#Tree care brooklyn

[fantasiavii]

Btw if you’re looking to get into gardening or just want to learn more about it, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has an excellent series of handbooks that are pretty short but packed full of good information. I’ve read the one about climate-conscious gardening and now I’m reading the tree care one and they are all so eye-opening and are quickly changing the way I look at the gardens in my neighborhood

[legobiwan]

For the drabble prompt list

"none of this is your fault" mario and luigi

Drabbles, they said, Ha! I answered. Anyway, I have no idea where this came from, but enjoy this barely-edited not-drabble. I am apparently incapable of concise writing right now :D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“None of this is your fault, Lou.”

Luigi scoffed, pushing dampened sleeves up both arms, smearing dark, sweaty grease across his skin in wide, impressionistic lines.

“You tell that to Toadsworth in three days. I’m sure he’ll be happy to believe you,” Luigi groused, tightening a stubborn, thick bolt with a violent twist. That should keep the engine boosters from flying off at speeds exceeding thirty miles an hour. (Or as they were counted in the Mushroom Kingdom, five hundred and two mycelia per second, a measuring system so opaque - and infuriating - that Luigi had sat through an entire five-hour Toad Council meeting just so he could petition the government to introduce a bill to launch a public vote on switching to any other quantifier that made a modicum of sense. The notion, of course, was voted down in a manner of seconds. Tradition, Mister Luigi, Toadsworth had sniffed, rapping his long-handled gavel with an imperious gesture, closing off all debate on the matter).

Snobby old toad could stuff it up his spore holes.

“He’ll get over it,” Mario said. “What’s he going to do, anyway? Make us sit through another boring state dinner?”

Luigi poked at a serpentine belt that resembled some slices of old cheese he once found in the back of their fridge in Brooklyn. How these guys managed to stay competitive with equipment in this condition was a complete slap in the face to basic physics.

“You like those dinners.” Luigi crawled out from under the dented chassis, sitting back on his haunches as he gestured at his brother with a ratchet-wrench, making curly patterns in the air as if he were a Magikoopa casting a spell.

“I hate those dinners as much as you. They’re hot, stuffy, and the food is an insult to the entirety of Brooklyn. It’s not my fault I get to sit next to Peach and you’re always stuck with Lady Maitake and her hundreds of onion bulb-pup photos for two hours.”

“Don’t remind me. Did you know she’s trying to train them to do circus acts and take them on the road?” Luigi ran a finger down one of the dusty schematics strewn about the stone floor. “Hand me that spanner, will you?”

Mario shook his head, chuckling, handing off the hooked tool to Luigi, who shimmied once more underneath the maroon-and-black kart. “Look, you got hoodwinked into a bad contract. I should have looked over the fine print before you signed.”

“You’re not my keeper, Mario,” Luigi grumbled, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. “And it’s not even the contract that I care about. Frankly, I’m impressed Bowser’s been able to get these things to do anything beyond cough up smoke and crash into the nearest palm tree. It’s a good challenge to get them running again.”

“So what’s the issue, then?”

Luigi stilled, his hands guts-deep in a mess of wiring and cables that looked like an earthworm graveyard. After a moment, he sighed, letting the spanner tool clatter to the floor with a bright, metallic jangle. 

“The issue,” he began, staring up at the internal electronic system of one of Bowser’s so-called best racing karts. “Is that he’s probably going to win. Bowser, that is. And everyone will make nice about it at the awards ceremony and Bowser will get too drunk on elderflower wine and get kicked out of the post-race party.”

“That happens every race, Lou.”

“Yeah, but you know Bowser. He’ll let it slip that I was the one doing repairs on his karts. And then in the morning, there will be a meeting. And Toadsworth will go on about the standing of the Kingdom being compromised and it being a diplomatic catastrophe that we allowed Bowser to win and that,” Luigi adopted a whiny, pompous voice. “Mr. Luigi has once again strained his credibility within the Mushroom Kingdom.” 

“Look, that stodgy old Toad has no chance of making those charges stick. You were exonerated, Weeg. Nothing that happened with Bleck - “ Mario clenched his fists, hissing through his teeth. “Nothing that happened in that place was you. That wasn’t your fault, and neither is this.”

Luigi reached towards one of the dangling battery coils, playing with the violet and yellow wires between his fingers. “Sure,” he breathed. “Not me.”

“Not you,” Mario insisted, his voice steely. “And besides,” he continued, a hint of humor creeping into his words. If you’re so concerned about Toadsworth, why don’t you sabotage Bowser’s fleet?”

Luigi pushed himself out from under the kart, snapping up to a seat in wide-eyed horror.

“And ruin my reputation as an engineer? No way, bro. I’ll risk the treason charges, thank you very much.”

Mario guffawed, ambling over to take a seat next to his brother, the two coming shoulder-to-shoulder, backs set against the passenger door of the Koopa Coupe. “I think your reputation is beyond reproach, Lou.” Mario gave a small, uncertain smile. “After all, you did build two killer robots in the span of two weeks.”

It was a huge step forward, just being able to talk about the whole incident in Flipside, no less joke about it - the ordeal with Bleck and the jester and Luigi’s brainwashing. Mario had stayed tight-lipped about the entire debacle for weeks after they had gotten back, much to Luigi’s aggravation, until things came to a head one night due to a series of ill-conceived plans on the part of the Toad Council, the most brazen of which featured a misserved cup of tea laced with a dubiously legal truth potion.

Luigi sniffed out half a chuckle, nudging his brother in the shoulder. “Well, I can’t let Bowser think I’m slipping, right?”

Mario eyed his brother carefully, his features brightening as he caught the note of mischief in Luigi’s voice. Grinning, he clapped his brother on the knee. “You’ve got an idea, don’t you? The Old Koopa King doesn’t know what he’s got coming.”

Luigi straightened, composing himself into the picture of innocence. “Dear brother, I am a man of my word. Bowser will win the race, just like the contract stipulates.”

“And?”

“Aaand,” Luigi drew out the word, schematics and thermodynamic equations taking shape in his mind. “Let’s say the engine modifications I’m making happen to engage a set of rocket boosters at a certain speed threshold. Bowser’ll like that. But then maybe the activation of those boosters, given a certain location and time input, temporarily cede control of the brakes and steering to a pre-programmed route of the engineer’s choosing.” Luigi paused for dramatic effect. “All after the race is finished, of course. No injuries. No harm. Just a little post-race joyride through the forest.”

Mario gave a joyous whoop, bringing his brother into a tight, side-hug. “They’ll hear him screaming all the way in Rogueport! Ha! You know he’ll threaten to invade during the after-party! No one will care if you worked on his kart once he shows back up breathing smoke!”

“He’ll do that regardless,” Luigi laughed, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. “But you know how these modifications are. Always a chance of overburdening your circuits.”

“And at least it’ll be a while before he tries to trick you into doing his dirty work again,” Mario added.

“I hope so.” Luigi placed a warm hand on his brother’s shoulder, smiling. “Thanks, Mario.”

Mario beamed back at his brother, playfully flicking the brim of Luigi’s hat. “Come on, Lou. Show me how to build a sentient robot race kart.”

~~~~~

Drabble writing challenge: Make me sweat!

[qyxzun]

🕸️┆𝕻𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄.

╰┈➤ ❝𝐎𝐊𝐀𝐘𝐘𝐘𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐃𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, my name is Y/N L/N. I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for about two years, I've been the one and only spider woman. I'm pretty sure you know the rest.

Been fighting other bad guys, helping cats off trees, saving plains from crashing into buildings, you know—the basics.

I lost my best friends when I realized one of them was my nemesis.

but that didn't stop me from fighting for the better!

I just wish I wasn't alone. What if there was another universe where someone understood me?

whatever, probably just my imagination.❞

𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐎𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐍 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐘𝐎𝐑𝐊 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝟗𝟐𝟔-𝐙, there was you, sleeping in bed so peacefully before your loud blaring alarm on your phone started to ring for the fifth time. You groaned when the sound disrupted your sleep before you finally picked up your phone to check what time it was. your eyes completely widened. You were late for school.

"Shit!" you cursed, pushing yourself off the bed and running to the bathroom to take the quickest bath you could. Taking off your clothes, dosing yourself with the shower's water, and quickly soaping up your entire body. As quickly as you entered, you almost tripped, going out of the shower with a towel wrapped around your soaked body. You ran back to your room, sloppily but quickly putting on your Brooklyn Visions Academy uniform. You still think that school is elitist, but you can't complain for now.

With no time to spare other than lacing up your shoes and taking your unzipped bag, you ran out of your dorm, forgetting to lock the door. You started to quickly jog your way to the school with your bag slung in front of you in an attempt to zip it closed with your papers and work securely inside. Traffic was booming like crazy, which made you groan impatiently. "My luck should really not be affecting my school," you grumbled.

The light finally turned red, letting pedestrians pass. You pushed past multiple people, apologizing when you ran through them as you continued to sprint to the school's entrance. When you finally stepped inside the school, you ran to your locker, put your bag and stuff away, and sprinted so fast to your class before the bell could ring. You arrived just in time, holding your textbooks by the door while a bead of sweat ran down your neck.

You panted, out of breath from running the entire morning, while your professor looked at you, unimpressed that you were late for how many times?

"Tardy again, Y/N. Keep up if you want to pass this year." She said, obviously hinting that you were someone who didn't care about education. Rude.

You nervously walked to your seat with your heavy books in hand while your classmates watched you sit down. Your professor passed by and gave you multiple papers stapled together as your exam. You skimmed through it, and the questions were almost a big blur for you when you saw how hard you should've studied instead of fighting other criminals on a daily basis. You held your mechanical pencil tight, wondering what to write while your other classmates were all silent and focused on the exams, unlike you, who had no idea. You wrote down what you knew, but you still felt anxious. You really didn't want to fail this exam; it could be your last before you would have to move to another school. You liked that option, but your parents worked too hard, climbing the ranks so you could have an easier life once you passed your exams. Since when was life decided by a piece of paper?

Minutes into the exam, suddenly, you heard a loud explosion near the back of your school. It was muffled through the thick walls, yet it was obvious something dangerous had happened. Your spider senses tingled, and you lifted your head abruptly while your class looked around, wondering what that could be while the teacher noticed their confused and worried expressions.

"Everyone calm down! Form a line and carefully leave the school through the front," your professor ordered, yet most students had already started running out of the classroom, ignoring her orders.

You quickly ran out too, pushing past the rest of the students while you navigated back to your locker. You grabbed your bag from inside and forgot to close it, prioritizing the situation at hand as you went to the bathroom.

"Guess I have to do my job again," you sighed while you quickly locked the toilet stall. You opened your bag, your spider suit folded neatly and tucked between your other textbooks inside. You took off your uniform, changing into the tight spider suit swiftly. You made sure to keep your mask securely on; protecting your identity was the most important part of it.

Finally dressed for battle and your bag slung on your back, you climbed out through the restroom's window, flicking multiple webs out of your fingertips. They swiftly stuck to one of the school's large pillars, and they allowed you to swing away quickly. You swung from building to building easily, reaching the back of the school to see seven vehicles crash together, causing a fire to spread throughout the school's background. Multiple police cars and ambulances were parked nearby, with the paramedics taking as many victims as they could on stretchers and transporting them to the ambulance crew.

You saw many policemen trying to save the injured under the rubble and from the fire as well. You knew they could get in the way of your job, so you created a diversion. You shot a web inside the policeman's car, the sticky string immediately reaching and pressing on the accelerator as it slowly moved forward, catching their attention.

"Woah—woah, woah—hey!!" one of them hollered, trying to reach the advancing car alongside his other colleagues. It gave you enough time to reach the exploded area with your webs.

"This is a whole mess," you mumbled to yourself under your mask as you reached another building's wall. You quickly climbed higher and swiftly shot individual webbing from your fingertips, each web reaching pieces of heavy debris on top of the injured. You held and wrapped all five webs around your palm, pulling the rubble off of the victims with your bare hand as your webs carried them to the side.

The concerned police officers ran to the injured with paramedics, yet the fire persisted, causing another explosion near the colliding cars. You were thinking of a plan to somehow save all of these people while you internally grew more anxious.

"What the hell is causing these explosions?" You grunted, frustrated. You loathed seeing people get injured while you tried to think of something. You jumped from the high wall, plunging down as you shot webs toward the heavily injured near the fire. You pulled them close, carrying more than three people while their blood smeared on your spider suit.

You quickly rested their bodies near where the ambulances could see them before you swung back to the high roof of the building. Your spider senses suddenly tingled before you turned around. On the building's edge, you saw the villain behind it all.

"Who the hell is this guy?" You said, looking down to the edge, and saw a lizard... or a goblin? You didn't know. You shot webs once more in its direction, propelling yourself up before you landed a harsh kick in its face. It let out a loud grunt as saliva was knocked out of his mouth. You sent him flying to another building's wall before he collapsed on the ground.

You walked over to it cautiously, a foot on his chest as you stepped on it harder. You glared down at him, looking down at a vile creature who hurt your people. It coughed, its vision blurry before it looked up to you, it started chuckling with your foot on his scales. "We meet again Peter," it said, smirking.

"Who the hell is Peter?" You retorted, raising an eyebrow behind your mask while it looked at you as if you were playing with his head.

"Oh, don't lie now, Peter... I know all about—" The vile lizard was about to continue, but it was cut off when it saw your features more clearly. You had more of a feminine body. Your muscles weren't as built, but you were strong enough to consider its enemy, like Peter. You had bigger hips and smaller shoulders than a man. Not to mention the obvious, your suit wasn't one it recognized. Its expression turned from smug to confused. You weren't the Peter it knew.

With rage blinding its confusion, it growled and grabbed your ankle with its large clawed hand, pulling your foot off its chest as it caused you to almost lose balance.

"Who are you?" It glared, looking at you with disdain and anger. You, on the other hand, were confused about why it didn't know you when you were literally the spider-woman.

"I'm spider-woman? The hero?" You rhetorically responded before it sneered and tossed you to the side of the building. You reacted quickly as you shot webs at its face, blinding it and pulling on the webs before you could hit the wall with its heavy weight. You adroitly landed on the floor again.

"Okay, dude—that's not nice," you pout under your mask while it growled in frustration when your webs blinded its field of vision. The creature almost tore off its eyes, in an attempt to take the sticky web off its face while it bled. The oversized lizard was raging mad before it charged toward you at full speed. You were about to swing burning wreckage to its face with your webs before a sudden brightness appeared from above.

You both looked up in confusion before you suddenly saw a red web hastily tie your green rival into scarlet webbing. It came out of what seemed to be a bright light formed with hexagons while it glitched. You haven't seen anything like it, thinking it could be another threat. "Argh!!!" The creature thundered before you saw what seemed to be another spider-man go through the portal. He promptly punched the lizard's head, blood coming out of its mouth, before it crashed into another building's wall.

The mysterious man stood up once he apprehended the green goblin with his webs. He tied it with his webs effortlessly while you approached him, his head slightly turning to look at you.

"So, like, who are you?" You asked, putting a hand on your hip before he turned around to fully face you.

"Classified," He spoke with a low tone, keeping it short and cold. You hummed, thinking of who he could be.

"You Peter? That green, uh, creature was looking after Peter or something. I don't know," you shrugged while the man was still silent, like he was judging you secretly with that glare.

You cleared your throat, a bit uncomfortable that he wasn't responding to your question. "Well, anyway, gotta deal with the fire and stuff. Gotta go blue panther." You were about to walk to the fire, mostly to save more victims before he stepped in front of you.

"It's alright, kid. I'll take it from here." He responded, his tone still cold, while his hand was slightly raised, telling you to stand down. Your spider senses tingled after he said that. You looked up behind him as you saw the green goblin manage to escape his webbing and cause more havoc behind the tall, muscular spider-man. In a fit of rage, the creature threw a burning truck in your direction.

"Oh, shit—look out!" You yelled, shooting a web at the spider-man's chest before pulling him away from the landing truck. You quickly moved away as well, but suddenly hissed in pain and fell near the fire. You groaned when you saw your burned forearm and noticed that your spider-suit was covered in cinders after smelling something burning.

"Puta madre--!" the spider-man growled before claws started to grow out of his hands. With animalistic ferocity, he chased after the goblin, shooting a web on his way to get to him faster. His speed never slowed down as his legs ran faster and faster, almost like a car on a highway.

Meanwhile, you winced when you pushed yourself up before your senses started to go haywire again. You turned around and saw more people in the burning debris while firefighters arrived and started to put out the flames. You hastily followed the spider-man from before by crawling up on top of a very tall building. Your eyes quickly scanned the area, searching for him. You spotted the lizard causing more trouble as it climbed up the building in front of you. His claws dug into the wall, causing more debris to fall, almost hitting more pedestrians. The other spider-man turned his head around, watching as the debris started to rain down on the citizens. He was so conflicted; he was so close to catching the goblin, yet the civilians were in danger.

"Fuck!" The man cursed, shooting a web to catch the debris, yet he failed. He grunted, turning his attention back to his target. He continued to chase the green goblin. You, on the other hand, thought fast and jumped down while shooting multiple webs to make a gigantic spider web to catch all the falling debris. Your webbing was strong enough to carry the heavy rubble and the burning damage before it could hit the others. Once you were sure it was holding everything in place, you shot another web, swinging yourself to the injured, who couldn't move. You picked them up— two on your back and one in your arms. They were barely alive when you gently laid them down somewhere more safe.

Your head lifted when you heard a cry. "M-Mama! Please! Help!!" A child screamed while you put all the victims away near the policemen. You turned your head back, realizing one of them was still stuck in the fire. You didn't hesitate to run back, propelling yourself into the air to see where the kid could be. You then saw her crawling up into a ball, a toy in her arms, while she looked around with tears in her eyes, afraid of the fire. She coughed profusely, almost running out of oxygen, while tears prickled her eyes. Even with the burnt forearm, you quickly and nimbly landed in front of her, picking her up easily while she didn't know what was happening. Yet she held onto you tighter than her toy. You shot another web at a building, pulling the two of you up before swinging away to where it was safe.

When you slowly descended to the ground with the child hugging your neck tightly, you saw a weeping woman on the ground with multiple injuries. Your eyes softened, worried behind your mask. You looked back at the kid, noticing she looked like she could be her child. You approached her. "Ma'am," you called out to her, getting her attention before you put down the kid in front of her. She gasped and brought her into her arms, pulling her into a very tight hug while they both wept.

"Thank you," the woman whimpered before looking up at your masked face. "Thank you for saving all of us." She smiled while sobbing, looking around at the people you saved. Even though they were injured, you managed to save all of them. You nodded your head, smiling behind your mask as you flashed her a thumbs-up.

You heard a thump behind you, hinting that the tall spider-man was behind you before you turned around to see him holding the green lizard with his red webs. "Hey," you said, looking up to him. "Caught the lizard?" As you chuckled, you noticed that he still had that unfazed look on his face. It seemed like he was trying to put up a brave front in front of the crowd. After a brief pause, he cleared his throat before responding.

"Follow me," he ordered with a reserved tone as he shot a web and pulled himself up to a very tall skyscraper. You followed behind him, the wind blowing into your face before you landed gracefully on top of the skyscraper.

There, you saw him tap on something on his wrist before another portal opened, the same bright orange hexagons forming the strange entrance while they rotated slowly. Your eyes squinted from how bright it was, while he still had the same expression as before. He got ready to throw the lizard into the portal, while it struggled and squirmed under his tight webs. "This is not the last time you'll see me, Peter!" It yelled, glaring daggers at you and the tall spider-man, until he was thrown into the portal. It created a short blast before the portal returned to normal.

You were quiet for a bit, not knowing what to say. He then turned around to face you, the portal closing very slowly while he approached you. "I'm from another dimension," he admitted while you gasped dramatically, knowing the obvious.

"You are.?! Woahhhhh.." Your eyes were wide behind your mask. He glared at your sarcasm, crossing his arms as it showed his muscles behind the tight suit.

"Take this seriously, chiquilla," he monotonously replied before clearing his throat and looking away. There was a small pause before he spoke. "You showed great abilities when you saved all those people." As soon as you received the compliment, his eyes shifted back to you while yours lit up with joy. It felt like you were a kid again, basking in the glory of a teacher's praise for acing a test.

He didn't say anything else. He looked down at his hand and slowly formed a fist. You watched him, wondering what he'd be doing. You tilted your head to the side, trying to see what was in his palm when it slowly opened. After a few more moments, he opened his fist.

"A watch?" You looked confusedly before he tossed it to you; you easily caught it, observing it. "What the hell is this for?" You asked, looking back at him. You finally noticed that it was the same watch he had on his wrist.

"You'll feel more at home," he responded stoically. He took the watch and helped you put it on properly. "... and we can use the help," he said.

"Who's we?" You asked, bewildered, becoming more baffled than ever. You'll feel more at home, he said. What did that even mean? You took off your mask, getting a clearer view of him, as you had a concerned face. "Who even are you?" You replied like you were annoyed for not knowing the entire truth.

His mask slowly distorted into pixels as it showed his face. "Miguel O'hara." He simply responded, looking down at you with his intimidating, tired brown eyes. He then slowly turned around, walking to the portal that hadn't been closed yet. You watched him enter the bright hexagons before you watched him disappear in front of your eyes.

You gripped the watch tightly.

𝕾𝐏𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄.

[ngray192]

CHAOS THEORY SEASON TWO IS OUT!!!! As you all expected, I watched it all in one sitting and wrote notes on everything! Under the cut is my train of thought and commentary on the season, and no, you will not be given context for anything that I wrote.

- omg I’ve been waiting all dayyyyy

- Raptor lady is gone, I wonder who the new villain is.

- I wonder if this is gonna tie into Dominion at all

- Boat!!

- Shoutout to Nick “Rocket” Rodriguez

- I’m sorry did they make a hammock in here????

- Only Sammy can make a shipping container into a home

- Yaz I love you

- Yasammyyyyyyy ugh they’re adorable

- I knew it was a baryonyx!!!

- Kenjis so sad

- Why is he throwing lettuce into the ocean?

- Like five minutes in and there’s so many small yasammy moments

- Ex-kon was hilarious, you guys just don’t get it

- LET HIM COPE

- Yaz and Kenji moment!!!!

- Therapist Yaz is my favorite

- I love her development and growth omg

- Hybrid Dino??

- Kenji Kon, stop leaving the container

- A storms brewing

- Why is there just an open crate of lettuce?

- Bro you’re wasting so much lettuce

- They were in Louisiana last season?

- How tf have you not been caught?

- The water animationnnn

- Oh shit

- Ben please don’t get shocked again

- Ngl I’d offer to help too

- Yaz and Kenji in their besties era

- BUMPYS EGG

- Is that a baryonyx?

- DID IT DIE???

- Two?!

- The ashes from the fire animation is wild

- Yes saves the Dino eggs

- Oh fuck this is kinda graphic I love it

- This gives the same vibes as the actual movies and I’m all for it

- Bro that parasarolaphus (I cannot spell) looks scary af

- Sammy running to Yaz for Yasammy, Ben running to Kenji?????

- Lets see a person die

- Aaaaah it’s the scene from the clip I saw!!!!

- Such a cool chase scene

- BUMPYS EGG

- KENJI STOP

- He didn’t help you, he saved your fucking life

- Are we gonna get a “Kenji is suicidal” arc???

- Tell me why I was actually worried? They’re not gonna kill Kenji

- Brotherss

- Those eggs should be scrambled wtf

- A lot of Yaz and Kenji moments I’m here for it

- Open up, PLEASE

- Oh shitttt

- He’s not gonna tell anyone, is he?

- THE MEMORIAL IM CRYING

- Solid first episode

Episode 2

- “marooned five”

- The light shining from the clouds??? Beautiful

- Ok, this is a valid “not telling the group the truth” plot line, he doesn’t wanna distract them and be wrong

- I’m sorry, who tf are you people??

- Wait is this small child gonna join the group??

- Please don’t be a big part of the show, I wanna focus on Camp Fam

- Are the dinosaurs protecting her? I love that

- What kinda Dino is that? Gallimimus? Struithominous?

- Did they change clothes or just take off their jackets?

- Omg they can’t split into 3 groups of 2 anymore

- Yasammy side mission!!!

- I love Kenji omg

- They’re such brothers, I love it

- Same old dino nerd

- Why are you not concerned that people are on your property?

- Why would you just tell her a large portion of your plan??

- I kinda want this lady to be evil

- Can we get a name for this girl soon?

- No she found the eggs!!!

- Why tf would you take it from the bush and leave it out in the open?

- Do you need service to play a video like that?

- Also you can def show the group just the thumbnail for the video and they’ll see her

- They’re so goofy, I love them.

- I was right, it is a gallimimus!!

- It’s like a dino-mill upriver

- Damnit, you guys just fucked up the balanced ecosystem here

- Cool ass dino omg

- The colors on herrrr

- Please don’t fall out of a tree

- The rice nooooo

- It’s a suchomimus

- Stop trying to fix things omg

- I’m sorry but I don’t care about the mom and daughter

- “Off-brand alligator”

- I love how Yasammy is usually Team Distraction

- Darius is so fast wtf

- Rock climber Kenji

- MOVE KENJI

- HES SO STUPID AND BEING SO DANGEROUS

- They are kicking that Suchomimus’s ass omg

- His voice is so much deeper than in CC

- Screenshot and show the rest of the group the picture of Brooklyn omfg

- Animata and Zayna

- SHOW THEM

- SHOW THEMMMMMM

- UGH

- I hate you

- Captain Kenji!!

- Ngl this season isn’t as interesting as season 1, but hopefully it’ll get better

Episode 3

- This episode is titled “Clever Girl 86”

- Brooklyn!!!

- And freshly amputated damn

- YOU “stitched her up” AT HOME???

- Aww a compy lost its foot?

- I love when people in shows have realistic reactions

- She drove a motorcycle??

- Video call!!

- I don’t like that jacket

- Clevergirl86 is someone from Dark Jurassic, maybe Ronnie??

- Ok, so this is the day they broke up?

- I should’ve finished rewatching it he first season

- Oh is it love confession time?

- He’s such a bad liar

- No, it’s different with Ben because they’re IN love

- Girl don’t say “unless…”

- Yikes

- I love how you can see the reflections on screens, it’s so cool

- Account was hacked???

- It doesn’t look like enough of her arm is gone

- Is this a full Brooklyn episode? It’s only episode 3

- Ronnie is definitely a lesbian

- Alcohol will take the edge off, let’s get hammered

- I hate the pixie cut, I’m sorry

- Awww Gordon

- OVER 60??

- Her dads are in town for the funeral???

- This is so sad

- She still acts like Brooklyn

- Wow, never mind a lot of her arm is gone

- Kill the DPW guy

- Stab him, you’re dead you can’t be put on trial for murder

- I refuse to believe Raptor Lady speaks to people on the phone

- Ok, but staying dead was kind smart

Episode 4

- the dino liberators are here

- He’s trying to be Kenji and I don’t like it

- Why wear masks if you’re just gonna take them off and use your real names?

- A trust fund? Earnest is fr just Kenji but worse and mixed with a little bit of Dave

- Syd?

- The animation is gorgeous

- OUTFIT CHANGES???

- Her username is Esther Stone

- Nosey ass kid

- Yaz looks so cute!!!

- Do not take the child with you

- Please tell us what happened with Sammy’s family

- Nooooo don’t go with the group

- They all look like their faces and bodies changed when they changed clothes

- Ok, she’s still in America

- Are they gonna kill them???

- THEY TOOK GEBA

- Why tf is Kenji wearing those shoes?

- THEY KNOCKED HIM TF OUT

- The camera shaking as the dinos run out? I love it

- She’s a pretty good actress

- God I fucking hate this guy

- Why are the dinosaurs so sad?

- I don’t care about this child and her dinosaurs

- UHGHGHRHGGHHHHH I DONT WANT THIS CHILD HERE. IT IS A CAMP FAM SHOW

- Why is he being a dick all of a sudden?

- Dubai?

- She’s just like Ben dropping her phone in the water

Episode 5

- such a pretty show omg

- Sammy is such mom-material

- She’s 14???

- They’re back to their old outfits, sigh

- Why did they split up Darius, Sammy, Zayna and Kenji, Yaz, and Ben?

- Same old Ben

- Girl, the six of you lived together on an island for six months, privacy does NOT exist with this group

- Omg do you think it’s the girl from JW Dominion?

- “Damning”

- THE GADDY, DADDYS GADDY FROM SEASON 3

- How many close call sneaking scenes are we gonna have?

- Is it the girl from Dominion?

- Stop being weird about her missing limb??

- There’s no way Ben has cell service rn

- Not him using Yasminas head to get around the boat

- I love his little dino imitations

- This reminds me of JWCC season 1 episode 6 or 7 with the kayaks

- Ok, yeah it is the raptor girl from JW Dominion

- All around the globe?

- Oh fuck

- Come on, Sammy get the gun!

- KENJI WTF

- STOP

- The way her bangs move when she shakes her head, I love her

- Did the raptor press the elevators buttons what

- She’s kinda bad at painting

- Oh shitttt

- Is she the one hunting the kids?

- This penthouse chase scene is good

- Girl is not good at running from dinos

- The way she immediately puts the same arm up is a nice detail

- Girl you are not cut out for being on this journey with this group

- They were taking all the risks on those islands

- I’m not really getting anything marked on my bingo card

- TELL THEM

Episode 6

- what is in the water? Cause i doubt it’s the mossasaurus

- Awww a hippo

- Wait hippos are crazy dangerous

- Reminds me of the paras during the kayak episode in CC Season 1

- Zayna def should’ve known hippos are dangerous af

- “Dirtbag”

- You’re wasting all your food

- Throw the mangoes further omg

- KENJIN KON YOU ARE SO STUPID

- The details in the animationnnnnnughhgugggh

- Ben’s lips look so chapped omg

- I hate this child

- A lot of fire this season

- I don’t think she’s the Broker, I think there’s someone bigger

- Sammy needs to become a mom

- YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE CELL SERVICE HERE

- Oumars dead babe

- She’s vegetarian??

- OMG

- IS THAT A DEAD BODY????

- WTF

- They’re all so stressed out

- You’re gonna make her anxiety come back, let her breathe

- Brooklyn, wtf are you doing?

- Kill her

- Sucho number 2

- KENJI

- Don’t hide Yaz wtf

- Oh fuck that had to hurt

- THEYRE GONNA LEAVE HER BEHIND

- Lame, should’ve killed her

- They were 13 on the island?

- I guess she is the broker?

- Ok, girl nobody believes you

- Don’t give her the laser pointer

- IS HIS SHOULDER DISLOCATED

- BRO WTF

- They never would’ve shown half of this shit in JWCC

- YES NOW TURN BACK AND GET YAZ

- Oh she’s knocked tf out

Episode 7

- only a few more left

- Give her a break omg shits always happening to her

- Why is it taking so long for them to get back to her??

- … I guess the Sucho won

- I feel like the boats are much faster than going on foot?

- Also the current is not that strong

- Damn Sammy’s kinda scary when she’s worried about her wife

- Fuck this Sucho fr

- I wish we got more Ben and Darius this season, even just as friends

- Why are Kenji and Ben being so awkward??

- Darius does NOT know how to talk to children but he’s trying so hard

- Once again, the animation is gorgeous

- I love him

- I don’t like Zayna

- She’s real af for that though

- Yaz has a head injury and is climbing up trees rn, girlboss

- OH SHIT

- That lowkey scared me

- LEAVE HER ALONE

- THAT KICK OMG

- Girl is struggling

- I love a good Yaz-forward episode

- I love the way the eyes shine when the flashlights are on them

- Awww Kenji

- Benji?

- Aww Darius protecting Zayna

- “Oh jeez, oh jeez, oh jeez” I love him

- They are just beating the shit out of the local wildlife and I love it

- LIONS?!?

- This girl does not know everything omg

- Water and land are dangerous, you would’ve had problems either way

- Give her a break omfg

- IT CAN SWIM?!

- Yaz’s plot armor is absurd

- She needs to get back to her girlfriend, she is cold, wet, tired, injured

- You have paddles?? At least you should

- What dino is this?

- The dino fights are crazy this season

- You’re doing all of this in sandals??

- … at least you don’t have to worry about the Sucho anymore

- KENJI YOU RUINED THE MOMENT

- “My girl” STOPPPPP

- They’re so in love

- ITS DAYTIME???

- Probably my favorite episode so far

Episode 8

- this is 2 parter??

- I love how they all just know how to steer a boat???

- Awww Kenji protecting Yaz

- I love Sammy

- How tf can they hear a generator that far away??

- YES LEAVE HER BEHIND

- Girl

- Kenji is the older brother ever

- Oh shit a dino

- The chase scenes are good this season

- Kenji, stop IT

- Finally

- This is so sad

- Yasmina “not a hugger” Fadoula

- They’re so in sync

- Monolophasaurs?

- Benji are probably thriving rn be fr

- I love Ben

- Sammy’s so dorky I love it

- Oh my gosh

- Baby dino factory

- I hate Zayna, like I know she’s a kid but she’s annoying (I’m 17, I’m allowed to dislike children)

- Goodbye captain lang, damn

- Yasammy have not kissed ONCE this season (maybe they have, I’m not sure)

- They all take care of Zayna and that’s cute

- Yaz holding Sammy like that is adorable

- DO NOT SPLIT UP

- Why is Zayna the only person in this show with pierced ears?

- They should form a cheerleading team the way they’re lifting her

- Is this a dino fighting arena?

- IT HAS NO EYES

- This scene is actually so interesting

- FUCKING IDIOT GIRL

- Darius is the fucking king of sliding through small gaps

- Team Distraction for the win

- That is a child, why do you care if she thinks you’re cool or not??

- BRO SHOULD NOT BE ALIVE AFTER THAT FALL

- Kenjis still wearing those ugly ass shoes

- I love Ben

- WHY DID SHE JUST WALK IN THERE???

- SHE TOOK THE EGGS

- That was a good episode

Episode 9

- part 2

- That phone is huge

- Why are you having the one-armed girl drive?

- You shouldn’t trust her

- Dr. Sarr?

- Rewrite the genetic code??

- They’re still referred to as kids and I love it

- I do like episodes where I get to piece together a timeline

- What is this fucking music in the background?

- Oh shit she was working the crate and shit

- Seeing this all from her pov is kinda boring

- I was lowkey hoping for a more dramatic reveal

- I actually like how dark this season is and how every bad guy character is bad

- Oh my gosh

- Damnit Brooklyn you should’ve let her fall

- I don’t really like that we keep repeating the same scenes, but only slightly different

- It’s fine to split the Fam up like this, but we need to stop focusing on Brooklyn, I wanna go back to Ben and Kenji or Yasammy and Darius, split it up like we did in CC

Episode 10

- here we go, final episode

- Kenji needed that

- He def needed to release that anger

- I think we need to let Kenji kill someone

- Wtf how is he still alive?

- Baryonyxes are so cool

- Awww the dinosaurs are bonding

- It’s like the scene with the raptors and the hybrid in Jurassic Park 2 or 3

- I’m too invested to write notes lmao

- Those night vision sunglasses are kinda cool

- Fuck that kinda scared me

- Where is Zaynas dad?

- This season is lowkey scary

- How does her phone still have power? It’s been like 4 days

- Someone should’ve brought a gun

- They cannot hear you saying “I’m coming” in a normal volume be fr

- Ben and Kenji have been alone together way too much to not kiss

- Oh, there’s Zaynas dad

- WHERE ARE KENJI AND BEN

- Where did that car come from??

- Bro all of a sudden went into Tokyo Drift mode

- Kentrosaurus?

- Who let Kenji drive??

- There’s still so much to wrap up

- Biosyn??

- Wait does this take place before Dominion then?

- Ok, but BUMPYS EGG IS STILL IN THERE

- She def took bumpys egg out

- See? I know everything

- Oh, wait that’s it??

- I have mixed feelings.

[impala-dreamer]

Embraceable You

A Story from the MCU

Bucky Barnes x You

970 Words

Pre-War, Young!Bucky, Fluff, Romance, Longing, and the magic of NYC in the fall...

Cozy Drabbles ‘24 Masterlist

Impala-Dreamer’s Masterlist  ~  Patreon  ~ Published Works

There’s nothing like New York in the fall. 

The air is crisp and the wind carries the scents of the city on cool gusts that lift your spirits like nothing else in the world. 

The trees ignite in brilliant golds and oranges, striking a stunning contrast to the gray sidewalks and steel buildings. The city comes alive with color, bustling with an undercurrent of peace that seeps into every citizen, rushed or not. 

Leaves crunch underfoot. Birds sing a little sweeter. The world is beautiful and love is in the air.

Bucky smiles whenever he looks your way and there’s nothing sweeter. He comes off as confident and tough, but when his blue eyes meet yours, he shies away nearly instantly, becoming little more than an adorable young man who wants nothing else but to touch your cheek, hold your hand, kiss your lips.

Perhaps you’re being mean by making him wait, but it’s just so fun to watch his cheeks burn with embarrassment whenever you back away from an obvious advance. He’s too cute when you bat your eyes at him innocently; too handsome when he offers you his arm.

Central Park is busting with life as you take your afternoon stroll. Tourists stop to take photos on the Bow Bridge or order hotdogs from the various vendors stationed around the park. Children run around chasing pigeons or escaping balloons. Couples picnic on grassy hills and bicycles fly without care. It’s perfect. 

He’s perfect. 

Bucky kicks at a rock in his way as he talks about his week. He tells stories of his friends and his dreams. He goes on and on, wanting to tell you everything, wanting you to really get to know him. You listen on, wrapped in the warmth of his voice and the enthusiasm with which he speaks. The Brooklyn on his tongue becomes thicker the more excited he gets and it makes you smile as he stumbles over words, dropping Gs and skipping like a stone over a few Rs here and there. You could listen to him for days and never feel the need to say a word. 

When he does close his mouth, it’s somehow more captivating. His lips are wet and plump, his smile so endearing it makes your heart swell. The fact that his gaze is locked on your face makes your stomach flip and your pulse quicken. If it weren’t so improper, you’d sneak behind a tree and let him sneak his big hands down your curves. If it weren’t so obscene, you’d unbutton his shirt and slide your hand down his firm chest. If it weren’t so dangerous, you’d let him know how much you wanted him, how hot you felt whenever he was around. The last few weeks of chaste handholding and walks through the city were just about driving you mad. 

Mother always told you to take it slow. If a boy was worth it, he would wait for you. 

Bucky was worth it. 

Still, it was getting harder and harder to stay a good little girl when he dragged his blue eyes down your body. Harder to stay innocent when he licked his lips so slowly as you spoke. Impossible not to feel that wetness between your thighs when he sat so close, knee and shoulder touching yours. 

The hour was coming to a close and you’d be due back at work soon. Lunch breaks simply weren’t long enough for romance. 

Bucky felt it too. Looking down at his watch, he sighs. 

“Gonna have to be getting back soon.” 

Nodding, you turn to face him. “Me too.” 

There’s a sadness between you but it fades when he tips his head and looks into your eyes. 

Desire trumps lamentation every time. 

“Hope we can go for another stroll soon,” he says, lips turned into a half smile.

You take a deep breath, filling your lungs with the afternoon sun and the warmth pushing off of him. “I think that’d be nice.” 

“Or maybe I can take you out… maybe go see a picture?” 

Bottom lip snagged between your teeth, you nod. “I’d really like that. Gimmie a call later, yeah?”

The goodbye is always terrible. Awkward and timid, with a current of want that zings between you, never to be quelled. 

Bucky looks away and clears his throat, trying to calm his ache. 

“Well,” he says, looking back to you, “I guess I’ll see ya later.” 

“I guess so.” 

He starts to turn to leave and something inside of you snaps. Reaching for him, you stop his retreat and set your palm against his smooth cheek. He gasps in surprise before taking the hint. 

Dropping down, he leans close and exhales a breath as his lips finally brush over yours. Your body sings with joy as he presses a bit harder. He cups your face in his warm hands, holding you close and begging with everything he has. 

You let him in and everything explodes in brilliant color when his tongue touches yours. 

The city is ablaze around you, the sky is a brighter blue, and the Earth turns a little bit slower. For a moment, there is nothing but his kiss. 

Reluctantly, he pulls back and stares into your eyes. Young love floods his gaze and you feel every bit of yourself falling harder for him. 

Soon, you know, it will be impossible to walk away. 

Another kiss and you melt against him, your fingers curling in the soft fabric of his shirt. 

“Been waitin’ too long to do that,” he whispers, backing up just enough to make you lean in and ask for more. 

You grin and sigh. “All good things come to those who wait.” 

Bucky laughs and wraps his arms tight around you, holding you close. “You’re certainly a good thing, Doll…”

[cable-knit-sweater]

Before The First Light

Rating: T Word count: 884 words Tags: Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, nightmares, minor injuries, Steve Rogers needs a hug, (light?) angst

Written for @catws-anniversary || March 26 prompts: on your left, PTSD, endurance

He’s running. 

Steve’s running so fast that even with the serum coursing through his veins, his lungs are starting to burn with the strain of exertion. He barely pays any attention to the bullets whistling past him, dodging and weaving to avoid them, almost just on instinct. It is on instinct. There isn’t much time to think about anything but getting out.

The place is a fucking maze though, so it’s taking longer than he’d planned.  So much for that damn song, he thinks, almost laughing at the irony. So much for being the man with a plan.

He presses on, through endless corridors twisting and turning, Hydra soldiers hot on his heels. Steve thinks that maybe they’ve finally figured it out, judging from the screaming and cursing. That he’s just a diversion so the other Howlies could go to work. 

By now, they’ve definitely set the place to blow.  By now, Steve should’ve made his way out. 

A bullet grazes his shoulder, but he tries to ignore the searing pain as he pushes himself harder, his heart hammering in his chest. 

Suddenly, he’s outside, the building exploding behind him. He’s hit with a blast of air, pressure, heat, but it just propels him forward faster. There’s still no time to think. 

There’s more cursing and shouting. This time it’s not in German though.

 It’s in a heavy Brooklyn accent, his favorite in all the fucking world. 

“Are you fuckin kidding me? Are you tryin’ to get blown to pieces? For fuck’s sake Rogers!!”

“Just brushing up on my German,” he yells back as he gets closer and closer to the source of the cursing and shouting. “You know, they’d call you an Arsch-”

“Don’t you even think ab- fuck, Stevie, watch out! Three at your 9 o’clock!” 

Steve twists and turns to the right, still running towards the treeline that Bucky is shouting at him from.  He doesn’t slow down or turn back - he’s made that mistake before and gotten an earful - as Bucky takes out the Hydra goons with his rifle.

He doesn’t slow down or turn back until he gets to Bucky’s position. That’s where he draws the line. Steve’s not ever going anywhere without him. 

By the time he comes to a stop, Bucky has taken care of the last stragglers, and Steve collapses against a tree. 

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, you can say that again,” Bucky grumbles as he drops down from a tree branch. “What the fuck?”

They start running again, side by side, Bucky on his left like always. There’s no benefit in sticking around. There might be more Hydra soldiers out there, and the other Howlies will definitely give them shit if they take much longer catching up to the group. 

“Hmm.”

“I was this close to coming in and dragging your ass out. Did we not have a plan?” 

“I was fine. I am fine, stop bitching, Buck.”

Bucky pushes his shoulder against Steve’s, and he winces. Of course, Bucky notices. “Fine, huh? I’m thinkin I should just tie myself to you so you don’t go runnin’ off making stupid ass decisions.”

“What makes you think I won’t do that with you tied to me?”

“Good point,” Bucky huffs. “You’d probably enjoy it, and then you’d just drag me int-”

The rest of his sentence gets cut off by a blood curdling scream. Steve’s heart stops. It’s Bucky. 

****

Steve jolts awake. 

He’s drenched in sweat, his senses still reeling. A little disoriented, he scans his dimly lit room, heart hammering against his ribcage, the image of Bucky lying motionless on the ground, blood staining the fabric of his uniform, still seared freshly into his mind.

It’s hard to ground himself. It seemed so real for a moment, like it was yesterday. But he’s not waking up in a tent in the French countryside, or on his cot back at SSR headquarters in London. He’s not waking up with-

He wakes up alone, in his DC apartment, and it’s never felt more suffocatingly small.  

With a heavy sigh, Steve swings his legs over the edge of his bed.  His muscles are protesting with the weight of exhaustion that still clings to him, but there’s no point in staying in bed. It’s not like he’s gonna get much more sleep now. He knows what images he’ll see if he closes his eyes.

Instead, he forces himself out of bed, switches out of his sweat-drenched clothes and into his running gear, and makes his way out of the apartment as quickly as he can. 

Running - ironically, given tonight’s dream - will help. Just to have a moment, an hour (or two) to not have to think, that’s all he needs. It doesn’t matter that it’s barely light out. He’ll be at it for a while. 

Maybe he'll try a different route today. Make his way south towards the Potomac, run a couple laps around the Mall before it’s run over with tourists.

Yeah, that’s what he’ll do. The sunrise over the Mall will make a pretty sight. Not enough to dislodge the dream still haunting him, but he doesn’t think anything ever will be. 

He doesn’t take much time to warm up, even if he knows he should. Soon enough, he’s running full speed.

He’s running. 

Steve’s running fast, but his lungs don’t burn. His heart, though. His heart aches.

[boatcats]

When Ed's mom realized he liked boys she never mentioned it directly. But he knew she knew because she'd started, shyly, giving him the sort of advice she might give a daughter.

One night, while doing her hair before bed, she'd told him "I always wear my hair up." Then she sighed a bit wistfully and added "when a man takes your hair down for the first time it's... special."

Ed wore his hair down a lot. He liked it down even if that meant that he had to put some extra care in later when the wind blew it around.

But when he felt Stede's hands in his hair after he'd divested Stede of his shirt, that gentle touch so different from the pain and fear and strain of their evening so far; when he felt Stede loose his hair around his shoulders and heard him gasp, just a little, as though he hadn't seen Ed's hair a hundred times, Ed understood.

(With apologies to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the source of my obsession with hair as intimacy)

[lunarfleur]

Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You ~ Earth 42! Miles Morales

Summary: On the corner, carolers are singing. There's a touch of magic in the air. From grownup to minor no one could be finer. Times are hard but no one seems to care

Warnings:Cursing

A/N: Happy Holidays, everyone! I know it’s late, but I wanted to get something out for everyone! Enjoy!

Tagging: @juneberrie @sluggmuffin @hiyaitssans @nagi3seastorm @luvjunie @milesmolasses @n1cole-ghost @kombuuuu

This is x fem! reader!

On the corner, carolers are singing

There's a touch of magic in the air

The mixed smell of foods filled the building. Hams, mashed potatoes, green beans, freshly-baked rolls…the whole complex was warm.

The lobby was decorated with a big Christmas tree, ribbons hanging off the walls, and fake presents tucked neatly into separate corners of the room. People marched in and out-happily chatting with one another while they carried plates of food.

From grownup to minor no one could be finer

Times are hard but no one seems to care

Truth be told, Miles never cared for parties much. He knew his mother liked them, she enjoyed talking with the other adults in the building. It made her feel relaxed, as she spent too much time working to make any friends.

But, as per usual, Miles sat in the corner. His plate of food sat in his lap. Miles’s Sony headphones covered his ears, Wu-Tang playing loudly. The corners of his lips stayed down, frowning at the sight of so many people.

But his eyes stayed on her.

Miles couldn’t find a word, in either English nor Spanish, to describe her. Beautiful didn’t come close. Maybe heavenly was the word?

Christmas Eve and all the world is watching

Santa guides his reindeer through the dark

He watched her eyes glance up, lighting up at the sight of him hunched in the corner. She smiled, a bright beam that could melt all the snow in Brooklyn, and hurried through the crowd of people over to him.

“Miles!” She cheered. “You have no idea how glad I am that you’re here.”

“Hey,” he shrugged, smiling lightly.

“The parties in this place never seem to get any easier," she sighed, chuckling. Miles snorted, nodding in agreement.

Miles tossed his plate to the side, pulling his headphones around his and grabbing his jacket in his hand.

“Let’s get outta here,” he said, nodding.

But from rooftop to chimney, from Harlem to Bimini

They will find a way into your heart

New York winters never seem to get any warmer, and [Name]’s clothing choices never seem to get any smarter.

A thin layer of snow covered the roof. The air seemed to bite at the skin of anyone who touched it. A chill ran up her spine as the two teens overlooked the city.

Miles glanced between the girl and his jacket. His hands were tense and numb. Yet, despite the fact, he reached over behind her to place the clothing gently around her. It hung off her shoulders.

“You’re gonna get yourself sick.”

A sheepish chuckle left her lips as she tucked her arms inside the sleeves. It smelled of his mother’s candles and his cologne; sandalwood and cleanliness.

Across from them, they could see the large mural Miles had painted for his father. ‘Captain Jeff Morales,’ it read, ‘Husband, Father, Hero. Rest In Power.’ She knew it well.

[Name] often found herself going up to the roof when she needed inspiration. She’d looked at that mural a million times, at least, and she always found herself going back to Miles. Her sketchbook was filled with him, the same way her heart was.

“Sure as hell am glad we’re on break,” Miles scoffed. He wasn’t the biggest fan of going to Visions. Sure, there was getting to room with Ganke and taking the cool art class, but he was too far away from his mom. He missed her while he was at school, and has come home on school nights many times just to be in his home again.

“Yeah,” [Name] chuckled. She tucked herself further into his jacket. If she could, she’d sew it onto her skin so she could smell it until she died.

“Lemme tell you, I hate Mrs. Sanchez.” Miles shook his head, frowning at the thought of his least favorite teacher though.

“But don’t you have over 100% in her class?”

“That ain’t got nothin to do with it.”

[Name] laughed, nodding her head in understanding.

A tense silence hung over the two. The cold air was numbing their skin, but Miles swore he was on fire. His crewneck didn’t do much for him.

Just outside the window, snow is falling

But here beside the fire we share the glow

“Miles?”

Looking over at her, [Name] was staring down at the busy New York streets. There was a bit of hesitation in her normally smooth voice. It sounded weak.

“Hm?”

“Do you remember when Ms. Brown made us do that free-writing assignment? About something we felt strongly about?”

“Yeah.”

Of course he remembered. Of all things he could have written about, he had to choose her. His English teacher had given him a knowing look, smirking at him. He had gotten an A on that assignment.

“What did you write about?”

“Well, love…I guess.”

“Love?”

Maybe Miles was imagining it, but he wished to every star above that the look she had in her eyes was hope. He prayed for it.

Miles nodding. [Name] did the same.

“Me too.”

Oh.

Love? Was there someone? Was it him?

“Is there…someone?” He couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Do you believe in soulmates?”

Of moonlight and brandy, sweet talk and candy

Sentiments that everyone should know

It was a sudden question. It caught Miles off guard.

“Soulmates? Why?”

“Do you think it’s true? That everyone has someone meant for them?”

Miles thought for a minute, rubbing the skin of his hand to make some friction.

“I don’t see why not.”

[Name] brought the sleeve of Miles’s jacket up to her nose. His scent was addicting, almost. It gave her chills in the way it was so relaxing to her.

“Do you think we’re friends in every universe?”

Miles glanced at her. His face heated up at his response, the only one he could come up with.

“In every other universe…is that all we are?”

[Name] turned toward him, eyes big with curiosity. The wind blew, and she watched as Miles’s braids swayed in the wind.

“I don’t understand,” She finally admitted

His body now facing her, [Name] had Miles’s full attention. The lamp lights reflected in his eyes, spots of yellow in brown and green. He stepped forward.

Memories of the year that lays behind us

Wishes for the year that's yet to come

“I’m saying that I wanna be with you.”

“You what?”

His breath fogged in front of his face with every exhale. His hands were hot and sweaty, a big difference to how they felt before. This was happening, unplanned and far too in-the-moment for his own good.

And it stands to reason that good friends in season

Make you feel that life has just begun

“I dunno know how to explain, but there ain’t a single day I don’t think about.”

“Miles?”

“Since the day I met you, [Name]. I…”

“Are you…being for real?”

“Every day up until now, I counted the number of times you’d smile at me. I just about died on days you didn’t.”

Christmas is the time to say "I love you"

“I don’t wanna just say “I like you” and leave it at that. I want you to understand me.”

“Wow, Miles. I never thought you..”

“[Name]? Do you understand me?”

Share the joys of laughter and good cheer

“Yeah, I do.”

“And?”

Christmas is the time to say "I love you"

“Of course I have feelings for you, Miles.”

And a feeling that will last all through the year

“Are you being for real?” Miles echoed.

Miles laughed. [Name] saw the way his nose scrunched. Miles didn’t normally smile so big. It was bright, like a little kid getting a pony on their birthday.

“More for real than ever.”

So when spirits grow lighter

And hopes are shining brighter

Miles leaned against the railing. He played off the way his heart was threatening to explode, the way his body was on fire. She was closer to him now than she was before.

Then you know that Christmas time is here

Love is not proportional to volume. It does not obey the laws of physics. This girl, one simple girl, was pulling Miles toward her with more force than the sun and every planet could give.

She gave him a smile andleaned closer to connect their shoulders. Flowers bloomed under his skim.

847 smiles from the day they met.

[pianokantzart]

💪🏽 Platonic :)

💪🏽 Bridal carry Even though Princess Peach walked ahead of Luigi she kept close tabs on him, taking care that he didn't get left behind in his distracted state or side-tracked by anything dangerous. All the while, she took silent notes, trying to determine what his physical capabilities were without the help of the super star. She discovered that he was a lot like Mario. His jump height was more impressive, and he had a poorer sense of balance, but otherwise they were very similar.

No doubt the two would be an even match in terms of fighting prowess– not that they would ever fight each other willingly. But while Mario was bold... even audacious at times... Luigi was skittish and gentle as a little green bird.

She could see why Mario had been so worried about him when they were separated, and she knew it was no small show of trust to let him venture out into the wilds alone with her for so long. Even though this was just a day trip to collect some fire flowers, this was a responsibility she would not take lightly.

The journey was quiet, but ultimately pleasant. Whenever they did speak, they mostly talked about Mario, Luigi asking about his adventures when they first arrived, and Peach asking about their life back in Brooklyn.

Halfway home, Princess Peach noticed something was wrong. Luigi was slowing down, biting back little squeaks of pain and leaning against whatever rock or tree was nearby. She slowed her pace to give him time to recover, but it eventually reached a point that she couldn't help but ask what was wrong.

"It's nothing," Luigi sighed, setting himself down on a large mushroom and rubbing at the legs of his overalls, "just my knees acting up.

Hands crossed daintily in front of her skirt, Princess Peach turned back, expression soft with concern. "Your knees?" Luigi nodded. He seemed embarrassed, and did his best to shrug it off with a reassuring smile and a wave of his hand. "An old work injury. Flares up from time to time. I just need to take an ibuprofen and ice it up when I get home."

The Princess responded with silence. Just as Luigi was beginning to worry that she was regretting her choice of company, he felt himself lifted into the air.

He blinked as he found him held in a bridal carry. As thin and dainty as Peach's arms appeared, she was surprisingly strong, carrying him down the hill back toward the Mushroom Kingdom as though he was nothing but a limp dishrag.

"P-Princess?" Luigi said, red with embarrassment. "Don't worry, this isn't necessary!"

"It will take longer for you to recover if you overexert yourself" the princess insisted gently, "don't worry, it's no trouble at all."

Luigi recognized that tone. The voice was gentler and the verbiage was more regal, but that tone was unmistakable. Without thinking, he muttered under his breath, "Man, no wonder Mario likes you so much."

"What did you say?" Princess Peach asked, head cocked in innocent curiosity. Luigi stammered.

"I said... uh... I said 'thank you very much'! You're... you're really nice."

Peach giggled. Luigi couldn't tell if the amusement was from the compliment itself, or how bad he was at lying, but either way she showed no sign of pressing the matter.

"Thank you, Luigi." She wore a gentle smile as she held him a little closer, and continued down the path toward home. "I think you're really nice too."

[blushcoloreddreams]

4 romances that will help you see the beauty in every day life

How do we learn to see beauty in everyday life? Firstly, knowing how to look and tell what we see. Paying attention. Literature helps us pay more attention to the beauty of everyday life. In this post, I will indicate 4 novels that will help you notice - and tell - improve the beauty of your life.

1- Gilead, by Marylinne Robinson.

An elderly Presbyterian pastor writes letters to his son when he is still a child. He knows he will die before the boy matures. Loving your child, you want to be known by him. Pastor John Ames talks about his life, talks to his son. But this man's identity is revealed through his attention to everyday things. He shows himself to his son, and to us, as he demonstrates his love for the reality created by God.

2- Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry

The main character and narrator is a barber in a small town in the interior of Kentucky. He embraces his vocation because he has managed to embrace everyday responsibilities. Jayber, orphaned by biological and then adoptive parents, needs to get back in touch with his own roots. He discovers that the meaning of his life lies in the love he devotes to those close to him. Jayber sees how everyday life anticipates the Communion of Saints.

3- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith

The narrator and character tells her childhood story. She carefully observed the love and difficulties between her parents. The hardness of the character's life is narrated along with the sweetness. Your life is very similar to ours. There is a love that affirms loved ones, despite their defects.

4- Manalive, by G. K. Chesterton

Written by one of my favorite authors, this book tells the story of Innocent Smith goes from being a traveler to becoming a pilgrim. He learns to love life in its smallest details. Smith, who was sick of life, discovers that his intellectualism was false. The restless traveler learns the meaning of pilgrimage - to Heaven, our true home. Only the pilgrim can love this life passionately.

In a previous post, I talked about the importance of reading good novels for a woman's intellectual and emotional development.. So I decided to prepare this post, with more recent novels that are not so well known or talked about in recent times. They are good stories in every sense: well-written works of art that, as a result, help us see the beauty that already exists in everyday life. I took care to select books that you can find in many languages, with recent editions and at reasonable prices. These are accessible books. I hope you can delve into each of these narratives and, from them, be able to narrate the beauty of your own life.

[quinnlarrabee]

Palo santo 101

Before you click play on the audio recording and blithely ignore the written guide, be sure to review the important science-based charts and insight-rich visuals sprinkled throughout it.

If you’ve ever walked into a party hosted by someone under 40 in Brooklyn, Lisbon, California, Condesa or Roma Norte, or Venice Beach and not smelled palo santo, then you probably had covid. Over the past decade palo santo has become the official scent of good vibes. It is an olfactory assurance for anyone who recognizes the scent that conversation will be limited to polyamory, regional burns, and adaptogen supplements. Despite the fact that no one ever doesn’t want to smell palo santo, it’s important to know when to use it and when to relegate your surroundings to their default odor. This guide will ensure that you know exactly how to make the most of the palo santo you carry in the shoulder bag you purchased at the Sant Jordi flea market in Ibiza during the off-season.

Like most cultural appropriations, no one who burns palo santo knows what it is, where it came from, why they use it, or why it’s even called palo santo. Let’s uncover the facts. 

Bursera Graveolens is a tree native to the dry tropical forests of South America. Its discovery by white people dates back to 1972 at a now defunct swingers resort in Quito, Ecuador, where a guest from New Jersey named Paulo Santonicola noticed a stick with a burning ember on the end of giving off a fetid, wispy trail of smoke. He pointed at the burning stick and asked the guy holding the cocaine tray, who would now be called a consent educator, “por que?”

“Plaga,” he replied, and gnashed his teeth and made a flapping-wing motion with the hand not holding the cocaine tray. Paulo brought the wood back to his central New Jersey home as a last-ditch effort to ward off the deer that were eating the tomatoes in his garden. He started burning the wood around the clock in the steamy summer of 1972, during which he and his girlfriend hosted dozens of play parties. 

“I didn’t care if people at my parties had a problem with the smell,” recounted Paulo. “Those frickin’ deer were jumping my fence and chewing through wire to eat my tomatoes. When I caught a whiff of that wood down in Quito, I thought, ‘they won’t come near my garden if I burn this shit.’” 

Mr. Santonicola had achieved some level of notoriety in the adult film industry in the early 1970s, and his parties were well attended by neo-hippies, the disco elite and the first generation of yoga professionals. Over the course of the summer, a pavlovian association formed between the scent of the wood and casual sex, and his friends started asking him for sticks so that they could take the vibe home with them. At the sunset of his porn career, he saw an opportunity not only to rebrand his legacy, distancing himself from grainy adult films with problematic titles, but also to make oceans of cash: import the wood and sell it through his readymade network of yoga instructors under his stage name, Palo Santo. 

Palo santo’s ubiquity today grew from its two foundational use cases: repelling pests and masking the odor of too many naked bodies in poorly ventilated New Jersey basements. Palo santo is still used today as a repellent of sorts to ward off bad vibes and people who do not use the word vibe in place of most nouns at the end of a question, such as scene, weather, temperature, culture, menu, rules, culture, law, opinion, suggested attire, relationship status, sexual proclivity, net worth and so on. It is also still used during group sex, but only when the group sex is intentional and/or ceremonial. There are many other ways, however, that you can improve the vibes of the world through the smoke of this wood, which was recently added to IUCN’s Red List of “near threatened” species, making it even more important to burn palo santo as a way of calling attention to its growing scarcity. 

Airplanes 

For a brief, blissful period during the pandemic, the only people who traveled were intrepid hipsters who had already contracted the virus and been instrumental in scaling it to global significance through music festivals, long-distance polycules and global nomadism. Commercial airlines from the spring of 2020 through the summer of 2021 were basically private air travel for people who know to always ask if party buffet chocolate is psycho-active. Air travel today is a much lower vibration experience, and it’s important that assertive restorative steps be taken by conscious travelers to make flying chill again. Hanging a dreamcatcher from the back of the seat in front of you and burning palo santo on the tray table is a great way of making a public flight experience feel more private. Be sure to light your palo santo only after the aircraft reaches cruising altitude, because tray tables must be stowed until then. 

Other people’s parties

Not everyone with whom you may socialize is aware of how critical palo santo is to creating and maintaining a vibe. Some less experienced hosts try to make do with incense from India, Japan or other countries that have been annexed by Brooklyn or with candles from La Labo, and it may be up to you to rescue the vibe. Back when people consumed alcohol, bringing a nice bottle of wine was a way of showing a host your appreciation, but these days bringing palo santo, immediately lighting it and waving the stick around like Harry Potter on quaaludes is the optimal way of saying thank-you to someone who has invited you into their home.  

Hospitals

While palo santo has not been proven by any form of science to deliver the healing benefits touted by people who sell or use palo santo, be assured that it does all of the things people say it does. Burning palo santo creates smoke, and smoke is pretty to watch and - like cardiovascular exercise - creates a healthy challenge for your lungs. Medical facilities are places where people go to heal, and bringing palo santo to visit a recovering friend is a beautiful contribution to not only their journey back to health but also the recovery of every patient within a twenty to fifty foot radius. 

Conscious uncoupling ceremonies

Modifying your relationship trajectory in a direction that disappoints the person you are with might seem like a low vibe experience, but you can make it a high vibe experience by burning palo santo. While explaining that the rules that you set last week for your ENM pairing have become too confining, burning palo santo will deflect negative reactions and in some cases even seduce your partner into being amenable to a situationship that has absolutely no structure, rules or expectations. This can add to your sexual abundance and also serve as a pillar in your temple of confidence that helps you acquire new lovers at floor parties. If, rather than just undefining the relationship, you are certain there is no future with the person to whom you have exposed particles of burning wood, palo santo will prevent your ex-partner from making an opposing case or lingering too long after you have had uncoupling sex. 

During sex with someone you don’t want to fall in love with you

In a rare moment of cultural relevance, Science has proven that pheromones strengthen the bonds of attraction between two or many more people during sexual activity. Sometimes, though, it is undesirable to strengthen bonds with a sex partner. Sometimes, it is optimal to maintain a totally impartial, unattached, stoic distance between the person who you are inside / is inside of you, given that attraction can lead to unintended expectations. Burning palo santo is an excellent way of muting the potency of pheromones, leveling the olfactory playing field and creating a piney through-line for all the people participating in a sexual experience. 

Any kind of intentional wellness space

Because the smell of palo santo is so potent and distracting, burning it during intentional experiences (e.g. yoga, journaling, meditation, tantra classes, tantric sex, facials or any kind of PRP therapy) compels participants to step up their intention-setting efforts. It forces deep focus and concentration, kind of like how the deafening emo whines of RY X at a RY X concert force you to lean in, cock your head and make that weird squinty-eyed, mouth-agape listening face to be able to hear the unsolicited story of how literally anyone you happen to be standing next to was in an intentional polyamorous relationship with RY X.

Ancient actually sacred genuinely authentic real cultural events that were not invented by white people to extract money from other white people

Many people who attend Burning Man have begun to explore other intentional gatherings outside of Nevada that don’t involve metallic gold body paint. Some of these gatherings are thousands of years old and are led by people who have trained their entire lives to uphold traditions that have been passed down for generations within their culture. Particularly if a gathering takes place in its country of origin (rather than being exported, diluted and branded, like an ethnic fast food franchise), you may encounter native smells that don’t smell like palo santo. In these cases, it is not only permissible but even advisable to add palo santo to everyone’s experience, which you have probably been very reluctantly allowed to attend. Burning palo santo will communicate to the religious or cultural leaders of the gathering that you are on their level and (despite having never read anything about the gathering other than first few words of the top Google result you saw while standing on the Premier Access line into your Delta flight at JFK / LAX / SFO) have a deep respect for whatever they are chanting in a language that you cannot understand while you record the most intensely sacred moments for the Instagram story that you will post at the appropriate time in your home time zone so that everyone will know that you are an internationally intentionally spiritual person who gets access to authentic cultural events. 

Despite its countless unproven benefits and its universal appeal within a very small circle, there are certain times when palo santo should not be burned. Palo santo can trigger flashbacks for people who first encountered the scent of it during acid trips. If someone walks into your container, smells the palo santo you’re burning and begins behaving erratically, just ask them to immediately return to their own container, lest they harsh the vibe you’re cultivating. The only other times that do not call for burning palo santo are when you’re alone, and no one else will see you lighting the stick and waving it around the room, bringing it within inches of everyone’s face whether they’ve invited it or not, while making awkwardly long eye contact with them, nothing but the winding trail of smoke in front of your your vulnerable gaze, thus communicating to them that you are a spiritually endowed person and care deeply about them knowing that you are a spiritually endowed person. So, a helpful rule of thumb is this: as with masturbation, you should always and only be burning palo santo when someone is watching, otherwise what’s the point.

[yourstardarling]

Capricorn: The Cold Mother

I learned officially the other day Capricorn is a feminine sign and needed some time to fully grasp this. I’ve always been confused as to how a sign associated with such a cold demeanor be feminine. Then I realized that Capricorn is the opposite of the mother sign Cancer, which means these two signs are expressions of our mothers.

Cancer symbolizes the caring devoted mother. Her water sign nature makes her emotionally attuned to the feelings of those around her. She takes care of her kids and guide their emotional development as they grow through the real world. Cancer cares for her family and can heal the emotional pain of those in need.

Capricorn on the other hand is the cold mother. She is the businesswoman who values discipline and consistency. With Capricorn being an Earth sign, emotions are often undermined. There is a suppression of them in order to build tough skin and a strong exterior. As we look at the symbol for Capricorn below, it is a sea goat which represents mastering control of emotional depths in order to climb higher ground.

This makes a lot of sense as well as Capricorns are often associated with climbing mountains. Mountains symbolizing obstacles and problems that arise in our lives. So in order to face these obstacles, Capricorn must not let her feelings get the best of her. This in turn creates a family that isn’t really emotionally nurtured by her. She will provide the physical necessities though, due to her earth sign nature. However, the rest of sustaining of her children will need to be figured out on their own.

Demeter & The Cold Mother

To undertand the nature of Capricorn more let’s look at the story of Demeter. Capricorn season begins on the Winter Solstice. In Greek Mythology, it is believed that winter has come due to Demeter grieving her daughter. Demeter is the goddess of agriculture and the provider of life force energy on earth. After Persephone has made her decent into the underworld in Autumn, Demeter stops providing sustenance to all life. The land becomes cold and barren. Animals hibernate and trees wither away. So all life stops moving and Demeter freezes the land in Persephone’s absence.

This is a simplified version of the story, but it helps us understand the nature of Capricorns. As they begin the season of winter, it symbolizes how Capricorns grow up in cold environments. These cold environments lacked life and nurturing qualities to keep them sustained. So Capricorns had to learn from a young age how to sustain themselves and survive in this cold world. They needed to learn to climb their own mountains and be more mature than their peers. Playing the role of the parent to keep themselves afloat. That’s why they are ruled by Saturn. The planet of maturity and discipline.

It is the reason why Capricorns themselves may come off as cold with their emotions. They just had to be in order to survive. Their emotions needed to be suppressed as to not upset a member in the family. They posses a lot of maturity, but being a child was taken away from them drastically.

That’s why the moon is debilitated in Capricorn. Emotions should be valued in order to have a nurturing family. Capricorn freezes their emotions in order to keep the peace in their family. Some Capricorns may feel frozen in time when it comes to expressing how they feel, but just like ice eventually these emotions will be melted away.

A quote to Describe them:

“You say I'm like the ice, I freeze” - Brooklyn Baby, Lana Del Rey

A song:

[cha-melodius]

TFW you start writing a new fic (when you shouldn't, because the fic that's due for an exchange is not done shhhhhh), but then you don't want to share anything from that too because you want it to be a surprise (if you can finish it before Christmas)...

Anyway, please instead have this bit of the YGM AU that I wrote quite a while ago now, but it's Christmassy so I'm sharing it now. Thanks for the tags @kiwiana-writes, @xthelastknownsurvivorx, @orchidscript, @leaves-of-laurelin, @rmd-writes, and @adreamareads. Also @clottedcreamfudge asked to be tagged, so there.

One frigid mid-December evening, he calls a cab to take him to Brooklyn and loads the boxes into the trunk. There’s a new pin attached to the lapel of his coat: a tiny bi pride flag that Nora dropped nonchalantly on his desk the other day. On one hand, he feels kind of ridiculous to be broadcasting it to the world at large considering he hasn’t come out to his family—or anyone but Nora, actually—but there’s something to be said for the anonymity. The nameless New Yorkers he encounters don’t care. It’s kind of liberating. The Okonjo shelter is housed in a modern construction with an exterior of glass, concrete, steel, but the inside is homey and warm, decorated with an eclectic collection of furniture that somehow doesn’t look mismatched. The front room seems to be a lobby of sorts, which is decked out with a massive Christmas tree that’s absolutely covered in ornaments representing every kind of queer pride flag. Alex is too busy trying to carry too many boxes at once to really appreciate all of the handmade holiday decor, but he catches sight of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa decorations amongst plentiful signs proclaiming things like “Make the Yuletide Gay” (a standard), “Jingle All the Gay” (kind of a stretch), and “Ho Ho Homosexual” (inspired—Alex might steal that one for the shop).

It's getting late and I've been busy all day so idk who's been tagged, so please feel free to ignore me. @welcometololaland, @cricketnationrise, @indomitable-love, @iboatedhere, @lizzie-bennetdarcy, @ships-to-sail, @sherryvalli, @statueinthestonetoo, @liminalmemories21, @myheartalivewrites, @nontoxic-writes, @tintagel-or-cockleshells, @dumbpeachjuice, @three-drink-amy, @nicijones, @mirilyawrites, @loki-is-my-kink-awakening, and an open tag for anyone else who wants to join in, tag me!

[not-that-syndrigast]

Stucky fanfic recs

below you can find some of my all time favourite Stucky fics that have ruined my life 💕 not really sorted except for the first three which are my all time favourites

creative | canon adjacent | AU | modern AU | small steve | sexual content

United States v. Barnes, 617 F. Supp. 2d 143 (D.D.C. 2015)

The Associated Press @AP

Winter Soldier set to stand trial for Washington D.C. massacre and treason apne.ws/1og6SWE

(Creative, canon adjacent)

End OTW Racism | Steve Rogers at 100: Celebrating Captain America on Film

“Heil Hydra,” the enemy agent shouts.

“Heil this, motherfucker,” says Captain America, shooting off a rocket.

Steve and Bucky find out Hollywood has been busy since they went away. A historical survey, including but not limited to: one set of exploded genitals, a brief interlude in France, Mel Gibson and other masterworks of casting, eight Academy awards, several dinosaurs, and something Tony Stark has ominously dubbed “the masterpiece.” Art included.

(creative, canon adjacent)

A long winter

In 1945, Steve Rogers jumps from a nosediving plane and swims through miles of Arctic Ocean to a frozen shore.

In 1947, Steve Rogers marries Peggy Carter.

In 1966, the New York Times finds the lost letters of Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.

(AU)

Just say you do

Steve just wanted a job. He wasn't expecting a marriage proposal. And he certainly wasn't expecting to accept.

(Modern AU, small Steve)

ain't no grave (can keep my body down)

It's six in the morning, and Steve is heading out on a run when he nearly trips over a bouquet of sunflowers on the front steps of his brownstone.

For a second paranoia takes over, and he kicks the flowers a little, waiting for them to explode. They don't. They also came with a card, which he picks up. The front of the card has a tasteful picture of the Brooklyn bridge at sunset. It's very nice and sedate, like the kind of card you would buy to give to your boss. On the inside someone has written a short message in big, shaky block letters.

I AM SORRY FOR SHOOTING YOU.

Steve sits down hard on the steps.

(Canon adjacent)

casual encounters

“You have never once been careful in your entire life.” Bucky huffs out a laugh. He looks away. “Maybe I’m offended you didn’t think to ask me.” He says it like a joke, but he can’t bring himself to laugh again.

“Bucky,” Steve says, scandalized. “You’re my friend. I’m not gonna use you to experiment sexually.”

(Modern AU, small Steve, sexual content)

If they haven't learned your name

Steve gets out of the hospital in two days, but just barely. “I’m fine,” he tells Sam, Nurse Eunjung and the phalanx of doctors assigned to make sure Captain America didn’t bleed out and die and get bad PR all over their nice clean hospital. “I have an advanced healing factor. It’s fine. See? I’m standing.”

“That is not standing,” Sam tells him.

“You’re bending the IV stand,” Nurse Eunjung adds pointedly. “Let go and sit down, they don’t grow on trees.”

aka Steve and Bucky's Global Honeymoon Revenge World Tour.

(Canon adjacent)

choices we're given

Steve Rogers is a good man and a good agent. There's really no excuse for the assassin in his bed.

(Modern AU, sexual content)

through the woods

There’s a legend in Mansewood, nearly as old as the town itself, about a pack of werewolves that once lived in the forest. They say only one survives; a monstrous and snarling beast with fur like a blizzard and fangs the size of daggers. They say it guards the lands and all creatures in it, and no hunter has faced it and lived to tell the tale.

Steve doesn’t care about any of that. He only wants to know if it prefers T-Bone or ribeye, and would it please stop tracking dirt through his house? He just mopped the floor.

(Modern AU, sexual content)

[imawreck]

Present

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier x Original Character

Summary: Bucky grows closer and closer to losing himself in the attempts to find Max, becoming more like The Winter Soldier once more. While they are searching for her, Max is losing more and more of herself.

Warnings: Pretty much the same as last few chapters so please be very careful with your reading!

Word Count: 3,252

Steve-

There wasn't a second to waste when the jet landed a mile out from where Tony had pinged the surge. Everyone was storming out of the hanger the second it touched the ground, Buck leading the charge.

I was following right behind him. I might not have had the best relationship with Max or believe that she was the best for my best pal but seeing him this close to falling apart was so much worse.

We approached the rubble of what was left from the old Hydra facility. All of us shot Tony questioning glances, because who the hell would set up camp here with no cover? There were hardly trees here. It was simply a couple of crumbled remains of a building or two in a flat clearing. No one would willingly use this as a base of operations, especially if they were going to use a weapon like the Scepter.

Tony frowned. "This is where the ping came from. I'm sure. Spread out but keep on the Comms. Look for some kind of sign that they were here."

When I turned to follow after Bucky, afraid he wouldn't be alright alone, he was already gone. Well, several yards away, anyway. His back was to me as he searched the ground, obviously following some sort of trail in the grass. I hustled over to him, noting the subtle footprints here or there, the half impression of a heel every few feet.

"They were here recently," he mumbled, "Could still be here."

I watched him closely as I trailed after him. Bucky had gone from remotely friendly and sometimes conversational to a downright ghost around the tower ever since Max's capture. I hardly heard a word out of him during the weeks afterward, only heard him talk at the meetings he attended. If they didn't revolve around finding Max, he wouldn't even show up to those. Instead, I'd find him in the gym or locked away in his room. Sometimes catch him coming out of her old room with a blank look on his face and an agony in his eyes. 

Bucky had become a looming figure around the tower. Both physically and emotionally. His time in the gym was evident on every inch of him as I watched him search the ground. Tony even had to order him a new suit to fit. Despite his stature, every single step he took was silent as ever in the way only he could do. He was so starkly different from the Brooklyn boy I grew up with that I hardly recognized him nowadays. Especially in moments like these when he slipped back into The Soldier. 

When his face went slacken and his eyes became nothing but cold calculation. When his shoulders remained tense and nothing and no one, even me, could stop him from his mission at hand. I followed him as he pressed forward, following the trail of boot prints to who knows where.

"Buck," I called out, "We have to stay within eyesight of the team. We don't know who's up here."

He didn't listen, merely stalked forward. I pursed my lips and hustled after him. The brush was getting a little thicker, and it looked like Bucky was struggling a little more with following the trail. Every few feet he would stop and scan the area for who knows what. The training he possessed wasn't something I had, and I barely knew what to look for. I just tried to keep up with him in hopes that I could provide some kind of help if we were ambushed.

Suddenly, Bucky stilled.

He stood stalk still with his eyes trained on the ground a few feet in front of him at something in the brush. I raised my shield on instinct, approaching him as quietly as I could manage. Right in front of him, half buried in the dirt, was a concrete hatch. The dirt was smudged around the edges as if it had been heaved open and someone or multiple some ones had clambered out of it. 

Several sets of prints were scattered all around the dirt surrounding the hatch. Some were deeper than the others, some just partials as if they had been running. Bucky didn't waste much more time before he was reaching down with his metal arm and wrenching the door clear off its hinges. 

"Bucky!" I ran around in front of him. "What are you doing? We don't know what's down there, and we have to wait for the team. You can't go down there alone." I made sure to enunciate the importance of waiting on the team, tried to reason with him that this would most definitely be the worse way to go about things if there were still Hydra agents down there. "If you want to get her out, we do it as a team. It's the only way we can."

Bucky stalled, his eyes sweeping over to me and pinning me with the blankest look I think I've ever received from him even as the Winter Soldier. This was a side of Bucky I hadn't ever encountered before. There was a ferocity in his eyes that made me stop and really think that maybe trying to reason with him wasn't the best idea. He didn't look like there was a word in the entirety of the universe that would make him wait another second on anyone.

But he waited, lifting his hand to his ear and murmuring into it. I heard his voice echo back in my Comm as he listed off our coordinates to the rest of the team and allowed them to come into view before he dropped down into the hole without another word to me. I dropped in behind him, keeping a few feet between us and covering behind us as the rest of the team began filing in down the hatch one by one.

Bucky pressed ahead with his gun raised. He checked every single corner, searching each room one by one, but every single one of them was empty. The only thing that gave any indication that there were people here was the disturbed dirt on the floor or the occasional imprint on the dusty countertops of the labs we came across. 

Nothing else was left behind.

The closer we got to the main room, the more I could see the stress heighten in Bucky's shoulders. I knew the lack of evidence that Max was really here was getting to him. It was getting to all of us, even me.

But Bucky was unstable, and I feared that our failure to get here in time to find Max would push him to the edge. That it would put him somewhere so dark I wouldn't be able to reach him no matter how hard I tried.

We entered what looked to be the main chamber, a large room with several empty steel tables set in a semi-circle near the center. They were obviously new, and recently used at that. Unlike the other tables, there wasn't a speck of dust left on any of them. In the middle of the room was the obvious signs of something square being left there. A cage perhaps. In its absence, settled in the center of it, was a small brown box wrapped haphazardly in a paper sack and tied off with a black ribbon.

Bucky went impossibly still as the rest of the team filed in behind me. Everyone's eyes fell to the box. The only sounds that reverberated off the empty cold walls were the uneasy breaths of the team and the whir of Tony's suit. 

No one moved for what felt like forever, several minutes at least. I was afraid to speak, to breathe. I was afraid the smallest movement would set Bucky off, or whatever Roman Giles had put in that box. It could be a bomb.

I raised my shield at the thought, but I didn't have much time to do anything remotely heroic before Bucky was slinging his gun over his shoulder and snagging the box off the ground.

Panic welled up in my throat. "Bucky!"

But he was already opening it, already tearing through the paper. 

Wanda was raising her arms beside me, and Vision glided easily up beside her. "Sergeant Barnes, we don't know what's in there. It would be unwise to—.”

Bucky obviously didn't give a shit, because he flicked open the lid and glared at whatever was inside. What he pulled out was small and rectangular, not any bigger than my hand. I recognized it almost instantly from years ago. It was a recorder. I had stumbled upon the exact make and model some of the first years as Captain America taking down Hydra facilities. The scientists at the time used them to record their experiments.

As the information settles itself in the forefront of my mind, a dread sinks into the pit of my stomach. "Bucky, that could have something you might not want to hear on it." I knew very well that Giles had left it for us to find, for Bucky himself to find. This was child's play to him, a game he was very well winning.

Bucky's eyes met mine for a moment, a tidal wave of emotions crashing in them. But he didn't speak, simply clicked the button and let the recording echo off the walls of the facility.

"Tell me what you'll do to keep us from getting him." 

I flinched as Gile's voice ricocheted off the walls, rattling around in my ears. What really had my knees buckling was when a small, wobbling voice answered his demand. I could hardly recognize Max from the vulnerability leaking into her words.

 "I'll do anything, just don't hurt him. I'll kill if that's what you want. I'll become whatever you want me to be, just don't touch him. Leave him alone." 

A choked sob, garbled further by the recorder.

"I can't watch him die again, not anymore. I- I can't."

As I watched Bucky grip the recorder, eyes vacant and pinned to the floor as he listened to their exchange, I knew exactly who they were referring to. How he had made her watch him die; I could only imagine wasn't at all pleasant. Hydra was cruelly creative.

Giles spoke again, "Did you hear that Seargent Barnes? Isn't she sweet? Sacrificing herself to save you." He laughed, the sound like nails on a chalkboard and added, "The next time you see her, she will be but a husk of the woman you knew. Chow!"

At that, Bucky sent the recorder flying into the wall across from him. All of us flinched, diving out of the way to avoid the flying debris. The next thing to go was the table closest to him. His metal fingers snagged under the edge and sent it flying into the lights which sprayed us all in sparks in return. We all scattered to avoid them, immediately going into defense. 

There was a wildness in Bucky's eyes, a glimpse of a side of him we thought remained dormant without the mention of those wretched words. Alas, here he was. The Winter Soldier had come out at the mere pained voice of this woman. This woman who had somehow wormed her way so far into his heart that even this heartless killing machine had fallen for her, would break all mental bounds to come to her aid.

I was the first to snap into action, shield up and aiming for his left shoulder. I would have to disarm his strongest weapon before I had the upper hand. Bucky was stronger now, larger than I was. The fight would be over in minutes if he was fully functional. With that in mind, I rammed my shield into the plates of his shoulder as hard as I could.

Bucky stumbled, careening to the side with the impact. I had underestimated his strength, because a second later I was flying into the concrete wall. I hadn't even registered he had hit me until my head collided with the wall, effectively removing me from the equation as the room spun uncontrollably. That left it up to the rest of them.

Tony and Clint tag teamed him next, the latter shooting off several arrows that triggered into snares once they made their homes in his metal arm. Cords wrapped themselves around his torso in tight circlets. Tony took the opportunity to pin him to the wall and allow Barton to fire off a few more restraining arrows. Bucky struggled against them, yelling his head off and grunting in efforts to get away from them. 

I pulled myself from the man-shaped hole left behind me as I stumbled over to them. "Buck, you have to calm down."

If a man could snarl, that's exactly what Bucky would be doing right now. The anger on his face would be enough to send any lesser man running for the hills. 

"Buck," I repeated, "We're going to get her back, but you've got to come back first." I figured if this Winter Soldier like state he had snapped into wasn't triggered by words, then he could come out of it on his own. Right? "I promise we will."

There was a moment where he just stared at me with all the hatred in the world held in his eyes. But there was a pain there too. A pain I almost missed. Slowly though, that pain grew until it was all encompassing. His shoulders shook and his face began to twist as tears gathered in his eyes.

And just like that, Bucky began to weep.

He wept hard. His whole body wracked with the sobs that left him. I turned to the others, begging them silently to give us a moment. Tony caught the drift and motioned the others to exit the room. I turned back to Bucky, all tied up against the wall, and gathered him up in my arms. "I'm so sorry Buck." It was all I knew to say and I knew it wasn't even close to enough.

"They've tortured her, Steve. They've done God knows what, and I can't even find her." He sniffled, wiping his nose on the Kevlar on his shoulder. "I'm one of the most trained for this bullshit, and I can't find her."

I could only pull him closer, desperate to keep him from going down this dark rabbit hole. "We will find her. I'll make sure we do. I just need you to stick with the team, okay? Keep your head level as best you can while we sort this out."

He nodded weakly, but a yes was a yes. I cut him loose, letting the ropes fall to the ground and waiting for him to collect himself before we both headed back towards the jet where I knew the rest would be waiting up for us. 

It would be difficult and dangerous, but I'd be damned if I didn't give finding this girl my all.

_____

Max-

I fucking hate tranq guns. 

That was my first waking thought. The second was that I at least got a sound rest untouched by nightmares or plaguing memories. At least I had that. 

It took a few minutes to come to, finally registering the restraints around my body. I still felt week. Extremely weak, more than I had been since my initial capture. Which was never a good sign. I curled my fingers around the evident arms of a metal chair, feeling the cool surface bite against my skin. Felt the pull of the cold cuffs securing me to it. 

There was something masking my vision, a blindfold perhaps. I didn't know why; it wasn't like I could go anywhere or tell anyone if they let me see where I was. Maybe Giles just liked the suspense. I was not impressed or willing to participate. I was tired and missing the tower, missing my friends.

I hadn't allowed myself to think about them since I landed in this lovely situation. It would just bring me more pain, so I had pushed them away for my own safety. Now that I was sure things weren't going to get any brighter, I allowed myself to savor my memories of them before Giles stripped me of everything I was.

Because I knew that's what it would do. That serum, whatever he had created it with, could do that to me. I had felt it eating away at my mind when he first injected me with it, and I had to fight tooth and nail to claw my way back from it. It nearly took everything I had. But now... now that I know what they'll do to Bucky, how easily they had broken into the tower, I didn't have any fight left in me.

There was the familiar creak of metal hinges before footsteps echoed in the room I was held in. I knew that gait, the soft brush of fabric against his knees. Giles.

"Good afternoon, little bird." Something scraped against a table, "I hope you are as excited as I am."

I didn't answer, couldn't even think of it as fear began to snake its way into my veins.

There was more shuffling and then the blindfold was removed from my eyes. I flinched at the bright fluorescent lights, blinking away the pain and focusing on Giles frightening face. He was grinning, like always, and holding a syringe alarmingly close to my arm. I jerked away only to be met with the restraints once more. I fumed at him, "I'll kill you for this!"

He laughed, loud and maniacal, "You won't be able to lift a finger without my command, don't you get it? You're mine. You won't do a damn thing without my say so."

I reared my head back and spit in his face. It was the only action of resistance I could perform at the moment. "Burn in hell!"

Giles sighed, plunging the needle into my arm unexpectedly. "I'm sure I will." 

Then the burning started.

Every nerve in my body was alight, blazing with whatever the hell was in that damn syringe. I screamed, writhed in the chair, desperate to get away from the pain. Giles just watched, that wretched smile plastered on his face. My head began to pound, pulsing as my heart pumped the serum through my body. It wasn't long before I felt myself slipping.

First it was just tidbits, where I was for a moment, then it was more. Fast. In a matter of minutes, I was struggling to remember how I even got here. I was grasping at straws, clawing at my memories as I felt them slipping out of reach. They were going somewhere dark and far away.

Then the confusion chased away the pain.

 Was I supposed to be trying to get away? Who was this man standing in front of me? 

I... I had something important to do but I-- I can't remember.

A flicker of a man with blue eyes, beautiful blue eyes.

A faint thump of my heart in my ears, a pull from the image.

What... What was his name?

Feelings became harder to connect with. With each passing flicker of my life, something else in my heart was taken with it. I felt myself empty out 'til I was just the wrappings of a person who no longer existed. An echo.

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[salvatoraes]

rissa's comfort list !

comfort food(s) : mashed potatoes, mint chocolate chip ice - cream, my dad's homemade meatballs, anything chocolate tbh.

comfort drink(s) : coca - cola, iced coffee, strawberry lemonade, hot chocolate, shirley temples. ( don't care how old i am, they fucking slap )

comfort movie(s) : titanic ( don't judge me lol ) , scream, nightmare before christmas, tangled, moonrise kingdom, princess & the frog, how to lose a guy in 10 days, jennifer's body, toy story, guardians of the galaxy 2, ready or not, star wars : return of the jedi, the parent trap.

comfort show(s) : friends, the vampire diaries ( i guess :/ ) , gilmore girls, adventure time, bob's burgers, superstore, how i met your mother, one tree hill, brooklyn nine - nine.

comfort clothing : over - sized shirts, hoodies & crewnecks, leggings, uggs, stretchy shorts.

comfort song(s) : she will be loved by maroon 5, betty by taylor swift, favorite crime by olivia rodrigo, small worlds by mac miller, the way you make me feel by michael jackson, make you mine by madison beer. there's definitely more but i can't think rn lol.

comfort book(s) : looking for alaska, catching fire, a court of frost & starlight, the outsiders.

comfort game(s) : fortnite, disney's dreamlight valley, mario odyssey.

tagged by : my love, @untales ! tagging : @klaeus , @nuks , @malka-lisitsa , @poetarum , @fairyetales & you reading this, steal it <3