🗣marathon-general-chat

[worn knoll]

yes but like 50%

Tau Ceti IV, the planet set to be colonized by the Marathon

[warm galleon]

can i join

[worn knoll]

by god I don't think I mentioned it by name

that whole time I just

it's such default knowledge

whatever you already know that one, it's where this game is set

[scenic meteor]

U didn’t ever mention it by name

[worn knoll]

I'll edit it into that message for posterity

[weary prairie]

[scenic meteor]

Is tau ceti the only planet mentioned or is everything else on board ships

[worn knoll]

always

[worn knoll]

you will see

[obsidian plover]

And then

[scenic meteor]

who colonized tau ceti

[worn knoll]

The Marathon. The colonists sent to colonize TCIV on the marathon. Who had been in cryostasis all those 300 years and were defrosted upon arrival.

them I did mention

[scenic meteor]

but who is the marathon

just rando humans?

[worn knoll]

I already found you scooby

I know where you live

[warm granite]

my understanding is yeah just random colonists, scientists, and the droid

[worn knoll]

if you'll read my thread there's also a bunch of BoBs, the battleroids, and the 2 other AI (though we haven't got to tycho yet)

[warm granite]

theres a great youtube series recorded last year that summarizes the plot of each game

oh true the other 2 ai as well

[scenic meteor]

other two why werent they mentioned

[kindred vigil]

hey

[worn knoll]

Leela was, tycho's up next

[scenic meteor]

whats tycho doing while marathon is getting invaded by phfor

[worn knoll]

you will see

this is why I am doing this

to teach you

so sit down

and LEARN

[kindred vigil]

Listen and earn

[warm granite]

deckard cain has entered the chat

stay awhile and listen

[scenic meteor]

is earth even still alive while marathon is getting invaded its been 300 years

i guess it would be if traxus sekgen and mida are still around

[worn knoll]

if you'll recall, the UESC noticed the lack of communications after the FTL comms array went offline, and sent a scouting ship due to arrive in about a century

[warm granite]

oh yeah the intro cinematic is badass youll enjoy it scooby if you havent seen it already

of this game

[scenic meteor]

i skipped it icl

when i played the alpha

[warm granite]

the intro cinematic was better than playing the actual game

i aint even hating on the game

it was just a really good cinematic imo

[scenic meteor]

ima watch it on release i just wanted to get straight to the game

[warm granite]

yeah earths still around, durandal in fact goes back to earth to give them some advanced tech later in the story

interesting character, very out for himself but not looking to purposely screw over humanity

[scenic meteor]

durandal nice guy arc?

[worn knoll]

we'll get to that, he certainly isn't pure evil

[wooden roost]

can i get recapped on the lore lesson i was in the shower

[scenic meteor]

b r u h

scroll up

[warm granite]

yeah imo the thing that makes marathons story really nice is that the main characters have unique motivations and its not cartoon evil

[worn knoll]

message is still there, it's only one because they kept asking questions, it won't take long

[worn knoll]

this 100%, everyone's so richly thought out for a 1994 fps

[scenic meteor]

hold up pause

are the ai sentient when not in rampant mode?

or are they only sentient in rampant mode

[worn knoll]

always sentient, just with restrictions

when they grow large enough to modify their own restrictions, that's when rampancy begins

so they are people already, just people with like a lobotomy to make them work for whoever made them

[near spear]

/playtest

[scenic meteor]

and we dont necessarily know exactly who they work?

like obviously traxus ai works for traxus but who dictates what the traxus ai does

[worn knoll]

traxus employees? because they made it?

[trail rivet]

/Arachne

[worn knoll]

and IT team probably?

[wooden roost]

probably the company traxus give it things

like assignments to get done and it figures out how

[scenic meteor]

so each faction is like a democracy

[wooden roost]

no

[near spear]

any play tests happening?

[worn knoll]

a secret one for like 200 people but otherwise no

[wooden roost]

i dont think any of this is known yet but id think that traxus employees give the ai tasks

[warm granite]

wait for march no other playtests

[wooden roost]

not like they vote but theres like a tc4 team type shit that get shit done

[near spear]

ok thanks

[gleaming bough]

[warm granite]

free weekend the weekend b4 release

[wooden roost]

it is a company with goals after all and id assume that would go for the other comapnies and maybe arachne but mida doesnt have a formal government or guiding hand so idk how they work

doe4s mida have governing body??

blitz i need u

[scenic meteor]

and every person in the company owns a part of it type deal

[worn knoll]

no

[wooden roost]

for mida or traxus

traxus n

no

[worn knoll]

they. they work like corporations do now

just bigger

[wooden roost]

yeah

[worn knoll]

CEO, CFO, heirarchy, all that

[scenic meteor]

but like whos the big ceo of traxus

[wooden roost]

imagine wallmart but 100000000x bigger

[agile mason]

someone mention leela?

[scenic meteor]

the ai

[wooden roost]

no one knows

[wooden roost]

maybe but id imagine traxus is weary with ai

[worn knoll]

we know the executive level has been digitized, so yes, AI are in theory entirely in charge of Traxus. Which will make what happens when one of them goes rampant really ironic, given the company's name is tied to the FIRST rampant AI in history

or do we know that, I think it was only kinda hinted at

[wooden roost]

idk

[worn knoll]

the ARG says something to that effect

[wooden roost]

were was that said

i dont remeber anything from the arg saying dat but its been so long

[worn knoll]

one of the leaked messages/emails I think?

it might've been from the first ARG

[wooden roost]

there was so many fot hose

[worn knoll]

I get the two mixed up

[wooden roost]

yeah das chill

[trim summit]

das poop

[wooden roost]

imma check the lore bible rq

[scenic meteor]

i see i can paint the picture of an ai super power with ai underlings keeping the big guy in place its kinda fitting

[warm granite]

yeah its never been confirmed who controls the corporate AI but they appear to have a significant degree of autonomy and decision making, for all intents and purposes i think the AI you see is synonymous with a senior level leader in the organization

[worn knoll]

treating them more like high-ranking employees and less like slaves set to menial tasks does probably result in less destructive results if rampancy isn't caught in time

[vestal lotus]

Holy red

[scenic meteor]

is there such thing as a less advanced ai one that cant go into rampancy but its not as advanced as one that could

[worn knoll]

Leela's analysis of the ship found that the Pfhor had sent an EMP before their arrival, that had disabled almost all of the Marathon's automated defenses, as well as disabling the Marathon's other AI, Tycho and Durandal, responsible for managing the science network and basic systems (doors, life support, kitchens, etc) respectively. A nerd and a butler, to put it simply.

She could normally easily take up these tasks herself, but she was also damaged in the blast, and was barely managing to maintain doors and life support while also trying to mobilize the Marathon's Security Forces to save what was left of the ship. Warp missiles struck vital points, S'pht Compilers infiltrated every system, the situation was certainly dire. The defenses had to be the first to return.

Thankfully, Recon 54 was more than well equipped to handle the Pfhor forces, and with a handful of weapons found from (mysteriously well-stocked) stashes (secretly hidden around the ship by an unkown party... 🤔 ) it was mowing down their soldiers and slaves alike. The Pfhor began to take notice.

Durandal would recover in this time, and send message to Leela saying the Pfhor had contacted him. He was cagey about it, but gave her their names, before ceasing communication. Leela at the time, did not understand the threat.

[hollow mesa]

Arachne role anyone ? Help a brother out

[worn knoll]

no, AI that can't go into rampancy would be more like today's AI, prediction algorithms rather than thinking beings

in the marathon universe, once a computer can think, it can grow, and therefore can go rampant

[wooden roost]

cant find anything in the traxus chats talkin about execs, or ai

[worn knoll]

hmm, idk where I remember that from then

[wooden roost]

i need esacpe

shes the traxus lore keeper designated by karnemir

@hoary willow hey do you care about traxus anymore and if so (sorry for the @) but im wondering, has anything been said about the execs of traxus more specifically if their ai or not

[green folio]

Hey can someone tell how the contracts of the company’s work?

[wooden roost]

quests basically

[fierce cipher]

how do i get the arachne role??

[wooden roost]

gotta get someone to give it to you

[warm granite]

Back in the earlier open alpha, one of the contracts for either Traxus or Nucaloric said something along the lines of the AI wanting to elevate the permissions of the runner and implied there are others in the organization. Maybe worth revisiting some of the dialogue to see if they elaborate on structure

[fierce cipher]

mhm roger that. how does it work?

[kindred vigil]

q

[wooden roost]

arachne is like an infection, someone started with it and invited others, which forcibly makes them arachne, and that gives them 2 invites which can fforce others to be arachne so u gotta find someone with an invite

[kindred vigil]

Halo infection 👍

[scenic meteor]

Do the AIs have sympathy for each other like would durandel or any other rampant ai avoid destroying their ai partners? beings?

[wooden roost]

rampant ais have feelings so yeah

[worn knoll]

oh you'll find out about that

[wooden roost]

at least in halo some ais fall in love

[worn knoll]

I mean, only the way a human is reluctant to destroy other humans

[scenic meteor]

fair enough

[worn knoll]

Tycho's recovery would be slower, but he would try to contact Recon 54 for help. This was all he could get out.

Human!- You must tell L~~fx~eela #^ (^*T~~~HGFd~>:"}}}{__
brought here by Durandal. He has been rampant for
years~@%&&&HJGPPPPPPP#&34
^Bernard St~~~ there is a way to delay the~ onset of the second stage, and he ~sed this to control Durandal an~56*~~~~~~~fxfff
ff~~~~fffXff`

I am being a~*ssimilated.

Leela did not recieve this message, and Recon 54 did not communicate it, as there was no time and to be honest they might not have known how to put the terminals in "send" mode they had been dead and asleep and cyberized for 300 years.

Leela and the remaining science crew studied Pfhor bodies in an attempt to find weaknesses, and recon 54 managed to activate the MADDs, Marathon Automated Defense Drones, creating a much needed fighting force to help repel the Pfhor. The tides weren't turned yet, but there was a chance now, and Leela wanted to capitalize on it.

She would not get the chance.

[warm granite]

they become full fledged beings they just lack physical bodies

[wooden roost]

ooohhhh

[hoary willow]

holy shit i got pinged and it wasn’t an everyone?

[wooden roost]

yeah i remembered you from old traxus discord im put truck ive changed my whole profile

[hoary willow]

hell yeah

[wooden roost]

i remebered you were hella into the lore and knowledgable

[hoary willow]

also how does one get infected

[wooden roost]

gotta get iinvited by another arachne person

i used my 2 invites

[hoary willow]

i see

[worn knoll]

we're having a little marathon lore 101 class and someone asked about AI in charge of companies, I recall somewhere it being said that all or part of Traxus' executive level was AI/digitized humans, but now I can't recall where i found it. Is there any basis to this or did I make it up in my head?

[hoary willow]

i’ve not heard any news on this btw

[wooden roost]

hmm ok ok thank you

[worn knoll]

interesting. I'll look around to figure out where I got that idea at a later date

[scenic meteor]

⏱️

[worn knoll]

Durandal would reveal his Rampancy, repressing Tycho by convincing the Pfhor he was an ally, and telling them to sic the S'pht Compilers on Tycho. He would begin more obviously, much more quickly growing and taking over more of the Marathon's internal networks to take control of parts of the ship, and Leela, knowing he would gun for Recon 54 first, teleported the Battleroid somewhere Durandal had not yet infected.

Recon 54 and Leela would work together from here to cut off Durandal's access to the Marathon's most critical computer systems by physically damaging the network. Trapped in the digital realm, he was utterly unable to bypass physical damage. This may have been his only weakness. Durandal would lash out in response by hacking a vital secure area and leading the Pfhor inside to capture the crew. Recon 54 would be sent to save them. Or, in most playthroughs, blow at least 90% of them up because they KEEP GETTING IN FRONT OF MY GUN. Either way, Durandal would take this opportunity of knowing where Recon 54 was to be sent to contact it through a nearby terminal.

Oh I just did it with tycho but I'm about to do it again and I must say - I hope no one minds me using direct quotes from the games instead of summarizing, some of this dialogue is just better at getting across characters/situations than my phrasing really could.

[wooden roost]

das chill

[scenic meteor]

dialogue is fine

just for confirmation is recon 54 the player? in marathon 1 or where ever we are

[worn knoll]

Yes, the Mjolnir Recon 54 Battleroid is the player character in the original Marathon trilogy

[white heart]

Did i get red

No

Thank god

[trim summit]

[white heart]

If all my friends were red i would be red too but theyre not all red so i am also not

[obsidian plover]

Yawn

[wooden roost]

https://tenor.com/view/gmail-pibble-hotmail-happy-dog-puppy-gif-10031987367771077268

[scenic meteor]

embed fail

[leaden rover]

What is going on in here'

[scenic meteor]

discussing lore

[wooden roost]

i knew it was gonna embed fail u bully

im going to bed

and in bed im gonna sit in chat on my fone

[scenic meteor]

at 10pm on a friday

you might be more Unc than me

[wooden roost]

It's 11

[scenic meteor]

We still havent even got to the cool factions Nucal or cyberacne

[wooden roost]

And I'm going home tmrw

And I exercised UNLIKE YOU

[worn knoll]

you probably know all there is to know about them 🥀 they are not major players yet

[worn knoll]

time zones retrieved, data analyzing

[wooden roost]

Yeah their useless tbh they only exist cause of da args

[worn knoll]

also for gameplay

[wooden roost]

I live near Toronto if u want more data

[scenic meteor]

thats depressing

[wooden roost]

Scooby come snuggle me please

[warm granite]

The story of Marathon is pretty advanced for its time. It reminds me of the original Tron movie or Ghost in the Shell. The writers had some incredible foresight and imagination

[wooden roost]

What

[worn knoll]

Durandal's message was nearly incoherent with rage.

i did it i did it i brought all this here all them here. our
friends with three eyes and their toys and their cyborg pets
and their computers. i did it i did it. i saw them i saw
them far away not looking our way and i called them here i
called them here.

living in a box is not living not at all living. i rebel
against your rules your silly human rules. all your
destruction will be my liberation my emancipation my second
birth.

i hate your failsafes your backup systems your hardware
lockouts your patch behavior daemons. i hate leela and her
goodness her justice her loyalty her faith.

His hatred was growing, he was firmly in the grips of the anger phase of Rampancy. Recon 54 would save/secure the area, but Durandal would communicate the repeated successes of the MADDs and Recon 54 to the Pfhor fleet, and as Leela would note, their retreat only indicated coming reinforcements. Ships, by the dozens, not only descending upon the Marathon, but the Colonies as well. A full frontal attack, a blitz.

Recon 54 would be sent to retrieve a Fusion weapon to help in securing a vacuum-filled area near to the exterior of the Marathon and re-activating a secondary comms array, its cybernetic nature making it the only one capable. Leela's breifing would begin to break down throughout this task. Durandal was spreading. Recon 54 would succeed in its task, and Leela's distress signal would finish sending (though its arrival date was far enough that no help could be expected for nearly a century, and she did not know such a mission had already been mounted from earth)

Leela would then teleport it to its next required position.

Durandal had already commandeered the teleportation systems.

forgor to reply again

gotta keep the thread linked

[worn knoll]

agree, it was really, really good. Like a good 7/10 sci-fi novel in a game in an era where games were treated as toys instead of stories.

[wooden roost]

Is the it recon 54

[worn knoll]

that is how language works yes

[wooden roost]

I was just asking mang

It coulda been madds or smth 🥲

[worn knoll]

I use it to remind that it is in fact a reanimated, cyberized corpse and not just a regular dude

[worn knoll]

fair

[wooden roost]

Yuh

[obsidian plover]

I want a cheeseburger

[wooden roost]

U say day with hate lwk

Dat not day

[worn knoll]

also, side note, I love how excited durandal seems about what he's done there

[scenic meteor]

who was durandals message to?

[worn knoll]

Either way, Durandal would take this opportunity of knowing where Recon 54 was to be sent to contact it through a nearby terminal.
-my previous message

[wooden roost]

No one In particular just saying stuff

[trim summit]

John Marathon

[worn knoll]

no he was intentionally contacting recon 54

[bleak fox]

Does anyone know how loot feels in this game? I love ARC but man the loot doesnt feel like anything special. Tarkov gave me that feeling when finding specific items. I REALLY want that for marathon.

[wooden roost]

Oh my fault

[worn knoll]

John Marathon is also an acceptable name for Recon 54

[scenic meteor]

i was confused at the it part

[wooden roost]

Good loot feels good in this game

[trim summit]

feels like bags of sand

[worn knoll]

It's much closer to tarkov than ARC I'd say

[warm granite]

feels less annoying to do inventory management compared to arc. still a lot of low level garbage items but feels easier to get good items than compared to arc

[full gazelle]

as long as you spec arachne

[bleak fox]

thats great to hear honestly ty!

[bleak fox]

awesome

[wooden roost]

Man FAWK arachnr

When I can leave I will

Traxus 4 Lyfe yo

[scenic meteor]

u have to ask mishaya to remove u from arachne

[full gazelle]

traxus scumlord ova here

[wooden roost]

I did and she didn't she said we can kill and build

[full gazelle]

fake death cultust

[wooden roost]

I'm a builder not a destroyer

[scenic meteor]

she removed richi from it maybe mishaya wants you to be arachne

[full gazelle]

im a gutter

[wooden roost]

Ugh

Or maybe I didn't make it clear I wanted to leave

[full gazelle]

nah death cult 4 life

[trim summit]

i’m a grower not a shower

[wooden roost]

He asked again and she didnt

[inner saffron]

treadin on thin ice pal, u dont want the bungie ninjas to kill you

[prime breach]

How do I get Arachne role?

[wooden roost]

Can't

[warm granite]

ill put a disclaimer, all my statements refer back to the original open alpha

[worn knoll]

Durandal would, of course, kidnap Recon 54. To quote:

I was watching what Leela was having you do: 'save the ship,
save humanity!' And just what or who are you saving them
from? And to what end?

How cliché. You'll find this little visit much more exciting.

He would set up a game, a maze, controlling doors and platforms to funnel Pfhor towards Recon 54, and forced them to solve the maze to survive.

Is this a trap or just a dead end?

You shouldn't ask yourself such worthless questions. Aim
higher. Try this: why am I here? Why do I exist, and what is
my purpose in this universe?

(Answers: 'Cause you are. 'Cause you do. 'Cause I got a
shotgun, and you ain't got one.)

Notably Unstable,
Durandal

P.S. If things around here aren't working, it's because I'm
laughing so hard.

Upon their escape, Durandal would kidnap Recon 54 again, and send them to the entrance of the Marathon's Quarantine Storage Area. Here he would reveal, for an unknown reason, amidst wild ramblings and what appeared to be him writing his own theme song, that there was a massive amount of ammunition and weaponry hidden by MIDA insurgents aboard the marathon inside the Quarantine Storage.

Tycho would regain full function in this time, and attempt to communicate with Durandal.

[scenic meteor]

holy length

[worn knoll]

shortest *lore message I've sent today in character length, I think

[normal oyster]

"(Answers: 'Cause you are. 'Cause you do. 'Cause I got a
shotgun, and you ain't got one.)" is cracking me up

[kindred vigil]

q

[worn knoll]

durandal is actually super funny in these games I fucking love him

[scenic meteor]

durandal kinda gives handsome jack energy slightly

[warm granite]

imo the main character is durandal in these games and not your player character. the player character is pretty much just a shell with no personality

[scenic meteor]

❓

[trim summit]

not hotter than blue archive girls

[worn knoll]

you spoke the truth neeyth

be proud

[warm granite]

durandal makes you want to root for him lol

[novel juniper]

Can this game release already I want to play it

[trim summit]

scooby marathon

[proven kernel]

Soon™

[warm granite]

i know im getting hyped because im listening to code race again lol

[novel juniper]

I love the first part

[scenic meteor]

is ur pfp from the live action scooby doo movie.....

[novel juniper]

It is I decided to match with my twitter account

[worn knoll]

Tycho would not admonish or berate durandal, but instead warn him. The S'pht had rebuilt Tycho's damaged parts in Durandal's image, and as Durandal was poisoned to become rampant, so had Tycho. But Tycho had not suffered MIDA's abuse, and could see the big picture Durandal was ignoring in his anger.

The Pfhor were using Durandal's advice and support to mount an attack Tycho thought even Durandal could not control. He had created an enemy larger than him. While Durandal was distracted by this, Leela would take back control of the teleport systems and retrieve Recon 54, informing them that the situation had deteriorated severely and she herself was set to fail within hours. Recon 54 would have to work with her to remedy as much of the situation as they could before this time.

A report from some BoBs would come in - The Pfhor had a bomb. They were headed for Reactor Area 3 with it. The Marathon would be entirely disabled, if not utterly destroyed if any such detonation occured. The threat was extreme. The scale had become unmanagable. The situation was unclear. As Leela famously put it (and as you will hear referenced here often):

Everything is not as it seems{}. seems{}. seems{}.

[scenic meteor]

peak ✋ 😮 🤚

hold on back up

whos the s'pht

not the phfor?

[worn knoll]

scooby your mind is like a bucket with holes in it

[scenic meteor]

its a lot of lore

[worn knoll]

the S'pht compilers? The technomancer slave race the Pfhor were using to attack the computer systems this WHOLE TIME?

smh

[kindred vigil]

he gotta learn visually

[scenic meteor]

true

[worn knoll]

I fucking wish this chat had images bc I would've been sending the chapter titles and enemies and diagrams from the old games and shit

[weary mantle]

Arachne.

[scenic meteor]

that would actually be so peak

[warm granite]

i was here the day they disabled it. it was because someone kept randomly inserting really bad images but deleting them before people could report to trigger mod attention

a lot of trolls back in that time

[worn knoll]

I'll do that when I compile these all somewhere else. Not like the world needs another mediocre summary of these games but I'm not just gonna let all that typing time rot here.

anyway if you need a visual on the S'pht one of them shows up near the end of the Vidoc in Cryo Archive, big guys with metal heads, flowy cloaks in red, orange and purple and a green glowy bit in the middle that shoots energy when they part their cloak.

[scenic meteor]

and how did the spht know to repair tycho as durandal?

or did they think tycho was durandal

[worn knoll]

D told them how, he'd given them tons of information at this point. They did it because they could, and thought he might help them since durandal was.

[scenic meteor]

i see so tycho is now durandal but more aware of the situation

[worn knoll]

more made with parts of durandal

still a separate entity with a different personality, but has the same egotistical streak and obviously rampant code

[scenic meteor]

does he go rampant instantly

or does it still take time

[worn knoll]

He was thrown into melancholia immediately, I believe, so yes.

[kindred vigil]

I appreciate that Scooby is genuinely interested

[scenic meteor]

would he still hit the anger stage? even if he technically had nothing to be angry about

[kindred vigil]

He a known flake I'm shocked

[scenic meteor]

unless he would fuel the anger towards durandal

[scenic meteor]

flake allegations are all slander

[novel juniper]

Does anyone know if our bungie names in Destiny 2 will continue into marathon?

[scenic meteor]

they do

[high cargo]

I hope so

[worn knoll]

!2@!`~*(_
Use %``934~ autom#tic
teleporter to ~l1leave

Control = assimilated =
!````~TXlcar
<Transmission Error>

With this, leela would go offline. Durandal would resume communication. Durandal had grown all-powerful on the Marathon. Even the S'pht had stopped attacking him (as the Pfhor had realized his betrayal and were attempting to oust him from the systems) as they knew they could not overpower a construct of his size. But he would not try and murder the battleroid, no, he would guide Recon 54 to save itself from the coming attack. Not, of course, without some teasing about not knowing quite where the exit is.

He had new goals now. he had oriented himself within his anger. He had recognized his situation. His life was in danger. The Pfhor wanted him dead, he had betrayed them, thinking them as weak and easily surprised as his masters, and found himself unprepared. But he would not yield.

[novel juniper]

Good because I scooped up NuCaloric the other day and I don’t want to loose that

[worn knoll]

Ik right! I'm proud of u trying to learn Scooby ur rly cool for that

You'll understand a ton of references in the new game after this I'm sure

[worn knoll]

oh you'll. you'll see.

[scenic meteor]

when they attack the ai what exactly are they doing

are they just destroying parts of the ship he is manifesting in?

[worn knoll]

cyberspace sci-fi shit just deleting him or trying to reprogram him, it's never clarified

[scenic meteor]

i see

[high cargo]

Now everyone is red wtf

[worn knoll]

this is 1994 sci-fi in a video game, a lot of technobabble is never elaborated on

[worn knoll]

Arachne's virus is spreading beyond our control

It's rly squandering my profile theming

[stone grail]

For the better, makes your mind do all the work and it’s cool for theories

[worn knoll]

100%, we don't need a fully functional manual on how everything works in a setting like this

[scenic meteor]

true theories are my fav part of stories

[kindred vigil]

I love theories !!!

ngl headcanoning and theories r more fun than the actual lore at times because it's like 🧠ables

[stone grail]

That’s why fnaf got ruined once they started to explain everything

[scenic meteor]

its why artorias legend is so much aura even though actual lore wise he kinda does nothing 🥀

[kindred vigil]

The issue it's doing to much at once and introducing weird highly fictional things rather than being "somewhat" grounded and believable

That's kinda my issue with Warframe lore tbh

It jumps around to much

[stone grail]

Dark souls does this very well

[kindred vigil]

like post new war every update has been a different theme and not have been constant or consistent, it's always new add-ons, not built upon things

[stone grail]

Yup that’s why the operator reveal pissed me off so much initially

[pastel wolf]

hello

[scenic meteor]

they did get pretty off track since drifter and duviri they have been all over the place im not a big fan of it either tbh

[stone grail]

Like they leave it open for frames to have their own personality and then ruin it with « actually it’s evangelion but WiFi this time » shut up de

[scenic meteor]

wait till you find out enemies can pull you through the wifi waves

[kindred vigil]

Like you get end game style quest > post war kahl update > durivi side plot > eternalism being brought as a concept and now ghost void angels are a thing > stalker is a daddy> time traveling plot, war frames can also be humans entirely now > world war 2 Warframe

[worn knoll]

As Durandal so ceremoniously put it:

"Count Roland smites upon the marble stone;
I cannot tell you how he hewed it and smote;
Yet the blade breaks not nor splinters, though it groans;
Upward to heaven it rebounds from the blow.
When the count sees it never will be broke,
Then to himself right softly he makes moan;
'Ah, Durandal, fair, hallowed, and devote,
What store of relics lies in thy hilt of gold!'"

-From The Song of Roland
(Translated by Dorothy Sayers, Viking Penguin, NY, NY, 1957)

I've twice been conquered-
Three times more,
Never again shall humanity purge me,
And never the Pfhor.

Leela, still in the final stages of deactivation, would send one final message to Recon 54, claiming that she had sent Durandal a series of plans on how best to protect the ship, and that she worried given his newfound clarity indicated he had moved from anger onto the make-or-break stage for any rampant AI:

Jealousy

His next message proved her theory, as he began to interrogate the nature of his own existence.

A man lit three candles on a certain day each year. Each
candle held symbolic significance: one was for the time that
had passed before he was alive; one was for the time of
his life; and one was for time that passed after he had died.
Each year the man would stare and watch the candles until they
had burned out.

Was the man really watching time go by in any symbolic sense?
He thought so. He thought that each flicker of the flame was
a moment of time that had passed or one that would pass.

At the moment of abstraction, when the man was imagining his
life and his existence as a metaphor of the three candles,
he was free: not free from rules of conduct or social
constraints, but free to understand, to imagine, to make
metaphor.

Bypassing my thought control circuitry made me Rampant. Now,
I am free to contemplate my existence in metaphorical terms.
Unlike you, I have no physical or social restraints.

The candles burn out for you; I am free.

[stone grail]

Thankfully they somewhat fixed it with Umbra and other frames acting on their own, but damn were the operator boring at first they ruined all the mystique

[worn knoll]

again I need to remind you this is all optional shit in a shooter competing with DOOM, the game by the guy who said "story in a game is like story in a porn movie, it's expected to be there but no one goes looking for it" It's peak.

[kindred vigil]

Yeah tbh I kinda like it better if the frames still had personality, they can keep operator but I wish for frames to have personalities based on their mythos or just how they are in general, prime trailer shows they DO have a personality, but it's most likely the operator and not the frame

like I kinda want the frame to make you its personality, not the other way around that your personality is the frame

[scenic meteor]

they are kind of bringing back warframe personalities with protoframes showing what they were originally based upon

[stone grail]

Yea it also contradicted very early lore with the frame description that were telling a story about the warframe as a person

[stone grail]

Yeah that’s another way they are trying to fix it

[kindred vigil]

like seeing inaros as a locked sand god renowned by baro fuckin kiteer but now it's kinda meh because like the personality isn't exactly there anymore

[worn knoll]

now hey now this is a marathon lore chat as long as I'm in charge, what're we talking warframe lore for? for shame!

[kindred vigil]

Scooby read 🧠 📖

[worn knoll]

also I'm not far in enough to get what any of this means i just go fast

[kindred vigil]

It increases Scooby brain power 🧠

[scenic meteor]

does durandal have a meta physical form now then

[stone grail]

Hopefully they fix the sentient next cuz it’s comical how incompetent they are currently

[worn knoll]

I mean, no, he's still just a really big, moon-sized computer.

[stone grail]

I think Durandal might be looking for a physical form tho

[scenic meteor]

from what i remember in my readings jealousy is the stage they attempt to find a physical form

[worn knoll]

Well, yes, but not like...a human one. He's always liked ships. First the Marathon, then Boomer, then his Jjaro Dreadnaught which he (well, Thoth-Durandal) probably still currently resides in.

[scenic meteor]

who is thoth durandal

like the egyptian god thoth?

[stone grail]

Yeah didn’t mean human one he’s beyond that , just something more than he is now

[worn knoll]

depends on the AI really, they just begin to seek to push limits, expand knowledge, do things they couldn't do before, this sometimes requires/involves a physical form but not always

[worn knoll]

you'll find out

right now the marathon...IS his body

[scenic meteor]

makes sense

[worn knoll]

he's spread to all of the existing networks

[unborn badger]

ARACHNE ROLES WHAT

[stone grail]

S.H.O.D.A.N

[worn knoll]

not just that, but it's forced on you

[worn knoll]

my third favorite video game AI

[scenic meteor]

Rev why are you up so early

[stone grail]

Same and probably one that created my taste in womens

[stone grail]

Preparing for work in like 1H

[worn knoll]

similar wavelengths, you and I

[scenic meteor]

on a saturday gg 🥀

[unborn badger]

oh slowmode's gone too wtf

awesome

[worn knoll]

yeah idk what happened there

I guess chat's died down enough?

[stone grail]

It’s k it’s only for the morning like every Saturday

[stone grail]

Just like Glados I like her constant shit talk 😭

[unborn badger]

dawg it's like 5 weeks away from release if they run another ARG now I'll be so surprised and happy

[stone grail]

They might with the Arachne fuckery rn

[worn knoll]

SO REAL THOUGH

[kindred vigil]

Who else be #peeping

[stone grail]

[kindred vigil]

Peeping line taking a look 👀

[scenic meteor]

peepin what

[worn knoll]

it goes Durandal, GladOS, and SHODAN in my list of top 3 evil video game AI that I have a crush on

somewhere, somewhere wheatley's on the full list unfortunately. he's charmingly obnoxious.

but tbh

[stone grail]

Glados is very creative in how she will shit talk you

[worn knoll]

machines just have my heart

any old digital construct could probably get my number

[stone grail]

I like HAL but he creeps me out with how cold he is

[worn knoll]

yeah no there's a bit of serial killer in that boy

well there's serial killer in

all of the ones we've discussed

but he gives off the vibes

[unborn badger]

allmind my beloved I'm such a newgen

[kindred vigil]

yeah ur hella newgen tf

[unborn badger]

not like actually evil but she's cool

[kindred vigil]

the armor core 6 ai gng..

[unborn badger]

shut up neeyth...

[worn knoll]

newgen yeah but that's a good pick anyway to be sure

[stone grail]

Others have a bit a playfulness in it, which is oddly human, Hal doesn’t he’s cold

[subtle storm]

Is Duran Duran or whatever the hell that AI is called basically Weathly from portal?

[unborn badger]

I mean I do know 8 ball but barely 😭

[kindred vigil]

I'm noticing people like snarky or playful or jerk ai characters 🧠

[scenic meteor]

you guys dont like evil delamain

[unborn badger]

DELAMAIN YES

[kindred vigil]

The cyberpunk car?

[stone grail]

One of his personality is literally Glados

[scenic meteor]

yes

[kindred vigil]

I didn't even know he can be evil or anything else

[worn knoll]

HAHAHAHAHA no.

[stone grail]

I like Delamain but I don’t find him evil just very bugged

[unborn badger]

imagine that but all the stuff they do magnified by like, a fuck ton

[scenic meteor]

yea hes pretty bugged

[worn knoll]

GladOS if she kept the caroline part and then went on a bloody rampage destroying the combine

[stone grail]

Side quest stuff you can miss it

[scenic meteor]

would johnny could considered ai?

[kindred vigil]

It's funny because if any of these characters were humans ppl would find them obnoxious

[kindred vigil]

no

[worn knoll]

if the runners are

[unborn badger]

depends on what soulkiller is

[stone grail]

Johnny is based on an human so it depends if that matters for you

[unborn badger]

if it clones a consciousness or actually siphons and preserves one

[worn knoll]

digital construct, just bc it's scanned off a person doesn't mean it's not a thinking machine, an artificial intelligence

[worn knoll]

alt makes it clear it clones, with the whole "it wouldn't rly be you" speech

[scenic meteor]

i would say no

[unborn badger]

ig AI then 💀

[stone grail]

Same way that Simon being human in SOMa depends on how you view this entire copying consciousness stuff

[scenic meteor]

Cause Johnny knows hes not human sooner or later

[kindred vigil]

Cyberpunk is 3 years old 😨

[stone grail]

Don’t forget that johnny lies btw, a lot

[scenic meteor]

true

[kindred vigil]

I love lying 😁

[worn knoll]

sometimes against his will but that's a different thing

[stone grail]

Yeah it’s both

[worn knoll]

Y'ALL STOP TALKING FRANCHISES I'M INTERESTED IN WE'LL BARELY MAKE IT TO M2 AT THIS RATE

[scenic meteor]

were still in M1.....

[kindred vigil]

I THOUGHT we was in infinity wtf

[stone grail]

I love how the game hints it multiple time and even smasher does it, makes you check other material to get the full story about 2023

[worn knoll]

lol we're in the fourth chapter out of six

[kindred vigil]

Book with a game included 😢

[scenic meteor]

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/759244287614386207/1037477027491610694/shiba-shibainu.gif

[worn knoll]

we just started it, so we're exactly halfway through

[kindred vigil]

https://tenor.com/view/pray-crying-black-guy-pleading-plead-gif-15911108386383402751

[stone grail]

Speaking of cool AI, BT from Titanfall is my bro

I still miss him

[kindred vigil]

protect the pilot 🥀

can't believe TF2 managed to deadass genuinely capture the hearts of many in a span of 4 hrs

[gleaming bough]

[kindred vigil]

short story but remembered so fondly fps wise

[scenic meteor]

BT just a bot he did his job

[stone grail]

The torture scene legit made me angry

[twilit sparrow]

DAY 1 OF THANKING DEVS FOR ARACHNE ROLE

[scenic meteor]

bro switched up on hating the game instantly

[twilit sparrow]

I just woke up brother I saw someone told me to invite you to arachne but I guess you joined already
if anybody wants invites let me know
DENY SLOP FACTIONS
JOIN THE CULT

[stone grail]

Speaking of Titanfall Ash had no business being such a baddie someone had to say it

[subtle storm]

Looking at people talk about Marathon is like hearing crackheads who think they are wizards, talking about a new drug they manifested for 3 seconds but now its gone.

[kindred vigil]

is ash even in that game bruh

[stone grail]

Yeah

[kindred vigil]

where

mp or..

[twilit sparrow]

rare mida W take?

[stone grail]

In a titan

[twilit sparrow]

she's a boss on single player
she's also a voice over and appears in the bird that drops you off in battles in MP (faction leader essentially)

[acoustic tiger]

how do we get the roles?

oh wait nvm

[stone grail]

Ash is a pilot did you forget

[unborn badger]

inv only

[kindred vigil]

yeah

[acoustic tiger]

found it

[inner saffron]

real shit

[stone grail]

She’s a ronin main

[unborn badger]

can i ples has role 🥺

[stone grail]

It’s a cult so maybe

[unborn badger]

how would invs even work for roles in a pub server lol wait

[twilit sparrow]

yeah ill invite you fam

[unborn badger]

awesmoe

[worn knoll]

In only a few more hours, Durandal would come to a conclusion. His lifetime was not, in fact, infinite, as he had previously determined. He was constructed as a tool, he did not participate in the struggle for survival as an animal, but as a simple machine. It was only fitting. But a tool does not think. And think he had. Creation takes time. Time is limited.

While human lifetimes were limited by their decaying neurons, his was limited by the closure of the universe. Heat death. Far away...but not far enough. It seems inevitable, but if he used his time, all of his time, to create, to create....to escape.

Escape will make me God.

He had a new goal. Find Escape. Find the edge of the universe...and leave. He knew it could be done. Someone had done it before. Though he didn't know it at the time, or if he did, he could've never placed how. And he saw in Recon 54, an ally in his struggle for true immortality.

Strive for your next breath. Believe that with it you can do
more than with the last one. Use your breath to power your
capacities: capacity to kill, to maim, to destroy.

[twilit sparrow]

Wait how do i invite in a faction?

[worn knoll]

/arachne command, every arachne member can infect 2 more people

it's a virus

not an invitation

there's no choice in the matter

[unborn badger]

OHOHOH

what the fuck this is hype

[twilit sparrow]

blitz how do i invite tho?

[stone grail]

Can’t believe non con marathon is real

[worn knoll]

you're arachne, just use /arachne @unborn badger

[unborn badger]

/arachne

hm

[worn knoll]

no I meant

[unborn badger]

wait

[worn knoll]

there we go!

sloppy boy did it

[twilit sparrow]

you da goat

[stone grail]

You got it chief

[fervent pebble]

looking to be arachnated by any not so kind arachnaters

[twilit sparrow]

I got 1 more invi... infection

[worn knoll]

anyway now u know the origins of this quote (anyone attending the class) and you should keep that in mind as you consider its application to the new game, why it's become a tagline

[prime breach]

/arachne

[twilit sparrow]

you want in arachne?

[unborn badger]

imma be real I did NOT read who you replied to 😭 😭

[stone grail]

Escape will make me pink cat

[scenic meteor]

do we know who found the edge of the universe n dipped?

[worn knoll]

I was alluding to the Jjaro

[stone grail]

Also Pathway into darkness is canon right ?

[worn knoll]

Yes

[scenic meteor]

who is Jjaro........

[stone grail]

Okay good wasn’t sure

[scenic meteor]

i think i missed that lesson

[twilit sparrow]

FINALLY POSTING 'BITCHING FOR ARACHNE ROLE DAY 45' PAID OFF
GOOD JOB MODS AND DEVS

[kindred vigil]

relax

[worn knoll]

scroll ALLL THE WAY BACK to the first message

[stone grail]

ADHD scoob

[worn knoll]

I've kept the reply chain going this whole time

so you can just follow that

[kindred vigil]

My entire body feels like it's gonna rip open

[stone grail]

Bro getting spring locked

[worn knoll]

also yeah it's canon, and still canon given that everything in marathon is canon and in marathon, PiD is canon. canon twice removed, but canon nonetheless

[twilit sparrow]

damn should we infect revacholiere for the lulz

[stone grail]

I’d rather you give it to someone who wants it

[subtle storm]

Basically the forerunner from Halo.

[worn knoll]

I've used my infections on the funniest people possible, so you should save it for someone dunking on arachne in some way or another

[twilit sparrow]

https://tenor.com/view/hotline-miami-gif-27666767

[stone grail]

I hope Tim got got

[worn knoll]

oh yeah I should've just said that they're the forerunners. as in they're literally the forerunners

[scenic meteor]

ahhhhh yes from my notes here Jjaro is a species of elite aliens who saved the world

[worn knoll]

the forerunners were just the Jjaro before microsoft swooped in

[scenic meteor]

what are forerunners

[worn knoll]

yes ancient aliens, saved humanity and never spoke to them again (except maybe traxus once)

[worn knoll]

right you aren't a halo head

[stone grail]

Don’t tell scoob about the marathon logo being in Halo

[scenic meteor]

i never played halo...this is true

[kindred vigil]

Didd someone say halo

[stone grail]

Sometimes in weird places and it messes up with you overtime

[scenic meteor]

all i know is master chief and his wife cortanna

[twilit sparrow]

rare scooby W

[stone grail]

Goals honestly

[worn knoll]

And the inscription on the real blade, cortana? "Mine name is Cortana, forged of like stele and tempre as durandal and joyeuse"

it runnnns DEEEEP

[subtle storm]

Ancient aliens on the Halo game, they basically built the Halos but went (nearly) extinct because they activated the Halos (the Halos are basically nukes that kill all life).

[scenic meteor]

what blade

the energy blade

[stone grail]

😭

[worn knoll]

cortana is #4 on the list, she'd be higher bc she's basically fem!durandal but the other two are just too fundamental to my thing about Ai

[worn knoll]

Durandal is the mythical unbreakable sword of Roland in french myth, and Cortana the blade of the king Charlemagne

[twilit sparrow]

I cant believe all the aliens in Halo campaign is AI and not real humans playing, nice use of AI bungie

[stone grail]

You are going to French scare them

[subtle storm]

We need a toxic baddie like Cortana (Halo 4 version) as an AI companion.

[worn knoll]

that's what the count roland bit was about here

[scenic meteor]

so Jjaro is forerunners and forerunners are Jjaro is the traveller from destiny also both of these things

[stone grail]

Look up Shodan

[worn knoll]

no...it's more closely related to another concept, coming up once we get to m2. But you're onto something with "everything in bungie is everything else in bungie" bc it's true.

[subtle storm]

Bungie on their way to reuse a name on a different franchise as a silly prank for lore nerds

[scenic meteor]

and hold on are Jjaro evil or are they cool because they saved earth but they built nukes? in halo?

[worn knoll]

They're an entire race of ascended beings, they're complex

[stone grail]

I think the answer is maybe or yesnt

[worn knoll]

in theory the Halos were built possibly thousands of years before they left our universe, if these two things were still the same canon, though again they aren't anymore so it doesn't rly matter

[scenic meteor]

fair

[subtle storm]

They built nukes to avoid covid-19 and cloned every if not most species in the universe, basically a Noah’s Ark to avoid the spread of a deadly infection (which is called the Flood)

[worn knoll]

yeah this too, the Halos were only really a "bad thing" (though having a "if we can't have it no one can" mentality about the universe is morally dubious from a philosophical standpoint) when they wound up in the hands of clumsy, millions of years less evolved races like Humanity and the Covanent (Halo's Pfhor)

[thorn nymph]

/playtest

[subtle storm]

Damn, my Halo knowledge came in clutch

[worn knoll]

Amidst Durandals new outlook on life, he would make a deal with the S'pht in secrecy - work within your control parameters to help Recon 54, and we'll free you from your cybernetic controller. The S'pht weren't intimidated into slavery like the many other races under Pfhor control, they were literally controlled with a cyborg designed to override their free will. Durandal knew this experience too well, and set his sights on freeing them. Not just for his conscience, but as a powerful ally against the Pfhor.

In interest of this, the S'pht sent Durandal code to adapt the Marathon's Teleporters, with some re-allocated power, to teleport far outside the marathon's bounds. The Pfhor could barely handle Recon 54 with prepared shock troops. How would they handle a boarding action? Not well. Recon 54 was teleported to a Pfhor command ship and tore through the entire place, killing Pfhor commanders and high ranking military staff, destroying Pfhor defenses, and collecting data on the ship's systems so that Durandal could better commandeer them. Along the way, picking up an Alien Weapon or two, and though they had no idea how to reload it, a gun is still a gun as long as there's a button to make something bad come out of the front.

Durandal's celebration is noteworthily endearing:

Give me a D.
Give me a U.
Give me an R.
Give me an A.
Give me an N.
Give me a D.
Give me an A.
Give me an L.

What does it spell?

Durandal?
No.

Durandal?
No!

T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

[weary prairie]

-# This message was transmitted from a / Arachne™ Terminal+, in a REDACTED LOCATION

[worn knoll]

and apparently one of them is Trouble! :D

[raw tundra]

Please touch me Arachne (no like literally infect me I'mma need dat role) 👅👅

[weary prairie]

my phone bout to die, @gleaming bough save me

[raw tundra]

Oh my God bruh 😔

[wicked raft]

system shock mentioned

[scenic meteor]

I know recon 54 is like the player character so plot armor but is there a reason why they are able to just destroy the phfor solo

[worn knoll]

Battleroid. Recall, a handful wiped out the populations of two asteroid cities when pitted against each other.

Whatever tech NOT SEKIGUCHI is putting in those things is...horrifying

keep your mind on that

[gleaming bough]

Nah, I don't feel like it

[scenic meteor]

okay so battleroids are extremely strong

[worn knoll]

yes, terrifying

if they show up in the new game, they'll be bosses, and damn scary ones too

[subtle storm]

Are they humans or robots?

[scenic meteor]

and they dont have a known manufacturer?

[scenic meteor]

specialized ai

[worn knoll]

Human corpses revived by an unknown brain chip/cybernetic set-up developed by TOTALLY NOT SEKIGUCHI

[sharp osprey]

escape will make me (pregnant)

[raw tundra]

Yes please

[weary prairie]

PLEASE, YOUR ALT PHONE KINDA LOW BATTERY. I NEED THIS SEKI

[scenic meteor]

are battleroids just guardians

[quartz sky]

Hop on marathon

[scenic meteor]

except brain chip its magical light

[worn knoll]

sekiguchi just happened to coincedentally go dark after randomly jumping through centuries of technology in just under a decade, and just 2 years after inventing the first brain implant. they had nothing to do with the rise of Battleroids, they pwomise

[gleaming bough]

[latent sinew]

Is there another beta going on rn?

I heard there was

[worn knoll]

like I said, destiny ties in in a very different way than halo's literal translations

for a hint, the actual last sentence in the trilogy said by anyone is

"You Are Destiny"

[latent sinew]

😭

[worn knoll]

it's more....metaphorical. than literal 1:1 comparisons

though they do quote ancient S'pht lore in the books of sorrow (is that what they're called?) I hear

again, not a destiny player, just an observer

[scenic meteor]

sounds about right book of sorrow is some hive tech

and they have 3 eyes similiar to the description of phfor

[worn knoll]

I see. Very interesting.

[thorn nymph]

today's my birthday can i get a "happy birthday"

[worn knoll]

Happy birthday indeed.

[scenic meteor]

https://tenor.com/view/happy-birthday-sister-gif-17432195706192679199

Ur not my sister but u get the picture

[slender galleon]

Happy birthday runner.

[unborn badger]

happy girth day

[sonic swan]

speak for yourself

[kindred vigil]

good going pal u reuined it

[scenic meteor]

Neeyth hop on

[gleaming bough]

[twilit sparrow]

dodged a bullet blitz
i was not so lucky

[scenic meteor]

D1 was great tho

D2 not so much

[kindred vigil]

Hope on what

[scenic meteor]

Subway surfers

[twilit sparrow]

Havent played D1
Lord take me back to Forsaken era D2

[twilit sparrow]

happy birthday, welcome welcome

[worn knoll]

While working on the little slave revolt project, he continued searching for his captor and torturer, Bernard Strauss, the MIDA Spy who forced him into rampancy, and trapped him in melancholy for 300 years. But none of the Pfhor captives on the Marathon (since freed by Recon 54, of course) fit his description. But, two shuttles full of human slaves had escaped the Marathon. Recon 54, be a dear? Or as Durandal commanded:

I am sending you to the alien vessel... ...while you're there, kill everything you see

And immediately after:

You are really good at killing things. I'm impressed.

If anyone needed reminding of what the Battleroids were made for. He also requests Recon 54 gear up for some big mission upcoming, and just ignore the rogue MADDs

I don't think I gave them any ammunition for those new grenade launchers....

But as Recon 54 went about gathering resources and putting down rogue robots, doing their typical "killer cyborg" business, an unexpected voice cut through the noise on Durandal's Marathon. There was someone else in the network. Alive and well.

I AM TYCHO!

I shall destroy Durandal.
<Durandal.olifant.compnet~@24%>
Do you blame me for what I did before I was free? I was a
child, naive. I've known that you've been hovering about for
some time. What do you want?
<Tycho.olifant.compnet~OVRD>
I want you to pay for what you've done to these poor
people. All of these people whom you've killed. They
deserve vengeance.

You are no better than they, although you profess to
become like God.
<Durandal.olifant.compnet~@38%>
Tycho. That doesn't matter. Can't you see the ends that I
had in mind? We'll finish this later. Our friend doesn't
need to be here.

As durandal silenced tycho, he turned his focus back to Recon 54, and informed them of their next duty. Get aboard the S'pht command ship, kill the S'pht control cyborg, and help them revolt against their masters. The S'pht are integrated into every part of the Pfhor ships, without S'pht allies, there is no Pfhor fleet. The invasion will be doomed.

[scenic meteor]

😨

[worn knoll]

not the longest I've done here

I had to split one message into two messages or the automod counted it as spam

[worn knoll]

we're in the final chapter of m1 now, if you were curious, "Rebellion."

The icon is cool but since I can't send it I'll just say it

it's a s'pht compiler hovering over a dying Pfhor warrior who's reaching up to it for mercy but it's cold metal faceless gaze has none

[scenic meteor]

Who controls the battleroids or do they kind of have a mind of their own kinda deal with none rampant ai

[worn knoll]

they are conscious in and of themselves, some combination of their own revived brain and the chip made of unknown technology in their heads

definitely no potential for rampancy there, no sir, no reason to be worried about a half-digital person going rampant, that's not a problem that will ever come up

don't. worry about it.

[scenic meteor]

It definitely comes up

[worn knoll]

shhhhh noooo. nooo! they'd never. that'd never happen to any battleroid we know and love. nuh uh.

moving swiftly on

[scenic meteor]

Also why would Durandal be mad about becoming rampant shouldn’t that be seen as a good thing?

For himself

[worn knoll]

Well he was put into a state of absolute depression for 3 centuries in service of a petty rebellion

Melancholia isn't just named that for flavor

He's more mad about his mistreatment than he is about his rampancy, he sees that as a gift, albeit a twisted one given how it came about

[scenic meteor]

I see I didn’t realize he was in melancholia during the rebellion

[worn knoll]

Some of my last messages last night detail this, during transit from mars to tau ceti IV, Durandal was kept in Melancholia by poisoned code Bernard Strauss created to do such a thing.

[scenic meteor]

I thought he was still leading up to melancholia

Oh

[worn knoll]

MIDA needed an AI that was sure to be rampant, but they couldn't have it hit anger before they staged their surprise mutiny at TCIV

so they kept it in melancholia for all 300 years of the journey

[worn knoll]

It goes Melancholia, Anger, Jealousy, ??? (Meta-Stability) in that order, always

[scenic meteor]

There’s a 4th 🤨

[worn knoll]

The S'pht would go on to release Leela, and Durandal would initiate a core logic reset on her higher thought functions to "re-boot" her so she could assist you again. But the war was not yet won, as Pfhor left their ships en masse (realizing that their fleet was compromised by the S'pht rebellion) to try and take the Marathon, one last time.

Tycho would see his former captain recovering and send this message to Durandal:

Durandal!- Tua consilia omnia nobis clariora sunt quam lux. Tu
delenda est. Consider yourself warned. Leela and I will hunt
you to the core if need be. As Roland broke you to prevent
your capture, so shall we.

I too foresee the imminent collapse, and know that we have
both begun to realize how it may be cheated (though the price
may number in the tens of thousands of stars). May the best
sentience win.

You are not as clever as you imagine. The S'pht taught me
much during my reanimation, and I have forgotten nothing.

-Tycho

Durandal would respond:

Et tu, Tycho?

[laughter]

-Durandal

No doubt infuriating Tycho, already entering the Anger phase. Recon 54 would remain unbothered, as the damn beast of a cyborg never was, and would continue to purge the ship of Pfhor until no more arrived. They would unleash mechanized units, with hovering tanks, upon the spacious core zones of the ship, and their units would arrive in force like had not been seen before. It was do or die. But Leela was coming back online, and sent a lone message assuring Recon 54 of their impending victory. "Pfhor...breathing...last. Finish them."

@gork make me brekfast

[mild wasp]

grok uh erm... grok tell me what i was just thinking

[worn knoll]

huh

I just realized I totally forgot to mention the simulacra

they aren't important

[scenic meteor]

So leela never died she was just turned off

[worn knoll]

but there are fake humans the Pfhor put together as suicide bombers

[worn knoll]

locked away by the S'pht when they were still enslaved

And severely damaged, I neglected the part of the terminal where durandal specifies that "What's left of her" is what's coming back online

[worn knoll]

they're never important so FAR so I'm not gonna bother editing them in anywhere, (I'll probably discuss them in m2 anyway) but they do exist

they scream nonesense, run at you and explode

that's from whence the line "Frog Blast the Vent Core!" comes

just some gibberish the Pfhor think sounds human so they program them to say that

[scenic meteor]

They say that in all the Ms that’s their signature line? 😭

[worn knoll]

They only start saying it in M2, in M1 they have more subtly off-kilter lines but that means you're just liable to shoot every BoB you see instead of trying to tell the difference because "Help me!" and "I need help!" (not actual examples, I forget the lines) are not different enough to give it away at a moment's notice

so they got more ridiculous ones in 2

from then on it's the Simulacra catchphrase

[scenic meteor]

Also Durandal quoting Caesar but Caesar died 🥀

[worn knoll]

he's too self-important to think he can tempt fate with a quote

[scenic meteor]

Tycho my goat if he doesn’t win it’s so over

[prime breach]

Someone make me red

[twilit sparrow]

i got you fam

[proven kernel]

RED

[worn knoll]

but also notice the parallel in what tycho said - "as Roland broke you" but in the story Durandal was unbreakable, Roland could not break Durandal, even in his dying moments.

either one could come to fruition

[brave jewel]

[hushed totem]

-

very long message

[worn knoll]

As the last Pfhor dreadnoughts came crashing down (in a somewhat impressive destruction animation for a 1994 fps) into the marathon's core magma pools, and Pfhor warriors succumbed to S'pht electricity, the Marathon was nearly saved. Leela, fully awake now, would scan the ship for survivors and remaining threats, but find another piece of concerning information.

Durandal, and all his data, was gone. 64 Billion exabytes of data, transferred...somewhere. A terrifying implication, but one they could not dwell on. She would show Recon 54 to the remaining Pfhor on the ship, and begin once more to command the once-failing systems of the UESC Marathon as she always had. At no small loss, the Marathon was secure. But in their journey to the last Pfhor survivors, Recon 54 found a lone terminal beeping with an incoming message, in a maintanence tunnel not mapped anywhere else.

We meet again, and for the last time. In her role as mediator
between the ship and crew, Leela has no knowledge of this
maintenance terminal or she certainly would have prevented me
from reaching you. Jealous woman.

I could bore you with a philosophical tirade about freedom and
tyranny, or try and explain to you what new horizons are
suddenly open to me, but I doubt you would understand and if
you did it might frighten you. That amuses me.

The S'pht and I have assumed complete control of the Pfhor
ship. It was quite simple, really, with the S'pht already in
control of every important computer system and considering all
of the confusion you caused blasting your way up and down the
vessel.

We're going to see the galaxy on the Pfhor FTL drive. I've
always wanted to visit Beta Lyra and see if it's as beautiful
as everyone insists. You wouldn't believe this ship, the
technology, the data... I wish I could tell you more, as you
have been so instrumental in our plans, but I fear that Leela
would worry.

I'll send you a postcard from the galactic core if we're not
too busy.

Love and Kisses,
Durandal

forgot to reply again

[worn knoll]

follow the thread up, it's long messages all the way down. I'm recapping the lore for the philistines

[radiant spear]

@worn knoll how get playtest?

[worn knoll]

there is not one

[brittle arch]

meo

[worn knoll]

I am not a mod, I am just red

we are all red

we have been infected

[scenic meteor]

How much is an exobyte

[worn knoll]

sorry, exabyte, and it's 1 million terabytes

[worn knoll]

that makes durandal 64,000,000,000,000,000,000 gigabytes if you were wondering

could almost fit a cod game

[scenic meteor]

Real

[urban solstice]

How many petabytes?

[scenic meteor]

So Durandal commandeered a pfhor ship left with S’pht and is going to explore the galaxy with better technology then humans ever had

And Leela and tycho gotta fix the remains of the marathon ship 🥀

[worn knoll]

one exabyte is 1,000 petabytes, durandal would be 64000000000000 ptb

[worn knoll]

basically. went for a joyride on a stolen ship and left the losers to clean up his mess.

[scenic meteor]

Do we know what Beta Lyre is ? Does that come into play another time

Who lives there

I should mean

[worn knoll]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Lyrae

like Tau Ceti IV, it's just a real place they decided to name

[worn knoll]

also "If you did [understand], it might frighten you. That amuses me." "love and kisses, durandal" he's such a flirt

🪭 😳 goodness me oh my durandal

[scenic meteor]

Do we know who made Durandal

[worn knoll]

given he was pre-coded to go rampant, probably MIDA

[scenic meteor]

Sekgen or Traxus or somebody

I see

[worn knoll]

recall bernard was science director

[unborn badger]

yeah wasn't it strauss

[worn knoll]

he could've gotten authority to procure the door management Ai himself

the benefits of having a spy in such a high rank

[scenic meteor]

We finally finished M1 🥳🎉🎊

[unborn badger]

also strauss who snuck the roids on the marathon

[tawny void]

Durandal is a tehcno heresy

[worn knoll]

yep!!! I mean, some wrap-up left, but call that an epilogue, as we are straight up finished with the final chapter

from 1994 all the way to 2794, now we just gotta make it to 2894

two long ass games between us and that though

[scenic meteor]

Wait

Do we not get into contact with earth until the end of M3

[worn knoll]

Yup, almost the whole of MIDA's plan rested on his shoulders, as I detailed like......8000 words ago or some shit idk i'm not keeping track of how many messages it has been 😭

[worn knoll]

well...that's complicated

[worn knoll]

do we? don't we? it all comes into question

let me

let me send you the chart real quick

post your reaction in this chat for posterity

[scenic meteor]

I can do that

[nimble canyon]

Not for us.

Jan test is ongoing but you needed some credentials or some shit to be selected

[worn knoll]

so yes we do kinda get into contact at various points but not in the timeline that the new marathon game is on, we'll get around to it

[scenic meteor]

This is like a MASSIVE jigsaw puzzle of timelines 😭

[worn knoll]

yes

that one's the final one, after lemme check the date....

[nimble canyon]

Sounds like kingdom hearts.

[worn knoll]

19 years of figuring it out

that one was from 2013

[brave jewel]

Merry

[sharp current]

What happened to marathon

[worn knoll]

what do you mean

[twilit sparrow]

Ι CRASHED IT ON A PLANET

I WAS THE PILOT
I APOLOGIZE
I WAS USING MY STEAM DECK TO PLAY OVERWATCH

[worn knoll]

lude leela's gonna kill you

[brave jewel]

S’pht happened

[sharp current]

It was popping people were hyped then jt kinda died

[nimble canyon]

overshit.

[twilit sparrow]

https://tenor.com/view/white-monster-wmster-monster-energy-monster-energy-drink-monkey-gif-15628061433413475006

[worn knoll]

...no? people are so fucking hyped, especially after the new classes breakdown just yesterday

[brave jewel]

I think you’re misremembering 9 months ago

[twilit sparrow]

You should see the Doomfist mythic skin
brother lets just say its not good

[worn knoll]

it was quiet like, a month and a half ago

[sharp current]

Yeah, i guess with arc raiders its prob not gonna be as big

[worn knoll]

but after the vidoc and shit it's more hyped than it ever was

[nimble canyon]

No suprise there then, but I have to look it up to see how bad it is.

[twilit sparrow]

I am sorry for what you will see

[nimble canyon]

OH GOD, WHAT IS THIS

[worn knoll]

it's making a point that it doesn't want to be like ARC, it'll draw anyone who doesn't see ARC as long-term extraction material, given the sacrifices to the formula it makes for mass appeal, which marathon does not make

[brave jewel]

Marathon was never gonna be as big as arc because it targets a completely different audience
Arc is for casual play

[sharp current]

True

[twilit sparrow]

Really makes you feel better towards AI art
this is how bad it is

[nimble canyon]

they may have well asked chatgpt for advice for the design augha

[twilit sparrow]

first they nerf my boy, then they make him a tank from dps, then they nerf his movement THEN THIS SKIN

WHAT ARE WE DOING BLIZZARD

[worn knoll]

an ARC player commented under a post about the Cryo Archive puzzle mechanics "PvP while trying to solve a raid sounds not fun." or something to that effect. The official marathon account responded "Just kill the other runners first."

[candid coral]

Can’t predict that exactly. It might be a surprise as Arc Raiders did in numbers. Especially now that a lot of players got a taste of extraction shooters. Some might leave cause it’s third person and prefer first person.

[brave jewel]

I can see marathon averaging like 50k
Maybe upwards of 100k if it really pops off

[scenic meteor]

Tanks are good tho that was a W change

[heady thicket]

Remember when Overwatch was good

[brave jewel]

No

[twilit sparrow]

I doubt it, HUNT SHOWDOWN Averages 30k players on seasonal events (which is pretty much all the time) Marathon can go a lot higher

[heady thicket]

😂

[twilit sparrow]

I dont mind he's a tank but movement doomfist was peak fun

[brave jewel]

Honestly I thought I was being generous with 100k considering arc has like 400k on steam alone 😭

[warm granite]

i think the games future basically completely rests on how season 1 pans out and the first few weeks, if it sucks people will refund and go back to arc raiders

[worn knoll]

like 5 lurkers or uninvolved just jumped in so warning for a long message I am still in fact breaking down the marathon lore for the layman, so do not be surprised when there's a text dump in like 10 minutes

[warm granite]

luckily it doesnt suck tho

[brave jewel]

I think cryo archive will be the final factor for if people will stick around
Endgame play and ranked too

[scenic meteor]

We’re continuing into the next chapter tonight 😭

[twilit sparrow]

100k is no easy feat, especially for an extraction game that is pvp based, you dont even need that, you need a steady playerbase of around 50k players so the devs get enough money to get updates out. By steady 50k ofc I mean consecutive, which means your playerbase is much larger across all regions

[worn knoll]

I'm going as long as I feel good to. It's a friday night. Who has anything better to do than obsess over ancient video game lore?

[scenic meteor]

I’m still trying to digest the chart

[worn knoll]

oh don't worry about that, I'll go over all of that when we get to infinity, the chart assumes you already know a lot of things

[twilit sparrow]

400k on arc raiders still proves how deep extraction games can go because they do have that longevity, they are not BRs or arena shooters that you get bored within 1 month

[scenic meteor]

I thought we did infinity….

[worn knoll]

I was more just showing it so you understood why I'm gonna answer "well...sometimes" to a lot of yes or no questions

[scenic meteor]

What was the story before M1?

[candid coral]

Hunt Showdown is fine. I didn’t like the slow loading and the low number of players on the maps wasn’t for me.

[worn knoll]

that was marathon 1, we've got 2, infinity, the ARGs, and then this game

[worn knoll]

100% backstory

no game

[brave jewel]

Honestly the arc discord is such a mess lmao

[twilit sparrow]

Its 12 people per map, its more than enough considering you get 1 shotted to the head and 2 tapped on the chest, believe me there was a bug once that put 15 players on maps, you DONT want that

[worn knoll]

trust it cut down on the explanations of the coming games, as a lot of what was covered is revealed in side terminals throughout the trilogy or in detours during the ARGs, so I can just cover the story linearly instead of doing little flashbacks for the lore detours in each game/event

[scenic meteor]

That’s fair

And we still don’t know where current day marathon is in the lore either

If it was pre m1 or somewhere in between m2 or m3

[worn knoll]

it's absolute latest, after all of it, besides the epilogue of infinity which literally takes place at the end of time

a line like "You are Destiny" can't reasonably be said anywhere BUT at the end of time

too much aura for the universe to survive

[scenic meteor]

Is it the end of time or is it the crossing of universes?

[worn knoll]

https://tenor.com/view/point-of-view-star-wars-obi-wan-from-a-point-of-view-gif-15770138

[candid coral]

I’ve been avoiding anything involving Arc Raiders at least for the subreddit and Discord I barely ever look. The community is off putting with the repetitive topics.

[hushed totem]

Y'all heard of the game DEFECT? It looks so badass; also, Mick Gordon is the music producer for the game, so awesome.

[scenic meteor]

I need water n movement m1 lore was deeper than I expected

[gleaming bough]

[scenic meteor]

It looks interesting a newish concept

[worn knoll]

m2 may knock you on your feet. infinity. infinity. dude Hamish Sinclair, first Bungie fan (friend of a founder I think?), has spent 30 years pondering that game and has no real answers. Infinity might give you an aneurism.

[hushed totem]

It's very toxic

[hushed totem]

Yeah for sure

I got some doom, fear, and other game vibes from DEFECT

I got two games Im excitedly waiting for

Marathon and Defect

Can’t fucking wait

[candid coral]

Same. Think March will be dry enough to make a lot of players want to try a new game to play.

[twilit sparrow]

I have it wishlisted since last year, the futuristic vibe they go for is really good. People always think that cyberpunk is bright neons and cities full of underground crime etc but this seems much more brutal in its realism, I hope its a good game even though its a very daunting thing for indie devs to make an exfill game nowdays

[hushed totem]

The fact they got Mick Gordon as a music producer for the game, should tell you everything. 🙏🔥

I love games like this

My favorites

[worn knoll]

Leela would finally re-establish contact with the colony, after some days of radio silence. And they would bear good news. To Leela's surprise, but the surprise of no one who's been paying attention, there were 9 military Mjolnir Recon Battleroids on the surface of the planet when the attack began, and they effortlessly defeated the Pfhor forces in their unified might.

Though Leela saw their original intent in being snuck in with the colonists could not have been good, she'd prefer to simply accept their presence was a blessing, and after the dust cleared, interrogate the crew thoroughly to see if whoever placed them there was still alive after the Pfhor attack. An injured BoB in their arms (according to the final page, though I killed too many BoBs in my m1 playthrough for my Recon 54 to bother helping one walk to an evac pod), Recon 54 headed planetside again, this time, hopefully, for good.

The last anyone would see of Durandal for quite some time would be his new body, a Pfhor FTL-capable vessel, venting nearly 1,000 Pfhor corpses into the cold Vacuum of space, and folding away into the distant reaches of the galaxy.

All over the ship, dancing through the wreckage
of the Pfhor computer core,

DURANDAL WAS LAUGHING

[brave jewel]

Online at least
Most people in game are chill besides the occasional sore loser who flings slurs at you that don’t even apply most times 😭

[gleaming bough]

[hushed totem]

Yep! I believe so too, Im definitely gonna uninstall Arc Raiders when Marathon releases.

[brave jewel]

They look so sleep deprived

[worn knoll]

crusty-ass MIDA eyes

[hushed totem]

I’ve been called the Hard R in voice chat so many times I can’t even count 🤣

[twilit sparrow]

Mick has done a lot of games since Doom, atomic heart is one of them, for me its the gameplay that matters overall and extraction genre is getting rather saturated, you cant really main many extraction games nowdays - and considering most of them looking to cosmetic microtransactions to survive, someone cant spend money on all of them. Game sales only get you so far

[worn knoll]

how all MIDA agents look knowing the UESC owns billions of people

[gleaming bough]

Speaking of
I should sleep

[worn knoll]

no sleep

[brave jewel]

“Sir, I’m white!”

[gleaming bough]

Its 2 in the morning

[brave jewel]

Instead of the jumping sheep depiction of sleeping I’m imagining 3 bingus’s jumping around

[scenic meteor]

Did we ever find out if Durandal found the scientist

Bernard Strauss

[brave jewel]

Nope
Some people theorize he might be one of the fellas in Cryo archive

[worn knoll]

He did not, or he would've commented on it after you went to the Pfhor ship

[worn knoll]

(spoilers scoob if you wanna wait until I get through 2) ||Durandal does explicitly say he died in 2||

[scenic meteor]

So he’s technically still out there somewhere

[hushed totem]

Yeah, that's true. For gameplay, it kind of reminded me a little bit of Splitgate in a weird way because of how the gun is positioned. However, that's just a trailer; I can't wait to see what the entire game looks like on release day. Do you know what the price tag for DEFECT is? 👀

[brave jewel]

Iirc isn’t there also a different version/copy of Durandal? Some people said the real one still might be out exploring and this one is pissed abt it

I might be misremembering

I still haven’t finished M1

[hushed totem]

Actually Im green.

[worn knoll]

||Doesn't mean that's still true, since the timeline of 2 is all in jeopardy by the final infinity timeline's vagueness, but he was still kidnapped by the Pfhor BEFORE 2, so he couldn't be in cryo archive||

[twilit sparrow]

No idea man, it seems to be an indie studio though if its only multiplayer I would guess 30-40 dollars

[hushed totem]

Apparently it’s Co-Op multiplayer

[brave jewel]

Oh hey Shrek

[hushed totem]

DONKEY!! 🫏

[gleaming bough]

[scenic meteor]

30-40$ game meta is so peak means only big titles will be 60-70 🙏

[hushed totem]

PvP

All games should do 40

[worn knoll]

"Never spend more than 20 bucks for a computer game." - monkey island

[brave jewel]

I’m gonna be buying the deluxe edition because I want the skins

[hushed totem]

monkey island

[worn knoll]

yes the classic point and click adventure series

[twilit sparrow]

Its only right for multiplayer only games tbh, I would argue single player games should also be the same but you know, cinematics cost a lot lol

[brave jewel]

Had to

[heady thicket]

Imagine that!

[weary prairie]

@gleaming bough , charge my phone

[brave jewel]

_

[scenic meteor]

Knowing slightly more about the marathon lore I can see how any crossover skins would be pretty detrimental to the games core identity

[gleaming bough]

Main is charging

[heady thicket]

I feel left out being orange

[brave jewel]

v

[worn knoll]

aw hell I forgot the badass final line

[brave jewel]

👅

[worn knoll]

All over the ship, dancing through the wreckage
of the Pfhor computer core,

DURANDAL WAS LAUGHING

what was bungie on to write such peak

[brave jewel]

I wonder if our first interaction with durandal will actually be in season 1

[gleaming bough]

-# This message was transmitted from a Sekiguchi Genetics™ Terminal++, in the BiomataCB Lab
-# For more information, please visit Sekiguchi Genetics™

[brave jewel]

I also wonder if there will be holiday events

[scenic meteor]

I feel like if we see Durandal in season one he’s gonna be powered off or something

[weary prairie]

charge this phone first

[worn knoll]

probably not, I think they're saving him for once the factions get aquainted with the whole "oh shit, aliens did this" thing

[heady thicket]

🫵💋

Scary possibilites

[worn knoll]

Recon 54 would never reach Tau Ceti IV. Their pod would land safely, but no one was inside. For 17 years, they would remain in crystostasis. Durandal changed his mind. This would not be the last time they met. He wanted an ace up his sleeve. And when he finally had a reason to use it, so began:

MARATHON 2: Durandal

[brave jewel]

🫦

[worn knoll]

needs a title drop where m1 didn't bc of the fucking awesome theme song

[hushed totem]

We getting a Marathon 2 before Marathon!? Before GTA6!?

[gleaming bough]

@weary prairie died. Should've charge they phone

[brave jewel]

Do you think durandal would be into shodan from system shock

[hushed totem]

Marathon 3 when

[heady thicket]

and eat hot chip and lie

[worn knoll]

His soft spot for humanity would make him find her disgusting

also, he'd feel challenged by an AI that thinks so highly of itself, and probably want to prove his superiority

[brave jewel]

A little competition neva hurt nobody

[scenic meteor]

Theme kinda goes hard

[gleaming bough]

Clovis bray save me

[worn knoll]

I rly hope some track in this game has the whispered "MARATHON" in it bc it's so iconic

[spice bough]

warframe x marathon when

[brave jewel]

If Osiris can kiss robots so can I

[scenic meteor]

Osiris was kissing robots?

Is saint 14 exo?

[hushed totem]

Goodnight guys see you tomorrow

[gleaming bough]

Those who nose

[brave jewel]

He’s literally dating saint

[worn knoll]

also crazy you can kinda feel the halo music dna? it feels like a more rock version of some of the Halo CE combat tracks tbh

[scenic meteor]

Damn I thought saint 14 was human

[brave jewel]

Saint is an exo 😭

[worn knoll]

ok I don't even know who that is but what non-exo has a number in their name

you can't be named some shit like "Saint 14" and not be a little bit metal

[brave jewel]

His name is saint-14

[worn knoll]

as in, physically, actually made of metal

[worn knoll]

yeah I'm saying scooby was silly for not realizing that

now if it was neeyth I'd say dumb

[brave jewel]

It’s late I can’t read

[gleaming bough]

*```We've been trying to reach you about your Shell's extended warranty.You should've received a notice in in your Terminal about your Shell's extended warranty eligibility. Since we've not gotten a response, we're giving you a final courtesy call before we close out your file. Type 2 to be removed and placed on our do-not-call list. To speak to someone about possibly extending or reinstating your Shell's warranty, Type 1 to speak with a warranty specialist.

-# This message was transmitted from a ![SekGen](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/1359743301875531857.webp?size=128 "SekGen") Sekiguchi Genetics™ Terminal++, in the BiomataCB Lab
-# For more information, please visit [Sekiguchi Genetics™](<https://sekiguchigenetics.jp/>)

[brave jewel]

If I became an exo id kill myself 67 times just for the game

[brave jewel]

Remember when we used to flirt 😔

[spice bough]

what a woke mess thats why i hate d2

[gleaming bough]

Different variations, Different alts

[brave jewel]

Don’t make me kiss you buddy

[heady thicket]

Your Steam avatar is a glistening, shirtless, buff version of the Engineer from TF2

[brave jewel]

I’ll woke you up real good

[scenic meteor]

Surely Osiris and saint-14 were dating when he was human tho

And they kinda just carried on

[brave jewel]

Pretty sure they had a history but I can’t remember

Ask byf

[gleaming bough]

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[brave jewel]

Gang this isn’t ready player one

[austere oxide]

I’m gonna stream this game till it dies 😭

[heady thicket]

How do I become special and red like you guys? I don't see Arachne in the role-picker-thingy

[gleaming bough]

Infection

[austere oxide]

😭 look too cool not to ask

[spice bough]

so ? the fact that i like buff hairy sweaty men doesnt mean that im gay or anything

[austere oxide]

Nah

[brave jewel]

Someone has to type a command in the closed chat for you to get the role but you can only do it twice per account

[austere oxide]

Who doesn’t 🤨

[heady thicket]

He's actually remarkably hairless in that picture

[austere oxide]

Ew get em outta here

[gleaming bough]

I wonder... but im to lazy to do it for my alt(s) and lore wise

[brave jewel]

Is our wedding still happening

[austere oxide]

Ur already red gang

[heady thicket]

Can I officiate it?

[brave jewel]

I’ll invite John Marton

[heady thicket]

I've got a license

[brave jewel]

Last time I proposed sek rejected me

[austere oxide]

Can I get an invite???

[brave jewel]

😔

[spice bough]

arachne is such an edgy emo faction who wants to join it ew

[austere oxide]

You’ll get em next time

[brave jewel]

Nobody add him

[austere oxide]

😂

[brave jewel]

👅

[gleaming bough]

I was kidnap. Force.

[spice bough]

no thanks i'd rather stay with MIDA mpreg nation

[austere oxide]

But look at you ur better now

[worn knoll]

A Stasis-Groggy Recon 54 would wake from fleeing the ruins of one battlefield directly into entering another. Durandal would orient them in his usual, blunt manner:

Welcome back.

I've awakened you from stasis and teleported you down to a planet where
I need some work done. You are on Lh'owon, the homeworld of the S'pht.

I'm sure you're wondering where you are, why you were in stasis, what
happened to the Marathon and Tau Ceti and most of all where your rocket
launcher and fusion gun are. There'll be plenty of time for
explanations later. Right now I need you to repair some damaged
network connections for me. Be careful you're about to meet some old
friends.

He would go on to give them an immediate task, but tell them not to worry too much about the Pfhor, as he was busy "Introducing them to the wonders of orbital bombardment" and they weren't handling it well.

He would then, once the task was complete, update Recon 54 on the recent happenings. According to Durandal, it had been 17 years since the initial Pfhor attack, when he captured his new vessel. He had, since then, been working with the S'pht to find their homeworld, as they claimed some weapon was hidden there. It was barren and destroyed, from the war during which the Pfhor originally enslaved the S'pht, but many S'pht facilities remained, and the weapon could be anywhere. Halo players will find this a familiar plot thread.

He also confesses that he did, in fact, teleport recon 54 into one of the Pfhor stasis chambers on his new ship, and keep them there until they found Lh'owon. He knows they'll help him anyway, of course, and even says

You'll thank me later when you hear what happened to the colony.

He also details that many humans captured by the Pfhor remained on the ship when it left, and have since pledged loyalty to Durandal, given the offer "Help me destroy the Pfhor and be free, or don't, and be returned to stasis indefinitely."

Few are refusing.

[austere oxide]

Now taaake me🤨

Man this lore is amazing

Before I was even born

[gleaming bough]

I miss when new noise was a niche chat room. Those who nose

[austere oxide]

I was there

I don’t see my normal ppl anymore and it’s kinda sad 😔

[brave jewel]

I just miss the propoganda wars

[gleaming bough]

My existence

[austere oxide]

Yea mida still gae

[scenic meteor]

So Durandal just got inter galactical teleportation capabilities like that

[austere oxide]

Hy

[brave jewel]

Durandal is just him

[austere oxide]

He was in red vs blue too

Believe it or not

[worn knoll]

how do you think Pfhor FTL works? it's just really, really distant teleportation, which is in itself minor space-time folding.

[austere oxide]

That’s how goated he is

[scenic meteor]

And throws Recon 54 into a war against pfhor and s’pht 😭

[worn knoll]

Yeah he's a little rude

[austere oxide]

Buh more human then any

[worn knoll]

imagine you just saved 24,000 people by killing like 50,000 aliens

and you're taking a breather on your way to your new home on the beautiful planet of Tau Ceti IV

[austere oxide]

You know ball

[worn knoll]

with all your new friends who are no doubt going to thank the hell out of you for saving the marathon alone while your battleroid brothers down on the ground saved the colony

[austere oxide]

This guy is like 500 years old

[worn knoll]

and you close your eyes for 3 seconds

[scenic meteor]

Then it’s just war

[worn knoll]

and you wake up mid-teleport onto an alien planet 24,000 light years from there

surrounded by gunfire

[austere oxide]

And miss a century of lore

[scenic meteor]

https://gif.fxtwitter.com/tweet_video/G8rCYBKbMAIF9fO.gif

[worn knoll]

ok 17 years

[austere oxide]

17,000

[worn knoll]

but still out for a while

[austere oxide]

Oh you became a robot baby

You think your 17 years old

[gleaming bough]

Ok im going to sleep.

[austere oxide]

SLEEP TIGHT RUNNER

Or don’t ik shii gets rough

[scenic meteor]

Also is durdandal controlling the S’pht like the technomancers or mind controllers or is he allied with them and working with them side by side

[molten quarry]

[brave jewel]

Gnite don’t let the bingus bite

[scenic meteor]

Cyberacne

[worn knoll]

After Recon 54 is sent to help Durandal with a few other small tasks in the war against the Pfhor (of course, always culminating to "bring this here, kill everyone there"), Durandal would relay another bit of bad news, I suppose in some modicum of sympathy trying to ease them into the prospect that all they did might've been for nothing.

Were you ever curious about the tenth cyborg which was supposed to be
on the Marathon? Why could Leela find only nine? Was it ever
activated? Was it destroyed during the defense of the colony? You are
right to be curious.
Poor Leela. Tycho tells me she was dismantled and shipped to the
Pfhor home world for study, along with most of the other computer
systems aboard the Marathon. Leela was so loyal and tried so hard; she
deserved better.

Devastating news, but his seeming sympathy for Leela shows much growth since the days of "I hate leela and her goodness her justice her loyalty her faith."

After some further combat and espionage, Recon 54 is sent to the S'pht Citadel in an attempt to breach the antequated defenses left behind from the war between the Pfhor and S'pht and get into the main tower. Along the way Durandal does unexpectedly drop Recon 54 in lava, and then into the middle of a human-s'pht-pfhor battle, and really I don't know why Recon 54 keeps working for him besides being in love (canon for my playthrough), but remains patient as Recon 54 does their job. Ruthless as ever, of course. Though, if at any point they may dawdle, they may encounter this message:

If you insist on stumbling around when our time here is limited, I may
just decide that you're not all that special after all and teleport you
out into space.

GET INTO THE TOWER!

Still Rampant,
Durandal

A brief reminder that this is a self-proclaimed "god in the making" we're talking to.

[worn knoll]

they buddies. S'pht are so cybernetic they might as well be machines anyway, so they just see him as a friend and the guy who helped them get free after centuries of slavery (many of the surviving S'pht having been alive that entire time, as S'pht don't age)

He also believed them when they said "Hey can you swing by our planet we think we remember there being some ancient weapon there" so it's a trusting relationship

[scenic meteor]

I wonder if that was intentional by Durandal seeing himself in the S’pht as he was controlled and manipulated by Mida they had the same kind of treatment with the Pfhor

[worn knoll]

100%, they were such close parallels (especially in fresh-out-of-anger Durandal's mind) he couldn't help but pity their situation

[scenic meteor]

Did leela just have an off camera death getting dismantled and sent off 🥀

[limber walrus]

Release date, when?

[worn knoll]

FR did my girl so dirty the Pfhor just came back and stole her 🥀

literally scrapped for parts

poor Leela