#I just don’t do well with extra external pressure when I already have enough coming from myself

[crowley1990]

I hated when my therapist tried to make me talk about things my mum did to upset me because I didn’t want to bad-mouth my mum! She never did anything maliciously wrong, her approaches just weren’t always helpful with my type of overly sensitive crazy. I don’t want to snitch on her she’s a good mother 😠

#like her constantly going on about a job application would make me feel more stressed about it and would end up hindering my application #because I’d have all this extra emotional stress so all my work would take even longer #lol I’m a mess #but like that wasn’t her fault she was just concerned about me and wanted me to apply for jobs #I just don’t do well with extra external pressure when I already have enough coming from myself #but like I don’t want to snitch to my therapist about my mum like that #I just want to talk about my stress and my emotions and how this job application is hurting me #and not be like and my mum nags so she’s bad because she doesn’t care about my emotional wellbeing #because it’s just totally untrue and I don’t want anyone thinking she’s a bad mother and not trying her best #jb

[libermachinae]

Notes: baby robot

—

“602 RPS. Fuel pressure 124 over 75. Circuits holding—”

“Prowl, come.”

Prowl glanced up from the monitor for just an astrosec. Mesothulas was standing in front of the CR chamber, leaned so close he was nearly touching the casing, well beyond the limits of safety protocols. Even from up here in the observation deck, Prowl could see the way he quivered, fingers flexing as though he really intended to brush them over the freezing pod. He’d spoken without looking away from it, optics fixed on the narrow porthole, its view blocked from Prowl’s gaze by the glare of the lab’s lighting.

When he looked back, RPS had dropped to 598.

“I can observe plenty from up here,” he said, logging the change along with the rest of the readout flashing across his display. The system would do it automatically, but keeping his own logs allowed him to feed the data directly into his risk analysis programs, their last safeguard against any unexpected chain reactions. Reversal and shutdown commands remained queued and at the ready.

“But he can’t see you,” Mesothulas insisted, still with his gaze on the pod. There was a mechanical growl deep within the machine, systems warming to protect them against the coming temperature snap.

“I’ll introduce myself later,” Prowl promised. He had a script prepared, easily integrated into the standard basic function tests he’d plucked from the ruins of Petrex’s last construction center. It would serve to demonstrate the construct’s ability to differentiate itself from other people and recognize when it was being addressed, provided current readings held steady and they actually made it that far. “I need to keep monitoring in case of—”

“In case of what, Prowl? Our design is without flaw. He’s perfect.” Mesothulas did touch the pod then, yanking away and shaking out his hand when the cold bit back. “We’ve already run every test, accounted for every variable. You said yourself, nothing will go wrong.”

“Because I’m up here, making sure it doesn’t.” There was a hiss as the internal ventilations started to draw out the freezing gasses, and a fog appeared over the porthole as moisture in the air responded to the change in temperature. Mesothulas leaned close again, and this time Prowl decided not to bother worrying about it. “I don’t understand why this is an issue. We haven’t installed its datalogging software yet; it won’t remember any of this.”

There was a lot he didn’t understand about Mesothulas, but most of the time that worked to his benefit, their different priorities allowing them to easily collaborate by taking over parts of each project the other had no interest in. It was rare for them to clash, and if it caused him to add a few extra lines to his spreadsheets as he accelerated his tracking speed, the construct certainly wouldn’t suffer for it.

“He, Prowl. He has his own spark.”

And going by the standards Prowl had grown up with, that put it in the animate category, a step above mechanized but not yet in the autonomous phase that signified life. But that was for spliced sparks, borrowed identities who only became individuals once introduced to a unique processor sequence. He and Mesothulas had gone back and forth on what this meant for the construct, whose spark had been struck from as close to nothing as one could, and Prowl was smart enough to know it was not a discussion worth bringing up now.

“And it’s important because we’re not just introducing ourselves: we’re introducing the entire universe to him. We’re his first impression of everything. I’m not letting you waste that opportunity.”

There was a hiccup in Prowl’s momentum as Mesothulas’ sentiments caused his processor to pick up a memory. Its low priority weighed against the negligible file size meant that despite considering deleting it as it lost relevance with each new change to his life, he’d kept it buried in his archive. The auditory component had become uncoupled during one of his early processor crashes, so all he had left was the visual, grainy with the degradation of multiple transfers and processor upgrades. The file played and his optical feed came online to two Cybertronians, one standing back with a datapad while the other stood closer, his optics fixed on Prowl. They were both talking, but Prowl hadn’t bothered to watch their lips: all his focus had been on their plating, his first thoughts a string of hexidecimal codes as he tried to track all the ways their paint reacted to light and shadow.

It was not a long memory. He’d dropped offline almost immediately, having overwhelmed his processor before his temperature controls had finished booting up, and after that he’d had a specialist team to finish his construction. Though he’d had access to the database, he’d never bothered to go looking up the names of the first two bots he’d seen. Their role in his life had been all but inconsequential, compared to the engineers who spent decacycles making sure his spark and frame could maintain the advanced tactical suite he’d been built for.

“I’ll make sure the construct functions long enough to see any of it,” he said, returning his focus to the monitors. 608 RPS.

He thought he caught a glint of yellow from where Mesothulas stood.

“P—”

“Vacuum seal releasing.”

There was a louder hiss as a plume of white mist escaped the seams of the pod door. Mesothulas jumped away from it, then moved back in as soon as it had dissipated, hands up like he wanted to help the door along as it pushed out and then slid aside on a silent track. More mist spilled out, blanketing the floor around Mesothulas’ pedes, but it was hard to tell whether his slight hop step was from pain or eagerness.

“Surge guards holding,” Prowl reported. “Autonomics steady. Entering second stage bootup.”

Mesothulas gasped and Prowl looked up, concerned, but found himself just as startled. Bioillumination was a hallmark of stage two and not in itself surprising. Even the brilliant intensity, light stretching beyond the confines of the pod, was to be expected, given that they hadn’t installed any code to regulate it yet. Mesothulas just hadn’t told him the optics would be blue.

“Sys-systems disconnecting from external fuel supply,” he stammered, feeling a rush of embarrassment before he composed himself. “Fuel pressure 121 over 74.”

Mesothulas made no indication he heard, and a moment later Prowl realized he wasn’t listening at all: he was talking to the construct, his voice a low murmur Prowl couldn’t hear from his place on the observation deck.

“Entering third stage. Somatic systems coming online.”

The construct turned to look at Mesothulas. Even turned away, Prowl somehow knew the scientist was beaming, his lesson from earlier the only thing keeping him from reaching into the pod and wrapping himself around his creation like he was wont to do with Prowl.

And then Mesothulas stepped back and to the side, pointing up at the platform still without his optics leaving the construct.

“And that’s Prowl,” he said, finally loud enough for his voice to carry. “He’s worked just as hard.”

Those blue optics turned to him. Prowl knew it was only the most basic coding compelling the construct to follow the movement of Mesothulas’ finger, its bare processor unable to even register him as a separate element from his environment, let alone a fellow Cybertronian. But there was something about being caught in that gaze, watching the lenses attempt to focus when there wasn’t enough data yet to tell them what to focus on, that caused him to raise his hand in an uncertain wave.

“You’ll get the chance to meet him later, I promise,” Mesothulas said, drawing the construct’s attention back to him. “Ostaros, we have so much more to show you. You can’t imagine.”

It couldn’t, Prowl mused, watching Mesothulas attempt to link his fingers with those of his creation and pulling away with a hiss at the subsequent reminder. But this period of emptiness would not last forever. Like the science that had formed its impossible spark, the construct—Ostaros—would come into being, something pulled from nothing, a person just as much as himself or Mesothulas. Prowl would introduce himself then, to whoever it was that Ostaros became.

#maccadam #transformers #taraprowl #prowl #tarantulas #mesothulas #springer #ostaros #my writing #ficlet #might put this one on ao3 #haven't decided

[waywardwrestlewritingwaif]

The Wages of Sin

Before I found tumblr, I seriously believed I was the only person on Earth whose pulse went up when Samoa Joe appeared. He just broadcasts pure dominant energy and power. I miss seeing him in the ring but I’m glad he’s still on my tv on a (mostly) weekly basis. 

Pairing: Samoa Joe x reader

Word count: 3,732

Content advisory: BDSM smut

It was all you could do not to roll your eyes at his expression when you came in the door. It was always the same with men: they called to have a computer technician come over and when a woman showed up, they looked at you like there had been some mistake. Some would even be so gauche as to ask if you were qualified to do this sort of work. This guy wasn’t that bad but when he saw you, his eyes swept up and down over your body, lingering on your breasts longer than he should have before he waved you inside with nothing more than a grunt. 

“The computer’s in the office,” he informed you. “First door on the left back there. Off the kitchen. It’s been slowing down for a while and now it won’t even start up.”

“Ok. Other than slowing down, have there been any other problems you’ve noticed, Mr…” 

“Joe,” he grunts. “Joe is fine. And yeah, there have been a bunch of programs crashing.”

“Well, Joe, why don’t we have a look and see what the problem is?”

You head in the direction that he’s indicated and enter a neatly organized office space. There’s a desk in one corner, but the room is dominated by a large section coach flanked  by a couple of odd looking benches. It’s strange, because there’s no television in the room, no books, nothing that would indicate this was a place where one would sit and relax. You shrug it off. Maybe he likes to take a nap after he’s done working. Maybe this is where he takes women to seduce them.

Immediately, you try to push that image from your mind. You hate to admit it, even to yourself, but when he gave you that once-over, you’d felt a shiver run through your whole body. He was massive and while at first glance he’d appeared fat, you quickly saw that he was just powerfully built. As he stood behind you and watched what you working, he unbuttoned the cuffs of his dress shirt, pushing them up and revealing forearms like iron girders, the kind of arms you could imagine holding you down with ease, choking you, forcing you to do whatever he wanted. 

You try to shake those thoughts out of your head and focus on the task at hand. You boot up his computer in safe mode and, once you’re able to get a look around, it’s clear that the problem is a large number of files that have taken up so much space that the computer barely has any available memory to launch or run anything. On top of that, there are multiple malware programs that are deviously working away. You’ll have to work on those right away in order to get the computer stable enough for you to see the files and try to clear out some space. 

He stands behind you as you start to untangle the electronic knots, his breath heavy and incredibly distracting. 

“This is gonna take me a while,” you tell him.

“Well I’ll leave you to it then.” His tone is friendly but there’s a dark undertone to it, like he can see inside your mind and know that he’s having an effect on you. 

Once he’s gone, you settle down and focus on the task at hand. He pokes his head in a couple of times but leaves you alone otherwise. It’s just as well because what he’s got is a real mess and it takes a lot of work to identify and then scrub the malware. Normally, you could run a program to deal with the majority of the work but his computer is so unstable that it can’t run anything, meaning that you have to do everything manually. 

Thirteen programs. It takes two and a half hours but you’re finally able to remove all traces of the thirteen programs that have contaminated his hard drive. The early winter light is already starting to fade and now you have to start isolating files. Protocol is that you identify duplicates and separate them onto a second drive without ever looking but everyone takes a peek to see what secrets a client has. Nine times out of ten it’s porn, usually varying flavors of vanilla. It’s never happened to you personally, but a couple of the people you work with have found photos or videos of kids, something that immediately gets reported to the cops. (Peeking at a client’s files is unethical but not illegal, meaning that what the technician sees is fair game.)

When you see that the files are almost all videos, you figure you pretty much know what you’re in for. The nature of the videos, though, is more than you bargained for. This is hardcore stuff, all women getting flogged and bound and taken roughly in every hole as they scream in pain and ecstasy at the same time. There are dozens if not hundreds like this and mixed in among them are videos of Joe himself, proudly displaying his naked body and a thick cock that you can imagine would be rough to take even under normal circumstances.   

Watching all this, you feel your breathing grow faster and that familiar wetness in your core soaking your panties within minutes. The fact is that you’ve desperately wanted a man who’d take you like this, who’d use you and brutalize you, but you’d never found one. You’d eventually had to dump your last boyfriend because the sex was so boring you found yourself repulsed by it. You’ve watched plenty of videos like these at home, but knowing you were only a couple of rooms away from a man who clearly indulged in these activities a lot makes you squirm in your seat, trying to get some friction against the seam of your jeans to relieve a bit of the pressure. 

Your eyes flicker towards the benches you’d noticed when you came in and now you know what their purpose is. You open another file, Joe again with a woman tied up and bent nearly double, his hand wound around her pony tale as he pounds mercilessly into her. 

Looking once again at the benches, you imagine him strapping you to one and whipping you, making you beg for him. 

The woman in the video is screaming non-stop about how good he feels, how she deserves what she’s getting, welcoming every vile slur he hurls at her. 

You’re so caught up in what you’re seeing and in what you’re imagining that you don’t notice that the sound on this video is a fair bit higher than in the others, and are caught totally off-guard when you hear the voice behind you. 

“See something you like?” he drawls. 

Right away, you feel not just your face but your whole upper body grow hot with humiliation. It’s one thing for you to be fantasizing but this is you getting caught invading a customer’s privacy. Even if it’s understood that everybody does it, you’ll be lucky to keep your job if and when he complains. 

“Not really my scene,” you lie. “But I don’t judge. I just need to sort through stuff to free up some space. I’m going to install an external drive and move your videos there. It’s an extra charge but it’s not too much. You can call the office to find out the exact amount if you want.”

Joe gives a noncommittal sound and walks away without another glance. Your cheeks are still burning an hour later when you’ve dutifully moved the files onto the external drive, careful not to open a single one, even though you’re dying of curiosity. Trembling, you pack up your stuff and prepare to make a shame-faced exit. You’re wondering if you should just apologize to him, maybe say that you opened one of the files by accident and just started poking around, not quite believing what you were seeing. You’re unable to decide if that would be better than saying nothing and trying to pretend that nothing had happened. He’s standing in front of the door with an unfriendly look on his face. 

“Well,” you begin unsteadily, “you haven’t lost any files. There wasn’t any permanent damage, so other than moving some stuff to an external drive, everything will be exactly the way it was, but it’ll run a lot faster.” 

He folds his arms and looks down his nose at you without speaking. It takes you a few seconds to figure out what to say next under the weight of his stare. 

“There were a bunch of malware programs I had to remove. That was what was causing most of the problem. There are certain sites that tend to… have… lots of those things. Anyway, I installed newer antiviral software that should block them.”

You sound completely lost and you are. You feel like, rather than registering a complaint with your employer, Joe is preparing to kill you and eat you for violating his privacy. In the interest of getting out before you’re made into a main course, you opt to stop speaking and to leave the subject of your intrusion out of the conversation. 

As you reach for the doorknob, though, Joe presses his arm against the door and his scowl deepens. 

“You lied to me,” he seethes. 

“Excuse me?”

“Before. You were lying when you said you weren’t interested in those videos. I can always tell.”

“Oh,” you murmur, “about that. Look, I’m really sorry that I was going through your-”

“Yeah, that’s not what we’re talking about little girl.”

“It isn’t?” You feel yourself shrinking back from him and he leans closer as you do, until your back is pressed into the doorframe.

“No,” he purrs. “We’re talking about you and how you were turned on by what you saw. We’re talking about how your panties are probably still soaked because you were so excited.”

Your mouth opens and closes a few times as you fight to think of something to say. His broad chest is just inches from you, heat radiating from him and clouding your thoughts even more. 

“I have to go,” is what you’re eventually able to croak. 

“Is that so?” he hums. “Well I’ll tell you what. I’m gonna go get into something more comfortable. If you want to go, you go. I won’t stop you. But if you want to find out what I can do to you, what I can make you feel, then you get back in the office and wait for me.”

He steps back and heads up the stairs without another syllable, leaving you with a decision to make. There are assuredly better ways for you to find a man to dominate you. But you’ve seen what this man can do and you’ve felt the power and confidence roll off him, leaving you quivering inside and out. You take a deep breath and head back down to his office. 

He makes you wait. It’s a good fifteen or twenty minutes before he reappears wearing nothing but boxers, a towel over his shoulders and an arrogant expression that says he never had any doubt you’d be here. 

“Eyes down.” It’s an order, you know, even though he speaks as quietly as ever, and you immediately comply. 

You’re able to see him toss the towel on the sofa and you hear him opening something- a drawer?- and then close it again a second later. Whatever he was looking for, he knew exactly where it was. 

“Top off and hands behind your back.” His voice is behind you, even as ever. 

You comply right away, stripping yourself of your sweater and t-shirt, hesitating a little at the thought of removing your bra. 

“Everything off,” he whispers, much closer than he was before. 

Keeping your eyes on the floor, you remove it and try to steady your breath. You feel a light line traced across your back by something you can’t identify. It’s thin and pliable, but has some strength to it, like the branch of a sapling. It makes you shiver as he continues to move it softly back and forth across the widest part of your back. 

“So you like snooping around in other people’s things, do you?”

“No,” you stammer, “I don’t usually do that, I don’t know what I was-”

Immediately, there’s a sharp crack as he brings the branch-like thing, a riding crop, you guess, down on your back with force. You give a short scream and your breathing speeds up as you feel the pain leak from the narrow band of impact across your skin. 

“You’re lying to me again,” he taunts. “We both know you do that kind of thing all the time, don’t you?”

“Yes,” you gasp, trying to focus on anything but the pain and at the same time feeling the juices pooling between your thighs.

“What a bad girl you are.” You flex your muscles, anticipating another strike but he does nothing. You let yourself exhale and relax just a little and that’s when the second blow comes, even harder than the first. The scream you give is louder and tears spring to your eyes. Behind you, you hear him hum in satisfaction and it reverberates in your core. 

“You were watching quite a few of those videos. I saw you,” he continues, to your shame. “Tell me, what did you like the most about them?”

“I- I don’t know…”

This time, the strike hits the flesh of your inner arm, exposed because you have your hands clasped behind your back, the way he told you. 

“If you’re not going to be honest with me, this is going to be a very rough night for you.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” And there’s a sharp impact on your other arm that draws a sob and a long whine. 

“Get to the point, little girl.”

“I liked seeing you. I got turned on by what you were doing to those women because I’ve wanted someone to do those things to me.”

He presses himself against your back, running his thumb roughly along one of the whip marks he’s made there. “Now was that so hard?”

You shake your head, struggling to keep your eyes fixed on the ground as he circles around you. He presses the handle end of the riding crop- you were right about that- under your chin. 

“Look at me.”

You do as you're told, more tears dripping from your eyes as you lift your head. 

“Already crying? Are you sure you want this?”

“I do,” you assure him, nodding your head vigorously. 

“It only gets rougher from here,” he warns you. “So if you want it to stop…”

“I want to keep going.”

“So you think you deserve to be punished.”

“I do.”

“You know what you did was wrong. And you know that you’re a filthy girl for liking what you saw so much.”

“Yes.”

“That’s ‘yes, sir’” he corrects you sharply. 

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you think about doing things like that when you’re by yourself? About big, mean taking whatever they want from you? About them hurting you and using you?”

“Yes.”

You hear the sound of the riding crop cutting through the air, but not in time to brace yourself for the impact. It hits right across your nipples and if you had thought that the blows to your back and arms hurt, they were nothing compared to this. 

“Yes what?”

“Yes, sir,” you sob. 

He snaps the riding crop across the same point, the center of both nipples, making you shriek. 

“Show me your hands.”

You lift them for his inspection and he whips your palms repeatedly, like you’re a misbehaving child. 

“Now take off the rest of your clothes,” he instructs. “And give me your panties.”

You move to follow the order, flinching in pain at having to use your wounded hands. He paces in front of you, seeming impatient but letting you take the time you need to get fully undressed. When you’re done, you offer him the garment he requested, which he snatches away from you. 

He smirks as he rolls them around in his hand. To your relief, he places the riding crop on the desk behind him before he approaches you. 

“What’s this?” he sneers, wiping the soaked cotton over your face. “Is this because of what you saw?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You liked it even more than I thought. You really are a dirty little slut. Do you think you deserve to be punished more?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ask me.”

“Please, sir,” you stammer, “I want you to punish me because I’m a dirty slut who got turned on watching your videos.”

He gives you a smirk that carries just a hint of approbation. “Very good, slut. Go kneel on the sofa, ass out, arms on the back.”

You scurry over and do exactly as you’ve been told. Once you’re in position, he follows you, hovering over you. 

“Your eyes stay straight ahead,” he cautions. 

He kneels on the sofa beside you and reaches down, producing a pair of handcuffs already attached to the old-fashioned heater, obviously installed for the purpose of chaining women in place. You let him take your wrists and manacle them, flinching because the metal is actually hot on your skin. Once again, he disappears behind you. 

His hand comes down on your ass with a thunderous noise and you swear you can feel the reverberations in your skeleton. You let out a half-gasp, half-cry but before you’re able to regroup, he smacks your other cheek just as hard, if not harder. He continues this, increasing the pace as he does until you’re screaming and crying. 

“Have you learned your lesson?”

“I… I think so?”

“I don’t know,” he muses, “your pussy is dripping. I think we might need to look at punishing you another way. I think I might have to pound that slit with my cock to show you what happens to dirty sluts who go looking at things they’re not supposed to.”

“Yes, sir, you should.”

“Is that what you really want?”

“Yes, please, sir, I want your cock.”

“What’s that?”

“Please fuck me, sir. Show me how bad I am.”

He bends over you, pushing his boxers off, and whispers harshly in your ear, “Well as long as you’re absolutely sure.”

You nod and he accepts that, grasping your bruised ass tightly and ramming into you like a jackhammer. He pounds relentlessly, leaving you with nothing to do but take what he’s giving, gasping and mewling in ecstasy as each brutal thrust seems to increase the sensitivity of your cunt, the sensation of pleasure flooding through you. 

“Is this what you needed?” he snarls, panting. 

“Yes, oh god, yes!” You’re a little shocked at the volume of your own voice but all you want to do is scream because what he’s giving you is what you’ve fantasized about for so long, what your body has always known it needed but could never get. You can feel every nerve rushing towards climax and just as you feel yourself teetering on the edge, he pulls out, pressing the tip of his dick against your tailbone, just above the crack of your ass, and he comes, the hot liquid trickling down between your ass cheeks and your swollen lips in streams. He traces the flow with his thick fingers, up and down, making you whine in need. Finally, he grabs the towel he brought with him and wipes you off. You’re still whimpering, moving your hips all around, searching for any kind of contract. 

He gives a dark chuckle and you hear him walk away. You want to cry but he’s back in a moment, close by you. Immediately, he starts to wind a rope around your legs, soft like silk and strong. He binds your thighs to your calves, your ankles together and then he flips you over, the chain on the handcuffs pulling your arms taut. 

You could not be more vulnerable, spread open before him. He wipes his dick across your chest to remove the remaining mix of your juices. 

“I’ll bet you think you deserve to come, now, don’t you?” 

“Yes, please sir.”

“Why should I let you.”

“I’ve tried to be good for you, sir. I’ve done everything you asked. I’m sorry I lied to you before but I told you the truth after. And you just turn me on so much, sir.”

He smirks again and plants his tree trunk of a thigh on the sofa between your legs. 

“Like this,” he growls. “You want to get off? You fuck yourself on my leg like an animal who doesn’t know any better.”

Part of you wants to resist, but you’re so desperate for it that you press yourself against him and start grinding into his thigh. You can feel the powerful muscle beneath the flesh as he flexes, giving you a little more friction. It’s still slippery and the way that you’re bound makes it difficult to move the way you need to, but you’re able to make it work. 

“Are you close?” he rasps. 

“So close, sir!”

“And am I good to you, letting you cum on my leg like this?”

“Yes, thank you!”

You thrust yourself even harder against him to add just the little bit more pressure that you need, moving faster as you can feel your orgasm ready to burst through you. 

And with a nasty grin, he steps back. 

Your clit is so engorged that the sensation of air hitting it is actually painful. Although you’d like to remain composed and be angry, you just sob, tears welling up yet again. 

“Why?” you cry at him. 

“You don’t get to cum until I decide you’re ready.”

“Please, sir, I’m begging you, I need to.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “Not yet.”

He pulls his boxers back on and grabs the towel, heading towards the door. 

“Wait!” you yelp after him. “Where are you going?”

He laughs again, deep and almost demonic. “I’m a busy man. I’ve got a lot of things to do.”

“Aren’t you going to untie me?”

He smirks and throws the towel over his shoulders again. “Oh no. You’re gonna stay right there until I’m ready to use you again.”       

#samoa joe imagine #samoa joe fan fiction #wwe imagine #wwe smut #wwe fanfic #wayward wrestle writing

[zumpietoo]

There are approximately a million serial killers on Riverdale (plus or minus a few), but thus far, only one of these serial killers is responsible for putting Betty Cooper in a hole. That's the Trash Bag Killer, aka TBK, and he is bad, bad news. Like, murdered multiple women, hacked off their limbs, and put their body parts in individual trash bags, bad news. When Betty tried to arrest him, he kidnapped and almost killed her — leading to awful PTSD and terrible nightmares. The worst of it all? Right now, we have absolutely no clue as to who the Trash Bag Killer is on Riverdale.At the moment, Betty is a bit tied up with a different (so we think) murderer: The person kidnapping and killing women off the Lonely Highway. Betty is convinced that Polly, her older sister, is one of his victims, though, thus far, there's only blood — and no body — to prove that Polly is dead. Either way, Betty is going to find out who is killing women in Riverdale, even if that means pressing pause on her Trash Bag Killer investigation and letting her pseudo boyfriend Glen take over TBK.Is it possible that the Lonely Highway Killer is the Trash Bag Killer? Totally, and I wouldn't put it past Riverdale to connect these two stories in one huge trauma-inducing season for Betty. However, right now, we don't know what, if any, connection these killers have. Until Riverdale gives us a few more clues, here's the suspect list for TBK thus far — including a few wild theories from our Clubhouse conversation with the Riverdale After Dark podcast.The Kinda

Obvious One: Glen I'll say it again: Glen is just Diet Charles. Betty's serial killer brother was also an FBI agent, also a blonde dude in his 20s, and also suspicious from the jump.We haven't seen a ton of Glen, but when we do, it's so he can tell Betty something new about whatever serial killer she's currently obsessed with. Yet because Glen is the one delivering the information to Betty — not unlike Charles, who always worked side-by-side with Betty on investigations despite secretly being a serial killer himself — Glen has total control over what Betty knows, and doesn't know.Is it possible that Glen is hiding info about TBK that would implicate him? Totally. Is it also possible that he's weirdly obsessed with Betty, the FBI agent who already had a ton of solved crimes on her resume before she joined the team? Absolutely, yes! And most importantly: If Glen isn't shady, well, why is he here?

The Blast From The Past: Chic Look, as far we know, Chic — aka the guy who pretended to be Charles, Betty's real brother — is still in prison. However, during The Dipp's joint Clubhouse with the Riverdale After Dark podcast, co-host Pete LePage reminded all of us that technically, Chic is just enough of a wild card to be considered a viable suspect. And honestly, I'm ready to have that conversation!For one thing, Chic would be so obsessed with Betty (his faux sister) to try and get her attention by murdering people. He also knows how to get rid of a body, considering he basically made the Cooper family accomplices in the death of "The Shady Man" during season 2. While it seems like Charles is also in jail too, I wouldn't be surprised if Chic was able to bust out of prison with resources his FBI boyfriend acquired during his time working for the government, be it a shady contact or legal loophole. I'm just saying — it could be Chic!

The Unlikely (But Imagine If They Went There!) Option: Jughead OK, but hear me out. This idea was brought up during The Dipp's Clubhouse event, in which Alex Zalben talked about an idea someone threw out on their Patreon's Slack channel."I don't want to take credit for it, but I love the idea that maybe it's Jughead and when he's blacking out, and he's becoming the Trash Bag Killer," Alex explained. "I don't think that's true, but I think it's a very funny, if dark theory."Well... what if it is true? We know that Jughead lost "a lot of time" during his drinking days in New York, and it's heavily implied that he has some trauma he's still reeling from that he simply cannot remember. While we don't know what this is yet, could this "missing time" and "trauma" all add up to Jughead secretly being a serial killer?!?Look, probably not. But we know that Jughead was pretty pissed at Betty, who, once again, cheated on him with his best friend during their senior year of high school. We know that he said something to her via voicemail that was so harsh, they never really spoke until they both showed up in Riverdale. Could Jughead's subconscious have turned him into a murderer, all as a way to exact revenge on new FBI agent Betty? It would be an insane twist.I highly doubt the show would go there — and as someone secretly hoping that Betty and Jughead end up together down the line, I'm not exactly itching for the show to detonate Jughead's character like that, just for a jaw-dropping twist. However, I do think it's possible for Jughead to believe, at least momentarily, that he is capable of being the Trash Bag Killer — and hey, maybe he's involved in the crimes in some non-murder-y way that he simply can't remember.

The Let Down: It's No One We Know Shockingly, not all serial killers can live in Riverdale — even on Riverdale. We know that TBK killed women all over the country, and it's quite possible that the serial killer solely exists so that Betty feels extra guilty and determined to track down Polly's potential killer: In her mind, she already let women die because she couldn't solve the TBK case.Still, that doesn't mean we won't ever meet TBK, or that his presence won't become known in some way on Riverdale."I don't think it's anybody secretly," Alex shared with The Dipp. "I think it's just this external thing, not connected to the Lonely Highway, not connected to the Mothman, but is this pressure on Betty from the outside that eventually he is going to work his way back to Riverdale. It's going to come in at the most inopportune moment and really mess things up. But otherwise, [I think] this is an unrelated mystery that's propelling Betty and putting stress on her throughout the season."This makes a lot of sense, actually. Maybe TBK will show up, whether physically or just in terms of the story, just as Betty is finally tying up all her other cases. Still, not as much fun as the Jughead of it all, right?

Umm.....how is Jughead, the show's actual hero, being the killer, "fun", exactly? Also, naturally, they got that theory from Mr. 58 Seconds, who is also a fucking moron....Again, a shit ton that fully disproves this. If anything, I'd more buy BETTY, in that case. Still not getting their desperate obsession with making Jughead shady.

They even admit, Chic's in prison....what I think is hilarious, if they gonna go with somebody younger (even tho we now know it's been happening for decades, but it's maybe a copycat----Glenn)....why not assign it to Gossip Ghey....or, LBR, Molars?

He's an actual trucker, is gone a lot, etc....and would be way more interesting than any of these...

[flightofaqrow]

kiss with a fist

qrow + James ( @caeloservare​ )

“Let me remind you, how exactly I run my army is none of your business and you are not allowed to sniff around in Atlas.”

“what makes you think i care about how you run your army? i’m more worried about what you do with it. or is that just more guilt i hear?”

...qrow has a split second to dodge the punch.

everything about it is feral and raw, because that’s what happens when words don’t work.

They needed this.

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Just cause that’s what I did doesn’t mean you have to accuse the others, Jimmy.

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“Oh, shut up, I bet you all did!”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“yeah? and i bet you run background checks on alla your men, don’t you? this was just more of… an informal process.”

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“Let me remind you, how exactly I run my army is none of your business and you are not allowed to sniff around in Atlas.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“what makes you think i care about how you run your army? i’m more worried about what you do with it. or is that just more guilt i hear?”

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Qrow has a split second to dodge the punch. And to pray his cheek can take impact of metal prosthetics well enough, because crossing highly personal borders with shoes on is rewarded with this kind of greeting.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

qrow and Ironwood on similar grounds of skill, and yet even though qrow wins by leagues when it comes to speed versus strength, he never saw it coming. not from James, not from the barest of bait.

uses the tiny window to draw up aura while he takes it right on the cheek; iron-fisted by Ironwood in the most unpleasurable way. head knocked to the side, and body knocked back a few steps, he rubs a stinging pressure where metal knuckles landed and resets burning red vision.

“oh, ho ho ho…” a gutteral, rueful chuckle crawls up from his chest. so it’s come to this? of course it has. it always does.

…fine.

if there’s one lesson the tribe ever taught him too well, it’s that there are more ways to work out problems than with words.

qrow puts his fighting face on with a grin and glint in his eyes, and rocks back on his heel with the last of the energy sent at him before pushing off in a long-limbed lunge forward to return the sling; goes for the guts (the softer half) while Ironwood still has arms elevated.

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If anything, laughter and so confident, so pleased posture drives James even more angry. Not only this little shit dares to act like an absolute idiot and hit where he was trusted not to, but seems he has fun while doing it.

Sadly, Qrow is a little bit faster than James. He folds in half with a grunt, but that gives him a good position and little space to ram into Qrow, head first, push him out of closest proximity or maybe throw off balance.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

no one punches right to the face without intention to hurt, qrow knows better than anyone. especially with an opening declaration like that, if James expects him to play fair instead of dirty, taking whatever opening he can get, he knows him even less than how a spy’s job works.

a spy, allied under the same man as Ironwood, that’s supposed to be on the same side. a little trust would be nice.

partially metal forehead bashes against qrow’s shoulder eliciting a heave of air and pained groan. with the blood-colored web of his aura awake and glowing from the hit, he lets it wash across his chest and down his arms; falls backwards from the force, but grabs fistfuls of jacket and shirt with misfortune-laced hands to yank with him, turning lost balance into in a suplex.

Odds of escape not in the other man’s favor as entangled limbs crash into the floor loudly cracking beneath them, fractured and dented around their bodies, but not caved through - yet; windows rattle in the wake.

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Well, the training grounds would be a much better spot for an impromptu wrestling session, but it’s bit too late to relocate now. Pulled down, James tried to avoid landing on his head, as someone’s luck was apparently aiming to let him knock himself out. He meets the floor with a pained grunt, but rolls over right after hitting the ground. Not wasting any second, James springs forward to slam into Qrow, pin him down with his weight, lock him in a any lever hold if possible.

From all possible types of problem solving, they chose this - least pleasant way to tangle limbs on the floor.

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as James rolls away, qrow uses the space to roll out, knocking into a table leg which bumps the surface off kilter and send a lamp crashing to the ground; its bulb pops and fizzles out. a little less light in the apartment, now.

he scrambles to all fours just in time to take a charging clothesline right to the chest with a throaty wheeze. but lanky, loose legs accept the shockwave and recoil to keep him steady, pushing right back as pairs of shoulders lock. arms raise to grapple with the man; muscles strain and sweat starts to drip down his face - full of focus and surprisingly calm, considering - from dogged effort of trying to push James down or roll him over while qrow growls in rough cadence along with the entropic pulse of his semblance flashing, threatening to drag everything down with; framed artworks clatter against the walls and ornamental figures fall from shelves.

chaos to combat order.

and while qrow is resilient, determined to break through, and awfully good at breaking things, James is stubborn, more than any other person on Remnant, solid in ways beyond just metal flesh.

grit clenches qrow’s jaw and grounds his feet, braces the entire frame of his physique, prepared to hold out and lash out as long as it takes for James to burn out.

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Looking from time perspective, James might think they shouldn’t have gone this feral. He might be wealthy, but most definitely doesn’t sleep on money and renovating most of his apartment’s main room was not in his spending plans for this year.

But at the moment he doesn’t think about it, assuming he thinks at all in between anger and adrenaline running through him in pulsing waves, getting lost in pure fighting instinct. Rarely he allows himself to dive into something this far, to lose head and his cool, analytical thinking and yet, here they are - engaged in punching, kicking, wrapping and pulling each other so far, that nothing else matters. No snapping, crumbling and crushing around is relevant. Whenever dark blue eyes meets pale red, it’s like a challenge is thrown anew and another round starts, even when more and more exhaust creeps into muscles. Fatigue is too slow to cool the raw determination down.

Thrown on his back, James lands hard again, but this time, something stabs him between the shoulders. He bites down his own pained whine as impact echoes through his entire spine and body. Only then he realizes that his aura is in fact gone. Must have been for a while. He stops, letting his weight slide him to side, a little away from whatever part of former coffee table tried to impale him. Still keeping his grip on Qrow, he finally notices large amount of aching all over and how heavily they both are breathing by now. Brothers, this is bad. Slowly, he just lets go, not moving from the spot. They’ve had enough, haven’t they… He’s not sure what got into him, but sure he’s glad it got out.

“Enough…” He breathes out quietly, squeezing eyes shut. Doesn’t dare to look around yet, he knows already that externalizing inner mess went all too well. Only now he feels various swelling and aching in way too many parts of his body, blood dripping from his nose and a cheek burning wildly. He doesn’t want to think what’s left of his shirt and jacket. Just hopes Qrow’s semblance didn’t use him as outlet to hurt its bearer to play a bigger number on him. “You okay..?”

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everything about it is feral and raw, because that’s what happens when words don’t work. people speak just as well with their bodies, the flesh and blood container of their heart, and beneath all the titles, despite all the metal, James understands that better than anyone. if qrow has to surround him with collateral damage to show him how little meaning all this wealth and power has in the end, if he has to rip and tear apart every bit of pomp to remind him how human James Ironwood really is, then so be it.

qrow’s quite practiced in being climbed on, brow-beaten, deceived, and shoved aside by the people who are supposed to be protecting him. and still he reaches out a hand and an extra leg to stand on; maybe in the form of a fist or boot to the head, but little else needs to be noted about his intentions than the fact that Harbinger still rests idle on the sidelines.

qrow, belittles himself so easy, doesn’t mind being beneath, has no need for reputation or glory or having all the right answers all the time.

the only follower left in the midst of too many frantic leaders, and meanwhile getting shit on and actively having his clothes and his skin and his soul torn apart for being just that. who he is. just like always.

but qrow can think for himself, and this he makes his own call on, refuses to back down from. if James cannot work within the gray, only sees black and white, then this is a time to push, to push to their absolute limits, until they’re too exhausted for anything but the messy truth.

and qrow comes out on top as the last dregs of misfortune summon piercing blows from broken parts, spent in the from of aura flickering away just before the other’s dissolves, and he can only close his eyes and grunt. down to the fibers of every firing muscle, he knows how to tense and relax to absorb the hits, roll with the punches that never really stop. he takes the final desperate flails of James’s blows on the chin.

qrow can do that for him. knows what it’s like to have a semblance get in the way of things.

somehow manages that the only twist of fate to come back on him is how Ironwood gets his chance to ruin a pretty face wearing a smile with an iron fist, just how it started, after all.

qrow steadies as James squeaks, down on one knee, aching, tired, and heaving breaths as if he resurfaces in the middle of an ocean after going about a thousand miles too deep, sees shimmering yellow stars as the ring of a black eye blooms on his cheek, and red oozes to pool across the white of sclera as he stares the man down. sharp eyebrow raises as if to say are we done here?

Enough

they’re finally on the same page, then.

“just fine,” he hisses, even though the act of answering sends an acrid metallic copper draining down the back of his throat, “passed up enough from the start of it, James.”

he wipes his mouth, pokes tenderly at the side of his head, and sniffs against the stinging all over his body; plops down to take a seat, a breather, right on the spot. no energy left to move an inch. perfect.

“…so i think the real question here is, are you okay?”

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James covers his eyes with a crook of an elbow, at least mechanical hand comes of use now. Much easier to move than the flesh one, significantly devoid of pain. Takes a longer moment, time just for the labored breathing, before peeking at Qrow from under the hand. Mess. Now the guilt is real and it stings fiercely.

“Ice’s in freezer.” Doesn’t seem either of them can move much anymore, but he had to offer. Good he had separate small kitchen, toilet and bedroom. At least something survived.

Awfully lot of mess.

“I don’t know.” The confession is quiet, not much louder than a whisper over sudden lump in throat. He hides in the hand again. Can’t face bare truth, can’t face Qrow nor mess they caused because of him. Because of him, his pride, his stubbornness and fear that he’s mistaken, that he can sacrifice everything, do his absolute best and more, and it won’t be enough. Because she found a way in before and was a step ahead all the time. He pulled every string he could to assure it won’t happen again, but somehow, sometimes, he just couldn’t be certain.

Time passes as James just grits teeth and lays there, trying to focus on slowing down breaths and just resting.

“Qrow..?” He tries once he’s sure his voice won’t tremble. “I’m sorry.”

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yeah.

qrow is a mess. James is a mess. it’s always a mess.

but sometimes upside down and inside out adds new perspective. and James finally sees what he started. created a nice picture of how he feels. meanwhile qrow looks towards the kitchen, the freezer, and while first aid is certainly called for, it’s so far. maybe in a few.

more important things right now.

James, suddenly small and quiet, knocked off his high horse. he mutters three words, so very hard for a leader to admit. last time qrow heard it was from Ozpin, and it wrecked his world. somehow hearing it now gives him hope. hope that James can still be reached.

he’s closer than the freezer.

qrow crawls on all fours, drags himself with slow movements and griping groans, but he gets there, and flops over on his back next to his friend, shoulders of flesh touching. and they don’t need to talk, qrow doesn’t need to pry painful thoughts from his mouth, doesn’t need to hear what James faces in his own shadows, or the realizations he finds in twisting colors on the back of his eyelids; a metal arm over his face reflective enough of his state of mind to prove qrow’s plan a success. satisfaction rushes over him and salves what stings. he doesn’t like talking until he’s blue in the face only to be ignored, but maybe James will see reason if most of the words come from himself.

“don’t be sorry,” qrow grounds out, turns his head to look at the other man, and so his burning cheek finds some relief against the cool floor, “be a better person. listen to your team and your friends. things don’t have to be as unilateral as you’re makin’ ‘em, James. …and for brother’s sake, get some sleep before i conk you out for real.”

soon enough actions will demonstrate whether all this was worthwhile or not, better than any heart to heart they could have here.

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James lets out a quiet relieved huff. The touch is strangely reassuring, much more than he’d expect it to be. It answers the question, he’ll probably never ask out loud. It’s good to not be alone, especially in a very rare moment when he can’t be the leader and protector, because he’s exhausted, frustrated and insecure, and finally let it out. When he can’t keep anyone else safe and sound, because he’s crumbling himself. And yet, he’s clearly wrong to think he’ll have to face everything on his own. Mistaken that serving as kingdom’s pillar, he’s not allowed to falter and can’t be supported without any higher purpose to it.

It’s so strangely good to be wrong.

It’s good to have a friend by his side, even when he wishes Qrow didn’t have to push him this far to prove a point. But same, he’s glad he did. All the thoughts slowly settle - being ready and having plans for the future is one thing, but worrying about it should come only once it’s present, not earlier.

Snort and a quiet chuckle raises in his aching chest, releasing remains of tension.

“Please do. I could use it from time to time.” The longer he thinks about it, the funnier vision of Qrow knocking him out seems, especially now, laying down in the wreckage they created in a quite long fight.

“Fine.” That’s not much, but it is a promise. He will try to be better. The hand is dropped to side, as he leaves mental hide out and turns to finally meet Qrow’s eyes. James was never fond of repeating himself, especially when he’s told not to, so he’s not going to apologize again, but the lack of accusations nor impeachment in the pale red gaze, makes him relax more, washes the guilt away.

Something right above catches his attention and he reaches to carefully get a wooden splinter out of Qrow’s hair.

“Hmm…” A bit of bright paint indicates it once was a bookcase. “You got me good, didn’t you.” He chuckles again, throwing the splinter away. “Please don’t do that again though. I don’t want to sell family estate to afford living.”

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deep chuckles roll from his throat as James agrees to the terms for a solid sock to the noggin for a solid sleep, without more broken noses. still qrow hears only the surface of thoughts, but he can dive deep as he likes into everything unspoken when dark blue eyes meet his own, a shine of honesty and gratitude beaming through otherwise exhausted features. and yet his whole body looks better this way, scuffed up clothes and broken down postures compared to rigid structures built on a grounding of false securities.

the bigger they are, the harder they fall. and qrow doesn’t wonder if James has made himself an empire too oversized to carry on one man’s shoulders. bound to collapse in a heap.

he already said his piece, and offered his shoulders to help, and alights with laugher anew as his face goes soft and cross-eyed to watch a strong hand which swung out at him not long ago, affectionately groom him, until it pinches swollen tissues forcing a release of focus, but he can’t help to think again, please see the signs around you.

“You got me good, didn’t you.”

he huffs while fluffing palms through graying black plumage to knock any more debris out.

qrow breathes; takes air into his lungs like he hasn’t in a long, long time, while the weight of misfortune is still lifted from his chest, even if his sore muscles groan from a stretch unaccustomed to. soon, aura will creep back in and bad luck will stick stubbornly to his skin in blood red tendrils, warping surrounding realities once more, but for now he takes the long shot gamble of still believing some can turn away from a path of self-destruction.

of all people, qrow has. so why not.

“did i, James?” he goads, goofy grin flashing as his head flops back down, and his fingers lace together to rest over his chest, mirth looking perhaps out of place with the rest of qrow so busted up, but since when was anything he ever did appropriate?

“it was good for me. was it good for you?”

a response all joke and no promise.

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“Yeah.” James chuckles and shrugs, only metal shoulder doing the full movement. “You definitely did and I take no complaints that I was the one to start the fight.” That’s half a lie - he knows he’s just as much to blame for the mess, i not more. He is the one who should know better than to let wounded pride and frustration get out like this.

“I’ll tell you once I’ll see the bill for repairs.” He huffs. There already was so much to do and now there’s even more. And the more he settled down after the fight, the more weary he felt. Can’t sleep on the floor though, however comfortable it was getting.

“I’ll fetch us the ice.” Relying mostly on his right side he sits up with a groan. Brothers, it aches. So he takes time for each movement before standing up and making way to the freezer.

They needed this. Time, vented mess, ice, all of it.

They also needed a shower and rest, but only one task at a time.

Takes some time to get back there and sit down by Qrow’s side. A bit ironic how fast can be destruction and how slow is the healing.

#* the man behind the militant machine = caeloservare ** james * #* we got work to do = ic * #* you've earned it = vol 7 * #* how do you think legends and fairy tales get started? = thread archive * #this thread was so important

[slash-em-up]

With Apologies to Necroscia Sparaxes pt. 2: Collector X Reader Smut

Here’s part 2!! The smut starts now. 😈

Read part 1 here:

https://slash-em-up.tumblr.com/post/189337211228/with-apologies-to-necroscia-sparaxes-pt-1

Once again, the biggest of OOFs to @dashinslashin for their bangin Asa sketch which inspired this mess...

———————————————

The sound of the clicking lock of his office door was like music to Asa’s ears.

He took a moment, staring at the wooden frame in contemplation, wondering just how hard it would be to murder the new intern without getting caught.

Not even collect her.

She had been here less than a week and he was already exhausted by her constant questions and invasion of his personal space.

He’d tried so many times to foist her off on one of the other doctors; but somehow she had managed to attach herself to him like a leech.

That blonde annoyance had not only caused him to miss lunch, but now dinner as well.

Asa was a man of his word, and missing dinner with you while also spending the few minutes you’d spent visiting trying to field questions from a nosy intern was impossibly vexing.

He shrugged out of his lab coat and carefully hung it on the rack next to his door. The tie and button down he wore feeling incredibly restrictive after such a long tense day.

The utility foam and fabric that composed his desk chair were more relaxing than he thought they’d ever been before; and even the tall stack of papers waiting for his review didn’t look quite as daunting as they had before the door had locked.

A knock sounded at the door and Asa had to hold himself back from slamming his fist on the desk in annoyance.

“What?” Asa barked out brusquely.

“Dr. Emory, I’m about to head out for the night…”

God damn Sarah.

“…was there anything else I could do for you? Anything at all?”

Asa sighed – something he found himself doing more and more frequently since the intern had started – and stood to open the door.

The blonde student stood, hip cocked and eyes lidded in the entrance to his office. Looking at him with something he couldn’t quite identify; but suspected wasn’t an emotion he should - or would- return in kind.

He stared down at the girl, imagining ripping her intestines from her body and watching her writhe on the floor.

Or perhaps he’d filet her – soft skin parting smoothly to the sharp blade of his knife until she was nothing but blood and muscle…

He came back to himself as a pair of sticky gloss-covered lips pressed against his own.

Reacting without thinking, Asa shoved the girl away from him, internally smirking at the loud thump that sounded throughout his office as the young woman’s back hit the doorframe hard.

“What the fuck?!”

Asa didn’t respond, moving quickly to throw the door open and usher the student back out into the hall.

His only indication of surprise at finding you waiting directly outside was a slight pause before turning on his heel and pointing out towards the exit with a look he usually reserved for naughty dogs. Canine or not.

You stood to the side, casually crossing your arms and trying to keep the smile from your lips as Sarah slunk past the both of you; looking deeply embarrassed.

Once the office door was closed behind you, you let the smile seep onto your lips, giving a small chuckle at Asa’s frazzled expression.

“So… no extra credit, huh?”

Asa ran a hand through his hair, mussing the sandy mop out if it’s normal side-part.

“… don’t be surprised if she goes missing very soon.”

You laughed again, setting your purse to the side and removing your own coat.

Moving to lean over the back of the desk chair you began to loosen Asa’s tie and unbutton his collar.

“I can’t really blame her, even if it did make me jealous… I’d have a crush on you too if you were my professor.”

Asa twitched as your hand ran under his shirt and down his chest.

“I’m not a professor.”

“Well she’d probably have been just as happy to play ‘doctor’.”

Black eyes narrowed and turned towards you over his broad shoulder.

Your free hand rose and ran across Asa’s plush lower lip, taking the leftover lipgloss with it.

You frowned.

“Not really your color, baby.”

Before you could say another word you felt your feet leave the ground as Asa sprang like a panther, lifting you up and holding you between the wall and his body.

You wrapped your legs around his hips and attacked his lips in an aggressive kiss. Pouring every ounce of possessive anger and jealousy into your movements.

If Asa was surprised by your ferocity he didn’t let it show, meeting your tongue and teeth with bites and groans of pleasure.

You lowered your legs and used your momentum and Asa’s distraction to push against his chest with as much force as you could muster.

Asa stumbled back a few steps, coming to rest against his desk – looking ready to launch himself back at you.

Raising one leg, you pressed a foot to his midsection, shocking him enough to stay in place as you caught your breath.

“Not so fast. You owe me an apology.”

Pearl eyes narrowed.

“For?”

You smirked – now you had him.

“You blew me off at lunch, you didn’t come home for dinner, and now I find you covered in some hussy’s lip gloss?”

Asa growled.

“You did say you’d make it up to me…”

Obsidian eyes flashed at you in the low lamplight of the office.

“How should I apologize?”

You walked slowly over to your purse, keeping an eye on Asa just in case he decided not to play along with your little game.

You reached in and withdrew the small leather case you both knew held your strap-on harness.

Asa snarled, baring his teeth as you drew close once more.

Though you’d begun to incorporate pegging into your sexual repertoire with more regularity, it was still a battle (both internal and external) to get Asa to submit.

You maintained eye contact as you slowly reached out to unbuckle his belt and unzip his fly.

“Turn around and put your hands on the desk.”

He didn’t move.

Now it was your turn to snarl.

Leaning in, you hissed into Asa’s ear.

“Do it, or I’ll make sure you’re really sorry.”

Asa stepped closer to you, his towering frame dwarfing yours as he pulled your hips to grind against his own.

He leaned in.

“Don’t you dare go easy on me.”

You bit his earlobe harshly and whispered “You know I won’t.”

Nodding, Asa turned and spread his fingers across his wood desk, tilting his head to watch you out of the corner of his eye.

Pulling his slacks down to his thighs, you gave him a rough slap, grinning at the deep grunt pulled from his mouth at the sudden impact.

Quickly tearing open a condom from your purse, you slid it over your fingers and squirted a bit of lube over the latex.

At the first press of your fingers against his opening Asa inhaled sharply, hips jolting away from the pressure.

You made quick work of stretching his ass and stripped out of your own clothes to slide the strap-on up your thighs.

Broad shoulders rose and fell harshly as Asa tried to collect himself after your rapid fingering, but fell still as you pressed yourself against him.

Barely daring to breath, you slid your slicked length between his muscular ass, periodically catching at his pucker, making the man in front of you twitch as if he didn’t know whether he wanted to press back or jerk away.

“You want me to fuck you, Asa?”

“Mmmm…”

“I can’t hear you.”

You wrapped a hand around and slid a hand down his own hard cock, making him toss his head back and gasp.

“Ask me to fuck you.”

“… Fuck… fuck… please.”

“Please what?”

“… please fuck me hard.”

Your smile was predatory as you grasped him by his hipbones and pressed forward.

“With pleasure, baby.”

Asa exhaled like he’d been punched as you bottomed out against his ass - thick length filling him to capacity and hitting every sensitive inch of his insides.

You gave no quarter and no time to recover as your hips began a quick and hard thrusting rhythm.

It was easy to tell when you hit Asa’s prostate.

He had yet to master keeping his solemn demeanor intact when you were fucking into his ass, and the sensitive gland in particular drove him to moan and cry out in pleasure with each thrust.

You began scratching your nails across his outer thighs and this additional stimulation ran like electricity through Asa’s body – his spine straightened and you took the opportunity to wrap your hand through his loosened tie and use it like a leash to arch his spine further towards your body.

Satisfied with his stance you reached around and grasped at his chest, using the leverage to drive even harder into his hole.

You could tell Asa was getting close to his finish as his cries grew louder and louder, hands scrabbling at his desk and spreading paperwork across the surface and onto the floor.

“You gonna cum for me baby?”

Asa turned his head to look at you – eyes glazed in pleasure as he nodded rapidly.

Humming your approval, your hand slid down to once again grasp at his twitching cock, hand twisting up and down in tempo with your continued thrusts.

A gasp and rough shiver was all the warning you were given before you felt Asa’s warm seed spurt into your palm.

His body collapsed forward onto his desk, forehead resting against the cool wood as your motions against him slowed.

You leaned down and pressed a kiss to his sweat-covered shirt.

Asa exhaled as you slowly withdrew from his body, turning to face you fully. His shirt was a wrinkled, ruined mess, and his tie was still twisted around to lay over his shoulder.

His slacks rested open on his shaking thighs, cock bright red and slick as his body recovered from your intimate attacks.

You stepped into his space and threaded your arms around his body, smiling softly as not a moment later you were surrounded by Asa’s strong embrace, feeling his nose bury itself into your hair.

He was getting more and more comfortable accepting affection, and to have him barely hesitate to return it gave you a warm feeling in your chest.

His hands began to run over your exposed skin, making you aware of your own dripping sex – fully and painfully turned on after having observed his pleasure.

Asa pulled you back to sit across his lap as he sunk down into his desk chair.

Kissing his lips softly, you moaned into his mouth as his fingers slid down in between your thighs, feeling your slick cunt against his skin.

All thoughts of jealousy or anger fleeing your mind entirely as Asa spread your thighs across his own, sliding two thick fingers into you and bringing his other hand up to massage your breast.

In-between soft, passionate kisses Asa gave you his signature close-lipped smile.

“Thank you.”

You were breathless as a low rolling orgasm ran through your body - brought to your finish by talented fingers and soft eyes.

Your head fell to rest against his shoulder. Kissing his exposed neck, you giggled softly, happier in that moment than you could recall being in a very long time.

“Anytime.”

#jessica writes #slasher fiction #the collector #the collection (2012) #the collector (2009) #asa emory #horror movies #the collector x reader

[aphotographyobsession]

I purchased the Medela with my second and have used it full time (3x a day, 5 days a week) for 3 months now and still going strong. I have a LOT to say about these pumps, but the bottom line is Medela is far superior. If you don’t want to read the full review, save yourself time, money, and frustration and purchase a Medela.

My experience with Ameda: I purchased this pump for two main reasons. First, it was a closed system (milk can’t get into tubes) and the cost differential – there was a greater one when I purchased the Ameda in 2011. At first things worked well. I starting pumping at night to build supply before returning to work. After returning to work, things continued well for a few months, then all of a sudden my supply started dropping. I could tell that my pump “wasn’t quite the same” so I read and read online. Ultimately, I determined that I needed to replace the valves. I did, and things improved… for a few weeks. Then, again, my supply dropped, I replaced the valves and things improved for a short time. This repeated several times (those valves are $7 for a pair… that adds up!!!!). I spent more than what I wanted to on replacement valves. This went on until my son was 7 months and then my supply all but dried up. When it got to the point that I could only get 4 oz per day and I was pumping 3x a day for 20 minutes each I decided it was time to switch to formula. Did I blame the pump? Not at the time, but now, absolutely! So, I cleaned everything well and packed it away carefully knowing that I would need it again for the next baby (except for the time when my close friend had her Ameda motor die on her after about 6 months of daily use and she borrowed mine for a week – hers was under the 1 year warranty, so Ameda did send a replacement free of charge). When my second baby came, I pulled it back out and pumped some during maternity leave without issue at first (new valves). Then all of a sudden I felt the pump “wasn’t quite the same” so I took it to a lactation consultant to look it over. We tested just the motor and it was reading the correct suction pressure. We checked the tubing and other connections until we found the root cause; THE VALVES!!!!!! The bad valve was essentially causing the pump to pull less than half the expected vacuum. Bottom line, it was worthless with bad valves. The lactation consultant opened a new package of valves from her own store and one of them was bad right of package. We went through all of mine and the majority of them were bad. No wonder my supply dried up… I was pumping, but with bad valves I wasn’t actually removing milk. If you don’t remove milk your body slows the production. I decided at that point to test until I found a few extra good valves and then anytime I needed more, I would just have to come back and test to 100% verify that the valves I was using were good. I DID NOT want to lose my supply again just because of the bad valves. Well, it didn’t matter, because a week into me pumping at work, my motor started to go out. Yes, it was 2 years old, but the actual working life of the pump was about 5. Either way, I may have only used it for 5 months but it was not under warranty so I purchased a brand new Medela pump. My experience with Medela: I purchased a Medela Pump in Style and what a difference!!! I could tell an immediate difference, but for the sake of not wanting the “new and shiny” aspect to persuade my review, I’ve waited to write this. So, with the Ameda in my first two weeks of work, I already saw a decline in my milk supply. This gem got my supply back up to normal within 3 days. If that’s not enough to persuade you to go with Medela, I don’t know what will. I have no complaints with this pump. In fact, that close friend that I mentioned hers broke on her… when she has a second little one I plan to help her buy a Medela. Yes, I’m that passionate about it. I feel sorry for the mommy that buys the Ameda and then doesn’t have the support system or money to problem solve the Ameda issues and buy all those replacement valves. Here are my opinions on the other aspects of the pumps: Bag: The backpack is tall and forces you to stack things. So, when you need the cooler from the bottom, you have to pull everything out. The tote, while maybe a little bigger is better organized so I don’t end up pulling everything out and readjusting. The Ameda is designed so you can pull the motor out of the bag, the Medela is not. So far that hasn’t presented a problem, but I can understand if you want to tuck it away in a small bag how it might be. The Ameda has no room to spare. If you want to bring a book along, good luck. With my Medela bag, I pack the hands free bra, extra bottles, a book, and extra accessories… with room to spare! Setup/Takedown: I felt like it was a much bigger deal to setup the Ameda to pump. You have to pull everything out of the bag and setup and then take it all back down and put away. With the Medela, the motor stays in the bag and everything stores nicely so you don’t have to pull everything out. I never have to take the cooler out and the tubes stay attached and have a nice little storage bag next to the motor. Flanges/Valves/Fittings: The Ameda accomplishes a “hygienic” closed system, which is a great concept, but comes at a price. I attribute this to my inadequate pumping and ultimately my supply drying up. The silicone diaphragm seemed to always get stuck in the vacuum position and the valves constantly needed replaced. I never did have to clean the tubes though. I also bought a different sized flange, but it was one that slide into the existing one and I never felt it made a good seal. The Medela is an open system and I do get condensation in the tubing. It’s worth it to me though because I know I’m getting great suction. I simply run my pump for a minute or two afterwards and it dries them out. The little white membranes provide the same function as the Ameda valves, but they are much less expensive and are much less likely to need replacing. I also had to buy a different flange size for the Medela, but it is designed so that the flange itself can just simply be a plug and play. It’s not an insert like the Ameda so I don’t have to worry about another joint that could potentially lead to suction loss. Cooler: The coolers are about the same size, but the Medela only has enough room for 4 bottles. The Ameda has room for 6. I only 4 - 5oz bottles so it works perfectly for me. With the Ameda, the ice packs never lasted long enough in my opinion. The Medela icepack is far superior. I even heat my milk to scald (150 deg F) – lipase enzyme issue you can Google if you’re interested in learning about it – and then I stick it in the bag and it is able to cool it and keep it cold until the evening! It’s awesome. Bottles: Ameda is 4 oz, Medela is 5 oz. Other than that, they are essentially the same. I don’t use them. I pump into the Playtex drop-ins pump and store liners and then they pop into the drop-in bottles (less bottle washing!). Motor: The vacuum supposedly is rated the same (lactation consultant shared that with me, but I’m not going to lie I didn’t read into it), but my experience is that the Medela is more reliable (several reviews report motors dying prematurely… which I experienced as well as my close friend). Also, the Ameda has the ability to adjust both speed and suction. At first I thought this would be perfect, but the more I used it, the more I was annoyed that it didn’t just automatically adjust. How am I supposed to know how fast it should go? Haha. So, the fact that the Medela pump does it’s automatic fast speed at first for letdown then adjusts to regular on its own or with the push of a button makes my life much easier. I’ve never once thought how nice it would be to adjust the speed myself. With the Ameda I always had to use full suction. With the Medela I have it at half suction and it works perfectly! Also, the Medela works faster for me than the Ameda did. Cleaning: The flanges are essentially the same. The two things that are different about cleaning is that the Ameda valves are a pain to clean because you really can’t clean them for risk of damaging them… and they are expensive! I gently rinsed them and left it at that. With the Medela, I do have to rinse the tubes once a week and have to do it when I’m certain I won’t need them… because you have to wait for them to dry completely before use again. So far it hasn’t been an issue. Availability of parts: Because Medela is a better known brand, you can find just about any replacement item you need at Target. So, when you need that emergency membrane/valve, you can almost guarantee you’ll find it at a nearby story, whereas, with Ameda I was overnight shipping if I had an emergency. Noise: The Ameda is much louder and more obnoxious sounding the Medela. Mine had a whirring sound when it pumped. Others who heard it thought something was wrong with it and usually asked if everything was okay (they were Medela users). Batteries: If you’re going to pump in the car, even once, buy the car adapter. These things sucks batteries like crazy (both of them). The battery pack is external with the Medela, which is has to be since you can’t remove the motor… but it makes it annoying. Hands free: Do yourself a favor and get a hands free pumping bra! In conclusion, buy Medela and rest assured you’ve made the right decision.

This sucks. Quite literally in fact! I was lucky enough to have a sweet baby that was born 5 weeks premature. She was perfect in every way but had to spend 3 of those extra weeks in the NICU. (I think they just wanted more time with her) One of the many perks that we were provided is the "Pump for Preemie Program". They allow you to take home a hospital grade breast pump (also a Medela) and hold your baby as collateral. It sounds like I am joking but when they were releasing her from the NICU, I had 5 nurses call me to make sure I brought the pump or else they wouldn't let me take her home. Literally 5! That pump was amazing - it has a better suction than the personal use pumps but that is not always a good thing. The main difference is that I had to pump for longer using this pump than with the hospital grade to get the same amount. It was just an extra couple of minutes. The longer pump time is MORE than worth the price difference. The hospital grade ones are insanely expensive ( but you can rent them if you wanna try it out - try Babies-R-Us) On to this pump - It's a great deal. You get a portable pump, ice pack, power plug, bottles and accessories. You will certainly need additional accessories but Medela makes that easy by offering a lot of "gift packs" or "new mom" kits. The breast pump I ended up with had the "On the go tote" that is pictured here but they also offer a backpack or a "Metro" messenger bag. (I suggest you go for the tote and get the CheekyTummy diaper backpack or use it with the Boba 4g baby carrier that has straps on the shoulder to help hold your bags.That keeps arms open to block strangers (and Grandma) from kissing on your baby and waking him up.) This pump can be run on A/C power or 8 AA batteries. They make it significantly heavier, so get to the plug when you can. It is designed to be a double pump but you can always use it on just one breast. The breast shields come in medium- I don't have huge boobs and my nipples didn't grow 3 sizes, like the grinch's heart, so those worked well for me. The larger sizes that I tried at the hospital would try to suck in my entire boob and my will to live. A good way to tell if you have the right size is to see what is sucking in and rubbing. If all of your nipple is rubbing/chaffing against the inside of the flange, than you probably need to try the next size up. It should fit the center of the flange and by the middle of the pump you will see it has reached maximum size is gliding along the inner edges smoothly. If it is sucking in areola and nipple - it's too big.

I got one of the "hands free" bras to go with it. The idea is great - pump without having to hold two little milk troughs to your chest. The execution makes it hard. I would suggest trying it with a tight tank top first. Just channel Regina George from Mean Girls and cut holes on each nipple and stick the flange through. Honestly, your probably not walking around and pumping as it is your only chance to actually sit down. Some well placed pillows will hold up the bottles so you can pump, check facebook, and continue to rock the baby's swing so she doesn't wake up mid-let down. This pump is quiet - but not silent. It's like an aggressive, nipple sucking, purring cat. They have quieter ones on the market but I am not sure they can hold up the level of suction over the long term. The hoses can build up quite a bit of condensation in them, which can mold. Make sure to air them out whenever you see little droplets in them. You can point the tubes downward put the pump on full blast without the breast shields on and let it air out the hoses before let down starts. You can also use rubbing alcohol to clean them but I never tried that. All in all, this is a wonderful product. I am glad I spent the extra dollars and went for Medela over an off brand. The replacement parts are easy to find. I would highly recommend it - it will be your best friend and your worst enemy!

[charity-angel]

An Errant Muffin

Read on AO3

It was a simple, stupid mistake in the end. Because Foggy knew the truth, Matt had relaxed around his friend, stopped playing the role of ‘normal blind person’ and just finally let him be himself. Foggy was usually of the opinion that Matt as himself was a show-off and a dick, but that’s because Foggy was sore about being beaten at foosball by a blind guy. Matt tried to reassure him that he would always have the advantage if they tried pool, or darts. Because while Matt might know where all the balls were on a pool table, he had no way of knowing which ones he should be aiming at, and a dartboard was just… no. At least throwing things at bad guys’ heads, they made noise to tell him where they were. A dart board was a big circle of blank. The wiring delineating the scoring zones wasn’t distinct enough for him to perceive it from a distance. Up close and touchable was a different matter, but Foggy had suggested that really was cheating.

It was a thrown muffin that caught them out. Quite literally. Foggy hadn’t thought anything of it: he’d thrown Karen her treat, then Matt his. And Matt had caught it, equally thoughtlessly. It was Karen’s gasp of surprise before the stunned silence that made them both panic.

“We are definitely getting better at that,” Foggy choked out after a momentary hesitation, in an effort to explain as he set down the tray of coffees. “All those sponge balls in the face have paid off.”

Matt snorted, and he didn’t even have to work at being amused by that idea. Because it was absolutely something Foggy would do, and he had no idea why they actually hadn’t been doing this for years. Matt could have fumbled the first few catches until it looked like a smooth, practiced affair.

“Your aim has definitely improved,” he quipped back. “I just wish it had been that good the first time you tried it.”

“No.”

Shit, Karen sounded definite about that. She wasn’t wrong, to be fair to her, and she wasn’t stupid either.

“No, because you’d have done that in the first week after I started, to freak me out. That’s… Matt, how?”

“I could hear it coming,” he admitted, picking at the top of the muffin. The scent of orange became stronger.

“Yeah, no, try again.”

He set the muffin down on the arm of the sofa nearest to him and pulled off his glasses, setting them down around the muffin. “You want to grab a light and test my pupil reaction? Because I guarantee you it’ll be either really boring or really interesting, depending on your expectations. Boring if you expect them to not react. I really freaked out an ER nurse once.”

She got up and walked towards him. He followed her movements instinctively. That wasn’t something he had ever lost, and it would be stupid to start trying now.

“Okay, so your eyes don’t track, even if your face does,” she said slowly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. You’re almost always wearing your glasses.”

“Turns out most people are freaked out by someone not looking at them,” Matt said. He was aiming for a joke, even just a bit of levity, but it fell flat and he plucked and ate a cranberry from his muffin to cover up the awkwardness. (Foggy snickered. Foggy had lived with him and was not freaked out by his useless eyes any more. Not after so many mornings of Matt bumbling around their room half-asleep, or hung-over, or both. Foggy was pretty much the only person he didn’t feel the need to hide his eyes from. Claire was the other, but she was not entering into this conversation any more than she already had. It would be nice for Karen to be a third.)

“Most people are idiots,” Karen said firmly. “You’ve got nice eyes – I wish you wouldn’t hide them.”

(This was actually more the opposite of a conversation in college with Foggy, which had been more along the lines of “You do not need any more help getting girls. Please, for the love of your fellow man, hide those lady-killers and give the rest of us a chance.”)

Her hand moved to cup his cheek, her thumb stroking the skin around his left eye.

“You didn’t finch.”

“I knew where you were, and the air pressure changes when you come near my skin.”

Her hand pulled away, a derisive noise in her throat. Raspberry swirled from her hair as she turned away from him. “I… No-one can feel that, Matt.”

He sighed and tipped his head back. This… this was going to require the truth. Or parts of it, at least.

“I told you, that night you stayed at my apartment, that it was a car accident.”

She nodded tightly, and after a moment, Foggy piped up: “Matty, did you catch that? She nodded.”

He had, but only because he was really paying attention to her. Ordinarily he’d have missed it. Which was a conversation he needed to have with Foggy actually – how much was he missing because he was so used to Foggy narrating the world around him, only now he didn’t?

“Kind of,” he admitted, which drew surprised sounds from both of them – Karen because from her perspective he really shouldn’t be able to know that at all, Foggy because he pretty much assumed now that Matt could ‘see’ everything as well as he could. “Later, Foggy.

“It was an accident, and there was a car. But there was also a truck full of… something. They never told us what. I remember there were barrels falling, and the glug of the stuff as it poured over the road, the smell…” He knew he was pulling a face at that – he’d never smelled anything like it since, although there had been plenty of acrid things in his life since, it wasn’t the same kind as vomit, or vinegar, or urine, or any other acid he’d encountered. It was closer to his toilet cleaner, if anything. Or bleach.

“And I remember the burning. I know it didn’t leave any scars – I can feel that – but the pain was unbelievable. Whatever it was, it didn’t leave anything externally, but internally? It destroyed my optic nerves, but it enhanced everything else. I really could hear the movement of the muffin through the air, and I could feel the pressure changes just before you touched me. Just like…”

In for a penny…

“You told me, that night, that you hadn’t kept a copy of the pension file; that you wished you had. I knew you were lying because your heartbeat picked up. I can always tell.”

“Human polygraph,” Foggy put in around a mouthful of his lemon muffin, and Matt appreciated his efforts, because he remembered it wasn’t that long ago that Foggy had been entirely freaked out by this and pissed that Matt had never told him. “It’s really annoying.  He calls me on my crap now.”

That made Karen hesitate: she had been working up a good head of steam about the fact Foggy was in on this too. Matt was keeping good tabs on her now, and her shoulders slumped as she turned towards Foggy. “What?”

“I only found out a couple months back,” Foggy told her.

“That’s what you were fighting about?” She was looking from one of them to the other, her voice changing cadence as she did so. Foggy probably wouldn’t notice that, even if he closed his eyes and tried.

“Yeah,” they both admitted sheepishly. Foggy didn’t say anything more – something Matt was glad of. Not having to hide his capabilities from Karen would be a relief, but he wasn’t sure he could handle her knowing everything. She would probably take it better than Foggy, but she would also worry more, hover more. He didn’t need any more of that right now.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. It wasn’t some massive conspiracy after all.

“So. Matt. You’re enhanced? Like the Avengers?”

Matt couldn’t help himself: he laughed. Somewhere inwardly he realised that was a little too close to the truth for comfort, but that was something to worry about later. “I guess? Some of them, anyway. I hear there’s a guy in Queens who shoots webs and sticks to walls.”

“Can you do that?”

“Matt, what?”

He laughed again, his eyes closing as he ducked his head. “No, I can’t. I never thought of myself as enhanced before, but I guess you’re right. I just… I keep it quiet because…”

He sighed. The truth was always shitty. “I had enough problems as a kid being different, without being really different.”

Karen huffed and sat down heavily at the other end of the sofa, maybe a little closer than she had been before. “Matt, you’re a dumbass. I get it, but this is me and Foggy. You two have known each other forever – you should have said something sooner.”

He had to concede that one. If nothing else, the Daredevil thing might not have been such a surprise if Foggy had known what he was capable of earlier. “Yeah, I know.”

“And Foggy? You’re even more of a dumbass. You’re mad about something Matt can’t control.”

Foggy started to say something – more than likely defend himself against that entirely defensible statement (since that wasn’t what Foggy was actually mad about, not really) – but clearly thought better. “Kind of,” he allowed eventually.

“You’re mad he didn’t tell you, and so am I, but people keep secrets for all kinds of reasons. I get why Matt didn’t tell us, and I think you do too.”

Foggy sighed heavily and Matt decided to let this play out. He wanted to see where this was going to end up, where the equilibrium would be formed.

“I do get it,” Foggy said finally. “I do. That’s why I forgave him for not telling me back in college.”

Not for his extra-curricular activities though. That was a careful omission, councillor.

“Good. That’s good. I hated you two not talking. I wish you’d told me too, Matt. When you told Foggy. Then maybe I could have understood what was going on.”

He ducked his head. There was no way he could have faced telling Karen then. Honestly it had never occurred to mention his gifts without mentioning his alter ego. Without talking about his past, about Stick and the war he wanted no part of. About Elektra.

“I’ve never told anyone,” he confessed. “Not even the nuns at the orphanage. Not even my dad.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Karen. My dad had a lot going on, trying to pay my hospital bills, paying for the equipment I needed, and keeping me on the straight and narrow. I didn’t want to put anything else on him right then. And then it was too late.”

Karen shuffled closer and put her arm out. He smiled and leaned against her shoulder. This simple acceptance was nice.

“Can we establish a rule?” Her voice was softer, probably taking into consideration that he was so close to her.

“Shoot.”

“If we’ve got clients, or we’re in public, do what you have to, but around us? Don’t pretend to be something you’re not.”

Liquid sloshed in Foggy’s direction. He had lifted a coffee cup to toast them. “Hear, hear.”

“Sounds good,” Matt agreed. “Now, come on, Fog; share that coffee.”

“Get it yourself, lazybones,” Foggy teased, settling into his seat now that the drama was over. “Show off a bit.”

Matt shook his head and straightened up out of Karen’s embrace. He pushed himself up and crossed the room unerringly. This in itself was not that impressive – it was his apartment after all. He knew where everything was. However, closing his hand around one cup on the first attempt, pulling it free from the cardboard tray, then doing the same with the other, was probably a little bit more of a spectacle. It only took a single sniff of each cup to identify which was Karen’s vanilla latte and which was his cappuccino so that he could hand her the right one.

“That’s not movement through the air or whatever,” she observed.

“Heat from the cups,” he told her.

“Okay.”

They lapsed into silence as they finally had the coffee Foggy had provided. Matt had just taken a bite of his muffin when Karen drew a sharp breath.

“I guess I should thank you for saving me from Rance.”

Foggy choked on his mocha.

#mcu #daredevil #matt murdock #foggy nelson #karen page #canon divergence #karen is one smart cookie #yeah because what i need now is a new fandom... #fanfic

[andwhenthefantasydied]

It was my birthday yesterday (personal)

It’s been a weird year.

I’ve been trying to write this post for a while now. I’m still not sure what it is I want to say.

Positives first, I guess? I’m an official translator now. Ministry-certified, seal-bearing, my-signature-has-notary-like-effects official translator. So that’s nice. I’ve only gotten a bit of work out of it, but it’s still nice. Lately I’ve been getting more freelance work. Also, 2 months ago I did some interpreting for an NGO that works towards achieving peace in the country, when an important reverend from the WCC came to visit. That was only one day but it felt nice, I felt like I was doing important work. It was a relief to see that there were people still working for peace in the region, that we had allies supporting us from outside. It felt meaningful.

Also, this month I actually got a lot more work as a freelancer, mostly in medical translation. And I hear I might be getting more. I hope I do. And I hope I can handle it. Apparently I’m building a reputation as a good medical translator. Who knew.

I went back to England for a week for graduation. It was nice. The girl who may have been my closest friend didn’t attend, and I don’t really have a way of contacting her anymore, with her being in China and all that, but it was still nice to go back, catch up with friends. I didn’t do everything I wanted to do there, but it was still a nice time.

Also, I got to do my talk on Garcia Marquez’s Most Beautiful Drowned Man in the World at the Conference for the International Institute of Iberoamerican Literature. Not many people attended my panel, as it was happening at the same time as the big conference from big author Pablo Montoya, who, by the way, was being discussed in our panel, but still, the people that heard my conference enjoyed it, and older academics praised my paper as an actually new interpretation of an already very discussed story.

And I don’t hate my normal job, for the most part.

But... still....

I came back to Colombia a week after my birthday last year. I wanted to find a good job or to live well as a freelancer, so my girlfriend and I could be happy. I wanted to make money to make her happy, to take her to my graduation in England. But it didn’t really work out as I wanted. I couldn’t make enough money as a freelancer. Not at first, anyway. Not now either, really, even if I start making more soon. I couldn’t take her to England.

Eventually I just got the job I could get, and now I’m an English teacher again, in an institute, teaching adults this time. And while I don’t hate it, it doesn’t pay well. And it means I have to get up at 4 am to be there at 6 am. Also, my girlfriend and I used to call each other to sleep while I was in England, and we kept doing it here. And the two things combined meant I couldn’t go online at nights anymore, and so I basically stopped being online, and I've lost track of all my online friends. I hope you guys are alright and that you’re happy these days.

And then many things happened with my girlfriend, and no matter how hard we tried it just wasn’t working, and it was on and off and now we’re broken up. We’re still friends, and we still see each other everyday, and it’s kind of a mess, but it’s... for the best, I think. Maybe.

IDK. Maybe things could’ve been different. I feel a lot of it were external problems, the unfair circumstances she had that put pressure on everything. It just kinda sucks.

Also, very soon my parents will move to a new place, and my sister and I will have to cover all the house expenses, and I need to start paying my loans in December. And I know that if worse comes to worse my parents will help me, but I’m supposed to pay for all of it myself.

(On a less personal note, I’m in constant state of worry for the future of this country and the future of the peace process and I’m still bitter about the results of both rounds of the elections. First I voted for the center-ish green party candidate and lost, then I voted for the leftist and he also lost, and now our president is this young conservative type whose party keeps trying to light the country on fire while he keeps a veneer of respectability in front of the press. We also lost the corruption referendum -although that one wasn’t so bad, it might have been for the best actually, as the points in the referendum weren’t perfect, and we still got enough votes that they all parties are now having to present their proposals, and they actually have to debate and we can see which one is more viable, without having to worry about whether some points are not constitutionally valid as we did with the referendum, and I can only hope that whatever comes out of this latest anti-corruption trend we’re seeing will do something. Also, it gave us the best novelty song of the decade, problematic as it may be, and I still like it even though the referendum’s all past.

But I don’t think about corruption all that much, I keep thinking about the dangers that the entire peace process will collapse. But still, we gotta keep doing the job. I did some extra work for that NGO. And I kept it pro-bono. I might keep doing that in the future. Local elections are next year, and Navarro Wolf will be major, maybe, and maybe he’ll be good, maybe, and then maybe he could be president--because in my imagination, come 2022, he’s about the best possible candidate the left will be able to muster.)

So what now? Maybe I’ll start getting those extra translation contracts I’m supposed to be getting. Maybe. Maybe I’ll survive and eventually I’ll be better. Maybe.

Here’s where I am now. I think I’m going to spend some more time online. At least a little more time. This week I already caught up  on Night Vale, which I hadn’t listened to in like 3 months. This past week I had to translate a mountain of work. And now that I’m free, I can finally watch the adventure time finale.  So for now, before bed, let’s forget about broken hearts, and money and dreams, and I’m just going to see if Adventure time lands on its feet. Here’s hoping.

#And if you're reading this #chances are you've been a friend to me at some point in some way #and even if I dissappeared #or we grew appart #thank you #I love you #I hope you're having a good year #I love all of you #I'm still here #Maybe I'm a mess #but I'm here

[livingcorner]

How to Clean and Paint Outdoor Concrete Statues?@|how to paint concrete garden ornaments@|https://repaintnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Paint-Concrete-Statues.jpeg@|21

Whether you’ve got an old concrete statue that needs a bit of touching up or a brand-new item that doesn’t help the Feng Shui of your garden, cleaning and painting outdoor statues could be just the trick you need.

As you’ll find out, servicing these statues is easier than you may think! In this guide, we’ll go over all the steps you’ll need to take to make sure your statue has that desired look.

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With this in mind, keep reading to find out the best ways to clean and paint outdoor concrete statues!

And what are the best paints you can use for painting over your outdoor concrete statues or garden gnomes…

How to Clean Concrete Statues for Painting?

My wife and I have been making cement as well as concrete statues in our backyard for a very long.

The last we have made was of a rabbit that “looks just awesome” (our neighbors complimented).

Believe me, it’s a great proud feel to make these statues and paint on your own…

Well, when it comes to statue painting in a garden you’ll definitely want to clean your garden ornaments before you paint it for all the obvious reasons.

For starters, leaving debris on your statue before painting it can lead to an uneven (and unattractive) paint job that certainly won’t be turning heads on your patio.

Not cleaning your gnome statue could also increase the chances that your paint job becomes damaged, meaning you’ll have to spend more time and money repainting your statue than you expected.

If you’re looking for a long-term fix that will have your lawn looking its best for years to come, you’ll want to follow the upcoming cleaning tips:

Step 1- Remove Debris

You’ll want to start cleaning your outdoor lawn ornaments by using a small, soft-bristled brush that can remove external debris such as dirt and cobwebs throughout damaging the concrete.

Many first-time cleaners make the mistake of using harsh brushes such as grill brushes, which have been known to strip the concrete and leave an overall patchy finish.

Avoid doing this and instead opt for paintbrushes and toothbrushes, which are gentle and versatile enough to enable widespread cleaning of your statue.

For larger areas, consider using a paintbrush to remove large swaths of debris.

To get into smaller nooks and crannies, a soft-bristled toothbrush is excellent at restoring detail to your statue.

Step 2- Use a Garden Hose

Never pressure wash your outside statues and garden gnomes.

Instead, opt for a gentler approach by going with a standard garden hose.

Going with the most powerful setting, you can spray down your concrete statue without having to worry about damage.

Make sure you do so on a stable, man-made surface, as splash-back from the ground can actually make your statue look worse.

As you spray with the garden hose, you’ll want to be sure to attack the statue from a variety of angles.

The pressure of the water should be sufficient to remove much of the debris that’s caked around your statue.

Step 3- Apply Household Cleaners

For a more intimate clean, you may also consider applying organic household cleaners.

You’ll first want to verify that the type of cleaner you are using isn’t harmful to the environment.

If you’re not careful, you may very well kill your garden in the process.

Standard household cleaners are great at getting the job done but must be applied to wet statues.

If you feel inclined after hosing off your statue, you may scrub down the concrete with a safe household cleaner using a small brush.

You can also mix the cleaner into a solution of hot water and brush off the statue instead of using the hose.

Tip: Avoid Cleaning in Cold Weather

Expecting a sudden temperature drop? Then you don’t want to clean your statue.

In general, it’s best to avoid cleaning your outdoor concrete statue in cold weather.

That’s because concrete absorbs moisture, which can freeze, expand, and bust your statue if the weather gets too cold.

For this reason, you want to make sure that you’re doing your cleaning in warm weather or at least in a temperature-controlled setting such as your garage.

Taking care of these conditions can help you keep your birdbath statue safe and looking brand new.

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How to Paint The Concrete Statues Perfectly?

Now that we’ve gone over how to clean concrete statues, it’s time to take an in-depth look at how to paint them.

Use the following information to get your concrete statue matching your desired look!

Step 1- Wash

If you haven’t already, you’ll want to wash your statue with the steps provided above.

Again, be sure not to use any harsh chemicals that can damage the ground or damage the statue.

Remember that some chemicals can cause your statue to change colors, which will pose problems later on when painting.

As the final step of the washing process, make sure that you give your statue time to dry completely, which can take up to a day.

Blow any leftover debris away if necessary.

Step 2- Apply Primer

Once your statue is good and clean, it’s time to apply your primer.

For concrete statues, it’s best to apply an epoxy exterior primer that can withstand harsh weather conditions.

Make sure that you are doing so in a well-ventilated area.

For best results, you’ll also want to wear a mask that will help you avoid breathing in any harmful fumes.

Start by setting your statue on a towel, tarp, or other surfaces.

If you wish to paint the base, set the statue on its side and start with a paintbrush on the bottom.

Make sure the base has time to dry, then work your way up the statue until it has been completely coated in primer.

Step 3- Paint the Base

Setting the statue back on its side, apply a twenty-percent diluted exterior latex concrete paint to the base of your statue.

When this has dried, move upward until the entire statue has been coated.

As before, you can complete this process with a paintbrush.

If you do not wish to paint the base, simply leave it untouched and focus on the other sides of your statue.

Step 4- Paint the Surface

Using the same paintbrush (or paint sprayer, if you choose), coat the remaining sides of your statue with the diluted paint solution.

Make sure that every inch of your statue is covered evenly. This can be difficult if you skipped any of the cleaning steps before.

Giving your first coat time to dry, apply a second coat of paint when you are ready.

Step 5- Apply a Topcoat

Unlike your base coat, your topcoat should be full-strength.

You’ll want to apply this coat everywhere you applied the base coat, including the base of the statue if applicable.

You may choose to do so in full or rather use a stencil to create a design for your statue.

Some individuals find it nice to apply the topcoat and then rub it gently to reveal bits of the base coat.

This can create a more weathered pattern that fits nicely with certain gardens or patios.

Step 6- Add a Waterproof Seal

Once your paint has completely dried, you’ll want to add a waterproof seal.

This will help the statue stay safe in the rain and in storms, giving you that extra protection you need for a better-looking statue.

Make sure to do this after a period of around twenty-four hours so that your statue is completely dry.

When applied, the seal will help lock in your colors and drive off any unwanted moisture.

Step 7- Dry the Statue

Your statue should be completely dry within another twenty-four-hour period.

But you’ll want to keep it out of moist areas for a period of about two days to allow the paint and sealer to set.

Once done, you’ll have a statue that will make the neighbors jealous!

What Kind of Spray Paint Should I Use for Statues?

Choosing the best paint for outdoor concrete statues is highly important so that you can get the job done right.

Standard aerosol can spray paints can be used both for full-on painting and accents.

Whether you’re looking for a solid color or would like a concrete statue that has a bit of a personal touch, you can use standard spray paints.

A pro tip is to use a standard can for your base paint and a glossier paint on top so that you can have a statue that pops.

Acrylic Latex Paint (I used THIS) that’s meant for exteriors can also do the job pretty well if you want something more traditional and cheaper in your backyard.

In fact, it’s a good option to choose from as it can last for years when you do it right.

Plus, it will not be going to harm your backyard friends!

One good paint that I highly recommend is ARTEZA Outdoor Acrylic Paint ( HERE on Amazon).

I use this all the time for painting my client’s garden statues (outdoor sculpture, concrete flower pots, birdbaths, gnomes, and many more decorations made of stone in the backyard).

What Do You Need To Know?

With all the paints in mind, it’s time to look at some information you should know before painting your backyard statue:

You Can Use Regular Paint

Both standard acrylic latex spray paints and regular paint that have been watered down work well for concrete statues.

These paints are thin enough to adhere to the concrete and strong enough to form tight bonds on the surface of the statue.

What’s more, these paints are versatile enough for accenting, detailing, and shadowing depending on how far you want to go with your paint job.

Concrete Stains

Exterior concrete stains are also a great way to get the job done.

These stains come in aerosol cans and act like spray paint to cover your statue.

Of course, the finished look is slightly different, with concrete stains providing a more acid-washed effect for your finish.

Don’t Paint a New Statue

You’ll want to wait at least a month before you paint a brand new statue.

That’s because it takes time for the statue to set and be ready to hold the paint molecules.

Likewise, if your statue has already been painted or sealed before, you’ll want to take special precautions so as not to end up with a bad paint job.

Consider sanding the material and following the manufacturer’s directions for painting and sealing.

Don’t Dry the Statue on the Ground

For best results, make sure to set your statue on a pedestal when drying.

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This will help keep moisture from soaking up into your statue during the drying process.

You may also consider leaving your base unpainted so that your statue has room to breathe and moisture does not get trapped on the inside.

Protect the Painted Statues and Gnomes

Once you have repainted your garden gnomes and have ensured that it’s completely dry, consider applying a UV-protectant sealer like a Rust-Oleum protective clear coat.

You simply need to spray this on the painted statue as you would spray the paint or primer.

This awesome product will help protect all your hard painting work from the harmful UV rays of the sun.

Plus, it also adds a bit of gloss finish to the gnome’s surface.

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Few Additional Ideas for Painting Outdoor Garden Rabbit Statues

You may have rabbits passing through your garden from time to time, but you can honor these little creatures with small statues that populate the area.

Believe me, there are few things that can really liven up a garden more than little statues of rabbits, pelicans, or garden gnomes.

These ornaments for your garden come either finished or in their raw concrete form which is perfect for painting.

From highly detailed, realistic representations to simple, colorful designs that make the statues truly stand out, you can choose whatever pattern you want for your statues.

What follows are a few tips on how to paint your concrete rabbit statues, so you can get what you want to enhance the appearance of your garden.

Weathering

If you do not want to paint the figurines and statues, providing them with a weathered look can be quite attractive.

Simply wash the statues and let them air dry. Then, use a clear sealer and let it dry.

Afterward, cover the statue in stain or latex concrete paint using dark colors such as brown, green, or black.

Leave the paint on for about 10 seconds, then wipe it once with a wet cloth, then again with a dry one.

Allow it to set for at least 24 hours and then add another layer of sealer.

Keep It Simple

In other words, you can quickly spray paint the statues a single color quickly and easily.

Be sure to wash the statue first with clean water and let it air dry under the sun if possible.

Once fully dry, you can start by adding a base coat of latex if the statue will be outside.

Then, you can simply spray paint the statue with the color that you desire.

After 24 hours, apply a clear sealer and it will last for many years.

Applying Patterns

Rabbits have distinctive patterns in their fur and a bit of cuteness in their eyes which can be mimicked when hand-painting the statues with a brush.

You can get the required paint from hardware or craft stores and follow the pattern typical for certain breeds of rabbits;

Lop Ears: Mix brown and white colors to match the popular Holland Lop rabbit

Upright Ears: A spotted black and white pattern similar to the English Spot rabbit works

Harlequin Rabbit: This is a rabbit with a brown and orange coat, so make sure to paint like that

Be sure to use a sealer about 24 hours after completing the paint job. Once completed, you can move the statue to the garden.

If you have selected a metal statue and not a concrete one, then you will need to clean the statue first of all rust.

Then use a metal primer to keep rust from forming on the statue again.

Once completed, you will need to use a rubber or oil-based paint.

You can stick with tradition and go with natural colors and patterns or go for a more exotic look using bright pastels.

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The bottom line

Putting a few rabbit statues (Santa, birds, couples, or any other you like) in your garden will add to the natural atmosphere and help create a world that you’ll look forward to visiting again and again.

The good thing is you can repaint these outdoor statues the way you want and can refresh them whenever you need to get a fresher look.

Instead of painting the old ones, you can also find concrete statues at your local retail or home improvement store that offers gardening implements.

They are rather inexpensive to buy and you will love adding them.

Jack Luis is a semi-retired painter who loved painting his clients’ ideas on their walls.

He had worked as a painter for more than a decade to serve the customers in areas such as Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Beaufort, Georgetown, SC (South Carolina). Today in his free time, he likes to read and write about the newer techniques that are being implemented in his profession. You may read more about him here or get in touch with him here.

Just in case you want to hire pro painters in your local area, you can click here. We can instantly send you free quotes from trusted painters based on your specific requirement.

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source https://livingcorner.com.au/how-to-clean-and-paint-outdoor-concrete-statueshow-to-paint-concrete-garden-ornamentshttps-repaintnow-com-wp-content-uploads-2020-01-paint-concrete-statues-jpeg21/

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[coinprojects]

New Post has been published on https://coinprojects.net/why-exchanges-have-to-go-the-extra-mile/

Why exchanges have to go the extra mile

Crypto criminals are getting more adaptive and smarter than ever before. But how can industry service providers keep up with them? If I say that the crypto industry is highly targeted by cybercriminals and, in particular, organized criminals, I’m sure that no one who has spent a few months within the space would be surprised. And for a valid reason.

Due to the new technology and the nascent nature of the sector, criminals and fraudsters have long identified the excellent opportunity that crypto offers to profit via illicit methods. Indeed, any “new” approach to the financial sector is welcomed by the criminal fraternity as an opportunity to launder funds and find new victims.

While the situation has improved significantly since the early days of digital assets, political and financial industry pressure has led regulators to aim their sites at the crypto industry, and their long-trusted approach may not be as effective in this innovative and non-traditional space. At the same time, market participants often underestimate the intelligence, innovation and adaptability of criminals who wish to take advantage of the industry.

Related: Bitcoin can’t be viewed as an untraceable ‘crime coin’ anymore

To KYC, or not to KYC: How criminals circumvent traditional security measures

Know Your Customer (KYC) is one of the most widely utilized measures among cryptocurrency exchanges. While it helps service providers to learn more about their customers — including their identity, residence and source of funds — KYC is also a mandatory requirement for most digital asset businesses.

But rapid technological advancement and the attention regulators pay to KYC are definitely not enough to eliminate bad actors from the platform. The criminal fraternity is able to abuse the industry because they adapt rapidly, do not have to follow the same rules as us, have high liquidity and enjoy a great deal of expertise.

As a result, while traditional KYC tools can stop less established, less professional criminals, those with great experience and the necessary skills can easily circumvent such measures. It’s something they have been doing for decades in traditional financial services.

In practice, it’s very easy for criminals to procure fake documents and use them to bypass KYC rules. And they don’t even need comprehensive “Photoshop” skills. Fraudsters can get through the front door by paying decent people who want to take care of their families for their passport data and a selfie when required. The use of mules is no revelation, but the process has become immeasurably easier in the digital space.

In terms of fraud, cybercriminals primarily target less tech-savvy users. Despite the serious money involved, criminals know that many utilize crypto products and services without knowing even the basics about how they work.

Malicious parties definitely take advantage of this. This is the reason why you see so many — rather amateurish — “Elon Musk giveaway” scams out there. While veteran users can spot them easily, they effectively attract less-knowledgeable victims eager to not miss out on crypto space opportunities.

Because they are harder to fool, fraudsters rarely target more savvy people. That said, we should never underestimate the intelligence and brazen approach of criminals. They learn fast, and many of them possess the necessary resources to bypass previously unbreakable security measures. A great example is the way in which fraudsters are employed to leverage social engineering and other cunning tactics to acquire the details and private keys even of experienced crypto users.

Related: The radical need for updating blockchain security protocols

Evolving regulation and going above the standard are crucial to protect customers

The innovative technology in the financial services industry brings with it progressive, tech-savvy fraudsters who adapt quickly to major changes and new situations. For that reason, regulators need to continue to work in partnership with crypto industry players to protect consumers. However, where Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) is concerned, governments have implemented traditional style rules for the crypto space, and in such an innovative and, at times, different industry, this isn’t always the best fit.

Where traditional KYC measures are concerned, money launderers see these as akin to an old, previously solved puzzle that can be easily pieced together to circumvent service providers’ AML measures. It’s a problem they have been solving for years and are now very adept at.

And despite the importance of protecting their customers and systems from abuse, cryptocurrency enterprises have to implement old-school controls and abide by these sometimes ill-fitting rules to retain or attain their regulated status (and, thus, stay in business). This is a key stage where regulators and governments need to utilize their relationship with the crypto industry to better develop more suitable controls over time. For example, with external bad actors having long solved the KYC puzzle, better systems are required to address this issue. Perhaps utilizing bio-KYC and developing subsequent controls, such as monitoring the activities of users once they are past the gates and detecting patterns or unusual behavior, would help.

While traditional AML controls have historically been suitable in the fight against money laundering, adding the cyber element brings with it new challenges, giving us a need to protect customers, their funds and their data in the digital space. We first saw this start to develop with online banking, and it really became a fast-paced development requirement with the evolution of the payments industry and e-money.

Where cybersecurity is concerned, this doesn’t mean that digital asset exchanges can’t do anything to better protect their customers. On the contrary, industry service providers have to go the extra mile and spend additional resources to raise their standards higher than required by implementing cybersecurity best practices internally.

For example, crypto exchanges can become Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) qualified, even though most regulators don’t require them to do so. These rules are in place to guide the payments and card industry, but they could be an excellent place to start to build a protective framework within the crypto industry. In addition to implementing such extra measures, service providers need a dynamic and expert cyber team, decent technology and the right processes to respond to threats in a quick, efficient way. A lot can be learned from the payments and e-money industries in this respect.

Combine these with high-quality customer support, and you have a good chance at keeping up with the rapidly evolving and advancing strategies and tactics of crypto cybercriminals.

Fighting a war on the front lines

Criminals targeting the digital asset space are savvy and learn fast. They will attempt to attack our customers, our systems and utilize our services to launder their funds just as they have been doing in traditional financial services for decades.

However, crypto businesses have one major advantage. Due to its innovative, complex solutions, the crypto industry already possesses great expertise and extensive experience. For that reason, we are already technologically minded and need to be recognized as part of the vanguard in the security and protection of our customers as well as their assets and information.

Related: How DeFi protocols get hacked?

We are in a regulatory phase, with eyes on regulators and the industry working together. Now is the time to take the necessary steps to establish a framework more suited to the crypto industry than traditional financial services. Only when this harmony is achieved can we come together as a society to stop our customers and financial services from being abused by criminal and terrorist enterprises.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Mark Taylor is the head of financial crime at international cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO. He has experience in Anti-Money Laundering and fighting against scammers. Mark also stands for KYC and more transparent relationships between the crypto industry and regulators. While in Gibraltar, Mark was a member of the Gibraltar Association of Compliance Officers (GACO) for six years, with his last two years in post as chairperson. He has also previously been a member of the Gibraltar E-Money Association (GEMA) and the Electronic Money Association (EMA) in the United Kingdom.

Source link By Cointelegraph By Mark Taylor

#Altcoin #Bitcoin #BlockChain #BlockchainNews #Crypto #ElonMusk

#Altcoin #Bitcoin #BlockChain #BlockchainNews #crypto #ElonMusk #Blockchain #CryptoPress

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14 Fingering Tips You’ll Want to Remember the Next Time You Have Sex

Many of us viewed fingering as ~the thing~ to do when we were young and horny. Then as we got older, the classic sex move was traded for acts like oral, anal, and falling asleep alone with Netflix playing in the background. Regardless, it’s time we bring fingering back as one of the main events because let me tell you: It’s actually low-key amazing. Get Access to *All* of Cosmo “Fingering is using one or several fingers to stimulate the vagina or anus,” explains Michelle Murray, a professional counselor with Calmerry. So while you might have thought fingering just meant vaginal play, there’s more than one way to enjoy this move. Zoë Ligon, sex educator and founder of inclusive sex toy store Spectrum Boutique agrees: "Hands are the most versatile sex toy there is,” she says. "They're often overlooked and just seen as tools for foreplay, but manual sex is sex." That said, maybe it’s been a bit since you last used your fingers for something other than texting—or you might be totally new to the idea of using your hands for pleasure. If this is your first-time fingering (or first-time fingering in a while), we’ve got all the tips to get you started and get you or your partner off.

1. Get a mani.

This doesn’t mean every time you want to engage in a little finger action you have to head to your local salon. It just means that hand hygiene is vital to having a pleasurable—and safe—fingering experience. Your vagina's a sensitive ecosystem. You're careful about what you stick in and around it, and this should include hands—whether your own or your partner's. Ligon suggests regularly moisturizing your hands, filing your nails (short and blunt is best), and keeping your hands clean—plus cleaning them before and after any sexual activity. "If you're not sure that you've smoothed the edges of your nail enough, run them over your lips and see if you can detect any rough spots you missed," she suggests. Nothing can grind an otherwise enjoyable fingering session to a screeching halt like a stray hangnail scraping your vaginal wall. You tensed up just reading that, right?

2. Consider wearing gloves.

What do you do if you want to keep your nails long? You have a few options. Some women have one or two nails shorter than the rest for sexy situations. If that doesn’t fit into your ~aesthetic,~ erotic educator and Founder of Organic Loven Taylor Sparks suggests putting some cotton balls under your nails and throwing on some gloves to avoid painful pokes. In fact, sex educator Sarah Sloane advises wearing gloves if the fingerer uses nail polish or has rough hands. "While it may be a little clinical sounding, gloves even out the surface of your partner's fingers, which keeps fingernails and calluses from abrading your delicate bits." Plus, this is the perfect time to test out that ER doctor roleplay you’ve been fantasizing about.

3. Don’t compare yourself to the screen.

Chances are you’ve seen actors engage in fingering plenty of times, whether it was in a sexy show like Bridgerton or your favorite porn. It’s important to remember that while yes, those scenes are very hot, they’re also very unrealistic. In fact, the best fingering may look a little subtler than what you or your partner is used to seeing on a screen. “Take your time," sex educator Kelly Shibari recommends. "This isn't porn. This isn't acting. No pressure."

4. Practice solo.

If you’re a lucky owner of a vagina, you have a ready-made practice playground ready to be explored. “The more you know your own body and what brings it the most pleasure, the easier it will be for you to communicate that to other people,” explains polyamorous activist and co-founder of The Sex Work Survival Guide, Tiana GlittersaurusRex. It’ll also give you a better idea of what other people might like as well. One great way to get in tune with your own pleasure is to literally watch yourself get off. “Try to eye gaze and connect with yourself while masturbating in a mirror,” suggests GlittersaurusRex. It might feel a little strange at first, but eye contact is major for couples’ connection and chances are, you’ll learn a thing or two from your private show.

5. Concentrate on connection.

One of the best ways to be really good at fingering is to stop worrying about being really good at fingering. “Have fun and enjoy moments of silliness if they arise,” suggests GlittersaurusRex. “It’s okay to laugh and bask in all parts of the journey.” In fact, laughing together will help ease some of that tension, relax your muscles, and help get you talking, all things that’ll make your sex life—and relationship—even better.

6. Use both hands.

Sure, you’re already using one hand, but what’s going on with the other? “Caress more body parts,” suggests Sparks. “Reach up/over and stimulate the nipples, or if your partner is into BDSM (and with consent), that can be added too.” Things like pulling hair, caressing the breasts or booty, tickling the thighs, or stroking the clit will provide even more sensation and pleasure. Additionally, using two hands means you can incorporate both internal and external stimulation (if that’s your partner’s thing). "Use one hand to gently massage the mons pubis, the labia, and the clitoris, and at the same time, use the other hand to rub or gently insert a finger(s) into their vagina,” sex educator Scarlette Cyn says. “If you maintain steady pressure and speed, chances are they’re more than likely going to enjoy the session."

7. Ease into it. Literally.

Unfortunately, most people have experienced an over-enthusiastic lover once or twice in their lives. You know, one that jabs instead of seducing? In reality, the more aroused you are, the more you'll enjoy stimulation. As Sloane points out, during arousal, "the labia swell up and the internal parts of the clitoris get engorged, making pressure even more pleasurable—which is why grinding on your partner's body gets hotter as you get more turned on," she explains. "So make sure you start slow, and that you and your partner are worked up before going to penetration or more direct pressure."How you keep things slow and sensual: “If you’re fingering a vulva-owner, start gently on the inner thighs, working your way up to the pubic mound down towards the clitoris and to the vaginal opening,” suggests Sparks. “Taking your time allows your partner the time they need to relax and enjoy what is essentially a finger massage.” Personally, I like whisper-soft brushing on the clit to start. In fact, you could even touch your partner through their underwear at first. When and if you move onto penetration, start with one finger and add from there.

8. Incorporate your mouth.

If you’re with a partner, be open to utilizing more than just fingers on them. Consider incorporating your mouth for things other than a passionate makeout. “This is a great opportunity to add small wet kisses on the inner thighs and a flick of the tongue on and around the clitoris,” advises Sparks. “Starting with one finger, wet it completely with your mouth, and part the outer and inner labia to enter the vagina slowly.”You don’t even have to just use your mouth on your partner’s genitals if you’re trying to switch things up or don’t want to give oral sex. Murray suggests licking or sucking your partner's nipples while Sparks notes incorporating little nibbles or full-on body bites (with consent, obvi), is a great way to incorporate more body parts, sensations, and erogenous zones. BabeLube Silk Babeland babeland.com $10.00 9. Add some lube.Even if you think your natural lubrication is sufficient, try using a little lube the next time you incorporate fingering—you'll appreciate not only the extra wetness but also the smooth, silky texture. "Lube is perhaps the best way to make fingering feel better," sex therapist Vanessa Marin says. "Our natural vaginal lubrication doesn't tend to last a very long time, so a lot of women notice discomfort when they're being fingered." What's more, shopping for and trying out different lubes with your partner can turn into foreplay in and of itself. "This is a great opportunity to find a lube that you enjoy and it's a chance for you to be adventurous," Cyn says. Experiment with warming, cooling, tingling, and even flavored lubes and gels. “Just make sure your lube is free from sugar-based compounds, as this can cause a yeast infection," Cyn adds.

10. Try different types of stimulation.

When it comes to sex, no move is one-size-fits-all. What works for you might not work for someone else and vice versa. That said, Ligon notes most people want one of two things when getting fingerbanged: direct stimulation of the front wall of the vagina—the classic "come-hither" finger motion is a good way to achieve it—or "a sensation of fullness, which involves deeper strokes in a more linear movement." No matter what position the person is lying in, GlittersaurusRex suggests trying different stroke techniques. "Put your fingers in the 'come hither' position, then instead of just moving your fingers or moving in-and-out, tug your entire hand and wrist back and forth while keeping your fingers stiff and sturdy," Ligon says. Additionally, you can consider adding a little anal play to your manual sex, whether that means anal penetration with a finger or brushing around their anus. This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. 11. Guide your partner and ask for feedback.It doesn’t matter if you’re giving or receiving—being vocal is vital to having good sex of any sort. Especially if this is your first time, there’s a chance some nerves will be involved. “Some people may feel self-conscious about the smell, look, or taste of their vulva, so it important to be comfortable to enjoy the experience,” says Murray. This means creating a safe environment not only for play but for feedback as well. “Make sure everyone is comfortable and well supported mentally as well as physically,” advises GlittersaurusRex. “Enjoy communication of what feels good with periodic sexy check-ins.”If you’re not getting any response from your partner or you’re unsure if they like it, Sparks says you should always ask. In addition to listening to their body sounds and cues, you want to ensure you get verbal instructions as well, especially if you’re early in your relationship. Ask things like, “does this feel good” to open up the floor. When it comes to guiding your partner, don't feel like you need to tell them exactly what to do. Focus instead on giving feedback on what they're already doing by "giving directions like a ground controller on the airplane runway," Cyn says, using phrases like "left," "more pressure," "faster," "down," and "insert your fingers."12. Show in addition to telling."If you have a sensitive clitoris"—and even if you don't—"I recommend showing your partner the level of pressure that you enjoy," Marin says. "You can take your partner's hand and use one of your fingertips to touch the sensitive skin on the inside of their wrist ... You can say something like, 'I want you to touch me this gently.'" Sloane adds that "you can even hold their fingers and stroke yourself with them so that they can see exactly what pressure and patterns you love." Oh, and P.S.? Pretty much every expert recommends masturbating in front of your partner. Not only is it a turn-on, but they'll get to see exactly what gets you off, then do the same. Read the full article

[olgagarmash]

Kansas mental health providers look to the future with new hotline looming and COVID-19 pandemic fading – The Topeka Capital-Journal

Decades ago, travelers entering Topeka would have seen an unexpected motto beckoning them as they pulled into town.

“Welcome to Topeka, Kansas, the psychiatric capital of the world.”

The city’s credible claim to that title was in large part predicated on the presence of the world-renowned Menninger Clinic, whose iconic clock tower loomed in the background of the sign.

Karl Menninger’s eponymous institution was a heavyweight in the behavioral health world, bringing top-flight researchers and practitioners to Kansas, although the facility eventually left for Houston in the 2000s.

In 2021, community health centers in Kansas are seeing a marked uptick in interest due to strain brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and improving attitudes toward mental health more broadly.

That could increase further next year, when the 988 crisis line rolls out, with a goal of making mental health support as easy to access as other core services.

But these forces come after years of funding and staffing challenges. Now, providers are looking to new models as a way to ensure the sustainability of their services going forward.

More:Feeling off? Here is how to know when to seek mental health support and where to turn.

“We have had the history as a state of being a national leader,” said Kyle Kessler, executive director of the Association of Community Mental Health Centers. “And so for us to get the infrastructure back in terms of our workforce and our priorities in behavioral health and helping healthcare overall, we can be a national leader again.”

Demand for mental health services on the rise — even pre-pandemic

It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted widespread concern about mental health, with anxiety and depression increasing during the last year due to lockdowns and uncertainty about the virus and the economy.

Even before the pandemic, community mental health centers saw a 10% increase in patients since 2016.

Throughout much of 2020, those numbers actually dropped off for some groups, with residents confined to their homes. For providers who deal primarily with children and young adults, schools weren’t in session to refer individuals in need of care.

But that trend is beginning to change.

For Family Service and Guidance Center in Topeka, director Brenda Mills noted that the previous high-water mark for calls to their crisis services line was 89. Recently, that number was over 120.

Karen Smothers, director of clinical operations for FSGC, noted that young people who previously had a difficult time in a school environment actually were helped by the pandemic, as they had less of a need to socialize and engage with their peers. 

Students who needed the most support were those who felt isolated without their usual social and school environments when the switch was made to remote learning.

More:Damon Parker is a championship wrestling coach. He’s battling for his mental health.

Now, with a return to physical classes, albeit with disorienting mitigation efforts, both groups of youths are feeling adrift and in need of support.

“When classes resumed, I think it’s just maybe a clash of everything going on between the youth who were feeling really withdrawn before trying now to resume their routine,” Smothers said. “And then in the meantime, the youth who typically would struggle now are being thrown back in the classroom, and are having those same conflicts again.”

Normally, early summer is a quieter time for the clinic, as school ends and families go on vacation. Not this year, however.

“Right now we’re slammed, we’re absolutely bursting at the seams with referrals,” Smothers said.

‘We need to see real commitment’

It is likely that demand will further increase over the next year, with mental health advocates in Kansas well aware of the national rollout of the 988 crisis line.

Lawmakers approved $3 million to help the three crisis lines in Kansas currently operating expand their staff and infrastructure.

But currently 30% of all calls are sent out of state due to high volume, according to Monica Kurtz, vice president for external programming at the Kansas Suicide Prevention Headquarters in Lawrence.

This often comes down to a lack of staffing. More than 100 hours of training are needed to ensure workers, either volunteer or paid, have the tools needed to answer calls from Kansans in distress.

Sending calls out-of-state isn’t ideal, Kurtz said.

“We do pretty strongly believe that Kansans are best served by Kansans,” she said. “We have a better idea of what goes on in our state, and what resources are available for folks.”

But KSPHQ has seen a 50% increase in calls in recent years, and the rollout of 988 could see that number double or even triple as it becomes more established.

The funding, included in the state budget, puts Kansas ahead of other states in getting 988 up and running, Kessler said.

But Kurtz pointed out that a more aggressive funding proposal — which would add a 50 cent-per-line surcharge on Kansans’ cellphone bills — stalled. The extra funds from that bill could have expanded response services, particularly in western Kansas, she noted.

And while legislators can take another whack at the issue next session, Kurtz said she was uneasy with having to ask legislators to maintain funding each year.

“It’s not enough to just say it with your words, we need to see action,” she said. “This is a critical issue, has been a critical issue for the last decade. And we need to see movement on it, we need to see real commitment.”

Staffing challenges hit providers across Kansas

Advocates argue funding hasn’t kept pace for community mental health providers either.

From fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2020, funding for community mental health centers fell by 16%, according to the Disability Rights Center of Kansas. That’s despite those facilities serving 30,000 additional patients.

And funding struggles can mean staffing issues, particularly for facilities that compete with other states to attract high-level practitioners.

That includes Four County Mental Health in southeast Kansas, whose offices are mere miles away from the Oklahoma border.

Executive director Greg Hennen said he had an administrator leave to go across the border, where she made more as an entry-level therapist than she did as a more senior worker in Kansas.

“Right now, yeah, Oklahoma kills us,” Hennen said. “Their master’s level therapists are starting out $20,000 higher than we can start ours out at.”

More:Menninger clock tower could soon be demolished; owner hopes buyer will step forward

About 1.3 million Kansans live in an area where the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services deems there to be a dearth of mental health workers.

Even when facilities have an adequate number of therapists, finding entry-level workers can be a challenge. Mills noted that she often has to compete against fast food outlets and big box stores.

“It was tough before the pandemic, but it has gotten worse,” she said.

For Hennen, the struggles have meant fewer personnel in area schools. While districts might want counselors around three times a week, the lack of staff might mean someone is there only once a week.

And in Topeka, Smothers said they have had to lean on more telehealth and group therapy sessions, at least for some patients, in an effort to triage care and deliver the required services.

“I don’t know what to expect a month from now or two months from now,” she said. “It feels like uncharted territory.”

Could new model boost mental health treatment?

Mental health advocates are hopeful that a potential solution is in the cards.

In 2014, Congress approved an experimental program for clinics, one designed to increase partnerships between mental health facilities, hospitals and law enforcement, as well as offer 24/7 crisis care and beefed-up substance abuse treatment.

In exchange for using proven, evidence-based strategies to advance those goals, facilities would get a higher Medicaid reimbursement rate — meaning more money to boost their bottom line.

Kansas wasn’t an initial participant in the so-called certified community behavioral health center model, but two of its neighbors, Oklahoma and Missouri, were. The program has since become permanent and has expanded to dozens more states.

That has compounded the challenges for providers in border regions, like Four County Mental Health in southeast Kansas.

But Four County elected to go it alone, obtaining a grant from Washington to begin the process of converting to a CCBHC model — the first provider in Kansas to receive that backing.

“It really has a nice impact not only on the patient, but also on the community in general,” executive director Hennen said of the facility’s early experiment with the program.

More:History Guy: Topekan Menninger changed how society views the mentally ill

The new model means more of an emphasis on integrating behavioral health with other care. After an individual sees a psychiatrist, they can walk across the hall to a primary care physician to address high blood pressure or diabetes.

And while this may mean more money is spent upfront, providers argue there is a cost savings for society as a whole on the back end.

“You may be spending more on behavioral health care, but all of a sudden, you’re saving money on the primary care side, particularly where hospital inpatient hospitalizations and (emergency room visits) are concerned,” Hennen said.

State lawmakers approved more money to help get Kansas facilities formally approved as CCBHCs, allowing them to eventually access the greater funding opportunities that title allows.

Some providers are already laying the groundwork to become CCBHCs. Central Kansas Mental Health Center, for instance, got a $4 million grant to expand their services earlier this year.

Advocates aren’t yet ready to rechristen Topeka as a global behavioral health capital. But they do profess a genuine excitement for the future for Kansas’ mental health system.

For Mills, the director of Family Service and Guidance Center, the growth in mental health awareness has been building for some time.

“It maybe took the pandemic for people to recognize that, though I think some people were getting it before,” she said. “But this has been a long road to try to get this awareness and education out there about how critical the need is for people to be mentally healthy.”

If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time day or night, or chat online.

source https://wealthch.com/kansas-mental-health-providers-look-to-the-future-with-new-hotline-looming-and-covid-19-pandemic-fading-the-topeka-capital-journal/