#i know some tech but not like super in depth. but what sets me apart is my adaptability and variability

[orcelito]

Still thinking about being a business analyst. Thinking about how the business analyst job is fully remote work, aside from a week of in-person training. Thinking about how well my degree applies to being a business analyst. Thinking about how well a business analyst gets paid.

[pandacommander24a]

Bug Batchall

Sometimes you do silly things. @asksanguinius40k

Right so the story.

It should maybe end with a funny joke about what I bid, but at the same time... A voice came to me, and it asked a simple question...

And, like, I took that personally.

For those that don't think about 80s wargames lore all the time... The fuck are we even talking about?

A batchall is the Battle Challenge, get it, issued before a Trial in Clan "Culture."

The clans are a group of space weirdos who left Earth after pulling a Space Middle East, leading to a Galactic war that left hundreds of worlds burning and hundreds of trillions dead. After they almost killed themselves in the same way that the poor bastard they left behind had, the worst son of the greatest military leader mankind ever had, came up with the "perfect society" to never have that threat happen again to the human race... Except he created the very thing that would lead to happening four more times. Trail of Annihilation, which you know the Wolverines were right, the Clan Invasion, the War of Reaving, and the Conquest of the Republic. Not my Ilkhan.

A Trial is an honorable combat to settle a dispute between Clans and inner Clan disagreements. There are six, and they grow in severity, ending with Annihilation. You can't have a Trial without a Batchall.

In this case, the Trail of Possession to Call a bug looking mech a bug, https://www.tumblr.com/gort-grundlekin/739688789810823168/bug-type-mech

Normally, a Batchall would start with me issuing the challenge and declaring what I think this attack should cost; my opponent would then state what they are bidding in defense. If I was cool, and I am cool, I would counter-bid with a lower force than my opponent. Then my opponent, being a cool person, would counter-bid lower. Then, because, as stated, I'm cool, I would counter a lower force. And then... You get the idea...

The idea is to get to the lowest cost possible for the conflict, agreed to by both parties. Mind you, this is expected to cost human life; the question is, how good is my human life to be able to beat the other person's human cost.

Which brings us to the Bid;

One War Hawk, an 85-ton gun platform, smashed into the IS forces of the DCMS so hard they named it Masakari because it hit like an ax and split forces in two. There is not a bad variant of this; all of them hit like a MACK truck, and none of them are fun face down.

Three Horned Owl Light mechs. Relatively lightly armed, the Horned Owl makes up for it by having speed, dexterity, and staying power, unlike most clan designs. The Clan Weapons easily make this one able to punch into the Medium Tonnage, but this guy is sharing the tonnage ranking just before you get medium and is basically, in some ways, a clan Panther.

Fun fact; this mech was based on the Zaku from Gundam, and you can see it with its mono-eye cockpit.

Finally, a star of Elementals. Imagine Astates in a hard Sci-fi setting instead of a Space Opera one, and that's the Elementals. Genetically engineered super soldiers clad in advance power armor, allowing them to rip apart tanks and mechs while moving faster than

In a bit of humor, the two clans that have championed this fight, the Goliath Scorpions and the Coyotes, are more responsible for the Elementals than their credited creators, Clan Wolf. All they did was steal better ideas for themselves; it is almost as if that will be the trend for their narrative...

Thanks to the Goliath Scorpions' creation of underwater suits known as Water Elementals to complete complex tasks at incredible depth, the Elemental Suits have incredible armor and a flexible chassis.

However getting any weapon systems or the amount of options that are fielded by the Elementals would not be possible without the OMNITECH created by Clan Coyote. The "Hey man, if you keep changing your fucking work order every five minutes, I'll brain you, warrior caste or no warrior caste" clan. Coyote Tech Caste created the flexible slot system to allow a greater amount of customization in payloads which allowed for rapid force changes in battle and easier repairs to a degree.

Additionally Clan Hell's Horse created the genetic template that would become the Elemental people. The first drafts were so good without the elemental suits they almost won against normal Clan Wolf Dudes in the power armor.

That is a good Star, strong punch, movibility and a surprise waiting at your feet.

My Rebuttal Bid:

Savage Coyote is an 85 ton Assault Mech built to showcase two weapon systems; Omni-Tech Advance Tactical Missiles or the Clan ATM, all the fun of LRMs with SRM fun. Thanks to a XL engine this bad boy is stuff with armor and weapons. Built to bring the Coyotes in tho the post Golden Century Swinging.

An oldie but a classic, the Coyotl is the first Omnitech. However, built to prove the concept, it is a capable machine. All of its variants are built to have a solution to any problem.

The Rabid Coyote is a medium mech designed to serve as backup to slower mechs. It's moderately armored, but its pulse laser ensures its deadly accurate and carries a mixed tonnage of ATM ammunition. It is more than able to punch up from its modest 55 tons.

To round this out, I have also taken;

TWO ELEMENTAL STARS!

The total of my Bid is 180 Tons vs 195. Kids never play tonnage, however, since everyone was Clan... It was the only way to do this. However surprisingly?

Pretty close in BV.

Right, so let's get to the actual fight:

For the purpose of not knowing and also keeping things relatively interesting, I decided I would use late-era mechs, mostly Jihad mechs.

Also Clan Coyote stops being important in the Clan Invasion and suffers from the "Don't want to write a complex Clan narrative anymore" that CGL blessed us with in the War of the Reaving. There are a lot of reason people hate the Jihad, and besides its name, this is one of the reasons.

Lamba Galaxy is generally my go-to pick for Clanners. Coyotes and I like our mechs experimental and they have a neat paint scheme in the lambas. Seen here on a group of bois I need to touch up at some point:

Clan Coyote will also join the Society in a big way; Lamba Galaxy almost completely defects to them during the War of Reaving. The Society was a revolt from Clan Scientists Caste who was tired of Collage Jocks making all the big choices because dying young is a big clan ethos for Warriors. So they threw out a bunch of tech and advanced battle mechs to maybe save the clans from their ways. They lost, big shocker right?

Clan Coyote however gets to stay in the Tree house and disappear from the game's story. Possible forever... Fucking Jihad.

The Savage Coyote Variant was one such model built by the Society, with a HAG, targeting computers and Imporved ATM its a tough nut with a great punch.

The Coyotl, like wise was a bunch of tech from later than the Golden Century but felt right as a good addition to my bid.

Finally I brought a regural Rabid Coyote default, because 3 pulse laser should kill Elementals dead. It is why the Komodo has 9 fucking Medium lasers after all.

Clan Goliath Scorpion got kicked out of the tree house and is running around the Deep Periphery kicking ass and taking names. They, too, lost the War of Reaving, but they aren't bitches like Jade Falcon, Wolf, and Ghost Bear. Ultimately, it looks like they are going to pull a Clan Invasion 2.0. It's going to be more Revenge of the Periphery than Attack of the Clans though, I'm hyped for it. So the Scoripon Empire moves on closer and closer to the Inner Sphere.

For the Warhawk, I picked the mixed tech Alternate Configuration T to reflect this era. This does drop the long-range murder effect to a degree but it gives it two PPC that are also flamers, which for a clan mech is murder on the wheel, they run hot, and it also kind of better puts it in the timeline for a dust up of Clans in a late-era that aren't just Sucessor States that were once Clans... Fucking Wolf Empire.

For the Owls I pick two later eras ones and one default. The Default is murder; the other ones are just fun. I do this when I field a bunch of the same much, take variants, and they stacked up well enough to help each other out and make so I can't quite use the same tactic on all three.

But I made creative choices that might not be made if we did this for real.

BV and tonnage works out. Sadly I didn't have any friends online, so I had to resort to Princess, megamek's ai, and since this will be a quick game, brawler seemed good (maybe I shouldn't have had the Run Away so high in hindsight.)

Default victory I used with my friends is 40% BV lost, which is a good place for a friendly fight. Also so it doesn't last forever which can happen with bad dice.

For Pilots, I set all to the Clanner Default, 3/4 for everyone.

I picked the terrain.

A good mix of hills and vegitation. Flipping a coin, I was north, and my opponent south.

The fight was pretty fast. we moved quickly towards each other and started blasting, mostly missing. My Rabid Coyote got caught in the open and was knocked down, but the pilot managed to get her up and moving next round.

Then we slammed into each other, and the first blood went to the Scorpions.

The Coyatl has ECM, but it really didn't do much. It was funny. The Owls proved to be deadly, swarmed my Rabid Coyote and just sliced him to pieces. Managed to knock one of the Owls down.

The Toads jump in behind.

The next phase, I pulled back into the forest, and as my Coyotl pulled rapidly back trying to catch the Owls in a better firing line. The Owls that could jump far and wide, with one finding my rear armor of the Savage open to their pulse weapons. The owl, knocked prone, made an effort to go hull down, unable to get back up the next round.

The Warhawk fell back and opened fire on my Savage as well; with the high advantage and those long-ranged guns, it was the smart call.

In the firing phase saw my Savage tooke nearly 120 damage. Luckily no punches through the armor for the Warhawk and some how under the pulse lasers the back armor held.

Thanks to that barrage, my savage was knocked down, but the pilot pulled a hull down, allowing it to stay fighting.

Since this massive exchange happened in rapid order and heat was running red for both of us. I couldn't get the Savage moving too much heat, but to my dismay, the Warhawk bet heavily on that attack as well and was left unable to move and, worst, exposed on that hill.

Moving my elementals I forced them to get the Owls off the Savage while moving my Coyotl into minimum range bracket for all its weapons. This allowed me to pour fire from both the Savage and the Coyotle, scoring two engine hits despite not punching through the massive armor. The Warhawk had been cripple and couldn't likely survive another attack with that savaging, and with its engine compromised, so too were the heat sinks.

The Warhawk had to pull back and try and get off that hill.

Meanwhile, the Owl knocked prone manage to get up and turn on my Coatyl near it. However, thanks to the coyotes movement, I was able to win that fight and knock out that Owl.

In the moving away from the Toadies one of the other owls messed up a jump roll and was forced off the game, considering it retreated bummer...

Unable to get the Warhawk moving, the AI punched it out as well.

Finally with the toadies in range the real fight got started as the last owl jumped in to finish off my Savage, but my elementals were waiting and pounced on the light mech begingin to swarm as their elements closed distance and proceeded to bloody my other elemental unit.

And the game ended because a lot of BV was scraped off the board.

So I win.

And as my right to decide... It's a bug mech, the king of all bugs even. Realized now, after writing this 3 hours later, that the Trail was for our Gender... Does this make your pronouns my bond servants?

Thanks for Reading. I am now going to have to think about Clans created in the 80s by dudes who gave us a legacy of yellow scare to unpack and how they would have written gender.

[deaddee-anime-brownfanlady]

My Top favorite anime shows thus far.   PART 1

Here are some of my personal fav anime series that really stuck out to me in terms of either storytelling also plot as well as characters and just overall enjoyment & satisfaction levels, even for some that got their flaws but still means a lot to me and why I love this medium so much.

First: Cowboy Bebop. Honestly do I even need to say anything about this anime that hasn't been said already.  But for real there’s a reason why this show is consider the gateway anime for newcomers with its mature character-driven story also cool mixed-mush stylistic nature of the show in terms of genres like Jazz, Sci-Fi ,  American Western , & a whole bunch of other influences that still makes this anime so iconic & watchable.      

Casshern Sins.    This is a 2009  darker continuity reboot of the original 70s anime known as Neo Human Casshern,  now I have never seen the original older anime before except seeing a few clips of it here & there. But I can tell you how much I loved this more updated version of it. The world of Casshern is set within a barren, desolate, post-apocalyptic hellhole were a plague called the Ruin has killed both man and robots alike...except for one super advanced humanlike robot named Casshern whose memories of said events are no more also who is the main one responsible for the Ruin happening. This was the anime (besides Bebop)  I’ve watched on Toonami  that made me go more in depth in terms of anime shows & seeing that there was a lot more to it then I originally thought. While Casshern Sins does has its flaws & isn’t perfect in parts of its jigsaws puzzle plot...But I can’t help but love this show simply for what it is while knowing it got its problems to it.                       

Space Dandy : Another Shinichiro Watanabe anime that I feel is highly overlooked as well as being pretty underappreciate is the zany for out insanity   but oh so such a grand time  kind of episodic series that is Space Dandy. I remember back during 2014 watching CN sometime at night seeing the very first Toonami  official trailer of Dandy and I instantly knew upon seeing the high energetic also different quick shots of aliens & the cool animation & such that Yes! This anime is truly going to be something I can really see myself getting into.  And I was right, Space Dandy I feel is truly one of those gems within seasonal anime or when it comes to anime as whole. For those who don’t know the plot, the show focuses on poor at times down on his luck alien hunter named Dandy who is a lover of all the ladies really  *All* women regardless of species & his little robot partner  QT who is pretty much the voice of reasons as well as Meow who is a feline-like alien otaku , kind of lazy, slacker that’s become apart of Dandy crew in the search for new & rare alien species to find for money.    One of  the things of I love about Dandy is that its probably the most creatively experimental anime show out there so far, in terms of having every each episode done by either a different director , artist , also animator in the Industry that gives said episode a new art / animation style or storyline every episode. Given that the series is mostly episodic by nature...but it does have an overreaching main plot detail that’s all comes together towards the end.   Either way Space Dandy is truly a enjoyable , fun , comedic, sometimes emotional epic universal adventure.              

Wolf Rain:  Yet another pretty old school also somewhat a bit underrated and classic emotional journey of a series is Wolf Rain.  Now for those who don’t know nothing about this show, Wolf rain is an 2003 ( thou it does look kind of 90s ) fantasy drama set within a world on the verge of dying were years of war between the nobility have reduced the world to a barren wasteland with only a handful of high-tech cities. It is said within legend that on the very last days of civilization that wolves will follow the scent of lunar flowers that will lead the way to Paradise, too bad that its just a myth or is it?  This series is what I would call a beautifully sad fantastical adventure about these group of actual lone wolves that can change themselves to appear human on a journey to find, to search for some kind of safe heaven from a world that’s close to the end.  While not perfect or super great in terms of certain elements to some episodes or aspects of some of the story that could’ve been handle better, I seriously love this anime for its heartbreaking journey as well as its characters  and the emotions attach to it.      

Astro Boy:  Yet another old school but highly classic, influential anime that I feel can be somewhat underrated or for lack of a better word super underappreciated within the anime community sometimes  is the always timeless Astro boy.     Now when it comes to this series / long time franchise I  first got hooked into it a few years back upon my more recent further adventuring when it came to anime as a whole, and while I personally already knew about the iconic history in terms of  Astro or also known as the “Mighty Atom” I was still curious to see also find out what’s more does this series had to offer which lead me into watching the 1980s Astro boy series  then continue on with my watching with the 2003 slightly  updated version of the show.   Honestly while I equally love both versions for a lot of different reasons...I got to say the 80s show is without a doubt my more preferable far liked one more then the early 2000s series version, mostly due to certain changes in the overall 2000s one that I didn’t quite cared for.  But Astro Boy in its entirety is truly I would say is remarkable & endearing in its episodic  stories which for the most part tends to sometimes end on a bittersweet note but still manage to be enjoyable.  With varying episodes  bordering a mix between both heartwarming and humorous as well as being emotional  & heartbreakingly sad sometimes not to mention touching on some pretty serious themes here and there,  Another reason why I love this anime is due to the fact that I’ve really don’t see a lot of attention or love going towards Astro way like I know that you do have other fans of this iconic little robot boy hero...but yet I feel when it comes to Tezuka other  works is that they seem to get left underappreciated within the anime fanbase at times.    I always hear how other anime fans seem to constantly hype up or praise Hayo Miyazaki namesake non-stop ,  when honestly if its wasn’t for Osamu Tezuka both manga & anime wouldn’t be what it mainly is today since the man himself is literally known as one of the founding father of equally both manga & anime for the most part,  but  yea when it comes to Astro I got to say its a anime that I wish others would give it a shot more and try to really experience this cute but still great classic series.                                               Yelp that’s its for now as of part 1 of some of my fav anime shows,  I’ll work on part 2 hopefully soon next time.  

[magicalshitposts]

Robbie/Purah x Aviation engineer Reader

(This was a request from @rowandor ​ who also did the mood-board below! It’s also my first time doing something in this format so hope it turned out okay!)

Robbie

On your lunch break, Robbie comes down to the airbase where you work, with sandwiches and other goodies in hand

“How’s my favourite (y/n)?”

You both sit outside the base as you eat lunch together.

“You do know they have food here?”

“Yes, but do they have food picked by your amazing boyfriend?”

You laugh at Robbie’s confidence in himself. You spend half of your break eating the food Robbie brought and talking about random things that hold no bearing, then Robbie asks,

“What do you do here?”

You jump at a chance to show Robbie your works and take him to the Cessna 172 you’ve been fixing up

Robbie is automatically entranced

“This is a similar system to skywatchers back in Hyrule”

You explain to him what each part does and every time you get to something new, he tells you how it’s similar to guardians. You can see him holding himself back from exploding with information, just letting you take him though all the components of the exposed engine.

You loved showing him your work but the time comes when your lunch break is over and you need to get back to work. You kiss Robbie goodbye and he goes on his way, his brain buzzing with the knowledge of this new technology.

When you get home he’s sat on the floor drawing, huge piles of paper scattered around him.

“Robbie? What are you doing?”

“Hey snookie! I’m drawing planes, trying to figure them out.”

You just know he’s been at this all afternoon.

You go sit beside him and take the paper and pencil out of his hands. You start drawing the shell of a light aircraft and take him though each part. What each section is called and what they do.

You end up snuggled on his lap as you guide him through the individual parts of the plane.

You know you’re going way too in depth with each explanation, but you’re enjoying spending the time with Robbie and he doesn’t seem to mind.

You get to the Cockpit start to take your time to explain how it works

“So this is where the pilot sits”

“Pilot?”

You look at him, confused

“Yeah, the person who flies the plane.”

“Flies the plane!?” Robbie’s voice changes from calm to almost shouting with excitement.

You feel like you should regret saying that.

You are no longer comfortably on Robbie’s lap as he’s now knelt in front of you.

“You can fly it!? It doesn’t just control itself?”

“Well yeah, this isn’t super fancy Sheikah tech, It’s just human tech.”

“Just!? Just!? (y/n) do you know how long I’ve wanted to fly a skywatcher? I’ve tried making it happen before, but it means completely taking one apart, and it’s a bastard to catch one.”

After Robbie’s escapade into wanting to fly a skywatcher, you sit him back down and get back on his lap.

You draw out the cockpit and explain to him what all the different buttons and dials do, you smile at the confused look on his face when you’re done.

He asks a million and one questions and you answer them all with glee, getting to talk to one of your favourite people about one of your favourite things warms you up inside.

When you and Robbie go to bed that night, he looks like a child on the night of their birthday. You can tell his head’s still whirring with questions.

You wake up the next morning to find plane videos are playing on youtube on the tv, next to you Robbie is out like a light with a notebook and pen in hand.

You look at the notebook and smile, Robbie really isn’t any good at taking notes.

Purah 

Purah walks in the room the two of you share, quite pleased with the way that she looks for your date.

“Boo-bear! How you getting on?”

You come off the phone and walk back into your room.

“Purah, I am so sorry. My boss just called and one of the planes set to fly tomorrow has some damaged propeller, I need to go sort it out.”

Purah looks disappointed, there’s no disputing it, but she knows back in Hyrule she would do the same.

“That’s alright, don’t want some poor sod dying because of a damaged plane.”

You feel really guilty.

“(y/n) Go. It’s okay.”

You don’t believe her but go anyway.

“Love you (y/n)!”

Once you get there, you take the propeller off the plane and start working on it as efficiently as possible. Not rushing it as to make sure you do the job properly but trying to get it finished as quickly as possible.

You get distracted when you hear your boss talking to someone, then you turn around to see that someone was your girlfriend

“Hi baby!” She waves

“Purah, why are you here?”

“I called your boss and used some of my Purah charm to let me come and see you. Your boss is a right push over by the way.”

You smile, that’s definitely your Purah.

“So, how’s the propeller coming along?”

She goes to spin them with her hands, but you stop her.

“It’s not attached to anything Purah… I’m just finishing up.”

She does something which you weren’t quite expecting and asks how it works. You know Purah doesn’t have much interest in machinery. From the gadgets here to the Gaurdians back in Hyrule, She’d always been more interested in what you can equate to computers. So for her to ask how the propellers work makes you grin. She cares about it because you care.

You take great delight in explaining every aspect of the propeller's movements, how it’s connected to the engine, how it gives the plane the ability to fly, and how it’s so interesting to work on.

Purah understands none of it. She tries to take in all the information her brain can handle but loses one piece when a new piece comes in. She looks happy though, hearing you talk so animatedly.

You finish up reattaching the propeller head on the plane and hop in the cockpit to turn it on.

The plane is deafening, but to you it’s fine. You hear it every day, and have earmuffs on that you found in the plane, Purah however doesn’t take to it as well

“That’s really bloody loud (y/n)!”

Once you dictated the propeller’s working fine, you turn off the engine and run over to Purah

“Sorry love.” You try not to laugh at the reaction

“You’re lucky I love you, you know!”

“Am I?”

You get a playful hit around the arm.

It’s too late to go out for dinner now, so as an apology you order Purah whatever takeaway she’d like and watch a film in bed.

It really wasn’t the night you planned for, but it was still perfect.

Purah thought so too.

[chuckaf]

Chuck Fic Rec List: Updated

So my fic rec post was in my notifs again the other day, and I noticed a while back that the formatting on the post has gotten all messed up and it’s also had like three reblog additions to it anyway meaning there are three versions out there lol. so, I wanted to do another list of chuck fic recs! I’ll keep the other one up still, so I’m not gonna repeat every fic here, just some I really recommend. I’m also adding the fic summaries, which I didn’t on the old post, and some more of my own opinions so, buckle up for a long post!

Chuck Versus the Steampunk Chronicles | Steampunk.Chuckster

1896. A world powered by steam, where humans and machines coexist, and airships are the fashionable mode of transport. The US Empire's deepest and darkest secrets arrive at Chuck Bartowski's doorstep. Have they fallen into the wrong hands? Or will the inventor prove his mettle, even while he's forced to hide from the very people he's protecting? AU, ongoing chronicle, Charah.

A genuinely incredible AU story, with an entire crafted world and universe, so detailed it frequently blows my mind. There is heart and family and infuriatingly brilliant slow-burn, plus a buttload of danger and super fun historical/steampunk action. Oh how I LOVE it.

Chuck vs the Charade | somedeepmystery

When computer nerd Chuck Bartowski returns home to an empty apartment and a dead girlfriend he finds himself embroiled in a deadly game of espionage and deceit. Everyone around him is playing a part to get what they want and when he starts falling for the new woman in his life, he can't help but wonder if he can trust her or if she's the one he should fear the most.

An action and twist-filled AU based on the movie Charade, which is just such a brilliant fic concept I absolutely adored it from the start.

Two Sides of the Same Coin | dettiot

When you're a spy, there's all kinds of occupational hazards when you work with another spy. For Sarah Walker, though, one mission becomes a life-changing experience. Because working with Charles Carmichael leads to protecting Chuck Bartowski.

The first time I read this fic my mind was just blown to its genius. Such a brilliant interpretation of what the Intersect and its concepts set up in the show could be, and ooooof the Chuck/Sarah interactions, my HEART. Related to it, its companion piece:

A Flip of the Coin | dettiot

What made Charles Carmichael agree to become Chuck Bartowski? Well, to start, it wasn't as much of a change as you'd think. A companion to the early chapters of Two Sides of the Same Coin from Carmichael's perspective.

Chuck vs The Butterfly Effect | n7agentbartowski

Chuck Bartowski is a normal guy who just hit rock bottom. No girlfriend, no career and no super computer stuck inside his head. It isn't until Chuck meets a gorgeous stranger on the beach that he begins to think his life is about to change for the better. An AU Chuck fic without the Intersect. "Change one thing and it changes everything."

I said it on the OG post, but this story has one of my top 5 Chuck/Sarah fic meetings. So funny, so... very Chuck. The story is a little angsty overall, but a great read.

Chuck vs the Rogue Spy | Crumby

When a rogue spy from Chuck Bartowski's past shows up to help him during his first solo mission, Chuck hopes that he'll finally find out what happened to Sarah Walker. Post-S2 AU.

There’s a lot of Season 3 fix-it fics out there, which I don’t usually read bc I actually love season 3 lol, but this one’s a good one! A twisty deviation from canon, but still feels really true to character.

Chuck Versus the Nerds Rewrite | Steampunk.Chuckster and David Carner

What happens when two nerds talk endless hours about their favorite TV show? A new take on the show you know, but with the flair, twists, and turns you've come to expect from Steampunk . Chuckster and david . carner. Somewhat canon. Charah.

As the summary says, a different take on the show, which honestly makes a couple changes I would too, but also adds a bunch of fun twists and plots that make it totally new and fresh. Seeing Chuck and Sarah’s thoughts in the more canon sections is just delicious, too.

The Trapped Assassin | SarahsSupplyCloset

After a mission goes awry, the CIA's most lethal assassin is ordered to take vacation while her superiors figure out what to do with her. But when she meets a disarming tourist, their immediate connection only adds to her disillusionment with the agency and her career. Will he be enough for her to finally take the plunge and leave the only life she's ever known? Charah AU

A warning for the very justified M rating if you don’t like that sort of thing, but this is definitely a plot-heavy fic, too. A really neat Sarah-heavy AU, with a whole lotta Chuck/Sarah fancy French vacationy goodness.

Chuck vs the Second Chance | malamoo

AU from mid-season 2 and onwards. Chuck and Sarah part ways only to be reunited years later. COMPLETE.

Literal, crying-at-my-screen angst. Not even a super happy ending. But a brilliantly written, part-reflective/flashback fic, exploring what would’ve happened if Chuck and Sarah’s relationship really was an assignment all along-- and the aftermath. It’s heartbreaking. But if you want a little heartbreak, this is your fic.

Ready at Your Hand | dettiot

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a Catholic plot against the queen comes to the attention of spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. To protect Elizabeth, he develops an unusual plan: hide the passing of intelligence between two agents by a false romance. When Lady Sarah Walker and Chuck Carmichael meet, though, their pretend flirtation becomes much more.

I love Chuck fic for the very reason that it’s inspired such adventurous and totally unique AUs. Here’s some Elizabethan fake-dating Chuck and Sarah! They have to be so Proper, it’s like that hand moment from Pride and Prejudice but Elizabethan and times a billion. The pining!!

Sarah Versus Getting Married | Steampunk.Chuckster

Sarah Walker is getting married. Canon. Charah.

I’d recommend all of SC’s fics if I had the room, and I’m already recommending a ton sksks but most of my fic recs are AUs, and this one isn’t! It’s canon, and covers some of in the gap in 4x24, with Sarah just before the wedding itself. Super sweet, heart-tugging, brilliant.

A Chuckmas Carol | Mikki13

A new twist to Dickens' beloved "A Christmas Carol". When Sarah begins to shut out the world around her, three spirits come to show her the error of her ways. Season 3 AU.

Another Season 3 AU, this one written pre-series so it definitely doesn’t fit to canon, but it’s still wonderfully rich in character depth and angst and it also made me cry. Plus, festive!

Chuck Versus Thin Ice | Steampunk.Chuckster

On the doorstep of the Olympics, top American curler Sarah Walker has lost her mixed doubles partner and her boyfriend in one fell swoop. Her coaches throw newbie Team U.S.A. curler Chuck Bartowski onto her team and thrust them into the Olympics, hanging America's curling hopes on two people who only have a short amount of time to learn to trust one another. Charah AU.

Do you like curling? Or the Winter Olympics? It doesn’t really matter because somehow this fic made me extremely invested in both of those things, as well as Chuck and Sarah and them being INSUFFERABLE. Catch me now knowing a ton about curling thanks to this fic.

Walker’s Eleven | Moonlight Pilot

Not the same plot as the movie. Sarah Walker never got out of the con game or became a spy, and now she's on her final con. What happens when true love and betrayal get added to the mix? Twists, turns, and Jeffster!

Con!Sarah always interests me, and this fic is full of her. Lotta con plot, lotta Chuck and Sarah.

The Detective and the Tech Guy | thecharleses

Sarah Walker is a Pinkerton detective. Chuck Bartowski is an electronics genius. They wouldn't have met except for a case of mistaken identity and murder. Will the detective and the tech guy solve the mystery, distracted by the riddle in their own hearts? An homage to The Thin Man film series. Formerly co-written by Steampunk . Chuckster and dettiot, now ONLY Steampunk . Chuckster.

Everyone in this fic is so damn cool. There are so many martinis. But also great heart and family and like, standing up for who you love, and later also Chuck with Baby Clara content which frankly the show robbed us of. Also, PI!Sarah!!!

Gravity | Poetic4U

AU. Sarah makes a decision that altered her life forever.

This is just a one-shot, which many of these stories are not, so a good one if you don’t fancy a big read! Just because it’s short, though, doesn’t mean it’s lacking; a really awesome what-if AU, and heavy on the Chuck and Sarah.

A Yuletie Tale | Steampunk.Chuckster

Sarah Walker was dumped the day before Christmas Eve, and her Plus One at her work’s annual Christmas Eve Soiree is now officially a Plus Zero. Her best friend Ellie Bartowski has a solution to her problem, and Sarah finds she isn’t quite as sure about it as Ellie is. AU Christmas Charah.

I’m particularly in love with this fic because, instead of beginning with a meet-cute, it involves Chuck and Sarah already two years into a friendship-- Sarah is Ellie’s best friend. And she’s been crushing harrrd on Ellie’s brother. Also Chuck is in a tux. It’s pretty.

Set, Spike, Dive! | Frea O’Scanlin

Chuck never expected to even make it to the Olympics. Everything is working against him: he's too tall for a diver, too inexperienced for a medal, too much of a wildcard to really make his mark. But an unexpected meeting at the airport, some intriguing new friends, and a whirlwind romance on the sand just might set up London 2012 as the time of Chuck Bartowski's life.

A London 2012 AU, because why not. This is just a fun Olympic-y ride!

OTP (One True Pairing) Prompts | David Carner

A series of Prompts I found online about different times and places in Chuck and Sarah's life. Mostly AU, mostly one-shots. I assume mostly fluff, but I might get deep. I doubt it, it's me. Charah...ALWAYS (It says complete, but if an idea strikes me...)

If you’re not so into long stories, this fic is perfect. Individual set-ups and stories, all Chuck and Sarah, and all super cute. You could dip in and out and just pick a scenario you enjoy.

Chuck vs The Frontier | ninjaVanish

AU: Chuck was enjoying a simple life as a 19th century watchmaker until an encounter with a beautiful Secret Service agent thrust him into a world of intrigue and adventure he never wanted. But then, with Agent Walker around, it can't be all bad, can it?

This fic gets props for being historically-set but still including the Intersect. Again, a historical AU, so the pining!! the need to be Proper!!! But besides all that, there’s a lot of action fun as well.

Chuck Versus The Crosswalk: Remastered | WvonB

Will a last minute mission help our two favorite characters finally get together? This is the remastered version of my first story.

The original version of this fic is on my first list; this is the updated version! It’s not a complete AU, instead a story that diverges from canon, so if you’re more into canon characters and setting than a new AU scenario, this is a great fic for that.

Little Girls, Paper Wreaths, and Choc Chip Cookies | DanaPAH

Very AU: Sarah Walker is a single mother whose Christmas spirit needs a boost after a tough divorce. She isn't quite ready to go looking for romance, but her little daughter's affection for their new neighbor may lure it right to her doorstep, anyway.

An incredibly sweet AU one-shot where Chuck and Sarah are new neighbours, and Sarah has a super cute little girl. So much sweetness and love and hope. I love this fic so much it literally led me to write my own neighbour-kid-AU, so, not to toot my own horn but I’ll link it here anyway.

May Your Walls Know Joy | halfachance

Looking for a fresh start after some tough times, Sarah and her three-year-old daughter move to LA. When they meet a sweet curly-haired nerd who lives next door, though, Sarah realizes they might just find more happiness than they'd ever imagined, if only her past doesn't catch up to her first. AU.

It’s what the summary says; if you wanna read, feel free!

Chuck vs the Sound of Music | quistie64

AU. Chuck, nerd extraordinaire, is a man with seven children and Sarah must protect them all from Fulcrum's evil designs. Warning: there will be singing.

I mean. Not much mystery as to the concept with that title and summary lol, but this is a super fun, soft ride with a lotta sweetness, and yes, singing.

Just Two People | David Carner

Meet Sarah Walker PhD, Psychologist, specializing in personality traits. Meet Chuck Bartowski, man who has left THE electronic company of 2020. When Burton Consultants tries to figure out what is wrong with the morale of Orion Industries, what happens when a guy named Chuck meets a woman named Sarah. I'll give you a hint, it's me writing.

David’s done something pretty special with this fic. It’s Chuck and Sarah centric, but very much an ensemble piece, too, with a lot of Team Bartowski and other familiar faces throughout.

Chuck Versus the Con Game | Steampunk.Chuckster

AU. Chuck and Sarah are partners in the con game. It's an existence wrought with danger and violence. Every day could be their last. Every mission could be the end of the line.

This is where I freak out SC and declare this fic the reason I ever got hooked on Chuck fic and then wrote Chuck fic, and the reason I still love it today but. that is true lol. Just so. so good. It’s also written with the chapters out of chronological order, which is super fun from a reading perspective. But con!Sarah AND con!Chuck?? Best. The kind of fic you will be thinking about for days (if not, y’know, years).

As you can tell by the repeats, I highly recommend just about anything by Steampunk.Chuckster, dettiot, or David Carner, but there are a TON of amazing Chuck fics and authors out there. I’ve never known a writing community so wildly creative-- there are so many unique AUs and canon explorations and story concepts that this show has manifested, and it’s all so much fun.

Most of the Chuck fic community is still over on FFN rather than AO3, so if any of these whet your appetite, feel free to have a browse there for more stories. I’m sure you’ll find something great. Personally, all the incredible writing there has also led me to write a buttload; I’m at halfachance on FFN, so if you see any of my stuff or wanna chat fic, feel free to message me there or here.

Happy reading, folks!

[nonasuch]

how I would fix star wars

inevitably, I have been thinking about How I Would Fix Star Wars, and make the parts of TRoS that displeased me into a more coherent story. 

unfortunately, to do so will require the use of a time machine and veto power over the Lucasfilm Story Group. but IF I had those things here is what I would do:

I actually would not make a lot of changes to TFA. The main ones would be:

toning down Starkiller a bit as a threat, to a one-shot-per-planet deal but with a faster recharge time

slightly more stormtrooper stuff -- establish what Finn’s leaving behind and give Phasma a little depth. 

if possible, put some kind of distinguishing visual marker on the trooper who marked Finn’s helmet.

a small background detail that isn't important yet: after the village massacre at the beginning, show stormtroopers collecting the bodies, trooper and villager alike. if possible, do this after every scene with a significant body count, throughout all three movies.

either give the knights of ren some actual stuff to do or cut them out entirely

show kyle chafing at snoke’s leash, maybe demanding to know more about some of snoke’s various Secret Projects, and being dismissed

give rey a little time to settle in with the Resistance before leaving to find Luke. we don't have to show it much, just make it clear that she’s making a home there and has bonded strongly with Leia

clean up some weird pacing and make the travel times/distances between planets more consistent

honestly other than that I wouldn't change much. I genuinely like TFA a lot and its strength is in how well it establishes the new characters.

for TLJ, some bigger changes but the bones of it I'd leave alone:

make it more clear why the tracking through hyperspace is a big deal and make the solution less of a fetch quest

I really like parts of the Canto Bight plot but I would probably swap it out for something with more stormtroopers in it -- let Finn interact with other troopers and remind us that there are individuals under those helmets

(a recurring joke: Finn can always tell troopers apart when they’re in uniform, and Rose can never figure out how. he thinks it’s because he was a trooper, but no, it's because he’s Force sensitive)

maybe get close to convincing some of them to desert, but either they fail last-minute or the deserters get caught and killed

Finn and Rose escape by the skin of their teeth thanks to a trooper who helps them, letting them know that even if they aren't brave enough to leave, there are plenty of troopers who aren't all-in with the First Order

again, after any major fight show the body cleanup. troopers carrying and stacking the dead in neat rows. start hinting that there is something more ominous here than fanatical tidiness

the Snoke stuff -- make it more obvious that Snoke is orchestrating stuff other than just running the First Order. maybe have Hux ask about the cargo ships they're sending to the Unknown Regions, and get shot down

make part of Kyle’s refusal to leave w Rey due to his burning need to Know All The Secrets, and conviction that as Supreme Leader he could really clean up the joint

once Snoke is dead, show Kyle getting access to his secret files/vaults; do NOT show what he finds there

I'd also want to clean up some wonky pacing and timeline/travel distance stuff, probably, but again I really like most of the movie so it’s nothing major

also keep Phasma around for the next movie! what the fuck, she rules, why would you not

okay so that brings us to TRoS, which… would need a pretty major overhaul. 

First of all, we are working under the assumption that I have a time machine, so I made Carrie Fisher go to the cardiologist on the reg starting on day 1 of TFA rehearsals, and she’s fine and able to play the part as she was meant to.

with that in place, here’s how I would restructure:

we keep the Hammer Horror opening scene, but tweak the Emperor’s reveal. he’s much more corpse-y, without the tech umbilical keeping him alive -- a wraith animated by Dark power. 

lots of grandiose claims about his unstoppable army and his impending dominion over the galaxy, ultimate triumph over the Light, etc

don't show the armada yet -- just kyle’s reaction, which is genuine fear.

news of the Emperor’s return isn't a broadcast, but a whisper. a transmission from a terrified First Order cargo pilot, who’s learned the truth about his one-way trip to the Unknown Regions. passed through the lower ranks by rumor and hearsay. eventually leaked to the Resistance by an unknown First Order source

I like the idea from the beginning of the movie, that Rey’s trying to speak to dead Jedi through the Force. but it’s not working, and she shares her frustration with Leia

make it clear that she and Leia have a deep, strong bond.

give Rey a Jedi artifact to hunt for. maybe there’s a place or a thing that she thinks will let her commune with fallen Jedi, and that’s what they go looking for.

that lets us keep some of the fetch quest, but the First Order’s not as actively on their tail. 

they keep crossing paths anyway, and every time there are troopers doing something worse. maybe at one point they see troopers refuse to massacre civilians, and being killed themselves instead.

also they take Rose with them, because this movie needs more Rose

still have those post-battle scenes of body cleanup. now the cleanup crews are being killed once they’re done

this could be a good use for the Knights of Ren, actually. whatever is happening, they're part of it

Leia is more active throughout: she's on the move, recruiting allies for the Resistance, trying to figure out what's happening in the Unknown Regions

she has an actual scene with Lando, and he goes to Rey on her orders

tweak Poe’s backstory with Zorii. he worked with her while undercover for the Resistance, and left them in the lurch when the General needed him back. 

he’d have recruited her, if there had been time, but now he's glad he didn't: most everyone Poe recruited to the Resistance died at Crait.

when Rey crosses paths with Kyle, he’s obviously rattled. he Knows Something that he won't or can't tell her and he's even more fatalistic than usual.

lean harder on the unease/whispers of dissent in the First Order as they're told to do more and more awful things. maybe a scene where someone -- not Hux -- disagrees openly, and Kyle says something that implies that he's getting orders from someone above his head.

this gives Hux a chance to snark at Kyle -- isn't he supposed to be the Supreme Leader, now? who's telling him what to do?

off Kyle’s reaction -- someone is telling him what to do, and he's terrified of them in a way he never was of Snoke.

(keep Hux-as-informant, that was done perfectly)

Rey’s artifact hunt still takes her to the Death Star wreckage, off rumors that Palpatine hoarded Jedi artifacts. 

we meet Janna &co. Finn is so relieved and happy to meet other troopers who survived defecting. Janna tells him that there used to be more, that it used to be easier to get out, but more and more troopers have been killed in the attempt, without escaping.

by now it’s clear: there is Something Wrong With The First Order, beyond the obvious.

Rey fights Kyle in the Death Star ruins. Kyle tells her the Emperor wants to turn her to the Dark Side, that he can’t be refused or stopped, that even death won’t let her escape from him.

the fight plays out similarly, but Leia’s distraction doesn't kill her. 

after Rey heals him, Kyle faces his fear and talks to Leia via Force bond. He tells her what the Emperor is planning, and it’s Ben Solo who leaves the ruins.

he can give Leia files or some other concrete proof via the same trick he uses with Rey in the movie, because that’s honestly very cool and it was used really well, so we’re keeping that

when Rey talks to Luke on Ach-To, he tells her that Palpatine used the Empire to sow chaos and fear, because that made the Dark Side stronger and gave him more power to tap into.

Luke says: “I think he would have been happy to burn the whole galaxy down, as long as he could rule over the ashes.”

Rey realizes she can’t hide from the Emperor, and knows he’ll never turn her to the Dark. she goes after him.

Leia sends the Resistance to back Rey up and sets out to rally the galaxy with Lando and Chewie

finally, it’s confrontation time! Rey faces Zombie Palpatine, and he reveals his plan in all its glory:

he’s built an army of the dead. ghost ships, crewed by all those bodies we've been watching the First Order collect for three movies.

some of them we recognize, if we’re paying attention: the trooper who marked Finn’s helmet, Lor San Tekka, Hux. there are long-dead clone troopers, little more than skeletons in filthy white armor. half-functional Separatist droids. Resistance fighters and First Order officers killed on Crait. countless civilians. 

they’re all dead, all animated by Palaptine’s Dark Side powers, fueled by the strife and chaos he continues to sow throughout the galaxy

he doesn’t want to blow up any more planets. he wants to kill the shit out of absolutely everyone: the end of all life, and all Light. everyone in the galaxy a soldier in his undead army

he wants Rey to strike him down and become the new Sith Empress, ruling over an empire of ashes.

but we are discarding the granddaughter shit, because frankly it is not necessary and makes no sense. 

he can just be like ‘ah yes, a feral desert child, powerful in the Force, with no inconvenient ties to hold her back. I've had good luck with those, mostly.’

now, a brief side trip: what is the First Order doing, in the midst of all this?

well, the rank and file are actually not super down with the ‘join the glorious army of the dead’ plan. half of them are in open revolt; some try to run, some seize control of their ships and decide to fight for the living

Phasma leads Team Living. yeah, I kept her for a reason! Gwendoline Christie is great at this!

Ben shows up as before, fights the Knights, does the cool lightsaber trick with Rey. he fights with Leia’s saber.

when Palpatine drains their life force to restore himself, though, something happens differently:

it’s actually Leia’s life force. she gives up her life for her son and for the daughter of her heart, willingly and gladly, knowing she has rallied the galaxy to their aid. she tells them, before she goes, that help is on the way

the giant fleet that arrives to fight Palpatine has First Order ships in it. finally, everyone is on the same side. Palpatine has been playing both sides against each other since Episode 1, but it won't work anymore, now that they know what he wants. the long con is over. they're united against him.

Rey beats Palpatine the same way, Ben revives her the same way, but Leia’s sacrifice means he has enough juice left to survive it. 

idk about the kiss; I am Reylo-agnostic

but he’s going to try to shepherd the First Order into something that builds and protects, instead of destroying. 

people like Janna and Finn, who got out, and Rose, who lived under their heel, will show him how.

Finn is Force sensitive, and so are some of the other former troopers. 

some of them want to become Jedi

Finn wants to follow Leia’s path: do the training so he understands how to use the Force, but he's not meant to be a Jedi. he's going to be a leader -- not a general, hopefully, but a leader for peacetime.

so like. they won! hooray.

Rey takes the name Skywalker, still. Ben is fine with this: he’s a Solo-Organa. 

there can be a touching Force ghost reconciliation, or not, whatever

so. that is how to fix star wars. you’re welcome. if anyone out there has a time machine and an in with Lucasfilm, hit me up I guess?

[need-a-fugue]

The Most Amazing Thing in the World

Summary: The cold puts Bucky in a mood, leaving you to play out your snow day with a certain blond god – giant cockblock – as your mopey super soldier slinks off to brood.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Author’s Note: Thank you so much to @fanfictionaries​ for letting me participate in this classic tropes challenge…one of my first ever! And congrats on the 300 followers! My prompt… Snowed In Trope

Warnings: Not a one... just some saccharine sweetness with a mostly moody Bucky. 

Word Count: 5.6K

Snow. The whole of the outside world is covered in brilliant, blinding depths of pristine white snow. It’s stunning, dazzling, brilliant. And Bucky absolutely hates it.

Even just the thought of a cold front moving through is enough to set him in a sulk that lasts for days. Weeks. It’s the reason Tony had to have the Weather Channel blocked from their lineup.

Back in March, an early spring nor’easter blew through upstate New York, absolutely pounding the compound, and Bucky spent the entirety of the blizzard either wandering the halls, muttering curses in Russian, or holed up in the common room cleaning not only his own guns and knives, but every single weapon in the Avenger’s arsenal… also whilst mumbling and cursing in Russian.

Steve worried he was suffering some kind of ongoing flashback. Natasha complained that he was simply being a giant damn baby. Sam lamented the fact that they might have to put him down. But you… you simply followed him around the compound with a fluffy blanket to toss over his shoulders, settling in to drink hot tea beside him once he sat down to clean.

The truth is, Bucky Barnes had never liked the cold. Growing up in a bit of a shithole apartment in Brooklyn meant that – more often than not – the boiler would go out the moment winter hit and he’d be forced to sleep snuggled in a tight ball with his little sisters, winding himself into a protective outer layer to conserve all the warmth for them. Walking to and from school in the freezing temps all too often meant giving up his winter coat for Steve – cloaking the frail boy in an extra layer in an attempt to ward off pneumonia – while he shuffled through the snow in old, worn boots and as many sweaters as would fit on his body. And work never stopped for the cold either, all of the odd jobs picked up to help support his family – trudging around town making deliveries for the seamstress, butcher, the guys who ran some sort of business out of the back of the butcher shop – continued despite the bitter city winds and bone chilling temperatures.

And that was all before he suffered through collapsing foxholes in the dead of a European winter – depths of snow obscuring mortars and limbs in the Ardennes – and decades of being languidly pulled in and out of dreamless slumber as he lingered in an ice-filled tomb tucked away in the blindingly desolate depths of Siberia.

Snow was little more than a bitter reminder of the pain he felt so long ago… the pain he was sadly certain would one day return.

Snow most certainly was not… “The most amazing thing in the world!”

His head snaps to the right so fast that a loud crack-pop reverberates through the room, twitching your face into a disgusted grimace, your nose crinkling in revulsion as you turn away from the window and watch him bend his neck awkwardly to release another small snap. He rolls his eyes at your expression and lets out a weary sigh, returning his empty gaze to the window as his breath fogs the glass. “No. It’s not.”

You drop a loud snort and fold your arms tightly over your chest as you glare at him. “You can’t possibly think this is a bad thing.”

He cocks his head towards you, confusion wrinkling his brow. You know how much he hates the cold. You’ve known him long enough – well enough – to understand why. And unlike so many of the others around here – Steve always telling him to quit moping, Sam poking fun and calling him ice princess the minute the weather starts to change – you’ve never once tried to get him to get over it.

Your arms unfurl as you take a step a closer to the man by your side, your hands – warm hands – reaching over and gathering his clenched fists, allowing no more than a breath of a moment to pass before peeling his fingers apart and winding them with your own. “Steve and Nat and Sam are on a mission in Costa Rica,” you remind him subtly.

“Lucky bastards,” he interrupts, bitterness lacing the words.

Your fingers tighten around his as you go on, sly, crooked smile pulling across your face. “Tony and Bruce are at some kind of science conference… somewhere.” The cavernous wrinkle between his brows begins to flatten out, a bit of dreamy blue breaking through the gray of his stormy eyes as he starts to catch on. You take half a step closer, chests not quite touching, but warmth still radiating across the limited space separating your bodies. “Clint took Vision and Wanda into the city this morning, something about testing powers with Stark tech at the tower,” you offer with a shrug before looking up and locking onto his still curious gaze, offering a rather sultry one of your own. “And now… with all this snow… there’s no way that any of them will be able to make it back tonight.”

A small grin tugs at the corners of his lips, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he looks down at you. “You’re saying… for once… we’re actually alone?”

You nod, pulling yourself up on your tiptoes to swiftly swipe the tip of your nose against his, finally pressing your oh-so-warm body up against him. And you whisper, “That’s what this snow gave us. Now, tell me again how it’s not the most amazing thing in the world?”

His countenance cracks even further, no longer showing even a trace of the doom and gloom from just moments before. “S’not,” he murmurs, unwinding from your fingers and dropping his hands to your hips. He gives a small tug, bringing you utterly flush with him, and he gazes deeply into your eyes in that way that makes your insides shudder. “Definitely not the most amazing thing.”

“Ooo,” you intone lightly, playfully. “Such a charmer. What would the rest of the team think if they knew you were such a sap?”

He shakes his head languidly back and forth, the motion extending down to his hands plastered to your hips as well, pulling you in a subtle sway. “They’ll never know. S’not for them to know.” And he leans in, delicately parting your lips with his own.

The kiss is sweet and lingering and speaks of having all the time in the world. A rarity for the two of you – outside of your rooms, at least – being as you’re typically forced into swift and fervid lip locks that knock the breath from your lungs. Fast and aching and yearning for more as one or the other of you presses into the wall in a dark corner of the compound hard enough to pepper your backs with bruises. Stolen kisses take the shape of clashing teeth, pounding lips, desperately squirming hips, all held together by the deliciously perilous threat of being found out.

But now… now there’s no one around. There’s no lingering danger nor press of time. No upcoming mission to prepare for, nor debrief to hurry off to. No Steve about to knock at the door in hopes of an early morning run, nor Natasha silently sweeping through the halls like some kind of ninja ghost. Now, there is only you and him and the silent still of a snow-covered morning offering the sweet, tender promise of –

“Lady Agent?!”

The thick, heavy bellow reverberates in from the hall, swift plodding footsteps echoing behind it. Bucky’s eyes shoot wide and he not only releases your hips – and your lips – but actually shoves you away, setting you to stumble. “Fucking Thor,” he bemoans, swiping a hand over his mouth before shoving it madly through his hair.

“Sergeant Winter?!” sounds from just outside the common room door, the rather jumbled handle pulling a sudden snicker from you and a frustrated groan from Bucky. “Surely someone remains,” the god laments piercingly, his cries sounding almost frightened.

You choke back a laugh – mostly at the mess of a man in front of you, now shaking out his hands and pacing as though trying to rid himself of a years’ worth of pent up energy – and you call out, “In here.”

Thor turns the corner and enters the room with a delighted swagger and such a wide smile of relief on his face that you feel a little tug and pull in your chest. This poor giant of a man – a god – has spent the better part of the past month following each of you around in turn, just trying to break into the rather tightknit group you all had formed in his absence. He trains with the Avengers, fights with the Avengers, but actually fitting in with the Avengers has been proving difficult for the God of Thunder, the scent of his desperation flooding the compound and setting eyes to roll and exasperated glances and glares to proliferate.

Still, as annoying as he can sometimes be – tagging along for debriefs he has no need to attend, showing up for movie nights to which he’s not exactly invited – you see his struggle for what it truly is. He’s a man bereft of family and home, simply searching for a place he might belong. And you’d be lying if you said it didn’t break your heart.

“Ah, most excellent!” the hulking blond enthuses, making a beeline for you. “I was beginning to wonder if it was only I and…” – he flings a haphazard hand through the air – “the woman in the walls.” He positively beams as he steps in between you and Bucky, pressing his nose to the glass of the window as he looks out over the snow-covered grounds. “Have you seen, Lady Agent?! The world is covered in the most blissfully brilliant white!”

Bucky offers an indignant snort from over his shoulder. “No snow where you’re from?” he asks with a low, vexed tenor.

If Thor notices his irritation, he doesn’t let it show, huge grin still plastered to his face as he replies, “In Asgard? No, of course not. It is perfectly temperate year-round.”

“Of course it is,” he mutters.

“I have seen this snow many a time on my travels to Midgard. But rarely so much. And so… undisturbed. It is quite beautiful, wouldn’t you say?”

You nod, the corner of your mouth ticking up in a crooked grin as you shoot a quick wink over at Bucky, only to find that he’s once again taken on the slumped posture and bitter demeanor that he’s managed to become known for around here. “It certainly is,” you tell Thor, your eyes lingering on Bucky for a long moment as you fight off the thick and sudden sense of discontent curling in your gut.

“Are there no others here?” he asks, eyes still plastered to the outside.

You sigh. “Nope, just us. And Friday said that the surrounding roads are shut down for now, so doesn’t look like anyone will be back any time soon.”

“Well, then,” he starts, stepping away from the window and leaving a giant steamy smear from his face. He looks to you with something akin to glee, and you feel your disappointment at Bucky’s mood begin to wane. “What shall we do with our day?” he asks, oozing a sort of childlike enthusiasm.

You smile wide, a massive toothy grin splitting your face in two. “Thor,” you start, slow and drawn out, the name stretched methodically, voice taking on that very specific air that only comes about when you have a plan. Bucky feels his heart drop to his shoes as he hears the shift in tone, watches the impish expression take over your face. Whatever this is – he’s certain – it won’t be good. “Have you ever experienced an old fashioned snow day?

                                                            000

Four hours later and Bucky’s barely seen you at all – save for a quick meal of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches that you used your long-lashed doe eyes to convince him to fix for you and your new BFF – until he peers out the wall of windows in the common room and catches you awkwardly climbing through the foot-deep snow below, holding tightly to the arm and shoulder of a bundled-up god as he trudges alongside. He watches closely, watches as you struggle to find footing, falling and laughing, your face lit with such delight that he thinks he can almost hear your high-pitched giggles from behind the reinforced glass, two stories above. Thor winds his arms around your middle and hauls you to him, only seeming to realize that clomping through the snow as a single four-legged unit is pointless the minute he goes down beside you, faceplanting in the thick, white fluff.

Bucky smirks as the massive blond jerks upright and sputters, shaking the snow from his hair. But his expression changes on a dime – dropping back into that sullen, somber, perhaps even angry scowl that has sat so comfortably on his face ever since that giant cockblock rolled in – when he watches Thor pick you up, plucking you easily from the deep snow, and throwing you over his shoulder before trudging further out from the building.

At some point you stop, demanding that your giant companion put you down, which he does by tossing you into an even deeper drift, the thrill of flying and fun of landing in the delightfully powdery snow causing you to ask him to do it again – several more times – before the laughter finally subsides and you decide to get down to business. You flop backwards, laying flat in the snow and demanding that Thor do the same. And you show him precisely how to move his arms and legs about to create the perfect – just absolutely perfectly deep and symmetrical – snow angel. And while swimming about in fresh giggles and joy and soft, crunchy snow, you look up to the window where you’d caught a glimpse of Bucky perched just moments before, your red face beaming with a euphoric, toothy grin.

But he’s no where to be seen.

By the time you finally come back in – just after a rather disastrous snow ball fight leaves you with what you’re certain is quickly blooming into an angry welt on your ass – the sun has all but disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving the deep blue twilight butting up against the sparkling sheen of pure white. You shiver as you shed your thick winter coat in the atrium – vowing to come back for the sopping mess later lest Tony finds it and blows another gasket about the messy heathens he so graciously houses – the blistery winds whipping through the indoors for a moment before Thor wrestles the door shut. The cold sizzles along the tops of your ears and tips of your fingers, hat and gloves soaked through and thick with slush. You tug them off and drop them on the floor by your coat, order Thor to do the same.

Once in the elevator, you tell him to go thaw out in a hot shower… one of the most integral pieces of this snow day routine. You step out into the hall that leads to both of your rooms and spin to level him with a pointed stare. “When you’re done,” you say, tone terribly commanding despite being punctuated by soft, snotty sniffles, “Come back to the common room and we’ll have hot chocolate. A snow day’s not a snow day if it doesn’t end with cocoa.”

He nods in agreement, but says nothing, the rather enthusiastic yet slightly confused look that twists his features being by now an all too familiar sight. You let out a breathy chuckle and shuffle past his room, not at all surprised when he refuses to stop at his door, instead insisting – wordlessly – on showing you to your room before backtracking to his own.

You thank him with a nod – admittedly charmed by his gentlemanly actions – and slip into your dark dormitory only to be met with a low growl of, “Hey doll,” that causes you to jump and shriek in surprise.

“Jesus, Bucky! You scared me,” you breathe out, hand flying to your chest.

You flip on the light in time to catch his smirk. “Figured an Avenger would have better instincts than that,” he smarts from his spot on the corner of your bed. “I left the door unlocked… not exactly hiding that I’m here.”

You roll your eyes. “First of all, you’re sitting in the dark, so… hiding. And also, I’m not technically an Avenger,” you argue, hopping on one foot as you struggle to free yourself from a soggy boot. “Just… adjacent personnel.”

“Sure,” he intones, rising from the bed and crossing the room to help. “Lady Agent, is it?” he mocks with a scoff as he gives you a gentle shove back into the wall and takes over wrestling the boot from your foot.

You lean back heavily, switching feet to raise the other once he frees you, and let out a small chortle. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

The second boot pops off with a jarring smack and Bucky stumbles back as it almost hits him in the face. He snorts loudly and angrily chucks the shoe across the room before turning back to you with a raised brow. “I don’t get jealous,” he says, a challenging note to his voice.

You drop an indignant snort as you reach down to peel off a single, sloppy sock. Rising, you peer up at him, eyes narrowing as you take in his oddly contemplative stare. He doesn’t seem angry, nor upset in any way, really. He just looks… confused.

“Should I be jealous?” he asks then, the words slipping past his lips in a soft, hesitant tone.

You huff out a breath and throw the sock at him, barking a quick laugh when it slaps him in the cheek, landing with a thick, wet splat. The tentativeness falls from his face, expression filling instead with an irritated sort of impatience. That same scowl he’d been wearing earlier – when you zipped up your parka and pulled on your hat and told him that you were declaring today a snow day – returns full force. “Man,” you mutter, shaking your head as you awkwardly tug off the other sock. “Sometimes you can be a real dick, ya know?”

You stumble a bit, hopping on one foot in a small circle as you try to maintain your balance. Bucky rolls his eyes, purses his lips, and steps over to steady you, one firm hand clamping down on your shoulder to hold you in place while you pull off the sock with a squelch. He doesn’t let go once you regain your footing, instead clenching his fingers tighter as he bites out, “He doesn’t even know your name.”

You shrug. “Doesn’t always seem like you do, either,” you smart, accusatory brow raised high. His eyes narrow suspiciously – confoundedly – and you huff out a long and languid sigh before collapsing forward into him. Your arms wrap around his neck as you let him bear the brunt of your weight – whether he wants to or not – your spent, numb limbs tingling uselessly in your damp clothes. His shoulders stiffen beneath you and you respond by snuggling closer, burrowing your face into his neck and grinning wildly when he bucks at the touch of your bitterly cold nose. “Doll,” you mock thickly, the word nearly eaten up by the flesh covering his bobbing throat as your lips linger near his Adam’s apple. “Baby, Sweetheart, Darlin’.”

His shoulders relax and he sighs out into your damp hair, arms slowly winding around your middle, tugging you close and holding you tightly to his chest. “I can start calling your Agent, if you want. Or, I don’t know, Ice Queen?”

You pull back abruptly, leaning away whilst still penned in by his arms, staring at him in something akin to horror. “I think we all know who the real Ice Queen is here, Barnes,” you snipe.

Maybe it’s wrong – hell it must be because everything he thinks and feels and does seems to be wrong nowadays – but seeing you get riled up, watching that angry fire creep into your eyes, that smug tilt to your chin as you go on to accuse him of being so rude to Thor, well damn if it doesn’t cause a lighthearted rumble of a laugh to bubble up his chest and a crooked smile to spill across his lips. “I just meant…” he interrupts swiftly, cutting off your complaint of just wanted to play in the snow with a shushing press of his metal index finger to your lips, “because you’re freezing, doll face.”

You roll your eyes languidly, irritation still present in your pinched features, but beginning to melt into a reluctant fondness. “Doll face… psh. Why not just call me honey bear or baby cakes?”

“Alright, honey bear,” he intones with a bit of a glint in his eye. “You gonna peel these wet clothes off or just die in my arms from hypothermia?”

You raise a brow. “Those are my only choices?”

He shrugs. “You got a better suggestion?”

A deep and dramatic frown rolls over your face – more than a bit overdone – and you unclasp your hands from around his neck, begin to futz pathetically with the zipper of your hoodie. “My fingers are numb,” you whine “I can’t.”

“Okay.” He unfurls his arms from around you, looks down at your attire and reaches out to languidly tug down the zipper of the sweatshirt, slowly, delicately, inch by inch, while his metal fingers make their way beneath your top and swiftly pop the button of your jeans, single index finger lazily pressing the zippered fly down. Once done, he steps back and stares, blank expression on his face as he raises both brows assessingly and says simply, “There you go.”

You continue to pout, hands rising and swiping awkwardly – pitifully – for him across the nearly negligible distance separating you. “My feet are numb,” you whimper. “Carry me.”

It comes out as a command – a rather whiny, juvenile command, but a command none the less. And damn if that doesn’t cause his whole expression to shift, teasingly aloof demeanor fleeing in an instant as he chokes on a laugh. “Carry you?”

You merely nod in response, wasting no time at all leaping forward, clutching his shoulders and forcing yourself on him, chests colliding and driving a thick oof from his mouth in lieu of the laughter as you wrap yourself around him like an overgrown spider monkey, latching on and locking your ankles at the small of his back. “Carry me,” you say again, once more dropping your face – and that that damn cold nose, those frost-bruised cheeks – into the crook of his neck.

“Okay, baby bear,” he teases lightly, voice soft and melodic and smooth like melted honey as his metal arm sweeps beneath your ass to haul you higher. “Let’s get you in the shower.”

You let him carry you back to the ensuite, clinging to him even as he reaches into the shower to turn on the water, an awkward feat that he manages with a surprising amount of grace and not a word of complaint, a thing that makes your smile burn even brighter as you continue to press into his warm and inviting neck. He settles you down onto the bathroom counter as the water heats up, steam already beginning to billow out and cloud the mirror behind you.

You watch as he makes a move to pull off his Henley, simultaneously toeing off his thick-soled boots. And you settle your still-chilled hands over the tops of his to halt his movements. “Uh-uh,” you hum dully, returning his confused glance with an almost reprimanding one of your own. “You’re not forgiven yet.”

“Forgiven for what?” he bites out, irritation blooming in the corners of his narrowed eyes.

You grasp his face lightly, fingers dragging across the achingly familiar scruff lining his jaw, thumbs scratching lazily at the stubble on his chin. His muscles instantly loosen beneath your fingertips, clenched jaw dropping, lips parting for the briefest of moments before he closes his eyes and shifts in your hold, pressing a lingering kiss to the pad of your thumb.

“You need to go make hot cocoa,” you say then, voice cutting through the rumbling of the running water and steady, swooshing pulse of your blood rushing in your ears. He looks back at you, deep blue eyes darkened with desire, and for a moment you think you may have lost the upper hand. “Please?” you ask primly, sweetly, cocking your head to the side as you continue to hold his in your faltering grip.

“Hot cocoa?” he breathes out, dubious brow raised high.

You nod. “Every snow day ends with cocoa.”

He sighs and drops his head heavily onto your shoulder, his own hands splaying out on the countertop on either side of your hips. “Okay,” he laments softly, patting your thigh as he pulls himself upright. “Hot cocoa.”

He turns to leave, no more than a half a step out the bathroom door when you mention brightly, “And make a lot. You know how Thor gets around Midgardian food and drink.”

                                                           000

“The snow people,” Thor begins again, slapping his knee as a loud guffaw spills from his lips. “I had never heard of such a thing! But, so wonderous! Imagine,” he says, vivid stare locking onto Bucky as he reenters the room, “taking that… that… snow and building men!” He shakes his head fondly, wistfully. “Ah, and it held together so well. Like icy clay. Just wonderful.”

“You did a hell of a job,” you tell him, nodding gratefully at Bucky as he hands you another cup of cocoa. “There’s a whole damn army of snowmen out there now. Probably better security than anything Tony could build.”

“Ha!” he barks. “Indeed!” He turns to Bucky accepting a fourth mug for himself. “Have you seen them? Just out the window there… our snow warriors.”

Bucky offers him a stiff, closed-lip smile – all the acknowledgement he’s willing to give – and heads back to the kitchenette to mope.

“It is quite a delicious drink,” the blond god enthuses as he slurps indelicately, turning back to you. “Chocolate, but… hot. Remarkable!”

You take another sip from your cup, feeling your insides warm as the thick, hot treat slips down your throat. “When I was a kid, my mom would always make us cocoa when it snowed. Even when we were all grown up and home visiting from college.” A wistful smile pulls across your face, features softening and glowing in the burning orange light cast by the fireplace as you reminisce about those days long since gone.

Thor watches you closely, his own face relaxing in pace with yours. “When I was a child, my mother would have the servants brew barrels and barrels of mead, which we would roll out to the hills and drink dry.” He chortles a bit as a melancholy air envelopes the room. “Mother would come out to gather us in the evening, hurrying us home as we tripped and stumbled and played.” He meets your eyes for just a fraction of a second before dropping his gaze down to the drink in his hands. “She would always make sure we arrived back home safely, neatly tucked into bed as the mead made our heads spin.”

“Wait,” Bucky, murmurs, suddenly looming above you both. You look up at his perplexed visage from the nest of blankets built up beneath you on the floor. “You were drunk? As kids? Your mom gave you beer?”

Thor snuggles deeper into his own warm cocoon and glances up at Bucky with the smallest – and saddest – of smiles. “She did, yes. A wonderful mother indeed.”

You reach out and lay an open palm atop his fleece-clad knee – one he quickly sweeps into his own large hand to squeeze with a grateful air – while glaring at Bucky with a raised and warning brow. Don’t make fun, it says. He was raised in a different culture.

Bucky sighs and offers a glare of his own – Still weird as fuck. – before dropping heavily onto the sofa behind you.

The three of you sit in silence for several long moments… Thor, watching the flames flicker in the fireplace as he continues to grip your hand in a silent plea for strength, for comfort. You, staring idly at the side of his face, gently tracing your thumb over his knuckles, lending what little solace you can. Bucky, squishing into the corner of the couch, as far from you as he can possibly get, watching the interaction from the corner of his eye, feigning disinterest.

A long, drawn-out yawn pulls suddenly from your chest, causing Thor’s attention to snap your way. “You should go rest,” he says with a soft smile. “I must thank you for such a wonderful day. It did quite a lot to lift my spirits.” He pulls your hand up to his lips and lays a tender kiss upon your knuckles. “Truly. Thank you.”

You beam over at him, a slight blush tinging your cheeks. “Anytime,” you mutter with a small, awkward laugh as you set aside your mug and peel your way out of the blankets nestled around you. Bucky leans over and helps you unwind them, wrapping his hand around your ankle as you stand, foot catching clumsily. He says nothing, just flicks away the offending blanket and sets you steadily back on the ground so you can continue on your way. You give him a quick nod of thanks, blush somehow burning brighter when you catch a glimpse of his lovely face tinged orange by the dancing firelight. And you leave, more than ready to curl up into a heap in your warm bed… and await the subtle press of that other body’s heat that so often curls around you once all the others at the compound slink off to bed.

Both Bucky and Thor watch you go, your thick-socked feet sliding and gliding out the door in an innocent ice dance, pulling a tender, loving smile from one and an amused, low chuckle from the other.

“She is rather wonderful, don’t you think?” Thor asks after a long and silent moment. He turns to look at Bucky with an oddly eager expression. “All of the Avengers have been… kind. But none so welcoming. So… caring.”

He nods absently, taking a slow pull from his own mug of cocoa. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Was she such a way with you?” he asks, words dripping with an almost unprecedented level of solemnity from the typically jovial god.

Bucky stares at him for a beat, silently assessing something about him. Or, perhaps, something else altogether. “Yeah,” he says finally, another nod bobbing his head. “Yeah, she was. Might’ve been the only one, really… who seemed to…” he shrugs vaguely. “I don’t know, care.”

“Isn’t the Captain your dearest friend?”

“He is, yeah.” He clears his throat awkwardly. “But Steve… he’s always looking for the guy I used to be. He’s always looking for Bucky Barnes, the kid from Brooklyn. Sometimes it’s like he looks straight through me, just searching for him.”

“And I suppose the others look for the soldier in you,” he offers with a glaring amount of earnestness. “That is who they need on this team, no?” Bucky glances at him, cocks his head, but says nothing. “They always look for the god in me,” he mutters, shifting his gaze back to the fireplace. “To bring down the hammer, as Stark seems so fond of saying.”

“Yeah,” Bucky murmurs softly, the single word swimming in mutual understanding.

Thor turns to him again, shifting to face him bodily. His expression is impassive – sincere – as he says, “It is late, my friend. Perhaps you too should go.” A tiny, sly smile ticks up the corners of his lips. “Go find your lady and make love to her before she falls asleep.” He offers a swift and telling wink and a, “Thank you. For the cocoa,” before turning his attention back to the fire and nestling down deeper into his blankets.

Bucky says nothing at all, stunned speechless for a long moment before the buzzing between his ears halts and he’s able to climb off of the couch. He silently pads from the room, down the hall – with practiced, measured steps – not at all surprised to find your door left ajar.

He slips in soundlessly, just like any other night, and sheds his shoes and socks in the corner, peels off his jeans and shirt. He drops a knee to the edge of your bed, prepares to crawl in and slink beneath the covers, wrap himself around you, peck softly at your neck until he’s met with that delicate, airy giggle that he so desperately craves. But he stops suddenly as his eyes catch a glare from the window.

He pulls back and crosses the room to tug the curtains shut, a thing you so rarely think to do despite the fact that anyone who wanted could peer right into your room. As his fingers close on the thick fabric, he glances out the window, taking in the reflection of the moon on the snow-covered trees, the blanketed grounds… seeing also the reflection of your face in the window pane, features soft and sleepy, heavy lids blinking languidly as you watch him, patiently waiting.

He nods slowly, gaze arcing out over the pristine grounds below before settling back on the reflection of your barely open eyes. “Yeah,” he breathes out, scarcely a whisper, his breath fogging the glass. The smallest, most tender smile tugs at his lips as he pulls the curtains closed. “The most amazing thing in the world.”

[ithinkthingsaboutstuff]

Well I am bored and can’t get back to sleep. So it’s time for a supergirl s5 rant no one asked for.

Now every season has its issues and there were some outside “issues” this season (COVID-19 and Melissa being pregnant) so I will keep that in mind.

That being said.

This season had problems from the word jump. This was for a few reasons.

1- The plot was all over the place

And I don’t mean, ‘oh there was not enough of [blank character] so it was bad.’ No, I mean it was literally jumping between to many elements. Like what was this season about really?

Was it about a new tech environment taking over people’s lives? Was it about an ancient occult power coming out of the shadows to “take” the earth? Was it about adjusting to a post crisis world? Was it about the Luther siblings joining forces to achieve common goal and brainy is a secret inside man?

Now I understand that most tv shows have multiple plot points to follow that’s normal and expected. However, you need to have them meet up in away that is rewarding to the viewer and makes sense for the story that you are trying to tell. And there is an old writing trick called “one step at a time” Basically it boils down to, The audience will only believe one thing at a time.

Eg. You tell the audience this character can only do something in a certain way, (like the sups and the yellow sun,) but then you say that actually never mind this is another way to do it,(like Kara can keep her speed and only her speed under a red sun). This is bad writing as there is no set up or pay off and you cheated your audience by just changing the rules you made for no reason. (Think that kid on the playground that does that “unbeatable force field” thing in a game of tag.)

This can also apply to story concepts this is called a “conflicting narrative” in season 5 this apples to leviathan.

At the start of the season (ep 1 -8) we are told that they are ancient and magical based villains, all good. 

and their big plan is to therefor, of course  *checks notes* to use advice sci fi tech to achieve their goals and do something? with the people inside, yeah that makes sense what else would they use? Magic? that thing the super family is vulnerable to? Nah.....sarcastic’s aside, if you establish one thing you can’t turn in round with no explanation. 

They actually have a good example of this concept working in this season, in ep 10 with Brainy and his changing physical appearance. 

It was set up in the ep early on that our brainy was ‘off’ compared to the other Brainy’s, we get an explanation in the bar scene with the Rath siblings and then it is built upon with a Kara and Brainy scene, then after a build up and a reason (a character based one I might add) it is then and only then that it gets revealed and guess what.... that is hands down the best ep of the season. 

I literally have re-watched that ep so many times cause it’s that good. It is great self contained episodes and builds on per established character moments and plot points (brainy’s character inconsistency and the crisis plot aftermath) it’s the gold standard of what I’m talking about.

it sets up and pays off what it is trying to do and give character base reason for the story. 

But the season as a whole don’t do this effectively because 

2- They focus on making the plot the compliment characters, and not the characters complimenting the plot.   

the blanket term for this is, this is called “build up and release” this is used to drag out tension effectively. there are 2 ways to do this but basically 

1- answer one thing, then that answer leads to another question     

2- give partial answers through out a space of time, to keep attention but not make it the only focus of any given moment.

but anyway,

season 5 has this issue where they bring up a point then either don’t carry it through or don’t ‘step it out’ in a way that leads well to the story.

remember what i said about accepting one thing at a time? now let me ask.

If Leviathan is secret why did they reveal themselves now?

I don’t know and guess what, I don’t care, because the show didn’t care either. they never set up why they came out of the shadows or why that even mattered? so why would anyone care outside of “season’s bad guys”. 

you know what this season did care about the Luther siblings. there is nothing wrong with that per say, I just don’t see why they needed Leviathan if they didn’t actually want to develop them in anyway. If the post crisis season was just about taking down the Luther’s then fine nothing wrong with that.

but here is why they NEEDED the Leviathan ‘plot’ (and i use that loosely) is that they needed it to justify Lena working with Lex and not have her come off as “too evil” that way she can say

“i’m only working with you because I want to get rid of Leviathan” 

instead of 

“i’m working with you because i have the same motives as you”

which would not play well in her “redemption” (and i use that term even looser) they kept an aspect to the story purely to complaint a character they wanted a particular outcome, so they kept a plot element around regardless of how well it actually worked with the story.    

and then there’s the bitch himself LEX (John did a great job tho tbh)

he is the biggest example of ‘plot fitting character’, Lex didn’t fail ONCE the whole season, no problems or surprises and it was “oh so easy for him” like that is just frustrating for everyone, i’m not saying “the hero’s should win all the time” No, but the villains need to earn their wins to. here is why that is an issue if you make it to easy.  

1- the audience wants to see every character have their problems with achieving their goals and how they go about solving the problems as it is and hear me out...entertaining   

2-  when a character always has things “go to plan” it feels super forced, the Human error, is built into us (the audience) as people, so to see it not come into play at all, at any point, feels fake as we all know life don’t work that way for anyone. especially if there are people actively trying to stop you. 

overall you shouldn’t force a plot to fit a character, you should write a character to fit the plot their in (or in other words have them adapted to new situations they don’t even have to do it well) 

Ironically a good example of this in s5 was William

they built up that he was a journalist and that he was hiding something, fast froward and it turned out that he was trying to uncover Leviathan (unknowingly to him) and not apart of them. 

this is a good way for a character to compliment the plot. 

they said here is a new journalist and he doesn’t even know the depths of what he is looking into and that’s a smart move.      

i’m just going to leave this clip here...

this tied in character and plot really well it exampled character and now after this scene they can shift his behaviour and have a reason for it. not just ‘oh actually he was never a jerk and he is nice now’. no it was “he is trying to achieve a goal using this method and now he has been exposed”. This gives a plot based obstacle and character reaction (that failed to work) and it works actually quiet well for a network conspiracy plot.

character completing plot.

and finally 

3- Rushed endings  

now this one is actually treaty to talk about, cause of well the COVID- 19 problems so i can’t be to judgemental about it cause that is a dick move. And on top of that the lead actress (of an action show) was pageant so they had to use he a little less (in fight scenes anyway) so again I’m not going to be a dick about it, and you know i don’t want anyone being forced to work during a pandemic if its not at all necessary. So, i will keep this brief.      

There are still things that fell flat due to being to rushed.

1- the tech/ VR take down.

It was built up for at least 10 eps and they took it down in 5 mins with a pep talk from Kara, like um ok that was easy i guess, don’t know why y’all were worried if you could fix it in an afternoon. this is not a bad plot line in theory, but it was given to much attention for the solution it was given. 

2- Leviathan lady (don’t know and don’t care what her name is) being a robot alien thing.

this one is not too bad? but it was shown way to late in the game and again they didn’t focus enough on Leviathan for this to be of any real audience value outside of a surprise/ shock value. So why should i care now? they barely did anything interesting this season but then you give me something cool 2 mins after it doesn’t matter anymore (with the others bottled). why was this not done earlier in the season? but anyway.   

3- Lena’s “redemption”  

I could write a whole separate rant about this, but for time and my sanity i won’t. but basically, my main issue is that the whole season Lena was spiralling downward and doing worse and worse things to people, and that’s fine from a story pov, but after at least 15 to 17 eps of this and countless bad decisions and judgements she dose ONE good thing and, well that’s all your needed to do, all is forgiven.

now i am all for redemption arcs but one of the main words there is ARC!!!

there needs to be a reflection, apologies, rejections and making mistakes and then truly changing for the better, and still making mistakes!!

it was disgustingly quick and it honestly made me a little uncomfortable. I want to see people grow and learn but people have to earn their own way there. and another thing redemption is not something another person should be reasonable for giving you. (*cough* Kara *cough*)  redemption is something you give yourself through hard choices, personal loses and hard work. and guess what you can do all that and still NEVER get back what you messed up, that was real change and growth is as, 

redemption, real redemption         

comes in the moments when you don’t benefit from it, Lena loses nothing in helping Kara in the end and gains everything she throw away in a minute flat. So, yeah i think it was rushed in a way that made my jaw drop in disbelief because of how badly rushed it was. 

But getting out of that head space.

I like trying to end on a positive note the only part of the ending that was not rushed was Brainy’s bottling of Leviathan, 

it was set up as a thing that be could do (ep 10),it was a hard choice to make (as it was going to kill him) and was given time to feel the full weight of the choice, the Rath sibling hand hold, then Lex taunting him and taking the bottle, and then Brainy being left there alone, Then a bit of hope with Nia’s vision. it was the best part of the ending this season and i want to see more.  that is how you don’t rush an ending let the audience feel the consequences for the character choices with the character.   

anyway season 5 rant over.

[thethoughtsfromthreeam]

California

Pairing: Agent Whiskey/Jack Daniels x OC

Warnings: None

A/N:  Y’all, the end is here and I’m super sad about it?  Like I’ve been in this world for the better part of a month and I don’t want to leave!  This is absolutely the longest things I’ve ever written (all told, it’s 45 pages and 25,547 words) and I’m super fucking proud of myself and I’m so glad y’all were part of this journey.  Jack and Shirley will have cameos in my next fic, so they aren’t completely gone.  Not yet, anyway.

Reminder: I haven’t seen Kingsman: The Golden Circle, so I’m just using the Wikia, IMDB.com, some gifs, and my own weird ass brain to make up this whole ass story.

Tag List:  @zeldasayer , @romanticgumchewer, @tarrevizslas , @coolmaybelateruniverse , @the-feckless-wonder, @lavenderl3mons , @pascalisthepunkest , @mandoandyodito​ , @randomness501 , @fioccodineveautunnale [please message me to be added or subtracted]

[PART 1]  [PART 2]  [PART 3]  [PART 4]  [PART 5] [PART 6]  [PART 7]  [PART 8]  [PART 9]  [PART 10]  [PART 11]  [PART 12]  [PART 13]  [PART 14]

Part 15 

Tomorrow

Shirley flicked her wrist to open the curtains in her office, letting the morning light spill into the small room.  She set her things on the desk and began to bring the library back up to its daytime speed.  While she made sure the library was open to all Statesmen staff at any time, most operations only occurred when she was in office during the day.  She walked over to the window that faced out into the hallway to open the blinds.  She did all that she could not to make such a small space feel like a cave.

As she turned, her eye caught the glint of a picture frame on her shelf. She looked at it more closely and realized it was a picture of her and Jack at one of the Statemen’s tapping parties about two years after they started working on missions together – he the agent on the case, she his trusty Girl Friday researcher.  They had grown close early on, but that night of the party is when they finally admitted their feelings for one another.  You could feel it radiate off the picture.

“Moonshine, you take my breath away, you know that?”  Jack looked her up and down in the hunter green cocktail dress she wore for the evening.  The satin felt cool and smooth against his hand as he guided her out of her apartment.

“I’m sure I do.”  She replied jokingly as they waited for the elevator.  He suddenly spun her around to face him.  The serious look on his face stopped any comment from leaving her mouth. He stared at her intensely and for the first time, she felt a little uneasy under his gaze.

“Marigold, I’m not joking.  Whenever I see you, hear you, smell you, hell, even thinking about you, I feel like I’m gasping for air.  You consume me and I love you.  I will love you until time ends.” He looked at her, watching her emotions play out on her face.  She looked up and he could see tears forming in her eyes.  For a moment he wasn’t sure if the leap of his heart was fear or love. Then she brought up her hands to hold his face, thumbs rubbing his jawline absently.

“I know you’re not joking, Jack.”  Her voice wavered as the tears spilled over her lids and down her cheek. “I feel your love every day.  I wrap it around me like a blanket and when I go to sleep at night, I keep it close to me.  God, I’ve loved you since I laid eyes on you, loved you when you tried that stupid cowboy flirting thing you do.  I will fucking love you from the depth of my soul until I die!”

He started to laugh with delight, and he wrapped his arms around her in a hug, lifting her off the ground.  She tightened her arms around his neck and started laughing with him. When the elevator doors opened, Ginger and Tequila found the two lovers in their embrace.  Ginger looked over at Tequila, who rolled his eyes and produced a twenty from his pocket.  She yanked it out of his hand with a devilish grin.

Jack and Sirah broke apart at the sound of the ding.  Smiling, they walked hand-in-hand into the elevator. Tequila slapped Jack’s back and Ginger looped her arm through Sirah’s and they looked at each other and giggled the whole ride down.

Shirley smiled at the memory and lightly touched the photograph before moving on.  She left her office and began opening blinds and curtains throughout the rest of the library.  As she walked past the bank of computers, making sure they were on and ready for the day, Shirley heard something from one of the stacks.  She stopped to listen, but didn’t hear it again, so she moved on.  She continued her morning routine and when the bell tinkled above the door, she greeted a young agent as they entered.  Her life was back to normal it seemed.

After she got the agent settled with the requested materials, Shirley gathered up her return cart to restock her shelves.  She moved down each aisle, putting her little world back in order when suddenly she turned the corner and saw two very embarrassed agents staring back at her.

“Good morning Ginger, Merlin.”  Shirley couldn’t stop the slow spread of the shit eating grin that formed on her face. It wasn’t the first time her stacks had been used for purposes other than research, but she was a little surprised to see the two of them there, holding each other.  She mentally groaned, knowing she just lost fifty dollars to Tequila because she thought they’d be caught in the tech room.

“Shirley.”  Merlin’s soft brogue sounded a bit rougher than normal and he cleared his throat. “Good to see you this morning.  You’re looking quite well today.”

“As are you, Merlin.”  She replied. “If you could do me a kind favor and just put this book back on the shelf behind you where the marker is, I’d be much obliged.  Also, for next time?  Historical speculative fiction upstairs is always empty.”

She handed the book over, gave them both another smile, and then walked off. She was nothing if not a patient woman and she knew Ginger would tell her everything later.  As she sat at her desk, she kept an eye on her little world and on the stacks.  When she saw no one leave, she smiled again.  Oh, she couldn’t wait for such a good story.

An hour later, she heard movement and looked up to see Ginger and Merlin coming down the stairs from the second level.  His hand brushed against her back the entire way down and when they reached the first level, Shirley could see Ginger’s hand lightly brush against Merlin’s as they smiled at each other.  They walked to the door and from where she sat, Shirley could see reddish spots on the smooth skin of Merlin’s head.  Oh yes, this was going to be a great story.

Merlin dipped his head and left the library and Ginger waited a beat before sprinting across the room to Shirley’s office and slamming the door. The few folks in the library jumped at the noise, but otherwise, everything was normal.

“GINGER!” Shirley squealed and Ginger closed her eyes and clapped her hands while giggling.  “This better be worth the fifty bucks I owe Tequila now.”

“Oh, is it EVER!”  Breathed Ginger, pulling Shirley to the couch.  They curled up and gossiped about their men for a long time.  Their giggles and laughter sometimes leaving the office, but otherwise, everything said remained between the two women.

Later that day, Shirley went to Tequila’s office and found him sitting at his desk reviewing reports.  He looked up when she walked in and when she laid down a brand new fifty-dollar bill, he grinned.  She grinned back.

---***---

“Moonshine, you ready?”  Jack’s voice called her from the doorway of her office.  She turned to look at him and nodded.

“Let me just grab two things and I’ll lock up.”  The twilight outside of her office peeked through the closed curtains.  The day had gone fast and she reveled in the normalcy that her day to day world was now taking on again.  She had thought that after Agent Kirsch had died and released her from those invisible bonds that she would resent the library.  But she didn’t and if anything, she recognized this world was her catharsis, giving her back a sense of normalcy.  Him dying just finalized that feeling.

As they left her office, she stopped to chat with one of the admins, Cooper, about some things he was working on and what he would need the next day. After saying good-bye, Jack held Shirley’s hand as they left the library and headed to the elevator.  They were heading out for a night on the town to enjoy the lovely spring weather that finally came to Louisville.  Shirley rested her head on his shoulder, and he tightened the hold on her hand.  The ride down was a comfortable quiet and when the doors opened, they stepped out into the foyer.

When they exited the building, Shirley paused a moment to close her eyes and breathe deep.  When she opened them, she found Jack looking at her with a small smile on his lips. She nodded while grabbing his hand again and they headed out into their new tomorrow together.

[writer-k-pop]

Partner (Prt. 3)

늦는게 안하는 것보다 낫지, 파트너. Better late than never, partner. 

Description: (y/n) works as a special consultant for the federal government. Specifically the special operations unit that handles some of the worst crimes the country sees. Working multiple cases with Hongjoong’s team, this case seems like any other case but it’s not only personal connection to that case that rocks (y/n)’s demeanor. Her old partner from the exact case shows up in life again. Can she catch the suspect she’s been chasing for 2 and a half years? Warnings: Guns, stabbing, serial killing, swearing Genre: Crime, Mystery, Angst  Word Count: 2k

Ateez Masterlist | Masterlists

The door swings open and Wooyoung comes stomping into the room, "I have brought the caffeinated bean juice. Wake up and taste the bitter life liquid that will bring this S.O.B. down!"

San and Mingi jerk awake, poor Yunho falls out of his chair, and Jongho simply rolls onto his other side and throws his hands over his ears.

I take the coffee cup Wooyoung hands me and breathe in the smell. As I take a cautious sip, Hongjoong walks out of the conference room, shoving his phone into his pocket.

"What did the wife say?" Seonghwa asks, adding three packets of sugar to his coffee.

"To be safe, to be alert, and to come back home." Hongjoong states, "But that phone call ended 15 minutes ago. The phone call I just had was from our medical examiner."

"What'd he say?" Mingi asks, yawning. Yunho drags Jongho up and sits him at the table.

"It's small, might not be helpful to us but something he didn't notice until he read through (y/n)'s file." Hongjoong explains, "He starts at the thighs and works his way up. The depths of the wounds suggest that he loses strength as he works his way up."

"Sick psycho." San mutters.

"It just adds to his profile." I state, "He wants to be the strong finisher type but his body physically won't let him."

"And targeting women could be the source of the anger he has for his weak finisher trait." Mingi finishes for me.

"So maybe he's not as fit as we think." Jongho says, finally waking up some more, "Bursts of energy could explain it but what would cause sudden bursts of energy so extreme that he could abduct a woman and stab her fourteen times?"

"You know," Yunho starts, pulling his book smart knowledge out into the open, "There's rare disease that is known to cause super human bouts of strength that occur during flares of emotion. Some are linked to anger, grief, even joy." His book smarts still constantly amaze me. “It’s rare, so I’ll compile a list of known cases.”

San's computer dings and he quickly jumps for it.

"I think I got something." San says after he clicks around. "I ran a program to try and find similarities between any of the security footage where each of the victims were seen. The program just spit out a similarity."

"Show us." Hongjoong instructs him.

San sends his screen up to the big one and continues talking. "Before (y/n)’s case was added, our victims frequented similar places as each so we couldn’t narrow down a possible connection. But now, each of the victims stopped at this ATM machine right before they were taken from their, uh, last known places." Seven different videos play simultaneously, the same viewing window, on the same street.

"I remember that ATM." I remember, "I was on my way towards a lead outside of the cities and had to stop for some cash because I was completely empty and I owed the forensic tech for a bet I lost."

“You lost a bet?” Jongho wonders incredulously and I shrug in response.

"But why that ATM?" Seonghwa asks, "What that particular ATM? It's outside of town, it’s hardly ever used."

"Well, it looks like 13 years ago, there was a murder right next to that specific ATM." San says, typing away at his desk.

"You're kidding." Mingi says.

San shakes his head, "A brother and sister were walking down the street when the brother's girlfriend showed up and attacked and killed the sister. Claiming she thought the sister was a secret girlfriend he never told her about. Spewed out some things about how he'd always been secretive and lying, and how he wasn't even confident enough to man up to his choices."

"What happened to the girlfriend?" Hongjoong asks.

"Was tried and, oh god," San nearly bangs his head onto his desk, "Found not guilty. Then disappeared two weeks after and has never been heard from again."

“Guys, look.” Yeosang stares at the screens, “The sister was a blonde.”

“Gives reason for the blonde hairs he leaves.” I mention, rubbing the base of my neck.

"Name?" Wooyoung slinks over to his computer.

"Of the brother or the girlfriend?" San looks over at Wooyoung.

"Give me the brother." Mingi calls as he moves to his desk.

"Guess I'll take the girlfriend." Wooyoung shrugs.

"The girlfriend walking gives us the source of his anger." Seonghwa nods, "But why wait so long to start releasing the anger."

"Hey... hey..." Wooyoung's voice shrinks, "The girlfriend is our first victim."

"That explains that." Seonghwa snaps his fingers.

"Spent thirteen years trying to track her down and then finds he loves the feeling and keeps going." Jongho nods along. "There's the motive."

"Hey," San mutters, "Scanning through that specific ATM footage, nobody used that ATM except for our victims."

"He must be protecting that ATM because of his sister. And whenever someone uses the sacred ATM, he loses it." Yeosang deduces.

"How does he know when someone uses it?" I wonder.

"Mingi, anything on the brother?" Hongjoong asks while Mingi's forehead crease deepens.

"Seo Jino." Mingi reads off the online files, "Graduated from the top university with a degree in computer science with an emphasis in computer hacking."

"Explains the ATM footage." Yunho comments, "He can hack and he did hack the footage to watch who uses it and when."

"After the trial, this guy disappeared too. Emptied out his bank accounts and cancelled all his cards and moved out of his home." Mingi continues.

"He had to have reappeared somewhere, at sometime." I suggest.

"He did." Mingi answers, "Right after the first victim's trail went cold."

Seonghwa scrolls through his records, “Looks like this guy keeps to a pattern. Goes to the same places on the same days.”

"His closely held patterns might be what hangs him." Jongho nods his head to the side.

"Mingi, does he have a home address?" Hongjoong asks.

"Here in the city. Apartment on 43rd." Mingi informs us.

"Go." A deeper male voice says from the landing. We turn and there stands the director of the agency, Kim. "Seonghwa and (y/n) will stay here and command center with me."

I open my mouth to protest but Director Kim raises a hand, silencing me, "The rest of the team goes, but you and Seonghwa stay here."

"Can't compete with that." Seonghwa raises his hands in defeat.

"Let's go, grab your gear." Hongjoong says, reaching into his drawer for his gun.

Mingi walks over to me and I stand to meet him. He grabs my shoulders firmly and looks me straight in the eyes.

"I swear to you, we'll grab him." Mingi promises.

I smile at my old partner, "Don't promise me that just yet. He may not even be there."

"He has a pattern. A pattern he sticks to so religiously that it's his only fault." Mingi nods in confidence.

I give his hands a squeeze, "Go, your team is waiting for you."

Mingi nods and quickly walks towards where the other members are waiting for him.

Once the sure ring of the elevator echoes down the hallway, Director Kim makes his way over to the table while I retake my seat and Seonghwa rolls back over to his desk to set up communications.

"I apologize for having to leave you out of this one." Director Kim leans back into his chair.

"I understand, sir." I fold my hands on the table. "Can't risk him trying to finish what he couldn't before."

Director Kim nods, "Let's talk."

"About what sir?" I ask.

"Do you like your position?" Director Kim asks, out of the blue.

"I, I mean, it's a lot of traveling." I answer him honestly.

"Would you like a home office?" He keeps asking.

"Would I- I mean, yes I would like to have a home office." I nod, "It'd be nice to not travel so much."

"And what about this office, and this team?" Director Kim looks around the room. "It fits this team quite well, don't you think? You," He looks directly at me, "are a good fit for this team."

"Sir, what are you suggesting?" I ask, leaning forward.

"What I am suggesting is that you accept your next orders to be permanently assigned to this team." Director Kim smiles, pulling out a folded piece of paper from his inner jacket. "Will be affective as soon as this case is over if you accept it." He slides the piece of paper in front of me, "Think about it."

"They're at the apartment." Seonghwa announces, unable to hide the smile that grows on his features.

"Put it up." Director Kim instructs, "I want this son of a bitch." He mutters with distaste, placing the headphone in his ear.

The video feed from Yunho's chest camera streams loud and clear into the office space.

"Seo Jino!" Hongjoong's voice rings with static, "Federal agents, open up!"

After a few seconds of silence, Mingi quickly kicks open the door.

Shuffling into the apartment with guns drawn, they clear the rooms before making their way to the living room in the back.

"Seo Jino. Drop the weapon." Hongjoong shouts. "Drop it!"

Through the screen, the pixelated picture of Jino's face appears. The smug look on his face nearly flips my stomach. His right hand is locked around a hand fun and a drink in the other.

"Drop the weapon." Hongjoong repeats himself. "Drop it or we shoot."

When Jino still doesn't let the weapon go, Mingi speaks up.

"If we shoot, and you die, you won't be able to see your five minutes of fame." Mingi attempts to convince him to drop the gun. "You die, and no one will say your name."

Jino smirks and chuckles, "No. They will say my name. They already have. And I will be constantly here." He slowly rises from his chair, "In the scars of the torn families, in the case files that will be studied for years to come..."

Sitting in the office, I watch as his eyes seem to catch the video camera and it seems as though he knows I'm watching.

"And they'll live in the scars of the one who chased me till the end." He finishes, points his gun at the camera, and fires a single shot before he is gunned down with the team's bullets.

Yunho’s camera shows only the ceiling and in a couple seconds, San’s face appears.

“Yunho! You okay?” San asks, his eyes scanning Yunho’s body.

“What’s going on?” Director Kim asks, looking intently at the screen. 

“I’m okay.” Yunho grunts, sitting up. “The vest caught it.” He groans, “Oh, that’s going to leave a bruise tomorrow.”

San helps Yunho to his feet and they make their way over towards the body.

"Is he?" Yunho asks.

Hongjoong's kneeling next to the body and he checks for a pulse.

"No pulse." Hongjoong says with a flat voice. "Call the crime scene unit."

"Got it." Jongho nods and leaves the frame.

Hongjoong pulls out his phone and Director Kim's phone rings.

"We got him, sir." Hongjoong stares into the camera. "It's done."

Director Kim nods. "When the crime scene unit arrives, come home. You guys did well."

"Yes, sir." Hongjoong nods and Director Kim tells Seonghwa to cut the video feed.

The screens blink back to their abstracted background and I finally release the breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

Director Kim taps the reassignment orders in front of me before standing and buttoning his suit jacket, "We got him, (y/n). Think about it."

I nod in thanks and Seonghwa follows as Director Kim walks out of the office.

Once he's out of the office, Seonghwa envelopes me in a bear hug.

"Is there a reason getting this guy seems sweeter than the others?" He wonders as I wrap my arms around him, welcoming the comfort he always provided.

"It's a more personal case." I reason.

Seonghwa pulls back and holds me at arms length, "Are you going to accept that?" He asks, nodding towards the paper still on the table.

I look down towards it and pick it up, holding it gingerly in my hands as if it could disappear at any moment. "I guess I'll have to think about it." I respond, fold the paper, and tuck it into my back pocket.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The night air sits cooly around me. A breeze passes by and the sounds of the traffic below echos up between the buildings.

I have been thinking about the reassignment order for two days and I want to take the assignment but am teetering on the fence.

The roof access door creaks open and slams shut a few seconds later.

A peek over my shoulder confirms my suspicions of who appeared on the roof.

"The door gave me away, didn't it?" Mingi chuckles, leaning against the rail.

"Indeed it did." I laugh.

"Damn door, hated it since I first got here. Too loud." Mingi explains, "It would ruin my train of thought whenever someone tried to find me."

"Don't they know it's better to call you?" I ask.

"They know now." He states. "They don't learn as quick as I do."

I laugh with my entire chest, "Nobody can learn as quick as you, Mingi. It's what makes you good."

I pull out the folded reassignment order from my pocket and hand it over to him.

"What's this?" Mingi asks.

"Reassignment orders." I explain while he opens the paper and scans over it. "If I accept, I'll be apart of this team. For good."

"Why haven't you signed it?" Mingi wonders turning towards me.

"Waiting for the right person to encourage me." I nudge his shoulder.

Mingi smiles widely and pulls out a pen, "Better late than never, partner."

I take the pen with a smile, "Better late than never, partner."

Mingi puts an arm around my shoulders and brings me closer to him.

“We have more to talk about, don’t we?” He asks.

I sigh, “Oh Mingi, we have much much more to talk about.”

Mingi presses a kiss to the top of my head, "Well then, let's get going, partner."

[crashdevlin]

Bottle-8: Epiphany

Bottle Masterlist

Author’s Note: Originally posted to ao3 (This is an edited and improved version), I work in info from the comics (Like Hawkeye was married to Mockingbird and Red Skull had a disappointing daughter) and I took a few liberties with what the scepter could do (but not really because the Mind Stone was used to create the Twins so what I did is not that far-fetched). This is a lot more angst than I realized when I wrote it, but it’s compelling angst.

Summary: Cassandra Campbell is a Stark Industries lab tech with dubious genetics and a history with the new Director of SHIELD. She’s been working in New York since right before the Chitauri invasion. What does she have to do with Loki, and what will happen when he returns? Starts post TDW and continues to the end of AoU.

Pairing(s): Phil Coulson x OFC (Past), Loki x OFC (Non-con), Clint Barton x OFC, Steve Rogers x OFC

Word Count: 3460

Story Warnings: So many, worst (to me) are bolded. Younger woman/older man relationship,non-con, mutilation, torture, mind control, PTSD, depression, alcoholism, forced abortions, bad things (non-con) in a church, insomnia, memory manipulation, eventual consensual oral sex (female and male receiving),

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of insomnia, nightmares, depression, alcoholism, general identity issues, bad German from Google Translate, mentions of suicidal thoughts

Cassie sat in a plush recliner, looking at the handsome black man on the other side of the desk. She didn't know what to say. "Thanks for seeing me." She settled on after what seemed like hours. "I know it's short notice, but there's a lot going on and I don't know when else I'd be able to see you."

"It's not a problem, Miss Campbell." Andrew set a folder on his desk. It was a SHIELD file and Cassie knew it was hers. "I've read your file. I know everything that's been written about you, Cassie. Can I call you 'Cassie'?"

She nodded. "I prefer it."

"You don't have to hold back anything with me, Cassie. You understand? So why don't you tell me why you're here?"

She let out a long, slow breath. "I can't sleep. I can't think, most of the time. I'm afraid all of the time. I have horrible dreams... and I have some identity issues." Her tone said that was an understatement.

"Okay. So, what do you think is the cause of the problems? Why do you think you're here?"

She snorted. "Where do I start?"

"The beginning is usually a good place. Tell me about your childhood."

"You read the file. You know my childhood. It was unorthodox, but not unhappy. My childhood was not a problem, never has been."

"You grew up in a cell," Andrew countered.

"It was a big cell. And don't most teenagers lock themselves in their rooms, anyway?"

"Yeah. By choice, not force. But, if you don't think that was the start of the problem, where do you think we should start?"

Cassie looked at her hands, clenched together in her lap. "I wanna blame the cellist. I've always wanted to blame the cellist. It'd be easier to blame all my problems on her.” She shook her head. “But it started with Phil. He taught me what happy was, then he took it away."

"Your file says that you left him. Why do you blame him for your leaving?"

Cassie looked around the office, not letting her gaze fall on the doctor’s face. "I was pregnant. He was in love with someone else. He would have stayed because I was pregnant. I couldn't let him stay with me when he was in love with Audrey. What kind of... what kind of woman would that make me?"

Andrew nodded. "So, you left him?"

Cassie nodded, humming affirmatively. "It killed me to leave him. He was everything to me. So, when I left, his daughter became everything to me."

"And how did it feel to lose her, too?"

Tears popped up in her eyes and she looked over at the man. "A lot happened that day. A lot of horr-horrible... life-destroying things happened to me. It, uh, it didn't quite hit me, at first.” She cleared her throat. “At first, I was focused on... the mutation and the scars. It wasn't until a couple days later... I couldn't stop crying. I lay in the bathtub and just sobbed. I lost myself and my world, all at the same time. I considered committing suicide, but... I'm a coward. I couldn't go through with it."

He jotted something down in the folder and closed it again. "So, you considered taking your life?"

"What point did my life have after that? I'm... worthless. I felt worthless. But I couldn't do it. So, I drank and I worked and I... faked it, 'til I kinda made it." She wiped under her eyes to catch the tears that wanted to fall. "I kept going. I stopped looking in the mirror, I threw out all of the baby clothes, the tiny socks... I crawled into a bottle. I stopped feeling. I worked, and I drank, and I slept. Not much of that last one, but I... I did sleep back then."

"You don't sleep, now?"

Cassie shook her head. "Nightmares."

"What kind of nightmares do you have?"

"It's the same every night. Even when it's different, it's the same, ya know?"

"I don't think I do know."

Cassie sighed. "Sometimes, I'm running. Sometimes, I'm fighting. Sometimes, I'm not myself. Sometimes, I'm red. But no matter what is happening, no matter what I'm doing, who I'm killing, it always ends with ‘Sie werden nie dein schicksal besiegen'."

"And what does that mean?"

"'You'll never defeat your destiny.' I'm... my subconscious mind is determined to remind me, nightly, that I am destined to be Joanna Schmidt."

"Well, why don't you tell me about Joanna?” Andrew leaned forward. “Loki hypnotized you and called you 'Joanna'?"

"Fury called me Joanna before anyone else. But, yeah, Loki told me to follow my destiny and I became Joanna. I became a villain, just like my father."

"You were a villain? What did Joanna do that was so evil?" he asked, calmly.

Cassie was taken aback by the question. "What?"

"You said Joanna was a villain. I've reviewed files of numerous 'villains', I've spoken to many sociopaths on the Index who are ripe for becoming 'villains', I did an in-depth interview with Ivan Vanko. That's Whiplash. So, I know villains. What did Joanna do? What did you do as Joanna that was so bad? Did you kill anyone? Blow anything up? Attempt to overthrow world democracy?"

"I... tried to help Loki become King of... of Midgard."

"Because he told you to. Not because Joanna actually wanted to, right?"

Cassie looked down. "I... I don't know."

"She kill anyone?"

"No," Cassie said, the words coming out defensively.

"A villain would have. Did she have the opportunity?"

Cassie felt confused. Joanna had been given the opportunity to kill several people, including the man who imprisoned her at a young age and taken the memories of her love away from Phil. She just nodded, dumbly.

"So, here's what I think, Cassie. You and Joanna, same person. She didn't kill anyone because you are a good person. You are a good woman, despite your genetics, despite your solitary upbringing, despite the tragedy that has befallen you. You're afraid that you might become your father, but I don't see any of him in you. Even when you've been hypnotized by a destructive, God of Chaos, you are still fundamentally good. So, maybe your destiny is something different. Maybe you're destined to do good, not evil. Maybe that's what your dreams are telling you."

Cassie was silent as she went over every dream she'd had, and every interaction Joanna had. "She told Phil to give up the base. She, I, didn't want anyone to get hurt. I didn't want to hurt anyone. My Lord, she is me. She's just... less inhibited. Not evil. Not Red Skull. Ich bin nicht böse. [I’m not evil.]"

Andrew watched tears roll down her cheeks, a slight smile on his lips. "Feel better?"

She nodded, furiously. "I'm not evil. Even Joanna isn't. I feel amazing. Thank you."

"This isn't the end, you know. I mean, it's a breakthrough, but we haven't covered everything."

She nodded. "I know. I just... this completely changes how I look at... everything."

"So... what about the scars?"

"They seem so much less important now. They're... when Loki took Barton's mind, he told Loki about me. Barton had been in charge of watching me when I was first released from the Fridge, so he knew all about me. So, when Loki took Stark Tower, he went searching for me. Loki wanted me to be his queen. He wanted me to have his children and wanted me to use my blood to make him an army of super-soldiers. He turned me... he put me into a trance. Then, he…” She choked on the words, clearing her throat to force herself to continue. “...froze my womb. She died pretty quickly, I think. Then, he raped me and carved his name into my chest. He, uh, wrote 'mine' in English, then he wrote what amounts to a marriage proposal in Asgardian in scars on my chest."

"That was last year. He came for you, again, a few months ago, right?"

She nodded and sighed. "That's when I was Joanna. He showed up at my apartment. I thought he was dead, but it was all a lie. He does that. That's what he is, God of Lies. Illusions, that's his big thing. He appeared in my apartment after I met Barton the first time. He was there as an illusion. Probably was outside on the street or something, but it seemed like he was in my room, scolding me for meeting with another man when I belonged to him. I did what I could to avoid him. I told my story to Tony Stark, who moved me into the Tower for protection. But it didn't help. He found his way into my apartment for real and touched me with that staff again. I was Joanna for weeks. I remember now, that I steered Loki away from conflict wherever I could. There would've been a fight at the Tower between Loki, Steve Rogers and Tony. I kept that from happening."

"There's a medical report in your file referencing a second pregnancy. That happen around that time?"

"Yeah. Joanna and Loki had sex several times."

"I notice you depersonalized that. You didn't have sex with Loki, Joanna did. But you've already acquiesced that you're the same person."

"I... can't own that one, Doctor. I might be able to admit that Joanna is just pieces of my psyche that I keep locked away, but... she enjoyed herself. It wasn't rape this time. He didn't order her to be still and have his way with her. They... made love, almost. As close as they could, I mean. He's a sociopath, so he can’t love, but... she liked it. She contributed. She.... I can't own that."

"But you wanted to own the baby?"

"I wanted to be a mother. He robbed me of that. I thought it was only fitting that he be the one to... give it back."

"The baby would have killed you."

"That didn't matter. My purpose was to be a mother. Fulfilling that purpose would have been... it would have been okay if I died, because I would have fulfilled my purpose."

"So, you need a new purpose. Your purpose was Coulson, then it was being a mother. You need a new reason to live." Cassie nodded. It made sense. "I think you have a purpose lined up." Andrew picked up the folder and flipped it open. "Says you've been courted to be an Avenger. Also, Coulson said he was interested in using you for SHIELD."

"I can't work for SHIELD. It wouldn't work. No one would trust me. I'm Red Skull's daughter. I had a two year long relationship with the current Director of SHIELD. I can't work under him. Besides, SHIELD kept me prisoner for half my life and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit bitter about that."

"And the Avengers?"

"I want that to work," she resolved. "But things are awkward there. They all watched me fall apart. They know more about me than they do about each other, and they've been working together for years. They've saved the world together. They saved the world from me."

"Don't backslide into that, Cassie. You were never the thing they had to save the world from. You didn't do anything evil or world-ending. That was all Loki."

She nodded, took a deep breath and let it out. "You're right. I didn't do anything... horrible."

"And I believe that you are strong enough to get past the awkwardness. I think if you could get past everything else that has happened to you, and you did start to get past everything else that happened, then you can get past the awkwardness of people knowing a bit more about you than you'd like."

"Thank you, Dr. Garner. I-I'm glad I came to talk to you."

"If you are going to be in New York, at the Tower working with the Avengers, I'd like you to come talk to me every once in a while. Monthly, maybe every other month, if you can spare the time. I'll put it on SHIELD's tab, you won't have to pay anything but time."

Cassie stood, offering her hand. "I'll see what I can do, Doc."

He took her hand and shook it, confidently. "It's nice to know I've helped give the world it's next superhero."

**********************************

Cassie walked into Stark Tower and headed to the top levels. She walked into the shooting range and smiled at Clint, who dropped his bow and rushed to her side. "Where've you been?"

"Several places. I started in a bar, where I was accosted by a former SHIELD Hydra agent who recognized me from my file, then I went down to the subway, where I was extracted by your ex-wife, who took me to SHIELD headquarters for a chat with Phil. Phil sent me to go talk to a shrink. I figured it out, though. Well, Doc Garner figured it out, but it cleared everything up for me."

Her smile was contagious, causing a confused smile to spread over Clint's face. "I'm not evil. Never was. And Joanna, she wasn't evil, either. She was me, right down to the Judeo-Christian morals SHIELD forced on me. That's why I didn't kill anyone when I was her. I actively kept people from being killed. Yeah, she was bit immodest, but fundamentally same as me. Every other problem I have... they all seem so insignificant."

Clint wiped his thumb under her left eye and smiled, softly. "So... better, then?"

"Better. Ready to get some training so I can help get that sceptre back where it belongs."

Clint nodded, pulling a gun from his waistband and handing it to her. "So, you met Bobbi, huh?"

She nodded. "The woman is gorgeous. How could you let that get away?"

"Life got in the way. The job, the life. I spent two years doing surveillance on you, wasn't able to share my mission specs with her and didn't know when I would be back. She got tired of waiting, ran into the arms of some skinny British guy she met on a job. You know how it is," Clint said, bending down to pull another gun off of his ankle.

"Your marriage died because of me?"

"No. Not because of you. Because of the job… and some cocky piece of shit named Lance Hunter. Not you, not her, not really him. It just... happened." Clint pulled the magazine from the bottom of the gun and showed it to her. "Magazine. Bullets. 9 in the mag, 1 in the chamber for the gun you've got. Don't point at anything you aren't prepared to shoot. Never point the gun at yourself, or me. Everything Ops is in the lungs. You'll hear people say it's in the heart, in the muscles, but when you get down to the brass tacks, if you can't control your breathing, you are fucked, and not in the fun way."

*****************************

Cassie made her way upstairs after several hours of controlled breathing and breaking down and putting back together her weapon. She had done well in her first training session and it occurred to her that Hydra might have given her weapons training back when she was younger. She thought, maybe, that was some of the 'indoctrination' SHIELD had trained out of her.

Steve was standing at a blackboard in the room he'd called Romanoff and Clint into when she'd first arrived back from Austria. Cassie stopped at the door. She had to get past the awkwardness and that wasn’t going to happen if she kept avoiding him. She walked in and closed the door behind her. Steve pulled his attention from the blackboard and turned.

"Miss Campbell, how can I-"

"Don't 'Miss Campbell' me. Please. You didn't even do that when we first met.” She walked closer to him. “It was 'miss', then kinda thinking I was 'devil spawn', then we were on a date and you were calling me 'Cassie'. It was a weird, fast progression, but I know you had fun on that date, Steve, or you wouldn't have asked me on a second one. I had fun, too, until Joanna came out.” She scratched the back of her neck.

“And I know that finding out that the girl you were kinda courting is baby-obsessed and was in love with the SHIELD agent who helped get you acclimated to the 21st century and was pregnant back when she was with him, well it's enough to put anyone off and I get that, and I'm not trying to cash in on that second date you offered, I just want this to not be awkward between us, okay?" she rambled. She knew she had rambled. She wished she hadn't rambled.

Steve set his chalk on the ledge of the chalk board and walked around to sit on the edge of the desk she stood in front of. He smiled, slightly. "I wasn't calling you 'Miss Campbell' because I was pushing you away or to be awkward. Phil wanted to talk to you. I thought he might want to give your relationship a second chance. He isn't with the cellist any more. He was your first love. The one you thought you'd never have again. I thought it might be easier for you if you didn't think of me."

Cassie shook her head. "Phil just wanted to let me know that he'd put me on the Index and that I had a place at SHIELD, if I wanted. Then, he shipped me off to a shrink, who actually helped me a lot more than I thought he would."

"Doctor Garner?" Steve guessed. Cassie nodded. He laughed. "The man is good. Doc Garner helped me work out a lot of my displacement issues. The sadness over losing Bucky and Peggy."

"He made me realize I'm not evil. It's a plus in my world full of minuses," she said, with a smile. She was happy the shroud of awkwardness had dissipated.

"Well, you have to have the minuses, right? Gotta have the tragic backstory to be a great superhero. Tony was attacked and kidnapped in the Middle East, had to create the arc reactor in a cave with limited supplies. Bruce lost everything the first time he turned into the Hulk. Romanoff spent her childhood in a KGB assassin school and well, everyone I knew is dead or dying. Highlight of my life was World War II. How sad is that?"

"What's Barton's backstory?" Cassie asked.

"Abusive father. Foster care. Ran away to join the circus. Learned swordsmanship and then he learned precision ranged weaponry from a man called Trick Shot." Natasha had walked in, but neither super soldier had heard her enter. "He was a thief for a while. I'm not ashamed to say I cultivated that skill when I met him. We went straight together, but he had to talk me into it. Steve, can we have the room?"

Steve nodded and stood. "Be nice, Natasha."

"You have to pick," Natasha said, shutting the door behind Steve.

"Pick?" Cassie shook her head in confusion.

"Steve is a nice guy. He's adapted well to a world where women can be more than just housewives. He's nice. Barton is a child of the 70s. He's forward. He's blunt. Those are my favorite things about him. He is obsessed with the thought of fixing you. He blames himself for you being broken." Natasha leaned against the back of a chair two feet in front of Cassie. "He did give your name to Loki, but I hardly feel that puts him at fault for everything Loki did. And it definitely doesn't put him at fault for what Joanna did. Barton is important to me. Very important. If you are going to be with Steve, you need to let Barton know. You need to pick."

Cassie looked down, shaking her head, slightly, in disbelief. "You think I'm going to string along your friends."

"I know a cocktease when I see one. Half of my career has been stringing along powerful men."

Cassie’s eyebrows came together, obviously offended, but the Russian didn’t care. "Look, Romanoff. I don't have to pick. Because I am not trying to fuck your friends, and I'm not looking for a relationship, either. I'm here to help save the world from omnipresent evil. Hydra, Loki, whatever Phil is dealing with back at SHIELD. I'm not here for love or sex. Okay?" Natasha looked her over, before nodding once, standing and walking out the door. Cassie stared after her. "I should've taken my chances in Austria with Loki. Much less drama."

KITCHEN SINK TAGS @heyitscam99 @wonderlandfandomkingdom @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mrs-meghan-winchester @henrymorganme @lonely-skys @allykat2108

[hubskitchen]

Hub’s Kitchen Episode 5: Dragon Ball FigherZ Review: The Game Dragon Ball Fans Need

Hey guys, Hub here again, and welcome to Episode 5 of Hub’s Kitchen. Today, I’m gonna be reviewing Dragon Ball FighterZ for the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Steam. I apologize for not being active for a good while. Blame college and my okay-ish midterm grades and me getting them up for that. I’ve been wanting to talk about FighterZ for a while, and oddly enough, I didn’t think I was I gonna talk about Dragon Ball so soon on this blog. I’ll get to the point: I’m a casual Dragon Ball fan. I haven’t read the manga, but I have watched the original Dragon Ball anime as well as the Dragon Ball Z anime (well Kai anyway because fuck having to watch 291 episodes). Dragon Ball is not a masterpiece in story-telling, nobody’s gonna argue that it is. However, the fighting and character interactions make up for those shortcomings (except for GT. Fuck GT). That, and Dragon Ball Z Abridged. Watch that, it’s amazing. I have played a few DB games before, mainly the first and third Budokai games and the Legacy of Goku games on the GBA, but I haven’t played that many games from the franchise. Anyway, enough with the stalling, it’s time to review Dragon Ball FighterZ!Oh, and be prepared to see names and storylines that might not be familiar to you guys, since I’m not sure if my followers know anything ‘bout Dragon Ball.

STORY

Dragon Ball FighterZ takes place within the Dragon Ball Super timeline (aka, in between the Buu saga and Peaceful World arc from Z). When exactly? I don’t really know. I’ve seen conflicting reports from saying it takes place after the Universe 6 arc but before the Goku Black arc, other say it takes place before the Tournament of Power. I’m gonna say it takes place before the Goku Black arc, but I think FighterZ is non-canon anyway, much like the DBZ movies. Anyway, because of strange energy waves that are disrupting their power, the Z-Warriors lost all their power (or strength) and are now on the same level, and believe me, for some characters, that is a good thing ‘cause it won’t be another Goku show (That’s what GT is for). The Z-Warriors also see that a soul is trapped inside the main character of the arc (yes, I’ll get to this), and that by linking with that soul, it allows you to fight alongside the Z-Warriors. Elsewhere, there’s a new character: Android 21. All we know from the Super Warriors arc is that she resurrected some of the classic DBZ villains using the Namekian Dragon Balls, like Frieza and Cell, and plans on doing… things to them. I won’t go into spoiler territory because that’s just one of the three stories. Yes, you heard me right. FighterZ gives you three stories to play. The Super Warriors arc, which focuses on the heroes and Goku being the main character (I mean, he is Goku after all), the Villain arc, which focuses more on the villains and Frieza being the main character (man, Super really loves Frieza. Not that I mean, but still), and the Android arc, with Android 18 being the main character. Having three stories in a fighting game, a genre not known for story? Sounds awesome, right? It does… until you actually play the story mode.

Okay, so here’s the biggest problem with the story mode: There are three, fucking stories in this game, and all of them last roughly four hours long. Doesn’t sound bad yet? Well, throughout the story, you move your characters throughout different points on a map, with limit amount of movements. That never becomes a problem, so ignore that. The bad part starts with the clones. As you’re moving along map, you have to fight clones of the characters, and this gets old faaaaaaast. By the time I got to the Android saga, I was so fucking done fighting clones that I had to listen to different music, podcasts, and have something on in the background because I needed something to keep me going. That’s a huge shame because the cutscenes and the character interactions are great. Whenever you enter a fight with certain characters, you’ll get a cutscene to trigger. Let me just say: Anything, and I do mean anything with Cell is fucking gold. Go look up videos of Cell in this game. He’s fucking amazing. It’s just that having to play 3 stories, fight clones the entire time, and for roughly 12 hours too gets tedious and boring fast. It’s easily the weakest part of this game.

PRESENTATION

Dragon Ball FighterZ looks and sounds fantastic. The Unreal 4 engine was used brilliantly, and the game almost looks like it came straight from the anime. The game even lifts direct pages from the manga and anime, like the Father-Son Kamehameha and the Family Kamehameha, and they look beautiful. The characters animate well in cutscenes and on the battlefield, and many of their signature moves (take Krillin’s Destructo Disk or Kiensan for you weebs out there), look fantastic.

The soundtrack is also pretty good, if a little reliant on hard rock. Then again, I love hard rock, so I don’t mind. Sadly, because of this, the music can all blend together, and the character themes are often ignored. A lot of the character themes are great. My personal favorites being Goku, Yamcha, Hit, Gohan, and Vegeta.

The voice acting is solid too. FighterZ allows you to switch between Japanese and English, and as much as I love Masako Nozawa’s take on Goku, I’m more of a Sean Schemmel guy. Anyway, both voice casts do a great job. Got not much to say about that.

GAMEPLAY

If you’ve played Marvel Vs Capcom 2, then you’d understand how Dragon Ball FighterZ works. For the uninitiated, first off, get initiated, but more importantly, DBFZ is a 2D 3v3 style fighting game. What that means is that you have a team of 3 characters and you can tag them in and out of battle. You have your combos, tech, assists to help you in battle, super meter that allows for heavy-hitting attacks, all that good stuff. In an interesting twist, FighterZ is designed as a fighting game first, and a Dragon Ball game second. Most of the time, it’s the other way around. A lot of Dragon Ball games try to capture the feeling of the anime, even down to the gameplay. From what I’ve seen, the Tenkaichi, Raging Blast, and Xenoverse games tend to do this fairly well. While that’s well and fine, I tend to prefer a simple 2D fighter with Dragon Ball characters.

One thing that sets FighterZ apart from something like Street Fighter is that FighterZ decides to make things simpler for new players. The game has an auto-combo system. What that means is that you can press a button (let’s say square for example), and you can get a combo from that. While this is good for introducing players into the game, it’s gonna get their asses kicked if they try to spam auto-combos online. It’s recommended that you get into practicing the game’s mechanics, which the game’s first story in the story mode helps you come to grips with. Or you could try learning the mechanics in the practice mode.

The roster for FighterZ is pretty solid, but if you’re spoiled by the likes of the Budokai Tenkaichi games with their huge rosters, FighterZ might disappoint you. It has everyone important (Goku, Vegeta, both Teen and Adult Gohan, Frieza, etc) to characters from Super like Hit, Goku Black, and Beerus. The game is getting DLC, and the first two characters confirmed are Bardock (father of Goku) and Broly (one of the most popular DBZ movie villains, and is, to quote his abridged movie, is a “literal giant fucking baby”).

Like every fighting game these days, Dragon Ball FighterZ has an online mode. Sadly, this review will not be going over that because I have not played any of them yet ‘cause I don’t have a Playstation Plus subscription at the moment and need to renew it. From what I’ve heard, the online has had several problems, from games losing connection, to having a hard time finding matches, etc. Doesn’t help that the game has this stupid lobby system that you have to be online for. Sure, there’s an offline lobby, but it’s still kinda lame that the game has to have an online lobby to begin with. There recently was an update that I heard fixed some of the problems, as well as adding a Party Mode of sorts, but again, ‘cause I don’t have PS Plus, I can’t verify if that’s the case for me.

OVERALL

Dragon Ball FighterZ is definitely a welcome addition to both Dragon Ball and fighting games in general. While the story mode was a bust outside of great character cutscenes, and the game having some noticeable online problems, FighterZ excels in the most important area: the fighting. Fast-paced, frantic, and easy to play, you don’t need to be a Dragon Ball fan to enjoy this game. I highly recommend it.

And that’s it. Sorry for the lack of depth, but I wanted to try to be quick and to the point with this review, seeing as how it was my first game review. Anyway, on the next episode of Hub’s Kitchen, I’m gonna review my second movie on this blog, and one I’ve had requests for. That movie, is Coco. ‘Til next time guys. I’m Hub Pie, and thanks for reading!

[artdjgblog]

​Innerview: Sarah Benson / Kansas City Star - Ink Magazine

March 2010​

Video: DJG & PJC Note: ​Questions ​about David Seume’s Will Ya Be My Friend​ music video​.​

01) Is this the first music video you’ve ever done? Have you ever animated before?

This is my first music video. I’ve always wanted to do one and would love to venture more. It was a great opportunity and exercise in collaboration and in personal patience as I typically can’t allow art projects to take up a lot of my time per day job, life stuff and other art projects. I’ve never animated before per lack of resources and know-how, but my flat work has always been animated inside of me. It’s so nice to fully translate this in video form for everyone to see. But, it’s not just my video. My friend Philip James Cheaney is animator/co-director and additional artist on David Seume’s “Will Ya Be My Friend” video. This is Philip’s second full-length music video, the first being for The Winston Jazz Routine. I believe he has another one in pre-production for Joel Kraft. He also has several short films under his belt while stationed in Portland, OR. Currently, he is studying for a masters degree at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. I hope this video lends him extra credit as he captured my insides, enhancing them greatly. We’ve known each other for over a decade and work well together, even completing each others sentences most of the time. And David’s wonderful song made it that much easier. David was so kind to let us pick the song that truly sung to us and it was a treat. Three years prior to working on this video with Philip, he and I actually swapped some fairly extensive brains on an animated short film starring Abe Lincoln that we look forward to getting to in the future. I hope to learn some tech or hands-on trickery by then. Philip also has two other short films featuring my art that are on the back burner. Our back burner is actually a bonfire. 02) How did the collaboration between you and David come about? David connected with me on email out of the blue in late November of 2008 while I was in Texas. We had never talked before and I didn’t know about him, but he somehow knew about me. Coincidentally, he was booked to play a set of music, as well as release his debut album “It Is What It Is”, the same night of my 6th annual December art exhibition at The Brick in Kansas City, MO. He commissioned me to make a poster for his show and I knew instantly via email and after meeting in the flesh at the show that we were on the same page in life and art. I believe it was the same night at The Brick that we talked a little about the prospect of a music video. So, it was only fitting we chose to have the “Will Ya Be My Friend” video premiere and video art production on display at The Brick…with extra special thanks to Sheri! 03) The video was released last weekend, right? The video was officially released on Friday, March 12, 2010 at The Brick and on the internet right away. It’s been fourteen months in the making, and apart from my production work online and a handful of news items on David’s site and my site, has been fairly tight-lipped/tight-eye’d. It’s really neat to finally get it out there, share with the public, and see our year-plus of work fly by in four minutes! Hopefully, it’s four minutes that people will come back to visit multiple times! Tell your friends! 04) How much of the imagery is drawn vs. found? There is a very large percentage of found imagery pieced together in collage. There are also some hand drawn elements and characters. The core landscape I made of multiple ink jet printed overlays of found medical/science and floral illustrations and photos. There are also blow-ups of actual locust wings that make lovely hills. The original landscape, which we call “the scroll”, is made from all these layered collage pieces. The scroll is roughly 22″ wide x 25′ long (give-or-take as it is hard to properly measure the length) , based on the landscape I had in my head and from early sketches that I drew/timed to the flow of the landscape of the song. At one time I thought about the prospect of shooting the video on a continuous scroll cranked by hand, sorta old-fashioned and in tune to how I like to do things, but I’ll save that for another something down the road. Going back to truly visualizing the music, I had a vision of the landscape going on one continuous shot with multiple zooms up ‘n’ down and back ‘n’ forth and with the ability for the viewer to see the entire landscape at once during certain moments to see the scope of the world, or at least the part of the world that we were showing. It was probably a little more adventurous and in-depth than what could have been done, but what we ended up with is great as Philip really captured it well and found great ways to compromise and add his own flavors. I’m very pleased! Once the art and my notes were in Philip’s hands, I didn’t worry about it because I have faith in his abilities. I just hope he gets well rested after this! 05) There are a lot of insects and anatomical drawings in the video. Where did that concept come from? In my initial video thoughts, and something I think about quite frequently, I wanted to not only visually stamp the song “Will Ya Be My Friend”, but what the music might sound like on the inside or outside. Whether it’s the soul or makeup of the song itself or any body or vessel in which the song is played into, anything, even that of the external, in-between or over yonder. The original idea actually incorporated a live-action scene that lead into what you see for the final. There was also an idea of capturing David in full body movement and inserting him into the video world. But, being a little limited, and with David and me in KCMO and Philip, our chief motion man being in NYNY, we slimmed our ideas down some. I did a simple action photo shoot of David and then got to work on the final art. Though, Philip did a great job with the introduction of David in the opening credits and a humorous fall into the video world, so he partially captured some of the initial blue print. In terms of conceptual makeup of the landscape, I love seeing split levels of earth layers and what might be under the surface. So, the medical/science/anatomical imagery just made sense with this and also with the idea of seeing the guts of the musical landscape, human landscape or in-between world landscape. I had a couple of underground or cave-like-dip-down moments in mind fused with an almost Super Mario Bros. feel and this idea of seeing more than what’s just on the surface worked well with it too. The insects included just made sense in complimenting the anatomy and floral arrangements. The introduction of “Will Ya Be My Friend” has locusts and I wanted to play off of that, not only with an animation of an actual one whose skid mark David is after, but a few others in interaction, so the insects and microscopic critters blown-up, worked well, as well as the skeleton hands that act insect and critter-like. The song also ends with the voice of a child singing along and we wanted to capture childlike innocence, wonder and discovery from many aspects of the journey. We wanted a video that would be seen as more than just a video for the song, but more like a personal adventure with an identity that anybody might attach to or become attracted towards. We also wanted to lay the foundation of creativity and imagination and a connection to something larger. In particular, that feeling of experiencing something that can live beyond borders, that can make a person wake-up at any point in a day and get wheels turning. Something that can keep breathing. Something all around us that we often overlook, even sometimes the most important elements of life. Even though online time goes by in a flash, and an overloaded four minutes of video time at that, maybe it will get people to come back for more or rewind to get a better view of something buried beneath the surface, or grab a friend to show them. Maybe even it will get people to be thinking or look at non-video life in new ways. Friendships, life, art, whatever, all have extra things and treasures buried beneath. Of course, there are always chances of the not-so special things lurking. But, faith in the extra good ones can cancel them out, we must hope. 06) Are those Paul McCartney’s eyes on that lion? Good question and shows you were watching and came back for more! No, those aren’t Paul’s eyes. Though, if I had to choose the eyes of a Paul, it would be Newman or Buzan. Actually, those are David Seume’s eyes! And actually, as David exits the cave, a picture of himself that makes up the landscape composition is in the ground. It’s the picture those eyes came from. Up until late in the production art I just had the regular “Lion Guy” eyes there, a frizzy-haired chap I came across in an old thrift store text book. I’m not sure what kind of book, maybe psychology, but this guy was chosen for something and then I chose him. He gave me a giggle with that lion mane hair of his and I found a frame to hang him and then drew a body. He makes for a good friend. I wonder who he is though. I’d like to meet him and hope he doesn’t sue me for extending his likeness because I just like him. 07) Have you found anything good recently? (I remember last time we met you had a cup that said “Your dumb” on it) I’m constantly walking with my head down for keepsakes that other people discard, or trash that turns into animals or art when I walk by, so my pockets always have things in them. There are some great weathered handwritten garage and estate sale signs out there left to dissolve. Also, since we’re finally all thawed out from the winter (maybe?) there is good pickings for pieces of cars that wrecked and weird pieces of trash that was chucked. Much of the stuff I’m finding will all fit well together in a singular piece of art, once I get it all spread out and find the right time for it. This town needs a good, hard rain to wash it up some, but it all makes up the city’s landscape. And for now I’ll take what I can get and make something pretty, at least to me. Thanks! -djg

[tumblunni]

NEW STEVEN UNIVERSE AND BUNNI RANTS THOUGHTS ABOUT IT

* i love zircon and i feel so sorry for zircon aaa And even for Other Slightly More Smug Rival Zircon! I mean, they’re both just doing their job and it was merely a stroke of fate that the blue one got assigned to steven’s side of the trial. Rival Zircon barely even got two lines of dialogue so we dont even know if she was remotely evil or just like.. well, a smug office rival. It was a really nasty shock that yellow diamond just poofed both of them! I hope they’re okay when they reform, i hope they dont get blamed for what happened and shattered or something!! steven plz come back and rescue the endearing neutral office gems along with the more clear ally ones and stuff * I’m not quite sure if Zircon was right, though... I mean yellow diamond being 100% super bad and having framed rose for killing pink diamond would probably be in-character but it wouldnt be revealed so soon if it was what actually happened, right? What I took from this instead is that maybe Pearl was actually pink diamond’s pearl, and she’s the one who betrayed her instead? OR... possibly whenever we finally get white diamond revealed, she’s the one who’s the big evil boss who did it all? at least we saw some sort of statue of her so we can confirm she has the crazy cool goku hair, lol * I LOVE THE OFF COLOURS AAAA * I kinda love that its now canonical that conjoined twins can happen with gems, I mean its always nice to know that your favourite fictional characters could be like you which is why I think its great the show has all these different disability metaphors. Also I did not know that that kind of strange shape is actually possible with Rutile gems! * also, as predicted, I ADORE CENTIPEDE GRANDMA!!! and apparantly she’s a fusion of like.. the most gems ever. Polyamory grandmas! Combined into the ultimate grandma!!! did anyone else picture that ‘ariel needs legs’ comic tho ‘seven fusions... maybe more. imagine.’ * I think it’s spelled Paradshvana? No, its parashivana, I think. I hope she gets mentioned in a book or a comic or something so I can make sure I have the correct spelling of her name. But I love her! I like that the writers picked a type of sapphire that has such an interesting name, it helps set her apart from the blue one we all know and love. * LARS IS STEPPING UP!! aaaaa I’m actually kinda liking lars A LOT, he’s had so much character development and for once is actually keeping it between episodes and showing self awareness of his problems and providing actual reasons for why he’s doing them, rather than just sitting there refusing everyone else who keeps trying to help and support his salty ass. I wish we’d seen actual signs of this a lot earlier though, tbh it feels more like theyre rewriting his character rather than revealing something that was always there. * I didnt expect that humans would actually have an advantage against gem tech that only recognises gems! that was a cool way to have lars actually be able to make an impact when he gets his character development and decides to fight back. It was pretty badass! * okay, I’d seen so much speculation about the lars death thing and then i got spoiled for him being revived by steven’s magic somehow, so it didnt have as much of an impact. but it still hit my heart a little even as someone who knew it was coming and someone who ABSOLUTELY HATED LARS until like right this exact episode when he finally showed some character depth. But still, even if it succeeded at being sad, it kinda suffered a lot from the show’s usual rushed pacing. Like.. even in a ‘one hour special’ it seemed like every episode was still forced to work as a standalone and squish every plot point into 15 minutes. We BARELY got actually meet the off colours before we moved on to this next lars death plot, and like.. he died SO FAST, and it had barely a moment to breathe before he’s suddenly back. You couldnt even really tell what killed him, he just fell off the exploded robonoid and was dead immediately. And like.. with no clear wounds except one small face scar, so it seems like it did indeed run on harmless cartoon explosion rules. And I guess he just fell too far and hit his head or something.I mean I know they couldnt show a guy realistically covered in burns with limbs missing or whatever, but could they have at least had him covered in shadow or something so the nature of his wounds is left up to out imagination? When it all goes by so fast it seems almost unintentionally comical that he died by just falling over a little too hard.I mean, characters have survived way longer falls in this show even if in real life you obviously wouldnt... And SERIOUSLY give us more than FIVE SECONDS to believe he might be really dead, before reviving him with a never foreshadowed new magical power. Clearly it actually was planned out a long time earlier in the show, but somehow it still feels like a bit of a cop out? I just hope this faux death revival magic has some sort of further plot effects, and could be like a catalyst for Lars’s character development or something. Cos its clear that he didn’t just come back the same as before, it seems this magic comes with some kind of cost to it.. * IMMEDIATELY WE SEE SEVERAL COSTS TO IT * okay lars is LITERALLY A ZOMBIE * a CANDYFLOSS ZOMBIE * what the FUCK * steven how did you somehow never notice lion had a weird zombie heartbeat * wait i guess steven must have assumed lion was a gem creature of some sort * WAIT LARS IS LIKE A GEM HYBRID MUTANT ZOMBIE * he isnt even hungry or tired?? suddenly?? that must be?? REALLY FRIGHTENING?? WHAT THE FUCK?? * why is this episode SO RUSHED, why are you throwing terrifying existential horror and then just immediately lars is left trapped on homeworld and thats the end, and we dunno how long we’re gonna have to wait for the next episode or if it’ll actually address this or anything!!! * GAHHHH * also in retrospect WE DIDNT SEE ANY OF HOMEWORLD DURING THIS ARC. We still know practically nothing about their culture, aside from a mild bit of hope that the gems they persecute are at least able to escape and have a small sort of rebellion here rather than all being destroyed. But seriously there must have been millions who’ve been slated for shattering and only this tiny group managed to keep hidden long enough to meet steven... gahhh how many friends has centipede grandma seen die... * but okay seriously LARS IS A GEM ZOMBIE THING * and this means LION IS ALSO DEAD * LION HOW DID YOU GET HURT AAAAA * oh god so rose must have rescued him and then he had to see his whole lion family die and sit around for ages waiting for rose to come back and now all he can do is try and protect her son. poor loyal pet... poor hachiko: kitty edition... * WTF LARS IS DEAD AND HE’S STUCK ON A PARALLEL WORLD AND HE CAN NEVER EAT AGAIN AND HIS WHOLE FUCKING JOB AND HOBBY WAS COOKING and AAAA he’s the one out of everyone who was most hung up on like.. Normal Human Society Things. of all people, this is the most torture for him! god, the only consolation is that the off colours chose to stay there and protect him, and maybe it’ll help him work out his issues to be away from it all and have some close friends he can relate to. Cos like.. we all know steven and co are always trying to be his friends, but he had that weird inferiority superiority complex that kept him from accepting the friendship. At least we know here that he feels he’s able to be equals with these gems, and they’ll all be able to protect each other and learn from each other in different ways. But still DEAR GOD POOR LARS I thought you were an asshole but I didnt want you to GET TRAPPED IN SPACE AS AN ADORABLE ZOMBIE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA * steven could you like.. throw the ube cake through the portal. i mean he cant even enjoy eating it anymore but it might still help him feel better. * steven can you throw rebecca sugar through the portal so everyone can throw legos at her for writing such torturous fates for all her characters then throw her back cos i mean its not like anyone’s gonna get a happy ending to the show if it ends on this cliffhanger, lol but still LEGOS * steven can you throw the ube through the portal to me and I’ll eat it and write a review for lars and maybe send him a small plush doll of himself * rebecca sugar can you open like a mailbox to all your characters where I send them letters encouraging them to keep going even though the world is cruel as fuck ok thanks bye * I STILL REALLY LOVE CENTIPEDE GRANDMA THOUGH * and zircon had better be okay! please tell me she escapes and ends up joining the off colours or something * also can we have the same for topaz + topaz thanks * this is just the arc of introducing fifty new characters and not being able to save any of them and also one already introduced character is also LITERALLY FUCKING DEAD * aaaaa

[mynameisananagram]

Ryder character questions

This post was made by @jedimasteramell but because no one asks me owt, I’m gonna answer all of them.

Also thanks @alicesaurus for reblogging this onto my dash!

Just some fun character development/get-to-know-them questions! Warning, there are some basic spoilers.

The basics! Whats their full name, gender, and sexuality? Describe their general appearance and/or include a picture. Is there anything you canon beyond what the game allows?

This is Greta Ryder. She’s a pansexual woman with a tattoo on the left side of her face and neck, and scars on her right cheek. Her make up is amazing.

Can’t always wear Initiative whites and blues, Whats their dress style like? Do they prefer casual wear, or being in armor? Is it the same as it was in the Milky Way? How, if applicable, has it changed since arriving in Helius?

She prefers the armour options in Andromeda; integrating angaran or Remnant tech is extremely helpful; generally though, she prefers to chill out in her badass jacket. All her outfits are functional and stylish, in her favourite colours.

Do they have piercings, tattoos, or notable scars? Do they dye their hair, or is it a gene mod?

The scars on her cheek are a remnant from a previous misunderstanding with a group of vorcha at a Prothean dig site. The misunderstanding was resolved amicably, but there were scars on both sides.

As for hair, it’s a gene mod, done more for convenience than anything else; having to dye one’s hair in between missions was incredibly tiresome.

What’s their personality like? How do they feel about being Pathfinder? How do they change, if at all, over the course of the story?

At first, she was incredibly unsure of herself. Spending most of her pre-Heleus career on fairly tame dig sites, the only trouble she’d face was from pirates and scavengers. Outside of her comfort zone she’s constantly second guessing herself. Thanks to SAM and the rest of her team, not to mention her successes, she’s becoming more and more the Pathfinder her father knew she’d be.

What’s their preferred profile, or class? Were they naturally inclined towards combat or technical skills? Were they a developed biotic, or did they first experience it with SAM?

Greta was always into technology, always the first to adapt to new tech in both combat and her scientific role. As such, she tends to prefer tech skills in Helus, with the combo of Overload and Incinerate being very useful. That said, the biotic Annihilation Field is awesome for close range combos.

Canon says they served in the Alliance before joining the Initiative, do you keep this canon, or have you made some changes? Explain their backstory either way.  

I’m a fan of the canon, truth be told. Greta has always been a sarcastic, highly capable nerd. She joined the Alliance, following in her father’s footsteps, but despite showing an aptitude as a combat technician, she found the idea of uncovering the mysteries of Prothean civilisation far too big a draw, and joined the scientific corps as a researcher and peacekeeper.

Everyone’s got one… List their (or your) favorite powers, weapons, and armor sets. Any special reason for these choices?

Throughout my Mass Effect history I’ve always loved the tech stuff. Overload and Incinerate are fantastic together, and good for basically every kind of enemy. As for weapons, the Disciple from ME3 is ace in Andromeda; I crafted I my own with armour-busting seeking projectiles and named it Deathlord. Couple that with cryo ammo and a crafted krogan hammer called Smash Bastard and the results are explosive.

As for armour, the health benefits of the Remnant armour is super handy, though the Maverick armour is a lot more stylish.

Its all in the family. Explain their relationship with Alec, Ellen, and their sibling. If you changed anyone’s names or added a different sibling in your canon, explain why.

As a rule, I don’t change canon. Greta’s relationship with her father is strained; there’s a lot of respect there but it’s not a traditional daughter’s love for her family. She is, however, extremely close to her twin, Scott. She wishes she could have spent more time with her mother.

What’s their favorite memory they have of their sibling? Of their parents?

The two weren’t close as children; the fact that they were twins was more of an embarrassment than anything else. Both wanted to be their own person and be as individual as possible. They only really became close in their late teens as they enlisted in the Alliance and realising just how similar they were to each other 

How have they dealt with the aftermath of Habitat 7? How deeply does this affect them?

It’s hard to put into words. While never close to her father, Alec was still Greta’s dad, and he was a huge figure in his life. Losing him in such a heroic manner was hard to come to terms with, and the only person she could talk to about it was in a coma. Breaking the news to Scott while he was comatose was especially hard. Couple that with all the pressure put on her by the Nexus leadership, not to mention the insulting interactions with Foster Addison, has left a psychological toll.

Thankfully, her family on the Tempest has helped her adapt to this. Liam is always good for downtime, Jaal is always happy to talk about feelings, and Vetra is good for forgetting about problems and shooting the breeze. Lexi’s medical and psychiatric advice has been invaluable.

As they unlock the memories, how does this change, if at all, their view of their parents?

There was definitely a lot more to her parents than meets the eye; as mindblowing as these revelations are, especially these Reaper things and the apparent destruction of the entire Milky Way, part of Greta can’t help but feel hurt that Alec never trusted either of his children enough to impart this knowledge while he was alive.

Explain the way they feel about their squadmates, both initially and over the course of the story.

Initially, Greta finds Cora standoffish and cold. Over the course of the story, she finds her creepy love for the asari to be kinda disconcerting, and would rather keep her distance.

Liam’s a laugh. Initially he’s a bit annoying and cocky, but there’s real depth to him, and he’s a real friend, if a little immature.

Vetra is a solid friend, and helping her and Sid become closer really solidified the friendship Greta shares with her.

Jaal is a sweetie. He’s always been a sweetie, and most likely will always be a sweetie.

Drack is the best space grandpa ever. If Greta ever realised that she needed a parental figure, she’d probably realise that Drack fits the bill perfectly.

Peebee is definitely affected by her abusive relationship with Kulinda, but regardless, she’s an insufferable, immature, edgelord of an arsehole, and Greta is happy to have as little to do with her as possible.

Explain the way they feel about the rest of the Tempest crew?

Gil is a cocky, arrogant twat who needs to take a good hard look at himself.

Kallo is the loveliest being in the entire universe, and if anyone hurts him in Greta’s presence, they’d better be good at running away fast.

Suvi is the most beautiful woman in the world to Greta. They don’t agree on matters of religion, but their shared love of the beauty of the cosmos and science in general (not to mention that accent) keeps the fire burning.

How about Nexus leadership and the people on the Nexus in general?

Kesh is awesome. Kandros is a solid guy. Tann is a snivelling bureaucrat. Addison and her goddamn poetry can fuck right off.

What were their reactions to the Angara and the Exiles? How did learning there was a whole new species in Helius affect them? How did news of the rebellion affect them?

“Huh, a brand new galaxy and yet life has evolved beings with the same limbs and facial arrangements as the Milky Way, that’s extremely unlikely but OK whatever” (I have something of a bugbear about the fact that aliens all looking the same but with different heads is just ridiculously implausible, and don’t even get me started on the female angara looking ridiculously oversexualised... also, while we’re on the subject, why are humans the only species in the known universe to evolve hair? The fuck’s that about?

Ahem. Anyway. The existence of a pre-existing species in Andromeda does change perspectives; the Nexus species came here for a home, but the Habitats chosen were already habitats to other species. To just set up outposts willy nilly would be dangerously close to the colonisation of the Americas by the Europeans, which began with genocide and devolved from there. Every decision the Nexus makes in Heleus has to be at the discretion of the angara.

To paraphrase Greta at the beginning of the game, what would we do if the angara turned up on Earth expecting to live there?

What about their interactions with the Kett?

Knowing their true origin is hard; it’s not like there’s a lot of choice in the matter but the idea of eradicating an entire species, however hostile, is a chilling prospect.

Did Ryder fall in love? If so, with whom? What drew them to that person? Would their sibling approve?

She is deeply in love with Suvi (though she won’t deny an attraction to Jaal, Keri T’Vessa or Reyes Vidal), for reasons explained above. Scott would approve, probably; he’d also most likely have been drawn to Mr. Vidal.

What does Ryder do in their spare time? What are their hobbies and interests? Do they share these with their friends, or are they more private?

Greta’s big into reading. She likes to read mind-numbingly complex scientific journals, but her favourite are asari pulp romance novels which she enjoys reading for comedy value.

How do they feel being in command of the Tempest? Whats their favorite part of the ship? Least favorite?

Greta still finds it uncomfortable being in charge, but she’s getting there. She loves hanging out in her quarters (being bigger than a lot of Nexus apartments after all, but her favourite place is the bridge, next to her beau and the stars.

How about driving the Nomad? Are they a good or terrible driver?

No comment. Don’t ask Jaal.

How do they feel about their connection with SAM? What’s their views on AI in general? Knowing Milky Way history and the attack on Eden Prime and the Citadel a recent memory, did the Geth influence this view? Does their view on SAM change?

Greta is pro-AI, and while understanding the quarians’ actions during their war with the geth, she finds it upsetting that most quarians are still anti-AI. The geth attacks on Eden Prime and the Citadel were terrifying, but Greta knows that AI are objective and rational in their behaviours, and attacking colonies and the Citadel is not standard geth behaviour; she would have liked to have been assigned to the task force investigating the geth attacks had she not had her Alliance career sidelined by her father’s own research.

As for SAM, she is a huge fan. No matter what happens, she’ll never be alone, not to mention the fact that she’s basically a superhero now, able to adapt her body and mind at will.

Favorite world they landed on? How do they feel getting to be the first human to step in many of these places?

Clear out all the predators from Havarl and Greta could live there forever; it’s so beautiful and twilight and there’s no shortage of Remnant to study. If she didn’t have such a wanderlust she could definitely imagine another life as a scientist seconded to Pelaav Station.

How do they feel about the Remnant? Are they worried? Curious? Simply accepting of what they can do with it?

Being a former Prothean researcher, Greta is right at home in a world filled with ancient, mysterious alien relics from a long lost civilisation. And being a tech head, the ability to couple Remnant technology with their own is a big draw.

Do they ever wish they could just return to the Milky Way? Do they miss anything in particular about their old home? Did they bring anything special with them?

It would be odd not to want to go home; for one thing, you just can’t get a decent steak on the Nexus, given the rationing and limitations. Sometimes it’s nice to fantasise about her former life, where if she ran out of something, she could just go to a shop.

Thankfully, her excitement and interest in the exploration and discovery far outweigh the minor inconveniences.

How do they feel about what they’ve accomplished in Helius? Are they proud? Worried? Do they feel positive about the chances for a cluster-wide unity? If they could change anything that had happened since everyone arrived in the cluster, what would it be and why?

The journey to Meridian and beyond showed the power of a united galaxy, even with the limited resources of both the Nexus species and the angaran resistance. Reuniting the 4 main pathfinders, with word of the quarians still out there too, not to mention the krogan colony, was a huge effort but this union drove out a terrible threat and learned more about a cluster than ever before. The overarching feeling of the whole experience is one of hope. There’s much more work to be done, but with everyone working together, there’s nothing that can stop us.

[arthurhwalker]

Lenovo Yoga C940-14IIL Review

Disclaimer: I’m a member of the Lenovo INsiders customer advocacy group. I am not a Professional Influencer, or employee of Lenovo, I am a super fan. ;-D Opinions are my own. I paid full retail for the Yoga C940, ordering it as quickly as I could, before any discounts or sales were available. I wanted it that bad, haha.

I haven't been reviewing hardware on my Tumblr or YouTube lately because I have simply lacked the desire. I'm writing this mostly out of a primal need for people to know more about this product. I feel like what Lenovo has done with the Yoga C940 14" model is different enough to warrant talking about.

Especially for mobile creatives.

Hardware

Intel hasn't really made a decent thing since their 6th Generation chipset. That changed with the 10th Gen SoC (System on a Chip) platform that resides in the Yoga C940. Intel’s 10th generation has the same deceptive marketing, and tech babble chicanery, but there is value, and stability that hasn't been there for 3-4 years.

Intel's i7-1065G7 with Intel Iris Plus Graphics is a worthy thing to seek in an Ultrabook, provided the laptop manufacturer designed a chassis to house it properly. The aluminum build of the Yoga C940 and cooling system therein, is ideal for pushing the thermal threshold. Yes, get the i7-1065G7, and get 16GB of the 3733MHz LPDDR4x RAM that can come soldiered to the systemboard.

You are probably used to seeing 2133MHz LPDDR3 RAM or similar. My understanding, and feel free to correct me, is that the LPDDR4x is the Low Power version of DDR4, with 15% performance gain with 17% power savings (according to Samsung). And yeah, my laptop feels like it multitasks, while pushing to multiple displays, more capably, than anything in a 14″ chassis I’ve used before.

For content creators, it's well worth having the extra power, especially if this is going to be your only rig, and you plan to use the Intel Iris Plus Graphics, and the Yoga C940's two Two USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 2 / Thunderbolt 3 (with the function of Power Delivery, DisplayPort) to connect to up to two external displays. (Max resolution:  5120x3200@60Hz via USB Type-C).

I was able to push a 4k display, a 4k television, and the C940′s own display for displaying content, running a video conferencing app, while having several other windows, apps, and documents open at once.

Get the 14.0" (356mm) UHD (3840x2160), glossy, LED backlight, IPS, HDR 400, 500 nits, 16:9 aspect ratio, 90% DCI-P3, DolbyVision display option.

Get the version with 802.11ax,2x2, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 5.0, M.2 Card Bluetooth 5.0 wireless, integrated in Wi-Fi + Bluetooth combo adapter.

Looking at the savings one gets going with an i5, 1080 display, and 802.11ac Wifi, it just isn't worth it. What you lose for the little money you save, naw, get the upgrades. The value of upgrading in this case is pretty significant I think. And, that isn't my usual stance. I very rarely see the point of upgrading beyond Intel's i5 Processors for 90% of use cases. But, in this case, the premium options for the Yoga C940 are, actually, premium, at a less than premium price.

For input, the Yoga C940 comes with a Lenovo Active Pen, garaged in the chassis, with Lenovo Pen Software on board. The trackpad is great, the keyboard is good, not Thinkpad good, but I find the typing experience enjoyable all the same.

There is no trackpoint. I was pretty sure I could do without the trackpoint that comes standard on Thinkpads in exchange for the various other features that come with the Yoga C940. The jury is still out on that. Premium options preferred by content creators, on a Thinkpad Yoga, haven't been available for years.

That may have changed with the Thinkpad X1 Yoga Gen 5. I'll review that device as soon as I can get one.

Aesthetics

The Yoga C940 is gorgeous. I've seen and held both the Iron Grey, and the Micah versions. Definitely, get the Micah. Pictures do not do it justice.

Someone poured a lot of love and attention into the Yoga C940. Relative to the placement of ports, vents, speakers, the pen accessory, and other features, I struggle to think of how I would have done it differently. Everything is just so, where it should be, where I need it, and not in the way. Lenovo could just make all their 2-in-1 Ultrabooks like the C940 and I'd be good.

It's awesome to look at, feels great in the hand, and carries extremely light for the power and features packed into it.

Premium Ultrabooks tend to be MacBook clones, or just kind of ugly. Thinkpads have sort of transcended all that, and Lenovo has tried really hard to do the same with their Yoga line of products. They tend to have a chassis and hinge assembly that sets them apart, while adding features or aesthetics that go beyond just looks. Previous Yoga Books had vibrant colors and a watchband hinge that set them apart.

In going with Iron Grey, Lenovo might be trying to get people to see their Yoga line as tools, options for creatives. I have a Yoga Book C930, and Yoga A940 AIO desktop in my workflow at either side of the Yoga C940 14" Ultrabook. Lenovo is as close to that reality as one can get without a MIL-STD rating.

Service & Warranty

Do not let anyone work on your Yoga C940 other than a Lenovo 1st party employee at one of Lenovo's service depot locations. Get the premium warranty option, but insist on mailing the device into Lenovo for support.

Do not try to work on this machine yourself. Even if you are an experienced tech with twenty years experience like I am. Watch the service videos and read the literature, for sure, if you like a challenge. I did. Nah.

Do not let a 3rd party technician touch your Yoga C940. They will more than likely fuck it up.

I educated myself on how to do a repair on my first Yoga C940 and decided that while I had the skill and the tools, I wasn't willing to take the risk. The 3rd party service person came out and murdered the laptop in trying to perform a relatively simple keyboard swap. Because of how the cooling system and hinge are integrated, the laptop is pretty difficult to pull apart without breaking it.

The story has a happy ending, though. Lenovo couldn't replace my Iron Grey model, having only Micah in the US to send me. I was curious about the color, so I went ahead and opted for a replacement with the different color. Glad I did, Micah is awesome. Remember the Clementine Orange Yoga 3 Pro? Yeah, it's like that.

Also, throughout, Lenovo warranty and service personnel did their usual five star awesome job making me happy.

Pen Input, Digital Art

As a platform for doing digital art, it's as good as it gets with a device like this. I spent most of 2018, and some of 2019 battling a serious illness. My hand still shakes, but I'm getting back to proper form with the Yoga C940. The digitizer doesn't seem to have a stylus preference, being equal to, or a little ahead of, the pen tech I have at my disposal.

I do a lot higher resolution pixel art in photoshop these days, dropping back to illustration when my hand feels steady. I don't feel like I'm fighting the machine as much as I have with other rigs. My bias toward EMR stylus tech doesn't seem to get tripped as much with the newer AES, and the Yoga C940 feels made for pen input. The soundbar hinge is good enough that I don't have to always have earbuds or headphones on, unless I'm listening to the blackest thall-festooned technical death metal.

Everything else, sounds great, headset free, in my living room, or on the balcony outside.

It could be better. It could always be better, but the pen input on the C940 is more than good enough for my purposes, often exceeding my expectations. The glossy display sometimes throws glare, but the quality of the color and depth of contrast makes me less than willing to put screen treatment film down. I'll deal with my stylus slipping a little, and some glare, to look at the display unfettered.

It's that nice.

Final Thoughts

I haven't noticed an issue with battery life. I can use the Yoga C940 for 4-5 hours, through it on the charger during lunch, and use it for another 4-5 hours, and not have to worry about managing screen brightness, or performance. In testing the device with my workflow, battery life hasn't been an issue. I didn't try to measure the exact duration of the battery, I just used the laptop as I normally would, and waited to see if I tripped over a low battery warning.

It didn't happen. With my use case, and 30 minute access to a power outlet in the middle of the day, I had power for whatever use and screen brightness I wanted.

The lack of a trackpoint, and the transposed ctrl and function key, as compared to a Thinkpad Keyboard is the thing I stumble over the most. Even with my Yoga A940 AIO, I have a wired Thinkpad Keyboard with Trackpoint, ctrl and fn key in proper place. The virtual keyboard on the E-Ink display of the Yoga Book C930 has the ctrl and fn keys arranged as I prefer.

The Yoga C940 made me realize just how much I use the ctrl key, and how much my brain relies on it being between the fn key, and the Windows/Super key. I need to remap the keys, drop stickers on them, and call it good, haha.

Thanks for reading.