Stone Mountain

[castledeity]

A medieval fitted yankee helmet by Mashkow Alexey

[crazycal999]

this is some Crusader Kings After the End shit, I love it

[castledeity]

A medieval fitted yankee helmet by Mashkow Alexey

[calder]

i wanna balance out what i mentioned abt that legion cosplayer. (which isnt even the only negative experience ive had w a legion cosplayer)

theres a gigantic dude who hangs out in the saloon as lanius every year and he rules

the evening after that other incident, i recounted it to some ppl on the deck & this drunk great kahn gets all indignant. "uhhh whats wrong with deus vult?? why cant his cosplay say deus vult?"

so my bearded ass just says "im a woman." proud as i can

he starts literally stumbling around swinging his bottle yelling about queers and this and that and lanius steps in like "RESPECT HER." so fun. had me cackling. i teed him up and he nailed it

another kahn collects his drunk buddy and walks him into the saloon. as they leave the guy mutters something about how he wants to be in the company of straight men. is2g his companion says "i'm pansexual. we've been over this"

[stolengifts]

[calder]

"why can't there be a good enclave faction?? my oc is part of a good enclave faction" ok the premise of the faction is that the most powerful men in the western world sealed themselves in trillionaire bunkers, and their descendents emerged in war machines with bioweapons to exterminate everyone outside of their genetic group or die trying, because they are a eugenicist death cult

they claim to be the pre-War government. the pre-War government had death camps for chinese-americans, and filled work camps with union organizers in bomb collars.

the enclave literally play dixie on their propaganda radio without comment. they dogwhistle to Old World Racists on the surface. read the room

vault experiments are an iconic cornerstone of this setting. for all intents and purposes the enclave is vault tec. they spent millions on a concrete bunker just to lock a guy in it with a tiger when the world ended. yeah i wonder if the tiger ate the innocent man or if elsewise occurred. this is just one of their many literal monuments to sadism, abuse, and dishonesty.

sometimes their bunkers were literally led by immortal Large Language Models

oh theyre doing it to ascend mankind to the stars? oh wow thats so noble and isnt what a cult would say to justify slaughtering villages and torturing people.

"but... theyre the most patriotic faction, and i'm... i'm a patriotic fallout fan! plus... they have the legal authority!" damn boss your sympathy and loyalty are that easy to command? like a glassy-eyed kid, touching your sternum and reciting a mantra of cosmic devotion to a cloth rectangle?

at goodsprings last year i saw a guy with deus vult written on his legion chestplate and i shamed him into taking his cosplay off for the rest of the festival. took me eight words. i guess his fellow legion cosplayers were just gonna let that shit happen

fallout is about the rot, the collapse, and the mutilated remains of the imperial core. your shallow enclave/legion obsession is not clean or cute or separate from straight-up nazi nerds. if you deeply involve yourself with pretend nazi nerd shit, actual nazi nerds will start sitting with you

"i wanna be in a faction that helps americans!" make a Responders, Followers of the Apocalypse, or Minutemen character. that is the entire premise of all of those factions.

"but i also want to worship the eagle and the flag and the war god george washington while exterminating the mentally-criminal greenskins with my slave brain robots, and i don't want the video game to imply that's inherently bad!" ok stupid there are 9999 fallout fans who expressed this before you and the ip has never entertained them

because the various artists who have shaped this concept always intentionally designed the faction as basically just nazis who do not wear swastikas

if you are obsessed with rehabilitating the concept of the enclave, it is because you are so indoctrinated that you cannot accept the basic premise of a dystopian scifi setting where the american government is not a benevolent god destined to uplift humankind through torture, dominance, and genocide

For Auld Lang Syne is as far as we ever need to explore the premise of 'a good enclave' and it is ultimately one of the goofiest, ugliest, most unsuccessful premises in that game

this science fiction is about how americans are This fucking deranged. the point is proven in shallow fans who insist that the Secret Patriotic Eugenics Death Cult can still be a positive symbol.

likewise, Legion Fans who intellectually justify their death cult or wreath themselves in thin irony to rehabilitate the concept are saying as much about their ideology and national character as the satire they are failing to engage with

[calder]

what does it mean that there is a nuka cola quantum themed grenade

what human impulse would lead to the ready availability of grenades themed after specific soft drinks

i challenge not only the diegesis of such a lore but also the notion of a player who finds weak soda-themed grenades more interesting and fun than straightforward grenades

[calder]

ah. i stand corrected on both counts

[crazycal999]

Yeah it works with the improvised version in 3/NV where it's wastelanders making a bomb with a weird chemically volatile soda as a main ingredient; its the Nuka-World DLC for 4 where it starts to fall apart with lore that the soda company was involved in weapons research for the military and was developing extremely powerful and effective soda-themed weapons for them

Also the actual "Nuka-Grenade" item in base game 4 and 76, which isn't improvised and appears to be pre-war, doesn't actually have any soda branding on it and I think is just the game developers re-using the name because they couldn't think of anything else to call a grenade that makes a tiny mushroom cloud explosion. Which complicates things

[calder]

what does it mean that there is a nuka cola quantum themed grenade

what human impulse would lead to the ready availability of grenades themed after specific soft drinks

i challenge not only the diegesis of such a lore but also the notion of a player who finds weak soda-themed grenades more interesting and fun than straightforward grenades

[calder]

ah. i stand corrected on both counts

[calder]

by 'the fallout community' do you mean the coherent greater sphere of artists, developers, storytellers, and other remarkable maniacs who broadly collaborate to explore and expand a science fiction setting. or do you mean the unthinkably gigantic shifting horde of interchangeable young men who spend six to twenty-four months of their lives arguing if a specific enclave power armor is canon before declaring mastery over fallout lore & moving on to dominate another science fiction by objectively sorting the real fictional war machines from the fake fictional war machines

[artbyblastweave]

There's a question which the west coast Fallout games are quietly litigating, which is that age-old gotcha about what you do with the remaining orcs once you've deposed Sauron. In the original Fallout, the Super Mutants are basically universally aligned against the quote-unquote "good guys," for whatever value of that term is applicable to the wasteland at large, but subsequent games make it clear that this was an ideological thing, and a product of the political moment of the mutants creation rather than an ontological quality that they have. The game is very aware that this is something that was done to them, and the tragedy of that; the first mutant you're likely to run into is dying scared and alone.

Fallout 2 presents super mutants who've broken in every direction ideologically in the aftermath of the Unity's collapse; the peacemakers under Marcus at Broken Hills, Gond as a member of the abolitionist NCR rangers, reactionary remnants of the original mutant army, genocidal self-hating fascists like Frank Horrigan. Fallout: New Vegas iterates on this beautifully. The mutants dovetail perfectly with the theme of how every faction in the wasteland is trying and oftentimes failing to reckon with the weight of history. Their utopian movement imploded outside of living memory, closer to the apocalypse than to the present day. The survivors- who can only dwindle in number due to their sterility- have been left to reckon with that in whatever way they can. And they have their backs to about a hundred and twenty years of that reckoning not going particularly well, of being the bugbear and boogeymen for bullies and ideologues whose grandparents weren't even alive to suffer from the Unity's actions. The lack of a collective future for mutantkind casts a pall over even the best ending for Jacobstown; humans are collectively resilient within this setting, but through violence, and accidents, dementia and senility, the day will inevitably come when there are no mutants left. And worse still will be the day before that, when there's only one mutant left. Finding some form of satisfaction or contentment within that dwindling window, with the world against you, is a task that falls to the individual mutant. (Take Mean Sonovabitch, for example. He seems to be doing alright for himself.)

Then we slide on over to the east coast games, where the mutants are.... morons. Cannibals. Marauders. And when you meet one who isn't, the game throws itself a ticker-tape parade for containing such an audacious twist. To go back to the orc thing, it's like if The Hobbit had contained a lengthy, empathetic subplot about the rich internality and fleshed-out-if-deeply-flawed ideology of the orcs, and then there was a pivot to treating them like a monolithic block of ontologically evil marauders in LOTR. While staring you straight in the eye the whole time, unblinking. Daring you to say something

[crazycal999]

a really good observation is being made here about how Fallout 2 and New Vegas were deconstructing the in-many-ways-problematic sci-fi/fantasy trope of "evil stupid muscle race that knows only violence" by writing them as actual people instead of a horde of subhuman murdervermin for the player to thoughtlessly and remorselessly exterminate, while the Bethesda Studios games play said trope completely straight (save for like three and a half super mutant characters whose intelligence and restraint is treated as shocking and rare to the point of uniqueness)

and i must say, i do "love" (text alone cannot capture the level of airquotes being made there) the fact that it feels like a solid ~50% of the replies to it from fallout fans, rather than actually engaging with that, are instead simply pointing out the in-universe explanation that the east coast has a different strain of FEV that produces stupider, more violent mutants, as though OP is simply confused about the series' lore rather than engaging in critique of the writers' creative decisions

like guys we know that the writers added an excuse for why it's different, the question this post is asking is why did they choose to make it different. why didn't they continue playing off the very interesting deconstruction of this problematic trope and instead play it completely straight. why are Fawkes, Uncle Leo, and Erickson optional encounters framed as unique and unusual among their savage, violent race (yes, I know about Strong; no, one or two profound or interesting lines from him does not change that he is a comic relief token evil teammate that most NPCs and even your dialogue options with him treat more like a pet grizzly bear than a person)

[jane-lesbo]

I do feel like pointing out the treatment the mutants get on the east coast is not unique to them, or even rare to see. All characters are treated as disposable bullet sponges, regardless of race

You play Fallout 3 and, within the first minutes, you are killing the human beings that saw you grow up in the vault with no guilt or hesitation. The closest thing you get to showing human emotions is the chance to Not Kill the overseer (which is the only death that could even feel justified, imo)

The mutant issue is, however, especially bad given... You know, that there's a record of them being written in an interesting way and the years of context imposed upon them

And that it feels just plain racist, tbh

[artbyblastweave]

There's a question which the west coast Fallout games are quietly litigating, which is that age-old gotcha about what you do with the remaining orcs once you've deposed Sauron. In the original Fallout, the Super Mutants are basically universally aligned against the quote-unquote "good guys," for whatever value of that term is applicable to the wasteland at large, but subsequent games make it clear that this was an ideological thing, and a product of the political moment of the mutants creation rather than an ontological quality that they have. The game is very aware that this is something that was done to them, and the tragedy of that; the first mutant you're likely to run into is dying scared and alone.

Fallout 2 presents super mutants who've broken in every direction ideologically in the aftermath of the Unity's collapse; the peacemakers under Marcus at Broken Hills, Gond as a member of the abolitionist NCR rangers, reactionary remnants of the original mutant army, genocidal self-hating fascists like Frank Horrigan. Fallout: New Vegas iterates on this beautifully. The mutants dovetail perfectly with the theme of how every faction in the wasteland is trying and oftentimes failing to reckon with the weight of history. Their utopian movement imploded outside of living memory, closer to the apocalypse than to the present day. The survivors- who can only dwindle in number due to their sterility- have been left to reckon with that in whatever way they can. And they have their backs to about a hundred and twenty years of that reckoning not going particularly well, of being the bugbear and boogeymen for bullies and ideologues whose grandparents weren't even alive to suffer from the Unity's actions. The lack of a collective future for mutantkind casts a pall over even the best ending for Jacobstown; humans are collectively resilient within this setting, but through violence, and accidents, dementia and senility, the day will inevitably come when there are no mutants left. And worse still will be the day before that, when there's only one mutant left. Finding some form of satisfaction or contentment within that dwindling window, with the world against you, is a task that falls to the individual mutant. (Take Mean Sonovabitch, for example. He seems to be doing alright for himself.)

Then we slide on over to the east coast games, where the mutants are.... morons. Cannibals. Marauders. And when you meet one who isn't, the game throws itself a ticker-tape parade for containing such an audacious twist. To go back to the orc thing, it's like if The Hobbit had contained a lengthy, empathetic subplot about the rich internality and fleshed-out-if-deeply-flawed ideology of the orcs, and then there was a pivot to treating them like a monolithic block of ontologically evil marauders in LOTR. While staring you straight in the eye the whole time, unblinking. Daring you to say something

[crazycal999]

a really good observation is being made here about how Fallout 2 and New Vegas were deconstructing the in-many-ways-problematic sci-fi/fantasy trope of "evil stupid muscle race that knows only violence" by writing them as actual people instead of a horde of subhuman murdervermin for the player to thoughtlessly and remorselessly exterminate, while the Bethesda Studios games play said trope completely straight (save for like three and a half super mutant characters whose intelligence and restraint is treated as shocking and rare to the point of uniqueness)

and i must say, i do "love" (text alone cannot capture the level of airquotes being made there) the fact that it feels like a solid ~50% of the replies to it from fallout fans, rather than actually engaging with that, are instead simply pointing out the in-universe explanation that the east coast has a different strain of FEV that produces stupider, more violent mutants, as though OP is simply confused about the series' lore rather than engaging in critique of the writers' creative decisions

like guys we know that the writers added an excuse for why it's different, the question this post is asking is why did they choose to make it different. why didn't they continue playing off the very interesting deconstruction of this problematic trope and instead play it completely straight. why are Fawkes, Uncle Leo, and Erickson optional encounters framed as uniquely civilized specimens of their savage, intellectually-stunted race who rightfully shun their barbaric kin (yes, I know about Strong; no, one or two profound or interesting lines from him does not change that he is a comic relief token evil teammate that most NPCs and even your dialogue options with him treat more like a leashed animal than a person)

[wolf-aid]

The media blackout on Palestine coinciding with new bomb types dropped in a ceasefire tells its own story.

Nothing says "ceasefire" like a Thermobaric bomb. I guess "ceasefire" means something else down there than here... What pigs. They saw it as too hot and the temperature is too high, so they bombard us with heat generators. Damn them.

[artbyblastweave]

There's a question which the west coast Fallout games are quietly litigating, which is that age-old gotcha about what you do with the remaining orcs once you've deposed Sauron. In the original Fallout, the Super Mutants are basically universally aligned against the quote-unquote "good guys," for whatever value of that term is applicable to the wasteland at large, but subsequent games make it clear that this was an ideological thing, and a product of the political moment of the mutants creation rather than an ontological quality that they have. The game is very aware that this is something that was done to them, and the tragedy of that; the first mutant you're likely to run into is dying scared and alone.

Fallout 2 presents super mutants who've broken in every direction ideologically in the aftermath of the Unity's collapse; the peacemakers under Marcus at Broken Hills, Gond as a member of the abolitionist NCR rangers, reactionary remnants of the original mutant army, genocidal self-hating fascists like Frank Horrigan. Fallout: New Vegas iterates on this beautifully. The mutants dovetail perfectly with the theme of how every faction in the wasteland is trying and oftentimes failing to reckon with the weight of history. Their utopian movement imploded outside of living memory, closer to the apocalypse than to the present day. The survivors- who can only dwindle in number due to their sterility- have been left to reckon with that in whatever way they can. And they have their backs to about a hundred and twenty years of that reckoning not going particularly well, of being the bugbear and boogeymen for bullies and ideologues whose grandparents weren't even alive to suffer from the Unity's actions. The lack of a collective future for mutantkind casts a pall over even the best ending for Jacobstown; humans are collectively resilient within this setting, but through violence, and accidents, dementia and senility, the day will inevitably come when there are no mutants left. And worse still will be the day before that, when there's only one mutant left. Finding some form of satisfaction or contentment within that dwindling window, with the world against you, is a task that falls to the individual mutant. (Take Mean Sonovabitch, for example. He seems to be doing alright for himself.)

Then we slide on over to the east coast games, where the mutants are.... morons. Cannibals. Marauders. And when you meet one who isn't, the game throws itself a ticker-tape parade for containing such an audacious twist. To go back to the orc thing, it's like if The Hobbit had contained a lengthy, empathetic subplot about the rich internality and fleshed-out-if-deeply-flawed ideology of the orcs, and then there was a pivot to treating them like a monolithic block of ontologically evil marauders in LOTR. While staring you straight in the eye the whole time, unblinking. Daring you to say something

[uesp]

Bethesda employees have requested that you support this post on the Xbox feedback platform in response to the recent wave of annual layoffs. Please give it an upvote/supporting comment. https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/69b8ec0b-7479-f111-9b47-6045bdbd0989

[maidslime]

There is no actual, tangible reason why we allow people to starve, to be homeless, to suffer and die needlessly. Food is plentiful. Empty homes are plentiful. Medicine is plentiful. It’s hidden away behind constructs and we pretend those constructs mean something. There is an empty home and a homeless family, give them it. There is a sick child and common medicine to treat it, give it to them. There is a starving person and so much food wasted by corporations or hidden behind a dollar sign, feed them.

[donthitanybody]

Tomska going hard on Twitter again.

[i-might-be-vanny]

[blackjame]

Phoenix police sergeant under investigation for off-duty actions at student ICE protest

The Phoenix Police Department is investigating the involvement of an off-duty sergeant in a late January high school walkout, which escalate

[segamascott]

[bi-astolfo]

Yes, investigation claimed at least 1,200 detainees 'dropped off the grid' from 'Alligator Alcatraz'

The claim is not new — the Miami Herald published its findings in summer 2025.

[standwithdaanes]

source for the congresswoman thing as well, because i hadn't heard about that:

Rep. LaMonica McIver Faces 17 Years in Prison Over ICE Jail Inspection

The Trump administration has repeatedly attempted to restrict or thwart congressmembers’ access to ICE jails.

[cock-holliday]

https://archive.is/20260404100138/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/us/politics/lamonica-mciver-immigration-congress-trump.html

A non-paywall version of an April update about how her shit dem colleagues are failing to stand with her

[hms-no-fun]

in light of today's events, i want to share a story i was told during a study abroad summer in italy, where i took a class on the rise of fascism.

the picture below is the site of a mass grave. captive partisans were brought here by nazis, forced to dig, and then executed on the spot.

our tour guide, who was delighted by our group because tourists never ask about fascism, walked us forty minutes to this vineyard in the middle of nowhere. there were no signs on the road. us americans were worried about trespassing, since no one on the property was around.

he took us to this grove and explained that the partisans were young communists from the nearby town of arezzo. local land & business owners, even their parents and friends, had eagerly ratted them out because they saw nazi occupation as bringing order back to the region.

we learned that many in central italy still to this day see nazis as heroes and americans as villains, because the nazis got rid of those troublesome punks while the americans brought bombs and tanks.

then our tour guide informed us that his own grandfather was one of the partisans executed here.

he told us that the nazis lined them up one by one and shot each in the head, and more times in the chest. but human beings are hard to kill, and it was known that even this kind of brutality was survivable.

so they threw grenades into the grave, just to be sure.

this was standard practice.

nestled in the bushes nearby with zero fanfare stands a single solitary monument. there are monuments just like it all across italy.

what stuck with me was not just the cruelty of the nazis. it was the callousness of the turncoats, who never stopped believing that they had done the right thing.

whether by nature or nurture, there is a class of people who will always prefer death and destruction over a reduction in profits. they cannot be reasoned with. they cannot be taught empathy. they will watch young people shot, dismembered, and buried alive, and they will say that god is good.

there is no reform. there is no compromise.

believe what your eyes see. listen to what your heart tells you. we are surrounded by systems that exist to launder guilt and naturalize structures of oppression, so that we side against our senses.

but you know exactly what is happening. you do.

we are waking up from a dream of peace in the interregnum of a war that never went away. the fruits of our nation's conduct, a largely bipartisan project from the start, have arrived by the truck-full. it did not come out of nowhere. it's not new, or unprecedented, or even particularly surprising.

what it IS, however, is the present. it's not a history book. it's not a mass grave. it is happening right now.

and right now, this moment and each moment after, is the *only* moment you will ever own.

stories will be told about this era for years to come. but only we are its authors.

only you.

only us.