#locust: the ballad of men

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Unboxing: Scout Comics Subscription Box - November 2022

Unboxing: Scout Comics Subscription Box - November 2022. What's in the box!? #comics #comicbooks

Scout Comics has its own subscription box where you can get up to 12 Scout Comics including sought-after variants! You can buy one box for $39.99 plus shipping or subscribe for $33.99 plus shipping. The box ships once a month! In this box: Azza the Barbed #1 Behemoth #2 Beyond the Beyond #4 By the Horns: Dark Earth #4 Code 45 #4 Forever Forward #2 Locust: The Ballad of Men #2 Mega…

[griefbuilt]

𝐜𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐬 starring 𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘹

what i wouldn't give to be in church this sunday  /  listening to the choir so heartfelt, all singing  /  " god loves you, but not enough to save you "  /   so, baby girl, good luck taking care of yourself  /  so i said fine, 'cause that's how my daddy raised  me  /  if they strike once, then you just hit 'em twice as hard  /  but i always knew that in the end, no one was coming to save me  /  so  i just prayed, and i keep praying and praying and praying

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man  recanting  monster  casts  their  eyes  moonward.  a  howl  reverberates  through  his  bones  -----  a  ballad  of  longing  encased  in  tender  flesh.  transformation’s  siren  song  has  waned  with  the  moon,  leaving  only  exhaustion  and  a  gut-deep  ache  in  it’s  wake.  but  this  ache  ?  it  was  fulfilling  the  bargain  oliver  had  made  as  a  child:  a  bargain  where  he’d  fed  himself  to  the  beast  bound  in  his  blood  and  was  gifted  with  teeth  in  return.  and  so  it  felt  treasonous  to  blacken  the  name  of  the  creature  that  clamored  and  clawed  within  him  ;  it  had  kept  him  safe  when  nothing  else  could  (  and  it  only  asked  for  one  night  a  week.....how  could  anyone  deny  it  that  ?  )  so  in  the  end,  when  he  was  bloodied  and  broken  and  so  goddamn  vindictive  that  it’d  put  the  wrath  of  god  to  shame,  he  wouldn’t  blame  the  wolf.  wouldn’t  blame  what  he  was  ;  they  might  be  able  to  take  everything  else  from  him,  but  not  that.  

but  what  a  shame  it  was  their  weakness  was  so  easily  exploitable,  a  universal  truth  known  to  any  man  or  beast  who’d  strayed  across  their  mythos.  so  when  oliver  heard  the  telltale  THUD  THUD  THUD  of  a  heartbeat  (  steady  as  the  executioner’s  axe  )  and  the  smell  of  pack  but  not  wolf,  he  recoiled.  curled  into  himself  to  protect  the  soft  parts  until  metamorphosis  hit  and  he’d  emerge  a  stronger  creature.....but  he  was  no  inconspicuous  thing  and  the  heartbeats  were  only  (  multiplying.  how  many  were  there  ?  )  thundering closer.  they  sounded  like  war  drums.  they  were  here  for  him.  two  more  breaths.  a  fleeting  moment  of  peace.  of  the  smell  of  pine  and  honey  locust  and  wet  dirt.  oliver  rose  to  his  feet.  

four  vulture-eyed  men  met  him  halfway  (  rip  sinew  from  bone  and  eat.  devour.  swallow.  choke  down  the  liver  and  lungs  and  vomit  out  the  bitter  heart.  he  wouldn’t  blame  them  for  the  waste  ---- oliver  couldn’t  stomach  the  thing  either  ).  “  now  don’t  get  me  wrong,  i’s  real  happy  to  see  y’all,  but  i  ain’t  really  dressed  for  the  occasion. “ clever  tongue  tasted  teeth.  wolf  or  no,  the  man  hit  hard  enough  that  oliver  could  see  the  sun.  but  what  was  a  little  more  blood  to  stain  his  skin  ?  a  broken  nose  amongst  shattered  bones  ?  he  swung  back,  eyes  aglow.  heard  a  crunch  (  eye  for  an  eye  ,  god  said.....right  ?  or  was  that  his  daddy  ?  some  days  they  had  felt  like  the  same  thing.  ).  the  victory  was  short-lived.  a  pinprick.  BURNING  BURNING  BURNING  BURNING.  his  blood  was  set  aflame.  his  mind  a  blinding  white.  he  was  boiling  from  the  inside  out  -----  he  had  to  be.....his  viscera  a  boiling  blistering  pool  that  would  char  his  bones.  sense  left  him.  he  clawed  and  clawed  trying  to  get  it  out.  

a  whistle.  “  well  shit.....guess  faith  wasn’t  kiddin’  when  she  said  her  little  wolfsbane  brew  packed  a  punch.  god  help  the  sorry  son  of  a  bitch  who  catches  her  in  a  right  mood.  “  words  weren’t  registering.  nothing  was  registering.  there  was  only  white-hot  pain,  acute  and  building.  growing  like  it  hadn’t  reached  the  apex  yet.  like  that  red  hot  flame  behind  his  eyes  was  going  to  turn  blue  and  burn  and  burn   -----  reduce  him  to  dust  on  the  spot....and  all  he  could  do  was  claw  and  pray  that  his  blunt  (  painfully  human  )  little  nails  would  rip  through  skin,  split  him  open  at  the  seams,  and  let  some  of  it  out.  that  as  blood  gushed,  the  flames  would  follow.  

“  sorry  son  of  a  bitch’s  gonna  be  you,  you  keep  circlin’  ‘round  all  those  pointed  hints  she’s  been  throwin’  your  way.  girl’s  hearin’  weddin’  bells,  wayon.  either  you  tie  her  down  or  she  gonna  tie  you  up. “  wayon  snorted.  kicked  oliver  onto  his  stomach  with  the  toe  of  his  boot.  straddled  him  as  he  wrenched  his  hands  behind  his  back.  he  held  tight  to  them,  tight  enough  that  oliver  would’ve  been  fifteen  different  shades  of  black  and  blue  if  he  were  any  ordinary  man.  if  he  was  an  ordinary  man,  maybe  he  wouldn’t  be  on  fucking  fire.  

“  don’t  you  worry  ‘bout  me.  i  ain’t  stupid  enough  to  play  fast  and  loose  with  no  witch.  i’m  just  givin’  it  time.  enjoyin’  my  freedom  while  i  can,  y’know  ?  “  wayon  made  a  loose  gesture  to  one  of  the  others.  took  the  ropes  with  an  easy  grin.  “  -’sides,  she  knows  she  gonna  get  what  she  wants.  she  always  does.  “   ropes  were  corded  tight  around  his  wrists  -----  more  wolfsbane.  the  sound  that  left  his  throat  was  animal  (  what  he  wouldn’t  give  to  be  the  coyote  stuck  in  the  bear  trap.  gnaw  off  the  paw  and  cut  your  losses.  live  to  fight  another  day  or  limp  off  and  die  with  dignity  ).  the  skin  on  his  wrists  bubbled  and  blistered  ;  fighting  it  only  made  it  worse,  made  the  ropes  cut  deeper.  

when  wayon  (  the  man  had  been  one  of  his  mama’s  friends.  had  come  ‘round  and  ate  at  their  table.  sang  ‘  the  gambler  ‘  steady  and  low  when  he  chopped  vegetables.  had  rough,  sun-warmed  skin  that  flushed  red  whenever  one  the  grannies  got  their  jollies  getting  fresh  with  him  )  came  at  him  with  the  gag,  he  fought  back.  thrashed  and  bit  and  writhed  because  god  willing,  he  wouldn’t  know  what  wolfsbane  tasted  like.  not  when  it  did  this  to  him  when  he  touched  it.  god  must  not  have  been  listening.  a  fist  knotted  in  his  hair  and  yanked  his  head  back  while  the  other  forced  the  rag  in  none  too  gently.  he  couldn’t  tell  if  it  was  spit  or  blood  leaking  from  the  corners  of  his  mouth.  probably  both.  he  could  taste  the  acrid  blend  of  blood  and  wolfsbane  creeping  down  his  throat.  settling  in  his  stomach  and  making  him  nauseous  -----  more  nauseous.  

“  raleigh  gonna  be  here  soon.  “

raleigh  was  coming.  resignation  set  in,  quieting  the  panic  in  his  mind.  he’d  once  wondered  how  izzy’s  mama  could  just  go  quiet  like  that  (  his  own  had  always  been  a  raging,  spitting  thing  )  but  he  was  beginning  to  understand.  the  weight  of  reality  was  crushing.  fragmenting.  like  cement  sticking  him  to  the  bottom  of  a  pool.  when  you  couldn’t  fight  it,  what  was  left  ?  he  was  going  to  die.  because  it  wasn’t  that  raleigh  was  a  bad  man,  but  he  was  an efficient  one  ----  methodical  and  brutal  in  a  way  that  oliver  had  always  admired  ----  and  even  more  than  that,  he’d  always  been  real  sweet  on  eve.  

his  daddy  once  said  ‘  we  get  what  we  deserve.  ‘  then  oliver  had  killed  him  and  he  had  never  agreed  more.  a  strong  man  snuffed  out  like  a  flame.  crumpled  in  on,  himself  like  a  butterfly  with  a  torn  wing.  lord,  did  it  feel  good.  so  really,  if  he  were  raleigh,  maybe  he  would’ve  done  the  same  thing.  

“  gimme  that,  i  got  an  idea.  “ 

the  knife  didn’t  cut  so  much  as  carve  ----  sawed  through  skin,  fascia,  and  muscle  and  gouged.  fingers  grappled  helplessly  at  the  mud.  tears  welled  up  in  the  corners  of  his  eyes.  he  drooled  blood  and  spit.  the  pretty  little  chunk  of  flesh  that  housed  his  crescent  mark  now  lay  beside  him.  he  stared  at  it.  an  ugly,  heaving  sob.  that  was  it.  the  last  tie  to  his  pack.  the  last  thing  that  marked  him  as  being  unabashedly  and  undeniably  crescent.  his  thought  became  fractal,   his  heart  a  jigsaw  puzzle.  in  the  end,  this  is  what  he’s  reduced  to:  trembling  hands  ;  a  beaten  dog  ;  judas  with  a  twang  ;  the  bastard  son  is  a  pariah  from  birth.

is  that  how nick  and  aiden  would  remember  him  ?  

scarlett ?

jackson  ?

isaac  ? 

he  wasn’t  sure  what  he  had  expected  raleigh  to  look  like.  vicious  ?  vindicated  ?  violent  ?  but  instead,  the  set  of  his  face  was  bone-tired.  like  world-weary  atlas  or  jesus  at  the  cross:  a  man  shouldering  the  weight  of  the  world.  resigned  to  it.  silence  reigned.  through  tears  and  blood  and  spit,  they  stared  at  one  another.  raleigh  bit  out  a  “  leave  “  gravelly  and  unforgiving  and  the  other  four  left.  he  yanked  the  gag  down,  hissing  as  it  burned.  

“  look  at  me.  “  

his  voice  was  deceptively  soft.  oliver  didn’t  listen.  squeezed  his  eyes  shut.  and  craned  his  head.  he  didn’t  want  to  do  this.  didn't  see  the  point  in  drawing  things  out  when  they  both  damn  well  knew  what  was  going  to  happen.  raleigh  backhanded  him.  held  him  tight  by  the  hair.  “  look  at  me.  “  begrudgingly,  he  obeyed.  met  eyes  as  cold  and  distant  as  the  stars.  “  eve  was  a  good  girl.  she  didn’t  deserve  that. “  raleigh  paused.  “  -but  you  know  that,  don’t  you  ?  “  met  with  the  opportunity  to  speak  again,  words  failed  him.  his  honey-trap  mouth  had  nothing  to  say.  “  did  you  look  her  in  the  eye  when  you  killed  her  ?  “  

he  hadn’t.  had  pressed  the  pillow  tight  against  her  face  and  thought  up  excuses.  was  too  far  down  the  road  of  good  intentions  to  let  sentimentality  get  in  his  way.  if  he  cried,  it  was  far  away  from  that  goddamn  shack.  if  he  ever  questioned  it,  it  was  never  aloud.  but  eve  had  gotten  the  last  laugh  in  the  end,  hadn’t  she  ?  she  said  the  pack  would  kill  him  for  it  and  they  were  going  to.  “  -jackson  “  he  started.  

“  -by  the  time  jackson  or  isaac  or  anyone  else  comes  lookin’  for  you,  you’ll  be  long  dead,  boy.  you  and  i  both  know  they  got  better  things  to  do  than  deal  with  you.  “  a  shuddering  breath.  oliver  had  nothing  else.  no  bargaining  chips  or  half-assed  explanations.  the  only  thing  keeping  him  safe  (  that  had  ever  kept  him  safe  )  was  dropping  a  few  names  at  the  right  time.  but  now  he’d  been  dropped.  had  torched  every  last  bridge  with  a  pyromaniac’s  eye.  how  long  would  it  take  before  anyone  noticed  he  was  gone  ?  would  they  care  enough  to  look  ?  did  he  deserve  it  ?  

“  look  at  me.  “  

ollie  did.  

hands  clasped  tight  around  his  neck.  nails  bit  through  the  skin,  leaving  little  crescent  moons  in  their  wake.  he  could  feel  the  blood  rushing,  blue  and  purple  rings  waiting  to  blossom  into  a  necklace. 

they  kept  their  eyes  on  one  another.  

oliver  felt  lightheaded.

“  sorry.  “  

raleigh  smiled.  “  i  know.  “  

the  bugs  would  find  oliver’s  body  before  jackson  and  isaac  did.  

[fantomcomics]

What’s Out This Week? 7/20

We’re melting send help oh great heavens

After The Rain GN  -  Nnedi Okorafor, David Brame, & John Jennings

After the Rain is an adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor's short story, "On the Road." The adaptation, written by John Jennings and illustrated by David Brame, begins in Nigeria during a powerful and unexpected storm. While visiting her grandmother, a young Nigerian-American woman named Chioma answers a knock at the door and is horrified by what she sees-a young boy with a severe head wound is standing on the doorstep. When he touches Chioma, his hand burns like fire and just as suddenly as he arrived, he disappears. Her grandmother comes down to see what is wrong and chastises Chioma for opening the door for a stranger. Outside there are only footprints in the mud which vanish in the same manner as their owner.Chioma knows that something is wrong, and that the boy has "marked" her in some way. Haunted and hunted, Chioma must embrace her heritage in order to survive.

Blink #1 -  Christopher Sebela & Hayden Sherman

Wren Booker was three when she was found catatonic and covered in blood on the streets of New York. Since that day, she's been haunted by a childhood she can't remember. After decades of searching, Wren stumbles upon a cryptic website streaming multiple CCT feeds from strange rooms in a ruined building and something clicks, setting off hidden memories that lead her back to a place she's seen in lifelong nightmares. Hunting for answers, Wren breaks into the building, but instead finds herself entangled in the camera-filled dark mazes of a decayed social experiment known only as BLINK.

Box Of Light GN - Seiko Erisawa

The spooky tale of a haunted convenience store. A quiet convenience store hovers on the boundary between life and death. Its faint glow in the darkness draws people toward it, pushing them closer to the final purchase they'll ever make... and is that a monster in the magazine aisle?! Prepare for spooky creatures, cryptic employees, and an air of delightful dread in this supernatural mystery. This beloved self-contained tale was awarded a top spot in both the Kono Manga wo Yome! and Kono Manga ga Sugoi! rankings in Japan.

The Brother Of All Men #1 -  Zac Thompson & Eoin Marron

It is 1928. Veteran of the Great War and part-time private eye Guy Horn travels to a remote community in Western Canada to retrieve his estranged brother from the clutches of a dangerous cult. As Guy struggles to gain control of his own personal demons, he's tantalized by the cause and its charismatic leader, Brother XII.

Dungeon People GN Vol 1 -  Sui Hutami

 Clay was trained by her father to be an expert member of the thieves' guild. Since her father disappeared three years ago, she's been using her skills to search for him in a dungeon filled with goblins, a Minotaur, and all manner of other dangerous creatures. When Clay reaches deeper than anyone ever has before, she meets the caretaker of the dungeon. To her surprise, Clay is invited to join the staff! And thus begins Clay's new job-to learn the inner workings and behind-the-scenes secrets of the dungeon from the inside.

Little Red Ronin #1 - Garrett Gunn & Kit Wallis

A terrible beast has haunted the citizens of Poletown for decades. Although the monster hasn't been seen in years, disappearances and gruesome killings still plague the townsfolk. Determined to clear her family name, Red hunts The Great Wolf in hopes of exonerating her grandmother, who lives in exile for spreading terrifying propaganda.

She Bites #1 -  Hedwig Hale & Alberto Hernandez R.

Elsie Baker is a 134-year-old vampire in the body of a 9-year-old girl. Sick and tired of stupid adults treating her like a lost little girl and not letting her buy cigarettes, Elsie decides to hire a babysitter to be her chaperone. Enter Brenda Zielinski, a suicidal teenager in search of some quick cash so she can buy a one-way ticket to Scotland to jump off a cliff. Despite the generous payday, it turns out that babysitting a vampire might be more trouble than it's worth.

Weed Magic GN -  Brian Phillipson, Jordan Lichtman & Alex Cormack

Can you smell that? Wafting into comic book stores this July, the mildly anticipated Super-Jumbo Sized Edition of Weed Magic. Rejoin our heroes Moe, Bunny, and Senator Dimples as they continue to test the boundaries of their unexplained magical superpowers. Will they smoke for the greater good or will they be tempted into a life of sloth, sexual depravity and snack foods? Weed Magic is back and it's danker and stonier than ever, including 20 never before published story pages, tons of new art and a few surprises. Can't remember where you stashed issues 1-4? We got you. The Super-Jumbo Sized Edition includes all four issues in one easier to hold large edition.

Locust: The Ballad Of Man #1 -  Massimo Rosi & Alex Nieto

Are you ready to return to the world of locusts? Max's journey, revealed in a series of flashes between past and present, brings us closer and closer to Ford's lair. However, proximity to Ford is the very antithesis of safety as the fanatical cult leader now seems increasingly ready to devastate everything in the name of his insane religious vision.

Rogue’s Gallery #1 - Hannah Rose May, Justin Mason, Triona Farrell & Declan Shalvey

The Purge meets Scream in a home invasion thriller that follows disenfranchised TV superhero actress Maisie Wade as she is terrorized by an unhinged group of intruders cosplaying her day job's archvillains. If Maisie is going to survive the night, she'll need to be the hero she has come to despise.

Sarazanmai Official Manga Anthology GN Vol 01 -  Kunihiko Ikuhara 

A collection of over a dozen short stories for the hit anime by Kunihiko Ikuhara! After accidentally breaking a statue of a mythical kappa, junior high students Kazuki, Toi, and Enta are transformed into kappa themselves as punishment by Keppi, prince of the Kappa Kingdom. Keppi has a task for the boys if they want their bodies back: work for him to hunt down zombie kappa born of twisted human desires. Even scarier though? They're going to have to expose their own deepest fears and desires to each other to do so!

Whatcha snagging this week, Fantomites? 

[cardest]

Russia playlist

Gorbachov! Tear down that wall.......and turn up this Russia playlist! The Cossacks are dancing to this one and the yaks are singing. Russia, Siberia, Moscow, St Petersburg and a cold war. It’s all here in this Russia playlist. Hit play: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC18F7oDKY8zH1IOplzHM05MY

We begin the journey in Siberia and make our way across Genghis Khan territory towards Omsk and beyond. We have a look at Chernobyl, Ukraine for a look around and make our way up to Moscow, We finish up this playlist in St Petersburg. Hope you enjoy it.

RUSSIA

001 FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE 007 OST - Main theme 002 Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train 003 The Beatles - Back in The USSR 004 Iron Maiden - Mother Russia 005 Sisters of Mercy  - Dominion / Mother Russia 006 Ramones - Cretin Hop 007 Sting - Russians 008 Russkaja - Peace, Love & Russian Roll 009 Robert Simon Thomas - Troika  (balalaika) 010 Jello Biafra, The Guantanamo School Of Medicine - We Created Putin 011 The Cult -  Siberia 012 Mastodon -  Siberian Divide 013 Yes - Siberian Khatru 014 Pesnokhorki Barnaul - Cossacks songs of Siberia 015 Diablo Swing Orchestra - Siberian Love Affairs 016 The Kills - Siberian Nights 017 The Night Flight Orchestra - Siberian Queen 018 Altai Kai - Traditional Siberian music 019 Vallenfyre -  My Black Siberia 020 Skyhooks - Jukebox In Siberia 021 MISERY INDEX - Siberian March 022 Wooly Mammoth - Mammoth Bones 023 Grumbling Fur -  Siberian Priest 024 Iron Maiden - Genghis Khan 025 Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Night enchanted 026 The Locust -  Live From The Russian Compound 027 ACCEPT - Russian Roulette 028 Cavalera Conspiracy - Genghis Khan 029 Diaframma - Siberia 030 Renaissance - Mother Russia 031 Echo & The Bunnymen - Siberia 032 Dschinghis Khan - Genghis Khan 033 Bad News -  Warriors Of Ghengis Khan 034 The Hu - The great Chinggis Khan 035 Shah - Escape 036 Ray Stevens - Surfin USSR 037 Ramones - Locket Love 038 Heirs -  Russia 039 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Hero of the Soviet Union 040 Natalia Albychakova - Takhpakh 041 Svetlanas - Go Fck You Self 042 Maloletka - Irkutsk Path 043  Kuban Cossack Choir - The hat all around 044 The Lords of the New Church - Russian Roulette 045 Paul Lay Trio - Irkutsk 046 Elvis Hitler - Rocking Over Russia 047 Russian Circles - 309 048 Thylacine - Irkutsk 049 Valeriy Voloshin and gruppa Pyatiletka - Irkutsk 050 DEVO -  Cold War 051 Güiro Meets Russia - It's Not The World, It's You 052 Powerwolf - Nightside of Siberia 053 Altai Kai - Oilo oilo altai 054 Arkona - Yarilo 055 Depeche Mode - People Are People 056 Gorky Park - Bang 057 Igor Stravinsky -  The Rite of Spring, Part 1- 3 Game of Abduction 058 Martika - Toy Soldiers 059 Transvision vamp    - revolution baby 060 The Stranglers -  No More Heroes 061 Gari Gari - Russian gypsy  music 062 Russian Sailors - Dance Yablochka 063 Manic Street Preachers - Revolt 064 Elton John - Nikita 065 Krokus - Russian winter 066 Prince - Ronnie Talk to Russia 067 Soviet SOunds - Baikal-Amur Railroad 068 Genesis - Land of Confusion 069 Duran Duran - Planet Earth 070 Today Is The Day -  The Russian Porn Ballet 071 Nytt Land - Ballad of Gjallarhorn 072 Rotting Christ - Ветры злые - (featuring Irina Zybina) 073 Metallica - Blackened 074 Anneke van Giersbergen, Árstíðir -  Russian Lullaby 075 Der Kommissar - After the Fire 076 Czas relaksu - Andrzej i Eliza 077 korobushka - Folk Russian 078 Peter Gabriel - Red Rain 079 FEAR - Bomb the Russians 080 Rush - Heresy 081 RUSSKAJA - Energia 082 Megadeth -  Peace Sells 083 King Crimson - One More Red Nightmare 084 Sodom - Nuclear Winter 085 Bruce Cockburn - If I Had A Rocket Launcher 086 Talisman - Hey you Horses! 087 Styx - Cold War 088 Grateful Dead - Throwing Stones 089 Gimines - Kai armonika tyliai užgros 090 EXHUMED - Coins Upon the Eyes 091 Mastodon -  The Czar 092 CCCP - American Soviets 093 Sapce Rockit - Supersonik Elektronik 094 Septic Flesh - The Eldest Cosmonaut 095 Quicksand -  Cosmonauts 096 Arkona - Zimushka 097 Abracadabra - Damned Dances 098 Pink Floyd - Two Suns In The Sunset 099 Prince - 1999 100 Trololo Guy - Sean Sell Duck with Fake Subtitles ( Buffalax Style ) 101 Armonika - Gromatele Parašiau 102 Diablo Swing Orchestra - Vodka Inferno 103 Accept -  Balls to the wall 104 Killing Joke - New Cold War 105 UB40 - The Earth Dies Screaming 106 RAMONES - Bonzo Goes To Bitburg (My Brain Is Hanging Upside) 107 TCHAYOK - Zavarka - Mi-minable 108 COH - Soii Noir 109 Vircator - Tunguska 110 Scorpions -  China White 111 Tears For Fears  - Everybody Wants To Rule The World 112 The Stalin - 解剖室 113 KAIRA - OХ РA 114 Alexander Robotnick - Ce n'est q'un début 115 Tunguska Electronic Music Society - Alpha Kawu 116 Arkona - Odna 117  Cist - Antisceptic 118 Sabaton -  Nuclear Attack 119 Leningrad Cowboys - Katjusha 120 PRONG - Rude Awakening 121 Imperial Age - And I Shall Find My Home 122 Так - пела метель 123 Fear Konstruktor - Nonexistence 124 Oneohtrix - Russian Mind 125 Police - Every Breath You Take 126 dEpEchE modE - Two Minute Warning 127 Ultravox - Dancing With Tears In My Eyes 128 Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Love Missile F1-11 129 Metallica - Fight Fire With Fire 130 David Bowie - Heroes 131 woven hand - my Russia 132 Survivor - Burning Heart (Rocky IV OST) 133 Forest - As a Shade Above This Land 134 Tesla - Modern Day Cowboy 135 Colossus Form - Son Of Nature 136 The Flying Lizards - Russia 137 Djivan Gasparyan - A Cool Wind Is Blowing 138 Iron Driver (feat. Pasha Mrachek) - Prisoner of time 139 Pussy Riot - CHAIKA 140 Boris Alexandrov - Катюша (Katyusha) 141 DEVO - Going Under 142 Motor - Yak 143 Nuclear Assault - Nuclear War 144 Edward Artemiev - Station (Solaris OST) 145 Soviet Valves - Puritan Blues 146 Verasy - Polet 147 FAVALLI - Yuri Gagarin 148 Wolfmother - Cosmonaut 149 Yuri Gagarin  - Psychological Discontinuity 150 Witchfinder General - Soviet Invasion 151 Korrozia Metallah - Russian Vodka 152 Russkaja - Kosmopolit 153 Dio -  Gypsy 154 The The - slow train to dawn 155  Blues Pills -  Gypsy 156 Rush - Red Lenses 157 Corey Hart - Komrade Kiev 158 Master - Metal Doctor 159 Howlin Rain - Phantom In The Valley 160 ARKONA - Liki Bessmertnykh Bogov 161 Pitchblack - IHATEU 162 Ozzy Osbourne - Killer of Giants 163 Scorpions - Wind of Change 164 Yat kha - Chorumal Bodum 165 Nadezhda Babkina, Russkaja Pesnja 166 Ramones - Here Today, Gone Tomorrow 167 Russian radio - red flag 168 Manicure - Atomic Summer 169 The Dillinger Escape Plan -  The Threat Posed By Nuclear Weapons 170 Love Among Freaks - Berserker 171 ARIA - HERO OF ASPHALT 172 Temnozor - Fatherland 173 Walknut - Motherland Ostenvegr 174 Weird Al Yankovic - Now That's What I Call Polka! 175 Underworld - Underneath the Radar 176 Skyclad - Polkageist 177 Helloween - Russian Roulé 178 John Coltrane - Russian Lullaby 179 Julian Cope - russian revolution blues 180 Rodrigo y Gabriela - The Russian Messenger 181 Kate Bush - Babooshka 182 ВИА - Чаривни гитары 183 Mastodon - The Last Baron 184 Hovert – Omyt 185 Minsk -  Consumed by Horizons 186 Kypck - Stalingrad 187 Def Leppard -  Gods of war 188 Black Country Communion  - Big Train 189 Sabaton -  Stalingrad 190  Doomsquad - Russian Gaze 191 Soviet Soviet - Human Nature 192 Murray head    - one night in bangkok 193 The Korgis - Young n Russian 194 Chelsea Light Moving - Communist Eyes 195 Helix - Champagne Communist 196 UDO - Train Ride In Russia 197 Mr Weebl - Russian Dancing Men 198 Jamie Jones   - Siberian Express 199 They Might Be Giants - Sold My Mind to the Kremlin 200 Ed Khuild - lolololololololol 201 Sepultura - Itsari 202 Vy Pole - Enormous 203 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow 204 Gogol Bordello -  Gypsy Auto Pilot 205 Buffalex - Horse Eat My Nipple 206 Municipal Waste - Wolves of Chernobyl 207 Drudkh -  Cursed Sons II 208 Chernobyl - A song for the fallen 209 Russkaja - Hometown Polka 210 Toxic Holocaust -  Out of the Fire 211  Hail Caesar! Soundtrack - 19 Soviet Man 212 The Blow Monkeys  - The Man From Russia 213 The Devil's Blood - The Anti-Kosmik Magick 214 Orchid - Cosmonaut of Three 215 Vergeltung - Cold War 216 KYPCK - Alleya Stalina 217 Cabaret Voltaire -  Calling Moscow 218 Red Army Choir - Polyushka Polye 219 Iron Curtain - Ready To Strike 220 Porcupine Tree - Russia on Ice 221 Sigue Sigue Sputnik - 21st Century Boy 222 Al Stewart - Roads to Moscow 223 The Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil 224 Soviet Soviet - ecastacy 225 KREMLIN - Will You Feed Me 226 AC/DC - Heatseeker 227 ANJ - Gorbachev 228 Katyusha (Катюша) - Aleksandr Marshal & Valeria Kurnushkina 229 ARKONA - Stenka Na Stenku 230 Black Obelisk -  The wall 231 Skyclad - Catherine at the Wheel 232 Pussy Riot - Kropotkin-vodka (Kill the sexist!) 233 Brian Eno -- Stedelijk 234 Zola Jesus - Siphon 235 Insect Inside - The First Shining of New Genus 236 MR. ZIVAGO - Little Russian 237 The Real McKenzies - Midnight Train to Moscow 238 Red Army OST - KGB 239 The Toasters - Night Train to Moscow 240 Thy Catafalque - Urania 241 The Apogee - Hieronymus Bosch 242 Sabaton - Panzerkampf 244 RUSSKAJA - Barada   245 Oneohtrix Point Never - KGB Nights 246 Faith No More -  A Small Victory 247 Mike and the mechanics - A Call To Arms 248 Michael Jackson - Stranger In Moscow 249 Blondie - Contact In Red Square 250 Rammstein - Moskau 251 Pseudogod - deathwomb 252 KGB - Subway Sleepwalker 253 Igor Butman Big Band - Moscow at 3am 254 Genghis Khan - Moscow 255 Demon - Blue Skies In Red Square 256 Type O Negative - The Profit of Doom 257 COH - Red Square 258 Cougars - Red Square 259 Ray Conniff - Moscow Nights 260 INDIANS IN MOSCOW - Indians in Moscow 261 Radio Moscow - 250 Miles 262 Kingdom Come - Crown of Moscow 263 Powerwolf - Moscow after dark 264 U.D.O. - Decadent 265 System Of A Down - Störagéd 266 Closure In Moscow - Pink Lemonade 267 VIBRATORS - DISCO IN MOSCO 268 IRA PETROWA - MOSKAUER NÄCHTE 269 Visage - Moon Over Moscow 270 Farmers Market - Red Square Dance 271 Wonderland -  Moscow 272 Courtney Pine - Red Square Gagarinesk 273 Stray Cats - Storm The Embassy 274 German Shepherds - Communist Control 275 Moloko - Radio Moscow 276 March of the defenders - Moscow 277 Takako Nishizaki - Podmoskovnye vechera( Moscow Nights) 278 Simple Minds - Moscow Underground 279 The Spotnicks - Moscow 280 The Russian Jazz Quartet - Journey from Moscow 281 Bob Crewe Generation - Miniskirts In Moscow 282 MODERN TROUBLE - FLY TO MOSCOW 283 Gorky Park - Moscow Calling 284 BB Gabor - Moscow Drug Club 285 Doe Maar - De bom 286 Manicured noise - Moscow 287 Russkaja - Ras Dwa Tri 288 PLANET P PROJECT - Armageddon 289 Clan of Xymox - Muscoviet Musquito 290 Gogol Bordello -  60 REVOLUTIONS 291 Uriah Heep   - Gypsy 292 Living Colour - Cult Of Personality 293 The Hollies - Russian Roulette 294 Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen - Red Square 295 Frank Chacksfield - Under Moscow Skies 296 Thomas Dolby - Eastern Bloc 297 The Redskins - Kick Over The Statues 298 The Alchemist - Moscow Mornings - Sunrise 299 N.O.T.A. - Moscow 300 Svetlanas - Where Is My Borscht? 301 Against Me! - Russian Spies 302 James Horner - Gorkij park (Gorky Park 1983) OST 303 Hetalia Russia - Moscú 304 Roberto Jacketti & The Scooters - Moscow Nights 305 Ram J Holder - The Blues in Moscow 306 Ivan Rebroff sings Russian folk songs - Moscow nights 307 Jethro Tull - Crest Of A Knave Said She Was a Dancer 308 Men At Work - Its a Mistake 309 Skeewiff - Moscow Mule 310 The Clash - Ivan Meets G.I. Joe 311 Captain Sensible - Glad its all over 312 Ulfdallir - Steel Armor 313 Arkona - Oi Ti ne Vecher (Oh Not That Evening) 314 Lena Katina - No Voy A Olvidarte 315 JOHNNY M5 - Moscow Nights 316   Eddy Huntington - U.S.S.R. 317 Selsius - Moscow 318 WINTERUS - MOSCOW 319 Mr. Zivago - Love in Moscow 320 Brutto - Moscow Calling 321 Udo Lindenberg - Moskau 322 Aliza Kashi - Moscow Nights 323 Angelic Upstarts - Last Tango In Moscow 324 ASIA - Russian Dolls 325 Blaze Bayley & Thomas Zwijsen - Russian Holiday 326 Kate Bush - Breathing 327 Roger Waters and David Bowie - When the wind blows 328 Roky Erickson & The Aliens - Sputnik 329 Moscow - Orange Juice 330 Ivan Rebroff - Cossack Patrol 331 Alexandr Gradsky - Как молоды мы были 332 James Horner - Gorky Park - Following KGB 333 B.T.R - Moscow City 334 Gogol Bordello -  Hats Off To Kolpakoff 335 CCCP - Sputnik [Cosmos] 336 Russkaja - Go Sputnik 337 Red Spektor - Cosmonaut 338 Bald Red Lady - Cosmonaut 339 Ulver - Russian Doll 340 Hawkwind - Sputnik Stan 341 Bad Acid Trip - Putin Fears Pussy 342 Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime 343 Dark Tranquillity -  Arkhangelsk 344 TOTAL REJECTS (This Night) I'm Going To Be Destroyed 345 Manic Street Preachers - The Next Jet to Leave Moscow 346 Billy Joel - Leningrad 347 Victor Smolski    - The Heretic 348 Boney M - Rasputin 349 Type O Negative - Tripping A Blind Man 350 Leningrad Cowboys - Leningrad 351 Accept - Stalingrad 352 Russian Folk Music - Russian Winter 353 Cavalera Conspiracy -  Rasputin 354 Kontrust - Rasputin 355 Bersarin Quartett - St. Petersburg 356 Folkearth - From Volga to Bosphorus 357 Anastasia - Rumor in St. Petersburg 358 Retox - Soviet Reunion 359 Fireside - Let Rasputin Do It 360 Mastodon - Oblivion 361 St.Petersburg Ska Jazz Review - Volga River Boat Man 362 THERION - The Khlysti Evangelist 363 The Mountain Goats - Evening in Stalingrad 364 Rage - Soul Survivor 365 Indigo Girls - Closer to Fine 366 ARKONA - Slavsia Rus 367 Russian Folk Music - Kalinka (balalaika) 368 Catch 22 - The Decembrists Song 369 Joanna Stingray - City of Lenin 370 Aria - Attila 371 KAUAN  - Khurum 372 Balalaika Ensemble Wolga - Cossacks Dance 373 The Liminanas - Russian Roulette 374 Vasiliy Shumov - Porridge 375 U.D.O. - I GIVE AS GOOD AS I GET 666 Russkaja - Change

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC18F7oDKY8zH1IOplzHM05MY

[parasite-core]

@faunscozyspace so here’s the looong answer

So Draven was a regular poor farm kid in Mendev, the country unfortunate enough to be next to a demonic rip in reality called the Worldwound. Because of it the land is mostly fallow so farming is not lucrative. His parents supplemented it by fishing in the Lake of Mists and Veils, but the lake is treacherous and they had to be cautious with their expeditions. His father also did odd jobs around town, helping to fix roofs and tools or tend to cattle, and was all around generally well liked, so they got by because of their community.

Then one day demons broke through the Wardstone barrier protecting the rest of the world from the Worldwound. This demon raiding party came across Draven’s family farm, and they tortured and slaughtered everyone inside. They were not fast about it, and at one point Draven lost consciousness from the pain and trauma of what was happening around him. He was saved by some local retired crusaders who’d heard the commotion and grabbed their old arms and armor to slay and chase off the abyssal scourge. Unfortunately, Draven was the only survivor. He was in a coma for close to a month while his wounds healed—all but a terrible mark on his left arm, the Mark of Deskari, the demon lord of Locusts and Pestilence, which never closed and scarred, but festered and bled. The cleric’s finally had him bandage it and told him to keep it hidden, as others would jump to the wrong conclusions about such a thing.

Unfortunately rumors had already begun to spread, and by the time he was taken into the Light-Oath Orphanage, owned by one of the retired crusaders, former captain Scarlet Jules, the children had heard of him. The boy who had survived what no one should have. The boy whose body had become strangely hardy since the ordeal, despite having been a somewhat scrawny kid in his youth. The boy who might have made a deal with a demon. The boy who might have demonic blood inside of him. The boy marked by evil. The boy who might not be a boy as all, but a demon in disguise. All kinds of rumors followed him, and it left him isolated from his peers.

Until Leto Jules held out a hand of friendship.

Leto was a brilliant golden tiefling, abandoned to the orphanage with no record of who his mother and father were. He was roughly the same age as Draven, maybe a little younger. He understood being shunned for rumors and connections to demons you had no control over. So he tried to invite Draven to play with him. At first Draven was hesitant. He had never met a tiefling before, and his appearance with his sharp fangs and twisted horns brought to mind the monsters that had killed his family and tortured him. He refused. But Leto did not relent. He kept trying to befriend Draven, taking every opportunity he could to try to include him. He wouldn’t force the subject when Draven said no, but he would always come back when another opportunity arose. Eventually Draven warmed up to his presence, and then grew fond of it. After a year together the two of them became inseparable. Draven in time grew to think of Leto as a surrogate brother. Leto in turn grew very protective of Draven, despite Draven seeing himself as the one who needed to protect those around him.

And as those two grew close, Leto’s natural charm began drawing others to them as well. Gabrielle, a kindhearted aasimar cleric, whose instructors feared she was too soft for the work of a field medic. Sophia, an orphaned Kellid girl who lived up to her people’s reputation for battle. She was fierce and vicious, but she had a clear soft spot for Gabrielle, who also worried over her in combat and tended to favor healing her—sometimes to the detriment of others. Everyone in the group knew Sophia had a crush on Gabbie and vice-versa—it was only a matter of time until those two boneheads came out and admitted it. Issac, the youngest of the group and the only one besides Draven who didn’t came to the orphanage as an infant. Issac lost his parents in an accident he didn’t like talking about when he was 13. He was quiet, shy, extremely unsure of himself despite his clear skill with magic, and always a bit droopy-eyed, like she was about to fall asleep. He was also the only religious skeptic in the group, despite being a celestial blooded sorcerer. And last but certainly not least was Lorette, a bard who was seeking for his friends to make big names for themselves so he could be the one to write the ballads and tales and earn a name for himself in that manner. He was a short blond man whose large personality made up for his stature. He was always the most boisterous in the room, always the center of attention, and generally pretty well liked by the sorts who enjoy his kind of big personality.

So these six made an adventuring party, and when Draven was 20 they headed out to the Crusader city of Kenabres to enlist.

Things…didn’t go well. About an hour outside of the city, a demon broke through the Wardstone again. Draven felt the Mark of Deskari on his arm begin to burn and bleed severely, and he immediately knew something was wrong. There was no time to warn his friends before all hell broke loose. They had trained together, they knew how to fight…in theory. But they had never been in a real battle. And they didn’t have cold iron or good aligned weapons, so even when they did hit the target it did nothing. The demon ripped them apart. Gabrielle—innocent and sweet, aimed at for being an aasimar, never saw it coming. Sophia—flying into a hopeless rage over the love she’d never confessed to’s corpse, before falling beside her. Issac, terrified, trying to draw on his celestial power in one breath and cursing the gods that had turned his life into this mockery in the next. He fell silent with barely a whimper. Lorette tried to flee, all grandeur lost. He didn’t get far.

Draven tried to defend Leto with his shield. He felt claws rake across his face, there was a terrible pain and then a terrible cold, and then the next thing he remembers is waking up in a temple’s healing center in Kenabres. Somehow Leto had gotten them to safety, the lucky bastard. But not before Draven had lost his left eye.

He had to spend the next year relearning the sword and shield with only one eye, regaining his hand eye coordination and relearning to tell distances, and in that time he ended up relegated to the lowest most looked down upon branch of the crusades: The Raven Corps. And there he remained.

Until the fateful day the Wardstone was destroyed, he and six others were tossed into the caverns below Kenabres, and by the end of it his recent friend and mentee from the Raven Corps, Auriel Answerer, died in battle against a Baphomet Cultist who had been leading a conspiracy to infiltration the Church of Iomedae, after dealing her a crippling blow. Auriel we discovered after his death had been meant to be Iomedae’s Chosen One, the Paladin to wield the intelligent holy sword Radiance. However since Auriel’s spirit vouched for Draven, both the honor and the burden or wielding Radiance fell to Draven. Radiation was not pleased—they did not come off as terribly fond of their replacement wielder who wasn’t even a true Paladin.

Not longe after we met an eldritch archer magus in the sewers looking after some orphans. So our party became Luna the innocent accused serial killer The Butcher of Balestreet, Melody the Inquisitor of Shelyn who followed a holy songbird to find us, and Hiskaria a convicted murderer who was supposed to be in the Raven’s Corps as community service under orders of her land’s kind Kevoth-Kul after all forms of execution failed. So Draven has Hiskaria as his responsibility now whether he likes it or not (she grows on him)

Since then long story’s short: we met The person Draven hero worships, Commander Irabeth Tirabade, got a mission from her to destroy the final shard of the Wardstone before the cultists could turn it into a weapon of mass destruction. So we did. And Draven got closer to the party after spending a long time holding them at arm’s length because they risked everything to keep Leto safe after Draven saw a scry that he was in danger and that if they retreated now he might not make it back safely. Hiskaria avoided our entire boss fight by tapping the Wardstone shard with a rod of cancellation while we had her distracted and it blew up and tore the enemies apart. We had some visions of what was meant to happen—all bad—but we broke fate and made a better reality. Then we got the power of the Wardstone and became mythic.

After that we’ve met Iomedae the Inheritor, Draven’s goddess, herself and got three boons from her for helping to cleanse her temple of the Deskari cultists and their desecration. Then we met the Queen of a Mendev who was somehow equally cool. She knighted all of us and promoted Draven whether he likes it or not. So after naming his new Legion he is now Sir Draven Imani, the One-Eye’d Knight, Commander of the Adamant Shield Legion.

A Legion strong enough to stand unyielding before the forces of the Worldwound like an Adamantine Shield to protect the innocent of the world outside.

Since then we’ve led Draven’s army to liberate a number of fortresses. Had some insubordination that almost ended really badly when some of the men went to desert—and then they were snatched up by gargoyles. We fought through hordes of ghouls, gargoyles, a half-fiend gargoyle inquisitor, an incubus, and a nabasu to get to them. The nabasu killed Melody, but by a miracle there was a scroll of resurrection with the healing supplies kept under the podium behind the podium of what was once a church of Iomedae, Draven isn’t powerful enough to cast this magic consistently, so he had to take a gamble…and it worked. With Iomedae and Shelyn’s blessings the spell worked, and we had Melody back. For the first time ever Draven’s curse did not take hold.

The three crusaders we saved were ashamed after we’d literally put our lives in the line for them, and they returned to camp. Draven later spoke to their ringleader Arles. He explained he knew were Arles was coming from—mourning caused people to act irrationally. He just hoped it wouldn’t cause them more problems in the future. Arles gave Draven a book of tactics to look over to try to be a better commander in future battles, which from an inscription inside of the cover Draven discovered was originally from Arles’ love Jellel, who had died under Draven’s command in his first real battle leading an army. He committed Jellel’s name to memory, ashamed that he had been so new to command that he hadn’t known anything about them before they died because of his imperfect orders. From here out he became much more focused on his soldiers. He prioritizes what will be best for his men, he doesn’t want to betray the trust of people who are putting their lives on the line for him. Legit if it ever comes down to a choice between doing something that will protect his army or something that protects the party, I don’t know which side of the coin he’ll land on. But I’m heavily leaning protect his men. The others can take care of themselves. His army relies on him, he’s the one with mythic power leading them, if he were to abandon them he’d be choosing the deaths of hundreds or thousands of people and he couldn’t live with himself if he did that.

Fun fact: One of Draven’s mythic abilities is called Divine Source. It gives him two domains as if he were a god, and people who follow him can prepare spells from him as if he were a god. He has *no idea* he has this ability, beyond suddenly having a few new spell-like abilities he didn’t before, but he’s just chalking that up to ‘Wardstone weirdness’ same with him suddenly learning to speak celestial (and he’s going to freak when he suddenly learns Abyssal next level 😈) I look forward to the day someone in his army spontaneously starts getting protection domain spells from him and it’s like “that’s not Iomedaen. Draven we’ve seen you cast this on Melody before do you know what this is?” And Draven will nope out of existence because he didn’t want to be a commander he definitely doesn’t want to be a god or god adjacent, Melody can be the party’s demi-god thanks.

Anyways he led his army to march on the Citadel city of Drezen, which had been captured and held by demons for 100 years. No one had managed to get close to taking it back since, everyone who had tried died.

The party took it back in three days. One to clear out the exterior defenses. One to clear out the first floor and kill the army’s commanding officer and show off his severed head in the most dramatic way Draven could think of to make the enemy army retreat, and one to go into the basement and kill a Shadow Demon and save their friend who he was possessing.

And then the demon general Aponavicious almost cut Draven’s head off through a portal, if he hadn’t activated the magical Sword of Valor—the banner once wielder by Iomedae herself—at just the right time. It closed the portal and saved his life. But things weren’t over. She couldn’t teleport directly in, but she could teleport her army outside and march on Drezen. And that’s what she began to do. With an army of thousands upon thousands of demons.

Until a single figure in shining silver armor stepped out from behind Aponavicious. A golden tiefling. He spoke to her, then viciously wrapped her in spiked chains. Words were had, and then the army retreated.

Leto looked across the battlefield at Draven, held up his right hand, and Draven felt the mark on his left hand began to react. He heard Leto’s voice in his head. “Don’t worry. I won’t let them hurt you.”

Then he teleported away, too.

So Draven was nearly catatonic for a bit after that revelation of his brother working with the enemy. He tried Sending Leto but only got a response that wishes come true when you least expect them, and to meet him at the Ivory Labyrinth. And that he would protect him.

So Draven is extremely confused. Then a few days later it turned out Melody is actually the demigod child of Desna and Shelyn, so there’s that on top of things. Then Draven had some more self revelations a few days later.

None of them good.

They’d been asked by Irabeth, who’d been promoted to Lord Captain of Drezen, to look into stopping some raiders who were attacking their supply lines. Easy right? Just people, no cults, no demons, just desperate people in the Worldwound making bad choices. We could deal with that.

Or so we thought, until the party got lost in a petrified forest in the way to the raiders fortress, and Draven’s mark started acting up, so consistently that they could use it as a compass pointing the way to their destination. So clearly there was more to this than met the eyes.

Luna discovered that the raiders were being held here and forced to continue their raids at threat of death by their leader Marhokev. Luna promised if he led them to their leader, she and her friends would take care of him so they could go free. He warned that if it came down to a fight, Marhokev would force us to fight the raiders. Luna assured him that we had a lot of resources in our side to keep them safe. The raider placed his faith in us, and after working out how to get the entire party past the alarms Luna had passed via Invisibility, we were led inside.

There Draven met a large raider man who immediately locked eyes with him and grinned, referring to Draven as kin. Seeing Draven’s confusion he explained they both shared Lady Jerribeth’s blood. And they had both made a wish. Draven was confused and trying not to give into his first instinct to just go on the offensive, instead shakily explaining that he didn’t know what the man was talking about. Marhokev laughed, realizing Draven didn’t remember what he had wished for. So he told Draven a story. About his own life. His family had lived faithfully in Mendev for generations. And all it had saddled him with was demonic taint in his blood. He’d lived with a violent temper his entire time. He’d found it impossible to make a name for himself, or to keep down any sort of respectable position.

Then one day Lady Jerribeth came to him, and offered him anything he could desire. So he wished for power. And now he had it. Power and people to lord it over. He was living the life of a king as a raider. So, when given the chance to have it all, he took it. And it appeared when Draven was given the same chance, he’d squandered it away on something he couldn’t even recall. A pity. But Mahokev still felt something for their kinship, so he was willing to open his arms to let Draven join his band.

Draven said absolutely not, and that the time for talking was over. That was his final answer. He saw now what sort of man Mahokev was, and hr wasn’t one Draven could do anything for.

The raider flew into a mindless rage and attacked Draven, but Draven reflected him off his shield. Draven managed to hit the raider, but his rage powers activated to begin healing the damage, leaving Draven’s average sword arm virtually useless as-is.

While he had his stand off, Hiskaria blasted the raider’s pet ice drake with a scorching ray and peppered it with arrows, quickly finishing the beast before it was a terrible threat.

And Melody began dancing, distracting the other raiders so that the party wouldn’t have to hurt them.

Hiskaria and Luna began helping Draven to damage the raider, their much more respectable damage output doing a number on him. He made a break for it, aiming for Melody to try to snap his minions out of their trances.

Draven was having none of that. He was aiming to stop him in his tracks—but he stopped him alright, with a blade right through the rib cage and into the heart. Marhokev fell.

It appeared the battle was over. Melody ended her performance with a flourish, the raiders were grateful that we hadn’t killed any of them and that now they could leave the Worldwound and return to the places they’d once been from, or make new homes elsewhere.

None of the party were paying Marhokev’s corpse any mind. Not until his marked arm had ripped itself from its socket, and clamped onto Draven’s throat. He failed his save and suffocated, being knocked unconscious immediately despite his frankly absurd number of hit points. Melody ran over and yanked the hand off Draven. Burnt flesh pulled away from where the hand met skin, and underneath a second Mark of Deskari was emblazoned across his neck.

Draven’s had a lot to think about since then. His feelings about having demon’s blood in his veins in general, as well as his feelings about it being Jerribeth’s blood specifically, the architect of Drezen’s fall, likely the cause of his family’s deaths, likely the Glabrezu who made Leto start acting strangely, and a demon with untold amounts of innocent blood on her hands. He’s wondering exactly what he wished for—he assumes as a terrified tortured child who just saw his family tortured and killed that he probably wished for it to end and to be safe, but he doesn’t know the exact wording, which with these things the exact wording is important. He’s going to wait to talk to Nurah to try to regain his lost memories for that. He’s also really worried about what sort of wish Leto made. And he’s worried that he’s compromised, that when he meets Jerribeth in person no matter how much he hates her she’ll be able to worm her way into his mind and make him do what she wants because of him being so bound to her. Plus the foreboding feeling about having a new mark of Deskari, and the fact he feel like more power began to awaken within him when he received it. The fear that his soul is bound for Deskari no matter how faithful he is to Iomedae, and had been since he was a child. There’s just…a lot.

He also just really wants to kill Jerribeth.

[sueboohscorner]

#Outlander Season 5, Episode 6 - "Better to Marry than Burn"

Before I begin to recap the last few episodes of Outlander, Season 5, I apologize for getting so far behind.   I pray that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy.  While my family is safe and healthy, I have a dear friend who contracted the virus and has been very ill.  Thankfully and miraculously since she is also fighting cancer, she is recovering.   I also have a niece who is an ER nurse in Washington DC.   And so many of us are dealing with job loss, including myself.  Life in general is so uncertain and scary right now so just for a moment, let’s press pause and talk about Outlander. 

Better to Marry Than Burn – Episode 6

Jocasta is getting married and the Fraser’s are in attendance.  After a flashback to Scotland in 1746 when as a speeding carriage is stopped by two English dragoons.  In the carriage are Jocasta, her daughter and husband, Hector Cameron.  Violence ensues when the dragoons discover Jacobite gold hidden in the carriage. In the melee, Jocasta’s daughter is shot and killed.  Hector forces Jocasta to leave their daughter’s body behind.  The arrival of her groom brings Jocasta back to the present.  Duncan tries to win Jocasta’s heart be presenting her with a lavender sachet embroidered with the Mackenzie motto, “I shine, not burn.”   Duncan does not want theirs to be a loveless marriage but before Jocasta can respond to Innes, Ulysses interrupts to tell her that Jamie and Mr. Forbes are waiting to speak with her. 

Jamie wants to discuss Jocasta’s new will which leaves River Run to Jemmy with the lawyer, Mr. Forbes as overseer.  Jocasta will be guardian of the plantation until the child comes of age. 

Speaking of Jemmy, the poor baby has a cold so Brianna and Roger stay behind at Fraser’s Ridge.  Good thing too because Adso the cat, alerts them to a swarm of locusts ascend on Fraser’s Ridge in Biblical proportions.   In the absence of Jamie and Claire, the folks of Fraser’s Ridge look to Roger to save their crops.  The men want to set fire to the fields in hopes of saving some of their crops but Roger is afraid that the fire could backfire and threaten their homes.  It’s up to Roger to find an alternative solution.  Roger is overwhelmed with the responsibility of it all and panics.  But then he remembers a story his father told him about a boy who used smoke from a controlled burn to successfully drive away the locust.  If this works, the locusts won’t lane and they should only lose a portion of their crops. 

With Bree at his side, they light the fires and use bed sheets to spread the smoke as the sky is darkened by swarm. Roger, Brianna and the people of Fraser’s Ridge are overjoyed to see that it’s worked!  The locust swarm does not land!  Fraser’s Ridge is safe and the people of the Ridge have a newfound respect for Roger! 

Back to River Run, Claire spots Phillip Wylie.  I’m sorry but that guy is repulsive and what’s with the white make up?  Later, as Claire searches for Jamie, Wylie finds her.  He’s bragging about his partnership with and Irish seaman.  Claire suspects that this partner is Stephen Bonnet and tries to get Wylie to reveal his identity.  But Wylie is fixated on Claire and her two wedding rings.  Claire learns that Wylie’s cohort is indeed Bonnet when she tries to make a deal for Jamie’s whiskey trade.  When Wylie leads Claire to the stable to show him his horse, he makes his move, kissing Claire’s neck. 

As Claire tries to fight him off, Jamie arrives and threatens to kill the man.  Claire tells Jamie about Wylie’s partnership with Bonnet.  Jamie comes up with a plan to entice Wylie in a wager.  He threatens to tell Mistress Tyron about his attack on Claire.  Jamie’s wager is this…if Wylie wins, he keeps his honor but if Jamie wins, he gets Wylie’s horse.  But Wylie is more interested in gold which leads him to a big fight with Claire when he asks her for Frank’s wedding ring for the wager. 

Jamie explains that this is part of his plan to get revenge on Bonnet.  A furious Claire gives Claire both rings, his and Frank’s.  Jamie promises her that he won’t lose either ring. 

Later, Claire wanders to the stable to visit the horse, Lucas, where a drunken Jamie finds her.  Jamie has won the bet.  However, Claire is still furious with Jamie and he makes a comment about reminding Claire that she is only a woman and sometimes needs to remember her place for which Claire gives Jamie a sharp slap across his face which ignites their passion.  Afterwards, Jamie explains that he traded back the horse for the whiskey partnership, apologizes for his harsh words and gives Claire back both rings.  Jamie’s plan for revenge against Bonnet has been set in motion.

Meanwhile, as Jocasta readies for bed the night before her wedding, she is surprised in her chambers by Murtaugh who presents her with a gift, the pin that he wears above his heart on his lapel.  He asks professes his love for Jocasta as they embrace and asks her to wait for him.  Jocasta loves Murtaugh too but does not see a way that they can be together.   She intends to marry Duncan Innes.  It’s what’s best for her. 

In Wilmington, a meeting is taking place between Mr. Forbes and Stephen Bonnet.  Forbes tells Bonnet that he knows that Jemmy is possibly his son and informs him that Jemmy is now the owner of River Run.  Oh no! 

This is bad but even worse is the final moments of this episode.  Jamie meets with Tyron who tells Jamie to gather his militia and head to Hillsborough.  There they will fight the Regulators who Tyron sees as disorganized and unprepared for this battle.

Following will be the recap for The Ballad of Roger Mac, Famous Last Words, and Monsters and Heroes. 

[graphicpolicy]

Unboxing: Scout Comics Subscription Box - February 2023

Unboxing: Scout Comics Subscription Box - February 2023. What's in the box? Find out! #comics #comicbooks

Scout Comics has its own subscription box where you can get up to 12 Scout Comics including sought-after variants! You can buy one box for $39.99 plus shipping or subscribe for $33.99 plus shipping. The box ships once a month! Subscribe now to get the next one. In this box: Azza the Barber #3 Behemoth #4 Darkland #2 Grimm Space #1 Locust: Ballad of Men #4 Lost Souls: Haywire #1 Mr.…