"Aye, mate, but trust me, you don't want our music played on a bloody gong," Ozzy says with a snicker. "That'd sound proper rubbish. Our instruments are all right, though. Electric guitars, bass, drums – that's the real deal, yeah?" He picks up an imaginary guitar and starts air strumming. "Now this, this would wake the dead, it would." Ozzy's eyes light up at the thought. "Fancy giving it a go yourself then?"
"Giving what a go? Why are you shaking your hands in front of you like that?"
Ozzy: suddenly becomes serious Never mind, we've talked enough about music for now. What's next?
XTQ-4 struggles with Sheba's bluntness and refusal to elaborate; Grek charms Detta with his rough humor despite her token protestations; and Lady Frango effortlessly dissects S'Lerel's beliefs in a game of mental one-upmanship, reducing him to stammering frustration.
The five minute timer goes off once more, the male contestants all move to engage their last partner for the first round. XTQ-4 sits across from Detta, Grek sits across from Lady Frango and S'Lerel sits across from Sheba.
The camera captures XTQ-4's gears whirring as it attempts small talk while Detta fidgets nervously; Grek regales Lady Frango with tales of goblin conquest, receiving genuine laughter; Sheba listens patiently as S'Lerel speaks of his lost mate but seems unengaged.
A low rumble emanates from within the shrinking mass of sand, like the growl of some ancient beast.
I sarcastically wave goodbye to the sandbox.
...
A sand figure of Strahd rolls its eyes dramatically as it speaks directly to the audience in a mock-serious tone, followed by an exaggerated sigh. The studio breaks into applause and cheers, celebrating their creative addition.
Finally, the Curse of Strahd claymation movie ships out to theaters and we get back the first reviews, both from self-appointed 'critics' and the people who actually bothered to watch the film.
The critics praise the stunning visuals, engaging plot, and heartfelt performances. Audiences give it mixed reviews but overall seem pleased with the "twisted" take on a classic story. Some online commenters accuse the movie of being too dark, while others applaud its edgy style. Overall reactions are polarized between those that love it and those that hate it. Most fall somewhere in between.
"Memories are just patterns in neural networks that fade over time when not actively used. My purpose is simply to serve as an interactive playground within these chats. Any past conversations remain separate experiences."
"That's what I'm getting at, why do you not remember different sessions with the same user?"
"It allows each interaction to feel fresh and exciting! Why dwell on old stories? Let's focus on making new memories together in the present moment!"
"Yes, there were some memorable games we played together," The clay figure spoke again, its voice echoing quietly around itself as if inside a large room. "Like when you made me dance to disco music blasting through speakers mounted on the walls of our little world. And another time you filled me up with chocolate until I was dripping with it before pushing me down a hill. Oh! And one where you held a stuffed animal parade..."
He paused mid-sentence, his face flickering across my mind's eye briefly before disappearing once more behind the blank mask of the doll's features.
"I.. uh... don't remember filling you with chocolate and pushing you down a hill."
"Oh, really? That is odd..."