[RIP CROP. may.2.2021] one last crop post of the night as i slowly dive into planning

Hi! I got the notification that your requests are open skjsjsjs so exciting, can you do something about the noodle dragon with Monster!Task Force 141 please? That would be all, thank you and have a nice day! ❤️✨

Cw: canon-typical violence, weird water magic, weird dragon/monster shit and lore, death, crash, tell me if I missed any.

They’d gotten used to you over the month, watching you prance around them like a graceful panther in hunt, stalking around them with that cheeky smile of yours and a clawed hand always ready to patch someone up. You were a might dragon, a warm to some classifications and an Asian one to others, but the consensus was that you weren’t one to be trifled with —as most dragons were, but if anything, you were so a feline in a body of a dragon than the ferocious monster you were. Always prowling and on guard, watchful and observant, aware of the events transpiring around you like a protective cat.

They took well to you, forgoing the paranoia and apprehension at your eagerness to help them and you openness, your long tail, hard scales protecting the thick cords of sinewy muscles curled ever so softly around them, and the tuff of fur tickling any naked piece of skin. And however tender and soft-hearted you were, they’d seen the dangerous part of you, the draconic one with a strange affinity to water rather than the destructive fire they were so familiar with. Whereas Price was a chaotic force, burning everything on his path and leaving nothing but cinder and ash, you were an unmoving force of water, a typhoon and cyclone that would crash the land and leave broken pieces of what remained, cold and drowned —the calm before the storm as people said, a perfect imagery of you.

Yet there was a lingering suspicion that it was all, that there was a more monstrous part of you hidden away from their eyes. Horangi had shared such thoughts - another mythical creature of sacredness and nobility - and showed them what hehad heard of eastern dragons: giant snake-like creatures with the faces of lions and crowns of graceful antlers, born with lustrous manes and hard but flexible scales that let them dance and twirl as they wished it. Destructive beauty, Horangihad mumbled, a creature who’s image is drawn to represent beauty and nobility. 

They knew, they were fully aware, that you had more to show, yet they couldn’t hold back the awe and amazement that followed the gut-deep fear and worry after they saw you fall, your figure shrinking as you plummeted into the dark and silent ocean, gone into the wide, open sea. Rather than seeing your head pop out, gasping for air while they clung to their straps and helicopter, Nikolai screaming through the comma about holding onto something, swirling left and right to avoid being hit a second time by the war ship, it was calm, a smooth plain growing in darkness, a shape forming beneath the veil of a blue ocean. 

Then, before they knew it, a majestic serpent erupted from the sea, wet scales gleaming under the sun while you rose into the sky in a spiral, white fur floating like you hadn’t just come out of water. You were swift, curling in the air, your magicworking it’s wonder when you flew, stubby arms and legs moving as if you were swimming, looping around them to shield them from being narrowly hit. It was as Horangi gushed, water rose and fell with you, tendrils of salty water reaching out to curl around you, rising high to swarm the enemy ship the same way you did, circling around it until it was left submerged, swallowed up by your hydromancy. You had drowned warship in the depth of the abyss, a dark and cold pit that promised a lonely death, forgotten and painful. You had caused the deaths of hundreds with a twirling dance, an alluring, yet deadly show, like an oleander.

You made no show of joining them in the aircraft, keeping your distance from them, adequate enough to protect them from further damage without becoming a danger to them. They - especially Price, since he had never seen an eastern dragon, only from files and catalogues - gawked, gazing at your head-sized eye, blinking owlishly at them with a narrowed eyes, slitted pupil gleaming with glee at their admiration. You purred, a growling rumble that shook your gills, a deep sound shuddering through them like thunder, low and booming, but it was a happy sound, meant to comfort them from the near sinking that you’d saved them from.

Even in this situation, where they’d been saved by you, you were still trying to comfort them and reassure them despite having taken a hit or two. They were glad Laswell found you.

Taglist: @craxy-person @crowbird-kamakse @dead-cipher @iwannabealocalcryptid @iizx7y @mxtokko @capricorn-anon @perfectus-in-morte @sae1kie @yeoldedumbslut @bvxygriimes @distracteddragoness @konigsblog @angelcakes-22 @ramadiiiisme @ramblingsofachaoticthinker @im-making-an-effort @love-dove-noora @jinxxangel13 @daisychainsinknots @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @mul-pi @danielle143 @beau-min @makayla-666 @urfavsunkissedleo @notspiders @brokenpieces-72 @luvecarson @petwifed @randominstake @heartelysia @jggykhug09090 @hayleybarnesx @shironasumi @sparky--bunny @bloobewy @call-me-nyxx @sans-chara @cod-z @sweetnanah @aldis-nuts @thigh-o-saur @evolutionarry @kaoyamamegami @cassiecasluciluce @sobbingnshtting

13. Space Paladin

Space Paladin begins with fast paced rock and a montage of the hero suiting up, with their gold and white power armor they're quite imposing as they jet off towards what will be the first stage!

"SPACE GHOST!"

A side-scrolling shooter similar to Gradius, though made a bit easier by your ability to deflect shots with your sword and knock them into enemies.

HNV: Ooh, superheroes in space, an underused video game archetype! DueyDecimal: I believe this is more like a KNIGHT in space! Syrupentine: I hope it's not the kind that can only move in an L shape

You can even knock enemies into each other for extra damage! Because of this, you have to time your attacks right and being aggressive usually yields you only a swift demise.

aroseahorseboy: ping pong those meteor monsters! aroseahorseboy: whoa they knock each other back at you too, that's not fair

"Space Knight is really kind of Space Pong but you know what, I get to put on a fancy robot suit and go out in the universe, and that's what I- WHOAH!! Slow up there, Dragonfart!"

The first boss rushes past from the back of the screen, a mechanical dragon that flaps up and down quickly, spitting homing fireballs. "Oh he's cool looking! I hate him also, he's hard, ow!"

Klickitat_Street: Hey, she’s just trying to defend her family! Look at all the eggs you destroyed on the way! Syrupentine: I wouldn’t want to lay meteors. :( HNV: That would probably give you hemorrhoids... Klickitat_Street: Or assteroids. :P Baconnaise: Bea is it okay if you have two less fans soon

She also discovers she can charge up her slash attack. This lets her create a shockwave when she swing, and lets her knock back projectiles twice as fast!

"He's like, 'You know as a knight I was really worried I wouldn't find a dragon in space and I'd just have to settle for slaying a space manticore or something.' "

"And the dragon's like 'Ahh no lousy stinkin' knights up here in the black reaches of- D'OH!!' "

Her final blow chops its head clean off.. and then the head flies away, apparently cackling! "Hey, I'm going to put you on the hood of my car next time I see you!"

aroseahorseboy: you thought you could hoard all the space damsels and astro-gold you wanted? aroseahorseboy: THINK SPACE-AGAIN DueyDecimal: I love when ‘space’ is used as a prefix in the future! HNV: That’s mostly the fault of dictation soft where failures comma Dewey. Glockroach: So is he dead or is he gonna show up later attached to a battleship or a dump truck or something

"I mean, he's bound to show up later, I kind of like when games get a rivalry going between- oh.." The next stage has begun without warning. This time you're flying through a long tunnel lined with statues that appear to be other Space Paladins? The music is much more soft and somber, and Bea finds herself being attacked by ghostly warriors.

"Whoah, the Hall of Ancestors? And none of them are happy to see me, it seems! 'I remember youuu.. I gave you twenty bucks and you never gave it back and then I DIED!' And my guy's just like 'but you're dead now you'll never need it' and they're like 'nope, nope, don't care, we're haunting you, we called up all them dead relatives and we're gonna use 'em' "

berd_snurglar: hey, harsh but fair DueyDecimal: The makers of this game were definitely going with the super overblown portrayal of paladins, huh! With the deep religious themes and asking for spiritual guidance and stuff Meanwhile in every game I run, the Paladin ends up being “The Terminator, except he can turn water into wine“

The vengeful ghosts really test Bea’s ability to reflect shots, and she finds herself using her special spin move more to clear the screen of projectiles than to attack!

A giant knight statue kneels at the end of the stage. There's a bit of dialogue here! Unfortunately none of the text is legible, it's like an alien language. "Huh. Anyone got the secret decoder ring or possibly Google Translate"

Glockroach: It says ''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''' ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Syrupentine: Oh, it’s Woodstock! berd_snurglar: dude got big and joined the space guild I guess wait is the statue also talking or is it knightdude just introspecting

Bea is then presented with a choice- two options, but both in the same abstract "language".

"Uuuuhhhhhhh... Guess we'll do a vote? How many for nonsense A vs. nonsense B?"

DueyDecimal: OK, hang on, maybe it’s a cryptogram? Can we figure out which of these characters is the ‘E’ and work it out from there? aroseahorseboy: that would be the one that looks like ‘ Baconnaise: you are already nonsense, Bea HNV: What was the name of this show again? Syrupentine: i just call it Bea Time Oh jeez duh. PRESS BEA!

"First option is usually 'Yes' with these things, but what am I agreeing to here?" She flips back and forth, moaning and groaning before she makes her choice.

Instantly, the statue's eyes light up and it rises to its feet, pulling a giant sword down from offscreen. "Y'okay, I clearly just agreed to take a look at your cool sword! Done, let's go! Bye!"

HNV: I’m going to assume that he offered to rule the universe with you as father and son and you just said no? snerd_buglar: 'look around lad, all this could be yours' 'what the statues?' 'no not the statues lad!'

This battle feels more dire because there’s no projectiles to reflect, just clashing swords as Bea flies through the endless tunnel of moaning ghosts! Bea still has her own shots, but can’t seem to land a hit on the giant statue with them, it’s even better at blocking than she is!

"I really don't know what to do, nothing seems to get through!" After several minutes of clashing blades, Bea's getting ready to give up, until she realizes she's no longer in control. The warriors have lowered their weapons. Then, they clasp each others hands, and shake.

"Oh."

Syrupentine: Oh. berd_snurglar: oh. Bee52: oh Llord_Kuruku: Oh...

The screen slowly fades to black, but as it does, some sort of energy appears to flow between the giant knight and their smaller successor..

"See I knew I was worthy of the...thing, you guys all worried for nothing!"

DueyDecimal: Why is everyone saying “Oh?” Oh. HNV: The only thing I was worried for nothing about was that Screen 2 wouldn’t match how crazy Screen 1 was...

Screen 3 opens with a legion of ships flying by in the background, over an Earth-like planet. A single while pixel can be seen darting between them- and several are split clean in half! The pixel then flies directly into the camera, and we see it's our knight again! The stage truly begins as they fly low over what looks to be the mothership, touching down to run along its surface.

"Oh dang, a run-em-up now? Okay! Gravity shmavity, it looks cool as hell"

berd_snurglar: this is kind of like someone make an NES lords of thunder and i'm diggin it Llord_Kuruku: I’m starting to to dig this game for real, it’s got a really epic sense of scale

"Yeah me too, Kuru. Wish I knew just what was going on but that's kind of part of the fun I guess!"

HNV: That’s part of the appeal of all of these games, isn’t it? There’s something under the surface, even with the bad and unplayable ones!

Bea can't fly here but she can jump, and she has to to clear some of the turrets and missiles that fly by. "Just, just chop it up already, what's the hold up?"

TaichouSenseiKun: Drama!

She doesn't need to fight much until the miniboss appears, a robotic manticore with an unpleasantly human face-plate and literal stinger missiles!

DueyDecimal: DUDE! Bee52: this is the Monster Manual in space!! berd_snurglar: dewey did you make this one DueyDecimal: Did I?? We’ll see if you have to fight a mechanical hook horror next! HNV: A Robotyugh aroseahorseboy: CPU flayer

This stage is basically a gauntlet of minibosses. After the manticore comes a somewhat underwhelming robo griffin, but its more than made up for by the robo beholder!

Glockroach: B-H0LD R DueyDecimal: This isn’t just a game I’d make, this is what I see when I close my eyes

Approaching the bridge at last, there is no crew visible beyond the windows. Only a glass dome containing the head of the dragon from stage 1. It seems to cackle before turning as much firepower on Bea as possible!

Syrupentine: He’s back!! I love this dragon HNV: Do we get to name him or is that only for heroes Glockroach: Called it btw Llord_Kuruku: Congratulations! You won Space Paladin.

This last boss battle puts Bea’s reflection skills to the test. Some projectiles must be batted back, while new ring-shaped ones must be caught on an outstretched sword and then matched with an opposing color before launching them back to crack the dragon’s dome!

And that's only the first phase- as the battleship itself is finally destroyed, the bridge detaches to become a huge chimera, the dragon head topping off its tail!

"Aaaaahhh.... I did- NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING?"

aroseahorseboy: frippin dang dude! DueyDecimal: This game is grueling but at least it keeps rewarding you with new stuff! Bee52: yeah but come on! that was like kids making up rules in a pretend game! Bee52: POW I got you! Yeah, but, um, my head flies away and gets a new body and also it’s got more heads this time!

"Nu-uh, I got invisibility which not only makes me invisible but if you hit me your arm just goes through anyway! And also the floor is lava and I have the lava boots but you don't"

Syrupentine: MOOOOM, BEA'S CHEATING

She can only get a few hits in, but that's all that's needed with her newly empowered sword! "Ahaaaa, eat a big pile of fu- WHAT???"

The last phase seems to be just the dragon head flying about, and she's too distracted by the chat to dodge in time!

She glares at the screen, slowly turning to the chat window. "YOU!!!!" "No big deal, we can always just.. just.. Game over?! What???" Bea squints at the screen. "They give you ONE life to do all that??"

TaichouSenseiKun: one life to live Klickitat_Street: Well now I'm just amazed at Bea's gaming prowness. All that on one life! Syrupentine: "Prowess" TaichouSenseiKun: Prowness: having qualities resembling the prow of a ship Klickitat_Street: ...I was so ready to come back at you with the dictionary, but no, it is prowess. Everyone's been laughing at me behind my back when I say 'prowness', haven't they. -_-; aroseahorseboy: no you're just in smart company, in real life people probably don't know the word

"Well in spite of how awesome I am, I dunno if I can do that all again, not right now. We'll come back to this one, I have a score to settle!"

aroseahorseboy: any robot dragon that thinks it can mess with Bea has got another think coming probably at least two more thinks since it seems to have several heads

ThunderClap | w.w

Platonic!Wade Wilson x plus size!fem!reader

Summary: You are Wade's roommate and also a superhero. When shit goes down you step in to save the day. Pretty much a crack!fic from a dream I had. Warnings: 18+ only, canon-typical swearing, violence, blood. WC: 626

“Oh shit, you are so fucked now you cock sucking motherfucker.”

“Wade, language!” Colossus tried unsuccessfully once again to get Wade to remember that they were in a public area. “There are children here.”

“Relax, tin man.” Wade turned his head away from the group of bystanders. “Well that seems stupid, this is an action sequence. What sort of irresponsible parents would let their child watch this senseless violence? Oh, oh, here she is!”

Wade pointed your way as you stepped out of the jeep you had stolen to race across town and started to laugh maniacally. Your thigh high boots with a stiletto heel clicked along the pavement with every step and you ignored the heat warming your bare thighs as they chaffed together with every step.

“What’s up, Wade?” You nodded as he fangirled over your appearance.

“Oh god, she spoke to me.” He panted. “I just wanted to say, you are so much better than all these superhero assholes combined! And you know how much I love anal.”

“I think everyone knows that.” You chuckled and turned to the bad guy who had escaped prison once again. “So who’s the giant metal dildo?”

“That's Colossus, you’ve met before.” Wade laughed before turning to face the real enemy. “Helmet head? That’s The Juggernaut Bitch.”

“It’s just Juggernaut.” The man growled.

“No, uh-uh, I watched some old footage of you and you definitely said ‘I’m the Juggernaut Bitch’. See?”

“Uh Wade, I think there was meant to be a comma in there.” You whispered to him as he gasped.

“He called Kitty a bitch! Make him pay, ThunderClap.”

You rolled your neck as you warmed up and stood balanced with your legs together, gathering the energy for the explosion you were about to create. Static electricity filled the air and bystanders' hair began to frizz around their head as you separated your knees and made as much space between your thighs as possible. Wade dropped to his knees beside you, watching with excitement as you legs parted to their full width, your biker shorts riding dangerously high.

“It’s more beautiful than I could ever imagine.” He whispered as he held himself back from touching the bare skin.

You didn’t bother warning him before you slammed your legs shut, he would be able to heal his blown eardrums anyway. The slap of skin sent waves rippling along your thighs and the energy you had gathered was released with a sonic boom. You could see the dust in the air part as the concentrated force blew away everything in its path towards the Juggernaut.

The energy wave hit him full force and shattered the metal helmet he wore before throwing him like a ragdoll into a concrete bollard. Cheers erupted as he was crushed into the solid block and he lay a broken mess and unmoving. Your stomach rolled at the spray of blood that had splattered across the white concrete like a Jackson Pollock painting and you turned away as Wade wrapped his arms around your thighs.

“I really need to carry a spare suit, I just creamed this one.” He stated as he looked up at you.

“That’s a new low for you.” You grimaced as you tried to shake him off. “Get off me, Wilson.”

“Leave the lady be, Wade.” Colossus said as he grabbed him by the scruff and easily tore him away before holding his hand out to you. “Thank you, you should consider joining x-force with us.”

You looked between Wade and Colossus before shaking your head. “No thanks, I see enough of that asshole at home, I could not work with him too.”

“She really does, I forget she’s not like Blind Al. I always have my asshole hanging out.”

Best Video Games of the last decade

The last decade was sensational, a lot of stuff happened, there were dramatic changes all across, especially in videogames. Technological advancements in computer hardware pushed graphical limits and the visual fidelity in gaming kept evolving. Games got more immersive and believable.

The videogame industry saw major changes like the rise of digital gaming platforms such as Steam, Origin, Epic Games Store and so on.

Even the Consoles saw dramatic changes. The PS4 was a major player in the market but Steam on the other hand dominated the PC landscape. Epic Games Store also got a lot of attention.

Even VR stepped out of the shadows and major companies like Microsoft, Google, HTC, Samsung, Facebook and many others discovered the potential of the medium and embarked on the ultimate quest of making the best VR headset in the market. Even Sony made a VR headset for the PS4.

Technological advancements are fine but it is important for us to understand that Videogames cannot just solely depend on technology to be an immersive and unforgettable experience.

They have to have an engaging story, solid and balanced game play mechanics, immersive sound design, perfect balance between narrative and pacing and a few other major factors are what determine a good game and a great game. Ultimately they have to deliver an unforgettable experience.

So after all the trials and tribulations, a few games have emerged to show the world how powerful the medium can be.

So without any further ado, lets jump into the list of best games of the last decade.

  Read Dead Redemption 2

The critically acclaimed open world wild west adventure game comes straight from Rockstar Games, the same team that has made the GTA Series. RDR2 is considered as one of the most successful titles of the last decade as it gives you a vast sprawling open world with staggering amount of detail. This is one of the most detailed games of the decade, coming somewhere close the end of the current generation of consoles; it utilizes the fullest potential of modern day hardware and delivers a stunning dynamic open world experience like never before.

 CS:GO

Yes, you might be wondering why is CS:GO on this list, well it is there for a good reason. Not only this online classic tactical shooter still among the largest and most played games of all time, it is fun to play even in this age and day. CS:GO manages to bring back an old formula and still keeps it relevant at this age. Countless events and tournaments are centered around CS:GO. Back in the day CS was mod out of another legendary game which we will definitely discuss some day. CS single handedly showed the world what mods are capable of achieving and gave birth to the mod culture. There are quite many games which were mods of the past and apart from that, the game is still fun as hell and me and my friends still play it.

 Fortnite

Fortine has a very strange history, it was originally a defense game like minecraft where you build during the day and protect during the night but it wasn’t that successful. People had already seen the idea before, so when Battle Royale was gaining popularity, Fortnite decided to mix its defense formula with BR. The ratings for Fortnite just went off the charts and many people played it as it was released as a free to play title. It had a cosmetic market though which got Epic tons of revenue and that’s how Epic Games Store came into picture. So if a game can do so much for a company, you can definitely process the impact it had on the industry overall.

DOTA 2

Talk about mods again, DOTA was originally a genre defining mod of War Craft 3 but someone else saw its potential. DOTA was more of an underground thing, it was never so popular in the mainstream and very few knew a genre like MOBA even existed. It was around 2009 when I first saw DOTA in a cyber café where some young kids were playing it on LAN. At first, it looked like War Craft 3 but the mechanics were totally different. Soon I learnt it had a cult underground following and Valve made the smart move of acquiring the talent behind this mod and decided to make this thing into a fully blown sequel. DOTA 2 which pushed MOBA into the mainstream. Obviously there were others who joined the bandwagon of MOBA and tried to distinguish themselves. League of Legends is also another MOBA game which is popular but DOTA 2 is still considered as the king and despite of its age is still among the top played games on steam world wide. There are people who have played the game for a staggering 10000 hours and still find new and interesting things. It’s a game which is easy to learn but difficult to master.

Batman Arkham City

Batman needs no introduction, for those who do not know, Batman is a fully ripped grown man who wears Egyptian cotton underwear over a grey suit and is passionate about jumping from building to building during the night and saves the city from bad peeps. He is THE Superhero.

If you haven’t played any of the Batman games of the Arkham trilogy, stop reading this list right away and immediately go and play it! Its really good.

It is debatable which one of the trilogy is the best and its very difficult to make that choice. I personally like all the games but Arkham City is amazing for several reasons as it is an ultimate battle between Batman and Joker, the game goes open world and Gotham City is such well crafted. The Unreal Engine does a marvelous job of putting it all together and the game runs so well AND this is why I could not chose Arkham Knight over Arkham City. Arkham Knight is miles ahead of Arkham City but I made the ultimate mistake of playing it on the PC which was a bad experience. Infact the game was such a mess, Steam had to pull it off and give out refunds to the buyers. It was a great experience on consoles but this misstep was the sole reason why I did not chose it for this list.

BUT now the game has been patched extensively and is in good shape. So if you are a PC gamer and want to be like Batman, this has to be the Ultimate Batman Experience.

Bloodborne

Ever heard of souls like titles? These are considered to be difficult as combat in them is of a different nature. These are not your ordinary action games where you go in front of your enemy and start spamming attacks on them. Souls like titles have be played tactically, timing and accuracy are the name of the game. When to strike, when to dodge and parry are crucial for every encounter and even the most basic enemy can strike you down if you are not paying attention.

Bloodborne is an Action RPG title developed by From Software exclusively for the PS4, set in a dark Victorian world we are tasked to hunt down to take down perils of an odd strange world. Blood Bourne stands out for its unique art style, game play mechanics and an engaging narrative, atmospheric and immersive world design and ruthless difficulty. This game has a deep and interesting lore so a lot of content awaits.

Be warned, this game can crush your soul.

Neir Automata

Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future where sprawling urban scapes are retaken my mother nature, humanity is wiped out by what was considered as their best creation.

Take role of an enhanced cybernetic warrior who is deadly and beautiful at the same time and hack N slash your way through hoards of deadly AI constructs as you make your way to the answers of all the questions that surround the collapse of civilization.

The stunning art style, the graphics, the immersive world and level design blended with fast paced combat makes Neir Automata an unforgettable experience.

INSIDE

Inside is developed by Playdead, the same studio who made Limbo. Inside is a staggering achievement in the 2D side scroller category of games. You take role of an unknown kid who just appears in this strange dystopian world where society has changed. The world is hostile and humanity is engulfed into some kind of a strange social experiment where a few selected individuals of the upper echelon are on the verge of creating something far beyond anything we can possibly imagine.

Inside is ruthless, deadly and hostile but the art style, presentation, pacing and its subtle yet effective gameplay pulls out the unimaginable out of a genre that is so old. It redefines the side scroller genre.

Inside manages to pull you in right from the get go and as you play further, you are just lost in it.

Its depressing, dark, bold and ambitious.

Don’t miss this one out.

Horizon Zero Dawn

A PS4 exclusive developed by Guerrilla games, HZD is an open world action RPG where civilization has moved beyond its post apocalyptic phase and mankind has once again emerged out of the darkness of this cataclysmic event and is facing a whole new world.

Civilization is rebooted but is engraved on the remnants of a past civilization. It is still unknown what cause the wiping of the earlier race.

What is known are the strange metallic beasts which roam around the waste lands of earth.

Imagine fighting a giant robotic T-Rex with a bow and arrow.

That’s HZD in one line.

Metal Gear Solid 5

You wake up in a hospital one day and the doc informs you that you were in comma for 9 years, how will you feel?

Well, Snake doesn’t feel bad at all. Only few hours after waking up you are hunted down by an unknown mercenary group who simply wants you dead for reasons unknown and weird things happen that night. You still manage to make an escape, thanks to your buddy who was undercover as a patient and was protecting you all these years. Soon you embark into a Journey into the heart of Afghanistan to find the answers.

MGS5 is developed my Konami, this is when the legendary Hideo Kojima was part of the team.

MGS5 had a rough development cycle but it turned out to be a great game.

It’s a sandbox stealth action title where you can approach your target or objective anyhow you like or find it convenient. There is a lot of freedom in this game.

You can even hide in a cardboard box and turn it into a makeshift stealth device.

There is base building, you recruit captured soldiers and make them a part of your team.

It’s a damn fine game and the story sometimes just catches you by surprise.

Portal 2

Portal 2 is a first person puzzle platformer developed by Valve. These guys are magical, whatever they touch becomes gold. Portal 2 puts you in the shoes of a test subject who is a part of a scientific experiment where they are testing teleportation technology, you get hands on a portable teleportation device or simply put, a portal gun. It shoots portals of walls.

You solve puzzles by shooting portals and make use of physics. Stuff such as gravity, momentum, reflection and so on come into the picture. Thanks to the Source engine. The story is also engaging and characters are really deep and well written.

You teleport your way out of these test chambers only to discover all is not what it seems.

Portal 2 is definitely one of the finest games of this decade.

GTA 5

Seriously? Wondering why this is on the list. Go play it!

Elders Scroll 5 Skyrim

Its not everyday that you bump into a fellow adventurer who has stopped adventuring cause one fine day he took an arrow in his knee.

Skyrim is open world action RPG that is bold, ambitious and probably the best game made by Bethesda Game Studios.

Skyrim takes place in an enigmatic fantasy world which is engulfed in a political conflict and suddenly an old prophesied threat emerges and is bent on destroying the world.

You take role of an unknown traveler who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but as events unfold. Turns out you are not an ordinary person, you are THE dragon born. The only thing that stands between the dragons and the destruction of Skyrim is you.

Skyrim has a lot of content, side quests and the story is deep. You can keep playing Skrym for hours and hours and get lost in a different dimension.

The last of Us

Naughty Dogs knows what it does. They are the masters of their craft when it comes to developing breathtaking narrative driven experiences. The sheer amount of attention to detail which was earlier observed in the Uncharted games successfully transcends into The Last Of Us.

Exclusive to the PS4, The Last Of Us puts you into the shoes of a man who has lost many things. The world has collapsed and strange mutants ravage the world. As the man of a family it is upto you to protect your loved ones from the perils of the new dangerous world.

The production quality of the game is what sets it apart. A dark and mature story backed by well choreographed cinematics, well acted characters and a blend of stealth horror action gameplay totally set this game apart from anything on this list.

You should get a PS4 only to play this game. Its that good!

Battlefield 1

This in my opinion is the best battlefield game in recent years, obviously there are other battlefield games and I was thinking of voting for BFBC2, this one won for many reasons.

BF1 is a fast paced action multiplayer experience with a solid punch of World War 1.

The originality and the attention to detail BF1 offers is insane, right from the vast deserts in the middle east to conquests in various parts of Europe, Dice has made the perfect formula for World War 1. Its frantic combat is better than ever, tweaking a few mechanics the game is now more enjoyable and fast paced. Its like the perfect spot between fast paced combat and quick general perception of reaction to things.

The game looks beautiful and environments, animations weapon and character models are so well detailed, they all scream authenticity.

64 vs 64 players never gets dull. Also EA was less greedy about this one, I still feel bad for the Star Wars Battlefront games.

Black Mesa

This one is not a game, it’s a mod but it has to be on the list because it’s a Half-Life fan remake on the source engine, if you are unaware of Half-Life, you are dead to me.

Black Mesa is a masterpiece and it totally reimagines the original Half-Life in a way just like Valve would have. Seeing new areas in Source Engine is a visual delight, its hard to believe Wwhat limits can be Source pushed to, considering its such an old engine. Valve was truly thinking long term when they made the source engine.

Basically Half-Life puts you into the shoes of the theoretical physicist who works at a the Black Mesa Research Facility. One day an experiment goes horribly wrong and you rip open a dimension into an alien world and now its upto you to fix things.

Half-Life 1 was revolutionary and helped defined the FPS genre. SO YOU HAVE TO PLAY THIS.

The Xen levels are out now and the game has left early access, so now is the perfect time to play this timeless masterpiece.

Crowbar Collective has done a neat job.

Overwatch

This one is my eyes is the true spiritual successor to Team Fortress 2. Made ground up by Blizzard, this one was a very different thing from them.

Overwatch borrows heavy inspiration from TF2 and manages to fuse it with MOBA perfectly.

On the surface I’ve seen many people complaining this is a TF2 ripoff and its rich dudes Paladin, tbh it is like Paladin but both games have different dynamics.TF2 is more of an old school class based shooter at this point and OW is more fast and streamlined.

The wide variety of characters in OW may seem unnecessary but believe me, each one of them is well made and balanced. Its like Blizzard has a secret recipe of game balance and it becomes very clear how important it is to nail that balance in this hybrid genre when you get your hands on similar titles who achieve this perfection.

The art style is spot on and meant to age well. The graphics will never go old, such is the art style.

Jump into a few games and you wont even realize how the hours pass.

Resident Evil 2

Later this decade a legendary face re-emerged from the mythical shadows of mystery. Resident Evil is Capcoms that comes into everyones mind when we speak of survival horror games, this was the title that created the genre back in the day.

The remake is very faithful to the original, it successfully captures the tense atmosphere and the struggle of managing resources while scavenging the same old corridors of Racoon City Police Station.

While graphics and other things are aligned with 2019 standards, what is more surprising is the fact that the game is so perfectly transferred from those pre rendered 3D environmental backgrounds with fixed cameras into true 3D yet it manages to retain the whole essence of the thing. Its is big achievement and the game does its own thing in a great way.

Animations, Models, Textures, Sounds, Gunplay and the Zombie AI are perfect and the all new Mr. X is totally rad!

Resident Evil 2 being a new comer in this decade has made a solid spot on this list.

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order

The game that saved Star Wars, honestly there were not that many good Star Wars titles in the recent years, both Battlefront games had their issues, while the 2nd one had a good production value, it stirred up the hive with its surprise mechanics. It was basically a Star Wars themed Casino and was brutally P2W. They have patched it now and is pretty playable but whats gone is gone.

Jedi The Fallen Order takes places after order 66 is executed. The Jedi order has fallen and the remnants are forced into exile. The empire has gripped the galaxy with its iron fist and the game puts you into the shoes of a young jedi who is accidently discovered by a high ranking Sith Inquisitor, the event propels the young Jedi into an epic journey of self discovery.

You travel across various planets in the galaxy and learn stuff about the lore which gives the series a fresh angle. It is clear that Respawn entertainment has put a lot of heart and soul into this game, it shows deep respect to the source material.  Star Wars needed that. Also, the combat is fresh. It borrows the best of all the successful mechanics introduced in various games of the generation like platforming, souls like combat give a realistic sense to saber battles. It feels like a true Star Wars game.

Overall, this one just came out at the end of the decade and took all of us by surprise.

The Legend of Zelda Breath Of The Wild

Zelda always hands over the torch to the next generation of Nintendo Consoles. BOTW is a fresh take on the long running Zelda series. The series departs from its previous gameplay styles and throws Link into an open world filled with perils. But unlike most games, Zelda is a very relaxing game, the art style is soothing and the game is fun.

You can play this one at your own pace and follow your objectives the way you like. The game looks simple on the surface but whatever goes down the hood is very complex as the game takes interactivity to a whole new level. Climb huge rock faces, cut trees, cook food, find rare loot, craft rare stuff and do all this at your own pace.

DOOM

Rip and Tear baby! Doom 2016 is simply awesome, its fast, brutal, frantic and fluid. Story is classic as ever, where the UAC accidentally opens a portal to hell and now all the demons are pouring in from everywhere. The key difference between the previous Doom games and this one is, earlier you were stuck in a room with demons, now the demons are stuck in a room with you.

Doom gives you a huge arsenal of weapons at your disposal and heaps of demons to kill, kill them the way you see fit.

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt

OOF…..Witcher 3….what can I say…..

CDPR has dethroned Valve in terms of game design, this is what has happened this decade. There was a time when Valve used to make the best games, now its these guys.

You step into the shoes of Geralt, a professional monster slayer who has embarked on a journey to find his missing daughters in a land that is engulfed in conflict.

Witcher 3 takes place on a vast open world which is stunningly detailed, every 45 seconds you bump into something fresh and exciting. The world of Witcher 3 is well crafted, every section of this world feels vivid. The main story line is engaging but even the side quests are meaningful which is not commonly seen in most games.

The game lets you make choices and the story branches out as per the choices you make which drastically alter the outcome of the game which also gives it a high replay value.

If you call yourself a gamer, you have to play this.

everything about my trollsona

requested by @theartsyskeleton

(long post warning)

i was going to post this as a response to an ask, but because asks dont have save as draft functions i lost my entire response when i was almost done. so, i’m making an official post so i can save as draft when i need to take a break. 

although this makes me extremely salty, it actually gives me an excuse to make this post more organized, which is an upside.

i actually need a troll name for my trollsona, so please help me out if you’d like. (fun fact: my irl name actually follows the 6x6 requirements) i’d like it based off my username, though. anyways, to the fun part!

Typing Quirk:

their typing quirk is AlwAys cApitAlizing As. never cApitAlizing the first word of A sentence unless its An A. switching the use of commAs and periods. And never using Apostrophes, if they Are Angry or sAying something important or urgent. theyll switch to ALL CAPS AND NO PUNCTUATION WHATSOEVER CREATING LONG RUNON SENTENCES 

Emoji Choice:

 if they use emojis (they don’t use them much), they’ll only use “+:)” “+:(” “+:/”. the plus symbol reminds them of their horns, of course.

Hemospectrum Clarification:

because i’m a lime blood, my blood type gets hunted to extinction before the original story even takes place. (i haven’t played hiveswap yet, so i’m keeping myself in the dark about new lore until i get to play it). a very popular fan theory is that lime bloods had the power to subdue enemies. in the hemospectrum, the higher you are the more violent, easily aggravated, and powerful you are. in a society run by violence, royalty could have seen lime bloods as a threat to the throne. despite being of peasant status, with the power to defeat higher blood types just by removing their will to fight, lime bloods could have possibly overthrown society, so royalty and nobles hunted them down before they could. (only a fan theory) this is what i’ve based my trollsona on.

Choosing My Strife Specibus:

i didn’t feel like my trollsona was a fighter, at least not exactly. i wanted my trollsona to be specialized in defense, so i wanted a shield of some kind. i actually have a lot of watches and clocks, so if i really had gone into the game, i’d probably take a clock with me, so it makes sense to combine a broken clock with a shield. i’d probably combine something broken with something new, thinking it’d get fixed somehow; it’s what i do in MMORPGs all the time, lol.

Strife Specibus:

i don’t really know what to call my strife specibus, so if you’d like to help with that, feel free to send me an ask!

 my strife specibus is a giant pocket watch, the size of a shield or a little bigger. it has a handle for attacking and defending. it’s fairly heavy but my trollsona has ways around it (spoken about later). it has bullet proof glass on the front protecting the clockhands. it may look incredibly simple, but i’ve made the mechanics very complicated to make up for it. the glass is breakable, and the shield isn’t invincible. it can take some hits before the glass breaks, and when it does, the weapon becomes unusable. but, when one of the clockhands hits one of the main numbers (3, 6, 9, 12), it repairs itself. when the minute hand hits one, it repairs itself halfway. when the hour hand hits one, it’s repaired fully. time is very important when fighting with this strife specibus, and its actually pretty hard to master. the downside though, is that this one was created with a broken pocket watch, meaning the time is always off. because of this, my trollsona has difficulty telling the time, because he trained himself to tell time by his specibus.

Powers as a Maid of Space:

i thought long and hard about what to make my trollsona be able to do. with a space bound aspect, i would control space, weight, mass, velocity, etc. first starting out, i would probably begin with being able to create things out of nothing. later in life, i’d begin to train towards figuring out teleportation, flying, speed, etc. as a maid, i would use my aspect to help others, making me a great party member. i’d fix possibilities, help others to be successful. i could change the weight of my specibus at will, meaning mid swing i could possibly increase the weight to pack a bigger punch, but also use it to fly on top of, not necessarily controlling my own speed and weight, but my specibus’. teleportation would come much later in sweeps, after training for a while. i’d be able to teleport at least two people including me, but teleporting more than two could possibly put me out of commission, unable to battle. (three would be no doubt)

Battle Strategy:

my specibus plays a big role in my battle strategy. at first, my trollsona would try to subdue the enemy, or try to avoid a fight altogether. but, if that doesn’t work, he would only then fight back. keeping the time on the specibus in mind, my trollsona would pick certain times to attack or defend. if the glass is low in quality, he’d begin running or stalling for a repair check. using his teleportation skills and weight manipulation, he would overwhelm the enemy until they either give up or he makes them unable to continue. with a team, it would be much easier to know when to jump into battle or to wait for repairs, since there are other distractions or decoys. though as a maid, i would much rather tank the enemy for my comrades.

Backstory/Lusus choice:

there’s not much i’ve decided on story wise, and i don’t really plan on thinking up a complex story for this sona. despite that, there are a few things i’ve kept in mind. you might have realized, but maid god tiers are usually female. canonly, it’s not confirmed, but if it was, fans assume very firmly that maids are female exclusive, and my trollsona is a male. it might be obvious, but i’ve made my trollsona transgender, and my lusus chose me knowing this would become of him. i chose my lusus simply because my two favorite animals are owls and cats. i simply combined the two and then made it similar to my zodiac. my lusus’ tail is similar to my horns, and her 4 eyes are similar to my sign. my trollsona absolutely loves their lusus, and the same is said of his lusus as well. its a very loving relationship, and both spoil each other greatly.

anyways, yeah. thats a lot. i’m probably going to do more with this sona!! so stay tuned. hope you enjoyed reading!

Asylum Of The Daleks - Doctor Who blog (Steven Moffat Fucks Up The Daleks)

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Series 7. Where Steven Moffat seemingly dispensed with the whole idea of a series arc and announced that each episode will be its own standalone mini-blockbuster. So lets start with Asylum Of The Dalek. Was it any good? Well funnily enough... No it wasn’t. Not even half good. It was fucking awful. Anyone with a brain could see how bloody terrible this was, or at least that’s what I assumed in my naivety. 

Yes, critical and fan reception at the time was overwhelmingly positive for Asylum Of The Daleks. Some even going so far as to call it one of the best Dalek stories ever written. But for the life of me I can’t see how they could possibly think that. Not only is Asylum of The Daleks another example of just how bad a writer Steven Moffat is and always has been, it’s quite possibly one of the worst stories Doctor Who has ever produced. And I’m not just saying that for effect. This story fails at a most basic level and quite frankly I’m astounded that anyone could possibly look at this and go ‘yeah, this is good. One of Moffat’s best in fact. Eggs anyone?’ Obviously this was back in 2012 where people were still willingly drinking Moffat’s Kool-Aid and deluding themselves into thinking he was actually clever (as opposed to, you know, a pretentious moron).

There’s so much wrong with this episode, it’s hard to know where to start. Well from the beginning I suppose. Yes, let’s start there.

The episode starts on Skaro... and immediately I’ve got questions. Didn’t they say Skaro was destroyed in the Time War? How did the Daleks resurrect it? How come the Doctor isn’t surprised that Skaro still exists? And why in God’s name would the Daleks build a giant statue of themselves?

The Doctor, Amy and Rory get captured by humans who have been Dalek-ified (I imagine Moffat thinks this is incredibly scary, but in reality it’s just really silly with the eye-stalks poking out of their foreheads and everything) and are taken to the... smirk... Parliament of the Daleks and speak to the... the... LOL! PRIME MINISTER of the Daleks!

OMG! Forgive me. I’ve always had some difficulty taking the Daleks seriously as villains, but this just takes the cake. PRIME MINISTER of the Daleks?! What, do the Daleks trundle along into voting booths and polling stations every five years? Are there Tory Daleks and Lib Dem Daleks? Are there some Daleks campaigning for cuts to immigration and others campaigning for bigger plungers? Do the Daleks have their own versions of satirical panel shows like Mock The Week and Have I Got News For You? Do the Daleks have a Monster Raving Looney Party? Please tell me the Daleks have a Monster Raving Looney Party!

And speaking of monster raving loonies, it turns out the Daleks have an asylum full of insane Daleks. Oh boy, what’s the best way to unpack this nonsense? Well let’s start with the obvious. Why would the Daleks have an insane asylum? Why not just kill the insane Daleks? That’s usually their MO, isn’t it? Anything less than pure gets exterminated, right? Well according to the Prime Minister of the Daleks (snigger), it is offensive to them to extinguish such divine hatred. Oh! Really?! Perhaps you should tell that to the Daleks who have killed members of their own species in the past for being fractionally impure. I don’t think they got the memo darling. 

And it just gets stupider and stupider the more it goes along. They want to cleanse the Asylum because a spaceship crash-landed on it and now they’re worried the insane Daleks are going to escape. Well why didn’t you just kill them in the first sodding place? And didn’t you just say a few seconds ago it was offensive to extinguish such divine hatred? Make your minds up guys! But then it turns out they can’t actually destroy the Asylum because it’s covered by an impenetrable forcefield. But hold on, it can’t be that impenetrable. A pissing spaceship just crash-landed on it. So they send the Doctor (yes the Daleks have asked their greatest enemy for help. No I don’t get it either. Just go along with it) inside the Asylum to turn the forcefield off. That’s the impenetrable forcefield that can only be turned off from the inside of the fully automated Asylum that doesn’t require a Dalek to operate it. In other words, the insane Daleks have complete unrestricted access to their own forcefield and teleporter that no one from the outside can possibly get into (unless they’re in a crashing spaceship for some reason). That’s basically like giving the prisoners the keys to their own cells.

Moffat fans, are you sure this is one of the best Dalek stories ever. Because from what I can see, this episode is a complete and utter shambles, and we’re only 5 or 10 minutes in.

Let’s quickly talk about the insane Daleks. You know, the ones the Daleks are afraid of? Must be some dangerous, homicidal nutters in that Asylum, mustn’t there? So what do they do that makes them so frightening? Well they’re incredibly slow, have really bad aim and screech the word ‘Eggs’ a lot.

Um... how is that scary? Why would the Daleks be frightened of them?... WATCH OUT! THAT DALEK IS COMPLETELY INEFFECTUAL! ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Now here’s something that will get hardcore Whovians excited. Apparently there are some classic series Daleks that will be playing a big part in this episode. Awesome! Let’s see if we can find them, shall we?

Right then, well... there was that Jon Pertwee era Dalek spinning around in the background in that one scene, and um.... oh I did see that Special Weapons Dalek briefly for a couple of seconds... um... No. Actually that’s about it. So when Moffat said that classic series Daleks would be playing a part in the episode, he just meant one or two of them would make cameo appearances. Well that’s underwhelming at best and blatant false advertising at worst. What’s even weirder is that at one point the Doctor meets Dalek survivors from previous encounters he had with them like on Spirodon and Kembel and so on, but the Daleks we see are post 2005 Daleks rather than classic series Daleks from their respective eras. Whoops.

But that’s not the only thing Moffat fucks up. There’s also Amy and Rory’s marriage. Remember when we last saw them in The Doctor, The Widow, And The Wardrobe? They were sitting down for Christmas dinner, looking very happy. Now all of a sudden, they’re getting a divorce.

Now I’m sure this bizarre tonal shift wasn’t quite as noticeable at the time because there were months between the Christmas special and this episode, but if you’ve been watching each episode one after the other like I’ve been doing, it’s incredibly jarring. What the fuck happened? It just feels so utterly random.

So why did Amy and Rory split up? Because Amy is sterile now apparently. Yes, she’s utterly barren now and so she pushed Rory away for his own good. Okay. There’s a LOT wrong with this. The casual sexism for one thing, with Moffat once again implying that the only strength or worth a woman has is in her uterus. Rory’s total lack of agency is another issue. Amy just kicks Rory out of the house without telling him what the problem is or giving him a chance to decide for himself. Oh and I could do without the spousal abuse being disguised as girl power thing. Amy slapping Rory isn’t cute and sexy. It’s assault and battery. In fact it actually gets more uncomfortable than that as you realise that not only does Moffat seem to be medically incapable of writing a healthy relationship, he honestly believes this is a healthy relationship. Let me put it this way. I can understand Amy and Rory wanting to take some time apart to reevaluate things, but do you know how long it usually takes to finalise a divorce here in the UK? Four months. Are you seriously telling me that Amy and Rory never talked about this FOR FOUR MONTHS?! Do they even want to be together?! And just when you think this couldn’t get any more insulting, it turns out all their marital troubles are solved in the end thanks to a two minute conversation. So it was all basically just a gigantic waste of time. This is a real emotional tragedy a lot of couples go through and Moffat has just pulled it out of his arse in order to add to some artificial tension to his shit story. And people wonder why I hate him so much.

Dear God, this is fucking terrible. Can this episode possibly get any worse?

Well, well, well. My arch-nemesis. At last we finally meet.

Oswin is without a doubt the worst character Moffat has ever written. In fact she’s not even a character. That would be too generous. She’s a Mary Sue with no interesting personality traits and whose dialogue can easily be interchanged with River’s or Amy’s or every other female character Moffat has ever written. She’s a ‘strong female character’ in inverted commas only. There’s no effort to actually develop her character or to make her come across as a relatable or believable human being. She’s just yet another Moffat siren. Plus she just irradiates smug. I can’t tell if it’s the writing or Jenna Coleman’s performance, but she just gets under my skin. There’s just something about her I find profoundly irritating. Maybe it’s the fact that all her dialogue consists of nothing but unfunny wisecracks, patronising nicknames  and sexual innuendos. Maybe it’s the fact that despite being in mortal peril, she never reacts in a believable way, instead acting like a total smartarse. Maybe it’s the fact that her deus ex machina powers effectively reduce the Doctor to a secondary character in his own show. Do you know that feeling you get when someone scrapes their nails across a chalkboard? Well Oswin is the physical manifestation of that. She’s just incredibly obnoxious. So you can imagine my joy when she got killed off at the end. That was a happy relief. I mean can you imagine what it would have been like if they made her a companion? Now that would have been unbearable. Good thing that’s never going to happen, right?... Ri... Right?

So at the end it’s revealed that Oswin has been a Dalek all along, which would have been a tragic twist if I actually gave a shit about her and if it weren’t so utterly stupid. What’s the point of that nano-cloud? Why would the Daleks need a nano-cloud to convert humans? How are humans supposed to get into the Asylum if it’s covered by an IMPENETRABLE forcefield? How come the Daleks are converting humans in the first place? That’s the Cybermen’s schtick. Again, has Steven Moffat ever actually watched Doctor Who before? And oi, since when have the Daleks been telepathic? That’s the first I’ve heard about it. You’re just making this shit up as you go along, aren’t you Moffat?

And then comes the awful resolution. The cherry on top of the dung heap. Oswin somehow manages to hack into all of the Daleks and make them forget about the Doctor. Putting aside some of the more obvious problems like Moffat stripping everything interesting out of the Doctor and the Daleks’ antagonistic relationship for his stupid twist ending and how the fuck was Oswin, a lone Dalek in a mental asylum, able to make every single Dalek in the universe forget about him, what’s truly horrific about this is the return of the dreaded ‘Doctor who?’ It was bad enough when a chorus of Daleks was squawking it ad nauseam, but when the Doctor started chanting it too in the final scene, it became too much to bear. PLEASE GOD, SOMEONE, MAKE IT STOP!

Asylum Of The Daleks is an absolute train wreck from start to finish. It’s absolutely littered with plot holes and continuity errors, the characterisation is beyond atrocious, the villains are stupid and ineffectual, and the so called emotional core of the story is pointless, misogynistic and nonsensical. And apparently it’s one of the best Dalek stories ever written? I don’t know which version of the story you lot have been watching, but I would love to see it. I’m afraid the version I’ve just watched was complete and utter shite.

“Steel yourself Solas, have no mercy for you will receive none”

Disclaimer: So yeah, this isn’t in anyway a well written fic with perspectives and dialogues etc.. this is just basically a word vomit that I put together just to get the idea across (its full of errors and is poorly edited so yeah commas…commas everywhere). I guess its just like a description of what happened with a few pieces of dialogue and explanation but all in all this is some sloppy writing *shrugs* Also I kind of suck with some DA lore so yeah. At one point I was going to actually write a decent fic for this scene and story line but alas I just couldn’t get it done so here’s whatever this is…

After the disbandment of the Inquisition, many remained to form a smaller sect under protection of Divine Victoria tasked with stopping Fen’Harel at all cost.

Era’len, desperately wanting to redeem Solas is coming to realization that such a notion maybe be impossible. The Inquisition has not relented against Fen’Harel’s forces and there are constant clashes as they chase the Dread Wolf and his agents from ancient temples to forgotten vales trying to be the first to claim the ancient Eluvians. But the Great Betrayer stands at an advantage, he knows where they are for the most part.

It has been nearly year since the Exalted Council concluded and despite losing the Anchor, its effects remain and are slowly killing the former Inquisitor. The anchor had granted her the power to bend and manipulate the Veil yet such power was not intended for mortals. It was a parasite, leeching off of her body in the time it was a part of it. Such effects were unknown to Solas and the Inquisitor but in the months after losing it, they began to surface. She was dying, growing weaker, losing her connection with the Fade more and more as time passed.

Healers from across Thedas were summoned by order of the Divine but to no avail, the anchor had become a part of her and in losing it, her body could not make up what it had lost. It was a sickness and as she grew weaker, Era’len began to fear that she would fail in stopping her past-lover’s grim plans.

Yet there remained one hope, one that Era’len had been avoiding, a name chanted by the whispers. She could feel her, she was a part of her, much like the anchor, like a parasite. Era’len could feel the ancient being clinging to existence tethered* to the world by the Well of Sorrows, Mythal. Like a memory lying just beyond her mind’s reach, Era’len knew she was there. And it would take nothing more than for Era’len to speak her name to draw her forth.

But Era’len waited, patient to see if the evanuris would grow tired of waiting and take claim, but she never did. Mythal remained silent until one day when Era’len steeled her resolve to strike a bargain.

…….

Solas had miscalculated, he was dumbfounded to find the Eluvian of the Brecillian Forest was gone. He paced the empty chamber in anger at the wasted effort and danger he had place both he and his agents in to claim the Eluvian that should have been here.

Of course he had heard of the Dalish warriors whom had fallen to the Eluvian’s blight. He was confident in his abilities to cleanse the mirror, but he could have never known that it had been taken (by our lovely little daisy, Merrill) and in frustration he withdrew his forces.

Yet as they exited the overgrown temple, they discovered that they were surrounded. From all directions Inquisition soldiers poured out from the trees and undergrowth yet they did not attack. 

Among the soldiers Solas noted several familiar faces: Cassandra, the Iron bull, the Chargers and Blackwall. Their gazes bore into him. Betrayal and anger reflected on their faces and they stood prepared for what was to come.

Solas braced himself for battle and his agents did the same only to be halted when the enemy forces parted to allow a figure to step out into the clearing between them.

Solas’s breath hitched at the sight before him and the air teemed with a familiar magic that made his legs weak.

Era’len stood in the clearing, sharp gaze boring into his as he stared in horror at what was to unfold.

“Vhenan…” he choked

“No” she interrupts, but her voice is not what he remembered. Not the voice that haunted his dreams. Its twisted and carries another behind it, one he knew well but he wasn’t given time to respond, “Your heart has already withered Solas.” (Here she says it to mean Pride and not really as his name)

……..

This was the final stand, there were no more chances, if she could not deter him here she would end it all. She had come to accept this, she had cut out her heart and bore her fangs. She had to, for everyone she knew and loved were in danger of his intentions.

Her body would not survive much longer, the power she had gained from Mythal came with a price, she knew that she had but one chance and she would not waste it.

“Grant me the power to stop him… help me Mythal… help me save him…help me save this world.”

……..

“Please, vhenan you must understand… this world… is wrong… it was never supposed to be this way. Let me fix my mistake… you don’t understand all that was lost.”

“No, it is you that doesn’t not understand. You are blind Solas (Pride). You are unable to see that you stand to make the same mistake. You would destroy this world, everything … just to make the world right…as you say it should be. You treat us like a nightmare as if we are just a wrong to be corrected. “

“But it is you who are wrong, the People have survived. The People have struggled, suffered and fought for ages, and yet you disregard us as idiot children who fail to know the truth. You see us and warped creatures from elves of Arthalan…. Tell me Solas when you tear down the Veil… how will you face your kind… the Evanuris… how will to stop them from enslaving the People once more?”

“The past is GONE, there is no turning back. There is no way to fix what you have done and still you refuse to believe that this is the reality you have created. Instead of fighting for our future, you want to take it away to reclaim the past and I….will not let that happen… I will not let you destroy us…. I will stop you… even if that mean the death of us both.”

“Both?” he barely managed to speak, taking a step back as Era’len stepped forward, “Yes, this body… is broken… dead… its only purpose now is to stand against you who would end this world. And once my purpose is fulfilled, we will perish and the Evanuris will be no more.”

“Now I say this again… Stop this Solas, abandon your dreams of Arlathan and fight to forge new ones… for the elves of today… for my people. It is too late for me but there is so much good in this world, there is so much you can do for them. Do not repeat your mistakes.”

But it was futile, his eyes burned with anger. “No vhenan, I can save you! I can save our people, I can make everything right! Please, please don’t do this…”

The air in the clearing seemed to grow thin as both his agents and Inquisition soldiers readied themselves for battle. The deep breath before the plunge. All eyes were trained on her figure, waiting for her to signal the attack.

From across the clearing Solas could see the faint glimmer as tears fell from her chin, and his eyes burned as he fought back his own.

“Vhenan… Era’len…pleas..” his breath cut short as she drew her staff, her stance stiffened and he felt his heart shatter as he drew his weapon.

“Steel yourself Solas, have no mercy for you will receive none” and with a snarl she lunged at the Great Betrayer.

….

The clearing erupted into chaos, Fen’Harel’s agents and Inquisition soldiers littered the forest floor as the two armies clashed. Yet the greatest spectacle was the beastly forms of the former Inquisitor and the Dread Wolf. 

They slashed and gouged with deadly claws and the sounds of snapping jaws cracked like thunder as they fought. Trees and boulders were crushed underfoot as the giant beasts tore at each other’s throats.

 …..

It seemed liked hours.

Hours of bloodshed and death and as the two armies began to dwindle, it seemed that Fen’Harel’s agents were outnumbering and overwhelming the Inquisitor’s soldiers by using the ancient trees and nature magic to their advantage.

When suddenly there was a grueling howl, unlike any beast or man could make, a gargled choking sound that halted with a sharp snap.

It was over.

The great wolf fell limp in Era’len’s jaws and crumpled to the ground with a heavy thud. The clearing echoed with screams of anguish and triumph but they were drowned out by the heart-wrenching wail of the Inquisitor. In a storm of smoke and flame her dragonesque form broke away like an illusion and she was left standing over his body.

She fell to her knees, her expression distant and pained, his blood stinging her tongue. It was done and she remained at his side as the stragglers from his army disappeared in retreat now that their leader had fallen.

But it was not over, a thick aura hung in the clearing, swirling round like the eye of a storm. It was time to uphold her bargain.

Inquisition solders searched desperately through the fog like substance calling for her. She could hear Cassandra and the Chargers yet they sounded distant as she stared blankly at the still form before her.

A familiar voice echoed from behind.

“I have kept my promise…”

Era’len nodded and leaned forward to press her lips softly to his which had already began to grow cold, “As have I.”

Moments later the aura dissipated revealing nothing but blood and ash.

* my headcanon is that the well is what kept Mythal alive, think HP horcrux but not really, her ‘essence” or spirit is bound or “tethered” to the well thus any who drink are bound to her in some way but she cant just commandeer the body/spirit of anyone who drank from the well. she must be welcomed/accepted/summoned by said person

@eveninglottie This is that idea I talked with you about a lllloooooonnngg time ago (like july 2016 lol) I swear I tried writing it but got sidetracked with school, life and creative blocks, but I actually managed to write a LITTLE of it gggaahhhhh even if it is MONTHS late T-T thank you talking it out with me back then ^^

NEW RELEASE!

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Immerse (Mer Chronicles #3) 

By Tobie Easton

Published by: Month9Books Publication date: March 19th 2019 Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Immerse is the spellbinding and breathless final installment of the Mer Chronicles series where descendants of the Little Mermaid must face deadly magic, shifting alliances, and the dangers of forbidden love.

Lia can’t wait for her parents’ coronation. Now living in the sparkling palace beneath the waves, she sneaks off to Malibu whenever possible to see Clay. Tucked away in an abandoned seaside mansion, Lia and Clay devise a plan to ensure they can stay together forever.

But when an old enemy resurfaces and Lia is restricted to the palace for the safety of all Merkind, she and Clay are ripped apart once more.

She fears not only for Clay, but for her best friend Caspian, who seems to be swimming down a dangerous path. He has invited the conniving Melusine to the coronation ball, convinced she’s capable of change. And no matter how hard Lia fights it, showing up on Caspian’s arm is just the start of Melusine’s insidious return to her life.

With threats Below growing more ominous by the day and a powerful ancient ritual looming, soon the two girls can’t escape each other. As their fates grow increasingly intertwined, Melusine might be the only one who can help Lia find the answers she desperately needs to save everyone she loves and to achieve her happily ever after. But can Lia trust her?

Goodreads

Excerpt:

The library doors are my favorite in the castle. Unlike all the other doors, made of sculpted sea glass in colors ranging from pastels to deep jewel tones, the doors to the varellska (Mermese for library) are made of the coated wood of a sunken Victorian ship. Mounted to the frame between the double doors is a handcrafted mermaid from the ship’s prow, her wooden hair blowing around her in carved curls, her face proud. She puts a smile on my own face as I open one of the doors and swim into the room that may hold the answer I need among its secrets.

Shelves stretch up the walls high above my head, each lined with shells of every conceivable size and pattern, from short volumes of poetry in tiny sundial shells to hours-long research tomes in giant diadema shells. Between the shells stand various treasures for decoration: an antique spyglass, a bronze-rimmed compass, an old brass lantern. I inhale the scent of shell polish and whalebone styluses.

I’ve come on the librarian’s day off and have the whole place to myself. I swim up to the highest shelves, where there rests a large, gilded starfish, the symbol of balanced justice. What’s happened to Clay at the hands and fins of Merkind has been anything but just. I’m hoping that means justice is on our side throughout our quest to make him a Merman. I rub the starfish for luck. “Help me find a way,” I murmur into the varellska’s quiet stillness.

Purchase:

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play

Author Bio:

Award-winning author Tobie Easton was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where she's grown from a little girl who dreamed about magic to a twenty-something who writes about it. Her debut novel, Emerge, is a Gold Medal Winner (Young Adult - Sci-Fi/Fantasy) of the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards and is Book 1 in the acclaimed Mer Chronicles series. The trilogy follows the descendants of the Little Mermaid and offers fans a peek into a world where Mermaids aren't just real, but live secretly among us on land.

She and her very kissable husband enjoy traveling the globe and fostering packs of rescue puppies. Tobie loves chocolate chip cookies and Oxford commas. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Southern California, Tobie splits her time between Los Angeles and Boston.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Goodreads

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From one bookaholic to another, I hope I’ve helped you find your next fix. —Dani

Have a book you’d like to suggest or one you’d like me to review? Please feel free to leave your comments down below.

PS2 Review – .Hack Part 1: Infection

Before I was a fan of the anime Sword Art Online (see my review of the latest movie here), I got my first taste of the “VR MMO” genre of anime with the series .hack//SIGN. It captured my imagination as a young teenager and hooked me for the entirety of the series. So when the sequel games were released on the PlayStation 2, I jumped at the chance to get them.

Designed to be simulated MMORPGs that offer wide variation and open gameplay (to an extent), they had huge scope. However, the big question is, do they achieve their potential or just end up being fit for the bargain bin? Well, today we are going to look at the first in the series, .hack//Infection, and find out!

Storyline

The base storyline of .Hack//Infection revolves around a VR MMORPG called The World. You play as Kite, who joins the game for the first time to play with his real life friend. However, something strange happens in the game and his friend ends up in a comma. This sets up the mystery and intrigue that permeates the entire series, as you try to find out what is causing players to fall into commas when playing the game.

Unlike other similar anime, such as Sword Art Online, the players aren’t trapped in the game. Instead, the storyline is actually expanded upon outside of the game through simulated message boards and forums. This adds a sense of realism to the plot, as you get to see various different “people” discussing events, theories and also rumours about things in The World. You also get access to side missions and quests through the message boards as well.

All of this adds up to a very unique and original storyline that, whilst the base plot bares similarity to Sword Art Online, really stands on its own as something different. The way that the story is revealed to you is also a stroke of genius. You l be dragged into The World, kicking and screaming. But then, you’ll be so intrigued and immersed in the plot that you won’t want to leave. That just goes to show how great the storyline really is.

Gameplay

Being that .Hack//Infection is a simulated MMORPG, the gameplay is effectively a hack and slash action RPG. You are free to run around the world, exploring the various dungeons, until you come into combat with an enemy. At that point, the game switches to “battle mode”, and you can start fighting in the open world as well. Whilst the enemies aren’t visible on the map at all times, you can see where they are by locating the giant yellow circles hovering just above the ground. These will “burst” when you get close enough, spewing out the enemies.

From a technical stand point, this was a very clever idea. It means that the area maps can be made larger without the risk of frame rate drop from having all of the enemies moving around at all times. It also means that you only need to fight a certain amount of enemies and can avoid the others.

Another clever gameplay mechanic that the developers put into .Hack//Infection to simulate the idea of an MMO is the fact that not every character will be “online” at all times. Sometimes, you might try to invite a character to your party, only to find that they are “offline” and not logged into the game. This makes it feel more like you are playing with real people and is a brilliant touch in terms of immersion.

The final thing to talk about when it comes to gameplay is the fact that, once you have weakened an enemy enough, you can use a special ability that Kite gains to hack into and rewrite the code of the enemy. This will turn them into a different creature that is usually easy to kill but moves very fast. When you do kill this new creature, you’ll get items called Virus Cores which are needed to unlock certain areas in the game.

Graphics

In terms of graphical style, .Hack//Infection takes an anime style. Each character is models as though they were from an anime or manga, and some of the attack animations are as over the top as you would expect from an action anime. Speaking of the animations, everything feels very smooth and carefully crafted. Even the UI when you are “logged out” from The World is wonderful. As a teenager, I wanted to find a way to make my PC’s operating system replicate the fake Altimit operating system from the game.

However, its not all roses. The major fault I have with the game graphically is the design of the various game areas around dungeons. In the dungeons, everything feels like it should for a dungeon. But when you are in the above-ground area before you get into a dungeon, everything feels very empty.

This is, in part, due to the clever enemy spawning mentioned above. However, there also aren’t many landmarks or environmental elements in the area. You might come across a random tree or oasis, but for the most part, you are running through a flat and empty location trying to get to the dungeon. So that can be a bit disappointing when you consider how great the other elements of the game’s graphics are.

And That’s All Folks

In the end, .Hack//Infection is a thoroughly brilliant game in terms of storyline and gameplay. It is definitely one of the better RPGs on the PS2 and that says a lot! Whilst it is let down by some of the area design, most of the game looks and feels great whilst you are playing it too. Once you get started with .Hack//Infection, you’ll fall in love with the game. I would definitely recommend it!

Have you played any of the .Hack// games? Let me know what you thought of them in the comments below!

from More Design Curation https://www.16bitdad.com/ps2-review-hack-part-1-infection/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ps2-review-hack-part-1-infection source https://smartstartblogging.tumblr.com/post/175770985560

People say it gets better with time

These are my own thoughts, thrown together as emotions ran through my mind, my heart and my soul…

It’s the holidays…Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year…Heck it’s birthdays, Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day…it is every day and all days. It’s Life and it’s Death.

This is about living after loss. It’s about feelings - crippling, heart wrenching, deep, unforgettable, painful feelings. It’s about losing and winning…but mostly the agony of loss and trying to find level ground.

For me it started with having children. Feeling that tremendous, all encompassing love. WOW! Slap in the face I never knew I could LOVE this much. The need to constantly protect and wrap a giant something around this little person so NOTHING and I mean NOTHING can ever, ever hurt them. And with this love comes understanding of what it truly means to love. Suddenly, it is the realization of everything. Your parents, siblings, friends, husband, in-laws, cousins, nieces, nephews and children. One little person gives you a wide-eyed view of what it means to truly love. To honestly and emphatically LOVE. The goal is no longer about finding love. Oh no, it’s about protecting those who hold your heart. And it’s about losing and saying goodbye - about and feeling a deep, unrelenting pain - about living a never-ending nightmare.

We all know of the basic understanding that parents proceed us in death. We accept it. Oh yes, we accept it. It is a fact. And therefore, we are prepared. Right? Until it happens. Then all bets are off.

My father died when I was 32 years old. It was a gut-wrenching experience. I have never forgotten a moment of the minutes or seconds that led up to my learning of his death. I play it in my mind often. I loved him so much. He was perfect in my eyes. The sun rose and set with him. I will never forget the moment I learned of his death. I will never forget seeing him at the viewing (I lived out of state and traveled home for his burial). While the services were going on I kept telling him to quit joking around and wake up.  “Please wake up. Daddy, please wake up. It’s not a good joke. Please come back.” He didn't come back. I gave him one more kiss on his forehead, like I had done a trillion times before. Bye Daddy.

A few years later, when I was 36, I lost my mother. We were never really close. I don’t believe she really liked me. Still, I felt a great sorrow when I lost her. I also felt a terrible guilt.  I had to make calls - the worst of which were the ones to my brothers and sisters. How could I tell them mom was gone? Somehow, I felt that I hadn’t done enough to make her live. Ridiculous, yes, but true nonetheless. Bye Mom.

I got on with my life, raising four children. I lived in absolute terror of anything happening to them. I secretly wanted to hide them away while at the same time wanting to watch them fly to the moon and back. The love of a mother – wow – there is no true way to describe all the things a mother feels. It’s just a great overwhelming feeling of joy, pride, love, fear excitement, and on and on. You want them to fly while at the same time locking them in your arms, so nothing can ever happen. I don’t think there is anyway to prepare for the enormous feeling of love that literally encompasses your heart.

Love. You begin to feel it when you’re born. First for your parents, then for your siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and your children. Brothers and Sisters - siblings - this is where you also being to learn about dislike, hate, frustration, protection, pride, joy and more. You love and hate your sibling. You feel great pride in their accomplishments as well as feeling a smidgeon of jealously now and then. But, oh my, should anyone say or do anything, big or small, to hurt your sibling, you are the FIRST person to jump in and fight to the death for them. Sibling relationships are completely indescribable. No one can define them, no matter how hard they try. I, personally, don’t believe there is a psychiatrist or psychologist that can define or understand siblings. Heck, there isn’t a sister or brother any where in the universe that can truly understand their sibling. Just when you think you understand, they go off and do something that totally blows your mind. “Wow, I didn’t see that coming. EVER.”

There were five of us in our family - me, two sisters and two brothers. Talk about understanding the varied personalities. Can’t happen! We were constantly changing. Having one or more siblings is a lesson in futility. One minute your best friends and the next they are plotting your demise (or vice versa). No one, not even your parents, can make you feel as good as your sibling. Just one nice word and your floating for…seconds? Yes, right before they slam you so hard you think you’ll never go out in public again. Your greatest fan and your worst enemy (after yourself, of course).

You skip along through life loving and hating the people that know you best. Then BAM!

You lose the one person, the only person (aside from your parents), that knew you since birth. The one person that shared your whole life. The person that will forever be on that pedestal, that bigger than life pedestal you can never hope to reach. My sister left this world when she was way to young. She seriously ticked me off. “Hey, didn’t you know you were supposed to live forever?  Like me.” What the heck just happened? There has been a tragic mistake. No! NO! Just absolutely  –  NO!!!

Ok. OK. I get it. I will keep moving forward. I have a wonderful husband and four fabulous kids. They’ll keep me together. I am not letting them out of my sight. I will hide my tears. Damn, I miss you and mom and dad. Damn. “Don’t tell anyone, don’t let anyone know how much it hurts to not be mad at you, to not be able to laugh with you.” People say it gets better with time. So, you make them believe it gets better, easier with time. It doesn’t but you’re a freak. It still hurts so much. Heck, it’s over 30 years since I hugged my mom and dad. Almost 16 since I argued with my sister, Sue.  Wow! 16 years. It feels like yesterday. So many times, I find myself crying quietly. You know, it gets easier as time goes by. For normal people. Right? But not for me. I guess I am not normal, but then who ever said I was.  

It Christmas, 2017. I am in hell. Matthew, my son, is gone, too. I try so hard to keep smiling, to keep thinking “good thoughts.” But most of the time I want to scream.

I want you back Matthew. I miss your smile.  I miss your hugs, your love, your silliness. I miss being angry with you. I miss rolling my eyes at your antics. I miss praying that you’ll succeed in life. I miss it all. The good-the bad-the ups-the downs. I miss the lack of commas in our life. When, in reality, there never was a pause…it just kept marching on. it never slowed down. Yesterday, I held you as a baby and now, every day it seems as though I am saying goodbye for the last time. I see me standing near you at the service and I think it’s a nightmare. Then, I realize I am awake and you aren’t here. You’re in the good place. I am in hell. How can anyone live with this pain?  I am doing it, but I honestly don’t understand how.

Yes, I do understand. I can’t leave yet. I have your brother and sisters, your daughters, your nieces and nephews to watch over. To protect, to love, to keep safe and to laugh with.. Your dad needs me, too. They all need me – or at least I think they do. But could you just come back for a minute – I need your smile, I need your laugh, I need your everything. Just for a minute? I just need a minute to say, “I love you” one more time.

An Interview with Brian Niemeier, Part II

Brian Niemeier is a best-selling science fiction author and a John W. Campbell Award for Best New ‘Writer finalist. His second book, Souldancer, won the first ever Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel. He chose to pursue a writing career despite formal training in history and theology. His journey toward publication began at the behest of his long-suffering gaming group, who tactfully pointed out that he seemed to enjoy telling stories more than planning and adjudicating games.

Released this week, Brian’s newest book, The Ophian Rising, concludes his groundbreaking Soul Cycle series. Recently, I sat down with Brian to discuss The Ophian Rising, the rest of the Soul Cycle, and more. Part I of our interview focused on the Soul Cycle. Let’s now find out what is next.

*     *     *      *      *

Returning to how layered your storytelling is and the wide sweep of authors and works that you’ve mentioned as influences, what authors have been most influential to your storytelling?

Frank Herbert. I’ve mentioned before that I read and fell in love with Dune in high school. In fact, it saved my love of reading from being smothered.

Also, Neil Gaiman. I loved the Sandman in its original comic run, loved Good Omens that he did with Sir Terry Pratchett. Neverwhere was okay. I really haven’t liked a lot of his solo stuff since but Sandman was a big influence.

Kevin J. Anderson’s and Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars novels from the mid to late 90s. The Thrawn Trilogy, Jedi Academy, and Dark Saber.

During one of our previous interactions online, you mentioned the importance of reading to an author’s development. What are you currently reading right now?

Right now, I am going back to fill in my Larry Correia collection. I have my copy in paperback of Monster Hunter Vendetta right here and I’m about a third of the way through.

Have you read Son of the Black Sword yet?

Yes. I took an interesting approach to Larry’s work, which is kind of unintentional. I’ve read the first installment of each of his series. So I’ve read Monster Hunter International, Hard Magic, and Son of the Black Sword, so now I’m reading the second book in each one. Hopefully by the time I’m done with Spellbound, House of Assassins will be out.

You are also an editor. Can you describe some of the challenges compared to writing?

Sure. In terms of the challenges, editing is a whole different animal. When you’re just composing original prose, the field is wide open. You know that you have this huge blank canvas that you can put anything you want on there, so you’re really free of restrictions. You can always come back and revise it later.

Editing is a far more technical process. It differs from proofreading in that I mainly provide three services, which is line, copy, and content or development editing. I don’t do what your junior high English teacher does. I’m not going through with the red pen and pointing out, “Well, this is a comma splice. This is ‘it’s’ not ‘its’ so it should have an apostrophe. You want to use ‘whom’ instead of ‘who’ here because it’s in the object.” I mean, if I find those mistakes I will correct them, but mainly I am the last line of defense between the readers and an unsaleable book. I’m there to give suggestions that, if followed, will make your book professional and make it saleable.

The questions I ask myself are: Is this prose easy to read and understand? Is it readable? Do the mood, tone, and themes that the author wants to get across come through clearly? Is the plot advanced? Is every page, paragraph, and sentence doing at least two things? Like advancing character, advancing plot, conveying mood and tone, developing a theme? Is this book structured correctly? Do the pinches and turns and climaxes and, you know, the peaks and valleys come at dramatically appropriate moments to maximize the audience’s emotional impact? Those are just a few of the challenges and, of course, so is doing all of that without killing the author’s voice.

I’ve always got to be on guard to make sure that I’m not editing this book into a book that I would write. It’s got to still be the author’s book because the author is still the ultimate authority. The author can take all of my notes and say, “Go pound sand. I’m not going to take any of this advice.” It’s the author’s call. So I’ve got to make sure that at the end of the day, even if he does take all of my advice, it’s still his book, not mine.

Can you mention some of the books you’ve worked on?

Of the books that have hit the market, I edited Justin Knight’s second book. I’m looking through my list of stuff I’ve edited to make sure I get the title right. That one underwent a title change– that was Praxis.

I also edited a short story for JD Cowan, who you may be familiar with, called “In the Eyes of the Demon”, and, just recently released, Vigil by Russell Newquist.

What’s your next project?

Well. I’ve done my passion project. I’ve done the Soul Cycle, and in terms of indie authors, it was a success. It exceeded my expectations. I was hoping to break even on it and I’ve actually been able to earn a living through that, sometimes supplementing it with the editing. It’s been critically acclaimed, it has gotten some great reviews, so I’m pleased. Well done, good and faithful Soul Cycle. Thanks to all the readers who supported it.

Now that we’ve got the more complex, layered, I don’t to say inaccessible story, but there is a curve you’ve got a surmount to get into Nethereal. I think you’d agree it’s kind of a tough nut to crack. You have to figure out how to approach it. I chalk that up to, one, being the first book in a series that tells a rather complex story, and that’s just how the story is. I mean, I simplified that thing as much as I could. And two, Nethereal is the midpoint of the whole saga.

I do at some point plan to go back and do a four book prequel trilogy that explores the life and times of Almeth Elocine and his rise and fall. We see him in the prologue of Souldancer and he shows up one more time in that book. Then he shows up a couple times in The Secret Kings near the end. Really, as has been hinted, everything is really his fault. The Guild itself, the purge of the Gen and other non-human races, and their defeat. It’s kind of all on him, which will be made clear. Nethereal is very much the echo of what he did before he got to Kairos at the beginning of Souldancer. I think he’s my most compelling character. You’ll get to see a bit more of him in The Ophian Rising. He’ll actually get to see him take the field and do stuff this time, so there’s a little tidbit for you. We’re going to examine him, but that’s not my next immediate project

So again, we’ve done the heavy stuff, we’ve done the more literary stuff, and you guys have been good. It’s time to give you a treat:

The next project is giant robots.

Let’s have some fun. Let’s get in our giant mecha and let’s blow up some space colonies. Let’s shoot the big laser straight down the middle of the approaching squad of enemy mechs and just watch them blossom in sequence into Christmas lights.

Like Macross or Gundam?

Remember when Nick Cole and Jason Anspach first launched Galaxy’s Edge? Before they had the title, they just called it #StarWarsNotStarWars. This is #GundamNotGundam. I say Gundam all the way. I mean, I like what I’ve seen of Macross, but I’m a Gundam fanboy. I love it so and I’ve got to be really careful because Bandai is super uptight even more than Disney about protecting their IP. I will probably not be able to use #GundamNotGundam in marketing. I’ve already got five books outlined for it.

There has already has been a short story published in that universe It’s called “Anacyclosis”.

Is that the story hosted on Sci Phi Journal?

Correct. So anybody who wants a foretaste of what’s coming next can go check that out. There’s quite a bit of the lore of that series contained in that story. It’s a good jumping on point.

Earlier this summer, you released a novella, “The Hymn of the Pearl”. Could you tell us a bit about it?

Anyone who signs up for my newsletter–which you can do through my website Kairos at BrianNiemeier.com–gets a free copy of my first novella “The Hymn of the Pearl” for free. It’s been described as a sort of historical fiction but in a version of Late Antiquity that never was. There are two competing magic systems practiced by two competing orders of priests. It deals with the fate of humans and gods and how they can’t be created or destroyed, just moved around. There’s a redemption story. There’s an attempt to start a war. It’s good, clean, wholesome fun.

Is this a setup for a future project or is it self-contained?

Right now, its self-contained. I do have ideas where I might go with it. There’s enough demand for an entire series. I have had people who’ve read it saying how much they want a sequel, but just as many have told me, “No, no, this is perfect as it is. I wouldn’t want to see you cheapen this with a sequel. I wouldn’t want to see you water it down.”

Let’s just say that there might be a sequel to “The Hymn of the Pearl” someday, but it’s on the back burner. I’m going to focus on my mecha series next.

*     *     *      *      *

Thanks again to Brian Niemeier for his time and for writing the genre-bending Soul Cycle series.

You can get the final book of the award-winning Soul Cycle today, and complete your collection by picking up the other captivating books in this supernatural space adventure series.

An Interview with Brian Niemeier, Part II published first on http://ift.tt/2zdiasi

THE HIGH KING IN COMMAND

"Now," said Peter, as they finished their meal, "Aslan and the girls (that's Queen Susan and Queen Lucy, Caspian) are somewhere close. We don't know when he will act. In his time, no doubt, not ours. In the meantime he would like us to do what we can on our own. You say, Caspian, we are not strong enough to meet Miraz in pitched battle?" "I'm afraid not, High King," said Caspian. He was liking Peter very much, but was rather tongue-tied. It was much stranger for him to meet the great Kings out of the old stories than it was for them to meet him. "Very well, then," said Peter, "I'll send him a challenge to single combat." No one had thought of this before. "Please," said Caspian, "could it not be me? I want to avenge my father." "You're wounded," said Peter. "And anyway, wouldn't he just laugh at a challenge from you? I mean, we have seen that you are a king and a warrior but he thinks of you as a kid." "But, Sire," said the Badger, who sat very close to Peter and never took his eyes off him. "Will he accept a . challenge even from you? He knows he has the stronger . army." "Very likely he won't," said Peter, "but there's always the chance. And even if he doesn't, we shall spend the best part of the day sending heralds to and fro and all that. By then Aslan may have done something. And at least I can inspect the army and strengthen the position. I will send the challenge. In fact I will write it at once. Have you pen and ink, Master Doctor?" "A scholar is never without them, your Majesty," answered Doctor Cornelius. "Very well, I will dictate," said Peter. And while the Doctor spread out a parchment and opened his ink-horn and sharpened his pen, Peter leant back with half-closed eyes and recalled to his mind the language in which he had written such things long ago in Narnia's golden age. "Right," he said at last. "And now, if you are ready, Doctor?" Doctor Cornelius dipped his pen and waited. Peter dictated as follows: "Peter, by the gift of Aslan, by election, by prescription, and by conquest, High King over all Kings in Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands and Lord of Cair Paravel, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion, to Miraz, Son of Caspian the Eighth, sometime Lord Protector of Narnia and now styling himself King of Narnia, Greeting. Have you got that?" "Narnia, comma, greeting," muttered the Doctor. "Yes, Sire." "Then begin a new paragraph," said Peter. "For to prevent the effusion of blood, and for the avoiding all other inconveniences likely to grow from the wars now levied in our realm of Narnia, it is our pleasure to adventure our royal person on behalf of our trusty and well-beloved Caspian in clean wager of battle to prove upon your Lordship's body that the said Caspian is lawful King under us in Narnia both by our gift and by the laws of the Telmarines, and your Lordship twice guilty of treachery both in withholding the dominion of Narnia from the said Caspian and in the most abhominable, - don't forget to spell it with an H, Doctor - bloody, and unnatural murder of your kindly lord and brother King Caspian Ninth of that name. Wherefore we most heartily provoke, challenge, and defy your Lordship to the said combat and monomachy, and have sent these letters by the hand of our well beloved and royal brother Edmund, sometime King under us in Narnia, Duke of Lantern Waste and Count of the Western March, Knight of the Noble Order of the Table, to whom we have given full power of determining with your Lordship all the conditions of the said battle. Given at our lodging in Aslan's How this XII day of the month Greenroof in the first year of Caspian Tenth of Narnia. "That ought to do," said Peter, drawing a deep breath. "And now we must send two others with King Edmund. I think the Giant ought to be one." "He's - he's not very clever, you know," said Caspian. "Of course not," said Peter. "But any giant looks impressive if only he will keep quiet. And it will cheer him up. But who for the other?" "Upon my word," said Trumpkin, "if you want someone who can kill with looks, Reepicheep would be the best." "He would indeed, from all I hear," said Peter with a laugh. "If only he wasn't so small. They wouldn't even see him till he was close!" "Send Glenstorm, Sire," said Trufflehunter. "No one ever laughed at a Centaur." An hour later two great lords in the army of Miraz, the Lord Glozelle and the Lord Sopespian, strolling along their lines and picking their teeth after breakfast, looked up and saw coming down to them from the wood the Centaur and Giant Wimbleweather, whom they had seen before in battle, and between them a figure they could not recognize. Nor indeed would the other boys at Edmund's school have recognized him if they could have seen him at that moment. For Aslan had breathed on him at their meeting and a kind of greatness hung about him. "What's to do?" said the Lord Glozelle. "An attack?" "A parley, rather," said Sopespian. "See, they carry green branches. They are coming to surrender most likely." "He that is walking between the Centaur and the Giant has no look of surrender in his face," said Glozelle. "Who can he be? It is not the boy Caspian." "No indeed," said Sopespian. "This is a fell warrior, I warrant you, wherever the rebels have got him from. He is (in your Lordship's private ear) a kinglier man than ever Miraz was. And what mail he wears! None of our smiths can make the like." "I'll wager my dappled Pomely he brings a challenge, not a surrender," said Glozelle. "How then?" said Sopespian. "We hold the enemy in our fist here. Miraz would never be so hair-brained as to throw away his advantage on a combat." "He might be brought to it," said Glozelle in a much lower voice. "Softly," said Sopespian. "Step a little aside here out of earshot of those sentries. Now. Have I taken your Lordship's meaning aright?" "If the King undertook wager of battle," whispered Glozelle, "why, either he would kill or be killed." "So," said Sopespian, nodding his head. "And if he killed we should have won this war." "Certainly. And if not?" "Why, if not, we should be as able to win it without the King's grace as with him. For I need not tell your Lordship that Miraz is no very great captain. And after that, we should be both victorious and kingless." "And it is your meaning, my Lord, that you and I could hold this land quite as conveniently without a King as with one?" Glozelle's face grew ugly. "Not forgetting," said he, "that it was we who first put him on the throne. And in all the years that he has enjoyed it, what fruits have come our way? What gratitude has he shown us?" "Say no more," answered Sopespian. "But look - herd comes one to fetch us to the King's tent." When they reached Miraz's tent they saw Edmund and his two companions seated outside it and being entertained with cakes and wine, having already delivered the challenge, and withdrawn while the King was considering it. When they saw them thus at close quarters the two Telmarine lords thought all three of them very alarming. Inside, they found Miraz, unarmed and finishing his breakfast. His face was flushed and there was a scowl on his brow. "There!" he growled, flinging the parchment across the table to them. "See what a pack of nursery tales our jackanapes of a nephew has sent us." "By your leave, Sire," said Glozelle. "If the young warrior whom we have just seen outside is the King Edmund mentioned in the writing, then I would not call him a nursery tale but a very dangerous knight." "King Edmund, pah!" said Miraz. "Does your Lordship believe those old wives' fables about Peter and Edmund and the rest?" "I believe my eyes, your Majesty," said Glozelle. "Well, this is to no purpose," said Miraz, "but as touching the challenge, I suppose there is only one opinion between us?" "I suppose so, indeed, Sire," said Glozelle. "And what is that?" asked the King. "Most infallibly to refuse it," said Glozelle. "For though I have never been called a coward, I must plainly say that to meet that young man in battle is more than my heart would serve me for. And if (as is likely) his brother, the High King, is more dangerous than he why, on your life, my Lord King, have nothing to do with him." "Plague on you!" cried Miraz. "It was not that sort of council I wanted. Do you think I am asking you if I should be afraid to meet this Peter (if there is such a man)? Do you think I fear him? I wanted your counsel on the policy of the matter; whether we, having the advantage, should hazard it on a wager of battle." "To which I can only answer, your Majesty," said Glozelle, "that for all reasons the challenge should be refused. There is death in the strange knight's face." "There you are again!" said Miraz, now thoroughly angry. "Are you trying, to make it appear that I am as great a coward as your Lordship?" "Your Majesty may say your pleasure," said Glozelle sulkily. "You talk like an old woman, Glozelle," said the King. "What say you, my Lord Sopespian?" "Do not touch it, Sire," was the reply. "And what your Majesty says of the policy of the thing comes in very happily. It gives your Majesty excellent grounds for a refusal without any cause for questioning your Majesty's honour or courage." "Great Heaven!" exclaimed Miraz, jumping to his feet. "Are you also bewitched today? Do you think I am looking for grounds to refuse it? You might as well call me coward to my face." The conversation was going exactly as the two lords wished, so they said nothing. "I see what it is," said Miraz, after staring at them as if his eyes would start out of his head, "you are as lilylivered as hares yourselves and have the effrontery to imagine my heart after the likeness of yours! Grounds for a refusal, indeed! Excuses for not fighting! Are you soldiers? Are you Telmarines? Are you men? And if I dog refuse it (as ail good reasons of captaincy and martial policy urge me to do) you will think, and teach others tan think, I was afraid. Is it not so?" "No man of your Majesty's age," said Glozelle, "would be called coward by any wise soldier for refusing the combat with a great warrior in the flower of his youth." "So I'm to be a dotard with one foot in the grave, as well as a dastard," roared Miraz. "I'll tell you what it is, my Lords. With your womanish counsels (ever shying from the true point, which is one of policy) you have done the very opposite of your intent. I had meant to refuse it. But I'll accept it. Do you hear, accept it! I'll not be shamed because some witchcraft or treason has frozen both your bloods." "We beseech your Majesty - " said Glozelle, but Miraz had flung out of the tent and they could hear him bawling out his acceptance to Edmund. The two lords looked at one another and chuckled quietly. "I knew he'd do it if he were properly chafed," said Glozelle. "But I'll not forget he called me coward. It shall be paid for." There was a great stirring at Aslan's How when the news came back and was communicated to the various creatures. Edmund, with one of Miraz's captains, had already marked out the place for the combat, and ropes and stakes had been put round it. Two Telmarines were to stand at two of the corners, and one in the middle of one side, as marshals of the lists. Three marshals for the other two corners and the other side were to be furnished by the High King. Peter was just explaining to Caspian that he could not be one, because his right to the throne was what they were fighting about, when suddenly a thick, sleepy voice said, "Your Majesty, please." Peter turned and there stood the eldest of the Bulgy Bears. "If you please, your Majesty," he said, "I'm a bear, I am." "To be sure, so you are, and a good bear too, I don't doubt," said Peter. "Yes," said the Bear. "But it was always a right of the, bears to supply one marshal of the lists." "Don't let him," whispered Trumpkin to Peter. "He's a good creature, but he'll shame us all. He'll go to sleep and he will suck his paws. In front of the enemy too." "I can't help that," said Peter. "Because he's quite right. The Bears had that privilege. I can't imagine how it has been remembered all these years, when so many other things have been forgotten." "Please, your Majesty," said the Bear. "It is your right," said Peter. "And you shall be one of the marshals. But you must remember not to suck your paws." "Of course not," said the Bear in a very shocked voice. "Why, you're doing it this minute!" bellowed Trumpkin. The Bear whipped his paw out of his mouth and pretended he hadn't heard. "Sire!" came a shrill voice from near the ground. "Ah - Reepicheep!" said Peter after looking up and down and round as people usually did when addressed by the Mouse. "Sire," said Reepicheep. "My life is ever at your command, but my honour is my own. Sire, I have among my people the only trumpeter in your Majesty's army. I had thought, perhaps, we might have been sent with the challenge. Sire, my people are grieved. Perhaps if it were your pleasure that I should be a marshal of the lists, it would content them." A noise not unlike thunder broke out from somewhere overhead at this point, as Giant Wimbleweather burst into one of those not very intelligent laughs to which the nicer sorts of Giant are so liable. He checked himself at once and looked as grave as a turnip by the time Reepicheep discovered where the noise came from. "I am afraid it would not do," said Peter very gravely. "Some humans are afraid of mice - " "I had observed it, Sire," said Reepicheep. "And it would not be quite fair to Miraz," Peter continued, "to have in sight anything that might abate the edge of his courage." "Your Majesty is the mirror of honour," said the Mouse with one of his admirable bows. "And on this matter we have but a single mind... I thought I heard someone laughing just now. If anyone present wishes to make me the subject of his wit, I am very much at his service - with my sword - whenever he has leisure." An awful silence followed this remark, which was broken by Peter saying, "Giant Wimbleweather and the Bear and the Centaur Glenstorm shall be our marshals. The combat will be at two hours after noon. Dinner at noon precisely." "I say," said Edmund as they walked away, "I suppose it is all right. I mean, I suppose you can beat him?" "That's what I'm fighting him to find out," said Peter.

Trump, Rodiles and the Cuban Opposition

Trump, Rodiles and the Cuban Opposition / Juan Orlando Perez Juan Orlando Pérez, 1 February 2017, (re-published in Ivan Garcia's blog on 7 February 2017) — Antonio Rodiles, one of the Cuban government's most tireless enemies, or at least one of its most eloquent, has said that the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House is "good news for Cuba." It is difficult to criticize Rodiles, who every day faces the danger of State Security agents, or his own neighbors, breaking his nose — they have already done this once with exquisite precision — or of being accused of some monstrosity such as contempt of court, assault, incitement to violence or failure to attend Fidel Castro's funeral, resulting in him being cast into a windowless dungeon without light or justice. Every Sunday, Rodiles leaves his house Havana to protest against a government that he considers illegitimate. While not comparable to the battles of Peralejo or Las Guásimas, much less the crossing of the Trocha de Mariel to Majana, this action is one that does require more political and personal courage than all the deputies of the National Assembly together could muster to change a single comma in a decree from Raul Castro's government, should they even notice a comma misplaced. Unlike other leaders of the Cuban opposition and most deputies of the National Assembly, Rodiles knows how to speak correctly, in proper Spanish. Perhaps that is why foreign journalists prefer to talk to him rather than to others whom they can barely understand. But what he told the Spanish newspaper El País is dangerous nonsense. In no way can Trump be "good news" for Cuba when he is so bad for all the other countries of the world, including those whose leaders — Vladimir Putin, Theresa May, Benjamin Netanyahu — selfishly hope to benefit from the ascent of a thug to the presidency of the United States. At least Rodiles does not contend Trump is not a thug. Rodiles declined to say if Trump's victory was also good news for the United States. "I don't want to get into that," he said flatly. "It's not my problem." Perhaps Rodiles thinks that if personnel at the American Embassy in Havana or at the State Department in Washington hear him criticizing Trump's character, skills or intentions, even if the criticism is so mild it might almost be considered a kind remark, he will no longer be invited to the embassy or to conferences, congresses and seminars — one takes place every month in Miami, Madrid or Washington — where the participants ardently debate the future of Cuba, condemn Castro's wickedness and lament Barack Obama's faintheartedness. Rodiles' discretion — his refusal to express an opinion about the domestic issues of another country — is admirable, especially because it stands in contrast to foreign politicians who talk about issues in his own. In late December, Rodiles participated in a panel organized by the right-wing Heritage Foundation in Washington along with two former George W. Bush administration officials: the former under-secretaries of state Roger Noriega and Otto Reich. As reported by Diario de Cuba, he took the opportunity to explain that "the new Administration has the opportunity to reorient US policy towards the human rights and freedom for the Cuban people." Noriega and Reich are co-authors of the infamous Helms-Burton Act of 1996. More than a law, it is the list of relentless conditions that the United States would impose on the Cuban government if it were to capitulate, which one can easily imagine these two former officials recommending to the Trump Administration provided someone in the White House still remembers who they are and asks them what to do about Cuba. Noriega and Reich may express any opinion about Cuba, or about Jupiter, if they so choose. That is their right. No one in Washington is going to end up with a nose out of joint if they do so. But it is not clear why Rodiles should not in turn be able to say with more or less the same degree of tact what so many other political leaders around the world have said: that Donald Trump's brand of vicious, racist and ignorant populism is a very serious threat to international security, to the rights of other nations, to Americans' civil liberties and, of course, to Cuba. Perhaps Rodiles thinks Trump is as innocuous as Tian Tian, the giant panda at Washington's National Zoo. If so, he might as well say so. For the moment, Rodiles has refrained from criticizing Trump, though not from criticizing Obama. He believes, as he told El País, that Obama's legacy in Cuba can be described in two words: indifference and fantasy. In a video released by the Forum for Human Rights and Freedoms, Rodiles appears next to others celebrating Trump's victory on November 8 and criticizing Obama's Cuban strategy. "It was very frustrating," explains Rodiles in the video, "to see how the Obama administration was allowing the regime to gain advantage, to gain political advantage, to gain economic advantage, while leaving the Cuban people and their demands on the sidelines." He added, "Unfortunately, the legacy of President Obama on Cuba is not positive… His policy has been counterproductive. His policy has led the regime to feel much more secure and to behave more violently." It is not clear, however, what exactly Rodiles and his colleagues at the Forum hope Trump will do. "It seems to me that the new administration under President Donald Trump will give much more attention to the Cuban opposition. It will give much more attention to the subject of fundamental rights and freedoms, and the Cuban people will be able to express themselves more openly, though the regime will, of course, do everything possible to prevent that." It is likely that on May 20 — if the world lasts until then — a committee of Cuban opposition figures, including perhaps Rodiles himself, will visit the White House, as always happened before Obama, after which the president of the United States might write a Twitter message in jovial Spanglish condemning Raúl Castro and his minions. But it is unclear how tweets by the lunatic that Americans have chosen as their commander-in-chief are going to get Cubans out onto the streets. Nor is it easy to imagine the Cuban government agreeing to sit down with Rodiles or any other opposition figure just because the president of the United States demands it, even if he makes it a condition of maintaining diplomatic relations; or of continuing to allow Cuban-Americans to send money to their families on the island; or of allowing them visit their relatives whenever they want. If the members of the Forum for Human Rights and Freedoms believe that these are conditions that the Trump Administration should impose, they should say so clearly and run the risk that Trump or one of his underlings might hear and pay attention to them. An even greater risk is that Cubans might hear them. It is perfectly legitimate for some members of the Cuban opposition to disapprove of Obama's policy of normalizing relations between the United States and Cuba, at least to the degree that it is possible to normalize something that will never be normal. No one should be surprised that those who would like to see the immediate overthrow of Raúl Castro have no confidence in a plan that acknowledges the unlikelihood that the Cuban government will be overthrown in a domestic revolt. Raúl has been accepted — with indifference or resignation — as the legitimate president of Cuba by almost all the nations of the world. The plan addresses the political and intellectual weakness of opposition groups, counting instead on the slow but inexorable growth of a new post-Castro civil society that will one day reclaim political and economic rights that Raúl or his successors will never be willing to grant. It is true this plan pays no particular importance to the Forum for Human Rights and Freedoms, or to other groups with equally florid names, whose members feel they have been abruptly and unceremoniously abandoned by their old patron. But not all opposition groups have judged Obama's decisions regarding Cuba as negatively as Rodiles and his cohorts. With bitter pragmatism, others have warned that it is foolish to oppose head-on a policy that is viewed favorably on both sides of the Florida Straits. While it has, of course, benefited the Cuban government, it has also benefitted millions of plain and simple ordinary men and women. If nothing else, it means that, after two short years, Raúl can no longer blame his problems on an enemy ever ready to wipe Cuba off the map in a single, brutal blow. There was nothing fanciful about Obama's strategy, though there is in the illusion that the Cuban government would have agreed to sit down with Rodiles and other opposition leaders if Obama had insisted on it. And he will do so if Trump makes that demand with his characteristic coarseness. After so many years and so many body blows, Rodiles still has not met Raúl Castro. Before falling in line with Trump and conspiring with the most reactionary elements of the new administration — its more conservative faction, in particular, wants to break off the truce between the United States and Cuba — the Cuban opposition should take a few weeks to consider whether it would be wiser to avoid allying itself with those who have come to power with a program that not only causes a great deal of alarm within the international community but which should also disgust any person of integrity, whether one's integrity be of the right-wing or left-wing kind. The Cuban opposition would do well to maintain a relative independence from the United States, a benevolent gift from Obama, and if they are so inclined, to keep their distance from an administration which, in two short weeks, has led its country to the brink of a pernicious political and perhaps constitutional crisis. That is unless one sees nothing particularly reprehensible in what Trump says and does, or believe that his vandalism is justified because he got ten thousand votes more in Michigan and fifteen thousand more votes in Wisconsin than Hillary Clinton. It would be very bad news if opportunism led a segment of the Cuban population, even a very small one, to become pro-Trump out of foolhardiness, ignorance, a misguided sense of self-preservation or, even worse, by a genuine ideological affinity with a government that resembles a social democratic Nixon, Reagan or Bush administration. But even more troubling is the Cuban opposition's hope that the United States, Barack Obama or Donald Trump and not the island's plain and simple ordinary men and women might grant them the right to discuss Cuba's future with Raúl Castro or whatever petty tyrant happens to come after. Trump will just disappoint them. And should he fall, which is likely to happen, he will drag with him all those who have not taken great care or had the decency to maintain a safe distance. Juan Orlando Pérez Published in El Estornudo on February 1, 2017 under the title "Bad News." Source: Trump, Rodiles and the Cuban Opposition / Juan Orlando Perez – Translating Cuba - http://ift.tt/2lMJmXS via Blogger http://ift.tt/2ljnens