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allophonicmess · 8 months ago

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Too Sweet

Logan Howlett x fem!Reader

Act 3

Warnings: spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine

This is a fluff chapter. Gotta give you guys some candy after all that angst

Word count 4.1 K

Life resumed as normal after that. Or as normal as it could be when you are suddenly placed in the new timeline. Logan kept getting confused by little details that were different to the life he had lived before. Professor X ? Sure he exists but he had hair. Cyclops? Oh yeah. He was just as annoying as he remembered. Who are the fucking Avengers and what sort of rich nerd was Tony Stark? And what about Jean?

“A hot red head with the telekinetic powers?” Wade hummed, pretending to be lost in thought. “Uh, no. UNLESS! Charles used to have a beautiful flowing mane that I don’t know about. He is turning grey, you know… but it suits him. Silver fox”

So Jean was out of the picture. That was good, right?

Logan groaned at Wade's bad joke. He shifted his focus outside, watching the landscape change from looming tall skyscrapers to even fields and trees that started changing colour with the season. It reminded him of home.

“Just to get this straight.” Logan shifted in his seat. The car that Wade had bought from the dealership had been heavily discounted and Logan now understood why. You would think it can’t get worse than the Odyssey? Oh boy, were you wrong. It was too small for 4 people, let alone 2 mutant men. He already felt sorry for whoever might have to sit in the back for whatever reason.

“Y/N has powers?” Logan asked, trying to play it cool. The whole drive had been a big Q&A.

“Yup,” Wade said with a pop. One hand on the steering wheel and the rest of him laid back in his seat.

“They call her Osmium, too?” Logan didn’t like this dependency on the wanna-be hero. But he had to make a good first impression.

“Osmimimum? Uh no. She is called Atom” Wade laughed “Don’t if she actually does stuff with atoms… It's more like…” Wade groaned as he tried to think of an example.

“She manipulates density.” Logan pointed out. They had trained together many times. But Y/n was never allowed to use her full potential with the X-men. They condemned violence and so she was often left out on mission and focused on keeping the school running.

“Ugh- I guess? She once told me in great, boring detail why ‘Atom’ is a bad superhero name for her but they kept it for the marketability. “ He shrugged “Oh! I remember that one time we stopped a child-mutant trafficking and she got mad, like REAL MAD, and then she turned this one guy into goop.” Wade nodded fondly, thinking back at that moment. “And I mean like Nickelodeon kids choice award goop, like slurpable slushy goo, like-“

“Okay, alright! I get it.” Logan groaned in annoyance. Shaking his head at Wade. He was thankful for the man’s support and friendship but god was he annoying. Constantly.

“I wish she would do that to me sometime. It’s on my ways-to-die bingo. But she keeps refusing!” Deadpool hit the wheel dramatically.

“You are disgusting,” Logan stated dryly. “The most disgusting person I ever met.”

“Don’t forget the most annoying!”

...

The decision to go back to teaching was not made out of fun or for the joy of doing it. Maybe partially, even though Logan would not openly confess so. It was made out of necessity. Living with Wade and Al became tiresome after the first few weeks. It was always the same antiques, the lack of schedule as well as a constant state of chaos that made him crave the ordered life at the school once again. He hoped that it would give him a sense of belonging. The X-men might be different here, with a few quips and details that didn’t match with his reality. But living at the school would tie him to a strict schedule and by god, he needed some structure in his life.

But all in all, it meant home.

“Okay, peanut. Today is a big day. But I know you’ll do great and meet a lot of new friends.” Wade joked in a motherly tone as they arrived at the Mansion. “And no hair pulling or biting unless they ask for it, okay?”

“I can’t wait to be rid of you” Logan groaned as the car came to a halt. He exited the car with a low groan, stretching to lose stiffed muscles. Not having to constantly ride in Wade's joke of a car was another reason that he preferred living at Xavier’s Institution. Speaking off:

“There you are. Welcome, welcome.” Xavier rolled into the mansions yard.

“A pleasure to have you, Logan. I must say, I was very pleasantly surprised when I received your response to my inquiry.” He moved towards Logan, offering his hand for a handshake.

Logan inspected the man. He was older, in his 40s maybe. But younger than the Charles Xavier he had worked with. He sported shaggy longer hair that was starting to thin out. Soon he would need to get it trimmed to keep his professional exterior. Along with a beard that was rather spotty and seemed too reminisce of his look in the 70s. Xavier looked like a mix of the two versions that Logan got to meet during his time at the school and it made him wonder how time worked here. Events seemed to play out in different order, they didn’t happen at all or much later than seemed correct.

He shook Xavier’s hand, thanking him for the offer. “Of course. I was surprised when you contacted me.” Logan confessed. His gaze shifted towards the grand building in front of him. It was the same old English style build that he knew, with a few modern elements added here and there.

“Is it familiar to you? The school? I assume you have experienced quite a few dejá-vus since arriving here.” Charles observed Logan.

“I do. Some things are the same. Others don’t match what I know or didn’t happen at all.” He confessed. Already feeling the brother connection build, similar to the one he had with the other Charles.

“You will find your answers. I am sure of it.” Charles turned around motioning Logan to follow him inside. “I think it is best if we continue this conversation in my office.” He looked over his shoulder at Wade, who had waited in the car, listening in on the conversation.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll be on my way. You call me if you need to get picked up, Pookie!” He waved at Logan in a motherly way.

“You aren’t coming?” He asked, somewhat confused. But then he saw Charle’s face, the intense stare he gave Wade.

“Uhhh, no I technically have a house ban for no apparent reason-“

“You burned down the west wing” Charles answered dryly.

Wade clicked his tongue, “Right, okay. Yeah… But! It’s very modern now.” He chuckled weakly. “You’ll still call me up for a mission, right?” He tried to persuade the professor.

“If the mission takes place outside of my building then yes.” Charles agreed, focusing back on Logan. And leading him inside. Neither of them commented on the cheer that Wade gave as he drove off.

Being back at the school felt surprisingly good to Logan. It was like coming back from a long holiday. Most everything was the same: Students running in the hallways, playing games in the gardens and-

“Fancy seeing you here!”

Logan turned around quickly, looking for whoever addressed him. Some children were buzzing along the halls, none of them too interested in him. Then he spotted her by the stairs. Leaning onto the dark wooden rails of the gallery. The light from the window behind her illuminating her figure.

“Y/n”, he breathed.

“Hi! Charles told me that you wanted to start teaching again.” She made her way downstairs, focus shifting between not falling and keeping her gaze on him. She seemed pleasantly surprised to see him.

He turned more toward her, watching her get closer to ground level. With each step he felt his excitement grow “He contacted me, actually. Asked whether I wanted to work here…”

“Oh really? What a coincidence ”She grinned mischievously, stopping at the end of the stairs and leaning on one of the bannisters. She kept a little space between them. There might be some familiarity between them but she didn’t want to push him too far yet and give him the chance to get closer to her if he felt like it.

But Logan stayed in place: “Do you have anything to do with that?”

She smirked, and he felt some of his charm return to him . He might be rusty but some things were just engraved in him.

“Maybe” She shrugged, smiling softly with a playful sparkle in her eyes “But I’m assuming that you won’t be teaching history, right?” Y/n teased carefully. The multiverse situation was a thing she wanted to be careful about. Wade had told her a little bit about what had happened to Logan before he transferred but she didn’t know any details.

“No, I teach PE and defence classes. You do science, right?” He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, hoping to lose the tension in his body. He threw the tidbit of knowledge into the conversation, hoping that he was right and that the two versions of her had that much in common.

“Chemistry and Literature, yeah.” She smiled. She then looked at her watch before pointing towards another corridor with a sigh “I’d love to talk more, but I need to get to class. Maybe we could meet sometime.” She secured the book in her arms.

“Yes.” He answered with a stiff nod, his hands were getting sweaty.

They stood In awkward silence.

“Maybe over a coffee?” She asked, looking up at him, her lip curled upwards. Her look became more expecting as he watched her in silence.

He would catch the bait she just threw, right? Scott had laughed when she asked him about what Logan had been like; What this version might be like.

‘He’s an asshole’ He said ‘a cocky asshole and who thinks he can charm any girl he likes’ she blushed at that comment ‘But he is into the dark, mysterious type if that is what you are after’

“Maybe”, Logan gave cold and curtly.

He regretted his demeanor when he saw her smile slip for just a moment.

Fuck.

Her face slipped for a moment “Oh.. okay.” She huffed softly. “See you around then.” Y/n nodded quickly before running off.

...

A routine established itself after the first weeks back at the school. The work there itself was the same. Teach the children standard curricula, training them in controlling their powers and some extracurricular activities.

He would spend some evenings with the other members of Team X ,as they called themselves here. Sometimes he would meet Y/n in the hallway but he didn’t work up the courage to stop and talk to her beyond a quick ‘hello’.

What is wrong with you? You used to sweep women off their feet. She is offering herself to you at any chance and you still can’t manage to ask her out?

He sighed as he changed back into his regular clothes. The class had just ended. It was Friday, still fairly warm for October and the trees looked beautiful in all shades of red, orange and yellow.

Would be perfect for a romantic walk… A charming, rugged man could ask a woman out for that.

“That guy died a long time ago…” He mumbled to himself. Picking up his bag and closing the locker.

He exited the gym, making his way to his room or rather apartment. Wade managed to burn down the teacher's quarters along with the kitchens and cafeteria in some wicked stunt. No one knew what happened and that was for the best, he guessed.

However, that incident resulted in a modernized reconstruction with more spacious rooms for the teachers and a communal cafeteria that students and members of Team X shared. Great for extroverts but Logan had to pass it every time he went to his rooms, much to his dismay. To make it worse, the communal space was separate from the hall via a glass wall, allowing for a perfect view of everyone who tried to sneak past. Which led to uncomfortable situations such as this.

“Logan!” Piotr called, waving his huge metallic arm to get the other man's attention. Logan's initial reaction was to ignore him as he had done many times with the members of his old team.

No, he wanted to do better. He needed to. It was that kind of behavior that made him spiral in the first place. So he took a deep breath and channeled all jolliness available to him after 6 hours of teaching and a generally low level of it to begin with. He slowly made his way towards the teacher's table.

“Come, eat with us.” Piotr offered him the seat next to him on the thick wooden bench. A seat opposite of… fuck- of fucking course he was in on Wade’s plan to play matchmaker.

“We can’t have you get scrawny, eh?” he joked.

“Not that that would be likely to occur” Y/n joked as Logan sat down. His look snapped towards her and her eyes widened in shock at what had just come out of her mouth.

A knowing, wicked grin spread across Colossus's face. That fucking asshole…

“What are we having?” Logan asked, ignoring the situation that had just occurred. He tried to keep his gaze on Piotr who was busy filling a plate with whatever was in the big metal pot on the side of the table. His eyes shifted to Y/n every so often.

“Pierogi. I am trying out new recipes for a cooking class with my students” He said proudly, placing the plate in front of Logan “Y/n said, they are very good. Right?” He asked her, putting the woman on the spot.

“Oh, uhm…yeah. I like the new… stuffing.” She said, the answer sounding more like a question, carefully looking at Logan when he tried it. She was thankful for Piotr’s brotherly demeanor and gentle nature. Yet sometimes he would tease her as any older brother liked to do. And they sure liked to do it in front of people that the younger sibling might fancy.

Logan nodded in agreement, complimenting the man for his cooking.

“You cook here regularly?” He asked with a mouthful.

“Of course! Cooking is a very important life skill. As well as baking. You should join one of Y/n’s baking classes, she is very talented.” Colossus complimented the woman, making her grin.

“I plan on holding a workshop on the weekend for older students and alumni. You should come.” She offered, a hopeful look in her eyes. Maybe she was too discrete the last time she tried to get Logan to ask her out. So this time she tried to be more direct with her offer.

“I don’t bake,” Logan answered in a backhanded comment as he continued to eat. He didn’t think too much about it. He had planned to ask her out after lunch. He was overly focused on what he would say to her once the others left to notice how he had sounded.

It only occurred to him when he saw how Y/n visibly deflated. “Oh, right” She hummed, swallowing another bite of her food, eyes looking anywhere but towards the man who had once again rejected her so swiftly.

Piotr, just sighed with disappointment, leaning back in his chair. His hard elbow bumped into Logan’s side.

You fucked it up. Again.

...

“Okay, stop. You mean to tell me that she tried to ask you out not once but TWICE and you rejected her?” Wade paced through the living room. Trying to make sense of what his friend had just told him. “You mean to tell me that you now spend 3 months at that school? Being in her proximity 24/7 and actively avoiding her?”

Logan sat on the familiar black couch that looked even more beaten up than the last time he was at the flat. With disgust, he realized that he didn’t even want to know what caused the new damage.

“I don’t avoid her”

“Oh no? And yet the few times she does catch you creeping in the halls you manage to scare her off.” Deadpool said down one of the rotatable bar chairs. Swirling dramatically.

“No wonder the girl’s not interested in a sad drunk fuck like you,” Al commented from the table where she sat, carefully packaging her newest acquisition of sellable goods.

“ No, Al that’s the thing! The girl wants him DESPITE being a sad drunk fuck!” Wade jumped from the chair to pace around some more. He had to come up with a plan to get the two to spend time together, and get to know each other better. Create some closeness to let the sparks fly and catch on.

“That’s even worse.” Al laughed, snoring.

“Thank you for the compliments… Reassuring.” Logan groaned, regretting to even have answered Wade when he asked him about how things were going with Y/n. Maybe he wasn’t ready to be with someone again. He liked her and wanted to get to know her but something was stopping him. The urge to protect her from danger and he still thought of himself as the greatest danger to her and his team.

“On the other hand, she is still interested after being rejected TWICE. So you still have a chance, Pookie.” Wade said, sitting down next to Logan, yet again way too close.

“I’m gonna help you, buddy, Don’t you worry.” He leaned in closer, his lips brushing Logan's ears “Act three needs some lovin’ and I make sure you get all the loving you need, baby” He whispered towards Logan. And with dread, and a bit of disgust, Logan accepted that he had no chance of stopping the man.

...

By the time the midterms rolled around, Logan had gotten familiar with the schedule and his profession once again. He slept better, tended to snap less at people and even his drinking tendencies seemed to get better. Being part of a community felt good and it made him angry at his younger self for rejecting the people who loved him out of some ill-placed ideology: that to keep them safe, he had to distance himself from them.

And yet you are doing it again.

He sighed as he trotted into the community kitchen. He broke his coffee maker in a fit of frustration last week and hadn’t found the time or energy to tell Charles to get a new one. He stayed out of the professor's way for the most part, not wanting to be roped into some conversation about ‘needing therapy’. So he sourced his caffeine intake from the machine that sat in the big, homely department kitchen. Another benefit was that there was always a fresh pot ready and waiting for him. Downside, there were almost always people in the kitchen, waiting for others to join in for conversation and breakfast.

This morning he should be safe from conversation. Most students and some staff went home for the fall semester break, leaving the school running on a minimal level to accommodate those who had no home to go to. There were no classes, meaning that the school apparatus calmed to a halt.

In practice that meant that almost everyone slept in with no pressure to get up early. And for Logan, that meant that he could enjoy his drink in peace before people tried to talk to him.

Lost in thought he strolled into the kitchen. It seemed empty, thank god. He sighed in relief, stretching languidly. The air exiting his lungs in a low groan.

Then a soft click sounded through the room.

A fridge being closed.

“Oh hey, you’re up early.” Y/n appeared behind the full-size fridge door that had previously shielded her from his view. She looked a little tired, not yet fully awake and a bit tousled from sleep.

Aww C’mon. Maybe Wade was right about the universe wanting them to come together. But primarily to annoy him and allow for Wade to give him the ‘I told you so’ speech.

“So are you.” He answered, leaving on the door frame and watching her pour some creamer into her cup. Upon closer inspection, she did look younger than her other iteration. Her features were softer looking with fewer wrinkles and scars. He needed to ask her about that at some point.

She leaned onto the counter to reach for another cup, taking it out of the overhead cabinet. Proceeding to pour some coffee in it. “How do you take your coffee?” She asked, turning towards him.

“I’ll take two sugars” He answered, moving towards her with slow even steps. The threat of Wade’s ‘help’ kept looming in the back of his mind, pushing him to be more open towards her and to come out of his shell. Who knows what that maniac had in mind?

Y/n hummed in agreement, dropping in two cubes of sugar and stirring the dark liquid before handing it to Logan.

He thanked her softly, holding the porcelain with his much larger hands. He had moved quite close to her, both leaning against the kitchen counter. The closeness and difference in height between them meant that Y/n had to look up to him, to make eye contact.

With a grin he noticed how she shifted her stand, one hand bunching up the material of her cardigan.

You still got it if you let it happen, man.

They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, enjoying their drinks and watching the sun paint pictures onto the kitchen surfaces, colored by the stained glass windows.

She was the one who broke the silence. “Are you ready for the training session today?” She asked, turning towards him, shifting her position so that her hip was pressed against the counter.

“Training?” He asked confused, setting down his cup to cross his arms over his chest, the muscles shifting visibly under his skin.

That’s right! Show her what you got!

“Yes, staff training? We got the call from Washington about a mutant security threat. Charles wants us to be ready just in case. Do you read your emails?” She teased, watching him over the rim of her mug.

“I don’t know how that stuff works if I’m honest with ya.” He shrugged “Do you go on missions regularly? On Government orders?” He remembered that Xavier had mentioned something along the lines of that. Some complicated struggles between heroes about government regulation and so on.

“Yes, after the blip it was decided that an X-team force should be established to take care of mutant-related threats or endangerments.” She explained.

He had heard of that, too. “Right. What was that blip again?”

The energy in the room shifted suddenly.

Y/n huffed, almost spilling a bit of her drink. “Ha, that’s a bit of a heavy topic for morning coffee talks.” She looked around uncomfortably. Logan seems to have hit upon a heavy subject.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” He apologized quickly. Beating himself up for screwing it up once again.

“No, no it’s fine.” She shook her head, setting down her drink to cross her arms as he did. Only that she seemed to do it defensively. “Half of all life stopped existing for five years and… that left a few scars.” She explained somberly, softly nodding to herself.

Logan blinked, his mind moving at high speed to get the conversation on a good topic again. Anything to turn it around and to prevent her from having a bitter aftertaste to their first proper talk.

Yet it was her, once again, that stepped up. She noticed how he got nervous, eyes wandering, shoulders sagging.

“I’ll explain it to you later. When we are not so pressed on time.” She reached out slowly, placing her hand on his arm, squeezing it in reassurance. Y/n smiled at him softly, moving around him to exit the kitchen and prepare for the day ahead.

Without thinking Logan placed a hand over hers, just in time before she pulled hers away. It had her stop in her tracks. Her eyes moved to where his rough callused palm warmed the back of her hand, up to his eyes. He was watching her with intention.

She was nervous. This was either going to be an invitation to finally get to know him or he had enough of her and told her to stop fancying him.

“You can explain it to me on a walk to the lake? Tonight?” He asked, one eyebrow raising in question. His hand squeezed hers gently.

A second of silence followed.

She exhaled, the stress leaving her body but she had to keep her composure. A grin spread across her face “Sounds like a plan.” She held eye contact for a few beats, then let her hand slip out of his hold as she left.

That’s how you do it, Tiger!

Her lips pressed together to keep from smiling too hard as she exited the hallway.

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I hope I got everyone on the taglist. Write to me if I missed you.

New requets for being added to the list via comments on the Masterlist post, please. That helps me to keep things organized :)

But please leave a comment on this post to provide me with serotonin 😍

#logan howlett #logan howlett x reader #logan x reader #deadpool wolverine #deadpool and wolverine #deadpool #x men #fanfiction #x reader #reader insert #angst #fluff #deadpool & wolverine

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phoenixyfriend · 1 month ago

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Updated Affiliate Shopfront on Bookshop.org - includes March sales (as of 3/8/25)

Heya folks! If you weren't aware, I do have an affiliate storefront on Bookshop.org. If you purchase a book on the site, a small portion of the profit (about 10%) goes to me, at no extra cost to you. You can also adjust your 'source' bookshop to be an actual local bookstore to your area, and they'll get that commission money (more of it, 30%) instead of me. Actual bookstores are definitely presenting a wider variety than I am, also.

I have updated my own storefront to include the current sales. Here are some of the lists I've got, if you're interested in purchasing anything and giving me that wee kickback.

The two preorder book sales I'm sure tumblr is most interested in right now are these:

Baking Across America: A Vintage Recipe Road Trip by B. Dylan Hollis (Author)

Everything Is Tuberculosis (Signed Edition): The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green (Author)

Here's some lists! Curated by the site:

Sales by the Site - March 2025

Regularly Discounted: Manga

Curated by me:

Trade Paperbacks (if you don't know that term, they are collected issues of comic books, e.g. issues 1-5 of Young Avengers (2012) is one TP)

Nonfiction - Fashion

Nonfiction - City History and Planning

Nonfiction - Other

#I want to move out of my parent's house. that is why I'm doing this #bookshop org #bookshop.org #this is a VERY small stream of revenue (I've made about $21 over the course of two years)#but I think making these 'sales by the site' lists might help with that #phoenix talks #b dylan hollis #john green #tuberculosis

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callalillywrites · 28 days ago

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Happy Birthday, Bucky

It took a bit to get through my writer's block, but here's the next square I promised for Bucky's Birthday Bingo (hosted by @avengers-assemble-bingo). We're finally getting Childhood Best Friends to Lovers with a side of Firefighter!Bucky Barnes from my Station #107 AU.

A little over a week late for Bucky's actual birthday, but better late than never, right?

Bucky Barnes Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Pairing: Firefighter!Bucky Barnes x Childhood Best Friend!Reader

Other characters: Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and Tony Stark

Summary: Only one person seems to have remembered it's Bucky's birthday, and that's you. Bucky would give anything to have you there with him. Lucky for him, his wish might just come true in more ways than one.

Word Count: ~2000

Warnings: some slight brooding on Bucky's part; lots of pining (Bucky); some thoughts of birthday being forgotten; Bucky POV; some teasing; lots of fluff

A/N: Well, here's the debut for Firefighter!Bucky within my Station #107 AU. While I wrote this in Bucky's POV, I'd love to revisit this one day and give us a glimpse of Reader's POV. If there's enough interest, that is.

I do not give permission to have my works copied, translated, reposted, or fed into an AI machine.

****

The tiny smile refused to leave Bucky's face as he read your message again.

It might've been a simple wish for him to have a happy birthday, but he couldn't help how his heart raced at the fact you remembered. Not that he was truly surprised you did remember. You've never forgotten in all the years you'd known each other, but this year, it seemed like everyone else had forgotten.

Even Steve.

To be fair, Steve had run off earlier that morning to take care of some unexpected errands, already planning to make up his hours with the other shift.

But still, his best friend (well, other best friend because he had you, too) could've said something before he'd left.

Maybe that's the reason why your message meant so much to him.

He couldn't for the life of him understand why all his friends and co-workers seemed hell-bent on not remembering. Sure, it was just another day on the job, but that didn't mean he didn't want to be remembered in some way. Hell, they even had a calendar with everyone's birthdays written on it.

Though, he had to admit he couldn't explain why his name had been erased from the day. He could've sworn he'd written it down. And in ink, to boot. Yet, here he was without anyone acknowledging the day, and their shift would be ending soon.

Before he could stop himself, he typed, When are we seeing you again? Miss ya.

Soon, you typed back almost immediately.

Not exactly satisfied with your answer, Bucky also recognized you had a busy schedule. Not only were you working towards your master's in actuarial science, but you also had a full-time job. This didn't include your other friends and whatever social life you managed to find in the spare minutes of your day. For reasons he refused to analyze, he shut that train of thought down immediately. It wasn't his business if you dated others though his heart had other ideas on that matter.

"Hey, Buck, we gotta go. Another call to the Tower," Nat called out, her steps rushing towards their gear station. "Supposed to be a big one this time."

"Not again," he mumbled under his breath.

The calls to Stark Tower weren't uncommon for their station. In fact, it's one of the reasons why a lot of the firefighters who worked at Station #107 lived in Stark Tower at a steep discount. It's the only way they could guarantee fast arrival to handle any of the many disasters that one billionaire genius could possibly pull off.

Thankfully, these routine calls to the Tower had become so ingrained. It didn't take them no time at all to get everyone geared and onboard their truck.

"Steve's meeting us there," Nat said, taking the seat next to Bucky. Clint had already claimed shotgun that morning after Steve ducked out, daring anyone to try and take it from him.

Sam grinned from behind the wheel. "Can't wait to see what that man has done this time."

"Only you would be excited about that, Samuel," Nat shot back before sending Bucky a wink. Her typical smirk disappeared after a moment as she leaned in with a slight frown on her features. "You okay? You're not your typical cheerful self."

His tongue burned with the desire to unleash his disappointment, but he bit it back in the end. Instead, he settled for a small shake of his head. "Just tired, I guess. Hard to sleep with these loud mouth-breathers at night."

"Excuse you," both Sam and Clint exclaimed together though Clint added, "I'm a delight to sleep with. Just ask my wife."

"Ah yes, her ear plugs really help keep that love alive," Nat said which earned her another glare for her efforts.

Their playful banter continued, but Bucky had since tuned it out. His gaze settled on the passing storefronts along the few blocks they had to travel to reach the Tower. It never failed to soothe him as they traversed the same streets he grew up playing on, even if he did spend most of his time in Brooklyn in his younger years.

Him, Steve, and you.

The hours you three would spend getting into and out of trouble. Those were probably some of the best times of his life, and he wished the three of you could go back to those days. Before university. Before the Army. Before life had gotten a bit more complicated. Before birthdays became another ordinary day.

"Hey, Buckaroo, you good?" Sam nudged Bucky's arm, nodding toward the building beside them. "You really zoned out there."

Bucky nodded. "Let's get this over with."

Taking his cue, the others fell in line around him as they made their way inside.

The receptionist smiled warmly, spying them. Her hand waved almost frantically despite her professionalism. "We're so glad you're here. The incident happened in his personal suite this time. He refuses to tell us how bad it is, but Ms. Potts isn't happy. She hasn't stopped calling to check on your progress. Security's already cleared the elevators, so you can go right up."

They thanked her and headed toward the bank of elevators near the back of the lobby.

"Why would they clear the elevators without us okaying that?" Bucky asked, the thought suddenly occurring.

Sam shrugged his shoulders. "Who cares? At least we're not climbing hundreds of flights of stairs."

Not one to argue with that, Bucky didn't bother to say anything, opting to step into the first elevator to arrive. If he pressed the button to the penthouse a little harder than necessary, no one bothered to mention it.

The ride up to the penthouse for once was relatively quiet. No one bothered to take bets on what Tony Stark could've possibly done this time compared to last. No discussion on what they could be facing or what they'd need to handle this latest situation.

In hind sight, Bucky should've known something was up, but his mind continued to brood. A stray thought kept coming up about possibly calling you later. If anything could lift his mood, an hour talking to you would do it. He'd settle for a couple minutes if you were too busy. He really hoped you wouldn't be.

The elevator dinged, then swished open to a loud chorus of "Surprise".

Streamers and confetti shot towards them.

Steve stood next to Tony, beaming. "Happy birthday, Buck."

"Oh, man, look at his face," Sam crowed as he clapped Bucky on the shoulder, moving past him into the penthouse towards the large buffet table resided. "Dude's been moping all day, thinking we forgot all about him."

That pulled a frown across Steve's features. "Clint, didn't you get my text?"

"No," Clint pulled out his phone and tapped on the screen. After a moment, a sheepish expression washed over his features. His gaze met Steve's, then Bucky's. "That's totally my fault."

Nothing Clint said made any sense, so Bucky turned toward Steve who didn't disappoint as he offered, "We all signed a card that you were supposed to get this morning. I, uh, had a last-minute thing come up, which is why I texted Clint to be sure he got it from my desk. That's on me for not following up. I guess I got a little preoccupied. I'm sorry, Buck."

"It's fine," came his automatic reply.

"Now, now, even I know that's a lie," you said from behind him, "What happened? You used to lie so well. How else did we get ourselves out of trouble so often?"

Bucky spun around and pulled you into a tight enough embrace. He didn't think he'd ever get over how well you fit within the expanse of his arms or the sweet scent you favored. While he remained mindful of the scruff lining his face, he couldn't exactly help but nuzzle against the sensitive spot just below your jaw, only pulling back when you squirmed against him.

By then, you were tapping him to let you out, but that didn't stop him from holding on another full second or two. If he could have his way, he'd never let you go again. Instead, he settled for whispering, "Really missed ya, Sugar."

"I never would've guessed," you said so cheekily that his smile spread easily across his lips. After a moment, you softened. "I missed you, too. Happy birthday, Bucky."

If you were surprised he kept you at his side throughout his party, you never said anything about it. No, you rolled with it like you'd always done with him and Steve in your younger years. Already familiar with most of his co-workers, you quickly fell into your natural teasing personality with most of them, giving Sam and even Clint a run for their money.

It was only when you two moved toward the main host of Bucky's birthday bash that you surprised him.

"So, you're the one I'm supposed to keep my eye on with my new role," you said as you eyed Tony with a skeptical analysis that had the genius billionaire speechless for once. "Pepper warned me about you, and I've seen the montage your A.I. created for me of all your mishaps. Gonna make me earn my nice, fat paycheck, aren't you?"

Bucky spun you until you faced him, not Tony. He knew his face had to be comical, but he didn't care as he asked, "You're moving back here, Sugar?"

Your smile widened while you nodded.

"I thought you liked living in Boston. It was your dream to work there."

"Boston's nice," you shrugged, "but it doesn't hold a candle to our city. I got my fancy master's degree from my ridiculously fancy school. Decided to come back here and work. Plus, I had a little birdie who kept talking me up to Pepper about how I'd be a good fit at Stark Industries."

You nodded over his shoulder which Bucky obliged, only to find Steve raising his glass with a smirk that belied just how proud he was of himself. The punk.

It took Bucky a moment to come back to the conversation, hearing you say, "You're looking at Stark Industries' new Chief Risk Officer with the specialized priority of keeping Tony from upsetting their insurance companies more than he already has. I've already started work on some new protocols within J.A.R.V.I.S's programming to help override some of Tony's dumber decisions."

"Excuse you," Tony hollered.

Most of Bucky's fellow firefighters lounging close by overheard what you said and burst out laughing. Not one of them hadn't been grousing at one point or another when it came to the rather unique calls they'd answered because of Tony and his 'innovations' that initially went terribly wrong.

Neither Bucky nor you acknowledged Tony, who'd finally come out of his speechless state. While both of you were certain he had plenty to say, neither of you cared in that moment as you finally asked, "You're fine with me coming back, aren't you? I'm staying with Steve tonight in his quarters while Pepper finishes fixing mine up. So, I won't be in your way should you find some lucky lady to finish your birthday with."

"Oh, Sugar, you're the only lady I want to spend my birthday with." He pulled you into another tight embrace, still unsure if you're really a dream or not. If you were, he never wanted to wake up. As it stood, he couldn't wait to prove you were the only lady he wanted in his life permanently. As long as you wanted to be anyway.

That could wait another day though.

Right then, he had something worth celebrating that birthday, and he planned to embrace it all.

After all, he had what he wanted most standing in that room and at his side.

#4bbingo #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #firefighter bucky barnes #bucky barnes birthday bingo #childhood best friends to lovers

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the-cat-and-the-birdie · 8 months ago

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VERY IMPORTANT SPIDER-VERSE QUESTION -

Do Nueva Yorkers know about Spider Society?

In Across the Spider-verse, we essentially see The Spider Society essentially terrorize the downtown of Nueva York in an attempt to capture Miles.

All of the Spider-people seem pretty versed and keen on where they're going for the most part. None of them seem particularly shocked by the floating train to the moon too.

This could be chalked up to the fact that they're Spider-people, and that means naturally good navigation -

But the Spider Society is basically one of the tallest buildings in NY99

So I'm assuming everyone (citizens) knows what it's for, or at least have a name for the tower (O'Hara Tower, or maybe just Spider Society Tower like the Avengers).

And it makes me wonder -

Do they see Spiders often? Do they know about The Society?

Do citizens know about the multiverse, as if it's taught in elementary school? Do they understand why there's so many Spider-people?

They seem to know it well - so do Spider people hang out in Nueva York? Maybe you can eat lunch at the cafeteria, or go off campus for some local 2099 food?

Are they celebrities? Do people see them like super-stars, or like students at a college in a college town?

Or do they go out there plain clothed so they blend in more?

But if they can do all that, that implies they're getting 2099 currency from somewhere. Maybe an allowance/stipend from Miguel? If he can own that big building, then why not?

I'm so curious!!!!! AHHHHHH

I NEED A POLL

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Cause nah for real, think about it -

Margo and Gwen hanging out at a super futuristic arcade together during their off time.

Cafes run Spider-Society discounts like cafes around college campuses. They have local fans.

Ben Reilly getting stopped in Nueva York for a picture with a fan and he doesn't stop talking about it for weeks.

The Spider-saur and Spidey-Jeep pulling up to the drive thru and you — the poor McMiguel's employee in 2099 have to act like that's natural and normal

hanging out with Hobie and hitting a bar with him in Downtown Nueva - listening to some obscure as future-retro punk band from 2099.

WAIT A MINUTE AM I COOKING LET ME COOK

Are y'all seeing the vision??

#you thought it was over #you thought I was off my ATSV shit #you were wrong #i mixed up the order of the poll options but who cares #Hobie hates consistency #spiderman #atsv #spider man #marvel #across the spiderverse #hobie brown #miguel o'hara #miguel ohara #Gwen Stacy #margo kess #miles morales

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direquail · 1 year ago

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One of the many things I find funny and irritating is the slant of a lot of interpretations of Alecto's name (that it's about feminine rage)--on this here wlw internet in the year of our lord 2024, it's easily made to figure as rage against God, or rage against patriarchy, or religious oppression, and therefore an allusion to the idea that she's going to get her vengeance on John for betraying and oppressing her somehow, but like

John is the one who named her Alecto. He's the one who named her that. So, naming her "Alecto" is alluding to the embodiment of John's rage--their rage, since they are joined inseparably (John even explicitly says that when he first perceives her: "You wouldn't stop screaming. You were so scared. You were so goddamn mad").

He says of Alecto to Harrow, "In a very real way, you are [Alecto's] children". At a very surface level, Alecto is (depending on the text or tradition), one of the Furies--famously, in several surviving Greek tragedies, who punish Orestes for the crime of killing his mother. In fact, in Aeschylus' Oresteia, they declare that they are specifically bound to avenge matricide.

So the name "Alecto" alludes to the nature of John's mission and how he sees it.

It also implies that his divine rage, the rage that gives him power, the power that makes him divine, that he either represents or wants to represent, is feminine rage. He was chosen by Earth (which, Furies are sometimes the daughters of Gaia); he is her champion, however he's managed to fuck that up. Once the truth of that comes out, it becomes clear that all of his power comes from her.

And that's why you get statements from Tamsyn Muir like:

“[T]he God of the Locked Tomb IS a man; he IS the Father and the Teacher; it’s an inherently masc role played by someone who has an uneasy relationship himself to playing a Biblical patriarch. John falls back on hierarchies and roles because they’re familiar even when he’s struggling not to. Even he identifies himself as the God who became man and the man who became God. But the divine in the Locked Tomb is essentially feminine on multiple axes – I think Nona will illuminate that a little bit more."

So yes, he plays the role of Emperor and God and Teacher, with all of the things that implies. And I don't think it should be discounted. But he also is (and partly sees himself as) the chosen champion of a goddess, or what is for all intents & purposes for a human like him a goddess. He is her avenger, and while she sleeps, her avatar.

And I don't think we're meant to read him purely as a parasite who's taking advantage of her to gain power for himself, either. Or an oppressive, Kronos-like figure. Especially if you consider Palamedes' theory of the Grand Lysis, even if he was purely motivated by desire for power before (which I really doubt), there are parts of each in the other, now. What was clear and separate before is uncertain and interpenetrated. Is his rage his own, or hers? Is his mission of revenge his, or hers? If he wants power, is that his own selfishness, or her desire to survive?

And does it matter?

#the locked tomb #tlt meta #john gaius #i really wish there wasn't such an intense desire to find the worst possible interpretations of johns' actions #because like. they're plenty hurtful on their own! they're plenty shitty!#there IS however something tamsyn muir is trying to express through the series and it's fairly complicated-otherwise it wouldn't be a serie #and i don't think it actually helps us to turn john into a cardboard cutout labeled 'evil'#or apply tropes we've marinated in from radfem-informed segments of online wlw culture about how men are parasites on the Divine Feminine #or apply the messages of other shows with a big emphasis on queer and wlw themes--like spop--to something that just fundamentally isn't the #there is more than one way to talk about lesbian religious trauma and there is more than one narrative around it #and more than one perspective on it #i wish that people would try harder to experience the story on its own terms

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pers-books · 1 year ago

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The Ninth Doctor meets River Song!

Christopher Eccleston is joined by Alex Kingston in Star-Crossed, a brand-new box set of full-cast audio dramas from Big Finish Productions, due for release in May 2024.

For the final release in the current series of The Ninth Doctor Adventures, the Time Lord with a war-torn past meets a very important woman from his future.

Alex Kingston first played Professor River Song in Steven Moffat’s 2008 Doctor Who TV episode Silence in the Library, and since then the assassin-turned-archaeologist has met many incarnations of the Doctor – though not in the right order.

It’s finally time for her to say “Hello, sweetie” to her husband’s ninth incarnation, as the two of them embark on three adventures together. They visit a planet in thrall to a dating app, an intergalactic bank with a catastrophic glitch, and a raging maelstrom. Fantastic!

Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Star-Crossed is now available to pre-order for just £29.99 (collector’s edition CD box set + download) or £22.99 (download only), exclusively here.

The three thrilling stories are:

Swipe Right by John Dorney Face of the Apocalypse by Lizzie Hopley Archipelago by Tim Foley

Christopher Eccleston said: "Returning to the world of the Doctor has been a great experience precisely because it has allowed me to re-explore my interpretation of the character and how he interacts with the many extraordinary beings he encounters along the way. Alex’s River was one such character and this was an interesting, challenging and enjoyable encounter for the Doctor too.”

Alex Kingston said: “This is the first time that I’ve had an opportunity to work with Chris's Doctor. It’s a challenge for River to step into his interpretation and navigate it. He’s got a different energy to any of the other Doctors – she has to work harder to engage him, to get through to him, which is great fun.”

Big Finish listeners can purchase Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Star-Crossed as part of a as part of a complete four-volume series bundle for just £108 (on collector’s edition CD box set + download) or £88 (download only).

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release.

Series 1-2 of The Ninth Doctor Adventures are still available to purchase as triple LP vinyl bundles – limited to a pressing of 1,000 per volume – for £140 per series. Collector's edition (CD box set + download) bundles are also available at £110 per series, as are digital download bundles, for just £96 per series.

Please note: the vinyl editions do not include any behind-the-scenes extras. However, listeners purchasing vinyl LP editions will receive a download of the story automatically and be given access to the CD edits as a bonus download. Episodes will be edited specifically for the vinyl format, presented as 2 episodes, one on each side, each with opening and closing music. In addition, all pre-orders of the vinyls will also receive the behind the extras as a bonus download.

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.

-- What an announcement - and on Alex's birthday, too!!! 💙😍💙

#Big Finish #Ninth Doctor #River Song #*brb squeeing and flailing*#Christopher Eccleston #Alex Kingston #Doctor Who #Audio Drama

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insanityclause · 2 months ago

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It is one hell of a moment. Delivering what I think (in gym terms) is known as a low lunge, with one straight leg, one knee millimetres from the ground, and the other at 90 degrees, Hiddleston unbuttons the top two fastenings of his formal dress shirt.

Cries go out from the audience. He then gracefully stands up, with his back to the audience. We cannot see but he is unbuttoning his shirt. Then, he turns to fully face the auditorium. I probably should say that he is speaking blank verse throughout.

The shirt is fully open, revealing a sculpted stomach and torso one only thought existed in Mr Universe competitions, or on Action Man dolls. Cue general hysteria from over 2,100 people on all four tiers, including boxes, of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

What did you say? Take my shirt off?

Welcome to Much Ado About Nothing, the Millennial version.

It is such fun! That’s the first thing. One walks into the beautiful gilded auditorium to encounter grooving ushers dancing around waving signs saying “Turn Your Phones Off”, in time to Nineties pop anthems.

Outside, huge posters have Tom Hiddleston’s name above that of Shakespeare. But of course. Thanks to his recurring role as Marvel’s naughty trickster Loki, Hiddleston is a fully fledged Hollywood star. Yes, I know he cut his teeth at RADA and played Coriolanus at the National Theatre. But THIS IS LOKI. Transported in some miraculous way to Benedick, in Much Ado About Nothing and what’s more, taking his shirt off eight times a week in central London.

The rest of the cast are no mean assemblage; his sparring partner Beatrice is played by another Marvel personality, Hayley Atwell. Stage stalwarts such as Forbes Masson, a pitch perfect Leonato, Gerald Kyd and the wonderful Tim Steed all ensure this is a company show, sort of. That is if you discount the viewpoint of the entire audience, which is at Drury Lane for one reason and one reason only. LOKI.

I include myself in this. My youngest son, now 20, and I are serious Marvel fans. We’ve seen ‘em all, usually on the first weekend possible. Iron Man (various versions), Thor (ditto), Ant Man, etc. We’ve cried at Avengers Infinity War, cheered at Stan Lee’s cameos, bigged up Spiderman. We’ve watched the TV spinoffs. We always stay for the minute after the credits roll (where the next Marvel film is promoted, usually with some huge personage playing a baddie such as Samuel L Jackson, or Robert Redford). We have even kept going to the films when they went off the boil.

Naturally, we were going to see Hiddleston in Shakespeare. Naturally, Lucien had no idea what Much Ado About Nothing was. If a young person hasn’t done a ‘Spear for an exam, they don’t know it.

Just think of this poster, I usefully told him on the way to the theatre. See below.

On arrival at the theatre, I knew we were in the grip of a ‘moment’. “It’s a great show!” said the lady checking our tickets. “It’s had great reviews.” Ah, Madam, that is where you are wrong. It hasn’t had any reviews, in the formal sense. It hasn’t had a press night. It doesn’t need one.

Unlike Jamie Lloyd’s previous “Shakespeare-at-Drury-Lane-with-a-Hollywood-name”, namely The Tempest with Sigourney Weaver as Prospero, this show has confidence. It has buoyancy. It has HUGE hit written all over it, with or without the reviews.

And lo, the curtain rises. Zero set. Loads of cherry blossom everywhere. Will there be applause when Hiddleston arrives? Are you completely bonkers? The whole audience goes insane. I am probably the oldest person in the house, and that is the point. I have honestly never seen a younger, more diverse, more focused crowd at a Shakespeare production in the West End. And possibly a more excited one. They are here to have a good time. We are all here to have a good time. Every time Hiddleston opens his mouth, cheers. Every time he winks at the audience, whoops. Every time he points at an excited person in the stalls, said person faints.

Lloyd understands his audience. There are disco bangers (Groovers in the House is one) throughout this show. Every time, the whole cast start dancing, rather brilliantly. Hiddleston, throwing shapes! Who knew? There is even a moment of pure meta-theatricals where lifesize, cardboard cutouts of Atwell and Hiddleston’s Marvel characters are used as props. An actual image of Loki, in a Shakespeare play. The actress playing Hero, holding the cutout, points to his groin. The audience cheers wildly. It’s a cutout, everyone!

Characters in the play who do not really push forward the action, such as the unfunny Dogberry, have simply been excised by Lloyd. Interestingly, there is a whole section in the programme devoted towards clowning, in particular about the Elizabethan actor who played Dogberry in the original production, which makes me think this was perhaps a last minute decision. It’s a good one, however. The play spins along with no longeurs. We are in the hands of professionals.

Two observations; as the cast took its bow, and invited the whole audience to join in with disco moves, which it did without a second’s hesitation, my son said to me “That was great! It was so easy to understand!”

Secondly, as we left the theatre there was a queue of monumental proportions snaking around outside the building. This was the queue for the Stage Door.

I have been looking (again) at Culture Is Bad For You, by Brook, O’Brien and Taylor. This book crunches a lot of data to analyse who is going to British culture and why it is so unequal, both in terms of employees and in terms of audiences.

One of the main points it raises is that cultural consumption in the UK is a minority event. That there is “a disconnection between cultural production, cultural consumption and whole swathes of the population.”

The Jamie Lloyd project at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane does not knock this idea down, but disregards it. The production is an outlier. It is a triumphant, and reasonably (but not wildly) expensive, delivery of ‘high’ art via popular culture to an audience who don’t normally feel included in the art world. Yes, we are lucky to have a player as Hiddleston, who can do both popular and rarified (while taking his shirt off), but it is a simple formula which producers across the theatre landscape, particularly ones which use public money, ought to take note of.

What a night!

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dcdreamblog · 4 months ago

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What's your favorite exhibit at the museum? And what's something you guys don't have out all the time that you wish more people could see?

So I guess this gives me a chance to fully explain how our lovely little spot is laid out for those of you who may be curious.

(A cross section of the Perisphere as it existed during the war, we have now converted this image into a brochure for the museum)

My favorite spot in the entire museum is the "ground" floor, where you enter the building from the Trylon and come out into what was the seating and speaking area. It's the largest floor in the building and the main sector of exhibits. Along every wall there is a special case exhibit for every hero that served within the Squadron.

The Exhibits start with the Crimson Avenger directly to the left of the door, going in chronological order every hero that appeared afterwards until it circles back around to the entrance. This is also where most of my work day is spent. As a tour guide and general historian I lead groups through our "extensive" tour.

The "Extensive" tour is the most expensive and most in depth option we offer. It's about 15 bucks per person with discounts for groups. I take you through every. single. exhibit in the building on a personally guided walking tour. It takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours depending on the group. It is designed for people who want to really sink their fingers into every exhibit and artifact we have to offer.

I am one of only two people on staff who gives these tours, because I am the only person who volunteered, when it was decided I had to be put on other duties later in the day they had to give the other poor girl a raise just to get her to agree. It is 2/3rds of what I do in a day. I get to give about 2 of them before I get traded off onto other duties. The first extensive tour starts at 9 AM and the last one finished at 6 PM.

My favorite singular exhibit is the alcove we have where all the members of the Freedom Fighters are shown. It has some of our best artifacts and, is actually frequented by the real life, actual, no shit Uncle Sam. He gives me a 15 minute break or so whenever I run into him as he regales the people with stories from the front lines and I get to watch people's reactions after I tell them that that is the actual, real life Uncle Sam.

My favorite singular CASE is actually further back in the 7 Soldiers area, where I get to see older folks realize that the Vigilante was country western star Greg Saunders.

As for things we don't keep out, while all the floors of the Perisphere itself are accessible to the public, the below ground areas that were once the labs and workshops are closed off and converted into our storage and study spaces. Every single scrap of ANYTHING that was in the building when it was turned over to our organization was filed away down there and a lot of it has gone VERY unsorted. Until SOMEONE (he knows who he is) convinced me to stick my neck out and get to doing it myself. After my lunch break for the final tour period I get rotated off and sent downstairs to sort through every little piece of garbage that the heroes of the past left behind.

When I tell you the things I have discovered.

I have seen the first line of Greg Saunders' most famous song scribbled on the inside of a candy bar wrapper. One of the words is different, implying to me that this was the first time he'd tried to write those words down.

A letter from Joan Williams to Jay Garrick with a lipstick kiss next to her name. I found this one on the same day of her funeral and I felt like a fucking knob. I have never been so guilty in my LIFE.

Books of Arthurian tales where Shining Knight has scribbled MST3K style corrections in the margins. His bookmark was an actual feather from his actual pegasus.

Some of the original notes Tarantula would later turn into field defining book. Before editing. Which means I now know which members of the team were AWFUL potty mouths.

An actual, labeled bottle of Miraclo pills. Still sealed. Nope. Nope, nope, nope, NOPE. For anyone asking if I was tempted I refer to you my post on Miraclo.

The problem of course being that a LOT of these artifacts are intensely personal and not just for us to keep and display. When I find something, and I find out what it IS, my job is then to attempt to return it to whoever it belongs to. I'm not just going to keep a love letter that was sent in confidence between the Garricks. And I sure as HELL was not going to fuck around with a sealed bottle of 70 year old super-pills.

So the last thing I do every day is compile a list of what I have found and what I think it IS, in a biiiggg excel spreadsheet, that I then send off to the modern JSA. Some of it gets donated to the museum, I'd say a slim majority of it gets taken off to be given out to the heroes themselves or their various next of kin.

THOSE are the moments I wish that I could share. To have their writing, their small comforts, their worries, their loves, their fears between my fingertips. More than once I have stumbled upon something that's left me deeply emotional in ways I don't think I can comfortably explain.

If I could show the whole world anything, it would be that. To be looking down at the handwriting of someone you thought was a legend. And instead see a scared, anxious 20 something risking it all because somebody had to.

Anyway, please feel free to ask other questions about the museum or my work here, I thought that'd be more of what this blog was but I am starting to suspect more everyday that this blog has breached multiversal containment ^^'

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bitter69uk · 9 months ago

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Recently watched: MaXXXine (2024). Tagline: “She’s gonna be a star no matter what it takes!” MaXXXine, of course, represents the hotly anticipated concluding chapter of the juicy elevated horror trilogy beginning with X (2022) and the prequel Pearl (2022) by director Ti West and leading lady Mia Goth. I’ve been yearning to see this one for what felt like an eternity. Its trailer (soundtracked by the Laura Branigan classic “Self-Control”) was so tantalizing it tormented me! We watched MaXXXine last weekend and it was - OK! I felt like I was willing it to be better. Of the three films, MaXXXine is definitely the slightest and flimsiest entry. Maybe my expectations were unrealistically high and the remarkable Pearl (which I consider a modern masterwork) set an impossibly high bar for this follow-up. Anyway, there is still much to enjoy. Set in 1985 Los Angeles, MaXXXine unfolds against a backdrop of satanic panic paranoia, the rise of Tipper Gore’s censorious Parents Music Resource Centre, Ronald Reagan’s presidency and the Night Stalker’s reign of terror. Goth returns as driven, burning-with-ambition porn starlet Maxine Minx. Now 33, she knows it’s now or never if she’s ever going to transition from skin flicks into legit cinema (well, a low-budget slasher movie entitled Puritan II in this case). “In this industry, women age like bread not wine” she laments. But just as stardom finally seems within Maxine’s grasp, her friends start getting gruesomely picked-off one by one by a serial killer … MaXXXine boasts an authentically scuzzy, grungy discount bin VHS vibe. The soundtrack pumps with 80s tunes (ZZ Top. Frankie Goes to Hollywood. “Obsession” by Animotion. Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes.” John Parr’s theme tune to St Elmo’s Fire. And yes, Laura Branigan). Aficionados of 1980s trash cinema will revel in West’s references to the likes of Savage Streets (1984), Brian De Palma’s Body Double (1984), Vice Academy (1989), Angel (1984) and Avenging Angel (1985). Goth is a riveting, singular presence and one of THE great actresses currently working (The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw aptly called her the Judy Garland of horror). MaXXXine is a pulpy, grisly down-and-dirty summer thriller – just don’t expect another Pearl!

#maxxxine #x #ti west #x movie #maxine minx #mia goth #pearl #lobotomy room #slasher movies #horror movies #vintage sleaze #cult cinema #elevated horror #retro

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 3 days ago

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It has been over 17 years since One More Day.

During that time we have had:

The equivalent of 6 runs on Amazing Spider-Man, if one counts Brand New Day and the Beyond era as runs unto themselves.

Several runs in sister titles like Avenging Spider-Man, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, etc

Over 300 issues of ASM, even if one discounts Superior, which Marvel themselves do not

All of this is frankly MORE than enough ‘field testing’ for us to look back with the benefit of hindsight and draw some conclusions. And those conclusions are rather damning.

Whilst it was objectively bad, Superior Spider-Man is the most remembered and referenced and (undeservedly) well received period of time in the post-OMD era. This means the ‘highlight’ (if you want to call that vile story such a thing) is a time period that Peter Parker wasn’t even the main character of the narrative

We have literally had TWO eras where Peter Parker is not even the main character of Spider-Man. Superior, and Beyond

Dan Slott’s run invested time in redressing mistakes perpetuated during Brand new Day, and Nick Spencer’s run spent A LOT of time repairing damage done in BND and Slott’s run.

In the entire 60+ year history of Spider-Man who have been the writer’s with the most ‘prestige’ attached to their name in the wider culture, not specifically within the comic book industry? Who has the ‘star power’ in other words? Kevin Smith for a mini-series in the early-mid 2000s that was just 6 issues (his 2020s Spider-Man work will be happening when his star has fallen into disgrace) and J. Michael Straczynski. In other words, despite the claims that an unmarried Spider-Man will attract more ‘high profile talent’, none of the talent who has worked on 616 Spidey since 2007 has ever had a profile remotely as prestigious as the person who was writing Spidey pre-OMD and wanted to write him married. And again, the second highest profile guy was also writing him pre-OMD.

The ‘high profile talent’ Spidey attracted frankly was front loaded and obviously hired to offset the fallout from OMD. Spider-Man even during BND, saw an exodus of ‘Big Name Creators’ with Slott hanging on until the end of BND and then getting his solo run. Since then it took over 10 years for Joe Kelly to return to the title and in the interim the Spider-Man office got so desperate they hired a fill-in writer from the 2000s, Zeb Wells, to take over ASM. So, actually Spider-Man has had MORE trouble attracting talent long-term post-OMD than pre-OMD. Whilst this is to an extent a problem in the mainstream industry, it is particularly acute with Spider-Man.

The highest profile writers to have worked on Spider-Man in the 2020s have been JMS for a non-canon one shot (in which he was married) and Jonathan Hickman in a non-canon ongoing (in which he is married with kids and this is the centrepiece of its promotion).

All those creators who worked on BND who said they would prefer to write an unmarried Spider-Man proved themselves summarily unqualified to write for Spider-Man in the first place. They got to write the Spider-Man they wanted and did so via nuclear levels of mischaracterisation, character assassination, plot holes, a disrespect for consistency, a disrespect for the readers time/money/intelligence and tired tropes. They claimed everyone deserved the Spider-Man they grew up with but they never even wrote the Spider-Man they grew up with.

Looking back at the actual best Spider-Man creators of the pre-OMD era (1962-2007) it is striking that ONLY Roger Stern and Marv Wolfman were staunchly anti-marriage. Stern delivered arguably the most consistently great Spider-Man run of all time, whilst Wolfman was a lot more contentious but did lots of good stuff. Gerry Conway might be included in that trio but he has massively vacillated his views on the subject. What I am saying is, the overwhelming majority of people who were accepting or supportive of Spider-Man being married delivered solid-all time great stories. By contrast, the overwhelming majority of people who were opposed to a married Spider-Man delivered at best mediocre stories but more often than not bad stories. I say bad, what I mean is the top 20 WORST Spider-Man stories to have ever been made were largely made by people who are of the anti-marriage camp and largely made after One More Day.

In fact, even if we use the anti-marriage camp’s golden boy, Roger Stern, his best work, whilst awesome, is not on the same level as quality as certain stories delivered by pro-marriage creators. Be honest, removing your own subjective enjoyment from the discussion, on a purely literary level, is the Kid Who Collects Spider-Man or Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut even remotely close to the same quality level as Kraven’s Last Hunt, which actively utilises Spider-Man’s marital status? No.

Even removing the subject of Spider-Man’s marital status or continuity, 2007-2025 Spider-Man has largely been creatively inconsistent, by which I mean disastrous. These would be the WORST Spider-Man stories of all time all on their own regardless of OMD setting us up for them. Character assassination is rife. Disdain for the customers is a regular occurrence.

Marvel have an institionalised misinterpretation of Spider-Man that requires the rats at the very top to be removed from office. Many of you out there are thinking this is a Nick Lowe problem. It isn’t. It’s a Nick Lowe/Tom Brevoort/Alan Fine/Dan Buckley/C.B. Cebulski problem. They all need to go and NOT be allowed to choose their successors

#Spider-Man #One More Day #Brand new Day #Dan Slott #zeb wells #nick spencer #cb cebulski #Marvel #Marvel Comics #mj watson #mary jane watson #mary jane watson parker

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