#i thought i hit a breakthrough with one of the main backstories

[pebblesmustard]

When the writing fairies hit (kinda):

[galacticnewsnetwork]

How a worldwide Star Wars fan group grew out of Columbia, South Carolina

Albin Johnson (helmet off) of Columbia stands next to Star Wars creator George Lucas before the 2007 Tournament of Roses Parade with members of Johnson's costuming group, the 501st Legion. Provided

COLUMBIA — During Albin Johnson’s darkest moments in life, Star Wars has been a source of light.

He lost a leg in a wreck. That led him to create a Star Wars stormtrooper costuming group that now has 12,000 members worldwide.

He lost a young daughter to cancer. That led to the construction of a pink droid that solidified his fan group’s mission in aiding children’s charities.

Johnson has turned his love for Star Wars into a powerful force.

Stormtroopers from his massive fan group created 20 years ago in Columbia have raised nearly $3 million over the past five years. They have marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade with Star Wars mastermind George Lucas, appeared at the MTV Movie Awards and, just last week, shared a red carpet with Britain’s Princes William and Harry at the London premiere of "Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi."

They have a seal of approval from filmmakers as Lucasfilms' "preferred Imperial costuming group."

"It’s so liberating to get to play out all your bad-guy fantasies," Johnson said. “Stormtroopers are your average guy. He can be anyone."

'My own world'

Johnson’s route to becoming Stormtrooper TK 210 started in 1977 with his father, a former World War II pilot, being intrigued by a movie poster featuring battling spaceships. His father thought it was a war movie and took the family, then living in Charlotte, to see "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope."

Johnson liked the movie because of the white-clad soldiers from the Galactic Empire that served with the movie’s villain, Darth Vader. Stormtroopers are among the first characters seen in the film.

“What were they? Were they men? Were they robots?” Johnson, 48, recalled. “I was trying to work the morality of why they did the things they did."

Johnson’s parents were very religious — they worked for the PTL Club, a Christian television program — and would occasionally throw away his Star Wars toys. A youth minister once told Johnson that Lucas was trying to lure kids into a cult.

He hid some of his Star War memorabilia and tried to read everything he could about the movie.

“I was in my own world,” Johnson said.

Albin Johnson (left) and his wife Kathy pose with R2-D2 and C-3PO during a 2005 Star Wars convention in Indianapolis.

His life changed after losing his left leg following a 1994 auto accident. Johnson was depressed, so a co-worker (and fellow Star Wars fan) at a Columbia Circuit City store encouraged him to buy a $2,000 Stormtrooper costume to wear to a showing for the re-release of "Star Wars: Episode V —The Empire Strikes Back."

"His eyes came alive when we talked about the movie," said Tom Crews, who worked with Johnson at the electronics store.

Few people dressed up in movie costumes to go to a movie in the '90s, especially in Columbia. It was a hit. Johnson bought a Stormtrooper suit for Crews, and they started posting photos of themselves in costumes on online bulletin boards.

They began to make friends with other fans dressing as Stormtroopers. Some were in other states, but they were joined by fans from other countries.

In 1997, Johnson, with Crews' help, created a fictional unit for the Stormtroopers, calling it the 501st Legion because “it rolled off the tongue.”

“We wanted to find people who are really into the movie and people who were really into the costumes,” said Crews, who is known as TK 512 in the legion. “We wanted to create something people wanted to belong to and wanted to grow.”

Since members were so far apart, Johnson adopted military lingo for local groups, known as garrisons, squads and outposts, so members were invested in growing the 501st in their state or country.

He had rules to make sure members dressed — and acted — properly, but he didn’t charge dues or try to make money selling costumes like similar Star Wars fan groups.

“It was not about perfection,” Johnson said. “It was about the relationships.”

The big break

That’s not to say the 501st didn’t struggle. The group’s first attempt at a gathering during a comic convention in 1998 in Atlanta included members who were not interested in dressing up or who preferred partying over marching.

But four years later, the 501st had its breakthrough.

During a Star Wars event in Indianapolis, Johnson was able to assemble 200 troopers to march to the arena. It was impressive and drew applause from fans waiting in line to get in. One problem: they walked across a street where a marathon was taking place. Peripheral vision in the masks is almost nonexistent. They stopped runners during their march.

Inside the arena, the crowds overwhelmed security. Johnson said he assembled his troopers and asked they each stand behind a security person to help usher fans through the event. That got the attention of Lucasfilm, the maker of Star Wars, which thanked the 501st and began a relationship that has helped legitimize the South Carolina-created legion.

Film company officials also recognized how Johnson led his group.

“His order of the day was, ‘Let’s have some fun,’ ’’ said Steve Sansweet, a former fan relations head for Lucasfilm. “He’s a personable guy who had an idea and threw it out there.”

Crews said he and Johnson wondered if Lucasfilm would come after them over copyright issues. Sansweet said filmmakers were leery at first, fearing that one of these rabid fans would rob a convenience store dressed as a Star Wars character.

But Lucasfilm took the 501st and other costume fan groups as a compliment.

“These can be our best emissaries out there," Sansweet said. "People love seeing them in the wild.”

Legion members take pride in making their own costumes or tweaking ones they buy to make them more authentic.

"We're showcasing our art," said Dan Rodriguez, the current 501st leader who lives in Maryland. "We want to look like we came right off the screen."  

The pink droid

Just two years after the 501st’s big break, Johnson’s 6-year-old daughter Katie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Katie saw in “Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones” how the droid R2-D2 watched over Padmé Amidala while she was sleeping and wanted her own nighttime protector.

Johnson worked with friends to have a full-size pink version of R2-D2 at her bedside until her death in 2005. The droid was named R2-KT in her honor and now tours the country for charity events, visits sick children in hospitals and participates in Make-A-Wish events.

“This became a defining aspect of the 501st: We will be as charitable as we can for children,” Crews said.

R2-KT has become the Columbia-created 501st Legion's mascot, joining parades and visiting sick children in hospitals. The pink droid is named after 501st founder Albin Johnson's daughter, Katie, who died from brain cancer in 2005.

Johnson’s strong religious beliefs carried him through his daughter’s illness, said Crews, who now works with Johnson at the state's information technology agency.

Johnson refers to himself as a father of five, which includes Katie.

“He knows death is not death. It’s part of our existence,” Crews said. “You take some heart from that. Al has always found a way to see the brighter side of things no matter the low.”

R2-KT now has its own backstory in the Star Wars legend and the pink droid has appeared in animated Star Wars shows. Filmmakers borrowed the droid for more than a year so R2-KT could appear in the background of some scenes in 2015's “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.” (The pink droid does not have a cameo in “The Last Jedi.”)

'Power of the internet'

Members of the 501st have become a staples at Star Wars events.

Lucas wanted a group of Stormtroopers when he was grand marshal of the 2007 Rose Parade. Sansweet knew where to find them and recruited the 501st, which got a pep talk from the Star Wars creator ahead of a four-hour march.

“You’re all cannon fodder, none of you will probably make it,” Lucas joked, seeing how Stormtroopers' main role in the films is getting shot and dying. “We will remember you.”

Actor John Boyega, who plays Finn, former Stormtrooper FN 2187, poses with members of the Columbia-created 501st Legion at the premiere of "Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi" in London on Dec. 12. Joel C. Ryan/Invision/AP

In the past week, 501st members took part in the premieres of “The Last Jedi” in Los Angeles and London. Their reward: They got to see the movie — and some British royalty.

Johnson stayed home. He is not involved in the legion day-to-day so he can spend more time with his family.

But he still chats with filmmakers, dresses up as TK 210 a few times a year and sends messages to members, who have reached into China and Russia — far from the Columbia electronics store where it all began.

“Even I’m surprised that it started here,” Johnson said. “But that’s the power of the internet.”

By:  Andy Shain

Source: The Post & Courier

[passingideasofaredballoon]

An Everything Playlist

With footnotes, don’t worry!

Well, here it is! First, I’d just like to say that I’m aware of the length of this playlist (53 minutes in total). See, I’ve been promising a playlist for a good few weeks now, and I honestly could not decide what this would be about. So, I’ve decided to make it a good mix of pretty much everything. Some you’ve probably heard, and some I am hoping you haven’t. Feel free to pause and take a break anytime you wish. I will also mention that for some reason, I felt the need to add “footnote” explainations for each song. Potentially in order to confirm what I feel is a good order or just provide some direction to things. Direction is always a comforting thing to add. I’ve tried to keep these notes short, unless of course they have to be longer. Feel free to follow along with these, or just have a listen to 53 minutes of background noise! Any choice is the right one here. Enjoy!

Dramamine - Modest Mouse

We’re starting off here with something that (most likely) isn’t new. However, this song is completely essential for any angry playlist I will make. Although Dramamine can feel different under different circumstances, I will argue that the feeling of almost claustrophobic, pent up aggression and frustration it expresses is absolutely unparalleled by any other song. I’ve said what I’ve said, and you know what I mean.

Breakthrough - Modest Mouse

This song comes after Dramamine, and is also angry. For some reason, I personally didn’t like this song when I first heard it, but it came on while I was running the other day and I didn’t think about running for 4 mins and 6 seconds.

Your Graduation - Modern Baseball

A newer one for me, but I’m digging it. Strangely a recommendation from tik tok, but for an angry playlist, this song absolutely hits a home run.

Something Soon - Car Seat Headrest

A song from the grade 8 version of my angry playlist, and I think it still holds up today. The end really hits me.

Doing the Unstuck - The Cure

Another song I found while looking for angry music from my grade 8 angry playlist. Unlike Something Soon, however, I listened to the first few minutes and just gagged a little. However, I kept listen, and somehow it picked up a bit at 0:48. Then again at 2 mins, with the big one at 3:40. I’m trying to figure out if my initial dislike was based on listening to this song too many times, but its probably because some parts of it truly are awful. Either way, I wouldn’t be able to tell. Anyway, I’ve decided this song absolutely deserves a spot on this list because it brought up some good memories and angry grade 8 me would be crushed if it wasn’t here.

Kicker - (Sandy) Alex G

I’m convinced that everything this guy does is insanely good. That’s why he’s been in almost every playlist I’ve made so far, and he’s even here twice. After a virtual instagram concert a few weeks ago, I went through some of his old albums and this is the current song I’m hooked on. Plus it could be angry, so...

Long Distance - The Districts

The aim is to transition from the angry right about here. Found this guy just a few days ago, and I really like it a lot. That or I’ve heard it before, because the cover and the sound somehow feels familiar to me. Hmm.

Fine Madeline -  Plums

This is the song I listen to if I’m in a bad mood. It’s got such a light, fun kind of feel and I’m super into it right now. This is what I would listen to if I could go for a walk in the nice weather. It’s also acceptable to listen to inside, in case you were wondering.

Bed - Cende

Blank - Stove

There’s not much to say about these one-word wonders. These are my favourite picks from this week.

Lost in the Country - Trace Mountains

A little bit of a more chill vibe, I go back and forth between liking this song a lot and a little. 

The Traveler - Timmy’s Organism

Rocket - (Sandy) Alex G

These guys are lyrics free and have been my background songs for homework. Traveler is kind of sad and a little intense, but it’s super cool (especially against the other stuff Timmy’s Organism does, ie “Guzzle Gasoline”. I bet you can tell the energy of their usual type of song, so where did this even come from?). And Rocket is just the greatest, obviously.

Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

I’ve decided to end off this playlist with Landslide for two reasons. First, it’s probably the calmest and slowest of any song on here. Second is that it’s been an absolutely cool find for me. To give some backstory, a few weeks ago I finally decided to check out Fleetwood Mac, since I strangely haven’t listened to them much. I thought I’d be mostly unfamiliar with their songs (and had no expectations of being attached to any of them). However, after hearing landslide, I realized that I’ve been listening to this song my entire life. It turns out my mom used to play a cover version of it in the car and around the house when I was little, and I adored it. It was weird and cool to stumble upon the real and absolutely better version of it, especially because one of it’s main themes is growing up. And I feel like a total idiot for not realizing this before? Anyway, its the nostalgic calming song I absolutely did not know I needed.

That’s it, folks! Have a good night and stay safe. I hope you know that you’re the greatest.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... Riverdale /S01\/E10\ Chapter 10: The Lost Weekend Airdate: April 13, 2017 @cwnetwork Ratings: 0.872 Million :: 0.32 18-49 Demo Share Score: 8.5/10 @riverdaleseries @archiecomics TVTime/FB/Twitter/IG/Tumblr/Path/Pin: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** Four Months late isn't too bad, right? See, in Miami, it's never cute to be the first person at the party, and really the party never ends until someone actually says it does... And clearly the Riverdale Party is still very much in full swing. So consider this 10th Entry 'Riverdale Revisit'; the after party to end all after parties. Of course, we're going to be set up for S2 when it goes live. This is definitely not one of the tv shows that Spotlight Saga will be dropping in the coming, world famous, 'fall tv' season frenzy. But don't get it twisted, there are many on the chopping block... OUR chopping block. We're looking at what gets our blood pumping and our thoughts racing, giving us something more to talk about than "Last Night on ___insert uninspired show number #45 here___." 'Riverdale' has made a massive stir across social media and of course on The CW & their worldwide dominating partner, Netflix, as well. I love that due to streaming, the new large amounts of cash pouring in from its subsequent deals, and actually several generations full of 'cord cutters', there are no longer rules to watching and writing about television series and films... Get to them when you can, some will watch them live, some will stream them later, some will wait until they can binge them all at once like a Weekend Warrior with a pocket full of Ecstasy and a head full of hallucinogens. It's our world now, and CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and more (or less) importantly 'Nielsen Holdings', no longer control what, when, where, why, and how much. Smell that? That's the sweet smell of change... And the remnants of murder and sticky maple syrup, obvi. Ive been extremely careful not to overpraise 'Riverdale' in the past. Similar series have only led to frustration or feelings of complete frustration. Its hard to know what to expect from a show like this in the near future... We all saw the demise of similar series like 'Pretty Little Liars' and other shows that run through the same type of vein... Kind of like many of the other ones attempted over at the now defunct ABC Family where PLL first started. Like The WB, UPN, and now The CW, ABC Family has also gone through a newly rebranding process that didn't do much to help the sinking ship they now call Freeform TV... A network that only 'The Fosters' and its cheesy sister show 'Shadowhunters' seem to be keeping afloat. We aren't being negative, we're being real... And when you're at a party, or in this case, 'After Party', you've got to be real. You just gotta... Even if no one ever wanted the party in the first place. If you don't know what I mean, let me spell it out for you. Ready? Set? Spell! Ah fuck it, we'll just spill the tea... 'Let's have a Kiki! Lock the doors tight!' I sometimes wonder if my obscure pop culture references I often sneak into these articles ever actually connect. They probably don't, but to that one person that got it, FUCK YEAH! It's the birthday of Jughead (Cole Sprouse)... And much like the very similar, fellow female counterpart, Sheila the She-Wolf, another introverted style character from 'Riverdale's sister show on Netflix, 'GLOW'... Jughead is not really into parties and/or making a big fuss about a birthday or bringing any unnecessary & unwanted attention to his person. Unfortunately for Betty (Lili Reinhart), Jughead isn't really big on camaraderie, most definitely not in the spirit equivalent to the 'Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling'! The reasons behind throwing these two characters' each their own impromptu birthday bashes on their respective tv shows are done for totally different reasons. With 'GLOW', it was slightly annoying at first (for Sheila, anyway), but eventually it turned from an apprehensive & anxiety filled event to a touching, sweet moment, where a closed off character had a major breakthrough that was captured in the perfect beam of light, allowing a significant development and enabling an insight into another character's backstory, bringing the whole cast together for the most part. In a great juxtaposition, on 'Riverdale', the psychology behind this one is actually much, much different... It's still got the 'trepidatious yet possible potential for a surprise moment of gratification' aspect down to a certain degree, but it doesn't go down the path of the balmy & charming. The reasoning behind Betty's sudden obsession to give Jughead the party that he never wanted, and the background as to why he's so against the idea in the first place certainly doesn't inspire camaraderie or any kind of 'feel good' moments, especially at the party itself. If anything, the intent is slightly bordering on the side of creepy. Riverdale?! Creepy?!? Yup! Keep up! It's only getting creepier. You see... We've been up on 'Riverdale' and then back down, and then back up and down again... And I think everyone here will openly admit that it's mostly due to a shaky CW track record, as well as similar networks just like it, though there has been a few inconsistencies outside of this oddball tone & beautiful color scheme we're always raving about. However, when the show fully embraces its complete and total anomalous, almost freakish eccentricities, we all just fall right back in love with the show again. It's episodes like 'Chapter 10: The Lost Weekend' that completely make us forget about past network follies and shows like PLL completely losing their way after gaining our trust and enthusiasm in its beginning stages. Reinhart is effortlessly serving up 'Bizarre, Bilateral, Betty Bananas' like a full-on, award ready, seasoned vet. Seriously, I don't want to blow too much smoke up the kid's ass, but I'm pretty sure her breakthrough performance here would even make the likes of decorated actress such as Nicole Kidman proud. Betty Cooper has a duality that Reinhart not only highlights with strong, hearty performances... But it's also the efforts of Director Dawn Williamson, a phenomenal Art Department (you guys KICK MAJOR ASS), Cinematographer Stephen Jackson (this guy was award-worthy in this episode), and Costume & Wardrobe (hell, everyone involved in the smallest, minute details) framed from shot to shot... The absurdity of how tight & perfectly situated her ponytail is, how hard she clenches her hands (leaving scratch marks on her palms), even the way she holds the cake & dawns the signature 'Jughead Crown', to whoever made the call of having those weirdo party goers in horse masks in the background - Good call, guys! That was freaking CRAZY! It's all those little things that make the picture such a pleasure to watch... Turning what seems like a normal teen drama at first glance, to a finely tuned, surprisingly compelling theatrical spectacle. The crazy is in full on abundance, though... It's not just Betty. Suddenly after a string of a few disappointing episodes, I come back after a break and either see things in a totally different light, or it could be that this was just slowly building right under our noses the whole time, or *the most plausible of all three options* is that the ironically lowest rated episode of the series, according to the great analysts over at Nielsen, is actually the most technically sound, character driven, insanely atmospheric entry of the entire 1st Season. Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) finally lets go of some deep resentments she's been bottling up and goes after Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch). This is a task that I wouldn't suggest to any person of sound or capable mind to attempt in any way, shape, fashion, or form. The act is crazy in and of itself, and pissing off the 'Ravishing Redhead' that literally wears the letters 'HBIC' on the back of her cheerleading uniform, that's 'Head Bitch in Charge' for anyone too young or too old to remember Tiffany Pollard of VH1's 'I Love New York', is obviously going to lead to a backlash that Veronica won't likely forget. Sure she might get her big 'W' now, but we must remind you... There's no 'W' in 'HBIC'. Meanwhile, Cole Sprouse & Skeet Ulrich, who plays Serpent Gangster FP Jones & Jughead's father on the show, are literally close to actually convincing me that they are really father and son in real life. The little ticks and nuances that they share are out of this fn' world insane. Either these two have spent a week in a trailer together mirroring their every move or we seriously need to ring in Maury Povich for a DNA Test! Oh, and apparently there's some guy on the show named Archie Andrews (KJ Apa)... The only drawback is that they've failed to make the main protagonist (is he tho?) even remotely interesting. He's good looking, but he's not a convincing redhead, and I'm still not hooked into his arc. Hey, that's ok... Enter Mary Andrews (Molly Ringwald - ChaChing!), Archie's long lost mother. So nice of you to finally drop in, Molly! Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) is ready to finalize the divorce, but we're just biting on all the possibly juicy dramatic scenarios! Who is Archie again? Back at the party, that burgeoning rivalry between Veronica and Cheryl hits its boiling point when Veronica gets a bit too carried away and accuses Cheryl and her deceased brother Jason (Trevor Stines) of having an incestious affair. Ah, gotta love seedy underbelly of the United States! The more money, the crazier the family!!! Oh but there's more! Good ol' All-American Chuck (Jordan Calloway), who actually WAS almost boiled alive, attempts to out Betty on her 'Dr. Jeckyl/Ms. Hyde' issue that surfaced when a hot tub prank got a bit too out of hand earlier in the season. To our surprise, and viewer delight, Jughead and his Dad actually had a moment, which was completely unexpected, yet felt completely real. Like I said before, Ulrich & Sprouse have stellar chemistry, and the writers seem to know this and obviously derive great pleasure in giving us this moment where the two aren't at total odds and Jughead not only carefully considers, but actually takes his biological father's advice... Providing solid proof that the series isn't trying to meander or stretch out any unnecessary storylines at all. No disrespect to fans of other series broadcast on The CW, but clearly this isn't 'The Flash'. These storylines seem to be heading into important territory at a reasonable pace, and not just hanging around to fulfill an episode number requested by an executive to make sure ad-space quotas are filled... Although I have considered that this could be an issue that the show could run into in its expanded 22-Episode Run that it's been greenlit for S2. There's plenty of juicy drama to go around, but when we see that drama making moves instead of being drawn out, then you know you've got a potentially good show on your hands. For now, 'Riverdale' is back on a solid trajectory, delivering what appears to be a set-up episode for the impending S1 finale... A set-up episode that was easily the most consistent entry to date from start to finish. The impression that an episode as good as this exists to move its characters like chess pieces, seemingly just to put everyone in place for the final three episodes is an exciting notion for the last 3 hours of S1 of 'Riverdale' to come!

[thevalicemultiverse]

Things You Need To Know About: Aperture Wage Slave

Tag: ~V: Aperture Wage Slave

Premise: Victor thought he was getting a big break when his application to Aperture Laboratories was accepted. After all, he’d heard about the amazing things some of their scientists had come up with – and, being based in America, joining up was good way to leave his past, with two ex-girlfriends and parents furious he’d stuffed up their best chance to be accepted by the upper class, behind. Unfortunately, once he was there, he discovered the company was run by a complete lunatic, and that you didn’t just work at Aperture ��� you survived it. Fortunately, he’s made a good friend over in the physics department, one Doc Brown – and, despite all his attempts at ignoring it, that new test subject – Liddell – is making his heart flutter in not-unpleasant ways…

This AU was inspired by one of my partner's AUs -- Emma, who plays Doc Brown (jigowatt), created a verse where Doc ended up as a scientist at Aperture Science. (Hers is called Trace Amounts of Time Travel, for the curious.) Being a huge Portal fan myself, I decided to basically piggyback onto that and created a similar verse on my old Butterfly Boy account (since he was my main Science!Victor) so they could play together in that world. When I moved over here, I decided to make it a proper verse on its own.

As a result, this is my least-developed verse -- I only recently came up with how Alice should be part of things! But here is the backstory I've come up with so far:

Victor grew up in Burtonsville during the late 1950s and 1960s, still a child of privilege and wealth thanks to the cannery -- but also a child of science, with an incredible talent for entomology and biology. Not only is he gifted at identifying any species he comes across, by the time he's 19, he's started to breed new ones -- butterflies that glow, bees that can spell the alphabet in their swarms, etc. His parents, while suitably impressed, encourage him to keep his abilities on the down-low -- Burtonsville doesn't really welcome anyone who's different, and they don't want anything sabotaging their attempts at getting a little respectability to go along with their riches. Such as getting their son to date the daughter of the local aristocrats the Everglots. Victor goes along with the match to keep family peace, but finds he enjoys Victoria's company, as she enjoys his.

As they start to pursue a relationship, however, Victor meets Emily Cartwell in the woods, having a good cry over the fact that her ex-boyfriend robbed and ditched her after promising to elope with her. Victor chats with her for a while, and a connection is formed. Figuring he and Victoria aren't anywhere near exclusive (although he makes sure that Victoria thinks this is the case as well), he goes ahead and goes on a couple of dates with Emily as well.

Unfortunately, Emily's in rebound mode, and when she spots Victor on a date with Victoria, she gets jealous and loudly accuses him of lying to her as much as Barkis. Victor does his best to explain and apologize, but she's not hearing any of it -- and unfortunately, the Everglots are in the same restaurant at the time, and immediately refuse to let Victoria see Victor any more. Victoria defies them by sneaking out to see Victor, only to find him at the local tavern, making up with Emily. Now it's her turn to get jealous, and a brief three-way fight results -- which ends when Victor points out they've all known each other less than a month. The sheer ridiculousness of it all hits them and breaks the tension, and they all mutually agree to stop dating so they can get their lives in order and get to know each other as friends first.

However, this decision has consequences for Victor, as his parents are furious with him for breaking it off with Victoria and make their displeasure known loudly and frequently. Victor, reaching his breaking point between this and being forced to hide his scientific talents, decides he needs out of that village -- in fact, he needs out of the country. So he sends in an application to what he's heard is one of the premiere scientific laboratories in the world -- Aperture Science. To his delight, he's accepted sight-unseen, and promptly packs up his life and moves to Michigan.

Where he discovers that the information he received while in Burtonsville was a little outdated. Aperture is the place to go for scientific breakthroughs like no other, sure -- but its owner and CEO is a complete lunatic, safety precautions are practically nonexistent, employees are expected to put up with constant surveillance, and if you don't measure up as a researcher, you're instead made a test subject -- whose life expectancies aren't as great as Cave Johnson would like you to believe. And Victor, horrified, finds there's not really any way to quit without ending up on the testing track either. . .

So here he is, stuck in the most dangerous lab on earth, just trying to keep his head down and please his boss without making too much of a scene. Fortunately he's got a friend over in the physics and engineering department -- one Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, who's survived Aperture for a good many years now and is generally available to at least lend an ear to Victor's complaints and worries. And nowadays, there's that new test subject who signed up too, one Alice Liddell. Victor, pressed into service by Johnson to do her entrance interview, tried to steer her away, but he also couldn't help noticing that she was also very pretty. . .and there was something about that fiery determination in her eyes. . .

But Victor's trying not to think too much about that. He's just going to make his butterflies, avoid Cave Johnson as much as possible, and wonder why he didn't at least send another resume to Black Mesa.

This verse has two distinct time periods/locations threads can be set in:

Who's Ready To Do Some Science?: Victor's just your average employee at Aperture Science -- if such a thing can be said to exist. He mainly works in the biology department, creating new kinds of butterflies to be used as test hazards/decoration, but thanks to Cave Johnson finding out about his artistic skills, he's also now the art department. Even his brief tenure in the labs has jaded him quite a bit, and he's much more cynical and sarcastic than he used to be. Not to mention his worrying has gone through the roof... But he still tries to be kind and friendly (admittedly mostly to people not his coworkers), and he has to admit, he still likes his actual job. Want to see his butterflies? 99% are non-lethal.

Cake And Grief Counseling: It's the future, and everything sucks. Victor, after ending up in one of the relaxation vaults, has awakened to find the facility a mess, his coworkers dead, and a certain murderous AI in charge of things. His only hope is to find a way to the surface and see if there's any humans left up there. And maybe see if any of his friends actually survived...you haven't seen an older man with flyway hair anywhere around, have you? Or a green-eyed girl in an orange jumpsuit? Hell, even Wheatley would be a welcome face...

Common NPCs:

Alice Liddell (throughout)

Shipping: Victor/Alice, though the actual Valice part of the verse hasn't started yet. (Weird, huh?) Victoria and Emily are still back in England, though I wouldn't mind them coming back into Victor's life later. I just doubt it'll be in a romantic context -- but hey, verses have gone surprise!poly on me before. . .

NPC Ships: None

Important Facts:

The "main" part of this verse -- Who's Ready To Do Some Science? -- is set in the time period just after Aperture's hey-day, but before they started making testing mandatory for the employees, about the 70s and 80s. Victor's understanding of cultural references beyond that time will be limited as a result. His understanding of technology beyond that time, perhaps not so much -- he does work in Aperture, after all.

Victor technically has an apartment outside of Aperture, but he's hardly ever there because Johnson likes to have his workers available 24-7, and that means providing eating and sleeping space in the facility. If there's any reason to do a thread outside of Victor's work in this verse, though, there's your starting point.

NPC Alice's backstory is roughly similar to her canon counterpart's -- house burned down by Bumby; ten years in Rutledge; a year in Bumby's care; discovering Bumby killed her family and shoving him in front of a train. She promptly skipped the country afterward and came to Michigan looking for a new life. Signing up as a test subject for Aperture seemed a great way to keep under the radar. Victor, as stated above, tried to warn her off, but Alice, used to defying death in Wonderland -- and figuring she wasn't going to get any better deals anywhere else thanks to her mental illness -- persisted and got the job. She's making quite a name for herself as a particularly tough test subject -- and is developing an interest in the shy, anxious scientist she met as the face of the company...

Given this verse sort of piggybacks onto jigowatt's Trace Amounts of Time Travel Aperture verse, developments there may be mentioned in Victor's threads! We've already invented an Aperture texting device together. :)

This verse is open to everyone!