soap's whole deal being sniper and demolitions gets me going bc on the surface they sound so different but when you get into it, you realise it's bc soap's smart
sniping is all math; calculating distances and wind interference and bullet drop. something i think people overlook is he was listed as a sniper first so it can be implied that he's better at it than demolitions. he does more sniping in both campaigns than demolitions work; in capture or kill, ghost specifically calls on him to take down the aq snipers
and demolitions is math with a hit of chemistry; knowing what mixes with what, knowing how much to use, recognising environmental factors and adjusting accordingly. it's not just about the boom; so much work goes into contained/ planned explosions. especially when having enough power for a breacher charge and not bringing down the whole building is the difference between mission success and failure
the chemical bombs he makes in alone can't just be any old cleaners, they have to have the correct reaction to each other; he just knew off the top of his head what would mix with what to create what reaction. he would also potentially have to recognise them by sight/smell bc they would’ve been written in spanish
soap would also have to know architecture; recognising structural integrity and weak points so he knows exactly where to plant a charge to bring it down and how it'll come down
he has an incredible soldier's mind people just forget that bc he's sociable which itself is a skill
we know he tends to buck against orders he doesn't agree with like when he pushes back against ghost in capture or kill and shepherd when he tells them to release hassan
he gets closer to people and sees if he can trust them and that's when he follows them without question. really think about how he talks to alejandro and rudy; he asks about their home and alejandro's family and rudy's relationship with him. those aren't questions you ask a stranger after a few hours of knowing them. that's not even touching on his relationship with ghost
he also deliberately brings people of higher ranks down to his level; talking informally with ghost and giving him a shoulder punch, addressing alejandro (a colonel!!) by his first name and rudy by his nickname despite literally just meeting them. he personalises all of them and it’s in direct opposition to the reason most characters do that; it’s not due to insubordination or lack of respect, the more he respects and trusts someone, the more casual he is with them
he digs into people; he wants to know what makes them tick and that determines if he can one, trust them and two, follow their orders. once he decides that, he's the ultimate soldier; he bleeds loyalty which makes him vicious when that loyalty is taken for granted
he isn't naive or bubbly or insecure; he's an incredibly smart and aware soldier. he's aggressive and bloodthirsty and loyal and intuitive and i love him so much
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Can we all just take a moment to think of what it must of meant to alternate universe Marinette to read her diary and her life, except it’s different.
Her life, except she has friends she spends time with and has fun with. Her life, except she has parents who love her and support her. Her life, except she has a partner who is always there for her. Her life, except she has a support system, she has people, she has love and strength from others to support her.
Her life, except it’s not.
And no amount of wishing, or magic, or power with make it hers.
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I think at a certain point in one's healing journey they reach a point where they feel like they have become boring and uninteresting because they are no longer Activated all of the time and dealing with external or internal crisis.
The hard part is to internalize that this is just a normal part of the healing cycle and not something which requires dramatic action.
This is a crap feeling. But it means getting better.
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if more people knew Herstory (aka 2004 season and sete&vale) so many questions wrt 2015 season(mostly “why would vale….”) would immediately be answered addfghjk like guysssss guyssssss
it is kinda funny that there's a simple cheat code out there to understanding most of valentino's career but it's just about long enough ago that most people simply... ignore it. like there's a three year span that more or less tells you what you need to know about him. it's like you say! pretty much every possible "why would vale..." secretly has a straightforward answer, and 9/10 it's something that was established in 2003 to 2005. simple as
if anything it's almost annoying because it's too easy. the 2004/2015 stuff in particular is incredibly funny. oh, so you say you have a controversial last lap at assen where valentino beat a rival in direct combat and said rival reacted surprisingly poorly, making valentino reevaluate his relationship with the rival? might that tell you something about how a seed of suspicion once sown can remain dormant for months until valentino is given cause to revisit it? valentino quite literally says in his biography that he could never have hated biaggi because he wasn't a friend and didn't have the power to hurt him... the sepang pressers thing is genuinely just silly, I know this is mainly a function of when they happen in the calendar but what a bizarre coincidence. 2015 is like a slightly more opaque funhouse mirror version of 2004 - but so many of the major beats are virtually identical. which means you've got a season Out There where a younger less experienced less guarded less cynical valentino basically walks you through his internal processes so you get a really good handle of what his deal is. he's piecing together his identity as a competitor going forwards in real time - and then in 2015 he just reminds you of what exactly that identity involves. it's a reaffirmation and not a departure... he's not that inscrutable after all, in the end
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What's your overall opinion on Thunder? (If you finished reading it) Despite a having a few issues with it personally, (such as Frostpaw deciding to become a med cat again (GIRL WHAT) and the Smokey stuff), I honestly really enjoyed it! I loved reading from Sunbeam's and Frostpaw's perspective, and actually like what they did with the park cats! They are silly, even if a little boring! :)
I really, really hope they explore Curlfeather more in the future!
I'm currently on Chapter 12 and... honestly I'm mostly just bored.
One traveling book per arc is already waaaaay too much. I'm not enjoying Frostpaw and Nightheart's chemistry at all, and it's frustrating that Tree is now suddenly part of the plot because they just suddenly remembered that they have an entire role dedicated to stopping conflict. Seeing StarClan NOW is also a huge disappointment, because I'd been liking this arc so much exactly because it was more grounded.
I keep wanting to skip chapters to get back to Sunbeam. I KNOW that Nightheart is Not Orange and still feels the need to pitch a fit over his mom having "high expectations" that were never actually on-screen. Frostpaw herself would be fun if she wasn't constantly brawling with travel filler and Riverstar/StarClan being obtuse.
And, knowing none of this is actually building anywhere and that I'm in store for a frustrating end-of-book gathering that doesn't really tie into the actions of the main characters, it's hard to care at all. That's my REALLY big problem right now. None of this matters, because Berryheart's gambit is something she's deciding entirely off-screen, uninfluenced and unobserved by ANY of the POVs.
What exactly is the point of THREE POVs, one of them seeing mere glimpses of the plot, and two of them witnessing the same exact sidequest? While one of the sidequest POVs doesn't actually DO anything because it's not even his sidequest?
Basically; sorry man I'm not having a good time here.
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i might be projecting again.
like. just because im fucking weak for fictional romance doesn't mean i would like someone doing some grand - and public - romantic gestures. this is real life that shit is cringe. aside from like, airport reunions? why would i want a bunch of spectators for a special moment first of all? and i've been anti-my-own-wedding since i can remember. why would i invite my family to my special day? (and i highly doubt anyone could change my mind about this, like, i might do it because i love her and i want her to be happy, not for myself).
i'm just. you want a romantic gesture? be there. show up. and yeah bring me flowers. cook for me. take me to your favourite places. tell me about your childhood. that's real intimacy.
all this to say i don't really see tommy as a big wedding or big elaborate proposal kind of person.
hold on this is what i'm reminded of
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Thoughts on the umbrella academy season four? If you don’t mind me asking.
whoever was in charge of the audio mixing for this season needs to be BARRED from ever working in the industry again. anyways completely bullshit season through and through. i KIND of liked the five/lila plot and that’s about it… even that was very poorly done imo. what was the overall message the show was even trying to send??? that love means nothing??? nothing was even really explained in the end??? how does undoing marigold in ONE timeline undo everything??? poorly executed poorly logicked and entirely nonsensical. perhaps one of the most egregious cases of character assassination i have ever witnessed. boring bad and borderline unwatchable.
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