#(4) is hard to get a read on. maybe like a military movie where he's a celebrated high ranking official

[curiosityschild]

On the website for my county government for some reason and all five of our county commissioners look like supervillains. Like. It looks like someone travelled across the multiverse to pluck five supervillains from five different genres and got them all together to govern my county for some reason.

[kudosmyhero]

Transformers (vol. 1) #8: Repeat Performance!

Read Date: February 18, 2023 Cover Date: September 1985 ● Writer: Bob Budiansky ● Penciler: William Johnson ● Inker: Kyle Baker ● Colorist: Nel Yomtov ● Letterer: Rick Parker ● Editor: Jim Owsley ◦ Keith Williams ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● Dinobots! ● in the opening splash, at a glance it looks like Ratchet has a Santa hat

● that's gotta be a big ass snake if it looks sizable in relation to Ratchet! ● "that tube-thing" 😂 ● I wondered what that big thing he's using as a vehicle is. M.A.R.B. = Mobile Autobot Repair Bay ● seeing Shockwave fly around as a giant gun is silly at first… but when I think about what it would actually be like for a giant sentient space gun to fly around all menacing and such, if I saw that in real life, I might shit my pants

● the Dinobots are submerged in a tar pit o_o ● Ratchet manages to dig up Slag (the triceratops) ● Ratchet accesses the still deactivated Slag's memories ● we get a replay of the Dinobots/Shockwave battle from 4,000,000 years ago. the fight is how everyone including Shockwave ends up trapped in tar or under rocks ● snerk we see the light return to Slagg's eye when Ratchet isn't looking, and in the next panel, Ratchet being tossed in the air by Slagg.

● wait--can Shockwave turn into a military helicopter, too? the panels are confusing. maybe he just swooped in in robot form and took the place of an actual military helicopter… ● I respect Blackrock for always worrying about the safety of his workers. he's been trying his best these past few issues, darn it ● inside, Soundwave is forcing human workers to aid in whatever it is they're doing with Optimus Prime's head (heh, reminds me of that soldier ant in the movie Antz) ● ok, they've moved Prime's head to the assembly plant. the plan is to use his Creation Matrix to make new Decepticons (I've already had it spoiled for me in one of the podcasts I listen to that the Creation Matrix is what Prime shifted into Buster Witwicky. Buster Prime, I guess?) ● damn, Josie has been busy in the hospital…

● back on The Ark, Megatron receives a transmission from Ratchet showing the Dinobots attacking Shockwave ● aww, Megatron is smiling! how cute ^_^ he admits to Ratchet that he had underestimated him ● (so much is happening in this issue, but it doesn't feel like too much. the pacing is superb) ● Ratchet, in ambulance form, heads to the top of a mountain where he is supposed to meet Megatron. along the way, he passes humans skiing and is intrigued by this activity ● he meets with Megatron, who obviously intends to do him harm: "…I do not want to appear ungrateful! Thank you for fulfilling your part of the bargain! Too bad I never had any intention of doing the same!" ● Ratchet, of course, never trusted Megatron not to Megatron ● …which is why he brought his little army of Dinobots to kick ass on his behalf ● ohhhhh, the images Ratchet had sent to Megatron were of the fight from 4 million years ago--which is what I assumed. Megatron, however, thought the fight happened only that day, so he thought Shockwave was already disposed of ● heheheh, the Dinobots had been lying in wait under the snow. I wonder how many people skied down them ● Megatron gets his shiny metal ass handed to him ● interesting for Megatron claims his power is without equal when he's had to pretend to be a simp for Shockwave lately. though to be fair, Megatron had just been poisoned by Sparkplug Witwicky's fuel, so he wasn't up to snuff when Shockwave returned ● (some of the Transformers' faces look more human than usual in this issue) ● Megatron is standing right at the edge of a cliff, so we the reader can see where this is going… ● …oooor not. Poor Ratchet runs into Megatron as hard as he can, but Megatron doesn't "budge a micron!" (nice try, Ratchet) Megatron's grin is… unsettling. But he is impressed that Ratchet was willing to throw them both over the edge in order to destroy Megatron ● ah, so the force of Ratchet's charge didn't affect Megatron, but it weakened the rocks that Megatron was standing on; it gives way and Megatron falls, transforming and shrinking into gun mode as he does ● transforming into gun mode… "in the desperate hope that in this smaller, light-weight--" (no! his overall mass did not change, so he would weigh the same) "--form he will better be able to survive he awesome impact of his body on the ground far below." ● oo, has Josie become a villain/hero called Circuit Breaker? because that's kind of an awesome name ● 👏👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: After making a deal with Megatron to destroy Shockwave in exchange for getting the Ark and deactivated Autobots back, Ratchet has traveled to the South Pole in a region of Antarctica called the Savage Land to revive the long lost Dinobots who disappeared four million years ago after fighting and defeating Shockwave. On his mobile medical unit, he travels through the Savage Land's rough terrain and blasts away a serpent that gets too close.

While back at the Ark, Megatron is visited by Shockwave who has come to collect the still-active head of Optimus Prime to Blackrock's Aerospace plant so that he can exploit the Creation Matrix within Prime to breath life into a new generation of Decepticons. Megatron plays the role of a subservient subordinate while secretly hoping that Ratchet's plan succeed and Shockwave is ultimately destroyed.

In the Savage Land, Ratchet manages to free Slag from the tar pits and begin probing his memories. He learns that the Dinobots were reactivated by the Ark's computers when it detected that Shockwave had arrived on Earth. Reconfiguring himself, Grimlock, Sludge, Snarl and Swoop to transform into the likeness of Earth's dinosaurs, they flew to the Savage Land where they attacked Shockwave. Shockwave would have the upper hand, knocking Swoop into a tar pit at the bottom of a cliff, and knocking the other Dinobots around it. However, before Shockwave could blast them to oblivion, Snarl would bash the side of the cliff causing an avalanche that would force the other Dinobots into the tar pits and bury Shockwave under tons of rock. In order to preserve themselves, they would all go into stasis.

When Slag suddenly comes to life, Ratchet is almost trampled by the Dinobot until he shows that he is an Autobot. As Slag helps Ratchet uncover the other Dinobots, Ratchet realizes that Shockwave must have been in stasis as well until the probe the other Autobots launched accidentally freed him.

While outside Blackrock's Aerospace plant, G.B. Blackrock himself answers to the media and puts his full confidence that the military can force the robots who have invaded his plant out. However, this confidence is dashed when Shockwave returns with the head of Optimus Prime and easily blasts the military aside. Entering the base, Shockwave hooks Optimus Prime's head to the six new Decepticon memory components that he has already given life to with the Creation Matrix, Shockwave intends to continue exploiting Prime's Matrix in order to create a veritable army of Decepticons. While at the hospital, Josie Beller sheds a tear for the continued trouble caused by her boss. However, despite the fact that she is crippled she is hardly unproductive as she has created a circuitry mesh that fits over her arm to allow it full mobility.

Back at the Ark, Megatron gets a call from Ratchet confirming that Shockwave has been destroyed. However, knowing that Megatron likely intends to double cross him, Ratchet shows him the footage of Shockwave's defeat from four million years ago, passing it off as something that just happened. Impressed, Megatron agrees to meet with Ratchet at the ski-hill that they agreed to meet at not far from the Ark.

There, Megatron—as expected—reveals that he intended to betray Ratchet all along. Before Megatron can attack the Dinobots, sent ahead to the location by Ratchet, burst out of the snow and attack Megatron. Much to Ratchet's dismay the five Autobot warriors are easily knocked aside by Megatron who gloats over his strength. Noticing that Megatron is standing over the edge of a cliff, Ratchet attempts to knock the tyrant off the cliff, however, fails. As Ratchet bounces off Megatron's body, Megatron laughs but before he can destroy Ratchet his weight causes the edge of the cliff to snap off. As Megatron plummets to the ground below, he transforms into his gun mode to avoid any damage from the fall and is lost in the snow. With Megatron defeated, Ratchet and the Dinobots head to the Ark to repair their friends.

Back at Josie Beller's hotel room, Josie tests her new invention out by firing a bolt of energy across the room and destroying one of the computers set up for her. With the test a success she intends to check out of the hospital.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Transformers_Vol_1_8)

Fan Art: Buster Witwicky VS Skyfire v2 by shumworld

Accompanying Podcasts: ● Transformers Chronicles - episode 08

● Transformers University - episode 17

[luna-rainbow]

*Leaps enthusiastically onto the criticizing Peggy Carter train*

I guess finding a partner wasn't so hard after all and you always wanted be a soldier and now you are, just like all the rest are two lines in particular from Peggy that just make me violently cringe. They're both such nasty jabs at two things/values that clearly mean a lot to Steve and for her to say that while he was scrambling after her and profusely apologizing was so harsh.

And it just furthers the whole thing everyone else has been saying, that Peggy is supposed to be this ultimate, special, Not Like Other Girls character. Her jab about finding the "right partner" is pretty clear in stating that she thinks that ONLY she could be the right person for him, and that any of these other people who might be interested in him are not good enough.

The "just like all the rest" comment is really what gets me because in it's quest to fulfill it's role as military propaganda the film actually kinda fails in showing us how this was bad thing? There was Hodge who was a dick, but other than that pretty much all the soldiers were portrayed as pretty ok people. You have the commandos, who all seem in the short screen time they had, to be good, nice men (who Peggy was also shown to literally be close friends with in the AC show; I wonder if they know how lowly she really thought of them considering this comment). Her saying this would have made more sense if we had seen more of the soldiers being massive assholes, but the movie never shows us that. It also could read as a pretty harsh jab at Steve's self esteem, like she's almost trying to tell him that he isn't really that special after all--is that perhaps a bit of jealousy that she wasn't considered for the super soldier program herself? I'm not sure, but it was a cruel thing to say no matter how upset she was at him in the moment.

Thanks for the ask!

Now that I think about it, most of the Peggy scenes in the movie seems quite forced and felt like they belonged to a different movie. Like, maybe in a romcom where the two characters get the time to build up their relationship, those interactions are okay, but because they had so little time together, those scenes just felt uncomfortable and unfriendly. It was such an odd sense of entitlement over the kiss when the guy wouldn’t even respond to your very obvious advances to invite him to a dance.

Based on her interactions with him, it doesn’t gel that she would even appeal to him? It’s the usual dudebro fantasy of the unattainable woman who falls impossibly for the main character despite her high standards, and it’s because she sees what’s inside.

The thing is, and I think it’s part of the writers not really thinking about Steve’s disabled experience: Peggy being unattainable isn’t a new experience for him - she’s not special because she’s unattainable. He’s met a lot of women who think they’re above him because they refuse to look at anything deeper than his skinny frame.

Peggy only changes her mind after Steve gets the serum. This could have been fixed so easily if they demonstrated Peggy’s interest in Steve before he got the serum. If she was the one who asked him why he wanted to be in the military, instead of Steve’s inane comment about why a girl like her would want to be there. If she made a passing compliment at Steve after he took down the flag instead of ignoring him. The first time she really showed interest is by grabbing his serumed up boob 😕

What this really reinforces to Steve is that women - including Peggy and Lorraine - are still judging only by the most superficial part of him. This makes Peggy not special at all from Steve’s standpoint. She’s only special to the audience by the fact the camera focuses on her - I highly doubt she’s the only woman Steve had an ongoing collegial relationship with in the 4(?) years he lived with the serum.

[mypoisonedvine]

Seeing Red | bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x reader (part 7)

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6)

series summary: bucky used to brag that he didn’t have a celebrity crush, or really care about famous people at all, which is what made him the perfect person to start working for a celebrity like yourself.  except, of course, it’s just his luck that he’d fall for you.  

word count: 2.5k

warnings: um just implied smut and fluff and a reference to bdsm I guess?? but it's pretty chill overall

Liked by starkcosmetics and others

y/n.y/l/n okay first of all, it takes an act of god to get a picture of this guy smiling, but it’s always worth it.  he really changed everything for me and I can’t thank him enough for that.  so happy ❤️ 

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caroldanvers 😍😍😍

flowercrowny/n oh my god this is so sweet i’m gonna cry

1 HOUR AGO

He smiled as he stared down at the post you’d made, remembering how much effort you’d put into finding the perfect picture (in your opinion; he thought he looked kinda dopey in it) as well as writing and re-writing your caption.

The speed at which your post gained likes and comments was inconceivable to him; even more impressive was the speed at which gossip rags were picking up the story.  Sure enough, his phone’s alerts to new headlines about you were not only going off like crazy, but had started to include news about himself as well.  

Y/N Y/L/N Shocks With Romantic Instagram Post, Confirms Dating Rumors

You’ll Never Guess Which Hollywood Starlet Is Dating Her Driver

Who is James Barnes?  Everything We Know About Y/N Y/L/N’s New Beau

Skimming one of the articles, he was impressed at how much information they’d managed to get without actually getting anything from you or him.  Born in Brooklyn, disabled Army veteran, worked a list of odd jobs before becoming your driver and bodyguard.  ‘No social media presence, prefers to keep a low profile’ one of them said; you can say that again, Bucky chuckled to himself when he read it.

He found another from People and didn’t particularly appreciate that it spent half the time going through all your past exes and rumored partners (turned out ‘rumored’ is a fancy word for ‘a bunch of fans deluded themselves so hard that it somehow turned into news without any proof necessary’).  But he still smiled when he got to the part that was actually about you and him.

‘The relationship is pretty new but they’re so happy together,’  a source close to the couple reported.  

Close indeed; that statement came from your publicist, who he’d never even meet.  

‘He’s a very private guy and she’s got this huge following, so they’re sort of an odd couple in that way, but she knows her fans are respectful and will let them have their own life outside of the spotlight.’ 

Bucky wasn’t sure that the respectfulness of fans was such a given here, but he hoped you were right.  To be fair, they’d been very sweet on your original post insofar. 

However, when he scrolled to the bottom of the celebrity magazine articles and realized they had their own comments section, he discovered that they were a little less forgiving than the ones on your Instagram.  

Is this the best she thinks she can do?  So sad tbh :(

a military guy…. yikes, she could get any guy she wants and she goes for a murderer. 

He looks like a hobo that found a coupon for a free haircut lol

I don’t buy it, I know she’ll always love Pietro!

Pietro being your former co-star that so many of your fans were convinced was actually your soulmate.  From what he’d heard from you, those speculations had made things so uncomfortable between the two of you that it killed your friendship.  Those were nothing, though, compared to the comments about someone you actually had dated.

she’s obviously not over sam… they were so good together

He’d better watch out for her ex, he still likes tweets about her and they have so much chemistry

Wait, she’s not still with Sam Wilson??  I could’ve sworn they’d been dating for, like, five years.

You were scrolling through your phone with a smile as you walked past where he was sitting on the couch, and he just couldn’t help himself from asking even though he knew it wasn’t the best idea.  “Do I need to worry about this Sam thing?” he blurted out, trying to play it cool and not sound too anxious.  “People are really obsessed with you two…”

“Sam and I…” you sighed, staring off into space for a second.  He made himself anxious imagining what you were thinking about in that moment.  “I haven’t talked to him in… years?  I think it’s just because our relationship was so public that people are still talking about it.  And it had a lot of gossip material— we did a movie together, people thought it was sweet that we got together during production, it was great promotion for the picture… and from the outside, we made a lot of sense for each other.  But he has his own problems.  I loved him, but… he wasn’t ever going to be a one-girl kinda guy.”

“But you’re not just any one girl.  You’re… you know, you,” he emphasized.

“You’ve been reading too many headlines,” you shook your head as you sat down beside him.  “Please don’t turn into one of those guys who thinks of me as a celebrity first.  Before that—” you pointed to your own name where it was bolded on his screen in the trending topics page of Twitter— “was popping up on movie posters and in gossip magazines, it was just my name.  And I’m not perfect.  Not even close.”

Bucky sighed and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into him and holding you tightly.  “And before I knew you were famous, or rich, or incredibly talented, I was totally obsessed with you just for who you are.”

“You’re too fucking amazing,” you sighed as you held his face and gave him a gentle kiss— the kind of kiss that instantly melted his heart and banished his worries.  When you pulled back and looked up at him with a smile, it was like everything else just… faded away.  “Don’t read the comments, okay?  None of them matter.”

He smiled and brushed his thumb over your cheek, overwhelmed by not only the softness of your skin but of your spirit as well.  In all his life he’d never been handled so… gently, with so much care.  “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he mumbled, not even really realizing he’d said it aloud until you gave him a beaming smile.

“I can’t believe you’re my boyfriend,” you giggled pridefully.

“Seriously?  I can… very easily believe it,” he scoffed.

“I just mean… you’re so…” you searched for the words.  “You’re actually good to me, that’s the thing.  I’m not used to that.”

“You deserve the world,” he assured.  “I’m just gonna keep trying to give you as much of it as I can find.”

He watched his hand trail over your face, down your neck and to your chest where he played with the hem of your t-shirt.

"It's odd to know there are millions of people who are jealous of me,” he admitted quietly, remembering some aggressive comments from some very angry dudes who had apparently also watched your nude scene a few too many times.

"Do you like it?  Do you like how it feels to know you're making them angry every time you touch me?"

"Couldn't care less," he refuted.  "Nobody else matters when I'm touchin' you."

“Do you maybe wanna… touch me a little more about it?” you smirked, opening your legs slightly in invitation.

“Always.”

//

Bucky had, thankfully, not let the newfound fame get to his head.  In fact, he had demanded that the two of you hunker down in the house, since he feared that going out would lead to being recognized.  What he apparently hadn’t anticipated was that that might not be enough.

“Will you get that?” you requested when the gate buzzed, too wrapped up in the book you were reading to answer the intercom.

He hopped up and held down the button to communicate with the gate speaker.  “Who is it?” he asked.

“I’ve got a delivery from Anjappar Chettinad on 23rd?”

Bucky didn’t even reply before hitting the green button and granting access to the driveway.  BEEP BEEP BEEP! you heard the gate signal its opening, and the car pulling around up to the door.  Bucky didn’t open it until there was a knock, greeting the delivery guy with a smile and the necessary cash.

“I’ve got a lamb korma, hyderabadi mutton dum biryani and an order of— woah,” the man suddenly stopped, staring at Bucky’s face.  “Are you—?’

“Hungry?  Yes,” he frowned.

“You’re the guy dating— holy shit, congrats man,” he beamed, smacking Bucky on the shoulder pridefully before leaning in with a mischievous smirk.  “Say, is she a freak or what?”

“She is,” you piped up from the couch, making both men turn their heads; but one was chuckling while the other looked mortified.  “You better not have forgotten my paneer pakora or I’m gonna chain you up and whip you.”

“Uh, I— no, I got it right here,” he promised weakly, handing the bag over to Bucky and starting to dash away before Bucky grabbed his arm, making the smaller man whimper fearfully.

“You forgot the money,” Bucky reminded him gruffly, stuffing the bills into the driver’s front pocket.

Finally, he let go, and the delivery man instantly pulled away, rubbing his arm and looking a bit like a kicked puppy as he went back to his car and drove away.

“You didn’t need to scare him that bad,” Bucky chuckled.

“I could say the same to you!  Grabbing somebody with the metal arm like that will put the fear of God into them pretty fast.”

“I didn’t mean to grab him that hard,” he admitted, examining the prosthetic hand as he came back to the couch with the bag of food, handing it to you while he focused on watching his motorized fingers curl and uncurl.  “I think I need to get this thing recalibrated… it’s been bugging out lately.”

“I dunno, it was working just fine last night,” you smiled, remembering how delightfully cool those fingers felt inside you.

Bucky seemed to miss it entirely, though, as he stared off into space.  “I can’t believe I got… recognized.”

“You’re a star,” you winked.  “And not just with random delivery drivers.  I’ve had a lot of press requests, everybody wants to be the first one to get nice pictures of us together— we’ve had a dozen event invites as a couple.”

“Seriously?!” he scoffed, snapping back to reality slightly enough 

“Yeah, and look what came in same-day mail this morning!”  You leaned over to shuffle through the mail on the side table before finding and handing him a letter in a gold-embossed envelope, watching him read what you knew was inside.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association extends an invitation to Y/N Y/L/N and James Barnes to the annual Grant Banquet in support of the Young Artists Fund.

“It seems like a good first event for us,” you explained.  “Relatively small and low stakes, it’s for a good cause…”

“Are you sure I’m ready to be, you know… seen?  By people?” 

You scoffed, hardly believing how insecure he could be sometimes.  “You look great, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Will I have to talk to anybody other than you?” he asked, grimacing as if that were a form of brutal torture.

“Probably,” you admitted.

His frown deepened.  “What if I say the wrong thing?”

“I’m not that worried about you,” you smirked.  “You’re a lot better at this stuff than you think you are.”

“I don’t have anything to wear…”

You smirked, a little too proud of yourself, when you remembered the email your publicist had forwarded to you just this morning.  “Hugo Boss will pay you $1500 to wear one of their suits on the carpet.”

“They’ll pay me to wear free clothes?” he repeated with wide eyes.

“Yeah, that’s one of the cooler things about fame,” you laughed.  “I make a grand every time I wear this watch outside!”

“I guess I should send them my measurements then…” he trailed off.  “Any chance I can get in on that watch deal?”

“No, but you can make $50 by getting papped at Jamba Juice.”

He paused for a moment, scratching the back of his neck as he thought.  “Is the smoothie comped?”

“I don’t know.  Do you want me to ask?”

“...kinda…” he admitted with a shy smile.  

“Well, I will, and I’ll RSVP to this invite saying we’ll be there next week,” you decided as you started to open up the food, but Bucky stopped you by reaching for your hands.

“Are we really doing this?” he asked.

“If you want to,” you mitigated.

“Of course I do.  I guess I have to accept that you’re actually willing to be seen with me,” he chuckled.  “It’s just sort of hard to believe.”

You leaned in and kissed him; it was meant to be a casual, reassuring peck but he held you closer and you melted into him, moaning softly at his touch as you started to climb into his lap.

“The food’s gonna get cold,” he reminded you with a mumble against your lips.

Unfortunately, your literal hunger was a bit too strong to ignore, even with the growing intensity of a metaphorical hunger for Bucky.  “Alright,” you relented, getting off of him and returning your attention to the meal on the table.  “Just know that I really, really want to be seen together, in public, just in case anybody missed the news about us already.  I’m not embarrassed by you or afraid you’re going to do something dumb.  I…”

One of those words that can’t be unsaid started to bubble up in your throat and you coughed, banishing the thought.

“I really like you.  I think we have something special.”

He smiled gently, giving you one more kiss on the cheek.  “I think so, too.”

//

Since this was slightly less of a big deal than a premiere or press tour, you had managed to convince your styling team to let you dress yourself, which was why he was laying on the bed and talking to you through the bathroom door while you put on your gown.

“Do you want me to hire a new driver?” you prompted him, voice muffled slightly as he imagined your head covered in the fabric, trying to navigate through the dress.  “I don’t want you to feel… I don’t know, like a servant?”

“A servant?  You’re still paying me,” he reminded you.  “You are still paying me, right?”

“Yes,” you laughed, “but still, I would hate it if you felt like staff.  You’re my boyfriend!”

(His heart still fluttered every time you said it.)

“No new driver,” he decided.  “I can drive just fine, and considering how things went between us… let’s not open the door for anybody else,” he smirked, making you laugh in that way you did when he made a stupid joke but you still liked it somehow.

“Okay, sure, but what about being my bodyguard?  Is that too weird?” you continued.

“God no,” he scoffed, “if anything I’m gonna be better at my job than ever.  As your boyfriend, keeping you safe is my job, but since keeping you safe was already my job… it’s, like, doubled-up now.”

He lost his train of thought when you opened the door.

“How do I look?” you asked as you stepped in and gave him a spin in your new dress.  Your whole body was draped in red silk, with the exception of your back which was almost entirely exposed, as if it were begging him to run his fingers down your spine.

“Like everything I ever wanted,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

And it was so odd that you questioned his desire to drive you, because those moments where he could steer with one hand and rest the other on your thigh, when he could catch a glimpse of you looking out the window at the city rolling by, when he got to listen to you ramble about something to kill the time during a drive; those were his favorite moments, and he wouldn’t trade them for anything.

After a relatively brief trip, you arrived at the venue, and all of a sudden he was doing what he’d fantasized about more than he’d like to admit: escorting you down a red carpet.  It was almost overwhelming— yelling, chattering, reporters speaking into camera, flashes going off in every direction—

“Hey,” you whispered, bringing your hand up to his cheek and instantly taking all his attention.

“Hey,” he returned.

“Just follow my lead,” you instructed.

“That was the plan.”

[userholland]

Elaborate on why you didn’t like Cherry? I wanna know your opinion! :)

before i start, i am not saying that i hated this movie or i dislike it because it’s not a marvel film. i tried to go in with an open mind and i had read the book prior so, i was very anticipated for this movie! i am also not bashing on anyone else’s opinions about this movie as well, this is my personal opinion and if you don’t like that, that’s fine! i’m summarizing in points and calling it...

“liz’s cherry review: you can not like a movie, but enjoy the actors in it and understand the message. 🍒”

if i had to grade this movie, it would be at least a C- and the reason is because this movie was completely flashy to me. the characters were one dimensional, the directing was confusing, the dialogue was blunt and choppy and overall, i think they cut out so many great parts of what the book was and what made me want to see this film.

what i liked:

- the raw and real details of what going through addiction and withdrawal is. i think as graphic and comedic as it was, part 4/5 was always the hardest part to get through. you not only see the downfall of two characters that solely depend on each other, but you see that they also can’t save each other and what their demons. as we see, emily slowly disengages from cherry unless she needs to shoot up or needs pills. while their relationship wasn’t perfect, you still wanted them to both find some kind of hope and i think that is mainly supported by tom & ciara’s acting. it was nice to see in interviews that they actually formed a bond behind the screen and they could trust each other when it came to filming multiple scenes of “shooting up heroin” with real needles.

- the message of how veterans can feel like the country they fought for can also turn against them. even though it wasn’t as boldly executed as i thought, i think that the “aftermath of war” homage was necessary for this film since it’s sort of the reasoning for what cherry’s actions after in part 5 and 6. it’s something that real soldiers have to deal with, experiencing trauma and the urge to fight back when it’s suddenly stripped away when they are sent home. they have to go back to living normally, but they don’t know how to and i think again, it was very raw and it’s something we all need to hear/realize. yes, the army and the military overall today is controversial and always has been, but it still comes with terrible consequences that young men go through and some of nothing to turn to and feel betrayed.

what i disliked:

- the relationship and entire romance of cherry and emily. (aka leaving out some huge subplots that could have built up their relationship more). from what i remember about the book, this is not the cherry and emily i pictured. they weren’t some dumb kids who fell in love then got hooked to drugs. they were this dysfunctional couple who lied and cheated to each other, hoping they would both end the toxicity of their back and forth relationship, but they still persisted and soon, they were both violently torn with wanting to be normal, but they had to get high. there are multiples times in this film where emily is more than supportive and admits she loves cherry a few times, but in the book, she wasn’t there for him most of the time unless they were getting high together. they got divorced and they both cheated at least once on each other and i think that it would have been nice to see the struggle of their relationship and to question what kind of relationship it even was. i wanted to see the battle of “are they truly in love or are they using each other with the past they used to have” love that was in the book. i think they were brightened up too much and it’s sad that the main focus was their relationship throughout each part of the film, when reading it, to me, was really was like pulling teeth. while i can’t deny the chemistry of the characters on screen was amazing, i just didn’t like how they made them fluffy.

- the soundtrack. i’m not gonna explain much because this is truly opinionated and possibly a bit petty, but none of the songs or even instrumentals stuck with me. it didn’t make me emotional, it didn’t add to the scenes. they just weren’t for me.

- the one dimension i felt with emily’s character. now, i will say that ciara bravo acted the hell out of this role and it was amazing to see what she was given and she just ran with it. probs to her 100%, but i did think that emily’s character was completely underdeveloped in this movie. like in my previous point, emily was sort of a vice to cherry rather than a shoulder to cry on. he wanted her, he had her, he lost her a few times, he got her back, but he realized he ruined her. their whole relationship was manipulated, and i think the part where she yells at him in the bathtub is one of my favorite parts of the movie because that’s the emily i wanted to see more. she was the emily i read from the book and she was also dealing with her struggles with her home life. i think they could have given her more time.

- the madison scene. i was expecting madison to have a bigger part in part 1 where she’s only mentioned and obviously cherry had a sort of weird relationship with her, but they only explained it in a 2-3 minutes. it made it seem like she was just temporary from the start, which yes, she sort of was, but they ended up having sex & then he left her and even thought about her a few times. i just think that they could have either added more or completely cut the scene. but quoting the book there was nice too... i guess.

- everything felt rushed, and maybe that was their purpose, but i think this could have been something much more developed. what i keep saying is that this should have been a six part series. not only do you have an hour dedicated to every single part, but you also just have development of characters. that’s why we get invested in tv shows is because the characters have trials and tribulations of who they are. it was stressful and a bit boring to sit through a 2 1/2 hour movie in all honesty. i’m not saying that “oh this movie isn’t for people who have short attention spans”, but rather i would have liked to see more plot.

- the ending. i... hated the ending. it may be my least favorite part of the movie when it’s supposed to be the conclusion. maybe it’s just because a movie like this, i expect characters to be faced with the unknown, but this is a movie based on real life. the author has his own life now after jail and to see that ending? i was disappointed. instead of transition scenes of cherry’s “growth” in jail, i would have liked them to have short scenes of how his life in jail is like a god-send a bit. how he was able to step away from all the chaos he caused and he recovered somewhere with no vices around him. i don’t think it was a movie that had a “heart-warming” ending because you go through this rollercoaster of a relationship only for him to be waited for when it was not like that in the book.

overall:

i think this film was... okay. i could go on and on about the small things, but in short words, i disliked it because of it’s directing. i blame the russo brother’s execution on it, not saying that the overall product was terrible. i know some people had the same opinions and i can see why. do i plan ever watching it again? never. it’s not a movie that’s for me or a movie that i want to see pan out again because it was really hard to watch, not because of the gore or sex, but because it is a movie about struggle and pain. you don’t want to side with these characters, but goddamnit you want them to get some fucking help. great job to tom and ciara and it’s nice to know they are actually friends and trusted each other so much with this. i really hope to see them in more projects together in the future!

[davidmann95]

How about those JL storyboards?

In case you haven’t heard, Zack Snyder is putting on display the ‘storyboards’ - i.e. a rough plot summary accompanied by some Jim Lee sketches - for what would have been Justice League 2 and 3, or as this puts it 2 and ‘2A��. You can see them here (I imagine better-quality versions will soon be released), and read a transcript here. This is evidently a very early version: this was apparently pitched prior to the release of BvS and Justice League being rewritten in the wake of it, with numerous plot details that now don’t line up with what we know about the Snyder Cut, plus it outright mentions it builds on the originally planned versions of the Batman and Flash movies. But it’s a broad outline of what was gonna go down, and while I initially thought it was Snyder throwing in the towel, the timing - paired with the ambiguity left by the necessity for changes, including that this doesn’t factor whatever that “massive cliffhanger” at the end of the Cut is - says to me he’s hoping this’ll be a force multiplier behind efforts to will sequel/s into existence. He’s probably right.

I’ll be discussing spoilers below, but in short: with this Zack Snyder has finally lived up to Alan Moore, in that like Twilight of the Superheroes I wouldn’t believe this was real as opposed to a shockingly on-point parody if not for direct, irrefutable evidence.

Doing some rapid-fire bullet points for this baby to kick us off:

* Folks who know the subject say a lot of this is a yet further continuation of Snyder doing Arthuriana fanfic with the League reskinned over those major players, and I’ll take their word for it.

* I don’t know whether I love or hate that in Justice League 2 the Justice League are only an extant thing for the first scene, and then it’s Snyder giving everybody their own mini-movies. It’s compressing the entire MCU “loosely interconnected solo stories leading to a single big movie later” strategy into a single movie!

*  Funniest line in the whole thing: "Even Lantern has heard of the Kryptonian, worried that he's under the control of Darkseid. He heard his spirit was unbreakable." Hal what fuckin' Superman movie did YOU watch? Second funniest being “IT WILL GIVE HIM POWER OVER ALL LIVING LIFE”

* 90% of the plot I have nothing to say about, it’s generic stage-setting crap. That to be clear is the ‘shocked it’s Snyder’ element, it feels so crassly commercial in a way I can’t believe is coming from the BvS guy.

* Most of what I have to say is unsurprisingly gonna be about a handful of characters but Cyborg’s happy ending being “he isn’t visibly disabled anymore!” is not great!

* The Goddess of War battle with Superman...never pays off? No clue why it’s there.

* What I’d originally heard was that the Codex in Superman’s blood was the last key to the Anti-Life Equation and that’s why Darkseid was coming to Earth. It’s not like all of this wouldn’t have already been averted by Kal-El’s pod smacking into an asteroid on the way to Earth so it’s not as if this makes it any more Superman’s fault, and it would have at least tied all this back to the beginning of the movies, but I suppose that was either fake or from a later draft.

* I have NO idea how this was reimagined without the ‘love triangle’, it’s the central character thing and the entire climax flows directly out of it!

* Darkseid’s kinda a chump in this, huh

Anonymous said: So: Does Zack Snyder hate Superman?

Look: the hilarity of this when Cuck Kent has been a go-to Snyder cult insult towards ‘inferior’ takes on Superman for years cannot be understated, yet at the same time I can almost wrap my brain around where Snyder’s coming from with that as the end for his take on the character. He talked in that Variety piece on how his interest in Superman is informed by having adopted children himself, and Deborah Snyder is the stepmother to his kids by previous relationships, so I can see where he’d be coming from, and I can even imagine how he’d see this as ‘rhyming’ in the sense of “the series begins with Kal-El being adopted by Earth, it ends with him adopting a child of Earth!” In the same way as MARTHA, I can envision how he would put these pieces together in his head thematically without registering or caring what the end result would actually look like. In this case, Superman raising the kid of the man who beat the shit out of him who Batman had with Clark’s wife, who earlier told Bruce she was staying with Clark because he ‘needed her’, suggesting if inadvertently that this really honest to god was a “she’s only staying with Superman out of pity, she really loved Batman more” thing.

But Clark is nothing in this. He’s sad and existential because of coming back from the dead I guess, then he’s corrupted, then time’s undone and he woo-rah rallies the collective armies of the world (interesting angle for the ‘anti-military/anti-establishment’ Superman he’s talked up as) as his big heroic moment in the finale, and then he stops being sad because he’s adopting a kid. So his big much-ballyhooed, extremely necessary five-movie character arc towards truly becoming Superman was:

Sad weird kid -> sad weird kid learns he’s an alien, is still weird and sad, maybe he shouldn’t save people because things could go really wrong? -> his dad is so convinced it could go wrong he lets himself die -> ????? -> Clark is saving people anyway -> learns his origin, gets an inspiring speech about being a bridge between worlds and a costume -> becomes superman (not Superman, that’s later) to save the world, albeit a very property-damagey version, rejects his heritage he just learned about and space dad’s bridge idea -> folks hate him being superman and that sucks though at least he’s got a girlfriend now -> things go so wrong he considers not being superman but his ghost dad reminds him shit always goes wrong so he should be good anyway, which sorta feels like it contradicts his previous advice -> immediate renewed goodness is out the window as he’s blackmailed into having to try and kill a dude but the dude happens to coincidentally have some things in common so they don’t kill each other after all -> big monster now but superman keeps supermaning at it because he loves his girlfriend and he dies -> he’s brought back, wears black which apparently means now he likes Krypton again? -> he has work friends now but he’s still sad because he was dead -> evil now! -> wait nevermind time travel -> rallies the troops -> his wife’s having a kid so he’s not sad anymore -> Superman! Who gives way to more Batman.

Do I think Zack Snyder is lying when he says he likes Superman? No. I think he sincerely finds much of the basic conceits and imagery engaging. But I don’t think he meaningfully gives shit about Clark as a character, just a vessel for Big Iconic Beats he wants to hit. Whereas while for instance he’s critical of Batman as an idea (at least up to a point), he’s much more passionately, directly enamored with him as a presence and personality. So while Superman may be the character whose ostensible myth cycle or arc or however it’s spun might be propelling a lot of events here, it’s a distant appreciation - of course the other guy takes over and subsumes him into his own narrative. Of course Batman is the savior, the past and the future (though if he’s supposed to be Batman’s kid raised by Superman there’s no excuse for him not to be Nightwing), the tragic martyr to our potential. Admittedly the implication here is also that Batman can apparently only REALLY with his whole heart be willing to sacrifice his life to save an innocent, for that matter apparently his great love, once said innocent is a receptacle for his Bat-brood, but he and Clark are both already irredeemable pieces of shit by the end of BvS so it’s not like this even registers by comparison.

Anonymous said: That “plan” Snyder had was utter dogshit. Picture proof that DC & WB hate Superman. Also I love how you’re like Jor-El: Every single idealistic take you had about Snyder, his fandom, and BvS was wrong. Snyder’s an edgy hack, his fanbase just wants to jerk off to their edgy self-insert Batgod as he screams FUCK while mowing people down with machine guns, and the idea that BvS said Superman was better than Bats was completely wrong. You know what comes next SuperMann: Either you die or I do.

In the final analysis, beyond that mother of god is there sure no conceivable excuse for the treatment of Lois in this? The temptation is to join that anon and say as I originally tweeted that these were “built entirely to disabuse every single redemptive reading of the previous work and any notion of these movies as nuanced, artistic, self-reflective, or meaningful”.

...

...

...yeah, okay, that’s mostly right. Zack Snyder’s vision really was the vision of an edgelord idiot with bad ideas who was never going to build up to anything that would reframe it all as a sensible whole. He’s a sincere edgelord genuinely trying really hard with his bad ideas who put some of them together quite cleverly! But they’re fucking bad and the endgame was never anything more than ramping up into smashing the action figures together as big as he could, the political overtones and moral sketchiness of BvS while trying to say something in that movie reverberated through the grand scheme of his pentalogy in no way beyond giving his boys a big sad pit to rise out of so when they kicked ass later it’d rule harder, and all the gods among men questions and horror and trappings were only that: trappings. Apparently he’s really pleasant and well-meaning in person, but at his core his art as embodied in a couple weeks in his 4-hour R-rated Justice League movie meant to be seen in black-and-white all comes down to that time he yelled at someone on Twitter that he couldn’t appreciate Snyder’s work because it’s for grown-ups. He made half-clever, occasionally exciting shit cape movies for a bunch of corny pseudo-intellectual douchebags, folks latching onto and justifying blockbusters that at least acknowledge how horrifying the world is right now even if the superheroes are basically useless in the face of it if not outright part of the problem until a convenient alien invasion shows up to justify them, and a handful of non-asshole smart people who vibe with it but...well. ‘Suckered’ is a harsh word, and definitely doesn’t apply to all of them re: what they’ve gotten out of it up to this point and would (somehow) get out of this. But it doesn’t apply to none of them, either.

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep11: Seto's Ultimate Lifelong Rival (He Knew Basically Nothing About)

This episode was mostly dueling--which I’m sure was deep and complicated (something to do with Seto losing his dragons and then getting back his dragons yada yada) but we’re gonna get to the good stuff, which includes the fact that Zigfried had this cute little Willy Wonka lavender suit combo since he was 11.

So I guess my theory that he’s dresses like this to be a cute Willy Wonka game developer only makes sense if you look at it from the perspective of him being a Willy Wonka Military developer, and, according to Youtube, they’ve already made that movie. Actually...Snowpiercer came out in 2013. I can’t believe Yugioh came up with the concept of Willy Wonka being an evil ass weapons manufacturer a decade before the Youtube literary conspiracy theorists got to it first.

Throughout the duel, Zigfried regales Seto with tales about their rivalry and like...we haven’t heard anything about this guy in the past several years so...way to invent a rivalry right out of your ass in S5, Yugioh.

It does actually kind of work with Seto’s whole vibe because there’s a lot of things his Father never told him about before he booked it to the middle of the ocean and plugged himself into the Orb. Seto has been dealing with the fallout from his late(?) Father this entire show, which include this rivalry that we have never heard anything about before today.

It’s low key kind of hilarious because you can imagine that Zigfried has been desperately trying to follow Seto and co for the past 4 seasons and kept running into coincidental roadblocks, shaking his fist at the sky and going “Herr Kaiba zwarted me, yet again!”

The implications of this photo. Did Zigfried photoshop it together? Was it a gift from Zigfried’s Dad that he photoshopped together? Did Gozaboro send it to them as a gift or something? Like...when was this photo taken???

I could be wrong but...Kaiba is wearing a different suit than what he had on at that party so...this must have been a different event where Zifried was dressed up like a nutcracker again, but...what event?

The implications that this exists...

(read more under the cut)

While Zigfried’s Father followed Gozaboro’s footsteps, and I assume ran headfirst into the ocean to plug himself into his dead son’s electronic brain, Zigfried found himself heir to a giant weapons company. Which he decided was not in the cards for him. Because he liked CARDS.

At this point, Zigfried could have counted his lucky stars, turned around and said “My trials have finally ended!” and just gone into weapons manufacturing, now that there was a huge, gaping vacuum in that market. Yet, he was so obsessed with beating Kaiba (who, again, has no idea this is happening) that he continues down the road of game development (which is more dangerous than the road of weapons development...strangely enough).

Logically, the next road of game development is to tackle the biggest game with the zaniest investor--which was Duel Monsters.

And considering that Pegasus sort of owned duel monsters, it kind of makes sense why they both of them came out with hologram tech to make his wife seem as real and alive as possible. They both came from the same military background--so it isn’t that wild that Seto and Zigfried came up with a similar thing.

I DO think it’s funny that this story kind of mirrors the plot to like...the Manhattan project, and maybe that’s all a huge coincidence--but it says a lot about how freakin lethal cards are.

And yet again, Seto deserves a peace prize for getting not only the largest weapons manufacturer off the gun-making racket--but also the 2nd largest weapons manufacturer off the gun-making racket--and he had no idea he did it.

I’m just baffled by how many times Seto has saved the world.

Back in the present day, everyone reacts to this with some surprise although...we are talking about a Season Zero Seto so stealing tech totally checks out. He probably went as far as to make Zigfried late to work by asking all his security team to stand in the hallway with their arms stretched really wide and sort of walk side to side in front of Zigfried like they’re football linebackers saying “woops, my bad, excuse me, pardon me.”

Like clearly, Zigfried sort of lost track of Seto Kaiba shortly after he started working with Pegasus. Clearly he missed the part 2 weeks ago where Kaiba Corp was being sued for making cards real, and then was bought out by Dartz who then proceeded to murder everyone on the planet.

Like clearly Zigfried has not picked up on the fact Seto is trying very hard to make cards not look like weapons of mass destruction and has very much failed to do so.

This is just a weird way to send someone to court, but we are talking about this universe so card games are actually a form of court and it is legally binding.

So after Seto lies about his credentials (well...is it lying if you honestly think you’re telling the truth?) he spends the rest of the episode getting his ass tossed by Zigfried. But, it’s the last ass tossing that dictates the duel, which is why Seto won. Normal duel stuff.

So, it’s not the end of the arc...Zigfried really was about to pull some shinanegans with his cards...but I guess we’ll wait for next round.

Which I think is just straight up Leon so...

...wow I have never been less interested in a character’s backstory, I’m gonna be completely honest with you. Maybe he will pull off the mask and reveal he’s been Marik this whole time? Maybe Leon will pull the eye out of his pocket and be like “Hey you dropped this!” Maybe Leon will do literally nothing as the park falls apart around him? I just feel like Leon is the type of character that has so little going for him that he’s probably going to die eventually but like...he hasn’t died yet. Literally no one has died yet.

Or maybe Zigfried will just do a warcrime and be done with it? It wouldn’t be the first time a Yugi villain has done that after getting frustrated one too many times.

And if you just got here, we got like...hundreds of these recaps now for you to read when you’re feeling the itch, so this is a link to read these in chrono order, because that’s just way more convenient:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

GeekGem’s Major RE8 Rewrite Details & More

I am writing this because my good friend @kaijuguy19​ was very interested in this. And I want to kind of get it out of the way. So I am gonna write a post that almost seems like a leak of before a movie or a game gets released like this very old Sonic movie leak that I still recall. https://www.reddit.com/r/SonicTheHedgehog/comments/7e8a15/some_info_about_the_upcoming_sonic_film/

Including I will reveal other details such as changed canon relating to RE6, and this version’s RE9. But it is mainly about RE8.

I am done with the post and I put, “& More” in the title....be warned. If you’re gonna read this, this is long. And there is some sensitive subjects I talk about. If you’re interested...I hope you can enjoy this. Which sounds very sick considering some of the details in this.

1. The protagonist of Resident Evil 7, 8, and 9 in these rewrites is going to be Emma Rosemary Winters. The daughter of Ethan and Mia Winters. Originally she was meant to be a different character and Rose was still a baby, maybe a sibling. But things just developed and she’s now the daughter that was a big deal in RE8. In this version, Emma is the focus of the trilogy. And not as a plot device.

She was born in 1999, making her 18 in 2017, and 22 in 2021. Much older than her, “Canon” counterpart. She was born a year after the events of Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, and Code Veronica.

2. More classic characters would be more involved. With Jill Valentine possibly being more involved in RE7 and not as a ending surprise for RE7. With her character being what Chris was to Ethan. But it’s more of a aunt and niece relationship in a way. Especially in Resident Evil 8.

Including other details that are revealed in this that Jill sadly became infertile because of being used as a BOW by Wesker in Resident Evil 5. Making a strong and sadly...depressing connection to that game. Along with the many infections that have happened to her in her years. Including she mostly has been dying her hair brown for years. 

3. Spoilers for Resident Evil 6. Compared to the, “Canon” events of the timeline. The USA is no longer a superpower. After the knowledge that the US military had a hand/knew about Umbrella’s development of BOW’s in 1998. 

Ever since 2013, America has been mainly disowned by other countries and maybe not actually demilitarized...and my comment is that America became pussyifed. Which my friend found to be a derogatory term to describe demilitarization. But it is likely not a failing country, but one that is no longer in control of many others.

4. It is likely Leon joined the BSAA sometime or somewhere else. But in 2015, Leon and Claire finally...boned with Leon moving on from Ada. So that Redfield bloodline stuff is done with.

One of the reasons why is that the CGI films are likely not canon in these rewrites...or mainly the recent ones.

5. Resident Evil 8 biggest themes would be about mothers. And that Mia and the truth of who she is. It is a big focus and Emma trying to find her possibly. But also on another mission.

6. As with classic characters returning. Hunk is supposed to be a major part in RE8. Along with the return and the canonization of the Umbrella Security Team Delta known as the Wolf Pack. 

Having first returned in a DLC story to RE7 featuring Jake Muller, Nikolai Zinoviev, and Sherry Birkin. Which features Hunk as the playable character killing Nikolai, rescuing but using the already captured Sherry(Who was captured by Nikolai) as bait for Jake. Which results in a fight to the death between Jake and Hunk. With Hunk winning and killing Jake, but leaving Sherry alive.

This ends in possibly Hunk(Who was hired by The Connections to kill Nikolai and Jake) being able to get into the BSAA as a mole and get close with the Winters family.

7. Replacing the stupid twist at the start of the game. For the next four years, Hunk has been secretly posing as a different man. But using his real name because his real identity has never been revealed.

Originally having the name Derek. His real name is Hank, and called, “Uncle Hank” by Emma. He has been keeping tabs on the Winters family for The Connections. 

But during one night, personally sent by Bailey(The leader of The Connections), Hunk and the Wolf Pack invade the Winters home and replaces the opening scene from RE8. With a moment of Emma realizing Hank is Hunk, but telling her to not call him that, but instead what he’s usually called.

And during the scene with him saying, “I’m not sorry Emma” before kicking Mia in the face in front of Emma. Showcasing even more Hunk did not validate or cared about Emma’s own trauma or well being.

8. In RE7, the Bakers are gonna be less sympathetic minus Zoe. Maybe having some tragic angles, but there’s no mind control really. Instead, Eveline is portrayed in a more tragic light and as a victim. Instead of how the, “Canon” RE7 did with her treatment.

With the tragic angle of Emma seeing Eveline at first as a young girl. But soon understanding she’s not who she is and what she was built for. With Emma knowing she has to kill her, despite she doesn’t want to. And even Eveline not wanting die as well.

9. The story with Emma in the RE8 rewrite is a big thing. And it’s what I have really focused on. While still using a lot of the same story from RE8. But being inspired by Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge.

After the events of RE7, Eveline dying, and some months after that sneaking out with Party Girl to a mall. She gets kidnapped by Ada and put for ransom for her mother to secretly help her to give her information from the BSAA and The Connections. And to make sure Emma doesn’t know her involvement too.

For years, Emma has slowly grown a little bitter. Despite being compassionate. Having developed anger toward hers captor and not wanting to be a victim anymore. But in RE8, this is where her mindset starts to darken even more.

But the night Hunk and the Wolf Pack invade their home, kidnap them. Including one scene akin to Mission Impossible 3, with Hunk shooting Mia(Who is somehow still infected with the Mold) in the head in front of Emma. But Mia doesn’t die and slowly healing. With Hunk doing this to force Emma to be complaint and quiet.

Because of this moment, Emma vows revenge by saying she’s going to kill of the Wolf Pack, and Hunk personally. Developing a hatred for the man the most after he revealed who he was and what he had done. Including the Wolf Pack leader Lupo after she thinks she learns a hard truth.

Throughout the game, her mindset darkens as she starts to think humanity isn’t worth saving as she faces against the four Lords, and the Wolf Pack. 

While not killing all of the Wolf Pack. She does brutally hack Bertha to death, and somehow killing Beltway and possibly Vector. But when she thinks she learns a horrible truth that the Wolf Pack leader known as Lupo may of somehow murdered her father.

She fights the woman, breaks an arm of hers, and stabs her in the side of the breasts. But before killing her, Lupo reveals she wants to see her family one last time. Which stops Emma cold once she hears those words.

With it resulting in Emma turning Lupo in to Jill. And Lupo somewhat, “Redeeming” herself by revealing vital information about The Connections. But also getting a visit from Burton’s and apologizing to them.

10. A big theme and...it’s gonna be dialed down. Is that Emma is slowly sharing this dark view on humanity. As she starts to share similar beliefs such as Mother Miranda, and other similar villains. She feels like vengeance is going to help her against the Wolf Pack and the four lords.

Originally, her story was inspired by the story of Scorpion/Hanzo Hasashi from Mortal Kombat. But...things are slowly changing.

But the point is with my original intentions. Emma was gonna be more savage in these RE8 rewrites, hating the lords such as Alcina Dimitrescu, Karl Heisenberg, Moreau, but not really Donna. But her focus seemed to be more on the Wolf Pack. But again, things have changed.

Yet what’s the cause of this is that she is viewing the world in such a black and white way. With Jill, the Duchess, and whoever else trying to teach her that she needs to realize this isn’t how things should be handled.

But the big twist of the game is where Mother Miranda reveals to her who Mia is. Which shakes Emma’s viewpoint forever.

11. I have talked about dialing things down. With understandable criticism I needed from a friend who’s been helping me. 

I felt like my intention with Emma was very extreme. I felt like my idea was very disrespect towards people who have endured trauma and Emma’s reaction seemed more selfish and she seems unaware of certain shit. 

The best way my friend put it as. I’m gonna share this one paragraph.

“That being said, I do think with the way girls are raised, even in modern times and with strong mothers like Mia probably is, the reaction to trauma is less "I'm gonna go burn down everything in my way" and more "I want to get strong enough to move past this pain." Maybe that sentiment's changing with the kind of upbringing people have now, especially with feminism encouraging women to speak up and not be shut up, but I'll also say that there is a big difference towards fantasizing about revenge and actually having to cope with the often unavengable violence many people have to deal with. Like if everyone just acted out vengefully over every single 'wrong' done to them, the world would be a far more chaotic and unstable place. I think even with all the pain and anger Emma feels, her socialization as a 'normal' girl would have her motivations be more geared towards trying to spare others the pain she felt rather than necessarily a desire to torture and destroy.”

Along with the mentions that she isn’t a Mortal Kombat character or a soldier. While there is some vengeance stuff and anger going on...it’s gonna be dialed down a bit. Bertha is likely still killed brutally liked how I mentioned, and the fight with Lupo is still brutal. I feel this paragraph helps with what I’m talking about too.

“Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Emma can't be a fighter and I actually do like the irony of this small and terrified damsel managing to survive extraordinary odds and defeat incredibly powerful enemies...I just think she probably wouldn't just be swearing and yelling all the time, and honestly she'd probably be better using guns rather than doing everything up close. Think of all the RE heroines and how none of them needed to really punch a boulder (or carry a stupid huge BFG, at least before the remake) to be "strong" - of course, I know part of that is that their designs are meant to appeal to the 'male gaze' and that's why they're all so curvy yet skinny, but I think if you are going for "realism" and "horror" then it's MORE believable to have a protagonist who isn't a brawler. Think of Silent Hill, or Clock Tower, or Fatal Frame.”

12. A major new character or some what new is Eris.

A BOW originally named in developed as, “The Perfect Nemesis” because he is a Nemesis BOW The Connections have made. But what made him perfect was the combination of the Mold with the Nemesis Parasite. Making it easier to control him. Despite thinking about it, he looks more akin to the original Nemesis than the remake version. But with some differences.

He is dropped into the village after Hunk contacts The Connections for a little help to find Emma and even Mia. Including the realization of the four lords and the powers they possess.

But the major twist is that Eris is actually Ethan Winters. Who back in 2017, was murdered by Hunk in a likely story DLC maybe titled, “End Of Ethan”. 

Ethan does pop up in RE7, but supposedly dies. But it is revealed in a DLC he is somehow alive. Considered to be a biohazard and maybe trying to save his family, including his daughter. But it ends with Hunk finding and killing him.

Due to the Mold being in Ethan’s body. He is the perfect candidate for Eris. Being sent on missions to kill certain people. And nearly killing Leon Kennedy on one mission but failing.

He doesn’t really mutate because of the Mold, which controls the Nemesis Parasite. Thus, making him perfect in a way, easier to control.

But compared to Nemesis, who was still quite intelligent for a BOW. Eris seems to showcase more intelligence. Such as being able to talk a bit more. Talking in a way similar to the likes of Grimlock from Transformers. Because of the Mold and this Ethan’s memory slowly popping up. 

Basically, he can’t talk regularly. He just has a bigger vocabulary. Such as these.

“Eris....head...hurt”. “Winters....familiar”. “Emma.....Rose.” And whatever else, it depends.

There are also snippets of blonde hair on Eris’s head. Showcasing the last remaining human parts of Ethan.

It is likely he does at the end of his arc, remember who his daughter is and maybe is the one who kills Hunk instead of Emma. Despite my idea of Emma stabbing Hunk in the balls and chest, but him being so stubborn to pain that he doesn’t care.

During the story, Eris tries to follow Emma and Jill around the village. And even facing off against some of the lords such as Alcina, maybe Moreau, and likely Heisenberg.

It is likely Heisenberg is the one that kills him. But I think I’ll have Emma kill Hunk instead. I want to put that in. Yeah...Hunk is maybe getting stabbed in the balls.

The big reveal where Emma finds out(With Jill telling her) Eris is her dad. Which seems to replace the scene where Ethan discovers Rose’s head in a flask. Because of some reason, she thinks Lupo is the one who murdered her father. Which results in her trying to find the woman and killing her. Until she finds out she was wrong and Lupo reveals it was Hunk who did it.

He dies with a death scream in a similar way of how Superman dies in the beginning of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. And in way...Eris is basically a more tragic version of The Iron Giant.

13. In a retcon or not. The part of Wesker in Resident Evil 1 saying Barry Burton’s family was taken hostage is actually true in this. With the Wolf Pack taking them hostage. But leaving them alive after they hear on a radio Wesker betraying Umbrella, but also because of Lupo due to Kathy holding out for her children.

Outside of the main story. Kathy, and many well known RE characters such as Jill, Chris, Leon, Claire, Sheva, are considered family friends to Emma and Mia. 

With a mention from Emma that people like Jill, Chris, Leon, and Claire(Maybe others like Barry) posed as family for Emma’s college graduation in 2020. It’s really meant as the closest easter egg and to namedrop certain characters without using them in the story.

Along with the fact before RE8, Jill, Sheva, Rebecca, Kathy, and likely Claire have also talked with Emma about personal things. Such as trauma. And that she had therapy for years. But Mia has not done any therapy. Which bothers and saddens Emma. 

At times she tries to ask her mother if she wants to talk about what happened in 2017 and even the events with Ada. But Mia politely asks her she doesn’t wanna talk about it.

14. Compared to their Operation Racoon City counterparts, which was their first appearance. The ages for the Wolf Pack and Echo-6 are very different.

Most of the Wolf Pack are near the age range of Chris Redfield. Such as Lupo being a little older than Jill. Such as maybe being born in 1971. Making all of them middle aged in 2021.

Most of Echo-6 were born in the 90′s. Making them mostly in their 20′s in 2021.

15. Compared to the, “Canon” version of RE8. There is almost a three way war between The Connections/Wolf Pack, the BSAA/Jill with Echo-6, and Mother Miranda with the four lords. 

With Emma in the middle trying to find her mother. And considering the notes, it is likely the BSAA is still corrupted. But that’s another topic.

16. Unlike the, “Canon” story, Donna Beneviento lives with Emma not wanting to kill her after she discovers some things that makes realize Donna isn’t in the right mental state. I won’t reveal much more more of this.

17. Compared to her father in, “Canon”. I have called and thanks to my friend giving me this idea. But I have called Emma the, “Perfect Hybrid” because she was infected in RE7 during her time at the Bakers. I’m gonna share some shots.

Despite my original intention to make Emma normal...she kind of still is...

So she’s not having her limbs cut off. But this explains her recent increase in strength and anger in RE8.

18. Compared to how the real RE8 is. Mia is a bigger focus with the biggest twist in the game is Mother Miranda revealing that Mia was a clone of hers. How she escaped the village years ago was because of an arranged kidnapping done by Heisenberg.

But the big twist is that Miranda reveals that Mia was responsible for being involved with The Connections, knowing who Eveline was and what she did to the Bakers, knowing who Ada was and why she was kidnapped. And also saying Mia was the reason Ethan was murdered and turned into Eris(Which she wasn’t).

She puts it in a way that Mia was responsible for every horrible thing that happened to her. Including that she’s the reason their family was destroyed.

After this and it’s not a boss fight. It results in well...I did make some dialogue. But it’s deep somewhere...I just wanna share some shots.

But the idea I’ve been thinking Jill finds her after the reveal. And takes her back to this small HQ where the remaining survivors of the village and Echo-6 are at.

I don’t think that, “Megamycete” might be a thing. I want Miranda to be fully aware of what she’s doing.

The point also being Miranda see’s Emma as a perfect host because she sees a younger but more savage version of herself. Including she decides to reveal everything of why some characters are saying, “You don’t know who your mother is”.

19. Elena, and maybe Luiza survive. Along with a new character named Vincent survive. The entire village doesn’t die...that just wasn’t needed. Some die, but not those three.

20. The Duke is now the Duchess...who’s basically a more kinder and wiser lady who may not look that good. And usually when I read the word Duchess, I think of the character from Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends.

21. One of the ideas is to showcase more of the Dimitrescu’s because of their popularity. But also to make them possibly...more evil and whatever else. Seeming more like sexual predators(Which they are in a way.), and Emma having a huge desire to kill them. But one of the daughters, Daniela showcases more of her humanity. Who feels like she’s in love with Emma. But she’s really not right in the hand.

Including one of the weapons Emma gains is a flame thrower...which may do some damage to the daughter’s and even Alcina.

22. Considering the zombies in the Dimitrescu and Beneviento areas are themed to fit for those places. Instead of Lycans in Moreau’s area. You have more Gillman like creatures. Which fits the fish aesthetic of the area.

23. It is likely Chris is in there...just not a whole bunch now. He’s likely in RE7. But Jill overtakes his role and...he’s not doing the stupid shit in RE8.

24. For RE9, the focus is on Emma working with Leon trying to save president Ashely Graham on an island with the help of Carlos Oliviera. Including Claire Redfield is involved. Along with Emma and Leon having to work with Ada. Despite Emma having an intense relationship with Ada as she realizes this is the woman that started her downward spiral into anger.

With Natalia from RE Revelations finally being the leader of The Connections because of Alex Wesker controlling her. Including the island is the home base of The Connections...

25. Mia is gonna be more...sympathetic is maybe the word. She’s more akin to Bioshock’s Brigid Tenenbaum. She regrets things she’s done. And she didn’t want her family to know because she was afraid of her daughter hating her. And the relationship with Mia continues in RE9. 

Despite her relationship with Emma is scorned. A little in the ending of RE8 maybe and in RE9. She soon hugs her mother and forgives her.

RE9 is basically gonna be my own RE4/5.

26. I think this is gonna be the last part. I’ve been writing this for way too damn long. Maybe nearly two hours or so....

So....why did I stop this for awhile...I have talked about this has honestly depressed me.

Dealing with themes such as trauma, a young woman discovering her mother was a bioterrorist basically, Jill being infertile, Lupo’s children actually found out who she was and disowned her when they got older.

There is also the old idea(Might still add it) that Lupo was raped and one of her children were born because of that(Yet Lupo later on in life would murder the man). But also Miranda was raped by the soldiers(An idea from me).

But also Ethan becoming a BOW and forced to hunt down his daughter...it’s also the whole tragedy of the Winters family too and other thing that really dampened my mood for sometime. Including the whole theme about trauma, governments, and vengeance.

This...this was the shit that depressed me and why I needed a break...this is what I was talking about in some of my other posts...this is why my interest kind of...changed to cartoon stuff.

This is why I worried of being a, “Diet Neil Druckmann”. 

I think I’ve written enough...I’m gonna have to warn the readers about how long this is.

[yesmooshoe]

hii! could you do #34 "please don't do this" from the angst/fluff list for ironhusbands? 💖

Whoops, this was supposed to be short but then I wrote 3000 words. WARNING - THERE’S SOME SMUT AT THE END.

Also, you can read it on ao3! Double also, feel free to send me a prompt if you want.

--

“Please don’t do this.” Rhodey said through gritted teeth as Tony inched closer and closer to him.

“Do what?” He asked nonchalantly as their shoulders touched.

Rhodey took a deep breath and took a step away from Tony while scanning the crowded Officer’s Mess, hoping that no one saw that. “Touch me.”

“I thought you liked it when I touched you.” Tony said, cocking his head and flashing a smile.

Rhodey could feel his blood pressure rise as he locked eyes with Tony.

He hated this.

He hadn’t seen Tony in 13 months, 12 days, and 41 minutes...not that he was counting. Tony had begged him on multiple occasions to take some time off and come meet him somewhere, even just for a night, but Rhodey hadn’t wanted to risk it. Tony was famous. Someone would have noticed that he was in Frankfurt, someone would have noticed that Rhodey was off-base, someone would have snapped a photo of them buying lube. It was too risky, way too risky.

But this? This was way worse.

Yes, Stark Industries was the main manufacturer of planes for the US Air Force. And yes, there was a brand new cargo plane making its’ debut tomorrow. So in theory, Tony being at Ramstein made perfect sense. Plus, everyone knew that they were friends. But no one, other than maybe Pepper, knew the rest. If anyone found out that he was gay, his entire military career would be over.

“Fine, no touching. Can we at least eat lunch together? I promise I wont fellate you in between bites of powdered mashed potatoes.” Tony teased under his breath.

Of course he wanted to touch him, wanted to hold him, wanted to kiss him. But he also just wanted to talk to him. They were always careful while communicating, knowing that Rhodey’s email and phone conversations weren’t necessarily private. They never said I love you, but they’d found other ways to say and show that over the years. Tony always sent really elaborate and thoughtful care packages whenever Rhodey was overseas, and Rhodey always sent Tony weird souvenirs and postcards whenever he could. Rhodey always closed his letters by reminding Tony to water his plants, and Tony always ended his saying that he hadn’t forgotten. Rhodey didn’t even have any plants, but that was their little way of saying I love you with no one noticing.

“I have a meeting.” Rhodey lied, worried that spending too much time together would raise suspicion. “Just...just come over tonight, ok? After 7.”

Tony looked annoyed, but nodded. It was the same expression he had every time Rhodey signed up for another 4 years, or whenever he told him that he was being transferred or deployed again. They both hated this, but they loved each other and Rhodey loved his job. And Tony never once asked him to stop, so all they could do was hope that one day they’d get rid of that stupid law.

“Fine. See you tonight, Captain.” Tony said as he walked away, heading toward the group of SI employees at the opposite end of the room.

--

Rhodey’s heart was racing again as the clock struck 7, and a million different scenarios started running through his head. What if Tony had done something stupid like buy condoms at the PX? What if someone saw him coming up here? Even worse, what if someone noticed him leaving in the morning? They were friends though, best friends. Everyone knew that they were friends and knew that they’d been roommates for several years at MIT. There was nothing wrong with him coming over and spending the night, right? He’d just tell everyone that they had a few beers and then Tony passed out on the couch. It’d be fine, right?

Suddenly, a knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. He jumped right up and smoothed his pants out, not wanting to look like a complete mess, and then quickly crossed to the front door of his apartment, which he pulled open to reveal Tony. In one hand he was holding a pizza, and in the other a 12-pack of beer and a shopping bag.

Rhodey smiled at him as he stepped aside and let him in. He stuck his head out in the hallway to see if anyone was around, and once he was confident that the coast was clear he closed the door. Before he knew what was happening, Tony grabbed him, slammed him against the door, and started kissing him. Rhodey gave in immediately, running his hands up Tony’s back and tangling them in his hair.

When they finally broke apart, both breathless, they just stood there for a moment with their foreheads resting against each other.

“Hi.” Tony panted out as his arms settled around Rhodey’s waist.

“Hi. Missed you.” Rhodey said before giving him another peck on the lips.

“Yeah, I’ve missed you too. This has been a long one.”

“Just a few more months ‘til I’m back at Edwards, I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Tony said as he pulled away and walked over to the counter where he’d dropped everything.

Rhodey came up behind and wrapped his arms around him, just so happy to be able to hold him again. “Well, we’ve got tonight, ok? I can promise you that.” He said in between pressing soft kisses to Tony’s neck.

Tony turned around and smiled at him, knowing that it would have to do for now. “And it’s going to be a good night indeed, Captain Rhodes.”

“You really like saying that, huh?”

“It’s hot.”

“Mmhmm.” Rhodey chuckled as he nuzzled against him. It’d only been a few weeks since his promotion.

“Oh Captain, my Captain, our night is just beginning, and I promise you it’ll be a wild one.”

“Not too wild, these walls are very thin.”

“Not to worry.” Tony said as he slipped out of his grip and grabbed the plastic bag. “Fear not, for I have rented several movies with lots of explosions that’ll certainly drown out all of your incomprehensible babbling while my tongue is buried deep in your ass in about 15 minutes.”

Rhodey could feel his cheeks getting hot as he looked down at the floor, always getting a bit flustered when Tony said stuff like that to him. “Did anyone see you at the video store? Does anyone know you’re here?”

Tony sighed as he played around with the VCR, which answered Rhodey’s question for him.

“Christ, Tony, who?” Rhodey asked, suddenly feeling anxious again.

“Calm down, ok? Look...Colonel Moore and Major Kirkland wanted to take me out to dinner, but I told them that I was coming over here to get you drunk and maybe beat your ass in Mario Kart a few times.”

“Moore and Kirkland? Tony, I work with them every day you can’t just go around telling everyone - “ Before Rhodey could finish his rant, Tony shut him up with another kiss.

“It’s fine. I promise you it’s fine. No one cares that I’m here, no one is suspicious, ok?” He said softly in between kisses. “I got pizza and shitty beer and even shittier action movies and as far as anyone knows we’re over here like a couple of perfectly normal straight dudes talking about tits and cheering when things explode, ok?”

Rhodey took a deep breath and nodded. That was certainly easy for Tony to say - it wasn’t his career and everything he’d worked for on the line - but he trusted him. “Well hey, I bet you’ll be cheering later when I explode in your ass, so I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

Tony laughed and shook his head while playfully shoving Rhodey towards the bedroom. “That’s the spirit. Now go on, I want you completely naked by the time I’m done putting on this movie to appease your neighbors.”

Rhodey just smiled at him and pulled his shirt off as he rushed into his room. By the time he flopped onto his bed he was completely naked, though he hadn’t been wearing much to begin with. Still, it had to be a record.

He propped himself up on his elbows while laying on his back, and a huge smile spread across his face when Tony finally joined him. They took a moment to just look at each other, and even though the sound of rapid gun fire from whatever movie Tony had put on kept it from being super romantic, much like everything else, it’d do for now.

Tony’s hair was a bit longer than the last time he’d seen him, and it seemed like the goatee was here to stay. He hadn’t been sure about the facial hair at first, missing the baby-faced boy he’d fallen in love with back at school, but it really suited him. “Your hair’s wet, was it raining?” He asked, breaking the silence.

“No, I took a shower. I’m not an animal.” Tony answered while pulling his shirt off and climbing onto the bed and onto Rhodey. He leaned down and kissed him again, though this time it was more soft and more loving.

They spent a while just kissing and letting their hands get reacquainted with each other. Rhodey’s cock was hard now, and pressed up against the annoyingly still-clothed Tony. He wanted more, but he also didn’t want to stop whatever this was. He’d been so starved for attention like this for so long, so he did his best to just enjoy the gentle caresses and the way Tony’s tongue seemed to be exploring every single inch of his mouth, even though he desperately wanted Tony buried inside of him.

Eventually Tony sat up, and Rhodey just smiled as he noticed how red and puffy his lips were from all of the action so far.

“Have you...been with anyone? Since...since last time?” Tony asked quietly while slowly circling around Rhodey’s nipples with his thumbs. They had a sort of open thing, but neither really cashed in on it too much.

“No. Have you?”

“No.”

Rhodey smiled. “I love you, Tony.”

“I love you too. Roll over.” Tony instructed as he shifted to the edge of the bed.

“Yes sir.” Rhodey said as Tony pulled off his pants and boxers, finally releasing his cock.

“Mm, I like when you call me sir.” Tony said as he straddled Rhodey again. “God your ass is amazing. I feel like people don’t tell you that enough, but it really is perfect.”

Rhodey smiled at the compliment, but he was also focused on the gunfire and motorcycles coming from the TV in the next room. For a moment he worried that maybe it was too loud and that the neighbors would complain. That’s all he needed, having to run to the door mid-sex while trying to pull his sweatpants on. He considered stopping to turn it down, but all of the thoughts left his head as he felt Tony spread his ass cheeks apart and slowly run his tongue up his crack.

“Oh fuck.” Rhodey moaned while tightening his grip on the blankets he was clutching. Luckily his bed was against an exterior wall, so he wasn’t worried about being too loud in here. As Tony continued to explore, slowly circling his tongue around the rim and prodding at the hole, Rhodey became painfully aware of how desperate his cock was for attention. It was pinned between his stomach and the bed and he tried to move a bit, but it was impossible with how Tony was holding him down. “Tony please…” He cried out quietly.

“Please what?” Tony asked smugly as he pulled away. He slowly crawled up on top of Rhodey and started grinding his cock against Rhodey’s eager ass. “Come on, what do you want, Sourpatch?”

“I want you.”

“Want me to what?”

“I want you to fuck me. I need you to fuck me.” Rhodey moaned again before Tony pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Good boy.” He said as he sat up. “Lube?”

“Night stand. Bottom drawer.” Rhodey replied breathlessly, still not quite believing that they were together again.

“Do you want me to use a condom?” He asked as he found all of the supplies.

“No, I trust you.”

“Okay. I trust you too. Ooh, Astroglide! How retro.” Tony almost giggled as he climbed back onto the bed.

Rhodey rolled onto his back and wrapped a hand around his cock, stroking himself slowly as Tony got settled again.

“Hey hey, none of that. I don’t want you cumming before I even get inside of you.” Tony teased as he opened up the bottle and squirted some of the clear liquid in his hand. “You want it like this?”

Rhodey nodded as he let go of his cock. “Yeah. I want to see you.”

Tony just smiled before leaning down to give him a kiss. “Good.”

Rhodey took a deep breath while Tony grabbed a pillow and put it under his back for easier access, and Rhodey just let his legs fall open for him. They locked eyes as Tony’s slick hand found Rhodey’s hole, and stayed that way as Tony worked a finger in and out of him. They kissed more as Tony fingered him slowly, and the sensation of their cocks trapped together between their stomachs was more than enough to make Rhodey start dribbling pre-cum.

“Someone’s excited.” Tony whispered between kisses.

“Just fuck me, please.”

“Aye aye, Captain.” Tony said with a little salute as he sat up and pulled his fingers out of Rhodey’s ass.

Rhodey watched as he grabbed the lube again and slicked himself up, and he braced himself for what was coming next. He sucked in a sharp breath as Tony lined himself up and pushed into his ass slowly, doing his best to relax and take it.

“Fuck!” Rhodey cried out as he arched his back, easily taking Tony’s cock deep inside of him.

“Shh shh.” Tony said as he bottomed out. “Don’t want the Joint Chiefs to hear you. You ok?”

“Yes Tony, this isn’t my first Rodeo. Just shut up and move.”

Tony laughed again as he guided Rhodey legs up to rest on his shoulders. Slowly, he started to move, thrusting in and out of and finding a good rhythm. Rhodey was letting out little gasps with each thrust at first, and as soon as Tony started to pick up the pace he wrapped his hand around his cock and started stroking in rhythm with the thrusts. He forced himself to open his eyes, and he smiled at the determined look on Tony’s face as he loomed over the top of him.

“God Tony, I’m so close. Faster.” He moaned again, gripping at the bad with his free hand. This was all happening a bit faster than Rhodey had hoped, but it had been a while and he was certain he’d last longer on the next round.

Tony started snapping his hips faster, losing his composure as he got closer and closer to the edge. “Fuck, I’ve missed this.” He managed to say before grabbing Rhodey’s hips and slamming him back down on his cock as they both chased release.

They fell silent for a while, but the room was filled with the sounds of skin slapping against skin and a huge series of explosions from the living room.

It was Rhodey who came first, spraying his stomach with an explosion of creamy, white liquid as Tony continued to ride him harder and faster. It was becoming too much for Rhodey, overwhelmed by his own own orgasm. “Fuck, come on Tony. Give me everything.” He chanted through gritted teeth, which seemed to be just enough to push him over.

Tony came with an indistinguishable string of syllables, which he quickly muffled as he continued to thrust, filling Rhodey with everything that he had. They were both panting as Tony finished up and let his cock slip out of him, but despite how out of it Rhodey felt, Tony seemed to have a bit more in mind for this first session.

As Tony caught his breath he leaned down and ran his tongue over Rhodey’s toned stomach, lapping up the streams of cum that were splattered all over him. Rhodey just relaxed as Tony cleaned him up, tugging on his shaggy brown hair as he did. When Tony was done he crawled up and gave Rhodey a kiss, allowing him to taste some of the salty substance that remained on his lips.

“Do you want pizza?” Tony asked after a few moments of silence, which just made both of them laugh.

“You’re ridiculous.” Rhodey said as he playfully shoved Tony off of him.

“What? I’m hungry. And we gotta keep up our stamina. We’ve got 12 hours to make up for 12 months.” Tony teased as he sat up and ran his hands through his hair.

“You need a haircut.”

“Yeah well, I wanted to give you something nice and long to grab onto later when we get really dirty.” Tony said as he stood up.

Rhodey just shook his head. “Fine. But I’m taking you to a barber before you leave. Also, it’s not been 12 months.”

“Hm?”

“It’s not been 12 months. It’s been 13 months, 12 days, 7 hours, and 38 minutes.” He said as another explosion rang out in the living room.

“Oh, and I’m the ridiculous one? Come on, pizza.”

“Tony?” Rhodey called out as he started to leave. He wanted to promise him that they wouldn't go 13 months without seeing each other again. He wanted to promise that he’d be back in California soon. He wanted to promise that he wouldn’t re-up again when the time came.

But he couldn’t, he just couldn’t. He shook his head, vowing to do his best to not dwell on any of that right now. They had tonight, and that was what was important.

Tony was just staring at him, confused by the silence. “Yes?”

“Nothing.  I’m just - I’m sorry.”

Tony walked back over to the bed and held out his hand. “Don’t be, I knew what I was signing up for, ok? Come on, pizza time. And if you’re lucky I’ll let you fuck me next round.” He said as he pulled him up and led him into the kitchen.

“Tell you what. Mario Kart. Loser has to bottom, all right?” Rhodey suggested with a huge smile on his face.

Tony just smiled. “Fine, but I hope you’re ready for me to ride your ass all night, Captain.” He said as he grabbed the box of pizza and headed for the living room.

Again, none of this was ideal. But right now, in this stupid apartment with thin walls in the middle of Germany, everything was perfect.

[ink-and-blood-goddess]

Somebody To Call Friend (Larry Purvis x Reader)

I don’t own the rights to the picture used above

Reader POV: With the military ship, U.S.M. Auriga, under lockdown after a half dozen Xenomorphs escaped from containment, the reader find themselves lost and alone amongst some other survivors of the attack. Some of them aren’t as friendly since there’s no trust upon one another. That’s when the reader meets one of the survivors and starts making a friend amongst the chaos happening everywhere…

Non-Request: I wanted to write something where to bring in the short lived character from the movie itself and see how he would interact with the reader themselves if they were put into this type of situation.

Warning: Swearing/language, mentions of gore and violence, wounds, and blood

“Hey get away from us you rat! We don’t want anybody infected near us and being killed by what was put into your stomach,” a large muscled soldier shoved you really hard, that your head had banged against the steel grate floor. Some of his other soldiers pals were chuckling and while another group was backing off. Your vision came back after the hard shove and the same guy spit out a nice sized saliva ball and landed upon your left cheek. The others laughed and began to move away, while the frightened group went the other way in the split off corridor.

How did it come to this? You asked yourself over and over again. Just a couple days ago, you were in your one person bedroom sound asleep after fixing a problem with one of the medical equipment in the med bay, until a blaring alarm came and the sound of Father’s voice came up over the blaring alarm. “Attention. Attention. Containment breach of cell blocks: 1, 4, 6, 9, and 15. Please be advised.” Half of the soldiers and security detail were torn to shreds or were taken by these Xenomorphs. This made most of the others stay or flee off of the ship in the escape pods. Almost anyone that stayed became more lethal and dangerous with high tech military weapons.

Nasty rumors began to go around that these things were somehow laying eggs inside unexpected people and bursting sometime later. This made you be more cautious around these assholes that have itchy trigger fingers and ready to fire at anybody that comes anywhere near them. “Be more careful around here (y/n). They’re becoming more skittish by the second,” a familiar voice popped up from above. It took a minute or two to look who was talking to you and found out to be Private Vinnie Distephano. He gave off a warm, welcomed smile and held out a hand to help you out. You smiled back at him and took his hand as he lifted you off of the grated floor. “Thanks Distephano. I need help anyway.”

You lift your left hand to rub the back of your head and feel a jab of pain in the process. Taking your hand away from your head, feeling something wet and warm, and looked to see there was blood. That soldier that shoved your earlier must’ve done it much harder and cracked your head open. Distephano winced, as the blood dripped down off your hand. “Let’s get that taken care of before anything else happens around here.” He took out a piece of cloth from one of his pockets and gave it to you to stop the bleeding. Both you and Distephano headed down a deserted corridor, where there were loads of bullet holes and long claw marks along the stretch. “What are you doing all the way down here? I thought you were with the other goddamn cowards trying to get off the ship,” Your own voice was a bit strained when you spoke up. He looked over at you, while still holding up his weapon. “No. I was getting orders to go look for any survivors stranded anywhere else on the ship and bring them back to the mess hall. You’re very lucky I found you while I did. This is going to be the last round I make I do around this level before going back out with backup. I’ll get either Gediman or Wren to look at that for you.” Looking back and you smiled at him.

Distephano was the only soldier you liked amongst the others and the most friendliest too. Both of you help one another on the ship, even when the danger itself is much more serious now. Then the two of you finally made it to the mess hall where a few dozen others are. That included the crew of the Betty, sitting over by the exercise equipment on the far side of the mess hall. One of them was in an automatic wheelchair and you heard that his name was Vriess. The only two doctors that were attending to the wounded were Johnathan Gediman and Mason Wren. One of the survivors had a nasty gash across his bare chest, with blood seeping through newly cleaned bandages and another had half of his head wrapped up and from his right shoulder all the way down to his hand.

“Shit. I still need to keep pressure on him. Gediman find more gauze if there’s any left in other med kits,” spat Wren. Gediman swore heavily under his breath and gave a fist full to Wren. Gediman went back to treating the captain of the Betty, Frank Elgyn. Elgyn had his chest exposed to treat what looked like acid that burned only one layer of his skin. “Docs, I found another one on the upper levels. Just a minor head wound from a fall,” Distephano lowered his weapon as the both of you entered down the several steps of stairs. After Gediman was finished with Elgyn, he came over, taking his very bloody gloves off in the process, and taking you by the right arm. He sat you down towards a cleared off table. Dried blood was staining the steel top from the other wounded survivors.

Six were very well patched up by both Gediman and Wren. Gediman sat behind you with a fresh pair of gloves and a med kit by his side. You liked him the same as Distephano. The only two people that made friends with you on the entire ship. “Alright, let’s take a look at this wound then.” You moved your hand away with the piece of cloth that almost soaked all the blood up. Then you felt his rubber, gloved hands examining the wound on the back of your head. “Doesn't look too bad. Just some stitches and patch it up nicely for you.” Gediman sighed with such relief. After patching you up, he gave a hefty pat on the back, and went back to where Wren was waiting for him. You felt the stitch work pulled against your scalp tightly. At least the blood stopped.

Looking around and seeing half of the security personnel and a few other soldiers got just minor cuts and bruises. “Did you see what happened Privat Terrence on level 8? Half of his guts were pulled out, when that thing bursted through his chest and disappeared into the air ducts.” One soldier with really short dirty blond hair was talking with three others. Out of the three a black soldier, with a bandage over his right eye, nodded his head in agreement with the other one. “Yeah. One of those things popped out one of the vents and grabbed Sergeant Barnes by his ankles and dragged him all the way down, with Barnes screaming his lungs out.” Saying in a very deep voice.

Almost everybody had someone to talk to, except for yourself. Your heart starts to race very rapidly at this point, meaning a panic attack starts to set in. Your heart starts to feel very very heavy, breathing in and out very fast, and cramps form in your stomach. Almost everything and everyone starts to blur out from your vision. You were about to fall over due to the immense pressure putting onto you, until something grabs you by both shoulders. “Hey, are you alright? You don’t look so good.” A soft voice came into view. You looked up to see who it was.

“Take it easy right now. Keep calm and breathe slowly.” You didn’t even recognize who this person was. He had a dark brown buzzcut, hazel brown eyes, hardened features around his face, and rounded frame glasses. A couple of dark grey blankets were wrapped around his slender shoulders. “Here take one. It looks like you really need more than I do at this point,” letting go of your shoulders, taking the top blanket off, and laying it on top of your shoulders now. The blanket that was underneath fell off half way over his left side. This person was wearing a really dark brown zip up jacket. On that side was a small name tag with only six letters stitched onto there: Purvis it read. Then it was coming back. He was one of the civilians that was supposed to go to Xarem in those life pods, but were stolen and were brought aboard this ship sometime later.

As the dizziness faded away at last, you got the chance to ask Purvis, “why are you the only one still here? I thought you were getting off in one of the escape pods,” raising both of your eyebrows. Purvis bit his bottom lip, “ I was going to, but something else had changed that plan for myself and everybody else getting off the ship.” He started to unzip his jacket to a deep colored green shirt underneath and then lifting it up in the process. Both of your eyes widen to see almost a fully healed surgical scar across his chest. But mostly it was covered in gauze bandages which were lifted up to show you.

“Purvis! Why are you up and standing around? Go lie back down, before the bleeding starts again,” Wren looked over to where he was. Purvis glared at him and put both his bandages and shirt back down over his chest. “I had one of those things growing inside of my chest. They removed it just yesterday. Still feel the pain, but goes on and off most of the time.” He flashed you a small smile. You smiled back at Purvis. Something inside of you leapt to life when you saw a much friendlier face among the crowd here. A warmer kind feeling you never felt before in  your entire life. Purvis sat next to you on the table and a sudden jolt went through you.

Purvis looked at you, “don’t let the panic consume you. With everything going on, think of something better to go away from that.” Pulling the blanket closer around your shoulders, making you feel more secure at the moment. Keeping calm and thinking of something else were the only two words he said. Maybe Purvis was right. You thought of when you first met Gediman in the med bay, fixing one of the x-ray machines on your first day on the ship. Distephano showing you combat training and defending yourself. Now meeting somebody new, while all the fucking chaos has been going on. You breathed a sigh of relief after thinking of those two moments and while making on a new moment in the process. Purvis’s smile grew a bit wider and you smiled back.

“You know, if this ever gets over with? You and I can walk off together if we survive this whole ordeal or aftermath,” you chuckled and Purvis did the same. Now you’ve found somebody to call a friend through all of this…...

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This is the first character x reader story I’ve written, so please no hateful comments :)

The reason why I chose this character, because I wanted to start off small for the blog and work my way around this guy and other characters I’m gonna be using in the future

[sabraeal]

In Plain Sight, Chapter 4

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Written for @k-itsmaywriting​‘s birthday! I hope that, despite how weird the world is right now, you have an amazing day!

Shirayuki understands how this is supposed to work. She’s seem movies after all-- Witness, of course; Sister Act 1 & 2, if only because Opa thought Whoopie Goldberg was a national treasure and Oma thought she was too young to be watching Ghost; and Our Lips Are Sealed about eight times on video cassette, since she’s old enough (and Opa resisted DVD long enough) have both VCRs and wholesome Olsen twins content as a part of her childhood.

(Her favorite formative twins were Annie and Hallie from The Parent Trap; they were red-headed, just like her, and one of them had a British accent. She’d been devastated to find out that not only were both of them American, but they were also only one girl. She’d watched Double Trouble to console herself)

In any case, she knows how this goes, at least narratively. She lays down in this amazingly comfortable bed, stares up at the ceiling in a tense yet melancholy fashion for hours, and dreams in plot-relevant flashbacks. Extra points if they reference the crime she witnessed.

The problem is: she didn’t. She’s just the unfortunate collateral to her father’s personal redemption. All the life ruining without ever being part of the A plot.

There’s an upside though: the second she hits that firm cloud of a mattress, she’s out like a light.

Absolutely nothing wakes her, but Shirayuki jolts into consciousness anyway, as unpleasant as any false start. She expects to be confused; she’s not a graceful riser to begin with, and every morning in temporary housing, she’d bounce off three walls at minimum trying to find a bathroom that didn’t exist.

(Well, the bathroom did exist, it just didn’t exist where it should, which was down the hall to the right, and was compounded by the door being in exactly the wrong place too.)

Instead, she knows exactly where she is. Knowledge which is quickly followed by the low-key, seething resentment for the man who put her here.

She groans, lifting her head from the pillow. It’s fine. She’s fine. It’s just--

7:00, her alarm clock says. Tuesday, her brain provides after a long moment.

She should be getting up, habit told her. Getting her morning fix of avocado toast and orange juice with Paul Newman’s face stamped on it.

There’s worse ways to start your day than having a fine pair of eyes smiling at you, Oma would say.

What can I say? Opa’d grumble back, flipping through the paper. It’s impossible to compete with Butch Cassidy.

Her fingers curl into the sheets. There’d be none of that today. Agent Jiang-- Obi’s assistant had gotten her Simply Orange instead. A small mercy. It’s hard enough to be someone else when there’s still so much her clinging to the edges.

It’s tempting to linger in bed; she’s always been a morning person, up with the birds, but maybe Claire isn’t. Maybe Claire likes to stay up late and sleep in, sleeping past the three alarms she sets for herself. Maybe she likes to have waffles for breakfast, straight from a box, and drinks pomegranate juice. Maybe she doesn’t bike into the lab at eight because--

She groans. Because Claire doesn’t have a job. A thing that will have to change soon, since Claire has to pay for this house.

There’s a great deal of compromise that happens between bedside and bathroom; habit insists she needs to be fully dressed, ready to greet the day, but everything else--

Well, she’s not going anywhere is she? There’s no reason she couldn’t wallow in her pj’s all day

Standards, habit insists. But those belonged to Shirayuki, not Claire. Claire has no job, no friends, and nothing to do on a Tuesday morning besides--

Oh no, the recycling.

The bin is nearly two-thirds her height, but with only one day under her belt, it’s already overflowing. Good thing she’d looked at that brochure when it slipped out from between the takeout menus.

She shrugs her hoodie a little tighter, pulling it down over her leggings-- habit and hedonism settled on exercise wear as a happy medium-- and grips the handle, tugging it out the opening garage door, right into the fresh Texas morning--

And promptly throws her hoodie back into the garage. She might need that with the downright frosty temperature the house is set to, but oh, she was not going to cover her skin out here any more than necessary. Even now, she’s starting to sweat in impossible places beneath her leggings.

Hooking her palm back around the handle, she tugs the bin down the drive. Her gaze fixes to the pavement-- the last thing she needs is to trip right over herself on her own driveway taking out the trash-- and she doesn’t look up until she hits the sidewalk. It’s a struggle to get it to sit right-- these are proper curbs, white poured cement with squared edges meant to puncture cheeky tires; one of the wheels catches in a gap and refuses to budge until she hip checks it out onto the next slab.

She’s damp at this point, skin dewing with giant drops of sweat she’s tempted to shake off like a dog, but--

But Martha Kino has an arm slung along their fence, holding a tall glass of iced tea that makes her mouth water just to look at.

“Oh, um, good morning!” she calls out with a weak wave. “I didn’t, um, see you there.”

It’s only when Martha slides her gaze to her that she realizes her neighbor hadn’t been looking at her at all. Her mouth curves into a knowing smile at the sight of her. “Good morning, honey. You here for the show?”

Shirayuki blinks. “The show?”

“Mm-hm.” Martha takes a long drag from her straw, ice clinking against the glass. “Here it comes now.”

Shirayuki tracks her line of sight right across the cul-de-sac, squinting at half acre of immaculately trimmed, completely invasive Bermuda grass. Their front garden is well-kept, as well; thickly mulched with giant hibiscus blooming blood red against pristine stone facade.

Oh, and there’s a man as well. That’s probably what Mrs Kino is looking at.

He’s tall. No, tall is an understatement; he’s a giant, six foot four at least with shoulders to match. He’s trimmed with the same military precision as his lawn, clean shaven with an undercut that could scratch glass. Heavy brows draw sharply over his nose, forehead rumpling as he tears a box right down the fold--

Ah, well, all right. It’s not doing much of anything for her, but the Vitruvian man’s more ideal cousin ripping up boxes definitely counts as a show. Halfway through, he grabs the hem of his shirt, mopping his brow, and ah, hm, he could definitely have made money as an anatomical model. His rectus abdominis are, ah...very defined.

“Is he--” Shirayuki searches for the words-- “from around here?”

“Oh, him?” Martha’s gaze doesn’t stray for a second, not even as she sips at her tea. “That’s Scott. Aspen’s husband. They just moved in a few weeks ago.”

Shirayuki glances around the neighborhood. Seems like more than a few of her neighbors hope they’ll never leave either.

“Quite the pair, those two,” Martha hums. “She’ll be at the luncheon. I know you two will just get on like houses.”

More like houses on fire if she mentions she’s seen her husband’s floor show. “Oh, right. The um, luncheon.”

Mrs Kino grins as Scott hops back inside, out of this heat, just like she’s dying to do. “By the way, he mows the lawn on Sunday, just before lunch.”

“Oh, um, great.” She’ll be sure to miss it. “Can’t wait.”

It’s too early to bake cookies.

There’s not a baked good on earth that tastes as good two days later as it does fresh out of the oven; Shirayuki knows that down to her toes and bones, but still--

Stress baking. It’s a thing. And she doesn’t have to make anything right now. She could get all the ingredients together, just to make sure she has them. And then...just not do anything.

She can. Definitely. Absolutely. She’s Claire now. Claire probably doesn’t even like chocolate chip cookies.

Oh gosh, who is she kidding? Only monsters don’t like chocolate chip cookies. What next, Claire doesn’t like brownies? Apple pie? Snickerdoodles?

It’s a slippery slope, not liking things. Best to just keep it simple and eat everything, that’s what Opa always said at the church potluck.

The morsels and brown sugar already sit out on the counter when her phone lets out a piercing ting. She’s half tempted to ignore it; she’s having a contentious battle with the ten pounds of King Arthur flour that’s tucked away in her cabinet-- what was she thinking?-- and she refuses to show any fear in the face of baking supplies but--

Ting. No one knows her number. Well, no one except the government.She settles back on her heels with a sneeze. The government probably doesn’t take kindly to being left on read.

Her hands clap against her thighs, flour misting into the air as she leaves two partial prints right over the helical print. She frowns, plucking at the fabric, nose wrinkling as more powder burst into the air. Ting.

“I’m coming,” she mutters, stumbling over to the island. “I’m coming.”

Sugar Daddy i got just what u need pumpkin check ur email

The corners of her mouth dig furrows into her cheeks as she clicks on the notification. It’s the only message in her inbox, aside from the ubiquitous Welcome to Gmail spam and a few coupons for Banana Republic and a couple of other retailers. They’d taught her about this at orientation; they couldn’t do much about an empty inbox, but everyone had at least a few mailing lists they’d either forgotten to opt out of or regularly used.

Still...what about her said Banana Republic? She glances down at her spandex-clad legs. If they were going to go for a too-expensive clothing line, they could have at least sprung for Lululemon.

Ah, but that wasn’t the point. Marshal Jiang-- Obi hadn’t texted all...that...to show off some spam. Sitting at the very top of her inbox is a Cornell email address-- Cornell-- with an attachment.

Dear Claire, the message reads, We’re so sorry to see you go, but I’m glad we’re able to keep in touch. Of course we kept the copy of your old CV. Good luck to you in all your endeavors.

It’s signed by some professor; not high profile enough for her to have heard of, but she doesn’t doubt that he’s real, someone a curious party could look up on Cornell’s directory. Well, at least for the next six months.

The Columbia alumna inside her writhes in agony. Cornell. She doubts it’s a coincidence.

Me Aren’t you supposed to be taking care of me?

Not that she’s very, um, up on the specifics of such a relationship, but she’d been under the impression that sugar...children?...were supposed to be fully reliant on their sugar parent. Her mouth pulls thin. Already she’s thinking about this far more than she’d ever hope to.

Sugar Daddy a good daddy makes sure his baby can take care of herself ;)

This declaration is followed by a stream of emojis, ending with an eggplant and a peach, and she just-- doesn’t need to know. She wipes away the sweat that beads at her hairline-- from embarrassment, of course-- and downloads the attachment.

Me I’ll take a look. Thank you.

She sets the phone back on the island, face down, and glares. He can’t possibly be like this to everyone. People would complain. They wouldn’t just let him insinuate that he-- that they--

Ting.

Sugar Daddy good girl

All right. Maybe they would.

Shirayuki doesn't get homesick.

She’d been the first brownie to leap out of her car at summer camp; Opa barely had time to lurch into park before she was traipsing across the field, backpack slung over her shoulder and duffel bag dragging on the grass. Freshman year, she moved into the dorm by herself, pressing kisses to wrinkled cheeks as she lugged her suitcases onto the train; she’d almost forgotten to wave from the window.

But as soon as she lays down in bed, the lights snuffed out and the world still, it hits her. Just a soft roll of her stomach at first, the barest itch on her skin, like wearing a wool sweater on a spring afternoon. It’s fine; too much to ignore but nothing that would keep her up too long.

It doesn’t stay that way.

Her stomach clenches, tears pricking at her eyes, and it’s everything she can do to just roll onto her side, letting the chills wrack through her body. She shivers so hard her teeth chatter, and this-- this isn’t the gentle ache of nostalgia her books prepared her for. This is an illness, plain and simple, like when she caught norovirus in eighth grade can could hardly do anything but lay on the bathroom floor and wait for the next wave to begin.

This isn’t her, she isn’t like this, she doesn’t get like this, but-- but--

Before she always knew her home was waiting for her; she could leave but Oma and Opa would always keep the front lamp on, waiting for weary travelers and last minute bookings.

It’s different now that there’s no home to come back to.

7:00, her alarm clock says. She watches it tick over, like she has for every hour before it.

She must have slept at some point; it’s impossible that she’s lain awake, staring at the clock for eight hours. But that doesn’t make her any less tired, and so when her alarm starts up, beeps cutting through the quiet white noise of the air conditioner, she reaches out and slaps it off.

Shirayuki may not sleep in, but Claire is certainly warming to the idea.

Her notebook sits open on the island; neat, looping script stretches across the page, straining the boundaries of the blue lines that contains it. She’d done her homework yesterday, combing through job sites to find the most likely candidates. There’s five on her list right now, ranked according to preference, and oh, is Shirayuki glad she had the gumption to do this before, because this morning she feels like roadkill being scraped off the blacktop.

Still, she worries at her lip as her laptop boots up, peering over her list. In the cold light of the morning, five seems too few, but...desperation hasn’t set in yet. She’s allowed to still have standards.

Wrapping her hands around her mug, she glances at the next page: another list. No, a set of instructions. Edit CV. Write cover letters.

Shirayuki groans. Even with the bullet points she left for herself, composing cover letters is a circle of hell all its own. With only three hours of solid sleep under her belt, it’s an insurmountable hurdle to getting hired.

“Right,” she murmurs, hooking an ankle around a stool and pulling it under her. “Editing it is.”

She clicks on the pdf Obi sent her, scrolling down and--

“Oh no.” She rears back from the screen, heart pounding. “No, no. There’s got to be a mistake...”

“Hey, baby,” Obi’s voice rumbles through her speaker. It’s thick and warm and would be utterly distracting if she were in any less of a crisis. “A little early for a b--?”

“What happened to my papers?”

“Uh.” All the suggestion in his tone evaporates. “What?”

“My papers.” Her hand grips the phone so tight it creaks. “They’re gone.”

His end goes silent. Silent enough to make that weird click, like the line’s cut out, and she pulls back to check--

“Someone stole your passport?” He laughs, incredulous. “Some sort of luck you have, Miss. Barely had it for a day and already you’ve gotten your identity stolen.”

She blinks into the barren air of her kitchen. “What?”

“You know,” he hums, too amused, “I picked out a cute house in the suburbs for safety, and here you are, getting robbed. Did you leave them in your car? Or did you just go out--”

“N-no!” She’s honestly half tempted to say what car, until she remembers the tasteful mid-sized SUV in the driveway, the one she’s still been calling the girlfriend car in her head, and realizes-- it’s hers. She’s the girlfriend.

Except she’s not. At all. Which is fine! She doesn’t even want that! If she’s still thinking about what his mouth feels like as he wraps them around his words, then--

She really can’t be thinking about this right now. “I mean my papers! I just looked at my CV and it’s a page!”

He hesitates, though not enough for the line to click again. “Isn’t that long enough?”

“CVs aren’t resumes,” she informs him patiently, pen twisting between her fingers. “They’re dick measuring contests--”

Her teeth snap around the words, but oh, it’s too late. They’re already out there in the aether, and he’s laughing.

“Now there’s something I didn’t think I’d hear out of you, Miss.” He doesn’t need to sound so pleased about it.

“It’s something my old PI used to say,” she mutters. Oh, Garak would be so proud of herself if she knew. “It’s not very polite, but she’s not, um, wrong.”

“I’m sorry the US government made you under endowed.” His words practically rattle as he says them. “It’s not the size that matters, Miss, but how you use it.”

“Obi,” she huffs. “All the work I’ve done for the past ten years of my life now is attributed to my birth name and my birth name only! According to this CV I have the same level of experience, but less papers than an undergrad! And you can’t tell me that any of these are searchable on PubMed.”

And none of them are first authors, is what she doesn’t say. It’s a petty thing to worry about when her entire academic career is functionally extinct.

“Hm.” His fingers drum quickly on a table. Desk? It’s strange not knowing anything about the man who is her only lifeline. “I’ll look into it.”

“I don’t want to be, um, alarmist, but I can’t get a job with this.” Her hand shakes as she scrolls down her screen. “No one is going to hire a post-doc with a one page CV.”

“Don’t worry, Miss. There’s a plan for this, somewhere.” She can feel his grin when he says, “You can’t be the first academic who’s had to go into hiding.”

She smiles, despite herself. “Considering some of the conferences I’ve been to, I can believe it.”

“Besides, you could always apply to pharmaceuticals.” The very word is like a donkey kick to her gut. “The pay’s supposed to be better--”

“I can’t work for Big Pharma.”

He hesitates. “You...can’t?”

“Obi, they make little old grandmas pay eight hundred dollars for insulin!” She presses a hand to her chest. “Banting and Best didn’t sell the patent for one dollar so that people could get gouged by--”

“I get it, I get it,” he assured her. “Preaching to the choir. But as a safety, I’m sure you could find one that isn’t stealing candy from babies.”

She huffs. “I doubt it.”

He rasps out a laugh. “I’ll see what I can do. As I said, can’t be the first PhD on the lam.”

Her mouth twitches. “Just yours?”

“You are certainly some kind of education, Miss.” He hums. “Give me a day. See what I can turn up.”

“You have two,” she informs him magnanimously. “I have the luncheon tomorrow.”

“Oh, right.” She doesn’t need to see him to know he’s lounging, smug like a cat post-canary. “Looking forward to joining the neighborhood’s Ladies’ Committee?”

“Ha ha,” she drawls flatly. “Very funny.”

He is unnervingly silent on the other end.

“You’re kidding, right?” Her voice certainly does not fill with a nervous quaver. “You guys don’t have things like that around here.”

Obi hums, humoring her.

“W-what would they even do?” She picks nervously at the sticker on her laptop, prying up part of NVIDIA. “Plan potlucks? Organize the Neighborhood Watch? Cotillions?”

She doesn’t know how he makes his grin so palpable over 4G. “Looking forward to your debut, Miss?”

Shirayuki scowls down at her screen. “I think I’m firmly up on the shelf, thank you. Now if you don’t mind, I have cookies to make.”

[alphapockets]

Discord: New Message Infodump

Yes this is not getting put in the widofjord tag because I don’t like filling up others’ searches with something that is not “directly” linked. *jazz hands* anxiety. BUT here is all I could think of and a sprinkling of things I have seen asked about or mentioned in the comments! May this and the last chapter hold you over <3

Q: Why a text fic?

A: Honestly? I have only ever seen one from VM (there may be others, but I don’t read many fics out of my niche sections?) that was between Grog/Vax (I don’t ship it but when it’s a bar shift #3 in a row that’s 14 hours long, you need entertainment). I had read also Call Me, Beep Me from the VLD fandom as well as Misuse of Stark Technology and thought that it was a strong platform for conversation and storytelling that shows multiple perspectives at once without the constant POV whiplash that can happen otherwise. And with the strong and chaotic personalities of TM9 and the diverse ways the NPCs interacted fit in, I hoped it wouldn’t be that hard to pull off.

I’ll be honest, I was not sure if it would work out or catch on as it is not the most popular form of storytelling. As many people said in the comments of chapters 1-5, people generally don’t enjoy texting fics and skip past them. I am glad I took the risk and that everyone has with me.

 Q: Is it true you have not watched past Ep. 40?

A: Yes. Campaign 2 came out just before I started school, and I decided school deserved my full attention. I was also not as attached at large with the cast as an ensemble as I was with VM. This combined with having anxiety and needing something to be finished before I can enjoy made it difficult to get back into C2. I was lucky that I started Campaign 1 a few weeks before that ended. I will probably watch it when everything is over, but I mostly follow through spoilers and Arsequeef’s gifs.

 Q: What are some of your influences for this?

A: I have seen a lot of people loving the realism of the conversations. I don’t watch TV or movies, but I watch streamers mostly, especially group streamers. Because of this, I tend to hear nothing but natural conversations. I also have been in group chats since the old AIM days and was a bartender for 6 years, so I have pulled from interactions that I have experienced around me. Often when something perfect happens in a chat with my friends I screen shot it for use later (the look spam and how do you uwu are both examples).

 Q: Why that area?

A: I like to use locations I know well if there is a lot of real-world interactions. I am from Massachusetts and I had used Savannah, Ga., for Here’s To Us, where I lived for 4 years.

 Q: Will the chat be renamed to The Mighty Nein or something similar?

A: No. The chat existed before Caleb as that and was set up originally by Fjord and Beau with Molly, Bryce, Darrow, and Yasha. It’s been the Game Hoes for too long in their life to change. There will be some side chats that appear and disappear.

  Q: Didn’t Veth work with Caleb?

A: Originally that was the plan, but halfway through the first chapter, I decided to space everyone out better and missed her name in one paragraph at the beginning of the chapter. I wanted them to know each other but avoid the trope of “direct connection” with strangers to lovers and text fics.

  Q: How tall is Fjord (and the rest of them by proxy)

A: I changed the heights because Caleb is canon “Average height” which in DnD is different than the US. So, he was given a few extra inches to put him at 5’10”. Fjord was scaled up because we love height differences to 6’3” because of that. By order of height:

Veth- 4’11, Kiri- 5’, Keg and Yeza- 5’3, Jester and Rissa- 5’4, Astrid- 5’5, Bryce, Beau, and Wulf- 5’9, Beau, Caleb, Molly, and Ava- 5’10, Yasha- 5’11, Darrow and Essek- 6’, Fjord and Gunther- 6’3, Cad and Enzo- 6’5.

I’m probably forgetting some people.

  Q: Why did Enzo’s arc allegedly end that way?

A: I’m not sure I’m done with him just yet, but the reason it had to be let go like that is simple: legality. Real world consequences to acts would have kind of thrown a wrench in how this all unfolds. And Molly was the character who I felt could bounce back the best from getting a solid ass kicking.

  Q: Why was Astrid faster at accepting than Wulf, and why is he so possessive?

A: Wulf was Caleb’s first real friend and that meant he was the redhead’s world. Astrid came second and she realized how quickly jealousy can sour something. Wulf’s jealousy fed into the break-up. So, despite the awkwardness, she wanted to show Caleb that she meant it when she said they could still be friends.

Wulf was Caleb’s first friend, and he has that sense of seniority in his mind and has a hard time accepting he is not being replaced when new people come around. And as a more dominant person, it was hard for him to have the normally docile friend speak out against him. He is still immature and needed to grow, but has a hard time seeing that is okay right now.

  Q: Where does everyone attend?

A: Amherst College- Astrid, Caleb, Essek, Wulf. Boston College- Cad. Emerson- Beau, Gunther, Enzo, Fjord, Keg, Molly, Rissa, and Yasha. Princeton- Bryce. Hofstra- Jester and Kiri. UConn- Yeza (Graduated). UMass/Boston University/Tufts- NPCs not brought in yet.

**Caleb has stated Jester lives in the City early on because Jester has all her locations on social set to NYC

 Q: Any reason why you picked those schools?

A: I’m a BC fan (and Providence College), my childhood friend went to Emerson, and I was accepted to Hoftstra before I joined the military instead. Amherst was a perfect “nearby” city that was another college town/I am maybe looking at Amherst for a PhD. Program.

 Q: Where is Darrow stationed when not crashing Bryce’s life or deployed? What does he do?

A: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was attached to the 26th MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) that goes through the Mediterranean. He currently is on hospital duty as a temporary “relaxation period” for people who are deployed often. As he is a paladin, I thought it’d be a nice touch to have him as an FMF Corpsman.

  Q: Where is everyone from? The holidays showed people all over and it’s mentioned some people were not born in the US or where they were located.

A: This is where that spreadsheet I made comes in handy. Most of the people either grew up in or intend to stay in Massachusetts for a long while. As there are some of the major schools in that area, obviously people would be out of state.

Boston TM9 Party

The Clay Family is in Jamaica Plains, which is just outside of Boston proper. They are from there, minus Toya who is adopted as well and from Maine.

Molly was the godson of Cad’s mother, who is from England and his father had been stationed in England for some time, so when he was essentially orphaned and given up by the indirect family, she put through the paperwork to take him in. Fjord and Yasha stayed with them.

Fjord is originally from Texas, outside of El Paso. After he joined the Navy, he never intended to move home as he hated it there. He fell in love with New England when he was sent TAD (Temporary Assignment of Duty) to the naval base in Newport. He stayed and continued his education at Emerson.

Yasha is from Jamaica Plains as well and went to school with Molly and Ornna, who is the same age as them. Her dad is from South Carolina and her mother is from Okinawa. They moved up north for her dad’s work.

Beau is from Kentucky and her family is unreasonably wealthy. She decided to go to school someplace as un-Kentucky as she could fathom and was stuck between Berkley and Emerson but chose the former because the weather meant her mother would never visit.

The Amherst Crew (Astrid and Wulf) are all from the area except for:

Caleb, was born in Poland to a Polish/German family. They moved and when his family died in a fire (he was at a sleepover at the time) his grandparents took him in. Wulf was still there with his large family and

Essek had returned home to California for the break.

Astrid and her family spent 10 days in Key West for the holidays, which is why she missed the New York trip. Wulf stayed locally for winter break.

The Conn/NY/NJ Groups are pretty straightforward.

The Brenattos stayed in New Haven, where they moved when Luc was born from Amherst. They had moved so Veth could start fresh.

Jester was surprised by a visit from her mother on Christmas Day and spent it with her. It was the first time her mom came from the Ukraine, as Jester’s dad is the one who she moved with. She lives on Long Island not far from her school.

Kiri is from upstate New York and was home for the Holidays.

Bryce drove down to Louisiana. They and Darrow are from Marietta, but they were at their grandmother’s place in Lafourche Parish. Darrow returned to Jacksonville NC.

Others Keg and Gunther were in Rhode Island but separately, where they are both from, Rissa is from Maine and went home, and Enzo was in jail (he is from Lynn, Ma).

  Q: How old is everyone?

A: 5- Luc. 19- Kiri, 20- Jester, Rissa, Keg, and Enzo, 21- Beau, Molly, Yasha, Essek, and Astrid, 22- Caleb, Cali, Reani, and Wulf. 24- Cad, 25- Fjord and Bryce. 27- Veth and Darrow. 28- Yeza.

  Q: If Fjord has the GI Bill why does he live on campus or have a job?

A: For those who don’t know how the GI Bill works, the government pays for education and sends some money based on housing in the zip code of the school. Boston is insanely expensive and student living is easier. Essentially, he wanted the “college experience” and it was cheaper. He needs the job more because he knows better than to let himself get idle. If he does, he won’t focus on school. Like Travis, my Fjord has ADHD.

  Q: How did Veth and Caleb meet?

A: In a Juvenile’s in-patient program for at-risk teenagers and those suffering from mental health issues. Caleb’s depression and anxiety following the death of his parents and the constant bullying for numerous things and previous attempts or ideations had him labeled “at risk” for self-harm. He was in for 3 weeks. Veth was in for her kleptomania and possible signs of disruptive BPD or other developing personality disorders but aged out of the youth section when she turned 18. As most diagnoses cannot be done for those until adulthood, she was being watched for early onset signs.

  Q: How did Jester/Veth get into the group?

A: Jester met Beau, Yasha and Molly at NYCC two years’ prior in line for a panel. They met again at Anime Boston after exchanging Twitter handles a few months later. Jester had worked NYCC a year ago and helped Veth to a quiet room for Luc, who was fussing, then stayed with her as she was on break soon. She invited Veth to play a few games of Don’t Starve Together with her and Yasha before she was brought into the main group.

  Q: This is a really diverse cast. What is everyone and why?

A: Some were obvious choices such as Caleb being from Germany, Jester being from Eastern Europe (Ukrainian), and Molly as Irish (and English).

Others I did to flush out to make a group in a major city make more sense. Wulf and Astrid both have French/ Germanic backgrounds because in canon, they were raised in a similar way. Astrid is Jewish along with Caleb to hint at why it may have been easier for them to date if her family was stricter than his.

Fjord and Yasha faced some racial issues early on in the show (Yasha from where she was from and Fjord for being a half orc), so I wanted them to be people of color. Yasha is half Japanese because of her name and because US troops often marry someone from Japan when they are single and stationed there. Her father is Jamaican in decent. Fjord’s dad he figures is Black but they’ve never met, as his mother’s side are Mexican. I chose that because I wanted to keep the Texan because a lot of people in the service are from Texas. Also, as previously stated, I had too many naturalized or foreign students already and needed to not stress over how they would be around for the breaks.

Cad is English, Norwegian, and Swedish because Cad is a god, who why not make him a Norse god? Veth is half Cambodian partially because there is a decent population size in Massachusetts. Beau is the not white-passing cousin of her family which will come in later because rich families have secrets, yo. Her family has some Cajun/Creole in her like Darrow but it shouldn’t be there according to her family lineage. 

Essek is Persian, Rissa is Puerto Rican, Bryce and Keg are “Confused American Mixes” of everything. Cali I have not decided yet, but will probably have some English in her, Reani I have decided on Moroccan. Kiri is Korean. 

Enzo is an asshole (he’s also mix of random European heritage.) I feel like I missed someone.

  Q: Is Widofjord the only pairing we will see?

A: There are some others forming, including BeauYasha, which was one of the possibilities when I started. Molly/Essek/Astrid were a shock and some others I won’t spoil just yet are starting to bud as hopefuls.

  Q: Do you have an end game in sight?

A: Honestly, as this whole fic has taken on a life of its own, not entirely. It was originally mapped out to be 12 chapters long and have much of this condensed down with all the side characters removed, no Enzo or hockey games, and the extra fluff cut out. As I wrote it, I found I enjoyed that almost more than the Widofjord specifics. So, this has really evolved away from a Widofjord ONLY fic, I am aware. Endgame wise, when I feel the story is told, I will wind it down, but there are more elements evolving with every chapter and I want these characters to get the moments they’re aiming toward. I also don’t want it to drag on too long, so I know that this will eventually come to an end.

 Q: Did anything change relationship wise while writing?

A: 100%. Beau and Jester were originally who I expected to pan out, but my Jes couldn’t seem to devote to that because she had developed more attraction to Molly and Fjord than I expected. Beau and Yasha just clicked better. Molly was the next option for Jester, but then I decided to make Essek and Astrid actual friends with the TM9 and we see how that went.

 Q: Is Jester going to find something happier? It kind of sucked seeing her so down and withdrawn these last few chapters. And where is Nott’s role now?

A: I am trying with Jessy. I am. Here’s to hoping she behaves? As for Nott, she is shining as the mom friend, but her coming into the fray more means bad things are happening. And yes, that is on the way.

 Q: You keep hinting at something in both Caleb and Fjord’s pasts. Are we ever going to see that?

A: Yes. I am trying to space out the angst as much as possible. This was never meant to be a hurt/comfort type story, but people have mental health issues and those because pivotal to the story more than I intended. Maybe the curse of having complete access to everyone’s conversations? But they will be coming out.

[roswelldetails]

Episode 2x04 - What if God Was One of Us

EPISODE SUMMARY:

AN ACT OF GOD — On the verge of a breakthrough in her quest to save Max (Nathan Dean), Liz (Jeanine Mason) turns to Kyle (Michael Trevino) for one last favor that could potentially land him in hot water. Meanwhile, Michael (Michael Vlamis) and Alex’s (Tyler Blackburn) investigation into Nora (guest star Kayla Ewell) leads them to a farm, where they meet a historian named Forrest (guest star Christian Antidormi). Elsewhere, Cameron (guest star Riley Voelkel) confronts Jesse Manes (Trevor St. John) about her sister’s whereabouts, and Isobel (Lily Cowles) uses her powers for good. Amber Midthunder also stars. Shiri Appleby directed the episode written by Steve Stringer & Christopher Hollier (#204). Original airdate 4/6/2020.

DETAILS:

Roy said that he took veterinary training, which is how he was able to help with Louise and Nora's injuries.

"How come it feels like you don't know what I'm saying, but you know what I'm thinking?"

Roy moved the truck (with the pods in it?) to the livery.

"Boss's wife won't let him blame the drought on God so that honor goes to his foreman -- that's me."

Kyle on The Science:

"You're telling me that Michael Guerin used pinball parts and a car battery to cause cutaneous perfusion?

(Cutaneous perfusion...i think it is circulation of fluid/blood through tissue, but it's a bit above my head)

The device Liz needs is a "Personal Genome Machine". She ordered it when she still worked at the hospital.

Before entering the Crashdown, Graham Green tapes a Missing sign on the door for Hank Gibbons (who Noah killed in 1x13).  Apparently someone covered it up.

The sign is HARD to read, but I think it says:

"All viable leads reported to Graham Green's UFO Emporium will receive a free keychain.  Make certain you subscribe to the Weekly Probe as we dive deeper into the untold stories of Roswell and answer the question on everyone's mind.  ARE YOU NEXT?"

Graham Green references that he's the "creator of last week's 39th most downloaded true crime podcast." (Assuming that this is the Weekly Probe, referenced on the poster).

Graham Green is opening a 1947 themed malt shop at the UFO Emporium

U.F. Doughs (the Crashdown's new donuts).

Isobel's been coming to the Crashdown every day for weeks.  (Note that this episode is the first one that really doesn't have a clear time context).

"Feliz cumpleanos, mama!" Happy birthday in Spanish, of course, but note Kyle's choice term of endearment for fic purposes!  And she responds in kind "Gracias, mijo!" (Mijo = male version. Arturo calls Liz mija = female version)

"A wild Michael Guerin finally emerges from his weeks-long hibernation in a lab and a library."

Again, non-specific time frame.

"When every other farm was struggling, the Longs experienced record-breaking crops.  Summer of '47. No one could explain it…till October '48. The day after that photo ran in the paper, the farm was devastated by a massive fire.  Foreman, entire staff killed. Whole place burned down."

"What caused the fire?"

"Well the paper called it an act of God.  Said it was a freak storm. Bolt of lightning strikes the barn the same night that my mom's caught and locked up in Caulfield."

Wyatt Long's horses are named "Diamond" and "Silk".

Jesse Manes' beer of choice is "Polestaff".

Cam's postcard from Charlie (Likely the reason she came back to Roswell) says:

"See you back in Roswell --Charlotte"

Top left corner says "Greetings from Roswell, NM".

It was mailed to Jenna at the Green Hill Motel in Dayton, Ohio.

Jenna says it's not Charlie's handwriting.

Isobel in the mindwarp: "And what's your dream, Arturo? What would be your miracle? What do you pray for?"

Arturo & Rosa's fight… 

"Did that fool give you drugs? I'll kill him!"

"Ow! You're hurting me! That's child abuse!"

"Everything I do I do to hold you up and you see it as abuse. I don't know what to do anymore!"

"Yeah right." Rosa falls down and laughs.

"This isn't funny! Sheriff Valenti won't give you any more chances."

"You should be happy. You wanted me to be on the field hockey team, remember? You said I should make friends and have good American fun."

"Who sold you the pills?"

"I stole them."

"Was it Frederico?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Tell me the truth!"

"It was Mom! She's either too high to notice that they're missing, or she knows and she doesn't care."

"You're lying to me. I don't know how to help you."

"So stop trying then. I'm beyond hope anyway, right? That's what everyone else in this town thinks."

"Maybe you're right. I'm going for a drive."

Arturo tried to register with Instagram as PancakePapi!! He ended up with PancakePapi58!

Scene with Steph and her dad...FIRST MENTION OF SOPAPILLAS ON THE SHOW!!! 🤤🤤🤤🤤 (They're the best...in New Mexican restaurants they're like, both an appetizer and a dessert.  They're like hollow fried bread that you eat with honey. Delicious.)  See here:

Plus it gave the show another opportunity to be authentically New Mexican through food references.  (Last season it was in episode 2 when Arturo asked,"red or green?" And Liz replied "Christmas!". In New Mexico that means half red half green chile smothering her plate.) Like so: 

1948...unclear how much time has passed, but Louise says months.

The kid's name is Walt.  (Walt Long?? Some other last name?).

Nora says that under the tarp is the "pumpkin launcher" and it's a surprise.

Nora says it's not safe for Michael here, "but soon."

"Hey do you smell that? It smells like rain.  It's what you smell like under all the grease and bourbon.  It's what your workshop smells like. Something alien happened here. Not that I can still smell it 70 years later."

"This is the best evidence I've seen that Max and Isobel's mother survived the initial firefight. This is something that you do with family."

"Nora's my mother. If she was here at the same time as Louise…"

Note - when did they confirm who Louise was or that she was Max & Isobel's mom? This has not happened narratively yet.

Since Walt was a young kid, Alex thinks there's a chance he's still alive (though at the end Nora definitely thought he died when the barn blew up. I suspect that Walt survived and is the key to the story...not fact, just speculation.)

Forrest: "The foreman, Roy Bronson, was definitely hiding something.  But it wasn't Little Green Men. It was Nazi spies."

"This is like Junior Year eraser room, getting caught by Coach Wiggins."

OG callback to the eraser room being the high school makeout spot. OG, "the eraser room takes our innocence." 

Rosa in Spanish "¿En serio?" Basically "are you serious!?!" Or "really?" When the blender shorts out (awfully similar to her first Noah nightmare in 2x01)

"...when Charlie told me she had stole classified documents, I reported her.  I thought I was doing the right thing and the military put her in prison."

"Right. Where she was safe."

"No. I… I didn't know who she really was when I turned her in. I didn't know what prison would do to her."

"She wanted you to turn her in, Jenna. She set you up to do so. She knew that as long as she was in government custody no one could get to her."

"Charlie fought in two wars.  Who was she afraid of?"

"A private securities firm, most likely.  You know that I met her? She was working on this genetic sequencing project that had the potential to save lives, but also destroy them. And there were some people out there who saw applications for her research that went beyond her intentions."

"She was doing research that could help save lives, and people wanted to use it to create a bioweapon."

"Well yeah, she created this pathogen that could seek out and dismantle specific sequences. Just think about it -- a smart bomb that could be detonated in the middle of a crowded city, only harm it's intended target. Think about the innocent civilian lives saved while you take out leaders of terrorist organizations."

"Or commit genocide. If her work fell into the wrong hands, it could quietly wipe out entire groups of people because they share a certain genetic code, while their neighbors go about living their lives.  Why do you know so much about this? What's your interest in my sister?"

"I believed that I had a use for her pathogen, at one time. But my fight is over now."

A few notes about this exchange.

Clearly Charlie's pathogen is the key ingredient in the smart bomb that Flint was developing, as discussed in 1x12.

Liz's "personal genome machine" can break down the alien genetics and give Project Shepherd what they need to use a smart bomb on the aliens. 

Don't forget, her lab is protected by Air Force security set up by "Alex's team". (Badbadbadbad!)

Rosa describing her bipolarism. 

"I get these mood swings sometimes. Like, I can be happy and singing one minute, and then, all of a sudden, this darkness just closes in over me, and I have all these voices telling me that I'm worthless."

Jesse gives Cam the name of the security firm looking for Charlie.  We don't see the name of it. He warns her to be careful. "I may be hobbled but they are not."

"Now, you were hunting aliens, and I gave you Max's name. Why didn't you lock him up in Caulfield with the rest?"

"I don't know.  I guess I feel like there's a story unfolding in Roswell. Has been for more than 50 years.  You can't blame me for wanting to see how it ends."

Catherine Zeta-Jones in a laser maze -- Liz is referencing the 1999 movie Entrapment.

Liz trying to science-intrigue Kyle….

"Interesting historical footnote. There was an internment camp in Roswell. Nazi POWs built half this city.  Hence the iron crosses. My great-great grandfather BoDean's foreman got busted for hiding a couple of women here. According to him 'A couple Nazi spies escaped and strudeled their schnitzel for room and board right here on this very farm.  See, I was never really as into shooting squirrels as Wyatt is, so, when I came out here for summers as a kid, my cousin Kate and I -- we'd prowl the property for artifacts."

"You know, what we're doing you and me -- it doesn't only have to be for Max...once Max is healthy, we could use this genome machine to Target cellular apoptosis.  I mean, we could craft polymerase sequencing in human DNA. We don't have to stop. We have no boards, no restrictions…"

Apoptosis is also sometimes referred to as "cellular suicide" or "spontaneous single cell death".

Polymerase is like the building blocks of DNA.

In other words, Liz is really, really smart.

FORREST LONG!!!!!! 😂😂😂. 

Alex on the bullet shells: "These match the M1917s the airmen used in '48.

"They were scattered all over the property. Legend has it the Nazis we're building some kind of bomb in the barn. Then one night the Air Force showed up."

"The night of the fire."

"The blaze burned so hot it turned sand to stone. Papers say that lightning struck the barn and everyone died in the flames, but...that's bull.  See I think the Air Force covered up the massacre that happened when they discovered that weapon.

A few things on this scene… 

Forrest mentions his cousin Kate...Wyatt's sister who was murdered by Noah in 2008.  So Forrest is Wyatt Long's cousin. 

Substitute Nazi for alien and it's probably all based somewhat based in truth.  In the 1940s that definitely would have been a reasonably obvious way to cover it up, especially given the history that Forrest cites and the military culture in Roswell.

Note: POW = prisoner of war

The iron crosses Forrest references…

Article on the German POWs in the Roswell Daily Record…

Walt was hiding in the barn when Tripp made it explode.  Explosion looked shimmery, like the alien ship & tech. 

Also, more info than you ever wanted to know about the Roswell Army Air Field/Walker Air Force Base/Roswell International Air Center...including some info on the POWs.

Sheriff Valenti's theory on Noah's death:

"I think Max Evans poisoned Noah and left him in the desert the night of the lightning storm, and I think Isobel Evans was in on it."

Kyle says it would take gallons of acetone to poison someone.

Tripp was Alex's great uncle

Nora was working on a ship to take the pods home.

TRIPP MANES!!!  Full name is Eugene Manes III.

Alex finally gives Michael the piece of alien ship he's had.  He doesn't want to be another Manes man standing in Michael's way.

Cam's voicemail to Liz.

"Got a lead on my sister.  Give me a call when you get that tin-star-wearing E.T. awake, so I can curse him out for worrying us all. Good luck Liz. Bring Max home."

Arturo's Spanish to Liz and Rosa.

"Das gracias a Dios.  Gracias todos los dias."

Translates generally to "Thank God.  Thanks every day."

Isobel's monologue at the end:

"The idea of God always freaked me out. Like, apparently he made people in his own image, which, first of all, get over yourself. And also, does that apply to us? Does every planet have its own God? Let's say that we're all clones of the big guy in the sky. Well then, doesn't it stand to reason that we're all capable of slinging light? Well I guess by that same token we're all capable of tremendous wrath. We're walking contradictions. A never-ending mercurial rise and fall. Darkness and light. I guess the real miracle is choosing the light. Despite the ever-present darkness. Look at us. You're in the middle of a downright biblical desert, galaxies from where we started. I mean, our very existence is a miracle. I'm capable of so much more than I thought I was, Max. I really think that maybe I could do great things. I need you to come back, okay? I need you to be the thing that I can believe in. That doesn't let me down. I just need this one little miracle, and I promise I won't ever ask for anything ever again."

MUSIC:

1. LEN "Steal My Sunshine"

2. Spacehog "In The Meantime"

3. Duke Ellington "Take It Easy"

4. Maná "Como Te Deseo"

5. Oasis "Don't Look Back In Anger"

6. Ben Harper "Waiting On An Angel"

[kaorei-endgame]

Game of the Year #4: Pathologic 2

You went in with 10 years knowledge on the subject, read those Rock Paper Shotgun Articles, consummate played-by-proxy nerd. And if you come in feeling like that, you've got a clean head start in the first few days of Pathologic 2: The Pandemic Simulation RPG (And Meta Commentary On Gaming (And The Nature of Fiction (And Perhaps Humanity Itself?)) and proto survival sim elements). Like it's turbulent and your health meters drain quick, but you get the jist. Water is short so you learn where the water drums are. Break borrow and steal. Deus Ex house-scavenging on a time limit. That is a genre of game you can wrap your mind around. On day two the plague begins, infected district is cordoned off on the map (which you know--because you have read Rock Paper Shotgun--is shaped, and named, like a cow's various parts, pre-butchering. metaphor!!) and your little virtual desire paths shift to compensate. A timed meeting with a medical colleague on the other side of the city now includes a 5 minute detour. Your nightly visit to harvest herbal curatives from an abandoned village in the steppe slides back into a midnight run, and then an early morning visit as the tasks consume you. Treat these people or we'll withhold your (paltry) salary. But also, heal your friend or his whole district succumbs. But also, buy a cloak to cover your face or you'll succumb. But also, you can't afford a cloak, which is why you're stomping through this abandoned village in the dark trying to remember where the fucking weeds to pick up are because you can't even afford a fucking cloak, much less real medicine!! Which is why you spend like a full quarter of every day making the trip here and back which is why there are now a half-dozen infected districts, all your friends are dead or dying, and the military has brought out the flamethrowers! The game has to be almost over, right? This fucking bull I scrounged up to buy on Day 1, when the world was simple and kind, is supposed to talk to me on the worst day of my life and you're telling me that's not right now, on Day 5 of the 13 total days in this game??

So it's kind of like that. Pathologic 2 arrests my functions through mechanical overwhelm. You're always on the knife's edge of poverty, and the next trashcan is always going to be the one that has a sewing needle in it that you can combine with the cloth you also don't have yet to make a pocket and expand an inventory you couldn't possibly own enough to fill with anything but more trash.

In 2020, this sounds close enough any survival sim but Pathologic's loop is so attenuated by long travel times and finely diced resources that you will never become comfortable. Here's a Terraria where you mine every copper vein you see while everyone around you slowly dies, but not so slow that you can't convince yourself you can save them, or if not them.... maybe the next one? Holy shit, this game is hard, yeah, but wow! Am I a doctor? Am I doing triage?

You build a base, and it's never stocked because you're living out of your coat pockets. Oh, haha, you think you're a doctor? Well you can't afford medicine, as stated, and your guess-work home remedies require infected organs harvested on the sly when you pray no one's looking, because they will run you out of the neighborhood for it. Haha, remember? You spent the literally whole first day, the only infection-free day, skulking in alley ways because the whole town was ready to kick the shit out of you Rambo-style for being a wandering vagrant?

And you still got the temerity to call yourself a doctor? Bitch, you're a fucking haruspex, and that much is clear in how a certain percentage of the population views you as moooore or less one step removed from the anthropomorphic nomad people who roam the plains (and who are, not coincidentally, being targeted by hate crimes as the plague sets in). Half of the tinctures you brew in your lab go into your belly to delay the onset of hunger or sleep for a few more hours. You crash on any couch you can find before the meter bottoms out. You spent less time diagnosing patients yesterday than you did scrounging through the garbage for enough refuse to trade for a fish from a midnight merchant called the Dead Item Seller who for some reason wants bloody bandages, and the fish didn't even fill up your whole belly. Barely even 40%. And the day starts anew, another two cornerstones of the town are sick and dying but what else is new. Have to go watch the giant plague doctors put on a secret play in the town's enormous baroque(????who cares???) theater we've converted into an emergency ward so don't wake the patients, please, you quasi-metaphorical thespians! Oh, my uncle or some shit says there's a hole in the center of the earth where all the blood goes down and THATS the problem?? 😰Well haha I don't think anyone's got enough Orange+ Tincture for a hole that big, Grandad!!🤣 Maybe better find another shaman trained in the ancient ways?? This one's barely making rent.😬 Oh the RAT KING wants to talk to me now? Is he gonna HELP? is he gonna GIVE ME DRUGS OR A FUCKING COAT?🤬

Please, it's 2020, 50% of the people reading this use horror movies as a safety valve to experience trauma and inure themselves to it. In that way, I feel I am among friends. Pathologic 2 is a mechanical expression of that release valve, maybe? A way to touch all those anxieties--Gotta Work, Gotta Rest, Gotta Eat, Gotta Talk To People, Gotta Do My Mindfullness Meditation, Gotta Be Responsible For Building My Own Boundaries In Personal Relationships And Also A 401K or an IRA If I Have The Time, You Know, On The Weekend, By The Way I Belong To A Class Of People The World Unilaterally Hates :)--so I think a good way to manage that.... for people like me.... who have brains who don't manage things well without external motivation.... which, for them, has been historically linked to trauma.... is to play a video game where everyone looks at you like you're sick while THEY'RE all dying of the fucking plague. Is that it? I don't know. It's 2020. So maybe that's just it.

[niksfiks]

Gotta Get It Right: Chapter 4

PAIRING: Loki/OFC

RATING: Mature

NOTES/WARNINGS: Trigger warning: mentions of dubcon, violence, PTSD, sexual assault, and physical abuse in later chapters. 

Also on Ao3 

Feedback is always appreciated (just being an attention whore screaming for comments/reblogs). Taglist is open

Tagging @fandom-and-feminism @fadingcoast @igotloki @mrshiddleston-uk @mischievousbellerina

Chapter 4: The Plan

Armed guards stood their posts, watching Coulson, Daisy, and Aleksa disembark the Quinjet and head towards Agent Melinda May. Coulson had his usual self-satisfied grin on his face. 

“Told you she’d come.” 

May just grimaced, turning her attention to the redhead in front of her. “I’m more worried about what you promised to get her here.” She turned to the woman in front of her. “Lex. Back to your natural color?”

“Figured it was time for a change. I heard about Andrew. I’m sorry.”

“So was I.” 

Aleksa nodded, following the group into the base, peeking through what windows she could as they traveled deeper underground. The constantly changing tech available to SHIELD was mind-boggling and only served to grow her concern. They finally arrived at the conference room where three other soldiers waited. Coulson introduced everyone.

“Specialists Altair Nesis and Christen Spartak, and you know Captain Brian Reece, SHIELD Special Forces. They’ll be your extraction team.”

“This is it? Three men?”

“We are the best of the best, ma’am.” Spartak stepped forward. 

“Semper Fi, Marine. Stand down,” she answered, immediately recognizing the stance drilled into the man. “Still a little light, given where we’re going,” she sighed. “Alright, Reece, what’s the story?”

Reece moved to the large projection screen, calling up the profiles of the missing people. “Research team of 5: two men, three women, all experienced SHIELD field ops with minimal combat training. They’ve been off-world for six weeks, due to return in a few days. Communication from the team stopped 24 hours ago, following reports of a decreasing frequency. A beacon near the portal is still broadcasting, but there’s nothing coming through.”

Aleksa hummed. “How stable is the portal?”

"Relatively,” Coulson answered. “We watched it for almost a year before we sent the team through. It runs on a forty-three-minute rotation, open for about five minutes before going dark.”

“Does it close or just go invisible?”

“That’s what we’re hoping you can tell us.”

Aleksa quirked an eyebrow. “Any other operatives on Asgard?”

“None that have any intel. No mentions of captured humans or of planned executions.” Reece replied.

“He’d kill them?” Aleksa moved closer to the screen, scrolling through data. 

May shrugged. “Who knows? It’s Loki.” 

“That’s comforting. Why are they up there to begin with?”

“Research.”

Aleksa turned to Coulson, who was leaning against the desk. “Thank you for the tactical update, captain obvious. What kind of research?” 

“It’s classified.” 

Aleksa rolled her eyes before glaring at him. “Infinity stones, Asgardian military strength, or tech?” Coulson’s expression never changed. “I suppose you’ll want the equipment back as well?”

“Of course.”

“Any visuals of that side of the portal, or their base camp?” Reece called the appropriate photographs. “You dumped them right next to a training facility? Jesus, Coulson. When you jack something up, you go for broke, don’t you?”

“There’s sufficient cover to cross between worlds.”

“Then why didn’t they just come home?”

“We don’t know. That’s why we’re sending you.”

“Great.” Aleksa sighed heavily. “Any other portals between Asgard and Earth?”

“The team thought they found two more, but we never received confirmation one way or the other. Another reason why we need you.”

“So they might not even be on Asgard?”

“It’s possible but highly unlikely. Beacon images showed the team right before the line went dead.” May answered. 

Aleksa turned to Nesis. “And what’s your role in all this?”

“To cover your ass, ma’am.”

“More like I’d cover yours.” Judging by the shift in his posture, the soldier took her statement personally. “Me, two hired guns and an ops guy, with practically no intel, versus a megalomaniac demi-god and an Asgardian battalion. Should be fun.” Aleksa shook her head. “Is this an ‘any means’ assignment?” Coulson and May looked at each other. “Oh for frak’s sake...” 

“Returning the team is your top priority.”

“But you wouldn’t be upset if I put a spear through Loki’s chest?” 

Coulson blanched. “Just get the team home.” 

Aleksa watched him leave without another word. May followed him with her gaze, then turned back to the woman staring at a map with Reece. 

“That was a little harsh, even for you, Lex.”

“Probably,” Aleksa responded absently. “I’m not exactly at one hundred percent right now.”

May’s brow furrowed. “Dreams again?”

“Still.” She glanced up to see dark brown eyes boring into her. “They never stopped. Now they’re just...weird. Like someone decided to create a B movie of a bad acid trip.” 

“Maybe you should get checked out before you go.”

“And have yet another doc tell me it’s the PTSD and want to add more meds? Hard pass. Besides, I need full access to all my toys if I’m going up against Frosty the Bad Mood Reindeer.”

May smirked. “At least your sense of humor is intact.” She looked up at the map still glowing above them. “Think you can pull this off?”

“I’d feel better if you were going with me. And,” Aleksa toggled the map to another screen, “it’d help if I knew what I’m really going up there after.”

“I wish I knew.” 

“Gentlemen,” Aleksa turned to the soldiers behind her, “give us the room, please. You, too, Reece.” 

They stood and filed out with Reece at the end of the parade. He paused when he reached the door and looked back at Aleksa, a sad smile on his face.

“It’s good to see you again, Colonel.” 

She nodded and he left silently. Her head shook after the door closed. 

“He looks like he’s seen a ghost.” 

“Maybe he thinks he has,” May answered. “He hasn’t seen you since...”

“I made him escape? He’d have ended up like the rest of the squad.” Aleksa keyed off the monitors, mumbling, “I had to save someone.” She blew out a breath, fighting back hazy memories. “So why did Coulson send a bunch of brainiacs to Asgard?”

“He didn’t.”

“Then who...Fury?” Aleksa’s eyes narrowed while May’s expression never changed. “Is the rescue a primary or secondary order?” 

May said nothing as she pulled a small piece of paper from her vest. Aleksa took it and read it over several times before speaking. 

“Oh, my aching Christ...you’ve got to be kidding me. Does Phil know about this?” 

May didn’t move. 

“Gods dammit. SHIELD will end up blowing the whole damn planet in two for the love of keeping secrets.” Aleksa muttered, giving the paper back to May as she walked out of the conference room. “I want hazard pay.”

[steve0discusses]

The Full Metal Alchemist Live Action Movie Part 8: Watch This Episode Covered in Butts be the Only One Not Flagged by Tumblr

Gonna be risky business and not only upload all of these caps the way I screenshot them--which has just SO MANY poorly CGI’d butts but also gonna do it on the Tumblr Drafts folder, which I have been assured works now.

I’m so worried about so many things, but considering all the fears I have about like...everything else in the world right now...I guess I’ll take a risk on tumblr.

Edit: I cannot believe that I had 8ish episodes of Kaiba’s tall dueling tower get flagged but not this movie. I just....wow I cannot.

So anyway, last we left off, General Hakuro stepped in and was like “Hi guys, you like my wily plans that no one in their right mind would have ever guessed???”

Yo remember this part of the anime? Where the bodies drop from the ceiling and it’s a hunk out of the final arc--it’s here. In this movie. This movie that can’t possibly afford to do that. Lets get some CGI animated bodies in here ASAP.

(see some texture regrets under the cut)

It’s like a Monet, as the Mean Girls say, because far away and shrinked to 500 pixels this looks kinda neat. They sort of look more like those slime ball that grow in the back of your throat rather than human bodies, but they still look pretty gross hanging up there.

But then.....we zoom in. Remember again that this was full screen on my computer, and at one point was on a freakin movie screen. This level of 3d...was on a movie theater screen.

The mind boggles. The mind boggles!

Like as you know, I am an artist, and I’ve dabbled in...basically everything in my pursuit to make a dollar...and I have taken about 2 years of classes in 3D art with Maya and all those. I’m not thaaat great at it--I’m much more an illustrator/painter--but I feel like I have that reference point. Can I just say--the model is...fine...you can do a lot with layers of bump maps so you don’t need a truly detailed model (not like they did that, because they didn’t do that, but I can figure that maybe they had an intention to do that and forgot?)

But, there’s no connection of the wires to bodies. They just kinda float? The bodies are also all the same shiny-ness? To the point that it looks like a copy paste? (I don’t think it is, the wires are slightly different on a few of them) There’s just not much in the way of a texture map or a bump map. It just...there’s also something missing from the skin.

Skin is actually kind of rough to render, so when I did it back in the day, I followed like a checklist to make sure I had all the layers and steps to make someone look...clammy. Some things are kinda translucent, they reflect light a different way...especially white skin like this wouldn’t be just...white like putty. Dunno if you ever saw a white person, but we got so many veins...there was so much potential to make something really gross and fleshy.

Instead we got silly putty. It’s fine. I’m fine.

So General Hakuro decides to just...kill everyone right now.

This makes no sense to me.

That means that the whole thing of Lust killing Hughes was completely unrelated to General Hakuro. All Hakuro needed was Shou Tucker, who has been in prison for...I assume months since Ed shipped him off. And Shou was only released today? Just now? Just now when Hughes was shot?

So this all just happened at the same time by accident?

I mean the General sent us to the wrong lab initially, so he didn’t actually want us to be here, and now that we are here, he’s going to set off an entire army as a reaction to three people walking in and going “oops”?

So, lets get a look at our army.

Oh it was so disappointing, this reveal. Not just the eyeball that has a bounce light coming from below the top lip there (how did that even happen???) but also when it opened it’s mouth, it had a flat animation of skin breaking--it wasn’t actually rendered 3d skin, it was like a jpg wrapped around it or something (or at least that was the illusion I got. That is fine for a video game or a TV show, but this is a movie. This is shot so that it can be displayed in a size bigger than your own house.

What happened to the animation team on this one? Not saying I can do better, cuz no, I can’t, that 3d chapter in my life was a while back, but I’m just one guy. This was an entire animation studio and they just...didn’t render 3d face ripping (which is their entire job, to work in 3d) and then they kinda just turned on the stock physics dynamics and dropped em instead of animating them.

The way they fell was like fish from a bucket--the same amount of speed, too. they all ragdolled like a 3D shooter, their rigs just hanging on for dear life (and yes, you could see the deforming happen on the joints of these models.) I’m fine with having a computer program render something out with a physics engine...but there is a balance.

You do have to still go in there and finangle it back because...real life is hella stupid. Real physics? So stupid. It was hilarious how nonthreatening it was, too because they’re like...the size of shrimps in that zoom out image. The scale is just so wild!

It was like one bored guy in a sound booth and they multiplied his voice three times. Golden. Absolutely golden.

So these guys stride over, all of them with the same amount of speed (leading me to think it was probably a recorded walk cycle they all share with slight alterations between all of em) and they kinda just...pile on eachother in a weird way.

I will give them this: I was happy to see something that wasn’t physics or procedural. They mo-capped and animated that part for sure. It had the touch of an artist’s hand. It was also a very funny way for Hakuro to die because this guy was on screen for like 5 minutes, and maybe 7 minutes of this whole movie.

Youknow...I think it really says a lot about your nude 3d models if they’re not disturbingly human enough to trigger the tumblr filter, youknow?

Anyway, Envy looks on.

And then Gluttony saves the city.

Meanwhile, they decide to bust out the fire effects and Mustang becomes the most useful person in this entire movie. Like honestly this movie was poorly named, because it should have just been “Mustang saves the FullMetal Alchemist’s Entire Ass.”

The next part seems like I forgot a cap, or maybe missed something. I swear to you, I did not.

First off, Al becomes fullmetal and makes this happen without an alchemy circle. The show doesn’t really care to talk about that though, it’s just a thing he can do now, and you’d only notice it if you were writing a Tumblr post about it.

I swear to you, Winry is just inside of Al and there is no explanation.

There is no explanation for this.

She was on the couch...why is she not on the couch? What?

And then when you think they might have a moment, Ed’s like.

Damn.

For reals what the hell was that entire scene except for a way for Ed to get his arm stitched back on in like 2 minutes?

Outside, Envy and Lust are just strolling around the back-alley of this red brick building we have seen used for this entire movie.

And like...it’s so funny to me because they weren’t trying to run or hide. It makes complete sense why they got shot. This is what happens when you just...walk away when the whole military guard wants to kill you.

Now lets go see how Hawkeye is faring.

Luckily, all of the ambling bodies have decided to walk slowly through this one weird grass section between extremely long buildings.

And Hawkeye tells everyone “You have to shoot their heads off” and I want you to look at that scene and tell me how many of those bodies still have heads.

Oh, all of them. Don’t worry about it.

Kinda hard to see, but Ed shows up to give Mustang a hand, which was fully unnecessary but we’ll get to that in a bit.

This movie is such a gem.

Ed goes big brain and realizes that Envy is still burned up, and thus is about to pass on.

And whatever, I’ll take it. It’s not like the movie has told us that they are made out of 1000000 lives, for all we know, in the movie universe, they really are only 4 lives. Like half a cat. Maybe Father only killed half a cat instead of an entire city.

Yugi Muto would be so freakin proud of Envy for how often this guy gets hit square in the chest with fire balls. It’s basically every scene where Envy and Mustang share screen time.

And don’t worry, I don’t think Envy died? But they sure made it look like he did, which I’m sure everyone everywhere was really happy to see, since Envy’s death was one of the climaxes of the whole series. Like people used to make these lists of “top 10 saddest anime deaths” and how many people had Envy on there? Like everyone? People freakin love Envy and they did him so much dirty in this movie.

Again I have no explanation for Winry.

So Mustang is like, Ed, you make sure Winry doesn’t biff it in that corner, and I’ll do my actual job over here on this side. And yo, he did.

And so then that’s it, Lust is dead, and now we have a Sorcerer’s stone.

Man it looks delicious, right?

I’d eat the hell out of that.

Anyway, we only have one more update and we’re done with this movie!

I know!

I know! They only have 10-15 minutes to resolve pretty much everything, and that’s assuming that the credits don’t take up a heap of that. Hell, I might only have 3 caps next episode if that’s all credits. I honestly don’t remember.

Anyway, hope y’all take it easy this February, here is a link for people who just got here to read these FMA recaps in Chrono order.

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/fma/chrono