#retrofit nightmare

[retrofit-nightmare]

Charlie: I would let you ruin my life.

Mike: Sorry, I’m busy ruining my own. You’ll have to wait.

[blessyouhawkeye]

i truly fucking cannot get over the image of brennan lee mulligan using the dozens of small screens surrounding him and his friends while they play dnd to play the video of him five years ago saying something integral to the campaign that they all completely missed. just the shit eating grin on his face surrounded by his own handiwork.

[retrofit-nightmare]

Marvo (Nick): hey atleast you got little helper!

Mikebot: you have yet to tell me why you did this.

Marvo (Nick): S H U T.

To everyone: hey check this universe out!

MIKXES: I’m a robot again.

[artbyblastweave]

How would you say the x-men are "turbo-fucked". Is it just the common criticsms that ppl say about them or do you have real specific point ppl haven't brought up yet? (Not trying to be aggressive here, just curious)

My stance is essentially an amalgamation of every free-floating complaint about the X-Men you've ever heard- that it's a bad metaphor for oppression because real minority groups can't kill buildings full of people on a whim, that the comics are frequently tone deaf in the comparisons drawn between real and fantasy oppressions (Kitty with the hard R, oppression-splaining to a Pakistani-American girl), the ugly ways in which the metaphor can intersect with real-life issues of nationalism and ethnonationalism (Is Magneto a Zionist? Locked after 12,000 pages, etc). Moreover there were always going to be fundamental cracks in the foundation because mutants-as-civil rights metaphor was a retrofit that they pivoted to from what was originally transparently a time-saving measure for the mass-production of silver-age cops-and-robbers participants. Even then it's still theoretically possible to make the metaphor work, but I think that the demands of serial publication are particularly injurious to the metaphor because it prevents the creation of a specific, unified, finite narrative that can dig into this in a way that sticks. They'll be stuck treading water on the issue forever, held back from really internalizing the thorny-but-interesting implications or meaningfully adjusting the status quo as long as the X-Men need to remain available in the toybox for future writers. The closest they can get is the umpteenth "mutants claw their way back from the brink of extinction" storyline. Are we on the second or third mutant ethnostate collapse?

At the same time you have to hold space for the fact that the X-Men are only uniquely vulnerable to these criticisms because X-Men authors had the audacity to try to center these themes, to try and use the space as it existed to do something new and thoughtful. 50 years of hindsight have made us aware of the limitations of what can be done with those themes within the monthly-serial context, but that wasn't clear at the time, and let's be real, we wouldn't be talking about this franchise at all if Claremont hadn't shot his shot and gotten the ball rolling. Perfect is the enemy of good, comic books are a conversation, yadda yadda yadda.

Anyway I can't recommend The Power Fantasy highly enough- it's an indie thing by Keiron Gillen that's heavily in conversation with the X-Men specifically (informed by his recent run on the book), making full-use of an alternate-history to explore the idea of X-Men flavored people with superpowers as a geopolitics-altering thing-unto-themselves, the limitations of attempting to construct superhumans as a unified demographic, and the horrifying but specific ethical nightmare scenarios that emerge from Great Man Theory of history having actually become true.

[zahmaddog]

Closure: I. Nightmares of Eriadu

Warnings: SFW Romance, SO MUCH FLUFF, nightmares, family drama/trauma mentions

Characters involved: Crosshair x fem!reader x Omega x Hunter x Phee

Word count: 3743

Authors Note: This is a sequel (read the first installment here) using the same fem!reader character and pre-existing relationship with Crosshair. But you don't need to read the first fanfic. This one might be better anyway. This story satisfies my personal needs for closure after The Bad Batch animated series ended. I don't want to give anything away, but this resolves my need for closure around Tech, Hunter's need of an arc, and more character building for Crosshair.

I've been writing it for the past several weeks and am multiple chapters ahead. I just wanted to begin posting it. :) I have some moody watercolors painted for some chapters too. I'll maybe retrofit some art too. I'll probably post it separate so nobody misses it. :) Please let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list. I mainly wrote this for my own entertainment, but who doesn't love it when others are around.<3 I hope you enjoy.

---------------------------------------------------------

Omega threw the ship’s thruster forward and jumped into hyperspace, narrowly escaping the blaster fire of a few short-range fighters.

“Well, that was fun,” she gasped in slight laughter.

Phee smiled and kicked back into her chair, “Fun indeed.”

Omega spun around in her chair to find you still lying on your back in the middle of the ship. You were exhausted and hadn’t even made it to the bunks before collapsing onto the floor. 

“Are you okay?” She called over to you. 

You lifted your head enough to make eye contact, smiled a little, and lifted your arm enough to signal a “thumbs-up” sign. 

She flashes her white teeth at you and returns a thumbs-up enthusiastically. Her hair had grown long over the years and swept across her face. She kept it tied up with a bright red tie, which was suspected to match Hunter’s bandana on purpose. Physically, Omega looked more and more like Hunter over the years, but had Wrecker’s enthusiasm for abrupt adventure, Echo’s drive for serving others, Crosshair’s tactical abilities, and Tech’s piloting skills and calculating mind.

Omega turned back to the ship’s pilot console and felt Phee’s eyes study her. 

“What is it?” Omega pleasantly inquires.

“You fly like Tech,” Phee shrugs.

“Well, he did teach me,” Omega banters back. 

“I know, but… There are a lot of little moments where I see him in you,” Phee continues. 

“Well, we do share the same genetic material—,” Omega starts.

“See, that’s something Tech would have said.”

Omega smiles back, “I wish he could see me fly now.”

“You have become an exceptional pilot,” Phee nods. “He would have been so proud of you.”

Listening in on their conversation, you smile as you remember young Omega’s piloting skills compared to her current set of skills. She was fast, smooth, calculated, and innovative. Deciding you had enough rest, you stood up in Phee’s ship and made your way to the front. 

“Well, look who decided to be with the living!” Phee prods at you.

You sit down and lean back into the chair behind Omega’s seat.

“Next time you two invite me for a ‘girl’s night out,’ you better tell me it’s actually a four day treasure hunt, nine star systems over, with limited rations and pre-existing enemies,” you relay.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Phee chuckles. Omega laughs with her. 

“You two are ridiculous,” you grunt as you pull your hat over your eyes. You hear Phee chuckle to herself, then turn from facing you to the lights of hyperspace.

“You and Crosshair were made for each other,” Phee comments after a small pause in conversation.

“You take that back,” you monotone sarcastically without moving from under your hat, but you felt your lips creep into a small smile at the thought of Crosshair.

“It must be nice,” she suggests happily and threads her fingers around the back of her neck and leans back placing her feet on the dashboard.

You stay silent as you knew Phee still had lingering feelings for the long-lost brother of Clone Force 99: Tech. From what you had heard between Omega, Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair, Phee was a great partner. You both equally wished you had known Tech and that you could tell him that he was not easily forgotten. 

“We’re coming up on Pabu,” Omega broke the silence as the ship was gently thrown out of hyperspace. 

Entering the atmosphere and pushing through the clouds, you lift the brim of your hat to spy the small island in the distance. You sigh a breath of relief as the island grows larger in view.

The spaceport had its usual morning-Pabu hustle with imported goods flying in and individuals leaving Pabu for jobs, vacation, and more. Phee’s ship touches down and the door unseals. Omega picks up her bag and dashes down the stairs in excitement to tell Hunter and Liana about the adventure away and the treasures found.

Phee continues to sit back in the chair lost in thought and unmoved. You rise from your chair and slink into Omega’s piloting seat.

“You okay?” You asked.

“I’ll be okay,” Phee sighed. “There are some treasures in life that you lose, but never forget.”

You knew her mind was still stuck on Tech. She gazed into the oceans of Pabu from the spaceport and let her eyes pool with tears.

“Listen, I’m going to step out of my bounds for a moment, but,” you breathe in deeply and close your eyes for a moment, “I know my way around Eriadu. I don’t think Hunter ever returned to search for Tech.”

“His remains won’t do anyone any good,” Phee looks over to you.

“I know,” you backpedaled. “But if he were– alive,”

“He never contacted us. He couldn’t be alive,” Phee interrupts. You could feel her frustration, so you held your silence.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize for bringing up the topic. 

Phee exhales and wipes her eyes. “I don’t know what’s worse, if he’s alive and didn’t want to contact us, or if he’s gone for good.”

You stood and placed your hand on her shoulder to offer support and to also stage your conversational exit. “Phee,” you began, “You need answers for closure. And you’re good at finding answers. It’s one thing to be afraid of what you’ll find… But if there’s one person to discover what happened, it’s you.”

“I know,” she taps your hand with hers and began to stand. 

“Why didn’t Hunter go back to look for him?” Phee asks.

You shrug, “He’s a soldier; they move on differently than you and I. And you and Hunter are probably right: Tech would have found a way to make contact.”

Phee nods with sadness in her eyes.

You and Phee exit the ship together and walk down the stairs to meet Clone Force 99.

Your pace quickened as Crosshair comes into view. His unshaven face, silver bedhead, and black attire led you to chuckle a little under your breath.

“Well, that was longer than a single rotation,” Crosshair jabs as you greet him with an embrace.

“I should have known better with the present company,” you roll your eyes a little remembering how Omega and Phee talked you into the trip.

“Mmhmm,” Crosshair grunts and as he holds you tighter before softly releasing you. 

“What did you do while I was gone?” You ask.

“I stayed in bed and shot holes in the ceiling,” he deadpans.

You could hear Hunter sigh at Crosshair’s comment. Looking over, you see him bury his head in his hands a little and rub his eyes. You turn back to Crosshair, smile, then stand on your toes to kiss his narrow lips. His hand slides up your back to cradle your head as he kisses you back.

“I missed you,” you smile. 

“And someone’s going to fix those holes in the roof,” Hunter invites himself into your conversation and takes a step towards you and Crosshair. He was so serious. 

Crosshair just stares at him; hardly blinking. He, too, was overly serious. He slides his hand to your back again and you lay your ear against his chest to look at Hunter.

“I’ll fix the roof,” you offer.

“No.” Crosshair rejects your offer and just stares at Hunter.

“I am not going to fix the roof, Crosshair,” Hunter continues to glare. “Not again.”

“Your relationship is so confusing,” you sigh and step back from Crosshair. You wink at him, “I’ll see you at the house, okay?”

Crosshair and Hunter continue to stare each other down.

“… Okay?” You repeat.

“Fine,” Crosshair growls without taking his eyes off Hunter.

“What’s their problem?” Omega asks you.

“I’m not sure,” you scan the crowd, “Where’s Wrecker? Maybe he didn’t feed them while we were gone.”

Omega laughs at your joke, “That’s probably it.”

—----

Dropping your bag into Crosshair’s room, you look up at the ceiling. He shot more than just holes. At some point, the blaster holes turned into bigger holes and the entire roof was practically missing. You felt Crosshair approach behind you. 

“So that’s what four rotations of shooting the ceiling will get you?” You chuckle.

‘Uh-huh,” he looks up at his handy work. 

You narrow your eyebrows a little bit as you inspect the ceiling further.

“Problem?” Crosshair asks.

“I don’t want to be that girlfriend, but—,” you stop yourself as you never asked much of Crosshair. You wanted him to find a more productive hobby, but after all he’s been through, he did deserve to blow off some steam. It was just a ceiling anyway.

“What?” He prods.

“Why’d you stop at the ceiling?” you grin.

“I learned my lesson the last time I tried to shoot a live round into Wrecker’s bunk,” he says as he tosses himself into the bed.

“Where is Wrecker?” You ask.

“Off-world with Shep. Some kind of supply run,” Crosshair shrugs.

“What have you and Hunter been eating then?” You chuckle.

“Oh, you know… Soldier food,” he points to the end of his bed to the pile of ration bar wrappers. You pick up one of the wrappers and inspect it.

“Cross, these expired over three years ago,” you mutter.

“That would explain things,” Crosshair exhales.

“Are you okay?” You sit down at the end of the bed.

“Clearly,” he enthuses. The ceiling gave an audible crack and pieces fell onto Crosshair’s head and shoulders; his expression unchanging. You didn’t buy his answer, but knowing him, he wouldn’t talk much more, especially under pressure. You stood enough just to shuffle to his end of the bed and relax against the headboard, sitting on pieces from the ceiling. You took his hand and brought it to your lips.

“How was your trip with Phee and Omega?” Crosshair asks to change the subject.

“Confusing. It was nice of them to include me, but I don’t want to get into trouble like I used to,” you shrug. “They didn’t exactly tell me what was going on and when we arrived, we were already in a few gun fights with other pirates.”

“Did they get what they were after?” Crosshair narrows his eyes.

“I think so. They picked up a package, we fought over it, lost Phee’s ship, got it back, then flew home,” you close your eyes and rest your head on his shoulder. “I’m exhausted.”

“Hmm,” he faintly grunts in response. “I didn’t think you’d get tired of pirating missions.”

“And I didn’t think I’d come home to you shooting holes in the ceiling,” you reply, staring up into the gaping holes. You earned a soft smile from him as he peers up to inspect his work once more.

“True,” he chuckles. 

You and Crosshair stayed in bed watching the stars appear as the sun began to set, painting the sky pink and orange. Letting your hand trace up his hand, arm, chest, and to his face, you felt his scratchy, unshaven face. 

“Sorry, I haven’t shaved,” he apologizes and slips a toothpick between his lips.

“It’s not a bad look,” you comment. 

His silver hair, straight and unkempt, had grown a bit past a typical soldier’s cut everywhere but the scar on the right side of his skull. The sides and back were tapered and faded into the length, framing his jaw. Around his neck he wore a thin chain with engraved plates hanging just above his chest. 

He suddenly sighs sharply. 

“I —,” he starts. You don’t prod at him to continue, but instead start to run your fingers through his hair. “Stop,” he takes his hand to stop yours and he sits up taller, but still doesn’t look at you. 

“Sorry,” you apologize. He takes your hand and holds it in his lap. The silence washes over the moment.

“What’s wrong?” You re-engage with him.

“It’s nothing,” he shakes his head a little and looks back up into the stars. You knew something was up with him due to his lack of un-soldier-like appearance and the state of his ceiling, but now you felt concern trickle into your heart.

“Is it nothing?” You ask.

“I can’t sleep when you’re not here,” he admits through a wince.

“You’re not weak for that,” you assure him.

He sighs again and turns towards you. You pull on his shoulder, motioning him to lay down. He rests his head on your arm and the pillow beneath then closes his eyes. 

“The nightmares are back?” You whisper.

“They never left,” he sighs quietly. 

________

Crosshair had fallen asleep quickly. You took the toothpick from his lips and flicked it to the floor. Your eyes grew heavy too as the night sky had settled in. 

________

Eriadu’s summers were warm, temperate, and pleasant. The famous Tarkin compound was familiar as you had spent holidays there with your immediate and distant family. Your mother, Governor Tarkin’s sister, had married outside of the family to a lowly Imperial loyalist. While she was left out intentionally from her parent’s fortune, she was still included in familial gatherings. 

“Are you coming?” You looked up to see your older brother, Crix. His hand extended to you as you realized you may have fallen to the ground. Your clothes, hands, and knees were dirty. Looking into his eyes, you see they’re full of worry. You nod your head and reach for his hand. His hand feels cold. Inspecting it, you turn his hand over in your palm. Looking back up to his face, he vanishes.

“Crix?” You look around, but he’s gone. The silence of the forest overwhelms you as you sense something is wrong. The feeling of doom pools into your stomach, weighing you down. Each step further into the forest weighs heavier and heavier. The sky grows dark and the ground is black. The subtle asphyxiation quells your movement; you fall to your knees.

An old, brittle hand reaches out and grabs your shoulder. It’s nails, cut into your skin. You let out a scream, but no sound left your lips.

You wake, sitting up quickly as your heart races. You breathe in deeply like you hadn’t in some time. When was the last time I dreamt of Eriadu? You ask yourself. Crosshair snores and shuffles slightly in the bed. Your nightmare didn’t bother him in the slightest. You sigh a breath of relief. He was usually such a light sleeper.

The floor felt cold beneath your toes as you slipped out of the bed. The fresh air was a nice touch; maybe you wouldn’t fix the roof after all. Or at least not right away. You tip-toed to the back patio to watch the ocean waves curl into the shoreline. Opening the patio door, you were surprised to find Phee leaned against the railing looking out into the sky.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She asks you without turning.

“Not really,” you responded. You sit down into the chair and put your feet up on the railing. 

“Nightmares?” She asks kindly.

“Of home, I guess,” you shrug. 

“Where’s home?” Phee sits down into the chair next to you.

“Here,” you realize out loud, “But no, I dreamt of a place my family would visit for holidays when I was a child,” you admit.

“And where’s that?” She continued to pull your teeth.

You bit your lip and shifted your jaw to the side, remembering your last conversation with her about Eriadu. You supposed that was why Eriadu was fresh on your mind.

“Eriadu,” you sigh. 

Phee’s eyebrow raises in response, “Oh.”

“I dreamt my brother Crix was in the forest there. I reached out to him, but he disappeared. I haven’t seen him in a few years. But he was the closest brother I had,” you explain. 

“Does he still live on Eriadu?” Phee asks.

“No,” you lament. “He hated it there; more than I did.” You chuckle a little remembering old conversations and shared expressions at the dinner table with your brother. 

“Where is he now?” Phee continues to lay on the questions.

“I don’t know,” you look to exchange your sorrowful expression. “He started chasing spice dreams to escape reality and then I defected from the Empire and my family; I lost track of him a bit after that.”

“Well, I like to believe that all dreams have meaning,” Phee marveled upwards to the sky again.

“You would,” you nod.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said, sis,” Phee hesitated. “Since it’s fresh on your mind, would you want to come to Eriadu with me?”

Your heart jumped a little in your chest at the thought of seriously returning. It had been a few years since your last run in with your uncle, Governor Tarkin, but the Empire didn’t seem to care about your existence anymore. Surely someone would recognize you there. But, perhaps your soul had some unfinished business to attend to as you reflected on your dream once more.

“I’ll think about it,” you assure.

A small ship took off from the cave and accelerated into the atmosphere with a soft boom. 

“Was that Omega?” You asked Phee.

Phee nodded, “I figured she’d sneak off here soon.”

“She’s more of a soldier than Hunter wants to admit, isn’t she?” You sigh.

Phee stands and leans against the railing once again. She pulls her binoculars to study the entrance of the cave. “Batcher and Hunter saw her off.” “This house will turn into a mess without her here,” you chuckle. “Mmhmm,” Phee agreed, continuing to watch Hunter and Batcher walk home.

“Well, I’m going to turn in,” you announce as you stand from your chair.

“Think about what I said,” Phee turns to you. 

You give her a silent nod of acknowledgement and head back inside. Walking down the hallway, you pause just outside of Omega’s room. Of course she’d slip out while Wrecker was off-world, you think to yourself. 

Arriving at Crosshair’s door, you slowly enter the room. Feeling relief that he’s still asleep, you slide into the bed with him quietly. 

__________________________

The morning sun warmed Crosshair’s room quickly without the roof to shield. Moving your hands to block out the sun, you squinted around the room to find yourself alone. You shift and swing your legs off the bed to sit upright. You hear the door open.

“I decided I’ll fix the roof,” Crosshair mutters as he walks into the room slowly with his and your morning cups in hand. He was clean shaven again, but continued to leave his hair longer. 

“Did you sleep well?” You smile.

“Yes,” he sits down on the bed next to you and hands you your cup. “Did you?” He asks in return.

“Honestly, no. I got up a few hours into the night and–” You pause.

“I know Omega left,” Crosshair mutters.

“I’m sorry she didn’t say goodbye,” you mention.

“She did, in her own way,” Crosshair reaches into his pocket and pulls out his small money sac that usually had a few credits in it. “It’s empty,” he sighs. “She left a note saying she owes me.”

“You wouldn’t have let her go, would you have?” You ask.

Crosshair sighs, “She’s a better shot than I am these days. She’ll be fine. I’m surprised she didn’t wait until I was also off-world to sneak off.” Crosshair softly smiles as he puts his credit bag away. “But I suppose confrontation isn’t a strong suit of mine either.”

You nod and think back on Phee’s conversation last night. Your vanishing smile catches Crosshair’s attention.

“What else happened last night?” Crosshair furrows his eyebrows together.

“Phee asked me to go to Eriadu with her,” you say into your mug.

“Eriadu?” Crosshair lifts an eyebrow and leans forward into your space. “Why Eriadu?” 

“Well, my family. Some unanswered questions. And—” you pause, not sure how to explain your intentions.

“What?” Crosshair presses.

“Tech,” you lightly shrug and take a long drink from the mug. “She wants to…”

Crosshair moved your mug down from your lips. “What?” He insists.

“Phee is curious if Tech’s remains are there… Or if Tech is… There,” you manage to say hesitantly. 

Crosshair stays silent and drinks his caf alongside you. He turns to face the door and crosses his arms. 

“If he were alive, Tech would have sent us a message,” Crosshair informs you.

“I know,” you nod. “It doesn’t make sense that he’d be alive. I don’t know what we’ll find, but Phee needs closure.” 

Crosshair sighs and stares into his black, undoctored caf, “We probably all do.” 

You and Crosshair continue to sip in silence for a few minutes. You could feel him mull his thoughts over. Even with you, he wasn’t the best talker, but you knew his internal dialog plagued him.

“Will you go with her?” Crosshair breaks the silence and studies your eyes.

“I don’t know,” you slowly elaborate, “It’s been years since I’ve been there, but I’d still be recognized. The only advantage I bring is that I know the planet well.”

“Hmm,” Crosshair takes another sip.

“Would you come with me?” You ask.

Crosshair sharply exhales and rolls his eyes, “You know how I just love unplanned adventures with pirates.”

“So you will?” You squint your eyes at him.

“I can hardly wait,” he sarcastically agrees and finishes his morning drink.

Chapter II: Going Home

++++++++++++++++++++++ taglist ++++++++ @heidnspeak @cloneflo99 @megmegalodondon @tentakelspektakel

[dinosly]

Maritimes Against Climate Change

One week ago my group Maritimes Against Climate Change held a rally to bring the community together and hold the fossil fuel companies, who get tax breaks while destroying our world, accountable.

Here was the speech I was supposed to do, but had to wrap it up due to me recovering from a cold and the weather:

"Hello everyone, thank you all for coming despite the weather. We can all see that Canada still has a little bit of cold left in her despite what were here for.

Over the last couple of years, outright Climate Denialism has been waning. Many people see with their own eyes that "October used to be cold" or "we would get long lasting snow before December".

Denying that humanity is the cause usually follows, that's easy to disprove, then denying that its a problem is next, which if you come across that I have some information to help argue that point:

Cost of Environmental Events: Atlantic Canada has experienced significant financial losses due to extreme weather events. For instance, Hurricane Fiona in 2022 caused damages exceeding $800 million, underscoring the vulnerability of our infrastructure and communities. CBC

Fisheries and Aquaculture: Warming ocean temperatures and changes in salinity are affecting fish stocks and aquaculture operations. Notably, the lucrative lobster industry in Nova Scotia has faced challenges due to shifting populations and increased competition.

Agriculture: Increased frequency of droughts and heavy rainfall events disrupt crop yields, impacting food security and rural economies. The 2023 drought in Atlantic Canada led to significant agricultural challenges, with some regions receiving only a quarter of their usual rainfall. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Fishing and agriculture are the backbones of our communities, farmers in particular are in tune and rightfully worried about the climate crisis, because their crops and their livelihoods are on the line.

For more individual impacts to counter the "it doesnt effect me specifically" crowd:

Insurance and Financial Services: The rise in climate-related disasters has led to higher insurance claims and premiums. In 2021, severe weather caused $2.1 billion in insured damages across Canada, with Atlantic Canada being particularly affected. IBC

Health: Rising temperatures are increasing heat-related illnesses, while poor air quality during wildfire seasons poses respiratory risks. In 2023, Atlantic Canada experienced an unprecedented wildfire season, leading to health advisories and evacuations. CBC

Housing: Coastal and riverine flooding threaten homes and necessitate relocation or expensive retrofitting. Sea-level rise projections indicate that the Atlantic region will experience the largest local sea-level rise in Canada, increasing the risk of flooding and erosion. CNN

Thank you to Climatlantic for these statistics.

As I say a lot in these marches, in New Brunswick, we have the forest to our left and the sea to the right, both integral to our survival but with climate change, can also be a risk. I have nightmares all the time of me, my parents, my grandparents, my friends, my future family being evacuated because their homes are no longer safe. I do not wish that upon anyone on this earth.

Finally, the last state of climate denialism is also the one that hurts the most, because it comes not from a place of ignorance, but apathy, hopelessness. The viewpoint that we cant solve it, that its too late.

And i get it, the world is a big place, a lot of moving parts, lobbying is so rampant it easily makes you feel small. But you are not alone. The average New Brunsweicker is closer to being homeless than ever having as much as the people who influence the world's politics, but the thing is, there are way more if us. And if we come together in solidarity and tackle the same problem, we can influence the policies that effect we the people.

For many years we have seen that corporate greed has not only hurt the environment, but our communities as well. Multimillion dollar Companies continue to choose profits over the people that brought them to that place. Rising costs of everything has been straining all of us thin, and the climate crisis, exacerbated by the fossil fuel industry will not help. We need to be vocal that the reason that these companies as well as our politicians are at the place they are is due to the blood sweat and tears of the hardworking individuals of our communities. Every time we try to make companies pay their fair share, they make their customers or even their own employees shoulder the burden.

We need to stand in solidarity with workers and demand for policies that not only change, but improve the lives of all New Brunsweickers. Making sure that the future of Maritimers aren't thought of with fear and worry, but hope.

And how do we get our voices herd? Rallying our communities. Organizing events, bringing these towns, cities, communities together all under a single driving force, our future. Starting small with local governments, municipalities, up to provincial and hopefully to a national scale, we will bring the voice of the people to where it needs to be. Just as one kid rallied the world for climate action before covid, I plan to rally the maritimes for the same cause. Our voices need to be loud! Our mission needs to put the lives of New Brunsweickers first! The environment of will be a priority of course but we will never forget that this will be done by New Brunsweickers for New Brunsweickers.

This fight needs to be workers, the everyday person, versus the companies and CEOs that effect us all. We need to show them that we stand together and wont stand for this treatment anymore! So rally your fellow workers, strike, picket, march, get involved with local government, local groups, everything. Because if we won't do it, who will?"

[retrofit-nightmare]

Mikebot: you can say that again.

to everyone: check out this universe!

Mike: Well, that’s a lot to take in.

[illogicallylogicalthoughts]

Yo, Lancerblr

Figured I'd toss a few of these your way, grab some feedback. Haven't actually had a chance to play and stress test 'em yet, so I've got no clue how they'd fare in a combat situation, or if any of them are any good, really. Just threw together what I felt'd be neat in concept.

Even if this only gets one or two notes, I'm fine with that. Just felt like sharin'.

Personally, my favorite's split between Carrion Courier and Fog.

Beware, there are a LOT of words beneath the thing. Like, a-lot-a-lot-a-lot.

Here's Jane Doe, callsign Misnomer, with her mech Fog. She's a favorite, if you couldn't tell. Wanted for knowing a helluva lot more than she should and stealing a truly remarkable amount of prototype tech.

Mech Note:

"It's in the clouds! It's in the goddamn clouds!"

"Bank right, bank right, fuckfuckfuck FUCK-"

"I can't see, it's screaming, why is it so loud-"

"Sensors dead, I'm falling, shit, can't pull up!"

"Come into my parlor, said the crow to the spider to the fly."

» Jane Doe // MISNOMER « Spec Ops, LL9 [ SKILL TRIGGERS ] Act Unseen or Unheard (+6), Charm (+4), Get a Hold of Something (+2), Pull Rank (+2), Show Off (+2), Stay Cool (+6), Survive (+4) [ GEAR ] Light Hardsuit, Light Signature, Light A/C, Corrective, SSC Sylph Undersuit, Subjectivity-Enhancement Suite [ BOND ] THE BROKER Powers: SPIDER, CONTINGENCY PLANS, THE LEDGER

[ TALENTS ] Technophile 3, Hacker 2, Infiltrator 2, Ace 2, Skirmisher 2, Empath 1 [ LICENSES ] HORUS Goblin 2, HORUS Lich 1, IPS-N Caliban 3, SSC Dusk Wing 1, SSC Atlas 2 [ CORE BONUSES ] Kai Bioplating, Improved Armament, Mount Retrofitting [ MECH ] « FOG » IPS-N Caliban H:2 A:5 S:4 E:0 SIZE:0.5 STRUCTURE:4/4 HP:15/15 ARMOR:2 STRESS:4/4 HEAT:0/5 REPAIR:6/6 ATK BONUS:5 TECH ATK:2 LTD BONUS:0 SPD:5 EVA:13 EDEF:12 SENS:3 SAVE:16 [ WEAPONS ] INTEGRATED MOUNT: HHS-075 “Flayer” Shotgun FLEX MOUNT: Autopod / Thermal Pistol // Mount Retrofitting HEAVY MOUNT: HHS-155 CANNIBAL [ SYSTEMS ] Wandering Nightmare, Rapid Maneuver Jets, Neurospike, H0R_OS System Upgrade II, H0R_OS System Upgrade I

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And here we have Jane's former co-worker/war-buddy/mortal-enemy, John Blackacre, piloting the Carrion Courier. Spider-cowboy-mech. All the auxiliaries, all the close range brawl.

Mech Note:

"Okay, he's reloading, we can-"

SPANG-

"Okay, now he's reloading, get-"

SPANGSPANG-

"... Wait for it."

KERTHUNK, SCHERKERTHOOM-

"And he's reloaded. Fuck."

"How many of those things does he have?"

"... One, two, three-"

"Oh, christ."

» John Blackacre // SPUR « Spec Ops, LL9 [ SKILL TRIGGERS ] Act Unseen or Unheard (+4), Blow Something Up (+2), Charm (+2), Get Somewhere Quickly (+6), Read a Situation (+4), Stay Cool (+6), Word on the Street (+2) [ GEAR ] Assault Hardsuit, Archaic Melee, Light Signature, Smart Scope, Frag Grenades, Thermite Charge [ BOND ] THE WOLF Powers: GO FOR A WALK, BLOOD SCENT, POUNCE

[ TALENTS ] Gunslinger 3, Combined Arms 3, Exemplar 2, Tactician 2, Bonded 1, Grease Monkey 1 [ LICENSES ] IPS-N Raleigh 3, IPS-N Blackbeard 3, HA Iskander 1, HA Barbarossa 1, HA Genghis 1 [ CORE BONUSES ] Gyges Frame, Integrated Weapon, Mount Retrofitting [ MECH ] « CARRION COURIER » IPS-N Raleigh H:2 A:3 S:0 E:6 SIZE:1 STRUCTURE:4 HP:21 ARMOR:1 STRESS:4 HEAT:0 REPAIR:6 ATK BONUS:5 TECH ATK:-1 LTD BONUS:3 SPD:5 EVA:11 EDEF:7 SENS:10 SAVE:15 [ WEAPONS ] INTEGRATED MOUNT: M35 Mjolnir INTEGRATED WEAPON: Chain Axe / Hand Cannon // Mount Retrofitting AUX/AUX MOUNT: Hand Cannon / Stub Cannon FLEX MOUNT: Hand Cannon / Hand Cannon HEAVY MOUNT: Kinetic Hammer [ SYSTEMS ] “Roland” Chamber, Grounding Charges, “Roller” Directed Payload Charges, Reinforced Cabling, Personalizations

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And here we have Anne Queen, codename Wreken, former pirate warlord and currently freelance mercenary. Finds both Jane and John creepy as all get-out-of-fuck and yet enjoys scaring the shit out of grunts. Absolutely charming.

Mech Note:

Exerpt from training exercise no.55638, JUN-30, 0537, begin play::>>

"... Hey, where'd squad five go?"

The sergeant answers with another question. "Y'see that big red circle that just popped up on your map reticle, private?"

"...Yessir."

The old Tortuga's head nods and extends a hand, holding up five fingers, slowly putting them down one after the other.

On the final finger, thunder splits the skies in the distance, once, twice, thrice, and then with a final sundering THOOM, the circle disappears, along with the markers within it denoting the remains of squad 8.

"Oh."

The older mech crosses its arms. "Yes, private. Oh."

Out of the corner of his eye, his face lights up red, and he feels the color drain from it.

"We're in the circle, sergeant."

The sergeant nods, again. "Correct, private. Now, what we do in this situation?"

He doesn't even wait for the order. The circle was very, very, very big, and his Saladin's legs weren't the fastest.

» Anne Queen // WREKEN « Outlaw, LL9 [ SKILL TRIGGERS ] Act Unseen or Unheard (+2), Assault (+6), Blow Something Up (+6), Pull Rank (+2), Stay Cool (+4), Survive (+6) [ GEAR ] Light Hardsuit, Heavy Signature, Heavy A/C, Frag Grenades, Stims, Thermite Charge [ BOND ] THE TITAN Powers: TRUE GRIT, NOTHING TO FUCK WITH, ABSOLUTE MEAT

[ TALENTS ] House Guard 3, Siege Specialist 3, Heavy Gunner 3, Walking Armory 3 [ LICENSES ] HA Barbarossa 3, IPS-N Caliban 1, IPS-N Raleigh 2, IPS-N Drake 3 [ CORE BONUSES ] Integrated Ammo Feeds, Briareos Frame, Reinforced Frame [ MECH ] « WARSPITE » HA Barbarossa H:5 A:1 S:0 E:5 SIZE:3 STRUCTURE:4 HP:30 ARMOR:2 STRESS:4 HEAT:0 REPAIR:6 ATK BONUS:5 TECH ATK:-2 LTD BONUS:4 SPD:2 EVA:7 EDEF:6 SENS:10 SAVE:15 [ WEAPONS ] INTEGRATED MOUNT: Apocalypse Rail MAIN MOUNT: Mortar MAIN MOUNT: Mortar HEAVY MOUNT: Howitzer [ SYSTEMS ] Ammo Case III, External Ammo Feed, Autoloader Drone, “Roland” Chamber, Siege Stabilizers, Armament Redundancy

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This is Cal Dera, callsign Crepescule. Nothing about her is reminiscent of faint rays of sunlight, more akin to its boiling surface. She specializes in punching straight through the frontline and making herself a very large fucking problem for everybody involved behind it. Walk into her zone? Melt. Attempt to go around or leave it? Get shotgunned to death.

Mech Note:

The 'tech stares. "What the fuck."

His co-shift nods. "Yeah, that tends to be what people say when they see her for the first time."

"I can feel the fucking heat from here, and we're behind triple reinforced walls in a vacuum. It's not even on yet?"

The co-shift shakes his head. "Nope. Reactor's not even burning yet."

"How the hell does this thing work near civilian centers?"

The co-shift paused in his preparations before eventually offering two words. "It doesn't."

He felt his mouth dry. "Ah."

» Cal Dera // CREPESCULE « Freelancer, LL9 [ SKILL TRIGGERS ] Assault (+6), Blow Something Up (+2), Spot (+4), Take Control (+6), Threaten (+6), Word on the Street (+2) [ GEAR ] Assault Hardsuit, Medium Signature, Heavy A/C, Thermite Charge, Personal Drone, Stims [ BOND ] THE PATHFINDER Powers: FREESOUL, LIGHTSPEED, MOMENTUM

[ TALENTS ] Ace 3, Vanguard 3, Nuclear Cavalier 2, Spaceborn 2, Pankrati 2 [ LICENSES ] HA Genghis 3, IPS-N Blackbeard 3, IPS-N Nelson 2, IPS-N Tortuga 1 [ CORE BONUSES ] Superior by Design, Reinforced Frame, Sloped Plating [ MECH ] « BEHEMOTH » HA “Worldkiller” Genghis Mk I H:3 A:0 S:2 E:6 SIZE:2 STRUCTURE:4 HP:22 ARMOR:4 STRESS:4 HEAT:0 REPAIR:5 ATK BONUS:5 TECH ATK:0 LTD BONUS:3 SPD:3 EVA:6 EDEF:10 SENS:5 SAVE:15 [ WEAPONS ] MAIN MOUNT: SUPERHEAVY WEAPON BRACING MAIN MOUNT: Deck-Sweeper Automatic Shotgun HEAVY MOUNT: Plasma Thrower [ SYSTEMS ] Spaceborn EVA, Explosive Vents, Auto-Cooler, AGNI-Class NHP, Reinforced Cabling, Siege Ram

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And since this is already quite fucking long, I think I'm going to stop here and leave whoever's willing to read through this word-vomit-spaghetti to chew through it.

Ciao, all. Let me know if any of these sound feasible, if you want.

[markrosewater]

I know the mixing of silver border and black Border in the printing process is a logistical nightmare, but what about a thicker silver 'outline' around acorn cards and keeping the border black?

The two can be mixed with enough planning. It was hard to retrofit.

[c0rpseductor]

i do also think like. theres this post i saw a while back about how, given the whole live service DA game was proposed and then abandoned at some point in development, it's not unlikely that some of that stuff got reused for veilguard. more specifically that veilguard is potentially the result of them having to retrofit the bones of a game like overwatch into a single player experience.

i do kind of see it, honestly. not only in terms of what the post mentioned vis a vis character "gimmicks" that pose writing challenges, but like, also stuff like...interacting with power crystals and wisps. it sort of reminds me of pushing or pulling the payload in a shooter. or like, how combat is centered around your three super flashy cool abilities and then an ultimate (explicitly called an ultimate) you have to charge. i started wondering if some of the stuff your companions can yell to you about where to look for threats in combat might not have initially been intended to be like, canned responses you could toss out to teammates instead of using VC if you didnt want to. (or maybe they wouldnt have VC since VC gets notoriously toxic.)

the more i think about it the more i kind of feel bad for the team that would theoretically have to have tried to convert this existing architecture into a single player experience, and also the writers who would have to work with materials that were just really not designed for what they were being asked to do. of course maybe this is all totally baseless conjecture and super wrong but if it is the case i do think that must have been a nightmare. i still wonder what on earth was with the release date, too. it was initially projected for 2025 and then came out way earlier for seemingly no reason. i just know whatever was happening with that game internally had to have been nightmarish. and some games come out great despite that - ff12 experienced some level of development hell and you'd never know it - but some Really don't, and i think some of the rough edges might be because of that

[occasionaltouhou]

How do you think a "modernization" of the pc 98 games would go. It kinda sucks how much its ignored but its not like they fit into touhou as it is now.

in my mind, there are two possible solutions, each of which depends on what you want from those games and the characters, each of which requires some serious creative writing, and each of which is kind of unsatisfying in its own way

the first option is to try to squeeze the games into canon as "something that happened before eosd". doing this will invariably strip away a lot of their charm, as it will by necessity (as i discussed with lls) require essentially ripping out their guts and putting something else with the same basic plot and characters in its place. it also still has the lingering issue of "this feels like it should be more important to the canon than it actually is", especially for podd and ms (they're the best ones, but that only works against their favour in terms of canon compliance). but you'll get that no matter what you do. all the offhand mentions to an evil spirit taking over the shrine in cola can't change the fact that trying to fit pc98 into canon unchanged is a bit of a nightmare

the second option - the more controversial one - is to do what i did with melancholia, essentially, and say "well, this didn't happen, but all the characters still exist", an approach guaranteed to drive you to madness. trying to retrofit random pc98 characters into modern-style gensokyo residents is essentially just turning them into ocs, and guarantees that your perspective of those characters is fundamentally different to anyone else's forever. of course it goes without saying that this needless contrarianism is my preferred approach

[retrofit-nightmare]

Mikebot: How much did you spend on this date?

Charlie: $1400. But all of it's on credit cards, so it's like $5 a month for the next 2,000 years.

[cobalt-axolotl]

EVERYONE PLEASE SEND ASK TO @ask-nick-and-cass @ask-gc @ask-ss @ask-survivors-guilt @ask-gmtc & @retrofit-nightmare WANT TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY GEY ANND ANSWER ASK FOR IT

[raccoonzinspace]

A very interesting nightmare that I have recently had:

Be me

Be out with my family on vacation in North Carolina

Go with my family to this really sh-tty, run-down, Chuck-E-Cheese's looking place (smells awful, dirty, half the machines ain't working, and the pizza sucks)

See the Pizza Time Theater-looking animatronics and how bad their condition is (they ain't moving much, they smell like tobacco and sewer water, etc); the showtape isn't even a CEC showtape (it's a showtape for Rocky and the Ramblin' Rascals, a CEC retrofit)

See one of animatronics fall over onto the floor and leak a black, tar-like substance from its mouth

The substance is F-CKING ALIVE and latches onto the face of a patron; the substance leaks out of the other animatronics too

Hide in the gross bathroom with my family and hear a child crying in an adjacent stall

Dream ends and I wake up in a cold sweat, thinking "WHAT THE F-CK..."

Yeah...I have no idea why my brain conjures up these eldritch horrors whenever I sleep. Maybe it's because I like looking into various animatronic retrofits and horror, maybe it was a caffeine-induced dream. I don't know why it was a black substance specifically. Maybe it's my brain's interpretation of Hastur (a shapeless, tentacled thingy that drives people mad, at least in some interpretations) making an appearance in my dreams and using the sh-tty cyberamic puppets as vessels.

IDK, you're free to make this into a FNaF AU or something. I know it was a dream but dammit, it felt real. >_<

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Y'all are never going to guess which Eleventh Doctor episode I'm retrofitting into his regeneration episode. Like, y'all are really not going to guess because of how much I'm changing/building character arcs building up to it (though everyone who does will get a cookie). But what the hell, I'm curious to see if anyone guesses.

(Btw, at least the first half of the regeneration episode is going to ft. the torchwood cast, including Jack, Martha, and Mickey. If you want to take that into consideration.)

(Edit: by the way, I'm so glad to see that every option has votes (including the correct one)! Also, if it makes any difference to y'all, there are at least three fics in this series where the episodes are completely made up, both with the Torchwood characters and with Eleven/Amy/Rory on their own. So that is a viable option- though I'm not telling you if it's the correct option in this specific case!)

[interdimensionalburnout]

THIS SHIP IS A NIGHTMARE SOMETIMES WHY HAVE NONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO STOLE YOU EVER RETROFITTED YOU

I'm fixin' to either full-on theseus this thing or else move my stuff and Gilly to a new one (I routinely threaten that second thing but it makes me feel better to shout it irl too).