#Nick of Time (1995)

[havithreatendub4]

#November 1995 #photoshoot #Nick Of Time

#filming #Dead Man #Jim Jarmusch

📸 TomooNonomura

[augustusaugustus]

11.108 Response Time

STRITCH: I don’t think we need to look for problems. MONROE: (muttered) We just wait for them to happen.

MONROE: Well, first of all, I’d like to request that in future, if you want to find something out about an officer on my team, you ask me first. STRITCH: Sometimes, I may need to research more broadly than just asking you your opinion. Carry on. MONROE: Well, secondly, I’d like to know why you’re so interested in undermining Steve Loxton’s position before the IO even talks to him. I’d also like to know why you find it so hard to believe Steve Loxton’s innocent of a crime alleged by a violent racist with a criminal record. And finally, I’d like to know why you’ve been prepared to ignore my opinions completely in favour of some apparently instinctive belief of yours that Steve’s the problem.

STRITCH: From my observation, Steve Loxton appears to have a recurrent problem with self control. MONROE: I disagree, Sir. You pass Steve Loxton in the corridor a couple of times, scan his record for two minutes and you think that qualifies you to have any opinion on his qualities as an officer? STRITCH: My rank qualifies me for that, Inspector. MONROE: But not your experience.

🔥🔥🔥

LOXTON: (On Stritch) Maybe he’s not such a prat after all.

Stritch has everyone hyped up and making mistakes with a response times exercise, against Andrew’s explicit advice. A suspect falls out of a window and dies, Steve gets accused of murder, and Andrew reads the riot act to Stritch for not believing Steve.

Any episode where Andrew goes full mother bear mode to defend his PCs is guaranteed to be up there with my favourites, especially if he gets snarky with his superiors in doing so.

A good Steve episode, too. Hot tempered and fighty, but clearly messed up by the suspect dying, even if he’d never let it show.

[kineticallyanywhere]

nothing but respect for anyone trying to figure out a dnads timeline because according to Matt: 

Grant is 13

Darryl drove Grant home from the hospital when he was born

Grant is 12

Darryl is in his 30s

Darryl didn’t learn to drive until he was 32

[costarringyourlocallibrary]

The exterior of the Richard J. Riordan Central Library (or, the Main Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library) in John Badham's Nick of Time (1995).

[subjectivecuriosities]

My ★★★★ review of A Close Shave (1995) on @letterboxd: https://boxd.it/52hqXP

[yippeecheapdvds]

A few days ago I watched “Nick of Time” (1995) Thriller/Drama

Another 60 cent dvd. My mom and I watched this. It was fine. I didn’t dislike it, but i wasn’t super engaged, and my mom was pretty confused. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat. If you actually like thrillers you might get more out of this than I did. I have no real interest in seeing this again.

It was ok 5/10

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds & Kylie Minogue - Where the Wild Roses Grow 1995

"Where the Wild Roses Grow" is a murder ballad by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and pop singer Kylie Minogue. It was the lead single from the band's ninth studio album, Murder Ballads (1996). It was written by the band's frontman, Nick Cave, and produced by Tony Cohen and Victor Van Vugt.

The song received a positive reception from music critics and became the band's most successful single worldwide, reaching No. 3 in Norway, the top five in Australia, and the top twenty in the UK, Ireland, Germany and New Zealand. It also received a limited promotional release in the United States.

"Where the Wild Roses Grow" received a total of 56,6% yes votes. Kylie has previously been featured on the polls with "Confide In Me" at #13.

[madsmilfelsen]

I think Rust is neat and all but what drew me in was his HANDS. Idk how to explain it, but something about the way he holds things and articulates makes me just. Stare at them. Like I just Know he has rough hands

alright babe, you want to talk about his hands, let’s talk about his hands via timeline

Obviously living in the bush of Alaska requires a lot of manual labor to survive, skin rubbing raw inside leather gloves, blisters from splitting wood, scars from his knife slipping on salmon (v real, I used to filet 500 salmon a summer and baby…. yew, my left hand has gotten nicked more than once— Travis and Rust had a fish camp on the Copper River, probably across the bridge from Chitna and a touch north, and lived way up river between Slana and Nabesna bc I’m making all this up right now and I said so) etc etc so his hands well worn before he got out, moved back to Texas and meets Claire snared by his weirdo allure and bizarre way of handling things— Sophia comes along and I bet he was washing his hands like a maniac, dry as fuck, probably worried his rough hands might make her fussy so held her with her little swaddling blankets at first (compensated with A LOT of skin to skin time but that’s a different ask), carefully petting her hair with just the tips of his fingers, down the bridge of her nose to make her go to sleep. Sophia loved his hands (like mother like daughter fr) could be occupied when he took her fishing by just letting her sit in his lap to play with his fingers, try on his wedding ring, ask why his nails are shorter than mommy’s or why they aren’t soft like mommy’s, map his calluses, trace the lines of his palms until he set a hook and watched him reel in dinner.

(Addition) hol up, hear me out— Sophia rooting around his bare chest and pacified with the curl of his knuckle, Sophia teething and gnawing on his fingers, Sophia learning to walk with her soft pudgy hands in his, Sophia squealing and giggling as he tickles her round lil tummy, Sophia’s only sitting still to get her hair brushed but only for daddy— Rust’s hands becoming the most abused part of his body after she’s gone

Crash era— this man does not give a shit about his hands, the most treatment they get is when he taped them together after breaking a finger, had a punching bag for obvious reasons and beat the shit out of it no gloves no tape constantly bruised. Not a stranger to working with mechanics (in Alaska, Travis would make sure he could keep his equipment running— boat engines, four wheeler oil changes, changing snow mobile tracks etc) and probably took his bike apart and put it back together just to make sure he could be Authentic, different calluses with new tools, divots in his skin lost to the unforgiving scraping bite of metal, hissing when he gets transmission fluid in his split knuckles

1995– habitual hand washing returns, dry as hell, his wrists probably crack and bleed in the winter (very very very rarely is annoyed enough to actual do something about it, probably had to bleed on one of his files— he’d use Johnson and Johnson baby lotion becuase that’s he only shit he knew, definitely drunk cried about it at least once, before sucking it up and swtiching to Vaseline), pull up bars give calluses at the base of the fingers/tops of the palms, just does calisthenics because who the fuck wants to buy equipment. Does all the upkeep on his truck (and thinking about it, this would be the first time he’d be like Alone alone in a long while, no handlers, no Iron Crusaders, no backstory upkeep, no dad, no wife, probably takes truck parts inside and cleans them on his kitchen counter because no one is there to say what the fuck are you doing— “we don’t mind being alone” okay Okay sure honey) Makes it worse by the talcum powder in his rubber gloves or licking his fingers to go through case files or staying too long in the dry archives where he can’t smoke so probably tapping his mouth, rubbing circles on his knuckles with his thumb or running it along his nails— don’t know what flavor of adhd that man has a strangle hold on but he can’t sit entirely still, fingers moving with the bits of his mind that aren’t occupied to keep himself from distraction, pretending he didn’t lose his patience with his fatherhood.

2002– Laurie :) home girl said that’s enough! Probably got recommendations from surgeons and plys him tins of hand salve, he doesn’t like the greasy feeling, but his girl is askin’ he won’t say no babey!

2012– full circle, back to them Alaskan fishing boat hands, type of hands that snag fabric (my husband isn’t a mechanic but does work with his hands and I can’t wear silk around him) and hair gets caught on, the man does not own a brush, finger combs his hair once a week and puts that shit in a hair tie, done with it.

[aliitvodeson]

so Nick Fury made Director of SHIELD sometime between 1995 and 2008. He's a regular field agent in 1995, so personally I'd put it close to his interactions with Tony in 2008, but I'll split it in the middle and say 2002.

That means he's Director of SHIELD for roughly 12 years before he starts getting curious about what Pierce is doing, begins digging and Hydra attempts to kill him.

Meanwhile Peggy is Director/Founder/High Command from 1950ish to at least 1989, and she gets to retire, relax, and die peacefully in old age

So we don't even have to unpack all the Hydra scientists it's implied she recruited. Because how on EARTH did she run things for FOUR TIMES as long, and didn't see enough to make her question things??? While it was a SMALLER organization? She really didn't ask a single damn question that ticked Hydra off in fourty years? Not one?

Peggy Carter is either incompetent, or complicit.

the way I've seen multiple Peggy stans attack Nick Fury for not noticing faster- the racism is real

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Bengiyo Queer Cinema Syllabus

Not to sound repetitive but, I had a busy couple weeks, but finally had a second to return to @bengiyo’s queer cinema syllabus. I am currently working my way through Unit 4: Heartbreak Alley, the totally light-hearted, definitely not agonizing section of the syllabus where I get to watch countless acts of violence be committed against queer people. Thank fuck I have Lesbians waiting for me at the end of this unit. The films in Unit 4 are: Bent (1997), Strange Fruit (2004), Boys Don’t Cry (1999), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Parting Glances (1986), Philadelphia (1993), The Living End (1992), Holding the Man (2015), Jeffery (1995), and Boys on the Side (1995).

Today I will be talking about

Parting Glances (1986) dir. Bill Sherwood

[Run Time: 1:30, Available: tubi and fubo, Language: English]

Summary: As Michael and Robert, a gay couple in New York, prepare for Robert's departure for a two-year work assignment in Africa, Michael must face Robert's true motives for leaving while dealing with their circle of eccentric friends, including Nick, who is living with AIDS.

Cast: 

John Bolger as Robert

Richard Ganoung as Michael 

Steve Buscemi as Nick 

__

Well, I have to say this was very much not what I was expecting for the first AIDS related movie of the syllabus. After some pretty hefty violent deaths of queer characters in the first half of Unit 4, I was very much anticipating the heart wrenching tragedies to continue immediately once I hit the AIDS epidemic portion. But Parting Glances very much subverted my expectations of what I was walking in to, because honestly…so much of it was lovely. 

It’s not that tragedy is not a part of this movie, it is, it’s just hidden under the layer of friendship, community, and love that feels like the core theme of the film. I am thinking about the party at Joan’s and how much happiness and celebration was happening there, with community abound, and yet how Michael kept telling people they should call Nick because he would appreciate it, showing just how much Nick has lost of his own community since his HIV/AIDS diagnosis. 

I really loved how real these relationships to one another felt, the way that Michael and Robert were playful with each other, the way that Nick sat on Michael’s lap so casually for a few minutes when Michael cooked him dinner, I loved the conversation Robert had with his ex-girlfriend, the young and hopeful queer boy who wished to live forever. I just loved watching the queer community be a queer community. 

Even in the moments that get a little dour, where Michael gets especially weepy with Nick, those scenes did not make me sad, did not destroy me the way other films in this syllabus have, because that is just grief. Grief is a mighty and terrible thing, but I find beauty in it as well. I find beauty and loveliness in the fact that those tears came from Michael finally admitting to Nick that he loved him, that Nick got to hear himself that he was loved, especially when so many people seemed to have fallen away from him after his diagnosis. I find comfort in the conversations about death that Michael and Joan have together, because those are conversations I’ve had, they feel familiar, they feel like a natural part of life, perhaps they should not have to feel those points so soon, but Nick himself is right, living forever is the only thing none of us can do. 

I really loved that we saw Nick when he was at a stage in his illness where he was simply being careful, but was still full of life, energetic, that he was able to be a support system for Michael and was not only being tended to. We know what is coming, but we are not made to see it. I was really in to what the film did with it’s use of ominous backing track, that Nick could hear it, that it felt like the progression of his illness, that it felt like a sense of impending doom, a cloud that hangs over Nick. 

Throughout a lot of this film I found myself thinking about The Inheritance Part One & Part Two, a play written in 2016 based off of the book Howard’s End by EM Forster. I saw this play a few years back and was lulled in to a false sense of security that this would not be a play about AIDS because it was set in the relatively modern day with a focus on younger queer characters, but ohhhhhhh how wrong I was. Towards the end of the first part, we hear a story from a character named Walter, an older gay man that lived in the same building as the main characters, and he recounts the story of his life, how his husband, Henry, built a farm outside of New York city for the two of them to live in…right around the time that AIDS started decimating the area. How that distance still was not good enough for Henry so he would leave on business trips, because his fear of catching AIDS was so strong. 

Walter tells the story of when he went back in to the city for the first time, and ran in to a friend he used to know, who had acquired AIDS and was on the brink of death. He talks about how when Henry was away, he brought that kid to the farm Henry had built to hide from AIDS, and Walter cared for that boy until he died. Walter talks about doing that again and again and again and again, dozens of times, he would go in to the city, bring a friend back home, and care for them until they passed. 

^[sidebar: I very much do not like Robert]

Part of the play ends with Walter being asked what it was like at that time, Walter asks the main characters to name someone they know, they give a name, he says “they’re dead. Give me another name, he’s dead”. For what felt like minutes, name after name after name is called and name after name after name is dead. When I saw that scene I broke down in the theater, I cried for the entirety of the walk back to the train station, I was brought to the brink of tears at the thought of that scene for a month after I saw the show. 

I mention this because it was all that I could think about while watching Robert and Michael interact with one another, while seeing this plot unfold. Robert fleeing New York while Michael stayed to care for his dying friend. Knowing that Walter and Henry stayed together after all was said and done, after Henry had stopped running from reality, and the death rates had slowed; then seeing Robert decide not to go to Africa, and how Michael did not show any signs of planning to break up with Robert knowing, despite knowing how Robert felt too settled, how Robert had chosen to go, despite knowing that Robert was running from loss, and running from being a support for Michael when the love of his life finally dies. 

So despite the fact that Parting Glances didn’t evoke the same feelings, though I felt like overall it was a relatively upbeat, uptempo, gentle film, the current underneath it all, the dying underneath it all, the tragedy is right there but it is just out of reach. 

Favorite Scene 

I think my favorite scene is when Joan and Michael are laying in bed together, holding stuffed animals at Robert’s going away party while they just casually talk about death and dying. It just felt very much like a conversation I have had with my best friend on multiple occasions, especially lately because we've had a number of deaths happen in our lives recently. And yes, my friend and I both match the type of conversation part this scene, and also the beating each other up with stuffed animals part of this scene.

Obviously we do not spend enough time with the other characters at the party to know exactly what is going on in their lives, and there is not doubt many if not all of them have lost loved ones to AIDS, but we know that Joan and Michael are really the only two people who go and visit Nick, and it feels so symbolic of the weight that they are shouldering caring for their dying friend to have the only two people who have not cut themselves off from Nick be sitting together, in another room away from all the other gay attendees, discussing, speculating, joking about death. 

Favorite Quote

We all know the real right answer is: “Straight men are jerks. Gay men are jerks. Straight women are jerks. That leaves lesbians and they are off in their ivory towers laughing their heads off at the rest of us. I should’ve been a dyke” 

But I am going to go for the more serious:

“...look at the others, waiting, wondering if some innocent moment of pleasure long past can set them up with the ultimate form of [German word my subtitles did not state]...  I’d like to stage a piece in which all of the performers are people who are terminally ill, can you imagine the intensity, the concentration, the purpose”

This is said off-handedly in a conversation between Joan and a heterosexual male artist who was attending the party. I put it here for two reasons: a) the first half is a very succinct commentary on the state of the queer community (at least who were at the party) and feels like general commentary about the movie’s premise as a whole. Especially because Nick talks about how he didn’t realize how long the gestation period of HIV was, and by the time he started taking protective measures it was already too late. b) because the second half is just the most pretentious, absolutely mindless, careless, and shitty thing to say to someone who is actively losing a friend to a terminal illness. This fucking hetero artist came in to a room full of queer people and decided that dying people would be great to put in to his next project for ~The Vibes~ and I love that comment so much because first, it shows how much he Does Not Get It, and second because of how much disgust is baked in to Joan’s “Excuse me” as she leaves before he can finish his thought. 

Because to say that to someone who is watching loved one after loved one after loved one die before their eyes is an absolutely disgusting thing to do (in my opinion). 

Final Score

8/10

Up next, Philadelphia (1993)

[bitter69uk]

Sex kitten summit meeting! Jayne Mansfield and Éva Gábor photographed at the Cotillion Ball at the Shamrock Hilton in Houston Texas in November 1960. Imagine partying with this fun duo! Effervescent coquette Éva Gábor (11 February 1919 – 4 July 1995), youngest and most talented of the three much-married fabulously ridiculous Hungarian American socialite, elite courtesan and surgically-enhanced glamourpuss Gábor sisters, was born on this day 105 years ago. While she’s inevitably described as “famous for being famous”, Gábor was a gifted and sparkling comedic actress of stage, screen and TV (especially in 1960s sitcom Green Acres; seek out the film Paris Model (1953) for further evidence), possessed a distinctive campy voice (she memorably did voice-overs for the Disney films The Aristocats (1970) and The Rescuers (1977)) – and the boss lady behind her own successful wig range! Gábor may also have been bisexual: in his 2019 book Finding Zsa Zsa: The Gabors Behind the Legend, author Sam Staggs suggests that Eva enjoyed a long liaison with Marlene Dietrich. Apparently, Francesca Hilton (Zsa Zsa Gábor's daughter and Eva’s niece) alleged to Staggs that her aunt was secretly a lesbian. Considering Éva was married five times and had a long romance with Glenn Ford, her commitment to Sapphism seems unlikely. But who knows? To complicate things, Eva was widely rumoured to be Merv Griffin’s “beard” later in life. Let’s hope it’s true! Anyway, my favourite Éva Gábor memory: circa 1989 when her more volatile older sister Zsa Zsa was famously arrested for slapping a traffic cop’s face, the cable network Nick at Nite promoted their reruns of Green Acres with an ad proclaiming, “Remember – this is Éva, not Zsa Zsa! Eva will not harm you!”

[havithreatendub4]

#Nick of Time #premiere #Samuel Goldwyn Theatre #Beverly Hills, California #November 20, 1995

📸Ron Galella

With his mother #Betty Sue Palmer

Appearance on #The Tonight Show #Jay Leno #Nick Of Time #November 1995

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Iron Man 2: Part One

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2k

Warnings: canon violence and angst

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

Nick Fury sits across from you in the dimly lit room. On the desk in front of you is a file he's been working on since you and Carol parted ways in 1995. He's been waiting patiently for the past ten minutes while you read through it all.

"This is what you were working on after Carol left?" you ask and scan the pages in your hand once more.

"I didn't realize exactly what's out there until you and Carol. I have no idea what we might face, and I think it's about time to bring together exceptional people with extraordinary powers such as yourself," Fury explains.

"What are you trying to put together? Some kind of superhero team?" you chuckle.

"It's good to know what's out there. It's better to be prepared for it."

"You think I'm worthy enough to be in this group?"

"Have you met you? The woman I knew in 1995 would jump at the chance to be on this team."

"I have to admit, you've got some good stuff in here," you sigh and set the file on the table.

"But...?"

"I've seen this kind of thing before. Someone puts together a team of exceptionally gifted people who can do incredible things, but conflict arises and it never works out. Your heart is in the right place, but I don't think your head is. Have you thought this through?"

"More than you think I have. I think with the right motivation, this team can be the greatest thing this world has ever seen."

"I don't know," you bite your lower lip in worry.

"Who survived the Kree not once but twice? Who fought Hydra in World War II? Who helped defeat Stane? Who helped Bruce?"

"Okay, first, Stane was a douchebag in a machine he didn't know how to control. Anyone could have beaten him," you roll your eyes. "Second, Bruce came to me thinking I was a scientist. He heard about me back in 1945, found out how to contact me, and I was there for him. I didn't know what I was signing up for when he went all Hulk on me."

"Think about it, Y/N. This is something that can be truly remarkable with the right people. I already have two agents on board."

"Who?"

"Black Widow and Hawkeye."

You don't know who Hawkeye is but you've heard plenty about the deadly assassin. She's popped up over the years but you've always stayed out of her way in fear she'll start hunting you. Never did you think you'd get to be able to work with her. You take the file from the table and look at Black Widow's section.

Damn, she's gorgeous.

"Is she seeing anyone?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know, is she in a relationship?"

"I'm not doing this. Ask her yourself. Take some time and think about it."

He gets up and is about to leave the room when you swivel around to face him.

"How's your eye doing?"

"Don't start," he shakes his head and leaves the room.

Not only do you have this to think about, Tony's speech has been on replay over and over in your mind. You told the world that you were the Avatar while Tony confessed to being Iron Man. The weeks following the press conference have been nothing but chaos as the public made you and Tony celebrities. While you did confess to being able to control the elements, you're not going to tell the world the planet you're truly from. You're not sure they're ready to hear they're not alone in the universe.

Dr. Erskine, Peggy Carter, and Howard Stark took it well because they were already working in that area, so it didn't come as a shock to them. Despite being inventors, doctors, and secret government agents, they were scientists. They knew there were other lifeforms out there.

They may have been ready to learn about you, but the rest of the world isn't.

You and Tony have been put in the spotlight, making you two out to be idols. People love the Avatar and Iron Man and often want you two to be out together in public. With his newfound sense of fame, he decided to reopen the Stark Exposition where he showcases all the things he's invented while encouraging people to show off their inventions.

If you know Tony, and you do, he's gonna want to make a grand entrance into his Stark Exposition. He's going to use the suit to fly into the arena with you by his side. To do that, you have to get high, which is why you two are on a small plane to take you to that height.

"I never got the chance to tell you how risky of a move it was to reveal yourself like that," you say to him while you're waiting.

"It's bound to come out sooner or later," Tony shrugs.

"They're going to start asking questions."

"They were already doing it before."

"Life is going to be different for us."

"Eh, what else is new?" he chuckles.

The plane flies higher, and you and Tony get ready to jump out of it.

"So, how are you and Pepper doing? Have you kissed her yet?"

"Don't start."

"What? Come on, you two almost kissed. There's some sort of feelings there, no?"

"I don't know," Tony sighs. "Do I really want to involve her in my life?"

"You need someone like her to keep you grounded. She's been with you for ten years and has done more than what you've asked her to do. She likes you, Tony and I know you like her, too. Tell me, imagine if she wasn't in your life. How would that make you feel?" Tony can't answer because he knows the answer. He knows he'd be devastated. "Exactly my point."

"Two hundred and seventy at thirty knots. Holding steady at fifteen thousand feet. You are clear for exfiltration over the drop zone," the pilot informs.

"Time for show business."

The launch door on the bottom of the airplane opens, and Tony doesn't hesitate to jump out of it. You jump off the landing strip and follow him as he zips through the air at a fast pace. The wind whips through your hair, the breeze is nice against your skin, and you're having fun just flying wherever you please to go. 

Tony takes the lead to the Stark Expo, and he lands on the stage with a loud thump. You're more delicate with your entrance, and you slowly lower yourself next to Tony until your feet are planted on the ground.

Tony has to make this event as grand as it can be which means there are fireworks, a very bright light show, dancing girls dressed like Iron Man, and a raging crowd to greet him. Sure, you told everyone you're the Avatar, but they're more interested in the billionaire. Not that you're complaining, you're content with being in the background.

You take a few steps back to let the machines underneath the stage remove Tony's suit for him. The platform he's on is slowly spinning as robotic arms are dismantling his suit. The showgirls continue to dance in the background until the song that's playing is over. They do some big dance number that you couldn't possibly follow, and they leave once their parts are over with. 

The lights dim to focus on you and Tony.

"Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony!" the majority of the crowd yells. 

Your name is being scattered throughout the crowd, but it's mostly for Tony.

"It's good to be back. You missed me?" he chuckles.

"Blow something up!" a man in the crowd screams.

"Blow something up? I already did that," he dismisses him until the crowd dies down. "I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of us. I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history. I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe-to-toe with us on our best day!"

"It's actually not about us," you chime in. "It's not about you. It's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations. That's why, for the next year, and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources and share their collective vision to leave behind a brighter future."

"She's absolutely right. Therefore, what we're saying, if we're saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo," Tony smiles and the crowd goes wild. "Now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it's all about, please welcome my father, Howard."

You and Tony leave the stage as the video of Howard starts to play. 

"He looks so young there," you comment after your microphones have been turned off.

"What, you didn't know him like this?"

"I knew him when he was in his twenties. He was bright for his age. He loved inventing."

"Yeah, even more than his own son," Tony scoffs.

"He loved you so much, Tony. Even before you were even an idea. He talked about having children with so much love and admiration. He was a good man. He helped me and Steve become who we are."

"It's nice to know you have fond memories of him," he nods passive-aggressively.

It's clear he doesn't like to talk about his dad a lot, and you don't really understand why. While you were off-planet, he was here building his family. You weren't fortunate in seeing Howard as a parent since you met Tony only a couple of years before his parents died. Tony never liked how Howard parented, but you have a feeling he refuses to see why Howard did what he did.

"I'm sure if he were here, he'd be so proud of you."

Tony doesn't respond to that. He turns away from the screen and pulls out a device that measures his blood toxicity levels. The palladium in the arc reactor is slowly killing him, so he has to check how toxic his blood is every hour. You're working on a cure, but there isn't an acceptable replacement for palladium. The continued use of the Iron Man suit is killing him, and it's very hard to make him see the seriousness of the situation.

Only you know about this because he refuses to tell anyone what's actually happening. He doesn't want anyone to worry about what's going on with him even though they deserve to know. Pepper deserves to know. Even with your vast knowledge of powers and serums, you don't know how you'll be able to fix this one.

If Tony is good at anything, then it's how he throws after-parties once the main one dies down. As soon as the Expo is over, everyone huddles around the front of the building to meet you and Tony. Happy stands in front of you two to carve a path back to the car. Tony stops to sign autographs and take pictures with devoted fans while you keep your head down. You hated your picture being taken in the 1940s and you hate it being taken now.

Pictures are proof you were here.

Happy escorts you to Tony's brand new convertible car while the building's security prevents people from crowding you at the car.

"Very mellow," Tony comments.

"I thought it was going to be worse."

A slim, young woman walks to the car with two men behind her just as you get in the backseat of the car.

"Hi, and you are?" Tony asks as he slides into the front seat.

"Marshal. Pleased to meet you Tony and Y/N."

"I'm sorry, what are you doing here?" you ask.

"Looking for you two," she grins, "and serving subpoenas."

She hands him a piece of paper and he visibly gulps. He hates being handed things, which you never understood.

"Yikes," he mutters. 

"He doesn't like to be handed things. I'll take it," you smile and take the letter she offers. 

"Yeah, I have a peeve," Tony nods. 

"I got it. You two are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow morning at nine a.m."

"Can I see a badge?"

"You wanna see the badge?" she grins. 

"We'll be there," you interrupt her meaningless flirting. "How far are we from D.C.?"

"Two hundred and fifty miles," Happy answers. 

"We'll be there. Thank you."

Tony turns the car on and takes off toward the highway. It's night right now, but it will be morning by the time you get to D.C.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[feldmanshome]

You asked what kind of AU is it? Make yourself comfortable, my friends!

(.❛ ᴗ ❛.)

In 1995, under cover of the noize of Birakujî, Eric King launched the Caelus for the first time. He discovered a huge underground temple in the foothills of the Zagros. But his research didn't get any support (financial, I mean), so Eric managed everything by himself (what a man). He brought Clarice Stokes as a sience-sister, and Rachel as a guard-squad-leader. Nick, Merwin and Joey are the members of Rachel's team, so they all protect Eric and Clarice in the war zone. What about Jason? He's also in the guard, second in command. Despite of dr*g addiction, because he didn't tell his mates about it. But in the underground temple, the group discovered not only the remains of the former culture, but also a fairly lively current one.

The temple people use the Muslim calendar and speak very outdated Arabic. But there's something more important. They stay underground for centuries to hold back the monsters escaping from the bowels of the temple. The temple people are few, most of them are meek, but the're really good warrios. Salim is their hakim - elected leader. It was he who first stumbled upon the Americans, while he was chasing the monster that broke through the defenses of the temple. Because of the contact with new human race the research continued for some weeks. While Eric and Clarice are exploring a new culture, Joey and Mervin are busy with each other, and Rachel and Nick are busy with Eric (they're three for the price of one, guys, they're family), Jason is the only one who wants to leave the temple as soon as possible, afraid of his withdrawal (of course he doesn't have enough dr*gs to be there for such a long time). Salim, who has no idea what dr*gs are, nevertheless intends to help him deal with not only this problem.

A couple of details:

Salim speaks English. How? Because of another group of researchers. His parents once met scientists who also descended into the temple (Dr. Randolph Hodgson's team, yep). These scientists left all of their records, dictaphones and cassettes in the temple to protect an underground village from invasion.

Salim hides Jason in his house and tells everyone that Jason was poisoned by the luminescent paint that tample community use to paint their faces (maybe I'll tell you more about this cultural tradition later) so Jason will not be fired or sent to jail. You can see the part of this on my art.

Zane was born later and his mother disappeared earlier. Where did she go? She fled to the upper world. She didn't want to waste her life on a living in a hornet's (vampire's, actually) nest. How old is Zayn? Seven months. Salim feeds him with a tissue (a medieval technique for raising a baby who has lost their mom: a soft tissue is dipped in milk and put it in the child's mouth). And yes, look at the background of my art. See the little bed in the niche with the curtain? Now you know whose it is.

The ecosystem in the underworld is really special. But it's too much words for the one post. I'll talk more about this later if you'd like me to.

Art has two versions just because of the lentern. Enjoy!

[bsaka7]

tagged to post my 9 favourite album with commentary by @mathewbaldzal !!!! we r two peas in a pod i think with having a lot to say about some tunes...

in no particular order...

different class (1995) - pulp. this is not my no1 album of all time because i don't have a favorite album of all time, but this album is in part representative of "getting into music" to me. i love 90s britpop, whatever that means for a random american and this is my fav of em all (though i do actually quite rate this is hardcore in pulp's discography). "common people" is one of the songs of ALL TIME. god jarvis's little sing-song sleazyness gets me. really, really, really great classic performance of it at glasto 1995...for some reason "pencil skirt" also always really hits.

home video (2021) - lucy dacus. the newest album on this list by a long shot, but it's had songs in my top5 year end lists since it came out. i've also seen lucy live <3. this album rises above some of the others in similar company (punisher - phoebe bridgers, the boygenius ep, etc) because i never get tired of it. "first time" "hot & heavy" "brando" and "triple dog dare" are nearly always standbys in my listening history. probably gonna be an album-i-listened-to-in-college classic forever...

songs of love and hate (1971) - leonard cohen. maybe none of my favorite leonard cohen songs are on this album, but as a single work, this album stuns me. possibly the most transfixing 44:21 i've ever heard. his lyricism in particular is -- i can't even describe it. the mix with his voice, the sparseness of the instrumentation at time, the harmonies. i'm not a big stories guy but in this, yeah, the songwriting, the stories. i don't think there's another album like this one out there, really.

if you're feeling sinister (1998) - belle & sebastian. the first time i heard this album, i thought i had never heard an album so perfect. i love songs off of it but i nearly always listen to it whole. i love, love, love b&s's early sound (twee, if you will), and stuart murdoch's lyrics really, really shine. this is one of my favorite albums to listen to when i have a headache because it's lovely to just, focus on but not grating at all. i really love "judy and the dream of horses" and "get me away from here i'm dying". really, a beautiful work

rumours (1977) - fleetwood mac. i was sort of scrolling through some of my playlists trying to decide what to put on this list (it's a bit weighted towards stuff that's in rotation now) and i couldn't leave off fleetwood mac (in part to represent the huge part of my music taste that is like. classics 1965-1980). stevie nicks was one of my earlier music obsessions (the OG was the beatles). so many wonderful songs and riffs. i know this was left off the original 12-inch but "silver springs" is one of my favorite songs forever and ever and ever...

nebraska (1982) - bruce springsteen. when it comes down to it, this is my favorite springsteen album. i do think his 1975-1987 run of albums is pretty much perfect but nebraska is a masterpiece in a way that i find hard to express in words. there's a sense of sparseness and distance in this work (in part bc of how it was recorded) that i find so utterly compelling i can't even describe. "nebraska" - especially this 1984 live version - is a perfect song to me. perfect. i also like a lot of the stuff that went into inspiring this album (notably flannery o'connor) and well. where it fits into springsteen's narritivization of his own life (dude was in the dumps).

all killer, no filler (2001) - sum41. this pick is a little bit representative of the era of my life where i basically exclusively listened to pop punk but if songs of love and hate is an album that's perfectly drawn out, this is an album that's perfectly compressed. like, the title is correct. this album is fucking TIGHT. i used to listen to it at a job i hated to make the 30-min intervals go by. and it's got such classics...."fat lip"..."motivation..." of course, "in too deep." SO good.

what did you expect from the vaccines? (2011) - the vaccines. maybe this pick is a tiny bit cheesy but it is a perfect encapsulation of the era of alt rock it came from. which i love. i really like the vaccines, i think they're super fun and i did see them in concert finally and they totally lived up to that. "wetsuit" is again...one of my favorite songs of all time. "if you wanna" is a perpetual banger.

age of consent (1983) - new order. again, an album that deserves to be listened to whole, despite how good "age of consent" hits alone ever single time. sometimes i think i like another new order album more than this, but i don't. sumner's voice just out-of-tune ringing out over that sound, that new order sound, the bass, that post-punk club vibe. they're a band that don't sound like anyone else, and this is the album most indicative of that. wow, every time.

a few narrow misses

boxer (2007) - the national. i didn't get the national until one day i did. "slow show." my god. hello.

very (1993) - pet shop boys. it's too simple to say this is an album about gay love because it's so embedded in it's context but. this is an album with so much love. psb are brilliant.

the execution of all things (2002) - rilo kiley. jenny lewis CALL ME. also like. you know "a better son/daughter". there's more.

a thousand suns (2010) - linkin park. i used to listen to this at 6th grade cross-country practice. first band i ever got into on my own. idk.

this is not only my favorite albums but a pretty decent summation of the broad strokes my overall taste. thank you again for the tag!! i enjoyed doing this a lot :). idk who has done this/on what blogs so if u have PLEASEEEEE send it to me i want to see!! i tag @lfcrobbo @upthebrackets @girlfriendline @odegoob @amandaleveille @thelittlebirdthatkeptsomanywarm @kritischetheologie @bright-and-burning @a-corn-field if any of u want to but no presh!!!

[frozen-snowflakesandsunflowers]

Disney 100 ✨🏰🤍

Wishing you all a happy new year and to Disney, a belated 100th anniversary! 🎉

To celebrate Disney’s century milestone, I created an illustration based on 100 of Disney’s most known and loved characters from their respective movies/ series. I’ve included all the ones I’ve known and feel are generally popular but I’m sorry if your personal favourites aren’t here.

This has been in the works for almost four months now but due to many delays I couldn’t finish it on time. So here it finally is!

Out of all these range characters, the hardest to draw was the Cars. I’m not used to drawing cars so I’m not generally good at them (yet). Some of these may look simple and easy to draw but trust me, they’re not 😂.

With drawing the characters and the background, I like to be accurate with the respective style it’s drawn/ animated in and the colours too. But also I wanted to also simplify the 3D ones and add a little depth using shadow to the 2D ones. For example some of these films would have a desaturated grainy effect to it and I wanted to keep that. But finally after months of working on it, it’s completed and I’m happy with it! ✨.

Please, please do check it out on Instagram too:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zahra Sarfraz (@artofzahrasarfraz)

If this link doesn't work, my username is @/artofzafrasarfraz - it's where I put all my drawings up on. Please do share on stories and comment. Much appreciated 🥹🫶🏼🤍

All the 100 characters featured in this piece are listed below:

1927: Trolley Troubles / Oswald The Lucky Rabbit (2022): Oswald

1937: Snow White: Snow White and the Evil Queen

1941: Dumbo: Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse

1942: Bambi: Thumper and Bambi

1943: Private Pluto: Chip and Dale

1944: The Lion King: (Child) Simba

1949: Pinocchio: Pinocchio

1950: Cinderella: Cinderella

1951: Alice In Wonderland: Alice, Cheshire cat and Mad Hatter

1953: Peter Pan: Peter Pan and Tinker Bell

1959: Sleeping Beauty: Aurora and Maleficent

1963: The Sword in the Stone: Arthur Pendragon

1964: Mary Poppins: Mary Poppins

1967: 101 Dalmatians: Cruella De Vil and Patch | Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo

1970: Aristocats: Toulouse, Marie and Berlioz

1973: Robin Hood: Robin Hood

1977: The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh: Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin

1989: The Little Mermaid: Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian and Ursula

1991: Beauty And The Beast: Belle

1992: Aladdin: Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie

1993: Steamboat Willie/ Mickey Mouse Series: Mickey & Minnie Mouse | Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas: Jack Skellingtion

1995: Lady and the Tramp: Lady & Tramp | Toy Story: Woody and Buzz Light-year | Pocahontas: Pocahontas

1997: Hercules: Hercules & Megara

1998: Mulan: Mulan | A Bug's Life: Flik

2000: The Emperor's New Groove: Kuzco

2001: Monsters Inc: Sulley, Mike and Mary Gibbs aka Boo

2002: Lilo & Stitch: Lilo and Stitch

2003: Finding Nemo: Nemo and Dory

2004: The Incredibles - Helen Parr aka Elastic girl, Robert (Rob) Parr aka Mr. Incredible, Jack-Jack Parr and Edna Mode

2006: Cars: Lighting McQueen and Tow Mater

2007: Enchanted: Giselle Phillip

2008: WALL - E: Wall-E & Eve | Phineas and Ferb: Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher

2009: The Princess and the Frog: Tiana | UP: Carl Fredricksen and Dug

2010: Tangled: Rapunzel & Flynn Ryder aka Eugene Fitzherbert and Pascal

2012: BRAVE: Merida | Wreck-It Ralph: Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz

2013: Frozen: Elsa, Anna and Olaf

2014: Big Hero Six: Baymax

2015: Inside Out: Joy and Sadness

2016: Moana: Moana | Zootopia (2016): Nick Wilde & Judith (Judy) Laverne Hopps

2017: COCO: Miguel Rivera

2020: Soul: Joe and 22

2021: Luca: Luca | Encanto: Mirabel and Isabella Mardigal | Raya And The Last Dragon: Raya

2022: Red Panda: Mei Lee aka the Red Panda

2023: Elemental: Ember Lumen & Wade Ripple | Wish: Asha and Star