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#mass effect's main draw is not inherently complex mechanics
adozentothedawn · 10 months
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Thoughts about Rogue Trader so far:
Well that sure was the fastest promotion I've ever gotten. xD I'm kinda sad about it, I was hoping for a mean space mom, but I'll take it.
I like the characters so far! Although Abelard does not appear as space dad either for now, but that's alright he's still cool. As are Indira and Argentum.
I am a bit confused by the gameplay and am uncertain how much of that is just Warhammer things I don't get or strange choices. I'm sure the "wounds" label probably comes from ttp so whatever, but the fact the whole characteristics and skills thing seems a bit unbalanced to me for now considering that Int controlls nearly half of all skills alone. But maybe I'll know better once I've gotten a better handle of it. It just seems unintuitive as a whole right now. I like the combat though! Might turn the difficulty a bit higher even, I'd like to get a bit more of a challenge I think. (That said, story mode does do what it's supposed to. It should be extremely easy, I just changed my mind on what I want) Still somewhat confusing like the hologram thing I think might not entirely work as intended but I'll get a handle on it.
Main criticism for now: This game is badly optimizied. Apparently that is a notorious Unity sin so I won't blame them too much, but I do hope they'll patch it soon, this game should not make my cooler run louder than BG3. Turning off v-synch and putting a lower fps cap has helped for now, but come on.
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twitchesandstitches · 6 years
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When it comes to this "thicc crossover AU", will the girls from Monster Musume be there too? What about digimon since they're interdimentional beings (and in a scrapped script for Adventure02 they were supposed to arrive from space) or maybe humanized version of the Godzilla kaijus? (Ghidorah, Gigan, Megalon, SpaceGodzilla and many others either comes from space or have been in space.) Or what about Rayman, Warcraft or Skyrim?
The answer to all of these is a BIG RESOUNDING YES.The first relevant detail is that in the thicc crossover AU, ya gotta be sure whether it refers to membership in the MILF fleet or not; they’re a large group, but they don’t comprise every group in everything, ever, that i personally happen to like! They may be part of other factions, antagonist or otherwise, or be people they meet along the way, or groups with their own agendas, doing their own thing.
Additionally, I lean towards some things where I don’t much care for groups in general or know much abou the canon, but i find species really interesting, and in which case, those species form large amounts of background characters; different factions might have a lot of monster girls, orks, or elves or Digimon somewhere in the background. So even if specific characters aren’t mentioned, the species certainly are there somewhere.
Monster Musume - In this case, the monster people of Monster Musume are explicitly the same kind of beings as the monsters of Undertale, and are either a seperate sub-group tha tsplit off from an analogue to the kingdom of Asgore a long time ago, or have attempted to coexist with humans, possibly in various dangerous environments where they protect humans in exchange for the humans being their lovers to reproduce the monster girls. I have an AU of Monster Musume with a MILF vibe, where the monster gals of canon are notably older than Kimihito and protect him, and the idea of a polyamorous relationship is set up from the beginning. They’re also much bigger than in canon, with even Papi dwarfing a human (and being a major shortstack, to boot), and far more monstrous and inhuman in appearance, leaning more towards the ‘monster’ part of the equation.
As Undertale-style monsters, these gals are effectively masses of living magic, perhaps being species that in the AU taken on a form that has some weight in the collective consciousness; hence, monster girls adopting forms similar to human mythological concepts. They are thus vulnerable to raw hatred, but are enormously powerful, not to mention curvaceous. But that goes without saying in this AU. Assume that the monsters in general are huge, towering over humans by several times.
My interest in the series is limited to mostly liking the fan art, that slice of life monster girl series that preceded it, reading a few chapters, and liking minor character like Cathyl and Tionishia. Consequently, most of the characters of significance are not part of the MILF fleet, though they may be part of associated groups that could merge with them over time or are considered cousin fleets. They’d likely be allies, but not part of the core group? Tionishia would be an exception, and definitely part of the main group. If you like, I can go into more detail about how the monster girls differ from canon, in their size and monstery looks.
Digimon: an interesting case! Digimon was one of my biggest and first true fandoms (alongside Transformers, Gargoyles and similar series, which may explain why i love nonhuman protags so much), so of course they gotta be in here somewhere. In this case, I’m drawing a bit on the old notion of Cyberspace that was used a lot in Digimon, and while I’ve mentioned this before, it bears repeating.
The Digital World here is effectively the old concept of cyberspace as its own realm; all data and information takes on a life of its own, and the Digimon are self-aware emanations of this realm, effectively AIs with inherent power that may or may not be magic-ish in nature. Mostly the tone is inspired by the original Digimon world, with aspects from the first two seasons and Tamers: Digimon are effectively immortal, having a symbiotic relationship with the mortal planes; cyberspace is basically born in individual servers, and may take on its own life if those servers ceased to function, but it would be a chaotic and distressed life.
All Digimon that are canon, and plenty that aren’t, can be in the AU as background characters, with a few rules. Firstly, Digimon normally do not enter into the physical world on their own, existing mostly within the realms of cyberspace. They can slot into mechanical bodies or upload themselves into robots and operate them, but they don’t have any special powers; however, they do have access to a lot of computing power, and serve as the dedicated AI networks of the fleet’s ships, maintaining things for everyone, regarding it as diving into a strange and alien world.
Digievolution levels might be based on an individual Digimon’s complexity, and most spend their time in Rookie or Champion levels, stabilizing there; they can digivolve into stronger forms, but this doesn’t often last long, and as they weaken, they will enter weaker forms until they hit Baby and In-Training, and then must recuperate. ADditionally, they are becoming less complex as they devolve, and find the experience unpleasant, like losing bits of your mind for a while. (if you’re familiar with eclipse phase, they are basically infomorphs.)
Some Digimon can assume hyper curvy monster girl forms, if it pleases their aesthetics. Rarely, they can directly materailize into the physical realm, though this often requires a partner to help them, and its often a revolving set of different people they happen to be friends with. Common Digimon include Guilmon and Tentomon, and canon characters, including Digimon, are present throughout the AU in the different factions, though fairly different from canon; Digi-Destined is not a relevant thing here. They might be technicians working closely with the Digimon or explorers into the data realms, though.
Godzilla: I’m also including Gamera here. And yes, it’s very possible! In this AU, the kaiju of Godzilla and similar series are all canon, and are explicitly divine entities that embody concepts predating humanity. They are god-like figures that don’t hate humans, and at worst are indifferent to them, perhaps embodying the need to achieve symbiosis with the world rather than attempting to dominate it (and the hubris to follow). The ‘Good Kaiju’, such as Godzilla and their followers, may regard humans with vague interest, such as one might give to ants that spell out your name, and don’t mean them harm. They are likely worshiped across the cosmos, and have no direct link to the fleet; Godzilla or GAmera might have some connection to the fleet, but it may be as incredibly potent summons they might put enormous effort into calling forth… and since this involves being pregnant with the being in question before they are ready to materialize, this is a heavy duty. The kaiju might then take on some of the summoner’s characteristics, and take a shine to them.
The malicious monsetrs, such as Ghidorah, are spare-faring agents of raw destruction, gods of annihilation that wipe away all they see, perhaps as primordial architects of the mysterious cataclysm… or involved in it in some way, in the same way that the ocean is involved in the sinking of Atlantis. It didn’t cause it, but it certainly ended the continent all the same. They can also be hyper curvaceous and giantesses, as that seems to be an aspect of enough magic power in this AU? The villains might pregnancy-summon them in a fashion. Possibly the Cobalts have a kaiju or two in their repertoire, but it would have to be one that is sufficiently mild. Or it might be something like Destroyah, a hyper curvy monster girl in their hands, that has been tamed and soothed by their attention. She’s something like their kraken now, or even toes their flagship while slumbering, awakening only when they want something to feed her bloodlust?
Rayman: I can see Rayman being it’s own world/demiplane within the realms of magic, Rayman himself as a kind of protector golem (which is sorta canon) and the fairies as magical lords over their world, with the world itself as their domain. Of these, Edith Up is likely to be the most relevant because have you seen her, she is ADORABLE. The Razorbeard Pirates can certainly make suitable space pirate antagonists, perhaps as part of a criminal organization that tends towards more malicious deeds than suits the like of the Cobalts.
Warcraft: The Blizzard franchises are all looped together here, Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and the other Heroes of The Storm games are part of a complicated network of alliances, rivalries and foes right by a particuarlly nasty magic rift where all kinds of power leaks from across the planes. Celetials and fiends can emerge here, embodiments of justice and evil alike, and have orchestrated terrible wars and conflict, and so the events of Warcraft may have happened in such a fashion; orcs (or orks) were manipulated by demons that are efffectively the Burning Legion but with a more Diablo aspect into war against the Alliance (a faction of humans, human relations, eldar, and others, all tightly tied to magic more than other spacefaring human societies) in a desperate hunt for a new homeland. Thrall emerged as per canon, rising up and uniting the dispossed into a true Horde looking out for each other, and is heading a tentative alliance between the various good-ish forces against the literal demons from Hell, including the Starcraft, Overwatch and other Blizzard properties.
Name a Horde race, and it likely has denizens aboard the fleet, as well as the other factions present. Something similar would apply for the other factions throughout. Named characters are trickier, since I don’t know much about them in general; the united group of Heroes of the Storm are likely their own entity, and big enough to serve as a proper sci fi fleet that can stop demons and monsters from escaping that area of space, and may regard it as their duty to protect the rest of the multiverse from letting those things get loose. Alextrasza, however, is an exception; I’ve read about her and cool badass dragon mom who is kind to all beings and once swallowed a bad guy whole, WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT HER SOONER. She is definitely on the fleet, but in what capacity I’m not sure.
Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls setting is likely a lage expanse of space, heavily influenced with raw magical energy, but considering the weirdness of the original setting, it might also do as a demi-plane within the magical realms. In any case, the gods and daedra are likely to be worshiped throughout the multiverse. Malacath might have some vague approval of the milf fleet, while Molog Baal is a major antagonist because he FUCKING DESERVES IT THE ASSHOLE. Possibly some of the mightiest fleet moms are plotting to devour him and take his power for their own, or the goddesses associated with the fleet are deliberately scheming to do just that. Sanguine, in contrast, is probably backing the Cobalts for the fun of it.
The races in the Elder Scrolls can make up a wide variety of background characters throughout the cosmos; in general, assume that if you’re talking about actual elf ethnic background, think in terms of Elder Scrolls, with different elf types as more cultural or faction-themed. Dunmer are very common, and make up most of the eldar on the MILF fleet, for instance. The orsimer are orks,with a greater emphasis on martial honor and ferocity, and may be magically altered by a connection to Malacath specifically; perhaps descended from orks thatt revered him and took his essence into themselves. The Cobalts might have Snow Elves and Aldmer as a lot of the elves on their group due to them moving in the areas where those elves have settled over the eons. Argonians are also pretty common in the fleet!
The Empire is known as the Cyrodillic Imperium, and has way more influences from the real life inspirations of the different cultures in the Elder Scrolls to fit a more diverse, old society like a proper space opera should have, and the Aldmeri Dominion is probably the asshole elves you expect.
I’m not sure how to handle the specific characters, but some examples: update the Skyrim Civil War o be a cosmic battle, with the Stormcloaks as a rebel fleet with Ulfric as a somewhat sympathetic warlord. He might be an antagonist, but not one with morals opposed to the fleet; he’s just a human-centric ruler with little interest for others that aren’t ‘his people’. The dragons in general, especially Alduin, would be way more eldritch horror here, with optional hyper busty monster girl forms. With an element of kaiju; they’re probably big enough to wreck starships and can exist in space.
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Short Paper 3
In our class's discussions of inequality as a disparity between two groups we analyze a number of factors that differentiate these groups. Poverty, ethnicity, and race are among the main factors. For race, the discourse is viscous with authors who have written about the black struggle, black power, and freedom in the U.S. In looking at racial inequality, we have read from Lucius T. Outlaw, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B Du Bois, James Baldwin, and other notable authors. I aim to synthesize some the literature we have explored and examine its relation to the situation of African-Americans with some of my own thoughts.
The trend over the past century has shown that Americans and especially white Americans in positions of change are reluctant to address issues pertaining to race unless confronted with a radical movement or attempt to depart from the status quo. These have taken the form of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, Los Angeles Riots, and recently the BLACKLIVESMATTER discourse. Even when confronted, with the outrage of the masses in such movements, white policymakers neglect to direct the root of the grievances presented (that is racialized injustice). Policy solutions are tepid at best, and usually come at the expense of lives by murder or assassination (see: Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).
There are a number of theorized explanations for this evident reluctance to engage in problem-solving. Lucius Outlaw presents one such explanation, which is the notion that white America finds any discussion of race to be profoundly uncomfortable and therefore wants to end these discussions as quickly as possible. Outlaw claims that any discussion of raciality is inherently contentious and therefore divisive. If absolute national unity is a goal within a state, then raciality poses a threat to that goal (Outlaw 137). White liberals would instead favor the principle of 'multiculturalism' for the state. Under multiculturalism, various ethnic and racial identities coexist in a society that values all of them equitably. This model is favored by white liberals because it allows them to maintain the favor of the system which they will have created and allows them to continuously reap benefits of privilege. While other minority groups will make concessions to survive under multiculturalism, white people would not have to make sacrifices. This system makes a white utopia of privilege without resistance from the oppressed because the oppressed have been incorporated. White racism is at the heart of white people's desire to maintain their privilege through whatever system. Outlaw points to modernism as the main culprit for this entrenched perspective. He claims that because of the modernist ideologies, the white liberal is prone to claim 'colorblindness', or an unwillingness to see accidental differences like race. Instead, the white liberal would rather consider the essence of a person, or the invisible merits and character which make up every human. This modernist strategy erases the actual struggles faced by African-Americans to guarantee universal tacit compliance with the white liberal regime.
Cornel West explores the vehicles of oppression of African-Americans in modernity. Crucially, he points to Christianity as one complex mechanism for oppression. Drawing on Nietzsche's idea that Christianity is best suited to an oppressed population, West claims that African-Americans are drawn to the "against-the-evidence hope for triumph over evil" narrative within the religion (West 62). The complexity of Protestantism as an oppressive tool comes from its effectiveness in garnering believers. Due to its success among African-Americans, many have found the church to be a means for leadership and self-identification in the community (West 63). The idea that African-Americans have a proclivity for Christianity because of the regular oppression that they face is reminiscent of Sherman James' concept of John Henryism. John Henryism proclaims that African-Americans have a means of coping with stress and preserving their mental health at the expense of their physiological health. It refers to the legend of John Henry, who worked himself to death, but was fortuitous until the bitter end. This theory is often used to justify black survivability in the prison industrial complex, and the fact that black Americans have a shorter life expectancy than white Americans. This idea, rooted in a racist paradigm, explains why some see African-Americans as susceptible to Protestantism, and is the foundation for why that functions as a tool for oppression.
The discourse around escaping oppression is filled with a bevy of different voices. Two of the most instrumental voices have been Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois. Booker T. Washington is credited with developing the Atlanta Compromise, in which he tries to reconcile the American North, the American South, and the African-American population in a sort of political compromise. In this treatise he calls upon black Americans to postpone pushing for voting rights and civil liberties and rather focus their energy on amassing wealth and skills in the industrial complex (Du Bois 40-41). Du Bois, on the other hand, advocates a sort of Kantian self-realization whereby African-Americans work to secure rights, education, and the freedom to move up in society along with white Americans. Cornel is critical of both Washington's and Du Bois' approaches, as he claims that both of them aim to serve the capitalist power structure, at the top of which is the white man (West 66-67). Outlaw as well criticizes Kantian and liberal ideas of self-realization as ultimately unproductive and white-serving. My personal favorite call to action for African-Americans comes from Steve Biko. Although Biko writes for South Africa and from a South African perspective, his message resonates with the American condition. For black people he blends a firm critique of liberalism with a spin on self-realization. He argues in favor of black self-realization, but not to the standard set forth by whites. Rather, they should aspire to define their own authentic goals for self-actualization. Biko's thesis counters the noble savage narrative and tears down respectability politics to provide freedom on one's own terms, rather than on the terms of white capitalist society. In my own opinion, Biko's call to arms offers a most elegant and authentic means of escape from oppression.
The continued subjugation of black Americans under the U.S. power structure has changed a lot since the era of slavery. As tumultuous movements have pushed for more and more rights for black people, decision makers have found ways to evade the actual objections of its citizens and partially appease protesters with patchwork legislation and false promises. Black protest movements increasingly encroach upon the capitalist ideology and threaten the absolute power of white Americans. It seems that movements are beginning to demand a reality like that presented by Biko, and that could be the final frontier for African-American protests.
Works Cited
Biko, Steve. "The Definition of Black Consciousness." I Write What I Like. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2002. 48-53.
Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Norton, 1999.
Outlaw, Lucius T. On Race and Philosophy. New York: Routledge, 1996.
West, Cornel. The Cornel West Reader. New York: Basic Civitas, 1999.
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