stoatsandwich replied to your post: …so the trouble with trying to write a…

Oh man, Cap Steve swallowing his anger and being all businesslike and shit. THE BEST. PS, I endorse this “share snippets of ideas you’re not going to write all of” model.

ACTUAL BEST. Because it’s Steve being responsible and principled and self-sacrificing, yeah, but it’s also an assertion of power: “I’m in charge here, I don’t have time for your bullshit, whatever nasty stuff you did with your dick once upon a time is not even on my priority list right now and has no bearing on my leadership or command of the situation. Fuck you, I win. Have fun looking like a petty dickweed, because the only person you’re shaming is yourself.”

just-tea-thanks reblogged your post: …so the trouble with trying to write a…

I’ve been wanting to write a “Hydra trash teams up with the good guys” fic for so long (mostly because I wanted an excuse to write Brock Rumlow being shocked as hell that underneath the muzzle and hair and wide eyes jfc he looks like that?! WS is a hottie!) But now I want you to do it instead and I offer you vd-laden oral sex, an entire half pizza with only a little mold on it, and sushi grade tuna on salad with an experation date of last week please and thank you.

Write it, write it, write it! I honestly am never going to write a full fic of this; the snippet I wrote is the only part I had any inspiration for, and the entire premise was just background setup for that scene. (Okay, the premise was me subconsciously scooping all the awful bits out of Voyage of the Damned and dumping the Skrull prison break from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in instead.)

writingcyan replied to your post: …so the trouble with trying to write a…

Your Rumlow is such a dick. I’m impressed despite myself (and would read 50,000+ more words of this).

SUCH a dick. There was like… a teeny-tiny chance that he might’ve kept it strictly business, and then Steve went for his wounded shoulder and the seething resentment flared up. (I cannot manage 50k+ words of this—Blood from a Stone is actually the longest thing I’ve ever posted, by a lot—but feel free to grab the premise if you want to play with it.)

Woman in a Cycling Suit, ca. 1897

An unknown woman modeling trousers, ca. 1905

Matilde Moisant, pilot, 1911

Woman in a marching costume, Chicago suffrage parade, June 6, 1916.

Teenagers, May, 1924

Marlene Dietrich, ca. 1932

1930s summer ensembles

Women learn aircraft maintenance, ca. 1940s

Models in Trousers, Vogue 1951

Yves Saint Laurent Pantsuit, 1962

ephemeral-elegance:

It’s FRIDAY FASHION FACT time! Last week I gave an overview of the history of trousers (read here.) Today I’m going to talk about how pants became womenswear in the western world. While there were rare cases of  women wearing trousers in the ancient world, it was not until relatively recently that women wearing trousers became an acceptable fashion.

In the early 1850s, there was a very small group of women who advocated for a bifurcated (aka, divided in two) garment for women. This was  during the early days of the crinoline trend, when layers of petticoats made skirts extremely heavy and restricting.  Activist Libby Miller promoted wearing full, loose trousers cinched at the ankles, similar to the Turkish style. She introduced the garment to Amelia Bloomer, editor of the first women’s newspaper, The Lily. Bloomer loved the garment, wore it often, and advocated for it in her newspaper. Thus, these loose trousers were dubbed “bloomers.” However, once the cage crinoline was created, Bloomer declared that was change enough, and so abandoned the bloomer trouser. The garment did not disappear completely, though. A modified version became a popular undergarment, allowing women to adopt reform without shocking polite society.

As technology and society developed towards the end of the 19th Century, there were many who recognized that women’s fashion needed to shift along with it. In the early 1890s, the bicycle became extremely popular, as the “safety bicycle” was invented, and costs came down. It allowed women an independence and freedom they had yet to possess. Yet cycling in a long skirt was extremely difficult, and so the newly formed Lady Cyclists’ Association promoted the Bicycle Suit, a menswear inspired garment with full, knee-length trousers. They became very popular, yet were still considered shocking by many, and scandalous when worn outside of cycling.

It wasn’t until the 1910s that it became somewhat acceptable for women to wear trousers outside of active wear. During World War I, when nearly all the working-age men were off fighting, women took their place in the working world. Those who had jobs in factories, and other such hard labor positions, altered their husbands trousers to wear while working. This was both for the
freedom of movement trousers allowed, as well as to save money and preserve their skirts for social situations. Even during this time, a woman wearing trousers in public was still considered scandalous. When the war ended, there were a bold few who were not so quick to give up the freedom which trousers allowed.

Throughout the 1920s and 30s, it became increasingly common for a woman to wear trousers for leisure. Women more commonly participated in sports, and the rise of the aviator meant an increasing number of female celebrities seen wearing trousers. This was also the case with the rise of the Hollywood Movie
Star, with actresses such as Marlene Dietrich and Katherine Hepburn frequently photographed in trousers.

When World War II hit, the situation from WWI repeated itself, with women entering the workforce and wearing their husband’s altered clothing. This time, however, it occurred to an even greater extent, with vast material shortages and clothing rations. This solidified trousers position in women’s wardrobes. Though they were still only accepted in casual situations, they continued to increase in popularity throughout the next several decades. There was an additional boost in the 1960s when Yves Saint Laurent introduced the formal trouser. Despite the development, though, women’s trousers are still mainly acceptable only in more casual situations to this day. As we know, though, fashion is constantly
changing.

Want to learn more about the history of women wearing pants? Check out these books:

Women in Pants, by Catherine Smith and Cynthia Greig

100 Years of Fashion, by Cally Blackman

Have a question about fashion history that you want answered in the next FRIDAY FASHION FACT? Just click the ASK button at the top of the page!

comaagain:

Just Steve

Hello, Universe.: Bill Nye the Science Guy

lightningbikingviking:

whataridiculousmod:

lovelywaifu:

thescienceofreality:

bvix:

-Season 1

1. Flight
2. The Earth’s Crust
3. Dinosaurs
4. Skin
5. Buoyancy
6. Gravity
7. Digestion
8. Phases of Matter
9. Biodiversity
10. Simple Machines
11. The Moon
12. Sound
13. Garbage
14. Structures
15. Earth’s Seasons
16. Light and Colour
17. Cells
18. Electricity
19. Outer Space
20. Eyeballs

-Season 2

1. Magnetism
2. Wind
3. Blood and Circulation
4. Chemical Reactions
5. Static Electricity
6. Food Web
7. Light Optics
8. Bones and Muscles
9. Ocean Currents
10. Heat
11. Insects
12. Balance
13. The Sun
14. The Brain
15. Forests
16. Communication
17. Momentum
18. Reptiles
19. Atmosphere
20. Respiration

-Season 3

1. Planets and Moon
2. Pressure
3. Plants
4. Rocks and Soil
5. Energy
6. Evolution
7. Water Cycle
8. Friction
9. Germs
10. Climates
11. Waves
12. Ocean Life
13. Mammals
14. Spinning Things
15. Fish
16. Human Transportation
17. Wetlands
18. Birds
19. Populations
20. Animal Locomotion

-Season 4

1. Rivers and Streams
2. Nutrition
3. Marine Mammals
4. Earthquakes
5. NTV Top 11 Video Countdown
6. Spiders
7. Pollution Solutions
8. Probability
9. Pseudoscience
10. Flowers
11. Archaeology
12. Deserts
13. Amphibians
14. Volcanoes
15. Invertebrates
16. Heart
17. Inventions
18. Computers
19. Fossils
20. Time

-Season 5

1. Forensics
2. Space Exploration
3. Genes
4. Architecture
5. Farming
6. Life Cycles
7. Do-It-Yourself Science
8. Atoms and Molecules
9. Ocean Exploration
10. Lakes and Ponds
11. Smell
12. Caves
13. Fluids
14. Erosion
15. Comets and Meteors
16. Storms
17. Measurement
18. Patterns
19. Science of Music
20. Motion

Go watch some science!!!!

SCIENCE

Science: the only motivator a man ever needs

I just…words cannot express…I love you, internet.

Hello, Universe.: Bill Nye the Science Guy

black widow | homecoming

“that you, is it, nat? twice as tough and twice as smart?”

…so the trouble with trying to write a sequel to “Blood from a Stone” is that I have too many damn ideas and not enough inspiration or willpower to commit to one set of them and follow through. Most of them have coalesced into one monster of a sequel ‘verse, but there are a couple of free-floating ones, like “the time Steve Rogers epically lost an all-Avengers game of Never Have I Ever.” And this one, which popped into my head as one scene from a casefic scenario where I can’t be bothered to write the actual casefic bits.

[The setup: At least a year later. Your standard “various factions of good guys and bad guys stalking each other through a ship/helicarrier/underwater base/space station/etc full of technical staff and rando civilians” plot gets derailed when ALIENS ATTACK. Or some kind of epic disaster porn, or something, but aliens are more fun. Point is, everything is on fucking fire, most of the people on board are dead, and a motley band of survivors have to put aside their enmities and form an uneasy alliance in order to GTFO before rocks fall and everybody dies. Steve Rogers, bless his stubborn commanding notoriously-principled-and-honest face, is brokering the truce and leading the evacuation.]

Steve: Look, I don’t like it any more than you do, but we have to work together if we want to make it out of here. A lot of us are enemies. We’ll still be enemies once we’re all back home. But until then, we have to put aside our factions and our personal grievances, and—

Brock Rumlow: [staggers and claws his way out of the wreckage] …hey, Cap.

Steve: [stern and impassive and not looking at all like a man whose inner monologue has just become a long string of “seriously? fuck my life”s]

Rumlow: [has the good sense to hang back and not approach, and the brazen brass cojones to say:] Good plan, I’m in.

Steve: [wastes a good five seconds grinding his teeth… and then smiles tightly, gets right up in Rumlow’s personal space, and claps him on one (injured? oops, totally didn’t notice that) shoulder] Case in point. Ladies and gents, this is Brock Rumlow. He’s a Hydra thug, a murderer, a torturer, and a traitor. He’s also one of the most capable operatives I’ve ever had the misfortune to work with. I have no doubt that he’ll be able to get the civilians and the wounded safely to the life pods as long as it’s in his self-interest to do so.

Rumlow: [rolling his shoulder and grimacing] You forgot ‘rapist.’

Steve: [deeply unimpressed] You want to list every subcategory of ‘torturer’ you’ve checked off, be my guest. I’ve got a distress signal to send out. [starts tapping a message on his phone]

Rumlow: [needling, seizing the chance to undermine Cap’s authority] Funny thing to forget, huh? You should tell them how you know about—

Steve: [stops typing, winds up, and punches Rumlow square in the jaw, then gives his phone a little shake to set the screen orientation back to vertical and calmly resumes] We’re in a hurry. You can embarrass yourself talking about Hydra’s hospitality to prisoners on the way. [finishes up and hits ‘send’] I told the Avengers to put out a call to look for life pods. If you turn up alone, they’ll blow you straight to hell. If everyone in the party agrees you behaved yourself, you get one free ride back to Hydra HQ. Otherwise, you can take your chances in custody with whoever picks you up. Life pods are two decks down on the starboard side. Do me a favor and don’t try your luck with the elevator.

Rumlow: I’m not gonna tell the Avengers where HQ is, how dumb do you think I am?

Steve: [already turning away to plan a quasi-suicidal side mission to the bridge to buy time for the others] We know where it is. Calling your shell company ‘Echidna’ isn’t that subtle. [to the assorted civilians/techs/wounded agents evacuating with Rumlow] Leave one life pod just in case we make it out of there. Any of you armed? Good. If he tries anything, aim for the balls. And then tell me where to send my thank-you note.

[Later, while Steve’s team are on their way to the bridge, someone probably does ask, “So what’s the deal with you and Extra Crispy back there?”
“Think he’s bitter because I dropped an Insight helicarrier on him and wrecked his good looks.”
“And the… did he get his hands on your girl, or what?”
Steve doesn’t even break stride. “Nah. Day before we took down Insight, I spent a few hours getting smacked around in Hydra custody. Rumlow was leading the welcome wagon. Guess they were trying to pay me back in kind for being such a pain in Hydra’s ass.”]

cyborgnebula:

The thousand-yard stare is a phrase coined to describe the limp, blank, unfocused gaze of a soldier, but the symptom it describes may also be found among victims of other types of trauma. A characteristic of post-traumatic stress disorder, the despondent stare reflects dissociation from trauma.

wintercyan:

coffeestainanalyst:

lauralot89:

Does anyone have any idea as to Bucky’s general location when he fell from the train?  I’m assuming Russia, given the attire of the man who found him, but were we ever given any indication as to where the mission occurred?

I’ve been wondering about this for a while. In my head, the whole thing does not make any sense.

Talking strictly MCU here – the last time we’ve seen Zola before the train scene, he’d been experimenting on Bucky at a facility near the Italian/Austrian border.

Steve catches a glimpse of the map:

(Sorry for the terrible quality)

The HYDRA base should have been somewhere around that stylish red dot.

There’s almost a year (?) between Bucky being rescued by Steve and falling from the train, so Zola could have gone anywhere. Russia though, that seems a rather dangerous journey, even if HYDRA had already infiltrated parts of the military there.

I assumed, given Zola continues working for the Red Skull, they retreated to one of the other bases… again, see map.

Now, I’m dead sure I read “train through the alps” a lot in fanfic, and either we’re all wrong, or that’s Canon. (I think I even remember Eastern Alps?)

So there, hello Alps:

Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, parts of Germany, Italy, Hungary and what’s now Slovenia.

So Zola’s Swiss, right? For some reason, I always assumed that’s where the train was headed, but even if it wasn’t – they must have been in that general area somewhere, and I can’t really see how they’d be likely to meet Russian soldiers there.

And even IF.  Why wouldn’t they return Bucky to their – at that point – allies? 

I have both read and written fic where Bucky was found by some other party first and only when the war was over came to be with the Russians, but that doesn’t seem to be backed up by Canon, either.

Therefore: confusion all around.

It’s not actually all that confusing!

We know the first HYDRA base, the one where Dr Zola experiments on Bucky, is located in Austria, between Kitzbühel and Klagenfurt (the red dot on your first map above):

When the Kitzbühel-Klagenfurt base is set to self-destruct, Red Skull escapes in a one-person prop-plane while Dr Zola drives off in Red Skull’s car. They later meet up in the vicinity of another HYDRA base, as evidenced by Red Skull driving the car to inspect the destroyed base during the Howling Commandos montage, and again in the “you are failing!” scene. This suggests Dr Zola is travelling between the different HYDRA bases in Europe to speed up the production of weapons and parts for the Valkyrie and to ward off the Howling Commandos, a mission he is obviously failing on both counts as Red Skull tells him, “we are continually delayed because you cannot outwit a simpleton with a shield!”

The movie cuts straight from Red Skull ordering Dr Zola to “finish your mission […] before the American finishes his” to Dr Zola’s train driving through a snowy mountain range. According to the CA:TFA Director’s Commentary, the Howling Commandos are waiting to ambush the train “on a mountainside in Austria,” and the visual effects team reports that the scene “takes place in the Alps”—put together, this gives us the Eastern Alps. I’ve been trying to find an in-movie reference to the Eastern Alps specifically, but I’ve only got extratextual evidence. However, I think it’s fair to assume Dr Zola is heading towards the main HYDRA base, according to Colonel Philips located “in the Alps, 500 feet below the surface,” to finish his work on the Valkyrie, which is scheduled to take off a couple of days later. This all points towards Bucky falling from the train somewhere in the Eastern Alps.

So what’s up with the Soviet soldiers finding him? Answer: the Eastern Front. In the spring of 1945, the Eastern Front was pushing through Czechoslovakia into Hungary and Austria:

It’s not unlikely a vanguard of Soviet soldiers would’ve made its way into the Alps and found Bucky there. They’d have taken him back to their camp for medical treatment, discovered that he had superhuman strength/stamina/healing abilities due to Dr Zola’s experiments, and then just… kept him. The Soviet Union and the US weren’t exactly the best of friends even as allies, and the end of the war became a free-for-all grab-bag of German technology and resources. An American soldier left for dead would be considered spoils of war, especially if he showed evidence of superhuman abilities that Soviet scientists wanted to study. Which evidently they did, since the KGB’s Special Division started a file on James Barnes on March 23, 1945 (see eatingcroutons​’s fantastic MCU timeline):

The US branch of HYDRA later reacquires Bucky, probably at Dr Zola’s behest and after the fall of the Soviet Union when Russia was selling out of its military surplus.

Ooh, excellent tracking-down of details, both from props and extracanonical sources. I do wonder a lot about the early days of the Winter Soldier program and who was responsible for it, and whether there’s a whole story there that we aren’t going to get until Cap 3. Because the information we have is super ambiguous.

On the one hand, he’s recovered right off the bat by Russian soldiers and the KGB file starts in early 1945, and it would appear that the Russian connection extends right up into the present day, since his ammo and the team he takes with him to the freeway shootout are Russian. Which kind of suggests that he’s “on loan” from Dept X or the FSB or whatever Hydra-ridden shadowy organization has control of him: murderdoll complete with manufacturer-provided accessories. If they’d recovered him back in the early 90s you’d think he’d be heading up an American team in the field by now.

On the other hand, Pierce’s little speech to him suggests they have an established rapport (which is deteriorating, to Pierce’s annoyance). If he’s on loan from Russia, it’s probably an ongoing arrangement rather than an isolated incident.

And then there’s Zola. Not only is he there while the stump of Bucky’s arm is being amputated and the metal arm attached, Bucky’s very first flashback is to Zola in a forest in the snow. Implying… what, that he was there when Bucky was recovered? That he may have been the one to lead the Russian soldiers there? In which case everything between the train and the Valkyrie must happen in a very short timespan: Zola’s captured, flown to London before the day is out, sings like a canary, and is immediately repatriated to his home (neutral) country. Unless someone with a better knowledge of the relevant international law and conventions can tell me Phillips meant something different by “remanded to Switzerland,” I’m going to assume Zola was at liberty between March 1945 and whenever he was recruited under Operation Paperclip, which could be anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years. So presumably the first thing he does once he’s set free is hightail it back to that mountain pass to recover his most valuable experiment.

And he… just so happened to have a handful of Russian soldiers handy to transport Bucky to someplace where Zola could build “the new fist of Hydra” in that interim period. So either there’s already a Hydra cell growing within the KGB, or Zola is pretending to cooperate with the Russians and let them believe they have full control over the Winter Soldier project, probably while planting the seeds for a Hydra cell within the KGB. And then the Americans come calling and he smells opportunity.

(Or maybe he was found independently by the Russians and they didn’t know what to do with him until Zola, pre-Operation-Paperclip, managed to wrangle his way onto the project. WHO KNOWS. I HOPE WE GET THE FULL STORY IN CAP 3.)

shieldandgun:

Trust by Gassada