#''not everyone in the military is actively fighting'' no! they arent. but they are helping those that are.

[dysaniadisorder]

i hate how normalized military is in the us im gonna rip my hair out

[bridgyrose]

i have couple ida do which rather do you7 cna do both you or want o or nither may becoeimng a maide i have trans girls whintely witner maiden where she befcome winter affer witner dies

May sighed and looked out over Mantle from the rooftop of an SDC warehouse, her eyes scanned the streets for any sign of trouble from grimm that breached the wall. Her hand stayed on the shaft of her weapon, at the ready at the first sign of danger. 

“Marigold, what do you think you’re doing?” 

“Trying to keep Mantle safe, unlike you.” May rolled her eyes and looked down at the figure below her. “Or is Ironwood pretending to care by having you patrol the warehouses, Winter?” 

Winter sighed and climbed her way up onto the warehouse. “I’m trying to keep you out of trouble. That’s what teammates are for, arent they? Or did you forget about that the same day you abandoned your post?” 

“I didnt abandon, I looked the other way. You’ve seen the state Mantle’s in, we cant leave it like this. We can go find the Happy Huntresses-” 

“And you know exactly why we cant.” Winter put a hand on May’s shoulder. “We graduated from Atlas and are part of the military until our service is up. We’re both in line to be specialists, and from the sound of it, going to be very close to the general himself. We can finally have a place to belong.” 

“I already have a place to belong!” May pointed out towards the city. “I belong out here, helping Mantle. I made that decision when I saw how everyone here is being treated. You see that wall out there? Its not keeping any grimm out!” 

“That’s what the mechanical soldiers are for. They can handle the grimm.” 

A scream from an older woman pierced through the air along with the sounds of a grimm roar. May sighed and pulled her weapon off her back and started to rush out to help. “You mean like that?” 

“May! Get back here!” Winter groaned in frustration and used her glyphs to follow behind May. “I’m not done with you yet!” 

“Then you better keep up with me!” 

May weaved her way through the city streets she had started to get to know so well from her nightly excursions. Her semblance activated as she attempted to keep out of sight from the light of the warehouse district and to catch the grimm unaware and slam her staff into the grimm to knock it away. 

The older woman stopped and watched May, a small smile crossed her lips. “You… came to save me?” 

May nodded and put herself between the woman and the grimm, her hands gripped her staff tightly. “Of course I did. That’s what being a huntress is about, right?” 

The older woman nodded and slowly knelt down as she watched May fight off the grimm. “I’ll… take a short rest…” 

“Let me get… you to a hospital… first!” May slammed the end of her staff down into the grimm and pierced its chest. As the grimm started to turn to smoke and ash, she made her way to the older woman to help her up. “Its too cold to rest out here.” 

“Such… a nice… young woman. What is your name?” 

“May. And yours?” 

“Fria.” Fria smiled and her eyes started to glow as she held May's arm, the world around them seemed to stop. “May is such a pretty name.” 

May froze as she looked around at the snowflakes that held in place. “What’s going on?” 

“We both know I’m not going to make it, so I’m bestowing you a gift.” Fria closed her eyes and took a breath as she felt her power move from her to May. The fire in her eyes began to fade as she opened her eyes once more and watched golden flames ignite in May’s. “A thank you for what you’ve done.” 

“I.. I dont understand.” May stood up and watched as the snow around her began to fall again, panic started to take over and the storm overhead began to enrage. The wind picked up as the temperature dropped. Wet flakes of snow became rigid slivers of icicles that fell from the sky, pelting and shattering against anything they hit. All May could do was hold the woman close to protect her and rush to the nearest hospital. “I’m not letting you go yet!” 

“May watch out!” 

May froze as a glyph stopped her from getting hit by a truck that sped through the road, her legs shook as she took a few breaths. “I… I cant stop…” 

Winter rushed over and pulled May into some cover and sighed. “What do you think you’re doing? Cant you see the storm has gotten worse and your aura-” She paused as she looked into May’s eyes and watched as the flames started to die down along with the storm. “What’s going on?” 

“I… I dont know… I need to get this woman to the hospital but storm… the storm grew worse when she talked to me and I… I…” May took a few breaths to calm down as she looked at Winter and finally steadied herself. “What’s happening to me?” 

Winter sighed and listened to the sound of an airship fly overhead and land in the alleyway. “I dont know, but I have a feeling Ironwood might.” 

May slowly nodded and looked down at the woman in her arms. “Just until we know what’s going on.”

[pfandghoul]

what the sokovia accords really are

a quick study bc what the fuck guys

(copied from the mcu wiki entry about the accords - all of it and not just parts of it)

here goes:

The currently known regulations established by the Sokovia Accords include:

Any enhanced individuals who agree to sign must register with the United Nations and provide biometric data such as fingerprints and DNA samples.

- Any who AGREE to sign. I dont think this is asking too much. If ur working for a government agency, if ur using force in any way during ur work, I think its fair to ask you to give them biometric data. And if its only so in case there is an investigation afterwards (which their always should be imo) its clear distinguishable who was where and did what.

- Also, what if someone suddenly decides "something happened, im changing sides, imma take revenge" (no matter if its a concious decision or brainwashing 👀)? Would probably be good to have some data and perhaps be able to track them. If its managable or not- hm. But theres no harm in giving that data if ur only goal is working towards a safer world.

-----

Those with secret identities must reveal their legal names and true identities to the United Nations.

- Oh nooo, no unknown vigilantes that might make mistakes while fighting on their own and then cant be held accountable? No one is perfect, OF COURSE, but from a realistic pov I wouldnt feel safe with someone running around fighting whoever-

And I know we love the romantic comic fantasy of "everybody can be a hero", and I swear I love it as much as you! But imagine ur just a normal person while spiderman is swinging above ur head- or even imagine ur spiderman- and then one tiny thing wents wrong. The normal person is crushed, dead or paralysed- Spiderman is in shock because that was Not supposed to happen and he is so so sorry!- But what now?

- If enhanced people were to work under an organisation (that is ideally not as shady and riddled with Hydra as Shield was) then those incidents would be covered. Yes it would still be terrible but Spiderman would get mandatory therapy session to work through it and the normal person... well if theyre dead then i guess the organisation would at least pay for the funeral and compensate the family (like if they were the only one providing for partner and kids), additionally a conversation between both partys if possible.

-Basically: nothing can be swept under the rug. The enhanced people can be protected!!! PLUS they only have to reveal their identity to the UN and not the world.

---------

Those with innate powers must submit to a power analysis, which will categorize their threat level and determine potential health risks.

- This would benefit the person with power too, you realize that, dont you?

You cant possibly know how much power you actually have. Is there gonna be another level-up for you? Are you Jean Grey? We wouldnt want to repeat that specific clusterfuck, right?

But if you submit to an analysis it can help find ways to train you, circle ur weaknesses, etc.

Yes the UN would know ur threat level- and that would be bad why? Are you planning to attack Them? If not then no problem. Instead they would know if they should send you in or not- depending... you dont need a level 5 when there is a cat in a tree. We want to avoid unnecessary damage, thank you. If ur a level 1 you also dont want to be on the front lines against an alien invasion for example- better help evacuate non-powered individuals and not die immediately.

- Also worth mentioning: this is all still part of the "if you agree to sign" paragraph

-------

Those with innate powers must also wear tracking bracelets at all times.

- Yes I admit this one sucks. I could argue the pros but I dont really want to because this one is literally just a "we want to control you" rule and should be scratched.

------- (new paragraph in the accords)----

Any enhanced individuals who sign are prohibited from taking action in any country other than their own, unless they are first given clearance by either that country's government or by a United Nations subcommittee.

- I really want to think I dont have to say anything here but I feel I do.

No I do not want a guy wearing an american flag running around in my country if my government didnt explicitely allow it. Same for a giant tin man or a creepy spiderlady.

- If anything then this paragraph would help improve the communication between countries. Yes people fear that in emergencies this will all take too long but 1) thats not the Accords fault and 2) I think we already have situations like this irl and most times it does work.

---------

Governments are forbidden from deploying enhanced individuals outside of their own national borders, unless those individuals are given clearance as described above. The same rule also applies to non-government organizations that operate on a global scale (including S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers).

- Same reasoning. I really really dont want Shield around with their shady everything.

- And always needing consent before weaking havoc in other countries? nice

--------(new paragraph)-----

Any enhanced individuals who do not sign will not be allowed to take part in any police, military, or espionage activities, or to otherwise participate in any national or international conflict, even in their own country.

- Basically if you dont sign up then you cant be a super-cop. Groundbreaking.

(This is very much explained in the first paragraph already.)

----------

As a corollary, they will not be allowed to participate in any active missions undertaken by private or governmental law enforcement/military/intelligence organizations (such as S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers).

- s a m e t h i n g

--------(new paragraph)-----

Any enhanced individuals who use their powers to break the law (including those who take part in extralegal vigilante activities), or are otherwise deemed to be a threat to the safety of the general public, may be detained indefinitely without trial.

If an enhanced individual violates the Accords, or obstructs the actions of those enforcing the Accords, they may likewise be arrested and detained indefinitely without trial.

- Cancel the without trial part and then Id say its just. This way it stinks and I feel Ross had his hands in this. No, I am not defending this one. Its Not Okay.

------(new paragraph)-------

The use of technology to bestow individuals with innate superhuman capabilities is strictly regulated, as is the use and distribution of highly advanced technology (such as Asgardian and Chitauri weaponry).

- You cant just experient and turn urself into the Hulk anymore??? Where is the fun in that?? //sarcasm//

- I dont need to go deeper into this, do I?

-------

The creation of self-aware artificial intelligences is completely prohibited.

- Here comes a problem. For Tony mostly.

- I can think of a few reasons for this but I dont think many people are even capable of doing this. I think it would bd enough to file a request if you want to try and build an AI.

--------(new paragraph)----

The Avengers will no longer be a private organization and will operate under the supervision of the United Nations.

- See.. all of the above on why this is a good thing?

- The Avengers as a private organisation is actually a super scary thought. And if you arent at least a little freaked out about this (all from the point of looking at this as if it were real) then idk what to tell you.

---------(new paragraph)-------

For the purposes of the Accords, an "enhanced individual" is defined as any person, human or otherwise, with superhuman capabilities. This includes individuals whose powers are an innate function of their biology as well as individuals who utilize highly advanced technology to grant themselves superhuman capabilities. However, individuals with advanced prostheses do not seem to be considered "enhanced", even if their prostheses give them capabilities beyond those of ordinary humans. 

- Basically just explaining what they mean by "enhanced individual": people with powers. Doesnt matter if you are born with ur power or built urself a supersuit.

-If you got leg protheses that are super bouncy you arent considered an "enhanced individual" (to put it as simple as possible).

-----

All members of the Avengers are subject to the same conditions as enhanced individuals, even if they are not enhanced themselves: Black Widow was required to sign so she could continue serving on the Avengers, and Hawkeye was incarcerated on the Raft after violating the Accords.

- I think this is fair because if you consider urself an Avenger and fight with them then you also should be held accountable.

- You wouldnt want a Someone to work in super-person capacity which both gives a great deal of responsibility and allows a high chance of fuck ups and destruction without them having any regulations, okay?

AND THATS ALL THERE IS

THATS ALL THE MCU WIKI SAYS THERE IS

Which is ofc bullshit because the Accords were thick and 117 countries worked on them for idk how long. Do you understand what that takes? The compromises and politic battles thats been fought over this document?

And yes it is still not perfect.

But who in the seven Hells said that this was the final draft? Who??

"I dont wanna sign away my freedom of choice" F you! What about my freedom of choice of having some costumed weirdos run around my town blowing stuff up killing people?

"We cant save everyone" yEAH but maybe just mAyBe if you werent a dumb cunt then mayyybe with some teamwork with the countries respective secrurity personell (as every fucking country does have) then maybe Kyle, Maria and Dembe would still be alive?? Who knows.

So what I hear is "I dont wanna give up my freedom and continue to do as I see fit. Because I think I am a better judge than a UN committee and 117 governments that dont want me breaking into their countries on a semi-regular basis."

and thats why im generally pro-Accords :)

[mylifeatwar]

Book 2, Chapter 4, Page 23

Archived Text Follows:

Hey Everyone,

It appears that if you throw enough light at a Dragoon’s camo system all at once you can cause it to glitch out. That helps level the playing field some.

Thanks for reading,

– Luther out

Comment Text Follows:

killercow - Knuckledusters oughta’ give that armor a run for it’s money.

nweismuller - Well, that explains Lawman-Actual’s unusual weapon. I was wondering about that.

tkg - interesting I notice a dead patch on the rear left side-shield/armor area near where the dragoon was hit earlier…do the areas auto compensate? for knocked out areas within reason?

nweismuller - I’m not sure that’s a dead area- I think that’s a portion of the shoulder blown away.

Madorakas - I just (naiv) figured the camo system let the light trough. Turns out it just mimics whats behind it and shows it in front. Also i want to know more about this “Knuckdusters”.

Keith - Good lateral thinking. Even in daylight more light makes stuff show up and illume will provide a localized change in viewable spectrums. If memory serves radar doesn’t see them when cloaked either. I wonder how well it stealths against UV…which I’ve long thought they need to switch NVG’s and scopes to, why arent’ they using thermal? You can’t hide heat.

Sazuroi - If it was the light deflection cloaking system I described in one of my comments on the last page, it could potentially deflect all electromagnatic waves, each with a specified set of nanoscale “hairs” (I’m not sure how broad the range of wavelengths is that can be deflected with the existing technology). Heat radiation, which is largely in the infrared spectrum, is actually “larger” than visible light, so the light deflection material could potentially also deflect that, possibly enabling near-perfect heat managment and direction if used internally. That would at least make it exceedingly hard to find a unit cloaked in this way with infrared. Going by this it seems to be the fairly simple projection system, or something more complicated like a hologram in the air created by lasers (which has also been done, like the light deflection material, but in a very basic form, just balls of light hovering inside a laser cage, not sure if the cage was even filled with normal air). The laser hologram seems more fitting since the damaged parts are also hidden. This system could potentially also duplicate a heat signature (yes, there also is a system to duplicate heat signatures, why are you even asking? XD) but it would be more likely for this functionality to be integrated into the armor because the existing system for this is applied to the outside, like ERA. So, basically, if in 50 years we can’t build something like the Dhuvalian Limbs in reality, somebody really needs their butt kicked.

CaptEndo - Except that limbs and other mecha are totally and completely unworkable on any scale much larger than a human exoskeleton suit ( like the Bulls). Ground pressure is the real deal breaker, never mind complicated drive trains and high silhouettes. Even wheeled armored vehicles are severely hampered by high ground pressure. That’s why they were marginalized by major military powers after WWII. Heavy wheeled vehicles have too much ground pressure to do serious off road mobility. This means they get caught in the kill box more than tracks. Mecha would be lucky to move around even on pavement. Add the huge logistical drain of maintaining a walking machine that size and the huge hulking targets they would make, and it’s a pipe dream. 

tkg - Not quite a pipe dream john deere did make the plustech forestry vehicle which did walk on six legs and was fully functional. Here is an image as proof:http://indulgy.ccio.co/iF/d6/o5/futurefuturisticWalkingRobot2robotics9.jpgFootage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2V8GFqk_YThe issue was the price tag and a lack of interest by buyers but I suspect bipedal mechs would not be as plausible as most might think. Quad and hex designs are a totally different matter.

Sazuroi -  In my own writing I also only use exosceletons, but note that I did not say “actually deploy” or “make useful”. I said “can build”. We can probably build a walking machine that size already, no matter how bad it sucks. And the technology seen here is not completely implausible, though it will likely end up going in a different direction. Though there was that concept design wheeled tank with full visual cloak a few years ago. For actual applications though, some kind of spider is probably better, and even that would likely be a niche product. I do have some hopes for that four-legs-with-wheels mecha some japanese guy builds for about 2 million a piece (he introduced the one he built at an expo a while ago, pictures float around), but it’ll probably be too costly and risky. Like that canadian nutcase with the anti-bear armor who also designed a infantry armor nobody wanted to buy despite him offering to tank a full assault rifle clip while wearing it… which proably didn’t convince people of his sanity. Those slabs he made the armor out of seemed to work fine though, back when I came across the story I saw a video where one stops a 7.92 sniper round. That can be faked, sure, but the potential was intriguing.

Keith - Oh good someone else pointed that out. There are mechs and having dealt with armor for many years. It’s a matter of engineering, not scale. The big deal breaker is power to move and to power camouflage. It appears they use multiple small scale emitters as shown by the less than perfect camouflage on the leg that was hit.

Jack McCrary - Ground pressure is not the issue most people think it would be. if you do a volumetric issue for most mecha, their lower legs/feet are typical proportionately at least three times larger than a comparable human limb and then benefit from the dramatically larger surface area. It’s not uncommon for a mecha to end up with a static ground pressure of 0.5 psi or less per ton. So a 20 ton mecha will have around a 10 psi ground pressure (less than a modern MBT) where as an average human male who will have one ranging between 25-30 psi.

Sazuroi - I think the problem with the ground pressure is that a Mech of comparable power to a current MBT would need to weigh a lot more than the tank to be as resistant to fire, since most terrain does not offer cover a Mech would be able to hide behind. To deal with that much added weight, the feet would need to be either even more disproportionately large, which would make it difficult to maneuver in places even a tank can get around – which kind of defeats the purpose of building a vertical combat unit in the first place. Either that or more feet, which would admittedly also require more space to move around. In the few settings I thought up which did indeed utilize Mecha on the ground, I basically had two main directions I tended to go: One option was to make the Mechs extremely large support units – replacing a whole battery of AA missiles while carrying other weapons as well, basically a land warship, though smaller since the crew doesn’t need to be on board constantly. I think Armored Core has something similar as a boss fight. The other option was making them small and mobility-focused, often able to jump quite far, with many legs, “assist legs” or special dampener systems to avoid cratering when landing. Those weren’t terribly armored, and occupied a role between IFV and Helicopter, that is, near fire support. Those were typically single-pilot, and either built around a weapon or at least very focused on their weapons, and mainly defended by keeping a distance and dodging, in cities typically standing on the buildings. Stand-up-and-fight mainline combatant Mecha I never managed to justify to myself, even in space where the ideal small unit is a cube there are reasons against Mecha (why make it look like a human if you can leave out the joints and shave off more weight if you don’t? Why give your attack unit a large frontal profile when the front is supposed to point at the enemy?). On the ground, the main advantage of the vertical shape is essentially the same that led to us evolve in that direction – oversight, and a small “footprint”, as well as being able to mount effectors with a higher range of movement. That is useful – helicopters became one of the main weapons against tanks because a tank can’t spot them very easily, and a Mecha can have an easier time spotting them – but they are also dreadfully easy to hit up close, and easier to spot. Mecha may be harder to immobilize than a tank (opinions diverge, joints can be armored but are out if damaged, tracks are out if damaged and can’t be fully covered from all angles), but mobility is potentially their greatest asset, and it is at odds with MBT-grade armor. Hence, either a light maneuver combatant or a beyond-the-horizon asset. The horizon is reasonably good cover in most situations, particularly if Laser or Particle weapons proliferate and indirect fire becomes less available.

MasterFALE - Just back-up on the Thermal Camo, BAE has a system applicae panels, as noted: like ERA, which provide active camo vs thermal imaging. Hell, they can camo a moving tank in the open while displaying insulting messages.

CaptEndo - Fair arguments. A Mecha as light as 20 tons ( in the range of an APC or light tank, or the Stryker armored car) would suffer from the same liability as all light armor: it’s too thin skinned to take heavy weapon fire, and a high silhouette vehicle like a Mecha would draw fire from every conventional unit on the field long before the Mecha could target them. Not to mention mounting it’s weapons up that high would make it top heavy and enhance recoil. Using smaller multi legged walking machines for industrial purposes might have a real future, but not as an upright armored combat vehicle, which is what I have understood the term Mecha to refer to. There is likely a future for the prototype “pack mule” legged robots, and possibly as low slung mobile missile or gun mounts as well. Those could be practical in the very near future.

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Directors Aren't Sure Why The Series Is Popular In The West

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/fire-emblem-three-houses-directors-arent-sure-why-the-series-is-popular-in-the-west/

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Directors Aren't Sure Why The Series Is Popular In The West

“I don’t know.” I’m on the phone with Toshiyuki Kusakihara, one of the directors of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Shadows of Valentia, and an art director on many others. And that’s what he tells me through a translator when I ask what he thinks is the reason the series has suddenly skyrocketed in Western success over the last decade. It’s a pretty amusing answer. “I actually don’t know why it’s been so accepted by so many people all over the world.”

Nintendo’s turn-based strategy RPG franchise has been popular with Japanese audiences ever since its inception in 1990, but outside of Japan, few had ever heard about it until two anime swordsmen named Marth and Roy made an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Following Melee’s release in 2001, a number of Fire Emblem games made their way to the West on GameCube, DS, and Wii. But it wasn’t until 2013, when Awakening released on the 3DS, that Fire Emblem actually exploded in international popularity, an occurrence that reportedly saved the series from imminent cancellation.

Lucina and Chrom, Fire Emblem Awakening (2013) for Nintendo 3DS

Maybe it was just the rapidly growing install base of the 3DS; the handheld was beginning to really hit its stride after a poor launch, and the new 3DS XL had recently gone on sale. Maybe it was a renewed interest in tactical strategy games; Firaxis’ excellent reboot of XCOM, Enemy Unknown, had also been a recent and popular release. But Kusakihara genuinely couldn’t point to anything remotely definitive. “We don’t have the confidence to say: ‘Oh! As long as we keep doing this thing, then the game will be popular!’ There’s nothing like that.”

Since Awakening, the development team at Intelligent Systems has pulled Fire Emblem in a couple of interesting new directions. First was the ambitious Fates for 3DS, a title that was divided into three separate products. Then came Shadows of Valentia, a remake of the second-ever Fire Emblem game from 1992, which stood out for its notable tweaks to the strategy combat mechanics and featured third-person dungeon exploration, of all things. There was Fire Emblem Heroes, which refashioned the tactical battles to suit a surprisingly good bite-sized mobile game with an all-star cast. Now, Three Houses has been released for the Switch, and its narrative flow revolves around a yearly calendar schedule, coupled with a military academy where your protagonist is a professor and your class of students are your troops.

“We don’t have the confidence to say: ‘Oh! As long as we keep doing this thing, then the game will be popular!’ There’s nothing like that.”

When Three Houses was officially revealed, I (and I assume many others) saw the academy component and instantly made the connection to another Japanese RPG which saw an enormous spike in popularity–the Shin Megami Tensei spin-off, Persona. Persona games always revolve around students in high school across the course of a year, so naturally, I assumed that the Fire Emblem development team looked at Persona’s incredible success and attempted to tap into that formula. Of course, like the foolish Westerner I am, I was wrong.

“‘Genealogy Of The Holy War‘ was what we directly drew inspiration from,” Kusakihara stated. “This was a game for the Super Famicom that released in 1996, and it’s the fourth in the Fire Emblem series.” It was never released in English, though a fan translation exists. “In this game, you have an Officer’s Academy where there are best friends who really develop their relationships there, and the story was centered around them. So [Three Houses] was kind of an attempt to create that kind of setting in more detail.”

Fire Emblem: Geneology of the Holy War (1996) for Super Famicom

Building beautifully aspirational lifelong relationships through an extravagantly romanticized depiction of high school life is a huge component of Three Houses. Across the course of a campaign, you’ll spend a couple of dozen hours with any number of students at the academy, sharing meals, training and fighting alongside them, getting to know each other through laughter, loss, and love. Later on, as Fire Emblem games typically unfold, you’ll go to war, and how the game’s bloody conflicts unfold and affect everyone might just change how once close friends see one another. Across the course of development, a number of different methods to help articulate this experience were explored, but the team’s natural conclusion just so happened to resemble the popular Shin Megami Tensei spin-off. “We had a lot of talks about how we could distinguish the passage of time at the monastery. If you have one year, we really want the player to feel each of those days passing and make them valuable to the player,” Kusakihara explained.

“We didn’t have a calendar at the very beginning of development. We did a lot of builds where we were trying to make systems that worked but it just wasn’t fun. So we added that and the element of activity points.” In Three Houses, a set amount of activity points, tied to your Professor Level, restricts how much one-on-one tutelage you can give students, as well as how many extracurricular activities you can perform on your days off. “[Activity points] would really focus the player on what they should do every day, whether that’s exploring or going on missions, etc.”

When Sunday rolls around in Three Houses and you don’t need to spend your day teaching your students, there are a number of valuable things you can choose to do, but you won’t have enough time to do them all. You can get your own one-on-one training sessions from fellow professors to improve your own skills, you can set off to the battlefield and fight sorties to complete side missions, you can fish, you can garden, you can sleep in and do nothing, but most importantly: You can hang out with your students and cultivate those personal relationships. Having a close-knit camaraderie in your class will provide a significant advantage on the battlefield, of course, but off the battlefield, these social links can blossom into deep friendships and sometimes the suggestion of romance, providing a wealth of insight to the backstories of the characters. Between the three different classes of students, the professors, and other academy staff, Three Houses has 35 characters with storylines that tie the majority of them together.

Professor Manuela teaches a class in Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019)

Kusakihara breaks down the production of the social simulation: “There were three scenario writers from Koei Tecmo that helped out with a lot of the writing, and as you know the game is fully voiced. So we definitely had a lot of content to work on. The work took over three months and there was at least five times as much content as there was in Echoes [Shadows of Valentia] for the Japanese version.”

The involvement of Koei Tecmo (responsible for another enduring tactical strategy series, Romance Of The Three Kingdoms) in the development of Three Houses was already a known factor, but what was surprising to me is just how much of the legwork the studio was responsible for, especially because Fire Emblem is so closely associated with Intelligent Systems. Kusakihara: “With the composition of the team, I stood in as a director representing Intelligent Systems, and then we had Mr. Takeru Kanazaki working as a sound director. We had a few members helping with programming and also sound, but many members of the development team were from Koei Tecmo, so they really did a lot of the work.”

“…there was at least five times as much content as there was in Echoes.”

“I provided the world settings and the character settings and some of the systems and scenarios from the game, and we would hand this over to Koei Tecmo and then discuss further detail and develop from there.” It’s a curious revelation, if only because it invites speculation about what kind of projects the rest of Intelligent Systems might working on. It’s also interesting that Koei Tecmo, responsible for the Dynasty Warriors action series (as well as the spin-off Fire Emblem Warriors), was also heavily responsible in another Nintendo title that released a week prior to Three Houses–Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3.

Among the fresh new faces to contribute significant work to Three Houses was illustrator Chinatsu Kurahana, who served as the game’s new lead character designer. Kurahana’s previous work most notably includes designing characters for the popular Japanese romantic visual novel series, Uta no Prince-sama, a game revolving around a teenage girl’s budding relationships with a group of aspiring male pop idols.

Dating idols isn’t really that much of a far cry from the social aspect of Fire Emblem, and with the new direction of the series, Kurahana was an easy choice. “A lot of this game takes place at the Officer’s Academy and there are a lot of nobles there. So we want to kind of depict a glamorous, aristocratic society,” Kusakihara told me. “Kurahana, who we had already been in talks with, seemed like she would be a good fit, and she definitely had a big impact of the hairstyles of the characters.”

“We also wanted a bit of a refresh because we were putting this game out on the Nintendo Switch, which is a new platform and, well, we wanted a new image for the game.” Hairstyles aren’t the only huge makeover for the series, naturally. One of the biggest mechanical restylings in Three Houses is the removal of Fire Emblem’s Weapon Triangle, the rock-scissors-paper system that has been the core foundation of combat in every entry since, well, Genealogy of the Holy War.

That’s a pretty funny, serendipitous coincidence–the new Fire Emblem game, which returns to a relatively minor idea found in Genealogy of the Holy War, also completely discards that entry’s most influential and longest-lasting legacy. The reasons Kusakihara gives me are pretty understandable: “We think that the weapon triangle is somewhat of a stylized system, it isn’t really realistic,” he said. “If you have a situation where a novice axe user takes down an advanced lance user, well, that makes sense? Probably not. So, we wanted to make something that comes across as more realistic to warfare and have players develop their weapons skills individually.”

Caspar punches a monk in Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019)

It also came down to the series’ continuing focus on its personalities, especially given Three Houses’ setting of an academy where teenage students are only just coming into their own. “We wanted to center on developing the skills for these characters, and also give them a lot more freedom in terms of how they develop. So we’re really creating a weapon system that is less restrictive than our previous games.”

That’s not to say that picking the right unit or weapon for a battle isn’t an important matter in Three Houses. There are still situations where one approach might give you a massive advantage, like using arrows against flying units. And, if one of your units becomes increasingly proficient in a certain type of weapon type or discipline, you might unlock an option to equip them with passive or active combat abilities that help give them the upper hand against other certain weapons types or disciplines–an advanced swordsman might have an “Axebreaker” ability, for example, which will increase both their avoidance and chance to hit against that weapon.

“…the weapon triangle is somewhat of a stylized system, it isn’t really realistic.”

But the new system of having the freedom to mold your combat units into whatever you like also creates some interesting social-level predicaments that might in turn ask you to rethink the long-term strategy for your troupe. During my first campaign, for example, I had Dorothea in my class. She excels in black magic and swordplay, her lifelong ambitions are to be a badass warlock, and she hates the idea of learning faith-based healing magic–it’s for weenies, after all, and she even harbors an innate learning disadvantage towards it.

Toshiyuki Kusakihara

But, if you’re dedicated enough, by spending a large amount of your class time to some serious one-on-one tutelage on Faith, Dorothea has the capacity to eventually uncover hidden potential. She’ll get early access to an ability that even advanced Bishops would covet, and eventually turn that learning disadvantage into a buff. There’s some contentious subtext in this example, but regardless, the system allows you to foster unique narratives for your class–it was a tough decision to give one of my favorite students (and my most effective magic user) a hard time in class for a couple of months instead of honing her strengths even further. But it was worth it.

Kusakihara doesn’t play favorites, though. Toward the end of the conversation, I tried to get the developers on the call to dish dirt on the team’s most hated students (mine’s Lorentz, he sucks). Everyone laughs: “As the director of the game, It’s almost like, you know, I am the teacher because I helped to create them. So I have to say that I love all the students.” Genki Yokota, the other director for Three Houses, representing Nintendo, was the only one who threw me a bone: “You’re supposed to be helping out the students, so it’s hard to say that I hate any of them. But outside of the students, I can say that I really like the character Shamir.” I like Shamir too, so this was a good answer.

It’s pretty common to hear stories about developers responding to audience feedback and using that data to shape future projects. Kusakihara left me with the impression that his team is on the other side of that coin. They don’t know why their game has attracted the fanbase it has in the west, so they’re just going to just keep doing what they’ve done since Awakening. Changing the structure. Reinventing foundational mechanics. Welcoming the talents of new teams and artists. “When we develop the game, we just strive to make it something beyond what people can imagine,” he said. “That might help in making it popular.”

Source : Gamesport

[gymnasticcrazy-blog]

The Basics on Getting a Bigger, Stronger Back https://ift.tt/2UqrlNn

Hey everyone! I wrote this up in a deleted post on /advancedfitness and didnt want it to completely go to waste, so thought that Id post it here.

The question asked was specific to using Barbell Rows to get a bigger back, but I went on a little bit of a rant about back training in general, so here it is!

Ok, so, idk what your specific goals are, but if youre looking to develop a big back, then heavy bent over rows and heavy deadlifts should be incorporated into your program.

Some questions that you probably have: What type of bent over row should you be doing? What is the ideal torso-floor angle? Where should the bar be touching my torso?

The answer: yes. Whatever works best for you, but remember that variety/variations in a movement (as in purposely varying the movement, not just performing it with shitty form) is going to help target all intended muscles and lead to a fuller, more mechanical efficient back.

Some places to start/tips: first off, you should be able to row the same, or greater than your bench, period. If you cant, that means that your chest is way too developed/your back is under developed and this can lead to a whole host of mechanical issues and potential injuries.

Types of rows: i do three "types" of rows in my powerlifting routine (normally done in super sets, but they arent necessary) .

Bench Press/Supinated grip, relatively upright row supersets: right after I do a bench, I do a row with an underhand grip in a relatively upright position (maybe at a 70 degree angle from the floor) with the same weight and for the same reps as my bench. The bar ends up hitting just below my belly button and activates my biceps, upper back, and traps (they hit lats aswell, but I dont feel them as much there due to the relative upright position of the row). Quick note: these are the only rows that I do with a supinated grip (underhand grip, facing away from your body), all others are pronated (overhand) grip

Military press (or OHP) and Pendlay Row supersets: I put these two together because when Im MPing or OHPing Im cleaning the bar off the floor (the more explosive work in your routine, the better), so its nbd to just throw some more weight on and hammer out some rows. With these, Im close to parallel with the floor (hip is hinged, hams and glutes are loaded, back is in a neutral position, etc, kind of like a starting deadlift position). Your ripping the bar straight off the ground, hitting your torso (higher than your belly button, for me its maybe 2-3 inches below my sternum), and lowering the bar back to the ground. The key with these guys is explosiveness. You want to really be engaging your lats when you rip the bar off the ground, and if that means a little body english, then so be it. You dont need to maintain a 100% rigid torse through this movement, you should be doing each rep with intent. Just remember to maintain proper posture throughout the movement and dont round your back.

The "deadlift" row: I follow Cailer Woolam alot because Deadlifts are the best lifts and he is Dr. Deadlift (seriously, the guys a fucking freak at DLs) he does a modified bent over row where he incorporates a lot of body english into the movement , and honestly, these are fucking amazing for back development. Ill typically do these with barbell shrug super set (cailer style where you generate force with your legs. Theres a vid of him explaining somewhere on youtube), and I go heavy with both (like 3+ plates for reps). I cant recommend these enough, as they not only develop a great, strong back, but by using your legs to help drive the bar up, youre engaging your whole body, and developing explosive power (which translates into all other rows and deadlifts).

So those are your rows, but what else could you be doing?

Fucking. Dead. Lifts. Deads, all the deads: conventional deads, sumo deads, stiff leg deads (great for lowback, hams and glutes), Romanian deads (similar to stiff leg but a little more low back), box deads, w.e. just do them. All of them, and do them heavy, amd do them often. Even if youre just a body building broseph, heavy compound lifts (specifially deads and squats) trigger the release way more growth horomones than any isolation excersise possibly could. You get the most bang for your buck with these, and theyre worth it. Personally, I deadlift two days a week, one is purely conventional deadlifts and the other is purely sumo deads. They are similar, but they emphasis different areas of the body during the lift: Sumos hit the legs and hips a bit more, Conventional hits the back a bit more (especially low back).

Proper form chin ups/pull ups: you want wings? Do some fucking pull ups. Most people dont do them for a single reason: theyre hard (ego hits to the bros). Typically, Ill do chins/pulls between each of my sets for a couple of excersises. These dont need to be till failure, but if youre doing 3 pull ups per set of squats (or w.e) and you do 6 sets of squats, well, youve now done 18 pull ups in that work out. Progressively overload this as you see fit. If you cant do a pullup/chin up right now, learn with assistance bands (dont use the machine), there are plenty of tutorials on youtube.... Just be sure not to bag yourself lol. One more thing to note, Pull ups vs Lat Pulldown machines: Pull ups are a true multi-joint compound excersises that you cant cheat on (with proper form), while the Lat Pulldown machine is a much more isolated movement that you can easily "cheat" on. Generally, Pulls ups > Pull downs and the Pull have high muscle activation (through EMG readings) than Pull downs.

Hanging highpulls and/or hanging cleans: these may be a little difficult if youre not use to doing more explosive movements, but they're both amazing back exercises. A key to them is not letting the weight touch the ground between reps, which means more time under tension, which translates to more gains and greater strength. Honestly, these do more for my upper back than any other excersises (while hitting mid and lower back too), as youre really ripping the bar up to your shoulders.

Squats and front squats. How the hell do you expect to squat heavy if you dont have a strong enough back/core to stabalize the weight? (You cant). These will indirectly work your entire back (front squats engage your core and upper back, I find, more due to you fighting with gravity from flopping forward).

Fuck, I went on a rant. Call this one Road Rage Rob Random Rant.

Remember: chest and arms make you look strong, but legs and back actually make you strong.

Ill see myself out lol

Edit: accessory exercises to consider.

Face Pulls: learn to love them as they are one of the best isolation movements for the upper back (I super set them with Arnold Shoulder Presses for added masochism).

Inverted body weight rows: set a bar up in the rack, and maybe a bench outside of it to put your legs on (creating a parallel row or even a decline row). Super set these with push ups to get a nive even push-pull work out.

Back flies: same idea as a chest fly, but for your back, I find they really hit the center of my mid- upper back.

SO, what are some of your favourite back exercises?!

submitted by /u/RoadRageRob666 [link] [comments] December 10, 2018 at 04:57PM

[isaacathom]

 jesus christ the more i think about them fighting the more difficult the scenario becomes to actually justify

though i can roughly track the idea. after the first failed attempt to ‘rescue’ Seora, which was a small team led primarily by the Captain (on a boner quest), the light kingdom sets up an army to full on storm the castle where she is being kept. the captain bursts down the door. Seora and Esther are waiting together in the main room, and probably with one or two more Warrior Maidens. It’s a last chance to negotiate. somewhat inevitably, it doesnt succeed. he has backup in the form of at least one Ritual Maiden (and someone that Seora knows personally). he also has A Gun. when he draws it, either Seora knocks it out of his hand and sends it flying across the room, OR redirects the bullet he fires and THEN knocks it out. the captains pretty peeved by this. of course he is. he wants to stick his assholish little peepee in this bitch and shes clearly been tainted by ~The Darkness~ so time to sort that out. a minor melee ensues wherein the goal is for one of the two sides to grab Seora and drag her back. Esther rushes in with sword raised and power ready to fuck up the Captain, so the two of them end up in their own tango. the Captains backup attempt to tackle Seora to the ground so she cant interfere (and also to recover her, i guess) while the Warrior Maidens attempt to protect her. She’s also protecting herself. In this complete chaos, the Ritual Maiden who was brought on this mission is left further back and proceeds to deflect Esther’s magic, leaving her to rely on her swordsmanship instead.

it then likely proceeds mostly as a straight up sword fight between the two, surrounded by complete chaos as both sides fight over Seora and Seora tries to get away so she can help Esther. At some point she is likely nabbed with some form of magic cancellation (which earlier on took the form of magic handcuffs that Esther used, but this time probably takes the form of like, a specially crafted gauntlet with the same properties. if shes ‘contained’ by such an item, she cant use magic. this is the advantage that the kingdom has, because all of their troops have stuff that cancels magic. it doesnt /work/ as protections, per se, but it works as PREVENTION. proactive, not reactive. like handcuffs dont stop bullets but they stop a guy from grabbing his gun) which prevents her from really protecting herself because her sole skill is magic. she has no training in self defence, or certainly not enough to be impactful to a great degree. 

at some point, that Ritual Maiden up back works out that Esther is focussing on the swordfight aspect and not the magic, and so starts using her magic to actively hinder her ability to proceed. Blinding light (which also hurts the Captain soooo oops), gusts of wind, making her blade slippery and hard to hold. its not anywhere near as effective as the Maiden might like, because Esther is a fucking professional, but it definitely puts her on the defensive rather than the offensive.

what probably cinches the deal for the Captain is Seora probably gets actually dogpiled as some point. like this guard is clutching her wrist p tight to prevent her magic and then in attempt to get him the Fuck off she backs up but then like tackling ensues??? it doesnt go great. she topples to the floor and its a notably /thud/. mostly because of the knights tripping on her dress but also like, yknow, 3 full people fell on the fucking floor. its a notable ENOUGH thud that Esther gets distracted. and because Seora stands out QUITE a bit in that chaos over yonder, its VERY obvious that she isnt there. as in, not standing up. she’s like 6′3 and pale blue with like plat blonde hair amidst a pile of sweaty knights of various heights but notably wider and all human coloured, and a pile of dark blue maidens with blue-white hair who aren’t anywhere near as tall. she’s the tallest fucker in the room. so her not being upright is immediately noticeable. she wouldnt necessarily be visible on the floor depending on where the guards are relative to her. Esther would lose her cool. even if just for a second, the fact she cant see Seora immediately disconnects her from the swordfight. from there, its a one two and the captain is holding her throat with his off hand and preparing his blade with the other. she lost the advantage.

its at this point that the Ritual Maiden backing up the captain likely loses her cool. Ritual Maidens, unlike their Warrior counterparts, arent military. they have very little connection to the military. her presence here basically came about because the Captain forced her to do it and managed to convince everyone it was necessary. she’s not a fighter, and she’s not comfortable with war. this whole scenario has been pretty upsetting for her. now, seeing the Captain preparing to murder Esther, she’s not taking it well. Neither is Seora, who can see whats happening between peoples feet.

in the tumble, whoever had a grip on Seora let go. she’s magically unrestrained, and seeing her friend battered and bruised and at the mercy of a guy she’s always thought was a Cunt, she probably fucking wind explodes. bwoosh. everyone in the crowd flies back. the captain wobbles but does not fall, and retains his grip on Esther throat, blocking Esther’s magic. the Ritual Maiden up back probably falls over and bursts into tears, completely removing any protections she had placed on the Captain (which had likely prevented him falling). Esther’s still on the ground desperately tryna claw his hand off but has probably briefly halted out of sheer ‘oh fuc’ which is reasonable but probably not the best choice she could have made. 

then  uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. yea. im not positive from there. if seora is sufficiently pissed and has time she’d just immediately blast the Captain off and then try to kill him. but she doesnt have time. so how does that occur? he has to stop her from taking direct action against him. for instance, by using Esther as a shield. Drop the blade, take both hands, pick her up and hold her by her neck in front of him, probably then grabbing one of her own daggers to use as the direct threat. you raise a finger, she dies. Seora, who has now gotten up off the floor, can’t directly react. she cant move him, because he’ll react by immediately drawing the blade. she’s short on time, because yknow, Esther is getting choked tf out. at best, she can stall for time by like. putting extra air around esther for her to get while she figures out a plan. that plan likely being to play off of the Captain’s superstition that she’s been tricked or possessed or something of that ilk by Esther. So if she can time a sorta heel-face turn properly, she can lull the Captain into genuinely thinking that her prior behavior was linked directly to Esther, and that Esther is now no longer an issue. its difficult to time, because it basically requires Esther to pass out, which is pretty dangerous. yknow, for obvious reasons. but if Seora can time it (perhaps pretending to partially lapse as Esther starts fading off and then ‘full lapsing’  BEFORE Esther actually passes out), then the Captain will drop Esther. Probably flinging her in the direction of her battered and bruised Warrior comrades (at least some of whom were probably killed in the chaos, as the same on the other side) and accepting Seora back.

The warrior maidens are absolutely furious. a) because they also think that the Captain just killed Esther, which is A HUGE ISSUE and b) that Seora was fucking with them the whole time. which is an issue, because of a lot of Seora’s time in the dark kingdom was spent with her and Esther convincing the other warrior maidens that Seora planned to help them. So Seora pulling a heel-face (or face-heel, in the eyes of the Warriors) is a complete betrayal of trust. a few of them might vaguely suspect its an act, but the whole group are very confused and very angry. for the most part, nursing their injuries (both from the fight AND from being flung willy nilly by Seora) they resolve to simply grab Esther and hang back. the Captain’s men start celebrating. at least one of them goes to comfort the absolutely distraught Ritual Maiden, who likely only got more upset when Esther was flung aside because UHMMM IS THAT AN ACTUAL DEAD BODY???? shes losing her poor mind. poor dear. today was not a good day.

the Captain, being that he is on a Boner Quest™, moves to claim his prize. Seora doesn’t fucking want it, you bet your fucking ass, but this is part of the plan. they kiss. the Captain is probably an awful kisser also, just to make that less fun. the light side cheer. the dark side wail. noones really paying attention as the Captain’s discard sword gently floats directly up into the air and then moves gently into Seora’s open hand. noone notices as she pulls her arm back and orients the blade. noone except the Ritual Maiden, perhaps, who sees it through her tears and attempts to warn someone, anyone. but the guards attending to her assume that she’s referring to past events.

shick. the dark side stop wailing abruptly. there a brief moment of silence as the light side also abruptly stop cheering, with the only noise being the Ritual Maiden’s wails. then Seora kicks the Captain away. he stumbles. before he can fall, she says some slick one line (while probably also spitting because odds are solid her mouth is full of his gross saliva and possibly his blood, nasty) and with windy magic, blasts his backwards through the wall. whoosh. there he. fucking goes. theres still quiet as everyone processes what the fuck just occured. Seora probably tosses the Captain’s bloodied sword to the floor (because what amateur would leave the blade in the wound? this is stylin) and thennn????? im not completely sure how she resolves that. because like, make no mistake, the Captain is dead. the Ritual Maiden is in complete distress and theres no way she can heal him in this state. Seora won’t. the dark side wont. even if he were collected and promptly rushed to the nearest willing AND able maiden, it’d be too late. everyone knows it. Everyone knows thats why she blasted him through the wall. he’s dead. Seora, nominal leader of the Ritual Maidens of the Kingdom of Light, just killed the Captain of Kingdom of Light Military. in their hearts, the light side all knew she was potentially capable of it. she’d attacked him the last time they’d come to get her, though to a far lesser extent. bruised in body and in pride, he’d survived. but they’d all bought into the Captain’s belief, because they had to. they couldnt believe that such a figure could kill without some tainting influence. they had to believe their superstitions, because the reality of the matter - that Seora had chosen her own side and was going to stand for it - was terrifying. it was a sort of moral quandary the kingdom of light hadnt been forced to wrestle with since the civil war.

but there she was. wild.

odds are solid the light side wouldnt retaliate. how could they? how could they attempt to harm the person theyd come to rescue? how could they fight her, when she had just killed their leader and had the power to kill them, too? the upper hand, psychologically, and in timing. she would see them move. she would react. she could preemptively attack.

the light side stood their ground and screamed. someone hesitantly began to move over to the hole in the wall, constantly stopping and looking at a motionless Seora, expecting her to stop them. when she did not, they gestured for someone else to come with and rushed through the hole. how could they not? they had to attend to the captain, no matter what.

its likely then that what brought Seora out of her brief ‘state’, if you will, is an involuntary sob from the dark side. after all, they’re still upset about Esther. and Seora is too. and its that sound, a sob from behind her, that snaps her out of her brief moment of contemplation. probably spits one last time (for now, at least - bet your fucking ass she washes her mouth out once this is all over as many times as necessary to feel like shes cleaned it) and then rushes to Esther’s side. everyones basically gonna stick to their sides for a while as the light rush to the Captain and the dark huddle around Esther and Seora. Esther is fine. she’s injured, but she’s fine. Seora is well equipped to help her recover, at least as a result of her wind magic being able to help Esther breathe. what with the choking and such. 

the first one to probably break the tense quiet is probably one of the Warriors. the defacto leader since Esther’s not really up for that right this second. its basically just something fairly simple - ‘i think perhaps its time for proper negotiation?’. one of the fighters gets up (leaving their weapons down) and approaches with an open hand. the defacto leader gets up and shakes their hand. the deal is set. everyone present in this castle will return to the border of the two kingdoms and negotiations will be had. the dark kingdoms creeping darkness will finally, finally, be dealt with. Esther bursts into absolutely delighted tears. its basically been her life’s work to get the two countries to work together. The Warriors, satisfied that Esther is fine and safe with Seora, come slowly over to the light side to help them tend to their wounds. everyone sorta mingles a little. the fighters who’d attempted to tend to the captain return from the other room and also help. esther and seora embrace a/o kiss. curtains close.

then the negotiations come and a solid chunk of it is arguing what should actually be done with Seora. because the light wanted her back, she WANTS to be with the dark, pluuusss she killed one of the military leaders straight out. noone can (or would) argue that it was some sort of crossfire incident. it was very deliberate. admittedly the only real witness is the traumatised Ritual Maiden who, understandably, really doesnt want to talk about it. so, yknow. it’s a tough negotiation. Seora is only allowed to take part as though she were on trial, basically explaining that the Captain has always been a dick and that yea, she doesnt deny killing him. like at no point does she deny it. she even explains - in detail if pressed - the moment she formulated a plan to attack him with intent to badly harm if not kill, and how she tricked him and used her magic to get his sword. the entire negotiating committee agree yea, she’s guilty, we get it. but what to do with that? Seora is probably willing to go to light kingdom prison provided the darkness cleanse goes ahead. so it’s possible her fate would be left up to the end of the negotiations once the plan of ‘attack’ has been agreed upon. its a big mess. she’s completely up for prison, but Esther is Very Adamant that this not be the course of action. im not actually sure how it could resolve without anger. potentially the dark kingdom offer to put her to work as the darkness cleanser. part of a grand metaphor to ‘absolve herself of sin in the eyes of your patron deity’. which could actually work. the light kingdom love that sorta shit. so if the dark kingdom said ‘hey, ok, an idea - we take her into our custody. we- im not done, hold on - we put her to work primarily in our agreed upon darkness cleaning groups. especially in the city, where the darkness is most concentrated. it’ll be hard work, we’ve established that, mmn? and, and, as she cleans away the darkness, she can clean away this mark upon her soul, dont you think? then hopefully when she is done - when the kingdom is clean - she’ll be capable of being forgiven. how does that sound?’. the only hitch would be ensuring she works. Esther is forbidden from saying a fucking word by the second in command, who is.... a bit more diplomatic on this specific front. Seora will be assigned to a group of assorted Dusk Maidens who will watch her 24/7. she will stay with them. if she doesnt work, punishment will ensue. if she doesnt work for a period of time - a few weeks, maybe - then the dark kingdom agrees to hand over Seora to the light kingdom to face a more.... judicial form of justice.

its uh. good fun. i’ve been here for three hours.

uh, tldr; Seora disarms the Captain, who orders his men to capture Seora. Esther goes to fight the Captain, while the dusk maidens and light army start fighting over a Very Unhappy Seora, who defends herself. Esther and the Captain fight with swords, with a Ritual Maiden backing up the captain and sabotaging Esther. just as Esther starts having to go on the defensive due to the Ritual meddling, Seora gets her magic blocked by a light army soldier who manages to grab her arm to stop her from fighting back or aiding Esther. in attempting to wriggle free, she falls back, followed by that soldier and possibly a few other people. Esther, being distracted by her gfs shenanigans, is quickly disarmed and pinned to the ground by the Captain, who starts choking her (cancelling magic) and prepares to run her through with his blade. Seora, on the ground and free of the soldiers grasp (and they had let go during the fall) basically explodes w/ the Windy Magic, sending the group blasting back. the Captain remains crouched where he is over Esther in part due to the Ritual Maiden, who falls over and starts crying. Before a completely unrestrained and pissed Seora can get up and prepare to fuck with the Captain, he drops his sword, picks up Esther, and positions her between him and Seora, and still choking her. Seora, thinking ~fast~, decides to play to the Captains superstition that she’s being controlled, and pretends that Esther’s control over her has lapsed, just as Esther starts proper passing out from the whole lack of air deal. Captain chucks Esther aside into the waiting arms of an absolutely distraught group of Warrior Maidens, and prepares to “claim his prize”. light kingdom cheers, dark kingdom boos and swears revenge (since they think Seora was pretending to be on their side the whole time) and ritual maiden keeps crying. then seora uses her magic to grab the captains sword (or maybe Esther’s sword, both are good) and uses it to run him the fuck through, before blasting him through at least one wall (holding onto the blade).

everyone freaks, she rushes to Esther’s side and uses magic (and/or cpr what the fuck do you want from me im way too gay for that to NOT possibly happen) to help her recover. eventually the two groups come to an agreement and start tending to their wounded and dead (including the captain who is straight up deceased fuck that guy).

then in the negotiations the big Issue (beyond the whole ‘cleaning the tainted darkness’ thing) is What the Fuck to do abou Seora. who absolutely and undeniably murdered a guy. the end result is more than likely that she is placed into direct Dusk Maiden servitude, ‘forced’ to cleanse the darkness under constant supervision. of course, what the light kingdom dont know or dont really comprehend is that she’s gonna get put into a squad including her basically gf Esther and a bunch of other Warrior Maidens who think she’s the bees knees, AND a bunch of other dusk maidens who have heard alllllll about her and adore her. she’s basically gonna get pampered as fuck. it’s gonna be great. she’s going to have a great time. she basically gets to do exactly what she’s wanted to do since a little after she was first kidnapped, AND gets to hang with a bunch of folk she thinks are pretty cool even if they probably tried to kill her or torture her at some point. she gets it.... to a point. there a few she doesnt hang with. everyones cool about it. 

tl;tl;dr;dr esther gets beat and then seora kills a man but then seora and esther get to be happy and gay so frankly it all works out Pretty Well

[jimdsmith34]

This Memorial Day Dont Remember; Just Celebrate

Deano Roberts Contributor

Deano Roberts is a Director at Slack. Following his graduation from West Point, he went on to serve as an Apache attack helicopter pilot serving on several deployments. He commanded the US Armys Primary Flight School and a Weapons of Mass Destruction Unit. In addition, he served as a counterterrorism and disaster response expert with NORAD and US NORTHERN COMMAND. He still serves today as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserves working on disaster response coordination for California and the Pacific.

More posts by this contributor:

Why I Chose The Gun And Then Silicon Valley

As a soldier who occasionally is in uniform in public in the Bay Area as part of my Army Reserve duties I am overwhelmed by the volume of Thank You for Your Service comments I receive.

Weve come to a remarkably mature place as a society where you can detest the war; but not the Warrior. For any service member who has received these appreciative acknowledgements in public you can physically feel the humbled gratitude in your soul while also oddly squeamish with your internal recognition that there are perhaps others who sacrificed far more and that maybe you arent deserving of that praise.

These feelings rush through you all while you awkwardly offer your own words of appreciation for their appreciation.

So this Memorial Day I would offer something different. I would propose that you not spend time in over adulation and recognition of those who serve or have served. Rather this Memorial Day (and generally every day after) you can honor their memory, service, and sacrifices by living the best possible life you canthat you create, you inspire, you love, you care, and you celebrate. This call to thrive (and your right to do so) is ultimately what soldiers seek to protect and defend.

I have the privilege in my professional life to serve two organizations:

Monday throughFriday I serve as a Director at technology company headquartered in San Francisco and then onSaturday and Sunday I serve as the Commander of the 1-363rd San Franciscos Own Army Reserve Battalion headquartered in Dublin, Calif.

Interestingly the desired end states of both of these communities; Technology and the Military, is remarkably the same though achieved through different means: The desire to make lives better.

The innovations and the solutions that flourish in the technology community in their highest realization seek to connect the worlds of experience and idea, seek to develop cheaper cleaner energy, seek to feed the masses, seek to eradicate disease, seek to liberate thoughts, words, and actions.

Soldiers fight and occasionally die for the ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice but practically also to protect and defend those systems of government and society that support these technological engines of progress that seek to make all people lives simpler, more productive, and hopefully more pleasant.

Why I or any Soldier, Sailor, Airmen, or Marine serves their community is so that others may not know the horrors of oppression; that others may thrive without threat. I was at a Stanford Military Appreciation Dinner the other night when an older gentlemen suggested that the nation would be better off with a mandatory military service obligation for its young men and women.

He followed by also sayingthat no one anymore really knows anyone in the military or their burdens and that mandatory service would help change that. I, along with the other officers sitting at the table (Navy and Air Force), emphatically disagreed.

We saidits remarkable that we live in a nation where we are free to choose our path that often doesnt include military service. Organizationally as well; we only want team members in the military that desire to serve on our teams not because theyre obligated to.

We also offered the gentlemen that thankfully we dont live in a country where everyone necessarily needs to feel the burden of military service. The fact that we as a nation are not overly preoccupied with our military or military service is a good thing. Ultimately soldiers serve to protect and defend our way of life; our way of life that doesnt spend its days in fear or disproportionate recognition of its military prowess.

As I was finishing this article this weekend I was notified that one of my junior commanding officers in the San Franciscos Own Battalion I lead was killed on his road bike on his way to work. CPT Nathan Miller (and his wife CPT Jessica Miller) are both recently transitioned active duty army officers just off deployments to Afghanistan. They chose to move to the Bay Area to begin their private sector jobs while raising their young daughter and still choosing to serve in the Reserves; though they have no obligation to do so.

When asked on our first meeting why they would continue to serve in the Reserves they simply replied with it is who we are, what weve known and we want to help to protect/shape this world our daughter will inherit. Nathan was an avid endurance athlete. In speaking with Jessica on how we could best honor Nathans service she simply said to do what Nathan would do. Go outside and hike/walk/bike in this beautiful place and end the day with good friends and a cold beer to celebrate So this Memorial Day; Im just going to celebrate.

source http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/19/this-memorial-day-dont-remember-just-celebrate/ from All of Beer http://allofbeer.blogspot.com/2017/09/this-memorial-day-dont-remember-just.html

[samanthasroberts]

This Memorial Day Dont Remember; Just Celebrate

Deano Roberts Contributor

Deano Roberts is a Director at Slack. Following his graduation from West Point, he went on to serve as an Apache attack helicopter pilot serving on several deployments. He commanded the US Armys Primary Flight School and a Weapons of Mass Destruction Unit. In addition, he served as a counterterrorism and disaster response expert with NORAD and US NORTHERN COMMAND. He still serves today as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserves working on disaster response coordination for California and the Pacific.

More posts by this contributor:

Why I Chose The Gun And Then Silicon Valley

As a soldier who occasionally is in uniform in public in the Bay Area as part of my Army Reserve duties I am overwhelmed by the volume of Thank You for Your Service comments I receive.

Weve come to a remarkably mature place as a society where you can detest the war; but not the Warrior. For any service member who has received these appreciative acknowledgements in public you can physically feel the humbled gratitude in your soul while also oddly squeamish with your internal recognition that there are perhaps others who sacrificed far more and that maybe you arent deserving of that praise.

These feelings rush through you all while you awkwardly offer your own words of appreciation for their appreciation.

So this Memorial Day I would offer something different. I would propose that you not spend time in over adulation and recognition of those who serve or have served. Rather this Memorial Day (and generally every day after) you can honor their memory, service, and sacrifices by living the best possible life you canthat you create, you inspire, you love, you care, and you celebrate. This call to thrive (and your right to do so) is ultimately what soldiers seek to protect and defend.

I have the privilege in my professional life to serve two organizations:

Monday throughFriday I serve as a Director at technology company headquartered in San Francisco and then onSaturday and Sunday I serve as the Commander of the 1-363rd San Franciscos Own Army Reserve Battalion headquartered in Dublin, Calif.

Interestingly the desired end states of both of these communities; Technology and the Military, is remarkably the same though achieved through different means: The desire to make lives better.

The innovations and the solutions that flourish in the technology community in their highest realization seek to connect the worlds of experience and idea, seek to develop cheaper cleaner energy, seek to feed the masses, seek to eradicate disease, seek to liberate thoughts, words, and actions.

Soldiers fight and occasionally die for the ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice but practically also to protect and defend those systems of government and society that support these technological engines of progress that seek to make all people lives simpler, more productive, and hopefully more pleasant.

Why I or any Soldier, Sailor, Airmen, or Marine serves their community is so that others may not know the horrors of oppression; that others may thrive without threat. I was at a Stanford Military Appreciation Dinner the other night when an older gentlemen suggested that the nation would be better off with a mandatory military service obligation for its young men and women.

He followed by also sayingthat no one anymore really knows anyone in the military or their burdens and that mandatory service would help change that. I, along with the other officers sitting at the table (Navy and Air Force), emphatically disagreed.

We saidits remarkable that we live in a nation where we are free to choose our path that often doesnt include military service. Organizationally as well; we only want team members in the military that desire to serve on our teams not because theyre obligated to.

We also offered the gentlemen that thankfully we dont live in a country where everyone necessarily needs to feel the burden of military service. The fact that we as a nation are not overly preoccupied with our military or military service is a good thing. Ultimately soldiers serve to protect and defend our way of life; our way of life that doesnt spend its days in fear or disproportionate recognition of its military prowess.

As I was finishing this article this weekend I was notified that one of my junior commanding officers in the San Franciscos Own Battalion I lead was killed on his road bike on his way to work. CPT Nathan Miller (and his wife CPT Jessica Miller) are both recently transitioned active duty army officers just off deployments to Afghanistan. They chose to move to the Bay Area to begin their private sector jobs while raising their young daughter and still choosing to serve in the Reserves; though they have no obligation to do so.

When asked on our first meeting why they would continue to serve in the Reserves they simply replied with it is who we are, what weve known and we want to help to protect/shape this world our daughter will inherit. Nathan was an avid endurance athlete. In speaking with Jessica on how we could best honor Nathans service she simply said to do what Nathan would do. Go outside and hike/walk/bike in this beautiful place and end the day with good friends and a cold beer to celebrate So this Memorial Day; Im just going to celebrate.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/19/this-memorial-day-dont-remember-just-celebrate/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/this-memorial-day-dont-remember-just-celebrate/

[adambstingus]

This Memorial Day Dont Remember; Just Celebrate

Deano Roberts Contributor

Deano Roberts is a Director at Slack. Following his graduation from West Point, he went on to serve as an Apache attack helicopter pilot serving on several deployments. He commanded the US Armys Primary Flight School and a Weapons of Mass Destruction Unit. In addition, he served as a counterterrorism and disaster response expert with NORAD and US NORTHERN COMMAND. He still serves today as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserves working on disaster response coordination for California and the Pacific.

More posts by this contributor:

Why I Chose The Gun And Then Silicon Valley

As a soldier who occasionally is in uniform in public in the Bay Area as part of my Army Reserve duties I am overwhelmed by the volume of Thank You for Your Service comments I receive.

Weve come to a remarkably mature place as a society where you can detest the war; but not the Warrior. For any service member who has received these appreciative acknowledgements in public you can physically feel the humbled gratitude in your soul while also oddly squeamish with your internal recognition that there are perhaps others who sacrificed far more and that maybe you arent deserving of that praise.

These feelings rush through you all while you awkwardly offer your own words of appreciation for their appreciation.

So this Memorial Day I would offer something different. I would propose that you not spend time in over adulation and recognition of those who serve or have served. Rather this Memorial Day (and generally every day after) you can honor their memory, service, and sacrifices by living the best possible life you canthat you create, you inspire, you love, you care, and you celebrate. This call to thrive (and your right to do so) is ultimately what soldiers seek to protect and defend.

I have the privilege in my professional life to serve two organizations:

Monday throughFriday I serve as a Director at technology company headquartered in San Francisco and then onSaturday and Sunday I serve as the Commander of the 1-363rd San Franciscos Own Army Reserve Battalion headquartered in Dublin, Calif.

Interestingly the desired end states of both of these communities; Technology and the Military, is remarkably the same though achieved through different means: The desire to make lives better.

The innovations and the solutions that flourish in the technology community in their highest realization seek to connect the worlds of experience and idea, seek to develop cheaper cleaner energy, seek to feed the masses, seek to eradicate disease, seek to liberate thoughts, words, and actions.

Soldiers fight and occasionally die for the ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice but practically also to protect and defend those systems of government and society that support these technological engines of progress that seek to make all people lives simpler, more productive, and hopefully more pleasant.

Why I or any Soldier, Sailor, Airmen, or Marine serves their community is so that others may not know the horrors of oppression; that others may thrive without threat. I was at a Stanford Military Appreciation Dinner the other night when an older gentlemen suggested that the nation would be better off with a mandatory military service obligation for its young men and women.

He followed by also sayingthat no one anymore really knows anyone in the military or their burdens and that mandatory service would help change that. I, along with the other officers sitting at the table (Navy and Air Force), emphatically disagreed.

We saidits remarkable that we live in a nation where we are free to choose our path that often doesnt include military service. Organizationally as well; we only want team members in the military that desire to serve on our teams not because theyre obligated to.

We also offered the gentlemen that thankfully we dont live in a country where everyone necessarily needs to feel the burden of military service. The fact that we as a nation are not overly preoccupied with our military or military service is a good thing. Ultimately soldiers serve to protect and defend our way of life; our way of life that doesnt spend its days in fear or disproportionate recognition of its military prowess.

As I was finishing this article this weekend I was notified that one of my junior commanding officers in the San Franciscos Own Battalion I lead was killed on his road bike on his way to work. CPT Nathan Miller (and his wife CPT Jessica Miller) are both recently transitioned active duty army officers just off deployments to Afghanistan. They chose to move to the Bay Area to begin their private sector jobs while raising their young daughter and still choosing to serve in the Reserves; though they have no obligation to do so.

When asked on our first meeting why they would continue to serve in the Reserves they simply replied with it is who we are, what weve known and we want to help to protect/shape this world our daughter will inherit. Nathan was an avid endurance athlete. In speaking with Jessica on how we could best honor Nathans service she simply said to do what Nathan would do. Go outside and hike/walk/bike in this beautiful place and end the day with good friends and a cold beer to celebrate So this Memorial Day; Im just going to celebrate.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/19/this-memorial-day-dont-remember-just-celebrate/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/165497902622

[allofbeercom]

This Memorial Day Dont Remember; Just Celebrate

Deano Roberts Contributor

Deano Roberts is a Director at Slack. Following his graduation from West Point, he went on to serve as an Apache attack helicopter pilot serving on several deployments. He commanded the US Armys Primary Flight School and a Weapons of Mass Destruction Unit. In addition, he served as a counterterrorism and disaster response expert with NORAD and US NORTHERN COMMAND. He still serves today as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserves working on disaster response coordination for California and the Pacific.

More posts by this contributor:

Why I Chose The Gun And Then Silicon Valley

As a soldier who occasionally is in uniform in public in the Bay Area as part of my Army Reserve duties I am overwhelmed by the volume of Thank You for Your Service comments I receive.

Weve come to a remarkably mature place as a society where you can detest the war; but not the Warrior. For any service member who has received these appreciative acknowledgements in public you can physically feel the humbled gratitude in your soul while also oddly squeamish with your internal recognition that there are perhaps others who sacrificed far more and that maybe you arent deserving of that praise.

These feelings rush through you all while you awkwardly offer your own words of appreciation for their appreciation.

So this Memorial Day I would offer something different. I would propose that you not spend time in over adulation and recognition of those who serve or have served. Rather this Memorial Day (and generally every day after) you can honor their memory, service, and sacrifices by living the best possible life you canthat you create, you inspire, you love, you care, and you celebrate. This call to thrive (and your right to do so) is ultimately what soldiers seek to protect and defend.

I have the privilege in my professional life to serve two organizations:

Monday throughFriday I serve as a Director at technology company headquartered in San Francisco and then onSaturday and Sunday I serve as the Commander of the 1-363rd San Franciscos Own Army Reserve Battalion headquartered in Dublin, Calif.

Interestingly the desired end states of both of these communities; Technology and the Military, is remarkably the same though achieved through different means: The desire to make lives better.

The innovations and the solutions that flourish in the technology community in their highest realization seek to connect the worlds of experience and idea, seek to develop cheaper cleaner energy, seek to feed the masses, seek to eradicate disease, seek to liberate thoughts, words, and actions.

Soldiers fight and occasionally die for the ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice but practically also to protect and defend those systems of government and society that support these technological engines of progress that seek to make all people lives simpler, more productive, and hopefully more pleasant.

Why I or any Soldier, Sailor, Airmen, or Marine serves their community is so that others may not know the horrors of oppression; that others may thrive without threat. I was at a Stanford Military Appreciation Dinner the other night when an older gentlemen suggested that the nation would be better off with a mandatory military service obligation for its young men and women.

He followed by also sayingthat no one anymore really knows anyone in the military or their burdens and that mandatory service would help change that. I, along with the other officers sitting at the table (Navy and Air Force), emphatically disagreed.

We saidits remarkable that we live in a nation where we are free to choose our path that often doesnt include military service. Organizationally as well; we only want team members in the military that desire to serve on our teams not because theyre obligated to.

We also offered the gentlemen that thankfully we dont live in a country where everyone necessarily needs to feel the burden of military service. The fact that we as a nation are not overly preoccupied with our military or military service is a good thing. Ultimately soldiers serve to protect and defend our way of life; our way of life that doesnt spend its days in fear or disproportionate recognition of its military prowess.

As I was finishing this article this weekend I was notified that one of my junior commanding officers in the San Franciscos Own Battalion I lead was killed on his road bike on his way to work. CPT Nathan Miller (and his wife CPT Jessica Miller) are both recently transitioned active duty army officers just off deployments to Afghanistan. They chose to move to the Bay Area to begin their private sector jobs while raising their young daughter and still choosing to serve in the Reserves; though they have no obligation to do so.

When asked on our first meeting why they would continue to serve in the Reserves they simply replied with it is who we are, what weve known and we want to help to protect/shape this world our daughter will inherit. Nathan was an avid endurance athlete. In speaking with Jessica on how we could best honor Nathans service she simply said to do what Nathan would do. Go outside and hike/walk/bike in this beautiful place and end the day with good friends and a cold beer to celebrate So this Memorial Day; Im just going to celebrate.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/19/this-memorial-day-dont-remember-just-celebrate/