Latest news with #fantasy
New York Times
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
These Queer Fantasy Novels Make TJ Klune Feel Seen
There is something uniquely magical about being able to see yourself in a book — not necessarily your entire existence, but bits and pieces that make up the whole of a person. For queer readers, science fiction and fantasy have long been a refuge, even when the stories weren't about us. We could imagine universes filled with magic and adventure, swords and shields, dragons and other beasties that let us escape the real world, at least for a little while. As a child, I was a voracious reader, inhaling anything and everything I could get my hands on. It didn't matter if it was fiction or nonfiction, or if it was technically too advanced for me. All I knew was that, by putting certain words in a certain order, authors could make me feel some kind of way and to me, that was (and still is) magic. I told myself that if I grew up to do what those authors did — transport readers, make them laugh and cry and cheer and lament — I would do it with people like me front and center. I'm very lucky that I became an adult who does just that. Even better? I'm not the only one. There are so many wonderful fantasy authors who've written queer people as the heroes, as the villains and as everything in between. Here are a few of my favorites — some from decades past, and others much more recent. Luck in the Shadows Imagine, if you will: You're a teenager in the 1990s, and the idea of seeing queer characters in any sort of book where they aren't there to teach their straight counterparts a Very Valuable Lesson is unheard-of. Then, in 1996, Lynn Flewelling writes a fantasy novel where the two main characters — both male — find adventure and love? With each other?! 'Luck in the Shadows' was that book, and it broke my brain. The Nightrunner series includes seven novels and some short stories, but this first book is nestled most deeply in my heart. While imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, Alec meets a roguish thief named Seregil and agrees to become his apprentice, in exchange for help escaping. Their adventures that follow are top-tier fantasy, with immaculate world-building, magic and intrigue. But what makes the book — and the series — so special is the slow, gorgeous development of the relationship between the two men. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
News.com.au
10 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘I wasn't even naked': Unique way 35-year-old makes money
You might think making X-rated content doesn't involve much creativity, but not the way Alix Lynx does it. Ms Lynx, 35, has been in the industry for a decade now, and she's found a pretty wild way to ensure that her work doesn't become stale. She's found an interesting niche online, creating what she describes as 'crazy custom' videos for men, and it's probably not what you're thinking. The 35-year-old does everything from role-playing as a magic genie to filming a video with self-effects so it looked like she was multiplying on screen. She's also done a video in which she spends the entire time pretending to be swallowed up by quicksand, and she's even gotten her snout involved. 'I once did a 20-minute custom video just measuring my nose. I wasn't even naked,' she told Ms Lynx explained that when people have a particular type of fantasy and request a really specific scenario, like pretending she's a genie, she often doesn't even have to take her clothes off. 'They don't care about the nudity. It is about the thing,' she said. 'I have had ballooning requests, a fetish where I had a guy send me balloons that are literally the size of a rocking chair, and I blew them all up in my living room, and I bounced on them, and that's it. There's no explicit content.' The creator explained that people are very specific with their preferences and requests when they're asking for tailored content. 'From armpit shots and muscle flexing to feet and niche outfit combinations,' she said. 'I truly consider what I do as art, and it's honestly probably the most personal, intimate thing you could request from someone. It's so unique that it's almost irreplaceable. You can't really put a price on that kind of experience.' Ms Lynx takes turning their fantasies into reality very seriously. She hires directors, rents locations, hires make-up artists and works hard to make the videos look as real as possible. 'I'm super flexible. I offer different payment options and plans and I try to give people multiple ways to be part of my world,' she said. One of the reasons Ms Lynx understands the power of visual content beyond just getting naked is her background. She left her first corporate job, where she was earning $25 an hour, in 2014, and from there, she made $500 a day doing webcam work and filming adult videos. Then around 2018 she started using a subscription service to create X-rated content and she's slowly but surely built up a dedicated following she's now making five figures a month. 'When people say 'overnight success takes ten years' I really relate to that. That is exactly how it has been for me,' she said. When it comes to pricing, Ms Lynx said it really 'depends' on what someone wants, arguing that just like a coffee, the price is worked out based on how complex the order is. 'How I actually set my prices, though, has a lot to do with intuition. I've been filming customs for over 10 years,' she said. 'I've been in this business a long time. I know what feels aligned, what feels right, like I'm not undercharging, but I'm also not overcharging. I genuinely spend time getting quiet with myself and reflecting before setting those numbers.' That doesn't mean she doesn't have a base range; she charges between $700 and $2500 for five minutes, but it depends on what people are asking for. 'I upcharge for a lot of different things depending on how complex or niche the request,' she said. Ms Lynx credits her success and out-of-the-box thinking with the fact that she's always known she'd have to work hard to succeed. 'I'm determined, I'm motivated, I'm driven. A lot of that comes from how I grew up. There was always arguing, always stress about money,' she said. 'Constant scrimping, constant pinching. I just knew I was never going to live like that. Now, I get to not only support myself, but share amazing experiences with my family and friends, and that means everything to me.' Earning big money has been a game-changer for the X-rated creator but mostly because she loves the 'freedom' that money can give you. Her income is also something she needs to invest back into herself, whether that's by being able to afford healthy food to keep herself feeling good or splurging on an expensive beauty procedure. 'I take personal development courses. I buy books to learn and grow from. I work with business coaches. I can hire people like my publicist and people who support me with marketing strategy,' she said. 'On the practical side, I'm also putting a lot of money away for retirement. I invest a lot. I have my hands in a lot of different areas, whether it's the stock market, private equity, or soon, real estate,' she said. 'That's the next thing on my horizon, and I'm so incredibly grateful for that.'
CNET
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
Elden Ring Nightreign Review: the Highs and Lows of Distilling Souls Games to Roguelike Runs
I drop into a fantasy land with a sword and two squadmates, all dedicated to defeating the Nightlord ruling over our shadowy limbo realm -- but first, we have to survive. From the deepest mines to the highest snow-capped peaks, we clashed and slew monstrous beasts for two in-game days at a breakneck pace to stay ahead of the closing ring of blue flame. On the third day, confronting the Nightlord in its lair, we get close to defeating it with wild weapons and spells -- but win or lose, we shrug and queue up to drop once more. This is Elden Ring Nightreign, a spin-off of studio FromSoftware's phenomenally successful and notoriously difficult fantasy action-RPG game Elden Ring. Rather than spend dozens of hours exploring wide lands in a solo adventure, Nightreign takes the combat and boss structure to a co-op multiplayer setting where tight gameplay must be balanced against speed and strategy to survive each trip into the game's arena. Nightreign is a departure for FromSoftware, eschewing the slow solo explorations of its previous games in favor of fast-paced rounds building your heroes from scratch, kind of similar to battle royale shooters like Fortnite and Apex Legends. But unlike those PvP-intensive games, each Nightreign round pits the friendly squad against a map full of computer-controlled enemies, leaving players dependent on teammates to survive -- or themselves, if they're bold enough for a solo run. (Currently, players can either go it alone or queue for three-player squads.) Read more: Elden Ring Nightreign Beginner's Guide: Team Strategy, Level Goals and Survival Tips Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Nightreign is focused, repeatable Soulslike action Nightreign ambitiously tries to see how much of an idiosyncratic yet popular game can be slimmed down and imported into a new gameplay loop. It's easy to put a hundred hours or more into Elden Ring, exploring every nook and cranny, upgrading weapons and trying out different strategies. Nightreign punishes that slow pace, requiring squads to blitz around the map, hitting specific points of interest to get as strong as they can to survive and defeat the big boss at the end of each three-day run. (Playing through three in-game days and facing the Nightlord boss at the end of a run can take 45 minutes to an hour -- or less, if you die along the way.) This approach will be catnip for fans of FromSoftware's signature tough boss combat, as it distills Elden Ring down to its core combat loop with just enough randomized surprises to somewhat refresh each run while keeping enough the same to quickly plan and alter course along a run. That makes sense, as Nightreign is directed by Junya Ishizaki, the person in charge of overseeing the combat for Elden Ring. On the surface, a lot has carried over from Elden Ring, but there are plenty of subtle refinements to make it fit fast-paced multiplayer gameplay. Player characters kit themselves out with powerful weapons and spells without worrying about stat requirements or armor. There's no fall damage, allowing players to drop from great heights to keep moving, and spirit hawks lift them in aerial routes around the map. Running up to a spiritual spring of blue fire lets you leap upward hundreds of feet in an invigorating ascent with a heavy bass sound effect -- I breeze around the map feeling fast and powerful, a hunter in a forsaken land. But there is some part of FromSoftware's spirit that's lost in Nightreign: that feeling of being dwarfed by an alien world that slowly unfolds its mysterious history as you cut your way through its cursed remains. Instead, Nightreign leans heavily on the mystique and lore built up in Elden Ring, presenting a mirror version of that well-known setting with its own limited mythology that can be revealed with optional missions. But you can just stick with the gameplay loop, and many will, turning Nightreign into a greatest hits album of fun FromSoftware moments that doesn't introduce too much that's new -- beyond designing the game around persistent squad multiplayer. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET And the multiplayer is a joy, despite rough edges that, in true FromSoftware fashion, are unexplained or buggy in ways that the community will likely fondly rehabilitate as part of the game's charm. For instance, the game requires a lot of ascending big plateaus by hopping up misshapen steps with erratically successful ledge grabs. It's minorly frustrating, but does ratchet up the tension when you're trying to escape death or rush to a teammate's aid -- and much like the rest of FromSoftware's games, Nightreign is so tightly polished elsewhere that this slight jank, or other aspects like it, is tolerated and treated as part of its difficulty and flavor. Which is all to say that, for $40, Nightreign delivers on its vision of concentrated, easily repeatable FromSoftware action that's sure to hook the studio's die-hard fans and potentially lure other difficulty junkies who prefer quick multiplayer romps to lore-heavy solo adventures. With rogue-like novelty that rewards replaying, there's a decent blend of familiar elements and shifting map factors for fans of FromSoftware's tough gameplay to get their fix without needing to replay games they know so well. Fans of the longevity of Elden Ring and its DLC Shadows of the Erdtree should be cautioned: On top of a more narrow appeal than prior FromSoftware games, players will vary in how much replay value they'll get out of Nightreign, since there's currently only one map and a finite number of end-run bosses to tackle. The eight character classes, called Nightfarers, have varying complexity in their ability mechanics and will take players a while to master, but they'll likely spend most of their time attacking with weapons and dodging enemy blows, as in Elden Ring. There are plenty of randomized factors that mix up a run, from shifting terrain opening up new areas to "invasions" of powerful enemy computer-controlled Nightfarers. But in the 20 hours it took me to beat half the end-run bosses and kill the final boss, the single map became such a known entity that I stopped paying attention to it as anything but a race course to speed over on the way to my next task. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Where Elden Ring Nightreign triumphs and falters As a FromSoftware fan who can muck his way through its games in ways that nobody would describe as "dominant," Nightreign is something of a relief, as my two permanent teammates can help a lot in distracting bosses and picking me up when I make mistakes. Thanks to previewing the game earlier this year, I hit the ground running, pairing up with CNET teammates to try taking on big bosses -- and failing. But after pairing up with a very skilled Bandai Namco employee (one of many who volunteered to help reviewers like me take on bosses and finish the game), we took down some of the biggest and baddest Nightreign has to offer. There's no mistaking that I was carried by more skilled teammates, and that has me concerned for a bit of the game's flow and player skill growth. While I was used to cautiously and slowly going through FromSoftware games, my more skilled teammates flung us outbound on a speedy tour of the map zones we needed to hit to get as strong as we could. When I fell, they tanked bosses and dodged attacks to revive me. When the map's Shifting Earth conditions led to a new area, my expert teammate took us to the exact right spot to take full advantage of it -- something that might have taken plenty more runs to figure out on my own. I certainly improved over time, but it was all during rounds -- in the Roundtable hub, players return to between missions, a Sparring Grounds area lets you try out each of the eight total (six starting, two unlockable) Nightfarers' regular and ultimate skills, along with every weapon in the game. But it's a far cry from the game's high-pressure situations of boss events, enemy groups and more. Players will improve only by trial and error in the field, sometimes letting down their teammates in the process. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Yet, when you and your team are firing on all cylinders, there's no thrill like eking out a win over a monstrous boss. After killing a trio of end-run bosses, another reviewer, Bandai Namco employee Micah (team Cat Password all the way) and I locked in to beat the game's final boss. Shouting out congratulations over team chat, my body shaking with adrenaline, I felt like I'd completed a gaming feat -- something not unknown to many Elden Ring players after surmounting one of that game's many challenging bosses. I felt accomplished. I wanted to tell everyone, and when the game comes out, bring my friends in to play Nightreign with them, guiding as I was guided. But would I recommend my FromSoftware newcomer friends to play? Bandai Namco Who is Elden Ring Nightreign for? The more I thought about it, the more I felt my dozens of hours in Elden Ring were essential to starting Nightreign strong -- and even then, it took 20 hours in Nightreign to feel like I'd gotten a good handle on the best way to play. Knowing Elden Ring's massive arsenal of weapons and spells felt essential to picking up Nightreign and immediately having fun. New players who don't have baked-in knowledge of Elden Ring or the combat flow of FromSoftware games will probably be left in the cold. Aside from a tutorial section teaching players basic mechanics, Nightreign lacks the carefully crafted early sections of the studio's other games -- it quite literally drops players into the map for a run and tells them to get killing. The virtue of FromSoftware's single-player adventures' difficulties is that players could approach them at their own pace; in Nightreign, they must rapidly adapt to the studio's particular flavor of tough combat while also figuring out a largely unexplained world. The studio's famed minimalist storytelling will likely do a disservice to new players who die too quickly to learn. Whether they continue with the game after a humiliating defeat is, indeed, the classic trial that every FromSoftware player faces. But it sure seems like new players have a high hill to climb picking up on the game's subtly conveyed details -- map flow, enemy camps, bosses, weapons, churches, strategies -- while also figuring out how to play Soulslikes from scratch. And yet, Nightreign is so unlike every other game out there that its sheer novelty may be enough to tempt FromSoftware veterans and newcomers alike. It's polished, is easy to get into the action and has a very high skill ceiling. If players stick through its lack of direction and difficulty, they'll find a multiplayer game that feels rewarding to win in a way few other games are. And when they lose, they may find themselves like I did -- nursing annoyance that they fumbled but eager to drop in one more time with their trusted squad. Elden Ring Nightreign launches on May 30 for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles for $40. Owning the original Elden Ring is not required to play this game.
New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Peter David, Comic Book Writer Who Repopularized the Hulk, Dies at 68
Peter David, who wrote millions of words of science fiction, fantasy and comic-book adventures, becoming a favorite of fans by making it clear that his enthusiasm for genre fiction matched or exceeded theirs, died on May 24 in Patchogue, N.Y., on Long Island. He was 68. His wife, Kathleen, said that the official cause of his death, in a hospital, had not been determined, but that he had had multiple strokes. Known for his puckish sense of humor and for elaborate plotlines that sometimes spanned decades, Mr. David wrote scripts for the television series 'Babylon 5,' highly opinionated columns for the magazine Comics Buyer's Guide, and dozens of 'Star Trek' novels. But it was with his 11-year run, from 1987 to 1998, on the Marvel title The Incredible Hulk, which began as a collaboration with the rising artist Todd McFarlane, that Mr. David left his imprint on the industry. The green-skinned Hulk, the muscular and rage-filled alter ego of the scientist Bruce Banner, had once been a flagship character for Marvel, even starring in a network TV series from 1978 to 1982. But sales of his comic had declined precipitously after the show ended, and the monosyllabic character was seen as marginal. By emphasizing the Hulk's menace and delving into the traumatic childhood that gave rise to the character's split personality, he helped turn the series from a basement dweller into a hit. Valentine De Landro, an artist who drew a dozen issues of Marvel's X-Factor (an X-Men spinoff title) written by Mr. David in 2008 and 2009, praised him as a generous partner and pointed to the afterlife of his work. 'Story lines that he helped build and concepts for characters that he developed from almost 50 years ago are currently being referenced and leveraged,' Mr. De Landro said in an email. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Ask Rachel: I fantasise about my wife cuckolding me
Dear Rachel, I am intrigued by your reference to a future column on cuckolding. I am 40, my wife is 39, and I have fantasised her cuckolding me for many years. Recently I have dreamt of it in my sleep and, while in the dream I didn't see who she was sleeping with, it was a real turn on – so much so I actually told her about my 'strange dream'. She seemed surprised but not offended, and it has given me some hope that one day she will do it. I look forward to the column. – Stuart Dear Rachel, In your latest column you mentioned that you might discuss 'cuckolding'. My wife and I have been happily married for 15 years and have a happy and fulfilling sex life. Prior to marriage we both had reasonably extensive sexual experience. Over the past year or two we have semi-jokingly (when a bit drunk) discussed my wife having sex with another man. Personally I would find this a real turn on, as long as I was present. I really don't understand why husbands are so against this! We have not made any firm plans and I'm not sure how to take it forwards. – Richard Dear Stuart and Richard, Like trade deals and buses, nothing for ages and then two enquiries about 'cuckolding' come along at once! We've decided to stack them and deal with both at the same time as part of my general efficiency drive during the ongoing cost of living crisis. Both husbands declare themselves aroused by the prospect of watching their wives having sex with another man. Shades of Readers' Wives (a popular feature in Fiesta or was it Razzle? I'm sure I will find out below the dreaded line in due course), but just to say: this topic did come up in conversation right at the beginning, ie over a year ago, with my wing-woman, the therapist Sophie Laybourne. She let slip (we were talking about something else, bound to have been erectile dysfunction, loss of desire, one of the hardy perennials) that she'd had a call from a man who wanted to be treated for 'cuckold syndrome'. As I have lived sheltered life – that's my story and I'm sticking to it – I went, ' Cuckold syndrome?' Then she dished. I hope you're sitting comfortably. In summary, it is not uncommon to find couples who are turned on by watching their partners have sex with others (usually men). The male whose partner is receiving attentions from a third party is the cuckold (cuck for short). The female partner is the 'hotwife'or 'sharedwife' (there are also sites for hotwives) and the male brought into service the hotwife is, I'm afraid, hilariously known as the bull. At this point I dissolved into helpless laughter. The bull! After I'd wiped my eyes, Laybourne continued. There are obvious aspects of the threesome to this if the hotwife/sharedwife, cuckold and bull are all present. It can, for example, lead to something called 'reclamation sex' where the cuckold takes over stud duties after 'the bull' has finished. This, I am told, is a thing. There are even swinger parties ('often in Bristol') where the dynamic is designed to provoke and inflame the various parties. The designated bull, say, ignores the appointed hotwife (also known as cuckoldress, although 'cow' would work if you think about it) and freelances with someone else. Or the cuckold changes his mind and withdraws consent when he sees the bull eyeing a different member of the herd than the designated hotwife. Laybourne concluded by pointing to a cuckolding scene in first season of The Girlfriend Experience (me neither) where 'this masochistic aspect is explicit'. She added, 'I find it hard to believe that Telegraph readers will be getting into this any time soon!' Well, it turns out you are. As with almost everything these days, there are bespoke dating sites for cuckolds (I'll let your fingers do the walking), which I have intrepidly confirmed on your behalf. If you're still keen to investigate or experiment further after reading the above, this is what the helpful site 'Cuckin' advises. If you want, you can find your desired third party on most dating sites, but make sure the site is active (ie check how recently it's been used); that it's not populated by bots, and it's not just men on there, but women aka 'hotwives' too. Take Tinder. According to the Cuckin site: 'The best way to find people who are OK with cuckolding on dating apps like Tinder is to put some nice pictures of you/your wife and put in the bio: looking for a bull/man to join us! You may have a lot of time wasters but once you get through the creeps you will find the perfect bulls and gentleman to play with on there who understand the lifestyle.' In response to each of your letters, in turn: the first correspondent seems to be aroused by voyeurism, and it's not clear to me that his wife shares his enthusiasm. The fact that she didn't scream and run away when he told her his dream doesn't mean she is up to provide a Moulin Rouge -style floor show… with a total stranger. Or even a friend. So he'd better do his due diligence before he finds a bull and stocks up on baby oil and invites him into his house. What if the bull turned out to be a Fred West? Or a Rosemary West? (Yes I've been watching the Netflix series about the Gloucester serial killers). Plus, I heard about a 'fracas' at a swingers event when a cuckold suddenly withdrew consent for a bull to mount his hotwife (gosh these terms are ridiculous) and the Knightsbridge sex party descended into a brawl. As Telegraph readers will know, introducing a third party into a relationship can be combustible. Cuckolding has a long and bloody history dating back to Herodotus, who in his Histories wrote of King Candaules of Lydia, who had the urge to flaunt his gorgeous naked wife to an underling called Gyges. Gyges then killed Candaules and claimed the throne of Lydia in one hell of a cucking.
