#Reed Richards Station

[blankdblank]

To The Moon

Got this adorable idea at work. Blind date gone wrong and the guys jump in to save the day. :)

...

Dressed up in a shimmering floor length cocktail dress with glittery wedges, makeup and pins in your braided bun to match you were locked in an urge to both remain stoic and keep from bursting into tears. The supposed ‘great guy’ you were set up with, who was ‘ready to get back on the horse’ of the dating world after a messy breakup, had both shushed and ignored you for most of the first course of the meal through the live show anyone was rarely able to get tickets to without a blood sacrifice or be able to drop a mortgage payment in one go. And here he was practically with binoculars spying in his ex across the way who as you’d seen him check her live feed a million times since he picked you up and first shushed you to hear the audio reading app that fed into his car Bluetooth system to read her posts as they aired the entire way here. But he’d already pulled away from the curb and you vainly loved your intact epidermis and new outfit to throw yourself out the window on the highway.

But a slight break in the show and a swap of courses and you slipped out of the table and auditorium. Headed to a worker outside in the lobby with armfuls of brooms and dustpans aiming to be ready for the showtime swap who seemed stunned but overly helpful to assist in giving the written address of where you were to give to a cab service.

$27, that was all you had in cash for the driver who refused to take cards. So ten went to the fare and teetering on the brink of tears you were let out outside the Smithsonian. Where you aimed to take a solitary walk to calm down and try to distract yourself as you somewhat showed off your overly dressed self to impress anybody tonight, as you had aimed to feel at least wanted after a travesty of a breakup yourself your supposed friend from work had tried to help you get back up on the horse yourself.

And yet in front of the wooly mammoth exhibit you huffed in a glimpse at a reflection of a streak of your eye liner from failing to stop a tear from breaking free. To the aim of a try to find a bathroom you turned and froze seeing a man with smudged raccoon like black war paint on his face around his eyes and brows in tactical gear complete with weapons across his body. Mask in hand the brilliantly blue eyed man blinked as his free hand brushed his chestnut hair out of his face, “See you dressed up for the new exhibit too.” He said playfully making the grey and red winged suit clad man beside him snicker and look away to keep from laughing longer, having noticed as Bucky had that a familiar face who randomly dropped by the tower to see Tony they always seemed to miss the chance to talk to was here.

“You’re the guy,” you said pointing at the banner on the corner at the end of the wall naming the next exhibit as the newly updated Captain America exhibit with the so named Bucky Barnes pictured underneath the Captain named down the middle of the colorful banner.

“Steve was asked to drop off some things,” he said after a quick nod, “Then we’re off.” His eyes scanned over you as you tried to steal a look at your reflection again to subtly fix the streak only making it worse. “You okay? I can punch somebody if they bothered you.” He said making Sam grin wider at the clear offer to help the distressed pretty lady Bucky had openly been following while trying to think of a cool pickup line as Sam had told him to try to give dating a go finally after years of being pushed to do so.

“No, he’s at the show three blocks over. I’m,” softly you sighed, “Forming a shambled plan get home, they had a sign, the atm is broken and cabs only take cash now apparently and the cookie patrol took most of mine the other day.”

Sam asked, “Why is he three blocks over and you’re here alone? He stand you up?”

“No,” you said sheepishly and looked away. Trying not to cry again, making them both step closer as Rhodey in his suit came around them to see what they were distracted by.

“You okay Miss?”

Nodding and shrugging you said, “Ya,” sniffling as you blinked a few times to try and keep calm. Only making him look at the guys on his left.

Bucky asked, “You came here from the show? What’d he do? Offer stands I’ll go punch him.”

In a roll of your eyes to keep tears from gathering in your eyes again you drew in a deep breath as Rhodey shuffled his weight on his feet, then you explained, “I got set up on a date. Supposed ‘great guy’ but he shushed me in the car-,”

“He shushed you!” Sam and Rhodey whispered angrily to Bucky’s eyes narrowing protectively.

“All so he could listen to the audio reading of the live feed of the ex he supposedly is ready to get ‘back up on the horse’ after dating. My choices were stay in the car or leap out onto the highway. Apparently I was there to make her jealous and he didn’t so much as look at me for the seating debacle. Which is putting it lightly, practically had to be airlifted in to my seat for how strenuous they try to make the supposed elite seating look. It’s two gates and four steps to the door no matter where you sit in our section, or in ordering what was supposed to be a good appetizer,” you held up two fingers.

“Two pieces of toast with a cough of grated cheese and a slice of the tiniest blandest tomato in the world. I know women who would weep knowing they were passing that off as authentic Italian cuisine! All that was missing was a pair of binoculars for him to be spun all the way around in his seat to watch her all night! So I left, but the cab won’t take credit and I had enough to get here and pay the ticket fee thinking the atm was working, but it’s not.

Rest of this town is gung ho to go digital, looking at you like you walked in with a ruck sack off a three month train binge you so much as have exact change for gas. And now this guy is part of a wrench in the whole scheme that makes my daily commute fifty minutes longer as they can’t sustain power or keep up the facade that everyone loves the digital life! Especially when billionaire scientists are tripping the power grids for half the borough every other week! We’re not all billionaires unable to hold our paychecks in our pockets! I like my coin purse, thank you very much, as much as the next person who likes a hefty bit of jingle on hand to flick into a machine or looking glass when you get stuck waiting on a bridge or building with a view.” You said with voice fading off in a look at the guys uncertain if they would start laughing at you for he absurd you felt at that moment.

Rhodey said in a shake of his head, “Ya he’s not getting away with that.”

Sam nodded and sternly asked, “Where’d he park?”

“In the garage.”

“Where in the garage?” Rhodey asked, “We’re gonna go egg his car,” he said parting your lips.

Sam nodded saying, “First we’re gonna let you have a sneak peek of the exhibit then we’re gonna go buy some eggs.”

Softly you huffed and said as you felt the grit of another line of makeup being brushed down your other cheek as you brushed away a sudden tear you didn’t feel gather but felt fall to the exposed bit of your chest to soak into the neckline beneath it. “I, have to fix my face.”

Bucky said plainly, “No you don’t, make it look like we’re a couple, matchy matchy.”

Sam and Rhodey both felt an urge to look at their friend. Only to grin at the restrained giggle that had a grin split across your face and eyes give a hint of an amused shimmer to show an internal light there of a usually bubbly person under this frustrating evening that had drawn him like a moth to a flame. “I have to find a bathroom.” Bucky turned sideways gesturing to the door a bit more down the hall behind them and watched you pass, seeing Sam give him a thumbs up on the smile worthy cheesy comment behind your back.

The assassin grinned to himself as Steve came out of the exhibit to hear Rhodey say plainly as an order, “We’re gonna take a new friend of Bucky’s through the exhibit and buy eggs to go egg her ex date who shushed then ignored her.” Instantly having the Super Soldier agree as it was a means to help his best friend help this mysterious stranger.

The whole group was waiting when you came out of the bathroom to what you imagine would have been a hallucination of some concussive head injury of an accident you couldn’t remember, thanks to said accident. Right there they stood and all you could say in seeing the line of armed men in tactical armor was, “Somehow I feel underdressed.”

Bucky grinned and offered his gloved hand to say, “Let’s go show you some old stuff, Rhodey’s pricing out our shopping list through his suit system so we get the best bang for our buck.”

“Eggs don’t go bang,” you said resting your hand in his while your other hand held the left side of your clutch and high slitted cocktail dress to not have it tangle around your feet in the turn.

And lowly he chuckled, “Ours will. Guy’s two inches from a stalker, and kidnapper, a moron on top of that, treating you so poorly, got it coming. I’m Bucky, can I ask your name?”

“Pluto,” you said widening his kind grin your way that you looked away from to not blush widening his grin.

“Ever been to the moon Pluto?” Steve asked making you look over your shoulder at him.

“I’m a secret shopper, that’d be a hard no.” You said making him chuckle.

Steve said, “Well after this we’re meant to go drop things off to the Reed Richards station in orbit near the moon. You hungry?”

“Yes,” you replied timidly, “I am hungry. What does that have to do with the moon?”

Sam asked, “You wanna have dinner in orbit around the moon?” He asked making your mouth drop open to free a squeak from you out of shock.

Rhodey nodded, “We’ll take that as a hard yes,” smiling your way.

Needless to say an awkward stare off at the hatch of the space travel adapted jet with Black Widow broke as she jumped in on the new mission and flew you to the chosen store to get everything.

The news would later display security footage of the Avengers dismantling and disfiguring the now bare frame and seats of the vehicle you were brought to the show in written with a warning note to treat women better. But by then you were landed on the station and holding the flowers Bucky had bought for you, now staring at Johnny Storm who said, “Now this just isn’t fair! Reed said I can’t bring dates to the station!” And turned with a scoff to get back to his duties after having opened the hatch to the landing dock for you all.

Stark came into sight several turns and halls later, saying, “You’re late! Now we’ll have to wait twelve hours to get lined up right for the re-entry to miss the meteor shower passing by.” His eyes swept over you and he asked, “Why’d you bring my secret shopper on board?”

Dinner for two was assembled and now the bathed and changed Bucky sat across you for a far more impossible start to try and get out there again. Matchy matchy in gifted outfits from the station so you could change into something more comfortable eating the best food to be had thanks to Vision with his five star cuisine lessons to back his try to help make this evening special for his teammate.

A date orbiting the moon would be hard to top. But for your second date he sure as hell made you feel just as weightless from the moment his eyes landed on you to when you were able to climb back into bed. Traces of a chaste stolen kiss left upon your cheek as you dreamed of what a possible third date could have in store for you.

@devilishminx328​, @theincaprincess​, @lilith15000​, @jesevans​ 

#Blind Date Gone Wrong #Overdressed in a Museum #Smithsonian Captain America Exhibit #Bucky Barnes #Sam Wilson #James Rhodes #Steve Rogers #Tony Stark #Black Widow #Johnny Storm #Vision #Reed Richards Station #Marvel #Avengers #Fantastic Four #Bucky Barnes x OC #Bucky Barnes x Reader

[digbydog10]

Old Fellas New Music Episode 45!

wow – we have 45 episodes out there!! our station Week 45 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Death Wish Blesse –  Gant Noirs The Nude Party – Ride On Logan Richard – See Me  Like This Lana Del Rey –  Did you Know there is a tunnel under Ocean Blvd Nickybaby – She Sees Me The Weather Station – Endless Time Dart Trees –Bong and Mcquade Valerie June – Stay new video for the June release of…

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#Blesse #Dart Trees #Lana Del Rey #Logan Richard #Lou Reed #New York Times #Old Fellas New Music #Pitchfork #Rolling Stone #Tamara Lindeman #The Nude Party #The Weather Station #Valerie June

[lykaonimagines]

My One Constant - Supreme!Strange x Reader

I just needed to write some fluff for the man, I killed him last time I wrote him, he deserves this 😶

Paring: Supreme!Strange x F!Reader (childhood best friend)

Word Count: 6,569 (me telling myself I’ll just write a short fluff fic for him 🙃)

Description: Stephen’s known Y/N almost his entire life. The one person from his past he still has. He’s fought off his feelings for her for decades in fear of losing the friendship, but with her now working alongside him for the Illuminati, his feelings are getting harder and harder to hide.

A few slightly altered lyrics from “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” by John Lennon.

Other Things: Best friends to lovers. Childhood friends. Fluff. Two exceedingly smart idiots in love. They’re just silly and fun. 

Warnings: Some swearing. Small bit of typical canon violence.

Masterlist

(Gif taken from Google, but credit on it. I didn’t want to use the one scene from MoM, so any clean shaven Stephen is going to be fair game for Supreme for me :P)

“Is it really wise to bring in an unknown scientist to help with something so delicate?” Reed Richards asks the rest of the Illuminati panel. “I’d feel far better if you gave us some information so I can run a proper check on this woman, Strange. At least her name and her qualifications.”

“I agree,” Peggy Carter comments, shifting her shield to sit against her seat. “A complete unknown seems like an unnecessary risk.”  

“Just the fate of the Multiverse,” Maria Rambeau adds in.

“I’ve asked that you all just trust me on this,” Doctor Strange responds, checking the phone in his lap for nearly the hundredth time in the last five minutes. His foot taps impatiently on the tile.

“What has you so worked up?” Mordo asks from beside his seat.

“Nothing,” his foot taps faster and his eyes dart to his phone as the screen lights up.

A quick smile crosses his lips as he reads the message, pulling himself from his seat and heading toward the door.

“Where are you going? Isn’t that woman supposed to be here soon?” Richards calls out to him.

Pausing momentarily to look back over his shoulder, “She’s arrived, I’m going to collect her.”

“This woman needs to be greeted at the door by the Sorcerer Supreme?” Mordo asks incredulously.

“Yes, she does,” he shouts over his shoulder, letting the door slam behind him as he speed walks toward the entrance. A portal would have been far quicker and more practical, but he wanted to do this right. Plus the extra time to walk the distance to the entrance was needed to calm his racing heart.

Turning the last corner, his eyes immediately zero in on her. Standing between two bots just inside the doorway. He feels his pace quickening, and her eyes meet his, a smile spreading across her face.

Practically breaking into a sprint, he crosses the last of the distance, putting his arms out as she jumps into them eagerly, “Stephen!”

Hugging her tightly to his chest, he spins her around a couple times, her laugh reminding him why it is, and has always been, his favorite sound.

Setting her back to her feet, he suddenly becomes hyperaware of the eyes on them. Glancing over he sees several scientists from the nearby lab staring at them, “If you have time to stand around gawking, then I expect result reports tonight!” He snaps in annoyance and embarrassment, the tips of his ears reddening.

They quickly scatter to their various work stations as Y/N chuckles at his embarrassment. Quickly opening a portal to his office, he slips his hand in hers and tugs her through it, closing it behind them.

“That’s still always impressive,” she muses, looking at the place the portal once was.

“Suppose it is,” he says softly, reaching his free hand up to brush his fingers across her cheek. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” she smiles back at him, laying her hand over his on her cheek. “Hopefully I’ll be able to be of use.”

“You’re brilliant, you will be. And if I’m being honest, just you being here is already useful to me,” he grins and leans back against his desk. “Been far too long.”

“You just stress yourself out too much Stephen. You’re going to be regretting those words when I’m making you actually go to bed and eat like a functioning human being.”

“And you’ll have to forgive me probably fighting that on a regular basis.”

“You’ve always been a stubborn brat Stephen, I’m used to it.”

“You would know,” he chuckles, reaching back to open a drawer on his desk and pulling out a photo frame that he promptly hands over to her.

She smiles down at the photo, running her fingers wistfully over the three children pictured in it. The two of them not older than ten years, and a younger girl with the same blue eyes as her brother. “I still miss her.”

“Me too,” he admits, clearing his throat abruptly. “You’re all I have left Y/N. From back then.”

“And you keep me shoved in a drawer,” she teases, setting the frame down to wrap her arms around him.

“I don’t like people asking questions…” he admits slowly, wrapping his own arms around her frame. “People try to dig. I don’t like it.”

“You can tell people your past you know, you don’t have to hide everything,” her chin rests against the ornate embellishments on his robe.

“I don’t want pity,” he mutters softly.

“Do you think I pity you?”

“Of course not,” his brows furrow as he looks at her. “You… you’ve always been there. You knew me back then. You knew all of them. You loved them too. You’ve known everything all along. There’s no need to open up and tell you, you just know.”

“I think you do a pretty good job of opening up and telling me things, I’ve not been here this entire time to see everything in person, but I still know about it,” one of her hands drops to grab his and she runs her thumb over one of the scars there.

“You’re just… different,” he insists, the familiar stubborn expression settling on his face.

“I just worry,” she says with a shrug. “About you not letting people in enough. I want you to be happy.”

“I do have other friends,” he assures her, squeezing her hand. “And I’ve got you for the rest, I only need you.”

“You only need me hm?” She asks playfully, a smirk on her lips.

His heart rate immediately spikes, praying she can’t tell as he sticks his jaw out obstinately, “Well like I said you’re the one that’s been there. You’ve known me since we were children, always around at my house and following me around. Then you even followed me to New York for university, lived in the same apartment as me, and have continued to put up with all of my shit I tell you about for the last however many years. It would just be… inconvenient at this point to find someone else.”

“Oh so now I’m the convenient friend?” She teases, letting go of his hand and dropping her arm from his waist. “If that’s the cause…”

Quickly tightening his hold on her, he pulls Y/N back to his chest and growls in annoyance, “You know you’re important to me dammit.”

“I know, I know,” she grins and reaches up stroke his cheek. “And you’re important to me. I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.”

“Prospect of a high paying job for an important powerful organization isn’t enough incentive?”

“As nice as all that is, I uprooted my life to move here for you, not because I want to be involved with the rich and powerful.”

“Hm, you could have just asked to see me more, not come all the way here?” He asks with his own grin.

“Hey you’re the one that said you need me Stephen Strange, too late to take that back.”

“Mhm,” he buries his face against her hair. “Truthfully, I’m so happy you’re here. Having you nearby cuts my stress by an indescribable amount. I also think you’re exactly who we need for this position. I’m glad you took me up on the offer.”

“Me too,” she says softly, clutching at his robes. “Im looking forward to the work, and seeing you everyday.”

Sighing heavily, he pulls back from her, “I suppose we should get to the assembly room. They’re all waiting for us.”

“So how bad is this job interview going to be?”

“They know nothing about you, I’ve told them to trust me. So they’re probably going to be annoying. But you have this job. I will override them on it if need be, but they won’t,” he responds before opening a portal outside of the assembly room door.

Pulling the door open for her, he ushers her inside before floating to his own seat on the panel.

“Welcome…?” Richards asks as he looks from Y/N to Strange.

“Doctor Y/L/N,” he responds, flicking his wrist and making her resume appear in all their hands. “Throughly qualified as you’ll see.”

“Good to meet you Doctor Y/L/N,” Carter says with a trace of a smile. “You’ve been a hot topic here, one Doctor Strange refused to share any information about. So forgive any prying that’s about to happen.”

“He does that,” she scoffs and nods her head. “Nice to meet you as well Captain Carter.”

“It says here you went to Columbia University… at the same time as Strange. Is that where you two met?” Richards asks as he scans over the paper in his hand. “Doctorate in Physics? Tell me how it’s relevant to this.”

“Richards,” Strange says harshly, fixing his friend with a stern look.

Y/N chuckles lightly and gives the panel a smile, “Longer than that. Yes bachelors, masters, and doctorate in physics. Specific interest in atomic-molecular, high energy nuclear, and overall astrophysics. All things I know you’re well versed in and know the practical application of multiversal and portal travel in general.”

“What’s your experience with any of that?”

“Aiding Stephen, researching debris from said portals and openings and remains of beasts. I worked with Asgardians for a few years researching their magic and the science behind their technology and their bi-frost form of travel. My focus was never engineering but I have taken several courses in my schooling years and worked with Stark Industries for a period of time. The cross-section of physics, engineering, and magic are my primary interest.”

Richards grunts and runs his eyes over the paper again, “So how do you know Strange then? And why has he been hiding someone with apparent perfect qualifications from us?”

Y/N’s eyes drift to Stephen’s raising a brow at him. He makes a face back at her, she smirks and quirks her eyebrow.

“What are you two doing?” Rambeau asks, watching the exchange between them. “Are you telepathic?”

“No,” Charles Xavier answers before she can, a smile on his face. “They’re both just making faces at one another and thinking very loudly.”

Y/N laughs and grins sheepishly, “I was trying to determine if he wants me sharing that kind of information, seeing as he didn’t offer it freely himself.”

“Well what would you say you are to our Sorcerer Supreme then?” Mordo asks.

“His best friend,” she says simply with a shrug as if it’s obvious.

“You stand before a panel of his friends, who he’s never bothered to introduce you to prior to today, and claim to be his best friend?” Mordo questions, glancing down at Stephen. “Do you have something to say about this, my brother?”

Stephen’s mouth presses together tightly before sighing and slumping into his chair, “We’re here now, might as well. She’s telling the truth. We’ve known each other since we were young children. We did also go to college together yes. And I have stayed in contact with her since then. As for why I never introduced her, she had her own things going on. She always would have been a big asset to the Illuminati, but I wasn’t going to take over her life.”

“Doctor Strange, considerate?” Rambeau asks with a smirk.

“It happens on the odd occasion,” Y/N responds with a wink. “He’s also just embarrassed to bring me into this aspect of his life.”

“He’s worried we’re going to tease him for caring about someone,” Xavier adds, earning a glare from Strange sitting beside him.

“So are there any other specific questions you all have?” Y/N asks.

“Do you have any embarrassing childhood stories I can hold over his head?” Richards asks as he sets down the paper in his hands. “You seem good to go, I just want leverage now.”

Laughing and nodding along she smile, “More than you could ever imagine, but I’m loyal to Stephen. I won’t embarrass him like that.”

“So we’re all done now then yes?” Stephen asks as he hurriedly stands, the faintest blush on his cheeks. “Enough interrogation for one day?”

“I’m satisfied, anyone in disagreement on Doctor Y/L/N taking over as lead researcher of lab A?” Richards asks, nodding when no one says anything. “Welcome to the Illuminati Miss.”

-

“You sure it’s alright that I stay here?” Y/N asks as Stephen helps her pass the rest of her belongs through a portal into a room at the Sanctum.

“I’m Sorcerer Supreme and Master of the Sanctum. I say it’s ok, so it’s ok,” he assures her, closing the portal behind them and watching as she flops onto the bed.

“Been a long time since we lived together, been kind of looking forward to it,” she says as she turns on her side to look at him.

“A bit fancier than our last place,” he laughs and sits on the edge of the bed, his cloak flying off and out the door.

“That it is, though broke uni students apartment versus mansion of mystical masters is quite the change,” she says as she grabs his arm. “Show me around? Mainly so I don’t wander into an ancient relic that sends me back in time when I get up to get a drink in the middle of the night.”

“Needy needy,” he teases, standing up from the bed and walking to the door. “Let’s get a move on then.”

“Look at me, turning the Sorcerer Supreme into a tour guide,” she jokes, slipping out the door behind him. “I can’t imagine how much your time costs if you were to monetize it. The amount of crap you have to do. To think I wasted your important time with tire swings and picnics.”

“Expensive to others, free to you,” he remarks, offering her his arm. “Come on. With you I’m just Stephen you know that. No Doctor, no Sorcerer Supreme. Let me feel normal for a few minutes.”

Slipping her arm through his she looks at the nearest relic on the wall, “It’s just crazy to think about sometimes ya know? You’re always still going to be the boy I grew up climbing trees with and counting change in college trying to afford a shit pizza. Now I mean… holy shit.”

“I’m still him.”

“I know you are, and I’m insanely proud of you, hell I was crazy proud of you being the best neurosurgeon. You worked really hard to get there. And then you didn’t let your accident stop you. You pushed on and made a new life,” she gestures at the relic by them. “Now you live in a magic house with things like that. Speaking of which… what is that and why does it look like it came from a medieval torture chamber?”

“Crimson Bands of Cyttorak,” he answers, trying to ignore the heat in his cheeks as he pulls her closer. “I would suggest not touching it, it’ll wrap around you and imprison you.”

“So it is basically medieval torture equipment,” she hums and pulls on his arm to go further down the hall when Mordo comes out of a door in front of them. “Oh, hello Mordo!”

“I don’t believe I properly introduced myself,” he jokes, offering her his hand.

“Stephen’s talked about you plenty, oh and thanks still for getting him into Kamar-Taj in the first place,” she shakes his hand happily. “I’m glad he’s had you in his life.”

Mordo’s eyes glance at Strange for a moment with a smirk before looking back at Y/N, “I wish I could say he’s told me as much about you, however he’s been suspiciously quiet. Though it explains why he’s so possessive over his phone and taking calls for hours.”

“I have come to notice he’s kept me as some dirty little secret,” she laughs glancing over at Stephen. “Making me feel like I’ve been doing something indecent.”

“Of course not, I just… don’t prefer to share all aspects of my personal life,” he states firmly.

“So now that she’s here, you’re comfortable to share her with the rest of us?” Mordo teases, a smirk spreading on his face as Strange frowns. “You seem a lovely lady Ms Y/N, I and the others look forward to getting to know you.”

“Likewise,” she grins and places a hand on his arm. “I’m happy to finally get to meet all these people he talks about.”

“Are we continuing this tour or are you just going to stand around exchanging pleasantries with Mordo all evening?” Stephen all but pouts at their interaction.

“Always so impatient,” she tsks and nods a goodbye to the sorcerer beside her. “Maybe we could sit down and talk later?”

“Absolutely, I’m sure we can figure out a good time.”

“Great, great,” Stephen mutters, tugging on Y/N’s arm to lead her down the hallway.

After circling through the many halls of the Sanctum and going over which relics should absolutely not be touched, the pair comes to a stop in a family room of sorts.

Y/N glances around the room for a moment before pulling Stephen toward the large couch in the room.

Raising an eyebrow he glances down at her, “What exactly are you doing?”

“When did you last sleep?”

“Is that a trick question?”

“Stephen, when did you last sleep?”

“Time is relative.”

Releasing his arm, she turns him around and shoves him down onto the couch with a grunt, pressing on his chest so he finally lays back on it.

“Well that means it’s been awhile since you won’t give me a straight answer. And I’m tired.”

“And?” he questions as she climbs on top of him and grips onto his robes.  

“We’re napping,” she states firmly, burying her face against his neck. “I’ve missed doing this.”

“Ok,” he manages to choke out, trying to settle himself as he wraps his own arms around her to pull her close. One hand makes a quick gesture to change them both into more comfortable clothes.

“Good call,” she mumbles against him.

As he starts to nod off, he feels her fingertips brushing lightly over his face as she sings softly against his ear, “Close your eyes, have no fear. The monster’s gone. He’s on the run, and I’m here. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy.”

His arms tighten slightly around her at her voice, and a smile tugs at his lips before he finally lets sleep overtake him.

-

“Sleep well?” Mordo asks as Stephen enters the kitchen clicking his neck with a groan the following morning.

“No,” he mutters walking to the coffee maker.

“Unfortunate. You two looked awfully cozy when I walked through earlier,” Mordo comments, sipping his own coffee.

Stephen gives him a harsh glare, “Not a word. That couch isn’t comfortable for sleep. Especially for an entire night. Hadn’t intended to sleep that long.”

“Or you’re just getting old.”

“Fuck off.”

“Well good morning to you too Stephen,” Y/N says as she enters with a yawn.

“Not you, him,” he grunts, immediately handing her the mug he just poured. “Your neck ok? That couch is probably hundreds of years old.”

“Mhm,” she responds taking a sip and bumping her hip against his. “I crawled on top of you to avoid the couch. So I’m good.”

“You mean put more weight on me so I sunk further into the damn thing,” he teases and makes his own cup.

“Exactly, you know you love me,” she stretches up to press a kiss to his cheek. “I’m going up to shower and get changed, when are you taking off?”

“I’ll wait for you and portal us over,” he sighs and rolls his eyes. “One day you’re going to have to take a taxi or something though. This won’t be an everyday thing.”

“Or you could teach me magical Sorcerer abilities.”

“Not a chance, now get,” he shoos her off before looking back down at his coffee, trying to ignore the eyes on him.

“Friendship,” Mordo scoffs and takes care of his dishes. “I definitely believe you just love her in a platonic friendship fashion.”

“Once again, kindly fuck off.”

“You could just tell her how you feel, you two are clearly very close.”

“And ruin what we already have? One of the most important things in my life, the only stable thing I’ve ever had across my entire life?” he shakes his head vigorously. “I can be content with the way things are.”

“And then what happens once she decides to take a job elsewhere, or finds a partner here? You’ll be fine rarely seeing her once again, or seeing her with someone else?”

“We… have lived apart before plenty. And she’s dated. We both have had partners.”

“Strange, would you actually be happy with either of those things?”

Staring down at his cup silently, he finally sighs, “No.”

“Then say something. Or ask her on a date. If she really doesn’t want more with you, I doubt she will throw away everything you two already have. It’s obvious to anyone that spends more than a moment with the two of you that she cares about you. I doubt she’s put up with you for decades just to throw it all away in a moment because you asked her on a date.”

“Maybe… I’ll think about it, she just got here,” he responds and makes a quick gesture with his hands to change into his robes. “But for now, there’s work to be done.”

-

“Odd,” Y/N comments, eyes drifting to the clock beside her paperwork.

“What is?” Dr. Robinson, another scientist in the lab asks, leaning over her shoulder to look at the paperwork.

“Oh, no not this,” she says apologetically. “Just, the time. Stephen usually checks in by now if he’s not going to be back.”

She laughs and steps back over to her own work, “You’ve been here nearly half a year, and I’m still not used to hearing him referred to as ‘Stephen.’ Doctor Strange, Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, Leader of the Illuminati, and several unfavorable terms definitely. But Stephen, not so much.”

“It’s still odd to me hearing people address him so formally and seriously, or trip over their feet to bow for him,” she chuckles as she sorts through the papers.

“Well he is a fairly serious man.”

Y/N snorts at the statement and rolls her eyes, “He’s good at focusing in and getting work done. And he wants to be respected, which he thoroughly deserves. But he’s far from serious. He’s rather silly and fun when he’s not in work mode.”

“Yeah, for you. I’ve seen more of him in the last six months than I’ve seen of him the entire three years I’ve been here.”

“He didn’t used to come down to the labs?”

“Rarely while we were here, only if he had questions about the reports or wanted more information. He spent more time here at night after we all left.”

“Hm,” she twists the pen in her fingers. “He’s not been doing that now as far as I know. We have dinner together and hang out, he reads whatever reports he has or spell books, then we both head off to bed.”

“Now he visits here during the day to do whatever he needs to do because he wants to see you,” Robinson responds, giving her a knowing look. “You had to have noticed.”

“Well yeah he comes by to say hi, but he’s working.”

“He does his work, but he keeps circling around wherever you are in the lab. Finding excuses to walk past you, looking up at you while he’s working on something…”

“And…? We are best friends, he’s probably still getting used to me being here.”

“The man went from avoiding having to interact in the labs at all, to being down here whenever he can and looking at you like a lovesick puppy, Y/N,” she thumps a finger against Y/N’s forehead. “You’re a brilliant scientist but take a look of what’s right in front of your face boss.”

“I really doubt that he-” she begins to say before stumbling back as the air sparkles and a portal opens beside her, a blur of blue fabric stumbling through the opening before it quickly closes.

“What the- Stephen?” she asks, stooping down to pull the cloak away from his face. His eyes stare back at her unblinking, blood dripping from several gashes across his face. “Holy shit, Stephen! Robinson get the medical team, now!”

Pulling the cloak from his shoulders, she works to flip him onto his back, finding more gashes on his chest, the fabric shredded in several places. Cursing under her breath she reaches for the scissors in her desk drawer and cuts the remaining fabric away. Pulling her lab coat off she wads it up and presses it firmly against the gashes on his chest.

“Stephen are you here with me?” she asks, bringing one hand down to press to the pulse on his neck, exhaling when she picks it up.

“Barely,” he coughs out after a moment as he stares up at her.

“Just stay with me alright? The medical team will be here in just a minute,” she responds with one hand applying pressure and the other twining in his hair to keep his attention. “What did this? Any poison or magic?”

“Magic,” his eyes flicker open and closed a few times.

“Keep ‘em open Stephen,” she scolds softly. “Keep looking at me, just focus on me.”

“Always… focused on you,” he mumbles, his head lulling back and his eyes drooping.

Gnawing at the inside of her cheek, she cheeks his pulse once again.

Shit. Too slow.

Removing her hand from the jacket to grasp his head, she presses her lips to his. His eyes widen immediately at the contact, and his pulse quickens under her fingers, “Just like that, stay with me Stephen,” she whispers against his lips, his eyes dart to her face.

Finally the lab doors fly open to the medical team who quickly usher her out of the way and get him loaded on their gurney and out the door as she follows behind them.

-

The ringing in his head pulls Stephen from his sleep, his eyes slowly opening to the too bright room in the Illuminati Headquarters’ medical ward.

He looks around the room, his eyes settling on Y/N currently fast asleep in a chair next to his bed, her hand reached out holding his own.

Running his thumb over her knuckles makes her stir, eyes blinking open and a smile on her face as she sees him looking at her, “Finally you wake up!”

“Did I keep you waiting long?” he chuckles, wincing as he shifts in the bed. “What happened?”

“About nine hours,” she answers and reaches over to brush his hair from his face. “You don’t remember? You opened a portal right in front of me, stumbled through, closed it, and collapsed. You were covered in gashes from… something.”

Frowning as the battle with the beast comes back to him he sucks in a breath, “Apologies for that, I wasn’t thinking, portaling there in that state. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Scare me? It was a fucking surprise for sure, and I was scared you were going to die. But hell yeah portal to me again if you need help,” she says firmly.

“So what’s the diagnosis?”

“You got a lot of stitches for one. Punctured organs. Variety of other things. They brought in two healers from Kamar-Taj that fixed most of the internal stuff. Medical team stitched you up, but they helped your healing along. I don’t even know exactly what was wrong, they were all running around frantically. You were a bit of a mess Doctor Strange.”

Nodding along, he leans back and shuts his eyes briefly before another memory hits him. His eyes fly open and he slightly turns toward Y/N, staring at her intently, “You kissed me. After I came through the portal.”

“You remember that part huh?” She asks, obviously flustered, her eyes avoiding his own.

“I do. Why?”

She clears her throat and shifts in her seat, “Well. You were fading on me, and I wanted you to stay awake and alert.”

“And a kiss was the medically sound way to do that?” he teases with a smirk. “I know you didn’t go to med school, but I think you know better than that.”

“Well I was just going off what had been mentioned to me… and thought maybe it would work to get your attention back on me.”

“What had been mentioned to you? Someone told you that’s a good way? At this lab?” he frowns in thought. “Either I need to go back through our staff and test some people or someone was teasing you.”

“No not like they told me to do that, just something about you and I thought it might work and I mean it did so…” she rambles and her hand twitches in his.

“What are people saying about me?” His brow furrows.

Taking a deep breath she finally meets his eyes, “There just might have been a few people that have mentioned since I’ve been here… that maybe, perhaps. That you may have feelings other than friendship for me.”

Stephen’s eyes immediately widen, the words hitting him like a splash of cold water. His mouth opens and closes several times as he tries to form a reply.

“I mean… I don’t know if it’s true. But I thought if it was maybe you’d… react to the kiss enough to get your attention back on me?”

“M-makes sense,” he stutters, his voice coming out hoarse as his mind races and body tenses.

“Maybe now isn’t the right time… but we’re here and it’s been brought up. If it’s a no we can forget we talked about this and leave it in this room. Is there any truth to that?”

“And if it’s a yes?” he asks quietly, his eyes darting away from hers and tongue quickly wetting his lips.

Y/N stands from her seat at his words, immediately making him regret it. He knew this would happen. This is why he’d always held it back. Now he’s gone and…

She closes the distance between her and the hospital bed, hands reaching down to gently cradle his head in her hands, “If it’s a yes, Stephen Strange, then I’ll let you know the feelings are mutual.”

His breath catches in his throat, turning his cheek into her palm as he stares up at her longingly, “T-they are?”

Leaning in close to him she stops just centimeters from his lips, “They are.” Her lips press to his gently, and he quickly moves his against them. Her tongue swipes across his lips making them immediately part, a strangled groan coming from his throat.

Slowly breaking the kiss, Y/N leans back as Stephen follows her up, sighing at the loss of contact. His eyes stare back at hers hazily, his hand gripping hers tighter.

Chuckling at his reaction, she leans back in and presses her forehead to his, “Let’s not overdo it right now, your face is barely holding together as is.”

“It’ll last,” he whispers breathlessly. “You’ve no clue how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“I think I might have some clue,” her thumbs brush carefully over his cheeks. “Though I would be interested to know when exactly it changed for you.”

“It never ‘changed’ for me,” he admits, turning his head to press a kiss to her palm. “It’s always been there. It’s always been you. I never wanted to lose you, so I buried it.”

Pressing several small kisses on the uninjured skin on his face she gives him a gentle smile, “That’s been a lot of years and relationships we’ve been through Stephen. No wonder you hated all my boyfriends.”

“Why do you think they never worked out for me?” he grumbles. “And they weren’t good enough for you, any of them.”

“Only you’re good enough hm?” she teases.

“Well I have a few things going for me that none of them could ever touch,” he retorts with a smirk. “Sorcerer Supreme and leader of the Illuminati bring some perks.”

“I would say your biggest advantage is the way you’ve always been so attuned to me. Supportive, and caring from the beginning. The way you make me feel like I’m the most important person in the universe when you look at me.”

“You are the most important person in my universe, always have been.”

Finally releasing his head, she lets her hands slip to his shoulders and she presses another soft kiss to his lip, smiling as he relaxes into her touch, “I love you Stephen.”

“I love you too,” he responds, his eyes practically sparkling back at her. The most carefree and happy expression she’s seen on his face in decades. “Can we just make this official now?”

“Impatient?” she laughs as she sits back in her seat but still holds onto his hand.

“Exceedingly. I’ve waited decades Y/N, I don’t want to wait for some other asshole to come swooping in now. I don’t want to waste more time.”

“You have nothing to worry about, I’m reasonably confident about this one.”

“Only reasonably?” His lower lip jets out.

“You’re going to be trouble aren’t you? But I suppose you’re my trouble now,” she smiles and shakes her head at the man.

“If we’re being truly honest, I’ve always been your trouble,” he chuckles and intertwines their fingers.

“That you have,” she nods and lifts their hands to press a kiss to the back of his.

“How long am I supposed to be stuck here for?”

“Sounded like they wanted to watch over you for a few days, then you’ll have to take it easy for another few days once you’re out.”

Groaning loudly he flops dramatically back against his pillow and winces at the movement, “I have far too much to do to take it easy.”

“And here I was thinking you’d like a few uninterrupted days in your bed with me taking care of you,” she says innocently, trying to hold back a laugh as his head turns dramatically back toward her. “I requested the week off to take care of you, Richards and Mordo already agreed and are taking care of your duties and setting up Doctor Robinson to take my place while I’m out.”

“You should have led with that,” he says roughly, a new fire in his eyes. “I have you all to myself, all week?”

“That you do Doctor Strange,” she grins. “And in light of new revelations, I can make sure you are thoroughly cared for. If you agree of course.”

A growl of frustration leaves his lips and he tugs on her hand, trying to pull her closer, “And I thoroughly agree. Yet you tease me knowing I’m stuck in this fucking room for another few days.”

Standing up and going back to his side, she cups his cheek with her free hand and leans down to his ear, “Now, you just have something to look forward to love.”

Her teeth barely graze his ear as he groans and his eyes shut, “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Mm, probably,” she laughs and presses a kiss to his cheek. “I’ve been here this long, I don’t plan on taking off anytime soon.”

“You’re my one constant,” he admits, his eyes opening to look at her lovingly. “You always have been, and I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life. I’d have fallen apart one hundred times over by now.”

“Remember the promise I made you?” she asks him softly, gently running her fingers through his messy hair.

“Which one?”

“When we were 19. It was after your father passed, and you said you were all alone now. I told you I could never fill the hole they left, but that you’d never be alone. That I’ll always be there for you.”

“And you always have, through everything,” he smiles up and her and leans into her touch. “I love you, with all that I am. I’m yours without reservation, forever.”

“Well that was deeply romantic and Hallmark movie sounding, have you been planning that line for awhile?” she teases, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “But I love you too, there’s no place I’d rather be than here with you, and that’ll never change.”

“May have had some time to come up with that one,” he responds as he lifts his hand to her cheek. “I’m just… happy. Didn’t think we’d ever be together. And I was content with what we’ve had.”

“Content but not happy?”

He nods, “You make me happy, I’m happy being around you. I’m happy for you to be here. But I suppose… there’s that part of me that held on to what could have been. “

“Well there’s no more what ifs. We can start figuring out where we go from here now.”

“Bedrooms.”

“What?”

“You can keep things in the other room if you want, but I want you in my bed, with me.”

“And if I refuse?” She grins as he pouts. “I’m just kidding. I’ll happily cling to you like a monkey every night once your body is adequately holding itself together.”

“Or, more sound medical advice, you just do that now and hold it together for me,” he teases. “From the same medical school as kiss someone losing consciousness.”

“Hey you make fun of me for it, but it worked,” she argues.

“Mm that it did, but do me a favor and save that trick for only me?” His hand drifts down her arm.

“Let’s just hope I’m not in that position for a multitude of people. There’s so many people with a medical background in this building, if somehow another person starts bleeding out in front of me I’m just going to quit, because that’s just shit luck and I’m not that kind of doctor.”

“Do I need to make up a rule that no employee bleed to death in front of Doctor Y/L/N?” he grins as she sticks her tongue out at him.

“You’re awful.”

“Yet you still love me,” he says smugly, carefully lifting his arms to put them behind his head.

“Clearly either a chemical malfunction in my brain or some off-shoot version of Stockholm Syndrome.”  

“Keep telling yourself that,” he winks.

“For someone who nearly died today then was stuttering trying to tell me your feelings, you’re awfully confident now.”

“Like I said, I’m happy.”

“While I’m happy you’re happy, let’s stop moving so much before you pop a stitch,” she says as she feels for them carefully under his gown. “You’ll probably be stuck here longer if you do.”

Sighing at her words he nods and brings his arms down, reaching out to grasp her wrists and bring her closer to him, “Another kiss to ease the pain?”

“Are you always going to be this needy?” She teases, leaning partially over the bed to bring her face just inches from his.

His lips brush softly over hers as a smile slowly breaks through, “For you? Of course.”

----

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#doctor strange #Doctor Stephen Strange #Stephen Strange #supreme strange #supreme!strange #supreme strange x reader #doctor strange imagine #doctor strange x you #doctor strange x reader #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange x you #stephen strange imagine #marvel #fanfiction

[100gayicons]

GAY ICONS - ALAN BATES

Alan Bates appeared in one of the most homoerotic scenes in movie history - wrestling nude with Oliver Reed in “Women in Love” (1969) - but I never considered he might be gay or bisexual… until…

Recently I watched “Tea With the Dames” (2018) a documentary where Maggie Smith and Judi Dench gossip about their careers. When talking about Shakespeare’s “Anthony and Cleopatra”, Maggie off-handedly mentions that Alan Bates would have preferred to play the role of Cleopatra!

That remark sent me off researching … and sure enough, several sites mention that Bates, although he was married with twin sons, had several male lovers throughout his life. This was confirmed in a biography “Otherwise Engaged: The Life of Alan Bates” which was written in cooperation with Bates’ surviving son Benedict.

In the 1960s, Bates starred in a string of international hits, including “Zorba the Greek” (1964), “Georgie Girl” (1966), “King of Hearts (1966), and “Far from the Madding Crowd” (1967).

What was unknown by the public at that time, Bates lived with and was in a 10 year relationship with actor Peter Wyngarde. (Wyngarde himself was outed in 1975 when he was arrested for 'gross indecency' with a truck driver in the toilets of a bus station.)

But Bates was attracted to women as well. In 1964 Bates met actress Joanna Pettet when the both appeared on Broadway in “Poor Richard”. According to Pettit the two had an affair during the run of the show.

In 1970, Bates married Victoria Ward who was pregnant at the time. She gave birth to their twin sons the next year. From all accounts their relationship was rocky. They separate but both were involved in raising their children. Tristan, one of the twin, died of a suspect overdose in 1990. His mother Victoria couldn’t recover from the shock and she died in 1992.

In 1972, Bates met actor Nickolas Grace while they both were performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Grace was 25 at the time and described the relationship as:

“very close and very loving, in an intense affair that was one of the most important relationships of my life"

Bates denied to Nickolas that he was homosexual.

“(Alan) was free and happy, and … he took me to meet his family in Derby, where we had lovely weekends. But at other times he was reserved and frightened… he didn't want me to be seen with him.”

Bates later had a two year relationship with English Olympic skater John Curry. Curry was outed prior to the 1976 Olympics but the international press largely ignored it. In 1987 Curry was diagnosed with AIDS and died in 1994. It’s been reported that Bates helped to care for his former lover and was with him when he died.

Bates had relationships with other men and women but the ones I mention above seemed the most significant.

Bates and Maggie Smith were reunited in Robert Altman’s “Gosford Park” (2001), the movie that inspired “Downton Abbey”. The next year Bates was knighted by Queen Elizabeth when she bestowed him with a CBE. The same year Bates rekindled his friendship with Joanna Pettit and she moved from the US to live with him. They had a common bond - her son had died of an overdose as well.

Bates needed hip replacement surgery in 2003. While recovering doctors discovered he had pancreatic cancer. And the final insult, a stroke. Alan Bates slipped into a coma with his son Benedict and friend Joanna Pettit by his side.

#gay icons #Alan Bates #gay or bisexual #women in love #men wrestling in the nude #homoerotic #Joanna Pettit #Peter Wyngarde #gross indecency #John Curry Olympian

[docgold13]

365 Marvel Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…

December 28th - Captain Marvel / Mar-Vell

Following an incident wherein one of their Sentry units was destroyed on earth, The Kree Empire dispatched an agent to the planet to determine whether or not its populace posed a threat to The Kree.  Captain Mar-Vell was selected for the mission.  

On Earth, Mar-Vell adopted the identity of a recently deceased scientist named Walter Lawson.  Throughout his mission, Mar-Vell would often don his Kree military uniform to protect the people he was observing. The first time he does this, a bystander mistook his name and he came to be known as ‘Captain Marvel.’

Mar-Vell’s tasks on earth were frequently hampered by his envious Kree colleague, Yon-Rogg, his growing affection for humanity, as well as his fake identity's criminal past. During this time Mar-Vell also became romantically involved with the Naval officer assigned to oversee Lawson, Carol Danvers.  

After aiding humanity several times, Mar-Vell would be found guilty of treason against the Kree Empire and sentenced to death. Yet Mar-Vell escaped the Kree home world in a stolen rocket and ended up in league with the rogue Kree accuser, Ronan.  Along with a corrupt minister named Zar-ek, Mar-Vell was manipulated into aiding an attempted assassination of the Kree Supreme Intelligence.  So to better help them, Mar-Vell was given a new costume and enhanced abilities. After the conspiracy was foiled, Mar-Vell tried to return to Earth. On the way, however, he was hit by a blast of radiation that trapped him within the Negative Zone.

The Supreme Intelligence mentally reached out to Mar-Vell and enabled him to telepathically contact Rick Jones, which he uses to lead Jones to a set of ‘nega-bands’ at an abandoned Kree base. When Jones put on these bands and struck them together, it acted to cause him to trade places with Mar-Vell, encasing Jones within a protective aura in the Negative Zone. Jones and Mar-Vell discovered they were able to maintain telepathic contact. Using this method, Mar-Vell was able to remain in the positive universe for a period of up to three hours.  

With Rick Jones as his conduit to Earth, Mar-Vell would go on to have further adventures, aiding the Avengers in putting an end to the centuries-long Kree/Skrull War and defeating the Mad Titan, Thanos.  Ultimately, Reed Richards helped device a means of freeing Mar-Vell from the Negative Zone.

Some time later, Mar-Vell discovered that a past adventure where he was exposed to the poisonous Compound 13 gas had resulted in his developing a rare and deadly type of cancer.  Unable to find an effective treatment, Mar-Vell came to terms with his fate and was offered palliative care abroad Mentor’s space station in orbit of Jupiter’s moon, Titan.  In his final hours, Mar-Vell was visited by his many friends and colleagues and even past adversaries.  In the end, the sprit of Thanos came to Marv-Vell and introduced him to the entity of Death who gently ushered the hero to the unknown realm of the afterworld.  

A version of Mar-Vell featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by actress Annette Bening.  The hero first appeared in the pages of Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (1967).

#365 Marvel Comics Heroes #Captain Marvel #Mar-Vell #Captain Mar-Vell #Annette Bening #cut-out #paper art

[beachy--head]

a new kind of waiting (1)

During those long, never-ending hours when the plane is missing and no one knows anything, she pretty much lives at the hospital, because if she doesn't stop moving, maybe she won't think.

A kind of japril AU take on the plane crash and the days spent waiting for news. One-shot.

Note: This started as a drabble, and well... it got a bit out of hand.

(read on ao3 or ff.net)

___

She keeps busy on day 1.

During those long, never-ending hours when the plane is missing and no one knows anything, she pretty much lives at the hospital, because if she doesn't stop moving, maybe she won't think. She doesn't sleep, she barely eats, she helps out in the ER and where she can, she babysits Zola for a few hours. When she's not working, she stays near the phone in her office or at the nurse's station, because it could ring at any moment, telling her that they – because there are other people she cares about on that plane too, even if her brain is too busy worrying about one of them in particular to spare a thought for the others – have been found all alive and well, and that the whole thing has just been a giant misunderstanding. Her heart stops beating every time she gets a page, or every time she sees Owen, and her stomach is nothing but a ball of nerves.

She decides that he cannot be dead on day 2.

Because if he is, then the last thing her best friend would have heard from her is that he had to leave her alone, and this cannot happen. She can't remember the last words she's ever said to Reed, and she refuses to acknowledge "I don't need your pity" and "leave me alone" as the last things she said to Jackson. To acknowledge that the last time she saw her best friend, she pushed him away as he was just trying to take care of her, like he always does.

Oddly enough, she doesn't cry. She's known to be the emotional one, she's pretty sure every one of her co-workers has seen her cry at some point or another, but she's feeling too terrified to shed a tear. The only time she comes close is when she hears Catherine Avery yell at Richard and Owen and demand they do something, but her mentor's anger only reinforce her belief that Jackson will be fine, because there's no Catherine without Jackson, and Catherine is here. Well, Catherine is here, but she's also not, because the broken look in her eyes when she meets April in a corridor and falls into her arms is very un-Catherine-like. And still, April doesn't cry.

Mark Sloan, of all people, forces her to go lay down in an on-call room on day 3.

She doesn't have the energy to refuse, and if she had, the look on the attending's face would stop her. It's fear, it's weariness, it's guilt for sending Jackson in his place, for making him take his spot on the surgery team as a parting gift, a reward for passing his boards. It's full of all the things he hasn't said to Lexie, and all the things he hopes to say to her one day, and before he leaves, she squeezes his hand, because she knows all too well what he's feeling.

She tries to close her eyes, but opens them right away, because of course she sees his face. His face laughing after a corny joke and too many beers at Joe's, his face frowning as he's trying to find the answer to one of her questions during one of their many study sessions, his face softening as he looks up at her, at all of her, in a hotel room in San Francisco. She doesn't know how she manages to fall asleep, but she wakes up with the covers lying on the floor and her scrubs all sweaty. She doesn't remember having nightmares, but then, she's living through one.

Alex yells at her on day 4.

They're in a patient room, doing some last check-ups before discharging him, and he starts yelling for the most insignificant reason. She yells right back at him, right in front of the patient too, before Richard comes into the room and asks them to leave the hospital and go back to their place to get some rest. He says he'll call them as soon as they have some news, and Alex mutters "whatever" and leaves without waiting for her. She's tempted to ignore Richard's order (he's no longer her boss anyway), but then she sees Callie pacing in the attending's lounge, clutching to Sofia, and Mark, his head in his hands, and Owen, who has maybe said three words ever since they found out, and she goes home. At the apartment, she goes straight to Jackson's room, snuggling under the covers in his bed, and only moves when Alex gruffly tells her that the food he ordered just got here. He ignores her when she says "thank you", and they eat in silence.

The phone rings and her pager beeps on day 5.

Alex drives like a maniac while she bites her nails in the passenger seat. She's tried praying the past few days, but the lines of communication between her and God are a bit murky at the moment, and it only makes her think about all of her failures, which makes her think of how she made Jackson feel responsible for them, which turns her stomach. She still manages to send a quick prayer, mumbling under her breath, not knowing if it'll be heard, and Alex doesn't even make fun of her.

At the hospital, they run, don't walk, straight to the conference's room, where most of the attendings are gathered. She can see the tears on Mark Sloan's face, and her heart stops.

It starts beating again when Hunt tells her that there was only one casualty from the plane crash, and that Sloan is weeping for someone else than his protege. The shock of hearing Lexie is dead battles with her relief that Jackson is alive, the two concepts clashing and jarring, and that's when the tears finally come. She finds a wall and slides down to a sitting position, her body racked with sobs, and Bailey kneels next to her and softly repeats that Jackson is okay, thinking she's misunderstood what she has just heard.

Jackson (and all of the other survivors) comes back on day 6, and a new kind of waiting begins.

#japril #japril fanfiction #japril ff #april kepner #jackson avery #jackson and april #april x jackson #grey's fanfic #fanfiction #one shot #my fics

[melodiousmonk]

The song "Sun City" by Artists United Against Apartheid features over 50 artists participating to raise awareness about the apartheid system in South Africa.

Some of the notable artists include Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Run-D.M.C., Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Ruben Blades, Pat Benatar, Herbie Hancock, Ringo Starr, Peter Gabriel, Bob Geldof, Clarence Clemons, Darlene Love, Bobby Womack, The Fat Boys, Jackson Browne, Daryl Hannah, George Clinton, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Bonnie Raitt, Hall & Oates, Jimmy Cliff, Joey Ramone, and many more.

These artists also vowed never to perform at Sun City, because to do so would be an acceptance of apartheid.

The song was written and produced by Steven Van Zandt.

It premiered at the United Nations, thanks to the Special Committee Against Apartheid.

The song was only a modest hit with only about half of American radio stations agreeing to play "Sun City," with some objecting to the lyrics' explicit criticism of President Ronald Reagan's policies.

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) refused to broadcast the non-profit film The Making of Sun City even though it won the International Documentary Association's top honors in 1986.

The song was banned in South Africa.

The album and single raised more than a million U.S. dollars for anti-apartheid projects.

#artists united against apartheid #sun city #miles davis #bob dylan #bruce springsteen #bono #peter gabriel #lou reed #darlene love #george clinton #clarence clemons #joey ramone #the fat boys #ringo starr #Spotify #Youtube

[walkingatombomb]

Comics I Read Today

September 13

Big Town #2 (2001, Marvel)

This issue begins with Reed Richards and Doctor Doom sitting across from one another deciding the fate of the world. Meanwhile, Hulk, the Sub-Mariner and Ultron attack Thor and Black Panther. They fight but it’s all a diversion for two other Ultrons who are trying to take over the city’s power station. There’s a lot more going on here and it’s a whole lot of fun. I’d love to read the last two issues to see where the story goes.

My Rating: 8

Little Audrey #8 (1994, Harvey Comics)

Cute stories involving Little Audrey and her pals and family. Nothing groundbreaking but it’s a bit of fun.

My Rating: 5

#my stuff #comic books

[rk-stateoftheart]

✖ [for our muses to sneak around without anyone knowing about their relationship] from Gavin :3

Gavin was the first one to leave the precinct. The brunette did not even spare him a glance at this point, he simply muttered:”I’m out for tonight,” and that was that. The RK900 did not move to stop the detective Reed either; according to humans ‘Gods knew they were trying to crack a tough one, running in circles.’ He’d also learned that his partner had a tendency to sleep very little, no doubt prioritizing thought and analysis of their evidence over restful sleep although, lately, there existed a whole different reason for Gavin’s lack of sleep.

For good or bad. And the aloof android that solemnly remained in his chair, hand still attached to the screen, wintery eyes scanning and re-reading or re-arranging the files and the data they’d gathered, knew now that though the sleep was short, it was restful. It did very little to diminish the dark circles around Gavin’s eyes, but he noted the slightly elevated mood in his partner ever since their arrangement began.

‘Arrangement’ was possibly the best fitting word, Richard thought as he finally got up form his chair and carefully tugged at his jacket. The wrinkles that may have appeared on his person disappeared and he was ready to leave the precinct in a shape as perfect as he entered this morning. Nobody paid him any mind, a few officers uttered their goodbyes to him as he passed, but none inquired as to where he was going. Although he knew that no one followed him after (possibly out of fear of being discovered or the lack of interest), Richard took his time to marvel at the shift in the life of the city he lived in.

His emotions were conflicted regarding the state they were currently in. An unpredictable part of him, something which he had hard time controlling, would have wanted to make it public. Fuck sneaking around, fuck quick chaste kisses or knuckle brushes that were far too quick even for a machine meant to react to minute changes in the environment when all he wanted was to hold on, and fuck having to feign a bored look when he looked Gavin in the eyes at the office when he wanted to drown in the seemingly endless storm of grey cosmos. Many things could change in a wrong direction and both of them were either unwilling to let it slide or simply too scared. And then there was the other part of him that was intent on keeping this a secret. This ‘arrangement’ was their only. Richard did not want to share and he found solace in what had befallen onto his lap in this odd twist of fate.

So, he wanted to kick and scream and get praised for disobedience. He knew better, though.

Finally, his footsteps carried him to the neighborhood he was more familiar with. Ironically, the android figured he knew the outlay of this street even more than the one where Hank and Connor resided. He made sure that Gavin’s neighbours did not see him enter; he already had a copy of the key on him and he slipped inside. It was dark, but the little trail of light emerging from the ajar bedroom door gave enough clues as to where he could find his detective. Silently, he moved forward until he was finally behind Gavin. Without much of a forewarning, Richard leaned in and rested his chin against Reed’s head. His hair was moist. He must’ve showered some time before getting home. “What took you so long?”

Richard didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he gazed upon the papers and files (all neatly arranged on the table, easy to find – a contradiction of what appeared to be a common perception of a man; Gavin Reed wasn’t a neat freak, but by the looks of it, he took care of his work and the station; he was always in control) that Gavin was studying. “Work.” He heard a short and quiet snicker from the detective, but he didn’t move from his duties yet.

The RK900 tilted his head slightly. He could wait, but not for long, and his straying hands made that much obvious. It was ironic how the cold, calculating and incredibly patient being could get so impatient when it came to things, he was fond of and what he wanted. And Gavin must’ve figured it out because, despite the fact that Richard kept touching him – either his arms, his shoulders, even neck and chest – he did not react. Richard had learned then that Gavin’s words weren’t the only cruel thing about him at times, but his tendency to offer penalty for taking longer than necessary.

Richard pursed his lips (an action he immediately criticized himself for), and he leaned closer to swipe his tongue across a patch on the detective’s neck. He knew that once there sat a bright red mark – a little something that earned a copious amount of teasing from officer Chen. But the action got a reaction. Gavin’s back straightened and he immediately covered his neck. Richard pulled back, brows briefly furrowed in thought.

“What the fuck, Nines?”

“Are you wearing the cologne I gifted you?”

Finally, Gavin turned around. Mirth played in those stormy grey eyes as he scrutinized the android, and his voice sounded borderline condescending and playful:“Can you blame me? You took your damn time comin’ here, I was thinking I’ve been stood up.”

Richard turned the chair around and set his hands on both handles, keeping the furniture and the human under his steady gaze and grip. He leaned closer, his features stern:”I find it offensive you think so poorly of me.” But then he melted and Richard leaned closer to press a kiss against the Adam’s apple presented to him. For all the fancy tech, he was unfortunately not blessed with the sense of smell. The details of the cologne were not enough to sate his curiosity, but if Gavin wore it, that was enough for the RK900.

“And that does it for ya?”

Richard’s voice was low:“Not just that.”

“Hmm?”

“I miss you. Every day. Even when you are just a few centimeters away.” Another quick kiss before Richard lowered himself so that his knees would touch the floor. He rested his head on Gavin’s thighs. Calloused fingers began raking through his dark hair no more than five seconds later.

“Who knew the state of the art Terminator is such a sap.”

“A word to anyone and you won’t be walking for a week.”

“Kinky.” Richard raised his head to target Gavin with a cold glare. Gavin did not even flinch, but a grin spread across his handsome features. But then the fingers took a hold of the android’s cheeks, and he lifted his chin slightly. “Don’t be like that. I missed you too.”

It was only a while later, with the lights finally shut, blankets thrown over them and Gavin’s head resting on his chest, that Richard found himself thinking again. He’d need to leave for work in three hours and fourteen minutes to charge in order to keep performing well on the field. Ironically, he and Gavin were ready for this type of separation – he always left a little note on the nightstand, but never a message on the phone – but they were not yet ready to breach the border that kept them from going out together in public. Richard wanted, but he was afraid. Maybe Gavin was too, but it was not a thing the two of them could put into words.

So, he decided as he listened to the shallow breathing of his partner, he was ready to wait. For as long as necessary. Maybe they will never let anyone know and they’ll continue showing affection towards each other with a single cup of coffee or a “I’ll watch your six” when investigating the scenes, always bound to the shadows with feelings none seemed to dare to name but that were undeniably there, or maybe they’ll eventually get over the desire to hide.

But for as long as they had each other, even if they sometimes had to wait for more than the unbearable eight hours to pass, it was – undeniably – worth it.

#No beta read because I am lazy #Reed900 #;; ask #it came out a bit too domestic #warning: there is a lot of internal monologue #i do not remember how to write anything so yeah #hope you enjoy regardless

[zemossunshine]

Sunshine Chapter 38

Pairings: Zemo x You  Bucky x You

Summary: Falling in love with a villain. This will start sweet and then go very dark.

Tags: Explicit. Mature. Not for minors. Dark. Angst. Knife play. Depression. Suicidal thoughts. Self Harm . Vomiting. Nightmares. Sleepwalking. Torture. Smut. Broken Bones. Blood. Injury. Violence. Rough Sex. Rape. Kidnapping. Spanking. Unhealthy Relationships. Mental Health Issues. Anal Sex. Orgasm Delay. Fear. Blow Jobs. Sexual Violence. Suicide Attempt. Reference To Domestic Violence. Sleepwalking. Memory Loss. Gen Violence. Threats. Manipulation. Manipulative Relationship. Murder. Death. Loss Of Parents. Implied Alcohol Abuse. Threats Of Rape. Non Consensual Drug Use. Emotional Manipulation. Gaslighting.

Warnings for this chapter: None (I think).

And if somebody hurts you, I want to fight, but my hands been broken one too many times. So I’ll use my words, I’ll be so fucking rude. Worse, they'll always win and I know I’ll lose. And I’ll sing a song that will be just ours, but I sang them all to another heart. I want to cry, I want to learn to love, but all of my tears have been used up, on another love. All of my tears have been used up on another love. Lyrics by Tom Odell.

–

If a person’s will was the strongest thing that they had, then you had to believe that you would see Rebecca one day, see Zemo again, but it felt more and more distant, you felt more accepting of it all. Being here longer than you had been with Zemo and very soon longer than you had known him or Bucky. Your will must be strong as Victor said, to outsmart Zemo, but then again that led you here. Which wasn’t all bad, you had to admit to yourself that Victor wasn’t bad or evil, just elusive to everyone outside, they didn’t know him or understand him. You also learned who Reed Richards was, Victor stated that they had a love-hate thing going on, he loved Reed’s mind but hated everything else, he respected him, but they never saw eye to eye and like everyone else, Reed didn’t understand him. Reed was a part of the fantastic four, who kept insisting that Victor needed to be stopped but no one believed them. Victor’s will won every battle out there and he would just slip away back to you. When he would wake you up and he wouldn’t be alone and neither would you. Sometimes you wondered how desperately lonely you had been, then had to remind yourself you were never allowed to be alone. You weren't sure if they were the same thing really anymore. Alone or lonely? If you were either or neither?

“What’s your favourite song? Surely you can choose that?” Victor smiled looking at you in the way Zemo did, you weren't sure if it made you miss Zemo more or confused you. If during that touching incident you wanted him to continue, just for a moment. Zemo, I miss Zemo. You chanted internally reminding yourself of him.

“I could never choose, I love-”

The wrench in your hand dropped to the floor, a lump formed in your throat. Your eyes darted around desperately trying to find the source, the reason you felt black in your gut. It wasn’t gradual, it was there, alight and waiting. When you weren't using your powers, that only meant something terrible was about to happen, in the castle, the one place of familiarity that hadn’t been tainted, with Victor who never gave your powers any reason to come forward, to feel that colour within. Your eyes rounded, tears formed in your eyes, the connotations of what was about to happen etched across your face.

“Sweetheart, you are with me in Castle Doom, they can’t find you here.” Victor urged, positioning himself in your vision. Something is wrong. But Victor couldn’t read your mind like Zemo could. You straightened your spine ready to fight, simultaneously both of your heads turned to the super serum station, always whirring away in the background, trying to perfect the formula. You felt the force of the explosion before it could register with your other senses. You were knocked off your feet and sent hurtling backwards. The last thing you saw was Victor's doombots surging in your direction, by the command of Victor's outstretched hand before the flames engulfed him.

You could smell everything burning all around you, the doombots moved with such precision that they broke your fall, Victor broke your fall, slowly watching his bots melting in front of you, shielding you from whatever was left out there. D held onto your hand, comforting you, probably beeping away but you couldn’t hear a thing, not your shallow gasping breaths, not the thrumming of your heart, not the desperate prayers being reeled off in your mind.

You could sense the familiar burn of a fire cackling away but there was no solace in that, not right now, the blast didn’t even cause Victor to flinch, he was inches from it. Even in an absolute emergency, in certain death, Victor kept his promise, he didn’t touch you. You burnt your hand pushing the last bot out of the way, it didn't register past the cold sweat pouring out of your body. Victor saved D too, knowing he was your favourite, so much so you recently scratched a D into his chest.

“Victor!” You rasped, immediately finding it difficult to breathe through the smoke, flames were still licking up the walls. Finding yourself dizzy, you dropped to your knees and started to crawl, the debris piercing into your skin. You called out to Victor again, wheezing. What would you do if Victor was dead? Your vision was swimming, head pounding, you dug your nails into the cold damp bricks to push yourself forward. Focusing on your hands, you saw an ashen blackened metal hand next to yours. You do not know how you continued on, but you managed to lift your hand onto Victor’s, pulling him towards you or you towards him, you didn’t know.

“We are putting that serum on hold.” Victor coughed.

“You're ok?” You croaked out.

“D! Take her vitals, now!” Victor pressed. You smiled, Victor caved. He didn’t command his doombots; he commanded D, called him D, D was the only one left, for now anyway. All of Victor’s work, all of his inventions, destroyed, you closed your eyes, no longer able to see through the soot.

–

Victor spent his days pushing himself around on the stool delighted to rebuild everything, blissful in your company and his element, you repaired and rebuilt the doomboots who were immediately sent to work cleaning. Very little was salvageable, the first thing Victor rebuilt was the machine to locate Rebecca, your home, could you even remember it now? The explosion didn’t affect the structure of the castle. It seemed that no matter what happened on the inside would never appear on the outside, still holding strong and resolute. You found yourself staring at Zemo’s whiskey bottle, spinning your wedding ring around your finger totally unaware of your surroundings. You had brushed death yet again and found yourself thinking of Zemo. What would he do? Would he destroy everything in a fit of rage? Would he hold you until you felt safe?

“You miss him.” Victor drew himself up behind you, painfully close, but the proximity didn’t bother you. You did miss Zemo, you wanted to talk to him, to understand him more. A portal opened in front of you, obscuring Zemo’s whiskey, into a new world. Another encounter with an alternate Zemo? No thank you.

You turned to Victor with a sad smile on your face. “Can I meet Valeria instead?” You asked hesitantly. Victor’s eyes widened for a moment, however a new portal was opened, into a world where Valeria was alive, you stepped through excitedly. Your foot sunk into the soft earth, just up ahead, you could see a woman strolling happily next to a man, seemingly on a hike of some kind. Victor murmured something about Valeria being very into the outdoors in this world. You stayed back, hearing her flirtatious laugh ring in your ears. Watching Victor you didn’t see a hint of jealousy, his lips curled into a soft smile, every time he heard it, in between her animated Latverian. You knew that man ahead wasn’t Victor somehow. Valeria would have seen Victor without all the armour, perhaps you were jealous one, you remembered an off hand comment Victor made about no mirrors in the castle, he couldn’t bear to see what he had done to himself. He reminded you then, that you were the only person who didn’t lash out after experiencing grief and loss, when you asked him what loss he was talking about, he just turned away.

“You should teach me Latverian.”

“What do you think love is?” Victor deflected, he looked between you and Valeria and you noticed his expression didn’t change.

“I’m not sure I could describe it. I know I would do anything for Rebecca, for Zemo, like you belong with them.” You sounded so sure, yet to describe love didn’t make sense, how could you describe an emotion so strong? You loved Zemo. No love, current. And you knew he felt the same way. Although he never explicitly stated it, he said obsessed, enraptured, Zemo didn’t need to say it, you were sure he did, you believed he loved you.

“Love is surrender, being powerless. Love is when everything and nothing makes sense all at once.” Victor huffed, but not in an annoyed way, as if it were a recited fact that others couldn’t accept, the words were dire, yet so fitting. Defenceless, vulnerable, succumbing. It sounded so hopeless, yet it motivated billions all over the world, to commit dreadful acts, funny that you thought of the more sinister nature of love first and not it’s beauty. You continued to walk with him in silence, grinning at the strange dynamic you both had, both pining for loves you had lost, even if yours was just a temporary glitch.

“What’s Valeria like?” You tried, Victor knew so much about you and heard a lot about Zemo, you thought it was only fair to ask.

“A do- gooder.” Victor shook his head slightly. “Believed the world could be a better place, harmony, hope, all that shit you believe in.” Victor teased. You furrowed your brow at him, confused that Victor would fall for someone drastically different, That Valeria would. “Isn’t your husband a stone cold killer too?” Your face immediately dropped, eyebrows travelling up to your hairline in shock, Victor sighed so loudly, you were sure it could be heard back on your earth. “Watching Valeria-” Victor cleared his throat, “Makes me happy, it gives me that glow you talk of, I’m drawn to it, to her. Valeria’s glow is in every world.”

Permanent. As Zemo described yours, turning your attention away from Victor you saw Valeria crouch down to retie her laces, something within you urged you forward to get a closer look, an inkling you couldn’t ignore. To see the woman that had captivated Victor, distracted him from his never ending work. As she lifted her head, you snapped your eyes shut, unable to comprehend what your eyes had. Your stomach clenched, your legs wobbled. It’s not possible. That glimpse was all it took, you looked remarkably similar, too similar, frighteningly similar. There were slight differences, she was just a fraction taller, but fucking hell. You waited for an answer, an explanation, a reason why. Instead, all you got was the sound of a portal opening, urging you back to Castle Doom, where no doubt Victor and Valeria spent years of euphoria in and instead he was looking at you. Everyday. A ghostly image of his soulmate, the love of his life. So many things fell into place, why Victor could look at you like he had always known you, how he knew to talk you around, as he must have spent years doing the same with her. Why he refused to teach you Latverian, because then you would sound like her. That unexplainable connection you felt with him, the immediate intrigue, the level of comfort you took solace in.

“Draw your own conclusions.” Victor stated dryly.

You stomped through that portal, half tempted to strike Victor repeatedly. “My own conclusions?” You said sarcastically. “Did you kidnap me, because you think I’m Valeria? I’m not.”

“How would you know?”Victor purposely looked away from you. “The way you shift your weight. Your love for the rain. You were in a coma when Valeria died, then you woke up, unrecognisable, as if you were someone else.”

“STILL ME!” You shouted. Your anger snapped into place the moment you crossed the threshold to the castle. This couldn’t have happened, it couldn't have, this was impossible, crazy, things like this couldn't happen. You would vehemently deny it even if the proof stared you in the face. The only time you remotely heard things like this, had to do with magic. Did Victor do this to you? Was it possible that Victor had put Valeria’s spirit into your body? Maria was the one who claimed you were someone else, the only person who knew you before, before you were you. If that was even true anymore. Your hand instinctively found your necklace, tracing the letters with your thumb, the name you were told you had, what if your name was Valeria? What if everyone knew? Anguish crawled into your body, thrashing in your stomach, making you feel as if you didn't belong in your skin. Victor hadn’t answered, but then silence was always louder than words with him. No, no, I find Zemo in every world. Zemo! Tears formed in your eyes, you didn’t even bother to blink them away. You were your own person, you were not the imitation of Victor’s dead lover.

“I’m not Valeria, I find Zemo, you have shown me, it’s Zemo.” The tremor in your voice was evident. Your voice betrayed you, it was shaking more than your hand clutching onto that name, clinging on, to that life, the life you hadn’t lived for years.

“Yes, you do find him. A man who is exactly-”

“Like you.” You finished for Victor. Unable to come to terms with this revelation you just stood there, trying to take this all in. Glancing at your wedding ring, your green wedding ring. Feeling conflicted in a way you never had, tormented by this. “You stole me away, you stole my life.”

“You call what you had a life?” Victor scoffed. You would and you had been robbed of it. It suddenly dawned on you why Victor was so adamant on having permission to touch you, the rule was for him. Touching you would mean more to Victor, it wasn’t just about your past, well present. The panic was setting in, this was too much to understand. Bile rose in your throat, you knew the hyperventilating would start soon after.

“Sweetheart-”

You cut Victor off with a single scathing glare, knowing that is what he would have called Valeria. The wave of emotions, the rollercoaster of all this, you were distraught. “This isn’t fair.” You pointed out. Victor kidnapped you, stole you from Rebecca, from Zemo, from Bucky, Maria, Sam, Sarah, the boys, your entire life. Heat flushed across your body, your very soul burned by this rage. “How is this fair?” Your voice levelled out, begging Victor for an answer, the one rule he lived by. “HOW IS THIS FAIR?”

“It was fair to me.” Victor replied timidly. How could you argue with that? Victor justified this to himself, the tears flowed freely down your face. How were you supposed to live with this information? The door to your coffin opened, clearly Victor wanted you away from him, he didn't want anymore to be revealed, for anything else to happen between you. As you mindlessly stepped towards it, Victor shivered as if to shed you from him, you couldn’t help but glance at him, he just looked sad, defeated, as if he had lost Valeria all over again. You were grateful for the opportunity to silence your mind, to purge yourself of the turmoil. You rushed towards the cabinet and pulled the doors closed yourself.

–

That blissful moment, just as you wake up, an empty head, no thoughts to drown you, no problems to solve, no pain, no awareness and as soon as it’s there it was gone and the only thing in your mind was Valeria. As if you didn’t have enough unanswered questions. How is this my life? Would you ever know peace? Had you ever? The tension was tangible as soon as you remembered where you were. You accepted the cup of coffee from D graciously, he had never done a thing to you, and much like Oeznik, he kept you hydrated with drinks through the day with soft smiles and kind eyes otherwise, at the very least you could miss Ozenik without any negativity following right behind. Victor was waiting for you, there was no avoiding this, not that you could walk out anyway. You noted that you were inside your coffin for less than thirty minutes. You sat next to him as you always did and sipped your drink quietly, waiting for the world to collapse around you, it seemed as if that was the only thing left on the list of things that hadn't happened in your life.

“It’s not fair.” Victor said remorsefully which caused you to look into his doting emerald eyes. “I’m not sure if you are Valeria, she wasn’t enhanced. You are alarmingly similar, but it could be a coincidence.”

“Check.”

“I don’t want to. I couldn’t live with knowing I sent my soulmate to Hydra.” Victor admitted quietly. He made whatever agreement he had with Hydra before he met you, before he saw you. Once again, you were asked to accept things you didn’t want to. “You are being pulled in many directions and it’s not right. You have always had difficulty choosing.” Victor laughed humorlessly. “I’m going to take that choice from you, it won't hurt, you just won’t remember.” Victor looked regretful, which was understandable, if he were to take this knowledge from you, you would go back to pining for Zemo and he would have to live knowing that a part of him believed you were his soulmate, you were his, Victor would have to watch you love another man. He would take this one memory, turn back time, whatever. He would take it away. Or take Zemo away. You were too dazed, too spent, frustrated that there was so much information about your life but never quite enough to fit everything together, to try and make sense of it all. Frustrated that someone knew you more than you knew yourself, again. Unable to ask Victor who he meant? What you wouldn't remember? Who he would take from you? You stared as the clock wound back, too fast to determine anything, too weak , too dismayed, to do anything but accept your fate.

“Watching Valeria-” Victor cleared his throat. “Makes me happy, it gives me that glow you talk of, I’m drawn to it, to her. Valeria’s glow, is in every world.” It sounded so empty, as if there wasn’t any emotion behind his words.

Permanent. As Zemo described yours, turning your attention away from Victor you saw Valeria crouch down to retie her laces, something within you urged you forward to get a closer look, an inkling you couldn’t ignore. To see the woman that had captivated Victor, distracted him from his never ending work. You tripped over a stray log you could have sworn wasn’t there. D offered you his hand, which was odd, you didn’t notice D coming through the portal with you before. Perplexed by your worn out state, bones heavy with weariness, tingled by emotion, fatigued as if you had been awake for days, you tried to get up, to glimpse Valeria who was walking away hand in hand with the man that wasn’t Victor. Victor knelt to your side, his eyes were glistening. You smiled sadly at him, watching the one you love walk away, each time heartbreaking and devastating. You interlinked your arm with Victors, squeezing it gently even if he couldn’t feel it and turned away. Sometimes it’s just too agonising, to watch, to even know. You wondered if Zemo, your Zemo would be able to walk away from you, if he saw you in another world. Victor was able to do it, probably came here just to see Valeria happy. He watched someone else love her and stayed away. Could Zemo do that? You laughed at that very thought, you would be in that house before you even registered a needle plunging into your neck. Did this make Victor a better man? It’s what Zemo said about Bucky. One day you would be reunited with Zemo, but Victor wouldn't be with Valeria, you finally understood what Victor said so often.

It isn't fair.

–

Dr Strange stepped back into earth from the dark dimension without hesitation. Someone had messed with time. Turned back time, for everyone. Not that your average Joe would notice, he barely noticed being away from earth for so long. He stormed through the sanctorum looking for Wong, they had to find who did this and why? Something far more pressing caught his eye, staring at those runes, not just runes, a spell, half of a spell, a dangerous spell.

“Strange, did you feel that?” Wong asked.

“Who is Dr Doom?”

“He is well versed in the arts, he has proven himself to be our ally.” Wong assured.

“No, he isn’t.”

–

“It’s chaos!”

That voice? Chaos? You didn’t know that voice, you were trapped in between unconsciousness and consciousness. Chaos? You fell out of your coffin, you had never been awoken so abruptly, so forcibly, Victor wouldn’t wake you up to be so disorientated. Your cloak was being draped across your body, before you could register what was happening.

“You need to come with me now.”

I’m not going anywhere. That woke you up. Kidnapped a third time? That wasn’t happening, in any universe. Victor was the last. You rushed up to find Dr Strange, with amber tendrils wrapped around Victor arms, Victor had been bound, on his knees, he was grunting, straining and in pain. You smirked in sweet satisfaction when you heard Dr Strange scream in agony. You wrapped your arms around Victor as Dr Strange baulked in horror at his freshly broken fingers. Even in your confused state, you knew to aim for the source of Dr Strange’s power. And pain, back to square one Stephen. Victor’s gasping in your ear only made you see red. You ripped his sword from his back and pointed it towards the cloak of levitation darting forward to attack, you held it steady, showing a skill you did not possess. The cloak whipped back to wrap itself around Dr Strange’s hands. You briefly took your other hand off Victor’s back and raised it, palm up to Wong.

“If you come back here, I’ll break more than hands.” You promised, Your voice was laced only with conviction. Wong gave you a single nod, gesturing wide to open a portal, he pulled a terrified and very injured Dr Strange through. You scowled at them from beneath the hood until the very last second.

“Did he hurt you?” You spluttered out, dropping the sword, which was much heavier than you anticipated. You inspected Victor's arms, there were scorch marks, no doubt invoking awful memories for him. You should have got one punch in, just one, what the hell did they come here for? Trying to take you away? To the dark dimension? To harm Victor? Dr Strange would be fine, he had to be really, he got through that injury once before. Victor hadn’t answered, you called for D, you cupped Victor’s face, so you could lift his head, see he was breathing, his eyes that sparkled right at you.

“I’m proud of you Sweetheart.” Victor panted, enigmatically. The bastard, the utter bastard, you were scared for him, he was injured and here he was trying to make you feel better, his eyes full of esteem. D didn't come, he didn't need to, despite the irritation you felt, you wrapped your arms around Victor as he didn’t want to ruin the moment, he accepted the embrace stiff as a board.

“Hug me back.” You half whined, Victor arms, moved before you finished, a small sequel left your lungs when he swarmed you.

–

Victor had you set up in front of a new station. An escape from the Louvre. You grinned ear to ear. You had both already done this, then Victor explained that he wouldn’t be with you.

“I would wait for Zemo or Bucky.” You hummed. Victor gave you a poignant look. How long had you been waiting? You needed to do this alone, but you had never been trained in this way. Your mind didn’t work that way and it had been conditioned to either. Your only solution would be to run.

“Where are those Winter Soldier instincts?” Victor wrinkled his eyes in mock fascination.

“They aren’t real, Zemo must have been wrong.” You shrugged, it felt odd to say that Zemo was wrong, he was never mistaken, about anything.

“Your husband tried to teach you with fear. I want to teach you with fun. The fear will come later.” Victor replied with a sly smile.

“Fear?” You repeated, Victor never made you feel that, not anymore, never wanted you to, actively avoided it. And honestly, you didn’t ever want to feel it from him, the residents of other planets wouldn’t even look in his direction.

“I’m going to train you to fight me.”

And so fun it was, well as much fun as it could be. Victor had you catching peas with chopsticks, once you mastered that he made you do it with your other hand. Catching his grapes in your mouth without warning. Throwing a ping pong ball into cups placed all over. Getting the doombots to throw them and have you catch them in the cups. To close your eyes and clap at the same time he did. Balance on one foot for hours and then the other. To keep a balloon off the floor all day. That was fun. You giggled with Victor and almost had to climb on his shoulders when he got in the way. Nothing that actually taught you to fight. All experiments designed for you to improve your hand eye coordination, dexterity, to trust your instincts, to trust that you could do all of these simple exercises without help, as he utterly refused when you frantically pointed at the balloon close to him. After a gruelling day of only using one arm and one leg, you ravenous, finally settled down to dinner. For some inexplicable reason you asked to read your file. Going through the very little information there, you wondered why Hydra didn’t train you, or Fury or Maria. Then again you were told this file was explicitly a lie, what little was in here wasn’t the truth. There had been some things filtering through, but you couldn’t make sense of it, just the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.

“What if I wasn’t rescued by Fury?” You said, you don’t even know why it came into your head. But holding this file that determined your entire life going forward and now knowing it was a lie. These were the questions you should have been asking. How did this happen? Why? When?

“Would it change how you feel about him?”

You weren’t sure, you weren’t sure you would have survived much longer with Hydra.

“Sometimes you want to believe something so much that not even the truth can change your mind.” Victor was staring off into space. “Some truths are just too hard to face.”

–

Abandonment was worse than death.

In death there was a finality, a clear ending, even if it burned through the very little remains of his heart. Abandonment was endless, desolate, inexcusable. Listening to that wretched song, holding you in his arms, witnessing the very moment he knew you loved him in return. The exact point he knew that you were his. The notes wrapping themselves around his skin, piercing his mind, felt deeper, darker, sinister, as if the song itself knew something had fundamentally changed. Or perhaps it was the fact he was sitting in the pitch black of his office. Again. Sentiment is a truly deplorable emotion.

He was starting to feel helpless, not a word and a justified reluctance from anyone who he trusted to assist him, he had not divulged the information of course. He had proven himself untrustworthy, seeking revenge from Heike and Carl. The only person he believed held the same suspicions was James, but James had that haunted look in his eyes, not everyone noticed, but he did. It was the most prominent when he was with Rebecca. Zemo refused to confirm your death or life out loud. He knew that only by finding you would stop that niggle in his mind, that part of his mind that screamed at him, that told him something didn’t quite add up, finally quiet. Only Oeznik knew that he couldn't move past this until he had the answers that escaped him. He felt frozen in time, he only celebrated Rebecca’s birthday on everyone's insistence, not that Rebecca had any awareness of her birthday or your bereft presence.

He failed to protect another wife, perhaps this was his fate, retribution, payment for all that he had done, for all that he continued to do. He disposed of those men trying to kidnap you, he ensured that you were told they were going to take James. A swift and callous death for all, on his way to torture your father. The same for those in that warehouse, he really did need to follow up with Sharon Carter at some point. Hydra, well he would get round to them eventually, give each and every one the slow and painful death they deserve.

Perhaps you were too frightened to be a parent, too worried that you would inflict the demons of your childhood onto Rebecca. You just didn't know yourself, you didn’t see how much you brought into the world, the warmth he would feel just knowing you were in the next room, the light you brought into his broken soul. No. No, he would not allow himself to be wrapped up in your beauty again, you had abandoned him. Abandoned Rebecca. You had beguiled him.

You were dead.

He ripped his hand away from the necklace that had settled permanently on his chest, finding his hand there too often for his liking. His fingers tore away, interlaced through the chain. Ignited by blind fury, that his own mind allowed itself to be polluted with such a fallacy, he launched the small black box across the room. Not wanting to alert Rebecca or any of the other more curious residents of the house, he moved to retrieve it. It had opened, he couldn't bring himself to look at it when Maria handed it back to him years ago. There was something that picked at his brain, something wronf, something off.

“Ozenik, did any photographs of my Grandmother survive the destruction of Sokovia?” Zemo said, knowing Ozenik would be at the door, chamomile tea in hand. A futile attempt to sedate his anger. “Have this appraised.” Zemo gently passed the now shut box to Ozenik.

“Sir-”

Zemo would be forever thankful that his phone lit up, cutting Oeznik off from yet another string of empty words on his incredulous nature. “Of course. I am at your service.” Zemo answered flatly, not listening to the instructions. He would deploy himself wherever, a distraction, a mission all under the guise of subterfuge. Anything to not allow that treacherous thought back in.

–

The next time you stepped out of your chamber you were met with several large looking torpedoes. Victor didn’t have a submarine as far as you knew, there were dozens, haphazardly scattered across the lap. You struggled to step over them, they were in fact too large to do so, you manoeuvred yourself around them, curiously swiping your hand across the cold hardware. Victor could fashion a machine into anything he wanted, for all you knew they could be dishwashers.

“One of your world leaders got tetchy.” Victor hummed. “Wanted to play a game of who’s dick is bigger.” Victor sighed. “ Nuclear warfare is never fair. Never.”

Nuclear?

You felt the sudden urge to go and hide back in your coffin, safe, where no harm ever came to you. Victor smiled and slapped a hand down on the metal casing which caused you to jump. Just behind him was the screen with his body count on. Such a contrast, a juxtaposition of a man, the man who had killed as many as one of these weapons could, yet it took it out of play for earth.

“I don’t understand you.” You murmured, relaxing around literal missiles of death. Feeling flabbergasted by Victor’s casualness.

“I don't understand me either.” Victor laughed. “ Perhaps you are having an effect on me.”

“Really?” You asked, voice peaking into a high shrill.

“Enough to change my mind? Am I enough to change your mind?”

You paused, noticing Victor didn’t confirm you were capable of making him think or believe differently. You dangled your arms over one of the nukes lazily, you were more than likely one of the only people who could do this, be this close, breeze past them, trusting fully that you were protected. You wanted to fully comprehend what you were being asked, what he wanted you to answer.“Change my mind about what?”

“Anything.” Victor’s eyes glimmered at you. “Everything.”

Next Part: https://www.tumblr.com/zemossunshine/697487148117524480/sunshine-chapter-39?source=share

#zemo #zemo x reader #zemo x you #dark zemo #dark #dr doom

[itlivesproject]

Daily Anon Chronicals(idk lol)

Ok so this is way longer than it should be so all the beat and apologies to the person who reads jt

NOT NOAH OPENLY TALKING TO TALIA ABOUT MC AND AMALIA BEING MONSTER FOOD LMAOOOOOOOO

"I just don't feel bad for you." Damn Amalia, burn

Sorry bro, we got a girl to save, bye boy

(Not my brain playing taylor swift idk why😭)

I was tempted to choose the heart option but that's for another time. Anyways OOF SAD NOAH

HI CONNOR MY SWEETHEART GREEN

"Hm." Bruh. Ok well, it's Joss, so.

I'LL CALL HER JOSS IDC

STOP THE BICKERING Y'ALL THEY DIDN'T KNOW

Lmao Conner is still the sweetheart i see

AGAIN I NEED THE MC AND AMALIA FRIENDSHIP DYNAMIC

SHE'S NOT A GHOST HER NAME IS TALIA AND CONNOR AND HER LOVE EACH OTHER DON'T DO THAT MY BABY'S BEEN THRU ENOUGH

(The caps in this review lmao and it's already so long)

Ngl the eye during the intro scared me a lil bit

Fantastic Four lmao. Let's see. Noah's Ben Grimm, Joss is Susan Storm, Abel is Johnny Storm and Connor is Reed Richards. Idk why but i just did that.

Ngl the MC is right about the true friends thing

"So it's a long stick?" It's a staff, honey. Learn ur history. Would u see Harry Potter and say, "Oh they're using their little sticks!"

Idk why but the scene where Amalia just steps in and grabs the staff gives major vibes of that mud scene in Bridgerton s2. Amalia simps will be kinda happy to know this fact i think

Bruh i would be soooo stoked to have an ancient thing like that which prolly works like bruhhhhhhhhh, Amalia cheer up you'll have fun when u actually use that

Coz a vine monster just kidnapped a girl in front of us? Plus u killed the monsters and asked is that all u got so ur kinda a pro at the fighting thing. I feel like Joss and Amalia's friendship will be like Kate Bishop and Yelena's, Joss being Yelena ofc(IDK WHY I'M COMPARING ILW CHARACTERS TO MCU CHARACTERS)

Talia just spilling secrets out here noice

Heist demn nice. Abel is right tho, this guy's flat out rude. Umm. I feel like Abel simps were offended by the crusty old man comment.

Noah being calm at seeing the chaos unfolding is me with my life.

Ok I'm mad about Jessie but I'm madder abt the nerve loss😤

Talia spitting fax is the best thing abt this chapter

Oh shit I'm so sorry Noah oof that musta hurt so bad

Awwwww Linkyyyy, have u been worried abt meeee???? You're so sweet.

Lol him just showing up casually and stopping MC from killing everyone and just casually talking abt this stuff is funnier than it should be.

BEANIE BOY LMAO

Aww I like imagining soft Linky. The scene where everyone is talking about someone and that someone trying to get everyone's attention is always so hilarious.

FRIENDLY BANTER LESGOOOO

Yes Linky that is so now come inside the station answer my questions

Heehee, Linky was a troublemaker hmmmm?? I love his smile. Why would anyone give him a shoe lmao. I want MC to push further and back off at the same time😭

Wait that's the pilot from that christmas book with 10 chapters. Where Hot Boss Nick was.

Ayo Annie. Ghost Annie, but it's Annie.

This was a roller coaster to read aksnakks. I want another ride!

#mod eri #anon #ask #daily anon #i hope you find your Amalia and your Lincoln dear daily anon

[bubbletimestories]

Painful and cold (Fantastic 4 scene) (2005)

Summary : Reed Richards tries to create a machine to reverse the solar storm effects and helps Ben Grimm being human again. After a fight with his friend (cause it's taking too long), Reed decides to try on himself. Watching everything through monitors, Victor von Doom waits for his time.

Themes : Science, hate, fainting, fight, desire

Warning : Mention of torture, pain

A/N. It's basically the movie scenes but focused on Reed and Victor, with something more than hate from the latter / Translated with Google trad and all my apologies.

You can find it here too : english and french

***************************

The usual tingle invades the scientist as he pushes the control buttons, adjusts the settings before his final test. However, this time, it is not just the excitement before an experience that occupies him but his friend, his best friend, the way he lookd betrayed. This short moment at the planetarium, Reed had no right to enjoy it, he made a promise and in this man so introverted, so awkward in his relationships, loyalty is essential. That's why he is ready to risk his life, to transform his body irreversibly, so that his friend can find his back. However, when he turns to face the machine he has designed, apprehension can be seen on his face, because he knows he may not come back and if he fails, who will help? Probably Susan, no doubt, but he doesn't want to put such a burden on her. No, he must believe in himself, the calculations are good, it should work... But that's also what he said in the space station and the result was not long in coming.

The cabin opens, bathing the large dark room in an icy glow. A last breath to give himself courage and Reed Richards steps forward, thinking only of honoring his promise, only of his friend who has never let him down. No matter how hard his heart beats in his chest, he stares at the doors as his ears fill with the roar of the machine. An intense heat begins to radiate around him but the young man simply grits his teeth, straight on his legs, resolute. After a few minutes, the capsule finally opens and Reed sees Susan in the semi-darkness. He doesn't feel any different except for the fatigue and he's still alive, that's a good thing. So he would have succeeded? Hope bursts in him, he meets the gaze of the woman he loves, exchanges a smile while looking around him, attesting that all is well. He must warn Ben, all this waiting will not have been in vain and it is high time for his friend to be himself again. Then, Reed will give himself a little rest, he feels strangely heavy...

His body drops without him quite realizing it, the right half numb. No, no, he doesn't have…time for that…he's almost there… Susan rushes over to him, he tries to make her understand that he just has to give it another try, injecting more power to generate the solar storm. He has trouble speaking, or even keeping his eyes open, but he needs to pull himself together. He vaguely feels that he is being lifted, his body dragging miserably behind him without his being able to do anything about it. He leans on his good leg, guided by Susan to his room while continuing to mumble that he must improve the machine. The young woman puts him to bed, gathering the stretched limbs like marshmallows on the covers before asking him to rest a little. It's no use, Reed has already slipped into a dreamless sleep, the limp half of his face slowly returning to normal. The young woman takes a minute to examine him then leaves him alone, she has to go and warn Johnny of what has just happened. She hopes that this failure will not lead to more serious consequences, they already have too much to think about.

It doesn't take long for the lab's silence to be broken again, as Ben arrives with Victor's minion. A tension hangs in the air and the stone man remains on his guard, especially when he realizes that von Doom is estanding instead of his best friend. But after all, Reed disappointed him just a few hours ago, why is he surprised not to see him? As if reading his thoughts, Victor confirms that Mr. Fantastic is with his girlfriend, having a good time rather than looking for a solution to a problem that, deep down, no longer concerns him. Normally, Ben would never listen to a single word of this "fast-food, strip-mall science guy" but nothing is normal anymore: his body is mutilated, his marriage in pieces , his identity destroyed. So he believes von Doom when he tells him that he can make the machine work, put an end to this nightmare. He trusts him as he enters the cabin, too blinded by the prospect of being himself again.

Victor adjusts the settings with the tip of his gloves, serene about the turn of events. Despite his superhuman strength, Ben Grimm poses no real danger if taken on his feelings and even his rocky skin will soon no longer be a problem. The instructors are starting to panic, the power drops dangerously but this experience will not be a failure. Driven by a prideful determination, Doom approaches the solar storm generator, feels the burn on his skin before he releases all the electricity he has accumulated from his body. This feeling of power, he drinks it, delights in it, who would not want to become a god? It doesn't matter to him that his skin is burning, he appears in his true light: solid, resistant, grandiose. The thanks of Ben, who has become fragile again, do not reach him, as well as his slow realization he has been fooled. Victor sends him flying with the back of his hand, already focused on the one person he really wants to see suffer. He witnessed his accident, maybe he can pick him up when he is most vulnerable, left alone in his bed by this insignificant blonde.

“Vic?"

A smile slips on the lips of the Latvarian hearing that nickname. After all that time, he still calls him Vic. He probably didn't even thought about it. Maybe it's as well that he sees him so, almighty. Reed stands at the railing overlooking the stage, still weak but already trying to reason with his old college friend, as if his words might have any impact. He always have to take himself for the most intelligent, be interested in him only to explain things as to a child. Reed pauses to catch his breath, white as a sheet before glaring accusingly at the ex-billionaire. A part of him dares to believe they can still handle this conflict as adults. But what shines in Victor's eyes is that flame he already had when he was younger, something all-consuming and destructive. He finally has an opportunity to destroy the man who has ruined his life, who has consumed his thoughts for too long, who obsesses him.

“So tell me, what happens when you superheat rubber?"

Mr. Fantastic gets out of the way as best he can as a bolt of lightning cracks through the air, not fast enough to prevent the attack from flanking him. Alone, without mastery of his abilities, he can only flee but Doom does not give him this opportunity. Now that he is at his mercy, he won't leave him any more. Never. The next arc hits Richards head-on, the impact sending him crashing through the window. The scientist lands heavily on the stone ledge, tries to catch himself but his body is dragged to the ground, his arms outstretched like bread dough. He concentrates as best he can, his fingers slip, he loses his grip and falls forty floors, not without hitting another ledge before gravity pulls him back in. His body feels every impact without being able to offer the slightest resistance, he ends his fall just above the doors, violently colliding with the metal structure under which he has passed so many times. This final impact destroyed his last strength, he lost consciousness, his chest hanging in the void under the horrified gaze of passers-by.

When Victor leaves the Baxter Building, he exudes confidence, he feels like a new man and nothing can stand in his way. Raising his eyes, he sees his inert rival and picks him like a fruit, closing his fingers on his wrist before dragging him. The broken glass on the ground sends back to the fallen billionaire the image of a fragmented and disfigured being, perhaps it is time to change skin for good. With an angry kick, he shatters that reflection before carrying Reed to the car Leonard has parked nearby. There is something fun and enjoyable about being able to dispose of the scientist as an object after all this time. Even if the communication window with the driver is raised, Victor will not let his joy go too much, he will resist the urge to walk a possessive hand on the captive, preferring to concentrate on the next step.

The first thing Reed feels when he regains consciousness is an intense pain in his limbs, an icy burn that runs through every bone. The bite makes him want to scream but his jaws are tight, his lips sealed with the cold. Strong ties hold wrists and ankles but it is not certain that he could escape even without these fetters. Even if he struggles to think, he easily understands that a chemical process stiffens the structure of his muscles, infiltrating his torso and paralyzing him. In the shadows stands a hooded figure, Doom's voice strangely distorted beneath a metallic mask. As at the Baxter Building, he enjoys playing the teacher, ensuring a certain position of dominance.

“Chemisty 101. What happens to rubber when it's supercooled?"

Only silence answers him, and the sound of Richards' fingers trying to move, the rest of his blue body shivering. Despite everything, he continues to look at his enemy with a mixture of defiance and reproach, as if he still wishes Victor would stop everything and accept he needs help. His brown eyes follow him despite the frost, Dr. Doom grabbing his fingers before twisting them back, almost reaching the breaking point, enjoying the moans of pain he hears. In this sadistic gesture oozes a decade-old frustration, that of not being Reed, his equal, a part of him, in him. Anger at having only ever been a fellow scientist, simply Vic, eclipsed by a doe-eyed woman.

"Painful? You don't know the meaning of the word."

He insists on the word 'painful', expelling it with a gasp of all the fury rumbling beneath the metal of his skin as he releases his fingers. Reed grits his teeth, tries to keep control of himself despite the pain, he won't give Victor that pleasure. Short of breath, he can only meet his gaze trying to stay strong, he does not intend to be impressed. The new villain turns away, he still has to eliminate the other two. For Johnny, he already has the right equipment, a little flashy but the target is just as much. As for Susan…it's probably a little hurt on his ego that he couldn't get her, but now that he has Reed, she doesn't matter at all. He is no longer satisfied with trying to supplant his rival, he can completely dominate him. So he retrieves a missile launcher, spots the heat signature quickly, fires without an ounce of hesitation. All that remains is to eliminate the Invisible Woman and he can really have fun, for a long time, with his new rubber.

(I let you imagine the rest....except if you want me to write something a bit hotter ^^ and make a step away from the movie)

(Damn, my brain is jumping about it...what Vic would do)

#fics #fantastic 4 #reed richards #victor von doom #that scene

[omegaplus]

# 4,043

Paul Simon: One-Trick Pony (1979)

This is the only Paul Simon record I’ll ever own and here’s six reasons why: John Tropea, Dave Grusin, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, Steve Gadd, and Ralph MacDonald. They represent a curious era I’m still getting to know and their sounds perfectly define what I think of it. Those musicians are why I discovered Simon’s soundtrack-album as some of them perform and even star in it along with The B-52′s, Lou Reed, Tiny Tim (!) and more. So when WUSB’s Joi (Hygge) discussed it on-air with her father, I knew I had to have it. (Update: I acquired it at Patchogue’s Record Stop.) What’s wild is someone at my station who’s half my age knows and appreciates Seventies jazz / fusion like I do. I’m already familiar with Tropea, Gale, and Grusin’s work (and partially Gadd) and the soul of One-Trick Pony lines up with how I personally see and feel about the Seventies, so there’ll be no dispute about me enjoying this on Simon album. Now, I’m on the lookout for the motion picture.

#omega #music #mixtapes #reviews #playlists #Paul Simon #folk #pop #jazz #fusion #NYC #New York City #John Tropea #Dave Grusin #Richard Tee #Eric Gale #Steve Gadd #Ralph MacDonald #Lou Reed #B-52's #Tiny Tim

[omegaradiowusb]

JUNE 27, 2022 (#313)

New York Dolls: "Frankenstein" (original) Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: "Max's Kansas City" Dictators, The: "America The Beautiful" Pure Hell: "American" Iggy Pop & The Stooges: "1969" Lou Reed: "Ride Sally Ride" + "Sally Can't Dance" Cherry Vanilla & Her Staten Island Band: "Shake Your Ashes" Pere Ubu: "Final Solution" Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers: "It's Not Enough" Dead Boys: "Not Anymore" Richard Hell & The Voidoids: "Down At The Rock And Roll Club" Patti Smith: "Hey Joe" (version)

Today is the day that WUSB’s celebrates its 45th Anniversary. Omega Radio is more than pleased and fortunate enough to broadcast on our station’s sapphire occasion with a bonus one-hour selection of classic proto-punk, punk pioneers, and other legendary New York City artists and locales that made their mark in music history.

Omega has a bye-week and is pre-empted for WUSB’s Summer 2022 Reggae Marathon. It returns on the 4th of July as for the very first time we broadcast twice in one day. Thank you for tuning in to both Omega and WUSB.

July 4, 2022 (midnight New York City): bonus Omega

July 4, 2022 (11AM New York City): bonus Omega

July 11, 2022 (11AM New York City): bonus Omega

July 16, 2022 (10PM New York City): deluxe Omega

July 18, 2022 (11AM New York City): bonus Omega

July 25, 2022 (11AM New York City): bonus Omega

July 30, 2022 (10PM New York City): deluxe Omega

#music #playlists #punk #pop #rock #New York Dolls #Wayne County #Dictators #Pure Hell #Iggy Pop #Lou Reed #Velvet Underground #Cherry Vanilla #Pere Ubu #Johnny Thunders #Dead Boys #Richard Hell #Patti Smith

[phantom-le6]

Ramble of the month May 2022: The plot of my 90’s Marvel MCU

Here we are in May, and on my fifth ramble of the month article.  Having done one in January on how a 90’s MCU fancast is more than just putting 90’s actors into the current MCU, and one in March explaining my own choices in terms of who to cast, now there’s the matter of what those actors are playing.  In other words, what is the narrative of this hypothetical 90’s MCU I’ve conceived of?  What story does each film tell?

First off, let’s remind ourselves of the film slate I’ve come up with that would be the ‘phase one’ of the 90’s MCU;

1992: Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man

1993: Thor, Spider-Man, Ant-Man & The Wasp

1994: Captain America, Fantastic Four 2, Iron Man 2

1995: X-Men, Avengers, Daredevil

 As with the phase 1 of the real MCU, this one is about establishing the various characters and the world in which they exist and operate.  As I explained in my March ramble, the Fantastic Four kick us off to better honour the comics by putting them in as the first superhero team of the MCU.  To that end, we’ll start our plot outlines there, but before we get into plot, here’s the cast list again;

Fantastic Four:

Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic = Tom Hanks

Sue Storm/Invisible Woman = Meg Ryan

Johnny Storm/Human Torch = David Spade

Ben Grimm/Thing = Bryan Cranston

Alicia Masters = Heather Graham

Wyatt Wingfoot = Robert Beltran

Phillip Masters/Puppet Master = Ben Kinglsey

Mole Man = John Rhys Davies

 For me, this film would very much be the F4’s origin arc, but like most Marvel hero origins, it needs a tweak.  The idea of the F4’s space mission origin remains valid in the present day, but it needs an alternative rationale to what the comics first gave it if it’s sent outside the Cold War.  In 1961, Reed Richards and the other F4 members pushing their shuttle launch in the midst of the “space race” makes perfect sense.  In the 1990’s, it needs a different spin; the F4 animated series suggested the mission was to investigate what would later turn out to be the Silver Surfer flying past the Earth.  However, this then undermines the idea of using the Surfer and Galactus on later films, or else forces them to become featured antagonists too soon.

 As such, my idea would be to put an MCU twist on what Fox gave us in their first version of the F4 on screen.  Reed wants to get up into space and study the cosmic radiation cloud about to pass Earth’s orbit, only this time he’s been building the shuttle and space station as part of a joint venture between Stark Enterprises and SHIELD, which teases the wider MCU without bringing non-F4 characters into the main film (you might get Fury or Stark doing a mid-credits/end-of-credits tag scene). Something gets the higher-ups nervous, the launch is officially scrubbed, but Reed and his team go anyway, resulting in the incident that causes them to manifest powers when they crash-land back on Earth.

 However, rather than bring the F4 back down somewhere in rural Pennsylvania like the comics, I’d have them brought down over New York City, perhaps over-shooting it a bit to crash-land a bit upstate.  In the process, radiation-laced debris shards would rain down over New York City and result in an early rise of super-villain types.  One such individual that would be affected would be Phillip Masters, the step-father of Ben Grimm’s blind girlfriend Alicia Masters.  Known as the Puppet Master in the comics, Masters has the ability to control others by making clay puppets of people out of a radioactive clay.  In this film, I’d want to flip that power and make the clay simply a conduit for a power within Masters himself.

 However, I wouldn’t want Masters to act right off; he’d be in a coma for a while, during which the Fantastic Four would establish themselves as heroes and become public celebrities, alternating between fighting minor supervillains, scientific exploration and charity work, not to mention Reed’s inventing that funds the F4 via his patents.  At the same time, Reed would be looking into how to reverse Ben’s transformation into the Thing, though with true-to-source lack of success.  Masters would awaken from his coma and take his over-protective dad routine against Ben to supervillain heights, resulting in a confrontation with the F4.

 Unfortunately, Masters’ efforts would also attract the attention of the Mole Man, a man who has claimed dominion over a secret underworld kingdom after being shunned by the surface world for his appearance.  Fearing the surface world is now a threat with the emergence of enhanced human beings, Mole Man decides to attack to wipe them out.  In the ensuing chaos, the F4 are temporarily separated; Reed and Johnny work to keep Alicia safe while Ben and Sue try to muddle through despite the interference and objection of a wounded Masters.

 In the third act, Masters would come to realise his error in misjudging Ben, and would commit an act of self-sacrifice to stop the Mole Man, resulting in the elimination of both antagonists.  The vindication of his girlfriend’s step-dad would convince Ben to have Reed leave off any cure efforts for a while, and the F4 would proceed with continuing their various good works.  Cue some appropriate end-of credit scenes and on to the Hulk;

Hulk:

Bruce Banner/Hulk = John Cusack

Betty Ross = Jennifer Connelly

General Ross = Sam Elliott

Major Talbot = Steve Guttenberg

Rick Jones = Tobey Maguire

Emil Blonsky/Abomination = Sam Neill

Dr Leonard Samson = David Duchovny

 For Hulk, we’re again going down the origin story route, complete with Major Talbot being General Ross’ adjutant, the inclusion of Rick Jones, etc.  Like the F4, the Hulk’s origins are heavily steeped in the Cold War in the comics, with Bruce Banner saving Rick Jones from being caught in the test explosion of a gamma bomb being the basic premise.  More modern adaptations have made the Hulk an effort to re-create Captain America, which lacks the requisite self-sacrifice of a true heroic origin, and for that reason, I’d steer well away from doing that.  Instead, the origin would be adapted as the 90’s Hulk animated series did; make it a gamma power reactor instead of a gamma bomb, have the reactor meltdown, and get Banner to save Jones by shoving him into a proper bunker, not just some open trench like in the comics.

 This film would still end up with Hulk fighting the Abomination after a few rounds with the military, but this time round, Blonsky would be closer to the comics than we get in The Incredible Hulk.  The beauty of an early 90’s film is that not all Russians went quietly into peace, so it’d be easy to play Blonsky as an undercover ex-KGB agent who covets Hulk’s power so he can go home and try to restore the USSR.  In essence, he’d sell Ross and Talbot on being turned into a gamma-powered opponent to the Hulk, using the inverse of a process developed by Betty and fellow scientist Dr Leonard Samson to remove Hulk’s gamma powers. Once he has his powers, cue the typical villain reveal, and the subsequent climactic battle.

 In the wake of the battle, the Hulk would escape, Rick Jones heading off to keep him out of trouble, the military forced to let him go for now, and Betty and Samson ready to figure out a new cure effort.  We could also see a teaser for Samson eventually going in for his own set of gamma powers, and again throw in the odd mid/end-credit scene to tease suitable MCU links.

Iron Man:

Tony Stark/Iron Man = Tom Selleck

James Rhodes = Samuel L Jackson

Pepper Potts = Uma Thurman

Happy Hogan = Sylvester Stallone

Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger = Kelsey Grammer

Agent Jasper Sitwell = Bill Paxton

Agent Clint Barton = Kevin Costner

 For the most part, what we got by of the Iron Man film in the existing MCU would go into the 90’s version as well, but there would be differences as well.  First off, I’d want Tony to eventually cut out his drinking, etc. out of necessity a la the comics, so I’d be careful to drop hints that this would be coming and be less casual with it compared to Favreau’s version.  Second, because I’d be gearing up to ultimately do a film in a later phase show-casing Tony’s alcoholism, I’d avoid putting Rhodey in armour for a while longer than the real MCU did.  In the comics, Rhodey was an interim Iron Man, then became War Machine, and I’d want the ability to go down that route kept intact for my 90’s MCU.

 Next, working Hawkeye and Sitwell in as the SHIELD agents is done on purpose because both have ties to Iron Man above most other characters in the comics; Hawkeye was initially an Iron Man foe along with the Black Widow, and Sitwell was a SHIELD loyalist who was the spy agency’s liaison to Stark’s company. Finally, this time Tony’s keeping his dual identity under wraps.  The F4 can’t stand out for lacking secret identities if all other superheroes go public with theirs, so Iron Man needs to be kept separate from Tony Stark in the eyes of the 90’s MCU general public.

Thor:

Thor = Dolph Lundgren

Loki = Gary Oldman

Odin = Anthony Hopkins

Frega = Glenn Close

Fandrall = Cary Elwes

Hogun = Tony Leung

Volstagg = Thomas Haden Church

Sif = Demi Moore

Heimdall = Keith David

Balder = Sean Bean

Jane Foster = Courtney Cox

 Thor’s basic origin arc as provided by Kenneth Branagh’s film is a good overall template for our 90’s MCU, but some tweaks are still needed.  For a start, this time I’d probably want to keep SHIELD out of the main areas of the story and avoid some original characters like Darcy, or at least change them a bit more. Take the Earth scenes from New Mexico to New York and make Jane Foster a paramedic, who comes across Thor after he’s been beaten by muggers following the loss of his powers and exile to Earth. As to why the F4 might not appear in the film if Loki sends the Destroyer a la Branagh’s film, easy enough to show Loki using his magic to teleport the “local heroes” out of the way to another Asgardian realm.

 Now as I noted in outlining my casting reasons on this film in my March ramble, in the comics Jane Foster was a nurse to Dr Donald Blake, Thor’s then-alter ego.  The modernisation of her as a paramedic, used in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, gives us a more comic-accurate option than her astrophysicist occupation of the real MCU.  It also makes her more action-oriented and thus a better partner for a very physical, non-cerebral hero archetype like Thor.  If Darcy was kept in from the real MCU, I’d probably work her in as Jane’s junior partner on the ambulance runs.

Spider-Man:

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Wheaton

Ben Parker = Gary Sinese

May Parker = Marg Helgenberger

Flash Thompson = Ben Affleck

Liz Allen = Alicia Silverstone

J Jonah Jameson = J. K. Simmons

Joseph "Robbie" Robertson = Denzel Washington

Betty Brant = Parker Posey

Jacob Conover = Steve Buscemi

Randy Robertson = Taye Diggs

Norman Osborn = John Travolta

Harry Osborn = Ryan Phillippe

Adrian Tombs/Vulture = Richard Dreyfuss

 With Spider-Man, I’d be taking everything right back to Peter’s classic comic-book origins; he’s in high school with Liz Allen as his crush, Flash Thompson bullying him, Harry Osborn, Mary-Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy still in the future.  That said, I’d give him Randy Robertson as a best mate as a better compromise of comic accuracy and diversity requirements than race-shifting Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson and MJ, plus it gives added viability to the idea of Peter getting a freelance photography job at the Daily Bugle (Randy’s dad being Jameson’s editor and thus right-hand man of the Bugle).

 Of course, the origin arc is just act one of the film; for the rest of it, we’ve got the Vulture rearing his head, presenting as a former business colleague of Norman Osborn’s who is committing acts of theft and sabotage as revenge for being pushed out by Osborn.  Now although this does mean we get to meet the Osborns in this film, Peter only meets the dad as Spider-Man and doesn’t meet Harry yet at all; this film is just setting up for a film two as Peter goes into college, where he gets to meet Harry, Gwen and MJ a la the comics.  In essence, this film is an amalgam of the classic comic origins, the Spider-Man film made by Raimi and Maguire, the 90’s animated series and the first Spider-Man film of the real MCU.

Ant-Man & The Wasp:

Hank Pym/Ant-Man = Michael Douglas

Janet Van Dyne/Wasp = Catherine Zeta Jones

Dr Elias Starr = Richard Schiff

Darren Cross/Yellowjacket = Rob Lowe

 For me, this film is very tricky to plot out, beyond perhaps doing Hank Pym and Elias Starr as rivals in the development of shrinking tech, and Cross being a criminal who double-crosses Starr to gain the Yellowjacket suit, forcing Pym not only to hero up and stop him, but also accept the assistance of his new love interest Janet Van Dyne.  Assuming that to be the most basic outline of the plot, I would be tempted to borrow further from the comics and show via flashback Pym’s original wife being detained and later executed by the soviets. For that role, I’d add Izabella Scorupco from the mid-90’s Goldeneye film as the late Maria Pym.  Set up could also be worked in for the later appearance of Whirlwind, Janet’s chauffeur-turned-stalker from the comics, but as yet I’m not sure who I’d cast for that role.

Captain America:

Steve Rogers/Captain America = Brad Pitt

James Buchanan Barnes/Bucky = Chris O’Donnell

Peggy Carter = Lea Thompson

Colonel Chester Phillips = Charlton Heston

Dr Abraham Erskine = F. Murray Abraham

Dum-Dum Dugan = David Graf

Gabriel Jones = Cuba Gooding Jr.

Nick Fury = Tommy Lee Jones

Johann Schmidt/Red Skull = Hugo Weaving

Arnim Zola = Toby Jones

Howard Stark = Donald Sutherland

 A Captain America film like the one we got for the real MCU would work best here, but as ever when using what the real MCU gave us, my hypothetical films need to make some tweaks.  For starters, the Carters are all American, so Lea Thompson isn’t about to play her role with any kind of an English accent.  Next, I’m working in Fury as a sergeant leading the Howling Commandoes under Cap like the comics, with the intention of a later film showcasing how he’s then able to live unaged into the 1990’s.  Barnes is given a bit of a Nightwing-style persona compared to his original Robin-like one as there’d be no Winter Soldier yet conceived of as an alternative formulation for the character.

  Finally, I’d probably want to include the odd cameo of Cap fighting alongside characters that might make it into later films.  The original Union Jack and Wolverine would top that list, and it’s not like a full roster of Cap’s old World War II allies would even be necessary.  Just a couple of options to tease future projects would suffice.  As ever, end on Cap going for an ice bath and coming to in the modern world, and this gives Fury’s appearance added resonance and mystery because he’s the one the guy who has beaten time, though the how of that is left for a future film to explain.  Oh, and no Tesseract/Space Stone involvement either; if my MCU ever did go down the Infinity arc, it’d be a lot later in the run.

F4 2:

Silver Surfer = David Wenham

Galactus = Tony Todd

 At just past the half-way point of this first phase of the MCU, working in a sequel or two isn’t the worst idea in the world for breaking up the run of introductions we’ve been making.  For the F4’s second film, we’re doing the classic Silver Surfer and Galactus arc from the comics that started off multi-issue story-telling in comics, or at least encouraged it as a regular tool of the industry.  Outside of that, and the would-be love triangle between the Surfer, Alicia and Ben Grimm, I’d also want to see a Sue-Reed romance arc culminating in the pair getting engaged, setting the team on the road to becoming a superhero family. It occurs to me, however, that to do the Silver Surfer and Galactus story from the comics, the Watcher also needs to appear.  As that would be a CGI role needing a great voice actor, I’d probably cast James Earl Jones for that part.

IM 2:

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow = Famke Jansen

Crimson Dynamo/Ivan Vanko = Alan Cumming

 As with our first Iron Man film, 90’s Iron Man 2 borrows from its real MCU counter-part, but with tweaks, the first one being Vanko sticking to his original comics alter ego instead of borrowing from Whiplash.  Second, no Justin Hammer, we leave out Tony’s chest-piece killing him and just worsen his drinking problems, and of course Tony’s keeping up a dual identity.  As such, the film ends on a less positive note, with Pepper Potts going off with Happy Hogan and no War Machine yet to be seen.

X-Men:

Professor X = Patrick Stewart

Cyclops/Scott Summers = Patrick Swayze

Jean Grey = Milla Jovovich

Wolverine/Logan = Tom Cruise

Storm/Ororo Monroe = Halle Berry

Beast/Hank McCoy = Alec Baldwin

Banshee/Sean Cassidy = Liam Neeson

Polaris/Lorna Dane = Jeri Ryan

Havok/Alex Summers = Kevin Bacon

Kitty Pryde = Selma Blair

Sam Guthrie = Paul Walker

Roberto Da Costa = Mario Lopez

Tabita Smith = Anna Faris

Magneto = Ian McKellan

Toad = Daniel Craig

Mastermind = Keanu Reeves

Scarlet Witch = Kate Beckinsale

Quicksilver = Robert Sean Leonard

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Senator Robert Kelly = Robert Hays

Henry Peter Gyrich = David Caruso

Bolivar Trask = David Ogden Stiers

 After so long borrowing from existing films, my MCU’s version of the X-Men will be going down a different route.  For this film, the X-Men and the Brotherhood are engaged in a shadow war that is starting to spill into the public awareness, which is then escalated when troubled runaway Tabitha Smith (better known to comic fans as Boom-Boom) gets caught in the crossfire of one such clash. Soon after, Magneto takes his crusade public, and the government reacts with a heavy-handed paranoia typical of the comics.  Enter the Sentinels, who soon decide to attack humans as well, prompting the X-Men to stand up and be heroes in a very public light.  For the purposes of appeasing fans that may ask “why didn’t x, y and z get involved,” a scene or two could be thrown in showing intervention by the F4 and Spider-Man.

Avengers:

Tony Stark/Iron Man = Tom Selleck

Steve Rogers/Captain America = Brad Pitt

Thor = Dolph Lundgren

Bruce Banner/Hulk = John Cusack

Hank Pym/Ant-Man = Michael Douglas

Janet Van Dyne/Wasp = Catherine Zeta Jones

Clint Barton/Hawkeye = Kevin Costner

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow = Famke Jansen

Nick Fury = Tommy Lee Jones

Agent Jasper Sitwell = Bill Paxton

Maria Hill = Marina Sirtis

Loki = Gary Oldman

 This film would again have similarity to the original Avengers film of the real MCU, but having tweaked some of the past films to give us something more in line with the comics, this one would undergo the same process.  Stark would have to downplay his alcoholism and the team would be less open due to his dual identity not being public knowledge.  This would give the Avengers something to overcome in their formation beyond the threat of Loki.  As this film would also pre-date the creation of the Chitauri in the comics, Loki’s invasion would be fully headed by him, there’s be no space stone involved (my idea of an initial long-term pay-off for the start of my MCU not being Infinity War), and as with the X-Men film, there’d need to be scenes or exposition to show if other heroes were involved, and if not why.

Daredevil:

Matt Murdock/Daredevil = Christian Slater

Foggy Nelson = Jon Favreau

Karen Page = Denise Richards

Wilson Fisk/Kingpin = Bruce Willis

Bullseye = Colin Farrell

Ben Urich = John Spencer

 Finally, we come to the cinematic introduction of the man without fear into our 90’s MCU.  As ever, start with the classic origin of the comics and go into the present-day showing Daredevil taking down the Kingpin despite opposition in the form of Bullseye.  However, unlike Fox’s film effort from the early 2000’s, I don’t want to rush the incorporation of Elektra into the films, so the first film is really about setting up Fisk and Bullseye with the kind of mad-ons for ol’ hornhead that would justify an Elektra arc later on.  For this film, we’re just going with Matt having a thing with his secretary in honour of the early Daredevil comics.

 In due course, I may return to this 90’s MCU yet again and outline more films to expand on what I’ve conceived thus far in the hypothetical.  Plenty of sequels can be made, and I’ve yet to touch on characters like Dr Strange, Black Panther and various solo superheroines, not to mention the original superhero non-team the Defenders (not to be confused with the Netflix line-up that was really just Heroes for Hire plus two). So, until next time, ta-ta for now.

[thebibliomancer]

Earth X #3

Hi fire-type Namor. Hi Red Skull?

So to recap what’s been going on: this is Bad Future. The Watcher is blind and has forced Machine Man to be his seeing-eye robot. The Avengers are dead, the Fantastic Four are dead or retired or dressed up as Dr Doom. Depressed toga-wearing Captain America is teamed up with Wyatt Wingfoot to investigate rumors of a new Red Skull. There’s a mind control squid called Hydra on the loose. The entire world has gone through a mass empowering event that has caused unrest and food shortages and a Norman Osborn presidency. Reed believes his experiments with vibranium caused it but there’s ambiguity.

I still don’t know what the X means but Earth X is in a sorry state.

And now: more.

Captain America in a flag toga and Wyatt reach California and since there are Red Skull banners everywhere, Wyatt concedes that there is a Red Skull problem again.

Also, Red Skull’s army has some familiar names in the mix. That flying guy with the sword? Based on a better look at his face later, he’s definitely Jack of Hearts.

There’s also Sandman, Sunspot, Domino, Feral, Woodgod, the Wizard, and some deep cut Captain America supporting character called Texas Jack in various crowd shots.

And based on the weird way the people in the crowd move around, Cap speculates some kind of mind control is at play. But separate from the squiddy mind control of Hydra.

Due to the food shortage, Red Skull’s forces have been doing a lot of fishing and that aggros a Flaming Namor from the ocean, who promptly starts kicking the asses of anyone who looks at him funny.

Over in Latveria, the Inhumans pay Reed Richards a visit.

He gives more detail about the vibranium experiment that went wrong. That he believes is responsible for the mass empowering event.

To solve the energy crisis, Reed was working with Wakanda to use vibranium as a way to beam power in the form of sound waves to receiving stations. But the beacon tower blew up for reasons Reed still doesn’t understand. And then the mass mutation happened.

But the Inhumans get really weird when Reed mentions vibranium. And Black Bolt “says” something that Medusa is reluctant to interpret because it will change how Reed looks at the Inhumans.

What she eventually says doesn’t seem to warrant that worry. So one wonders. What she’s still not saying.

What Medusa explains is that while the Inhumans were off in space, they found a destroyed planet that looked like something had exploded out from within the core. And for some reason, Earth’s missing Eternals were found frozen but alive in the debris field of the destroyed planet.

The Inhumans investigated and found a rare substance inside what remained of the planet’s core. A substance Inhumans know as being like a cancer.

Medusa: “But it’s what you call vibranium.”

Dun dun dunnn.

Back in New York, Peter’s daughter visits him but he’s not very happy to see her.

Because May is the new host of Venom.

And no matter what she says, Peter views it all as some fresh new attempt by the symbiote to emotionally undermine him.

(Not helped by May being the absolutely most dramatic person. Her normal look is mourning dress and veil. Made out of symbiote.)

And back in California, Flaming Namor suddenly stops fighting to kneel in front of the new Red Skull.

Who seems to be just a kid. With a MODOK throne. And able to bring Namor to heel without a word.

… A scary kid.

The back of the book appendix name drops some of the Skull’s followers and what their current condition is.

It also talks about the food shortages plaguing the world. It still doesn’t explain why there’s a food shortage but it does establish that Russia has become the bread basket of the world, exporting vast amounts of wheat with the help of England.

Countries that don’t want to rely on Russia, such as America, have begun relying more and more heavily on fishing.

God and/or the creative team knows what happened to America’s vast corn supply.

So that’s what’s happening on Earth X. Reed maybe caused everyone to mutate by trying to solve the energy crisis. Vibranium might lead to the end of the world. The new Red Skull has a vast mind-controlled army, including Namor. We still don’t know where the Inhuman Prince got off to. And Peter Parker’s life is, as ever, a mess.

Earth X: everything is worse but some things are the same.

#Earth X #liveblog #Mr Fantastic #captain america #spider man #Inhumans