Light Takes the Tree

A question for the MCU detail-oriented...

lokei — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 01:48:48 GMT

...or possibly Washington DC residents. In Cap 2, Steve goes to the Smithsonian to his own exhibit--the hallway and escalator kind of looked like Air & Space to me, but the topic makes more sense at the Museum of American History. Anybody know which museum building it was for sure, or can point me at appropriate screencaps somewhere or something?

(I have not one but two WIPs that have to do with that exhibit, and another in germination, because my day job and my fandom life intersect in weird and fun ways sometimes.)

Thanks!

The Ten Movies you kind of need to get to get me

lokei — Fri, 16 May 2014 11:51:32 GMT

There are a lot of memes I obviously skip, but story is so important to who I am and how I see the world, it's impossible to ignore the '10 movies that shaped who you are now' thing that's going around. And because I'm me, I'm going to add books, too. ;) It was super hard not to write up the reasonings behind them all, but if you're curious do ask. :P

10 Crucial Movies

1. Original Star Wars Trilogy
2. The Princess Bride
3. Notting Hill
4. The Little Mermaid (Disney)
5. Star Trek IV (Save the Whales!)
6. Singing in the Rain
7. The Three Musketeers (Sheen/Sutherland/O'Donnell version)
8. Finding Neverland
9. The Beatles' Help!
10. Short Circuit

10 Bone Deep Books

1. Beauty by Robin McKinley
2. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
3. Dealing with Dragons (and series) by Patricia C. Wrede
4. Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien
5. Strong Poison (and series) by Dorothy Sayers
6. The Winter King (and series) by Bernard Cornwell
7. Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
8. Time and Again by Jack Finney
9. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
10. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman

These lists still leave out A Lot. I can't even keep my favorite musicals to a top ten list, so crucial mind-and-soul-shaping books are dang near impossible.

Where's my flak jacket?

lokei — Fri, 02 May 2014 14:43:33 GMT

Right, so, it's May. And I was excited for April because March is so long and was stressful and dreary except for the one week I was in Florida, but April was also stressful and dreary and exciting and weird and exhausting, and if May is the same I'm going to spend all of June with a blanket over my head. Good things happened in April - I submitted for a writing fellowship, I survived school vacation week at the museum, the bird show closed, I got to read a bunch of stuff off my to-read shelf. But I also got a short story rejection (expected, but still a bummer), I worked a huge amount of overtime, I got spring flu, my aunt died.

So roller-coaster-y, to say the least. Saw a lot of extended family, that was nice, but it was in the hospital and at the funeral, so not for good reasons. You get the idea.

And today I'm having one of those pre-headachy days where the sound of my keyboard makes my ears feel like they're being stabbed with knitting needles. So I'm wearing headphones and practicing yoga breathing and trying to focus on how much fun I usually have at the poetry festival, which is this weekend. I have fairly new staff helping me out with the art activities, which is a tad concerning, but I think it will all go smoothly. And hopefully I'll have time to duck into a reading or two as well.

And meanwhile, at least it's stopped raining?

Finally saw Winter Soldier

lokei — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 01:50:09 GMT

Eeeeeeee! *bounces off walls*

So, seeing as my brother (usual comic book movie coconspirator) and the Eagle Scout (very reluctant comic book movie watcher and mostly only because he's pretty much Steve Rogers anyway) work stupidly long hours, I took myself to the movies tonight because I was sick of waiting.

WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME IT WAS SO GOOD?!?! (I except princessofgeeks , she said it was good, and I trust her even more than Fury trusts Captain America.)

Cut for spoilers, because there's maybe someone out there who still hasn't seen it other than me three hours ago?

I don't even know where to start. No, that's a lie. One starts with Chris Evans and his beautiful profile and stupidly tiny shirts. I could watch those first five minutes of banter between Rogers and Wilson on repeat and be *just fine, thank you.* And the frequent hero shots up the torso with lingering golden light were fine by me too. The camera really loves that man.

Also, all those people that write fic where Steve is relentlessly sweet? Please, please watch this movie and notice that he is, in fact, a king of snark, and has been since the beginning. He's just quieter about it than Tony Stark, who will call you out on national television just for fun (speaking of which, Romanov has clearly been hanging out with him too long, she was *so good* in that scene with the congressional review panel or whatever you want to call it.) Steve *is* sweet. That scene with Peggy broke my heart into a million shining pieces, but he isn't *just* sweet. He's like his shield--deceptively light, makes a nice pleasant ringing tone, will break your hand faster than a block of concrete.

Also, can we please have a guest appearance of Falcon on Agents of SHIELD? That would be all kinds of awesome, and would more or less make up for Ward, who even I want to shoot repeatedly in the face, and I was actually finally warming to him despite his ever so predictable (and apparently fabricated) backstory. There should be much more Falcon, I love that Steve has a kindred spirit in the modern world ("I do everything he does, just slower." <3). A little Hawkeye wouldn't go amiss either (though I think they made a reference to him in a recent AoS episode?? Did I make that up by wishing too hard?)

The occasional reference to Stark was highly entertaining, ditto Banner , and credits scene 1 made me cackle and credits scene 2 made me cry. Does Thomas Kretschman (or however his last name is spelled) ever get to play anything but a bad guy?

And as a museum person, I nearly cheered when Steve went to the Smithsonian. I would *SO* give my arm to be in charge of interpretation and education for that exhibit.

Chances are good I may end up committing fic as I work through my reactions to the whole "whose lies am I telling" and the tricky actual plotty stuff, but I really loved it. May drag the Eagle Scout to see it with me yet.

Argh Poetry Brain

lokei — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 02:22:08 GMT

A generous friend/coworker has offered to nominate me for a small writing fellowship, application due soonish, which if received, would allow me to do awesome things like travel to Wales for a research and writing vacation, for instance.

This is, of course, splendiferous and exciting and unlikely, but inspiring anyway.

Problem being, she thinks, based on the writing samples I gave her, that my poetry makes for a stronger submission than my fiction to this particular foundation.

I have written, but not attempted to seriously edit any of my poetry in the last 10 years.

*headdesk*

...Anybody out there hiding a background in poetry that might be up for a little concrit in the next few weeks?

Month of Letters, Submissions, and School Vacation Week

lokei — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 02:19:41 GMT

So February was not a quiet month! Several of you heard all about it already, because I had your RL addresses and you got letters from me during the Month of Letters Challenge (a piece of mail for every day the post runs). I also ran a very busy week of programming at the museum during school vacation week (on just the Monday holiday we had 2,300+ people...). Plus I had 2.5 chapters of my current novel in progress workshopped this week.

And to top it all off, I wrote a flash fiction entry for the Three Minute Futures contest. The top three entries get made into radio plays directed by Gates McFadden, so I *had* to do it. For science. And also to appease my hard-beating fangirl's heart. I won't hear until April, but if you could put a good thought out into the ether for me, I'd appreciate it! It was a 'hard' sci-fi entry, which those of you who know me know I have some difficulty with (no myth? no magic? inconceivable!). It felt good to get something out there, though!

Plus yesterday on my day off I helped my mother at school all day? And this weekend I'm playing Jenny on the Spot for the adult ed staff and therefore get to take a 2 full days of oil painting workshop at the museum for free.

...I need a nap!

...

...and when I wake up, I need to go check out the latest SG1 Alphabet Soup, which I was too busy to even know existed until today, let alone participate in. *sigh*

What other fun stuff have I missed recently? Also, for the sake of research, any suggestions beyond Torchwood and Solomon and Gaenor for good movies to watch to get the cadence of Welsh conversation? I have a copy of The Edge of Reason I haven't watched yet, is that worth it?

Ow

lokei — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 02:32:38 GMT

So, snow here in New England again, which I usually love, and can be relatively excited about because The Eagle Scout is taking me on a lovely cross country skiing trip this weekend as a belated birthday present (fingers crossed we actually make it north this week!). However, in the cold and windy, slippery trek back to my apartment, with fresh powder covering last week's ice, I lost my footing and landed on my left wrist and now have a slight sprain. Goody.

Am drowning my pain in ice, ibuprofen, and Disney. (May also apply alcohol.)

Thor 2 reactions, etc.

lokei — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 02:12:18 GMT

Non-spoilery stuff first:

1) I've been tracking my creative output in the spirit of Nanowrimo this year, putting all my writing efforts, original and fan, into the mix, just to see if I can get in the habit of a) seriously writing every day and b) forcing myself to finish stuff. I've been doing really well staying on target, but today my brain just broke. I've managed something like 180 words and then shuddered to a grinding halt.

2) As you know, life in nonprofitland is nonprofitable in general, requiring a great deal of love and energy and offering up returns in karma and soul-satisfaction. Today, however, there was a very happymaking envelope in my office mailbox with the news that out of the blue, in return for all the effort of getting my exhibit reenvisioned, opened, etc., I got a raise.

3) So because my brain was broken and I'm in possession of a promise of a shiny bigger salary, I took myself out to dinner and off to see Thor 2, because none of my RL friends wanted to see it with quite the amount of glee I did.

And if you don't want to hear spoilers and uncollected nonsense about Thor 2, don't read any further. :)

Thoughts about Thor: The Dark World in no particular order:

1) Holy shit, I was IN GREENWICH when they were filming that last battle. I remember it being all torn up on the green with destroyed cars littering the Naval College. I pretty nearly shrieked when I figured that out. Fortunately, I was literally the only one in the theater, because only crazy people who happen to work across the street from the cinema make it to a 6:30 movie. I retroactively love that trip even more now.

2) The movie critics who said Loki/Tom Hiddleston was especially impressive in this film? Not wrong. I like my Luke Skywalkers, Will Turners, Steve Rogers sorts the very very most, but there were points even *I* was rooting for Loki. Dang, Tom, well done you.

3) So much love for Frigga. Seriously. That is one impressive lady.

4) There's something about the Thor/Loki relationship that reminds me of Data/Lor. Which probably shows off how seriously dated my references are, but when Loki is needling Thor as they're heading out of Asgard, that's what I was thinking about. Maybe because Loki in his sharpest moments has some of that wild genius manic light in his face that Lor did?

5) Oh MY GOD, speaking of Steve Rogers. Chris Evans' moment was one of my favorite points in the ENTIRE freaking movie. What I wouldn't give for a rewind button that's cinema-sized.

6) They pushed that punching-through-portals-flying-hammer-reroute nonsense nearly to its breaking point, but I was in a good mood, so it was still funny. Selvig without pants a little less so--made me wonder how others who had been possessed by the Tesseract were holding up (Looking at you, Barton.)

7) I hear next week's Agents of SHIELD ep is supposed to be dealing with fallout from this movie. That should be interesting. I really kind of want Darcy and Jane to meet FitzSimmons

8) Yay Darcy! Yay Science!Jane. I'm all at sixes and sevens on how I feel about the 'woman he loves in mortal danger' plot line, because it's kind of lazy storytelling. On the other hand, so is killing off Daniel Jackson every sixth episode, and that didn't stop the SG1 writers. And yes, Jane and Daniel had a certain amount in common here as well, what with the unintended consequences of natural curiosity dumping both of them in bad situations.

9) What the hell, Chris Eccleston. Good job totally disappearing into the makeup and the language, I'm going to have to watch this movie again to figure out where you even were in that character. I was a little afraid I'd be upset about watching Nine be peddling armageddon, but not actually a problem.

10) I was really glad they didn't make a huge thing about the potential love triangle. They played that up way more in the trailers than there was in the movie and I was relieved

11) So glad I saw it. Not sorry I saw it alone, though I could have used a hand to hold when Thor was getting the snot beat out of him. Can't wait for Cap 2.

"The Drawbacks of Being Level 7" (Agents of SHIELD fic)

lokei — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 17:25:42 GMT

This one's for princessofgeeks , who has all the May!feels

The Drawbacks of Being Level Seven

Agents of SHIELD, gen, episode tag, 1.7 "The Hub"

= = = = = =

Agent Melinda May had absolutely zero intention of becoming Team Mommy, and so far she prided herself on having done a good job of avoiding it. She absolutely didn’t believe in coddling, she wasn’t interested in getting all that good at comforting, and she was not at all willing to put herself in the position of too much caring whatsoever. Not after last time.

But first she agreed to drive the Bus. And then she agreed to get back in the field. And then she found herself offering an unusually shaky Coulson support, to the point that he seemed to hear her even when she didn’t end up saying anything. And then she had baby agents running to her in a panic because their team had been split up and sent into danger without backup, and May realized that she was in this thing up to her neck and probably always had been.

It’s not like you got to be Level Seven by staying out of things: May doesn’t know why she’s surprised.

She’s not at all surprised at the end of the mission when she finally tracks Ward down. She usually passes him when they’re each making a circuit of the Bus, checking on FitzSimmons in their lab, speaking that language that’s really only understandable to the two of them, Skye at whatever task Ward’s set her, Coulson holed up in his office, probably brooding. Ward isn’t on patrol tonight--she finds him with a tumbler of something strong in the lounge area, staring at the glass bar top as if it holds the secrets of the universe.

“Have you ever noticed,” he asks in a carefully emotionless tone, “that the people we work for can be utter bastards?”

“I’m not sure that’s fair to the illegitimate children in this case,” May says as she slides onto a stool beside him and pulls over an extra glass. “But yes, I’ve noticed.”

“The extraction team didn’t signal back, and I knew,” he says, still wooden. “And I couldn’t tell Fitz until the last moment. He still doesn’t know it wasn’t ever coming.”

“Worst thing about level seven,” May agrees. “Experienced enough to know what’s going on, not high enough to do anything about it.”

Ward’s mouth twists up. “You can go higher.”

She raises her eyebrows at him. She’s not exactly known for being a rank-climber, but his next words disabuse her of that notion.

“You have a plane. You can go as high as you want.”

Ah. Ward’s one of those invisible drunks, then. She got pretty plastered the first time she realized no one was coming for her, too. That’s why she--

“Knew they weren’t coming. Started praying for the Cavalry,” Ward’s grin is a little more real this time, and she shakes her head.

“I’ve told you not--”

“To call you that. I know. Still glad as hell to see you coming.” Ward shrugs. “Was hoping you would, but didn’t know if you guys knew we were even stuck.”

May’s lips twitch despite herself. “Skye convinced Simmons to help her hack a level eight terminal.”

Ward snorts. “Seriously? Obviously it worked, but there’s got to be a story there.”

“Simmons ended up shooting Sitwell with the NightLight.” May pauses as Ward snickers into his next sip of brandy. May wishes she could have seen that. “Actually, according to Skye, Simmons attempted flirting first, and then she shot him.”

Ward’s shocked laugh produces a very satisfying spit-take-wheeze, and he ends up face-down on the bar, giggling like Fitz after too much cider. “Whose playbook has Simmons been reading, Romanov’s? Cause it sure isn’t yours.”

May gives him a considering look. She and Black Widow have different styles, true enough, but Ward doesn’t know her as well as he thinks. After all, he hasn’t been level seven all *that* long. She doesn’t feel like enlightening him at the present time, so she downs the last of her drink and heads back to the cockpit. Now that she’s given Ward something else to think about--sweet Jemma Simmons in her rose-embroidered sweater actually breaking the rules to come to their rescue--he’ll be all right.

The Cavalry, after all, is never just one person on a horse. You need a few of them to make an effective charge.
.

"To Make Your Soul Grow" Stargate SG-1 fic, gen

lokei — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 13:28:31 GMT

Too late for the Friendathon Frenzy, but ah well!

To Make Your Soul Grow
by Lokei
Stargate SG-1, gen
Prompt: 67. Daniel and the teens from Abydos: They discuss the prospects of murals and art.

“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut

When Skaara’s friends find Sha’re beginning to paint the story of the rebellion on the walls of the temple, they start yelling.

It only takes a moment for Daniel, habitually oblivious but in these last two weeks keenly attuned to his new wife and even more to the sounds of conflict, to come running. It’s not Sha’re who needs his defense, though--she has already cuffed them all around the ears, flushed with her new authority as a married woman and key hero of the resistance. She’s back to painting already, even. So it is four whimpering, sullen teenage boys and a reluctantly admiring Skaara that Daniel finds nearby--all five of them confused by Sha’re’s actions and by their own reactions as well.

Daniel thinks he understands--it takes more than two weeks of freedom to overcome the habits of a lifetime of fear.

(Unless you are Sha’re, but then, Daniel does not think he has seen her frightened yet. It is part of what drew his attention when he very first saw her, water ladle in hand and nothing but intelligent curiosity in her gaze.)

“It is all right,” Daniel reassures them. “Ra’s rules are over, you can celebrate these things for yourself, now.” His Abydonian is still awkward, his word choice far from fluid, and he runs dusty hands through his hair as he tries to find the right way to explain and encourage. Not for the first time, he wishes Colonel O’Neill had stuck around. Taciturn he might have been, but he had a way of getting to the point and an air of competence that would have been useful in rebuilding a culture.

Lacking Jack’s natural authority, Daniel does what he usually does, and relies on a veritable sandstorm of words.

“You tell stories already, yes? Around the fires and over meals and while travelling to the other camps. Stories about the gods, of course, but also about the deeds of your ancestors, great and foolish.”

The boys begin to nod.

“Do these stories stay the same?”

One of the boys, Daniel is pretty sure his name is Ahmose, pipes up. “No, the teller and the story can change together. Sometimes it is three mastadges, sometimes it is thirty.”

The others laugh and Daniel can only assume this is a reference to a story and particular community member they all know. At least it seems to support his point.

“And when it is a funny story, the details changing do not matter so much, right?”

A chorus of nods.

“But think of what happened here, when you stood against Ra. If one story teller said Ra had thirty guards, and one said he had three hundred, how would that change the story?”

“But everyone knows how many there were that stood for Ra and how many of us stood against him!” That is one of the quieter ones, Djedefre. Daniel has always liked that name --’enduring like Ra.’ He likes almost all of the names a lot less now that he’s actually met Ra, but it doesn’t change the fact that the boy bearing the name is still likeable enough. Senbi and Wosret aren’t bad either, and they’re smart enough to stay out of the conversation so far.

“Everyone knows now, yes,” Daniel agrees. “But when you have children, and are telling them the story, and then they have children, and tell them the story, will the memories of the tellers still be perfect, if they did not see it happen?”

The boys are frowning now. Skaara leans in with a knowing look.

“So you draw the stories on the walls so we will not forget.”

Daniel smiles. “So *you* draw, and write, the stories on the walls, so that you will be remembered by your children’s children’s children and more.”

Wosret is still frowning, though Daniel sees the light come on behind Djedefre’s and Senbi’s eyes. “But Sha’re, she knows only part of the story. When she was with you, other things were happening, with us.”

Daniel nods. “Which is why it is important to remember that you are free. A story happens to many people, so many voices can tell it from their own points of view. Writing down the facts is only part of the story. How you felt, what you dream, what you hope for in this new life we all build together--that is the story you tell. To make it visible, through writing, through art--that is your choice.”

Skaara grins, bright and blinding like the light beaming in from the outside. “I understand, Danyel.” He points at the long, tall corridor wall, easily one of the largest surface areas in the parts of the temple Daniel’s had time to explore. “I will take that wall for my story.”

Daniel laughs and tosses him a stick of charcoal, and like that, another one of Ra’s shadows seems to lift away. His pile of sullen boys transforms into a chattering, hooting, laughing flock of elbows and knees and catcalls as they race each other to the wall to begin. Daniel stands up, brushes the sand off his robes, and goes around the corner to his wife.

“Their heads will be higher than palm trees by mid-morning,” she reproves him gently, but smiles and passes him a paintbrush.
.

"Stick the Landing," Agents of SHIELD episode tag

lokei — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 16:11:18 GMT

Stick the Landing
Agents of SHIELD, gen
by Lokei
Episode Tag: 1x6, FZZT

Fitz dreams of falling. Even in his dream he knows it’s not supposed to be him, that he wasn’t the one midair, in the inexorable grip of gravity until being snatched by the even more determined grip of Agent Grant Ward.

But still, he falls.

And as he falls he looks for her, because he saw her, he’s the only one that saw her as her heels left the ramp, and she took him with her even though he couldn’t get out from behind the glass.

He’s falling, looking, and he looks so hard his eyes open in the semidarkness that is the Bus by nightlight, and he has to throw himself out of his bunk to round the partition and see her for real.

She’s always been a peaceful sleeper, making up for the dizzying whirl of who she is and how she thinks while awake, and tonight is no exception. There’s still a paleness to her cheek, like she was recovering from the flu, not a deadly electroshock alien virus thing, but she’s there, solid, alive, and still.

Fitz sits against her bunk, and lets himself sleep.

= = = = = =

May doesn’t sleep much. Like a lot of field agents, she’s developed a system of catnaps and short, deep, dreamless slumbers that end at the slightest hint of a change in her environment. It’s enough to keep her sharp, and probably prematurely gray, but she’s more likely to develop a streak of pure white the longer she spends with this team. The idea doesn’t bother her as much as it used to. Scars--and wrinkles, and streaks--are simply proof of survival.

She brushes the reminder of her own near miss and thinks they could all use a few more proofs like that.

May gives up on the idea of a normal night and walks a quiet pattern, from the sleep quarters to the cockpit to the stairs above the cargo bay, snatching a few minutes’ rest each time as she hears Coulson below her, talking to Lola as he polishes her to a loving shine.

= = = = = =

Skye doesn’t even try to sleep. She sits bolt upright in the co-pilot’s chair in the cockpit, staring out at the night sky until the eighth or ninth time May circles back to check on the autopilot.

Then she gets up and follows her. She’s getting good at this shadowing thing. She trails May from the cockpit to the bunks, and smiles a little to see Fitz wiped out on the floor next to Jemma. She lingers there as May moves on, and when it seems like no one else is likely to be jumping out to point a finger at her for excessive sentimentality, she ducks into her own bunk to grab a blanket and goes to join Fitz on the floor. If Simmons feels like tossing herself out an airlock again, she’ll have to get past them both first.

= = = = = =

Ward stares at the ceiling above his bunk and considers FitzSimmons, possibly for the very first time. They’d surprised him today, a couple of times, and he’s forced to reconsider his opinion of them. If you’d asked him yesterday, he’d have told you he respected their brains, their ability to focus on a problem, to bridge the distance between their two pet disciplines to work together towards common and uncommon goals.

Today, he thinks, he can see them, and respect them, as field agents and as people. He meant it when he told Simmons what she’d done was brave--it takes courage most people never need to look at a situation and know the only way to fix it is to throw yourself into the breach. Even a lot of SHIELD agents never quite hit that point.

He would have jumped after her anyway: the younger agents, all of them, even problematic Skye, are his in a way that makes him uncomfortable if he looks at it too long. But as little as he’d ever wanted to work on a team, now that he has one, he’s going to do his best to support those who protect it as fiercely as he does.

Which brings him to Fitz. Crazy, sheltered, wide-eyed Leo Fitz who trails Jemma Simmons like the tail of a blazing comet, except when the gravity shifts and then he’s the one leading the way. Co-dependent Fitz, who stepped into a contaminated lab carrying a box of electric death and wearing nothing more than a pair of anti-static gloves, to save his lab partner and all the rest of them.

Ward hasn’t told him yet that that, too, was bravery. He’ll have to fix that in the morning. Once Fitz has fixed his gun.

He rolls over and sleeps the sleep of the justly, smugly, exhausted. He’s always kind of loved parachuting.

= = = = = =

Jemma wakes once and sees Fitz and Skye slumped over on the floor. She smiles, rubs the bruise she got from Ward jamming her with the antiserum, punches her pillow back into shape, and goes back to sleep. Her last thought before drifting off is that her teammates are bloody adorable, and she still needs to get back at Fitz for that terrible impersonation…

= = = = = =

Coulson doesn’t spend time looking in the mirror. He doesn’t get back on the treadmill, doesn’t check the bloodwork again for inconsistencies or signs of forgery.

He goes downstairs, and talks to Lola. It starts with a measured listing of all the ways he’s going to find to creatively get back at Blake for leaving a streak on her nice shiny coat, and eventually drifts into a list of all the threats he’s sorry he never got to follow up on. He likes what he’s doing now a lot better than babysitting an off-the-rails Tony Stark, but he’s still sorry he hasn’t got the opportunity to improve on the taser-SuperNanny quip.

He doesn’t think he ever will. He’s sure Fury has a reason for keeping him away from the Avengers project, from checking in with his former agents. It might have something to do with the dreams he has of a rainbow bridge and an old man with one eye and sleeping in a glass coffin under an arched ceiling of stars.

More likely, though, Fury just doesn’t want to provoke Phil into some kind of PTSD breakdown.

If so, he picked the wrong way to keep Phil busy. He spent all day imagining hints of unnatural blue creeping into the eyes of his team, and Lola’s bright cherry red is all that’s keeping that blue from flickering around the edges of his own vision.

He doesn’t say any of that, though. May’s listening, and she has her own demons to fight.

He refolds the rag, and starts to polish again, as through the cargo bay window Lola’s bumper catches the warm pink glow of the approaching dawn.

So happy to have made it to November

lokei — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 16:07:30 GMT

Five happy things:

1) I survived my two opening festivals! I didn't come down with pneumonia (my coworker did, but I escaped!). People like the new exhibits!

2) I saw Naomi Novik in Cambridge this weekend. She was awesome, and I got my birthday present, Temeraire book 8, signed with bonus dragon illustration. :)

3) My parents threw me a Broadway-themed birthday party and my boyfriend agreed to join in and survived the in-family nuttiness. Plus lots of lovely people wished me a happy birthday.

4) Castle and Agents of SHIELD were both really good this week.

5) I have been writing! Both some of my original work and a SHIELD piece that's going up momentarily. I might actually have more than one fic response to FZZT? But at least this one's written and out of my head and I can get back to dragon-assisted time travel.

Bonus happiness: there is new J/D fic from the ficathon that I haven't gotten to read yet, but I'm really looking forward to.

adrenaline crash

lokei — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 05:37:17 GMT

Finally called the cops on my screaming , door slamming neighbors. Am a little shaky and afraid of reprisals but its the fourth terrible row this week and the second one that woke me up in the middle of the night. I seriously need to move.

9 days to opening

lokei — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 19:20:34 GMT

Technically 10 if you count today *and* opening day, but one really can't do that. I've got 2 exhibits rolling inexorably towards that looming deadline, new studios to arrange, performers to wrangle, etc. And I still kind of feel like I have a small mountain lion sitting on my chest, occasionally digging claws into my throat and/or head depending on the hour. Bleargh.

On the up side, 2 hours and I get to go home and crash again, I think. And Castle and SHIELD both made me laugh this week. And I have next door to nothing to do this weekend! And I have a very big cup of tea sitting here steaming on my desk. So really, not such a bad round-up for a Thursday.

Five FitzSimmons Modifications that didn't make the Bus (and one that did)

lokei — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 23:13:55 GMT

Still sick (home from work again, grah) but...Bouncy British scientists strike again!

Five FitzSimmons Modifications that didn't make the Bus (and one that did)
by Lokei
Agents of SHIELD, gen, episode tag

1) The Fish Tank

Word got back to Fury (word always gets back to Fury) that FitzSimmons had indeed proposed a fish tank aboard the reconstructed plane, and he rolled his eye with the kind of resignation only perfected by those who deal with Tony Stark and his ragtag team of weirdos on a frequent basis. Hill, however, found the idea hilarious and went off to needle Coulson about it, who calmly passed her along to the brains responsible. They had, after all, been the ones to actually *fire* the 084 and put a hole in his mobile headquarters. They deserved at least a little bit of uncomfortableness for that.

Fitz, when asked, pointed to Simmons and claimed that she'd wanted the tank to be filled with some kind of fish that produce interesting biochemicals--namely, poisons, lethal and non. He himself, of course, only wanted the tank to have the kinds of nice, pretty, relaxing fish that had interesting fin motions--he had some theories about reducing drag and also wing flexibility that would be greatly enhanced by the opportunity to study the fluid dynamics of the--but really, no, he had the rest of the team in mind, the relaxing thing, you know. Because Agent Ward and Agent May both, and well, each of them in particular depending on the day, seemed in dire need of something mellow, like watching the fish, or well, possibly Simmons' fishes' muscle relaxant toxin?

Hill gave Coulson a lava lamp at the next briefing.

He used it to brain the stowaway they picked up on their fifth mission.

2) The 'Disco Windows'

The key, apparently, had something to do with selective reflectivity and polarization. And fish scales, but Ward wasn't even going to try to figure out how. He was more preoccupied with

"But why? I mean, what possible purpose could putting some kind of...disco filter on the windows serve?"

FitzSimmons gave him identical looks of amused condescension.

"'But why' he asks. As if science was all about solutions."

"Problem solving."

"Medical miracles."

"Weapons and communication."

"Transportation."

"Faster than *light* transportation."

"Because that's not all that science is."

And, in eerie synchrony:

"Because sometimes science is just fun. Because we *can.*"

Unsettled, Ward shook his head. "Just...make sure it's removable, if you go for it. Because the Director is never gonna go for it."

...All the same, he was a little disappointed when he turned out to be right.

3) The Dwarves' Cat Tunnels

"But then they could access all areas of the plane without getting in the way!" said Fitz.

"And it would be particularly nice for Bashful," Simmons added with a little smile. "He doesn't like crowds."

"Robot drone superhighway? I don't think so," Skye said.

"Seriously, that's creepy," Ward agreed, to the hacker's evident surprise.

"They can use the ventilation systems just like everyone else," Coulson said.

The rest of the team looked at each other and decided not to ask.

4) Anti-Gravity Squashball Court

"We have one of those on the heli-carrier. Not as fun as you'd think," Coulson said.

FitzSimmons frowned. "Who?"

"Who else?"

Their request for a direct line to Stark's labs was also declined.

5) Hammocks in the cargo bay

"And these have, what, medical sensors in them? Slow release truth-serum through skin absorption? Fingerprint capture?" Ward sounded so proud of himself for coming up with the options, Simmons thought it was close to unbearable levels of cute.

She smiled. "Actually, it's a highly useful and versatile cellulose-based fiber, using organic acids and a delicate balance of multiple forms of saccharides."

Ward raised his eyebrows for more explanation.

"It's cotton," she explained. "Good for swinging, relaxing, mid-air napping?"

May shook her head with a rueful hint of an expression on her face. "Got you there, Ward. Again. Sometimes a hammock is just a hammock." She turned to Simmons. "Unfortunately, good a pilot as I am, turbulence happens. Among other things. I'd rather not feel responsible for someone getting a concussion falling out of a hammock mid-flight."

Simmons raised a hand. "Um, sorry, other things?"

May tipped her head and Simmons put her hand down. Someone had, after all, blown a hole in the plane in its very first week.

"Right. No hammocks."

+
1) Magnetized coasters and drinking glasses

Technically, of course, Fitz hastened to assure the rest of the team, the coasters also featured a suction-based securing device on the posterior to affix them to the glass bar top in case of turbulence--or rapid cabin depressurization, of course.

"Which there will be no more of in the immediate or forseeable future," Coulson interjected. "As I have already promised Director Fury."

Skye twirled a coaster between her fingers before returning it to its spot clinging to the glass. "Suction cup coasters and magnetic glasses, huh? Anyone else feel a drinking game coming on?"

FitzSimmons blinked at her, May folded her arms, but Ward's face twitched barely perceptibly.

"We did test them with a game of wall-golf," Simmons offered. "To make sure the magnets withstood an alteration of gravity, of course."

"Of course," Coulson echoed dryly, while Skye repeated "Wall golf?"

"Like darts, but with glasses as the targets, stuck to the walls," Fitz filled in.

"Presumably not with actual golf balls, since the glasses are all still in one piece. Unless you're just a lousy shot," Ward added.

Simmons smiled. "Oh, did we not mention? The glasses are formed of the latest in enhanced polycarbonate."

Ward's expression made her smile flicker and then return brighter. "That is to say, they're also bulletproof."

The new barware got to stay, but it surprised no one when Fury denied the requisition for golf clubs.

Launch Party (Agents of SHIELD drabble, Gen)

lokei — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 00:04:46 GMT

(I don't have any Avengers icons...will Mr. Fantastic do?)

The ever lovely princessofgeeks hosted a rather brilliant post in which a bunch of us got to admit to enjoying Agents of SHIELD, despite its overhype and subsequent let down griping. And she said she was looking forward to fic, and so I did. (While on a lot of decongestant, however, so apologies if it's not up to my usual standards!)

Launch Party (Ep. 2 tag)

May learned how to control even the tiniest twitch of expression long ago--SHIELD was nothing if not good at teaching you to shield your emotions--but her new 'teammates' are a better test of her control than ever Barton was. (And really, it's been how many years and she still hasn't forgiven him for saddling her with that ridiculous nickname.)

FitzSimmons, in particular, individually and as a unit, are challenging her poker face. The pair of them are really just too amusing, kicking their heels over the edge of the ramp, attempting to project the world weary air of veteran agents and not even realizing that their bubbly scientific enthusiasm destroys the illusion instantly. Fortunately they're more adorable than irritating, largely because May knows exactly where that impulse comes from. It's been a very long time since she was fresh meat, but she remembers vividly how certain agents have a tendency to peacock in front of agents-in-training and those who aren't field certified. Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons in particular have come in for a certain amount of hazing (the vast majority of which they haven't even noticed being attempted, so wrapped in their codependent joyful science bubble) and a pretty hefty amount of condescension, which May knows they've noticed. So for FitzSimmons to be playing at knowledgeable and experienced in front of Skye, who was probably never as naive as either of them, is understandable. And hilarious.

May shoots a look at Coulson, who raises an eyebrow in shared amusement. She tips her head, and goes to sit next to Simmons, knowing the message she's sending their leader.

Simmons passes her a beer, and salutes May with her own. May raises her hand in return, and behind her bottle, she smiles.

Wedding of the Century

lokei — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 21:40:16 GMT

Or at least the sweetest one held on the Cape this weekend.

My brother got married on Saturday under gorgeous blue skies, in a very sweet ceremony with a rocking reception. I got to work the old-fashioned starlet look thanks to some very nice hair and makeup work, the band was awesome, I didn't fall out of my heels walking up the aisle, and I didn't cry during my toast. I did get blisters and far too much sand in my shoes, so the wedding overall gets a 9.5 out of 10. :)

...Or maybe only a 9.3 as I have subsequently come down with post-wedding creeping crud and have less than three weeks 'til my exhibits open and therefore precisely *no* time to get sick.

On the upside, Castle's back, Glee didn't massacre the Beatles, I've made it to book 3 in A Song of Ice and Fire, and best of all the SG1 Friendathon has gone live with an awesome opener by Fig.

Plus it's October, which means I can break out my bin of Halloween decorations without fear of retribution by my housemates. (Once I convince myself to get off the couch. Maybe tonight's the night to get back to my SG1 rewatch?)

Austenizing a Bachelorette party?

lokei — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:51:04 GMT

I've been at a conference the last 4 days and am exhausted and punchy and coming in just under the wire for submitting a 'cute story for the lingerie party' for my soon to be sister in law for this weekend. Lacking the number of hilarious and embarrassing stories that her more established friends have, I decided to put a bit of a spin on my submission, which I had so much fun with, I decided to share it with you too.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that true love is rarely found on the Post Road between London and Bath. And yet ‘rarely’ is not the same as ‘never,’ as any astute observer of humanity can attest, and I had my first opportunity to observe the felicity that is the serendipitous union of Miss Anne L____ and Mr. Robert W____ at an inn featuring exotic cuisine from the Far Eastern reaches of the Empire. Though she was becomingly attired, Miss L____’s gown and jewels paled when compared with her fine eyes, and it was clear that young Mr. W____ favored her above all others in the room. This gave me no small satisfaction, for I had a natural interest in that gentleman’s happiness and was eager to approve of a lady who could similarly appreciate his merits. We passed some time in lively conversation, and I am pleased to be able to claim her as one who will soon be among the closest of my connections."

Because it's too close to the conference and I need a distraction

lokei — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:45:44 GMT

Ran across the "Describe yourself in 3 Television Characters" meme and it made me laugh.

I have...too many ideas, which is the same as no idea. I was initially going to say 'I don't watch that much television,' but we all know that's a lie, so:

on my best days? Alexis Castle, Dr. Beverley Crusher, Martha Jones

on my geekier days? Stiles Stilinski, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Abby Sciuto

on my angrier days? (today, especially, due to extended family things that I don't need to bring here but am having trouble avoiding) MacGyver, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Kate Beckett

[And, of course, it's not actually a fair question, because the best choices aren't from TV but books and movies: Princess Leia, Jo March, Hermione Granger.]

So tell me, what 3 characters suit you today?

SG1 Rewatch: The Broca Divide

lokei — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:33:43 GMT

I pretty much liveblogged this one, because "Broca Divide" is one of my early season ridiculous favorites. Probably because, much like in "The Doctor Dances," Everybody Lives. (2 nameless Marines who maybe mashed their heads open got saved by Janet, I maintain)

1) Team Snark: Daniel and Sam, Co-Captains. God, I love these two, Daniel sassing the Marines ("I was more worried about my front.") and Sam's commentary about "I was going to decorate my living room like this..."

2) Daniel in his black turtleneck, with the hair and the glasses--oy. I may have rewound that section right before the falling Marines a few times. I don't have any idea why he's helping Sam wave a tricorder at the Stargate, but I will watch him do it gladly.

3) "I want you." "Why? I mean, no!" Jaaaaack, I can't decide if that's funny or painful. I may have found an episode-fill snippet I want to write. Because if you've been busy watching Daniel in his turtleneck too, it's a little funny, and if you're dealing with internalized ick over Sarah and Charlie, it's really really not.

4) By the way, the camera angles in that scene are amazing and dizzying.

5) JANET! The first three episodes languished without you, and so did I. Look how much you care already.

6) Eeek, when Jack loses it, it freaks me out every time. Daniel looks pretty shaken too, poor guy was only trying to be nice about Sam. Though after the weirdness that was last week's episode in Emancipation, the 'gee poor you' reaction Jack's line about 'she tried to seduce me' which is pretty clearly a euphemism, plus the whole 'anthropologist studies primitive man' bit with Milosha in the beginning makes 2 eps in a row where Daniel's a little tone deaf. Definitely not the uber-perfect liberated sensitive soul which one sometimes sees in fic--Daniel can definitely be a bit of an ass.

7)Hey, four episodes in, and we've got our first plague lockdown. Everybody pull out your bingo cards. :)

8) Daniel and Teal'c on a solo mission through the gate--Daniel's trepidation is hilarious and justified and Teal'c is also bringing the sass this episode.

9) Ooh, I forgot that Daniel actually gets lost/left behind by Teal'c here, and also that Teal'c already calls him 'friend.' I find their dynamic so interesting, especially so early on.

10) Tupelo's lampshade headdress is really distracting. As are the high-top and skirt wearing guys with tree trunk thighs. What on earth were the costumers copying to come up with these costumes?

11) Oh, Daniel's getting beat up again. That's three times in one episode already. And Sam's been stabbed and Jack looks like a prize fighter. Poor team.

12) Allergies as a plot point! Oh my god, show, you are the best when you are *absolutely ridiculous*

13) Jack's got a very Kirk-esque role this episode, with the whole 'keeping humanity while wild, protecting people through self-sacrifice' thing. Very old school.

14) "I am not Lucy." Is this the first time we get repeated 'for cryin' out loud's in an episode? I think so, and I am grinning like an idiot.

15) "Are we going to try to tranq all the touched?" "Just the ones that get between us and Daniel." ....and then they shoot everyone. Because no one even better *try* getting between Daniel and his team.

16) Those gymbaby guards really hate Teal'c now. I love that look he gives them and then sits himself right down next to Daniel to wait.

17) Teal'c gives Daniel his glasses. AAAaaaaawwww.

18) "I thought we were going to give it a better name." "He's back." Double awww.

19) Jack and the tank top comment. Are you pulling pigtails, or what, here? Good thing Sam's got him figured out enough already to scoff at him a little.

"Eeep," the story of a very fine email

lokei — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:32:53 GMT

also variously titled, "My Mother is an Enabler."

Which is to say, she emailed me today to say Orlando Bloom is playing in Romeo and Juliet on Broadway this fall, and did I therefore have a trip to NYC in my future?

At which point I flailed around like an idiot and wished I wasn't at work and surrounded by people who do not do fandom.

But the answer to my mother's question is

Yes, yes I do.

SG1 Rewatch: Emancipation

lokei — Sat, 11 May 2013 02:39:49 GMT

Eurgh. Okay, so, disclaimer: I was maybe not in a great headspace to watch this episode this week, but my reactions didn't jive with my expectations, so apologies if this is really disjointed and/or bizarre.

It's been a while since I've watched this episode, probably the last time was when redial_the_gate watched it, and I would point anyone and everyone to the recap/meta/awesome that went on over there at the time. That said, I was expecting a fun episode of wacky hijinks with SG1 and some cool feminist stuff from BAMFSam, because, hey, after the last two episodes, no one dies, no one gets turned into a Goa'uld, we just get old-school style Star Trek-like taking on of social issues thinly disguised in an alien culture. (Does anybody remember that TNG episode where the planet of Amazonian women has very little use for most of the Enterprise crew, except for the one who's super taken with Riker because he's so much taller and beardier than the males on their planet? That episode bugged me long before I could articulate why. Anyway.)

So yeah, 'wacky fun' to mix universes a little more--not what I got out of it this time at all. Yes, there were some entertaining teamy moments that I have always loved, like the reference to some other mission where Sam got extra happy on some alien party juice, and the moment between Jack and Daniel where Daniel wants to know why Jack always comes up with the worst case scenario and Jack just says 'I practice.'

However, mostly I found this episode difficult to watch. Maybe it's because I've got a different kind of identification with Sam now that I'm in a different place myself in my personal and professional life. Maybe it's the repoliticization of women's bodies and consent issues in the last national election, the "war on women" and the sense that things are moving backwards in so many ways even as we make progress in others. Maybe I've just hit that point where I can no longer see fictional depictions of violence against women without having some serious thoughts about the depiction of women in the media in general. I don't know.

But I was really focused on Sam's real danger, her relative powerlessness despite her military preparation and intense intelligence, and the way her worth was minimized to her appearance for so much of the episode, even to some extent by the reactions of her teammates when she's first forced into local clothing. I used to find their trio of dumbfounded faces entertaining, and maybe I will again, but the whole patronizing 'it's you' thing bugged the bejeezus out of me this time. Because the whole point is, of course, that it isn't--and it isn't for any of the women forced into those clothes and that set of behaviors--and for all that Daniel tries to literally give Sam back her power and authority later ("She is a shaman, a woman of power for our people...she's a chieftain, we need her"), it's pretty clear that a) Daniel's been living for the last year in a traditional patriarchal culture himself ("May you have many sons." Really, Daniel? You deserved that elbow from Sam) and b) Jack's not totally immune to the 'good old boy' culture either. They didn't give Teal'c much to do this episode, so I don't have a read on him in this situation very well. And I don't quite know what to do with the battle scene at the end, will have to think on that later.

Wow, that was a run-on. So anyway, tl;dr : Had issues with what was going on within the team and in their interactions with the culture regarding the treatment of women, to their faces and behind their backs and in the assumptions made about them. In that way, I guess I feel like it's a better episode than I used to give it credit for, in that it has the potential to be more thought-provoking, but is not so much the light hearted progressive Trekkian social issues romp I remembered and was kind of more in the mood for at the time. Here's to better luck in later episodes!

[[On the other hand, I did end up watching an original Trek episode tonight as well ("The Balance of Terror," I think it was called, ep 15 anyway) which was SO CS Forester in Space I couldn't stop chuckling about all the Hornblower parallels. Gene Rodenberry, your fanboy was showing in that ep. Two honorable, clever captains firing at each other in the fog and playing elaborate games of chicken, with a bonding moment and discussion of duty and friendship at the end? I feel like I read that book before...]]

SG1 Rewatch Drabbles 1-3

lokei — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:11:38 GMT

PoG and JDJunkie made me do it. :)

Also, my knees are all swollen and bruised and this is a good distraction.

1) Stargate: Movie

There is sand in his hair, down his pants, in his socks, up his shirt, under every finger and toenail, between his teeth and probably in his ears, and he has the desert equivalent of rugburn over most of his back. Probably treating the big alien-yak thing with the casual familiarity of a camel was a bad idea (even treating camels familiarly invites danger, frankly), but Daniel can't stop grinning inside anyway, though the grit in his mouth makes actual smiling difficult. It was an uncomfortable drag over the dunes, to be sure, but the destination was so worth it. A living alien culture! A human alien culture! With obvious Egyptian influences!

Plus there's a remarkably pretty girl heading his way with a bowl of what he desperately hopes is water.

Daniel's day is looking up.

2) Children of the Gods

Kawalsky watches O'Neill watch Jackson and Captain Carter in the chart room, words flying fast and ideas even faster, and he has a hard time reining in the laughter. The colonel warmed to Jackson that first time 'round, they all did, so it's possible that bemused fondness on Jack's face is all for the Doc, especially given that pissing contest the colonel and the captain got into in the briefing room. On the other hand, Kawalsky knew the colonel better than probably anyone at the Cheyenne Mountain base, and some part of Jack was enjoying the way Captain Carter took him on. He could tell.

Now, the colonel was looking like a man who was staring into the faces of his doom and finding it hard to be completely upset about it. Kawalsky would lay down good money that he was looking at the beginnings of something out of this world. (Pun intended, 'cause he's totally okay with being that guy, in the privacy of his own head.) He grins, and O'Neill shoots him a dirty look. He shrugs and keeps on grinning.

3) Enemy Within

Teal'c finds the speech patterns and behavior of these people unsettling. He is brought before the General Hammond, who is clearly a First Prime like himself, but there is a struggle for power and influence going on with this lower ranking Colonel Kennedy that Teal'c does not understand. Perhaps this President that O'Neill has spoken of is more accepting of divisive ideas in his ranks than are the Goa'uld. O'Neill has made it seem so.

But O'Neill could, perhaps, have misrepresented, as these two before him are doing now? Teal'c offers to swear his honor to the survival and protection of this world and is dismissed in favor of what they call an 'informal conversation,' though their faces are in shadow and they sit in opposition to him across the length of what is clearly a banquet table. The questions they are asking are as 'informal' as their posturing, as well.

Teal'c is relieved when O'Neill arrives, his particular form of blustering honesty refreshing. He would have been disappointed to have judged the man wrongly, but it seems that for once, his faith is not misplaced.

SG1 Rewatch: Enemy Within

lokei — Thu, 09 May 2013 03:20:29 GMT

Okay, so I got partway through this episode and thought, "I really should not have watched this tonight." There's a reason I don't watch hospital dramas, and that is the same reason why I have serious trouble with Kawalsky's operation scene. My imagination is a bit too vivid and my empathy too strong to deal with things involving pain and blood and medical issues.

That said, I stuck it out to the end, and was rewarded by that awesome OT4 shot at the end, with all of them lined up before the Gate, and it was freakin' glorious. So that made the cringing earlier worth it.

Other thoughts:
1) Daniel and the not-sleeping scene with Sam--there's more of that early sympathy between them that I was looking for.

2) The way Jack goes to bat for Teal'c--and the way he is scrupulously honest with him--makes him so very easy a character to love, even when he's being obnoxious to those in authority. It's so cool to see him and Hammond getting along with such understanding so early, given the memoir joke misfire in the first episode.

3) Nobody named Kennedy should be that much of a jerk. ...And yes, I am from Massachusetts. My point, frivolous as it is, stands. (I miss Teddy, okay?)

4) "If you don't make it...can I have your stereo?" Jaaaaaack. There you are. This, plus your pesky insistence on not leaving people behind and informing everyone how people, even not born on this planet, have rights, etc. is why your people follow you into hell. And also asteroids called Hell. And eventually into politics and the upper echelons of the military, which, ditto.

5) Bless Sam for giving Daniel hope for Sha're (and Skaara). Though that is one more thing for Daniel to lose sleep over, because we know, even if you do not yet, that Daniel overthinks stuff, and the implications are not all rosy.

6) "This iris will hold, right?" Not absolutely the first time we get the Daniel/Jack synchronous statement or echo, but I think the first in the tv series, and such a great example of one of those team patterns they follow for ages afterwards: Daniel or Sam questions, Daniel or Sam gives reasoned, nuanced answer, Jack requests forcefully a clarification or definitive statement, Daniel or Sam resist certainty with all the force of their polite and scientific hearts. Jack rolls his eyes.

7) Teal'c actually crosses his fingers when the doctor tells him to. Not sure I ever noticed that before.

8) TEAM!

(And now sleep, because I'm tired enough I keep trying to use my laptop like my tablet (nope, still not a touch screen) and soon the rest of me will hate me as much as my knees do, ice notwithstanding. G'night all!)

SG1 Rewatch: Children of the Gods

lokei — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:16:53 GMT

Oh man, this show. How I have missed it! (And man, a lot happens in this first episode, sheesh!)

Today was rotten on a couple of levels, including a serious shortage of tea and an overabundance of clumsiness and doozies of bruises, but Stargate makes it better. (Mostly, my knees still hate me and I'm not feeling too kindly towards them either. PT is gonna *suck* for the next few days.)

However, on with the show! In no particular order:

1) I admire that female sargeant for being the most observant and first up the ramp. She deserved a better fate.

2) Jack on that rooftop is one of those images that stuck with me from the first time I saw this episode and I still love it. Samuels can go jump, though.

3) I forgot Hammond was such a hardass for the first 30 seconds you meet him, and how rude he is to Daniel at first, yet by the end of the episode you root for him the way you can tell he's already rooting for his new teams.

4) Exhausted, grief-stricken, slightly tipsy Daniel is still amazing in his startling awareness of his own potential for arrogance and his willingness to share the things that he finds full of wonder, even in the middle of loss.

5) Jack is so good at reading Daniel and Teal'c so early in their respective relationships, it makes me wonder all over again what's going on with him and Sam in that briefing room introduction. It still feels weird to me, because neither of them really show to great advantage in that interaction. Especially after Jack has defended Daniel to Hammond and Samuels, to turn around and do the 'I just don't like scientists' thing has always seemed bizarre, and makes me wonder how much of a part he was playing for the other people in the room? Sam's overreactions and defensiveness are a lot easier to understand in that situation.

6) Wow, Teal'c's face is a lot like Spock's--once you get used to it, you see so much happening there, even from the beginning.

7) "How much will I remember if you choose me?" Jesus, Daniel, I still can't figure out if that was semi-suicide attempt or a really dangerous way of getting information. But it puts my heart in my throat every time.

8) Jack's a jerk for throwing Daniel to Sam's not so tender mercies regarding Sha're as a gift from the Abydonian elders. I forget, does he get a chance to give that context later, or is that only in the special edition whatsit I don't own? I want so much more early Sam and Daniel interaction, I'm really looking forward to the next handful of episodes. All the Wonder Twins, all the time.

9) Sam at the event horizon is so much like Daniel from the movie, but without the time given to allow her to wonder. (Again, thanks, Jack) I feel like that's the sort of thing I want to watch for, this time around, because I have this impression that especially early on she's not given the same kind of indulgence for her passions that Daniel is, because she's military and he's civilian. I feel like it evens out, and even ends up going the other way, later, but I'm not sure it's the sort of thing I picked up on the first several times I saw these early episodes. I don't write Sam often, but I kind of want to, now, and I don't know why that is, but I'm going to blame the kind of meta I've been reading in other fandoms.

10) Daniel and the tongue and the notebook and the floppy hair and the jumping out of the bushes to accost traveling priests. D'awwwwwww.

11) That scene between Kawalsky and Jack at the beginning does a really good job bridging between movie-Jack and the slowly-healing RDA-Jack. It's a little strange to see the Jack whose later levity we all enjoy still so tamped down here at the beginning.

12) The kleenex box will never not be awesome.

13) I'm going to regret what happens to Kawalsky all over again, very soon. What a bummer.

14) Daniel and his 'one year' promise--a) sweetheart, you read too much folklore. If it had been a year and a day or three years, you could not have shown off your literary habits more. b) the tears and the hugging always get to me c) my heart breaks for you knowing what's coming.

And I think that's it for now. I'm serious about wanting to write more Sam. I kind of want to write more *everybody.* I can't commit to drabbling for every episode I rewatch, but it'd be fun to try.

Now, on to "Enemy Within."