#convergence spoilers

[vhvrs]

when theyre just friendly adversaries...

[spacedustmantis]

virgin convergence ep 4 wilbur switch up vs the chad riptide ep 114 gillion reveal

[thatseadog]

Charlie when the the party tries to use the Egg's portal magic

[darth-memes]

[cmykristyart]

there was a thought process involved here

[gaymothperson]

Thinking about how Chancellor Mollo finishes the vows to unite the two heirs of warring planets in marriage and then pulls out a pistol and starts blasting. The politician of all time.

[mouthpoisons]

This issue has a different artist I think. Style is slightly different and hair is so cute and long all of a sudden

[twinkfromconvergence]

I am still thinking so much about the fact that Alastyr has a prosthetic, specifically one on his right arm. If I remember correctly, that's also the arm that Fergus took over. There's so many implications there. For one, eventually it did in fact eventually hit Alastyr that he is not to be trusted. Another is that the issue was so bad that there wasn't a better way around it than amputation. Also, assuming that Alastyr made it himself my boy is a fucking genius he full on diy did a prosthetic using only his non-dominate hand. Just, the implications. There's so many implications.

[transatos]

alastyr was the first one out of an Actual Literal Timeloop if he doesn't sweep at least two rounds i'll throw a chair

[asteroids-and-tractorbeams]

[wantonwinnie]

Something I touched on in my review of Convergence and have been thinking about since finishing the novel is how it depicts the pursuit of peace. (Spoilers ahead).

Eiram and E'ronoh are defined largely by their war footing with each other, and any lapse in that war is pretty insignificant. A ceasefire is never more than a few days. People enjoy the slight reprieves, but food remains rationed. E'ronoh is overcome with smog. Its leadership is constantly looking for a fight (save princess Xiri). Meanwhile, Eiram has many homeless and starving while its leadership is corrupted (dealing with the Path of the Open Hand, building bio-weapons, etc.). War and violence is always the default.

These temporary ceasefires are a sort of “passive” or negative peace so to speak, i.e., the mere absence of conflict. That is all well and good for preventing deaths, and it is the first step toward something more lasting perhaps. But is nowhere near sufficient. The novel starts with a ceasefire that is easily broken, as were all the others, due to the extreme lack of trust between the two planets.

Avoiding war alone does not build any trust or any “active peace,” i.e., a lasting and meaningful one. The majority of the novel involves (most) characters going step by step toward a more active peace via building trust between the sides as well as with the Jedi mediators. But the events show us that the process is long, grueling, and nonlinear. The negotiations routinely get derailed by old wounds, third party instigators, and (multiple) betrayals. And near the end, it is almost broken before it even starts. Xiri, Phan-tu, and the Jedi must immediately - and constantly - defend any gains they make toward lasting trust and respect.

I think the novel sends multiple messages regarding an active peace. First, most obviously, is that it is a worthwhile pursuit. The main fact that convinces each side’s to pursue negotiations to the end is their peoples’ suffering. That suffering is front and center in both Xiri and Phan-tu’s findings during the adventures they have on each planet. The people’s material well-being should be prioritized over outdated grievances.

Second, while being worthy, an active peace is hard work and requires constant attention. The negotiations take many days; things are constantly trying to derail them; and by the end they still have to make a treaty outlining the planets’ future relationship. Any complacency diverts to the default or at least risks collapse given enough time.

This is in line with the rest of Star Wars. The Republic, becoming complacent with the negative peace, is laden with distrust and corruption by the time of the Prequels. Politicians have largely given up maintaining an active peace in favor of their own self-interest, allowing the king of self-interest himself to take over. Moreover, the “peace” brought on by the Empire is the pinnacle of negative peace at best via the absence of conflict through ending all real or potential opposition. At worst, and oftentimes, the Empire creates violence anyway, especially in the poorer Outer Rim.

Third, an active peace requires mutual trust through an appreciation of each other’s cultures and characteristics. It is not literally to say that arranged marriages always end a war, but Phan-tu and Xiri’s love represents the way to get to the active peace. Over the course of the novel, they realize each other’s strengths and weaknesses, their quirks and wounds, and their beliefs. They gain appreciation not merely by learning about these, but by understanding them through shared experiences. Each planet realizes the same things and end up believing they are stronger together as a result.

Fourth, an active peace also requires a third party who believes in the goal and has the capacity to protect it - the Jedi. They aren’t just diplomats but beings who pursue an understanding of others and respect for life and cultures. The Republic may be a third party, but they might not be neutral. Even at this point, while the Republic is not nearly as corrupt, Chancellor Mollo seems more concerned with expanding the Republic’s influence through a stable peace than the peace itself. This isn’t necessarily bad, but given the Republic has material interests of its own too, the warring planets need the Jedi to work through the negotiations. The Jedi’s convictions and absence of material stakes are helpful to attaining the active peace, albeit through an imperfect process. And Chancellor Greylark, ever the politician, is more concerned about public image than the public good for its own sake.

This book kicks so much ass. It gets better the more I think about it.

[padawankestis]

AXEL GREYLARK AGENT OF THE MOTHER??

[darth-memes]

[piltover-sharpshooter]

I have issues with how Convergence handles two of the champions it has, those being Warwick and Camille, and funny enough they have the opposite problems to one another.

Warwick is treated too much like a villain, he instantly wants to kill Ekko, and goes as far as to hunt him down later in the game. Now him losing control and being a boss fight is fine, but I don't buy that Warwick would consistantly try and murder Ekko, specially since we see in lore that he tries to constantly keep his killing urges at bay and not harm innocents, that's core to Warwick's internal struggle, so the fact that he acts like the mindless beast he always tries to hold back feels wrong.

Camille, on the other hand, isn't being a villain enough. Like she ends up being Ekko's true ally in the end, being rather nice to him? And in the end of the game she actually comforts him and like...No, Camille wouldn't care??? And (spoilers) but when Future Ekko inevitably is revealed to be the final boss, and they DIRECTLY point out that killing present Ekko would kill future Ekko with CAMILLE THERE...she doesn't instantly try to murder this child? I'm sorry I don't buy it, giving Camille some depth is fine, but it'd need to be handled with more finesse than this.

The game is overall good, but I think it misses the mark with both of these champs.

[spacedustmantis]

i'm not one to liveblog usually but guys holy shit i need the dragon chase/strangle getting eaten/kasper in shock/crow using the egg/portal/strangler wrangler exploding sequence to be an actual scene in an actual show so so fucking bad!! holy shit!!

[gaymothperson]

Axel is working for the Mother?! But also he was the one who palmmed the poison from the assassin right? So what the hell? Guess I'll find out soon enough.