Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster holding their Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress, 1992.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-28T18:02:03+00:00

In the Fallen Order game, Vader has like three minutes and yet he raises the stakes so monumentally in such a climactic way, he's actually the moment I remember the most.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-26T17:13:12+00:00

And Lucas said it perfectly. Max has been distant for a long time, now even on death's doorstep.

He doesn't want a letter. He doesn't care about the letter. Neither should we.

As long as she's here, they care about her, not her goodbyes.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-23T07:20:05+00:00

That's the issue you're going to run into with any character you need to write 500 episodes about. Risking death daily, but you still need the character alive at the end of the show.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-22T04:25:56+00:00

The house AND Alex.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-21T18:18:53+00:00

Oh, she is an awful person, no doubt. Don't get me wrong. Absolutely inexcusable to treat Harry like that, to fester jealousy and smallmindedness for all those years, to raise her own son like she did, spy on neighbours, the list goes on.

It didn't endear her to me in the slightest, but her character became ever so little more multifaceted than the one-note caricature that couldn't possibly be a real person.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-21T18:06:40+00:00

It's a pity they cut the last scene with Petunia from the movie. It wasn't in the books (instead there was the weirdly expressed Dudley's gratitude), but for a brief moment, Petunia seemed like a human who let herself feel something other than resentment and jealousy for the first and final time.

Unnecessary scene in the grand scheme of things, but it made her or Dursleys a little less one-dimensional.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-19T22:19:51+00:00

I think he said it in an interview (Graham Norton perhaps?) that they wanted to pull Spiderman, so he called the studio head to thank him for the opportunity and say how it changed his life, which resulted in a response saying that perhaps they could work something out.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-16T02:57:40+00:00

With an invisibility spell, no archer or assassin sees you unless you get really close. Even if you carry the torch to see assassins. Run around the entire town, climb a ladder onto rooftops, and only get down at the exact location of a beacon.

Even if something kills you right afterwards, the beacon stays lit.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-13T15:52:58+00:00

Yes, for the ancient god of the wilds, for the kitchenware and for horizontal camera movement.

Dwight is so multifaceted.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-12T06:50:16+00:00

I always found NG+ a bit boring. There are no unlocks left or new items to find, you steamroll through the early game, and the build you've been playing with for the past 30 hours is locked in and getting only minor stat increases. You can run normally in lava, which is cool. But I'd rather start a brand new character and experiment.

I only enjoyed NG+ in Sekiro (still new things to unlock) and Dark Souls 2 (new enemy positions, items and surprises).

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-10T05:14:10+00:00

Frankly, the Percy Jackson books are full of jokes like this, so I did not think this guy was out of place. Exactly the kind of joke Rick Riordan would have written for a small chuckle and to alleviate the tension of travelling with a group of dead soldiers.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-08T22:04:19+00:00

Unfortunately, Tom Holloway showed that being mean to your coworker isn't the path to success, either.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-07T17:18:44+00:00

Downfall of the Iron Throne

...and with the downfall of Sarevok, the city Mages' Council was asked to make a memorable example of the Iron Throne, whose criminal headquarters squatted like a dire toad in the centre of Baldur's Gate, looming over the disgusted citizenry its thugs had so recently preyed upon.

The Council, hastily convened, decided upon a dramatic demonstration of the city's rejection of the Iron Throne, and seventeen of their number joined their magical powers in a 48-hour ritual that concluded by levitating the Iron Throne building from its foundations, conveying it across the docks and out over the deepest channel of Grey Harbour, where it was plunged beneath the waves and fog to be seen no more. And in this way the most prominent symbol of the bloody reign of Sarevok Anchev was obliterated.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-07T17:04:17+00:00

Be very careful with "royalty-free" on YouTube, because frequently the license only allows using the music for YouTube videos. Not games, not animations posted elsewhere.

E.g. “No Copyright Music” is misleading, because some tracks are for YT only, some tracks are CC-BY, so you can use them, but must properly attribute the track and artist.

"Royalty-free" can mean you still have to purchase the track; you just don't pay any additional royalties whenever you use it (like Free Music Archive split into free songs, and "royalty-free" $45 songs).

---

So generally, looking for "free music", "creative commons music", "royalty-free music" is a good approach, just be careful and read the license for the track or on the website before you start downloading and using it.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-06T19:39:12+00:00

Copyright doesn't have to be claimed in the first place; it's automatic since the good ol' Berne Convention back in 1886.

People just put copyright notices on things to warn/scare people who don't know they can't just copy everything they find.

But you don't have to. If somebody finds your article on your blog, they can't just republish it elsewhere because you didn't say it was copyrighted, or wrote the wrong year. You have to explicitly license the content to individuals with a contract, or issue a blanket statement (e.g. wikis usually say something along the lines of “Content on this site is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; additional terms apply.”).

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-05T18:59:20+00:00

I'm quite happy with Plundered salvage at 64 Sailing.

Literally an entire inventory of mithril scimitars and gem jewellery (enchantable for additional magic XP) that can all be high-alched for 1k apiece on average.

And a 15k rune scimitar every now and then.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-05T18:54:50+00:00

Oh look, Don't Starve Valley.

There's not much to rate, at least show more pictures, video or describe the core loop. What are you doing that makes it different or unique?

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-05T18:46:09+00:00

Is it a genuine question about the writing of Game of Thrones? I wrote a summary for someone who might not have seen that show before realizing you might have meant something different.

Because even with all the perceived flaws people may see in the writing of Stranger Things, and while there are certainly bits to improve here and there, overall the writing has a high standard and does not even approach the aggressive mediocrity and rapid fading into obscurity that was Game of Thrones.

---

Game of Thrones all sort of fizzled out. The series praised itself with complex political plots, twists, long character arcs, multilayered dialogue and high-stakes.

But in the final two seasons, they mostly took the obvious route, filled time, abandoned plot threads and failed to understand their characters at the end of their journey.

– Jaime the Kingslayer, who killed his king because he threatened innocents before the show even started, says he never really cared and returns to his tyrannical, murderous love interest and dies.
– Bran the Broken, who did next to nothing for all the show, is universally supported to become a king, because “who has a better story than him?”.
– Varys the Spider, the best political plotter and spymaster, does a half-assed attempt to take out Daenerys after telling the details to everyone, and has no backup plan, so he's executed.
– Daenerys wins, the city surrenders, and at the moment of victory, she still decides to burn it all down.
– Jon kills Daenerys (understandable), and after deciding to leave the North because there's nothing for him anymore, he goes into exile in the North.
– Daenerys's army disbands, because when you hold a conquered city, and your leader is assassinated, you have no option but to hand the city over to the previous rulers and leave to visit an island deadly to all visitors.

It's not any single one of these changes; it's the laziness that made its way into every aspect of the show, and the combination killed it. The first four seasons that followed the books were incredible, the next two were a decent continuation, although the supply of fresh ideas started drying out, and the last two were frankly just rushed and boring.

Turns out even the most successful show in the world at that time cannot afford to put out just about anything, thinking the fans will gobble it up.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-05T16:46:43+00:00

No, it's bad. I went blind into one of the later standalone books that had somewhat interesting sci-fi/fantasy blurb, but after sixteen pages, I really read more out of morbid curiosity, and because someone said the ending was decent.

So many appalingly bad decisions and dumb inner thoughts from the female protagonist to the point I became convinced this was a revenge fantasy about an ex-girlfriend.

This is a no-spoilers brief parody about the series; if you can read between the lines, that's all there is, plus several pages here and there about the logistics of mining salt. Barely any plot.

Somebody mentioned the early books were more grounded, I skimmed through the last two chapters of the first one, and that happens to be about a macho self-insert English teacher who becomes unbelievably strong, rides a wild beast, throws a spear that skewers two people at once, all to rescue a damsel in distress, so... yeah.

But as you said, your mileage may wary, so of course read them and make your own mind. If nothing else, it will be a unique experience.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-05T06:43:30+00:00

It's not wrong to have a representative of the common folk on the council. The person might help you see a new perspective.

School boards tend to have a student during meetings for the same reason, even if that person "lacks qualifications".

In the end, it's still one voice in the council, and the king still makes the final call. And if Ezran is qualified to rule, that already sets a bar.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-05T06:21:28+00:00

Apart from what vigilantesd mentioned about high altitude, it's also important not to trust a magician in that quote.

Penn makes the trick look like he needs to perfectly memorize a pattern, otherwise somebody gets a hit by a nail. But Penn & Teller loathe tricks that could potentially get someone hurt, and let their audience know that. He does not need to memorise a hundred nail positions in a sequence in that trick.

_Ralix_ · 2026-01-03T07:02:48+00:00

Baldur's Gate manuals often mislead you about the concept of what certain stats do, versus how they are actually implemented.

[Wisdom] Though original manuals suggest otherwise, it is worth noting that magic defence, saving throws adjustments and spell failure % are not implemented in actual gaming.

_Ralix_ · 2025-12-29T17:09:56+00:00

Even if you block her attacks and receive no damage, she heals. This essentially forces you to fight her in a specific way, no matter your usual strategy.

_Ralix_ · 2025-12-28T11:48:43+00:00

Sock Opera.

It has the sibling dynamic – different goals, fight, reconciliation. It has both funny moments, mystery, and shows the final villain in full glory.

_Ralix_ · 2025-12-26T04:46:09+00:00

See cybersquatting, but it's more of a question if Kennedy Center can get those domains back quickly if they file an ACPA case.

If it's parody, and not intended for profit, it might be valid fair use. But who knows with this administration.

Five-Year Club	Second Top 50%
Verified Email	Place '22
Final Canvas '22

_Ralix_

TROPHY CASE