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Game of Thrones Author Posts, Then Quickly Deletes Withering Criticism of House of the Dragon

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George R.R. Martin, the creator of the novels and the spin-off on which the HBO series relies, had quite a bit to say about the major change made to the series. On September 4, Martin he published a post on his blog titled “Beware the Butterflies,” which details his concerns about a selected scene from Season 2. However, shortly after the post was posted, Martin deleted it entirely.

Based on the post, which in the archived version could be read hereMartin seriously questioned the way the show’s creators modified the moment known to fans as “Blood and Cheese.” In the programQueen Helaena is accosted in her castle by two intruders who demand that she discover which of her two young children is a boy, ostensibly so that they can assassinate the heir to the Iron Throne. She hesitantly offers them her necklace, but after they insist, she points to Jaehaerys, her son, whom the intruder quickly kills.

Read more: We got our first take a look at the next show

In the novel, Helaena has three children: Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor (Maelor doesn’t appear in the series, although Martin claims in a now-deleted blog post that he was told he would seem in season three). When Blood and Cheese (as they’re known in the novel) break in, Helaena first gives up her life, then reluctantly points Maelor out to the killers, who’s the youngest. However, the intruders realize that she is avoiding declaring Jaehaerys, the next in line for the throne, and kill him anyway, with Cheese whispering to Maelor that his mother has chosen him to die before he leaves the castle.

Martin claims he argued with showrunner Ryan Condal about the change, however it didn’t last long “or get too heated,” saying Condal assured him enough that he could accept the change. “(He) had what seemed practical in mind; they didn’t want to deal with casting another child, especially a two-year-old toddler,” Martin wrote. “Children that young would inevitably slow down production and have budgetary implications. Budget was already an issue in , it made sense to save money wherever we could. Plus, Ryan assured me that we weren’t losing Prince Maelor, we were just postponing him. Queen Helaena could still give birth to him in Season 3, likely after she gets pregnant at the end of Season 2. That made sense to me, so I withdrew my objections and agreed to the change.”

Picture: HBO

While Martin ultimately “still (loved)” the episode despite the changes, he takes a much greater issue with the supposed complete removal of Maelor, writing, “Sometime between the original decision to remove Maelor, a big change was made. The prince’s birth was no longer simply going to be pushed back to Season 3. He was never going to be born at all. Aegon and Helaena’s younger son will never appear.”

He then refers to the “Butterfly Effect,” the philosophical concept that a really small thing, as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, can over time have large implications for seemingly unrelated things. Martin then warns readers about spoilers, writing that “if you’ve never read it, this may not matter, because all I’m going to “spoiler” here are things that happen in the book that may NEVER happen on the show.” I’m warning you about spoilers, because now the most important themes of the novel appear.

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In , Helaena commits suicide shortly after Prince Maelor’s death. Because she is beloved by the smallfolk, when rumors spread that Queen Rhaenyra had killed her (since Rhaenyra had taken over King’s Landing by this point), as a substitute of Helaena jumping out of a window in the Red Keep, the residents of King’s Landing flood the streets, demanding justice for his or her beloved ruler. “This is the beginning of the end of Rhaenyra’s rule over the city, ultimately leading to the storming of Dragonpit and the uprising of the Shepherd mob that forces Rhaenyra to flee the city and return to Dragonstone… and her death,” Martin writes.

Read more: Season 2 Finale Questions Answered

He continues: “Maelor doesn’t mean much on his own. He’s a little kid, has no lines of dialogue, doesn’t do anything important except die… but where, when, and how, that matters. Losing Maelor weakened the ending of the Blood and Cheese sequence… undermined the motivation for Helaena’s suicide, which in turn sent thousands of people into the streets and alleys screaming for justice for their “murdered” queen. None of this is necessary, I suppose… but it all serves a purpose, all helps tie the plot threads together, so one thing follows another in a logical and compelling way.”

Martin ends his post with an ominous warning that “if we make some of the changes planned for Seasons 3 and 4, bigger and more toxic butterflies will emerge…”

I find it funny that Martin has never been so publicly spiteful about the ending, which not only deviated from its source material but in addition created entirely latest plots since he hadn’t finished the most important novels yet. And I find it even funnier that he posted such a devastating critique a series that I feel is an adaptation in an appropriate way. But perhaps Martin did what many of us who’re in terminal online mode do, and tweeted and deleted after he enlightened himself a bit. We’ll see.

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This article was originally published on : kotaku.com
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How to make your Pokémon TCG Pocket perform better and have more top tips for the week

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Picture: : Fen Research Ltd / Kotaku

There aren’t many MMORPGs you can simply run in the background on a second monitor when you watch Crunchyroll or listen to your favorite podcast about overseas baking competitions. Most require your input as you complete quests, grind mobs, and run dungeons with random players you may never see again. But it was unique in that it provided a playground for players who wanted to experience character development with minimal effort. Andrew Gower, one among the creators of , eventually left Jagex to found Fen Research, and now his first game is obtainable on Steam as a free-to-play point-and-click MMORPG. -Brandon Morgan Read more

This article was originally published on : kotaku.com
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The Pokémon TCG Pocket Mass Outbreak Event is a great opportunity to strengthen your Fire-type collection

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Hot on the heels of Meowth and Chansey Wonder Pick, there’s a latest reason to open your phone within the constant pursuit of more digital cards. The Fire Pokémon Mass Outbreak event doesn’t provide any latest challenges for a single player to overcome, so don’t fret about assembling the Misty deck you have been meaning to construct. Instead, this one specifically rewards those that like to take a look at Wonder Pick options throughout the day.

Here’s how the Fire Pokémon Mass Outbreak event works: From now until November 28, a special “Bonus Pick” option will appear within the Miracle Pick menu. This will allow you to randomly select one in all five Fire-type cards free of charge, so it’s best to all the time select a bonus each time you see one. These may appear several times a day, so make sure to check your Wonders if you determine to play. At the identical time, you’ll occasionally see a “Rare Picks” pop-up within the Wonder Picks menu, which can feature a correspondingly rarer collection of cards. Rare types cost miraculous stamina that takes 36 hours to naturally regenerate.

Let’s take a take a look at what exactly you will get here:

Picture: : Pokemon Company / Kotaku

All cards you possibly can get with bonus picks

The pool of cards that may appear as bonus picks is as follows:

Charmander

Charmeleon

Vulpix

Ninetales

Ponyta

Rapidash

Growlithe

Magmara

Heatmor

Blaine

Again, the bonus picks are actually free, so even when all of the cards are terrible, they’re still price grabbing. That said, the evolution lines of Charmander, Vulpix, and Ponyta will help improve your Fire deck, especially in case you can mix them with Blaine’s Trainer card. Nine-Tails with an extra 30 damage from Blaine can KO Pikachu EX in a single hit!

A screenshot of the Fire Pokémon Mass Outbreak event in Pokémon TCG Pocket shows that an option called

Picture: : Pokemon Company / Kotaku

All cards you possibly can get from rare picks

In the meantime, here’s what the rare pick pool looks like

Arkanine EX

Charizard

Moltresa

Ninetales

Rapidash

Charmeleon

Blaine

Are rare types well worth the miraculous durability?

Admittedly, the worth perspective here is difficult. Charizard EX is probably the greatest cards in the sportbut this is on offer. Arcanine EX is the rarest pick here, nevertheless it’s not exactly a “meta” card. 120 damage for 3 energy can counter the Pikachu EX cards that always show up in online matches, so you certainly shouldn’t write this off. That said, you’ve no actual guarantee that you’re going to catch it, given how Wonder Picks works, so you’ll need to weigh whether the chance is well worth the reward. You can get Miraculous Hourglass and Shop Ticket by pulling Arcanine EX through the event, but that is more of a nice addition than a reason to specifically chase the cardboard.

Fortunately, unlike most regular Miracles, the consolation prizes listed here are pretty good. As mentioned above, Ninetales and Rapidash will be deadly when paired with Blaine. You will need Charmeleon in case you want to construct a Charizard deck. And in case you do not have Charizard or Moltres yet, this is a good opportunity to add to your collection.

Is it price ditching all your stored Wonder Hourglasses for Rare Picks as soon as you see them? Well, in case you haven’t any of those cards in your collection, you most likely don’t need to always chase them. But is this a great way to use up the Miracle Stamina you have already amassed and need to spend? Definitely, so long as you do not get sidetracked by seeing all of the cards you wanted to flip later.

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This article was originally published on : kotaku.com
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The new tank hero in Overwatch 2 looks like an absolute menace

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the most recent tank hero, Hazardwill officially debut next month when the 14th season of the shooter begins, but you may play it now until November 25. Just before the test period began, Blizzard released the primary footage showing Hazard in motion and an outline of the Scottish hero’s activities. In some ways, Hazard feels like an amalgamation of other characters’ skills, as well Juno. However, there’s enough variety here that I can see it feeling quite distinct and never like a carbon copy of the characters it borrows from.

Like most other tanks in , Hazard’s setup is all about taking over space and disrupting the enemy team. His primary fire is a series of mid-range shotgun-like spikes fired from the Gatling gun in his right hand, complementing the remainder of his playstyle as a mobile, capable tank in the vein of Winston or Doomfist. Hazard can jump like Winston after which perform a robust melee attack using the purple spikes growing from his armor. However, his mobility doesn’t end there, as he also can climb partitions like Hanzo and Genji. Both of those abilities help it easily reach high ground and chase down enemies that might otherwise cause trouble for a more stationary tank.

When Hazard does get to enemies at close range, he also can brawl and take up space along with his Spike Guard ability, which greatly reduces the damage he takes, regenerates ammo, and fires spikes from his back a brief distance in front of him. This is helpful each for engaging enemies and for retreating, but unlike Ramattra’s defensive ability, it has a closing date and can’t be used indefinitely.

Perhaps probably the most interesting tool in Hazard’s arsenal is the Jagged Wall ability. Much like Mei along with her Ice Wall, Hazard is in a position to construct a wall that may block incoming attacks, but is just not as wide as Mei’s. It makes up for this with additional advantages, including a spiky surface that deals damage and pushes away enemies who touch it, and the flexibility to construct it on the edges of partitions. This gives him the flexibility to construct a wall in certain places that Mei cannot, and perhaps even knock an enemy off the side of the map should you can do it at the fitting time.

Completing all that is his ultimate, Downpour. This ability shoots purple spikes a good distance in front of Hazard, keeping enemies caught in the, er, downpour in place. Those affected can proceed to fireside their weapon, but will remain motionless for a brief time frame, leaving them open to a lethal shot.

Overall, Hazard seems to thrive when he gains space, and fragile heroes are unlikely to be thrilled along with his arrival. But I’m curious how players react to it after playing it, because each time a champion is released there are weeks of dialogue about how they ruined the sport or aren’t ok to maneuver the needle. Where will Hazard fall? We’ll see in the approaching days.

This article was originally published on : kotaku.com
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