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ladylooch · 11 months

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Hi I accidentally sent this in before seeing that requests were closed but since they’re open, did you see my request of the reader losing her virginity to Nico?? And he’s so sweet and gentle🥹 ilysm

Flower Picking with Nico Hischier

A/N: Oh sweet, sweet 🌸 anon. Here you finally are! I know it took awhile, but here it is in all its smutty, sweet, shiny glory. Also peep how I always write Jack 😂 Sassy but funny. That kid cracks me up (before anyone asks, no I still can’t write about him because I’m too old! 🫣)

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: SMUT 18+ Content, Loss of Virginity, Swearing.

The lights on the red carpet are blinding. You can barely focus any which way as people call out to you and Nico, desperate for the perfect picture. Nico’s hand on the small of your back is grounding at least. He leans closer to your head, resting his mouth on it for a moment.

“You’re doing great, baby. Just a bit longer.” You squeeze his back in acknowledgement.

Being in the spotlight has never been comfortable for you, ever. But, you’re more than willing to do these uncomfortable things for your perfect boyfriend, especially on a night where he is nominated for a prestiges award. It all feels a bit like a formality because in your heart, he’s already a Selke winner.

Once the pictures are over, autographs and interviews are next. You stand proudly off to the side, watching him do his work with your hands laced in front of you. Nico checks in on you frequently, making sure you’re as comfortable as can be.

“I’m doing great, babe. Stop worrying about me and enjoy the night.” You assure him after the tenth time he’s wandered over.

“You’re smothering her.” Jack rolls his eyes at his captain. “Chill.”

“Why don’t you go fix your hair or something? Looks like you just rolled out of bed.” Nico chips back at him.

“I’m just living in the moment, man.” Jack shakes his head, internal groan showing on his face as he is shuffled to the next interview.

“Nico, you’re done.” The Devils PR director says, waving us into the arena. We wave goodbye to Jack and shuffle out of the oppressive Nashville heat.

“I’m sweaty.” You groan, waving at your face, praying your make up isn’t actually melting off like it feels.

“You look gorgeous though.”

“Yeah? I’m glistening?”

“Glowing.” He wiggles his wide brows suggestively. “I know a way we could get sweaty later.”

You pause, feeling a little panicked that he has figured out your surprise. When you heard Nico was a finalist for the Selke months ago, you knew exactly what to give him: your virginity. Yes, you’re well into your mid-twenties and yes pretty much everyone you know has already experienced sex, but you’re different. And that’s perfectly okay with you and Nico. You’ve had extensive conversations together about why you have waited and what you need before giving that part of yourself to someone.

Truthfully, you’ve known for a long time it’s Nico you want to give this too. He treats you so well. Tonight is just the latest example of how he cherishes and protects you. You know he will take this piece of you and honor it forever.

But then he doesn’t actually win the Selke.

And you’re a little bit pissed because you think he deserves it. He squeezes your hand, then brings it to his lips to kiss before clapping for Patrice Bergeron after his video acceptance speech.

“Should have been you.” You huff at Nico, watching his face intently.

“It’s an honor to even be nominated.” He reminds you what he has been saying, but you can sense his disappointment. You find out later from Twitter that he came in second in voting and that cheers you both up.

After the awards, you find yourself at a restaurant with Nico and his family. You’re struggling to participate in the small talk which Nico notices. Usually, you’re animated and chatty with his family. You love them; they love you, but you can’t focus on anything other than what you’re planning in your hotel room later tonight.

“You tired?” Nico asks with his arm around your shoulders. He pulls your temple to his lips, awaiting your answer.

“Yeah.” You turn to him, brown eyes meeting yours with an inquisitive look.

After another round of drinks and dessert, you and the Hischiers take off to the hotel by the arena. You say goodbye to his parents and siblings in the lobby, then walk hand in hand to the elevator. You’re sure Nico can feel the sweat beginning to build in your palm.

“Dang. I’m tired too.” Nico groans as you enter your shared room. He kicks off his shoes immediately while you toss your shoes and clutch onto the chair by the TV.

“You’ve had a long day.” You murmur, swaying back over to him. You wrap your arms around his neck, lacing your fingers there. You use them to bring his face to yours. Nico pulls you tighter to him with a hand on your ass, giving it a light squeeze as you make out. Your tongues touch, tangling together before sliding out of the way for softer kisses. You can feel Nico growing against your stomach. You savor the feeling of reciprocated need building between your thighs.

Butterflies forcefully flutter in your stomach as you ghost your hand over his zipper. Then you get bold, sliding his belt apart and dipping your hand to touch him bare. Nico groans into your mouth. You stroke along his shaft, feeling the rigid pulses as he grows. He bucks his hip into your hand a bit while his eyes drown in desire. He presses two more soft kisses to your mouth before stepping away from your touch.

“Need a sec.” He murmurs, giving your hand a squeeze and moving to the bathroom. The soft click of the door makes you bite your lip. He does this when the desire to pin you down and fuck you becomes too strong for him to resist. Tonight, he doesn’t need the space, but there is no need to ruin the surprise before it starts.

You make quick work of your dress, leaving it in a pile on the floor. You whip your underwear off next then climb onto the bed. You’re not sure how you should sit except that definitely not cross legged because what the fuck is that? Instead, you pull your knees up, then cross your feet for some modesty. You can’t help but bite down on your tongue nervously biting back the slight nausea from the butterflies swirling inside of you. Maybe you should have brought the lingerie you were debating on after all….

Nico emerges from the bathroom, working at the buttons of his shirt. Your heart leaps into your throat when he comes into your line of sight. He freezes when he sees you.

“Hi.” You whisper, hoping it doesn’t sound as choked as it feels coming out of your mouth.

“Hi.” His smile is modest as his brown gaze strokes along your bare skin.

“I want to have sex.” You blurt quickly. Shit, that was not how you had planned it in your head.

“Are you sure?” He crosses the room instantly, hands gripping your ankles. “I don’t want you to feel pressured by the big night we’ve had.” Nico licks his lips hesitantly.

“I know. But I want to do this with you, right now. I’m so proud of you, Nico. I want us to share this moment together, on this amazing night for you…. For us.”

“I am dying for that. But I need you to be sure.”

“I’m so sure. Think of how many other nights I wasn’t.” He stares into your eyes, pausing for ten more seconds before he leans forward to kiss you. It’s touchingly tender, a sweet press that melts your body. You untangle your limbs, wrapping your arms around his neck to keep him close. “I’ll take care of you.” He mumbles, stroking the bare skin of your back.

“I know, Neeks.” You smile against his mouth, tongue coming out to graze along his bottom lip.

“You kinda already did some of my favorite part though.”

“Oh.. Uh.” You stutter, breaking away. You begin wiggling over to the side of the bed where you dropped your dress to the floor. “I can put it-”

“Baby.” He chuckles, slapping your bare ass. “Stop. We’ll have plenty more moments where I can undress you.” You flip onto your back, his eyes take all of you in, circling around your breasts and then falling to the apex of your thighs. “I was right though, that dress looks better on the floor.” He slides his hand along your stomach, wrapping it around your hip to pull you closer to him. He leans over you. “You know you can back out at anytime?”

“I do.” You confirm, staring back into his chocolate brown eyes.

“Okay.”

You and Nico have fooled around plenty, so he knows your turn ons. He starts with your breasts, savoring the soft moans you speak into the air. His fingers stroke your nipples into pointy buds, perfect bullseyes for his mouth to find. His tongue caresses your skin gently causing cascading tingles to spread along your limbs. Then his hand moves down, nudging your thighs apart so he can stroke you. His fingers on your bare skin is a craving you never knew you needed indulged.

His fingerprints paint along your clit, building into a steady circle that has your muscles squeezing tight in your core. Nico kisses your mouth greedily, devouring your lips and tongue like he didn’t just feast at dinner. While he touches you, you grope for the buttons on his shirt to get him naked. He eventually pulls back from you to drag the shirt over his head. His pants go next. When he reaches for the band of his underwear, you stop him. You pull them down his hips and large thighs, groaning at the way his cock bounces free. It slaps against his abdomen then falls into your waiting hand. You wrap him in a tight grip, bringing your face to his throbbing head.

You’ve never done this for him before, but you’ve imagined it. A lot. Your mouth opens, you swirl your tongue along his head then bob down his shaft until you can’t take him any deeper. Nico’s strangled groan fills your ears. He reaches to your chest, rolling your nipple as you begin to bounce up and down faster.

“Baby, baby, baby. Stop.” Nico begs. You pull off of him immediately, eyes turned downward with worry. “Hey, no, don’t be upset. That feels so fucking good. I’m not gonna make it if you keep going though.” He brings your mouth to his with his fingers under your chin. “Fuck. Couldn’t even tell that was your first time. You’re a pro.” He licks along your lips teasingly. You feel pride stretch your chest, flushing your cheeks with excitement.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for awhile.” You admit as you watch him walk over to his bag. He pulls out a box of condoms.

“Anytime, baby. Except right now because I’m dying to fuck you.” A small moan slips through your lips at the way he says fuck. “I just got tested not that long ago as part of my physical, but I think the first few times we should use condoms.”

“Okay. I’m on the pill.” You remind him.

“I know.” He kisses you, then rips open the box and pulls out a purple wrapper. “I’m not gonna lie, I brought these hoping this would happen.” You like that and reward him with a smooch.

He rips the wrapper open, tossing it onto the floor carelessly. You bite your lip, watching him roll the latex down. You feel like you should look away, but can’t. When he is fully suited, he comes between your knees, adjusting your legs wider t accommodate his body. He kisses you again and you wonder if he can hear the rapid beating of your heart as he adjusts you both for what is next.

“Tell me you’re sure?”

“So sure.” You repeat again. “Have me."

Nico laces your fingers together with his on either side of your head, then slowly begins to press forward. You close your eyes, taking in a measured breath as he gently nudges in, then right back out.

“Okay?” He asks. His breathing is heavy, nostrils flared as he checks on you.

“Yeah.” You nod too.

He pushes in again, deeper now. This time it’s uncomfortable. He pauses there, leaning down to kiss along your breasts. His tongue slurps at your nipple, pooling warmth in your lower belly. He probes in further as your head falls back. Nico grins when he removes his face from your breast.

“I think you’re gonna like this, baby.” He chuckles, kissing along your jaw, then sucking at your throat as he pushes in to the hilt. Your hands unlace from his, instinctively going to his back. Your finger nails scratch softly at his skin.

“Me too.” You moan back to him. It feels exquisite. Slightly uncomfortable but also the best thing you’ve ever felt. Nico is doing everything to ease any discomfort or tightness. You’re so turned on and eager to feel what the next stage is like.

“Ready for more?”

“Yeah.” You say back instantly. He smiles fully at you, then drags back so he can begin to leisurely pump in and out. Your breathing hitches again and he slows more, watching your face for any signs of further distress. They’re not there. “I’m good. More, Neeks.” You ask him. He closes his eyes in a long blink and quickens his pace, savoring the feeling of finally having you this way. Your mouth drops open but no sound comes out. You arch your back into his thrusts and he grips your hips, pressing his thumbs into them to pin you back down.

“Take it easy.” He laughs, leaning over you again. “Let me control the pace.”

“Then go faster.” You urge.

“Why are you chirping me?” His smile presses into your neck.

“Because I want more of you.” You whisper, turning to capture his lips.

Nico begins to fuck you faster. It’s toe curling and intense. The sound of skin connecting fills the hotel room as you writhe beneath his toned body. His hips are perfect tempo setters. You clutch them with your fingers each time, feeling their power as he pumps into you. The whole things is overwhelmingly beautiful. And better than you even imagined it would be.

“I love you.” You say to him. Is that cliche to say during sex? Especially your first time? You’re not sure but know you have to say it. He pauses his thrusting to cup your face, kissing your lips with delicate presses. It’s so intimate, him filling you completely while sliding his tongue along your lower lip.

“I love you too. So much.” He pulls away to look down into your face as his hands glide your legs to wrap around his waist. His hips begin to move again. Goosebumps of pleasure break out down your body at the change in position.

“Oh… my god.” You moan, thrusting your fingers into his hair and tugging. You turn your face into his cheek, wet mouth sucking his skin. “D-don’t stop.” You quiver with each one of his pumps.

“Fuck, you feel so good.” He groans as he keeps the pace. You agree. And tell him so by squeezing him with your orgasm. He follows suit, filling the latex while buried deep inside of you.

Everything slows down after that. Your legs fall slightly from around his waist. Nico breathes heavily above you; your abdomens sticking together from sweat. A light breeze of bliss travels from the top of your head to the tips of your feet. Your heart swells in your chest, feeling so connected to Nico after sharing this moment with him.

“How are you doing?” He asks quietly, face still buried into your shoulder. His hair tickles your skin when he pulls away to see you.

“Good. Great actually.” You insist with a grin. He matches yours with one of his own. He grips the edge of the condom, then slides out of you. You feel empty when he is gone and wonder how quickly you can get him to do this all again.

“I’ll be right back.” He kisses you, then gets off the bed to head to the bathroom. His bare butt is quite the sight as he walks away. When he returns, he has a washcloth. “This should help with any discomfort.” He lays it between your thighs and you realize it’s warm. You smile at him, reaching your arms up to bring him into your chest. His lips press against your breasts as he nuzzles his face into them. “You might be sore tomorrow.”

“Okay.” You murmur into his hair. He’s so worried about you, wanting to walk you through everything. “So when can we do that again?” Nico chuckles into your skin. He wraps his arms around your back, spinning you both so you’re on top of his chest, looking down at him. Your hair cascades along your shoulder blades and down your spine. His fingers tangle in it there, kind eyes meeting yours.

“Give me 15 minutes and we can go again.” You bite your lip to suppress the wicked grin forming.

Nico Hischier is going to turn you into a freak.

#nico hischier x reader #nico hischier smut #nico hischier fic #hockey writing #my writing #nhl fan fiction #new jersey devils #writing request

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marvelstarker-mha98 · 2 months

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The Runaway Distance Life Of A Little Stark Last Chapter: Goodbye isn't Farewell

Pairing: Tony Stark & daughter!Reader, Maria hill & tony stark, Friday & reader, Tony stark & The avengers, mystery murder man & Hydra Scientist, Two Mutants twins. Summary: you have read it Warning: conversation, injecting, military jet, space and stones Co author with: callikc Tag: @venomsvl @geeksareunique

Two months had passed since devastation landed in New York City.

Homes had been decimated, landmarks destroyed, and too many people killed.

The Battle of New York was brutal.

You were sitting quietly on the deck area of the warehouse. Your journal was balanced on your lap, a cup of steaming coffee sat comfortably at your side, and your phone was playing Rock Radio. The wind was gentle and birdsong filled the air, making it appear as if nothing had ever disrupted the peace of the state. It seemed almost impossible how quick nature had moved on.

Your brows were furrowed and you subconsciously bit your lip as you detailed your latest vacation. A trip to Florida courtesy of Director Fury. He had all but insisted you take a week or two off since all you did was work and work, therefore leading to your vacation with pay.

You had an amazing time in Miami first. It had been surreal to return to a city as vibrant as Malibu had once been and you spent the majority of your first week partying and taking in every little detail of every single place. Your second week, on the other hand, had been spent at Disney World, filling your heart with childlike glee and wonder.

As you wrote down your experiences, there was a ping from your phone which had previously been playing some hits from Def Leppard. You paused writing to dig it out and take a look, surprised to see that the host of Rock Radio had a special guest.

Your dad.

"Afternoon, folks." The host greeted with a bright tone. "That was Def Leppard with 'Animal'. The English bands really are the forefathers of rock, am I right?"

Your dad's voice spoke next.

"Apparently they just know what we like." Tony said with an air of flamboyance you were actually relieved to recognize. "You can't beat Sabbath."

"Truer words were never spoken." The host laughed. "So, as y'all can guess, I'm here on this fine Monday with the one and only Tony Stark. How's life as a superhero, Tony?"

"I prefer the word 'savior.'" He joked.

"Savior it is. What's it like?"

"Well, you got the adoring fans, the creepy fanfiction, the questionable gifts in the PO box... It's a lot."

As he went on to explain both detailed and brief parts of his new life, you couldn't help simply just listening and smiling. He'd make sarcastic quips and the usual Stark jokes and you would laugh at every one of them. Every few minutes a song would lead to a break from the interview but you waited patiently every time just to hear your dad's voice again.

After perhaps an hour, FRIDAY spoke through your phone, lowering the volume of the interview as she did.

"Miss Stark?"

You leaned back a little, surprised by the interruption. "Hey, FRI. What's up?"

"Can I ask you something, Miss?"

"Always."

"I was analyzing your vitals via the SWM system you installed and noted your heart rate spike when Mr. Stark is mentioned. The biosynthetic pathway is almost immediate."

You smiled. "That's because I'm happy."

"I'm aware of that, Miss, but I do not know why. The stories you tell me of your childhood concern a less than ideal relationship with Mr. Stark. I would compare the feeling to resentment."

"Once upon a time, yeah." Your smile gradually faded as a thoughtful look settled on your features. "It's complicated. He's changed. I guess I can tell? I'm not sure... I just know. He's patient now. A-And almost kind. Don't get me wrong, he's got a long way to go - we both do - but I'm still proud that he's becoming a better person bit by bit."

"'Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.'"

"Yeah, pretty much. Dad is complicated, but he's trying. As long as he's still got the sass, I don't mind."

"My time with you implies that all Starks are related by that one characteristic. I doubt it will go away any time soon."

"Well, you're the expert."

"Hardly." There was a pause before she spoke again. "Do you want to see him again?"

You opened your mouth to reply but quickly found yourself hesitating. It wasn't that you didn't have an answer, you just didn't know how to properly convey it.

"I do." You said quietly. "But there's a lot of things I want that I can't have."

"How so, Miss?" FRIDAY asked.

"I want to see dad again but I've got a target on my back. If I think about it and I get too close, he's at risk too. So are Pepper and Happy and Uncle Rhodey. Everyone I know."

There was a moment of silence as you took a breath.

"If I see my dad again, I don't know if we'll get a happy ending."

Tony stared long and hard at your journal.

There was too much information to take in and too little time to process it all. The only time he moved was to run his hands down his face and get rid of lingering tears.

The wind was soft against his skin. It was as if it were offering comfort. A gentle breeze to soothe the pain.

FRIDAY's voice broke the silence.

"Is Mr. Stark all right?" She asked.

"He is mourning (Y/n)." JARVIS told her in reply. "It's the first time I've heard him this quiet."

Tony closed his eyes for a moment, fighting a smile. "I'm not deaf."

"Apologies, sir."

"You seem at peace, boss." FRIDAY said.

Tony shrugged. "I guess there's a first time for everything. Thanks for showing me this."

"Miss made it my duty. Might I also warn you that Agent Hill has been waiting."

Tony frowned and looked around, surprised to find the mentioned agent indeed waiting patiently by the entrance to the compound. He quickly jumped up, tucking the journal away for now.

"You know, sneaking up on people is considered impolite." He commented.

The woman gave him a smug look in response. "It's a shame I don't care."

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. Gotta say, Stark, emotional gratitude doesn't suit you."

"Very funny." He began walking over, eyeing the lot around them. "I can understand the whole 'take your time' thing. This place is pretty big. (Y/n) had it all to herself?"

"Yeah. What do you think?"

Before he could reply, there was a notification on his phone. He dramatically held up one hand and used his other one to hold up his phone. It was a message from Clint on the Avengers group chat.

To: Powerpuff Girls (Remastered) From: Legolas You guys gotta check out the hangar!

Tony raised a brow, curious. It was a simple message but it intrigued him. This place had a hangar too?

"What's up with the hangar?" He asked.

"So, you've found that one." Hill stated. "I think you should come with me."

He waited for her to elaborate but was merely greeted with silence.

"Gonna leave me hanging?" He asked.

"This is something better shown than explained."

"Alright... Can I get a hint?"

"All you need to know is that (Y/n) left it to the team because she knew you'd have a better use for it than she would."

"Wow, that's so much better. Not cryptic at all."

She sighed and began walking, leaving the conversation at that. Tony was about to follow but stopped upon realizing how awkward he looked with your journal stuffed inside his jacket.

Hill noticed and had to hide an amused smirk. "Having trouble?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Unless you've got TARDIS pockets, don't mock me."

"Just leave it on a bench."

"What?"

"Leave the journal here."

"Uh... No, thanks. I'll be doing some light reading later and I'm not risking some...-" He thought up any excuse to keep it on hand. "Some wild animals taking it or something."

Hill crossed her arms. "Wild animals?"

"If I may, boss." FRIDAY spoke up again. "The only animals within the area are deer and rabbits."

He was still hesitant. "What about wild people?"

"That's even more ridiculous." Hill claimed.

"Hey, this is Upstate. I wouldn't count out the possibility."

"Look, even if that were the case, (Y/n) was clever. She has FRIDAY linked to a few drones by a WBL network. If anyone or anything gets too close to something she values, FRIDAY sends a signal and the drones retrieve it."

Tony was momentarily speechless.

"Initially the designs were to carry groceries and clear out the warehouse but she utilized them for other things."

It hurt to know you were so paranoid that you had to make plans for these things, and yet it was also quite amazing to remember how inventive you were.

"Remind me to take a look later." He said.

Afterwards, he carefully locked the journal back up and looked around for a place to put it. His gaze settled on an isolated bench surrounded by tall plants.

The journal seemed to glitter like a diamond in the sun as he set it down.

His hand lingered over the padlock before he very reluctantly backtracked towards Hill again.

"Satisfied?" She mused.

"Let's just go." Tony grumbled.

As they moved on towards the hangar, he glanced over his shoulder at the journal until it was out of view.

"How are you doing with FRIDAY?" Hill asked, hoping to distract him.

"She's unique." He shrugged. "I don't know what I'll do with her, though. A man doesn't need two AIs."

"What about the others?"

"What, the team? Like I'd entrust any of them with intelligence. Well, maybe Banner. But the others? Disaster waiting to happen. They've got limited reign over JARVIS anyway."

She thought on his words for a moment before eventually settling on an idea. "I could always use an assistant."

He raised a brow. "You?"

"Don't sound so shocked, Stark. Besides, she knows me thanks to (Y/n) and you'll always have the right to use her if JARVIS goes out of commission."

"Pardon me, Agent Hill, but the likelihood of my deactivation is near impossible." JARVIS intervened. "Mr. Stark likes me too much."

"Sorry, JARVIS." She smiled slightly. "I think I could use the help with my new job too actually."

Tony turned to her. "That's new."

"In case you missed it, thousands lost their jobs when SHIELD fell. I'm one of them."

"So where'd you apply?"

"None of your business."

"Why not?"

"Confidentiality."

"Excuse my French, but bullshit."

"Agent Hill has handed in an application for a front desk receptionist at Stark Industries." FRIDAY said.

He was surprised once more.

"FRIDAY, if we're going to be working together, we need to talk about secret keeping." Hill deadpanned.

"Apologies, Miss."

"I can't see you behind a desk." Tony frowned. "I'll tell them to reject it."

"Tony, if you-"

"No, no. Hear me out." He waited a moment to make sure she was listening before explaining. "Screw the desk job, work with me personally."

"I'm not being at your beck and call."

"Not like that. I mean being the Avengers handler or something. You know, keeping us in check and making sure we don't skip too many leg days. That kind of stuff."

Hill looked away, debating it intensely. It would be a decent cover for her SHIELD work. Not to mention that FRIDAY would always be close at hand if the Avengers or Tony needed her for something. It would definitely pay better than a desk job at least.

"We'll talk about it later." She decided.

Tony flashed a smirk. "I'll hold you to that."

By this point, they had reached the outside of the hangar. Waiting already were Steve, Bruce, Thor, and Natasha. Bruce was asking Natasha what Clint wanted to show them but apparently even she didn't know what her best friend was up to.

"So, Dora and friends, how'd the exploring go?" Tony asked once he reached them.

"It's a big place." Steve said. "There's a lot to find."

"The shooting range is nice." Natasha commented.

"I enjoyed the kitchen." Thor chimed in. "A perfect palace for a feast."

Not at all surprised by the god's priorities, Tony went to reply. He was cut off, however, when Clint bounded from the hangar doorway with an almost insane grin.

"Don't tell me you found a Playboy stash." Tony joked.

"Not exactly." Clint replied. "It's cooler."

"Cooler than Playboy?"

"Much coller."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"Mind clueing us in?" Bruce asked.

"You gotta see to believe. Come on." He began leading them into the building. "I don't think it's technically legal for (Y/n) to even own this, but it's awesome."

The discussions and prodding continued until finally the object of the archer's amazement came into clear view for everyone to see.

It might have been simply hyped up by Clint, but there was no denying it was definitely something to marvel at.

While most of the team simply saw a very cool field mission vehicle, Tony saw a very advanced and very armed VTOL shuttle modified and tinkered with to the best of one's ability. It had to be one of the most tactical aero-weapons created and it had just been in this warehouse collecting dust for years.

It was painted white and red and even had the Avengers name painted on the side.

"I so told you." Clint taunted Natasha.

She returned his tease with a playful glare and an elbow to the ribs.

"What is this?" Steve asked, staring up in amazement. "Military?"

"A SHIELD jet?" Bruce also guessed.

"Not quite." Hill told them, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I think FRIDAY should do the honors."

Summoned, the AI proudly presented it. Her sudden appearance surprised the team - save for Tony - and they looked around for the source of the voice.

"Captain Rogers is on the right path." She said. "The jet is a VTOL aircraft designed for tactical and head-on mission pursuits, armed with many guns and rockets that Miss (Y/n) installed. It was originally owned by Howard Stark and Miss spent exactly eight months and twenty-six days fixing the disrepair brought on by age and abandonment."

"Uh-" Clint's enjoyment had faded into confusion. "Whomst?"

Even Thor had lifted his hammer in preparation for a fight.

"We're good." Tony assured them with an amused smirk. "Down, boys."

"Did JARVIS get a sex change?" Clint questioned, genuinely serious.

"That's FRIDAY. (Y/n) created her." His tone dampened at your name but he forced his smirk back just as quick. "I guess she runs the place."

"The JARVIS and the FRIDAY are related?" Thor guessed.

"Why didn't we hear her before?" Natasha asked.

"(Y/n) made an AI?" Bruce mumbled to himself. "Incredible."

"Oh, boy. Okay." Tony took a deep breath, preparing to answer all the questions. "No, JARVIS and FRIDAY are not related. You didn't hear her because she was with me and Hill. And, yes, (Y/n) made her. She's like JARVIS, she's got a personality and can adapt to those around her, and she's just as smart."

"I like grandpa JARVIS." FRIDAY said.

Clint found the comment funniest - even snorting - and used Natasha as a shield to avoid the disapproving glances he got afterwards for it.

"She'll be working with Hill." Tony continued.

"What kind of work?" Natasha questioned.

Hill immediately changed the subject.

"Later." She said. "I think you guys should check inside first."

"I couldn't find a hatch." Clint told her, curious. "It's gotta be camouflaged or something."

"Was there a key?" Bruce tried.

"Not that I saw."

"If we're trusting your eyesight, I'd rather check the hangar myself." Natasha mocked.

"Be my guest, Sauron."

As he said the quip, there was a loud hiss and the jet shuddered. Everyone jumped back in surprise and watched as light flooded from inside, the source being LEDs strung around the inside hull.

"Of course there is a key." FRIDAY claimed. "It's located within the laboratory. I can access it from here."

"And you couldn't tell us that before trying to give us heart attacks?" Clint shot back.

She ignored him. "Boss, you can go inside now."

Tony stepped forward. "Thanks, FRIDAY."

He was the first to place a foot on the metal hatch. Each step was burdened with a weight he couldn't describe and yet each breath was filled with amazement as he stared at the interior.

Against one wall was a seating area and against the other was a display filled with knives and guns and explosives and many self-designed weapons. Between these walls was another resting area, although this part had a perimeter of machinery, perhaps to be used as an operating area for emergency fix ups. At the very front were four seats, one for pilot and co-pilot and the other two just for passengers who wanted a better view.

My dad is Tony Stark.

He's brave and he's genius and he's not alone. He has his love, Pepper Potts. He has his protection, Happy Hogan. He has his friendship, Colonel James Rhodes.

There are others too. He has Dum-E, Mama Rhodes, and the Avengers.

He'll be okay.

Tony let his fingers glide across the interior of the jet, his skin glossing over the metallic bumps and scrapes of the work.

It was handmade.

Practically every detail he could guess was designed by you. This jet was the embodiment of your work. He couldn't even fathom how many hours you spent fixing it up. He wondered if you ever had the chance to fly it yourself.

He moved to the front and rested both hands on the piloting chair. It was leather and a little worn but comfortable, exactly like the other seats. In front of it was obviously the main window and controls.

Each button was a different color according to its function and labeled in a way that made the harmless buttons obvious but the ones that released weapons and such much harder to figure out. He assumed that because of your paranoia the system was like that in case anyone tried to steal or hijack the jet.

The main thing that stuck out to him was a yellow post-it note. As he picked it up, Clint had a quick and hushed conversation with Hill.

"This totally isn't legal." He was mumbling. "No way did she have a license for this thing."

"Nope." Hill confirmed. "She said she did flight tests around here and we just assumed she was joking."

"She's a Stark."

"Yeah. She definitely did some illegal scouts."

Back at the front, Tony studied the note in his hand.

Welcome to Aven-Jet Prime The First. She's a beauty, am I right? I built this girl from the ground up so take damn good care of her, you hear me? If not, I'll find you. - (Y/n)

He scoffed as a fond smile tugged at the corner of his lips. His other hand immediately went to the necklace he wore, gripping it so tightly his knuckles almost turned white.

He promised.

Steve watched Tony for a moment with a sympathetic look. After giving his friend some time, he finally approached and placed a hand on Tony's shoulder.

Tony turned to meet his gaze, both of them seeming very worried.

My dad has his team.

They weren't even friends at first. They fought and argued and had differences, but now they're something so much more than that.

They look out for each other. They have fun. They bond. And even though they still argue, they're family.

"Tony?" Steve asked.

A single tear fell from Tony's eye. He closed both for a moment and wiped any emotion away.

"I'm fine." He told the super soldier.

"I know." Steve replied, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. "What do you think of this place?"

"It's pretty damn incredible. I haven't explored much. Been reading."

Steve showed curiosity but Tony wasn't ready to tell anyone else what he was reading about just yet.

"I was thinking we move in." He announced, addressing the entire team.

They each held a different look but they all seemed optimistic.

"The SHIELD and HYDRA leaks are over. They no longer 'trend.' The relevance of (Y/n) Stark's death is fading, her murderer is not a priority."

"Very well. Once again, thank you for taking care of the problem."

While the Avengers talked about a new home, something else was happening on the other side of the globe.

In a desolate woodscape, there stood an old Eastern-European castle on a snowy hill. It was the stuff of fantasy novels, beautiful and isolated and calm. On the inside, however, much darker dealings were taking place.

A man in a mask removed his cover, shaking his head to get the hair out of his eyes. He shoved the mask into the pocket of a long coat and faced a second man. A scientist.

"I should leave." He claimed. "My mission is done, and you have the scepter."

"Your services are appreciated, sir." The scientist told him sincerely.

"Where is my money?"

"It will be waiting for you once we complete the transfer. If I might be so bold, is it wise to remove your guise so soon?"

The once masked man only smiled. It was a cold smile, something sinister and cruel.

"The SHIELD and HYDRA leaks are over. They no longer 'trend.' The relevance of (Y/n) Stark's death is fading, her murderer is not a priority."

"Very well. Once again, thank you for taking care of the problem."

“Before I go, what will you do with the young ones?”

He looked over at a window that separated the research area and what was evidently a testing area.

Inside were two gurneys. Strapped to the beds was a young woman and a young man, both with messy dark hair and an almost identical sparkle in their eyes. Their situation seemed terrifying but the twins were calm and perhaps even excited.

“They will be tested.” The scientist said, watching as a doctor injected something into the wires that connected the pair. “They volunteered to fight, and that is exactly what they will do.”

“Through the scepter?” The man guessed.

“Yes. We will expose them to its raw power soon enough.”

The twins looked to each other as an unidentified serum mixed with their blood. Although they couldn't physically touch they seemed to mentally communicate instead. Whatever they were saying made the woman smile.

Although the Avengers are big and strong and famous, sometimes they're gonna need a hand from other players.

My dad and his team can't always fight alone. Help will be coming for their next battle. Two enhanced individuals will write their own destiny into the dust of this world, and they will become heroes.

They will save lives.

Your grave was beautiful in the dying light of sunset.

Light trickled through the gaps in the trees and bestowed its life upon the flora that lay scattered around. It looked perfect.

Too perfect.

In the midst of all this life was a purple flower. It stood out from the rest in such a way that made it seem impossible to grow there. It looked ethereal and unnatural, but it was so beautiful.

My dad's team is going to need the enhanced for what's coming.

It is something bigger than SHIELD and HYDRA. Something bigger than all of us. If the Avengers can't find a way to stop it, these next few years will probably be the last.

Everyone's last.

Across the universe was a secluded planet.

This planet was surrounded by asteroids and wreckage, the result of a war. The ash and dust of an ancient civilization glided upon the atmosphere, their stories forever lost to the voids of space.

Circling the planet was the skeletal remains of a large creature. A broken landmass perched upon its spine, and upon this landmass stood two beings.

"Humans..." One whispered.

His voice was old. He had lived many lifetimes and destroyed even more in his endeavors, and his tone only raised into anger as he spoke.

"They are not the cowering wretches we were promised. They stand. They are unruly and therefore cannot be ruled!"

The creature he spoke to rose to his feet from a throne and the other quickly bowed his head out of fear and respect for his leader.

"To challenge them is to court Death."

The leader - the bigger and more menacing of the two - turned slightly to glance at his servant. There was a glint in his ancient eyes, something ambitious.

"It has been done before." He stated.

"Of course." The other agreed, keeping his head bowed. "If you truly wish to resurrect your love and deliver justice, we will hasten our search for the stones."

"You will. And this time you will not fail me."

"You have my word. The glorious manipulation of power, the intelligence of the mind, the bending of time, the portals of space, an alternating reality, and the-"

"That power is lost."

"We will find it, my lord. The beauty of the missing stone will shine on the universe once again. With its power to take and restore life, the soul shall be yours."

Your body...

It was cold.

It was skeletal.

It was dead.

The darkness of your coffin was a curse now placed on the hearts of your loved ones. They would mourn and cry but they would find a way to survive. Death was brutal but it comes, in time, to everyone.

It happened in an instant.

The darkness was broken by a glow. It was barely noticeable at first. It could have even been a dust particle. But it only got brighter. It came from the necklace resting on your chest.

The orange light filled the coffin, the very essence of life and death itself filling every inch of the space.

You thought it was your time to die.

But maybe you were wrong.

—-------------------

------------------------------------------------------------- note: Thank you everyone who read, comment and loves this! thank you for the support! its be like what a year and something months since me and my co-writer friend, callikc made this possible. since this is the end of the book, a new book will be born. So stay toon for that

#tony stark #ironman #tony stark x daughter!reader #Tony stark & maria hill #steve rogers #captain america #thor #thor odinson #FRIDAY #JARVIS #clint barton #hawkeye #black widow #natasha romanoff #bruce bannner #hulk #mcu #marvel #avengers

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usagirotten · 3 months

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Netflix Reveals “Ultraman: Rising” – A CG Animated Film Set to Soar!

In an electrifying announcement, Netflix has unveiled its latest cinematic gem: “Ultraman: Rising”, a thrilling CG animated film that promises to redefine the superhero genre. Based on the iconic Ultraman franchise from Tsuburaya Productions, this visually stunning movie is set to premiere on June 14, 2024.

A Fusion of Tradition and Innovation

“Ultraman: Rising” seamlessly blends traditional anime aesthetics with cutting-edge CG animation. The result? A mesmerizing visual spectacle that pays homage to the beloved Ultraman legacy while propelling it into the future. Imagine vibrant battles, cosmic mysteries, and heart-pounding heroics—all rendered with breathtaking detail.

The Plot Unveiled

Set against a backdrop of intergalactic conflict, “Ultraman: Rising” follows the journey of Shin Hayata, a young pilot who unexpectedly inherits the power of Ultraman. As Earth faces an otherworldly menace, Shin must rise to the occasion, donning the iconic suit to protect humanity. But the true battle lies within, as he grapples with his newfound responsibilities and the weight of destiny. Tsuburaya describes the film: Baseball superstar Ken Sato returns to his home country of Japan to pick up the mantle of Earth-defending superhero Ultraman, but quickly finds more than he bargained for when he's forced to raise the offspring of his greatest foe, a newborn Kaiju. Struggling to balance the roles of teammate and new father, Ken must confront his own ego, his estranged father, and the conniving Kaiju Defense Force to rise up and discover what it truly means to be Ultraman.

Stellar Cast and Creative Team

While casting details remain under wraps, Netflix has hinted at a star-studded ensemble. Expect a mix of Japanese and Western talent to breathe life into these iconic characters. The film’s directors, Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki, both renowned for their work in the anime industry, ensure that “Ultraman: Rising” will resonate with fans worldwide.

A Glimpse Behind the Scenes

As we eagerly await the film’s release, let’s delve into the meta. “Ultraman: Rising” isn’t Netflix’s first foray into the Ultraman universe. The streaming giant previously treated viewers to an exhilarating Ultraman anime series spanning three seasons, with the final installment dropping in May 2023. Now, with the upcoming film, Netflix aims to elevate the Ultraman saga to new heights. So mark your calendars, fellow Ultraman enthusiasts! June 14, 2024, is the date when the cosmos collides with Earth, and heroes rise. Prepare for an adventure that transcends dimensions, fueled by courage, legacy, and the indomitable spirit of Ultraman. Stay tuned for exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and more as we countdown to the premiere of “Ultraman: Rising.” And remember, when darkness threatens, the light of Ultraman shines brightest.

Read the full article

#animation #anime #TsuburayaProductions #ultraman #Ultraman:Rising

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la-hannya · 2 years

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Trying to get some space from things but seeing the sauceribs constantly trying to warp the truth by spouting lies on posts focusing on other sessh-ships in places like Reddit or trying to downplay things for the sake of trying to make theirs look good as possible is insane. I gotten told to ignore it but it's becoming a plague. These Lolicon fandoms are known to move parasitically from fandom to fandom, slowly wrecking them. The current state of this fandom says it all. Tbh, all I see left of the HnY part of the fandom is mostly those same shippers pairing the 14 year old twins with Kirinmaru, same character that actually showed disgust of the fact of pedomaru marrying a kid (and no, it wasn't just cause of the prophecy shit that later became irrelevant like all the plots they tried to do and dropped because the studio had the writing all over the place). Really, don't even get me started on things the Sesshomaru's seiyuu and the director said.

This mindset has become an infestation. And no, I'm not afraid of saying it. Or them.

And I think people shouldn't be afraid to say it, especially if they want this community to live on for years to come.

Most pals I knew here left cause they feel done. And it's thanks in-part mostly to this shit. It's actually heartbreaking really... Currently feeling the same too.

Yashahime is an official product; yes. No, it's not a true continuation of it. In other words not "canon". It's just an official product. The movies, ovas, cd dramas are also all official products; even the og anime. The only thing that will be "true canon" is the manga the author wrote starting in November 13, 1996 in all black & white glory. And yes, that manga does not have saucerib nor ever implied it. The author stating he's her paternal/legal guardian figure makes that pretty solid. Anyone, who thought otherwise that— well that was just you 🙃

Her attitude towards the sequel, merch of Inuyasha refusing to even promote saucerib as a couple and her latest opinions with interviewers trying to push the idea of sequels for her other works says it all. The minute the spin off was over, it was like hny didn't exist and the only thing that did was Urusei Yatsura. Plus all the info we got here showing what actually went down with hny it's enough.

#You can scream at me to die and foam at the mouth while trying to move the heavens for the sake of that ship but I don't care anymore #im tired of these games #inuyasha #anti sessrin #antisessrin #anti rinsess #adios for now

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designidraws · 1 year

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Sam and Max characters’ hygiene ranked from best to worst:

Sybil Pandemik: She is a career-woman and knows what she is doing. Sybil cares about her appearance and how she is perceived, she is the most likely to give a shit about her hygiene.

Myra Stump: She is a talk-show host on TV and has a large audience. She definitely cares a lot about her hygiene since she acts like a bossy mom.

Santa Claus or the elves: Smells like holiday cheer, one of the best scents.

Momma Bosco: Self-explanatory, she probably smells of 60’s perfume and definitely takes good care of her hygiene.

Agent Superball: He probably smells like a really good cologne and he takes himself extremely seriously.

Grandma Ruth: Ruth probably has that grandma perfume smell that is just extremely nostalgic. She definitely cares about her BO.

The Narrator: He is British and very sophisticated, he takes good care of “himself”.

Jurgen: He is very attention-seeking and cares how other people perceive him. He definitely collects the latest and most popular perfume.

Conroy Bumpus: Sure, he may be involved in animal cruelty, but he seems to care a lot about his appearance. He has a toupee on display with high-security soooooo…. he cares a lot.

The Director: She is a director known for being prestigious about acting and probably takes good care of her hygiene.

Darla "The Geek" Gugenheek: She definitely showers regularly.

Sam/Sameth: Sam definitely cares about his hygiene for the most part. He acts like a dad and probably smells like one and cares about how he is perceived.

Lee-Harvey: He is a henchman for Conroy Bumpus and looks well-kept.

Anyone in the toy mafia: These guys probably smell ok.

Satan: Weirdly I think Satan in this series probably smells alright. He always cares about whether his bald-spot is showing on camera during the interview in *The City That Dares Not Sleep*.

T.H.E.M.: They smell average.

Abraham Lincoln: Smells like stone? (Whatever that means)

The C.O.P.S.: The smell of machinery.

Roscoe Bosco: He probably smells average, maybe a little sweaty some days.

Sal: He is a cockroach but seems relatively well-kept.

Flint Paper: He probably showers, but cares more about cases rather than personal hygiene.

Lorne (the friend for life): He doesn’t shower as much as he should.

Mr. Featherly: He is a chicken, but he does seem to care about how he is seen and is very much an attention-seeker.

Sammun-Mak: He smells like dirt but like in a good way, like the nostalgic kind of way.

Trixie: Ehhh she smells well… like a giraffe with a layer of perfume overtop

Max/Maximus: We all know he is covered in so many germs, but Sam definitely tries to get him showered every once in a while.

Hubert Q. Tourist: He is a strange, strange fellow. I don’t know what it is about him, but he makes me uncomfortable and he probably doesn’t smell all that well.

Hugh Bliss: Bacteria

Bessie: She’s a cow…

General Skun-ka’pe or his minions: All I need to say is gorilla.

Bruno: He is a bigfoot, need anymore explaining?

Brady Culture: I don’t think I can explain why, but I think he just doesn’t smell good at all.

Anton Papierwaite: HE IS FRENCH! (Also his *secret* makes him smell worse probably)

Girl Stinky: She smells like really bad, but tries to haphazardly spray perfume to cover it up.

Charlie Ho-Tep: People don’t have the decency to wash their hands before playing with him.

Any sea creatures: I absolutely despise the smell of fish…

Any of the baby characters: Babies can smell really bad…

Jurgen’s Monster: He is basically Frankenstein’s Monster, so he probably doesn’t smell good.

The zombies: They are undead and *god* do the dead smell gross.

Eldritch horrors of any kind: They don’t smell very good.

Molemen or the Rats: These guys smell like shit and probably don’t care about showering. They live in the sewers.

Grandpa Stinky: It’s in the name, he smells absolutely rancid. He probably hasn’t showered in decades.

The Soda Poppers: THEY SMELL REALLY FUCKING BAD

#sam and max #sam and max freelance police

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funkymbtifiction · 1 year

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hi! i had a few questions because i’m trying to type an actress who’s currently stumping me a bit. on pdb she’s typed as infp 9w1 sx/so 927 but so many artists are typed as infp 4s or 9s on there and i’m not sure i agree with the consensus, but i can’t pinpoint why. so a few things:

in interviews, she states not being too interested in plot when selecting projects, but finding the most pleasure in deeply exploring a character. her process is to become the character, so she can know them inside out, feel what they feel, and embody that on screen. she had said that some characters stay with her forever and that all of them are her, to some degree, either dialed up or dialed down, and has expressed that acting is a safe way to explore different and more unhinged parts of herself - that in real life she second guesses herself a lot more and is more reserved. on her latest film, she said she went out to practice for her role by talking to men to see how she would seduce them, and it was important to her to know how SHE would go about it. she said throws herself into roles so completely that once she finishes a project, it feels like she’ll never work again. i don’t really buy into visual typing beyond extroverts being more animated and MAYBE fe using expressions, smiles, etc to signal and mirror - but in interviews i did notice a general lack of expressiveness (she def seems introverted and doesn’t appear to mirror anyone else or use her face to communicate much, only smiling when she seems to find something personally amusing)

now that all DOES seem like potential fi dom, but she has said a few times that on set, her body has better ideas than her mind and she often improvises based on her body. she also says that she’s not eager to work on a new project soon after finishing one because she thinks it’s important to go out and live life for a while, accumulate experiences and fill up your well of emotions, and that being too eager to jump on a new project would mean she didn’t do enough with the last one. she says that she knows she wants to act, perfect her craft and be good and she doesn’t have much interest in dabbling in things like producing. she co-wrote a previous film she was in and enjoyed it (and used a stream of consciousness process to write as her character) but is certain about acting being her future. she mentioned divine timing and thinking that certain roles come to you when you need them the most. i wonder if this points to se-ni, and if she may be an isfp instead?

in terms of her enneagram, at first i could see 9 in how she merges with her characters, and in the way she acts from her body/gut - but then i saw recently she said in an interview that everything she does in life, all her motivations are to feel safe and that acting presented a unique challenge because it’s not such a secure career. she said she enjoys challenges, and wanted to be an actress despite that, but that was the main thing that gave her pause about her career, the lack of security. she also mentioned that, when picking a project, the top priority (even above character) is director - that she must trust who’s leading the ship, or else nothing worthwhile can be made. she stated that she doesn’t like to be micromanaged, likes to have some say in decisions about the character and what they might do and that the set is not always going to be a positive place, and that’s okay, because some conflict and friction can produce even better results sometimes. could this be 6, maybe with a 9 fix, or at least 6 in her tritype instead of 7? i’m also not sure i see her as sp blind, as she’s mentioned a few times the importance to her of health and caring for her body so i feel like that would sort of rule out sp blind.

thanks!!

Wanting to live life to the fullest and have adventures can also be sp, since sp is the most aware of how "short" life is and possess a desire to enjoy themselves. But yes, you give a strong argument for sp/so 6w7 SFP. Living in the moment, trusting your body, seeing acting as secondary to having experiences (devaluing fantasy for reality) is extremely Se.

People are too quick to label actresses sx if they are "sexy" or "interesting." They forget that sx is about a magnetic/repulsive hook and living a lifestyle that shows an sx tendency to infuse, use up, and then abandon something or someone once the spark dies (sx/so Elizabeth Taylor was married eight times, for example...).

#question #mbti #enneagram

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hopeymchope · 2 years

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David Zaslav removes Shenmue & Blade Runner from anime streaming, cancels Shenmue season 2, continues to be a piece of shit

AAHHHHHHHHHHGGGGHH I HATE THIS MOTHERFUCKER SO FUCKING MUCH

David Zaslav, the former head of Discovery who is now in charge of the merged Warner Bros. Discovery — and whom I’ve previously ranted about at length — is continuing to do his best to destroy art, make creators’ works inaccessible, end all joy and hope, and basically be a massive fucking sack of severed dicks.

LET”S RUN DOWN ALL OF HIS CRIMES SO FAR!

Fuck this shitheel.

1) David Zaslav’s tenure at Discovery is widely despised by employees. He insisted on moving operations out of the former HQ in Silver Spring MD — which has been devastating to that town’s economy — to instead focus on LA and New York City, where he prefers to be. He started a big corporate budget centered on purchasing trendy clothing for the C-suite so that they can “look cool.” He’s laid off tons of staff. He has a reputation for being an authoritarian CEO who regularly makes unilateral decisions without bothering to value anyone else’s opinion.

2) Upon taking over Warner Bros Discovery, his first act was to demote or remove all female and black department heads at Warner Bros. He replaced them all with white men from Discovery. He said they needed to focus on “the best person for the job” instead of “forced diversity.” ........ Uh-HUH. Right. Sure.

3) He then shitcanned two movies that were already filmed and nearly complete (and which had already cost $130 million dollars in development/creation, which is now just being thrown in a TOILET) AND were already testing either “good” or “EXTREMELY good” in screenings because he personally didn’t like them (reminder: no one else’s opinion matters) and doesn’t believe movies should be made for streaming, which these were. He wants HBO Max to stop having its own content (and to heavily move towards hosting reality TV-based content like Discovery). This was also supposedly done to get a tax write-off of $10 million by not releasing these films, although every single tax lawyer and IRS agent who’s been interviewed agrees that doesn’t make one lick of sense.

4) This was all part of his supposed effort to reduce the company’s budget by billions. To that same end, he ended countless deals that allowed HBO Max to host tons of shows, including original works that were exclusive to the service and now exist nowhere, in any form. This was done without warning in most cases. Just loads of movies and animated shows erased from existence because he didn’t want to pay the fraction-of-a-percent licensing fee. Many of the creators - writers, producers, directors, other talent - have been posting in tears to various social media, pleading for whatever copies people have made illegally or for Warner Discovery to provide them with SOME copy of their work, because otherwise IT’S ALL JUST. FUCKING. GONE.

And now, his latest shitty action...

5) He stopped all funding to Adult Swim (Warner Bros. owns Cartoon Network and Adult Swim) for original anime productions, INCLUDING cutting off their licenses to continue hosting those productions online. This means that the English dubs of SHENMUE: The Animation and Blade Runner: Black Lotus no longer exist online (....legally). More importantly, apparently SHENMUE: The Animation performed well enough that they were intending to fund a second season based on Shenmue III... which is now not going to happen, because Zaslav has stripped away all that funding.

This is exactly how I feel about David Zaslav. ... OK, not the part about his family dying.

God, and I love Shenmue and adored the anime adaption. I would’ve loved to see more of it. I would’ve loved to see so much of this content that is now gone some day. I heard such wonderful things about Infinity Train. Batgirl was looking killer and Brendan Fraser was particularly getting a lot of praise for how he played one of my favorite lesser-known Batman villains. And it’s all just... gone. People are losing their jobs, losing years of work, and millions of dollars being flushed away... just, what the FUCK.

#warner bros. discovery #david zaslav #shenmue #shenmue: the animation #shenmue the animation #blade runner black lotus #blade runner: black lotus

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canmom · 1 year

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Animation Night 142: Shells & Dragons

Hi everyone! It’s another Thursday and thus another Animation Night. [for newcomers: Animation Night is a night where I stream animated films (short and long) on Twitch.]

It’s awards season right now, and while awards are mostly not all that important, awards shortlists tend to be a great way to find stuff you might have overlooked. For example, the shortlist for Best Animated Feature - Independent at the Annies brings us a couple of fascinating films.

First up we have Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. It’s a stop motion/live action hybrid about, well, a shell with shoes on. A guy discovers a charming sapient seashell living in an AirBnB, and decides to make videos about him on the internet. This leads to a cascade of consequences as Marcel hopes to use this new platform to reconnect with his shell family, but the newfound fame bears a heavy toll on Marcel’s grandmother shell Connie.

Does something seem familiar about that animation style? Maybe this will help...

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That’s right, this is the Kirsten Lepore movie - or to be precise, the Dean Fleischer Camp movie with Lepore serving as animation director. Lepore, if you’re not familiar, is a fascinating independent animator whose works include Story from North America, in which she provides the surreal imagery to a father giving a lesson in nonviolence...

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You can see Lepore’s channel here on youtube. Definitely take a look at Move Mountain. She’s got a very disarming style which I’m excited to see at length.

Anyway, Dean Fleischer Camp. He’s been on the Marcel thing for like... 12 years at this point! The earliest iteration of the idea was a series of mockumentaries in 2010-14 - you can watch the first one here, second here and third here.

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In the shorts, cowritten with actress Jenny Slate who plays Marcel, the childlike shell relates various aspects of his life in a high-pitched, anxious voice, while the interviewer responds in a strangely disinterested voice. These videos made enough of a splash to get featured in newspapers, there was even a line of children’s books, and in 2014, a project to make a Marcel film was announced by Camp and Slate... finally dropping a good seven years later, to near unanimous praise.

The film, then, seems to be aiming to flesh out the comedy characters into a more substantial story of Marcel encountering the wider world.

Alongside that, we have My Father’s Dragon, the latest from Cartoon Saloon, the Irish studio that’s the darling of the small-studio animation world - and naturally has featured on Animation Night on #14 and #49.

Incredibly exciting, right? Unfortunately, there is a wrinkle in that news for me. This film’s directed by Nora Twomey, whose previous work was the disappointing The Breadwinner, which presented quite a shallow and even imperialist narrative about a precocious girl too good for sinful Afghanistan. (Having American bombs appear as a liberating force is a choice, Nora!) Cartoon Saloon are untouchable when they stick to Irish history and mythology, but that was definitely their weaker entry, missing all the subtlety and grace of an earlier film like Persepolis ten years earlier that comes from actually living somewhere.

But Twomey also worked on all of Cartoon Saloon’s other wonderful films (she co-directed Secret of Kells) and this time, they’re adapting a children’s book from 1948 by Ruth Stiles Gannett and illustrated by her stepmother Ruth Chrisman Gannett. (Not the only adaptation, incidentally, there’s also an anime film from 1997.) The book tells the story of a young boy - referred to throughout as ‘my father’ - who travels to a place called Wild Island in search of a baby dragon. You can read the full text, with low res scans of the illustrations, right here.

Cartoon Saloon’s version goes for a styling not entirely the same as the original illustrations, but recognisably a ‘children’s book’ style, and as lush as all of their projects. The book’s story seems to just be the first act of a much longer story which sees Elmer and the Dragon attempting to find a way to save the island.

This is definitely pitched younger than Cartoon Saloon’s previous movies, but I’m hoping that the animation alone will be plenty of reason to watch this.

(If you’re wondering about the other films in the category, by the way - there’s Masaaki Yuasa’s god-tier film Inu-Oh, which I cannot wait to screen and will write about at enormous length when I do; there is Charlotte, a biopic about German painter Charlotte Salomon ‘coming of age on the eve of WWII’, which follows the European co-production model, bringing together studios in Canada, France and Belgium; and there is Little Nicholas, Happy As Can Be about a centimetres-tall boy growing up on a desktop world. Also French, of course. We may well get to the other two down the line. Big year for bildungsroman huh.)

If these movies sound fun, please make your way to twitch.tv/canmom where we will be starting in about 15 minutes at 8pm UK time! We’ll be watching Dragon first, then Marcel, since I think that will be the more impactful order. And at the end we might just tuck in the latest episode of Yao - Chinese Folktales. Hope to see ya there~

#animation night

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2dalexia · 1 year

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Working with Disney

Marc Davis (1913-2000)

Marc Davis was an idea man He started working for Walt Disney Studios on December 2, 1935, and retired in 197.

Marc began as an apprentice animator on Snow White and also worked as a story sketch artist and character designer on Bambi. Because of his impressive performance in the previous film, Walt Wanted to make him an animator and so Marc was trained by Frank Tomas and Milt Khal (two of the Nine Old Men of Animation)

Davis is mostly known for his iconic female character design such as Tinker Bell (Peter Pan), Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty), and Cruella De Vill (101 Dalmatians).

He was once asked to choose a favorite among his Disney ladies, and he simply answered “Each of my women characters has her own unique style; I love them all in different ways.” And that's true, none of his characters were the same.

Later in 1962, after 30 years of animating, Marc became one of Disney’s first imagineers. He would design character concepts for Disneyland attractions including Pirates of the Caribbean, it’s a small world, Haunted House, and more.

There is quite an interesting book written by Pete Docter and Christopher Merritt called ‘Marc Davis in his own words’ that explores his career and has an incredible collection of his artwork. Here is a video where the authors talk about it.

youtube

I picked Marc Davis mostly because he is also one of the Nine Old Men of Animation, but aside from that I did not know much about him. When I read that he was the man behind Cruella’s design, I got even more excited to learn more about his work.

Something I realized when reading the interview is how, as an animator, you are not always allowed to do things in your own way. As Marc said, “I think this is one of the most difficult things in a cartoon, to keep a unity of all the characters when you have many different people, with different outlooks on drawing and styling everything”.

Dave Hand (1900-1986)

Dave Hand started his animation career at the J. R. Bray Studio, then moved to work on the Out of the Inkwell series. Later, he tried to pursue live-action filmmaking. However, he returned to animation and joined Walt Disney Studios in 1930 where he would stay until 1944.

Hand worked as an animator in a variety of shorts like Flowers and Trees (the first film made in three-strip Technicolor), The Chain Gang, Midnight in a Teashop, among other Silly Symphonies.

Dave started directing in 1932 with Trader Mickey, and by the late 1930s Walt assigned him as supervising director of Disney’s first animated feature-length film: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And after, he got the same role in Bambi

Hand also got the opportunity to direct Who Killed Cock Robin? and Three Orphan Kittens. As well as animation supervisor on Victory Through Air Power.

After 14 years with Disney, Dave left the studio in 1944 and went to England for an animation opportunity and established Gaumont British Animation in 1946.

During my research, I was able to find a more complete interview done in 973 by Michael Barrier, and an article written about 1984. Even though David was an important figure at the studio, he was rarely interviewed, and his autobiography does not say much about his time working at Disney.

I picked Dave Hand because he mostly worked as a director during his Disney career, I thought it would be nice to see the perspective of a director instead of only writing about animators.

From reading the interviews, I could notice that Hand was very practical, and quite “ambitious” as he is described by one of his assistants. He would often push and encourage the animators and even Walt Disney himself sometimes to do the best they could to produce an excellent result. He was willing to redo his work as many times as necessary until he got satisfied with the results.

That is an attitude I admire and feel lacking in the latest Disney movies. For the last few years, it feels like none of the new films were made thinking about achieving the story’s potential, especially the live-action ones. Most of them feel shallow and with little effort to bring back the Disney classics we all grow up with.

If I learned something from Dave Hand is that we should always keep trying to achieve our best and then go forward.

down bellow will be listed the sites I based my research on.

Marc Davis

more concept art for Tinker Bell, Cruella, and Pirates of the Caribbean

Dave Hand

1984 article

1973 interview

#Youtube

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onenettvchannel · 11 months

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OneNETnews EXCLUSIVE: Marinette Dupain-Cheng promotes latest French-animated film 'Miraculous Ladybug: The Movie' and potentially becomes an M6 Info reporter

PARIS, FRANCE -- Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the talented young actress behind the iconic character Ladybug in the globally beloved animated series "Miraculous Ladybug", sat down for an exclusive interview with Xavier de Moulins from M6 Info's Le 19.45 to discuss the highly anticipated release of the film adaptation, 'Miraculous Ladybug: The Movie'. The interview offered fans a glimpse into Marinette's life behind the scenes and hinted at possible future career aspirations.

(Le 19.45 via M6 Info / Screengrab Courtesy: Metropole 6 TV)

During the interview, Marinette expressed her excitement about the film's release in cinemas across France. "Miraculous Ladybug: The Movie" continues the thrilling adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir as they safeguard Paris against supervillains. The actress shared her gratitude for the overwhelming support from fans, emphasizing how their passion and dedication have made the film possible.

Marinette, known for her infectious enthusiasm, showcased her versatility throughout the interview, discussing the challenges of bringing a beloved animated character to the big screen. She revealed that the film pushed boundaries, offering fans a deeper understanding of Ladybug's backstory and her powerful bond with the enigmatic Cat Noir (Adrien Agreste).

The interview also sheds light on the collaboration between Marinette and the film's creative team, including directors named Jeremy Zag and Thomas Astruc. Their collective goal was to create an immersive cinematic experience that would resonate with fans while also capturing the essence of the beloved series. With its stunning animation and gripping storyline, 'Miraculous Ladybug: The Movie' promises to captivate audiences young and old.

As the interview unfolded, fans couldn't help but wonder about Marinette Dupain-Cheng's future career aspirations. The young actress has garnered praise for her skillful portrayal of Ladybug, leading some to speculate whether she could potentially pursue a career in the entertainment or news industry.

Despite her undeniable talent on screen, Marinette remains grounded and open to various opportunities. While she hasn't explicitly expressed her desire to transition into a career as an entertainment or news reporter, fans and industry insiders alike are intrigued by the possibility.

Once she graduates from a local school in Paris, Marinette could leverage her charisma, poise and natural charm to excel in the field of journalism. Her experience as Ladybug, protecting and inspiring Parisians, perfectly aligns with the values and impact that a news reporter strives to achieve.

While the future remains uncertain, one thing is clear: Marinette's dedication to her craft and her undeniable talent will undoubtedly open doors for her in the entertainment arena. Whether she chooses to continue her acting career or transition into journalism, fans will eagerly anticipate witnessing her future endeavors.

Miraculous Ladybug: The Movie is set to hit theaters across France on July 5th, 2023. Brace yourself for an action-packed and visually stunning adventure that will leave audiences on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting the return of their favorite superheroes!

SCREENGRAB COURTESY: MLBFanFR via YT Video

SOURCE: *https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/divertissement/article/miraculous-le-film-ladybug-interviewee-par-xavier-de-moulins-dans-le-journal-televise-de-m6_220235.html [Referenced News Article via Huffington Post France] *https://tvmag.lefigaro.fr/programme-tv/actu-tele/le-duplex-insolite-de-xavier-de-moulins-avec-ladybug-sur-m6-pour-la-sortie-du-film-miraculous-20230705 [Referenced News Article via Le Figaro] *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwMI0qas__k [Referenced YT Video via Miraculous_French] *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqQzUkyBRg4 [Referenced YT Video via M6 Info] *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfEV1V-h41A [Referenced YT Video via MLBFanFR] *https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_1945 *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_de_Moulins and *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladybug_%26_Cat_Noir:_The_Movie

-- OneNETnews Team

#entertainment news #paris #france #miraculous ladybug #tales of cat noir #movie #3d animated film #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste #news reporter #Le 19.45 #m6 info #interview #cinema #mass communication #exclusive #first and exclusive #OneNETnews

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back-and-totheleft · 1 year

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Oliver Stone Wants To Atone For Hollywood’s Sins Against Nuclear Energy

When Oliver Stone’s 1986 Vietnam War movie “Platoon” showed the gore and mental toll of combat, veterans accused the director of portraying soldiers in an ugly light. When 1991’s “The Doors” depicted Jim Morrison’s battle with addiction, the rock star’s bandmate said Stone had “assassinated” the singer’s reputation. When Stone interviewed Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Russian President Vladimir Putin for documentaries meant to provoke Americans with starkly different perspectives on U.S. foreign policy, critics panned the Oscar winner as a stooge for strongmen and an “unrepentant contrarian,” aging gracelessly into a “loony conspiracy”-peddling septuagenarian.

Nuclear energy, the subject of his latest film, is no less of a lightning rod. Perhaps that’s why “Nuclear Now” feels like watching a Gonzo “60 Minutes” special. Stone admits that he, like many people, once registered atomic power as indistinguishable from images of menacing mushrooms clouds and hazmat horrors. To Stone, a clear-eyed review of the facts alone in an age of climate chaos seemed provoking enough on its own.

Over the next hour and 45 minutes, Stone goes on a journey familiar to many who have wondered whether atomic energy and radioactive waste pose a more urgent threat than global warming. “Nuclear Now” answers the question with a clear no, offers a compelling explanation for how atomic energy went into decline and makes a well-researched case for why the world needs a reactor-building renaissance.

Stone takes us through the history of fission from the European scientists who discovered radiation to the United States’ attempt to sell the world on nuclear energy less than a decade after dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In his telling, cribbing an eyebrow-raising discovery from the nuclear engineer and consultant (and interviewee in the film) Rod Adams, powerful monied interests had it out for nuclear energy from the start. Just months after President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his famous “atoms for peace” speech, vowing to unite humanity with abundant nuclear energy, the Rockefeller Foundation asked the National Academy of Sciences to study the health effects of radiation.

The government research body, whose president served on the oil tycoon family foundation’s board, put out a dire and later discredited report on the risks of radiation a few years later. The New York Times, whose publisher also served on the Rockefeller Foundation’s board, reported the findings on its front page under the headline: “Scientists Term Radiation A Peril To Future Of Man.” Environmentalists, in Stone’s view, became eager pawns as left-wing activists merged the fight against atomic weapons with that against nuclear power.

The narration is aided by abundant visual charts that help viewers understand why few experts believe solar panels and wind turbines can replace fossil fuels alone, illustrating how much less land nuclear uses and how much more often reactors generate power.

In the movie’s second half, Stone digs into the intricacies of different nuclear technologies, walking the audience through the differences between today’s giant water-cooled reactors and the sodium-cooled “microreactors” startups are attempting to commercialize. He also highlights efforts by the Asian, African and Latin American countries whose energy sources will determine the planet’s future temperature to build their first nuclear reactors, even as Germany and the U.S. decommission perfectly good atomic power stations.

The movie doesn’t shy away from the fact that Russia is the primary vendor for nuclear technology, constructing most of the world’s new reactors outside of China. But Stone grapples only in passing with the reality that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last year supercharged the growing interest in nuclear energy and continues to animate efforts in the U.S. and Europe to reverse atomic decline. It’s a glaring omission from an auteur whose cozy relationship with the Russian leader has made many question Stone’s judgment and credibility.

Even so, “Nuclear Now” is a comprehensive and credible corrective to decades of atomic mythmaking — less timely than badly overdue. But then again, I’m a reporter who writes about nuclear energy, so don’t take it from me.

The New York Times’ one complaint was that the film’s wonky dive into new reactor technologies “veers somewhat into the weeds.” While The Wrap’s review found the 105-minute movie “dull,” the writer couldn’t help but applaud the “undeniably informative” film as “commendable.” Variety flat-out called it a “vital and grounded movie that demands to be seen.”

Last week, a few hours before seeing “Nuclear Now” at a premiere screening in Manhattan’s East Village, I spoke to Stone and his collaborator Joshua Goldstein, whose book with Swedish nuclear scientist Staffan Qvist, “A Bright Future,” inspired the movie.

We discussed a range of issues, from how radiation works to why Hollywood is responsible for a widespread misunderstanding of the risks associated with nuclear power.

Stone called out actor Jane Fonda for opposing nuclear energy after her 1979 film “The China Syndrome,” depicting a disaster cover-up at a nuclear power plant, came out coincidentally just days before the Three Mile Island accident. He said Ralph Nader’s effort to close nuclear stations was such a historic mistake it may end up overshadowing the consumer-advocate-turned-presidential-candidate’s other accomplishments in future history books. We spoke over Zoom for about 35 minutes.

Why make a film on nuclear energy?

Oliver Stone: I’ve done 20 feature films and 10 documentaries. To me, this is the most important subject I could address. There’s nothing that looms over us as much as climate change. I’ve been very aware of it since the Al Gore film. In 2019, I ran across Josh Goldstein’s book, “A Bright Future.” It’s a nice title. But I think “Nuclear Now” is more urgent. The book is very well laid out, thoughtful, reasoned, makes sense and elemental in the sense that it doesn’t get stuck on the stuff that was confusing to me, which is all the negatives about nuclear. I’ve learned a lot since then.

It seems to me as an outsider that we lost our mind with fear in the 1970s. If you look at my films, you know there were a lot of lies. And over time it turned into this massive lie about nuclear energy that is really evident if you think it through.

Josh gives a very reasonable explanation of radiation. That it’s there. It’s part of our lives. We live with low-level radiation. Yet somehow, with the Rockefeller Foundation’s influence, we were derailed from a very hopeful start in the 1960s and ’70s. Dwight Eisenhower had the right idea. John Kennedy had the right idea. We should have kept going with nuclear. We’d have had a nuclearized society by the 2000s. In my opinion, we wouldn’t even be talking about this climate change bullshit because the world would have followed. Instead, we completely diverted.

So, in your view, why did nuclear go into decline in the U.S.?

Stone: The worst accident was Chernobyl. We discuss that in the film. We go to Russia. We talk to scientists who were involved and we show what Chernobyl was really about, what happened to the 15 front-line rescue workers who died of radiation poisoning that they were not equipped to deal with. It was badly done through the whole thing, from the top down. The containment structure [for the reactor, which all modern nuclear plants have] was not there. Radiation leaked. And the World Health Organization and the United Nations estimated that 4,000 people died from the impact over time. But that’s nothing compared to what you keep hearing about being this huge disaster.

We live with the consequences of radiation. The Earth is filled with radiation. That’s what people don’t understand. They’re frightened because of the concept that it’s contamination and that any amount can hurt you. That’s not true if you look at the DNA studies that were done on the body’s ability to replicate itself. We have to go by science, not faith.

Three Mile Island was a complete joke. It was a big disruption of work. Nobody died. Yet it was made into this massive hysteria by the film “The China Syndrome.”

You referred to the Rockefeller Foundation’s money. What powerful forces do you see behind the anti-nuclear movement?

Stone: You’re going to take me into conspiracy. But you could also say it’s a business competition.

The oil companies were obviously never excited about nuclear. At the origin point of going that way, when Eisenhower declared his atoms for peace program, the Rockefeller Foundation tipped the scales on a report — it was their scientists — and they said on the front page of the New York Times that any amount, any amount, of radiation is dangerous to the body. Which is bullshit! And we know it now. It has to be called out. That kind of thinking permeated and gave birth to this idea that radiation is a complete horror.

Also, look at the horror films of the 1950s. My business, the film business, did no favors to nuclear at all. You saw monsters everywhere. People get these crazy ideas. This is what fear does to a society. It ruins progress. As a result, now we’re in a hole. Still, people won’t face the truth. We need nuclear in a massive way in order to solve this climate change problem. Will we go there? It’s still very doubtful because people are resistant to the idea. Older people are. The younger generation I find is very open to it. Our movie is part of that thrust.

What are the limits you see to renewables on one side and carbon capture technology on the other?

Stone: They’re overrated. Tell him.

Joshua Goldstein: We like all attempts to decarbonize, be it with sun, wind, hydropower, carbon capture and sequestration, batteries. All that’s good. The trouble is that when you run your whole grid on that, it gets very expensive and very difficult to do. The grid has to handle the heaviest demand date of the year, when everybody wants air conditioning to turn on at once. You don’t want the grid to go down. So if it happens to not be a sunny day or a windy day, you have a huge hole to fill.

Right now, that’s being done with natural gas, which is a fossil fuel and puts carbon into the atmosphere. Natural gas is methane, which leaks out along the way and is a very potent natural gas, much worse than carbon dioxide, although much shorter lived. But for the next few decades, it’s adding a lot to the problem. So this idea of wind and solar backed up with natural gas is not really getting us to a solution.

Hydroelectricity is great from a climate change point of view because you can let the water out of the dam when you need electricity and actually produce it when you need it. The trouble is that, if you’re an environmentalist, hydroelectricity is damming up valleys and ecosystems.

A large array of solar panels photographed one hour north of Los Angeles in Kern County on Nov. 15, 2022, near Mojave, California. Due to demand, there are now dozens of solar power photovoltaic farms in the Mojave Desert, supplying power to California's electricity grid. Well, plus it’s sensitive to droughts.

Goldstein: Yes, it’s sensitive to drought. But before you even get to drought, you have the Mekong River watershed just being devastated by all the hydro being built upstream in Southeast Asia. If there is a way to get the electricity when you need it cleanly and without carbon emissions, that’s better. And that’s nuclear energy.

All the countries that have managed to decarbonize and get rid of fossil fuels have done it either with nuclear alone, like France, or nuclear with hydroelectricity, like Sweden. Or a few lucky countries like New Zealand, Norway and Brazil have a lot of hydro. But if you’re Germany, you can’t do a lot of hydro. So then you have to try to do it with a combination of batteries, which are still way too expensive, and natural gas. Except in Germany’s case, it’s coal that’s backing up the renewables.

Then you have things like biomass in Finland and the United Kingdom.

Goldstein: Biomass is very bad for the atmosphere. It’s as bad as coal. And they’re cutting down mature forests to burn the trees, then calling it “green” because it’s so-called renewable because someday the trees will grow back. Nuclear, because it’s so concentrated, that’s what makes it environmentally friendly. You can do it with such a small plant. The mining and transportation is so much smaller and the waste is so much easier to handle than, say, coal waste that goes out in the atmosphere, kills people with particulate matter, and leaves behind coal tailings.

Oliver, you’ve obviously been to Russia many times. You’ve interviewed President Putin. And you’ve been asked plenty of times about your views on the war in Ukraine. I’d like to come at this another way.

Russia has steadily been expanding its fleet of nuclear reactors. It’s been exporting its technologies across Asia and Africa ― I’ve heard stories from analysts about how Moscow’s state-owned nuclear company Rosatom wines and dines energy officials from developing countries, in stark contrast to the U.S. To boot, Russia has a monopoly on certain types of nuclear fuel like HALEU and offers services that the U.S. doesn’t, like recycling. What has the Kremlin understood about nuclear energy that we haven’t, and what does it mean for the U.S. going forward?

Stone: I look at it as positive. What Russia does to help the world, providing these reactors and fuels, is good. That’s a good thing! We have to expand the whole network. I wish there was more of it. The Chinese are also very advanced. Of course, they have their own problems at home with coal. They have to get rid of coal. But they are designing very promising new reactors.

I’m sure most Americans at this stage see the enmity between these two countries. I don’t. There’s no place in this climate race for survival for war. There’s no place for this competition, hatred and ideology.

Goldstein: You mentioned Russian fuel. That started with a good thing. The United States took a lot of Soviet nuclear weapons and downgraded them into what could be used for reactor fuel. Every light switch you turned on in the United States for 15 years was powered 10% by Soviet nuclear weapons dismantled after the Cold War. That was great. When that ran out, we got out of the habit of producing nuclear fuel.

We started buying from Russia because it was cheaper. We don’t need to get HALEU — which is high-assay low-enriched uranium, and is more potent than what we get for our plants — from Russia. There’s plenty of uranium in Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia. You name it. The Russians, because they were doing this cheaply, we got into the habit of buying from them, sort of like how the Germans got into the habit of buying natural gas from Russia. What could go wrong? Now we’re in a fix to try to source this fuel, but that will be worked out in a couple of years.

How do you see the war in Ukraine affecting the politics of nuclear energy now? Part of the initial pitch for atomic power was that it provided a degree of energy sovereignty that oil and gas supply chains don’t, as the rush to get off Russian gas has reminded us.

Goldstein: It opened up a lot of support for nuclear in Europe. Maybe not in Germany, per se. But elsewhere, especially in Eastern Europe. This is the same thing that happened in France in the 1970s when the oil supply was cut off [during the OPEC oil embargo]. They were dependent on it and realized some foreign country could bring their economy to its knees. France developed nuclear energy to control its own destiny.

Stone: Unfortunately, Germany is so stupid that their economy is now really in jeopardy. The EU is not going to be what it once was. Germany is taking this whole anti-nuclear position that really threatens its economy.

Are you similarly concerned about Taiwan’s nuclear phaseout?

Stone: No, not particularly. America is concerned and makes big noise about Taiwan. A lot of my friends come back from Taiwan and say that the Taiwanese people don’t feel the same way as our newspapers.

The chances of a Chinese invasion are certainly debatable, but energy blockades are not, and Taiwan is shutting down its last nuclear reactors by 2025.

Goldstein: They may yet come to their senses. South Korea had a very good nuclear program. They just finished building these reactors in the United Arab Emirates on time and on budget. But there was a film called “Pandora” five or six years ago that scared everyone. It helped get an anti-nuclear government elected. Now there’s a pro-nuclear government. The same thing happened in Sweden, where there was an anti-nuclear government replaced by a nuclear-friendly administration.

If you go anti-nuclear and it’s a threat to a country’s stability, economy, jobs and having the lights turn on when you flip the switch, then people will vote in a new government. I’m not saying anything about the politics of Taiwan and which government should be in. But as lots of people reconsider phasing out nuclear, maybe Taiwan will as well.

One place that seems to exemplify the promise of nuclear energy is Finland, where I was around this time last year. I not only saw the world’s first permanent repository for nuclear waste, I saw Western Europe’s first new reactor in 15 years ― 25, if you don’t count Czechia as part of that region.

After visiting the site, I spent a few hours walking around the nearby town of Rauma, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Every single person I talked to on the street supported nuclear power and had total faith in the engineers at the plant to keep everyone safe. Now, this is a highly educated, ethnically and religiously homogeneous country with comparatively low levels of inequality. It’s hard to imagine that kind of civic trust in the U.S., where plummeting faith in institutions has correlated with the rise of conspiracy theories.

Can we have a nuclear renaissance in a country with as little public trust as we have here?

Goldstein: We’re trying to build two new reactors in Georgia and they’re just coming online. They’ll be the first reactors ever built under the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC has been around almost 50 years, and it’s clearly been very efficient at stopping us from building new reactors.

Stone: It’s not about safety. The FDA is supposed to be about safety. It’s about restriction.

Goldstein: When the FDA regulates a new medicine, they’re weighing the benefits and risk and deciding what’s the benefit to society. But the NRC is only concerned about the risks. Safety is their mandate. And when they stop us from building nuclear plants and we build coal and gas plants instead, that’s not their problem. It’s like I had a doctor once tell me, ‘My job is to make sure you die of someone else’s disease.’

In a place like Finland, there is more trust in the government. Those places, like Finland and Sweden, have been better for nuclear energy. But also, the places that understand nuclear better like it more. If you do the polling, people who live close to a nuclear plant versus people who live far from it, or people who understand it well [versus] those who say they couldn’t tell you much about it. Those who understand support it more. Finland, they’ve been living on nuclear energy for quite a while. They’re building a repository for spent fuel quite successfully. People understand it and they’re not afraid of it, which is one of the big themes of the film.

But what can be done to build more public trust? Let me put this in real terms.

Just last night, I was at the decommissioning board hearing for the Indian Point nuclear plant in Cortlandt, New York. I listened to people express a lot of fear over the release of tritium-laced cooling water from the plant into the Hudson River. They perhaps didn’t fully understand that such releases have been happening for decades, and that it’s occurring at levels far below the natural amounts of this radioactive isotope already found naturally in the environment. But they’re learning about a radioactive waste product being pumped into their river as something new. And they see a company with a profit motive to release the tritiated water because it’s the cheaper option than storing it for the decades it’d take to decay.

These people hear that the levels of tritium released are far below the drinking water limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency. But then they see that, well, just a few years ago, the EPA revised its drinking water limits for PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals used in Teflon, from more than 400% higher than what the agency now says is safe.

Goldstein: Antinuclear people are very afraid, and they look for things to justify their fears. This tritium thing has come up in Japan at Fukushima, in Indian Point, and in Massachusetts where I live at the decommissioned Pilgrim plant. You hear about how they’re going to put quote-unquote “radioactive water” into the Hudson River, Cape Cod Bay or the Pacific Ocean. And there’s no sense of scale about it.

The amount of radioactivity in tritium is very tiny, short-lived, and not biologically accumulating. It’s about the most harmless thing you can think of. And the quantities of it are just tiny. There’s tritium in exit signs. I’m looking at one right out the window here. I think the total amount of tritium they want to release from Indian Point is the same as one exit sign if you dumped the exit sign in the Hudson River.

It gets absurd at this point. We live with background radiation that’s much higher than that. This whole idea that any level of radiation is going to have a bad health effect, it’s all based on a study from 70, 80 years ago when some scientists said DNA can’t repair itself. Well, we just had a Nobel Prize for DNA repair. We know we can repair it. And of course we can, because we live on a planet filled with radiation. The idea that we’re so vulnerable to that tiny amount of tritium, of all things, that its little weak electrons are going to mess us up for life, is kind of crazy. But as long as people are afraid, that’s what you’re going to get.

The power of a film like this is to get people at a more emotional level than a book can do or a newspaper can do and try to get at that fear at a more visceral level where people say, oh, now I understand and I’m less afraid.

Was there a moment like that for you, Oliver, where the magnitude of what this technology could do really sank in?

Stone: There was this moment with Rod Adams [a nuclear engineer interviewed in the film] was holding up his pinky. And he said in this tiny pinky’s worth of uranium would be equivalent to one ton of coal. It would cost less than a buck, and the coal would cost $100.

You think about Marie Curie and Albert Einstein. They’re not dumb. They saw this potential. Obviously, World War II fucked up the timing of it, right? It came along, and people got it into making bombs. But people still conflate making bombs with nuclear energy, and it’s a huge problem. We have to get back to the origins of making this movie, which is to answer the basics: What is it? What is nuclear energy?

It takes time. But we have to clear up the details of the past. We have this chance. Historically, it will be noted that [retreating from nuclear] was a disastrous decision. Ralph Nader is not going to come out well in history. I believe in his car seatbelt thing, and Jane Fonda was great on Vietnam. But sometimes, you’re wrong. The guy who founded Greenpeace said himself that we did a lot of good things with Greenpeace, but we got one thing wrong: nuclear energy.

Broadly speaking, one of the bright spots for nuclear power is that both parties in the U.S. support it. But then you have Democrats who haven’t really taken responsibility for kiboshing the permanent storage site at Yucca Mountain or changing the law to make it so the government can explore an option beyond that site in Nevada. And Republicans are trying to repeal a bunch of clean energy subsidies that nuclear reactors could benefit from. How big are the hurdles in our current politics to doing new nuclear, and which party remains the bigger obstacle?

Goldstein: There is bipartisan support. You have [Sens.] Cory Booker and Sheldon Whitehouse on the left wing of the Democratic Party as big supporters of nuclear energy, and on the right wing of the Republican Party, [former Sen.] Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma for instance, there are very strong supporters of nuclear. They’ve gotten bills going through Congress. The NRC has been slow to respond to those. The Biden administration is pro-nuclear but could be stronger. The Trump administration was pro-nuclear. So it’s not a partisan divide. But the left wing of the Democratic Party needs to rally around Cory Booker a little more and a little less around the Elizabeth Warren types who are still anti-nuclear. In an age of divisiveness and gridlock, if you have something like nuclear, that’s a place to push for some progress.

Stone: When push comes to shove, necessity is the mother of invention. Where are we going to go? It’s going to get worse. It hasn’t gotten better. There’s more carbon. It gets worse and worse and worse. Someday, we’ll have to say, ‘Oh, let’s build some nuclear.’ And it’ll be late. But better late than never. You have these environmentalists waking up. They’re dreaming. They have this idealism in their head about renewables, that the only answer is more and more solar panels and more and more wind turbines. It’s just bizarre. It’s a strange death wish. There’s always a death wish in the world. It’s always been there, but it’s been growing.

Hopefully, if we get lucky, this film will help change the current and it’ll solve itself because people don’t want to kill themselves.

Two more quick questions. First, nuclear fusion — viable commercial breakthrough in our lifetimes or a distraction from deploying more fission?

Goldstein: I’m all for it. It could be the power source of the second half of the century. There are companies that think they can do it faster, and more power to them. I’m all for trying, but I don’t want to bet my grandchild’s future on breakthroughs. The beauty of fission is it’s a proven source. We know from France and Sweden it can be done quickly. The world can follow that example. In the 1970s when all the anti-nuclear stuff got started, it was a new energy source, so who knew if it was going to be safe? After 70 years, we know it works. I’m all for fusion unless people say we don’t need fission because of fusion.

Stone: I totally agree. I can’t see it breaking through. If it does, great.

I apologize for this final one, Oliver. My editor said I had to ask you this. RFK Jr. running for president. What do you think?

Stone: I’m for it! All for it. I think he’s a hero. He’s really in the spirit of the Kennedys and spirit of reform. Out with the old, in with the new.

Would he be a champion of nuclear?

Stone: He will be when I talk to him.

Goldstein: We, uh, don’t necessarily agree on presidential politics, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about today.

Stone [laughing]: Josh is the old Democratic Party.

-Alexander C. Kaufman, The Huffington Post, May 7 2023 [x]

#oliver stone #huffington post #joshua goldstein #nuclear now #climate change #nuclear energy #rfk jr.

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