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The Best Fantasy Games at Summer Game Fest 2021

Thread of Souls

We love fantasy video games and The Summer Game Festival didn’t disappoint with its reveal of upcoming titles. Many are completely new announcements while other more well known games got a new trailer. Of all the fantasy based games at the event, here are our favorites and ones we think any fantasy fan would enjoy!

Tales of Arise Trailer

Tales of Arise got a new trailer revealing more details about the characters and story. Developed and published by BANDAI NAMCO, Arise is a fantasy RPG set within the Tales universe of games. The trailer shows off the main characters in the party, the stunning world, and a few abilities. Tales of Arise releases September 10.

Elden Ring

Elden Ring is one of the most hyped games of this generation and from the looks of it we understand why. From Software returns with the anticipated fantasy RPG January 21. The new trailer featured several creepy and grotesque enemies and teased the main plot. It certainly has the look and feel of a horror style D&D game.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is a fantasy game that should be on any D&D fans radar. Summer Game Fest did provide new footage of the RPG and it all looks so good. Players can choose from Drizzt Do’Urden, Catti-Brie, Wulfgar, and Bruenor Battlehammer. All characters featured in R. A. Salvatore’s book series The Legend of Drizzt.

Salt and Sacrifice

Salt and Sacrifice is a 2D RPG platformer set in a dark fantasy world. It follows the story of the Marked Inquisitor as they are tasked with hunting down beings called Mages. While the word mage may refer to spellcasters, they are a bit different in S&S. “Mages: twisted, irredeemable creatures of elemental malice.” They can range from sword wielding armored knights to large magic slinging abominations and spider-esque beings. It releases in 2022.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

Borderlands isn’t fantasy but Borderlands 2 introduced a fantasy world to the looter shooter RPG. Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep introduced a D&D type setting where actual Borderlands characters role-played in a fantasy realm. Tina Tiny’s Wonderlands is its own standalone game from the rest of the series. It includes broadswords, magic, and dice rolling. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands releases in 2022.

For game masters or book writers looking for some inspiration, these few games are sure to get your imagination flowing.

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Top Tulsa Attractions for Fantasy Fans

Thread of Souls

We look at five must-see attractions for any fans of fantasy visiting Tulsa, OK!

When you think of Tulsa, Oklahoma, you probably think of tornados, a smaller city, and a “flyover” state. While all of these are true, there are a few gems in the Tulsa metro area to keep any fantasy fan entertained!

The Philbrook Museum of Art

This museum has an immediate fantasy vibe to it. It was once a mansion for its wealthy owners, with beautiful architecture and stunning gardens to match. While the multiple stories of paintings, artifacts, antiques, and statues are enough to keep you engaged, the entire place as a fairy tale feel to it that easily keeps your imagination going.

2727 S Rockford Rd, Tulsa, OK 74114

Elsing Rock Museum

This is not a place you will see driving by. It is located on the lower levels of Oral Roberts University, and it is open to the public. The museum has a handful of rooms displaying rocks, fossils, gemstones, and crystals. You can look on your own or ask for a tour. With the various meanings and symbolism behind such items, it is easy to get lost in a fantasy world through this vast and beautiful collection. One of our favorites was the ship carved entirely out of jade!

7777 S Lewis Ave, Tulsa, OK 74136

Tulsa Tunnel Tours

There is an entire world beneath the streets of downtown Tulsa that is only discoverable through a tunnel tour! The intrigue of wandering this subterranean space is great for fans of fantasy. You will get your traditional spooky dark concrete tunnels, but it is also so much more than that. You will venture through the bottommost floors of skyscrapers that have old roots and luxurious architecture unlike anything else in the city.

502 S Boston Ave, Tulsa, OK 74103

Wizard’s Asylum

This shop is the definition of “hidden gem”. Tucked off a busy street in a cramped shopping center, it is incredibly easy to miss. But what a find inside! There is an expansive shop featuring everything a fantasy fan could want. There are board games, collectibles, dice, cards, painting supplies, tabletop gaming maps and miniatures and books, a small café, and everything in between.

7165 S Mingo Rd, Tulsa, OK 74133

Gardner’s Used Books & Comics

If you have dreamed of getting lost in a library or bookstore, then this is the stop for you. This has an old-world bookstore feel to it, and you can easily spend hours going through the shelves. The store goes further and further back through increasingly branching halls and rooms, making remembering your way out interesting!

4421 S Mingo Rd, Tulsa, OK 74146

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The World of Biomutant is One we Want to Explore in Real Life

Thread of Souls

As travelers, we often follow maps to see where we should be headed. There have also been times we forget the map and follow the road to see where it leads. Sometimes exploring is rewarding in its own right. That’s how we feel with the upcoming game Biomutant. Yes, the story will undoubtedly be fascinating and grand but exploring its open world seems just as exciting.

THQ Nordic and Experiment 101 have been releasing a number of videos showcasing the game. Among the many videos is what they’ve called the Biomutant – World Trailer. It’s an RPG fantasy sci-fi blend featuring a large open world to experience. Imagine Kung Fu Panda but as an entire game including different tribes each with its own sifu dedicated to mastering kung fu.

BIOMUTANT is an open-world, post-apocalyptic Kung-Fu fable RPG, with unique martial art styled combat system allowing you to mix melee, shooting, and mutant ability action.

You can customize your anthropomorphic character to look like an adorable rat, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s Splinter, or just about any fluffy rodent you can think of. From there players are free to craft their own weapons that range from futuristic guns to classic swords and not no classic flaming axes. It’s a game that is designed for anyone who likes the creativity of Dungeons & Dragons and the freedom of traveling throughout a massive world.

It’s basically a game built for travelers like us. Game footage shows characters riding around on motorized bikes, vehicles, and horses. Exploration is one of the key factors the developers focused on. Which, by the way, only 20 people worked on the game. It invokes this sense of adventure by focusing on the aspect of exploration. We’re stoked to check it out.

In case you’re wondering the entire map is about 64 kilometers which is around 24 square miles. That’s nearly twice as large as Skyrim and just shy of The Witcher 3’s 27 square miles. To put it into perspective in the real world, Hawaii’s smallest island of Kaho‘olawe measures 44.59 square miles.

Biomutant releases on May 25 for PC, PlayStation®4, and Xbox One.

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Campervan Conversion: Bed & Sofa

Thread of Souls

Part V: How to choose your bed, sofa, or hybrid for your camper!

This is the final in a series about our own campervan conversion. We’ll talk about the reasons we made the choices we did, pros and cons of decisions, and hopefully provide some advice for your own adventure!

We faced a major decision in the design of our camper. Where would we sleep, where would we sit, and how could we make it as comfortable as possible without sacrificing space? We went back and forth on this decision, visited several online and in-person shops, and did much research about what other travelers do. Ultimately, we reached a decision we are happy with.

There are two main ways a campervan’s sofa/bed situation can be designed. You can either have a permanent bed and a separate seating area, or you can have a bed that converts to a sofa. We chose the hybrid. From Amazon we purchased this sleeper sofa.

sleeper sofa campervan conversion
Clicking on this picture will take you to Amazon’s product page.

There are several reasons we liked it.

  • It was very lightweight so there was no issue moving it around.
  • It has 3 different positions depending upon our needs.
  • We could use it as a sofa and thus have more walking room inside the camper during the day.
  • We could fold it out at night for a bed.
  • It came with 2 extra pillows. (Added comfort)

Overall, it is fairly comfortable. Not likely something you’d want in our house to replace a bed, but with our padded camper floor we didn’t have any issues sleeping. It is narrow, so we both snuggled plenty and our cats often slept on top of us. But when you are out traveling in your camper you often sacrifice comfort for a richer and more adventurous experience.

You also could build a platform to raise this if you wanted to. That is not the direction we ended up going, though.

Other Options Aside from the Sleeper Sofa

After reading this, you may have decided that doesn’t work for you. Many who travel in a camper prefer to have a permanent, raised bed with storage underneath. While that does take up more of your “living” area, you are in a camper, after all, and are out to explore! So do plenty of research and discussion before committing to decision. But so as long as you have the time and money, most anything done to your camper can be changed later. It’s hard to tell until you are actually on the road.

This is the final post in our Campervan Conversion series. Learn how to complete your camper with our other entries!

Part I: Choosing Your Camper

Part II: Walls, Floors, & Utilities

Part III: Storage & Shelving

Part IV: Decor

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How to Make a Lady Dimitrescu Outfit in Animal Crossing

Thread of Souls

Resident Evil Village is here and the memes keep coming. Lady Dimitrescu blew up all across the internet and doesn’t appear that she will ever stop being relevant. The “tall vampire lady” is certainly a popular character and meme but she’s also a terrifying force to face in the game. There have been cosplays, character art, and posts galore showcasing the lady of the house and we were inspired to create her outfit in Animal Crossing.

The Nintendo game allows for plenty of creativity through outfit design, customized clothes, and furniture. Players have recreated amazing scenes from movies and games with the amount of customization the game offers. Creating Lady Dimitrescu’s look may take a bit of work and some luck when it comes to finding clothes, but it can totally be done. We did. So let’s show you how.

MAKE IT SO | Captain Jean Luc Picard | New star trek, Star trek funny, Star trek meme

Lady of the House

Lady Dimitrescu has a unique look that is instantly recognizable at a glance. There are two main qualities that make up her outfit: her hat and her regal dress. However, finding the specific items that match her aesthetic can be difficult if you haven’t worked with Labelle.

The Large Elegant Hat

The hat is going to be the piece de resistance, the Holy Grail, the needle in the haystack for her entire wardrobe. It’s large and opulent and would fit in nicely at the Kentucky Derby. There is only one such hat in Animal Crossing that fits the bill (no pun intended), the Labelle Hat.

In order to get the head topper, you will have to work with Labelle when she visits your island.

Dressed to Impress

As for the dress, there are a few routes you could go but really only one is a near perfect match. The Noble Dress is regal looking and has the ruffles to match her dress. You will want it in white as well.

Some good backup choices would be the Frugal Dress, Floral Lace Dress, Mage’s Dress, or Ruffled Dress. But the best option is to be to create the dress yourself like we did.

One other minor, but still important detail, is her shoes. While you may not be able to see them under the dress, they will help you feel more like the meme lady. We recommend the Labelle Pumps to complete the look.

Dinner is Served Mr. Winters

Once the outfit is complete you may want to act the part as well. Harv’s Island is the perfect place to ensure you feel like the queen of the castle. Get yourself a few prison bars, wine barrels, and plenty of purple flowers and set the scene and mood.

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Calendar of Corventos

Thread of Souls

Across Corventos there is a unified calendar each of the five territories uses to keep track of the year. There are some major holidays celebrated across the land, and others are more specific to regions. There are also seasonal weather patterns and natural disaster risks. The days of the week are named after certain Protector Gods. Can you guess which ones? See each month below and discover more about the cultures of Corventos!

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The Pantheon – Insurgent Gods

Thread of Souls

Blight Dragon / Stitched Wyrm / Iosis

Chaos. Elements. Destruction.

The Blight Dragon is equally known as the Stitched Wyrm or by her name, Iosis. Her symbol is a three-headed dragon. She is depicted as a stitched-together dragon with three heads, two tails, and six legs. Her followers embrace chaos and destruction on a massive scale with a particular affinity for elemental devastation.

Before the Divine Wars the Blight Dragon was once multiple dragons. And they thrived in the creation of the elemental-based planes. But a battle with the Holy Dragon left them so grievously wounded that their cultists had to stitch them together as one. Ever since then they have been known as a single entity, reformed to spread her influence in this new post-Sundering world.

Fable / Dishonest Father

Tales. Drink. Hedonism.

The Dishonest Father is more commonly referred to by his name, Fable. His symbol is an open book with a pink cover and gold coins falling from within. He is often depicted as a colorful Bard playing an instrument. His followers tend to be those that value a good time above all. Parties, gambling, drink, and anything other than work and discipline are enjoyed. They also like exchanging stories, and the more embellishment, the better.

Fable is more morally ambiguous rather than evil. In the prime age of the deities he wanted their creations to have fun and share stories. But he also influenced laziness and putting self-indulgence above everything else. Fable enjoyed sexual encounters with mortals and had no preference for gender or race. Because of this he spawned a few demi-gods that now reside in the Celestial Plane.

Hoofed King / Chained One / Ank’thulm

Control. Deals. Greed.

The Hoofed King is sometimes referred as the Chained One or more rarely by his name, Ank’thulm. His symbol is two chains crossed over a dark gray backdrop. He is often depicted as a large humanoid with curving horns, sharp teeth, and hoofed feet. He rules over the Hells and all within. His followers are those that value making deals that are easily twisted and corrupted to achieve their own ends.

The Hoofed King had very little interest in the Material Plane during the Prime Age of the Gods. He stayed within the Hells and sought to control and corrupt the other gods’ creations through that seat of power. He took little part in the Divine Wars, and remained in the Hells after the building of the Gate of the Gods. Now trapped so he cannot leave, his fiends often traverse the planes to spread his greed.

Life Drinker / Hooded Shadow / Driphiss

Poison. Disease. Corruption.

The Life Drinker is also referred to as the Hooded Shadow or more commonly by his name, Driphiss. His symbol is a green drop of poison and he is often depicted as a hooded figure holding a green blade. His followers use any means necessary to achieve power and take revenge on those that wronged them, especially through poison and other stealthy means.

In the Prime Age of the Gods, Driphiss enjoyed pitting their creations against each other by whispering in their ears and giving them the means of killing one another. He is considered the starting point for wars and violence, and because of that he is a direct enemy of the Life Giver. While he rarely worked with any other gods, Driphiss intensified the Divine Wars in his underhanded and indirect ways.

Masked One / Thief Lord / Ragseev

Aggression. Thievery. Deception.

The Masked One sometimes goes by the Thief Lord or more frequently by his name, Ragseev. His symbol is knotted gray rags. He is often depicted as a tall, slender humanoid wearing a mask. He often appeals to the outcasts of society, giving some an outlet for their anger and vengeance. He actively promotes lies, stealing, and violence.

Ragseev is the son of the Silk Weaver and the Magister. From early on he enjoyed influencing the worst in the gods’ creations. Though he occasionally associated with the Life Drinker, he preferred to be on his own to carry out his own plots. He was a part of many major battles during the Divine Wars.

Silk Weaver / Matriarch of Malice / Aranese

Slavery. Torture. Lust.

The Silk Weaver is often referred to by her name, Aranese, and less frequently as the Matriarch of Malice. Her symbol is a spiderweb on a black backdrop. She is often depicted in one of three forms. A Dark Elf female, a giant spider, or a half-woman half-spider creature. She has a dedicated cult following that upholds strict matriarchal laws. But any outside of the cult that are drawn to her wish to follow a god that is to be feared and who rewards those that please her with power.

In the Prime Age of the Gods Aranese scorned the other deities for their handling of their creations. Aranese thought the gods’ superiority should be enforced, and they should subjugate all others. This led to many clashes across the Divine Wars as Aranese was the first to demand blood sacrifices on her altar. A large divine battle led to her banishment from the Material Plane and to the deepest recesses of the Chasm.

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Extremely OK Games Announces 2D Explore- Action Game Earthblade

Thread of Souls

When it comes to video games our favorite will always be action adventure and fantasy. We both fell in love with The Legend of Zelda series at a young age and it has only grown our passion for Dungeons & Dragons. We’re always on the lookout for new fantasy games and believe Earthblade will be right up our alley.

Developer and publisher Extremely OK Games revealed the game with what they’re calling a ‘Vibe Reveal.’ Which is honestly a pretty chill way to announce a game. Earthblade will be a 2D explor-action game and from the looks of the teaser poster, it has Zelda vibes all over it.

“A2D explor-action game in a seamless pixel art world. The next release from the Celeste team, coming 20XX.”

Along with the art by Pedro Medeiros, EXOK also released a short music track by Lena Raine who composed the soundtrack for EXOK’s previous game Celeste.

Other than that, there aren’t much details on what the game will be. No plot, characters, or trailer unlike the studio did with Celeste. But they say there is a good reason for changing things up for Earthblade. “We didn’t want to reveal much about the game or its story yet, but we think that this well establishes the world and the feeling of being in it. We also just wanted to let everyone know the name of the game now that we’ve settled on one, so that we can all stop calling it EXOK4.But an air of mystery lends itself particularly well to this project, so we’ve opted to save it all up for a big reveal that will hopefully blow your socks off.”

However, they went on to say that Earthblade may not be released for quite some time. There was a five year gap between Celeste and the studios first game Towerfall. So, we may not see Earthblade until 2023 at the latest.

While we wait for whenever it releases, we can sit back and enjoy the music and stare at the poster searching for clues.

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Campervan Conversion: Decor

Thread of Souls

Part IV: Tips for Your Campervan’s Decor!

This is the fourth in a series about our own campervan conversion. We’ll talk about the reasons we made the choices we did, pros and cons of decisions, and hopefully provide some advice for your own adventure!

When you get your campervan conversion all finished up with the practicalities in place, it can look rather functional. But now it’s a blank slate on which to paint your personality! We have some tips here for how to decorate your camper safely for the road, as well as examples for what we did.

One primary canvas for your decor is your cabinets, shelves, and drawers. If you have gone this route, they are blank slates of wood that can easily be painted upon. While some may like the plain, rustic look, we wanted to add more color.

campervan conversion

A good thing here is that you don’t have to have any artistic ability. Even though I (Ashley) am an artist, we opted for buying stencils at a local hobby and crafts shop. Using the paints I already had, I added the decoration. Our primary campervan colors were blues, oranges, and yellows. So I went with aqua and bronze paint.

To help “pretty up” the ends of the shelves, we had bought many “back splash” stickers from a craft store. We used these a few places in the camper to bring color and design, as well as on the ends of each shelf.

campervan conversion

We had a few adventurous posters we liked, so we took them out of their frames and taped them to the walls. These included a map of Middle-Earth, a map from our Thread of Souls book series, and art of the tower of Barad-dur. Yes.

We also didn’t like the wiring you could see all along the top of the van’s interior. So we wrapped them in plastic vines and leaves to give a wilderness feel to the whole thing. Overall we added a lot of decor here and there in order to add personality, color, and a travel vibe to the entire thing.

campervan conversion

Here is a simple overview of where we added decor:

  • We tied Celtic shawls on the back of our seats (my ancestry)
  • We hung up a dream catcher
  • We twisted plastic vines and leaves all around the wiring in the cargo section
  • We added stick-on back splash tiles to the ends of the shelves, the sink, and on some parts of the walls
  • We used stencils to add paint onto the cabinets and shelving
  • We taped up some posters
  • We used stick-on mirrors for the walls
  • We hung a single travel decor sign
  • We placed a few stick-on wood-style tiling to the walls for some variations

Part I: Choosing Your Camper

Part 2: Walls, Floors, & Utilities

Part 3: Storage & Shelving

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Campervan Conversion: Storage & Shelving

Thread of Souls

Part III: Where to store your stuff!

This is the third in a series about our own campervan conversion. We’ll talk about the reasons we made the choices we did, pros and cons of decisions, and hopefully provide some advice for your own adventure!

One of the biggest uses when converting your campervan is storage. You are starting with a blank slate, and aside from some general built-in spaces, there is not much for storage. We jumped through so many hurdles trying to decide what to do about our storage. But what we finally ended up with was simple, streamlined, and carried everything we needed for the journey!

Cabinets

We ultimately decided to install two cabinets. We really liked them because they had good space within for heavier or larger items. However, the cabinets themselves are weighty, so knew we couldn’t just stick them anywhere.

We bought two from Lowe’s and screwed them into the wooden studs already in place on the wall. This was after we’d installed our aesthetic colored poster board so it did require some feeling about and keen “eye-balling” to ensure we screwed them in the correct places! We also bought handles for the cabinet, as well as magnetic latches. But that is up to you if you feel you need those!

But we absolutely loved the cabinets for their interior capacity and ability to hold items on top, as well.

campervan conversion

Shelving

Shelving was, at first, a big puzzler for us. We didn’t want heavy shelves because we feared damage to our studs. We also needed some that had a lip on the front to ensure items did not slide off, which was surprisingly difficult to find! We shopped around at many stores and finally broke down and decided to build our own from scratch.

I (Ashley) was nervous about this idea because we’d never built a shelf from scratch before. But Scottie was excited and so we picked up what we needed from Lowe’s as well as a local craft store. Here are the parts you will need to recreate what we built for your own campervan conversion:

  • a simple board about the length and width for your storage needs
  • a smaller, thinner board the same length to serve as your front
  • 2 square pieces of wood the same width as the board to serve as your ends
  • two metal “L” shaped brackets to mount underneath the shelf
  • 8 screws (depending on the bracket you buy)
  • wood glue
  • items to decorate (if desired)
  • a drill
campervan conversion

Our process to put these together was fairly simple. And once we had a system down it only took 2 days to build from scratch and install 5 shelves. The longest process was the wood glue drying. But we chose wood glue over more screws to protect the integrity of the board.

Here was our process for putting together each shelf.

  • Mark on the largest board where the bracket holes are.
  • Screw in the brackets to the bottom of the board.
  • Mark on the wall where the board will sit using the additional bracket holes that will go into the wall.
  • Screw the bracket onto the wall, thus effectively hanging your shelf.
  • Using wood glue, set your smaller, thinner board along the front edge of your shelf to serve as its lip.
  • Follow wood glue directions to allow it to sit and get secured!
  • Do the exact same process for the two square pieces of wood to create ends for your shelf, thus securing your items.
  • Allow the glue to have 24 hours to set before testing its strength.
  • Go on a drive with the shelf full to verify you did a good job!

So overall we had two cabinets and five shelves, and they did well in holding what we needed them to. We had a few instances of a cup falling off one of the shelves if we hit a pot hole, but otherwise they were strong and protected our items!

You can read how we chose the camper we did here.
And all about campervan conversion walls, floors, and utilities here.

campervan conversion