#marine alien swarm

[jesus-holding-your-fave]

A marine from alien swarm

Today, Jesus is holding:

A marine from Alien Swarm

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: The Reckoning Virus

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

War with the Interaxie was an inevitable outcome for humanity and the entire galaxy knew it.

Border disputes, clashing rights over trade, subtle threats between delegates and near constant animosity between the two powers all but assured that they would come to blows. Along the entire shared border between the two powers a sense of dread and waiting could be felt on every world as if they could sense the brewing storm just over the horizon.

Yet humanity could not afford to be the aggressors for a change.

Unlike their previous conflicts the Interaxie had a well-organized military and an industrial power base to support them for decades of sustained combat. They had dozens of worlds to draw upon near limitless manpower reserves meaning any conflict could be drawn out into a bloody stalemate. While the humans were not unfamiliar with this style of warfare it was an outcome they did not wish to see realized.

To prevent this outcome humanity put a plan into motion called “The Reckoning”, which when completed would hand them victory in the war within a few months at best.

While the Interaxie were gathering their strength and hiding their growing fleet strength behind ‘military exercises” a series of shipments were being delivered to the core worlds of the Interaxie. They arrived at trade ports and were moved to waiting warehouses as their paperwork was checked only for the shipments to mysteriously vanish. It wasn’t unheard of for a shipment or two to go missing at such facilities, and though on some of the world’s their disappearance was noticed and investigated for the majority of others they were written off as clerical mistakes. The trade network between worlds was after all vast and overwhelmed by bureaucratic red tape so it was not unheard of for a shipment to be mishandled.

Such trivialities were soon overshadowed as the eventual war broke out and trade quickly shut down between the two powers. What had been mild border conflicts broke out into ruthless fleet sized engagements that turned entire systems into orbital graveyards of ships overnight. Human Hammerhead dreadnoughts were taking on entire swarms of Interaxie drone swarms in space while the Terran Marine Corps were barely holding their own against Interaxie armored divisions on the planets of Theta, Primus, and Dollore.

The fighting was intense and just as predicted the Interaxie began to call upon their vast manpower reserves early in an attempt to simply overrun human opposition and claim a swift victory. Legions began mustering on their core worlds waiting for transport to the front when the war took a turn for the worse for the would-be alien conquerors.

Without warning several viral outbreaks began to be reported from the Interaxie core worlds. Infected individuals began showing heightened states of aggression and delirium with the worst cases quickly devolving to bouts of madness and rage. What made it worse was when local officials quarantined an area in hopes of isolating the infected a new series of outbreaks would happen somewhere else entirely leaving containment out of the question.

It did not take long for civil unrest to break out as the virus spread into major populated areas and shortly after states of emergency to be declared. Factories ground to a halt as the workers fled the infection to protect themselves and their loved ones, farms and fields left unattended as their caretakers no lay lost to the grips of the disease leaving shelves unfilled and empty. Fights broke out for what supplies remained and though provisions could have been supplied from off world spaceports were soon overrun by those wishing to flee. When the infected reached a critical state of the virus’s development they began lashing out at anyone and everyone within arms reach resulting in the near total collapse of order on worlds as waves of infected ran through the streets

The legions that had been mustering to be sent the front soon found themselves being redeployed for containment or worse, becoming largely infected themselves and losing all combat effectiveness. Interaxie warriors were forced to put down many of their comrades who had succumbed to the virus leaving them horrified by their actions. It was worse for those deployed as part of containment teams who gunned down thousands of infected civilians on the quarantined worlds, many of which were related to the warriors by blood.

Within a month a dozen worlds had been locked under quarantine with another handful now desperately holding on as infection rates continued to rise, all the while the war with the humans continued. The sudden loss of manpower and war material was certainly noticed on the front and the humans shifted tactics. Every engagement they forced the Interaxie into using whatever reserves they had left as much as possible. Soon it was not uncommon for three Interaxie soldiers to be rationing one power cell for their rifles while their fleets lay in high anchor above their worlds due to lack of fuel to move them out of system.

Unable to meet the current demands of the war and handle the outbreaks spreading through their core worlds, the Interaxie soon sued for peace. The humans were not sympathetic with the Interaxie plight and their demands were steep.

1.       Three border systems would be transferred over to human control.

2.       A DMZ would be established from the newly taken territory and the remaining Interaxie domain which no ship from either side would cross.

3.       The Interaxie would be forced to repay a war debt to humanity in the sum of three trillion credits over the course of the next twenty solar years.

4.       Human monitoring stations would be placed inside Interaxie space to prevent future acts of aggression.

Had it been at any other time the Interaxie would have rather fought on until the bitter end than accept such harsh terms, but with the virus continuing to cripple their military and economy they were left with no choice but to relent and agree to the terms.

With that the Interaxie/Human war came to an abrupt end and the Interaxie redeployed their entire military forces to combat the growing viral outbreaks, all the while Terran Special Services watched from afar and grinned.

Several months prior to the war they had been responsible for shipping a number of unremarkable containers through a series of dummy corporations and unaffiliated alien trade networks until they arrived on the Interaxie core worlds. They bore no human markings and their paperwork was all in order leaving nothing for suspicion. Once they had been moved to the warehouses for processing TSS operatives quietly removed the containers and began distributing the contents across the worlds.

Industrial factories, mining complexes, agricultural farms, super markets, water treatment facilities, power plants; any and all critical infrastructure locations were located and seeded with the contents of the containers before the operatives quickly fled off world.

When war finally broke out a signal was remotely sent and each of the packages cracked open releasing their deadly contents. Swarms of tiny mosquitos genetically bred to carry what was known as the Reckoning Virus were soon released and began spreading the virus with every victim they came into contact with.

It was an ecological disaster of unimaginable proportion. Not only did the insects infect the personnel of the facilities they were placed in, but they also began to spread outwards and begin breeding in new areas. Any source of water soon became a deadly petri dish for them as they reproduced at an alarming rate releasing further swarms of insects. On these alien worlds they had no natural predators and what wildlife did attempt to eat them soon became deadly sick with the virus as well leading to rampant overpopulation of the bugs.

The Interaxie were well aware of the seemingly good timing the outbreaks had been for the humans and long suspected their involvement but could not prove anything as the TSS had planned for such eventualities. None of the devices used were of human origin and even if they could track down how they had arrived on world the series of dummy companies and alien trade networks used to ship them there resulted in a labyrinth of legal networks and commissions needed for even the slightest scrap of information that would lead nowhere.

For almost ten years the virus remained effective before the Interaxie were finally able to find a way to not only cure the virus but also eliminate the invasive species of mosquitoes, but by then the damage was already done. Both their military and trade had been crippled by the viral outbreaks and with several of their primary manufacturing worlds now defunct the flow of goods to the remaining worlds was almost a trickle. Extreme measures of rationing were implemented which only led to further discontent and civil unrest which in turn was brutally put down by military forces. What had once been a galactic power now had been reduced to a third rate kingdom barely able to hold a trade agreement out of their domain let alone ever again extend their power through military force.

[breadknight-likes-things]

Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2, Is A Double-A Delight.

I was a big fan of the first Warhammer 40K Space Marine game back in 2011. While it could be argued it was a fairly middle of the road action game relying on it's license, it knew full well each and every part of that license to use, and it knew what parts of its gameplay to focus on to maximize the fun. I barely knew what Warhammer 40K was back then, I barely know what Warhammer 40K is now, but I know that in this long belated sequel, the developers still know how to make a fun video game. Space Marine was a game about wading into a big ocean of aliens and slashing and blasting. Space Marine 2 is a game about wading into an even thicker ocean of aliens, and blasting and slashing. It rips, it tears, it's just a great time all around. Combat is crunchy and visceral, the number of bad guys on the screen is absurd, but you always feel about on par with them in terms of strength. Despite always being wildly outnumbered. The story is simple, and easy to follow for the most part. Aliens have invaded one of the many human settled worlds, and you have to drive them off. There's layer upon layer of Warhammer 40K lore that I simply don't understand, but that unfamiliarity helped with the tone and setting this game is going for, on my end. Why are there flying babies with cybernetic eyes floating around? Why does every building look like a church? Who the hell is Primarch Gulliman? Who cares? All these things and more are lovingly detailed, absolutely insane, and add a level of texture to the game and story that so many other games could only hope to bring to the table. There are parts of this game I find flaw with. The second enemy type was not as fun to fight as the first one, a flaw similar to one in the first game, for example. The new aliens are nowhere near as silly and fun as the space Orks that I remember so vividly from the first game. Here we have "The Tyranid", an army of insectoid style aliens prone to swarms that boggle the mind to witness. You won't believe how many of these guys this game can render at once. Even still, they lack the comedy of the "what if ten million drunk Soccer Hooligans got together and started a bloody crusade?" Orks, but they're an impressive sight nonetheless. Space Marine 2 is short, its tech isn't the fanciest in gaming, and even at only about eight hours the back half of the game starts to wear out it's welcome by the end. Still, it's one of the best experiences I've had in gaming this year! It's a bloody, silly, and visceral good time. If you like action games as much as I do, it's a very easy recommend from me. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to look up whatever the hell the "Omnissiah" is on a Warhammer 40K Wiki.

[goblin-enjoyer]

The info n' lore i got on my custom space marine chapter at the moment.

The Carcinisers (Carcinisation + colonisers, it will be evident why they are called this very soon) are a salamanders successor chapter. their armor is light orange with blue lenses and shoulderpads with a bluey-green trim. Their fists and boots are a light blue with the soles of the boots being the same bluey-green as the trim of their aquilas and shoulderpads. their symbol is a spider crab facing upward. squad leaders have bluey-green helmets. I will get onto the specifics of specific marine types after telling the tale of how they were founded and the planet [that i do not have a name for yet] history. [planet i have yet to name] is a oceanic planet with two moons. the landmasses on there range from temperate forests, orange deserts of ancient water worn sand and rock and the occasional ice cap and 'berg. long ago during humanities early expansionary history the planet was a science facility/farm for various earth crustaceans brought and cloned on mass. where they then outcompeted all the native alien fauna. then you know, the age of strife happens and everyone gets stuck there and the planet gets forgotten about until the emperor does his great crusade(?) thing where the emperor subsequently finds it swarming with crabs and slightly crablike people (slightly harder skin in older people,harder nails and skin color a bit more leaning on grey,orange,red along with the normal human colors.) the people welcome the imperiums technology wholesale, being the descendants of scientists,doctors and crab farmers. The people of [planet i have yet to name] prepare are large feast for their saviors, divers diving/dying in droves to collect a giant crustacean of legend from the sunken ruins of the first facility ever placed on the planet. at the start of the feast, as tradition, they offer the emperor the ancient shellfish live for him to kill it himself, as tradition dictates. it proceeds to use its ANCIENT CLAWS OF GREAT POWER AND HISTORY to pinch the emperor's nose. the people all collectively are filled with terror and assume that they will all be killed and their planet destroyed for their disgrace of this higher power. the emperor laughs this off and makes a whole big speech about the power of life from terra, he mostly meant for them to take away the whole "humanity number 1" shtick, which they did. they also took this as the power of crabs and such. the emperor ends his trip to this world with stating his appreciation of the perseverance of ancient terra animals once thought long extinct and the high amount of food production the planet creates. they get designated as a "high-class food production and research planet" and then proceed to get forgotten about again, only getting recontion every few thousand years or so when someone from the inquisition "rediscovers" the planet after remembering about that really nice holy terran animal that they sometimes eat. Later during the ultima founding some paperwork got mixed up and a vessel containing the materials,wargear and geneseed and such got stuck in a warp storm. warp things happened and the vessel was found frozen in a massive iceberg by sailors where it was brought to the mainland and deemed a sign from the god emperor to spread the most holy of creatures from terra to other planets, human and crustation both included. So threw study of their servitors,data banks and stories of old they started "The Great Carcinisation Project" halfway threw this the inquisitor's responsible found out this blunder and quickly and with much debate, made the Carcinisers an official chapter. mostly because they were very embarrassed about the whole affair and did not want to be executed or worse for their mistake. so they had some priests bless the whole thing and they went with their "gift from the emperor so that they may spread their crab-craft, their crabft if you will, to other planets. thus The Carcinisers Adeptus Astartes chapter was formed. reflecting on their planets rich scientist and doctor history, The Carcinisers have a larger than average amount of apothecaries in their ranks.->

[alienpossession]

Part 5: Armed

"So, what kind of help do you need me here, bro? I'm bringing what you requested,"

The 2 alien-possessed gym rat/Veteran just smiled as they successfully lured the biggest and the most loaded Vet among all in their community. To make it even sweeter, the musclehead is not even aware that he's walking into the trap

"Just put that sleeve down here and help yourself to the bathroom bro. We need you to break the wall, we want to open up the bathroom,"

"Okay, but why do you need the gun though?"

"Oh, it's a surprise," said the possessed Dan with a smirk as Seth simply walked into the house. Seconds later, a loud scream, followed by a muffled and gurgling sound as Seth seemingly fighting for his dear life as the alien infestation in the bathroom swarmed him and trying to be the one in control of his body. Dan and Davy stopped their work and walked inside as they witnessed the mighty Seth with his eyes wide open and mouth filled to the brim with black slimy goo and his body is swarmed too by the less quick ones that still tried to get in from the other available orifices. He made the gurgling noises ever so loudly as more and more of the alien trying to squeeze into him. His whole body even trembled as some of the slimy goo exited his body citing lack of possibility to win the race for control of his body any longer. The race remained until 5 minutes later when 4 being eventually left stuffed inside Seth. The 4 being shared their control over Seth until further notice and direction

The controlled Seth then cleaned himself up and then put on a spare shirt he could find in his truck. Then, he released the guns he brought along with him

"So, using my access into the school as guest speaker, we want to populate the Marine? Sounds like a feast, using me to the fullest extent to fully take control the entire drill instructor and all the NCOs there? Sick,"

"Yeah, that's why you're coming in handy,"

"Well, glad to serve the slimes," he said nonchalantly as if he's not controlled by those very same slimes

"And with you in the Marine, him in the Army and me having friends in the Air Force, we're practically so close to have access to all the needed weaponry and armed personnel to cripple their civilization stealthily, one base at a time,"

"I honestly like the sounds of it. Taking a violent control over the human population without them ever knowing that it's not their military being offensive to launch coup and seize all control of public life all in a sudden, but it's their military personnel already used like a puppet by extraterrestrial entities that their brain just cannot comprehend. They just won't see it coming,"

"Shall we proceed then? Your speaking gig is about to start in two hour, you're supposed to be there early, right?"

"Yup, to discuss about the content of the session with the Drill Instructors in charge of the session today. Well, maybe I'll add different agenda too in between so they quickly get to our side even before the session started," Seth said with a smirk

"We're expecting nothing less from someone with a calibre like you,"

****

It all started with Sergeant Hund. The 5'9" Sergeant is tasked to practically become Seth's personal assistant during the visit so they have some moments with just the two of them together. When everyone is not aware, Sgt. Hund is easily overpowered by Seth as one of the black slime traveled from Seth's throat into Hund's mouth and nostrils to takeover his brain.

He then grabbed a handful more of the slime brought within Seth's bag, fully encased in a glass jar, and stuffed them into his mouth, practically making him slightly bloated as he contained more than a dozen of the black slime. The black slime started to split themselves when they are inside Hund's system to ensure there are enough to takeover the whole school. His fellow drill instructors, like Sergeant Kent over here, is a few example of the taken over Drill Instructors ready to wreck havoc as he will slip the black slime while barking near the ear canal or frontal face section of the new recruits.

Hund also takes down his higher-ups, like Staff Sergeant Mike Casper over here that got slipped the black goo when Hund whispered to his ear. This will ensure that the higher ups will also fall under the control of the extraterrestrial being in no time if the goo inside Casper worked efficiently and clearly.

The chaos that erupted when the mass takeover started is truly something to watch.

What started as a seemingly normal session of pre-training briefing turned into a pandemonium as all the controlled drill instructors and the higher ups commanded the new recruits to stay still while they're roaming around spreading black slimy aliens into the new recruits body. The new recruits that noticed it quickly made the run for their life yet to no avail as the whole barrack has been locked from the outside.

Not even half an hour later, a legion of controlled Marines already lined up perfectly in the middle of the massive yard while their drill instructors and bosses roaming around the line with Seth standing proudly in the podium as he finally witnessed a total dominion of his taken-over human being

[indignantlemur]

I have somewhat more serious request for director's commentary. On Dagmar's drunken walk home through San Francisco, Shral and Thelen complain about the smell of the sea. Is the salty smell equivalent to inhaling chilli fumes or is that something related to evil spirits and bad omens?

It's actually more related to the latter, but the former is also a consideration! Salt registers as spice, the way capsacin does to Humans, and smelling it on the air in higher concentrations - such as at the seaside - would be a little uncomfortable. Certainly, it would clear the sinuses a treat.

More importantly, though, Andorians have a very antagonistic relationship with the sea on their homeworld and as a rule they regard it as generally unsafe to stray near - if only due to the wildlife. I think it's canon that they're also not big on swimming as well, but for the life of me I can't remember where I read that.

For my headcanon purposes, I think of it like this: imagine that you lived in an area that had a huge sea inlet that everyone and their grandmothers knew was a no-go zone. It's not safe, the ice is notoriously thin on it, and horrible monsters live in it. The monsters are not only huge and dangerous, but they're also alarmingly smart. They can - and will - hunt you, or stalk you until you're foolish enough to stray just close enough to snatch.

You don't play near the sea, you don't build near the sea, and you definitely don't go swimming in the sea. That's just basic safety. Your entire culture is filled with horror stories about what happens when those basic rules aren't followed. The sea is not your friend.

Now, imagine after a lifetime of having this very sensible information drilled into you by your parents, your teachers, and your peers, you visit an alien planet. The locals are nice enough, a little funny looking but not hideous or anything - and they also have very alarming marine life in their seas. However, unlike your much more sensible species these idiots go into the water anyway. They swarm to the beaches in droves in hot weather, they splash about in defiance of evolution and nature, and they even encourage their children to join them! Some of them even put on special diving gear and try to pet the creatures down there! One very enthusiastic tour guide has told you that you can even climb into a submersed metal cage and taunt large sea predators with your tasty, tasty flesh - on purpose.

Madness.

Worse, they've built the headquarters of for their pseudo-military space fleet and all of the alien embassies - including yours - right on the waterfront. Where the nightmare creatures live. Sure, the locals are quick to assure you that none of the really scary ones live near the surface, but you don't believe them. You've just discovered what an sea leopard is recently and you haven't quite psychologically recovered from that, and you know for a fact that those things come up to the surface.

So, yes. Andorians don't like the sea.

[kelpiemomma]

Putting this down before I forget it (since it's 2 am and I really should be asleep)

Sangheili Akari is an illegally modified Sangheili. She was captured by an invading human force along with several other young Sangheili so young she doesn't even remember her birth name. The goal of the abduction was to create a sort of Spartan version of the Sangheili to go toe-to-toe with the invading force that could be controlled and guided, either by orders given in code or via a sort of neural interface. Similar to how Spartan-IIIs were given chemical augmentation to force their bodies to grow faster, the abducted Sangheili were given an injection as well. Of the dozens that were abducted, only a few handfuls survived. The planet that the research was being done on was raided by the Covenant before too much more could be done, and the surviving Sangheili youths were bundled into a ship and escaped with before the lab was destroyed.

They landed on Reach during the invasion. They were accosted by a force of Covenant as they headed for the lab, and those that survived were then stuck in place as human Marines arrived to "save" them. The Marines mistook the troupe as a group of undercover Sangheili abducting scientists and opened fire. The scientists protested all their hard work being killed but were unable to save those that failed to flee. It was a loss. They could replicate and improve the process, having ironed out some kinks, but there was still much to be done.

Akari (only knowing herself by an experiment number at that point) managed to be the swiftest of the Sangheili during the initial confrontation and managed to escape. She struggled to survive in an unknown area on an unknown planet, hiding from humans as well as aliens because she didn't know who was friend and who was foe. To her, everyone was an enemy that might kill her. Her anxiety and vigilance kept her alive, enabled her to successfully scavenge and bring food back to the ship- which she moved after several days of scoping out the surroundings. She had watched the pilot as they left the planet and as they headed for Reach. She was young and frightened, but her mind had been accelerated to an extent. She was able to make connections swiftly.

She ended up flying low and setting the ship down not too far from a mining settlement, banging it up to make it look abandoned so she wouldn't be bothered. She'd have stayed there until the glassing approached if it weren't for the swarm of Sangheili that appeared one day, all flooding towards one area behind the shipyards. She waited until movement stopped, until night fell, before creeping out to scavenge. Beggars couldn't be choosers, and the invading force of her own kind almost always had rations on them that she could use.

What she found was not just rations, but also a man in armor barely clinging to life.

[beatrice-reden-official]

Ok ok so

Half Life 1: Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist who graduated from MIT has his first day at Black Mesa. He got in due to his closeness with another scientist, Dr. Issac Kleiner.

Anyways so Gordon is tasked with pushing the crystal they have recently gotten from a border world (read: a world that is between dimensions) called Xen into an anti-mass spectrometer. The experiment goes totally wrong, and portals from Xen begin opening up, allowing aliens to come through and swarm the facility.

Soon after, the HECU Marines (a special taskforce called for when the scientists REALLY fuck up), so on top of fighting the aliens, Gordon has to fight the military as well. He moves through Black Mesa, eventually getting to a scientist who send him through a portal to Xen so he can kill the Nilanth, which is an alien who has a seperate race of aliens called Vortigaunts enslaved and tbh isn't very lore important. Gordon kills the Nilanth, then G-man shows up and gives Gordon a job then puts him in stasis.

(Barney (security guard), Gina, and Colette (scientists) are also fighting through Black Mesa, and Adrian (soldier) is fighting the scientists and guards but Blue Shift (Barney), Opposing Force (Adrian) and Decay (Gina and Colette) are all dubiously canon, especially Opposing Force)

Half Life 1: After the portal to Xen is opened, the Combine (a warlike alien race that takes over worlds, enslave and kill the inhabitants, strip the planet of its resources, and moves on) are alerted to Earth's existence and in seven hours have taken over Earth. Dr. Wallace Breen, former administrator of Black Mesa, negotiates Earth's surrender with the Combine. Twenty years later, Gordon returns, arriving in City 17 which is where all his former co-workers are (that survived, that is)

He meets with Barney who is working as a Metrocop (metrocops are humans that choose to work for the Combine for extra rations and safety. It's hard to tell them apart from a Civil Protection officer which are - as far as I can tell - modified humans with most of the "humaness" stripped away)

ANYWAYS BACK ON TRACK Barney brings Gordon into a back room and tells Dr. Kleiner that Gordon's back. He then tells Gordon to go to Kleiner's lab, but as he is getting there he is caught and beaten up but Alyx saves him. She then leads him to Kleiner's lab and explains what happened while he was gone. In Kleiner's lab Gordon gets his HEV suit back, and Kleiner tries to teleport both Gordon and Alyx to Black Mesa East (no relation to the nuked Black Mesa). Alyx gets there, but Dr. Kleiner's pet headcrab Lamarr messes up the teleporter as Gordon is in it so he has to go on a river route.

After he goes through the river, he arrives at Black Mesa East and meets Eli Vance and also Judith Mossman (who hates him. She is very jealous of him) and they talk for a bit, Gordon gets a new weapon (the Gravity Gun, he can fling people and things around with it) and also plays with Alyx's robot D0g, then Black Mesa East gets raided so Gordon has to go to Ravenholm (We don't go to Ravenholm)

In Ravenholm Gordon is surrounded by headcrab zombies and has to kill the with giant saw blades fires with the gravity Gun, until the only actual person there (Father Grigori) gives him a shotgun. Father Grigory seems chill but he sacrifices himself right before Gordon leaves so. Yeah.

Gordon then goes on a roadtrip. Then he has to do parkour so he doesn't get killed by antlions. (Antlions don't like when you walk on the sand) Luckily a friendly Vortigaunt gives him a pheromone ball so the antlions like him. So he has to lead them out of where they were.

Gordon then goes to the very scary Combine jail called Nova Prospekt to try to save Eli. Turns out he's not there! Gordon meets with Alyx again, and they both find out that Judith was working with Dr. Breen the whole time. Judith then takes Eli to the Citadel (Where Breen is)

Alyx and Gordon teleport back to Kleiner's lab only to find out they have been stuck in a loop for a whole week, and Nova Prospekt blew up and everyone's going crazy (in a good way). Alyx stays with Kleiner and Gordon finds Barney and the two start beating people up. They get to the Citadel and Gordon gets inside. Gordon fights all the way to Dr. Breen's office, and goes inside (captured). Dr. Breen then basically says he wants Eli and Alyx gone and that makes Judith mad because she wanted Eli safe so she blows up Breen's communicator, and then frees the three. Gordon chases Breen to the top of the Citadel, Breen dies and everyone gets out and the Citadel blows up.

There is also Episode 2 and HL: Alyx but. I need a break

Holy fucking shit that is so much lore/pos

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: Scents and Sensibility

What regular, ordinary smells immediately put your character on alert? Because we’ve all got one. Chemoreception is one of the most basic senses an organism can have; we share it with everything down to bacteria, and even some viruses.

(No, seriously, some viruses have been spotted clambering across a cell membrane until they find one specific protein to get in. Eep.)

In humans smell in particular is linked to the most basic parts of the brain, chemicals making the most direct physical contact with brain matter the body generally allows. Smell triggers memory like nothing else, and so forms one of the key warning systems that activate your body for fight or flight at a literal moment’s notice. It reacts so fast, your adrenaline’s pumping and your heart’s racing before your conscious mind has a chance to sort out what you smelled. Meaning your character might snap at someone, or take more drastic measures, without even knowing why. Until it’s too late.

And the brain being the mad evolutionary jury-rig it is, that smell could be something completely innocuous. It just happened to be in the air when you suffered pain - mentally, physically, or otherwise. So your brain has stamped “Let’s not do that again” to stick this smell into the Bad Things Category.

One of mine is chlorine. Specifically pool chlorine. Long story short, some slips end up very painful and you never forget holes eaten in the soles of your feet.

So I can be minding my own business having a decent day, and then smack. All nerves on alert, There Is A Threat. It can take minutes to pick out what the “threat” is, especially if it was just a faint wisp on the wind. The primitive brain doesn’t care. That is Bad Hurty Scent. Get ready to make it go away. Good thing I’m not in the pool-cleaning business.

In writing, you’ve got to pay attention to conservation of details. You only have so many words on a page. The reader’s entitled to think they’re all important. Scents that set off character flinches should also set the scene, give insight into your characters and worldbuilding, or advance the plot. Preferably all three.

For example, if Ripley from the Aliens franchise smelled acid, she’d be reaching for the nearest weapon before she could register that it was an innocent vinegar spill in the kitchen. A writer could use this to bring up any of a swarm of bad memories, from the acid damage done when they tried to remove the first facehugger to the misty halls of the alien hive to staring down a muzzle of translucent teeth. You could evoke pain, guilt, rage, and grief; the sheer frustration of working for a company that saw deadly infectious aliens and only thought of profit. And from there spiral out into the kind of interstellar world and society where companies like that can exist.

Note, if I wanted a real-world example to base Wayland-Yutani on, I’d look less at modern corporations and more at past ones like the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Long travel times, isolation of crews and marines from most other contact, interaction with a hostile environment more suited to aggressive exploitation than peaceful settlement - it has a lot in common with the VOC mindset.

(Seriously, the Predator movie where the company founder gets himself killed in Antarctica is so fitting with some of those guys. High risk for the hope of high rewards - and if you can make someone else take those risks, even better.) One scent can spiral your character into all of that information. Use it wisely!

[kerblerken]

Taster

(2023) Flash Fiction

Once, I was a rich man. Born to wealth, and indentured to no one.

But I have learned much since arriving in this new world. I have learned that on an expedition such as this, one must have a purpose. I have learned that the fortune I sacrificed to drift dreamlessly across a thousand years of space was not enough to fulfil this purpose. And most of all, I have learned swiftly what I had never known before: the agony of servitude.

The ocean accounts for 97.3 percent of this planet. And for each new species they find, there must be someone to determine its viability as a food source. Someone, as it turns out, with a palate as sophisticated as mine, who can understand the culinary desires of those who occupy a far higher station than my own.

The marine scientists, in their excruciating self-importance, will tell me everything there is to know about each new creature they find. Everything they determine relevant, that is. Calorie count, protein levels, salt content, they know it all. Everything... except how it tastes. That's where I come in. It's a lousy job, but someone's gotta do it.

Their latest discovery lies before me now, a batch of slimy, oyster-like shells piled carelessly on a polished silver serving tray. The creature has some thirty tendrils swirling around a plump, opalescent body. Its many black eyes, spotted across its body, blink randomly as if each one operates independently. As we stare at each other, its top shell slowly closes slowly, and it peeks out at me in what I can only assume is fear.

Later, the chefs will prepare them, broiled, steamed and fried, in sweet and savoury sauces. I will try every variation they can dream up. But first, I must fulfil my purpose: a live tasting. 

As I perform this duty, I will curse my luck to have been born one station lower than richer men who, in their opulent dining halls, will dine fiendishly upon their alien delicacies. I will stare the chefs down and wish upon them nothing but their worst demise for all the horrors I have been made to ingest. And my eyes will impart to all of them what I have come to truly believe: we do not deserve the pleasures of their flesh.

Under their steady gaze, I take the creature and press my lips gently to the slight gap in the shell, as if to kiss it. I inhale viciously. The slimy thing is torn from its shell and slides across my tongue to the back of my throat. Its tendrils grip my teeth suddenly, and for a moment my airway is blocked. There is a soft whimper as I close my lips and swallow hard, and the helpless critter disappears down my gullet, but not before it ejects an eerily slimy discharge that I assume is some weakly evolved defensive response.

A slight panic grips me, fearing that the excretion will burn my oesophagus or paralyse my mind as it is absorbed into my flesh. My fear, however, abates quickly as I take a breath. The slime oxidises, tingling on my soft palate like vinegar, and carries with it the sweetness of bone marrow. The sourness softens slowly and gives way to a gorgeous, buttery aftertaste.

It is, quite literally, otherworldly. I close my eyes and I am transported, as the dreams of another are absorbed into my brain. The darkness behind my eyes is replaced with a swirling delirium of pale ivory and indigo. I am falling toward an abyss, to the bottom of an ocean where none have yet ventured. In that beautiful, crushing darkness I see the creatures in their thousands, swarming together in hatred, hearing the tortured cry of their kin. I see a vengeful hive mind united in seething hatred, twisting together, accelerating to form a furious whirlpool that arches and rises through the darkness towards the ocean's surface.

The vision fades. I peel open my weeping eyes and am met with the hard and hopeful stare of the head chef.

"Will they like it?" he asks. 

I gently nod. "They’ll adore it."

[methinmycoffee]

(Part 2/2 Because of the image limit)

I am still ranking every Sci-Fi character card from the Global Release. Wheeeeeeeeee

#7 Powerfist Dougie

Aside from having the worst name of any card, because Powerfist sounds like a sex move that Garrison would teach a kindergarten class, he’s okay. Dougie is a hilariously overpowered character, and headhunters definitely have a place in the game, but he is weaker compared to other variants of Dougie from other themes. Freezing the enemy leader hardly does anything, Dougie is cool though.

#6 Marine Craig

Cool guy, I like him. I enjoy that he says his water gun is filled with dumpster juice and pee, or something like that. I really wanted to put him in the top five, but I just don’t think he makes the cut. I always start with him dying PvP battles, because his poison attack has a large range so almost every enemy that has been played is poisoned.

#5 A.W.E.S.O.M.E-O 4000

Tank characters are helpful, and the freeze is pretty cool, even if the range is small. It also goes in to effect pretty quickly, like the animation isn’t long and he freezes those around him very quickly. Also, another home made costume, very cool.

#4 Alien Queen Red

The poison is pretty good, and it hits every enemy on the board. I like her design, even though the first time I heard her line I though she was saying “My boyfriend has no cure” instead of “My poison has no cure” and I think that is a better line.

#3 Sixth Element Randy

Okay, this is a really good card. He has a charged attack that spawns a Roomba. I’m not going to lie, I do not have this card so I cannot begin to imagine how helpful this card is, all I know is that it’s a bitch to defeat. I think I have to put him at #3 because he isn’t easily the best, and his design is bad. That’s really it. It was super close between all the final 3, but I didn’t even get the reference to “The 5th Element” until I googled it. Go Leeloo

#2 Cyborg Kenny

The mind control is super cool. He has a powerful attack, a cool design and is just a pretty rad guy. His mind control lasts a very long time, which is really powerful and also very annoying when it happens to you. I’m pretty sure he’s wearing a Nintendo Power Glove, which is hilarious (even if it’s a huge missed opportunity because it would have made more sense on Powerfist Dougie)

#1 Gizmo Ike

Look how cute he is. But not only that, he can duplicate over and over again until the entire board is covered in an unstoppable swarm of Gizmo Ikes, and the New Kid is dead in seconds. Even the clones can duplicate, and he has a pretty high attack. He also only needs three energy to spawn, which is pretty good for a card that good.

[ninjakittenarmy]

A swarm of alien bugs marches against the space marines singing “Come Out Ye Black and Tans”.

Universal translators don’t just translate words from one language to another. They match your culture’s linguistics to the closest cultural dialect/accent of the listener’s world. For example: aliens might not BE Irish, but if they’re Irish in SPIRIT, they’ll be translated with an Irish accent

[michael-stevens-capstone]

Capstone Week 2 Research

Week 2 Thalassiphobia

Genetics and Evolutionary Theory: Some researchers suggest that thalassophobia may have evolutionary roots, where early humans who avoided deep water had higher survival rates. This idea is supported by studies showing a moderate genetic heritability for specific phobias​

Trauma and Environmental Factors: A significant trigger for thalassophobia can be past traumatic experiences involving water, such as a near-drowning event or witnessing a frightening encounter in deep water. Environmental factors like upbringing and modeling of fear by parents also play a role in developing this phobia​

Fear of the Unknown: Much of thalassophobia stems from the fear of what lies beneath the surface, compounded by the vastness and mystery of the ocean. This is often amplified by media and cultural representations, such as films like Jaws​

Impact on Daily Life: Thalassophobia can severely limit activities such as swimming or boating, as even thinking about deep water can cause panic attacks and anxiety. Despite the distress, many individuals avoid seeking treatment​

Therapeutic Approaches: Treatments such as exposure therapy are effective in helping individuals confront and reduce their fear, although a relatively small percentage of those with phobias actively pursue therapy​

Imagination and Perception: The fear often stems from an overactive imagination about what lurks beneath. Due to a lack of personal experience or concrete visuals, people are left to fill in the blanks with terrifying sea creatures or dark unknowns. This heightened imaginative fear is reinforced by portrayals of monstrous marine life in media, which increases anxiety for those with thalassophobia

Gender Differences in Fear: Studies have revealed that men and women perceive marine life differently, with men tending to value the utilitarian aspects (e.g., fish as food) more than the aesthetic or moral aspects. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to have humanistic values tied to marine life. This divergence in perception can influence the intensity and nature of the fear​

Lack of Aesthetic Value: The deep sea often does not offer the same visual or utilitarian value as coastal areas, making it harder for people to connect with it. As a result, thalassophobia is not only rooted in fear of creatures but also in the environment's alien, unattractive nature​

Week 2 Butterfuly Effect 

Butterfly Effect in Weather Prediction: Research has highlighted that even tiny inaccuracies in initial conditions can drastically affect long-term weather forecasting, presenting challenges for artificial intelligence models used in meteorology.

Social Dynamics: Using agent-based modeling, a study explored how small changes in individual behavior can lead to large-scale social phenomena, emphasizing the unpredictable nature of social systems influenced by minor initial variations.

Chaos in Animal Herds: A 2023 study demonstrated how the butterfly effect manifests in animal behavior, such as herds and swarms, showing how slight disturbances in movement can lead to large-scale disorganized chaos. 

Pharmacovigilance: In drug safety, researchers have found that small, seemingly insignificant early signals in patient data can escalate into major medical issues, illustrating a "butterfly effect" in pharmacology. 

Global Evolution of Wing Patterns in Butterflies: A study examined how small genetic changes in butterfly species lead to widespread evolutionary effects, affecting mimicry and visual signaling across species. 

AI and the Butterfly Effect: Researchers have found that artificial intelligence systems, particularly in language models, are highly sensitive to minor changes in input data, leading to unpredictable and sometimes undesirable outcomes, mimicking the butterfly effect. 

https://www.americanscientist.org/article/understanding-the-butterfly-effect

WEEK 2 Charatcer Development 

Global Character Leadership: A comprehensive study of leadership in 137 low- and middle-income countries highlights the importance of character traits like integrity and purpose in leadership roles, especially for tackling global challenges like climate change and inequality​

Challenges in Character Education: A study in the Journal of Character and Leadership Development explores the impact of educational environments on the development of virtue and character, addressing contemporary issues in character education​

Youth Development Programs: Research on youth programs such as Cub Scouts shows their role in fostering character traits like resilience, integrity, and teamwork among adolescents through structured activities

Virtue Ethics in Universities: A publication in the Journal of Moral Education discusses the importance of integrating virtue education in universities to prepare students not just academically but also morally

Positive Youth Development through Sports: High school coaches emphasized the role of sports in character development, finding that sports can be a powerful medium for teaching life skills such as perseverance and ethical behavior​

Virtue Politics in History: A historical study connects Renaissance Italy’s political philosophy with modern virtue ethics, revealing how moral development has long influenced political and societal structures​

Integrative Data on Character Development: Advanced methods like integrative data analysis are being used to understand character development from childhood through adulthood, helping to pinpoint the factors that lead to positive moral growth​.

Oxford Character Project​

Journal of Character and Leadership Development​Journal of Youth and Adolescence​

[whitepolaris]

Coming of the Saucers, Mount Rainier

In late November 1869, a couple named Mr. and Mrs. St. John told the Tacoma Daily Ledger about a strange nighttime sighting. They said they were lying in bed around midnight, looking out the window. Mrs. St. John saw a strange light in the sky east of Mount Rainier. She woke her husband up, and he saw it too. They said it was as bright as the lighthouse beacon. It flashed several times, and each time it flashed, various colored lights shot out from the center of the object like spokes of a wheel.

Did this strange object reappear over fifty years later? Certainly something like it was seen again in 1947, and this sighting led to the popular use of the term "flying saucer." The phrase owes its existence to a newspaperman's misquote of a pilot named Kenneth Arnold regarding a strange experience he had on June 24, 1947, one similar to the St. John's experience in 1896.

Kenneth Arnold lived in Boise, Idaho, where he owned a business that made and installed fire control systems. Business must have been slow in the summer of 1947, because Arnold spent June 24, in his airplane, flying over the Washington Cascades. He was looking for a missing marine airplane, hoping for a $10,000 reward. At two fifty p.m. he was traveling east over the mountains toward Mount Adams, when he saw nine large metallic flying objects.

These craft were about twenty-five miles away, at an elevation of ten thousand feet, traveling very, very fast. He noticed that they did not fly in straight lines like ordinary airplanes or make wide turns. Instead, they dipped and swerved, seemingly to follow the mountain peaks from Mount Rainier to Mount Adams. Arnold started the stopwatch on his airplane control panel. Based on the distance between the two mountains (forty-five miles) and the time it took the objects to travel it, he estimated they were flying at twelve hundred miles an hour. At first, Arnold thought they were jet aircraft, even though their speed was far faster than that of the jets of that era.

Once the strange craft vanished in the distance, Arnold continued his search, until he landed in Yakima. He reported the incident to the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the next day flew to Pendleton, Oregon, where the press mobbed him. Before Arnold's sighting, there had been earlier reports of similar objects, and the press and U.S. government always referred to these as flying disks, as did Arnold.

He told the reporters that nine craft were about a hundred feet across, thin, and disk-or crescent shaped. Although the front was round, the rear looked chopped off and came to a point. He said that he was amazed that there was no tail, as on a normal aircraft, and that the craft did not make any noise. When one of the reporters asked him how the objects maneuvered, Arnold replied that they moved kind of like a saucer would move if someone skipped it across a lake. The reporter wrote down that Arnold said the aircraft looked like flying saucers, and the misquote stuck.

Although this was not the first unidentified flying object ever reported, the publicity set off a rash of new sightings. After a radio interview, a number of people from the Seattle area and the MIdwest contacted the media and reported seeing multiple flying objects on the same day. On July 4, a United Airlines flight crew reported seeing flying objects in Idaho. A few days after that, on July 8, another flying saucer was reported to have crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, and the alien aircraft craze really took off. Newspapers contacted military officials, who denied that they were testing experimental jet aircraft in the Washington Cascades.

Skeptics believed that Arnold could have been fooled by mirages created by air inversions or even by reflections of his own airplane off the atmosphere. Later, someone suggested that he'd seen a swarm of meteors that flashed and burned out quickly. Despite these suggestions, no one could prove that Arnold was mistaken, including the air force, which had launched its own investigation. Their findings led them to form a team that eventually turned into Project Blue Book, a formalized government investigation of UFOs undertaken from 1952 to 1970.

The issue of whether UFOs are really flying craft from outer space is full of controversy, and much of this, including its central term, had its beginnings in our home state. It is interesting to note that although skeptics do not believe that Kenneth Arnold saw flying machines from other worlds, none of them accuse him of deliberate fraud. Arnold's clear honesty and candor led the way to open discussion of the phenomena.

[princesscolumbia]

Code of Ethics - Ch. 5 - Debriefing

Completely forgot to post this to Tumblr on Saturday when I updated Scribblehub.

Dylan and his team gather for the planning meeting leading up to his 'deep dive' into the VRMMO Galaxies Unlimited: Master and Commander

Preview below the cut:

Dylan cleared his throat and grabbed another donut, doing his best to seem nonchalant, like the atavistic fear of being abducted from your own body wasn’t making him want to curl up in a corner, “Well, on a brighter note, who was the lucky S.O.B. that got to sit around after we got word of the assignment and spend all their time reading game journals?” He made a show of taking a bite out of the donut and scanning the room as a couple of chuckles filled the air and Tyler started getting a few pokes and elbow jabs from the team members around him. “Right! It was Tyler! So what’s the situation on this game I’ll be getting paid by American tax dollars to play, Mustache?”

Tyler ran his forefinger and thumb over his spruce mustache, “You’re just jealous, bossman,” he pulled out his own phone and, similar to Geoffry earlier but with a pinch more flair, put some visuals on the main screen. “Galaxy Unlimited: Master and Commander, or Gee-Eyoo-Emm-See to use the player’s shorthand, is the latest VRMMO game in- or out-side the wall.” As he spoke, a starfield faded in, like a movie producer was filling a dark theater with a movie of a space opera. Sure enough, a massive ship glided onto the screen, the forward bow in the shape of a dull arrow and the hull festooned with gewgaws that made it look appropriately futuristic and sciency. With the sound off, it may as well have been a brochure for a special effects company. “Players assume the role of some type of commander. There’s a few different classes, and they differ from the common VRMMO fare. There’s the Naval Captain, where you command a single ship in the navy of one of several galactic powers. Kinda like...what’s that show? Space Trek?”

Dylan knew Tyler was jerking his chain, as if the cheshire grin didn’t give it away, “Get on with it ‘stache.”

Tyler just snickered and threw another video up on the screen, this one of a caravan of ships, only a handful of which were obviously geared toward combat running picket around the others, “Then you’ve got the Merchant Marines, this option’s the most straight-up capitalistic, and apparently there’s a couple prestige classes that involve things like smuggling, naval fleet support, working for the various mob families, that sort of thing.”

“There’s this odd one called ‘Swarm Royalty,’ which I guess is an alien race of some sort,” another video showed a, well, swarm of nearly identical craft of indeterminate size. As the camera followed the trajectory of the cloud of ships, they began attacking a larger craft, apparently some form of cargo ship, and it appeared the swarm ships were single or two-person craft. “Since the game is all about being some sort of commander, I guess you’d be the head of the swarm? Honestly, I think this class was built for the A.I., I can’t seem to wrap my head around how you’re supposed to control that many ships.”

Dylan frowned, “Yeah, not going to pick that one. What’s next?”

Tyler rolled his eyes theatrically as he started the next video, “Next up is planetary governor. Not a popular option, since it’s more about micromanaging an individual planet instead of doing stuff out in space, but apparently it’s a fast track to being able to claim a seat in the Galactic Senate, which is a pretty big deal at the higher levels of the game.”

Jake made a noise that sounded a bit like a cat hacking up a hairball, “They gamified politics?!”

Tyler held up his hands as though surrendering, “Don’t look at me, man, I didn’t design the game.”

“So assuming I just wanted to give up my soul instead of fighting the A.I., I’ll go the political track,” joked Dylan, “Let’s hear the other options first.”

“Next up is Warleader, it’s popular with the people who played just straight up hack-and-slash or run-and-gun in other games. You start off with a cluster of ships and zero reputation and basically just agro and claim as much space as you can hold. It goes from just commanding a few ships to, potentially, being in charge of a small galactic nation that could potentially threaten the major powers. I say, ‘potentially,’ because no player has been able to do more than grab a handful of systems and nation build since the game’s release a month ago. Any time any of them get to be too big the alliance that seized the systems falls apart or another player team declares war and one side or another gets wiped out.”

Dylan grimaced, “I’m not going in there to pretend to be a tinpot dictator, so that one’s obviously off the table.”

Tyler nodded, “Finally we’ve got the Independent,” he flicked a video up onto the screen. This time instead of a ship, fleet, or planet, a space station appeared. It was a bulbus thing, spherical in shape with four arms jutting out like spokes of a wheel, but instead of a ring there were four additional, smaller spheres equidistant from the central sphere. “This is one of several station types, and the longer the player in charge of the station plays, the more likely their station is going to look unique. Basically, the Independents are the type that don’t want to get directly involved with galactic politics, at least not right away. They have freedom to do pretty much anything they want as long as it’s within reach of their station and fleet, they have none of the restrictions on their actions and they don’t take orders. That said, they also don’t have any of the support structure any of the other options has. They’re not empire building, so there’s never going to be resources to exploit. They’re not part of the galactic government, at least at first, so there’s nobody to go to if a player bigger and meaner than you decides to pick on your station, and there’s no chain of command to pass the buck upstream.”

Tyler set his phone down and gave Dylan a serious look, “I’m also thinking this last class would be the best choice for the mission. The others simply have too many obstacles to make them practical.”

Dylan finished his coffee and set his cup aside, then folded his hands, “Explain, please.”

“Well, let’s run down the list again,” Tyler flicked at his phone and a list that was, apparently, his meeting outline for this session appeared on the screen.

“The naval captain is stuck doing exactly what their higher-ups tell them to do. It’s got more flexibility than a real navy would, it wouldn’t be fun to play otherwise, but if you’re wanting to chase a lead and it goes into one of the neutral zones or no-mans-lands between space empires, or even into one of the neighboring nations, you’re locked out unless you want to go expat or rogue, which puts you back in the same condition as an Independent but without the station.”

“The Merchant Marines would seem to be a good choice, but it has a lot of the same drawbacks of the naval captain in that you’re stuck with a duty roster. Additionally, the majority of the M.M. class draw seems to be for people who are all about making deals and haggling prices. They’re the economic backbone of the game, but unless you get into the black markets, you’re unlikely to be dealing with the types of people who are smuggling the A.I. in the game.”

Dylan’s face pinched as a sick feeling churned his gut at the thought of even pretending to traffic sentient beings, “Yeah, I definitely see your point there.”

“We’ve already talked about the swarm and how that’s not a good option, so moving on to governor; it’s too high-level. It’s dealing with ratifying laws and brokering political deals, not getting into the day-to-day of actually running, say, a police force or three-letter-agency to try and do an in-game hunt. You’d be spending all your time governing and shaking hands instead of working on the mission.” Dylan nodded, not interested in playing politics, even in a game.

“And then there’s the war leader, which has a mirror opposite problem as the governor; you’d be spending all your time either empire building or defending the territory you claimed to do any sort of behind the scenes investigations.”

Tyler leaned forward on his elbows, “And that brings us back to the Independent; you’d be without significant support, sure, and you’d have to do a decent amount of logistics and brokering for goods and services to support your station, but you’d also be in the heart of, well, everything.”

Dylan leaned forward as well, “How do you mean?”

Tyler smirked, “Well, take a look,” he swiped at his phone and flicked an image up, this time showing what looked like a map of the galaxy with territories splitting it up. “This is the most recent player-created map I could find,” he stood and circled the table so he could point to the map with his hand, “This blue section is the Terran Federation.” He pointed at a small dot that had a callout with the word ‘Sol,’ “This is in-game Earth, and it’s buried pretty deep inside Terran space.” He indicated a red blotch that took up a significant stretch of space along the rim of the galaxy, “This is the Crotuk Empire...think ‘orcs in space’ or maybe Klingons,” he then indicated a yellow section, “This here is Swarm space, they’re kind of a mix between the Borg and the xenomorphs from Aliens.” He then waved at a green section of the map, “This here is the Lantru, an insect-like race.” He then gestured at the parts of the map that weren’t colored in, “All the space in-between these empires? Neutral space, even the governments of the four major factions aren’t going to push too significantly into these areas because it’d be basically declaring open war.”

“That means,” said Tyler as he turned to face the team, “That this,” he rapped the screen with a knuckle inside Neutral space, “Is where the real action happens. Intelligence? Trade? Mercenaries? Information brokers? Black markets? All of it happens here,” he once again rapped the screen for emphasis, “And that is where all the Independent stations are. If you choose to play as an Independent, you’re automatically going to spawn aboard your own station right at the heart of all the action. All you have to do then is make your station attractive enough to draw the right sorts of people who might want to use your station to do business and keep your ear to the ground.”

Dylan’s eyebrows went up, “Well, I guess that settles it. I guess my dreams of playing Captain Kirk are going to have to wait,” he grinned as he took a bite out of another donut.

Read the rest on Scribblehub

[nerdyogre]

So I just finished reading the 2022 run of The Punisher. And to say that I have some Big Thoughts about the whole thing is an understatement. Spoilers will be under the cut and I really want to hear what people think. I may get some stuff wrong then oh well.

This run of 12 issues involves Frank being involved with The Hand, a group of ninjas that serve The Beast, a god of murder (god in lower case because this is a physical entity with power over a domain rather than some omnipotent omnipresent creator- I realise that my Catholic upbringing puts a bias on that, and I'm sorry, but anyway).

Spoilers below and I'm going to be jumping all over the run as my brain runs through it so there is no safe spot to get off once you click that Keep Reading button.

While you probably might be thinking this run was a response to the conservatives using the Punisher skull as an icon to promote their everything, as a media it uses that real-world connection in a goddamn impressive way - and I consider myself kind of a basic bitch when it comes to media.

So why did the morally inflexible Punisher work with the murder ninja cult The Hand?

They brought his wife back from the dead. They tried to do it with his kids.

What did the Hand get out of this?

They wanted Frank to become the avatar of The Beast. It would have turned him into a vessel for The Beast. There were five levels or bestowments. Frank gets four of them, and manages to do more damage to criminals in a single day worldwide than he had ever done before by a huge margin. One of his moderate works is a full page picture of a megayacht sinking into the ocean, on fire, sharks swarming to feast on a bunch of super rich criminals, while he WALKS ON WATER away from the situation.

This would have basically been the end of the world had he gone through with it the whole way, most likely, judging by the panicked intervention of the entire Avengers (Cap, Widow, Strange, Wolverine, Moon Knight).

"What do we do about The Punisher?"

This is a line stated by Strange, and it sits at a perfect junction of both the real world effect of Punisher and his effect in universe.

In the end, the resurrected Maria Castle finds out about what Frank has done in the names of their children - and how many times they tried to bring back the children. There's only a faint glimpse of one, before Frank puts them out of their misery, but judging by how many tombstones there were, they gave it a lot of tries. Think about the Ripley clones in Alien Resurrection. I don't want to talk about it any more.

She shoots him, which almost kills him because Murder Artifact Turned Into Bullets, which he had previously used to kill Ares, the God of War - he's a secondary antagonist, if you can believe that.

This is a Frank Castle story, where we look at what setting a path to unending war does. There are a number of flashbacks to Frank's childhood, where the Hand had their eye on him for a long time. Then we develop more of the growing relationship with Maria, starting at high school, and continuing on until the day in the park.

The Beast, and by extension The Hand, had its hooks in him since he was 10 - his first kill. And throughout the run, you can see him being pulled in two directions - his love for Maria and his kids, and his love of War, or Murder, or Death.

The flashbacks show a tumultuous life. Maria gets pregnant as Frank joins the Marines. Frank finds it hard to return to civilian life. There are ups and downs, and it becomes clear, in Maria's words, that War was the one he was really loved.

There's some back and forth between Frank's path as the Punisher and his desire to keep hold of Maria, both in the past and in the present (highlighted by a much simpler art style in the past as compared to a precise and detailed present).

Maria was going to ask for a divorce when they got shot in the park. She couldn't deal with the man of two selves that Frank was. And as her Resurrection continued, she remembered more of what happened - at first only remembering the good times, but then finally discovering the bad, the loss of their children, and how she saw her relationship with Frank.

Frank chooses at the end, before Maria's revelation, to close out the War Journal for good. And as the Avengers bring him down, and they finally decide to put an end to Frank, after his wife gets to live again, free of the monster her husband had become, as the Avengers decide what deep, dark hole to stick him in, Frank chooses to, in a way, follow his now ex wife's wishes and die for good - he prays to the Beast to be gone from this plane of existence for good.

The epilogue has him starting a new journal. Weirdworld. Some place where war is happening. The last shot is of Frank leading four orphans across an alien land, scarred by war. One of them asks if where they're going will be safe - he affirms that. They want to know his name.

"Frank. Call me Frank."

He still has the armor with the horned skull on it - but he carries no weapons.

Frank Castle isn't the Punisher any more. Frank Castle has learned the ultimate futility of his first path and the eventual impossibility of his methods in society, even if said society has superhuman members.

It's a condemnation of a strict moral code of reactionary punishment. It shows that how we choose today to act is not always how we should choose tomorrow.

Other thoughts:

1. Ares runs a weapons smuggling operation, kills a gang who buys the guns but doesn't use them to do as much war as possible, looks like Frank when he takes his helmet off, and wears the old Punisher skull on his armor.

2. Nope ran out. Just love this run and am happy with its end in the same way I was with Breaking Bad - Frank's story is done.