 What's everybody? I'm the hook and I am the blade and welcome to the book blade podcast the official Assassin's Creed book club. Yeah I've been thinking that we should retitle the show assassins read. Wow. Yeah, first. No, actually really clever I think that could work. What's up bra man? What's up? Has anything interesting happened in your life recently? Well, it's funny. You asked me that because Okay, so I'm kind of a slot for like big brand integration into like fast food stuff Really? Like for instance, I believe it was earlier this year that Cheetos did a sandwich with KFC Uh-huh, and it was the greatest thing and it was great thing ever. Yeah So recently I picked myself up a carton of the Lucky Charms ice cream. Whoa. I don't know if anyone has seen this I have stores So they have cinnamon toast crunch and they have Lucky Charms, and I'm more of a Lucky Charms guy wrong but sure I picked I picked up a Carton of it, and I was expecting to hate it, but it is legitimately Lucky Charms cereal and like frozen form Wow, I can't recommend it enough to people who like Lucky Charms Nothing interesting happened to me this week besides turning 21. Yeah, which itself is interesting though It's not that interesting. Yeah, I guess you're right We have some notes at the top of the show for you guys first of all We're probably a day late on this episode. Sorry about that. Sorry happens The aforementioned turning 21 got in the way of recording this week. I'm also still a bitch I'm also still very sick so forgive any vocal weirdness that may occur and Then also I'm in the process of helping my family move out of the house So if you hear any random like thud noises, it's probably because my sister is too weak to carry whatever She's trying to carry so you might hear something You know she's dropping all your plates. Yeah, she keeps she's breaking the china. She's like a bull in a china shop She's like a She's like a smeed in a china shop. Hey speaking of cattle. We're here to talk about Assassin's Creed Brahmin this week Whoo, I have a fun Brahmin related anecdote. I read this book when around when it came out in 2013 or so I Never knew Even then until just now what the word Brahmin actually meant in this context Mm-hmm I had only ever heard it used in reference to cows and I was like I know India really fucks with cows, but I didn't think they went that hard for him to name their VR essentially cow VR Yeah, I mean, but I looked it up Brahmin does mean something that has nothing to do with cows Brahmin is Apparently the word means The ultimate reality underlying all phenomena of existence. Yeah, that's definition. I got to you. Yeah So it makes a lot more sense as the name of the VR helmet to be like this is the you know The God particle VR helmet or whatever, right? Sorry, does this come off this respectful to Hinduism because I I don't I don't mean to come at it like that trust I'm not offended. Well, as long as you're not offended Yeah, I mean, it's interesting you say that because I did think one of the more interesting thing about The more interesting thing about things about this book is how it implied that Obsergo kind of would outsource certain technology creation. Yeah other companies. Well, it's like a cool It's like one of the only things I can think of where we get a look into the modern day happenings of a country That's not the United States more or less. Yeah. Yeah, for sure but I also think it adds another layer of the Like in more of the modern-day context We're especially recently with sense black flag and we were Showing all the up story go happenings It's interesting to me how so many people are kind of involved with the Templars, but have no idea We are ultimately innocent. I mean, Obstergo. What would be the closest analog to Obstergo in modern real world? I Know there's maybe nothing there kind of a pharmaceutical company and a technology company and yeah entertainment It's probably if you took like the most influential pharmaceutical company and mixed it with Apple and then you'd have absurd Yeah, and I'm not discounting the possibility that Apple is a front for an evil organization that's existed for Centuries, I'm not I'm not throwing that out just yet Yeah, so first off spoilers for Brahman But just to catch you up to speed if you haven't read it in a while just a brief overview off the top of my head Basically, Brahman is the story of modern-day programmer Jotsura who is married to well No, he's engaged to a a you know, Bollywood movie star Monday Madas Forgive me if I'm butchering the pronunciation of these names because I didn't check on that at all Basically, he's working on a Version of the Obstergo VR helmet pseudo animus thing for the Indian market and in doing so he discovers this lineage in 1800s India where he was essentially a poor street urchin type boy who helps out assassin Arba's mirror on a epic adventure to Protect slash steal the co-ignore diamond for the assassins I'm glad that you pronounced it so that I didn't have to fuck it up So I'm still I'm not sure that that's exactly how it's pronounced, but I'm like I'm like 70% on it I had a hard time pronouncing it in my head before I knew how you had to say it co-ignore Which what is the name of the thing that they also call it which is the more Indian like folklore? Mystical Jewel yeah, yeah, they call it they call it a couple it has like many different names Mountain of light isn't that like the that's the English translation is mountain of light. Mm-hmm. I'm gonna find out Siam on Takamani. Yeah that Yeah, it was interesting to see a Piece of Eden that kind of works in tangent with other pieces of Eden like it's not It's I mean it does something on its own But as far as I am aware the implication is that if you pair it with like say an apple it would Be even more powerful That kind of I mean that's my read of it. That's pretty cool I kind of didn't pay that much attention to what the co-ignore actually does cuz it it's almost not that important Well, perhaps it doesn't amplify other powers of the piece of Eden, but like I'm looking on the wiki page Oh, yeah, it says it can it can low pulling it up. It can locate other pieces of Eden. So That's cool. Yeah, so yeah, I guess I was wrong. It does it doesn't amplify necessarily, but it can locate so There's that does the co-ignore appear in Assassin's Creed syndicate Um, I think the connection there is because it does it so it appears in the game. Mm-hmm not just in the book Yeah, no not just in the book. I think there's a mission where you have to steal it really? Yes The great on the ice. Oh wait. What is this? It's a rabbit. Okay. It's okay. Okay. Okay. It's DLC. It's in the last Maharaja. Oh I never played that me me see or maybe I did I don't know So the thing That's most striking to me as so disclaimer. This is my first time reading the book, right? You haven't heard it before in fact, I think it's kind of funny to mention that yeah, basically about a week ago Tim came to me. He was like well. He messaged me. He was like, I'm gonna go read AC Brahman because you know, I like to fall in the chain a lot the same guys. I was like, don't bother Yeah, don't bother. It sucked. I was like, it's okay. It's not that great. There's not much to talk about Granted, this is going off of my recollections from 2013 So I'm like, you know, I just hadn't read it in a while And then I reread it because Tim liked it a lot and I was like, oh, this is actually really good Yeah, so I'm Upset I didn't read it sooner because I always just kind of felt like the fall on the chain was like the more popular Of the two and that was only one worth reading and I was so wrong because I actually think I like Brahman more than I like the fall or the chain Yeah, I'm kind of my position on this is that I like I like the fall the most of the three and Then Brahman's a little bit under it and then the chain is a little bit under that so they're all very close together in terms of preference and enjoyability and quality But I do like the fall better personally and the thing that is most striking to me as I started reading it was The artwork Is actually a lot more I don't want to say cartoonish, but There's it's so expressive in terms of how the characters look like in the modern day Yeah, it's it's it's very and I suppose that's you're right And I think that's because of the Brahman VR headset allows you to view it in different genres Yeah, that was a cool little detail. Yeah So I think that might be why all of everyone is kind of like a caricature like you have the mustache guy who you know, it just is Very very animated. Yeah, to the modern-day characters, you know and like our bass is our bass doesn't look like a real person Yeah, he's he's like cut from stone. Yeah Yeah, he's I think we handsome Yeah, so I think that's that's part of what happened there, but it's it's really refreshing because It's like just looking at some of these characters You can tell who they are and what their attentions are something cool that they brought over from when they did the fall on the chain Is there a couple of really cool full full page spreads in this? Oh, yeah, the artist is a lot more. I think noticeably high quality in this book because there's some great layouts there's some great examples of like rhythm and Continuity between panels as far as like things Outside of the borders and they just they got a lot more expressive and freeform with it You read something like conspiracies, which we talked about last week and like it is just it's just panels like they never Yeah, full page spreads. Nothing is extending beyond the borders of the panel Which you know, it's a it's a valid stylistic choice to do it that way But I feel like this book is a great example of how you can take advantage of the fact that it is a comic Right and that is a highlight of a lot like a lot of good artists and comics is they really go They really think outside the box in terms of panels and Like I'm just looking at a page here and yeah There you have like your bot like you have like your full page Layout and you got some panels and then you have characters going outside of those panels And it's just it's very entertaining to to look through and I think that's part of why this book moves so gracefully Very kinetic, right? It's you don't get bored looking at it with conspiracies. It's not very colorful The panels are very average and typical That's like a good a bad comic can definitely be brought up by very expressive artwork And this is the case of very expressive artwork with a good comic. Yeah, I mean the characters in this are so Well drawn I think for me the the biggest strength of this story is actually the same thing that made me like it less when I read it the first time as a you know as a 14 year old is that right It's not very high stakes in the grander scheme of assassin's creed stories. It's not world-ending It's not, you know, this terrible crisis of drama And it also doesn't quite feel maybe essential to the story in the same way that's something like the fall did in terms of how it portrays the purge and the inextricable connections to the Stakes and status of the modern-day assassins at that time in the games Right, of course, we got a couple of delightful tie-ins to assassin's creed syndicate Like as I mentioned, you know the coming or showing up in the DLC The fact that Henry Green is a main character being the son of our bas-mir. That's you know a great example of When the books in the games are able to work cohesively together But as far as the story being told in this book on a modern-day level it is the best execution of Any story and assassin's creed of portraying the everyday average Joe type character who gets caught up in the crossfire Oh, yes, 100% I completely agree with you and to go off of your point of the low stakes I think that's why I find it so charming. Yeah is that's why I think I like it more than the fall or the chain is because While you know our opinions on that is very well litigated I really like how this book It's like I could have no knowledge of it at all Yeah, and I didn't for a long time and I still enjoyed the games and all of that But now like like I didn't read this comic and feel like I have to devote my the rest of my life to Finding every tie-in and every piece of lore and I didn't get lost in the weeds. It was a nice story I didn't have to go pull up the wiki just to understand it. Yeah, you know So it's it was I really enjoyed it. I I hope one day The expanded universe content is more like this. Mm-hmm because it wasn't obsessed with Making like with elevating the game somehow or taking on a story from the game somehow And I imagine the the syndicate connections were made when were made much later when syndicate was being brought up but They're not at all like contradictory or yeah Or overbearing to the enjoyment of the book like I haven't played Chronicles India Right, I still enjoyed it, you know, so I think what this really tells us and what this gets at something that's important for us to Mention considering some of the things we've talked about before is that there are many different approaches You can take as far as the relationship in an assassin's creed story between the modern day and the historical sections and At the end of the day the most important thing is Whether or not the story is good because when we sung the praises of the fall one thing We talked a lot about was the fact that it gave you this context for the events of the modern-day story It was very much giving you information that enhanced your experience of playing the games This brahman is not doing that But it doesn't matter because the story that it tells and it's you know delightful charming standalone way is Just on its own so compelling that said for everything that I really really like about this book. I do Have some problems with it. Oh, yeah, maybe we can fight each other one-on-one fist fight Because I yeah, I don't I don't have really any any major gripes I mean I have. Oh, sorry. I have gripes. I don't have any problems with it I didn't I don't have anything I dislike about it. So I'm interested to hear what you have to say I guess problems is overstating it like I'll start with a real nitpicky thing. What okie-dokie What the hell's up with those Templar goons that are like wearing full-on suits, but also like a Cyclops bug helmet. Oh Oh, yeah, what are they? That's that's that I I guess they're like fucking seal team six or something but of Stargo, but there's like a thousand of them So it's those to say it's quite possibly one of the dumbest like henchmen character designs I've ever seen in a car. I liked it. I thought it looked cool Yeah, but it like looks cool until you think about it for more than a half second because yeah Because you that's the thing it's so cartoonish you can differentiate everything at just a glance it's just when you're when you're trying to This is just a design the artist thought was cool So they used it for the Templar baddies, but like if you're gonna be tactically like Kitted out to go hunt down a trained assassin You're not gonna do it wearing like a full three-piece like Suit ensemble. I mean you look fresh as hell, but you're not tactically effective So I agree with what you're saying because this is definitely a concept of like these are Stargo agents that kind of look like Robots, like they might be robots. I don't know. I don't think so Just because I think it's shown on one of the panels. It's like just kind of like an infrared mask Right. My thing with it is what to your point They seem to introduce it in this book and then just never ever like all of the of Stargo agents We ever see past this are just security guards. Yeah, they're normal-looking people. They're not like Still just a very I think Bad design. I don't know. I disagree very very minor. This is right niddiest of nitpicks For me, I think one thing that's true about this book for me is that the the modern-day story pretty massively outshines the historical stuff. Yeah, I I mean Yeah, I read the story a week ago I would be hard-pressed to recall any specific details about the past or even really about Arba's mirror as a character You know, I do agree with you that I think I got more out of the modern-day part than I did the historical part In this instance, I Just I don't know if I agree that like the historical part is Okay, I know that you're not saying you think the historical part is bad No, but there were definitely some quirks to it that I still think about and I and like you I read it about a week ago for me most of what the historical part does well is Create the emotional stakes for the modern-day story just the mere fact premise-wise that You have jot who is Engaged to a woman who you know, he probably feels like is out of his league She goes to the VR and she sees this past as a you know a royal princess who's Having a relationship with the sexiest man ever created and when when jot goes into the VR He's seeing like through the eyes of a little deaf mute kid while someone else basically cucks him Yeah, I mean he gets to watch the hottest man ever created Get jiggy with the love of his life basically Well, you know, that's the thing is I love that twist because I think everyone It definitely leads you to believe that he's our bass and his animes findings Because they even throw in that mon throws in that line where she's like I wonder if we knew each other in the past and it's like they do but not in the way that you would expect and I Really think they have the twist very well when he's looking in the mirror and he just hears mongrel You know and he sees he sees his and his ancestor so well done Yeah, plus you get that little whiff of incest potentially Like you get that little thought like when you are thinking that he is our boss in the past and she's the princess You're like, are they related? But they're not right. Yeah story. Yeah incest free. Yeah, thankfully. I mean most good stories are right? Absolutely most. Yeah, I love the setup of having this character who really just thinks that Everything around him is telling him. He's inferior. He's not the the charming lead of the historical story. He's not You know on the level of his movie star girlfriend He's not Important or famous or desirable enough for her to be open to the public about their relationship Like they create such a deep level of empathy for this guy because we've all been there. We all have felt Insufficient felt like we're not enough and this is a guy who totally just is That and I do think one of my qualms with the story is that I'm not sure that this book I'm not sure that the book delivers on The promise of that setup, I'm not sure we ever get a moment quite explicitly for instance That jot like realizes that he is he is good enough. He's calm the crossfire. He goes through this Incredibly unfortunate and terrible experience and then it's basically over. Yeah, I mean I wouldn't say though that the Intention was to make him seem like like for him to realize. Oh, I am a badass No, you're right and it would have been pretty cliche if they had done that but but not but but I'm not saying I wanted him to turn out To be a badass or to find his heroism or anything like that I'm just saying I wanted there to be a moment where he like accepted himself and became okay with himself or realized That it didn't matter if he's a movie star or if he's the charming hero that he's like got value as a person and The reason I want to see that happen is because that's what we want to tell ourselves, right? We want to be able to say right for sure. I have value to even though. I'm not the Most handsome man in the world. I'm not dating a movie star. Right. Yeah, I and I agree with that I think yeah, I'm not insinuating that you wanted him to become an assassin or that I Will say that I do like the ending. I think the ending is is very charming. I I know I'm The ending of the book in the modern-day section I know I'm torn between it because I think it's very well done and I love the I'm all I Really didn't expect them to show like a flashback of their relationship because when we see their relationship Like at the start he's using the brahman stuff and then she gets a hold of it and their relationship starts tanking after that So it was nice to see the relationship as it was good. Hmm. I will say though I really think the main issue I have with brahman is that it wasn't given the length of the fall in the chain It's it's it's well done for its length. It's very well done for its length I think you're wrong and also stupid It's very well done for its length, but like think about it. We don't see like our baths. We don't see him Like until the Chronicles India. We don't see Jat at all anymore as far as I know so yeah I get what you're saying like I would I think it'd be cool to get more stories about them But I think that is a different point than to say that brahman should be longer Okay, which point are you making? I think yes, okay now that you put it that way I would have liked to see maybe a different comic with these two Maybe now that this this particular one should have been longer. It's just because the fall in the chain they I Don't think it's like I don't ever think that the concept is that the fall would have existed without the chain They're I think they were made the same they were made with both in mind. I don't think that's true I think they made the fall and it did well enough Financially and critically that they said hey, let's let's do another one with these guys How well how far off was the chain from the fall? It was about a year about a year apart Well, yeah, but if you think about it comics are released monthly. Yeah, but it's not like it's a series that was collected into two Three issue volumes. It's like it was a three-part series followed by a distinct three-part series Right, but I I would imagine that the concept of like I'm sure they were like, okay Let's do the sequel now But I would like to imagine that they were that they knew about the chain when they're right and I think that explains I think I think that they that the chain was not planned when they released the fall and that makes sense because When the fall when the chain released or what actually ooh, no Here's the smoking gun dude when they collected the issues They included an epilogue at the end of the fall to set up the chain So I think that they only would have done that Had they felt like they didn't get the chance to do that set up because they didn't know They were gonna get the chain when they did the fall You say it's an epilogue that sets up the chain There is an epilogue that was added to the fall only when it was collected by UB workshop and collected by Titan comics So if you read the subject for version or you read the Titan comics fall in the chain collection There's like an extra up. I want to save 15 pages that isn't in the original comic I read the subject for version. So yeah, you had Go fuck myself. That's what I'm saying. I had the epilogue There's there's extra pages at the end of the fall. I believe is that what okay? Well, maybe I What I'm trying to get at Tim is you're wrong and also stupid damn it Okay, so but the fall in the chain aside Back that's what I was saying was Okay, so perhaps that's more of a compliment to the fall in the chain that it seems like They were always planned from the get-go. Yeah, yeah So I just I think like because our best for instance as much as I love him in the book He doesn't really have an arc. He doesn't right change very much without the story He's just as charming and I love him and I love his characterization in the book I love his interactions with other characters. Also this particular book did it the Templar assassin conflict very well for me because I enjoyed seeing one a person of power who was impartial to both and enjoyed seeing Arbaz and the like Templar night guy kind of Have have a little a battle of the wits for a second. That was great. That was a great moment very memorable That's what sticks out for me of the historical stuff for sure cuz that cuz they both acknowledge each other and they're like Hey, bitch don't get in the way of my mission and he's like, oh, I'm not gonna get in the way of your mission, bitch Which is essentially verbatim what they say We were talking about the ending a moment ago before we got way in the weeds Yes, this may be a dumb bitch question. Tell you can tell me if this is a dumb bitch question Can you confirm or deny my understanding that what we're seeing at the end of the flashback is We are seeing Jotsura relive that memory in the brahman Yeah, I think what it is is because you can download the footage correct So I think what he's doing is he's he is viewing a downloaded version of the footage because the brahman had said is Destroyed so I think he was able to upload it to his phone because in the image of his phone We see her yeah, so so we are seeing his right his memories and we get that sort of like hers Delicate hint of white room design in their environment, too. Oh, yeah for sure. So yeah, I know yeah I think you're right. That's definitely what's happening for me. That's like a really cool ending because like something that actually Naturally occurred in my head as a question while I was reading it was I Wonder if you can relive like like they never talk about in Assassin's Creed the idea of using an animus to relive your own memories even though Obviously if you're gonna try and convince us that we can see the memories of our ancestors in our genes It's probably even easier to access the memories of our own damn selves. Oh, yeah for sure. And that's I'm sure there's some Anise Laura out there that would explain that better, but I've always had the thought like what if I wanted to view my memories from like last Yeah, they don't really explore that So much and there's also the fact that in brahman when he's using the VR headset They they do make it pretty clear that the the idea of going into your genetic memory is not necessarily like a Something you're supposed to be able to do with it as a consumer product, correct Well, I think what it is is it's harvesting like genetic data and right Jot is not supposed to be aware of that his boss just seems very aware of it So I think what's happening is it's as we know, you know Sturgo is like selling games So I think it's like hey check out this new VR headset and while you think you're playing a personalized game You're just reliving Something a memory and I think that's where the genres come in because if you put in like action Yeah, you're not so much thinking about oh, these are my memories They're just a game you're playing and so then they take your genetic data. They're like, okay, so And I guess they just use it as like market research for pieces of Eden because that was something that fucked me off about the story when I first read it was I really bristled at the whole Animus VR headset thing because I felt like It made the whole idea of an animus kind of Feel less important. I don't know it just it felt convenient that this crazy high-tech thing that was suddenly like a Highly constructed an elaborate hospital bed sort of thing in the first game was suddenly like, you know, I Have one in my house grocery store I have one plugged into my computer at home, and I don't even know it right and I and I will say I Don't love the the idea of oh Absurgo is all is like modern-day Ubisoft. Yeah, they make video games for the public I don't care for that level of meta storytelling personally It definitely diluted the potency of the world building in Assassin's Creed to start Using that technology in whatever way that was most convenient for the writers and that year 2013 between Brahman and Black Flag was the year that it all started going a little downhill in that regard, right? And I and I will say I prefer Brahman's interpretation of it because I think I think it still plays with the likes Fear about your memories being harvest. Yeah It's very similar to that Like Clay Cosmeric truth Glyph where the guy's like flipping through channels and he really sees his like all of his personal information He's not supposed to uncover it. So I the idea is that Absurgo has now been able to streamline the Animus and they you just put it on your fucking head and then you're in it and you don't know you're in it You just think you're playing a fucking video game. So But yeah, you're completely right. It definitely Started then and was propelled in Black Flag I want to talk out my read of Brahman and bounce it off of you a little bit because Yeah, cuz I'm I'm still in the process of trying to figure out how I really feel about the ending because they're kind of two different ways I can take it one which is like fine But maybe not perfectly well earned and the other which is like Cheap and lazy the story of Brahman for the modern-day characters for Jotsu His assumption about the world that he has is that he's in this loving deep true honest relationship with the woman who is a movie star and and He mostly doesn't feel inadequate about this, right? He's played as kind of a bumbling almost awkward Programmer type dude, but when you see them together their dynamic is he's confident He loves her. He knows she loves him Then he learns that she's had this animus experience in the Brahman VR headset Where she's had basically a sexual encounter in the past through her genetic memory with Arba's mirror she is so affected by this experience and has this sense of I've never felt this way before, right? Arba's being this swashbuckling charming sexy man versus her fiance who's kind of a Bit of a goober bit of a goober So Jot now has to confront this as he unfurls the Conspiracy that is playing out in front of him of what exactly this VR headset is doing and in the end he is trying to Reconnect with Monima when he's pulled into the battle. He's pulled into this conspiracy where him pretending to be Better than he was by telling his co-worker that he was experiencing the memories of an assassin by trying to believe that You know he is Related to Arba's mirror. He is the hero that is directly what gets him in trouble because she is an assassin She kidnaps him believing she can access those memories and the ensuing fallout leads to the death of Monima leads to the death of his fiancee. Yeah for sure. I mean I was just gonna add his Also, not only that you're right. It gets him into the crossfire, but not only that him saying Him Suggesting he has this lineage is also what allows him to be saved over Mon. Right. Yeah, so so he gets bit in the ass by carrying himself by by Representing himself as though he is greater than he really is though his lineage is more important than it really is Even though it's an innocent little white lie. It has all these consequences So we have to think from this sequence of events Because the very first impression it leaves on me reading it now in the context of our modern social You know world is that it kind of sucks that Monima being this actually, you know having the actually important lineage being a Worthwhile character in her own right. She's kind of she's put in that awkward territory where Despite being a legitimate character in her own right. She's killed off to serve the narrative of the man It's a little like I'm not trying to be all you know white nighty SJW crusader here but I am feeling like Like her death isn't maybe necessary to the story the book was trying to tell Other than just rubbing the salt and John's wounds and ending on a bit of a downer Yeah, I mean But that's the thing right is If they Did say if she did survive that crash and they went through her memories then They would have found everything they needed and everything fine even though she didn't survive the crash They were still able to go through her memories They still got what they needed. Did they not? Yeah, they well they got what she had uploaded so like cuz They because she but her brief usage of it. I said I guess uploaded enough For them to track right so and then they I was expecting they made the Templars Sorry, I was expecting when they're when he's when the assassin is pulling Jot out of the wreckage and leaving Monima behind I Was expecting that was gonna lead to a moment where you know, John has to reveal like it's her who has she's the only special, you know He doesn't get the chance to do that because you know the story wants her to die, but also It doesn't matter anyway because as soon as they're in the context for him to make that Revelation they pretty much find another way to accomplish the goal that they were trying to accomplish anyway so then you know The war the co-worker girl dies and now we're at Two dead women to fuel the angst of the two living men in the story and then it's like Was it necessary? Did it was it was the death of these characters Inextricably tied to the thematic revelation or purpose of the story. I don't think so But I'm open to being convinced otherwise because I'm perfectly aware of the possibility that I'm maybe just not Reading the theme right because by the time the book is over the the moment it chooses to end on is him reliving this memory of his relationship and what I'm thinking I'm supposed to get from that is that What was really important all along was this love was this relationship and that? Jot should never have been so questioning of her love for him which is Perfectly Fine and good as an ending and where you would expect that that story to go. It's satisfying. It's good. It works Except she's dead now. So all he can do is relive those memories and we're just left with the presumption of a guy Who's going to relive those memories a bunch which is just the same ending, but a little sadder so Did it need to be that sad? By virtue of her death did her death accomplish enough in terms of conveying the message I know I'm speaking in circles here. Please weigh in well I get well. So what would you do differently if you if let's say she doesn't die? What what would be your goal? Well, I mean, that's the thing. I mean, I'm not the writers I don't know what they wanted the story to be about but I do think that if the ultimate message of the story is that Jot Is enough and he should never have been worried about her love for him that in the end You know, maybe he chooses To keep her he chooses her maybe he's confronted with a choice between Her and something that would actually help further the assassins cause Fuck the assassins. Fuck the greater cause. I'm here to be in love with my beautiful Fiancé and have a happily ever after like that could have been an interesting ending, but you could propose any number of different endings. I just think that They either should have left her alive or Let her death Serve a more purposeful role in the narrative like if if her death meant that the assassins could not get anything they wanted Then it would really have to kind of deal with that fact and it would actually create an obstacle for Them to overcome for Jot and the assassins to overcome as it stands She dies and then it's basically over because they have what they need and then he feels really bad about it But there's not really a choice that Jot makes at any point other than the choice to lie about being an assassin Which is not one he's aware of the potential consequences for well, the problem though is She was kind of a target anyway because of her connection to the diamond so it's not like for instance when When Jot and before like when the van crashes, they're trying to like they're being they're trying to be What's the word? They're trying to be like snatched up by the absurd go rob robot guys and That the assassin the male assassin guy, you know hops down tries to save them Because he's only aware that his only lead is Jot. That's why he only he only has time to get him out So I think that's the that's where it's like if only I hadn't of lied About and like you said, it's so innocent, you know, right And is the overall purpose of you know, it's really to punish Jot for a little white lie No, I don't I don't think it's to punish but But ultimately her genetic data is what leads them to the to what they need anyway To the information that they need anyway, excuse me because Her enough of her information was uploaded to where he could relive her memories And that's what led them to the ancestry they needed That's how they were able to trick the Templars into knowing that it's sorry not into knowing into thinking that they had a dead end, you know, I Don't know. I got it to your point about Mon's death and everything I I Can't say I thought about it too much I just thought that she was a got caught in that she was a casualty of this fight that Cuz unfortunately shot Whether he liked it or not was involved in hysterical dealings because of his like he was already being watched by an assassin character Anyway, pretend, you know, yeah, Templar character. I think in the form of his Boss, right, but his secretary. Yes female assassin and it should be noted that the only reason the assassins have any idea about either of them Is because jot talks to the spy whereas Obstergo can probably see when the Brahmin is connected to the internet like Okay, this is whose memory this is and they know who to look for I think that They had the opportunity to do that sort of a choice for jot of love versus the cause Which is something that assassins Creed likes doing there is a scene in the movie where that's essentially what is The choice that Aguilar has to make is like I really love this assassin girl But if I kill it and she can't tell the Templars any of our secrets So she's like you should kill me right now Aguilar and he's like, but I don't wanna and like if I cared about Aguilar That would have been really interesting I do care about jot, but he doesn't really have a choice to make at the end of the story. He doesn't really have a Moment where he crosses between being a passive character and being an active character in terms of his influence on the plot And really for me that's like the only thing holding it back from like True phenomenal greatness for me Right. I see what you're saying. I guess I just really got wrapped up in Jot's perspective like he went The thing is is he was worried that Mon was like cheating on him Which is why he flew to her in the first place. Oh, yeah, it's kind of his it's kind of you know I feel like I remembered that wrong like I remembered that as him going there to be with her What well he does but he's very anxious about like what the fuck is going on She's he even makes a slight comment about like what's going on between you and my boss. Oh, you're right Yeah, I forgot about that. So I guess really the whole the whole arc of the story is Jot's insecurities are the undoing of himself and the people around him Yeah, he I mean the thing is he Could have been much more trusting of her and not have let cuz he projects his insecurities put his position Underneath her because she's his famous supermodel actress and he's just a tech yeah And he doesn't he doesn't really step back and say well that you know as you said he doesn't accept that she that she loves him and he gets caught in this crossfire and unfortunately, she gets wrapped up in it and While it might not be inherently his fault You know, it's she got caught in the she got caught in the crossfire between him of Sergo the assassins and Unfortunately, I feel like something like this would have happened anyway Even if the assassins didn't contact him because they would have known right like as soon as she put on that But yeah, the Templars were going to come after them Regardless and they did you know and And and they because what once they were leaving because once once they were leaving to go to the police They were interrupted by a Templar. So they were kind of fucked from the get-go on this one I think I still come away feeling like It maybe isn't the best look or the best choice to have Two male characters motivated in the end by the loss of a female companion for for Jop being his fiancee and the assassin guy being his sister That said I do think if we look at it from the perspective of like this is the cost of projecting your insecurity if this is the cost of being insecure Then I do think there is there is a theme there that makes sense as far as How it all comes together and that isn't bad storytelling. It's just like a choice that I Wouldn't have made myself. You know what I mean, right? Yeah. No, I I Yeah, I see where you're coming from. I think I Definitely think overall it's my favorite of the comics that we've read for sure And I say for sure because conspiracy is just flashed through my head and it's like yeah This is Leagues better than anything any of that me any of that shit I'm still gonna go with the fall is my favorite mainly because I like Russia and Nikolai and also just cuz I feel like while the approach the brahman takes of having a You know having a more low stakes character story is totally valid and Awesome in a way that I didn't respect in 2013 but respect the hell out of now I still love the the whole element of Daniel cross And the influence that he has on the events of the games the way that they personalize it and make it Potent and powerful in the context of that comic. So for me, that's the winner, but I Completely understand why you prefer brahman Yeah, and I think this is in general I've loved going backs with these comics because it's like stepping back into when the expanded universe was good and And it was meaningful and it was it was nice what reading this for the first time because I Was kicking myself partly because like why haven't I read this and so long it's so good But I'm also glad because now I had this new thing I could talk about and be happy that I read So I've been looking forward to talking about it with you since I read it because I knew we'd have Some different perspectives on it Yeah, I mean and I will I have to point out at the end of the book at least in the version that I read they have Like historical context They give you these little excerpts of what the historical characters are and who they or sorry who they are and what they Is that his name? Yeah, that's what I just was complaining about with conspiracies and this book did it and it came out seven years ago, so Absolutely, yeah brahman I'm gonna say it very good Hey listen, I'm gonna say it all right What would you rate brahman out of ten out of ten? I'm gonna have to get an eight point five I'm gonna give it an eight. Wow. So even though you had more promise with it than me We rated it very similar rated it pretty close Brahman is a phenomenal piece of writing and just the fact alone that it goes so far to make you care about Jot and care about the characters It puts in so much more legwork to that character empathy than any of these other books do so many of them Feel like you can just create an easy shortcut to empathy by killing someone's family or You know, yes having something terrible happen to them This is just a guy who like he could be the main character in a romantic comedy. This could be yeah a romantic comedy setup but because the human drama of it is portrayed so vividly and lifelike It becomes the perfect starting point for An action thriller assassin's creed story. It's it's very relatable and You mentioned that I completely agree like this He could totally be just a character in anything and they wove it into the assassin's creed story and myth of so well And I just hope that we get a story like this sometime in the future. Um, I hope that maybe one day Because this is the way you do. I think a modern day character getting strapped up in the conflict Because he doesn't end the book and he's like, I'm gonna become an assassin Which I would not be opposed to seeing maybe one day. Who knows but he's still around Yeah, yeah, he's still around Look, I'm not gonna say that every main character in modern day needs to become an assassin or templar, but I would I'm curious What he does after this, you know But yeah, I'm glad I didn't end with him like putting on a hood or whatever But that would have been so cheap and it speaks to exactly something we talked about last week This isn't a chosen one story. It's explicitly. Yes, not a chosen one story. He's yeah, it's explicitly not that he's the sidekick of the historical and That's fantastic That's the man I want more of because like we say you can't make everyone a chosen one and luckily in brahmin They did not make him a chosen one. Daniel cross is a chosen one Eddie gorm is a chosen one alia khan is a chosen one, but jotsura He's just jotsura, man He's just doing this thing. Yeah, we need more. We need more stories like that. Give us more jot Please so I wanted to ask you a quick question perhaps to kind of A circle everything back Do you have like a favorite moment? Because I have a particular moment that I I just I laughed out loud at and I I wanted to share it And I didn't know if you had anything like like that for yourself. Tell me yours first So I really I really love the panels where Um arbas is freed from his cell And he's like he's like, yeah No, thanks. I'm gonna get it out of here now and she's like, well You you can't do that about the diamond. He's like, I have it right here and he and the little boy Gave it to her. Yeah, and like it's just so funny because It's even though it's not in motion. I looked at it in motion the way arbas looked back at him You know, yeah, all Yeah, it's so great Before you started talking I was gonna say that was my favorite moment too, but just to be different I'll choose a different one and I will choose the moment when the boy gives her the coin or diamond Because like is he a simp? Yes, but Aren't we all aren't we all and it's so sweet. He just sees a beautiful royal woman crying And he's like, you know what? I may be a little Deaf mute little kid But I happen to have in my possession The most fabulous beautiful awe-inspiring magical jewel that has ever existed And I would give it to you just to make you feel better. Is he deaf? No, he's just mute. I keep saying deaf mute It's all the same. He's blind. Fuck it. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah, he's a blind deaf kid I'll just I'll I'll strategically edit out every time I've said deaf I'll just bleep it. You censor it. So they don't know what they don't I don't really don't know what you're saying Review if you go back and you hear an awkward pause every time I talk about this kid where I say he's a Mute kid. You'll know why right now because I'll leave this That's so perfect. All right, anything else we want to say about brahman Um, if you have okay, well if you haven't read it and you've listened to this Rewind and don't listen to it and go read it um, no, but Overall, yeah, just like as I've kind of said great book Uh, my favorite of the comics we've read Um, there are there are more that we are to read So far, this is the best one and I think if anyone hasn't read it in a little while And this is kind of like bringing back some memories of it. I totally suggest rereading it. I think you'll like it Um, just as much as you did it gets two thumbs up from the from the blockade podcast the blockade podcast The blockade sorry it's bookblade for this episode. Don't go. Sorry. Don't go blowing our our name pun Also, we can't use assassin's read that's been taken. I'm sure it has of course it has no it has been no it has it's uh Well, I don't know if I should say it. Who has assassin's read? Loomer Damn it loomer Loomer has everything Okay, loomer if you're listening to this we're out to get you. Yeah. Yeah, we're we're gonna we're gonna get assassin's read from you I'm gonna call my lawyer and we're gonna change our delightful unique podcast name the hookplay podcast And we're gonna call it assassin's read just despite you loomer Just despite you just you all right. Well, um, thank you for listening to everyone except loomer This is This has been the book blade podcast. I've I've been the hook and I've been the blade. We'll see you next week