#and it's still hard to imagine the Big Relationship(s) Upgrade(s) happening without one

[iridescentoracle]

i am so obsessed with how like. taken as read the ot3 are at this point. like on the one hand it feels like they've been building up to this for ages but on the other hand it kind of feels like i blinked and we skipped right past some Major Turning Point where everything got spelled out and we're just already in firmly Established Relationship-land. obviously tarvek is too well-protected for anyone to assassinate openly, look how angry his boyfriend and girlfriend are at the idea of anyone threatening him. at this point i'm half-convinced agatha's just going to refer to her boyfriends in passing to someone else and no one's even going to comment on it until van finds out twenty pages later and immediately starts making everyone pay up

[perlukafarinn]

(ao3)

The day starts out pretty unremarkable. Dean wakes up at the crack of dawn to Cas slipping out of bed for his morning jog. He pulls him down for a good-morning kiss that turns into a make-out session that turns into them trading lazy handjobs and then falling asleep in each other’s arms again. 

Their actual start to the day is around ten AM, when Cas finally gets up for his jog and Dean gets up for his cereal and a scroll through the morning news. He’s on the look for hunts, mostly out of habit since there’s been very little monster activity since Chuck went and fucked off for good. He doesn’t find anything this morning but that’s hardly a surprise. It’s been a couple of weeks since they’ve been out on a hunt and that inactivity, weirdly enough, is starting to bother him less and less. 

Cas comes back from his jog about an hour before noon and with the mildest of prodding convinces Dean to join him in the shower. Afterwards, they throw together a lunch made from yesterday’s leftovers, taking their time eating and playing footsie under the table, because that’s apparently the kind of couple they are.

Usually by this time of day, Cas would be off in the Men of Letters’ library working on translations or cataloging and Dean would be on the phone helping Garth help out young, out-of-their depth hunters or in the garage, working on one of the beautiful but sadly neglected vehicles left behind there decades ago. 

Today, both of them are seemingly feeling kind of lazy and so hardly any work gets done. It’s not until late in the afternoon that Dean feels the urge to do something productive and suggests they go out for groceries, which Cas readily agrees to. 

The ride into town is quiet. Cas plays his mixtape - the damn thing should be worn out by now and Dean should  long since be sick of it but for reasons too sappy to mention he isn’t - and they sit and listen in comfortable silence. It’s not until they pass the town hall on their way to the supermarket that Cas gets a contemplative look on his face.

“Should we get married?”

Only years of experience behind the wheel prevent Dean’s hands from twitching wildly and veering them into oncoming traffic.

“What.”

Cas looks over, frowning. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Is there any reason for us not to get married? We’re already planning on staying together for the rest of our lives.”

“Is there any reason-” Dean wheezes. “What the fuck, Cas? Is this your idea of a proposal?”

“Are you saying no?” Cas asks, mildly curious, as if they’re talking about the fucking weather and not getting married. “Because we don’t have to.”

Dean stares ahead, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “Are you actually asking?”

“I suppose I am.”

“You ‘suppose’,” Dean mocks. “Gee, Cas, that’s real romantic.”

“Will you marry me?”

Dean pulls over. It’s far too sudden, probably leaving tire tracks in the concrete, and the driver behind them honks his horn loudly as he passes. Dean ignores him, taking a deep breath as he finally turns to face Cas. 

“Are you sure?”

He doesn’t really have to ask - Cas wouldn’t have brought it up if he wasn’t sure - but he needs to hear it. 

Thankfully, Cas seems to get that. “I want to marry you, Dean. Do you want to marry me?”

“Son of a bitch,” Dean breathes. “I mean - yes. Yeah, I do.”

Cas nods decisively. “Alright then. Now?”

“Now?”

It’s not exactly how Dean imagined this scenario would go (not that he - shut up) but it’s somehow the most romantic fucking thing that’s ever happened to him since Cas first told him he loved him. And hey, this time no one had to die!

They turn around, since there’s no point in going in without (forged) birth certificates. Once they get to the town hall, shortly before closing, they find out that it’s a three-day mandatory waiting period between applying for a marriage license and them actually being allowed to get married.

Cas suggests they use the interim time to pick up wedding rings. They wind up spending the next day driving to Topeka, where they find a couple of silver rings in a pawn shop. They’re tarnished but otherwise in good condition and once they get home, Dean spends the rest of the evening cleaning them while trying very hard not to think about just what they’re for.

The second day, Cas spends out back tending to his garden while Dean almost dials Sam’s number repeatedly before hanging up, torn between wanting to let his brother know that he’s getting married and not wanting to jinx it.

The third day, they head back into town. They arrive at the town hall just after it opens and it’s not until they’re standing in front of the clerk that Dean realizes they don’t have any witnesses. The clerk assures him that they don’t need one for civil ceremonies and the next ten minutes pass in a blur until Dean is being prompted to place the ring on Cas’ finger.

He does so with shaking hands, stilled only once Cas places one of his own on top and gives Dean a patient smile. He’s this calm for a reason, Dean finally realizes.

This doesn’t change anything.

Married or not, they’ve already promised themselves to each other for the rest of their lives. Til death do them part doesn’t even begin to describe it, and in sickness and in health is almost laughable at this point.

This really doesn’t change anything.

Dean’s own hand is still as Cas takes his turn, sliding the silver ring upon Dean’s finger. They say their “I do”s when prompted by the clerk, exchange a short, firm kiss, and just like that it’s over.

They’re married. 

*

When Jody invites them to dinner about a week later, they still haven’t told anyone. Sam and Eileen will be there as well as Jack and the girls - it’s a regular family reunion and the perfect chance to announce the big news to everyone.

Dean has a better idea.

“Let’s not tell anyone,” he says. “At least, not before dessert. Let’s see if they notice first.”

They’re in the Impala, about half an hour away from Jody’s place. 

Cas shoots him an amused look. “Is this because Sam claimed he always knew we’d get together when we first told him we were involved?”

“No,” Dean lies. He drums his fingers on the steering wheel, seeing Cas still giving him that look from the corner of his eye. “Fine, yes. But he didn’t know, for the record. He just likes to pretend he’s always on top of this shit.”

“He doesn’t like to admit when you’ve surprised him,” Cas agrees.

The conversation ends there but Dean’s plan is apparently agreed upon since once they arrive at Jody’s, Cas doesn’t say a word about their recent relationship upgrade. Jody doesn’t seem to notice anything different, but then Dean didn’t expect her to. She’s not the one they spend most of their time around. Neither do Donna, Alex, Claire or Kaia, none of them surprises. Patience, Dean is less sure about, but she at least doesn’t say anything. Her eyes do linger unusually long but that could mean anything.

Damn psychics.

Sam and Eileen arrive half an hour after Dean and Cas, Jack in tow. This is the real test; Sam and Dean may not spend as much time together in the past few months as they did in the years before but he’s still the person who knows Dean best and would be the most likely to notice a difference.

And yet, nothing.

Dean tries not to feel too smug.

They go through dinner without anyone mentioning it. Dean makes a point of reaching across the table as many times as he can, showing off the ring glinting on his finger. Cas must notice him doing it, judging by the fond exasperation on his face, but he’s the only one.

It isn’t until dessert that Patience breaks, patience (hah) clearly run out:

“Is no one going to mention that Dean and Castiel are wearing wedding rings?”

And all hell breaks loose.

Sam is wounded - mostly over Dean and Cas not telling him before they got married, though Dean can tell some part of it is his pride at not seeing this coming - but he’s over it soon enough, once they explain that it wasn’t a big deal, not some proper ceremony, just a quick affirmation of what they already knew.

“See if I make you Best Man at my wedding after this, jerk,” Sam tells Dean.

“Your wedding?” Eileen asks pointedly. 

Jody and Donna offer their congratulations before the conversation can get awkward, and Kaia, Alex, and Patience chime in with theirs as well. Jack looks confused at the whole proceeding, finally asking whether this means there won’t be any bouquet to catch, which only means Dean has gravely failed him in his pop culture education (oh, who’s he kidding, as if half the romcoms Jack has watched didn’t come directly from the recommended tab on Dean’s Netflix account). 

Finally, with a pointed elbow from Kaia and a hangdog expression from Cas, Claire mumbles that she’s happy for them. While Dean doesn’t doubt that’s true he also knows that this is more complicated for her than the rest of them, and for the first time he kind of feels guilty about springing this news on everyone. 

It doesn’t last long, not after Donna cheerfully raises her glass and proposes a toast to the happy couple and everyone else follows suit. They chant for them to kiss and, blushing outrageously, Dean complies, leaning over to press a quick kiss against Cas’ lips. 

“So, who proposed?” Sam asks once the hooting and hollering has calmed.

“Cas did,” Dean says, slinging an arm around his husband’s - his husband’s - shoulders. “And it was the least romantic proposal of all time, you should’ve heard him.”

Cas rolls his eyes. “If I had left it up to you, we never would have gotten married.”

“He didn’t even give me time to pick out flowers,” Dean informs Sam gravely. 

“There’s always the vow renewal,” Cas says, the casual statement managing to sound like a threat, and Dean shuts up. 

The conversation moves on, the mood noticeably cheerier. As Jack and Sam launch into a story of their most recent hunt, Dean leans against Cas.

“We could have flowers, if you want,” he mutters. 

Cas smiles at him, so bright and easy that it makes Dean’s heart stutter. He takes Dean’s hand, rubbing his thumb over the cool silver of Dean’s ring.

“That’s not necessary,” he says. “I’ve got everything I want right here.”

[snippychicke]

Headcanons for Reeve & his Assistant 

Stolen from @selfloving-shipper Dedicated to @unbiddenrhythm

A: Activity (What is an activity they enjoy doing together)

I think just spending time together while working, even if its on different projects, is something they enjoy. Whether it's work related, or after their together and Reeve is working on a pet project and Rea is occupied with her own hobby (reading?) They just enjoy being close together. 

B: Bashful (What is something one of them finds embarrassing about themselves but the other finds adorable)

Reeve: He is rather self conscious about how much he cares for Cait, seeing him less as a toy or robot, and more like a child. He'll catch himself fussing when the cat wanders off to do heroics, or when he comes back injured. Rea thinks it's absolutely adorable amd also quickly accepts Cait as a person rather than a machine. 

Rea tends to lose herself when reading, and will start reacting aloud (ie squealing happily, or cussing out characters during plot twist). Reeve realizes the more vocal it is, the better the book (and not to bother her if possible). 

He thinks it's the cutest thing he has ever seen a person do. 

C: Calm (How do they calm each other down)

Soft touches and meaningful looks tened to help Reeve regain his self control when he gets upset over something. Just gentle reminders that he isn't alone.

Rea, however, when she is truly upset, needs a little bit more persuasion. She has a very even temperament, but once she is fully and truly riled, Reeve sometimes has to physically hold her back and talk her down before it's safe to let her go. 

D: Danger (How do they react when they find out the other one is in danger) 

When Rea finds out Reeve has somehow placed himself in danger, she is bound and determined to move heaven and hell to assure he is safe. She knows she probably cannot rescue him herself, so she often enlists whomever is best for the job. (Which has meant making some rather unsavory deals, but she doesn't care as long as Reeve is safe.)

When Rea herself is in danger, Reeve doesn't even have to ask before Cait is on his way. There is a lot of anxiety involved, and Reeve is pulling any strings he can to save her. Eventually virtually all of Gaia comes to her rescue. 

Gaia help the idiots who thinks its smart to go after these two. 

E: Encourage (How to the Encourage each other)

They are both talented at encouraging one another. It's actually a main part of their relationship is supporting one another. Encouraging words, reminding each other of how talented and important they are, and all they have done in the past. This power couple knows exactly what words to use to embolden the other.

F: Flirt (How do they flirt?)

These two initially awkwardly flirt, neither really practiced with it. Even after they've established a relationship, most of it is unintentional flirting-- long looks, bantering back and forth-- but as they get more comfortable in a relationship, it becomes more hands on-- Reeve will skim his hand along Rea's back or arms, and Rea will tug at his tie with a playful look.

G: Greeting (What was their first meeting like?)

[Back when Rea waitress and Reeve had just started]

"Are you new?" Reeve asked the red-haired barista as she worked on his order. It was late at night, wll after main hours. But the Directors were pushing for the upgrades for the Mako reactors to be done before the end of the week, meaning long hours for everyone involved. 

She shot a shy smile, "Y-yeah, just started last week. It's my first time running the place by myself." 

"I'm sure you'll be okay, there usually isn't a big rush during the night shift."

She handed the drink to him, "I hope you're right. My name is Rea, by the way."

"Reeve Tuesti."

H: Hungry (does one of them cook?)

Despite what Rea and others think, Reeve can cook. He's just usually too busy to do more than a quick simple meal. After spending the night for the first time, Rea discovers this when she wakes to a full breakfast in bed. Healthy, but with a few hearty Kalm staples. She immediately falls in love with his cooking.

Rea knows some basics of cooking, but usually picks up quick meals from the vending machines on her way to or from work. 

Also: Cait has tried to cook. And has burnt water. He is banned from the kitchen. Avalanche learnt this the hard way. 

I: Imagine( what do they imagine their future together?)

Reeve tries not to get carried away with imaging the future. After all, their life has been insane as it is. He just hopes that no matter what happens in the future, Rea will always be by his side. 

Rea figures there might not be any white picket fence kind of future after everything, but does dream about fussing over a few kids, (Denzel perhaps being one) as well as helping to manage the future of the WRO. 

She also imagines Cait being an amazing, if not slightly ornery, older brother. (She knows Mog will be happy to cuddle any kids.)

J: Jealousy (Do they get jealous easy?)

Maybe at first, but after a while both are confident in the other. Besides, all of Gaia knows the power couple and knows how devoted the two are to each other. 

Reno may still flirt with Rea, but it's mostly out of habit and to see if he can get a rise. Reeve tends to roll his eyes, though Cait will often act on his suppressed impulses and tell the former Turk off (with an accent so thick it's hard to understand). 

Rea might be a bit...cold with Shalua Rui at first when the woman starts working closely with Reeve and the WRO. Reeve is perplexed and Cait has to point out the obvious. 

There was teasing involved, but Reeve showed how devoted he was to her. Multiple times. A few in his office. And in a utility closet. 

K: Kissing (what kind of kisses do they share?)

Many of their kisses are short and sweet pecks through the day. Just quick sweet tokens of affection.

But Rea is rather good at slow, sensual kisses, starting on Reeve's neck when she thinks it's time for a break. Maybe nipping and teasing his ear lobe while trying to drag him away from his desk. Reeve might grumble half heartedly, but he soon concedes and lets her drag him off to bed. 

L: Love (When did they first realize they were in love?)

Rea knew she was crushing on Reeve for quite a time, but seeing him stand against President Shinra made her realize. Not fully because of his bravery, but the fear that gripped her heart. Because she knew exactly how Shinra dealt with traitors and instigators. And that fear and devotion just sealed her feelings.

 Reeve was a bit more subtle. There was no moment of epiphany or realization, just gradual increase in affection and mindlessly thinking 'Gaia, this woman is amazing' after the events of the Sector 1 bombing. 

Of course, it is a long, long, time before they admit their love to one another.

M: Memories (What's their favorite memories of each other?)

Rea favorite memory is the night she first met Denzel and Ruvie. Watching Reeve work on the old train set with the little boy, patient but aome of the child like excitment shining through while she and Ruvie watched fondly. (It was when she was sure Reeve would be a wonderful father some day)

Reeve's favorite memory is the first time he woke to Rea in his bed. Just being able to lay there and appreciate the woman beside him. The firat taste of domestic life that left him wanting more.

N: Nickname (what names do they call each other?)

Reeve calls Rea tender names like sweetheart and darling when they are alone, or in an informal setting. 

Rea doesn't do the pet names very often, but at times will drop a 'honey' or 'dear' when at home and asking for a favor. 

O: Object (What objects remind them of the other.)

Rea, of course, can't see a cat, especially a plush one, without thinking of Reeve. She may have bought a small plush black cat with Cait's markings to leave on his desk as a present once. (It ends up on her own desk next to her pressed flower.) 

Reeve cannot see a red hairdd person without thinking of her. To the point there has been a time he sees red long hair and assumes it's Rea and will start talking without confirming it. (Reno gets a kick out of it)

P: Phone (how often do the communicate)

Oh boy. If these two aren't working in the same building, and for some reason are apart for more than a few hours, you bet they are calling each other or at least messaging each other frequently. And by frequently, I mean at least one text per hour, if not more.

Most is work related updates. Others are questions, sometimes just /i miss you/. 

Q: Quiver (what flusters them)

Rea has Reeve wrapped around her finger, and he goes weak when she bites her lip and gives him a 'come hither' look tacked on with a 'sir'. Or when she tugs his tie to lead him somewhere. 

All Reeve has to do is stand tall and either adjust his cuff links or tie with a serious expressionon on his face and she's already biting her lip. A finger beneath her chin and she's a melted pile of goo. 

R: Routine (Do they have a routine?)

Everything. These two are so in-sync with each other that almost everything runs like clockwork. They are two people pushing for efficiency, so used to working with one another it's when they are apart things start to crumble

S: Selfies (which one takes more selfies?)

Cait, and then Denzel, pushes for selfies with the pair. But out of the two of them, Rea is the one more likely to snap a pic of them together. Usually after a few drinks. 

T: Touchy (PDA? Cuddle?)

PDA is generally off the table except maybe for a light touch or a quick kiss, or at least at work, which is 75% of their life.

But in an informal setting, like around friends or home, they love being near each other. Cuddle time on the couch, Rea holding Reeve while he cooks supper. Long soaks in the tub together? Just cuddles in bed? Yep. 

U: Unaccustomed (How hard is it to get use to each other?)

At first, its having someone just in their life outside of work. Their home is less….silent. The morning routine of getting ready for work and figuring who gets the shower first is a little rocky at first before it becomes second nature to take turns, and whoever doesn't shower is making a quick breakfast (which Reeve often volunteers because Rea's breakfast is cereal and coffee, maybe a microwave breakfast burrito if she feels ambitious.)

V: Vanish (what would they do if the other just vanished)

They would both be moving heaven and hell, over turning the entire planet to find the other, calling in every favor they could. Which is a lot. 

X: Xray (What happens if the other is sick/injured)

Both of them are mother hens when someone they care for is sick or injured, especially each other. Yet on the flip side, they are also very stubborn patients that refuse to admit they are sick or injured. 

They will only call in if they're dead. But the slightest sniffle from the other and they're insisting on bed rest and chocobo noodle soup. It balances itself out, luckily. 

Y: Yes (who would propose to the other?)

Oh boy. So while both of them would love to get married, they also allow it to become a back-burner issue as they work on WRO and everything else. They figured they're married in every way except legally, so it doesn't matter much to them. They would be happy signing a document and being done with it but everyone else is not having it. 

Yuffie gets the crazy idea first, and enlists Denzel, Ruvie, Domino, Cait, and somehow even Vincent. Then all of Avalanche, and then the Turks and Rufus. 

The pair thinks they're being called to Kalm for some official business. Instead, they are faced with a surprise wedding. (That somehow goes off without a hitch.)  

Z: Zzz (How do they fall asleep?)

As stated before, these two are cuddle bugs. More often than not, they are curled around each other, whether it be spooning or one laying on the other's chest, arms wrapped around the other. (Which is perfect for early morning kisses before the second alarm goes off, set for that purpose expressly.) 

More than once, however, their bed is invaded by a certain cat-doll who doesn't need to sleep, but likes relaxing with his two favorite humans. And is happy to just stretch out on both of them like a real cat would.

[professortennant]

Sam/Jack Rec List, Part 2

more fics since i put the part 1 list together.  i hope you find something here you haven’t read or haven’t read in a while! if you have a favorite fic, send it my way! only 55 fics on this list! 

AU:

The Love That Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger--AU exploration of a Stargate world where Sam has a kid: As she works to balance saving the planet with being a single mom to a sweet little girl, Jack finds himself accidentally falling in love with not one Carter, but two. This fic starts at the beginning of the series and takes a nice long meander through the first four seasons as Sam and Jack go from strangers to friends to something much more. 

Infinite Possibilities: Doctor Carter/Jack AU. 

Fleeting: Not long now, she thinks as she closes her eyes and tries not to scream. Not long now until she ceases to exist.

Chrysalis Unbound: (WIP) Doctor Carter AU. One day, in between the stars and a cluttered lab, she found herself without realising it.

Stranded/Off-World

Let The World Spin series--SG-1’s stranded off world. Some of them are having a more difficult time accepting it than others.

Past the Breakers and the Markers-- SG1 gets stranded off-world as they escape Anubis and Jack and Sam work through some unspoken feelings.

You Just Might Find--Sam and Jack, stranded. (How much do I want to summarize this: They lost everything . . . and found each other? LOTS.)

Jaunt to Paradise: A Stargate malfunction strands Colonel O’Neill and Major Carter in a cliché. 

Work: Her hands were covered in dirt and whatever else was down on the ground around the guts of a DHD that had seen better days. They were light years from home. The thing between them was new enough that it still felt wrong when she moved away from him.

Post-Ep/Post-Movie

Continuum Interrupted: When Jack O'Neill is assigned to evaluate the threat Colonel Samantha Carter poses to his world he gets caught up in more then he could ever have imagined. 

Desperate Times: As the unimaginative title suggests, this is a tag for Desperate Measures. This story picks up where the episode leaves off. Implied S/J, but this is not a romance. SG-1 has to get Sam home, and Sam has to come to terms with what happened.

Never: Post-Death Knell.

After the Storm: He doesn't call her and tell her he's making omelets with beer, they don't have stupid bets to see who can finish a crossword puzzle the fastest, he doesn't invite her to go fishing, and they rarely even end up in the commissary at the same time.(set around the events of 8.18, "Threads".)

Things Owed: Over the years they've sacrificed countless times for each other. Every once in a while, they try to repay their debts. A series of Ficlets carrying the same theme. 

Strangers on a Train: It began with a train ride. Jack isn't sure he wants it to end. And he doesn't know why. Set during the vague "One Year" of Continuum. 

The Principle of Cause and Effect:  After the couple of days she'd had, she wanted nothing more than to lie there and breathe and think about nothing at all. (Post-Ep for Foothold)

Sleeping Beauty: Once upon a time, under a faraway mountain, there lay a Major in need of her Colonel. An AU of Divide and Conquer. One-Shot.

Supposition Series: This story is the first in a series of tags that, while sticking strictly to canon, explores the theory that Sam and Jack were engaged in a clandestine romance off-screen from Season 6 onward.

No Absolutions: If Carter dies, a part of him will die, and he’s not sure it’s a part he can live without. Post Upgrades Tag.

Dark Switch: It happens so fast. Post-100 Days/Shades of Grey.

Carter ex machina: Post-100 days.

three by five: post-fair game; the speech that jack never got to give

Minos Does Not Rule the Skies: The maiden flight of the USAFS Homer.

Aliens Made Them Do It/Talk About it:

No Holds Barred: Jack’s eyes snapped open and he popped up onto one elbow to eye his bedmate. He wondered who she was for only a millisecond, because he would know that blonde head of hair anywhere. Which meant he had a big problem, because he had no idea how he ended up in bed with Major Samantha Carter.

Hope Lights: After a difficult few months, SG-1 is sent to a planet in order to attend its most important festival. During the proceedings, Jack and Sam find themselves alone for a while - giving them time to say things that need to be said. Jack/Sam angsty-fluffery-guttery Ship with a hint of Christmassy goodness.

Barrier: (technically alien tech made them talk about it) When Colonel O’Neill is placed in harm’s way by an abandoned, automated defense system on a deserted planet, Major Carter must work against the clock to free him. Her actions may change things between them forever. 

A Drink From the Lotus Chalice: A powerful being turns the lives of everyone on SG-1 upside-down. Be careful what you wish for...

The Rite of Rarevanu: When Sam and Jack are forced to participate in an off-world ritual, things between them get heated.

Memory May Be Paradise: While on an alien planet, Jack picks up a nasty case of amnesia. At first lost, he must be found and then he must tackle the issue of his missing memories and what that means for his position on SG-1 and for his relationships. 

Overload: He’s trying really hard not to think about the fact that he’s in bed with Carter, and she’s not wearing any pants.

A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing: All in all, it could be worse. 

No idea how to categorize these:

Close: They work together day after day, side by side, mission after mission. It's only a matter of time before events from the past return to haunt them. When they find themselves alone and too close, can they keep their honor intact, or will they succumb to their deepest wants? Sam/Jack ship. (Season 5-ish.)

Cause a Day Can Get So Long: Jack and Sam hang out on planet Earth.

Plan C Series: Sam throws her back out the same week the Colonel is scheduled for his third knee surgery.

Reflection of Us: I often think about the duplicates and wonder what their story is, and how they came to terms with their exile and the fact that they're no longer human, but machine. Anyway, I figure they deserve a bit of happiness!

Clocking Out: It’s Jack’s last day at the SGC. Naturally, something goes horribly wrong.

Let Go and Hold On: With the team moving on to new assignments after the defeat of the Replicators and the Goa'uld, SG1 reunites for one last mission while Sam and Jack wonder if it's too late for them

A Brother, His Sister, and her Jack: Mark and Jack have the chance to talk while waiting for Sam to recover.

Falling: Sam and Jack and a "close shave."

Four Times/Five Times

Out Go the Lights--4 closets and a happy ending.

Five Times They Visited Boring Planets: Not every planet is a thrill ride.

Five Times They Met In Another Life: ...And Then One More Time They Also Met in Another Life

Five Times Sam Gets Married

Five Times O’Neill Thought Carter Was Beautiful (and one time he told her)

Embrace Me: This came about from a discussion on the GW Family thread about the great hug Sam and Jack shared in Threads. Somebody, I don’t remember who, asked us to think of other times they might have shared that kind of hug. This is my response. S/J.

Five Christmases

Set in S9/10 and/or post-series:

Domesticated Equines: Sam and Jack’s first year of marriage.

This Close: Jack’s last mission doesn’t go quite the way they planned.

Bygones: He doesn't say much, at least not the words that she specifically wants to hear. Jack's more a man of action. Even knowing this, it takes another woman to make Sam understand how he really feels. Sam/Jack established relationship. Unabashedly romantic/fluffy/kind of angsty.

Ticked Off: Jack is just as ticked off as I am that Sam got bumped from command of SG1, but Sam calms him down.

Fine With It: Jack’s with another woman and Sara is fine with it.

Winter Solace: Sequel to Fine With It

Taxi Service: When Cam, Teal'c, Daniel, and Vala get themselves captured on what was supposed to be a simple mission, it's up to Sam and Jack to mount an equally simple rescue. An alternate version of Bad Guys.

Out of the Ashes: Jack is left to pick up the pieces of his broken life after Sam and the Hammond disappear. Post SGU premier episode but there should be no spoilers here.

[a7xlizardqueen]

Title: Your Knight in a Sweater Vest

Overall Rating: NC-17

Overall Warnings: Parental bullying, mentions of bulimia, nudity(?), drinking, partying, cursing, very slight mention of war and trauma, smut

Pairing: Reader x Steve Rogers

Summary: When you need help dealing with your rude and overbearing family, your best friend Steve Rogers comes to the rescue. Modern!AU - For  @barnesrogersvstheworld Writing Challenge Shot Through the Heart

Chapter: 1/10

Word Count: 1,638 words

Chapter Warnings: None

-X-X-X-

The bar was packed as you squeezed yourself through the crowd, searching for a group of familiar faces. It was Friday, which meant only one thing: meeting up with the guys at your favourite spot for beer and wings. Afterward you’d probably play pool and keep your eyes out for someone to hook up with.

“Yo, Y/N, over here!”

Sam is peering over the crowd, waving his hand in the air. He, Bucky, and Steve are already packed into a booth, a pitcher of Bud half empty.

“What, you guys start without me?” you ask, sliding on to the bench next to Steve.

“That’s what happens when you’re late,” Bucky scolds, sliding over a fresh glass.

“Dude, not even five minutes.”

“Five minutes is still late, Y/N.”

“I’ll remember that next time you’re late, James.”

“Now, now, children, settle down,” Steve smirks. "You're both late as often as the other."

You and Bucky smirk and he winks. Steve is always the peacekeeper between you two. Not that you don’t like each other, just the opposite, but you have kind of a love-hate relationship, as if you’re each other’s annoying sibling.

The waitress comes around, blonde girl with big tits. She smiles at all the guys, and ignores you. You’re used to it. Downside to being the only woman in a group of men. You order five-dozen wings, another pitcher, and a round of shots of Honey Jack.

“Kay, so, game at my place Sunday?” Sam asks.

“You got it, man,” Steve says and Bucky nods.

The shots come and before anything else is said you clink your glasses and shoot back the sweet, amber liquid.

“What ‘bout you, Y/N?”

You shake your head, “Sorry boys, no can do. Prior engagement.”

“Hot date?” Steve smirks.

“I wish,” you pause and take a large gulp of your beer to stall for a moment. The guys’ questioning faces don’t relent. “I’ve got a barbecue at my mother's house to go to.”

Their immediate reaction is to look concerned, quickly followed by angry.

“What the hell are you doing even talking to her?” Bucky’s brow furrows, “She treats you like shit.”

“She's my mother, Buck. Besides, it’s not so bad anymore.”

“I don’t believe you for one damn second, doll. You always make excuses for that family.”

You swallow the lump in your throat. Sam, Steve, and Bucky are quiet, unhappy with you.

“There’s something more isn’t there?” Steve asks.

You nod and whisper, “He’s back.”

“Who’s back, Percy’s back?!” Bucky’s fist hits the table with a thud.

“You mean that asshole that had you starving yourself?” Sam asks.

“That asshole who had you working out so hard you passed out and had to be rushed to the hospital?”

“He doesn’t want to get back together, does he?” Steve asks.

You shake your head and call the waitress over for another round of shots, doubles this time.

“No, he just wants to show off his new girlfriend and tell me how much better she is then me. And how much more successful he is then me.”

“Want us to come beat his ass?” Sam offers.

The wings arrive and you all dig in. You laugh and shake your head.

“No, that would be a seriously unfair fight.”

Bucky laughs, “Dude still skinny as shit?”

“You know it.”

“Never skip leg day!” Sam yells.

The tension of the previous minutes has lifted and your plight is ignored for a while as you watch a random soccer game on the TV and continue to stuff yourselves with beer and wings and whiskey. After another round you head over to an empty pool table, you and Steve against Bucky and Sam. As Bucky and Sam rack up the balls Steve hands you a cue and says quietly.

“Seriously, Y/N, if you want some back up, I’m there.”

You sigh, of course he would offer. Steve was one of those seriously good guys that always tried to do the right thing.

“And how would you help?”

He shrugs, “I dunno. But I could at least stick up for you. Be there to let everyone know how great you’re doing with your life.”

“Really, Steve, I don’t need a cheerleader.”

Steve smirks, “Damn, now what am I gonna do with my pom poms?”

“Y/N, your break!”

-X-X-X-

Friday night ended rather uneventfully. You drank more. You played pool. Did a bit of dancing. Went home. No one got lucky that night.

Sunday rolled around. It was a hot day so shorts were a must. You still had a hard time showing off your legs, especially around your family, but if you tried to cover up with pants you’d regret it. Besides, Sam was always telling you to show off the body you’d worked so hard for. He’d kill you if you told him you hid it away. You paired it with a thin white button up, rolling up the sleeves to your elbows. You knew your outfit wasn’t nearly as fancy or feminine as your mother’s or your sister’s surely would be, but you’d mostly abandoned the need for their approval by now, anyway. Mostly.

The look of utter disappointment was exactly what you’d expected, followed by the obligatory scolding for your tardiness. The tardiness was completely intentional, of course, the less time you spent with them the better.

Your mother and sister were visions of perfect beauty. Hair shiny, bouncy, not a flyaway in sight; and they were both wearing long flowing maxi dresses. It made your $5 bargain store shorts and shirt seem frumpy.

Then there was the ex, Percy. He wasn’t typically good looking. His face held too much expression, almost goofy, his eyes and lips large on his narrow face and his dark hair was unruly, sticking up in every direction. He wasn’t particularly tall, and had a thin body with just enough muscle to counteract any fat. But he had a certain charisma in the way he carried himself and the way he spoke that captivated people. It had certainly captivated you once.

His girlfriend was beautiful. Like a movie star from the 1950’s. She dressed like one too. And she was so damn nice that it was hard not to like her. Even though you tried, very hard.

You milled around the barbecue mostly, sipping your beer and trying to avoid conversation. You don’t often get what you want, though.

“Long time no see, Y/N, how ya been?” Your stepdad’s work associate asks as you try to slip quietly by to get yourself another beer.

“I’m fine, Geoff, how are you?” You answer politely, looking down at your empty bottle.

“Oh, just fantastic. Did your stepdad tell you we made a killing this year? Yeah, Jan and I are gonna take a trip to Hawaii to celebrate.”

And thus began the extremely exciting and titillating conversation of the world of insurance. Somehow the man was able to talk about the most boring subject in the world for an entire half hour. You zoned out after about five minutes and only came to when he finally asked you a question.

“What is it that you do again?”

Great, the question. Everyone always asks that question. Normally you wouldn’t care, you enjoy telling people what you do for a living. Just not this crowd.

“I’m a woodworker.”

“Oh. So what does that mean, exactly?”

“I build things out of wood. Furniture, sculptures, you name it. Some of what I make is my own design, whenever I get inspiration; a lot is custom building stuff. I also do antique restoration. And I teach yoga and self-defence at my buddy’s gym.”

“How interesting. And is there a lot of money in the woodworking business?”

“Probably not as much as in the insurance business,” you shrug and back away, “if you’ll excuse me, I’ve been empty for far too long.”

All these people ever talk about is money. They base their ideas of success on how much money can be made, not how happy something can make you, or someone else. Your favourite thing in the world is seeing the amazed looks on a client’s face when you bring their ideas to fruition, sometimes better than they could have imagined. But conveying that feeling to these vultures was impossible.

“Good to see you again, Y/N,” his voice interrupts you before you can even take five steps and you once again look down at your empty beer and sigh; you’re gonna have to upgrade to whiskey.

“Wish I could say the same for you, Percy,” you turn and paste a fake smile onto your face.

You don’t know why, but he still makes your stomach tie into knots every time you look at him. He broke your heart, and you got over it. You did. There isn’t a bone in your body that wants to revisit the lack of a relationship you had with this man for one year. And yet when you look at him, especially with her on his arm, you think about how long it’s been since a man has touched you. You think about how long it’s been since a man looked at you with desire in his eyes. You look at him and your body yearns, and aches for what could have been.

“You’re breaking my heart, babe,” he feigns pain with a hand over his heart.

“Oh, if only I could.”

“No date again?”

“Well, I didn’t want to make you jealous.”

“How kind of you.”

“Y/N, why didn’t you tell me you had a guest coming?” Your mother rushes over.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty of food and beverages, but really Y/N, it’s quite rude. Please tell me next time so I can be prepared.”

“Mother, what are you talking about?”

“Hey, honey, sorry I’m late.”

[coopdigitalnewsletter]

30 Apr 2019: When shops secretly watch you. Amazon algoboss fires low productivity warehouse staff. Meal kits are more sustainable.

Hello, this is the Co-op Digital newsletter - it looks at what's happening in the internet/digital world and how it's relevant to the Co-op, to retail businesses, and most importantly to people, communities and society. Thank you for reading - send ideas and feedback to @rod on Twitter. Please tell a friend about it!

[Image: the 1964 GM Runabout, a speculative design which imagined a car with detachable shopping trolleys - after shopping you’d slot your trolley into the back of the car. Delivery robots are 2019’s echo of that idea.]

When shops secretly watch you

“Shoppers at some of Britain’s biggest high street stores are being secretly filmed by body language experts to ‘manipulate’ them into buying more.”

Manipulation and “buying more” is not the problem in this story. Everyone knows that a supermarket is always trying to better understand shopping behaviour. They’re working out what you’d like to buy and how to stock and merchandise products so you’ll buy more of them (BOGOF etc). And you know that loyalty cards collect your shopping data in return for discounts. And further afield, you might be aware that when you shop in an Amazon Go, you’re shopping inside a camera.

But the “secretly” is a problem. Did shoppers know? Was there informed disclosure and consent? Did shoppers know that video of them would be uploaded to Youtube and used as sales and marketing collateral?

(You could imagine a decentralised shopper network of body mounted cams documenting stores and making a ground-up panoptic price/inventory tracking system, maybe. “The cheapest apples are in Freschco’s. Here’s a video of a shopper taking them. Now the cheapest ones are at Laldi’s, good luck.”)

Amazon algoboss fires low productivity warehouse staff

Fears about job automation are often about tech replacing lower-paid human jobs, resulting in greater efficiency, increased cost-saving, but staff now out of work - the assumption is usually that lower-paid, more manual work should be easier to automate than higher-paid, more managerial work. But sometimes it’s about replacing *both* bosses and staff. Here’s an interesting story about how Amazon automatically tracks the productivity of warehouse workers, firing them where the metrics aren’t met. Up to 10% of staff are let go annually.

Robots cannot (fully) replace humans in the warehouse yet, so they’re still needed. Tech can replace (or at least enhance) the human supervisor, so the boss gets replaced sooner. If the warehouse staff’s boss is an algorithm, does it make the warehouse staff behave more like a robot.)

Elsewhere, Amazon is making its delivery drivers take selfies to reduce fraud: it uses face recognition to double-check that driver identities.

Wider context: Amzn’s sales growth seems slowing and it is committing to 1-day delivery for Prime members.

Meal kits are more sustainable

A study suggests that meal kits may be better for the environment than meals cooked from supermarket ingredients. Even though meal kits have more packaging than ingredients bought at the supermarket, they’re associated with lower emissions, and they result in less food waste, and these outweigh the packaging. Details of the study.

Perhaps this suggests that further food waste savings could be found with either kits that can be used to make one of several different meals, or with kits that can make more meals.

Climate

Greta Thunberg: “Many of you appear concerned that we are wasting valuable lesson time, but I assure you we will go back to school the moment you start listening to science and give us a future. […] You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before.”

We cannot predict exactly what will happen with climate in future, nor what life will be like, but we do know that carrying on like before is the one thing that won’t happen. The future is about choices between various big changes.

How Extinction Rebellion’s climate activism is organised: Viral socialism (the metaphor is explicitly viral replication: dna, multiplication, catalysis).

Hertz sues Accenture for $32m over useless website

“The US corporation hired monster management consultancy firm Accenture in August 2016 to completely revamp its online presence. The new site was due to go live in December 2017. But a failure to get on top of things led to a delay to January 2018, and then a second delay to April 2018 which was then also missed, we're told. As Hertz endured the delays, it found itself immersed in a nightmare: a product and design that apparently didn't do half of what was specified and still wasn't finished.”

A lawsuit over a website that was expensive but not very good. Some observations: the typical relationship between a customer and their management consulting supplier often suffers from inherently misaligned interests and incentives. On top of this, the traditional spec/contract-then-build model is always very hard for customer and supplier because precisely predicting the future is very hard. Sometimes outsourcing doesn’t work. A 32m price tag for a website should probably be a warning flag unless you’re running a country or something like that. Accenture’s sales and contracts teams must be very strong, maybe their tech and delivery teams weren’t quite up there.

Other news

Newsletter of the week: Lancaster Digital Friday coffee, low frequency but high quality.

Facebook announced financial results and said it has set aside $5bn for expected FTC fines for violating a previous consent decree on privacy and data failure. But the stock went up because 5bn isn’t that much to FB, so it’s taken as a more general signal that FTC fines aren’t going to be significantly impactful to big tech cos.

“She told me that each time they upgrade the system it seems to get harder, not easier, to use. Joy told me that all the customer service reps have a notebook like this. You can’t use the systems without one. Joy is digitally literate and confident with the computer, but it is impossible to use without the notebook.” - On the unusability of internal systems.

Neo-neolithic funerals: the return of burials in barrows. Meanwhile Japan isn’t looking to the past: techno-cemeteries replace tombstones with LED Buddhas and conveyor belts.

Sainsbury’s and Asda set to concede defeat over £7bn tie-up and newsletter writers prepare to retire the word Sasda.

Events

Year 8 Routes to Employment - Tue 30 Apr 8am at Co-op Academy Leeds, Stoney Rock Lane, Leeds LS9 7HD.

Food ecommerce show & tell - Tue 30 Apr 1.30pm at Federation House 5th floor.

Health team show & tell - Tue 30 Apr 2pm at Federation House 5th floor.

Line managers' drop-in clinic - Tue 30 Apr 2pm at Federation House 5th floor.

Web team show & tell - Tue 30 Apr at Federation House 6th floor.

Saving The Environment With Data - Tue 30 Apr 6.30pm at Federation House.

Data ecosystem show & tell - Wed 1 May 3pm at Angel Square 13th floor.

AMA: How to Learn, Sell and Run Design Sprints - Wed 1 May 3pm at Federation House.

Delivery community of practice meetup - Mon 6 May 1.30pm at Federation House.

Funeralcare show & tell - Tue 7 May 1pm at Angel Square 12th floor.

CMO CRM show & tell - Tue 7 May 2pm at Angel Square 13th floor.

Line managers' drop-in clinic - Tue 7 May 2pm at Federation House 5th floor.

Co-operate Show & Tell - Wed 8 May 10am at Federation House 6th floor.

OIS May Showcase - Wed 8 May 10am at Miller House 5th floor.

Cloud Native Manchester - Wed 8 May 6.30pm at at Federation House.

Membership show & tell - Fri 10 May 3pm at Federation House 6th floor.

User Research North: An evening with Jared Spool - Tue 28 May 6.30pm at BookingGo, 35 Fountain Street M2 2AN.

More events at Federation House - and you can contact the events team at  federation.events@coopdigital.co.uk. And TechNW has a useful calendar of events happening in the North West.

Thank you for reading

Thank you, clever and considerate readers and contributors. Please continue to send ideas, questions, corrections, improvements, etc to the newsletterbot’s flunky @rod on Twitter. If you have enjoyed reading please tell a friend!

If you want to find out more about Co-op Digital, follow us @CoopDigital on Twitter and read the Co-op Digital Blog.

[ellebeebee]

Seachange

Part Three/Nine

Part One || Part Two

After the couch incident, things get awkward between Liam and Mira.  He doesn’t know how to fix it, and plus he can’t get any traction on his efforts to make connections with the angara.  Liam is just having A Very Bad Time.

4339 words, Liam x f!Ryder, teen rating

AO3

-

At first, he thought he was imagining things.

After Havaarl, there was a lot to do to prep for Voeld and rescuing the Moshae.  So, yeah, maybe she didn’t have as much time to unwind on his couch with him, some vid playing in the background while they worked on reports and emails.  Maybe her avoiding the cargo bay and haunting the ops table almost around the clock was just anxiety about making nice with the angara.  Maybe the way she was too… careful about the way she looked at him and spoke to him, handling each word and glance as if he were a mother-in-law or something-- maybe it was a side-effect of the job.

But he knew better.

He wasn’t imagining things, as much as he wished he were, and this all started a week ago the day after the couch hook-up.

Liam suppressed a heavy sigh.  Wouldn’t matter much anyway; he knew that the rest of the crew was already used to him being the loudest, most obnoxious bunkmate anyways.

Around him, the Tempest’s crew drifted on their own dreams during the dark quiet of the ship’s sleep cycle.  He had a bottom bunk.  Switched with Gil once the engineer complained he was worried Liam would toss and thrash himself over the side of the top.  It was stupid; not once in his life had he ever fallen off the edge of a bed in the middle of the night.  It had to be some sort of thing like how you can get so used to a sleep schedule that you wake up on time even without an alarm.  Your body knows its edges, its limits.

Except apparently he doesn’t know where his boundaries are, ‘cause he’d clearly crossed one with Mira.

Liam kicked off his sheet.  The ship’s sanitized and cool air hit his bare chest, tickled his leg hair.  He only wore shorts to bed; he couldn’t stand the feeling of constriction with anything more.  His feet hit the chilly metal floor.  As he stood he glanced at Gil in the bed above him: the guy was a terribly light sleeper.  And the spawn of Satan, apparently, because he got up at, like, 0400.  On purpose.

Liam scratched at his chest idly, and pulled out the chair to the desk, grabbing his datapad.

...sure their data would be helpful, but there’s no reason to believe we can’t reach the same conclusions independently.  In any case, our reserves are too precious right now to spread out to…

...offer seems well-intended, but forgive us if we are not eager to enter hasty agreements with…

...all very well, but you seem to have very little concrete support in your offers…

...hard truth is, we can’t stick our neck out for a people who are clearly endangered; an investment without security…

“Investment without security” has got to be his favorite way yet for saying, hey, we really just don’t give a fuck about those other guys.

Shit, what was with people?  Seriously, what the actual fuck?  Okay, maybe the angara weren’t expecting a hundred thousand (not even that, though, with the missing arks) new aliens to come knocking on their doors, but, hey, hello?  Nice, not-attacking-them people on the verge of starvation?  And, yeah, maybe things were spread really, really thin in the Initiative.  Like, layer of oil slick thin.  Even so, they had to make overtures to the angara.  They had to prove they were going to be good neighbors.  They had to prove themselves worth establishing an alliance with.  How the hell did anyone expect to push through the kett problem, and all the Remnant shit, otherwise?

Fuck.  It was just the same old shit, new galaxy.

Oh, some fuckwad with an EMP and an agenda wiped out power and water for an entire city district and you need emergency rations for civs?  Here, let me just make you jump through legal hoops for it.  Oh, this colony hit by slavers needs upgraded tech and defenses?  Sorry, they’re actually unsanctioned squatters, so they’ll have to fend for themselves.  Let us slap some fines on them for illegal occupation while we’re at it.

Oh, you’re a little kid that can’t help but get worked up at what may seem like dumb shit.  We’ll just label you a troublemaker, an idiot.  Ignore you.

Liam smashed at his eye sockets with the heels of his palms.

The glow of the crew quarter’s screens slipped through the cracks between his fingers, the light of the ship’s diagnostics, real time data.  It was blue and harsh and neon.  Brought angry tears to the back of his throat.

He was letting his head get away from him, he knew, but that didn’t change the fact that he was drowning in things that mattered.  These things mattered.  His concerns were legitimate (goddamit, they were), so he was struggling so hard to not blow up.

He could talk to Lexi.  He could, but sometimes that was just too impersonal.  Like, yeah, Lexi would sympathize, but she was trained to.  She was trained to fix him, not the problems he was looking at.

There was Jaal, but the guy was still skittish about them.  Especially when you brought up something deeper than how do I call you a shit in Shelesh.  And that just fed the fire Liam wanted to put out.

He could run through the options all he wanted, but he knew exactly what he wanted right now.

He wanted to go to the hatch of the Pathfinder’s quarters, knock, and spill his guts to Mira.  He didn’t even want to touch her-- actually, no, that was a lie.  Yeah, he really wanted to touch her again.  Submerge himself again in her smell and the warmth of her arms.  Watch her again like that, released from her everyday bullshit.  Watch her release him from his own head.

But, even more than that--

He wanted her to be his friend again.

Not this weird no-man’s-land of not really friends, nowhere near lovers.  Not even strangers, new acquaintances.  Because he was good at that: making something good out of a ‘just met.’

This?  Fuck no, he was no good at figuring out what the hell to do to fix a relationship he’d obviously pushed too far, too soon.

Just.

Fuck.

-

Liam woke up with about three hours of consecutive shut-eye, a very angry and empty stomach, and a new determination to make the best of things.

Okay, so he was hitting some roadblocks with the angara contacts thing.  No big deal.  It was to be expected, really.  First contact was always bumpy at, y’know, first.  Hence, the ‘First Contact War.’  And the Krogan Rebellions.  He needed to be patient.  Yeah, yeah, ‘patient’ ‘Liam Kosta’ was an oxymoron but whatever.  He’d deal.  He had to.

Secondly, he and Mira had agreed to not let what happened get in the way of the mission.  But not to shelf the ‘them’ thing just yet.  Apparently, she still found it awkward, so he’d just make an extra effort to reestablish the friendliness between them.  Make it easier.  Hopefully.

So he spent the morning banging around the tech lab.  He sent a mail to Mira asking her to meet him there, and tried not to take too personally when she didn’t show for almost an hour.

When she did turn up, she found him sitting at the work table, surrounded by various bits of armor.  And in his hands: her breast plate.  Which he was staring at.  Right between, the, y’know.  Breasts.

At the open hatchway Mira cleared her throat.  Liam jumped.  She was gazing at him with raised brows, and he realized what it must look like.  He coughed and put it down slowly.  He grinned at her.  Normal.  Totally normal.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey…” she said.  And she did that thing she’d been doing ever since… y’know: she automatically looked down, remembered herself, and looked up with a smile.  Except it wasn’t that broad, full-lipped smile that curled at the corners just so.  Her smile was tight now, anxious.  Professional.

Liam stifled his own nerves to swivel on his stool toward her.

“I’ve been thinking,” he stated, a tad too loud and too carefully. “Voeld.  Cold as a witch’s tit, right?”

Her eyes shifted back to the breast plate he’d put down. ‘Tit.’  Goddamit, how did he keep doing this?  How?  It was a wonder he didn’t report to Lexi daily, no hourly, for his own foot lodged down his esophagus.

“That’s what they’ve told us,” Mira said with that weird smile again. “Jaal gave us some data with more specifics.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Liam agreed quickly.  He waved at the neon holoscreens arrayed around his bench. “I’ve been looking at that.  Nomad’s got good environmental controls, but we won’t be sitting in it all the time.  I thought I’d go over everyone’s armor and run some tests.  See how the thermoregulators are functioning.”

She nodded her head, tucked brown curls behind her ears.  He tried not to think about taking that dark amber shell between his teeth.

“Good idea,” she told him. “You… started on mine?”

“Uhm,” he started, glancing down at her upgraded and modded Initiative-issue plates sitting around him on the bench on crates. “Uh, yeah.  I mean, priorities?  I-- because you’re guaranteed to have your boots in the snow right?  Not-- uhm.”

And she was looking at him, waiting for his mouth to stop spewing.

He tried again, “So, I’ve been running tests!  This Nexus stuff isn’t bad, but it could always use help.  Am I clear to tinker a little?”

“Sure,” she said, shifting on her feet and still smiling stiffly. “Anything else?”

“Well…” he paused. “Whose armor should I, y’know, prioritize after yours?”

“Definitely Jaal’s.  If he’ll let you.  Do the angara even need it, though?  He said they don’t feel temps like we do.”

“Yeah, something about their electricity thing.”

“Yeah,” she agreed.  And paused.  She paused for a significant moment, a hand rubbing at an arm as if already imagining the bite of the wind and ice ahead of them.

“Uhm,” she continued, “Talk to Jaal about his armor situation.  And.  Uh… yours?  If you’re feeling up to it.”

Liam’s stomach did weird things.  Flipped about and made him simultaneously want to be ill and fly about like a damn budgie.  So dumb, to be this moved over something as simple (and routine!) as getting put in the field at her side.  Stupid, but he couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face.

“Blowing up kett heads?  Daring rescue of a damsel?  Pathfinder, you shouldn’t have.”

He was grinning at her, his tone light and playful.  He fully expected the mood to transfer.  Lighten the weirdness.  But Mira just stared at him with an inscrutable something going on behind her dark eyes.  The laughter dissolved on his tongue.  Shit, what was she thinking?  He wanted to know.  Badly.  He hated this not knowing and distance between them.  It was just… he thought they’d gotten close, that they were apart of each other, if even just a little bit.  And not just because of the sex.

“Just make sure you’re ready?” Mira said, expression unreadable. “And keep me informed about your work?”

Liam swallowed, nodded.

The tech lab door hissed quietly as she left.

-

He spent the day blaring music in his ears, running cold-temp stress tests on armor, and trying not to get worked up by the occasional unhelpful e-mail dropping into his mailbox.  And trying not to get overwhelmed by pessimism for both his professional (or “professional” in the opinions of others) and his personal life.

After staring at the data feeds he’d produced for so long that it all started to blur into a mess of neon blue hieroglyphs, he passed out.  Didn’t even register Jaal coming in to sleep in his cot in the lab’s corner.

Liam woke with a start at about 0500.  And woke Jaal, too.  Guy was still wound up around all these aliens, sleeping light.  Liam apologized for intruding in his space and left.

He wandered down to the galley and made the first pot of coffee.  Stuff wasn’t great, but it was growing on him.  Maybe eventually the scientists would figure out how to grow actual beans?  Maybe.

“Is that coffee I smell?”

He looked up.  Lexi stood in the hatchway, smiling at him for once.  She mostly made that ‘Kosta you are an idiot that makes my life difficult’ face at him.

“Fresh from the fabrication machines,” he told her, giving her a cheers gesture with his mug.

Ignoring his quip, she shook her head and went to the coffee maker. “Bless you.”

Watching her select a mug from a cabinet and pour from the carafe, Liam commented, “You’re up early.”

She glanced at him. “That’s what I should be saying.  I’m always up at this hour.  You aren’t.”

He shifted in his seat at the galley table and smiled over his mug, waiting for her to take her coffee and move on.  But she paused in the hatchway.

“Liam?” Lexi asked, head slightly tilted. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

Her tone is that soft one, the doctory-can-I-help-you one.  And her eyes rove over him, picking up on his waxy, tired skin and inwardly-bowed posture.  He wanted some glib and funny defense to roll off his tongue, but nothing was coming to mind.  And maybe he didn’t really want to be deflective all that much.  Liam put down his mug.

“You got a minute?” he asked.

Lexi pulled out a chair across from him. “Of course.”

She rested her mug on the aluminum tabletop and leaned a little forward, all compassionate eyes and full attention.  It made him squirm a little, but no pain, no gain, right?

“Still not making much progress with the angara connections,” he told her. “And, yeah, I know it’s not all my responsibility--” Which he didn’t really believe and Lexi’s expression seemed to know that he didn’t either, “--but then, whose is it, then?  Someone has to start this.”

He fiddled with his mug and the doctor waited patiently. “It just seems like no one gives a shit, and I can’t understand it.”

Lexi propped her chin on a hand. “Liam, have you considered that your asking is worthwhile in itself?  I know you want real results yesterday, but that’s not exactly realistic, is it?  However, the fact that you’re passionate about establishing strong ties between the Initiative and the angara-- that speaks volumes.  And not just to me.  But to all the people saying ‘no’ to you right now.”

He shrugged. “Well, if they’re hearing, they’re still saying no.  What good is it if nothing actually comes from me shouting my bloody head off?”

“Liam,” she said, and her tone shifted to make him look up into her eyes. “I think you don’t hear this enough, but you are inspiring.  We will always need people like you.  Who care and are passionate and work so hard to make things better.  All of us on this ship need that.  Everyone out there--” She gestured vaguely at the hull. “Them too.  Even if they don’t realize it.”

He smiled a little at her, and felt the persistent tightness in his chest shift.

“Umm, another thing…” he coughed.

Lexi paused with her mug hovering, a brow raised.  And the look she gave him, eyes carefully attentive, made him think she knew exactly what ‘other thing’ he was about to bring up.  Well, whatever.  He didn’t care if the whole crew knew about his romantic misadventures (which they probably did), but he wasn’t sure how she felt.

“I think I’ve really screwed things up with Mira,” he told her. “I mean, we… y’know.  And we agreed to not let it interfere with everything.  But it just seems like she’s just… finding it awkward and weird, and I don’t know what to do.  Like, should I just leave?”

Lexi’s eyes widened. “Let’s not be too hasty here.  I’ve noticed some increased tension between you two, but I don’t think it’s gotten to the point of reassignment.  Whatever’s going on sounds like some failure of communication, because I know you both care for and value each other.  I wouldn’t be too pushy in trying to ‘fix’ it, though.  Let’s just relax, Liam.  Let her work out whatever she’s trying to work out. But make yourself available if she wants to talk.”

Liam snort with a self-deprecating grin. “Be patient?”

She gave him a look. “I know how you so hate to hear that, but yes.”

He laughed awkwardly. “Uh, yeah.  I got it.  Stop being an idiot, Kosta.”

“No,” Lexi stated firmly. “You’re not an idiot.  You just care a lot.”

He went in for a sip of coffee because heat was rising in his face, and he had a hard time taking stuff like that.  Lexi smiled and patted his hand.  And left, claiming something something kett dna synthesis something.

Liam spent a few more minutes in the quiet galley nursing his first mug of the day.

Turns out, new beginnings were a shitload work.  Who knew?

-

Voeld was colder than a witch’s tit.

It was kind of sad really: how fast he and Mira would jump from the warm and orange spheres of warmth around the Resistance heaters.  The modifications he made to their suit’s thermoregulators helped.  It was a tricky thing to set the sensors to a hair trigger in dangerously low temps, set off the little eezo drives to work at a furious pace.  And then to set a protocol to conserve power once temps endurable for their physical layers of ceramic and insulation were reached.

Blah blah blah, but it was still cold as hell.

Not moving made it worse.

That’s why it kinda sucked that they were camped out in the Nomad parked on a cliff overlooking a kett encampment, waiting to ambush a squad scheduled to land.  At least, according to an intercepted comm SAM had picked up on.  It had only been a half hour, but Liam’s teeth were chattering and his bits were trying to crawl back up into him.  He half hoped that Mira would just give up on popping the heads of this particular squad of kett and head back to Techixx or the Resistance base or, please baby Jesus, the Nexus and its deliciously artificial spring humidity.

But Mira just silently shivered beside him in the driver’s seat, eyes behind the bluish plexi of her helmet rapt upon the scattering of kett ground vehicles and empty storage containers below.  Recon.  Endless stores of patience and all that, goddamit.

Behind them, Jaal delicately snored.  His immunity to the stabbiness of the ass-eating cold was becoming increasingly irritating to Liam.

“How’s your suit?” he asked her.

She glanced at him.  He couldn’t see her mouth behind the breather unit of his helmet, but he could see in the tightness around her eyes that her smile still hadn’t improved.  They’d reached Voeld a few days after he talked to Lexi, and Liam had done his best to keep up his friendliness whenever their paths crossed on the Tempest.  But he didn’t go hunting her down, gave her her space.  Maybe it helped?  Shit, he didn’t know.

“It’s a big improvement,” Mira told him, voice tight and high with cold.

He forced down the comment that wanted to roll of his tongue, pointing out how she was obviously still freezing.  Space, space he told himself.

Jaal whistled through his nose shrilly.

Liam snorted, bit his lip.  A long pause.  And he couldn’t help it; it was too fucking cold and he’d been too damn tense for too long.  He began to laugh.  It built until he was helpless with giggles, his side painful with sharp stitches.  Beside him, Mira caught his amusement.  She was laughing, doing that thing where she covers her grin with a hand.  Even though she had her helmet on, and even though it was really a crime against the universe at large to hide a smile like that.

Mira shook her head, inhaling sharply to recover. “How can he do that?  Just.  Sleep.  In this cold.”

Liam coughed. “I dunno.  Maybe he’s dead.”

She slapped at his shoulder.  Lightly, in that playful and completely not-serious scolding way she hadn’t done in forever.

“Don’t say that!” she told him. “That’s just what we need.  Oh, sorry, Evfra, we somehow managed to get your man killed, but you’ll still trust us, right?”

Liam chuckled. “Oh, sorry, Evfra, that thing about saving the Moshae?  Yeah, screwed it up.  You’ll still give us resources and seeds and shit, right?”

“I’m not playing this game,” Mira stated, turning back to the front view of the Nomad.

It gave him a good look at her profile, at the way her eyes crinkled in amusement.

Below them, down the steep vivid blue plunge of the cliff face, the kett camp showed zero signs of movement.  None.  Not even a little ankle-biting wraith spawn.  God, it was goddam cold.  The sky above hung heavy and thick with ice and snow, visibly hard with menace and gray.  But if he could take that little huff of lightness and happiness she made-- if he could just take that little morsel and run with it, he could perhaps believe that things would take a turn for the better.  That the next time he synced up with the Tempest’s QE comms, a friendly response to his overtures would be waiting.  That not everything was shit.

“Liam…” Mira said softly.  She was looking very hard out the forward window.  If he hadn’t been hanging on to her every gesture and word, he might have thought she hadn’t said anything.

She cleared her throat and looked at him.  Her dark eyes flickered over him, their depths saying a ‘talk’ was coming.

He made himself relax, loosen his shoulders, and turned to meet her gaze.

“Yeah,” he said.  Sort of a question, and sort of an acknowledgment.  Yeah, he knew.

“I--” she started. “I know things have been, like, weird.  It’s my fault, I’m sorry--”

She shook her head to stop him from denying it; he kept quiet but made a mental note to give back that ‘sorry’ as unnecessary.

“I tried my best to keep things like they were, to be professional about it.  But I suck, obviously.”

Another note to his mental list to refute.

Mira paused, her helmet’s breather filtering her sigh as slight and breezy. “I just-- I dunno.  I didn’t expect things to progress, y’know.  Like that.”

And her gaze flickered, uncertain.  He wanted very badly to interject and reassure her, but she quickly started again as if afraid that she’d lose her momentum:

“And I know I said I was good with things.  That we wouldn’t let this become a big deal or interfere with the mission.  I know I said that, but I-- crap, I guess I’m just-- immature or whatever.  I don’t know.”

She inhaled sharply.  Exhaled.  And she looked him in the eye, a lot of things contained in her gaze and all of them making him sweat and making his pulse jump and his throat tighten.

“I just really like you, Liam Kosta.  I really, really, really, really like you.”

Aw shit, how could she just punch him, full-force, right in the gut like that?  Just impale his heart with her words and stare him down.  Brutal.  Merciless.  Blood-thirsty.

And she just kept going, a rolling stone of feelings and words killing him, “And I’m not trying to pressure you or anything.  I’m not expecting a reply or a commitment or whatever.  I just-- things have been so weird and I owed it to you to just spit it out already, and I’m sorry that I’ve been kind of a jerk--”

“Mira,” Liam stated.

She paused.  Waited and watched him warily.

He shifted. “Can I hug you?”

She blinked at him.  Whatever she’d been expecting, it probably had not been that.  Her brows scrunched, and the muscles around her eyes (those freckled cheeks) worked over a myriad of emotions.  Tentatively, she nodded.

Liam reached across the Nomad’s front console.  It was weird, hugging in full armor.  Stuff banging and clacking about, hard edges digging in uncomfortably.  You had to be careful not to snag on a toggle or hook or something.  And it did not spark the same sort of warmth and closeness you got with the touch of soft cloth and real flesh.

But it was one of the best hugs he’d ever had, breathing in the incredibly cold and sanitized air from his suit’s filters and gripping onto multiple layers of ceramic.  Because underneath it all was her and she liked him.

That’s all he needed.

The two of them stayed like that for a long time.  His arm folded over her back and feeling the rise and fall of her calming heart.  The transferred vibrations of her breath in the crook of his collarbone.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

She shook her head, a subtle shift into his shoulder. “Can you just do me a favor?  Don’t call me Pathfinder.”

He paused. “I can do that.”

Jaal cleared his throat. “I hate to interrupt a lovely and very important moment, but the kett shuttle is incoming.”

Liam and Mira jumped apart as if shocked.  They both coughed and lunged for their guns.

“Uh, good call, buddy,” Liam remarked, totally natural.

“Hmm,” Jaal hummed with a thread of amusement.  Ass.

In the rush of gearing up in the awkwardly small space-- elbows colliding and harried requests for scatter grenades and ammo from the back-- Liam caught her eye.

“Mira--” he started.

She shook her head, “Later.  Don’t worry, Liam.  I get it.”

He wanted to stop her, tell her, no, she didn’t-- but there were rounds waiting be burned and targets to burn them on.

‘Patient’ Liam Kosta?

Well.

Who the hell knows?

[mandalorian-mayhem]

Mel/Torian and Yonnul/Theron for the ship meme!

Okay so this is goingunder the cut because it’s pretty massive but eyyy here you go

Numelia and Torian

How did they they meet?

Going with the SWTOR meeting for this. Theymet when Mandalore sent her to kill a beast on Dromund Kaas and he justhappened to be there. (Mel tends to wonder how much fate intervened in theirmeeting. If certain things hadn’t taken place and he hadn’t stepped in, shethinks they may never have met and then where would they be?)

Who developed romanticfeelings first?

Numelia. She falls hard and fast. And she hasa hard time accepting and understanding her own feelings in the matter, so shewinds up getting a bit frustrated by it. Like there is no reason a smile shouldmake her feel that way, but it still happens. (And her biggest fear is that hewon’t last long in her life.)

Who is their biggest “shipper?”

Definitely Mako. (But once Yonnul finds outanything, it’s almost a tie.)

When did they have their first kiss and under what circumstances?

They kissed just after they both confess theirfeelings. And Mel definitely initiated it. It was quick and nervous, but supersweet.

Who confessed their feelings first?

Torian did. Mel was too concerned to actually,you know, do anything until he told her. And then the words fell out and therewas no turning back.

What was their first official date?

I’m going to say that it was probably a huntmore than an actual dinner date (Though if it has to be a dinner date, it isdefinitely when he cooked her tiingilar.)

How do they feel about double dates/group dates?

Mel is not the biggest fan of them. Like shedoesn’t mind going and hanging out with friends, but she would only ever go ona double date with someone she trusts... Which narrows it down to mostly hersiblings and maybe a couple close friends. I can’t imagine that she wants toreally know what people might be doing later. (Especially since she is soprivate)

What do they do in their down time?

Numelia will tryupgrading as much as she can in her spare time, but I think that later in theirlives most of the downtime is spent with their kids. 

 What was thefirst meeting of parents as an official couple like?

There never was a meeting of the parents after they become anofficial couple. The only parent that remained after they got together wasMel’s father. And with him, there was no actual meeting. And if Torian ever didmeet her father, she would have kept the truth of their relationship a secretbecause she doesn’t like that man even a little and she would prefer to keepthose two separate.

What was their first fight over and how didthey get past it?

It’s probably a fightabout recklessness (very likely after the whole getting kidnapped thing). Shewould have been furious about the whole thing. They would have talked it out,but she still would need time to cool down.

Which one is more easily made jealous?

Probably Numelia butit’s more like the “wait you’re going on a hunt and you’re not taking me???”kind of jealousy. That or weapon envy.

What is their favourite thing to get to eat?

I think anyMandalorian food. Mel loves spicy food (Uliccol jokes that it’s what makes hersuch a hothead.)

Who’s the cuddly one? What their favouritecuddling position?

I feel like it’s morecommon for him to initiate the cuddles. Particularly when she is being acomplete grump. But I feel like they probably do the half-spoon thing. Or she justleans on him while they’re on the couch and they snuggle that way.

Are they hand holders?

Maybe not like out inthe open, but I can kind of see them subtly holding hands under the table. Andlike there’s definitely a point where everyone knows.

How long do they wait before sleeping togetherfor the first time? What’s the circumstances?

They waited, but notfor too long. Not too long after the daring rescue. Definitely wasn’t where sheexpected it to go (… “shooting lessons”).

Who tops?

I feel like itdepends, but it’s probably more common for Numelia to.

What’s the worst first they’ve ever gotteninto? (I’m assuming this is was “fight” instead of “first” so that’s how I’m answering this for both.)

This fight probablyalso had to do with extreme recklessness on her part this time. (She is prettydamn reckless without thinking about the consequences. This definitely takesplace not long after she almost died from other reasons.)

Who does the shopping and the cooking?

Mel definitely doesthe shopping because she knows how to haggle and I feel like that’s a prettydamn valuable trait for her to have. But she isn’t a good cook so Torian getsto do that (plus I get the sense that he actually likes cooking so bonuspoints.

Which one is more organized and prone to tidiness?

Torian probably is,but Mel has certain things that she is super particular about being organized.(Side note: At least one of her kids likes to move things around to see howmade she’ll get and the one who is a little mischief maker is the one whoreorganizes it)

Who proposes?

Torian does. And sheanswered the second she realized what was happening.

Do they have joined Bachelor/Bacheloretteparties or separate?

I would thinkseparate??? But honestly Mel probably wouldn’t really do anything and just windup sitting at home, drinking and playing cards with Gault unless Mako decidesthat there are other things they should do.

Who is the best man/maid of honour? Any othergroomsmen or bridesmaids?

I think Corridan isthere and definitely Mako. I don’t know about anyone else because at least Melis one hell of a private person.

Big Ceremony or Small?

Definitely small. Idon’t see either of them being the type to invite everyone and their mother toit. It would just be a handful of their closest friends. (It’s kind of funnybut her family isn’t exactly listed in that so they get a “surprise Torian andI were dating and now we’re married okay bye”) (I don’t think that they couldget away without a large celebration after it all.)

Do they have a honeymoon? If so, where?  

I feel like if theydid, they went on a hunt. But I’m not sure that they did.

Do they have children? How many?

They do. Four of them.Numelia is also the only one in her family who has any children. I’ve also goneback and forth on if they just progressively adopt children (particularlyformer slaves who don’t have anyone left).

Yonnuland Theron (and @ikarra-lives’s Hemile for the best brotp)

 How did they they meet?

So they definitely met on a mission. Whetherit was all the SoR stuff or something completely different, they definitelymeet on a mission and Yonnul shifts between being serious and ridiculousflirting. (But I definitely prefer the meeting with Hemile and Yonnul wherethey had just gone on the biggest and best misadventure in the history of everand then they have to go back to work and oh look Theron is going on theiractual mission with them. And it was the start of something beautiful)

Who developed romantic feelings first?

Yonnul was attracted to him right off the bat.And everything Theron did just caused the attraction to get even worse andeventually he is like “Oh no… I think I actually love him”

Who is their biggest “shipper?”

Probably Cryz. She pesters Theron about howthey’re doing all the time and gets excited to know when things are going well.(Hemile is probably somewhere on the list of biggest Yonnul/Theron shippersjust like Yonnul is definitely on the list of biggest Hemile/Theron shippers.It is the best.

When did they have their first kiss and under what circumstances?

I mean considering how quickly things movedfor them… According to SoR, they kissed first on Rishi. But I think they wouldhave actually kissed not long after meeting.

Who confessed their feelings first?

Yonnul drunkenly confesses that he lovesTheron to his sisters but doesn’t realize Theron is also in the same room whenhe says it. (Poor Mel and Rhori were stuck in the middle of that one.)

What was their first official date?

It probably took place at a diner. Yonnuldecides not to suggest a bar for once and invites him to dinner instead. It’snice. They can talk for once and actually get to know each other a bit better.

How do they feel about double dates/group dates?

I think they are definitely good for them.Yonnul would get a kick out of them.

What do they do in their down time?

I feel like theirdowntime is spent doing as little as possible. Yonnul walks around in his pjswith horribly messy hair, eating chips and getting Theron to stop working. It’snot an easy task, but he’s going to do it, damn it. (And honestly if Hemile isin on this as well, Theron doesn’t stand a chance.)

What was thefirst meeting of parents as an official couple like?

Okay so Yonnul can’t exactly introduce Theron to his mom and dad(considering he’s one of the ones who.. you know… kills his father.) But themeeting between Yonnul and Theron’s parents? Well, he already kind of knewthem. And he was definitely a pain in the ass. I feel like he shows up superlate to a council meeting, sporting a hickey in plain view and says “Theronsays hello, by the way” in his usual, disinterested manner.

What was their first fight over and how didthey get past it?

First fight isprobably about a giant stuffed wampa that is used for a coat rack and thatYonnul and Hemile like to dress up. His name is Hector. Theron isn’t a fan ofthe giant, ugly thing lurking in the doorway. The wampa stays. Theron has toget used to this. (Because I’m pretty sure Yonnul and Hemile would dig Hectorout of the trash if he was thrown away.)

Which one is more easily made jealous?

This question willthrow me off every single time because ??? I don’t think Yonnul would getjealous because of who he is. And idk how jealous Theron would get but I alsodon’t see it???

What is their favourite thing to get to eat?

Yonnul likes hisgreasy diner food. Bar food or diner food.

Who’s the cuddly one? What their favouritecuddling position?

Definitely spooning.And Yonnul is the unsettling big spoon because he talks in his sleep andgenerally says super weird and unsettling things.

Are they hand holders?

If you think thatYonnul would pass up on the chance to hold Theron’s hand, drunk or sober, youare wrong. Hand holding to show support, to show love and to show off.

How long do they wait before sleeping togetherfor the first time? What’s the circumstances?

Not long at all. Ifeel like they thought it would be a one-night stand, but then they keptworking together and it became something a more.

Who tops?

Honestly this onecould go either way. Probably Theron for the most part???

What’s the worst first they’ve ever gotteninto?

This one probably hassomething to do with either some news or evidence from Yonnul’s lost/repressedmemories or it has something to do with his treading the line between light anddark a little too much. Because Yonnul has aggressively ignored the missingmemories because no one seemed too concerned about it when he came back (Ey we’rejust gonna throw your ass right back at the Empire no you don’t need some timeto recover). And yeah he definitely has killed at least one sith in cold blood(even though it’s been more, Theron just wasn’t on the comm channel with theothers).

Who does the shopping and the cooking?

Yonnul does a lot ofshopping, particularly when he has free time and Theron is busy with other. ButI don’t know that either of them knows how to cook anything remotely edible.They probably order a lot of takeout.

Which one is more organized and prone totidiness?

Theron is probablybetter organized for the most part. But like… If Yonnul is throwing a party, hegoes on a cleaning spree

Who proposes?

I feel like if ithappens. Yonnul would have to be the one who proposes. In the most dead seriousmanner.

Do they have joined Bachelor/Bacheloretteparties or separate?

Separate. Becausethere has to be the super secret spy party for Theron thrown by Cryz and Balkar(so naturally everyone knows.) and Yonnul goes bar hopping with a select few.

Who is the best man/maid of honour? Any othergroomsmen or bridesmaids?

Cryz definitely workedher way into the wedding party. Probably Balkar. (*cough*hemile*cough*) MaybeRhori? Pitha for sure.

Big Ceremony or Small?

Obnoxiously big. Hugeparty afterwards. Yonnul definitely invited at least one council member.

Do they have a honeymoon? If so, where?  

Yep. These guys need abreak, though I feel like it’s more along the lines of Yonnul saying they weregoing somewhere but they’re actually just staying at home.

Do they have children? How many?

No. Yonnul knows hedefinitely wouldn’t be a good caretaker for any small children (he gets to heara lot about how Pitha turned out, I’m sure.). He gets his small child fill byvisiting Numelia and her kids.

[tumblunni]

Bunni’s Rune Factory Sequel Thoughts/Wishes/OCs N Stuff!

Just my misc ideas for stuff I’d love to see in the series, and maybe some ocs hmm hmm~!

* Maybe have a town that’s more upgradeable or changeable as the story progresses? I expected something like that with the princess points in RF4, that you could support the various businesses and see the shops get new fancier sprites and stuff! And maybe have characters who start off just being unemployed npcs and then can start new businesses as the game goes on? Like if dylas could have been the fish salesman instead of it being a nameless npc. And maybe even after big events in the story the town could have stuff get destroyed, to show how dangerous the villains are? And then you could rebuild but it wouldnt be the same as it once was. * More activities for your pets to do! I like that they can help with farming but maybe they could unlock more tasks to automate as the game goes on? or maybe just have more customization for their farming, like you can choose what seeds they automatically plant, or set a rota for them to rest and swap fields. Maybe give them stats so certain ones could specialize in watering/planting/smashing rocks/etc? * Maybe have more random farm events like rune rain and typhoons? possible idea: period bandit raids or attacks by monsters. You set monsters as guards and if they win then they can farm dungeon items from the enemies, giving you a good way to gain them without having to revisit the same place ad nauseum. Or maybe have a random inspector event where you have a chance of winning a best farm award or something? And maybe when characters randomly visit your house they could actually do something instead of just standing there. Maybe they could comment on your crops? like, say yay if you have something they like, or give random tips, or small bonuses like casting a gigantifier effect on a random crop or restoring some health. Or depending on the character and their relationship with you, maybe they could do negative effects? Also i wish one of the endgame bonus awards could be the ability to turn these random events off entirely if you want, instead of just delaying it. * The possibility of maybe having a negative relationship bar as well as a positive one! So characters could maybe become rivals instead of just friends or indifferent, with nothing else. And maybe you could even have some points in both and have a friendly rivalry? * Characters having more potential interactions with each other outside of just you. I think it’d be nice if when you marry someone then the batchelor/ettes you dont pick could have random event chances where they marry each other. And maybe the player could influence who they end up with, depending on how you interact with the two of them? Play matchmaker! Help them find their happy ending even though you rejected them. Consolation for guilt! * Also can we maybe start having friendship options for each character’s main plot? Let me be able to resolve their sad backstory even if I dont date them, the only difference when I date them should be that I date them. Not that arthur never reconciles with his estranged mother unless we just happen to bump uglies :P * Adding LGBTQ marriage options would be hella amazing in every way, jesus christ please can we have this. Or like.. if we cant, then can we have like... less gay?? I dunno, i just feel like I’m sadder about not having gay marriage when the characters are CONSTANTLY teasing that some of them MIGHT have same sex romances yet nobody is allowed to ever do it. Stop rubbing it in. Its somehow more painful than not having any LGBTQ representation at all, just having this sort of ‘its not representation and it never will be but we’re gonna make it look like it just to torment you’. * i dunno, I feel like probably knowing the company we’re more likely to get a gay npc couple or something in the next game and still have to wait ages for an actual romanceable candidate. Theyre not exactly ahead of the times on the subject. BUT WE CAN HOPE!!! * I want Porcoline to cameo in the next game, or us to hear about how the porco restaurant family is doing. I got the most attatched to them! And I hope the De Saint Coquille family continues to cameo in every main rune factory game, though I think it’d be hard to top this incarnation of them! OH, it’d be amazingly awesome if the next De Saint Coquilles could be the direct descendants of Porco’s family and he cameos as a grandpa?? It could work if the sequel gives a canon love interest to lest/frey, like how raven cameo’d in rf4 and her dialogue heavily implies she ended up with micah. So if frey ended up with arthur or dylas or lest ended up with margaret, then they could be a new part of the de saint coquille family in this sequel cameo. or just be ambiguously referenced so that the player can decide which of the three marriages happened. Oh, or another idea is maybe you meet a branch of the de saint coquilles that’re all elves, if maybe the next game could be set in the elven kingdom? And they could reference being descended from porcoline who did a lot of work on human-elven diplomacy back in the day. Also maybe we could get another female character filling the usual role of the food-loving head of the family with the silly art style? I’ve heard that there was one female de saint coquille in one of the spinoff wii games i havent played but it’d be cool to see another. * Can we have two-seater monsters to ride? So you could go on dates atop an elephant! * Maybe be able to select one monster as your official pet? And it can live inside the house and have a lil food bowl and do more interactions with it, and have friends talk about it when they visit and maybe they can feed it snacks? And it could help raise friendship with different people depending on their preferences for different monsters. I just really like the monsters and I want to make them feel like a part of the family! * A possible very unlikely idea- maybe that monster could become human in a secret postgame quest, and be like your second child? I miss being able to have multiple children like in rf3, but I didnt like how children all looked identical and had basically zero personality in that game. This could be a good way to have two distinct kids! It’d be too tricky to give each monster a unique gijinka form like RF4′s guardians though, so just make it that they become a 100% human character with one set appearance and maybe a couple different colourschemes. maybe it could be that your close monster friend dies sacrificing itself to save you from like... an evil homunculus experimental weapon or something. And then they’re revived using the same magic that created that creature, their soul possesses it and they get to be this artificial human, and they get to have one preset appearance with a good excuse for why! And it could just be super cute and awesome to have them be so excited to finally talk to you and tell you how much they love you! And they could have funny sweet interactions getting used to human things, and their big sibling could help them. And they could be really good at helping with chores in the monster barn, just imagine them hugging all their old monster friends and they trust them completely and they can lead them off in a line like baby ducklings~! And maybe they can have random dialogue saying like ‘hey this monster wanted me to tell you they love you, mama!’ * It would be really cool if we could get a game with a customiseable protagonist, or even just the ability to choose between a few preset options for different races. or just a protagonist of the different races in general, like we’ve had a bazillion humans so cant we have an elf or dwarf? Micah being a were-monster was the entire appeal of that game, I think having another unusual protagonist would recapture that hype! But I really like the idea of having a customizeable protag who could be any of the main three races. I mean not much would have to change depending on who you pick, it’d be relatively less trouble to add in. Maybe just some occasional slightly different scenes to show the different perspectives? or they start with some boosts to different initial stats, or maybe have different aesthetics for the house you get? oooh, or maybe different aesthetics for all the outfits they can get! Like how theyre different for the genders in rf4, but they could have like a human/dwarf/elf cultural flair to each thing. I’d also love if there were more outfits than just pyjamas/bathing suit/8 different colours for default outfit. * I think I’ve mentioned this before but I had a cool idea for if a RF game had a ghost protagonist, now we know ghosts exist in this universe. You could play as both the male and female characters simultaneously, and just select which is the ghost and which is human! So there’d still be two routes with incentive to replay the game, but whichever character you dont pick gets to be the sidekick character with their own different personality and you can get them married to various sub-batchelors maybe? like, the assistant charrie’s romances are different from the ones you can get if you picked them as protagonist. Anyway. the setup would be that the ghost has to haunt a human in order to affect the real world, so thats why you have two characters. The more normal idea would be that protagonist is the human who’s haunted by an assistant/butler type ghost, but I also like the idea that you play as the ghost and you boss around this human to do all the heavy lifting. Like, instead of starting off and getting amnesia somehow, you start off alive and then die and have to possess someone in order to fullfill your unfinished business of raising this farm. You’re the ghost of the person who owned this farm, and you were sleeping here underground waiting for the chosen one you could bond with so you could get back to farming, but you slept too long and the place has got all overgrown and you start again from zero. And then the protagonist could be clueless about everything cos a century has passed, not just cos theyre amnesiac again. * Other excuses that aren’t just amnesia again: protagonist has moved here from another country, protagonist was some sort of sheltered princess who’s never worked a day in their life, protagonist is simply someone who’s never run a farm before and honestly who cares if you start off as someone who already lived here for years? Just have it like youre a loner who’s made a resolution to start being more social now, or some other reason. * A possible idea for a backstory- you are formerly a swashbuckling pirate who just decided to settle down. I dunno why but I think that’d make for a nice unique protagonist perspective! * Also maybe if we do amnesia again we can do something with it? Can we actually have an event eventually about regaining our memories? I was expecting in RF4 there’d be a reveal that before your amnesia you used to be a sechs empire soldier, since all we know about you is that you’re the one who had the rune stones in the beginning of the game. Only other explanation I can think of for that is that there’s some sort of earthmate country somewhere that creates these stones, or you were a merchant who somehow was selling such a rare artifact? I dunno, I still think that the ‘oh god i used to be evil’ twist would have been really really good! * Maybe it could be possible to have other ways to ‘choose’ a character, and get them to become an npc in your house and wander around? I dunno about you guys but I really loved all the themes of ‘found family’ in RF4 and wished there was an equivelant of the marriage routes where I could adopt volkanon as my grandpa or something. Or maybe have a bunch of orphan npcs you can adopt, as an option for if you have a same sex marriage? I just wished I could have made some sort of symbolic gesture to them to say ‘hey, you are my favourite of the non-dateable npcs, thank you’. * Also I’d really like to see a romanceable ghost! I just really think that now they revealed that ghosts are a thing that can exist, I wanna see more about ghosts. Some sort of bigger role to a ghost! * Also yes series please continue having adorkable monster people to marry, that was the entire reason i picked RF4 as my first game to play, lol! I am a bit sad though that all the girls in RF4 arent very monstery at all and all the boys are more monstery. Its a shame cos in RF3 there’s two super monstery girls with the best designs and personalities! I wanna play that game next, I wanna go backwards in order XD

[captainevo]

Could Microsoft Release Project Scorpio Hardware at E3?

So 22 years ago I was a freelance writer covering the videogames industry. I played everything back then, but my preferences leaned towards Sega as I loved their hardware focus (I had a SegaCD, a Nomad and a 32X!) and their exclusive games always appealed to me more than Nintendo's (although I was already  enamored with Ridge Racer on my gray market PlayStation Japanese import).

The 1995 E3 trade show was held in Los Angeles that year, where I happened to live. Thanks to Tom Kalinske's stunning announcement at the press conference I attended, I was able to buy a Sega Saturn (and Virtua Fighter!) by stopping in at the Toys R Us near my house on the way home. I couldn't believe it!

Of course, that early release of the Saturn is a well documented disaster (read: Console Wars by Blake Harris) and was pretty much the end of the Sega I loved. However, it got me thinking after reading all the release coverage on Microsoft's upcoming Project Scorpio console:

Wouldn't it be awesome if Microsoft released the Project Scorpio console hardware at this year's E3?!

Now before you write that off as insane, hear me out. Microsoft announced the Xbox One S and Project Scorpio at the same time at last year's E3 show. While the S was a nice revision bump for the current console, those of us who already owned an Xbox One console (I was already on my second one, having upgraded my Day One box to the beautiful limited edition Forza console) and understood the promise of Project Scorpio were immediately put in a hold pattern. Why buy the S in September when a year later true 4K gaming was going to arrive?

So instead gamers like me have been biding their time waiting for Scorpio. It's painful since many of us have popped for a 4K UHD HDR TV - which my current Xbox One works great with, but I can't play UHD Blu-rays yet (but at least my Kinect still works without an adapter). I applaud Microsoft for actually announcing their Scorpio plans when they did, as I probably would have bought an S if they hadn't - new hardware is very hard to resist.

So it's been almost a year since the initial Scorpio announcement and in the meantime we have the release of the PlayStation 4 Pro. This is the first generation where I haven't owned "all" the systems. I used to buy every new console on launch day; originally because I wrote about games and hardware, and then later because I had a young son who shared my passions. But after stints with AOL and VideoGame Advisor/GameWeek I turned my attentions full-time to my IT career, my son grew up, and then gaming became purely recreational for me. When the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 were announced, I looked at the past 8 years, realized I almost never played my PS3 and lived on my Xbox 360, and decided all I needed was an Xbox One (racing games are my passion, and for me Forza is the only exclusive that matters).

Anyway, the hardware junkie in me was tempted by the PS4 Pro, but I had just upgraded my PC to a GTX 1070 and an ASUS ROG 27" 2K monitor, so I decided that would hold me over until the Scorpio arrived with true 4K gaming (and mercifully, based on Digital Foundry's articles, that faith in Scorpio looks well founded!).

So - why the idea of releasing the Scorpio console hardware at E3? First off, the Scorpio hardware is 100% backward compatible with the current Xbox One consoles. So on launch day one, without doing anything else, the Project Scorpio console has a library of literally hundreds of games, maybe a thousand. Games that now immediately get a bump in framerate and possibly resolution, depending on how they were coded.

Now Microsoft is seeding hardware in the hands of its hardcore Xbox evangelists. They’re showing it off to their friends - cool new hardware and look how good the games are? For those Xbox One first-gen owners who skipped the S, they now get those "S" features like HDR in Forza Horizon and Gears of War, and the ability to play 4K UHD HDR Blu-ray discs (I've already started buying them instead of regular BD discs now even though I can't play them yet, because I know I'm getting a Scorpio). Even though there are only a few HDR games for Xbox One, at least there would be some titles that would immediately take advantage of the Scorpio hardware beyond improved frame rates.

Depending on the price, I think there is a huge pent up demand for a true 4K console like the Scorpio - an early hardware release could let Microsoft ramp up production towards the big holiday push while delivering those early adopter consoles, which would mean more true hardware availability in 2017 and potentially a much larger sell-through for the year. Any game developers who are on the fence would see that, and it could give them the push to have more 4K asset "upgrades" available for download in December/January, which in turn would drive more hardware demand and provide a nice bump in sales for those older, upgraded titles as there would be a new reason to own/play them.

And none of this would diminish "Holiday 2017" - it would still be the big blockbuster mainstream rollout as that's when the new AAA titles are released and the Scorpio ad campaigns would feature the console and the "upgraded" versions of those games. Plus that's when Microsoft would release the bundles (Scorpio + Forza 7, Scorpio + Crackdown 3, or maybe Star Wars Battlefront II).

Beyond all of that, just imagine how it would play at E3 in June. It would simply be epic.

Is there any chance of this happening? My realistic guess is no. For starters, I don't think there's any way Microsoft and retailers could keep something like this a secret; they'd have to be shipping well in advance of the date to have stock in hand and unlike 1995, the Internet and blogs are far more pervasive now.

So the only way to do it would be a Microsoft Online Store exclusive (at least for the first couple of weeks). That would probably upset retailers (many were furious with Sega for giving a few chains the early exclusive on Saturn, a necessity due to limited hardware availability and trying to keep it a secret). Digital game sales are already straining relationships with retailers, but maybe because of that it doesn't really matter much anymore.

And we really don't know yet how Microsoft defines "Holiday 2017" - The S launched in September of 2016, and the last several iterations of the Forza games have also been released in September. If Microsoft keeps to that sort of schedule (and as a dedicated Forza player I sure hope they do!), then it's possible that we could see pre-orders announced at E3 with availability in September - that's only another three months.

Another wrinkle could be that perhaps not all the Xbox One game backward compatibility testing/tweaking is complete yet. It would suck if Scorpio was release but there was a list of games that were problematic; it needs to play the existing catalog at least as good as the original Xbox One on Day One.  

Microsoft is probably building the production versions of the new consoles right now, but since they all have to go through the "Hovis Method" it may take time to build up an adequate supply of consoles. They may not want to announce availability and then have 2 month shipping backorders (like Google with the Pixel phones).

Given all of that, September is probably the earliest realistic availability date. But given the unprecedented release of detailed hardware information ahead of the release, and that this holiday is "all about the games", it just feels like something truly unexpected could happen during the June 11th event. We'll find out in less than two months!

What do you think?

[wishingfornever]

9/8/17 – No Contact: Second Day and Still Thinking of You

Yesterday, I told NS Region Founder (NSRF) that I’m taking time off.  He was very understanding, just asked me to log in once a month.  Thing is, I set my nation to vacation mode so I can be offline for two months.  I need to log back in by November.  Last night, I redid my calorie count and I was 300 short of 1500.  Lo and behold, a cup of noodles?  300 calories.  Unfortunately, they’re empty but I’ve had a lot of fruit today.  I’m just trying to prevent muscle loss.

Seems most my entries tend to talk about things I missed out on from yesterday.  Hope that trend stops soon.

At least this happened early this morning:

((The Following was originally a link to my own Facebook.  In the interests of protecting myself and everyone I’ve mentioned, I’ve copied someone posting on my Facebook talking about their daughter and referencing when I used to babysit for her.)) "So little Miss gets a 'new' babysitter for one night tonight. She's demanding her 'crazy' babysitter. When asked "who's the crazy one"? ....."that one guy who makes me laugh!" Thank you.... You can't be beat!” It’s touching.  :/

Anyways, I came up with an idea.  In case of an emergency, update the blog. It’s been the only tab to continuously be up for this entire affair.  I update it daily and if you really need me to check it, you can ask me “Check the blog.”  If anyone were to check our messages, it wouldn’t mean much.  They’d have to actively find your blog just to get in it.  You can send me a message saying, “Need help, pick me up at placename immediately” and I’ll go to help as best as I can.  Or maybe you can use it for other messages, ask me questions. I don’t know, use it for “ICE” situations.  Or maybe keep updating.  >.> I ordered that tea tree shampoo stuff.  I found it myself and ordered two bottles for $32 total.  It’s not that bad, they gave me free shipping.  It’s just that it’ll take a week for it to get here. That’s fine, I’m optimistic.  Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to have discovered tea tree soap without you and this may have been far worse. It’s pretty bad now, but again… could be worse. I tried giving my dad some dragon fruit.  He didn’t seem to like it that much, saying it doesn’t have a lot of flavor.  The dragon fruit from yesterday was more sweet, I’ll admit, but it was still good. I gave him just a bite so I basically ate the whole thing.  He’s making rice which I’ll need to calculate the calories.  Last night before I got the ramen, I checked the sausage links he used and they’re 200 per link.  Apart from the sausage, should be healthy in moderation.  Bound to have a bunch of veggies and rice is naturally filling.  Just can’t put cheese in it, which is fine because we ran out. As I write this, Kiki is laying next to me.  She’s been extra cuddly as of late.  I left the door open last night so she could sleep by my feet.  She’s a good cat.  Miller just came back in.  Still refuse to call him Balless because my dad sucks with names. Then again, Kiki is French for “Kitty” so maybe I’ve inherited that trait. My mom is coming back.  I think she’s just checking on me because my sister said I was crazy and suicidal.  Checking my arm, I might have some light scarring but it’s difficult to notice.  Btw, not sure if I mentioned this, but my nose leaking?  I had a sinus infection.  Gone now.  If it were a brain leak, I’d have to have suffered a brain injury and the liquid from my nose would have to be clear. Thing is, when I was looking it up, it was the same side nostril as what everyone else reported.  Weird, right?

I think you’ve heard me reference how humanity is an inefficient design, citing all the little dumb things like muscle cramps or eyelashes in eyes.  But I don’t give the human body enough credit. There are a lot of things that would destroy the human body and it’s been adequate in eliminating those threats.  So what if we still suffer from the common cold?  That common cold won’t kill you.  I don’t give a lot of credit when credit is due. Do you know why snakes don’t lean against glass?  They don’t want to be windshield vipers. So, my mom and my sister are coming over.  I kind of don’t want to see my sister but so long as my mom is here, she should be mellow.  And by mellow, I mean she and my dad won’t get drunk and annoying. And, of course, my mom isn’t perfect either.  She’s been really… naggy since what happened between us happened.  Very overwhelming.  I need to talk to her about Texas though.  Adela asked me to talk to her first.

Just did the math on my dad’s rice.  I think with a single bowl, I hit the 1500 limit.  It’s hard to say.  Rice has a lot of calories, though.  I think it’s healthy, but I’m not sure.  Should be a lot of protein from the meat, but it’s kind of fatty being pork I think.  I’m concerned that my mom might bring home some extra food. I’m hoping it’s just fruits, but I feel like she’ll bring back McDonald’s or KFC or something.  Hopefully, I won’t be expected to eat anything else tonight. I didn’t take that Attend pill today.  I don’t feel so energetic or happy.  Maybe if I had a constant supply,  our relationship would have worked better.  If only…  Regardless, I don’t expect to get any writing done today so I didn’t take it.  I need to get started on it.  I want to get started on my sets but I’m going to wait for my stomach to settle. I wonder if you worry about me…  I wonder if you want to ask me if I’ll be alright.  Well, I am in case you’re wondering.  I’m all right because I have NOTHING left! Eh?  Get it?  Get it?!  Right and left and��� well… it’s a joke implying you were all I had? Eh?  No?  Okay… Remember the lint picture you sent Adela?  I wanted to do that to you, but I didn’t think you’d appreciate it so soon. Finished my exercises.  I upgraded my sets from 20 to 25.  That’s five 5’s. You know me, five is my lucky number.  Not that I believe in luck or that sort of thing.  I jog around the room for an undetermined amount of time.  I’m tired but I’m not breathing heavily, I assume it’s because of the colder weather and the two fans I have going.  Great conditions.  I’m sweating now, though.  Muscles are sore.  I didn’t have the energy from yesterday or the day before, but I’ll work through it. During my ‘jog’ if you’re brave enough to call it that, I saw one of the kittens outside sort of strutting. His tail was up and his head was held high.  He was a lion in only his eyes, but that’s the only eyes who needs to see it.  Cute little thing. Ah, well.  During the jog, I felt like one of my soldiers from Rome II: Total War.  Hunched over, dragging ass, and just running to the next objective.  Couldn’t raise their arms, either.  Yeah, I imagine I don’t look that great but it reminded me that I always wanted to get a panoply (or a set of ancient Greek armor).  I wanted to see you in chiton, which is like a toga but not so massive and encumbering.  I think you’d look great in it. Little sandals that say, “Follow me” too.  And that curly hair? Yeah, you could look the part.  You’re very lovely and have a certain charm about you. Only problem would be those damn piercings.  But, that’s life, eh?  It reminds me that we were supposed to get a tattoo together.  Maybe we still will.  You promised a lot of things.  Maybe I did too. The girl I’ve been flirting with.  We were talking about sports and she mentioned how she enjoyed playing football but wasn’t much of a voyeur, except when it came to tennis and the Winter Olympics.  Guess what her favorite event for the Winter Olympics was? Ice skating. Can you believe it?  All I could think of was watching you slide around the ice with that little old man giving you instructions.  He was a nice guy.  I hope you go to Texas and I hope he gives you the best lessons.  I hope I can see you try to ice skate again.  But, hoping gets nowhere in life.  If it happens, it happens. If not, then oh well.  Time will tell.  It always does.

I’ve been very dehydrated, btw.  Didn’t go to town unfortunately but maybe I won’t need to.  I have a bottle here and I want to drink it, but I’m so tired.  Exhausted even.  Unfortunately, I can’t sleep at night so I sleep in until 3-4 in the afternoon.  The heat makes me sweat as I sleep, so I’m always losing water.  Not a good thing.  As I was jogging, it felt like I had sand in my mouth I was so thirsty.

I don’t like sipping, though.  I know I really should but I place it down and then I forget about it and because my dad doesn’t finish ANYTHING he intends to ingest, it’s among millions of other bottles.  I secretly don’t like drinking from someone else’s bottle.  I’d do it, but I won’t like it.  I feel very uncomfortable with the thought.  So, in order to avoid confusion I drink it all at once. I don’t know why people think I’m so smart.  Most of the time, I’m petty and dumb and primitive and just… all sorts of mentally awful.

My mom got home.  She didn’t bring anything back, which is good.  I spoke to her about going to Texas to live with Adela.  She seemed okay with it.  I’m glad. Before she got here, I wrote several emails to Blizzard executives.  If you don’t know what Blizzard is, it’s a snow storm.  It’s also a game company that’s made World of Warcraft, Diablo, Starcraft, and Overwatch.  Maybe you’ve heard of them. The reason I emailed them was because people were talking about how Valve and Blizzard would release a game similar to PUBG because it’s such a money grab supposedly.  Not sure if it’s true or not, but I decided to act and sent out about five emails to five different people trying to convince them to make their PUBG ripoff using an Ancient Greek theme. There are a lot of ways they could do it, but I kept several ideas to myself.  Can’t reveal everything I know. Besides, I’d like to see if they’d pay me for my idea.  That’d be nice, eh?  I asked each email to message me back if they’re interested. I’m not expecting a response.  It’s just one of those things that I swear I’d do but never do…  Well, now I have.  I messaged a big game developer, pitched an idea, and if they don’t take it?  Nothing lost.  If they want it? Excellent. Whatever the case, I did something for me.  If they take it, that’s on them.  Anyways, been talking to Daniel. Vented a bit.  He seems sympathetic.  I’m wanting to go to town and hang out with him, which would be great for me.  Not going to bitch about Dennis to him when we meet, probably going to try joking about politics. That said, I realized that Dennis is literally dead to me.  There is nothing he can do to repair what he’s done. Not that he’s looking for forgiveness.  He had his chance and he lost it.  I’m ready to move on and forget he even existed.  I hate him. I told Daniel about when Dennis would cup me in front of him and say, “Look at his tits.”  Told him that I hated how he targeted my self-esteem to improve his own self-esteem.  In fact, you were there the last couple of times he did it.  He was such a dick yet I didn’t interfere because I thought he was my friend.  I’m wrong a lot, I fear. I know you don’t want to read about how much I hate Dennis, but he’s been a terrible friend to me.  It just took me suffering a catastrophe to realize it.  He’s a liar and a coward.  I don’t need that sort of person in my life. What I find ironic is that you said that you developed a romantic connection?  Not sure how true that actually is, but I find that hard to believe.  Not just because he’s a liar but because he’s always been so unreasonable with me. Jeremiah and I have tried to get him to go do things like play airsoft and try something new and indulge in adventures but he’d always say no.  Mind you, I used to live with Dennis’s family.  I was in a situation where my dad kicked me out, so I know for a fact that he can be difficult to just live with.  He epitomizes homebody and refuses to do anything beyond going to the casino to gamble and drink.  Well, I guess also smoke pot now.  I think he got worse since he started, but he used to be opposed to pot like me. Whatever. I’m tired of drinking and smoking.  It’s boring and expensive.

Anyways, I’ve been watching a lot of Youtube since you left.  The videos are dumb and I just use it as background noise but I think of you a lot when I actually take the time to watch.  I might be getting to the point where when I drink water I’ll break down and cry yelling, “ESTHER USED TO DRINK WATER!!!”

I won’t be that crazy.  I promise.  <3

[mentorup]

2017 MentorUp | Session #3

Session Outline | 60 minutes

Introduction | 2 minutes

Mentee’s Perspective | 4 minutes

News | 8 minutes

Work | 8 minutes

Technology | 8 minutes

Trend or Topic | 10 minutes

Dialogue | 10 minutes

Flex-Time | 10 minutes

Introduction | 2 minutes

Curious and brilliant colleagues! It’s hard to believe that we’re already in popsicle, baseball, and 3x3 check-in season! Got you with that last one huh? ;) Although taking measurements and looking at progress can be a bit tedious… it really is so worth it.

Since you’re going to evaluate the year so far 3x3-wise, take a minute and mentally review yourself in the category of learning, staying inspired, and being curious. How’d you do?! Now review yourself in the category of applying what you learn and see to what you do everyday. How’d you do there?

No matter what your progress, your successes, or what feel like your failures… there’s importance in celebrating the little victories and knowing how to navigate forward with renewed perspective. 

Here are two questions that may not be asked at your 3x3 check-in, but I have found help manage the often overwhelming sense that you should be doing more, accomplishing more…etc.  

1)    What is something you’ve done well this year?

2)    What is something you’d like to improve before the year is over?

Of course, we’re speaking in a career/job sense, but these questions can be applied to your life, your relationships, your health…etc. As a mentor once told me, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity… so what are you going to change in order to proceed in progress?

Alright, let’s shelf the life chat and dive in people!

Mentee’s Perspective | 4 minutes

Before you begin your session, don’t forget to gain the valuable perspective of your mentee(s). Their mindset and perspective should be a guiding force in how you present this material.

For some starter questions on how to do this… here are a few.

1. What is going on with their clients and their client’s business?

2. What are the focuses right now?

3. Where are solutions needed?

4. What kind of ideas and programs are they looking for?

5. What are they currently curious about?

With their perspective in mind, let’s now embark on this month’s session!

News | 8 minutes

1)    Facebook’s F8 Conference 

I know, I know… you’re thinking “another conference!” Before you keep scrolling, it’s important to stay on the pulse of what Facebook is announcing… and here’s why. Being the largest social platform globally (we’re talking 1.86 billion active monthly users), Facebook’s new products and vision for their future gives us as marketers insight into how the platform is evolving, and with it, how Facebook users globally will evolve their social habits. The ripple effect here is huge.

Although the conference was two whole days, here are the important highlights distilled down for you.

Highlight #1: Your FB Faves + Camera Tricks 

Think about all the Facebook (based or owned by) apps you love, (Instagram and Messenger for example) and now imagine them upgraded by allowing your camera to do more while within those apps. At the conference, Mark Zuckerberg stressed that “the camera is everything” and that new experiences like AR will soon be joining your Facebook camera. An article capturing the event stated, “You’ll get games and photo filters, and your surroundings will soon be awash in playful and informational metadata that you can only see by lifting up your handset, opening the Facebook app, and viewing the word through the camera.” Facebook is also getting into the actual, physical camera business… check out this one they announced!

Highlight #2: Best Friends + Messenger Bots

AI functionality within Facebook Messenger will be able to suggest restaurant options, movie times, and concert tickets based on what you’re chatting about with your friends. From suggesting to enhancing and then taking care of payment within Messenger, bots are going to be little helpers to our conversation that keep us social while they take care of details like ordering you food or getting you news updates.

Highlight #3: The Future is Here

Facebook’s interests are wide… very wide indeed! Don’t let their social platform roots fool you, at this year’s F8 Conference, Facebook did their level best to show that they are making progress towards future innovations that most would think are realistic hundreds of years from now. A couple of those are 1) the work Regina Dugan (used to work for Darpa, which is the mad scientist government organization responsibly for doing madly awesome stuff) is doing regarding people interacting with machines using merely their thoughts and 2) Social VR capabilities in the form of their app, Spaces, which lets you hang out with friends inside your headset… or rather a virtual world. Want to go to Fiji with you bestie who lives across the country? Easy.  

A few other highlights can be found here.

What highlight is most interesting to you? Say all these updates are up and running, which one has the biggest implication for your client(s)?

2)    AI Update + Apple  

We’ve talked a lot about AI recently. Just in case you missed the ITK or Lab Events at your office, here is the report covering the trend, Invisible Marketing, so that you’ll be up to date on all things AI.

Part #1

Part #2

Part #3

Something that was mentioned in each ITK was that “you can’t big a tech player without an AI platform.” Although we’re all vaguely familiar with Amazon’s Echo and Google Home, what about the others? Below is list to go through and learn from.

Apple – Siri

Amazon – Alexa

Google – Google Assistant

Microsoft – Cortana

Samsung – Bixby

Facebook – M

Now, the exciting, juicy news… we know that Apple has fallen behind with Siri. I mean, do you use Siri anymore? Exactly. However, Apple has begun hinting at their own version of an in-home AI device. 

Some analysts believe the product is coming out this year. With Apple’s HomeKit, this device most likely would be a hub for those capabilities to seamlessly work together. Check out this video to understand more!

What is the most applicable way to infuse AI into your client’s strategy for the next year? 

Take and minute and talk about how your client could use this technology. 

3)    Tesla’s Traffic Solution

Raise your hand if you love LA traffic? Any traffic? K, well Tesla has a solution.

At the 2017 TED conference, Elon Musk gave a truly inspiring interview and inside viewpoint on many  projects that his variety of companies is working on. The one that gained the most buzz, was his underground tunnel solution for traffic. With a combination of energy effiecient cars, automated cars, and a network of tunnels, the plan seems flawless!

Watch this video (and be amazed!) 

Just last week, Uber said that we’d be in flying cars in just two years… what do you think? What could automated driving mean for our brands? What about content?

Work 

1)    Hulu’s Handmaid’s Tale Partnership 

Who was at SXSW and saw these gals? Yeeks!

Well, the dystopian novel craze continues with Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” being adapted for screen by Hulu. They’ve been promoting this show quite a bit (was Hulu’s feature in their Superbowl ad), but one promotion in particular has caught our eye, Hulu’s partnership with The Wing, a New York social club for women.

The partnership led to events such as a pre-premiere screening of the first episode with following discussions about “the current women’s movement with cast members and Women’s March leaders,” book club discussions, a Margaret Atwood video Q&A, and a themed party for social club members featuring independent female artists. Jenny Wall, svp and head of marketing at Hulu, said, “by partnering with an organization like the Wing, we are able to bring another look at The Handmaid’s Tale directly to the next generation of leading female voices.”

The niche network of women at The Wing is the perfect example of knowing your audience and passionately partnering with the right organization in order to reach that audience. What type of consumer is your client trying to reach right now? Even it’s a smaller group, like in this example, how could they affectively partner for a big impact? 

Read more here, about Hulu’s unique and creative promotion tactics for this new show. 

2)    Taco Bell opens reservations for dinner at their Test Kitchen:

Who’s brave enough to admit they love Taco Bell?! Well, think again before you judge the fiesta-bringing brand. They are actually one of the healthier fast food brands now. I know… you should go get a taco!

This brand’s ability to do wacky, fun, but still stay classic is impressive. For brand loyal consumers, Taco Bell’s Test Kitchen at their headquarters has had an element of mystery for years. By teaming up with OpenTable, 32 lucky consumers can now taste and see the magic happening by booking a reservation to dine at the brand’s Irvine, CA HQ. The reservations will open for grabs on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, with the first dinner date being a few weeks later.

What will these consumers experience? Custom menus that have never been seen/experienced by the public and of course and inside look into their innovation kitchen.

Taco Bell’s chief food officer stated, “the chance to be the first to see our innovative food where it’s created from the chefs who make it happen is a unique experience that’s never been available to the public until now. As a brand known for our firsts, we’re excited to open our doors into the magic of our innovation and give our biggest fans an experience they’ll never forget.” 

What’s mysterious or behind the scenes intriguing about a brand you work on? Is there a way to give loyal consumers an inside look into that mystery? 

Technology

1)    Gamers can now order Whoppers from inside PlayStation:

Yes… you did read that correctly! The food-ordering innovation space seems to have a shiny, new way to order every month, but this type of effortless ordering in Spain is as new and interesting as they come…

In a recent press release, Burger King said they had hired “nine professional gamers, champions of the most popular [PlayStation] games.” This “Burger Clan” will be “racing, shooting, and dribbling alongside” you in your favorite games but what makes them different from another member of your team, is that they’re ready, willing, and happy to take your order at any time. 

How exactly does this work? If you sign up online with Burger Clan, one of the nine gamers will try to play with you at some point during your game as well as order you a Whopper and fries.

Check out this video for more!

2)    Amazon Announces Echo Look:

Stripes or no stripes?

Brown suede or black leather?

Should I do a light jacket or opt for a sweater?

I have worn this too much lately?

Mmm… what about scrapping the skirt combo and doing a dress!?

So many questions and unfortunately that $7 Target mirror doesn’t answer your questions... but what if a device could? That’s exactly what Amazon has been thinking. The newest addition to the Echo ecosystem, the Echo Look, a $200 “hands-free camera and style assistant.” The camera will take full-length photos by a voice-activated camera and blur out the background using LED lighting and depth sensing technology. The device will also take videos so that you can see how an outfit moves. Once videos/photos are taken, the device will then “store those snapshots via a companion app and can provide fashion recommendations with a “Style Check” service that uses machine learning algorithms and advice from fashion specialists.”

The device can also answer questions pertaining to your environment (to help you dress appropriately) such as the weather. It’ll even answer questions about the news!

Alexa has been able to hear you, now she can see you. (cool or creepy?!) Currently it’s only available by invitation only, but I’m sure it’ll stylin’ in no time. ;)  

Hot Topic:

For this month, I’ve recruited our VP of Digital Strategy not to mention all-star dad and BFF to Michelle Obama to impress us all with his brilliant musings. Please give Mike Johnson a warm welcome!

[blog readers erupt with applause!]

Hot Topic: Woke Brands? Brands taking a Point of View

The current social and political climate is one that most of us haven't experienced in our lifetimes. People are confused and feed divided. Many of us are trying to make sense of these issues and figure out our place within the conversation.

At the same time our trust of government, media and companies is at an all time low and many of us are looking for voices that we can trust - voices that we can identify with.

The idea of brands taking a point of view on political and social issues was once completely off limits. More and more it’s becoming mainstream and in 2017 it’s becoming a necessity. Before we know it, it will be table stakes.

Politics, identity or societal issues are tough, highly charged conversations and many brands are actively trying to figure out their approach.

Brand attempts to have a point of view have come to a head over the last couple months as people have been vocal about examples that feel like poster children for success and failure in the space.

#1 The Pepsi Ad

Video Link: 

The example that garnered the most shade recently was the now notorious and promptly pulled Pepsi Ad starring the 21 year old Kendall Jenner. The ad was met with so much negativity on social channels that Pepsi was forced to pull it and make a public statement within 24 hours of release. The company tried to reach a young demo by tapping into the current conversation around social activism. Instead, they alienated many by co-opting the resistance movement and then belittling the energy, pain and struggle of it all by suggesting that Jenner giving out cans of Pepsi can curb these serious issues. Saturday Night Live was quick to join in on the criticism and since the commercial’s controversy, many memes and posts and ridiculed the effort...some are really funny.

In an article from The Atlantic titled "How on Earth Does an Ad Like Pepsi's Get Approved?", Jill Avery, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School replies, “How do these ads get approved? By brand managers who are not doing their cultural homework—relying upon surface-level understandings of the cultural phenomenon they are featuring in their marketing communications and not understanding the deep well of emotions, identity politics, and ideologies that their ads will trigger.”

Avery added that campaigns can also be harmed when a brand tries to attach itself to a social issue that has nothing to do with it's corporate mission.

The Kendall Jenner / Pepsi fiasco has become the cautionary tale for brands that want to be relevant and position themselves within the current American conversation. After the spot's release, many CMO's and brand managers had to have been asking themselves, "is it even worth it to try and have a brand voice on these issues?" What do you think? Is it worth it?

#2 Heineken Worlds Apart

Video link

Shortly after the Pepsi ad, Heineken hit the marketplace with their own commercial approach to how brands can participate in complex social issues. In the Heineken spot they paired people that represent opposite sides and views on a IKEA-like bar building project. As an example, they paired a guy who didn't understand transgender with a woman who turned out to be transgender; they paired an ultra conservative and vocally sexist white man with a young black feminist woman...you get the idea. The pairs worked together to build their bar. Then their given instructions to place a couple Heinekens on the bar. Before taking a sip though, they're shown video "outing" their partners' true beliefs. Then they're given the option to either leaving immediately or ponying up to their freshly crafted bars and talking through their differences over a cold Heineken.

The spot has been lauded as the right way for brands to approach and insert themselves into identity politics. It’s even been called the "antidote to Pepsi" by some blogs and media outlets.

Equally interesting is the conversation that has surfaced in response to the Heineken spot praise. One article states that industry folks and others celebrating the Heineken ad are being played. In an article in The Guardian titled "Hate the Pepsi ad, but love the Heineken one? You've been duped" the author Jamie Peck argues "Brands are not your friends. I know I’m not the first person to say this, but it bears repeating. They don’t care about social justice. They exist solely to sell you crap you probably don’t need."

The full article is worth a read. Is it possible for brands to join these discussions from an authentic place and to help change the world?

Pepsi and Heineken have received a lot of the recent press on this topic, but from the Super Bowl to The Oscars, other brands have been integrating complex societal issues into their brand messaging. 3 more recent examples of note:

#3 Hyatt #WorldofUnderstanding

Video Link

Using an Andra Day remake of “What The World Needs Now is Love”, Hyatt used scenes featuring various versions of “the other” to drive a message of racial, ethnic and religious inclusion. Hyatt, being a brand that helps people have great travel experiences, used their authenticity in the space to build on an elevated message that travel and diverse experiences can help drive human connections and “a world or understanding.”

Put your consumer hat on. Does a hotel showing an inclusive point of view make you want to look for their brand while making travel plans?

#4 Audi #DriveProgress “Daughter”

Video Link

On Audi’s YouTube page they state that “A 2016 report by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee found that women were paid 21% less than men on average.” Audi used this stat for a great spot called “Daughter” that features a dad asking how he should approach the issue of gender equality with his young daughter. The spot ends with the #DriveProgress hashtag and they message that progress should include everyone.

After watching this spot do you feel like Audi can play a key role in furthering gender equality in our country, or is this a clumsy attempt at connecting their brand to an issue?

#5 Audible - 1984

Video Link

Audible used Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto as voice over talent for a politically charged ad that resonates with consumers who are unsettled and don’t trust the current government. Since the current presidential administration has been in office sales of George Orwell’s classic 1984 has spiked. Audible used that data to highlight a stark quote from the book that some align with our current political climate.

What do you think of this spot? Too political or is Audible inserting themselves into a political conversation in a way that makes sense?

Some of the brands that we work with at TMA have already taken steps towards a point of view, others are further behind. What brands that you work with have started to approach complex issues? Is this something our brands should think about or stay away from?

Content Highlight

Burger King Taps Google Home:

Video Link

Many of you have likely seen this.. what are your thoughts? Do you think people will be open to the idea? Is it ethical of unethical? 

It sure is good for a laugh though. ;)

App of the Month:

Gabsee AR app:

With AR being such a big conversation right now, especially with Facebook’s recent announcements, it was quite timely that Gabsee has been gaining some buzz. 

Think of Gabsee as your go-to AR app. Unlike Pokemon Go, this app has applications in almost every setting. Want to leave a note for your boyfriend? Done. Want to do a scavenger hunt? Want to have your AR avatar bounce on the bed? Done.

Check it out folks, it’s a fun one… and has big brand implications. If you have the time in your session, go ahead and download it with your mentee!

Conclusion:

Pat yourself on the back because you’ve finished session #3! Stay curious and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

cdelachapelle@themarketingarm.com

Thanks! 

[phoenixyfriend]

#i just. the matching frowns. tarvek's deliberately-foppish not-quite-innocent shit-eating grin and folded hands #i'm obsessed with this panel i'm obsessed with this page i'm obsessed with this entire week's comics #and everything that everyone has chosen to say about these three since. man i don't even remember. october? #when was the comment about albia worrying colette will join the polycule i forget #i mean and also everyone has said about these three ever. violetta telling gilvek to stop flirting lives in my head rent free #but the entire last month has just been. i am Reeling what has HAPPENED #i was ready to live off the group hug for the next YEAR and every comic then has felt like a brand new brick???? #except for krosp and norville's grand adventure which. well that also felt like a set of bricks but very different ones #also i'm only half-convinced bc a) agatha *is* awfully good at big dramatic speeches #and it's still hard to imagine the Big Relationship(s) Upgrade(s) happening without one #b) it also feels extremely plausible that instead of agatha talking about her boyfriends to a third party #gil or tarvek will refer to *their* boyfriend to agatha (who will not comment on that until van finds out twenty pages later etc) #anything can happen etc and it feels so much like suddenly it already has. what timeline are we IN (via @iridescentoracle)

i am so obsessed with how like. taken as read the ot3 are at this point. like on the one hand it feels like they've been building up to this for ages but on the other hand it kind of feels like i blinked and we skipped right past some Major Turning Point where everything got spelled out and we're just already in firmly Established Relationship-land. obviously tarvek is too well-protected for anyone to assassinate openly, look how angry his boyfriend and girlfriend are at the idea of anyone threatening him. at this point i'm half-convinced agatha's just going to refer to her boyfriends in passing to someone else and no one's even going to comment on it until van finds out twenty pages later and immediately starts making everyone pay up