#Amazon forest fires

[moonzzzzi]

THE AMAZON RAINFOREST IS BURNING

BRAZIL IS GOING THROUGH ITS GREATEST FOREST FIRE SEASON IN YEARS

THE SKY IS RED AND THE LUNG OF THE WORLD IS DYING

AND NO ONE DOES ANYTHING

[world-fresh-news]

Amazon Forest Fires Engulf Manaus, Brazil's Largest City

Manaus, the largest megacity in Brazil’s Amazonas state, has been covered in poisonous banks from timber fires burned by” trespassers,” as the government has labeled them. A marathon as well as other public conditioning have been canceled as a result of the consequences of this implacable fire on the megacity of nearly two million people. Manaus is covered in bank Since Wednesday, the Amazon fire…

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Historic drought marks Amazon's parched landscape

According to the National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters, the current drought is the most intense and widespread Brazil has experienced since records began in 1950.

See more pictures.

[bnnywngs]

for once i'm not gonna talk about fanfic today, i just want to rant a bit, sorry it's going to be a big one

this year, 2023, we're having the worst summer of all times, every day it's the hottest day of the year, we're breaking so many records of temperature, water levels and etc, it's quite tough to be living

i live in manaus, in the state of amazonas in brazil, it's in the middle of the amazon rainforest, a big city of 2 million people and very few trees (yes.), we basically have 2 seasons (influenced by the equator line that runs above us) that is raining season (between december and may) and summer (june to november), the average temperature during these seasons are, i think, between 23°C and 29°C, and 35-40°C, besides high humidity

well, not anymore!!! because of el niño, climate change etc, things changed and now we're living through hell with little to no action from local government

the temperatures are high (39°C one of these days, and the feeling is way, way higher than that, like 47°C) and ok, we're kinda used to it, even if it's not healthy at all, BUT the humidity it's really really low (45% right at this moment, i'm used to more or less 70-80% on average), and the river are the lowest of all times since they began to record it

you can see how low it is here

the sun is so hot it's making the water hotter, and it's literally killing fish and our river dolphins! and some places the waters are so shallow, they can't breath and are dying too

not only that, but we're having to deal with forest fires, that are not natural, it's NOT normal. we don't have spontaneous fires. we don't. it's usually humans who puts it on fire either accidentally (very rare) because since i don't know when people burn their trash (it's actually against the law now, but...) and they throw cigarette butts through the car window etc, or it can be for capitalism purposes (owners of farms, illegal tree cutting, etc etc), and also, people have no sense of environmental protection, so they throw their garbage anywhere - river, side walk, forest, you name it - so we have stray pieces of glass that, with this damn heat and low humidity, it's starting fires.

and the smoke isn't going anywhere. it's here, around us, in the city (and we're not the only city going through it), we're breathing smoke. all i can see through my window right now is smoke. i can barely see. (here)

lol i just received a text from the government, it's the first since the smoke started a month or so ago

lit. translation: "civil defense: forest fire alert, with impacts on air quality in the metropolitan area of manaus. follow the instructions from the local defense."

btw this is from google few minutes ago:

36°C = 96,8°F

air quality of this morning, from local journalist, Mário Adolfo:

apparently, because of el niño, there's no wind, so the smoke isn't moving, that highly impacts quality of air and our health, i don't know how's to live a day without feeling like i'm either about to faint or throw up, my nose hurts, my throat hurts, my eyes are dry, my lips are cracking....

HOW CAN WE LIVE LIKE THIS FOR FUCKS SAKE

i want to cry, i really want to cry, or throw myself through the window. i can't, i just can't live like this anymore, my whole apartment smells like smoke and the windows are closed fUCK

btw, big national newspaper last week: how's the dry season of the amazon is going to impact your black friday shopping

what a joke

[fierykitten2]

F-Zero 99 already has a page on The Cutting Room Floor and apparently in the files there’s unused data to bring back Forest from the Satellaview games as well as for two new locations - Sulfur Swamp and Volcania (hmm… a toxic location and a fiery location? Iron Moth would be impressed)

[bumblebeeappletree]

More than 75,000 fires have burned across Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, and many eco-activists blame Pres. Jair Bolsonaro’s anti-environmental stance

For more information: go.nowth.is/amazonfires

#Earth #Environment #ClimateCrisis #NowThis

[aixkiy]

The Peruvian Amazon is in danger. The fires not only consume the forest but also destroy the homes of thousands of animals. With each day the fire spreads, more species are left without shelter, without hope. It's our duty to protect this treasure before it's too late.

[duckduckdove]

Hey just because news stations stopped giving a fuck about it doesn't mean you should too. The Amazon rainforest is still burning as of 2024.

If you have a few dollars to donate and a good 15 minutes to find a good source to donate to you should absolutely do that or at least spread awareness. I'd do it myself but it's 2 AM. I'm trusting Tumblr with this post and will reblog replies with good sources.

[homo-house]

hey uh so I haven't seen anyone talking about this here yet, but

the amazon river, like the biggest river in the fucking world, in the middle of the amazon fucking rainforest, is currently going through its worst drought since the records began 121 years ago

picture from Folha PE

there's a lot going on but I haven't seen much international buzz around this like there was when the forest was on fire (maybe because it's harder to shift the narrative to blame brazil exclusively as if the rest of the world didn't have fault in this) so I wanted to bring this to tumblr's attention

I don't know too many details as I live in the other side of the country and we are suffering from the exact opposite (at least three cyclones this year, honestly have stopped counting - it's unusual for us to get hit by even one - floods, landslides, we have a death toll, people are losing everything to the water), but like, I as a brazilian have literally never seen pictures of the river like this before. every single city in the amazonas state is in a state of emergency as of november 1st.

pictures by Adriano Liziero (ig: geopanoramas)

we are used to seeing images of rio negro and solimões, the two main amazon river affluents, in all their grandiose and beauty and seeing these pictures is really fucking chilling. some of our news outlets are saying the solimões has turned to a sand desert... can you imagine this watery sight turning into a desert in the span of a year?

while down south we are seeing amounts of rain and hailstorms the likes of which our infrastructure is simply not built to deal with, up north people who have built everything around the river are at a loss of what to do.

the houses there that are built to float are just on the ground, people who depend on fishing for a living have to walk kilometers to find any fish that are still alive at all, the biodiversity there is at risk, and on an economic level it's hard to grasp how people from the northern states are getting by at all - the main means of transport for ANYTHING in that region is via the river water. this will impact the region for months to come. it doesnt make a lot of sense to build a lot of roads bc it's just better to use the waterway system, everything is built around or floats on the river after all. and like, the water level is so incomprehensibly low the boats are just STUCK. people are having a hard time getting from one place to another - keep in mind the widest parts of the river are over 10 km apart!!

this shit is really serious and i am trying not to think about it because we have a different kind of problem to worry about down south but it's really terrifying when I stop to think about it. you already know the climate crisis is real and the effects are beyond preventable now (we're past global warming, get used to calling it "global boiling"). we'll be switching strategies to damage control from now on and like, this is what it's come to.

I don't like to be alarmist but it's hard not to be alarmed. I'm sorry that I can't end this post with very clear intructions on how people overseas can help, there really isn't much to do except hope the water level rises soon, maybe pray if you believe in something. in that regard we just have to keep pressing for change at a global level; local conditions only would not, COULD NOT be causing this - the amazon river is a CONTINENTAL body of water, it spans across multiple countries. so my advice is spread the word, let your representatives know that you're worried and you want change towards sustainability, degrowth and reduced carbon emissions, support your local NGOs, maybe join a cause, I don't know? I recommend reading on ecological and feminist economics though

however, I know you can help the affected riverine families by donating to organizations dedicated to helping the region. keep in mind a single US dollar, pound or euro is worth over 5x more in our currency so anything you donate at all will certainly help those affected.

FAS - Sustainable Amazon Fundation

Idesam - Sustainable Developent and Preservation Institute of Amazonas

Greenpeace Brasil - I know Greenpeace isn't the best but they're one of the few options I can think of that have a bridge to the international world and they are helping directly

There are a lot of other smaller/local NGOs but I'm not sure how you could donate to them from overseas, I'll leave some of them here anyway:

Projeto Gari

Caritás Brasileira

If you know any other organizations please link them, I'll be sure to reblog though my reach isn't a lot

thank you so much for reading this to the end, don't feel obligated to share but please do if you can! even if you just read up to here it means a lot to me that someone out there knows

also as an afterthought, I wanted to expand on why I think this hasn't made big news yet: because unlike the case of the 2020 forest fires, other countries have to hold themselves accountable when looking at this situation. while in 2020 it was easier to pretend the fires were all our fault and people were talking about taking the amazon away from us like they wouldn't do much worse. global superpowers have no more forests to speak of so I guess they've been eyeing what latin america still has. so like this bit of the post is just to say if you're thinking of saying anything of the sort, maybe think of what your own country has done to contribute to this instead of blaming brazil exclusively and saying the amazon should be protected by force or whatever

[bet-on-me-13]

All Ancients are Halfa's

So! The reason everyone in the Realms believes that Danny is a super old Ancient and not a Ghost Baby is because all the Halfa's that exist currently are Ancients.

The Reason? For a Halfa to be born, they must have died as a God.

Pandora is a Halfa. She was the Goddess of the Amazon's before she was killed by Ares.

Frostbite is a Halfa. He was the God of a Yeti Tribe, before their kind died to Climate Change.

Dorathea and Aragon are Halfa's. They were both Draconic Gods who ruled over a small Country before dying to a roaming band of Magical Adventurerers.

Undergrowth is a Halfa. He was a Druidic Plant God killed after bis forest was destroyed by a Fire.

Even Clockwork is a Halfa. He used to be known as the God Kronos.

But that leads to the question of, How Danny is a Halfa? He was just a normal Human when he died, not Divine in any way, or so he thought. So how did he become a Halfa?

Well, maybe he should start looking into who his Birth Parents were...

...

Read the Tags for more of this!

[reasonsforhope]

— Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon dropped to its lowest level since March 2018, according to new data from the Brazilian government.

— Deforestation for the year to date is down 40% compared to 2023, with expectations for a significant annual decline when the “deforestation year” concludes on July 31.

— Despite declining deforestation in the Amazon, the region is experiencing a rise in forest fires due to a severe drought...

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon continued to plummet in May [2024], reaching the lowest level since March 2018, according to new data from the alert system run by Brazil’s national space research institute, INPE.

According to INPE’s DETER system, deforestation in May 2024 amounted to 501 square kilometers (193 square miles), an area 147 times the size of New York City’s Central Park. This tally brings the accumulated deforestation detected by DETER over the past year to 4,350 square kilometers, down 54% from the same time last year.

For the year to date, DETER has detected 1,182 square kilometers of forest clearance, down 40% from the 1,986 square kilometers recorded at this point in 2023.

[Note: January 2023 is when Lula da Silva was elected in Brazil. As you can see, after that, deforestation immediately plummeted. He is doing SO MUCH for the environment, we are SO lucky he beat Bolsonaro (the big pro-deforestation guy) for president of Brazil.

Also, in case the above chart makes you think we're doing worse than ever, that chart actually starts on a major low point for deforestation, toward the end of Lula da Silva's first term. Here's another chart that gives a longer-term picture, from 2002 to 2023. If we are lucky, Lula da Silva will bring the kind of drop in deforestation to us now that he did during his first term: an almost 80% drop in deforestation.]

Pictured: Annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon since 2002 under each presidential administration, according to INPE’s PRODES system. Note: Temer took office on 31 Aug 2016 replacing Rousseff, while other presidents started their terms Jan 1. Also 2023 data is preliminary.

The decline in deforestation registered by DETER mirrors the trend recorded by an independent system maintained by Imazon, a Brazilian NGO. Imazon’s system is seen as a check against official data.

The alert data suggests observers should expect a sharp drop in deforestation for the 12 months ending July 31, the period Brazil uses for measuring annual deforestation. July 31 corresponds with the peak of the dry season across much of the Brazilian Amazon, when cloud cover is at a minimum, facilitating efforts to measure changes in forest cover.

For the annual assessment, Brazil uses higher resolution satellite imagery, which requires more time for analysis. In contrast, the shorter timeframe of DETER enables authorities to take action against illegal deforestation if there is interest in doing so. Data from DETER and PRODES, the annual system, have a strong correlation.

-via GoodGoodGood, July 2, 2024

[probablyasocialecologist]

Ecuadorians voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to reject oil drilling in a section of Yasuní National Park, the most biodiverse area of the imperiled Amazon rainforest. Nearly 60% of Ecuadorian voters backed a binding referendum opposing oil exploration in Block 43 of the national park, which is home to uncontacted Indigenous tribes as well as hundreds of bird species and more than 1,000 tree species.

[...]

Sunday's vote makes Ecuador the first country to restrict fossil fuel extraction through the citizen referendum process, according to Nemonte Nenquimo, a Waorani leader. "Yasuní, an area of one million hectares, is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth," Nenquimo wrote in a recent op-ed for The Guardian. "There are more tree species in a single hectare of Yasuní than across Canada and the United States combined. Yasuní is also the home of the Tagaeri and Taromenane communities: the last two Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation in Ecuador." "Can you imagine the immense size of one million hectares?" Nenquimo added. "The recent fires in Quebec burned a million hectares of forest. And so the oil industry hopes to burn Yasuní. It has already begun in fact, with the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oil project on the eastern edge of the park."

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil's Lula Visits Amazon As Fire 'Pandemic' Rages

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced new measures on Tuesday to alleviate drought in the Brazilian Amazon, as his government faces mounting pressure to combat a "pandemic" of fires.

Brazil has been parched by a historic drought that experts link to climate change, sparking fires that have spread more easily and produced clouds of smoke that have reached neighbouring Uruguay and Argentina.

The country's Supreme Court has ordered immediate government action to contain what it has called a "fire pandemic", which is also threatening to destroy the biodiversity-rich wetland sanctuary of Pantanal.

"We take the need to combat drought, deforestation, fires, very seriously," Lula said in the northern state of Amazonas.

Continue reading.

[ronwestbreeze]

my dear mates

pairing: jake sully x reader x neytiri x tsu'tey

summary: headcanons of how you become mates with jake sully, neytiri, and tsu'tey

author's note: this was for fun!! i also might do a second part for the way of the water just to experiment what it would be like if tsu'tey was in it ahaha. also yes, tsu'tey is alive and is olo'eyktan and jake is just the toruk makto. anyway, enjoy <3

link to the story inspired by this hc!!

before pandora

you were born on a dying planet. your mother was a scientist and researcher. then your mother got accepted to go to pandora for the avatar program. she was so excited but she knew she couldn’t take you with her at that point. instead of letting her feel guilty, you only encouraged her to go.

five years later in the year 2150, you were actually able to make some progress with your mother’s work. you had gathered a research team and some military protection to be able to go over to the amazon rainforest and protect what was left of it. for two years you were able to keep life there protected, that is until all of it was destroyed. deforestation. you were surrounded by fire and destruction, running to get to safety as the rainforest died around you. all of your hard work, all of your mother’s work was gone just like that. and you were helpless, you couldn’t do anything about it.

around the same time, you had been approached by a few rda agents. they were recruiting you to go to pandora since you were the best option they had to continue your mother’s work there. but that only confused you.

“i don’t understand.” you frowned at them, heart racing. “my mother went to pandora to start her new research there. why do you need me to continue it…”

the answer dawned on you before the agents told you. you mother had died on pandora. and because of this, you were the only one who could understand her work which is why the rda agents came for you. this opportunity was all you had left to continue your mother’s legacy and work. so you agreed to go to pandora.

getting to pandora

it was 2155 when you came out of cryosleep. you were then led onto a ship that flew you down to the planet. only the ship was nearly shot down by the na’vi and you experienced quite the rough landing.. once it did land and the ship opened, you were met with multiple na’vi surrounding the ship, bows pointed at you, even some of them had guns much to your surprise.

that was when you met tsu’tey and jake sully. tsu’tey was the olo’eyktan while jake was toruk makto. the former was wary of your arrival and immediately wanted to either kill you or send you back.

“we need her!” one of the humans, norm spellman, argued for you. “please, she’s of no danger to you. one of our doctors, dr. l/n sent her. you know her, right? dr. augustine’s friend! grace wanted her here too!” norm looked to jake pleadingly. “jake, help me out here!”

jake spoke to tsu’tey in a language you were unfamiliar with back then. the language of the na’vi people. jake then turned to norm and you, speaking in english. “put her in one of the cells at hells gate.”

“jake—“

“if we can find proof that she was sent by a doctor here, she has to stay in a place where she can be watched.” jake looked at you again, his face guarded. “if what your saying is true then there should be no problem, right?”

it took you a few seconds to realize that he had addressed you at that point. you nodded quickly, “yes, um, yeah.”

they had you placed in a holding cell at the abandoned hell’s gate for a couple of days. of course the humans there fed and clothed you. norm had then explained that a year prior the rda and the omatikaya clan had gone to war and the rda were exiled, so you coming a year later after all of that was seen as suspicious to the na’vi. now that you had some context, you then understood why your ship had been attacked. it also meant you had to be careful now that you were here. and it was best to keep to yourself and stay at your mother’s old lab in the forest. yes, that was a good plan at first.

too bad it didn’t stick.

when you meet

it wasn’t really difficult to stay in your own lane. you got used to using your avatar and were often wandering around the forest to study everything. at first the only people you interacted with were the other humans on the planet, which weren’t that much to begin with but you were content. mostly you were just getting used to the planet whilst also taking in the fact that your mother had died and you hadn’t been at her side when she did.

jake was the first one to approach you. since he knew what it felt like to be an outsider, he immediately tried to welcome and make you comfortable the best way he knew how. so often when he comes back from hunts, he’d stop by your lab to see you. one time he had spotted a really pretty plant and immediately thought of you. knowing that your job was to study the botany of pandora, he brought you to the plant. your smile was so big then, a part of him felt a pull toward you. whenever you smiled at him or laughed at his dumb jokes. jake couldn’t help but want to continue making you smile.

and you of course, always looked forward to him coming around, your heart fluttering every time you made physical contact with each other. whether it be the simple brush of fingers, you finding any excuse just to caress his face and him just wanting so desperately to kiss you. it was clear then that jake wanted you as another mate but he knew the other two wouldn’t accept her as he had, so in the beginning he buried his feelings for his and your sake.

“don’t look at me like that.” jake mumbled quietly, his forehead touching yours.

you frowned softly, “like what?”

he frowned sadly, “like you love me.”

but you did. and there was no stopping that.

neytiri had been watching you ever since jake had begun stopping by your lab after his hunts. she was wary about your arrival yet curious as to why jake kept going to you. she did think at first it was because the two of you had something in common but she discovered there was much more to that. tsu’tey of course waved it off in the beginning but she wasn’t too quick to let it go. so she herself started watching you. you had yet to notice her which annoyed neytiri a bit. if you were to be living in pandora, you must always be aware of your surroundings. you on the other hand just seemed to be in a whole different world. neytiri thought you would get eaten in less than a week.

but then again, your awed curiosity about the forest did draw her toward you. apart of her wanted to make herself known to you, just to show more to the forest than what you thought you had seen. plus she was drawn to your gentle spirit. and your innocence of your smile. neytiri soon began to understand why jake kept visiting you. a strange feeling bubbled in her stomach and she thought she was jealous at first.

one day she had to make herself known. especially when you were about to touch a dangerous plant.

“do not touch that.” she warned, surprising you.

you looked up in time to find her jumping down from the tree and landing in front of you. the na’vi woman gestured toward the plant, “it is poisonous. not meant to touch.”

“oh, sorry.” you backed away from the plant. your eyes then caught something on her leg, “hey, um, you have a cut there.”

she glanced down, not too bothered by it, “it’s nothing. just a scratch.”

you shake your head, “i can clean it a bit for you. you know, just so it won’t get infected.” before neytiri had a chance to protest you had already started walking toward a small pond, gesturing for her to follow. neytiri didn’t know why but she did. the two of you then knelt down next to the bond, you cup some water from it and brushed it against neytiri’s leg. “hmm, you're right, it’s just a scratch. not a lot of blood as it turns out.”

“i already said this.” neytiri grumbled but didn’t push your hands away.

you smiled up at her, “yeah, but it doesn’t hurt to check, right?”

neytiri realized then that it wasn’t jealousy she felt toward you. but instead it was a certain gentle fondness for you. one that always made it come back every day, similar to jake, just to see you and watch you work. some days she’d ask to join jake who was surprised by the request. you were happy to have her around as much as you loved having jake. it was comforting, being in neytiri’s presence. she was fierce but around you she was a lot more shy and comfortable with you. the both of you brought a sense of comfort and calm toward one another.

from then on, neytiri understood why jake kept coming back to you.

becoming one of the people

you understood what you had been missing the entire time you had been on pandora. even before coming here. and you decided that you would want to call this place your home and to do that, you would have to become like them. the na’vi. so you could be with them.

jake and neytiri were all for it and were the ones to help you. jake was the one to teach you how to hunt and how to choose and use your weapon. neytiri taught you the language—was a lot more patient with you than she was with jake—and showed you more of the forest, teaching you how to become one with it. how to understand it the na’vi way. the more time the three of you spent with each other, the more in love you had become.

of course, one last person had to be convinced.

tsu’tey

tsu’tey saw you making progress to become one of the people. and you saw him watching you. you knew he didn’t trust you. but since he was the clan leader of the omatikaya, you were quite determined to earn his trust. even jake and neytiri wanted him to accept you.

it was when you first tamed your ikran. you had fallen off your ikran mid-flight at first and jake had been the one to fly his own ikran down to catch you. he flew you back to the cliff. 

“she’s done.” jake had said as you slid off his ikran. he said it more to neytiri than you. “that was too close!”

“she can handle it!” neytiri frowned. “the danger, the whole thing, is a part of it, ma’jake!”

“she nearly died!” jake protested.

“guys--”

“and so did you when you first tamed yours! why is now any different?!”

“you know why!”

“guys!” you shouted, drawing their attention back to you. you ran a hand through your hair and huffed, “first off, stop talking about me like i’m not standing right next to you! second, i love you both, but it’s my choice whether or not i decide to finish.”

jake tried protesting, “y/n--”

“jake.” you sighed and went to grab your ikran taming rope from off the ground. “let me do this. please.”

neytiri nodded while jake only frowned. that was when tsu’tey appeared, looking all smug, “you heard her, jakesully.” you roll your eyes as neytiri squeezed your arm encouragingly. “Let her continue to fall. it’ll only make her look more like a skxawng.”

“tsu’tey.” jake frowned but you only grinned.

“hey i know you’re tryna make fun of me right now, but it’s only encouraging me to do it again. so, thanks!” you smirked provokingly at him causing him to scowl at you. 

“enough talk, demon girl.” tsu’tey stood before you despite neytiri trying to step in between you and get him to calm down. a part of it worked because she was his mate, but tsu’tey was still studying you, tilting his head with a mocking smirk. “go on. show me.”

you took the challenge much to jake’s dismay. neytiri supported you. but for some reason, you felt extra nervous with tsu’tey watching you. but you ignored it long enough to finally tame your ikran, this time without falling off. it felt amazing, your first ride on your ikran. jake and neytiri joined you on their own ikrans.

and surprisingly tsu’tey did as well. and instead of finding another scowl on his face, he instead wore a smirk. you grinned at him, tightening your hold on your ikran, “race me?”

tsu’tey rolled his eyes, “i don’t race—”

“slow poke!” you took off. tsu’tey blinked in surprise but immediately smirked competitively before taking off after you.

that was it. it wasn’t your smile—well, maybe it was a part of it—but it was how you loosened him up and made him have fun. for that moment he wasn’t thinking about his duty as the olo’eyktan. all he could think about is beating you in your race and allowing himself to have fun. with you of all people.

neytiri gave him a knowing smirk later on. he rolled his eyes at her, “be quiet you.”

“you love her too.”

tsu’tey didn’t respond then. because he knew the two had fallen for you. and because he knew he had fallen for you too. he tried really hard not to. really he did.

becoming mates

when all three of them realized they were in love with you and wanted you as their mates to join their family, they gave you room to realize it yourself without pushing you. fortunately for them, you already loved them and were just waiting for them to tell you. basically one of you had to come out and say it or else you would be miserable idiots in love.

you had been playing with baby neteyam when mo’at dragged jake, neytiri, and tsu’tey into the marui, surprising you.

“i’ve had enough of all your moping. all four of you!” mo’at huffed. you looked away flustered while the other three stood sheepishly. mo’at rolled her eyes and turned to you, “do you want them as your mates.”

you blushed but nodded, “yes, if only—”

“good.” mo’at turned to the three who were now staring at you in shock. “and you want her as your mate as well i assume?”

tsu’tey looked to you, “do you truly accept us?”

you smiled at them, “of course i do. i wouldn’t have anyone else be my dear mates.”

mo’at grumbled, mumbling about “children” before leaving the four of you alone. jake knelt down in front of you, caressing your cheek, “how come you didn’t say anything?”

“how come you didn’t?” you raised your brows.

“we did not want to push you.” neytiri said, holding your hand to her cheek. “but we’ve accepted you long ago.”

the four of you mated before eywa. and had been together since.

your relationship

the four of you were just so in love with each other. and all of you showed it in different ways. in public, you were a lot more subtle about showing your affection for each other. neytiri and jake loved flying together. jake and tsu’tey enjoyed hunting together. and neytiri and tsu’tey explored the forest together.

with you it wasn’t any different. neytiri and you loved spending time together in silence. the two of you were so comfortable with each other that sometimes you wouldn’t even have to talk whenever you were alone with each other. sometimes you’d lie in each other’s laps, neytiri would do your hair, and you would show her new plants you collected from the day. quality time was your love language.

with jake he was a lot more physically affectionate than the other too. he was this way with the other two and it wasn’t any different with you. he’d find a way to touch you both in public and in private. in public he’d always have his hand on the small of your back or squeezing the space between your neck and shoulder. in private he’s all over you, kissing any part of your body, and holding you in his arms.

tsu’tey loved just having fun with you. whether that be flying or exploring the forest together, he was always at peace with you and relaxed. anytime he was free from olo’eyktan duties, he would always try finding ways to spend time with you. he’s always smiling around you and saying sweet nothings to you. he enjoys your kisses and your touch, the both of you enjoyed both quality time and physical affection.

you were all so in love with each other. none of you could imagine living without each other.

all of you especially enjoyed spending time with neteyam, especially when you're all together. then kiri came along. all of you were adamant on adopting her. tsu’tey especially since he cared for her mother, grace. he saw kiri as his own just the same as you, jake, and neytiri did.

both jake and tsu’tey were such girl dads with kiri. and you were so excited to grow your family and finally start your new life in pandora.

you weren’t alone anymore. you had your mates and your children. and that’s all you needed in the end.

[buckets-and-trees]

Do You Remember

Fandom: MCU Title: Do You Remember Characters/Pairings: Minotaur!Bucky x Botanist!Female!Reader Word Count: 460

Summary: You belong to him.

Content Warnings: monster fucking, vaginal sex

Logistical Notes: For the @bucks-and-noble Summer Send Off event. Using lyrics from the song "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire for some of the thematic elements (bolded).

Additional Notes: Follow up to Sacrificial but just a moody smutty drabble that can be read without context.

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

As tangible as your surroundings were – the dirt, the lush green jungle, the sounds of exotic birds whose song was now so familiar – the situation hardly seemed real, and your brain didn’t know what to make of your waking state. Dream or nightmare?

Many mornings you woke from golden dreams that bled into shiny days.

Some mornings you awoke troubled, and he was always too perceptive and knew. And he didn’t let you stay troubled if he could help it.

He was very clear that he wanted you happy and content. How could you not be? This is still what you wanted, what you signed up for. What did you lack? Nothing. Your contract was essentially being fulfilled. You had pledged to three years of research. You wanted for nothing in your lab for research. You had known it would be remote, had agreed to being cut off from the rest of the world due to your remote location in the Amazon.

That you were his and that it was clear you were not to leave – would never be able to leave, why would you want to leave, little lamb? – was not part of the agreement.

And when it was like this, your clothes torn off to the side, with your fingers digging into the dirt beneath your palms, on hands and knees, with his hulking form kneeling over you, his bare chest pressing against your naked back, and his thick cock pressing into your stretched and slick canal, your hips pressed back against him, it was hard to remember why you would want to leave.

“Yes, lamb, it doesn’t hurt, does it? You take my cock so beautifully now, make such pretty noises, and I can have you anywhere. Your body is so willing to take me. You were that first day, and you have been every day since.”

You whimpered helplessly. He was right.

As terrified as you had been when the figure of the minotaur had appeared to claim you as the village’s sacrifice, you had also easily become his. Your body craved him now.

It doesn’t matter that you’re naked being fucked by this half-man, half-beast in the rain forest. No one will find you. You’re certain of that.

One of his rough hands came to your chest and he groped your left breast before tweaking the nipple painfully. “You’re mine.”

“Yes,” you yipped. He knew how to ply your body and make you desperate for him, and that was more dangerous than his mere existence as the beast that he was.

Body trembling beneath him as he railed you in a state of nearly mindless pleasure, you couldn’t remember if you wanted this or not. Do you remember anything before this? Before him? Before this September? Was there anything before him? He’s giving you nearly everything. Do you remember? What else would there be to remember in comparison to this?

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

Commentary/additional pieces on the Minotaur!Bucky saga:

"haunting thoughts" on THIS PIECE for the Dark Forest Fest

"haunting thoughts" on Sacrificial for the Dark Forest Fest

brief insight into what reader's life is like now

physical appearance of Minotaur!Bucky

easy and challenging parts of writing the fic

the writing of the story from concept to completion in one night

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Golden Poison Frogs: The Gold Standard

Golden poison frogs (Phyllobates terribilis) are a species of frog found only along the Pacific coast in the Amazon Rainforest of Columbia; their total range encompasses less than 5,000 square km;. Their prime habitat is near rivers, streams, and ponds, but the are able to survive in a variety of microhabitats along the forest floor thanks to the forest's extremely warm, humid climate.

The golden poison frog is perhaps noted for its crowning as the most poisonous species on the planet. A single adult contains enough poison in its skin to kill 2-3 grown humans, although the frog would have to be ingested for its toxins to be fatal. However, there is at least one species of snake, the fire-bellied snake (Erythrolamprus epinephalus) which is immune to the frog's toxins and often predates on juveniles. P. terribilis consumes a variety of insects, but gets its poison from the beetles in its diet, and without them individuals lose their toxicity.

Although tiny, the golden poison frog is hard to miss. They are the largest species of poison frog at a weight of 30 g (1 oz) and a length of 6 cm (2.4 in). Females are usually larger than males. The species is named for the most common color moroph, bright yellow, but populations may also come in green, orange, and white. The coloration is a warning to predators to stay away.

Golden poison frogs are typically active during the day. Members of the same sex are highly territorial, but populations within a small area can be quite large. Individuals defend their territory by calling loudly and performing a push-up motion, which can also serve to attract potential mates. The species can reproduce year-round, and both males and females have multiple partners.

After the female has laid a clutch of about 20 eggs, the male carries them on his back up a tree to a bromeliad or small tree hole filled with water. There the eggs hatch as tadpoles after 11-12 days. The tadpoles feed on algae and insect larvae until they metamorphose into froglets, which takes about 2 months. The froglets take a further year to fully mature, and adults may live for up to 5 years.

Conservation status: P. terribilis is classified as Endangered by the IUCN. The species has a relatively small home range, and is seriously threatened by habitat loss. However, there are many private, government, and NGO captive-bread populations across the globe.

Want to request some art or uncharismatic facts? Just send me proof of donation of any amount to any of the fundraisers on this list, or a Palestinian organization of your choice! Proof does not have to include any personal info– only the date, the amount, and the recipient. Even one dollar can go a long way!

Photos

Victor Fabio Luna-Mora

Micha L. Rieser

Leighton Pritchard