#wipe out legions of evil spirits | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mrneighbourlove · 3 years

Text

A King to a God: Chapter 1. Change in the Wind (Preview for Ganzine)

Preview and first chapter for my full entry for the @ganzine2020. What would happen to Ganondorf if he had won outright against Zelda and Link at the end of Ocarina of Time? How would the events and antagonist of Majora’s Mask effect him? Find out in “A King to a God”. I hope that you enjoy this first chapter and consider contributing towards the Zine and its charity to have early access to the full story. My favourite and best work yet I feel.

Lightning snapped against the blackened sky, illuminating the landscape in bursts of flashes. Fire crackled and spat wildly, shuddering with each step the mighty figure took. A roar thundered out, and clash of metal echoed far. Amidst this battlefield stood a man in green, battered and bloody. His courage was faltering. A princess stood not too far. Her wisdom unable to help her. And towering above the man, a monster with a red mane snarled down at him. His power burned and he felt victory beat like a drum. With one last swing, the beast threw his sword at the man in green. A sickening slice grated against the ground, the man falling to his hands and knees. A mighty roar filled the air, overtaking the scream of the princess. This day, Ganon, King of Darkness, had won.

His hand glowed with the Triforce of Power as he reached down to the boy known as Link. He could feel the boy’s life drain as he pulled the light from him. It was like a toggle being brought down when Ganon took the Triforce of Courage from Link. The Hylian’s heart stopped as soon as the Triforce transferred to the mighty King. Ganon felt a surge of strength flow through him. It appeared as if fate favoured him this day, as a beam of light struck him from behind. It burned his flesh, but due to the mighty magic of the Triforce of Courage, Ganon persevered against the magical attack. Raising an open hand, the King of Darkness opened fire a beam of malice at his attacker, entrapping Princess Zelda in a wave of pain.

The Princess’ body bled from the attack, as the darkness attacked her physically and mentally. She fought with all her will, but it was too late. Her body succumbed, and she felt the Triforce of Wisdom leave her. The King of Evil merely had to will the last of his treasure to him in her weakened state. Clenching his fist, Ganon felt the last piece of the Triforce enter his being. Waves of energy rippled through his body, and the King of Darkness felt a state of nirvana. After all his sacrifices, he finally felt true, unlimited power.

Zelda screamed in fury, using every fiber in her being to stand. Both hers and Link’s efforts couldn’t end like this. She’d drain her own lifeforce if it meant killing Ganon. Channeling all her spirit, she unleashed all the holy magic of the gods she could.

To Ganon, her effort was useless. He countered with his blast of darkness. His own newly acquired power was overwhelming, a surprise to even him, and his attack devastated Zelda, overcoming her final assault and erasing her from the world.

All that remained was the broken body of the boy in green, the seared scar lines in the earth of where the princess had once stood and standing in the middle of the battle field was Ganon, Master of the World.

The sages looked onward, but knew they could do nothing. They would need to evacuate before Ganon sent his minions into the sacred realm. Nabooru looked to what was once the man known as Ganondorf. Even if he took human form again, and took the title of Ganondorf, she knew that the darkness that was in Ganondorf’s soul had forever changed him. Gathering with the others, she and the rest of the sages decided to formulate a plan of resistance in order to give the world sanctuary from Ganon’s evil. With Zelda gone, they had lost their leader and the power needed to seal Ganon away.

Looking around, the mighty Ganon felt the air change. The only bloodlust he felt came from within him, but it was slowly dying down.

In his mind, the man and the beast conversed. The Beast promised unlimited power, so long as it remained in control. It’s malice and terrifying might could bring the world to its knees faster, in the name of Ganon. The man, still in control, gave it a thought, yet ultimately, decided against it. He would be the face of the world, and not this beast.

Squeezing his fist, the dark beast used the power of the Triforce and his body glowed with a powerful light. The silhouette of his form shrunk and, out from the blinding light, Ganondorf emerged anew.

He was surprised to still have his scars from previous battles, despite acquiring his complete power. With a clenched fist, Ganondorf took a deep breath and, following an exhale, his body relaxed. The King of the Gerudo looked to where Zelda stood her final ground. “A shame Zelda. You could have been my queen for this world had you shared my vision. You were formidable, but not wise enough in your scheming to defeat me.”

The man turned to the body of Link and judged his formidable adversary. “And you… well boy, you did well. I can relinquish a little pride to admit that you almost had me. But in the end, you fell. You were nothing but a kid after all, playing with toys too much for you. It was inevitable that you would die at my hands. My struggles far surpassed yours after all. And you lacked the vision to ever kill me.”

Ganondorf glanced back and forth between Link and where Zelda once was. “You had strength, and the princess held vision. But I was the one to have both. I was the one to be perfectly balanced… No.” The King looked down at his hand, watching the glow of the Triforce with a twinkle of pride in his eyes. “I wasn’t before. My mind was clouded with power. Now that I hold the last two pieces, I know what I must do. This world will find peace and prosperity under my singular rule.”

Ganondorf walked by the ruins of his destroyed tower. Perhaps a palace could be constructed to replace it. “First, I bring a final order to Hyrule. Then, I will march onto the world. They might call me King of Evil, but I am the King they will deserve.”

The King of Darkness lifted his hand and commanded the Triforce to enhance his magical might. With this new power he could raise entire armies of monsters to follow his command. From the shadows, Ganondorf willed into creation artificial Moblins and undead Stalfos. In time, he’d train legions of Darknuts and Iron Knuckles as his vanguard. Monsters and dragons would spread fear to his enemies. However, for now, these simple monsters would do.

“All of you, get to work on raising my palace anew. A king such as I will need a throne.” For now, Ganondorf lifted a stone slab from the earth to sit down upon. As his minions immediately set out to collect and carve away stone slabs, Ganondorf thought about what he wanted and why he had set out to acquire his power in the first place.

His people, the Gerudo, toiled in the desert. They had to steal just to survive the heat of the land in the day, and the blistering cold of the night. So why did a land like Hyrule, full of ungrateful slobs, have such comfort? It maddened Ganondorf, filling him with greed and envy. His enemies called him the King of Thieves, but he justified his actions well enough. He needed power, the kind of power that would raise him and his people to prosperity. And as he began his quest, he came to the most logical conclusion. The world needed a singular will, a being who would be willing to make others sacrifice to bring everyone together. By becoming King, he could make a world united under his protection. As King, he’d bring peace and security to people like the Gerudo. If any resisted, then they’d be wiped away, making room for only those who would accept his utopia.

The Goron, the Zora, and the Great Deku Tree had resisted seven years ago, what with them being blinded by their loyalty to the royal family. Had they simply given the spiritual stones to him, he’d have spared them. But instead they spat in the face of the Great Ganondorf. That was the last mistake they’d ever made. Feeding the Goron to a dragon had amused Ganondorf, similar to how he had fed crickets to the desert scorpions as a child. The Zora would remain frozen now that he had defeated the Princess and her little ‘hero’. As for the Kokiri, Ganondorf considered sending a horde of monsters to wipe them out. He carefully thought over the option, finally deciding the wiser course of action might be to give them one more chance as citizens of his new empire. The surviving Goron tribe, if they hadn’t grown a back bone, would become slaves. Every empire needs strong labour after all.

But his own people … Ganondorf winced just thinking about what to do with them. Nabooru, his second in command, was supposed to lead the Gerudo in his absence. Yet, she had stabbed him behind his back. He had caught her treachery over seven years ago, but her freedom at the hands of the hero had set her loose in the world and free to plot against him. How many of the other Gerudo could be wishing to see him fall? The king squeezed his hands on the cloth above his knees. Taking a deep breath, he shook his paranoia away. Even neglected, his people still adored him. Any negative feelings they’d have toward him would be erased once he moved them out of the desert. Nabooru was simply a virus, an isolated incident. A mistake of putting too much trust in one person, one that he’d never fall for again.

“I’m so tired…” Ganondorf gave a light chuckle. In the seven years looking for the Triforce, he had barely slept. Now, he felt like he could take a moment to breathe. Pulling himself slowly upright, Ganondorf decided his first course of action would be to raid the lost woods to secure wood for building supplies. He could at least build himself a new bed. For the time being, he’d settle his eyes on Kakariko Village. His minions would clear out the inhabitants so he could have a safe night’s sleep.

As Ganondorf slowly walked out of the ruins of his crumbled tower, he took note of the environment around him. The winds of Hyrule that he coveted were still. Why did the wind not blow in his direction this day, on the finality of his victory? Was fate not satisfied with him just yet?

The Sacred Grove was devastated. A group of Hylians made their last stand in defending the Kokiri and evacuating the defenseless. From all sides, monsters and spirits of evil intent swept through the undergrowth, overtaking all who fought against the enemies of the Great Ganondorf. They killed everyone from soldiers to civilians who came to aid the evacuation and bring comfort to the forest children.

One of those who escaped the carnage was a single Imp. The Skull Kid, the last of the Skull Children, rose from a pile of shrubbery. His head was aching like nothing he felt before. His feet shook as he tried to pick himself up. Why did everything hurt? How had he gotten here? What had happened to him? How could he -

Slowly, Skull Kid started to recall the events of the previous two weeks. He remembered finding Link’s body floating down a moat towards Zora river; the fairy boy who showed him kindness when only one other would. The Hylian kid had even gave him a new face to wear in the form of that cool skull mask. When Ganondorf first appeared and declared himself as King of Hyrule, no more fairies came from the Great Deku Tree. Skull Kid hadn’t seen any fairies nor Link for seven years. Link said he was going to put a stop to Ganondorf, that he was going to make up for the loss of those seven years. But now Link was dead.

With Link gone, Skull Kid remembered Saria telling him to keep an eye out for monsters. He didn’t want to, as a happy looking man was giving out masks to the Kokiri. It looked like fun and he wanted to join in. It was then that Skull Kid had been suddenly attacked by a Poe, which smashed its lantern against his head. If it wasn’t for the mask he wore taking the brunt of the force, his head would have cracked open instead. The Skull Kid heard the sounds of screaming in the distance before he lost his vision.

Skull Kid didn’t know what to do. His head wouldn’t stop hurting, and every time he reached with his hand to touch it, he felt a stickiness on his forehead. Why did his head feel wet and sticky? The imp stumbled past the hacked-up pieces of other Skull Children when he stopped in his tracks. Among the bodies was the still image of a girl with green hair. “S-saria? Saria, are you-!”

She only had one wound, a small red circle that stained her green sweater. A single spear thrust was what fate had dealt her for her ending on this earth. Her eyes were like a glass doll’s, looking longingly into the distance. Immediate guilt hit Skull Kid. He couldn’t protect the last good thing in this world that mattered to him. His friends were dead.

“Oh……… I guess you’re gone now.” Skull Kid reached out to feel her face. Cold. Someone as kind as her shouldn’t be so cold. His body started to shake as he felt emotion leak from his shattered heart. What was the point of living in a world like this? Ganondorf was going to take everything for himself. Make a world of cruelty. The world had shown him cruelty before Ganondorf had come along, so Skull Kid assumed it was only fitting.

A gust of wind from the north caught Skull Kid’s fragile attention. Feeling the cool air hurt his head wound. He needed a new ‘face’ now that the one Link had given him was gone. Stumbling away from Saria, he came across another body. The Happy Man who was giving away masks to the children laid dead on the forest floor. He had his giant backpack still on him, with masks thrown about everywhere around him. One of Skull Kid’s eyes grew dark as the liquid from his forehead dripped down over it.

Skull Kid wanted the perfect face. He wanted to put all his worries behind him. Going through the bag, he felt a pull towards something. Discarding the faces useless to him one after the other, the Skull Kid eventually found the perfect mask. Wiping away his eye to see, he looked into the eyes of a heart shaped mask. This was it. This was what he wanted. What’s more, he felt he needed it.

He carefully turned it around, and placed it on his head. The mask was a perfect fit. As soon as he put it on, Skull Kid giggled to himself. This giggle turned into a laugh. His mind was clear, and he knew exactly what he wanted. This cruel world took the things that mattered to him, and it wanted to give a monster like Ganondorf everything in return. Such a world didn’t deserve to exist, and Ganondorf deserved the suffering tenfold that Skull Kid had faced. The Mask’s eyes gave an eerie glow, and with the last of Skull Kid’s laughter, it vowed to give the King of Evil a new taste of terror.

#Ganzine #Ganondorf #Skull Kid #Majora's Mask #Mini Novel

9 notes · View notes

simplysoriya · 4 years

Text

To Have Waited So Long...

{Following Vale of Eternal Nightmare Pt.2 & Qwor wgah za kaaxth }

The sun dipped below soaring peaks; unbothered by the conflict that raged below it, perhaps the only thing that remained untouched. A month had passed since the Black Empire had come to the Vale, sewing chaos and corruption in their wake. Long days had turned to long weeks, run ragged by the ever growing demands of defending a place that was so close to her heart. It was the reason she persisted so in the face of such evil. Conflict was nothing new to her.

She was there when the heart of an Old One ravaged the minds of the Horde and destroyed the terrace under the Seat of Knowledge in its wake. She fought against the Sha that preceded Garrosh. Even just a few years ago, against her father's wishes, she fought against the Legion that invaded- unable to forgive the destruction of the Peak of Serenity.

Vivid nightmares had littered her dreams since it had started. Scaring her awake even when her body demanded sleep. The first night she heard about the Vale she had dreamt it, and that had come to pass. The second nightmare, however, the one that delved into her personal life and twisted the image of a woman she held dear had yet to materialize. Left only with the empty dull pain in the center of her chest where Kat had stuck a dagger before she snapped awake, nagging at her despite the lack of a tangible wound, reminding her every day of the haunting vision.

As the sun set over those tall peaks Soriya found herself wandering the grounds of her Nightmare much like an unspoken ritual. Searching for the raven haired woman she had grown so accustomed to. Mustering all the hope she could that it was no prophecy, that the dream was wrong, that it was just a trick to throw her off guard, or to manipulate her. At worst a trap set by the voices that haunted her as she slept.

But despite it all she had to be sure…

Faceless terrors that lurked the Tu Shen grounds, or the acolytes of N’zoth stealing the souls of the Pandarian, just like that had in her dreams. The living Pandarian who were locked in cages, the terrible obelisks and shrines that had cropped up every time Ny’alotha broached the veil into their world, she had encountered them every night in the past week, disrupting their rituals and dispatching their forces as she went along. Searching for a different brand of heartache.

The scene she happened on as she walked up the hill that night was like no other; a massacre had befallen the Burial Grounds of Tu Shen.

Bodies were scattered and strewn around the grassy outcrop decorated with stone steps. Immediately catching her horrified gaze was the monstrous faceless beast- the only thing capable of such a thing, so she thought- lay lifeless on the ground. Her jaw agape as she slowly scanned over the faces of N’zoths minions and Pandarian alike under shattered structures of the Black Empire.

The metallic scent of blood and fresh bile assaulted her nostrils first. Soriya covered her mouth and nose to ward off the stench and hide her grotesque expression. Her forehead wrinkling and ears drooping as a pained expression played out on her eyes as she took in the picture of bodies torn in two. Indiscriminate of their allegiance, Black Empire minions, Pandarian monks, and a Faceless beast lay strewn across the outcropping she happened upon.

Rushing forward toward the fallen Pandaren first, the monk got to her knees before their disfigured bodies under broken cages, to help with any healing spell she knew as they lay motionless, mangled, only to find it all for naught as they were too far gone.

“Rest now...” She muttered in a sad tone to the dead warrior before her as she placed a hand on her fellow monks chest.

“I’ll come back for. I’ll give you a proper burial, I promise..” the gentle vow left her lips in both a seldom and sorrowful exchange, as she took an extra moment to mourn the dead.

With a heavy heart Soriya glanced over her shoulder to the grizzly scene wondering what terrible thing had befallen this ancient place. Finally rising to her feet she took stock, only to find a lone shadowy figure standing over a nearby shrine. Draped and dressed in dark leathers the figure stood with it’s back turned, assailing the golden spirit of a fallen Pandarian.

“Hey!” She shouted as she jogged toward the stranger. Her pace hastening as she noticed the golden spirit of an ancient Pandaren yell in agony, a sight she was unfortunately all too familiar with.

The monk's shouting from behind drew her attention, head shifting just a bit towards the shoulder and coming to a hesitant halt with the recognized voice. She stood still for a moment, the raven hair still cascaded to block her visage.

“Hey!!” She repeated in an angrier tone, closer now to the leather clad figure, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

It wasn't until the second before their bodies collided that Soriya recognized just who she was assailing.

Her face contorted, going pale at the realization. Anger quickly turned to shock, and then to grief, before finally twisting into fear. She wanted to stop, to halt her advance, even just a second to process the litany of emotions that came with the worst of her nightmares coming true....

That moment was never granted as she slammed into the ground along with the same woman that had featured as the subject of her last nightmare; Kat Hawke.

Kat snarled and bared teeth as the full tackle connected, riding it out to the ground beneath the monk with a heavy thud against the stone.

Even if Soriya had landed on top she made no attempt to restrain the woman beneath her. Paralyzed by the sinking feeling in the pits of her stomach, all she could do was lift her head enough to confirm her fears with nothing but a slack jawed stare as their eyes locked and black, lifeless eyes, stared back at her teal hues.

"No.." Soriya whispered in a low tone, skittering her trembling hands along the rogues frame, once again trying to discern if she was real.

"No.." She denied louder, again, pushing herself from the other woman to sit up on her own.

"No-, no no.. Kat.. no..." sitting on her shins with the look of disbelief and, strangely, of confirmation, "This isn't supposed to be real..."

The nightmare that had plagued her for the last seven days had come to fruition. Her heart felt as heavy as lead, cracking and breaking against the sinking realization that her vision had a touch of prophecy behind it, dark and twisted as it may be, it had come true...

Kat shuffled a few paces back on her hands and feet like a crab walking across the sand. Her blackened gaze met the monk as she pushed herself to her feet. Silent still, she just stood and stared down at the elven woman.

The moment felt like forever to Soriya, still stuck in the silence of vacant stares, where an already worn. An overactive mind was left to seize upon its worst thoughts. Left only to gaze at Kat's corrupted visage with the same horrified look she wore a moment ago as she stood before a massacre of mangled bodies.

Finally she let out a whimper as the walls came crashing down and emotion overtook her sense.

The stinging pain in the center of Soriyas chest returned. Looking down only to find her hand already tightly clutched against the very spot on her chest she had been stabbed in her nightmare. Unsure how or when that hand had gotten there. Removing it quickly she tried to dismiss the notion that this is how it would end. That her dream somehow foresaw how the woman before her, corrupted as she was, stabbing her in the chest on these very grounds.

Looking back to Kat, Soriya dared to ask, "W-what...What happened to you?" with a voice that never reached above a shaky whisper. Tentatively with her hand she tried to make contact with the rogue.

Kat's head jerked back and to the side, avoiding the touch of the monk while the void addled gaze remained pinned to the woman. A single step back was taken as her posture straightened, the bridge of her nose wrinkling before an answer was finally given, "Ya' canno' fight th' inevitable, Soriya." Monotone she spoke, lifting her head ever so slightly.

The elf shrunk away as her hand caught nothing but air, Kat's words sent her further into the pits of despair. She sat there alone, deflated and defeated. None of the chipper demeanor she loved to show, like a badge of courage in a broken world. Tears freely began to trickle down her cheek from those wide, sorrow-filled, teal eyes.

You can not save them... The tagline of the omnipotent being that infested her nightmares played in her head on repeat as she stared at the ground. Finally fully understanding the statement that starred in her nightmare. The worst of them being realized in that single line uttered; Ya’ canno’ fight th’ inevitable, Soriya.

Defiantly, Soriyas gaze snapped back to Kat as she scrambled away from the other woman and to her feet, "No." She said wiping the tears from her eyes, "This isn't you. This isn't...-" The words she searched for caught in her throat as her gaze flicked toward the Pandarian burial mound as anger flashed on her youthful features. "How is this inevitable?! What does that even mean! You're better then this! You're-..." her steam wore down as grief once again rocked her.

"Look aroun' ya'!" Kat shouted, sounding impatient. Arms gesturing to either side at the eyes and maws which had sprouted from the mountains. "Nothin' can halt the comin' age. Resistance is pointless, nothin' more than a thorn in the destinies' side." Spite laced her tone in the final few words.

Soriya didn't need to look around. She didn't need to see the terror that surrounded them, the same nightmare she had been immersed in for months. Instead her gaze remained solely on the rogue. "And you'd rather be part of the problem rather than the solution?!" her retort had found its own fire in rebuke.

"You would rather defile the graves of the Pandarian?” Soriya continued, “The same ones that are fighting- once again- in their home. You'd rather live in a world where these ‘things’ roam free?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Closing the gap Soriya swiftly gripped Kat's shoulders. "Kat... just... please. Please come with me. Let me help you through this." She pleaded, despite the obvious anger underlying her words.

Raven brows pushed together, as if the Director was confused by either Soriya's actions or words. Perhaps even both. "Their souls are already forfeit!" Her arms lifted between Sori's, spinning to break the hands from her shoulders before jutting outward to shove the elf away.

The monk refused to be moved, stubbornly planting herself in the ground against the shove. Lifting her hands to her center as if trying to defend herself. As much as she wanted to help, as much as she wanted to take Kat away and talk to her, she couldn't deny the clear fear that had caused her to instinctively keep up defensively.

"This is the solution, salvation in acceptance. Yer eyes are still blind, ya've yet t'see the truth." Her left hand coalesced with void. "Open yer eyes, Soriya, and see wot will come t'pass." As threatening as Kat may seem she still refused to attack.

"You're not one of them! You're not a monster...!" An arm shot out to her side, as if motioning to the monsters of the Vale. "Kat, please... Please. This doesn't have to turn out like my dream. I don't want to fight you." She pleaded as her voice progressively got smaller and smaller. Pathetically repeating, "Please." in an almost incoherent babble, "I can't let you do this. Just... please..."

"I've always been a monster!" The void laced hand pointed a single finger in the monk's face as she exclaimed. Something about that single sentence, her tone, sounded as if it was coming from deep within. Beyond the void and the magic, but something Kat fully believed herself. That she was, and always has been, a monster.

"So don't fight." The hand dropped, arms lifting half way to either side as the Director began to take several steps back, as if taunting the monk as she attempted to slip away. "Give up, leave this place to its fate. We are all nothin' but pawns in a larger game, Soriya. Don' be naive."

Soriya once again shrunk back as Kat made her stinging, convincing speech. "No." She replied in a whisper denying it all with such a simple word.

"I'm not naive. I'm not fucking stupid, Kat. I know you... I know you're not like this. That this is just some stupid corruption messing with you head. This isn't the woman I met up with every month since last spring just to spend a few hours with-... this isn't you." Confident words came in a broken and strained throat that teetered on the verge of full blown tears. Abruptly the monk lurched forward, both arms wrapping around the others upper torso, arms and all, to pull Kat into a tight embrace. "If you want to get rid of me you're going to have to stab me or something... I'm not letting go." She whispered into the others ear.

Kat's visage remained a stonewall void of emotion as her slow retreat came to an sudden halt as Soriya quickly closed the distance and wrapped herself around her. Hands attempted to pry the elf off of her, but the woman's vice like grip proved resilient. Her failed attempts at freedom freezing as the whisper hit her ear, buying a solid second or two of stillness before she spoke up in her own ice cold whisper. "Fine."

For the briefest second, she thought Kat had conceded, that it was over, that there wouldn’t have to be a fight….

Metal against leather sounded as a knife was pulled from the Director's waist.

Tear stained eyes went wide as she felt the sharp pain enter her gut. The twist adding another jolt of agony, so much so that she couldn't decide what hurt worse; the physical or the metaphorical knife that turned within her belly, held only by a woman she called a close friend.

In the moment Kat would push away again leaving the knife embedded in the monk.

Soriya refused to untether at first, stubbornly clinging to the Director even as her strength began to fail her and the pain continued to worsen. With her best intentions she was still pushed away. Her arms lazily falling from Kat to wrap around the protruding hilt of the dagger, grasping onto it and turning the hilt as blades sharpness ravaged her once more in its removal.

The dagger hit the soft ground with a thud as the monk took in a labored series of breathes, calling out, "If you want me to stop you're going to have to kill me." Soriya escalated. "I...I wont. I'm not going to just... just leave you here! You're going to have to kill me Kat, because if you don't? If you don't I'm going to devote every waking moment to fucking up whatever plan you have for this place." Even while she advanced, only a half step behind the Director herself, in that pained wobble, Soriya continued. One hand clutching the incision as the other found the cork of a waterskin tethered to her belt.

"My plan?" Kat chuckled out, amused at the fact Soriya thought it was the Vale in which her intentions lied. "Fight if ya' must, Soriya. But nothing ya' do will change wot will come t'pass."

During their exchange Soriya had busied herself with that vessel of life giving water, pouring it out onto her open wound as her bloodied hand cupped as much of the diluted crimson mixture as it could, applying the gentle white light of chi mingled with dull jade. Sloppily that incision began to pull itself closed, leaving behind a grotesque and raw sore that looked as if it was about ready to pop open once more.

"Death will come fer ya' just as it did the monks behind ya'. Split open by the servants of N'zoth." The Director barked.

"Is that who you serve now?" The monk had spat back in a thinly veiled attempt to goad her further. "The high and mighty Kat Hawke reduced to a faceless servant? That's how you want to be remembered?" Closing the gap that Kat perpetually put between them, again, the Sin'dorei wouldn't be denied. "I don't want to fight you, Kat, but you need help. You need....-" me snagged against the lump in her throat as she wished it could have been. "You're sick."

"Wot do I need?" Kat instantly snapped back, skipping over everything else that had been said. "You?"

Another puncture came for her already perforated heart as Kat honed in on the word she failed to say.

"If you wont go with me willingly..." Soriya cocked back a fist as she entered into a fighting stance, her legs wide and planted as her second hand came to defend her injury with a folded elbow.

"I'm no' some fuckin' pet project that needs savin'!" Lashing out as fists rose and shoulders squared, feet shifting into place as she stared the monk down.

Soriya cocked and arm back for a punch, her leg swept backward quickly and subtly, and just as it seemed like she were to throw her balled fist, it only continued back- her leg coming out instead in a sweeping strike of a kick aimed at Kat's midsection. Feigned, but fairly televised and she knew it as well as the other woman likely did.

Reflexes hastened by the void that pulsed through Kats very core aided in the counter, hand snapping downward to the leg which stroke, grasping at the ankle as it collided with her side and taking the momentum into a full body pivot.

Agilely the elf bounced on her one leg as it was ensnared, keeping limber for the inevitable twist that came with it. That twist coming in the form of an elbow to the back of her standing knee.

Soriya, however, wasn't down long as she took the counter in stride, falling to the patchy grass below with her elbow out to catch her. Just like her opponent had done and using the momentum as an advantage repaid in kind. With a quick twist of her hips that was leveraged against her newly planted elbow, she sent a powerful foot that took advantage of her longer legs sending the curve of her ankle toward the Directors head.

The upward kick was predictable, the speed at which it came had not been. A split second to make a decision, not enough to effectively grapple and counter, Kat chose to simply evade. Releasing her hold on the monk as she ducked backwards away from the foot which came a hair from her nose in passing.

As Soriya swiftly recovered back to her feet and regained her stance, she couldn't help but retort, "I wish it could be me, Kat... I really do-” Her words genuine despite the intense exchange. Begrudgingly admitting, “But we both know you won't let me close enough to actually help."

"Even if you need it. I can find someone to help you, even if it's not me. I can at least do that. Even if you hate me for it." The mixture of determination and desperation made it hard to determine just where her mindset was. Squaring off her stance she inched forward toward her opponent with a flickering, decidedly, with a sense of determination.

Quick to get back on the offensive Kat juggled her weight between legs, digging into that boxer's stance. Anger clear on her face. Refusing to dignify the monks words with a response of her own the Director made her strike. A heavy left hook jutted outward, rolling the shoulder with the attack but feigning at the last second. Instead the leather clad fist on her right snapped outward like a spring, aimed still at the jawline.

Soriya found relief in the attack, as it meant Kat wanted to hit her more then run, now, at the least.

It was unlike fighting an enemy, the pair who had enjoyed long spars, often pushing one another to get better. And while the deadly undertones weren't lost on her? Soriya still found herself comfortably slipping into an easy flow with her movements. Tensing and tightening in anticipation as the leather clad rogue skulked forward with deft and deflective movements. She knew to wait, to keep her guard close and to not over extend- because that was exactly the thing Kat would be looking for.

But this was no spar, this was no playful rump in a forest with a friend. She knew she had to change it up, to surprise her opponent- losing wasn't an option.

Preemptively Soriya sent a probing kick, quick and light, toward the Directors inner shin as her opponent advanced with a fist cocked back in a feigning swing. Just enough to throw the other womans footwork off balance. The second swing from Kat came, and her close guard was rewarded with a block to the haymaker within the padded side of her forearm.

Wasting no time Soriya took advantage of the closer distance and blocked attack, capitalizing before her opponent could, she launched her own counter; pulling back her arm before pushing it forward again toward the rogues center mass. Her training with chi empowered strikes allowed her to use a shorter distance for effective blows, and with that knowledge, she sent another two punches with alternating fists, working their way up Kat's torso, lightening quick in their inception, as the telltale glow of chi coated the punishing blows. A move her opponent wouldn't be familiar with from their spars.

With each of the chi infused hits making contact Kat staggered back with a hand over the chest where Soriya's fists connected.

There were no snickers, no smiles, or cute quips after Soriya had scored her blows. That carefree demeanor, perhaps her most defining feature of her personality, completely melted away as she maintained a serene sense of focus on the fight at hand. Resetting her stance once more to that of the Serpent, comfortable in having to wait for an attack rather than launching it, she kept her eyes pinned on the Directors movements. Waiting for her next strike.

Kats left hand, still charred and burnt, rose above her head as a large step forward was taken. Shadows sparked from the palm as coiled outward in a series of chains. Wielded like a whip as the arm swung around, a harsh downward cut off as it changed direction to slice to the side with an abrupt upward cut to ensnare the neck. The length of the chain combined with the flowing motion made it easy to lose track of.

The visible look of surprise played across the elfs creased brows as she stared at the intimidating display with only the slightest sense of awe. Unaware that Kat could even manipulate magic to that degree. But surprise was quickly shaken off as she sidestepped and ducked the swinging chain that drifted too close to her for comfort. The downward slash was avoided narrowly with a hasty pivot, throwing her off guard as it rapidly shifted direction with precise aim.

Unaccustomed to the unpredictable weapon, Soriya brazenly lifted her arm up to cover her face from the chain that threatened to smash it. Caught unaware, as that chain slapped against the side of her neck, snagging her forearm too, along with its snare. With gritted teeth she struggled as the metallic grip threatened to strangle her regardless of what got in the way.

With a forceful downward tug accompanied by a pivot of the hips with a leg reach back, Kat yanked the chain tight. Whether or not Soriya toppled to the ground didn't matter for what came next; a strong pulse of void magic across the shadowy chain. Kat staring on from where she stood, eyes still widened in rage as her fist clenched the chain with power.

Between the tug and the awkward tether of her wrist that bent an arm half a foot from her neck, Soriya buckled under the pressure down to a knee, still struggling against the weight of the assault. It left her defenseless as the shock of void energy made it up the three tiers of chain that coiled around her, forcing out a prolonged grunt from behind clenched teeth. Eventually ringing out into a pained yelp as the energies stung at her like black ice pressed against exposed skin.

Soriya managed to look up briefly only to see the rogue brandishing a dagger menacingly before her eyes snapped shut in agony.

In a display of sheer strength, or perhaps stupidity, Soriya used her free hand to grasp further onto the chain, warding off the pain momentarily to steady her grip and put her own might against Kats.

Kat's gaze narrowed harshly on Soriya as she writhed in pain, the corner of her lips pulling it a sadistic grin. Even as the monk grabbed the chain Kat didn't give any ground, channeling the dark energy as she stared.

From her crouched position, the monk took in one deep and filling breath before leaping up into the air, dazzling with a triple spin from just the ground as she unwound herself from the chain. Despite the fast and undoubtedly dizzying twirl, Soriya fell down toward the ground with her head and shoulders poised to crash first- and her position made a recovery unlikely. But in that fall the monk once again stunned with a precise kick to the end of the chain- sending the tip of it back toward the rogues dagger wielding hand with the intent to disarm.

Though despite the uncanny display of acrobatic martial arts, she still landed harshly, awkwardly, and unceremoniously against the dirt below. Her head hit particularly hard. Paying for her flashing move as she lay on the dirt an extra moment longer, dazed from her own stunt. Remaining on the ground longer than a moment, even after she blinked herself back from her daze long enough to roll herself onto her stomach.

A deep chuckle began to rumble from the Director after she observed the monk's harsh landing. Followed only by the eerie clanking and rattling of metal on stone faint, but ever present.

The telltale clinks of the shadowy metal links against stone and grass was quickly recognized. Soriya knew she had to do something about the surprise Kat had pulled. A weapon that allowed her to keep distance, entrap, and punish her from afar. Once again cursed by her own ill preparation she found herself without a suitable weapon to fight back.

As Kat drew near, Soriya remained, waiting for the Director to get closer to her prone position as she continued to take a moment to recover. But more importantly to close the distance between the two in the least overt manner she could. Counting on her opponents over confidence and, at times, arrogance that led to letting her guard down- hoping that the other woman would take the opportunity to get close and personal to savor that gained up hand. Playing the bait if it meant gaining the advantage.

The sinister chuckle rolled off in a tone of pleasure as Kat continued to move closer step by step, looking down at Soriya. The dagger turning over in her hand in conjunction with her steps, let the chain drag out further to make more noise.

But then it all suddenly stopped with Kat still several paces from the monk, the pleased tone instantly replaced by a high pitched scream of pain. The area lit up as the right side of Kat's body pulsed with Light, making her stagger as the shadow chain evaporated. The left side remained covered in void as the right side of her visage splintered and cracked with Light. The volatile mixture looked as if it could explode out from her very core.

As Kats sinister visage was rocked with Light energy, Soriya had rolled to her back unwittingly catching the rogue in a moment of weakness. Her hands shaped as if she was holding a ball at her chest as she concentrated, focusing her chi energy into a single point between her palms and growing it exponentially with her own life force- Soriya swiftly sent the blast of pure force toward her attackers chest.

Painfully waiting out the moment Kat swung the blade through the air to collide with the chi. The flash of light that came as the conflicting powers mingled and exploded in their fervor was enough to make Soriya shield her eyes. Whatever was happening, it was a far cry away from what she had hoped. In the confusion she looked, locking eyes with Kat one final time with that very same look of hopelessness she wore before they had started fighting. A sadness that lingered within her gaze.

The resulting explosion sent a hail of stones down before larger pieces of jagged, broken earth rained down from the cliff that absorbed and crumbled against the blast. Separating the pair from one another as the rocky cliffside broke apart and slid down between them.

Left with no time to linger as the rocks flung from above threatened to crush her, Soriya got to her feet quickly only to find the before fleeing the scene with a heavy heart.

A hand came to her side once she was safe and clear, gripping at a nagging pain that had only grown after the dust settled. Feeling nothing but warmth and wetness that caused her to draw back that hand to find both palm and fingers slicked with crimson. The stab wound Kat had gifted her with reopened and freely flowing blood almost certainly to scar her skin just as much as it did her heart.

Desperately she wished to wake up. That it had all just been another bad dream in a string of them. That it was just the voices that had taken purchase of her thoughts and scarred her dreams. But all the way back to the Shrine of Two Moons, she never awoke.

{Written alongside @kat-hawke } {With Kats perspective of this same scene: Uovssh thyzz...}

#fitness & finesse #loooooong post #RP #Canon

17 notes · View notes

guardianofmemes · 4 years

Text

Mojave Morality; or Why Some Factions are Mixed but Legion Bad and Can We Stop Denying it

When it comes to asking which faction is Good and Evil, you may first think the NCR are the clear good guys, or that Mr. House will lead to greater standard of living. But friends, we should take into account the futures of these factions and the potential social changes that would take place within them, Vegas or not!

The Republic is an imperialist, expansionist nation with economic disparity and a government controlled by the rich few. Still, it is possible for a social and political revolution to take place, as the people still can directly vote and there are few senate seats, and they are EXTREMELY sick of the right-wing policies that have occurred over the last two decades, which are a recent departure from the rest of the nation’s history, under Tandi and Aradesh. And it is still entirely possible the people could overthrow the government with some measure of ease. The nationalistic nature of the United States has not yet had chance to fully take root in the Republic, most people consider themselves citizens of the Boneyard or Hub before being citizens of the Republic, members of the military included. The draft isn’t popular. And while their war crimes are less than America’s, they exist.

Independent Vegas, well this one isn’t really detached from the big factions, its entirely dependent on you choosing that path for that specific territory. But from cut content we can see that the Strip was barely being held together under Mr. House as it is, and it all goes straight to chaos as soon as you come to power. Still, the actual villages and towns of the Mojave are rather well-off and prosper under their own rule, as independent settlements under no central authority. With this comes a lack of centralized ability to project force and protect the lone communities, so they are left to their own defense as well. Tiny micro-nations.

Mr. House has always been more machine than man, even before he got hooked up on life support gone wrong. He lacks empathy, does not consider other people to actually be people, just pieces to move around on the game board, a game he is playing against reality. He wants to spit in the eye of the mystic, the divine, in the belief of human kindness and capacity for peaceful co-existence. This is just how the man is, a true Ayn Rand protagonist, the Great Man wrought to existence. And how would the Great Man rule exactly? Through force of arms, but not even with a slight veneer of self determination or free will. A board of directors to rule his new galactic megacorporation empire made manifest, yet it would be a board he could overturn at any moment on a whim. He alone, playing the entire human race like a video game, Civilization IV or Stellaris, just looking at the spreadsheet of numbers as little pixels move around, making decisions that simplify the equation, like wiping out the Brotherhood because they are a stray variable he cannot account for in his grand plans. He has the ability and intellect to rebuild the industrial sector, maybe even take us to space, but that’s the problem with the Rich isn’t it? They’d rather abandon this planet and just find an easier solution than get their hands dirty fixing this world.

And we come upon him at last, the tyrant of tyrants, he who wishes to defy his fate even more desperately than Robert House himself. The plagiarist with a real severe case of hypocrisy and Brain Disease, its time for Caesar. Why do I say Caesar instead of Caesar’s Legion? Because he is the faction, he is the glue that binds the whole operation together. Its not at all a hot take, even in the game itself they acknowledge as soon as Caesar dies, the Legion will split among its squabbling generals and the territory will fall to chaos, because his men follow the man himself, not his ideals. As a fascist, he has no true ideals, the man shifts with whatever works best. Guns are normally forbidden to them, but a Centurion conquered an entire tribe of strong warriors with his minigun? Well now give him a suit of special commemorative armor and let him keep using it. No modern medicine yes, men must be stronger than such luxuries? But he will very openly tell you about the auto-doc he bestows upon those he favors, and has no problem with you removing his tumor. The man is weak of spirit and will, he seeks to make himself known in history, to last beyond his death. And so we come to his mid-life crisis, life under Caesar’s Empire. One could say yes, its safe to live in his territory, the regular patrols excise the tumor that are raider gangs and hostile wildlife. But is that a reason to excuse the tithes one must pay to his Legion? The young men taken to serve, the women taken for slave labor and much more horrible things? The public executions and mass torture over minor trespasses, such as possessing recreational drugs? A total lack of political freedom, zero social mobility; a world that even if you somehow view going back thousands of years in terms of social, technological, and political progress to the age of the tyrant as GOOD, will collapse as soon as he dies of his brain tumor, old age, tripping over a landmine, or assassination? If that is really what you see as the ideal world, or somehow a neutral society in terms of morality, I really don’t know what to tell you. I wish I knew what to say.

#fallout #fallout new vegas #NCR #Legion #Caesar's Legion #Mr. House #Independent Vegas #wew the post ended up being so long i wanted to just #make it into its own post as well #wahoo it was a real stream of consciousness thing

20 notes · View notes

troughtonmedia · 4 years

Text

Script #6

Realms of angels have truly been at war with legions from the devil since the beginning time of Adam and Eve. They do not have physical bodies in our dimension they work like a spirit inside of a soul. Only a third of them are evil but that still makes for a bloody time.

Both parties compete for human real estate like a tree in the shade. “Sometimes it really does make sense to go evil; especially after a certain amount of atrocities have happened to you.” Or at least that’s what a demon will tell you!

Angels are much more quiet and take their time to enter your being. You have to earn them by proving yourself through accomplishment but that doesn’t stop them from watching. 66% of these beings are with god as you know the other 1/3rd rebelled with the devil.

The angels have hatched a plan that should wipe out that 33.33% thine swore as an enemy. With that complete God’s land should be pure and noble once again until Lucifer Satan is released from the bottomless pit in a 1000 years.

1 note · View note

fuckblizzardbearlover · 4 years

Text

Why ppl who think the writers dont know exactly what they are doing with Sylvannas are dead, completely and utterly wrong: a Thread

from the official overview

“ The Broken Machine The machine of death is broken, and players entering the Shadowlands will find the realm of the dead in disarray. In the natural order of things, souls are sorted and sent on to an afterlife realm appropriate to the lives they lived, but now, but over the past few years, all souls who have perished—including the innocents slain at Teldrassil—are being funneled directly into the Maw. The Shadowlands are starving for anima even as the Maw continues to grow from the glut of fresh souls. Sylvanas has been seemingly perpetrating acts to bring about great amounts of death and destruction. In partnership with the Jailer, they have been working toward a common end for some time. “

so, i’m sure this will be one of the first things we learn in Bastion. or whereever.

emphasis mine.

past few years...BFA...Legion....ok thats a pair... So what if it is not exactly a few (3 ). Draenor sylvannas didnt have anything to do, But in MoP she didnt balk at causing death at Siege of Ogrimmar or Theramore and, in the Cataclysm she wiped out 3 cities. Catacylsm is the expasnion after wrath. After she died

From Sylvannas Windrunner: Edge of Night

“What did it matter if another corpse filled his vacant throne? Sylvanas Windrunner had her vengeance. The vision that had driven her and her people for years had finally been realized. And not a single fiber of her desiccated, animate corpse cared where the world went from here.It was over now. A part of her was surprised she was even still around, without his lingering presence always tugging at the back of her mind. She backed away from the throne and slowly turned to survey the cold gray world all around her. Her thoughts returned to that place of bliss, her half-remembered glimpse of what lay beyond. Home. It was time.

.............

She longed for it. A return to peace. The work she had begun in the forests of Silvermoon was finally complete with the death of Arthas. ,,,,,,,,,,,

...........

She could feel no cold, only a dull ache. She would feel nothing soon. She already felt her spirit reaching a place of calm for the first time in almost a decade. Her weight shifted toward the edge of the drop. She closed her eyes.

.......................

"There are so many!" he barked, falling silent as she raised a finger. "We have only two dozen rangers up there," he said, his voice now a whisper. "They cannot survive that!" Sylvanas didn't turn her gaze away from the dark mass of shambling corpses crushing its way closer to the river ford. It was the height of the Third War, and hours away from Silvermoon's fall at the hands of Arthas's army.

"They merely need to delay them as we fortify the Sunwell's defense," she answered, her tone measured.

"They will die!"

"They are arrows in the quiver," Sylvanas said. "They must be spent if we are to win this."

She was brash. Empty? No—a fighter. She had a warrior's heart.................

Before her waited a grotesque, quivering mass of corpses, their armor piecemeal, their bodies broken, the stench unimaginable. Their plaintive, desperate gazes reminded her suddenly of children. They disgusted her. But their need empowered her. "The Lich King falters. Your will is your own. Are you to be outcasts now in your own land? Or do we embrace the cruel cards fate has dealt us and retake our place in this world?"

.........

These poor people: peasants, farmers, priests, warriors, lords and nobles… they hadn't yet come to grips with what had happened to them. But for somebody—anybody—to assure them that they belongedsomewhere was electrifying.

--------------------------

Already he'd come to embrace his situation, referring to humans as if they were a separate race; she made a mental note to make use of him.

.........

"The humans will serve their purpose," she answered, her mind already calculating. "They believe they are liberating the city. Let them fight on our behalf and spend themselves for our gain. They are"—she stumbled upon an analogy she'd used before—"arrows in our quiver."

The heaving mass of undead clapped and coughed and hacked gleefully in assent. Sylvanas regarded the whole mob coldly. And so are you, she thought to herself. Arrows I will aim at Arthas's heart.

................................

No more would she be the vengeful leader of a mongrel race of rotted corpses. Her work was done, and her long-denied reward awaited her

...............

“"Your people will perish!" said the dark-haired Val'kyr.

.Sylvanas thought about her people. They had come far from their decimated origins, the yearning, confused mob of fresh corpses huddled about the ruins of Lordaeron's wrecked capital. The Forsaken were truly a nation now: a fetid, gore-caked, hideous mass of lifeless husks, skilled in combat, devastating with the arcane arts, and unhindered by fetters of morality. They had been honed into the perfect weapon. Her weapon. And they had struck the killing blow for which she had built them. She cared nothing for their fate."Let them perish!" Sylvanas cried. "I am finished with them!"“

........................

She saw only darkness.

And then she felt—truly felt, for the first time in a long while. She recoiled. In agony.

Here she was, her spirit once again feeling whole, only to feel it suffer. To feel once more, only to feel abject pain. Cold. Hopelessness.

Fear.

...................

There were others in the darkness. Things she didn't recognize, because nothing so terrible could exist in the world of the living. Claws tore at her, but she had no mouth with which to scream. Eyes looked at her, but she couldn't look back.

Regret.

She sensed a familiar presence. Recognized it. The taunting voice that had once held her in its grasp. Arthas? Arthas Menethil? Here? His essence rushed to her, desperate, then shrank away in horrified recognition. The boy who would be Lich King. Just a scared little blond child, reaping the aftermath of a lifetime of mistakes. If any part of Sylvanas's soul were not at that moment torn and tormented, she might have even felt—for the first time—the slightest glimmer of pity for him.

Now the others had her. Surrounded her. Gleeful, tormenting, tearing at her consciousness, delighting in her suffering.

Horror.

This was to be her eternity: the endless void, the dark, unknown realm of anguish.

....

"Sylvanas Windrunner, Dark Lady, queen of the Forsaken… you may walk with the living again through the sisterhood of the Val'kyr. As long as they live, so too shall you. Freedom, life… and power over death. This is our pact. Do you accept our gift?"

.....................

This was her only way out. But she didn't want to give her assent out of fear. She waited until she felt something more. A fellowship. A sisterhood. Sisters. Separate, they were all trapped. But together, they were free… and with them, she could postpone her fate.

.............................

"I was once like you, Garrosh," she answered, her voice quiet and steady, loud enough only for the warchief to hear. "Those who served me were tools. Arrows in my quiver.

......................

What he saw was a great black void, an infinite darkness. There was fear in those eyes, but also something else. Something that terrified even the great warchief.

"Garrosh Hellscream. I've walked the realms of the dead. I have seen the infinite dark. Nothing you say. Or do. Could possibly frighten me."

The army of undead that surrounded and protected the Dark Lady was still hers, body and soul. But they were no longer arrows in her quiver, not anymore. They were a bulwark against the infinite. They were to be used wisely, and no fool orc would squander them while she still walked the world of the living.

------------------------------------------------------

Now, look at the description for the Maw

“ This horrific prison houses the most vile and irredeemable souls in existence—ones deemed by the Arbiter to represent a threat to the Shadowlands if left free. Ruled by the enigmatic Jailer who none have ever seen—at least none have seen and lived to tell—the Maw inspires nightmares and legends even among the denizens of the Shadowlands. No one has ever escaped this vile place, and any foolish enough to venture there are never heard from again. “

-------------------------------------------------------

So This short story was written before cataclysm launched in 2010. NINE years ago.

So yes “dur Blizz are bad writers that made sylvannas do a 180 and become evil for no reason”

NO. This was the biggest piece of characerization Sylvannas ever got outside of warcraft 3 The Frozen Throne. it establishes that she was a cold person more than willing to treat living people as objects to satisfy the needs of their military and their people. It emphasised MULTIPLE times that i highlighted that she HATED and was disgusted by the forsaken. ANd i emphasised at least twice that She has been using patriotism and their need for someone to care about them as a way to MANIPULATE them. And that was how she was. SHe didnt care about any of them They were just a tool to be used to kill Arthas. and with him gone she was ready to die.

The problem was she was ready to die because she HAD ALREADY DIED. we learn with the SHadowlands that good souls go where they are treated well, and even strong souls are treated well. but Where to evil souls go? either the maw or to the vampire place. She had died and started to enter the good place, Bastion no doubt. as a good protector of the innocent. but Arthas pulled her out and made her a monster

BUT SINCE THEN she became even more of a monster. She let her people embrace hatred. she allowed slavery and torture of prisoners for the sake of destroying life. she thought of nothing but how to USE and ABUSE people in order to get vengence so SHE could get her REWARD.

She became a “most vile and irredeemable soul”. So when she died her soul went to the Maw where it suffered with dark evil souls like Arthas’

and did getting rescued by the valkyre fix her outlook? No . she still saw her people as nothing. but she knew the horrors she’d face if she died, and so she viewed her people as a BULWARK against that.

But whats REALLY interesting is that I think Ion wasnt being completely honest . The lore says that “No one has EVer escaped the Maw of Souls”... however we know that we will do so. And we know that No one has been there. so how can anyone KNOW that no one has escaped. What if they just kept it a secret.

What if the Jailer started to, for whatever reason, decide to take over the afterlife. whether it was personal ambition or seeing the rest as redundant. And he saw this elf soul ESCAPE him. the only one to ever do so. By that Valkyre taking her place. The Valkyre are allegedly created by the souls of hte denezins of bastion, the angel people. So between having a connection to the lich king, guardian of the connection to the Shadowlands, and the fact that they are denezins of the shadowlands.. or were... it makes sense they might have had the power to rescue a soul from the Maw.....with the added help of the soul taking her place.

I emphasised other parts to because i think its important. the Valkyre USED to be denizens of the shadowlands. but supposedly Changed by the lich king. The valkyre emphasised it WASNT just a bond of sisterhood but a bond of hte Valkyre. I think in order to save her from the maw they basically had to enchant sylvannas to magically register as a Valkyre, and thats how they ‘made the switch”. so to speak.

Now remember what happened in Legion? She got a special lantern from Helya, the original Valkyr, who is a master of Death, trapping souls and creating dimensions And who has reason to hate Odyn who has his own form of afterlife?

So it seems to me that Sylvannas gained the attention of the Jailer when she was the first one to escape. and the fact that she escaped by utilizing Valkyre magic, but she wasnt bound to the ethos of most of the denizens of bastion. I think shortly after her original death she was contacted by him, possibly through the valkyre and they started their pact.

Ion said that Sylvannas does not have a master, she’s doing things for herself. However that doesnt mean that, just cus the Jailer isnt controlling her doesnt mean he might not be manipulating her.

Jailer starts to usurp the souls. Sylvannas, afraid of going to the maw. begins rampant death, in order to kill enemies and create a massive army of forsaken to use against any force that would come for her. This rampant death gains the attention of those in the afterlife, including the Jailer who gets more souls do to it. somewhere between Cata and the start of legion he contacts her. When vol’jin is dying he uses his influence to get Vol’jin to name Sylvannas warchief.

She uses her new power to go wherever she wants, which she uses to find Helya, another god of death who has a unique power. Realm magic. using the Lantern, Sylvannas uses the valkyre to send it to the jailer who cuts off the other parts of the afterlife, making it so ALL souls go to the maw. then now that the world threat is over, and she doesnt have to worry about dying herself, she uses her position of power to sew as much death as possible to feed her ally. with the ultimate plan of them destroying the natural order of life and death. She gets to be free of him and lets those she deems worthy live free. all others get to be the Jailer’s victims. no more souls wasted on the ‘good’ after lives or regeneration. no more foolish living to ruin a perfect, deathless world.

its all coming together.

#sylvannas #long post #sylvannas windrunner #world of warcraft #world of warcraft spoilers #wow spoilers #wow #warcraft

29 notes · View notes

imagine-organization-xiii · 5 years

Note

The organization members as survivors/killers from dead by daylight?

I did them as killers if only because I found them a bit more interesting that way. Enjoy!

You can find my information here.

For more image headcanons or regular headcanons, check out Masterlist 1 and Masterlist 2!

oOoOoOo

Xemnas - Michael Myers - The Shape - Some humans are simply bad seeds. Seeds infused with a distilled and pure form of evil.Michael Myers is one of those seeds. He had no issues with causing the pain of others. Instead, it was exactly what he sought.

Xigbar - Evan Macmillan - The Trapper - The tale of the MacMillan Estate is a tale of wealth and power gone very wrong. They never proved that Evan lead over a hundred men into those dark tunnels before detonating the explosives and sealing them to their fate.

Xaldin - Philip Ojomo - The Wraith - Ojomo snapped and went ballistic. He threw his boss in the crusher and let it slowly compress, as the head stuck out, Ojomo grabbed it and pulled head and spine out of the body. Then he left and was never seen again.

Vexen - Herman Carter - The Doctor - There was no sign of Herman "The Doctor" Carter, but his research papers suggested that he had been using the prisoners as part of awful ECT experiments as he searched for the panacea of mind control. The government didn't want to know. The black site was condemned and all knowledge of the Léry's Memorial Institute redacted forever.

Lexaeus - Bubba Sawyer - The Cannibal - Whether killers perform their heinous acts by the compulsions of their diseased minds, or if they are forced into them by external pressures, has long been a matter of debate. Leatherface because he is scared. Scared that others will hurt him; scared that his family will be displeased with him, scared that their shared willingness to eat human flesh will be discovered.

Zexion - Rin Yamaoka - The Spirit - A dark Fog slowly veiled her eyes, but it could not subdue her rage. She would not rest--not yet. The darkness whispered, promising blood and revenge. An oath was made and Rin closed her eyes.

Saix - Freddy Krueger - The Nightmare - They thought that fire had rid them of a monster that night, that their children were finally safe, but evil as strong as his has a way of surviving. Years passed, the horror was buried, the victims mercifully forgot. Then, somehow, Freddy returned, and dreams became nightmares once again.

Axel - Danny Johnson - Ghost Face - A shiver ran through him. A chilling breeze transformed the bedroom's humidity into an opaque, freezing Fog. A woman shrieked. Dead leaves crunched under his feet. He smiled in anticipation.

Demyx - FJSJ - Legion - When Julie, Susie, and Joey did not return home that night, their parents thought they'd run away with Frank. Each family came up with a different theory. The mood in the town changed, however, when a body was found by an abandoned lodge up Mount Ormond.

Luxord - Sally Smithson - The Nurse - Only Sally had survived the night, but her mind was gone, rocking back and forth non-stop. Exactly what happened is only known by her, but it seems that some of them had been choked as they had marks around their necks. They got her into an ambulance, but that ambulance never reached the hospital. It was found crashed in a nearby wood, all the staff dead and Sally nowhere to be found.

Marluxia - Demogorgon - A blooming mouth full of needle-like teeth for a face, large, curved, razor-sharp claws, and powerful legs to pounce on victims, make the demogorgon a frightening monster to face in any dimension. It is a nightmare of unrestrained rage as it hunts down its prey and rips it to pieces, devouring every last morsel of flesh and gore, leaving nothing for scavengers.

Larxene - Lisa Sherwood - Hag - The village's search party eventually brought them to an old shack in a swamp. Inside, its previous inhabitants had been viciously dismembered and devoured by an unidentifiable animal. In the cellar, amid rotting corpses and disconnected flesh, the elders’ charms were scrawled in blood on the floor. Lisa’s body was not among the bodies and was never found. The village was never the same again.

Roxas - Max Thompson, Jr. - The Hillbilly - Coldwind Farm was quickly settled and the land split up and sold off. There was never a buyer for the farmhouse. Perhaps it was the sound of the chainsaw you could hear throughout those hot summer nights.

Xion - Adiris - Plague - Kneeling among her retching followers, Adiris made one last prayer. The black fumes of incense rose into the damp air before being wiped off by a cold breeze.Neither the body of Adiris nor those of her followers were ever found. Many told tales of her return, but no one truly knew what fate had befallen the High Priestess of Babylon.

#image headcanon #organization xiii #organization xiii headcanons #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts headcanon

22 notes · View notes

cyclone-rachel · 5 years

Note

Winndox + “It said my name”

@nancy-wheels

To say that Querl wanted to murder Brainiac 1 was an understatement.

He knew, due to the Legion’s rules, what had been decided in their constitution, that such an act wasn’t allowed… but this was the monster that had created a plague that nearly wiped every AI out, that had displaced him from his time, that took over Winn’s body when Winn threatened to overcome him. This was the person (though, really he was hardly that) who was responsible for the evil legacy that Querl had to bear the burden of. The one who, Querl could even say, ruined his life.

So when Winn was brought back to the twenty-first century, asleep, in an effort to figure out what was wrong with him and how he could be helped, Querl ended up being the one who’d eventually brought him back to himself. And, in repayment, Winn decided to take Querl on a road trip.

(“We both need therapy.” Winn decided, throwing an arm around Querl’s shoulders. “Don’t we?”)

Querl, knowing how much he’d been through in the past year, immediately had agreed.

But if he’d known what was going to happen, he might’ve changed his mind.

Like, for example, the two of them deciding to explore a part of Fort Rozz, that was still on Earth even after the rest of it had been launched into space. Even Winn wasn’t sure how it had happened, but hey, it was an alien prison, without any prisoners remaining. He wouldn’t complain about that.

“Hey.” Winn said, nudging Brainy with his shoulder. “It’s a ghost ship.”

“There are no ghosts here.” Querl shot back. “And it’s hardly a ship.”

“Kara says there was one.” Winn answered. “But she went away after Kara and Alex buried her properly and set her spirit free… or something. It’s a long story.”

Querl nodded.

“Noted.” He said, resolving to look that case up when he and Winn went back to National City. But for the moment…

Querl must’ve tripped, without realizing it, because the next thing he knew he was breathing heavily, leaning over a computer console with his hand on one of the screens. Winn was holding him back, making sure he hadn’t collided with it- but Querl quickly righted himself, and Winn let him go.

“Greetings- Querl Dox.” The computer said, bringing itself to life, forming a face- one that looked very familiar to him.

“It said my name.”

“I- I don’t know who you are.” Winn said.

“Oh, isn’t that just great?” the computer answered. “I know everything about you, Winslow Schott, junior. Or should I say, Toyman junior?”

Winn glared at the screen, as the new face laughed.

“You’re fairly clever, for an ape.” She said. “You’re not saying you forgot me, did you?”

“Shut up, Indigo.” Winn answered, as Querl held his hand. “Remember, I know how to end you. Or did you forget?”

“You won’t.” Indigo said, smirking. One of her hands reached out from the computer screen, grabbing Querl and holding him in a headlock, against the computer. “Or else you’ll have to end your pathetic little boyfriend too.”

Well, this sucks.

#papa don't look #rachel answers questions #minifics #supergirl au #peskyshortcake #winndox #it's the winndox buzzfeed unsolved au #winn schott #querl dox #brainiac 5 #otp: turbulence #fanfics

11 notes · View notes

thereal-zakkisbatman · 5 years

Text

Timeline (Power Rangers) pt 1

Recent History

Centuries Ago

Nighlok forces attack Japan, but are defeated by "samurai warriors", who would be later known as the ancestors of the current Samurai Rangers. Power Rangers: Samurai

Some time later, the Shiba Clan relocates to America, where they establish the Shiba House under Mentor Ji's watch in Los Angeles.

Gosei creates Robo Knight with a sole mission to protect the Earth's environment and places him in dormant sleep.

16th century

Brazil is colonized by the Portuguese. Man of Mercury

1775

The colony of Angel Grove is established. The Shooting Star Return of the Green Ranger

Some time in 18th century

Tommy Oliver's clone, created by Rita Repulsa, is sent back in time to live in the 18th century as the Green Ranger.

1865

An alien Samurai in Kyoto, Katana, travels to 2025 and encounters the SPD Rangers. Samurai

1878

Kat Manx, who would later become technical expert for the SPD Earth branch, is born.

1880

When Kimberly Hart the Pink Ranger is accidentally sent back in time from the mid 1990s to this year, during Angel Grove's Wild West period, she finds that she is not the only one from her time who has gone back. Goldar, Needlenose, and a platoon of Putties have also come back in time to destroy Angel Grove's past. Kimberly realizing that she is incapable of defeating Goldar's forces by herself travels to the Command Center and convinces Zordon of her intentions. Zordon gives her the Red, Black, Yellow, and Blue Power Coins to equip her own fighting force to stop Goldar. Kimberly gives the Blue Power Coin to William, ancestor of Billy Cranston. The Red Power Coin to Rocko, ancestor of Rocky DeSantos. The Black Power Coin to Abraham, ancestor of Adam Park. And the Yellow Power Coin to Miss Alicia, ancestor of Aisha Campbell, to transform them into Wild West Rangers. With their help and the aid of the White Stranger, ancestor of Tommy Oliver, Kimberly is able to drive Lord Zedd's forces back to the present. After Goldar and his forces leave Angel Grove's past, Kimberly returns the Power Coins to Zordon and is returned to the present shortly afterwards. After the power are safely returned to Zordon and Kimberly goes back to her time her ancestor Fushia O Hara comes to colonial Angel Grove.

1923

General David Sarnoff recognised the possibility of developing a television system as early as this year. In a historic memorandum he says, "I believe that television, which is the technical name for seeing as well as hearing by radio, will come to pass in due course." Lights, Camera, Action

1932

The 1932 World Series, which Boomhoped to intercept radio transmissions from, takes place. Messenger

1939

The television is first introduced at the World's Fair. Lights, Camera, Action

1948

Viktor Adler, who would later become the second Master Org, is born. Richard Evans is also born.

1951

Elizabeth Evans is born.

1979

Jason Lee Scott, Zack Taylor, Kimberly Ann Hart, Trini Kwan, Billy Cranston, Tommy Oliver, Rocky DeSantos, Aisha Campbell, Adam Park, Katherine Hillard, Tanya Sloan, Farkas Bulkmeier and Eugene Skullovitch were born.

Andros, and Zhane are born on KO-35.

1980

TJ Johnson, Ashley Hammond, Cassie Chan, Carlos Vallerte and Ryan Mitchell were born.

1981

Three good friends and scientists, Richard Evans, Elizabeth, and Viktor Adler, work together to prove the existence of Animaria. Viktor fell in love with Elizabeth, but was shattered when he discovered that she became engaged to Richard Evans. The three continue working together, with Viktor's hatred for Richard growing as he took the spotlight on the Animaria project.

Cole Evans is born.

1982

Richard's team journey to the Amazon in search of evidence that Animaria once existed. They find some suspicious looking seeds which are the remnants of Master Org. Viktor grabs the seeds and out of personal revenge, eats them later that night and is infused with the power of Master Org. He chases Richard and Elizabeth and kills them, but was unable to find their baby, Cole. Elizabeth had hidden him in the jungle, where he is found by a tribe. Viktor Adler eventually assumes the identity of Master Org, and continued his mission of wiping out humanity and taking over Earth by recruiting newly arisen Org spirits to battle the Rangers. (Power Rangers Wild Force")

Dana Mitchell is born.

1983

Kiya and Kanoi were students at the Wind Ninja Academy; Kiya in the Earth Ninja category and Kanoi in the Air Ninja category. Even at a young age, Kiya (aka Lothor) craved power and secretly began practicing dark ninja magic. When a woman named Miko was inducted to the Academy with a mystical samurai pendant, he attempted to steal it, but was stopped by Cam, who took the pendant back to the future. For his crimes, Kiya was banished from the Earth by his sensei and, in his rage, he forswore his family and ninja heritage and declared himself to be Lothor. In space, he continued his mad search for power. Kanoi then married. (Power Rangers Ninja Storm)

Tanya's parents go missing on Mysterio island while looking for the "Lost Tiki of Aurico after leaving Tanya in Africa.

1984

Miko dies of an illness but not before making Kanoi promise to keep Cam out of harm.

Karone is kidnapped by Darkronda and transformed into Astronema .

1985

Justin Stewart is born.

Tori Hanson is born.

Ryan Mitchell is taken by Diabolico after a car accident involving his father and sister.

1986

In the year 1986, there was a dimension filled with wonderful magic. But then darkness came into power and a great battle began. An army of the Undead lead by a powerful warrior - Morticon swarmed over the land setting their sights on the human realm and beyond. All seemed hopeless when a small legion of brave and true wizards came forth against insurmountable odds. They drove the evil back from the edge of the human world. And then the greatest wizard of them all - Leanbow cast a spell that sent the armies into the Underworld. He sealed darkness inside giant gates for eternity. The evil disappeared from the surface world. But with great victory comes great loss. The human world never knew of the great battle or the sacrifices that were made to save them from destruction. (Power Rangers Mystic Force)

Conner McKnight, Ethan James, Kira Ford and Trent Fernandez-Mercer are born.

7 notes · View notes

darkwingdragon · 6 years

Photo

Blackivar

My oc fan character from the horror game 2DARK.

Blackivar

Age

Nicknames

demon child/ shadow master/evil kid/ monster and his favourite (that the children call him) The Boogieman

Gender

Male

Race

Draconiod species type / Shadow manifestor

Danger level!

EXTREME!! AVOID AT ALL COST!!!

Favourite quotes

Towards the children “You’re not afraid of the dark?.....you should be”

Towards Detective Smith “~Hello Smithy come out my shadows want to play with you~”

Towards his brother “Well if it isn’t my twin brother i see you’ve joined in on helping that ex cop on trying to stop me GOOD! I’ll have fun torturing you both until you beg for me to kill you!”

Abilities

Can use supernatural powers known as the Shadow force,Demonic strength,His shadow is literally alive, Can summon shadow tendrils that can be used for killing,Commands shadow demons,Can teleport by using the shadows if there’s dark areas,Can corrupt living things with the shadow force and turning them into monsters,Darkness shroud this makes him Invulnerable to any form of attack such as bullets, knives, etc, unless he is in the light or if the weapons and bullets are made of silver,Extreme speed,When in raged will lose control and transform into a monster known as the demon form.

Weaknesses

Silver weapons Any form of light weakens his shadow force and darkness shroud making him vulnerable, being in the complete light can often makes him unable to use his shadow force at all (but that doesn't bother him that much).

Water, After his stepfather nearly drowned him he has a fear of water, this fear can trigger him into his inraged demon form.

Another shadow manifestor (especially the bloodstarved)

The Hunters

Personality

Blackivar is a Sadistic mischievous, insane, mean spirited psychopath with a warped sense of humour. He will often joke around when his is killing a victim mercilessly making sure that they suffer long and painfully. Blackivar can also be shown to have a bit of an arrogant nature thinking that he is invincible no one can hurt him because of his powers and he will kill anyone who thinks they could even try,Although this foolishness can often get him into trouble at times especially when his brother knows all of his weaknesses.

He is also stubborn sore loser as he hates losing to someone weaker than him if he’s in a fight.He can be very manipulative both towards children and adults to children he would act kind and fun to gain they’re trust so he can lure in a sense of false security before backstabbing them literally and figuratively.

That being said he’s doesn’t technically like killing children to him they are boring weak and cowardly noisy brats they just don’t entertain him as much as the adults do but if he finds either an adult or a child that will try to fight back he will happily toy with until he gets bored and finishes them permanently.

Blackivar is also a mastermind when it comes to plotting a heist and setting traps very often the other killers would come to him for advice.

He may be a kid but he’s a lot smarter then he looks and that makes him dangerous.

Blackivar on rare moments he can show somewhat of a soft side towards people he likes such as the other psychopaths of GloomyDitch. He may act mean to them at times but has been known to be nice to them on occasions,His relationship with the other psychos can be varied.

Relationships

The Pschopaths of Gloomyditch: After the massacre at Doug dog fighting arena Blackivar was taken in by Professor Krach due to his interests of Blackivars powers and his psychotic nature.The child's view on the crippled man was somewhat vague he didn’t know why the man took him into this cult but one things for sure if this was a way for him to go out to cause mayhem and chaos in the town he’s damn right he was gonna join although he had warned Krach that if he or any of his followers tried anything to him?,he would give them a fate far worse than death.His relation with him is often a roll with the dice for he doesn’t like him and he likes to make him known it.

His relationship with the other psychos as stated is varied for at first they were afraid of him because of what he could and were trying their best not to piss him off in case they suffer a similar fate as the dogs back at the arena.But over time they all started to relax and actually began to get along with this kid out of all the children they had met and murdered Blackivar might be one child they would love.

However the relationships he has with the police force, his twin brother and Detective Smith is not a pretty one,He will slaughter an entire squad of cops just to try and get to either his brother Jack or detective Smith for he see’s them as the perfect prey to play with and will often hunt them down to no end in this endless game of cat and mouse.

Blackivar’s Backstory

Years ago two forbidden lovers from warring families got together and created two sons one of light and one of darkness and the son of darkness was named Blackivar.

(Honestly that’s how he would tell the story about himself)

The family that he was born into were a faction of people known as the Hunters they were the protectors of humanity and slayers of the creatures of darkness such as the Shadow manifestors and unfortunately he was the very thing they solely despised. Blackivar’s mother whom was a hunter herself knew of the consequences of bearing a child of their enemy but due to her love for her son she took her sons fate instead so that he would be spared, reluctantly her family agreed they tortured her and then killed her as a sign of betrayal to they’re code.

Over the years the hunter took care of the manifestor but they were never kind to him ,he tortured, locked away in his room and picked on by the other kids.However as Blackivar grew the entire family watched him 24/7 waiting to see if he will activate the shadow force or not,to them it was like living with a cobra getting ready to strike.although the the hunters did not want anything to do with Blackivar his brother Jack whom did not know what Blackivar was still a loving brother to him and maybe his only friend.

Jack would often sneak into his room to play games with him and would help care for his injuries from the beatings Blackivar got from the hunters.

Eventually Blackivar had to go to school with Jack which was fine for him the longer he was away from home the better.During his school days Blackivar never liked playing with the other kids he would often go into the playground to play on his own mostly because the other kids were afraid of him.One day when Blackivar was 6 years old his Stepfather got a call from the headmaster he told him that he was in the playground luring birds to catch then brutally dismember them then he would show the corpse of the bird to the other children and chase after them with it, what made the story worse was later that day he gave a present to one of the staff members inside was the dead mangled body of the teacher’s pet cat whom went missing a few days ago Blackivar thought it was funny however his Stepfather was not amused.

After that Blackivar was home schooled but suffered a few beatings for what he did.

Over time Blackivar started to enjoy the pain he received to the point were has was unafraid of his torturers and he started the challenge and taunt them to continue it was then they began to stop beating him and just left him alone.But that was a grave mistake because unknowing to the hunters Blackivar had already began to use his shadow force powers which was dangerous at the age he was because he did not have full control of it yet,but that didn’t matter cause not long after the hunters found out he could use them his real father with his army of followers attacked the hunters base to wipe them out.

During the panic Blackivar escaped from his locked room and tried to make a run for it in amidst of all the fighting however was caught by his stepfather.He was than dragged to the spa room towards a pool were his stepfather proceeded to try to drown him blaming everything that was happening towards him.However not knowing that Blackivar unlocked his powers Blackivar’s stepfather was pulled of by the boys shadow force and then devoured by the shadows,Blackivar laughed in glee as he watches his tormentor screams in agony.After he killed his stepfather in a crazed frenzy he goes off and slaughters the other hunter even some of his own kind were killed by his powers,because of this his father called for a retreat of his troops fearing for the worst.After Blackivar calmed down he looked at the carnage he caused and felt absolute joy with all the death he made he had succumbed to his madness and loved it,after a while he left the ruined home and went to find a new place to cause chaos.

A few years later he learned to fully control his powers as he travelled town to town killing as he went not long after he found himself in the outskirts of a town called Gloomyditch. That night Blackivar fell asleep out of exhaustion he was not long found by some of Doug’s dog fighting men they carefully placed him inside of a crate and then they took him to the dog fighting arena.

What happened there? well let just say lots of blood was spilt that night and the psychopaths finally got to feel what true fear was.

Well that took me a while but here you go a biography of my oc character for the game 2dark. PS I will see about posting a bit of information about the hunters and the Shadow manifestors another time for that will take some work to do. hope you enjoy

#Blackivar #2dark #2dark au #2dark oc #FANCANON #oc biography #gloomywoods #fan story #my OC #My Story #my artwork #horror #creepy art #video games

6 notes · View notes

seekfirstme · 3 years

Text

Meditation: Do you know and experience in your personal life the joy of the Lord? The Scriptures tell us that "the joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). Why does Jesus tell his disciples to not take joy in their own successes, even spiritual ones? Jesus makes clear that the true source of our joy is God himself, and God alone. Regardless of the circumstances, in good times and bad times, in success or loss, God always assures us of victory in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus assures his disciples that he has all power over all evil, including the power of Satan and the evil spirits (demons) - the fallen angels who rebelled against God and who hate men and women who have been created in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:29). Jesus told his disciples that he came into the world to overthrow the evil one (John 12:31). That is why Jesus gave his disciples power over Satan and his legion of demons (rebellious angels). We, too, as disciples of Jesus have been given spiritual authority and power for overcoming the works of darkness and evil (1 John 2:13-14).

Self-centered pride closes the mind to God's revelation and wisdom

Jesus thanks the Father in heaven for revealing to his disciples the wisdom and knowledge of God. What does Jesus' prayer tell us about God and about ourselves? First, it tells us that God is both Father and Lord of earth as well as heaven. He is both Creator and Author of all that he has made, the first origin of everything and transcendent authority, and at the same time, goodness and loving care for all his children. All fatherhood and motherhood is derived from him (Ephesians 3:14-15).

Jesus' prayer also contains a warning that pride can keep us from the love and knowledge of God. What makes us ignorant and blind to the things of God? Sinful pride springs from being self-centered and holding an exaggerated view of oneself. Pride closes the mind to God's truth and wisdom for our lives. Lucifer, who was once the prince of angels, fell into pride because he did not want to serve God but wanted to be equal with God. Through his arrogant pride he led a whole host of angels to rebel against God. That is why the rebellious angels (whom Scripture calls evil spirits, devils, and demons) were cast out of heaven and thrown down to the earth. They seek to lead us away from God through pride and rebellion.

How can we guard our hearts from sinful pride and rebellion? The virtue of humility teaches us to put our trust in God and not in ourselves. God gives strength and help to those who put their trust in him. Humility is the only true remedy against sinful pride. True humility, which is very different from the feelings of inferiority or low self-esteem, leads us to a true recognition of who we are in the sight of God and of our dependence on God.

Humility is the only soil where God's grace and truth can take root

Jesus contrasts intellectual pride with child-like simplicity and humility. The simple of heart are like "babes" or "little children" in the sense that they see purely without pretense or falsehood and acknowledge their dependence and trust in one who is greater, wiser, and more trustworthy. They seek one thing - the "summum bonum" or "greatest good" who is God himself. Simplicity of heart is wedded with humility, the queen of virtues, because humility inclines the heart towards grace and truth.

Just as pride is the root of every sin and evil inclination, so humility is the only soil in which the grace of God can take root. It alone takes the right attitude before God and allows him as God to do all. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6). The grace of Christ-like humility inclines us towards God and disposes us to receive God's wisdom and help. Allow the Lord Jesus to heal the wounds of pride in your heart and to fill you with the joy of the Holy Spirit who transforms us into the likeness of Christ himself - who is meek and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29).

Nothing can give us greater joy than the knowledge that we are God's beloved and that our names are written in heaven. The Lord Jesus has ransomed us from slavery to sin, Satan, and death and has adopted us as God's beloved sons and daughters. That is why we no longer belong to ourselves - but to God alone. Do you seek to be like Jesus Christ in humility and simplicity of heart?

The Lord Jesus wants us to know him personally - experientially

Jesus makes a claim which no one would have dared to make: He is the perfect revelation of God - he and the Father are perfectly united in a bond of unbreakable love and fidelity. One of the greatest truths of the Christian faith is that we can know the living God. Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something about God, but we can know God personally. The essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the knowledge of God as our Father. Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally know God as our Father. Saint Augustine of Hippo wrote: "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us to love."

Seek God with expectant faith and trust

To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the perfect love of God - a God who yearns over men and women, who cares intensely for them and who shows them unceasing kindness, mercy, and forgiveness. That is why the Father sent his only begotten Son who laid down his life for us on the cross. Jesus taught his followers to confidently pray to the Father with expectant faith, "Our Father who art in heaven ...give us this day our daily bread." Do you believe in your heavenly Father's care and love for you and do you pray with confident trust and hope that he will give you what you need to live as his son or daughter?

"Most High and glorious God, enlighten the darkness of our hearts and give us a true faith, a certain hope and a perfect love. Give us a sense of the divine and knowledge of yourself, so that we may do everything in fulfillment of your holy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Prayer of Francis of Assisi, 1182-1226) "

RUNNING WITH THE ANGELS

“My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out.” —Exodus 23:23

Each one of us has a guardian angel, but many deny or ignore that reality, so their guardian angels are underemployed. We would have personal experiences of angels if we lived in such a way as to need angelic guard duty. Angels are not primarily security guards but resemble guards on a football team. A football guard pulls from the line of scrimmage and blocks for the one running with the ball so the ball carrier can cross the goal line.

The Lord said: “See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared” (Ex 23:20). Our guardian angels will guard us on our touchdown runs by wiping out the enemy (Ex 23:23) and bringing us to the end zone. We have a job for our guardian angel if we’re carrying the ball and running for a score, that is, if we’re on the offensive, attacking the gates of hell (Mt 16:18), if we’re evangelizing and running the race (Phil 3:12).

If we’re running for Jesus, we need our guardian angels to block for us. If we’re not running for Jesus, we are forcing our guardian angels to play defense rather than offense. Let’s not be an apathetic Christian who “is among the living dead” (1 Jn 3:14). You’ve got to play the game to meet the team.

Prayer: Father, thank you for “interior linemen,” like guardian angels.

Promise: “See that you never despise one of these little ones. I assure you, their angels in heaven constantly behold My heavenly Father’s face.” —Mt 18:10

Praise: “A man does not always choose what his guardian angel intends” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Thirteenth Century). Holy Spirit, open the eyes of my heart.

Reference: (For a related teaching on Archangels, order, listen to, or download our CD 61-3 or DVD 61 on our website.)

Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from October 1, 2021 through November 30, 2021. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Vicar General, Chancellor, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio April 14, 2021"

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements

0 notes

dalyunministry · 4 years

Text

TOPIC : FATHER FORGIVE THEM

By. Calvin Nii Bannerman

DATE : 11th September, 2020

Please Let us pray, Oh Lord, this is our generation, this is the place Father where You lead us Faith without boarders , Lord I pray Today in Jesus name , as we about to study your word, Please give us the Spirit of Understanding , Please let the Holy Spirit lead us to Jesus and give us the Spirit of courage , sometimes we step into the great unknown there we meet Jesus and we meet the will of God and we meet the purpose of God and we meet the promise of God and we meet the goodness of God.

Lord please give us that courage and give us the Holy Spirit of boldness to keep on trusting You, Lord to go into the great unknown at times knowing that the God of all knowledge , Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent God that You lead us and You take us . In Jesus name.

The last words of the greatest man that has ever walked on the surface of the planet earth. It is very important to know and study the last words of our master and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus made 7 statements that have been recorded in the Bible and as followers of Jesus Christ, we need to do them before we die.

The first thing you have to make sure you do is that when you die, you have to have a CLEAN SLATE, to find out what that is let's read Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

I don't think it was an easy thing for Jesus to say, Father Forgive them, there are 3 things that we have to focused on before we die if we want to die right.

1.STAY FOCUSED ON GOD

The greatest injustice that has ever been done in history, no other injustice can be compared to the Perfect Son of God being crucified for the sins of others.

Everyone will think Jesus will focus on the crowd down there, the one that spat on him , the one that beat him , the one that made fun of him, the one that nailed him on the cross. He was dying in agony but Jesus focus wasn't on them , His eyes was on the Father

When you read the scripture again His first word was Father, let me give you people some revelation, any time someone hurts you, offends you or crushes your heart, do you know what the devil wants to do?

The devil wants you to focus on them, he wants you to be upset with them and how much they have hurt you, Jesus doesn't take the bait , He keeps His focus on His Father.

That was the only time Jesus asked His Father to forgive other people , if you read the ministry of Jesus, anytime anyone needs to be forgiven, Jesus forgave them. But on this occasion He asked the Father to forgive them now why did Jesus do that?. Now, here's why, when Jesus forgave someone and the Pharisees heard it they said only God can forgive sins and they were right on the Cross Jesus wasn't God, because God can't die , Jesus was dying as one of us, as a human being.

Now let's read what Peter said about this event, 1 Peter 2:23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: To be reviled is to be made to appear vile, to be evil spoken of, slandered. His doctrines were disputed and he was slandered as a blasphemer. Finally they reviled him to the extent of crucifying him between two thieves. It is part of the divine will throughout this Gospel age to allow his faithful servants to suffer reproaches even as in the case of the Master. Jesus did not retaliate. When evil things were spoken of him he did not speak evil of those who did him injury. Jesus could have contradicted the Jews, telling them the Devil was working with them, etc. But he did not render evil for evil. At our Lord's trial he was charged with blasphemy, the rabble felt at liberty to abuse Jesus and show their contempt by spitting upon him and smiting him, yet he did not revile against them.

No matter how much we are reviled, we are not to revile in return; instead, we are to bless. If the person who has slandered us is in difficulty and needs help, we are to overlook altogether what he has done to us, and be just as ready to help them as any other person. Nor should we under any circumstances leave the Holy to render evil for evil. We must follow in the footsteps of the great High Priest.

Someone will say, you don't know how I have been hurt and I can't forgive that person, if you can trust God with your heart , then you can trust God with your hurt.

If you can trust God who loves you then you can trust God with anyone who hates you, hate and hurt should not be a wall to separate you from God they should become bridges to God. So the next time someone hurts you remember, the devil wants you to feel sorry for yourself , he wants you to feel bitter and angry. God says when others turn their back towards you, you turn your eyes towards me , you stay focused on God.

Oh Lord, this is our generation, this is the place Father where You leave us Faith without boarders , Lord I pray Tonight in Jesus name , as we step out into all that You have for us , as we have the courage , sometimes we step into the great unknown there we meet Jesus and we meet the will of God and we meet the purpose of God and we meet the promise of God and we meet the purpose of God. Lord please give us that courage and give us the Holy Spirit of boldness to keep on trusting You to walk on those waters , Lord to go into the great unknown at times knowing that the God of all knowledge , Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent God that You lead us and You take us . In Jesus name

2. You Stay Full Of Forgiveness.

Jesus said " Father Forgive them ". Let's imagine someone stripe you naked and put tongs on your head,whip and beat you mercilessly and put nails through your feet and hands , hung you, spit on you and mock you. And then gamble on your clothes not for what you have done but for what they have done.

WOULD YOU BE HONESTLY PRAY THAT KIND OF PRAYER?.

Remember Jesus could have called 12 thousand legions to fight for Him.

Matthew 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

They were ready to rescue Him, they were battle to wipe the earth at Jesus command but Jesus said "FATHER FORGIVE THEM".

Jesus is the only person on record who died without needing any forgiveness , He's forgiving people who have no right to be forgiven

They did ask for forgiveness?

They did they repent of what they did?

No.

God meets quilt with Grace

When Jesus said Father Forgive them, do you know who He was talking to?

I know you will say the Pharasees because they condemned Him or the Romans soldiers because they beat him true.

But remember it was our sins that made Jesus to come down on earth to die for us, it wasn't the Pharasees or the Roman soldiers but our sins. It wasn't only the disciples that turned their back at him but when we disobey Jesus we turn our back against Him. The reason we ought to forgive people who don't deserve it is Jesus forgave us when we don't deserve it. Hallelujah.

If you want to die with a clean slate you need to forgive people, I want to die with a clean slate . When I die and I stand in front of God I know I died with a clean slate. If you want to die with a clean slate.

You have to Focus on God.

You have to forgive people who have wronged you and ask for forgiveness from God. God can wipe the slate clean because of Jesus Christ not because you deserve it, for by Grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God not of works,lest any man should boast , you can't work your way to heaven, you can't buy your way to heaven, God is unchanging. He's unchanging in His love, God loves you , that's the most wonderful thing to go to bed with at night, to know that God loves me , God forgives me, God is interested in me but I must receive Him.

Thank you for joining me, God bless you and stay safe. Peace Shalom

0 notes

wobblyfet · 6 years

Text

The Definitive Ranking of Villainous Pokémon Teams

With USUM just coming out and Team Rainbow Rocket being a thing, I thought I’d dig up a ranking I started a while ago!

7. Team Flare

Look, those outfits are snazzy. There’s no denying that. But… who the hell are these people? What’s their goal as a team of villains?

I mean, Lysandre talks about creating a more beautiful world because he thinks humanity is dumb. The qualifiers for what a more beautiful world exactly are is never made particularly clear, just that this involves the purging of everyone not in Team Flare. He gets a bit of backstory about having a genuine savior complex turned into radical disillusionment, but it doesn’t really cover how murky his goals are here. Like, what exactly is he objecting to about the ugliness of the world? Does he want to wipe out much of the world’s ecosystem with the laser beam of doom in their headquarters or just people? How does that work? And what is Team Flare?

I’m not sure at all what the organization of the rest of this team is. The grunt dialogue suggests getting in is quite expensive, and some of them seem pretty caught up in this whole beautiful world business. There’s suggestion Flare membership is kind of an issue of status. Much of both Lysandre’s and general dialogue about it do sort of resemble the dialogue from real world radical organizations, but the problem here is that radical ideologies tend to have a deeper surface rationale than what Team Flare’s deal is. They care about class elitism while also wanting to destroy what makes the world economy, and I don’t really know why these people would be more invested in genocide than, say, aggressively running a fashion line or a country club.

The problem for me probably boils down to how little depth this team is given. The grunts are just sort of there, admins are indistinguishable, and nobody has really any characterization except Lysandre and Malva, and even that’s pretty murky. Because of that, they fall flat as antagonists.

One thing I did like about them as villains: how Lysandre uses the Holo-Caster to spread his message. Having him pop up between videochatting your friends to monologue about purity and cleansing was genuinely disquieting. In this day and age, abruptly revealing that this world’s equivalent of a smartphone is actually a vehicle for ideological evil is intimidating and relevant.

Though, I gotta say, a Pokémon game is really not the place for Holocaust puns. Boo on that.

6. Team Aqua

These guys are the only ones to seriously rival Team Flare’s stupidity. To begin with, looking at the original games, the whole hook of “More water! Yay environments for Water Pokémon!” is really bizarre in the context of a villainous team on Hoenn. Hoenn is a goddamn island, and at that one that is already thoroughly integrated with the sea. Why there would be enough radical water lovers in this area to warrant any a whole group obsessed with expansionism is kind of beyond me.

I do like that how the remakes broadened both Aqua and Magma’s motives, but… remixed Team Aqua is still incredibly dumb. They’re a radical group in defense of wronged Pokémon, which is cool, but the answer is to destroy the world and restore it to another primordial state? What? I’m no expert in environmental science but I’m pretty sure something like that would, like, definitely wipe out most Pokémon, including the ones that live in the sea. A questionable goal for a group purportedly all about saving wronged Pokémon.

And what’s the long-term plan here for the rest of the group? Is this destruction of the world like a death pact for the members or what?

Archie is entertaining, but let’s be real, he’s also pretty lame. Going so far as to recruit a potentially suicidal eco-terrorist cult only to chicken out when a big whale starts to make it rain is kind of pathetic.

Things that win Team Aqua villain points: fleshed out and entertaining characters in Archie, Shelly, and Matt. Also, pirates are cool.

5. Team Galactic

I feel like Team Galactic started the trend in Pokémon games of there being apocalyptic stakes with the villains. A good Pokémon villainous team doesn’t really need to be world-destroying to work well as bad guys, as I’ll elaborate on below. That said, I would still put a big gap between Galactic and the bottom two teams, and I do generally like these guys.

Cyrus wants to create a new universe without pesky things like spirit or feelings. This makes enough sense for a villainous team in the context of Sinnoh, where a person can capture deities of space and time in Pokéballs. And I also quite like how the game contextualizes Cyrus as a villain of emotional abuse in his childhood- not to say this excuses him, but it adds a nice bit of depth.

Like the last two villainous teams, I have some questions about how exactly Cyrus’s goals translate to an ideology for an entire team of mooks, or, more importantly, how such a wet blanket of a leader convinced a legion of followers to run around Sinnoh in those embarrassing spacesuits. It’s never made super clear what the rest of Team Galactic is hoping to get out of the deal, but unlike Team Flare or Team Aqua, it’s easier to headcanon a large group of people being enticed by holding positions of power in a new world where, without any spirit, people and Pokémon might easily function as slaves.

Another thing I like: Cyrus’s eventual fate in the distortion world. No redemption, no dramatic downfall scene, just him eerily ranting about his ambitions as he wanders off into the netherworld. It’s creepy and sad, and fitting ending to his saga.

Overall, I don’t have strong feelings one way or the other about Team Galactic. It’s satisfactorily developed but comparatively not as interesting as other bad guys in this franchise.

Those team spacesuits, though. There’s no explanation for that.

4. Team Magma

Look, this team suffers from a lot of the issues that their counterparts do. Namely, the way Maxie and his team just kind of fuck off very quickly after awakening Groudon. It’s sort of ridiculous to go so far to advance your villainous team only to give up so quickly. But, other than that, Team Magma is so much better.

To be fair, in the original Gen III games, their motives are pretty thin. However, for the same reasons Team Aqua doesn’t make much sense, Team Magma does. Hoenn is a tropical island in the middle of the sea that demands travelling through the sea and jungle to get anywhere. Hell, I spend enough time facing Wingulls and Tentacools on water routes and I’m ready to sign up. Or take a Team Magma pamphlet, at least.

I kid, but that’s mostly why I like Magma’s expanded motives in the remakes so much. In a world that’s obsessed with accommodating Pokémon and keeping balance with the environment, a reactionary group obsessed with human expansionism makes for realistic bad guys. And expanding land for development at the cost of the ecosystem is exactly what a group like that in Hoenn would focus on. To be clear, none of this is to say that Team Magma is condonable, or that Pokémon’s pro-environmentalist message is somehow a bad thing- it’s just that in this context, Team Magma would be one of the most plausible villainous organizations to come up.

I also quite like Team Magma’s characters. Maxie is a cool customer and exactly the type of smug asshole you’d expect to present an environmentally-unfriendly development plan at the corporate meeting, and Tabitha and Courtney are quite amusing. Updated Courtney in particular is weirdly charming, and I kind of hope we see more of her. And even though I just whined about how easily Maxie turns around and changes his mind, I don’t really think a redemptive ending for them is necessarily a bad thing. Isn’t an ending like that what most of us are trying to get from the Maxies of the real world driving our planet to ruin?

Anyways, if Magma started looking into building eco-friendly bridges across those damn water routes, I’d totally take a pamphlet. Just saying.

3. Team Rocket/Neo Team Rocket

Team Rocket! The OG villainous team! And easily still the most iconic, over twenty years later now. They invented the Pokémon villainous team, and they surely deserve some props for that. That’s the whole reason Giovanni’s coming back as the leader of the super-villains, right? (I have some qualms about this, but more on that later)

Nostalgic factors aside, I think Team Rocket works quite well as an antagonistic force. I just praised Team Magma for being possibly the most realistic villainous team in the Pokémon world, but I really think that dubious honor should go to Rocket. These guys don’t want to end the world or build a new universe or anything like that; they see simple profit in Pokémon and are totally willing to go after that, whatever the cost. And with that, they’re able to function on a large scale and do terrible things.

Even without threatening the Pokémon world with apocalyptic aims, for my money they’re still demonstrably scarier than any other evil team in the series. Yes, Team Rocket will actually murder that Cubone’s mother, and they will mutilate those Slowpokes for profit, and they will mess up Magikarps with freaky radio wave experiments. For that reason, Rocket plots are more memorable than like anything else in the series.

And, like any evil organization worth its butter, they won’t fucking die. They’ll be reorganizing and spreading their tendrils to the underbelly of Johto and the Sevii Islands and now Alola. It’s totally plausible to me that a mafia with an eye for exploitative profit would have more lasting power than any of those other cults and become the villains of the Pokémon world.

They’re only at #3, though, and that’s because of one thing: Giovanni makes very little sense as a big bad boss.

I mean, he’s the shadowy kingpin of Kanto’s criminal underworld, and a gym leader? Isn’t a gym leader’s entire job to be a public official/stepping stone for up and coming trainers in the league? I’ve seen the meme of the one dude in Viridian City musing on the mystery of the gym leader while standing right next a sign that says “GYM LEADER: GIOVANNI”, but really, that’s actually, that’s a really strange problem for the team.

Because really, why would Giovanni think it’s a good idea to run a criminal syndicate from inside an establishment that literally asks for kids to come in and beat him, and then when it happens, be all like “Welp, that’s it for my criminal empire. Time to fuck off to the mountains.” It’s easily the most inexplicable downfall in the series.

I’m not sure why Neo Team Rocket in Johto wanted this guy back so desperately. And I know he’s leading Team Rainbow Rocket because he’s the most iconic legacy villain and all, but let’s be real, all those leaders probably could’ve picked someone more competent to be the evil superboss.

2. Team Plasma/Neo Team Plasma

If I were in the Pokémon world and didn’t have the luxury of a video game screen’s distance, I would probably have some serious moral qualms about the whole catching, training, and battling system. I mean, like, PETA’s response to the Pokémon franchise is over the top and unintentionally funny, but the ethics of how you train Pokémon the only way the games let you is a fair thing to consider. Would the Pokémon world be better off without gyms and Pokéballs, really?

That’s the main reason I like Team Plasma. Their premise is more ideologically compelling than any of the other teams. Because, really, in the first four generations there’s a lot talked up about bonding between Pokémon and trainers and how the two built up the world through cooperation, but there’s really not much to indicate that this exchange is demonstrably preferable to Pokémon whose best interests might not, you know, involve forcible abductions and battling until passing out. Having a villainous team like Team Plasma let the franchise address this question in a thoughtful way, and I dig it.

It also let the Team Plasma grunts be some of the most gloriously awful hypocrites in the franchise. I still remember how absolutely infuriating it was to have all these twerps show up and obstruct me with Pokémon battles while getting all self-righteous about how battling this way was wrong, and how much I hated them all even though they had a valid point. I dig that too. A mix like that can be an ideal recipe for a good antagonist.

What really sells me on Team Plasma, though, is the family drama backing it all. N is great every time he shows up, with all his cryptic dialogue and struggles to do right by the creatures he loves. Pokémon never really had an anti-villain before and he was perfect for games as much about moral ambiguity and balance as Black and White were. Having someone intimately connected to Pokémon and their needs (I remember the chills I got when you first go in his room and see all the scratched-up toys) makes him ideal to communicate the message that good trainer-Pokémon relationships are a healthy reciprocal exchange where a trainer ideally pays attention to the needs of their Pokémon. It’s a nice message.

N adding moral ambiguity to the game is great, but the drop of Ghetsis as the true mastermind is a good one too. The extent of Ghetsis’s manipulation of N was damn chilling, and silly robe or not, adding the personal touch cements him as one of the most solidly awful main bad guys in the series. Child abuse is sort of a running theme in this franchise, and I oddly appreciate much of the way it’s featured- I mean, I don’t like it, but it’s a literary appreciation. In the case of Black and White, framing an ethical struggle of how to do right by your Pokémon against someone brutally exploiting that struggle for the sake of a power grab was effective.

(as an aside, I didn’t much care for the reveal that N wasn’t Ghetsis’s biological son. I feel like the game sort of treated the reveal as a “Guess what? Ghetsis wasn’t your legitimate father all along!” which isn’t great, since whether or not a child has blood relationship to their caretaker doesn’t actually have any bearing on said caretaker’s impact and moral responsibility as a guardian, and pretending otherwise reinforces a harmful message that adoptive parents aren’t somehow “real” parents. Not super important but it’s just a little thing that bothers me)

Team Plasma’s second appearance is honestly less memorable to me than the first, but I dig the whole team evolution and split between Ghetsis’s power grabby followers and N’s good-hearted followers. It gives the saga of Team Plasma a legacy development we’ve really only seen otherwise with Neo Team Rocket in Johto, albeit with a more epic bent.

The big unanswered questions- how the hell did Team Plasma end up a weird religious monarchy? (And who the hell are Anthea and Concordia?) I feel like demanding more practical details of the running of all these evil organizations than a game for children is realistically going to give us is a running theme in this ranking, but I care about these things, dammit.

1. Team Skull/Aether Foundation

When I first made this ranking about a year ago, I gave first place to the Sun and Moon antagonists then too, but I wondered if it was recency bias speaking. But after a year of being less wrapped up in Gen VII than I was then, I can look back and say that these guys are the definitive #1 villainous Pokémon team. I make this announcement seriously and with perfect objectivity on the matter. No questioning or dissenting opinions will be tolerated in this house, silly nit.

I kid, of course. This is just an opinion-based list I wrote for my own amusement. But that said, I do think the antagonists this game gave us are easily a cut above everyone else on this list, just with what speaks to me.

Team Skull, to begin with, is everything. Everything from their designs to their dialogue to the way Alola treats them like a giant joke really feels like these guys were crafted with a lot of affection for them. They’re perfect for the Gen VII games because, like much else, it’s goofy and self-aware and just plain fun. I’ve seen footage of the grunt reacting in horror over you getting to say you don’t remember who they are several times now and it’s still hilarious.

But also like much of Gen VII in general, it swings back around with a surprising amount of depth. The more time you spend talking with grunts, you get more and more of the sense of a lost and displaced group of people turning with their comrades on a society that doesn’t have a place for them. A lot of this is framed around the failure in the Island Challenge, but really, it’s not hard to read more into all the possible reasons the Skull kids could have turned to crime than that, right? (and even if you just leave it at that, I do sort of wonder sometimes about how much value the Pokémon world puts on someone’s strength as a trainer. It seems like it might be a somewhat limiting way to run things, to say the least, but that’s a discussion for another day)

Anyways, Team Skull resonates with me for the same reasons that Magma and Rocket do- it’s a not inaccurate depiction of what kind of evil organizations would appear in a world that resembles our own. What many of the Skullsters describe reflects real life gang psychology remarkably well. The world doesn’t want you, because the normal standards (the Island Challenge) are too high, perhaps on top of not having food or money or being shut out socially for any number of bullshit reasons. But the gang has your back, and it’s gonna provide AND stand with you against the world. Hence the perpetuation of crime culture even when “better” life choices are there, and the emphasis on belonging and group loyalty. The way the story frames Team Skull along those lines gives you another totally plausible villainous group, but unlike Rocket or Magma, it does it in a way that frequently plays on your empathy.

Don’t get me wrong here, I definitely do not mean to paint Team Skull as a bunch of poor lil’ woobies who turned to crime because they had no agency to be better people. They’re still the villains here, after all. We see plenty in game of all the ways they’re earnestly terrible to Alolans, from generally being obnoxious punkasses who get in your way to vandalizing to stealing children’s pets to taking over Po Town. As funny as it is, I’m not totally sure why the denizens of Alola are as unconcerned with Team Skull as they are; taking over an entire goddamn town is nothing to sneeze at.

It’s just… surprisingly nuanced, is all. Team Skull can be a bunch of weenies, genuinely threatening, and have a kind of a tragic reality underneath it all at the same time. Walking through the barricaded ruins of Po Town, across all the belligerent patrollers or members just sitting in the rain, is eerie for more reasons than one.

Boss Guzma encapsulates all of it pretty well. He’ll gloriously ham things up every time he’s on screen, and he’ll bully anyone in his way, but the game also gives him some backstory and, eventually, room to express his standards and prove that he’s really not beyond redemption here. Because getting caught up in Lusamine’s sinister plots really always came down to wanting personal validation and what’s best for his Skull kids, more than a core desire to watch the world burn from Ultra Space. (I might just be a sucker for the Even Evil Has Standards trope, but even so)

I also love the moment where Plumeria decides to help you. It’s not a moment of redemption in the sense that she’s seen the light and decided to stop being a punk. Her MO doesn’t ever change at all; she fights you because she wants to protect her kids, and she comes to your side because she wants to protect her kids.

I love everything about Team Skull, but they’re only half the equation. Sun and Moon also gave us the Aether Foundation. Hoo boy.

Lusamine is my favorite main antagonist in the series. For my money, she’s easily the scariest. And not just because she fucking froze her favorite Pokémon in ice to admire them at her leisure forever. I mean holy fuck what was that and was anyone expecting a scene that horrifying in a game like this. But anyways… (shudders)

Lusamine is intimidating first because of the way she wraps herself in a veneer of civility and benevolence. I mean, it’s true that she gives off creepy vibes from the introduction, just like Lysandre, but the difference lies in just how much the Aether Foundation embodies the qualities of Pokémon Good Guys we know so well at this point. They want to protect the ecosystem and, for Lusamine, it comes from a place of love. But it takes a while to figure out just how messed up that understanding of love is.

Lusamine’s love bubble is about what she can control, and when what she loves deviates from her expectations, she reacts with physical and emotional violence. Because underneath it all, she’s an astonishingly selfish person who puts her loved ones in danger by association. She treats her love for vulnerable parties as a tactic to mold them into whatever she wants, even to horrifying ends (permafreezing Pokémon who probably loved and trusted their trainer), and treats love as a commodity that can be withheld as a punishment and an excuse for doing whatever she wants in retribution. She can take advantage of Team Skull, and more horrifically, Nebby and her children, and eventually end up at critical self-indulgence in Ultra Space because all the world has failed to meet her impossible standards for love and therefore deserves to be razed by her deadly interdimensional pet jellyfish.

I mentioned in the last entry how child abuse is something of a running theme in the Pokémon franchise, and Lusamine brings the most intimate and thoughtful depiction of it yet. It winds up with Gladion lost and caught up with criminals he doesn’t even like associating with and turns cold. Lillie ends up working very hard, by way of new positive social bonds, to overcome the complexes association with her mother forced into her. In the end, both get to symbolically save themselves and stand up to Lusamine’s abuse. It touched me in a place I would have never expected a series like Pokémon to reach.

Lusamine is the fucking worst, but… I appreciated how the games even gave her backstory and space for empathy, too. The lady had a hard deal herself, and after losing your partner that way, it’s understandable that someone would end up obsessed with control and selective about love. She’s still terrible, mind you, but it’s worth seeing where something like that is coming from. And also, I really appreciated that even when her kids are breaking free and standing up, how they still sort of love each other. I loved Lillie’s monologue on Exeggutor Island about how her mother wasn’t all bad all the time, and they have good memories. It’s a realistic outcome for abuse victims to think that way, really. Lusamine’s concept of love is horrifying and unconstructive, and the fact Lillie loves her isn’t going to stop her from resisting her mother’s mind games, and the mere existence of familial love between them isn’t going to come close to fixing just how much in the wrong Lusamine is, but it’s there. It’s more unexpected thoughtfulness it would have been easy not to include, and I’m very glad it’s there.

I also love how Lusamine, like N, addresses in a meta sense some of the moral quandaries the format of Pokémon lends itself to. Because yeah, realistically, the average player is going to be kind of similar to Lusamine- we see Pokémon as ideally under our control and as decorative collectibles to be frozen in the game file indefinitely when we don’t need them anymore. And just like Lusamine, our reaction to seeing a brand new interdimensional jellyfish of doom (or the like) is going to be “I’ve got to get that.” The value of an antagonist like Lusamine is to show how this way of playing Pokémon absolutely cannot be extended to your living, real life relationships.

If I have one criticism of the Skull/Aether coalition as bad guys, it’s probably that the rest of the Aether Foundation is rather opaque. One minute they’ll be serving the wholesome environmentalist mission, and the next they’ll be attacking you with evil grins under Lusamine’s orders. Exactly how much the members knew about and were chill with Lusamine’s secret agendas or how this was dealt with after her downfall was never something that was really addressed.

(Also, screw Wicke. That woman was clearly aware of both how Lusamine was abusing her kids and the shady things the foundation was up to, and why it was wrong, but she still supported it all by working as an Aether executive. I would have hoped you’d get to kick her oily butt like you do with Faba to teach her a lesson about passive complacency in evil activities, or at least see her get a verbal slap on the wrist, but apparently not)

Overall, though, I have a hard time nitpicking when the good parts are so thoughtful and meaningful to me. It’s with this that I’m proud to declare these the top baddies! Woo!

Anyways, that’s it for the definitive ranking! I had fun with this. Will Rainbow Rocket be more or less the sum of its parts? I can’t wait to find out!

#pokemon #lusamine #guzma #giovanni #cyrus #archie #maxie #holocaust reference//#genocide reference//#child abuse//

8 notes · View notes

tomorrowedblog · 4 years

Video

youtube

First look at Clan O’Conall

A new trailer has been released for Clan O’Conall. No release date was specified.

Clan O’Conall is a 2D, art-led puzzle-platformer featuring the iconic landscapes of ancient Hibernia. Inspired by Celtic folklore, wipe out the Caoránach’s legion of evil spirits by swapping out characters and using blades, arrows and your meaty fists while simultaneously conquering complex platforming challenges!

#Games #ClanOConall #News

0 notes

gduncan969 · 4 years

Text

Deliverance (the Forgotten) Ministry

Matthew 10:8 “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

Mark 1:39 “And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.”

Mark 6:13 “And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.”

Mark 16:17 “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;”

There’s no getting away from it! Jesus and His disciples cast out a lot of demons from a lot of people. In one single case (Mark 5:9) he cast out thousands of demons from one man who was running around naked, breaking the chains they tried to bind him with and cutting himself. I’ve heard some argue that it was just one demon named Legion but the bible rejects this because when asked by the Lord, “What is your name?” the demon answered, “Legion, for we are many” and in the Roman army a Legion comprised 5,000 soldiers. Even if the demon was lying about how important he was, there were enough demons cast out of him to fill a whole heard of pigs and send them racing into the lake to drown themselves (presumably the pigs didn’t want the demons either!). It also sheds light on just how many demons can inhabit a single person. My question is why is the subject of deliverance from demons such a rare and almost forbidden topic in the Christian Church today? It is most certainly needed in this drug-soaked “new age” society but when was the last time you heard of anyone being delivered from a demon let alone seen someone delivered? If I’m being honest, it’s not a question I like to ask myself and the reason is not that I don’t believe it is needed, it most certainly is and I have witnessed it on several occasions but in this enlightened, medically advanced society, demons are just not mentioned in polite conversation. Sadly, most Christians just don’t want to discuss the subject! It’s just too controversial a topic and I suspect too fearful a challenge for most of us because it requires that we recognise that evil spirits are real and infest people, sometimes in great numbers, with the purpose of destroying them and the only way to deal with them is to cast them out in Jesus’ name. Many have swallowed the lie that all such cases are rooted in mental illness and are best treated by psychologists and psychiatrists but a glance at the evening news and the utterly depraved actions of some among us should tell us otherwise. The Holy Spirit gives us His gifts of discerning of spirits, words of wisdom and knowledge and so on (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) to help us understand what the root of someone’s problem is and how to deal with it. Note that just the presence of Jesus was all it took when he walked into the temple, or met the Gadarene demoniac, for the demons to start manifesting themselves. This happened to the man who ordained me into the ministry in, Rev. H. A. Maxwell Whyte, who was well known on several continents for his powerful ministry of deliverance and he was interviewed on several secular and Christian TV stations about this subject, especially when the famous movie, “The Exorcist”, was making its rounds. At a dinner meeting in Thunder bay, he was going down one side of the buffet table when a man on the other side of the table started to shake uncontrollably, dropped his plate and ran out of the building. Fortunately, he came back later and went forward to commit his life to Christ. My life-long friend, Rev. Gordon Williams, a former United Church minister, continues to minister deliverance to those being harassed and tormented by demons but men like these are largely exceptions in the ministry of the gospel rather than the rule. Again, why is this? I suspect there are many answers, most of which would be better called excuses but in my own very limited experience in deliverance, I’ve decided that the deliverance ministry is like the “unmentionable” part of a plumber’s occupation. Plumbers get to fix all kinds of drinking water supply lines to make sure a home has a reliable source of drinking water. If the pipe leaks while he’s working the worst that can happen is he gets wet but a towel and some dry clothes will deal with that. However, there’s another side to plumbing that’s not so clean. Sewer lines leak or get plugged up but the consequences of a spill on the plumber cannot be solved by a wipe-down with a towel! I remember a minister friend in Alberta telling me he and some of his elders, none of whom were plumbers, went to help a lonely widow whose septic system had become plugged. They found the plug in main line in the basement so they opened the line and proceeded to use a rod to remove the blockage. They were successful but their victory was somewhat dampened when the pent up mass came gushing out the pipe and all over them! Not pretty but neither is the deliverance ministry which can be nasty, gucky and yucky and can also make your reputation stink in polite circles. However, remember that Jesus “made himself of no reputation” (Philippians 2:7) meaning that he purposely set out to destroy whatever “hero-image” the people had of him, so losing our reputations should not stop us from cleaning out the sewers as needed.

If you haven’t a clue what I’m talking about in this blog, just go on U-tube and type in the search line: “deliverance from demons”. Make sure your young children are not within ear- or eye-shot. You will be amazed at what you see but if what you see only disgusts you, I suggest you ask the Lord to let you know if what you are looking at on the screen is real and then repent. Demons are real and they devastate the lives of those infested with them and their only solution is deliverance in Jesus’ name. On the other hand, if you recognise a problem in yourself or others close to you, seek help from someone experienced in this type of ministry.

0 notes

xenosgirlvents · 7 years

Text

Farsight, Crisis of Faith-Review

SPOILERS

Let’s get the first thing out of the way; ‘Crisis of Faith’ implies this story is more about Farsight’s dwindling faith in the Ethereals then it actually is. Although that is certainly a part of this novel, it doesn’t really delve too deep into it and, rather, deals more with Farsight’s initial encounters with the Daemons of Chaos.

Synopsis: In sum the story tells of Farsight’s ‘reconquest’ of Vior’los in the aftermath of the Damocles Crusade (the first one). The story is divided into three main pieces; the decision to launch the Second Sphere Expansion and preparation for it, an ambush by Space Marines of Farsight’s expedition within the Damocles Gulf and then, finally, the reconquest of Vior’los itself. Attached to this are some other pieces, presented not in strict chronological order, most important of which is a snapshot of the battle on Arthas Moloch. In addition to this then there is a substory about a Tau Water Caste Member who is possessed by a Daemon of Tzeentch, periodic reports by an Inquisitor infiltrating the Tau back to her significant other and the perspective of the primary antagonists of the story; the Scar Lords Space Marine Chapter.

I make it a bit of a habit of mine to purchase Xenos novels and audio dramas when they come out, even if I’m unsure of their quality, simply since it is the most effective method to encourage more Xenos content in future. Fortunately Crisis of Faith was rather good, not excellent like the Jain Zar novel, but still enjoyable. In many ways it is less the strict story, which is mostly an unremarkable telling of how Farsight beats some Imperium forces to conquer a planet, than it is the amount of information on Tau, Tau characters and society which we get too see which makes the book appealing. So I’ve divided this review, since its nothing formal, just me airing my thoughts for myself, into things and topics which interested me;

Combat: For the most part the combat is fine (though I should note I am not a reader who finds endless description of shooting and chopping fascinating, which is why numerous Black Library novels don’t appeal to me) and there are even some interesting parts. The story doesn’t, usually, spend to much time on the combat, not lingering on it more than necessary for the narrative. There is still a definite feel of ‘Herohammer’ where the overall performance of military units organized into clever movements is less important, seemingly, than the actions of a few exceptional individuals. I honestly wish we’d start seeing less of this in 40k.

Some specifics of the combat I did like is the Tau’s highly practical approach to it; very early on both Farsight and Brightsword point out that the tendency for more than a few Space Marines to not wear helmets is a very exploitable weakness, since a Marine’s head can’t withstand a Plasma Rifle or Fusion Blaster to the face. This reaches its most important point when, confronted by Terminators with Storm Shields who are proving impervious to fire, the Tau deploy optical munitions to blind the receptors of the Helmets, prompting the Marines to discard them so that they can still find their enemy. The Marines are still, thanks to the Storm Shields, immune to fire coming at them, but with their helmets now off a team of Crisis Suits can engage from above them, targeting their exposed heads before they can raise their shields up. Stuff like this, or taking advantage of the Tau arsenal’s capacity for operating from the air (hover tanks, battlesuits) are nice when they’re brought up since they are actually very important advantages, mobility. Similarly the Tau are shown, again, as always being quick to change strategy and tactics to capitalize on weaknesses. After discovering of the importance of the Geller Fields to an Imperial Ship Farsight targets it so that any translation to the Warp will mean almost certain death for the crew.

It is not a Book of Epic Duels really, which suits me fine, since Farsight tends to act towards achieving victory over his enemy without resorting to the ‘I’ll kill their leader myself and then they’ll break’ which has been seen in 40k so many times now. The closest to an epic duel we get is the Epistolary of the Scar Lords final fight against Farsight and his whole band, which is actually won by a Daemon of Tzeentch for the most part. But, for example, the Chapter Master of the Scar Lords and Farsight never actually meet or clash with each other, which was something I enjoyed actually.

Beyond that I just don’t pay attention to scale when it comes to 40k. Books can vary so much, and sometimes seem so impractical with regards to scale in a setting like 40k’s that I tend to, these days, ignore stated numbers and rather read results. Besides the central conceit of 40k has always been that a force of a few hundred can wipe out forces of billions so yeah.

One thing which was very original was that, in the novel, the Space Marines are not the primary military force the Tau struggle with. Once the Tau reach Vior’los, and battle commences, we see Space Marine and Astra Militarum forces being dealt with handily, but it is the Skitarii Legions who pose the greatest problem. The Skitarii have an enormous amount of numbers, with dozens more macroclads being shipped to the planet once the Tau attack begins, and their relentlessness in the face of the Tau assaults are the Tau’s biggest problem to overcome in the consequence. Painting any Imperial military force as doing better against a foe than Space Marines is very rare, so the Skitarii earn definite kudos for it.

Ulimately the end of the battle is a bit repetitive, its another ‘Tau use the enviroment against them’ this time triggering the volcanoes of Vior’los to melt the Skitarii in lava after evacuating the civilians from the slave camps so they won’t be harmed.

Characters: Farsight continues to be fun to read, and very conflicted. He is very notably flawed too, with a lot of his companions spending their time berating him for his temper and his unwilligness to make harsh decisions. Despite this his attitude of detatched analysis is fun to read, often feeling as if he is, like the reader, trying to puzzle out and understand the story he is caught in.

The Farsight/Kais/Shadowsun trio is explored a little bit more but...still not much. That being said what is shown makes me incredibly hungry for more. The three have an incredibly stuffed up relationship now, despite having been as close as Tau can be in their youth. It is made clear that post Dal’yth the three aren’t really ‘friends’ anymore, with Kais basically never even talking to them and Shadowsun and Farsight’s relationship being incredibly strained. In this dynamic Farsight seems the one most eager to repair their friendship, always thinking of his two companions in fond terms still, and desperately wishing for their involvement in his life (particularly Shadowsun’s). However, standing in his way is his own fame. Its made rather clear that, at least Shadowsun’s, resentment of Farsight has a large part to do with him being seemingly treated as the saviour of the Tau whilst her efforts are ignored. Farsight himself, when appointed to lead the Second Sphere Expedition, points out that Shadowsun has a better win record than him, even on Dal’yth, and is better when operating in support of fleets. Despite this acrimony Shadowsun does still clearly care for Farsight, and we get to see the rather touching scene of Farsight bidding Shadowsun goodbye as she goes into stasis (with the two assuming they’ll never see each other again). Shadowsun feels guilty about something in Farsight’s past, the same way he feels guilty for Shadowsun being ignored in the present.

What we get on Kais is less but sounds awesome. Kais is effectively a broken soul, as Farsight thinks of him, a Tau who is totally lost and alienated, desiring to be alone which is abhorrent to the Tau spirit of community (something Farsight and Shadowsun both feel is important, cooperating as a group). But Kais’ issues are clearly deep, with Kais seemingly fearing becoming close to others. When Farsight rushes over to talk to Kais and Shadowsun before they are put into stasis he comes to late for Kais, with the Earth Caste explaining that Kais asked to be put under instantly, which Farsight notes is very like Kais since it effectively amounts to him running away from contact with others. Kais is clearly described in very ominous and dangerous terms throughout the book, whenever Farsight thinks of him.

Other than these three we have a nice supporting Caste; O’blotai continues to join Bravestorm and Brightsword as Farsight’s main supporting cast (I do wish there had been a female member of the 8 before Torchstar). O’blotai is the strongest of the three in character, serving still as something of a mentor to Farsight, whilst Bravestorm has perhaps the least to do (except be the best in a physical fight cause of his Onager Gauntlet). Brightsword is still Brightsword; the overzealous rookie who can’t get enough of fighting. He provides a lot of humour with his quips, but his overzealousness is also something which causes Farsight trouble.

O’vesa is still here and I love him cause he is so adorably heartless, approaching everything in such a rational method that, without meaning to, he’s constantly infuriating Farsight.

There is a tragic lack of important female characters. This is very frustrating, considering these are the Tau, and I hope we get a Shadowsun novel series too which can then hopefully counterbalance this to an extent. Of the new female Tau we’re introdcued to only three matter; a Water Caste Ambassador who just exists to again show Aun’va is evil, an Earth Caste Terraformer who’s there to talk to O’vesa sometimes and also to help shore up gender balance in the Elemental Council by making it that there’s almost always a male and female Tau representing every Caste and an Ethereal who is basically just Aun’va but less evil but already going to die on Arthas Moloch and does basically nothing.

Non-Tau important characters breakdown mostly to an Inquisitor female, Vrykola, pretending to be a Gue’vesa and the Scar Lords Space Marine Chapter (though the Hammers of Dorn do make an appearance). Vrykola herself does little in the story till the end, but her regular ‘missives’ sent back to her significant other are fun to read, often showing a nuanced take on both the Tau Empire and the Imperium, disillusioned with both in many ways. She doesn’t attempt to deny that much cruelty in the Imperium is not necessary, but she still feels committed to saving the project as a whole. In her own words there are aspects of the Imperium she thinks it would be better without. By the end of the book she has begun to fear she is becoming the mask, so to speak, with a clear sympathy for the Tau which leads to her using her powers against a Space Marine Librarian to save Farsight. She still feels loyal to the Imperium, she confides in her final missive, but she at the same time clearly isn’t dedicated to the destruction of the Tau anymore and even thinks they may be potential allies.

The Scar Lords were already written as participating in the first Damocles Crusade, as part of this is the already existing fluff that their Chapter Master was trapped on Dal’yth in a Stasis Bomb. This paints the background for their burning vendetta against the Tau and their rather young and inexperienced Chapter Master who has only very recently taken command. The Scar Lords are largely painted as competent, their very first ambush wiping out a 1/3rd of Farsight’s initial expedition, if somewhat overzealous, their own recklessness usually being their undoing.

Then there are two other characters to briefly mention; Aun’va. Honestly. Ugh.

Aun’va being evil isn’t a problem. In fact having an ‘evil’ Tau is nice and a lot that can be done with it. But...Aun’va has become a bad cartoon parody. He is so obviously evil compared to all other Tau that its mind boggling. We get it. He’s bad. He basically does nothing in the book except have a scene of ordering a Water Caste Member to kill herself so we can all go ‘so evil’. It’d be okay if he was effective, but he’s basically never got anything right, so rather than getting a cool ‘Tau Palpatine’ feel from him, he just comes across as some obviously evil idiot who lucks into power without performing a single impressive feat.

Then we have Waterspider, a derogatory nickname implying that he can only skim the surface of water, unlike a proper Water Caste member who can submerge within it. Early on he attempts to help translate the markings on a captured Imperial Warp Drive but, activating it, he ends up possessed by a Daemon which makeshim incapable of lying, practically ending his career as a Water Caste member. Honestly its really sad to read him cutting his own tongue and then staring into a mirror, willing himself with all his might just to tell a simple lie...but still can’t. The line between the Daemon and Waterspider himself can seem blurred, and isn’t explicitly delineated (which I loved), and through the course of the book he plays Tau serial killer in the background, whilst also merrily supporting Farsight, wanting to help him spread bloodshed throughout the galaxy. He is a treat to read, particularly due to his inability to lie. He is something of the ‘true’ antagonist, being the final confrontation Farsight has, and also the meta-point of Farsight realizing there are ‘forces’ he doesn’t understand.

Chaos: The Daemons and raw energy of the Warp is often unimpressive to me in fluff, just appearing and then dying, as if they’re just another type of enemy. This book very much plays on Chaos’ subtle role again, something I enjoyed greatly, with Waterspider reflecting the danger of Daemonic Possession. We also get to see funny scenes like, when noticing Horrors wear jewelled bands and such, Farsight tries to offer them gold to negotiate!

Setting: There’s quite a bit on the setting here which was fun to read. Tau political decisions on a macro level first go through the Ethereal Council, the highest political body, before being deliberated on by an Elemental Council which constitutes a body with two representativesof each Caste (including Ethereal) and two seats for the Kindred Souls (non-Tau member races). There doesn’t seem to be fixed membership of the council, rather at each Council the Caste or Kindred Souls can designate who to attend and deliberate. The Kindred Souls on Dal’yth, making the decision to launch the Second Sphere of Expansion, included a Nicassar and a Human. Any major cross-caste decisions are taken by Elemental Quorums, a collection of the two highest ranked members of every Caste partaking in the matter.

There is sadly not as much of the other races as I’d enjoy, the Nicassar gets to make some pointed comments, sensing immediately when the Imperial vessel’s Geller Fields are down and warning the Tau to stay away from it, and some Kroot cheering when Aun’Wei talks about the Tau’s alliance with other races.

One thing that is very nice is we do get an extended examination of how Tau expansion operates, with Merchant contacts leading the way, offering cheap and effective technologies which usually reduce labour and risk of life and damage to the locals of planets. Furthermore the Tau offer free medical care, eliminating, we’re told, many diseases which plague the Imperium on worlds who allow them to land. The obvious conclusions of this is that, as Waterspider says to Farsight, most people who join the Empire don’t do it because they believe in the Tau’va like the Tau do, they just would prefer to live longer, healthier and more safely, and the Tau offer this at a very low price so long as accession into the Empire is accepted. Meaning only groups who value their independence more than their welfare tend to resist them.

We also get to see Vior’los as run by the Mechanicum and...it isn’t pretty. Tau civilians are hunted down, rounded up, marched across the desert to Volcanos, and then thrown into them to be melted alive. Humans are forced to serve as slaves, beaten if they so much as look up from their work stations, and brutalized so badly that even when their captors are killed they just keep working, having no independent will left in them (until some help with Chaos riles them up against their slavers). It is honestly a very sad bit to read what was being done to the population of Vior’los, both human and Tau, and Farsight is very incensed at the atrocities being committed.

Final Thoughts: Its a fine book, I enjoyed it. Its not amazing, I prefer Fire Warrior as a Tau novel, but it is still good and I hope we’ll see similar books about Aun’Shi, Shadowsun and Kais soon. Honestly I’d love for a followup on Aun’shi’s fate right now, and I’d love for a female Ethereal Special Character.

11 notes · View notes