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brokenengene · 2 months ago

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rip my heart out {chapter one}

pairing: park jay x f reader, jake sim x f reader, yang jungwon x f reader

genre: zombie apocalypse au, slow burn romance, found family, action, dystopian

content warnings: intense themes, cursing/profanity, violence, weapon usage, dark themes, brief mention of past abuse, love triangles, angst, blood, injuries, death, kissing, sexual tension, suggestive content, smut possible in later chapters

word count: 3.9k

soundtrack: eyes on fire- blue foundation

'Still Breathing'

You wake up from yet another excruciating nightmare. At this point, you're not even surprised. Nightmares can't scare you anymore; at this point, it's a miracle you're even alive. You sit up, the bedsheets already damp from the hot, humid air. The faint sounds of birds chirping and soft rain are another painful reminder that you've lived to see yet another dreaded day.

Kicking the loose sheets off your body, you let the musky air cool off the expanse of your skin. They always warned that this day would come. That one day, temperatures would soar to excruciatingly uncomfortable heights. Not enough to kill us, but enough to make every single day feel like waking up in hell. You roll out of bed, letting your bare feet hit the rotting wood of the bedroom floor. Your eyes glance around the abandoned farmhouse. Walls chipping apart, and floors decaying beneath your toes. You know you can't stay here another night; it's a death wish to stay in one place too long. Not in the wastelands of what this country once was.

It can be beautiful when you think about it. The soft mountains, the greenery of ferns and shrubs growing on the riverbank as the water flows south. The towns and cities are now abandoned and overgrown with any tree or plant that can survive the heat. You never know who or what will come at you from that greenery. Aware that you need to exit soon, you hop off the dirty mattress and start to pack.

Guns, knives, bullets, canned peaches, and a small first aid kit. Anything you can fit in your backpack that you possibly could need. Having been on your own so long, you’ve gotten used to taking good care of yourself. In return, you can't even vividly remember the last time you talked to another human. It's been years. Years of just you, your weapons, and your nightmares.

You lace up your boots, letting them come up just past your ankle, before taking your pistol and strapping it to the holster around your thighs. Most of your bare legs are exposed to the elements from your shorts. The flesh marked with various scars and bruises. The hellish heat forced you to cut the sleeves of your top and the edge of your shorts even shorter. If you're not careful, this heat will kill you, so its best to keep your attire minimal. With your knives and guns strapped to your body, you step out of the abandoned farmhouse.

The sun is already beating down on your skin, a river of sweat already starts running down your back. Swinging your backpack over your shoulder, you begin to trek through the overgrown forest. You step over logs and rotting tree trunks. The heat starting to get to you as you make your way into town, following the broken asphalt of the road that used to run through the middle of this broken town.

You weave in and out of abandoned cars, most of them already turning to rust. It hurts to see, knowing that this country was once full of thriving cities and vivid life. It all fell apart because of the Neurocorpse outbreak five years ago. You feel a painful tug at your heart, realizing that the country you once loved was a distant childhood memory.

You prioritize staying on high alert as you make your way into town. Keeping your hand rested over your pistol. You never know when or where the Infected lurk, and it's a known fact that they are damn near impossible to kill. You've encountered a handful in your five years of surviving alone. Fully convinced that the only reason you got away is that you happen to be quick enough on your feet. It's funny when you think about it, in no way in hell should you even be alive. But here you are, still breathing, alive and well, ready to trek through another dreadful day.

You walk through the abandoned main street, vision already starting to blur from the heat and dehydration combined. Looking for relief, your eyes catch on an abandoned convenience store just right of the main road. A few black letters remain on the yellow brick sign, the windows and glass doors already smashed through. You climb through the glass, careful not to cut the exposed skin of your midriff and thighs. The store looks like it's already been searched and run through, but still, it's worth a shot.

You wander through the aisles on high alert, the shelves broken and empty, with mostly expired food remaining. You thoroughly search, dropping your knees to the cold tile to look under the bottom shelves. To your surprise, you find a half-full bottle of water. You reach your hand under the shelf, fingertips brushing against cobwebs, and worse, to grab the plastic bottle. You swiftly stick it in the side of your backpack as you continue to rummage through the store looking for medicine, rope, or anything that could come in handy.

A half hour later, you finish your scavenging. Your findings are less than impressive, but it's enough to get you through another day. You screw the top off of the cobweb covered bottle and drink the less than refreshing liquid. Gulping it down with a sigh, you look through the broken store windows, assessing the sun's high position in the sky. It’s about noon, from what you can tell. In turn, you start roaming back through the woods looking for some shade and hopefully another place to sleep tonight. The dead leaves crunch beneath your boots, and the sound of animals rustling in the trees fills the quiet air.

You've come to know the familiar sounds of the squirrels and deer, so much so that an unfamiliar rustling catches you completely off guard.

You immediately stop in your tracks, your heart pounding in your chest as you hear the unfamiliar sound again. Your hand instantly draws the pistol from your holster. It can't be a Neurocorpse, can it? Your mind prepares for the worst, hands shaking as you hear the sound of the crunching of leaves nearing closer.

‘‘Hey!’’

You hear an unfamiliar but human voice call out. Your stance falters slightly, but you keep your weapon raised.

“Who's there? Don't get too close, I’ll fucking shoot you!” you yell back cursing yourself for how shaky your voice sounds. Your eyes widen as you watch the figure come into view.

“Woah woah I'm not Infected, you can put the gun down..” Says the figure. Your eyes adjust as he comes into view. A young man who appears to be about your age steps through the foliage, stopping about ten feet in front of you.

You keep your weapon drawn; you can't trust anyone, especially these days. He’s probably trying to rob you, or worse, you assume. You let your eyes rake over his figure. Noticing he's got a toned build, his shirt, ripped and stained, fits his form perfectly. The rest of his appearance was distressed. He appears not to have any visible weapons on him. He doesn't move an inch, his arms still up in surrender.

Your heart rate starts to slow as you realize he's not an immediate threat. You assess his appearance thoroughly, eyes narrowed, it’s almost like you want to find a reason to shoot him. But your intuition reassures you that he’s not a threat. You start to lower your gun, praying to whatever God is out there that you're not wrong. “Who are you?’’ You ask the young man, eyes narrow with suspicion.

He chuckles softly before looking you in the eyes and responding softly. “I’m Jay.” He says as the corner of his lips tug into a soft smile. He lets his arms fall casually to his side. “And might I ask who you are, Miss?” He adds, raising an eyebrow.

You're breathless as you tell him your name, letting the pistol in your hand drop to your side. Your eyes stay locked on Jay. Eyes still narrowed with suspicion. You take a few steps closer, the dead foliage crunching beneath your boots. Your expression is curious as you approach him.

“What exactly are you doing out here?” You question as your wide eyes lock onto the dark velvet color of his. The sun soaks into the jet black of his hair, and you notice how his bangs stick to his forehead from the sweat.

“Probably the same as you, Miss,” he replies casually before hesitantly taking another step forward. “Just tryin’ to survive out here, tryin’ to stay out of trouble and prayin’ I don't run into one of those goddamn Infected..” he says playfully. He bites his lip softly as he gives you a quick glance up and down. “So glad it's a pretty girl instead of one of those monsters. It's been ages since I last saw a girl, especially one as pretty as you.” He says truthfully with a flirtatious ring in his voice.

You scoff, rolling your eyes at his comment. His words further prove that he shows no immediate signs of being a threat. You sheath your gun back in the holder strapped over your shorts. Letting out a low rumble of annoyance, noticing Jay’s gaze lingering on your movements. You clear your throat before responding strongly. “And how long is that exactly? How long have you been alone?’’

“Since I was seventeen? I think I'm coming up on twenty-two one of these months.” Jay replies with a husky tone.

Only seventeen? He’s just like you, a once-teenager forced into the gruesome reality of this world. Your heart tugs with sympathy. Your shoulders visibly loosen as you let out a soft hum of interest.

“You are about the same age as me, the outbreak happened when I was sixteen. I'm coming up on twenty-one now,” you say with a soft, nervous smile. You're now standing face to face with Jay. His eyes shamelessly looked over your less-than-ideal appearance. Your hair is styled out of your face, sweaty from the heat, and pieces are falling on your face and sticking to your skin. Your body glistened with a thin layer of sweat from head to toe, dirt smudged across your face, clothes torn and stained. The bags under your eyes are dark and prominent from the lack of sleep, yet Jay seems enthralled.

His dark raven eyes take in every detail he can. “You've been on your own since you were sixteen?” He asks, his eyes still locked onto your features as he speaks. You nervously clear your throat again as you respond.

“Yes, it's quite a coincidence or a miracle if you ask me,” you replied.

“You must have some ridiculously thick skin.” He says with a hint of admiration in his tone.

“Thick skin or some good fucking luck,” you say with a soft smile. Your heart starts to race. It's been so long since you've talked to another human that you have completely forgotten how it felt. It strangely seems warm, comforting even. You don't want this to end so soon, and by the look on Jay’s face, he doesn't either.

After an awkward pause, he speaks gently, addressing you like wildlife that would quickly run away. “You got any food in that bag of yours?’’ Jay asks kindly. His voice was warm, different from the cold memories of your past. You look him up and down, noticing again that he doesn't have anything on him besides the clothes on his back. You hesitate, debating if you seriously want to give a stranger you just met any of your rare supplies.

You sigh, feeling like a string is tugging at your heart, encouraging you just to say yes. You smile softly, letting out a soft scoff of disbelief before replying. "Well, I do have some canned peaches, they should still be alright.”

You swing your bag over your shoulder and unzip the main pouch. Pulling out the can of peaches as you draw one of the knives holstered at your side. Using your arm strength, you pry the can open and stand up to drain the juice. You reach inside the can, grabbing one of the slices with your bare hands before offering the rest to Jay.

He accepts with a weak smile, taking a few steps back to sit on one of the fallen tree trunks.

“If you don't mind me asking, Jay..What exactly are you doing out here?” You ask. He looks up at you, his eyes soft. Peach juice dripped down his chin.

“Probably the same as you. Just trying to survive out here.” He says as he munches on the peach slices with bare, dirt-covered hands.

“Do you have any supplies or anything?” you ask, slightly confused. There's no way in hell he could survive this long with no supplies.

“Yeah, I do.” He replies, his words muffled by the food in his mouth. “I've got a whole base set up just south of here by a few miles.” Impressive, you think to yourself.

The sun is at its peak in the sky, rays melting into your skin.

“You know, I came all this way to try and find a stream or something to cool off in. Maybe we could team up? Go for a quick swim, and then you can stay at my base tonight? No pressure, of course, I just want to thank you for feeding me and not shooting me.” Jay says as he finishes his can of less-than-appetizing fruit. Licking his calloused hands clean.

You hesitate. Team up? Are you hearing him correctly? Jay watches your brow furrow as you think over his words. The threat of the Infected is on the rise, and having someone to watch your back isn’t a terrible idea. But there’s always a possibility he’ll be the one stabbing you in the back one of these days.

Your gaze shifts again to Jay, and a strange heat spreads across your cheeks as you lock eyes with him again. Figuring you have nothing to lose, you let out a deep sigh before replying.

“I’ll join you. Two is better than one, am I right? You can watch my back and I’ll have yours.” You say with a hesitant smile as you swing your backpack over your shoulder and extend your hand, offering Jay to take it. He looks down at it, noticing how you're practically shaking before taking your trembling hand in his, squeezing it gently. The firm handshake represents an unspoken agreement to trust each other, even if the words aren’t said out loud.

“Well, it’s not getting any cooler..let’s get going, shall we?”

You look Jay in the eyes as you start following him, tracking through the woods and foliage again. You step over dead rotting logs and thorns as you two weave in and out of the vast canopy of green.

It’s mostly quiet as you follow Jay, the crunching of the foliage beneath helps to break up the uncomfortable silence. You both walk for what feels like miles before you hear rushing water in the distance.

It’s not long before the leaves and grass turn to dark sand at the edge of the river stream. The riverbend is a few feet wide and equally just as deep. The sight is nothing short of refreshing.

“Finally looks like we’re here,” Jay says as he stops at the edge of the riverbend, You shortly follow, dropping your backpack of belongings on a rock launched in the sand beneath you.

“Ready for a dip?” Jay says with a playful smile. Before you can reply, his large hands find the edge of his stained t-shirt, pulling the tattered fabric up and over his head with no hesitation. You let out a nervous laugh, turning away as he shamelessly strips bare in front of you. Your cheeks are burning hot, as you keep your back facing him.

“Don’t look, Don’t even think…” You whisper to yourself as you hear the rest of his clothes drop to the sandy shore of the riverbank. Soon after, you hear the water rippling as he gets in. The water was deep enough to come up to his shoulders.

“Come on! The water is refreshing!” He says cheerfully as he playfully splashes around. You cant help but smile at the scene as you remove the weapons from your side. Jay tucks his bottom lip between his teeth, the sight of you removing your guns visibly turning him on more than it should. Jay turns around, the ripple noise of the water ringing through the humid air as he keeps is back facing towards you. “Alright, I won’t look until you’re ready, just say the word.”

You double-take over your shoulder twice. Checking to see if he is peeking before you slide off your clothes. You let the fabrics join your weapons on the sand with a soft thud.

You cant help but sigh with relief as the sun is hits your bare, exposed skin. You swiftly then step into the creek. The water is warm from the heat, but still refreshing nonetheless. You let the water come up to your shoulders before nervously swimming towards Jay.

“You can turn around now.” You whisper softly

Jay does exactly that, turning around and swimming closer to you. His eyes half lidded as he watches droplets of water drip from your hair to the softness of your cheeks. You feel much-needed relief as the water cools your aching skin.

You take a deep breath before plugging your nose and dipping your head under the cooling water. You come up for air, swiftly wiping your eyes and brushing your hair out of your face with a gasp. Your heart skips a beat as you realize just how close you are to Jay.. The only thing separating your naked bodies is the lapping current of the stream.

You don't move, but neither does he.

There's a comfortable silence, the only thing breaking it being the chirping of the wildlife in the distance. Jay gives you a soft look as he moves even closer, his gaze locked on your face.

“May I?” He whispers softly, the sound of the waves against the riverbank louder than his spoken voice. He lifts a wet hand towards your face. You hesitate before giving him a soft nod, your breath shaky at the unfamiliar feeling. His thumb gently rubs against your cheek, right underneath your tired eyes.

“Sorry, you have some dirt on your face...” he whispers intimately. His fingertips wipe away the smudges that have been there for who knows how long.

Afterwards, he traces his fingers down your jawline. He drops his hand, quickly pulling away. Visibly nervous at the tension as he puts a few feet of space between you. He awkwardly turns his back, his large hands to wipe the dirt and grime off his own body.

You turn and do the same. After a few moments, you don't know why, but somehow you anxiously want to break the tension. So you ask him a lingering question. “You know Jay, you're the first person I've met that hasn't wanted to kill me, take my shit, or infect me with their rotting brain disease..”

Jay lets out a soft chuckle. His hands roam all over his muscled body, rinsing his skin clean. He turns around, and you follow suit as you hear the rippling in the water. Locking eyes again, you continue to slide your hands down your shoulder and chest, trying to break down some of the sweat stuck to your skin. Jay gives you a look of appreciation as he answers. “Well, I could say the same for you. It's exhausting, you know how it goes.” He says with another weak laugh.

“Yeah, I do..” You say with a softness to your tone. Just conversing with him feels like a weight is starting to be lifted off your shoulders. You let out a deep sigh, another question dangling on the edge of your tongue, you try to hold back, but nervously blurt the question out.

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be our age and not have any of this?” you ask with a painful laugh. “All the killing, stealing, hiding…you ever just daydream about how life would be if none of this happened?” You say, voice shaking with emotion as you cross your arms over your bare chest to hide it from the lowering tide.

“I always imagined that at twenty-one, I would be in college, getting drunk at a house party, and waking up next to a guy I didn't even know the name of…But I guess bathing naked in a river stream with a guy I just met during the apocalypse can be just as thrilling.”

Jay lets out a playful chuckle in response. The moment lighthearted as we both silently mourn over something lost that we both know, we can never go back to.

“I always wanted to be a mechanic, probably living out of some shitty apartment, getting drunk at the bar with my old friends..” He says his voice is shaking a bit at the painful memories of the company he once had. “But hey, now I'm covered in bruises, also naked, trying not to stare at the most gorgeous thing I've seen in years..”

You open your mouth to rebut, but your breath is taken away. His eyes look over you with affection that usually doesn't come from a stranger. You hold your arms over your chest nervously, still aware of the intimate nature of the moment. You don’t want to expose more of yourself and make the moment even more intense.

“I mean it..you've just got this halo around you..you're gorgeous., Jay says, his voice lower and deeper as he tries to keep his eyes from dropping down to see the exposed skin of your chest. His cheeks were already flushing at the thought, but he’ll quickly blame it on the sunburn.

After a few more minutes of cooling off in the river stream, you glance at the sun's position in the sky. Taking it for early afternoon, you know you need to find shelter soon. “We should probably get going, don’t want to get stuck out in the Wastelands after dark, that never ends well.”

Jay nods. Wiping his eyes with his wet hands and running his fingertips through his hair one last time. He swims towards the shore.

You look away, not wanting to see anything that would linger inside your mind later. After he’s dressed, you do the same. The hellish sun is drying your body as you slip your shorts and tank back on.

“So, how far away is this base of yours?” You ask as you continue to strap your weapons back to the sides of your legs. Jay glances up as his fingers tighten the brown belt around his hips.

“About six, maybe seven miles. It’s a bit of a walk, but we’ll make it before sunset.—I promise.” He concludes confidently.

Once you’re both fully dressed and armed, you throw your backpack over your shoulder. Boots sinking into the dark sand of the riverbed as you glance one last time at Jay.

Your chest tightens, but not with pain.

For the first time in years, you don’t feel safer alone. You let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding before whispering.

“Lead the way.”

note: Chapter One of my first fic ever is done! I wanted to keep things short for the introduction. Don't worry, the other members will be introduced soon! I hope it was entertaining enough. Plan on more angst and drama to come. The next part is already in the works. It's a little longer, but I hope to have that out shortly! Let me know if you liked it or want to be added to the taglist! Also, the entire fic is based on this! song if you want to give it a listen <3

xoxo kate <3

For more chapters- click here!

taglist: @kyunlov

#enhypen x reader #enhypen fanfiction #enhypen au #enhypen angst #park jay x reader #jake sim x reader #yang jungwon x reader #enhypen x female reader #brokenengene #rip my heart out #enhypen imagines #enhypen scenarios #enhypen fic #enhypen series #apocalypse au #dystopian au #*—𝒃roken𝒆ngene

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clockwayswrites · 2 years ago

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Ficleting Together Start:

cw: internalized abelism as issues with therapy and mental help, injury

Jason had an imaginary friend. He hadn't always. He wasn't like most children who had one when they were just learning to understand the world around them. He hadn't even had one on the streets when he was so desperately lonely for anyone to offer him kindness. No, Jason hadn't had one until he had become Robin— until he had become magic.

He didn't actually think his friend was so imaginary.

Bruce and Dick did, though. It was actually the first conversation that they had that didn’t end in shouting in months. Jason had listened to the whole thing through a vent on the other side of Bruce’s study. There were concerns of him regressing. Apparently it was something that could happen to traumatized— and fuck he hated that word, traumatized— children when they finally got somewhere safe.

Dick thought Jason would benefit from therapy. Worse, Bruce agreed. It turned out that went Jason took part in the shouting match it could be so much worse.

“I’m not crazy! I don’t need to see a fucking therapist!” Jason screamed.

He wasn’t helping his case, he knew that. But he wasn’t crazy! They couldn’t lock him up. He wasn’t crazy. It already felt like he was locked up. The study felt suddenly small. The lights too bright. The furniture too big. Bruce and Dick were too big.

“Jay-lad, that’s not what we’re saying,” Bruce tried.

“I’m not talking any pills!”

“No one is talking pills, Jay,” Dick said. He stepped forward, reaching a hand out.

It would be comforting. Jason knew that. Dick’s touch was always comforting.

He gave great hugs.

He wasn’t like—

Jason ran.

Jason bolted out of the room and past Alfred and out the door and into the woods that surrounded Wayne Manor. He ran past trees and shrubs and rocks that all looked the same. He ran until his legs were burning and he couldn’t catch his breath and—

The dirt, damp from the fall rainstorms gave under Jason’s feet. For a moment he was standing on nothing. It felt just like when Bruce had said that he had arranged a therapist for Jason. It felt like his world had fallen out from under him. And then Jason was falling, tumbling down the rock face that up the small hillside that Jason had been running along.

He screamed as something in his leg snapped, the noise was cut short as his head bounced against the rock and snapped his jaw closed. Even when he stopped rolling, the world swam around him. Jason closed his eyes and tried to stop himself from hurling. It was close. Jason lost time counting his breaths through the pain.

And then they were there.

Jason knew it, he always knew it.

It’s why he didn’t think they were imaginary.

He couldn’t help the sob that ripped from his throat as he felt their presence settle against his side. “I’m not crazy. You’re real. I know you are.”

Jason didn’t hear their response. It wasn’t like they spoke. But Jason could feel their response: a rumble of reassurance, a bubble of wry humor that Jason didn’t understand, and an undercurrent of worry.

“I’ll be okay,” Jason said. It had started to get dark. When had it started to get dark? “I’ll be okay.”

A cold sensation pressed against his brow.

He could close his eyes for a little longer.

He’d be okay.

“Jason! Oh god, Jason. Bruce! It’s over here! Please be alive.”

Jason whined as hand touched his neck.

Murmured Romani filled Jason’s ears as his world went black.

---

The voted prompts were Danny/Jason, soulmates/bond, Eldritch. This isn't going where I thought it would, but that's the fun of it! I might just tack all the parts onto this thread an not do an update thread since this shouldn't be too long (famous last words) but we'll see. I have at least two scenes that I know I want to do.

#dp x dc #dead on main #prompalomp

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ninjago-clippies · 2 months ago

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Heyo folks, ready to have your hearts SHATTERED???

I wrote this to make people cry I hope you enjoy it : D I am so hype for monstrosity I can't wait for June 1st

🚫No Ship Present🚫

Kai Focused

Phantom Tags: angst so much angst, depiction of panic attacks, mention of hunted food being cooked

“Ugh, this sucks!”

Sparks crackled through the dry shrubs Kai had just added to their little campfire, the flames burning a couple inches higher and illuminating the faces of the group around him. Everyone looked exhausted, faces pale and muddy and clothes torn. They had been hit by some kind of freak storm, rain pouring down on them in buckets. And because being soaked to the bone and nearly freezing in the night cold wasn’t enough, something had torn through the curtain of rain and attacked them.

Now they were all soaked, shivering, and injured. No one had come out unscathed.

Jay inched a little closer to the flames, rubbing his hands together and sighing dramatically. “This is just great. Trapped in the wilderness, no shower, no video games??”

“No food.” Cole echoed, his legs splayed out in front of him. He had a hand on his stomach, and a longing look on his face. “What I wouldn’t give for a bowl of Chen’s noodles right now…”

“Do you think of anything besides food?” Nya asked, tightening a bandage on Jay’s arm. “We’re trapped in a cave in the wilderness, and all you can think about is Chen’s Noodles??”

“Whaaat? They’re good!” He said defensively, eyeing the tiny ball of mystery meat Kai had put over the flames. The mass of meat that had been some kind of rabbit sluffed off a bit of something, which dropped into the flames with a wet sound. Cole grimaced, shaking his head. “Better than whatever that is…”

“How are we all supposed to share that?” Jay complained, gesturing to it with both hands. “It’s tiny!”

“We’ll all take small bites.” Lloyd said patiently, rubbing his arms as he glanced at the mouth of the cave. They’d covered it with a false door made of leaves, but anything with any real power or senses would probably sniff them out regardless. He shook his head, turning his eyes back to the flames. “Any food is better than no food. I’m sure something will come along soon.”

“Cole isn’t allowed any bites.” Jay humphed, resting his chin on his knees.

“Hey! I need to eat too!” Cole sat up straighter, scowling at him. “That’s not fair.”

“You’ll eat the whole thing! I’ve seen you take smaller bites than that thing has in it!”

“Oh, real nice, Jay! I know how to share, I’m not gonna-“

“Cut it out!” Kai’s voice echoed through the small space, hushing all of them.

The shout had been too loud… something had definitely heard.

For a minute, they all cowered and held their breath, listening for any sign that their position had been given away. There was the crackling of the fire, the pattering of rain on stone outside the entrance, the almost peaceful sound of the water hitting the leaves on their shield, and… nothing else.

When nothing happened, everyone relaxed.

“There is no need to worry.” Zane said, his voice low and calming. “Everyone will have a fair share. There is no need to save any for me, so the rest of you can take what you need.”

“I’ll hunt something else later.” Kai promised, turning the meat over the fire. A bit of grease dripped off it, sparking the flames and making them jump. “I promise. It’s just… not everything out here is edible.”

“You’re doing your best, Kai.” Nya said, still sitting at Jay’s side. He glanced at her through the flames, wrapping his arms around himself tighter. He wanted her to cross over to his side, wanted some comfort. More than anything, he wanted to feel her wrap her arms around him and squeeze. Nya always gave good hugs… but she couldn’t do that for him now.

He had to be strong, had to put on a good face for the rest of them. He knew the most about this place, and he had to be on guard at all times if there was going to be any escape from it.

“We need to think about what we know so far.” Lloyd started, sitting up a little straighter. “This land, whatever it is… we need to think about all the information we have, then decide how to proceed. It’ll work out better if we have a plan before we leave this cave.”

Kai scoffed, eyes focused on the fire. He stuck his hand into it, turning over the leaves and twigs. “What kind of plan can we have? I know the most about this place and I still don’t know much. There’s monsters every ten feet…”

“Let us bring together all of the information we have learned so far.” Zane suggested. “We know that the land we are in is vast, perhaps triple the size of Ninjsgo city by my estimations.”

“Can you tell exactly?” Lloyd asked.

“Unfortunately, I cannot.” Zane’s head dipped as he shook it. “There is some kind of strong magical interference here, not to mention the cloud cover blocking the horizon. I cannot say how far we are from anything in these conditions…”

“So, it’s big.” Cole concluded. “And it’s full of monsters.”

“Monsters that want to eat us.” Jay added, rubbing his wounded arm. Nya put a hand on his shoulder, scooting a little closer to him.

“We’ve seen how dangerous they can be. The last one nearly killed Kai…”

Across the fire, Kai rubbed a matching wound on his own arm, one he’d patched up himself while Nya was taking care of Jay. He sat up a little straighter, boosting the fire under the food with his powers again. “I’m fine. But Jay is right. The creatures in this realm are dangerous. More than anywhere else we’ve been before…”

“We have to be more careful.” Lloyd agreed. “We wouldn’t want to end up being some monster’s lunch.”

Cole groaned, leaning back against the cave wall. “Man… lunch sounds so good right now. I’d love to go to that all-you-can-eat sushi place downtown. Unlimited noodles, two dollar potsticker plates-“

“Ugh, Cole! Stop it. My stomach hurts enough as it is.” Kai complained, running his hand through his hair and grabbing a fistful. “There’s been barely anything edible around for days! I don’t want to think about food.”

“Sorry.” Cole sounded exhausted and apologetic, crossing his arms loose over his chest. “Can’t help it…”

“At least I’m not defenseless.” Kai held up his hand, igniting all five fingers. The flames danced across them nimbly, jumping the spaces between and eagerly lighting the space around his face. His flames seemed brighter here, almost glittering even in the darkness of the cave. “I haven’t been in a lot of places where using my powers felt like this. It’s… weird.” He closed his hand, extinguishing the flames and looking back at the others. “But good. If I had to do this without my powers…” his voice trailed off, and he shut his mouth quickly. Better not jinx an already bad situation.

“We’re all counting on you, Kai.” Nya said, her expression more serious than he’d ever seen before. Kai looked over, meeting her eyes across the fire. “We need your help to make it back. You’re stronger here. You can make it.”

He nodded, his lips set in a firm line. He didn’t need to tell her that he wasn’t really feeling stronger here. Not after that last fight.

“It’s going to be alright.” Lloyd agreed. “What’s important is that we stay together. We’ll find a way to get home.”

“Will we?” Jay put his arm around Nya, his eyes reflecting the flames as he stared blankly into their hopeless future. “Home seems so far away. What if we never get back…?”

“We will.” Kai assured them, hugging his legs to his chest. “I swear. I’m going to get home. We all will.”

There was a sound outside the cave, a roar that ripped through the sky and shook the ground. The cave trembled, the fire dimmed, and Kai covered his head with his arms.

It sounded like chaos, like a violent death made audible pouring from a monsters’s throat. The fear it instilled in him was almost instinctual. He wasn’t scared, it was more than that.

Before this, he’d never understood what kind of a coward would choose flight over fight. To him, there was no situation too far gone. No matter what, he would keep pushing forward.

But this sound… these things screamed their terror right into his bones. The sound made his muscles tense, as if his legs might start running for him. His stomach turned, and he had the sudden heart wrenching feeling that whatever was outside, it was going to kill him. He had no chance of fighting it. Not in a million years…

Kai gripped his sleeves as the roaring continued. He could hear the thumping of something a hundred times bigger than him stomping by their cave. Each footstep seemed to shake the earth in slow motion. Kai grabbed the ground, crawling into a corner not visible from the entrance and curling up tight. His heart was practically in his throat, the beating resonating in his ears as it became harder and harder to breathe. His chest heaved against the bandages wrapped around it, a fresh wound going sticky and hot with blood from the disruption. Kai’s knuckles were white on his shirt sleeves, his vision restricted to his own lap, and even then, only when he could manage to see through his blurred vision. That sound, even as it faded away, practically bore down on him.

‘Stay down’ it seemed to be saying. ‘There is no victory for you here’

When the sound stopped, Kai stayed curled into a tight ball for what felt like an hour. He couldn’t get his arms and legs to stop shaking, and for some reason, they didn’t seem to want to unwrap from around him either. When he finally fought the urge to cower and pried himself free of his own limbs, he noticed that his face was wet. He licked his lips, and tasted something salty.

His blurred vision hadn’t just been from disorientation.

Kai took a trembling breath, then another, then another. With the cave floor cooling his knees, the master of fire slowly brought himself back to his senses. His lungs stopped burning, his heart quieted down. After ten minutes or so, he wiped his face and shakily crawled back over to the fire.

The stick holding his food had fallen into the flames. When he grabbed the end of it, it was scalding hot. It didn’t hurt him at all, actually more than anything he found the prickling heat grounding, and focused on it as he dragged himself back to reality. He took a bite of the food and chewed, wiping the extra grease from his mouth with his sleeve. He had to stop shaking. He had to focus. For them.

He looked up across the fire at the empty space in the cave. The dimming flames illuminated the five chalk scrawlings he’d made. They were crude renditions, with lopsided heads and mismatched limbs, all staring back at him in a ghostly white. Even so, in the twisting firelight, he swore he almost saw them move.

“I’ll get out of here. I’ll get home.” He promised, his words unconvincingly weak from the panic he was still shaking off. “I swear, I’ll make it back to you. Whatever it takes.”

#ninjago drabbles #kai ninjago #kai smith #ninjago monstrosity #monstrosity kai #ninjago kai

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chen-chens · 4 months ago

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Swee-hee-hee-heet! I Transferred to a New School and the Seven Hottest and Most Popular Boys There Fell For Me?!

SUMMARY: in which you find yourself in your own romance en-drama?!

GENRE: Rom-com, reverse harem, high school romance

MAIN CHARACTERS: Reader (Y/N), Lee Heeseung, Jay Park, Jake Shim, Park Sunghoon, Kim Sunoo, Yang Jungwon, Nishimura Riki

ADDITIONAL TAGS: #probably ooc but im doing my best, #hyung line + sunoo + reader are same grade but jungwon + niki are a year under, #SOOO much cringe shit, #love octagon(??), #every romance trope under the mf sun, more to be added

A/N: i started writing this cuz the ending of en-drama was SOOOO unsatisfying that i just had to try and fix it. this is not serious at all but let's all enjoy some delulu together lol! this is also my first time posting anything on tumblr so lowkey i have no idea what i'm doing so pls excuse any awkward formatting and tagging! ty!!

ONE: Fateful Beginnings

Call it cliché, or call it stupid, but you were scrambling off the bus and sprinting down the street in a mad dash with half a frozen waffle in between your teeth, repeating a mantra in your head: Holy shit, I’m gonna be SO late.

You probably looked like an insane person to the common bystander with the frantic look in your eyes, haphazardly donned uniform, and shoes completely undone, and if you weren't freaking out, then maybe you would've had the decency to be a little more embarrassed. Decency was a commodity you had forsaken on this early morning, however, since it was only the evening before that your parents had made you swear up and done that you would do your best to be a most dutiful, attentive, and punctual student at your brand new private school they had busted their asses to get you into. All you had done, though, was nod without really listening, before spending the wee hours of the night reading and giggling about webtoons.

If the school reported that you had missed the first period, if your parents caught wind of what you had done… Well, you shuddered at the consequences that would surely follow. It was better that you run like your life depended on it (which it did), lung integrity be damned.

It took a while, but you finally arrived at Decelis Academy, beet red in the face and huffing and puffing like you were about to die (which you were). It was a thing of beauty, especially in the cool, fall sunshine: soaring, gothic stone walls with ivy trellises adorning the bricks, big windows and stained glass decorating the walls, and a high and elegant tower jutting out from the middle. You grimaced, though, at the sight of a severe-faced, stern-looking man in a suit at the entrance of the school angrily scolding a shivering student with a wagging finger. The scolding seemed to last forever, and eventually, the student entered through the intricate stone gates with a hung head while the teacher returned to scouting the school perimeter with narrowed eyes. You took to jumping behind an electric pole for shelter.

If I get caught by him, I’m screwed! You could imagine the royal beating in your future already once the school called home, and it made you break into a cold sweat. Instead, you started looking around at the fences for some way to scale the walls (if you started to think about what would happen once you got inside the school, your head started to hurt. You’d get to that later). C’mon, think, THINK!

First, you ducked behind various poles, trees, and shrubs to run around the corner to a side where there was no teacher on the lookout for awful, disobedient students such as yourself. Then, you began feeling the stone walls for something, anything to grab onto, but let out a frustrated groan at the realization that a rich-ass school like this kept its walls extremely well-maintained. There was nary a single crack, save for the lines of mortar between the large gray stones. If you had to guess, the wall was at least ten feet tall, and even with a running start, you would barely be able to reach eight feet. Maybe if you could gather some things to step on…

You checked your phone and paled. You were already five minutes late; not enough for a call home yet, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long. There wasn’t enough time to scrabble something together for that plan!

Frantically, you looked to and fro for something to help you vault over the wall; a stick, bouncy shoes, a convenient pile of rocks, anything! However, your eyes locked onto something—or rather, someone— approaching from a distance at a brisk jog. As they came closer, you realized it was a boy about your age in the Decelis Academy’s suited uniform. His brows were furrowed and his cat-like eyes were narrowed, making his round, youthful face look rather stressed out. His messy, fluffy brown hair bounced as he ran.

You stared at him as he approached for probably too long. He was… actually, really, insanely, horribly cute. But that was besides the point. A person would actually make a great step stool in your current predicament and, well, the panic was starting to boil over in your throat. You were willing to sacrifice a cute boy to not meet your death once school was over.

“Hey! Um, excuse me?!” you called out to the boy as he neared. He turned to look at you with adorably widened eyes before coming to a stop at your side, though he seemed to anxiously glance towards the entrance of the school. You squinted to read the nametag pinned to his school coat: “Yang Jungwon.”

“Yeah? Are you okay?” Yang Jungwon asked worriedly, brows knit together. He looked towards the direction of the school gate again. “If it’s nothing too urgent, I’m running a little late for class and—”

“Mhmm, I see you go to Decelis too,” you interrupted with a frantic wave of your hand. You were not about to let this opportunity slip through your fingers! “Listen, I’m late too! It's my first day here. and I am completely and royally fucked if I get caught by that teacher at the gates. Could you please give me a boost up the wall?” You pointed up the walls with wide, pleading eyes.

Jungwon blinked. Then, he said slowly, “You… want me to help you climb over the wall so you don’t get caught by Mr. Kim?”

You frowned. “Uh, yeaaaah? Didn’t I just say that?”

The boy rubbed his nape. Suddenly, he just looked really confused. “Yeah, but this… this is a first for me,” he said awkwardly. “No one’s ever asked me to do this, y’know? I’m not supposed to be helping students break the rules…”

Oh no. He’s a goody-two-shoes. You thought as you paled. Just your luck; you weren’t even a delinquent, but of course the first time you tried something like this in a moment of sheer desperation, you found yourself at the hands of a teacher’s pet, a shining beacon of morality like the boy in front of you (maybe you were exaggerating, but you were stressed out!).

Panicked, you clasped your hands together in prayer, squeezed your eyes shut, and dropped to your bare knees on the hard cement sidewalk, which hurt more than you cared to admit. You ignored Jungwon’s sounds of shock, intense befuddlement, and subsequent pleas for you to get back up as you yelled out, “Please! I know you don’t know me and I don’t know you, but I will owe you for the rest of my life! Just please help me get over the wall!”

“I—” Jungwon stammered. You opened an eye to see Jungwon’s face flustered as he looked around with a worried expression. He looked back at you, face stricken with something between horror, incredible concern, and confusion before he sighed. Quickly, he put down his backpack before asking, “What do you need?”

“Yes, thank you!” You nearly cried in relief, jumping up from the ground like a spring in immense joy. Rolling up the sleeves of your sweater as Jungwon did the same, you beckoned Jungwon closer to the wall. “Here; I’m gonna get a running start. I need you to hold your hands out like this—” you linked your hands together and pressed them downwards, creating a foothold, “—which I’m gonna step on, then boost me up so I can reach the top and pull myself up!” you declared with a fist of determination. There was no way this would go wrong.

Jungwon muttered something along the lines of it’s too early for this under his breath before he squatted down against the wall and positioned his hand just as you demonstrated. In the meantime, you backed up a considerable distance before calling out to him, “You ready?!”

“Yeah—”

“HAAAAAAAAH….!” You let out a roar of pure adrenaline and determination as you charged towards the wall at full speed, allowing the power of anime and manga to fill you. With mighty leaps and bounds, you hopped into Jungwon’s surprisingly sturdy hands and jumped as high as you could up the wall, with a boost from the boy beneath you.

Thankfully, you were able to reach the edge of the stones at the very top, just as you had hoped. Unfortunately, you were not the most athletic person in the world, and you found yourself struggling to pull yourself up and over. The wall suddenly seemed like an insurmountable mountain, and the beating by your parents seemed very real all of a sudden.

You looked down to Jungwon, who was bearing a good amount of your weight with great concentration while determinedly craning his head far, far away from your direction. “Hey! Can you push me up a little higher, please?” you called. After a moment of staring at him, you also added, “So, why is your neck like that?”

“Uh….” he replied as he hiked you upwards a few more inches with a bit of effort. After a few moments of your continued scrabbling, Jungwon boosted you up even higher and grunted out, “Well, I don't want any misunderstandings about what I’m looking at from down here…”

You paused in your mad attempts to heave yourself over the wall to glance back down at the very, insanely cute boy whose hands you had literally placed your life in. His face was bright red, possibly from exertion or from the frankly compromising position you had forced him into, and his neck was painfully turned away from you. “Huh. I hadn’t even thought about that,” you said honestly. You wore athletic shorts under your school-sanctioned plaid skirt anyways, and amidst the utter panic of your current situation, it really had not crossed your mind at all. “I see you doing your best, though, so it’s no worries! Just a little higher—”

“Hey! Who’s over here?!” an irritated voice yelled out from your left. “If you’re late, you’re in big trouble!”

“Shit!” you and Jungwon swore. Maybe your encouraging, awe-inspiring yell had not been your smartest move of the morning. You turned to him and begged, “I’m sorry, just a little more—ACK!”

In your desperate plea, Jungwon suddenly achieved some burst of freaky human strength and launched you upwards hard enough to send your upper body up and over the stone wall finally. You breathed a sigh of relief as you brought your legs over the wall, which you quickly sucked back in as you heard that same voice from before yell, “Hey, you there! Come here!”

You turned to Jungwon, who was heaving heavily, and said in your loudest whisper voice, “Thank you, I owe you my life! I’ll come find you and repay you!”

“Just go! Before he comes!” Jungwon called back in the same tone while frantically shooing you away with his hands. You nodded before hurriedly sliding down the other side of the wall, allowing yourself to drop once you had gotten closer to the bottom.

Your feet had hardly touched the ground before you heard stomping dress shoes approach where Jungwon was, followed by an angry and noisy tirade of biblical proportions.

“Yang Jungwon! How could you be so late?! And what was all that yelling about?!” the teacher, Mr. Kim, ranted.

Faintly, you heard Jungwon say between breaths, “I’m sorry, Ssaem, the bus was late and I had to run here… It’s, uh, been a stressful morning and I read an article about how yelling when you’re stressed releases endorphins so I tried that—”

“Honestly, Jungwon, don’t you think the student body president should be better than this? I’ll let you off with just a warning because this is the first time and you’re normally so diligent, but…”

You let out a silent groan. How could you implicate the student body president of all people? Just your luck. You were sure you totally ruined his probably stellar reputation, so now you owed him even more so. You may be a lazy person at heart, but you would never let a favor go unrewarded!

You looked at your phone and nearly screamed—10 minutes late! With that, you began to sprint towards the main entrance, sending a prayer upwards that you weren’t too late and that you had met someone like Yang Jungwon in your time of need.

next!

taglist: to be added!

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shyjusticewarrior · 8 months ago

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Red Hood Incorrect Quotes Pt 50

Art by @shrub-jay

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vashwoodficrecs · 3 months ago

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in the woods somewhere

by: halfdemonvash

E, Vashwood, 41k, complete

The harsh cries of the jays faded, the trees crowding in thick and close, until even the rustling of leaves was stifled. Vash’s breaths turned loud in his ears, his heart picking up the unfamiliar tempo of anticipation. Just as he hadn’t expected to find an invasive shrub in this part of the woods, so too had he been unprepared to find a man slumped in the cradle of a wych elm’s roots.

I adore this specific brand of AU, where Vash is some magical being in a little house in the middle of a strangely magical forest that Wolfwood happens upon. Honestly it's so specific I feel like there shouldn't be more than one, but I have been blessed by several. The magic in this one is delightful!! And the pining!!!! And the sex, Jesus Christ.

Immaculate vibes, delicious writing, no notes. Honestly, I devour anything and everything halfdemonvash writes with glee.

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mariacallous · 4 months ago

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Jon Dale’s love affair with birds began when he was about 10 and traded his BB gun for a pair of binoculars. Within a year, he’d counted 150 species flitting through the trees that circled his family’s home in Harlingen, Texas. The town sits in the Rio Grande Valley, at the convergence of the Central and Mississippi flyways, and also hosts many native fliers, making it a birder’s paradise. Dale delighted in spotting green jays, merlins, and Altamira orioles. But as he grew older and learned more about the region’s biodiversity, he knew he should be seeing so many more species.

Treks to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, which spans 2,088 acres near the border with Mexico, revealed an understory alive with even more birdsong, from the wo-woo-ooo of white-tipped doves to the CHA-CHA-LAC-A that gives that tropical chicken its common name. The preserve is one of the last remnants of the Tamaulipan thorn forest, a dense mosaic of at least 1,200 plants, including poky shrubs and trees like mesquite, acacia, hackberry, ebony, and brasil. They once covered more than 1 million acres on both sides of the Rio Grande, where ocelots, jaguars, and jaguarundis prowled amid 519 known varieties of birds and 316 kinds of butterflies. But the rich, alluvial soil that allowed such wonders to thrive drew developers, who arrived with the completion of a railroad in 1904. Before long, they began clearing land, building canals, and selling plots in the “Magic Valley” to farmers, including Dale’s great-great grandfather. His own father drove one of the bulldozers that cleared some of the last coastal tracts in the 1950s.

Today, less than 10 percent of the forest that once blanketed the region still stands. Learning what had been lost inspired Dale to try bringing some of it back. He was just 15 when, in a bid to attract more avians, he began planting several hundred native seedlings beside his house to create a 2-acre thorn forest—a term he prefers over the more common thornscrub, which sounds to him like something “to get rid of.” He collected seeds from around the neighborhood and sought advice from the state wildlife agency, which began replanting thorn forest tracts in the 1950s to create habitat for game birds, as well as the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which joined the cause after it listed ocelots as endangered in 1982. (The agency has since restored 16,000 acres.) The project kept dirt under his nails for the better part of a decade. “I’d go out and turn the lights on and do it in the middle of the night,” he said. “When I’m into something, that’s pretty much it.”

Epiphytes dangle from trees at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, one of the few surviving tracts of original thorn forest. “It was coming to places like this that got my wheels turning,” said Jon Dale, director at American Forests. The refuge contains a wetland that draws birders from around the country.

Two decades later, he’s still into it. He is a director at American Forests, which has toiled for 150 years to restore ecosystems nationwide. The nonprofit started working in the Rio Grande Valley in 1997 and took over the federal restoration effort last year. It also leads the Thornforest Conservation Partnership, a coalition of agencies and organizations hoping to restore at least 81,444 acres, the amount needed for the ocelot population to rebound. Although conservation remains the core mission, everyone involved understands, and promotes, the thorn forest’s ability to boost community resilience to the ravages of a warming world.

Climate change will only bring more bouts of extreme weather to Texas, and the Valley—one of the state’s poorest regions, but quickly urbanizing—is ill-equipped to deal with it. Dale, now 45, believes urban thorn forests, which can mature in just 10 years, provide climate benefits that will blossom for decades: providing shade, preserving water, reducing erosion, and soaking up stormwater. To prove it, American Forests is launching its first “community forest” in the flood-prone neighborhood of San Carlos, an effort it hopes to soon replicate across the Valley.

“People need more tools in the tool kit to actually mitigate climate change impact,” Dale said. “It’s us saying, ‘This is going to be a tool.’ It’s been in front of us this whole time.”

Despite its name, the Rio Grande Valley is a 43,000-square-mile delta that stretches across four counties in southernmost Texas, and it already grapples with climatic challenges. Each summer brings a growing number of triple-digit days. Sea level rise and beach erosion claim a bit more coastline every year. Chronic drought slowly depletes the river, an essential source of irrigation and drinking water for nearly 1.4 million people. Flooding, long a problem, worsens as stormwater infrastructure lags behind frenzied development. Three bouts of catastrophic rain between 2018 and 2020 caused more than $1.3 billion in damage, with one storm dumping 15 inches in six hours and destroying some 1,200 homes. Floods pose a particular threat to low-income communities, called colonias, that dot unincorporated areas and lack adequate drainage and sewage systems.

San Carlos, in northern Hidalgo County, is home to 3,000 residents, 21 percent of whom live in poverty. Eight years ago, a community center and park opened, providing a much-needed gathering place for locals. While driving by the facility, which sits in front of a drainage basin, Dale had a thought: Why not also plant a small thorn forest—a shady place that would provide respite from the sun and promote environmental literacy while managing storm runoff?

Although the community lies beyond the acreage American Forests has eyed for restoration, Dale mentioned the idea to Ellie Torres, a county commissioner who represents the area. She deemed it “a no-brainer.” Since her election in 2018, Torres has worked to expand stormwater infrastructure. “We have to look for other creative ways [to address flooding] besides digging trenches and extending drainage systems,” she said.

A thorn forest’s flood-fighting power lies in its roots, which loosen the soil so “it acts more like a sponge,” said Bradley Christoffersen, an ecologist at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Urban trees can reduce runoff by as much as 26 percent because their canopies intercept rainfall and their roots help absorb it, saving cities millions annually in stormwater mitigation and environmental impact costs. This effect varies from place to place, so American Forests hopes to enlist researchers to study the community forest’s impact in San Carlos, where Torres joined more than 100 volunteers on a sunny morning in December 2022. By afternoon, they’d nestled 800 ebony, crucillo, and other seedlings into tilled earth. “We need that vegetation,” she said.

That sentiment has grown as cities across the Valley embrace green infrastructure. Although many swales and basins remain verdant with Bermuda grass, which is easier to maintain, there’s a growing push to use native vegetation for runoff control. Brownsville, the region’s largest city, is planting a “pocket prairie” of thorn forest species like brasil, colima, and Tamaulipan fiddlewood inside one drainage area. McAllen, about an hour to the west, has enlisted the help of a local thorn forest refuge to add six miniature woodlands to school playgrounds, libraries, and other urban locations. The biggest challenge to greater adoption of this approach is “a lack of plant distributors that carry the really cool native thornscrub species,” said Brownsville City Forester Hunter Lohse. “We’re trying to get plant suppliers to move away from the high-maintenance tropical plants they’ve been selling for 50 years.”

American Forests doesn’t have that problem. Two dedicated employees roam public lands hauling buckets, stepladders, and telescopic tree pruners to collect seeds, some of which weigh less than a small feather. They typically gather more than 100 pounds of them each year, and stash them in refrigerators or freezers at Marinoff Nursery, a government-owned, 15,000-square-foot facility in Alamo that the nonprofit runs.

That may sound like a lot of seed, but it’s only sufficient to raise about 150,000 seedlings. Another 50,000 plants provided by contract growers allow them to reforest some 200 acres. At that rate, without additional funding and an expansion of its operations, it could take four centuries to achieve its goal of restoring nearly 82,000 acres throughout the Rio Grande Valley. “These fields are probably one generation, maximum, from turning into housing,” Dale said.

Funding is a serious challenge, though. In 2024, American Forests began a $10 million contract with the Fish & Wildlife Service to reforest 800 acres (including 200 the agency’s job solicitation noted was lost to the construction of a section of border wall). That comes to $12,500 an acre, suggesting it could take more than $1 billion to restore just what the ocelots need.

Despite this, Dale says any restoration, no matter how small, is “worth the investment.” The nursery is currently growing 4,000 seedlings for four more community plots, each an acre or two in size. Small, yes, but they could mark the start of something much larger. “We have a vision to expand these efforts in the future,” Torres said.

For now, nursery workers just have to keep the plants alive. During a visit on a sunny afternoon in February, 130,000 seedlings, representing 37 species, peeked out from black milk crates, ready for transplant. All of them are naturally drought-resistant and raised with an eye toward the lives they’ll lead. “We don’t baby them or coddle them,” senior reforestation manager Marisol Kuri said. “We want to make sure they are acclimated enough so when we plant they can withstand the heat and lack of water.”

Despite this, on average, 20 percent of plants die, partly due to drought. It underscores the complexity of American Forest’s undertaking: While thorn forest restoration can help mitigate climate change, it only works if the plants can stand up to the weather. The organization expects that in the future, species that require at least 20 inches of annual rainfall could perish (some, like the Montezuma cypress and cedar elm, are already dying). That doesn’t necessarily doom an ecosystem, but it does create opportunities for guinea grass and other nonnative fauna to push out endemic plants. Removing them is a hassle, so it is best to avoid letting them take root. “If you don’t do this right, it can blow up in your face,” Dale said.

Hoping to evade this fate with its restored thorn forests, American Forests has created a playbook of “climate-informed” planting. The six tips include shielding seedlings inside polycarbonate tubes, which ward against strong winds and hungry critters while mimicking the cooler conditions beneath tree canopies. They look a bit weird—a recent project at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge features about 20,000 white cylinders lined up like tombstones—but seedling survival rates shot up as much as 90 percent once American Forests adopted the technique a decade ago.

Another strategy seems abundantly obvious: Select species that can endure future droughts. “If we’re not [doing that], we’re kind of shooting ourselves in the foot,” Dale said. Christoffersen, the University of Texas ecologist, and his students have surveyed restoration sites dating to the 1980s to see which plants thrived. The winners? Trees like Texas ebony and mesquite that have thorns to protect them from munching animals and long roots to tap moisture deep within the earth. Guayacan and snake eye, two species abundant in surviving patches of the original Tamaulipan thorn forest, didn’t fare nearly as well when planted on degraded agricultural lands and would require careful management, as would wild lime and saffron plum.

Altering the thorn forest’s composition by picking and choosing the heartiest plants would decrease overall diversity, but increase the odds of it reaching maturity and bringing its conservation and climate benefits to the region. A 40-acre planting at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast reveals how quickly this can happen. Five years ago, a tractor wove through the site cultivating sorghum, which gave way to 40,000 seedlings. Today, the biggest trees stand 10 feet tall, with thorns high enough to snag clothing.

Jon Dale peeks inside a plastic tube that shelters a native seedling at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is one of the last places where ocelots breed, and restoration efforts aim to connect isolated thorn forests so the cats can travel between them.

Dale named some of the 40 or so species now thriving in the south Texas sun: eupatorium, yucca, purple sage, colima, vasey’s adelia, load bush, catclaw acacias. The plants feed and shelter a staggering array of orioles, green jays, and other birds, whose whistles, caws, and tweets filled the air. “I’ve already heard 15 species since we walked in,” Dale said. He puckered his lips and, with the expertise born of a life spent birding, made a distinctive pish sound to draw them out. The brush was too thick to see them stir, but Dale seemed pleased as he surveyed it. “It’s gone from being this very homogenous use of land … to life again.”

An hour to the west, visitors to San Carlos’ community forest might struggle to imagine that transformation. The ebony, crucillo, and other species planted two and a half years ago still look scrappy, and a seesaw pattern of droughts and winter freezes helped claim more than 40 percent of the seedlings. Still, the humble thorn forest has garnered a lot of interest from young visitors. “I’ve been in the [community center] working with children and they ask, ‘What is that over there?’” said Mylen Arias, the director of community resilience at American Forests.

This little patch of the past does more than preserve the region’s biological history or defend it from a warming world. It’s an attempt to reverse what naturalist Robert Pyle calls an “extinction of experience.” Most people have never even heard of a thorn forest, let alone witnessed its wild beauty at Santa Ana. Dale and those working alongside him to revive what’s been lost want others to know the value this ecosystem holds beyond saving ocelots or mitigating climate change. His grandfather was a preacher, and that influence is evident as he speaks of the “almost transcendental” feeling he gets simply being in nature. “I’ve talked to people, and it’s like, ‘Do you know how this is going to enrich your life?’”

He often shows people photos of the backyard thorn forest he started 30 years ago, hoping to convey what’s possible with just a bit of effort. Days after planting the first Turk’s cap and scarlet sage, hummingbirds fluttered in to sip their nectar. Within a few years, the canopies of Texas ebony and mesquite trees unfurled, providing shade and nesting locations for birds, including the white-tipped doves and chachalacas he’d hoped to see. It wasn’t easy to let go of it when his mother sold the house last year. “But you created it all,” she told Dale. “Mom,” he said, “I can do this somewhere else. That’s the point.”

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birdstudies · 1 year ago

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February 15, 2024 - Bushy-crested Jay (Cyanocorax melanocyaneus) These jays are found in and around forests and scrub in parts of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They eat insects, seeds, and fruit, foraging in trees, shrubs, and on the ground and often hunting insects fleeing army ant swarms. Breeding cooperatively, all flock members assist with parenting duties for one or two nests. Females build the flimsy twig nests lined with plant fibers, rootlets, and thin twigs in bushes and vine tangles. Though two females often incubate the eggs and brood the chicks, only one is thought to lay the eggs.

#bushy-crested jay #jay #corvid #cyanocorax melanocyaneus #bird #birds #illustration #art #woodland #birblr art

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hannie-dul-set · 11 months ago

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can you pretty please do sunghoon?

[same face, different feelings]. park sunghoon has always thought you were a piece of shit.

ever since you walked into the frat house with an arrogant stride, an arrogant face, and an unwelcoming demeanor that just pisses him off from the very first inhale of your existence, he knew you’d never get along. he knew you’d eventually do something to piss him off.

and you did. which, in retrospect, was great because the aftermath to the whole…situation was you voluntarily moving out of the house, and that meant sunghoon didn’t have to deal with seeing your face for the next three months. reap what you saw, motherfucker, or however the saying goes. whatever. doesn’t matter because the quality of sunghoon’s life has become exponentially better.

that is until you decided to move back in again.

“i can’t believe you have the guts to come crawling back here after the shit you pulled last summer, you son of a bitch.”

and the words jump out of his throat before he even realizes it.

“hoon, play nice. that’s water under the bridge now,” jake tells him. “hey, dude! it’s glad to have you back!”

it’s one thing how you don’t even look the slightest bit remorseful about what you did. it’s another thing how your response was to look at him as if you didn’t even know what you did wrong.

now that pisses him off tenfold. why the fuck did jungwon even let you back in?

yet park sunghoon’s anger towards you made him fail to notice all the little things that were just the slightest bit off. have you ever been close with sunoo and niki? no, he doesn’t think so, but he never cared enough to give a shit about your relationships. jake and heeseung have been complaining that you don’t game or play soccer with them anymore, but who gives a fuck about that when your tendency of being a fucking whore shows turns a head yet again when he catches you and jang wonyoung stumble out of your bedroom, the latter hazy-eyed and flushed, when this morning he was just texting her to come over.

“they’re saying it’s just a misunderstanding! nothing happened between them, just let it go, man.”

sunghoon feels worse than heartbreak when he sees his best friend defending you, knowing full well you were the cause of his sister’s own heartbreak last summer. what the fuck? jay of all people knows how much he hates you. but turns out, the object of his hatred for the past two months isn’t the same person he’d hated at first glance.

things start making more sense when you gather them all in the living room one day—

“w—wait, what do you mean you’re not him?”

—and drop the big fucking bomb that for the past three months, you’ve been filling in the shoes of your twin brother and receiving the brunt of all his hatred.

all that information was too much for him to handle right now.

so the natural reaction is to run off to wherever his legs took him.

“sunghoon.”

that somewhere just had to be an obvious hiding spot. the rooftop of the shared house, in between the shrubs and the greens now drenched in the night where he’s crouched down and looking up to. but he’s not looking up at the stars in the sky. he’s looking at you—

“why are you wearing a mask?”

—half obscured by a medical cover which makes the guilt and hatred retching in his gut all the more complicated.

“i figured it would be weird for you to look at me when i look like that son of a bitch,” you say lightly. oh, so you also know how trashy that guy is, he thinks, and you crouch down in front of him, as if to tell him. yeah, i do. that’s why i’m in this situation in the first place. “if you can’t get an apology from him, i thought i could at least do it on his behalf.”

how considerate. he should’ve known that you were a different person. but god, every time he saw you, his animosity just jumped the gun before any other feeling could, so now he feels like shit, groaning with his head in his hands. “no, it’s just— i’ve hated your brother for fucking around with my sister, but i’ve been treating you like shit these past few months and that makes me no better than him.”

“no, you are! if i were you, i would’ve kicked my own ass the moment i stepped into the house,” you snap back. “the fact that you can even look at me and listen to me right now tells me that you’re a better person than he could ever be.”

with that, sunghoon lifts his head back up, and is met face to face with the same eyes he’s scorned just up until earlier this evening.

wrongfully so. had he looked a little closer, he would’ve noticed there’s not a single hint of arrogance in the way you’ve ever looked at him in these past three months. god, he’s terrible. the piece of shit is him, not you.

“that mask must be uncomfortable,” he mutters. “you can take it off.”

albeit hesitantly, you do, and once more sunghoon is slapped in the face with just how alike you and your brother look, and he has to swallow down his body’s automatic reaction of inherent hostility, but it doesn’t come.

it’s the same face. the same face, but he’s feeling differently. maybe now that his vision isn’t blurred and addled by anger, he’s able to see more clearly.

send me a kpop boy (txt/enha/zb1/bnd/dream) to toss into reverse harem hell! [jay]

#the crossdressing plot continues.#yes......each of the groups mentioned above have their own mini aus........yes my brain just wont stop churning.#blurb games #sunghoon x reader #park sunghoon x reader #enhypen x reader #enhypen scenarios

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