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Reviews for Assassins Creed Brotherhood
Probably my favourite in the seriesGmen | Jan. 6, 2014 | See all Gmen's reviews »
The Assassin's Creed series has been with us now for more than six years, with a new title arriving each year. But for me, Brotherhood was about the best – it was certainly the last one I have bothered with so far. You play as Ezio from Assassin's Creed II, and a lot of what made said game good was improved upon here. You can upgrade your weapons and receive new inventions from an old friend (you should recognise him!) to help give you an edge in combat and in other areas. About the best feature in Brotherhood is being able to train new assassin recruits and send them on assignments, which will gain them experience and skill points which you can use to upgrade their abilities. You can buy properties in the city to generate income, which in turn will aid you in being able to acquire more powerful weapons and items. I find there's definitely more interaction with the world around you, and your actions matter more than ever. Playing as Ezio makes you feel like a powerful mafia boss, which essentially, he is – but he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Think of this as GTA: Vice City, but with horses instead of cars. Combat and manoeuvring your character about is still a weak point here as it had been with every AC game before it. Graphically Brotherhood doesn't look a hell of a lot different from either Assassin's Creed or Assassin's Creed II. A lovely score composed by one of the masters, Jesper Kyd, never fails to disappoint and is one of the highlights of this title.
Not as good as I'd hoped.Thousandforms | Dec. 2, 2013 | See all Thousandforms's reviews »
I'm new to assassins creed and I spent a good while looking at which one I should start with without trading off graphics etc. I chose this one and well really I'm kinda disappointed by it. Firstly: The number of cut scenes is truely annoying, sometimes inbetween cut-scenes you may only have to do one thing: 'press any button'-why?! and sometimes you just walk one more pace and it's yet another cut scene... secondly: puzzle-esk things, at the beginning, the part in modern-time, the puzzles are repetative and boring.. they lacked inspiration, or action. Thirdly: I was dissapointed to find out that all of those cool fight scenes- well theres only really one 'fight' button.. other than the dodge and grab, it's just x for attack and LT +X for counter attack.. I was just hoping for more.. Finally: My version is on uplay: I cant say whether this one is or not as I don't think I bought it from this site, but uplay sucks, it takes forever to download things, update, etc. slooow. I havent given up on it yet, so I'll give it 40something... At least running across roofs is fun.....!
My Favourite So FarStuman31 | Nov. 25, 2013 | See all Stuman31's reviews »
Of the Assassin's Creeds I have played, I would say this one has been my favourite. Going into it i actually thought it was just going to be glorified DLC, but it is an entire game to itself. There are a few new additions (like having the ability to call on other assassins) that do develop this game past the previous one. Though this does really improve in no way graphically to the series, and is much more of a sideways step it is a lot of fun. However, like all the Assassins Creed games, you get used to a very similar game play. Which makes playing the games back to back rather dull. But if you were only going to play one Assassins Creed game, this is the one id pick
Assassin, lots of them...Gojko | Oct. 11, 2013 | See all Gojko's reviews »
This is the third part of the game... ok not third, but part that is going between second and third. Encio is back with new task, better graphic, but also with mod for multiplayer game. You get new responsibilities, but also opportunities. You have to spend time training recruits, but also you can call the tasks companions for help. Graphic is better in this part, it's much more smoother than in others. Sound... what sound... ah that sound, I was thinking is nature around me. Recommendation for all players.
A Sequel Which Is Only To Get More Moneylagendofdoom | Sept. 28, 2013 | See all lagendofdoom's reviews »
I would call this game "Assassin's Creed 2.5", they did add a couple of improvement but still it is an Assassin's Creed 2 which continues its story and only for the storyline its worth to play this game.... I was already bored in the middle of Assassin's Creed 2 so in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood a literally played out of boredom and even the story was not enough for me to enjoy this game... it was really repetitive in so many ways that I had to ask a friend to help me complete this game.
Slightly disappointing sequel to a great saga.asiersua | Sept. 25, 2013 | See all asiersua's reviews »
I won't say this game is bad and you shouldn't buy it - quite the opposite, actually, if you're into this series, you must get this one to at least follow up with the story. However, it kind of fell flat after the huge changes that came about with AC2. It's set in a similar environment, with the same main character, but a few years later. It introduces new mechanics which are quite fun, but all in all it doesn't change much from AC2, and if I had to pick, I'd definitely get the second one instead of this one.
Fun but a little disappointing sequelKingMassive | Sept. 3, 2013 | See all KingMassive's reviews »
Assassin's Creed II is one of the best games ever made and deserves a good sequel. Luckily, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is that, even though little disappointing. It improves on some aspects of the previous installment but it does lack in terms of size and originality. ACII did so many things that the first game didn't that you'd expect Brotherhood to outshine ACII but it sadly just doesn't get there. It goes backwards on some things, doesn't really improve on anything besides graphics and offers more of the same that we already saw in ACII. But even with it's flaws it has one major addition to the series, the great and addicting multiplayer. But in the end, if you liked AC and ACII, you won't waste your money with this sequel to Ezio's story, even though you won't be wowed like in ACII.
A good, fun sequelConorEngelb | Aug. 7, 2013 | See all ConorEngelb's reviews »
Brotherhood is exciting. Carrying on from AC2, the story is well-paced and blends together well with the gameplay and environment (which is beautiful to behold).
It continues.jackyboi1014 | June 11, 2013 | See all jackyboi1014's reviews »
Amazing Game. Update to the graphics engine improves so much on the look and feel, auditory sounds in the cities make it so much more lifelike than in the past two games, the HUD has been slimmed down and the optimization of the game is just amazing. New interactions, attacks, items, weapons, city economies, additional parkour elements and a brand new story-line delving deeper into Desmond makes this much less an upgrade with the same characters and different story-line, but a fully new game with four times the facets as the previous one. The multiplayer has been flawless since release day, being able to choose your own character skin and just the simple way to play multiplayer with the quick tutorial is so much fun and before you know it 2 hours have gone by in extreme fun.
an improvement on AC2maddocks2379 | May 12, 2013 | See all maddocks2379's reviews »
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood follows on straight after AC2, where Ezio believes his job is done and he can relax. Well he's wrong and the borgais army destroys the manor. Ezio has to bring together his own brotherhood of assassin's to defeat the borgias. The game is a definite improvement over AC2, i preferred the 1 large city and buying shops to increase cash flow. The option of calling assassin's does make it a little easier but its a fun addition. Combat is still a little average and too easy. Graphics are good, character textures are better and rome looks great. Its a good AC game
Pretty awesome...Kaieh1234 | April 24, 2013 | See all Kaieh1234's reviews »
Ezio is back once again, with his merry band of assassin brothers to bring justice to the world once more. With this game, there is an addition, you can recruit and train your own disciple assassins, and send them on mini missions to improve on their abilities and let them level up, they can also be called upon if they aren't currently away on a mission to aid you in a fight, and after a short cooldown period, they can be called upon again, it's a pretty nifty feature. the money and the properties are still present from AC2, the graphics are as beautiful as ever, they also added a multiplayer, which for me personally, ruined the game, as I detest playing online, as I'm not the greatest gamer in the world. It's definitely worth a purchase if you liked the previous games!
Solid improvement over AC2Knurek | March 9, 2013 | See all Knurek's reviews »
I must say, Assassin's Creed 2 surprised me a bit by how, well, good it was. Brotherhood, being direct story sequel to that game, takes the general framework and adds a lot of polish. No more blindly searching for collectibles - you can buy maps for just about everything you can find if you want to. The battle system got some much needed improvements, most important of which is the ability to call a squad of CPU controlled assassins. Which removes a lot of tedium from the game, and quite frankly, never gets old. Missions are more varied, with some setpieces being honestly brilliant, and there's quite a lot of side stuff to do as well. Yes, the story is still borderline stupid, economy in the game is beyond broken (you max out your gold around 2/3rds of the game), Desmond sections are still not that fun (and there's a lot more of them this time) and the last two or three missions are simply not fun but the whole thing is (almost) constantly a pleasure to play. If you played AC2 and liked it, get this one as well. You won't be disappointed.
Great sequelStebsis | Feb. 13, 2013 | See all Stebsis's reviews »
Brotherhood may not be the big leap that AC2 was from 1, but it's still a damn great game, the second best Assassin's Creed. The biggest change is the setting, now there's only 1 city, Rome, and it is big. In AC2 you had this little place, Monteriggioni Villa that you could upgrade to get you better weapons, armor etc. from stores, but now the whole Rome is your playground. You can buy properties all around the town like bank, horse staples, and weapon and clothing stores. You can then purchase goods from them and all will add to your hourly income that you get and can withdraw the money from the bank. It's a great system and even though you sometimes seem to have a bit too much money, you still can't really abuse the system because at the end when buying all the stuff you need and want it balances out. Rome itself is just a beautiful place, though not as good looking as Venice. There're hundreds of little things to find and quests to do. Once again you play as Ezio Auditore continuing your quest to figure out what the heck is going on in the main plot and trying to figure out what the point of Desmond is. Well, seriously, you start right from the same point where AC2 left off, so I urge you to play it first as it's also a superb game. Story is pretty good and diverse missions in a big city are fun to do. The best part added in Brotherhood is the multiplayer, and this is odd for me as I don't usually like multiplayer as much as single player, but here mp just adds to the single player experience. It's really different from anything that I've ever played, there are couple of different game modes, for example in one you're divided into 2 teams of 4, and other team has to hunt others down. And in other mode you need to assassinate given target, but there're also others hunting you and as you do better in the round, the more people are gonna come after you. These are heart pounding minutes as you try to blend in the crowd while at the same time trying to hunt your targets as quickly as you can. Nothing really has gotten my blood run like Brotherhood multiplayer in a long time. If you liked AC2, you will like Brotherhood. It's a great sequel to Ezio storyline and multiplayer just adds to the experience.
Assasins creed 2, story continue!crazyspike | Dec. 24, 2012 | See all crazyspike's reviews »
Continuation of Assassin's Creed 2. History of Ezio is going to be much more crazy, good main quest, tons of items and side quest to be completed. Graphic is very good, sound as always in Assassin's Creed Awesome! This part have multi-player when you compete with others players for best kills (score). In clear mind i can recommend Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. Have FUN!
Assassins Creed,... perfectedMarkDeejay | Nov. 8, 2012 | See all MarkDeejay's reviews »
Wonderful game. Beautiful graphics (with improved faces) and long lasting, open world gameplay. The game has some great new additions as well, in comparison to ACII. Running around also feels more natural this time. I continued playing this even after I finished it, and I don't do that very often. The multiplayer is great as well, very tense. Loved it.
As awesome as 2schroff | Sept. 14, 2012 | See all schroff's reviews »
Ubisoft Continues the high of AC2 with this one. It's set in only one city this time - Rome. Ezio is a made a master assassin in this one and has guilds of assassins whom he trains in mini games\side quests and they return the favour by granting the rain of arrows ability which clears out an area of enemies - immensely useful for 100% syncing. Introduces the execution mechanic too. There's little to criticise here ... maybe that the game gets repetitive again but you don't notice it due to the fast pace. Cesare is an awesome bad guy and enjoy the colloseum part of the game, ezios singing is hilarious!
Assassin Creed 2 with many new featurespanz3r88 | Aug. 2, 2012 | See all panz3r88's reviews »
If you have played Assassin's Creed 2 you will like Brotherhood, where many new features expand the very good gameplay of the previous chapter.The most important characteristic of the game is the possibility of recruit assassins for the guild, train them and call them to help you during your missions. In this chapter the number of secondary mission and their variety is increased. You will always have many things to do while you explore Rome. When you are tired of single player you can try the multiplayer mode that is quite original. There are various modes where you must assassinate one player and try to hide from other one that try to kill you.
Great story, Great gameEneSanyi | July 25, 2012 | See all EneSanyi's reviews »
I think Brotherhood is the best Assassin's Creed yet. Why? Because of the big changes from AC II. The game looks very nice, the animations are good too. The acts are fine at Ezio's story, AND Desmond's at the first time! The fights are good, but a little bit easy. The atmosphere makes this game great. You believe you are in Rome, and you a are a master assassin. The game time is between 10-20 hours and you're not bored while playing Ezio Auditore's fantastic memories. The multiplayer has got potential, but there are just a few players on PC. I recommend this game to everybody who likes medieval games with a little fight, a little sneaking, but start with Assassin's Creed II because of the fantastic story.
Assassin's Creed 2, with small refinementsCynaris | July 20, 2012 | See all Cynaris's reviews »
Brotherhood is a lot like Assassin's Creed 2, the setting remains, the soundtrack is very similar, and the gameplay and variety hasn't changed much. However it does introduce 2 major things. You have your own Brotherhood where you train Assassin's by sending them on missions. They improve, and will help you whenever you call for their aid. It is a fine and well executed addition. The second one is your Villa. You are now taking over a small town, bringing shops back to life, improving your own residence, and increasing your income. It doesn't have much effect in the end, as you'll drown in money, but it is a nice addition nonetheless. The game is still thoroughly enjoyable, and recommended to play.
Great just not perfectBibber | June 20, 2012 | See all Bibber's reviews »
The sequel to what in my opinion was one of the best games of 2010 and a great game in it's own right. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood starts off where Assassin's Creed II left off, with Ezio and the pope in a vault under the Vatican in Rome, which is a good start, but how is the rest of the game? Gameplay The gameplay is still solid and hasn't changed much apart form adding some extra weapons, assassin recruits and a few tweaks to the HUD. The controls especially those for free running still work great, especially with a mouse and keyboard. That doesn't mean there aren't any gameplay issues, during some puzzles for example the game takes control of the camera, which makes them more difficult than they actually are. Also the combat in Brotherhood is still too easy especially when you have some recruits. Story It's difficult to fully understand the story if you haven't played ACII and don't read any of the background information the game supplies. Brotherhood's story is shorter than that of ACII, which makes sense considering Brotherhood takes place in Rome and ACII has more cities. The story itself is okay, it's not great, but it isn't really bad either. Sound Great voice acting and music, the music in this game creates a nice atmosphere but isn't that memorable. Graphics Looks pretty good, my only complaints are the seemingly small number of NPC models and the blood that doesn't really look like blood. Bottom line Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a great game and despite some minor flaws is still definitely worth buying.
A very good game.arkantos | May 1, 2012 | See all arkantos's reviews »
This game is not as long as the previous one, and for most of the time you will be in Rome, as the previous one you will be able to buy and open shops of your own, which will give you money for a better gear, there's even a Facebook application which integrate with this game called "Project Legacy" that will help you to unlock bonus in-game.
Just can't get enough.meiji | Nov. 20, 2011 | See all meiji's reviews »
The Sequel to AC:II. In my opinion this game has definitely lived up to it's brothers and sisters. it is by far the Best so far. The story has just gotten more complex and 10 times as interesting. Go as Ezio Auditore and save the world from a cruel fate by blending in, utilizing your swordsman skills, controlling the town, and more than ever before. And while your at it, grab some friends and play some 'hide and seek' in multiplayer!
Not as Good as the SecondMondu | Sept. 16, 2011 | See all Mondu's reviews »
Personally I feel the 2nd game is the best out of the series, Brotherhood improves upon the model of Assassin's Creed but doesn't really feel like it adds anything new. The story is basic and not as indepth, which I found disappointing, Combat has been improved slightly but it is still easy as ever with the 2 button system for countering. You can rennovate the districs in Italy in order to unlock new places of interest and shops which can sell specific items or give you quests to carry out - changing how the city looks with each rennovation you do. The newest addition is the assassin recruiting system, allowing you to recruit townsfolk once you save them from guards. Unfortunately I feel this could have been carried out in a more exciting way instead of dispatching a group of guards every time. You can then send these recruits to carry out missions and in time they will level up to become master assassins. Overall, AC:BH is a brilliant game and one which shouldn't be missed. Well worth the price and one of the better games this generation.
Best of the Bunch.Deucalion | Aug. 20, 2011 | See all Deucalion's reviews »
Now personally I feel that the entire Assassin's Creed series is worthwhile for the story alone, only made sweeter by the sandbox type gameplay. Brotherhood manages to continue where the phenomenal AC2 left off, in both story and mechanics. Graphics, controls, combat, and more all have seen an improvement from AC2. Also, surprisingly the way the world can be managed has seen a large improvement too, with far more options for how and what shops/buildings to upgrade and even adds in ways to shape how the assassin's recruits train. The campaign is roughly 20 hours give or take depending on exploration. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys sandboxes and historical fiction/mystery type games. (For the best experience I recommend playing the other games in the series first.)
Go EzioRatmandu79 | Aug. 19, 2011 | See all Ratmandu79's reviews »
After the success of AC2 this is NOT what i expected. after ubisoft announced the series as a Trilogy the fact that they releaswed another game in Ezio's era threw me just a little but OH MY what a great move it was. really pushes the story forward and with a third Ezio installment due at the end of the year, this second episode just keeps getting bigger. and better.
A great game but has its flawsgossip5 | Aug. 18, 2011 | See all gossip5's reviews »
Assasin's creed brotherhood is the next installment of the Assasin's creen series. In this game, you can command your very own crew of assassin recruits and send them off across europe to do missions. This game is graphically stunning to the point where Rome, the setting, seems to pop out. This game has its flaws however, with reptitive missions such as the warmachine/Leonardo ones, and with the quirky hud getting in the way of the game. This game also has multiplayer. A new addition to the franchise, the modes are just a cat and mouse with a little of this and that thrown into it, but it won't stop you enjoying a game where you stab someone in the back while you hop down from a building. Get this game, while it's not the best of the best, it's still worth a shot.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Reviewmevidek | Aug. 18, 2011 | See all mevidek's reviews »
AC:B seemed to me before I got it, a game that moved away from AC's origins, and ignored everything the first to games built up. Oh, how wrong I was. AC:B is a great game, providing better gameplay than any other AC game to date, and paves the path for future AC games, which is good. Very good. Identical graphics to AC2, AC:B doesn't really expand on this front. However this aside, there is a ton of content to explore, including a story that is 20-50 hours long, with numerous items to collect, cloaks to purchase, Followers of Romulus' hiding spots to discover, and borgia towers to destroy. Not including the puzzles left but Subject 13 across Renaissance Italy. Improving almost entirely, AC:B is a winner. Introducing a new Assassin recruiting system, this game is much more about personal actions than it advertises. A strong multiplayer that isn't as good as some others, a good storyline and good core gameplay, AC:B is one game you need to get!
Most Refined Assasin Creed title Yetfaraany3k | Aug. 17, 2011 | See all faraany3k's reviews »
Assassin's Creed 2 was widely lauded as one best title in years. It was unique, innovative and improved each and everything that the original Assassin Creed was missing. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is a direct sequel to |Assassin Creed 2. We still play as a young Assassin named Ezio Auditore, who finds himself in a political power struggle of between two historical factions, Templars and Assassins. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood improves each and every aspect of Assassin's series even further. Attention to detail in each and every aspect of game is groundbreaking and never to be seen in a video game before. Storyline, historical accuracy, voice overs are done with Hollywood standard perfection. The game fundamentally plays same like AC2, but it mainly differs in small ways that add to overall enjoyment factor. Side-quests now are actually fun, varied and there are a ton of them. There is also an economy system in place aswell. We are to buy certain types of weapon shops, Armour shops and banks in the game, which then earn us profit overtime during our gameplay. Another brand new feature and a prominent one is new Brotherhood system. In order to increase our influence over the city, we recruit new Assassins which then work for us both in game, and we can give them contracts which they do outside game world. These contract work like a probability game. For example if the contract is easy and we send enough Assassins we end up completing the contract, which then rewards with in-game money.They can be also called in game. We can call them in game aswell to help us clear a guard post. They clear the path and then vanish and can be recalled for a fight after a limited cool-down. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is first in the series which has introduced a multiplayer portion aswell. Multiplayer mode has a innovative game mode where we need to freely roam in the city and hunt and assassinate other Assassins while keeping our self safe. This Cat and Mouse encounters provide an intense and exhilarating experience. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is essentially the best in the series. And if you are already a fan of Assassin's Creed franchise. You cant miss this one.
Fantastic Game.Altezzoso | Aug. 16, 2011 | See all Altezzoso's reviews »
Assassins Creed 2 was a fantastic game. This is an even more polished version with some nice features thrown in. I was very sceptical as to how recruiting assassins would work but this mechanic was easy, fun and very useful. Another part of the game I was expecting to be poor was the multiplayer but it is excellent. Sometimes it can take a while to find a game but it is well worth the wait IMO. The gameplay is largely the same as AC2 which is no bad thing. The story is good in my opinion and makes you want to play more just to learn more about it. It is well paced and is never boring. Graphics are superb but that is no surprise. Content is rich and the economic system in the game is really nice. All in all this game is great and well worth your money.
Fantastic Adventure gameMadArthur | Aug. 13, 2011 | See all MadArthur's reviews »
I must admit, the first Assassin's Creed was rather boring and uninteresting. It lacked a lot that the second one made up for, and Brotherhood further improves the series. In AC:BH, you continue to live the life of Ezio Auditore, through many perils and challenges, interesting twists in a story full of vengeance and deception. The gameplay is fundamentally the same. You run around and stab people. But a lot of depth has been added. There are many new counter attacks, weapon attack variations, and animations to give combat a slightly new feel, and there are a lot of tasks to complete around the city. The story, while short, is very interesting. I enjoyed it thoroughly. At this point there is not much more I can say without spoiling the story, overall it's a fantastic game, I would recommend it to anyone.
Must buy!ktbtren | Aug. 11, 2011 | See all ktbtren's reviews »
This game is awesome! The single player is improved yet again just like the previous game did to its predecessor. This time you have even more missions to do and this time around you can replay any mission you've completed , at any time. The biggest addition to the single player this time around is your Brotherhood, in which you have fellow assassin's that you train by sending them out to do missions on their own or use them as allies against the guards or your assassination targets. The game offers more than 40 hours of gameplay just in the single player campaign. The game also introduces a multiplayer mode in which you have to use your observation skills more than anything if you want to finish on top. Merely killing your enemies will yield little points. To earn high score you've got to kill your target discreetly while avoiding your own pursuers. The multiplayer feels very developed and not just a "slap on" job. There's level progressions that unlocks new abilities, perks, death and kill streaks as well as new characters and character basic customization. Sadly sometimes it takes a while to find a session to play, even up to 10 minutes and other times it takes less than a minute. Overall this game is worth it with rich single player and exciting multiplayer you can't go wrong.
Another great sequel!newn | Aug. 10, 2011 | See all newn's reviews »
This sequel is even better than AC2. Although they are quite similar, except the graphics is better. Combat is a bit different, though I liked the combat from AC2 more. Maybe it's just because I played it more than I should have. I think that the combat mechanics appeared to be more realistic in AC2. Maybe not exactly more realistic, but much harder. In this sequel the combat is much easier than AC2, but it's still very interesting and fun. Besides - easy combat is more fun if you want to relax. The story continues from AC2, Ezio Auditore da Firenze is now in Assassin order and can do a lot more with his skills. That might explain the easier combat by logic too. This game is definitely worth the full price, but I recommend buying AC2 first, then buy and play this sequel because of the story. Besides - you might stumble upon a discount for it while playing AC2 and save 10€!
Way better than expected.GAMERamble | Aug. 8, 2011 | See all GAMERamble's reviews »
Released shortly after Assassin's Creed 2 and continuing the story directly, my initial thoughts were that Brotherhood would just be a glorified mission pack to showcase the new multiplayer mode. Since I had no interest in multiplayer Assassins' Creed I thought that this game would hold very little for me. I couldn't have been more wrong. Instead of one or two new memory sequences, Brotherhood carries the story forward with a single player campaign that is comparable in length with the last two games and arguable even more feature packed. Expanding on what was good in the last game but falling short of a full fledged sequel, Brotherhood nevertheless has a lot to offer to fans. As the name implies Ezio can now recruit fellow assassin's and call upon their assistance in battle. Their help can really turn the tide and make some missions a bit too easy but it's definitely a nice new addition to the franchise. Their numbers are tied to the amount of districts you've liberated and there's a cool down period when making use of their skills but its still easy to misuse them in order to make Ezios life easier. You can send them off on missions so they earn money and experience making them unavailable for the duration but these typically don't last more than ten minutes. Thieves, courtesans and mercenaries are still available for hire but I found myself making less use of their services. Faction buildings can be opened up to increase income and put more members of one of these three groups in the area. There's also loads of side missions associated with these groups and even the shops so if you area completionist you'll have a lot to keep yourself busy with. Speaking of which if you want to complete a mission with 100% sync you'll now have to fulfil some extra criteria like only killing the target, not swimming or not touching the ground. Fail to adhere to the rules and you'll only get 50% sync rate upon completion. This in a way balances out the assassin assistance you have at your beck and call.For the first time in the series there is a multiplayer component which for the most part seem to work pretty well. Provided you can find descent opponents the deadly games of cat and mouse will serve as a nice diversion from the main quest and extend the life of the game. While the game was loads of fun to play it does fall short in certain areas. The mission where Ezio has to lead twenty mercenaries disguised (badly) as French troops through the city felt like herding cats due to the game not being very consistent with where it allows you to go. A few steps to the left might get you a "failure" while a few metres to the right is fine and vice versa. The same thing with missions where you have to tail people. Chase missions can also cause some hair tearing with tons of enemies literally appearing out of thin air next to you when you thought you have escaped. Not cool, especially with a timer ticking down and a checkpoint that tells you to "become anonymous" in order to continue. All I can say is that smoke bombs and arrow strikes are your friend. While Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is not the big leap forward that Assassin's Creed 2 was I don't think that ever was the intention. The multiplayer mode may have been hogging the limelight but I was surprised at the amount of content included with the single player. This game offers a lot of value for money and certainly whets the appetite for Assassin's Creed 3.
Great Sequel to AC2IganX | July 22, 2011 | See all IganX's reviews »
In first place, I must say that this game continues the story of Ezio Auditore, started in AC2, so if you haven't played that game, play it first! Now, this game on its own is pretty well done. The graphics and visual effects are great as in any AC, the storyline is complex and makes the game addictive, the gameplay has been improved, for we get to use even more weapons and equipment, and the management aspect has been developed with the feature of training your guild. This being said, this is a game with an awesome singleplayer mode, but its multiplayer can seem to be cool in first place, but its repetitive and gets boring quite soon. Overall, this is a game which you will like if you played any previous AC, but don't get it only for the multiplayer, for it isn't that great.
This game redefines "improvement"dukenukem | July 18, 2011 | See all dukenukem's reviews »
When I first heard about "AC:Brotherhood" my thoughts were mixed. On the one hand, I was excited. On the other hand, I thought "meh, they are going to cash in the success of AC2" and forgot about it. Then, I saw it in action on a friend's PC and thought "It's actually quite good". Turns out I wasn't wrong. The game redefines the word "improvement". Almost everything that made AC2 great is here in a refined way. The varied missions are here. The combat has been improved. The graphics are better. There's a lot more to do, from recruiting assassins to finding new memories which will help you understand better the story (which is quite good albeit somewhat far fetched). Add a multiplayer mode which feels right at home with the franchise and you've got a winner. This game deserves to be played, it really shows that Ubisoft has come a long way since the first Assassin's Creed.
Better than AC2, but, play AC2 first, for the sake of storyGh0st233 | July 14, 2011 | See all Gh0st233's reviews »
This game is pretty similar to AC2, but of course, there are some changes. The combat is much more fluid, and you can now execute 20 enemies in 10 seconds, which in AC2 would take a long time, and would be pretty hard. This game, however, is not any easier than AC2, especially if you want to achieve 100% synchronization. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood continues the story of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, as he now has his assassin order and is much more experienced than he was in AC2. The game itself is really fun and intense at some points in the story. I would recommend buying the game when the new one comes out and the price drops. I think you should be able to wait a couple of months.
An excellent sequel to a great gamesesprit21 | July 6, 2011 | See all sesprit21's reviews »
Assassin's Creed 2 was such a big improvement from the original Assassin's Creed, that it left a lot of people wanting more. Well, here's the new installment in this epic franchise. I am pleased to say that it brings just enough new things to the table (Rome, managing your team, engaging new characters and stories) to suck you right in. The multiplayer is a bit clunky, however they managed to fix a lot of issues. All in all, if you are looking for an epic game with a beautiful setting, interesting characters and stunning visuals, you just can't miss Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.


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Reaching Out is a quarterly newsletter we send to our donors. In this edition, you will learn about the contraceptive crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean. We also share stories from our mobile health units in Bolivia, which travel on treacherous terrain to serve women in rural and isolated...Read more
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subset: commoncrawl


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The legacy of minority-based regimes/
The question of what to do about former elites haunts countries that have undergone a radical political transformation. Retain them in office, and dissidents will complain their revolution has been "betrayed." Purge them, and the inevitable fall-off in state services, even if it is temporary, will feed instability and spread nostalgia for the fallen regime. This dilemma has recently surfaced in Libya, where militias made up of mostly working-class ex-rebels have backed a law to purge from office anyone -- including their wartime middle class allies -- who held even a minor government position under Qaddhafi. Similar laws have been drafted in Tunisia and contemplated in Egypt, and will almost certainly figure in an aftermath to the Syrian conflict.
The United States faced this dilemma in Iraq. May 16 is the ten-year anniversary of the decision it took: Coalition Provisional Authority Order 1, the decree that removed top-ranking members of the Baath party from their positions in Iraqi state institutions, swiftly followed by CPA number 2, which dissolved the military to be rebuilt anew. As Sunnis tended to rise more easily to top posts than Shiites, both decrees affected Sunnis disproportionately. Collectively they are often termed "de-Baathification."
Today, CPA Order 1 is one of the most universally condemned American foreign policy decisions of this generation Even proponents of the war tend to describe it as a terrible mistake. With Iraq's legacy under review, both because of the 10 year anniversary and because of contemplated intervention in Syria, CPA Order 1 has been invoked by both sides in the debate: one side frequently depicting it as an indication of the headstrong mindset by which the Americans helped plunge Iraq into the chaos, the other side seeing it as a mistake that, because it can be avoided in the future, does not necessarily condemn intervention as a doctrine.Read More


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6 Jan 2013 4:31 PM #1
Different controllers for different views
I have two windows: 'winA' and 'winB' in sencha architect project, Both of them have a combBox with id 'cmbList'. I created two controllers 'Controller.winA' and 'Controller.winB', I want to 'Controller.winA' is for the window 'winA', 'Controller.winB' is for the window 'winB', so I added 'cmbList' onbeforerender code in 'Controller.winA'. when I showed the window 'winA', the combBox load data successfully, when I showed the 'winB', the combBox load data successfully also, but I want to load different data in the combBox on 'winB', what can I do ?
7 Jan 2013 7:03 AM #2
How you layout your apps controllers is obviously up to you but the general rule of thumb is to create "domain" controllers that cover areas of your app, not specific views. For example, if I have a contacts list view and a contacts editor view, I would create a Contacts controller to manage those views (not a controller for each view). If your have a dozen screens specific to "contacts" you might then consider splitting your controllers up further: ContactsMaintenance, ContactsSync, ContactsData etc..
Lots of material out there on the topic. Hope that helps.
7 Jan 2013 4:25 PM #3
thanks for your help. But I don't know a controller how to manage a special view. I have selected a controller's views attribute, but i doesn't work. Can you give me a sample ?


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Author: Harris, Daniel
Date published: October 1, 2011
Language: English
Journal code: PANR
In his classic study The King's Two Bodies, medievalist Ernst Kantorowicz maintained that, throughout the Middle Ages and well into the modern era, every sovereign had a real physical body, a mortal body subject to the indignities of disease and old age, and a symbolic, ceremonial body, the emblem of the body politic, an enduring, supernatural entity that was dressed in elaborate costumes and posed on resplendent thrones during important occasions of state. Access to the king's real body was restricted to his physicians, wives, and closest advisors, while his symbolic body was public property, constantly on display, a symbol as essential to the unity of the state as a flag or a national anthem.
Centuries later, members of the royalty aren't the only ones blessed with such Christ-like duality. Celebrities also have two bodies, one public, one private. The public body appears on red carpets in expensive designer dresses, pouting seductively for the camera, and the private one, courtesy of such controversial photographic agencies as X17, Scoopt, and Buzz Foto, is invariably exposed pumping gas in sweatpants and T-shirt, a grumpy malcontent spewing obscenities at the very cameras it courted only the night before at the latest premiere or the annual Carousel of Hope gala. The star's ceremonial body basks in the attention of the paparazzi, primping and preening, while the physical body attempts to outrun the media, sprinting through airport terminals in a scarf and dark shades and racing off in the back seat of a Mercedes SUV, cowering beneath a friend's jacket.
The loyal subjects of Elizabeth I and Louis XIV were familiar with only one of their bodies, those that appeared in the throne rooms of their palaces or waved out of the windows of their carriages in formal processions, but the modern audience has ready access to both. In fact, unmasking celebrities, desecrating their ceremonial, red-carpet bodies, provides a savage form of entertainment in a modern democracy. We use the media "vultures" we profess to despise to amass incriminating evidence that our idols aren't immortal after all, that their bodies fall apart just as ours do, that they get fat, go bald, shrivel up, and, most importantly, die. Famous people may have two bodies, but they certainly don't have nine lives. Death- in particular, a premature death- is the ultimate democratic epiphany in the cult of celebrity. Despite the long faces we pull when they commit suicide or O. D., their funerals actually provide opportunities for jubilation, festivals in which we applaud their last performance, their last role, as a real human being as liable to physical misfortunes as the best of us.
Since the 1990s, this schadenfreude has taken a whole new turn. The Internet has ampUfied the expression of public grief. Granted, long before the invention of the Web, over 100,000 people thronged the streets of New York for the funeral of Rudolph Valentino, whose unexpected death from peritonitis in 1926 led dozens of women, unhinged by sorrow, to poison themselves and slash their wrists. The Internet, however, has created countless opportunities in which to grieve, opportunities we can enjoy without even leaving our houses, staging indoor candlelight vigils far more massive than those held outside the Dakota or Graceland after John Lennon was shot or Elvis Presley O.D.'d on amphetamines. The result is nothing less than a new death cult. The electronic media feed our morbidity by making it far too easy for us to hold graveside services on our desktops, cybernetic exequies that quickly degenerate into international cry-ins or, as British writer Michael Brace well has called them, "necrothons." Celebrity deaths now cause waves of mass hysteria, like outbreaks of religious hysteria in past centuries, a kind of crazed automatic typing similar to the dancing mania of the fourteenth century when revelers swarmed the streets of Aachen and Strasbourg, foaming at the mouth and speaking in tongues: Diana "was an angle" whose "soft blue bambi eyes" "will always be bright like the stares"; River Phoenix "will again arise in the radiant flower of youth upon the shoreline of eternity"; Christopher Reeves "now soars on a beautiful winged horse" "beyond the Vail." The Internet allows us to indulge in a new vice, recreational grief, a somewhat ghoulish sport in which the body and reputation of a dead celebrity become the sacrament of a tribal ritual intended to reinforce solidarity.
Practically from the first appearance of these online vigils, internecine feuds have raged between those apparently prostrate with grief at their heroes' demise (Versace's assassination "brakes my heart"; Diana's death was "the one and only greatest tragedy that ever happened in this century"; when Heath O.D.'d, "I for real cried"); and those who question the excessiveness of their fellow posters' sorrow ("boo freaking hoo"; "thank god, I can't stand that dead piece of crap's acting. Hip, hip, hooray!!"; "what is so sad and tragic about this douche bag throwing his life away? If you ask me he did the world a favor by saving oxygen for the rest of us"). Skeptics who scoff at the weepy homages that dominate the bulletin boards are particularly outraged by the way we ignore the daily carnage of soldiers fighting overseas and then gnash our teeth and tear our hair when celebutantes and the reigning D-Listers of reality TV kick the bucket. The war in Iraq has added an improbable new political dimension to the mourning of stars whose premature deaths receive a disproportionate amount of attention both by the public and the media, specifically by Fox News which, in the days immediately following Anna Nicole Smith's death, devoted 6 percent of its broadcasts to Iraq and 17 percent to Trimspa's incalculable loss, a figure that translates into a staggering 10 percent of its air time during the first quarter of 2007. Increasingly, Internet bulletin boards have become a tribunal in which the lives of ordinary mortals are measured against those of defunct glitterati, famous corpses who are drafted into a tendentious scold condemning the vulgarity of star worship, which many feel impoverishes our lives, robs us of our selfesteem, and fosters an elitism antithetical to an egalitarian society.
But do we in fact place a higher value on the lives of celebrities? Indeed, are we even mourning them on the Internet? In a very sadistic sense, we value the lives of the famous less than we do the anonymous cannon fodder of our foreign wars who would probably prefer that we not treat their deaths by improvised explosive devices or shrapnel from grenades as entertaining spectacles, as do the owners of Graveline Tours who use an old hearse to squire sightseers around Hollywood to the death sites of stars, or the creators of such clubs as the Ghoul Pool, an online gambling forum in which members place bets on which celebrities will die in the coming months, the kitty going to those participants who score the most "kills" by the end of the year. We are not mourning famous people when we litter the Web with our typo-riddled obituaries. Indeed, we are rejoicing. We are euphoric. Each poster takes his turn at the microphone, performing a kind of macabre karaoke in which he attempts to outdo competitors in his impression of heart-broken solemnity.
Because Internet mourners grieve for the fun of it, they eulogize stars indiscriminately, the virgin as well as the whore, the saint as well as the sinner, Princess Diana as well as Anna Nicole Smith. They are as inconsolable over the death of a heroin addict as over a humanitarian's. They admire with the same fervor virtuous stars- Christopher Reeves, Steve Irwin, Selena- and such incorrigible junkies as River Phoenix, who was not only "the most beautiful person who ever walked on this earth" but "like god for Christians," a savior to whom one starry-eyed adolescent used to address her bedtime prayers instead of to Jesus. The adoration of celebrities is an amoral activity that places far greater weight on their wealth and renown than on their integrity and good deeds. We now practice a type of hero worship that has been out of favor for millennia, one in which the esteem in which we hold our idols is not necessarily- or even usually- a function of their rectitude. Unlike Christian saints and holy men who were irreproachably honest and pure, celebrities are morally compromised, fallen angels who retain their hypnotic sway over their followers even if they set a deplorable example of ostentation and promiscuity. Fame is a brand-new form of irreligious holiness, beatitude for an era that values naked ambition and material prosperity over virtue, the rathlessness of devious careerists whom we revere, not for the models of good behavior they provide, but for the power they wield. We have reverted to the ethically neutral form of hero worship that prevailed before the Judeo-Christian era when the gods of Olympus, far from attracting followers with their fairness and compassion, bullied them with their brute force, terrifying them into submission. As traditional religions with a strong ethical flavor fade into irrelevance, we are increasingly resorting to amoral polytheistic cults whose gods are capricious, spoiled, and desperate for acolytes, whom they are likelier to molest than enlighten.
Our contact with celebrities is so limited that we view them as mirages until the one event that restores to them their real physical presence, their deaths, the moment of our greatest intimacy with them. No sooner are they wheeled away on their gurneys than Internet mourners adopt the role of concerned neighbors who drop by their mansions with casseroles and pies, ostensibly to offer their bereft families their "condulgences." Writers frequently express feelings of friendship for dead celebrities whom they describe as their constant companions, as close to them as their pets, as in the case of a woman whose golden retriever passed away on the same day as Heath Ledger, leading her to conclude that the dog was "at his side when they walked through the pearly gates." A trick of the medium of film ("[I] felt like I already knew you, because I watched you on my televishion. You were in my living room all the time") traps us in an epistemological error, one in which we mistake celebrities' visual presence in our lives for physical and emotional proximity, an optical illusion that makes many fans believe that "there was some metaphysical bond between us or something" and that "when you transcended, I lost a friend."
This presumption of intimacy manifests itself most poignantly in one of the chief ways in which we mourn celebrities: through their children. Every celebrity death involves an orphaning, the sad abandonment of a child, whom the grieving public seeks to console by posing as a surrogate mother gazing with moist eyes at the shivering bundle forsaken on her doorstep. One mourner tells Princess Diana's two sons to "believe in the moments you shared with your mom. . . . God was jealous because his Angel Diana was here and he needed her back," and yet another reassures Heath Ledger's two-year-old daughter (almost always identified by her first and middle names, Matilda Rose, another presumption of intimacy) that "when you look up at the amazing night sky, and see a star shining brighter than all the rest, it is your daddy smiling down at you." The celebrity's death is almost beside the point and what truly matters is the survivors, the widows, the orphans, even the pets of the deceased, as in the case of Anna Nicole Smith, a PETA spokesman whose fellow animal lovers, in the days following her death, anguished over the fate of her three dogs, Marilyn, Puppy, and the melancholy Sugar Pie, whom she was filmed thoughtfully medicating with Prozac on her now infamous show.
The orphaned children (and clinically depressed toy poodles) of celebrities figure so prominently in their obituaries because their deaths involve a political transformation, a conversion from media superstars into ordinary Joes with mortgages and PTA meetings trying to do right by their kids. The glamour of Hollywood allows us to flee from our own lives, to slip off the yoke of domesticity, and imagine an existence full of sexual freedom and material opulence. And yet when celebrities die, they return to the bosom of the family, they become quiet homebodies, the very opposite of their public profiles as playboys and fashionistas. Death levels the field between us, and we embalm them in our own images, not as jet-setters and runway models, but as harried wage earners and frazzled soccer moms. We become their morticians, dressing them up- in a strange reversal of the manner in which undertakers usuaUy lay out corpses in their coffins- in their dowdiest, everyday clothing. Death deprives celebrities of us, of our lives, just as in reality, we were deprived of them, of their lives.
The same democratic fantasy manifests itself in the way in which the media describe the moment of their deaths. They don't just die, they "collapse." They "collapse" even while they are sitting. As reported by the New York Post, Heath Ledger "coUapsed" naked, facedown on a pill-strewn floor, even though it appears that he was asleep in his bed at the time, and Anna Nicole Smith "coUapsed" while lying flat on her back, as did her son Daniel, who "collapsed" while sitting in a chair in his mother's hospital room. Irish model Katy French "collapsed," although she died in a hospital in the arms of her sister, and Janis Joplin "coUapsed" while striding through the lobby of the Landmark Motor Hotel even though police reports placed her in her room at the moment of her historic plunge. Celebrities don't just die; they bite the dust. Their date with destiny is the floor to which they plummet in a tumble as symbolic as it is physical, involving a loss of status as well as of equilibrium, a dive from a life of wealth and privilege to unglamorous nonexistence. Every celebrity death is a small victory for democracy. "Collapsing" marks a return to Shakespeare's "unaccommodated man," a "bare, forked animal" who shuffles off, not just his "mortal coil," but abandons his Lamborghinis, stock portfolios, and trophy wives, shedding all of the accoutrements of privilege that set him apart from us. The floor is a great leveler of inequalities. It is where we all end up, communing with the dust bunnies.
Yearnings for equality also underlie one of the most commonly held myths about dead celebrities: that they are not in fact dead. Instead, they are in hiding, on the lam, fugitives from fame, working as cashiers in Wal-Marts or living in grass huts in Tahiti. An Elvis fan recently saw him in a Biloxi karaoke bar, while another spotted him in her rear-view mirror on Interstate 70, and yet another peeking through an upstairs banister during a tour of Graceland. River Phoenix is holed up somewhere deep in the Amazonian rain forest, while Diana was seen at a Burger King in Kalamazoo, Michigan; Marilyn Monroe on an uptown Manhattan bus; James Dean in a Cleveland deli ordering a pastrami on rye; and John Lennon in a Milwaukee 7-Eleven picking up a six-pack of Michelob. As one cynic exasperated by these urban legends put it, "Kurt Cobain lives in my anus. So does god." In order to counteract the demeaning implications of star worship, we fabricate an implausible narrative, that celebrities are so exhausted by the attentions of the media and their meddlesome fans that they mastermind their own escape in a complex scheme that aUows them to break free from the prison of fame and lead normal lives, incognito. We pretend that they detest the limelight, that they regret the paths that they have chosen, and long for nothing so much as the homely anonymity of simple souls like us. We flatter ourselves that ours is the superior existence, that they are the ones who yearn to live as frugally and unpretentiously as we do, that they abhor their mansions, bank accounts, and nubile brides, and can think of nothing more appealing than residing in a cramped apartment, eating leftovers and changing dirty diapers for the rest of their lives.
It is a truism of celebrity worship that we end up murdering our stars, that our affection for them is so smothering that we kill them with kindness, hound them to death by siccing the paparazzi who drive them to suicide or send their limos careening into concrete pylons. In a hilarious episode of South Park, Britney Spears is so tormented by the unrelenting attention of the press that she blows off the upper half of her head with a shotgun, only to survive- and to perform, although with a significant loss, or gain- in her ability to articulate her lyrics. Although all that remains of her face is her lower lip and chin, she is still chased by packs of reporters that swarm after her like ghouls from Dawn of the Dead until she is cornered in a field and photographed to death, sinking to the ground in a blaze of flashbulbs, a ritualistic human sacrifice performed, we are told, for the sake of "the corn harvest."
Obviously, with the exception of a few deranged stalkers, we do not kill celebrities in the satirically literal way in which the residents of South Park threw Britney to the lions, nor do we commit these immolations to ensure the fecundity of our crops. Instead, celebrities are expendable in a more figurative sense. Art in a consumerist culture is stamped with an expiration date, past which the superstar becomes a has-been and, at the risk of declining into a nostalgia act, a geriatric piece of camp, of corny Americana, must gracefully retire or, better still, die. The career of the pop star has become so brief, so evanescent, that soon it will be the truly famous who are famous for fifteen minutes and not, as Warhol promised, unknown members of the general public. In his suicide note, Kurt Cobain quoted Neil Young's lyric "it's better to burn out than to fade away," a line that might serve as the motto for a throw-away cultural economy in which careers are designed with built-in obsolescence, no sooner showing promise than they are nipped in the bud to make room for the next manufactured sensation, which, in turn, goes stale within months of achieving the summit of success. We conspicuously consume our artists so that the market never stagnates but zips along at a bullish pace, buoyed up by the myth that newer and better entertainers are constantly emerging, parvenus who, ignorant of their own imminent fates, heartlessly send their superannuated elders out to pasture. Is it any wonder that so many celebrities die young when our loyalty to them seldom extends further than their first commercial failure and they are pensioned off to game shows and infomercials before the age of thirty?
There is a more literal sense in which we kill our stars. Popular culture and, regrettably, much of high culture as well, thrive on myths of untutored genius, on misconceptions that artists are talented by nature and therefore don't need to work, to commit themselves to lengthy apprenticeships, to submit to the sort of laborious training that athletes or scholars must undergo. Because art is an emanation of a god-given aptitude, they need only open their mouths and sing, step in front of the camera and act, and put pen to paper and write. Such romantic notions are not only false, they are dangerous. We subscribe to a mythology of genius that takes a heavy toll on the health- indeed, the very existence- of our artists, whom we grant the license to misbehave, to lead chaotic, undisciplined lives that often spin out of control, sinking into a morass of alcohoUsm and drag addiction. We are complicit in a holocaust of talent, of impressionable neophytes, who, were it not for misguided beliefs about divine afflatus and unschooled prodigies, might spend more time in the studio honing their craft than in twelvestep programs in rehabilitation centers where they sit around in circles on folding chairs tearfully confessing the errors of their ways. A culture that truly respected and needed its artists would create for them the conditions of personal stability necessary for their survival, whereas at present we sponsor destructive if entertaining fantasies that drive them straight to the syringe. We do indeed kill our stars, not by suffocating them with attention, but by reinforcing cultural stereotypes that may be far more appealing, more dramatic, than schoolmarmish notions of the punishing labor involved in the production of art, but that also have unexpected emotional and physical consequences for the mental health of celebrities, death among them.
We disguise the permissiveness we extend to artists, our tolerance of their self-destructive misconduct, as a concession to their troubled souls. They are haunted, our culture tells us, by personal demons that drive them to drink and drugs. Misery is the fount of inspiration, the wound that guarantees actors' and musicians' authenticity as creative geniuses and that ultimately leads to their high rate of mortality. In fact, however, celebrities seem to die from an excess of high spirits, not low ones, from incessant partying, the unintentional ingestion of fatal quantities of recreational drugs. It could be argued, as it usually is, that they party because they are trying to numb themselves to the sheer horror of their newfound wealth and international acclaim, to "medicate" themselves, to use the current jargon, but it could just as easily be argued that they party because they are happy, they are excited, exhilarated by their good fortune, by the sudden burst of laudatory attention they receive. The epidemic of drug overdoses among celebrities has little to do with the "wound," with their creative anguish, and much more to do with pure fun, with good times gone bad, merrymaking so festive that revelers accidentally snort their way to the morgue. There is no link in popular culture between creativity, unhappiness, and death. The link is between happiness, death, and the money to purchase the pills, coke, and intravenous drugs necessary for a glorious if inadvertent exit out of the gossip columns and into the obits.
Author affiliation:
Daniel Harris, recipient of the Antioch Review distinguished writing award in 2000, is the author of The Rise and Fall of Gay Culture and Diary of a Drag Queen, as well as numerous essays.


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Ninemsn accidentally leaks Celebrity Apprentice winnerin TV & Movie Discussions
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Last Post by Walshy, 07 Jun 2012


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The Denver Bar Association recognizes the attorneys and programs they support during Pro Bono Week in Colorado.
The following are various ways people can get assistance:
LAWLINE 9 - Wednesdays from 4:00-6:30 p.m.
Attorneys come to 9News to answer legal questions at 303-698-0999.
METRO VOLUNTEER LAWYERS - representation in certain types of civil cases. 303-837-0019.
PRO SE (do-it-yourself) clinics. These clinics assist in understanding the legal processes and forms.
No reservations, walk in only.
The following legal clinics are offered in 2010:
Legal Night at Mi Casa
360 Acoma (one block west of 4th and
Denver, CO 80204
(303) 573-1302
3rd Tuesday of each month
5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Legal Nights allow you to meet with an attorney
free of charge and get information in the areas of
Immigration, credit, housing, landlord/tenant,
employment and family law. Attorneys provide
referrals to appropriate agencies. Spanish interpreters
will be available
Legal Night at El Centro de San Juan
2830 Lawrence Street
Denver, CO 80205
(303) 295-9470
1st Wednesday of each month
5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Bankruptcy Clinic
US Bankruptcy Court
721 19th Street
Denver, CO 80202
2nd Tuesday of each month
1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.
This clinic is designed for the pro se (do-ityourself)
litigant. They will assist attendees in
understanding the bankruptcy process and forms.
Topics reviewed include how bankruptcy can
eliminate debts, the difference between Chapter
7 and Chapter 13, the effect on credit ratings and
which forms are required for filing. Issues of
creditor harassment, what a collection agent
cannot say to you and how to fight back if you are
harassed will also be addressed.
Small Claims Clinic
Civil Division-4th floor
1515 Cleveland Place
Denver, CO
(303) 640-5132
3rd Tuesday of each month
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Collections Clinic
Civil Division-4th floor
1515 Cleveland Place
Denver, CO
(303) 640-5132
3rd Thursday of each month
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
These free informational clinics teaches
people how to file their own small claims
cases in court and how to collect on the
judgments. Tips include gathering information,
forms (where to get them and how to
complete them), filing (how and where),
defending your position (what to do and not
do) and court procedure. Collections clinics
provide tips on how to collect your judgment.
Doing your own Divorce
1437 Bannock Street Courtroom 22
Denver, CO 80204
3rd Wednesday of each month
12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Family Law Legal Clinic
Office of Economic Development
1200 Federal Blvd. room 1018
3rd Tuesday of each month
5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Spanish Family Law Legal Clinic
Mi Casa Resource Center
360 Acoma (one block west of 4th &
4th Friday of every other month
12 p.m. - 2 p.m. (In Spanish)
This free informational clinic provides an
overview of the divorce process (with and
without children), allocation of parental responsibility
actions and forms related to
both actions. Volunteer attorneys provide
information on filing for a divorce without
the assistance of an attorney, and will cover
divorce and allocation of parental responsibility
procedures and forms, child custody,
child support, maintenance and property
division. Participants should bring forms to
the clinics. (available here:
The attorneys volunteering at the legal clinics do not provide direct legal advice nor will they directly assist in completing forms.
(KUSA-TV © 2010 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)


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Not only is it Monday, but I had to get up extra early. Today I just might set a personal record for most stuff written in one day. Actually, I kind of have to -- otherwise Commander Meredith will have my head.
In a couple hours, I'm supposed to interview comedian Carlos Mencia (the host of Mind of Mencia on Comedy Central). Anything you want me to ask him? Oh, and what did you do this weekend? We had an interesting time at the Abbey Burger Bistro. I'll tell you more about it later today.
Follow Midnight Sun on Facebook and Twitter @midnightsunblog


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south park
Almost Three Decades After Debut, Macworld Now Eyes Mobile
It's hard not to become a bit nostalgic on the eve of this year's Macworld convention, the first since Steve Jobs died.
After all, it was 28 years ago this month that Jobs unveiled the very first Mac at the first-ever of these events.
Full Price for Designer Labels? Not at These San Francisco Shops
Lately, it's begun to seem that now, perhaps more than ever, paying full price is oh-so-passé. Not only are online sample sale sites in full bloom (the most recent notable newcomer being Swirl), but there are also oodles of daily deals sites cropping up everywhere we look. Be that as it may, discounts on designer merch need not only take place online. There are alternatives. Lest you forget that one can, in fact, find discounted designer labels and actually try them on before purchasing, we're here with four local destinations for scoring designer labels for less:


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E3 2012 (Reuters)
But as people limped out of the Los Angeles Convention Center last Thursday, that banner was noticeably missing.
Why? Because currently, the ESA doesn't know exactly when the next E3 will be held. It's not even sure where.
At issue is the proposed construction of Farmers Field stadium, which would include a renovation of the convention center itself. ESA officials are worried the remodel -- which would eliminate one of the center's two main halls -- would result in insufficient space to put on the show.
"We're still in discussions with the city of Los Angeles, but we have a number of issues that still need to be resolved. If we can't resolve them, we are preparing to go elsewhere," said ESA president Michael Gallagher at a roundtable dinner last week.
Officials at the ESA say they still expect the show to be in Los Angeles, but are talking with other cities as a back up. The organization says it will announce the dates and host-city for the show in the "coming weeks."
As for this year's show, it was a big one, though it did boast slightly fewer people than last year. The ESA says 45,700 people attended the trade show last week, down about 1,100 from 2011. Those people filled up 30,000 total hotel room nights and generated nearly $40 million in revenue for the city.
E3 saw some 60,000 attendees at its peak in 2006, before the ESA decided that was too many people. E3 has called Los Angeles home for 16 of its 18 years, with a brief two-year journey to Atlanta in 1997-1998. Most industry officials would like to see it stay in LA, since they have large bases of operation there.
San Francisco, which hosts the Game Developer Conference, has also been discussed as a possible replacement venue, says the LA Times. New York, Chicago and New Orleans have also been approached, though their distance from the heart of the industry could work against them.
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104,174pages on
this wiki
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|Victory Rush
|Usable by
|Level required
|TCG image
Victory for one means agony for another.
Victory Rush is a core warrior ability learned at level five. It is an instant attack that can only be used within 20 seconds after you land the Killing Blow on an enemy that yields experience or honor. It also heals the warrior for 20%.
Modified by
- [Seasoned Soldier] ( arms spec ability)
- Glyph of Victory Rush
- Major Glyph
- Classes: Warrior
- Requires level 25
- "Increases the total healing provided by your Victory Rush by 50%.
This glyph has no effect if combined with the Impending Victory talent."
- Glyph of Mighty Victory
- Item Level 25
- Minor Glyph
- Classes: Warrior
- Requires level 25
- Use: Permanently teaches you this glyph.
When your Victory Rush or Impending Victory heal you, you grow slightly larger.
- Sell Price: 1
Victory Rush can only be used if you get the Killing Blow on an enemy that would yield honor or experience (basically, an enemy whose level is not grey).
This ability can be used after scoring the killing blow off of snakes from a hunter's Snake Trap, so it is strongly recommended that you favor attacks such as [Cleave] and [Sweeping Strikes] while these snakes are on you, as every time you kill one you will be able to cast Victory Rush on the offending hunter (or any other enemy).
Patch changes
- Patch 4.0.6 (8-Feb-2011): The Victorious buff can no longer proc before the warrior learns Victory Rush.
- / Patch 4.0.1 (12-Oct-2010): This ability is now trainable at level 5 (instead of 6). It also heals for 20 % of your maximum health.
- Patch 3.3.0 (08-Dec-2009): This ability is now trainable at level 6.
- Patch 2.1.0 (22-May-2007): The tooltip has been adjusted to calculate the damage it deals correctly, 45% of Attack Power, not 35%.
- Patch 2.0.10 (2007-03-06): The cooldown on "Victory Rush" has been removed, and it can now be used up to 20 seconds after killing an enemy.
External links


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Yamaha's Valentino Rossi still rates team-mate Jorge Lorenzo as MotoGP's best rider even though new champion Marc Marquez took the premier class by storm this season
I think you've got it all covered MotoMarc.
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(written from a Production point of view)
Del Rey Books is a publishing company that began as a specific science fiction and fantasy imprint of Ballantine Books in 1977, under the editorial auspices of Judy-Lynn del Rey (for science fiction) and her husband Lester (for fantasy). The first novel published was The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, and under the guidance of the Del Reys, the imprint grew into a full publishing company. It is now part of Random House along with Bantam Dell, the amalgam of Bantam Books and Dell Publishing.
They published a number of Star Trek related books, including Star Trek Logs omnibus reprints in 1993, the 40th anniversary printing of Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual in 2006, Leonard Nimoy's I Am Not Spock, The Making of Star Trek, and The Trouble with Tribbles.


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U.S. Army Basic Combat Training Museum,
Fort Jackson, South Carolina
|4442 Jackson Blvd
Ft Jackson, SC 29207-5015
|4325 Jackson Blvd
Ft Jackson, SC 29207-5015
Monday – Friday, 9AM – 4PM
The U.S. Army Basic Combat Training Museum is an official Army museum located on Fort Jackson just outside of Columbia, SC. The museum's 7,500+ square feet of exhibit space are dedicated to telling the story of how training in the U.S. Army has developed since 1917 when Fort Jackson, then known as Camp Jackson, first opened. Through the museum's galleries visitors follow the schedule of basic combat training in 2011, learning along the way how the separate elements of training have evolved since WWI.
The museum is free and open to the public, Monday – Friday, 9AM – 4PM. On Family Day, the museum hours are extended from 9AM – 6PM to accommodate the friends and family members of basic combat training graduates at Fort Jackson.
UPDATE: While the museum is open to the public, Fort Jackson is not. After November 2014, visitors to Fort Jackson need to have a military ID, or they need to be sponsored by a military ID card holder. All adults will need a photo ID, and if you are driving onto base, you will need proof of car insurance. Museum personnel are unable to sponsor visitors.
The Basic Combat Training Museum is an element of the Center of Military History (CMH). The Center Of Military History, which reports to the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, is responsible for the appropriate use of history throughout the United States Army.
The Basic Combat Training Museum will collect, preserve, document, and interpret artifacts associated with the evolution of U.S. Army basic combat training from 1917 to the present in order to educate, enrich, and for the enjoyment of a broad and diverse audience, fostering communication between the Army, its Soldiers, family members, and visitors to Columbia and Fort Jackson.
The U.S. Army Basic Combat Training Museum was originally known as the Fort Jackson Museum when it opened its doors in 1974. It had a collection of 20 artifacts and was located in the old Post Exchange building on Jackson Blvd, across the street from Post Headquarters. From 1974 to 1985, the Fort Jackson Museum served as a historical warehouse of sorts, and it collected and displayed all types of weapons, uniforms, and militaria.
By 1985, the museum's collections had lost all sense of scope, and the museum had to focus its mission to the history of Fort Jackson. The museum collections and gallery space were reorganized at that time, and new exhibits were developed that strove to tell the history of training at Fort Jackson. From 1985 to 2008, the museum quietly existed on the corner of Forney St and Jackson Blvd telling the story of how Fort Jackson opened its doors in WWI as Camp Jackson and quickly evolved into one of the largest Army training installations in the world.
In 2008, the museum rewrote its mission statement. The museum's focus changed from the history of Fort Jackson to the history of basic combat training, and the name of the museum changed from the Fort Jackson Museum to the US Army Basic Combat Training Museum. Between 2009 and 2011, the museum went through a complete transformation: the museum collections were relocated, the museum was fully renovated, and a totally new storyline was developed in the museum's galleries.
Today, the museum walks visitors through the experience of basic combat training, showing how the individual elements of training have evolved in the past century. While displaying the updates in equipment and training techniques that have transpired in the past 100 years, the museum simultaneously shows how the principles of basic combat training have remained the same from the turn of the twentieth century to today.


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Although circumstances dictate that I don't attend nearly as many film festivals as my colleagues do, it soon became clear that my last-minute decision to head out for last year's Fantastic Fest was a wise one. FF veterans were quick to note that the event had grown in proportion to its popularity, and the relatively young festival has similarly changed things up in its fifth year out of hopes of accommodating even more attendees than ever before.
However, this is not a think-piece about a mid-level film festival struggling with the limitations of stardom. No, this will merely be a list of seven reasons why we at Cinematical and the Squads are about to very much dwell on Fantastic Fest for the week to come -- well, seven reasons other than the movies.
We'll get around to those in due time.
1. The Venues - Okay, so we've gushed before about the Austin locations of the Alamo Drafthouse, and about the far more old-fashioned Paramount Theatre, but Tim and Karrie League have a new trick up their sleeve for FF: the Highball, a wait space of sorts near the South Lamar theater that just happens to have bowling lanes, karaoke rooms, and plenty of alcohol to spare in time for its soft opening later this week. Look, I'm sorry, Telluride, but until you install skeeball lanes of your own, you can keep your converted high school auditorium...
2. The Parties - The Highball will now be the de facto party space for most FF shindigs, which range from a Michael Jackson dance party (FWIW, the Alamo's been all about M.J. before he became R.I.P.) to a celebration of 100 different kill scenes (it's exactly what it sounds like) to a nutso-sounding 3-D party that -- and forgive me for this -- probably has to be seen to be believed. Did I mention that last year's Closing Night Party was a rave in a cave with Bill Murray in attendance? And that we were then given brown bag lunches for the late-night bus ride back into Austin? Yeah, it was kinda great.
3. The Day Trips - This might be a bit of a cheat, seeing as many of these events are restricted to filmmakers, press, jurors and out-of-town guests, but they nonetheless run the gamut from shooting shotguns to getting burritos to shooting sniper rifles to getting barbecue. That's not to mention the flight of bats downtown, or the river tubing at New Braunfels, or the luncheon on Tim and Karrie's own front yard. Trust me, it never gets boring, and hey, one can always take in a movie or two if they have the time.
4. The Fantastic Debates - Two men enter a boxing ring. Two men leave, but only after having an incredibly geeky spat from behind two podiums (podia?). And then another two men do the same. And then so on, and so forth, until the end, where two of said men return the ring to pummel the living daylights out of one another. It's a battle of brains AND brawn that draws a good crowd and makes for some great laughs/bruises. When's the last time you saw that at a film festival? (Get a glimpse of the magic here.)
5. The Fantastic Feud - Participants of this Scott Weinberg brainchild put their wits up against their will to drink, as two teams boozily work their way through a game show composed of the tiniest scraps of horror trivia imaginable (and believe me you, if there's ever a crowd that has these tidbits covered, it's this one). Scott is pictured above alongside co-host Devin Steuerwald, Alamo programmer Zack Carlson and Not Quite Hollywood director Mark Hartley during last year's Feud.
6. The Guests - Last year saw appearances by Bill Murray, Bill Pullman, Kevin Smith, David Wain, Paul Rudd, Darren Lynn Bousman, Rian Johnson and many others, who were more often than not easy to meet and greet with little formal hubbub in between. This year suggest schmoozing opportunities with the likes of Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell, Mike White, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, John C. Reilly and George A. Romero among others, just so long as you don't come barreling over with your new great script in hand.
7. The Secret Screenings - I know, I said I wasn't going to talk about the movies, but in this case, I really can't... because, well, they're secret screenings. FF '08 brought forth early looks at The Brothers Bloom, Role Models, Appaloosa and RocknRolla -- none strictly genre-fitting, no, but all ideal for the type of filmgoers already in attendance. There's plenty of speculation to be had for this year's five (!) slots, but then again, that's part of the fun. (And if any of you get wind of something, don't you dare Twitter-spoil it. We didn't have to worry about that last year, but now, it's a very real and looming threat to all that is supposed to be a surprise.)
categories Cinematical


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Tebbetts home destroyed in fire
Saturday, March 23, 2013
A Tebbetts family was helped Friday by the Red Cross after an afternoon fire destroyed their home on Missouri 94.
Firefighters from the South Callaway Fire Protection District responded to the fire, which was fully involved when they arrived. They were aided by firefighters from the Holts Summit Fire Protection District, according to public information officer Scot Pasley.
Pasley said no one was home at the time of the fire, and firefighters deemed the fire too dangerous for anyone to enter the structure.
Firefighters were on the scene for more than two hours.
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Gene Expression Differences in Skin Fibroblasts in Identical Twins Discordant for Type 1 Diabetes
- M. Luiza Caramori1⇓,
- Youngki Kim2,
- Jason H. Moore3,
- Stephen S. Rich4,
- Josyf C. Mychaleckyj4,
- Nobuaki Kikyo5 and
- Michael Mauer1
- 1Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 2Departments of Pediatrics and Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 3Department of Genetics, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, New Hampshire
- 4Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
- 5Department of Medicine and Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Corresponding author: M. Luiza Caramori, caram001{at}umn.edu.
Clinical studies suggest metabolic memory to hyperglycemia. We tested whether diabetes leads to persistent systematic in vitro gene expression alterations in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) compared with their monozygotic, nondiabetic twins. Microarray gene expression was determined in skin fibroblasts (SFs) of five twin pairs cultured in high glucose (HG) for ∼6 weeks. The Exploratory Visual Analysis System tested group differences in gene expression levels within KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathways. An overabundance of differentially expressed genes was found in eight pathways: arachidonic acid metabolism (P = 0.003849), transforming growth factor-β signaling (P = 0.009167), glutathione metabolism (P = 0.01281), glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor (P = 0.01949), adherens junction (P = 0.03134), dorsal-ventral axis formation (P = 0.03695), proteasome (P = 0.04327), and complement and coagulation cascade (P = 0.04666). Several genes involved in epigenetic mechanisms were also differentially expressed. All differentially expressed pathways and all the epigenetically relevant differentially expressed genes have previously been related to HG in vitro or to diabetes and its complications in animal and human studies. However, this is the first in vitro study demonstrating diabetes-relevant gene expression differences between T1D-discordant identical twins. These SF gene expression differences, persistent despite the HG in vitro conditions, likely reflect "metabolic memory", and discordant identical twins thus represent an excellent model for studying diabetic epigenetic processes in humans.
- Received May 9, 2011.
- Accepted December 15, 2011.
- © 2012 by the American Diabetes Association.
Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details.


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Toughset: A Guardian's Downfall by XennyDiemesWatch
Days before the destruction of the town Launa called home, a group was in charge of a caravan that needs to get to the next town, which is miles from the town of Haelen, and not too far from the house Launa's family lived. Time was the key, everything depended on the two meeting at the same time. Meanwhile, Archer had finally found someone who helped him break his obsession with fighting demons, someone to settle down and get into a real relationship with, and as a result, expect their first child. It was going to be the moment that would change his life forever. Fast-forwarding to the present, the plan is now in motion; Launa learns first hand from a running group of panicking villagers that Oleander, her true home is under attack and as a Guardian, is needed at once. Madsen had doubts of why such an emergency occurred and Welles fears for her mother's safety, but soon they understand her duties and let her leave.
Upon her arrival to Oleander, Launa watches in horror that the attack is not caused by marauders, monsters or well-resourced robbers, but by the imperial guards, led by none other than her fellow guardians. Her own people are behind it but doesn't know why, when the guards start to turn on her. Launa attacks, killing them one-by-one while saving what is left of the town. Finding one of the guardians, they fight until she defeats it and angrily demands why they would do this. It all came to just one word: distraction, it came to her now and rushes back home as fast as she can, but when she arrives, she is too late. The house's walls are covered in blood, signs of a terrible struggle were evident and then she hears the sounds of her dying son. Launa barely holds herself together as she picks up her only child in her arms and screams to the sky, echoing loud enough to be heard by those nearby. Then the sounds of laugher soon followed and Launa looked, there the demon responsible for their murders dared revealed itself before her and taunts her to come after him.
Now totally blind with rage, Launa grabs her axe and chases after the demon, while it went out through the window, Launa crashes through the wall, breathing heavily, muscles flexed to bursting and blood burning through her veins. Launa makes her pursuit for the demon, who is outpacing her, and destroy it once and for all, no matter who gets in her way. Meanwhile, the captain of the caravan asks Archer to move to the front of the line in a shift. Though he wants to look after his wife, the captain assures him that she will be fine. Archer leaves his wife, knowing that she will be safe. But it wasn't safe minutes later as the demon finds the unfortunate victim and makes its rush into her cart and possess her body while she is fully aware, the demon wants her to watch the horror it is about to commit to. The process is as horrific as it can get, the poor girl is unable to scream to get any attention apart from the pounding her hands against the walls of her cart. She can only watch and grab her belly as it violently swells, ripping the surrounding clothes. The demon laughs the second the enormous belly collapses into a caved-in put, finally she screams, seconds before her neck snaps, killing her. The scream grabs the attention of Archer and the rest of the group, bringing the entire caravan to a screeching halt. They run in to the affected cart with Archer screaming his name seconds before the ferocious roar and crash of Launa cuts through the cart. Archer is furious and terrified at what he sees and tries to attack Launa but is brutally smacked off by her arm and shouted not to interfere.
Launa knows the woman is possessed but why doesn't Archer, a seasoned demon hunter spot this: The answer lied with the demon and a mysterious watcher who made sure Archer sees the execution goes as planned. The demon taunts and enrages her further to kill it while in the form of the hunter's wife. Launa demands answers but the monster only replies with the words "he knows" which angers her further. Only dragging her on and drilling the thoughts into her mind she is deaf to all voices and forces telling her to simply stop before she commits the unthinkable. Archer manages to get back up only to bare witness of the woman who he de-powered and swore to never commit such acts brutally kill the woman who would have saved him.
Launa only gasps for air, still shaken from the loss of her own family. It is then she looks up and without realizing it sees the fury and rage of a man who, in his mind, taken away his true happiness. In vengeance of one family, he lost his. With a fiery power-blow, Archer knocks Launa down hard into the ground. Now he is the one who pins Launa down as he threw punch after blood-stained punch. Violently screaming down at her for breaking his promise, her swearing to never do the horrible things that got her powers stripped in the first place just to spare her pathetic life. Now he knows that it is the biggest and last mistake he will ever made. The caravan horde rushed in and try to separate the two of them. Unware that some are clumsily stumbling over the remains. It is just a matter of time before onlookers from Haelen came in and lay witness to what is before them, a portion of the caravan destroyed, they were quick to rush judgment to see their once great guardian now as a cold-blooded murderer.
Archer only watches when a guardian who just happened to appear at the scene and surveys the surrounding carnage. The people of the caravan and the onlookers shouted to the guardian who witness the brutal murder of the woman until the guardian screams out for their complete silence. The next words from the guardian's mouth is the order to the Haelen officers to arrest Launa for the destruction of the town of Oleander, dereliction of duty and assault on her fellow guardians and officers of the town. The death of Archer's wife is nothing but an afterthought not worthy to the guardian to bring a charge. Angered, Archer tries to get to Guardian to acknowledge it, but he really wants to kill Launa, the caravan stops him, even punch him in the stomach because it would mean certain death to dare interfere in the acts of a guardian of the empire. The guardian then slaps large shackles around her neck to prevent her from speaking and bind her from moving against its captor's wishes. Overcome by grief, Archer resigns and can only make an attempt to reach for her dead wife and unborn child, not realizing that she was dead long before Launa had laid her hands on her. Little did he realize, that this is what the real conspirators want.
At a distance, the ever-watchful eye of the Emperor looks over the entire episode and laughs while he sips on his wine glass. If this was the result he expects from those two, he would not have to further set her and Archer up in the first place. All this because they are up against what the Emperor really wants and being behind the scenes of both their uprising to later pull the stupidest thing imaginable to warrant his wrath: Their happiness. Launa's curse that made her into an immortal half-feline for her recklessness, longed for her freedom from loneliness, and has found that in Madsen, they fell into a forbidden love that gave them a son. This in turn gave her role as a guardian more meaning because she is now fighting for a world where her son can be safe.
Archer, after the death of his parents at such a young age by demons and cursed by that same demon. Dedicated his life to ridding the land of the scum of the underworld, at the cost of having a normal life, leaving him obsessed and contributing to such joyous occasions in his history, such as the great purge. Trained by a great hunter, he dedicated all of his life to fighting the demons that litter across the continent hoping to one day get his revenge at the one who killed his parents. But then, she came in, pulled him away from what could be a lifetime of chasing something that would destroy him. With time, perseverance and an insane amount of patience, she got through to him and made him a free man. In the mind of the emperor, these people have to go. It did not sit well with the one who is wholly responsible for their upbringing, then to have these cretins derail his best laid plans and wipe them out in one swift blow. Punishing Archer and disgracing Launa, all in his advantage for the ultimate goal.
Yep, that's the real story behind this pic. To learn more you can read up on the chapters of Trickster's Retribution in the Vianderverse Stories Gallery.
Update 2/17/15 - Updated story, thanks to input from
Art (c)
I like it.