do argue in canon, it always seems to end with Belle leaving and coming back, because that is the only way she is used to being able to get her point across. Ben is used to having his words listened to, and so he stays and he uses them, allowing him and Rumpel to hash out their issues a lot earlier. It’s still not an ideal situation, but things move a lot faster because of the role societal expectations play in both worlds.

5. Benedict’s reunion with his father also goes differently to Belle’s. Maurice seems never to have really respected his daughter, because…well, once again, Enchanted Forest patriarchy. He might respect his son’s judgement a little more, at least enough not to have him kidnapped, but his reaction to the Rumpel thing is going to be so much worse. Because his daughter going off with a monster is bad enough, he might eventually get a marriage alliance out of it but that’s the only silver lining, but his son taking up with a male sorcerer who beat him half to death? Oh, hell, no. Probably he is still going to assume it’s all Rumpel’s fault, but the kidnapping probably isn’t going to happen because he and Smee are two older, heavyset men trying to drag off a knight twenty years their junior who has actually been taught how to fight, rather than a tiny, rather delicate-looking woman with no formal training. On the other hand, Benedict is still pretty willowy and has been a prisoner for a long time, so that one might go either way.

#rumbelle #once upon a time #belle #belle french #Rumpelstiltskin #mr gold

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limejuicer1862 · 4 years

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Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.

The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Shaindel Beers

is author of the poetry collections A Brief History of Time (Salt Publishing, 2009), The Children’s War and Other Poems (Salt, 2013), and Secure Your Own Mask (White Pine Press, 2018). Her poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She is currently an instructor of English at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Oregon, in eastern Oregon’s high desert, and serves as poetry editor of Contrary.

Yiu can buy a signed copy of her latest book directly from her: http://shaindelbeers.com You can also purchase her books on Amazon, B&N, etc.

The Interview

When and why did you start writing poetry?

I think that most writers probably start as kids because everyone finds their art that helps them process things. Some people paint, some people dance, some people write. Poetry was the least structured and most free, so I think it chose me. My first poem I wrote, not for an assignment, was at about age ten when my cousin shot my dog. I was really distraught, and that was the way I channeled it. It was a poem with the refrain “And the cold wind blows.”

Who introduced you to poetry?

I read the regular “kids’ poetry” we all find in our elementary school readers, but I think my greatest discovery was finding my mom’s college textbooks of The Victorian Era Poets , and a volume of Byron, Keats, and Shelley. Those are what I would consider my first poetry idols, and I’m forever indebted to the Romantics, especially.

How are you “indebted”?

I learned to really value nature and nature imagery in my poetry. The egalitarian bent of their works spoke to me, and the view of the poet as the spokesman for the Everyman. I think we can look at a lot of poets who influenced us and see the wisdom of the Romantics in that. Who hasn’t gone hiking or seen a breathtaking spot in nature and thought of Wordsworth?

What is your daily writing routine?

I actually don’t have one. I do try to write whenever my students are writing. So, if I’m teaching poetry and give students a poetry prompt, I write with them. If I’m teaching fiction and give them a fiction prompt, I write with them. Otherwise, I just write whenever I can, especially if I have an idea that feels like I must get it down on paper.

What motivates you to write?

I think Robert Frost put it best when he said, “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” Sometimes you just feel something, and poetry is the only way to channel that.

How do the writers you read when you were young influence your work today?

I think they gave me an intellectual curiosity, especially about nature. They taught me to look at the world closely, to notice a single lady bug on a Queen Anne’s Lace to listen to the sound of a river rushing around a bend and burbling over rocks. They taught me how to really see the world.

Which writers gave you this “intellectual curiosity”?

You can look at the beginning of William Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence,” and it’s all there:

To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour

Or any of the details in Wordsworth’s “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey”:

Five years have past; five summers, with the length Of five long winters! and again I hear These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs With a soft inland murmur.—

I don’t think you can read those poems and not want to go out and explore nature on your own…

Whom of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

There are so many. Jenn Givhan’s work continues to blow me away. I’ve read all of her poetry, but I have to admit I haven’t read her fiction yet. I have her novel, Trinity Sight, on its way to me now and can’t wait to read it. I love her blending of her Latinx culture and myth, her personal life. It’s so powerful. I can’t wait to see what she does with sci-fi.

I continue to be amazed by Kelly Sundberg and Alice Anderson, who both wrote memoirs that were, for me, in some ways life-changing. Kelly’s honest, complex treatment of an abusive marriage was so powerful, and the beauty of language that Alice wrote in her memoir will always stay with me. I think it’s easy to feel like you have a “big story” and forget about the beauty of language, but each word in Alice’s memoir was like the finest brush stroke on a painting.

Why do you write, as opposed to doing anything else?

I still enjoy other arts. I sing with a local chorale, and I’m learning to do fiber arts with loom knitting. I think it’s unfair to assume that artists don’t work in various media. Writing is among the easiest arts for anyone to try because you don’t really need any “tools,” like you do with visual arts or instrumental music, but I do think we should all take part in as many artistic endeavours as we can to discover what we enjoy and what we feel drawn to.

What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

I really feel like there is only one piece of advice. You have to read. Read everything in your chosen genre that you can get your hands on, and then read everything in your non-fiction interests, whatever those may be because those are your passions, and they’ll find their way into your work, so you’ll want to know everything about them you can. If your interest is nature — read nature books, science journals, etc. If your interest is history, read history and biographies. That’s the only way you can do a deep dive into your work.

Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

I recently took Kathy Fish’s Fast Flash Workshop, which was AMAZING, so I’ve been working on sending out those short stories. I tend to switch back and forth between genres. Since the big push to get my third (poetry) book out there and spend time promoting it, I wanted to switch gears and work on fiction for a while. I’ve been working with an editor on one piece, and she’s had such insightful questions for me. I hope to really hone this particular story into something special and can’t wait to see what it becomes!

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Shaindel Beers Wombwell Rainbow Interviews I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me.

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sky-on-blog · 7 years

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Have you ever had the chicken pox? Yes. I vividly remember having to miss a parade we were doing for Girl Scouts where we got to dress as Beanie Babies because I got the chicken pox. :( Ironically, it was right after my teacher had asked who hadn’t gotten the chicken pox shot. I raised my hand, and she was like, “You’re next.” And I remember feeling like, so offended for some reason, lol. But of course, I got sick pretty much immediately after.

How often do you do laundry? Usually once a week -- whenever I get a day off work, and can remember to do it.

Have you ever been evicted? No, but this is the first place I’ve lived in where it would actually be possible for me, personally, to be evicted.

Would you grow your own garden? Probably not. I don’t have the patience, and I’m not really into plants like that -- or fruits and vegetables, to be honest.

Do you know anyone who snores? Of course -- my dad does, and Jeremy does sometimes, and I know that I do at least sometimes.

What is your favorite font? I like Tahoma.

Do you know what a wombat is? Yes! They’re cute.

Would you make a good movie critic? Probably not, just because I like movies for weird reasons and can’t usually put into words why I like or dislike them. I also sometimes enjoy objectively bad movies.

What goal are you aiming for this year? I want to save up enough money to buy annual passes to Disney World. Dream big, right?

Are you currently reading any books at the moment? No. I was going to start reading “Tales of Beedle the Bard” but...I haven’t.

When I say ‘foxy lady’ what comes to mind? A fox wearing a dress. That’s a dumb saying.

Would you have liked to have lived during the Victorian times? Nope. The lack of technology would kill me. Also the sexism.

Would you own a Siamese cat? Sure, I guess?

Do you like deviled eggs? Sometimes. I have to be in the mood for them, though. Sometimes the texture gets to me.

What tends to upset you? Well, besides the usual sexism, racism, homophobia, etc...the way I look. Being told to lose weight. Being told to smile. Rudeness.

What’s the farthest you’ve walked? Not very far, lol. Maybe like, two miles.

What is your favorite horror movie? A Nightmare On Elm Street.

What does your favorite shirt look like? I don’t think I have a favorite shirt.

Is your life like a daily routine? Inadvertently, I guess.

Were you ever told as a child if you eat carrots you’ll have pretty eyes? Pretty eyes? No. I was told that if I drank carrot juice, I’d get X-ray vision. Didn’t convince me to drink carrot juice, though.

What career are you most interested in? I would love to write for a TV show, or to be a voice actor (even though I’d be awful at it in every possible way). But I’d basically have to move to California or New York.

Have you ever seen a rooster? You know, I’m not sure whether or not I’ve ever seen one in person. I want to say that I have, but I don’t know where I would have.

What time do you usually wake up? Two hours before I have to go to work, or like...2-3 pm.

What made you feel most accomplished in your life so far? Not a lot, honestly. I haven’t accomplished very much.

Have you ever seen a lunar eclipse? Uh. Maybe. I’m not sure. Probably.

What are you allergic to? Dust. And, my throat closes up when I go from somewhere that’s really cold to somewhere that’s really hot?

Do you ever feel like people hold things you do or say against you? Well, yeah. I feel like that’s just a common occurrence, especially like, at work and stuff -- just when dealing with people in general.

What can’t you afford but wish you could? Annual passes to Disney. And a vacation. And probably a bunch of other things.

What is your favorite Daft Punk song? Hm. Probably One More Time, or Da Funk.

Do you know anything about Watts? Not really, no. I mean, I know that’s how the strength of light bulbs is measured?

How many miles are on your car? I actually have no idea. I haven’t checked in a while. Over 70k, I think.

What is your favorite scent to smell around this time of year? I have pretty much no sense of smell, so...but a few smells that I can smell and enjoy are coffee and the ocean. Neither of which are very seasonal.

How many lamps are in your room? You know, I don’t think there are any lamps in our bedroom...lol. We just use the light on the ceiling fan.

Do you own a flare gun? I don’t own any type of gun.

What is one thing you usually have in common with some people? I rarely have anything in common with people. I mean, there’s the fact that we’re both people.

What is your favorite number? Probably eleven. I also like seven, and eight, and 28.

What is your favorite type of museum? The ones that have animals and dinosaur bones.

Have you ever been inside the Statue of Liberty? Nope. I’ve been to New York, but I haven’t really been close to the Statue of Liberty.

Ever felt like you were being held hostage? Not that I can recall.

What is your favorite candy bar? Crunch, or Kit Kats.

What is your favorite book you’ve read this year? I haven’t read any books yet this year, lol.

If you had children or do would you tell them the truth about Santa Claus? Hmm. I’m not entirely sure, but I think I’ll probably do the whole Santa thing. But if they ask, I’ll tell them the truth.

What color are your slippers? I don’t own any slippers. My feet get hot way too easily, so if I’m home, I’m barefoot.

#survey

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