#the new order

[notaplaceofhonour]

Wolfenstein could have just been a dumb cathartic game series about a jacked blonde dude killing nazis and I would’ve loved it for that—and for most of its existence it was that—but I just can’t stop thinking about what it’s like to be BJ Blazkowicz. not “Billy the Butcher”, not the Nazi-killer, but the man (if you will, the mensch)

what is it like to be BJ Blazkowicz, a Jewish boy whose abusive gentile father ensured he never got to be raised Jewish, whose only connection to the Jewish people for most of his life was his mother, to be BJ Blazkowicz who fought Nazis not because of who he was but because he had a body that could and a duty to do it? what is it like to be BJ Blazkowicz, who lost his ability to fight when he needed it the most, locked in the prison of his own body, rotting away as the world rotted around him, who woke up a Jewish man in a world all-but-empty-of-Jews as the Nazis came for him, not even knowing he was Jewish but because he was disabled? what is is like to be BJ Blazkowicz, a Jew who had to break into a concentration camp, whose body bears the trauma of that place in every cell to its very core, only visible as numbers on his skin, who cut those numbers off himself without anesthesia to free himself from the reminder? What is it like to be BJ Blazkowicz, longing for connection to a way of life he can no longer participate in, and yet embodying its survival in his very existence, eager to learn from the few fellow Jews he can find? What is it like to be BJ Blazkowicz, a Jewish man severed from his Jewish body, his body stolen by Nazis, only to be replaced by a constructed body not his own—as un-Jewish and un-human as it could be, grown in a lab by Nazis—and yet fundamentally Jewish, developed with technology stolen from Jews, stolen back by Jews, to make him a golem—what is it like to live in that contradiction? What is it like to have lived through all that hell, and then to raise daughters who are able to laugh and play in peace, in spite of everything? What is it like to be BJ Blaskowicz, a Holocaust survivor, an American golem, fighting for the survival of his people for so long and finally stepping into a synagogue for the first time in his life, learning the prayers he couldn’t learn before, that he didn’t think to learn before he was afraid he couldn’t? What is it like to be the meat-head man of action falling head over heels in love with learning for the first time—learning our history, our culture, learning Hebrew, learning Yiddish, learning what it is to be Jewish?

what is it like to be a guardian made in our image, to protect us and lead us forward—golem and messiah? what is it like to be BJ Blazkowicz?

[musickickztoo]

RIP Dennis Thompson 

September 7, 1948 – May 8, 2024

[cannotbestormed-grenadier]

[flagwars]

Video Game Flag War: Prelims, The New Order: Last Days of Europe (Part 1)

[craycray-wolf]

*I*

Would like to make fanfiction of Minecraft Story Mode 😎

I plan on writing my own ideas as well as my version of events/own twist on the game's story itself! By this I mean the choices I like to make and adding some of my own events as well. I know these are common I just think I personally have something to offer! Plus the more preservation of the game's overall story we have the better ^_^ I love these games so much and I don't ever want them to die!

Then of course I have my own original stories for MCSM, it's just that my version of the games' stories provide context.

(Also it's probably going to be rated teen/PG13 and possibly even mature for some chapters, though for the latter I'm going to try to make them not necessary for the story when I can! I know the game itself is E10+ and meant for a general audience but I'm too much of a freak tbh. I like making intense content)

I plan on making 3 different universes:

Red Suspenders Jesse (and Jesskas) <= currently working on this one

Red hairclip Jesse (and Jesstra)

Red pants/peach sus Jesse (Jerkesse. No hate to any Jesse variants- I love them all!)

I also have a few short stories about red sus already written that I plan to integrate into the greater narrative once it's done. I have them already published on Wattpad and plan to publish them on AO3 and Fanfiction too.

Now this is gonna take a while to write so uh- feel free to ask any questions! I'm also going to share some tidbits about each universe real quick below.

SPOILER WARNINGS FOR BOTH SEASONS JUST IN CASE 🚨🚨🚨

You have been warned! I highly recommend experiencing the game for yourself if possible or watching a playthrough!

Okay let's experience a sampling of my chaotic brainrot!

Red sus: This Jesse is the most cinnamon roll of the 3 Jesses, but he's still savage as that is a classic Jesse trait. He's also the most honest of the 3, his mindset here is probably best encapsulated by the phrase "honesty is the best policy." He tends to relate more to Olivia than Axel, but he deeply loves them both. He takes Hadrian's deal without hesitation.

Jesse particularly likes the Ender Defender armor and uses it during S1. He also thought the best way to keep Magnus' armor would be to care for it and it not be damaged. He decides to branch out in S2 and wear the Shield of Infinity armor, then Please Don't Hit Me. He takes Romeo back with them home with no hesitation, even if he's p.o.'ed at the man. He told Petra he'd be right beside her as she found herself at the cabin, and follows through on his promise once Beacontown is rebuilt and stable enough (and he works on some personal business). He turns down Stella's offer as he thinks Lluna and her are meant to be.

During their travels, Jesse realizes how much he missed animal companionship due to Lluna. He keeps an eye out for his new companion, and comes across a bat in a cherry grove. The Order had troubles with bats previously whereas now they're turning over a new leaf. This new friend symbolizes new beginnings. Because of this and the fact that she was found in a cherry blossom biome, Jesse names the bat "Bloom." I love Bloom so much y'all. I hope you will too 😊

Red hairclip: She's less optimistic than red sus Jesse, but still a fair amount so. This Jesse still appreciates truthfulness but it's not a core feature she has or one she seeks like red sus Jess. She's less trusting than red sus Jesse so she doesn't take Hadrian's deal (though she's willing to sacrifice herself for her loved ones no question).

She thinks the best way to keep the armor is to wear it, killing the Witherstorm in honor of Ellegaard. Briefly before their Portal adventures though she tries wearing the Dragonsbane armor and falls in love. In S2 she wears Star Shield and Golden Apple.

Since Jesse chose to leave Nurm behind she has a stronger bond with Lluna, and takes Stella up on her offer to keep the fashionable llama. She is torn between adventuring with Petra and staying to keep leading her beloved town. She ultimately stays in Beacontown, at least for quite a while. That is until Jesse realizes how much she loves Petra and goes out to search for her.

Red pants/peach sus: And then there's THIS asshole. Tbh he's not as developed as the other two yet, but he's not the funnest guy to be around. He still cares on some level for his friends, but he sees them more as a means to an end. He's incredibly selfish and egotistical, soaking up all the glory from his "heroism". All of his actions are motivated by things that'd benefit him. Therefore he sure as heck doesn't take Hadrian's deal.

Not sure whether he takes Magnus' or Ellegaard's armor. S2 he wears Tim's armor because you know. Fancy and diamonds and stuff. He gets no 2nd animal sidekick, he didn't treat the first one right!

Also here, a link to my fanart of the New Order (S1 style) thx: https://www.tumblr.com/craycray-wolf/736076088473731072/these-dorks-in-my-artstyle-i-love-them-too-much?source=share

Thanks for reading Fam! It's been lit.

[georgealmis]

[ambasingresident]

[ofnfunny]

Me when I Great her Trial

[formulas-fatal-to-your-mom]

[theshysoviet]

I did Anther Sketch Of Tno characters this time I did the Leaders of Samara I had a fun time Drawing Bunyachenko but I think I could have done better with Oktan

[sistersorrow]

I'm gonna preface this by saying that I know that Games Workshop are not fascists and that Warhammer 40k is openly intended to be a criticism and parody of fascism and other forms of authoritarianism

However, GW has still kinda stumbled into a similar issue that The New Order did, that issue being what I'm gonna call The Problem of the Reasonable Fascist because pretending I'm doing something clever makes me feel special

So, The New Order: The Last Days of Europe is a mod for Hearts of Iron 4 set in a timeline where the Axis won WW2 and things are to put it lightly not going well

Over time, the setting's lore has gone through a bunch of revisions, with a pretty big one being the removal of Esoteric Nazism as a distinct ideology group

In early versions of the mod, there was Fascism (ie. the ideologies practiced in real world Germany and Italy in during WW2) and then there was Esoteric Nazism, which was basically Batshit Insane Fascism, which takes Fascist ideology in darker or downright bizarre directions (eg. A vaguely 40k-inspired Russian Imperial Cult that believed that Alexei Romanov was still alive and would return once the country was "cleansed") and represents some of the worst possible excesses of Fascism

These ideologies still exist in TNO, but were moved into the same ideology group as the non-esoteric fascists and went through revisions because the developers concluded that when you have groups like the Order-State of Burgundy wanting to trigger global nuclear war so True Aryans will inherit the Earth (ie. the ending of the Turner Diaries), the 3rd Reich seems a bit less crazy

That's what I'm referring to as the Problem of the Reasonable Fascist, the way some anti-fascist narratives are written can create something so over the top that it accidentally makes less extreme forms fascism seem not as horrible

40k runs in to this same issue due to the way it handles characters and the pre vs post-Horus Heresy Imperium of Man

The Imperium of Man in the 40th millenium is a theofascist hellhole so incomprehensibly vast that the death of billions each day to keep the war machine running isn't even a statistic, it's a rounding error, but it's also repeatedly presented as an empire in decline whose existence is a mockery of the Emperor's vision, which runs into the exact problem I'm talking about

The pre-Heresy Imperium was authoritarian, xenophobic in multiple meanings of the word, and openly hostile to any schools of thought that wasn't their own, but in comparison to the post-Heresy Imperium, it was a golden age, and those who fought in defense of it are generally written as pretty reasonable even though they're still authoritarians

Hell, the Horus Heresy happened in part because Horus saw a vision of the 40th millenium and thought that was the Emperor's end goal

The bar is set so low in the modern Imperium that if you aren't the kind of zealot who shoots someone for stuttering during prayers, you are basically treated as a pillar of rationality by the audience

Again, GW and its writers are not Fascists, but this is an interesting phenomenon I've noticed

[cannotbestormed-scharfuehrer]

[morgan1413]

today marks the 10th anniversary of the greatest single-player FPS of all time! 🥳

[flagwars]

Video Game Flag Wars: Prelims, The New Order: Last Days of Europe (Part 3)

[warsofasoiaf]

I kept wanting to post my ideas on what a full term gus hall presidency would look like and yet I never had the energy or time to do it. so basically I think the best description of him would be something like an american robespierre. Initially targeting groups genuinely hated and for some, justly so, by the general american public. like american fascists and nazi sympathizers as well as the cia and fbi for their roles in targetting the civil rights movement. Though using lies and manipulative tactics to get rid of threats and push forward radical policies and that are initially favored as well as putting supporters into power so he can rule by decree. like better rights for those historically discriminated. though as time goes on he then targets less "just" enemies like moderates on both sides, and those who while sympathetic to what he's trying to do, are opposed to his methods like harrington or labor unions until he's going full stalinist, killing even other leftists and anyone who isn't sufficiently loyal. If he succeeds in keeping power then his US is just an american USSR with all the implications that brings. if he fails and overplays his hands he gets removed and risks a civil war or opening up the US to a military dictatorship or a future demagogue.

While this is a lot better than what the Hall writers seem to have come up with, this doesn't really mesh with Gus Hall as he was in real life.

In our own history, Gus Hall was a dedicated vanguardist who offered his full-throated support for the Soviet invasions of Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968. Domestically, he demanded the New Left fall in line and refused to even deign any of their criticism of the Soviet Union. He facilitated Soviet espionage through the CPUSA, laundered Soviet money, and was openly pro-authoritarian. The Hall writers, in this thread, largely ignored Hall's support of the Soviet invasions into Eastern Europe and Hall's own parroting of the Soviet line in favor of portraying him as a sort of well-meaning extremist and someone who regularly broke with the Soviets (ignoring that 90% of the time, he didn't). They portray his domestic policy using the CPUSA's policy from the 1990's after the Soviets fell, before that they were unflagging supporters of the Leninist model.

Hall in the TNO-verse would be uncompromising and brutal, regularly throwing any suspected counter-revolutionaries into prison. Hall (and one of the prominent people in his arc, Angela Davis) talked a big game criticizing the US's prison-industrial complex but issued glowing statements about the USSR's system of prison labor for dissidents - there's no reason to think that this wouldn't be the case in a Hall USA. Prison camps, extrajudicial violence, these would be as commonplace in a Hall USA as they would be in a Yockey USA.

Heck, given the TNO-verse, which has the Soviet Union collapse due to following Bukharinist thought, Hall should be even more extreme. The prevailing idea among TNO-verse Communists is that the Lenin NEP the reason that the Soviets failed against the Nazis, so they'd look to purge that sort of weakness from the nation that would cause it to collapse in the face of an ascendant Reich.

I don't know why the writers dropped the ball so spectacularly with Hall. The writers largely found the Hall they want to portray and worked backwards to justify it, ignoring all countervailing evidence, and it's honestly very disappointing. My theory is that there was pushback from his earlier portrayal, which definitely had its problems (the Lavender Scare) , which led them to overcorrect.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King