#we fought the Lorax

[frenchvani11a]

DM: You all see an odd looking gnome coming towards you. He looks very angry.

Bard (me): Okay… what does he want from us?

DM: He begins to speak. “I am angered against what you have done. You harm a plant, you harm myself. Prepare to die.” His eyes begin to glow and he floats, storm clouds coming into the sky, “Do you know who I am?”

Ranger: Uhhhh… no..?

DM: “I am the Lorax.”

Bard (me): Oh shi-

DM: “And I SPEAK FOR THE TREES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Everyone: *Screaming*

DM: *Proceeds to kill nearly the entire party with the overpowered Lorax*

[kyber-crystal]

rendezvous at midnight || jake “hangman” seresin

summary: you’ve always been good at handling any obstacle thrown your way. but when the clock starts ticking and you find yourself next to hangman, things change. could the new year bring with it a newfound love? maybe...

words: ~1.8k

warnings: mentions of alcohol, minor rivals-to-lovers trope but that’s it. this is mostly pretty fluffy!

a/n: so i had to repost this bc it flopped so hard...idk what’s happening to my fics lmao. i deeply apologize, this was really rushed and poorly written

It was only a matter of seconds before you choked to death.

You weren’t actually dying, but that was what it felt like. After growing accustomed to being in uniform most of the time, the switch to fine silk felt strange. Goosebumps rose up on your skin as you sat down at the bar and adjusted the strap of your form-fitting dress. 

As pretty and pearlescent as it was, it did little to keep you warm amidst the crowded area. 

You had practiced walking in heels in the morning until your ankles turned bright red. If you could ensure that you wouldn’t fall in front of everyone, you’d take all necessary steps to get there.

“How’s my favorite girl doing?” Penny offered you a warm smile and a sparkling glass of liquor. “Are you holding up okay?”

“Tired,” you explained. “I didn’t sleep last night.”

“Too busy thinking about him?”

“Come on, it’s not like that,” you groaned as you finished off your drink. “You know it’s not like that.”

“I know it is like that,” she quipped. 

“We compete. We don’t fall in love,” you said. “That’s what we do. We’re not going any farther than snarky insults.”

“Go find him. There’s half an hour ‘til the clock strikes 12,” It almost sounded like she was hinting at something. “Then you start fresh. Begin again. No rivalry. And if you’re lucky, you can steal a kiss or two.”

“Penny!” 

“What? I’m only giving you suggestions. Now shoo. I’m not letting you get drunk again and force poor Bob and Mav to drag you home.”

“Fine,” you exhaled as you set your glass down and got up. “I’ll catch you later…unless you’re too busy with one certain captain…”

Penny rolled her eyes and waved you off, trying not to smile. 

You found him standing alone in the corner, nursing a glass of tequila and looking quite content. Seeing his slim, toned figure under the dim bar lights tugged at your heartstrings. The man truly was a sight for sore eyes, save the rivalry…and ego…and overcompetitive nature.

“Tired already?” you asked. Hangman looked up, and the corners of his mouth turned up a bit. “It’s a lot, isn’t it.”

“Sure is,” he chuckled. “You look…incredible, darling.”

“Thank you,” you smiled, suddenly feeling nervous in front of him. “You do, too.”

“Hard to believe it’s almost January. It feels like we got here yesterday.”

“I don’t believe in time. This isn’t real,” you shook your head and laughed. “Things go by way too fast for me to process anything. I’m in denial of the fact that none of us knew each other five years ago.”

“Coyote and Payback weren’t best friends. Let that sink in,” Hangman added on. “Neither were Bob and Phoenix.”

“There’s no way…”

“Part of me misses how we used to be, though. Before the academy.”

“Jake, we fought all the time through college,” you reminded him. “Why would you want to go back to it?”

“Well…the year’s almost over. Might as well turn over a new leaf,” he held a hand out to you. “What do you say?”

“Okay.” You smiled, and shook his hand. “I like the sound of that.”

“It’s like they’re sucked into their own bubble. Lost in their own little world,” Payback observed the two of you laughing together. “Y’know, the tiny city in the Lorax? Like that, but make it naval aviators. It’s cute.”

“It would be cuter if they would just kiss already,” Fanboy groaned. “How long has it been? Four years?”

“‘Cause Seresin’s dumb ass thinks that insulting Y/N all the time is the ultimate way to win her over. None of his thousand attempts have come across to her clear enough yet,” Coyote backed up. “But we gotta give ‘em time. That’s all we can do right now.”

“I guess so…”

“Jake. If you keep chugging your tequila like that, you’ll regret it,” you warned. “Starting the new year with a hangover isn’t the way to go.”

“You said my first name.”

“Did you even hear what I said after that?”

“You’ve never said my first name before,” Hangman observed. “But now you did. It’s nice. I like the change.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to get annoyed, not when he was looking at you the way he currently was. Eyes once filled with hardness and frustration now softened at the sight of you.

“Hold still.” Your brows furrowed in concentration as you reached up to fix his tie. “Your tie’s all crooked.”

Your fingers accidentally brushed against his skin, and electricity shot through your body. You stood there, frozen for a moment, before bringing them down—and his eyes stayed on you the whole time.

“There,” you stated, dusting your hands off. It was a miracle that you could utter even a word without your voice trembling. “Good as new.”

“Thanks.”

The awkward silence that fell over you afterward was rather heavy. You didn’t know how long it lasted for, standing there, avoiding intense eye contact while trying not to melt into the floor.

A series of loud voices snapped you out of your awkward moment. Everyone had gathered around the bar, watching the TV and counting out loud. Thirty seconds left…so you let Hangman take your hand and lead you closer to the scene. 

You didn’t say anything, even when he kept his grip on your hand and looked up at the screen. You found that you liked the company and didn’t want him to let go of you.

15, 14, 13, 12

11, 10, 9, 8

Hangman turned towards you once again. “Y/N.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to kiss you.”

“Okay.” The word was out of your mouth before you could stop yourself. 

7, 6

5, 4

His hand slid up to your cheek. The air in the room grew impossibly thicker, and you face felt hotter.

3, 2, 1...and like a flash of lightning, his lips are on yours and you melt into his touch. You can feel the heat radiating from his skin and you hold onto his shoulders to keep your balance. Both of you are most likely a bit tipsy but that does little to slow down the butterflies in your stomach. He’s everywhere and you’re on fire and you should stop yourselves at this point but you don’t. You can’t, because you don’t want to. How could you have imagined that his lips would feel so perfect; so delicately warm and soft against yours; that with one small gesture, he could break down the walls you tried so hard to build up around your heart. He was here, but he was everywhere, too. 

When you finally break apart, you’re dazed and confused. You’re too out of it to notice Bob and Coyote exchanging wads of cash, or that it’s already several minutes past twelve. Your head is spinning, and your knees feel weak. 

It’s a miracle that you make it home that night without passing out.

It was only a kiss, you tell yourself. That’s all it was supposed to be. But it still manages to creep its way into your dreams, into your sleep, and sinks into your skin—you can’t escape it. What had only lasted for a few minutes was taking up your entire day and sucking all the energy from your body. You wanted to crawl into a deep hole and stay there forever—at least in the darkness, nobody could visualize your embarrassment. And your reddening face. And the way you clung to him like there was no tomorrow.

“The queen has finally emerged from her beauty sleep.” Maverick looked amused as you lifted your head off your desk and blinked. “Welcome back.”

“Sorry, Mav,” you mumbled as you rubbed your eyes. 

He gave you a look that seemed to say he understood what was going on. “It’s okay. Now back to what I was saying…”

It was like you were dragging your feet through rivers of mud. You could still feel him. His lips ghosting over yours, hands leaving the imprint of his tantalizing touch on your waist. You couldn’t get the feeling out of your head…but how could you? This was Hangman, and Hangman was a difficult person to forget—he was everything and you hated to love it.

After the day’s lesson finished, you were out of there and in the dining hall as fast as possible. 

“You look like you saw your morals fly right out the window,” Fanboy noted as he set his tray down and sat next to you. 

“Because they did,” you muttered. “New year, new me? More like new year, and old habits die hard.”

“I wouldn’t call your feelings for Seresin an old habit. They’ve always been there. It came to you naturally.”

“Shut up before I throw this juicebox at you.”

“You should do something, you know. You kissed.”

“And we had both been drinking before. He only initiated it because of the liquor confidence boost.”

“So? That doesn’t change how he was looking at you before. He was standing over there waiting for you to come to him,” Fanboy argued. “Give the man a chance. You ran away too fast last night.”

“Fine. But you owe me dinner tomorrow.”

“Deal.”

Can we talk?

You typed out a quick Meet by the docks before grabbing your purse and heading out the door. He was already there when you arrived.

“Hey…” you began.

“Hey.”

You stood there in silence as he started to speak. “So, about last night. I wasn’t drunk, at least, not enough to forget what I said or did. I hope you weren’t? I wouldn’t want to take advantage of you.”

“I wasn’t.” 

“Okay, good.”

“Yeah.”

“Great.”

Right then, you became all too aware of the way he was gazing at you—alcohol or not, the look in Hangman’s eyes was the exact same as the one last night…and you felt your pulse start racing. Had he always stared at you that way but you were too oblivious to notice? 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” your voice came out so quiet that he almost missed what you said. 

“Sweetheart, I don’t know how else to look at you.”

You felt your cheeks grow hot. It was only a kiss. Nothing more. 

“You didn’t do it out of pity, right?”

“I couldn’t do that to you or myself. I didn’t do it on accident, Y/N. It wasn’t a mistake.”

“Oh.”

You took three steps toward him, enough to be mere inches away from his face. His arms wrapped around you on instinct and you let him pull you close. Then when he tilted his head down to kiss you again, you let him, and the butterflies remained. 

He was here, and he was everywhere, too.

tags, including those who may be interested: @queenbbarnes​ @walkonthewiidside​ @sarcastic-sourwolf​ @totomoshi​ @sebastianstangirl01​ @altheadarling​ @hay-9105​ @purelyfiction​ @93joons​ @yeehawnana​ @lunamoonbby​ @hazelgirl355​ @multifandom-fangirl4​ @paintballkid711​ @lyn-lc​ @azari-anna​ @thelifeofthelifeofme​ @spawn0fsatan​ @milestomaverick​ @newlibrary​ @ellabellabus07​ @criminalyetminimal​ @whatlovegattado​ @lets-be-gay-for-the-angel​ @hufflepuffprincesse​ @ice-mans-world​ @burnedbrisket​ @fangirlinc​ @marveljunkie45​ @knowledgefulbutterfly​ @levis-butterfingers​ @organabanks​ @coastingline​ @skylynch03​ @chaoticassidy​ @hbstre​ @mercury-mae​ @light-the-moon​ @winteryoungie​ @aie1840​ @thisismypointofview​ @minivture​ @teacactusworld​ @icemansgirl1999​​ @cherry-waved​ @vane28282​ @worldsoldestpizzaslice

[moviemunchies]

You guys should watch The Sea Beast.

In a world of island empires and giant sea monsters, someone has to make sure that the sea monsters stop attacking human settlements, and that goes to the hunters. Hunters take to the seas in ships fitted with weapons and take down these marine kaiju. Orphaned Maisie desperately wants to be a hunter (despite being a child), especially since her parents died as heroes on a hunter ship while battling a monster, and she sets out to join the most famous and daring hunter crew of all: the Inevitable, led by Captain Crow, first mate Sarah Sharpe, and the courageous Jacob Holland.

But the Inevitable is facing some troubles of its own. After trying but not slaying an infamous beast called the Red Bluster (whom Captain Crow has long-standing enmity with), the monarchy sets a deadline. Except when Maisie and Jacob get separated from the main crew in the fight with the Red Bluster, they start to learn things about the creature, and question the narrative of how the kingdom was made, and if hunting sea beasts was ever the right thing to do in the first place.

So that’s fun.

I think that an interesting aspect of this movie is that in its message about the history of the kingdom and how it’s corrupt, the film really goes into that. A lot of films that try to do commentary on history like this don’t do it on anything other than a surface level. Because telling a moral is simple, but there’s nuance that often gets missed. Like, we can say, “Cutting down all the trees is bad,” all we want, but fact is that a lot of people depend on the business of cutting down trees in order to make their living, and that’s the only job they can find.

Incidentally, that’s how the old animated adaptation of The Lorax handled things. Also the animated series Gargoyles? Very often it would have stories about guns or deforestation, and the morals would be complex–not that “Guns are bad,” but that “People who own guns have a responsibility to take care of them safely,” or no that “Cutting down the rainforest is bad so you should punch those people,” but “Those people are trying to make a living, so be mindful of how you handle this situation.”

So The Sea Beast presents this culture which has lionized sea beast hunters, and it points out that a lot of people have died in battles with sea beasts and are viewed as heroes. When it questions this notion of “People HAVE to kill the sea beasts,” it shakes a lot of the characters because they see those killed as heroes and can’t accept anything else. 

But sometimes heroes can be wrong, The Sea Beast says. It doesn’t say these people weren’t heroes, or that their sacrifices and struggles weren’t noble–they were. That doesn’t mean the cause they fought for was just. It wasn’t.

And that’s an interesting message in today’s world, where we’re becoming rather obsessed with looking at our own heroes and putting them, and their causes, under the microscope (and I don’t think that’s a bad thing in and of itself). The movie points out that maybe that guy you idolized in the past, or that hero ancestor you brag about, could have been a great guy! But that doesn’t change that his or her side of the conflict was the right one, and we can move past it.

I had recently been thinking that it would be really nice to see more nautical fantasy–high fantasy in a setting that reflects the seafaring age. This isn’t precisely what I had in mind, but it’s darn close. The design of the ships is familiar to anyone who is into stories about pirates or naval battles, and watching our characters dash around the deck and rigging in their battles with these monsters is quite thrilling.

[Apparently a lot of work went into making sure the ropes looked good? A lot of pioneering in animation has been done in making water and surfaces look good, but the crew of this movie had to make sure, with all the ships and such, that the ropes looked authentic as well.]

The creature design in this movie is fantastic–I thought they’d go with fairly generic looking sea monsters, like a giant shark, a giant squid, and a sea serpent, but they managed to do creative designs for pretty much every creature in the film. I do think that the Red Bluster’s face looks an awful lot like Toothless, which is a bit odd, but I don’t think that was intentional–I think both sets of animators were working on getting a creature with somewhat feline facial features, and that was a coincidence that came out of it.

I think that if there’s one real weakness with the movie, it’s that the antagonist storyline is not really that well defined? It’s suggested that the reason people get up in arms about sea beasts is because the people in power established a narrative that they have to–but it’s unclear why this narrative benefits them that much? If we saw the monarchs getting super rich off of slain sea beasts or something, but it’s only vaguely explained that they get to dominate the seas because of it. And this subplot goes unresolved. I expect that having a French Revolution-style takedown of the people in power would not do well in a children’s movie, but it just seems as if the people realize they’ve been manipulated and the monarchs cower and that’s… it?

I guess?

Still, it’s a good movie. It’s a fantastic family film, it’s got great animation, memorable characters, delightfully-designed monsters, and awesome action sequences. It’s a fantasy film with an original setting, and Lord knows we need more original stories out there these days. I am delighted with this movie, and it’s great fun. Watch it if you can.

[all-things-normaler]

On the anon who probably unknowingly made the comment: Yes he did cheat on his wife while she had cancer, and as the good librarian that I am I'll spill the beans to you. Apparently this all happened because Seuss wanted kids, he aways likes but was ashamed because he wasnt like spontaneous like cat in the hat but more shy, I think he was stupid on this because he didn't think he could just adopt and OBVIOUSLY don't need to cheat his fucking first wife, (this thing about him not liking kids is a lie told by his widow). After the suicide he married his mistress but they didn't get along so well because with all that guilt and remorse he stopped paying attention to his wife and deposited all his affection in his stepdaughters, including the last book he wrote was about one of them children (daisy head mayzie) who adored him since he taught them things and spent the whole day playing with both of them. Upon his death, the widow simply spread a bunch of fake news (which I think was his karma) that he didn't like children, it turns out that the entries found out about it and scolded the mother and she shut up but didn't stop, that culminated in the appalling adaptations we had, INCLUDING A BOOK that was special to him and the woman knew it because it was dedicated to her (even with the wedding going away) who is the Lorax, she was alive and she approved of all this chaos and it's all HER fault these horrible memes exist and no one on the internet takes the imposing figure of onceler seriously and even part of onceler's appearance and personality was inspired by her husband which is insanely funny because he hated onceler. Well, I think Dr Seuss is complex. It is interesting to see how even though he was a man of his time, he tried his best to transform the world into a better place, since when he was 20 he performed a minstrel show but years later he regretted it and fought against the Jim Crow law, as well as his caricatures of asian people who are horrible and regretted writing Horton and the world of those to denounce xenophobia and dedicated it to a Japanese friend. I think he is an intelligent and interesting man, he has his mistakes but he was a leftist activist so he was always looking to improve and understand society better. That's why lorax is so important to him, it's one of the first children's works that puts the idolized capitalist system as everyone's villain. He was a nice guy with a lot of mistakes but always trying to redeem himself which is impressive for someone of his time.

Holy fuck, I didn't realize it was this deep!

[skinnyducky]

good in bed // v.h.

Hey...how y’all doing? I have halfway recovered from my wisdom teeth surgery and I definitely was feeling a bit sad not posting and whatnot. But, here I am now, so I hope you enjoy this one. Pt. 3 to Party at Y/n’s is most likely coming Monday. And, Pt. 2 to Maneater is coming Wednesday (hopefully). Any who, hope you enjoy! Also, this is very much inspired by Dula Peep’s “Good in Bed.”

Word Count: 1336, edited 

WARNING: mentions of sex, arguing, angst, language, and i think that’s it.

---------

The start of yours and Vinnie’s relationship was like ice cream on hot summer day. It was sweet, it was refreshing, and it was much needed. After being cheated on by your ex, you needed to find something to bring the love back…and that’s exactly what Vinnie did. The two of you had met after accidentally buying the same car. You bickered and fought over the vintage vehicle before he ultimately decided to let you keep it…but only if you gave him your number. You happily did so and long story short, that led to a beautiful relationship…or at least what was a beautiful relationship.

As the relationship went on, you found that the so-called “honeymoon phase” was really just a phase. For you and Vinnie, it lasted for a least a good two weeks. What started as late night conversations before bed shifted into heated debates and hate-filled goodnights. The butterflies that fluttered around had died, and now your stomach was overflowed with enraged hornets. You didn’t know what was the cause of your downfall, and you weren’t even sure that there was anything that could fix it.

Well…you knew one thing that definitely fixed it: sex. The term “angry sex” seemed like a myth. You thought people were just overhyping it…until you were actually living it. You remember the first time it happened; you were pissed that he didn’t show up to dinner with your parents, while he was pissed because you hadn’t stopped yelling at him for a good hour. The two of you argued for hours, and as an attempt to get you to stop, Vinnie grabbed you by your waist and tossed you onto his bed. It was silent, the only sound being the heavy breathing from both of you. Next thing you know, the two of you are going at it.

Ever since then, that’s all you two did: fight and screw, then pretend like nothing ever happened. As nice as the sex was, it just was too toxic for you. You didn’t want to be stuck in an endless cycle and having to resort to sex to solve your problems. And also, you wanted Vinnie to know you for more than just your body. With that being said, you figured the solution to that was to communicate. Something you two did none of.

So, here you were in Vinnie’s room, sitting on his bed and waiting for him to finish streaming. While scrolling mindlessly through Instagram, you tried to figure out what the hell you were going to say. You didn’t know how to talk about your feelings, it was completely foreign to you. Ugh, this was going to be difficult.

“…I love you guys, bye chat.”

Vinnie stopped streaming and turned around in his seat to face you. You pursed his lips and started fiddling with his thumbs. “So, what did you wanna talk about?”

“I think you know.” You said, not meeting his eyes.

“Is this the talk? You’re breaking up with me aren’t you?”

You shook your head, laughing to yourself at the boy’s stupidity. “No, Vinnie…I’m not breaking up with you.”

“Then why does it feel like you are?”

“I promise, I’m not. I just wanna try to communicate, y’know. Like other couples do.”

He shrugged. “Don’t we already do that?”

“I wouldn’t necessarily call our exploration of each other’s bodies ‘communicating.’ Besides, you and I both know that our relationship isn’t the same as before. It’s like we’ve grown cold towards each other or something.”

“Is this because I forgot our anniversary?” He asked, leaning back in his chair.

You gave him a puzzled look for a minute, trying to figure out when your anniversary actually was. Had you forgot too? Damn, this relationship really was trash.

“Uhm, no…this isn’t about that. Although, we really need to mark our anniversary on our calendars.”

“Then what’s this about, Y/n?”

You sighed and stood up from your spot on his bed. You paced in front of him, trying to figure out the right words to say. “Vinnie…I’m tired. I’m tired of always arguing and then having angry sex…which is amazing, by the way.”

He squinted his eyes at you as he thought about what you said. “So…are you mad about the arguing or the sex?”

“Oh my god, why is this so hard?” you groaned. “I’m mad about all of it, Vin. I’m mad that we just can’t talk to each other. I’m mad that when we do have time together, we spend it arguing. I’m mad that the only way for us to enjoy each other’s company is to have sex. I’m just tired of it all.”

“Then, let’s just end the relationship.”

You stopped your pacing and stared at him with wide eyes. “I just told you I didn’t wanna break up.”

Vinnie chuckled, “I know that Y/n, but if you’re really feeling that way…then just leave.”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing right now. You actually want to just break up? Aren’t you going to at least talk to me about what you’re feeling? Aren’t you gonna fight for us?”

“You wanna know what I’m feeling, Y/n?” Vinnie asked. You nodded, egging him to continue. “I’m feeling…very hungry right now. I want a fat burger and a fat fry with a fat shake to go along with it. That’s exactly what I’m feeling right now. And if the relationship is already going to hell…why fight for it? I say let it die.”

He then proceeded to hop out of his seat and dance around his room, chanting “let it die, let it die…let it shrivel up and die” while clapping.

You just stood there with nothing to say. You couldn’t believe that he was taking this all as a joke. You just poured your entire heart to him, trying to fix your relationship, and he’s sitting here quoting The Lorax and acting like a child. At this point, you were sure that there was no hope for the two of you and you were fine with that. You weren’t going to be driven mad by this anymore.

“You’re a fucking joke.” You growled, picking up your keys off his bed. “Y’know, I wish we hadn’t met each other because I’d be way better off if I didn’t even know you.”

“That’s not saying a lot, babe. You’d probably still be with the same dickhead who cheated on you.”

You scoffed, feeling the hornets in your stomach get their stingers ready. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m saying I made your life better. You wouldn’t be who you are today if it wasn’t for me.”

“You’re one to talk. You’d be stuck in here, playing video games and withering away if I hadn’t come along.”

Vinnie huffed, holding back a laugh. “At least I don’t have to deal with video games nagging at me all the time.”

“Jerk!” you yelled, rushing to his door. You stood in the doorway, turning around to look back at him. “I never want to see you again, you hear me? NEVER again, Vincent. You’re dead to me.”

Slamming the door behind you, you made your way down the hallway of the Hype House. But before you could go any further, something stopped you. A feeling of sadness washed over you and your anger subsided. The hornets that once threatened to pour out of you had now calmed down. At that moment, you felt your body tremble as sin known as lust flowed through your veins. You swallowed hard, trying to keep yourself from rushing back into Vinnie’s room and pouncing on him…but there was nothing you could do to stop yourself.

“Screw it,” you whispered.

You turned around and darted towards Vinnie’s room. Bursting through the door, you tackled him onto the bed and well…you know the rest. You knew going through this all over again was bad, that it was causing more damage to your relationship. It was definitely sad…but that’s what made you good in bed.

[incorrect-dnd-classes]

Hey, so, same anon who's party summoned the Lorax

In our most recent session, we fought Duckthulu

Correction: We were supposed to fight Duckthulu

Correction: We tamed Duckthulu

hello w h a t

[fluffymcu]

Backfire (Bucky x reader x Steve) (all platonic)

@anonymouswritr

The reader is about 16-18

“Hey! Stop thats cheating!” Steve scolds Bucky after he quickly poked around his neck, trying to make Steve lose his streak and crash his kart.

“I’m not cheating, I’m just tickling you.” Bucky chuckles, poking at his ribs while surprisingly still able to drive steadily.

“Yeheah! You’re tihihickling me becahahause you feel threatened that I’ll wihihin!” Steve laughed, trying his best to keep his hands on the controller.

“I just wanna get ahead to make it fair.” Bucky smirked. Steve scoffed.

“It’s already fahahahair! Bucky stohohop!” Steve angled his body away from Bucky’s hands but they followed wherever they went. But luckily, Steve still stayed ahead and ended up winning the round.

“Damn it!” Bucky chuckled and started to really attack Steve.

“Hehehehey! Stohohop I wohohohon!” Steve laughed, leaning down on the couch, unfortunately giving Bucky more leverage.

“This is what you get for cheating, punk.” Bucky growled.

“IHIHIHI DIDNT CHEHEHEAT! YOU DID!” Steve slapped at his hands, occasionally being able to pull Bucky’s arms away. But all he had to do was rip his arms out of his grip and attack him again. Bucky chuckled and only shrugged.

You walked into the living room, greeted with the sound of Steve’s hysterical laughter. Your eyebrows furrowed curiously, a smile growing in your face as you stood behind the couch, where Bucky was mercilessly wrecking Steve.

“What happened?” You chuckled, Bucky looking up at you briefly before turning his attention back to Steve.

“HE CHEATED AHAHAND NOW HEHEHES TORTURIHIHING ME!!” Steve laughed, not being able to push Bucky away anymore since he was now putting all his weight on him.

“Not true. Not at all true. He was being disrespectful. So I’m teaching him a lesson.” Bucky smirked. Steve shook his head, not being able to say much else.

You tilted your head at Bucky. “Yeahhh Steve isn’t the type of person to be disrespectful. You on the other hand... you are definitely the type of person to cheat.” You chuckled. Bucky rolled his eyes and shrugged.

“Well, still.” You rolled your eyes at Bucky’s lack of excuse and looked at Steve. He looked so desperate and helpless. It was very rare to see him in this state. Steve was a very strong man and was not easily brought down. However, with Bucky around, he had met his match.

You knew Steve was being tortured unjustly, so you felt bad for him. You knew how ruthless Bucky could be when he was in this type of mood. You’d been a victim of Bucky’s tickly torture countless times.

“Aww poor Steve, he’s all red. Leave him alone Bucky.” You smiled, feeling bad for Steve, since you’ve heard stories of how he was usually on the receiving end of many tickle fights with Bucky back when he was small and scrawny. Bucky paused his antics with Steve and looked up at you, a smirk gracing his features. This made your stomach drop, having and idea of what you just got yourself into.

“Are you saying you’ll take his place?” Bucky asks, his eyebrows raised teasingly. Your eyes widened and you raise your arms in defense.

“What? No, that’s not what I said at all, I-“ You yelp as you were cut off by Bucky grabbing you and pulling you over the couch and onto his lap, securing you tightly. This was bad. Really bad.

“If that’s what you want!” Bucky shrugged and dug his fingers into your sides. You immediately start squirming and laughing your head off. How dare he start this??

“Nohohohohoooo!” You howled with laughter as you twisted and turned to try and roll off his lap. Steve, still panting, sat up a bit and smiled fondly at your hysterical state. He would help, but, 1. He didn’t wanna risk getting tickled again, and 2. You were just being too cute. “Steheheheeeve help mehehehe!” You reached out towards him in hopes of getting his help. But his smirk made you think otherwise.

“I would, but I’m too exhausted to do much else.” Steve shrugged, giving you an apologetic smile. You whined desperately. Bucky chuckled and blew a raspberry on your neck, smiling as you recoiled with a squeal. You were now officially done for.

“IHIHIHI DEFENDEHEHEHED YOHOHOU!” You whined at Steve who shrugged.

“Sorry y/n.” Steve said, smiling when Bucky found a particularly sensitive spot on your ribs, eliciting a stream of giggly cackles. The feeling was so overwhelming, like your brain was only able to process the tingly feeling rising across your body.

“BUHUHUHUCKY STOHOHOP!” You begged as you threw your head back into his shoulder. Bucky smirked and repositioned you to where your legs were on Steve’s lap. As you were too distracted by laughing your little heart out, you didn’t notice Bucky had silently signaled Steve to get your legs. Steve smirked as he thought about it.

After a few moments, he decided to go ahead with the plan and started to squeeze teasingly up and down your thighs. A really sensitive spot of yours. You screamed as you felt extra hands tormenting you, silently cursing him for betraying you. “AHAHAHAHA! TRAITOHOHOHOR!” You laughed, melting into Bucky as he tasered his digits into your bare belly.

You tried to curl in on yourself but with Steve holding your legs and scratching behind your knees, it was impossible. Your muscles began to feel like jelly as you fought to no avail.

“Aww, is it too much for you, y/n? Does it tickle so bad that you can’t take it anymore?” Bucky cooed in your ear, smiling victoriously when he saw you blush tremendously. You shook your head, refusing to give in to his games. “I think it is!” He sang, flipping you over and blowing several raspberries into your belly. You screamed in ticklish agony as you kicked your legs as much as you could.

With Steve mercilessly scratching at the hollows of your socked feet and Bucky blowing raspberries across your bare tummy, you thought you might go mad. “STEHEHEHEVE PLEHEHEHEASE!” You begged, he was your last hope. Maybe you could still convince him to help you?

Steve chuckled and targeted your hips for a few moments, making you convulse and let out more deep belly laughter before sitting back and letting Bucky blow a few more raspberries and finally speaking up.

“Alright, I think she’s had enough. Let’s give her a break.” Steve nodded at Bucky. You sighed, relieved this might be coming to an end.

“Aww, but I was just getting started!” Bucky teased, pinching around your belly and sides, switching up every time you’d try to block him. You giggled loosely and threw your head back in exhaustion, weakly pudding his hands away. With a chuckle, Bucky stopped and let you go. When you sat up, Steve took you in his arms and wrapped you in a hug.

“Sorry we went a little harsh on you. But thank you for defending me.” He smiled.

You were still panting when you looked at him. “I’m glad you appreciate it, because I’m never sticking up for you again.” You giggled. Steve laughed and kissed your forehead before getting comfortable on the couch with you in his arms.

Bucky sighed. “So, that took some energy outta me. Movie?” He asked nonchalantly. You rolled your eyes playfully but nodded nonetheless. Bucky smirked and put on The Lorax, the three of you comfortably relaxing after a tiring session.

[starfaring-princelotor]

the onceler.

You know, perhaps showing The Lorax to Allura would teach her a thing or two about non-renewable energy resources and how everyone is affected by it being carelessly exploited. We can take it a step further and explain that people have fought and died trying to scrape by with resources required for living. 

[elsquibbonator]

Eco-Tainment: Now and Then, Here and There

I’m starting to get the idea that there’s a significant difference in the way people view their relationship with nature in America and Europe, and the way they view it in eastern Asia, especially Japan. If you look at a lot of Western environmental works of fiction like The Lorax or FernGully you notice that a lot of the time nature is given human attributes to make it more relatable, the implication being that Americans would not care about nature if it were not personified. Japanese works on the subject, being rooted in the naturalistic Shinto religion, tend to depict nature as instead being inscrutable and powerful, something humans cannot hope to comprehend. 

Which brings us to Now and Then, Here and There. This 13-episode anime series, released in 1999, is famous (or notorious, depending on your perspective) for its gruesome depiction of the horrors of war. However, while the anti-war message is most obvious, there is also an environmental theme to be found in the series. The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Shu Mazutani, who sees a girl with blue hair sitting on top of a smokestack at an abandoned factory. She introduces herself as Lala-ru. Then they are suddenly attacked by soldiers piloting snake-like vehicles, and teleported to an alternate world ruled by the wicked King Hamdo.  King Hamdo seeks Lala-ru because she wears a pendant that contains the world’s supply of water--water he needs as fuel for his gigantic flying fortress, the Hellywood. But even though Lala-ru clearly represents the Earth’s raw natural resources in human form, that is not the reason she is deemed worthy of protection. She rarely speaks. She considers ten billion years to be brief. She hold humanity in very low regard, since all she knows of them is the wars they’ve fought over the water she controls. In other words, Lala-ru represents nature as it actually is-- something we can’t directly communicate with, but must nevertheless respect.  Now and Then, Here and There isn’t an anime for kids. It’s violent, disturbing, and bleak. But I highly recommend it if you’re looking for an antidote to the saccharine, juvenile environmental works that are more popular here in America. Why can’t we make things like this? 

Now and Then, Here and There is a dark and grim anime, but it serves as a splendid metaphor for humanity’s strained relationship with the natural world. 

[raconteurofdrollery-blog]

The Grinch 3: The Final Stand Book II

See Book I previously.

II. Now Ukariah stood, as was his right To make address to all the warriors here To recommend a battle with the Grinch To toss him down with mighty sword and spear. "My brothers," said the king, "I pray you all To hear my words as I would fain hear yours. Eight years I've kept and guarded from the Grinch This Whoville where we Whos have long time dwelt. I've stopped the yearly raids on Halloween Though many thought this action would enrage The green one to descend on us from Crumpet Bringing war and flame to burn our houses Making us to be his trodden slaves: but That did not pass; Whoville stays free and strong. Stronger than it would be had we then Followed counsel from Jehoshaphat: He would have had us cower from the Grinch And offer up our virgins for his ransom Old and grey his wife has taken sickbed His daughters are no virgins, as we know. Never doubt the Grinch doth have the forces For destruction of our people and our Village; but we mustn't kneel before him With our hands together in supplication Begging like old women in the market For this godless creature leave us be. Why then have we called up all these allies Wasted so much time in plotting war Only to surrender to this monster? Killing Whos is sporting fun to him. To think that peace is possible with he Who slew Bethiah, my beloved sister Many others also over years of Depredation of our fair green lands. Because of this I trained my body strong This earthly meat, the sinew of his death Forged the greatest sword of all Who kindred And named it Grinchenslawter for its task: To strip this vile creature from Mt. Crumpet And hang his head upon my sister's grave." Jehoshaphat then spoke against the king And weighed upon the youth his many years Of council, parley, making peace with those Who offered hurt to Whos. "My king! I call You thus who took your power from our line Of royals who had many cent'ries ruled With prudence, knowing when to fight and when To try and treat with bitter foes. Young man! You've earned your place through war, and not from craft, So listen to your elders! T'would be wise As we defer to thee in warring talk To hear us and remember that you speak To leaders strong, and not as is your wont To women timid of their sons and daughters As when you spoke before the PTA, Inflamed them with the fear of rapine death, Convinced them that the Grinch could not be trusted, Unless he felt a sword above his neck. For many years ago when I was young A peace there was between us and the Grinch 'Til something happened making him to hate us And start attacking every Halloween. But in the days before this strange estrangement He often came to aid us in our chores Machines to till the fields and harvest crops He brought from Crumpet, lending them to us. Clearly he did not of all a sudden Say unto himself he would destroy us; Something we did has brought this turn about That now he readies war inside the mount. And would it not be better done to call him To ask him why he now dost hate us so, Avoid the slaughter, bloodshed, death of war, And live in peace as in my days of youth? I see the king hast not been moved a figgle. So let us ask our allies what they sniggle." Upon the Cat Jehoshaphat's eyes rested, But first the Lorax took his feet to speak Before th' assembled. "Men! I call you thus Though clearly some are not. You hear this fool, Jehoshaphat, this quavering old fool. To act upon this heap of scat is like Fishing in McElligot's Pool. Now hear The words of one who's fought for years For those who cannot fight: the trees, I mean! For if we'd dithered, trying talk with he Who would destroy the trees to make his thneeds, Useless trash, for each he kills a truffula Until I came, he thought to own the forest; I set him right! No one needs a thneed, but Once-lers listen only when a spear has Pierced its merry way into their hearts Of stone and shattered them like flint. Make peace! This mossy thing has come a hundred years To kill your sons and drag your daughters off To his infernal lair atop Mt. Crumpet; Why shall he stop now? He'd sooner kill you All than make a peace that puts an end to His full supply of virgin blood. Weak fool! You lie but months from death and fear it not And think it worth the risk for all these Whos To take up your fool plan to envoy he Who only wants your women, not your friendship." So finished, he retook his seat and glared At Jehoshaphat, who sought the Cat for aid. The Cat obtained his feet to speak to all the brave and worthy lords and ladies there; he doffed his hat, and cleared his throat, and said in tones redolent with trepidation, “Please, mark me not greater than you. Though I may command the loyal arms of two such legendary Things as are Thing 1, the Thing of unmatched overbearing might; Thing 2, the Thing of swift recourse in arms; and though I hold in thrall the little cats with letters A through Z in place of name; and though I’ve traveled long across this land, and spoken with those great and small in stature, and gave my aid to those who needed it, whether they be children in a house of boredom, or former king of standing like great Yertle, still I bid you not to rate my thoughts too highly, and to keep your counsel your counsel, not mine, nor that of he who hath defended truffulas for all the time your village sat in this here valley and never loved a wife nor hugged a son whose lives he placed more highly than his own. But since it seems you ask my counsel, hear me when I say to rush to war is folly; to seek a peace is wise so long as you are sure your foe is likewise so inclined. I wish it seemed the Grinch was so inclined, but that I cannot say with certainty. For all I’ve heard it seems you once had peace And somehow it was broken, whether by the Grinch or by the Whos, I cannot say; but now he will not stop until the blood of Whos in Whoville flows across the fields, dyeing red the green eggs and the ham from every Huisen Hen that keeps her nest in the chicken coops of Whoville, and the Phrig Pigs cowering from the Hakken-Krakks in pens of Whoville. Now that he has gathered from each interchange and onramp Hoober-Bloob did place upon his highway when he built it long ago, the Grinch cannot say ‘Stop: there is a peace’ and bid them all go back to whence they came while still the taste of iron in their mouths spurs them forward into war with Whoville. Nor you, I wager, bid your allies home After asking us assemble here in Whoville with the promise of a fight. There must be war; we cannot stop it now. The time has gone for parley with the Grinch. For even if he wished to treat with us, his allies don’t; they came for war, not talk. And even if you wished to treat with him, your allies came for blood, not for blue goo.” The allies ‘round the table heard the Cat, yet each heard what he wished to hear, not what the Cat had put in words, and what they heard was only that they came for war, and all agreed with this; they came to fight, not talk: to prove to foes back home that they were strong; for vengeance for a past-committed wrong; to strip the dead of arms and garb and coin; or simply for the joy of slaying one who stood before them with a sword in hand. Jehoshaphat and Ukariah sole among th'assembled took the meaning true. The one resigned that now there would be war; the other eager to pursue revenge. His sister, fair Bethiah, dead and now he'd have the Grinch's head for causing it and for the miseries the Green One once had visited upon the Whos each year. The elder Who, the Cat's pronouncement broke; the younger king, his forge of war was stoked.

[rhetoricalrogue]

Ayurnamat - The philosophy that there is no point in worrying about events that cannot be changed for an OC of your choice!

Thanks for the ask! I decided to use my less developed Fallout Gal, Samantha Greene for this one. Prompt is from the Word and Pairing prompt list.

“How far is it to this settlement?” Sam asked, adjusting her backpack. The contents shifted around, metal clinking against glass as she did so.

“Map says about ten more miles this way.” MacCready raised his eyebrow and gestured towards her backpack. “Probably would have been a lot easier to get there if you weren’t carrying all that junk.”

“Sure, I’ll help.” He flicked the brim of the cap she wore with his finger. “Getting my hat back will lighten the load.”

Sam stuck her tongue out at him. “No way. I won it fair and square. You know the rules.”

“Yeah, yeah. Best kill of the day gets to wear the hat. How the hel–heck was I supposed to know that you’d snipe a supermutant right in the mini-nuke?”

“It was a great shot.” She nudged him in the arm. “Come on, admit it. You were impressed with the explosion that took out the other two that were with him.”

“It was a lucky shot,” he groused. “But yeah, that explosion was pretty dang cool.”

Sam laughed. “Which means your hat is my hat for another…” she trailed off and MacCready’s hand instantly went towards his rifle, thinking that she had spied a threat. “Oh no.”

“What is it?” Instinct had him crouching down behind the twisted remains of a long-dead tree, but he watched as Sam shrugged her pack off and blindly climbed over a massive fallen trunk.

“No.” Sam pulled up the map on her Pip-Boy and quickly turned around in a circle, as if she were trying to get her bearings. “No.”

“What is it?” He watched as the first tear fell down her cheek, leaving a smudge of grime in its wake as it slid down her chin. “It’s just a bunch of stupid dead trees.”

“No they’re not,” she hissed. “These were my trees.”

“What?”

Sam carefully sat down on the largest fallen trunk. “Before the bombs fell, I worked in a firm that defended environmental rights. When big companies wanted to build new sites or new businesses wanted to come in, it was part of my job to make sure that they didn’t hurt the environment.” Sam gestured around them. “Some company wanted to create a landfill to dump their toxic waste here. These trees were centuries old; I had to protect them from being cut down.”

“What did you do?”

“I wrote letters to my state representatives. I called, faxed, made visits where I sat in lobbies for hours waiting on face to face visits where I was either ignored completely or only given five minutes of time to state my case. I wasn’t getting anywhere because the company I was fighting had their hands in most people’s wallets, but I managed to finally break through on an old, barely used historical loophole pertaining to land rights.”

MacCready sat next to her. “Bet that ticked off a bunch of people.”

She nodded. “I could never confirm it, but I always had a feeling that it was why Nate kept getting crap deployments. They figured I’d move with him instead of staying behind with the firm.” She wiped at her face. “They didn’t think that I’d be stubborn.”

“Then they underestimated you.”

“Yeah, they did.” Sam took a shaky breath. “I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.”

“Be kinda freaky if they did.”

She let out a short huff of laughter. “That was a book quote.”

“Must have missed that one.”

Sam’s eyebrow raised. “The Lorax?”

“Can’t say I’ve heard of it.”

She groaned. “You know Shakespeare and you can make puns with Thoreau, but you draw a blank on Doctor Seuss? Mac, we’re seriously going to have to infiltrate a library and get you acquainted with Green Eggs and Ham.”

He made a face. “Sounds like this guy was familiar with expired Cram.” He saw that while she was teasing him, her body language still said that she was upset. “So, you saved the trees.”

“I saved the trees.” Sam ran her fingers across the bark near her knee. “Fat load of good that did, they still fell.”

“Yeah, because a big bomb blew them away, not because some crappy little landfill got their way. You couldn’t do a thing against the bombs dropping, but you stopped a toxic dump in its tracks. It sounds like it was hard to do, but despite the odds, you won.”

Sam looked at him. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right. You’re tough as nails, Boss. You didn’t lose that fighting spirit after taking a two hundred year nap, that’s for sure.”

“I don’t know if I should be flattered or smack you.”

“Take the compliment, Samantha.” MacCready seemed to realize that he had used her actual name instead of his usual nicknames for her and he turned his head as if to hide the sudden blush that pinked his cheeks. “Anyway, are we gonna get a move on, or are we gonna just sit here until dark? I’d like to get to this settlement before nightfall and have an actual bed to sleep on, you know.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s get going.” With one last pat to the tree she’d been sitting on, Sam stood up. MacCready was right: she had fought for these trees and won. While she couldn’t have done a thing about the nuclear blast, she still had that same stubborn streak that had seen her through all the long nights of researching obscure law and building an ironclad case. The past may be dead, but there were still so many fights to be fought in her future. “I’m betting if we make good time, we may make it in time for supper.”

“You’re giving these people a big benefit of the doubt here. They may not have anything to share.” Before she could pick her pack up, MacCready looped one strap over his shoulder. “Here, I guess I could carry your set-up materials for a little while.”

“You don’t have to, I can…”

“You can carry my empty pack instead. Knowing you, you’re gonna fill it up with everything we pass along in those ten miles.”

Sam laughed, but took his much lighter bag. “Thank you.” She took off his cap and handed it to him. “Here, if you’re playing pack mule, the least I can do is give you back your cap.”

“Nah, keep it. Rules are rules: you won it fair and square.” He shoved it back on her head, making sure to push the brim far over her eyes. “Besides, it looks cuter on you than it does on me.”

It was Sam’s turn to blush. “Why Robert, I do believe that you were flirting with me.”

At least she wasn’t the only one with bright red cheeks. “Just take the damn compliment already, why don’t you?” he said gruffly, marching ahead of her.

“You keep that up and I may try to figure out a way to snag your coat.”

MacCready shook his head. “No way, Boss. The hat is negotiable, but I draw the line at the coat.”

Sam laughed, but lengthened her stride to keep up with him. He may have said his duster was off limits, but she considered it a challenge to be won.

[alluringdalliance]

10/08/18 9:24pm

I’m allowing myself to be sad this week and then pick myself up next week, not letting people treat me badly anymore. I just feel like since I have to cut him off I’m losing my friend all over again, and to think I thought we were doing good.

He made me really upset last night, not even because he tried taking credit for me being stronger now but because he doesn’t understand or believe that there are social injustices and social problems in this country. That makes me really sad because I know there’s more of him who believe that and I feel like the little boy from one of my fav Dr. Seuss books The Lorax. I want to make a difference so bad so fucking bad, I want to help things change and I don’t know how. I see how much people from underserved communities are struggling, I see the poverty, and I wish I could help somehow. I’m reading The Hate U Give finally and like these are things that people go through these are real life struggles and I hate that, at work they tell us that poverty isn’t a crime and of course it’s not but I wish we could help them somehow.

Then he had the nerve to say that people devalue their accomplishments by adding race and victimizing themselves. And when I asked him if he seriously thought I was wrong for saying I’m an educated Latina he said that I’m pulling the race card even though I know I’m just appreciating my culture and my parents sacrifices. I pray people like him will be unblinded and see the truth in what’s going on in these communities and that there’s nothing wrong with being proud of your heritage and the accomplishments of minorities especially when we owe it to the people who fought to ove the road so we could have an opportunity. I hope one day I can somehow help and maybe they will too. For now all I can do is try to make sure I make a difference in even one child’s life and reduce the trauma they may have to endure, but one day I’ll do that and more, I swear it.

Now I’ll just keep wallowing in my sadness so that I get it out of my system and come back knowing my worth and that I’m a good fucking person with a damn good heart. Better things will come my way, better people will come my way, a better man will make his way into my life, I am speaking it into existence.