'The quality of his voice can be very terrifying sometimes - thunderous'

Rule #1 of effective communications: always be on offense

Most know Jeff Pilson as the thundering bassist for Dokken in the ’80s. Classic records like Tooth and Nail (1984)‚ Under Lock and Key (1985)‚ and Back for the Attack (1987) are prime examples of Pilson’s signature growling tone and low-key songsmith alongside good friend and bandmate George Lynch. Dokken aside‚ Pilson has had a career filled with twists and turns. He’s made stops along the way with Michael Lee Firkins‚ Michael Schenker‚ and Craig Goldy and was a key member of Dio’s band from the early ’90s to the early 2000s before joining Foreigner in 2004‚ where he’s been a pillar of their modern lineup‚ and The post Jeff Pilson of Foreigner: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

News Fantastic Four All Those Fantastic Four Casting Rumors Were True Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby will lead Marvel’s First Family By Molly Templeton | Published on February 14‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed You have to kinda wonder why it took this long to make it official. Rumors have been swirling around Marvel’s Fantastic Four for months and months‚ and back in November‚ it seemed all but certain that Pedro Pascal would be suiting up as Reed Richards before much longer. And he is! And so is everyone else who was strongly rumored to be playing Marvel’s First Family. Vanessa Kirby is Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman; Joseph Quinn is Johnny Storm/the Human Torch; and Ebon Moss-Bachrach is Ben Grimm/the Thing. Happy Valentine’s Day from Marvel’s First Family! Pedro Pascal‚ Vanessa Kirby‚ Ebon Moss-Bachrach‚ and Joseph Quinn are The Fantastic Four.Marvel Studios' #TheFantasticFour‚ in theaters July 25‚ 2025. pic.twitter.com/dOmLG0m7ie— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) February 14‚ 2024 It’s a solid lineup‚ if you choose to ignore the fact that Reed and Sue are generally a couple‚ and Pascal is 13 years older than Kirby‚ which plays into a thousand cliches about how Hollywood casts men and women differently as they age—and how Marvel continues to have a notable issue casting women over 40 (or letting their characters live). Pascal‚ of course‚ is the Mandalorian‚ and Joel in The Last of Us (pictured above)‚ and once upon a time got his head squished like a grape on Game of Thrones. Kirby’s most visible role might be in the latest Missions: Impossible‚ but she has also been in The Crown and Napoleon‚ and once upon a time was fantastic in a stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire that also starred Gillian Anderson and Ben Foster. (It was intense.) Quinn is mostly known for his be-mulleted Stranger Things character‚ though he has also done a lot of British television work (and had a tiny role on Game of Thrones) and co-stars in the upcoming‚ unnecessary Quiet Place prequel. Moss-Bachrach often plays a guy one loves to hate; he played Marnie’s terrible boyfriend on Girls‚ a creep on Andor‚ and now yells in the kitchen on The Bear. (And he was on The Punisher and Nos4A2.) The Fantastic Four movie will be directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision) and has a screenply by Josh Friedman‚ Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. Friedman’s name has been turning up in a ton of SFF movie and TV news lately (he co-created Foundation and co-developed the Snowpiercer series)‚ which is quite interesting if‚ say‚ you’ve been intrigued by his work since the untimely demise of The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Now that the film’s primary cast (sans Doctor Doom‚ anyway) is set‚ Marvel has moved the release date‚ swapping Fantastic Four and for Thunderbolts. Fantastic Four will arrive in theaters July 25‚ 2025‚ with Thunderbolts taking the movie’s previous date‚ May 2‚ 2025. [end-mark] The post All Those <;i>;Fantastic Four<;/i>; Casting Rumors Were True appeared first on Reactor.

Book Recommendations book culture Five Ways You Might Be Crushing on a Book Book crushes come in many forms‚ nearly as many as IRL crushes. By Natalie Zutter | Published on February 14‚ 2024 Photo: Lucas George Wendt [via Unsplash] icon-comment 1 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed Photo: Lucas George Wendt [via Unsplash] Have you ever developed a crush… on a book itself? Was the experience of reading itself enough to make you giggly‚ lightheaded‚ short of breath‚ flushed‚ self-conscious but also delighted? Feeling like you’d tapped in to some story that felt impossibly tailored for you‚ hitting all your narrative buttons? That you then denied all “psh! it can’t be!” even as you tried to play it off like you weren’t hanging on every word on every page you couldn’t turn fast enough? Book crushes come in many forms‚ nearly as many as IRL crushes. These are just a few‚ but perhaps you’ll find something familiar in the reading experiences described… Infatuation Y: The Last Man wasn’t my first book crush—that honor goes to Alanna: The First Adventure‚ when I was nine—but it was the first one where I realized what was happening in real time. I was 21‚ whiling away my summer working at the Bodies Exhibition at New York City’s South Street Seaport‚ and I needed some reading material for the slow periods. I picked up the first trade of Y‚ and within minutes I had to put it back down‚ my heart racing. Something about it hit too close to home: the premise was completely in my wheelhouse‚ the kind of what-if that I’d pondered but never dared to try and write; Yorick and 355 and Beth and Hero talked like my friends and I did; every female character was a different shade of witty or badass in all the ways I wished I could be. The story was cinematic‚ the stakes heartstring-tugging‚ and I was half-convinced this was some elaborate punking‚ that Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra were inexplicably paid to write and draw the story that I didn’t realize I craved‚ as both a reader and a writer. It was that first flush of infatuation‚ yes‚ but it was also “I feel seen.” I couldn’t get enough; I tried to ration out the other nine trades based on the rest of the summer and my meager paychecks‚ but it was a losing battle. I was a goner ever since that first panel hit me like Cupid’s arrow. Book-Throwing Passion Lots of people have their “the one book I threw across the room‚” which can be prompted by anything from a frustrating cliffhanger to bad characterization to problematic content. Or‚ perhaps‚ inarticulate delight. I’ve written about how I can’t get enough of getting fooled by Megan Whalen Turner’s maddeningly brilliant thief Eugenides‚ but that doesn’t mean that I go along quietly each time it happens. There has been at least one moment in every book from The Queen’s Thief series that‚ upon learning the latest clever bit of narrative misdirection‚ I will slam the book onto my lap‚ sit up on the couch‚ and yell something akin to “THEY FUCKING GOT ME AGAIN.” Think of it as the book equivalent to the passionate slap in a romantic comedy—I just love it so freaking much that I’m angry about it‚ and nothing will fix it but pulling the book back up to cover my face and read furiously‚ or page back through a key scene to go over it with fresh eyes. Sometimes I have to shove the book aside like I can’t even look at it‚ pace the room‚ talk aloud to my confused pup about how I could have missed the mention of the secret passageway or thrown inkwell‚ and eventually sigh and succumb to finishing the book knowing that Gen’s plan worked. But Is There Fanfic? Connie Willis’ Crosstalk was one of those books I looked forward to from the moment I knew about its existence‚ namely for the screwball comedy premise of being able to read people’s thoughts. A spec-fic rom-com in the style of Nora Ephron? Cue the heart-eyes. The only wrinkle was‚ a book so cognizant of tropes had one glaringly obvious one smack in the middle of its own text: Heroine Briddey’s boyfriend Trent‚ who suggests they get this experimental procedure that will allow them to connect telepathically‚ is so clearly a jerk from the start. The fact that Briddey can’t hear Trent’s thoughts‚ but seems instead to be on the same frequency with her grumpy‚ nerdy coworker C.B. Schwartz‚ only makes it more obvious. Hallmark and Lifetime have taught us to recognize the formula: Trent is clearly the ill-fitting partner who seems to get her but really doesn’t‚ and perhaps even has bad intentions for their relationship; it’s not a question of if he’ll lose out to the story’s true romantic hero‚ but when. The lack of any redeeming qualities for Trent made it a tad difficult to appreciate any plot tension in Crosstalk—but in terms of romantic tension? Wowee. With Briddey and C.B. dancing around inside each other’s heads‚ with him mentally and sometimes physically comforting her with his teachings on how to build a fortress in her mind‚ I was flipping pages and yelling “KISS ALREADY!” The moment I finished the book‚ with the romantic tension barely resolved and if anything even more stoked‚ there was only one place I could go: Archive of Our Own. I had to know if someone else was as emotionally frustrated by Briddey and C.B.’s slow burn and if they had thrown a match on it. At the time‚ mere days after the book’s publication‚ of course the answer was no. But in the two years since‚ there are a grand total of… three Crosstalk fanfics! Bless this little fandom‚ which exemplifies the ideal situation where the source material leaves you wanting more—and then you go and write the next chapter. Tunnel Vision My husband and I decided to plan our honeymoon for about a year after our wedding‚ to put some time between this giant party we had thrown and a nice relaxing trip to look forward to once we were past the first heady months of being newlyweds. It so happened that in addition to looking forward to our Spain trip‚ I also had a new Megan Abbott thriller to count down the days to: Give Me Your Hand‚ a typically twisty and disturbed novel about two female scientists with a bloody history jockeying for the “one girl spot” in a study on premenstrual dysphoric disorder‚ or PMS that makes you kill. Despite being announced at least six months ahead of publication‚ there were no excerpts to be had‚ and no way for this sci-fi/fantasy reviewer to get her hands on an ARC. So‚ I preordered… for the last day of our honeymoon. While we were checking out of our Barcelona Airbnb and beginning the long slog to the airport for twelve hours of travel‚ I had my nose buried in my ereader and the opening pages of Give Me Your Hand. It took all my self-control to wait until we had lifted off to actually read—then I squeezed my husband’s hand‚ said‚ “What a dream honeymoon‚” and ignored him for the rest of our flight. I inhaled Give Me Your Hand in four hours‚ curled into the same position in my cramped seat. I probably got up to use the bathroom at some point but I’m sure I took the book with me. I read it so fast that I gasped at the first twist I had somewhat guessed but didn’t think she’d actually do‚ gasped at the secondary twist that recontextualized the entire novel‚ reached the end… then realized I had read so fast that some of the details didn’t stick‚ and had to turn around and start over from the last third. I’m Not Worthy Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire was the hardest to pin down‚ because it’s a mix of multiple book-crush styles. First there was the initial intimidation of the opening lines—trying to ascertain the premise of this alien universe while my eyes kept tripping back and forth over the poetry of “here is the grand sweep of civilization’s paw‚ stretched against the black between the stars…” I was ready to proclaim this book too smart for me‚ or to put it aside and try again another day‚ when I found myself adjusting to the cadence of the omniscient third-person narrator‚ cataloguing the unfamiliar words that were the (world)building blocks of the Teixcalaanli empire—and‚ most shockingly‚ recognizing myself in these humans who had evolved lightyears beyond my world. What started as the expectation of being dazzled by a space opera bearing no resemblance to anything in the present instead became the oddest connection across space and time—to Mahit Dzmare’s loving memorization of Teixcalaanli poetry‚ to Three Seagrass’ balancing act between professional ambition and personal creativity‚ even to Thirty-Six All-Terrain Tundra Vehicle’s gauche self-naming. These supposed aliens were people… and while I was realizing this‚ Martine was weaving a political epic that was thrilling from its quietest moments to its bloodiest. It’s the kind of writing that makes me feel raised up as a reader and like I’m not worthy enough as a writer. I can’t stop bringing this book into conversations‚ the way you might shoehorn in a mention of someone who gets your heart racing‚ even when they have absolutely no connection to the matter at hand. I want every person to have my experience with this book‚ or something entirely different—but above all I want them to read it‚ so we can find each other‚ clasp hands‚ and squeal over our book crush together. If you’ve experienced any/all of these‚ then congratulations‚ you’ve got a book crush! Now—I told you mine‚ you tell me yours.[end-mark] A version of this article was fist published in February 2019. The post Five Ways You Might Be Crushing on a Book appeared first on Reactor.

News Star Trek: Discovery The Final Season of Star Trek: Discovery Will Warp onto Paramount Plus in April Captain Burnham will only get to say “Let’s fly” so many more times By Molly Templeton | Published on February 14‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed It’s been a long‚ strange‚ occasionally baffling journey‚ and now it’s coming to an end: The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery will begin on April 4th with a two-episode premiere. The synopsis is mysterious! And vague! The fifth and final season will find Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well … dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it. In a recent TVLine interview‚ Sonequa Martin-Green‚ who plays Captain Burnham‚ teased a major twist in this final season‚ saying‚ “There’s a big thing. A biiiig thing in Season 5.” Along with Martin-Green‚ Discovery stars Doug Jones as Saru‚ Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets‚ Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber‚ David Ajala as Cleveland Booker‚ and Blu del Barrio as Adira. For the grand finale‚ Mary Wiseman will return as Sylvia Tilly‚ and Callum Keith Rennie joins the cast as Rayner. There are also two recurring stars: Elias Toufexis as L’ak and Eve Harlow as Moll. Star Trek: Discovery has Michelle Paradise and Trek mastermind Alex Kurtzman as showrunners. Its arrival on Paramount Plus in 2017 heralded the beginning of a new Trek era that now includes the now-concluded Star Trek: Picard‚ the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks‚ the beloved Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‚ and more. The USS Discovery sets off on her final mission on April 4th. [end-mark] The post The Final Season of <;i>;Star Trek: Discovery<;/i>; Will Warp onto Paramount Plus in April appeared first on Reactor.

Book Recommendations Max Gladstone Follow the Yellow Brick Road off a Cliff: Max Gladstone’s Last Exit (Part 14) You know the mutants were bad‚ because their leader had tentacles… By Ruthanna Emrys‚ Anne M. Pillsworth | Published on February 14‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed Welcome back to Reading the Weird‚ in which we get girl cooties all over weird fiction‚ cosmic horror‚ and Lovecraftiana—from its historical roots through its most recent branches. This week‚ we continue Max Gladstone’s Last Exit with Chapters 27-28. The novel was first published in 2022. Spoilers ahead! “I’m happy to smoke my tautological weed in private.” Sarah said things would be bad in the Green Glass City. Aloud Zelda agreed‚ but she silently hoped that things had worked out. Sarah was right. The city they left on the mend‚ mutants exiled‚ Brigit and her people safe‚ is empty; its bottle-green skyscrapers have tarnished‚ and birds and overgrown vegetation are the only living things. Their robot-horses drag the Challenger through deathly silence. The alt-riders reach the labyrinthine palace at the city’s heart. Wealth and power built it‚ and generations of graft reaped obscene profit for its officials‚ until the last mayor fell and mutants replaced its statue heads with busts of their tentacled leader. The humanoid drones that Ish revived to serve Brigit remain‚ motionless except for their pulsing polymer hearts. There are no bomb-craters‚ no bloodstains or bones. No signs of rot‚ either. Unchallenged‚ the alt-riders find the palace’s underground garage. To their amazement‚ it remains perfectly stocked and maintained‚ no dust or cobwebs anywhere. Ramon expected the job to take two days; uneasy‚ he decides to do it overnight. Together the alt-riders repair the Challenger  – once again solving the “five-body problem” that is their fellowship. While the others sleep‚ Ramon tries to persuade Sarah to accept help warding off the cowboy. Sarah concludes she was wrong to try to exclude June from the fight they’re all in – she chose to be here‚ and chose again knowing what she was getting into. Back at their sleeping bags‚ June lies still enough that Sarah suspects she’s only pretending to sleep. Sarah whispers an apology‚ but a touch reveals that June’s “shoulder” is actually her knapsack‚ a trick. June is gone. Determined not to let Sarah face the cowboy alone again‚ June’s left the garage to search the palace. Her shadows go with her‚ murmuring. She loses her flashlight in a vast marble hall‚ but discovers she can see in the dark. The cowboy’s booted footsteps sound on the floor above‚ but retreat when she challenges him. June pursues‚ her shadows like sense-extending “whiskers.” He enters a room with no other exit‚ and she follows. Intense lights blind her. Something covers her face‚ steals her breath. She falls. And is lifted. * * * Sarah’s cry wakes the others. Ish’s knack tells him June’s alive‚ nearby. He runs into the palace‚ leading the chase. June wakes to a room whose walls‚ ceiling and floor shine with “pitiless artificial sun.” She sits in a metal “chair” made of drones who bind her with their hands. June’s right hand is bleeding‚ the work of a gaunt‚ ragged woman who circles into view‚ swaying as if drunk‚ holding a glass knife. June looks like Sal‚ the woman says. Never mind her friends: the would-be rescuers are lost in “the maze.” June realizes her captor is Brigit‚ though it’s hard to see the heroic leader in this skeleton. Brigit admits the alt-riders helped defeat the mutants. Then they left‚ and the shadows grew. They infected her people‚ urged them to abandon their hard-won safety. There are no shadows in the light-bathed room‚ June sees. When she tries to call some‚ Brigit stabs her thigh – she can see the rot in June‚ having traded her eyes for the metal threads stitched into her empty sockets. Meanwhile‚ Zelda and Ish figure out that the rooms they pass and repass are moving. Ramon slashes carpet to reveal a trapdoor. Underneath is a ladder. The alt-riders climb down into what Ish recognizes as the drone control center‚ brighter-lit than before‚ with more surveillance cameras. All this “scrutiny” is what’s quelling their knacks. They find the server room. Someone’s been living there‚ amid scalpels and pill bottles. On surveillance screens Ish accesses Brigit’s “interrogation room.” Zelda and Sarah go to find it‚ leaving Ish to turn off the drones immobilizing June. Brigit rants about her people’s desertion. Finally she found the rot’s source in this room‚ in that crack in the wall. June sees black appendages struggling out‚ only to be withered by the caustic light. Brigit wants June to bring her people back; she has become the knife that will cut June until she obeys. June pretends to try‚ while silently calling for the shadows‚ for Sal‚ to help her. Zelda’s arrival distracts Brigit. Brigit‚ too‚ is rot-infected‚ Zelda says. She has to let go and heal the crack‚ with Zelda’s help. Instead Brigit says she sees the rot in Zelda and must cut it out. As she attacks‚ Ish fails to shut down the drones choking June. Ramon cuts the cables that supply coolant and power to the palace-wide systems. In the interrogation room‚ the lights go out. Freed from their imprisonment‚ the shadows kill Brigit. The drones go inert‚ releasing June. Sarah and a wounded Zelda carry June through smoke-filled darkness as the disabled palace catches fire. The cowboy reappears‚ but Sarah banishes him again‚ and the restored Challenger and robot-horses speed the alt-riders from the conflagration. This Week’s Metrics What’s Cyclopean: The Green Glass City probably is cyclopean‚ but the descriptions invoke Oz as much as R’lyeh: bottle-green buildings‚ moss-colored windshields‚ emerald mirrors. The Degenerate Dutch: At Yale Ramon lived in Calhoun College‚ named after John C. Calhoun (“‘Slavery is a positive good’? That motherfucker?”) It’s since been renamed after Grace Hopper. Libronomicon: Sarah lists her kids’ favorite books: The Westing Game and the Dog Man series. Weirdbuilding: You know the mutants were bad‚ because their leader had tentacles. Anne’s Commentary Who could want to see Oz’s Emerald City descend into ruin‚ while flying monkeys desecrate its once-glittering halls‚ especially after saving the damn place once already? It’s a shock for the alt-riders to discover their Oz in worse shape than they found it the first time. In apocalyptic times‚ adventurers expect to encounter lawless gangs‚ and/or zombies‚ and/or mutants with or without tentacles. That’s fine‚ you can fight all of these with sentient muscle cars and might-as-well-be magical knacks. It’s what comes after the ultimate global (or here‚ civic) smackdown that must devastate: The emptiness and silence that follows the extinction of your species. In the Green Glass City‚ colonizing trees and weeds have crowded into the plazas‚ so they’re not actually empty. Birds still sing and chatter‚ so silent the city is not. But the people are missing‚ utterly‚ having left not even bones behind; for Zelda‚ that’s what renders the GGC dead. She tells herself she didn’t expect parades. She tells herself she’s always known that bad outcomes were the alt-road default. The crazy thing is that a decade of alt-hopping hasn’t killed her capacity for hope. She acknowledges that they hadn’t left Brigit’s people safe‚ because there was no “safe.” Mental-seconds later‚ she’s thinking that “there was still a chance this would all turn out okay.” It’s only momentarily that she can’t “deny the grinding force of history at work‚” instead of insisting she’s “a clearly outlined person with wants and goals and needs‚” the possession of which implies agency. Or not. There’s also the false agency of the music box monkey‚ convinced it’s banging those cymbals of its own accord. Next paragraph‚ Zelda obliquely compares herself to the cowboy. Would wearing his hat – say‚ wielding power for power’s sake – feel the way she felt when they reactivated the GGC drones? Do the White Hats have a truer agency‚ and could theirs last? Zelda’s a complicated character‚ all right. Not that any alt-rider’s a simple soul‚ or else the gravitational force of Zelda’s charisma couldn’t have pulled them in a five-body problem of ridiculous interpersonal complexity. Ramon‚ however‚ doesn’t despair of finding a solution to their “astronomical” conundrum. Anecdotal evidence: When the alt-riders have to‚ they “sort their shit out‚ cowboys or monsters or rot.” They are all fixers‚ Ramon of machines‚ Sarah of bodies‚ Ish of numbers‚ Zelda of rot. And June‚ ally of shadows‚ fixes things via the rot. A fix for one player in the cosmic game could break another player‚ perhaps a requirement for maintaining essential balance. For me‚ one puzzler Last Exit poses is: Are there absolute good guys and absolute bad guys? Put simply‚ or perhaps simplistically‚ are the alt-riders and their allies always Right‚ while the cowboy and the rot/Beyond-Sal are always Wrong? Initially it looked this way. Granted‚ Zelda’s always beating herself up for having failed Sal‚ the alt-riders‚ the whole of unrotted existence‚ but that might just be Zelda’s self-doubting way and worthy of sympathy rather than censure. On the other hand‚ what about Zelda’s bursts of “clarity” in Chapter 28? What if by groveling in self-condemnation‚ Zelda had not sought forgiveness but the denial of forgiveness‚ shifting the spotlight from her victims to herself. As she puts her insight: “Really it was about me the whole time. Like always.” Even during the desperate search for June‚ she catches herself making “the moment” about Zelda. Zelda‚ Zelda‚ Zelda! If “life was always going to skew in the worst possible way because she was ruined inside and spoiled what she touched‚” that meant some inscrutable Power mocked Zelda’s monkey-doll pretenses to autonomy‚ and “failure was not her fault.” But! If Zelda did have the agency to fail‚ she might also succeed:  “Then there was still a way. A chance.” “They have all gone into the world of light!” is the first line of a poem by 17th-century poet Henry Vaughan. Of those she’s lost‚ Brigit must cry out: “They have all gone into the world of darkness!” The rot has tricked them away‚ every citizen‚ every officer and confidant. All her people‚ the ones she saved with the alt-riders‚ the ones she tried to save again‚ alone. All the alt-riders have savior-complexes to one degree or another. Brigit has a savior complex too‚ but it’s grown pathological‚ shorn of the heroic and sunk into the egomaniacal. All her people‚ but culpable for their fate through their ingratitude. Seducible‚ they were seduced. Or – they went into the dark because it was beautiful‚ and they embraced it‚ as Sal did‚ as Zelda and June have been tempted to do. Is it rot that’s driven Brigit mad‚ as Zelda believes? Will June’s knack for the rot‚ however useful at the moment‚ finally corrupt her? All bad‚ the rot? All good? Like humanity‚ a mixed bag? I’ll have the mixed bag of rot for now. You can always pick out the really icky bits and give them to the squirrels. Or maybe not to the squirrels‚ that could get scary…. Ruthanna’s Commentary There’s a lot going on in this week’s chapters. Outside the chapters‚ however‚ I am dealing with eye trouble: did you know that “stye” is not just a crossword puzzle entry? It’s an annoying-yet-minor condition that requires poking ointment into my eye four times a day. Unfortunately‚ I have read way too much horror‚ and scenes with bad things happening to eyes stick with me. Thus‚ all-too-vivid images rear themselves in my memory every time I go through my care routine. Brigit appears at an inopportune time‚ and I’m not primed to like her even if she weren’t torturing June with a glass knife. The self-inflicted “fixed” eye sockets‚ staring hollowly into the void to pin it in place‚ are more than sufficient. Ow. June‚ please‚ please‚ don’t think about how she did it‚ and definitely don’t think about whether she used an ice cream scoop. I’m gonna take a break now and lie down with a warm compress over my eyes. Possibly an armored one. Brigit started as a hero: a scrappy fighter with bow and arrow‚ a perfect ally for the college-aged gang who needed a garage to fix their car‚ and who needed a fixable apocalypse. They helped her fight off tentacled mutants‚ gave her control over powerful humanoid drones… and left her and her people in a “good place”. Happy endings depend on when you leave the story behind and ride off into the sunset. Brigit’s people didn’t appreciate the good place left for them – maybe because‚ given any sort of power‚ she was determined to keep them safe‚ like it or not. She would exert as much force‚ as much control‚ as much close surveillance‚ as was required to stop them from choosing anything other than safety. And so she’s left with the trinity of pills‚ knives‚ and surgical equipment. Brigit reminds me unfortunately of Ish. Use the all-seeing‚ certainty-creating machine to hold back the rot‚ and you end up serving something else. On Earth it’s the cowboy. Brigit may not wear a white hat‚ though it shows up briefly in her computer system‚ but she’s sure got something on her head. “A monster at least had rules‚” says June. “A hero didn’t have any.” I’m not sure this is true‚ but it is often what makes for a facile story of beatable monsters. If you know the lore about vampires you can stake Carmilla sleeping‚ find the passage in the Necronomicon that lets you stop the ritual‚ walk the line that keeps you safe in the woods. A good hero has a code‚ has things she won’t do‚ principles that see her through the less-than-simple problems. But if you’re a hero just because you’re fighting mutants and have “Disney Princess eyes” (oh god the eyes)‚ you’ve got no brakes. And maybe no tolerance for people who don’t appreciate your obvious heroism. What kinds of heroes are our alt-riders? Sal certainly didn’t have brakes‚ nor does Zelda. Ish is all too much like Brigit. Ramon and Sarah‚ impure and tied to lovers and family‚ might at least stop and think. But they all want to save the world‚ and have little patience for the slow mundane work of‚ say‚ getting a university to take down celebrations of slavery. And they all love to play the solo martyr; on this count at least June fits right in. Someday these people are going to figure out how to ask for backup before riding out alone – if they all manage it at the same time‚ they might even find that grail. Assuming that heroes exist at all: Zelda considers the great man theory versus the cogs of historical force‚ herself as clockwork monkey atop a music box. If she hadn’t discovered alt-jumping‚ would someone else have figured it out? The gang and the princess working through the multiverse from opposite sides‚ just because it was steam engine apocalypse time? And now they’re riding out again‚ away from the palace as it finally collapses Usher-style. It’s not quite riding into the sunset‚ but riding out with your back to the fire is an equally tried-and-true album-cover image: sky the color of new possibilities dawning‚ or old ones collapsing‚ or the first night at the college where you’re going to invent interdimensional travel. Leave a new mess behind you or a tidily-wrapped happy ending: maybe there’s not so much difference after all. Next week‚ you’ve just bought a new house‚ but you used the wrong kind of inspector: buyer beware in Kiera Lesley’s “Concerning the Upstairs Bathroom.”[end-mark] The post Follow the Yellow Brick Road off a Cliff: Max Gladstone’s <;i>;Last Exit<;/i>; (Part 14) appeared first on Reactor.

Elizabeth’s 58th request will ask you to barter around for items and hop between random NPCs. We’ll explain how you can complete the “I wish to become a straw millionaire” request in Persona 3 Reload. At first‚ I was pretty confused about what I was supposed to do on this request‚ but after finding the first few NPCs it was easier than I realized. Persona 3 Reload: “I wish to become a straw million” request guide Once you first talk to Elizabeth about this request‚ she’ll explain a story based on Japanese folklore about a man who became rich by trading items and only starting with a piece of straw. You must do the same thing and find her an item she’d like by the end of it. Let’s go over the instructions on how to complete the “I wish to become a straw millionaire” request in Persona 3 Reload. Screenshot: PC Invasion Elizabeth will give you some bandages to start with. First‚ you must head to Port Island ...

Just because a game may look like a perfect match for Steam Deck doesn’t mean it always is. In the case of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor‚ here’s whether it is playable on Steam Deck and if it is good. Is Deep Rock Galactic Survivor playable on Steam Deck? Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is verified Playable on Steam Deck. This means that Steam analyzed the game and deemed it playable on Steam Deck. More than playable‚ the Playable Steam Deck Compatibility rating is the highest rating a game can get on Steam. With a green check and the Playable status‚ everything works great for Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor on Steam Deck. Is Deep Rock Galactic Survivor good on Steam Deck? To me‚ what makes a game great on Steam Deck‚ besides working controls and good frame rates which Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor’s Playable rating ensures‚ is how accessible it is and how much information is on the screen. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is the perfect “just one more run...

Request 92 from Elizabeth tasks you to clean a restroom‚ with almost no clarification on which one she means. Here is how you can complete the “Go clean a restroom” request in Persona 3 Reload. Persona 3 Reload: “Go clean a restroom” request guide Screenshot: PC Invasion After accepting the “Go clean a restroom” request in Persona 3 Reload (available on 11/6)‚ players must head to the Port Island Station. Above the Screen Shot movie theater‚ you will find a restroom with a yellow sign in the doorway. This is the restroom you must clean for Elizabeth‚ so head inside and get to work. While cleaning‚ you will have the option to scrub harder‚ use soap‚ or give up. Make sure to continue selecting the “scrub harder” option until you have successfully cleaned the entire restroom. Once you have completed the task‚ your protagonist will inform you that the duty is done. Now it’s time to head back to Elizabeth at the Velvet Roo...