Robots and costumes and magic
Dec. 8th, 2021 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkToday was a bank holiday, which was great. I should have used it for studying but did not, same as usual. I thought having a class during very busy work month December would be okay because the exam is in late January, but turns out there are things I need to write until Christmas and it is very hard to motive myself to study after doing overtime hours.
Anyway, I used the opportunity to play some more of SOMA, a game I enjoy a lot but can only play when my nerves are up for it and not before bed. Some parts of it are gorgeous and I spend a lot of time exploring. I think I got better at sneaking, though avoiding the robot with the red light underwater and the monster with the disco ball in the CURIE took me a long time (also because I keep running and hiding and then getting lost.) The chase sequence in the CURIE was very hard though, I died almost a dozen times until finally on Reddit I found a hint that after I die during that sequence for the first time I can practice the way between the engine room and the shuttle without running into the monster, that was very helpful. I got lost several times at Delta too, which I minded less because underwater is so pretty and there was no stress from avoiding a monster. In the end I finally made it to Theta. No idea how far through the game I am, somewhere between a third and half?, idk. I hope there won't be many more chase sequences.
As for the plot, Simon is finally aware that he's in a robot body. The concept of the ARK is very interesting, uploaded human minds with full awareness of what happened to them, to preserve at least some of humanity after an apocalyptic catastrophe made the surface unlivable. Though many people committing suicide after being uploaded is very creepy. And the warder AI seems to have, uh, gone mad somehow? Amy said "it won't let me die, nothing is allowed to die" (unclear to what she was referring though.) Sounds like WAU is over-eager to fulfil the "save humans" mission objective. Hm.
DD and I watched the first two episodes of The Great *an occasionally true story, and it's, uh, entertaining? It was described as a "satirical fictionalized drama about Catherine the Great's rise to power," and it's certainly that, and also occasionally really dark, which… it's overall weird but I definitely want to keep watching.
Recently we also watched the five available episodes of The Wheel of Time. I never read the books because from I heard I was not interested, but I heard the show already made some significant changes so I have some hope that it might be good or at least entertaining. So far so good, and I look forward to the next episodes.
Early on we joked that it's very "Star Wars in Lord of the Rings," especially because Rand's face occasionally looks a lot like Anakin. I also keep thinking of the minor characters as NPCs for some reason.
There are many NPCs I like! For example Kerene and Stepin, who sadly both died. Or Aram, who I strongly expect will be back, like Thom Merillin. And I liked Dana too and was surprised when she turned out to be a Darkfriend. (Still, even as a Darkfriend, how exactly did she know about Rand and Mat?)
I like the main characters too, Moiraine and Lan and Nynaeve. Moiraine and Lan really do like to not give straight answers ^^ I'm so far mostly neutral-leaning-positive on the other four (most positive on Egwene) but hoping to be positively surprised.
I have no idea about the overall political situation, which increasingly seems like an oversight. Do the Aes Sedai have political power or is it mostly/only spiritual? (They at least seem to have a lot of money, considering the size of the tower.) And what about the Whitecloaks? Valda hunts Aes Sedai very close to their tower, but outright killing them seems to be something he does rather than something all Whitecloaks do. Probably that is why he pretended not to recognize Moraine as an Aes Sedai? Not only would it be pretty obvious to someone who knows them even without the ring (the hair, the colored clothes etc.), but she is literally not allowed to lie so all a "Questioner" would have to ask is "Are you Aes Sedai yes or no." (Though there were a few scenes were I thought that Moiraine is interpreting that rule very loosely at best.)
Frequent minor annoyance, their clothes often look incredibly modern, not just the colors (including blinding white! On people traveling!) and cleanliness but also often the seams etc. Apparently the budget didn't stretch that far.
Anyway, I used the opportunity to play some more of SOMA, a game I enjoy a lot but can only play when my nerves are up for it and not before bed. Some parts of it are gorgeous and I spend a lot of time exploring. I think I got better at sneaking, though avoiding the robot with the red light underwater and the monster with the disco ball in the CURIE took me a long time (also because I keep running and hiding and then getting lost.) The chase sequence in the CURIE was very hard though, I died almost a dozen times until finally on Reddit I found a hint that after I die during that sequence for the first time I can practice the way between the engine room and the shuttle without running into the monster, that was very helpful. I got lost several times at Delta too, which I minded less because underwater is so pretty and there was no stress from avoiding a monster. In the end I finally made it to Theta. No idea how far through the game I am, somewhere between a third and half?, idk. I hope there won't be many more chase sequences.
As for the plot, Simon is finally aware that he's in a robot body. The concept of the ARK is very interesting, uploaded human minds with full awareness of what happened to them, to preserve at least some of humanity after an apocalyptic catastrophe made the surface unlivable. Though many people committing suicide after being uploaded is very creepy. And the warder AI seems to have, uh, gone mad somehow? Amy said "it won't let me die, nothing is allowed to die" (unclear to what she was referring though.) Sounds like WAU is over-eager to fulfil the "save humans" mission objective. Hm.
DD and I watched the first two episodes of The Great *an occasionally true story, and it's, uh, entertaining? It was described as a "satirical fictionalized drama about Catherine the Great's rise to power," and it's certainly that, and also occasionally really dark, which… it's overall weird but I definitely want to keep watching.
Recently we also watched the five available episodes of The Wheel of Time. I never read the books because from I heard I was not interested, but I heard the show already made some significant changes so I have some hope that it might be good or at least entertaining. So far so good, and I look forward to the next episodes.
Early on we joked that it's very "Star Wars in Lord of the Rings," especially because Rand's face occasionally looks a lot like Anakin. I also keep thinking of the minor characters as NPCs for some reason.
There are many NPCs I like! For example Kerene and Stepin, who sadly both died. Or Aram, who I strongly expect will be back, like Thom Merillin. And I liked Dana too and was surprised when she turned out to be a Darkfriend. (Still, even as a Darkfriend, how exactly did she know about Rand and Mat?)
I like the main characters too, Moiraine and Lan and Nynaeve. Moiraine and Lan really do like to not give straight answers ^^ I'm so far mostly neutral-leaning-positive on the other four (most positive on Egwene) but hoping to be positively surprised.
I have no idea about the overall political situation, which increasingly seems like an oversight. Do the Aes Sedai have political power or is it mostly/only spiritual? (They at least seem to have a lot of money, considering the size of the tower.) And what about the Whitecloaks? Valda hunts Aes Sedai very close to their tower, but outright killing them seems to be something he does rather than something all Whitecloaks do. Probably that is why he pretended not to recognize Moraine as an Aes Sedai? Not only would it be pretty obvious to someone who knows them even without the ring (the hair, the colored clothes etc.), but she is literally not allowed to lie so all a "Questioner" would have to ask is "Are you Aes Sedai yes or no." (Though there were a few scenes were I thought that Moiraine is interpreting that rule very loosely at best.)
Frequent minor annoyance, their clothes often look incredibly modern, not just the colors (including blinding white! On people traveling!) and cleanliness but also often the seams etc. Apparently the budget didn't stretch that far.
no subject
Date: 2021-12-08 10:48 pm (UTC)I totally do this! I struggle to say 'OCs' instead of 'NPCs' when chatting about my own fanfic lol!
no subject
Date: 2021-12-09 06:18 pm (UTC)There are countries/nations with their own monarchs, but most of them don't have much control beyond a large city or two. The Aes Sedai are the major "international" power organization, a bit like the medieval Christian church, but their level of respect/trust among the common people varies wildly from place to place. The Whitecloaks don't really answer to a higher leadership, they just think of themselves as the enforcers of justice, and in some places they basically are the de facto authority.
no subject
Date: 2021-12-09 09:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-09 09:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-09 10:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-10 11:33 am (UTC)Those are my favourites too, but I also like Egwene and Mat.
Though there were a few scenes were I thought that Moiraine is interpreting that rule very loosely at best.
It's not outright breakable but clearly there's a lot of wiggle room if you believe it hard enough.
no subject
Date: 2021-12-10 09:33 pm (UTC)