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eat-limes-bitches · 1 year ago

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Be Brave

PAIRING: Female Reader x Bucky Barnes

SUMMARY: On a cold lonely night, Bucky finds something he never expected to.

SONG Be Brave by Owl City

WARNINGS: Angst, (Bucky's self loathing, anxiety, mention of nightmares, hinting to PTSD) Hints of fluff (Alpine is the best)

Word Count: 942

A/N: Hi! I wrote this with a second and third part in mind but I wanted your opinions first! Should I leave it like this or do you want to see where this relationship goes?

Enjoy! <3

Divider by Rookthorne

Bucky woke up from sleeping on the floor like a vagrant with a start, frantically looking around the room. Taking a few deep breaths he went through the mantra his therapist told him to use when he was discombobulated.

I am James Bucky Barnes, I’m in my apartment, the year is 2024, and I have a white cat named Alpine

Repeating his little phrase under his breath, he found himself starting to calm down a little bit. Looking at the clock, he was a little disappointed to see that it was only midnight, meaning he only slept for three-ish hours. He sat on the floor for just a little while longer before pulling himself up, throwing on some clothes, grabbing his keys, and leaving his warm apartment out into the chilly New York night. He wandered down the street, feeling a little lonely. Steve was gone, Sam was visiting his family in Louisiana, and, well, he didn’t have anyone else. He kept walking until he found himself at the movie theater. Deciding he didn’t have anything better to do, he bought a ticket for the only show playing and found his seat.

Out of habit, he glanced around noticing a few people and the glowing exit sign but what caught his attention was a woman, sitting in the same row as him. The light of the silver screen lit up her features causing his heart to flutter in his chest, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Knowing she was there, he found it hard to focus on the movie, sneaking glances at her every few seconds until he was eventually caught. Their eyes locked and Bucky blushed as his eyes widened. He was worried she was gonna call him a creep, or leave but instead she just smiled at him and offered a small wave. Getting over his initial shock, Bucky returned the wave and watched as the woman returned to the film.

Bucky stayed in his seat as the credits began to roll, glancing over to see the woman grabbing her coat and bag indicating that she was getting ready to leave, much to Bucky’s dismay. He sat there bitterly, wishing that he had the courage to go and ask her name, but that Bucky was long gone. He was so stuck in his head that he didn’t notice her walk by his seat. He did, however, notice the brush of her fingers against his gloved hands. He snapped his head up to look at her but she was already exiting the theater so he looked down at his hands and a little gasp left his mouth at what he saw, a little paper crane sat perfectly in his hands with a phone number and two words BE BRAVE.

With a gentleness he didn’t know he possessed, he placed the paper bird in his pocket, walked out of the theater, and began his trek home. His thumb and finger brushed over the paper in his pocket as he thought about the girl. Do I text her? Do I call her? How do people do this nowadays? Maybe I should text Sam? No, He’d just laugh at me. By the time he reached his apartment, he decided that he would text her. He entered the apartment and pulled out his phone along with the little bird. After he pulled up the messaging app, he punched in the number and sent a simple message that honestly took him too long to come up with.

B: Hi, I got your note. Would you maybe want to get some coffee? I know a little place near the theater we could go to. My name is Bucky by the way.

He pressed send and when the little delivered message popped up he immediately descended into a panic. He put his phone on the kitchen counter and began frantically pacing around. Alpine, hearing the rapid footsteps, appeared in the kitchen and observed Bucky for a moment. Eventually, she hopped down from the counter and stood in the middle of his walking path, letting out a little meow to further capture his attention. Bucky paused and with a sigh, scooped up Alpine into his arms.

“Alpine, what am I doin’?” I know I didn’t do this right.”

He huffed, running his fingers through her snowy white fur. Alpine just blinked and tilted her head, as if she was asking him to continue. Bucky sank to the floor, pressing his back up against the cabinets, continuing to absent mindedly rub Alpines chin.

“She probably thinks I’m a creep, o-or she knows who I am and just wanted to tell me what a monster I am. Maybe it’s not too late to delete that message..”

Placing Alpine on the ground, Bucky stood to retrieve his phone and his heart stopped when he saw there was a message.

Y: Hi Bucky! My name is Y/n! I would love to get a coffee! Would tomorrow at 9 be ok? What’s the name of the shop?

Bucky started at the phone unblinking. He looked to Alpine, back to his phone, then Alpine again. He remembered the words on the little paper bird before taking a breath and responding.

B: Yeah, 9 is great! The shop is called Joe’s.

Bucky watched as the sent message changed to read and then the three little dots dancing in the bottom left corner before her response appeared on his screen.

Y: Awesome! I will See you at 9 at Joe’s!

Bucky placed his phone down on the counter and looked down at Alpine who was watching him Curiously.

“I have a date tomorrow Apl.”

#bucky x you #bucky fluff #bucky x reader #bucky x female reader #bucky x reader fluff #bucky angst #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes #bucky and alpine #alpine the cat #alpine barnes #bucky

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anonymityisfunwriter · 7 months ago

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The Twin Flame - Epilogue: "The Great War"

"My hand was the one you reached for all throughout the Great War. Always remember, we're burned for better. I vowed I would always be yours, because we survived the Great War..."

Pairing: Sunshine!Reader x Grumpy!Bucky Barnes The Twin Flame Chapter List | The Grumpy x Sunshine Universe

"You can do this. It's fine. You're being silly."

He forces himself to take another deep breath. Anticipation thrums in his veins. It rolls off of him, he almost feels sorry for the poor person he sat next to on the plane.

He's practically shaking with excitement - and has been since he left his apartment back in New York. He can't really remember the last time he felt this excited.

The freshness of the Louisiana air fills his lungs as he drives with the windows down. Back to you. Back to you for the first time in months.

That's what the feeling is, he realizes.

It's the feeling of coming home.

You're right about the sky. It is really blue.

By the time he pulls up to Sarah's home, Bucky can hardly sit still. He hardly has the state of mind to remember to grab his store bought cake from the passenger seat of his rental car.

"Hey!" A familiar voice greets him. Bucky turns away from the car to see Sam's familiar grin beckoning over to him. "You made it!"

"Of course," Bucky breezily replies, the grocery store cake in his hand making it slightly easier to hide his fidgety hands. He tries not to crane his neck around Sam. He tries not to be rude and focus on what Sam's telling him.

In this moment, it's impossible for him. He can feel that inexplicable pull all over again. The ache in his chest slowly subsiding with every step closer to you.

It's almost funny to him. The disciplined solider, the highly trained assassin, the notoriously stoic Bucky Barnes, can hardly keep the giddiness of his face. He can hardly pay attention to his friend.

As Sam talks with his beaming grin and animated gestures, Bucky is sure he's at least faking it well, that Sam has no idea there's only one person Bucky is looking for at this moment.

It's clear that Bucky failed when Sam starts waving his hand in his face. "Um, Bucky?"

Bucky's head snaps back toward Sam. "Huh?"

Sam quirks a brow at Bucky, an unimpressed purse tugging at his lips, "I asked how's it going in New York."

"Oh," Bucky sheepishly exhales with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "It's fine. Same old, same old."

"You are literally not paying attention to a word I'm saying."

"Of course, I am," Bucky promises, once again, craning his neck to look around Sam. "I always listen to what you're saying."

"I think you should shave your head."

Bucky nods, still looking around the party. Still no sign of you. "Good idea."

"And can I have your arm?"

"Mhm..." Bucky hums, his eyes flickering to the house to see if there's any sign of you. "Sure, no problem."

"Stop it," Sarah scoffs, swatting Sam's shoulder.

Bucky takes a momentary break of searching for you, offering a gentle smile to Sarah. "Oh, hey, Sarah, how are you?"

"Good. Keeping busy."

"This is a great turnout. You should be proud of yourselves." He extends the store bought cake he brought to the party, "I almost forgot, I brought this for you guys."

Sam narrows his eyes, "Who are you and what have you done with Bucky?"

"Thanks, Bucky." Sarah nudges her head towards her house. "Hey, would you mind putting this in the kitchen? I wouldn't want it to melt."

"I got -" Sam begins to offer.

"Bucky," Sarah pointedly repeats, nudging her head toward the house again.

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Bucky blurts, still only half catching on to Sarah's innuendo. "I'll just - I'll be right back."

Sarah smiles widely. "Great. Thank you."

He stumbles towards the house before Sam can object again.

And the moment he starts towards that house, he can feel it. He swears he can. He can feel himself being pulled towards the house. Each step makes the ache lessen and lessen. Each step feels like his rib cage is expanding and allowing him his first real breath in months.

He looks at the roof, the night spent holding you in his arms. The flowers that create a gentle waft through the warm summer breeze. Everything feels brighter. Like for the first time, he sees all the hope the world has to offer.

There is no thought to it. His feet carry him up the steps, past the living room, past the dining room, straight to you.

You sigh as you hear the screen door slam shut and footsteps approaching the kitchen.

"Sam, for the last time, the cake will be ready when -" Your words stop dead in their tracks when you turn away from the counter to see who waits in the doorway. Those blue eyes that kept you staring at the sky day in and out. "James..."

A breath lodges in his throat as he takes in the sight of you for the first time in months. The cuts and scrapes, the knuckles bruised like violets, were all but gone. Still, he knew better than most that some scars would never heal.

And yet, you're here. Standing before him. Standing tall. With a smile that could light up this whole town. "Hi."

"Hi."

You chuckle, "You said that already."

"Right," he giggles. He couldn't believe he'd just giggled. He couldn't remember the last time he laughed, let alone giggled like an unburdened spirit. His hand anxiously rubs the back of his neck, "Hi - I mean - it's good to see you. Sorry, I just - I thought about this moment so damn much and I thought I knew what I was gonna say but - It's just - God, I missed you."

Your grin grows even wider. "I missed you too, so, so much."

"How have you - "

You don't wait for him to finish his question. You rush forward, pulling him down towards you. Your lips meet his in pure desperation, you need this like you need to breathe. Your fingers twist around the hair at the nape of his neck as his find your waist. He pulls you flush against him, his fingertips digging into your hips.

Despite how desperate and frenzied the kiss is, there's a sense of relief, of calm, of peace that accompanies it. It feels like you can breathe, a full deep breath after months of treading water.

After months of rebuilding, you've finally found your way back home.

"What a great way of telling me to shut up," Bucky chuckles against your lips. "You should do it again."

"Hold that thought," you sigh against Bucky's mouth.

Bucky quirks an eyebrow at you. "What?"

"AJ, Cass, Get out here..." You look over Bucky's shoulder to just beyond the doorway. "What are you guys doing?"

Sure enough, the two boys appear, meekly shuffling into the kitchen. "Nothing..."

"You're doing nothing? Really?"

"Uh..." Cass stutters out.

You lower yourself to each of the boys, your eyes playfully flickering between the two of them, "So who's gonna tell me what you two are up to?"

"Uncle Sam said he'd give us twenty bucks if we came to bother you," Cass blurts.

"He told us not to tell them!" AJ scolds his brother.

"Oh," you smirk, crossing your arms over your chest. "Did he?"

The boys both look down at their shoes with an apologetic, pouting expression. "We're sorry."

"Oh no, don't be sorry," you assure them. "Did he give you guys 20 dollars each?"

The boys shake their heads. "No."

"How about this? I'll give you guys 20 dollars each if you tell Sam that you saw Bucky going upstairs."

"Each?" they marvel.

"Each."

"Why'd you do that?" Bucky asks as the two boys scurry off to find Sam.

"You'll see."

Sam runs in only moments later, skidding to a halt when he sees you and Bucky standing in the kitchen. "Oh... hey, guys. What's up?"

You cross your arms over you chest, your lips pursing in distaste. "Nothing, just had an interesting conversation with AJ and Cass."

"Oh, okay," Sam excessively nods, feigning innocence.

"Sending children to spy on us," you admonish, tsking once. "That's low."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sam lies, defiantly lifting his chin.

"They sold you out, Sam."

Sam's mouth gapes slightly. "For how much?"

"20 bucks each."

"Damn it," Sam hisses. "You know, I used to be able to bribe the both of them with a 5."

You point to the front door. "Get out."

Sam narrows his eyes, flicking two fingers between his gaze and Bucky's. "Fine... but I'm watching you."

"You know, I'm starting to get why you don't like Sam," you joke.

Bucky groans in relief, resting a hand on your waist. "It's about time."

You pat his chest once, your hand sliding down his arm to his hand. You lace your fingers with his and jut your chin in toward the back door. "Come on, let's go out back. I wanna show you something."

"What do you wanna show me?"

"You'll see," you coyly reply.

You lead him out the back door, following a path of carefully paved stone lined with wildflowers of all kinds. The smell of the flowers waft through the summer breeze once more. And just like before, the day seems brighter with you by his side.

As the path comes to an end, it splays out into an open circular garden brimming with vibrant colors, brimming with life.

In the very center, a willow tree with full, cascading leaves, standing tall surrounded by the most striking flowers he's ever seen.

You'd spent months working on it. A way to forgive. A way to say goodbye. A way to honor those fallen. And then finally, a way to move forward carrying the love and grief of your found family. "They're-"

"Poppies," Bucky finishes for you. The most strikingly red poppies he'd ever seen. The flower of remembrance, if Bucky remembers correctly.

He wasn't sure if it was the sun or simply the high of being so close to you after so long, but they almost looked like they were glowing in the afternoon light.

His breath catches in his throat. The stones beneath his feet merge into a singular path. Still holding his hand, you guide him around the garden.

While he wasn't by any stretch of the imagination a flower person, he was struck by the vivid blues of the small path of flowers at the very end of the path.

The same color of that bright blue afternoon sky. The sky that reminded you of your twin flame. No matter how far apart, no matter how much time passed, he'd always be there. As unwavering, as bright eyed as the vast blue sky. "Those are forget me nots."

"It's beautiful," he whispers.

"It's a memory garden."

"You did all this?"

"Well, Sam helped with the stones and that little table over there, but I - I wanted to do it alone. I wanted to mourn them. I even picked different flowers for all them."

"You took the bad and turned it into something good."

It felt like a lifetime ago that you said those words to him. Your silent vow to your caretaker - that you would leave the world better than you entered it, that you would take the bad and turn it into something good.

It was the same vow you made to each and every member of your family, whether they were gone or simply lost, that you would turn the ache of grief into something good.

"You remember that?"

"Of course I did. I remember everything about you."

The words leave his lips so casually, like there is no other choice, all roads lead back to you.

You find yourself momentarily at a loss for words, struck by Bucky's words. He really did remember. Those little, fleeting, stolen moments really meant as much to him as it did to you.

"We can sit here," you manage to rasp out, gesturing to the wooden picnic table at the end of the cobblestone path. "It'll be at least a few minutes before Sam finds us out here."

His hand rests on the center of the picnic table as he takes a seat across from you. "So?"

Your hand slides towards his, but you don't hold his hand. You stroke his fingers, circling and toying with his middle finger until you move onto the next finger. It's your habit, Bucky knows from seeing you twiddle and twist your fingers for years, but instead of reaching for your hand, you reach for his. You use him to ground yourself.

You smile up at him with a small shrug of your shoulders, "So?"

"I guess I'm a little curious," Bucky wonders. Sure, you hadn't completely lost touch with Bucky in these months, but you both gave each other the space to work things out. "Things seem like they're really working out."

"I'm hopeful."

"Me too." He can't remember the last time he said that word: hopeful. He doesn't remember the last time he truly, genuinely felt that either. Sitting here, with you, basking in the sun, that's exactly the feeling that swells in his ribcage. Hope. Hope with more on the horizon.

"Yeah... that lawyer, Matt, is great. He really helped us out. I know it's not over yet, but I think we're finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. They called me to testify in front of the Senate next week."

His shoulders tense as he hears the words leave your mouth in such a casual tone. "Wait, what?"

"Matt thinks it'll work in our favor," you explain. "He says it's no good hiding anymore. That - that people think I'm a hero, that they'll take my side."

Bucky's eyebrows furrow, his jaw squaring as he takes it all in. "You're putting a lot of trust into this guy, aren't you?"

"Sounds like someone is a little jealous," Sam sarcastically mutters from behind Bucky.

"Guess he found us again," Bucky grumbles.

You reach across the table to grab Bucky's hand. "Don't be jealous. Matt's a good guy, but I won't lie, there was something a little off about him."

Bucky's eyebrows pull in. "Like what?"

You shrug. "I don't know."

"Maybe it's the fact that he's a blind vigilante that wanders around Hell's Kitchen on his off time," Sam deadpans, taking a seat beside you.

"No..." You shake your head, your mouth twisting as you try to place what exactly you found so strange about Matt Murdock. "I don't think that was it. I think it was his friend. He was nice, but what kind of name is Foggy?"

"What kind of name is Bucky?" Sam counters.

"I like his name, thank you very much," you retort.

Bucky can barely appreciate your defense of name as he tries to process everything that you and Sam have just thrown at him. "So you're telling me that you two have spent all this time with some vigilante-slash-lawyer and a guy named Foggy?"

"Exactly," you and Sam simultaneously reply.

Bucky takes a deep breath in, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I forgot how exhausting it is keeping up with you guys."

Sam snorts, "And that's not even the half of it."

"What more could there possibly be?"

"You're forgetting about Karli," Sam points out.

"Right," Bucky nods. "So where is she these days?"

"That's what Joaquin was doing after everything that happened in New York," Sam replies. "Apparently, it's not easy to find a safe place for one of the world's most wanted fugitive."

Bucky scoffs, "No kidding."

"She's somewhere safe. Somewhere we they can help her, teach her."

"I've visited her a few times. It's pretty cool. They call it a school for gifted kids, and it's actually like a real school," you explain, a look of wonder and awe shining in your eye. "They've got teachers to help with the powers. There's other kids that are like her. It's - it's the kind of place I would've really liked to grow up in."

That only leads him to yet another one of your many loose ends left to tie up. "Speaking of, no word from Fury?"

You take a large gulp of air. "Sorta."

"Really?" Bucky gapes.

"Well, we still have no idea where he is or how to get in touch with him. Plus, he's as cryptic as ever."

You sit on the dock, palms turned over in your lap, timing your breathing with the lapping waves below your feet. Sam clears his throat, "I have something for you."

Your shut eyes furrow at him, "Sam, I swear if it's another self help book-"

"Will you just look?"

You creak an eye open to see a thick, white envelope in Sam's hands, "What is that?"

"I don't know. It just showed up here, but look." You take the envelope from Sam, looking closely at the crisp white paper. On the corner, emblazoned on the envelope were the initials N.J.F.

"Do you think..?"

"I wouldn't put it past him. He was always a cryptic asshole," Sam shrugs. "I'll just give you a minute."

"No," you stop him. Though you were both at fault for Sam's absence on the day you returned to the place from before, you wanted him here for this. You wanted him here with you. You were ready to rebuild your found family once more. "Stay with me, please."

He smiles down at you, "I'll stay."

Both you and Sam wait with bated breath as you carefully tear the envelope open. On the inside resides a manila envelope with hundreds of pages neatly tucked inside.

"What is that?"

"I think it's your file," Sam replies. "I recognize it from when Fury first asked me to be your handler. It was a hell of a lot thinner back then."

"Do you know what's in it?"

"No idea. He showed me the first few pages and that's it. The rest was top secret."

You flip through pages and pages. You immediately recognize the handwriting occupying most of the pages, the handwriting of Nick Fury himself.

Pages and pages of his writings. All of them marked with his own thoughts, things he never told you, things you never knew.

'Intelligent... lacks even the most basic social skills.'

'Eager to learn. Even more eager to help.'

'Pierce has dubbed her SHIELD's greatest asset. The antithesis to the fist of HYDRA...'

"The fist of HYDRA?" you ask.

"The Winter Solider - they called him the fist of HYDRA. Funny how that worked out."

The next line that catches your eye, you read aloud, "I fear for her. I fear she's too soft for it all. Every day, I come to the realization that she is not built for this line of work. Every day, I fear she has less and less of a choice."

There's something about that line in particular that hurts more than anything else. Nick was the one person that believed in you from the moment he met you. And even he doubted you could handle it all. "He didn't think I could handle it."

"No, he just thought you were meant for more," Sam objects.

You offer a small smile at Sam as you continue flipping to through the file. "Why do you think he sent this? Why now?"

"Look at that, on the last page," Sam points out.

"It's a note," you whisper.

"I'm still rooting for you. Even from afar." - Nicholas J. Fury.

"So you haven't talked to him."

"Not exactly," you admit. "He sent some old files over."

"He made contact by sending you his old junk," Bucky surmises.

"I think it was his way of reminding me that I'm not alone, that he's still here, somewhere."

At least, that's what you believed. You believed that in his own Nick Fury way, he cared about you. In his own way, he might've seen you as a daughter as much as you saw him as a father.

And someday, you hoped you could tell him that.

That only reminded you of yet another thing you had yet to fill Bucky in. You weren't even sure how to tell him, or if he'd look at you and think you were crazy.

In the days after coming home, you spent hours ruminating over those flashes of memories. Memories of Tony, Natasha, and Steve. A moment in the Compound that you were sure never actually happened, but felt so intimately real.

It was Steve's words reminding you that Nick Fury cared about you that made receiving that package from Nick easier.

You decided that it was real. Every part of it. Somehow. Some way. The universe had gifted you one final goodbye, one last moment with those you held so dear.

It was as real as the friendship you and Tony had despite those dark moments. It was as real as Steve's familiar scent filling your nose as he apologized for hurting you. As real as the way Natasha held you while telling you that you changed Karli's story.

You didn't know how or why, but you were gifted one last moment with each of them. And there was nothing more real than the love you would always have for your found family.

You decide that's a story for another time.

You smile at Sam, then at Bucky, "Things really worked out for us, didn't they?"

"It's about damn time," Bucky grunts.

The Louisiana air fills your lungs as you look up to the sun, basking in the feeling of the warmth and sunshine bathing you. "I'll never get tired of the Sunshine."

Bucky watches you for a long moment. It was a sight to behold. Watching you stare up at the sky once more. He couldn't count how many times he'd prayed to anyone who would listen that he would get to witness that one last time.

All the times he saw you stare at the floor, bogged down by everything that tried to dim your brightness. He always wished you would stare up at the sky just one more time.

In his experience, people always looked worse in the light. People shied away from the light for fear of seeing all the cracks in the foundation, all the darkness that lurked beneath. You didn't have that problem.

And for someone like him, someone deprived of light for so long, he was glad that he could finally bask in the warmth. He was glad he finally stepped into the daylight.

As you sat before him, head thrown back, a smile planted on your face, he swears he's never seen you look more free, more at peace. He would never get tired of Sunshine either. "Me neither."

Sam gently pats your shoulder, rising from his seat, "Well, now that we're all caught up, we should head back before Sarah starts a search party."

"Why don't you go and we'll be right behind you?" Bucky sarcastically offers.

"Ha, ha," Sam stiltedly laughs, shooting Bucky a glare. "Not a chance."

"Come on, James." You extend a hand to Bucky, nudging your chin towards the house. "That way we can tell Sarah that Sam was using AJ and Cass to spy on us."

Bucky takes your hand, smirking at Sam, "That's a great idea."

"So this is how it's gonna be now? You and Bucky... and Sam?" Sam calls as you and Bucky start walking back to the house. "You guys are terrible friends!"

"Did you hear something?" you sarcastically ask Bucky.

He smirks over his shoulder. "No, not a thing."

"You guys could at least wait for me!" Sam calls as you three walk back through the house. "You know, I thought it would take longer for you two to forget about me."

"There you guys are," Sarah playfully exclaims as walk down the porch steps. "I was about to send a search party for you."

"Told you so," Sam smugly remarks.

"Would it be morally wrong to push him off the dock?" Bucky audibly wonders.

"Hmm..." You rest your hand on his arm, guiding him away from Sam and the dock, "I want to say no, but I'm leaning towards yes."

The day passes with a lightness that none of you have felt in quite some time. And while you all know that all of your problems hadn't been solved quite yet, there is no foreboding sense of doom building along the horizon. It feels right.

For the first time in a long time, you feel whole.

Sitting across from Sam, beside Bucky, gorging on food, the smell of the fresh water and the sounds of kids running around, it feels like you're finally in the right place at the right time. And perhaps most importantly, with people you could call yours.

You rest your head on Bucky's shoulder. "So what about you?"

Though he'd deny it for the rest of his life, Sam smiles at the sight of peace that flashes on Bucky's face as you curl against him.

Bucky hums thoughtfully, "Honestly, it's been quiet. Mostly therapy. I told Yuri about his son."

"How did he take it?"

"About as well as you'd expect," Bucky solemnly responds, his mouth twisting as he recalls the heartbroken look on Yuri's face when he told him about his son's death. "But he knows, he doesn't have to wonder anymore."

You lace your fingers with his, gently squeezing his hand, "I knew you would do the right thing. You always do."

You end the day sitting beside Bucky on the dock you'd spent so many days sitting and staring up at the sky wishing for this very moment. The moment that brought you back to him, finally back to him.

While flashes of the battle may always come back to you in a blur, you could also see all the light the future held for you. At last, all of you, all of him intertwined.

And in this moment in time, your little found family, you had all finally found your peace.

As the sun sets over the horizon, you rest your head on Bucky's shoulder, melted into his embrace. "Sometimes, I can't believe it."

Bucky looks down at you. "What?"

"That we survived. That we're here. Together. For a long time, I thought I'd lost you. I really thought I'd lost you."

"You couldn't lose me," he promises. He stares at you in awe as you watch the sun sink beneath the horizon. And in that moment, he knows, he's finally found his way back to you. His soul, his heart had found its rightful place in this world. And whatever the future might hold, at least he'd have you by his side. "Not then. Not now. Not ever. It's you and me."

"Ahem..." Sam clears his throat from behind where you and Bucky sit.

You sigh, rolling your eyes. "And Sam too."

"If you insist," Bucky grunts.

"It's me and you." It's more than a promise, it's an unspoken vow. A vow to always find your way back to him. A vow to reach for his hand even in times of darkness. A vow to always be his.

You intertwine your fingers with his, squeezing his hand three times, "It's me and you."

Bucky Barnes Masterlist Inspired by Taylor Swift Series

And that's (officially) a wrap on The Twin Flame. Thank you all so much for joining me on this journey. I love you all. 💛 (Stay tuned, dear readers, I've got some extras coming your way…)

As always, let me know what you think! Reblogs and comments are always appreciated! 💛

Taglist: @marianita195 @meli18gonzalez @ludicbouquetfromearth @matchat3a @famousbreadcherryblossomsstuff @valoraxx @blue786sworld @buckyandgeraltsupremacy @geminigengar @ansaturn @ecolle @lexhalstead3 @ybflkmj @mediocre-daydreams @shanye1112 @thegirlnextdoorssister @toomanyfanficsbruh @moonlightreader649 @breathtaking-cynthia @mirikusashes@beans-and-toast @niyahcoca @katiechikin @elxvrr @antiheroxsblog @infamouslyclumsy @krissydclayton93 @buckysbarne @deadheadwbedhead @qualitygiantshoepsychic @whitexwolfxx310 @getosprettyboy @matchat3a @weallhaveadestiny @mostlymarvelgirl @honeydew3064 @michealharrypotter @mrs-bucky-barnes-73 @withyoutilltheendoftheline @the-photo-hoe @rae-nna @sarachabeans1@double-shot-of-tequila @spookyparadisesheep @lunaalovesyouu @daisy-loves-bucky @roseproseposts @theoraekenslover @king814318 @maybesomedaytho @carlie-babes99 @sunshinechikin @as-white-as-snow-love @melala1030 @badasswlthafatass @armystay89 @multiversefanfics @cherrysscinema @breathlesspieceofdeath @ravenn-darkholme @bxckybxrnes24

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gl1tchr · 2 months ago

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Gotham City Limits Rogue Bios

These are the same little lore dumps from my original post, but as text so they can be more easily read/accessible!!! Since it's huge blocks of text, I'm sticking them all under a divider, and I'll update this post when I finish more rogues!!

Jonathan Crane, "Scarecrow"

Jonathan Carter Crane was born and raised in Louisiana by his heavily religious grandmother after the passing of his parents. As a child, her fire and brimstone preaching struck immense fear in him, especially when she would claim his mother was burning in Hell for being Protestant and not Catholic. As he grew older, he was not swayed to belief by her teachings, and would silently reject the faith while he still relied on her. At 23, Crane received his Bachelor’s in Psychology and one of his professors would pull some strings to get him into a Master’s program at Gotham University. Crane would bury himself in his education, and the study of the human mind would become his one comfort in life. He went on to earn his Master’s and PhD in Psychology, deciding to remain in Gotham to teach. While he attempted to find contentment in his life in Gotham, Crane found himself increasingly obsessed with fear, which affected his teaching, hitting a rut in his 30s.

When a mugger attempted to rob him one night, Crane pulled a gun on him. The mugger revealed he was not armed, and only had a flashlight in his pocket to look like a gun. Crane grabbed the man and forced the gun to his temple, taking immense joy in the terror he had caused the young criminal. After setting him loose, Crane came to the realization that he was meant to instill fear in others the way his grandmother had done to him, and became the Scarecrow. He would don his frightening costume, inspired by undertakers, highwaymen, and, of course, scarecrows, to terrorize criminals - or anyone he deemed worthy of punishment - with his signature Fear Toxin. This outlet has allowed him to continue teaching undistracted, though it won’t be long before his double lives converge and he can no longer separate Jonathan Crane from the Scarecrow.

Edward Nashton, "The Riddler"

Edward Theodore Nashton is a Gotham native, the lone son to parents who had very little affection for one another before he was even born. When he was, their relationship became even more tumultuous, leading to a divorce in Edward’s childhood. While his mother remained the same, his father deteriorated into severe alcoholism and would abuse him both emotionally and physically. He tried to tell his mother about the abuse that occurred when he went to his father’s, but she didn’t listen, and nothing was ever done. For much of his life, Edward would feel he simply wasn’t heard. In his teens, Edward began toying with cybernetics and discovered a knack for programming. The more he learned, his pace increased, finding it difficult to fill his time with as much stimulation as he possibly could to quell the volume of his mind. In his 20s, Edward would work for a short time at a cybersecurity company before becoming bored again. He would attend college at Harvard, earning his Master’s in Business Administration, specializing in finance. This allowed him to work freelance, offering accounting to whomever he wished to work with. Unfortunately, he would find himself unsatisfied once again, feeling as though the things he was doing weren’t enough.

Edward eventually realized he could be selling the information he learned from his work, making him an incredible asset for insider dealings. Much of his early criminal behavior was white-collar crime, however, as he became entrenched in the lifestyle, he began dealing with more and more shady individuals, including organized crime. Realizing he would need a more legitimate source of income to cover his tracks, Edward got his teaching certificate and began working at Gotham University teaching finance. In this way, he has been able to control a great deal of Gotham’s criminal underbelly from the comfort of his classroom, and with the safety of anonymity.

Jervis Tetch, "Mad Hatter"

Jervis Benjamin Tetch is the youngest of seven siblings, and the son of two professors of science at Oxford University. While his older siblings excelled in the sciences, Tetch was drawn to the arts. While his parents didn’t outright shame him for this, they showed little interest in encouraging his creative endeavors, often drilling him about the difficulties those in the arts faced in having successful careers. Feeling as though he would never get the attention he wanted from his family, he decided to finish his studies abroad in the states. With his grades, he was able to get a full-ride scholarship to Gotham University, where he would be enrolled for only two years.

During his time in college, Tetch would fall into a deep depression. Feeling isolated with no support system, he turned to recreational drug use to get through school. This drug use would fuel a bizarre infatuation with the story Alice in Wonderland, which he used for inspiration for many of his projects for class. He would also begin acting strangely, his classmates reporting he’d become oddly talkative and outgoing in the weeks leading up to the horrific murders he would commit. Allison Wells would be the frequent target of his odd behavior, reporting to several of her friends she felt unsafe around him. Eventually, Allison would inform Jervis she was seeing someone, and her friends would confront him outside of class demanding that he leave her alone. After a particularly aggressive episode, Jervis would drug and kidnap Allison, her boyfriend, and her three friends, holding them captive in an abandoned building near the school for several days before slowly picking them off, ending with Allison. Jervis is currently serving multiple life sentences in Arkham for quintuple homicide.

#gotham city limits #jonathan crane #edward nashton #jervis tetch #scarecrow #riddler #mad hatter

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whitesinhistory · 3 months ago

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A post shared by I Dissent 🇵🇸🔻🍉 (@katie.blue.is.the.feeling)

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So the Republicans are trying to shut down the government to damage their own states so that they make the Democrats look bad before the election… Is that the game plan they’re going with?

Here is the full list of Republicans who voted against the stopgap bill to prevent a government shutdown in September 2024:

Indiana: James R. Baird, Jim Banks, Rudy Yakym III, Victoria Spartz

Ohio: Troy Balderson, Warren Davidson, Jim Jordan, Max L. Miller

Florida: Aaron Bean, Gus M. Bilirakis, Kat Cammack, Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills, Bill Posey, Michael Waltz, Daniel Webster

Texas: Michael Cloud, Tony Gonzales, Lance Gooden, Morgan Luttrell, Nathaniel Moran, Chip Roy, Keith Self, Randy Weber Sr., Beth Van Duyne, Roger Williams

Arizona: Andy Biggs, Elijah Crane, Paul A. Gosar, Debbie Lesko, David Schweikert

North Carolina: Dan Bishop

Colorado: Lauren Boebert

Illinois: Mike Bost, Mary E. Miller, Darin LaHood

Oklahoma: Josh Brecheen

Tennessee: Tim Burchett, John W. Rose, Andrew Ogles

Missouri: Eric Burlison

Georgia: Andrew S. Clyde, Mike Collins, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Richard McCormick

Utah: John R. Curtis

South Carolina: Jeff Duncan, Russell Fry, Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman, William R. Timmons IV

Kansas: Ron Estes, Tracey Mann

Mississippi: Mike Ezell, Michael Guest, Trent Kelly

Iowa: Randy Feenstra

Minnesota: Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach

Idaho: Russ Fulcher

Virginia: Bob Good, H. Morgan Griffith

Wyoming: Harriet M. Hageman

Maryland: Andy Harris

Louisiana: Clay Higgins

Pennsylvania: John Joyce, Scott Perry

West Virginia: Alexander X. Mooney

California: Tom McClintock

Kentucky: Thomas Massie

Montana: Matthew M. Rosendale Sr.

New York: Claudia Tenney

Wisconsin: Thomas P. Tiffany, Derrick Van Orden

New Jersey: Jefferson Van Drew

Alabama: Barry Moore, Gary J. Palmer

Arkansas: Bruce Westerman

Why is this important to me? I would have been out of a job. Government contractors would rather cut you and rehire you for less pay or benefits. Also, if I miss 1 or 2 paychecks I will be homeless.

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camisoledadparis · 2 months ago

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THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … October 29

Iolaus and Heracles mosaic

1000+ BC – Iolaus was a Theban divine hero, son of Iphicles and Automedusa. He was famed for being Heracles's nephew and for helping with some of his Labors, and also for being one of the Argonauts. Through his daughter Leipephilene he was considered to have fathered the mythic and historic line of the kings of Corinth.

As a son of Iphicles, Iolaus was a nephew of Heracles. He often acted as Heracles' charioteer and companion. He was popularly regarded as Heracles's lover, and the shrine to him in Thebes was a place where male couples worshiped and made vows.

Iolaus (L) and Heracles (R) united by Eros

The Theban gymnasium was also named after him, and the Iolaeia, an athletic festival consisting of gymnastic and equestrian events, was held yearly in Thebes in his honor. The victors at the Iolaea were crowned with garlands of myrtle.

Iolaus provided essential help to Heracles in his battle against the Hydra, his second labor. Seeing that Heracles was being overwhelmed by the multi-headed monster (the Lernaean Hydra), who grew two heads in place of each one cut off, Iolaus sprang to help, cauterizing each neck as Heracles beheaded it.

1618 – Sir Walter Raleigh was executed on this date (b.1552). The famed English writer, poet, courtier and explorer was responsible for establishing the second English colony in the New World (after Newfoundland was established by Sir Humphrey Gilbert nearly one year previously, August 5 1583), on June 4, 1584, at Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina.

The question for us here is this: Was Sir Walter Raleigh Christopher Marlowe's lover? Anything is possible, especially when so little is known about both. For many years, this provocative possibility has been suggested, even though it is based entirely on speculation. Marlowe wrote a poem titled, "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," which begins with the charming invitation "Come live with me and be my love." A twin poem, "The Nymph's Reply to The Shepherd," appeared shortly thereafter, and there is little doubt that it was written by Raleigh out of love for Marlowe.

1931 – Clyde Hicks of North Carolina (official fucker!) was stationed in Hawaii, arrested on sodomy charges and sentenced to six years in prison. He was transferred to Alcatraz where he was put into solitary confinement for passing a note to another man. He was released in 1935.

Wayne Winterrowd (L) & Joe Eck

1941 – Wayne Winterrowd, American gardening expert and designer who wrote extensively on the subject, was born (d.2010). The garden Winterrowd and his partner built covered 7 acres at their Vermont home and became a tourist attraction to visitors from around the world.

Winterrowd, who was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, started gardening when he was three years old and read widely on the subject while he was growing up. Visits to an aunt who lived near Lake Pontchartrain helped him learn about gardening and he developed an interest in tropical plants on family trips to Florida and Cuba.

While teaching Jacobean literature at Tufts University in 1969, he first met Joe Eck, and they lived together in Denmark where Winterrowd had earned a Fulbright scholarship.

Together with Eck, Winterrowd learned as much as they could about gardening and earned a living by teaching English, French and Latin at area elementary and high schools. They spent the 1960s and 1970s as part of the homegrown food movement.

Moving from a farmhouse in Pepperell, Massachusetts to Readsboro, Vermont, Winterrowd and Eck devoted themselves to creating the North Hill garden, in which they grew Himalayan blue poppies, Japanese dogwoods, locust trees, magnolia, and stewartias. They cleared the hilly wooded land they had acquired, planting a diverse variety of plants, including as many as 100,000 daffodil bulbs. The garden drew visitors from around the world to their home in Southern Vermont near the Massachusetts border.They also grew fresh vegetables and raised dairy cows, pigs and poultry. Roger Swain, host of the Public Broadcasting Service television series The Victory Garden said "Their garden is of such quality and diversity that it rivals any in Europe. But there is nothing derivative about North Hill; it is American gardening at its best", with Fergus Garrett crediting Winterrowd and Eck with being "one of the driving forces in North American horticulture."

Winterrowd and Eck traveled across the United States and Canada to design customized gardens for their customers.

Winterrowd and Eck were joined in a civil union in 2000 and were married in 2009 after Vermont legalized same-sex marriage. Winterrowd died at age 68 on September 17, 2010, at his home in Readsboro, Vermont due to heart failure. He was survived by Eck and by a son they adopted.

The Swiss Guards in traditional uniform.

1954 – Alois Estermann (d.1998) was a senior officer of the Swiss Guard who was murdered in his apartment in the Vatican City.

Estermann was born in Gunzwil, in the Canton of Lucerne. In 1998 he was appointed as Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard.

According to official Vatican statements, Estermann and his Venezuelan wife, Gladys Meza Romero, were killed in May 1998 by a young Swiss Guard Cédric Tornay, who later committed suicide. Estermann, formerly acting commander of the Swiss Guard, had been confirmed in his position the same day. Tornay had earlier been reprimanded for breaches of discipline and had been passed over for a medal routinely awarded to Guards after three years of service.

The British journalist, John Follain, undertook extensive interviews with key witnesses to the murders to inform his book, City of Secrets: The Truth behind the murders at the Vatican (2006). Follain dismisses speculation that Estermann, his wife, and Tornay were murdered by an external fourth party or that Estermann was a spy for the former East German government.

Follain's research indicated that Cédric Tornay did indeed kill his commander, and his commander's wife before turning the gun on himself. Tornay found the running of the Swiss Guard archaic, and resented the dominance of the Swiss German majority contingent. Tornay turned to Alois Estermann for affection, and enjoyed a short homosexual affair. Their relationship deteriorated into acrimony as Tornay realised that Estermann had betrayed him with another guard. Estermann's close links to the Opus Dei movement, and his final refusal to award the benemeriti medal for 3-years service led to further frustration and Tornay's ultimate decision to kill Estermann.

Pope John Paul II personally celebrated Estermann's Funeral Mass in the church of Saints Martin and Sebastian.

1985 – Gio Benitez is an American broadcast journalist and correspondent for ABC News, who appears on Good Morning America, World News Tonight, 20/20, and Nightline. He also hosts the Fusion version of Nightline. He has won two television news Emmy awards.

Benitez was born in Miami, Florida to Cuban parents. He is a 2004 graduate of Miami Coral Park High School. In 2008, Benitez graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Sociology from Florida International University. He is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Benitez joined ABC News in 2013. He has covered a wide range of stories for the network, including the Boston Marathon bombing; The Alabama child held hostage underground in an eight-day standoff; the American mother stuck in a Mexican jail and nearly every major snow storm that swept the nation during the winter of 2013.

Before joining ABC News in 2013, he was a reporter for WFOR, the CBS owned-and-operated TV station in Miami, where he covered the 2012 Presidential election and reported extensively on the Trayvon Martin case.

Benitez married longtime partner Tommy DiDario in front of family, friends, and ABC News colleagues inside the historic Walton House in Miami, Florida in April 2016.

Gio Benitez with husband Tommy DiDario

1989 – Under the headline "Peek-a-Boo," New York's Outweek magazine publishes a list of 66 celebrities and public figures who are allegedly gay but closeted. The article marks the beginning of controversial "outing" by some gay activists.

1995 – On this date in Iran, a 31 year old man was convicted of "ugly and improper conduct" and sentenced to twenty lashes for cross-dressing.

1997 – U.S. Congressman Barney Frank introduced a bill calling for the extension of health insurance coverage to the domestic partners of US federal employees through the federal employee health program.

2011 – Died: Axel Axgil (b.1915), Danish gay activist. Axel and Eigil Axgil (b.1922 - d.1995) were a longtime couple. They were the first gay couple to enter into a registered partnership anywhere in the world following Denmark's legalisation of same-sex partnership registration in 1989, a landmark legislation which they were instrumental in bringing about. They adopted the shared surname, Axgil, a combination of their given names, as an expression of their commitment.

Axel, born Axel Lundahl-Madsen, and Eigil, born Eigil Eskildsen, inspired by the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights, together with several friends, founded F-48 or Forbundet af 1948 (The Association of 1948), Denmark's first gay rights organization. By 1951, F-48's membership had grown to 1,339 and there were branches in Sweden and Norway. In 1985, F-48 became the Danish National Association of Gays and Lesbians (Landsforeningen for Bøsser og Lesbiske, Forbundet af 1948 or LBL). The couple launched a magazine, Vennen (The Friend).

In 1989, Denmark became the first nation in the world to recognize domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. On October 1, 1989, the Axgils and 10 other Danish couples were married by Tom Ahlberg, the deputy mayor of Copenhagen, in the city hall, accompanied by worldwide media attention. The Axgils had been a couple for 40 years.

Eigil Axgil died on September 22, 1995 at the age of 73. Axel Axgil died on October 29, 2011 at the age of 96.

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noirapocalypto · 8 months ago

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ᴏᴄ ᴅɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴᴀʀʏ & ɴᴀᴠɪɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ

─── ᴀꜱ ᴅᴜꜱᴋ ꜰᴀʟʟꜱ

Set in the futuristic year of 2077--we follow the stories of various individuals from all backgrounds and origins, as they navigate living and surviving among gang wars, shady corporate dealings, and seedy, supernatural underground networks.

Genre: Urban Fantasy | Cyberpunk | Horror Sources: Cyberpunk 2077 | True Blood | Original Concepts

✧ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɪɴ ᴄᴀꜱᴛ ✧

SVLEM | 29 ✦ Warlock ✦ Rapper, Music Producer ✦ Black Mage Records, The Hales

lore | vp | aesthetic

Judah DuBois | 30 ✦ Demon ✦ CEO of Argent Media ✦ The Dubois

lore | vp | aesthetic

Embry Ellis Knight | 32 ✦ Lycan ✦ Smuggler, Mercenary ✦ The Knights

lore | vp | aesthetic

Paolo Velasquez | 28 ✦ Lycan ✦ Mercenary, Drug Dealer ✦ Independent

lore | vp | aesthetic

Paola Velasquez | 28 ✦ Lycan ✦ Mercenary ✦ Independent

lore | vp | aesthetic

Renato Ventura | 31 ✦ Werewolf ✦ Gang Leader ✦ [ gang name pending ]

lore | vp | aesthetic

✧ ꜱᴜᴘᴘᴏʀᴛɪɴɢ ᴄᴀꜱᴛ ✧

Casey Hale ✦ Bastien 'Baz' Clermont ✦ Alec 'Tyrant' LeBlanc ✦ Darcy Hale ✦ Silas Hale ✦ Frida Montoya ✦ Amirah ✦ Beckett Hale ✦ Archer Crane ✦ Avis Hale-Crane ✦ Noah Hale ✦ Maeve Hale ✦ Shay Morrissey ✦ Elliot Crane

✧ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅʙᴜɪʟᴅɪɴɢ & ʟᴏʀᴇ ✧

Settings ≫ Angel City ✦ Republic of Texas ✦ Houston ✦ North Cal ✦ New Orleans ✦ Louisiana

Locations ≫ The Woods ✦ Hale Estate ✦ Academy of Magics ✦ The Bayous ✦ The Ranch

Beings ≫ Witches ✦ Lycans ✦ Demons ✦ Fae ✦ Sirens

Demon Bloodlines ≫ The DuBois ✦ The LeBlancs ✦ The Clermonts

Covens ≫ The Hales ✦ Wildhearts

Wolf Packs ≫ The Knights ✦ The Cranes

Labels & Collectives ≫ Black Mage Records

Street Gangs ≫ [ To Be Added ]

✧ ᴀʟᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱᴇꜱ & ᴛɪᴍᴇʟɪɴᴇꜱ ✧

╰┈➤ ─── ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪʟʟᴏᴡꜱ ᴡᴇᴇᴘ

The Realm of Four Seasons has been thrown into political turmoil as the crown has suddenly fallen and the throne remains empty. Several Houses of Nobility vie for the title of King or Queen of the Four Realms, while others scheme, plot and fight for the survival of their legacies. As the noble lords and ladies contend for power, the commonfolk struggle to live in a world where magic and supernatural forces thrive alongside senseless wars of greed and destruction.

Genre: High Fantasy | Dark Fantasy Sources: A Song of Ice and Fire | Original Ideas

── ʟᴏʀᴇ Lands ≫ [ To Be Added ]

Nobility ≫ House Hale ✦ House DuBois

Holds ≫ Wintersun ✦ Frostvale ✦ Springtide ✦ Suncrest ✦ Autumn Song

╰┈➤ ─── ᴡʜᴏ ꜱᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴏɴ ꜰɪʀᴇ

[ Plot WIP ]

Genre: Post Apocalyptic | Cyberpunk Sources: The Walking Dead | Fallout | Original Ideas

#blogkeeping #oc dictionary #pinned

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swirlingyouintomypoems · 3 months ago

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I wasn’t tagged by anyone, but I love these so I had to :)

*picture of that one Marina tweet in the reblog for those of us who don’t know what I’m talking about

No pressure tags: @thedelicatearcher @long-lost-soul @statecfgrace @burningreddaylight @cadillacjohn + anyone who wants to!

I missed the y in Italy every ignore this it’s too late now😭

#lilly talks #tag game #polls #tumblr polls

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rapeculturerealities · 1 year ago

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Idaho Banned Abortion. Then It Turned Down Supports for Pregnancies and Births. — ProPublica

Idaho legislators disbanded a state committee that investigated the root causes of maternal deaths, making it the only state in the nation with no such mortality review.

They allowed two bills to die that would have put Idaho on the same track as nearly every other state with abortion restrictions — including Florida, Kentucky and Texas — by extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months. Idaho’s Medicaid coverage ends two months after birth, the minimum under federal law.

They turned down $36 million in federal grants to support child care this summer, while other states with new abortion restrictions — Alabama, Louisiana and Missouri among them — made investments in early childhood education and day care. Idaho lawmakers at the time attributed the decision to a pending audit of a different batch of grants.

Democrats generally support these kinds of measures, but Idaho Republicans dominate the state capitol and therefore control which bills move forward.

Rep. Brent Crane, a longtime Republican leader who chairs the House State Affairs Committee, said GOP lawmakers last year had hoped to put forward bills to improve health care and support for kids and families after the Supreme Court struck down federal protections for abortion rights. They instead got bogged down in debate over exceptions to the abortion ban.

#Idaho #Abortion #reproductive rights #reproductive health #reproductive justice

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tinylongwing · 6 months ago

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top five birdiest locations you've been to?

Oooh good question! I don't have like, hard numbers on these so they're not super well ranked except for by vibes.

First is NE Queensland, Australia. I did a semester abroad there in undergrad and my god the sheer number of new birds all around! I saw so many absolute treasures! From birds of paradise like Victoria's Riflebird, to absolute icons like the Galah and the Southern Cassowary. 10/10 bird destination.

Second I'll put southern Nicaragua. All the diversity of Costa Rica, with birds like Scarlet Macaw, King Vulture, and Keel-billed Toucan. Hundreds of amazing species. Absolutely unforgettable. I'm so thankful that I've been able to work there on and off over the years. I've traveled most of the country but the southern portion has the highest bird diversity from what I've found.

Third, let's go the US Southeast. I think generally it's accepted that this has the highest bird diversity in the US. I've spent plenty of time in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Florida and seen so many excellent birds there! Florida in particular gets a special mention for endemic treasures like the Florida Scrub-Jay.

Fourth is just a smidge to the west over in Texas, particularly the portion along the whole Rio Grande. Highlights for me include Whooping Crane, Aplomado Falcon, and all three US kingfisher species! Plus Plain Chachalaca which is just hilariously noisy. Big fan.

For five... Man now it's hard to pick, I have several places sort of on par with each other. Hawaii is goofy because of all the introduced species, giving it a ridiculously inflated diversity on top of the absolutely amazing native species. South Korea was really fun, though I went in winter when diversity was relatively low, and still got to see fun birds like Azure-winged Magpie, Eurasian Goshawk, and Varied Tit without even leaving Seoul. And then of course like, California has a ton of species and some of the most incredible vagrants that just show up at random sometimes.

I think that's eight locations now so I'll just stop, haha.

#ask meme #birblr

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magnetothemagnificent · 10 months ago

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My birding week vacation is over, so here are all the bird species I saw:

1. Little blue heron

2. Sharp-shinned hawk

3. Black vulture

4. Great egret

5. Sandhill crane

6. Mourning dove

7. Common loon (there were two of them just hanging out at a lake. We couldn't believe it but they were unmistakable)

8. Cattle egret

9. Great blue heron

10. Anhinga

11. Double-crested cormorant

12. Red-winged Blackbird

13. Limpkin

14. Wood stork

15. White ibis

16. Muskovy duck

17. Boat-tailed grackle

18. American crow

19. American coot

20. Common gallinule

21. Common grackle

22. Glossy ibis

23. Palm warbler

24. Osprey

25. American purple gallinule

26. Wood duck

27. Red-shouldered hawk

28. Pied-billed grebe

29. Royal tern

30. Eastern Phoebe

31. Roseate spoonbill (last year it eluded me, but this year I saw two at two separate locations!)

31. Black-bellied whistling duck

32. Tricolor heron

33. Northern harrier

34. Yellow-rumped warbler

35. Tree swallow

36. Swallow-tailed kite

37. Ring-billed gull

38. Turkey vulture

39. Mallard

40. White pelican (there were two just hanging out at an artificial lake in the middle of a residential area)

41. Red eyed vireo

42. Mulard

43. American pekin

44. Mallard/Pekin hybrid

45. Downy woodpecker

46. Grey catbird

47. Blue-grey gnatcatcher

48. Fish crow

49. Northern parula

50. Snowy egret

51. Chimney swift

52. Common yellowthroat

53. Bald eagle

54. Red-bellied woodpecker

55. Blue winged teal (we only saw these guys because we had to walk an extra 1.5 miles to take the long way back to the car because an alligator decided to block our short way back)

56. Great-crested flycatcher

57. Louisiana waterthrush

58. Laughing gull

59. Northern mockingbird

60. Mottled duck

61. Loggerhead shrike

62. White eyed vireo

63. Tufted titmouse

64. Northern cardinal

65. Black and white warbler

66. Ring-necked duck (I saw this lone duck from the car as we were driving past an artificial lake. From it's silhouette I could see it looked different from the other ducks common in the area, so we stopped the car literally on the side of the road so I could run out with my binoculars, and sure enough it was a new species to add to the list. And then when we came back a few days later, it was still there swimming around and diving, so I guess it lived around there.)

67. Carolina chickadee

68. Swamp sparrow

69. Ruby-crowned kinglet

70. Pileated woodpecker

71. Belted kingfisher (we visited the same place three times because my Grandpa saw kingfishers there a few times. It wasn't until the third and final time, while we were ready to give up and leave, that we saw it, perched on a sign post over the water)

72. House sparrow

73. Cooper's hawk

74. Carolina wren

75. White-throated sparrow

#birds #birding

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evesaintyves · 1 year ago

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this was my submission to @thethreebroomsticksficfest Pride Fest 2023 🌈

The Rougarou

Remus Lupin/Sirius Black | M | 9.7k | After the end of the first war, Remus Lupin seeks some kind of new life in New Orleans. He finds it.

In the mosquito-song of morning, without the din of bass and customers and Order up! from Ish, bad thoughts bubbled up like groundwater from the cracks in the street: the little varnished wood box that held only a finger. Peter's dad ripping up the hymnal. Stop it, Remus would say to himself. Autumn drizzle like spit in the graves. Just stop. Getting in bed, pulling the sheets over his face, steaming in the heat of his own breath. Too drunk to stand, somehow too drunk even to cry. Two married slots in the ground. The itchy suit he'd borrowed from his father. Two babies fussing in the black pram—craning his neck to see Harry, then shrinking back in shame. The sour look on Lily's sister. The stone look on Dumbledore: how had it happened? How could we let it happen? He'd try to put himself to sleep, but once he'd started his mind wouldn't let him stop, and sooner or later he'd think about the worst thing, the thing that felt like a crime: Even in June it must be freezing in the North Sea.

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some notes on this fic under the cut

first, i just want to acknowledge that i'm writing about New Orleans as someone who's never lived there, and i apologize unreservedly for anything i got wrong. i love the city and i've spent a lot of time there, but ultimately i'm just a tourist.

folklore

the rougarou is a cryptid in Cajun and Métis folklore, often depicted as a creature with a human body and the head of a dog or a wolf. the name is a cajunization of "loup-garou." the rougarou may be a syncretization of the French loup-garou legend and indigenous concepts of humanlike shapeshifters, like the Wendigo. In some iterations of the Wendigo legend, a person can be cursed with insatiable hunger and greed and cravings for human flesh after committing an act of cannibalism or violence. stories of the rougarou in Louisiana were a cautionary tale for children and sometimes represented a consequence of breaking lent. the rougarou also happens to feature in the Harry Potter universe, which is convenient for me.

the feu-follet is a ghost-light, similar to the will-o'-the-wisp, said to appear in the swamps of the Mississippi delta; traditionally held to be the souls of unbaptized babies

the French Quarter ghosts - years ago in the FQ we used to see real estate signs advertising houses and apartments for sale as Haunted or Not Haunted which i always thought was pretty cool. the ghosts generally aren't representative of any specific historical figures or events, except for one, sort of—i'll let you figure out which if you care to.

locations

Monsieur's is made up, obviously, but most other locations mentioned by name are real and were operating in 1982. Café Lafitte In Exile, Verti Marte, Café du Monde and The Apple Barrel are still around, but Charlene's and Las Pierres (which were actually de facto segregated in the way the fic describes) are now closed.

i made a little map—i'm not an artist, but i enjoy maps, like, a weird amount—of some of the locations in the fic.

New Orleans has been a center of queer culture in the South for a really long time—gay social clubs and carnival krewes have existed there since as early as the 40s, and Café Lafitte, which opened in 1933 (in its current location since 1953) is one of the oldest gay bars in America. i was really excited to find a book on Café Lafitte and its place in New Orleans queer history called In Exile: The History and Lore Surrounding New Orleans Gay Culture and Its Oldest Gay Bar by Frank Perez and Jeffrey Palmquist , two bartenders who worked there in the 80s and 90s. other than the obvious thematic connections in outlaws and exile, Café Lafitte is one of the couple of places that were around back then that i've actually been inside and could hope to describe with some accuracy.

other resources on queer history in New Orleans:

The LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana

Last Call NOLA, a queer and trans art & archival collective who host a podcast series on vanishing NOLA gay bars and other queer spaces - episodes 3.2 and 3.3 are about Charlene's and Las Pierres

music

for this fic we're gonna roll with the PoA movie canon that Lupin's a big ol' vinyl dork who likes vaguely-jazzy big band music ok

Will You Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles - The Shirelles were a girl group in the late 50s and early 60s - i imagine Ish, somewhere in her 40s in this story, might have listened to them as a teenager. they were an early example of an all-Black band who found success with white audiences during the civil rights era, and they cultivated a "naive schoolgirl" sound and aesthetic that helped them get away with some relatively edgy-for-the-time sexual subtext in their songs. Will You Love Me Tomorrow was banned from radio in parts of the US - the lyrics address a lover before a tryst: tonight the light of love is in your eyes/but will you love me tomorrow?

The Stargazers - a UK pop group from the mid-50s. i'll be honest, this choice was mainly based on that name and some irresistibly appropriate song titles, but here's my excuse: their arrangements are heavy on tinkling piano and brass, and they collaborated with jazz-influenced British bandleader Syd Dean, so we're gonna go with the headcanon that young Remus got a taste for jazz through the pop groups of Hope's girlhood, many of which were covering (or just ripping off) American jazz & R&B artists at the time.

Junco Player by James Booker - "the Bayou Maharaja." A New Orleans-born jazz and R&B pianist, who led the house band at the Maple Leaf Bar in Carrollton (across town from where Lupin lives in this story) in the late 70s and early 80s. He was better known in Europe than in the US during the time Lupin would have been in his late teens, so if Lupin was a big jazz nerd he might have heard of him. Booker was openly gay and sometimes described as the "Black Liberace" due to his flamboyant style; he was also troubled and chronically ill, having been hit by an ambulance as a child and left with one working eye, a limp, chronic pain and a morphine addiction. He died shortly after the timeline of this fic.

image from the Times-Picayune archives, photographer uncredited

Heart of Glass by Blondie - this is honestly just how it happened in the scene in my head, and it's obviously kind of on-the-nose, but I really think some disco-y pop, at that moment, would feel like a sign to Lupin that the city isn't going to give him what he wants and he doesn't belong there.

thanks for reading!

#wolfstar #remus lupin #sirius black #remus x sirius #hp fanfic

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