Der Feuervogel aufersteht.

I tweeted about this last week and meant to elaborate here, but I forgot.

Scene: last Wednesday, I'd come home from tai chi class, changed, and flopped on the couch with my phone to catch up on the twitter I'd missed. Ben's at the other end, and he starts talking about this trailer he downloaded on his PS3 for Call of Duty: Black Ops. (He wont get the game; he just likes trailers.)

Ben: Is there some famous music video from the 80s where two guys are standing on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall, then start rocking out on guitars?

Me: Huh?

Ben: I downloaded this trailer for Call of Duty, and it HAS to be a reference to something, because it looks that way.

Me: Maybe I'd recognize it if I saw it?

Ben: [fires up the PS3 and the TV, starts playing this video]

Me (before the rating box has even left the screen): That's the Scorpions' "Wind of Change," dumbass. (laughing)

I would like to point out that at NO point did he mention that this trailer had an actual pop song in the background, as opposed to commissioned video game music. There may have also been a digression at one point about how it wouldn't have been logistically possible for people to stand on opposite sides of the wall at that time, given the death strip on the eastern side. (Though when the song was released in 1990, it would have been, in some areas.)

ETA: This is the video I'm a lot more familiar with. And now I know why the one I had bookmarked vanished. Guess what you'll be seeing again on 9 November.

(Anavel's standing in for now, because a) I once deleted my Reinhard icon and haven't uploaded it again and b) I haven't had time to make/find Tytania icons.) Got one now. Can't find Reinhard, wtf. Also, "guess the favorite character" is over, since no one played and icon = giveaway.

7 episodes in, and it's... I hesitate to say silly, but it almost is. The opening song most definitely is. It's space opera, and like all space opera, there's a huge evil Empire and some people who don't want to be in the Empire, and a lot of people who think it's a really daft idea to try to fight the Empire.

The Empire in question is Tytania, which is run by a Clan Lord and the Four Dukes, who are chosen in some as yet unexplained way from the bazillion members of the Tytania family. The current Clan Lord, Ajman Tytania, is relatively sane, and he upholds the balance of power between the Dukes.

The Dukes are split into two factions, basically, which I like to call "the sane side of the table" and "the crazy side of the table." The sane side is Jouslain (a feisty red-head) and Aryabart (a slightly-emo blond.) The crazy side is Idris (a very ambitious long-haired blond) and Zarlish (not exactly crazy, but fairly impulsive, and a stocky brunet.)

Idris hates Aryabart, and vice versa. So far, Idris has spent about half his screen time trying to sabotage Aryabart (who is saddled with a very goofy name and has fallen-antenna hair.) Jouslain is a skilled tactician. Zarlish mostly is the guy who looks like he played football.

In the first episode, Aryabart is fighting some planet, because they're putting up resistance at being assimilated. A young admiral, Fan Hulick, uses a surprise tactic to win, and he's summarily fired. This win excites the rebels, who kidnap him and want him to be a figurehead.

Fan is also a red-head, and is from the same mold as Captain Tylor, only without the irresponsible part. He ends up on a smugglers' ship, and ... well, not sure what's next, really. They've gone around to a couple planets so far.

Naturally, there's even more in-fighting in the Tytania family, and betrayals and back-stabbings. You need a map to keep track of everybody.

Basically, this: If you like space opera, you'll like Tytania. If you like science fiction, you might like Tytania. If you like pretty boys, you might like Tytania.

(It's not gay, really, at all. But you can make some super obvious pairings. "Sane side of the table" for example, or "hatesex between rivals." Pairings with Zarlish don't really work.)

Three guesses as to my favorite main character. Who wants to play?