#i did one of these before and theres at least two overlapping questions and the answers havent changed since the last one | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

latibulesims · 3 years

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Hey Lati!

I’m so sorry to press you for more information, but I’m so fascinated by your filming process and I have some additional questions if that’s okay. Specifically around your sets that are just individual rooms, are these just multiple secular room sets on one lot, or do you use a different lot for each set? Like with the River’s house when any family member is coming downstairs, is Tresor or Raign’s room not on that lot? The living room and kitchen? Lol I’m just so fascinated by this if that’s the case, and if so it’s extremely impressive because they look like they all could actually be one complete set. Sorry if this makes zero sense, I’ve just never thought to try this and now I really want to! ☺️ Thanks so much!

Haha no you make total sense!! First of all thank you for watching my series, and don't worry at all about asking questions! I know filming with The Sims 2 can be difficult bc of how often it crashes and its loading time, so any tips I can give to help the game crash less, im happy to share 💖

The sets are actually on different lots entirely! So, when Tresor "comes downstairs", or the characters go from the living room to the kitchen, I load an entirely new lot! I think the only exception I make is with bathrooms because they're so tiny haha, but any time you see the characters going from one room to the other, it's usually a different lot all together. :')

It may sound exhausting to some, having to jump from one lot to another, but over the years (I've been doing this since 2017, at least!) I've managed some tips that help, for those that are interested:

1) I make multiple sims of the same character, so that every sim belongs to every lot! So, if Tresor for example needs to be in her bedroom, the living room and Simons bar within the same episode, I create 3 Tresors (TresorBED, TresorLIVING, TresorBAR), and that way I don't have to move her around.

I should also note that I change neighborhoods every episode (more on that in tip #3), so it might sound like a lot of sims over the episodes but really it's usually just 3 versions of the same character in one neighborhood at a time.

You might find it's easier to just move the sims from one lot to the other, but in my experience moving the sims around (or using the tombstone to extract them) always ends up crashing my game so this is a really good way to avoid it all together!

2) I don't film chronologically, but by sets! This is my #1 tip. I basically gather up all the scenes I have in 1 set and I film them. That way i dont have to go back and forth between lots, instead I just finish off all the scenes I need using a lot and move on to the next! Sometimes a set has so many scenes I end up filming in one set for weeks at a time (usually Simons bar, haha, that S2E1 Christmas episode needed like 3 sets (Simons bar, Simons living room, The Rivers living room), and I spent two months just filming in Simons bar).

The only time I won't recommend this, is when you havent yet found your own style. Then you might risk something like this happening: You're just starting to film, and you have the 1st and last scene in the episode in the same set. So, you film them both. Then you film a couple more scenes after that, and then you reach the final set and by then your filming skills have changed (if you haven't found your style and take months filming an episode - which is completely valid, BTW - this could mean a drastic change). Then, scene #1 (which you filmed at the very beginning) could have a completely different filming style than scene #2 (which you filmed at the very end), and so on. You wouldn't want that.

I had something like that happen to me, where I discovered reshade mid-filming an episode, so the scenes I filmed at the beginning of the episode didnt have it, and then the scenes I filmed at the end did it. It made the epsiode look incosistent, which is something I don't really care about (and neither do my viewers, really), but you might so letting you know as a heads up! Some of these tips do compromise the "professionalism" of the episodes, but it's how i manage to film and pop out episodes with (relative) quickness :').

Thats why for many reasons, including should you want to film by set instead of chronologically, I suggest you find your style before filming an episode or starting a series all together. This can be done through creating small machinimas, filming tests, music videos, etc. Take it from someone who can't even handle sitting through the first 8 episodes of my own series because of how much my style back then. The way it drastically changed from one episode to another irks me so much! 😅

3) And this is my most controversial one, LOL, but I always build sets + new neighborhoods from scratch with every episode. As I mentioned above, I change neighborhoods with every episode because, in my experience, neighborhoods get corrupt with time so starting with a fresh neighborhood every episode helps avoid crashing. Previously, neighborhoods would get so corrupt, they'd stop loading at all mid-filming an episode, so im forced to interrupt my filming streak and build the sets and characters all together which absolutely wrecks any motivation I have to film afterwards. Once, this happened mid-filming a scene and so I had to rebuild, and let me tell you: Theres a difference between sets looking a bit different because I had to rebuild between episodes, and sets looking different within the same scene. At least when you rebuild the set with every new episode, you can blame minor changes on the fact that time passed from one episode to the other.

Also: I make sure to build all the sets I need for the episode before I start filming, because I dont want anything to interrupt my filming once I start it. If Im forced to build when I'm motivated to film, I end up losing that motivation in the time I spend building, if that makes sense. As u probably already know as a machinima maker, we do the work that is usually required of a team (writer, director, editor, and also stylist and set designers), so I like to do things one at a time so I can have a clear understanding of my schedule and timetable. So, I dedicate 2 days to style all the sims, a week or so to build all the sets, usually months to film the episode, then another week to edit and audio edit. I try my best not to have all of those parts overlapping, otherwise it gets too overwhelming.

The reason I rebuild from scratch, as opposed to just extracting the lot and installing it in a new neighborhood is because, again, I prefer a fresh start and have found that lots are less likely to get corrupt if they're "new". A lot of people think im crazy for it LOL, or that it's a colossal waste of time, and maybe it is! But it's the process that works best for me, and I end up filming really fast with much less crashing and hiccups because of it!

Hope that helps!!! :') Let me know if you have any other questions about my filming process or any other tips 💖💖💖 I'd love to help!

#latips #ask lati #the sims 2

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idontwanttospoiltheparty · 3 years

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Ive never really understood the hype surrounding Taylor Swift - I mean, I like some of her songs, but im not big on modern pop music so generally she just doesn’t really click for me. But I find it interesting that theres quite a few of Beatles/Swift blogs - like, they should have very little in common given that they’re from completely different eras and all, but somehow people seem to find a lot of semblance between the two. << and thats not me shitting on any of these blogs btw! Hope I don’t come off as rude or condescending there <3

Anyway, I was just wondering what got you into Taylor Swift? (I think ive read your post on how you got into the Beatles)

Hi, anon! Don't worry, I don't think you're rude or condescending! I agree they don't have too much in common and I don't really like their music for the same reasons.* I do have a playlist of Paul songs that have similar vibes to Taylor songs but it's mostly lyric-based. (Also the Beatles For Sale songs actually have quite the Taylor-tinge because Paul and John were not immune to Country Music)

I saw @stewy say once that a possible reason there are a good handful of us Swiftie-Beatle People on here is the appeal of a vast discography, which I agree with. If you have an artist/group with 200ish songs, it's just really fun to really dive into their work and explore all the facets. I also think: we're talking about the most popular band of all time and one of the highest-selling artists of the 21st century. They have a lot of fans so there's bound to be overlap, regardless of musical differences.

Moving on to your question: Getting into Taylor was an extremely personal experience for me and so my explanation is probably going to be kind of long so I'll put it under a read more.

It was spring-summer 2014, I was 15. I had heard the more popular songs of hers starting with Love Story and enjoyed pretty much all of them (I always found her hopelessly romantic point of view fascinating) but before I got a Spotify account in 2013 it was difficult in general for me to really get into an artists' entire discography so most of her songs had flown under my radar.

At the time, I was in this very weird sort of codependent online friendship with this girl who was basically my first real best friend and my first more or less crush. She was very depressed and I was very much in an I Could Fix Her™ mood, except that I obviously couldn't fix her and it made me feel like I wasn't enough and she had begun pulling more and more away from me and not replying to my messages and it was simply driving me insane. I consider it the saddest period in my life.

at some point during this period, I started trying to connect with other people (all online, I didn't know how to talk seriously to anyone IRL) and explaining the issues I'd been having, and one of the people who brought me joy and whom I actually felt not drained talking to was a huge swiftie. And IDK the fact that she loved Taylor and the fact that talking to her made my life better (and also the fact that I liked all the Taylor songs I knew at that point) just made me decide to give her a listen. And I think that whole "large discography discovery" phenomenon really helped me at the time (funny, because her discography has doubled since then). It gave me something new to focus on; there were just so many songs to discover, all telling such rich stories. I also have always loved bridges, they are almost always my favourite part of a song. And Taylor, god-bless her, loves them too and always puts her ALL in them. Like pretty much every bridge of hers brings the song to the next level, and even a lot of her songs I don't adore tend to have great bridges (Stay Stay Stay and Paper Rings come to mind). I think one of her most underrated qualities is how good she is at song structure and really building up an entire musical journey with a song. She also almost always adds cool ad-libs in her second and third choruses to keep the songs interesting and dynamic (or at least since she's gone pop). Anyways, back to the story: Then Taylor announced 1989 as her next album and released Shake It Off, and it was just like this great happy thing for me to look forward to, when I had very little keeping me going. The era was promoting a lot of happiness which in hindsight was slightly fabricated and it was just a really great thing for me to latch onto.

At the same time I was coming to realize that I was gonna have to pull away completely from my friend and all those break-up songs just… Hit, y'know? Like, some people seem to think Taylor's a one-trick pony because she likes to write break-up songs but to me, break-ups are just like this moment where you as a human can potentially feel every single emotion, and Taylor's songs have covered every facet of the concept. Here are some songs I remember from that period, that all meant a lot to me at the time because they explained my own pain to me so well:

Haunted, for the absolute terror you feel in the first moments you realize someone is probably gonna leave you. Come on, come on / Don't leave me like this / I thought I had you figured out / Something's gone terribly wrong / You're all I wanted.

I Almost Do, for the inner turmoil you feel when you know you have to stay away from someone for your own good but you really, really have to resist just running back to that person. We've made quite a mess, Babe / It's probably better off this way / And I confess, Babe / In my dreams you're touching my face / And asking me if I wanna try again / With you / And I almost do.

Last Kiss, for that absolute sadness that comes simply with remembering everything that was good and not comprehending how it could've possibly ended. I still remember / The look on your face / Lit through the darkness / At 1:58 / Words that you whispered / For just us to know / You told me you loved me / So why did you go / Away?

Forever and Always, for that feeling of desperately wanting to hold on to what you still have but at the same time realizing it probably isn't going to last and having no idea how to fix it, plus feeling like the other person doesn't even care. So here's to everything / Coming down to nothing / Here's to silence / That cuts me to the core / Where is this going? / Thought I knew for a minute / But I don't anymore.

Dear John, my all-time favourite song, for that moment you find clarity and realize that you deserved better and that you were headed in an extremely dark direction because of this other person. [DISCLAIMER: my friend did NOT abuse me nor did we have some inappropriate age difference. But the way she would ignore me and her general moodiness really affected my own mental health and self-worth problems] You paint me a blue sky / And go back and turn it to rain / And I lived in your chess games / But you changed the rules every day / Wondering which version of you I might get on the phone / Tonight / Well I stopped picking up / And this song is to let you know why.

(She's covered more aspects of break-ups in other songs [cheating, divorce, feeling awkward around your ex amongst others], these are just the ones I remember being really important to me when I was first getting into her)

She really helped me feel a lot less alone during one of my loneliest periods and I really can't thank her enough for that. Soon after this, I started crushing on a girl in my class and Taylor's love songs started to take on a new meaning for me as well.

What's crazy to me is, when she went on hiatus for a few years, a part of me thought maybe I'd grown out of her and no longer had much in common with her, but when reputation came out I was pulled right back into my love for her as a person and musician and then when Lover came out I found that she was still explaining feelings to me better than I ever could (specifically with the songs The Archer and Cornelia Street). And now with folklore and evermore she's simply absolutely perfected her story-telling and I find myself deeply moved even by the songs I don't directly relate to. I feel like she has this amazing ability to find the absolute truth in the specific. I've never had a summer romance with someone who already had a girlfriend and mostly wanted to go back to her, and yet the bridge of august feels so real to me, y'know?

Back when we were still changin' for the better Wanting was enough For me, it was enough To live for the hope of it all Cancel plans just in case you'd call And say, "Meet me behind the mall" So much for summer love and saying "us" 'Cause you weren't mine to lose

It's hard to explain but looking at this, like it's so much more than the story it's telling. It's talking about how when you're young you really need so little to feel satisfied; how sometimes the idea of someone maybe spending time with you is better than actually doing things with other people; and how if someone using you without much thought can make you feel like you're not even entitled to grieve what you lost. Sorry. I'll stop. Don't want to go insane.

So, all of this is very personal and unique to me, but I think really the main thing that draws me to her is how vulnerable and honest she is about emotions, how eloquently she can explain the pain of being alive to me. Some people think she isn't the strongest singer, but I think, much like John actually, one of her greatest assets is how good she is at projecting emotion. The song happiness is a song I think has some lyrically weak moments but her vocal performance on it is so raw and devastating that every single line works even when, looking at it on paper, it feels like it shouldn't.

Hope this rambling made sense to you, lmao?? I love talking about Taylor though so thanks for the ask! Also very open to giving song recs if you do want to check her out more but I won't unless solicited to lmao *Sort of off-topic but I do think there's a relation between my fascination with the Beatles' history and my love for a great break-up song. I like pain I guess :)

#ask #anon #taylor #mine

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all-hail-the-witcher · 6 years

Text

questionable government spies: chapter 11

ANY AND ALL PREVIOUS PARTS UNDER #SPY BOYS OR ON THE MASTERLIST

_________

here we goooOOOOOO

okay so alot goes down in this please try not to get too mad

its all for a reason I promise

twitch knows said reason and her general reaction was “fuck”

also I tried very very hard to make it accurate I spent literally I think like 3 months googling stuff for this

extra thanks to twitch for the evil planning

also fizz helped, hi fizz, she like made everything worse so if you have a problem go complain to her

I mean you can complain to me too but like her also

anyway lets do this

also im not really sure how to tag these warnings so if you've got any questions before you read please shoot me a message/ask whatever you want

_______

ship: eventual sprace, platonic ralbert, spromeo, fittons, jack tries to flirt with Kath and it fails

warnings: post insane traumatic injury (??) I dont wanna give it away so if you have a question please message me !!, mention of an explosion, pain, both emotional and physical, physical disability, mentions of a previous bad relationship

editing: I think so theres been alot of different versions but im fairly certain it all lines up

words: significant amount

_______

Albert was about ready to yeet himself of a bridge, as Race would say. At least, he thought that that was what Race would say. Maybe he was using yeet in the wrong context…. Anyway, Albert was just done with listening to Jack trying to flirt with Katherine.

This was the first day that his and Jack’s schedule had overlapped with Katherine’s. Of course it had to be today, the day after the mission. As if Albert didn’t have enough of a headache from the night before.

Maybe it would be more tolerable if Race were working with them, Albert thought as he moved himself all the way down to the opposite side of the counter, away from Jack. But, Race wasn’t allowed to work with them because he might flood the kitchen again.

“If you were a fruit, you’d be a fineapple.”

Albert let out a loud groan and nearly smacked his head into the counter, beside him Romeo let out a laugh.

“What’s the matter, Al?” He asked teasingly. “Ya don’t like it when people flirt? Ya live with Race for crying out loud!”

Albert sighed, picking his head up off the counter. “No, I just don’t like it when Jack flirts. He’s not subtle, and he uses the most obnoxious pick up lines. At least Race is a little more chill with it.” He thought back to the terrible snow puns from the night before. “Well, most of the time.”

“Well, he did learn from the best,” Romeo bragged and Albert gave him a sideways look. “What? I am a master at flirting! See, I’ll prove it to you. I bet I can make the next person who walks through that door blush.”

Albert rolled his eyes. “Be my guest.”

The next person to walk through the door happened to be Buttons. Albert choked out a laugh. Romeo made a face but still delivered his pickup line.

“Hey Buttons!” He called. “Is your name google? Cause you’re everything I’ve been searching for.”

Buttons made a disinterested face and Albert dissolved into a fit of laughter.

“Ro, didn’t we say no more flirting with the customers?” Buttons asked as he moved around some of the chairs at a table close to the counter.

“But you’re not a customer, you’re an employee,” Romeo pointed out as he began to help a customer.

“All the more reason not to flirt with me,” Buttons stressed. “Besides, don't you have a boyfriend?”

“Specs thinks it’s funny when I flirt with other people,” Romeo pouted.

“I find that hard to believe.” Buttons finished moving around the chairs and walked back towards the door.

“What’s he doing?” Albert asked Romeo as he prepared a drink for a customer.

Romeo glanced up. “Oh, he’s bringing Finch in. He must have been discharged yesterday after his surgery.”

“His what?” Albert was confused. Jacobs had mentioned that Finch was recovering from some sort of attack by the gang, but that had been 6 months ago. Surely he was doing better now…

“Oh, did no one tell you about Finch?” Romeo asked, pausing to call out an order.

“No…?” Albert said. “Well, Jacobs mentioned that he had gotten injured on the YMONY case and was recovering but that’s it.”

“Recovering isn’t the word I’d use,” Romeo said. “He’s had a rough time.”

“What do you mean?” Albert asked uncertainly.

“You’ll see,” Romeo waved him off as the door opened again, revealing Buttons pushing Finch in a wheelchair.

“Hey Finch!” Romeo greeted as Buttons parked his chair at a table next to the counter. “How’ve ya been?”

“Pretty good,” Finch responded.

Buttons rolled his eyes. “Don’t listen to him. He’s been in constant pain for the last week.” He leaned down to kiss Finch gently on the lips. “I’ll be in the kitchen. Have one of the guys come back and grab me if you need anything.”

Finch nodded and waved to Buttons as he walked toward the kitchen. Then he looked up at the counter and noticed Albert for the first time.

“Albert Dasilva! I haven’t seen you in years!” He exclaimed, taking in his friend. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Yeah it’s been awhile,” Albert agreed, leaning across the counter and surveying Finch's appearance. He was wearing an old blue flannel shirt and sweatpants. The right sleeve of his shirt was rolled up to his bicep, revealing the fact that he was missing most of his right arm. Fastened securely on top of his shirt, around his lower abdomen, was a white brace that appeared to extend all the way down his left leg under his sweatpants. There was heavy bandaging and most likely a brace encasing his right lower leg. The chair was tilted back slightly and both foot rests were raised to support his presumably injured legs.

“Are you and Race still partners?” Finch asked as Albert rung someone up at the register.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re still partners,” Albert felt himself smile at the mention of Race. “We’ve started training a kid. Jack!” Albert called across the counter to Jack, who was still trying to miserably flirt with Katherine.

Jack wandered over, looking a little disappointed that he was being called away from his crush. “What is it?”

Albert gestured to Finch. “Jack, this is Finch Cortes. Race and I were friends with him in training. He’s partners with Buttons, and they were training Katherine.” Then he turned to Finch. “Finch, this is Jack Kelly. Race and I have been training him for about a year.”

“Hi,” Jack said, clearly anxious to get back to Katherine.

“You’re so lucky that Race and Albert are training you,” Finch told him. “They’re two of the best field agents I’ve ever seen. Well,” he paused, laughing slightly, “except for that time where they almost blew up the weapons lab.”

Jack stamped his foot in frustration. “How is it that everyone knows about that except me?”

“It’s just one of those things you had to experience for yourself to truly appreciate it,” Romeo sighed, staring off into the distance comically. “I will never forget the look on Jacobs’s face when he told us why it was off limits.”

Albert and Finch began to laugh and Jack stomped back down behind the counter toward Katherine.

“Al, when’s your break?” Finch asked after the laughter had subsided. “I wanna catch up.”

Albert glanced up at the clock. “I can take it now, actually, one second.” He ducked back into the kitchen to hang up his apron and returned moments later, pulling up a chair at the table Finch was sitting next to.

“So,” Finch began. “What brings you and Race back here? I thought Race didn’t want anything to do with this city.”

Albert laughed a little. “Well, Jacobs assigned us a case, and he thinks that we’re going to fail, so Race wants to prove him wrong.”

“What case?” Finch asked. “Or are you not allowed to say?”

“No, no, I can say,” Albert said. He took a deep breath. He was still hoping against hope that Finch hadn’t gotten injured on the YMONY case, even though he knew he had. “Race and I were tasked with bringing YMONY down,” he said.

Finch’s face darkened for a brief second before he responded. “I didn’t realize that someone else was getting assigned to that,” he said.

“Apparently no one was supposed to,” Albert said. “But they got some sort of coded message and Jacobs hates us, so he figured hey why not put them on, if they go missing or die then at least I’ll be rid of them.”

Finch smiled briefly. “Buttons and I were on that case. They’re a dangerous group, as you can see.” He gestured to himself with his left hand.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Albert began hesitantly, “what happened? Just so I know what we’re getting ourselves into.”

“No, I don’t mind at all,” Finch assured him. “Well, it all started with the Big Bang….which was of course me hitting the floor.”

From the counter, Romeo let out a loud groan and Albert suppressed a laugh. He was glad Finch’s current situation had not affected his personality.

“I was at a warehouse with Buttons and Katherine,” he continued. “We knew that it was a point of contact for the gang and I wanted to scout the area. Buttons and Katherine were around the corner in the car on comms with the cameras and schematics pulled up. I was up on one of the ledges when an explosion went off, shoving me off and down about 10 feet. Then another explosion went off. I don’t remember anything after that but apparently part of the warehouse started falling apart. They told me a steel beam fell on me.”

Albert was at a loss for words. “Oh my god,” he whispered. And I let Race go undercover in that gang. “Are you gonna be okay?”

“You want the laundry list of stuff?” Finch asked, although he didn’t seem annoyed. “Then you can decide for yourself.”

“Um, sure,” Albert said.

“Well, my arm got blown off in the explosion,” he began, gesturing to his stump, just above where his elbow should have been. “I have a prosthetic, but I don’t like wearing it because it’s not the permanent one and it’s uncomfortable.” He paused. “When I fell off the ledge I landed on my back, which caused a dislocated hip and a T9 spinal fracture.”

“You’re not- you’re not paralyzed are you?” Albert stammered.

“Hold your horses, Al,” Finch smiled. “I’m getting there.” He paused, remembering where he had left off. “The beam that landed on me broke my left femur into 5 pieces, broke my left knee cap, and shattered my right lower leg. The beam also caused severe damage to my left femoral nerve which they think might have resulted in a degree of permanent femoral nerve dysfunction. And the shattered bones in my lower right leg completely severed my peroneal nerve, causing probably permanent peroneal nerve palsy. Also, the damage to my spinal cord resulted in incomplete paraplegia.”

Albert stared at him. “English please?”

Finch laughed. “I’m paralyzed from about here,” he pointed to several inches above his belly button, “down. But, since the injury was incomplete, my brain can still send some signals. I have about 50% feeling still from my hips down. In terms of movement, my left leg and hip are more immobile than my right, at least that’s what the doctors speculated, they won’t know for sure until my legs heal. Plus, all of the damage to the nerves in my legs kinda complicates things a little. But, I do have pretty good control of my abdominal muscles, about 75% of what it was and relatively no loss of feeling there so that’s good.”

“So, you are paralyzed?” Albert asked.

“Yes,” Finch said. “Both incomplete T9 paraplegia, and bilateral peripheral neuropathy.”

“Are you going to be able to walk again?” Albert stared at his friend with concern and sympathy.

Finch shrugged. “No one's really sure yet. Depends on how well everything heals and what my range of motion ends up being. I had surgery about a week ago on my right leg,” he pointed to the bandages encasing his right lower leg. “It was meant to relieve some of the pressure and hopefully give me a little movement. I have a scan next week to see how my left knee, leg and hip are healing and if they’re good I’ve got a chance of walking again. But, they have already told me that it will be difficult. Even if everything does heal properly, because of the severe nerve damage and spinal paralysis, I’ll still need braces, probably an HKAFO and forearm crutches or a walker which could be difficult considering….” he trailed off, gesturing to his missing arm.

“What’s an HK whatever it was?” Albert asked.

Finch shifted slightly, his face contorting with pain. He pointed to the brace around his lower back. “This is an HKAFO. It’s a brace that goes around your torso and hip area and then down your thigh, knee, ankle and foot. The one I’m wearing right now only goes around my left leg. Once it’s decided whether or not walking is in the question, another leg brace will get attached around my right leg. It’s kind of like an exoskeleton.”

Albert looked at his friend, letting all of that information sink in. Finch was paralyzed. Finch might never walk again. Finch had been injured while on the same case he had Race were on. “Dude, I am so sorry,” he finally said.

Finch brushed off his apology. “Why? Wasn’t your fault and there’s nothing you can do to change it.”

“I can help bring down the people who did it,” Albert reminded him.

Finch laughed, which Albert found odd considering the situation. “I’m sure you guys will. But I’m not one for revenge. Besides,” he smirked at Albert, “this is just a side effect of being a field agent.”

“Yeah I’m pretty sure they don’t cover amputation and paralysis in the orientation,” Romeo called from the counter.

Finch rolled his eyes. “Well, yeah. But I willingly signed up for this, I knew getting severely injured or dying was a possibility.”

Yeah, Albert thought. A possibility we all would like to forget exists.

“Besides,” Finch added. “I’m not dead, so that’s a plus.”

Albert stared at him in disbelief. “You’re missing half of your right arm and you can’t walk. How is any of this good?”

“Well for starters, I still have my left arm.” He waved it around for emphasis. “And I can get around just fine in a wheelchair. Plus I have a fantastic boyfriend to take care of me. The worst thing about all of this is that I can’t use my slingshot anymore.”

“I don’t understand how you’re so positive about all of this,” Albert said.

“Facing death makes you appreciate life, Albert,” Finch said. It would have been poetic if he didn’t sound so sarcastic.

Albert shrugged. He knew Finch was right, but he couldn’t stop picturing Race in his place. He didn’t think he could go through that.

Finch opened his mouth to say something, but then closed his eyes and scrunched up his face in pain. His breathing was loud and quick.

“Finch?” Albert said immediately, jumping out of his chair. “Finch what's wrong?”

“Get Buttons,” he said through clenched teeth. “And ice.”

Albert didn’t have to be told twice. He ran into the kitchen, skidding to a stop next to Buttons who was working at the grill.

Albert clamped a hand onto Buttons’s shoulder. “Finch needs you,” he said and Buttons’s eyes widened as he began to turn. “Look like he’s in pain. He asked for ice.”

“Okay,” Buttons said, calling over to one of the other workers in the kitchen and abandoning his station. He ran to the freezer and filled a bag with crushed ice before darting through the doors, Albert following close behind.

Finch was exactly where Albert left him. If he hadn’t been, Albert would have been worried. Buttons pulled up a chair directly in front of of Finch’s chair and gently lifted his right leg into his lap. He rolled up Finch’s sweatpants to the knee, revealing a brace around his lower leg and foot and thick bandaging. Then he pressed the ice bag to his boyfriends mangled leg.

A pleased sigh escaped Finch’s lips and he opened his eyes to look at Buttons. “Thanks babe,” he said.

“Of course,” Buttons responded. “Everything else okay?”

Finch nodded.

Buttons turned to Albert. “What kind of lies has he been telling you?”

“I didn’t tell him any lies!” Finch protested. “I told him what happened.”

Buttons rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and I bet you left out the part where you died for three minutes, and the part where they almost had to amputate not one but both of your legs, and the fact that you were in the ICU for almost a month before you were stable enough to be moved, and the part where you can barely sleep through the night without screaming in pain.”

“I was unconscious for most of those things,” Finch protested. “And I’m here now, so what does all that really matter?”

Buttons looked at Albert. “Is Race ever this stubborn about injuries?”

Albert considered for a moment. “Race isn’t usually the one who gets injured. That’s my job.”

Buttons sighed. “Consider yourself lucky.”

Albert thought back to the previous night’s events and how his efforts had gone to waste. He thought about how his hands had been shaking last night when he went to purchase Race’s advil. He thought about Race leaning into him last night as he guided him gently down the hall to their apartment. “Yeah,” he whispered, mostly to himself, “real lucky.”

Finch lifted his head and looked at Albert quizzically as if he were about to say something when Medda burst out of the back room calling his name.

“Albert!” she sang. “Would you be a dear and play these lovely customers some of your music?”

Albert smiled. “Of course Miss Medda.” He stood and began walking back towards the break room to grab his guitar. When he came back, Medda was talking to Finch about his condition.

“You feeling any better, baby?”

“A little bit,” Finch said as Albert began to tune his guitar. “Still a lot of pain, but we’re getting there.”

“That’s good, honey.”

Buttons adjusted the ice bag as Al plucked the E string. Finch winced slightly and Buttons picked up his hand and began to rub gentle circles into it with his thumb.

Guitar finally tuned, Albert moved toward the wood stove in the far corner of the coffee shop to begin playing. Medda usually had him play around 10 songs at a time.

He played a variety of slow indie coffee shop-esque songs and came down to the last one. He plucked a daw strings absently as he tried to decide what to play. His mind wandered for a few seconds before he decided.

He began to strum the opening chords before he sang.

“He’s watching the taxi driver he pulls away. He’s been locked up inside his apartment a hundred days. He says ‘yeah he’s still coming, just a little bit late, got stuck at the five and dime saving the day.’ He just watching the clouds roll by and they spell his name, like Lois Lane. But still he smiles, oh the way he smiles.”

Across the shop, Finch caught his eye, looking as if he were deep in thought.

“He’s talking to angels, counting the stars, making a wish on passing cars. He’s dancing with strangers, falling apart, waiting for Superman to pick him up in his arms, in his arms.”

Crap, Albert thought. He knows.

•••

Albert arrived back at his and Race’s apartment around 2 pm since he had had the morning shift at the coffee shop.

“Race?” He called out softly, hanging up his jacket and leaning up his skateboard against the wall. Apparently Oscar gave anyone involved in a heist the next day off so they could rest, sleep, tend to their wounds, etc. Since Race wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room, Albert assumed he might be napping.

He walked quietly down the hall to Race’s room and peeked inside. Sure enough, there was Race, curled up in an oversized sweatshirt and athletic pants, dozing gently on the bed.

Albert smiled and walked into the room, sitting down next to Race and pulling the throw blanket he kept at the end of the bed on top of him.

A few minutes later, Race began to stir. “Hey Albie,” he yawned, stretching slightly. “How was work?”

“It was okay,” Albert said, remembering Finch.

Race made a face, shifting to rest his head on Albert’s leg. “Your tone of voice and facial expression says otherwise,” he mumbled sleepily.

Albert laughed. Race could read him far too well. “Buttons brought Finch in today.”

“Oh, how is he? He was hurt on our case right?” Race had closed his eyes again.

“It’s bad, Race,” Albert whispered. “He lost most of his right arm, and he’s paralyzed. All those terms he told me….” Albert trailed off, thinking about all the medical shit Finch had told him. “There’s a good chance he won’t be able to walk again, Racer. And I just kept thinking, what if something like that happened to you?”

Race cracked open his eyes, staring up at his worried best friend and gently taking his hand. “I’m fine, Albie, there’s no need to worry about me,” Race reassured. “Last night went fine, I’m just a little beat up is all. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

“Are you sure hun?” Albert let the pet name slip out accidentally and he winced. He only called Race that when he was worried about him. But after last night, he had reason to be.

Race’s expression softened and he placed his hand on Albert’s leg. “Hey, hey. I’m okay,” he whispered.

“I know, I just,” Albert sighed, “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Race snorted. “Says the person who has more scars than freckles.”

Albert rolled his eyes.

“I’ve danced my whole life, Albie,” Race reminded him. “I have a crazy ability to overcome minor physical injury.”

Albert sighed again, lacing his fingers though Races. After a few minutes Race spoke up. “Lay down with me?” he whined.

“Of course.” Albert stretched out next to Race, looping his arm around his chest, relishing in the physical contact that proved that Race was, in fact, okay. At least for now.

_________

im sorry but it had to be done

if you have any questions about finch please ask hes gonna be around for awhile

there was a version where he died but were Done With That

also that song Albert was singing was waiting for superman by daughtry

again sorry

but also not

ALSO AMPUTATING FINCHS ARM WAS FIZZ’S IDEA NOT MINE I TAKE NO CREDIT SHE WANTED HIM TO “not be able to shoot his slingshot anymore”

huuuuuu

feedback is always appreciated hmu to be on the tag list

tag list @fairly-awkward-trashcan @well-the-kids-do-too @racetrackcook @bouncyscreamingnewsboys @ughwaitwhat @aw-jus-let-em-try @ben-cook-can-cook @the-woild-is-my-what-now @tommy-s-s0cks @voice-foundshoe-lost @galaxy-trees13 @stopthe-presses @ridin-in-style @pinecovewoods @i-got-no-clue-what-im-doing @bencookisagod @be-more-chill-evan-hansen @hellasoulless @stellar-alpaca @saxoph-ella @smolcanadiankid @disney-princess-sized @the-newsies-justice-for-zas-blog @insane-tomato @spot-conlon-king-of-brooklyn @have-we-got-news-for-you @thatfancyclam @myidkwhatmynameisblog @legoflambwrites @that-one-newskid @not-a-scab @albertdasillva

@entschuldigung-bitches

@thebroadwayaesthetic

@tea-and-theater

@thomasbeingthomas

@seasickdolphin

@auspicioustarantula

@newsies-of-nyc

@mrs-higgins

@sunshine-e-cigarettes

@spot-me50-papes

@satafe-cafe

@papesdontsellthemselves

@king-of-new-yoirk

#spy boys #saphie scribbles #ralbert #sprace #fittons #spromeo #jack is a disaster #im sorry about finch I swear theres a reason #albert dasilva #racetrack Higgins #spot conlon #buttons davenport #finch cortes #romeo #newsies fic #damn #I hurt him good #this is why there was a fic with paralysis and another with amputation awhile ago #I was getting you ready

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barbwiredheartx · 5 years

Text

So i had my appointment today with the nurse who conducted the trauma- and dissociative disorder diagnostic test. Week ago i requested bea or skye or someone with the capacity to handle the bad news to front, but the two are missing in action, instead two days ago i got bri. I got a nervous stomach walking toward the hospital and asked my love to help, he sifted in and my stomach settled. Bri's got a clear head on her shoulders, easy to think smart things etc. She was conversing with b at home in the morning about drawing out how we perceive our body, our consciousness, our awareness and how that interacts and combines with the world, simple visual presentation of biology and the interactive mind and the world, we think, but who knows.

Once we got to the nurse however bri was soupy with a masculine presence cuz thats our norm - our boys handle things that require emotional detachment (we did get shaky however), i also think its impossible for us to meet professional people without a mask on, it's difficult enough to meet regular people, just like the conditioned mask of a perfect flawless witness child representating an Elders family, at least on the surface interactions. Smile, deny yourself, be kind and polite.

I was reminded about me telling them about a, to quote my friend "classic co-consciousness example" and yet, this nurse had no idea what i was talking about. If to wake up as another person, feeling them, their sex, their body shape and their emotions perfectly overlapping with your sense of the physical body and you walk differently, sit on the damn toilet differently and question wtf is this, is me somehow consciously creating an identity then i dont fucking know.

Or waking up in 2014 as a woman, confused, aware of the time passed as we have a frontal memory that everyone at the front has access to, and feeling like i woke up from a fucking coma? Is me consciously creating alters, then i dont fucking know. Or going to the store, paying my groceries, coming home and the next day i have no idea why i have ten euro bill still in my wallet and remembering i walked home without the cat litter bag, yet walking to the kitchen and looking at a cat litter bag having no idea why or how i have it there bc i sure didnt buy it. And i still have no idea where the dish brush came from the other christmas. I threw them all into the trash, went to the store bought a regular dish brush to replace the old ones with the last coins i had. And two days later, theres two dish brushes hanging off the dish rack, one regular and one with a brush head you can switch. If this isnt amnesia between switches, i dont know what it is.

If having main control of the body without partial control of the body (leg moving without my control over it, the body turning around without my control of it, arms moving without my explicit control of it) isn't telling of something being strange and out of the ordinary here, i really dont know what it is. Maybe i am possessed by demons like the pastor wanted to convince me. What other explanation is there?

Is it because i dont know most of my visitors? That i dont know enough detail about my visitors? That we are most of the time blurry about who we are? Including our non-human alters. Does our abuse in our childhood and our lack of most trauma memories somehow invalidate our alternative identity states as fiction? Not all of my visitors are "new" heck, i am myself not who we were before 2006-2010. But when Joshua's subsystem members come close to front, i recognize who they split off of, same with the Jo's. Is it the lack of names? Is me wanting to name my parts for the sake of communication somehow invalidating of who we are as a person?

I'm full of ghosts. Come from a strict religion and badly dysfunctional family that was hellbent on changing who i was into something more acceptable and proper.

I really cant tell you how much amnesia there is in our daily life because i exist and live alone with myself, there is no one i see regularly enough who could talk to me about something we did or talked about so i could go and notice oh fuck, i have no idea what youre talking about. I cant tell you what personal information ive forgotten because if i have forgotten it, i dont fucking remember it?? Other than trauma indicators without memories of anything happening that could explain my reactions in certain areas of life. Plus, like i said, i live alone, so what i experience adversely, is rather quite fucking limited. Its rather fucking simple and logical why i cant answer some of the questions.

I went through trauma that caused first extreme relief of "oh ive found my soulmate, hes safe, i can be fully myself as a woman" into extreme and visceral rejection of her. So first i lost my male alter and right after, jojo went hiding. Then fast forward six years im put on a medication that wipes my entire remaining sense of self clean and causes other side affects that affect me badly. And you wanna tell me, me having a disordered panic attack to a stranger verbally abusing one our younger kids somehow caused me to intentionally create identities instead of it bringing out a sect of a system so we can stabilize ourself? Cuz we can only rely on ourself to do that. There is no help any fucking else where.

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ssehuns · 7 years

Note

hey do you know much about creating icons? i was just wondering how i could make my own and how people get the cool mildliners and notebooks as their icons

I’ve been getting asks about how I make my icons, so I figured I’d make a mini masterpost on it. These are the basic steps I go through when making an icon

there are tons of different icons you can make: check out my icons tag for inspiration!

what I use: Adobe Illustrator canva. If you’re broke or too scared to torrent this is probably your best bet. You have to sign up, but it’s completely free

Create your document: any size bigger than 400x400px is probably fine, but make sure that it’s a square shape (do this by going to create a design → use custom dimensions)

a ‘lil note: canva does this annoying thing where if you’re zoomed in or out all of the shapes will be slightly off. Unless it’s at 100%, the preview you see won’t be accurate, which is annoying when you’re making something with a lot of shapes

find a reference image: whatever your icon will be, a pen, a book, a calculator, a reference image will help immensely with accuracy and amount of effort going into your icon (I used this photo for the leuchtturmicon)

background color: I usually start with a light grey so that it contrasts with al the color I’m using in the icon, then I change it at the end if i need to (do this by going to background → document colors)

create your icon!: easier said than done, obviously. canva doesn’t have a pen tool, so you have to take the shapes they give you and build on them. Notebooks are probably the easiest; just use rectangles, and you’re good. For more complex shapes, you have to take several shapes and put them together. If I was making a notebook with rounded edges on one side, I would use a rectangle for the base then put a rounded rectangle overlapping one side that makes no sense I’m sorry It’s often really tedious and a bit complicated to test with different shapes, so message me or send an ask if you have any specific questions. (shapes and things are in elements → shapes)

logos and things: because canva is so limited with shapes, theres basically no way to make company logos. What I do is google search the logos then drag them into the uploads box on the left side of the screen. Then I just add them to the icon (that’s what I did on the rhodia and muji notebooks in this and the kanken in this). If you can’t find the icons in the right colors or with transparent backgrounds, put them in LunaPic and go to edit → transparent background and adjust → color changer.

color scheme: I’m super lazy about color, and I usually use the extension Palette Creator to create a palette for my reference image and I use those. Tip for lazy people: light/low saturation colors are basically foolproof

add shadows: if you want to. Shadows add dimension, but they are also very tedious to do if you made your icon with lots of different shapes. There are two basic types of shadows you can make (these or the book icon in this).

add any other details you didn’t add before-compare your reference image and your icon

save your icon!!

and thats it! hope this helped at least some of you, and message me or send an ask if you need any more specific help

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tvwolfsnake · 7 years

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youve said before i think that you think the idea of shared cinematic universes, or at least the modern idea of them brought forth from marvel, is more harmful than good for movies in general. i dont really know much about film as an industry but do you think thered be any positive way to implement a shared universe in film?

the first thing that comes to mind is sort of a variation on anthology series. have different directors take a crack at stories within a common fictional space/setting, sort of like a film version of the twilight zone (not to be confused with the actual film version of the twilight zone, of course), just with the added option of characters overlapping. a bit like repertory theatre, in a sense, keeping on actors for either recurring characters or “types” that each director could hire. now to be clear, I don’t think it’d work in hollywood as it is (or even in indies) without, like, 1. extremely open-ended contracts or 2. extremely understanding actors, but I think it’d be interesting.

[rest of the response under a cut, because it’s looong]

in general, though, I think the closest thing to shared cinematic universes that legitimately “works” in film are films that are in conversation with each other in some way. the best example I can think of is how antonioni’s blow-up—its premise, its conspiracy plot, and its focus on process—is revisited with audio surveillance in coppola’s the conversation, and then how in blow out de palma revisits both with a meta twist where the protagonist is a film sound editor and recordist, the conspiracy plot is specifically inspired by the JFK conspiracy and the chappaquiddick incident, and again the film has a focus on process—the process of filmmaking.like, one of the strengths of film (or consciously constructed audiovisual work in general) is that you can set up similar shots (with or without similar audio) in a similar way and the audience will realize “hey, this is like that other thing” and/or be transported to the headspace they had when watching that other thing. you have to be much more explicit with homages in many mediums, but film is uniquely straightforward about it. that doesn’t mean it’s easier—here’s probably the most famous example of someone getting it very, very wrong:

youtube

—but there are a lot more ways to do it, at least. so honestly I think that’s a more medium-friendly way to connect films than an explicit cinematic universe. there’s even an example of a director who did a series this way (well, actually, at least two, but more people have seen these than the three colors trilogy): edgar wright’s cornetto trilogy, which connects not by characters or plot (mostly) but by visual reference, recurring themes, and character dynamics.so yeah, the question kinda slipped away from me there. I think an anthology series and/or something like the cornetto trilogy would be a good way to do a concept like a shared cinematic universe.I will also say for the benefit of people who aren’t you and don’t know my stance that my main complaint regarding shared universes is not their existence, but how they’re used. I have no problem with characters appearing in other films—tarantino’s earl and edgar mcgraw come to mind—my main issue is that serializing feature films has consistently led to films with no third act and a stakes problem. a problem with raising stakes, and a problem with setting them up in the first place. even back in the avengers, the audience honestly doesn’t give a shit about new york’s destruction because they’ve literally been given no textual reason to care other than “uh, people live there, I guess”. and the no third act thing is basically the moffat problem of “well, imagine how great it’s going to be when you see the real climax I’m building up to! oh, that real climax I was talking about? that’s nothing, don’t worry about that. just wait until the real real climax” and so on and so forth. who actually gives a shit about thanos, amiritebasically I just want “a decent movie” to be average popcorn fare again, instead of “a shitty movie where we cynically try to get you to care by stealing our emotional resonance from other, better movies”. I want “this movie sets up emotional stakes! it has a climax that builds off things that were set up in the first two acts!” to be ho-hum boring things to say about a blockbuster, instead of shocking things that rarely happen. is that too much? jesus, I hope not.

#I suppose technically comics has that strength too but #from my limited knowledge it's definitely more utilized in film #ironiconion

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itsjpspeaking · 7 years

Text

Nostalgia

After watching GGV, my kimerald heart is kinda alive again. Haha! I thought I wouldnt feel kilig the same way i felt for them before. Because no matter what, I know deep inside me, that they already have both partners individually. So being a fan, I am happy and contented with what they have now. Friendship. But, this episode of GGV woke up my sleeping KG heart. I felt like there is still a chance. Heto na naman ako, bes. Hopia pa more! 😂 On the other hand, while watching, i kinda relate myself to what the both of them have gone through. Especially, Kim. I can really see myself to her when it comes to being in a relationship. Even if she always crack jokes when talking about their past, i can really see that she have loved Ge so much which eventually turned out to be so much hatred. The way she narrated all the things she used to do and give for Ge before, you can really see that there is still anger and pain, and just has no choice but to forgive. I don't know but that's what I felt while watching. But good for her for finding the courage to forgive and be at peace finally. Anyway, as to my personal experience, my first relationship was also like theirs. On and off. I thought i already moved on but I just found myself im still into her. But that's 2 years ago. 2015. I am definitely over that person now. I promise! ☺🙋 I think we did have a closure when i found out that shes still into her first. That was Nov 4,2012. I let her choose between me and the guy and so she made her choice. After that,we exchange text messages of parting ways. Thank you, sorry and goodbye. However, even if we officially ended the relationship via text, a part of me wasn't at peace and wanting to end it formally. I wanted to talk to her and clear things up but didn't have the chance to pursue it since i didnt see anymore reason and she wouldnt explain, anyway. After a few months, we would see each other through common friends but it was too awkward for us and so i would just avoid her. We also texted for quite some time after the break up but i realized that it would be a lot harder for me to move on if i continue talking to her so i stopped. No communication since then. I just knew one day that she already blocked me on facebook with a personal message, "Sige, hayaan mo, hindi mo na ko makikita. . " i can no longer remember the exact message. After two years, she added me again on facebook and thats when i thought i have already forgiven her. I mean thats already years ago and she already has her own family so i accepted her friend request and we finally got to talk and meet again. The reason why i wanted to meet her at first was to pursue what I wanted to know before, which was her side of the story. Because i never knew the real story behind how she fell out of love. If her relationship with me and with the guy overlapped. And thats what i really wanted to know. But all i heard from her is Sorry, without explanation. But i accepted it still. At least, theres already a formal breakup. But that day was just the first of continuos catching up, chat, texts, calls and meetings. Until i found myself in to her again. But this time, i know where my place is so i didnt make it last too long. I already cleared things up to her. What's going on between us, things like that. So I know my stand and would not assume anyway. We went out and there I grabbed the chance to ask her questions kept running on my mind. If she wanted to take it to the next level. But she said no, she's okay with our setup. She'll just text me if shes bored or if she has quarreled with her partner. When I heard it from her, I knew it. I had to let her go. I accepted her decision without letting her know that she just broke me again. After all, I already got what I want. We parted ways on that day in the most civil way i could. I might leave with a heavy heart but Im taking a clearer mind and a peaceful soul with me, back home. 8-May, 2017

#fangirling #past #neversettleforless #knowyourworth #kimerald #loveyourself

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gingerhulkwrite · 7 years

Text

The hunt.

Where they're stuck, watching this happen--its like they knew this entire mission was doomed to failure. Vergosi had it out for them both and it was Gorgova who put two and two together, found where the circles overlapped, pinpointed a weakness.

And there would've been a punch to the face of anyone calling her a weakness. There would've been hell to pay for anyone trying to prove it.

So why--

"You look tired." A pair of warm arms slide over his shoulders, hang loosely around his neck, like a scarf. He leans his head back, just far enough to rest against her shoulder. "Don't I always?" "You should sleep. We have a briefing in a few hours." She says it like it's the easiest thing in the world. And--he wishes it were. Maybe for her, it is. Or at least, it is now. She sleeps soundly when he's around, and while he envies that weightless unconsciousness she gets, he doesn't begrudge her it, not one bit. If one of them should be plagued at nightly hours with a non-stop mind, thank god it's not her. "Do I need to knock you out?" She jokes, then. He grins, turning his head so he can kiss the side of her face. "You'd love that." "You know me so well."

"Why--are--we--still here!" Oliver sounds more angry than panicked; he's not focusing, and the others can tell. Ace begs him to compose himself, but he can't. Not with her in the middle of all the danger. He isn't in Punisher mode any longer. He's not in soldier mode; not in a mindset to think clearly about salvaging their mission. He just wants to get out of the quickly crumbling building. Rhys is out of arrows, trying to pull them out of the clone corpses around, trying to look as calm as he can, but--even his resolve is breaking down. The Leviathan base is all but rubble, and the clones have been eradicated. Why are they still here? Because they are missing a few people. And if it's one thing they have all learned, it's that you don't leave people behind. Not without checking. Not without warning. Even in a damn burning, crumbling building. You save what you can. You save it while you can. Robbie, Audrey--all of them land back where the others are standing. The headcount goes up, but it's still not right. "Because Widow's still out there." Jack hisses, furiously trying to locate her through an electric signal. Her communicator is offline; he's starting to get progressively more irritated with Oliver. "What--" "She's not responding to any of the signals, we need to--" "Get out of here."

"Shut down the headquarters, and then close off the branches. Seems easy enough, hmn?" "Too easy, really." Rhys says it calmly, though he looks wildly amused. "Really, this is child's play. What's the catch, Kittykat." Kat twitches once at the name, but says nothing of it. Jack rolls his eyes, Oliver blinks, and Shanta stifles a laugh. "No catch, I just want this op done fast. We've received reports that since the last mission in Sydney, Vergosi and Gorgova are attempting to re-establish what they can of the Clone Project, restart Leviathan." "How can they, if they don't have anything they had before?" Oliver questions. He's been suspicious of this job from the start. "You're sending us in blind? Bullshit. There's something else." "...Well. Look at that. Theres our catch," Rhys' eyes zero in on Kat, and she does not react. Doesn't blush, doesn't break eye contact. "Want us to find out their plan before we ruin them, or..." "Actually..." Kat finally looks away, an almost smug look on her face as she glances at Shanta. Jack's eyes narrow, Oliver's eyes narrow. Rhys looks back at Shan, and smirks as he realizes. "You three take care of the ruining. Widow can handle the real spy work." Shanta salutes Kat wordlessly, turning towards the door. "As you wish."

"We--are not--leaving without her." If Jack's expression got any more hateful, the others would have backed off a bit. But as it is, they have only two options; listen to Jack, or listen to Oliver. "Then you're not going to leave here at all." He spits back, eyes flashing red once in warning. He doesn't mean to be so caustic, but the building is falling to bits around them, and he knows these patterns. He could time it down to the seconds they have left before they are suffocating under rock. And Oliver does not trust his own mutation to stop it entirely; ever since Sydney, since the revelation that the Trojans had induced an epilepsy-like brainwashing on him, he had not trusted his own genes. Relied on guns, on brute strength, on nothing but his own judgement, even if it scared him that a part of him belonged to a force that no longer existed. No, Oliver was not trying to be cold, to desert a teammate--not again. He was trying to warn Jack there was nothing that could be done about the imminent destruction. "Then get out," Jack's temper boils over at last, a large bolt of lightning striking a few steps away from Oliver. That is a warning of his own. The men glare at each other, the ground shaking, the remaining electrics hissing with energy. It takes Ace's panicked voice to snap them out of it. "Hulk!" She half shrieks, eyes widening as a gargantuan shadow crosses them. Skaar's frame crosses them, dragging a bloodied body behind him. "--It's Vergosi! He has Vergosi!"

"It's a girl!" "Please wake up. Please." "You left, and I had nothing."

She can't remember what order those words were said in; can't remember if the voices are the same person, or if they're her own words. She can hear, only faintly, a tune playing. Quiet, sweet music from another room almost. If she focuses, she can tell it's from a guitar.

"She's--not breathing." "It was so stupid..." "Our house? Did you just--"

Her body aches, but it's her thoughts that make her want to scream. Don't make a sound. She can feel hands on her neck, shoulders, forcing her eyelids open, shining a light in her eyes. No...she couldn't see the light, but she could feel it. Burning through her eyes, blinding her--but she couldn't see it. Couldn't see anything but rapidly flashing images. Her mind is ablaze, and something--something--is being burned away.

"Jackson Daniel Price... I think I love you."

"Why aren't we gone yet." Skaar grunts, dropping Sorian Vergosi's semi-conscious body at their feet. Robbie looks baffled; he had only been called in along with Audrey, Ace and Skaar as back up. They had no idea what had happened since the team had been dispatched. "We can't find Widow." Before Skaar can say anything else, Audrey pipes up. "Kat only called us in today; she said Widow had completed the transmission of the necessary intel, but didn't report back to the others." From beneath their feet, Vergosi chokes out something. A laugh, a wheezed sentence. Only Rhys catches what he says, having been watching him closely; he snatches the battered man up by his shirt front, suddenly snarling in his face. "Say that again." "It--it was a trap, and you fell for it--" He's rapidly losing consciousness. Babbling. Rhys shakes him, hands tightening, further choking Vergosi with his own collar. "The regrouping, it was a lie. It was a lie. And we have our weapon now." And suddenly, they realize, one by one...Leviathan were never intending to rebuild, they truly had nothing to build up from. All they wanted was revenge. They have their weapon? That could only mean--

The burning worsens, and finally--she screams. Screams bloody murder. Screams like something is being ripped out of her. Screams that choke down a moment later, though she can breathe just fine. Can't forget to breathe.

Skaar looks as though he is about to crush Vergosi's skull in his hand, chest heaving, growling furiously at the man. Rhys, equally as furious, lets him go--disgusted. Jack and Oliver exchange a look. A quiet moment of understanding passes between them; she wasn't the intended target. If they were looking for a weapon, they'd have picked one of us. If they have no use for her, they'll kill her. "She's with Gorgova, then." Robbie settles, with a nervous glance back at Ace and the others. He's formulating a plan of some sort. "We'll find her. We don't have much time, but we'll find her." "How--where do we start?" Demands Oliver, glaring at Ace, trying to say You need to get out, baby bird. Get out right now. She folds her arms, glares back. I am going nowhere. "Robbie, Ace and I will search from higher ground. The top floors," Audrey says, fast, and before Oliver can argue, she adds "That way we're closer to evacuation points if anything happens. We can get Ace out of here faster." Oliver nods, understanding that he has to remain below in order to keep the building standing as long as he can--even if he can't stop it crumbling all together. "And us? How are we gonna find Widow--" "Old Power. I can track her," Skaar grunts, swinging his axe over his shoulder. His eyes glow with blue energy, seeing something they can't. And before anyone else--even Jack--can interrupt, he turns fast on his heels, and goes running off in one direction. Jack follows hot on his heels, with Rhys running to catch up. Oliver hesitates a moment, only to turn Vergosi's head with the toe of his boot. "If you've hurt her, I will come back for you. Remember that." It's unnerving then, that all Vergosi does is laugh. "No one hurts our girl." is the last thing he says, before sprinting off after the others.

There are three men, and a monster. A man with a skull emblazoned across his chest, a man with a mechanical bow, a man with a metal arm. And a giant, green beast.

She has no names for them. She has no feeling other than fear. Who are they, what are they--

And why are they staring at her?

When they find her, it's--thankfully--out of the building. Not far enough to be out of view of the wreckage, but far enough that it would not touch them. She's weak, Gorgova is using her as a shield against their bullets, weapons, strength. There is no way to touch him without hurting her, and he looks smug. There is blood boiling through Jack's veins, and for the moment, he can't focus on Shanta. Only on Drogos Gorgova's swollen, bloodied face, twisting into a contented grin--and how much he wants to tear that face to shreds. Skaar roars at top volume, and he doesn't flinch. Rhys nocks an arrow, aiming for Gorgova's head. The metal arm crackles with electricity. The grizzled man's response is to poke the muzzle of his gun to Shanta's shoulder, push her forward. He says something in sharp Italian; Attack.

Her fists rise, acid bolts forming already--and that right there, that moment, they realize what Gorgova and Vergosi have done. She looks drained, exhausted, and still forcing on forward, against them. Like a mindless soldier. Like a zombie.

"Widow--" But she's too fast for them. As always, she is much too fast. The first acid bolt hits Skaar, the second exploding Rhys' quiver, leaving him with only one arrow left. Oliver pulls a thick sheet of rock in front of them, holding it at his forearm like a shield, looking over the top--straight into her eyes. And he is terrified then, of the blankness in her eyes. No light of recognition, nothing. It was like looking at himself back when the Trojans had him. She looked desolate, vicious. She looked deadly. "Widow, stand down." He orders, and she goes charging at him instead. He refuses to hurt her, but the same cannot be said for Shanta. She explodes the rock shield, breaking the barricade. Skaar can't get past her to Gorgova; none of them can. Jack barks something at Rhys, and with the last arrow he has, he fires into a weak spot he knows she has. Right into her shoulder. She lets out a cry of pain, and is knocked off balance--Skaar bounds forward to pick her up, out of harm's way. Her acids don't hurt him. With Shanta out of the way, Gorgova is dead meat. The remaining three descend on him like an angry mob, and all that's left is barely a scrap.

There's a sharper noise, then. Skaar rips the arrowhead out of her shoulder, and Shanta lets out a string of curses. And instantly, all of them are racing for her. ...Again, she's too fast. Out of Skaar's grip, she scrambles to her feet, hand on her bleeding shoulder, and glowing eyes narrowed on them. Jack, as always, is the first one to reach her, the flesh hand extended. He's relieved she's alive. Stupidly relieved. He forgets to correct his hopeful thoughts, and it would cost him dearly. Hope spawns heartbreak. "Shan--thank god, are you--" "Stay away from me." He blinks, but doesn't back off. Heart thuds once, twice, and he pales then, when he sees the genuine spite in her expression. There's a twinge in his chest, of complete sympathy. What did they do to you? "It...it's me. It's Jack--" The mask comes off, the others gather behind him. If anyone can get through to her, it's him. It's always him. "Who the hell is Jack."

Now they can see why Vergosi was laughing. Now they can understand why both Gorgova and Vergosi were so pleased. What made Winter Soldier the weapon they so coveted? His ruthlessness. Single-minded focus on destruction. No distractions, no wants for himself but blood for his grievances. The trap had been for Jack, they had no doubt of that now. But they'd caught a spider in that web, and decided--if they couldn't control the Soldier, they'd break him.

When they'd try and fix Shanta's mind, later, they'd find it was like salvaging a burning building. Dousing the fires, pulling priceless items out of the flames, repairing what they could. But there were chunks missing, there were pieces the fire had taken and it would take so much more to restore them. Everyone thought so.

Her memory would improve, she'd remember almost everything. Except--him. That's when they would realize, or rather--confirm what he'd known all along. Her mind had always been ablaze. She'd always burned like a supernova from the inside, always. If Gorgova and Vergosi had taken away Jack, then he was not a missing piece.

He had been the fire.

And it suddenly is a world on fire.

"...N-no--"

#Ocs #Daisywrites #Jack x Shanta #Legacy au #Czyvngrs

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viralhottopics · 7 years

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A Mild-Mannered Woman From Washington Is The Democrats’ Deadliest Weapon

WASHINGTON A few weeks after the 2013 government shutdown, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) compared the Republicans in the House to the preschoolers she once taught. To deal with a bunch of fractious, obstreperous 4-year-olds, she said, you need a plan.

When Murray made her comparison, she was about to sit down with Rep.Paul Ryan(R-Wis.) in what turned out to be the only significant successful bipartisan budget negotiation Congress has managed since the shutdown.

Four years later, the House is still roiled by a crowd of sharp-elbowed and feuding Republican lawmakers who cant agree even on how to do the one thing they all say they want repeal Obamacare. But now, theres a new alpha boy atop their playground monkey bars.

President Donald Trump outdid them all, belittling, bullying and insulting his way to the Oval Office.

Murray is familiar with the personality type.

There is a bully in every classroom,Murray said this week. And the best way to teach other children in your preschool class that its not OK is to make it not OK.

That is precisely what Murray and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are trying to do. Since there are only 48 senators on their side of the ledger, they lack the votes to beat back Trump and a raft of nominees that Democrats see as historically awful. What they can do is show the country and their Republican colleagues that its not OK. Murray is turning out to be Schumers deadliest weapon in that fight.

The greatest difficulty with that strategy is that Republicans dont especially want to be shown. None have been willing to admit even that nominees might lie to them, and voted to confirm two who at the very least said things that were not true. They confirmed Scott Pruitt as Environmental Protection Agency chief Friday, even knowing that they had not reviewedthousands of emails that had just been released related to his environmental lawsuits.

Still, there have been some notable successes from the Democrats perspective, particularly with nominees going through the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on which Murray serves as the top Democrat.

Chief among them is the withdrawal of labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder, a fast-food maven who was fond of employing scantily clad women to peddle his Carls Jr. burgers, and whose restaurants have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for labor and safety violations.

The salacious ads and history of labor law infractions probably were not the daggers that did in the labor nominee, however.

Ironically, his troubles started with a video created by a woman who Trump floated as a potential presidential running mate on the Reform Party ticket in 1988 Oprah Winfrey, via her TV show. Avideo from The Oprah Winfrey Show featured Puzders ex-wife dressed in disguise in 1990 to allege domestic abuse.

That she had gone on the program had been known since shortly after Puzders nomination, but Winfreys producers stonewalled media attempts to obtain the episode. The Oprah Winfrey Networks lawyers did temporarily provide a videotape to the HELP Committee that they refused to leave behind. Murray and her staff worked with committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) to make sure other senators saw it or at least had a chance to. Although Puzders former wife, Lisa Fierstein, later recanted the allegations, it had an impact. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said that she had seen the tape and wanted to make it public.

Murray has made a habit of maintaining bipartisan relationships and working across the aisle, passing things like the rewrite of theNo Child Left Behind Act. A firm member of the Pantsuit Nation, and a politician who launched her Senate career as a mom in tennis shoes, she politely and privately wielded a stiletto against Puzder, offering trenchant insights into Puzders attitudes in private conversations with Republicans in hallways and on the Senate floor. One thing Puzder said in an interview was particularly disturbing to the handful of Republicans who were prepared to oppose him.

Someone asked him why he wanted to be secretary of labor, and he said that it would be the best job he could have with his clothes on, Murray said. I presented that to one Republican senator who said to me, quote, he doesnt get it, does he?

Whether it was specifically the video that felled Puzder can be debated. Revelations that he employed an undocumented immigrant as part of his household helpfor years hurt him with a number of conservative Republicans, as did Puzders advocacy for immigration reform.

For Murray, he was a walking highlight reel of all that is wrong with Trump.

This is a president who got elected after a video came out of him on the bus with Access Hollywood. When that happened, that was such a defining moment for many people, Murray said. But the people who voted for him said thats OK, he wont do this going forward. And yet to me his nominee shared many of those same sexist, horrible attitudes towards women.

Thats what I felt really took him down, and should have taken him down, she said.

Murray and the Democrats also scored a near miss with an especially focused strategy to question then-Education Department nominee Betsy DeVos.

The billionaire charter school advocate botched numerous questions that Murray and other Democrats on the HELP committee had prepared in advance, and then followed up on. Especially glaring was DeVos lack of understanding of federal disability laws, exposed when Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) asked how her own disabled child would be able to get an education in one of the publicly funded charter schools that DeVos favors. DeVos did not understand that providers of public education are supposed to provide it to all of the public. Public schools spend significant resources to ensure disabled children get an education, and while charter schools are required to as well, they often fightthe requirement.

Other questions showed that she was unfamiliar with basic debates in the education community. She was also caught in a possible lie when she said she had nothing to do with her familys foundation giving $5 million to the anti-gay religious group Focus on the Family. Devos insisted it was all her mothers doing. Murray came back with a tax filing from the foundation that listed DeVos as a vice president. DeVos claimed it was a clerical error, but records showed she was listed in the position for 17 years.

DeVos terrible showing cost her two Republican votes, and for the first time in history, a vice president had to break a 50 to 50 tie in the Senate to confirm her.

None of that work to bring down those nominees was an accident, Murray said.

I felt from the beginning, this administration who I think expected to win was putting together a cabinet without doing the critical work that one should do at the cabinet in vetting people, in knowing what issues they might have, Murray said. So I directed my staff to do that with Betsy DeVos, with [Health and Human Services Secretary Tom] Price. And with Puzder.

Aides familiar with the strategy said that Murray vowed to do that vetting herself when she came back to Capitol Hill after the election. She reassigned a slew of policy staff and turned them into temporary investigators, churning out detailed memos that were then shared with other senators and their staff. No other committee appears to have done as thorough a dive into the backgrounds of the nominees coming before them.

Heading into the DeVos hearing, Murray made sure to coordinate Democratic questions, to avoid overlap and make sure effective follow ups were delivered. When, for instance, Hassan asked DeVos about her role in the Prince Foundation, and DeVos demurred, Hassan was able to pull out tax documents with her name on them.

As each new embarrassment and unflattering detail emerged, Schumer would often highlight them in his morning Senate floor speeches that the Democratic leaders then spread further in news conferences.

Since Democrats themselves changed the rules around nominations in 2013 to allow confirmations to pass on simple majority votes, theres little they can do beyond slowing down the process and trying to give the public enough time to see exactly who is ascending to power in the reign of Trump.

And Murray said she intends to keep showing why its not OK.

As I have had constituents tell me since the day of the election, Senate Democrats are the only barrier we have to fight back against things that arent right coming from a Republican administration, Senate and House, Murray said. So, were it. We started working from day one to be the people who take that role on.

Take a HuffPost survey: Should Democrats resist Trump across the board or look for pragmatic ways to cooperate when interests align?

Ryan Grim contributed reporting.