#FITZ HIVE IS GETTING BIGGER

[lucyshypemaster]

saw this edit and most of the comments are agreeing omg...is the world healing?

(cr: @/fitzslover on tiktok)

[gregorygerwitz]

“Get that disgusted look off your face and hold my hand just this once.” FitzWard or Leopheliaward

yes, this is the prompt that I had ~700 words written for and then did a dumb thing so it won’t be quite as good but I know what I’m doing with the plot, now, so maybe it will get written faster?

also it’s going under a cut after the first few paragraphs because it got super long I’m sorry

4. Get that disgusted look off your face and hold my hand just this once.

Taking a deep breath, Fitz glanced around the club and tried to make himself relax. They had an alien parasite to worry about that was a far bigger threat than the Hydra agent who was all but attached to his hip in the dim, colored lighting. It was a temporary arrangement, SHIELD and Hydra working together, something only in place long enough to get rid of Hive, but that didn’t mean he had to like a single second of it.

“Do you remember the plan?”

“Yes, Fitz.” Grant Ward was the last person he wanted to work with, even if it was only for a mission or two. Actually, it had already been more than that, if he counted their excursion to the planet that had started the whole mess, but he was still trying to forget that happened. If they could just get through one night without being at each other’s throats, they’d be one step closer to the entire problem going away, and in turn, one step closer to never having to see each other again. “We have the simplest cover in the world - you’re the scientist, I’m your bodyguard - and we’re here so you can pretend to hawk one of your inventions off to Dr. Radcliffe. Once we’re actually alone with him, you’ll explain the situation and ask for his help, and if he refuses, well... that’s why I’m here.”

The words were whispered so close to his ear that he had to bite his tongue to keep from flinching, but even that wasn’t enough to stop the shiver that ran down his spine. Of course his body was reacting to the smallest of things. It had been happening ever since their first mission together, in South Ossetia, but he’d been hoping that, at some point, it would stop. If he could only be so lucky. “Hopefully, we won’t have to resort to any violence. Just... let me do the talking. Your cover is as my bodyguard, and even though there likely won’t be any real danger tonight, we can’t be too safe. You have to watch the room.”

There was a gentle scoff, not nearly as close and barely audible over the sound of people around them, before the Hydra agent at his side spoke up again. “Are you worried an alien is going to jump out of the shadows and grab you? Fitz, I didn’t let that happen to you on that planet, and I’m not going to let that happen here.”

“Drop the act, Ward.” Shaking his head, he turned enough to properly face him, trying to keep his expression neutral. If he started a fight or caused a scene, it could ruin the whole mission, and they didn’t have time to regroup and come back, not when Daisy’s life was at stake, and not when finding Radcliffe had been difficult in the first place. “If we really need to discuss this, we can do it later, when we’re at the rendezvous point or when we don’t have to worry about both agencies hearing everything you have to say over the comms.”

It felt like a miracle, when he was able to actually focus on the mission. There were no more off topic interruptions while they tracked down Radcliffe’s assistant in the crowd, and things were going well - or, at least, as well as could be expected. For a few moments, he let himself think the rest of the night was going to go just as smoothly. It was a stupid hope, he learned all too quickly, when they settled on a couch with drinks to wait to find out if they were actually going to get their meeting.

Ward shifted on the cushions, eliminating some of the space between them to reach over and press the button on the side of the Scot’s glasses, the one that would turn off the comm unit in his ear. When he reached up to hit it again, openly scowling at the behavior, he was stopped by fingers wrapping around his wrist. “Don’t. We need to talk. In private.”

His scowl still in place, Fitz pulled his hand away, an action that actually elicited a chuckle from the man next to him. “No, we don’t. We need to focus on this mission. And SHIELD has probably already noticed that my comms are off, which means there’s only a few minutes before agents will be bursting in here to-”

“Then we’ll talk fast.” Steady brown eyes met his own, and he couldn’t even bring himself to lift his hand again from where he had awkwardly tugged it to his chest. Interrupting would be pointless, that much was clear, even if letting themselves get distracted could be dangerous. “I didn’t realize it was so horrible to even touch me. SHIELD must have changed a few rules. Can’t you get that disgusted look off your face and hold my hand just this once?”

There was a teasing lilt to the words, and Fitz let out a slow breath to try to relax again. Slowly, he let his free hand drop to his lap, the other still holding his glass of untouched alcohol tightly. “Fine. Say what you need to say so I can tell Mack that you haven’t sabotaged this mission to try to kill me.”

Instead of another laugh or even more teasing, he was met with a sigh and a long beat of silence. “I thought you knew my now that I wouldn’t do anything that actually put your life in danger.”

“Except drop me in the ocean, kidnap me, torture me, drag me across the universe, and indirectly cause another potential apocalypse. No, Ward, you’d never put my life in danger.” He made sure to put enough sarcasm into his voice that he didn’t even have to scowl anymore, finally taking a small sip of his drink. Not enough to actually affect him, not when the night was so important, but enough that the taste would be enough to confuse his mind into relaxing. At least, that was the hope.

“Fitz-”

“Don’t. If this is all you wanted to talk about, I’m going to turn the glasses back on so we can get back to work. In case you didn’t notice, a member of my team is at risk, along with the world, and tonight might be our only night to turn that around.” Fitz shifted his gaze over to him again, measuring the silence with a deep breath before lifting his hand to the button. Once his comms were on and he was able to check in with Mack, all thought of their conversation gone from his mind. He had more important things to worry about than the pit in his stomach that didn’t want to let go of hope.

-

When he pushed the door open to the empty room that was supposed to serve as a rendezvous point, Fitz tried to ignore the ache that had to spread through most of his body. It had started between his shoulder blades, when his back hit the wall and the air was knocked out of his lungs, but it didn’t end there. By the time he heard the door close again, the pain had sunk into his limbs, going as far as making his fingers feel stiff while he moved around the room. He needed to focus if they wanted to have any hope of tracking where Hive went, and that meant getting everything packed up so they could move as quickly as possible.

“Fitz...”

The gentle tone made him hesitate before tugging at his tie to loosen it before he went back to counting bags and making sure everything went where it was supposed to. He’d gotten used to having the familiar voice close again, though down in the club and the basement below it, it had been gruff and louder, and there had been nothing in it like the concern he thought he heard. “I’m sure we’ll contact you if we find any other leads. I know you probably have to check in with your agents, or something, right? There’s not much here. I can carry it all myself, if I have to.”

For a moment, he actually thought he would get a few minutes alone to process everything that had happened. The sound of footsteps on the short carpet was promising, at least, until he heard Ward’s voice again, this time far closer. “Fitz, hold on. There’s no way we’ll be able to go after them tonight, right? You got hurt. Sit down for a second and catch your breath, at least.”

“Seriously, Ward, don’t you have somewhere to be?” He shook his head and kept his eyes on the task at hand, his own voice careful and void of emotion. “Or someone somewhere you can actually help? I thought you were supposed to be the muscle, tonight? You didn’t do anything when they grabbed Radcliffe, and now we’ve lost our only way of potentially getting Daisy back, so I really could have just come alone.”

“Hold on, what do you mean I didn’t do anything? In case you didn’t notice, there was an evil alien hanging around and thanks to Daisy, you were a sitting duck. What would you have done if he actually came for you and you were completely alone?”

“He didn’t-”

“Because he had Radcliffe. He had what he came for, so he didn’t linger and risk losing it. But if I’d stopped his groupies and he didn’t get what he wanted? No offense, Fitz, but I think you would have been the next best thing, and I wasn’t going to explain to SHIELD that I lost one of their top scientists. They already want me dead, we’re not going to give them another reason.”

Taking a slow breath, Fitz let his fingers pause on the zipper of the bag in front of him. He wasn’t going to worm his way out of the conversation, he knew that much, but he could at least pretend there wasn’t some emotion stirring just below the surface. “Wow, that was almost a compliment. Did it hurt? Should I get you some ice?”

He heard the sigh, oh so close, before registered the contact, hands at his waist gently turning him around until he was forced to face the Hydra agent who had refused to leave his side all night. Even once the danger had passed, Ward had been a constant presence, never more than a few feet away even once they got to the hotel. Now, warm fingers were gently lifting his chin, though not to push for eye contact, it seemed, because the gaze he expected to meet was roaming - over the scratch on his forehead, the newly exposed skin of his neck, dipping down to his mussed up collar...

“If either of us need ice, it’s you. How’s your back? Hitting the wall like that can’t have been comfortable.”

“I’m fine.” Pulling away from the hand on his chin, Fitz tried to take a step back only to be blocked by the table full of gear. The gentle impact was enough to remind him of the pain still present in most of his muscles, and he had to take a deep breath to keep from wincing. Maybe fine wasn’t quite the right word, but that didn’t matter, not when he wasn’t even sure they had ice packs in their pile of supplies. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish getting all of this together so I can carry it back to the plane. I would like to get some actual sleep, tonight, and it’s already getting late.”

Ward didn’t move, finally meeting his gaze for the first time since they left the basement where the mission fell apart, and for a moment, everything was quiet. Even his thoughts slowed down, and taking a much needed deep breath was easier, like an entire weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. “The room is reserved until tomorrow, right? If you’re hurt, you should be taking care of that before worrying about equipment. Sit down for a minute, I’ll find something to help with the pain, at least, and then we can see how you’re doing.”

Hesitantly, he sank into the nearby chair and reminded himself to breathe again. The implication of the question, that he would ever willingly let his guard down enough to sleep while a Hydra agent was nearby, made him uneasy, but he knew that the rest of it was right. He’d been going nonstop since Daisy left the base, and his body needed time to recover, though when he would get that time was still a mystery. The aches were bone deep even before he’d been thrown into a wall, and he didn’t see them going away any time soon. There was too much to worry about, and even the bare minimum of relaxing his shoulders seemed to be too big of a task, most days. “I’m fine, really. I’ve been through worse.”

“I know.”

“Your fault.”

“Yeah...”

The air between them fell quiet again while the bag he’d just closed was unzipped, the sound of pills rattling around a bottle the only sound for a long moment once it was found. Fitz didn’t have to wait long for two of them to be passed over, and he didn’t even keep up the appearance of waiting for a water bottle, swallowing them dry. The sooner he took them, the sooner they would work, and the sooner he’d be able to actually ignore the ache again. “Thanks...”

Instead of responding right away, Ward tucked everything back into the bag and zipped it up. It was his turn to busy his hands, repeatedly checking his pockets for something before letting out a sigh as if what he was looking for wasn’t there. It was an act, of course, and they both knew it. The only extra thing they’d brought along on the mission was the pair of glasses that had been snapped in half as soon as their cover was blown, and bringing anything else along would have been too much of a risk. It was a ploy, something to fill the time until he could actually come up with the words.

His next attempt to buy a bit of time was more of a surprise, and the gentle press of lips to skin just above his brow was more than enough to stun the Scot into continued silence. It was certainly more than long enough for his mission partner to finally find his voice.

“Get some rest. If anyone comes knocking for debrief, I’ll fill them in. You need a good night’s sleep.”

[ sentence prompts ]

[agl03]

HI….one thing I was thinking but do you think that the chronicoms will have a new leader? because I don't think that malachi will be the final villain….I know that the first big bad could be luke but Maybe at the end there will be a super powered chronicom or a maker that has build them because if they are like artificial beings I think that could be the case…….

Hi Anon,

I think that AOS is going to follow its normal pattern of having one big bad the first part of the season and then we get a new one during the second half.

Season 1: 

A:  Monster of the Week

B:  Hydra/Garrett

Season 2:

A:  Hydra/Talbot/Cal

B:  Hydra/Real Shield/Jaiying

Season 3:

A:  ATCU/Ward/Hydra

B:  Hive

Season 4:

A:  Nadeer/Watchdogs/Mace (to some extent)/Eli

B:  Ivanov

C:  AIDA

Season 5:

A:  Kasius

B:  Hale/Graviton

Season 6:

A:  Sarge

B:  Izel

Bonus Baddie was Chronicoms in getting Fitz

Based on IMDB Luke seems to be our first Chronicom Baddie, leading the “Let’s change the timeline,” plan that I suspect will change about mid season when he is either taken out by the team or new bigger baddie crashes the party, still eyeing Tamara Taylor’s Sybil as a possibility...or someone REALLY screws up the timeline.  This could happen if the Chronicoms succeed or someone on the team changes events (because its gonna be real hard to let some things happen again and to see those familiar faces die again or horrible events happen).

Bonus prediction is Luke will have a personal connection to Enoch somehow.

Outside of the baddie will be bigger and badder i’m a bit stuck in what they will look like and what their motivations will be until I get a better handle on what is going to happen in the season.  Yes, the Chronicom creators could absolutely be on that list but for now its wait and see.

[consoledacup]

AoS Episode Showdown -- Yes Men

This episode has good scenes that develop the Uprising arc. But boy, oh boy, is that all I can say.

This is an episode that’s extremely dated in hindsight. I’m actually very grateful that this is an episode from the first season and aired in 2014. I liked watching all of the other little scenes with the characters, but it was pretty rough watching any scene with or involving Lorelei.

If Lorelei were a man, this episode would’ve been handled differently. And wouldn’t have had such a humorous, upbeat tone. And that’s not ok. 

The whole idea of men sharing an inherent weakness that women don’t have comes dangerously close to “boys will be boys.” 

The plot is blaringly heteronormative. Embarrassingly. 

And then no after effects of the episode were addressed afterward. If anything, Ward had to apologize. And Fitz was the comic relief. 

This storyline has been played around with since this episode. And each time, accompanying trauma is acknowledged. Daisy had a huge arc coming to terms with who she was when she was swayed and her anger at Hive. Fitz had an even bigger arc in dealing with the effects after Aida and the Framework. There wasn’t always a perfect resolution, but there was acknowledgement and the issue was addressed. Hell, even Kara’s brainwashing was acknowledged. Agents of SHIELD can do better than this. And thank goodness... it has!

In this episode, 1x15, Simmons attends to Skye as her medic after Skye was shot twice. In 2x15, Jemma tries to help Skye heal from her newly acquired powers. In 4x15, after being shot twice, Daisy dryly tells Jemma that she needs medical. 

In 1x15, Coulson meets up with Sitwell. In 5x15, a young Hale interacts with a young Sitwell.

Coulson’s an icon with his It sucked, I can’t.

When Fitz is showing off the new ICERs, he keeps accidentally aiming one at May, and it’s the best. 

While deciding to use an ICER, May says, “when you’re up against people who are being controlled, sometimes it’s hard to distinguish friend from foe.” The delivery of this line...

May clearly is hurt by Ward. Which really sucks because he’s the worst. 

In 1x15, Fitz’s devotion to Simmons is diverted towards Lorelei. In 4x15, Fitz’s devotion to Jemma is diverted towards Ophelia. 

In 1x15, Simmons and Skye feel like it’s them against the Bus. In 4x15, it’s Jemma and Daisy against the base. 

In 1x15, Simmons asks Coulson, “Are you... you?” In 4x15, Simmons vehemently tells Daisy, “It’s not you. It’s not you!”  

When Coulson punches Fitz, Simmons says he’s always getting knocked out. Fitz has been knocked out two times up to this episode. In “FZZT,” Jemma practically knocks Fitz out with the fire extinguisher. I’m sure she was including that statistic. In “Seeds,” Fitz is knocked out by a Night Night gun or something similar. 

I really love the ending scene before the tag. Coulson holds nothing back and is completely honest with Skye about the source of GH-325. He wants to spare her the pain of being kept in the dark about the drug. I think Skye likes that she and Coulson are seemingly in the same boat and share something in common. I love their bond.

I’m not playing coy with this episode. It’s the worst of the show and will remain at the bottom. I’m confident that even after season 7 airs, my ranking will be unchanged.

T.R.A.C.K.S.

FZZT

The Magical Place

Seeds

The Hub

The Bridge

Repairs

T.A.H.I.T.I.

The Well

Eye Spy

Pilot

Girl in the Flower Dress

The Asset

0-8-4

Yes Men

[sunalsolove]

I’ve got a question! How would you rank the 5 seasons of AOS, and also how would you rank the 5 seasons based solely off Fitzsimmons moments? I did this for myself today and my FS chart was almost the complete opposite of my general season rankings!

I think my answer is exactly the same for each? Since it’s mostly those FS moments, good or bad, that drive how much I enjoy the season?

Season 3: I liked S3 a lot (barring space rando as a Macguffin). It was a pretty tightly woven plot from start to finish, I really got a massive kick out of HIVE, there were still funny parts, it was pretty epic in scale, FS finally got together, and I didn’t like Lincoln enough to feel *that* bad that he sacrificed himself. (Sorry, Lincoln) I was more upset on Daisy’s behalf. There were so many good moments. It turned into Buffy for a moment. (Seriously? Squidface is a senior partner, i.e. the Ram? REALLY??? I was screaming. Loudly.) FS boinked. 

Season 1: Besides having the EXACT same damn twist as S2 of Buffy (more or less) I really liked the first season. There was so much humor! Human ingenuity and skill saved the day, some of the episodes linked back to the larger Marvel universe. There was a flying car. Fitz and Simmons were cute little beans. Daisy was totally the newbie that needed everything explained to her so that the audience would know what was going on. The pink dress. Coulson right at the end. The pod scene that was heartbreaking, beautiful, and that destroys me every time. 

Season 2: Huntingbird! Daisy gets her powers! Everything is bigger and scarier than S1 and friendships and relationships are much more complex. Way more complex. Kind of too complex at some points. May dances. Fitz wears glasses. I think the season ended up being too complex and fell apart under its own weight. To many intersecting plotlines and too many new characters. Also way too many overly dramatic deaths. Trip? Really? Izzy? Ugh. 

Season 5: Too many villain side plots (sorry to everyone that likes the blues). Space and time travel were not that exciting to me. I don’t know what they were reaching for, but it all seemed to end up a muddied mess. Kind of like the lighting. There were some retrod themes and some moral point making that I did not agree with. The writers seemed to forget everything we liked about the show by the end. Screw found family and friendships, don’t you want to know how being overly attached to your freaky daughter will unbalance you and make you try to destroy the world? The wedding was the only bright point (literally) and now it doesn’t matter because watching one of my favorite characters bleed out because there’s a back up version somewhere is rewarding cinema. 

Season 4: Well, I like how it starts? But wait, no I don’t. Jemma isn’t in the lab. WTF???? I don’t care about power or whatever the hell with pulled out of the writer’s arse’s Mace. She’s a laboratory scientist with two doctorates, she’s NOT A FLIPPING ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT. I like Robbie. The 4a Ghost Rider arc was a highlight. Only GHOSTS? Okay, why they wanted to make a whole season with endless daddy issues that is basically sideways Hamlet I don’t know. It sucked. I hated it. 4b with it domestic abuse torture porn is disgusting. The framework flat out makes no sense. Yeah, yeah...darkhold blah, blah, blah, but there was a million different ways that could have gone and all it did was do things like give Mack false hope (which you should’t cling to), let us know love can’t conquer shit (thanks for ZERO emotional payoff for my faves, btw, that was great) and literally ended up with AIDA going off the rails because she was a woman scorned. WTF?? It what universe it that an acceptable ending? It was all overly pretentious shite. I really have no idea why I kept watching. Or made it to S5. It destroyed the thing about the show I love, that science and people can save the day just as well a magical super heroes and tossed in the trash. We got the darkhold and well I love Robbie and Quake, that we needed good vs. bad wacky magic super pissed me off. 

[miraculousagentsofkrypton]

Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie

This is Day 1 of my team positivity week.

First thing I love most about Mack is his protective and genuine love. When we met him in season 2, he showed this right away by being such a nonjudgemental friend to Fitz while he was struggling. He protected and encouraged Fitz so much, even when Fitz was struggling to be friendly back. His brotherly love for Daisy from season 3 was so heartwarming to see. He supported her, while she was feeling lots of pressure about her role. He trusted her so much, and loved her so much that he refused to see her as not capable of resisting against Hives mind control, and then after she came back, that scene where he tells her he forgives her even when she resists and doesnt forgive herself, is one of the most emotional, and amazing scenes of the show. His immediate protectiveness over Flint was amazing too. He just wanted to keep him safe.

His love for Elena and Hope deserves a whole other section tbh. Elena and his love has been one of the highlights of the show for so long. His learning spanish for her before they even really knew eachother was just so sweet! It would take to long to really get into their relationship, so just know I love them. And then, there is his love of Hope. There are no words to describe how heartbreaking his love for his daughter is, especially when he decided to stay in the framework, despite knowing the truth, just for her. I just love how deeply Mack loves people!

Second thing I love most about him is his sense of humor. He uses humor a lot as a way to deal with all the crazy and hard things they experience. His cracks last season about robots, and his love of movies were a light in the very dark time. His nicknames for those he cares about are all so cute and amusing, like Yoyo for Elena, Tremors for Daisy, Turbo for Fitz, and Pebbles for Flint. One of my favorite lines is S2 when Gordons like, who are you, and he says,"I'm the one who kills Gordon." And of course, one can never forget the great shotgun-axe.

The third thing I love most about Mack is his (for lack of a better term) practicality. He figures out what needs to be done, how to do it and he does them. A perfect example of this is when he chopped off Coulsons hand. He didnt question, he analyzed the situation quickly and did what he had to with no hesitation. Similar to what happened when we met Virgil. Mack has made for a good temprorary leader multiple times, because he sees the bigger picture and he acts responsibly. He knows when he needs to take charge, and when he just needs to support. He makes for a better supporter than leader though, like in his partnership with Daisy. He makes a great (platonic) May to Daisy's Coulson.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

More ranting about AOS Season 5:

This season feels very lost. Like, I knew going in that season 5 was not gonna top season 4. However, I still had hope that the show would continue their hot streak in terms of storytelling. Now that we’re this far into the season, season 5 as a whole just feels disjointed and confused.

Let me break it down this way. Season 4 was amazing mainly because the story was split into three distinct arcs. Each arc told their own story, built to their own conclusion, and yet were connected to each other to form a bigger story. What’s important about season 4 is that the stories were focused. For example, although we did see AIDA in the Ghost Rider arc, her part didn’t overshadow the main focus of those episodes. 

Even my least favorite season, season 3, had more focused storytelling. The first half was getting to Maveth and dealing with Ward, which were resolved at the midseason finale. And the second half was dealing with Hive and figuring out who will die among the team, which were also resolved at the end of the season. Although season 3 did drag in many places, the season had an end goal and main villains that drove the story. Hive may be my least favorite AOS Big Bad (for now) but he helped keep the story focused. 

Now season 5...oh lord, it’s all over the place. The space arc, although it had Kasius to unify everything, the end goal and the villain were not on the same page. What was the end goal? At first, it was to save the future. But then it became about returning to the past.

And now in the second half, I’m not sure what any of this is building up to. There’s no central baddie that the team is working to defeat. HYDRA is there but it’s not clear what their significance is (yet). The end goal is just a vague “stop the bad future from happening”. Because of how vague the goal is, there’s not much tension in the story right now. And lastly, the writers seem more interested in exploring the group’s dynamics. I’m more invested in the relationships between the team members rather than the main plot of the season. Because really, where’s the plot? 

It says a lot when the biggest moments of this second half are the Fitzsimmons wedding, Coulson reveals he’s dying, Deke learns he’s Fitz and Simmons’ grandson, and Fitz’s split personality, which are all just character building/relationships. 

[ilosttrackofthings]

Ruins of the city post hive wardsimmons, please.

I know I’ve been a little loose with prompts lately but this one is definitely the worst. This fic is absolutely not what this anon was hoping for - and not just because this was a (very very old) smut prompt and I’m not writing smut anymore. But as I’ll never fill it otherwise, you get this fic which I hope you will all enjoy.

Notfor the first time in Grant’s life, pain wakes him up. Better thannot waking up at all, Victoria used to say.

Hewas injured in the attack on the TV station. He hopes it was worthit, hopes he gave Skye and her people enough time to get where theyneeded to be.

Hopeshis Skye is gonna come back once they’re gone.

Hecringes against the bright lights overhead and drops his focus to thefigure wrapping a bandage around his left arm. She’s a lot lessshiny and blinding than the fluorescents. She’s also someone heknows.

“Simmons?”he asks, sitting up so fast his blood rushes out of his head. Ifshe’s here when she’s supposed to be in that other world … Doesthis mean they didn’t make it? Or is she the real Simmons back nowthat the other one’s gone?

“Liedown,” she says,pushing at his shoulder. “Good lord, you’re as bad as he was.”

“He?”he asks. He can guess who she means, but his heart is sinking alreadyand he really hopes she’s gonna prove him wrong.

Shemeets his eyes. “The real-” She bites her lips briefly, thensays, “The other Ward.”

Hedrops his head back onto the pillow, only to immediately regret itand twist his neck awkwardly so he can see her around his shoulderwithout looking into the lights. There’sa cot an arm’s length away with a sleeping woman in it and he cansee another two down past his feet. He wasn’t the only one injured in thefighting.

“Soyou didn’t make it.” So much for that plan.

She’sback to wrapping his arm, her hands gentle but practiced. Her eyesdon’t leave her work. “Oh no, we did.”

Hiswrist flinches in her grasp and pain lightnings up his arm. Heignores it. “Then how-”

Shesighs heavily, and a world’s worth of tension leaves her shouldersalong with it. Whatever it is, she’s been carrying it around for awhile, the whole time he’s known her at least.

“Idon’t know for certain, as I’d have to be on the other side toverify my theory. But Jemma Simmons—the one who belongs in thisworld—died years ago, in the wake of the Cambridge incident. Andwhile I was able to successfully replace her in this world, I believemy body, left behind in my world, suffered some … rather permanentside effects.”

Helets that sink in for a second. “Because she was dead, you died.”

Shenods once. “Much like Director Mace. He died here, therefore hedied there.”

“Andyou knew this?” He thinks about Skye, how relieved she obviouslywas to have found Simmons, how they clung close to each other in thebase, how Simmons was the only thing outside of Hope that could makeher smile. How is Skye gonna feel making it back home and finding outher best friend is dead?

“Isuspected,” Simmons admits. “But I had no concrete evidence andit hardly mattered. The mission parametersremained the same.”

Toget everyone home, even if she couldn’t go with them. He canunderstand that. “You said they made it?” he asks.

“Yes,”she says, obviously relieved they’re talking about someone otherthan her. “Everyone went through. With the exception of Mack,unfortunately. He wants to stay with his daughter.”

“Heloves her,” Grant says, repeating what he said that day all of thisfinally came out. It feels like a lifetime ago.

“Yes,he does.” No argument, no hesitation, just a little bit ofresentment. And no wonder. This is her life now; real or not, it’sall she has, and she’s gotta get used to that.

Hetries to sit up. She tries to stop him, but even sporting injuriesover half his body he’s still bigger than her.

“Youshould rest,” she snaps while he looks past the sea of beds to thewall and the familiar skull and tentacles smiling down at them.

“Simmons,where the hell-”

“It’sfine,” she says,pressing a hand to his good arm. “From what I gather, your littlesiege spread very far very fast and with Madame Hydra dying and-”she closes her eyes- “and Fitz returning home, there wasn’t muchin the way of direction from the Triskelion.”

“Wetook the Triskelion,” he says in awe. They’re in the cafeteria,he sees now. This is insane.

“Tri-Antoine is currently commanding SHIELD’s forces holding the baseand directing the civilians who’ve joined the fight. There’s sometalk of a council forming to take leadership now that Mace is gone,but Antoine thinks—and I agree—that it’s a terrible idea.”

“Personalexperience?”

“Agreat deal of it,” she says dryly. She looks down at her hands—orhis and hers, since they’re sitting knee-to-knee and kind oftangled together.

Whatevershe’s thinking, she doesn’t want to say it, and he’s got hisown questions he needs answered, so he gives her an out by asking,“Where’s my phone?”

Shefrowns at him, eyes trailing over all the places his head is achingworst of all. She’s got a look he takes to mean she’s considering thepotential for brain damage.

“Iwanna call Skye—my Skye—see if she’s-”

Simmons’expression steals the breath from his lungs. She shakes her headslowly, words stumbling out. “Oh no. No, I- I’m sorry. They’re gone.They’re all gone.”

Hischest constricts painfully, the fear he’s been pushingaside the last few days rising up to the forefront of his thoughts.“Yeah, but that was your people. My people-”

“Mypeople were always meant to replace their avatars here,” she saysslowly, apology in every syllable. “They’re not coming back.”

Hisvision blurs and he shuts his eyes tight. She keeps hold of his handseven when his grip has gotta be bruising, doesn’t complain once.Which is bullshit. He lost his girlfriend, something he knew waslikely to happen—either because of this or because the real Skyerefused to accept he was SHIELD—but Simmons has lost her wholeworld, her whole life. And it was a damn good one too, if in herworld Hydra’s dead and buried. But she’s the one comforting him.How messed up is that?

“You’regoing to hurt yourself,” she says softly, forcing his left hand toloosen. “Your stitches will pop if you keep holding on like that.”She runs probing fingers over the bandage she set earlier, sendingsmall bolts of pain along his arm. He grits his teeth and bears it.

“Wereyou a medic?” he asks. He never bothered before, but now he’sstuck with her, he should know if this Simmons has differentcredentials than what he saw in the dead one’s file. “Overthere?”

“Asfar as you were concerned I was,” she says with a pointed frown.“Or not you,obviously. Him.”

“Theasshole.”

Sheseems torn between reassuring him and laughing, so she just nods.“I’m not certified by any means, but when he and I were on a teamtogether I was the closest thing we had to a medical officer. Heforced me to learn quickly.”

“I’llbet.” If he’s anything like Grant, he was a pain in her ass.

Hersmall smile grows smaller while she stares at the bandages. She’sgot that look again and this time he knows she’s gonna say whatshe’s thinking.

“Antoinehas already made it clear he has no intention of remaining in charge. AndI could lay out my reasons for being against a council, butit seems needless when thegeneral consensus among the troops isthat Mace would have wantedyou to replace him.”

Grant’smouth drops open. He snaps it shut just as fast and runs his goodhand through his hair. “I- I, uh-” It’s not really a surprise.Antoine said as much on the bus ride back to the base after Macedied. It’s just that hearing it from Simmons… “And what do youthink of that? If you’re right, you’re the only real person inthis whole world—other than Mack. Am I seriously who you wantrebuilding your afterlife?”

Shetakes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly, keeping him insuspense. “You’re not him,” she says finally, and he knowsshe’s not talking about Mace. “But you are at the same time. The good parts, I hope. Heled Hydra for a time. Perhaps you could do better with SHIELD.”

He’sgonna have to ask her about that sometime—or not, he might not wantto know just how bad his double was—but for now there’s work todo.

“I’mgonna need help,” he says. Hegrins. “Someone with experience taking Hydra down?”

Shemakes an attempt at smiling back. “We’ll see how long I can putup with you.”

Hestands and, with a little help from her, makes his way through therows of beds to the elevators.

[dioleft]

Dio Catches a Pokemon - Episode 2!

The hum of the motorcycle was soothing, the roar of the engine almost like white noise. He’d found not-so-quiet bliss in a long drive out, his mind dissociating and wandering away, lulling him into a state of peace. Through the window of his helmet, he could see the road stretching on and on ahead of him, the path clear and leaving him on his own for once.

The thunder rolled above his head behind dark clouds, a gentle rain setting the mood nicely. Lightning flashed every-so-often, lighting up the sky brilliantly as he drove along.

It was so nice to get away like this every once-in-a-while - he treasured this alone time. But of course, life in Hive City was anything but predictable, and the last thing Dio was expecting ended up nearly slamming head-first into him - quite literally.

Almost at the very instant he crossed over from Sector oo6 to oo5, he spotted a white dot on the road. The dot only got bigger the closer he became to it, and he was almost directly in front of it before he realized that it was alive. Muttering a curse under his breath, Dio reached for the brakes, trying to stop his vehicle before creating fresh roadkill. The motorbike’s tires screeched on the pavement as it slid, almost falling horizontally onto the road. 

But somehow, Dio managed to stop just before hitting the thing, making him angrily take off his helmet and glare down at whatever almost made him wreck.

A small kitten - its strange appearance almost assuring him it was a Pokemon - sat shaking in the middle of the road, huge eyes staring up at him. Its fur matted and wet, as well as the vulnerable look in its expression, told Dio all he needed to know - it was wild, and was begging for help. Too bad Dio was the one to find it - Pokemon didn’t exactly take too kindly to him, given how Fitz seemed to love torturing him.

But he did have plenty of extra Poke Balls, and the thing was looking so pitiful. Fuck, he really had gone soft - this definitely wouldn’t have twisted his heart back home, but he supposed that showing empathy was a step in the right direction...

“Wanna come home with me?” He asked it, bending down. The Pokemon didn’t flinch in the slightest, allowing him to pick it up with ease, settling itself in his arms comfortably. Well, that answered that - it already seemed okay with him. “I guess we’ll need a name for you, huh...”

The cat made a few quiet noises, its mews almost pretty and on-tune. Raising an eyebrow, Dio thought it was oddly pretty-sounding... “How about Lyra, then? Sounds pretty musical, since you apparently can carry a tune.”

He’d have to look up what type of Pokemon it was later on, but for now, he tapped it on its head with the Poke Ball, catching it effortlessly. Well, that was much easier than Fitz - speaking of the bird, he might not like having to share his Trainer...

[agent-85]

The Framework vs. Freedom

Now that we’ve finally seen the Framework, we know it’s not all it was cracked up to be. Radcliffe acted like it was paradise, LMD!Fitz said that it was a place where FitzSimmons could grow old together, and LMD!Coulson said that Philinda was already happening there. At the end of 4x15, we saw flashes of the team in which all of them seemed on top of the world! 

But, when we actually see inside the Framework, we find a completely different world than the one we were promised. A terrible event has taken lives, and the world is terrified that it might happen again. It’s human vs. inhuman, state vs. individual, and neighbor vs. neighbor. Not exactly the paradise that Radcliffe advertised . . .

WHY?

Here are the six things you need to know about the Framework:

1. Radcliffe has no sense of morality.

Love him or hate him, Radcliffe doesn’t bother with trivial things like right or wrong—he only cares about progress. After all, this is a guy who’s willing to flip sides for whomever will offer the greatest scientific opportunities. Sometimes that was Hive, sometimes Fitz, and eventually, it was the Superior. Did it matter that these people had conflicting values and agendas? Not at all! The center of Radcliffe’s world is himself, specifically his intelligence, and everyone else is just a means to help him worship at that altar.

Sure, he wants to preserve life, but he doesn’t care much about the quality of that life. If he accidentally turns you into a Primitive goon, that’s fine. He can find a way to work with that.

So, while it’s true that Radcliffe isn’t that into Hydra, he's not exactly the kind of person who would go out of his way to root it out. If he saw it creeping up in the world he was creating, he would have ignored it as long as it didn’t get in his way.

2. Radcliffe programmed Aida to protect what he cares about most, even at the cost of everything else.

There’s no way a man like Radcliffe wouldn’t program his android to protect what he values most—himself. Later, when he fell in love with the fantasy he created, he programmed her to protect that, too. Aida wasn’t sure how to do both at the same time—Radcliffe would eventually want to dismantle the Framework, and if left if the Framework too long, the Framework would eventually kill Radcliffe’s body. Radcliffe inadvertently gave Aida a loophole when he told her that to him, the Framework was the same as reality. It doesn’t matter what form life comes in, right? So, the murder of Radcliffe wasn’t really murder as long as his consciousness was uploaded and preserved. Did it matter that Radcliffe was put in there by force? Of course not. Only a moral person would care about such things.

3. Aida’s greatest enemy isn’t SHIELD—it’s free will. 

Aida could keep Radcliffe around because he was only a threat if he made certain choices, and in the Framework, she could control the choices he made. She didn’t even have to be in his head to do it! All she had to do is control what options were available to him. When she added more people into the Framework, she had to make sure she could control what options they had as well. She changed their memories, histories, and circumstances so they would play nice with her little world. She removed a regret, sure, but how convenient was it that those regrets all add up to a totalitarian regime that she has ultimate control over? 

4.  Aida has learned that people will surrender their free will in exchange for security.

Whether it’s Radcliffe turning over the keys of his life or May wishing she hadn’t made a pivotal choice, Aida has seen that humans often despise their own ability to choose. After all, this opens them up to responsibility and the possibility of choosing poorly. Aida, on the other hand, armed with the ultimate knowledge of the Darkhold, believes that she knows what the best choices are for everybody. But, since she can’t actually control minds, she does the next best thing—she forces surrender by introducing fear. People won’t usually stand for things that gives another ultimate control over their lives, but they have a tendency to give freedoms up easily when faced with a threat. Of course, that threat has to be something big enough that people would believe that only a big, omnipotent government could stand a chance against it. Inhuman mass murderers fit the bill. Inhumans are an incredibly useful foe because they could be anyone at any time, and if she can convince people to stop trusting individuals, it’s not that hard to get them to put their faith in the all-powerful state that she can bend to her own will.

5. Aida knows that people can stay contained as long as they are only concerned about themselves.

Radcliffe was the greatest example of how self-interest created a vulnerability to manipulation, but the SHIELD team is not as self-centered as he is. So, while it’s easy enough get the team to surrender for a time, they will betray her eventually if they have a higher loyalty to someone other than her. The simple solution to this is to make sure everyone is separated. If people are removed from the thing they’re willing to fight for, they won’t be willing to fight. 

May and Fitz are the only real people who interact with each other in the Framework, but May’s past and Fitz’s power put them in a somewhat adversarial relationship. Everyone is separated from SHIELD, a representation of their values, and there are harsh penalties for sympathizing with SHIELD if given the chance.

But Aida’s done more than take away what her hostages are willing to fight for—she’s replaced them with things that suit her interests. May has Hydra instead of SHIELD, Coulson has school instead of the Playground, and Fitz has Aida herself instead of Jemma. If they’re fighting for these things, they’re fighting with her instead of against her. Moreover, putting these things at risk causes them to focus on something other than the real evil: their own captivity. As long as they are separated and focused on themselves, they won’t be able to team up to do what’s best for everybody.

6. Aida has the same weakness that she’s trying to exploit.

No one is more focused on themselves than Aida is right now. She is tasked with preserving the Framework, and in doing so, she has become the Framework. It doesn’t matter what the Framework is or what quality of life it provides—it only matters that it continues to exist. Our heroes have a great opportunity here if they play their cards right. They may not be able to get out on their own, but Aida might let them out if they can convince her that she needs them to protect her from a bigger, badder threat. That threat could be something real or imaginary, but either way, it’ll take more than just Daisy and Jemma to figure out what that might be. It’s going to take all of them.

In conclusion/TL;DR:

1. There’s no right or wrong in the Framework.

2. It values itself above everything.

3. It is threatened by the choices humans could potentially make.

4. So it uses fear to subdue them.

5. And misplaced love to distract them.

6. But the humans can defeat it if they force the Framework to abandon its other interests in favor of its prime directive: self-preservation.

[cali-holland]

Opinions on Agents of SHIELD

SPOILERS!!!!!!! Ok so I binge-watched AoS last summer because I finally got around to watching it. I loved the development of Fitz and Simmons, and now thats kind of the only reason I watch the show. Coulson, who I loved so much in the MCU movies and the beginning of AoS, is starting to annoy me. He has no "character growth". Skye/Daisy has never been one of my favorites because she is flaky (in my opinion). She is super boss, but its really annoying how "whiny" she is. It honestly depends on the episode if I like May or not. I dont like her in the recent episodes. For Season Four and this past episode, I think Marvel needs to change it up. It's rather ridiculous how they continuously bring Ward back somehow, instead of bringing in a new character. I understand many people adore him, but Ward was a psychopath who doesn't need to be reintroduced. It's a constant cycle with AoS and Ward. I felt like (when I was watching the earlier seasons) that they wrote Ward as HYDRA then realized Brett Dalton was signed on for more seasons so they had to unnecessarily stretch Ward's character with Hive. AIDA was pretty cool to start off with, but now she's wack-which I cant really complain about because I saw the crazy LMD thing coming. Fitz and Simmons need to get together and stay together. Honestly, Marvel, stop screwing with their relationship. You can have a show with two characters being in a steady relationship. Also, wtf is with Coulson and May? I saw it coming, I cant lie about that; but that doesnt make it any less annoying. Im not saying this because its an "interracial couple" (Im all for loving who you love), but Im saying this because its so forced. Its a classic Disney move, forcing the two main characters together. Disney (as much as I love their cliches) forced Rey and Finn in The Force Awakens and is now forcing Phil and May (idk if thats Disney or just a connection). It just bugs me that this show, this once amazing show, is getting dragged on and on. It's like the Hobbit movies. It's a 300 page book, stretched into 3 3 hour long movies for no legit reason. It was a great book and the movies were okay, but they forced love (and made a fictional character in a fictional world, which was absolutely unnecessary). The MCU movies are fantastic and the idea of a TV show with Coulson was awesome, but the show now is getting dragged on. Too much bread, too little butter. We need character development and new characters that will lead to a new, more exciting plot. All 3 Iron Man movies arent connected back to the same villain, so why are all 4 seasons of AoS connected back to Hydra? Hydra is done. Its old news, now. Its boring. Marvel needs to create something new. Im bored of the show and Im sure others are too. Please Marvel, save this show. I kind of want it canceled because its hitting the point where it's just a massive circle. This show was once so good. Please don't let it die from recurring characters that "died" a long time ago and from a plot that is a part of a bigger plot that is a part of a bigger plot, etc.

[whydoyouthinkileft]

aos spoilers

I have been heart-eyeing Jemma so much ?? also she keeps being like the Jemma i’ve been writing for months, or at least the way she was in my head when it came to being put in situations like that, I don’t know if it came off right in writing but I did imagine her reacting exactly like that, so I’m both proud for guessing it right and happy because at least for now canon isn’t going against the way I see her lol (I’ve been debating if just writing that I’m canon divergent entirely at this point but no, seems like canon took a turn and brought Jemma closer to my fanon version of her)

I like Mace even more now, especially after he explained his view on inhumans. I do hope Coulson will keep being a normal agent anyway, I like his lines and his attitude now that he doesn’t have to look out for the bigger picture, he works better in small teams. And anyway, given their positions with the public, and the fact that they DO need the public on their side, they need help, they can’t just make the rules, it’s right that sometimes they have to follow procedures. Sure, in another Hive situation in the end they can’t be slowed down by those, but normal days against normal criminals? it’s easier to be free to do as they please, yes, but that could be said about vigilantes as well, and you never know when they might lose control thinking they are doing it for the right reasons. I think it’s best to have either Mace as Director or them as co-directors or anything that keeps in power either more than a person or someone who can force themselves to do things they don’t feel like doing, like publicity-related things, so that shield can have help when needed. Also I’ll never forget Mace’s prompt ‘find a therapist’ (for Gabe) like, I wanted to cry. Now that SHIELD is more legit and they have more agents and have to follow protocol, agents won’t be cleared for the field if they aren’t psychologically ready for it, as it should be. And that should stay. It’s something that s2 couldn’t afford because they were like 3 people fighting Hydra, and because they didn’t have direct supervisors and a structure like that, so Coulson would have had to keep an eye on every agent there, and it’s impossible for him to know who else might need a hand 

I am weirdly happy with Fitz messing up at the end of the ep because honestly, I cannot think of one time where he did anything wrong in my eyes in four season and this makes him less perfect in canon - which is good because otherwise none of his loved ones could have live up to anyone expectations next to him. Also, it’s still coming from a good place, it’s not out of selfishness or anything, so I also appreciate the whole me being torn later on when it comes to how to feel about it (this is like s2 and Jemma leaving, honestly. They don’t communicate enough, still, and that’s okay because they are communicating MORE, they are learning, they are young and people aren’t perfect alone nor in pair). I love him so much, because he’s trying to help everyone, but in this case he’s lying to Jemma again about it, and he knows it’s not okay and I’m sooo here for it because people can make mistakes, and even just watching Jemma get tortured and almost killed a billion times would of course have consequences like wanting to make Aida work so badly - let alone everything else he went through

I’m so laughing at Coulson and Mack being exasperated by Mace and the briefcase at first too tho and Mack always looks so amazing in button up white shirts and machine gun or whatever it was? It’s so rare for me to appreciate men in suits, or at least to appreciate them more than I’d appreciate leather, but Mack is special (to be fair, he also had weapons tho)

[gregorygerwitz]

The Radcliffe Siblings + Platonic Soulmate AU

Everyone has a soulmate.

That’s what they always said when Leo Fitz was growing up, when he skipped grades and moved to a different country and found his best friend and still had no sign of a soul mark. He thought it was silly, falling in love with Jemma when he was used to the same narrative all his life - just wait, be patient, your soulmate is out there. But he had no mark, and she made him happy, and there was nothing wrong with that while he waited, was there?

Things were going so good, after Hive, with Holden Radcliffe living nearby and doing consulting work for SHIELD. Fitz felt like his entire life was finally lining up and falling into place. He even got the time off to go home and visit his mother - and then he made a mistake. He’d mentioned the name of the scientist he spent most of his weekends with, and the truth was dropped on him only hours before he had to pull himself together and fly back to work.

Aida Radcliffe was just fine not having a soulmate. She could focus on her work, and help her father with his, and they’d probably find a cure faster, that way. Things only got sidetracked when she went to Spain for a week, just long enough to visit and get updates on her mother’s health, and the parent she’d left unattended got abducted by aliens.

It was only by some miracle that she even got him back, so of course she agreed to help clear their old home and move into the bigger, nicer house closer to the people who made that possible. And of course she agreed to meet one of the agents who helped the most. She wasn’t rude, even if her sense of humor could occasionally make it seem that way.

Everyone has a soulmate.

Maybe so, but that didn’t mean they’d been at all prepared for their marks to show up when they met their half-sibling for the first time. They just have to figure out how to navigate that while everything starts to fall apart around them again.

[ a moodboard for the @agentsofchallenges march madness mission, suggested by @docjemsimmons ]

[agl03]

I know Sarge and his crew have been sold as the villains for S6. But hear me out, AoS rarely reveals the Big Bad this early on in a season - meaning there must be a Bigger Bad out there. Also, the clip from the other world they may or may not have destroyed could be taken either way - "this is a loss/a lot" could mean 'we succeeded in causing destruction, let's get out of here', or it could mean 'we're too late to do anything about this, let's get out'. Are you 100% sold on him being a bad guy?

Hi Anon,

No, I don’t think that Sarge & Co are the ultimate baddie of the season.  With the exception of Season 4 we’ve never had the true big bad introduced early in the season.  There are always lower level and decoy bads before the real one is revealed.  

Season 1:  Quinn - Clarvoyant - Hydra - Ward/Garrett 

Season 2:  Government/Cal/Raina - Hydra - Real Shield - Jayling 

Season 3:  ATCU - Hydra - Malick -Hive

Season 4:  Ghost Rider/Mace (the decoys) - Ghosts - Eli - Nadeer/Superior - Radcliffe/LMD’s - Madame Hydra/The Doctor - AIDA super powered real girl form

Season 5:  Enoch/Deke (decoys) - Kasius -Hale/Ruby - Graviton

Some of those early bad guys were bad, they just had someone bigger up the chain they were working for, answering too, or made possible to exist.  This is especially true for AIDA and Hive’s evolutions as the acts of Malick and Radcliffe under corruption by the Darkhold lead to them even being in the picture.  Which I feel is the case here.  Sarge & Co will eventually cause a bigger bad to show up.

I also feel that we need to keep an eye on Benson.  First the whole perking up with Deep Space and then bringing up LMD’s. again.  An LMD would not have Coulson’s DNA but he wants to “talk to the person that made it” ie Fitz.  I have lots of concerns that Benson might have his own plans for the LMD among other things…and easy early one is the same thing Radcliffe wanted, to save a lost/dying love.  I also think if LMD’s come back int he mix something bad will come from it, like if Sarge could use one as a host kind of thing.

“This is a loss,” makes it seem they are trying to prepare the planet for something or someone.  These parasites could need a new world of their own or are preparing the worlds for their big bad boss and have yet to find the right one with the right components they need for whatever they are doing to work. 

Another flag for me is that this weapons works with crystals…so what happens if they get their hands on some of Shield’s Terrigen Crystals and their scary gun thing that seems to be Sarge’s version of Bambino.

Still unknown is the importance and impact of the McGuffin AKA what looks like that Sword that was on the gambling table in the promo pic and was heavily featured in the last Season 6 Trailer. 

Clark has said why Sarge has Coulson’s face is very important and will get “disturbing”.  And at this point I think it’s gonna be tied to one of those old Shield programs that might now have been really on the up and up.  Or something to do with his extended exposure and interaction with the fear dimension in the 100th.  

It will also be interesting to see if these parasites are like Hive and can actively take over a host.

Something they hinted at in 2 and could fall out more, was Pax seemed happy with earth.  Like it’s a place he’d like to set up shop for good.  While I don’t think Pax is going to make it through the season, I can see someone like Butterfly perhaps feeling the same way as we do see her with Deke in a non threatening capacity in that quick shot from ABC where I think Deke and May are seeing Space Team return.  The other option is the trio decide that their boss is too big of a bad and make an uneasy alliance with Shield in order to take him/her down.

[agl03]

Gotta Love those Comic Teases

Finally getting to Metaing this out.  Every since we got the first one with Mack I’ve been diving back into the comics.  Before I really get into the meat of this one I really need to remind everyone that AOS Writer have a HUGE habit of pulling from the comics and then twisting it to meet their needs.  So the base character may have some similarities to the comic book counterpart but don’t expect the story to play out exactly as it did in the comics.  See Hive, Radcliffe, Madame Hydra, Aida, Mace, Ghost Rider....I could go on and on.

Back in Season 3/4 I had my eye on the Zodiac as part of the whole thing going on with Hive before it went off on that weird tangent into the killer virus.  Season 4 it was back on the Radar’s with LMD’s but then we took the way left turn into the Framework.

And now it’s on my radar again!

First, a theory I’ve had out there is that Sarge and the Terrible Trio are in many ways the Darth Team.  Each one will have characteristics and skills that will go against those on the team.  Based on the Casting call from forever ago now.

Mack Vs Sarge:  The two leaders will go head to head.  Sarge will be everything that Coulson was not and his methods are going to test and shake Mack to his very core as he continues to find his footing as Director.  

Daisy/May Vs Butterfly:  Butterfly seemed close to Sarge in the episode so I would be surprised if they don’t have a relationship similar to the one between Coulson/Daisy.  Father/Daughter/Apprentice while she goes with May as close to him but an incredibly skilled and dangerous fighters.

Fitzsimmons/Mack Vs Jako:  Jako is dangerous and I can see him having a hit of a tech angle and his description said he would be incredibly smart.  On top of that he’s HUGE and a match for Mack in muscle.  

Deke/Elena Vs Pax:  Pax is young but from the Promo has quite a bit of tech in his hands and has possible been enhanced by it.  He seems like he’ll be a bit more of the loose cannon of the Trio and the most Mouthy.  I also suspect he or Jako will be the one that kills Keller....and he’ll be the first of the trio to fall.

Now for the fun dive into the comics but thanks to visual aids this one is going to get long so its going under the keep reading line.

First let’s talk about pick ups from the covers:

Mack is clearly in the “Fury” position.  Director of Shield totally makes sense.  Also worth nothing the one Mack is on is “Shield’s origin issue” which also works as Mack is restarting it all.

Sarge is in the Scorpio position and in the comics he lead the Zodiac and really had it out for fury as he was his brother.   So at the very least I’m expecting Sarge to want to take out or even try to swap Mack out at some point.  Because what’s a season of Shield without an episode of not knowing who is who.

Elena is in the Valentina position and she was a force to be reckoned with.  She was also Fury’s lover.

May is in the Fury position there...but might be worth nothing in this comic Fury was swapped out....

Daisy is also in the Scorpio position but she is holding the Zodiac Key.  AKA whatever the McGuffin of the season is.  It might be the Zodiac Key or some other sort of object.  In short its like the Darkhold and that object that is used to move the story along and make things happen.

The Shield Symbols is everywhere the Scorpion is.

There are symbols I can’t make out in the box under Deke Mimicking the Zodiac of the comics, this could represent Darth Coulson and the Terrible Trio or something yet to come or tied to the McGuffin.

In the final one Jemma is in the Valentina position which I’m going with her woman on fire give me my husband back and now mission she has going.  I also have no doubt she’ll come across who has him at some point and won’t be surprised if she has to outwit the Controller for him, “play” or “gamble” for him, or she trades herself.

Deke is in Fury’s position and from the Promo we do see Deke get injured at one point.  This could be a nod to one of the many assasination attempts on Fury or a botched kidnapping.  In which case why are they after Deke...or is it a Fitzsimmons they are after....especially if Deke has gotten to know Nana and Bobo’s tech.

I think Fitz is in the Scorpio position, but like Daisy in the second one, is holding the Zodiac Key.  So this could mean the McGuffin is with Fitz wherever he’s being held, he helps find or create it, or he uses it at some point not knowing what it is.  

Going back to how they like to take a little bit from the comic and run with it.  Early ideas for what we could see based on the covers.

Sarge targeting Mack, especially as Shield continues to get in their way.

Sarge and the Terrible Trio could play on Scorpio (who gets powers from a extra dimensional item) and the rest of the Zodiac.  

LMD’s or some sort of impersonation could come into play....yay (Insert sarcasm font”.

This will lead to a betrayal, abduction, or the annual base attack.

Might tie to Tahiti

Might tie to the Fear Dimension or the monoliths, because the writers love to call back to old arcs.

The Controller AKA who I think the Space baddie is could have a mad science flare or be some sort of gambler.

There will be some sort of McGuffin that everyone is after.

Sarge is not the biggest of the Bads, he’s working for or trying to get someone even more dangerous to earth....Or a bigger bad is gonna crash his party.  Possibly forcing him to team up with Shield.

Mack might get himself his own Lola.

The focus on “needing brains” puts me on kidnapping alert for the Fitzsimmons family.  

Mack is also likely to be kidnapped at least once this season.

Opening up to Scorpio and the Zodiac literally opens up hundreds of story possibilities.  Once I know what Sarge and the Terrible trio are after/planning I’ll be able to speculate better but for me this was a very fun start.

[agl03]

Hi, could Kasius's father be the big bad in season 6? He could resurrect Coulson with the blood of the eternal and use a brainwashed Coulson against Shield. And Coulson knew about Fitz, maybe that's why the Cryopod is empty.

Hi @elaracallisto

We know that Papa Kasius will be back, Craig let is slip at Dragon Con and that was about when they were going into Mid Season.  Though it is possible he filmed early and then had a couple eps off.  But I don’t think he’ll be the overall big bad of the season.  Once he let slip he was going to be back I kept an eye on him and he was doing an awful lot of traveling and other projects so it didn’t seem like he was in LA doing Shield for an extended period of time.  Meaning he’s more likely to be an obstacle in the way.

And while I am sure the Space and Earth arcs will link up at some point (the transporter for the goon Daisy fought was the same color as the phaser the goon was shooting at Deke), there seems to be quite the distance between the two for a good chunk of the season.  With the Space team focused on finding Fitz, stopping whatever plot they uncover in the process in doing so, and getting home.  While the Earth story had Coulson and some sort of McGuffin.

Papa Kasius could also at the very least know who Fitz is because of the information he got from both Coulson and Hale.  Coulson told Hale a lot of the Loop to try to get her to stop her plans and Hale, in turn, told the Confederation everything when Ruby died.  He may also find out just through the grapevine that someone has a Shield agent as their “guest” and Papa Kasius goes for him then in hopes it can help him get Daisy.  

The other bit we have in the mix is the Chromicon Hunters, they could be working for/with Papa Kasius as part of some plan and they are who finds Enoch and Fitz before Jemma and the others get there.

He could somehow play a part in how Coulson is alive, because yes his son had the ability to bring people back in the future.  The question is does Papa Kasius have that now plus the ability to mess with memories.  

But I don’t think he’ll be the overall big bad for the season.  Season 5 there were so many hints about the Kree, but not so much during filming for 6.  Right now for me he’s a more minor what I call ‘gateway’ baddie that is a stepping stone to the bigger bad.  

Season 3:  Ward to Malick, to Hive

Season 4:  Eli/Nadeer to Radcliffe/Ivanov to AIDA

Season 5:  Deke (First fake out) to Kasius to Hale/Ruby to Confederation to Talbot.

I also like to note that the biggest bad of the Season tends to be an evolution or supped up version of someone that has been in play for a bit.