[ID: a headline under the label, "tech, elon musk," that reads, "elon musk's ai turns on him, labels him 'one of the most significant spreaders of misinformation on x.'" end ID.]
this is quite niche, but while i was getting 100% acheivements for dxmd, which included a large amount of its online breach mode, i realised that there was little to no archiving of the short stories (called 'darknet files') that are within this game mode.
as breach was not particularly popular, and it is an online only game mode, it feels likely that it will be taken down and become inaccessible at some point in the future. i don't even know how available it is on consoles. there are plenty of videos out there detailing the gameplay, and some screenshots and information on the fan made dx wiki, but no comprehensive screenshot archive of the stories.
the stories are not directly related to any of the main dx characters or plot, but they feature shadowchild from the system rift dlc and some new ripper characters, plus some lore about the in game corporations and locations we don't see much of in the main games. they're mostly told over text, and the ways that each character's personality is shown through text message typing styles is quite interesting.
links below:
i've uploaded as many screenshots as i can detailing each story to imgur - they are downloadable and hopefully high res enough to be zoomed in to be read easier, please either open pics in a new tab or zoom in the whole tab, or download everything. at some point in the future i'd like to make text transcripts but for now the pictures are a good start. please note some things change irreversibly once you've completed them (the story descriptions) and there are some dialogue choices you can make where i could only get pictures of the one i chose. if i find more pictures i will update the relevant album.
Darknet File Story #1 - Versalife - 'Just What the Doctor Ordered'
Darknet File Story #2 - Steiner-Bisley - 'A Life's Work' (this is one that has a dialogue choice in it, where i accept a bribe instead of getting the usual quest reward, because i needed the credits early to get an upgrade for the gameplay achievements lol)
Darknet File Story #3 - Tarvos Security - 'A Force to Recon With' (there is a boss fight before the last conversation with a new character, where you fight them)
Darknet FIle Story #4 - Santeau Group - 'New World Problems'
Darknet File Story #5 - Picus - 'Sleight of Hand' (shadowchild joins you in one of these missions. i swear there is supposed to be an option to join her or fairbanks, but i can't seem to find it in game anymore??)
Not based on any particular example btw but it occurred to me that a lot of non-American fic writers probably have no idea how health insurance works over here. And while sometimes it's fine and like chill and we pretend like it's fine when someone is all better from their hospital stay or surgery, I think it's a neat plot point and also a means of conflict and control, in a universe such as DX, that maybe a character can't pay their hospital bills. Which isn't just, say, the cost of the aug itself, but also inpatient care, which costs thousands of dollars if you don't have good insurance--and good insurance requires payments of 300-500 usd a month unless you get it thru your job. And big fuck you if you had it thru your job and then you lose your job, because while low cost insurance is possible to get thru the ACA, it's messy to sign up for and a lot of specialists don't take it. And if your income changes, you can lose it and have to sign up for something else entirely, for which you have only a limited period of time you're allowed to do so. (Potentially while someone is still sick or hurt). So like yeah, some avenues to explore there. How did your character afford an aug, if their life didn't depend on it? (because getting shitty insurance companies to cover anything that isn't immediately life-threatening, and even some stuff that IS, is like a protracted battle between a doctor actually willing to stand up for you (good luck if you've not got one of those) and a company that practices medicine without a license (decides if the treatment your doctor picks is "correct" or "medically necessary" to pay for).
Since DX has so many foreign writers (ilysm btw!!!!) i figured i'd slide this at yall.
Also before you ask yeah it's common for people to be in massive medical debt after a huge emergency, or a lengthy diagnosis and beginning treatment of an uncommon or chronic illness, if they have shitty (read: the only affordable monthly payment option) insurance. like for the cost of a year's rent kinda shit.
im password protecting this blog for a bit after tonight. i dont know what it is but im getting at least three to four spam bots on this one per day and its just too much for me to pay attention to when i dont use this blog, like, ever
ill bring it back once tumblr gets a handle on this shit
its jsut. hr is just. a bunch of mildly dubious people in their thirties who are. just not having a good time. the closer i get to 2027 the more im like. hm. those are just Guys You Find In The Office. its hilarious
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