#it's also the theme of a character titled undead lord

[chaserainbows]

“Boss Battle” yeeting at the rival, Sidney

Send me “Boss Battle”, and I’ll post the music that plays when your muse fights mine as a boss.

Sidney vs Lynn, death quivers before them

[thecreaturecodex]

You mention on your Ulgurstasta post that you had an Age of Worms soundtrack when you ran the AP in High School. Any other tracks for other encounters/areas?

I actually still have the whole playlist put together! I'll stash it under a cut in the interest of saving space, but some highlights:

The Hellboy soundtrack by Marco Beltrami was sort of the backbone of the piece. The Main Theme was what I used as the main theme for the campaign as a whole, and the themes used for the Nazis in that movie were the cues for the Ebon Triad.

The Full Metal Alchemist soundtrack was also a major role (the original 2004 anime, not Brotherhood). The Homunculus theme was used as Lashonna's theme, in many variations.

Lots of Nobou Uematsu, particularly FFVI and FFVII. I used OC Remix versions of many of those tracks for fights.

The Hall of Harsh Reflections, appropriately, used music from The Thing by Ennio Morricone

Balabar Smenk's theme was the Jabba the Hutt music from Return of the Jedi

The music used for the Kyuss Knights was Spiders and Vinegaroons by Queens of the Stone Age (who were formed from a band named Kyuss)

Musically, Alhaster was Russia. Lots of Russian folk songs for its characters.

The Library of Last Resort was themed around Philip Glass music

Every time they found an artifact, I used The Ecstasy of Gold from the soundtrack to The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Kyuss himself got One Winged Angel for his fight music, so I gave the JENOVA theme to the Harbinger of Worms, who created him.

The full list (all six discs worth, including bonus tracks!) is below the cut.

Age of Worms OST

Disc 1

1. Main Title – Hellboy Main Title (Marco Beltrami)

2. Sasha –Time’s Scar (Yasunori Mitsuda)

3. Trinton – Gilderoy Lockhart (John Williams)

4. The Whispering Cairn – Winds of Neo-Tokyo (Genioh Yamashirogumi)

5. Vincent – Nonki (Michiru Ooshima)

6. Dinner with Balabar Smenk – Jabba the Hutt (John Williams)

7. Filge the Necromancer – In the Theatre (Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet)

8. Relics of a Lost Time – El Amor Brujo (Manuel de Falla)

9. Battle with the Wind Warriors – Battle with the Four Fiends (Nobou Uematsu and the Black Mages)

10. Into Dourstone Mine – Overture of Destiny (Michiru Ooshima)

11. Three Faces of Evil 1: The Temple of Theldrick – Evil-Doers (Marco Beltrami)

12. Three Faces of Evil 2: Maze of the Faceless One – Soul Sucker (Marco Beltrami)

13. Three Faces of Evil 3: The Eyes of Grallak Kur – Alley Fight (Marco Beltrami)

14. Diana – Dark Eyes (Moondog)

15. Escape from Dourstone Mine and The Thing from the Pool – Juurin (Michiru Ooshima)

16. Allustan – Avenue (Michiru Ooshima)

17. Clyde – Mystic Mysidia (Nobou Uematsu)

18. An Encounter at Blackwall Keep – Opening/Bombing Run (Nobou Uematsu)

19. Damon – Greed (Michiru Ooshima)

20. Into the Lizard’s Lair – River Cruise (Danny Elfman)

21. Battle with the Turtle Rider – High Above Chaos (Nobou Uematsu, remixed by OverCoat)

22. The Shaman’s Sad Tale – Land Governed by Beasts (Nobou Uematsu, remixed by OverCoat)

23. The Dragon’s Egg – Brett’s Demise (Jerry Goldsmith)

24. Blessings of the Shaman – River Cruise 2 (Danny Elfman)

25. Another Encounter at Blackwall Keep – Element’s (Yoko Kanno)

26. Those Who Have Fallen – Sad Resolution (Michiru Ooshima)

27. End Title – End Credits (Nicholas Pavkovic)

28. Bonus Track – Worms (The Pogues)

Disc 2

1. An Ominous Beginning – Beyond the Wasteland (Nobou Uematsu)

2. The Prophet – The Fall of Neo-Kuja (Nobou Uematsu)

3. Meeting Dr. Thanatos – Revelation of Fire (Claado Shou)

4. The Crooked House – Music TCC (Michael Hoenig)

5. Doppelganger Chase – Spider Dib (Kevin Manthei)

6. Mimics! – Contamination (Ennio Morricone)

7. The Hall of Harsh Reflections – Eternity (Ennio Morricone)

8. Cathar – Rider’s March (Russian folksong, performed by the Red Army Choir)

9. Zyrxog the Illithid / The Death of Damon – Mutation (Geinoh Yamashirogumi)

10. Kysom – Heavenly Spirit (Michiru Ooshima)

11. Puli – The Dragon’s Eye (Jeremy Soule)

12. Battle with the Kenku – Russian Sailor’s Dance (Reinhold Gliere)

13. Filge Unveils His Undead Army – Carriage Without a Driver (Philip Glass)

14. The Weavers – Shelob’s Lair (Howard Shore)

15. The Painter’s Madness – The Belgian Circus Episode (John Morris)

16. Maskarovka! / The Champion’s Dinner – The Kitchen, The Orgy (Basil Poledouris)

17. The Champion’s Games – Wheel of Fortune (Hans Zimmer)

18. The Shrine of Kyuss – Dog’s Attack (Jerry Goldsmith)

19. Zahol, the Cleric – Davy Jones (Hans Zimmer)

20. The Final Battle – Algiers, November 1, 1954 (Ennio Morricone)

21. The Apostle of Kyuss – The Kraken (Hans Zimmer)

22. Victory! – L’Arena (Ennio Morricone)

Disc 3

1. The Dragon Ilthane – Riddle of Steel, Riders of Doom (Basil Poledouris)

2. Falth – Jungle Dance (Max Steiner)

3. Cosgrak the Lewd – Castle Damcyan (Nobou Uematsu)

4. A Gathering of Winds – The Promised Land (Nobou Uematsu)

5. Riverof Blood – The Decisive Battle (Nobou Uematsu)

6. Rescuing Allustan – Illusory World (Nobou Uematsu)

7. Moreto – Space Station of the Ancients (Nobou Uematsu, remixed by Mazedude)

8. Battle with the Ten Thousand Year Old Demon – Fire Cross (Nobou Uematsu, remixed by Luiza)

9. Gifts of the Wind Dukes – The Ecstasy of Gold (Ennio Morricone)

10. Return to Diamond Lake– Death Rides a Horse (Ennio Morricone)

11. Ambushed by Devils – Pandemonium (Hector Berlioz)

12. Magepoint – Misha (Yoko Kanno)

13. Tenser Manzorian – Averro Reinhold (Yoko Kanno)

14. The Spire of Long Shadows – Seven Notes in Black (Vince Tempera)

15. A Dragon took the Spire! – Minas Morgul (Howard Shore)

16. Fallen Angels – Anakin’s Dark Deeds (John Williams)

17. Visions of the Past – Summer Overture (Clint Mansell)

18. Serai Keeneye – Saber Dance (Gayane)

19. Knights and Swords of Kyuss – Spiders and Vinegaroons (Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss)

20. Ascension Interrupted – Monolith (Immediate Music)

21. The Harbinger of Worms – JENOVA for Classical Piano (Nobou Uematsu, arranged by Eric Barker)

22. Battle with the Harbinger – Piano Quartet Boss Battle Medley (Nobou Uematsu, arranged by Reu)

23. The Final Vision – Father’s Funeral (Marco Beltrami)

Disc 4

1. Heroes – Space Marines’ Theme (artist unknown)

2. Journey to Alhaster – Song of the Plains (Red Army Chorus)

3. Ilthane’s Brood – Godzilla Comes to Tokyo Bay(Akira Ifukube)

4. The Acidwraith – Ghidorah’s Theme (Akira Ifukube)

5. The Deluxury – Theology, Civilization (Basil Poledouris)

6. Adalbert Childermass – Castaniets (Yoko Kanno)

7. Blessed Angels of Hextor – Yuukoku (Michiru Ooshima)

8. The Ebon Overgod – Aw, Crap (Marco Beltrami)

9. Twenty Years of Joy – Song of the Volga Boatman (Leningrad Cowboys)

10. Macabre Feast – Smoldering Corpse Bar (Mark Morgan)

11. A Dance of the Dead – Butou (Michiru Ooshima)

12. The Prince of Redhand – The Infernal Dance of King Kaschei (Igor Stravinsky)

13. Lashonna – Homonculus (Michiru Ooshima)

14. Disciples of Darkness – Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious (John Williams)

15. The Library of Last Resort – Facades (Philip Glass)

16. The Wild Watchers – Koyaanisqatsi (Philip Glass)

17. Trials – November 25: Morning (Philip Glass)

18. Battlewith Curwen – Black History (Yoko Kanno)

19. Heroes of Time – Symphony 8, Movement 1 (Philip Glass)

Disc 5

1. Battle with Warduke – Position X (Yoko Kanno)

2. Lashonna’s Tragic Tale – Meimyaku (Michiru Ooshima)

3. Kings of the Rift – King Kong (James Howard)

4. A Flight of Dragons – Ride of the Valkyries (Wagner)

5. Gazzilfek, the Ominous Fabler – Cefca (Nobou Uematsu)

6. Citadel of Weeping Dragons – Last Blank Spot on the Map (James Howard)

7. Dragotha’s Phylactery/ Brazzemal the Burning – Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II Opening (Akira Ifukube)

8. When Three Spirits Become One – The Bad Color (James Howard)

9. Into the Wormcrawl Fissure – Circle of Hell (Brian Tyler and Klaus Badlet)

10. The Mighty Undone – Those We Don’t Speak Of (James Howard)

11. Thesselar, the Lich – October is Eternal (Of Montreal)

12. Zulshyn, the Angel – Dancing Calcobrena (Nobou Uematsu)

13. Cults of the Wormgod – Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec (Nobou Uematsu)

14. Kyuss’ Divine Blood – Full Tense (Clint Mansell)

15. Dragotha’s Revelation – Secrets of Shizuma Drive (Masamichi Amano)

16. Battle with Dragotha the Dracolich – I Don’t Think Now is the Best Time (Hans Zimmer)

17. A Treasure Unseen in this Age – Ecstacy of Gold (Ennio Morricone, performed by Yo-Yo Ma)

18. The Age of Worms Has Begun – Blasphemy 2.0 (Immediate Music)

Disc 6

1. Tenser’s Desperate Plan – Sign (Nobou Uematsu)

2. Saviors – Church Windows: Saint Michael (Respighi)

3. Alhaster in Ruins – Tragedy Occurs Again (Masamichi Amano)

4. The Traitor’s Graves Rise – Black Water (Nobou Uematsu)

5. Filge Betrayed – Dr. Van Helsing and Dracula (Philip Glass)

6. Riggby the Patriarch – Forward to Time Past (John Williams)

7. Lashonna’s Sanctum – Kaichou (Michiru Ooshima)

8. Vampire Attack – Shingun (Michiru Ooshima)

9. Accountant of Mephistopheles – All Hell Breaks Loose (Immediate Music)

10. Broodfiends – Tadarida (Hans Zimmer and James Howard)

11. Lashonna Triumphant – Keiji (Michiru Ooshima)

12. Battle with Lashonna – Symphonie Fantastique: Dreams of a Witches’ Sabbath (Hector Berlioz)

13. Ascending the Spire – Divinity I (Nobou Uematsu)

14. Kyuss – Advent One Winged Angel (Nobou Uematsu)

15. The Wormgod Defeated – Divinity II (Nobou Uematsu)

16. The New Prince of Redhand – Guardian of the Motherland (Michiru Ooshima)

17. A Happy Ending – B. P. R. D. Suite (Marco Beltrami)

18. Bonus Track 1 – Icarus (Jason Webley)

19. Bonus Track 2 – Swelling Itching Brain (DEVO)

20. Bonus Track 3 – Dance While the Sky Crashes Down (Jason Webley)

21. Bonus Track 4 – Dragon Attack (Queen)

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

Daenerys Targaryen & Varda Elentári

This post is more for my own pleasure than anything, as someone who loves both Dany and Varda. It basically sums up the similarities and/or parallels that I see between the two characters. Anyone else who has anything to add is free to do so.

[Source]

[Source]

Known as the Queen of the Stars and the Star-Kindler, among other titles, Varda is the queen of all of Arda, a planet of the universe Eä created by Eru, the Creator and All-Father, which the Valar and many of the Ainur inhabit. She is the wife of Manwë and considered one of the most powerful beings in the entirety of the Tolkien universe. Varda is intensely beloved by the elves especially due to the fact that she created the stars. It’s said that she’s so beautiful that she can’t be described in words, and that the light of Eru shines from her face.

Not much is known about Varda personally, as the direct appearances that she makes in Tolkien’s works are few. Off the top of my head, I can only recall her being mentioned in person in The Unfinished Tales and The Silmarillion. In all other instances, she is only prayed to, but one can get a pretty good understanding of just how revered she is.

The following is a Sindarin poem directed to Varda, A Elbereth Gilthoniel, by the elves, which they were heard by Frodo saying as they departed to the Undying lands.

Snow-white! Snow-white! O Lady clear! O Queen beyond the Western Seas!  O Light to us that wander here  Amid the world of woven trees! 

Gilthoniel! O Elbereth! Clear are thy eyes and bright thy breath! Snow-white! Snow-white! We sing to thee In a far land beyond the Sea. 

O stars that in the Sunless Year With shining hand by her were sawn, In windy fields now bright and clear We see your silver blossom blown! 

O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! We still remember, we who dwell In this far land beneath the trees, Thy starlight on the Western Seas.

—The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring

With a basic idea of who Varda is, let’s get into the similarities between the two. Some of these are likely just a coincidence, but I find it fun to explore anyway. 

Beautiful

This one is the shallowest, and the easiest to draw comparisons when it comes to the two characters. Varda is said to be unbelievably beautiful:

With Manwë dwells Varda, Lady of the Stars, who knows all the regions of Eä. Too great is her beauty to be declared in the words of Men or of Elves; for the light of Ilúvatar lives still in her face.

—The Silmarillion, Valaquenta

Dany, too, is extremely beautiful, described as some to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Her silver shied as the merchant prince Xaro Xhoan Daxos rode up to her; the horses could not abide the close presence of camels, she had found. "If you see here anything that you would desire, O most beautiful of women, you have only to speak and it is yours," Xaro called down from his ornate horned saddle. 

—A Clash of Kings, Daenerys II

The most beautiful woman in the world, thought Quentyn. My bride-to-be, if the gods are good. Sometimes at night he lay awake imagining her face and form, and wondering why such a woman would ever want to marry him, of all the princes in the world. I am Dorne, he told himself. She will want Dorne.

—A Dance with Dragons, The Merchant’s Man

Granted, many times, people are trying to flatter Daenerys when calling her that. Nevertheless, Valyrians are known for their otherworldly beauty, and Dany is also undoubtedly beautiful. 

Good judges of character

I can confidently say that Varda is also probably quite a good judge of character. Before any of the other Ainur, she was able to see the darkness of Melkor, a Satan-like figure in the Tolkien mythos who was once the most powerful Vala but rebelled against Eru out of pride and became Morgoth. Thus, Varda distrusted Melkor, rejected an offer that he made to her, and Melkor was said to see her as his greatest rival. 

Out of the deeps of Eä she came to the aid of Manwë; for Melkor she knew from before the making of the Music and rejected him, and he hated her, and feared her more than all others whom Eru made.

—The Silmarillion, Valaquenta

This is pretty impressive, considering that it’s possible that at the time referenced, when Varda “knew” Melkor, even Melkor didn’t know that he was heading down a path of evil. Yet Varda could see the darkness inside him. Besides, Melkor is said to be very good at deception, so the fact that Varda could see through this is a testament to her skill in gauging other people. 

Dany is also a good judge of character. At just thirteen, she’s able to see through much of Illyrio’s flattery and lies when her significantly older brother Viserys was unable to:

"They are your people, and they love you well," Magister Illyrio said amiably. "In holdfasts all across the realm, men lift secret toasts to your health while women sew dragon banners and hide them against the day of your return from across the water." He gave a massive shrug. "Or so my agents tell me."

Dany had no agents, no way of knowing what anyone was doing or thinking across the narrow sea, but she mistrusted Illyrio's sweet words as she mistrusted everything about Illyrio. Her brother was nodding eagerly, however. "I shall kill the Usurper myself," he promised, who had never killed anyone, "as he killed my brother Rhaegar. And Lannister too, the Kingslayer, for what he did to my father."

—A Game of Thrones, Daenerys I

She’s also aware that people are much more treacherous than depicted in the books she reads:

"I'm cold," Dany lied. "Bring me the book I was reading last night." She wanted to lose herself in the words, in other times and other places. The fat leather-bound volume was full of songs and stories from the Seven Kingdoms. Children's stories, if truth be told; too simple and fanciful to be true history. All the heroes were tall and handsome, and you could tell the traitors by their shifty eyes. Yet she loved them all the same. Last night she had been reading of the three princesses in the red tower, locked away by the king for the crime of being beautiful.

—A Storm of Swords, Daenerys VI

Opposition to evil

Significantly, Varda’s realm of power is the light:

With Manwë dwells Varda, Lady of the Stars, who knows all the regions of Eä. Too great is her beauty to be declared in the words of Men or of Elves; for the light of Ilúvatar lives still in her face. In light is her power and her joy.

—The Silmarillion, Valaquenta

Other titles for Varda, besides Queen of the Stars, include Snow-White, Lady of the Stars, and Star-Kindler. There’s an obvious association with light here, especially because stars are the most beloved form of light by the elves, not to mention the earliest sources of light in Arda. 

Melkor, meanwhile, being the overarching villain of the entire Tolkien universe, is associated heavily with darkness. 

Last of all is set the name of Melkor, He who arises in Might. But that name he has forfeited; and the Noldor, who among the Elves suffered most from his malice, will not utter it, and they name him Morgoth, the Dark Enemy of the World.

—The Silmarillion, Valaquenta

Other titles for Melkor include The Black Foe, The Corrupter, The Marrer, The First Dark Lord, and Lord of the Dark. It’s pretty glaringly obvious how strongly Tolkien meant for us to picture him as being the embodiment of darkness. 

This places the quite literally brilliant Varda in direct opposition with him in terms of their elements. In other words, she is heavily associated with and symbolizes something that is the very antithesis of everything the main evil of Tolkien’s works is associated with. 

Just like Varda is heavily associated with light, Dany is heavily associated with fire. It is the element of her house, but beyond that, it’s a personal element for her.

They filled her bath with hot water brought up from the kitchen and scented it with fragrant oils. The girl pulled the rough cotton tunic over Dany's head and helped her into the tub. The water was scalding hot, but Daenerys did not flinch or cry out. She liked the heat. It made her feel clean. Besides, her brother had often told her that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. "Ours is the house of the dragon," he would say. "The fire is in our blood."

—A Game of Thrones, Daenerys I

No, she wanted to shout to him, no, my good knight, do not fear for me. The fire is mine. I am Daenerys Stormborn, daughter of dragons, bride of dragons, mother of dragons, don't you see? Don't you SEE? With a belch of flame and smoke that reached thirty feet into the sky, the pyre collapsed and came down around her. Unafraid, Dany stepped forward into the firestorm, calling to her children.

—A Game of Thrones, Daenerys X

Ten thousand slaves lifted bloodstained hands as she raced by on her silver, riding like the wind. "Mother!" they cried. "Mother, mother!" They were reaching for her, touching her, tugging at her cloak, the hem of her skirt, her foot, her leg, her breast. They wanted her, needed her, the fire, the life, and Dany gasped and opened her arms to give herself to them...

—A Clash of Kings, Daenerys IV

Especially in the above quote, Daenerys is the embodiment of the fire, as acknowledged when she gives “herself” to the slaves that need “the fire”. In addition, fire as life is an ongoing theme in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. It’s shown above in the quote by “the fire, the life”. And the force in direct opposition to the fire is the ice, the cold, the death, which also stands for the undead, who are the main antagonists of the series. 

The real enemy is the cold.

—A Game of Thrones, Prologue

Similarly to how Varda, light, symbolically stands in opposition to Melkor, darkness, Daenerys stands in opposition to the Others, death, thanks to her association with fire, life. Their positions as important, central figures of goodness and hope are expressed through their association to certain elements which contrasts them directly with the elements that the great evils of their respective series are associated with. 

[nightqueendany]

The Original Final Season 7 - Episode 1: Family, Duty, Honor

This is a combination of events from “show canon” and what I believe would have happened in the “Original Final Season 7.”

Should be noted that King’s Landing is gray and not sunny and the weather gets worse as the season progresses. It does not stay sunny at all...because that’s just fucking stupid.

IN THE RIVERLANDS

The episode opens in the same fashion as the show canon 7x01, Arya Stark as Walder Frey, taking out the rest of the Frey men

After walking out of the hall, Arya heads to the dungeons and frees Edmure Tully. Arya tells him what she’s done, the Riverlands belong to House Tully again. Edmure asks what Arya will do now and she says she’s heading back home, her brother Jon is now KITN. 

Edmure, honoring the previous pledge he made to House Stark, asks Arya to send his pledge to Jon; the Riverlands will remain under Stark rule, under the King in the North

On her journey North, Arya runs into the Brotherhood Without Banners and the Hound. She’s still pissed at them for what they did to Gendry. As reparation, the Brotherhood decide to accompany Arya to Winterfell to see her safely home

IN THE FAR NORTH

The Winter Winds are rising, the Night King and his massive army of the undead march south...

AT THE WALL

Bran Stark makes it safely south of the Wall with the help of Meera and the Black Brothers. 

As Bran’s there, preparing to leave for Winterfell, we notice several of the Black Brothers are in incredibly bad health - either due to illness, lack of supplies, the cold, or some combination.

In looking for medicine/supplies, Lord Commander Edd Tollett comes across some of Sam’s old things, a cloak with a few remaining shards of dragonglass in it AND The Horn of Winter (though Edd doesn’t know what it is)

IN KING’S LANDING

Cersei Lannister - in losing all her allies and discovering news of the Frey massacre, Jon/Sansa ruling the North, and Dany/Tyrion coming to Westeros - becomes more obsessed with the Younger More Beautiful Queen prophecy. 

Because Sansa would be Jon’s heir if he dies and therefore QITN, Cersei isn’t certain if the YMBQ is Sansa or Dany, yet is convinced it’s one of them. This is when Cersei tells Qyburn to send word to Jon to come south to bend the knee to her

Cersei tells Jaime of the YMBQ prophecy and he worries for her mental state - having just lost Tommen, their last child...

...Until Qyburn reveals Cersei is pregnant. Cersei is then convinced this means the prophecy was indeed wrong, as she will now have more children than the prophecy foretold of

But, Jaime still worries about her as her actions and emotions are all over the place

IN OLDTOWN

Samwell Tarly finds out about the dragonglass on Dragonstone and writes to Jon

Sam also has his argument with Archmaester Ebros about the Army of the Dead, after which he steals the books from the Restricted Section of the library

IN WINTERFELL

Jon Snow receives Cersei’s raven scroll about “suffering the fate of all traitors”

Jon also receives word from Sam about the dragonglass on Dragonstone. 

Petry Baelish informs Jon and Sansa that he’s heard rumor Daenerys Targaryen is on her way to Westeros with Tyrion Lannister and Lord Varys at her side, along with the allegiance of several key regions of Westeros - Dorne, The Reach, The Iron Islands - he says she will likely land on Dragonstone

Before Jon and Sansa can process this information or weigh its pros and cons, they’re informed of someone at the gate:

Bran has arrived. Jon and Sansa are beside themselves with joy, (Bran is not robo Bran, he’s normal Bran), Jon tells Bran “You’ve finally made it back home…” CUT TO:

ON DRAGONSTONE 

Daenerys Targaryen arrives in Westeros, she’s finally made it back home as well

The title of the episode comes from Arya’s rescuing Edmure and getting revenge for her mother’s death by killing all the Freys. We’ve had many episodes named after house words, but never House Tully so this finally honors them. It’s also the theme of the episode. 

Episode 1 Inside the Episode: Family, Duty, Honor

1a) The Cold Open - Arya kills all the Freys:

Yes, I know the original Cold Open of 7x01 show canon was the White Walkers, but I’m assuming D&D would have made the same executive decision in post to swap that scene with this one because it’s so badass. So there you go.

1b) Arya heading home immediately:

Back in 6x10 Arya tells Jaqen that she’s Arya Stark of Winterfell and she’s going home. So why did she head to the Riverlands first to kill the Freys, just to want to go back south to kill Cersei? 

Such bullshit. Arya wanted to go home. And if she thought the Boltons still had Winterfell, she’d want to kill them too. She’s a faceless assassin. They killed her mother and brother. She’d want them dead as much as Walder Frey. She snuck into the Twins, a place she’s never been, to kill them all. Winterfell, her home, would be a piece of cake to take from the Boltons. And geographically, it makes sense for her to continue heading North after the Twins anyway. Otherwise why not kill Cersei in King’s Landing first, then head North to the Riverlands, then finally home to Winterfell, where she told Jaqen she was going? Cersei might have always been on Arya’s list, but in 6x10, Arya wanted to go back to Winterfell. That should have remained her plan. D&D retconned this to delay Arya’s return to Winterfell in S7 for their idiotic Starkbowl plot. Which we all know was pointless filler because they had split the seasons and added three extra episodes.

And side note: Of course Arya would meet up with the Brotherhood. We know they’re in the Riverlands (based on them staying at that house with the father and daughter Sandor had previously screwed over). They had to meet up. It’s stupid that they didn’t in canon.

1c) Edmure pledging to Jon:

This one is a no-brainer. Of course the Riverlands would side with the North in the war against Cersei (which hasn’t happened yet, but with Jon being declared KITN, it’s only a matter of time). This move makes Jon the King of ALL the Northernmost Kingdoms and puts him in a really really powerful position - and an appealing position for any single ladies out there looking to secure an alliance *cough*Dany*cough*.

2) Sam’s raven:

Jon should have gotten word from Sam about the dragonglass in 7x01. Anyone who regularly reads my metas should remember, I have mentioned several times that the timing of Jon’s receipt of Sam’s raven is off. Sam sends Jon the raven in 7x01. Tyrion sends Jon a raven in 7x02. But Jon receives Tyrion’s raven first so, nope. Huge tip-off of a retcon. Jon should have gotten Sam’s raven first.

3) Baelish being the one to tell the Starks about Daenerys going to Dragonstone:

This another no-brainer and we already had hints of this in 7x07 show canon. Baelish has been keeping tabs on Dany, he just doesn’t ever get to really show this. “I’ve heard the dragon queen is quite beautiful.” Just as Qyburn had info on Drogon being injured in the fighting pits of Meereen, Baelish should have information on Daenerys, her advisors, and her movements. Why would he know she’s beautiful, but not know anything else about her when this is his primary function in the series?

Baelish, like Sam, Varys, and Bran, is an “information guy”. His job is to know things and inform the other characters, mostly to his own benefit. So Baelish having knowledge of Dany heading for Dragonstone, as Cersei had this knowledge in 7x01, just makes sense. And this way, when Tyrion sends the raven to Dragonstone next episode, it will be something Jon has been anticipating, because of course the first thing Dany will want to do when reaching Westeros, is gain more allies and allying with the North makes the most sense. 

4) Cersei’s onset of madness:

We know this was where the plot was supposed to go, what with the miscarriage from 7x07 and everything. Cersei has already mentioned the YMBQ prophecy to Jaime before, telling him about how she knew their children would all die and that he couldn’t have stopped Myrcella’s death. 

With Tommen’s death still fresh in mind, it would make sense this prophecy would come up again. Season 7 Cersei really doesn’t need much of a push into madness and her obsessing over this prophecy, especially with Dany on her way to Westeros, is a natural progression for her character. At the end of S6, D&D promised us that a Cersei without her children would be “very dangerous” and it was never delivered to us. A prophecy-obsessed Cersei would definitely deliver. 

5) And finally, Castle Black:

We were so fucked out of seeing more of the Night’s Watch in the last two seasons in show canon. Edd finding the Horn of Winter in Sam’s old room will be incredibly important and be a final, long awaited pay-off for the scene from Season 2 in which Sam first discovered the dragonglass at the Fist of the First Men, when the horn was first shown to the audience. 

Aaaaaand that’s it for Episode 1! I know it’s short and for the most part looks very similar to show canon, so I will post Episode 2 as well today, though you guys will have to wait until next week for Episode 3.

Original Final Season 7: Preface Post

Season 7 Episode 1: Family, Duty, Honor (current episode)

Season 7 Episode 2: Greywater Watch

Season 7 Episode 3: The Last of the Dragons

Season 7 Episode 4: Dragonglass

Season 7 Episode 5: The Storm

Season 7 Episode 6: Summerhall 

Season 7 Episode 7: A City Fit For A King

Season 7 Episode 8: Protectors of the Realm

Season 7 Episode 9: The Battle For The Dawn

Season 7 Episode 10: ?

[howlandreads]

I Really Hate This Show, Which I Love More Than Life Itself

Hey guys!! I know I haven’t posted any metas in months, (I’ve been super busy between work and school) but Game of Thrones is back and I’m really going to try and make Tumblr a priority for at least the next six weeks!  As you can probably tell from my previous posts I’m pretty anti D&D and have significant issues with their adaptation of ASOIAF, but I’m also pretty excited that one of the biggest events in fandom history is taking place every Sunday for the next month and a half, so I’m pretty conflicted about my feelings for the show right now -- That being said, here’s my general thoughts on Season 8 Episode 1 – “Winterfell”:

I don’t have too much to say about the “previously on” section of the episode, but I did find two things particularly interesting.  The first is something @theusurpersdog mentioned to me; Cersei says “The monsters are real,” and then we get a smash cut to D*ny riding Drogon. Most people have assumed the audience is meant to see the dragons as monsters, but it could also be foreshadowing some oncoming Dark!Dany content.  The second thing I found interesting was how the clip of Bran’s Warg eyes is shown right before we see Viserion’s Wight eyes, which might be some foreshadowing for the popular theory that Bran’s going to Warg a dragon this season.

Next is the opening scene where we see Jon and D*ny arriving to the North, which is the first of this episode’s 1,000 callbacks to the first episode. It’s a scene that’s clearly meant to mirror Robert’s arrival to Winterfell from “Winter Is Coming”, which mostly works except for the fact that the Baratheon theme is playing in the background despite the fact that there’s not a Baratheon in sight, except for Gendry, who’s not even a true Baratheon.  

I adore Maisie Williams in this scene.  Last season’s Arya was such a mess, and though I still feel show Arya is nothing compared to the complexity of ASOIAF’s Arya, she seems to be much more herself this episode.  The look on her face when she sees Jon is perfect, as is her subtle heartbreak when he doesn’t notice her.  I continue to be tired of the amount of The Hound content D&D continue to subject us to, but I do like that we see Arya’s joy at seeing that Gendry is alive.

Though I love Arya in this scene, the most important part is D*enarys.  In a crowd of dark fur coats, she stands out clothed in pure white, and the Northerners take notice. This scene also sets her up as a liability to Jon, both with the North and his own family.  When he’s with D*ny he misses Arya in the crowd, setting up the recurring theme of the episode that the more he’s with her the less he’s a Stark. I also appreciate that her first appearance of the season shows that the fear of the subjugated is what she’s after, not their love or respect.  Her delight at the terror her dragons instill seems to bode well for Dark!Dany theories. Overall, I enjoyed how the dragons were portrayed.  I love that Arya is awestruck, and that Sansa is in wonder for a moment, but immediately sees the danger in their presence in the North.  Sophie plays this brilliantly, and the look of resolve Sansa has shows that she won’t be intimidated by grand displays of superiority from D*ny.

I have a lot of thoughts on the courtyard reunion scene, but I’ll only mention the really important things since I don’t want this post to be too long.  The reunion of Jon and Bran was good, but not nearly as good as their relationship deserved. Jon and Sansa’s reunion left a lot to be desired.  Why is Sansa only glad to see him for less than a second before she’s side-eying D*ny? So many of my issues with D&D come from their inability to write women who aren’t reduced to pure pettiness, and this episode was a classic example of their failure to provide complex female characters.  Sansa is so justified in her concerns about D*ny and I wish the writing portrayed her as a an incredibly intelligent Lady of Winterfell, who has every right to bitterness towards the woman who’s demanded the fealty of her people, instead of just another small-minded and petty female character who’s more concerned with glaring at D*ny than she is with fighting the fast approaching White Walkers. D*ny stans also have a right to be offended by this episode as D*ny is fairly one dimensional as well.  

Sexist writing aside, my biggest issue with this scene is that somehow nobody cares that a freaking undead dragon is coming their way.  Not even D*ny, the Mother of Dragons, is given more than a two second reaction shot.  This should be devastating for her, and her plotline for the episode should have been her processing her grief.

There’s a lot of issues with this scene, but I will say that Bran is amazing throughout this scene and the whole episode.  Is he the ASOIAF Bran that I love? No, but he is spectacularly dramatic and I’m here for it.

Next is the Great Hall scene.  Again, the Northerners are treated as small-minded and petty over their concern for titles and independence, and I fail to see why.  Westeros is a feudal society, which means of course titles mean everything.  And beyond titles, of course Northerners are justified in their want for independence.  Each Kingdom has its own argument for independence, but the North’s is by far the strongest. They’re larger than the other kingdoms combined, and have a completely different climate and a completely different set of needs than the southern kingdoms.  Not to mention the fact they’ve been the most consistently victimized by the tyrants of King’s Landing.  

This scene is much better about treating Sansa as an intelligent leader who’s aware of the North’s situation.  Again, there’s a lot more I have to say but this post is already getting pretty long, so I’ll move on to Sansa and Tyrion’s reunion.

I’m so torn on how to feel about this particular reunion.  It’s deeply upsetting because it’s a wretched reminder of so many of D&D’s past sins, in particular the whitewashing of Tyrion’s character, and how Sansa’s development was completely undercut in the process.  This scene also shows a stark contrast between show Sansa and book Sansa.  It’s impossible to imagine book Sansa fondly remembering Joffrey clawing at his own throat, unable to breathe – it’s actually essential to her character that she wouldn’t. What leaves me torn is that I still really love show Sansa.  Though D&D’s adaptation will never compare to the beautiful and brilliant character GRRM created in Sansa, I can still root for a badass Sophie Turner fondly remembering the day her serial abuser died.

Now onto my favorite scene of the whole episode, Jon and Arya’s reunion. Both Kit and Maisie were so good in this scene.  I love their genuine happiness and comfort at seeing each other again after all these years apart.  I love the silent mourning of their youth when Arya confesses to Jon that she’s used Needle once or twice.  It was also really nice to see Arya defending Sansa after the absolute tragedy that was Arya and Sansa’s plotline last season.  It was also good to see how clearly hurt Jon is by what he perceives as Sansa’s lack of faith in him.

I don’t have all that much to say when it comes to the section of this episode that takes place outside Winterfell, since there’s not a whole lot of substance in it.  All I really need to say is that I continue to adore Lena Heady, I love the reference to elephants, I’m continually upset by the writers seeming lack of understanding when it comes to consent, and the Theon and Yara plotline is mostly a waste of time, which is incredibly disappointing because it has so much potential.

The next scene is by far the worst of the episode.  I still can’t get over how unbelievably disrespectful to the source material it is to have Jon’s first time riding a dragon be written as comedy.  The only thing worth noting from this sequence is the ominous way Jon keeps his eyes open while making out with Dany, and how foreboding his eye contact with Drogon was.

Though I loved every second of Arya and Gendry’s reunion, it was a mostly superficial scene so I’ll skip passed it.  

Jon and Sansa’s candlelit and tense conversion was content™, but I’m hoping to make a Jonsa focused post about this week’s episode in the next couple of days so all I’ll say is that I loved this scene.

Next, we have Sam’s discovery that his family has been executed, the reveal of R+L=J, and the beginning of the emotional and political fallout these revelations will cause.  I’m so unbelievably disappointed by this sequence.  Jon discovering the truth of his parentage should have easily been the most important scene in the series to date, and the whole thing just fell flat. The main problem with this scene is that it focuses on the political ramifications instead Jon’s emotional response.

In the second to last scene Tormund discovers the dead body of the child Lord Umber surrounded by some pretty horrific centipede arms.  The White Walkers haven’t really been all that threatening since Hardhome, but damn was that shriek unsettling.

The episode closes with Jaime’s arrival at Winterfell, and I couldn’t be happier. Hopefully confronting the man who crippled him will be enough for Bran to not be a robot, at least for one episode.  That combined with the fact that Sansa and Jaime will finally be meeting is more than I can handle.  As much as I was excited for this week’s episode, I can’t begin to express how ready I am for next week.

Overall, I had some issues with D&D’s execution, but I’m mostly excited for where it seems this season is going.

[aion-rsa]

Dracula vs. The Marvel Universe! 14 Times The Lord of The Undead Fought Superheroes!

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Hey, remember that time Dracula fought the Hulk? Or the X-Men? Or Spider-Man? No? Well, you're in luck, because we do!

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Dracula. The very name conjures images of sexuality, corruption, and decadence. From the original novel written by Bram Stoker in 1897 to the moment Bela Lugosi donned the famed opera cloak in 1931, the character of Dracula has been an iconic horror staple.

In fact, Dracula has been the subject of over 200 films, second only to the number of films starring Sherlock Holmes. But films, novels, and television aren't the only genres that have contained Dracula’s bloodlust. Comic books have been a compelling source for new Dracula material. Marvel Comics in particular have been a happy hunting ground for the Lord of the Vampires.

After the easing of Comic Code restrictions in the early seventies, Stan Lee and Marvel were eager to explore classic monsters in the pages of their books. When the code loosened its grip, Lee and company were able to resurrect the four color boogiemen that lay forgotten for so long. In 1972, writer Gerry Conway and artist Gene Colan introduced Tomb of Dracula and a legend was born. Now there was a version of Dracula that borrowed from Stoker and Lugosi stalking the same fictional universe as Spider-Man and the Avengers.

Soon, writer Marv Wolfman would take over the writing chores on Tomb of Dracula and create one of the greatest continuing horror sagas in comic book history. Within the pages of Tomb of Dracula, Wolfman introduced the vampiric detective Hannibal King, Lilith (Dracula’s Daughter), and most importantly, Blade, the Vampire Hunter, who later helped kick off the current superhero movie boom.

Amazon has all your Marvel Dracula needs

Dracula existed within the Marvel Universe, but other than rare occasions not many Marvel heroes appeared in Dracula’s book, giving the title a sense of isolation from the rest of the Marvel Universe. That is not to say that Dracula has not stalked the titles of the mainstream Marvel heroes. Oh no, dear reader, the Prince of Darkness has cast his shadow on many Marvel heroes, making him one of the greatest, if often overlooked villains in Marvel history. Here is a look at times Dracula, the greatest monster of them all, has stalked the Marvel Universe.

Dracula Meets Spider-Man

Giant Sized Spider-Man #1 (1974)

In this tale, Aunt May is suffering from a rare blood disease because she’s Aunt May. Spidey learns that the only man that has the cure is an eccentric doctor that refuses to travel by plane. Spider-Man learns from Reed Richards that the scientist is traveling by ship, so Spidey gets his webbed ass to the ship to find the doctor.

Also on board the ship are members of the Maggia who want the formula, and of course, Dracula himself who is also after it. Hilarity ensues as Dracula dispatches the crooks one by one, and throws the Maggia leader overboard.

read more: 13 Essential Horror Comics

The book is a send up of the classic death at sea sequence of Stoker’s Dracula, as Dracula feeds off the Maggia onboard. While never featuring a direct confrontation between hero and vampire, this issue served as a warning...Dracula is out there.

Buy it on Amazon

Allied with the Avengers (1973)

Avengers #118

Ironically, one of the first times Dracula was drawn into the events of the Marvel Universe, he did so to defend humanity! In the Avengers/Defenders war, often considered to be the first true crossover in comics history, the Dread Dormammu opened a dimensional gateway to Earth. The Avengers and Defenders were stuck in Dormammu’s dimension so could not defend the Earth from an incursion by the savage Mindless Ones, headless beings that thrive on destruction. A group of super-powered champions on Earth, not knowing where the Mindless Ones were pouring on from, took up arms to protect their home.

read more: The Weird History of Marvel Superheroes vs Monsters

One of these beings was none other than Dracula, who along with such heroes as Power Man, the Fantastic Four, and Ka-Zar, fought back against the Mindless Ones. But don’t think Dracula was acting magnanimously true believers; imagine if a horde of beasts was smashing your favorite eatery. That’s what Earth is to Dracula, a theme restaurant with an all you can eat buffet of jugulars.

Yes, Dracula fought the Mindless Ones, but in doing so he made sure his food supply remained strong and proved to Marvel readers just how badass he was by taking on the Mindless Ones...creatures capable of going toe to toe with the Hulk!

The Creation of Baron Blood (1976)

Invaders #7

One of Captain America’s most enduring foes was created by none other than Dracula. What’s more evil than a Nazi vampire? Pretty much nothing, which makes Baron Blood one of the most vile creatures in the Marvel Universe. In the dark days of World War II, John Farnsworth was an English aristocrat obsessed with vampire lore. When he travels to Transylvania, he encounters Dracula, who transforms Farnsworth into the living dead.

Dracula sends blood to England to punish the country for the actions of Dracula’s nemesis Jonathan Harker. As Baron Blood, Farnsworth fought the Invaders, Captain America, and even his own brother who adopted the heroic persona of the first Union Jack.  

read more: The Best Modern Horror Movies

Blood’s days of fighting for the Axis were cut short when the Sub-Mariner staked the bejesus out of him. Blood was resurrected in the modern day by a minion of Dracula and fought a legendary battle with his old foe, Captain America. Now, a Nazi vampire is pretty badass, but a Nazi vampire created by Dracula himself? That’s some legendary bloodsucker right there!

Available in - Invaders Classic: The Complete Collection Vol. 1

Dracula vs. Doctor Strange (1976)

Tomb of Dracula #44

The Lord of Darkness fed off Doctor Strange (he probably tasted like sage, cinnamon, and quickly forgotten dreams), in the pages of Tomb of Dracula #44. In Strange’s own book, Dracula locks the Sorcerer Supreme in a dungeon so he can watch the embraced Doctor arise as a vampire. That’s quite a sense of irony Marvel’s Dracula possesses, huh?

read more: Doctor Strange Comics Reading Order

Little did Dracula know that Strange astral projected out of his body before Dracula could finish the fateful bite. Strange uses his astral form to mess with Dracula who furiously arrives at the dungeon after days of being mocked and prodded by the wizard.

An awesome fight ensues between a vampiric Doctor Strange and Dracula which Strange wins by conjuring a blazing crucifix. The edge in the battle went to Strange who seemed to be one step ahead of Dracula, but let us not forget that during their first encounter Dracula easily dispatched Strange with one bite. Dracula’s mistake was letting Strange have time to plot, but the first struggle would foreshadow a climatic future encounter between the magician and vampire.

You can read it here.

Dracula vs. Howard the Duck? (1980)

Howard the Duck Magazine #5

Not all Dracula appearances in the Marvel Universe are legendary but that doesn’t make them any less cool. The following is a treatise on why comics are awesome.

While visiting Cleveland, Dracula spots Howard the Duck. Thinking Howard to be a midget in a duck suit, the Lord of the Undead bites Howard (did I just type that?) but is disgusted by the non-human blood flowing in Howard’s veins. However, Howard is transformed into Drakula (not Duckula or Quakula?) and preys on other ducks.

read more: Upcoming Horror Movies Heading Your Way

Howard is restored to his normal self and is actually able to stake Dracula before the vampire can feed off Howard’s girlfriend, Beverly Switzer.

Dracula Joins The Defenders (1981)

Defenders #95 

Ah, the Defenders. Long before they were edgy TV stars, they were the parking place for awesomely odd Bronze Age characters.

In one of the non-team’s most memorable storylines, the Defenders were being beleaguered by the Six Fingered Hand. With newer members Hellcat, Gargoyle, and Son of Satan in tow, the Defenders arrive back to Doctor Strange’s mansion only to be attacked by a possessed Dracula. It seems the Six Fingered Hand had gained control over all vampires.

Proving his awesomeness, the Son of Satan breaks the Hand’s control of Dracula, and agrees to help the Vampire Lord take back Transylvania from the Hand. The team with powerhouses like Strange and the Asgardian Valkyrie are just window dressing as the Son of Satan kicks the Hands' collective butts, destroys a metric ton of vampires by summoning sunlight, and saves Dracula’s undead bacon.

read more: 13 Essential Dracula Performances

This was the first time Marvel used Dracula as an anti-hero in a super-hero title, an honorable villain who was as comfortable in the role of defender of his people as he was bloodsucking fiend. It was a brief union, but among his many roles in the Marvel Universe, Dracula will always be recognized as a Defender.

Dracula vs. The X-Men (1982)

Uncanny X-Men #159

Monster mash-ups are a staple of the genre. While not traditional monsters at all, mutants meeting Dracula have the same cache as Dracula versus Frankenstein or the Wolfman, it’s just a match made, erm...not in heaven.

Structured like a classic horror film, Uncanny X-Men #159 sees Storm the victim in a very odd mugging. When someone overpowered the weather goddess and cut her throat, Storm suddenly finds herself wanting to die, inviting a stranger through her window at night, drawing back from Kitty Pryde’s Star of David, and shunning sunlight. You don’t have to be Bram Stoker to see where this is going and an epic confrontation between vampire and mutant takes place. The X-Men take out Dracula’s monstrous rat and canine minions, but fall before Dracula, all except Nightcrawler who has the faith to drive the vampire off with a makeshift cross.

When Storm arrives, Dracula finds that he cannot control the primal Storm, who stands tall and proud. In an awesome moment, Dracula tells Storm it was her inner strength that compelled him and after a standoff, Dracula retreats. This was Claremont at his finest, giving each X-Man a moment to shine and writing a classic and pretty damn scary Dracula in the process. The issue created an indelible bond between the X-Men and Dracula, one that stands till this day.

read more: Frankenstein - Comics' Greatest Monster

In the 1982 Uncanny X-Men Annual #6, the battle between the X-Men and Dracula continues as Kitty Pryde is possessed by Dracula’s daughter and one of his most enduring foes, Lilith. It was another compelling confrontation that deepens the threat Dracula had on mutantkind.

Dracula vs. Thor (1983)

Thor #332

Not satisfied with feeding off ducks, mutants, and wizards, Dracula sets his sights on embracing Lady Sif. In Thor #332, Dracula succeeds in feeding and turning Sif. In issue 333, Thor must face a Dracula empowered by god blood (comics = awesome), and an embraced Sif.

read more: The Best Horror Movies on Netflix

This story was significant in showing what a powerhouse Dracula was and established the idea that if Dracula fed off a non-human being, he would be fueled by their powerful blood. Thor managed to free Sif, but not before fans realized that Dracula was a threat to everyone, god, mutant, or human.

The Death of a Legend (1983)

Doctor Strange #59-62

In Doctor Strange #59-62, Strange and a group of companions including Dracula hunters Blade and the vampiric detective Hannibal King close all the plot threads left over from Tomb of Dracula and close the door on Marvel’s vampires for a quite a while. Aided by Avengers Captain Marvel (then Monica Rambeau) and the Scarlet Witch, Strange and company race to secure the Darkhold, a book which contains the Montessi Formula, a spell that will rid the Earth of Dracula and the curse of vampirism. Keep in mind that the Darkhold is an ancient magical book that created vampires in the first place.

read more: The Bleeding Heart of Dracula

These issues are the type of storytelling that made Stern a legend, taking elements from Dracula’s appearance in X-Men (the first mention of the Formula) and Thor (whom Dracula is reluctant in facing when he sees the other Avengers by Strange’s side). By the end of the story, Strange does recite the formula and Dracula is finally destroyed.

Like all good vampires, Dracula would eventually return, but the storyline has an epic sense of finality to it. After years of being plagued by Dracula, the Marvel heroes fight back destroying all vampires. For now…

Dracula vs. The Fantastic Four (2000-2001)

Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms

Dracula’s shadow is cast far and wide across the history of the Marvel Universe. Before they were legends, Sue Storm and Johnny Storm find a mysterious amulet. The young siblings are attacked by zombies seeking the amulet for its power, zombies controlled by none other than Dracula, who lays inert, staked and comatose, using his mind to control the zombies so they may deliver the amulet to the vampire.

read more: The Best Horror Movies on HBO

The Storms, before they were Fantastic, must stop the zombies from taking the amulet to Transylvania to resurrect their puppet master. Even immobile, Dracula proves to be one of the most evil and capable beings in the Marvel Universe.

X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula (2006)

The cool thing about this series is that it gave added weight to the idea that Dracula has had an impact on the history of the Marvel universe and that his ties to the world of mutants did not begin the day he tried to embrace Storm. Dracula begins embracing members of Apocalypse’s cult which wakes the legendary mutant to defend his followers. The book ties the history of the Van Helsing family into the war between mutant despot and vampire lord.

You can read it here.

Dracula on the Moon (2009)

Captain Britain and MI:13 #10

The so-called end of vampires arc in Doctor Strange was a large scale storyline bringing in many mainstream Marvel mainstays, but it had nothing on the grand tapestry of cool that was the Dracula arc in the late, lamented Captain Britain and MI:13 title. So, Dracula gathers a sect of vampires on the moon to set up a front for his attack on Earth. Just typing that sentence was awesome. Dracula forms a non-aggression pact with Dr. Doom and only the magic of MI:13 led by Captain Britain and Pete Wisdom has a hope of stopping Dracula.

read more: The Best Horror Movies on Hulu

During the course of the arc, fans find out how brilliant Pete Wisdom is, that Dracula still holds a grudge against Muslims stemming back from his Vlad the Impaler days, that seeing Black Knight duel Dracula is pretty much better than anything else in the world, and that the legendary sword Excalibur wielded by a Muslim woman is more effective against Dracula than any crucifix.

Seriously, stop reading this and track down this storyline, we’ll wait.

Hulk vs. Dracula 

Part of the Fear Itself mega-event, this battle between two legendary monsters took a form fans did not expect. During the course of Fear Itself, the Hulk was transformed into Nul, the Breaker of Worlds. When Thor knocked Nul into the Carpathian Mountains, the Hulk became a threat to Dracula’s sovereignty. Once again taking up the mantle of reluctant defender, Dracula most take on Nul with a group of vampires, the Forgotten at his side. The event book was another step into the modern evolution of Dracula and was the first time he appeared alongside the Hulk.

An X feud renewed (2011)

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants

Dracula’s return to the X Universe also served as the introduction of the modern interpretation of the Lord of the Undead. Gone is his rocking ‘stache and suave opera cape, arriving is the white hair and Coppola-esque armor. The story is pretty cool, if needlessly complex at times, and introduces Dracula’s son, Xarus. Xarus goes to war with dear old dad with the X-Men and a group of Atlanteans caught in the middle. The whole thing ends with a fierce reminder, family or not, do not mess with Dracula.

It's available on Amazon.

The new look for Dracula would stay consistent across all Marvel media as it was this look that appeared in an episode of Avengers Assemble on Disney XD. The story arc also brings vampirism closer to the X-Men as never before as Jubilee, once the most innocent of the X-Men, is transformed into a vampire. What Claremont and company began in the early '80s continues today as Dracula’s influence on the X-Men looms like a constant shadow over the heroes!

read more: 31 Best Streaming Horror Movies

Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

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Feature Marc Buxton

Oct 20, 2019

Dracula

Doctor Strange

Marvel

31 Days of Horror

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[theultimateegghead-blog]

Noble or Nefarious, some of gaming’s greatest Ninja warriors!

Ninja’s. the warriors of shadow. They lurk in the darkness before striking. Often armed with powers considered magical, or weapons that require great skill. These Ninja are no longer in the shadows, as they are taking the spotlight. As a rule for this list, no Ninja that originate from anime will be on this list, so namely, no Naruto characters. (Also, for anyone who does not know… Kunoichi means female ninja, keep that in mind.)

Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden) One of gaming’s most legendary Ninja. Ryu Hayabusa has gone on several death defining journeys. He has saved the world from men and demons alike. Armed with a wide assortment of weapons and ninjutsu, Ryu dispatches his foes with no mercy. Ryu does not fear death, nor does he hesitate in striking down his foes. In the ninja gaiden series, Ryu fight hundreds of brutal opponents, he utilizes acrobatics and masterful swordplay. In the Dead or Alive series, he relies on skillful hand to hand combat. When not in combat, Ryu is a Curio shop owner and is the love interest of a female American agent. Ryu has appeared in various other games either as a guest character or a cameo as well.

Joe Musashi (SHINOBI) Sega’s response to Ryu Hayabusa. Joe Musashi is one of the main characters of the SHINOBI series. A ninja from the Oboro clan. Joe is half American half Japanese and is quite the skilled warrior. Proficient at ninjutsu and shuriken throwing, Joe has fought evil since his early twenties. Joe is a righteous man who strives for world peace and has clashed with the evil terrorist syndicate Zeed on several occasions. He would eventually become the head of his clan and would continue defending the world from evil.

Scorpion & Sub Zero (Mortal Kombat) Scorpion and Sub-Zero, one of the most iconic rivalries in video games. The Sub-Zero we all know and love is the brother of the original Sub-Zero. Scorpion is a wrath obsessed with revenge and can rarely see past his own anger. Sub zero can control ice and can use it to freeze opponents solid while in battle. Sub-Zero is calm and calculated and is the leader of his own people. He tries his best to be a good leader but is not afraid to bust some heads while doing so. Scorpion is a fallen soul that was given a second chance to enact revenge. While the target of his revenge is Noob Sabot, he tends to target the current Sub-Zero. Scorpion is adept in his knife throwing and has decent manipulation over fire. Scorpion is undead and very angry, rarely listens to reason and tends to be the one who stats fights. In some cases, the two put aside their differences and work together, when that happens they become near unstoppable.

Grey Fox (Metal Gear Solid) Frank Jaeger, also known as Grey Fox is a mercenary turned vengeance fueled cybernetic ninja. Frank made an appearance in the first Metal Gear title as the infiltrator of outer haven, he was captured and rescued by Snake. He would disappear after the supposed Death of Big Boss. In Metal Gear 2 he reappears, this time as Snake’s enemy. Having sided with the real Big Boss, Fox tries to drive Snake away several times but ultimately fails. The two engage in a fist fight and Fox loses and supposedly dies. Later, in Metal Gear Solid, Fox returns in his famous cyborg ninja garb. A man obsessed with fighting Snake once more, he is a rogue card in the Shadow Moses incident. He eventually turns to Snake’s side and dies in the games finale. His death would carry a legacy that plays a large role in MGS4. As a cyborg ninja, Fox can render himself invisible and deflect bullets with his sword. He strongly prefers fighting hand to hand.

Kat and Ana (WarioWare) Not every Ninja is a shadowy warrior that leaves behind a trail of bodies. Kat and Ana are two young ninja in training. Their name is a pun on the word Katana. When they are not in school they are training to become professional ninja, but usually something silly happens in the process. Their microgames in the wario ware series vary from game to game, covering themes such as nature, ninjas and everyday life. They also appear as an assist trophy in the smash series.

Ibuki (Street Fighter) A young Kunoichi in training from the street fighter series. Despite her training, Ibuki acts like a normal teenage girl. She is not to fond of her training and finds it bothersome but takes it seriously nonetheless. She tends to sneak off and skip her duties to do her own thing. She desires to meet cool and handsome guys and will often judge her foes based on the way the look, act and dress. At some point she fights an immortal hermit named Oro, and even though she lost, it was considered her final test and she was granted a pass. She then went to university for ninjas.

Kaede (Onimusha) A ninja assassin who would dive headfirst into combat regardless of the risk. At some point in the past she was sent by an unknown benefactor to assassinate a mane named Samanosuke Akechi. She instead became his ally and eventual lover. The two would travel together over the next couple years. She plays a role in several Onimusha games, usually aiding her lover or searching for him when he went missing. Eventually she would fall in combat at the hands of Gargant. After her death, she is still remembered fondly by her widowed lover.

Rikimaru (Tenchu) A young master class Ninja assassin. Raised and trained by the man who killed his parents, Rikimaru was turned into a deadly warrior since an early age. Stoic and ever so serious, Rikimaru is loyal to Lord Gohda. He has helped quell rebellions and has fought off rival ninja clans to ensure Lord Gohda’s protection. A detached man, Rikimaru is very rarely influenced by emotions. He is skilled in many forms of combat and swordsmanship and is the current head of his clan.

Yuffie Kisaragi (Final Fantasy VII) A teenage kunoichi thief who desires to restore her homeland of Wutai. She is one of the secret characters of FFVII and makes her debut by trying to steal Cloud’s materia. A spunky, emotional girl, Yuffie can act quite childish at times. She tends to get on her allie’s nerves but can be a skilled comrade in battle. Yuffie fights with a giant shuriken. As the series goes on, Yuffie grows up and matures a bit but still has an immature demeanor at times. She also appears in Kingdom Hearts as one of Sora’s first allies.

Strider Hiryu (Strider) A master spy and an active Strider agent. Hiryu’s name, nationality and age are all top secret. The most info on him other than his appearance is that he was born in 2030. Hiryu is extremely skilled and collected in combat, often considered to be the top Strider agent to date. Being able to dodge bullets and defeat tons of enemies without showing fatigued, Hiryu is often the one who is left standing. Eventually the other Striders are whipped out, and he is the sole survivor. While he could easily flee, he chooses to fight. It is this bravery and tenacity to survive that make him an excellent Ninja.

Izuna (Legend of the Unemployed Ninja) A 16-year-old kunoichi who is down on her luck. Izuna and her clan were kicked out of their castle because their leader thought Ninja were obsolete. Stubborn and somewhat clumsy, she winds up accidently offending the gods and must go on a quest to set things right. Surprisingly enough, she is a gifted individual that can allow gods to leave their shrines and support her. While not the most skilled ninja on this list, she is a kunoichi nonetheless.

Shadow Man (Mega Man) A ninja robot master who originated from Mega Man 3. A skilled martial artist hwo loves to sneak up on people, Shadow man is surprisingly impulsive. He has a variety of attacks, such as creating a clone or using a smokescreen in battle. His weapon is the shadow blade and he is weak to the incredibly useful top kick. He reappears in several other games as well which further his ninja skills. Shadow man is possibly alien in origin as well.

Wonder White (Wonderful 101) A superhero and a ninja in training. Wonder White, known by his real name Momoe Byakkoin and his other super name, the claws of calamity, is one of the heroes of Wonderful 101. Armed with special weapons passed down from generation to generation, White is a speed oriented fighter. A man who enjoys long entrances and spouting philosophy, he can be somewhat of a nuisance. While calm and cooperative, Wonder White is very talkative… Not very fitting for a ninja.

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Sorry this one took a while. I was sick for the past day or so and typing just wasn’t going to happen. This list took me a while to write as well but hey! Its done! Thanks for reading, next time we will either look at some factory levels, or… If we reach 30 followers (we are at 29!!!) I will start my 5 part follower appreciation special! See you next time!

[leam1983]

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Review

Note as of June 1st, 2020 - This review predates Monolith’s removal of the game’s microtransactions and the restructuring of the Endgame content. Enemy level scaling has been marginally affected, but not enough to affect this review.

Back in 2014, I wrote of Middle-Earth : Shadow of Mordor that it perpetuates and perpetrates acts of loving perversion, that it twists Tolkien’s lore around its little finger for the sake of shoring up its tale of revenge. I didn’t exactly put that off as being bad or somehow reprehensible, and even actively enjoyed it. Notes have been left by Tolkien himself, in which he more than clearly stipulates that he’s fine with others traveling along Middle-Earth’s side-paths in his stead, but that a certain consistency must be maintained. His main cast has very specific roles and shares specific relationships – they enter and leave the scene in a specific order that must be maintained. Mordor had us traipse around with Gollum and Lady Marwen for a spell, and attached one of the Silmarilion’s key characters to our protagonist. Talion was our Discount Aragorn of the day, and he had the esteemed honor – or misfortune – of being paired with the wraith of Celebrimbor, the former Lord of Eregion and the doomed craftsman behind the Nine Rings.

Purists howled, gamers cheered. Udün and Nürn were on the smallish side, if open-world sandboxes are concerned, and largely contained the usual open-world trappings, such as towers to climb and various knickknacks to collect. At the end of the day, however, what allowed the game to please so many had to be its Nemesis System, a clever piece of tech that tracks players and generates bespoke Uruk-Hai; vat-born palookas that breathe, drink and sweat sheer violence and hatred and that incidentally come with a surprisingly developed palette of personalities. Whichever greenskin killed you the most became your Nemesis, a mixture of coding and player behavior resulting in violent, if intimate relationships between yourself and an ascended Peter Jackson extra packing disparate armor pads and a smattering of scars.

Shadow of War, for better or worse, is exactly the same – if better in every way. Loving perversion returns, exemplified here by one of Ungoliant’s daughters looking particularly… un-spider-like, and by the ways in which Celebrimbor and Talion’s conjoined tales now both stretch one another, grow thin around the edges, and finally break away, to clear the path for the Fellowship we’re all familiar with. A few places are referred to here that shouldn’t have existed so early in Sauron’s rebirth, but unless you’re the type who launches into angry screeds whenever someone expresses their ignorance of who Morgoth is, you’re likely to be able to forgive much of it. As with Shadow of Mordor, Shadow of War exists as a modern, gritty and unapologetic side-tale in Middle-Earth’s history books, the kind of project you’re almost surprised to see Middle-Earth Entreprises cautioning – but still one that treads its little corner of the lore confidently.

As before, it’s essentially AAA fanfiction. Excellently-written fanfiction, of course, with a star-studded cast and unlikely friends and allies; but still a piece of fiction that purists can afford to safely ignore. That is, if they’re part of the Fun Police – as Shadow of War remains entertaining throughout its thirty-hour run. This is largely thanks to its cast of procedurally-generated Orcs, who all somehow manage to remain memorable. The pendulum swings wildly between sympathy, disgust and raucous amusement – even if they all remain fittingly murderous – which takes the legendarium’s treatment of Melkor, Morgoth and Sauron’s respective lackeys and tears it apart. If you’re a little like me, you’ll finish your run through Talion’s story thinking that with enough pipeweed and Lembas bread, you might be able to pluck a little Orcling out of the breeding pits and turn it into an overgrown Hobbit with a serious dental problem.

Of course, I’ll also briefly touch on the one and single Orc in the entire game you’ll desperately want to kill, but can’t. That would be the cash shop’s vendor, with his pre-release visage packing unfortunate cultural and stereotypical connotations. Good on Monolith for fixing that in time; I doubt many of us were interested in funnelling micropayments towards the kind of face 4Chan’s trolls bracket in three pairs of parentheses. The pre-release stream’s showcase definitely did pack a few related Oy vey moments…

So. Spoilers abound beyond this point. Abandon all hope and whatnot, alright? Cool.

We ended Shadow of Mordor with Talion and Celebrimbor, from here on referred to as Brim for the sake of ruffling that undead sourpuss’ Elven hair, taking to Mount Doom to forge a new Ring of Power. Being distinct from those offered to Middle-Earth’s rulers and of a different provenance than the One Ring, it was designed by Celebrimbor in order to allow him to wrest control of Mordor’s Uruk forces away from Sauron. Unforeseen events unfold which separate Talion from Brim, which sets the pace for the game’s tutorial and its first act. We’re exposed to the same Assassin’s Arkham Creed-esque mechanics the first one presented, with a few small aesthetic and functional improvements. Desperation then forces the reunited duo to follow Shelob’s advice and take to Minas Ithil, a scant few days before its fall at the hands of the Nazgül – and its rebirth as Minas Morghul.

It’s there that War blatantly references its elders in the genre, as Ithil is one of the few fully-realized settlements you’ll find in Mordor. It’s obviously packed and serves as the smaller of the game’s five regions, while still adequately evocating the scale of its more familiar brethren, such as the Gondorian city of Minas Tirith. You reach it just as it’s pushing through the Orcs’ first open siege in months, the stately beauty of its colonnades looking adequately pitted with age and duress. Ithil, after all, remains a city of Mordor and not Gondor, and as such looks to have thrived in an atmosphere of near-constant tension. You just so happen to reach it as the proverbial levee breaks, which conveniently provides you with both a familiar set of rooftops to serve as a series of transitional environments for anyone coming in from Assassin’s Creed titles or the Arkham games and more general stuff to do. Pick some basic Ubisoft open-world mechanics and you’ll find something similar here.

The same can be said of the combat mechanics, while it’d be more fair of War to say it’s cribbing from his bigger brother than from what other studios have put together. Talion is a bit sprier than before, Brim is a lot more agile once a few story-focused unlocks kick in, and most of Mordor’s mid-to-late-tier upgrades here serve as entry-level abilities. Unlike the first game, you don’t spend the first hour or so getting your ass handed to you by Püshkrimp the Armchair Philosopher – you’re potent from the word go. The same can be said of your enemies, as most Captains are now sufficiently detailed so as to consistently pose some challenge. Doormats with a title are less common, and so are unbreakable towers lording over you from a dozen or so levels. Hence the use of the word some, as you’re never in a position of overpowering strength, either from your point of view or the enemy’s. That’s a good thing, as the Nemesis system is a lot more detailed and records several additional variables. Cut an arm off of a persistent Captain, and he might come back with a new title, one or two extra levels – and a gnarly-looking DIY-plus-Black Speech prosthetic limb. Particularly eloquent types can be relegated to the rank of drooling wretches if Brim Shames them to the point where they Break. The use of capitals here is intentional, as the game clearly differentiates between Dominating an Orc and Breaking it. Dominated Orcs join your ranks, while Broken Orcs take a massive dip in levels and power. You’ll sometimes encounter Captains that stand several levels above Talion, too high for them to be recruited. Shaming them puts them within your reach, provided you find them again.

That said, as the Nemesis system characterizes everything about the Uruk-Hai, you might start out with a sympathetic and rambunctious sort who treats your repeated clashes like joyful reunions – even while he’s trying to skewer you. Break him, and chances are he’ll be reduced to monosyllabics. He’ll still be potent enough to serve as a Captain by the game’s standards, but he’ll be pretty much due for the paddywagon… The main campaign includes one fairly striking example of the scripted Breaking of a former follower – and is where the sandbox’s goofy greenskins tend to step aside for the franchise’s gritty wartime themes to reassert themselves. This is perhaps one of the few thematic issues with the title, as while Troy Baker and Alastair Duncan are both as gravelly-faced and somber as Gandalf and Elrond at the worst of times, levity rests almost entirely on the shoulders of the procedurally-generated Orcs. Mordor looks verdant at times, chilly at others – but it is most assuredly a grim and dire place to be, unless you’re above seven feet tall and happen to be one of the Dark Lord’s vat-born servants. Then, judging by those green palookas I’ve run into, you’re in for copious amounts of wanton violence, thousands of variants on head trauma and dismemberment, and lots and lots of grog. That seems to be the Orcish concept of fun, at least… That can make for jarring tonal shifts in the same scene, but at least it occurs more consistently than the first game’s half-hearted inclusion of Ratbag the Coward.

So the core mechanics are the same, but what’s changed? The premise having moved to a war in need of orchestration, your Dominating Orcs isn’t just a means of affording yourself some handy meat shields anymore. The betrayals and covert operations you staged across war camps now cover entire regions, the core Nemesis operations allowing for the development of a strong covert force as well as of a direct assault battalion. You’ll need it, as War now packs one fort for each of its five regions, from Nürnen’s verdant coastlines to Gorgoroth’s perpetual lava floes. That’s five sets of regional Captains to either slice and dice apart, Dominate, replace, or appoint to favorable positions. The cash shop includes Training Orders, which enable you to relocate Captains from one region to another – or from your Barracks to the open world. As you could expect, sworn fealty isn’t a guarantee of unwavering service. Orcs with a particularly strong will are likely to turn coat at inopportune moments. This seems like a harmless mechanic, until you consider that the hotshot Uruk War Boss you paid five bucks for could very well leave your service.

Each fort packs three capture points you’ll more or less take à la Overwatch, by piling your followers into the indicated circles. Each point can serve as the theatre for several high-level bouts, as this is obviously where the enemy sends its best attackers. It’s largely where you can expect last-minute saves from your Dominated retinue, and where the oft-mentioned battlefield relationships can develop. It’s all very Platonic, of course, but an Orc you’ve appointed and who takes well to his post might very well decide to take out the guy who’s about to choke the life out of you with a well-placed crossbow bolt. A few canned animations sell that basic sense of respect, Talion waving his thanks to his savior of the moment before going back to carving his way to the Warlord’s chambers.

 Of course, War does pack its Ratbag analog, the star of 2017’s E3 presentation. Brüz the Chopper serves as an amusing bundle of Australian lingo wrapped in an eternal optimist’s attitude – right up until he doesn’t. The game tries to dovetail its way to the point where Brüz leaves the luxury of scripted scenes and rejoins the rest of the Nemesis Captains, giving him an appropriate sendoff that many might not appreciate as being in keeping with the series’ themes. Of course, if you’d rather keep the Chopper in his Chatty Cathy phase, you can always take to Online Vendettas in Nürnen and snatch someone else’s Brüz for your own use. In theory, you could repopulate your army with the same plot-mandated Uruk in a dozen copies if you compulsively play Online Vendettas. They’re also the only way to earn Loot Boxes beyond paying for them with the in-game currency, Mirian, or ponying up hard cash for Gold, the premium currency.

So let’s say you’ve staffed your front lines, you’ve got men poised to backstab Osgiliath’s Overlord at your command and you’ve upgraded your support positions with Sauron’s elite – which you’ve unceremoniously stolen from him. What now? You can travel to another region to carry out the same process, you can put your staff through the meat grinder of Nemesis Missions or Fight Pit events to have them gain power levels, or you can wait for one of the unaffiliated Captains to find you, or for one of your own to turn coat. Outside of story missions and collectibles, your conquered regions are more or less likely to sit nice and pretty until you reach the final chapter of the game – and its most controversial one – Shadow Wars.

See, the game rather ingloriously ends with your being forced to bide time for Middle-Earth, between the events of Two Towers and Return of the King. The same point-based mechanics play out in reverse, expecting you to work from the stronghold and outwards – but not after having seriously committed to a long grind. Sauron’s efforts to reclaim your territories are going to be two or three times stronger than yours at the onset, so you’re expected to buff up your forces before triggering each attack. At this point, you can either pay up for a quick-and-dirty boost, or work your way up a rather steep slope. All of it for what, exactly?

Well – let’s just say Shadow Wars isn’t integral to the story in any shape or form. All it does is pad out the game’s length and transition the story from its shocker of a “proper” ending to one that neatly resolves all remaining conflicts in a nice bit of CGI. As with the previous game, all of the events that unfolded are shown as having had no real impact on the official lore and timeline. It more or less left me smirking and shaking my head, wondering why I even bothered with all of this if, as before, Talion’s contribution to the core events end up being conveniently scrubbed aside.

Thanks, Gamer-Person, you really did us a solid, right there! See, Frodo and Sam had a lot of cramps along the road and spent way too much time in that Bombadil fellow’s forest, so you stalled Sauron’s boys for a couple weeks! Cheers, off to the Halls of Mandos with you; we’ll mail you a cast photo of the Fellowship as thanks! No, Gandalf doesn’t take phone calls, so KTHNKXBAI!

Said story doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but it does flesh out both Talion and Brim a fair bit more. You bearing witness to Minas Ithil’s destruction scatters a few Gondorians of note across Mordor, and you’re made to assist them while simultaneously working with another newcomer to the lore; Eltariel, the Blade of Galadriel. In another canon-shattering move, she packs the Light of Eärendil in weaponized form. Talion consistently attempts to wrest the events back to the ensured survival of the exiled Gondorians, only for Brim and Eltariel to constantly hammer in the need to stop Sauron. It’s there that a rather Nietzschean observation concerning Celebrimbor rears its head, as our Brim doesn’t quite pack the objectivity and self-restraint of his Silmarilion counterpart. If anything, compassionate politics seems to be Talion’s consistently-ignored proposition, while Brim steadily makes his moniker of Bright Lord look like a bad joke.

Brüz has the right of it, honestly, as per his comment in the E3 gameplay snippet. “Bright Lord, Dark Lord?” he rhetorically asks, a snarky smirk on his massive face, “Same thing, really.” Talion doesn’t miss a beat for most of the game, which makes your bipartite entity come across as something close to a squabbling couple with different viewpoints. Then, and if only to motivate another loving skewer of the legendarium and the transition to Shadow Wars proper, he skips on the last gigantic red flag pointing to his ethereal friend’s seriously problematic approach to justice. It undermines what is meant to be some sort of massive twist – and potentially a setup for any potentially Eltariel-themed DLC to follow – and makes it come across as more of an inevitability. Safe to say, Monolith would have to bend over backwards in order to produce a third game in the same continuity, based on the position in which they’ve left things.

Not that the story isn’t fun as it’s presented, though. It’s a bit rote and it does leave me feeling as though Talion was shortchanged in a fairly ridiculous way: I do have the nagging idea that Monolith figured they’d just finish checking off boxes from their Big List of LOTR Figures to Introduce, and that they plugged in Gollum as a sort of admission of the character’s position as a series staple. It feels as though some exec somewhere said “It’s a LOTR game, right? Plug Gollum in there even if it’s not entirely conducive to the plot, or else!”

If the previous game struck me as being a fairly Postmodern approach to Tolkien’s source material, this one is also starkly progressive, in contrast. The proper lore does include its fair share of femmes de tête such as Eöwyn, but it always did treat them as outsiders to the norm; it serving as a sort of reflection of Tolkien’s own musty sensibilities. I’ve even heard some armchair scholars refer to the man as a Luddite, which isn’t too surprising.

Still, Shadow of War is entirely a creature born of the same climate that allowed for the Peter Jackson films, the creation of Middle-Earth Entreprises and the adaptation rights to the LOTR name being sold off to Amazon Video. It stems from the same zeitgeist as Christopher Tolkien’s stepping-down from ME’s ruling council and the general sense that the publishing of Beren and Luthien marks the end of an era. In a sense, it’s from the same spirit that’s now seeing the production of Game of Thrones spin-offs. Insofar, the new climate we’ve only just entered is one in which celebrated Fantasy universes are ripe for the picking, setting the stage for something we might one day come to call the LOTR Expanded Universe.

If you’re a purist, as before, you’ll probably quiver in your boots at the thought of humanized and fleshed-out Easterlings and Haradrim (yeah, about that one, dear White Eurocentrist Tolkien Fans…) or, Eru forbid it, even more nuanced portrayals of Middle-Earth’s canonically “dark” races and species! If you’re the type to cling to the books the way Star Trek diehards cling to their Klingon dictionaries, fly! Fly, you fools!

Honestly, I think that’s a good thing.

Yes. Yes, dear purists, I’ve said it. I’ve said the thing that motivates no end of detailed screeds on YouTube and across literary circles. You’re probably frothing at the mouth, right now, waiting to tell me that Orcs are vat-born, that the Haradrim and Easterlings all serve Sauron, that Middle-Earth is a land of refreshing absolutes where Good is saccharine and Evil eats babies for lunch – but even the source material packs a few Uruk who resort to mercy as a tactically-sound approach of dealing with captured Hobbits, or greenskins who don’t object to talking in their master’s back at the favor of being eavesdropped on by Sam Gamgee. These same Orcs reminisce on the good old days that didn’t involve their being on the warpath, suggesting that they actually do have some concept of peacetime!

Be the Fun Police if you have to – I’ll be over there cackling madly at the sight of sappy fanfics involving Azog and an unusually determined Numenorean maiden. If Shadow of War is what happens when game devs don’t just stick to established tenets but are allowed to run with a franchise’s overall vibes, I could take dozens more titles like this. The only real problems the game rises are thematic or character-based, the rest is as fluid and visceral as its predecessor.

That said, I do wish Püshkrimp the Armchair Philosopher were a Nemesis variant. You’d walk into the gutted and torn remains of an old Elven fortress in Seregost, sword drawn and muscles taut, only to be met with a cozy fire, a profusion of bear pelts, Gondorian mead and a comfy chair – and a seersucker-clad Uruk with elbow pads and pince-nez glasses, wanting to challenge your ability to address the Nature versus Nurture question, as presented by his own people... Fail to follow the right dialog options, and he would put you down to a sliver of health by the sheer sting of his contemptuous rebuttal. Manage to beat him, and the game would strip him of his title, rebranding him as Püshkrimp the Sophist…

Or – ooh! The Obsessed types from the first game could actually trigger a mini-dating sim, in which a seven feet-tall humanoid with olive-green skin and scruffy facial hair tries his hardest to initiate a consensual gay relationship between himself and an undead Ranger of Gondor!

[aegon]

Bran Stark, Bran the Builder, and A Song of Ice and Fire

I’ve already written a meta on my comprehension of the title “A Song of Ice and Fire,” which you can find here.

Essentially, I am a firm believer that the title refers to the concept of balance, of the notion that everything in this universe has a counterpart, Ice has Fire, Death has Life, Good has Evil, etc. However, that particular analysis was specifically about Arya Stark, and it had me thinking of how the Big Five (Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister) contribute to this idea of balance and their representation in the title. Since each analysis is incredibly long and I care about people’s attention spans, I’m splitting this into a meta of each main character.

Bran Stark It’s important to mention that Bran is the youngest of all the main POV characters, and yet, has the most profound storyline. He is often overlooked for more “active” character plots, but Bran’s magical abilities surpasses everyone - and I do believe at some point, he will be stronger than Bloodraven. As a powerful figure, and the rightful King in the North, Bran is at the very core of the story and could very well change everything. And no, I don’t believe he’s going to be a tree or revealed to be the Night King.

And yes, I believe he is Robb’s true heir. He is the trueborn son of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully. If he chooses to accept his crown, the North and the Riverlands would openly support him over Jon or Sansa, the former a “bastard” and the latter written out of succession by Robb to protect Winterfell from the Lannisters. These are facts. Rickon and then Arya are Bran’s heirs. Until (or if) he chooses to reject his claim in the books (the show doesn’t count) I’m considering him the King in the North. And that is what I’m choosing to focus on, Bran’s role as the King of Winter. In terms of his role in the conflict and in the title, my theory is that Bran is Ice. Additionally, I do believe that Bran may become Bran the Builder 2.0, a successor to the first King of Winter and the first of his name.

Bran Stark and Daenerys Targaryen GRRM loves his parallels. In the same way that Daenerys is being set up to parallel Aegon the Conquerer with three dragons and the establishment of House Targaryen, Bran has parallels to the legendary founder of House Stark. I’ve already written about how everything has a counterpart, and while Bran’s magical abilities overpower even that of the Old Gods in some aspects, his storyline serves to parallel Daenerys Targaryen. Dany and Bran’s parallels are subtle yet fascinating. Early examples are their encounters with their respective elements and “singing.” Bran hears the wolves singing in his coma, Dany hears dragon fire singing in her dreams.

Both witness the graves of their ancestors either literally in a crypt, or in a dream where they line a hallway. Both experience visions, have spiritual mentors, think of marriage when describing the weirwood/pyre (symbols of Ice and Fire) and have special relationships with their respective animals that they identify with.

Both are capable of flying, either literally on a dragon or by warging. Both have survived assassin attempts on their lives. Both have been severely underestimated in their capabilities. Both have magic intricately woven into their storylines. Both are said to be incapable of carrying children. Both are heirs to the thrones of Kings that built their houses. The connections are too numerous to be pure coincidence.

Bran the Builder Ned Stark had told Arya that while Bran would never be a knight, he could raise a castle like his namesake. In the show’s video of the history of Westeros, narrated by Isaac Hempstead Wright himself, Bran the Builder is portrayed as being carried onto a platform, and several people have theorized that he was, in fact, a cripple. Another passage of note is in Clash of Kings when Durran is said to raise a seventh castle, the largest of them all, and that he was directed to do so by a small boy, one who would Bran the Builder someday. At such a young age, he showed initiative and leadership, much like Bran Stark did when he was Lord of Winterfell in his brother’s absence. Moreover, Bran the Builder built the Wall after the first great battle with the Others with the help of giants, and is said to have known the Children of the Forest. We’ve all seen the Wall - there’s no way it was made by hand, even giant hands. GRRM wrote a story about the Ice Dragon, and one interesting part about it was that, upon their death, a highly reflective pond is created in what would be their ashes, leaving the surroundings much colder. You know what’s a highly reflective pond in a cold environment? The pools in the godswood of Winterfell. Catelyn Stark even makes a point to say she always feels cold around it. Bran the Builder is speculated to be a warg, so one can imagine him warging into an Ice Dragon to not only help with defeating the Others, but in creating the Wall. The proximity of the possible grave of an Ice Dragon lends credence to the theory. Bran is growing to be an increasingly powerful warg, and it isn’t hard to see him one day controlling a dragon. Moreover, Bran’s nickname is “The Winged Wolf.” Bloodraven told him that he would never walk again, but he would fly. This could be more to do with him becoming the Three Eyed Raven, but I think there are several readings to Bran and flying. There is a very popular fan theory that Bran will one day warg into one of Dany’s dragons, and I have a feeling it could be an undead one, much like Viserion in the show. Alternatively, there is another theory that a dragon sleeps under Winterfell that could very well be a true Ice Dragon, and it may wake soon (in the books, of course). Thus Bran has a parallel with his predecessor in controlling an Ice Dragon. I also feel like Bran will play a massive role in potentially creating a new pact with the Others, as I don’t believe they will be entirely defeated. This is where his connection and understanding of the past is integral. In this new pact, he’ll probably reconstruct the Wall after its fall (because it will fall) and then return to Winterfell and oversee the rebuilding of his home as the King in the North. In the process, he’ll help to restore what has remained of House Stark. I don’t think Bran is sterile as they say, so it’s most likely his sons that will continue the Stark line.

Bran and Balance To just tie in to my original theme of balance, Bran Stark’s role in the conflict and in restoring harmony is in his rebuilding of the North, the Wall and his potential responsibility in creating a peace between the Others and humans. Currently, the impending imbalance of Ice and Fire is the arrival of Winter and the Others. Fire has responded with the birth of Dragons, but Ice is responsible for the imbalance, and Bran could be the one to bring it back in harmony to Fire, with Dany’s help. Bran Stark, the King of Winter, the Winged Wolf, is the Ice of A Song of Ice and Fire.

These are just my muses, but if anyone has anything else to add, then as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[wisteriafield]

Darkcrow Ciel

Signature Weapon: Crow Quills

Armor: Billed Mask (personal preference is Shira's Crown, because I prefer not wearing helms and masks, but I'm a minority in that regard), Fire Keeper Robe, Undead Legion Gauntlet, Morne's Leggings Black Knight Leggings. My favorite blend of fashion and functionality for my purposes. comes with enough poise for my backup Hollowslayer to poise through light weapons while being thematically coherent for the most part.

I hadn't really come up with a story for her with that prefix even though I came up with it some time ago, and my newest character's name uses that title for real to try and immerse my character more when playing online (for people who play with character names on like me).

The original basis was that I was going to probably play as a Darkmoon, but was also going to try invading. I had the Crow Quills, and Blade of the Darkmoon set, so I came up with a name that ended up kind of associating Velka in the mix too, even though that's kind of overdone... Slowly I started piecing together my own lore for this fictional group I created on a whim. I worry maybe too much about lore inconsistencies especially since the pieces I use have quite a bit of information attached to them.

Darkcrows are the seized children of the faithless living in Carim, the disappeared children of the inquisitions. Unfit to tend to the Flame directly, to be filled with endless Humanity as a Fire Keeper, yet already too sinful for the crime of the agnosticism of their fathers and mothers to even begin the path of the Pardoners, and often lacking or undeveloped [Strength] to become a Paladin. Some of the Darkcrow children have already lost their [Faith] in Carim, but others devote themselves to this order all the same despite their treatment: disposable, unofficially recognized hunters for Carim's bidding. Carim has no qualms with Darkcrows being Undead, due to this freedom from liability.

Their duties range from ensuring the protection of suicidally overconfident devouts of Carim, or allies otherwise, to eliminating perceived heretics, and should that heretic hail from Carim, all the better for the Darkcrow, and other targets as well.

Each Darkcrow wields arms suitable to their habits, but are trained with either scythes or rapiers, based on their choice. Not only are there Corvid-themed weapons in both categories, but those two fencing styles are also based on those of the Pardoners'. The Crow Quills is Ciel's Corvian Stance, the Hollowslayer embodies ideals of the Undead Hunts of Carim, and the Frayed Blade has been bathed and eaten away at by Humanity. The Moonlight Greatsword carries the Blessings of the Darkmoon. The Greatsword of Judgement mimics the Darkmoon Blade miracle, and similarly carries the weight of seeking sinners. The Aquamarine Dagger was a personal gift and a wish of safety from one she knew long ago.

The Billed Mask carries the omen of the crow, harbingers of sinseekers. Darkcrows are encouraged to keep the mask on, but it is not enforceable. Those who still cling to a sense of individual identity abhor the mask. 

The Fire Keeper Robe is to honor the memory of the children raised to serve the Flame as Fire Keepers, only to be unceremoniously discarded like rubbish like they have been, and those who endure the writhing of the creatures of the Dark still, be it Darkcrow or Fire Keeper. The dressings as women of faith and devotion to the Flame allow a certain degree of subterfuge while concealing their weapons, like the Sisters of Londor.

The Undead Legion Gauntlets keep the Dark inside them at bay as well as the Deep’s insects from gnawing on their fingers, keeping them from numbing, "to be reminded of one's own existence." These are modified wrappings of the Fire Keeper attire.

The Black Knight Leggings additionally carry a meaning of remembrance of those who gave their life to the Flame. 

I ended up creating a kind of antithesis to the Lord's Blades, which I feel were much more glorified as assassins in universe, even if they are no longer remembered after DS1. I think I took some creative liberties with Carim but that's what Miyazaki would have wanted right?

If she were an NPC, I'll think about those things later, but it's a lot of fun to do so. Hope you enjoyed this super long post~

[ramajmedia]

5 Best & Worst Episodes Of Game Of Thrones (According To IMDb)

HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones premiered in 2011 and ran for a total of eight seasons. The series has won dozens of Primetime Emmy Awards in the past eight years, with cast members like Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau bring praised for their performances.

Related: Game Of Thrones: 10 Hidden Details You Missed In The Episode Battle Of The Bastards

The show was off the air for nearly two years between season seven and eight; unfortunately, when the show returned, it received lackluster to downright scathing reviews. At one point, the series had never dipped below an 8.0 on IMDb, but even with Season 8's underwhelming reception, the series still has a total score of 9.4 on the website. Here are the five best and worst episodes of Game Of Thrones (according to IMDb).

10 Best: “The Spoils Of War”-9.8

“The Spoils of War” sees the Lannister army transporting goods and money after they take Highgarden. On the way back to King’s Landing, they are attacked by 100,000 Dothraki soldiers, but that is the least of their worries as Drogon comes from the sky.

The Lannister and Tarly soldiers are incinerated by Drogon, but Daenerys’ dragon is hurt as Bronn was able to hit him with a scorpion bolt in the shoulder. Jaime sees an opportunity to kill Daenerys but as he approaches, Drogon gets ready to breathe fire. Bronn comes just in time to tackle him off the horse, but then Jaime sinks into the river as the episode ends.

9 Worst: “Winterfell”- 7.6

Fans waited almost two years, but when Season 8 was finally released, the opening episode ("Winterfell") was just okay. The episode mainly sets up the rest of the season and reunites various characters, including Arya with Jon and Sansa with Tyrion.

This episode also sees Bronn getting the task of killing Tyrion and Jaime, but it isn’t known whether he will complete it or not. Jon also rides one of Daenery’s dragons this episode, which he is able to do easily since he is a Targaryen. At the end of the episode, Ned Umber is seen hung on a wall with a mysterious spiral as he becomes a wight.

8 Best: “ The Rains Of Castamere”- 9.9

This episode continues the storylines of Jon, Samwell, Gilly, and Daenerys, but the real reason this episode got a 9.9 is because of the last 10 minutes of the show. After Robb Stark and his army arrive at the Twins, he apologizes to Walder Frey and his daughters for not keeping his promise before Edmure Tully meets his bride, Roslin Frey.

Catelyn notices that the banquet hall doors are closed and hears "The Rains of Castamere," but only knows for sure they are in a trap when she sees that Roose Bolton is wearing mail. Catelyn tries to warn Robb, but Lothar Frey stabs the pregnant Talisa and Robb is shot with a crossbow. Roose Bolton then finishes off Rob and after watching her son die, Catelyn doesn’t put up a fight when Black Walder slits her throat.

7 Worst: “The Long Night”- 7.5

While the first two episodes of season 8 were setting up the rest of the season, “ The Long Night” was the first episode to really be heavily criticized. This episode was supposed to be one of the biggest episodes of the series, with the living battling the undead.

Related: Game Of Thrones: 10 Hidden Details About The Costumes You Didn't Notice

Many people complained that the episode was literally too dark to see anything, but the ending was also heavily criticized. Some people didn’t think Arya should have been the one to kill the Night King, while others simply thought the way the Night King was killed was anti-climactic.

6 Best: “Hardhome”- 9.9

“Hardhome” shows Tyrion joining forces with Cersei, Arya continuing her training with the Faceless Man, and Sansa begging Theon to help her escape Ramsay’s grasp, but the real action is with Jon Snow’s storyline. After Jon convinced Tormund to join forces with him, they travel to Hardhome to get the rest of the wildlings on their side. As the group is gathering dragonglass daggers, a hoard of white walkers begins attacking the village.

While the Night King watches from a distance, one of his soldiers battles Jon. Jon realizes that Valyrian Steel is just as deadly as dragonglass and is able to shatter the white walker into pieces. The episode ends with the Night King raising his arms as all of the dead wildlings stand back up as wights.

5 Worst: “The Bells”- 6.1

“The Bells” is the episode where Daenerys officially turns into the Mad Queen.  A vengeful Daenerys wants to storm King’s Landing and burn through anyone who gets in her way, but Tyrion convinces her to cease the attack if Cersei’s followers surrender and ring the city bells. Proving to be a pointless defense, the Golden Company is obliterated by Drogon as Daenerys burns the city.

The civilians eventually surrender and ring the bells, but Daenerys’ hatred takes over and she burns the entire city down anyway. Gregor and Sandor Clegane fight to the death while Jaime reunites with Cersei. Tyrion had set Jaime free to go rescue Cersei, but their escape route becomes blocked by debris. Realizing there is no escape, the siblings and lovers embrace as their city crushes them to death.

4 Best: “The Winds of Winter”- 9.9

The Season 6 finale is also one of the best-rated episodes in the series with a rating of a 9.9. The episode begins with a shocking twist of Arya Stark killing Walder Frey, but the twists don’t stop there! On the day that Cersei and Loras are to be tried, the former plans to destroy the Sept using wildfire.

RELATED: Game of Thrones: 5 Worst Things Cersei Has Ever Done (And 5 Dany Has)

Cersei's plan succeeds in killing several people, including the High Sparrow and Margaery Tyrell, which ultimately leads to Tommen committing suicide. With the king now dead, Cersei takes the crown to become the Queen in King’s Landing. The episode also reveals that Jon is the rightful heir to the throne since he has Targaryen blood and ends shortly after Tyrion is named Hand of the Queen.

3 Worst: “The Last Of The Starks”- 5.5

The episode begins with everyone celebrating their victory over the White Walkers. Everyone is drinking, Gendry asks Arya to marry him, and Jaime Hooks up with Brienne. After forming a plan to take down Cersei, Daenerys and company sail for King’s Landing. Somehow, Daenerys doesn’t see Euron’s fleet, leading to Rhaegal being shot and killed.

Missandei is captured during the attack, Jon tells Arya and Sansa about his true heritage, and Jaime leaves Brienne for Cersei. The episode ends at the gates of King’s Landing where Cersei is threatening to kill Missandei unless Daenerys surrenders. Unfortunately, they can’t come to an agreement and Missandei is beheaded.

2 Best: “Battle Of The Bastards”- 9.9

Based on the 181, 920 user ratings on IMDb, the episode “Battle of the Bastards” is the best episode of Game of Thrones. The episode begins with Daenerys and Tyrion facing the forces of Razdal mo Eraz, but the bulk of the episode deals with Jon Snow’s battle with Ramsay Bolton.

The twisted Ramsay tells Rickon to run to his brother, but just as Jon is about to save Rickon, one of Ramsay’s arrows kills Jon’s brother. Just when Jon and his army are nearly defeated, Sansa and Littlefinger save the day with the Knights of the Vale. Ramsay is captured, beaten by Jon, and then finally eaten alive by his hounds after Sansa sets them free.

1 Worst: “The Iron Throne”- 4.2

The worst-rated episode by a long shot is the series finale titled "The Iron Throne." After rushing through the storyline for the Night King and Cersei, it was time to rush through Daenerys' character arc. The previous episode set her up as the Mad Queen and “The Iron Throne” focuses on the aftermath of the battle at King’s Landing.

The episode shows Tyrion getting arrested and Jon confronting Daenerys. Just when Daenerys thinks she has Jon on her side, he stabs her in the heart. Jon is then confronted by Drogon, who instead of killing Jon, melts the Iron Throne. The series ends with Jon being banished back to the Night’s Watch and Bron becoming the Lord of the Six Kingdoms, which is not exactly an ending that many hoped for.

Next: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Game Of Thrones Theme Song & Intro

source https://screenrant.com/games-of-thrones-best-worst-episodes-imdb/

[jersey-days-blog]

What is Art?

Open main menu Wikipedia Search EditWatch this pageRead in another language I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love is the debut studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance, released on July 23, 2002. The album was produced by Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly at Nada Recording Studio in New Windsor, New York.[5] I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love cover.jpg Studio album by My Chemical Romance Released July 23, 2002 Genre Post-hardcore[1][2] emo[3] punk rock[4] pop punk[3] Length 41:12 Label Eyeball Producer Geoff Rickly Alex Saavedra (tracks 3 and 8) My Chemical Romance chronology Like Phantoms, Forever (2002) I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (2002) Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004) Singles from I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love "Vampires Will Never Hurt You" Released: May 27, 2002 "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us" Released: December 15, 2003 "Headfirst for Halos" Released: April 5, 2004 Background and recording Edit I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love gave My Chemical Romance an underground following. However, the band did not break into the mainstream with the album; that came with their second album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. During the recording of I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, lead vocalist Gerard Way had to perform vocals while having a dental abscess, making vocal work difficult for him.[6] Style and lyrical themes Edit I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love has a raw sound featuring guitar riffs, very energetic vocals and occasional screaming. Despite being sold under the post-hardcore and alternative rock genres,[7] it is considered an emo album with strong influences from punk rock, hardcore punk and heavy metal.[8][9][4][10] I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love is often regarded as a concept album. It involves two Bonnie and Clyde-esque characters who are eventually gunned down in the desert. On My Chemical Romance's next album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004), the unnamed man supposedly then finds himself in purgatory, where he makes a deal with Satan: his hellbound lover for the souls of a thousand evil men. He is then resurrected and sent on his gruesome task.[11] Though it is generally accepted by the group's core fanbase, this has led some to attribute its supposed existence to over-analysis on the part of hardcore fans.[12] The alleged storyline is not confirmed by the band, but some evidence includes: The following album's cover, named "Demolition Lovers" (As is the final song on I Brought You My Bullets...) and its interior artwork (including the text that reads "The story of a man, a woman, and the corpses of a thousand evil men.") The lyrical themes of the final songs on both of the band's first two albums, which are "Demolition Lovers" and "I Never Told You What I Do for a Living". The lyrics of the latter include "They gave us two shots to the back of the head and we're all dead now" suggesting that the character (if it is linked to the storyline) has been killed and has failed in saving his lover from Hell. The song "It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Fucking Deathwish" from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge also includes themes of a man rising from his grave, who suggests that his purpose in doing so is to commit a murder. Another theme apparent on the album is the nature of vampires, as in both the undead creatures and, metaphorically speaking, those who seek to corrupt and exploit others.[13] The song "Skylines and Turnstiles" was written shortly after the September 11 attacks and expressed feelings of sorrow and loss,[14] and "Early Sunsets over Monroeville" was inspired by the George A. Romero film Dawn of the Dead. Gerard himself describes it as "a sweet song about Dawn of the Dead", with the lyrics using references from the film. Before the September 11 attacks, Gerard was working as a comic book writer and animator. He was working on a vampire comic (which he never completed), and has also said that is the reason for the vampires in the lyrics. Release and promotion Edit Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 2.5/5 stars[15] Alternative Press 3.5/5 stars[3] Drowned in Sound 8/10 stars[16] IGN 7.9/10[17] Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[18] The Guardian 3/5 stars[19] Text on the disc reads, "Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws and will result in Gerard coming to your house and sucking your blood."[20] The album was re-released on vinyl on February 3, 2009, with a clear as well as white and red edition. It has sold over 300,000 copies in the USA as of February 2009, also achieving a Gold sales status certification for sales of over 100,000 copies in the UK. The 2005 and 2009 re-releases of the album contain a bonus Eyeball Records sampler CD. There are several different versions of the sampler, and each one contains different tracks. Since the closure of Eyeball Records, this album is currently out of print on every format. The album is very rare in the United States, however it returned to iTunes in on September 23, 2016; the album was also brought to Spotify and Google Play the same day. To promote the album, My Chemical Romance played in bars and clubs around New Jersey. Tour manager Brian Schechter noticed the band performing and thought the band would be perfect for opening for the band The Used. Eventually, Schechter became the manager for My Chemical Romance and I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love was noticed by Reprise Records, a major record label connected to Warner Bros. Records. Reprise Records signed My Chemical Romance in 2003.[21] Track listing Edit All tracks written by My Chemical Romance, except for "Romance". No. Title Length 1. "Romance" 1:02 2. "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us" 3:51 3. "Vampires Will Never Hurt You" 5:26 4. "Drowning Lessons" 4:23 5. "Our Lady of Sorrows" 2:05 6. "Headfirst for Halos" 3:28 7. "Skylines and Turnstiles" 3:23 8. "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville" 5:04 9. "This Is the Best Day Ever" 2:13 10. "Cubicles" 3:51 11. "Demolition Lovers" 6:06 Total length: 41:12 Re-release/iTunes deluxe edition bonus videos No. Title Length 12. "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us" (video) 3:53 13. "Vampires Will Never Hurt You" (video) 5:37 Total length: 50:42 Personnel Edit My Chemical Romance Gerard Way — lead vocals Ray Toro — lead guitar, backing vocals; rhythm guitar (on tracks 3–7, 9–10) Mikey Way — bass guitar Matt Pelissier — drums, percussion Additional Musicians Frank Iero — rhythm guitar, backing vocals (tracks 2 and 8 only) Note Iero was a full-fledged member at the time, however, he joined after the other four already started recording. Production Produced by Geoff Rickly Tracks 3 and 8 Produced by Geoff Rickly and Alex Saavedra Recorded and mixed by John Naclerio 5/15/02 – 5/25/02 at Nada Studios, New Windsor, NY Mastered by Ryan Ball at Checkmate Sound & Recording, Suffern, NY Original artwork, layout, and design by Marc Debiak and Gerard Way Photos by Alex Saavedra Chart positions Edit Chart (2007) Peak position UK Albums Chart 129 Chart (2009) Peak position Japanese Albums Chart 250 Certifications Edit Region Certification Certified units/Sales United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Gold 100,000^ United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000^ Release history Edit Region Date Label Format Catalogue Japan March 25, 2009 Warner CD WPCR13347 United Kingdom April 12, 2004 Eyeball, 20:20 9866233 United States July 23, 2002 Eyeball EYE20022 June 21, 2005 7200222 February 3, 2009 LP EYE20059 October 9, 2015 Reprise 550187-1 References Edit ^ "Happy Birthday, Gerard Way: Wake-Up Video". Newsroom. Retrieved April 24, 2015. ^ "An Obituary For My Chemical Romance - NME.COM". NME. Retrieved April 24, 2015. ^ a b c "My Chemical Romance – I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love – Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Retrieved April 24, 2015. ^ a b Ritt, Megan (July 5, 2009). "Guilty Pleasure: My Chemical Romance – I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love". Consequence of Sound. ^ "Chemical reactions". Kerrang!. London: Bauer Media Group. 1425: 21. July 28, 2012. ISSN 0262-6624. ^ Garland, Emma (January 30, 2015). "Gerard Way and Geoff Rickly Reflect on the Intertwined History of My Chemical Romance and Thursday". NOISEY. ^ "My Chemical Romance: I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love: Music". Amazon.com. ASIN B00006EXL5. ^ "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love". IGN. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 4 April 2013. ^ "My Chemical Romance – I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love". Alternative Press. 23 July 2002. Retrieved 4 April 2013. ^ Loftus, Johnny. "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge – My Chemical Romance". AllMusic. ^ Demolition Lovers song meanings (imnotokay.net) ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. The Black Parade review at Allmusic ^ "Gerard Way Biography". Mcraddiction05.tripod.com. 1977-04-09. Retrieved 2012-02-23. ^ Sharpe-Young, Garry. New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Zonda Books Limited, 2005. ISBN 0-9582684-0-1. ^ Henderson, Alex. "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love – My Chemical Romance". AllMusic. ^ "Reviews – Albums – My Chemical Romance – I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 2007-07-09. Retrieved 2012-04-29. ^ Jesse Lord (2004-08-04). "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love – Music Review at IGN". Music.ign.com. Retrieved 2012-02-23. ^ "My Chemical Romance: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-04-29. ^ Caroline Sullivan (April 9, 2004). "Pop CD: My Chemical Romance, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love | Music | The Guardian". London: Arts.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-02-23. ^ Music with a Warning Label (amiright.com) ^ La Bella 2008, p. 23. ^ "British album certifications – My Chemical Romance – I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Enter I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search ^ "American album certifications – My Chemical Romance – I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 25 July 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH My Chemical Romance interview, Life in a Bungalow, 2008-03-16 "Bullets" My Chemical Romance Film, Andy DeAngelo, 2010-06-22 Works cited La Bella, Laura (2008). My Chemical Romance. The Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 9781404218185. External links Edit I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed) Last edited 10 days ago by Kokoro20 RELATED ARTICLES Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge Studio album by American band My Chemical Romance Headfirst for Halos single Vampires Will Never Hurt You single Wikipedia Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Terms of UsePrivacyDesktop

[thetygre]

Dark Souls Lore Ramblings #4

@invokingbees said:

I like reading your ramblings, this stuff is always fun. I had always been under the impression Humanity/Dark were the same thing, physical objects, that Dark is diffused Humanity or something, I don’t know. I’d like to see you tackle Souls themselves, soul magic and how the hell people use it as a currency, what souls even ARE (some kind of energy source?), how we absorb them, that stuff.

Oh man, funny little coincidence here, that is the exact place that I was about to go. My research into the Dark got me thinking about how Humanity and Souls work.

Souls, the Humanity Score, and States of Being

Let’s start with the basics, looking at states of being and the components of that existence piece by piece.

This is your basic human being. I don’t know how all this shit works for Lords, Giants, Witches, and whatever else is out there, but I’m running on the assumption that it’s pretty similar given that they all share a root species. Anyway, your standard human is composed of three different components; the Soul, Humanity, and the Body. When a person has all three of those components and they are properly aligned, they are basically normal people. Even Undead are indistinguishable from humans when they have all their shit together.

When a human loses their Humanity but still retains their body and soul, they become a Hollow. Not a lot to explain here; basically a zombie. Mindless corpse animated by Soul. Hard to tell whether they feel an innate hunger for Humanity or if they’re just acting mindlessly.  Not everyone who dies turns into a Hollow, of course; only those with the Undead Curse. That’s why the whole world isn’t being overrun by every Tom, Dick, and Larry who kicked the bucket.

Presumably, they work like the Boletarians in Demon’s Souls. (And let’s get this out of the way now; a lot of this involves the words ‘like/because Demon’s Souls’.) I.E. ‘Weaker’ human beings or those who have been Hollows longer are more feral, while younger Hollows and individuals with more Humanity and Souls in life retain some brain function, at least for a while, and can remember how to use weapons and tools. This hints at a possible link between Souls and cognition which, again, like Demon’s Souls. Heck, some Hollows outright keep their personalities; just look at the two Undead Merchants in the Undead Burg.

Conversely, Humanity and Soul without a body results in wraithes, like the ones in the Abyss and maybe even Red Phantoms. Technically, these creatures have a physical presence, but only in the sense that Souls and Humanity are physical objects. Essentially, they are incorporeal with the bare minimum of existence, relating to their Humanity ‘body’ and Souls. I don’t want to say ‘ectoplasm’, but the word definitely comes to mind.

Finally, a body without Souls is a corpse. Just... a fucking corpse. Can’t make it any clearer than that. Dead. Deceased. Demised. A stiff. Bereft of life. Rest in piece. Etc etera et al. Sometimes, you find a corpse with Humanity still on it (in it?); Hell, Patches makes a business out of scavenging Humanity out of bodies. Again, not everyone who dies, or even everyone with strong Humanity, becomes a Hollow; just those with the Undead Curse. The more interesting (and way more common) scenario is when you find a body with its Soul still on it. Given the nature of Souls, they’re supposed to disappear on death, absorbed by whoever killed the person in question. Maybe absorbing Souls is something unique to Undead? They absorb Humanity, so it wouldn’t be entirely without precedent.

Even though I harped on it a bunch in my last lore ramblings, let’s talk about Humanity just a little bit more. Humanity are little pieces of the Dark Soul, which itself is just a chunk of Dark (or not; depends on which Primordial Serpent you’re talking to). For all we know, Dark is just the overall spread of Humanity across the human species, or maybe it is some primordial force from before time and the First Flame. Probably both, because that would be slightly more inconvenient to me trying to make sense of everything.

Anyway, getting back on topic; every human being has some Humanity. Forget the allegorical version of that sentence, we’re talking about the hard item here. In the Souls community, there’s this thing called ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ Humanity; ‘soft’ Humanity is the Humanity in your inventory, carried around in the same place as your mountain of titanite chunks and Souls. ‘Hard’ Humanity is the Humanity your character has active on them, Hollow or Human. In order to be a Human, you have to spend at least one hard Humanity at a bonfire.

Lore-wise, this translates to everybody having some base, starter-point of Humanity that makes them a conscious human being. Usually, this base Humanity dissipates with the body’s transition between animate and inanimate states (aka dying). Everything after that base is surplus. The best way to see this is to become a Darkwraith and drain friendly NPCs of their extra Humanity. Each NPC has a different amounts; some just have the base-line amount of Humanity necessary to be a Human and can’t lose it without being killed.

It’s actually kind of cool to compare and contrast different NPCs and the amount of Humanity they have. You can come up with all sorts of different backstories and inferences about the amounts they have. For instance, Siegmeyer has four Humanity, but his daughter, Sieglinde, has ten. Rhea also has a large amount, a total of twelve Humanity! I like to think that this implies that everybody actually reaches a surplus of Humanity when they mature, but then it gets gradually whittled down over the course of life and/or the Undead Curse. Both Rhea and Sieglinde only recently started adventuring, for example. Meanwhile, Darkwraiths like Lautrec and Mildred have Humanity to spare, while Kirk has given all of his hunted Humanity to the Pale Lady. Oscar naturally has no Humanity left, non-humans like Ciaran and Quelanna give nothing, and it goes on and on.

Now this mass of Humanity is generally experienced as a singular presence. In other words, every person with more than one Humanity doesn’t feel like they have five or six people inside them. There are two notable exceptions. First and foremost are Twin Humanities; this is a pair of Humanities linked together by some kind of bond. Mother and child, twin siblings, woman and giant spider, etc. Really interesting because it does seem to confirm that, like the wraithes in Oolacile, Humanity is reproduced by fission. Second is the experience Fire Keepers have with Humanity; they are acutely aware of each separate piece of Humanity contributed to them. They actually do experience their surplus Humanity as a swarm of independent cells inside them. I bring the experience of Humanity up because it’s necessary to understanding our next subject...

Souls. Good old, dependable Souls. Series title. We don’t call it ‘Humanityborne’ or the ‘Ephemeral Eye Series’. Frankly though, we should; Souls are almost completely unaddressed as a subject in Dark Souls, and there’s really no explanation for them. The very first line in Demon’s Souls, literally the first thing you see, explains that Souls are equivalent to cognition and the mind. But that role is taken by Humanity in Dark Souls, so that just really leaves Souls as an anomaly. In the end, Souls in Dark Souls appear to be nothing but a leftover from Demon’s Souls. But half the fun in lore is putting together the pieces left by mechanics and game design decisions. So what are Souls?

The better question might be ‘What is Soul?’. Put simply, Soul is the animating force of the universe. It is present in all animate things; living, dead, Undead, constructed, spiritual. All of it. It is a type of energy that gives life, and binds life together. Kind of like that other, mystical force thingy. Magic powers included. Gonna’ be honest, I was kind of going to give magic it’s own thing later. Suffice it to say that Soul is the medium by which an individual makes magic manifest. Or something like that.

Soul is experienced as Souls. Again, like Humanity, an individual has a singular Soul. It’s just measured in a concise, plural metric. Even Hollows and vermin have a couple of hundred Souls. That doesn’t mean they literally have five hundred individual Souls in them, it’s just how it’s measured. Also like Humanity, it can be assumed that a character has an inherent amount of Souls that are consumed in the transition between animate and inanimate; everything beyond that is extra.

Another big question is how exactly Souls are used, both as a currency and as a means of self-enhancement. The short answer is (say it with me now) because that’s how it was in Demon’s Souls. For the moment, let’s just assume that Souls really are representative of experience along with being an energy source and by trading it into the Bonfire, your character is ‘reflecting’ and growing in certain talents. After all, what does your character do at the Bonfire but stare pensively into the flame, contemplating their journey? Whether or not Souls as an energy source actually alter the Undead’s body isn’t really clear; it’s not a theme like it was in Demon’s Souls (that’s it; it’s a drinking game now).

As for why Souls are currency... that one really is just an inexplicable artifact. In Demon’s Souls (SHOT), Souls were used as currency because the world was in such terrible state that money no longer had any value. In Dark Souls, it’s explained that the situation is pretty much the same but localized in Lordran. I’m going to allow this since there’s nothing that necessarily states that people have a particularly easy time traveling out of Lordran, and Lordran itself is basically in the same apocalyptic state as the Demon’s Souls (SHOT) world. But I have to think that if people could actually travel back to their homelands, real life currency like the coins you find would still have some pull. Honestly, Salt and Sanctuary handles this better, but I’ll shut up about it now.

How does your character access these Souls for currency and self enhancement? Same way they access Humanity. Which is code for I really, really don’t know or could find anything addressing it even in Demon’s Souls. I always imagined that it was a kind of pseudo-magic that all Undead inherently known on their transformation, or maybe their entrance to Lordran. I have to wonder what kind of effects a Souls and Humanity trade would have on the world outside Lordran, but let’s keep pressing forward.

Unique entities occasionally have unique Souls in addition to the Souls they give on death. This can be assumed to be one of two things from where I’m standing; either it’s the base Soul that is usually consumed on death but survives for these unique exampleon, or it’s something different from the Soul altogether, like a chunk of Humanity or Divinity or whatever the case may be. I think it’s more likely that it’s the first one given that you can get unique souls from all kinds of different entities; Lords, demons, Fire Keepers, a particularly large insect, etc.

The most obvious examples are Fire Keeper Souls, which are interesting because they represent some kind of dichotomy between the Soul, Humanity, and the First Flame. Also, can we just talk about how weird they look? Like, even for unique Souls, Fire Keeper Souls are freaky looking. I mean really look at it. What does it remind you of? I don’t want to sound weird but, well, it reminds me of a zygote. I’m dead serious here; it’s probably meant to look like smoke because Fire Maiden/fire, but I honestly think it looks like an ovum and sperm. Even the description is weirdly biological; a Fire Maiden’s Soul is a draw for countless wriggling, living Humanity. It’s weird right? Right? I don’t know what point it could be working toward, but it’s not like it’s the only reproductive imagery in the game. We all know the Bed of Chaos and Giygas have some shit in common, that’s all I’m saying. Anyway, just something I wanted to talk about in case I don’t do a separate thing for Fire Maidens.

I stated earlier that Souls are the animating energy of the universe, but I think it goes beyond even that. I think that Souls are literally in all things, both animate and inanimate. Soul is as present in rocks and metal and even piles of poop as it is in living things. That’s where the Serpents come in; they can use their big old chompers to filter out the material (Dark?) existence (re: eat it) and leave the pure energy, the Souls, behind for you to collect. We’ll get to the Serpents on their own terms, but it’s the implications about Soul that interest me.

Literally everything has a Soul. And if you know anything about Japanese culture, then you know about the belief system of Shinto. Shinto evolved from an essentially animistic series of native Japanese religions and shamanistic traditions, and even though it’s changed and declined in Japan, it is still a part of Japanese culture. But anyway, Shinto’s animism is founded on the notion that all things have kami, a spirit. Here in the West, we’re more familiar with the direct characters and creatures that kami manifest as; gods like Amaterasu and Susanoo, animal spirits like nine-tailed foxes and tanuki, or even object yokai like the tsukumogami. But that divine, spiritual energy is still present in all things. In other words, I think that Souls, in Dark Souls at least, draw from the Japanese notion of kami to some degree.

But that’s not the only Oriental philosophy present in Dark Souls, and certainly not the only pertaining to the nature of the human spirit. (Shocking, right?) This might be a stretch, so I’m probably reading too much into it, but in Chinese Taoism, the soul is split in to at least two parts (sometimes it’s three, sometimes it’s ten; still figuring it out). This in itself isn’t unusual; if I remember my Egyptian mythology correctly, then the soul was split into anywhere between five and thirteen different aspects. Anyway, in Taoism, the soul is naturally drawn between yin and yang, being divided into hun and po. Hun is the spiritual, ethereal yang soul that leaves the body after death. Po is the corporeal yin soul that stays with the body. Hun is intelligent, but po is base and crude. After hun leaves the body, the po might control the body and become an undead creature; a jiangshi, the famous Chinese hopping vampire. While a longer stretch then the Japanese kami, there are some parallels between hun and po and Souls and Humanity.

God, I sound like fucking Game Theorists right now. He who fights lore and all that crap. Anyway, I guess there is no ultimate lesson here beyond the reminder that for all it’s Western trappings, Dark Souls is still very much a Japanese game with Eastern mythology, religion, spirituality, and philosophy at its heart. That’s before I get into Buddhism, existentialism, the cyclical nature of reality, the pursuit of power, and all that deeper stuff. I’m was just trying to talk about in-game currency and wound up talking about Chinese vampires. So... not bad. Anything that takes me from video games to jiangshi is not bad at all.

[katalytic]

Raw or Smackdown?

See, if I was not sleep-deprived, this would be an easy answer, and we could go on with our lives after I replied with one or the other. BUT since I got like… two? three? hours of sleep, and I tend to ramble when tired, I’m going to reply to this with A Very Long Post about my (very jumbled) thoughts on each show. Click on the “Read More” to, uh, read more (unless you’re on the mobile app – whoops).

Raw:

Since the brand split, Raw has had this issue where they either pull the trigger on a story line too early OR they let a story line limp to its sad conclusion, thereby ensuring no one gives a fuck by the end of it. However, in the past few weeks (since WWE has been “on the road to Wrestlemania”), they’ve gotten better at letting stories breathe while still adding a couple of new wrinkles to keep things fresh.

Please let this be the start of a trend and not something that stops as soon as Wrestlemania ends.

The Universal Title looks deadass like Lord Zedd from “Power Rangers” after a bedazzling accident.

Raw has my very favorite wrestler, Sami Zayn. Unfortunately, being a Sami Zayn fan right now feels like what it felt like being a Chicago Cubs fan in 2014 – you knew good things were around the corner, but can we see at least two wins strung together? Why Must I Suffer Like This?

Raw also has my other favorite wrestler, Bayley… whose character has suffered since joining the main roster, in my opinion. However, if WWE pulls off the Sasha Banks heel turn and shows how Sasha has slowly been manipulating Bayley this entire time, all will be forgiven.

Sasha Banks returning from her injury and decking Dana Brooke in the face was what cemented my wrestling fandom.

Can we talk about the women’s division, though? Because there are literally only four women they’re using in the division on Raw right now: Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Nia Jax.

Alicia Fox is busy having messy relations with Noam Dar.

Emma became Emmalina for a hot minute before she was “lol nah” and disappeared back into her cocoon or whatever.

Dana Brooke is JUST NOW getting out from under Charlotte’s thumb. This is a story line that should’ve been done ages ago.

Paige’s neck is, like, dead or something.

There are probably other women I’m forgetting because I haven’t seen them, like, ever.

Like, why? Why just these four?

Also, Nia Jax seems like a lovely person in real life, and I dig her in-ring character. But she does entire promos through her nose, and her theme makes me go “(dismissive wanking motion)” every time I hear it.

The first time I ever knew what a Seth Rollins was, he was returning from injury and then screaming at the crowd for cheering him. Iconic.

That’s probably why I didn’t really buy into his whole “yes I am a babyface now” act until he did his in-ring interview about his new knee injury. He just seemed like a snotty brat acting out because Mom and Dad had a new baby to dote on up until that point.

The whole Kevin Owens/Chris Jericho friendship thing went on for way too long but the Festival of Friendship was worth all of it.

Chris Jericho… what a goddamn delight he was this year. I’m going to be sad when he leaves to tour with Fozzy after Wrestlemania.

I’m glad Kevin Owens is being Actually Evil again.

I can’t believe it’s taken them this long to finally figure out Roman Reigns’ sweet spot as a character (tough as nails, dismissive of the old guard, doesn’t really give two shits about the crowd booing him because he knows what he’s about), but I’m glad I’m here to witness it. Now don’t fuck this up.

Because oh lawd before this Roman Reigns’ characterization was… A Mess. The less said about his reign as United States Champion, the better. Let’s all just… agree to forget this happened?

(I still want him to admit that he misses The Shield and that’s why he keeps everything vaguely Shield-like AND why he was so quick to be friends with Seth again.)

The tag team division is another mess. The New Day seem like they’re finally back on track in new IDGAF personas now that they don’t have the weight of the longest championship reign in tag team division history!!11! holding them down. But everyone else? Yikes.

Except, weirdly, Sheamus, who is actually pretty fun now.

Enzo Amore and Big Cass probably suffered the most out of everyone in the tag team division while The New Day were busy making history. (The whole storyline with Rusev and Lana? Let’s never speak of it again.) I used to look forward to them, but now, their music hits, and I stare off into an invisible camera like I’m on “The Office.”

Listen. I appreciate what Stephanie McMahon has done behind the scenes, and I get that her character on “Raw” is supposed to be an asshole. I understand. But I still want someone to hit her with a chair.

Triple H looks like he needs to take a dump. Like, all the time. He has permanent dumpface.

Come back to me, Finn Balor.

SmackDown:

SmackDown, to me, has been the more coherent and consistent of the two brands since the brand split. I think that the one thing that people were touting as its detriment at the start of the brand split – the smaller roster – actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Less characters means less working parts you have to shuffle around for stories to work.

Of course, the smaller roster means that you had the same four dudes vying for championships at the start of the brand split, but to the writers’ credit, they’ve been expanding that pool a bit.

The Randy Orton/Bray Wyatt story line. I mean, fucking hell. Did anyone expect it to be, like, good? Who knew Orton getting his head split open like an overripe melon during SummerSlam would lead to this? Shout out to everyone involved for being completely invested in it and taking even the most ridiculous parts of the story deadly seriously, because any sort of wink and nod to the audience would ruin it.

The Miz is the greatest heel on either brand, and it’s not even close. He even got me to feel sorry for Dolph Ziggler for a minute, there. Genius.

I know a lot of people still don’t like John Cena, and after watching older episodes of Raw and SmackDown on WWE Network, I can understand why. But the Meta Cena of this past year is the best version of John Cena possibly ever. 

Also, Nikki Bella coming out to save Cena three weeks in a row makes my heart flutter. LOVE IS REAL.

The women’s division needs more women, but at least they’re using everyone in the division.

I would vote Alexa Bliss as WWE Rookie of the Year if there was such an award. (Is there such an award?) Yeah, she’s still green in the ring, but her character work has been fantastic to watch. A sneaky-good NXT callup.

The tag team division is a mess on this show, as well. American Alpha won the titles and then went a month without having to defend them. That’s how much of an afterthought the division has been.

Hopefully, the Usos winning the titles last night will help. Their heel turn has been one of the few bright spots in the entire division this year, so I’m hoping that’ll help elevate things.

Dean Ambrose growing a beard was a significant highlight for WWE this year, as far as I’m concerned. Now he doesn’t look like a baby with a combover anymore.

AJ Styles is probably one of my favorite characters in WWE right now. He’s like the Cool Old Guy crossed with the Only Sane Man who’s also Wrong Genre Savvy. Like, he’s the one dude on this show who sees it as an actual athletic competition and cannot comprehend the chicanery that surrounds him.

Take him calling out Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon for giving Randy Orton a match against him to be in the main event at Wrestlemania. Yes, on LITERALLY ANY OTHER SHOW, he would be completely right about how COMMITTING ARSON should not somehow grant Randy Orton a chance to be anywhere else other than jail. But he doesn’t realize he’s on a TV show about a wrestling show. Like, you shared a locker room with a an undead zombie wrestler AND a mystical cult leader, both of whom can teleport, my guy. That’s fine, but arson – ARSON is where you draw the line. Okay, buddy.

And then, when he sort of figures out that, hey, the rules of the outside world don’t matter on this show, he manages to break the ONE RULE he shouldn’t have: attacking a McMahon. And he still gets kind of rewarded for it (if you think having to carry Shane McMahon through a match where he is guaranteed to attempt to destroy himself at least once is a reward – which, honestly, it is, in WWE-land).

After all this, you’re probably wondering “So… Raw or SmackDown?” tl;dr: Raw has more of my favorite wrestlers, but SmackDown has the story lines I’m more invested in.

[ciathyzareposts]

What I Can Tell You About DragonBlade, GayBlade, and Citadel of the Dead

Where fortune and fame await the oold? What does that mean?

              An awful lot of administrative work and emulator-fighting went into tracking down, sorting out, an running the three variants of this exceptionally mediocre game. This was not time well spent. When Dragon magazine, home of the modal five-star review, gives your game no stars and calls it the “worst dungeon-crawl, you-do-the-mapping, oops-you’re-in-a-trap-and-your-torch-went-out, mindless click-the-‘attack’-button game I’ve seen in a decade,” you know you have a problem. This is an account of why I didn’t get very far with these games and why, at least for now, I’m not interested in trying harder.     To judge by the manual and character creation process (the only part of the game I could really experience), DragonBlade, offers essentially nothing that Wizardry (1981) doesn’t except for color graphics. But even worse is the re-skinned GayBlade, which bills itself as the first gay-and-lesbian-themed CRPG, which it probably was, but only in the most superficial way. If I were a gay CRPG Addict, neither game would satisfy my gayness nor my CRPG addiction. That GayBlade received so much press in its day goes to show how starved the genre really ways for authentic gay representation in games.

       The timeline is a little confused because a lot of sites give GayBlade as a 1992 game and DragonBlade as a “straight fantasy variant of GayBlade.” In fact, the reverse is almost certainly true, particularly since the “About” screen for GayBlade is still titled, “About DragonBlade.” There are a lot of sloppy bits like that in GayBlade. (That double-entendre is gayer than anything in the game.) Making things more confusing, author R. J. Best went on a Macintosh Garden forum last year and claimed he wrote GayBlade and released it for free in revenge for a distributor withholding royalties from Citadel of the Dead. But it’s clear from both news accounts and magazine reviews that GayBlade was available in 1993 while Citadel didn’t come out until 1994. Citadel, as far as I can tell, is just DragonBlade with a new title screen and a few bug fixes.

   Let’s talk about DragonBlade first. The manual offers the most generic backstory possible: Once peace reigned in the land, led by a community of knights and mages who followed “the gentle philosophy of DragonMagic.” They were headquartered in the DragonKeep and ruled by High Wizard Alastor. But a demon army led by Lord Xygor invaded the land, lay waste to the keep, and imprisoned Alastor in a “dimension of frozen souls.” A party must brave the now-monster-ridden keep to rescue Alastor.

The game opens on a menu town with a “training yard” (character creation), tavern, general store, guild (for level advancement), magic shop, healer, and dungeon door. Classes are fighter, mage, priest, samurai (fighter/priest), wizard (fighter/mage), and master (fighter/priest/wizard). Races are orc (c. 10%), ogre (10%), elf (40%), gnome (20%), and dwarf (20%). When you roll a new character, his race is randomized along with his attributes: strength, wisdom, intelligence, constitution, dexterity, and hits. Each attribute is rolled from 1 to 15 (there are no racial modifications), and the aggregate determines your available classes. So far, with the exception of the monster races and no human race, things are identical to Wizardry            

Except for low hits (which prevents him from being a “master”), this character has some unusually high stats.

              The manual doesn’t tell you the prime requisites for each class, so I spent far more time than made sense noting the minimum scores every time an option came up and then figuring out the associated probabilities. First, there isn’t an equal probability of each number between 1 and 15 appearing for each attribute. For some reason, 8 is heavily weighted, accounting for about 15% of values. The numbers 1 and 15 are weighted low, accounting for about 3% each. Everything else is in the 6-8% range. Priests require at least a 12 in wisdom and mages require at least a 12 in intelligence; each comes up as an option about 21% of the time. Samurai require 13 strength, 12 dexterity, and possibly smaller values for the other attributes. They come up only about 5 times in 1,000. Wizards require at least a 12 in wisdom and dexterity and a 13 in intelligence; they come up 6 times in 1,000. Masters have at least a minimum requirement of 12 or 13 in all attributes (I’m guessing a bit) and come up less than 1 time in every 10,000 rolls. I only ever got one once, and I forgot to click the “Master” option when selecting him, so I accidentally made him a fighter. That hurt.           

Starting items in the store.

         It turns out that much like Wizardry, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to sweat through thousands of re-rolls for the perfect character anyway, since Level 1 characters might as well be wearing red Star Trek uniforms. This is particularly true for DragonBlade, where enemies attack the moment you enter the dungeon, before you can even light a torch, and never stop. Combat is also Wizardry standard. Each character can attack, parry, use an item, or cast a spell, although it executes the action immediately (more like Might and Magic) rather than running through the entire round at once.            

Combat against giant rock ants.

            The game uses Wizardry‘s “slot” system (e.g., a Level 6 priest gets 3 first-level spells, 2 second-level spells, one third-level spell), but there are only 11 spells for each spellcasting class. Mages get “Light Wound,” “Evade,” “Light,” “Heavy Wound,” “Invisibility On,” “Invisibility Off,” “Locate,” “Lightning,” “Fireballs,” “Ice Storm,” and “Castle” (as in, “return to”). Priests get “Disarm” (the only way to disarm, since there are no thieves), “Light Cure,” “Compass,” “Cure Poison,” “Resist Fire,” “Resist Ice,” “Raise,” “Heavy Cure,” “Eye of Death,” “Cure All,” and “Restore.”           

Looking at spell options while facing an undead.

             It soon become clear to me that the programmers had built DragonBlade to serve up a combat once every n clock cycles and hadn’t accounted for faster models. (If I don’t have that quite right technically, I’m sure someone will correct me.) Thus, the combats never end and you never get to explore the dungeon or even retreat out the back door. I tried Citadel of the Dead and ran into essentially the same problem. I could actually get a torch lit and occasionally move a step, but generally speaking I was trapped in an endless succession of combats from the moment I entered until they finally overwhelmed the party. Death is permanent in the game, although one weird feature is that enemies continue to attack slain party members in combat, slashing and bashing their helpless corpses. I guess that’s good news for the survivors but still somewhat gruesome.            

An inevitable message in my DragonBlade experiences.

         The Basilisk emulator that I use for Mac games doesn’t offer dynamic clock speed scaling the way that DOSBox does, and I was unable to find a Windows version of DragonBlade even though it existed. (I think Citadel was Mac-only.) I fiddled around with other models and settings in the Basilisk GUI, but I couldn’t find anything that wasn’t too fast. Thus, I tried GayBlade, for which I could only find a Windows version. This was my first experience emulating Windows 3.1, and it went about as smoothly as all my experiences with a new emulator, which means it took several frustrating hours to get it right (and would have taken longer if my commenter Lance hadn’t given me a head start with his configuration).            

There’s no way it’s the world’s first. What about Leather Goddesses of Phobos? What about the game version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

               GayBlade is a gay-themed game if by “gay-themed” you mean taking all the trappings of a typical computer role-playing game and replacing them with trappings of gay life. Not real gay life, but stereotypically flamboyant gay life, and not “replaced” in any thoughtful way but clumsily and senselessly. Let’s start with the classes. In place of fighters, samurais, wizards, and priests, we get queers, drag queens, guppies, and lesbians. Mages and masters aren’t even translated. Prime requisites are lowered significantly, and instead of default-naming every character “Dufus,” this game picks names that begin with the character’s class. You can only create four characters instead of being able to create up to 8 and only assign 4 to the party the way the other games work.           

Assembling a gay party.

           Then we get to inventory. Instead of useful items like armor and swords, we get aprons, mace (not the weapon, but the chemical spray), blow-dryers, press-on nails, and condoms. If the relative positions are any guide, purses are substituting for cloaks, tiaras for helms, press-on nails for gauntlets, and condoms for shields. Okay, I just got that last one. That’s a little clever.      

   The ostensible goal of the game is to rescue someone named “Empress Nelda.” But once you enter the dungeon, you’re just in the same medieval dungeon as the straight versions. Some of the monsters are replaced with menaces to gay people, such as “FBI Probes,” homosexual thugs who say “you fag” when they attack, televangelists, KKK grand dragons, and spineless politicos. You even have to face some external representations of inner demons such as suicidal tendencies and age spots. But there are also regular monsters carried over from DragonBlade, like giant insects and rats. The spells aren’t “translated” at all. Drag queens get the priest spells.              

The characters face an “FBI Probe” led for some reason but a naval officer.

             I tried to last long enough to explore the first level. I’m pretty sure it’s only 10 x 10. I didn’t find any special encounters or navigation tricks. But my queers and lesbians and their mace and hairdryers were far less effective against enemies than the swords and armor of the fantasy versions. I hate the control system in all three games: they’re mouse-buttons only, even for movement. I also hate the perspective, which insists you’ve hit a wall (not only subtracting a hit point but making you acknowledge a message) even though it looks like there’s plenty of space.

             Sure, it was “plainly marked.” ONE SQUARE AHEAD of where I am.

              I’ll leave it to you, gay readers: what impressions do you get from this description? Are you happy to have any acknowledgement, even if the best it aspires to is high camp and doesn’t really succeed even at that? This will be better served in a longer entry specifically on the topic, but milestones that I can remember for gay representation in RPGs are:            

Ultima VI (1990): Earliest game that I can remember that allows same-sex sex, albeit with a gypsy prostitute.

Ultima VII (1992): Continues the tradition, albeit at a brothel.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002): Made things equal-opportunity for creepy sex predators, as Crassius Curio will sexually harass males and females alike.

Jade Empire (2005): Introduced BioWare’s from-then common theme of offering at least one same-sex partner, often a bisexual who could also be romanced from the other side. I remember accidentally falling into a gay relationship based on some tricky dialogue options.

Fallout: New Vegas (2010): In a game famous for not introducing “romance options” with its NPCs, the only exception (sort-of) is for lesbian characters.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011): Introduced full equality. Any character who could be romanced, married, and bedded could be done by both men and women with no additional commentary. Unfortunately, all relationships were a bit boring and bloodless. 

Dragon Age: Inquisition (2015): Kicks up the complexity a notch with a wide cast of characters with a variety of racial and sexual preferences–plus mature attitudes (and a sense of humor) about sex and sexual situations.

               I’m sure more experienced readers can think of more, but for 1993, I think you’d be better off playing a regular CRPG and just imagining the protagonist as gay rather than paying homage to this penis-lollipop take on gay themes. Even if you feel differently, I simply can’t bring myself to fight rednecks with press-on nails and blow-dryers for 13 levels.    Thus, I guess I’m rejecting the entire group on “notability” grounds, although I’ll hold myself open for taking up one of the medieval versions if I can get Basilisk to slow it down. I’m done with it for now; the game has kept me too long from Ultima VII.             Note: The title of the gay version is perhaps a reference to Zorro: The Gay Blade (1981), which not enough people have seen. Ironically, the authors removed swords and daggers from the game so that the characters no longer have any blades.

*****

I’ve put Planet’s Edge on the back burner because it’s clear that I’m going to have to start over. I’ll pick it up again after a couple of games have gone by; this isn’t going to be another Magic Candle III. I just hate doing the same things I’ve already done, and I needed some space in between.      

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/what-i-can-tell-you-about-dragonblade-gayblade-and-citadel-of-the-dead/

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Dracula vs. The Marvel Universe! 14 Times The Lord of The Undead Fought Superheroes!

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Hey, remember that time Dracula fought the Hulk? Or the X-Men? Or Spider-Man? No? Well, you're in luck, because we do!

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Feature Marc Buxton

Dracula

Oct 16, 2018

Doctor Strange

Marvel

31 Days of Horror

Dracula. The very name conjures images of sexuality, corruption, and decadence. From the original novel written by Bram Stoker in 1897 to the moment Bela Lugosi donned the famed opera cloak in 1931, the character of Dracula has been an iconic horror staple.

In fact, Dracula has been the subject of 217 films, second only to the number of films starring Sherlock Holmes. But films, novels, and television aren't the only genres that have contained Dracula’s bloodlust. Comic books have been a compelling source for new Dracula material. Marvel Comics in particular have been a happy hunting ground for the Lord of the Vampires.

After the easing of Comic Code restrictions in the early seventies, Stan Lee and Marvel were eager to explore classic monsters in the pages of their books. When the code loosened its grip, Lee and company were able to resurrect the four color boogiemen that lay forgotten for so long. In 1972, writer Gerry Conway and artist Gene Colan introduced Tomb of Dracula and a legend was born. Now there was a version of Dracula that borrowed from Stoker and Lugosi stalking the same fictional universe as Spider-Man and the Avengers.

Soon, writer Marv Wolfman would take over the writing chores on Tomb of Dracula and create one of the greatest continuing horror sagas in comic book history. Within the pages of Tomb of Dracula, Wolfman introduced the vampiric detective Hannibal King, Lilith (Dracula’s Daughter), and most importantly, Blade, the Vampire Hunter, who later helped kick off the current superhero movie boom.

Amazon has all your Marvel Dracula needs

Dracula existed within the Marvel Universe, but other than rare occasions not many Marvel heroes appeared in Dracula’s book, giving the title a sense of isolation from the rest of the Marvel Universe. That is not to say that Dracula has not stalked the titles of the mainstream Marvel heroes. Oh no, dear reader, the Prince of Darkness has cast his shadow on many Marvel heroes, making him one of the greatest, if often overlooked villains in Marvel history. Here is a look at times Dracula, the greatest monster of them all, has stalked the Marvel Universe.

Dracula Meets Spider-Man

Giant Sized Spider-Man #1 (1974)

In this tale, Aunt May is suffering from a rare blood disease because she’s Aunt May. Spidey learns that the only man that has the cure is an eccentric doctor that refuses to travel by plane. Spider-Man learns from Reed Richards that the scientist is traveling by ship, so Spidey gets his webbed ass to the ship to find the doctor.

Also on board the ship are members of the Maggia who want the formula, and of course, Dracula himself who is also after it. Hilarity ensues as Dracula dispatches the crooks one by one, and throws the Maggia leader overboard.

The book is a send up of the classic death at sea sequence of Stoker’s Dracula, as Dracula feeds off the Maggia onboard. While never featuring a direct confrontation between hero and vampire, this issue served as a warning...Dracula is out there.

Buy it on Amazon

Allied with the Avengers (1973)

Avengers #118

Ironically, one of the first times Dracula was drawn into the events of the Marvel Universe, he did so to defend humanity! In the Avengers/Defenders war, often considered to be the first true crossover in comics history, the Dread Dormammu opened a dimensional gateway to Earth. The Avengers and Defenders were stuck in Dormammu’s dimension so could not defend the Earth from an incursion by the savage Mindless Ones, headless beings that thrive on destruction. A group of super-powered champions on Earth, not knowing where the Mindless Ones were pouring on from, took up arms to protect their home.

further reading: The Weird History of Marvel Superheroes vs Monsters

One of these beings was none other than Dracula, who along with such heroes as Power Man, the Fantastic Four, and Ka-Zar, fought back against the Mindless Ones. But don’t think Dracula was acting magnanimously true believers; imagine if a horde of beasts was smashing your favorite eatery. That’s what Earth is to Dracula, a theme restaurant with an all you can eat buffet of jugulars.

Yes, Dracula fought the Mindless Ones, but in doing so he made sure his food supply remained strong and proved to Marvel readers just how badass he was by taking on the Mindless Ones...creatures capable of going toe to toe with the Hulk!

The Creation of Baron Blood (1976)

Invaders #7

One of Captain America’s most enduring foes was created by none other than Dracula. What’s more evil than a Nazi vampire? Pretty much nothing, which makes Baron Blood one of the most vile creatures in the Marvel Universe. In the dark days of World War II, John Farnsworth was an English aristocrat obsessed with vampire lore. When he travels to Transylvania, he encounters Dracula, who transforms Farnsworth into the living dead.

Dracula sends blood to England to punish the country for the actions of Dracula’s nemesis Jonathon Harker. As Baron Blood, Farnsworth fought the Invaders, Captain America, and even his own brother who adopted the heroic persona of the first Union Jack.  

Blood’s days of fighting for the Axis were cut short when the Sub-Mariner staked the bejesus out of him. Blood was resurrected in the modern day by a minion of Dracula and fought a legendary battle with his old foe, Captain America. Now, a Nazi vampire is pretty badass, but a Nazi vampire created by Dracula himself? That’s some legendary bloodsucker right there!

Available in - Invaders Classic: The Complete Collection Vol. 1

Dracula vs. Doctor Strange (1976)

Tomb of Dracula #44

The Lord of Darkness fed off Doctor Strange (he probably tasted like sage, cinnamon, and quickly forgotten dreams), in the pages of Tomb of Dracula #44. In Strange’s own book, Dracula locks the Sorcerer Supreme in a dungeon so he can watch the embraced Doctor arise as a vampire. That’s quite a sense of irony Marvel’s Dracula possesses, huh?

further reading: Doctor Strange Comics Reading Order

Little did Dracula know that Strange astral projected out of his body before Dracula could finish the fateful bite. Strange uses his astral form to mess with Dracula who furiously arrives at the dungeon after days of being mocked and prodded by the wizard.

An awesome fight ensues between a vampiric Doctor Strange and Dracula which Strange wins by conjuring a blazing crucifix. The edge in the battle went to Strange who seemed to be one step ahead of Dracula, but let us not forget that during their first encounter Dracula easily dispatched Strange with one bite. Dracula’s mistake was letting Strange have time to plot, but the first struggle would foreshadow a climatic future encounter between the magician and vampire.

You can read it here.

Dracula vs. Howard the Duck? (1980)

Howard the Duck Magazine #5

Not all Dracula appearances in the Marvel Universe are legendary but that doesn’t make them any less cool. The following is a treatise on why comics are awesome.

While visiting Cleveland, Dracula spots Howard the Duck. Thinking Howard to be a midget in a duck suit, the Lord of the Undead bites Howard (did I just type that?) but is disgusted by the non-human blood flowing in Howard’s veins. However, Howard is transformed into Drakula (not Duckula or Quakula?) and preys on other ducks.

Howard is restored to his normal self and is actually able to stake Dracula before the vampire can feed off Howard’s hottie girlfriend, Beverly Switzer.

Dracula Joins The Defenders (1981)

Defenders #95 

Ah, the Defenders. Long before they were edgy TV stars, they were the parking place for awesomely odd Bronze Age characters.

In one of the non-team’s most memorable storylines, the Defenders were being beleaguered by the Six Fingered Hand. With newer members Hellcat, Gargoyle, and Son of Satan in tow, the Defenders arrive back to Doctor Strange’s mansion only to be attacked by a possessed Dracula. It seems the Six Fingered Hand had gained control over all vampires.

Proving his awesomeness, the Son of Satan breaks the Hand’s control of Dracula, and agrees to help the Vampire Lord take back Transylvania from the Hand. The team with powerhouses like Strange and the Asgardian Valkyrie are just window dressing as the Son of Satan kicks the Hands' collective butts, destroys a metric ton of vampires by summoning sunlight, and saves Dracula’s undead bacon.

further reading: 13 Essential Dracula Performances

This was the first time Marvel used Dracula as an anti-hero in a super-hero title, an honorable villain who was as comfortable in the role of defender of his people as he was bloodsucking fiend. It was a brief union, but among his many roles in the Marvel Universe, Dracula will always be recognized as a Defender.

Dracula vs. The X-Men (1982)

Uncanny X-Men #159

Monster mash-ups are a staple of the genre. While not traditional monsters at all, mutants meeting Dracula have the same cache as Dracula versus Frankenstein or the Wolfman, it’s just a match made, erm...not in heaven.

Structured like a classic horror film, Uncanny X-Men #159 sees Storm the victim in a very odd mugging. When someone overpowered the weather goddess and cut her throat, Storm suddenly finds herself wanting to die, inviting a stranger through her window at night, drawing back from Kitty Pryde’s Star of David, and shunning sunlight. You don’t have to be Bram Stoker to see where this is going and an epic confrontation between vampire and mutant takes place. The X-Men take out Dracula’s monstrous rat and canine minions, but fall before Dracula, all except Nightcrawler who has the faith to drive the vampire off with a makeshift cross.

When Storm arrives, Dracula finds that he cannot control the primal Storm, who stands tall and proud. In an awesome moment, Dracula tells Storm it was her inner strength that compelled him and after a standoff, Dracula retreats. This was Claremont at his finest, giving each X-Man a moment to shine and writing a classic and pretty damn scary Dracula in the process. The issue created an indelible bond between the X-Men and Dracula, one that stands till this day.

further reading: Frankenstein - Comics' Greatest Monster

In the 1982 Uncanny X-Men Annual #6, the battle between the X-Men and Dracula continues as Kitty Pryde is possessed by Dracula’s daughter and one of his most enduring foes, Lilith. It was another compelling confrontation that deepens the threat Dracula had on mutantkind.

Dracula vs. Thor (1983)

Thor #332

Not satisfied with feeding off ducks, mutants, and wizards, Dracula sets his sights on embracing Lady Sif. In Thor #332, Dracula succeeds in feeding and turning Sif. In issue 333, Thor must face a Dracula empowered by god blood (comics = awesome), and an embraced Sif.

This story was significant in showing what a powerhouse Dracula was and established the idea that if Dracula fed off a non-human being, he would be fueled by their powerful blood. Thor managed to free Sif, but not before fans realized that Dracula was a threat to everyone, god, mutant, or human.

The Death of a Legend (1983)

Doctor Strange #59-62

In Doctor Strange #59-62, Strange and a group of companions including Dracula hunters Blade and the vampiric detective Hannibal King close all the plot threads left over from Tomb of Dracula and close the door on Marvel’s vampires for a quite a while. Aided by Avengers Captain Marvel (then Monica Rambeau) and the Scarlet Witch, Strange and company race to secure the Darkhold, a book which contains the Montessi Formula, a spell that will rid the Earth of Dracula and the curse of vampirism. Keep in mind that the Darkhold is an ancient magical book that created vampires in the first place.

further reading: The Bleeding Heart of Dracula

These issues are the type of storytelling that made Stern a legend, taking elements from Dracula’s appearance in X-Men (the first mention of the Formula) and Thor (whom Dracula is reluctant in facing when he sees the other Avengers by Strange’s side). By the end of the story, Strange does recite the formula and Dracula is finally destroyed.

Like all good vampires, Dracula would eventually return, but the storyline has an epic sense of finality to it. After years of being plagued by Dracula, the Marvel heroes fight back destroying all vampires. For now…

Dracula vs. The Fantastic Four (2000-2001)

Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms

Dracula’s shadow is cast far and wide across the history of the Marvel Universe. Before they were legends, Sue Storm and Johnny Storm find a mysterious amulet. The young siblings are attacked by zombies seeking the amulet for its power, zombies controlled by none other than Dracula, who lays inert, staked and comatose, using his mind to control the zombies so they may deliver the amulet to the vampire.

The Storms, before they were Fantastic, must stop the zombies from taking the amulet to Transylvania to resurrect their puppet master. Even immobile, Dracula proves to be one of the most evil and capable beings in the Marvel Universe.

X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula (2006)

The cool thing about this series is that it gave added weight to the idea that Dracula has had an impact on the history of the Marvel universe and that his ties to the world of mutants did not begin the day he tried to embrace Storm. Dracula begins embracing members of Apocalypse’s cult which wakes the legendary mutant to defend his followers. The book ties the history of the Van Helsing family into the war between mutant despot and vampire lord.

You can read it here.

Dracula on the Moon (2009)

Captain Britain and MI:13 #10

The so-called end of vampires arc in Doctor Strange was a large scale storyline bringing in many mainstream Marvel mainstays, but it had nothing on the grand tapestry of cool that was the Dracula arc in the late, lamented Captain Britain and MI:13 title. So, Dracula gathers a sect of vampires on the moon to set up a front for his attack on Earth. Just typing that sentence was awesome. Dracula forms a non-aggression pact with Dr. Doom and only the magic of MI:13 led by Captain Britain and Pete Wisdom has a hope of stopping Dracula.

During the course of the arc, fans find out how brilliant Pete Wisdom is, that Dracula still holds a grudge against Muslims stemming back from his Vlad the Impaler days, that seeing Black Knight duel Dracula is pretty much better than anything else in the world, and that the legendary sword Excalibur wielded by a Muslim woman is more effective against Dracula than any crucifix.

Seriously, stop reading this and track down this storyline, we’ll wait.

Hulk vs. Dracula 

Part of the Fear Itself mega-event, this battle between two legendary monsters took a form fans did not expect. During the course of Fear Itself, the Hulk was transformed into Nul, the Breaker of Worlds. When Thor knocked Nul into the Carpathian Mountains, the Hulk became a threat to Dracula’s sovereignty. Once again taking up the mantle of reluctant defender, Dracula most take on Nul with a group of vampires, the Forgotten at his side. The event book was another step into the modern evolution of Dracula and was the first time he appeared alongside the Hulk.

An X feud renewed (2011)

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants

Dracula’s return to the X Universe also served as the introduction of the modern interpretation of the Lord of the Undead. Gone is his rocking ‘stache and suave opera cape, arriving is the white hair and Coppola-esque armor. The story is pretty cool, if needlessly complex at times, and introduces Dracula’s son, Xarus. Xarus goes to war with dear old dad with the X-Men and a group of Atlanteans caught in the middle. The whole thing ends with a fierce reminder, family or not, do not mess with Dracula.

It's available on Amazon.

The new look for Dracula would stay consistent across all Marvel media as it was this look that appeared in an episode of Avengers Assemble on Disney XD. The story arc also brings vampirism closer to the X-Men as never before as Jubilee, once the most innocent of the X-Men, is transformed into a vampire. What Claremont and company began in the early '80s continues today as Dracula’s influence on the X-Men looms like a constant shadow over the heroes!

Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2018 Special Edition Magazine right here!

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