#lincolnandbruce

[infinityactual]

⭐ !!

Since u really like the work, this chapter of Coaxial.

It's obvious that I love Lasky. He is my best blorbo.

And aside from the trauma he suffered at Circinus and throughout the Covenant War, I enjoy exploring other aspects of his character and putting pieces together based on what we see and of him in canon. With a thirty year gap in his backstory, we only get to see him as a literal child in FUD, and then we jump immediately to him at the age of 48 in Halo 4.

I like to compare the way he's portrayed in both instances, plus his appearances in the later media and his sort-of appearance in Infinite audio logs to see what changed and what stayed the same. And while I can't be sure that any differences in his character (or maybe lack thereof) were intentional, it really does give a great starting point for extrapolating both what he may have been through in the intervening years as well as what changed or didn't and why.

One thing that I keep coming back to is his sense of empathy and his humanity. In FUD, attention was drawn to his less-than-militant feelings toward the Insurrectionists. He didn't just take the UNSC propaganda hook, line and sinker, despite being the son of a UNSC Colonel and brother to an ODST who was actively engaged in fighting them. In Halo 4, while it's not hilighted to a large degree, he is very sympathetic to Cortana's plight, to the point that he puts himself between Chief and Del Rio on the bridge, and later makes a point to address her directly before she and Chief take the gunship. In SpOps, he is shown to dislike Halsey intensely, and yet he still charges a fucking Knight in her defense after she's hacked Roland and gotten into classified files. Even if you chalk that up to 'following orders to protect a valuable UNSC asset', in the very next episode, Lasky is obviously distressed at being ordered to execute her by Osman. I haven't finished the comics yet, so I can't really comment on their portrayal of him.

But taking all of that into account, I figure it would make sense for his character that injustice just. REALLY gets to him. Like if he thinks too long about the Spartan II or III programs he'll end up all agitated and pissy over just how unethical and abusive they were (and still are). Spartan II and III are one of those buttons that are almost guaranteed to make him lose his cool if you punch it more than once, even if it's on accident and even if you're John 117, being self-deprecating due to the lingering traumas of Spartan II and thirty years of war. It just makes him mad to see people who have saved humanity and done so in such a selfless way treated like equipment, or denying themselves any comforts whatsoever aside from like. Eating real food instead of nutrient packs or rations, or sleeping for a good solid five hours instead of one.

At some point I am GOING to write something based on Del Rio's commentary in HTT where he's describing John as a mad dog, where he and Lasky run into each other at some big, fancy political to-do and Del Rio is talking mad shit about John, and it takes Lasky a scant sixty seconds to go from 'this is boring and i dont want to be here' to 'I AM GOING TO COMMIT SEVERAL FELONIES IN THE NEXT TEN SECONDS' and he ends up breaking Del Rio's nose.

I just. He genuinely cares for others, especially the older generations of Spartans. Injustice pisses him off, and it's a big deal when that sense of justice conflicts with his job. And he gets really riled up when John acts like he doesn't deserve the bare minimum of good things in his life.

[etacyygnii]

do u have any sam 034 head canons. hes my favorite boy :p

I’ve always headcanonned Sam liking art. He liked to draw in his spare time and research different artists and Halsey once asked him what about art he likes he replied with idk I just like the look of it but really he liked the stories and the meaning behind it. He likes art that shows the artist’s feelings and thoughts. His own drawings weren’t as personal as that, incase his trainers or Halsey saw, but he did draw blue team a lot :)

I also headcanon him being outwardly like a bro, like he was chill to be around but boisterous and energetic but inwardly he was quite emotionally intelligent and could be sensitive to others’ feelings like I can see him sitting with John on quiet nights and the two of them just talking to each other about things they couldn’t talk to anyone else about

[infinityactual]

🖊 I would love to hear about Stacy!!

Stacey Maxwell (she likes to go by Max) is the head chef on Infinity. She'll tell you that she got there by failing upward, but really it's her creative solutions to balancing large scale production, menu design and waste management. Doesn't hurt that even though she's rough around the edges and a hard-ass in the kitchen, she isn't an asshole food snob and if she sees someone struggling, she'll take them aside in her office and have a chat about what they're struggling with and why, if there are any accommodations that would make things easier or a job they might be better suited to, and then she'll follow through with that. She understands that to have a well oiled machine, all the gears have to be in the right spot and kept in good repair. And that means working with her crews and their strengths, not against them.

She does not, however, suffer fools. Arrogance will get you put in the dish pit for eternity faster than you can say 'babaghanoush', as will gross insubordination. Insubordination does not include challenging her ideas and giving suggestions; any chef that doesn't take critique and suggestions from their kitchen doesn't deserve the toque.

She's also very much concerned with the crew of the Infinity overall. It is, after all, her job to make sure that humans (and nowadays, some aliens) from a multitude of cultures are well fed, and she keeps a close eye on the ever shifting demographic of the crew. She uses regular polls to help determine what the overall menu should consist of, and she isn't above asking a specific group (Martians, for example) what they grew up eating and if they have any recipes they'd like to submit.

One thing she takes pride in is her organization of a cupcake brigade system specifically for Infinity Day. Delegating several kitchens to prep, cook and serve various dishes is easy. Organizing the space, people, and time to produce a whole shit-ton of one thing, utilizing spaces not designed specifically for that task is difficult, as is utilizing staff not used to making baked goods.

But she came up with a system that goes into full swing three days in advance that manages to get the job done. She even figured out how to overcome hot hands melting buttercream icing by making sure those people have multiple bags of icing on hand that they can use; if one starts to get too runny, switch it out for a chilled bag while the first one cools off.

Stacey is also the only person aboard who has smacked the captain and gotten away with it. He shouldn't have been raiding the walk-in, captain or not. She still whacked the crap out of him with a rubber spatula from the kitchen clear out into the corridor, in front of Roland, God and everyone else.

Lasky puts in a proper requisition with her these days.

[infinityactual]

Happy b-day sir!! Not sure if you'll see this but you're the best captain the galaxy can ask for <3

I do my best, but I could always do better. Thank you, sailor!

[infinityactual]

🌹 :)

He felt guilty already, considering the timing, and the sadness in that quiet statement that drifted through the doorway to where he'd paused made the ache in his chest worse.

[infinityactual]

YESS!! YES WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR AUDREY LASKY HEADCANONS! !!

SORRY this took so long!! I had to take some time to get everything organized, cos there's A LOT.

Alright so, things we know for sure about Audrey Lasky: two idiot sons, friends with Mehaffy, encyclopedic intellect, commanded ODSTs as a first lieutenant during the war with insurrectionists, wasn't around for her sons a lot, got promoted to at least colonel.

The only time we see her is in Forward Unto Dawn where, at first, she appears to be your stereotypically-written cold hard bitch of a military woman who is only concerned with her son's education and military success, despite having just lost her other son.

Last time @katwylder watched FUD, she noticed that the way Audrey addresses Tom when she informs him of Cadmon's death isn't so much cold and uncaring as it is practiced. She says "It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you..." which is exactly how she would deliver the news about any soldier, not her son. She doesn't really look at the camera so much as she looks past it, like she's focused somewhere off in the distance, and just states the facts as if she's reading from a well-rehearsed script. She's on autopilot.

Everyone processes grief differently, and I feel like Audrey's response is to withdraw into herself which makes her feel cold, distant and indifferent to those around her. In her own head, the only thing keeping her together is going through familiar motions that don't require a lot of thought. If she thinks too hard or lets herself feel too much, she'll break down, and may well have after the message was over.

Add that to the fact that as a Colonel, Audrey still would have been deployed in the field to command troops, and you don't get 'uncaring disciplinarian' mom, you get a woman with a career that takes her away from her children for months at a time, while also subjecting her to a highly stressful environment.

I think the same can be said for her during the war. My headcanons for her partner notwithstanding, Audrey has likely been through a fair amount of trauma over the course of her career. She was an ODST, and you don't come out of that role - especially during a war - without some form of PTSD, which can also lead people to be emotionally distant to their loved ones.

When she was home, I feel like things were usually good. I don't see Audrey as a super warm, soft, caring mother figure, but I also definitely don't see her as intentionally abusive or neglectful. When you see Cadmon's message to Tom, he doesn't look angry or resentful when he says Audrey was gone all the time. He seemed a little sad, like it was just an unfortunate thing that he and Tom had to deal with. I feel like Cadmon probably understood what was going on, at least on a basic level.

When Circinus got glassed, I can see Audrey taking the news really hard. As far as she knows, she just lost both of her sons within months of each other (possibly weeks, I'm not sure). But when she gets the news that Tom and two other cadets are alive and are the only survivors out of an entire planet...that's some pretty heavy emotional whiplash right there.

I feel like finding out Tom survived after she assumed he was dead for...however long between news of the glassing and being informed Tom was alive, would feel like a chance to reconnect with him and be the parent she wanted to be. It wouldn't be easy and it would take time, but it would definitely be a wake-up call of sorts and I like to think that she and Tom have a healthy relationship by the time Halo 4 happens, even if they  aren't super-close and can't talk or visit often because of the nature of Tom's job.

[infinityactual]

🌈 🎼 🙌 ☕ luv ur art >:]

Do you use more warm or cool colors?

I actively try to balance them. I like the idea of contrasting colors a lot too, and colors that convey a theme.

Favorite music to draw from right now?

The only time I get to listen to music anymore is when I'm driving by myself, and I can't draw while I drive 😩

Draw a doodle with your non-dominant hand.

Do you do warm-up sketches?

No, but I probably should.

And ty!! I'm glad you enjoy my stuff!!! 💖

[infinityactual]

So I didn't know what an alligator gar was at first and after looking them up... they are terrifying, but also weirdly cute?? they look like they have elevator music playing in their head 24/7 also they are H U G E

YEAH THEY ARE.

Also?

Armored tae fock. Spartan fish.

This is a silver carp:

You wanna talk about elevator music.