Techwright

Does the First Ward not count? Unfortunately, nowadays it would probably be avoided. We've become too spoiled in our comfy travel arrangements. (I miss the taxi-bot supergroups!) I might have a (slightly) alternative solution. See farther down. This sounds like something the Midnight Squad would oversee. It could actually kick off from Croatoa as well. A weakening of the dimensional portals due to the ongoing war in Croatoa creates a rift that allow exploration into the fantasy realm. That would even permit the rift from not being visible/available until certain requirements are met, opening up the initial storyline. It sounds like you're wanting zone #7 in my OP map. It is fairly narrow, though the mapmaker managed to suggest by using background coloring that there might be two future zones in there. That does have interesting possibilities, especially due to its narrow width. A Hamidon-based forest running there, up from The Hive, would probably be trying to take over the rubble on Faultline's western flank (war walls make it seem the earthquake's destruction was fully contained to the zone, but I'd argue a zone to the west of Faultline would at least show similar damage on its eastern flank.) With Brickstown to the west, you have the potential for the Hamidon to see the Zig as a candy jar for forcible transformation and recruitment en masse, possibly leading to interesting storylines, a leagued event like the mothership raid and/or a task force to prevent it. There's another way this could go: the Lost World genre concept. Much like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger story, the unknown/unexplored African interiors of the Tarzan series or later, Marvel Comics' Savage Land pocket in the Antarctic, we could have a zone portal experience to a lost world elsewhere on the planet with trees on the scale of redwoods and a hodgepodge of native cultures, lost Roman civilizations and ferocious beasts Just...no more tree canopies one cannot move through but one can walk on. Perhaps there's another way to address this: not complete loss of powers but unexpected reduction of powers. I see two avenues regarding this: a zone (which for "reasons") interferes with travel powers either causing (A) a severe strain on using them (can only use them briefly, with long recharge times) or (B) causes instability where you can try to use them but with mixed and sometimes unpredictable results. The zone would need to be tooled to take this into account, as in "what happens if you try teleporting, but the energies are suddenly redirected and you go back or left instead of forwards?" Unexpected conflicts and hilarity ensues.

That I didn't remember (I do remember the pursuer). Wow indeed. I'm kind of surprised I don't remember because Banks was in Wiseguy only 2 years later, a show I followed closely.

Reading the news blurb, I'm surprised they're only going to be airing the first 2 episodes. D+ aired the first 3 together, and from what I read it was generally agreed this was a good move, as the first two shows had slower pacing while establishing the show. Three was where the action payoff really started to happen according to this viewpoint. Ah, I see I got a couple of series confused. Thank you for the correction.

*Cough*The Coal Bringer*Cough* Sorry, must have coal dust in my throat. (Created him last year. Well, technically he's a seismic/earth blaster, not a dom. But definitely into coal.)

Rather than a hiding place, I see it more (hopefully...hope-full-eeeee) as an opportunity to wipe the taste of the Sequel Trilogy from our collective mouths. Or at least modify it to something more palatable. Yes, he did reach out, but could not sustain the connection. The WBW is apparently naturally resistant to the Sith, or at least the portals are. They need a Jedi to act as anchor to drag themselves in. It makes sense that something so powerful would lean towards the light side, as being easily accessed by the Dark Side wielders would cause unimaginable chaos.

1. Good point. I'd always assumed Rocket's cybernetics extended his life, but for how long? 2. The "Bowie" eh? Interesting. I'd kind of avoided the Holiday Special when I heard that its design was influenced by the Star Wars Holiday Special (I'm still in therapy), but I suppose I must go view it now.

I can't see S2 of Andor being stopped short of bankruptcy. It's already filming for one. For another S1 is getting rave reviews, even if the audience wasn't there, exactly. I rather think it is due to a variety of reasons outside of the series. That suggests that Andor may be coming on strong later. We have a year and change for word to spread regarding its quality, and for those who missed it to catch up. Andor will likely either be a late bloomer with audiences, or grow into a cult favorite, both of which can be long-term profitable. According to what I was told, Andor dropped to 2 seasons from 5 because the star, Diego Luna, didn't want to commit to 5 years. If season 1 is any telling, cutting out all the potential filler stories has made this a better product, though I'd be fine with an addition 1/2 season. 2.5 storytelling years to tell a 5 year story. I thought Rogue Squadron floundered when Gina Carano was fired? I'd heard her character of Cara Dune was supposed to be the lead.

The portal in Rebels was located in a Jedi temple. It makes sense, particularly with all the "doors" in the World Between Worlds that it would not be the only Jedi temple to have access to the WBW. That's a problem, though, because we know Sidious is still alive (well, a half life) and he's very much interested in finding his way into the WBW.

MCU Drax's arc has run its course. He was all about destroying Thanos to avenge family, and that's been done, so an ending for him would seem reasonable. Rocket's looking scruffy in this. Not sure why. I'm really glad we're going to touch on his origin story. That was one Chekov's Gun left unanswered. Groot is looking seriously buffed in this. Wonder what the reason is? The previous Groot (earlier self? Hard to tell with Groots) looked sturdy, but never this buff. Was really surprised to see the return of Space Cthulu. Now that they know how to kill one, I'm wondering why it was brought in? Wondering how Adam Warlock will fit into the MCU going forward? One of the things I disliked about Phase 4 was how fragmented it was. There've been hints, some quite strong, about the Thunderbolts, but nothing felt like it was driving towards a goal in similar manner to phases 1-3. I'd love to learn if Adam Warlock heralds a return to that format. (Confession, I've not seen a few things in Phase 4 yet, so perhaps I've missed some major points that do point to a drive towards a single goal.) Also, "a Richard Scarry version of suburbia". Thanks @ThaOGDreamWeaver, I'd not thought of it in those terms, but I'm laughing, and now I can't get that imagery out of my head. If we get a worm with a boot and an Oktoberfest hat, I'm going to be rolling in the aisles. EDIT: Oh, and what happened to the Milano? I don't recall the ship being destroyed, and I know Rocket had some tool that could completely rebuild it. IS this the same ship, but redesigned? Possibly for a bigger crew?

Exactly. The chamber that teleported the family was a lost room in a pharaoh's tomb as I recall, and markers on the path to the return portal in the other world were Egyptian obelisks. The hero family hypothesized that the Pharaohs of their Earth rose to power because of the advanced information they gleaned from the alternate Earth, and that the journey was undertaken by many pharaohs as a rite of passage, to secure their power (hence the need for the markers). While I don't remember references to Masons or Illuminati (It's been 35 years) per se, I could easily see this as a sci-fi origin story for secret powerful societies with Egyptian imagery.

I think you missed the word "option" in my comment. I specifically said that because I realize it is not for everyone, and not even all the time for those who like working it. That's why I included Null the Gull in the concept.

We know how you like things, er...fresh...so we acquired a flock of live turkeys for your holiday, um...enjoyment. Unfortunately, there was an accident involving a helicopter and a mall parking lot. I'd explain further but it's messy.

Have you ever seen Bablyon 5/Crusade's "A Call To Arms" TV movie? That's exactly the tactic the villains used when sending their death machine towards earth. They created a dummy core towards the center of their machine, something they knew humans would shoot at due to its centrality, and hid the real brains of the device in a node off to one side of the doomsday machine.

I like how you think, though I'd point out that to many Epiphany, the twelfth day after Christmas (as in the "12 Days of Christmas" of carol fame), is actually considered the end of the Christmas season. So I'll be patient through the end of January 6. But yes, here in the States, the day after Thanksgiving should be the kickoff, IMHO. Anything more, and the holiday tends to lose its charm. There's only so many reruns of popular Christmas songs that I can take, even my favorite ones.

I'd much prefer an endgame system to earn points towards gaining a 7th or even 8th slot on my powers already picked. Perhaps even earn any stray powers in the powersets I've already picked, earn unique add-in bonuses enhancements, or crazily, open 1 one more 3rd column powerset. Each of these would be very slow in being earned though, as if the character is straining against something of a threshold in their nature to earn the ability to go beyond, to be extraordinary in their native abilities. I say "points" since these should be uneven earned rewards: Unique bonus enhancements < additional slot < new powers within the established sets < 1 more 3rd column powerset. By using points, the player can decide how they are to be spent. Perhaps they've always want to add in teleport, but never found the fit before. It would take them a good long while to open up the 3rd column powerset, and even longer to open up the powers in it, but it could be done.

I agree on contentious. I do like cutscenes, I just hate the interruption in the middle of a thick fight. It's even been known to give the opponent an advantage upon the cutscene ending, since the computer is fully aware of where everyone is and what all is going on and can target you in your "sleep". One thing I might latch onto is the idea of a picture-in-a-picture cutscene, something that plays out as I fight or as I move into position. The BAF for example, might have a 2-minute warning, where teammates could make last minute moves and preparations while the cutscene plays out in a box (which we can move around, resize, or even minimize to keep all parts of the UI functional). Clamor's interrupting cutscene in Terra Volta could trigger in a window right as we enter the building, allowing us to keep fighting our way to the center. Etc.

Hmm, I've been staying clear of stalkers for since, oh, forever, but this actually sounds, ah...cool.

Sorry, got thinking of it in the mindset of a single target while watching the demo. Obviously, if I want to take the bull-in-the-china-shop approach, this could be interesting.

Fascinating. Functionally in a full fight, what might be the advantage over just standing still while using the ability? It doesn't seem like it would be akin to enemy teleport, where you might pluck one linchpin character from a mob and defeat him without the mob going into action.

He is. Siege, or any other android, needs no face or even head. The sensors that act as eyes could be installed anywhere and not look like eyes. As Snarky points out, humans crave that interaction, and therefore build a head or face. I actually prefer faceless in a villain robot precisely for that reason: the inability to read gesture or emotion, the anonymity is unsettling. It's like Star Trek's Borg: they were far more terrifying when they didn't have a queen, but were a swarm working to an unseen hive mind. A queen (or spokesborg Locutus) gave them a face, a head, something we could kill. If Seige had been constructed without a head and plate for a face, he'd have been far more unsettling, even terrifying. We'd lose that sense that if you hit the face, if you destroy the head, you defeat the enemy. Without it we're left guessing where to strike.

Just finished watching the season finale of Andor and it is AMAZING. The story took us in directions I never expected. If you've not seen it yet, there's a tag scene in the credits. I'll post my thoughts later when I have a chance to re-watch it. There's a lot of material to unpack.

Actually the wings looks kind of cool, like an alternate universe infused with European fairy tale elements. Something Portal Corp might find. The pink skirt looks like she's promoting a second-hand charity store, so yeah, pink skirt is sillier.

I'm hoping this thought (in the hide box above) is what is revealed. I can think of a couple of expansions on it: