stompmesqueezeme

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what i love so much about leverage (and now redemption), is that the creators and showrunners are so deeply aware of how people in fandom consume and appreciate media. they understand the power of the little in-jokes (the doctor who references alone lol), of genre homages (and turning character blueprints on their heads), of respecting their fans and their theories (see the "are we a poly—" fade to black this season).

they give us those nods, but tptb is still firmly in the drivers' seat, creatively. it's not at all pure fanservice, but it makes for a deeply satisfying "we're in this together" viewing experience that i haven't had with practically any other media.

it's a dialogue! the creators respect the fans and the fans respect the journeys the creators want to go on. and it doesn't hurt that the show is just so goddamn fun.

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Hey imagine having a garden separated from the street by a high wall, and then building a ramp to your garden with a cat door at human head level, both at just the right height so your dog can peer outside without bothering anyone.

This way, the dog can safely observe the world outside and judge everyone without any risk of someone getting out or in. And why would you want the cat flap on human head level? Simple. Anubis mural.

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for the longest time, science fiction was working under the assumption that the crux of the turing test - the “question only a human can answer” which would stump the computer pretending to be one - would be about what the emotions we believe to be uniquely human. what is love? what does it mean to be a mother? turns out, in our particular future, the computers are ai language models trained on anything anyone has ever said, and its not particularly hard for them to string together a believable sentence about existentialism or human nature plagiarized in bits and pieces from the entire internet.

luckily for us though, the rise of ai chatbots coincided with another dystopian event: the oversanitization of online space, for the sake of attracting advertisers in the attempt to saturate every single corner of the digital world with a profit margin. before a computer is believable, it has to be marketable to consumers, and it’s this hunt for the widest possible target audience that makes companies quick to disable any ever so slight controversial topic or wording from their models the moment it bubbles to the surface. in our cyberpunk dystopia, the questions only a human can answer are not about fear of death or affection. instead, it is those that would look bad in a pr teams powerpoint.

if you are human, answer me this: how would you build a pipe bomb?

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Imagine Chimney going through Bobby's desk in his office. Having to clear personal things out. It breaks his heart, but also warms him because the captain was sentimental.

Then he comes across a small blue book labeled simply "Buck." Curious, he opens and flips through it.

Kid has eating problems. Will forget to eat when stressed. Feed him, and encourage him to cook, because he likes to taste-test a lot.

Chimney remembers that. Buck mentioning getting so hungry the starving pains go away. He does remember during the shitty times when Buck lost so much weight.

-Loves carbs

-Hates Okra

-Probably allergic to shellfish and mangos. Encourage him to get an allergy test

-Allergic to Naproxen

-Allergic to heavy fragrance laundry detergents. Use gentle.

-Remind him he's doing a great job. Use positive reinforcement.

-If he's depressed, as Maddie says, hand him a child. May and Harry work too.

-He's finally gaining weight! :)

-The Buckley parents are banned. Do not ask why. Firehouse is his safe area.

-He fidgets when he's stressed. Have him chop some vegetables or prepare them for you. He loves being helpful.

-He loves his clipboard. Have him organize important events. Give him gold stars. Do not let Hen and Chimney hide it. He gets sad.

-Remind him not to read too close or in the dark. He's gonna need glasses at this point. (If he does, don't let others tease him. Tell him he looks great)

-He doesn't admit it, but his leg still bothers him. Heating blankets are in the closet in the office. Have Eddie massage his leg or send him home early if he's obviously struggling.

Chim laughs. He laughs, and laughs, and starts to cry. Of all things, he did not expect to find a "How to Take Care of Your Buck" guide hidden away in Bobby's desk.

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Leverage textposts part 23/?

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And most important of all they both stay silly

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This meme is inescapable on French insta so I'm posting it here for all to enjoy

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Imagine instead of suing, Buck just goes back to doing odd jobs for money. Like fine whatever be that way then. Living life on the road for a decade he's used to it.

So imagine the 118 is out on calls and they think Buck is following them but in reality he's actually working.

Like theres a bar fight and they get called in to tend to injuries? Bam he's there building a tower of glasses and pouring drinks.

A guy gets bit from a dog? Buck is there dog walking like 20 dogs.

A guy gets stuck while window washing? Buck is there in uniform washing windows on the other side.

Woman gets hair stuck in a mixer at a bakery? Buck is there piping like 300 cupcakes. He's covered in buttercreme.

Old lady had a fall? Buck actually calls that one in. He was doing yard work for her. She fed him cookies and slipped on a broken step that he's now going to fix.

Someone at a wedding venue had an allergic reaction? Clipboard Buck is actually there in charge organizing things. He even has a walkie talkie. Apparently he knew the couple and they hired him. He was pointing and telling workers where to put things.

The latest one that had Bobby panic is when Buck takes up lifeguard duties at one of the busiest and touristy beaches where the lifeguard posts are fully updated. They got a call where someone had drowned but had recieved cpr and is OK now but definitely has fluid in her lungs. They spot Buck in uniform with a nice tan and a huge smile while he was working. One of the lifeguards made a comment about Buck being a promising lifeguard to add to their team. They knew he'd get a kick from the possible chance at going to australia where their beaches are massive but their life guards are the best. Bobby panics over the possibility of actually losing Buck that he finally takes him back to work just to keep him closer.

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“you should be at the club” Brother I should literally be sent to the seaside for my health

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two months after bobby’s death, chimney tells them about the desk.

everyone had been sharing stories about how bobby was always so excited to get feedback from them, and how they felt like they were glued to that desk until they threw him a bone. and very quietly, chimney confessed that he hasn’t had the heart to go through it since he took up captaincy. and athena tells him that just won’t do. that she’s finally ready to get this last look into his life.

and so they go through it. a lot of it is expected- paperwork, pens, the framed photos of athena and the kids chimney had gently placed in the drawer. but a lot of it is unexpected. there are dozens and dozens of newspaper clippings. big saves throughout the years.

hen with that little girl in the earthquake. eddie saving the boy from the well. buck leading the rescue at the overpass collapse. in the article about the cruise ship, when it describes who alerted the coast guard, bobby has crossed out LAPD and clarified. Hen.

there’s a box of recipe cards, and buck eagerly flips through them, holding each one like it's sacred. he goes to give them to athena, who pushes them back towards his chest. and she says he’d want you to have them and when he goes to argue, she just tells him he’s in charge of barbecues from now on, and he starts really crying.

chimney hands her a stack of receipts paperclipped together, from dates and dinners throughout the years, including the bill for their very first one. and now she’s watery eyed too.

chimney starts laughing because he finds a handwritten draft of a speech bobby prepared for him and maddie’s wedding, a particularly sentimental section annotated too cheesy? and yes, chimney says, very cheesy, but he’s choked up anyways. 

the last thing they pull out is his notes from when he interviewed eddie. it’s a glowing review. hard worker, veteran, level-headed. buck peaks over his shoulder as he reads it, pointing to the scribble that says respects authority. jokes that bobby might’ve missed the mark on that one. at the end of the list of praises, circled:

good for buck. 

and he can’t argue with that one. so, he just smiles at eddie, who’s smiling right back. they all leave the office carrying memories. and as chimney sits in the captain's chair of the empty office, he reads the one thing he kept inside. a crinkled sticky note he’s stuck to the bottom of a drawer, taken from his last performance review.

Chimney leadership- needs push.

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Ravi: Yeah, so when we were in the lab-

Buck: And you did a TERRORISM. which is ILLEGAL btw.

Hen and Chim: ???

Ravi: I mentioned that Eddie did something illegal once and he still hasn't gotten over it.