#Sila's Magic: Zip

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Forspoken Photo Dump 182: Cipal; the Barren Plains, Part 2

[racefortheironthrone]

hi!!! its been a while since ive read the books, and im not sure if im remembering right, but when silas uses his necromancy is colum able to move? fight? or is being used as a battery so blistering overwhelming that he can only stand there and breathe? i remember colum fighting ianthe but that was the thing possessing him, no?

Good question! It's a bit ambiguous in the text.

Initially, when Colum is siphoned by Silas, he freezes and cannot move, talk, etc. But then there's a middle phase of the fight:

“He’s trying to drain her,” muttered Harrow, spellbound. “But he’s splitting his focus—he needs to bring Colum back, or—” Colum—ashen as his name, drunk in movement, numb—had lifted his sword, and was moving inexorably toward Ianthe. He backhanded her full across the face with his shield, as though to test her. Ianthe’s head snapped back, but she looked more dazed and surprised than hurt or injured. Her breath was coming in stutters. She righted herself like nothing had happened, and the cavalier thrust forward with his blade. She raised her hand and wrapped it around the shining edge like it was nothing. Her hand was bloody, but the blood itself pushed back gracefully, quietly repelling the blade like it was all just so many more fingers. Silas clasped his hands together, and the pressure nearly made Gideon hurl. Colum shook his sword—the blood broke off like shards of glass—and Ianthe staggered, though nobody had touched her. As she lurched away from Colum the blood on the floor and the walls and the ceiling was drying up, burning into itself as though it had never been. Her eyes were that awful, blank white, and she was holding her head and shaking it as though to reposition her brain. “Stop doing this to me!” she was hissing. “Stop it!” Colum turned and with a liquid, exquisite movement, sliced down across her back. It was a shallow cut. Ianthe did not even seem to notice. The blood bubbled over her pretty yellow robe and the new gash revealed the wound sucking in on itself and zipping together. “Listen,” she was saying, “Babs, listen.”

This is before the demon inhabits Colum, btw. It's actually rather an impressive display from the Eighth House - Silas is simultaneously siphoning Colum and Ianthe, and channeling the thanergy he's sucking up into countering Ianthe's flesh magic, and Colum is managing to fight like a cavalier despite his soul not being in his body.

It puts a whole new spin on Silas' comment to Colum that "your sword is mine too," and really shows how central Mercymorn's contribution to the Eightfold Word was to the lyctoral process.

[dubljarnasims]

Kingman Rapids

Part of the 5th generation of my legacy, he lost his father early in childhood/ Kingman grew up idolizing his stepfather and joined the military as soon as he could to follow in his footsteps. He moved from San Myshuno to Strangerville to be closer to work. No CC included in the download - please see the list and links below.

Parents: Angel Dubljarna & Powell Rapids Sibling(s): Angelina Winkelman Partner(s): Ajo Jones

✨ DOWNLOAD HERE (Google Drive)

Clothing/Accessories:

Glasses - Suzue | Vision

Pants - Rona | Trackdown cargo pants

Shoes - Lazyeyelids | Laced boots

Socks - Sfozinda | Lou socks v3 calf plain

Top - Rona | Trackdown front zip shirts

Undershirt - Sforzinda | Mariner undershirt plain rolled

Hair/Makeup/Skin Details:

Body Hair - Luumia | Body hair v5 plus

Eyebags - Northern Siberia Winds | Eyebags n1

Eyebrows - RemusSirion | Eyebrows n14

Freckles - RemusSirion | Life’s a beach freckles N3

Hair - Johnnysims | Silas

Teeth - Simbience | Teeth #1

Defaults:

Skin - Luumia | Vanilla skin default

Eyes - Pralinesims | Oasis v2 default

Sliders & Presets:

Butt - CmarNYC | Enhanced butt slider

Chin - Magic Bot | Default chin slider

Eyebrows - Magic Bot | Default eyebrow slide

Eyes - marsosims | Eye size slider

Face - Luumia | Face asymmetry slider

Hips - Luumia | Hip shape slider

Lips - Miiko | Lip presets 01

Lower Legs - CmarNYC | Enhanced lower legs slider

Mouth - Magic Bot | Default mouth slider

Mouth - Teanmoon | Mouth scale slider

Neck - Golyhawhaw | Neck width slider

Nose - Golyhawhaw | Valentino nose preset

Nose - Magic Bot | Default nose slider

Thighs - CmarNYC | Enhanced thigh slider

🐌 Many thanks to the CC creators! 🐌

@golyhawhaw @johnnysimmer @lazyeyelids @luumia @magic-bot @marsosims @miikocc @northernsiberiawinds @pralinesims @remussirion @rona-sims @sforzcc @simbience @suzuesims @teanmoon

[cruelfeline]

In Tanta We Trust Trailer Assessment

So, as some of y'all already know, a gameplay trailer for the Forspoken DLC dropped this morning, along with a small article providing a little more information.

Trailer is here. Article is here. Both are required foundational material for this post.

I'm going to try to organize my thoughts in some sort of reasonable manner, but I am having Many Thoughts, so it might come across as haphazard. I'll try to provide a little bulletpoint summary of major takeaways at the end.

Also: so much of this is just me theorizing. Any and all of it has a good chance of being false. I'm just trying to make sense of All of This... so don't mind me if it turns out that I'm super wrong. Chances are, I am!

Anyway... let's just get into it.

New Enemies

The trailer provides us with clear views of some of our new enemies, namely the Rheddig.

The Rheddig are very clearly bird-themed. Feathered headdresses, feathered shoulders to their armor, and a bird-like mask that @phoenixiancrystallist already called. It's a little difficult to get good detail on the rest of their outfits; our best close-up views happen during the very opening of the trailer while Cinta is absolutely demolishing them, and things move a bit too fast for me, personally, to get much detail. However! An important point:

The Rheddig soldiers appear to be able to use magic.

And it's not Cuff's magic. It's not metallic and golden, as one might have expected. Rather, it's this sort of cyan-blue color. We see it twice, I believe used by the same soldier: first to imbue their spear with this cyan-magic, then to summon the spear back after throwing it. I think. The camera cuts make it a little hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure that's what happening.

So that's interesting. Given that this looks like a generic Rheddig soldier, not some sort of "special enemy" type individual.

Next up is this fella.

It's very difficult to discern from a still shot (I encourage everyone to go watch the trailer for this), but this is a winged enemy who has some sort of... I'm not sure... maybe pieces of something? maybe birds? floating around it, at waist-height. Again, too much movement going on to be able to easily tell. The wings appear to be like standard bird wings with visible feathers. Ah, and the legs and feet! Well. There are no feet. But the legs appear to be made out of strands of twisted material that end in points rather than feet.

The way they're designed is very reminiscent of Nightmares, namely the Riven Carcasses.

Finally, we have... whatever in the world this is.

Honestly, I have no idea. It's huge. It's reptilian. It has wings and a tail, but both seem to be either covered in or at least partially comprised of golden metal displaying Rheddig symbolism (the sunbursts, for example). Same with the little helmet it's wearing. I can't tell if this is a regular fantasy animal that has been outfitted with armor, or if it's some sort of early, proto-Breakbeast, or what. I honestly have no idea.

Frey's Magic

We know that Frey gets a new set of spells to use in this DLC, but until this trailer, we didn't really know what they might be.

Now... well, good gosh, but I have some theories. Let's first take a look at some of the demonstrated spells.

We've got this AOE business that first lifts some enemies into the air, then appears to crystallize them into golden metal. It's hard to glean from still images, but watch this moment in the trailer. Those Rheddig in the second image, are actually frozen into their positions, like statues. It doesn't, however, seem to be permanent. In the trailer, Cinta comes in to do a follow-up attack, upon which the golden statues regain their human form and can move again as normal.

We have this golden spear that, when thrown into an enemy, likewise solidifies them into a statue of golden-metallic crystalline whatnot.

Traversal spells appear different, too. We've got this instead of Zip and Spin; no longer does Frey appear to use Sila's fire magic to grab onto the... very golden-looking crystals; rather, she uses a golden line. While she's doing so, her body seems... very reminiscent of Susurrus' metal when he's in humanoid form. Which is. Interesting. And while I was intrigued by her using her left hand here at first, when I went in-game and used Sila's Zip a few times, I found that Frey actually uses both her right and left hands for the spell. So that doesn't seem crucial here.

We've got this gravity-type spell. Frey starts off attacking a floor-bound enemy (of which there are several) with a golden sword - which seems very similar to Sila's sword, but clearly the wrong color - and ends up forming with appears to be a small black hole that subsequently ends up drawing her foes in. Very interesting in that, even though gravity magic is being used, we have no sign of Prav's powers.

Finally, we have this. Frey appears to gather a ball of golden energy in her right hand. She tosses it at the downed reptilian enemy, and it appears to... I'm not sure. Enter the beast? Gather energy? It's a little hard to tell with all the particle effects. Whatever it does, it ends up forming huge metallic spikes that seem to either erupt from the creature, or stab into it, or a combination of the two. And these metallic spikes look very similar in composition to Susurrus' humanoid form's metal.

Frey's Arms

Small observation here, but it has to be said: not only is Cuff - as we know him - gone, but the sunburst symbols he's been replaced with seem to be progressing along Frey's body. At least, that's what it seems like to me, given that Frey has them only on her right arm in some shots and then on both arms in others. It's obviously hard to tell the timing based on random in-game combat scenes, but this here:

This, I feel, is very likely the beginning of the DLC. It appears to be a cutscene. It involves Frey down (article states that she arrives in this time period injured), and it seems like an appropriate introduction to Tanta Cinta. If that's the case, and this is the opening, then it's very clear that Frey does not start out with any marks on her left arm.

It follows, then, that whatever is going on with those marks is progressive; she starts with a few marks on her right arm, and then they spread.

Frey's Magic and Arms: Discussion

So, let's just take a second here to address the most glaring aspect of all these new spells: they're golden. They're golden, and they appear to be metallic in nature, and some of that metal looks very similar to either the golden metal-crystals of the Break, or to Suss' body, or both.

Which leads me to one of my current theories regarding what's happening with both the spells and Frey's arms: something it going on with the bond between Cuff and Frey, and it's causing his powers to bleed into hers.

Crystalline gold metal is a symptom of the Break. And what is the Break but a mucked-up mix of Tantas' and Susurrus' powers? That's what we see on the Breakborn and the Breakbeasts (one of the bears' entries even describes the gold as crystalline). It's what we see in the Breakshards.

I don't know if this is intentional (on Frey's part) or not... though I personally worry that it's not. I worry that Susurrus is enacting his plan to drive Frey mad, except it's less about ruining her mental health and more about actually infecting her body with his essence. In the process, she gets access to his magic, but eventually... eventually, he takes her o ver. Or kills her. Whatever.

Mind you, it's also possible that this is a voluntary cooperation between the two of them, but... ehn. I'm not an optimistic person.

Especially with those lines in the DLC article: "[Frey] also learns a grim truth about herself" and "...Frey sets out to discover the truth behind these events, save Athia… and perhaps also herself." It wouldn't surprise me if that grim truth was that she's being taken over, or dying, or otherwise unable to live with a whole-ass demon contained in her body.

I am Concerned. Let's just leave it at that.

Tanta Cinta

I actually don't have much to say about Cinta. She's not a focal point for me in this, though her combat style, with the toranas liberally used, is looking excellent. I can't say too much about her spells because they're just too particle effect-y for me to make easy sense of in this trailer.

However, she apparently slits throats. Which is neat.

Where Is My Son

So, obviously, the most important thing to me, personally, in this DLC is Cuff's status and involvement.

Thus far, we haven't heard his voice, or had any mention of him in any of the written promotional material. Nothing. If I'm assessing the above screenshot correctly, he doesn't seem to be on Frey's right arm at this point (suspected opening) of the DLC. Maybe... it's hard to see. Anyway: no sign of Cuff.

Which is reeeeeally weird. Like. Either they've just cut him out of this - which I guess is not impossible but also would be (a) super strange and (b) crushingly disappointing to me personally, or whatever is going on with him is spoiler-y enough that they don't want to mention him for fear of giving story away.

It's uncomfortable for me, though. Not even any little birds when Frey does her strange new spells... I miss my wrist idiot!

I really hope they didn't just replace him with Cinta for the DLC, though I'm prepped for it. If that's the case, then I shall be a sad little lynx without my sassy commentary buddy for my playthrough. Hope he makes it through :<

The Gloaming

At the very, very end of the trailer, we have Frey asking someone what "the gloaming" does, to which an unfamiliar male voice replies: "It destroys Athia, of course."

There's no indication of what The Gloaming is. In terms of definition, "gloaming" refers to twilight, or dusk. That time of the evening when it's not quite fully dark yet, but the street lamps have come on, and you can't see as well in the waning light.

But what it is in-game... no idea.

I don't know if it involves how Rheddah has used Cuff, or if it's a totally separate thing. Don't know if it's a plan, or a machine, or a creature, or what.

Whatever it is, one thing is really apparent: people want to destroy Athia. Not conquer it, not take it over. Destroy it. Which is really, really harsh. Like... I've seen so many stories where countries are being taken over and, say, assimilated into an empire. But this doesn't appear to be that. Between how Cuff behaves in the main game, and this specific trailer line, it really seems like someone truly wants Athia to not exist. Which is much more interesting than simply wanting to rule it.

Closing Summary

All right. That was a lot. Let me see if I can just bullet-point my main feelings/observations...

the Rheddig wear highly bird-themed armor and appear to be able to use a cyan-colored magic

one of the enemies that fights alongside the Rheddig has avian wings, can fly, and doesn't appear to have feet

Cuff is either totally gone or has changed into a different form characterized by metal line and sunburst markings on Frey's arm; said markings appear to start on her right arm and eventually spread to cover both arms

it's impossible to say whether Frey can still use all of her Tanta magic; the spells showcased in the trailer appear to have a gold, metallic theme and crystallize her opponents into golden metal; this appears very similar to the Break's effects to me

Frey learns a "grim truth" about herself; no idea what this is, but my main worry is that it has something to do with Cuff infecting and destroying her, something involving how her new spells seem Break-like... basically, I worry for our daughter's safety and our wrist idiot's ability to function without killing her

I don't know know what The Gloaming is, but I assume it is not good; I likewise do not know who the man speaking at the end of the trailer is, but I assume he is not good

basically: I want my wrist idiot, and I would like him not to kill his only source of metal polish

All right! I think that's all I can manage for now. I'm sure I'll end up having more thoughts as the weeks go by... maybe we'll luck into some more content reveals!

If not, then we've only got three weeks to wait until this launches c:

[primroseprime2019]

Stars Colliding- Chapter One: A Strange Feeling

On Evara, in the kingdom of Volcandor, Paige, Phillip, Penny, Leo and Robert were at the guards' quarters. They sat on a bench, watching the rookie guards spar one another.

Paige sighed as she leaned back on her hands. Prism looked at her companion, "you okay?"

"Just thinking," she said. "And what are you thinking about, Paigey Paige?" Penny asked playfully. The Evaran smiled and looked at the sky.

It was a beautiful white and blue color.

In truth, Paige didn't know what she was thinking about. But there was a strange feeling in her chest. She didn't know what it was but she knew that it would lead her somewhere.

And she also knew that she wasn't going to be alone once she went down that road.

On Irilia, in the town of Skypeak, Gregory was sitting on the porch of Shasta's house, watching Sarah and Phoenix spar in their dragon forms.

Emma walked up beside her brother and sat down. He smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Hey, Em," he said, "you feeling better?"

"Mhm," she mumbled and he could see that she was still sleeply. He chuckled softly and kissed her head.

She nuzzled into him and he smiled before he looked at the sky. Like Paige, he had that strange feeling. It was eating at him.

He didn't know what it was either but he knew that he and the other Heroes were going to find out soon enough.

In the town square of the town, Kaitlin was walking with her dad through the village. She sighed deeply as she held a basket.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Her dad, Peter, asked. He had a concerned look. She looked at him, "I'm okay, Dad. Just kinda bored is all."

He smiled softly and pulled her into a one-armed hug. She smiled and nuzzled into his side. "I bet your boredome will be cured when you and Gregory go and visit your friends."

Kaitlin giggled and Peter kissed her head.

The two walked over to another stand. Kaitlin looked at the sky and hummed softly.

On Dosyria, in the village of Northshire, Harry flew through the clouds. He flapped his wings before he closed them and free-fell through the air.

Astrid was watching him through the telescope. "He's doing it!" She called out.

Felix tapped the board and looked at the stopwatch. Before he reached the ground, Harry spread his wings and the action brought him back up into the sky before he zipped past the bell tower and his tail whacked against the bell.

It started ringing as it swayed left and right.

"Haha! Yes!" Runa exclaimed. Harry smiled as he landed on the roof of the clubhouse.

Heather chuckled, "amazing as always." Felix clapped his hands giddily.

"Okay, we're up," Silas chuckled with a sly grin.

"C'mon, Silas," Charlotte said as she, Victoria, Elana and Marley landed next to Heather and Dante, "no one's ever been able to hit that bell except Harry."

"Until now," Silas huffed. "Guys, this was supposed to be a drill," Harry piped up, brow furrowed, "do you have to turn it into a game?"

"Don't we always?" Astrid asked playfully. Harry chuckled, "fair point."

Silas smiled as he walked over and flew up into the air. Harry looked at Charlotte and Marley, "what brings you girls here?"

"What, we can't visit?" Marley asked playfully. Harry smiled and the three Heroes looked at the sky.

"You feel it too?" Charlotte asked. "Yeah," Harry and Marley replied.

"Do you think the others feel it too?" Marley asked. "No doubt they would," Charlotte chuckled.

On Dolvade, in the kingdom of Emberglade, Natalia was in her room. She stood by a mirror and held her hand out.

Her eyes glowed magenta and her irises glowed white. "Kýma tis Fotiás," she muttered before she swung her hand and a wave of magenta flames flew into the mirror.

The mirror jerked but fortunately didn't break.

Natalia sighed in relief as Cody walked into the room. She looked at him, "hey."

"Hey, big sis," he greeted, "practicing your magic again?"

She chuckled softly. "You know this takes precedence." Her brother playfully rolled his eyes as he sat on the bed.

Natalia chuckled softly and she walked out onto the balcony. She leaned against the banister and Cody followed her. Natalia looked up at the sky.

She fiddled with her pendant. She frowned deeply as she felt a strange feeling in her chest. She hummed softly.

On Dolrion, in the kingdom of Nocturnia, Demetrius was standing out on the balcony, staring out at the city of Nightshade.

He sighed deeply and leaned against it. The wind blew at his hair and he closed his eyes for a moment. Maddox walked up beside him.

"What's on your mind?" He asked. Demetrius looked at him, "nothing much. Just... I have this strange feeling. Like, something is going on but I don't know what it is."

Maddox tilted his head curiously.

Demetrius leaned against him, resting his head on the Dolrion prince's shoulder.

"Well... I'm sure you'll get a chance to find that feeling," Maddox said, wrapping an arm around his best friend's shoulder, "you always do."

Demetrius smiled and looked at the sky.

On Xinia, Thomas, Alby and Newton were running through the fields.

Thomas skidded to a halt before he crouched low, his eyes narrowing in concentration. After a few moments, he leapt up and tackled Alby who yelped in surprise.

A few young Xinians ran over; two boys and two girls.

Newton chuckled, "well you certainly caught him, Tommy."

Thomas chuckled slightly as he transformed back and helped Alby to his feet.

"I'm going to take the young ones to the Shady River. See you once it's dinner time," Alby said.

"Alright," Newton nodded. Thomas nodded. Alby gently nudged the young ones and they took off running.

Thomas looked at the sky and he hummed softly, a frown forming on his face. Newton looked at him, "oh no... I know that face."

Thomas looked at him, amused, "this is just my thinking face."

"Uh-huh," Newton chuckled as he hopped on a boulder, "and what are you thinking about?"

"It's just a weird feeling," Thomas replied, sitting beside his friend, "I don't know. Looking at the sky helps."

"Doing that just means that adventure is calling again," Newton stated. Thomas raised his eyebrows in surprise. The blonde smiled.

"What, don't think I haven't seen you longing for that," he said. Thomas smiled and nuzzled him, "you know me well."

"Indeed I do," he replied, "now let's get back home, yeah?"

Thomas nodded and got up. He looked at the sky and frowned before he jumped down from the boulder and he and Newton started walking.

Thomas kept glancing back at the sky every step he took.

On Dovatera, in the middle of the woods, Shiloh was racing past the trees in his Velociraptor form.

He heard fast and heavy footsteps behind him. Nova and Darby were running after him.

He grinned and sped up before he skidded to a stop in the middle of a field. He transformed back and smiled. He looked at Jasmine.

The Gialaran sat on a small boulder and took out her phone to stop the timer. "5.10 seconds," She chuckled.

"Try and beat that," Darby huffed, breathing heavily. Shiloh rolled his eyes as he downed a bottle of water.

Nova chuckled, "he couldn't beat Derek if he tried." Shiloh glared at his sister, "hush you! I'm not dealing with him!"

Jasmine chuckled, "he beat you once." "And he sometimes gloats about it," Shiloh huffed before he looked at the sky. The clouds were slowly getting dark and thunder rumbled in the distance.

Shiloh stared at the darkening skies and hummed quietly. "You ever get the feeling that something strange is happening?" He asked suddenly. Jasmine, Nova and Darby looked at him then at each other.

"No?" Nova said.

Shiloh hummed, "maybe it's just me then. Come on. I wanna get back in time for dinner."

The four started walking back to the town, Bluefront.

Shiloh glanced over his shoulder and thunder rumbled again.

On Phixinia, in the kingdom of Incendora, Ivan was in his room, painting some floral designs on Peni, his robot-arm friend.

He hummed thoughtfully before he set the paintbrush aside and looked at the window. He got up and pushed it open.

He closed his eyes, feeling the cool wind hit his face. He climbed out of it and up onto the roof.

He looked out towards the sky. 'Looks like a storm is coming,' he thought and he rubbed his chest. Ever since he woke up and had breakfast, he had been getting this strange feeling.

Like... a dream that something was happening. Something big.

Ivan moved a strand of hair from his face and hummed softly.

Maybe he could text the other Heroes and they would know what the feeling was.

On Whisperia, in the snowy woods, Joanna and Lemuel were walking with their mother, Winter.

Winter climbed up a slope and she looked back at her kids. Joanna was helping Lemuel up the slope. Winter looked back at the rest of the way up.

She looked back at the two, "why don't you two go and see your friends?"

"Are you sure?" Joanna asked, furrowing a brow. "I wanna stay with you," Lemuel piped up, pouting a little.

"I know," Winter replied, "but I gotta handle some things and it'll take a few hours. You two go have fun. I'll pick you up later."

"Okay," Joanna nodded. Winter kissed their heads before she walked up ahead.

Joanna and Lemuel looked at each other before they smiled and hurried to the Frosty Meadows to see their friends.

Their friends, Blight, Vera and Lector were waiting.

"Hey, guys," Lemuel said. "Hey, you two," Blight chuckled.

"Glad you could make it," Vera smiled. "Like we would miss this," Joanna huffed with a playful laugh. The five Whisperians ran over to the fence where the other kids were standing, all looking excited and curious.

"What's this about again?" Lemuel asked, tilting his head. "Older Whisperian males come running back after hunting," Blight explained, "some of them start sparring."

Joanna hummed softly before she looked at the sky. She heard thunder rumbling and she frowned. She rubbed the back of her neck.

She too had felt the strange warm feeling buzzing through her. All of the Heroes felt it.

Unbeknownst to them, that feeling would lead them to the same place where chaos often took hold.

Earth.

[cancerian-woman]

klonnie au: For years Bonnie Bennett believed she conquered Expression.That Silas was unable to hurt her and more importantly her daughter Hazel. After a recurring nightmare of having zero control of her magic she decides to put an end to it. Not wanting to harm her child she leaves her daughter in Caroline’s care at the Salvatore School. Unbeknownst to little Hazel she and Hope have more in common than they thought.

“Do you really have to leave me here? You promised you’d never leave me behind. I can help you.” Hazel said, cleansing her face of falling tears with her sleeves. She knew this day was coming for two weeks now but accepting the day, now that was different.

Bonnie crouched lower to meet with the child pressing a kiss on her forehead. “It’s not safe for you and you know that. We talked about this. You’ll have many kids your age to play with. Aunt Caroline and her daughters are here. My mom is going to pick you up every Friday and you’ll spend weekends with her. I’ll call and video chat you all the time.”

“You promise you’ll come back?” Hazel asked, turning away to open her suitcase revealing her brown teddy bear on top. “You should keep Mrs. Cuddles incase you get scared.”

“I promise. I was going to wait until your birthday but I think you can have it now.” Bonnie said, digging in her pocket pulling out Ayana’s talisman placing it on Hazel. “I’ll keep Mrs. Cuddles safe and you keep this necklace safe. Deal?”

“Deal.” Hazel said, turning to zip her suitcase back up. Standing up to hold her mother’s hand again.

Alaric cleared his throat making his presence known. “Sorry to ruin the moment but we can step in my office. Care’s busy giving some students a tour.”

[demifiendrsa]

Forspoken | Story Introduction Trailer

Forspoken will launch for PlayStation 5 and PC in spring 2022.

Key visual

Character renders

Screenshots

Latest details

The new footage reveals more details about the protagonist Frey, a directionless, gritty yet street smart young woman who has persevered despite her rough upbringing in New York City.

The new story trailer also gives fans a closer look at Forspoken‘s magic-infused combat and swift, dynamic movement, playing a key role in gameplay. Through the course of her journey, Frey will learn to cast and harness dozens of different types of magic and cast powerful spells as she traverses through the beautiful yet cruel land of Athia. Frey’s quest in Athia will take her through a variety of diverse environments where she will use magic enhanced parkour. This dynamic and acrobatic movement, enhanced by Frey’s mystical abilities, enables her to magically flow, zip and float across the vast landscapes of Athia in a fast and fluid manner.

Other key characters in Forspoken are highlighted in the trailer, including Frey’s companion ‘Cuff,’ a magical sentient bracelet, voiced by actor Jonathan Cake (Stargirl), who helps her navigate the sprawling landscapes of Athia. Players are also introduced to Tanta Sila, a maddened and evil ruler who is the strongest and most formidable Tanta, or matriarch, in Athia, as she and Frey face off in an explosive and action-packed battle. Performed and voiced by actress and musician Janina Gavankar (True Blood), Tanta Sila’s debut offers fans a glimpse of the formidable enemies that await in Athia. Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman) and Monica Barbaro (Top Gun: Maverick) also make an appearance as Johedy and Auden, fellow Athians who befriend and assist Frey with her journey.

SQUARE ENIX and Luminous Productions worked in collaboration with Hollywood writer Gary Whitta (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), who conceived the original concept, and award-winning writer/director Amy Hennig (Uncharted series), who developed the story concept in 2019 (prior to heading Skydance New Media). Taking the reins as Lead Writers on Forspoken‘s story and script, talented entertainment writers Allison Rymer (Shadowhunters) and Todd Stashwick (Devil Inside) have crafted a thrilling tale about self-discovery and finding out where you belong in the world.

“Writing Forspoken has been a magical experience,” said Rymer. “The main character Frey is strong, complex and very relatable. I am excited for the players to connect with her.”

Stashwick added, “Like Frey, it’s been a long, amazing journey for us. I’m thrilled to finally have people adventure through the story we have built. I’m so proud to be part of this team, giving a contemporary, fun, spin on the fantasy genre.”

Square Enix and Luminous Productions also unveiled that the score is composed by BAFTA award-winning composers Bear McCreary (God of War (2018) and TV series The Walking Dead) and Garry Schyman (Bioshock series). Together, they set the unconventional tone of the game by immersing players into a world of twisted beauty while fusing contemporary electronic beats with a fantasy tone.

“We’re incredibly excited to be working together to compose the soundtrack for Forspoken. When we first read the script for the game, we were moved by Frey’s dynamic character and the contrasting themes of modern and fantasy that run throughout the story, which is something we wanted to reflect in the music we compose for the soundtrack,” said McCreary and Schyman.

[lacunafiction]

If the cast were in the Dragon Age setting what would they be?

Hi Anon,

I hope you are doing well.���

I have had this ask in my inbox for a while because I've been thinking about how in-depth I should go with the answer. I haven’t played DA in a while, but I still have a lot of love for it and its characters. :D

Beckett/Becca

Class: Rouge (which may seem odd...) 

A ranged rouge, who prefers to keep their distance and to influence the tide of battle from afar as opposed to being front and center in the action. More tactical minded, less inclined to lockpick unless you really, really wanted them to lockpick something. B: 'That's stealing, MC...' B: 'Why are you checking all the crates?' B: 'Do we need that much elfroot?' XD  They probably don’t seem very roguish in the typical sense in a way that may get some glances from your other companions. The DA:O skills that relate to animals/creatures would fit with B’s personality too!

Silas/Sofia

Class: Mage

An apostate mage! (I think S fits the general mage vibe with their personality.) They had a supportive mother who helped to hide them away once they presented (? idk somehow that works in this AU. Shh), leading to a more nomadic life style for the family. Mrs. Dorran would not view their child differently because of magic. Area of effect spells are preferred by them, especially triggering things at just the right moment after whittling down opponents. They would use Spirit Healer or the Spirit tree as a secondary skill set to protect/shield/buff allies; they care and that carries through in how they use their magic with a thoughtfulness centered on others well beings alongside the devastating capabilities of their elemental spell.

Reese/Ruby

Class: Mage

A circle mage in-line with the Trevelyan storyline in DA:I, so somewhat privileged as compared to the DA:O origin, but still in the circle and dealing with that angst and gilded cage aspect. Their mother would have hoped to ingrain respect for the 'necessary precautions' and 'order' the circle system provides and expect R to bend and accept their role, perhaps, even being a role model for other mages. (Really, she was ashamed and wanted R sequestered to spare the Verner last name from being tarnished by the presentation of magic, etc. Y'all know the lore.) Ice branch in DA:I, fade step (bc that is so fun to zip around with on the battle field and fits their recklessness), knight enchanter (bc why wouldn't R want a badass glowing magical blade?) skill set. Isn’t the best at healing spells or barrier spells. They would rather erect a wall of ice to keep the MC protected than cast a brittle barrier and carry the guilt of it failing... >.>

James/Jane

Class: Warrior

J would be a warrior; sword and shield--protector and tank, wanting to shoulder the blows and draw attention away from the party, if it helps to keep you and the others safe. Not a noble or secretly relevant to the plot due to special blood/unique item/whatever; however, they somehow get swept up in it. (Maybe because of your MC playing the role of protag in this AU; they remain stalwartly by your side after reuniting or something like that.) Hmm, idk much about warriors or rouge skills compared to mages...Champion would be their specialization. 

Best wishes!

[brownstonearmy]

2021-01-23: Dragon Blast (Part 2)

August 20 (Thursday Afternoon)

As the party walks back to town after curing Rowan of his spore-related malady, the still summer air stirs with another surprise. Pillars of smoke burble forth into the humid overcast sky. Norm gets a panicked message (well, several panicked messages) from Silas via the Sending spell. The town of Brownstone is descending into chaos and bedlam and Silas and the deputies are currently stuck inside the constable's office. Silas offers Norm a position back on the force if he's able to help the constabulary get free.

"Was Silas the guy I sold fake laxatives to?" asks Spleenifer. It turns out that Laxative Silas and Constable Silas are the same person. So while Daffodil and Norm race off to assist Silas, Spleenifer runs toward the southern part of town where the smoke is coming from. A raging inferno is preferable to dealing with an unsatisfied and potentially-more-constipated laxative consumer.

Spleenifer arrives to find some of the recently-planted pepper fields on fire. Loads of myconids are wielding twigs as clubs, as Cornelius weaves between the flames trying to collect some of the myconids in his arms. Right after Spleenifer arrives on the scene, Lucky also appears, having been drawn by the smoke rising from the fields. Both Lucky and Spleenifer believe Cornelius is probably at least partially responsible for the scenario before them.

Lucky tries to magically trip Cornelius to allow the myconids to swarm him and enact fungal justice, but the moment the thought crosses Lucky's mind, Cornelius trips as though caught on an invisible wire. Could it be? Does Lucky have impressive psychic powers in addition to her arcane competency? Sure seems like it!

Spleenifer rushes into the flames to scoop up a sickly-looking myconid while a twig-wielding myconid bashes its tiny club against her armor. A cacophony of rapport spores and distress spores swirls through the searing air, keeping the battle yells and moans of the myconids rattling around in the heads of both Spleenifer and Lucky. The sickly myconid Spleenifer saved from the flames pleads to be placed in the shade; the sunlight is too much for the fungal flesh to bear. The twigs of enraged myconids continue beating against Spleenifer's armor as the brightly colored myconids demand their sickly cousins be released and delivered into safety.

Cornelius mentions that he was here to do some science with the myconids. And help them, too, but more importantly: science. His claims are suspect since Cornelius's actions have a habit of causing trouble. So Lucky suggests getting some non-softers to help negotiate a peace treaty between the softers and the myconids. Yep, it's time to bring back the lizard folk!

But first, let's check in on Norm and Daffodil!

The building containing the jail and constable's office is covered in a thick growth that looks like a giant pancake with vines and tendrils creeping ever closer to completely encasing the roof. Norm shouts to Silas and the deputies from outside the building to make sure everyone is still alive. Daffodil, on the other hand, attempts to communicate with the giant fungus. And the fungus responds.

It introduces itself as the Great Fungus, the one that will rebuild the myconid colonies decimated by the dragon and the genie. The Great Fungus discusses life and death and the life that begins anew from the decaying matter of the dead. The sturdy walls of the jail provide support for the Great Fungus's growth, and the soft creatures within the building will provide additional nutrients for the myconid colony to thrive. This wasn't a threat, but a statement of fact.

Daffodil persuades the fungus to release its hold on the building by mentioning that the Great Fungus could be relocated somewhere away from the softer community that would be more conducive to uninterrupted rapid growth. Norm yells to Silas that they have a plan to get everybody out, and Silas mentions that he's also working on his own plan to get out. Silas and the deputies have set fire to the chairs in the office to burn their way through the door.

Such an action threatens the impromptu agreement between Daffodil and the Great Fungus, but Norm is able to fast-talk Silas into abandoning that plan. But the lingering problem is that the fire is still burning inside the constable's office. Through assertive communication and quick thinking, Norm guides Silas into tossing the burning pieces of chairs through the last remaining window without injuring the fungus as it tries to position itself into a nearby wagon for relocation.

While that happens, we zip over to Lucky and Spleenifer dealing with the burning fields. The lizardfolk have arrived on scene with a gaggle of angry myconids trailing behind their ambulatory home. When Lucky asks about the swarm of myconids, Kosja explains that she and Turalisoth were hunting for mushrooms and found a particularly tasty batch. The only problem is that the mushrooms can fight back and now they're angry about one of their cousins being eaten.

It's back on Lucky and Spleenifer to get the Myco-Softer peace accords back on track as Kosja opts to nap on a flame-warmed rock instead of moderating the disagreement. Lucky has an idea about how to solve the problem and crawls under the shade of the lizardfolk's house where the myconids have gathered. She begins drawing a teleportation circle while Spleenifer is left to smooth things over between Cornelius and the angry myconids.

There appear to be two distinct clans of myconids involved in the dispute: the Darkblooms and the Sunspots. The Darkblooms are like most other myconids in that they cannot tolerate sunlight and rapidly deteriorate if they can't find shade. But the Sunspots don't have that vulnerability to sunlight, and they've decided to claim this sun-soaked land as their own. The Sunspots are the first of their clan to be able to survive in the Boiling Lands, and they're angry that the softers haven't done more to help Darkblooms.

Cornelius mentions that he was trying to move the myconids to the shade, and the appearance of sun-tolerant myconids is the reason for his desire to learn more about this particular adaptation. He has no desire to harm the fungal folk, only understand why they suddenly appeared in the fields and why some of them can thrive in the sun.

According to one of the Sunspots, their clan grew beneath the soil of the fields a few days ago. But then one of the softers started a fire in the field, which forced both the Darkblooms and the Sunspots to face the harsh sunlight of the surface world in order to have a chance to stay alive. Spleenifer is able to convince both Cornelius and the Sunspots that Cornelius's science is probably for the best, as long as he doesn't hurt any of the fungal folk. And while the Sunspots have yet to back down from their demands that the softers cede control of the Boiling Lands (Brownstone) to the myconids, the Sunspots offer to function as a tiny militia to guard softers and fungus alike in the meantime. Spleenifer accepts this offer.

By this time, Lucky's finished drawing her teleportation circle under the house. She ushers the collected Darkblooms through the circle and appears alongside the myconids in Yula's empty mansion. Lucky gives the Darkblooms a tour of the mansion and tells them they are welcome to colonize the area to their heart's content (metaphorically speaking, of course, because the presence of myconid cardiovascular systems is hotly contested). The only room that's sort-of off-limits is Yula's litterbox room, and Lucky advises the Darkblooms to stay out because the "sunlight turns on in there."

Just kidding! It has special sand that obliterates living matter, but that's basically the same thing as sunlight to the Darkblooms. And speaking of Yula... In case Yula ever comes back, Lucky plans to set the Darkblooms up with a Sending Stone to let the myconids request backup. As the Darkblooms settle down to recover from their stressful sunny day, Lucky rummages through Yula's storerooms and finds a handful of Scrolls of Teleportation Circle. She bids farewell to the Darkblooms for now and carries the haul of scrolls back through the Teleportation Circle to Brownstone so the Sunspots can visit their cousins in Yula's dark mansion.

Let's change cameras now to Norm and Daffodil. The pair have relocated the Great Fungus into a creaking wagon and freed the constabulary from an unpleasant death. A group of spore-infected townsfolk are shuffling behind a pair of Sunspots, who draw their twiggy weapons to protect the Great Fungus from being defiled by softers. As the group of spore servant townsfolk draws near, Daffodil recognizes the distorted face of Russell Stout underneath the vegetation. The same Russell Stout that was directly responsible for Daffodil getting stuck in Brownstone doing community service.

Daffodil and Norm quickly defuse the Sunspots' aggression by convincing them that the Great Fungus is being voluntarily relocated to a safer spot. The Sunspots and spore servants demand to accompany the Great Fungus to its new destination and hop in the wagon. Norm and Daffodil learn that the spored townsfolk can be returned to normal with the help of the myconids, but they won't help until the Great Fungus is relocated. It's at this time that Lucky and Spleenifer reunite with the party, and everyone sets off for the swamp with a wagon full of fungus.

The party continues westward until they reach the swamp outside of town. Unfortunately for the party, the fungus-ridden black dragon from earlier is still there. It's thrashing about in the water, locked in some sort of invisible struggle. The myconid rapport spores reveal the dragon and and the myconid Sovereign are locked in a battle for control of the dragon's body. If perhaps the Great Fungus could team up with the Sovereign, maybe the myconids would prevail over the dragon? The party decides it's worth a shot, though Lucky needs some clarification as to why the party is relatively calmly discussing dumping fungus on a dragon (since Lucky wasn't with the party the first time the dragon was encountered).

Norm plots a course for the wagon through the soggy soil, but the wagon hits an unstable patch of mud and gets stuck just as the dragon begins spewing corrosive acid all over the place. The Great Fungus is so close to the dragon, but not quite able to reach, so Spleenifer assumes the Lawnmower Position and scrapes her face through the dirt to heave the wagon free! The Great Fungus makes contact with the dragon and fuses with the Sovereign, and they act quickly to render the dragon docile.

The party makes a break for the myconid cave with the spore servant townsfolk in tow, beseeching the aid of the rejuvenated Sporemother. Once the assembled townsfolk are gathered together and standing barefoot on a bed of compost, the Sporemother coaxes the spores out of everybody. Daffodil glares at Russell, who has just been given the awkward honor of being saved by the same person he caused a great deal of legal trouble. As a gesture of thanks for being saved, Daffodil firmly "suggests" to Russell that he collect evidence of his father's corrupt deeds and return the evidence to Daffodil. Russell promises to do his best and to have something to hand off to Daffodil within three days.

While this subterfuge is going on, Norm races back to town to check on Silas and the deputies. He arrives to find Silas in both good health and good spirits. Silas is in good enough spirits that he offers Norm his old job back. Norm accepts, but also warns Silas and the deputies to treat all fungi with respect because there's a peace treaty in the works between the myconids and the townsfolk, but the details are still being hammered out.

And with that, the adventure concludes for the evening. Stay tuned next time for more!

[mimoitei]

Spagetti Rims Arc 1: Retro Book Cover Style

Podcast Links: YT ITunes SoundCloud

Tumblr kinda kills the quality, DA version here

More Details Under the Cut

AAA i’ve finally finished it. -_- I was having trouble coming up with the layout and stuff. so i rewatched the whole podcast again and set Masquerade , Stipulation, TAZ OST’s and Remixes, and Another run through of Hamilton and the Mixtape on Repeat -_-

Channel tumblr @spagootsofficial

Characters, clockwise:

Thorney, Elf Fighter: @kaycxpher

Vinca, Dragonborn Rogue: @finncent

Altaevo, Dragonborn Wizard: @adorable-avacado

Light Boy, Halfing Cleric: @knittinggiantbeanies

GM, Voice of the NPCs: @chongoblog

Quintas (fun fact her that is Filipino for Necklace, with a slightly different spelling)

Lab

Tobias Silas (Who i forGOT WAS MEDIEVAL MATTHEW BRODERICK) I included him mainly because of my suspicions

Sonny Silas

And KEVIN the Reoccuring villain Goblin

I’ve been following these people for literally days shy of a year now and I “watched” them grow through their success and tough times throughout, and i gotta say, for a bunch of literal strangers, I feel very proud of them.

Lore Speculation/Etc:

Im guessing there are 8 magic coins? to represent the 8 arcane schools of magic, we already have on for Illusion and Evocation, and we may see the 3rd coin from Zip in the final ep.

As i have said, Maybe Tobias, or in extension Sonny wil play a larger role, since Toby has the coin for evocation.

What is that thing Ryan does at the end of the podcasts?!?! it repeats the last phrases. In order of episodes 1-6 he repeates the last sentences: 5, 4.5, 7, 5.5, 5.5. Maybe its just for funsies mAYBE NOT

Herwild seems to be the overarching villain in the series?? or maybe someone else?

I forgot about to use the cover art of the podcast and K’s latest posts as reference, so i just had a headcanon that Light Boy Has Hetechromia, Blue and Brown.

[hellofastestnewsfan]

Imagine a Twilight Zone episode that goes something like this: An individual regularly takes to the internet in the hopes of making himself heard, railing against everything from the “hatefulness” of Democrats to the degradation of modern society. All he wants is an audience. But then the hapless individual complains on Twitter that the new CBS All Access reboot of The Twilight Zone is yet another beloved cultural property that’s been ruined by leftist cultural warriors. Finally, his wish has come true: He goes viral, and is subsequently roasted by journalists and internet celebrities and comedians with millions of followers. He’s dragged so mercilessly, in fact, that the individual eventually has to set his profile to private—depriving himself of the one outlet he had for communicating with the world.

Versions of this scenario did actually happen recently, as disgruntled viewers responding to new episodes of The Twilight Zone found themselves given short shrift for expressing dismay that the update, produced by Jordan Peele and Simon Kinberg, is too “political.” The Twilight Zone, of course, has always had something to say about the state of the world—not since the time of Jesus himself have center-left parables with clear moral lessons been so efficiently disseminated. Rod Serling devised the concept for the show precisely because 1950s network producers were so skittish about overt political messages in the wake of McCarthyism. On television in 1956, Serling later wrote in his book Patterns, “to say a single thing germane to the current political scene was absolutely prohibited.”

Sci-fi, though, was a different story. By wrapping his ideas in allegory, Serling could scotch the censors and say exactly what he wanted about totalitarianism, mass hysteria, prejudice, selfishness, conspiracy theorists, hate. Each episode of The Twilight Zone had a distinct message enunciated in Serling’s narration, making the moral of the story clear for even the most careless viewer. In “The Obsolete Man” (1961), a fable about a librarian in a futuristic state that has outlawed books, Serling observes how the “iron rule” of dictatorships is that “logic is an enemy and truth is a menace.” In “The Brain Center at Whipple’s” (1964), a story about a factory owner who replaces all his employees with technology, only to suffer the same fate, Serling notes that “there are many bromides applicable here: ‘too much of a good thing,’ ‘tiger by the tail,’ ‘as you sow so shall you reap.’” The Twilight Zone is essentially Aesop with a 20th-century imagination. It’s also timeless.

Oddly enough, these morals are missing from the new series, which features an on-camera Peele in Serling’s role. So is the element of grim justice that both The Twilight Zone and its modern heir, Black Mirror, have always held at their core—the kind of karmic inevitability that sees an SS captain subjected to the same torture he meted out to prisoners, or a woman sentenced to endure the fear and violence of an angry mob after committing a horrendous crime herself. Serling’s The Twilight Zone is defined by its twists, but not a single thing happens in the new series that you won’t be able to predict, at least from the four episodes made available for review. This isn’t really a reboot; it doesn’t even qualify as fan fiction. With the exception of one superior episode, “Replay,” it’s hard to conceive that an artist as prodigiously talented and thoughtful as Peele is creatively involved at all.

I attempted to decipher the messages that the first four episodes might be trying to convey, but only ended up stumped. The premiere installment, available for CBS All Access subscribers, is titled “The Comedian,” and stars Kumail Nanjiani as a stand-up, Samir, whose politically charged routine keeps bombing with audiences. (Which, really? This is the era of John Oliver eviscerations and Hasan Minhaj and Nanette.) After one especially disastrous set, Samir randomly encounters an elusive comedy great (played by Tracy Morgan), who tells him the secret to success: He has to put more of his personal life into his act. “The audience don’t care what you think,” Morgan’s character says. “They care about you.”

Samir tries riffing on new subjects—his dog, his nephew, his high-school bullies. There is, of course, a cost to those he brings into his act, and the more successful Samir gets, the more he ends up losing. Certain themes that recur in the episode seem ripe for picking at: whether comedy counts as art, how comedians can offer insight into the human condition, whether comedy is about making people laugh first and foremost. But they’re left floating in the ether, while Samir goes through a series of superficial realizations about his own grandiosity and the Faustian bargain of fame. The question of what we’re supposed to take away from his story is a perplexing one. Is it that putting your personal life into your art is bad? (Because if so, I say again, Nanette.) Is this an elaborate rant about contemporary audiences being too shallow for insightful truths? Because that’s not what Serling thought.

This particular reboot has another problem, something that bedevils virtually every streaming show: Its episodes are way too long. Serling’s The Twilight Zone tied its stories up neatly within 30 minutes, including space for commercials. The brevity of the format dispensed with extraneous waffling—there was no time, for example, to show a comedian delivering the same joke about the Second Amendment five separate times. But there was space for a surprising amount of world-building (Serling’s narration did a lot of work here), and for a tidy one-act play that zips along. “The Comedian,” by contrast, is 54 minutes long. (It’s worth remembering that in 1963, The Twilight Zone’s running time was stretched to 60 minutes, but after one season the change was swiftly reversed.)

“A Traveler,” another new episode that runs longer than 50 minutes, suffers more from this extended storytelling time than most, given that its twist is apparent from the minute a mysterious man in a suit (Steven Yeun) appears in a remote Alaskan prison cell on Christmas Eve. The questions of who this man is, where he came from, and what he wants should be the most urgent issues underpinning the episode. But because the story devolves into a series of yawning subplots—a police deputy’s (Marika Sila) odd relationship with her brother, her antagonism toward her narcissistic boss (Greg Kinnear)—there’s very little tension surrounding the newcomer, who identifies only as A. Traveler. Yeun (Burning) is magnetic as the enigmatic interloper, and the episode has intriguing subtext about colonizers and the colonized that seems to beg for more overt allegorizing. But Peele’s closing narration, the part that’s supposed to explain to viewers how to interpret what they’ve just seen, is opaque. (“There’s no difference between myth and mistruth” means nothing no matter how you slice it.)

The best of the four new episodes, “Replay,” functions so well because it incorporates tension into its setup. Nina (Sanaa Lathan), is taking her son, Dorian (Damson Idris), to college, a fictional HBCU called Tennyson. Dorian wants to be a filmmaker and to inspire people with the stories he puts into the world. But it’s the camera Nina wields, an old-fashioned camcorder, that seems to have profound power after she discovers she can use it to rewind time.

This is the kind of slightly hokey, completely implausible, suspend-your-disbelief scenario that The Twilight Zone has always aced. It’s easy to imagine, say, a character played by Burgess Meredith discovering a clock with similar qualities in a 1960s-era episode, and then trying (and failing) to go back to his glory days, imparting a valuable be-careful-what-you-wish for message about nostalgia along the way. But in “Replay,” the camera itself isn’t the point so much as what Nina uses it for. Throughout the episode, she’s plagued by a racist highway cop, Officer Lasky (Glenn Fleshler), who poses grave danger to Dorian, and no matter how she tries to escape or placate him, there he is. “He keeps pulling us over, again and again and again,” a desperate Nina says in one scene, “no matter what route we take, how nice or mean we are … There’s nothing I can do.”

The episode is so powerful because it forces audiences to feel the frustration and fear that Nina feels, but also the inevitability of antagonists like this one. No matter how hard Nina tries to get Lasky to see her as a person, to buy him a slice of apple pie and tell him about how proud she is of her son and how much he means to her, Lasky can’t be swayed. Fleshler communicates his impotent rage, his petty tyranny over a stretch of highway, his racism. In Nina’s hands, the magical camcorder feels like a device that might help her escape what Lasky represents, but it turns out to be less powerful than something else she’s been ignoring. Cameras, the episode makes clear in one of its most resonant moments, aren’t enough.

“Replay” shows what a modern Twilight Zone could really be, offering the kind of sociopolitical analysis Serling excelled at, but without the folksiness of 1950s television. For the most part, though, the new series feels like anthology storytelling by the numbers, more concerned with Easter eggs and recurring themes (“Lasky” is also the name of a street in “The Comedian,” and the number 1015 repeats across episodes) than with trying to emulate what the original show did so well—making audiences see the world with more clarity.

“Nightmare at 30,000 Feet,” a dismal episode starring Adam Scott, is the worst of the four, a clunky, cutesy “what if” story about a magazine journalist on a flight to Tel Aviv. The story is loosely inspired by a vintage Twilight Zone episode with William Shatner, in which a man recovering from a nervous breakdown sees a gremlin on the wing of his commercial plane. Scott’s character, Justin Sanderson, is similarly recovering from PTSD after reporting in war zones, but when he takes his seat on the plane, he finds a mysterious audio device in the seat pocket in front of him. It plays him a podcast, seemingly from the future, that investigates the mystery of how the flight Sanderson is on ended in tragedy.

Forget the corniness of a podcast that portends the future, or the improbability of a world in which magazine journalists fly first class. The episode has no tension, no investment in any of the characters. You might be less curious about how the plane actually goes down than in how the producers managed to nail the production of the fake podcast itself—the smug, omniscient narrator and the clinky background music. But more damaging is how totally unclear it is what the episode is supposed to do. Serling’s original episode interrogated preconceived ideas about anxiety and mental confusion; his central character has no credibility because he’s suffered a nervous breakdown, and seems to fear being crazy even more than he fears actually being right about the gremlin. The new “Nightmare” has none of this subtext. “In his final moments, Justin Sanderson made the case that he did everything he could to avert disaster,” Peele opines. “But in the end, he was an investigative reporter unwilling to investigate himself, until it was too late.” Bromide salad. Cliché. Fin. What’s strangest of all about the reboot is its defiant lack of darkness, its unwillingness to even scratch at the human psyche. This could be a possible response to the fact that Black Mirror already exists, and that its creator, Charlie Brooker, had The Twilight Zone at the forefront of his mind when he created it. The new Twilight Zone isn’t frightened of what technology is doing to us, as Black Mirror is, nor is it particularly concerned with Serling’s great preoccupation—how humanity has always found ways to torture itself. It has none of the indelible eeriness or the subconscious probings of Us, Peele’s most recent film, which is itself inspired by a Twilight Zone episode. Nothing feels sinister. Everything feels safe. In a world so weird that it’s frequently likened to a bad computer simulation, this Twilight Zone is blandness stretched into an hour-long format, storytelling that feels oddly neutered before it even begins.

from The Atlantic https://ift.tt/2WM8EUF

[phoenixiancrystallist]

I'm being so very, very normal about the In Tanta We Trust gameplay trailer, I have absolutely not watched it three dozen times and counting, and I'm most certainly not about to do a long, rambly, I'm-on-my-period-and-my-brain-is-mush gush about it under the cut. Nope, absolutely not, I would never

...Hinges are an illusion made up by Big Normal to keep us boring LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOO

SO to start off let's look at the description on YouTube, it brings me QUESTIONS

Like, guys, we know who they're fighting, they're fighting the Rheddig invaders before/during the Purge of the Rheddig, you've told us this before in previous trailer drops (edit: that I might have made up because I can't find any previous trailers??? memory wut r u doin) and the press release, so why are you being cryptic about this?

Well, the only lines of dialogue in this trailer is Frey and a mysterious person. Frey asks, "The Gloaming, what does it do?" and the mysterious voice who is decidedly not Cuff answers with, "It destroys Athia, of course." But... but that's Susurrus's job, right? Shouldn't Frey already know what's going down, know what's going to happen, and have a certain wrist idiot making noises while she tries to stop it? Is "The Gloaming" what the Rheddig calls Sus? If so that's badass and I love it, but if not, why are there no records about it in the main game? The continued lack of my sassy asshole best buddy in these trailers makes my heart do not so fun things, because I so desperately want him to go with Frey, fight back against the Rheddig and, ultimately, help her face down the Susurrus that existed before he loved knew her. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled for whatever I do get, I just hope nothing bad happened to Cuff and he's still there to be a snarky little fuck in Frey's general direction when all is said and done.

("Gloaming," btw, is twilight or dusk, it's when the day fades and night begins. I'm very much in love with this name and my Kingdom Hearts-saturated soul is going bananas right about now).

MOVING ON, we've got the new set of magic:

Sorry if the picture quality is crap, YouTube isn't playing nice with my iPad and I don't have a desktop computer that can handle my bullshit. ANYWAY! Looks an awful lot like Cuff's magic, doesn't it? I've seen speculation on the Forspoken subreddit that this is "yellow" magic, or, more specifically, Rheddig magic. Which makes sense, because it's almost identical to the magic that Cuff wields to protect Frey and deliver his killing blows. And in the fights against Susurrus, he has all that plus big giant laser beams of death, because of course he does. Frey has additional powers that Sus didn't though, like that big-ass sword that she uses to cut spacetime and summon a black hole at 0:36-0:42. Yes, look, I know that gravity spells are a staple of Square Enix fantasy RPGs, but I'm allowed to still be excited about them and think they're cool, okay?!

That said... what happened to the rest of Frey's magic? Do we still have access to Sila, Prav, and Olas's spells? We know we can still zip, but here's the thing:

That's not Sila's Zip spell. Moreover, Frey's using her left hand to cast it, not her right, which is where her magic usually comes from. So, what gives? Why doesn't Frey have full use of her magic, even though she went through that whole thing with Cinta's memories to unlock it? Did Cuff somehow integrate with Frey's magic and fundamentally change it to Rheddig magic only? Well, no, because Frey still chucks rocks in the trailer, so it seems likely he somehow gave her new magic. But the other Tanta's magics being conspicuously missing is very, very interesting to me.

Speaking of other Tantas and their magic, now we're getting on to what I really want to talk about:

MOTHER.

FUCKING.

TANTA CINTA.

What, did you think I was excited about the Rheddig war party? I am but that's a squee and a gush for later.

Cinta's magic is nothing like Frey's except purple and elegantly geometric, and I am fascinated by this. So far as I'm concerned, the fact that Frey and Cinta's magic manifests so differently confirms my headcanon/theory that Frey's magic is all hers, baby, not Cinta's. First of all, that saber is gorgeous and I want a replica of it to hang on my walls when I have a house I'm planning to stay in permanently. Second and more importantly, Cinta's magic seems to be based almost entirely around the Torana. There's nary a rock or vine or flower in sight, except as motifs in her armor or that one (1) scatter-shot spell we see her fling at 0:49. In fact, the only commonality their magics have are the effects around Frey's spells, and the same effect when Frey uses Flow and its offshoot magics, Leap and Shimmy. Cinta has integrated the Torana with her combat style (which looks like a fencing style that makes me wish I knew more about martial arts) and even using that ability to yeet Frey up the side of a mountain. As any good mom should do, lbr. Yeet your kids, it's good for them. But she doesn't use vines like Bind or Tendril, there's no other plant-based spells like Disperse, and we don't see obvious earth-based magic like Prime or Screen. It's all kind of... crystalline, almost? So that scatter-shot could be crystal bullets rather than rocks or seeds.

And let me tell you, as someone who made up a whole Final Fantasy-esque class based around crystal magic for an RP that shaped my life and who I am as a person, I am LOSING. MY GODDAMN. SHIT. Square keeps catering to me specifically and it needs to stop because my wallet can only get so empty.

[brownstonearmy]

2019-08-09: A Friendly Wager

June 8 (Monday Morning)

Grieg had been prowling the streets over the weekend looking for information about the drug kingpin known as Magic. Naturally these investigations took him to shady bars where he spent considerable time drinking in the designated "Badass Loner Corner" and glowering at people. He met a mysterious woman named Rooney who was covered in magical tattoos at the Plaster House. Very few words were exchanged, because she was also sitting in the Badass Loner Corner. But Grieg did eventually discover the location of Magic's house after sleeping off his latest hangover.

A new day dawns, and the newly embiggened party meets at SHART HQ. Dave is back from his day off, and surprised to learn that Kalani has been hired to work there. After some confusion about who everyone is because of the whole face blindness thing, he informs the party that some gnome named Cornelius put in a work order for... something. Exactly what Cornelius needed done is unclear, because he was acting pretty evasive with his answers. So Dave delegates the task to the party because he has other Important Business Things to do.

The party decides to go visit Robin Stormblossom's house to see if they know anything about Cornelius. Robin recently demanded Cornelius leave their property after they saw Cornelius following King Chonk around with a sack. The party agrees that Cornelius probably shouldn't be trusted and opts to avoid dealing with him.

Instead of completing Cornelius's work order, the party goes searching for answers from Magic. Near the western outskirts of town, Magic's house stands alone in a dusty meadow. Dogs bark from inside the house as the party approaches. Kalani casts Locate Animal to suss out the situation and determine where the guard dogs are probably located. One dog is in the exact center of the house, and Kalani's keen ears pick up another dog coming around the corner. Lucky turns herself invisible and just barely avoids the notice of the dog.

A rough-and-tumble dude steps out of the house looking like a bar brawl in human form. He's ready for a fight, but Lucky casts suggestion at him to try to talk things out. Unfortunately for Lucky, he's not interested in listening to that suggestion. Kalani and Grieg both try to de-escalate the situation as Q gets knocked prone by a ferocious bite from one of the guard dogs.

When Grieg and Kalani's pleas fail to achieve peace, Q strikes at one of the dogs with their rapier and neutralizes it. Kalani transforms into a large dog and knocks the other guard dog unconscious. Lucky plucks off one of her fake eyelashes and tries one last time to cast Suggestion. Once again, Magic is unfazed. Magic tries to poison the party with a series of thrown darts, but he fails each time. Grieg tosses a javelin but misses, and Lucky casts Chaos Bolt. It triggers a wild magic surge that results in a mysterious spotlight from the heavens centering itself on her. Q brings out the big guns and casts Dissonant Whispers, which bloodies Magic and forces him to flee into his house.

Lucky follows Magic and corners him in a closet. He capitulates to Lucky's request for negotiation. Magic is initially hesitant to divulge much, so Grieg starts a few small-ish fires in the house to get Magic to spill secrets faster. Lucky races behind Grieg and attempts to put the fires out. Q discerns that Magic is actually illiterate, and he starts talking a bit more.

Magic doesn't know where the drugs he stores end up, and that's intentional. It keeps a veil between the various cogs in the drug distribution machine. He doesn't make the drugs himself, but he prides himself on maintaining the quality and purity of the product. Someone comes by every once in a while with a wagonload of white powder bricks, and Magic stores them until someone comes to pick them up.

Grieg marches out to the shed where the drugs are stored and starts a few more fires, potential evidence be damned! Magic decides that he's had enough and marches off to report the brazen attempts at arson in his house. Grieg gets into another scuffle as Magic leaves, and a few solid blows later, the two agree to not discuss the arson as long as Magic is willing to disclose everything he knows about the drug trade to Silas. This proposition involves considerably less violence against Magic, so Magic begrudgingly agrees. Grieg escorts Magic to Silas while the rest of the search Magic's house in-depth.

On the way back to Magic's house, Grieg hears a whisper on the wind that asks him to come to the Wentenbocker Academy of Conjurative Studies to help with an urgent matter. Strangely enough, the other party members heard the exact same message even though no one else in the town seemed to hear it. Everyone regroups and marches north to Wentenbocker.

A burly bald man with a handlebar mustache meets them in the courtyard. He's busy puffing away on a bong full of awakened shrubs. He stops long enough to introduce himself as Jeff The Oracle. Jeff can divine certain events in the future with the aid of his specialty herbs, and makes the not-vague-at-all prediction that "Soon you will deal with assholes, and things are about to get really shitty." Q asks if this advice is meant to be taken literally or metaphorically, but the whims of fate are noncommittal on that subject. Jeff bids the party proceed to the main hall.

Inside the main hall, a group of wizards are gathered. Grieg recognizes Rooney, but none of the other wizards. A half-elf wizard named Ariatha apologies in advance as the apparent ringleader steps forward. He's wearing pink robes with a popped collar and bright green shutter shades. He introduces himself as Brynnan, and says that he needs a bet settled.

Brynnan and Ariatha have a disagreement about whether modrons (creatures from the plane of Mechanus) poop. Brynnan thinks they do, since they have a mouth and can eat; while Ariatha disagrees because modrons do not appear to have an anus. Brynnan talks briefly about the weird pocket of magical energy known as Grummond's Portal that supposedly exists deep in the mountain known as Mensdover Height, and tosses Grieg a cylinder to hold. Grieg tosses it back, and things start going downhill.

Brynann pulls down the collar of his robes just a bit and exposes a puka shell necklace with a curious symbol hanging from it: a smiling face with an uncomfortable number of teeth. Lucky, Grieg, and Q recognize it as the symbol found on the note during the party's first excursion into Outflow Station 1. A blast of influence washes over the party as Brynnan commands everyone to walk to the teleportation circle in the center of the room. Lucky and Q fall under its sway immediately, while Kalani and Grieg fight their way through the initial effects of the spell.

The other wizards descend upon Kalani and Grieg and grab them when Brynnan gives the order. They are dragged to the portal and thrown into it against their will. Everyone in the party sees their bodies disincorporate as they pass Grummond's Portal and are zipped through the cosmos. They are dumped unceremoniously into a vast clockwork world.

Kalani's journey through the portal is a little more turbulent, causing them to tumble out and land on top of an unsuspecting modron. The modron's shell cracks from the impact, and the modron starts glitching out. In the blink of an eye, the modron discovers that it has gained the forbidden knowledge of self-awareness and individuality. Since the modron didn't previously have a name, Lucky names it Bob. Bob urges the party to find a hiding spot because Bob is leaking oil and soon lots of other modrons are going to be looking for the rogue Bob and the party of  unauthorized visitors. Cliffhanger time!

Stay tuned for more!