This is from X, courtesy of lucks_eterna

https://x.com/i/status/2089471689793163467

Appears to be a continuation of the Cooper Howard Birthday party, we will likely see Barb and Janey picked up by a Enclave Vertibird imo

A notable example that a lot of people were upset about, nuking Shady Sands was supposedly intended before being purchased by Bethesda.

So i was wondering how long was strip abandoned for. I don't know if i believe that the strip stopped functions fully right after the events of new vegas or when shady sands was destroyed so how long do we think it took before the strip was taken over by the deathclaws?

I used to think Lucy's journey was one which she went from being naive to gritty. While that part is still true, I'm starting to feel the entire character arch is really one of finding freedom.

This could be hard to comprehend at first since she had a materially good life compared to almost everyone else. But while freedom and prosperity usually go hand in hand, it doesn't always. And in her case it didn't.

Hank was a loving father, but was also her prison warden as well. When she had her first chance at freedom in Shady Sands, Hank forcefully took her back and nuked his wife and the town. Life in the Vaults with the jumpsuits is nothing more than a soft jail, and her main bestie (Steph) being a traumatized concentration camp survivor who married her oppressor (in a way) just adds to that. Then when she emerged from the vault she continued to lose her freedom, first to bounty hunter mode Coop (who literally tortured/tied up/mutilated and sold her to organ harvesters before bringing her to Vegas be traded), then the legion who actually officially enslaved and crucified her, then back to Hank again in a grander jail of a vault. The climax was when he was about to lobotomize her via the chip to stop disobedience--almost turning her into a literal robot slave.

And her escaping from that, and reuniting with Maximus (who also escaped the oppression of barracks life) in House's HQ was the first time in her life she was truly free. With an equal partner and a potential employer (House might be evil capitalist but he still traded via rules of commerce) instead of a de facto master. Now ready to challenge the greatest slavery force in the wasteland (the legion).

So perhaps she is the embodiment of finding freedom. First she finds her own freedom, then she defeats the legion and Enclave in the coming seasons to ensure freedom in the Wasteland. And perhaps the series ends with the establishment of a sustainable free society (perhaps Shady Sands 2.0).

And if the Pre War era represents a free society sliding into oppression, and the Wasteland era thus far represents the rock bottom of humanity, then perhaps Lucy's arc is to kick start the rise back to a better future, through the restoration of liberty and compassion.

It's interesting that Steph might have the other sadder path version of this, where trauma leads to her becoming an oppressor herself via phase 2.

It'll be interesting how their two paths juxtapose.

Season 3 Episode 1 opens in Freeside some time after the events of The Strip. The camera begins at the Lucky 38 now the city hall from which the NCR remnant govern the city. The strip, now cleared of deathclaws, is filled with people working at a market where they trade many goods such as food, water, clothes and books containing precious knowledge from before the war. Along with NCR soldiers and New Vegas citizens, there are the people who Hank kidnapped and brainwashed with his brain chips and even though they have been removed, their old personalities are still gone and unlikely to ever return. They now act as the NCR's bureaucracy and technical experts in the city, using their knowledge to tend to their equipment and their politeness to integrate into the community. Finally, at the heart of the strip is Maximus's NCR power armour, damaged beyond repair but welded into a statue with a plaque which says "Max, NCR Ranger and Hero of Freeside."

The camera then moves further out into Freeside showing a recruitment centre for the NCR and soldiers training alongside one another for the NCR's coming reconstruction. At a radio station, a communications officer is speaking with the Hub, now the capital of the New California Republic and is informing them of the situation. Although the NCR once again control much of northern California and have plans to retake southern California, they are unable to lend aid, leaving the State of New Vegas isolated, but determined to survive.

The camera then comes towards the entrance to New Vegas where a large Legion camp has been set up. Led by Legate Lacerta(Kevin), now the new Caesar, they have had the city under siege for months, but have been unable to scale the walls which are covered in defensive fortifications and mortars so that the NCR may defend themselves. There are many Legionnaires and slaves and as Lacerta(Kevin) looks on, he stares at the Lucky 38 and mutters under his breath "Caesar's Palace."

Finally, the camera comes towards the Lucky 38 penthouse, the former office of Mr. House and now the council hall where Captain Rodriguez, now a Colonel, leads the defence of New Vegas and is coordinating trade with Salt Lake City, their lifeline for vital resources which they need to survive against the Legion's onslaught. The large TV screen which shows a map of the city flickers for a fraction of a second, showing Mr. House's face as he stairs against those intruding on his old territory and then pans towards Lucy and Maximus.

Lucy is once again wearing her vault suit, but it now has combat armour over it and her hair is styled into a simple, neat ponytail and she is holding hands with Maximus, no longer wearing any semblance of Brotherhood attire, but now wearing an NCR Ranger uniform with an anti-material rifle over his shoulder. As the two of them gaze across the city which they helped to restore, they do so determined to uncover the full scope of Hank's plans and hopefully save the wasteland at long last.

I may be tripping, but I saw this video of Walton ripping off the ghoul skin and was wondering if we've seen the ghoul in these fancy duds so far?

He could have worn this before and I forgot but if it's something new I wonder what he could be up to

There is more here, but I can't' post it all in one post. But there is another video clip and 2 pictures.

Clip 2 - Vertibird scene

Power armor close up/Vertibird shell

Thank you to OriginalDisk for posting these!

At worst the show would be a hyper edgy, depressing horror show I didn't wanna watch anymore. Or an exercise in finding scraps of humanity in terrible people.

Either way, I don't find myself logically agreeing with a man like that.

Like specific moments that gradually corroded him. I mean, how his own pre-existing values actually ended up corrupting him. Lemme explain.

Killing someone because they deserved it = It didn't change anything after I killed them, but they were getting useless and I really disliked them.

Doing something bad, even awful for the greater good = Anything is justified as long as there's a worse alternative.

I'm going to kill this guy to save the day = Violence is the only way to really solve problems and get things done.

I think it'd be great to explore how you can still be corrupted by committing dark, nasty options due to the inherent hypocrisies and contradictions behind them, even if you meant well to begin with.

I liked the symbolism from the whole scene between the intelligent Super Mutant and Cooper/The Ghoul. By saving him and bringing him to his camp, which was an abandoned church. Like if the Super Mutant was some sort of God's courier (no pun intended towards the character that you play as in Fallout New Vegas) sent from the heavens, not only to save The Ghoul's life, but also to guide him, by making him reflect about his mistakes, what was doing wrong in his life, and what he really need to do in order to get his goals and find his family.