#this is not six degrees of separation pls stop

[appropriatelystupid]

desperately need the books i read in complete random order to stop having some very small but very specific detail in common with the one prior

#this is not six degrees of separation pls stop

[greta-van-fics]

wine thursdays

author’s note: this accidentally became long AF fjldfsjlkd, just a fluffy smut sam neighbor au request for @hippievanfleet ♥︎ liv

taglist: @thatiloveyouso @stardustschords @greta-van-yeet @gretavanhoney @nonsensepoet

warnings: alcohol mention, s m u t (18+), unprotected sex (wear a condom pls!)

You practically kicked down the door to your home. After two steps, your bag and shoes were flung down, and after four your jacket had been peeled off and tossed aside. Six more steps and you were flopped down on the couch, groaning and rubbing your eyes. Your back cracked deliciously as you allowed yourself to luxuriate in a stretch for a moment.

“Long fuckin’ day,” you grumbled to no one in particular. Standing up again, you made your way to the kitchen, in search of some dinner. Ah, the perfect meal: that opened bottle of Merlot sitting happily in your fridge. 

You snatched it up and popped the cork. As you reached towards the cabinet to pick out a wine glass, you caught sight of yourself in the mirror that hung over your stove. The mascara you’d painstakingly applied that morning was smeared into very becoming raccoon eyes. 

“Cuuuuute,” you giggled, winking at yourself in the mirror. You extended your arm for the glass, but as your fingertips closed around it, it slipped and fell with a delicate shatter onto the linoleum. “Oh, of course.”

A knock on your front door made you even more frustrated. “Seriously? Not right now,” you muttered, not wanting to deal with whatever sweet old neighbor of yours had undoubtedly made cookies to share. 

“I’m coming!” you said. You weaved your way around the shattered glass and towards the door. Upon opening it, you saw your way-too-hot and way-too-loud neighbor, Sam, clutching another bottle of wine.

“I sensed I was needed,” he said, wrinkling his brow like a comic book superhero. “My Spidey senses were tingling.” He stepped into your apartment before you could even open your mouth. “Long day, princess?”

Your cheeks colored furiously despite your best efforts to conceal it. “Sam, can I help you?” 

You’d had a crush on him since the day he moved in and introduced himself to every single person on your floor. The boy didn’t have an enemy in the world; everyone absolutely adored him and his effervescent personality. You remembered your first meeting vividly.

“Hi! I’m Sam! Do you like wine on Thursdays? I was thinking, I need another young person to have Wine Thursdays with, like we get takeout and open a bottle of something cheap and delicious, you in?” 

“.....What’s going on?”

Wine Thursdays had been a regular staple of yours for the past eight months, but this week had your head in such a whirlwind that you’d completely forgotten today was the day. The highlight of your week, the shining light at the end of the tunnel that was...Sam. 

“I heard something made of glass shatter,” Sam admitted from your sitting room as he set his bottle down on the coffee table. 

“Oh, yeah, a stupid wine glass fell. It’s shot.” You shrugged, trying desperately to push away the ringing echoes of “Princess” in your ears. Sam made his way into the kitchen and whistled lowly in surprise. 

“Where’s your broom, mamacita?” God, if he kept this up much longer you’d be a wobbly puddle. 

You entered the kitchen behind him and retrieved your broom from its hiding place next to the fridge. Before you could begin to sweep up the glass, Sam snatched it out of your hands and did it for you.

“Oh, Sammy, you don’t need to do that!” you cried. Sam shook his head, his newly-cropped hair flaring around his neck. 

“After the day you’ve clearly had, this isn’t all I have to do.”

You froze. That was an innuendo, wasn’t it? But Sam made joking innuendos all the time. But this one, surely had to be—

“How do you know I had a bad day?” you croaked, embarrassed at the sound of your own voice. He stood up, carefully dumping the dustpan full of glass shards into your trash can. 

He didn’t make eye contact with you as he sheepishly admitted, “Your makeup is smeared a little bit, like you were crying. So dinner’s on me tonight.”

“Oh, God.” You exhaled a shaky laugh. “It’s smeared because I rubbed my eyes when I got home! Don’t worry about me.” Just as your heart stopped racing, it also sunk a little in disappointment. So no innuendo there, then.

“I do worry about you.” Sam’s voice was low, and your eyes shot up to meet his. He was gazing at you now, his lips pressed together as if he was trying to figure out the words he needed next. “I think they might be working you to death.”

Heat was pooling between your legs at his intensity. You’d never seen him this serious, and it made your nervousness increase a few degrees. The kitchen felt incredibly small and tight, as if it was forcing the two of you together. Sam took a step towards you.

“I think you’re really beautiful,” he said bluntly, and your breath caught in your throat, “but every day I see you come home from that job, you look completely worn out. I think you need someone to take care of you.” He closed the distance between you two. Your heart was now pounding in your ears, and you were sure you would pass out or be even more mortified when this turned out to be another harmless flirtation from him. 

“Do you want to relax, baby?”

Your brain barely had time to form the words before you were saying them breathlessly: “God, yes, Sammy.”

His fingers snaked and tightened around the sides of your face, pulling you into a feverish kiss. His soft, full lips fit perfectly against yours and you moaned into the kiss, making him pull you in deeper. The two of you separated only when you absolutely needed oxygen. 

“Fuck, I’ve thought about this forever,” Sam said, hurriedly beginning to undo the button-down he was wearing. His eyes had gone a completely different shade of brown, darkening every second as he drank the sight of you and your kiss-swollen lips in. “Get undressed and get on the couch.”

There was no way this was actually happening, right? You must have fallen asleep when you first got home and were now having the hottest dream of your life.

You stumbled into the sitting room again and removed your shirt and pants. The thought suddenly occurred to you that Sam would be seeing your naked body, and your froze in shame. 

“What’s wrong, baby?” Sam asked as he pulled his pants off his long, lean legs. He clocked your embarrassed expression and made his way over to you. “Hey, you’re a fucking angel. So fucking pretty, I have to stop myself from taking you in the hallway every time I see you.” He grabbed you and kissed your neck, making you sigh in pleasure.

“Sammy, you make me feel so good,” you murmured, any reservations melting away from your mind.

“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Sam growled and threw you on the couch. With a yelp, you landed and instinctively pulled your knees up to your chest. “Oh look, baby girl knows just what to do,” he said with a cocky smile.

After he practically dove on top of you, you once more began making out, running your hands over each other’s bodies. You traced the lines of his tanned back, leaving indentations with your nails when he bit your bottom lip and pulled, then relinquished it with a satisfying smack against your teeth.

“Fuck, Sam, I’ve wanted this since the day I met you,” you breathed. Sam began moving his way down your body, planting open-mouthed kisses on every inch of you he could reach. 

He finally stopped just short of your aching core, tugging your panties to one side. “Please, Sammy,” you pleaded. 

“Baby?” He said, lifting his head to make sure you were looking at him. “I said I was going to take care of you. Help you relax. So I want you to scream as loud as you fucking want when I bury my face in your perfect cunt.” With that, he lowered his face and licked a stripe up you with his tongue flattened.

You realized in that moment that you had never truly screamed. The noise that left your mouth was completely foreign to you. You arched your back and scraped your fingers at Sam’s head, desperately searching for anything to grab onto. He continued to eat you out so wonderfully that you were chanting his name when you felt your orgasm hurtling towards you.

“Sam!” you gasped, pushing his head away from your legs. He sat up, and you saw his gorgeous face...covered in your slick. There was a glistening strip from his nose to his chin that made you want to spontaneously combust. 

“Please fuck me, Sam,” you prayed. Sam pulled a hairband off his wrist and quickly tied back any stray locks that were flopping into his face. He then took the opportunity to lean down and press a quick kiss to your mouth. You could taste yourself and him mingled together, and it tasted like the most delicious sin you could think of. He yanked off what remained of both of your’s underwear.

“Of course, baby.” He lined himself up and thrust into you with a hiss. You immediately scrambled to claw at his back, the feeling of his thick cock stretching you making you yell out in pained pleasure. “Good?” he grunted, face buried in your neck. You nodded pathetically and smacked his back, signaling that he should start moving.

He pulled out and thrust into you again, starting up a rhythm that had his hips slapping at yours mercilessly. “Ohhhhhh fuck, angel. You feel so good,” he moaned. You had your eyes screwed shut and knew you must look ridiculous, but you couldn’t make yourself care. Sam was fucking you so relentlessly and you never wanted it to end.

Soon, though, you felt your high approaching again, and you groaned out, “Gonna cum, Sammy,” as eloquently as you were able. 

Sam’s hips stuttered and his thrusts grew sloppy as you shrieked and your body came completely undone beneath him. You felt like your limbs were made of a billion, white-hot stars, and the man inside you was the only thing tethering you to Earth. 

With a strangled moan, Sam pulled out of you and came all over your breasts and stomach. The sight was hot as fuck, and you indulged in it for a moment: Sam, completely fucked out and sweaty, tiny hairs plastered to his forehead, and his cum, covering your entire torso. But you could tell the exhausted man wanted nothing more than to collapse on top of you. You reached over and grabbed a towel that had been placed, by luck or by fate, who knew, on your end table and cleaned the both of you up.

Sam flopped down next to you on the couch, pulling you into him. “Wine Thursdays fucking rule.”

#can u tell im tired LOL #gvf fic #greta van fleet fic #sam kiszka #by liv

[atsumiye]

put a ring on it!

summary: your first trip to vegas was supposed to be a fun girls trip that included getting drunk, going to clubs, and even going home with a few strangers. however, that all comes to a halt when you lose your job, get wasted, end up in a strangers bed and now your married? with divorce off the table for a while, how do you two manage being exposed to the public? by continuing with a (now legal) fake marriage of course.

masterlist ll six ll seven ll eight

the room is really stuffy. and you don't know if its because of the humidity from outside or how uncomfortable it was to tell the attorney about why you both want a divorce.

he claims he has 'heard worse' and 'its not as bad as it sounds' but you can tell he is definitely judging you.

you and oikawa sit on one side of a round table, situated in the middle of a large office, filled with beige tones and lots of file cabinets. the wall closest to the man's desk was covered with picture frames of his family, his degree and a few awards he had won.

his schedule was jam packed, but thanks to oikawa's charm (as explained by oikawa himself), he managed to squeeze you both in for a consultation.

"so the main issue we are facing here is that in the united states, in order to obtain a divorce you both need to be legally separated for a calendar year before the divorce can be filed." he pulls out a small calendar and begins flipping, stopping at a specific page and writing a date down, "this is the date the filing can legally begin. we can begin the paperwork now and hold onto it until then."

"but our divorce is uncontested?" oikawa shifts forward in his seat

"yes, i understand." the attorney begins to place some papers into a folder, "however, that's what the law states in nevada. like i said, we will begin with necessary paperwork today and then in a year we can meet again and file the paperwork to continue with the divorce if you both wish to do so."

oikawa turns towards you, noting your silence during the course of the conversation, "is everything alright?"

you sigh, letting a few more seconds of silence follow, "yeah. just trying to let it sink in that im married for a year."

the attorney clears his throat, "technically, you're separated." he nods slowly.

"that doesn't make the situation any better." you drop your head against the table, only to be stopped by oikawa's hand.

he tilts his head to the side so he can meet your eyes, "we will figure it out." he gives you a small smile, "together."

you nod, lifting your head off the table, you both begin to fill out the documents, pausing only for discussion of how this affects your lives in Argentina, and to schedule the next time you will both come back to finalize the divorce.

seven- just legally separated

facts!

- i know nothing about law. at all :P i am just a mere medical student with 5 braincells that sometimes don't work so pls excuse any inconsistencies jgsfeuheh i did a bit of research but i have no idea if it actually works like that heheh

- this attorney was one of the best rated ones in vegas and he also has a few connections in argentina

- oikawa promised to send a few signed items for the attorney's kid in exchange for squeezing them in

- y/n still has no idea what oikawa does for a living

- as much as y/n hates to admit, she laughed at the group chat name change

- oikawa offered to cover the cost of their night out

- oikawa got them a private area in the club before they joined the crowd

- the second picture is y/n, sofia and hanamakki

- oikawa and y/n went outside for some....air :D (jk they went outside to talk and it ended with a little smooch or two...or three)

taglist: @decaffeinatedtealover @broken-from-fandoms @nanamisbento @t2iara @rintarovibes @bakarinnie @tooru-luvs @szeonn @jojowantstocry @sunavf @geektastic84 @lilith412426 @speakfrenchbetweenmythighs @kenmaslov3r @crustycookiebestie @art-junkie-13 @joy-laufeyson @tetsuhoes @neologyro @chirity-chu @shoyotime @sakusasimpbot

#put a ring on it! #haikyuu smau #hq smau #oikawa smau #oikawa tooru smau #oikawa tooru #oikawa angst #oikawa fluff #oikawa x reader #oikawa x you #oikawa x y/n #oikawa tooru x reader #oikawa tooru x you #oikawa tooru x y/n #haikyuu!! #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x y/n #haikyuu angst #haikyuu fluff #hq #hq x reader #hq x you #hq x y/n #hq angst #hq fluff #hq oikawa

[dcmiiniic]

hi, it me, mini from the block --- bringing you another muse, and he is my lil bb. also @maddisvn’s brother bc i love lia. so uh, read the intro (srry if its a bit long), like this and I WILL mssge you for plots and threads. the messier the better, bc im a messy biiih. ily.

❛ new york’s very own Dominic Parker was spotted on broadway street in  Off-White White 3.0 Off-Court Sneakers. your resemblance to Reece King is unreal. according to tmz, you just had your twenty third birthday bash. while living in new york, you’ve been labeled as being impatient, but also idealistic. i guess being a sagittarius explains that. three things that would paint a better picture of you would be reading a book by the beach, torn up runners, and neon highlighters & ( cismale & he/him )

Basic Information

Full Name: Dominic Omar Parker

Nickname(s): d, dom

Age: 23

Date of Birth: December 20th 1995

Zodiac sign: sagittarius

Hogwarts house: ravenclaw

Ethnicity: african-american/white

Nationality: american

Gender: cis male

Pronouns: he/him

Orientation: bisexual

Religion: agnostic

Language(s) Spoken: english 

Accent: american

Favourites

Weather: summer

Colour: green

Music: logic, big sean, etc.

Movies: the lion king

Sport: track + field, basketball

Beverage: hennessy or red label

Food: doubles! and plantains with cheese.

Animal: sea lions + turtles

Family

Father: henderson parker

Mother: cassandra parker

Sibling(s): maddison parker + older bro (WC)

Children:  aaliyah strawberry parker, 1 yr. (stormi webster fc)

Pet(s): a turtle named franklin

BIOGRAPHY

dominic grew up in san francisco, california. his favorite thing growing up was hanging out at pier 39 and just watching the sea lions chill all day on top of the boards. regardless of the smell. he loved the fact that it didn’t rain or snow, the weather was just ideal. it allowed him to thrive when things were constant with minor changes.

dominic feels most at home by the ocean. he finds it peaceful since it’s calm and quiet besides the sounds of the water crashing together.

@ 15, dominic and the rest of the parkers moved over to NYC cos their dad got a job there and tb he hated it. 

he had to be the new kid, at a new school, in a new city but, dominic is the type of person to blend in so making a whole new life barely came with challenges. he was able to work a room, and he was smart to figure things out easily. 

he made a lot of friends, went to the randomest of parties, all while maintaining a high average in school and keeping A1 appearances.

FAMILY

since the parkers were well off, dominic didn’t have to work for anything when it came to getting things he wanted - but what he did have to work for was getting his father’s approval on almost every part of his life.

being one of the only two boys, there was a lot riding on them to do things. going to school, getting the best grades, making sure you’re always presentable - and bc dominic just wanted to please his dad, he did everything he could. he studied a lot, he did a lot of volunteer work and thankfully for him he liked to study, so studying a lot wasn’t a problem.

dominic rlly struggled being the middle child, but don’t get him wrong, he loves his siblings. believe it or not, he still loves his dad, and he’s a big time momma’s boy. 

even while his dad talks a lot of smack about him, dominic still attends family events, dinners and the works, to please his dad and so it wouldn’t be stressful on his mom. 

CAREER 

dominic is a nerd, a smartass. his grades were always high, especially when it came to liberal arts.

it wasn’t really his choice if he went into university, it was expected. dominic didn’t think much of it besides that he had to do it. 

he went to columbia university for law, and he got his degree in that, and he was doing his graduate legal studies until he got scouted by the New York Knicks.

he grew up with a lot of stress riding on his back, and being the middle child really sucked when you had to have as much of responsibility as the oldest, still be looked at as the younger sibling but at the same time having to take care of the youngest. 

what he did on his past time was run. whether it was around the block, or around the track, dominic found it peaceful just to be by himself where his heart rate went up to the point he couldn’t breathe and he’d fall onto the ground. years of doing so earned him a spot on the track + field team, and because he was good at it, his dad put him in on basketball teams since he was fast enough to make home runs - multiple times.

Basketball was never his first choice at anything, if he could, dominic would do track and field but as far as his dad was concerned, basketball was the better path between the two. so that’s what he did to please his dad. 

dropping out of columbia though, that was dominic’s choice. he figured, he already got his degree, his masters could be put on hold while he played basketball. 

it seemed like a good idea to him, but since then he has a pretty rocky relationship with his dad.

he was never meant to be the black sheep of the family. he was supposed to have this picture perfect image, probably be the next Barack Obama - but that didn’t work out. 

Being an athlete wasn’t the same as being an academic. it took a lot of work physically, and at the end of the games he was left with such a rush. it was a completely different kind of satisfaction.

PERSONAL LIFE

for once dominic didn’t have to worry about hitting the books or the next test. his main focus was basketball and keeping an image that was easier to maintain. this came with a lot of partying and a lot of - accidents.

one night, when he was too drunk to function, he woke up the next day in a random girl’s bed. not that that was anything special but it definitely was when he got a call saying she was pregnant. so 9 months later, aaliyah strawberry parker came into this world. she is currently 1 year and a few months, and that little babe added a light into dominic’s life. 

he was never prepared to be a dad DILF, but he’s a damn good one! he keeps his life separate when he’s with his daughter.

he’s not with his baby momma, but they have a solid relationship, sometimes rocky, sometimes not but y’know. it happens. 

so far, dominic hasn’t introduce aaliyah to any of his family members except maddison. it’s not a secret, it’s just something he doesn’t want to do considering the rocky relationship he has with his dad. 

currently, besides being a baskeball player and a dad, dominic is just figuring things out as he goes. he loves to read, and paint, and sometimes when he’s bored he’ll take a class on something just to feel mentally stimulated. 

he’s always curious, and loves to travel to wherever he can. 

he’s a mfng fuckboy. just bcos he had a kid, doesn’t mean it’s gonna stop him from messing around. he’s just extra careful with it. 

even tho he’s not talking with his dad, and he’s doing his own thing, he rlly still hopes in a way he’s making his dad proud. 

he gets emo sometimes bc he didn’t turn out the way his parents wanted him to, and cos he doesn’t have the best relationship with them - but that’s why, at the very least he has close friends and siblings. 

he lives by himself in a fairly decent apartment with his turtle that he named franklin, bc he can’t own a sea lion. 

PERSONALITY

dominic is always fun. he was the one in the group of friends that made the jokes, and made everyone feel comfortable. he was always out there hugging his friends and chilling, laying around.

this was the guy that brought a textbook to a party bc he wanted to get lit but also had a test the next day to study for.

he’s been given so many expectations his whole life, he really doesn’t like it now. he just wants to be free and do his own thing.

he cares a lot about people, sometimes he’s too nice and doesn’t see the way it’ll back fire on him.

he’s smart in a lot of other ways. take him to a museum and it’s like returning an alien to the mothership. 

he believes in positive thinking, his mind is always open, and is never one to judge - or he tries not to judge bc he grew up judging other people that he doesn’t want to do that anymore.

he loves to be outdoors and walking around barefoot on the grass. 

a lot of things come easy to him. he’s sociable and charming, and loves adventure.

WANTED CONNECTIONS 

some connections based off of muse posts :)

one

two

three

four

five

six

seven

eight

nine

ten

besides that, i’m down for anything !

unrequited connections

toxic relationship/friendship

brotps

give me a SQUAD

first loves

childhood friendships

sibling type friendships

exes on good and bad terms

all the fwb~ 

creative type friends

enemies plots pls

crossword puzzle friends pls

#wealthyhq:intro #who do i think i am bringing in another chara #when ky is already a handful wHEEWW #but pls lub him too #i will love u back dkfjghf

[lightrivals]

so . endgame . this is gonna be a spoiler filled review so pls skip this if u haven’t watched it!! forewarning: this is a relatively positive review and I’m a tony stan so if you disliked the movie / tony stark and want to find more ppl like you, you are not gonna find it here but I am gonna critique a few things too bc there were issues to be addressed. also, while this is a Hot Také™️ opinion piece that doesn’t mean I lack the ability to understand or even agree with the opposing opinions; this is just what I came out the theater with and still think about after discussion with others.

Anyway let’s begin!

Personally, Endgame gave me great closure for one of my favorite characters. I’m extremely Tony biased like, to a very extreme degree but he’s a character I connect with who has personally helped me through the years with his story so I think my attachment and bias can be excused a little. Even with that bias, I believe I can also understand other characters without the “I Love Tony Stark So Much” goggles shaping what I see. This is also gonna focus on the main six because this movie is dedicated to them, but all the other characters were awesome and I enjoyed their cameos/presence.

I’m gonna talk about Tony first because he’s my main focus for being so invested in the MCU. I’ve been watching the MCU since it started and 11 years later, seeing my favorite character, a character I connected with so much especially because of IM3 where he had anxiety and panic attacks like I was having at the time / still have (to a lesser degree though), die hurts so much. I could not stop crying in about the last hour when I knew he was gonna die. I’ve said it before on this site that the logical conclusion for his story is death. The only way Tony is gonna leave the armor as he’s been trying to since Avengers 1 is to die. He IS Iron Man, Iron Man is HIM, there is no difference. The only way Iron Man is over is if his life ends, too. So with that I figured this would be the end for him. I’ve been thinking he’s gonna die since Infinity War so, his death was not too much of a surprise. It still hurt like hell to see it happen, to know he’s truly gone. What hurts the most is that Morgan Stark will never truly know her father personally. She’s too young to remember much but at least she has his legacy surrounding her and loving her, knowing her father exchanged his life for her and everyone else on Earth to live freely. I did like that Tony got to see his dad one last time while he was a father himself. He got to come to terms with his dad in a way he never could before. RDJ’s acting was on point in this movie and I love him for what he’s done with Tony Stark.

I also want to point out the talk between Tony and Steve when Tony returns. I found this conversation to be very vital in addressing the issues between the two and why they possibly lost in Infinity War. I’ve said this before but the obvious thing is that the Avengers probably stood a chance against Thanos if they weren’t all split up thanks to the events of Civil War. Steve said they would fight together and lose together but as Tony points out, they didn’t lose together. They lost separately and Tony was stranded from Earth in space miles away for a month starving and dying. He had foreseen what was gonna happen and tried his best to achieve protection—his armor around the world plan—but the others merely chided him for it and then fought each other because of the consequences of not wanting that particular armor. And then they lost in the end, separated and Tony is torn. He is damaged and weak and sick and tired, he was nearly murdered and he lost the kid in turn. It is a sad moment and I was very happy it wasn’t immediate apologies when Tony arrived. The others had a month to reconcile but Tony was still dealing with what he faced alone with only Nebula and the ashes of Peter in his mind. I really enjoyed that conversation and found it to be a really good prelude to how the rest of the movie would pan out. When he took off the arc reactor and shoved it at Steve and told Steve to run and hide, gave Steve the armor and told him to do something about it…powerful stuff right there.

Now about Tony’s death: I think it was really important for him to do the final snap of ending Thanos’ war. He and Thanos have been the two at odds with each other this entire time. We know it’s going to eventually end up being him against Thanos like it was in Infinity War. But when he took the stones from Thanos and said “I am Iron Man” in retaliation to Thanos claiming he was inevitable!! Thanos is always gonna come but as long as Tony is Iron man, he will be defeated. Tony is the one who can save the universe and I think it’s also super important that he uses the most dangerous weapon ever. Tony protects the world with weapons, he started off profiting from it, but grows throughout the movies to eventually be trusted to use the most powerful weapon in the universe to save it. The Avengers trust him to use it for good and he trusts them to deal with the stones afterwards. It’s beautiful, it so beautiful. He dies with two families: his biological/iron fam and his superhero family. He dies trusting them to carry on not only his legacy but the legacy of Earth, of the Avengers, of avenging the universe in full. He is Iron Man and he finally gets to rest. He gets to put down the armor and save the universe like he’s been trying for years with the Avengers’ trust backing him up. Personally, I believe this is the hero death Tony deserved. He used to be a man who was feared for the destruction he caused and he went through a deep and thorough redemption and self-realizations to then be trusted to use the most destructive weapon for the greater good.

Now on to Thor and Bruce, two characters who I have an issue with in terms of their characterization. Thor’s dealing with a lot of shit. Understandable as hell; his story is probably the most dark given he has no living family anymore. Tony got lucky and his loved ones, Peter aside, survived. Thor lost everyone. He killed Thanos, he went for the head, but still didn’t win. His depression, anxiety, and PTSD is so valid. What I hate is that he didn’t get the same treatment in Endgame Tony got in IM3. Yes, Thor’s is a lot darker of a situation but he didn’t need to be the brunt of jokes. I understand that he is over 1000 years old and in the grand scheme of things, this moment in time is a blink and a bit of a sick joke. I understand that he falls back into his old Viking ways of alcoholism and whatnot. It’s totally understandable but I will always be disappointed in how it was approached. They still could have been humor and jokes without resorting to petty insults. I am glad though that his weight gain did not suddenly disappear. The way the Russo’s went about presenting it was insulting and demeaning but I feel it’s important as well to show that his weight gain wasn’t gonna suddenly disappear now that he’s back to being the mighty Thor.

Bruce was…okay I like Professor Hulk. I think it’s important that Bruce come to terms with his Hulk nature but the point of Hulk is that he’s angry and he unleashes it with smashing and I was just. Expecting more Hulk smash and still that dichotomy even if Bruce has come to terms with being Hulk. The thing I like is that Bruce, who was always scared of his persona as Hulk killing people got to bring back billions of lives as Hulk instead of taking those lives away. Anyway, I had that small beef with Hulk but it wasn’t as much as say against Thor. Bruce’s humor was lighter and not as insulting, it was a refreshing continuation of his Ragnarok/Infinity War characterization.

Speaking of Ragnarok, let’s talk Loki. Loki is my second favorite character and let’s be real, all Loki stans were basically expecting more out of Endgame when it came to this character. I figured he would be in flashbacks but I was hoping still maybe it would be more?? I said before that perhaps Tony breaks Loki out to get the tesseract and I mean, that did kinda happen. But at least we know we have a divergent 2012 timeline and this is probably where the Loki TV show is gonna be set. I’m definitely interested in seeing what happens in that alternate universe but we won’t see that for another two years so, just a big sigh. And also I’ve seen on twitter at least people upset that Thor didn’t talk to Loki when he went back to Asgard. Loki and Thor were at odds and not friends during The Dark World. I don’t think Thor talking to Loki would have done anything important, it wouldn’t have changed anything and it certainly wouldn’t have helped him with his task of getting the Aether from Jane. While it would have been nice to see more Loki when Thor went back to 2013, I think what we did see was the most that could have happened while Thor was also dealing with seeing his mother again.

On the topic of Loki, he seems to like go about as Steve, huh? I thought it was a cute nod to the scene from TDW (I cant remember if it was deleted or not I haven’t seen that movie in years lol) when he shape shifted into Steve to taunt the Avengers. Cheeky Loki is great and so is cheeky Steve. “I could do this all day” and “Yeah, I know, I know.” The Steve vs Steve fight was also really cool. I was surprise he used the mind stone to stop himself though? And I thought it was funny when he said “hail hydra” to get by with the scepter. Now onto Steve’s whole time loop. I am disgruntled but also weirdly okay with how that all ended. I am not anti-Steve in any manner but his MCU characterization is not on my personal top list of Cap storylines. I’ve seen someone say this before and I found I kinda agreed with it. Steve’s progression is becoming more and more selfish when it comes to keeping his family safe while in parallel Tony’s progression is becoming more and more selfless when it comes to keeping his own family safe. Very different takes on how to protect family, but I think it would be wrong to ignore that part of Steve’s story. He will do any and everything to keep Bucky alive at his side, to keep Sam safe, to keep the integrity of the Avengers alive even at the cost of his personal freedom. He wants, no needs, to have his family with him. He will risk damaging relations with everyone else to keep them save. That’s admirable.

That being said, Steve going back in time to be with Peggy is a pathetic conclusion even if I can come to terms with it. In my opinion, Steve is the only Avenger righteous enough to be able to go back to the past to fulfill his own timeline and not do anything about what is coming next. He takes a huge risk in staying back in time to be with Peggy; letting Hydra infiltrate SHIELD is one thing he could not change. No matter what, Thanos is coming. He is inevitable. But Tony is Iron Man, and Tony can only be Iron Man in the first place if he gets kidnapped in Afghanistan. This only happens because of Obadiah’s jealousy and greed, which comes out of Tony becoming CEO of Stark Industries after his parent’s premature deaths. Their premature deaths only happen because Bucky became the Winter Soldier and was brainwashed to kill them. These things have to happen in order for Thanos to be defeated so Steve has to keep these things alive. This also means he has to marry Peggy after he crashed in the ice so there are two Steve’s in the universe, one who is Peggy’s husband and another who is Captain America. He gets the future he always wanted and the superhero story he was born to be a part of. The biggest pieces of bullshit about this storyline is 1) Peggy being used as nothing but someone for Steve to lust over 2) Steve coming back somehow in the end as an old guy. You could sort of explain point 2 by saying old Steve always existed so it’s not actually disrupting the timeline, things are always supposed to be this. You know how in some time travel movies the present/future happens bc someone went back into the past and their actions caused it? Maybe Steve is something like that. I know they explained that it creates a split timeline but if old Steve is always there then it’s not a split timeline it’s just the regular timeline. It still doesn’t explain why old Steve was right there with the Avengers after they sent 2023 Steve to the past. Major plot hole. Also I don’t think him leaving Bucky in 2023 is a plot hole; Bucky has to live his life post being Hydra’s Winter Soldier and without Steve’s shadow over him. It’s gonna be great to see Bucky working with a new Captain America and forming a friendship with Sam.

Side note: I am so pleased about Falcon!Cap that is what I’ve wanted for years in mcu now and it’s here! That is definitely something I am grateful for in all of this. Another thing I liked is Valkyrie becoming the Queen of Asgard and Thor exploring the galaxy with the Guardians. Also Pepper in the Rescue suit, that made me super excited! Seeing all the ladies team up was very fun.

Anyway, on to the last two of the main six Avengers: Clint and Natasha. I think I saw some people upset about Natasha’s death…she was in a very dark place mentally but her sacrifice for her family to live on is just as important as Tony’s. They both exchanged their lives to save the universe and so her death was not pointless at all. It also is a great show of how much Clint loved her, how much he risked to save her and indict her into SHIELD after he was sent to off her all those years ago. As she said in Avengers, they all have blood on their hands, some more than others. This was her way of returning the lives she took just as Tony has done the same by snapping away Thanos’ army at the cost of his life. She was the soul they needed for these three Avengers—Natasha, Bruce, and Tony—who have taken many lives with their own hands if not just obscene amounts of violence, to reverse the Snap and save the universe. Clint can be included actually but since he was Ronin when he was slaying people for revenge I put that separate from when he returned to the Avengers.

MCU Clint isn’t my fave Avenger, both because of Renner and because of his characterization. But Endgame made me like him more, especially in the first five minutes or so as he taught his daughter archery and connected with his family. That was a beautiful opening scene and it wrenched my heart to see his family get dusted away. His dark turn was kinda corny imo I mean, the whole badass punk hipster vibe was funny but I really liked seeing him and Natasha interacting and being friends again. I’m glad he had a sword because while bow and arrow comes in handy, the battle requires close combat and he definitely was gonna get killed if he didn’t have something more than arrows.

Also the quantum realm suits grew on me…they are still ugly but it’s a tolerable ugly now.

AH! important point: Nebula’s storyline! I really liked how she had to literally kill her past self in order to keep herself and her sister alive. That side plot of Nebula battling herself was great and allowed for nice growth of her character and how her past self tried to sabotage her future.

Final point is that I enjoyed the movie for what it is: a beautiful close to the story of the Infinity Saga. It is meant to be a homage to the fans who have seen all the movies, who have followed the MCU for as long as they could. I don’t think this is meant to be for casual viewers, not that you can’t watch casually, but you definitely have to watch knowing what happened before. They don’t introduce Captain Marvel or Antman’s Quantum realm stuff much. It’s probably confusing if you haven’t seen Captain Marvel or the Antman movies. You’re expected to know what came before and I mean, it makes sense. Money making franchise or not, there’s a lot going on in this movie and taking the time to introduce new things over and over is not worth it.

tl;dr: Endgame is the story about end of the two who started the MCU, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. I think you could even say that Steve stuck by Tony’s side until the end of the line. The two leaders of the Avengers, side by side and trusting each other again to get the job done. That is the Endgame because part of the journey is the end and doing whatever it takes to get there. My final thought (before rewatch because lbr, I will most likely watch again) is that I am very grateful for the chance to love Tony Stark as I have, to love him 3000 and 3000 times more and more. I love you, Tony Stark. You can rest now, my love. The universe is indeed safe in your hands~

#mcu #marvel #endgame #avengers endgame #avengers endgame spoilers #tony stark #iron man #steve rogers #captain america #infinity saga #yams rambles #thor #bruce banner #hulk #natasha romanov #black widow #clint barton #hawkeye #ronin #loki #loki laufeyson #the stark gauntlet dream of mine came true #same with falcon cap and the rescue suit #i love tony stark to the end of the world and beyond

[avasilvugh]

Outside of their family, how are the kids doing socially? Do they make friends, trust people easily? Do they have a hard time keeping their powers a secret? Does one of their moms being a Luthor affect the way people act around them? How do they deal with their moms kinda being in the public eye?

oof well this started fluffy and got angsty and then got cute again so do with that what u will

so for the most part?  the kiddos do alright!!!  they rlly do, like they’re all enough like kara that ofc they attracts ppl like moths to flame

finn’s like easily one of the most popular kids in school, starting from elementary school and like he’s not one of the traditionally popular boys??  like he’s not a jock and he’s not one of those uber macho dudes but he cares so deeply and fully and like all the girls love him to death and all the uber macho dudes for the most part love him to death as well 

like he’s rlly soft and kind and remembers ppls birthdays and who has a nut allergy so he always makes sure to make a separate safe batch of baked goods for bake sales.  he’s that kid that’s got tabs on everyone and knows who is having a bad week and who might need someone to eat with at lunch and he makes it look so fun to be nice??  that he just manages to lead by example and national city prep academy is a nicer place for him being in it

maia’s that ride or die friend like she’s super intense and kind of scary tbh but god when she picks you, she Picks you and she’ll keep picking you, keep standing up for you, keep vehemently defending u until her dying day tbh like she loves so much like kara, once she sees the good in you, once she’s decided ur one of her ppl, she’ll fight everyone in her sight for u and that is so wildly appreciated, like she has all the girls at school wanting to have her on their side, in their corner and the best thing is that she is, she will be, no questions asked

like??  she’s not half as soft as finn but she’s just as caring, just as loving and she like??  doesnt have a cult following, but she definitely is that hot ass senior that has all the underclassmen stumbling over themselves bc she nodded at one of them in the hall during passing period and stella dies a little inside bc all her friends are in love with maia to some degree

stella is the one that struggles the most socially??  bc everyone loves finn and maia doesnt give a shit if some ppl dont like her, barely notices it, but stella is a little quieter and a little bit different and she kind of weirds ppl out bc she’s just as intense as maia but she doesnt have the cool factor, she stumbles over her feet and stammers and gets easily overwhelmed and most ppl get a little weirded out by how stella always seems to know how they’re feeling??  can sort of predict whats coming in a conversation???

but god when she makes friends, they are so so protective of her.  like??  stella is disliked by a lot of ppl, is a pretty easy target but her friends love her so so deeply bc she knows how to help them best, is v careful with their feelings in a way that not a lot of kids think to be u know??  she’s not the most popular, but she’s p well insulated by the time she hits high school, has a rlly solid group of friends that stick close to her

this kind of goes hand in hand with the first part but here’s some other anecdotes lmao

finn makes friends so so easily like that boy walks into a room and within the first ten minutes he’s already got five new friends like??  he’s probably one of those student ambassadors, shows all the new kids around the campus tbh and like for sure has brownies or something to give them

like???  he’s for sure voted mr congeniality.  For Sure.  he collects friends and favors so easily and so quickly and he loves them all so much, you would think that maybe some friendships arent as deep as others and that’s true, but that doesnt mean he doesnt love those friends just as much, wouldnt drop what he’s doing to go pick them up bc their car died on the highway

that said, he doesnt trust super easily??  like he’s p wary in general, a little more suspicious of ppl than he ever lets on.  like it takes him a Long time to rlly ever tell his rlly close friends any big details abt himself.  it takes him even longer to ever invite ppl over to the house, even tho his moms are like you can??  pls do??  have a childhood kiddo

maia takes a little longer to make friends i think??  but that’s more a matter of her not noticing someone is trying to be friends with her, like she’s sort of above it all a lot of the times, often wrapped up in her own head.  but like i said, she’s p intense so once she’s noticed, she’ll dive in head first like all in, ride or die

and its so funny bc she is so so like non-plussed by things like what movie to see or stuff like that, she’s kind of a rlly great friend without meaning to??  like oh, yall were planning to do a mall night but ur period started and u dont have the energy and now u just want to lie around and eat ice cream??  she’ll pick up ur fave flavors and probably a couple redbox rentals and is down for a movie night, maybe becomes ur favorite person in that exact moment

she actually trusts ppl more easily than finn, if only bc generally the ppl that are more insistent abt actually getting to know her, not just that scary person she puts forward are usually ppl that genuinely care abt her and want the best for her??  that said, she gets in with a bad crowd and dates this super fucking awful abusive asshole that sort of destroys that innate trust for a while.  she gets it back eventually, thanks to those friends she had before the entire experience, who stood by her even when she tried to push them away

stella takes the longest to make friends??  she’s like that shy kid in the corner that wont make eye contact but when she does u feel like she’s probably seen ur soul and knows all ur secrets (which....techincally she doesnt see souls and only knows maybe four or five of ur secrets) but she’s rlly sweet and v earnest and ppl sort of find her endearing after a while

like??  she finally finds her ppl when she joins the drama department and switches soccer teams and gets into debate and starts a chess club, like??  when she starts actually embracing who she is and not trying to model herself after maia or finn or kara or lena, when she sort of loses herself in doing things that are actually interesting to her and not just what gets her the least negative responses from other ppl, she makes so many friends !!!  like girl just has to get out of her own head sometimes

of the three kiddos, she definitely trusts the easiest, just bc like??  she knows what ppls intentions are, knows when someone’s hiding something from her or has ulterior motives for trying to befriend her.  like most of the work is done for her just at first meeting like she rlly doesnt have to worry too much abt trusting ppl

they all sort of struggle with hiding their powers??  some more than others for sure

like finn probably struggles more than maia??  bc maia keeps taking that power-suppressant all through school, but finn wants to learn to control himself, wants to not be as dependent on something else to make him more human, safer for others to be around.  so he wears the glasses and softens his touch and makes sure he never moves too quickly, gives up on sports and works hard to never get angry, never let the hum of his heat vision get too distracting 

its rlly hard when he’s around his friends, harder when he starts dating, bc other ppl dont have to worry abt the stuff he has to worry abt??  like he has to have like a lot of talks with kara abt it bc he gets overwhelmed a lot, worries a lot abt accidentally hurting someone he loves

maia on the other hand struggles more with the lying??  like she has this ride or die mentality and it fucks her up that she cant tell the ppl she trusts this giant secret abt her, this thing that defines her existence??  Fucks Her Up tbh like.....she’s like a vault, her friends confess all their shit to her and she hates that she cant do the same??  cant do that without endangering her brother and sister and moms and, rlly, her entire family and she’s not going to do that, wont ever do that

so like she struggles with that, but the actual powers part of it isnt as big of a thing for her bc she keeps taking the suppressant bc she just??  doesnt trust herself not to.  doesnt trust the power in her hands, like she wont take it on the weekends bc thats when kara trains her and finn, takes them to the deo to spar but during the week, when she doesnt have kara’s steady presence to ground her, finn’s quiet hand at her shoulder to stop her when she’s about to go too far

stella struggles with it but its different??  like she’s not hiding superhuman strength or the ability to fly or anything so conspicuous, but she has to like.....constantly monitor what she says and how she acts towards ppl that dont know like??  ppl get kind of weirded out when she knows stuff abt them or like....knows their heart or some shit when they’ve only rlly known each other for a few months

that said, she also gets away with a whole lot by just saying she’s rlly empathetic with this weird little smirk that her friends think is just her poking fun at the fact that she can be kind of spacey and not super aware abt other stuff all the time but lol little do they know

i mean??  at school??  most ppl dont know like she’s mrs danvers or (insert kiddos name)’s mom and like especially in elementary school, she’s not the one at pta meetings bc she knows what will happen if other parents see her and make the connection??  so its usually kara and she usually flies under the radar, like ppl kind of know that she’s the kara danvers from page six, wife of lena luthor and doing the gala circuit when needed, but no one ever like rlly registers it ya know??

likes the kiddos friends kind of put it together but she’s still just mrs danvers to them, their friends rlly cool mom that helps them do these rlly awesome science experiments when they come over and are bored.  a couple ppls parents find out and refuse to let their kids go over anymore and the kids dont understand why and lena like.....lost tbh.  like how does she explain that??  how does she let them know its her fault, that she did this to them by association and for that she is truly sorry

but like the kiddos rlly just let it roll of their backs like it only happens maybe a handful of times and their friends are still their friends at school

but like??  when they get older, they get more vocal, like??  they’re proud of their mother and theyre so fucking sick of hearing the weird, awful comments ppl make about luthors whenever lex winds up in the news again and maia reaches a point of just FUCK OFF levels of anger, starts screaming IM A LUTHOR TOO, MOTHERFUCKER when she tackles someone in the hallway after hearing superman should do the world a favor and just get rid of that entire rats nest during passing period and that’s sort of what outs them all

things change a little after that??  like most of their friends stick around, but there is definitely a wariness towards the danvers kiddos after that, but they bear it with pride, like finn and stella arent upset in the slightest.  like??  so they lost a couple friends; good, better leave now bc they love their mom a whole hell of a lot more than those ppl and that’s never going to change

like??  they rlly arent that aware of the weird spotlight they live in for a while when they’re small, particularly maia and finn like......kara and lena kept their relationship rlly rlly quiet for a long time.  like??  no one knew they were an item until they rlly needed to come out and say it, and then they got engaged and married rlly quietly, just family and lena kept her name professionally so no one rlly knew.  and they kept her pregnancy under wraps, not necessarily hiding??  but just not announcing it either and quite honestly the press doesnt know abt finn until some opportunistic pap gets a shot of kara and lena with little roly poly finn at the park, looking every bit the deliriously happy family they are.  its much the same for maia, with no one outside of their little circle of friends and family knowing abt her until someone catches a picture of them with two little ones, not one.  and like stella??  hell, stella doesnt rlly get a debut until she’s nearly four tbh and its bc she v seriously asks to be lena’s date to her gala and like how was lena going to say no to that request

that said, when they get older, they’re kind of prime targets for some asshole opportunistic paps to swarm and try and get quotes from, try and smear the luthor name some more.  lena issues a no nonsense statement that she’s fair game, but her children are off limits.  catco worldwide issues a similar statement, that the family lives of their reporters are not open for discussion and that such targeting of children is a reprehensible act that has no place in journalism

that helps, that and the ruthless way their family encircles them, fights the press and tabloids and fights to give the kiddos as normal of a life as possible.  and like???  they rlly do.  there’s a couple incidents where the heightened scrutiny was noticeable, but mostly??  the kiddos rlly dont notice, just flip the newspaper over when its lex on the front page or switch whatever gossip show off when the topic comes round to lena, little things like that that help them live as normally as they can

#supergirl #supercorp #lena luthor #kara danvers #superbabies #anonymous #human interaction

[andpegqy]

hey how u doin im gna just talk about things that happened recently so anw on friday sin squad went out tgt to orchard but m (using initials cos ## privacy) left early and then the 3 of us just wandered around underground trying to find shaw house because i knew how to get there but didnt know what it was and the other 2 knew what it was but didn't know how to get there and otw we stopped by krispy kreme and they bought donuts but i didnt bc i had no (0) money and s let me have the first (1/2)

bite of their donut?? that shit cost like 5 dollars and i was so fuckin touched man idk why but like ya,, dont tell them but ye we were talking about this at sunday folks during lj week n i stand by the statement that i would Literally Die for s ok so moving on anw in the underpass to shaw house they dropped their donut and me and v were like :0 but s was like ehh five second rule and just picked it up and ate it?? Heck ya anyway so that was my friday also on that day someone didn’t show (2/?)

up to prac and i was so relieved bc wow freedom from the sourness but also like,, i feel like a bad senior u know?? ok but lets,, not,, dwell on that for too long i’ll sort it out at some point but ya it was a pretty ok prac and i started watching shadowhunters tv s2 which is wildly emotional and i keep having to take breaks during the emotional scenes,, i cried at 3 am yesterday because of this show i am !! Heck bc literally almost no show has made me cry this much before its really good (3/?)

and i think the scriptwriters are doing a really really good job with portraying like?? everything?? like plot and relationships and setting and literally everything. perfect it did so much justice to the books and im lowkey mad cos like?? cassie clare literally wrote the books but by this point i don’t really think she’s doing that great of a job with portrayals and stuff (its an opinion pls Do Not quote me on this) and ya i cant believe the show is doing a better job than the (4/?)

Actual Writers. btw sorry im talking sm?? i didn’t think i would have this much to say but recently i can’t stop talking anw here are some of my favourite saved songs on spotify:: daughtry’s waiting for superman, 1d’s drag me down, all time low’s missing you, p!atd’s hallelujah, 5sos’ heartache on the big screen, the sam willows’ for love, troye sivan’s entire blue neighbourhood album, the cab’s angel with a shotgun, parachute’s kiss me slowly, mayday parade’s i swear this time i mean it, (5/?)

bruno mars’ when i was your man and grenade, smash mouth’s all star (it’s not just a meme i actually like it end me), 1d’s infinity, a.m., fool’s gold and perfect, the script’s superheroes and six degrees of separation, kinna granis’ cover of closer, how far i’ll go and you’re welcome from the moana soundtrack, ed sheeran’s don’t, drunk, lego house, homeless, the a team and friends !! im sorry this is like an hour long playlist and you’ve probably heard all of these songs (6 or 7/?)

bc my music taste is wildly mainstream but i hope you feel better soon !! (im DONE i need to stop talking so much/7 or 8)

that was actually 7 btw but ty babe u r great sighs im glad u had a good time though,,, also @ s eating food off the ground is Gross esp in a dirty ass place like shaw house what in Heck. also,, i have indeed heard most of them but ty anyway lots of love to u 

#tammie #ask n u shall receive

[instantdeerlover]

Where To Eat When It Might Randomly Rain For 20 Minutes added to Google Docs

Where To Eat When It Might Randomly Rain For 20 Minutes

Summer weather in NYC is as unpredictable as the city’s garbage collection schedule or the timing of your upstairs neighbor’s HIIT workouts. One minute it’s 91 degrees and sunny, and the next, the earth is throwing a temper tantrum. When it comes to finding a restaurant on a day when the forecast is iffy, use this guide. Each spot has outdoor dining with fully-covered tables so you and your food won’t turn into soggier, unhappier versions of yourselves.

the spots Super Pollo $ $ $ $ Latin  in  Queens ,  Ridgewood $$$$ 865 Woodward Ave

Not even our greatest enemies deserve wet chicken - and we would never wish that experience upon you. This Ecuadorian spot in Ridgewood has a couple of awnings as well as a tent set up on their sidewalk. Stop by for some chicken, empanadas, and margaritas on a first come, first served basis.

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A post shared by SUPER POLLO RESTAURANT (@superpollorestaurant) on Jul 3, 2020 at 11:10pm PDT

The Armory Bar $$$$ 67 4th Ave

If you’re looking for an outdoor living room of sorts, stop by The Armory’s garden patio and order some charcuterie and cocktails. Sure, they don’t have games or couches, but we’re guessing they can make better drinks than you can (plus, you won’t get soaked if it rains). Check out their menu here.

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A post shared by The Armory (@thearmorybk) on Jul 3, 2020 at 1:23pm PDT

Pilot $ $ $ $ Seafood  in  Brooklyn ,  Brooklyn Heights $$$$ Pier 6, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Counterintuitively, the best way to stay dry near Brooklyn Bridge Park is to go as close to the water as humanly possible and get on a boat called Pilot. This oyster bar has yellow-striped awnings set up all over its boat space. They’re only holding a limited number of spots for walk-ins, and you can go through their website here to make a reservation (or, if it’s raining while you’re reading this, see if there are currently any tables available.

La Esquina Brasserie $ $ $ $ Mexican  in  Nolita $$$$ 114 Kenmare St.

La Esquina on Kenmare Street in Soho has perhaps the best accidental awning situation our fair city can offer: scaffolding. Hang out for a margarita and some juicy carnitas tacos the next time you need a covered pit-stop.

Sorry—looks like you screwed up that email address

INFATUATION NEWSLETTER Get our newest guides & reviews first,

plus more restaurant intel you won't find anywhere else. ATL ATX BOS CHI LDN LA MIA NYC PHL SF SEA DC Subscribe Smart move. Excellent information will arrive in your inbox soon. Do you have friends and family who also eat food? Enter their emails below and we’ll make sure they’re eating well. (Don’t worry, we won’t subscribe them to our newsletter - they can do that themselves.) Help Your Friends No Thanks Well done. You’re a good person. All good. We still like you. Want to quickly find restaurants on the go? Download The Infatuation app.   Amma $$$$ 246 E 51st St

The set up at this Indian restaurant on 51st Street is kind of like a block party, but with onion kulcha and tandoori prawns instead of half-deflated bouncy castles and six-year olds maniacally chasing you with a bubble wand. They have a big tent in the parking lane with string lights and spaced-out tables, and you can watch a video of their service during a rainstorm below.

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A post shared by Amma (@ammanyc) on Jun 29, 2020 at 5:59am PDT

Shanghai You Garden $$$$ 135-33 40th Rd

Shanghai You Garden has a few tents sent up in the parking lane on their street in Flushing. They’re open every day from 6pm to 10pm, and if you spend at least $10, you get a free order of their pork soup dumplings. This is good news considering any order of their soup dumplings are worth getting rained on while you walk to the restaurant.

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A post shared by Shanghai You Garden (@shanghaiyougarden) on Jun 28, 2020 at 9:46am PDT

Basquiat's Bottle $$$$ 1198 Fulton St

Basquiat’s Bottle is a restaurant, cocktail bar, and event space in Bed-Stuy. While they can’t host any parties in their indoor gallery right now, they’re still serving to-go cocktails and snacks at their spot on Fulton Street. You can order takeout online, or stop by for outdoor dining on their covered patio (and stay connected to their Instagram page here for announcements about future outdoor events).

Raoul's $ $ $ $ French  in  SoHo $$$$ 180 Prince St.

If you’re in Soho and you smell wet pavement, you can run to one of the tents outside of Raoul’s and eat their excellent steak au poivre while staring at a rainy, tourist-less Prince Street. We encourage this New York experience, if only because the combination of peppery meat and rainfall may finally inspire you to write your graphic novel that personifies a piece of steak as an anti-hero protagonist.

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Le Crocodile $ $ $ $ French  in  Brooklyn ,  Williamsburg $$$$ 80 Wythe Ave

The outdoor dining options at Le Crocodile make NYC look like the kind of city that has tons of open space. There’s sidewalk seating and two separate garden areas separated by a tiny staircase. When it’s rainy, this hotel French bistro can cover both patio areas so that you feel like you’re sitting on a big porch in Williamsburg. And, if you’re trying to plan ahead, know that they’re accepting reservations.

Yatenga $ $ $ $ French  in  Harlem $$$$ 2269 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd

When it rains, Yatenga near 135th Street in Harlem can extend their awning to cover a few picnic tables underneath it. This means you won’t have to eat their French food while looking like a kitten after a bath. They’re open for outdoor dining from Wednesday to Sunday. Rain or shine, make sure you get their mac and cheese.

Greenwood Park $ $ $ $ Bar Food  in  Park Slope $$$$ 555 7th Ave

This South Slope beer garden used to be a gas station. While that’s a pretty neat fact on its own, we’re telling you this so you know there’s enough outdoor space to conceivably play hide and-seek. Almost every table here has its own tent set up above it, so you can post up on a rainy afternoon and eat some bar food with a friend. They’re open until midnight every day, and fortunately for all those who suck at bocce ball, know that Greenwood Park’s bar games are currently unavailable.

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Miss Ada $ $ $ $ Mediterranean ,  Middle Eastern  in  Fort Greene $$$$ 184 Dekalb Ave

The whole back patio at Miss Ada in Fort Greene is covered, and it’s a great place to sit with some wine, muhammara, and pita while everyone else on the street shrieks about their bodega umbrellas inverting in the wind.

Dante $ $ $ $ American ,  Italian  in  Greenwich Village $$$$ 79-81 MacDougal St.

The awning at Dante in Greenwich Village covers a handful of tables on their sidewalk. It gets fairly busy here, so we’d recommend showing up earlier in the afternoon (they open at noon every day). If you get a table, order a negroni and try not to look too smug while all of the wet people walk past. You can also book a table ahead of time online.

Montesacro Pinseria $ $ $ $ Italian  in  Brooklyn ,  Williamsburg $$$$ 432 Union Ave

This Roman flatbread spot in Williamsburg has a beautiful garden with a retractable roof. They’re currently accepting online reservations so you can commit to not eating a pizza with stracciatella and broccoli rabe in the pouring rain.

Cafe Du Soleil $ $ $ $ French  in  Upper West Side $$$$ 2723 Broadway

Whenever it rains, this neighborhood French bistro on the UWS puts out a big tent with string lights (which you can see here). They serve a bunch of wine for about $10 per glass, and we think it’s very important that you order mussels in a dijonnaise sauce while you ponder whether or not mother nature cares about us at all anymore.

Chela & Garnacha $ $ $ $ Tacos ,  Mexican  in  Astoria $$$$ 33-09 36th Ave

Chela & Garnacha in Astoria is serving their Mexican food outdoors every day, even when it’s rainy. They have big, sturdy umbrellas that stick out over each of the tables (not flimsy ones that will fall over with the slightest whisper of wind). Get the masa cakes with shredded chicken and whatever torta makes your arm hair stand up when you read the menu.

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Harlem Tavern $ $ $ $ Harlem $$$$ 2153 Frederick Douglass Blvd

If you’re near 116th Street in Harlem and little puddles are beginning to form in your sneakers, seek refuge on the massive outdoor patio in front of Harlem Tavern. There’s a big red tent with speakers attached to the corners where you can order chicken tenders and frozen drinks while you let your shoes dry.

886 $ $ $ $ Taiwanese  in  East Village $$$$ 26 Saint Marks Pl

The East Village is full of sidewalk seating, but very few spots have covered outdoor space. 886, a Tawainese restaurant that serves dishes like an excellent fried chicken sandwich and a pork belly rice bowl, is one such place. There’s a big purple tent that will keep you and a friend from getting completely soaked.

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Kochi $ $ $ $ Korean  in  Hell's Kitchen ,  Midtown $$$$ 652 10th Ave

Say you’re looking for a special occasion spot and the forecast says it may thunder between 7pm and 10pm. We’d suggest booking a reservation at this Korean skewer restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen. They have awnings so that you won’t get soaked while eating their $65 tasting menu, which comes with seven courses. They’re accepting walk-ups as well as reservations, and you can find more information about their menu (which includes a $55 five-course tasting menu) and hours on their website here.

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via The Infatuation Feed https://www.theinfatuation.com/new-york/guides/nyc-rain-restaurants-outdoor-dining Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://trello.com/userhuongsen

Created July 8, 2020 at 04:42AM /huong sen View Google Doc Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xa6sRugRZk4MDSyctcqusGYBv1lXYkrF

[ecotone99]

[HR] Digging in the Dark

Listen, I don’t know where to begin. I don’t even know how we got here, to be honest. But here we are, and we sure as hell aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. So we might as well make the best of it. Here, take a cigarette. I’ve got a few left.

I guess you’re probably wondering why it happened. Well, why does anything happen? Just dumb fuckin’ luck, usually. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I was just a down-on-his-luck construction worker looking to make some extra cash so I could pay my rent in the winter – construction slows in the winter, you know. Anyways, maybe in hindsight it was all a bit too good to be true, but that’s not what I was thinking at the time. I wish I had. But where I should have been seeing red, I just saw green.

The job seemed simple enough: all we had to do was dig. Dig a few holes out in some worksite in the desert, and walk away with two hundred bucks in cold hard cash, every night. That was the catch, though – we could only work at night. The boss said it was because the sun was too hot out there during the day, and we’d be risking heatstroke if we worked while it was still shining. That sounded reasonable enough to me.

So I get out there on the first night. There are five other guys out there with me – four with shovels, like me, and another guy there to supervise and tell us where to dig. Each hole had to be at least five feet deep and five feet wide. We spaced out far enough so we wouldn’t bump into each other and got to it. It wasn’t until I was about two feet deep in sand when I realized I had no idea what I was digging for. Maybe some kind of cables were being laid through this spot.

I asked the supervisor guy. I didn’t get an answer – he told me he’s paying me to dig, not to ask dumbass questions. I guess he was sort of right. Some private company must want to keep this project quiet. So I played along, and kept digging. After about twenty minutes, we all started to finish up at roughly the same time. We climbed back up to level ground, one by one, and waited for this guy to finish his cigarette and come point us to the next dig site. I watched the lit end of the smoke burn down closer and closer to his fingers – it was just about all I could see in the darkness. He took his time, anyway. When he finally finished he came to inspect our work. He looked into each hole for a minute or two, like he was looking for something in the bottom.

Finally when he was satisfied, he told us to fill the sand back in and start digging another hole a short ways away. For a second, we protested. What was the point in undoing the work we just did? But, again, no answers came – no dumbass questions, just digging. So we did as we were told. I, for one, needed the money more than I needed my curiosity satisfied.

We dug for about two hours before packing in for the night. Before we left, the supervisor handed us each a couple of crisp hundred dollar bills from a large brown envelope. A hundred dollars an hour was enough to keep my mind on other things – a couple nights of this and my rent would be covered for the month. A few weeks, and I’d be set until summer. So I came back the next night, and the next, and the next. For a while, it was the same – dig a hole, call down the man, fill it in, repeat. The only thing I could figure was that they must be looking for something out here. But what could it be? Buried treasure? Did that tight-lipped bastard ordering us around have a map with a big red X on it, pointing him to this shithole?

Whatever it was, apparently we weren’t finding it fast enough, because after a week there were five more shovels and one more cigarette burning in the distance. So our progress was doubled, and we reorganized twice as many grains of sand each night. But the money kept coming, so there wasn’t much to complain about. I had my days to enjoy my new cash flow, and we weren’t working long enough hours to lose much sleep over.

I think it was the eighteenth night in the desert. I was onto my third hole of the night. I guess after a while, the monotony started to get to me or something, because I just couldn’t stop thinking about what could have drawn whoever was paying us to look out here of all places. I heard one of the other guys say that this whole area used to be a mountain chain, but over the years the peaks were battered down to sand by the elements. Doesn’t seem like the kind of place anything interesting would be buried if you ask me.

But as I was thinking, I guess my body kept digging on autopilot – I was six feet deep by the time I snapped out of it. I could have climbed out and called one of the supervisors over, but something felt different about this hole. As I stood and looked to the bottom of the pit I had dug, something told me to keep going. I can’t explain it… but I had come that far, and I felt like my work wasn’t finished. So I dug the blade into the sand again, and again, not stopping to measure how deep I was going. Of course, the other nine guys had stopped at five feet like normal, so when the cigarette cherries died out and the supervisors came down to check our work, both of them stopped to gaze down at me. One of them asked me why I hadn’t stopped. I told him; something was down there, I could just feel it.

I expected him to call me a dumbass again. But to my surprise, he actually called out to the other diggers and told them to drop what they were doing and come over to expand the area I was working on. I hardly noticed them joining in, honestly, that’s how focussed I was. Almost like I was in some kind of trance. I just kept digging and digging, that feeling pushing me to go deeper and deeper beneath the surface of the sand.

We must have spent an hour working like that – me digging deeper at the center, the others widening out the walls. Not that any of us kept track. We were all lost in the work. But all of a sudden, I felt a solid clang when I pierced my shovel through the sand. I had struck something, probably a rock, big enough to not budge in the slightest when I struck it. It sent vibrations through the shovel and up my arm, snapping me back to reality for the moment. I looked up and could barely believe my eyes: we must have dug twenty feet deep. How long had we been at it?

I knelt down and started scooping sand away by hand so I could try and get that rock out of the way. I realized then that my heart was pounding. I felt anxious, like we were getting close to something big. I pushed the sand as fast as I could, trying to get to that rock – and then, there it was. Only, as I got the sand off of it, and the others noticed I’d found something, we realized it was way too big to be a rock. That, and the top was perfectly round. Like, unnaturally round. Like it was artificial. Manmade.

The supervisors called out for us to call it a night. I have to say, it was tough to walk away from what we’d – what I’d – found. I kept looking back at it as we packed up to leave. Hell, I almost forgot to stop for the money I earned. All of a sudden that wasn’t why I wanted to be out here. I just had to know what that thing buried in the sand was.

I thought about it all night. I don’t think I slept four hours, and when I did I think I dreamt of the thing. If it was some kind of artifact, shouldn’t some professor type guys be digging it up? Arachnologists or whatever? I guess that didn’t matter, because now I was the one doing it. And now I was invested.

The next night I got there almost an hour early. I had to do a double take – since last night they’d put up one of those aluminum sheds that take no time to set up. I guess now that we couldn’t fill the holes in to keep our work secret, this was the next best thing. At least it hid what went on inside.

Even though I was early, I wasn’t the first one there. I got to the door of the shed and the first supervisor was standing there, smoking a cigarette. He let me in – a few men were already digging, with supervisors standing at the edge of the hole and looking down on them. More diggers trickled in, and by the time they stopped coming I counted thirty of us with shovels, and six supervisors directing us. A few of us worked to uncover more of the object in the middle of the hole, and the rest of them kept widening the hole so we wouldn’t get trapped.

It wasn’t long before we got a clue to what this thing was – as we dug down, we saw that the round top was just the tip of something way, way bigger. It was definitely manmade. Turns out it was some kind of pillar. On top it was carved into sort of an egg-shaped tip about two feet wide, and at the base of the egg there were some kind of decorative carvings – at least, they looked decorative. A flared base separated the top from the main pillar, which was almost a perfect cylinder. It was perfectly circular all the way around, and as we got a little deeper we started to notice it was flaring outwards ever so slightly as we got closer to the bottom. Not that we stopped to measure. We just kept digging, down, down, down, desperate to unearth this thing. And the deeper we dug, the stronger the urge got.

We worked all through the night, way more than two hours. We hardly noticed the time passing. We just wanted to see what was down there. It was nearly sunrise when the supervisors had to tell us to stop. We were more than curious. We were determined. The next night, we were ready to start almost as soon as the sun went down. It seemed like there was no end to the thing – the more we dug, the bigger it seemed. Every night for a week, thirty-six men met under that sheet metal roof to see just how far into the darkness we could dig. Then suddenly, we struck something else.

The pillar finally came to an end about forty feet from the top. What we found was that it was connected to a huge, flat platform, and this pillar marked a sixty-degree corner of it. Again we realized this thing was way bigger than we had imagined – it seemed obvious that the platform was probably a large hexagon if the other corners were the same angle, and they were probably marked with a pillar of their own. As our mental image of this thing grew, so did our eagerness to keep going.

And our workforce had to grow, too, to keep up with the demand. It was delicate work, so we couldn’t use machinery – before long there were over two hundred people on site, working all through the night to expose this thing. Later I found out there were two hundred and sixteen; thirty-six supervisors, a hundred and eighty diggers. Bigger and bigger the hole grew, and every so often it got close enough to the walls of the shed that by the next night it had to be replaced with a bigger one. We got to the point where we were so deep in the sand that the heat of the daylight sun didn’t reach us, and the light wouldn’t penetrate the shed, so we couldn’t even tell day from night as we worked. So we worked through the days, too, with nothing to stop us.

I don’t know how long we’d been working like that when I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken a break. I had no thoughts of stopping for food, water, or sleep – I felt no hunger, no thirst, and no fatigue despite digging for days without rest. It should have been a disturbing realization. But instead I pushed it to the back of my mind, forcing away any distractions to the process.

Finally, after what must have been months in the desert, it was done.

We could never have known the size of it when we started. It was on the scale of a football field or a baseball stadium. As we had guessed, the platform formed a huge hexagon, with each corner housing a pillar just like the first one we found. I think it’s called a dais – I heard that word in a video game or something. A big platform used for religious ceremonies and stuff. It definitely gave off a spiritual vibe. Not to mention the effect it had been having on us as we worked.

It was hard to take it all in at once in the darkness – you could really only see a few feet in any direction. But once we had finished marveling at it, we kept shuffling around on autopilot. The compulsion to dig was replaced with something else – like a magnetic pull I was drawn to the center of the platform. I couldn’t see the exact center since I didn’t have the pillars for reference, but something was definitely drawing me in. I wasn’t the only one, either. Shortly after I got there it started to get crowded, as all of the diggers tried to reach that spot that was apparently calling to us all.

The supervisors were up to something different. They had arranged themselves around us, six of them in a line, with each line radiating from the center out toward one of the pillars. I looked toward the first pillar we had dug up, and saw the original supervisor standing nearest to us, with five others dotting the space between him and the pillar behind them. The six supervisors that formed the ring closest to us was each still smoking a cigarette, and so I could just barely make out that they were each holding a piece of paper. I may not have heard it if I hadn’t seen his lips move in the dim light, but the first one began to read from the paper, his voice barely carrying across the room. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, it was just a dull rumble by the time it reached my ears. But every now and then he’d pause, and the other five would respond all at once, reading from their own papers. Their voices were calming, almost like a lullaby. I could have stayed there forever, I was so relaxed and content.

But it didn’t last forever. The voices eventually stopped, and for a moment, there was complete silence. Then, in a quick motion, the first supervisor touched his paper to the tip of his cigarette. The paper burst into flames, and before he burned his fingers he tossed the page high into the air. The others immediately followed, and in the air all we could see were six fireballs floating in the darkness. I turned away in shock and pain, my eyes not used to the light – but the light didn’t care. It kept growing larger and stronger. The light of the flames seemed to activate something in the pillars themselves. They slowly started to give off light of their own, barely noticeable at first, but as the flames died the glow of the pillars grew and grew, until it became unbearable. Even with my eyes closed, the brightness made them hurt. Brighter and brighter, I was sure I’d go blind – then, all at once, darkness fell over us again.

When I opened my eyes, the supervisors were gone. Me and the rest of the diggers were left on the platform, huddled at the center, wondering what had just happened. Slowly we began to realize just how strange everything had been up to this point – as we came back to our senses, we started to panic just a little. It was like coming out of hypnosis. Why had we been so obsessed? How long were we out here? And when was the last time we ate or slept?

We figured the supervisors just went home for the day, so we might as well go home too. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been home, come to think of it. But we quickly realized that wasn’t an option. The entrance to the hole was nowhere to be found. The panic grew. Was this some kind of sick joke? How could we get out? Eventually someone noticed that they couldn’t even see the ceiling anymore. There was no sign of the shed that used to be there. But in the dark we couldn’t be sure. Someone else grabbed a rock and threw it upwards – in response, we heard the thud of the rock as it hit only sand.

See, the place we’re in now, it’s not the same platform we dug up. It’s virtually identical in every way – same six pillars, same big hexagon. But we’re somewhere else now. This place, wherever it is, still has sand all around. It hasn’t been unearthed yet.

That’s right. We’re underground.

No way of knowing how deep underground, either. Now you’ve heard it, you know as much as we do. But we’ve got a few ideas. We figure whoever built these things, ages ago, must have figured a way to use them for transportation. Some kind of mystical understanding of the universe that got lost to the sands of time, literally and figuratively, along with their civilization. We dug one up, but wherever it sent us, there’s no way of knowing. We could be at the center of the earth for all we know.

So all we can do is dig. Lucky for us, it seems like we still don’t need to eat or sleep. Or I suppose that’s unlucky, depending how you look at it. Obviously there’s something supernatural at work here, but at least it means there’s a possibility of getting out of here.

How long’s it been? Well, you tell me. Every now and then, someone like you comes along who manages to transport themselves here accidentally – like I said, we don’t know how any of this shit works. It teleported us underground, who’s to say it doesn’t affect time too? But if the info we have from people like you is true, we’ve gone through a few presidents since I first got here. Down here in the darkness, though, with no sun to rise and fall and mark the days, time all kind of just starts blending together.

So we dig. Some of us dig, still hoping we find a way out someday. Some of us dig because they don’t know what else to do. Some of us do it to keep from going insane.

But it’s not all bad. We’ve got a few cigarettes left. Every now and then we’ll light one up and it lets us see how far we’ve come. We try to conserve them, though – only so many to go around. But you’re new here, so go ahead, feel free. I’ll have one with you. Call it a welcome to your new home. Just one question for you.

Have you got a light?

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