#with the politics and struggles of a continent that doesnt exist

[phantom-kiwi]

The fun thing about worldbuilding is that every element added to the world comes with approximately a million new questions about how that particular element interacts with everything else around it. The annoying thing about worldbuilding is that every element added to the world comes with approximately a million new questions about how that particular element interacts with everything else around it.

[repl1c4nt]

ffxvi desperately tries to grapple with its identity as a final fantasy game while also trying to be something the series has never been before (m rated game of thronesesque dark fantasy) and honestly i think that internal conflict really is what kills the game most because it is at its best when it sheds its expectations as a final fantasy title and becomes its own thing with gripping political drama and high stakes in a less world-ending way. ultima kills just about all intrigue the story builds up which is especially disappointing because Annabella worked incredibly well as the games primary antagonist.. her and olivier were fumbled severely imo you cant get any cooler than THE! dion lesage having an actual unspoken war with a 10 yo

there was no reason (in my opinion!!!!!!!!!) to bring ultima into the mix and change the stakes so rapidly and drastically. wow this man is being manipulated by his evil cousin fucking wife into dragging the entire continent into a pointless war all while theres disloyalty stirring among the knights dragoon led by his OWN son but its all just ultima. like ok whatever but annabella would have made a vastly more interesting antagonist liek :P but of course it has a long history of intergalatic threats (usually god adjacent) that Should be the antagonists because its what final fantasy is. stakes larger than life, epic battles and flashy effects, i know i keep comparing ffxvi to heavensward, and i generally dont do that when criticizing games but i feel like its warrented for this: how thordan functions as an antagonist and final boss vs ultima

i think the most obvious difference is thordan is there and apparent since the beginning however ultima serves roughly the same purpose as lahabrea the background scheming ever-present force manipulating the game however lahabrea is merely a conduit by which thordan achieves his goal of being the god-king and not the surprise twist antagonist there to shed every character of their interesting appeal. barnabas suffers the most from this being easily the most interesting man here (i struggle to really say id like to see more of barnabas given what we do see of him is.............Well)but no matter what glimpses of his psyche we do get the allure is non existent because hes not a character in any meaningful way hes Just an extra limb to ultima who ultimately serves no narrative purpose besides saying cryptic things and be a boss fight (admittedly his fight is good. maybe the most ive struggled in the game which i mean as a compliment that dps check was brutal barely made it through by the skin of my neck spamming max potions when i could and relying solely on lb haha) where lahabrea acts as the mysterious force pushing the plot along hes only relegated to a dungeon boss as opposed to a trial because narratively it isnt lahabrea who wants this its thordan. its by his own hands that his god king form is achieved he feels like an actual character... barnabas is there to serve vague exposition that only goes barely explained by the end of 16

olivier and annabellas roles as antagonists feel more complete and thought out than the actual main 'villain' which is really disappointing, because any intrigue built by the conflict in Sanbreque is dashed when dion was simply wrong and olivier was ultima the whole time ooooooh

joshuas entire sideplot is relegated to following ultima similar to cloud but with none of the intrigue because we dont know Anything about ultima. hes only introduced to the plot as some vague concept joshua has an unexplained connection to (btw we still dk how/why joshua 'trapped' ultima in his heart/soul/whatever becos. none of it is elaborated on. i tried too i was hoping for an ff7og type hidden revelation if i did jotes side quests too but no....... i looked yall i tried i did

not to mention how joshua survivng kind of killed clives arc for me.. L3+R3 to accept the truth was kind of badass as fuck... too bad it doesnt matter and theres no truth for clive to accept joshua was never dead. clives arcs are perpetually meaningless. internal conflict about this power hes been given that could change the world for the better.. or worse and he could (and has) hurt/killed the ones he loves.. well doesnt matter joshua is alive and ifrit has caused no real harm to people who matter..

i remember talking to my irl, they were going off about fe3h about how the trailers built up political intrigue and expectation that was dashed when it all turned out to be villains behind the curtain manipulating everything with no foreshadowing and yeah... yeah

ultima was so poorly handled to me, nothing about his buildup felt coherent to me and all it did was serve to distract me from what i was genuinely enjoying (dominant political dramas) i really dislike it all.. god i wish there was more, theres a dlc coming out about leviathan, you might have honestly forgotten about leviathan because it was a single line of dialogue with no explanation build up or payoff. if you want to know why joshua namedropped leviathan and then moved on like it never existed pay square enix extra money and hopefully this wont be utter bullshit too lol.

[gascon-en-exil]

a seventeen year old girl thats working from pretty much the highest position of power possible in society teaming up with the same people that caused her percieved problems with society to exist in the first place (and was also behind her abuse and the murders of her siblings) and who was behind the almost genocide of at least two different groups of people in the past and deciding that helping them finish the first attempted genocide they started by declaring war on religion would be the 1/2

best course of action for everybody on the entire continent because she sat down and thought really hard about it one day doesn't really come off as someone unpriviledged struggling against a system of oppression to this anon. it also doesnt make much sense either but thats a whole other can of worms. 2/2

Beats me. Applying social justice rhetoric to Fire Emblem, particularly to its politics, is doomed to failure. This series by and large is about royalty/nobility defending their power and lands from other royalty/nobility with the end result almost inevitably being the same but better now that the obviously evil people and whatever supernatural entities they were in league with are dead. There are narrative variations of course, but that’s the gist of it. CF is a rarity in that you’re actually on the offensive, although that just makes its attempts to make the Empire feel like the underdog in the fight fall flat. 

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

Why Kwanzaa?

1. Because I want a cultural outlet that has the potential to unite all Black people regardless of where they come from. We can all honor our individual and collective history, ancestry, oppressions, cultures, families, and communities during Kwanzaa whether we are Diasporic Africans or Continental Africans.

2. Because every other Black holiday in the US is either too specific (MLK Jr. Day, Juneteenth) or more focused on education than a good time (Black History Month). Nothing wrong with education, but we need both informative holidays and fun ones.

3. Because it's ours and just ours. No one else can come into Kwanzaa and control it. They can barely profit off it. And I know that's part of why other people hate it, because they can't come in and change it's politics, insert their gods into this secular space, copy and paste their cultures and icons, then wrap the whole thing up in a box and sell it back to us for $19.95. And I think that's wonderful.

4. Because no other holiday encourages Black people to learn about Africa's past and present, and fight for its future. We need holidays that remind us that we were living in a rich, diverse continent before we were enslaved and it was colonised. Kwanzaa is the first, and we can and should create more.

5. Because it's cold outside, I want to have fun with my family and eat some good food. But I am neither a believer in the divinity of Christ nor in the inherent consumerism and subtle colonialism of presenting Christmas as a "secular" holiday.

6. Because Kwanzaa specifically reminds us that there is and always will be work to perform for the maintenance of our communities and cultures if we want to not only survive, but thrive.

7. Because we can use Kwanzaa to facilitate a cultural return to Africa. Already we don ankara and learn Swahili for the holiday. But we can make it bigger and do more. We can learn other languages and don other fashions. We can learn other traditions in the continent and diaspora of ancestral reverence. We can try our hands at preparing and eating new foods. We can learn about the different festivals of the continent and diaspora centered around similar themes of history, ancestral reverence, the beginning of a new year, and the honoring of children.

8. Because anything that we decide we don't like about Kwanzaa, we can change. It's OURS, no one elses. We can make it whatever we need it to be.

9. Because let's face it, the backlash isnt really about Karenga or the misinformation surrounding the holiday. If it had been started by Rosa Parks and well publicized so no one thinks obvious facts we always knew were "gotchas" against the validity of the festival, then it would still be hated and despised for daring to be different, apolitical, closed off, and secular.

10. Because we can celebrate it regardless of our religions, while not being prevented from including our faiths. Kwanzaa is secular, but you can include Kwanzaa in how you explore your faith. Do Kwanzaa at your church, mosque, synnagoge, or temple and it's a religious act that only some people can attend. Do it at the MLK Jr. Memorial Community Center and it's something the whole community can attend.

11. Because you can still do 7 days of presents if you really want, and still practice anti-consumerism. The three default kwanzaa presents are books, food, and clothes. You can do 7 days of books and food and clothes if you want. And if your presents can't fit that mold, that's still okay becauae you're encouraged to support Black owned businesses during kwanzaa (and no, Beats by Dre doesn't count). You can also do kwanzaa with no gifts whatsoever. But Kwanzaa should not have you standing in the cold parking lot of the mall at 5am on Black Friday every year.

13. Because it's already tradition, and that tradition is catching on. From school activities to community celebrations, to Kwanzaa Crawl, a lot of Black people have put in effort to keep Kwanzaa in our lives and continue to do so today. It's not a 400 year old tradition, but we have the power to make it so one year at a time. No, it's not the entire Black population, but it doesnt have to be just yet. Everything has to start somewhere, and kwanzaa can start with us.

14. Because kwanzaa is not a racial epithet or stereotype. I get why some people are suspicious when non-black people just assume we celebrate kwanzaa. But the answer isnt to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We don't have to shun and degrade this holiday and everyone that celebrates it. If we did that with everything, then our people wouldn't have anything left. We've already allowed anti-blackness to nearly wipe out our religions, languages, and hairstyles. Imagine if we let it wipe out our music, our cooking, and our sense of fashion? We cannot be so concerned with how others see us that we're willing to discard our identities or marginalize those among us that refuse to assimilate.

15. Because Black people living right now have a lot of despair. If we don't get killed by the state for saying the state shouldn't kill us with impunity, if we aren't unable to vote for the right for the convicted to vote because we are ourselves current and ex-convicted, if we aren't in college because our parents and their parents and their parents could never go, then we're still living in poverty, being manipulated by loan companies that want to force us into situations where we have to torture our bodies for our daily bread. Whether that's in the office, the stores, or the athletic field, they want us out here killing ourselves to earn our right to live. And that's just America. Go anywhere else and you may see people eating mud because there's no food left, living under oppressive regimes more open than the US in their tyranny over their citizens, seeing children struggling to provide for their houses when they should be in school, all the while truly believing that the US is better. Kwanzaa doesn't hide from the uglier sides of our condition, it makes us remember that they exist while invigorating us with a new energy to fight for our people every year.

16. Because Black people living right now have a lot of hope. Remember the global impact Black Panther had on our people. Look at how many Black people in the US are reclaiming our ancestral religions and spiritualities. Think of the new fashion, art, musical and cultural movements we have going right now. Remember the political movements in all of our countries that are recognizing the interconnectedness of our struggles. The hope we're living on right now is exactly the type of hope that kwanzaa is based on fighting for. That's why hope is the final principal of Kwanzaa, called Imani. We celebrate kwanzaa because for a lot of us, that's the only time of the year that we have to truly reflect and see all this hope for all the value it holds.

17. Because kwanzaa reminds us that who we naturally are is enough. Our mothers shouldnt be straightening our hair for a kwanzaa celebration. We shouldnt be demanding that our people talk like white people at a kwanzaa celebration. We don't have to worry about being the first person to grab the watermelon or fried chicken at a kwanzaa celebration. Kwanzaa allows us to be Black, tooth gaps and all. And most importantly, it reminds us that those of our community that would insult and degrade us for being ourselves are fundamentally wrong.

Kwanzaa is not useless. It is not a farce. It is a cultural outlet of the Black community to recognize the inherent validity in our lives. Kwanzaa is the time that we appreciate who we ALL are and how we got here. If we didnt have Kwanzaa, I would sincerely hope that we would create another holiday just like it to remind us that we are more than just victims of slavery, colonialism, and white supremacy without erasing the memories of those that suffered at the hands of those attrocities. Because as long as Black people are living outside of our homelands, and our continent is being destroyed by colonizers and their coups, then Black people are going to need Kwanzaa or something just like it. And ideally, we will always have Kwanzaa AND something just like it.

[theroastedpoosqueery-blog]

On johann and tenma dynamic or something

((@jyuanka so yea i wanted to bounce back on what you were saying but its so long i figured i should make a new post lmao ))

There are so many interesting characters in monster (eva being maybe the first one), but the dynamic between tenma and johann is really whats does the deal for me. Their relationship is what builds the plot, like two poles of a battery that supports the entire story ! and they only met four times !! i love that its so unclear why both of them are so intent on having the other in their line of sight, like their obsession with each other is never really explained and we can only have so many speculations. Since its monster, it cant be something like ‘good tenma absolutely want to destroy johann for world peace”/ “evil johann absolutely want to destroy tenma because hes…evil”.

(you said  you wanted to yell about monster so uh im taking advantage of it lol)

For tenma, we first think that all of this it is to prove his innocence. But the narrative voice shows us several times that this is not the case (grimmer who tells him that he should not go so far just to get his name cleared -> close-up on tenma’s face that darkens and tenma who doesnt answer = tenma does not do that to prove his innocence, theres something else). And frankly who would go that far just for that? Tenma realizes very quickly that destroying johan is,,,more than complicated and that he could lost his life at any point. He could go to a remote part of another continent and rebuild a career as a doctor there, under a new identity, if he wanted to (maybe johann wouldnt let him, but the obsession johann has for tenma is something that the latter understood at the end so he wouldnt know that at the beginning of the series). Nor is it because he has a savior syndrome and he absolutely wants to protect people (orrr well a little lol), because tenma doesnt seem to be interested in politics or in social justice at the beginning of the series. What i mean is that, like everyone, he knows that the world is unfair and that folks are dying because of horrible situations and horrible people (idk like because of the mafia, because of capitalists, because of fascists, because of human trafficking, etc). Like, everyone knows that, and some of us react and actually do things like direct actions, lobbies, associations, politics, or even just talk about it. But Tenma really doesnt seem to be that moved or concerned, hes more the type to be like “whatever. Dont see ? hasnt happened”. Yet when he realizes that its johan who does these things, suddenly it becomes his personal business. Like people always say tenma is the “absolute good” and i really, really disagree.

He has spent his life obeying orders from despotic leaders without ever questioning himself once. He was going to marry a girl who told him that all lives are not equal, ffs! yea she says this when tenma began to think that maybe, maybe, theres something wrong with all this so this sentence shocked him. But you cant tell me that the highly horrible personality of eva is something he wasnt aware of before ! and he was alright with that, because then by marrying her he would secure a brilliant career. He saves a rich person instead of a poor turkish husband, and he have to see his crying widow who tries to punch him to realize that maybe what he did wasnt really okay. And he was past his thirties, so its not a question of “the poor baby didnt knew there was inequality in the world and what he was doing was not nice ! “. He knew, and he chose again and again, for most of his life, to please a corrupt man to promote his career and have a good and safe life. So for me tenma is so, so problematic ! Because Tenma is the sort of man who sees what is wrong, but who chooses not to do anything against it. isnt this kind of people the worst ?? and thats why i love him ! and thats why his radical evolution caused by johann (when he saves the boy, then when he chooses to kill him), is so intriguing.

So yea tenma dont want to destroy johann just so people will be safe or for world peace or wtv  BS -because he spent most of his life not caring about that, or caring but not to the point of getting personally involved. I think little johann is what triggers tenma to do something for the first time of his life. He goes from the guy who sees what is wrong but who doesnt feel like he can react so he just goes with the flow and become as horrible as everyone else, making him worse because he knows thats wrong -> to the guy who chooses, to the guy with an agency who decides to react. Little johan makes tenma becoming a person, its his trigger to personhood. And thats why, after his first encounter with johann, tenma become so different. Imo, the real monster is tenma in the beginning of the series - and johann makes him someone who uses his agency, he renders him human !

So 9 years later, when tenma finds out that the trigger of his humanity is actually the very negation of what is human, it goes ‘bam’ in his brain. We can understand why ! During this 9 years, he had the time to inhabit his new role of “a person with an agency” - he seems so calm, so confident and happy. Hes not the guy who knew that everything was wrong but just followed orders and closed his eyes anymore, he has a personhood and uses his newfound humanity to make the world a better place. He has a sense of purpose and realizes what it is that life is worth living (okay im projecting here lmao). Above all, he thinks that the choice he made (to become a person) is ultimately absolutely good. But then he meet johan for a second time, and actually realizes -wait, so me becoming a person can causes bad things ? was i wrong ? should i have stayed how i was before ?

And then we enter what is the core of Monster : we just follow someone who struggles to define what is being human. Before, like i said, tenma wasnt using his personhood. After johann triggers him to become a person, he basically lives a morally ideal life -save people, be a good person, no headaches of ‘what should i do’. The people who could have forced him to make actual difficult choices (his corrupt chief ) were conveniently dead. Then he met adult-johan, and bam ! so many contradictions. suddenly the answer is not that clear anymore. Then he realizes than with personhood comes the obligation to make dubious moral choices. Because for each choice we make, there are negatives consequences and positives ones, and we have to judge when the positives outcomes prevails on the negatives ones without ever being sure. And i think tenma chasing johan is him refusing this existing situation, is him trying to run away from the negatives consequences of becoming a person. Its him on a quest to know if getting access to personhood is absolutely good, a quest to know if his reason of living is legitimate. He cant think that there are not absolutely good choice, that sometimes the good choice can be to kill someone - or to save them, depending on the situation. There isnt absolute anymore : no real monsters, no real good person. We’re just human who struggles to do what we can. Once you have an agency, you have to take decisions. So for tenma, who basically have never taken decisions to construct himself as a person, his johann-hunting is basically that : hes chasing after his own definition of humanity. Whether he would have choose to kill johan or not, at the end, the manga completed the mission : theres no good choice, only choice you think are the best at one point. If he had chosen to kill johan, he would have chosen to kill someone ; if he had chosen to not kill him, he would have chosen to let someone else die. Whats better ? I am not sure. Personally, i think that if i could kill certain people i would do it, while knowing that this people are humans like me, just raised in different circumstances, because my ideas and my buddies’ lives are worth more than the life of the ones who threatens us : thats my answer of humanity. We alas dont get to see tenma’s answer… but anw. Thats my personal interpretation of what johann makes tenma do lol.

For Johann, the reason for his obsession with tenma is even less clear for me. Why johann wants tenma to understand him, to see him, so badly ? What makes tenma so special ? Johan seems to have a daddy complex, because tenma not the first middle-age man to have the dubious pleasure to be the object of johan desire to show “his” world to someone else. General wolf and schuwald both had to loose everything that was dear to them until they only have johann who then betray them deeply. But these two dont seem to catch the “scenery of the doomsday” so dear to johann ; and yet johann appears to be convinced that tenma can (and so that tenma is the one who should kill him). Why is that ? Why tenma is so different than wolfe and schuwald ?

I have numerous ideas but not one that convinced me too much. The first one would be how their first encounter resonates with them both and had the same effect of ‘triggering their humanity’. I already explained why i think johann is tenma’s personhood trigger. I also think tenma is johann’ trigger to humanity. Its kind of simple : tenma is the first one to show him that human could be good. Tenma saves him and risk his career without ulterior motives (or at least material motives, because like i said there were many philosophical and psychological stakes for tenma). For johann, who never knew that humans could be like that because his childhood environment was kind of,,not good, and who is still young enough to be impressionable, it could be enough to be interested in what tenma has to offer if he were to play with him. That plus the fact that he has deep parental issues and tenma is, like he said, a “second father” to him, so maybe he acts like a child would with his dad (in his twisted way), or rather with his god -tenma who creates him, tenma who destroys him. But i think its too emotional for johann.

Other idea : johann, being this prodigy, understand exactly what is tenma situation while saving him and his philosophical questions -lets keep in mind that tenma talks to johan often whil the boy is in a coma. He understands that tenma chooses ultimately *personhood* over everything that could make his life easy. And tenma’s answer is exactly the opposite of johann's way of seeing life, since johann chooses again and again to negate humanity. So he wants to destroy tenma’s philosophy, destroy tenma sense of what is being human : he creates the perfect life for tenma, wait for tenma to be really at ease with his situation, then slowly destroy everything until tenma would be forced to recognize the superiority of johann’ response. I really think johann is prepared to die just to win his mind game with tenma lmao, he’s that much of a sore loser.

Other theory, who dont necessarily conflicts with the others ones, its that johann didnt plan to make tenma this important in his life. He at first intended to do to tenma the same thing he had done to schuwald and wolfe, with maybe more sentiments knowing tenma was his second father and everything. But what changed his plan was tenma reactions. I dont think johann thought that tenma will go all lone ranger in the arizona forest to train to become a killer spy lmao, and when he saw that, he was like ‘oh funny’ (lets keep in mind that during the first half of the series, while he still thinks he was the one in the red rose mansion, johann is basically just playing a nihilistic game and dont put that much valor into anything). Maybe he became attached to him (whatever sort of attachment you headcanon), which was kind of a novelty to him since he didnt have any feelings toward anyone until then -his sister was himself and he was his sister, i dont think johann ever understand that nina was her own person until the end so feelings toward his sister doesnt count- and he was unsettled enough to want to keep tenma at hand. Like each time i see the schuwald arc im lmfao, when johan is all like little devilish smiles and sidelong glances each time he knows (how? no idea, he must have super powers at this point really) tenma is watching him like how much of an act it is ?? theres no reason for johann to do this ‘hihi cant catch me hellooo ;D ;D’ except being a drama queen. Which he is. so yea i cant help but wonder why he is acting this funny towards tenma lol

Or maybe johann never succeeded in negating his own humanity and ultimately couldnt bear to truly erase his own existence at the end, so he wanted someone to remember him to have a chance to live at least once -because johann understood that what makes us be is to make other people witness your existence. Tenma was the ideal candidate he stumbled upon -his sister being out of play since she was himself so not a true external witness and everyone else being too,, afraid of him or too under his charm to do anything.

AAAh so many ideas !! what is sure is that tenma is johann most important person and conversely. And since they met so infrequently the fandom has a highway to imagine other interactions. please people imagine other johan/tenma interactions. please im dying i dont understand these russian fics at all

So anyway sorry for this loooong ass post that nobody is going to read !! i just,,,,,,,,,,love monster,,,,,,,,,so much

[swipestream]

New Release Roundup, 16 February 2019: Fantasy and Adventure

This week’s roundup of the newest releases in fantasy and adventure features unlikely dark lords, casteless rebels armies, a collector of magic swords, and an assassin collective waging war against the powerful.

The Dark Lord Bert – Chris Fox

How does a 1-hit-point goblin become the Dark Lord?

By accident. Bert is a tiny goblin with big dreams. He follows adventurers, and loots the copper they leave behind when they take the real loot. One day, Bert hopes, he’ll have enough copper to buy a warg, and finally promote from a 1-HP critter to a Warg Rider.

Kit is a typical gamer hoping to enjoy a good story, but her friends are more interested in rules, loot and experience. Kit’s friends Crotchshot, Brakestuff, and the White Necromancer rampage their way across the land desperately seeking the Dark Lord trope, which gives the wielder the power to reshape the world.

When Bert accidentally steals the trope, Kit is forced to make a choice. Should she help her friends, or help a new Dark Lord rise to power?

The world will never be the same. Get ready for The Dark Lord Bert.

Duel Visions – Misha Burnett and Louise Sorensen  

Is Death a dog or a cat? Would it be worse to be turned into a pig or a fish? After we die do we become characters in a movie, or parts for an old truck?

Weird fictioneers Misha Burnett and Louise Sorensen explore the dark depths of the human psyche across ten spine-tingling tales of terror and macabre.

The haunted visions these dueling tale-tellers have conjured find all the horrors that go bump in the night and make them dance for your delight… before drawing you down into the depths to join them.

We cordially invite you to share in our Duel Visions!

Heart of the Forest – Michael DeAngelo

Kelvin has left his country behind. His mentor, the elf Icarus Callatuil, has prepared him for a journey to Draconis, where old allies will be able to better train him for the hardships he is sure to endure in his life. But when he arrives on those distant shores, he discovers that the elves of Cefen’adiel may need him as much as he needs them.

A darkness arises in the forest in southern Daltain, and Tarenda, queen of the elves, decides that a stranger to the lands such as Kelvin can better serve their purposes as an investigator.

What will Kelvin do when he must trade his training exercises for real dangers?

House of Assassins (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior #2)  – Larry Correia

Ashok Vadal was once a member of the highest caste in all of Lok. As a Protector, he devoted his life to upholding the Law, rooting out those who still practiced the old ways and delivering swift justice with his ancestor blade Angruvadal. None was more merciless than he in stamping out the lingering belief in gods and demons among the casteless. His brutality was legendary and celebrated.

But soon Ashok learned that his life to that point had been a lie. He himself, senior member of the Protector Order, was casteless. He had been nothing more than an unwitting pawn in a political game. His world turned upside down and finding himself on the wrong side of the Law, he began a campaign of rebellion, war, and destruction unlike any Lok had ever seen.

Thera had been first daughter of Vane. A member of the Warrior Order, she had spent her life training for combat. Until a strange sight in the heavens appeared one day. Thera was struck by lighting and from that day forward she heard the Voice. A reluctant prophet with the power to see into the future, she fought alongside Ashok Vadal and his company of men known as the Sons of the Black Sword until a shapeshifting wizard with designs on her powers of precognition spirited her away. He holds her prisoner in the House of Assassins.

Ashok Vadal and the Sons of the Black Sword march to rescue Thera. But there is much more at risk in the continent of Lok. Strange forces are working behind the scenes. Ashok Vadal and the Sons of the Black Sword are caught up in a game they do not fully understand, with powerful forces allied against them.

Ashok no longer knows what to believe. He is beginning to think perhaps the gods really do exist.

If so, he’s warned them to stay out of his way.

They would do well to listen.

Into the Light (Axe Druid #1) – Christopher Johns

A tight-knit group of buddy gamers. A relentless galactic conqueror. One big ol’ axe and a whole bag of magic.

Chris and his friends had been hearing voices begging for help, but aren’t dreams supposed to stay dreams? When they finally answer the call, they’re pulled into a fantastic world with themes similar to modern role-playing games. The world of Brindolla. This is what every gamer has always wanted… right?

There’s one major problem: War. The big baddie of the universe has come to collect another planet for his relentless march. The Brindollan Gods only have the power to hold him back for a short while, which they can only hope will be long enough to give Chris and his buddies a fighting chance. Either this team gets rid of War’s vanguard of minions and generals, giving the Gods a chance to keep him out for good… or War comes for Earth.

The group is ready to dive into combat, magic, and any other obstacles that come their way. No matter what needs to be done, Chris and his buddies will always do it together.

The Killer Collective – Barry Eisler

When a joint FBI–Seattle Police investigation of an international child pornography ring gets too close to certain powerful people, sex-crimes detective Livia Lone becomes the target of a hit that barely goes awry—a hit that had been offered to John Rain, a retired specialist in “natural causes.”

Suspecting the FBI itself was behind the attack, Livia reaches out to former Marine sniper Dox. Together, they assemble an ad hoc group to identify and neutralize the threat. There’s Rain. Rain’s estranged lover, Mossad agent and honeytrap specialist Delilah. And black ops soldiers Ben Treven and Daniel Larison, along with their former commander, SpecOps legend Colonel Scot “Hort” Horton.

Moving from Japan to Seattle to DC to Paris, the group fights a series of interlocking conspiracies, each edging closer and closer to the highest levels of the US government.

With uncertain loyalties, conflicting agendas, and smoldering romantic entanglements, these operators will have a hard time forming a team. But in a match as uneven as this one, a collective of killers might be even better.

Power Forged (Chaos and Retribution #6) – Eric T. Knight

The three young heroes are defeated. The Devourers have the key. All is lost…

Except that something is missing. The key doesn’t work. The Dragon Queen is still trapped.

With help from an unlikely source, Fen, Karliss and Aislin escape. If they can get to the last piece before the Devourers do, they might still stop them. There’s just one problem…

Only Othen, a Shaper unlike any of the others, knows where it is, and he hasn’t been seen in centuries. Pursued relentlessly by demonic creatures summoned from the Abyss, the three heroes set out on a desperate quest to find the final piece and stop the Queen before she devours their world.

Shadows Within the Flame (The Elder Stones Saga #2) – D.K. Holmberg

The Forgers proved to be only part of a greater plan to gain the power of the stones, remnants from powerful beings lost to time. Their power has never been controlled by one person but now someone is close to changing that.

Having survived the last attack, Haern trains, working with the assassin Galen to hone his skills, learning about poisons and how to best use his control over metal. When he becomes the target of another attack, he must discover what the Forgers plan before it’s too late. His father might be the key to Haern’s understanding, but the more he learns about what his father has done, the less Haern wants to follow in his footsteps.

As Lucy struggles to control her new power, she’s asked to help find the depth of the C’than betrayal. It requires her to learn more about her new abilities and exposes her to dangers she had never imagined. She’s not a fighter, but she must find strength within her to ensure the safety of those she cares about.

While staying with Lucy, Daniel hopes she will eventually come to see him the way he sees her. He trains, realizing that despite everything he learned of fighting, he’s still a novice. He needs to improve his skill to protect Lucy, but saving her might require more than his ability with the sword; it will require his mind.

The stones must be protected from those who would use them for their own dark purpose, but another has maneuvered for decades, and it might already be too late to prevent the stones from falling into the wrong hands.

Six Sacred Swords (Weapons and Wielders #1) – Andrew Rowe

It doesn’t take a legendary sword to make a legendary swordsman, but it certainly helps.

Keras Selyrian is already well on the way to cutting his name into the annals of legend. He’s fought false divinities, thieving sorcerers, and corrupt demigods — and left them defeated in his wake. But he’s a long way from home, and Kaldwyn offers a different brand of danger than he’s used to.

He’s already got a sword of unfathomable power, but it’s damaged and leaking world-annihilating mana, so he’s in the market for a new one.

Possibly six. The more the better, really.

The Six Sacred Swords are Kaldwyn’s most famous artifacts, forged as the only means to defeat the god beasts. Each sword must be earned by a worthy champion, and no single person has ever managed to collect them all.

Not yet, at least.

Keras is just getting started.

Shield Knight: Rhodruthain – Jonathan Moeller

For fifteen thousand years, the Guardian Rhodruthain has protected the world from the power of the Well of Storms.

But the quest of the Seven Swords threatens to unlock the destructive power of the Well.

And unless Rhodruthain can defeat the shadows in his own mind, not even the Shield Knight and the Keeper will be able to save him…

New Release Roundup, 16 February 2019: Fantasy and Adventure published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[isaacathom]

anyway, the east, right. came out of the Collision pretty alright. some minor chaos, bunch of shit got a ll fucky, a whole big city got completely fucked, but overall pretty ok. and then it booms, completely booms, especially once connections between the human plane and elven plane are built. regions that could not previously be explored now can be, and that entire region booms. the “new” elven capital on the eastern coast is positively booming with traffic and trade with their human neighbours. everything is pretty alright.

then the Separation happens, and the planes are torn apart.

there were likely only two countries on that part of the continent - the human one, encompassing some 3/4 of the land, and the elven one in the east, encorpating the length of the eastern coast. this was fine for all involved, for the most part. minor squabbles over the extent of the elven holdings were common, but usually resolved peacefully. everyone was fine.

but with the separation, that changed. for starters, most of the prominent leaders of the human country were in the elven plane for a sort of ‘high council’ at the time, and were thus stranded. those who had stayed behind to ‘hold down the fort’ were largely unequipped or unqualified to hold total power in their absence, and the human kingdom quickly collapsed. at least one military government was established in an attempt to wrangle control out of an angry populace. the elves to the east were particularly distressed due to the loss of access to their homeland (ancestral or otherwise), and while their country did not collapse, it was rocked. their distress turned outwards, and soon they took advantage of the scattered human kingdom to conquer additional land. because, well, the elven country simply wasnt equipped to handle as many people as it now found itself having. it had been a country, yes, and had permanent residents, but they were few. it was esentially an extra-planar extension of an existing elven kingdom, and it was more of a lookout or small base than an actual Thing. but now it had to be as such. and so it rapidly expanded in an effort to occupy its restless citizens, and to gain resourcs and land for them.

a lot was happening to the human kingdom. a new one popped up in the north north-west, which protected it for a time from elven advancement. it slowly brought stability to its surrounds, though it notably did not include the military government which had been established not far south, which claimed to be the direct successor to the previous kingdom. a number of centrally located towns folded into either the military or the elves with little struggle, except when their borders collided. the northern kingdom managed to secure peace with the elves, though remained at war with the junta, who spread futher south and clashed with the elves repeatedly. 

to emphasise their legitimacy, the junta re-estbalished the monarchy and based it out of a centrally located city, though far further south than the previous capital. the monarchy was technically in control, but all knew the junta was in power. their first monarch, in fact, was a respected former military commander, to connect both sides together.

more splinters emerged. human towns which had folded into the elven country began to reach out to each other and find solidarity, and many considered exiting and forming their own nation. and they did! it was fairly short lived, being quickly subsumed into the northern kingdom, but it was, for a time, wholly independent of its surrounds.

all land was now practically claimed. control over the north-south border became fierce, with the north boasting superior unity and the south boasting a stronger military (of course!). both claimed to be the legitimate successor to the human kingdom. itsa lot of fun.

what the northern kingdom has an advantage is the peace with the elves. the two join forces to push the southerners further south, before peace is brokered between all three parties. the north and east divide the winnings accordingly, to essentially give the elves the entirety of the eastern ranges and their immediate surrounds, and all parties mostly go on their way.

peace is uneasy. individual towns and groups defect to whichever country they find the most righteous or legitimate or so forth, and their border is chaotic. many humans who find themselves under elven rule spill out of their territory in droves, and its just. a Huuuuuge fucking mess. an absolute mess.

while all this occurs, the west remains steadfast. having only sent minor representatives to the “high council”, due to their isolationism/non-interventionist stuff, and also just not giving a fuck, they were not deeply affected by the Separation from a leadership stance. they end us accepting a large amount of refugees from all sides of the conflict, much to their dismay, but they agree to look after them provided they pull their weight, which many do. in fact, theres growing feelings that the west is the strongest power in the region, and could easily claim the other side of the strait for itself. it does not do so. however, it does claim a great many islands dotted off the coast of itself and the northern and southern kingdoms. said islands were largely forgotten or ignored in the greater conflict, and many willingly + peacefully become western. this becomes an issue later, because noone decided to tell the south that this was the case. the southern govt had largely assumed the islands of the coast were still theres.

a minor war likely breaks out over ownership of the islands, to which the west quickly wins. its not really a contest. in proving the point, it clearly establishes its control of the northern islands as well, which the northern kingdom concedes without fuss.

this basically functions. the issue for me now is to tie the northern nobility back into the southern. likely what occurs is that, in ensuing decades, peace is brought between the two monarchies through strategic marriage. the junta dissolves after a while as well, after the wars stop. its not needed. it simply folds back into being the southern military, though it has a huge presence, regardless of its actual size. even though the elven military is likely far larger, it just isnt as pervasive an institution culturally.

this actually ties in well (and unintentionally, haha!) with Warzen’s backstory, and how his noble ‘father’ was going to force him into the military to ‘earn his place’ in the family. the intrinsic tie between southern nobility and the military works even better for this, since i basically imagined that warzen’s family became rich/noble through military connections and were likely involved in like..... profiteering or production or smuggling/sales or some shit, you feel me? war as business stuff. works well for the south as junta into monarchy. i dig that.

AND!! the north being allied with the elves early on (though they did likely clash a few times to start and have some disagreements over borders) also helps to explain “Noverhamptons” notable elven diaspora. theyre friends! it makes sense for elves to perhaps move to the north for some reason. the same is not largely true of the south.

whiiiiich makes the one elven noble (he married in) even BETTER for warzens backstory too, since him being an elf means hes a little bit outcast for the noble circles, leading him to bond easily with the young Warzen. oh fuck me lads its Perfect shit. ohhhhh baby. thats what i like. when the pieces align just so! <3 hell yea man

so tl;dr three countries total - west, central, east/elf. central collapses during the Separation due to lost leadership and general pandemonium. splits into two major powers - a northern kingdom likely centered around a notable aristocrat, and a southern military junta which claims the entirety of Central. the south later establishes a monarchy under an ex-leader to “increase legitimacy”. the elves expand their borders westward out of a combo Huge Distress and need for land and resources to deal with the stranded elven populace. war breaks out between all three. the elves and north make an agreement and broker peace, and they later unite to put the south in its place. uneasy peace is achieved, though the north/south border and south/east borders remain tense and have issues all the time. much of the north/south tension is resolved through a collection of strategic marriages between the two monarchies, making both sort of the same thing. sort of fixes the issue. the two become more friendly. the south remains distrustful generally of the elven east.

the west is just chilling out. takes a bunch of Central refugees and a few Easterners, and it also claims a fuck ton of islands off the coast of both north and south. partly because they can and also because theyve been ignored during the whole crisis and kinda need help. west just swoops in. easy victory. minor war with the south about it where the south just gets fucked.

the southern loss to the west is probably the final nail in the junta as the total control holders in the south, and thus it transitions into the monarchy being in the big. probably.

honestly im mostly cool if the south has an elected govt instead of a kingdom, for some variety, since the nobles can still definitely exist under it. does sort of undermine the idea of the political union via marriage, which i think works well. since the common man p much doesnt give as much of a shit, and its the upper class that cares. could easily marry lesser royalty from the north into southern noble/political families. these all work. happy to look at that in more depth later, you feel me?

but yea! fucking nice!

[vitalmindandbody]

Fake news is bad. But phony record is even worse | Natalie Nougayrede

Strongmen are rewriting the past to suit their intentions, but republics arent immune either, writes Guardian columnist Natalie Nougayrde

On 22 July, the Hungarian “ministers ” Viktor Orbn stood before university students and delivered a speech designation Will Europe belong to Europeans? It contained jogging texts about how a Soros plan was in place to bring in hundreds of thousands of migrants every year if possible, a million to the territory of the European Union from the Muslim world. The intent was to transform the continent into a brand-new, Islamised Europe. This, Orbn insisted, was what lay behind Brussels continuous and stealthy withdrawal of strengths from the national states. Orbn has form when it comes to this kind of paranoid image. Hes an authoritarian populist who has made a habit of rekindling xenophobia and anti-Muslim sentimentality. He eagerly enlarges far-right scheme beliefs about the Christian majority being threatened by demographic replacing. His word isnt precisely forgery word about the current, however. It comes laced with historic distortion.

Not since the treaty of Trianon, he gloated, has our society been as close as it is today to regaining its confidence and vitality a reference to the post-first world war convention that deprived Hungary of two-thirds of its territory. Orbns steering theory is that Hungary must seek redress for historical humiliations. The prompting is that, as his government confrontations with the EU on movement quotums, it is avenging grievances sprung in the 20 th century. Orbns manipulations going any further, and commit absolutely rewriting dark chapters of the past. Hes on the record as telling Mikls Horthy, the Hungarian captain who cooperated with the Nazis, was an exceptional statesman.

Of course, hes not alone in twisting record to further his political goals. In Recep Tayyip Erdoans Turkey, school volumes have been modified to de-emphasise Ataturk, the founder of the secular republic. Its all part of an effort to change that gift and extol the Ottoman past, as Erdoan carves out ever more superpowers for himself.

Controlling memory is at the heart of the Putin regime in Russia. Not only has Stalin been rehabilitated, with new shrines built to honour him throughout the country, but historians and human rights activists who work to document Stalinist crime have come under political pressing. Some, like Yury Dmitriyev, have been tried on trumped-up bills. And rewriting the Soviet past doesnt merely serve domestic political intents. Belying the offences of Soviet position in center and eastern Europe, and excusing the MolotovRibbentrop pact with the Nazis, offer justification for Moscow reclaiming its zone of influence.

Donald Trump gives a communication in Warsaw. Image: Petr David Josek/ AP

In Xi Jinpings China, any mention of the repugnances of the Cultural Revolution or of the Tiananmen square murder is stamped out because its seen as certain challenges to Communist party rule. Collective amnesia is what the existing regime attempt on issues that risk eroding greater legitimacy. Its not enough to hurl dissenters in prison or censor knowledge; the past is purged.

And while its inviting to repute the rewriting of record is something observed exclusively in illiberal or tyrannical organizations, it has increasingly become a feature of democracies. Donald Trumps speech in Warsaw last month strove to cast Polands historical struggle for freedom and liberty as a civilisational combat for clas qualities, tradition and God, rather than an aspiration to democracy. The narrative wholly left out of the rich and went political tapestry that gave rise to the solidarity move. In a unusual turn, Trump also reaped a similarity between the threat Islamist terrorism constitutes to the west and the danger of being subjected to bureaucracy and regulation. His nativist eyesight of the west as an embattled fortress of Christian societies in culture jeopardy manifested is not simply a personal political credo, but a wider is making an effort to rewrite the history of liberal republics and the principles they are meant to uphold.

In Britain, Brexiteers have proven willing to supply their own version of record. Nostalgia for the working day of empire and their swashbuckling spirit comes accompanied with the mantra that the European project was a tyrannical straitjacket all along. Britain never had a say in anything the EU ended, and now it has the opportunity to free itself, so the fib departs. Never thoughts that Britain was at the counter, a full and influential is part of a team its citizens and its economy have benefited from. Extremism adapts not only the sensing of existing realities( as mediations limp forwards ), it also adapts the past to suit one set of beliefs.

George Orwells 1984 contains a well-known word about record and the great importance: He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past. We obsess rightly about the impact of imitation information, but todays nationalist furies has become even more deeply rooted in the bia of biography, which citizens in many countries lap up despite the fact “its by” poison. The past has always been a battleground. The 20 th century proved to what extremes country controller over remember could go. Primo Levi, who experienced the nightmare of Nazi concentration camps, formerly wrote that the entire biography of the Reich can be re-read as a crusade against memory.

One of the backings of living in a republic is that researchers, students, writers and citizens at large can all access the past without having to subject themselves to any form of centralised, censoring see. The philosopher Tzvetan Todorov has described this as one of “the worlds largest” inalienable impunities, alongside the freedom to speculate and express oneself. Yet the security of recall in democratic civilizations may not be as assured as we recollect. Some legislators want to lead us in a procession towards forgetfulness. But that acces lies a nature of senselessness and treachery. Learning about biography, and being able to question some of the narratives advanced in the name of politics is as important as knowing where to get reliable information. Can record save us from ourselves? questioned the historian Timothy Snyder at a recent conference on the national states and the many deceits legislators attach to it. Perhaps it can.

Natalie Nougayrde is a Guardian leader novelist, correspondent and foreign affairs commentator

Read more: www.theguardian.com

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