#SANDS Through This Avenue/The Game | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 2 years ago

Text

Unsolicited 32

Warnings: bad self-thought/talk, bullying, insults, low self-esteem, money problems, oral/noncon, coercion, cum, some untagged sexual and dark elements.

Wouldn’t mind some feedback! Lloyd was driving me nuts so I had to do it. Thank you in advance 💜

Masterlist

There’s a drumming, loud and painful, right at the top of your forehead. Your body is buried in sand and your stomach is rotten with acid. You move a single finger, the effort enough to make you groan.

Another weight rests across your back, just above the crumpled fabric over your ass. You drag your arm up and turn yourself stiffly. You whimper as the light from the tall windows glares in your eyes. You cover your face as you blink away tears.

Slowly, you roll onto your back. Lloyd’s ass is shamelessly bare to the room, his arm still across your torso. He grumbles and moves his hand over the rise of your chest. You swat him away and sit up, a bit too quickly as you grab your splintering skull.

You turn your legs over the edge as you put your back to him and lean over your lap. God, you feel like hell. You remember only the taste of tequila and the juvenile game.

A sudden clutching knots in your stomach and you hold back a retch. You gulp and hold your middle as you push yourself forward, hitting your knees on the floor as your body wracks painfully. You crawl around the bed as you try not to hurl.

Another sour tide threatens to spill and you keep your fingertips on the floor as you plant your feet under you. You race unsteadily, hitting the doorway before you can clatter through and hug the toilet. You vomit, gagging loudly as you spit up the remnants of the forgotten night.

Shit, what the fuck happened?

Your muscles contract as you spill into the porcelain, reaching weakly to flush as you keep yourself against its comforting coolness. You cross your arm over the seat and rest your head against it. You shake as you fight to catch your breath, another storm brewing hotly.

You close your eyes. Never have I ever…

You furrow your brow. You hear him moving around as you try to remember. More tequila, you recall it flooding down your cheeks, his face between your legs. That’s not entirely a surprise.

Then–

You clutch the tank with one hand as you bring up another splash of puke. You mumble and whimper, folding both arms behind your head as you tremble.

No, you definitely didn’t go that far. It’s been years since you got that bad. You definitely remember anger, but it could easily be his.

“So,” his shadow looms over you, “what exactly went down on Brennan Avenue?”

You groan and refuse to lift your head, “no…”

“I really didn’t expect that side of you,” he snickers.

You brace the seat and push yourself up, flushing as you flip the lid. You move to the sink and shake your head. Regrettably as it makes your temples throb. You turn the faucet on and rinse out your mouth.

“It’s nothing–”

You look over at him and stop dead, hands dripping as the water runs. His neck is bruised, he has a bite mark on his shoulder, and his chest is clawed to shit. Not to mention the purple and blue splotches down his torso and thighs.

“Oh fuck.”

“Yeah, you did quite the number,” he looks down at his body, “but I’ve been through worse.”

You stare at him. Waiting for it. You turn and finish washing up as you try to collect yourself. You nod and face him again.

“Do I apologise or–”

“Baby, I’ll give you a pass on this one,” he smirks, “the way you worked that ass, you deserve it.”

You cross your arm and purse your lips. You have a bad feeling but that could be the hangover. You exhale and it leaves you lightheaded. You back up and sit daintily on the edge of the square tub.

“I think maybe you should chill and I’ll order something to eat. Soak up that half gallon you tossed back.”

“You mean that you forced down my throat.”

“Potato, Po-ta-to,” he shrugs.

You frown and rub your cheeks, “why would you do that?”

“Well, you think I wouldn’t–”

“No, why would you… get food–”

“Babe, I told you, I have a whole weekend planned out and I need you in walking condition,” he says as he comes closer. You wince and shy away as he bends past you and twists on the tap, “a bath will help too.”

You watch him wearily as he squeezes your shoulder and stands. He smirks down at you as he frames his hips, a twitch just below eye level. You could rip that damn thing off him.

“I can be nice,” he intones, “believe it or not.”

💎

The summer dress is unexpectedly modest. Red cherries on white, a dainty frill at the hem. Well, compared to Lloyd's usual taste. Another surprise. Just like his behaviour.

The peace of the morning has you on edge, piqued further by your lingering hangover. A meal that doesn't churn in your stomach and a calm that you know can't last. Not with him.

Lloyd wears a polo, yellow with a tacky green palm fronds pattern, white slacks, and loafers with no socks. Nothing unlike his characteristic aesthetic. Overpriced and douchey. The only thing missing is his signature mustache, still but a sprouting along his upper lip.

Outside the hotel, a car awaits you. You're still uncertain, you don't think you'll ever be anything but with this man. He sits beside you, poking a bruise on his neck as he grins. You try to ignore the sadistic joy in his face.

You watch the bright sky, finally a chance to take in the Caribbean atmosphere. You'd never been anywhere tropical, never close to able to afford it. You scraped by, like always, and enjoyed the little things like a movie or concert. Nothing terribly extravagant.

You stop at a marina, peering out over crystal blue water, glistening beneath the sunlight. Lloyd gets out first and you follow, not sure what else to do. He waits, offering his hand only to be met with a very confounded grimace.

"Come on, honey," he takes your hand, "don't be a brat."

You let him lead you along, looking nervously into the crystalline depths as you come down the pier. You've never been on a boat. You don't say as much, just another thing for him to laugh at.

A plank is set for boarding to a small boat, not quite a yacht, something more personal by your measure. What do you know?

Lloyd puts you ahead of him and follows as you walk carefully up the ramp. You put your arms out as if you might tip and he hovers his hands around your hips. You push him away and stomp the last few steps, dropping ungainly onto the deck.

"So, sweetheart," he hops down after you, "what do you think?"

"Uh, it's a boat," you turn slowly, already a bit off kilter by the slightly swaying floor, "great for hangovers I hear."

"Don't fret, babe, I'll be on top tonight… or in a couple minutes," he winks.

You look away, resisting the urge to sneer at him. No wonder you lost it last night. You've never known anyone so intrinsically unbearable.

He turns and pulls back the board, folding it down and covering it with a hatch door. You cross to the cabin and brace yourself against the wall as he unmoors the boat. A peek at the water sets you on edge. Wait…

"Um, where are we going?"

"Just sailing," he claps his hands and shakes off errant dirt, "you and I and the sea. Romantic, huh?"

Ominous, you think but know better than to give that thought breath.

"Nice boat."

"All mine," he gloats, "just like everything else." He nears and hooks an arm around you, jolting you against him as he gropes your ass, "including you, Mrs. Hansen."

You swallow and your cheek twitches, "mmhm, well if she don't sit down, Mrs. Hansen is gonna hurl."

His brows arch and he taps your ass, "Mrs. Hansen wishes, Mr. Hansen makes it come true."

He keeps his arm around you and turns, guiding you into the cabin, a striped sofa and canvas chairs set across from the steering wheel. He guides you to sit and fluffs a pillow.

"Get some rest, honey, you're gonna need it," he teases, "maybe some hair of the dog will help."

"No, no drinking," you retort as you collapse back against the cushions, "I'm on the wagon."

"No fun," he chides, "but I can think up something for that."

You slump and look out the window as he goes to the wheel. He turns the engine and you play with a fold in the dress. He slowly pulls away from the dock and you watch the horizon. If you die out here, at least you'll have a pretty view.

#lloyd hansen #dark lloyd hansen #dark!lloyd hansen #lloyd hansen x reader #unsolicited #series #drabble #dark drabble #dark!drabble #the gray man

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thetempestechoes · 7 months ago

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Muu, cycles, parasocial relationships and parallels

I've been thinking about this for a while now.

Content notes: discussions referencing blood, bullying, death of teens, implied self-harm/suicide, murder/killing of teens

Muu's first verdict was Innocent - just barely, at 50.34%, but still innocent. Her second verdict was overwhelmingly Guilty, at 74.46% - the highest ratio until Kotoko's vote came along.

Why?

I think it's because a lot of the audience related to Muu when it came to her being bullied (probably not the killing part). A lot of people get bullied at school, and so a lot of people could relate to and/or understand what she went through. They looked at Muu and a part of themself looked back.

But in her second MV, it was all but outright confirmed that Muu used to be on the opposite side of that bullying, to whatever extent. And I think a lot of those people who could relate to Muu's predicament, whether they voted her Innocent or Guilty in the first trial, felt personally wronged by this revelation. They looked at Muu and the people responsible for their experiences looked back instead.

I would argue that this is a sort of parasocial relationship, in a way. Yes, Milgram is fictional, but all of the prisoners are supposed to be three-dimensional people. But by flattening Muu to the 'perfect victim' (aside from the killing), her being part of perpetuating this cycle of bullying sits uncomfortably for a lot of people.

I don't believe the theories about Muu and manipulation. I don't think she was trying to play a long game in trial 1. I think that makes a lot of sense if you overlay Milgram with the cycle shown in her MVs. She was a victim in trial 1 - but in trial 2, she's just been voted Innocent, she's been forgiven (for now), she's back at that role she was in before her fall that led to her killing Rei. And now she's falling again, back from being at the top, and the cycle continues.

Overlay Milgram with her MVs and you find parallels between Milgram and Muu's former friends. Muu was falling, and that ended with her stabbing Rei. Muu is falling again, and Haruka plans on making a drastic decision. Obviously, there are some major differences, considering that Muu is much more directly responsible for Rei's death than any harm that comes to Haruka, even if she isn't exactly doing anything to try and de-escalate him. But that's just something I noticed.

One of Muu's motifs is cycles - her trial songs both start and end with the first verse, she is literally trapped inside an hourglass in After Pain's imagery, Rei turns an hourglass at the end of It's Not My Fault, the sand from the hourglass replaces the blood towards the end of After Pain, and now Milgram is a part of it too. I just think it's interesting to look at the pieces like this, and can open up new avenues for us to look at in analysing.

Muu is trapped in the cycle. And Milgram is perpetuating it further. In my opinion, that's part of the whole point of Milgram. Milgram is full of cycles - not just Muu, everyone. The voting dichotomy filters any reason for any vote into two options, but that's for a different post.

Anyway. I hope Muu can break the cycle too. I hope the audience let her.

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tallgreenlady · 5 months ago

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hi i know nothing about monster hunter and as such cannot judge you on coherency or accuracy of your statements. please tell me about the creatures

First of all, thank you so much for asking :)

So, Monster Hunter is all about hunting monsters. But unlike many fantasy video games, monsters are not magical or evil; they're a natural part of the world! A great deal of thought and effort has been put into designing each monster, and making them fit into an ecosystem.

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Hunters exist as something between village pest control and field ecologists keeping an eye out for any new threats, depending on the specific game. It's just that the pests are the size of a barn and breathe fire.

A lot of MH games also have monster intros, which usually show the monster existing in its environment: Hunting, sleeping, defending its nest, etc. This both introduces the mechanics of the monster and shows off what it does when it's not kicking your butt.

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Because, as I said, I don't have much by way of coherent analysis, I'm just going to list a few of my favorite details with pictures.

Rathian and Rathalos are the female and male members of the same species, respectively, but they fight so differently with the same natural weapons that the people who have to live around them gave them different names!

Diablos (left) has dull claws because it digs through sand all the time. Even fellow flying wyverns that always walk on their wing-arms (such as Tigrex, right) don't have claws as dull as Diablos, despite Diablos holding them against its torso most of the time.

Most dragon-shaped monsters in MH have four limbs, but uniquely powerful Elder Dragons tend to have six! It makes them stand out as unusual.

Kushala Daora sheds its skin when it gets rusty! You can find the shed in a few games.

Daimyo Hermitaur wears the skull of a Monoblos as a shell!

This absolute bastard is an Elder Dragon! Just in case you were feeling comfortable with identifying them from that note about limbs!

Thank you for giving me an avenue to gesture enthusiastically at these little guys :)

#monster hunter

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charmtion · 11 months ago

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"She imagined a funeral: a gathering, a wake. A mass of people, collating like the clot that had torn itself through her father’s brain. No. She imagined a different end for him. Draped in drama, a dagger in the dark. A bullet shattering penthouse glass. Something in his food: roiling, retching. A pale hand coming for his throat. His own, another’s—it hardly fucking mattered. No. She imagined it would be different, the reality. A wedding or a reception for a new avenue of the business. He would stand up. He would raise a glass. The glass would tremble in his hand, fall. Shatter, explode. His cheek would meet the shards. A small cut to his temple; a froth of blood-flecked champagne and the breath leaving his lungs in a gurgle. Like seawater. Heaving itself up, hurling its guts up onto the sand. Plumbing new depths, wringing them dry. Nobody would stand to finish the toast. Nobody would say a fucking word." love this game🙏

from between iris & pupil—a fic I still really love! it’s so sexily successiony & combines all the things I enjoy writing: messy, modern, tangled family dynamics, shady dealings, love/hate, bitterness, infighting, inheritance etc. this section is particularly succession-inspired, tracking the co-dependent, toxic kind of relationship Rhaenyra has with her father, the way he dotes on her one minute, only to ditch her at the drop of a hat the next—it’s a culmination of that love/hate habitual irritation running on from resigned indifference to outright spite in the private workings of her mind. it’s almost an indulgence she allows herself once the day is done & she’s in bed at the end of it: this daily undoing of what her father really is—fallible, able to be picked apart; literally killed, obliterated, taken out from the game—& it’s kind of gross, unnatural, inelegant to say the least, imagining the death of her own dad, in detail, scrubbing it back, rewinding the tape, replaying it, changing the scenario, the sounds etc. but she can’t help herself, she has to indulge in it, she has to let it run through her mind as another part of her routine; there’s a sense of urgency to it, after all, there’s a sense of seeing it through to the end, or else.

juxtaposed with this is the fact she can’t imagine Viserys not being there, she can’t imagine him not existing; he’s so omnipresent in the family, he’s such a central hinge even if the players that surround him are louder & shaded more brightly; so in this way it’s not exactly a daydream, nor an idle occupation of her mental faculties, it’s this painful, detailed descent into something, somewhere, she keeps hidden from almost everyone in her life, it’s deeply private, but it isn’t shameful, it’s a place where she controls the narrative (even if that narrative leaves a sting), encapsulated by the silence that punctuates the “end” to her imagining: the unfinished toast, the quiet room, somehow this unsaid unwritten idea of her presence within it, the only “knowing” occupier of the space, the one who has controlled the narrative, the one who has seen the story before it ever unfolded; I don’t know—it’s a metaphor for control, probably. it’s Rhaenyra grasping at straws before they’re snatched from her anyway.

DVD COMMENTARY ASK GAME

#myfic #daemyra

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books-of-the-great-leviathan · 2 years ago

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Chapter 30- Isabella

***

Gulls squabbled overhead, wheeling against the sun.

Isabella squinted up at them as long as she could bear. Her head throbbed in time with her heartbeat. The night-drop she'd taken to dull the pain was wearing off, and her jaw was beginning to hurt again.

She rubbed it, wincing.

"Are you well, Majesty?" asked one of her Falcii. "Shall I send for more night-drop tea?"

"No." Isabella dropped her hand, twisting the reins in her grip. "I'm fine. Save your concern for those who need it."

She urged her elk forward, its hooves crunching on rubble. The sun shone blinding off the ruins around her, their walls twisted and domes shattered, buildings pulverized, entire avenues swept aside by the fury of the Leviathan's onslaught.

And furious it had proved. This district of the docks was just- gone. Catsbones pieces tipped off a game board. Canal after canal, street after street. Not every whitebrick building had been leveled- here and there, walls lingered, incongruously perfect, standing alone. Heat shimmered over the rubble-scattered streets, thick with the detritus of the harbor depths, broken wood and dead fish, seaweed twisted like skeins of wet crimson silk. Rivulets of seawater twined over cobblestones, still glimmering with the monster's summer-blue glow. Already the air was muggy, charged and swollen, dense enough to chew. With the heat came the stench of oceanic decay, saline and organic, roasting under the merciless noon sun.

Isabella moved through the labyrinth of streets, made even more mazelike by the destruction. The district- one of the harbor quarters- had not been spared, its floodgate sundered, the monster wave sweeping through its streets. Dead fish decomposed by the millions, glittering with crystal, death upon death. Folk moved amongst the ruins like sleepwalkers, picking through the rubble; everywhere, everywhere, remnants lingered. A dead elk, its head twisted, one horn broken, its body crushed beneath great riven blocks of pale stone. Cloud gulls plucked at its eyes. Buildings slumped into piles of whitebrick and shattered timbers, guts exposed, furniture and broken pottery scattered in the remains. Veils of sand rippled in the breeze, whipped like lost spirits down streets and spiraling arcane patterns over broken cobblestones.

They turned a corner. A group of children huddled in the shadow of a ship, heaved from the harbor into the middle of a square by the power of the monster's wave: a mad sight, like something from one of Isabella's dreams. The broad-beamed cog lay on its side, huge as a beached sea-ork, its boards warped and sunbleached dry, colonies of barnacles exposed beneath the waterline. Its masts were shattered, one sticking up into the air, sails hanging ragged, twisting in the wind. The Lapidaean flag stirred from its highest point, dried salt-stiff, a sad scrap of silver and blue.

The children glanced up as Isabella and her Falcii rode by, squinted at them, then hunched back to their game of catsbones, the clatter of game pieces loud as breaking bones in the hush. They were playing for chunks of crystal, Isabella saw, scavenged perhaps from the rain of dead fish, the pieces still crusted with blue blood.

A great bronze bell lay half-embedded in a ruined street. Isabella looked up- it had fallen from one of the alarm towers. The tower's spire was gone, as if torn away. She smelled cookfires on the wind, heard shouts of "Heave!" from a nearby street, and the cracking grind of shifting stone as workers began the first excavations- looking for bodies, maybe. Wails, too, and screams, from the wounded carried on stretchers, limbs twisted and shattered like the buildings that had come down on them.

Flies droned in the shadows. A little girl stumbled by, clutching a grimy bundle of rags, her eyes unfocused and glassy. Howls of pain echoed down streets, through empty windows, carried to Isabella from all directions. Gutted tabernas and garden courtyards were flooded with the wounded and the dying, medics and physicians, Academy trainees and back-alley surgeons gathered by the dozens to bind wounds, pick shrapnel and broken glass from skin, to amputate limbs, to administer night-drop to those in the greatest pain. City guard marched past, grim-faced and gaunt, and countless trails of smoke rose from the jagged, broken skyline.

"Triune," muttered one of her younger Falcii, eyes narrowed behind his visor as he reached for the sailor's charm hung from his elk's harness, brushing it with his fingertips for luck.

Isabella stared, the sounds not quite reaching her, her breathing overloud in her head. Someone snatched at her elk's harness: a young man, his hair matted with blood, a sling binding his mangled arm to his chest.

The world warped. For an instant his face was Ren's, pale and blood-spattered and dying. Isabella tensed, and Ren was gone, but the sear of terror didn't leave her, burning through her nerves and paralyzing her in the saddle.

"Isabella Valere," the young man slurred- sun-drunk or whiskey-drunk, Isabella couldn't tell. He stumbled, hanging from her stirrup; her elk snorted, dancing aside, shaking its steel-tipped horns in warning. "Come to...come to save us all...long live the queen! Long live the bloody queen..."

One of her Falcii drew steel, and he stumbled off, vanishing once more into the crowds. Isabella's hand had flown to her sword, the weapon her father had presented her at the end of her soldiers' training. She could not feel the steel against her gloved crystal palm, just its pressure, biting in.

Folk had lived. They had lived- she had to remember that.

They had died, too. Hundreds. Thousands. She did not yet know the number. Children. Mothers, workers. Beggars drowned where they lay.

Her people, drowned in the streets as she stood above.

"I want more supplies brought to these surgeries," Isabella heard herself say. Her voice was dry. She tried to lift it, strengthen it. She'd been giving orders all night, all morning, directing the city guard, the harbor councils, the Council of Herring and the Council of Canals, answering questions as best she understood how. Her voice couldn't fail her now. "More medicine, clean bandages, sanitized water. Did the city guard take casualties here?"

"The main garrison was buried in the worst of the flooding," the Falcii said. "Tolls were...heavy. Captains dead or unaccounted for. Bava, Tocci, Camirri- all lost. The district has another smaller garrison, though. That survived."

"Good. Make certain these streets have regular patrols, and assign more to the surgeries. Make certain fights are quelled. Make certain no dark rumor finds foothold. Make...make certain..."

Her next words stuttered and died in her throat. She took a deep breath of the air. Blood, and rotting fish, and dust. Her head spun; her jaw ached.

"Your Majesty?" the Falcii asked. "Is there...is there anything else?"

"Those are my orders," Isabella muttered. "Go. See they're carried out."

The Falcii bowed, then wheeled round her elk and spurred it away.

Isabella rode on, past another agora. The shadow of its statue fell dark across the dead. They lay in rows upon rows, battered and bruised. Bloody seawater pooled beneath small, rumpled corpses, pallid hands curled, palms to the sky. Gulls whirled above, groaks and eyethieves, warded off by the crack of guards' gunfire and the twining skeins of incense smoke. Priestesses had come to perform their last rites, blue-painted feet tracing circles round the dead as they made their walks and swung their censers.

Their songs twined, too, liturgical Lapidaean ornate and mournful. No chapels for these dead, no cool wind-haunted stone. Only the sun, only decay and god-broken cities, only the cloud gulls coursing overhead, small ghosts flung to the breeze.

Isabella slowed her elk, its harness jangling, and watched, her eyes hot, her body numb. She tasted salt- the incense, the wind off the harbor, her own tears on her lips, bitter and awful.

There would have been more, she told herself. If Luca hadn't demanded you raise the gates, if you had fired on the monster, there would have been more.

She was a fool to cling to such childish comforts. Too much destroyed, too many dead. Ten years of death, and more before that, too. Lapide, Estara- it was all cycles of death, not life, and the peacetime in between seemed little more than a hungry, desperate gasp before the inevitable happened, before the monster wave fell across them again, smashing their peace to rubble and corpses.

She remembered her last clear sight of Luca, the burning hope in his eyes as he clutched Sirin to him like his last hope, and cold knifed her in the guts.

Triune, Luca, what have I done?

If she had believed him-

If she had let him go-

Pleas and prayers. All could hang themselves. All were useless now that the damage had been done. Maybe the Triune had not listened to her. Maybe the Leviathan was too strong for them. Either way, Isabella had never felt further from her gods.

She lifted her eyes from the dead, toward the expanse of harbor visible between the broken cupolas of two buildings, Bellana's Arm glittering beyond. A smoke haze lingered at the horizon's edge, the sky still bruised and glowering, but the ocean was clear. The monster had swum off when Luca had fled Valeris, his little creature in tow, the witchborn and their sister with him. They were gone again, the storm gone with them.

There had been no more sign of Enzo. Isabella's stomach twisted, and she bit back a snarl. Maybe it was a sob. She couldn't be sure.

Did I fail you, too?

She didn't know who she meant- her mother. Ren. Luca, Alois, Cereza. Enzo.

Herself.

Cold rippled through her crystal arm, and she clenched her fist, holding it back, holding it deep inside with all her strength.

You have to be ready for it.

You have to be ready for anything.

She knew what she had to do. She knew what she wanted. Once, those two had been the same. Now she couldn't be sure of that, either.

***

Isabella left the destruction behind, and took the old path up to the clifftop where generations of Valere dead had been burned, where stone and sea met sky.

Her elk wound up the cobblestone pathway, a broad road sunken and warped by centuries of funerary processions, by mourners' feet and pilgrims' steps. It switchbacked up the cliffs that jutted out over Valeris's harbor, overlooking the bay and Bellana's Arm beyond.

The sea heaved and swelled, full of whitecaps, waves veined with the remnants of the monster's blue glow. It rippled through the deeps, tracing a second pathway: the monster's wake as it had left Valeris behind. Isabella took a deep breath of the clean wind, free of the stench and misery of the city below.

A few lengths up she glimpsed the clifftop, thick with its pelt of grass and scrub, crusts of ancient walls clinging to the dry, rocky soil. She ordered her Falcii wait for her below and walked the last stretch alone. Her muscles ached, but it was a clean ache, the heat of the city below stolen by the wind. It ruffled her hair, and she closed her eyes, tipping her head back, letting the sun burn red pathways of her veins.

She passed through the twin whitebrick markers flanking the end of the path, stripping off her coat and flinging it over one of the markers, rolling her sleeves to her elbows. Her crystal arm was exposed, but here it little mattered. No one would see, save the gulls, save the dead.

The clifftop spread before her: a shimmering expanse of late-summer torch-grass, rippling green-gold in the sunlight. Ancient walls, the remnants of cliff structures, snaked through the grass, nearly hidden by its height and density. The distant hish and boom of waves drifted to her from the cliff base, and here the gulls were distant, too, white flecks casting shadow twins across the sea. Ahead, near the cliff's edge, stood the pyre. It was a tapering dais of whitebrick, its surface scorched black by generations of flames.

Isabella let out her breath. The grass whispered as she stepped into it. It came to her knees, glimmering green-gold green-gold as the wind coursed through it. Insects droned, flicker-dart clouds escaping her as she moved through the grass, parting it on her approach toward the pyre. She stopped at its side, where weeks ago Enzo must have stood, and watched, and felt the sear of fire on his face as the priestesses first anointed her mother's body, then set it ablaze. Had there been tears then, she wondered, or had he stood like she stood, numb and windblown, watching as his mother's killer was consumed, gone to the gods, gone forever?

Not truly forever. Here too must have been where Enzo had roped her mother's ghost. Where was it now? Did he still hold it on its leash, or had he released her and cast her back into the wide starry universe?

"I hope you're resting," Isabella said. She set her fingertips to the cool stone of the pyre, bricks cracked and worn by centuries of sea wind and rain. "I hope you found your way to the Triune after all."

The words came with a shudder. Pleading, prayers, like before. Was that really what she hoped for her mother?

No, she found, and this time the shudder coursed through her, a crack of heat, like the memory of flames. No. Sofia Valere had done this, she had begun this. She had made Valeris into a beached corpse of itself, wounds and weeping and mangled bodies, godsblood and death and curses. More than Cereza's, it was hate, it was this knife of rage in her heart and in Enzo's, and it would never come out. It wouldn't end- not this killing, this dying, these innocents drowned in the streets.

She remembered Ren's eyes on her, the love there, the desperation, the way Lapin had tried and failed to hold his blood in.

Not enough.

Never enough.

This time the heat was real, the rage a roar of blood cycling through her, a pulse in her whaleglass arm, harder and stronger than a heartbeat. Silver light flared, and the gulls scattered, crying out as they wheeled away into the sky.

"Damn you," Isabella said, the words hissing between her teeth. "Damn your cowardice, damn your lies-"

She drew her sword in a slash of steel and struck out. A scream tore its way from her as the blade cracked against the pyre stone; it glanced off with a bell-warp clang, the screech of metal, a spurt of sunlight where the sword's edge caught.

Isabella struck out again, again; she couldn't stop screaming, couldn't stop hacking, the spellforged steel gashing wounds in the stone. Sparks burst, and her shoulder muscles burned, but her arm was numb, crystal taking the brunt of the impacts.

"Damn you!" Isabella cried. "Hells take Lapide, Hells take honor, Hells take the crown, Hells take you-"

She struck again, harder and harder, on each word, and on the last she grabbed the hilt in both hands and brought it down, a savage blow, all her weight and strength behind it. The blade jarred off a stone, and with a sound like a bone breaking, snapped.

The hilt came off in her hands. The rest of the sword spun past her, flashing, lost amidst the torch-grass.

Isabella panted, reeling, her eyes streaming tears. She clutched at the hilt, one hand gloved, one bare. She stared at the broken edge, the jagged place where the blade had snapped, the way the etchings on the blade ended, cut off at the break.

"No," she said. Her voice had lost all its strength and the word came as a dry whisper, dull and small. She stepped back. "Shit."

Her father had given her that sword. She stared at it for a few seconds, breathing hard, then dropped her hands, and the hilt. It fell into the grass. She backed up again, then folded to the ground. She sat there, watching the grass ripple, watching the now-distant gulls, feeling the twin pulses of her slowing heartbeat and the power in her arm, awake now, aglimmer.

"Maybe you were right, Enzo," she said.

She closed her eyes. The power rose up inside her, a rush like the waves. It enclosed her; she heard the whispers of the dead, the whisper of his voice, growing louder as she let their tether strengthen. It was easier this time, like breathing, except instead of air she took a rush of silver into her lungs.

When she opened her eyes, he was there.

"Maybe?" he asked.

He sat on the remains of a nearby wall, his head lowered, his palms braced against the stones. He looked rumpled, ragged; he wore shirtsleeves rolled to his upper arms, showing scrapes and bruises, and the dark blot of a wound spread beneath the linen, gashed over his ribs. Isabella lifted her eyes to his face. Cuts spackled one cheekbone, his lip gashed, his black hair tousled and untidy. Even his sharp hazel eyes were dim.

His outline glimmered, a melting unreality. He was not there; neither was she for him. They both persisted for one another in this between state, half real, half a dream.

"Ending," Isabella said. "Beginning again. It's all broken, Enzo. It's all wrong. Me, more so than any of it."

"I'm glad you're alive, Bell."

She let out a flat laugh. "Are you? I don't know if I am. I feel like half a ghost myself."

"Believe me, if you were a ghost, I would know."

Isabella picked a blade of grass and twisted it in her fingers. "I thought I was right," she said. "I thought I knew what was best for Lapide. I believed so hard in what I thought was true, and real, and good. I even believed when it was bad. More, then."

"So did I," Enzo said.

Isabella looked up at him. His eyes were no longer dim, but distant, fixed on some faraway point.

"I thought I was a destroyer," he said. "A storm of reckoning, come to sweep away the broken pieces and start the board anew. I thought like a fool I'd seen the true face of the world, and I alone knew it. But after the monster- Triune, it was a god, it was-"

His voice caught in his throat, ragged as a sob. He pressed his hands to his face, his shoulders curled, his knuckles white through his skin. The old urge to reach for him rose up in Isabella, but she didn't. She stayed where she was.

At last, Enzo lifted his head again. His eyes were bright, fervent, but no tears streaked his face. "I don't know anymore," he said. "I don't know what I would be if I let it all go."

"You don't have to," Isabella told him. She gestured to herself. "Look at me. Look at Valeris. You won."

"You think either of us won, Bell?"

Isabella watched him, then took a short breath.

"Cereza lived," she said.

His eyes widened. He sat up, his face alight. "What? How?"

"She came back. She and Luca found a way to break the curse. They found the Leviathan, Enzo. It never died. It never left us."

He blinked, and stood, walking to the cliffside. His outline became mistier the further he moved from her, and Isabella felt a pull deep in her guts, a tension halfway to pain.

"And the monster?" Enzo said. "It was the Leviathan, wasn't it?"

Isabella paused, then nodded.

"Like the old tales." His voice sank to a murmur. "From it came all magic. All power. This power...you, and I, and Alezia Valere..."

"All the world, too, spewed from its spout-hole, if Luca is to be believed."

"It came back to destroy us?"

"Or..." Isabella began. She didn't know how to answer him. She thought of what Luca had said- the broken god, the cycle ended. Whalesong, deep in her dreams.

"Or to be reborn," she said. "Or to devour itself. End us all in the black of its maw. I'm no prophet, Acier, to glean the ways of gods or monsters. You know that as well as I do."

"A broken god," Enzo echoed.

"A slaughtered god. Daval's Witchhunters did their duty well, so it seems." Isabella's voice sharpened. "Thanks to you."

"To make," Enzo murmured. "To unmake."

"To build the world anew," Isabella finished. "I know the bloody saying."

He looked back at her. "What do you intend to do about it?"

"What makes you think I intend to do anything?"

"I know you, Bell. You aren't the sort to sit and stew for long. The monster may have swum off, but it's not gone."

Isabella couldn't stop her smile. It ached a little- a cracking scab, a fresh bruise. She wanted it back, then, almost more than she could bear. She wanted cedars, and sunset. Luca's smile, and Cereza's sweet voice, and her father picking her up and spinning her round. The scratch of his beard, the smell of sword oil and leather. Her mother's surety, her faith in Lapide. She wanted Enzo the way they had once been, the two of them together against the evils of the world. How sure she was that she was right, that she would be ready for whatever came.

She wanted all of this to be different.

But it wasn't. It never had been. She stood and joined him at the cliff's edge.

"You've killed so many people I loved," she said. "My Falcii. My family. I watched Renard Irio die because of you. I almost lost my sister because of you. To my last, I swear I will see you face those crimes and pay for them."

"I know."

"I wish I could forgive you."

"I know."

"They took it from us," Isabella said. "Everything we might have been."

She brushed her crystalline fingertips along his edge, where silver melted into sky. She felt nothing but a flutter of cold. "We could have changed it all, Enzo, you and me."

"I know," he said again.

Then, "You're going after it, aren't you. I feel it."

Isabella nodded. Luca had taken the little creature, Puppy, the thing the monster had destroyed Valeris to kill, the thing it had swum after. Its glowlight was fading, but visible across the waves. A pathway.

She could follow it. She could end this, and Luca's mad dreams, at the source. To find him, all she had to do was follow the monster.

"I have to make this right," she said, echoing her brother's words. She smiled grimly. "Luca had such faith in it. Always did. Even now."

She looked up, but Enzo was gone. The power left her as she stood, staring at the cliffside where he'd been.

He was out there. She didn't have to reach out with their tether to know that.

Isabella turned her eyes to the sea, looking toward the hazy horizon, and knew without doubt that he was looking back.

#tales of the great leviathan #grave of the great leviathan #fantasy fiction #original fiction #serial novel #chapter 30

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drkarenhawk · 1 month ago

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The Role of Play Therapy: Dr. Karen Hawk’s Techniques for Children and Families

Play therapy is a powerful therapeutic approach designed to help children express their thoughts and emotions through play. This method recognizes that play is a child's natural form of communication, enabling them to convey feelings and experiences that may be difficult to articulate in words. Dr. Karen Hawk, a clinical psychologist based in Arizona, specializes in play therapy and employs various techniques to support children and families in their healing journeys. This article explores the role of play therapy in mental health treatment and highlights Dr. Hawk's innovative techniques for fostering emotional growth and connection.

Understanding Play Therapy

Play therapy is grounded in the understanding that children often process their experiences through play. This therapeutic approach utilizes toys, games, art, and storytelling to create a safe environment where children can explore their feelings, resolve conflicts, and develop coping strategies. Key principles of play therapy include:

Expression Through Play: Children may struggle to articulate their emotions or experiences verbally. Play therapy provides an alternative avenue for expression, allowing children to communicate their thoughts and feelings through play.

Safe Therapeutic Environment: Creating a safe, non-threatening space is essential for effective play therapy. Dr. Hawk emphasizes the importance of establishing trust with children, ensuring they feel comfortable exploring their emotions without fear of judgment.

Parental Involvement: Play therapy often involves family dynamics, and parents can play a crucial role in the therapeutic process. Dr Karen Hawk psychologist Arizona encourages parental participation, helping parents understand their child's emotions and behaviors while fostering a supportive family environment.

Dr. Hawk’s Techniques for Play Therapy

Dr. Karen Hawk employs various techniques within her play therapy practice, each tailored to meet the unique needs of children and families. These techniques include:

Structured Play ActivitiesStructured play activities involve guided play scenarios that target specific emotional or behavioral issues. Dr. Hawk designs activities that encourage children to explore themes such as fear, loss, or conflict. For example, using puppets or dolls, children can enact situations that reflect their experiences, allowing them to process complex emotions in a safe and controlled manner.

Creative Arts and CraftsArt can be a therapeutic tool for expression, enabling children to convey emotions that may be challenging to verbalize. Dr Karen Hawk psychologist Arizona incorporates creative arts and crafts into her sessions, allowing children to paint, draw, or create collages that represent their feelings. This creative outlet fosters self-expression and helps children gain insight into their emotional experiences.

Role-PlayingRole-playing allows children to step into different characters and scenarios, providing a unique opportunity to explore their feelings and behaviors. Dr. Hawk utilizes role-playing to help children practice social skills, develop empathy, and explore various perspectives. By acting out different roles, children can gain a deeper understanding of their emotions and the emotions of others.

Sand Tray TherapySand tray therapy involves using a small sandbox filled with miniature figures, objects, and toys. Children can create scenes and narratives in the sand, reflecting their inner worlds. Dr. Hawk uses this technique to help children externalize their feelings, providing a visual representation of their experiences. The sand tray acts as a safe space for children to explore and process their emotions without the pressure of verbal communication.

Storytelling and Narrative PlayStorytelling is a powerful tool for children to make sense of their experiences. Dr. Hawk encourages children to create their own stories or engage with existing narratives that resonate with their feelings. Through storytelling, children can identify with characters, explore conflicts, and envision resolutions, facilitating emotional processing and growth.

Games and ActivitiesDr Karen Hawk psychologist Arizona incorporates various games and activities into her play therapy sessions to promote engagement and connection. Board games, card games, and cooperative activities foster interaction and communication between the child and therapist. These games can help children learn problem-solving skills, cooperation, and frustration tolerance in a fun and engaging way.

The Benefits of Play Therapy

Play therapy offers numerous benefits for children and families, including:

Emotional ExpressionPlay therapy provides a safe outlet for children to express complex emotions. By engaging in play, children can explore feelings of sadness, anger, anxiety, or joy in a non-threatening manner, leading to greater emotional awareness and understanding.

Improved Communication SkillsThrough play, children develop essential communication skills, including verbal expression, active listening, and empathy. Play therapy encourages open dialogue, helping children articulate their feelings and thoughts more effectively.

Enhanced Problem-Solving SkillsEngaging in play scenarios allows children to practice problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills. Dr. Hawk encourages children to navigate challenges during play, fostering critical thinking and adaptability.

Strengthened Family BondsPlay therapy often involves family dynamics, allowing parents and caregivers to engage in the therapeutic process. By participating in sessions, families can strengthen their bonds, improve communication, and foster a deeper understanding of one another’s experiences.

Increased ResiliencePlay therapy helps children build resilience by equipping them with coping strategies and emotional regulation skills. As children learn to navigate their emotions through play, they develop greater resilience in facing challenges outside the therapy room.

Supporting Families Through Play Therapy

Dr Karen Hawk psychologist Arizona recognizes that the impact of trauma, stress, or behavioral issues often extends beyond the individual child and affects the entire family unit. To support families in the healing process, she incorporates the following strategies:

Parent Education and SupportDr. Hawk provides parents with education about child development, trauma, and effective parenting strategies. By empowering parents with knowledge, they can better support their children’s emotional needs and foster a nurturing environment at home.

Family SessionsIncluding family members in therapy sessions can be highly beneficial for addressing dynamics and improving communication. Dr. Hawk conducts family sessions where members can explore their feelings, work through conflicts, and strengthen their relationships.

Resource RecommendationsDr. Hawk often recommends additional resources, such as books, workshops, or support groups, to parents seeking to enhance their understanding of their child’s needs and foster a supportive home environment.

Conclusion

Play therapy is a valuable therapeutic approach that provides children with a safe space to express their emotions and process their experiences. Dr. Karen Hawk’s techniques empower children and families to navigate challenges, enhance communication, and foster emotional growth. By recognizing the power of play as a means of expression, Dr. Hawk helps children develop essential skills for resilience, self-awareness, and emotional regulation.

As families engage in the healing process together, they cultivate stronger bonds and create a supportive environment for emotional well-being. Ultimately, play therapy can lead to profound healing and transformation, equipping children and families with the tools they need to thrive emotionally and socially. Through Dr. Hawk’s compassionate guidance, individuals can discover the joy of connection and the strength that comes from understanding themselves and each other through the language of play.

#dr karen hawk psychologist #dr karen hawk #dr karen hawk psychologist az

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wildheart-gourmet · 2 months ago

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Learning Through Play

youtube

This week I started investigating games as an avenue for learning based on the previous week's discussion. I found this good TED talk (TED, not TEDx) by PhD prof. Kris Alexander about games and learning. (Also just a paragon example of presentation technique, this guy knows what he's doing.) The talk helped clarify what exactly was special about games as learning channels; they combine audio, text, and visual information with focus that maintains concentration and prevents overload from too much all at once. Games aren't a replacement for traditional study but for my purposes they meet me where I'm at in terms of engagement.

Nicky Case (she/they) also had a directory of projects making use of this principle that I intended to revisit! In this handy collection of projects, I found a lot of applicable projects for my purposes, but one that stood out was...

The Earth Primer, an iPad 'interactive textbook' all about earth science. This combination of play, information and presentation is very close to what I'm visualizing when I think about the eventual form of this project, although it's clearly intended to be a more neutral scientific introduction to bigger concepts that allows people (especially children) to intuitively understand how these processes work. I can definitely see taking inspiration from the applied simulation aspects of this project.

In the real world, I've been paying more attention to what plants I have access to in an urban environment. I'm growing a monstera deliciosa, and I've been watching it split and react to its environment as it grows rapidly and turns to face the sun whenever I rotate it in the window.

I've also slowly been identifying the surprising amount of edibles I encounter just walking around the local horticulture. For example, the kousa dogwoods around are ripe and delicious at this time of year. There are also yewberries in various spots, but those are extremely toxic if you eat anything other than the flesh of the aril, so not a casual snack. Between these and continued study of the previously discussed manual, I've made a lot of progress building a concept of foraging as a practice and a skill to develop.

#Youtube

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saudcarwash · 6 months ago

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The Gleam of Excellence: Ceramic Coating in Ajman

In the vibrant landscape of Ajman, where innovation meets tradition, a revolutionary trend is reshaping the automotive industry ceramic coating in ajman. While Ajman is renowned for its rich culture and breathtaking scenery, it's also becoming a hub for cutting-edge automotive care solutions. Among these, ceramic coating stands out as a game-changer, offering unparalleled protection and enhancement for vehicles traversing the bustling streets of this Emirati gem.

Ceramic coating is a liquid polymer applied to the exterior of vehicles, forming a transparent layer that chemically bonds with the factory paint. This thin but durable coating creates a hydrophobic surface, repelling water, dust, and grime, thus minimizing the risk of scratches and swirl marks. In Ajman's dynamic environment, where desert sands and occasional showers pose challenges to vehicle maintenance, ceramic coating emerges as a shield, preserving the pristine appearance of cars against nature's elements.

One of the primary benefits of ceramic coating is its longevity. Unlike traditional waxing or sealants that require frequent reapplication, ceramic coating can last for years with proper maintenance. This durability makes it an attractive option for residents and enthusiasts in Ajman, who seek reliable protection without the hassle of constant upkeep. Whether it's the scorching sun or the occasional sandstorm, ceramic coating ensures that vehicles retain their glossy sheen, year after year.

Moreover, ceramic coating goes beyond mere protection; it enhances the aesthetic appeal of vehicles. The coating creates a deep, reflective shine that intensifies the color and clarity of the paint, giving vehicles a showroom finish. In Ajman's bustling streets, where style and sophistication are paramount, ceramic-coated cars stand out as symbols of elegance and prestige. From sleek sedans to rugged SUVs, every vehicle adorned with ceramic coating exudes an aura of luxury, capturing the attention of onlookers and admirers.

In addition to its aesthetic and protective properties, ceramic coating offers practical advantages for drivers in Ajman. The hydrophobic nature of the coating facilitates easy cleaning, as water and dirt slide off effortlessly, reducing the time and effort required for maintenance. This feature is especially beneficial in a city like Ajman, where residents lead busy lives and value convenience. With ceramic coating, maintaining a pristine vehicle becomes a stress-free endeavor, allowing drivers to focus on enjoying their rides through the city's bustling avenues.

Furthermore, ceramic coating is an environmentally friendly option compared to traditional car care products. Unlike wax, which contains harmful chemicals and solvents, ceramic coatings are formulated using advanced nanotechnology, minimizing environmental impact. In Ajman, where sustainability is increasingly emphasized, ceramic coating aligns with the city's commitment to eco-conscious practices, offering a responsible solution for vehicle protection and maintenance.

As ceramic coating gains popularity in Ajman, an array of automotive care providers have emerged to cater to the growing demand. From specialized detailing shops to mobile services, residents have access to a diverse range of options for ceramic coating applications. These establishments leverage state-of-the-art techniques and premium-grade products to ensure superior results, meeting the discerning standards of Ajman's automotive enthusiasts.

#ceramic coating in ajman

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dorematrix1 · 6 months ago

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The Best Money Making Games: Turning Your Play into Profit

In the digital age, the line between work and play has blurred, thanks to the advent of Best money-making games. These games provide a unique opportunity for players to earn real-world cash while indulging in their favorite pastime. Whether you’re a casual gamer or a dedicated player, there’s a wealth of options to explore. Here’s a look at some of the best money-making games that can help you turn your gaming skills into tangible profits.

3. The Sandbox

The Sandbox is a virtual world where players can create, own, and monetize their gaming experiences. It combines elements of gaming, creativity, and blockchain technology, allowing players to build and sell virtual assets in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). By participating in the game’s economy, players can earn SAND, the platform’s cryptocurrency, which can be traded on various exchanges for real-world money.

4. Fortnite

While Fortnite itself doesn’t directly offer real money for gameplay, it has created an ecosystem where players can monetize their skills through streaming and content creation. Successful players can earn substantial income from platforms like Twitch and YouTube, sponsorship deals, and competitive tournaments. The game’s popularity ensures a large audience and numerous opportunities for savvy players to capitalize on their talents.

5. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)

PUBG is another game where indirect monetization is prevalent. Players can earn money through streaming, participating in tournaments, and selling in-game items on marketplaces like Steam. The game’s massive player base and competitive nature make it an attractive option for those looking to turn their gaming prowess into a source of income.

6. Second Life

Second Life is a virtual world that offers numerous ways to make real money. Players, or "residents," can create and sell virtual goods, offer services, and even trade real estate within the game. The in-game currency, Linden Dollars (L$), can be exchanged for US dollars, providing a real-world financial incentive for creativity and entrepreneurship.

7. Runescape

Runescape, a long-standing MMORPG, has a thriving in-game economy that players can tap into for real-world gains. By gathering resources, crafting items, and engaging in trade, players can earn gold, which can be sold to other players for real money. The game’s extensive player base and diverse activities make it a versatile option for earning.

Tips for Maximizing Earnings

Research and Choose Wisely: Not all money-making games are created equal. Research the game’s mechanics, player base, and earning potential before investing your time and effort.

Develop Your Skills: Like any other job, better skills often lead to higher earnings. Invest time in learning the game’s intricacies and strategies to enhance your performance.

Stay Updated: The gaming industry is dynamic, with frequent updates and changes. Keep abreast of new developments and opportunities within your chosen game to maximize your earnings.

Network and Collaborate: Join online communities and forums to share tips, strategies, and opportunities with fellow players. Networking can open up new avenues for earning and collaboration.

Protect Your Earnings: Ensure that you use secure platforms for transactions and stay informed about the game’s policies to safeguard your earnings.

Conclusion

The world of Best money-making games is vast and varied, offering opportunities for players of all interests and skill levels. Whether you’re battling mythical creatures, creating virtual worlds, or showcasing your gameplay to a global audience, the potential to earn real money is within reach. By choosing the right game, honing your skills, and staying engaged with the community, you can turn your gaming hobby into a profitable venture. So, gear up and start exploring these exciting games that blend entertainment with earnings.

#https://gammit.in/#gamers #best game ever #make money online

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thejoyofviolentmovement · 1 year ago

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New Audio: SANDS Shares Shimmering "Through This Avenue/The Game"

New Audio: SANDS Shares Shimmering "Through This Avenue/The Game" @sandsprofile @MysticSons @barkdotpr @TransmissionPR_

Andrew Sands is a London-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and creative mastermind behind rising shoegaze project SANDS. Influenced by Neil Young, David Bowie, The Smiths, David Lynch, Talk Talk, Echo and the Bunnymen and a long list of others, Sands’ own music sees him seamlessly blending rock, psych rock and elements of pop. Since starting the project back in 2017, the…

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#New Audio #New Single #SANDS #SANDS Nothing Can Go Wrong EP #SANDS S/T EP #SANDS The World&039;s So Cruel #SANDS Through This Avenue/The Game #SANDS Tomorrow&039;s Gone/Burning Man #SANDS Transmission #shoegaze #singer/songwriter \#Single Review #Single Review: Through This Avenue/The Game #Through This Avenue/The Game

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anna-maria-golf-cart-rentals · 11 months ago

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When it comes to exploring the wonders of Anna Maria Island, there’s a fantastic way to soak in the sights and sounds of this captivating paradise – Anna Maria Golf Cart Rentals This island, nestled in the Gulf of Mexico, is a charming haven boasting beautiful beaches, vibrant streets, and a relaxed atmosphere. Here are the top benefits of opting for a golf cart rental for your Anna Maria Island adventure.’

Golf Cart Rentals Convenience At Your Fingertips

Golf carts rentals at Anna Maria Island offer unparalleled convenience. Picture this: no worries about finding parking spots or navigating through heavy traffic. With a golf cart, you have the freedom to zip around the island hassle-free. It’s like having your own little vehicle to explore every nook and cranny of this tropical paradise. Plus, these carts are easy to maneuver, making them perfect for island exploration, even for those without extensive driving experience.

Accessibility to Island Gems

Anna Maria Island is relatively small, which means a golf cart can take you virtually everywhere. From the bustling streets lined with shops and eateries to the serene beaches with their powdery sands and crystal-clear waters, you’ll have easy access to all the island’s treasures. Stop by the iconic Anna Maria City Pier or cruise along Pine Avenue to discover the local culture and quaint charm, all within reach with your trusty golf cart.

Pure Island Fun

Renting a golf cart from Anna Maria Golf Cart Rentals isn’t just about getting from point A to point B; it’s about the sheer fun of it all! Imagine the wind in your hair, the sun on your face, and the excitement of exploring this slice of paradise at your own pace. Whether you’re with friends, family, or enjoying a solo adventure, a golf cart adds a touch of novelty and enjoyment to your island escapade.

Environmentally Friendly and Budget-Friendly

These electric-powered vehicles are environmentally conscious and wallet-friendly. They produce zero emissions, making them an eco-friendly choice for exploring the island’s beauty. Additionally, opting for a golf cart rental can be more cost-effective than other modes of transportation, saving you both money and contributing positively to the environment. Renting a golf cart on Anna Maria Island is a game-changer for exploring this stunning destination. It’s not just a mode of transport; it’s an experience in itself, offering convenience, accessibility, and pure island fun. So, when planning your trip to this Gulf gem, consider hopping into a golf cart for an unforgettable island adventure!

#Golf Cart

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icyschreviews · 2 years ago

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A Review of Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands

The One You Should Have Remembered

Well isn’t this awkward? Allow me to hype you up for a game no one ever gave a shit about. Don’t worry, we’re so late to the party, the game’s server support has long been dead. Now you can enjoy it without having to worry that Ezio skin is going to steal 5 bucks from your wallet. So allow me to introduce you two. Forgotten Sands, here’s another misguided reader. Dear reader, this is Forgotten Sands, an incredibly polished piece of fast-paced action and an essential entry in the catalogue of every true Prince of Persia fan. Don’t you now feel silly for not having played it? I mean, neither have I, but we can rectify that mistake together.

Forgotten Sands is simultaneously an inevitability as well as a defiance of fate - a movie tie-in produced solely for cash that somehow managed to be a darn good game on its own merits. I know it gets a bad rep, even when it is seldom mentioned, yet most of the criticism I heard is inextricable from the movie. Ah yes, the Hollywood Prince of Persia. Eye-rolls ensue. Yet another shoddy video game adaptation that not even Jake Gyllenhaal could rescue.

I can’t say I blame the cynics, but if you asked the people who actually played the game (and not the ones who came out of the theater jaded, only to realize they were being sold a video game along with the movie ticket), they would have told you that Forgotten Sands has nothing to do with the movie. No, FS let the adaptation do whatever the fuck it was doing, while trying to snuggle itself somewhere between Sands of Time and Warrior Within.

You heard me right, this is another installment in the Sands of Time trilogy. Same old Prince, same old Yuri Lowenthal doing the voice work. The promise of yet another adventure with our beloved protagonist might make your heart flutter, but I’d strongly advise caution in this particular case. FS’ story reeks of cheap action movie screenplays, something an underpaid writer must have slapped together over a drunk weekend. It’s so astoundingly bland, I don’t even have the desire to ridicule it. Even the movie adaptation outperforms it by miles.

Some of you might be scrolling back to the first passage right now. Didn’t you say this game was good? How can that be true if the story is shit? Aren’t Prince of Persia games all about time travel shenanigans and the allure of Arabian Nights? Normally I’d agree with you, but with FS I’m willing to make an exception. What this game strives for is gameplay excellence, and since it came so close to peaking, I decided to turn a blind eye towards its less flattering sides. You’re more than welcome to make your own judgement.

I wonder, did the game snatch this shot from the movie or vice versa?

Since we’re definitely not talking about the story, there are two avenues along which we can further this discussion. Platforming is the more straightforward path, but let’s leave it for later and jump straight to the controversy. Let’s talk about the combat. You with me? You listening? Good, cause Forgotten Sands might have the best combat out of any Prince of Persia game.

You still there? Has the disbelief turned into outrage yet? Forgotten Sands? Best combat? Excuse me, but what? Why, I swear on my copy of Warrior Within there’s no other PoP game that comes close. What is this hack ‘n’ slash garbage and how dare you compare it to a true hardcore experience like WW? I played through Forgotten Sands and hadn’t died once! You call that a game? Are you some filthy casual who always plays on easy? Have you even finished Warrior Within? I beat it like twenty times on the hardest difficulty with one of my hands tied behind—

Shut up. Shut it. Yeah, I’m talking to you. I don’t care for the blind admiration you’ve been dragging around since you were 13. Why don’t you find a place for it somewhere up your ass? Yes, WW’s combat can be exceptional. Emphasis on can be. If Jupiter and Saturn align and Mercury is not in retrograde, Warrior Within can make you feel like a god. Or it can make you smash your gamepad against your desk.

I went over the damn thing in another review (shameless self-promotion here), but it all boils down to one thing. Half of WW’s difficulty comes from poor design choices, making the other half much harder to enjoy. Each time you enter a room you have to make a blood sacrifice to the camera gods lest it misbehaves itself, and then roll a perception check in case some mother fucker is coming at you from a dead angle. What FS offers me in turn is consistency. Being the fifth major PoP title released by Ubisoft, FS had the privilege of looking back on its predecessors and ironing out the creases. And you bet it did its homework.

The lock-on system is gone. Finally I can move in any direction I want and aim my attacks wherever I want. No more moving to the left only for the game to decide it should reroute my inputs towards a foe on the right. I understand that FS is a hack ‘n’ slash and that removing the lock-on must have been a necessity. If there are 30 enemies in the room, you don’t want the camera whip-lashing the player. However this change feels so liberating, I can’t help but wish it was part of the previous games as well. I despise soft lock-on systems in general and have yet to play a game that employs them successfully.

On top of that, I can cancel out of animations that don’t have iframes, and vice versa, I have iframes for the animations I can’t cancel out of. I cannot overstate the importance of these features and how sorely they were needed in the previous games. Further on, the arenas are spacious and the camera never gets stuck on anything. Couple that with smooth and responsive animations, a clean and comprehensive presentation, and you get yourself a combat system that flows like butter.

Did I hear anyone complain about Warrior Within just now?

This might be a good place to stop and take a step back. While FS introduced a bunch of quality of life improvements, which would have worked wonders in WW, it’s important to note that the nature of its combat is completely different. As I mentioned a few times by now, FS is definitively a hack ‘n’ slash.

Making your way through the tutorial, you won’t really notice any differences. You can still roll, swing your sword and jump over befuddled enemies. Then a few minutes in, a siege tower will open its doors and spew out 15 enemies at you. From then on FS just keeps adding to the deck. "More" is not a word that has a negative connotation in its vocabulary.

In itself I find this change to be neither good nor bad. Rather I’m much more interested in the side effects brought on by this design decision. As I said, looking at your basic arsenal, not much has changed. However a bit further down the line the game introduces you to the kick and the heavy attack.

The kick is there to facilitate the rock-paper-scissors nature of the combat. Way back in Sands of Time you could employ the jump attack against certain types of enemies, but would have to resort to wall bouncing against other types who were immune to the jump. Likewise the kick is there to deal with enemies hiding behind a shield, but can also be utilized as a powerful weapon against regular foes.

The heavy attack, which is undoubtedly my favorite, needs to be charged up and released. This sounds pretty basic, but the devil’s in the details as they say. First off, the attack can be cancelled at any time. Enemies can swarm you pretty quickly, so the game lets you abort and scurry off to safety instantly. Second, it doesn’t matter what direction the Prince is facing when stopping to charge up. You can tilt the stick any way you want and the Prince will launch himself there upon release. Third, the attack can be chained together from one successful hit to another. Mwah!

I know what you’re thinking right now: wow, what cool new additions. I wonder what kinds of combos you can build from them? Well, none.

As I’m sure you remember, both WW and the 2008 reboot had extensive combo trees. I liked how versatile and dynamic they were. You had numerous options for creating your own combat style. However they were shoehorned into the games at best. You’d expect them to be introduced gradually through gameplay, but no. The designers just dumped the entire combo sheet on your head and expected you to read through it. Even if you put in the time to try them all out, you’d eventually settle into using only a handful.

FS doesn’t bother with this. The closest it ever gets to a combo system are the variations of the jump attack. Besides simply vaulting over an enemy or smacking it over the head, the dedicated kick button also lets you tackle them to the ground. If you try to jump over an enemy with a shield, it’ll just knock you off with it. Furthermore the animation changes based on the enemy’s health. If it’s close to dying, the Prince will perform somewhat of a finisher. These special animations can also be triggered when driving an exhausted enemy up a wall or close to a banister.

Say hi to the movie’s ratings when you get down to the bottom.

As neatly packaged as it is, the combat system would certainly have felt barren without any further additions. Luckily FS decided to adorn it with more features. There are 4 brand new elemental powers for you to play with. No, they don’t make any sense within the narrative, so don’t bother frying your brain cells.

The Ice Blast is the most straightforward one, sending waves of ice along the trajectory of your attack. It’s great for mowing down entire rows of enemies, much further than your heavy attack can reach, and especially if you’re trying to get to those bothersome summoners. The Trail of Flame is somewhat of a passive, useful if you’re playing defensively of just like hit-and-run tactics. The Whirlwind is your obligatory AOE, considering the genre. Its logical counterpart, the Stone Armour, is perfect if you don’t want to be interrupted while going after a single target, like a stunned charger, or just want to shield yourself from those annoying scarabs.

Overall I feel the powers are decently rounded. They are specifically designed to be effective against the game’s main challenge - the ever increasing hordes of enemies. The only one I tend to question is the Trail of Flame, since it’s a rather passive ability in a combat system that favors aggressive play.

It took me some time to come to that last conclusion. The first thing I realized is that blocking is not a thing any more. The designers just made off with it and I didn’t even notice. Later I began thinking about how you obtain health and energy in this game. While it’s perfectly possible to dodge each and every attack, it’s not a realistic expectation to have. The staggering amount of enemies means you’ll get hit eventually, especially if you’re one for rushing into crowds. The game accounts for this by making fallen enemies drop health and energy. That way it creates a system akin to the one Bloodborne popularized a few years down the line - a closed loop of hitting and getting hit, an incentive to get in there and tap some ass instead of standing on the sidelines.

I do find it funny how the elemental powers are introduced to you. At some point the game tells you that you’ve gained enough XP and should open up a level-up menu. Level-up menu? There, among the obvious improvements to your health and energy, you’ll find the elemental powers just waiting for you without any further explanations. FS, you didn’t tell me this was a buffet. In a way this is the same transgression committed by the combo sheets from the previous games, although it is much more concise and comprehensive. For starters, the level-up menu fits on half a screen.

All of you need to chill out.

Well I guess it’s time to start nitpicking now. What? I said FS might have the best combat out of any PoP game, and I’ll emphasize that might again in case you missed it. While I think it polished much of what its predecessors got wrong, it made quite a few blunders on its own. God forbid there isn’t anything to bicker about.

Let’s start off with the minor stuff. Finishing off knocked-down enemies doesn’t quite work. You’re supposed to approach them and press the attack button, but it takes a while for the Prince to realize what he should be doing. Likewise, jumping on top of enemies is pretty imprecise. The Prince’s jump is ridiculously long and in most cases he’ll just leap past an enemy instead of engaging them.

Other than the 4 elemental powers, there’s another special ability I failed to mention. The Power Of Flight, or the dash as I’m sure it’s colloquially called, is a platforming ability that also made its way into the combat. It allows you to knock down enemies like bowling pins or quickly distance yourself from tricky situations. It’s devilishly fun, in both combat and platforming, but I worry it’s too powerful without the restraint of a cooldown bar. Then again, restricting it because of the combat would break some of the platforming challenges, but more on that later.

Boss-wise, there are only two types in the entire game: the chargers and the giants (or whatever class Ratash is supposed to represent). Timing the dodge on the former is completely broken. I could not for the life of me pinpoint the precise moment when you needed to leap out of the way. Its attack pattern is rather simple, though I do like how it’s expanded with crowd control. You can use the boss to clear out whole packs of minions, but then have to keep watch for those same minions not to overwhelm you while you’re chipping away at the boss. I wonder how this fight would evolve if they threw in a summoner…

Ratash, in his first two appearances, is perfectly serviceable, if not a bit too lenient. He also makes use of crowd control to add an extra layer to the fight, though it's not as effective as with the Chargers. Ratash shoots lightning bolts which can be used to kill minions, but he’s much less imposing and allows you to clear out all other enemies before engaging him.

The bosses that really get me going though are the trolls. Their move-set is more or less the same as Ratash’s, with one notable exception. They are the only enemy type in the entire game which forces you into a soft lock-on. Guys, what the hell happened here? The trolls are the perfect example that the lock-on does not work, especially not in this genre of combat. As if this doesn’t tamper with your ability to tackle smaller enemies, the trolls are also the only boss type which gets mixed in with summoners. Oh, now you remember to put them in! Watch as I get stunned-locked into oblivion while the camera stubbornly refuses to move away from the troll.

Overall, all of the boss types are severely overused, even for an 8 hour game. There’s also Ratash’s final form, I guess, but that fight is too short and too easy to make any impressions. If this were any other franchise, I’d be much more critical, but other PoP games set such a low bar with their bosses that I find it hard to complain.

I was also let down by the arena modes. I feel FS laid down the basis for a good combat system that could have been pushed much harder than it was. There are two arena modes in total and once you beat them, which won’t take you more than 15 min, there’s really no reason to go back to them. This could have been an opportunity to try out new and more challenging enemy combinations, to let you tweak the difficulty and measure your performance in various ways. It’s sad thinking of other games that have much more complex arena modes, but not nearly as polished a combat system as Forgotten Sands (The Witcher 2 and Alan Wake ffs).

Now you see me, now you don’t.

I think we can let the combat rest for a while and finally talk about the platforming in this game. Unlike the combat, the core of the platforming stayed the same as it was in the Sands of Time trilogy, with numerous improvements and additions further expanding on the original formula. This allows FS to deliver some of the best challenges the series has seen so far.

A number of tweaks have been made to the basic move-set, a lot of them inspired by the 2008 reboot, no less. This is rather surprising considering that FS leans heavily in WW’s direction, with its complex control scheme and relentless late-game sections, while the reboot made its mission to use as little buttons as possible. First off, you can now jump off pillars instantaneously by pointing the stick in the desired direction and pressing the jump button, regardless of where the Prince is facing. Next, you don’t have to press the jump button to pull yourself up a platform, but just tilt the stick forward without breaking the momentum. Last but not least, you can run up a wall after jumping towards it from any other obstacle, significantly increasing the potential of wall-to-wall scenarios.

I was also pleasantly surprised by how they revamped the control scheme for polls. Previously you had to hold down the special action button to initiate a swing and then press the jump button to launch yourself off the poll. Changing the Prince’s direction on a poll was particularly frustrating, as you had to keep twiddling the left stick like a mad man until the game decided to oblige. Now swinging is initiated by holding down the left stick in the direction perpendicular to the poll, while the direction parallel to the poll moves the Prince along it. Switching the perpendicular direction also neatly switches the Prince around the poll, removing any ambiguity from the mechanic. I appreciated this the most when tackling timed obstacles, such as doors, where being able to switch direction without breaking momentum is necessary for completing the challenge.

One new addition, which I’m positively blown away by, is the ability to initiate a wall run while holding on to a ledge, both horizontally and vertically. To give you my favorite example, you’ll come across a familiar trap when you first start descending into the underground city: a ledge and a spinning saw. However this saw is spinning right under the ledge, able to cut through the Prince if he were hanging on. At first I was confused. What is this setup? Then I realized what the game wanted me do. You have to grab onto the ledge when the saw moves away from you and run up the wall to let it pass beneath you on its way back. Then you have to slide down and move quickly along the ledge before the saw comes back to get you. My mind was positively blown. The game is full of little reinventions like this which make you view old obstacles in completely new ways.

Characteristic of a PoP game, all of FS’ animations are fluid and seasoned with little details to further enhance the experience. E.g. if you jump towards a hanging pillar just beneath its lower tip, the Prince will grab onto it with his arms and yank himself up until he’s encircled it with his legs. This comes off much more naturally than simply snapping you into place. Another good example, when you jump from one poll to another at a lower elevation, the Prince performs a different animation. He’ll grab onto it with only one arm, as if to signify that this is not a clean landing, perform a spin and then settle into the default position. All of this adds nicely to one of the most polished platforming experiences in the entire franchise.

Booby trapped corridor, my favorite.

The game wouldn’t be much fun if it only stuck with the basic move-set. There are three new platforming abilities tied to the Djinn: the Power of Flow, the Power of Flight and the Power of Memory. The Power of Flight, aka the dash, I already mentioned. What I didn’t go into is how it’s used exactly. See, another change made to the basic move-set is the separation of the jump from the roll. In previous installments, these were mapped to the same button and triggered contextually. In FS they occupy different buttons, clearly signifying the player’s intent.

To be honest, I don’t really understand this decision, neither in combat nor in platforming. To add to the confusion, the jump almost makes the roll obsolete. There are two reasons for this. First, the jump is ridiculously long. Rolling used to be king when it came to overcoming timed obstacles, but now it sits in the shadow of its far superior counterpart. Second, the camera feels weird when rolling, like it crashes into the Prince from the behind and squeals to a halt. It makes the already modest distance crossed by the roll seem even shorter.

To go back to the Power of Flight, the only reason I can justify the divorce between the jump and the roll is that their button combination is used to dash. As mentioned, the dash is recklessly unleashed during combat, but much more tuned to my liking during platforming. The camera work is exquisite. There is a genuine sense of exhilaration when swishing ahead, and an even greater satisfaction upon smashing onto your destination. The only thing I worry is that it over-saturates the game with yet another move for crossing distance, threatening to retire the other two mechanics whose buttons it makes use of.

The Power of Flow, i.e. freezing water for a specified amount of time, is an absolute banger. The game uses it to string together some insane challenges, which push your platforming skills to new heights. You’re asked to perform your usual assortment of moves while also rapidly switching the state of the water, freezing it to give the Prince new obstacles to interact with and unfreezing it to allow him through. This all culminates during the game’s final stretch where you’re tasked with hopping your way past multiple rows of waterfalls.

The Power of Memory, or level reconstruction, is yet another surprising inspiration provided by the reboot, specifically the phantom walls found in the Epilogue. On its own, it’s much lower stake then the other powers, requiring only the quick engagement of one button to successfully pull off. Never the less, it can be thrilling jumping off one solid surface, letting its safety disappear behind you, and then watching anxiously as another one forms in front of you in the nick of time. Coupled with the other two powers, it creates another layer of complexity around FS’ platforming mechanics.

The game introduces each of these powers in separate sections, allowing you to get used to them on their own terms. Soon though, it starts mixing them together to form some of the franchise’s most intricate platforming sections. You’ll find yourself splashing through waterfalls, landing on freshly reconstructed walls, bolting to unsuspecting birds, and then back swinging around bars of ice, all in the matter of seconds.

Come here, birdie, birdie.

Come to think of it, there are actually 4 powers of the Djinn, aren’t they? The poor Power of Time somehow got lost in the process. If I were to take a closer look at it, what’s the point of having it in the game at all? No, I don’t mean because of the lore implications. I couldn’t care less about that, not to mention that the other powers aren’t tied by some narrative thread either. What I’m aiming at is gameplay. Isn’t the rewind kinda pointless in FS?

I mean, just think about it. Auto-saves are so frequent, you’re basically being restarted on the last solid surface you were standing on. Minus Elika, it is functionally the same system as in the reboot. Why would you waste your rewind on that? Likewise, slain foes drop health, meaning the mechanic is equally useless during combat.

I only found two applications for it in the entire game. The first one is for poorly timed dodges on incoming Chargers. The second is for misinterpreting directional inputs (more on that in a sec). So, yeah, you could say I used the power rather frequently, but both of these instances were for correcting the game’s busted mechanics and not some intended design choice.

Furthermore, why on earth is the rewind power using the same energy bar as the combat abilities!? The Power of Flow has its own cooldown meter, the Power of Memory can be triggered at any time (as long as you like having a floor beneath your feet), and the dash has some (barely noticeable) downtime between bursts. It’s like they added the rewind just so they could have another reason to lodge the game within the SoT trilogy, without considering if the power even had anything to add to the gameplay.

Don’t you dare slip.

If I could add more complaints to the pile, I have some serious gripes with the camera. For the most part, it performs its job rather competently, but problems quickly start to arise. The first one that became apparent to me was its restrictiveness. The camera is fixed during most platforming challenges, giving you only a little wiggle room to look around. On one hand, I like this. You are constantly being pointed in the direction you need to go in. There is no ambiguity about what stunt to perform next, allowing the action to flow uninterrupted.

On the other hand, I felt like I was stuck on rails. The previous games let you explore their worlds without much hand-holding, emulating a sense of freedom which the open worlds in Warrior Within and the 2008 reboot made real use of. Sure, the camera would occasionally point to a specific direction, but only when necessary for clarity’s sake. I think that restricting the camera as much as it did, FS inadvertently created a sense of artifice, like its world is no more than a set of static scenes going by a carnival ride.

But enough about the camera angles. What really gets me about FS’ platforming is how directional inputs are handled. For some obstacles, moving the Prince forward requires pointing the stick in the direction relative to the camera. For others, you just have to push the stick forward. This is insanely confusing to say the least.

I don’t remember the previous games having this issue, at least not often enough to notice. In FS it is a constant recurrence. I wish the designers decided on one approach and kept it throughout. The camera is at its absolute worst when the game strings together two obstacles which don’t apply the same movement principles. It adds and unwelcome layer of uncertainty to platforming challenges which require quick decision making. The problem is further magnified by the fact that the game insists on using cinematic camera angles to frame the action. Yes, I know, it looks a lot cooler than your standard bird’s eye perspective, but it’s also much harder to tell what constitutes as "moving forward" when you’re viewing the Prince from some weird angle.

Those Warrior Within drapes will never go out of style.

Although FS is more than capable of chaining together some exhilarating platforming sequences, the levels the action takes place in are often quite forgettable. Whether from a lack of inspiration or pressure from higher-ups, the designers seem to have dug up SoT’s art book somewhere in the back of the office, and just blown the dust off it. The line between homage and rip-off dangerously leans towards the latter. You’ve got your baths, your gardens, your astronomy chambers, etc. They even reprise the palace’s defense systems.

Each time you enter a new area, the game swirls around the camera to give you a sense of the room and display its name in bold letters across the screen. Unfortunately, they all have a terrible case of the cookie-cutter syndrome. Each room is square-shaped. Each is entered from a balcony up above. The obstacles are placed circularly around the walls. There’s always an indistinguishable hallway leading from one room to another. On and on like that.

SoT was linear, but its levels were much more spatially complex than simple cubic environments. For some reason FS’ designers skipped that lesson while screening the predecessors for inspiration. Instead they just slapped over some SoT-looking textures. As a result, Malik’s palace feels like a temporary movie set, like a bunch of fake walls hastily propped up just before the player enters the room.

To give the game some credit, the levels do start to improve once you’ve made it past the halfway mark. My favorite sections are those adjacent to the Terraces. There the game finally stops leading you from one box to another and lets you scale spires and hop over balconies. The visuals are crisp, selling the opulence and magnitude of the palace’s rooftops. The featured content is also varied, giving you a pretty good puzzle section in the observatory and a chase sequence with Ratash, an unexpected throwback to all those fun times with the Dahaka.

Good old crank puzzles.

Ok, you know what, I lied. I said we wouldn’t talk about the story, but we absolutely must. I can’t believe they slammed some random door between the Prince and Malik just to stop them from settling their argument. It’s one of the main contrivances the plot keeps recycling to justify its existence. The brothers are like: could we toss over this amulet and fix everything? Yes, we could, bro. Ok, you do it first. No, you do it. No, you. No, bro, you do it!

Hold on, game, wasn’t the Prince’s biggest mistake in SoT not trusting Farrah with the dagger? Then why on earth is he not handing in the freaking amulet!? Also why do the brothers not trust each other in the first place? Did I miss something? What is their relationship made out of anyway? It wouldn’t have hurt to flesh that out more, especially if you’re going to make it the focal point of the story.

What’s worse, here’s the Prince, a couple of years past the most significant event in his entire life, still bearing fresh scars from letting his arrogance get the best of him. And does he talk about it with Malik? No. Does he share some insight regarding this strikingly similar situation? No. Does he try to appeal to his brother instead of succumbing to the same childish stubbornness? No! They could have had an honest to god interesting story about strained family relationships, the abuse of power and the difficulty of speaking up about one’s issue. But that would have required some actual effort, wouldn’t it?

The game culminates with the laziest Hollywood ending I might have ever seen in a video game. To my utter amusement, Malik died in the Prince’s arms as the camera zoomed out and the Prince screamed into the heavens. I was hoping they would squeeze in the Dahaka’s appearance somewhere in the post-credits, but I wasn’t even rewarded with that much.

Bro, we’re meeting up at the baths, right?

It’s really quite sad how often the game relies on SoT’s branding, but tosses aside everything that could have been drawn from its story. Instead, it desperately copy-pastes whatever it can get its paws on. Here’s yet another army attacking yet another desert city. Which army/city, you ask? Who cares. Why don’t you chew up SoT’s tutorial section - we nearly identically transplanted into FS, down to the specific camera angles.

Someone must have flipped through SoT’s glossary at this point. What are we missing? But Farrah, of course! Here’s her knock-off counterpart, what’s her name? Razia? (I had to Google that, just so you know.) She and the Prince share as much chemistry as Godsmack and a glass of lukewarm water. Most of her time on-screen is spent blabbering out exposition - I didn’t listen to a single word she said.

Yuri Lowenthal is back, and while I’d love if he narrated my life, could the Prince please keep his mouth shut unless he has something substantial to say? Yes, how dare I, but the dialogue is so poor it’s barely listenable even with the stellar performance. The only remarks the writers could come up with are so inconsequential, they could have had the Prince comment on the weather. They reuse the same joke about a collapsed staircase three times!

And could we take a minute to talk about the Prince’s face? I know technology evolves over time and new models need to be created to present the same characters. It’s not uncommon to have someone’s appearance change between installments, especially if there have been longer breaks between releases or if the in-game context justifies it. So for example, I can get on board with the transition from SoT to WW, where the 7 year in-game gap, as well as the Prince’s move from adolescence to adulthood, more that justify our protagonist’s altered visage.

On the other hand, Forgotten Sands, what the actual fuck? Who is this person? How does this Prince fit in between SoT and WW!? If it weren’t for those bangs and that signature goatee, I wouldn’t have recognized him to begin with. I’m becoming more aware with each new installment that our blue eyed Persian is a genetic abomination. At least we’re all in agreement that Warrior Within’s armor is the best armor.

Wait a minute… You’re not Farrah!

Here comes the obligatory section where I shit all over the publisher. So let’s see, Ubisoft, what have you done this time? Did the game have a troubled development? Hmm, I don’t think so. I can’t remember any such reports from back in the day, nor could I dig up ones now. Were there any egregious online features? Not really, just some inconsequential skins.

Wait, I remember now! Uplay! Let it perish in the deepest depths of hell where it came from! Uplay was what you had in store back in early 2021 when I first gave this game a try (yes, I know, late to the party). What I had to go through to get the game up and running on Steam was ridiculous.

At first, I didn’t have Uplay installed, so the game was trying to boot itself up using some archaic Ubisoft launcher I had leftover on my PC. After I installed it, it still wouldn’t run because the cache files created by the old launcher were causing issues. After clearing the cache, it couldn’t sync non-existing save files, so I restarted it in offline mode. Then, the cherry on top, it kept crashing silently whenever I tried to boot the game. Why, you ask? Because you can’t have your gamepad connected before the game itself starts. Don’t even ask how I got to that conclusion. It took me more time to get to the title screen than to download and install the damn thing!

At the time of writing this, early 2023 to be precise, Uplay is dead and gone, replaced by some other infernal construct called Ubisoft Connect. I flinched when I realized the game would put me through more launcher torment, but fortunately this time the effort was minimal. Except I had to launch a separate EXE to change the display settings. Ok, whatever. Now the new launcher tracks my in-game achievements. Cool, I’ll still be sure never to use it.

Ubisoft, don’t you keep pushing me.

To be honest, there’s not much here I can blame Ubisoft for specifically. Well, except for one thing. It’s clear as day why they ran back to the SoT trilogy. The earnings of the 2008 reboot were supposedly disappointing, leading Ubisoft to cancel the game’s sequel - a grudge I plan to take to my grave. Even so, I don’t mind they took that as a reason to revisit the old formula. FS shows just how much room there is to build upon the original mechanics. What I do mind is that the game’s creative wings have been clipped from having to stick so close to SoT. FS doesn’t lack polish, nor fun gameplay twists. It lacks an identity.

Just who talks about this game any more? People who’ve actually played it cannot come here in good faith and slander its quality. However, I doubt the game has many fierce defenders. I’ve looked through old reviews and couldn’t find critics being unfair with it. When you comb through them all, it comes down to the same thing. What good gameplay, what bad story. I can’t say I disagree. FS is notably better than any movie tie-in has the right of being, but is still a soulless husk despite its shredded body.

In a way, Ubisoft got exactly what they wanted, the polar opposite of the 2008 reboot. A game that tries to stick to everything a diligent marketer identified as the franchise’s strong suits. A venture that must have been pulled down each time it flew a little too close to the sun. Even so, I’m amazed it managed to get away with as many gameplay innovations as it did. There were clearly some incredibly talented people on the PoP team, who fought for every inch of creative freedom they could get there hands on.

Despite all that effort, the game failed the test of time miserably. True to the irony in its name, Forgotten Sands slips my mind way too easily. This review sat in my virtual drawer for two years until some twist of faith brought it back to my attention. I daydream about Sands of Time, I pull my hair over Warrior Within, I cry in my pillow thinking of the reboot, but I barely contemplate FS unless it somehow plants itself right in front of me. It never managed to carve itself a piece of anyone’s adoration, so it was left behind in the dustbin of gaming history.

Ezio would have jumped, you pussy.

#game review #review #prince of persia #forgotten sands

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