Reds fanfic

[NintendoFan1998]

Fire Emblem: Tsar Dragon
Prologue script

"Long ago, Medeus, Tsar of the dragonkin, conquered the continent of Archanea, beginning an age of fear and despair for all its people. That tyranny was broken, however, when an unlikely hero intervened. A young man hailing from the Altea region appeared with a divine blade in hand. He stood against the Tsar Dragon, and struck him down. For some time after, the land enjoyed an age of peace and socialism. However, after a century's passing, the Tsar Dragon returned. He forged an alliance with a fiendish sorcerer who sought to rule the world through a fascist dictatorship, and their combined might toppled nation upon unsuspecting nation.

Again, darkness threatened to engulf the continent. It fell upon the premier of Altea, sole descendant of the dragon-slayer hero, to 'sally forth with the divine blade to save his nation and the world."

"But he was betrayed by his closest ally, Gra- and both he and nation fell. His son, Marth, escaped the capital and found refuge on the isle of Talys, but at a dear cost: his sister stayed behind to buy his freedom.


Fire Emblem is a turn-based-strategy series released by the Nintendo Collective. Each game is mainly about a group of heroes from all walks of life uniting to free the world from a fascist regime. The series is praised for its easy to learn combat system, wonderful storytelling, and making you care for each recruitable character by having a "perma-death." The series is also notable for having characters from all walks of life, from common thieves who turn their life around, everyday villagers, to even a few enemy soldiers can defect and join your noble cause.


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I do not think there would be too many changes in the story of the Fire Emblem games ITTL so that's why the prologue is so similar but with a few noticeable differences mainly in the story b/c butterflies.

 

[Bookmark1995]

Here is a belated New Year's Present for y'all.


***

This is a throwback to an earlier contribution about anti-Catholicism in American film. One movie I imagine would lead to a resurrection of a long dead Christian sect.


Excerpt from Hardy, Joseph, Faith and Communism: Religion in the Red World (Empire Books, 2004


Chapter 10: Neo-Catharism


Background

Mass media and the press have been given the nickname of the fourth estate. And it is indeed well deserved.

For it was an American film, and a dissatisfied Quebecois woman, that allowed the long extinct Cathars to be reborn as the modern day New Albigensian Temple, or Neo-Catharism.

Catharism was a ascetic Christian sect that saw its greatest success in the late 12th century, in the former French province of Languedoc (currently the Occitanie region). There de fatco base was the village of Albi.

The Cathars were known for a strong anti-materialism: they saw the physical world as evil, and that the spirit was pure. They held the Gnostic belief that the physical world was the creation of a corrupt entity that acted as a pretender to the true God, and that the real God was a purely spiritual being.

This involved living an ultra-frugal, almost monastic lifestyle, and abstaining from many human pleasures. Cathars engaged in a consolamentum, a sacrament that would involve simple blessings to wipe one's sin. These sacraments typically occurred at one's death bed, since it required a fast meant to cleanse one's body of sin.

They abstained heavily from the procreation, however they did allow sex without procreation if one was tempted enough. They also had very strict vegetarian diets, as they foods of the flesh as the product of pro-creation.

They were also pacifists, rejecting war and capital punishment.

Finally, they held relatively egalitarian beliefs on gender, if only because they saw it as a construct of a material world. Women were allowed, in fact encouraged, to be come parfaits, or spreaders of the world.

But more seriously, they rejected two major tenets of medieval life. The Holy Trinity and oath taking. They believed that Jesus, a product of God, could not have been a physical human, and clung to the idea of the Holy Being as one singular God. They also rejected oaths as a physical, and thus sinful, practice.

This infuriated traditional Catholic institutions, who saw their rejection of the Trinity as a heresy. By the early 1200s, the Catholic Church gave up forced conversion, and saw violence and a means of cracking down on them, especially after the death of legate Pierre de Castelnau in 1208.

In 1209, Pope Innocent launched the Albigensian Crusade, in order to put down the Cathars for good. The counts of Northern France were enticed to commit these barbaric acts by being allowed to keep the property of murdered Cathars. Over a twenty year period, hundreds of thousands of Cathars were massacred.

The infamous phrase ,"Kill them all, God will sort his own" was allegedly said in response to an Abbott asking to distinguish between Cathar and Catholic.

The barbarity unleashed by the Papacy on the Cathars was said to have set the stage for the medieval Inquisition, the kangaroo court of religious fanaticism to root our heretics. Raphael Lemkin, the inventor of the term genocide, saw the Albigensian Crusade as conclusive case of religious genocide.

By the middle of the 14th century, the Cathars had been eliminated as an institution.


Billy Wilder


The story of the Cathars would come to the attention of Billy Wilder.

As a Jew who fled persecution from the Nazi persecution, he deeply identified with the underdog like tale of the Cathars. As a practitioner of polyamory during the Second Cultural Revolution, he took on a romantic view of the Cathars as a "pre-modern liberation society that rejected hierarchy and order."

This view was dominant in his film Albi (1966), which projected a rosy view of the Cathars as quasi-syndicalist libertines who engaged in moral hedonism, vs. the oppressively cruel and fanatical papacy which saw pleasures of all kinds as "devil's work".


Parfait Justine

The person most influenced by the film Albi would not be an American yearning for spiritual liberation, but a Quebecois woman looking for material liberation.

The woman known by history as "Parfait Justine" was Justine Parizeau, a poor Quebecois woman.

Parizeau was born in 1940 in Launay, a rural community, Quebec to a poor farming family in Launay. Her father was a misogynistic alcoholic who neglected his family, while treating her mother and siblings like slaves.

By the time Parizeau was 16, she had already become very disillusioned with the Catholic Church, a disillusionment that was credited to the physical abuse she endured at the hands of nuns.

"They beat me for every sin," Parizeau said. "Everything to them was a sin. They beat me for everything."

One traumatic incident was when a nun yanked Parizeau into the a Sunday school classroom, and shaved off her hair with a rusty blade in front of everyone.

Once she turned 21, Parizeau moved to Montreal, but found the hustle and bustle of city life exhausting compared to life in a rural area that she found too reactionary.

She eventually found her salvation in 1968-by watching Albi in an underground Montreal movie theater. The idea of a spiritual form of Christianity that rejected excess and materialism appealed to the disillusioned Catholic.

"Watching that movie, I knew by path to God."

Returning to her hometown, Parizeau took on the name of "Parfait Justine", and founded the New Albigensian Temple in Launay.

By 1971, Parfait did in fact gain a following, among a few dozen rural women and men, who were attracted to ideals of liberty but not eager to embrace communism. But they also got trouble.

"Like our ancestors, my brothers and sisters found persecution."

Parizeau and her followers found themselves in and out of jail several times. Their desire to build a commune incited reactionary forces of the old Canadian state. In 1978 during the Quebec crisis, she spent several months in a prison outside Toronto.

"It was one of the greatest moments of my life," Parizeau wrote. "I found myself in connection with my righteous soul."

But with the Red Turn, the fortunes for Neo-Catharism reversed overnight. The fall of Canada to communism, and the flight of Catholic priests left a spiritual vacuum for many women still uneasy about the anti-clericalism of the new Red Canada, a vacuum that Neo-Catharism was able to fill with its quasi religious communism a way for many people to stomach the new political reality.

"Catharism was essentially a transitional religion," wrote one Canadian politicians, "authorities, though officially atheist, supported the Albigensians for that reason."

Launay, now at the center of a religious movement, was renamed Nouveaux-Albi, and became a commune for new Catharites.

It is estimated that the number of Neo-Catharists number well-over 100,000, with most of them in Quebec and the Maritime Republics, and parts of Maine and Vermont.

 

[Nyvis]

Yay Cathars! Not sure how true Cathars would feel about the cultural revolution though. They weren't that keen on sexuality. I guess they would offer a good alternative for people who want an equal and communal society, but still cling to christian morals.

 

[Alexander the Average]

A question about the Neo-Cathars. Do they maintain the strict anti-natalism of their forebears or is it more an egalitarian Christian movement that takes a few elements of the Albigensian belief system?

 

[Bookmark1995]

A question about the Neo-Cathars. Do they maintain the strict anti-natalism of their forebears or is it more an egalitarian Christian movement that takes a few elements of the Albigensian belief system?

Yay Cathars! Not sure how true Cathars would feel about the cultural revolution though. They weren't that keen on sexuality. I guess they would offer a good alternative for people who want an equal and communal society, but still cling to christian morals.

As I've stated, it is basically the Cathars mixed with Hollywood History. ITTL, I imagine there is a strong anti-Holy See attitude in the UASR.

The modern Cathars are basically following the idealized version created by a filmmaker.

The idea is how Western Buddhists are influenced by wholesome depictions of Buddhism, ignoring the darker aspects of old-time Buddhism.

 

[Alexander the Average]

I wonder how well they are recieved by other Christian sects? I imagine that Catholic-Trinitarian relations can be summed up as "although we loath and despise everything about you and your vile heresies we at least credit you with not being the New Albigensian Temple".

 

[Bookmark1995]

I wonder how well they are recieved by other Christian sects? I imagine that Catholic-Trinitarian relations can be summed up as "although we loath and despise everything about you and your vile heresies we at least credit you with not being the New Albigensian Temple".

I think Trinitarians would say live and let live, and maybe praise the neo-cathars for anti-materialism.

By this stage, the Vatican will have burned so many bridges by allying with reactionary groups, they'll emphasize tolerance rather then bring back an ancient feud.

 

[Alexander the Average]

I think Trinitarians would say live and let live, and maybe praise the neo-cathars for anti-materialism.

By this stage, the Vatican will have burned so many bridges by allying with reactionary groups, they'll emphasize tolerance rather then bring back an ancient feud.

I wonder if "Innocent III did nothing wrong" might become a meme in reactionary Catholic circles?

 

[Bookmark1995]

I wonder if "Innocent III did nothing wrong" might become a meme in reactionary Catholic circles?

Maybe. But most Catholics would be mortified, the same way Germans are mortified by Neo-Nazis.

 

[Ravenclaw]

My current (may change later) ideas for the "symbolic creatures" of the parties are as follows:

Liberation Communist Party: Tyrannosaurus Rex (The king of American dinosaurs)
Communist Labor Party: Triceratops
Social Ecology Union: Tree Frog (due to its usage as a frequent stand in for the fragility of the ecosystem and often green and red colouration)
Democratic Farmer Labor Party: Bison
Democratic Republican: Elephant
True Democrat: Donkey
Communist Worker's Party of America (Before splitting into the LCP and CLP): Ant
African National Congress: Panther
Independent Socialist Party: Rattlesnake
Jewish American Labour Bund: Black Cat
Native People's League: Raven

These seem interesting, though I'd suggest a bee rather than an ant.
What exactly is the Independent Socialist Party?
Is there any confusion due to the use of the raven as both a national symbol and that of the Native People's League?

 

[The_Red_Star_Rising]

These seem interesting, though I'd suggest a bee rather than an ant.
What exactly is the Independent Socialist Party?
Is there any confusion due to the use of the raven as both a national symbol and that of the Native People's League?

A red and black bee could work yeah.

They were mentioned in the second thread as a party mostly popular in the former prairie and rocky mountains states out of a perception that the CWPA government wasn't giving them localised attention.

I meant to type in Crow, not Raven, my bad...not that this makes it easier to tell apart by a great degree.

 

[Miss Teri]

They were mentioned in the second thread as a party mostly popular in the former prairie and rocky mountains states out of a perception that the CWPA government wasn't giving them localised attention.

If that was the case for the Independent Socialist Party, wouldn't a prairie dog work a little bit better?

 

[Alexander the Average]

I think it would make more sense for the animal symbol of the Jewish American Labour Bund to be a Lion given its association with the Tribe of Judah.

 

[The_Red_Star_Rising]

If that was the case for the Independent Socialist Party, wouldn't a prairie dog work a little bit better?

I actually forgot that animal existed.

I think it would make more sense for the animal symbol of the Jewish American Labour Bund to be a Lion given its association with the Tribe of Judah.

My only reservation is that the Lion is a symbol of the British Empire. Though under the FBU the Lion is merged with the Gallic rooster to make for a (Chicken) Griffin.

 

[Alexander the Average]

My only reservation is that the Lion is a symbol of the British Empire. Though under the FBU the Lion is merged with the Gallic rooster to make for a (Chicken) Griffin.

The bear was a symbol of Russia but California didn't change their flag during the Cold War. Besides I think the Jewish people deserve to be able to bask in the awesome glow of a lion. Why should the Brits have all the fun?

 

[Miss Teri]

I actually forgot that animal existed.

I grew up in a place with a lot of them living in undeveloped areas. I still see them now when I'm driving.

 

[Ravenclaw]

With regards to the sort of checks and balances the USAR has in place to prevent power accumulation I imagine that, whilst they are more effective at the higher levels due to the greater level of scrutiny, rotation and decentralisation, at a local level, where the constituents are in direct contact with their officials and where its a lot easier for individual would-be machiavells to make contacts within local institutions, social networks and interest groups, it would be more possible to establish some sort of entrenched power-base if someone really put in the effort.

Perhaps the USAR version of House of Cards could be a parody of local government set in a small mid-west town following the internal politics of the town council. The various characters would engage in melodramatic machiavellianiam and underhanded power-plays over seemingly inconsequential things, like who gets to sit on the planning committee for the Independence Day celebrations, whilst the main character ruthlessly pursues their ambitions to become the chairman of the local Soviet.

So a cross between House of Cards and Parks and Recreation?

 

[Alexander the Average]

So a cross between House of Cards and Parks and Recreation?

I'd watch it.

 

[Miss Teri]

AH.com Discussion: What the hell, ESCI?

One of the friend is a Communist Brit, and he sometimes compares notes with our general group of friends on the political process here and the FBU. A couple days ago, he gave me a lot of publications that are associated with ESCI and the communist movement. Most of them were fine (The Morning Star and L'Humanite are usually good). However, I then received something called "Green Revolution". This is apparently a magazine popular with a certain part of the "Green" portion of ESCI.

I flipped through, and yeah, most of their coverage of the dangerous environmental policies of the Entente is very detailed and well-done. I'm not opposed to it. What I am opposed to is the seemingly large amount of anti-Vaccine, anti-GMO, anti-medical and overall anti-technological bent some of these articles have. There is a large portion dedicated to "green living". Again, not opposed. What I saw in a lot of these, though, was very disturbing in a scientific sense. Ads for so-called "natural treatments" that can apparently cure a variety of diseases, extensive nutritional supplement, medically dubious (I checked with some health professors) "alternative medicine", so-called "purified foods" (which are apparently foods put through some process that removes the chemicals. They didn't say toxins, they said chemicals.), so-called "Ayuvedic medicine", and other holistic, homeopathic stuff.

I don't know why this is shocking to me , given a lot of those woo strains are also in our SEU. Maybe I thought that the greens and Social Ecologists in ESCI had learned from the debunkings, and tried to avoid it in the future. I just didn't realize how much more pervasive this was to the FBU Greens.

Ah, young one, you have stumbled onto something that we have suffered through for a long time.

That portion of the Greens (we call them, "Deep Greens") are very heavily into woo. There is even a periodic attempt by them to add "alternative medicine" to the ESCI platform. (Always defeated) Green Revolution is the worst aspects of that group rolled into a single publication, and I'm not even going to touch the pseudo-spiritualist, ancient astronaut portion that some issues back. Luckily, that only represents a very small faction of the "RedGreens", and ESCI and the other Greens has tried to reign them in, to mixed success (the media likes to promote their wacky claims, because guilt by association. If you want a better representation of the Greens, there is The Lifestyle Anarchist (and before you ask, that is meant as an ironic joke) or World Ecology. I'm kind of surprised Green Rev. was there, and not those two, given those are more widely read in communist circles.

I talked to my friend, and he (a BioEng student) stated he didn't realize what was in Green Revolution. He states that he gets those magazines as part of a monthly package, and usually just reads the Morning Star.

Yeah, that happens to some of my comrades. They receive monthly foreign packages from the FBU, which usually have a wide spectrum of publications to appeal to the various factions (ensuring "equal space" or something). You could easily receive a publication like that without ever noticing what's in it.

Ah, glorious. The warped perversion socialists conduct on economic science extends to the other side. Socialism will be exposed as the sham that it is eventually.

Is that so? Why did I read a couple weeks ago then, that a court forced The Rationalist to stop putting ads for "nutrient supplements", not only because of their medical dubiousness, but the fact they were pyramid schemes.

Or a title I saw last week about "THE TRUTH ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING!"

[REDACTED]

I was going to say, you shouldn't have gotten him started on Global Warming.

 

[Redshank Galloglass]

AH.com Discussion: What the hell, ESCI?

Not surprised to see something like this coming from the ESCI. My own distaste for Marxism aside, the Bolshies tend to be the butt monkeys of the Entente Left due to the simple fact that they pull in all the nutters to their party because Labour won't take them. It's seriously unfair to them, but it's the unfortunate truth.

It also doesn't really help that the ESCI and Labour got into a rut over the Shoreite faction's revised definition of "Jacobinism" that goes more along the lines of the French definition when the ESCI uses the same definition that George Canning used.