#she already saved her country from a zombie invasion

[greypetrel]

For Service and Devotion 😌

Hi Fire!

It's some Dragon Age thing, I'm putting together the two of my characters who have the least in common and won't probably get along to save their lives. Think Miranda Priestley who hires a raccoon as her assistant, and is asked for advice on a major crisis, without being paid for it, AGAIN. After saving the world from a zombie invasion pro bono.

There's a first part here and some explanation, but here's some more of the words I put on a document, under the cut.

Alyra officially wanted nothing more than to jump on the first ship to Ferelden and get back to her comfy castle, take the longest bath in her bathtub, wiggle her toes in the carpet. She considered it, as she massaged the bridge of her nose, as Hawke and her friends kept talking about the coterie, the merchant guild, asking people in that cursed inn they were at.

The situation, she could see, was a bomb waiting to explode. She would have needed less than a year with Sten to know that the Qunari would not have compromised if the worst had happened. Frankly speaking, she couldn’t blame them, really. But it didn’t make the situation any more solvable than it was, and she partially pitied Hawke that was asked to solve it.

Somehow, because she had never met a more unpredictable person in her life.

She stayed to speak with her because Anders insisted she did. Told her the situation they were in was complicated, and her advice would have maybe solved problems.

She thought he was speaking of smuggling mages out of town.

Not of solving a war about to happen.

“First.”

She spoke, loud enough to be heard by the whole group. They all went silent, instantly, which she partially appreciated. The room they were in was already dirty as it was, she couldn’t cope with a riotous group too.

“I suppose the Viscount hired you on a friendly entente, right? He didn’t give you anything written and signed, nor you insisted.”

“Well, the situation-”

“It wasn’t a question.”

Hawke shut her mouth, frowning as she looked down. She had the good grace of blushing, and Alyra didn’t miss how Merrill squeezed her shoulder in comfort, smiling at her. They exchanged a look, and Alyra’s alarm bells started ringing all the most, at that look and at Merrill actually touching her. Merrill wasn’t a touchy person. She squinted, stored the informations, left it for another time.

“So, go straight to the Keep and ask the Viscount for a written accord. Anything, a note that says that he told you to deal with the situation yourself. Anyone can write it, but make sure he’s the one to sign it. Watch him as he signs it. Take the Guard Captain with you as a witness, she’s your friend, right?”

“Yes, but we kinda quarreled over Isabela-”

“I don’t care. Solve it. Have her be there, so you won’t end out a scapegoat should the worst happen.”

The dwarf snickered, and Hawke, not pleased, cast him a look. He apologised, but Alyra didn’t stop.

“Meanwhile. Anders, do something useful in the sewers and hear around for voices about a mad dwarf with explosives. Dwarf-“

“It’s Varric.”

“Whatever. Ask the Carta. If they know something. He must have had allies somewhere, to steal from the Qunari, try and know who they are.”

“I have no relationship with them.”

“Sure.” Alyra stopped blinking at him, this time, resting her head on her outstretched hands. “And Anders’ clinic was  never found out of pure luck and out of the grace of Andraste. No one found Fenris living in Hightown, no one arrested Merrill wandering through private gardens.”

These people clearly believed she was born yesterday. The dwarf kept insisting, but the lie lost sureness, he was frowning. Point was that she didn’t care enough for any of them to keep up with their pride. Save for Merrill of course. And Isabela, it had been fun spending time with her, after all, and she owed her. She let Varric talk and complain, and to his credit, he went on remarkably little under her relentless stare, deciding that it wasn’t worth insisting.

“… I will try, ma’am.”

[multiverseforger]

Born and raised in Greece by his single mother, Michael Morbius experienced an isolated childhood due to his rare blood condition, which contributed to his ugly and unpleasant-looking appearance. But despite his looks, he was an intellectually gifted young man who spent his time reading books and, in time, became a highly respected and Nobel Prize-winning biologist who specialized in the field of human and animal biology. While in New York, after escaping from his home country due to his pseudo-vampiric condition, he attempted to find a cure and to protect his fiancé Martine Bancroft, but he was attacked by the Lizard and defeated when Spider-Man and the Lizard teamed up against him to recover a sample of Morbius's blood in order to cure their own mutated physical conditions before he escaped. The truth behind his horrific condition is that, in order to cure himself of an unknown blood disease which was killing him, Morbius, using his past experience as an expert biochemist, had attempted to cure himself of the disease with an experimental treatment involving vampire bat DNA and electroshock therapy. However, he instead became afflicted with a far worse disease called "pseudo-vampirism" that mimicked some of the powers and the bloodlust of supernatural vampirism. Morbius now had to drink blood in order to survive and had a strong aversion to light. His bones became hollow and he gained the ability to fly, as well as gaining superhuman strength, super-speed, and an accelerated healing factor. His appearance, already ugly, now became hideous—his upper canine teeth extended into fangs, his nose flattened to appear more like that of a bat's and his skin became chalk-white. He also gained the ability to turn others into similar "living vampires" like himself by biting them and drinking their blood, infecting them with the disease of pseudo-vampirism.[13] People whom Morbius infected with the disease of pseudo-vampirism did not truly die as a result and they could be cured through an antidote to pseudo-vampirism derived from Morbius's blood that Morbius and Martine had created, although that antidote would not work on Morbius himself. They also did not acquire his ability to fly or his healing factor and any mortal wound could kill them.[14] He later sought a cure for his condition, but battled Spider-Man, the Human Torch, and the original X-Men.[15]Morbius then encountered Barbara Clark and protected her from a demon named Nilrac, but unfortunately after that, Morbius killed her and drank her blood to satisfy his hunger, feeling a strong sense of guilt immediately afterward.[16]

Morbius later rescued Amanda Saint from a Satanic cult known as Demon-Fire and aided her in her quest to find her missing parents.[17] He caused John Jameson to again become the Man-Wolf. Alongside the Man-Wolf, he battled Spider-Man again in another attempt at a cure.[18] He then battled Reverend Daemond and encountered the Caretakers of Arcturus IV. At the same time, he visited both the Land Within, the home of the Cat People, and the planet Arcturus IV, the homeworld of the Caretakers. During this time, he first battled Blade the Vampire-Slayer.[19] He then first battled the Werewolf (Jack Russell)[20] He then first encountered rogue CIA agent Simon Stroud and battled the extra-dimensional demon known as Helleyes.[21] He and Stroud then battled a large group of other pseudo-vampires that had been created by Morbius, destroying them all. One of them, however, who had been taken into police custody, turned Martine into a pseudo-vampire before being destroyed by Morbius, but Morbius (who then turned on Martine and made her a pseudo-vampire again due to his bloodlust overcoming him) and Stroud cured Martine by using the antidote, after which Morbius fled.[14] He then encountered Alicia Twain, a desperate landowner, and tried to help her keep her land; however, she died at the hands of the men trying to steal her land despite Morbius's help, forcing Morbius to kill her murderers.[22] Next, he encountered an enigmatic woman named Morgana St. Clair in England, who aided him and seemed to know all about vampires. This led to Morbius batting - and destroying - the Brotherhood of Judas, another Satanic cult of which St. Clair was a member.[23] Alongside the Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), the Man-Thing (Ted Sallis), and the Werewolf, he then encountered the Starseed.[24]Morbius then visited his old friend Ronson Slade, a scientist, again hoping to find a cure. Slade, however, had become a werewolf and Morbius was forced to kill him.[25]Morbius then first battled the Thing, then teamed up with him to battle the Living Eraser and escaped to Dimension Z.[26] He later returned to Earth and battled Spider-Man again, this time briefly controlled both physically and mentally by an extra-dimensional humanoid android called the Empathoid, which fed on emotions to survive. Spider-Man destroyed the Empathoid (after the android had left Morbius and possessed him) by causing it to overdose on emotions during an exposure to the crowd at a baseball game in a stadium where he and Morbius had taken their battle, after which both of them left due to the approach of the stadium guards. Morbius then fled and Spider-Man left the Empathoid's body with the Fantastic Four for safekeeping.[27]

He once again fought Spider-Man and tried to drink his radioactive blood, but then he was hit by a lightning bolt at the same time, which cured him of his pseudo-vampirism and made him human again (he still retained a thirst for blood, however).[28] While he was cured, he was charged with the crimes he had committed as a pseudo-vampire and was represented by Jennifer Walters, whose dual identity as the She-Hulk was not yet publicly known at the time. Morbius selflessly saved Walters' life and stabilized her erratic transformations into the She-Hulk with a serum that he had created to cure the remnants of his own transformation.[29] He eventually regained his pseudo-vampiric state and first met Doctor Strange.[30] Alongside Doctor Strange and Brother Voodoo, he battled Marie Laveau and witnessed the return of true vampires.[31] Morbius later battled Spider-Man in the New York sewers.[32]

The Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) and Johnny Blaze searched for Morbius to form the Nine (a.k.a. the Midnight Sons) and stop Lilith the Mother of All Demons and her children the Lilin from taking over the world. When they found Morbius, the pseudo-vampire believed that they would kill him, but the Ghost Rider and Blaze successfully captured him. Doctor Langford, who supposedly tried to heal Morbius's wounds, was actually trying to kill him and was working for Doctor Paine. He made an unknown mutagenic serum that would prove fatal to Morbius. Unknown to Doctor Langford, Fang, one of Lilith's children, was also trying to kill Morbius by adding his own demonic blood to the serum, which would also be fatal to Morbius. When Doctor Langford injected the serum to Morbius, it did not kill him, but instead it mutated him. Morbius's friend, Jacob, was trying to look inside of him and see what he could do about Morbius's condition. After Martine Bancroft, Morbius's ex-fiancé, found out that Langford was trying to kill him, Langford shot her and she bled to death. Morbius found out about this and was enraged to find his ex-fiancé dead. He later avenged the death of Martine by killing Langford and took the beaker which contained the serum.[33] The Ghost Rider and Blaze later found out about Morbius's acts of destruction. The Ghost Rider confronted him and would not tolerate Morbius drinking any more innocent blood. Morbius then vowed he would only drink the blood of the guilty. The Ghost Rider accepted the vow, but warned him not to stray from it. Morbius soon became part of the Midnight Sons.

Later, a new faction of vampires tried to destroy Morbius because he had been genetically manipulated to be the perfect weapon. The chest in which he was to be delivered was intercepted by the Kingpin, Blade and Spider-Man, and he attacked all three. Whatever unknown party manipulated him failed; he collapsed after one battle, possibly dying. With his last breath, he warned Spider-Man to beware of his employer, Senator Stuart Ward.[34]

It was later revealed that Morbius had signed the Superhuman Registration Act and was cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D. in an effort to capture Blade.[35] He had also presumably survived his genetic manipulation, as Blade was able to distinguish him as the same Morbius who "took a bite out of [him]" in their previous encounter.[36]

Morbius was next seen as a member of A.R.M.O.R., held captive by the zombie Morbius from the Marvel Zombies universe of Earth-2149.[37] He survived the invasion, killing his zombie counterpart in the process.[38] Shortly after, he formed a new version of the Midnight Sons with Jennifer Kale, Daimon Hellstrom, Jack Russell, and the Man-Thing to contain a zombie outbreak on an isolated island, briefly running afoul of the Hood in the process.[39]

Morbius later helped the Man-Thing re-assemble a decapitated Punisher into a Frankensteinian monster called FrankenCastle.[40]

During The Gauntlet storyline, Morbius was behind the theft of a vial of Spider-Man's blood. Spider-Man, learning that Morbius was planning to use the blood samples to create a cure for Jack Russell, agreed to help Morbius out by giving him more of his blood to help with the cure.[41]

During the Origin of the Species storyline, Morbius was among the supervillains recruited by Doctor Octopus to secure some items for him.[42]

During the events of Spider-Island, it was revealed to the reader that Morbius was the mysterious Number Six working at Horizon Labs. He assisted, wearing a hazmat suit to conceal his identity, in preparing the cure to the spider-powers virus.[43] When Peter Parker tried to investigate the identity of "Number Six", he accidentally provoked Morbius—who had been using the cure to try to develop a basis for a cure for his own condition—into a frenzy, prompting the staff at Horizon to step up building security (making it harder for Peter to enter and exit the building as Spider-Man in the future) and also forcing Morbius to leave, where it was revealed that he had been working with the Lizard, presumably trying to find a cure for both of their conditions. It was also revealed that Morbius was a college friend of Max Modell.[44] Using DNA samples from the corpse of Billy Connors, Morbius was able to create a cure that would restore the Lizard to human form, but he failed to recognize that the Lizard had completely destroyed Curt Connors' human persona.[45] The Lizard was left alone in Morbius's lab, allowing him to release blood into the lab's air supply to provoke the injured Morbius into attacking the other Horizon scientists. This prompted Morbius to flee the lab, with Spider-Man in pursuit.[46] Morbius was captured by Spider-Man and locked up in a cell in the Raft.[47]

When Peter Parker (whose mind was now in Doctor Octopus's dying body) needed some supervillains to help capture Otto Octavius (whose mind was now in Spider-Man's body), Morbius offered to help, but was rejected.[48] Morbius eventually escaped from the Raft[49] and fled to Brownsville.[50]

After some time, he tried to stop some vampires in Barcelona, but got captured by them and locked in a coffin. The vampires wanted to mix their blood with that of Morbius, until he got unintentionally saved by Domino, Diamondback and the Outlaw. After telling them about the vampires' plan, they agree to help him kill King Morbius (a true vampire infected with Morbius's blood). Then after killing him, a vampire hunter tried to kill Morbius, but thanks to Domino, he escaped.[51]

Morbius was later rescued by Agent of Wakanda Wasp from Dracula's Disciples, with assistance from Agents Broo and Man-Wolf. He later informed the Wasp and Director Okoye on the Vampire Civil War

[perfectirishgifts]

The 13 Best Korean Dramas Of 2020

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/the-13-best-korean-dramas-of-2020/

The 13 Best Korean Dramas Of 2020

Bae Suzy and Nam Joo-hyuk partner up in ‘Start-Up.’

Although 2020 will make the history books for all the wrong reasons, it was a great year for Korean dramas. With a slew of big budget hits and small quirky stories, k-dramas offered plenty of innovative entertainment to help viewers happily pass pandemic time.

Every drama viewer may have a different list of favorites, but here are a few 2020 dramas that stood out in terms of originality, subject matter and execution.

Park Seo-joon created one of the year’s most memorable k-drama characters in ‘Itaewon Class.’

Itaewon Class

The year started off with the quirky hit Itaewon Class, in which Park Seo-joon’s character overcomes so many odds that he naturally sympathizes with those who society may shun. When opening a cafe he hires employees that others might not and those choices contribute to his success. Park’s generous character is one of the year’s most likable and the drama also features top-notch performances by Kim Da-mi, Kwon Nara, Yoo Jae-Myung and Ahn Bo-hyun.

Why see it? If you’ve never been to Seoul’s international neighborhood of Itaewon, this drama takes you there. The drama provides plenty of feel-good moments and a great soundtrack, including a contribution by BTS member V.

Kim Hee-ae and Park Hae-joon star in ‘The World of The Married.’

World of the Married

Although this drama has not yet made it to all international audiences, it was a huge hit in Korea, enjoying both critical success and nationwide ratings of 28.37%. World of the Married, an adaptation of the BBC series Dr. Foster, stars Kim Hae-ae. Kim plays a doctor who thinks her life is perfect until she learns that her husband, played by Park Hae-joon, has been cheating on her. Even worse, all their friends know. 

Why see it? Kim won Best Actress at the Baeksang Awards for playing the drama’s protagonist Ji Sun-woo and the drama was a breakout hit for supporting actress Han Seo-hee. There’s also the guilty pleasure of watching a woman scorned exact revenge on those who betrayed her.

The legal drama ‘Hyena’ starred Kim Hye-soo and Ju Ji-hoon.

Hyena

The drama’s leading characters, played by Kim Hye-soo and Ju Ji-hoon, each have their own approach to practicing law. She’s a scrappy small-time lawyer with questionable ethics and he’s a self-satisfied high-profile lawyer at a top firm. Despite their differences—and getting off to a bad start when she scams him—they turn out to be good for each other.

Why see it? Ju delivers a pitch-perfect performance, with his every twitch and grimace creating an unforgettable character.  Ju and Kim have undeniable chemistry that sizzles through episodes of fast-paced high-stakes legal entanglements.

Bae Doona played a zombie-fighting nurse in the second season of ‘Kingom.’

Kingdom 2

The second season of this historical zombie drama was even better than the first. Kingdom 2 also stars Ju Ji-hoon as the prince trying to save his country from a zombie invasion as well as inner court corruption. What makes the second season better than the first is a larger role for actress Bae Doona, whose character takes time out from nursing the sick to battle the undead.

Why see it: It’s a zombie story with a historical and moral twist.

Start Up

Nam Joo-Hyuk and Bae Suzy star in this story of a small tech start-up that gets a chance to compete on a bigger stage. When Bae’s character Seo Dal-mi was young she received encouraging letters from a man named Nam Do-san, but the letters were really written by Kim Seon-ho’s character Han Ji-pyeong. When a grown-up Dal-mi decides to find the real Do-san, played by Nam, Ji-pyeong asks Do-san to pretend he really wrote the letters. Do-san and Dal-mi are perfect for each other but their budding relationship is based on a lie. 

Why see it? The story of how the start-up gets started is interesting. Each of the actors—from the leads to the supporting cast— is imperfectly endearing and Kim wins this year’s unofficial prize for being the most appealing second lead.

Lee jun-ki is a potential serial killer married to the detective played by Moon Chae-won in ‘Flower ��� [] of Evil.’

Flower of Evil

What would you do if you found out you were married to a serial killer? It might be happening to Moon Chae-won’s police detective character in Flower of Evil. Her devoted husband, played by Lee Jun-ki, has a mysterious past that ties him to a serial killer. Did he also commit murders? If he is a serial killer, does his wife love him enough to look past the incriminating clues?

Why see it? Although some of the drama’s plot occasionally veers into the illogical, the relationship between the leads is so charismatic that the drama acquired a loyal and enthusiastic following. The mystery is sufficiently complex and Lee’s tortured performance as the suspected serial killer is mesmerizing.

Park So-dam played Park Bo-gum’s makeup artist in ‘Record of Youth.’

Record of Youth

Record of Youth features ambitious likable protagonists trying to find their place in a highly competitive world. Park Bo-gum plays a model so charming it’s hard to imagine why he’s not already a success at the story’s start. Park So-dam plays a talented make-up artist with dreams. She’s also a devoted fan of his modeling career.

Why see it? Park Bo-gum’s character is as bright as a shiny penny, ever optimistic and upbeat, despite not having much support for his dreams. Watching Park So-dam act is always a pleasure and the real star of the drama might be Han Jin-hee, who plays Park Bo-gum’s supportive grandfather.

Seo Ye-ji aggressively pursues Kim Soo-hyun in ‘It’s Okay Not To Be Okay.’

It’s Okay Not To Be Okay

Easily the most visually appealing drama of 2020, It’s Okay Not To Be Okay stars two of k-drama’s most photogenic actors Seo Ye-ji and Kim Soo-hyun as a twisted children’s book author and the psychiatric nurse she needs to calm her nightmares. Not only are the actors beautiful, but the drama’s graphics, cinematography and costumes are also gorgeous. 

Why see it? The drama explores the topics of autism and the mental scars created by early trauma. Oh Jung-se’s performance as Kim’s autistic brother was one of the best of the year.

‘The Good Detective’ is a fast-paced crime thriller starring Son Hyun-joo and Jang Seung-jo.

The Good Detective 

The Good Detective delivers a Scandi-noir vibe with its insightful character development plus some over-the-top, superhero police action scenes. The drama stars Son Hyun-joo, who might have the most expressive face of any k-drama actor, and Jang Seung-jo as a detective whose super-power is having a fortune. 

Why see it? The Good Detective is an involving police procedural with top-rate performances. Oh Jung-se plays a hard-hearted villain, a dramatically different role than his vulnerable character in It’s Okay Not To Be Okay.

Nana plays a woman who pursues politics for a paycheck despite Park Sung-hoon’s objections.

Into The Ring 

The wry comedy stars Nana, formerly a member of k-pop group After School, and Park Sung-hoon, who recently played a convincing but comical killer in Psychopath Diary. Nana plays a plucky unemployed woman who runs for office, motivated largely by the paycheck, but also from a sense of justice. Although Park initially finds her irritating, he eventually helps her fight local corruption.

Why see it? Nana is so charismatic in this role, viewers may want to see everything she’s ever done. She and Park develop a low-key lovable comic rapport that keeps a story about local politics happily enjoyable.  

‘My Dangerous Wife’ is a cat-and-mouse mystery within the story of a marriage.

My Dangerous Wife

In this dark comedy Choi Won-young plays a chef who plans to murder his wealthy wife, so he can inherit her money, but when he arrives home with a poisoned bottle of wine he finds she has been kidnapped. The note the kidnappers left behind warns him not to contact the police or they will kill his wife. Should he? It sounds like an opportunity.

Why see it: Interesting plot twists and turns make this drama fascinating to the very last episode. The complex storyline involves a mistress, a mysterious old friend, a detective with a suspicious wife, and a set of curious next door neighbors with secrets of their own.  

Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin experience an impossible love in ‘Crash Landing On You.’

Crash Landing On You

Crash Landing On You, which first aired in Dec. 2019, successfully introduced a wider international audience to the joys of k-drama viewing. The mega-hit, starring Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin, follows the story of a South Korean heiress who accidentally lands in North Korea and is helped by a North Korean officer at the risk of his own life.

Why see it? Everything about the drama is top-notch—the cinematography, the romantic storyline and the excellent performances from the lead and supporting actors. The drama also offers some interesting insight into North Korean daily life.

Shin Sung-rok stars in the paranormal thriller ‘Kairos.’

Kairos

Kairos is a tense paranormal thriller about karmic debt. In this drama two people who live in different times stumble on a supernatural way to talk and thus untangle their preventable personal tragedies. Shin Sung-rok plays a callous businessman whose daughter is kidnapped. Lee Se-young plays a woman whose mother disappears. Together they must change fate but they can’t connect in their own time. This plot device was used in the film The Call and the k-drama Signal, but it feels fresh in Kairos, given the carefully crafted moments of suspense and some intriguing performances.

Why see it? Both Shin and supporting actor Ahn Bo Hyun do an excellent job of portraying men who question what they once held sacred. 

Which dramas made your list?

From Hollywood & Entertainment in Perfectirishgifts

[ruffiorocks]

Dany didn't 'save the North' she joined a fight that was absolutely her responsibility the moment she said she was Queen of Westeros.

I'm sorry but I just can't get on board with people saying Dany was selfless to come and help fight the White Walkers, like she was taking time out of her day to come and do the North a favour.

Whatever Dany had done or does after the Battle isn't relevant to this post. FYI. This is just this particular event.

Dany claims to be the Queen of the Seven kingdoms, now whether you agree or not doesn't matter. Now if Dany is claiming that Westeros is her rightful inheritance then she also inherits all of their issues as well.

If someone kicks someone else of a throne then any wars that king or Queen had going on don't automatically come to a halt. Those issues because the new rulers issues and they have to find a way to either win the war or stop the war.

When new rulers takes over all the political problems, agricultural problems, poverty issues, foreign policy, debt, enemies? All those things are inherited as well. Those issues don't just go away because someone is sitting on a chair with a gold crown on their heads.

So, the moment Dany claimed she was queen of Westeros then the White Walkers who were coming to destroy Westeros became her issue to deal with.

Dany went to Dragon Stone and summoned Jon Snow to come and bend the knee. Jon went because he needed to mine the dragon glass and he could use Danys help in the fight.

Dany The Mother of Freaking Dragons had a hard time believing that White Walkers were even real. In the same sentence she told Jon about how dragons werent a thing anymore until her. This is just dumb (bad writing) that she can absolutely believe and has seen that Dragons are real, she's seen magic and she's seen visions but White Walkers are a bit of a stretch for her? Even Tyrion is a bit of dumb ass here.

Dany spends more time going on about getting Jon's submission than she does over the ZOMBIE SNOWMAN invasion that could and would very likely destroy the kingdoms she's has come to rule over.

Any talk of bending the knee should have been suspended while they worked together to stop the invasion from wiping out humanity. Even Jon said it wouldn't matter who sat on the bloody throne if everyone was dead. Dany only let Jon mine the dragon glass because Tyrion talked her into it. This was bad, Dany should have put more stock into the white walker issue and not so much in seeing Jon submit.

Now Dany agrees to help, well done her for agreeing to join the cause to save the kingdom she claims is hers. This is where Cersei failed, it's they had the summit and they went to kidnap a white walker to show Cersei. Cersei had to be talked into offering her help to save the kingdom she claims is her own, again the same issue that Dany had. If you are the king or queen it's already your problem, you aren't doing anyone a favour by helping, it becomes by default your responsibility. Cersei of course doesn't give her aid.

Now Dany lost a dragon going to help Jon, that was tragic. But it doesn't make Dany anymore tragic than anyone else who has lost someone in the war. The dragon was her child? Well lots of people lost their children or someone when the Battle finally came. Her child being a dragon doesn't make it any less impactful than someone else who loses a child.

Dany was self sacrificing and saved Jon's ass and she didnt have to? No she didn't have to save Jon, but she would have had a massive issue even walking or rather flying into Winterfell if she didn't have him with her. Plus if she didn't save Jon she would have had a White Walker problem to deal with on her own.

My point is that Dany already had a responsibly to stop the white walkers the moment she decided to arrive and claim to be queen. If she had sat at Dragon Stone waiting for the North to bend the knee they most likely would have been wiped out but it's not for sure. Dany didn't really do much in the battle. Then the Walkers would have moved South and wiped everyone out along the way before getting to Kings Landing and doing the same to Cersei and then on they would go. I know the Night King wanted to kill Bran but he wouldn't have killed him and then said "Ok peeps we're done here, we've erased the knowledge and memory of man, let's get back to the car".

At what point would Dany have realised that this was absolutely her problem? When they made their way to Dragon Stone? When all of her kingdoms were now white walkers?

Dany joined the fight, she essentially had to join the fight. She wasn't doing anybody any favours. That's like a king telling his army to defend the country but not bothering to give them any weapons. If they fail it's entirely his fault for not getting involved and helping where he could of. Dany lost a dragon? Well everyone loses someone in War. Dany lost Ser Jorah? Well again one death isn't the quota in war. Everyone loses someone. What would have been unbelievable is Dany not losing anyone.

The Northerners didn't appreciate her? Sansa was wary of her and you can't blame her for that. While Dany and Jon were arguing about who should bend the knee or not bend the knee and getting their flirt on Sansa was busy making sure the people has enough food, over seeing the making of weapons and making sure the armour had leather in it so her people didn't freeze to death. Sansa wants an independent North, she doesn't want Cersei of all people ruling (see EVERY EPISODE for why) and she doesn't want some queen no one has ever seen before once again taking their autonomy. Dany expects people to just accept her, she may have gotten a better reception is she had just helped to begin with. Not arriving and making demands from people who literally don't give a shit what she wants. There were bigger issues to deal with.

So Dany didn't have her ass kissed after the battle? She was left all alone? She could have celebrated with Grey Worm or Missandei. Her biggest issue is Dany doesn't make friends really, she has people who serve her. Jon, Sansa, Brienne, Tyrion they all have actual friends and family to celebrate with. They aren't sitting at the high table expecting to be pandered to. Jon was getting trashed with his friends and sister, he even tried to include Dany. But Dany doesn't know how to be like that in social situations because she's to used to having people fawn over her and that just isn't the Northerners way. Remember in the books Ned Stark had one of his men sitting next to him every meal time, he would alternate them . I forget if they included this. Dany wants to be worshiped and have her ass kissed as a hero, but she was just one soldier in an army of many.

In conclusion Dany wasn't a Savior who came to help the North out of the goodness of her heart. They don't owe her their allegiance and they didn't owe her their crown (bloody Jon) . Dany had an obligation to come and help, an obligation she took on to herself the moment she said she was queen of it all. Dany had to help otherwise there was a good chance she would have been queen of a kingdom of dead snowmen. She lost people? Well thats tragic but so did everyone else. Being a queen and losing a friend or a child even if that child is a full grown dragon doesn't make you any more tragic or better than anyone who lost friends or maybe a child in that fight. Dany was equal to everyone there.

Don't agree that's fine! but don't send hate x😊

[ask-the-elders-chosen]

Name: Unknown Nickname: ‘V’ Surname: Viklund Date of Birth: August 2010 Country of Origin: Sweden Town of Origin: Kiruna Age: 25+ Appearance: See image reference

Short Bio/In-game bio: After her haven was assaulted and almost wiped to the ground by the aliens, V joined XCOM as one of the only survivors, capable of fighting and being a help to the Resistance. She is a skilled sniper and certain people found similarities between her and Hunter’s shooting style. V remains silent when pressed about the matter.

Detailed Bio (Pre Chosen Hunter events):

V Viklund (her real name is unknown, V stubbornly insists to be called by the nickname) was born roughly four years before the first alien invasion in Kiruna, Sweden. The life seemed to be going all well, she was your typical kid: having fun and just enjoying the childhood to the fullest.

When the alien forces assaulted Earth and the first rumors of the invasion reached Sweden, the local government forced their family to abandon their home and evacuate/move out of the possible danger zone, because the aliens had a habit of dropping sudden terror attacks on city centers all over the globe. V and her family decided to move to the countryside, to their friends’ house. They had a son of a similar age, Johan, who soon became V’s best friend.

When the aliens took over Earth and Unification happened, very soon all the major cities were all wiped out for good and rebuild in the New Cities. Their own town was abandoned and marked as a dangerous zone with no access, due to the containers the alien dropped. Nor V, nor her parents wanted to live in the New Cities after the aliens had taken everything from them. So they remained living on the outskirts, hoping the small haven wouldn’t attract too much attention and they could exist more or less peacefully. A year or so after, when the aliens began producing ADVENT soldiers, and in overall establishing all this military control, the first wipe out (‘peacekeeper’) squad appeared at the doorstep. They at first peacefully offered every human to willingly move out of the ‘restricted zone’, but when V’s father refused, he was shot to teach a lesson.

Her mother willingly turned herself over to ADVENT in order to save V’s life. She hadn’t heard from her mother ever since. The only thing left from her was a small Dala Horse necklace, a symbol of good luck.

V slowly, but surely became a part of Johan’s family, because she was way too young to manage life on her own. She was taught how to read and write and even acquired some basic knowledge about survival and combat by twelve or so. Their little countryside soon became one of many resistance camps fighting against aliens. Sadly, during one of the skirmishes (which were quite regular), those parents were unlucky to get under crossfire. The wounds were not fatal, but due to the inability to get them to the hospital/perform an emergency surgery in the heat of battle, they died. V and Johan were left to themselves and to the camp’s authorities. The first thing they did was to teach them how to handle weapons. By 18 V was already exceptional at shooting and had good scouting skills. A rifle of her own making V named ‘Aska’(thunder in Swedish) because of a thunder-like shooting sound. Her pistol was named ‘Blixt’ accordingly.

Soon they began to hear rumors about a group known as the Reapers. They were known for holding the ground against the aliens effectively and surviving out in the wild. None of the adult fighters in the camp managed to track or even see one, however. All camp inhabitants were prohibited to search for them due to a possible danger. V disobeyed out of her curiosity to see a Reaper and maybe even manage to convince the faction to help fend off the ADVENT attacks (even if only temporarily). V found a track of some substance and followed it until stumbled across a really deserted area full of Lost. That’s when she met Dallion Halley (The Hunter) for the first time as a Reaper.

The loud shots of her rifle alerted the Lost and soon V got overrun by the horde of zombies. Even with a pistol, she couldn’t fend them off by herself. Her saving grace came in the face of Dallion shooting the majority of them from the cover on the other side. The situation forced them to join forces and get rid of all the Lost in the area. Even though at first Dallion was mostly annoyed with V, by the end of the skirmish he came to respect her skills and bravery to a certain degree. V tried to convince him to help their haven in exchange for the medicaments, supplies and a place to stay. Dallion reluctantly agreed to lend a temporary helping hand. V offered him a place at her house. Dallion warned her that his staying won’t ever be long due to him always being on tracking missions.

Slowly but surely, V fell in love with the mysterious Reaper who amazed her with his resourcefulness, talent and a special sense of humor. He seemed to be that ideal soldier, shooter and a master of disguise, who she wanted to be. V attracted him as well, though Dallion was more reluctant to show that openly.

Sadly, suddenly V lost complete touch with him and when she tried to dig some information, turned out he went missing. V struggled a bit but eventually moved on because she had a responsibility to protect people. She joined XCOM after their camp was almost wiped out for good by one of the Chosen led retaliation strikes.

[winelover1989]

Bend  the knee - Unbiased opinion

The Northern pride and Targaryen ego does play a role but it barely scratches the surface for what the action really means for them. 

Dany’s POV: It makes complete sense for Dany to expect loyalty and support for her claim the the throne.  Jon wants her resources, army and for her to risk the lives of her children. It’s a big thing to ask from a complete stranger.  Jon came in a with a pitch which must have sounded like a tinfoil hat theory to her. 

Try to imagine a complete stranger shows up at your doorstep to tell you that beyond the borders of your country, there are ice zombies coming to kill everyone. Despite the proof of fire related magic, this still sounds like Trump grade fear mongering. There’s even a wall involved. LOL. Let that sink in for a moment. Without proof, it sounds crazy. None of the characters really believe in dragons either until they see one with their own eyes. 

She allowed him to mine dragonglass as a sign of good faith. This is huge. No country lets another country mine anything on their land, no matter how worthless it is to them, without expecting something in return. She is in the middle of a foreign invasion she has been planning for years and he expects her to give up on it, offer her armies to him and risk the lives of her children, the dragons, for something he offered no concrete proof of. Not to mention that he is offering absolutely nothing in return. This is not how political alliances work. 

It makes complete sense for Dany to expect him to back her claim to the throne. If the North wants her protection and her resources, they need to back her claim to the throne. She can’t be expected to play the role of protector of the realm and yet denied the official declaration. Plus she has never asked someone so nicely, she really is being very patient with Jon.

Jon’s POV: He runs the North like a democracy, putting everything on the table and representing the lords of the North to the best of his capability so he can’t really bend the knee to her at this point, when all of them hold such anti- Targaryen beliefs. Their beliefs are completely valid as well, the mad King burned Ned Stark’s father alive and tied his eldest son with a noose around his neck and a sword just out of reach to give him false hope to save his father. He ended up strangling himself to death trying as he watch his father burn. It makes complete sense why the Northern lords are not enthusiastic to jump on the Targaryen bandwagon.

Jon is trying to form his own opinion about Dany and bridge that gap between her and his people. If northerners view her as someone who can save them and he has the general consensus to back her claim, then I’m sure he will bend the knee. The dragonglass is a great compromise because it’ll definitely warm up the northerners to Dany. He went to meet her to convince to to fight the white walkers with him and the North won’t support his choice to bend the knee until they know that she will. 

But the biggest reason for his reservations is, bending the knee might not sound like much of a big deal but once he declares for House Targaryen, then she can call upon the North for support in war. At this point the North can’t afford the risk of losing any soldiers, they are already so short on human resources that they are training every man, woman and child and they will be the first to be hit by the army of the dead.

Jonerys Shipper’s POV: Whether you are more of a Jon stan or a Dany stan, they both have their reasons to be so adamant about their stance on Jon bending the knee. At the end of the day, all of this serves as great romantic conflict. It adds sexual tension, thanks to the sexual connotations of the phrase and Jon & Dany’s chemistry. And it lays strong groundwork for a marriage, it seems like the most logical solution to their problem, not to mention how synonymous the action is to marriage proposals as well. After this level of buildup, can you imagine the payoff when he finally bends the knee? 

I mean they went from this:

To This:

In one episode! I’m really looking forward to the resolution to this knee bending drama, it might just kill me.

[loveinpanem-blog]

Love in Panem Presents - Cadavres Exquis part 6

Well, well, this doesn’t turn too bad, considering the authors had NO CLUE of what happened in the previous chapter, right ? (yes, feel free to ask them! )

Want to see what’s happening after @nancymay‘s lines ? it was up to @titaniasfics ?

maybe at one point we’ll have zombies or a an alien invasion - who knows  ? a few writers are stil up :)

As usual, it’s under the cut !

“You’re really dead-set on that box, aren’t you?” he asked, perhaps more to himself than to Katniss. “Alright.” He got to his feet with more agility than she expected, making her wonder if he had actually lost, fair and square. He stretched out a hand to help her to her feet.

“Where are we going?” Katniss asked.

“A deal’s a deal.” Peeta indicated toward the car. “Dad was explicit about making sure I was the only one in my family who would be able to access the deposit box. I have everything at my place.”

Peeta wiped his hands on his pants. Katniss tried to ignore the way the muscles of his shoulders strained against the material of his t-shirt. She hurried to follow him, as if he would disappear into thin air, taking his secrets with her.

He held the door open as she slipped into the passenger seat before rounding the car. He slipped in next to her and cranked the motor.

“Do you know why he would do that?” she asked.

“It’s obvious there were things in that box he didn’t want my mother to see - a few investments mostly that he’d designated specifically for me, the ownership of the bakery, which was public knowledge anyway. But there were other artifacts - pictures, trinkets...I looked inside and didn’t understand exactly what I was seeing. It was as if he’d tossed the contents of a keepsake box with no explanation of what anything was.”

Katniss nodded as she listened to him speak. They drove the remainder of the way in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. What could Peeta’s father have thought to be so important, it could only be entrusted to his youngest son?

They pulled up to an apartment building at the edge of Merchant’s Circle, a newly constructed complex that reminded Katniss of those funny buildings she’d seen in pictures of Miami - buildings made of glass and concrete, splashed with color and funny art.

“Why am I not surprised that you would voluntarily choose to live in a cartoon apartment building?”

Peeta chuckled, clearly amused at her description. “‘Cartoon apartment building?’ This is the art deco style, Everdeen. Let me guess, you live in a shack in the middle of the woods? How’re you adjusting to running water and indoor plumbing these days?”

“Great, but it’s hard to catch squirrel in town the way I want,” she deadpanned. At his shocked expression, she gave herself over to a guffaw of laughter at his expense.

“Please tell me you didn’t pull your bow and arrow out in town and try to hunt squirrel,” he said incredulously as he punched a code into the electronic keypad and let her inside.

“It was awfully tempting,” she said, laughing at the horrified expression on his face. They stood in front of an elaborately painted elevator door, which caused Katniss to chuckle again, provoking a glare from Peeta. She struggled unsuccessfully to suppress her chortles, though every now and again, one would escape. Soon, Peeta was laughing along with her and it struck Katniss just how very good it felt to be silly and laugh sometimes.

Peeta unlocked the door of his apartment, inviting Katniss inside. Despite the pretentiousness of the building, the apartment was simple and tastefully decorated. He was definitely a bachelor but not a savage one. For some reason, this bit of information made her happy.

He invited her to take a seat on the sofa as he rummaged through the kitchen, bringing out a couple of bottles of water and ice-cold beer.

“I’ll be right back,” he said as he disappeared into a room before returning with a large manila envelope.

“Mind you, I took all the legal documents out already. But these were other artifacts that were inside the box along with that stuff.”

Katniss’s hand trembled as she opened the envelope. It was hard to see exactly what was inside. Nodding wordlessly to Peeta, she carefully dumped the contents of the envelope onto the table. There were various oddities - hotel cards, dinner tickets, movie stubs, plastic rings and silly, rhinestone jewelry. There were even a couple of brochures for bed and breakfasts out in the country, not far from where they were at the moment, each scribbled over with notes, random slips of writing between the pages.

“This looks like the contents of a junk drawer,” Katniss said, continuing to shuffle among the minutiae until she came on a hair clip that struck her as familiar. She pulled it from under the various trinkets, examining it closely. It was a metal clip wrapped with delicate blue ribbon and lace, tied into a bow. She racked her memory, was slow to place the object. After several moments, it dawned on her why it looked so familiar. When the realization became clear, her heart dropped into her stomach. She felt the color drain from her face when she finally remembered Peeta, who was watching her every expression.

“What is it?” he asked, taking the clip from her hand to examine it.

“My god,” Katniss whispered, shaking her head, now more confused than ever.

“Is it your mom’s? Did he saved your mom’s hair clip?”

Katniss shook her head, unable to compute what she saw before her. She took the clip back

and, without warning, brought it to her nose, inhaling deeply. She thought she could still smell her distinct, baby girl aroma, even after all these years. Tears threatened to spring loose from her eyes and drown her in a churning sea of longing and sorrow. She turned to Peeta, looking for an anchor before she was swept away and he responded, placing an arm around her shoulder.

“Peeta, this belonged to Prim.”

Next entry will be @hutchhitched’s  !

[swipestream]

New Release Roundup, 1 December 2018: Science Fiction

Balboa takes on all comers in war, computer hackers crack the human brain, a near-immortal alien bumbles through galactic politics, and Britain’s fleets take to space once more in this week’s roundup of the newest releases in science fiction.

Bound by Honor (Vigilante #4) – Terry Mixon  and Glynn Stewart

An enemy of newfound strength. A friend gone missing in the night. A threat that can be ignored no more.

Brad Madrid, Commodore of the Vikings Mercenary Company, has once again been drawn into the war against the resurgent Cadre. Called into action in battles across the Solar System, from the fogs of Venus to the ice fields of Ceres, he faces deadly enemies at every turn.

In the midst of the chaos, Brad learns that his Agency contact and partner, Kate Falcone, has gone missing before she could deliver the evidence of treason she carried. With millions of lives at stake, finding her cannot be his first priority, but he searches as he goes.

Then an old enemy shares a poisonous gift as they flee from battle: the Cadre doesn’t have Kate Falcone. They know who does, however, and the hints they give Brad lead him to the one place he thought he would never make war…

Empire Ascendant (Road To Empire #2) – Dietmar Arthur Wehr

The grand experiment of a democratic Commonwealth of Star Nations has failed. With colony after colony leaving the Commonwealth, Earth finds itself in desperate straits as ecological disaster and mass starvation looms in the near future. The collapse of the Commonwealth means there’s now a power vacuum but no shortage of ruthless egos looking to fill that vacuum. Will it be the Republic of Corona, the most prosperous and populous colony world or a resurgent Earth under a messianic leader or perhaps a power-hungry interstellar corporation?

The ten year old Tau Ceti Empire is at a critical junction. The power vacuum left over from the collapse of the Commonwealth has been filled by five multi-planet star nations, the TCE being one of them. If the other four join forces and attack the TCE, it will be overwhelmed and crushed. But the longer Empress Brandenburg waits, the bigger the difference in military strength becomes. She must make plans soon because the leaders of the other four are already making theirs.

Who will ultimately stand astride a unified human star empire?

Hard Luck Hank: Dumber Than Dead (Hard Luck Hank #7) – Steven Campbell

Hank is getting married!

The space station Belvaille has become home to a species of actors. The newest edition to the Post Colmarian Confederation  are the Damakan race. As a species they are capable of “broadcast empathy.” Their acting skills are so powerful they are able to make people believe their portrayals are literally happening—even over remote transmission.

Belvaille, with its access to powerful radio telescopes, becomes an entertainment powerhouse, cranking out Damakan dramas and tragedies across the empire. As the city modifies is resources to accommodate the new cash cow, Hank is hired to protect important actors by the city’s premier talent agent: his butler Cliston.

But the good times don’t last as Damakans start getting murdered and whole productions are sabotaged and even outright attacked. The Navy threatens to get involved as their favorite tele programs are interrupted and Garm, the Adjunct Overwatch of the city, enlists Hank to find the source of the violence and put an end to it.

Hank fears his own betrothed is in danger as the city gets dragged into a gang war of which no one knows the cause.

Make Science Fiction Fun Again – Jon Del Arroz 

Do you miss the days when science fiction stories meant fun, crazy ideas? When a short fiction collection would entertain you and wow you with its strange, bold worlds? Then you’ll love the leading Hispanic voice in Science Fiction’s debut short fiction collection. With influences ranging from Heinlein, to McCaffrey, to Burroughs, these short stories run a gambit of telling unique stories that couldn’t be published by a major publisher today.

Inside, you’ll find tales of fighting monsters on alien planets, Nazi soldiers stumbling into a futuristic war where all life is at stake, AI coming to life and inhabiting a sexbot’s body, baseball on the moon, and more. It also features an introduction by Castalia House blogger and fan favorite, Daddy Warpig and the first collaboration between Jon Del Arroz and S. Misanthrope in “Unsafe (In) Space”.

Read it now and together we can make science fiction full of wonder again, we can make science fiction entertaining again, and we can Make Science Fiction Fun Again!

Para Bellum (Ark Royal #13) – Christopher Nuttall 

On her last mission, HMS Invincible discovered an alien threat beyond human understanding: a sentient virus that has already absorbed a number of intelligent races into its multitude and now intends to do the same to humanity. Defeat means the end of everything, the end of existence as nothing more than mindless host-bodies, the end of humanity and its alien allies alike. The stakes could not be higher.

As a deeply divided humanity struggles to prepare a defence, with enemies inside and outside the human sphere just lurking to strike, Invincible is sent deep into alien space on what should have been a simple reconnaissance mission. But, as Captain Shields and his crew begin their mission, it rapidly becomes clear that a juggernaut is bearing down on Earth …

… And, no matter what they do, they may never make it home again.

A Pillar of Fire by Night (Carerra Series #7) – Tom Kratman

Carrera’s held off his enemies coming by sea from the north, in the process dealing the naval and amphibious forces of the Zhong Empire a stinging defeat. The Zhong won’t soon forget the blood-stained waters and the heaped up bodies on the shores of Balboa’s Isla Real.

Now, though, his adopted country of Balboa is under assault from the east, from the south, from the west, from the air, and from space. The Zhong, smarting from the butchery around the island, have bounced back and forced a lodgment east of the capital. Their lodgment is still a-building but when it is done Carrera can expect several hundred thousand brave and determined Zhong to show up on his barely defended flank.

It’s beginning to look like the game is up for Balboa and Patricio Carrera.

But Carrera’s been planning this war for fifteen years. He certainly hopes his enemies think they’re winning.

The Raygin War – Larry Gerovac

In order to defend against an alien invasion by an advanced race that evolved from Carrion beetles, the military put all its hope into a single person. He’s an old school soldier who started his career as a ground pounder in the Sniper Corps. Mac has been involved in about every conflict the military has participated in.

His skill as a sniper earned him the respect of every soldier who ever worked with him. He is a self taught killer. On the battlefield he has no equal. No one knows his actual body count, but everyone has a story about his skills. Whether it was killing the opponent in hand-to-hand combat, killing them with a weapon, or just plain old out maneuvering them Mac was the best the military had ever seen. If there was a conflict somewhere in the universe you could bet Mac was in the middle of it.

In order to use Mac’s skills to the utmost the Vice Admiral reinstated the old military rank of commodore for him. In times of war a commodore out ranks the vice admiral and even the elected president of the United Federation of Planets. When the Raygin war starts Mac is forced to initiate the War Powers Act making him the most powerful human ever.

Will Mac’s experience and talent be enough to neutralize the alien invasion? All is not what it seems.

Save Point: Upload – Matthew Siege

Adam Harris’s name has just appeared on a top secret list of extraterrestrial origin. Unbeknownst to him, he’s one of a handful of individuals capable of implementing a Save Point, a static moment in time he’s able to revisit over and over upon death.

It’s a good thing, too. Brain cancer was turning into a real drag…

The government owns the list though, and they’ve wasted no time snapping him up. According to them, he has thirteen days in an alien realm to learn as much as he can before the inevitable, at which point his memories, Skill Progressions and Weapon Proficiencies will endure despite his body resetting.

Then it’s rinse and repeat.

But there are unwritten rules to the game he’s about to play, and unseen forces acting in judgment.

Adam will have to learn the hard way that dying is the easiest thing he’s going to do today.

Spyware: It’s Not What You Think – Colin Robertson

Zombies, hackers, and U.S. Senators–what could be scarier? A modern horror sci-fi satire that imagines a world where cable news, social media and other mass media is used to infect the minds of the American public!

Someone has just released a virus capable of infecting the most advanced computer of all — the human brain.

Fortunately, it has been discovered by a brilliant hacker. Unfortunately, that hacker is Eddy Pending.

Eddy isn’t your typical criminal with a dark personal past. He’s far more messed up than that. Eddy’s past a maze of madness, bizarre family members, and truly terrible life choices. So, when the Men in Rose Coloured Glasses show up at his door armed with business cards that can kill, Eddy knows the right thing to do – run! Unfortunately for Eddy, that’s just not going to work. So he might just have to fight back instead.

Uprising (Fugitive Marines Book 4) – David Ryker and Douglas Scott 

Double-crossed. Imprisoned. Fighting for their lives.

For the Jarheads of Oberon, it’s just another Tuesday.

But when an old foe reveals that the world is on the brink of a final world war, Quinn realizes they have to accept an impossible mission from someone he can’t trust, to find the one person who can possibly stop the evil schemes of Morley Drake and unite the world against the coming alien invasion. But who can he trust when everyone is looking out for themselves?

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s mind is slowly being poisoned by her father, and it’s up to her friends to navigate the unreal world of cortical reality and save her – and themselves – from a fate worse than attenuation. And all the while, the newly evolved Kergan is closing in on the ultimate weapon that will allow him to create a new interstellar empire on his own – starting with Earth.

New Release Roundup, 1 December 2018: Science Fiction published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[multiverseforger]

Edit

Born and raised in Greece by his single mother, Michael Morbius experienced an isolated childhood due to his rare blood condition, which contributed to his ugly and unpleasant-looking appearance. But despite his looks, he was an intellectually gifted young man who spent his time reading books and, in time, became a highly respected and Nobel Prize-winning biologist who specialized in the field of human and animal biology. While in New York, after escaping from his home country due to his pseudo-vampiric condition, he attempted to find a cure and to protect his fiancé Martine Bancroft, but he was attacked by the Lizard and defeated when Spider-Man and the Lizard teamed up against him to recover a sample of Morbius's blood in order to cure their own mutated physical conditions before he escaped. The truth behind his horrific condition is that, in order to cure himself of an unknown blood disease that was killing him, Morbius, using his past experience as an expert biochemist, had attempted to cure himself of the disease with an experimental treatment involving vampire bat DNA and electroshock therapy. However, he instead became afflicted with a far worse disease called "pseudo-vampirism" that mimicked some of the powers and the bloodlust of the supernatural vampirism. Morbius now had to drink blood in order to survive and had a strong aversion to light. His bones became hollow and he gained the ability to fly, as well as gaining superhuman strength, super-speed, and accelerated healing. His appearance, already ugly, now became hideous—his upper canine teeth extended into fangs, his nose flattened to appear more like that of a bat's, and his skin became chalk-white. He also gained the ability to turn others into similar "living vampires" like himself by biting them and drinking their blood, infecting them with the disease of pseudo-vampirism.[13] People whom Morbius infected with the disease of pseudo-vampirism did not truly die as a result and they could be cured through an antidote to pseudo-vampirism derived from Morbius's blood that Morbius and Martine had created, although that antidote would not work on Morbius himself. They also did not acquire his ability to fly or his healing factor and any mortal wound could kill them.[14] He later sought a cure for his condition, but battled Spider-Man, the Human Torch, and the original X-Men.[15]Morbius then encountered Barbara Clark and protected her from a demon named Nilrac, but unfortunately after that, Morbius killed her and drank her blood to satisfy his hunger, feeling a strong sense of guilt immediately afterward.[16]

Morbius later rescued Amanda Saint from a Satanic cult known as Demon-Fire and aided her in her quest to find her missing parents.[17] He caused John Jameson to again become the Man-Wolf. Alongside the Man-Wolf, he battled Spider-Man again in another attempt at a cure.[18] He then battled Reverend Daemond and encountered the Caretakers of Arcturus IV. At the same time, he visited both the Land Within, the home of the Cat People, and the planet Arcturus IV, the homeworld of the Caretakers. During this time, he first battled Blade the Vampire-Slayer.[19] He then first battled the Werewolf (Jack Russell)[20] He then first encountered rogue CIA agent Simon Stroud and battled the extra-dimensional demon known as Helleyes.[21] He and Stroud then battled a large group of other pseudo-vampires that had been created by Morbius, destroying them all. One of them, however, who had been taken into police custody, turned Martine into a pseudo-vampire before being destroyed by Morbius, but Morbius (who then turned on Martine and made her a pseudo-vampire again due to his bloodlust overcoming him) and Stroud cured Martine by using the antidote, after which Morbius fled.[14] He then encountered Alicia Twain, a desperate landowner, and tried to help her keep her land; however, she died at the hands of the men trying to steal her land despite Morbius's help, forcing Morbius to kill her murderers.[22] Next, he encountered an enigmatic woman named Morgana St. Clair in England, who aided him and seemed to know all about vampires. This led to Morbius batting - and destroying - the Brotherhood of Judas, another Satanic cult of which St. Clair was a member.[23] Alongside the Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), the Man-Thing (Ted Sallis) and the Werewolf, he then encountered the Starseed.[24]Morbius then visited his old friend Ronson Slade, a scientist, again hoping to find a cure. Slade, however, had become a werewolf and Morbius was forced to kill him.[25]Morbius then first battled the Thing, then teamed up with him to battle the Living Eraser and escaped to Dimension Z.[26] He later returned to Earth and battled Spider-Man again, this time briefly controlled both physically and mentally by an extra-dimensional humanoid android called the Empathoid, which fed on emotions to survive. Spider-Man destroyed the Empathoid (after the android had left Morbius and possessed him) by causing it to overdose on emotions during an exposure to the crowd at a baseball game in a stadium where he and Morbius had taken their battle, after which both of them left due to the approach of the stadium guards. Morbius then fled and Spider-Man left the Empathoid's body with the Fantastic Four for safekeeping.[27]

He once again fought Spider-Man and tried to drink his radioactive blood, but then he was hit by a lightning bolt at the same time, which cured him of his pseudo-vampirism and made him human again (he still retained a thirst for blood, however).[28] While he was cured, he was charged with the crimes he had committed as a pseudo-vampire and was represented by Jennifer Walters, whose dual identity as the She-Hulk was not yet publicly known at the time. Morbius selflessly saved Walters' life and stabilized her erratic transformations into the She-Hulk with a serum that he had created to cure the remnants of his own condition.[29] He eventually regained his pseudo-vampiric state and first met Doctor Strange.[30] Alongside Doctor Strange and Brother Voodoo, he battled Marie Laveau and witnessed the return of true vampires.[31] Morbius later battled Spider-Man in the New York sewers.[32]

The Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) and Johnny Blaze searched for Morbius to form the Nine (a.k.a. the Midnight Sons) and stop Lilith the Mother of All Demons and her children the Lilin from taking over the world. When they found Morbius, the pseudo-vampire believed that they would kill him, but the Ghost Rider and Blaze successfully captured him. Doctor Langford, who supposedly tried to heal Morbius's wounds, was actually trying to kill him and was working for Doctor Paine. He made an unknown mutagenic serum that would prove fatal to Morbius. Unknown to Doctor Langford, Fang, one of Lilith's children, was also trying to kill Morbius by adding his own demonic blood to the serum, which would also be fatal to Morbius. When Doctor Langford injected the serum into Morbius, it did not kill him; instead, it mutated him. Morbius's friend, Jacob, was trying to look inside of him and see what he could do about Morbius's condition. After Martine Bancroft, Morbius's ex-fiancé, found out that Langford was trying to kill him, Langford shot her and she bled to death. Morbius found out about this and was enraged to find his ex-fiancé dead. He later avenged the death of Martine by killing Langford and took the beaker which contained the serum.[33] The Ghost Rider and Blaze later found out about Morbius's acts of destruction. The Ghost Rider confronted him and would not tolerate Morbius drinking any more innocent blood. Morbius then vowed he would only drink the blood of the guilty. The Ghost Rider accepted the vow, but warned him not to stray from it. Morbius soon became part of the Midnight Sons.

Later, a new faction of vampires tried to destroy Morbius because he had been genetically manipulated to be the perfect weapon. The chest in which he was to be delivered was intercepted by the Kingpin, Blade and Spider-Man and he attacked all three. Whatever unknown party manipulated him failed; he collapsed after one battle, possibly dying. With his last breath, he warned Spider-Man to beware of his employer, Senator Stuart Ward.[34]

It was later revealed that Morbius had signed the Superhuman Registration Act and was cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D. in an effort to capture Blade.[35] He had also presumably survived his genetic manipulation, as Blade was able to distinguish him as the same Morbius who "took a bite out of [him]" in their previous encounter.[36]

Morbius was next seen as a member of A.R.M.O.R., held captive by the zombie Morbius from the Marvel Zombies universe of Earth-2149.[37] He survived the invasion, killing his zombie counterpart in the process.[38] Shortly afterward, he formed a new version of the Midnight Sons with Jennifer Kale, Daimon Hellstrom, Jack Russell and the Man-Thing to contain a zombie outbreak on an isolated island, briefly running afoul of the Hood in the process.[39]

Morbius later helped the Man-Thing re-assemble a decapitated Punisher into a Frankensteinian monster called FrankenCastle.[40]

During The Gauntlet storyline, Morbius was behind the theft of a vial of Spider-Man's blood. Spider-Man, learning that Morbius was planning to use the blood samples to create a cure for Jack Russell, agreed to help Morbius out by giving him more of his blood to help with the cure.[41]

During the Origin of the Species storyline, Morbius was among the supervillains recruited by Doctor Octopus to secure some items for him.[42]

During the events of Spider-Island, it was revealed to the reader that Morbius was the mysterious Number Six working at Horizon Labs. He assisted, wearing a hazmat suit to conceal his identity, in preparing the cure to the spider-powers virus.[43] When Peter Parker tried to investigate the identity of "Number Six", he accidentally provoked Morbius—who had been using the cure to try to develop a basis for a cure for his own condition—into a frenzy, prompting the staff at Horizon to step up building security (making it harder for Peter to enter and exit the building as Spider-Man in the future) and also forcing Morbius to leave, where it was revealed that he had been working with the Lizard, presumably trying to find a cure for both of their conditions. It was also revealed that Morbius was a college friend of Max Modell.[44] Using DNA samples from the corpse of Billy Connors, Morbius was able to create a cure that would restore the Lizard to human form, but he failed to recognize that the Lizard had completely destroyed Curt Connors' human persona.[45] The Lizard was left alone in Morbius's lab, allowing him to release blood into the lab's air supply to provoke the injured Morbius into attacking the other Horizon scientists. This prompted Morbius to flee the lab, with Spider-Man in pursuit.[46] Morbius was captured by Spider-Man and locked up in a cell in the Raft.[47]

When Peter Parker (whose mind was now in Doctor Octopus's dying body) needed some supervillains to help capture Otto Octavius (whose mind was now in Spider-Man's body), Morbius offered to help, but was rejected.[48] Morbius eventually escaped from the Raft[49] and fled to Brownsville.[50]

After some time, he tried to stop some vampires in Barcelona, but got captured by them and locked in a coffin. The vampires wanted to mix their blood with that of Morbius, until he got unintentionally saved by Domino, Diamondback and the Outlaw. After telling them about the vampires' plan, they agree to help him kill King Morbius (a true vampire infected with Morbius's blood). Then after killing him, a vampire hunter tried to kill Morbius, but thanks to Domino, he escaped.[51]

Morbius was later rescued by Agent of Wakanda Wasp from Dracula's Disciples, with assistance from Agents Broo and Man-Wolf. He later informed the Wasp and Director Okoye on the Vampire Civil War.[52