Tearing down systemic power structures and letting the world decide its future while Ranni and the Tarnished go into the stars to do their own thing.

Ultimately, it’s about the power structure of the Lands Between and how the system itself is broken.

Ranni’s story is about how, even if her goals are selfish, the result is altruistic.

The Age of Stars returns free will and death to the LB.

And Elden Ring is also interested in those critiques, about how systems of power abuse masses, and uniquely how they abuse women.

And the themes are also heavily feminist.

Bloodborne is a horror game about birth, unwanted pregnancy, termination of wanted pregnancy. The hardest boss in the game wields its own placenta.

And telling stories the way they do leads to stories that are about power structures, systemic issues, and sociological problems with abuse of power than psychological stories about character.

But a story is there.

Malazan is a solid comparison.

There’s little to no exposition, partially because people who have lived in a word will rarely just give exposition (unless they’re training someone like Mistborn 1).

It leads to audience trust an a reputation of unapproachable story.

Yes.

The story is in item descriptions, dialogue, environment, even cutscenes.

It’s obfuscated through those things.

FromSoftware’s style is to not outwardly explain anything, trust the player to piece together the themes and story.

It’s a trust of audience rarely seen.

Ranni, the Black Knives, and Godwyn.

Malenia vs Radahn.

The Shattering.

Marika’s Ascension and Mesmer’s Crusade.

There’s A TON to adapt that isn’t just the game’s story.

The events of the game itself are too broad to tell in a film.

But there are so many sociological stories to tell in the word and lore to explore.

And Garland excels at those types of stories.

Knowing A24 and Alex Garland’s other work:

They aren’t telling the story of the game itself.

It’ll be an event in lore like the Shattering.

But the stories are there.

And they all feature themes of systemic oppression, critiques of power structures, and small acts of hope and kindness in a seemingly uncaring world.

It’s okay if the way they tell stories isn’t for you though. It’s just a different way to tell them.

FromSoft games, Elden Ring included, do tell a story. It’s in item descriptions, dialogue, and some cutscenes. It’s meant to be pieced together by the audience.

FromSoft trusts the audience to not need their hand held with the story. I respect that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea though.

Opinion | Measles Took My Daughter. This Is What I Want Everyone to Know.

Measles is NOT "just like chickenpox". It can kill years later. This woman was so brave for coming forward with her story.

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/o...

All five precons from this set look sweet.

3D printing miniatures is opening up so many options across hobbies!

Display pieces like Liara from Mass Effect, D&D/Warhammer terrain…the list goes on.

What is bringing you joy today?

What made you laugh or smile today?

Have you brought joy to someone else today?

at some point the Onion is gonna buy an actual real newspaper and run it really well and everything will change (I MEAN IT COULD HAPPEN RIGHT)

Media literacy says we are shaped by culture and media is shaped by it too.

Parks and Rec lamp shading Tom's creepiest behavior but never actually having him grow beyond it is problematic for a show that popular.

It's reflective of the writers' values and society's.

Today on "I really need to get off Reddit":

Parks and Rec subreddit talking about Tom's character being a creep and doing really problematic stuff. And the more upvoted comments being "it's just a show, people take characters too seriously."

the ADHD tendency to not finish your morning coffee because you forget it exists

I can’t wait for the AI bubble to pop and all these companies trying to embrace it scramble to say they never meant it.

It’s fucking pasta sauce.

It is past time I learn how to make my own.

that being said, there's gotta be some funny shit to do with one of these and a few furbies

Fucking ghoulish.

And same goes for TTRPGs being in print (though they’re not in active development anymore). There’s a d20 system and the EDGE/Fantasy Flight system with three subsystems that interconnect.

I don’t foresee the money being a hurdle.

Disney/Lucasfilm has let the tabletop be a Wild West.

Two tabletop war games actively getting updates and models.

I don’t foresee Disney really caring that much about a Magic set; so long as they get their share.

Tabletop war games outside Warhammer aren’t making near what a Magic set would.

What is bringing you joy today?

What made you laugh or smile today?

Have you brought joy to someone else today?

Get your asses in gear, we absolutely must take the Senate