#this is aimed at one particular person if you see this i've succeeded

[go-to-the-mirror]

Something about the War Doctor's whole... thing about not deserving his name as the Doctor and then Martha being like "well I think being a Doctor is something you earn" and then Ten's like "well I better start earning it" and then becoming better because of her. or something.

[mllemaenad]

Wait, I'm confused - if the Institute succeeded in the goal of the original FEV trials by creating synths, why on earth are they still doing FEV experiments right up until Dr Virgil leaves?

I mean, you're not any more confused than the people doing the research. The terminal entries all contain complaints about how pointless this is. :)

But okay. What's actually going on there? Two things, I think.

First off: just because you've successfully completed a project doesn't mean it's done forever. They first rolled out power armour in 2067, but people keep making new kinds of power armour (I wish they'd stop. I hate power armour. But they do.). Research and development on synths is still ongoing – it's just handled by the Robotics department. They're likely still using FEV, but it's just one tool in their kit, rather than the focus of their work.

Nothing new. Always the same. Have entered formal complaint with Directorate; these tests are not bringing in any valuable information. The organics project was spun off decades ago. Why do we insist on continuing this? – Virgil's notes, Progress Reports, Fallout 4

So why are they doing anything with it? Well, I think the first clue comes from the entry from Virgil's predecessor, Syverson:

Latest round of testing complete. Results are all within expected parameters. Informed Dr. Zimmer directly, as he had ordered the tests personally. He seemed annoyed with the results; unsure what he was looking for. He declined to specify why he wanted the tests run to begin with. – Syverson's notes, Progress Reports, Fallout 4

We know Zimmer. He was the head of the Synth Retention Bureau. More importantly, he's a character from Fallout 3. Zimmer was part of the quest The Replicated Man, and was specifically in the Capital Wasteland hunting down an escaped courser: A3-21, now going by Harkness. And Harkness is apparently a unique prototype:

This particular android… Designation A3-21, is… different. Special. The most advanced synthetic humanoid I've ever developed. The others, like my escort Armitage there, are all older models. Easily replicated. Ah, but A3-21… it would take years to recreate him! So you see, this android MUST be located. At all costs. The others are all… acceptable losses. But A3-21, he is… irreplaceable. – Dr Zimmer's dialogue, Fallout 3

Zimmer ordered a round of FEV tests, apparently shortly before taking off to Rivet City to attempt to recapture Harkness. What were they for? Well, we can't know exactly, which is kind of the point. FEV research at the Institute has been thoroughly sidelined in favour of "the organics project" so these people are being treated as lackeys and very much left out of the loop. This is at minimum a Robotics project, and may even be some courser-specific SRB-only thing.

We can make some guesses, though.

One possibility is that they were being used as an early phase of testing. Synths in general are valuable: the Institute aims to recapture any gen-3 synth who escapes. A courser would be more valuable still. And Harkness is apparently unique.

We do know that the Institute uses synths for medical testing, but there have to be some rational degrees of risk. Kill a synth, and you will need to use resources to replace them. Kill a kidnapped wastelander and ... well, from the Institute's point of view that's no great loss. If this was a project aimed at improving their more expensive synths (the coursers) then there would be a strong argument for limiting their risk.

This could have been a strain of FEV modified to do something in particular, and they were dosing wastelanders with it first to see if it was lethal or not before they tried it out on a synth.

If this is the case, Zimmer clearly did not get the results he wanted out of the test.

Another possibility is that they were a control group. This was just a normal round of FEV testing, and it's meant to be contrasted with some other thing Zimmer is doing. Again, he clearly didn't get the results he wanted from the tests – but we can't know exactly what he was doing, beyond the fact that he seemed to be working to enhance courser ability and had created at least one prototype.

So, yes, I think that's part of it. The FEV department was being used as a secondary lab for the now more valuable Robotics department, but they largely had no idea what they're doing or where their work fit into the larger picture. This would, yes, be terribly unsatisfying work to be involved in.

But they clearly continued doing these tests even after Zimmer's disappearance, and we don't have strong evidence for SRB involvement once he was gone. So that's the second thing. Because, well, making super mutants was sort of an end in itself, wasn't it?

One of the Institute's major strategies is keeping the Commonwealth in a permanent state of disarray so they can't unite against them. The Sole Survivor eventually pulls at least one faction together enough to do just that – and unless you sell out to them, they go boom.

They use synths for specialist work: Gen-3s to go in and replace wastelanders in order to either spy or run experiments; Gen-1 and Gen-2s to harrass, or to retrieve specific tech, like at University Point. But if you don't have a specific mission in mind and just want to give everyone a very bad day ... well, super mutants are great for that. Low cost to the Institute, because they already have the FEV and kidnapping does not seem to be difficult for them. Maximum grief and chaos for the people on the surface.

And yes, this too would be deeply unsatisfying work. Even setting aside how morally abhorrent all of this, you're not even doing science anymore. You're just in manufacturing. Collect human; dip human; release super mutant. That's got to be an exercise in misery.

But that's exactly how this played out, didn't it? Virgil rebelled after failing to get the project shut down any normal way, and the whole thing was shuttered.

So I do think "confusion" is a reasonable response to the Institute's continued FEV research – but I do think they were doing something with it.

[zelda-the-sacred-realm]

I have a few questions for you!

What inspired you to work on this story and when did you start?

Why are your Links spirits? I mean, is there a particular reason?

How much of your story have you planned so far?

Last question, I have often had the feeling that you have aimed to create something at the level of Zelda games, I think you have really succeeded but is this what you're aiming for?

Thanks for your time I just love your comic!

First of all, thank you for your questions and sorry if I answer only now 🥲

I'll gladly answer your questions ☺️

- The first time I thought about doing this story was in 2017, shortly after playing Botw. I think that game inspired me to imagine what I could create as a sequel.

The basic idea instead I had imagined thanks to the first Hyrule Warrior, when the DLCs with Young Link etc... came out, I thought, Wow! It would be nice to see different Links collaborate! I made the projects during 2017 and started posting something in 2018 on IG.

- Well, my Links are spirits because I wanted them to become wise heroes from the past, so they could train the new hero. Link will face things in this adventure that he could hardly fully understand being a living person, so a team of spirits was the right choice for him 😄. Plus I liked the idea that they might have special spiritual powers! There's also a very important reason, but unfortunately I can't say it, it would be a spoiler

- The story is fully planned, but I'll admit that I recently dreamed something so peculiar that I modified one of the places where Link will be tested. Who am I to deny my mind influencing my story in my sleep 😂.

- Aww you really think this? Thank you! 🥰 I can tell that I really admire Nintendo games so I tried to give my best! I am one person and often it was difficult, I thought I would never reconnect all my ideas, but working on it for several years it allowed me to be able to do it, and I hope you will like it!

After finishing Tears of the kingdom I realized that I went in the right direction, but I still have a lot of work to do.

If there was anything I aspired to do, it was simply to make others happy the way Nintendo makes me, I think that's the best thing ever. And knowing that you love the work I've done makes me very happy, the support of all of you has helped me grow as an artist and for that I will always be grateful!

Thanks so much for your questions! 💖🥰

[plutonium-triestodraw]

Revali's dialogue translated from Canadian French

(I was curious to see how the dialogue would differ in French. I actually highly recommend checking out a video of the dialogue in French. I've only translated Revali's parts so far, but I think the VAs did a really great job).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjP9lZe-Ynw

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

Revali (beginning to Windblight Ganon battle):

Beware that creature of Ganon. I lacked vigilance, 100 years ago. It was a mistake that cost me my life.

(His voice trails off slightly)

It pains me to ask you this, but...

You have to avenge me! You hear me?

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

Revali (after you defeat Windblight Ganon):

No? Don't tell me you managed to defeat it?

(Revali (Prodigy of the Rito))

How annoying you can be. That being said... I have to admit that it's thanks to you that we were freed. I was even able to regain control of Medoh.

Hmm...You did well, I have to admit. A reward is in order, I imagine. I will give you the power of the updrafts! Revali's Rage is now yours!

(Revali yells as he gives his ability to Link)

(Link receives Revali's Gale)

I will now take charge of moving Medoh, and prepare her for our confrontation with Ganon. When you're ready to fight him in Hyrule Castle, we'll both be there to help you. And don't thank me, above all!

(Link begins to disappear, called away by Zelda)

Go ahead, I'm not holding you back. You still have a lot to do, am I wrong?

(Revali turns away)

The princess... She's been waiting for you for so long...

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

(Cutscene plays of Medoh moving into position above Rito Village)

Revali (after moving Medoh):

Good, Medoh... You couldn't choose a better place. From here, you won't risk missing Ganon...

When the weakling confronts him... I'm counting on you to calm this monster in one fell swoop. For now, we have to wait.

Ah... It's been 100 years... 100 years that we've been waiting for this moment, you and me... We're not that close anymore, are we?

(We see Revali standing on Medoh, looking at the castle)

I am obliged to admit that I misjudged him. He may not know how to fly, he made it to the divine creature...

And he succeeded where I failed miserably...I bow Link. You won.

(The camera zooms out, and we see more of Medoh aimed at Ganon in Hyrule castle).

You are our only hope for victory.

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

my god, I love the English voice acting, but the french VA did a great job. I'll translate the other champions' parts too.

In the beginning, when Link is about to fight wind blight, he talks about his "lack of vigilance" and his defeat and truly does sound defeated.

I also think that when he moves Medoh and has his dialogue after that, he sounds pretty sad as well. This line in particular, "Ah... It's been 100 years... 100 years that we've been waiting for this moment, you and me... We're not that close anymore, are we?" really struck me because I don't think he says something similar in English. Personally, I think he might be talking about how isolated he and Medoh were over the last 100 years, or how Medoh was corrupted and therefore they didn't have as good of a connection as they used to. What do you think?

[zazzander]

Hi heard you didn't know what to write about, so I have something

What do you think most of the god's thoughts and feelings were in terms of the war? Like, with the whole mix with Roman and Greek that would be interesting for sure!

We kinda know how Apollo feels/felt about it (I think but I'm not sure), but what about the others?

Thanks for the ask! This is an interesting topic.... I've been thinking about something similar and this reminded me of it.

Apollo

I'll start off with Apollo because we get some stuff from him and I think it’s good to mention.

It's hard to pin down how he felt during the war with the Romans, because as far as I can tell, he was working with the Romans up until the last minute. Post-war, I think he's main feeling is regret. A bit of denial and betrayal and self-blame thrown in there for good measure too. Example:

That stupid boy… it was his fault I was here. A voice whispered in the back of my mind. This time I thought it might be my conscience: Who was the stupid boy? It wasn’t Octavian.

But generally, Apollo doesn't talk much about the war. In the same way he doesn't talk much about Octavian. So, we know a lot less than we should about the topic!

Hera

Next up is Hera since she interferes with the Greeks and Romans the most in the series. Her focus is generally: Unite the camps via my chosen heroes, win the day!

We see her a lot in the first two books, as her plan comes together. She pushes both Jason and Percy into the roles of peacemakers.

“Together, you and Jason will unite the camps.”

But her plans go completely awry in Mark of Athena and she's forced to run from Olympus. The person who ultimately leads the parley between the two camps ends up being Annabeth. Not Jason and Percy. I

In many ways, I don’t even think Juno wanted Annabeth on the quest – she had to be included due to the mark of Athena.

That’s not to say Hera’s plan was perfect. I mean, she did vaporise Jason at one point. But the team certainly didn’t follow her plan in Mark of Athena, so we will never know if it would have worked.

Hera doesn’t show up again until Blood of Olympus. And while this was certainly a setback, she doesn’t blame the heroes. She hasn’t been talking to them because:

“I’ve been forced to hide from Jupiter, who searches for me in his misguided wrath, believing that I caused this war with Gaea.”

Ultimately, Hera does succeed through her Seven. And celebrates their victory:

“But my heroes… you have triumphed over the giants as I knew you would. My plan succeeded beautifully.”

For Hera, the war between the Greeks and Romans seems to have been a minor setback, one for her heroes to overcome. In true divine fashion, she does pretend it was all part of the plan and claims credit in the end. Still, I think we can agree that she was the biggest supporter of peace out of all the Olympians.

Ares

The same cannot be said for her son, Ares.

“Juno aims to unite the Greeks and Romans and send them against the giants. She believe it’s the only way to stop Gaia.” Mars shrugged, clearly unconvinced of the plan.

Overall, I think Ares sided with Zeus. We see him operate as Jupiter’s messenger in Son of Neptune, sending specific members on the quest. Mars chose Frank, yes, but not because he believed in Hera’s plan but because Frank is his son.

After MoA, it’s clear that Ares doesn’t mind the fighting, encourages it even. He’s a war god after all! Perhaps he even sensed that the war between the two camps was inevitable – hence the shrug earlier.

After all, Leo had started the war with Camp Jupiter by firing ballista into the Forum. Sure, he’d been possessed at the time, but still Mars demanded vengeance.

Still, I don't think Ares was on anyone's side in particular. Outside of just towing the party line with the closure of Olympus.

Athena

It’s been a while since I’ve discussed her involvement in the war. Personally, I think she’s super suspicious.

“That was my name,” the goddess said dreamily. “Before they sacked my city, took my identity, made me this.” She looked at her clothes in disgust. “I must return home.” […]

“Yes, my children will avenge me. They must destroy the Romans. Horrible, dishonourable, copycat Romans. Hera argued that we must keep the camps apart. I said, No, let them fight. Let my children destroy the usurpers.” […]

“They wish me to be their goddess? Then let them taste their own evil. Kill them, child.”

Athena / Minerva tells Annabeth these lines before Annabeth sails to New Rome on the Argo II. As you can see, Athena is probably the most pro-war of any of the Olympians.

I’m a child of Athena, she told herself. I have to stick to my plan and not get distracted.

She felt it again – that familiar shiver, as if a psychotic snowman has crept up behind her and was breathing down her neck. She turned, but no one was there. […] Annabeth wished she could pray to her mother for guidance, but that wasn’t possible now. Not after last month, when she’d had that horrible encounter with her mom and got the worst present of her life…

The cold pressed closer. She thought she heard a faint voice in the wind, laughing. Every muscle in her body tensed. Something was about to go terribly wrong.

Now, we could guess that the laughing voice is Gaea, absolutely. But I find it interesting that whenever she thinks of her mother, the presence grows stronger. With the context we have on Athena, it’s even possible that she controlled Leo, disguising her influence as that of an eidolon.

Regardless, Athena pushed Annabeth down a path of vengeance throughout the book.

Kill the Romans, she heard her mother urging. They can never be your allies.

It is only when Athena is returned “to the Greeks” that her presence becomes that of peace. Having been returned, she no longer drives the Greeks and Romans to war. Of course that also implies that she – at minimum – influences that into war in the first place.

Basically, even if Gaea did fire on New Rome, not Athena. It was Athena’s hatred for Rome that enabled such an act to work in the first place. Honestly of all the Olympians to blame – it has to be Athena. But her involvement is notably not addressed by Zeus (because she is the favourite, I presume).

Zeus

The solution that Zeus comes up with when faced with the threat of Gaea is to withdraw into Olympus. We learn in the Lost Hero this was a decision made out of fear. Furthermore, his choice to not aid the heroes is one made out of shame - Percy Jackson embarrassed him not long ago.

Ultimately, I think his hope was that the prophecy wouldn’t come true at all. If the seven don’t “answer the call” then the rest of the prophecy cannot come true.

Zeus turned on his wife. Thunder shook the Acropolis. “Hera, do not dare take the credit! You have caused at least as many problems as you’ve fixed.”

The queen of the heavens blanched. “Husband, surely you see now – this was the only way.”

“There is never only one way!” Zeus bellowed. “That is why there are three Fates, not one. Is this not so?” By the ruins of the giant king’s throne, the three old ladies silently bowed their heads in recognition.

To his credit, I think Zeus is partially right here. Hera orchestrated the seven’s involvement. And while they do succeed in the end, it is a touch-and-go issue. Ultimately, it is Hera who choose for the seven to be a mix of Roman and Greek, it was Hera who decided ‘foes’ meant the two different camps, it was Hera who picked out the ‘fire’ and the ‘storm’. And why? To heal her family, of course.

But by interfering with the status quo, by going behind her husband’s back, she not only gave Gaea the opportunity to start the war – she further strained her relationship with her husband. They were no longer a "united front".

Now, I’m actually pro-Hera when it comes to this situation. I think she deserves more credit than the fandom gives her, but Zeus does make an interesting point regardless!

Those are basically all the gods I can think who are involved and give actual opinions (outside the various minor gods who show up in the series). I’m definitely going to write more about Hera because I think she gets a bad rap.

[jorjathomas]

Comparing existing magazines

As I've began to do some mild research, I thought it was beneficial to gather some information regarding my intended audience. I should see if there's a gap in the market for this particular self help magazine or if it would be high in demand or not. In this post, I have compared old magazines that were published for young women to see what has changed and what particular topics have became more popular over the years. Obviously magazines aren't as popular anymore for teens as most people would pick up a phone and scroll to kill time rather than buy a magazine from your local store however, I'm interested to see the comparison between the two. 

Old vs New

At first, I was going to compare two magazines and analyse the differences however as I started to do some research, I thought it would be interesting to see how certain magazines which have been running for a long period have changed over time as digital journalism has grown. I will contrast these brands with zine businesses which suits my idea.

Tiger Beat:

Google states ’Tiger Beat was founded in September 1965 by Charles "Chuck" Laufer, his brother Ira Laufer, and television producer and host Lloyd Thaxton. The magazine features teen idol gossip and carries articles on movies , music and fashion.’ This magazine is aimed towards adolesant girls just like my idea which is interesting to see the differences. Its funny to see how young women were perceived from looking as this magazines as they seem very celebrity based. As Tiger Beat is created by men, I'm assuming this is what they think teenage girls think about. I would say in the 60s this was true as boy bands where the hot spot for screaming girls however personally having a magazine just to get in the celebrity gossip is draining. The 60s was a very pivotal time for music and musicians didn't have a massive social platform like most artists do now so having a magazine like this is where fans would get updates about their lives. I think my opinions about Tiger Beat are solely based on how this generation has changed, I've defiantly bought zines just like this if it has my idol on the front however when looking at certain quotations and how its predominantly males being displayed despite being for girls is strange to me. For example the third image on the right where it advertised a ‘Peek inside Justin Biebers room’.  Not only does this feed on the artists personal life but it heightens this concept of teenagers becoming a obsessive fan. when looking at this magazine I begin to question whether this sort of content is normal for teenagers or am I just conditioned to believe it is what I should be thinking about as a teenage girl? Its even more ironic that this is made by men aswell but I don't know if that's the activist in me. To conclude, there was defiantly a gap in the market for supporting young adults when entering the real world as you can see. 

Teen zone:

Again, continuing with my previous opinions Teen Zone had the same intentions for their audience. Looking back at their earlier issues, it mas predominantly celebrity based. This involves gossip, looks and updates in their ‘perfect’ lives. This defiantly increased the idea of needing to be famous and look good all the time in order to be successful or good in life. These magazines are full of photoshopped faces with content telling people that they could look a certain way to feel accepted. Although looking briefly at the magazines are harmless I think they can be deep rooting in the problems girls feel in society when growing up. The only difference with this magazine in comparison to Tiger Beat is that they are still running as a business and have changed their content significantly. Teen zone only publish online now and when researching into their content i was surprised when seeing their statement. It states ‘TeenZone Digital Magazine is a magazine for the South African teenager. Teens in today’s society are increasingly being fed a diet entirely consisting of celebrity gossip. This grossly underestimates them. Teens today have voices that we all need to hear. They need to be taken seriously, and to be given the opportunity to express their views and concerns; to ask the important questions and receive trustworthy, accurate advice; and to enjoy themselves in a safe environment. TeenZone seeks to provide this platform. It is a magazine for teens, by teens.’ 

Teens in society now are much more vocal on certain events and I think we are defiantly becoming more aware on subjects which we may have not noticed before. The fact that Teen Zone has turned this around and creating a platform for teens to speak on matters special to them in inspiring and what I want to do also. They've defiantly succeeded well since moving digital as articles are much more accessible than a printed zine.

This is a picture of their website which differs from their zine. They have toned down their imagery and noticed as they are able to add more content onto a site.

As i began to look further into popular magazines from particular decades, eg; teen vogue, J-14 etc, I began to see the same results and outcomes. They were all very similar in content but I was surprised to finally see a magazine which although was produced a little later than the others, was drastically different to the others. Both aesthetically and within their content. This was a magazine called Rookie.

Rookie:

What makes Rookie magazine so different to the others is that this business was created by teenagers for teenagers. They are much more closer to their audience and were able to relate to the content they were giving out. Rather than adults profiting of their perception of what a teenager goes through despite not being one. I personally can see the differences between the two. Firstly Rookie stood out to me because of its collage-like personality. Its much more playful and personal than the previous zines I've looked at. The layered imagery with colourful texture achieves this friendly environment for teenagers to read though. I defiantly want to achieve this with my zine and I am going to look into this sort of work digitally and also physically to achieve a dimensional look rather than all of my work looking flat or 2D. 

This is a screenshot of Rookies site. Not only do they produce articles that teens can read for pleasure or to gain information, they also have platforms that can actually gives teens a place to talk and interact with others which I think is the drastic change for the industry. Interacting with the audience on a personal level proves that Rookie cares for their audience and wants to spark change. Unfortunately Rookie has stop publishing altogether as a business since 2018 for financial reasons.

Other magazines that I am interested in: As I've looked into previous magazines and began to understand their concept and beliefs,  I began to look into modern magazines that also produce the same concept as me and to see what makes them so different especially since there has been a massive sift in the journalism industry. Both of the publications below are fairly similar. Both want to create change and form a safe space where women learn new subjects which may not be normalise yet are very important for personal growth. They both combine their articles with art which helps create a visual understanding of their zine even better than standard text. I defiantly aim to follow these footsteps but I need to search for an unique concept that could help my idea become more popular for a young girl to read. I wanted to this as sadly both of these zines are either discontinued or temporality stopped making issues which makes me assume this idea isn't that successful so far whether that's due to the pandemic or society as a whole I'm unsure as of yet. I will begin to look at the impact of Covid on magazines later to understand why so many of these great businesses aren't running anymore despite having a positive impact on young women.

Got a girl crush:  “Got a Girl Crush is a blog and annual print magazine about women, by women, for everyone. We aim to disrupt the broken narrative of most women's publications and tell stories of all ages, races, and backgrounds of women all over the world. We believe that print is not dead and that there is value to having a tangible medium to read, digest, and share--rather than sharing a link online that is easily forgotten tomorrow.”

(Issue 3, published September 2016 from https://issuu.com/gotagirlcrush/docs/girlcrush_issue05_content-final )

I liked this magazine statement because it isn't restrictive on a specific audience. They mention that their content is open for anyone which I think is surprising. When thinking about making this zine I wanted to think of content that isn't too limiting or biased towards women as I think the real change in society will have to come from men's views and actions aswell as women's. When looking at their monthly articles, it was very text heavy. They had many important figures like planetary scientist Carolyn Porco, human rights activist Grace Lee Bogg menstrual activist & drummer Kiran Gandhi etc. Each had powerful stories to tell and impact onto readers. Despite this the illustrations and other visual forms of art broke down this barrier which is why it didn't look too overwhelming. I will follow through with this if not add more art into my final outcome as I’d like to be more creative for this project and really experiment with collaging. I had briefly did this in the first project and enjoyed the process.

Selva Beat: “Selva Beat is an environmental magazine with an edge. We take environmentalism and place it in the context of your favorite topics – beauty, fashion, culture, food, sex, love – to make activism as accessible and engaging as possible. Founded in 2014, we began as a way of educating the public about conflict palm-oil and have expanded into a multi-media platform that motivates others to better the planet through creative means.”

A magazines visual décor is very important as sadly you do judge the book by the front cover. Initially, this is what I liked about Selva Beat, it was very colourful and they had nice curvy, bubbled typography which isn't that common on magazines. When researching I didn't realise they were very environmentally orientated aswell as being a conscious feminist magazine. I was saddened that they aren't running anymore as I think this magazine would've been a good pivotal point.