#they cross paths at court mandated therapy

[smallest-fish-inthesea]

Can’t stop thinking about how the universe must know that Martin and Jon belong together on some sort of intrinsic level because seem to find each other in every universe/on every plane of existence, yet also must fucking hate them because they’re never at peace together

[steamedlem0ns]

Adventures in Goth Sitting: Chapter 1

Bucky X Original Chubby Female Character, Nickname: Morticia

Word Count: ~1400

Warnings: cursing, soul sucking, general buffoonery, Bucky being a sweet shit, discussion of cannabis use (future chapters to include angst, love, canon compliant gore, occult activity, sex, dom/sub relationships, breeding (no pregnancy involved), and more.)

Rating: PG-13 (each additional chapter will be XRated )

Part two:

Author’s Note: Hi! Thanks for stopping by and I really hope you enjoy the first chapter of this fic. I’ve got some big things planned and I just really hope you like it. I really enjoyed writing it.

Rule 1: Your Goth requires darkness or shade, at all times. Bright, hot spaces are to be avoided without explicit permission.

You could cook an egg on the sidewalk. I was half tempted to at this point. My entire body was sticky and covered in a layer of sweat thicker than I’d ever been covered in before. My dress stuck to my body uncomfortably and I knew I was going to have chaffing on my calves from these boots.

“You better have a good goddamn reason for bringing me out here, Barnes.” I snapped.

Bucky was ahead of me cutting through a line of ivy to clear a path. I saw his back curl in a chuckle.

We’d had this discussion. When Natasha left for missions, I was his to watch. Couldn’t be trusted on my own apparently. You suck the literal soul out of a skeeze for touching you inappropriately once out on the streets and suddenly you need a court mandated babysitter. Bullshit.

I’d much rather be in my cozy nest in my room, Watching Simpsons and smoking several bowls. Maybe I’d pop some popcorn and order Thai for dinner. Treat myself to a nice relaxing afternoon. But, no. I’m stuck out in the middle of bum fuck Egypt for no apparent reason with the closest thing in existence (to my knowledge) to an incubus. The man was six foot five inches of pure sex and just radiated big dick energy.

Currently though, fuck him. Not in the good way.

“The stop is just up here, Morticia. You bring your bathing suit like I told you to?” Condescension dripped off his voice like honey. I motioned to the pack on my back with an eye roll, thankfully hidden by my sunglasses and hat.

I followed him up the hill and through the thicket of fully green trees. The terrain began to level out and we approached what looked like a cliff.

“Absolutely, fucking not Barnes. Did you really bring me out here to jump to my death? Ready to get rid of me, already?”

I knew he wasn’t my biggest fan, in fact, that was the reason Natasha picked him as back up. She thought there’d be less of a chance of me using my “wiles” to get my way. I gently reminded her, I learned from the best.

Bucky stopped and smiled, propping his hands on his hips. I could see a thin layer of sweat on his brow and felt instantly jealous of that damn serum running through him.

“I brought you out here to let go. You’re too wound up. You either hole yourself up alone or seclude yourself in Nats room. She’s tired of it. Frankly, I’m tired of listening to her bitch. So, doll, you’re go behind that tree and change - gentleman’s honor, I won’t peek - and then, we’re gonna jump off this cliff, together.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled off my sunglasses. If men have one thing, they have the audacity.

“I’m not cliff jumping with you, you goat fucker.”

Oof. Too much. Bucky’s face twisted in this sick half smirk half scowl and he advanced on me. I stumbled backwards, catching a boot on a rock and fell back on my ass. My tailbone stung and I looked up, bleary eyed to see a very angry James Barnes staring at me. He kicked the rock out the way and laughed.

“Am I making you fall for me already, sweetheart?” He mocked. Bucky knelt and grabbed the front of my dress, yanking me up and leveling my eyes with his.

“Go get fucking changed. I won’t tell you again.” He let me go and I landed with a sharp thud. I watched stunned as he just walked away to the ledge again and stripped off his shirt. There was NO way he’d catch me staring. Not after that. The consistent ache between my legs told me that if I wasn’t careful, something bad was going to happen. I picked myself up and adjusted my now, stretched dress. There was a large, old tree nearby and I decided to use that as cover. Believing that Bucky would keep his eyes to himself felt so far away at this point. But, the shiver that thought sent up my spine made me immediately put that fantasy to rest. I changed quickly, pulling my boobs in the cups of the black bikini and sending a prayer to the gods they’d stay there. I tied up my top and bottoms and adjusted the back. The skimpy garment was a great choice at the time of purchase. I would have never thought I’d End up here.

A moment later I mustered the courage to leave my hiding spot. I stuffed my clothes into the bag and slipped on my flip flops.

“Put your bag by the Boulder on your right.”

Bucky called. He never looked over. I did as he said and walked to him. My Heart pounded against my ribs almost painfully. Bucky finally turned his gaze toward me. With a huff and s jaw tick he held out his flesh hand to me.

“You good, Buck?” I asked.

He nodded, “Yeah, I’m good.” He certainly wasn’t. But, I took his hand and we walked to the edge. I could see for miles. Endless green and blue sky, wonder and beauty for miles. Untainted majesty in the middle of New York.

“I’ve wanted to do this for years. Never found the right partner. So.” Bucky looked at you, “wanna jump with me, doll?”

I nodded way too many times. I gripped his hand tighter and he moved us to the edge.

“Okay, we’re going to back up seven steps and then when I say go, run. Don’t let go.”

We went flying, Through the air, like two of the strangest birds. No wings, no way to keep themselves up.

We crashed. Pummeling through the cold water together. I felt Buckys hand slip from my own as we went under. I was consumed. The impact jostled my senses and I struggled to gain stability under the water. As I thrashed, trying to force myself up I felt a hand grab my arm.

Bucky pulled me to the surface and we swam to shore. We both heaved and fought for our breaths for a few moments before raucous laughter broke out.

“You said you wouldn’t try to kill me.” I chided. He cackled. I tried desperately to catch my breath.

“Good?” Bucky asked. His voice sounded genuinely concerned.

“Yeah, ugh. Just, need to breathe.”

We sat like that for what felt like forever. Watching the sky and resting our lungs, we warmed beneath the sun. After a few moments, I pulled myself up and sat cross legged.

“Why’d you agree to do this?” I asked.

“Huh?”

“Why did you agree to be my “escort” when Natasha isn’t around?” I asked him again. After months I still hadn’t figured that out. Usually, he stayed as far away from me as possible, even when he was supposed to be with me. I would walk into a room and he would leave. It’s not like he ever went far, I could always feel his eyes burning into me - but, he never made the effort to even stay around me.

“I know what it’s like to lose control. I’ve been unfair to you, honestly. I know you think I hate you, doll, but I don’t. I’ve been in therapy for a bit…” I turned to look at Bucky as he continued, “working on myself. Figured out that I was projecting my own fears onto you. Some shit my therapist said anyway. You can’t be expected to take shit from people for all your life and never fight back. I didn’t see some soul eating witch and I don’t. I see a woman who is tired of being treated like dirt and she fought back. She just happens to be able to eat souls.”

The tears formed quick, They burnt hot like betrayal in my eyes. I was so wrong about him. God, I was wrong.

I reached my hand over and covered his metal one with my own flesh fingers.

“Thanks, Mr. Roboto.”

Amendment to Rule Number One: when gothsitting in the heat, consider water. Results will vary.

[wiremagazine]

SPOTLIGHT FILMS: PREVIEW 15 OF THE EXCEPTIONAL SELECTIONS FOR MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL GEMS 2019

Photos provided by Miami Film Festival GEMS 2019

BY THE GRACE OF GOD (Belgium, France, 2019) Director: François Ozon In French, with English subtitles

GEMS Synopsis: In By the Grace of God, acclaimed filmmaker François Ozon dramatizes the story of three Preynat victims – Alexandre Guérin (Melvil Poupaud), a lawyer and devoted Catholic family man, François Debord (Denis Ménochet), a declared atheist who wants to bring media attention to the case, and Emmanuel Thomassin, an emotionally damaged younger man who carries the heaviest burden and the effects of prolonged trauma.

CLEMENCY (U.S., 2019) Director: Chinonye Chukwu In English

GEMS Synopsis: Clemency is an indelible character study and a searing look at the toll of capital punishment on the lives of all it touches – including the families of victims seeking justice. Filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu, the first African-American woman to win Sundance's highest prize, is observant to the disproportionate toll death row reaps on black men, but also alive to the possibility of hope, and humanity finding its way back from even the darkest emotional places.

HONEY BOY (U.S., 2019) Director: Alma Har'el In English

GEMS Synopsis: Artists often draw from real-life experience, but few approach this practice quite like actor Shia LaBeouf. Having received court-ordered therapy writing while in rehab, LaBeouf – who over the years has been the subject of numerous public misbehavior headlines – took the mandated writing and turned it into something tremendous: the screenplay for Honey Boy.

LES MISÉRABLES (France, 2019) Director: Ladj Ly In French, with English subtitles

GEMS Synopsis: Victor Hugo's 1862 classic novel Les Misérables unforgettably depicted the abject poverty and state violence endured by residents in the Paris suburb Montfermeil, a setting symbolically representing a greater view of French society. Taking Hugo's title for his fiction feature debut, director Ladj Ly returns to modern-day Montfermeil and finds that the tensions between the racially diversified, impoverished community and the police enforcing the status quo are remarkably similar to the world of Jean Valjean and Hugo's characters, even more than 150 years later.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR (U.S., 2019) Director: Alan Berliner In English

GEMS Synopsis: For 40 years, filmmaker Alan Berliner has clipped out from the pages of The New York Times photos that caught his eye, keeping them meticulously filed and cross-indexed as a self-appointed archivist and librarian. Driven by his obsession, Berliner has completed the work of nearly a lifetime, transforming and reinterpreting his collection of images into a statement about the nature of humankind. Letter to the Editor is a film essay with multiple themes and a stunning array of thousands of photographs from Alan Berliner's collection. This film delivers poignant reflections on the power of photography, the importance of print publications, and what it means when technology brings a dramatic change to century-old traditions.

LITUS (Spain, 2019) Director: Dani de la Orden In Spanish, with English subtitles

GEMS Synopsis: A big chill has descended upon a group of Barcelona thirtysomething friends. Six months before, their cherished friend Litus inexplicably took his own life. His loving friends gather to celebrate his memory, but a bombshell secret awaits them: Litus left behind a goodbye letter for each of them. A moving drama with impeccably timed moments of humor, Litus is an invitation to reflect on life, relationships and our connections to those we hold most dear in life.

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN (U.S., 2019) Director: Edward Norton In English

GEMS Synopsis: Twenty years in the making, Edward Norton's passion project Motherless Brooklyn finds the famed actor working quadruple duty as writer, director, producer and star of this inventive adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's novel of the same name. Growing up an orphan with Tourette syndrome, Lionel (Norton) spent his early years trying to find his place in the world. Then private detective Frank Minna (Bruce Willis) took him under his wing. Now a full-fledged employee of Frank's agency, Lionel finds his world turned upside down when Frank is murdered. Determined to solve the mystery of who killed his mentor, Lionel sets off on a quest that takes him from Brooklyn to Harlem, where he discovers a trail of shocking political corruption in the process.

PAIN AND GLORY (Spain, 2019) Director: Pedro Almodóvar In Spanish, with English subtitles

GEMS Synopsis: Pain and Glory is legendary Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar's most personal, semi-autobiographical film to date. The film centers on Salvador Mallo (played by Antonio Banderas, who won Best Actor at Cannes Film Festival for this role), a Spanish film director in his 60s. Salvador receives an invitation by the Madrid Cinematheque for a retrospective screening of Sabor, a film that he made more than 30 years ago. The invitation triggers a comical, edgy reunion with Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia), the actor who starred in Sabor, and then later a reunion with Federico Delgado (Leonardo Sbaraglia), the Argentinian man who was Salvador's first adult love just as many years ago. Floating in and out of Salvador's memories is his unresolved relationship with his deceased mother (played in her younger years by Penélope Cruz, and later years by Julieta Serrano).

PARASITE (South Korea, 2019) Director: Bong Joon-ho In Korean, with English subtitles

GEMS Synopsis: At once hilariously funny and nail-bitingly tense, Bong Joon-ho's class satire Parasite is quite possibly the most unique and unforgettable film of the year, and has had international critics swooning since it won the Palme D'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Defying convention and predictability at every step, the film centers on two families whose paths become inexorably linked and the wild events that result: the affluent Park family and the street smart but poor Kim family. The Kim's children, led by college-aged Ki-woo, manage to forge their way into the Park family's lives as tutors and art therapists. In exchange for their services, the Kim family finally has a path out of poverty, but this fragile balance built on lies will quickly unravel.

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (France, 2019) Director: Céline Sciamma In French, with English subtitles

GEMS Synopsis: Following the unexpected death of her sister, Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) is brought back from a convent and betrothed to an unknown man from Milan. Héloïse's mother, La Comtesse (Valeria Golina), is set on having Héloïse's portrait painted, but she refuses to pose, in rebellion against the arranged marriage into which she is being forced. So La Comtesse slyly hires Marianne, a rare female professional artist in the period, to secretly paint Héloïse's portrait, all the while posing as her ostensible companion. Through walks, profound conversations, and long-held, tantalizing looks, the relationship between Héloïse and Marianne evolves with delicacy and intimacy.

STAFF ONLY (France, Spain, 2019) Director: Neus Ballus In Catalan, French, with English subtitles

GEMS Synopsis: In a time where new generations are often aggressively pursuing some stark definitions of political correctness, Staff Only hits a zeitgeist nerve with a young protagonist who is as intelligent as she is inexperienced. Catalan director Neus Ballús turns an honest and critical eye to a rich cast of characters, all of them compassionate, flawed human beings trying to live their best lives – yet often at unforeseen costs. Embracing the rich Senegalese landscape, Staff Only is as charming as it is poignant, while asking fundamental questions about how we grow individually, and in relation to others.

TAXI TO TREASURE ROCK (Spain, 2019) Director: Alejo Flah In Spanish, with English subtitles

GEMS Synopsis: Freshly released from a Madrid prison, Argentinian con artist and professional charmer Diego has one idea to rebuild his life: finding a lost stash of gold hidden inside the legendary Rock of Gibraltar. Diego puts his snake charmer ways to convince León (Dani Rovira of the Ocho appellidos vascos films), a misanthropic, miserly taxi driver flooded with debt and rage against the system, to drive him from Madrid to Gibraltar. On their chaotic road trip they meet Sandra (Ingrid García-Jonsson), a runaway bride-to-be who is just enough of a misfit to connect with Diego and León, and join their eccentric, life-changing adventure.

THE TRUTH (France, Japan, 2019) Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda In French, with English subtitles

GEMS Synopsis: To iconic actress Fabienne (Deneuve), nothing is more important than giving the perfect performance. Her commitment to her work has long put a strain on her personal life, and when her new memoir comes out, those closest to her find it harder and harder to stay by her side. When her longtime assistant suddenly quits, her estranged daughter Lumir (Binoche) – who's in town visiting along with her actor husband, Hank (Ethan Hawke) – steps into the role of assisting Fabienne while on the set of her new sci-fi film Memories of My Mother. With a mother and daughter so unable to communicate their complicated feelings to one another, Fabienne's new film (based on the Ken Liu short story of the same name) is a resonant, meta example of life imitating art.

THE TWO POPES (Argentina, Italy, UK, U.S., 2019) Director: Fernando Meirelles In English, French, Italian, Spanish, with English subtitles

GEMS Synopsis: When Pope Benedict XVI (Hopkins) breaks with tradition and decides to retire from the papacy, he invites his soon-to-be successor Cardinal Bergoglio (Pryce) – who will become the future Pope Francis – for a meeting. At first, it seems like an ideal opportunity for the two men to exchange pleasantries and put their differences aside. As one of Pope Benedict's harshest critics, Cardinal Bergoglio is a progressive, forward-thinking leader, one who feels strongly that the Church should listen to its followers instead of blindly adhering to the ways of old. It's an outlook that leads to a fierce debate between the two men – a debate on sticking to tradition vs. growing with the times, and about what it means to pave a religious path for more than a billion followers around the world.

TOP END WEDDING (Australia, 2019) Director: Wayne Blair In English

GEMS Synopsis: Lauren's demanding boss has given her just ten days of leave to get married to her doting fiancé, Ned, before she makes partner. But when Lauren's mother disappears in the midst of a major midlife crisis, leaving her father in shambles, all wedding plans are off until they can find her. Lauren and Ned set off on a breathtaking road trip through northern Australia (the "top end" of the country) in which multiple generations of the family must come to terms with the past in order for Lauren and Ned to be able to forge their future together.

This was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 19.2019