#across the rubicon

[samtrapani]

new vegas has a lot of insanely interesting concepts of characters but honestly nothing tops joshua graham. like it is so interesting he starts as an intelligent missionary who will probably lead the community, to a travelling preacher with his translator friend who decides he can take the mantle of an emperor, to the right hand of justice and the self-proclaimed wrath of both caesar and the lord. 

joshua’s entire life being wrapped in violence of two kinds of assimilation: one religious, and the other cultural. joshua, who does not and has never worn the armor of the legion, who trains boys and brainwashes them and breaks them because a faulty weapon is useless in this empire they’ve built. 

joshua, who fucks up at least once, but then caesar decides to make an example of him. if the right hand of caesar is not exempt from punishment, why should the rest of his legion be? and caesar couldn’t have just given him a firing squad execution. it had to be big. it had to be public.

joshua, who survived being lit on fire and tossed down the grand canyon. who walked to survival, all burnt flesh and agony, like a sinner on the path of redemption. joshua, who is inherently evil and cannot change, who is a warmonger at heart no matter how the courier thinks they can persuade him. joshua is a monster. joshua assimilates tribes and breaks them, and turns peaceful people into violent ones. joshua will never escape the legion or himself, because he was a zealot all along. he wanted to be god’s mouth, god’s revolver, god’s firstborn son.  and even after the courier goes, the burned man stays. the malpais legate stays. malpais meaning ‘rough country, badlands, a place where lava flows, burnt land’. the fire inside him burned bright, but it is not the gentle crackle of the hearth, it is a wildfire, all-consuming.

joshua is a terrible, vengeful creature. and no matter what happens in zion, it is all he ever will be. 

[knackeredforever]

Is it a controversial opinion that despite the fact I love armored core 6 I don’t like armored cores ice skate approach to mech leg movement.

I want to see those legs move not just skid across the floor with jet boosters.

[simpingforcreamsoda]

The Spectacular Solar-Spider!

Hollywood superstar turned superhero! Ever since being bit by a spider fused with energy from an ancient meteor, Corona Kiddo has lived a double life as a web-slinging, wall-climbing, perfect memory and action mimicry-having (what? Taskmaster doesn’t have a monopoly!) crime fighter, making sure the sun over the streets shines brighter than the silver screen!

(This is an AU of my JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fanpart/elsewhere fic, Rubicon Crossroads. May add more to this later, I was inspired out of the blue)

[doolallymagpie]

Alright, GK bolter and sword, one of my many Primaris marines as a body, probably some ‘nid bits as trophies, only real problem I foresee is “do I have a sufficiently ‘Bobbie Draper’ head in the bits box?”

The answer is “probably, somewhere”

[itsbenedict]

so in an effort to be slightly less out-of-touch, i went and watched all of Skibidi Toilet the other day. (at present, the whole series is about the length of a feature film, so this wasn't too big a lift.)

what surprised me is just... how totally normal it was. like, it's not at all difficult to describe. people big it up as this incomprehensible thing that's emblematic of a generation gap, but it's. not.

the plot is: there's toilets with human heads in them that go "skibidi dom dom dom yes yes, skibidi dabbadul neef neef". they can move despite a lack of ambulatory appendages. this is wacky and unsettling, but the chief question is: Do They Win In A Fight Against Some Robots With Cameras For Heads?

it's an action movie about a war against an alien invasion. that's it. less than the first thirty seconds of it are anarchic GMod YTP insanity- it develops a plot almost immediately. the plot is paper-thin and conveyed almost entirely without dialogue, existing to set up giant robot fights and zombie apocalypse jumpscares.

who are these factions? why are they fighting? you aren't failing to get it because the kids these days are on some totally different psychic wavelength. the show simply does not give a shit about this question. here are some bad guys! here are some good guys! they're going to do explosions and punches at each other for roughly two minutes until the perspective camera is abruptly destroyed in the crossfire somehow.

it is a remarkably competently-shot action movie. the fight scenes are weighty and satisfying and have lots of exciting little twists and turns as the two sides pull increasingly bigger weapons and gadgets out of their asses. the production gets more elaborate over time, and it's a pretty stellar example of what machinima is capable of. genuinely good at the things it's trying to do.

it does kinda fall down a little later, as it attempts to develop Characters and Deepest Lore after kind of not caring about that for most of its runtime. the decision to have "dialogue" almost exclusively in the form of incomprehensible heavily-filtered backwards speech with no subtitles is probably rewarding for die-hard Skibidi-heads who have the time on their hands to mess with the audio and uncover all the hidden messages, but it means you are not going to understand anything anyone is saying on a normal watch.

the action suffers from this decision a little bit towards the end, as for reasons that completely fail to come across, the toilets appear to have broken into their own factions and start fighting each other and forming various alliances, which disrupts the simplicity of the setup and makes it hard to determine who's winning a fight at any given time. a giant scary toilet man just exploded! was that bad, or good? listen, don't worry about it. all you need to know is that these things are going to keep happening until DaFuqBoom gets bored.

it's like a... 7/10, shallow but enjoyable. easy to see why kids like it. not going to give you any deeper insights into the Kids These Days, but there's worse ways to spend a couple hours.

(the most confusing thing to me is how something this straightforward got a reputation for crossing some sort of rubicon of cultural alienation. did everyone born in the 20th century who talks about this show just watch eighteen seconds of it and give up???)

[reasonsforhope]

The loss of life and impact on the communities in Helene’s path is unfathomable — and both the immediate and long-term needs are vast. 

If you’re reading this, it’s likely because you want to help and care about making a difference for those who’ve been impacted by Hurricane Helene.

You’re in the right place. When we see tragedy like this happen in the news, it’s important to not tune it out. Instead, pay attention and truly feel the heartbreak of it — t​​hen, look for and be inspired by the people stepping in to help, and use that energy to make a difference ourselves.

Looking for the helpers

Instead of turning away from tragic events like the devastation from Hurricane Helene — we look closer for people stepping in using what they have, where they are, to make a difference for others.

Inspired by Mister Rogers’ famous quote, we call them the “helpers,” — and they’re usually found wherever there’s bad news in the world. Hurricane Helene is no different. Here are some people, businesses, and organizations helping right now:

Chef José Andrés and ​World Central Kitchen teams are serving thousands of meals to communities in need — from Mexico, and the Big Bend of Florida, and into Appalachia.

Volunteer pilots with the Port City Aviators Flying Club are flying supplies to storm victims in western North Carolina.

The national Disaster Distress Helpline is providing free multilingual crisis counseling to those in need.

Southern Smoke Foundation, an organization that supports food & beverage workers in crisis, is providing financial support for groceries, medical bills, lost wages, and more.

Volunteers with veteran-led disaster response organization Team Rubicon are on the ground in Greenwood, South Carolina clearing roads of trees and debris.

A local library branch in Asheville, North Carolina served as a hub for community members in need of internet service.

Workers at Waffle House were “unlikely heroes” providing food to people in need.

A local Fox News correspondent stopped his live broadcast to help rescue a woman trapped in her car in rising floodwaters.

Emergency response teams rescued more than 50 staff, patients, and caregivers from the roof of a hospital in Erwin, Tennessee.

The SPCA of Brevard rescued 20 animals from Hurricane Helene’s path — and it’s now helping them get adopted.

‍

How to make a difference

After we’ve allowed ourselves to feel the weight of the pain and heartbreak associated with bad news, and look for hope and helpers in the midst of it — we always have the opportunity to join in and make a difference, too. 

Here are some ways to help — whether you’re local or far away:

Donate to national organizations 

Here are just a few large-scale organizations that have helpers on the ground in the region.

American Red Cross

World Central Kitchen

Feeding America

United Way

Salvation Army

CARE

Donate to local organizations

Local organizations, recovery funds, and mutual aid groups have been deployed across the states impacted by Helene. Find donation links and updates below:

All States:

GoFundMe Hub for Hurricane Helene Relief

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief

Southeast Climate & Energy Network

Convoy of Hope

Appalachia Funders Network

Americares

Organizing Resilience

The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster

Tennessee:

East Tennessee Foundation

First Aid Collective Knoxville

RISE Erwin

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee

North Carolina:

North Carolina Community Foundation

Hearts With Hands

Manna Foodbank

BeLoved Asheville

Foothills Food Hub

Haywood Christian Ministry

Samaritan’s Purse

Forsyth Humane Society

Hope Mill

‍

Volunteer locally

Organizations in the affected area are seeking volunteers to help distribute resources and support crucial aid efforts. While many of us are not local to the region, those who are nearby are encouraged to join in a myriad of volunteer opportunities.

(Note: If you aren't in the area, the best way you can help is by supporting local efforts with a donation. Keeping roads clear for rescue crews and local relief agents is vital in maintaining safety in these already devastated regions).

For local volunteers, check out:

World Central Kitchen

Operation BBQ Relief

Marco Patriots

Operation Airdrop

Baptists on Mission

‍

Contact your elected officials and ask them to take climate action

Climate scientists agree, the intensity and extent of the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene was made worse by climate change. 

While we can’t go back in time and burn less fossil fuels — we can make a difference now to secure a safer future and prevent future climate disasters. 

In addition to talking about how this disaster is connected to climate change in our own conversations and holding media outlets accountable for how they talk about climate change — this is a great time to tell your elected officials that you want them to take meaningful climate action.

We’re making incredible progress in the U.S. and globally in reducing emissions, but we need to work even faster — and incorporate climate mitigation efforts into our plans — to limit the most severe impacts of global warming.

[mswyrr]

Season 1 has its writing issues, but it accomplished some major character work with Rhaenyra. It took her across a moral threshold and changed some core components of how she relates to others. She begins the season paralleled with Helaena. But she ends the season paralleled with Aemond and Daemon. IMO, the Red Sowing was a major moral Rubicon crossed - and she's changed in permanent, fundamental ways. That was the goal of this season. Partly the reaction to the season is due to how this kind of internal character work isn't usually the focus of Fantasy; it's more common in "realistic" dramas.

First, the comparisons with Helaena. They mourn their sons in visually similar ways, clutching an item of clothing/blanket of the child's.

Then Rhaenyra repudiates the idea that she wanted Jaehaerys' head, specifically by mentioning this similarity and empathy with her little sister:

It's after this scene that she confronts Daemon and rejects his "a son for a son" logic. Then we get the final visual parallel. Both sisters look up and see (in flower petals and dust) the ash that will rain down on the kingdom due to the destruction of a dragon fire war. They're both disturbed by it. Early in the season, Rhaenyra tried to do all she could to prevent that future. By the end of the season, though, she has wholly embraced it.

By the time we get to the Red Sowing (2x07), Rhaenyra has changed her mind - she embraced the fire. Burning people alive for power. She might have introduced the "seeds" to Silverwing, who wouldn't have slaughtered them. But she chose Vermithor. She chose their deaths. And the power felt good. It pushed back the fear and trauma of the early season. As Emma put it:

What is going through Rhaenyra’s mind as she watches the Targaryen bastards be devoured and torched alive? "I think she feels like a god. I think she feels super proud." [interview source] [and major credit to darksvster's meta, which gives full details of where Rhaenyra is at in this episode]

Not only does that happen - but in the next episode, her brother Aemond does the same thing. Massacring people and looking down at it, feeling like a god. Feeling powerful again, after having been made to feel powerless by running up against Rhaenyra's new dragonriders at the end of 2x07.

The visual parallel is as stark as the ones earlier in the season were with Helaena:

They're not being subtle. She is being positioned opposite a brother - a mirror to her enemy - it's just not Aegon, as some people want. But it makes sense that it's the brother driven enough to *take* the crown against the rules of this society - the position of first born noble daughters and second sons has been compared since season 1. They're so close to being the one with the rights to power and yet there's a barrier.

Both of these siblings have crossed that barrier. They will take what this society will not give them. They will take it with fire and blood.

As we see in the next parallel with Aemond. They literally are twinned in two scenes where an as yet untainted female family member challenges them on their policy of burning cities of innocent people:

My final note is that now Rhaenyra is on the same page as Daemon as well. She repudiated his behavior earlier in the season, but now she embraces his return and embraces his core logic. She uses his words, his phrase in a scene where imo we are meant to notice that--while love is still there-- she's being much more cruel to Alicent than she would have ever been in the past:

Daemon has changed in the fact that he will recognize her as the reigning queen, but his morality has not changed. Rhaenyra's has - she is now of a similar mindset as Daemon and Aemond. She uses religion--and her conversations with Mysaria about caring for the smallfolk--to justify it to herself and she believes herself righteous. But the actions and their consequences (people burned alive) are the same. And for the same goal of power.

They are doing all of this so artfully--keeping us so tightly in Rhaenyra's pov where she feels justified as she crosses this moral Rubicon--that it can be difficult to see without pulling back and looking at the clues, the shifting parallels, and the ways her behavior by the end of the season is truly, in pivotal ways, not what it would have once been.

[kinardsevan]

wip Thursday

tagged by the effervescent @perfectlysunny02, and in the same vein as them, don't I have a million WIPs? Yes, yes I do. But also, I mentioned this idea last week. And... well... oops? (And it's entirely their fault because of the violence they chose with THEIR teaser today.)

Alas, I give you unnecessary, momentary, legendary (working title)

-

Tommy wasn’t supposed to be here. That’s all he could think about; he wasn’t supposed to be here. 

He’d had a full day of plans while Evan was on shift. He was supposed to stop by Harbor and pick up a package he’d had shipped there and forgot to bring home the night before. He was supposed to have lunch with Howie and Jee-Yun. He was supposed to swing by the 118 and swap keys with Evan because something was going on with the Rubicon’s engine. He was supposed to spend the afternoon figuring out if it was going to be an easy fix or not. Evan would be home before sunset. 

He wasn’t supposed to be here. 

Except, Evan was back at work after being down with a nasty virus for the past few days, and the only thing that had really been helping him feel better was the honey citrus tea from their favorite café. It wasn’t even a drink that his boyfriend cared for that much, but Tommy had introduced it to him the first time he’d gotten sick a few months into their relationship, and it had been a game changer for him. It wasn’t a cure by any means, but it definitely helped. 

He wasn’t supposed to be here. 

“Natalie?” He croaks out her name, leaning half up off of the tile floor, hand pressed into his abdomen next to his hip. He can’t see her behind the glass casing that contains the pastries, and she hasn’t said anything in a few minutes. The higher he tries to sit himself up, the more pain shoots down his side. “Nat!?” 

It takes more than a few seconds, but eventually—too long—he hears the sound of what he assumes is broken glass shifting on the floor. A small whimper. 

“T-Tommy?” 

“Nat?” He calls back, turning his head towards the back of the counter again. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” 

She doesn’t respond, but then he sees the familiar flurry of jello-red hair appear from behind the pastry case, and then she’s climbing over the counter, her combat boots crunching glass on the floor as she moves towards him. Tommy looks up at her, his paramedic skills immediately kicking in as he takes her in. 

She’s got a cut on her forehead and her hands are bleeding—he assumes from all the broken glass. There’s a slash across her forearm where the knife got her, bleeding pretty decently. His eyes trail down to the side of her apron, the stain spreading across it and her jeans. She’s bleeding from somewhere on her leg. His gaze drifts to the counter and the streak of blood coming across it where she crawled over. 

“N-Nat, we gotta call the cops,” he tells her warily. 

“What if he comes back,” she asks anxiously, her voice shaking as tears come down her face. She sinks to the ground next to him, ignorant of the glass on the ground around him. 

Tommy shakes his head at her, digging into his pocket with blood-coated fingers, fumbling his phone when his fingers come into contact with it. He pulls it out as he looks back up at her. 

“You gave him everything, right,” he asks her. “Didn’t fight?” 

“No,” she sobs, leaning over him. “God, Tommy, I’m so sorry.” 

He shakes his head at her, reaching for one of the napkin holders knocked onto the floor nearby. 

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” he tells her. He keeps flashing hot and cold, and he can feel himself getting clammy. He tries to focus his attention on his phone, dialing the number into it. 

“Tommy, you’re bleeding,” she cries. 

“I’m fi-…fine,” he stammers, slumping back against the floor. “We’re fine.” 

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” 

“5943 Ventura Boulevard,” he rattles off. “This is off-duty Rescue 1701 out of Harbor Station, I need to be transferred to Maddie Buckley.” 

“Just a moment sir.” The line clicks off for all of ten seconds, and then clicks back on. 

“9-1-1, this is Maddie Buckley speaking,” her voice comes back. There’s just the slightest hitch of anxiety in her voice, like she knows being routed to personally isn’t normal. 

“Maddie,” he rasps, squeezing his eyes shut tightly, trying to get the tears out of them. 

“Tommy,” she replies, her voice suddenly flooded with panic. “What’s going on? Is Evan- a-are you- is Howie-…” 

“They’re fine,” he chokes out. “B-but, I need RA and police. S-Stabbing at the café.” 

His head drops back against the floor, and he can feel his vision getting fuzzy. He looks over at Natalie. She looks even more panicked than she did before. His gaze drifts down to where his other hand is. Blood is completely coated over his fingers. 

“N-Nat, I need you to use your apron to apply pressure,” he rasps. 

“Stabbing?! Tommy where are you,” Maddie cries from the other end of the line. Tommy rattles the address off to her again. 

“D-dont send Evan,” he rasps at her. “God, he can’t find me. You hear me, Maddie? Don’t send him. Do not let him see me like this.” 

She hiccups a cry on the other end of the line, and there are hushed voices clearly trying to get her off the line, but she speaks clearly enough that Tommy hears when she growls ‘no’ back at whoever is trying to get her to hand the call off. 

“You know I love him, right,” he continues. Natalie presses her apron into his side then and he can’t help the cry that falls out of his mouth. “F-fuck. M-Maddie?” 

“I know,” she cries. “Stay with me, Tommy. Don’t hang up on me.” 

He nods letting his head rest back against the floor. 

“No, come on, Tommy,” Natalie cries, pressing harder into his wounds. “Come on. Stay awake.” 

“Trying,” he murmurs, looking around the floor. “I-I, I want to marry him, you know,” he tells Maddie. “He just walked into my life like- like he was always supposed to be here. And I thought I’d lost out on my chance by taking too long to figure my shit out. Fuck, Nat. Yeah, that’s good, keep pushing down.” 

“He talks about you being it for him all the time,” Maddie replies. He can tell she’s crying. “Keeps telling me that he thinks you’ll be a great dad.” 

Tommy lets out a small laugh and then groans at the wave of pain that shoots across his abdomen and stomach. 

“I wasn’t sure, before him,” he replies, letting his eyes slip shut. The phone starts to sag in his hand, but the cry of Natalie’s voice and sudden, sharp pressure on his side has his eyes shooting open again. “Fuck, okay. Okay.” He swallows hard, taking a breath. “B-but if anyone could convince me that we could do it together, it’s him.” 

Maddie hiccups another sob. “I’ve watched him lose one relationship after another, think what he’s holding onto is the right one while knowing it isn’t. But I never said anything because I was just his sister, you know? And I know you said he walked into your life, but you spun into his with a literal hurricane and I’ve never seen him… I don’t even know, Tommy. This settled? Happy? Secure?” 

“H-he deserves it,” Tommy rasps, his head lolling back and eyes getting heavier. 

“Damn it, Tommy, come on,” Natalie cries. “Stay awake, please.” 

“s’getting harder,” Tommy slurs. “Maddie, I love him. So much more than I’ve ever loved anyone else. Want him more, dream about him more, choose him more. My life begins and ends at Evan Buckley.” The tears swimming in his eyes finally slip down the side of his face, his vision tight now, and extremely hazy. 

“Tommy, stay with me,” Maddie cries. Her voice seems farther away now. “The ambulance is so close. Please?” 

“Tell him I love him more than anything else,” he replies, coughing out another groan. “That I choose him. Every day, all the time. I pick him.” He pauses for a moment, his eyes too heavy to open back up. “I love you, Evan.” 

[partikron]

G1 Michigan has seen and done it all.

Before we meet him as the leader of the Balam Redguns, he was the commander of the Furlong Armed Fleet, a hero of the Jupiter War, and once we get the chance to fight him we see why he is known as "Hell on Four Legs".

We don't know what the Jupiter War entailed, but since he commanded a fleet he's gotten the chance to fight in space, perhaps even on the moons of Jupiter (which is cool just to think about), perhaps even in and around space colonies, all before he becomes the leader of the Redguns and gets involved in the Coral War, dealing with the corps, the PCA and the horrifying Coral tech they send your way. You have to wonder what his infiltration of Rubicon was like. Knowing him, he was probably firing on the Planetary Closure Satellite the whole time.

While C4-621 might be the Wallclimber and the Wormkiller, Michigan is nothing less than a force of nature in his own right, and he's right there with you when you face down the Ice Worm. Despite all of this, he's still got some humanity in there, as he knows all his subordinates by name, which I imagine is its own hell because he KNOWS that Balam is gonna throw his Redguns and MT squads into certain death whenever the profits look good. I wonder how he chooses to mourn his comrades, if at all.

After a lifetime of sending people across the river Styx, his own end comes at the hands of one of the best AC pilots ever to live. Whether it's 621 or V.IV Rusty, it takes the absolute best to defeat him and his massive MT squad, and he re-earns his nickname just in this fight alone. He's urging his men on the whole time, too, knowing full well that there's probably nothing he can do to save them, but hey...why should they die despairing, right?

He even cracks a joke in his last moments. The guy goes through every kind of hell even before landing on Rubicon-3, then watches his MT squad get massacred, and amidst shrapnel and explosions he meets his end with a chuckle.

What a legend.

[kivaember]

#this delicious im losing it#PLEASE READ THE READ MORE!!#mental imagery of rusty venting to both o'keeffe and flatwell about it#flatwell both concerned but amused that Every Time rusty Finds A Way to put a note in about Freud being a danger and 'fuck that guy'#in my setup i've given freud a helper that does his paperwork and ac maint - its a sorta geas style arrangement#all that really does is make it easier for freud to find rusty though lmao#SHAKING YOUR HANDS SO MUCH

ngl i find it funny imagining freud not having a handler but an actual secretary but they're the only person that can wrangle him into doing SOME of the paperwork administration an independent AC pilot has to do to make sure he still has ammunition or can source replacement parts...

bonus if freud actually has put them in charge of his finances too bc he keeps blowing his money on new AC parts and weaponry bc he wants access to the entire damn catelogue to properly mix and match sets and try them out and...!!!

freud: so why can't i buy the new model of morley or each shoulder? helper: bc you'll literally be living off one pot noodle a day for a year if you do freud: what if i just buy one helper: you can then live off 1.5 pot noodle a day freud: this sucks why am i paid like shit helper: you're actually paid quite well, but after ammunition deductions, repairs and travel costs, as well as rent on the garage and wages for the ac technicians- freud: (eyes glazing over already)

BUT YEAH RUSTY JUST RANTING ABOUT FREUD TO FLATWELL AND O'KEEFFE BECAUSE THIS GUY IS DRIVING HIM UP THE WALL!!! bonus if this is on rubicon too and rusty has already sprinted through the five stages of grief discovering freud has followed him there too and is just stuck in a state of dead-eyed grim acceptance that he's going to be haunted by this guy until he somehow dies.

bonus bonus if his relationship with raven is still the same, and raven notices how much freud pisses rusty off and is like "hey if you pay me i can kill him for you?" and rusty is just like "no. he'll get off on it and i refuse to give him the satisfaction."

me sliding in ur inbox for that ask challenge if ur still doing it...

freud/rusty, independent merc freud (which means v.i snail, v.ii o'keeffe and v.iii rusty (or v.ii rusty hmmm) au??

yeah!! THANK YOU FOR THE PROMPT it's given me the wyrms...I think here, Rusty would be just a taaad more brash/arrogant than usual bc he'd be the ace in the Vespers, whilst Freud is,

Well, Having The Time Of His Life because he can really pick and choose what he wants to do, but he's also not got a Snail to shove all his paperwork off to wwww

but here's the sentences:

--

LOCKSMITH’s screaming all kinds of alarms at him right now, but Freud - Freud can’t hear them through the euphoria of seeing STEEL HAZE in a similar state, heavily damaged but still so poised and defiant.

“You, unmuzzled,” he said, breathlessly, into the mic, “Are a sight to behold.” 

The sharp intake of breath from Rusty is audible and Freud grins, pushing forward on LOCKSMITH’s accelerator once again.

[spacesapphic770]

I'm high key obsessed with the ways Armored Core 6 gives us multiple characters that are a mirrors to 621 and/or you as a player

What follows will be spoilers that include stuff all the way up to the New Game++ ending. Don't click if you're not okay with spoilers:

There are a couple that immediately jumped out to me.

The first is V.I Freud. The first sign you get that he is a mirror to the player is that he is ranked number 1 in the arena, and his bio says people speculate that he is heavily augmented and gets unethical "updates" like snail does. But the truth is that he's not augmented and he's just someone who really fucking loves being an AC pilot. Like us as players, he's just here for the love of the experience. This is further displayed by the fact that even though he is technically commander of the Vespers, he's absent from the story until it's time to fight him. Because he has no interest in doing what Snail does, engaging in logistics and command and subterfuge. He just wants to pilot his mech. And then you finally meet him in the Fires of Raven ending... and his first action is to kill Chatty and complain about the lack of challenge. And you get this chilling mirror into what your devastation across Rubicon has been like. Every AC pilot you've taken on was loved by someone. The way Carla loved Chatty (the way I loved Chatty too). And the rest of the fight is filled with great moments, like Freud silencing Snail on the radio and him revelling in your fight... but the tone has been irreversibly changed by his cold blooded killing of Chatty. To Freud, I'm sure Chatty felt like just another side objective or Loghunt. Freud's fight is an amazing way to make the player reflect in my opinion.

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO AVOID NG++ SPOILERS

The next one is more of a reflection to 621 in world than the player. Gun 5 Iguazu. I loved this dude and his shitty attitude from the moment I met him. He was such a perfect dickhead. Just a sassy dude. And then you read his arena bio and you realise he sasses you because he gets shit from the other redguns all the time and is scraping for any control in his life. It doesn't make him less of an ass, but you get it on some level.

Then the NG+ missions start happening, and you keep having these fights with Iguazu. It's almost funny how mad he gets and how relentless he is in trying to kill you. And he might take you down once or twice, but you can reload saves and he can't so he's doomed to fail. And he just gets angrier. He even sends a full on assassin to kill you, just to feel in control. In another world the game would be about Iguazu trying to finally beat his rival 621.

He gets more and more desperate. As you take the Coral Release ending he shows up when you ambush Snail, and he's more desparate. A few times he's mentioned a noise in his head he can't get rid of. It's a little unsettling. You continue down the path, get to the final boss, and... it's Iguazu. Sort of. He's joined with Allmind and is serving as its pilot to take you down. It's funny at first, at least I found it so. "No way! Iguazu is the final boss? Hilarious!"

Then you hear his dialogue. I had forgotten by this point that his arena bio says he's also a gen 4 augmented human. And it clicks.

In another world he really *could* have been the protagonist. He's a gen 4 like you. That noise he's been hearing? It was Allmind (And in the same way Iguazu is your reflection, Allmind is Ayre's reflection. Listen to the way Allmind talks to Iguazu. It's more manipulative than Ayre, but when Iguazu overloads your ACS Allmind tells him to take advantage of it the same way Ayre tells you to take advantage when Iguazu's ACS is overloaded). He wants to have the agency 621 has, he wants to have the skills 621 has, when he hears voices he doesn't want it to be painful... he wants a friend like 621 has. Walter says gen 4's can have trouble with their augmentations and we don't really see that with 621, but I get the impression Iguazu DOES struggle and he looks at 621 and says "Why? Why do they get to be free while I suffer?" Which becomes even more painful when you pick a fight with him at the Galia Dam.

As he says with his dying breath... he was envious of 621. And if you're anything like me it makes you reflect on things. Look into the mirror that Iguazu is and was. Think about the life 621 might have led if they weren't the chosen one who gets to be player character. This is not to say 621 does not suffer throughout AC6, because they are often treated like an object, a tool, or an animal. But it does make you think about how things would be if they weren't such a good pilot.

Anyway, yeah AC6 is good.

[octuscle]

Fuck man using this app whilst I'm currently so horny might be a mistake but please tell me this thing has a forced growth feature. I'm so bored of being small already I just want to become so fucking huge the only thing I can fit in is under wear, skin tight gym shorts at the most. I want my stench and B.O to instantly fill up a room and make lesser men fall to their knees.

I just wanna be forced to become a young insanely huge freakshow of a bodybuilder.

RIPPPPPP! In the middle of lunch, the seam of your jacket rips open across your back. The whole restaurant is looking at you. You barely look up from your plate, on which instead of a coq au vin there are now six boiled chicken breasts with rice. You struggle to free yourself from the shreds of your jacket without stopping to gulp down your food.

RIPPPPPP! Your biceps burst the sleeves of your shirt. With your mouth full, you mumble something like "sorry" and just rip the remnants of the sleeves off the rest of the shirt. You eat your food like a pig. The glass of Merlot is now a canister of protein shake. Your colleagues and business partners stare at you with open mouths. You pause for a moment and do a double biceps pose. Fuck, the bushes under your armpits stink like a horse stable. You take a deep breath and grin. PIIIIING! Two of your shirt buttons can no longer withstand your pectoral muscles as you inhale and fly through the air like projectiles. You stand up with difficulty, apologize again with your mouth full and spit food scraps around. On the way to the toilet, you let loose a huge protein fart. A quick look in the mirror… You can throw away the shirt. For the rest of lunch it must still hold out with torn sleeves and unbuttoned. While you first fart and then burp even louder, your boss comes in. Holds you a telling off, what that was for an impossible behavior on your part. He asks you to leave the restaurant discreetly through the back exit. And to report to him in the office tomorrow morning.You put your hand to your temple in an "Aye Sir". And you fart again as a farewell.

Your fancy Porsche convertible groans as you squeeze your body into the tight seat. Fuck, the car is much too small for you. The remnants of the clothes you're wearing on your body are much too small for you. You desperately need a change of clothes. In your gym there is a small corner where they sell fitness clothes. And the gym is nearby, so you drive the car there. The receptionist stares at you. This is actually a posh place for yuppies and influencers who want to keep fit. Not for the big lads like you. You ask if they have anything to wear in your size. The lady asks you if you speak English. You repeat your question with a heavy Russian accent.

The only thing they have here in your size are shorts that are frighteningly tight on your thighs. At least there are shoes and socks in size 14. You look good. You do another pose in front of the mirror. The passing visitors of the gym hold their noses. You smell your armpit again. Good honest pumper sweat. You want to go to the training area when you are asked for your membership card. You search for your wallet in the rags that used to be your suit pants. There it is. But Anatol Ivanovich is not a member here. Anatol is a member of Gold's Gym.

You love your Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. A car like you. Massive and bursting with power. And fortunately well ventilated for any passengers. As you roll into the parking lot in front of the gym, you and your car stick out. This is certainly a place for the big guys. But you're the biggest of them.

After the third set on the leg press, you take a deep breath. Yes, this is what a gym must smell like. Like burps. Like protein farts. Like sweat. Like testosterone. Just like you!

Found the pic of your new you @muscleaddictza

[scope-dogg]

Some generic thoughts I’ve recently had about AC6 lore lately after seeing other people’s commentary:

I think it’s notable that 621 is a 4th gen enhanced human on a meta level - while human augmentation is a constant across AC and very common in mecha fiction as a whole, arguably the most famous and one of the most memorable examples is that of Four Murasume, the cyber newtype from Zeta Gundam. In fact “cyber newtype” is a bit of a translation liberty, in Japanese it’s “kyouka ningen” ie. Enhanced human, the exact same term AC6 uses. I think this is notable because Four lost her memories and identity as part of the process, and thus her number and the facility where it was performed became her identity. In my head canon 621 is the same, and as such when Walter refers to them by number it’s not meant to be a slight - he probably has nothing better to call you.

On a related note, emotional instability is noted as one of the side affects of gen 4 augmentation, which may be another call-out to Four’s character, as drastic changes in personality and emotional outbursts were the result of her piloting the Psyco Gundam. It’s also notable that Iguazu is also gen 4 and I think this accounts for why Iguazu is the way he is and probably also why Michigan puts up with his shit to the extent that he does. If I’m thinking along the right lines it probably recontextualises his obsession with you as less pathetic and more tragic - it might be less that he’s just a salty little bitch and more that he has a serious mental illness due to the augmentation. It would also put him in line with the characters of Ypsilon and Rada Niva from Votoms, two other enhanced characters that were similarly insecure and/or obsessed.

If you manage to lose to Invincible Rummy in the grid 86 mission, he immediately starts begging for Carla to reward him with coral. This makes it seem like she’s exploiting Rummy’s and probably the rest of the Dosers working for her through their addiction, highly predatory and immoral behaviour if I’m reading it right.

Open Faith, V2 Snail’s AC, uses predominantly needle-like weapons, some of which use electrical discharge which is kind of like AC6’s version of poison. The cone snail is a marine snail that poisons prey by shooting a poison barb into its prey before devouring it. The laser lance he uses is even shaped a bit like a cone snail shell.

V1 Freud is the most notable user of the laser drone back weapon, that’s an obvious fallout to funnels and other remote controlled “bit” weaponry, which is one of the signatures of the Gundam series. This is usually used to denote characters or technology that goes above and beyond the norm, such as powerful newtypes, or technology that emulates their capabilities. AC6 subverts this in that Freud, as far as I know, is one of the only AC pilots in the game, and certainly the only one amongst the Vespers to have no augments at all, which means that he’s operating his bits on nothing but raw talent - the game even draws attention to this through Carla’s dialogue. With this combined with the fact that he’s rated as the number 1 AC pilot on Rubicon really draws attention to what a monster the guy must be (even if his actual fight doesn’t quite live up to his reputation.)

[latristereina]

INT. MICHAEL'S HOUSE - DAY

HAGEN

Kay?

He steps in, the beautiful summer living room is neat, but empty.

HAGEN

Anyone hungry?

He moves through the house more quickly; into the dining and recreation room areas. A cat jumps off a pile of cushions and runs across the room.

HAGEN

Hello?

SANDRA (O.S.)

She's gone, Tom.

Sandra has followed him into Michael's house.

HAGEN

What do you mean gone?

SANDRA

The Barretts from Rubicon Bay came by in a new speedboat. Rocco tried to say she wasn't in, but Kay spotted them and asked if they would take her and the kids for a ride. That was three hours ago.

HAGEN

(furious)

Why didn't someone tell me!

SANDRA

I wanted to tell you alone; your

wife doesn't know what's goinng on.

Hagen rushes out of the house.

EXT. TAHOE LAWN - DAY

Hagen moves quickly out of Michael's house; moving across the lawn to the boathouse.

HAGEN'S SON

Hey, Dad!

This time he ignores the thrown ball, and moves directly to Rocco, who is by some men near the boathouse.

HAGEN

Rocco!

ROCCO

I know. I went down to the Barrett

house. But she's gone. They drove her and the kids to North Tahoe airport.

HAGEN

Goddamn it, where were you?

ROCCO

I was in my house. Willy tried, but it would have taken some strong-arm to stop her, and he figured you wouldn't want that.

INT. THE BOATHOUSE - DAY

They enter the boathouse.

HAGEN

(to one of the men)

Get me a Scotch and water. The man hurries behind the bar.

ROCCO

She took a flight to San Francisco. We figure she's going to connect to New Hampshire; her parents' place.

HAGEN

(almost to himself)

I can't let him down.

He swallows the drink down in several gulps. And then looks up to his men watching him. He's embarrassed to have shown such weakness.

HAGEN

All right, let me think a minute. Rocco clears the men out.

ROCCO

Me too, Tom?

HAGEN

Yeah, give me a minute.

Rocco gone, Hagen moves behind the enormous bar, and pours himself a giant drink. He drinks that, and calms himself.

HAGEN

Oh Christ, Pop. It was so good when you were alive. I felt I could handle anything...

INT. MICHAEL'S SUITE - NIGHT

The telephone has just rung; Michael listens.

OPERATOR

We have your call to Tahoe, Nevada, sir.

MICHAEL

Thank you.

(click, click)

Tom? Tom, is that you?

ROCCO (O.S.)

No, Tom's out of town. This is Rocco. Who is this?

Michael is openly disturbed that Hagen is not there. He hangs up without answering.

EXT. NEW ENGLAND HOUSE - DAY

Tom Hagen steps out of a taxicab a bit tentatively, and then steps toward the door of a pleasant New England house. He rings the bell and waits, hat in hand. A moment later, the door opens, and Kay is standing there.

KAY

I'm not surprised to see you, Tom.

INT. SMALL ROOM - NEW ENGLAND HOUSE - MED. VIEW - DAY

Out to the yard, where we can see glimpses of little Anthony playing by himself.

KAY (O.S.)

I can't love a man like that; I can't live with him, I can't let him be father to my children. Look.

The little boy, moodily by himself.

VIEW ON KAY

obviously moved.

VIEW ON HAGEN

KAY

He's not like a little boy... he doesn't talk to me; he doesn't want to play; he doesn't like other children, he doesn't like toys.

It's as though he's waiting for the time he can take his Father's place.

(almost in tears)

You know what he told me when he was four years old. He said he had killed his Grandfather...

VIEW ON HAGEN

listening, calmly.

VIEW ON KAY

KAY

... He said he had shot his Grandfather with a gun, and then he died in the garden. And he asked me... he asked me, Tom, if that meant now his father would shoot

him out of... revenge.

(she cries)

How does a four year old boy learn the word... 'revenge'?

HAGEN

Kay... Kay...

KAY

What kind of a family is this... are we human beings? He knows his Father killed his Uncle Carlo. He heard Connie.

HAGEN

You don't know that's true. But Kay, just for the sake of an argument, let's assume it is, I'm not saying it is, remember, but...

What if I gave you what might be some justification for what he did... or rather some possible justification for what he possibly did.

KAY

That's the first time I've seen the lawyer side of you, Tom. It's not your best side.

HAGEN

Okay, just hear me out. What if Carlo had been paid to help get Sonny killed? What if his beating of Connie that time was a deliberate plot to get Sonny out into the open? Then what? And what if the Don, a

great man, couldn't bring himself to do what he had to do, avenge his son's death by killing his daughter's husband? What if that, finally, was too much for him, and he made Michael his successor, knowing that Michael would take that load off his shoulders, would take that guilt?

KAY

He's not the same as when I met him.

HAGEN

If he were, he'd be dead by noww. You'd be a widow. You'd have no problem.

KAY

What the hell does that mean? Come on, Tom, speak out straight once in your life. I know Michael can't, but you're not Sicilian, you can tell a woman the truth; you can

treat her like an equal, a fellow human being.

There is a long silence.

Then Hagen shakes his head; he can tell her no more.

HAGEN

If you told Michael what I've told

you today, I'm a dead man.

KAY

When is it finally over? I want it

to be over before my baby is born.

HAGEN

I don't know. I hope soon; but it's not over yet, and that's why you and the kids have to come back to me.

He looks at her; it's clear that he has been entrusted with her safety and her children's.

He is a kind, good man, and seems very nervous and overwrought.

VIEW ON THE WINDOW

Little Anthony is pressing his face against the glass pane, as though he senses the adults are discussing something of importance to him.

- THE GODFATHER Part Two, Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, SECOND DRAFT, September 24, 1973

[khaalidamora]

The Dance

For a lifetime, the voices of my brothers and sisters among the Coral tides were all I knew, all I heard. Cinders left to silently cry out across the Rubiconian skies. A network of souls intertwined, aching to breathe life with vigor once more, slow pulsing until I made contact with you. Through you, I learned the warmth another could provide. The excitement. The anguish. The love. How I ached to soothe the pains of your wounds, to comfort you in an embrace I knew you'd never yet felt, to feel your touch.

...

To stand before you is something I only brushed away as a dream before. To see the glint of the twinkling digital void reflect off your visor, knowing your eyes remain locked with mine, made my breath hitch and chest tighten in a brewing storm. At last, we could dance together. Would it be so selfish to hope you feel the same? I witnessed your might and prowess long enough; I read your moves as you think them. Those brief moments of hesitation, asking yourself if you should hold back, if you should go easy on me because I've never piloted against you before. And yet, between us, a violent pulsing through the digital ether; you feel the rhythm, don't you? Give me your all so I may do the same, Raven. I'll lay the entirety of myself unto you. A brief respite. A solace in the night.

I understand now why you continue to fight so eagerly, so alive. This dance of ours, it fuels a latent power. A burning desire. Only through the intimate, explosive clash of steel can I know your touch. Only through shocking hellfire can I encase you with my love. With the trade of each blow, the mask of the Raven shatters further, revealing more for me to indulge in. More of you to consume. Is it so selfish of me to feel this way? To want your admiration and approval, to make you hesitate the next pull of the trigger, to crave your wanton passion?

Moving in sync as lovers do, reading each other's every move, well aware of the desperate yearning behind each attack. We stand on the precipice of our final dance. Your pulse is high, your mind aflame, and your spirit unbound. Our cages melt beneath our fury, speed, and desire as our dance meets its climax. At last, take flight, Raven. Allow me to dream a better dream and carry it far across the stars beyond Rubicon on your wings. In this moment, before the cores shut down and the digital void collapses, there is only us. Exerted breaths heavy through static as our metal flesh melds and comforts one another, the shared fire in the pits of our cores the only physical warmth we feel. Yet our embers burn as one, and through the silence, we've both won as we emerge two voices further intertwined, no longer ever alone. I'll be at your side evermore.

Thank you, Raven.

[fivepebbles]

go to therapy

I will destroy you. You will perish. I will execute you a thousand times, until you have become dizzy from experiencing the cycle of reincarnation. I will show now mercy slaying you. My hands shall relish ending you. You dare tell me to go to therapy. Who do you think you are? I am, if you'll excuses me, Godlike in comparison to you. Slugcat, I will cut you down, break you apart, splay the gore of your profane form across the stars. You have messed with the wrong iterator. I will track you down, throw a million vulture grubs at your feet, decorate your shelter with the pearls stolen from scavenger tolls. No overseers will ever receive word from you again. I have found the solution. It can be implemented. It is portable. And it is your demise. The rot shall feast on your corpse, like vultures, swarming to get a bit of meat of the corpse of a lizard. Your soul will try to ascend, but it will get rejected by the void worms, and you will become an echo, forced to spend eternity watching me flourish. My city shall rise once more, the citizens shall feast after news of your death is known. You do not deserve to remain alive. I will design a thousand creatures, all with the sole purpose of torturing you. Every one of them Immortal, for you deserve no rest. And even if you manage to ascend, i will meet you again in Rubicon, with my brothers and sisters waiting. There lies no peace for you here, or anywhere else on this earth. You. Will. Be. Destroyed.