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mrs-stans · 3 days ago

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Inside Sebastian Stan’s Winning Look at the Golden Globes 2025

With help from Frank Sinatra and hopes of a postshow burger, the Prada- and Cartier-clad Stan prepared for his first major awards show victory.

BY SAVANNAH WALSH

Sebastian Stan entered the Golden Globes 2025 with two chances at winning—nominated for both his portrayal of Donald Trump in The Apprenticeand his more comedic performance as Edward, an aspiring actor living with neurofibromatosis, in A Different Man. But in the lead-up to his big night, Stan was eager to put his double nominations into perspective, instead focusing on what he could control: a hearty postceremony meal. “You always read about people having burgers or somethingafter these award shows,” he told Vanity Fair.“I mean, that sounds kind of nice, to be honest.”

A celebratory nosh was well-earned by Stan, who won best actor in a musical-or-comedy film, his first-ever Golden Globe. After thanking A Different Man filmmaker Aaron Schimberg and his costar Adam Pearson,who has the genetic condition neurofibromatosis in real life, Stan advocated for more inclusive narratives onscreen. “Our ignorance and discomfort around disability and disfigurement has to end now,” he said. “We have to normalize it and continue to expose ourselves [and our children] to it. Encourage acceptance.”

A Different Man languished for two years before it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, and the A24 movie later landed Stan the Silver Bear for best lead performance in Berlin. But The Apprentice, directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Vanity Fair special correspondent Gabriel Sherman, also endured a beleaguered road to distribution in the weeks before the 2024 presidential election. “Both of these films started out as major risks,” Stan told VF shortly before the Globes. As such, he’s not taking any of the recent accolades for granted.

“I feel very blessed that I have good people around me, friends who I’ve had for 20 years at this point, who remember as much as I do what it was like to be in New York City and going out to auditions and not getting it,” said Stan. “Even my mother, who has been with me over the holidays, I was growing up with her in Vienna, Austria, and not even really knowing that I was going to get to America. So when I think about those moments,” he continued, “I’m immediately humbled and on the ground. Because even as it is currently, without anything happening on Sunday, it already feels like such a win.” Stan dedicated the award to his mother and stepfather during his acceptance speech, also taking the time to profess his love to his girlfriend, actor Annabelle Wallis.

Stan spent hours in prosthetics for both A Different Man and The Apprentice, getting comfortable with a bit of metamorphosis. “I kind of liken it, for better or worse, to being in a relationship,” he said of transitioning back to himself postproduction. “I always remember somebody telling me, ‘However long you’ve been with somebody in a relationship, take away half the time, and that’s how long it’s going to take for you to get over them when you break up.’ It’s a little bit like that. It doesn’t just go away suddenly, I guess. There’s a process…that happens with it. It’s sort of a slow, gradual disconnection.”

But does Stan find it harder to disappear into a character or present as himself at an awards show? “That’s a very good question,” he said with a laugh. “Sometimes it’s easier transforming into a role…. Being yourself at an award show, it can be quite tricky, because I’m not going to an award show [thinking], Oh, I’m a funny, interesting guy. I’m feeling self-conscious.”

Nevertheless, Stan was excited to venture beyond his comfort zone in custom Prada. “It’s really fun and different, and it’s something I’ve never really worn before,” he said, crediting stylist Michael Fisher with steering him toward a different era in Hollywood. “You get romantic sometimes when you see clips in black and white of the Oscars and how people dressed up. So I think I’m more old school like that in my mindset rather than, Hey, let me take a crazy swing on this red carpet. Even though, once in a while, Michael has definitely had me in pink.” This time, though, Stan opted for a black mohair coat and trouser with contrasting white piping detail, paired with a black knit wool sweater and white poplin shirt, plus black brushed-leather lace-ups.

The “timeless and classic” vibe continued with Cartier accessories, including a [Sur]naturel transformable brooch made of 18k white gold, diamonds, and black lacquer, as well as a 1968 CartierCollection wristwatch made of 18k yellow gold, sapphire cabochon, and leather. This collaboration marked a full-circle moment for Stan, who fondly remembers wearing Cartier at May’s Cannes Film Festival, where The Apprentice premiered.

Stan’s vintage-Hollywood vision also extended to his pre-Globes playlist. “I don’t mind a little Frank Sinatra,” he told VF. “We’re going to be getting ready at the Hotel Bel-Air, and that hotel itself has such history and that Old Hollywood classic style. I might be playing some ’20s or ’30s music, something that will at least keep me under the illusion that I’m in a different time, because it does feel like a different time.”

As for grooming, Stan said that with age, he’s embraced more facial hair. “I used to be more clean-shaven when I was younger, but it also depends on what I’m working on at the time,” he said. “A lot of how I was looking this year was informed by the fact that I was shooting Thunderbolts, so there was not much I could do. Even with the hair, I don’t always want everything to be perfect or slick. Maybe that just reflects my attitude in terms of staying flexible in the moment with these things—to go, All right, keep it loose and keep it fun.”

Stan never dreamed that A Different Man and The Apprentice would debut in the same year, but they have been in conversation with each other this awards season by virtue of his involvement. “Both films, to me, are about the loss of identity and the loss of self, and to some extent denial of reality and denial of self-acceptance,” said the actor. “Both of the films focus in different ways on characters that go to great lengths to abandon their true selves.”

Stan’s searching, self-conscious characters in the two films meet ego-driven fates. Edward is “obsessed with what he doesn’t have, and then he spends the rest of the film trying to deal with the shame that he’s buried, the shame that he’s never really accepted himself,” said Stan. “Then the Trump story is very obvious to me—it’s a total loss of humanity, empathy and vulnerability, and any morals, sort of at the hands of this very self-indulgent, self-narcissistic way of life. It’s also about how far one can go to deny the truth, deny reality, and lose humanity as a cost.”

Stan’s performance in The Apprentice, which was bested by Adrien Brody’s in The Brutalistfor best male actor in a drama film, has faced a particular uphill battle given the utter Trump fatigue in many circles. “Trump is part of our lives. It’s inevitable that we’re talking about him. You go to a coffee shop, and someone’s talking about him; you open your phone, the news, whatever—he’s everywhere, even in the award season,” says Stan, who believes his film will stand the test of time for boldly “challenging, or at least the attempt was to challenge, history as it’s happening rather than waiting.”

With Trump’s second election to the presidency, it feels as if perception of The Apprentice has shifted, as evidenced by its awards season embrace so far. (Stan is also nominated at the upcoming Independent Spirit Awards.) Would that be the case had Trump been defeated? “I don’t know if I know the answer yet to that,” said Stan. “We’re all still trying to figure out how to feel, or to think, about the election and what happened and the next four years.”

In the days before his first Golden Globe victory, which involved a lively backstage reunion with his frequent Marvel costar Anthony Mackie, Stan was similarly open-minded about what’s next. “[In] Eastern Europe, we grow up with a lot of superstitions,” he said. “But this year I just basically surrendered to whatever’s going to happen. Wherever this wild sort of ride I’m on is taking me, I’m just going to kind of follow and really try to be in the moment as much as possible.”

#Sebastian Stan #Vanity Fair #Golden Globse #Golden Globse 2025 #Awards #mrs-stans #StansClan #SStan #SebStan #sebastianstansource #sebastian stan source #sebastiansource #sebastianstannews #sebastianstanedit #sebstanedit #sebastianstan

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rhapsodynew · 1 month ago

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#memorial day

On November 29, 2001, the "silent Beatle" left this world. In memory of George Harrison, let's recall some interesting facts from his life.

George Harrison: A nostalgic and instructive interview.

Interview with Crawdaddy magazine

Question: “Were you nervous before the Beatles debuted in 1964 on the Ed Sullivan show?”

GEORGE: “Sullivan's show was funny because I didn't attend the rehearsal. I got sick during the flight during my first trip to the States. The band also played a lot of songs at rehearsals for sound engineers, they kept coming into the control room and checking the sound. And finally, when they found a balance between instruments and vocals, they noted it on the mixing console, and then everyone went to lunch. Then we came back to record the show on tape, and the cleaners had already been here and erased all the marks from the remote. In those days, the sound was somehow handled carelessly. Amplifiers, for example, were placed to the side of the stage so that it would not spoil the frame, you know.”

• After the Beatles' first visit to the USA, they became the most famous people on the planet - an inside look

“For the Beatles at that time, it was a great help: if someone ran out of press conferences, there was always someone else with a smart answer. There was always a reasonable balance, so no one could ever really pin us down.”

George Harrison is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2004)

“For the first time, the most depressing moment came for me during the ‘White Album’. The problem was with making a double album because it takes so long.”

The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1988)

Q: “Why did you make a double?”

GEORGE: “I think it was because there were so many songs, but it was a period that started a little bit negatively. It was a bit difficult, but we got through it and everything was fine. We finally finished working on the album, and everyone was happy because the tracks were not bad. There were just too many restrictions based on the fact that we had been together for so long. Everyone was kind of imprisoned. It was unpleasant.”

“The problem was that John and Paul had been writing songs together for so long that it was difficult - primarily because they had so many tunes and they automatically thought their songs should be a priority. As for me, I always had to wait for them to record ten of their own songs before they even listened to one of mine.”

“‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ we were recording one night and there was such a lack of enthusiasm. So I came home very disappointed because I knew the song was good. The next day, I brought Eric Clapton with me. He was really nervous. I told: ‘Just come and play in the session, then I can sing and play the acoustic guitar.’”

“Paul always helped when you first performed his ten songs, and then when he started performing one of my songs, he helped. It was stupid. In fact, it was very selfish. Sometimes Paul would make us perform these really sugary songs. I mean, God forbid, ‘Maxwell's Silver Hammer’ was so cloying. After a while we worked on it well, but when Paul came up with an idea or arrangement… But Paul is still really writing for a 14-year-old audience right now.”

“I remember coming from California and shooting this piece for a film about Ravi Shankar's life called ‘Raga’, and I had a sitar. And we stayed in New York and checked into a hotel, and Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton were both in the same hotel. And that was the last time I really played the sitar like that. We hung out so much at that time, and Eric gave me a fantastic Les Paul guitar that he plays at that concert.”

“I helped so much with all the arrangements. Although there were a lot of tracks where I played the bass. Paul played lead guitar in ‘Taxman’, and he played guitar - the best part - in ‘Drive My Car’.”

Q: “Did you play the bass?”

GEORGE: “No, I didn't play. What did Paul usually do if he wrote a song? He would learn all his parts, and then he would come into the studio and say, ‘Do this.’ He would never have given you the opportunity to take the initiative. But on ‘Drive My Car,’ I just played a line that's really kind of a lick off of ‘Respect’ - you know, the Otis Redding version - and I played that line on guitar, and Paul recorded it with me on bass.”

Q: “Which Beatles album are you still listening to?”

GEORGE: “I loved when we worked on ‘Rubber Soul’, ‘Revolver'. There was something good in each album, and they developed. There were albums that, from my point of view, were no good, like ‘Yellow Submarine’.”

“We put all the songs together in album form - now I'm talking about English albums, because in the States, as we later discovered, for every two albums we had, they (Capitol) made three... because we included fourteen tracks in the album, and we also had singles that were not included in albums at that time. And they put in singles, took out a bunch of tracks, changed the order, and then made new compilations, like ‘Yesterday And Today’ - just terrible compilations.”

Q: “Was it difficult with the rest of the band when you started getting into Indian music?”

GEORGE: “Not really. They weren't really that interested. When I first met Ravi (Shankar), he played a private concert right at my house, and he came with Alla Rakha, and John and Ringo came to listen. I remember Ringo didn't want to know anything about tabla because it just seemed so far away from him.”

Q: “The whole Beatles image has been cleaned up and smoothed, which is always credited to Brian Epstein.”

GEORGE:

“In the Hamburg days, we had to play for a long time and burn out to the fullest, jump around the stage, foam at the mouth and do anything.”

Q: “Have you received any feedback from John or Ringo or anyone else-congratulations?”

GEORGE:

“I remember John was very negative at the time, but I was away, and he came to my house, and my friend lived there, who was also John's friend. He saw the album cover and said, ‘He must be pretty damn bad to have released three records. And look at the front photo, he looks like an asthmatic Leon Russell.’ There was a lot of negativity. You know... Ringo played on almost the entire album. I don't care about that. To hell with all this-we've been through this before. I felt that no matter what happened, whether it was a failure or a success, I would act on my own, just to get some peace of mind.”

Q: ”They say he was...”

GEORGE:

“Well, you know, John has experienced more negative events than I have with the Maharishi. Now I see much more clearly what happened, and a lot of it was due to ignorance. Maharishi was great, and I admire him, as well as Prabhupada, for being able, despite all the ridicule, to just keep moving forward. And now more and more people - especially in the United States - are following the teachings. And in the 60s, they laughed at us and said it was stupid. All those people influenced me, and I tried to get the most out of them without getting a spiritual twist of the guts.”

George's favorite color was purple. The musician loved Formula 1 racing, egg sandwiches, watched the TV show "Monty Python's Flying Circus", and his favorite movie was "The Producers" (1968) by Mel Brooks.

For most of his career and life, George considered his birthday to be February 25th, 1943. Many books about The Beatles and Harrison indicate this date. However, shortly before his death, George said that, in fact, he was born on February 24. The family document shows that the musician was born on February 24 at 23-50

George officially joined The Quarrymen on February 6, 1958, when he was 14 years old. During a tour of Scotland in 1960, the musician briefly changed his name to "Carl Harrison" (in honor of his idol, Carl Perkins).

George became the author of a slang word that entered English dictionaries. In the movie "The Evening of a Hard Day" (1964), he used the word grotty to describe some items of clothing. Grotty (from the word grotesque — grotesque) became a popular slang word of the 1960s era. It is still used today, although much less often than before

Harrison was "the best actor from The Beatles." At least, according to Richard Lester, the director of the films "Hard Day's Evening" and "Help!". Richard called George the most capable actor of the Liverpool four. According to the director, in the "Evening of a Difficult Day" the guitarist was the highlight of every scene he participated in.

George was the first "Beatle" whose solo composition reached the highest position in the national charts — this achievement was achieved by My Sweet Lord in December 1970

A versatile musician, George played 26 different instruments. Any Beatles fan knows about his talents in playing guitar and sitar, but Harrison has also achieved considerable success in studying instruments such as conga, African drum, xylophone, violin, harmonica, marimba, metallophone, ukulele, sarangi.

Harrison once spent $4 million "to watch a movie." When the Monty Python comic group began to have problems financing their film The Life of Brian, George actually mortgaged his house to help the artists with money. He said he did it simply because he "wanted to see the movie." According to Monty Python contributor Eric Idle, this is still the largest amount anyone has paid for the opportunity to watch a movie.

As we all know, George died in 2001, the cause of death was a malignant brain tumor. His mother, Louise, died prematurely due to the same disease in 1970. George wrote the song Deep Blue in her honor. The musician's father, Harold Harrison, died of cancer in 1978, on the night of his death, George and his wife Olivia woke up and both saw the color blue. Afterwards, they testified that they had seen Harold's ghost smiling at them.

"We could save the world with our love."

"The world is a birthday cake. Take a piece, but don't be greedy.".....

#memorial day #Spotify #George Harrison #the beatles #Rock #pop #indian classical music #music #my music #music love #musica #history music #spotify #rock music #rock #rock photography #my spotify

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averagewriter-inthedark · 5 days ago

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Fire & Ice 🔥🧊 | MCU!Johnny Storm Imagine

Link to my Marvel masterlist

Characters & Pairings: JosephQuinn!JohnnyStorm x enhanced!reader (romantic), the Fantastic Four (platonic), The Avengers (platonic).

Content Warnings: fluff, profanity, mentions of canon violence and death, canon divergence, light angst | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 7K

Requested 📨 yes/no

Premise: Earth-616 is no stranger to the multiverse. Since the defeat of Thanos in 2023, the Avengers have had their fair share of visitors from other worlds and know what to expect when they do. But when a man wearing the same face of their late comrade arrives, the Avengers are in for the shock of their lives when a group of heroes tailing the individual fall through the portal behind him. And for the flying, fire-wielding, and sometimes charming Johnny Storm, he meets his match in the form of a woman whose power and reputation matches that of her cold, steel, heart.

Note: Happy 2025 everyone! To kick off the year I am gifting y'all this damn idea that's been stuck in my head the past two weeks. Now if you've been following my work since I started, then you know I was pumping out Marvel fics back in the day. Phase 1-4 of Marvel have my heart, and unfortunately the disappointment of Phase 5 (with few exceptions) had me lose interest. BUT if there was one thing I absolutely loved when I was a kid, it was the OG Fantastic Four movies with Chris Evans, Jessica Alba, etc. I watched those literally every day and before the Avengers/MCU I rolled hard with the FF, Blade, & X-Men (I've got another idea involving Deadpool & Wolverine cooking). So I have a lot of expectations for FF: First Steps especially because the MCU has had so many misses the last two years. I love Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and Joseph Quinn, I haven't watched The Bear, but I've heard great things about Ebon Moss-Bachrach and I look forward to his and the rest of the cast's portrayal of the FF.

I've been a fan of JQ since 2022 because like majority of people I discovered him by his performance as Eddie in Stranger Things. I'll admit I haven't seen much of his filmography, but I did watch A Quiet Place: Day One and he was phenomenal. And don't get me started on Gladiator II. I was pleased to hear he'd be playing my first love Johnny Storm and I know he'll do amazing, not to mention he has said that he was a fan of the OG movies and Chris' version of the character. Whenever I hear an actor is a fan of the source material, I know they're going to deliver.

The movie hasn't come out, neither has the trailer, so I don't have much to work with. But we know that FF:FS is following the origin story of the FF and will feature the Silver Surfer. AND it's rumored to be where RDJ's Doctor Doom will debut, setting up Avengers: Doomsday and he will be the big villain of the MCU. This obviously is diverging from canon and pretty much an AU story, remember that please. SO here's my treat to my fellow Johnny Storm lovers to feed y'all since we still got months until FF:FS. Enjoy.

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The blinding light of the sun peaking through the curtains pulled Johnny from his sleep before the alarm was set to go off. Had it been any other day he’d be upset. Wishing nothing more than to curl into the comforter and get the extra minutes of sleep. But thankfully it was Sunday--the day reserved for rest. No agenda. No training. No missions. Completely free and dedicated to recoupling after a week filled with non-stop action.

And if there was anyone who would be displeased at waking up earlier than needed, it was the woman lying beside him. Fast asleep on her back with one hand curled beneath the pillow and the other clasping his on her chest. Body cooler than the average person, which made the atmosphere of the room comfortable considering Johnny’s was hotter than the average citizen. Figuratively and literally.

Johnny smiled, happily tucking himself further into her space, chin leaning on her shoulder as he snuggled against her side. Allowing his eyes to flutter close and accept the slumber his body itched to claim. The fresh scent of shea butter from her shampoo and body wash filled his nostrils, and he sighed in content.

This was what life was worth living.

But just when Johnny welcomed the darkness, the annoying, blazing sound of their alarm clock echoed against the walls, disturbing the peaceful moment and making him flinch and groan. “Dammit,” he rolled onto his back, arm reaching to slap at the air until his fingers grasped the device. Snoozing it asleep with a press of a button.

Now he was fully awake.

Flinging himself back onto the mattress, he felt her body shift before letting out a soft chuckle, “Had you turned it off when you first woke, you’d have spared yourself this torment.” Her voice was laced with tiredness, and Johnny turned his head to find her eyes still closed but clear amusement painting her visage by the smirk on her lips.

Rolling his eyes, he moved to lay on his side and brought his arm around her waist, “Why didn’t you? Seeing as you were also awake.”

“Too comfy.”

“Well, so was I,” he sassed, mouth hovering over her jaw before leaning down to kiss the skin, the coolness sending a chill along his spine. She hums, nuzzling into the touch, seeking it.

“The alarm is also on your side.”

Johnny smirks against her cheek, mischief coating his gaze, “you could’ve reached over me, you know. Saved us both the hassle.” His hand reached up to stoke her jaw, trailing to tangle his fingers in her hair. Soft and silky. He takes a moment to appreciate the beauty before him. From her thick eyelashes, to her lips. Her cheekbones and kissable lips.

“Oh you would like that, wouldn’t you,” she challenged with no actual bite to her tone, one eye peeking open. “Me on top of you in the morning.” He didn’t even deny it, flashing a toothy smile

“Very much so.”

Instead of replying, Y/n moved to push the man onto his back, throwing her leg over his waist to lay herself on top of him. Johnny’s hands immediately grabbed her, keeping her body pressed against his with one hand on her back and the other firmly on her hips. The heat radiating off his complexion clashed against the frostiness of hers. Two polar opposites coming together in an explosion of love and devotion.

Johnny welcomed it with open arms, bringing her mouth to his in a tender kiss. Chuckling as she fought away while mumbling about morning breath to which he didn’t care. He kissed her like his life depended on it. Like they were the only two people in existence. For there was nothing sweeter on the planet than the taste of her lips on his.

And thanks to the fire that consumed his veins, Johnny was spared from getting frostbite.

“Happy?” She asked while pulling away, but not getting far as Johnny cupped her jaw in his hand to keep her close. Kissing her once more after mumbling, “exceptionally.”

The tale of the Human Torch falling in love with the Ice Princess begins long ago, three years to be exact, when the Fantastic Four find themselves sitting across the table of Earth’s mightiest heroes, the Avengers.

Everything leading up to the moment was still a blur to the young Johnny Storm. One moment he and his team, the Fantastic Four as they called themselves, were fighting the formidable Doctor Doom in their 60s-style futuristic Earth. And the next they are pulled into another universe while tailing the bastard to prevent him from bringing utter destruction to the world. It hadn’t even been five minutes and the Four were surrounded by armored trucks and individuals donning costumes similar to their own.

“Hands where we can see them!”

“State your name and purpose!”

“Who are you and where did you come from!”

Johnny’s heart pounded against his chest. The anxiety piling up like a volcano ready to explode as he took in the scene before him. There were guns pointed at him and his friends. A man in a blue tunic and red cape with his hands raised in defense next to a young girl wearing a brown tunic. Another man in a red, white, and blue tactical suit with wings who landed in front of them. His shield reflecting off the light. Next to him was a man in a similar attire with wings but in grey. Then there was a woman in all purple, bow and arrow trained on the Four. A man with five golden rings on either wrist. A masked individual in a bright red and blue suit with spider webbing detail crouched on top of a car. And finally, a woman in a striking gray tactical ensemble stood closest to Johnny with a cold look in her eyes.

Upon making a flame with his hands, ready to defend himself and his friends, Johnny watched her face shift to amusement. Raising her brow as though unimpressed by the trick, “Don’t even try, hotshot.” And without taking her eyes off his, her palm raised up to form an icicle in the shape of a dagger. Her other arm extended to show her skin turning completely into ice.

Yeah, Johnny wasn’t sure if it was fear or arousal that consumed him. He often confused them at times. All he knows is there was a pretty woman before him with ice powers with cold eyes ready to strike him down with God knows what laid in store for him should he dare tempt her.

But now wasn’t the time to flirt. There were more important matters at stake. Like the fact they were surrounded by highly advanced, highly enhanced, people with an army of soldiers at their command. In a place that looked like New York but lacked the 60s style he was accustomed to.

“Cuff them and begin transport to HQ!”

“Find me Banner and clear this area at once!”

The Four were at a loss. Outnumbered and confused, none able to process what the fuck was going on. They lost Doom. He was God knows where and they were not a match against these strangers. So they took their loss and compiled as they were restrained by agents.

“What the fuck is happening, Reed?” Johnny demanded, struggling against the cuffs on his arms and ankles. His power seemingly unable to melt the damn things which both intrigued and terrified him.

“I don’t know?”

“Where are we?” said Sue from beside the genius, expression full of confusion and slight fear. The last thing she remembered was falling through a glowing yellow-orange light in the shape of a ring and the feeling of nausea hitting her full force. Giving her whiplash.

But before anyone could answer, the blinding light of the sun hit them as the door whipped open and agents ushered them out of the vehicle. Clashes of voices, cameras flashing as news crews desperately tried to breach the barrier guards had formed and even a helicopter flying above. Johnny glanced up to take in the chaos, gaze falling onto the large building before him with a giant ‘A’

The Four are led to a large glass encased room, still cuffed, and ordered to sit and wait while armed guards post themselves outside. Expecting someone to come in and interrogate them, they take the moment to assess the area. Noting that the glass room sat perched above a large space, like a bullpen, where people were rushing to answer phones, type on computers, or stood watching the vast tv screens splayed on the wall. The news channels played footage of what transpired on the streets moments prior. The Four tense when they see an image of Doctor Doom, disappearing after falling from what appeared to be a portal in the sky.

Just like they did.

The sound of the glass door opening captured their attention, turning to find the man in the wingsuit and the woman in gray. Their body language showed they were on high alert, analyzing the Four for any potential threat, and they exchanged a look before the man set down his shield on a free chair while the woman placed a stack of files onto the table.

“I’m Captain Sam Wilson, this is Agent Y/n L/n,” The man spoke first, cutting right to the chase, “You’re not from here, are you?”

“Here?” Reed repeated, perplexed.

“Earth-616,” Y/n answered, locking eyes with each of the Four, lingering on Johnny before falling onto Reed. “At first we suspected you’re with Hydra, or part of the team Fontaine has been cooking up. But ruled those possibilities out once we saw the footage of your friend who preceded you in the portal.”

The Four processed her words, unable to identify the names she spoke of.

“Hydra?”

“We don’t know who this Fontaine person is, but we can assure you we’re not involved with them.”

“You saw Doom? We have to find him immediately!”

“I’m sorry, did you say Earth-616?,’ Reed reeled back to her initial answer. Y/n crossed her arms over her chest with a nod.

“I did,” she then turned to Sam, lowering her voice but they were still able to hear everything, “This isn’t going to be easy, Cap. They obviously hadn’t discovered what we know and that makes them a liability.”

“We have no choice. Whoever traveled with them is still out there and they know what we’re up against. We need them.”

“And how exactly are we going to send them back to where they came from?”

“We’ll figure it out like we always do,” Sam’s tone grows stern, but Y/n holds her ground and doesn’t reveal any ounce of intimidation. “Strange and Banner can find something.”

Johnny, having had enough of them talking about them as though they weren’t right there, spoke up with annoyance, “Can you two please tell us what the fuck is going on? What do you mean “send us back where we came from,” and that we hadn’t discovered what you apparently know?”

Reed pitches in, “Sounds like you’re suggesting the theory of the multiverse is real and that we’ve somehow breached the gap between space, time, and reality and have fallen into a parallel universe,” the genius scoffs, gaze flicking between the two as though waiting for them to say, ‘Sike!’ only for his stomach to plummet in fear as he saw how serious they were. “Oh my God.”

Reed’s reaction to the implication was enough to cause the same in his friends. Sue’s face paled, Ben froze, and Johnny felt a sudden urge to throw up. They were in another universe.

They watch as Y/n removes a device from her utility belt, stiffening as she points it at the man, a buzzing sound emitting from its speakers causing her brows to furrow and the man leaned over to read whatever it was on the screen. “You’re human, like us, and your DNA appears to be altered with enhanced biological traits.” Glancing up from the screen, her head tilts with suspicion, “but that’s not the interesting part…..your readings indicate you obtain multiversal particles.”

The revelation sent the Four into hysterics. All denying at first the inevitable truth, speaking over each other, struggling against their cuffs--which Sam removed once they calmed down. Reed was dealing with shock and excitement, for the scientific discovery was something he always theorized was true. Meanwhile the others were more fearful of what this meant for their world and the one they were in.

For hours after the initial shock wore off, they stayed in that room until all information was exchanged between the groups. Sam infomed the Four they were at Avengers campus, headquarters for the Avengers. A team consisting of biologically or technologically enhanced individuals responsible for the safety and order of Earth-616 against domestic, international, and intergalactic threats.

“Well now we can add multiversal to the mix,” Y/n crossed her arms over her chest, seemingly annoyed with having to deal with another damn enemy after they’d finally defeated an adversary not long ago.

Part of Johnny wanted to laugh at her irritation, but that probably would’ve made things worse on his end. So he kept his mouth shut.

Sam and Y/n were soon joined by the man in the tunic, who introduced himself as Doctor Stephen Strange. A Master of the Mystic Arts who had experience traveling the multiverse, and had even met a variant of Reed years prior.

He didn’t go into detail obviously of how that ended.

Not long later he was followed by a large man who’s physique rivaled Ben’s and was green. “Dr. Reed Richards, meet Dr. Bruce Banner,” Y/n did not look up from her tablet, full focus on the screen. “You two will surely get on well with figuring out what the fuck it is this Doctor Doom wants with our world.”

While they didn’t join the group, Sam explained who the other team members were that helped attain the Fantastic Four. Stephen’s protegee, America Chavez, who had the power to travel the multiverse--which had Reed’s eyes bulging from his head. He definitely wanted to have a conversation with her. There was Kate Bishop, the purple archer who trained under former Avenger, Clint Barton. Sam’s wingman, Joaquin Torres, and Shang-Chi, who possessed the Ten Rings. Lastly there was Peter Parker, the boy donning the red and blue webbed suit.

They mentioned the Thunderbolts, another team of enhanced individuals who were more anti-heroes and had once been adversaries of the Avengers but are now allies. Then there was the Guardians of the Galaxy. A team of intergalactic heroes traveling space and protecting the galaxy from threats not on Earth. The Norse Gods of Asgard, now living on Earth. Shuri, Scott Lang, Hope Van Dyne, and the Marvels. Lastly, they touched on former Avengers. Ones who retired, like Barton, and the ones who perished.

Finally, when things seemed to settle, Johnny decided to lift the mood by saying, “So do you guys have nicknames? Or like code for when you’re on missions?” Sue shot him a look that read, “For the love of God, Johnny.”

Y/n lifted her eyes from the tablet, giving him a once over, “Are you serious right now?”

“What?”

“Aye, take it easy, L/N,” Sam pitched in, waving a hand for emphasis. “Can’t blame the kid for being curious.” All he receives is a mock scoff.

“Okay, Captain America.”

Johnny’s ears perked up as he looked at Sam with interest. Boyish grin plastered on his face, “You’re called Captain America? That’s really cool.” He motions toward the suit and shield, “Should’ve guessed as much though with the colors of your suit and stars.”

“I used to be the Falcon, but Torres has taken on that mantle. Strange is just strange,” Y/n snickered under her breath, causing Johnny to bite back a smile. “We call America, Miss America.”

Ben nods his head in approval, “fitting.”

Sam continued listing off the aliases of the team, finally coming to Y/n who narrowed her eyes with a frown as he said, “And she’s the Ice Princess.”

Honestly she should be grateful for the nickname and that it sounded quite regal in comparison to other ice related names. Hell, they could’ve dubbed her Frost. Or Snowflake. Or God forbid Icicle. At least with the Ice Princess it made her sound both menacing and dauntless. Still, it was too on the nose. And it didn’t help that before the accident that granted her the powers and the Avengers, she was a socialite in America. Before they died, her parents were wealthy investors and friends with the late Tony Stark.

Johnny didn’t try to hide his grin, “The Ice Princess,” earning a glare from the woman, obviously not amused by the nickname nor his delight from it.

“And what do they call you, hotshot? Firestarter? Flame-man?”

He shrugs sheepishly, cheeks a tint red, “Human Torch.” Now that has Y/n’s lips curl, fighting back the smile as she hums.

Setting the Four up at campus, they were given rooms and full access to the labs and training facilities. Reed and Ben immediately joined Banner, while Johnny and Sue decided to observe the Avengers and learn from them. Their dynamics. Their history. The way they train and how they come together to develop strategy. How they are able to make a team consisting of individuals with different levels of abilities, experience, and ethics work.

Johnny would be lying if he said he wasn’t the most curious about Y/n. Not only was she the most beautiful, and quite terrifying, woman he’d ever met, but he was drawn to her aura. The power she held, both physically and on the team. She was extremely intelligent, a mentor to the young members, witty. Unafraid to go toe-to-toe with Sam or Strange.

And her powers….they were exact opposites. Fire and ice. Hot and cold. Where he controlled flames, she manipulated glaciers. He turned himself into a human torch, she transformed to a human icicle.

Talk about opposites attract.

Days passed, and the two teams merged together with the goal of locating their common enemy. By keeping up with the news and reports of suspicious activity, they were able to narrow down the search for Doom. Suspecting him to be hiding somewhere in the New England area.

The day before planning to scour the location, the teams trained with each other, none holding back. Showing off what they were made of. An enthralling experience considering the Fantastic Four had only been a team for a couple years in comparison to the fifteen plus of the Avengers. Banner being the only founding member there, Sam and Y/n not far behind.

“I like her,” Sue whispered to her brother when Y/n sideswiped Joaquin and put him on his ass. The group made a circle around the matts in the gym and were taking turns going against each other. Sue caught the way the man’s gaze followed the Avenger. Mesmerized by her skill and ability. And Sue always knew when her brother had a crush. “You should go next when it’s her turn again.”

Johnny didn’t respond, but the look on his sister's face, a cheeky smirk told him he wasn’t being conspicuous as he thought he was with his feelings. “Shut up.”

The most tense, and nearly destructible moment, came when the Four discovered a photograph of Tony Stark on the wall of a different debrief room alongside the founding Avengers. Who bore a striking resemblance, well actually he was identical, to Dr. Victor von Doom. The man they were after.

There was screaming. Accusations thrown at each other. Of course suspicion and confusion from the Four. Up until that point the Avengers only saw Doom with his cloak and mask from the footage, and the Four hadn’t described his appearance. And while the Avengers mentioned Tony Stark, they didn’t show any pictures.

It calmed when Strange had to remind them about the existence of variants. He met Reed’s when traveling to Earth-838. Peter Parker met two of his. It was completely possible that their Victor von Doom was a variant of their Tony Stark. Were they the same man? Not really when one thinks about it. But they shared a face. The Reed Richards Strange met looked nothing like the one standing in front of him. While in Earth-838, Strange met a young lady who worked with Christine, that world’s version of the Ice Princess, who was not Y/n. Peggy Carter was their Captain America!

Oh, and there was the big detail in the fact that Tony Stark was dead.

When the commotion settled and the two groups lost their steam, Johnny noted the deflated appearance of the Avengers. All falling quiet with unreadable expressions. Peter excused himself, “I-I don’t feel good. I’m gonna go lay down,” but the blonde saw the way his lip trembled and eyes watered. Rushing out of the debriefing room on a mission to get away from everyone before he burst into tears. A feeling of guilt suddenly consumed Johnny, glancing at his friends who shared the same concern.

Banner was quiet, as was Strange. The others, who didn’t know Tony personally, shuffled on their feet and quietly excused themselves as well. Sam had his back to everyone, a distant look in his eyes as he gazed down at the bullpen below.

And then there was Y/n. Sitting in silence with her hands clenching the arms of her chair, white knuckled and jaw so tight he swore he saw a vein protruding. Her breathing was shallow, eyes staring blankly at the wall.

Johnny felt unease, unsure of what to do. Should he say something? Should they leave the room? Nothing felt right at that moment. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this new revelation changed everything. This was no longer just containing a multiversal threat, this was personal so to say.

He was spared the ordeal when Sam finally spoke, only to be interrupted by Y/n, “You know you don’t have to--.”

“Do not finish that sentence, Sam.”

He turned away from the window to look at her, tone serious, “I’m trying to look out for you, Kid.”

“What’d I tell you about calling me that?”

“And Peter,” Sam continues, not letting up, “No one will fault you two for wanting to pull out of this.”

She scoffs, offended by the insinuation as she stands from her chair. The atmosphere in the room heated up again, and Johnny tensed, watching the woman step forward so she was nearly chest to chest with Sam. “There is a multiversal madman out there and you’re suggesting I stay grounded?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, “What the fuck, Sam?”

“This is different, Y/n,” his voice was steady, willing her to understand. He wanted the best for his team. And their situation was unlike anything they’d ever dealt with. “You have to realize that. This Doom is--.”

“Not him, Sam! Y/n threw her hands up, yelling as the anger she had tried to contain began to unleash, “I’m not fucking stupid! For Christ’s sake, I know that’s not Tony and I’m not going to compromise this team because the man we’re up against has the same face as him!”

“Y/n--,” Strange attempted to intervene but she shot him a look and he immediately backed down.

“If you think Peter and I should back out, then so should Banner,” she pointed to the man who had yet to say something since the news of Tony’s variant was revealed. “Him and Tony founded this team. And let’s not forget your history with the damn Accords. Should I go call Rhodey and see what he thinks?”

‘Accords? Rhodey?’ Johnny thought to himself, not familiar with the term as he thought back to the lessons on the Avengers. They must’ve omitted that detail, assuming it was a rather dark part of their history. A confirmation he got from the reactions of Banner and Strange, who’s expressions were complete shock and appalled.

Sam’s demeanor shifted to that of hurt and exasperation, her words hitting him like a bullet from a gun. “That was low, even for you.” Yeah, whatever it was they were references, the Four gathered it wasn’t good.

Y/n stepped back as though he struck her, a flash of regret in her eyes but she kept her head up, willing herself not to break. “I’m an Avenger. I took an oath, the same as you, and made a promise to Tony that I’ll do whatever it takes to protect this planet against any and all danger. I will not break that promise, and nothing you say or do will stop me.” Y/n backs away, moving toward the door, “I’ll see you on the quinjet tomorrow, Cap.”

An eerie silence remained as the door slammed shut behind Y/n. Nobody moved. Nobody made a sound. The air was thick, and full of tension. The Four glancing at each other with uncertainty.

“Wings up at eight,” Sam announced, voice strong with authority as though the last five minutes never occurred. Or didn’t bother him, though Johnny noted the pinched look of his brows.

The Captain then departed the room, Strange and Banner following out with a nod to the Four. Left to their own devices, the Four spent the next hour in the debrief room watching footage of the Avengers. Particularly ones with Tony Stark, the Iron Man, and the several catastrophic missions he dealt with alongside the Avengers. Provided with the mountain of videos from news channels and social media of people who experienced it first hand.

New York 2012. Ultron 2015. The Superhero Civil War of 2016. That’s where they learned of the Accords Y/n referenced and how she and Sam were involved. The two on opposite sides of the scale as Y/n pledged allegiance to Tony while Sam supported former Captain America, Steve Rogers. Witnesses flying a private plane around the airport captured the fight between the two teams.

Johnny watched with a frown as Y/n battled against her colleagues and friends. He could tell she was holding back on using her power to the highest degree, not really wanting to hurt them, but enough to send a message. For example, when Steve and Bucky attempted to flee to the hangar, Y/n created a layer of ice on the pavement, causing them to tumble and fall. Then she made a wall of ice to contain Scott Lang in his giant form. But that was a failure, as the wall wasn’t thick enough allowing Scott to break free, sending chunks of ice toward the ground, knocking the hero unconscious when one collided with her head, blood spilling from her temple. To prevent her from being crushed, Tony flew in a record speed to gather in his arms and rush her to safety.

Later that night when Johnny was wandering the building, he found Y/n on the balcony overlooking the main grounds. A hue of orange and pink painting the sky as the sun set on the horizon. The dark blue of nightfall taking over lurking in the background. She was out of her suit, dressed in casual clothes consisting of a hoodie and sweats. A faint expression on her visage as she stared out in the distance.

Gathering courage, Johnny took a deep breath before gently sliding back the door, the cool breeze hitting him in the face as he closed it behind him and approached the woman. Her head tilted slightly, acknowledging that she heard him, but made no move to address.

They stayed like that for a minute. In silence, basking in the peace they were afforded before the impending danger they were to face.

“I’m sorry you all had to witness that,” Y/n eventually spoke, tone neutral as her expression. “That was unprofessional of me.”

Johnny shook his head with a shrug, “You don’t have to apologize. I can’t imagine what you and your friends are feeling. And I’m sorry we jumped to conclusions--accusing you guys of--.”

“Considering what you told us of Victor von Doom,” She sent a pointed look, her voice one of understanding, “you had every right to be cautious. Plus,” she sighs, gaze flickered down to the railing, “you four are still new to the Multiverse. We’ve known about it for five years, and I remember that feeling of confusion and uncertainty. America told us all about her experiences traveling through various realities.” Y/n’s frown deepened, shuffling on her feet with unease. “In one world, she met a version of me that hated the Avengers--and tried to destroy them.” Her body shudders, and not from the wind, “That stuck me for a while. I couldn’t imagine a world where I was the enemy. Whose goal was to hurt the people I cared about. Steve, Nat, Tony.”

Johnny nodded, leaning his elbows on the railing as he pictured it. Surely there were versions of himself out there in the multiverse. He wondered what they were like. Did they have the same power? Did they get to live a normal life like he once thought he would? Was he a hero? Or was there a version of Johnny who went against all he stood for?

He too, refused to imagine a scenario where he’d want to harm his sister and friends. It saddened him to even think about such a thing. And the way Y/n said Tony’s name, showed him she felt the same.

“Was he your father?” the question left his lips before he could stop it. Immediately regretting upon the distant look that encompassed her visage along with the glossiness of her eyes.

“He was the closest thing I had to one after my own died,” Y/n bit her lip, scoffing lightly, “actually even when mine was alive. Met the man when I was five--my father invested in Stark Industries and the two were good friends. I have fond memories of going to Stark Tower and watching Tony’s expos.” A small smile appeared, but it soon turned to a frown. “My parents profited off the sciences and technology, but didn’t really care to understand it.” There was a bitter taste in her mouth as she spoke, and Y/n was a bit surprised she was being so open with Johnny. A rare feeling, for she was hardly this vulnerable about her past with her teammates. And she’d known them for decades almost.

“I was always smart growing up but they never acknowledged or praised me for it. Told me college wasn’t necessary since we were wealthy and what good would higher education be when we were well set. Mind you,” she shoots a glance at Johnny, who was watching her intently. “My father went to business school in Chicago and my mother was a journalist before they got married.”

“The pot calling the kettle black,” he muses, tone laced with disappointment on her behalf.

“Exactly,” she sighed, shaking her head as she looked back toward the city. “My father laughed when I told them I wanted to pursue physics at MIT. Told me if I was going to go to college then I should do business where the money was at--as if I needed more fucking money,” Johnny heard the frustration and sadness in her voice, picturing a young Y/n with dreams who just wanted the support of her parents and was denied. Thinking about it made his heart strain.

“Anyways, Tony was the one who helped me get to MIT. It was my freshman year he got kidnapped and became Iron Man. Barely saw him after that because his partnership with my dad ended.” Fiddling with her rings, Y/n closes her eyes briefly while taking a breath, then shrugs nonchalantly, “My folks were among the casualties in New York, my accident happened not long after….” she straightens up with a sniff, “Tony Stark helped me find purpose. Told me there were greater things for me--and my powers could be a tool to help people. He took me under his wing when the government advised him not to. I owe everything to him.” Turning to lock their eyes, Y/n’s gaze is filled with determination.

“As he died I promised him to continue his legacy. I intend to keep it, until my last breath.”

Defeating Doom proved itself to be the most defining moment for the Avengers and Fantastic Four. Lasting months on end, for each time Doom was in their grasps he managed to get two steps ahead of them. Thankfully the integrity of space, time, and reality didn’t seem to disintegrate with the Four in Earth-616. Something the geniuses of the team were concerned about.

When it was finally over, Doom neutralized and the multiverse saved, the Avengers and the Four--bloodied, bruised, and covered in grime, dragged themselves to a nearby shawarma joint to pig out. Beer flowed, music sounded from the jukebox beside the round table they took claim to.

And after months of tip-toeing around feelings, Johnny and Y/n finally said ‘fuck it,’ falling into step together as a unit they both craved. The Ice Princess seated firmly in his lap with her head tucked under his chin, eyes fluttering closed as the exhaustion kicked in.

For Johnny, he’d been crushing on the woman since he first laid eyes on her. Keeping his affections hidden as he knew deep down it would be unwise to pursue anything with someone who 1) was from another world; and 2) he needed to focus on the task at hand.

The same went for Y/n, who realized her fondness for the blonde about a month after he arrived. She’d be lying if she didn’t find him attractive during that first meeting. Anyone with eyes would agree. But she knew better than to be involved with him given their predicament.

Yet, by a power greater than universe, the man of fire melted her frozen heart. He wasn’t put off by her cool attitude, unlike most people when they first meet Y/n. Yeah he got under her skin with his boyish charm and flirtations, but he never crossed any lines. Always respectful. Always mindful.

Neither were sure when things changed between them. Maybe it was when Y/n pushed him out of the way of a line of fire from a Doombot causing her to take three bullets to her back and nearly bleed out right there in the middle of the street. Or when Johnny spent a week in a coma for exposing himself to a deadly dose of radiation to prevent Y/n from doing so. Whatever it was, the two could no longer beat around the bush. And the night before the final battle against Doom, they confessed their feelings on the balcony overlooking Avengers campus. Sealing their promise to stay alive with a kiss.

“You sleepy, darling?” Johnny murmured against her hair after finishing a conversation with Shang-Chi. Tightening his arms around the woman when she nuzzled his chest before laying a sweet kiss to her forehead.

“Just resting my eyes.” His finger brushed her cheekbone, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, making Y/n sigh in content.

“Rest,” he told her, not buying it at all, and by the tone of his voice she knew he was smiling. “I’ll wake you when we’re ready to leave.” All he received was a hum, the man beaming as he carded his fingers through her hair. And when Johnny lifted his gaze he met his sister’s, who’s expression was full of fondness, shooting him a wink as she gestured toward the sleeping Avenger in his lap.

‘Told you so,’ Sue mouthed, grinning at his pink tinted cheeks.

‘Shut up,’ he mouthed back, though he returned the smile.

In the days following their victory, one question remained: Will the Fantastic Four return home? America was their ticket out. All she had to do was open a portal. It may take time, but eventually she’d shuffle through enough realities until she found theirs. Luckily in the months they’d been away, the fabric of reality remained intact.

In all honesty, that fact alone is what made them contemplate leaving.

The Fantastic Four didn’t belong in Earth-616 having landed there by mistake, but it had been almost a year. Integrating themselves into the Avengers and developing bonds. Besides the romantic feelings between Johnny and Y/n, the remaining Fantastic Four were not sure if they wanted to leave. Reed and Ben enjoyed working with Banner and Strange. Sue longed for female companionship, and found that with Y/n and the other women of the Avengers. And Johnny connected with the guys. They all became friends.

They became a team.

And since they weren’t leaving anyone behind in their world, what harm was there by staying? The Avengers could use more allies. And who knows another high level threat would appear. Threatening the existence of the universe. They needed a strong team, and defeating Doom proved they were one.

Yeah, it was a no brainer.

Now here they were two years later. The Ice Princess and Human Torch cuddled in their bed, in their apartment in Avengers campus, on their day off where they could enjoy the peace as no new threats had emerged in the last two months.

Johnny groaned when Y/n pulled away from the kiss, moving to sit up so she was straddling his hips. The comforter falling behind her as she fought against his firm grip when he attempted to pull her back down.

“Sorry, hotshot, no sleeping in for me today. I have to get ready.”

He tilted his head, partly confused, partly offended, “For what?”

“I promised your sister I’d have breakfast with her.”

“But it’s Sunday,” He sat up, hands gripping her waist as he moved to press kisses on her neck. “We don’t do anything on Sundays. Except sleep….” he trailed off, pulling away to give her a cheeky smile, “and give each other some lovin’.”

Y/n chuckled, tilting her head back as his plush lips captured her chin, trailing down her jaw until he found the place behind her ear. “Baby, I’ll give you all the loving this afternoon until the sun sets and the moon rises,” she feels him shudder against her, smirking in satisfaction. “But I’m a woman of my word.”

Lifting herself off him, she leaned over to her side of the bed to grab her rings off the nightstand. Returning to his lap as she placed them on her fingers. Her college ring on her right hand, and the beautiful Cartier stack consisting of her engagement and wedding rings. Once all were placed on her finger, Johnny lifted her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles just below. His own wedding band shining against the sunlight peeking through the curtains.

“Don’t keep me waiting too long now,” Johnny flirted, chocolate eyes sparkling while pressing her hand to his chest where his heart laid. Heat radiated off his body. “I might come looking for ya.” The words earned him a playful glare.

“Behave,” she scolded without any bite. “Or I’ll punish you.”

“I want you too,” Johnny challenged, winding his arm around her waist to hold her closer.

All she did was shake her head, laughing at his behavior while he continued his assault on her neck, allowing him a few extra kisses before she really had to get up. “You are something else, Johnny Storm.”

“And you love meeeee.”

“I do,” she breathed out, tilting her head down to meet his lips halfway, hand cupping his jaw. He sighed in victory, chasing her mouth each time she pulled away, causing her to giggle. “Johnny! The sooner you let me leave, the sooner you get to have me all to yourself.”

He groaned again, loosening his hold but not completely letting Y/n go. “Fine,” he mumbled, pouting, but smiled when she kissed his cheek. “Bring me back a coffee, please?”

“Of course, my love.”

With that he reluctantly let go of her waist, allowing his wife to get up from the bed. But before she could make her way to the bathroom, Johnny caught her hand, making her turn back to him with a raised brow.

“Some say the world will end in fire.” He begins to recite the famous poem by Robert Frost. What started as a joke between the two because of their abilities, transformed into something far more intimate. The poem itself was about human emotions, and their power to lead to self-destruction. Fire was fast, Ice was slow. Together they were each other's strength and weakness. And despite being complete opposites, they both played a role in dismantling humanity.

But for Johnny and Y/n, they managed to do the impossible. They bridged the gap between fire and ice.

Y/n smiles affectionately, lifting her free hand to the back of his neck to scratch at the nape of his hairline. “Some say in ice.”

“From what I’ve tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire.”

“But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate, to say that for destruction ice.”

“Is also great,” They both recite, leaning in to capture each other's lips as they whisper the final line of the poem.

“And would suffice.”

#johnny storm x reader #johnny storm x you #human torch #human torch x reader #johnny storm imagine #joseph quinn!johnny storm #mcu imagine #mcu fluff #fantastic four fanfic #mcu fanfiction #joseph quinn imagine #marvel cinematic universe #avengers x reader #avengers imagine #fantastic four: first steps #fantastic four imagine #fantastic four

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mirai-e-jump · 5 months ago

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Monthly The Television, August 2024 Summer Special ft. Iuchi Haruhi Interview (translation below)

Publication June 26, 2024

Fresh sensibility and will

Iuchi Haruhi made his leading role debut in the Super Sentai series "Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger." In this interview, including a filming story for the movie set to be released this Summer, we'll report on how he made his debut as an actor, stories from before his debut, and more, as we get a fresh and energetic look at his true self.

-The tokusatsu hero admirer will make his silver screen debut this Summer-

"Iuchi Haruhi made his leading role debut as the leader in the currently airing Super Sentai series Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger. He plays the role of the Boonboomgers leader and "deliverer" named Taiya Hando."

Iuchi: When I heard the decision that I'd be appearing, I was wondering when they'd reveal that it was all a prank (laughs). That's why my first thought was, "I can't believe it." Personally, I still remember the hero shows I used to watch when I was little, so I was anxious about whether I could really handle it. Still, once the show actually started airing, I received alot of calls from my friends saying, "We're watching!" It made me happy, and now I actually feel that I'm apart of Super Sentai.

"As you performed, you found similarities with Taiya and points you could learn from him."

Iuchi: Taiya's someone who has his own views and mentality, which I think are similar to my own. However, in my case, I have the type of personality where I don't hesitate once I've made up my mind to do something "in this way." Still, while maintaining that strong mentality, Taiya listens to other people's opinions and never rejects them without giving them a chance to explain. I think that kind of flexibility is what makes Taiya so appealing, and it's also what I like about him. I want to be as flexible as Taiya someday, and I'd like to think that I'm improving little by little as I perform (laughs).

"For Iuchi, Boonboomger was his first time on a film set. He said he was surprised by many things."

Iuchi: First, I was surprised by the number of staff members involved with filming. Then, I was also surprised to see that even a single scene was rarely shot in one take, instead having the camera position change multiple times while the shot was being cut. Still, I don't think there are many opportunities like this to study the genuine production process of the Action Department so closely, and I don't think I'll have the chance to experience dub recording at other production sets, so I'd like to learn more about it and absorb as much as I can over the next year.

"The original reason he wanted to become an actor was because he watched the drama "Death Note" starring Kubota Masataka and became interested in acting."

Iuchi: It was the drama that made me want to try acting for the first time. However, I used to not be the type to watch movies or dramas, so I didn't really know much about acting as a profession. That's when my parents found "Watanabe Entertainment School," which then led me to joining my current agency. Actually, Yamada Yuki-san, who's from the same agency, has always been one of my favorite actors, and he's appeared in "Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger," so he's also a senior that I look up to. As the acting in Super Sentai is often exaggerated, when we met in person, I asked him, "How did you break away from those habits?," and I received some very detailed advice. At that time, I once again realized that I wanted to become an actor who can play various roles, just like Yamada-san, who's known as a "chameleon actor."

"Speaking of, Taiya's a master of "development" and "modification." That being the case, if we asked Iuchi himself, "What are you a master of?" you'd say……"

Iuchi: I guess for me it'd be my passion for the things I love. I've always had a stubborn personality, and I'm the type of person who'll work very hard at the things I set my mind to, so I have confidence in that passion for it. That being said, before I aimed to become an actor, I wanted to be a pro tennis player, and would work extremely hard at tennis at the time. Also, I've always loved to create things since I was little, and was the type who wanted to do my best when it was time for arts and crafts, so in order to bring the piece closer to the perfection I envisioned, I'd ask my teachers, "Can I take it with me and do it at home?" I think that kind of focus to pursue something may still be with me now (laughs).

"This Summer, a double feature film will be released alongside Kamen Rider Gotchard. There, he'll perform together with someone he's admired since he was a child."

Iuchi: The video creator HIKAKIN-san appears as a guest. I started watching Youtube when I was in my second year of elementary school, and at that time, HIKAKIN-san was the one I would always watch, so I was tense when I met him on the film set. There's lots of content to take in, including scenes that were actually filmed at the Fuji Speedway circuit, so please look forward to it. _

Q: When do you feel cranked up?

Iuchi: My hobby is the guitar and to write and compose music, however, the longer it takes me to write a song, the more cranked up I feel when I finish it (laughs). One of my dreams is to someday work not only as an actor, but also as a singer and song writer.

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sebeth · 1 year ago

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Who's Who In The DC Universe #2: Bat-Mite, Batwoman

Bat-Mite by Marshall Rogers

A pint-sized imp from another dimension

Claims to be the greatest fan of Batman and Robin, comes to Earth to watch his idols in action

Loves to use his powers to complicate matters for the Dynamic Duo

Forever being ordered back to his home dimension by Batman, like a bad boy being sent to stand in a corner

Bat-Mite is a silly character that mainly appeared in the Silver Age. He did have a mini-series in the New 52 era and has made a few appearances in the various Batman animated series. If you don’t mind an occasionally silly Batman, Bat-Mite can be a fun character. If the “Dark Knight Strikes Again” Miller-Batman is your ideal then Bat-Mite is not the character for you.

Batwoman by Dick Giordano

Kathy Kate was a circus stunt-cyclist and trapeze artist. She later became a socialite and owner of a circus.

A longtime admirer of Batman, Kathy decided to become a costumed crimefighter after she received a considerable inheritance.

She had a mansion constructed atop an abandoned mine tunnel and built her own version of the Batcave.

Often partnered up with Batman and Robin

Kathy’s own niece, Betty, developed her own costumed identity as Bat-Girl

Katy had counterparts on Earth-One and Earth-Two – their careers were mainly identical except for the endings

On Earth-Two, Kathy retired and remained a prominent citizen of Earth-One

On Earth-One, Kathy retired and bought a small circus to keep herself occupied

She was later murdered by the Bronze Tiger in a struggle between Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Assassins

Kathy Kane is one of my all-time favorite characters and my 2nd favorite love interest of Batman (Andrea Beaumont is my number one Batman love interest). Was she a silly character? Yes, in her late Golden Age/Silver Age appearances but it was a rather overall silly time for DC Comics. She is the first heroic female Bat character as she debuted in the 1950s and Barbara Gordon wouldn’t debut until the late 1960s. Loved her rare Bronze Age appearances. After Kathy’s death, her time as Batwoman was erased in the post-Crisis but Bette kept her role as a costumed adventurer as Flamebird. Kathy -as Batwoman – made an appearance in one of the Kingdom one shots. Batman sees Batwoman and says “Kathy?” so he retained some memories of her costumed identity.

As for Kathy’s death…she was essentially stuffed into the fridge. In Detective Comics #485, Batman visits Kathy’s circus and helps her fend off attackers. A second wave of attacks separates the duo and Batman later finds a deceased Kathy clutching her Batwoman costume. Ra’s Al Ghul arrives at the circus and informs Batman that Kathy was killed by the order of the Sensei of the League of Assassins and that Ra’s was the one who sent the note warning Batman of Kathy’s upcoming assassination. Batman questions why the Sensei would consider Kathy a threat and Ra’s tells Batman it is because he told the Sensei that Kathy was a threat. The Bronze Tiger is implicated to be Kathy’s murderer.

We don’t receive a reason for why Ra’s went out of his way to have Kathy assassinated. The only reason I can head-cannon relates to Ra’s obsession to have Bruce as an heir. Around this time there were four main love interests of Bruce: Selina, Talia, Kathy, and Silver St Cloud. Was Ra’s eliminating a possible romantic rival of Talia?

The aftermath of Kathy’s murder received some attention in the Ostrander’s Suicide Squad series – mainly in Bronze Tiger’s attempts to break the League’s brainwashing and his attempts to remember if he killed Kathy.

Kathy frequently married Bruce and was the mother of his son in “imaginary stories” (Elseworlds) from the Golden/Silver Age.

I was so excited when Batwoman was rumored to return in the 52 serie and was so disappointed when it wasn’t Kathy. (Not that I don’t like Kate, I simply wanted the return of Kathy).

Grant Morrison brought Kathy/Batwoman back during his run on the Batman titles and she also featured in the Grayson series. I don’t know if she’s made appearances since the Rebirth era but I’m always up for more Kathy.

#Batman #batfam #bat family #batwoman #kathy kane #bat-mite #bette kane #bat-girl #flamebird #ra's al ghul #talia al ghul #talia #bronze tiger #league of assassins #sensei #dc comics #dcu

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djangodurango · 2 years ago

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for the WIP ask game... The Future Is Still Silver and Black? (original train fiction from you two sounds really interesting!)

So last year, I went up north to visit Ray. Ray lives in Chicago, which just so happens to have the largest railway museum in the United States, the Illinois Railway Museum.

At the IRM, we saw the Nebraska Zephyr, which is a streamlined stainless steel articulated trainset. Each of the cars in this train are named after Greek/Roman goddesses. Venus, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, and Juno. It's really quite striking. And the train is pulled by an EMD E5 (the only surviving E5 in fact) named Silver Pilot.

The next day we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. There we saw the Pioneer Zephyr, the first of the Burlington Zephyrs.

So after we get out of the MSI, we're sitting in the Metra station, waiting for the train, and we're doing Independent Research on our phones. Because the concept of the Nebraska Zephyr is great, right? Five beautiful cars all named after goddesses. And that is when we learn that Silver Pilot did not originally belong to this train.

"Those aren't even his bitches," Ray said to me.

So over the next few months, we did more Independent Research. And every new piece of information we found about Silver Pilot just made his story even better. The whole thing is fuckin' wild and we had to DIG to find almost all of it. It's insane because the engine has this amazing story - a story that Ray often points out would sound contrived if it wasn't true - and apparently no one has cared until a pair of fucking cunt dorks went to the train museum.

Comparatively, the Pioneer Zephyr was easy to find more about. Its history is extremely well-documented and lots of people in the past have been fucking cunt dorks about that train. The thing about the Pioneer Zephyr though is that it was made in the early 30's, right? And Burlington promoted this train in a way almost... vaudevillian. It broke the land speed rail record on its way to its debut at the 1934 World's Fair (outdoing its competitor from the Union Pacific, M-10000 only a couple months after it broke the record), it went on an exhibition tour, there were commemorative letter covers given for its service milestones, there was a ride-on children's toy made of it, it starred in a movie!

So me and Ray were now thoroughly enthralled by these two separate but related trains and how different their service lives were - and continue to be - when we get an idea.

We'd considered the idea of trains writing letters to each other before, but it's a little human for them in general, particularly for working engines who are busy. Although I was quite pleased when I was able to report to Ray that there was indeed an episode of TTTE where Thomas sends Percy a postcard.

But these guys are both preserved and while Pilot still works, the IRM is only really open on weekends. They got time. They have people with hands who can read and write who also have time.

DJ: Oh, what if they send each other letters? Ain't like they've got anything else going on. Ray: c2c. I was thinking about them being pen pals. Especially since they live so close, the letters don't take long to arrive. They can be short and sweet. DJ: Gives them something to look forward to. Ray: You can send some a few times a year and not be overwhelming with the information.

Which was all well and good, but then I found something practically serendipitous. A sign that this was the way to go.

So remember how Pioneer had all these publicity stunts and events done for it? On its tenth anniversary, they made a six foot birthday cake and rigged up an eight-foot-long knife such that the train could pull forward, break a ribbon, and cut its own birthday cake.

Most of this cake was given to veteran and child hospital patients, but individual pieces were also sent off to each of Pioneer's "brothers" and a hundred-ish other fellow streamliners across the country.

With a letter.

DJ: Raymond. There's a train letter IN the Pioneer Zephyr book. FROM the Pioneer Zephyr. About his birthday party. Although he does say in it that he only has brothers. Ray: OH MY GOD. How did we know??? Are we just that fucking good???? Do we just know and perceive the truth THAT well. DJ: It's too fucking cute. Ray: The fact that he is a he and also says he has brothers is revolutionary. That almost strains the limits of credulity, knowing how Train Guys are about calling engines "she". But I know you would not lie to me about this. Can you scan it?????

The fucking train actually, canonically, wrote a letter.

So yeah, the trains are pen pals. And they write to each other about their past and but moreso about their present. Because as it happens, their history post-preservation is interesting too (as I'm sure you can relate) and there's far less said about it already.

The first batch of letters are done, we're just getting some other materials together before we can publish.

EDIT: people are reblogging this again so just editing to add that you can read the train letters here.

#pioneer zephyr #silver pilot #the future is still silver and black

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aroaessidhe · 2 years ago

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Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year

The Art of Prophecy - this was so fun and made just for me I enjoyed it a lot The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist - really good and also quite unique for the space it’s sitting in I think! The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - this is very good and fun I loved it

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year

The World We Make - love this duology!! NK Jemisin does it again etc etc A Day of Fallen Night - prequel technically, but I enjoyed it a lot and more than priory I think! Sailing By Carina’s Star - i am enjoying this trilogy a lot we love queer pirates The Shadow Cabinet - somehow even more wild than the first book

3. New release you haven’t read yet

I don’t keep lists of books I need to read, so of course when I try to think of something my mind goes blank, here’s a couple from my library holds/kindle To Shape A Dragon’s Breath Wander The Night also does Flight & Anchor count if I’ve read the original patreon version but not the published version yet

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

(same situation lmao) I’m looking forward to He Who Drowned The World! that’s the first thing that comes to mind

5. Biggest disappointment

tbqh I’ve read a lot of disappointments but they’re mostly self published ones that I read soley because of aspec characters that didn’t hold up in the writing department and are not very well known anyway. (I’ve read tons of selfpubs that are amazing too of course!!) so I’ll just mention some traditionally published ones: Rosewater - I did go into this with the wrong expectations for one, but also the MC was so (intentionally) misogynistic it was hard to enjoy :/ The Wicked Remain - there were a few iffy things in the first book but also things I liked and the second book just...didn’t really add to the things I liked. idk Song of Silver, Flame Like Night - I knew this wasn’t gonna be entirely for me in the first place but man what was up with the only other female character (that’s not dead) having an absolute caricature of a mean girl rivalry with the MC in like. a calling each other slurs kind of way not a fun way

6. Biggest surprise

Beating Heart Baby - I enjoy reading YA contemporary but there’s usually a limit to how much I enjoy it compared to sff, but this went beyond what I expected and I really loved it The Meister of Decimen City - I didn’t have any expectations for this, someone just mentioned it on a discord and I got it from the library, but I loved it a lot!

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

See generally I only call people favourite authors if I’ve read and loved like, at least 3 separate books from them, and I don’t really have any of those for this year.....you need to work to get my loyalty Here’s a few authors that I’ve read a second book/series from them this year and am like, ah yes, I will read the next one: Ceinwen Langley Rebecca Schaeffer Liselle Sambury

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

tbh I’m not one to separate an individual character from their book or like, the other characters surrounding them very often, so I just can’t think of anything specific... all the women in The Art of Prophecy are great

9. Book that made you cry

I’ve actually started recording this in my stats this year HAHA, with “fully crying” “teared up” and “cried from cute/happiness” and,, I did not expect that there are only 3 books that have made me fully cry????? Which are: In Other Lands and Lirael (nostalgia def has a part to play in both of those) and Beating Heart Baby. I can’t remember why I cried for that one but clearly it was a lot lmao

10. Book that made you happy

I mean it’s a reread but In Other Lands of course

World Running Down - only just read this and I really enjoyed it! a good mix of an interesting sci-fi future that isn’t super dark but also doesn’t shy away from various issues, and an interesting romance! (me enjoying a romance, shocker)

witch hat atelier! - how could it Not make you happy tbh

thanks @violaeade for tagging me!

I will tag @thereadingchallengechallenge @nycorix @speculatives @dkafterdark and anyone else who wants I guess

#laya talks #i read too many to give a single answer to any of these sjdghs

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rainytypology · 9 months ago

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https://www.tumblr.com/rainytypology/743184004363223040/guessing-riize-mbti

Hi! I saw this post, and I was wondering if Anton could actually be an ISTP (or INFJ or ISFP)? Like, hear me out (sorry if I made a mistake, I am not too involved in MBTI):

Se because he was a swimmer, a celloist, then became an idol and is into music production. And he even took part in the music production of a movie. This seems more like Se than Ne because Ne is more concerned with entertaining the possibilities/ideas while Se is concerned with actually doing things and interacting with the physical environment.

I even remember seeing a post where after seeing EXO, he grasped the opportunity to become an idol so he doesn’t miss out and regret later on, which seems like Se-Ni mentality imo.

And Shotaro and Seunghan even once said that while in the US, Anton had a list of things to do and when Taro suggested going somewhere out of the blue, he got upset and said that “when you go somewhere, you plan it”. I admit this made me think of him as an INTJ, but I don’t see Se inferior (I always look into inferior functions while typing someone). This seems like Ni, because of the specific vision he was pursuing (like the planning) and getting upset because of his plans getting disrupted by Shotaro (if Anton were a Ne user, I assume he’d change his plans and tag along).

And from his W Korea interview: “I made music out of curiosity because I was curious about what would happen if I made music while being exposed to good music.” This seems like Ni-Se behaviour. Ni speculates about how things would go and potential implications when it comes to a new idea. They are very attracted to abstract concepts or things that appear like a mystery to them. And I kinda see Se in the sense that he is relying on the external environment to guide him ahead (like the exposure to good music).

I don’t have strong arguments regarding Ti-Fe, but in the Talk Saxy reaction (especially Sohee’s bridge), he was more concerned with the production of the bridge, which seems like Ti to me since I feel like Ti is concerned with how things work, and they usually like to look into the internal process of a system. And maybe him not being expressive could be a sign of inferior Fe? He’s kinda like Eunseok but rather shy and soft while my man Eunseok took the stone in “silver stone” too seriously. But at the same time, I also don’t know about Fi-Te. Ti-Fe and Fi-Te can be hard to distinguish at times, hehe.

But honestly, Anton’s one of the hardest to type simply because of how shy and introverted he is. But I do think that he could be an INxJ or an ISxP. (And I will never forgive PDB for ruining his consensus cause there’s no way he’s an INxP, and most INxP voters don’t even have any proper arguments besides him being quiet and shy and sweet and caring and all and the whole vibe-typing which also ruined Wonbin’s consensus in the beginning)

(And I also feel like Sungchan could be an ENFJ or ENTJ, but that’s for another story)

Ooooh those are some interesting observations 🤔🤔 I was planning to redo my guesses on them someday, after I finish some of my other drafts first lol. But with your observations, he could be an Ni-Se user rather than Ne-Si... The only ones I'm very sure about are Wonbin = ISTJ and Shotaro = ESFJ. Eunseok seems like he uses Ti the most and Fe inferior...

But yeah you're definitely right about how he is a bit tricky to type considering how quiet and private he is compared to the others. He does seem to lead with an introverted function though. It hasn't been a full year since their debut yet, so hopefully Anton will open up a little more throughout his career and make it a bit easier to determine his functions.

Fi and Ti are the most confusing functions for people to differentiate, so don't stress too much about confusing those lol.

I'll take your observations into consideration 👍 I need to observe more RIIZE content for a better analysis

#ask #anon #riize #mbti #riize mbti

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wegonbealright-09 · 1 year ago

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https://x.com/fjimindata/status/1724548947698688502?s=46 see now im REALLY pissed off

first of all, it makes sense that they wouldn’t get certifications for the much older songs that they’re not interested in promoting, i get that part. but when you have it all laid out like this its just obvious that there’s no excuse and they didn’t have any interest in acknowledging him.

the 7 certification came just in time to push his album release and the grammy push and yet, that flopped.

jimin is the ONLY member to have literally every main solo song (Lie, Serendipity, Filter, and now Like Crazy) to qualify. It’s established that he sells in the US and each of his songs is great in both quality and overall appeal. so why not make more of an investment in him.

there’s at least three possible scenarios i can think of:

1- this is all part of the plan

sometimes, the cynic in me wonders if they forced him into an underdog role bc that’s the brand they felt would sell for him. the members themselves have spoken about the concepts they were given pre-debut. i remember jin talking about how he was meant to be a cold serious type of guy but eventually that just didn’t work for him and he became the handsome and confident but goofy one. we can assume it was the same way for others.

at first, jimin was the “ladykiller” type with the ab flashing antics and then he became the sweet, kind, charismatic but “self-conscious” guy most of us became extremely attached to. he already had the “hard-work genius” title (🥴) that has been pushed for ages so it would make sense for the underdog-that-thrives-against-all-odds narrative to be the next step.

bc jimin has always performed strongly in the us they knew he wouldn’t flop no matter what and fans would feel incentivized by the “mistreatment” narrative so they would work even harder for him.

much like with bts, there was always a social-justice-oriented motivator for how hard armys worked since BTS had been treated like shit by racist/xenophobic/homophobic/elitist people in both the domestic and Western industries. meanwhile, the only real competition bts ever had was a group of attractive but averagely talented individuals who got all their material, promotions, and mediaplay handed to them on a silver platter. this only motivated armys that much more to work hard for the ones that actually do the work and “deserve” it.

does that sound similar to a certain someone? do you see where i’m going with this?

i could write an entire essay on the parallels i see here but i’ll leave it there for now.

2- the company really only cares about jk

another scenario is the worst case scenario pjms have been talking about all year. the company has a one-track mind of who they’re trying to push and they know the other members will follow even if theyre mistreated by the company bc they simply won’t do that well elsewhere or by themselves.

3- for some reason, they see Jimin as a liability so = not worth investment

something we don’t often talk about (because we don’t know much about it) is the topic of sponsors. jimin must have some but we don’t really have a clue as to who they are. for th (and probably jk) it’s obvious that that paradise hotel group family sponsors him. i don’t doubt that’s one of the reasons why he made such a big deal over those dating rumors. dating the daughter of the people funding your career sounds a tad bit icky if you ask me. now we now it was also bc he was actually dating a friend of the daughter’s (who also appears to be sponsored by them 😶) but i digress.

***this next part is purely gossip based on my observations and is 0% grounded on any legitimate information. ***

i suspect that jimin had pretty big sponsors circa 2019 while jk didn’t and now it is the opposite. when the whole paris clubbing scandal dropped even though the videos were everywhere on stan twt barely any korean media picked up on it. on the other hand, when the jk scandal triad happened (tattoo girl, car accident, and mid-covid itaewon outing) that shit was everywhere and he got dogged on real bad by knetz. it’s possible that jimin just got lucky that it coincided with jk’s scandals and got off scot-free (outside of stan twitter). in contrast, when jimin had the whole insurance payment evasion/stolen mail debacle that got covered extensively in k-circles even if stan twt didn’t gaf about it. now we know after face era was jimin was struggling around that time which inspired his songs and then he decided to “get his head straight on”. since that time period, which was the first half of 2022, he’s almost become ultra conservative with his image. i suspect the company took the blame for the insurance thing even though it was on him and that that was his wake-up call that he wasn’t doing well mentally.

if jimin, like the rest of hyung line, doesn’t have sponsors that are that influential anymore then maybe more of the brunt of funding his solo debut relied on the company and they decided to be conservative about it in case it was a risk at any point.

Is a very different approach to the situation I've never heard anyone analysing the situation like that it is very different and baby armies and them stupid ass ot7s would eat that one up.

But I think we all agree it's two. I'm trying my best not to post about Hybe because the festive season is here and I don't want nothing and nobody to ruin my spirit.

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solemn-siren · 9 months ago

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XR walk au finale

Part 3: Splendiferous silver sovereign

A/N: it’s time for my ice dragon to make her proper debut here

“Storm? Hey wake up!”

“He can’t be dead… right?”

“If we all survived then he has to be alive.”

Storm opened his eyes to be met with the eyes of his brothers, Siren, and a cavern he did not recognize.

“What happened?” He mumbled as he sat up, trying to remember all the details. They were standing on an ice bridge when Velkhana came by, roared, and destroyed the very bridge they were on.

“We may have found the very hunters we were looking for.” Siren answered, pointing to a camp in the distance. The hunter that was leading them was talking to a hunter wearing a similar crimson armor to the injured hunter that they met in the cabin.

“So we don’t have to fight Velkhana?” Kenpo asked, and not soon after he was met with his worst nightmare: Velkhana’s cry. He screamed, hugging Hunted and trying to drown out the elder dragon’s cry.

Siren looked around the cavern, following the echo of the ice wyvern’s cry to see where it was probably coming from, her eyes landing on a opening separated from the land they were on by a massive frozen lake. That was probably where it would come flying in.

A palico dragged a heavy box in front of them, and Siren knew what this meant.

“We have to confront Velkhana.”

Kenpo was the first to complain. “But I don’t want to-“

“But we have to.” Hunted added, watching the Palico open the box. He grabbed a slim, long sword for himself, passing another one to Kenpo while Storm and Siren grabbed massive claymores that were as big as themselves.

The group stood by the frozen lake, all of them watching the opening in the distance.

And then it arrived.

Flying in with a gorgeous, haunting cry, Velkhana stood to face their challenge.

Now that they were up close and personal with it, it was horrifying, even for Siren who worked with these world ending dragons as a job.

Yet they didn’t really have an option did they?

Four head strikes against Velkhana were made, and when it was about to retaliate, their weapons blocked the fatal blow, maybe except a bit of knockback that they needed to recover from.

Hunted charged a powerful charged attack at Velkhana, however he misread the ice wyvern’s attack, taking a blow from her ice tipped tail.

“Dude, don’t get too aggressive with your attacks.” Kenpo firmly reminded him, before shouting. “That thing is in the air! Is it going to attack?”

Hunted didn’t make the same mistake twice. He successfully blocked Velkhana’s aerial attack.

He glanced at Kenpo, who gave a reassuring nod. Meanwhile a stalagmite fell on Velkhana, who gave off a painful roar. Siren turned to him, holding up her slinger arm. Hunted smiled, sending a thumbs up back at her.

“Take this you annoying ice dragon!” Kenpo shouted, charging up an attack while Velkhana was recovering from Siren’s stalagmite. It landed right on her head, which was refreshing and satisfying. He wanted to do another, but Velkhana seemed to be interested in something behind them.

Another monster was standing on a platform. This one had sharp tusks, fluffy fur, and serrated spikes on its wings.

“Is that… a frostfang barioth?”

Velkhana had complexly abandoned them to engage with the frostfang barioth. The dragons attacked each other, before Velkhana hit it with a frost breath and straight up left, flying away into the sky above.

“Well I guess we don’t have to fight it anymore.” Kenpo said, proud of himself.

Yet they were left with another problem…

Frostfang Barioth was now in front of them. Their one way out of this place was blocked by a completely different monster.

“We must be in its territory. We have to fight it.” Hunted added, raising his weapon in the air. Kenpo complained, before joining the others in for their second encounter of the day.

Frostfang Barioth was a completely different monster to Velkhana. Obviously. It attacked more in the air, sending breath attacks one after the another. Hunted and Kenpo spent a lot of time blocking than attacking.

However the other two were having a much better luck with the fight.

Storm unleashed a charged attack against Frostfang Barioth, knocking out its tusks and leaving it lying on the ground in front of his brothers. The monster swung back its tail, ready to strike.

Yet Siren was waiting for the moment, having a charged attack prepared for herself.

The second Frostfang Barioth swung its tail, Siren let out her charged attack, completely slicing its tail in half and sending it flying out of the cavern.

“Now THAT’s what I call satisfying!” She yelled, sending a slinger shot above. It hit another stalagmite that just managed to hit Frostfang Barioth, stunning it and giving enough time for the last few fatal blows.

The crimson armor hunter who was talking with their leader arrived, placing down a trap. It captured Frostfang Barioth, who collapsed right in front of them.

No one spoke for a solid ten seconds.

“We… took down a monster?” Kenpo muttered, putting down his long sword. “We… actually lived? That was the best moment of my life!”

”Says the person who said they didn’t want to fight a monster.” Siren added, as the leading hunter began searching for a way out of the cavern. They eventually found a thin wall of ice and placed down a barrel bomb which Siren happily detonated with her slinger.

And so the group walked through the path they had made back to Seliana. It was nothing chaotic, a relaxing walk through the snow covered world.

“So, does anyone want to chill at the canteen afterwards?” Storm asked once they arrived back at the gates.

#Monster Hunter world iceborne XR walk #XR walk au #huntedskelly #stormlordzeus #kenpoviper

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lastchancevillagegreen · 1 year ago

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Friday, 14 July 2023:

Field Day (40th Anniversary Edition) Marshall Crenshaw (Yep Roc) (original released June 1983, this reissue released 14 July, 2023)

In August of last year I began listening to Marshall Crenshaw's catalog at the rate of an album per month. This month I'm playing I've Suffered For My Art, Now It's Your Turn, a live acoustic album that features many of the songs from last month's #447. I'm discovering just how talented Crenshaw is (a master guitarist, not to mention songwriter) and what a fool I was for ending buying his latest release when he left Warner Brothers for Razor & Tie. This album I'm showcasing was his second album for Warner Bros and I remember thinking it was substantially less than his debut. I remember a friend and I falling prey to the suggestion it was 'overproduced,' and disliking it flat out. Such silly boys when we were younger. In time, I certainly played the daylights out of because cut to September 2022, and I knew these songs backwards and forwards like most of the best albums in my collection from back in the day. I'm playing it again now (on my second spin) and this remains one of Crenshaw's best albums. (Those first three albums in his catalog are all brilliant in my ears.)

Making it even better is the new cover art. I've never like the original artwork (even all these years later) and I think the new artwork is far cooler and more in step with the era. Naturally I've always been a big fan of the suitcoat/ tie look, even if today it paints me a bit of a square. I'll show you the original artwork later. Above is that new cover followed by the gatefold and then the back of the album cover. What most surprises me about this is the absolute dearth of the label name. No mention anywhere (save for the spine) of Yep Roc.

This is a double album now so I'll follow my usual format of showing you the front and back of the inner sleeve for Album 1 followed by the labels for both sides of the first album.

The second album contains six bonus tracks and fortunately it includes the B-Side of Jungle Rock. Below are both sides of the second album's inner sleeve followed by both labels.

I was scouting around on eBay for those five EPs of Crenshaw's that I lack (I own one of the six he released) and algorithms being what they are showed me some Crenshaw albums I might be interested in. One of them was this album on colored vinyl. The dealer was asking $70, an outrageous price so I immediately went over to bandcamp to see what the deal was. Nothing. I went to Yep Roc and they don't even have a category for Crenshaw for crying out loud. I finally just googled Field Day-Crenshaw- color vinyl and lo and behold! Up comes a preorder from Barnes & Noble! The bookseller has realized the market for different pressings and color vinyl seems a major attraction to buyers. Notice that as soon as I discovered this, Wednesday, I preordered it. How on earth they got it to me in two days time mystifies me because Barnes & Noble can be notoriously slow. Regardless, here it is. Check out the photos of this "limited edition Silver with Blue Swirl" vinyl below!

below you will find close-ups of both hype stickers that adorn this album cover in my first shot up at the top.

Below you will see the original cover of Field Day when it came out in 1983. I didn't realize that the suitcoat, shirt and tie are the same on both covers. I still think the new cover is far better!

And lastly, not many people are aware of this, I certainly wasn't. But this album was reissued in 2018 by Intervention Records as a two LP set. Below you can see the new artwork for this version followed by the back of the album cover which lists the bonus tracks at the bottom of it. (Both photos taken from discogs.)

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negans-attagirl · 4 years ago

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Silence

Summary: Negan finally became a Whisperer. Not knowing that one of them will soon turn his world upside-down by removing her second skin.

Pairing: Negan x OFC

Warnings: Creepy freaks, creepy writing, smut, language, cursing, violence, dark, angst, abusive mother (Alpha)

Tagging: @ffakc @thedeadwalks @littlebadgirly @fuckingfuckityfuck @neganssavior-fanfiction @negans-network

Darkness devouring almost everything. Moonlight was the only source of light that guided Ylana through the dark forest, branches cracking beneath her nimble-footed movements, cautious to not attract any biters. Her Vision restricted by the second skin she was wearing, disguising herself as one of the creatures that once destroyed everything she loved.

A silent whisper causing her to stop in her movements. Breathing heavy, she turned around to see pitch-black eyes, darkened by his own second skin.

“She wants to see you. Now.” His voice admitting no contradiction.

Arriving at the camp, Ylana immediately sensed something has changed. People not wearing their second skin, strange eyes following every tiny movement, every little twitch that was not camouflaged by the false derma. She could feel the pressure of his strong hand on her back, guiding her without mercy towards the leader now standing in the middle of a clearing in the forest.

“There she is” a vicious smile forming on Alpha’s lips, not the slightest interested in hiding the contempt. Ylana learned over the years to not question the female leader, hiding her true feelings beneath the second skin she had chosen years ago.

“We have a new applicant, my Dear.”

Alpha’s pale fingers gesturing to a stranger standing between the people she oughta call family, but couldn’t.

He was tall, slender body underneath a black leather jacket. Once black hair, now greying turning him into a silver fox. A deep dimple framed smile on his lips as soon as his hazel eyes met her blue ones.

“You’ll be responsible for him now. Show him what he needs to know.”

Nodding silently, Ylana approached the stranger, eying him up and gesturing him to follow her to a secluded place.

“My, my!” the stranger’s voice echoing through the tranquillity of the night, forcing her to turn around. Pressing an index fingers on her muddy lips to silence him.

“I’m not the guy for unpleasant silence” his hands wielding innocently in the air.

She had to suppress a smile. He surely was something else. Relieved that they approached the little hut at the outpost without another of his disturbances, she threw one of her knives to the ground and signalling him to take it.

“So, Doll. Is your true skin as pretty as that second walker skin shit?” His smutty grin accentuated by the movement of his tongue across his lower lip.

“You simply won’t shut up, will you?” Her sigh now clearly audible.

“Nope” emphasizing the P in the word and giving her a shit eating grin, forcing her to roll her eyes but also teasing out a smile on her lips.

A week later, Alpha ordered Ylana to gather with Negan some smaller walker horde as his very own debut. It was a few hours walk across an abandoned suburb. Seeing all the perfect little houses with their similar fronts made her mind divagate to a time she once lived in a gated community with her obedient mother – not daring to ever backtalk to her husband.

Negan seemed to sense her absence and gently touched her arm, making her flinch.

“Will I ever see that pretty face underneath that wrinkled fucking shit of a second skin?”

Negan has been flirty since they were introduced to each other and she was appointed as his guard.

“Nope” emphasizing the P like he always did and pointing out a smaller horde circling what used to be a women’s clothing store.

She tried to remember the last time, she went shopping. It’s been years since she’d come across a store – since she was allowed to even look at new clothing. It has always been stressed out that whisperers do not need any fashionable clothing, yet anything that was not dirty or had holes in it.

Without hesitation, she grabbed Negan’s hand and pulled him into the store, locking the doors behind them. Taking a deep breath, Ylana turned around to face Negan. Smirking bridely at the young woman in front of him, he unzipped his leather jacket and bit his bottom lip.

“I fucking knew, you can’t resist me, Doll!” Wiggling his eyebrows, forcing her to laugh at him and shaking her head in disbelief.

“Shut up, Negan.”

Strolling through the small corners of the store, examining a few of the leftover clothes that were not scavenged, she found a few items to her liking.

“Fuck yes. I’m up for a little freaky deaky fashion show”

Negan took a seat in a chair right next to the dressing rooms and overserved her. He knew, Ylana was pretty underneath that walker’s skin. Her face pale, rose tinted plump lips and he was sure, he saw a few freckles when her mask got out of place a few times. Her own red hair shining through the straggly leftovers of the walker’s hair that once surely was a pretty young lady herself as well.

“You wish…” she retorted quickly and winked at him.

Disappearing in one of the cabins to quickly try on the few things she was able to gather from the almost empty rods. Ylana took off her dirty porous clothes and was almost relieved to see her naked body in the mirror, detached from the second skin she was forced to wear daily. Not being able to show anyone her true self, always hiding.

She quickly dressed herself in a pair of fresh underwear, an emerald long sleeve plus fitted dark jeans. Gazing at herself, she only just now realised how thin she became, all the better that she was now wearing fitted clothes again.

Almost stumbling out of the cabin, she suddenly found herself in strong arms. Negan’s arms.

He wasn’t wearing his second skin, so she was able to see his pronounced dimples, the salt and pepper beard – silently swooning, she resolved from his warm body to bring the much-needed distance between the both of them. She knew, she wasn’t allowed to fall in love. It would only end in her own death. And his death.

Negan couldn’t take his eyes off the young woman in front of him, now wearing freshly clean clothes and almost encasing her in newly found grace. Her mask still hanging loosely on her true skin, he couldn’t supress the urge to carefully remove the wrinkled mask with trembling fingers. Excited to finally be able to see her true face.

She wasn’t able to restrain him, breath pitching as soon as she felt his rough fingers on her soft skin, slowly removing her mask – revealing her true self to him.

As soon as he dropped the mask, she lowered her head in shame. It has been a long time since someone, all the more a man, has seen her without her chosen second skin.

His index finger softly forced her to meet his eyes, eliciting a gasp from his lips as he saw her face for the very first time. Negan gently touched her cheek, trailing down to her gaping lips and over her neck – sensing her pulsating heartbeat through her skin.

“You’re truly beautiful”

His voice nothing more than a whisper, forcing her to visibly gulp. Before she could react, he gently moved closer to her, hands around her waist, softly pushing her to his hardened body. Her breath hitched for a second. She hasn’t been this close to a man since the apocalypse started. She wasn’t allowed to. Her mother would kill her.

She could feel his soft stubbles on her throat, hot lips tracing down to her collarbone, gently nipping her skin.

Negan grinned, leading her back to a wall and immediately pushing himself against her blushed body. He was rock hard, his length pressing against the fabric of his jeans, begging to be released of the tight confinement.

Deliberately he pushed his thighs between her legs, against her throbbing core, causing the much-needed friction.

Ylana blushed, not being able to hold back the silent moan escaping her trembling lips, causing his cock to twitch and educing a deep growl from his throat.

Hazel eyes searching for blue ones. Almost loosing himself in the depth of her blue eyes sparkling with arousal. He flashed his tongue just seconds before he gently kissed her, eliciting a moan form both sides. Rapidly turning into a more passionate, more needy kiss – dominated by Negan.

“Fuck” a silent, almost breathlessly, whisper against her gaping lips.

Hearing his voice, forced Ylana back to the present. Shaking her head, she urgently pushed him away from her shivering body.

“We need to go back. Gather the horde…” without another word, not being able to hold his confused gaze, she quickly adjusted her second skin and left the store. Trying to leave the memories of what has just happened back there.

Both of them guarded the horde in complete silence.

Both of the could still feel their swollen lips.

Both of them thinking about what could’ve happened.

Both of them longing for more.

Only one of them in fear of what would happen if Alpha found out.

Alpha knew. She always did. One calculating dismissive look.

“Well. Fuck me. We gathered the fucking horde of shitty walkers just outside. Mission fucking completed”

He was visibly confused as to why the both of them were publicly roasted.

Alpha had an omnipotent smile on her lips, slowly walking toward the young redhead standing next to Negan. The leader’s soft fingertips carefully opened the laces of Ylana’s second skin, dropping it to the muddy forest ground.

“You know the rules, little one” Alpha’s low hushed voice next to her now exposed face.

“Yes, Alpha” she immediately answered, lowering her head in obedience.

Ylana felt the older woman’s fingertips caressing her still swollen lips. Examining every tiny scratch, every little flush, every slight anomaly of the young woman’s pretty face.

“You dressed yourself so nicely…making us look like dirty homeless people” gazing dismissive over the fresh clothing of her younger adherent, Alpha pushed her into the mud with one fast movement. Not fighting back, Ylana just got onto her knees, shooting Negan a warning look as she sensed his urge to help her.

“I truly apologize, Alpha. I was stupid. I was weak… Not being able to resist long forgotten amenities of the past. I will accept my punishment”

“Yes. You’re weak.” Gauging the young redhead’s body, the bald-headed woman smirked.

“Maybe I should leave some marks on that pretty young face of yours. So you won’t tempt my man?” Alpha’s voice breathing hot against Ylana’s skin.

Negan seemed to finally understand what this was all about, almost not being able to hold back a deep laugh.

“Hot diggity dog…That’s the kinda thing that just tickles my balls. Two women fighting over me?! Yes. Fucking. Please!” His husky deep voice forcing Alpha to shift her body towards him, tilting her head a little with a teethless smile before turning her attention back to the kneeling woman kneeling in front of her.

“I should destroy your pretty face, Ylana”

Alpha paused for a moment, sinking down to her knees as well.

“But I won’t do that to my own flesh and blood”

With an almost affectionate soft touch, Ylana felt the older woman’s fingertips over her cheek, gently drying a tear that escaped her eye.

“Beta will be your Judiciary. You’ll be his…You’ll do anything he wants. Thanking him afterwards. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?” Alpha’s voice now unusual loud.

Ylana tried to breath. Tried not to look at Negan. Not looking at Beta. Simply starring at the muddy ground in front of her, nodding and accepting her punishment.

“Yes, mother” escaped her lips and as soon as she realised what she had just said, Ylana could feel a hard slap across her cheek. Redden immediately.

“I’m not your mother. I was just the woman who had the misfortune of giving birth to you” Whispering lowly, making the derogatory severity of her words even more hurtful.

Alpha dismissed everyone, not wasting another glimpse at the pitiful slut of a daughter who now only was another one of her faceless followers. Wandering silently through the woods, quietly whispering the only words that were allowed to escape their lips. We are the end of the World.

Ylana wasn’t able to sleep that night. Her mind drifting off to an alternate universe where she could just be happy. Maybe even with Negan by her side? Without an abusive mother!

Fearing of what Beta would do to her soon, she shifted awkwardly on the dirty forest floor and sighed heavily just seconds before she felt a muscular hand above her mouth, quieten the frightened cry escaping her lips. Her eyes widened as soon as she saw Negan kneeling next to her, pressing his index finger on his lips and signalling her to be quiet.

Offering his hand, he helped her to get off the forest floor, looking around to make sure no one had noticed them yet.

Almost floating through the sleeping whisperers, Negan guided her on and on, further afar the prison she once called home. Leading her across the vegetated forest, they almost walked for two hours without stopping – too afraid they might catch up and wrenching the young woman from him.

Fatigued from the long walk, they soon found a rotten little hut with not walkers in earshot.

Exhausted, both of them sank down on an old worn-out couch.

With a deep sigh, Negan gently hugged and squeezed the young woman besides him. Pressing herself into his chest, she could smell his own scent: Wood, Peppermint, Gun Powder. It was mesmerizing.

“You’re safe now, babygirl”

He gently pressed his lips on her hairline, stroking through her long red hair. She dared to look up to his hazel eyes, only to find pure affection in them.

“You are the start of my new world, Negan” she whispered against his quivering lips, locking him into a passionate kiss and knowing she will never ever have to wear her second skin again.

She was free now.

#Negan #Negan the walking dead #Negan x OFC #Negan x OC #Negan x Reader #Smut #Jeffrey dean Morgan #jdmorgan #jdm #daddy #Ylana vance #ylana #negans-attagirl #alpha #alpha the walking dead #whisperers #Negan smut #negan fanfiction

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longitudinalwaveme · 3 years ago

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Discovering the Flash’s Secret Identity

During the Silver and Bronze Age, the Flash’s secret identity of Barry Allen was unknown to basically everyone except the JLA, his wife, Iris, and his nephew and sidekick Wally West. (He also eventually told his parents, around issue #303-304). However, over the course of his run, a few of his villains also worked out his secret identity, using a variety of different methods.

Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash seems to have always known that Barry Allen was the Flash. The first time we got explicit confirmation of the fact that the Reverse-Flash knows that Barry is the Flash was in Flash #165 (which also kicked off his creepy obsession with Iris). In the issue, he claims that he learned Barry’s identity because of his telepathic powers, but it’s not clear when or how this happened (nothing in the issue suggests that he hadn’t known since their first meeting). And yes, Eobard had telepathic powers for awhile in the Silver Age. It was weird. However, as time went on, more and more evidence built up that seemed to suggest that the secret identity of the Flash was common knowledge in the future, so it’s also possible that Eobard knew that Barry was the Flash because everyone in the 25th century knew. It’s totally within Eobard’s character to credit himself for “discovering” something that would have been common knowledge in his era anyway.

Abra Kadabra, also from the future, discovered Barry’s secret identity by using a “detectiring” that would alert him to the Flash’s presence whenever he came within fifty yards of Kadabra. This happened five issues after Eobard revealed his knowledge of the Flash’s true identity, in Flash #170. It’s worth noting that Kadabra is also from the future, but, given the fact that Kadabra hails from a time period three millennia after the time of the Legion of Super-Heroes, it seems conceivable that Barry’s secret identity, which was well-known in the 25th and 30th centuries, was lost to time at some point in the intervening millennia.

The next villain to deduce Barry’s secret identity was the Golden Glider, Lisa Snart. She discovered that Barry was the Flash in issue #257 (only seven issues after her debut!) Unlike Eobard and Kadabra, the Golden Glider deduced the connection between the two by using her ability to lipread (never explained, by the way; she can just read lips) to learn that Flash and Iris Allen are in love, using what she knows about Iris to determine that, since Iris isn’t the cheating type, the Flash must be her husband, Barry Allen, and proves her theory by dropping a tree on the Allens’ car, which Barry saves them from by using his powers under the mistaken belief that he and his wife are alone. Lisa uses this knowledge to repeatedly target Barry where he lives; going after his wife, his family, and even his job at points. It’s also worth noting that Golden Glider was the first Rogue to learn the Flash’s true identity.

Heat Wave unmasked the Flash in issue #266, but, reminiscent of the Justice League Unlimited episode “The Great Brain Robbery”, he’s unable to put a name to the face. By the time Mick did manage to put a name to the face (sometime around issue #316), he had reformed and, therefore, was no longer interested in using his knowledge of the Flash’s alter ego to his advantage.

In between Heat Wave unmasking the Flash and when he was finally able to put a name to the face, the Top, Roscoe Dillon, also learned the Flash’s true identity...and to be honest, it’s hard to tell from the storyline how exactly this happened. He definitely knows by Flash #302, since Barry inadvertently directly revealed his true identity to him (believing it was his father) in this issue, but a later conversation Roscoe has with the Golden Glider seems to suggest that he already knew that Barry was the Flash. The question is, when exactly did he learn this? Had he learned Barry’s secret identity whilst still an incorporeal ghost, or was he told the truth by Lisa after he had already possessed Henry Allen? When he learned that the Flash was Barry would also affect the nature of his decision to possess Henry Allen. If he learned Barry’s identity while a ghost, then he probably deliberately targeted Henry. If he didn’t, then his selection of Henry Allen as his host body was a decision of convenience, and he just got incredibly lucky. I think that the former interpretation of events probably makes a bit more sense, but it does get muddied a bit because we don’t know exactly how aware of the corporeal world Roscoe is while a ghost.

All of the other Flash villains were, from what we can tell, in the dark about the Flash’s true identity until it became public knowledge at the time of his death. Sam Scudder, the original Mirror Master, presumably never learned it, since he and Barry both died during Crisis on Infinite Earths, and, when he was resurrected in the New 52, Barry’s identity was a secret again.

I’m honestly not sure whether Grodd worked out the Flash’s true identity before his death or not. Since he’s a telepath, it wouldn’t seem too unlikely that he could’ve learned it that way, but I don’t remember any pre-Crisis story where Grodd explicitly said or did anything to confirm that he knew that the Flash was Barry Allen.

#flash rogues #golden glider #the top #heat wave #reverse flash #abra kadabra #gorilla grodd #dc comics

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sebeth · 1 year ago

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Legion of Super-Heroes: Rank the Versions

The Legion of Super-Heroes was my entry point into comic books. My uncle handed me a digest-sized reprint of their early Silver Age appearances, and it has been my strongest comics love since that point. Others come and go but the Legion (and its million characters) will always be my true love in comics.

I saw a thread on reddit the other day asking readers to rank the various versions of the Legion of Super-Heroes, so lets go:

The Original (1958 – 1989): This is an obvious number one. The original LOSH laid the foundations for every version, reboot, and homage to come. All the mainstays – heroes, supporting characters, enemies, locations – debuted in this run. The most classic moments and famous storylines occurred with this version. Easy number one.

The Reboot (1994 – 2004): Another strong version that successfully modernized multiple characters. Lyle Norg’s reboot had to quadruple his fan base. The White Triangle storyline was fantastic. This version had a few questionable choices but overall was very strong.

Five Years Later (1989 -1994) The most controversial version but I love it. Not a perfect run but the characters were awesome. I have never loved Jo Nah as much as I have in this run. Cosmic Boy, Night Girl, Kent Shakespeare, Infectious Lass, and Spider-Girl were other standouts. Roxxas was hilarious but terrifying in his insanity. The Subs were badass, fearless warriors in the resistance. Jacques had something to do besides utter random French words! Tyroc became something other than a walking cliches! Glorith was something other than a devolved blob of goo! Sun Boy’s downfall was painful and horrifying! Love this run!

Threeboot (2004-2009): Mark Waid returned to the Legion for another reboot and threw everything sideways. It was great! Lyle was vastly different than the reboot but still received more character development than his original version. Loved the Cosmic Boy and Brainy rivalry. The addition of Supergirl was unnecessary and the ending was weak but still – many enjoyable moments.

Legion of Super-Heroes (cartoon): Nothing ground-breaking but it was fun.

The Retroboot(2007 -2011). I wanted to love this more than I did. The storylines and characters were bland. It started off strong with the Lightning Saga, the Superman/Legion vs Earth Man’s Justice League, and the Legion of Three Worlds storyline. Even the first year of the title wasn’t bad – Earth Man joins the Legion, Titan is destroyed, etc but it turned into forgettable blandness. Way too many new characters were introduced that weren’t memorabIe. I did love the spotlight on Night Girl and her relationship with Cosmic Boy. Tyroc again was something other than a stereotype. Legion Lost didn’t amount to anything – too bad as it was an interesting concept.

The Imperial Guard (Marvel): A Legion by any other name is…the Imperial Guard. I remember reading their first appearance in a Classic X-men reprint and I immediately tagged the group as a Legion homage. Always fun when they make an appearance. I love that Marvel keeps the group strong even though the team is an homage to a competitor. The Guard won the trial of Jean Grey/the Phoenix. Gladiator defeated the Fantastic Four. Gladiator and the Guard were standouts of Marvel’s 2000 cosmic runs. Love it.

Bendisboot (2019): Speaking of blandness, there is this hot mess. I didn’t even finish the run and that is the only time I can say that about a Legion run. Team books are not Bendis’ forte – his Avengers run should have proven that so I am unsure why DC thought he would be a good choice for a writer of the biggest team in the comic book industry.

There are other versions that I didn’t list simply because they only appeared for an issue/episode so there’s not much to rank. I did enjoy most of the “one-shot” Legions.

#Legion of Super-Heroes #LOSH #LSH #DC Comics #DCU

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birdsareblooming · 4 years ago

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Amy Rose the Hedgehog/Echidna

Alright you motherfuckers, Amy Rose is a Hedgehog/Echidna Hybrid and i’m going to prove it to you.

1. The history of Amy Rose

1a. Classic Amy

Amy Rose made her video game debut in 1993's Sonic the Hedgehog CD, as a non-playable character. In this game she is an 8 year old hedgehog girl kidnapped by the new antagonist, Metal Sonic. In the Japanese release, she was primarily known by her nickname Rosy the Rascal, although it is still stated that her real name is Amy Rose. She later appeared as a playable character in several ensemble spin-off games such as Sonic Drift, Sonic Drift 2, Sonic the Fighters and Sonic R. She did not appear in any of the early TV series, although she was included in most comics, including the Archie Comics series, the British Sonic the Comic and the French Sonic Adventures. (Via Sonic Wiki)

TLDR; Amy first showed up in comics, although she was created for the video games. As shown above her first video game appearance was Sonic CD.

Amy Rose was created in response to a request from the character division of Sega's licensing business, who wanted a character that could be the "Minnie" to Sonic's "Mickey" However, it was felt that it would go against Sonic's personality for him to locked into a standard cartoon relationship like Mickey and Minnie. Instead, it was decided that a one-way relationship, where Amy's affection for Sonic is unrequited, would be more interesting ((via Sonic Wiki))

TLDR; Amy was created in response to a request to give Sonic a love interest, but feeling that would “Go against his character”, they made it a one-sided relationship.

Why am I letting you know this? Well to be acquainted and understand the significance of MODERN Amy, you need to know CLASSIC Amy.

Classic Amy had a very different design, although she was still pink, she wore different clothes, has different quills (very important) and is 8. She only showed up in Sonic CD and the comics, pretty much being reduced to a minor character. Even to this day, Classic Amy has no appearance in Sonic Mania (2017), despite having Mighty and Ray, only making an appearance in a holiday episode of Sonic Mania Adventures (2018)

1b. Modern Amy

When Sonic Team reunited and started work on their three-dimensional follow-up to the classic Sonic games, Sonic Adventure, it was decided they would revive the pink hedgehog and give her a starring role in the game. Like the rest of the returning cast, Amy was given an updated design by Yuji Uekawa. While Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all received minor design changes, Amy's clothing and hairstyle were completely revamped. She also had her entire figure redesigned to make her appear older. In addition to her redesign, her official age was changed from 8 to 12. (via: Sonic Wiki)

TLDR; Amy was brought in as a main character in Sonic Adventure, getting a complete revamp in character design, unlike the other characters who only had minor changes.

Remember this. It will come back later.

Now we’re to the Amy we know and love! Short cute hair, colors that actually match and don’t look horrific (why is classic wearing green and orange. Whos idea was that) And older, but maybe not too much more mature, Amy Rose.

Another note, her design might have been revamped, but her personality wasn’t.

2. Why that Matters

I know what you’re thinking, “why is that incredibly handsome he”-no sorry, “why are we going though the history of Amy? Why does it matter just tell us why you think she’s part echidna?”

I’m getting there, don’t worry.

I wanted everyone to be extremely clear on her history, on the changes between CLASSIC and MODERN, which is very important to this theory. Not everyone us super aware of her history.

3. Her (modern) Design

-it was decided they would revive the pink hedgehog and give her a starring role in the game. Like the rest of the returning cast, Amy was given an updated design by Yuji Uekawa. While Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all received minor design changes, Amy's clothing and hairstyle were completely revamped. (Via Sonic Wiki)

Now, Finally, let’s get to her design, and the weirdness of it.

3a. Her quills

Amy is a pink-furred anthropomorphic hedgehog with green eyes and peach skin on her muzzle and arms. Unlike other hedgehogs, her spines are not spiky in appearance - but are rather worn down like that of ordinary hair, somewhat resembling a bob cut. (Via: Sonic Wiki)

I’m going to assume you knew I was getting to this

“Unlike other hedgehogs”, is a totally fair statement. Every other hedgehog we’ve seen (Even non-canon ones with terrible designs ((looking at you sonia))) Have had their quills in a very specific manner.

Out, Long, and Back.

Very much in contrast with Amy’s, Down and Short.

Also note that Shadow and Sonic, on their heads, have six quills, silver having two long ones and 5 bang quills. Basically, their quills are layered, Amy’s however, is not. It’s one right next to each other.

I note the layered quills as very important. Makes sense for mobian hedgehogs right? I mean they have layered quills like that in real life, even if there’s a lot more.

This is very important why? Because there’s another species that has their quills/spines/hair/etc. right next to each other, instead of layered.

Interesting how close it is to Amy’s own hairstyle isn’t it?

it’s even drawn similarly.

In conclusion, her quills are VERY strange for hedgehogs, but very average for echidna’s, weird for a hedgehog huh.

3b. Her Back

“What?” You say, confused.

But listen.

There’s one specific thing that other hedgehogs have, that Amy Rose is lacking.

Back Quills

None on her back. Absolutely zero.

Again, strange and weird for a hedgehog, not at all strange or weird for an echidna.

3c. Other stuff

-The top of her red dress looking like a crescent moon, alot like Knuckles’s own on his body. I just noticed this looking at the two ref sheets above. -Might be crazy, but I feel like with the 3D models Amy’s tail is longer than the other hedgehog’s. Might just be me though -Most (normal) hedgehogs we’ve seen like Sonic and Silver have very cool colors like Blue and White, and Echidnas are very centered around reds and oranges. And I mean, Pink is a light shade of red.

4. Hybrids

This will be a quick one, hybrid’s HAVE existed in the sonic universe

Although an obscure character now, Fang the Sniper has always been a hybrid.

Touma would state on Twitter that he designed Fang with a jerboa (トビネズミ?) motif in his mind.[6] However, the sales departments of Sega decided upon him being half jerboa and half wolf in Japan, and a weasel in North America.[7][8] (Via: Sonic Wiki)

And, you could be wondering why i’m saying she’s a hybrid and not just an Echidna instead of a Hedgehog. Well, She has the hedgehog ears and eye-shape.

5. The whole picture

I’ve shown you the pieces, now to put it together.

Each of these things with her new design sepretly would mean nothing, but together it means a lot.

But you HAVE to be thinking, “There’s no way that was purposeful.” and I get it. When I first thought of this theory, that was the roadblock that kept me from fully believing it, until I did some research.

I don’t belive it was the idea from the beginning. And by that, I mean CLASSIC Amy.

She looks like a hedgehog, she has back spines, she has normal, layered, quills. As well as Amy debuting before Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994)

MODERN Amy, however. Is a different story.

Remember when I told you to remember a certain paragraph?

Amy’s design was changed drastically for Sonic Adventure, even saying so in this paragraph. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles got minor things, like eye colors and more dexterity. Eggman got an outfit change. Amy’s whole body was changed. Quills, Back, Outfit, Everything.

Once again, you’re wondering, “Why does this matter?”

Amy was completely redesigned for Sonic Adventure. A game that include, features, hell, CENTERS around Echidnas.

Every flashback is about the Knuckles clan, and how Chaos ended up like that™️ because of them.

In a game where you have a bunch of Echidnas, I, personally, feel like i’d be difficult to make the mistake of 50% of Amy Rose looking like one.

Anyway Amy Rose is an Echidna/Hedgehog hybrid and either doesn’t know or is too dumb to tell anyone thanks by

#amy rose #theory #sonic theory #sonic

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