#armored core lore

[tlgtw]

//Spoilers for Everything in AC6: Fires of Rubicon//

The Meaning of the Motif of "Borrowed Wings" and how G5 Iguazu Exists to Reinforce It

What seems to fly over everyone's heads about G5 Iguazu is that the point of his character is how 'deciding upon a goal and having the willpower to strive for it, no matter what' is literally as important as the line between life and death.

You need to find a purpose for yourself that you personally believe in. Cause no matter how grand or how petty that purpose is, if you don't have one... you die!

With whether or not you actually succeed at that goal being completely irrelevant... to your conviction for it.

(Something, something, it's the ambition that you're living for, not whether or not you get the accolades at the end.)

A moral proclaiming the importance of "deciding upon a purpose of your own free will, and then pursuing that goal no matter what setbacks you encounter" is all nice and easy when you're main character e621, who experiences no setbacks because, as the player, you're necessarily going to be strongest fighter in the galaxy.

But it's pretty obvious how trite that is on its own, where your only canonical character trait is that you always win no matter what.

And so, Iguazu's purpose narratively is to show how, beyond any ounce of doubt whatsoever, that 'winning' is not a relevant part in what makes "having a purpose" so important, or so necessary.

In essence: It's what makes Iguazu live.

Start of the Game: Volta and Iguazu both want to beat up Michigan.

- Volta gives up, and then he gets sent by Michigan to die at the Wall.

- Iguazu deserts. And he does not die at the Wall.

After Gallia Dam he send you hatemail to say that the Redguns will scale the wall, but Iguazu himself doesn't even approach the Wall after this. As G4 Volta's last words reveal, he deserts before the operation is attempted.

Iguazu *himself* watches from the sidelines, costing him no less than an almost certain death like Volta's.

And the reason Iguazu changes his mind about scaling the wall with the Redguns is because, after Gallia Dam, Iguazu decides upon his purpose. His personal conviction.

Iguazu personal goal becomes -> He wants to kill you.

We love pathetic boys.

But the reason Iguazu deserts for the sake of this new goal is specifically because he wants to become stronger than 621, and not want his obligations as part of the Redguns to get in the way of this goal of his, he goes independent.

--- Correction ---

Iguazu deserts the Redguns at Watchpoint Alpha, prior to the death of G1 Michigan. He doesn't desert the Redguns at the Wall, he only goes Away WithOut Leave. The reason for which he goes AWOL being to take independent work, as we see an example of at Grid 086. Outcomes of everything are still the same, I just mixed up the order.

Also;

Volta: "Iguazu, listen, like, Michigan really like cares about us...! It's like we're part of his family, man, just give him a chance."

Volta: *Gives Michigan a chance*

Volta: *Gets killed under the leadership of G1 Michigan*

It's really funny but sad.

It's also really funny and sad how effective at Yank-bait G1 Michigan was.

But it's illustrative of how effective it is to break down someone's expectations and feelings of self-worth to legit 0, such that empty platitudes like simply saying the right words, like the names of the expendables themselves or to bring in the medical teams after a battle (as if they wouldn't have come otherwise?), will leave such an impression that they think you really do care about them--even in despite of how worthless they obviously are~!

And all at the same time as your direct actions and orders lead them straight to their meaningless avoidable deaths.

What could be more cost-efficient for your employers than soldiers who're literally suicidal for you, right?

Ha!

--- ---

And not only does this decision directly lead to Iguazu not dying at the Wall, but, no longer squeezed under G1 Michigan's boots, G5 even directly improves as a fighter.

This is shown in how his AI differs between his fighting at the Gallia Dam--where he's overly defensive, constantly having his shield up, despite wielding two guns.

And then, later at the Grid--where he actually fights aggressively like his AC's loadout is built for.

The second major encounter with Iguazu is Watchpoint Alpha where he either fights you directly, and dies there. Or he hires Coldcall to kill you, and survives elsewhere. Again, this is an instance of Iguazu's legitimate determination towards his chosen goal directly separating him from life and death.

When he hires Coldcall, Iguazu focuses on his goal, and let's go of distractions like his personal pride and image.

Ridiculous, right? Iguazu letting go of his pride?

But consider how it's directly Iguazu's personal feelings that lead him to facing 621 personally. He doesn't *just* want to kill you in that instant, he wants the glory of killing you as well.

But the accolades at the end aren't what makes it worthy to pursue a chosen goal.

Iguazu wants 621 dead. And when he hires Coldcall, this is him coming to terms with pursuing his goal, regardless of his personal setbacks. Iguazu faces the fact that he personally wouldn't be able to kill you. And, because he comes to term with this setback, he finds an alternative method that would still lead towards fulfilling his chosen purpose.

To confirm, of course, Iguazu's purpose is really dumb and terrible. But it's not whether one's chosen purpose is 'a good goal' or not that the value of pursuing it comes from. The value comes from it being one you decided for yourself, as opposed to, for, for example, by a corporation's profits. (Not a coincidence narratively how Balam's forces, united most in their complete idolization of G1 Michigan, following *his* word no matter what even knowingly to their deaths, are the deadmost losers in the story.)

Unlike for example e621's chosen conviction, or Rusty's chosen conviction, (Also no coincidence narratively that G1 Michigan, who only exists as the weapon of his corporation and put out a bounty for his own assassination--expressing how he has no personal plans for the future and literally wants to die--is guaranteed to be taken out by either of these two, no matter what.)

It's not the loftiness of a goal that determines if it's of worth to decide upon one of your own free will and pursue it in the first place.

The 'value' of pursuing a goal is unrelated to what that goal itself is.

What makes pursuing a goal valuable, is the conviction.

You don't have to be smart. You don't have to be emotionally mature. You don't have to be a good fighter. You don't even have to be brave.

You just need to choose your purpose and follow it.

This is what the motif of 'wings' and 'borrowed wings' are all about in the story as well. It's about pursuing a goal that was chosen by someone else, versus pursuing a goal that was chosen by you yourself.

"They choose what to fight for, and take to the skies in flight."

"One cannot fly on borrowed wings" in this case literally meaning that if you pursue a goal not because you want it, but because someone else wants it, it will directly lead to your death.

Criticizing their "borrowed wings" is what Ayre and Rusty chastise the RLF for for solely repeating slogans and "not bothering to think [for themselves]."

And Iguazu, deciding he doesn't care about how he'd be seen by others, and only caring for the goal itself to be accomplished. Survives, where Coldcall dies in his place.

Coldcall, a far superior fighter to Iguazu. Dies, instead of Iguazu, because he was flying for Iguazu's purpose -> Fighting on borrowed wings.

Etc etc "this is hell, we're in hell!" and so on and in the Alea Iacta Est true ending of the game Iguazu, outta nowhere!, becomes the legit Final Boss of Armored Core 6.

How the hell did this 4th-gen AC pilot, otherwise a completely random nobody without a purpose not given to him by his employer, get to outer space and stuff, right?

Well, consider how the complete rando that was e621 does the same: Their personal conviction.

"But Iguazu only got to become the final boss out of dumb luck," right? ALLMIND chose him for little else but that he was the only old-gen Augmented Human that was still alive. If ALLMIND wasn't there, he couldn't have accomplished anything, so obviously it can't actually be meaningful.

But how would 621 have escaped Institute City without being rescued by Carla? How would we have escaped Arquebus re-education without the AC that Handler Walter secretly assembled left for us?

And, most relevantly here since this is the Alea Iacta Est route itself: How would 621 have known about V.II Snail planning to ambush you in Institute City without ALLMIND herself's very assistance?

C4-621 is, at a glance, just as much a recipient of dumb luck as Iguazu.

But thematically, it's not pure happenchance.

It's the results of the both of these characters continuing to fight for a cause they chose to believe in, no matter what.

So Iguazu survives. He survives the hijacking of Watchpoint Alpha by ALLMIND. And he even goes so far as to survive the hijacking of his own brain by ALLMIND, taking over the final boss even after being assimilated.

"What essential difference made ACs superior to unpiloted craft?"

The answer is simple -> One cannot fly on borrowed wings.

Unpiloted craft can never have a purpose that is actually their own. They exist only for the person who's wings they borrow--who's purpose they serve--who built them.

That's why piloted ACs are better. *Not* on borrowed wings, in this case, they can fly higher.

For C4-621, that chosen goal is to achieve Coral Release. (Since it's is still the mission you yourself choose that finally puts you on the Alea Iacta Est route or not, it fits within the theme of free will. Even though, as a videogame, there's an obvious limit to just *how* much free will the player is actually able to express. Within the story, however, when 621 chooses the mission to begin the path to an ending, that's them deciding for themselves 100% that's that the goal they want to achieve, no matter what.)

For Iguazu, that chosen goal is to kill you. (The goal he wants to achieve, no matter what.)

And so, because he was not flying on borrowed wings. Iguazu survives fucking everything. Stupid wings, yeah. But that just shows: What matters is only that they were his own.

Even against the most powerful super duper AI mastermind that ALLMIND was, the biggest loser on Earth, G5 Iguazu, survived.

Where even she is made to give way to Iguazu's conviction -> Killing e621.

Hammering this point home is why "I'm only here for what *I* want! I don't care about ALLMIND's goals, just my own!" is basically the only thing Iguazu says across like 2 entire 3rds of the final boss.

Iguazu's chosen goal is not ultimately successful.

But it wasn't whether or not Iguazu ultimately killed 621 in Rubicon's exosphere that lead to him not dying at the Wall like G4 Volta, or at Watchpoint Alpha like G1 Michigan and Coldcall, or upon the destruction of his physical body by ALLMIND.

It was his conviction that lead him past those things. His WINGS!

He chose what to fight for, and he fought for it.

On the wings of his free will, Iguazu flew above even the very clouds of Rubicon itself.

And that's why he was the Final Boss.

The only thing able to finally kill him being the person with a conviction even greater, C4-621.

(As a sidenote; Taking account of the main moral of Armored Core 6 really puts into perspective how many trillions of times it gets repeated explicitly across the game lol.

VS Rusty, VS Rusty when he calls you "power without a purpose," VS Cinder Carla, VS Handler Walter, Ayre's description of what the name "Raven" is literally supposed to mean, etc.

They all talk about how you've chosen your path and you'd made sacrifices to get this far and you finally have a conviction that is your own and how big a deal that is and so on.)

[ghost-of-tk]

made this awhile ago but have since made several amendments.

[drenched-in-sunlight]

Been looking at all your awesome Armoured Core stuff again recently, and it reminded me of something.

I vaguely remember that there was some reason a lot of folks shipped Flatwell & O'Keefe, I think something about their callsigns or emblems, but I can't remember what specifically and It's bothering me a disproportionate amount.

Would you happen to know what that might be about?

(To be clear I don't disapprove of it at all, it's just been on my mind and my internet searches haven't turned anything up :/ ).

o-oh.... the reason ppl ship O'Keefe and Flatwell is because of me haha :sweat:

there are only 4 pilots that use the MA-J-200 RANSETSU-RF rifle in the game and it's Rusty, Flatewell, O'Keeffe and Dolmayan.

the description of MA-J-201 RANSETSU-AR (another Ransetsu rifle in-game) states that this line of rifle is mass-produced for Rubicon Liberation Front.

Given that 3 out of 4 people that use it are RLF members, it's not a stretch to say O'Keeffe could be one of them or at least a sympathizer, since there's text data stating Vespers don’t favour kinetic weapons (which Ransetsu rifle is).

There's also that thing about how Flatwell used to be a spy & having swayed over a significant contact in Schneider's HR department + his AC being an agile, lightweight AC with the same design concept as Schneider ACs + O'Keeffe being head hunted by Arquebus information dept + Schneider being a subsidiary of Arquebus

-> i believe Flatwell used to work as a double agent in Schneider & the important contact he managed to sway over is O'Keeffe, who went on to become V.III

Rusty being able to rise so quick through Arquebus rank is a joint effort between the two of them (or as i like to joke the nepo baby allegation)

there are other things like Flatwell and O'Keeffe being the only pilots to use the same line of Furlong missile launcher (BML-G1 line) with Furlong also giving out the technology to help build Rusty's Steel Haze ORTUS, Flatwell and O'Keeffe also rank next to each other in the arena lol.

what you mentioned about emblems is one of my talking points too (:head in hands:...), Vespers are named after famous individuals and O'Keeffe is an artist, whereas Flatwell's emblem is a cover art of a real book

(if you want another truth nuke, the photographer providing inside photos for that book is Russell Munson.

"Rusty" is shortened nickname version of Russell.)

(i swear the Japanese fandom also discussed that, im not insane)

[maranigai]

White glint | Anatolia's mercenary

[s3znl-gr3znl]

Replaying AC6 (its like my 8th run at this point) and I'm only now beginning to wonder why lots of the AC designs you see from characters dont have a more reliable weapon in their right hand.

The only ones that come to mind that do are Rusty, Nightfall, and Iguazu (using kinetic weapons specifically) while many others opt for a more explosive option in their right hand and their main weapon in the left hand.

Some examples of that are Sulla and Volta, both opting for an explosive in the right hand and a more aggressive close-range weapon in the off hand. (Not to mention poor Ziyi who only has small grenade launchers in either hand)

Having learned a bit more about the community and older games I suspect its because many AC vets found it was better to play the game by holding the controller upside down like this

and thus would select a reliable primary for their left hand. So this strikes me as a subtle nod to the series' past, as well as a statement on the character/AC and their design theories/preferences.

[groundrunner100]

For those wondering why Star Trek is not on this list, check my previous poll for the unofficial Science-Fiction Franchise With The Best Lore.

You’ll understand my reasoning.

[morninkim]

Power Rangers: Prime Suspects - Bowen

Ankash the Phoenix Knight

same as ever, story stuff under the cut!!

Ever since Udonna first established Root Core, Clare has fought threats from Repulsa forces, Dark Magic users, anyone wishing to invade the last bastion of Good Magic on Earth. None so persistent as Ankash the Phoenix Knight, lifelong loyal servant of the Master. Ankash wields the Knight Saber, sword of his late mentor, Koragg, and transforms using a mysterious claw-like morpher infused with his Dark Magic. On orders from his Master, who wants to claim their power for himself to overthrow Rita's rule, he now targets this mysterious new Green and Pink Ranger pair. Intent on killing three Rangers with one blade, he backs them into a corner and forces them to seek refuge at Root Core, knowing that the Gatekeeper would never turn away someone in need. What he didn't count on, though, was these strangers' knowledge of another world. One where his life took a much different turn. A turn that may not be out of reach for him, if he just accepts the hand reached out to him.

[audiodog]

playing AC6 but pup is high and wearing a collar & hearing a clicker and being called a good girl every time it takes out an enemy AC.

[kivaember]

here's a little snippet of 621's time in CIT before he was put into stasis... the time is not fun, as a forewarning, and it gives a bit of info about the other assets. Not really spoilers for APV since the other assets will never come up in any detail... so enjoy!

-

"Asset 04's performance is finally starting to slip. Pretty impressive it took this long."

Jack didn't look up at his coworker's observation, too busy carefully adjusting the parameters for the simulation's next run. Blinking in the top right corner of the screen, the numbers 36:26:10 proclaimed how long the simulation's session had run.

It was inhumane, he knew. Simulations were used extensively to train baseline and augmented humans alike, and their safe useage was strictly regulated because of how ubiquitous of a training tool it was. Baseline humans were recommended to spend only an hour at a time in the simulations, whereas augmented humans could push it to three.

Asset 04 had been in there for over thirty-six hours non-stop.

There was a reason for it - there was always a reason for CIT's cruel acts - but Jack still had his misgivings about it all. He was a new hire, though, came recommended by the UEG to help CIT with their hush-hush augmented human project - walked into a carnival of horrors instead. He knew some lines had to be crossed for the overall advancement of the human race but... god. The things he saw, the things he had to do...

But work was work, and legally the Assets weren't considered humans anyway. Labrats, at most, with the government approving of their medical and experimental torture so long as it gave them useful results for their various projects and what not. There'd be no point in whistleblowing, in trying to do anything to reverse these monstrous acts - Jack would just die, and he liked living, so he just kept quiet and kept turning the dial.

Literally and figurative. He finished the simulation adjustments and finally turned to his coworker - Aiden.

"The next course run is ready but, should we keep increasing the difficulty? As you say, Asset 04 is starting to struggle with exhaustion. I don't feel like we'd get any valuable data continuing like this."

Aiden just gave him a half-shrug. "Well, the bosses like us testing them to failure. They specifically want 04 pushed to its physical limits in the simulations before its taken for examination, anyways."

"If they want to observe his body's response to physical and mental distress, there's a more efficient way of doing it," Jack muttered, but he knew he was edging a bit too close to belligerent, so began the simulation.

Asset 04 was in the observation room over, situated in a pod with a glass cover that simulated his cockpit within his Symbiotic Core (SC, for short). Jack couldn't see the asset's face, the glass reflected a lot and he wore a protective helmet with an opaque black visor, but he could still see the asset's body twitch slightly as the simulation renewed.

Jack remembered how uneasy he had felt when he had laid eyes on Asset 04 for the first time. With the later assets it was easier, because they had been augmented as adults and the procedures were less invasive and horrifying (not by CIT's choice, but the galactic Coral shortage had them rationing out that miracle substances), but Assets 00 to 05 were...

Asset 00 barely looked older than ten, their physical development permanently halted by their experimental Coral augmentations. Asset 00 was also basically brain-dead, barely able to perform basic tasks and had to have a minder 24/7. A failure, but the "biological immortality" of their augmentations interested CIT. Jack had only seen them once, and only in brief passing - understandably, Asset 00 wasn't trained as an SC pilot or used in the same experiments and taskings as the other Assets. They were too valuable, research wise.

Asset 01 was far more comfortable to deal with, as he had aged normally and acted like any resentful child soldier all grown up. He jumped when ordered to, and he didn't bite, but Jack could see it in his eyes every time they ran experiments - Asset 01 wanted to rip them limb from limb with his bare hands, and there was always a taut undercurrent to his 'understood' and 'yessir'. If any of the Assets were going to snap and go on a murderous rampage, Jack would put his money on Asset 01 (and honestly, he wouldn't blame him).

Asset 02, Jack had only seen twice, and she had filled him with an aimless sort of sadness. Her aging was slower than most and she looked like a young adult. But she was mentally shattered, susceptible to periods of dissociation and unable to really care for herself at times. She could still pilot an SC, and she did so very well as one of CIT's 'procurement agents' (kidnapper/assassin), but she had to be dragged into her cockpit and strapped down, prone to simply going limp and being as uncooperative as possible. She reminded him of a captive animal that had given up and was simply waiting to die - or someone who realised that the only way she could protest her treatment was to simply not engage at all. CIT were routinely frustrated and annoyed at her actions, he knew that. Maybe it vindicated her.

Asset 03, Jack had never seen but had heard about. Youthful looking and 'somewhat stable', she was 'on loan' to Arquebus, a potential partner in future collaboration in augmentation. Jack had heard that particular avenue of research was promising some interesting things, and CIT were very closely scrutinising the 'Coral Supplement' that Arquebus was developing 'thanks to Asset 03's contributions'. Jack tried not to think too deeply about how Asset 03 contributed to that scientific breakthrough.

Asset 05 was who Jack dealt with the most, aside from Asset 04, and that was because Asset 05 occupied a very strange position within CIT. If rumours were to be believed, Asset 05 was the offspring of one of the CIT's leadership, offered up as a sacrificial lamb on a gamble that had miraculously paid off. Asset 05 was remarkably stable and has integrated well with his Coral augmentations, showing no sign of mental trauma, illness or any other 'unseemly defects'. Asset 05 was also incredibly intimidating in ways Jack couldn't really articulate, because even when Asset 05 was strapped down to an operating table completely naked utterly emotionless, Jack felt an oppressive sort of pressure on the back of his neck, like he had a snarling beast just inches away from snapping his head off.

Needless to say, none of the researchers liked handling Asset 05.

Then, there was Asset 04: the golden child fallen from grace.

Jack came after the 'Incident', but he understood that Asset 04 was a terrible tragdy. Much like Asset 05, he'd been a very stable prototype with very interesting qualities that had demanded further investigation and research. CIT had even trotted him out as an advertisement tool to the UEG leadership, a template of 'look, look, this is what all of you can have in a few decades, if you keep funding us!' Asset 04 had all of the benefits and none of the drawbacks: extraordinarily long-lived but youthful, a near perfect immune system, a stunning intellect, amazingly well-socialised and emotionally intelligent, sweet-tempered...

Then the Incident happened, Asset 04 suffered from debilitating injuries that had given him irreversible brain damage, fried a good chunk of his neural implants, and rendered him amnesiac and mute. Jack had been brought in when Asset 04 was relearning basic things like 'walking' and potty training.

Maybe that was why he was always so conflicted and unnerved when it came to Asset 04, then. He looked young, was small and slight, and his wide, guileless eyes and soft face made him look younger still. Jack didn't have kids, but he had a younger nephew with a passing similarity to Asset 04. Teaching him to walk, watching him 'grow up' in a compressed timeline all while strapping him down and tormenting him in senseless experiments like this...

Jack didn't believe in heaven or hell, but some days he wondered. He knew he'd never sleep well for the rest of his days, at least.

He was drawn from his brooding thoughts by the simulation indicating another course finish. He examined the results, and felt disappointed that Asset 04-

"Another success," Aiden whistled. "This is nuts. It really is a killing machine."

"I think he's just terrified of failure. You'll be surprised how much fear can motivate a person," Jack said unthinkingly, and studiously ignored the look Aiden gave him. "We should probably break here. He 'passed' but his performance was abysmal. It's technically a failure for him."

"You're such a bleeding heart, Jack. That won't get you anywhere in CIT," Aiden sighed. "But... yeah, I'm getting bored just watching these print outs. He isn't even doing anything in the pod."

No. Asset 04 was very still. Jack would've been worried his heart had given out from exhaustion if it weren't for his vitals on the screen still going strong. Pulse elevated, oxygen levels up, heartrate going fucking crazy - but still very much alive.

"I'll handle clean up and return Asset 04 to his enclosure," Jack said, officially concluding the simulation. He'll likely get a smack on the wrist for it, but he'll just use Aiden's excuse: it was boring and not giving them anything new in terms of results. That tended to sway CIT leadership more than basic humanity. "If you compile the reports."

"Sure. The report's'll be easy to do." Aiden pushed himself up out of his chair. "Have fun cleaning up the labrat."

Jack said nothing. He waited for Aiden to leave the control room before releasing a loud and heavy sigh, his mouth twisted into an uncomfortable grimace. A bleeding heart...

He wasn't. If he really was a bleeding heart, he would've done something to stop the madness happening in CIT's labs. Their brutal experimentations on their assets had no real rhyme or reason - not any that Jack could divine, anyways - and they routinely crossed every single moral line in existence to pursue this human perfection. That was CIT's mission statement, after all: the perfection of the human race.

What that perfection was, and who was going to benefit from said perfection, Jack didn't know. At this point he felt like he didn't want to know.

"Don't think there's a hole deep enough in hell for us," Jack murmured, and shook his head. Well, he can grouch and brood all he liked, but here he was, willingly perpetuating it, because he was in too deep now. He's seen too much. Done too much.

The Assets will continue to suffer, and Jack will continue to standby and simply watch it - continue to participate in it. He may not want to see this perfection CIT claimed to pursue, but he was still curious about how far these augmentations could improve mankind - desperately hoping that it'd be worth it, that later he can say "well, we made a small handful of people suffer horribly, but it resulted in medical science that saved millions", because that would be worth it, won't it?

Was it an equal exchange? Their suffering for humanity's progress? Maybe.

Was it excuseable?

Hah.

Definitely not.

[modeus-the-misanthrope]

[Loading Employee profile.....30%.....74%.....]

[Modeus Brimstone Employee Profile fully loaded.]

Pilot name: Modeus Brimstone

Rank: N/A

Nickname: Momma Modey

Mech Name: Bubblegum Rose

Modeus Brimstone is not a licensed or register mech pilot. They are in actuality the Head Cook of the cafeteria facilities on base. However during a raid with most of the standing mech pilots on missions, Modeus hijacked an at the time un-connected Class-7 mech platform. Despite their lack of augmentations or conditioning, Modeus was able to kill 2 of the 7 assailants, and held off the rest from entering the main facility long enough for reinforcements to arrive. This was grounds for pardoning her theft of Class-7 company property. (Normally an offense resuting in immediate field execution by the nearest superior officer.) And for the near total destruction of the mech platform itself.

She has since undergone extensive combat augmentation to better pilot her rebuilt mech platform. Now named, The Bubblegum Rose. She is primarily employed as her previous position as Head Cook, but is expected to pilot her mech in defensive engagements. Her fighting style involves close range combat and brutal displays of aggression that demoralize her enemies. Which usually results in her mech taming extensive damage. (As she is primarily deployed in defense of our base of operations any and all money spent on repairing her mech is categorized under our "Asset loss prevention" budget.) Aided by her personalized melee impliment, a custom made Meat Cleaver that reached one third of her mech platforms total height. Normally such violent tendencies would be the result of long term overdosing of combat drugs.

However Modeus Brimstone has never once taken any to our knowledge, and even turns down recreational drug usage. (Both the kinds forbidden and permitted on company property.) As most forms of inhalents cause her severe migraines. Instead her sadistic nature is the cause. Modeus seems to have developed some form of split personality due to not taking the proper precautions during her intial connection to her mech platform. Being a kind and caring individual outside of the cockpit, providing an extensive moral boosting effect to those who know she is defending them, but routinely antagonizing her own squadmates when piloting her mech. Referring to most penal-rank mech pilots as "Crashout's" and using demeaning terms for the higher ranked pilots, such as "Incompitent cocksuckers".

She does have a soft-spot, ironically, for the least effective member of the bases Mecha pilots. @acybernetickiwi . Momma Modey is known for sneaking unathorized snacks to Kiwi, and taking them for walks around the mecha bay. She also takes advantage of her dual role to sneak Kiwi into unauthorized trips into the Bases kitchens.

[miirshroom]

A perspective for contextualizing Elden Ring: Marika does not exist

Consider what gods are, in the anthropological sense. Gods do not exist except in the minds and artefacts of people who define them. Marika is a god, therefore, Marika does not exist. Paradoxically, Marika exists because Radagon believed in her.

"The modern gods right now are the things we give our attention to, the things we give our time to, because time is precious, time is what we use to worship." - Neil Gaiman, on the New Gods (American Gods)

A question asked about 4 months ago on Reddit, and which has come up a few times since then:

"What do you make of the nominal primacy of Marika but the de facto centralith of Radagon in the Golden Order? Did Radagon exist at the founding of the GO?"

What I make of it is that Radagon/the Elden Beast/the avatar of the Sun in the Lands Between devoted his time to crafting a dream woman. Attaining this is the Golden Order decreed by the Greater Will. Because that's how it's supposed to work - the ideal masculine man hasn't achieved golden perfection without marrying the perfect beautiful wife - the silver moon reflecting the light of the sun. But Marika gained a life beyond her sculptor's expectations, in becoming a woman crafted not as an ideal partner, but as an ideal self.

Radagon is Marika and has always been the Marika whose echoes are relayed by Melina. Because both Radagon and Marika are personas in the end - both are fabrications of the Elden Beast that was once sent as Envoy of the Greater Will.

"Other dimensional beings are undoubtedly amazed at what human beings will accept as human beings too. 'But it's just a stick with a person on it.'" - Also Neil Gaiman, about bees believing that painted sticks are other bees

And the Elden Beast is itself representative of the order decreed by the Greater Will. The command to become golden. The Golden Order. Something to which so much time was dedicated to following that it grew to become a god of a different magnitude itself.

Therefore, in sequence: the Elden Beast - or "Radagon" for simplicity - created Marika (with her basic characteristics copied and refined from a particular woman who did exist at some point - see Roderika for example). Radagon governed the Lands Between as Marika, for a time (see Mimic Tears, Marika's Mischief, etc for the mechanism, specifics are unimportant. Someday I'll release my queued post comparing Radagon and Loki), because a majority of the population needed to believe in Marika for her to become accepted as a god consort. Then priorities changed when Radagon realized that he liked being Marika more than being "himself", self-image began to crumble, and Radagon went to study at Liurnia how to be Marika permanently. Its all very transgender, although through a strange route that makes sense in the context of gods who do not conform to the grounded limitations of the real world.

To truely become Marika, Radagon had to be destroyed. Because being another person means not being Radagon. But in the end Marika needed to be shattered too, because she had been modelled on a Numen from outside the Lands Between and becoming her could not be anything more than shallow imitation (see Melina being used as kindling to burn the Erdtree as a metaphor for letting go of the dream maiden). So, the status of avatar of the Greater Will in the Lands Between was handed off to someone else, while the discarded shell of Radagon and Marika wait at the Erdtree to be put to rest by the Tarnished.

The revelation that "Marika is Radagon" from using Law of Regression on the statue led Goldmask to conclude that Marika should remain the Inner Order to Radagon's Outer Order. Not a persona to be worn outwardly, but something to be hidden. Jungian psuedopsychology concept of anima. The gods are no better than men. Corhyn either is or represents the monk who wanted to be a maiden so of course he's broken about it when Goldmask concludes that it is impossible and the Elden Ring should be put back exactly as it was (except now not able to be broken). It's a regression that undoes all of the progress that Radagon made studying in Liurnia where he had concluded that for the sake of becoming Marika the ring should be deconstructed and reformed into a new shape.

From a certain point of view, Radagon was at odds not with the original Marika, but with what the idea of Marika grew to become over time while he was the part of the personality that stagnated.

...and that was generally where the original response ended. But now there's DLC on the way that invites us into a dream world to learn about the origins of Marika. And there's Messmer all done up like what I'd expect from a younger Radagon. From what we know of the framing device he won't be - not literally - but this does seem to be circling around more Jungian ideas. Basically, the idea that the 'Shadow' is a part of the unconsciousness where repressed thoughts are shoved, and it is a place accessible to the anima/animus but not the persona. So, the past self of Radagon/Marika envisioned as one of their offspring and buried in the Shadowlands.

And with all the Madonna/pregnant woman imagery I have just this feeling of dread of having to untangle the Freudian pseudo-psychology mother complex stuff that's tied up in this theatrical recreation of Marika's origin.

But anyways this all is what I think about whenever Marika is called a bitch or a tyrant or etc. It's shadowboxing against an imaginary woman whose physical presence is never seen - Marika does not exist.

[maranull]

an anime set in the Armored Core universe would be really good, I think

[drenched-in-sunlight]

A little comic I did for an AU where Arquebus captured 621 right after the Ice Worm mission and they never managed to escape.

Freud and Snail who captured a scavenger bird.

Rusty who did not get the chance to confess.

621 who did not remember a single thing.

vögelchen means little bird.

I feel dumb posting the comic without even posting my design of Freud and Snail yet so I include them at the end.

[ashenchorus]

watching ac6 at gdq showing me just how awful my brainrot for this game has gotten because hearing the couch and runner be confidently wrong about lore is affecting me

[premiumsockets]

i wish for the freud fight FromSoft had a suite of ace AC players in just, like, cubicles, fighting as freud in that particular level, just because of how much he's written to be like the player themself. Freud is a Gamer. it's thematically important to me that he's the only npc controlled by a real person it would be so cool

[lucretialux]

Anybody ever wonder if the reason enemy ACs are so fast they practically input read and dodge a shotgun point blank is because the pilots have implants several generations ahead of ours, while our implants are just the bare minimum complete with bugs and social ridicule?

And in true fromsoft fashion the devs are like, yeah we made it unfair. Wanna beat it anyway?

Like they’re literally half or more computer. No shit they can dodge a shotgun.

But they still have limited energy, and they can’t escape physics.