Comic Con Paris - A week-end in the geek's universe

This weekend, October 28 and 29, 2017, I went, with my sister, to Paris, for a festival of geeks already very popular all over the world, but whose French edition is only present since three years: the Comic Con. For my sister and me, it was a great opportunity this year, not to mention that there were guests who caught our attention.
Here is a summary of my first Comic Con experience, which will remain etched in my memory until the end.

The morning of the first day, I was excited, and when I arrived, I was even more excited. The number of people waiting in front to enter was impressive. A lot of cosplays also necessarily, whether in the Star Wars universe, Game of Thrones, Marvel and DC comics, etc .... Some costumes were really beautiful, for example, a guy was wearing an Iron Man armor almost similar to the real. The number of stands was also varied and the number of items, figurines, t-shirts, and other goodies made me want to buy them. There were also animation stands, for example, an apprenticeship in handling the lightsaber. I had already tried this experience at Paris Manga last year at a similar booth. There were also virtual reality stands, others for quizzes. I remember trying my luck for a quiz, and even if I found some answers, I was not chosen. Too bad, but that's the game. 

For the guests present, there was the exceptional presence of three actors from the Stranger Things series, for the promo of season 2. There was also Don Rosa, a very popular cartoonist in the Disney world, especially for his work on the characters of Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck. My sister had come for actor Finn Jones, aka Loras Tyrell in Game of Thrones, but I had come for the English actress Poppy Drayton, who plays the Elf princess Amberle Elessedil in the Shannara Chronicles series. I'm a fan of this series since no long, but the character of Amberle is one of my favorites, and to meet the actress was a dream for me. The first day, I had a autographs section with her. In the queue, I was the third. When Poppy Drayton arrived at the booth, and when I finally saw her for real for the first time, my heart jumped, but I stayed calm. I made her sign my Shannara Chronicles Season 1 DVD, and she wrote "To Mathias, keep believing in magic." A really adorable autograph. Poppy is really cute, she is humble, very smiling, I love her accent when she speaks French. I talked a little with her and even if it was not long, it was a very good time. She even accepted, while normally I was supposed to have only an autograph, to make a selfie with me. We said goodbye and I told her that the next day I had a photo planned with her. 

 On the second and last day, a few hours before the photo shoot, I went to a conference about the Shannara Chronicles, with Poppy Drayton to answer the questions and a translator. I managed to put myself in the front row, and Poppy even noticed and recognized me, and gave me a big smile. The conference was really interesting and when everyone applauded, Poppy was really moved, it was cute. Poppy recounted her journey, the fact that she had always dreamed of becoming an actress, the chance she has of being in a united family and supporting her from the beginning, how she started in the domain and how she got the role of Amberle in the Shannara series. It was really interesting. I would have liked to ask her a question, but I was not selected from those who raised their hand. I must be cursed for that, I'm never chosen lol.

Me with Poppy Drayton

But the strongest moment is and will remain for me the moment I entered the studio to make my official photo with Poppy Drayton. She recognized me again, we asked each other if we were fine, and after the photo, I said goodbye to her like a gentleman with a hat gesture, and that made her smile. Poppy is one of my favorite actresses, she is smiling, kind, humble, and she deserves a lot of respect. I could never thank her enough for this dream come true that she made me live.

Comic Con is not just a festival, it's an experience to live at least once in a lifetime. You really feel like in another world, a paradise for geeks. No matter where you look, you'll see something related to a movie, a series, a comic, a video game, etc.

The dates of the next year's edition have already been announced, but I'm waiting to see the guests that will be announced, but in any case, I will return with great pleasure.

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

Hero(es) of the Month - Edition N°22

For this new edition of the hero of the month, I will do a special edition 'cause this time, two heroes are honored at the same time, and for good reason, they are twins, and form a beautiful duet, their story is very touching: The Maximoff twins, Pietro and Wanda, known as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

Wanda and Pietro are from Sokovie, a country in Eastern Europe. When they were children, a shell destroyed the building in which they lived with their parents. Their parents were killed, but the twins survived, stranded for a day in the rubble, and one meter away from them, another shell that had not exploded. On this missile, they saw the name of the one they were going to hate after: Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. 

Driven by the desire for revenge against Tony Stark, Wanda and Pietro volunteered for the experiences of a man, Baron Strucker, a member of the terrorist organization Hydra, for the purpose of an experiment to create capable superhuman beings to compete with the Avengers. Wanda and Pietro were the only ones who survived Strucker's horrific experiences and gained powers. Pietro had the power to run at lightning speed, and Wanda had acquired the ability to manipulate minds and reality.

One day, the avengers managed to stop Strucker and shut down his weapons lab, but the twins fled, not without giving Hawkeye and Iron Man some trouble. Wanda and Pietro then teamed up with a robot, Ultron, Tony Stark's creation and wishing to annihilate the avengers, but what the twins did not know was that Ultron also had the plan to provoke a global genocide, in order to allow to the earth to start a new era. Wanda will eventually discover it by probing the spirit of the new body that Ultron plans to inhabit, the body that will later become Vision. Wanda discovers with horror the true plan of Ultron and fled with Pietro. A little later, the twins arrive to help Captain America as he fights against Ultron on a train. Ultron causes the derailment of the train, but the twins save the situation, Wanda using his power to stop the train and Pietro by saving people about to be hit by the machine. The twins will help the avengers against all odds to stop Ultron. 

During the battle against Ultron's army, Wanda and Pietro stand out and use their powers, Pietro destroying dozens of robots in seconds with his speed, and Wanda, at first shocked, takes on herself and unleashes its powers on machines to reduce them to pieces. Towards the end of the battle, Ultron takes the ship of the Avengers and uses the weapons to shoot Hawkeye. Pietro, seeing this, sacrifices himself by walling with his own body and is riddled with projectiles under Hawkeye's eyes. Sensing the death of his twin brother with her powers, Wanda sinks into sadness and anger. Among the ruins, she finds Ultron, dying in a train carcass. Guessing that he is responsible for Pietro's death, she uses her power to tear the heart out of Ultron and decides to let herself die here. But while the part of the city is about to explode to pieces, Wanda is saved by Vision, who comes to pick her up, takes her in his arms and flies with her in the sky. Wanda, now alone, decides finally to join the avengers and becomes a member of their group.

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

Warning for the Internet Trolls!

Internet trolls, 
This is a message from the Killmaster :To all of you, who delight yourselves from pain of the others and making judgements or shitty jokes about suicide, let me tell you this: you're not humans anymore, just heartless bastards, and deserving to burn in the flames of my hell!

Trolls, you can comment, but I'll not waste my time to answer you. But I tell you this: I'm not afraid of you, I'm the Killmaster, and this is my world.

DiscoveRock Edition N°28 - Special Legend Tribute - Linkin Park (in memory of Chester Bennington)

I publish this special edition of DiscoveRock to talk about another legendary band, Linkin Park, but also to pay my tribute to the memory of a rock icon, Linkin Park's lead singer, Chester Bennington, who was found dead at his home on July 20, 2017. His death leaves a huge void in the group but also in the entire world of music.... May you rest in peace, Chester. All my condolances to his friends and family. This article is for you, Chester.

Existing since 1996 (under the first name of Xero, then Hybrid Theory, to finally become Linkin Park), Linkin Park is an American band, making Nu Metal, or Electro Rock, or Alternative Rock. Linkin Park has become a real icon in the years of their career, having sold more than 70 million albums worldwide and won two Grammy Awards. Their songs, sometimes very powerful, sometimes calmer, have made the tour of the world, songs such as Numb, New Divide, Castle of Glass, In the End, What I've Done or Burn it Down, for exemples, have become absolute hits, making millions of views on the Internet and having become monuments of the rock music. Linkin Park was even the first rock band to cross the billion views on youtube. The group currently has released seven albums, the last of which, One More Light, was released in 2017. But with the death of the band's singer, Chester Bennington, who has become a true rock icon through the years, Linkin Park's future seems really uncertain ...... Chester will never be forgotten, his unique voice will continue to resonate in the hearts and ears of the fans, forever.

Members:
- Chester Bennington (vocals) (May you rest in peace, legend) \m/
- Mike Shinoda (vocals, keyboards, samples)
- Brad Delson (guitars)
- Dave "Phoenix" Farrell (bass)
- Joe Hahn (Djing, samples)
- Rob Bourdon (drums)

RIP Chester Bennington \m/

You'll never be forgotten.

Hero of the Month - Edition N°21

For the hero of this month, I decided to go back in one of my childhood movies, to put in the light my favorite Disney female character of all time: She's a true lovely soul's warrior and a unique "disney princess". the legendary: Mulan.

Mulan lives in a small, peaceful village in China, at a time when women do not have many rights. It's simple: men become soldiers and women take care of the children. But Mulan is different, she seems to be almost like a outcast, doing things only in her own way, which can sometimes thwart her father, a relatively old man, having keeping the aftereffects of the war on one of her legs, wise and carried on honor and traditions like any self-respecting father. But the situation gets dark when the news about the Huns, led by Shan Yu, invading China arrives at the village. By order of the Emperor, a man from each family of the kingdom is to serve in the army, and Mulan's father, although aged, is endorsed this responsibility. Mulan, horrified, knows well that her father, with his age and his old war wound, has no chance to come back alive. Mulan, desperate, decides to take the place of her father against his will, taking the armor, the sword and the horse to go fight the Huns in his place, pretending to be a man. During the adventure, she will meet Mushu, a small dragon sent by her family's ancestors to recover her, but Mushu decides to help Mulan in her mission. Mulan will also meet the leader of her troop: Captain Shang. To go unnoticed, Mulan takes a fictitious name: Ping. At first underestimated by the others, she will be very quickly respected and will motivate the other soldiers to excel in their training to fight the Huns.

But one day, in the mountains, after the reduced troop had discovered a destroyed village, as well as the bulk of the forces of the imperial army destroyed, Mulan and her troop are attacked by the Huns, more strong and numerous than they are. Mulan then had the crazy but ingenious idea, with one of the cannons, to trigger a big avalanche. The plan is marching, the Huns army is devastated by the avalanche, but Mulan is wounded by Shan Yu becoming furious. Mulan loses a lot of blood and eventually faints before Shang. It is during care that the troop discovers that she is a woman. The imperial councilor insists that she has to be executed on the spot, but Shang decides to spare her and abandons her to her fate. Disgraced, Mulan is about to return to her family, but discovers with horror that Shan Yu, along with his most faithful and dangerous warriors, have survived the avalanche and plans to attack the imperial city. During the festivities in the city, Mulan tries to warn Shang, but he remains deaf to his warning. It's too late, Shan Yu reveals his presence at the eyes of all, and the Huns kidnap the emperor in the palace to keep him as hostage. To save the situation, Mulan develops a plan with the help of her comrades.

After the Huns warriors were mastered, Mulan and Shang arrive in time on the balcony of the palace to rescue the emperor and engage the fight against Shan Yu. The emperor manages to be saved, but Shan Yu does not allow himself and knocks out Shang before attacking Mulan, recognizing her as the soldier who destroyed his army. Shan Yu releases his rage, chases Mulan relentlessly to kill her, but the young woman manages to take his sword, and with the help of Mushu, sends the hun chief in the air to the fireworks reserve to make him explode.

After this victory, the emperor appeared at the first furious against Mulan, but finally, bowed before her, pointing to her as the savior of China. It is thus, the honor restored in her family, that Mulan returns home, with as trophy the sword of Shan Yu, which she offers to her father in the way of forgiveness, but her father does not care and hugs her in his arms, making passing before all, the love for his only daughter.

See you next time \m/

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

DiscoveRock Edition N°27 - Violence of the Sun

Hell'O to all the fans of rock and metal of the world, and today, for this chronicle of June, we will go on the side of the desert, the heat, to discover a group that I discovered myself today but of which the style already pleases me: Violence of the Sun.

Violence of the Sun is a Heavy / Stoner Rock band from Giulianova, Italy, formed at the end of 2014. I've been a fan of Stoner since I've been a fan of metal, so, since ever. Guitar and bass riffs are very heavy, saturated, sometimes slow, sometimes faster, with a little touch of blues, all this accompanied by powerful drum hits, and the singer's voice, sometimes it also calm, and sometimes saturated and more grave. They still plunge us into the deep atmosphere of a burning and dark desert as far as the eye can see, which gives us the impression of being lost in a storm of sand, or there, in a metal storm. The band has released two albums, one in 2015, Three Times, and another in 2016, Perceptionism. If you're a fan of heavy and loud rock, in a desert mood, then this band is for you.


Members:
- Andrea Elkhaloufi (vocals, guitar)
- Francesco Pacifici (bass guitar)
- Mattia Maiorani (drums, vocals)
- Gigi Di Giacomo (lead guitar)

See you next time, Rockers \m/

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

DiscoveRock Edition N°26 - Visionatica

Visionatica is a Symphonic Metal german band, formed in 2013 and still active to date. For me, Visionatica is one of those talented groups that deserve more notoriety and recognition. Their style is symphonic, powerful and epic, often accompanied by classical instruments, powerful sonorous backgrounds and epic choirs, almost making think sometimes of music of fantasy movies, making you imagine great battles, or sometimes most calm songs making you quiet and feeling good, and all of this accompanied by the beautiful voice of the singer, Amara Avodem. For now, Visionatica released only one album, Force of Luna, in 2016, but the songs on it, such as Lilith, The Thorns, Never Will Die, Swamp of the World, or their single She Wolf, a song talking about the werewolves living in secret in the world, to cite a few examples. Of course, I'm sure other albums will come, and I'm waiting for this. A group that is well worth listening if you're fan of metal.

Members:
- Amara Avodem (vocals)
- Manuel Buhl (guitars)
- Gerhard Spanner (drums)
- Michael Wolnitza (bass)

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

Hero of the Month - Edition N°20

For the month of our selected hero, once again, Game of Thrones comes back into the light, and especially for a badass character, dark and lonely: He is nicknamed "The Hound", he is part of the personal top 5 of my favorite male characters in the series: Sandor Clegane.

Sandor was born in the Clegane family, a noble house serving a more powerful house, the Lannister house. Sandor's past is very blurry, except for a story that became famous in the kingdoms, when being a child, Sandor was playing with a toy belonging to his big brother, Gregor. Gregor surprised his brother, seized him by the neck and plunged the face into the flames of the chimney of their house. Later, Gregor was not punished and their father said it was an accident. Since then, Sandor has developed a fire phobia and a powerful hatred for his brother. Over the years, Clegane house has earned a fierce reputation, especially with Gregor and Sandor.

Adult, Sandor Clegane became the bodyguard of Prince Joffrey Baratheon. After Ned Stark had been decapitated, Sandor was one of the few (with Tyrion Lannister), to want to protect Sansa Stark, even if he did not like to show it. During a revolt of the King's Landing people, Sansa was about to be raped, but Sandor saved her just in time. During the Battle of King's Landing against the forces of Stannis Baratheon, Sandor distinguished himself by fighting and killing several men, but was forced to withdraw with his men. Tired, having enough of all this fire surrounding the city, Sandor said "fuck you" to the king and decides to leave. He proposed at Sansa to come with him, but she refused. 

Later, after months of purposeless wandering, Sandor is captured by the Brotherhood without Banners, to be judged of his crimes by Thoros of Myr and Beric Dondarrion, and there he finds Arya Stark, who herself, is eager to see The Hound die, this one having killed one of her friends. But Sandor emerges victorious from the battle against Beric, placing him in the light of the gods, as innocent. Soon after, Sandor kidnaps Arya, and intends to return her to her family, in exchange of a ransom. First, Sandor and Arya go to the Twins, where Robb and Catelyn Stark are, to attend the wedding of one of Walder Frey's daughters. But Sandor and Arya arrive too late, during the massacre of the Red Wedding, and are forced to leave. Sandor decides to take Arya to her aunt Lysa Arynn in the Val, but once again Sandor is unlucky because, on their arrival, Lysa is dead, putting Sandor in a dead end.

One day, Sandor and Arya meet Brienne of Tarth and Podrick, in the mountainous regions. Brienne tries to convince Arya to come with her, but Sandor makes her understand that he does not intend to let her do it. A fierce battle begins between Brienne and Sandor, both use their strength to try to overcome the other, and Brienne comes out victorious, causing Sandor to fall from the top of a precipice. Gravely wounded, Sandor begs Arya almost to kill him to put an end to his suffering, but Arya decides to let him die and abandons him to death.

Since then, Sandor disappears and everyone thinks he's dead. However, in season 6, it is discovered that this is not the case. Cured of his leg wound, Sandor was rescued by a peaceful community of brave peasants and helped them to build a monastery. Sandor seems to have given up fighting and leads a calm life, helping as he can in exchange for food. But this peace does not last when members of three members of the brotherhood without banners arrive and massacre the whole community, and Sandor, seeing the carnage, all those people who were good with him, killed like cattle, feels in him anger and the rage to fight rising again. After a relentless chase, he finds the culprits of the carnage, but also, Thoros of Myr and Beric Dondarrion, about to hang them, precisely because of the massacre they caused. Seeing Clegane's desire for revenge, Thoros and Beric allowed him to hang two of the three. Seeing that Sandor has nowhere to go, the fraternity offers him to join them, Thoros and Beric making him understand that the real great war will come, and that Sandor could have a role to play in this war. 

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

7 Points about why Bioshock is my favorite video game saga

I would like to know what is your favorite video game saga is and why? For my part, this is the Bioshock saga.

1. I have always loved the Steampunk, the future seen by the people of the past, with a pretty archaic technology based on cogs and clock mechanisms.

2. Bioshock talks about a lot more or less dark things like religion, racism, madness, etc ... And it expands these aspects with great efficiency, so much so that one can feel compassion or Hatred for certain characters.

3. Most of the "creatures" encountered in the trilogy are in fact human beings who have undergone brainwashings and other abominable mutation experiences, demonstrating how unbounded human cruelty can be.

4. In games, you have to make moral choices, for example you can choose to kill or save the little sisters (I chose to save them) or spare some key characters, and your acts will lead of how the game will end, good or bad. Bioshock is pushing us to think about human nature and it's really interesting.

5. In Bioshock Infinite, the notion of dimensions and parallel realities is brought about. I have always been fascinated by these theories of worlds within worlds, parallel realities where are living our look-alikes. In Bioshock Infinite, parallel realities become reality, and several times, Elizabeth and Booker discover themselves, in different realities to theirs, but each time with a little detail that changes. As Elizabeth says "Constants and variables." This is why Infinite is my favorite opus of the saga, the script is complicated, but it really pushes to think and when you understand, you are left speechless.

6. The character of Elizabeth is the best for me. Yes, I have a cruh on her, but not just for that. Her story is really interesting, complete and tragic. She is kind, intelligent and open-minded, but in the depths, she is tortured and sad and seeks by all means to put an end to the madness that reigns and to repair the errors of her father, and her owns.

7. Expansions "Burial at Sea" make (I think) a final point to the saga, because the expansions reveal all the links between Infinite and the first Bioshock (chronologically, Infinite is a prequel, because it takes place in 1912 and Bioshock 1 In 1960), and proves to us that "Everything was linked from the beginning". This end left me speechless, heart tight and deeply moved. I will say no more for no spoiling, but I really recommend the Bioshock saga, which for me remains one of the best video game franchises ever.

"No gods. Or kings.

Only man."

- Andrew Ryan, Bioshock 1

Mathias, the killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/

DiscoveRock Edition N°25 - Babymetal

For the 25th edition of DiscoveRock, I'm going to talk about a very special band, which I became a fan, a band that is subject to a lot of hatred (unfairly), on the part of purists metal fans. But I don't fucking care of what they think, I like this band and I put it in DiscoveRock because for me, it's a group like any other, which has the right to its chance and the right to exist. Here is my favorite Japanese metal band, Babymetal! \m/

The group was formed in 2010 and is still young, but has already acquired a worldwide reputation and made concerts around the world. A mythology was even created around the group, designating the three girls and main members of the group (Su, Yui and Moa) as young women warriors, who were chosen by the god-fox, a god of metal, to spread the power of metal throughout the world and fight the forces of evil. For me, being a super fan of fantasy and supernatural, I adore this idea which makes the group seem almost supernatural too. Babymetal is a mixture of Heavy Metal and J-Pop, and it's true that at first I found the concept interesting but strange, and then I listened, and in the end, I really liked, the mix is very well done. Even though I have not yet seen the band in live, their videos of concerts really impressed me too. The songs are dynamic, powerful, some fast, others slower, the dances are very well done, Su, Yui and Moa do a very good job, like the musicians who play with them on stage. They define their style as a new kind of metal, the "Kawaii" Metal, and I find the idea amusing. As I wrote at the beginning, metal purists criticize the band very much, saying it is not a real metal band, and with that I do not agree. There are metal elements, such as guitar, bass and drums, and the sound is clearly metal, so the band can be put into that category. For my part I am one of those who support Babymetal against these unfair criticisms, and I repeat, the group deserves to have its chance to exist. For now, the band has only released two albums, the first, "Babymetal", released in 2014, and the second, "Metal Resistance", released in 2016, and this is just the beginning. I wish a lot of success to Babymetal and a lots of other albums to come.

Members:
- Suzuka Nakamoto "Su-Metal" (vocals, dance)
- Yui Mizuno "Yui-Metal" (backing vocals, dance)
- Moa Kikuchi "Moa-Metal" (backing vocals, dance)

Greetings from France, and hail Babymetal \m/

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

Dark Souls 3 - Hardest and Best Game I ever played

Some time ago, after finally getting a Playstation 4, I bought a game that I had heard a lot about and that I wanted to test: one of the toughest games in the world: the one and only Dark Souls 3, the last of the Dark Souls saga, and which, for me, concludes magnificently this dark and epic saga.
Recently, I finished the game (not without a lot of trouble), and here is my feeling about it.

In the medieval apocalyptic world of the game, we are in the devastated kingdom of Lothric, and we embody an anonymous character (whose name, appearance and class can be chosen), as an unkindled, undead designated by fate to find the lords of cinder and bring them back, voluntarily or by force, to their thrones to be sacrificed to the fire, which will allow the first flame, artifact allowing the world to stand still alive, not to die.

For my part, I chose to be a knight, I called him Mathias of course and modeled the face of my character so that he resembles me.

Lothric's Castle

One of the great strengths of Dark Souls 3 is of course, as in all Souls games, fighting the bosses, and for the third game, they have booked fucking very tough monsters. Among the bosses that have given me the most difficulty, there are the Abyss Watchers, Dancer of the Boreal Valley, Aldrich the devourer of gods, Lorian and Lothric the twin princes, and the last boss, the Soul of Cinder. For each boss, a strategy must be developed by the player if he wants to win the fight. In Dark Souls, do not go ahead without thinking when you fight against a boss, otherwise you risk being massacred. The estus flask, which make up your health potions, are quite rare and must be used wisely. The more the game progresses, the harder and tougher the bosses become, so much so that some of them, if they succeed in chasing the blows, can kill you in only three or four shots. I'm not going to lie, I've died a lot of times in the game, I've even stuck at some bosses, but I did not give up, and one after another I killed them. If you want to go fast in a boss fight, you risk losing. Take your time, analyze the attacks of the boss while dodging them and observe each of his movements, because a single mistake can be fatal, to him just like for you. The fights can last long enough, but with the epic music, mixing classical music and Gregorian chants, we like to make these fights last.

Vordt of the Boreal Valley, one of the first bosses in the game.

I succeeded to kill him at my first attempt.

Graphisms are just.....WOW!

I've talked a lot about enemies, but you're not alone in the game, there are a few allies, rare, but they're here. You will meet them in the Firelink Shrine, which will constitute your base camp or you will come to improve your equipment, buy things or improve your level. Among the allies, to give an example, there is André the blacksmith, who can improve your weapons to make them more powerful (but it's not for free of course). There is also the Fire Keeper (her real name is unknown). She is the guardian of the fire and in a way, your guardian angel. It is revealed in the game that she and you share a common destiny: to maintain the fire to prevent the world from sinking into the darkness. In other allies I enjoyed, there is also Siegward of Catarina, a fat knight wandering in a big armor, slow enough to think but very fun.

The Fire Keeper <3

My final judgment for this game is the maximum score of 20/20. Dark Souls 3 is a masterpiece of the video game, with its dark, macabre atmosphere, these apocalyptic creatures that do not leave you any chance of respite, these epic soundtracks, those titan fights against bosses that are for the most part, much bigger than you ..... For the fans of Dark Fantasy, this game is gold.

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

Horizon Zero Dawn - A perfect video game

Several days ago, I was finally able to buy a Playstation 4, and with, included in the package, a video game released recently, but being already recognized as the game of the year by many people, and it is not for nothing.

Horizon Zero Dawn is far away in the future, in a post-apocalyptic world, where modern civilization has completely disappeared, nature has regained its rights, humans now live in tribes and have returned to a primitive stage of life, but henceforth, the earth is no longer their world and is dominated by dangerous machines, with mysterious origins. In this game, the player plays Aloy, a young woman, huntress and member of a tribe, the Nora. Oorphan and pariah, Aloy, in the game, will ride through this vast world in search of her origins and her true destiny.

The Horizon game is an action-RPG, unfolding in a world and open, with as majestic as it is impressive and varied, with mountains, jungles and deserts. For the graphics, I put 20/20, because it is the most beautiful game I've seen in my life, with a level of detail so incredible that when I started the game, I did not stop say "it's beautiful, whore, it's beautiful!".

One of the highlights of the game is of course, the fighting against the machines, which are very numerous and also dangerous ones. Each type of machine has its strengths and weaknesses, and attacks with its own way, which gives very varied, epic and enjoyable fightings, whether against small machines, such as Watchers, robots in the form of raptors, that against giant robots, like the Thunderjaws, which have the form of tyrannosaurs. And instead of fight the machines, you can choose to hack the machines, bring them back on your side, so you can overlap certain types of machines to use them to move you, or use some as allies in the fights. The music is also magnificent, very catchy, and take us into this universe. The weather in the game can change, it can rain, snow, and days and nights go by like a real day. 

The human tribes now live somewhat like the era of our Neolithic ancestors. Horizon manages to combine the elements of the past and the future with incredible coherence. Aside from the main quest, there will also be secondary quests, such as killing bandits in their camps, helping people in need, confronting groups of machines, etc .... During the adventure, we can also explore the ruins of the great cities of modern civilization, which tribal humans call the metal age.

And as in Mass Effect, we can choose the dialogs of Aloy, which will define her choices and her mentality. Aloy is for me, the new iconic badass female character who will leave her mark in the video game, and I hope a sequel will be planned and that Horizon Zero Dawn is the first of a new epic video game saga. She rides machines she hack herself, she kills giant robots with a bow and arrows .... Dare to tell me it's not badass.

Even though this is only the beginning of the year, I am very tempted to say that Horizon Zero Dawn is the game of the year.

Aloy <3 <3 you're so badass!

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

Dreams I made: I was a Titan

That night, I had a rather short but very epic and violent dream.
It was daylight and I was walking in the street of my village where my house is, so far nothing very special, but for a moment the ground began to tremble, and giant footsteps were heard. To my amazement, titans, like in my favorite Japan Anime, Attack on Titan, came to attack the village and surely devour the inhabitants.
As in an instinct of survival, I bit my hand to the blood (triggering my power), and I turned into a titan of 15 meters high. Furious and feeling an extreme rage, I roared with all my might, clenching my fists and the other titans saw me and went to attack me.
The first tried to bite me, but I gave him a blow so hard that his head was torn from his neck. The blood spurted on the houses and the street. I then trampled his corpse violently, especially his weak point at the base of the neck, to finish him.
A second titan attacked me in the back, grabbing me in the back, but I reacted immediately and broke his arm in two, then a leg, kneeling him, and a knee stroke exploded his jaw. With my strength of titan, I lifted a large bit of bitumen that I tore off the ground, and I used it to crush his head and neck. I gave free rein to my anger, I had never felt so enraged at this point, but it did not seem to affect the remaining titans. A Titan wanted to try a showdown against me, but I managed to push him, block him on the ground, and I bombarded him with severe punches in the face, so much so that I reduced his face in lint. Every blow I made made the ground shake.
Sometimes I noticed the locals on the streets fleeing far, terrorized, by me and by the Titans, even though I did not intend to hurt people. I tore off an electric pole from the ground, and I pierced the orbit of a titan with, exploding his eye and squirting blood abundantly. Further on, another Titan was trying to catch people to devour them. I immediately reacted by throwing myself on him, and I bit him with all my strength to the neck, tearing his flesh and killing him instantly. I could even feel the taste of blood in my mouth. The titan I had half-blinded was still alive, he tried to bite me, but I blocked his lower jaw, and snatched it with a blow, and finally a good kick that l has thrown him back. I lifted his body with both hands, and threw it on to another Titan who came nearby. In the midst of the carnage I had done, the rage grew in me and I roared again, making my roar resound in the neighborhood.
And I woke up at that very moment. I do not know why I had this dream, but I admit that I liked to let anger get out like this.


Mathias, the Killmaster
Fire and Blood \m/

Hero of the Month - Edition N°19

For the edition N°19, we go back in the Middle Earth, to see the most badass dwarf of the Tolkien's universe: Gimli, son of Gloin.

Gimli is the son of the dwarf warrior Gloin, who was one of the members of Thorin Oakenshield's company, which reconquered the town of Erebor from the hands of the dragon Smaug. Gimli would have liked to participate in the expedition but was refused, considered too young at the time. A few years later, Gimli accompanied his father to Rivendell to attend the council of Elrond, to decide what to do with the One Ring. During the council, Gimli tries to destroy the ring but fails, the object being indestructible by ordinary weapons. Gimli does not hesitate to show his anger against the elves and says to Legolas that he would rather die than see the ring in the hands of an elf.

When the community is formed, Gimli volunteers to represent the dwarves. During the journey, Gimli will propose several times to go through the mines of Moria, to go faster and meet his cousin Balin. Because of the traps of Saroumane, the group has no other choice and goes to the mines. But when they arrive, they discover that the Moria is no more than a tomb, filled with the mommified bodies of the dwarves, and infested with goblins. Gimli will also discover, with great sadness, the tomb of Balin. In an epic battle against goblins and a balrog, Gimli manages to survive. In the Lothlorian (in a cut scene from the first film), Gimli confesses to Legolas, that he fell in love with Lady Galadriel, that he finds her more than beautiful and that he asked her, with her permission, to obtain a strand of her silver hair, which she accepted, giving him three strands, which Gimli now keep with him. During the Uruk-Hai attack in the forest, Gimli once again fights with Aragorn and Legolas, but they fail to save Boromir. Gimli now follows Aragorn and Legolas in their hunt to find the Uruks who kidnapped Merry and Pippin during the attack.

Gimli will always follow his two friends, who will not find Merry and Pippin, but will make a meet they did not expect: Gandalf appears to them, having survived the balrog and Moria. Together they went to Edoras, the capital of the Rohan kingdom, and saved King Theoden, whose spirit had been poisoned by Saruman.

Because of the growing threat of Isengard, the Rohan's people are exiled to Helm's Deep, and Gimli is part of the journey. During the Battle of Helm's against the giant Uruks army, Gimli is present, alongside Legolas and elves, and is the only dwarf present in the battle. He will once again demonstrate his thirst and skill for combat by killing a large number of Uruks and will not hesitate to throw himself alone into the fray from the top of a rampart to protect Aragorn. Gimli survives the battle, and it is during this battle that the friendship between Gimli and Legolas begins to appear a little, both having made a "contest" of the one who would kill the most enemies.

In "The Return of the King," Gimli stays with Aragorn and Legolas, his two inseparable friends, and accompanies King Theoden and his troops to a rallying camp, before leaving for the Gondor and helping them against Sauron's troops . But finally, after a revelation from Elrond to Aragorn, Gimli follows him, with Legolas, in the depths of the mountain, in search of a kind of cursed army, which could prove to be a major advantage against the armies of Sauron.

In the mountain, the three companions will meet terrifyingly an army of ghosts, the army of the dead, who in their lifetime had sworn to serve the ancestor of Aragorn, Isildur, but who had betrayed the latter, and Isildur cursed them for this, wishing that they never find rest before the fulfillment of their oath. Aragorn, as heir of Isildur, rallies the dead to his side, promising them the rest they hope so much if they help him.

During the battle of Minas Tirith, Gimli, Aragorn and Legolas arrive, the army of the dead with them, and sweep the last orc troops still present. Again, Gimli and Legolas make a contest. Legolas manages to kill an Oliphant, but Gimli considers that despite the size, it counts only for one.

After that, Gimli participates in the final battle in front of the Gate of Mordor, where his friendship with Legolas is confirmed when the elf asks the dwarf if he is ready to die at the side of a friend, and Gimli answers that yes, he can do it. Gimli fights with all his might, like all his companions in battle, and he survives, witnessing the destruction of Sauron. Gimli also attends the crowning of Aragorn, as king of Gondor.
Even if it is not shown in the films, after the defeat of Sauron, Gimli and Legolas continue to be friends, and one day, with the agreement of Lady Galadriel, Gimli is allowed to leave the Middle Earth, with Legolas, towards the elven lands, becoming surely the first dwarf to receive this honor.

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

DiscoveRock Edition N°24 - Special Legend - Marilyn Manson

He has become a phenomenon as much by its musical style as marketing. I call him "the king of satyr" or the "Joker of Metal". It has  been talked so much about him in the world that hundreds of rumors (real or false?) Are running about him, making him almost a living urban legend. The one and only, Marilyn Manson. Her stage name is a mixture of the famous actress Marilyn Monroe, and the psychopath Charles Manson, making a mixture of an icon loved by all, and one of the worst monsters that our world has known. A mix of what the world made in best and worst.
The style of Marilyn Manson is classified as "Shock" and "Industrial" Metal, with a little touch of Glam too.
His video clips are very special, filled with a really dark, macabre atmosphere, evil, and some of them could shock the younger people. Manson's style is deliberately provocative, showing a character, crazy, dark, who knows no limits and does not care about others' judgment about him, doing whatever he wants. Because of this image, Manson had many problems during his career, especially against religious groups, who accuse him of inciting young people to violence, of being a Satanist, etc. But despite These accusations, Marilyn Manson's career has never stopped, proof, his tenth album studio, Say10, will be released in 2017.
Apart from music, Manson also has a passion for cinema and art. For his career in the world of music, Marilyn Manson deserves his place among the Metal legends \m/

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

DiscoveRock Edition N°23 - Starset

Formed in 2013 in Columbus, Ohio, United States, Starset is, for me, one of these talented bands, but unfairly misunderstood, and deserving more notoriety. Their music is a powerful mix of rock and electro, with sometimes powerful, sometimes calm, that take you through the stars, into the world of science fiction, whose videos are inspired, like their clip "My Demons" making a mix between sci-fi and steampunk, and also with a story between the past and the future. Very cool video. Their costumes of scenes are also impressive, the space suits are really cool and the visors emanating a bluish light are of a very beautiful effect. For the moment, the band has released two albums, Transmissions, released in 2014, and Vessels in 2017. I even took one of their songs "The Future is Now", as credits song for my Bioshock story.
If you like science fiction, powerful electronic music and rock, and if you love bands like Skillet or Linkin Park, then Starset is a band you will surely love. I highly recommend it!

Members:
- Dustin Bates (vocals and keyboards)
- Ron DeChant (bass and backing vocals)
- Brock Richards (guitars and backing vocals)
- Adam Gilbert (drums)

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

Villain of the Month - Edition N°18

For this new Villain of the Month article, we're going to plunge back into the Disney world, with the main antagonist of one (for me) of the best Disney movies. Shan Yu, the leader of the Huns and feared warlord.
I also dedicate this article to the memory of the original voice of Shan Yu, Miguel Ferrer, who unfortunately passed away in January of this year 2017.

The past of Shan Yu is mysterious and unknown, as unexplained in the film. It is just known that he is a Hun Warlord, merciless, very powerful and dreaded, and feared by China, even by the Emperor, who does not hesitate to mobilize all available forces to try to stop him. But Shan Yu is not easily impressionable; on the contrary, he even orders to an enemy scout, before letting him go, to go and tell the emperor to send his most powerful army to confront him. Shan Yu likes the challenges, and saw in the Great Wall, a challenge imposed by the emperor.

Shan Yu and his vast army wreak havoc in the kingdom of China, destroying without mercy all the villages they meet. In a scene, Shan Yu's cruelty is once again unveiled when his falcon brings him a small doll belonging to a little girl living in a nearby village. Shan Yu, a sadistic smile, said he would like to "give back" the doll to the little girl. When Mulan's convoy arrives at the village, they contemplate with horror the ravages caused by the huns, no survivors are found, and even worse, a large part of the Imperial army has been annihilated.

In the mountains, Shan Yu and his army manage to take the little convoy to the trap and are about to massacre them. But Shan Yu had not foreseen that a soldier (Mulan, disguised as a man), plans to cause a great avalanche with one of the guns. The avalanche swallowed up the whole Huns army, including Shan Yu.

But Shan Yu is stronger than that and manages to survive despite all, extirpating himself from the snow and realizing that his whole army, except a few survivors, is annihilated, which plunges him into deep rage and a desire for vengeance.

Shan Yu and his group of most faithful warriors manage to enter without being seen in the imperial city, and take the emperor in hostage in front of the eyes of all the terrified inhabitants. In the palace, Shan Yu begins to speak to the emperor, telling him that his kingdom has fallen and that he must submit to him. It is then discovered that one of the other goals of Shan Yu is to enlarge his empire by becoming the new chief of China. But the intervention of Mulan and Shang comes to compromise his plans. Shan Yu fights fiercely, managing to knock Shang down and discovering that Mulan is the soldier who has destroyed his army, becomes mad with rage and wants to kill her.

Shan Yu is trying hard to try to kill Mulan by any means, but the young woman had planned everything. Mushu, the little dragon that accompanies Mulan, has prepared a huge fireworks rocket, and sends it on Chief Hun after Mulan managed to block him. Shan Yu is hit by the rocket and sent into the fireworks tower, which disappears into a huge explosion.

For my part, I would have liked the character of Shan Yu to be a little more explored, that we learn something about his past for example.

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

Hero of the Month - Edition N°18

For the February 2017 edition, I wanted to present an animated character, the main character of a rather dark animation film, and unfairly underrated. She became one of my favorite animated female characters. Here is Mrs. Elizabeth Brisby.

Mrs. Brisby is an ordinary field mouse, living in the middle of a field with her four children. She has been widowed for several years since her husband, Jonathan, was killed by the farm cat. But Timothy, one of her sons, falls gravely ill and is therefore impossible to move, and the day of plowing approaches, putting the Brisby family in great danger of death in front of the tractor of the farmer. Mrs. Brisby, ready to do anything to protect her children, does not hesitate to face fear and will seek advice from the great owl, wise of the forest but also predator of mouses. However, the owl is wise and seeing that she is the widow of Jonathan Brisby, decides to help her. Mrs. Brisby then learns that the only ones able to move her house are the rats of the rosebush, which for years, live hidden and steal electricity to the humans.

Going into the hiding-place of the rats, Brisby discovers a very strange den, equipped with advanced technology, for rats. She finds Mr. Ages, an old mouse who seems to be friends with the rats, and meets Justin, a rat, captain of the guard, Jenner, a member of the council, and Nicodemus, old wise and leader of the community, who will make great revelations to Mrs. Brisby, for example, the fact that the rats in the community are in fact the rats escaped from a genetic laboratory, and having undergone mutations that have made them more intelligent. Mrs. Brisby also learns that her husband, Jonathan, was part of genetically modified mice, such as Mr. Ages, and that he helped the rats to escape. Nicodemus reveals to Mrs. Brisby that Jonathan never said anything about it, because unlike her, he would not have grown old and would have remained young. In memory of his late friend, Nicodemus agrees to help Mrs. Brisby, and gives her a golden amulet with a red ruby.

But what Nicodemus and Brisby do not know is that Jenner plots in the shadows, wanting to take the place of Nicodemus at the head of the community. While Mrs. Brisby volunteers to asleep the cat of the farm, the rats begin to move the house of the mice with their equipment. But Jenner had planned everything, and triggered a terrible accident, and Nicodemus found himself crushed, and died on the spot. Mrs. Brisby, who had been caught by the farmers' son but managed to escape, arrives too late. Brisby tells the rats that the farmer has appealed to Nimh's scientists, and that they come to eradicate the rats until the last one. Jenner, blinded by his desire for power, does not want to hear anything and tries to kill Mrs. Brisby to silence her, and also take the amulet. But Justin interposes and after a terrible fight, Jenner is killed.

But after bad weather, the house of the mice begins to be swallowed by the mud, and Mrs. Brisby, at the peril of her life, will awaken the power of the amulet with her heart and manages to save her family. Following the departure of Nimh's rats to a better lair, Mrs. Brisby resumed her normal life, with her family, in a safer place, sheltered from the farmer's tractor.

Mrs. Brisby is one of the most courageous characters I've seen, because despite her small size, she does not hesitate to brave fear and danger to save her children. She represents, in a way, innocence and kindness, in a dark world filled with giant and terrifying creatures.

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/ 

Epica / Powerwolf / Beyond the Black - Epic Metal night at Paris

This February 4, 2017 will have been one of the best days of my life. First of all, I received in the morning my rare action figure that I ordered on the internet, of good quality, which I waited impatiently, and in the evening I knew that an important concert took place: At the Zenith, One of my favorite concert places in Paris, was going to be a great concert, with three bands I'm a fan of: Beyond the Black, Powerwolf, and headliner, Epica!
Arriving in the Zenith, where I had not been for two years, when I saw the scene again, I nostalgically remembered my concerts with Motörhead, Kiss and ZZ Top. It was in the Zenith of Paris that I had my most epic concerts. Despite many people who had arrived before me, I could place myself and have a good overview of the whole concert.

To start the evening, a Symphonic Metal band from Germany, which I had discovered (by chance) on youtube and whose style I immediately liked: Beyond the Black. Even if the band played only five or six songs, I was very happy to see them and hear them, in addition for their first visit to Paris. If you like metal music with intonations that make you think to fantasy and celtic, Beyond the Black should please you. In any case, for their first time in Paris, they managed to heat the room. Bravo!

The second band of the evening, but not the least, because it is a band I have been waiting for several years now, and of which I knew in advance that I was not going to be disappointed: the werewolves coming from Germany, a and whose notoriety grows at high speed for our greatest happiness: Powerwolf! The group already has a great notoriety in France because when they arrived on stage, they were received like kings. In video they are already impressive, but live, I was amazed. Their costumes, sets, their music.... They as much surprised me than when I saw Lordi and Ghost for the first time. They played some of my favorites, such as Army of the Night, Amen and Attack, Sanctified with Dynamite, or We Drink your Blood. The singer, Attila Dorn, spoke a little in French, saying that this evening was the mass of Heavy Metal. Indeed, I almost believed myself in a black Mass. My expectations were worth it, and I will go back to Powerwolf with great pleasure.

And to finish the evening, of course, the starring band, with so powerful and epic music, mixing metal and classical music, that it transports you into fantastic worlds. I want to talk about the one and only Epica. Before Epica started, I talked with two very nice guys, who told me that they had come expressly from the city of Brest, in Brittany, to see the concert, because they are very fans of Epica. With the lighting effects, the fireworks, the pyrotechnical effects, the concert of Epica has marked me as much as the concerts of Nightwish and Kiss that I did. Simone Simons, one of my metal angels, beautiful and superb voice, with her long hair of fire, has spellbound the crowd, as much as the rest of the band with the epic guitar riffs, frenzied drums and resonant keyboard. A fucking great show with a big "S".

Ah, another very good point during this evening. I met one of my foreign friends of Facebook, Madlen, whom I recognized at a distance thanks to her cool Powerwolf's makeup. I knew she was coming to Paris for the concert, but with the crowd there was, I could not find her right away. We talked, and made a picture both, to keep a memory of course. I am very happy to have met her, because I'm friend with her for several years already, and for me, it is very important to can meet my friends online. Who said that online friends are not true friends? Well, this is false. The value of distance is nothing. Unfortunately I could not stay long with her because it was pretty late, and I had to make it quick to take the last transport and avoid getting stuck in Paris. But as I told her, I hope and I'm sure we'll meet again at other events. See you next time Madlen :) \m/ 

Madlen also has a blog, which I will give you the link: Maddy's Blabbering

Beyond the Black

Powerwolf

Epica

Mathias, the Killmaster

Fire and Blood \m/