A couple of months ago there was an episode of the War College podcast focused on snipers (this is not a rec, unless military affairs are your thing, this not a very slick or well-produced 30 minutes a week, but I run and commute a lot and I’m a nerd?). The hosts had on a guy who was a HUGE history buff and has a website that details all kinds of craziness and they’re talking about snipers and how historically they were not the heroes we tend to pump them up to be now, but thought of more as weasels, men (historically) afraid to be in the real fight.
Anyway, it turns out that as far as this guy can tell the first recorded instance of sniping (he makes a big deal out of recorded vs actual, but blah blah blah whatever) was when Richard the Lionheart was felled by a a sniper using a crossbow. (Okay, arguably Richard I died because surgeons at the time really were butchers and his wounds got infected, but the arrow started it all, right?)
Anyway, miles six through eight of my run this morning was devoted to mentally dialoguing Bucky and Clint arguing over weapons of choice and how it was a bow that started it all.
Look, it’s raining, I was on a treadmill, I needed something to amuse me. And you know they would.
Tag: meta
Yay, a clueful comic book writer. Makes me happy.
No seriously guys, comment on peoples fic.
Writers as desperate for comments. Desperate.
I’m in a writing group with around 40 people and one of the common reasons people don’t post their work is because “no one ever comments on it, so no one is reading it” which blows because their work is amazing and instead it’s sitting in storage.
Comments lead to posting more fic. Trust me.
leupagus’ spot-on tags:
#gonna reblog these every tiiiiiiiiiime
#because seriously bros why do YOU think the amount of fic has plummeted in the last five years
#it’s because fic readers forgot that this is a fuckin’ barter economy
#and started thinking of their comments as favors rather than obligations
#COMMENT ON THE FIC YOU LIKE PEOPLE
#Y’ALL SURE AS SHIT AREN’T PAYING WRITERS WITH ACTUAL CASH MONIES
Yes AND I really do think there is something to the decline of LJ. The fic communities there and the much stronger ability to even become at least acquaintances with people, if not friends, in a way that is much harder in tumblr has led to a decline. There literally isn’t a common gathering space for fandoms any more. Exchanges sort of do it on AO3 but they are only as good as the length of the exchange.
Also, get off my lawn a little bit there, fanfic and growth/expansion/shrink is a very well known cycle. But honestly right now it’s the fracture of fandom onto something like tumblr. Mailing lists were the first place online (for me really, yes there were newsgroups too but let’s not get distracted here) and they built some pretty tightly knit groups – if you knew where to find them – or someone was allowed to advertise off-topic. Eventually there was a shift to LJ which led to the ‘oh my god there isn’t as much fanfic on lists’ and LJs primitive archive-ish feature and rec lists. Eventually we got A03 and tumblr. AO3 comments can come close to some of that but again, it’s per fic and you have to dive into those per story to do it. It’s not easy to really get into without some fairly savvy tag surfing to find a pairing and a trope, for example and comms used to make that a heck of a lot easier.
Oh and that one tag – fic readers forgot the barter economy? Yeah no. As someone who has run an archive for 15 years the ratio of likes/kudos to comments has pretty much stayed 20 to 1. What I think you are missing here is that when a fandom is brand new and shiny there is a lot more energy and squee and ‘I have found my people and they like my pairing and they saw it toooooo’ going on.
Also? Stop with the shaming. That’s bullshit crap and is going to DISCOURAGE people from commenting because sometimes we don’t have the spoons for that. Click the kudos button if that’s what you’ve got the social energy for. Those are awesome too. And there are some great ‘here is how I leave comments so you have a formula’ posts going around if you want to know how to leave comments but dude. There are days I have energy for comments or you know, long screeds like this one and there are days when I have to put that energy into the rest of my life and fandom is my escape. I appreciate the stories. I am a writer. I love comments too but I also get a little squee when I get a kudos email.
Bucky with both short term and long term memory issues, tho:
- Keeping notebooks with detailed notes for himself, not just on recovered memories but about things he’s learned recently. He has three separate pages dedicated to “movies I like”, “movies I didn’t like”, “DO NOT WATCH AGAIN FOR FUCK’S FUCKING SAKE”.
- Rereading the same stack of shitty mysteries over and over because he forgets whodunnit.
- Getting frustrated with board games because he can’t keep the rules or the game state clear in his head; by the time they circle around to his turn he’s blanked on his strategy. He covers by either playing on his phone or cheating blatantly and outrageously – fronting like he never cared in the first place.
- Checking. Everything. Constantly. His keys are permanently glued to his left front pocket, his wallet on the right, and he shoves his hands in his jeans nine times a minute to make sure his stuff’s still there. When he can’t find one of his important items, he freaks until he can pat himself down.
- Feeling awkward around new people because he sometimes spaces their names and has to pick them up again from conversation. He’s gotten good at asking his friends to come over and introduce themselves so he can eavesdrop what New Person’s name is all over again.
- Constantly throwing out leftovers because once food goes into the fridge he doesn’t remember that it exists. He has to set up a weekly alarm on his phone to clean moldy dim sum out.
- Tracking his life on an oversize wall calendar, not only appointments but small goals for himself too. He writes a list each day of the small things he’d like to accomplish and writes down a note about how it went. That way he can look back and see how far he’s come.
I think it’s easy and generalising it to say that they’re lovers, when you’re forgetting that one has a lot of guilt because he swore to be the protector of the other, the father figure or older brother so to speak, and then left him behind.” Adds the actor: “I have no qualms with it but I think people like to see it much more as a love story than it actually is. It’s brotherhood to me.
Sebastian Stan on Steve and Bucky’s relationship, “Captain America: Civil War is a love story” Empire Magazine (March 22, 2016) [source] (via youneedtostrut)
ALRIGHT LISTEN
finally I’ve sorted (with help, because oh my god thanks for no ??? good screenshots????) Bucky’s new sniper piece and YOU GUYS:
This is a M249 Light Machine Gun.
This is !!!!! SO RAD !!!! FOR RECOVERED BUCKY!!! for so many reasons:
First of all, the M249 is a belt-fed, gas-operated American-make machine gun. It’s a most importantly for Bucky a throwback weapon, because it fires in a similar manner to his M1941 Johnson Rifle from the War. The M249 fires with an open-bolt, meaning it will provide the accuracy of a sniper rifle BUT the power, velocity, and volume of a machine gun. It fires 5.56 NATO (.45mm) cartridges, and can feed off both linked rounds AND other magazines, meaning the user could swap to an M4/M16 rifle magazine in a pinch (incredibly useful in the field).
Also, this motherfucker is HEAVY, approaching 25 pounds when loaded, and as we can see from the new spot, it’s also been retrofit with an M4 50-round magazine (can be seen over Bucky’s left forearm when he’s standing behind Steve), most likely pushing it into the 30-pound range. A weapon this heavy, with high volume fire, is a testament to Bucky’s physical endurance in both carrying and operating it, as the kick-back on a weapon this size is disruptive at best.
Additionally, even the disadvantage of this weapon caters to Bucky’s strengths: the M249 is known to heat up quickly along the barrel when in use, but, GUESS WHAT: metal hand steadying the barrel deals with that. Bucky, as always, adapting!!
Finally – the M249 has been in use by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps in every major military conflict since 1989. It’s primarily used for high-volume cover fire, but allows for sniping accuracy as well.
So consider: Bucky picking up a weapon that’s defensive in purpose. A gun that yes, can be used for sniping but is almost always used to provide cover for other fighters. A gun that can, at highest volume, discharge approximately 10 shots a second, but operates almost like the weapons he’d used in WWII.
Bucky at Steve’s six, seventy years later, choosing a weapon of defense in his own way. It might not be a shield, but he’s come a very, very long way.
in the movie a little boy recognises steve at the captain america exhibit. it’s my headcanon that a little girl recognises bucky when he goes to the smithsonian exhibit to find out who he really is
because little girls have heroes too
“You should tie your hair…
How to Tell If You’re In a Modern Stucky AU
(inspired by this series)
- You were small and sickly as a child but experienced a miraculous form of puberty.
- Alternatively, you continued to be small as an adult, but being cute as a bug in a rug gets you lots of action.
You have multiple chronic illnesses, but thanks to modern medicine, they’re relatively treatable. And by relatively, we mean completely. Your diabetes hardly bothers you at all.
Your ex boyfriend is an abusive jackoff with nothing better to do than torment you and your new boyfriend.
Your new boyfriend is always saying he’s “with you till the end of the line.” You suspect it’s a reference, but you’re afraid to ask.
Someone’s ironic Brooklyn Dodgers sweatshirt is hanging attractively off one shoulder.
Your neighbor is both the hottest guy in the world and the most boring. You swear, it’s like he’s 90 years old.
There is a comic shop, or a cafe, or a tattoo shop, or a library nearby, and the guy who works there is really hot.
Yours is the easiest apartment to break into in all of Brooklyn, but luckily, no one ever breaks in but cats and hot guys.
- Actually, now that you think of it, you’ve never met a single non-hot guy in your life.
You have an implausible, yet undeniable, obsession with Harry Potter. Your boyfriend tolerates it in exchange for you not complaining about his Taylor Swift habit.
There has been a Misunderstanding.
Someone gets drunk and the results are almost irrevocable.
There is time to make and eat pancakes every morning.
The ailing Port of New York and New Jersey, once one of the busiest centers of transport and trade in the world, seems to have ceased all operations in Brooklyn. There are no docks anywhere.
- There is also no gluten.
- You are out of excuses. You agree to attend the support group.
post aided and abetted by @notallbees
I’m done explaining why fanfic is okay.
Note: this post was originally made in 2010 in response to Diana Gabaldon’s epic rant about fanfiction. The original version is still being updated. I’m reposting it to Tumblr by request, but if you have any additions, please feel free to drop a comment at LJ so they can be added to the masterpost!
Dear Author of the Week,
You think fanfic is a personal affront to the many hours you’ve spent carefully crafting your characters. You think fanfic is “immoral and illegal.” You think fanfiction is just plagiarism. You think fanfiction is cheating. You think fanfic is for people who are too stupid/lazy/unimaginative to write stories of their own. You think there are exceptions for people who write published derivative works as part of a brand or franchise, because they’re clearly only doing it because they have to. You’re personally traumatized by the idea that someone else could look at your characters and decide that you did it wrong and they need to fix it/add original characters to your universe/send your characters to the moon/Japan/their hometown. You think all fanfic is basically porn. You’re revolted by the very idea that fic writers think what they do is legitimate.
We get it.
Congratulations! You’ve just summarily dismissed as criminal, immoral, and unimaginative each of the following Pulitzer Prize-winning writers and works:
Tumblr Exodus 