#military highlights

[commsroom]

a pretty major aspect of wolf 359's worldbuilding that i think about sometimes is that goddard futuristics is the megacorporation, like. jacobi says, "goddard's done some good stuff", citing the development of solar energy and investments in water purification, eco-friendly fertilizers, global internet access, etc. and... i mean, yes. obviously, objectively, all good things that i wish we also had. but also all goddard-owned and beholden to their interests. that line is in response to eiffel saying "yeah, i'm sure the team retreats where you got to burn down the rainforest were amazing" - like, it's about efficiency, not environmentalism; the good parts are a byproduct.

the same thing applies to the inaccessibility of goddard's other developments - AI development is so under wraps that even maxwell, working for the "best" AI research lab in the country, was unaware of the existence of "full-minded" AI until she was recruited by goddard. and part of why she was recruited was her disagreement with the board for ethical AI development. goddard has made some incredible advancements in the field of biotech, but like... do you think those things are accessible to the average person? these life-saving medical developments and disability aids exist, but who actually gets them? cutter is financially blackmailing eiffel by paying for anne's medical bills, education, etc. - his control over all of these things gives him potential leverage over just about anyone.

and then you have just, like, the fact that goddard is involved in so many things - space exploration, air travel, utilities, the military, medicine, agriculture, probably just everyday goods... it's bad enough in real life if you're trying to avoid a few major corporations; there are going to be so many things in their day-to-day lives that they never even realized were goddard-made until they get back to earth and start seeing it everywhere. and goddard futuristics started out as the wright-goddard aeronautics company; the wright brothers are already in like, every textbook ever - imagine how that's taught in a world where so many major developments are consolidated under this one narrative? gabriel urbina made an off-hand comment once about how, yes, NASA exists in the world of wolf 359, but you have to wonder who has better funding - the US government, or goddard futuristics?

[straightlightyagami]

basically it’s like

russian soldier in ukraine: i live in a village with no running water i hope i can buy an apartment with the payment for enlisting. they told us we are fighting nazis and the local people here will greet us happily.

leftist usamericans: that’s not an excuse for participating in the invasion of a country, you should die (and you probably will because the equipment your govt gave you is kind of shit) and we will laugh about it

us soldier in iraq/vietnam/etc: i come from a poor family and i hope they will give me enough money to go to college to get a job. we are fighting commies/terrorists/etc so this is fine. (this is honestly very much a “best case motivation” we will pretend this is the case for at least a majority of people)

leftist usamericans: im so sorry the government brainwashed you with propaganda and exploited you, you are the first and true victim of this war

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author’s note: before bringing up poverty or systemic economic issues, compare the living standards of the regions of russia where most soldiers come from with the living standards in the US. consider the proportion of ethnic minorities among russian soldiers who died, and about the quality of life in their regions of origin specifically (and about how the russian empire historically colonized those places). then think about the US’ connection to neoliberal shock therapy used in russia and other post socialist nations in the 90s and its contribution to this state of affairs.

[whumpacabra]

Dogs of War

WIP | ??? Words

Another AU set in my Freelancers Universe, diverging just before the canonical end of the Swansong Arc. (It's a good point in the canon for divergent plots, alright?)

Wolf's patient, dogged determination has paid off - his handler is off-base, his medical escort will have three guards, and there are three American volunteers who should be eager to play a part in this escape attempt. He hopes they are - because none of them are getting out of this alive if they get caught.

Military setting, captivity, escape, on the run, medical treatment, assumed dead, fear of recapture, betrayal, angst (with a happy ending?), referenced torture and noncon

Trojan

Sheep's Clothing

Judas Goat

Shellshock

Forged

Carsick

In-Between

Gas Station Snacks

Good as New

Rinse and Repeat

Reckoning

Bite the Hand

Dreams and Doubts

Kettled

Interrogation

Manifest

Bad Karma

Watchmen

The Jester

Tied Down

Cooperation

Fumble

Fiddlesticks

Go Fetch

Instigator

Peace and Quiet

The Devil

Soured

Agent

Good Acting

Hellsent

Whispers

Catastrophizing

Regrets

Delve

Hush

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

across the world (in sixteen hours or less)

you know how you know nothing's gonna be okay again?

you lose your page again and again

you can't find your shoes

you pick up the phone even though you know you should stop

the happiest thing you can find is in a sad movie

and nothing changes

it's not English homework poetry where everything has to rhyme

you've got room now and it doesn't change a thing

your whole world is still your bedroom and some rock CDs

just like it was when you were five and ten and sixteen

there's no relief in the weather

because your weather's all the way across the world

(your brother's all the way across the world)

the rain is all the way across the world

the mountains you grew up with are outside your reach

the fog is still on that beach full of rocks

you still feel trapped

and you're never gonna see them again

xoxo.

[eenochian]

the way this fandom treats characters is astounding. like y’all do realize that every single character is shitty, right? literally every last one. your blorbo is not an exception. no, “but my fave—” no exceptions. literally the only character that i can’t think of any issues with off the top of my head is farah.

[bestworstcase]

last few eps of V7 and all of V8 make it really. really obvious that not only has the atlas military never won a war, its entire command structure is oriented around individual power and technology to the extreme detriment of strategy and tactics; the salem wins primarily because she delivers a siege to a general who has not the slightest idea how to mount a proper defense and a city that would have been shockingly ill-equipped to withstand siege even if ironwood did know what he was doing. (dialogue early in V8 suggests that atlesian warships are sallying against the grimm flock and being shot down repeatedly—this strongly suggests that atlas does not have any kind of ground-based or even long-distance ranged weaponry with which to fire on the grimm from within the hard-light fortifications, which is in line with the arrogant presumption of untouchability that pervades the culture but utterly gobsmacking from a tactical standpoint, particularly in light of the fact that defenses of this general nature have been adopted to good effect by other states ie the turrets on the argus express which are in fact a great idea.) (further the nearly absolute reliance on the hard-light shields as a singular line of defense is breathtaking; the ace-ops mention proximity alarms that have been taken offline in V7 but there is noticeably no reference to defensive outposts or anything of that nature, suggesting that once watts disabled the sensors salem was able to fly her army east from the coast to atlas itself completely uncontested—granted it is unclear how much defensive depth would have mattered given that the nature of salem’s army made logistics virtually a non-issue and she is effectively able to respawn any forces lost to engagements while she advanced, but they could have at least slowed her down.)

[ranger-kellyn]

probably not within my lifetime, but i long for the day when "we have the strongest military on the planet" is no longer met with uproarious applause

[shallowseeker]

Who is your fave member of TFW?

Cas.

IMHO, the way he fails makes him feel more like The Protagonist. This is also what draws me to Mary and Jack in the later seasons. (That stuff keeps blowing up in their respective faces is Chef's kiss for me. I love them!)

DEAN (about Cas in 12x19):

Dean: Well, he hasn't exactly had a banner year. I mean, think about it. Between Lucifer (Blows air) killing Billie, Ramiel, everything's been blowing up in his face. And he's so desperate for a win right now, he can't even see straight. (gestures to truck) Go ahead and give it a try. (Sam climbs in truck)

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Exodus

via @spnscripthunt

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12x22

TONI: Mary's programming… It's permanent... The Mary that you know, the good Mary, she's hiding behind impenetrable psychic walls. And I'm afraid these walls... (Scoffs) Well, they can't be torn down with grenades. Your mother can't be saved. (Mary smirks)

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it's just so....I love them. They're trying their best! They're failing! They're accidentally almost-and-in-some-case-actually destroying the very things they sought to protect!

[diredeliverance]

I think it's interesting that Gortash has a lot of clear plot parallels with Sarevok, something I didn't really appreciate until returning to BG1. But the mercantile empires with dark undersides, the rise to political prominence via business connections and manufactured public terror, even the connections with industry... and of course the Iron Throne. Second verse, a little different from the first.

[hauntingblue]

YAMATO NEW NAKAMA PLEASE 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️LUFFY PLEASE!!!!

[i-will-make-this-later]

[gummees]

.

[storm-of-shadows]

My cursed addition to this cute post is that these are both monsters in doctor who... so I like to imagine this taking place between:

These two guys, while the doctor flies around.

They're in love.

do you think a cemetery angel and a gargoyle could fall in love

[wiltingg4rden]

i could do something really funny