etnoterapias

[thetangibleghost]

i had a dream i got burned alive on the street by a cop with a flamethrower

[headspace-hotel]

Do yk of any annoying plants (annoying for an hoa, sterile city planner, in the oh God we've sprayed pesticides on it four times how does it keep growing) I could put into a seed bomb? I know mint can be annoying in a garden but im not sure if its the best thing for the ecosystem. Idk if this is a strange question. I've been researching a bit and ik you're kinda a plant fella on here so I thought I'd ask anyways (south coastal USA, near gulf of Mexico)

Alright so here's the thing:

Seedbombing an area that is heavily maintained and treated with pesticides and herbicides: ranges from pointless to potentially harmful. The toughest plants nature has to offer are the first to show up in disturbed areas, and they don't need human help to get around.

At best, you're not really doing anything, at worst, you're leading to more pesticides and herbicides getting sprayed than before.

Seedbombing an area that might see occasional maintenance but is mostly neglected and ignored: GOOD. GREAT. What you're doing basically is re-introducing extirpated species, which can have a cascade effect on the rest of the surroundings.

Places like this might include the side of a drainage ditch, a roadside, a little empty lot set aside for stormwater drainage, just those forgotten little areas that get weedy.

You have a ton of biodiversity on the coast that isn't present here, so this will be your own quest mostly, but here's some guidelines for what you're looking for:

Native species (please do not spread invasives, and the benefits of non-natives generally are limited)

Suited to the site you want to try seed bombing (wet and soggy areas host plants suited to wetlands, drier areas have different inhabitants)

Herbaceous plants (nothing that could interfere with underground wires or pipes, so no trees or shrubs sorry)

Vigorous self-seeder that spreads by wind (because you want it to spread)

Germinates and blooms the same year (so it can reach the point of producing seeds)

A lot of plants that fit the above criteria will be annuals.

Spring or early summer blooming plants are a good idea, simply because they are more likely to survive to reseed and to be noticed by people who might think they're pretty and want to preserve them.

There are many species of milkweed. Find a few that are native to your area and mix them in. This is because they will attract monarchs, the general public is at least marginally aware of monarchs as endangered, and thus milkweeds will have a protective effect on everything else on the site.

Include a large variety of seeds. Biodiversity, and also higher success rate.

Good luck in your endeavors.

[hussyknee]

Fellas, is it an act of war against a Western European country to hold their citizens prisoner in the open air prison they're carpet bombing?

Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis have been launching attacks on US military bases in Syria and Iraq and firing missiles at Israel in tandem with Hamas's attacks. All three are funded by Iran.

(I am HEAVING with laughter at Vox and every single one of these propagandist chucklefucks calling them "militias" and "terrorist organisations" and trying to frame this as justification for continuing to fund Israel like. MOTHERFUCKER WHOSE REGION ARE YOU IN EXACTLY?? WHO IS GENOCIDING PEOPLE ON THEIR OWN SOIL??)

"But they're fundie theocratic military states!!!"

*looks at Israel*

*looks at you*

*looks at current state of US*

Oh, ARE they?

US officials have met with the Lebanese caretaker government in an effort to try and prevent the conflict from spreading into Lebanon.

Um. Was this before or after Israel poured white phosphorus on Lebanon? Do y'all even have any control over your dog?

(Btw if you MCU brainrotted Western leftists don't stop trying to pick a Good Guy out of this mess instead of understanding basic geo-politics and the horrific ground realities of the countries the US and its allies have left in tatters, you're frankly just as much of an enemy to the people in those countries as your leaders are. Every one of these people are fascist cunts.)

For those of you who have been BLEATING about Ukraine non-stop, like it's NOT an expendable non-NATO country they're only interested in defending in case Putin gets any bright ideas about Poland, here's an opinion that makes sense to me:

Tell me it wouldn't be perfectly on brand if the US government announced, "Our great democracy bows to the will of the people. We hear you, we see you. We will divest...from Ukraine."

The West has never given one singular shit about protecting ANYONE from genocide. Vulnerability is liability. The only difference between them and Putin is that Putin is greedy megalomaniacal fascist surrounded by self-interested yes-men and the US is run by a committee of greedy egomaniacal fascists surrounded by self-interested yes-men whose end goal is keeping the death machine spinning money rather than even "winning" territories. All they have to do to turn this around is divest from Israel and focus on Ukraine. And no, Israel can't throw in with Putin because it'll be too busy trying to fight off three countries at once without the sugar from its Daddy.

Putin will not stop at Ukraine, for the same reason the US didn't stop at Afghanistan. Empires are built on their military power and militaries need to be fed and kept active and kept active to be fed. The minute you stop, it tries to eat itself. If Putin makes a move on Poland, NATO has to respond, and if the West is also embroiled in an all-out war with the Middle East, well. It looks kinda like a global conflict.

Oh and btw, if this does escalate into another regional war in the Middle East, we're going to be plunged into an oil crisis. Which might actually be the last straw for the UK economy, but it very DEFINITELY will be for the rest of the Global South.

(Also Biden's already auctioned off the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska for oil companies for such an intensive scale of fracking that it's projected to tip the world over the edge of climate collapse. In the event of a war in the ME, the US is going to need that oil soooooo. Good luck stopping it.)

[lunarw0rks]

Through The Ashes | Chapter Five

Summary: You've been given an offer to join the 141 Task Force. Upon taking it, you find yourself ensnared with the mysterious masked man who won't take his eyes off you.

Warning(s): my attempt at slow-burn, canon-typical violence, mild language, mentions of violence, injuries, blood, hurt/comfort kinda??

A/N: I've been using dialogue from the campaign for these chapters, so hopefully it translates well enough. Thank you for all the support :) | Word Count: 3.5k

꒦꒷ MAIN MASTERLIST ꒷꒦ GHOST MASTERLIST ⋆ ⚘ 🕊 ˚✧ ₊˚ʚ prev. chapter | next chapter // requests | ao3 | playlist

Kiss Of Judas

Valeria remained completely silent during the entire helicopter ride, refusing to look anyone around her in the eyes. She never expected to be caught, at least not by foreign forces. She was a complicated woman in your eyes, always nearly impossible to read.

You still felt jumpy and wired from the whole operation as the adrenaline began to dwindle, which was not helping your impatience. Valeria was the reason for your condition, but also the reason you didn’t get the life squeezed out of you. And yet, here she was, not giving your Task Force any reach on where to find the missiles.

You opened the door with your keycard and stepped inside, seeing her sitting in the middle of the room—surrounded by your team and the allies.

Her eyes flicked up at you when she heard the motion, mirroring the look she had in her eyes when you were the one in the interrogation chair. You ran your tongue over the cut on your lip, keeping a blank expression.

“Las Almas needs me,” she purrs, giving Alejandro and you a glance. She was searching for any sign of emotion in your eyes as if testing you. You weren’t going to give it to her, or anyone else in this room who tried the same.

Alejandro bends down closer to her, hovering his face in front of hers. “Las Almas needs soldiers, not sicarios… And you,” he begins, looking back at you before he speaks, as if referencing what she let happen to you. “You disgrace the Army, Valeria.”

She wasn’t like Hassan.

He was too emotional when backed into a corner—he was cruel. She always kept a cool attitude about her, always steps ahead of her enemies. And she harbored one skill you hadn’t mastered yet—keeping your enemies close.

Ghost remains posed against the wall, only keeping his eyes trained on the target. “You’re a narco harboring a terrorist.”

Valeria maintains a grimace, carelessly leaning against the back of her chair. “Terrorism is good for business, it’s insurance.”

“Innocent civilians turned to ash, all to protect your drug game?” You finally spoke up, crossing your arms to your chest. When law enforcement is more focused on maimed civilians, they turn a blind eye to the war on drugs.

She ignores what you’re implying, too intelligent to admit that out loud. “To find your terrorist and your missiles, you need me.” Valeria tilts her head, observing the tightness you were carrying in your posture.

Graves approaches her from behind, gripping one of her shoulders with a gloved hand. “I want the missiles, I want the targets, and I want Hassan. You’ve got ten seconds or I’m gonna show you the difference between the military and me.” For once, his combativeness might get you the answers you needed.

To get to Valeria, you needed to mirror her. Ladylike interrogation was not the way she did things, so the opposite was all she knew.

“I can tell you where to find the missiles. When you return, I’ll tell you where Hassan is.” She never meets Graves’ eyes. “In exchange, you will let me go. And get the fuck out of Las Almas.”

“Deal.” Graves loosens his grip and nods his head to the rest of you.

Making a deal with her was not in the team’s best interest, not in the slightest.

Graves only saw the big picture ahead of him, and he didn’t pay any mind to the people he would trample to get to that goal.

—

The intel Valeria grave led your team to an oil rig miles out on the Gulf Of Mexico. Considering how horribly wrong your last mission involving water went, you were hesitant to see the team going along with it, even if it did lead to the missiles.

How could you be sure Valeria was being honest? She had no reason to. She had the entirety of your unit wrapped around her fingers, and that’s exactly how she wanted it.

Perhaps you were lucky you nearly died the previous night because you were going to sit the mission out.

You’re sat on your bunk, cleaning your pistol with a rag, being the only person left in the quarters. Your eyes flick up toward Ghost as he approaches. Usually you would ignore him, or have some snarky remark, but there were bigger problems everyone was facing.

“Do you think the missiles will be where she said they would?” You questioned, setting the rag on the mattress beside you.

“She knows if she gives us this, we’ll have no choice but to set her free.” He keeps his eyes on the ground, still refusing to look you in the eyes. “We’ve been through situations like this before. Terrorists are all the same—only out for themselves.”

You nodded and dropped down from the top bunk to face him. He turned around hesitantly, his face contorting in confusion.

You looked around the room, making sure it was clear before you spoke. “What about Graves? Is he only out for himself?” You muttered, leaning close to him.

“He’s an ally of ours, until we know otherwise, you need to act like it, Sergeant.” He grumbled while reaching for his pack. The truth was, Ghost didn’t trust any of them either. The way Graves forced you into the operation yesterday made him seethe.

Ghost blinked away the emotions that filled him. The flashbacks he had, hearing you struggle for yourself in his ear, the gunshot that followed with silence—all while all he could do was stay put on the hillside.

He grabbed his bag and looped it around his shoulder. “Just say put here, and don’t make any more enemies while you’re at it. Think you can handle that?” He added, looking down at you as if you were dirt on his shoes.

You knew you were right. The most spiteful people have their weaknesses, and Graves had one for sure. Even if no one believed you now, they would soon. You just hoped no one had to die for it to become clear.

—

You’re awoken by what sounds like a disturbance outside, and the voices are familiar. The team must be back from disarming the missiles. You look at the clock, seeing it’s early in the morning.

You sit up straight and gather your composure, curious about what’s going on. Whatever it was didn’t sound good at all.

“This is my base.” You press your ear to the wall, hearing Alejandro’s voice first.

“It’s not a base. This is a sizable covert facility, and I admire it.” Graves speaks next. “So, I’m taking it.”

You feel like your jaw dropped to the floor. You were right all along, and things were about to go very bad very fast. You climb off your bunk and put on your backpack, grabbing all of your gear. 

“Nobody needs to get hurt here.”

“Are you threatening us?” Ghost asks. You can practically feel the tension building, even if all you’re hearing is bits and pieces.

You peer out the window, seeing them standing at the gate. Alejandro is inches from Graves’ face; Soap is in the middle of it; and Ghost preemptively has a hand on his knife, searching for any excuse to use it.

Where are the rest of Los Vaqueros? The realization came that you hadn’t seen any of them since the team left.

A burst of gunfire filled your ears, making you jump. You didn’t have time to sit around and watch, and you weren’t going to be the next person sent home in a box. You grab your pistol and make sure it’s loaded and ready.

The compound will be swarmed with Shadows any minute now—and there was no time to regroup with your team.

You hear Graves’ voice again, but this time through a nearby radio, followed by the stomping of boots. “2-0, cordon the compound. If you find Ghost and Soap, keep them contained. Find the other one, she won't get far.”

You kneel behind the large structural pillar, watching as one of the Shadows patrols the sleeping quarters. He turns his back to respond, “Sleeping quarters are clear, Sir. No sign of her.” You crept behind him, jamming your knife into his jugular.

He goes down quietly, only suffering for a matter of seconds. The Shadow didn’t deserve your brutality. He couldn’t have known what hand Graves was going to play up until now. Still, it was better for them to be dead than you. And there was no time for a moral dilemma.

You jog to the armory, finding it cleared out. Graves was thinking way ahead of just taking the building, he was taking the inventory too, leaving your team with nothing. ���Goddammit,” you muttered to yourself, before dashing back to the Shadow’s body. You winced as you ripped the rifle from the corpse’s stiff fingers.

You need to keep moving.

You advance to the upper level, wagering that it would be less noticeable to take one of the side exits up top. You do just that, finding a window in one of the offices to squeeze yourself through. Your feet prowl down the metal steps, keeping your eyes peeled for any hostiles. Lucky for you, the backend of the base isn’t well protected.

Your boots crunch the gravel below you, even when acting at your stealthiest. You reach one of the tall chainlinks bordering the perimeter, and loop one foot through it, taking each ascendant one foot at a time.

You reach the top, using the fabric of your shirt to protect your hands from the barbed wire. You carefully swing your leg over, and follow with the other, now descending down the other side. You drop down once the distance is close enough, taking only a second to catch your breath.

The easy part's over—now you needed to find an area that wasn’t crawling with Shadows on the lookout for your face.

The previous night's injuries didn’t make the ordeal any easier. You found yourself having to rest quicker than usual, almost letting out pained grunts when you extended your limbs. You needed to push through it, just like you did when you survived the tunnels.

You removed one of the backpack straps off your shoulders, leaving it to rest on one side, while the weapon rested on the other. You need to get out of here before another Shadow patrol rotates your way again.

The only sound in the distance was chirping insects, and faint traffic pollution from the city and the base behind you. Things were too quiet.

“Commander, possible sighting by the North Tower, engaging now.” You heard faintly, making your eyes bulge. Your feet carried you before your mind could decide to, making some distance between yourself and the noise.

You felt the rush of the bullets whizzing around you as you bolted until eventually you were knocked down by a lucky one. Your body tumbled down, rolling into one of the ditches. You felt a fiery sting on the fatty part of your hip, flinching as you pulled down the part of your waistband atop the wound. It was a deep slice, bloody and jagged torn skin.

Mercifully, the backpack slowed down the force of the bullet when it zipped through. It grazed your skin instead of being buried inside it.

“Approaching to confirm the hit, Sir.” The voice from before carries, as it echoes through the vastness of the humid air.

“Don’t confirm it—Finish it.” Graves chirps through, sending a rush through your veins. Once the Shadow finds you, it wouldn’t be a graze. If there was any chance of making it out of here, you needed to either choose fight or flight.

You muffled the sounds of agony escaping through your lips, biting into them instead. You scrambled to your feet, reaching for your pistol.

The soldier’s radio static grew louder as he examined the ditch, expecting you to still be laying there. In reality, you were behind one of the concrete dividers lining the path. Before he noticed you, you fired off one shot, dropping the Shadow. You followed the lights of the city in the distance, getting yourself as far away from where you fired as possible.

When you made it several yards away from the compound, finding yourself on a sidestreet, you finally utilized the radio clipped to your collar.

You turned the knob, finding the correct channel so it would go straight to anyone in 141 and not the Shadows. “This is 7-1, how copy? Anyone?” You grew frustrated at the lack of answer. “I repeat, this is 7-1. Anyone copy?”

The voice glitched at first, before it finally came through. He says your name, his tone filled with defeat and worry.

“How copy, Sergeant? You injured?” The reception finally cleared, allowing you to hear it clearly.

You sighed and cleared your throat. “I’m hit, but solid. I got a dozen Shadows chasing my tail. What the hell happened?”

Ghost doesn’t answer your question, but deflects. You sense it has to do with what he spat your way before they left. He knew you were right about Graves, and he wasn’t, and he couldn’t handle admitting that right now.

“There’s a church near the plaza. I’m heading there now. Any sign of Johnny?”

“No. You’re the first I’ve come in contact with. Was he hit? I heard shots before I got out of there.” You continue down the backroad, approaching the main district of Las Almas.

“Affirmative. Keep your eyes peeled for him. And watch your back, Sergeant.” The line cuts after he finishes his sentence, leaving you to stay alive on your own. Soap must be somewhere in the shops in the same prickly situation you are.

There was no time to search for Soap, especially if he’s left a trail of Shadow bodies through the city. You’re of no use out here when you’re bleeding all over yourself.

You needed to find Ghost.

—

Each time a gun fired in the distance, you had to double check you weren’t hit again, even though it felt foolish.

You finally reached the outskirts of the plaza, where the Church was sitting on the top of a hill. It looked almost ancient, tilting to one side. You hovered your finger over the pistol trigger as you crept to the door. You pushed it open, hearing it creak loudly as you did so. There was no light inside, except for where the night sky peaked through the holes in the walls, and one large gap in the roof.

Finally, you spotted his figure near the altar, knelt beside it. You limped up to it, meeting his eyes, which were all you could see given the dark clothing he was wearing.

You slowly dropped to your knees next to him, placing your pistol in the holster. “No sign of Soap while I was out there. Goddamn city is infested with Shadows.”

He nodded at your update, grabbing one of the stray candles off the altar. He fishes out his lighter and puts it to the wick, illuminating your battered appearance, while allowing you to view him.

You stare at him blankly for a few seconds, studying him as he takes the backpack off your shoulders, and begins to dig through it.

“I didn’t have time to pack supplies. There’s nothing whole in there.” You comment, watching as his brow tightens in concentration.

He still hasn’t uttered a word this entire time, simply returning deep glances through the warm candle fire. You flinch when he reaches toward you, but his hands are gentle and slow. He pulls up the fabric of your shirt only slightly, and pulls down the side of your waistband now turned a deep maroon.

You keep still as he examines the graze. He grips the sleeve of his jacket, and rips off a square of fabric with ease, beginning to pack the wound. You snuff out your struggles when he touches the tender parts, clenching your jaw instead.

For the first time, it wasn’t him saving you because he had to; he was because wanted to. He was showing an inkling of the tenderness buried deep within him.

He finished packing the wound with the tear of fabric, before carefully covering your bare hip with your waistband again.

You rise to your feet again, making sure not to put pressure on that side of you. You’re expecting hours of silence between you and him—hours of agonizing silence.

He finally speaks once his back is turned to you, as if he can’t look you in the eye. “You were right about Graves.” He sounded apologetic, like if he had just believed you before, none of this would’ve happened to you.

You tilted your head delicately, stepping closer to him. “Ghost… This isn’t on you. You couldn’t have known Graves would flip.”

He was looking down at the wood floor below him in disappointment, looking as if he wanted to curse himself. You reached out your hand, placing your fingertips on his forearm.

“Ghost,” you whispered. He shook his head and gathered himself before facing you, flinching away from your hand. His eyes had gone glossy, filled with angst.

“If this is about what I said, Ghost—It’s not a concern of mine anymore… We clearly have bigger problems.” You finished your sentence with a light smile, trying your best to lighten the mood. Your attempt to add comedy did nothing to ease him tearing himself apart inside.

“Did you hear me, Simon?” The first time you’ve said his name. He casted a look you’d never seen before. Not hardness, not anger, just torment.

“People like me don’t belong with people like you, Sergeant.” His exterior ran cold again, and he straightened his posture. “Everything that we did, everything you went through because of it, that was all me. Got it?”

You were stunned, completely stunned. You spent so long being angry at him, that you were blind to the truth of it. It wasn’t arrogance he used as a shield, it was his scars.

“Simon-” You repeat, feeling like you have been sucker-punched in the gut.

“Don’t say my name like it means something to you. None of it meant anything to me.” He snaps, stepping closer to you, using his frame to tower over you. The vulnerability he showed only last seconds before it quickly became a thorn in your side.

He lowered his voice to give his last blow. “I break everything I touch… I’ll break your heart, Love.”

You felt tears sting at the corner of your eyes. You tried to be stronger than this, but paired with everything you’d been through to get you to this spot, it was too much.

You quickly wiped them away and ripped your backpack from his grasp, slinging it back on your shoulder. You hurried toward the church doors, painting your face void of the emotions you were feeling.

Once you were outside, you radioed the frequency again. “Soap, how copy?”

He replied almost instantly. “Copy. I’m by the shopping district.”

Instead of following behind Ghost like usual, you led him. You ducked through alleyways, avoiding the Shadows rather than taking them out. There were still too many left to count. When you reached the shopping district, you and Ghost split off to take out each hostile one by one. With each kill, you followed the bloody trail that would lead you to Soap.

When you laid eyes on him, you let out a breath of relief. He was only hit on his arm, and it went through.

“Forgive me, Lass.” He was slumped against a brick wall, holding his injury. “But you look horrible.” At least you knew there wasn’t anything seriously wrong with him now. Focusing on him made you forget about your troubles with Ghost, even for just a minute.

“Well, it’s clear there’s no brain damage.” You said backhandedly, reaching out your hand to him.

You helped him to his feet and found an empty vehicle that was left behind, allowing him to climb inside. Ghost took the driver’s seat, you in the passenger seat. You kept your eyes trained on the passing views as Ghost sped out of the city, showing no signs of slowing down for anything.

Las Almas was soon to be a distant memory—a memory that lingered within you nonetheless.

—

You craned your neck up at the aquamarine sky, your attention locked to it. You had to find the beauty of this place somewhere, even if the experience was only filled with violence and heartache.

The rest of your team was finishing up business with Valeria. You decided to sit it out. The closer you stood to the plane, the faster you would be climbing inside of it when they finished their business here.

Price and the rest of the Task Force approached the cargo plane you were standing by, making you break your gaze with the sky.

“Good work here, Private.” He patted your back and then returned his hands to the collar of his tactical vest.

“It’s not over yet. Valeria was privy to a third missile, somewhere in Chicago. Might be another long flight.” You acknowledged the update, following him onto the plane. It never truly ends, does it?

There are only moves and countermoves until there’s no one left standing to shoot at or bomb.

TAGLIST: @neoarchipelago @ghostlythots @gothgirl6-6-6 @cloudyyjanee @ladyelissarose @almightywdm @glitterypirateduck

[franticbindings]

I remember in early elementary school, I was very into dinosaurs. I had a lot of popular science books on the topic, and they all said that the most likely cause of the extinction was a meteor impact but without any specifics about where it might have happened. Unbeknownst to me there were more up to date findings at that point, but nothing conclusive so it didn't exactly filter down to the kids stuff.(Do the books these days go into more detail?)

I remember looking at the globe we had in our house and looking for places that kinda resembled a crater. The Gulf of Mexico was roundish, and to my 8 year old eyes could easily have been formed by a big rock making a crater that caused all the water to flow in. "It totally could have happened." I thought. This also had the advantage of putting the site of my fascination only an hour's drive away.

On a field trip to the Johnson Space Center*, the topic of meteors came up (I think it was pictures of craters?) and I shared my theory that maybe the Gulf was one big crater and the person giving us the talk very said "You know you're not too far off..."

High point for baby me.

*What is it like to have a space phase as a kid when you can't just go visit NASA? I guess there are museums that have stuff like landers/rovers and might even be a better experience in the abstract cause they've got more money. People who live in California/Florida likely have a similar deal with Disney.

[mikerickson]

Studies have shown that the strongest tropical storms are getting more intense because of climate change. So the traditional five-category Saffir-Simpson scale, developed more than 50 years ago, may not show the true power of the most muscular storms, two climate scientists suggest in a Monday study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They propose a sixth category for storms with winds that exceed 192 miles per hour (309 kilometers per hour). Currently, storms with winds of 157 mph (252 kilometers per hour) or higher are Category 5. The study’s authors said that open-ended grouping doesn’t warn people enough about the higher dangers from monstrous storms that flirt with 200 mph (322 kph) or higher. ...Since 2013, five storms — all in the Pacific — had winds of 192 mph or higher that would have put them in the new category, with two hitting the Philippines. As the world warms, conditions grow more ripe for such whopper storms, including in the Gulf of Mexico, where many storms that hit the United States get stronger, the study authors said.

The current scale is kinda weird to me because the ranges covered in each category aren't the same and don't scale in a linear fashion. Like Category 2 has the narrowest range, followed by 3, followed by 1? I'm sure it makes sense to the people who actually study this stuff though.

Alternate text: Oh look, that thing we all joked would happen ten years ago is starting to happen.

[perexcri]

THE NEON GENESIS EVANGELION FIC ??? 🤲🏽 asking so politely for more information bc i am so obsessed with this show

AHHH hello!! it's nice to have another nge fan in the ranks heheheh

first of all, since you like the show, i actually have one fic up already that's based on the last scene of end of evangelion, if you're looking for those sweet sweet evangelion vibes. it's 2k words and depressing, but what is nge if not uhhhh 2k words and depressing

ANYWAY: this wip has evangelion vibes but not in the "depressed teenagers being forced to fight extraterrestrials in giant robots to save the world" kind of way (though there's so much possibility there 👀). i'm drawing a lot of inspiration from the actual environment that evangelion is set in, so high sea levels, a kind of permanent summer, lots of ambient cicada noises around at all times...things like that!! the basic idea is that it's set in the 2200s in a future where climate change has really affected a lot of things and humans are still trying to adapt to it. one of the ways they've done that is by implementing mandatory service in research or fieldwork to study environmental changes and invent new ways of dealing with it, so, in this fic, Mike's still a writer and basically compiles scientific data and fits it all into articles, and Will's a cartographer. it's only gonna be a few chapters long, but the main issue at hand in it is the whole party is stationed at the same base of operations, but Will puts in for a transfer to a more dangerous part of the country, and Mike decides he wants to go on Will's last mission at their current base with him. and, for reference, most of this fic is going to be taking place near the gulf of mexico/mississippi river because i want them to be near lots of water where there's always a high chance for rain, lots of flooding, entire cities underwater...that kinda stuff. no indiana in this fic no siree

idk if that makes sense, and i feel like the nge reference is a little misleading (lol), but that show is my main source of inspiration for it!! i'm trying to draw on a lot of the themes in the show, and the hedgehog's dilemma that they talk about in one of the episodes is central to this fic :D

and since i'm already on a roll, i'll put the title here because it's my favorite title i've come up with for any fic, and tbh i'm determined to finish the fic just to get to use it: Hedgehogs Staying Warm: A Study on the Impossibility of Emotional Intimacy without Mutual Harm

sorry that's a lot, but i got excited heheheh. anyway, thanks for the ask, and, again, it's nice to have a fellow nge fan around :]

[fatehbaz]

A venomous lizard, a rare iguana, and a cactus “tree”.

Check out this weird relationship among two of the planet’s rarest and most endangered reptiles and this cactus.

Thinking about Gila monsters and beaded lizards as emblems, icons of the Pacific coast of Mexico. How these unique, enchanting, superlative, venomous lizards are so closely associated with the landscapes along the Pacific between the Mojave Desert and the mountains of Guatemala.

It turns out that there have been 2 more unique species of Gila monster/beaded lizard hiding in plain sight. (Subspecies which are now technically considered to be unique species.) 2 “new” Gila monsters. One of theses lives in the tropical dry forest and scrub of the Motagua Valley, where organ pipe cactus and thornscrub give this Guatemalan habitat a look kinda like the Sonoran Desert. Here lives the Motagua beaded lizard, one of the rarest and most endangered reptiles on the planet. The other “new” species is the Chiapan beaded lizard. Look at this venomous lizard and its unique habitat in the tropical mountains of Chiapas:

And one of the iconic creatures of this imaginative coast: Gila monsters. Since Linnaean taxonomic classification is a loose and ever-changing and fallible way to attempt to categorize living things, let’s just say that beaded lizards are similar enough that I just consider them, basically, to be Gila monsters. All together, there are 6 subspecies, 6 variations, of these venomous lizards. And there are two of these venomous lizards that don’t really get talked about too much despite their extra-cool lifestyles. They were recently determined to be unique species.

Landscapes can be perceived as the product of the human imagination, right? I adore the Pacific Rim, but I especially love the Pacific coast of the Americas. The edge of the world. Globally-unique Mediterranean-climate chaparral of both California and Chile. The planet’s most extensive temperate rainforests in both the Pacific Northwest and Valdivia. The Sonoran Desert, the vibrant sea of the Gulf of California, tropical mountains of Chiapas, the fog oases of the Atacama Desert, volcanoes, the fjordlands and “miniature forests” of the Magellanic region. Run away from Europe, try to escape the panopticon of industrial Europe and its history, go as far west as you can, and you reach the Pacific coast of the Americas.

Beyond this coast? The vast Pacific ocean, nearly boundless seas, the tropical South Pacific, Aotearoa. You could leave the coast of Sonora and sail without encountering human beings or land until you reached the frozen world of Antarctica.

Here be dragons, or whatever.

Here’s where the “dragons” live. Distribution map of the Gila monsters that I made using “working-class GIS” (M!crosoft Paint):

Check it out, from north to south.

Heloderma suspectum cinctum. The “banded Gila monster”, though I prefer to think of it with a more ecologically meaningful name like the “Mojave Desert Gila Monster” or “Colorado River Gila monster”. Lives along the Colorado River near the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.

Heloderma suspectum suspectum. The “reticulate Gila monster”, though I prefer the more ecologically meaningful name “Sonoran Desert Gila monster”, since its distribution range is essentially an outline of the Sonoran Desert bioregion.

Heloderma horridum exasperatum. The “Rio Fuerte beaded lizard”, though I prefer to think of it as the “Sinaloan beaded lizard” or “Sinaloan thornscrub beaded lizard”.

Heloderma horridum horridum. The “Mexican beaded lizard”.

Heloderma alvarezi. The “Chiapan beaded lizard” which only lives in a small/limited range in the mountains of Chiapas.

And finally.

Heloderma charlesbogerti. The “Guatemalan beaded lizard” or “Motagua beaded lizard” of the Motagua Valley, critically endangered.

Less than 200 survive in the wild. One of the rarest and most endangered reptiles on the planet.

And get this. For food, it relies on the eggs of the Motagua spiny-tailed iguana. The Motagua spiny-tailed iguana is itself also highly endangered, with less than 2,500 surviving animals, and also only endemic to this one single valley.

That’s two lizards, found nowhere else, in an intimate relationship, nearly extinct.

But that’s not all. For food, the Motagua spiny-tailed iguana itself relies on the fruit of several cactus species. One is Pereskia lychnidiflora. Pereskia is one of the two only known genus/genera of cactus where the cactus essentially produces leaves.

Making this cactus a “tree”.

And the “tree” spreads itself thanks to the iguana’s fruit consumption.

Wild.

Some dragons and a cactus tree.

Planet is full of magic.

[peachyysugaa]

gravity

– nasa operator!sim jaeyun x astronaut!gn! reader

miles of sky and space doesn't stop gravity from pulling him to you.

genre: strangers/coworkers to lovers, fluff

wc: 2.7k

warnings: 3rd person pov, probably inaccurate astronaut/nasa lingo sorry i'm a chemistry major LOL, one curse word, couple of time skips, food cw

a/n: yea it's another fluff one-shot 😎 finally a jake one-shot! i hope y'all enjoy this i took a while to write this but i'm p proud of how it turned out despite no proofread.

♞──────────────────────────♞

time on earth: 3:43 am

one of nasa's star rookies sits inside the mission room, monitoring the ISS diligently. today, sim jaeyun was assigned to keep watch on their astronauts as well as the station itself. it's supposed to be a reward for performing well on the latest calculations, but he can't help but find it a little boring. he flips through the cameras quickly, as if trying to find something new.

'yeah right, like anything happens in space,' he mumbles in his head. adjusting his thin glasses and stretching his chair to feel just a tad bit more alive, jake takes a look at one of the three astronauts on board as they float to the window. it seems to be l/n y/n, a rookie who excelled at their simulation tests and the one they say has stars in their eyes themselves.

the astronaut peeks over their shoulder surprised. they make swimming motions to reach over the intercom, which makes jake laugh a little. finally, they push the button and make a reply. "yes houston, this is l/n. is something wrong?"

the astronaut peeks over their shoulder surprised. they make swimming motions to reach over the intercom, which makes jake laugh a little. finally, they push the button and make a reply. "yes houston, this is l/n. is something wrong?"

the astronaut peeks over their shoulder surprised. they make swimming motions to reach over the intercom, which makes jake laugh a little. finally, they push the button and make a reply. "yes houston, this is l/n. is something wrong?"

now jake hadn't planned this far, but since he was already doing it, he might as well go through with it. "do you miss earth?"

he can see through the cameras that y/n wasn't expecting that question as their eyes widen. someway somehow, jaeyun was able to see the stars in their eyes everyone gushed about. maybe it was even better because they were actually living with the stars in space at the time.

"i-i don't know if we should be talking about this, but yea, i do miss earth," they finally reply. "not that being in space isn't fun! i just can't help myself especially since i can see the planet spinning in front of my eyes..."

it's silent for a bit, making the astronaut worry. "h-hello? houston?"

jake blinks before shaking his head and hurried to reply. "y-yes! sorry, i was just caught up in how lonely you sound?"

again, an awkward silence stills. the nasa operator curses to himself, realizing how awkward he must have made it and scrambling to fix the mistake. "i'm really sorry i didn't mean to overstep my boundaries!" he rushes. "my name's sim jaeyun, by the way. people know me better as jake."

"sim jaeyun? rising star sim jaeyun?" they owlishly repeat.

"that's me," he states back, rubbing the back of his neck. "i guess you've heard my name."

he sees the astronaut nod in camera before they're absentmindedly spinning circles midair. "you're my age, and you're already working in nasa headquarters. quite a feat would spread around, you know?"

jake laughs and shakes his head at their comment. "you say that like you're not star rookie l/n y/n."

at the sound of their twinkling laugh, jake's eyes perk up to capture the joyful astronaut holding their stomach on the cameras. "i can tell we're a lot alike, jake," you say with a smile stretching across your face.

it turns out he likes hearing his name off their lips albeit via nasa intercoms. calming down the beating of his heart, jake starts off the first of many late night conversations. "so would you like to hear what's happening on earth?"

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 2:26 am

"—and layla was having such a good time meeting other puppies at the park this morning!" jake laughs out with the rookie astronaut laughing with them on the other side of the intercom, separated by thousands of miles in between them. they've been talking like this over the system for weeks now, practically a little over a month. safe to say, the nasa operator was developing feelings for them, perhaps already smitten. sunghoon in the other unit said something about being whipped?

"i wonder how she would react seeing my puppy," they reply.

"when you come back to earth, the first thing we'll do is have them meet on a puppy playdate," he tells them earnestly.

"just layla and rosie on a date? what about us?" he could hear the smirk in their voice even though they weren't next to him.

"i-i-huh? what?" jake stammers. he heard the smirk, but did he hear the words properly? for one, he's not sure they know what he looks like. does that matter to them? without realizing it, his hands are taking off his glasses and fiddling with them.

"are you nervous?"

"hah, what makes you think that?" jake asks nervously.

"jake, i can hear you playing with your glasses."

"shit," he curses, and an endearing giggle is heard on the other side.

"i like you, let's make it a date between us too," he hears, his face gradually becoming hotter.

the chance to confess to his crush is literally handed to him on a silver platter, but he's too busy acting like a middle schooler trying to give chocolates to the person he likes. it's unusual for him to feel like this, his heart's beating way too fast for him to think, and he has to cough to calm down.

"it's a date then." a happy hum is the response he gets, which does nothing to calm the beating of his heart but ignites a new warmth in him. "hey, wait a minute, do you even know what i look like?"

"i kinda remember, but does that even matter?"

"i don't know what if you don't like my face?"

"please, my roommate told me you're on par with that sunghoon guy, and he's known as the prince of his division."

"yeah, but-"

"don't take this the wrong way, jake, but shush." he's sure that if they were here in person, they would put a finger on his lips. it seemed like a(n) y/n thing to do based on the time they've gotten to know each other. "i don't care what you look like. the connection we have together is enough, don't you think?"

he knows they're right, but it doesn't stop the sassy compliment from tumbling out of his mouth. "well, we have a connection and i know you're pretty and smart and funny."

perhaps it's just the color of the screen, but jake swears he saw a blush on their face. it makes him proud after he had somewhat embarrassed himself earlier.

"good night, jake," y/n playfully scoffs at him.

"good night, y/n."

'what a night,' jake thinks to himself with a stupid grin spreading across his face as he prepares the systems for the person on the next shift.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 9:18 am

today is the day. today the pod that stayed at the ISS for 3 months was coming back to earth, and everyone was on their toes. jake was currently scanning the computer calculations from any errors, clutching the paper and burning holes in it with his eyes.

"you good there, bro?" he doesn't need to lift up his head to know that it's sunghoon.

"i have to make sure these are perfect," jake replies in a tone that screamed don't-bother-me.

he feels his coworker's hand pat his shoulder in reassurance. "relax, jake. they'll get here just fine."

jake's whole body sighs when he takes a deep breath. "yeah, i know. i'll just check one more."

his friend offers a comforting smile and one more pat before leaving him to perform his own duties for the landing.

for this last check, jake takes it upon himself to calculate the angle in which the pod enters the earth's atmosphere by hand as a safety precaution. his head jumbles with all the physics equations necessary as his hand complains by cramping from how fast he's calculating.

upon finishing, he looks at the two final numbers side by side. "same to the 5th decimal place," jake affirms to himself.

"great, does that mean you're ready to turn it in, mr. sim?"

turning around abruptly to the sound of the voice, jake finds his supervisor and rushes to grab all the papers for presentation. "yes, ma'am!"

a smile graces her face as she takes the materials from him and flips through the calculations. "good work," she finally says. "our astronauts will get home safely thanks to you."

it's like a weight lifted off his shoulders when he hears those words. jake lets out a sigh of relief once his supervisor walks away and tells him to wait for further instruction. he folds into his chair, thinking about how soon he'll finally be able to see y/n in person.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 9:45 am

"everyone, standby!" jake's supervisor announced. the whole command center took a deep breath as they tuned into the astronauts, soon to be leaving the ISS via pod.

"l/n, song, johnson, do you read me?"

"loud and clear, houston," y/n l/n replies in crisp audio.

"get ready to launch then, atlantis ii."

"copy that, houston." the sounds of buckling and buttons flicking can be heard on the other end as jake's palms sweat.

"3... 2... 1... launch!" and they're detached from the ISS, launched into the endless ocean of stars and dust that is space.

"coordinates and angles, houston?"

"atlantis ii, the speed, angle, and coordinates at which you are to enter..." and jake hears his checked numbers be repeated to them. "...you'll be dropping in the gulf of mexico."

"copy that, houston. ready to enter earth's atmosphere in 3... 2... 1... entering!"

the audio delivers the rough shaking as the temperature regulation beeps steadily.

"your temperatures are in the right range, atlantis ii."

it's a rough 5 or something minutes, jake's not sure of the time. he just knows his armchair is having a field day with all the gripping he's doing. he can hear the shaking of the pod driven by the weight and the acceleration of gravity once it takes its pull on the astronauts' pod.

"prepare for impact, atlantis ii!"

everyone is rising up to see the camera pan to the oceanview team who waits for the pod to enter.

"initiating parachute!" and there! the pod appears on the command center's screen in high definition, the mic picking up some of the breeze of the mexican gulf. it enters the ocean with a large plop! and everyone is standing up and cheering.

"successful landing, everyone! congratulations!!"

sunghoon is coming to jake and lifting him out of the chair, engulfing him in the joy that comes from returning the astronauts home. he didn't realize he was staring stupidly at the screen with a blank look and still sitting.

"dude, we did it!" at the sound of his friend's voice, jake mirrors his friend's smile and they embrace each other.

"we did it!" jake replies. soon, he'll finally be able to see y/n in person.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 8:04 am

the next day when he clocks in for work, it's calmer and more exciting. jake can feel it in the atmosphere as the nasa operator walks through headquarters.

he makes his way towards the rehabilitation center for their astronauts, his heart unable to calm down the rapid rate of beating. he hears it before he sees it: the bell-like laughter jake was so familiar with, the one he associated with late nights. his feet is pulled towards the sound like gravity, his strides getting longer and his steps having a bounce to it.

jake hears his name being called happily, and he turns to face the voice with an unstoppable grin before taking steps towards the astronaut going through rehabilitation.

"hey, gravity got you bad, i see."

they laugh joyfully. "i'll be good in about a month or 2—i'm pretty quick at this."

"i have no doubt about that."

the two are silent for a bit as they do a few more crunches, jake crouching down in front of their feet to meet them. it's nice and comfortable between the two as he helps them go through their exercises.

"so about that date..." he starts off, watching as their eyes sparkle like stars upon hearing his phrase. his mouth starts to hang a little, loosening up to have words spilling out without his complete knowledge. "wow... your eyes really do have stars in them..."

they stop as they finish a crunch and reaches out to close his mouth with an eye roll. "close your mouth first, sim jaeyun."

"okay, but what about that date?"

"we're getting it. just wait a week or so when i can walk properly," they say with a teasing smile. jake can't help but to smile back.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 2:57 pm

the only thing keeping his nerves calm is layla. the golden retriever was far from nervous as she sat wagging her tail happily with her tongue out.

"jake!!" he hears from the voice he's come to love listening to over the past few months. looking up from layla while holding her leash tightly, he spots the person he's been waiting for and he's mesmerized, left breathless by what he sees.

a light summery fit adorns their figure as they dash towards him with a puffy pomsky dog equally excited. their smiles are bright and sparkles adorn their eyes as usual, but it doesn't make the effect any less beautiful. they slow down, owner and dog panting a little.

immediately, layla gets up from her sitting position to greet the new guests, starting to sniff the two of them.

y/n laughs as they squat down and let the golden sniff them and their hand before giving her warm pets. "hi layla! i'm y/n, and this is rosie."

the two dogs sniff each other in circles, but soon enough they're bouncing and pouncing each other as if they've been best friends since litter days.

"they're getting along so well, and we haven't even gotten to the park yet," y/n comments with a giggle.

"should we get going?" jake offers. they reply with a nod and holds their leash in one hand, grabbing jake's with the other.

if he's taken by surprise, he doesn't show it, but inside, his heart is pounding more than ever before and his head is screaming in joy. the pair walk together hand-in-hand towards the park with two even happier pups prancing ahead of them.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ゜・・゜゜・*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

time on earth: 4:31 pm

the two dogs are getting a bit tired, it seems, as they walk back to jake and y/n who were talking comfortably, y/n's head rested on his shoulder.

"look who's back from playing," y/n says as they ruffle rosie and layla's head, jake following suit.

"let's go get some ice cream for us and puppucinos for them?" jake suggests.

"ooh! that sounds good!" the pups seem to like the idea too, wagging their tails once more and looking at their owners with puppy eyes. jake thinks he's surrounded by three pairs of puppy eyes as he shakes his head in endearing disbelief.

"let's go then."

once they get to the shops, order, and receive their foods, the four of them sit down and enjoy their treats. the owners laugh at their dogs when they see them lap up their puppucinos with so much excitement and vigor, getting the cream all over their faces.

as the sun sets, it casts its glowing light onto the astronaut-in-rehabilitation, making jake's eyes move onto them. he notices a smudge of ice cream at the corner of their lips and without thinking moves in to kiss it off. y/n blinks their starry eyes at him, reminding him of their first "meeting" over intercom and camera screens.

"i like you," he blurts out. "can i... kiss you?"

"i thought you would never ask," they reply with a wide grin, leaning in to press their lips together before he does.

it's like gravity pulls them towards each other because they can't ever seem to get enough of one another, no matter how far apart they are.

[uwuowotf2waslife]

Pretty please can we get a beach day imagine with the mercs

Who's doing what, who ends up burnt, who's good at swimming etc etc.

Kinda like your poker headcanons

Time for the good ol games... So imma say a list of ten things the merc did, yall guess and if ya get it right ya win my ungodly support and love

1. Sees a crab, tries to catch it, gets pinched and sits like a sour chicken under the umbrella.

2. Gets wasted drunk on lukewarm beers and ends up sleeping in a floaty, floating away in the gulf of mexico.

3. A responsible adult, gets clowned on by the whole beach for looking like Zuckerberg on that beach photo.

4. Gets sunburned and stang by a jellyfish, so he chilling under the umbrella being hella passive aggresive.

5. Simply doesnt go, just chills around in the base drawing dongs in random places in the mercs bedrooms.

6. Gives a lecture on swimming safety, ends up almost drowning in a hold-your-breath tournament with some random kids.

7. avoids everyone and everything and sits 10 yards away from anyone, and just enjoys some alone time

8. Reads a book, gets said boom thrown in the sea, throws the thrower in the sea

9. Flirts with everything female over 21 and gets reject from everyone

[lilhawkeye3]

This Ohio discourse has got me dying to create discourse about every other state now hehe so I officially present:

Hawk’s review of 36/50 US states!

In alphabetical order because that fuckin song “50 nifty United States” has been stuck in my head since fourth grade.

Arizona: Phoenix is hot. Can’t believe y’all choose to live in a place that gets haboobs. Saw Sen. John McCain in the airport. I feel that sums up the state well. 4/10

California: as a resident of the state of Oregon, I’m legally required to say fuck California😌 unless anyone else talking shit about Cali and then we got your back😤 SoCal vs San Fran vs Northern Cal are totally different worlds though. 7/10

Colorado: damn idk how y’all breathe there, them air is thin. But really pretty out there! 7/10

Connecticut: oh my god fuck New Haven. And Stamford, and Hartford, and— Yknow what? Let’s just toss the whole state into the Sound. For real, traffic is the WORST here and I’m so sorry that y’all gotta live like that. 3/10

Delaware: I cannot believe this is considered a state. There’s no difference between Delaware and Maryland/Pennsylvania. 1/10 should not be a state

Florida: “the only hills in Florida are the highway ramps and the Matterhorn!” —the shuttle driver at Disney World. He was right. Shit is flat as fuck here. And hot. And humid. The Gulf Coast is nice? But tbh it’s just all very touristy which is kind of a bummer. 5/10

Georgia: ...I can’t with the humidity or thinly veiled racism. But y’all got nice peaches! Also Black Panther filmed there so thank you for blessing us with that. 6/10 for fruits

Hawaii: okay pineapple farms are cool. Tbh I just feel really bad for how much mainlander/tourist bs all the islanders put up with. Ik price of living is v high and keeps going up. That said I did love Hawaii... although I was stung by a jellyfish. Hate those little bastards. 8/10 for wonderful people and nature

Idaho: as an Oregonian I’m required to also say fuck Idaho 😝 you da hoes. Okay for real tho southern Idaho has become v white white and kinda scary tbh. The northern part of the state is pretty chill tho. Also Oreida kettle chips are partly made in Idaho so I gotta give you half credit for that. 4/10

Illinois: at least you’re not Indiana. 4/10.

Indiana: I never want to step foot in Gary, Indiana again in my life. (Passed a Mack truck hauling a race car to Indy 500 though so that was cool.) 2/10

Iowa: I almost moved here. I’m so glad I didn’t. Why are the Quad Cities actually a group of five towns? I hate that. Also the roads were all cement, felt like driving on a sidewalk. Was also interesting because the second we got out of the city proper, it was just... corn fields everywhere. 2/10 y’all raising children of the corn.

Kentucky: I really don’t have anything to say about Kentucky. I thought the trees were pretty? 5/10 yeah idk

Maine: my relative has totaled two cars by hitting moose in Maine. Maine scares me. Or rather, the moose do. Also the lobster roll hype is real. And the coast truly is beautiful. 8/10 but an extra point for the moose bc I hate that relative so 9/10

Maryland: oh god Baltimore. Also I’m blaming you for the DC traffic because it’s on the land you gifted them. 3/10

Massachusetts: Patriots fans are the worst NFL fans (the racism is real, especially after fans burned the jerseys of Black players who knelt for the anthem). Liking Dunkin’ Donuts is not a personality trait. The North End in Boston is truly the best place to get pizza in the entire country. Western Mass is not the same state. And the Cape Cod bridges give me nightmares. 5/10 but cause I had to pay taxes two years and it really is Taxachusetts, knocking it down to 4/10

Michigan: it’s a lot bigger than I initially thought. 5/10

Minnesota: it’s Canada but in the US. Pretty driving through the southern part. Cops suck tho. 5/10

Montana: okay Montana is downright gorgeous. (Except Billings. Sorry, Billings.) I must include a photo. I wanna get a cabin here and just exist. 8/10

New Hampshire: can’t decide if it hates Massachusetts or wants to be Massachusetts. All it knows is that it’s better than Vermont. Which... y’know, valid. (If you wanna see NH culture watch North Woods Law tbh). 4/10

New Jersey: why are there so many goddamn highways in this state? Also there are more places to weekend trip than the Shore or the Poconos. Although you do have people pump gas for you just like Oregon, so... that’s valid. Things my friends have added: Newark airport is cursed (valid), the jughandles are nightmares (true), pork roll/Taylor Ham is good and so are bagels and New Jersey pizza (allergic so idk), and everyone is split on whether the shore is actually decent or not 😂 I give it a 3.5/10 out of spite

New York: NYC is fun, Upstate is MASSIVE but really beautiful. Long Island is... yeah I don’t have anything nice to say about Long Island. 8/10 For NYC, 6/10 for Upstate, -2/10 for Long Island, gives us an average of 6/10

North Carolina: very good peaches. Isn’t South Carolina. Keep it up👍🏽 6/10

Ohio: I already told y’all how I feel about this flat ass boring state. I feel no need to slander it any more lmao. 3/10

Oregon: she flies with her own wings, mi amor🥰 to list all the reasons I like Oregon (and the issues too bc it ain’t perfect), I would need a whole other post. I’ll just leave you with this picture I took of Mt. Hood, the queen of our Cascades. 11/10

Pennsylvania: so apparently PN is three states hiding in a trench coat like NY. There’s upstate, philly and Pittsburg. Personally I think they’re just trying too hard and wanna get the same recognition as NY. Meh. 5/10

Rhode Island: THIS FUCKIN SHAM OF A STATE Just merge it with Connecticut and be done with it!! It’s tiny. Providence sucks. There’s nothing unique about this state that you can’t find in Southern Mass (except MA has cheaper taxes so y’all come to work and shop in MA anyways smh). Also the fingers are really annoying to drive down to get to some beach areas haha. 2/10 you’re barely better than Delaware.

South Carolina: my Black father was invited to a party celebrating General Robert E Lee’s birthday. So... 0/10

South Dakota: very gorgeous, didn’t realize the Missouri River went this far west, but VERY LARGE. I mean it looks big on a map but then you get there and... yeah. No speed limit on highways is a great time though. And the Badlands have mountain goats! 6/10 bc while pretty, living there seems really hard. (Picture is me in the Badlands).

Texas: gave us Juneteenth and Beyoncé and JJ Watts. Thank you Texas. But is very big, got independence from Mexico to keep slavery (yikes), is like 97% private land (yikes) and is like the second or third largest state. Very big. That said, everyone I’ve ever met from Texas is lovely. 6/10.

Utah: Other than Idaho, this is the whitest state I’ve been to. Or it feels that way. Like a, the people crossed to the other side of the street and held their bags because I’m brown, state. And I don’t ski so I can’t even say that’s a good thing (I fell off the ski lift the one time I went, long story). Yeah 0/10.

Vermont: wants to be New Hampshire or Canada and can’t decide which. So it’s just kinda there. Pretty hills though. 3/10

Virginia: let’s be real we all forget that Virginia exists west of Richmond. Nova is a beauracratic and traffic nightmare and half our neighbors had to pass security clearance checks. Hampton Roads and beach area is a tourist and mosquito nightmare. But there were dolphins and I made snowmen on the beach. Good times. 6.7/10

Washington: again, legally required as an Oregon resident to say fuck Washington because it’s all your fault we now are getting a toll on the I-5 border. But you’re better than California. And the Sound is really cool for fishing, love Wicked Tuna. And the fish market. Best salmon I’ve had. Eastern Washington... y’all got Spokane but the rest is kinda sparse. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 8/10

Wisconsin: cheese is actually good. Again, pretty state, much larger than I initially thought. 7/10

Wyoming: this was the ONLY STATE I lost cell service in when diriving cross country. Kinda surprised it wasn’t Montana, but no, it was Wyoming. Views are gorgeous though so I was distracted either way. 4/10

Thank you for joining me on this cross-country edition of Tea Time with Hawk. Please respond with any reactions, corrections, addendums about any and all of the states mentioned. And thank you for taking part in this wholesome Clone Wars fandom discourse with me 🥰💕

DISCLAIMER: THESE RATINGS ARE ALL A JOKE PLEASE DO NOT ACTUALLY GET MAD ABOUT IT

[party-gilmore]

ITS LITERALLY ONLY SINKING IN RIGHT NOW THAT DEAN AND CAS ARE HONEYMOONING ON MARDI GRAS

like okay so they wanna party but they ABSOLUTELY DO NOT plan the honeymoon for actual New Orleans because 1) that car is not built for that kind of traffic and 2) that city is haunted as FUCK and they're on VACATION damnit except they get to the gulf of Mexico early that morning and they're TRYING to settle down and relaxed but Dean is still all keyed up with wedding energy and his leg is bouncing on his tiki barstool and Cas looks at him like

"...you want to go party in the extremely haunted city, don't y-"

"I kinda wanna go party in the extremely haunted city, yeah."

But anyways they have a BLAST and Cas just soaks up all the thriving vivacious spirit of humans at their Most Party and the COLORS and the MUSIC and they gank like, six things in one night (four, wisely, before the drinks started flowing, and the other two accidentally after tipsily stumbling into a bad situation - twice. two seperate occassions. dumbasses) and they make some GREAT new contacts for lore and ritual supplies with some locals and they get SO. MANY. BEADS. And they wake up in an overpriced gaudy touristy hotel's honeymoon suite covered in glitter and paint (and maybe a little of that red is blood, who knows) exhausted and wrapped up in each other and NOW Dean feels like he can relax for a while.

Then he charges his dead phone back up and all of Sam's texts from this morning come through at once.

Dean wtf??? What happened to the beach??? The cabana I booked for you two?

-

Hang on, I know that street....

-

Are you two in NOLA?? HUNTING??? ON M.G.?

-

Or just partying super hard??? Its really hard to tell with you. And none of those blurry pics you sent are helping, you asshole.

-

Dean are you okay???

-

CALL ME!!!!

[order-of-river-phoenix]

omg may i request a soft eugene post-war fic? 🥺💓 thank you

Greener Pastures; Eugene Sledge

Fandom: HBO War; The Pacific

A/N: when I was deciding what to do for this one, I literally wrote “strawberry cow vibes” in my notes 😂 but anyway, in case some of you don’t know the Gulf means the Gulf of Mexico. Alabama is right on it, and there’s beaches. Thank you for requesting sweet pea! 💕 I hope you like it 😊

Warning: nope, it’s too soft

Taglist: @liebegott @stressedinadress @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant @floydtab @hbohmygodx @meteora-fc @punkgeekchic @alienoresimagines

__________

The cow pasture wasn't really either of your's idea of romantic, but you couldn't think of a better place to take Eugene. His parents had told you, in confidence, that he had been spending a lot of time just sitting outside since he came home, so you figured you could convince him to sit with you outside somewhere else.

“How d’you feel about taking a walk with me?” You showed up on his doorstep in your oldest dress, one you didn’t mind getting dirty, and promises of lunch and your sister’s sweet tea.

He could never hold back a smile when you came around, but it still felt a little more special seeing it now when he looked so somber all the time. “Sure.”

You tugged him along back to your property line. You smirked at him after you made a perfect landing after climbing over the fence.

“Your mother know you still jump fences?”

Rolling your eyes, you subconsciously smoothed your skirt at the mention of your mother. “She doesn’t know about a lot of things I do.” With a pointed look, you continued with, “And she never will. Mama would keel over if she knew I stole Daddy’s old boots too.” You stuck out your feet to show the worn, brown lace-ups.

He shook his head, pulling himself over the fence and softly landing next to you. “I wondered why you were dragging your feet.”

A patch of white wildflowers all but begged you to pluck them. You picked several more as you two strolled through the pasture. Finding the only shade tree in the whole stretch, you two settled into the grass, and you began twisting and braiding the flowers you gathered.

"You still do that?" He watched as you worked at the stems, making them lay flat and hold together.

"Mmhm," you nodded, continuing to make your flower chain. "We get so many pretty ones in the summer, and all my little cousins that come stay with us end up in a crown. I can't help myself."

Your fingers moved gently but held everything firmly, and he couldn't have been more mesmerized by anything.

"You used to march around with those little things on your head all the time," he recalled.

You paused to laugh at the memory. "I'd still do it too."

"Oh, I know you would."

"At least these stay together now." You were adding long pieces of weeds and grass to make it thicker—the secret to keeping a flower crown together was to make it tight and thick. "I used to run around with stems and leaves poking out every which way. Pieces stuck in my hair, and everything else falling off behind me."

A breathy laugh escaped his lips, and his head nodded up and down. "I remember. I thought you were beautiful then too."

You wished you could say it was the sun that caused your cheeks to warm, but you'd be lying if you said he couldn't still give you butterflies. "Gene, you flatter me too much. What are we gonna do when it's all gone to my head?"

He leaned in close and pecked your cheek. "That's not gonna happen."

You sighed, amused by his assurance. You finished the crown and secured the ends to keep it from undoing itself. Placing the hoop onto Eugene's head, you smiled at him.

He tried to look up, but all he could see of it was a lone petal and leaf sticking out past his forehead. "Fits perfect. Did you measure my head?"

"Oh yeah, while you were asleep," you joked, giggling.

The sight of him, hair shining auburn in the sun in contrast to the crown of green and white, made your heart swell. Something about him right now seemed ethereal and fragile.

You knew he was a bit fragile in actuality. He'd faced unimaginable things while he was away—things he wouldn't tell you in full detail lest these demons found a way to haunt you too. And yet now, his fragility was different. More child-like.

Just as you were getting closer to reaching your hand out to touch him, to make sure he was still real, a loud "Mooo!" ripped across the pasture.

You both turned to see the herd moseying its way from the other end closer to where you were.

"Looks like the girls are coming this way," you noted for no particular reason. It was quite obvious.

He got to his feet, dusting off the grass and dirt from his pants before hoisting you up too. "One thing I missed the most—other than you—was familiar animals. I'd be okay if I never saw a crab again."

"I've seen little hermit crabs at the beach before," you recalled from some trips past to the Gulf. "They're cute."

"Nothing like those crazy-looking things." He held out his hands in a football sized oval. "They were about this big and kinda fascinating. Sid tried to burn one when I first showed up."

You were taken aback. “He what?”

Eugene only shrugged, and you realized that there were probably quite a few things about these boys you had known for so long that might shock you now.

“I know we haven’t really talked about...” You reached for his hand, letting him decide if he wanted to comply or not. “I know that there’s going to be a lot of things we’re gonna have to work through and figure out, but that’s okay.” His hand was in yours now, and you lightly squeezed. “I’m here for the long haul.”

Neither of you could say who started crying first, but he was quick to wrap his arms around you. Tears soaking into each other’s clothes, the pasture melted away. The cows milking around you ceased to exist. All there was in moment were you and him and all the things you couldn’t say.

[tmtxtf]

Hi Tay ! <3

So sorry for the late reply ! But I hope you're doing well !! My weekend was pretty normal ! Watched a lot of YT haha

Ooo double birthday celebration hehe . Glad you had a good birthday !! <3 Ofc ! I don't think many places were open in Canada at the time , so I think I mainly ate with my family and had a virtual game night with some friends ^^

Awww , ty <33 I work for a tutoring company and teach a writing class and a few other students . And yes , we have the same system here !

So true ! And right now , the extent of my Japanese knowledge is knowing the Japanese titles of anime lol :P So , if I went to Japan , I'd be very confused haha . Oh yes ! Never need to wait for subs gain hehe

Right ! Me too !!

Yeahh ! We get a lot of our words and traditions from Latin America ^-^ Hmm , are you familiar with leche flan ? That's one of our desserts for Noche Buena ! And one of my favourite dishes is Palabok , which is noodles with a different kind of sauce (not sure how to describe it haha) . Oo what's your favourite place to go / thing to do in Mexico ? ^-^

Why ty (@•ᴗ•@)❤ I do share them on Tumblr ! Ohh photography's a lovely hobby ^^ Do you share your pictures anywhere ?

Also , tysm for your playlist <33 It's so sweet and thoughtful how you chose songs from artists I like and ones that you thought I'd like ! You picked some songs that I love and introduced me to beautiful new ones ^^ Kyungsoo does have great pronunciation ! What a king . It's also nice how all the songs fit into a slightly similar vibe . I enjoyed and appreciate it so much 😭

And here's my playlist for you ! ^^

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2qHFhg6pBgjUXrOyxDARP8oyeiybn9qd

I tried to pick 17 songs from groups you listened to that reminded me of your personality / vibe . I also tried to pick songs that you may not have heard before , but I'm not sure if you already heard thew ? Also threw in a French song hehe and a song by an artist that you may not listen to ?

Hope you have a lovely day 😘

Until next time <3

hi my dear k!! 🥰💖

or should I say kelly? (I was checking my notis and I saw the other post you tagged me in 😭💖🥺💖, you’re so sweet oh my).

May I ask what you usually watch on Youtube? Do you watching tutorials? or mv? dance practices? go’se? what do you like watching the most on yt? I also happen to spend a lot of time on yt ^^

Thank u! And I’m glad you had a nice birthday! When you say you play virtual games with your friends, what do u play? (maybe you have said to me this previously?? my bad)

that sounds so cool! so you get to grade your students works? like you check grammar mistakes? or is it about something else? (btw this seems such a nice job bc of everything that involves being a teacher!!)

oh leche flan!! in mexico we call it just flan or flan napolitano, but it’s a normal dessert we buy at any supermarket / boulangerie (i don’t know the word in english? haha but an establishment that only sells bread and desserts) and palabok, looks really tasty and different from what I’m used to eat!! Do you crave it every holiday? Is is a typical dish that can be prepared easily? mmm, I think my fav thing to do in mx should be going to the downtown? and walking around the area? eating / sightseeing / buying any type of thing I came across with haha and my fav place should be veracruz!! (it’s a state located on the west coast of mexico, on the side of the gulf of mexico) my parents have a beach house there and I go there almost every summer / long weekend to spend some time, eat local food and just go to the sea 🥰, actually i’m here for a few days and it’s too hot (like 40° degrees every day) but the view is mesmerizing!! what’s your fav thing to do in your hometown? 😅

Now that I know your blog I’ll check out your gifs!! 💖 well, I just share my photos on my personal instagram but it’s nothing pro, just me posting photos i like the most and sharing them with a random text haha, but if you want to see them we can be mutuals on ig (i hope it’s not too personal for u? i really like how everyone on tumblr is anonymous in some kinda way >.<)

I’m glad you liked the playlist!! Thank you for your nice words, I’m really happy you got that vibe and that you enjoyed all the songs 🥰 // your playlist is so soft and warm, I get really comforting vibes from the songs you choose on the playlist! thank you for your time and dedication, it was a really nice surprise for me 🥺💖 (I also happened to like a lot all the new songs you choose, thank uuuu).

Anyways, that’s all!! Again sorry for late late reply, I have missed talking to you 😭 I hope you’re having a great week so far, and that you’re eating and sleeping well ^^ also, now that the event it’s over (I haven’t checked the latest post of the event) what’s next now?? haha, feel free to message me anytime now, i’m always available for you dear kelly 🌸💖

until next time!! bye bye! 😌🥰

[encyclopika]

Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #58

Brought to you by a marine biologist in the camp of people who think these are way cute UwU...

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST

The deep sea is just the coolest place, in my opinion. Animals living in the deep sea need to deal with conditions you and I could never dream of, such as aphotic (no light) conditions, immense pressure that could literally crush you, and extreme food scarcity. Because of these conditions, animals in the deep sea look like aliens. Of course, one thing that you may also notice about them is that some are absolutely massive as well. The Giant Isopod is one such animal that experiences “deep-sea gigantism”:

Have you tried catching the Giant Isopod? You’ll know it when you start chasing after it for a good ten minutes. They are fast and don’t wanna get caught, but it’s so so so worth it. They are darling babies that get put into a plastic crate and come over the side to look at you:

Baby~~~ UwU

But enough of that. Giant Isopods are truly amazing creatures! They belong within the subphyllum Crustacea, meaning they are distantly related to crabs and shrimp. They are in Order Isopoda, which they share with the pill bug in the game and real life! (I sure do like to call the tiny isopods in my garden dirt hamsters. My mom calls them rolly-pollies - what do you call them?) Anyway, the giant variety is in the genus Bathynomus, for which there are 20 species. However, given the size of the friend in Animal Crossing, and the fact that it’s only available during warmer months, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this is Bathynomus giganteus, a denizen of the Gulf of Mexico depths:

^Look at how fast that guy moves! So explains why it’s so hard to catch him in Animal Crossing. Also, pffft, yet another marine biologist who’s gotta gush about their fave, even during official government video taping of the species. I love us.

Anyway, deep-sea gigantism is strong in the Giant Isopod. Most members of the Order Isopoda are no bigger than your thumbnail, but this big boi grows to be about a foot long or more! Even if you didn’t know about the Giant Isopod, at the back of your mind, you kinda knew that deep-sea creatures could get huge; the giant squid is ubiquitous with the deep, and then the colossal squid gets even bigger! 

But, in a place with no light and basically no food, how does the deep sea sustain such large creatures? Well, because it’s the deep sea, it’s hard to study this concept, but we have some explanations, however the one that seems to work with all groups that experience deep-sea gigantism (squid, isopods, crabs, some fish, etc.) is the food scarcity hypothesis. 

Doesn’t seem so intuitive, I know, but hear this out. A larger body size allows for greater locomotion over large distances to find food, as well as provides more body space to accommodate large, but inconsistent meals. Furthermore, because the animals that experience deep sea gigantism lay eggs, it’s thought that larger body size, in the females at least, can provide offspring with larger bodies and initial food stores so they can drift or take longer to find their first meals. Biologists have also found that larger bodies have more efficient metabolisms, which means inconsistent meals can go a longer way. In the case of the Giant Isopod, it’s been found that it can survive 5 years without a single meal! 

So bigger may just be better, at least in the deep sea! 

And there you have it. Fascinating stuff, no?

[crashdevlin]

Hey, Dean! Tell me about your favorite memory with Crash 😁

She probably wouldn’t like me telling my favorite memory. 😉

No it’s actually not even a sexy memory.

We went to the beach once, few months ago. Crash lived in Northwest Florida on the Gulf of Mexico and the beach was fuckin’ beautiful and she was fuckin’ beautiful and there was this wedding happening on the sand. And we watched this ceremony for awhile and she said “My next wedding’s gonna be on the beach” and I didn’t even know she wanted to ever get married again especially after how her ex husband treated her. And that’s when it really hit me that there’s a future. She moved on from what he did, from what that dick she tried to date last year did. She was looking forward to a future and that meant I could too. It was little insignificant sentence that kinda changed my outlook on life. 

And that’s enough of the Hallmark Movie shit.