#this is basically just me being sad that people only focus on jaeger pilots in aus

[scaredysap]

The (extensive) MDZS Pacific Rim AU - Pt 1/?

First things first, for those who may not know: What is Pacific Rim? From Wikipedia: “The film is set in the future, when Earth is at war with the Kaiju, colossal sea monsters which have emerged from an interdimensional portal on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. To combat the monsters, humanity unites to create the Jaegers, gigantic humanoid mechas, each controlled by two co-pilots whose minds are joined by a mental link.” ← this is called ‘drifting’ and it requires the pilots to be perfectly in sync with each other, on the same wavelength (be it romantic, platonic or out of being family, anything goes; it’s the power of human unity)

The Jaegers are stored and launched from giant military compounds called the Shatterdomes, which house living quarters, labs to study Kaiju Science, training grounds and much more. 

The kaiju themselves are extremely deadly and unpredictable, seeming to have no correlation in how they look like /one might have wings, the other might have tentacles, you never know).

The kaiju invasion has been going for a long time, starting in 2015 and ending (in the movie) in 2026. It is a war of endurance and humanity’s resources are running low. Thus some have decided to redirect funds from the Jaeger program to the construction of an Anti-Kaiju Wall along the Pacific coasts to protect the in-land settlements.

That said, let’s go into an overview of all the major characters into this AU

GUSU LAN

Lan Qiren: Marshall of the Shatterdome, directs the whole operation with a tight grip and strict rules.

Lan Xichen: renowned pilot, partnered first with Lan Wangji and then Nie Mingjue; candidate for the position of Marshall.

Lan Wangji: renowned pilot, partnered with Lan Xichen (and eventually Wei Wuxian); had to be demoted for a time due to acting against PPDC orders, acted as training instructor instead.

Lan Sizhui: pilot trainee, has a knack for K-Science.

Lan Jingyi: pilot trainee, looking to be partnered with Lan Sizhui.

YUNMENG JIANG 

Jiang Fengmian: head of Jaeger deployment and transportation; he coordinates with Mission Control to organise the fleet of transport vehicles.

Yu Ziyuan: teacher at the Jaeger Academy, with a focus on physical training; known for her harsh and relentless method, she is harsh in the choice of who makes it past the first cut.

Jiang Yanli: HR/Ambassador between the Shatterdomes and the Anti-Kaiju Wall, she’s a diplomatic genius.

Wei Wuxian: Jaeger Technician and mechanic, partly responsible for the switch from nuclear-powered to digital Jaegers (Mark-3 to Mark-4); he started a study on how to bring the raw power of the nuclear core into the new models.

Jiang Cheng: started out as a helicopter pilot to deploy Jaegers, later became training instructor, stationed at the Shatterdome to keep every soldier in top shape.

LANLING JIN 

Jin Guangshan: CEO of a world-class construction company, one of the main investors in the Anti-Kaiju Wall project.

Jin Zixuan: son and soon to be heir of the Jin company; notably confident in the viability of the Wall project as a better alternative to the costly Jaeger program.

Jin Guangyao: JGS’s illegitimate son, started as a Jaeger technician, moved into communications; he eventually got recognised as part of the Jin family and joined the company as his father’s assistant.

Mo Xuanyu: another illegitimate son, he lived most of his life in the Shatterdome and picked up bits of J-Tech and K-Science knowledge; he got claimed by JGS but eventually he was driven out again due to a scandal, returning to the Shatterdome.

Jin Ling: started out as a pilot trainee but just was not suited to it; he moved to the Jaeger Tech program and found his calling there; also a skilled helicopter pilot.

QINGHE NIE 

Nie Mingjue: legendary Jaeger pilot (active 2015-2021), originally partnered with Nie Zonghui, then with Lan Xichen; known for being the only pilot to ever get a kaiju kill on his own after NZH was killed in action.

Nie Zonghui: renowned pilot, able to operate two Jaeger arms at once, giving his and NMJ’s Jaeger three upper limbs; cousin to NMJ and NHS. Killed in action (2019)

Nie Huaisang: Shatterdome technician, specifically in the LOCCENT Mission Control, essentially providing communication and data about kaiju attacks between the Shatterdome and the active Jaegers.

QISHAN WEN 

Wen Ruohan: K-Science expert, specializes in biology and chemistry; secret head of the market smuggling kaiju parts.

Wen Qing: renowned doctor in many fields, ranging from medical to K-Science (cryptozoologist); the latter got her into the Shatterdome as head of the research department, despite preferring to work in the medical field.

Wen Ning: joined WQ in the Shatterdome, most often works as a Hazmat Officer to neutralize the toxicity of kaiju blood; he also has decent knowledge about other types of long-term threats to humans, such as radiation.

[sparkyeureka-blog]

an emotional rant about chuck hansen

because I really need to organize all my tears but every time I try to say any of this to a real person I feel like an idiot, so: 

it should first be noted that chuck is an asshole and I sincerely wish someone would punch him directly in the face (thanks raleigh)

but also immediately after give him a hug and tell him it’s okay to be nice to people and maybe kiss his forehead a lil

because I feel like I’m making excuses when I think this but honestly this kid is So Young

I know he’s an adult and all, and I’m not saying he doesn’t have to take responsibility for his actions, but twenty-one is still young enough to be learning

and he spent more time with machines than with his father (the person who’s supposed to teach him to not do, you know, all the things he does) since he was eleven years old

(in the deleted scene he points this out angrily, tears in his eyes, and in the novelization he says it like it’s normal while fondly tapping striker, and I honestly can’t decide which version of this is sadder)

and how can herc expect him to be a good person, “a better person,” when chuck hardly even considers himself all that personlike? herc asks him who he is and the best answer he can come up with is that he’s a ranger, the person who’s going to deliver the bomb into the breach, so much of his identity is tied up in this one thing he does that he can’t even really understand the question

this one thing that he is, admittedly, pretty much the best at, being the youngest ranger ever and having killed a record number of kaiju and all

and a thing that he notably does not seem like he’s doing for fame or glory or anything like that, even though his arrogance suggests he might. every time we see him in a jaeger his focus is on the mission, saving people--when he wants to go into that battle with leatherback and otachi, he wants to do it because he can’t just “sit around and watch them die,” he doesn’t talk about needing to come in and save the day like you might expect him to, he just tells cherno alpha to hold on, they’re coming. to help.

in other words chuck hansen has a really big heart and absolutely no idea what to do with it

outside of a battle, that is, because in battle he can yell out dorky things about their power move and show a little concern for his dad when he’s hurt (and of course he teases him while he does it and herc shoves him off) and enthusiastically cheer on gipsy danger, what, a day after fighting with her pilots? the fight being yet another symptom of this whole big heart thing, really

because chuck is sensitive as hell, his temper proves that, and in another life he’s probably an artist or something but in this one anger is about the only feeling he allows himself to have

because it’s been said he didn’t allow for any distractions, no real social life, no real relationships (not even gonna talk about the very real possibility that this kid died a virgin, which is a shame because in the novelization raleigh literally describes him as “eager to prove himself” and imagine the possibilities)

(although the part where he adds that chuck’s eager to prove himself “even to people who didn’t care” just makes it sad, and sometimes I’d really like someone to punch herc in the face too)

but then there’s herc! who chuck spends a decent amount of time devaluing, at first, saying things like “he’s more my co-pilot” and calling it “my bomb run”

and maybe it’s wishful thinking but imo this is mostly because herc is more important to him than anything else and the best way he has to cope with this (because that’s a scary thing and makes him feel way too vulnerable and maybe a little embarrassed, especially with how broken their relationship is) is acting like he’s not important at all, not in general and definitely not to the mission (basically a suicide run, and it’s easier to claim that as his own than associate it with his father)

the way he disrespects raleigh is just a dick move, of course, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t understand his reasoning--everyone there knows the jaegers are the only chance they have, and the program was in large part shut down because of how many jaegers they were losing because the pilots got themselves destroyed along with the kaiju 

and only an asshole says that to a guy who lost his brother doing that very thing, but raleigh called a job done before it was and look at the consequences and can you blame a guy for doubting him on a mission this big

especially when the inevitable trauma from all that can only mean it’s going to be harder for him this time around

it’s probably fair to say jealousy might have something to do with it too, given the look on chuck’s face when herc tells him to have some respect

anyway, moving on, or jumping backwards a little to the battle with leatherback and otachi again, it’s worth noting that there’s no doubt chuck is as hotheaded as they come, but well, he’s his father’s son, and it seems like herc may actually be the more reckless of the two

he’s the one pushing to join the fight first. when striker goes down, he’s the one who disengages first maybe without considering the potential consequences (or just deciding they don’t matter, which, come on), and yeah maybe that had to happen for Plot Reasons, but chuck didn’t have to know better and yell for him not to

(it goes without saying that herc is also the one who thought that somehow they’d be doing better by a city of millions of people if they climbed on top of their unconscious robot and shot little flare guns at the giant monster and got themselves killed, as opposed to getting out of there, which would have about the same effect--that effect being relatively nothing)

(and of course chuck listened to that logic and decided yeah, that checks out, sounds good)

moving on again, and here’s where I start to cry, this final sequence where chuck just casually goes to his death

first of all, there’s something to be said for a guy who can hear that he’s “an egotistical jerk with daddy issues” and then decide that sure, works for him, he has no problem letting the man who thinks this of him inside his head

probably to die together at the bottom of the ocean

chuck hansen is a lot of things and “self-aware” is probably one of them

(in some ways, at least, definitely not others, but I digress)

the look on his face when he’s talking to herc in this moment is?? so different than he’s looked at any point in the rest of the movie? so open, and he is, this is important, when he says don’t, he’s not shutting herc down from saying these things out loud because of some kind of Manly(TM) allergy to emotion

it’s because he knows and he wants his dad to know that he knows, that he knows without him needing to say it out loud now

and saying it like that, that he’s always known, despite the way they act toward each other

(keyword, too, being always, not just since they started drifting together, but always)

like I’m not giving chuck too much credit here but in hansen-speak that’s almost like an apology

and then of course there’s max, and max’s presence speaks for itself and this is so obvious it hurts but this boy! loves his dog! 

this arrogant walking advertisement for daddy issues and failed anger management has it in him to crouch down in front of his dog and call him handsome and say he’s going to miss him while he’s heading off to what’s probably going to be his death--like, what does he mean? does he mean he’s going to miss him for the relatively short duration of this mission before he either dies or gets back? does he believe in some kind of afterlife where he thinks one of the prominent features of existence will be missing his still-living dog?

(and the last thing he says to his father is to take care of said dog, and all of this is so much more painful when you take into account that quote about herc and chuck doing most of their communicating via dog and giving max all the love they can’t give to each other)

for some reason the biggest thing that bothers me about the novelization is that when they realize striker can’t deliver the payload, chuck’s line is changed to “we can’t do anything,” when in the movie what he said was “what can we do, sir?”

and that is just such an enormous difference that I can’t stop thinking about it and had to include it here, because chuck doesn’t give up, he doesn’t consider their mission a failure because it’s not going how they planned it, he adapts and says okay, if it’s like this now, how can I help 

and the helping is another important thing, goes along with the earlier point about not looking for glory

that for all chuck’s talk about “I’m the guy who’s gonna deliver this bomb,” all of that shit about it being his bomb run, he does not for a second complain about the change of plans, that he won’t be the one

chuck is prepared to die to save the world

and he’s equally prepared to die just to make the assist, to blow himself up just on the hope of clearing a path for mako and raleigh to save the world instead

he’s so prepared he’s the one who starts arming the bomb even before stacker lifts a hand

this is getting way too long but before it’s over it’s time to talk about his last words

first, echoing something his father’s always said--if you have the shot, you take it--there’s so many levels to that, and the first one my mind always jumps to is that he’s reassuring himself

because sure he’s prepared for this, but that doesn’t mean it’s not scary, and what better comfort than something that says this is what dad would do, this is the right thing, he’d approve of this

the second is that he’s reassuring herc

it’s for herc to hear, that he knows what he’s doing, that he’s made his choice, that he’s his father’s son

(it’s something of a cold comfort for both of them, when the last thing stacker hears from his daughter is that she loves him and the last thing chuck hears from his father is silence)

and then there’s “it was a pleasure, sir”

something that always strikes me, because I always expect him to say honor

something along those lines

but no

it’s a pleasure

that’s some word choice there

all this is basically to say that chuck hansen was capable of a lot, things that no one would expect from him like openness and kindness and caring and maybe the maturity to actually show it all one day, but somehow despite all the crazy amazing shit he did do, he never actually realized his full potential

or, as this line in this really awesome fic says, "you can fight and kill kaiju, chuck, but when it comes to people, you're still eleven years old”

because he was too busy fighting a war to grow the fuck up before he ran out of time to do it

did I mention he was twenty-one years old