Last night I went to fangirl dinner with dotfic, innie_darling, and tenaciousmetoo, but since I got out of work at 2:30 and didn't want to go all the way home and then go all the way back down to Tribeca, I went to the movies. Since I had a coupon for fandango, I ended up seeing Avengers for the sixth time, for $2. I don't really have anything else to say about the movie, but it was SO PLEASANT to actually not have to sit through the Battleship trailer anymore. Instead we got some GI Joe thing, which is only better because DWAYNE JOHNSON. And also Adrianne Palicki. I dunno, in the FNL alumni stakes, I think one Adrianne Palicki is worth both Taylor Kitsch and Jesse Plemons.

Then this afternoon I went to see Snow White and the Huntsman, and it was ALL NEW trailers. The only one that was familiar was Brave. We also got one with Bradley Cooper and Kristen Bell, the Bourne Legacy, and that JGL as a bike messenger movie. I think that might have been it? Oh, wait, no, there is apparently a Katy Perry movie happening. *hands* Who knew?

Anyway, it was a 4:30 show, so I arrived at about 4:10 and the theatre was already pretty crowded, and by the time the movie actually started, it was packed. (As an aside, yesterday's 3:15 show of Avengers was pretty crowded for a Friday afternoon of a movie that's been out for a month. And I just saw a commercial for it that focused completely on the Hulk. I find that hilarious, because prior to its release, there was almost no advertising in the NY market that I saw. But it seems like the marketing people figured out what people liked best.)

I enjoyed it a lot, though if you have animal harm issues, you should know that there is some LotR-style battle stuff where there is general damage to horses (and people). And also this one scene where ( not really a plot spoiler but if animal harm bothers you you might want to know this going in? )

I thought the film is beautifully shot and it mostly gets away with storytelling that's more atmospheric than solid. I mean, it's Snow White? And it skates by on the fact that you know that, though it adds some twists. ( spoilers for the rest of the movie )

Anyway, bring me ALL the Snow White/Huntsman fic! And maybe an icon.

*adds to possible yuletide request list*

*

Young Justice

( spoilers are from the future )

It's like they have absorbed everything I love about the pre-reboot DCU and put it up on screen.

*

Legend of Korra

( spoilers )

*

I was sad to hear that Kathryn Joosten died. She'll always be Mrs. Landingham to me.

*

So it was very exciting last night - I was out at dinner, so I didn't see the game, but right when I walked in the door, my dad texted me, "Are you watching the game?!" so I put it on just in time to hear the last out and the announcement that Santana had pitched a no-hitter. I don't know if I'd have been able to take the tension of watching it, but I am sure glad I got to see the post game celebration and interviews. ♥♥♥

I joke about the existential futility of being a Mets fan, but they have been a pleasant surprise so far this season.

*

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So this morning at Starbucks, the lady wrote Virginia instead of Victoria on my cup. Then one of my co-workers called me Veronica. I DON'T UNDERSTAND. There are only, like, FIVE common names that start with a V. WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR PEOPLE TO GET THEM RIGHT?

On the upside, last night I dreamt that David Simon was doing a Jason Todd/Red Hood miniseries for HBO, and as part of the promotional material, I received a very cool origami Advent calendar that said "Red Hood Is Coming!" and there were pretty panels of Jason behind each door.

Clearly the David Simon of my unconscious knows that Jason should be Omar. Maybe this dream miniseries would have had Dick/Jason in it, given that it was my unconscious. Sadly, I woke up before I found out.

In other formerly dead sidekick news, I watched the latest episode of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (don't worry if you're in the US - it doesn't air here until 6/24, but I found it on the youtube) and not only did it have ( spoilers )

I keep trying not to be excited about this, given that it's either being cancelled after 13 episodes or changed to match the format of Ultimate Spider-man, neither of which thrills me, but still! A Steve/Bucky reunion is basically all I want from this show at this point. Preferably without the hugs being as delayed as they were in the comics.

***

How is it June already? Have the monthly roundup posts:

Recs update!

unfitforsociety has been updated for May 2012 with 60 recs in 5 fandoms:

* 48 Avengers movieverse
* 3 Bourne Trilogy
* 2 Legend of Korra
* 1 Community and 1 Calvin & Hobbes

***

Top 5 songs!

Augustine - Vienna Teng
I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
Sorrow - The National
Fly - Nicki Minaj ft. Rihanna
All This and Heaven Too - Florence + the Machine

***

Monthly writing roundup!

what a smile means (at AO3)
Avengers (2012); Natasha/Steve; adult; no real spoilers for the movie; 4,470 words
Natasha knows a lot of things Steve doesn't.

Six Meetings Before Lunch (at AO3)
Avengers (2012); Steve & Thor; g; 4,120 words
Six times Steve and Thor hang out.

Shibboleth (at AO3)
Avengers (2012)/DCU; Darcy, Clint, Dick, Steph, Natasha, ensemble; pg; 3,130 words
"Nightwing?" Clint scoffs. "That guy's not real."

***

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Good lord, this day. This whole week. Just... can I go back to bed and start over? Ugh.

One good thing: last night, innie_darling and I went to a gelato making class. It was a lot of fun. I made her do all the work and she made me pour the tequila. Which seems about right, yeah? Heh. Mostly I was like, I make ice cream at home all the time, so it's not a thrill for me to mix ingredients. *hands* The guy leading the class was amusing, and we got to take home four pints of gelato that we made: cookies and cream, fig and tequila (I was skeptical about this, because tequila-flavored ice cream is not my idea of a good time, but the figs taste nice), chocolate/peanut butter, and chocolate/hazelnut. So, uh, probably not a great idea if you're allergic to nuts, but otherwise, STELLAR. SO TASTY (yes, we got to taste the fruits of labor before he decanted them all into little pint cartons). And then we had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant across from the gelato place, so it was all-around good.

Another good thing: I posted a story yesterday:

Shibboleth (at AO3)
Avengers (2012)/DCU; Darcy, Clint, Dick, Steph, Natasha, ensemble; pg; 3,130 words
"Nightwing?" Clint scoffs. "That guy's not real."

The line in the summary was basically the genesis of this story, along with Dick hitting on a very unimpressed Natasha, Clint having a circus background in 616, and Darcy and Steph (Batgirl of my heart) being the best roommates ever. Oh, and also, I never get tired of being amused by Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne's mutual disdain. I'm sad I couldn't work more than an oblique mention of Tim in, and that Cass didn't even get that. But I think it's fun for what it is, and I'm so pleased other people have enjoyed it. I suppose there could be other stories.

Though check this out, the actualfax BEST Avengers/DCU crossover would be Natasha Romanoff/Talia al'Ghul (with or without actual sex). CAN THE UNIVERSE CONTAIN THAT LEVEL OF HOT BADASSERY? I THINK WE SHOULD FIND OUT.

Maybe when the Red Room liquidated its assets, the Winter Soldier got sold to the League of Assassins, and when he finally makes an appearance, it pings Natasha's radar and off she goes to rescue him. There could be bonus Jason, too. I am easy for formerly dead sidekicks who come back to be awesome. *hands*

Someone should totally write that for me.

*

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Shibboleth
Avengers (2012)/DCU; Darcy, Clint, Dick, Steph, Natasha, ensemble; pg; 3,130 words
"Nightwing?" Clint scoffs. "That guy's not real."

Pre-reboot, liberties taken with timelines, etc. Written for the West Wing title project.

( 'Nightwing?' Clint scoffs. 'That guy's not real.' )

~*~

Feedback is always appreciated.

~*~

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So last night, given that I had a headache and was unfit for doing anything thinky, I watched a couple of movies.

I thought The Nanny Diaries was mostly enjoyable for what it was - the fact that I live on the UES (though technically, I live in Yorkville, where the regular, non-rich people live) made it more amusing - but mostly it gave me lots of visuals for Steve and Natasha being sweet and romantic together in some NYC locations, as the movie stars Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans plays her love interest (which I did not realize, or I'd have watched it sooner - given that his character is credited as "Harvard hottie," I thought it was a walk-on role). And the bit where she's dressed up as Betsy Ross and he's like, "That's... very patriotic" was hilarious for so many other reasons than the writers intended.

I don't get why people hate her so much. The only things I've seen her in aside from Avengers and IM2 are this, Lost in Translation, and that awful Woody Allen movie about social climbing and tennis, and she was not the issue in that movie. I guess it's because she's young, gorgeous, and famous? idek.

speaking of actresses people hate, I then watched Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and oh my god, who thought ANY of that - aside from Chris Evans half naked - was a good idea? What an awful, awful movie. I have a fondness for Jessica Alba, but even a really good actress couldn't have made the way Sue was written work, and I don't think the casting did her any favors. And even Ioan Gruffudd can't make Reed Richards palatable (Reed's priorities are apparently: science, Victor von Doom, saving the world, Sue), and even Andre Braugher couldn't hold my attention as the general sent to round him up to save the world.

Otoh, there is definitely leeway for the Sue/Johnny hetcest that is percolating in the back of my mind, and they did have nice sparky chemistry that was absent in their actual romantic pairings.

My priorities, they are not other people's.

***

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I have a terrible headache all of a sudden, which is making me irritable, so I will just say, briefly, that I liked Blackout a lot. I thought it was a strong wrap-up to a highly enjoyable trilogy.

I also enjoyed this week's Young Justice. ( these two things are not actually spoilers, but... )

In other news, have some music:

Jungle Boogie - Kool & the Gang

Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston

Higher and Higher - Jackie Wilson

I Want You Back - Jackson 5

Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight

Ooh Child - Five Stairsteps

I had "Jungle Boogie" on repeat earlier - that's how I know it's summer.

*

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In today's entry of "you should totally write that:"

= the undercover married Steve/Natasha story, where they have to pretend to be a couple to, I dunno, flush out an AIM scientist or something and there are ~feelings and Steve knows it's all a show but he can't help feeling what he's feeling etc. etc.

= Tony Stark + Damian Wayne. YOU KNOW THIS WOULD BE HILARIOUS. And yet really sad and achy underneath. And seriously, parenting advice from Tony Stark? Comedy gold. "Uh, Bruce, I don't want to tell you how to raise your kid but--" "Then don't, Stark. Good day." I feel at some point, Pepper would have to come in and pwn all of them, leaving Damian with yet another crush on yet another amazing lady. (It's already canon in my head that Bruce totally has a crush on her - see 'you ain't no lover but you ain't no dancer.') And maybe Bruce would be better at not being emotionally withholding because Damian isn't perfect.

= While we're on the subject of Marvel/DCU crossovers, I always want the Dick and Bucky meet up for drinks and discuss how difficult it is to step into their mentors' shoes fic. ALWAYS.

= Young Avengers + Teen Titans. Because Tim would be HORRIFIED at how the Young Avengers are organized (or not). Tommy would love to torment him, until Kon stepped in (and Bart told him it totally wasn't cool). Billy could give Tim advice on how to woo his alien hybrid boyfriend. (Tim: "he's not my boyfriend." Billy: "You keep telling yourself that.") Kate would just be like, TIM DRAKE WAS ROBIN? THAT NERDY KID FROM BAND CAMP?

= Steve Rogers/Zinda Blake. WWII HEROES DISPLACED IN TIME. HE GETS HER REFERENCES. THERE IS NO BAD THERE.

= Steve Rogers/Diana of Themiscyra. BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE LOVELY TOGETHER.

I was telling amberlynne, that no, really, I ship Steve/ALL THE LADIES.

I have a birthday coming up, you know. I'm just saying.

*

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Survived family BBQ with only two glasses of sangria!

Now my parents are inside watching the Murder, She Wrote marathon and I appear to be writing the crossover where Darcy Lewis and Steph Brown are roommates who don't know about each other's secret superhero associations.

I don't even know.

*

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Well, I guess it's time to pay attention to baseball.

*sigh*

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There should be a Steve/Bucky vid to "Transatlanticism."

I don't know. It came on earlier and I had a lot of FEELINGS. I think part of it is still spillover from Code Name Verity. I wonder if I should ask for that for yuletide. I will have to put it on my list. Along with maybe the Jake/Brett/Mike threesome I ask for every couple of years.

Speaking of which, there should TOTALLY be a Steve/Bucky/Natasha "The Sun Also Rises" fusion where instead of Jake being impotent, Bucky loses an arm. Though I would also accept Bucky being impotent and wanting to spend all his time watching Natasha fuck Steve, because seriously, who wouldn't? Possibly Clint is the matador. And Natasha is actually a much nicer person than Brett. But they'd still spend a lot of time drinking grappa and going fishing.

*hands*

The heart wants what it wants.

What my heart really wants is to finish some of these damn wsip because the list of new things I want to write is growing rapidly. The five ladies Steve drew story. The Darcy gives up on dating story. The Natasha is reluctantly won over by adorable teaminess story. ALL THE TIM/KON IN THE WORLD. (ha, bet you didn't see that coming! But something on tumblr reminded me of my hardcore OTPness about them, and I just want millions of words about Kon being goofy in order to get Tim to unwind. Sigh.)

And now this song makes me want ALL THE MAX/ALEC in the world.

Music, why you gotta be so evocative?

Writing, why you gotta be so hard?

*

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Ugh, it's bad enough I had to be at work at 7:45, which meant getting up at 6:30, but waking up every hour before that to make sure I didn't miss my alarm? That was overkill. Bleh.

In between all that waking up, I dreamt that I was on vacation with devildoll and we went swimming! And then I dreamt that I got a peek at Agent Coulson's notes about the Avengers. They were very neat. All I remember is that it said "Loki? -> Hulk. Hulk? -> Thor?" so I guess he was trying to figure out who would beat who in a fight how to eliminate or minimize threats. Because the same thing that makes Hulk so terrifying ( is this even a spoiler? )

I was also all wound up because of the hockey game - my attention span for anything else when hockey is on is minimal, which is why I spent most of the evening (I got home from work late) organizing my tumblr queue. Ah, mindless indulgence.

The game was just salt in the wound. I finished Code Name Verity right before it started and ( spoilers. mostly of the emotional variety )

Okay, that was the emotional spoilers part. Now I will try to talk a little coherently about the book and how I need to reread it, knowing what happens, because it's really brilliantly done.

ANYWAY. I think most people should go into this book unspoiled though if you have triggers or sensitivities about Nazis, you should probably have someone vet it for you or read spoilery posts about it. Or you can ask me, and I will try to answer.

The basic premise is, in the UK during WWII, two young women become unlikely girlfriends best friends. One is a spy. One is a pilot. The spy is captured by the Gestapo. That's where it begins. (I don't feel like that's spoiling because it's the blurb on the book, and that was basically what I knew going in - actually, I don't think I even knew one was a pilot. I knew there were two young women during WWII and one was a spy.) As a side note, I totally ship them. Girlslashiness abounds.

This is a story about friendship and love and loss and war and loyalty and bravery and determination in the face of tragedy, and it's also a story about stories - how we tell them, how they shape us, how we use them to see the world and to present ourselves to other people - and in this case, specifically written stories. I think it's brilliantly done, in addition to being smart and moving and emotionally involving.

Now I'm going to talk about actual plot points, including the major climax of the story, so unless you really feel the need to be spoiled, given the subject matter, don't click.

( spoilers )

ANYWAY. I'm not sure any of that actually makes sense? But I highly recommend this book.

Lastly, while I was getting dressed this morning - in dim light because it takes forever for those spirally bulbs to get to full brightness - it turns out that the black pants and the black suit jacket I threw on are not, in fact from the same suit and the blacks don't match. Oops? I don't think anyone else has noticed.

You know I choose my subject lines from whatever song is playing when I finish writing the post right? I am amused at how this one turned out. iPod oracle indeed.

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I finished part 1 of Code Name Verity on the train this morning. I...I think I might need to put the book in the freezer. Well, metaphorically, since it is on my iPad, and I can't put my iPad in the freezer.

( spoilers up to the end of part 1 )

I may be a little invested, is what I'm saying. DO NOT SPOIL ME. I'm sure once I'm done I will be posting about it again.

Also, I feel like if you do read this book, do it unspoiled. I knew almost nothing other than the time period and that there were two girls as main characters. IT IS VERY TENSE.

*

Dear everyone who gets email:

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY-ALL.

no love,

me.

*

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I finished A River in the Sky the other day (Friday? I think?), which was the Amelia Peabody I hadn't read, and I enjoyed it, though I don't think it held up well as a story? I don't think there was a lot of there, there, but it did give me Ramses being off on his own (joined, eventually, by David), and I have to admit that what I want most now is the story of Ramses' war years. *hands*

Speaking of which, I have started Code Name Verity, as recommended by a couple of people, and so far I really like it. And! This morning when I turned on my iPad, Deadline Blackout, the third book in the Newsflesh trilogy, downloaded. I AM EXCITE.

Plus, I've been rereading Captain America and I have a bunch of Black Widow stuff to read, and oh, I read last week's Winter Soldier, which mostly gives me a lot of "Oh, Bucky" feels, which is pretty much all I ask for. (I am always amused when someone refers to him as Steve's boy.)

Speaking of Bucky, the other day, I was reading a story about Steve and his angst about everything he's lost, and it was pretty well written except for one HUGE GLARING OVERSIGHT. Like, he spent a lot of time mourning Peggy and Howard, but there was not even ONE MENTION of Bucky. And I was just like, "Really? Seriously?" And I clicked out of the story.

Leaving all shipping concerns aside, I just don't understand how in a story about all the things Steve has lost, someone could completely neglect to mention the loss of his best friend, which is something that doesn't happen all that long before he hits the ice, and something he didn't have a whole lot of time to mourn/get over, and oh yeah, something he blames himself for (Peggy's advice notwithstanding).

( minor spoiler for Avengers ) I feel like leaving it out of fic that is from Steve's POV - and that is explicitly about everything he's lost - is just poor characterization.

Another thing I've noticed - though a lot less since I don't read a lot that is Tony-centric - is the almost complete absence of Maria Stark. Tony didn't spring fully grown from Howard's forehead, but you'd think so just going by how often anyone mentions her.

*

Let us not even discuss the debacle that was last night's Rangers game. Sigh.

*

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Last night amid all my anxiety dreams about work, there were Doctor Who people running around. I think that dream was meant for some other fangirl who could appreciate it more.

I feel like it's been so long since I worked on any of my works in progress that I need to do another roundup just to keep track. So, a list of things I am actively thinking about or planning to work on include.

Stuff that is actually in progress, or at least has notes:
= "Welcome to Wherever You Are," the sequel to "Impact Winter," where Steve finally gets to take Bucky home and cuddle him
= "Looking for What's Next," the sequel to "Our history is just in our blood," where Bucky wants to get his memory back, and even Steve thinks it's a terrible idea
= untitled sequel to "what a smile means," likely to end in Steve/Bucky/Natasha
= "Where Things That Don't Match Meet," aka, Steve/Darcy fake dating
= "Just one swig of me would get most guys smashed," aka, Steve/Sif
= "The Crackpots and These Women," aka, the one where Darcy, Jane, and Pepper save the world, with an assist from Natasha, Sif, and Maria Hill.
= "The Second Rise," aka, the bakery AU
= the currently untitled Clint/Darcy story where Clint is a stealthy nap ninja
= "this cup of days and shadows" - Nick/Cassie with Cassie growing up and stuff
= "So You'll Know Where I've Been" - comicsverse Steve/Bucky where Steve likes Bucky in the Captain America uniform; he likes it A LOT
= "In the arms of your absence" - comicsverse Steve/Bucky/Natasha with CLANDESTINE MAKEOUTS since everyone else thinks Bucky is dead.

stories I keep thinking about but haven't started writing:
= "Independence Day" - Steve/Bucky makeouts for Steve's birthday
= untitled Nick/Cassie road trip fic
= untitled Steve/Bucky road trip story
= the one where Bucky brews beer at home to keep himself occupied since he isn't cleared to be on the Avengers yet <- this one is all angelgazing's fault
= "The Long Goodbye" - noir detective AU where Steve goes missing and Peggy hires disgraced war veteran turned PI Bucky Barnes to find him because the government is covering it up.
= "Clockworks and Cold Steel," Bucky/Natasha, past and future, possibly with pegging
= untitled Clint and Natasha (or Clint/Natasha?) dealing with the aftermath of the movie and being on a team with a bunch of superpowered heroes
= the one about Natasha and Bruce and fear and trust

All titles etc. are of course subject to change. As overwhelming as this list is, I feel like I'm actually still missing a few things, though possibly all Steve/Bucky cuddling/makeouts ideas have become one in my head. And of course, angelgazing is an IDEA FACTORY, so who knows what she will make me write instead of any of the things on this list?

*

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I feel like I caught up on ALL the TV today and I don't really have a whole lot to say about most of it, because it was too much. So, in brief:

Young Justice
( spoilers )

Legend of Korra
( spoilers )

Ultimate Spider-man
I wish this show were better, but oh man, ( spoiler ) was TOTALLY WORTH it. I reblogged this from myself in honor of that hilarity.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
( spoilers )

Fringe
( spoilers )

As far as Dan Harmon being fired from Community, I think it was a dick move by Sony (and I'm not all that fond of Harmon's schtick, I have to admit; his public self-loathing makes me very uncomfortable), and the show won't be the same and that makes me sad (conversely, I'm even more pleased with the season 3 finale now), but seriously, some of the fans need to sit down and chill.

*

In non-tv-watching news, fleurdeleo had a dinner party last night (zomg, so much wine), and I made this flourless chocolate hazelnut cake.

( click for a picture )

It's very easy and very dense and rich and tasty and I highly recommend it as long as there's nobody around who's allergic to nuts.

*

Before that, I was on the edge of my seat watching the Rangers, because wow, they looked flat and uninspired for the first half of the game, and they're lucky Lundqvist kept them in the game. When they scored the first goal, I texted my dad that I would like a second one, and maybe a third, just for insurance. And then they scored again! And I was like, "now I would like a million dollars." Sadly that did not materialize, but a third goal finally did. Whew.

I mean, let's face it, right now the Kings have a total Team of Destiny thing going on about them, but I'd still like to see the Rangers make the finals.

*

Yesterday was devildoll's birthday, so I wrote her a story about Thor and Steve being bros:

Six Meetings Before Lunch (at AO3)
Avengers (2012); Steve & Thor; g; 4,120 words
Six times Steve and Thor hang out.

I admit, I cracked myself up while I was writing, and sent a few texts to angelgazing that were mostly me going, "BOUNCY CASTLE Y/MFY?" and "BUMPER CARS Y/MFY?" *hands* If you don't think Steve and Thor in a bouncy castle is good times, I don't even want to know you.

Anyway, she really liked it, and so did some other people, so I'm really pleased, because like I said, it made me happy to write it. Steve and Thor: epic bros.

*

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Happy birthday to devildoll, one of my favorite people ever and one of my closest friends! ♥ I hope it's a good one. Have a story!

Six Meetings Before Lunch
Avengers (2012); Steve & Thor; g; 4,120 words
Six times Steve and Thor hang out.

For devildoll on her birthday. Thanks to angelgazing for making it better. Part of the West Wing Title Project.

( Six Meetings Before Lunch )

~*~

Feedback is adored.

~*~

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Community

I loved all of it. I mean, I just. I can't even. That was glorious. Were there some bumps and bits that didn't work? Sure. But overall, I thought it was fantastic. Heartfelt and funny and full of great characterization and closure. If this had been the series finale, I would have been satisfied. I watched most of it with my hand over my heart, gasping with joy and glee. ♥♥♥♥♥

thingswithwings has a more detailed post that captures most of what I wanted to say but can't seem to get out. TOO MANY FEELINGS.

#sixseasonsandamovie

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Holy crap, Donna Summer died. Her music was a huge part of my childhood and I'm saddened by the loss.

*cues up Hot Stuff on the iPod*

*

People keep talking about an Ant-man movie, and wanting him on the Avengers, and I just don't understand why. Even if you take away the heinous wife-beating bits from Ultimates, he's just not interesting. Hank Pym, I mean. I don't even find Scott Lang interesting, though he does give us Cassie, who I like. Just, of all the superheroes people could be clamoring for a movie for, Ant-man is like, not even on the list. (Jan, on the other hand, I would enjoy seeing, but can't see how it would work without looking really cheesy.)

Of course, I also don't understand why we got a Hal Jordan Green Lantern movie when EVERY OTHER GREEN LANTERN is more interesting and likeable (yes, I would probably even have preferred a movie about Guy Gardner - at least he knows he's an asshole and is hilarious about it), but I've already been made aware of how little DC wants my money.

Speaking of DC, apparently they're cancelling the rebooted Blue Beetle, which is no surprise, because it took everything that was AMAZING about the original Jaime Reyes run and RUINED IT. Ugh. The whole awesome thing about Jaime is that he is not your typical angsty brooding teenage superhero. His family and best friends know he is a hero, so he doesn't have to be an asshole who lies to everyone who loves him or play stupid identity tricks to keep them in the dark like other heroes, and he's just so SENSIBLE and SWEET. I still want him to hang out with Peter Parker and Anya Sofia Corazon and Miles Morales. These are buggy superheroes I would pay to see on screen. Not Ant-man. Bah. (Of course, you know what they're going to take from this is that Latin@ superheroes don't sell, not that the writing was shitty.)

I also saw that Miles is going to be meeting Captain America soon, and my gut response to that was NO RUN THE OTHER WAY HE GOT PETER KILLED BECAUSE HE IS A GIANT DOUCHENOZZLE. I don't think I will ever get over how vile Ultimate Cap is (that is actually my tag for him on tumblr "#ultimate cap is vile and I hate him"). It's worse with him than the others because how do you take Steve Rogers and make him awful? WHO DOES THAT AND THINKS IT'S GOOD⁺? [as an aside, I love the speech Brubaker gives Steve about the French Resistance in vol. 5 - I can't remember the issue - because it's such a refutation of that awful, awful "Does this A on my head stand for FRANCE?" bullshit in Ultimates.]

Anyway, the Avengers I would most like to see appear in the second movie are Carol Danvers, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, and Jessica Jones. (I also have hopes for Sam Wilson in Cap 2.) Keep your Ant-man nonsense. Pfui.

⁺Yes, I know, Mark Millar. You can be assured I have been avoiding his name elsewhere.

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In other news, I reread Guardian of the Horizon, the one where the Emersons go back to the Lost Oasis, mostly because I couldn't remember what had happened with Ramses and Daria, and I discovered that there is an Amelia I haven't read, so I am reading it now. It features the possibility of the Ark of the Covenant, which I find really interesting in a meta way, because my understanding is that Emerson was some influence on the characterization of Indiana Jones (Crocodile on the Sandbank came out in the 70s, so it would have been fairly new then). And so far Ramses is on his own so there's no annoying pining for Nefret or jealousy about her behavior.

Man, I am never getting over Falcon at the Portal, am I?

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So I have two alarms - one goes off at 7:25 (which is actually 7:20 - it's amazing the tricks I play with myself to get out of bed sometimes) and I usually hit snooze once before I get up - and the second is set for 7:45 in case I somehow turn the first one off/it doesn't go off/etc. Well, that is exactly what happened this morning - I hit off instead of snooze, and then snooze at 7:45 so I didn't get out of bed until 8 (actually 7:55). It's fine - I was walking into work by 9:30, but I really wanted to just stay in bed.

Yesterday, fleurdeleo was having a bad day (there was a flooded bathroom involved) so I asked if she wanted to go to the bar and so we did, and K. joined us, and then it turned out to be trivia night. *hands* I didn't realize fleurdeleo was so competitive, but she was all revved up and ready to win. (she also wanted to name our team '3 sassy ladies,' which I vetoed, and then K named us '3 hot bitches,' which I also vetoed but they overruled me. Sigh. They are never naming our future fictitious band.) So we stayed and ended up coming in third. We would have done better if we had known, for example, that Jackie Wilson was known as Mr. Excitement, or that Andre 3000's last name is Benjamin. I'm telling you these things in case you ever get trapped at trivia night and the questions come up. Also, War sang "Spill the Wine," a song for which my hatred cannot be textually rendered - we got that one right at the last second, but there was a lot of "I KNOW I KNOW THIS BUT I HAVE BLOCKED IT FROM MY MIND."

So that was fun, but oy. No more three pint evenings on work nights. I'm not as young as I used to be. On the upside, I drank enough water and slept long enough to avoid a hangover (I was home by 11 and in bed by 12).

In other news, there should be Steve Rogers vids to the following songs:

Never Let Me Go by Florence + the Machine

(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding by Elvis Costello

I am just saying.

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Woo! Did you see that game last night? SO TENSE. I don't know what the press is talking about - these games are very exciting! I guess if you don't like good defense and amazing goal-tending you might be bored, but defense and goal-tending win playoffs. *hands* Of course, in hockey, sometimes the best defense is a good offense, and the Rangers are...working on that, but overall, I AM EXCITE.

(I kind of can't even let myself be hopeful out loud without fear of tempting the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing. I have issues. But wow, I had a good feeling after last night's win.)

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So Sunday at my brother's, the first thing Victor said to me was that he'd seen Avengers and thought it was awesome. I believe his words were, "I didn't think anything could be better than Captain America, but it was!" (Cap is his favorite, but he allowed as how Black Widow was also awesomely badass.) Trisha said that the Hulk is her favorite even though he's scary, and Nicole dismissed the whole thing (she hasn't seen it) and said she was way more interested in The Amazing Spider-man, because he is her favorite superhero. We high-fived over that, though I did tell her to give Avengers a shot. Then Alyssa texted me to say how awesome the movie was - I believe Thor is her favorite, along with Cap and Natasha. (I haven't heard from Anthony V., but he's always been a Batman stan, though Alyssa said he thought Avengers was cool.)

I feel so proud. Like, I did my job as nerdy aunt right with these kids. *hands*

(I also learned that Superman is my sister-in-law's favorite superhero, which I would not have guessed. I knew he was my brother's from way back, though. Of course, she also told me she's reading Fifty Shades of Grey and I was just like, I could find you better porn for free. But whatever!)

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so I posted a story yesterday:

what a smile means (at AO3)
Avengers (2012); Natasha/Steve; adult; no real spoilers for the movie; 4,470 words
Natasha knows a lot of things Steve doesn't.

The title comes from Dogfish by Mary Oliver, which seems like Natasha in a nutshell to me, and at one point I'd considered using lines from it as section headers, but it was too unwieldy and didn't really suit the story in the end, though certainly many, many lines from it were in my head as I was writing.

It was interesting to write Steve/Natasha without really bringing the specter of Bucky into it (well, until the end), because as far as Natasha knows, Winter Soldier is dead and gone, so even if he was Bucky once, Steve doesn't need to know that. Especially since the story is so much about the things Natasha knows that she does or doesn't share with Steve (and, to her surprise, the things she learns from and about him).

I definitely had fun with some of their exchanges, with the way Steve interacts with her and how that comes across (I think Steve bases a lot of his interaction with women in the present not only on his belief that everybody deserves a fair shake, but also on how much he hated being told he wasn't capable, he couldn't do things, because he was smaller or weaker, and he also has the shining example of Peggy - not to mention the USO girls and his own mother before she died - to look to about what women are capable of if given a chance). I think as much as Steve seems like an open book, in some ways he's as inscrutable to Natasha as she sometimes is to him. (I might have A LOT OF STEVE THOUGHTS AND FEELS, OKAY?)

Mostly I wanted to write them having sweaty post-sparring sex, because I loved the few glimpses we got of their interactions in the movie and wanted more. Even though that didn't quite happen this time around, I like how it turned out. I'm surprised and pleased that other people seem to like it too. <3

I may write the sequel. I have been thinking about it. It's totally Bucky's fault. Speaking of whom, coffeeandink has a good post streamlining Natasha and Clint's comics history, with bonus Winter Soldier explanations. Bucky/Winter Soldier is pretty easy to explain, since it's just the one major retcon, but Natasha's history especially is super confusing, unless you just accept that all those pasts are things the Red Room programmed into her (like, for example, how she remembers being a ballerina as a cover story, but she never actually was one).

I should get a Bucky/Natasha icon. Hmm...

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Now back to expense reports. Sigh.

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what a smile means
Avengers (2012); Natasha/Steve; adult; no real spoilers for the movie; 4,470 words
Natasha knows a lot of things Steve doesn't.

Title and cut text from "Dogfish" by Mary Oliver.

( And you know / what a smile means, / don't you? )

~*~

Feedback is adored.

~*~

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Happy Mother's day to everyone celebrating.

I made these crepes this morning for Mother's Day brunch. A++ would make again!

I'm still kind of riding the high of the Rangers win last night, though I expect it all to come crashing down shortly when they have to start the next series against the Devils tomorrow night. I also have to say that I find John Tortorella's interactions with the press HILARIOUS. Keep up the trolling good work!

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There isn't a lot of it, but I have quite enjoyed the Steve/Thor stories I've run across in the past few days. More, please. They are adorable and hot and did I mention adorable? I want more of them being bemused by modern/Midgardian culture and also being sparring buddies who have really hot, athletic sex (Jane is certainly welcome to join them).

I'm still writing this Steve/Natasha story that I thought had clicked into place but I'm still waffling about how to write the sex. Sigh.

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Once Upon a Time

( spoilers )

Since it got renewed, it'll be interesting to see what they do with a second season, and if they can fix some of the issues the show had this year.

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\o/

Rangers win!

Eastern Conference finals, here we come!

Bring on the Devils!

Also that was a goal, it should have been 3-1 but whatever! They won so it doesn't matter.

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So, every time someone says ( minor avengers spoilers )

Also, as mentioned on tumblr, I want the crossover where Clint steals all the DCU archer ladies for his team: Artemis and Cissie and Mia and Lian. And then he and Wolverine pit their teenage girl sidekicks proteges against each other for training. How awesome would that be? (Also, Clint/Helena Bertinelli: y/y?)

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Young Justice

( spoilers )

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Legend of Korra

( spoilers )

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I still haven't watched the last two eps of Fringe, and right now, I am just absolutely anxious about tonight's Rangers game. Ugh. Game 7. They are going to kill me.

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