#Winter Kept Us Warm 1965

[carrotcakecrumble]

Winter kept us warm (1965)

Director: David Secter

Country: Canada

Language: English

Genre: Independent queer cinema

Quote: “why do you do so much for Peter?” —— “oh, I don’t know. I suppose I like him.” —— “Well, he’s so different from Artie and Nick and all the guys.” —— “Maybe that’s why I like him, Bev.”

Doug Harris (John Labow) takes Peter Saarinen (Henry Tarvainen) under his wing at the University of Toronto. Being two very different students, they manage to find common ground in the difference they feel from their peers. After Peter gains independence and begins a romance with a girl from his theatre club (Janet Amos), Doug is left to battle both his feelings for Peter, and the pressure he feels to continue a relationship with his own girlfriend (Joy Tepperman).

Secter based the film on his own experience falling in love with a fellow male student, but veered away from explicit depiction of homosexuality, fearing censorship. It’s reported that even some of the cast didn’t know what the film was really about at the time. The result is a slow-moving, quiet and melodic depiction of love and longing in an atmospheric but stifling 1960’s Canada.

[fuddlyduddly]

I love how the obscure Canadian LGBTQ film Winter Kept Us Warm, filmed by UofT students and starring my friends grandfather, has works on AO3

I just think its nice, I glad this movie has connected with people

[deepseatime]

just watched winter kept us warm. never been one to cry at a movie but it almost got me

[falsebooles123]

The End of a Very Long Month - Diary of a Big Ole Gay

Hey Whores, this is the pretty much the diary entry for the rest of the month of April, also I am almost finished with this fucking watchlist. Which is really exciting, a sword of damacoulas over my head fully swallowed.

(I honestly just wanted a Rocky Horror Clip for shit and giggles)

but at the same time I now have so many leads and little films that I want to watch to complete the collection. Sure I don't need to watch George et Georgettes, (the french version), or Theres Three but like I might as well I've literally seen every single other film that people talk about.

but enough navel-gazing thats for later.

Lets get into the Good Stuff

Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) dir. David Secter

A movie that was so subtle gay that the actors didn't even realize thats what they were going for. No, Like for real, that is like a real thing people say about this movie.

Overall this was like a super cute movie. It was just about two guys just meeting in college and vibing and like having quickly developing a deeply intamint and insular relationship something that straight people totally do.

They were totally like ROOMMATES

anyway as a gay man who totally also didn't have a really close friendship that made me realize that hey maybe I'm into dudes this shit made me feel called out.

The Sergeant (1968) dir. John Flynn

Yeah, this kiss is noncon. Sorry to tell you.

The Sergeant is about this older guy who basically has this super toxic working relationship with this enlisted man who he essentially forces to be his secretary.

They have an uneasy friendship with The Sergeant being at turns extremly friendly and extremly cold to this man and his boring wallpaper of a girlfriend.

Anyway the whole reason thats hes like that is that HE IS A FAGGOT, HE IS A DRUNKARD, HE IS CORRUPTING THE FRENCH ARMY WITH HIS ... DEGENERACY!!!!!!

and after the dude rejects him because hes not a homo, The Sergeant just straight up fucking kills himself.

THANKS I HATE IT.

The Killing of Sister George (1968) dir. Robert Aldrich

ok first that is the cutest GIF I've ever seen.

Anyway this ones about LESBIANS HAROLD. These woman GAY, there in a fucking relationship. THEY KISS HAROLD! and they FUCK!

So yeah this was if I rememeber correctly based on a comedy play and the movie turns it into a drama but they kind of fail so its basically like a gay ass camp melodrama and I'm a little hear for it.

I do have to say that the Titelul SIster George is like TOXIC AF but I mean sos Dr. Frankfurther and I still want them to fuck me.

This film is mainly centered around an actress named June Buckridge who plays in this kind of petticoat junction, call a mid-wife type show as a sweet little nun named Sister George, (yes I know that Sisters and Nuns are techically different suck it). She is also *gasp* about to be killed off.

What follows is the fall out of that decision and her extremly toxic relationship between her and her girlfriend. Theres definetly a DMLG aspect to their relationship as well as just generally BDSM and it borders on abusive. But also just woman who like woman dressed as like fucking laural and hardy which is so fucking gay.

They knew what they were doing.

Something For Everyone (1970) dir. Hal Prince

So a couple months ago I watched this really awful porno called The Switch is on with this Guy named Jeff Stryker. So theres this one scene where Stryker is fucking this chick and her husband comes in and just starts getting cucked but then this guy just gets so fucking horny for what can only be described as a sexy bowl of oatmeal that he literally pushes his wife aside and is like UWU fuck me and Jeff Stryker without a single reaction just preceeds to start fucking this guy. It was like watching some type of milling machine and the worker just put a different grain of wood in. What I'm saying is that if your going to watch porn support actors that actually work on being entertaining and present in there sex play.

The other reason why I bring this up is that this is like if one of those Catalinina Bi-Features was actually well thought out, (this obviously excuses Bi-Coastal which is probably one of my favorite pornos ever).

This is a Comedy of Manners were a bisexual disaster who stoacicly fucks everyone trys to sleep his way into getting a castle.

There isn't a lot of PDA with the man he seduces but its actually really nice that they validated the fact that this man can be bisexual and also have like a honest to goodness relationship with this guy, and his sister, and his wife, and HIS MOM. what can I say theres SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE *Roll Credits*

Fortune and Men's Eyes (1971) dir. Harvey Hart

Ok thats a slutty image.

So heres the thing this movie is very gay. Its all about men who want to fuck other men. Sexual. It also, unfortunetly, frames that sexual desire purely through the lens of male rape and explotation.

This is a film about having a prison wife or being someone old man and a lot of the queer relationships are explotative and sexual abusive. A lot of these men are being sexual abused. Which is not a lovely time with the gays.

The film does raise a lot of interesting notions around how situration homosexuality remains seperate from normative queerness or at least simply becames another aspect of normative masculinity and in that lens I think its important to watch and study this film. But I wouldn't say watch this for fun.

Also Michael Greer does a full on drag number and this shows us his dick. Iconic faggot behaivor, we stan.

Lulu (1962) dir. Rolf Thiele

Ok I think I would have remembered this scene because she looks super fucking hot in that photo. heres whats up.

This is an adaptation of the Lulu Cycle plays by Wedeman the same plays that G.W.Pabst adapted however this chick is not in louise brooks and I'm going to hold that against her. also this movie was like super hard to get into and follow. Which I didn't have that issue with the original 1930's film. This movie also just doens't have the right energy for me. I'm sorry but Pabst made a masterpiece. Pabst woke up and said I'm gonna make a movie that goes so hard that it will be a faggots laptop background for like 5 months straight and it is.

This is like um ok theres some hot people but its not that gay. so ew.

P.J. (1968) dir. John Guillermin

So P.J is another one of these schlocky action detective movies from the 60s that were really popular and this one just so happens to have a gay bar in it.

The scene is very explotative and not in the best way to be honest. Like I love that the fags are just another group of generic ruffians for this saturday morning cartoon and that they even like beat the shit out of him. (one guy scatches him which is first HOT and also a lot to unpack). I also compare the scene to the Dyke Bar in Foxy Brown but theres a few differences.

the dyke bar has both like Femme and Butch women where the gay bar basically only has men who look like Liberace

In Foxy Brown she essentials claims or acts as the guardian for a woman that shes trying to get information out of the woman in these scenes take on a auru of queerness were as P.J. stands as stark opposition to the queer community

The Dyke Bar scene actually makes sense in context with the film. Whereas this film just feels like it shoehorns in a gay bar. For reasons. Reasons that arn't important or neccisary to the plot.

Deathwatch (1966) dir. Vic Morrow

Ok so this is based on play by noted faggot Jean Genet who also did that other hot prison movie.

So in this one Leanord Nemoy and a bunch of other guys basically fight over who gets to bang there hot illeterate cellmate. Its very gay but its also more a lot of homos doing theater and less them actually fucking and sucking like in Un Chant d'amour.

Theorem (1968) dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini

Ok this was my first Pasolini film which I watched in Spanish of all things for reasons. The Reason being that that was the only version with subtitles. Luckily this film is famously light on dialogue.

This one is a little bit like Something for Everyone except a lot more surrealistic.

The Stranger comes to a novea riche family gives them all a good fucking, (including the maid), and then just fucking leaves. They then proceed to have like a religious experience over it???

This is Pasolini so its really weird and allegorical but also like super fucking cool. Damn now I want to rewatch it.

Pink Narcissus (1971) dir. James Bidgood

Ok just imagine if Kenneth Anger made a full length feature porno and this is basically that. A young male prostitute lazes about his apartment and has a series of erotic dreams.

As a movie Its giving hints of Anger as well as de Rome and it is just an insanely weird/cool/kinda hot thing to look at.

Its on Internet Archive btw.

Fellini Satyricon (1969) dir. Federico Fellini

Ok so this is like one of those old ass Bible story epics from the 30s except its based on a roman novel or history or something and also it is the GAYEST thing you've ever seen. Basically this hot blonde guy rescues his twink husband from a guy dressed as a pig (don't ask), then they fuck, then his brother shows up and just like steals his husband and then there entire neighborhood collapses in an earthquake. After that I stopped asking questions and I'm pretty sure we don't see his hot twink husband again so RIP i guess.

To be honest I have no idea what happened in this movie but it sure was cool and i need to watch more Italian cinema.

Anyway whores thats enough out of me today. I'll probably return near the end of may with the last 10 or so films left on the watchlist.

[celluloidrainbow]

WINTER KEPT US WARM (1965) dir. David Secter Its the 1960s at the University of Toronto. Doug is a well-liked senior with an equally popular girlfriend. Peter is a shy freshman, and new to the big city. Peter and Doug become best friends and soon start going to concerts, drinking, and playing in the snow together. When Doug brings Peter to a steam bath and washes his back, the friendship seems headed to a whole new level, at least in Doug's mind. But when Peter emerges from a party after having sex with a co-ed, things get even more complicated... (link in title)

[actorsinunderwear]

Henry Tarvainen in Winter Kept Us Warm (1965)

[gayfilmgeek]

Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) dir. David Secter

[pokemoncaretips]

On the extinction of Hisiuan forms: An essay by Professor Ridgemond Alder, 1965

[Note from the OP: this essay was written long before the recent space time distortions began reintroducing the Hisiuan forms. I found it in an old magazine and thought you'd find it interesting.]

Pokemon! They live with us, work with us, battle with us. Our lives are defined by these strange and often mysterious creatures. But especially in Sinnoh, this was not always the case. Once they were creatures we regarded with fear and uncertainty, monsters in the dark. Until the invention of the pokeball, when capturing and interacting with them became much simpler, many people in the past lived in dread of them.

This may in part also have been due to the climate in that time, which was far harsher. The summers were short and the winters long and deeply bitter. Food was often hard to come by, and there was much competition.

This harsh climate influenced the development of strange new forms of pokemon that no longer exist today. The development and later extinction of these forms is a fascinating subject.

For most, the reason for their disappearance was quite simple. A slow steady process of gradual climate change rendered them needless. Around the publication of the first pokedex, temperature records were already indicating a slight but steady increase in local temperatures.

The noble and beautiful wyrdeer was among these climate casualties. Its dense coat of fur kept it warm in the thick snow, but it struggled in warm temperatures. As the snowline retreated, it became a better use of resources for stantler to remain unevolved.

Ursaluna went the same way. Warmer temperatures slowly dried up some of the swamps it lived in, making it harder to seek out the peat that fuelled its evolution. The encroaching forests, however, were perfect ursaring territory, and this later evolution stage was left behind.

Liligant was adapted to glide on iced over lakes. As temperatures warmed and sunlight became more available, these locations became less available. Though it might have gone extinct due to habitat loss, the liligant was thrown an unexpected lifeline. As humans became more trusting, a few petilils were taken to Unova by traders. In the warmer location, it evolved in a new, unexpected way, and was able to find a niche for itself.

Melting snow means more water, and the iron rich water of ancient Hisui became more diluted, leading to the softer goodra variant of modern times. In Sinnoh, this led to it becoming more vulnerable, and as such it is not found here today.

The ancient growlithe carried a stone typing as well, caused by the then-frequent volcanic activity at the time, as well as a thick, dense coat to guard against cold snaps. As this died off, the growlithe adapted to the change, a process aided by domestication as the Sinnoh people, warming up to pokemon, realized growlithe were a particularly devoted partner.

With the retreating snowline, many ice types found their homes smaller. The placid and docile Hisiuan avalugg in particular struggled with the lack of space, and slowly faded away. Some may have migrated to other places, as avalugg in Kalos and Paldea occasionally are seen with slight Hisuian features.

With the warming of the waters, many water types found lives easier. Basculegion was said to take on the spirits of the basculin that failed their harsh journey upstream. As this became a simpler task, the basculegion became rarer and rarer, fading from the records as its species thrived. However, changing river routes meant the basculin gradually adjusted its habitat, and it is now very rarely found in Sinnoh.

Warmer waters meant more food, and the local quilfish needed to rely on its poison less, slowly become, if not less aggressive, than at least less actively dangerous. The overquil, however, faded into ancient legend.

Voltorb is a strange case. The pokemon had always been a mimic, hiding amongst apricorn fruits, but as pokeballs modernised, over time the voltorb changed with it. This is the only Hisuian form that can sometimes rarely be found today in deep forests, still lurking in the branches of ancient apricorn trees.

The braviary is an interesting case. An all male pokemon, it relied on females of the same egg group to pass on its line. A small population is believed to have been blown over in a storm into the high mountain areas. Though it readily adapted to the harsh cold, its options were limited. It was already in decline when the pokedex was published, and is believed to have gone extinct in the wild soon after soon after.

Of all of these pokemon, perhaps the closest to a true extinction was the sad case of the Hisuian sneasel. Described as mischievous but shy, this little pokemon lived quiet lives on the high mountains. When people became more adapted to pokemon, there was of course, early trading, even if said trade relied on ships. However, we didn't know at the time the potential risks involved in bringing new pokemon to other environments. This was a lesson the Johtonian sneasel would teach us harshly. Aggressive and pushy, it simply outcompeted the native variant. Though some modern sneasels occasionally show markings indicating cross breeding took place, the Hisuian sneasel only exists in a few taxidermized specimens. Though now we understand and try to be much more careful with our trading, we paid a high price for it.

A strange extinction was the matter of the kleavor. A sub-evolution of the scyther, it required a particular mineral called black augerite. As development expanded, people realized that kleavor made excellent lumberjacks, and demand for this mineral spiked. However, it was never common, and gradually ran out. The only black augerite remaining is a shard weighing 18 grams. A scyther needed at least a pound of it to evolve. The kleavor line became functionally extinct despite the many specimens roaming logging camps, a pokemon line in hospice care, beloved by the logging workers it lived with and yet inexorably doomed. The last one, a male by the name of chippy, passed away in 1905 in his sleep, having lived nearly ten years past his species average lifetime.

A number of old starter pokemon also found their way there, though these are now no longer found in the wild.

The samurott was changed by the harsh environments, becoming colder and more ruthless. As temperatures warmed and water types became more common, it was out-competed. And as people began to look for native water types to use as a starter, it fell out of fashion as piplup became the main water type for young children.

The decidueye is a slightly more mysterious case. It's hypothesised that it shifted from ghost to fighting as its secondary typing due to the different foliage. Though it could fade into the dense greenery of Alola, the autumn leaves made the Alolan form stand out. It became a better strategy to shift to an autumnal palette and be more willing to stand your ground against the myriad aggressors. The decidueye never really thrived in Sinnoh. At heart it was always a more tropical pokemon, and though there were reports of the odd ancient decidueye roaming the Sinnoh woods like ancient ronin, these reports gradually faded, the last confirmed one in 1942 of a rather elderly one seen on a nature hike.

Typhlosion was a stark contrast to other pokemon of the time, being known and trusted by humans even in those backwards times. It was common to find them in temples and graveyards. Ancient writings describe it as "A beaste moste melancholic in nature, walking the steppes of the ancient rites with moste infinite grace and care." The Hisiuan typhlosion was somewhat coddled compared to most, adapted to a life in warm temples. As the ancient Celestica people faded from history, it struggled on for some time in the care of local tribes, but ultimately its elderly became too many and its hatchlings too few to sustain the population. The Johto typlosion, meanwhile, being often kept for battling, remained close to the original wild form, and thrived.

Of all the pokemon of ancient Sinnoh, none was more notorious than the ancient zoroark. And here I may sound strange, but their extinction was a blessing. Zoroark were born of malice. Every time one starved in the cold, every time a zorua pup was caught in the garden and killed by panicked locals, every rock thrown and torch lit, a zoroark was born. They were a living indictment of our ancient sins. As time went on and we learned and grew, the population of zoroarks began to dwindle, hate and malice fading slowly as the world turned on. Such bitterness was what was binding them to this earth. It is believed that within a century of the publication of the first pokedex, the Hisuian zoroark was extinct, free of the anger and grief that kept them walking the earth. Their extinction brought about the end of the dark ages, the end of a time when pokemon were monsters living on the fringes. As we walked forwards to the future, some things were left behind.

For worse and for better.

[kylekozmikdeluxo]

RIP Denny Laine. October 29, 1944-December 5, 2023.

Laine is best known for being part of Paul McCartney's post-Beatles group, Wings. He stuck with Paul and Linda McCartney through each album, while other members came and left over the span of roughly ten years. He was largely guitar in the equation, but did contribute drumming and bass. Sometimes he wrote, and/or sang lead on a song...

Such as 'I Would Only Smile'...

... and 'I Lie Around'...

Two songs meant for Wings' second album - and Paul's fourth over-all - RED ROSE SPEEDWAY, but dropped when the record was condensed from proposed double-LP to single-LP.

'I Lie Around' would be released as the B-side of Wings' 'Live and Let Die' single about a month or so after RRS was released, Paul must've liked it that much. 'I Would Only Smile' would show up - in a different mix, to my understanding - on a Denny solo LP called JAPANESE TEARS in 1980, it would officially be released - in its original 1972 form - as a McCartney track on the exemplary RED ROSE SPEEDWAY Super Deluxe re-issue in 2018.

I always dug his guitar-work and contributions to the band, and I felt he had such a pleasant voice that complimented Paul's so well... I mean, after all, he was once the lead singer of The Moody Blues. Their 1965 rendition of 'Go Now' remains a staple in the pop lexicon. I also dig his very pleasant 1967 solo single 'Say You Don't Mind'.

While the other Wings musicians would leave after one or two albums in, Denny was like a Beatle in a sense, in that he was absolutely essentially to the group as Paul and Linda were. I suppose if another one of the former members stuck around, they would do so as well. Denny wasn't merely backup.

I developed a special interest in Paul's immediate post-Beatles work when I was in my teens, in addition to my overall Beatles special interest. I loved all of the solo stuff, but something about Paul's really drew me in... And when I was around 15 years old, my life wasn't great. I was going through an incredibly miserable fall/winter, I was probably at my lowest, mentally...

But the music of Paul McCartney circa 1970-1979, the majority of it from Wings, as Paul only did two albums that decade before putting the band together (MCCARTNEY and RAM)... It was like a warm blanket that helped get me through it all, it helped inspire my own work, it gave me comfort when things seemed bad... And I dissected the histories of these albums, and always found Denny's work to be so fascinating within the larger frame of it all. The unreleased version of RED ROSE SPEEDWAY was probably my biggest obsession circa February 2008, I scoured everywhere to put together a mix that resembled one of the rejected 2-LP acetates, of which 'I Would Only Smile' and 'I Lie Around' were usually a part of. These were the sorts of fun things us autistics did in our free time, in an age where facebook and twitter and other forms of social media were either not a thing, or weren't the distracting monoliths that they are today.

And like a lot of my special interests, I kept it all with me. To this day, I still love the music of Wings.

Denny had done lead vocals for plenty of other really cool songs thereafter:

...

[obi-troll-kenobi]

Films from the pride set: Different from the others (1919). Morocco (1930) Queen Christina (1935) Glen or glenda (1953) Some like it hot (1959) Ben hur (1959) Madchen in uniform (1958) The children's hour (1963) Winter kept us warm (1965) Manji (1964)

Thank you! :)

(it’s about this post)

[fuddlyduddly]

lines of dialogue that are only funny if you live in the Greater Toronto Area

[queerasfact]

I have a suggestion for a Queer as Fiction episode if you're still adding to the list? Winter Kept Us Warm, a 1965 Canadian movie (kinda a pioneer of Canadian movies), readily available on youtube!

Thanks for the suggestion! I've put it on our list.

-Alice

[lokis-army-77]

If You Please

Chapter twelve

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 2588

This is technically a reader insert but without the (y/n) and all that. She also has no name mentioned so feel free to imagine as you please.

Follow the reader through the events of the Captain America movies and experience her love for Bucky Barnes.

Warnings: none

Note: Normally I am the type of person to be date accurate when writing things and if you are too, I'm sorry. I messed up on the dates, so the battle of New York happens like a month after it should. This is also a short chapter because it's a filler and I'm trying to just get to the Winter Soldier but have everything make sense.

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A few days later I had received a small archivist job in the WWII department of the Smithsonian. Thankfully the made-up resume and a few fake SHIELD recommendations came in handy. I would officially start the following week after a few background checks were cleared. In my free time until then, I unpacked all the boxes in my apartment. It started to feel more homely and warm when all of my things filled up the space. When I didn’t feel like unpacking anything, I started taking long walks to the VFW building. I hadn’t joined in on any of the meetings yet, I just stood by the doorway and watched, listening to the stories people told.

One day that week as I stood back in the hallway after the meeting had ended, a man came up to me. He was a little taller than I was and had the brightest smile I had ever seen. I had watched him in the meetings before, he was usually the one hosting them, giving advice to all who needed it.

“I’ve seen you standing out here for the past three days, why don’t you come have a seat next time? It would be more comfortable than standing out here for an hour.” He said as he leaned his back against the wall right next to me.

“I have thought about it, but I tend to get here after you have started. I don’t want to interrupt anything by just barging in.” I said over my shoulder at him.

“You won't interrupt anything, just come on in next time, we’d be happy to have a new face around,” He pushed himself off the wall and walked down the hall.

After that, I ended up joining the meetings and even spoke a few times. I learned that the man who came up to me that day was Sam Wilson, pararescue, who had served two tours in Afghanistan. From the first day he came up and talked to me to now, we quickly became friends.

The days had turned into weeks and I was finally able to live relatively by my own means. The Smithsonian was great, in the archives, no one was really around and I could spend a whole day without any interruptions, which allowed me to just concentrate on what I was doing. After closing, I normally walked to meet Sam, who was usually way too excited to see me, even though we saw each other almost every day without fail.

“You’re late today.” I jumped, startled out of my thoughts at the sound of someone talking to me. I looked up, spying Sam standing next to one of the small trees outside the VFW building.

“What do you mean late?”

“I mean you usually get here at three-thirty. It's four right now.” He said looking down at his watch.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t realize. I've just been lost in my thoughts lately.” I sighed.

“I know we’ve only been friends for what? A month? But I already know when something is bothering you, What is it?”

“Nothing really, just my brother. Since moving here he's called at least twice a week to check up but it’s been radio silence for the past two weeks, he doesn't even answer when I try calling him. I'm just a little worried that something bad is going on, considering his job.”

“Well, maybe he’s just really busy at the moment, or he's somewhere he can't call you. You know how it is being out on those military missions.”

“I know, it’s just the last time we were apart on a mission,” I trailed off and looked up at Sam, he raised his eyebrows, quietly waiting for the end of the sentence. “Someone close to us passed. It’s still fresh in my mind like it happened yesterday. I was there that day and I was too far away to even know what had happened, now my brother and I aren’t even in the same vicinity as each other, there is no telling what could happen and it makes me nervous.”

He gave me a small apologetic smile and patted my shoulder before leading me from the tree where we stood to where his car was parked. “What do you say we hang out at mine and just watch some tv? Get your mind off things? Or we can talk about it, either way, it’s better than dealing with it alone.” I nodded my head and grabbed onto the car door handle as he unlocked it.

Walking through the front door after him I took a quick look around. It was cozy, way more decorated than I thought it would be for a man in his early thirties living alone.

“Make yourself at home. Do you want anything to drink?” He asked neck-deep in the fridge.

“Okay, I’ll just have some water,” I called out as I made my way further into the living room. The couch was backed up to the wall a few feet away from the dining room table. I sat down on it and scooted as close as I could to its right arm. A few moments later Sam came over with two glasses of water and a bag of chips. He handed me my drink before crashing down into his own seat. “Thank you,” I said before taking a long sip.

He nodded as he said “No problem.” Before he got himself really comfortable he searched around for the TV remote. As he pressed the ‘on’ button the TV came to life. “What in the world is that?” He sounded concerned so I quickly looked at the screen.

“Breaking: Attack on New York City. This afternoon at 2:15 several unidentified aircraft descended onto Earth's surface. Strange beings, some are calling aliens, Accompanied these ships and are causing havoc in Manhattan. Eyewitnesses have stated that they have seen Iron Man, and what seemed to be Captain America, leading a team of three others fighting back against the invaders. The battle seems to be over but updates are still coming in, let's take a look at some footage of the downtown destruction.” My eyes went wide and my heart stopped as I listened to what the reporter was saying. I kept my eyes glued to the screen as it changed to show a destroyed street. As the camera panned around I spotted Steve fighting against two of the creatures, before the clip quickly changed to show one of the large ships crashing into the New York skyline.

“Oh God Steve, what did you get into?” I murmured to myself.

“You say that like you know him personally.”

“Uhh.” I just gave him a wide-eyed look of surprise. “I do, he’s my brother.”

“Now really isn’t the time to be joking about things,” He gave me a pointed look.

“I swear I’m not joking, he really is my brother. I can explain later, I need to try and get a hold of him.” I pulled out the small flip phone from my pocket and dialed the number for Steve's cell phone, it rang and rang but no answer. I hung up quickly and dialed the number Fury gave me at the beginning of the month. After two rings he answered.

“I assume you are looking for Captain Rogers.”

“Where is he? Is he okay?” I tried to keep the worried tone from coming through in my voice.

“He’s fine. He is in the middle of a debriefing. I’ll tell him you called.”

“Okay, thank you.” As soon as the words left my mouth he gave a quick hum and then hung up. I looked over at Sam whose eyes hadn't left me at all. “Everything is fine, he's in a debrief so that means that whatever happened in New York is definitely over.”

“That’s good to hear, hopefully, those things don’t try to come back again.” He shook like a shiver ran down his spine. “Now please explain how Captain America, a man from the 1940s, is your brother.”

“I can hear the skepticism in your voice.”

He held his hands up in defense, “Hey, I'm not the one saying I'm the sister to a 90 something-year-old man.”

“Look, it’s a long story that I would rather not get into now but the short version is that I was born in 1921, Steve is my older brother, we both ended up taking the super-soldier serum and fought against HYDRA in the second world war. We ended up crashing a plane into some Ice in the Atlantic ocean and were found and unfrozen last October.” “If you are really Captain America’s sister, then why are you never mentioned in anything?” I looked at him and shook my head.

“Well for starters it was the forties and I was a woman fighting on the front lines. Credit is never given where it is due. But there is also the fact that I was a part of the SSR, which was very secretive, after I died.” I put my fingers up in air quotes, “They should have erased most, if not all the files on me, per protocol. The only reason Steve is well known is because of his time going cross country selling war bonds.” I paused for a second before quickly adding, “I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll find me in the history books somewhere.”

Sam just sat there not really saying anything. This was the first time I think he had ever been quiet for more than five seconds. I let out a deep sigh and stood, grabbing my bag from the floor. “Thanks for having me over, but I think I need to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He stood and walked me to the door.

“Don’t be late. I’ll see you.” Sam waved me off and I headed down the street.

About half a year later while sorting through some archive files, I came across Peggy Carter. I felt a pang in my heart as I stared at the photo of her standing next to Howard Stark. Other than Steve and Bucky, those two were my closest friends. I fell down a rabbit hole after that, finding any information on the two that I could find. They had both helped found SHIELD in 1965, they had both gotten married and had children of their own. Peggy's children had stayed out of the public eye, but in true Stark fashion, Howard’s son evidently took over the family business and was living the high life. I pulled out a newspaper from the stack I had on the table in front of me and was shocked at what I saw. The title read ‘Howard and Maria Stark Die in Car Accident’, I knew Howard most likely wasn’t alive anymore but seeing the photographs of the wrecked car in the newspaper cast a somber mood through the room.

I laid the paper down on the table and ruffled through more of the papers before determining that we had no information on if Peggy was alive or not. That sent me into a frenzy of looking through phone books to try and find her and calling every retirement home in DC that I could. The only lead I had to go off of was a small interview from a newspaper, talking to Peggy about the seventieth anniversary of V-E Day, stated that she was living in Washington, DC.

After eight failed calls, finally, on the ninth, I had finally found a home which had a Peggy Carter as a residence in room 204. I rushed to pack up my things and left my office early. I ran down the back hallways as fast as I could without drawing too much attention. When I made it out of the building I ran full speed to the road to hail a cab.

Amazingly the traffic was almost nonexistent and I made it to the retirement home in only ten minutes. I fumbled out of the cab and I raced through the front doors of the building. I must have startled the women at the front desk because as soon as I rounded the corner to the staircase, they were yelling after me. I took the steps three at a time in my haste to get to the second floor. I stopped running when I was outside of room 204. I couldn’t see anything clearly through the frosted window so I knocked hesitantly and slowly opened the door and stepped in.

There in the middle of the room, against the wall was a single bed. A woman laid there quietly with her eyes closed. The closer I came to her the more familiar she looked. I let out a relieved gush of breath. There she was, older now, but still the Peggy I once knew. I nervously grabbed one of the chairs in the corner of the room and brought it over to her bedside so I could sit. Gently I gave her a small tap on the hand before just holding it in mine. She stirred but her eyes never opened.

All of a sudden one of the nurses from downstairs came into the room, with an angry and shocked expression.

“Ma’am, You can't be in here. If you want to see a patient, you have to sign in.” I ignored her, my eyes trained on Peggy's face. The commotion of the woman barging into the room had made her open her eyes and look around. I just watched as she scanned the room, first to the door on the left, to the wall in front of her, past me sitting on her right, then to the window behind me.” Her brows raised and she lifted her hands to her eyes to rub. The shock on her face was evident as she turned her head to stare directly at me.

“Hey Carter, long time no see huh?” I gave her the biggest smile that I could.

“Is it really you?” She reached her hand out to mine and grabbed hold.

“It is, it’s really me.”

“Ma’am, I mean it, you can't be here.” The nurse tried again, this time Peggy shot her a glare.

“Ms. I’ll have you know this is one of my best friends and she can be in here if she wants to. Now leave us alone.” The young nurse nodded her head and rushed out, even in old age she could still put on that commanding tone that struck fear in every man. She slowly turned back to me, almost like if she looked back for me, I would be gone. “How? How are you here?”

“It’s a long story Peg, are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Look where I am, I have nothing but time.” She laughed out and I let out my own small laugh as I shook my head.

In addition to what I had been doing, like hanging out with Sam, after that first visit, I made it a priority to see Peggy once or twice every two weeks, depending on how she was doing. Dementia had put a lot of stress on her, and seeing me after almost seventy-five years and looking relatively the same as I had when frozen took out a giant toll on her.

And that's how the next 10 months went until Steve eventually moved into an apartment directly under me.

Tag List: @ginger-swag-rapunzel @underc0vercryptid-reads @geek-and-proud @intothesoul @leyannrae @starkleila

[misschris1412]

Chap 2

January 1965 The winter was harsh, as every year, the houses filled with snow became almost difficult to access, but many tourists defied mother nature in spite of everything, for the sole purpose of discovering this place so famous. The brewery was subdued with various light leaving a soothing sensation, the decorations being mainly typical Japanese objects: artificial cherry blossoms, tatamis on both sides of the tables. The smell of the food in preparation went back to the nostrils of the customers present, the most famous brewery in the village. Sitting in a corner of the room, Raven drank a good glass of sake with her dinner. She was simply dressed: a down jacket, sweater and jeans. It had preferred to keep its "human form since, in some small villages of Japan, mutants were considered as creatures of Satan... And its blue shape probably wouldn’t have helped them think differently. Raven had heard many rumors about mutants in this country, it was very hard for her to think that such things could still happen. As a mutant herself, she could not believe that it was possible to treat living beings in this way. Most mutants born around here often become slaves, so many of them hide.. Except those who had been discovered during their childhood, unfortunately those are treated like cattle. This is what the young Darkhölme had heard while having an attentive ear around. The young woman glanced at the direction of a couple, they spoke at some tables of her mutants who had managed to escape, that was what her informant had told her. There were families who had kept slaves in cellars. One of the families mentioned was the Zheng family. Some of them had managed to escape, others had unfortunately been killed. The last mutants had been sold to other wealthy families in Japan... which is why Raven decided to see the situation for herself.

She hadn’t seen them yet, maybe they were hidden when there are travelers around. She would love so much to help her mutants. Erik would certainly do something, she had to tell him. Being in his company had freed him, she had become aware that his gift was extraordinary and not a curse. Raven finished eating a good regional dish before paying at the counter and leaving the establishment. The night began to fall and the cold was present. There is about 15 centimetres of snow at the moment, and it was very little that the villagers used to do. Raven put on her hat and started walking, looking at the address she had received by mail. The shapeshifter dragged her heavy legs in the snow, reaching her knees, was cold and rubbed her hands against each other, trying to warm them up. Raven had to find a last-minute place to live, she was delighted to have found the house of this old lady who had agreed to rent her a room. For the old woman, it was an opportunity to pay her bills at the end of the month. Moreover, no hotel accepted guests, during the winter holidays it was full of tourists. Luckily, a few steps away was her accommodation. Rather, during the day, she had left her suitcases and had done some sightseeing in the city. Very few people wanted to speak the young Darkhölme, changing the subject or simply avoiding it. She’d find those mutants.

It was “we don’t talk about people!” or “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Raven had even tried saying she could buy mutants, but nothing to do. Upon entering her room Raven noticed a paper on her bed, she frowned and grabbed the leaf. “Looking for mutants, head to the forest next to the carpenter.” Finally a clue! Said the young shapeshifter. She decided to come out and head for the indicated spot. The house of the Zheng family, whose wooden sign was inscribed, is surrounded by people, probably guards, so impossible to question them. As she made her way to the forest, she was still on the lookout, not sure if it was the people who needed help. It could also be people with bad attentions. The blonde stopped in front of the artisan’s shop and looked around. No one, maybe she had to go more into the forest, suddenly she felt a hand resting on her back. She jumped and placed her fists in front of her, ready to attack if necessary, but did not notice anyone. She was disconcerted, but later, she noticed traces of hanging out in the snow that appeared before her. Oh well, an invisible mutant. He says to himself, Raven. So it’s not people with bad intentions, it’s a mutant message. She glanced around and decided to follow this person, taking care not to be followed. The walk did not last very long, it went a little deeper into the forest and then noticed a cave. A young Asian woman beckoned to him, and Raven approached and entered the cave. There are five people.

"You speak my language?" asked Raven. "I am. Yes." said the young man, putting his arms down and bowing. "My name is Chang." "Good morning, I am Raven. She bowed in turn." "Delighted, we were not sure we had any outside help. He added with a long sigh." "There are not many of you..." "Unfortunately, part of our group was recaptured and sold. Some managed to flee the area. He turned to his group." I present to you, Inari, Koko, the little one is his daughter, Asuka. He showed a blanket with a child. The twins Hinata and Shoto. "How many were you in the beginning?" "About twenty. He looked down, sighing. Can you help us?" "I hope so." Inari then looked at her friend and spoke to her in her mother tongue. Raven had some Japanese skills, but it wasn’t exceptional either. She squinted her eyes, trying to understand, but the young woman spoke much too fast. "What is it?" "She would like to know whether you came with help or alone." "I have contacts, but I am alone." Inari then tried to pronounce a few things in English, searching for his words for a moment. She approached the blonde, looking at her, her brown eyes were now of a bright green. Raven did not move, intrigued by his behavior.

The young Asian had a second gift, something deeper, like a secondary instinct. Was it because she had a gift that looked like an animal. Animals were more easily aware of things, like dogs who could feel an unhappy before it happened. "I believe... in you." "Inari, are you sure?" asked Chang. The young woman turned to her friend shaking her head, something in Raven seemed sincere enough to trust him. Raven asked the question, is she telepathic like Charles? One moment she thought about her friend, how was he? The last time she saw him was on this beach, in Cuba... He told her to join Erik, because deep down, that’s what she wanted, and Raven took the advice of her childhood friend... She shook her head trying not to think about this passage of her life, at present she had to prepare herself to save these people, mutants in need and not to be invaded by nostalgia. Inari continued to look at her for a moment and turned to her friend, speaking again in Japanese. "There is good in her. Something that wants good to us, she does not have that dark aura like these humans." "Are you sure?" "Yes, Chang, we can trust her. She is like us, she hides herself, but helps us." "Very well, then I trust him too." Chang turned to Raven with the hope that her friend was not mistaken, which was rarely the case. "What are you planning to do to help us?" "I must contact my friends, then we can help you. While we wait here wisely." "Very well." Raven was supposed to be able to reach Erik... she was hoping he’d contact her soon.

[drinksattheendoftheworld]

Favourite* 50 Movies Seen in 2020

2020 was a weird year for many reasons, but in reviewing the list of movie I watched for the first time, I’ve found that that weirdness extended to how I consumed entertainment. I feel like my demands of the movies I watched were different this year, and the result is a list that feels like an exceptionally odd mix of genres and eras, and I’m not mad at that (I also watched most of the Bond movies for the first time this year, so those comprise a big chunk of the list by default, and a few made it into the top 50. Timothy Dalton ftw). Also, an important caveat: Favourite ≠ Best

1. A Face in the Crowd (1957)

2. Taxi Driver (1976)

3. Cape Fear (1962)

4. Flashdance (1983)

5. Licence to Kill (1989)

6. Winter Kept Us Warm (1965)

7. Parasite (2019)

8. The Invisible Man (2020)

9. Lady of Burlesque (1943)

10. Cruising (1980)

11. Serial Mom (1994)

12. For Your Eyes Only (1981)

13. The Chocolate War (1988)

14. The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970)

15. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

16. Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973)

17. Falling (2020)

18. Daniel Isn’t Real (2019)

19. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

20. ‘Night Mother (1986)

21. Ed Wood (1994)

22. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)

23. The Exorcist III (1990)

24. Goldeneye (1995)

25. Happiest Season (2020)

26. The Living Daylights (1987)

27. Videodrome (1983)

28. Live and Let Die (1973)

29. Mommie Dearest (1981)

30. They Live (1988)

31. Random Acts of Violence (2019)

32. It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)

33. Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019)

34. St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)

35. On the Waterfront (1954)

36. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

37. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

38. Hustlers (2019)

39. Casino Royale (2006)

40. Oklahoma! (1955)

41. The Whales of August (1987)

42. Calendar Girls (2003)

43. Tourist Trap (1979)

44. Gypsy (1962)

45. Quantum of Solace (2008)

46. Three on a Match (1932)

47. Snowball Express (1972)

48. Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

49. Death Trap (1982)

50. They Came Together (2014)

[angstics]

i really like this comment under an upload of the 1965 movie “winter kept us warm”