To preface, I think that Beau and Caleb are fine, and somewhere in Exandria they're being super effective using their respective 10 strength scores to try to smash their restraints into a rock before giving up and trudging off to find a smith shop or an arcane store. HOWEVER.
I am thinking about what a HORRIFIC few moments they just had. Of course they're here chasing Ludinus to this end, because that's what they set out to do, but I don't think there was any imagining in their epilogues to what extent this would go. They signed up for riskier-than-average private investigation work and found a plot to unleash a second Calamity.
And then, when it came down to it, they failed.
They were about as trapped and restrained as they could be, fully at Ludinus's mercy. Behind the charm, did Beau think about how much Yasha was forced to do when her will wasn't her own? Silenced and without magic, did Caleb remember being at the complete mercy of another Cerberus Assembly archmage?
And amidst it all, when was the last time Beau saw Yasha and their kids, whom she's had for no more than five years? When did Caleb last visit Veth or speak to Essek? Does he even know where Essek is right now? Do any of the Nein know specifically where Beau and Caleb are?
They've failed, they're trapped, and they're restrained in ways that explicitly cut off any possible way they might tell their loved ones goodbye, let alone warn them about what they are near certain is about to happen.
And the nature of what looks inevitable in that moment means that even that warning would mean nothing in the end, because while Beau and Caleb are already trapped, there is no escape for anyone in Exandria if Ludinus gets his way.
Oh my god — so, imagine, separate weeks, alternating between the two stranded parties, and then, a one shot — just Liam and Marisha as Beau and Caleb working out their end of the story
Actress, singer, and author Anjali Bhimani is always on the move. You may recognize her from Netflix’s Special, or from Critical Role’s Exandria Unlimited as the fire genasi Fy'ra Rai. Anjali also voices main characters in popular video games including ‘Symmetra’ in Overwatch, ‘Rampart’ in Apex Legends, and ‘Kala’ in Indivisible. Her first book entitled I Am Fun Size, and So Are YOU: Thoughts from a Tiny Human on Living a Giant Life will be out soon, and Anjali took time out of her busy schedule to chat with us about her upcoming book, which video game she'd want to be stuck in, and more:
If a series were made about your life, what would it be titled and what type of show would it be (comedy, musical, mystery, drama, etc)?
It would be a musical romantic action comedy. I know that seems like a lot of disparate genres, but my life has been as all over the place as that. It would be the “Everything Bagel” of television. I see a whole number where I’m doing full on stunts and singing while I unwittingly and clumsily fight off bad guys and eventually find my perfect partner - and given that my husband and I run around the house singing songs to the dog, the only part that’s missing in real life is the action hero part. I just have always wanted to be an action hero, so I’m throwing that in there. And I want to get to wear incredible corseted gowns or stretch leather pants as we do it.
The title? Welllll….truth told, I’m writing something that isn’t exactly autobiographical, but has a title that I would TOTALLY use if it were my life story. So, you’ll just have to wait and see when it comes out and guess if that’s the one. Either that or I’m Not Your Freakin’ Auntie (If you know, you know).
Can you teach us something?
There is an INCREDIBLE creature in India called the Malabar Giant Squirrel and it is…I kid you not…PURPLE. Multicolored, actually. I learned this doing a show called Rival Peak…my character was a nature expert and she mentioned this magical creature and I couldn’t believe it existed. So I went online and went down the proverbial rabbit hole. Or the squirrel hole, I guess. I was in such disbelief when I learned about it, I actually looked it up on Snopes and yep…it’s real. (I’m still nervous someone is going to tell me someday that it’s a hoax, so I think I’m going to have to go to India and see one in person before I can fully believe. But that day will be as magical as the day I first hung out with quokkas in Australia…maybe even better.
What would you like a review of your book to say (we're manifesting!)?
“Although the cover I Am Fun Size and So Are You may look whimsical and lighthearted - and it is at times - once I dove into its pages I learned so many new ways of looking at challenges, I realized it was something I'd be going back to visit again and again, like that good friend you’re always excited to see, for years and years.”
Basically, I’d love to hear that the reviewer found something…even just one thing, but hopefully more, that helps them in their life too. And that they can keep going back to for new ways to look at the world.
What are you overthinking about right now?
These answers! Ha! No, no…
It sounds a little weird, but I think I’m overthinking about thinking. I can get so caught up in how the mind - or my mind works - and trying to psych myself out to get myself to do things the "right” way, rather than just DOING the thing, and going with simple but not easy solutions. Being a perfectionist is a great way to never get anything done.
What are your favorite catch phrases or lines from the video games that you voice over?
I’ve loved “Welcome to my reality,” one of Symmetra’s voice lines, since Overwatch first came out, because it’s sort of a declaration of being in her territory - like she’s saying “You’re in my world now.” And her ultimate in Hindi sounds so powerful, Yahi Param Vaastavikta Hai (which, translated, means “This is the ultimate reality”) that I love saying it. I also love “If I can think it, I can create it” - so aspirational. And I’m pretty thrilled that Rampart says “Dope” because I say it in real life all the time…although 90% of her lines are guaranteed to make me smile. I’m definitely a little more like her in real life than Sym, as much as I may aspire to be as elegant as Symmetra is, Rampart’s “no filter” style is probably closer to me in the real world.
If you were caught in the universe of a video game, which game would it be and what would you do?
Okay, I haven’t finished playing it (another embarrassing admission, but it’s a time issue) but the Last Guardian, because that beautiful puppy dragon is a creature I NEED to have in my life.
What’s a class that you think should be part of every high school curriculum?
Two classes: Personal Finance and Civics. It’s ridiculous to me that I learned how to balance a checkbook in grade school and then everything else I learned about money came from my parents. I’m shocked by how many people graduate from school with no understanding of basic personal accounting. And civics because I think we’ve lost the ability to have civil discourse about different opinions about policy. The whole basis for a democracy is that we should have an understanding of how the system works and that the electorate should be privy to all the information we need to make informed decisions.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter the entertainment industry, but either doesn’t know where to start or lacks the confidence to put themselves out there?
There are so many aspects to being an entertainer or an artist that I don’t think there is any one right way to do any of it, so lead with what gives you the most joy. Usually, our way “in” to something is a combination of what brings us joy and what we either have natural talent at or a burning desire to learn. If you love dancing, you’re likely to train more in it, and be better at it, and maybe that’s your way in to the industry. While it’s so easy to look at someone else’s path and think you have to do it the way they do, really it’s your uniqueness combined with your passion and focus that is going to make you successful…at anything, really. So combine what brings you joy with dogged determination to be good at it and create, and find that excitement that drowns out the fear.
Can you share an insight or excerpt from one of the sections in your upcoming book that especially impacted you/your life, and tell us a bit about it?
Sure…in the book I talk about the time - a specific series of events - when I realized that nervousness and excitement are essentially the same physiological sensations, but with different thought processes: for me, I noticed when I was nervous I was thinking about everything that could go wrong, and when I was excited, I was thinking about how fun it was going to be to tackle the unknown. It’s changed the way I look at live performance, auditions, and really so many times in life. And it’s actually made me welcome so many of those physical sensations that I used to try to tamp down. When I get that sensation of my breathing get a little bit shorter or my heart start to go a little faster, usually I can clock it, and focus my thoughts on what could go right instead of wrong…then it feels like my body is preparing rather than panicking.
Do you have a mantra?
Success through lowered expectations. Honestly…it sounds like pessimism, but for me it’s actually more about not attaching to outcomes. I’m very impressionable AND have a lot of very high expectations of myself. So when I think I have to achieve something, I tend to get so attached to the outcome that I shut myself off to other, potentially better outcomes. I’ve learned for myself that the less I’m focused on specific expectations, the more open I am to wonder and surprises. Some of the best things in my life have come when I’ve completely let go of the “hope” of something and just focused on knowing something good will come, eventually, even if I don’t know what it is.
