#because this is the third time this year the gas company have had to come to our house

[kichoukotori]

Several years ago I briefly worked in the warehouse of a nondescript extremely large e-commerce company. I had no other options for employment but desperately needed money. Turnover was like 150%. I worked from something like 7pm to 5am, my commute was 50 minutes each way and before I got paid I didn't even have the cash for enough gas to get home one night and had to bum $10 off of my kid sibling (this is all to give you an idea of my abysmal mental state while employed here.) You're not allowed to do anything besides your job, no music or anything and they track your movement on cameras so you can't even take a breather. The job is real monotonous, you get sent boxes of items of random sizes and you have to put the items into shelves of varying sizes and the shelves come to you, you don't walk to them. Because the company tracks the rate at which you put items on these shelves, many small items are desirable because you can put a lot of them in quickly. Everything about the place seems almost designed intentionally to break you mentally and turn you into a robot. So I'm about 6 or 7 hours into my shift, feeling on the verge of a mental collapse, and up comes a container with a bunch of small white boxes, bout half the size of a deck of cards. No labels. Great, I'm already happy about whatever these things are. So I go to scan them in, and it gives you the name of the item and a little picture. Sasuke Penis Costume. What? Sasuke Penis Costume. A picture of that red cloud robe from Naruto and one of the headbands with the metal plate on it. I'm thinking, there's no way. What is a penis costume? Am I hallucinating this? And there's so many of them, literally about a hundred, and I know I'm going to be spending at least an hour with Sasuke Penis Costume, there's so many and they're so small, I'm already excited about the potential efficiency of these, and then I see it's Sasuke Penis Costume? So the entire shift I'm like, trying to not put these things away too quick, because honestly I'm starting to build a kind of kinship with them. This is quite literally the most exciting thing to happen to me during my whole 2 week employment at the warehouse. I started to see Sasuke Penis Costume as a friend, some reminder of the outside world, a reminder of the humanity I was becoming so unfamiliar with, a reminder the world contained comedy, art, anime, and penis. I really couldn't tell you if I ended up putting all of them away, the last thing I remember is my desperate need to look these items up when I got home. I needed a link to send to my friends for when I told them this riveting story. I learned that the costume is called the Akatsuki cloak in my fervent search for the item, and wouldn't you know it, absolutely zero trace of these things exists online. Not on the e-commerce website, not on any specialized penis-costume websites (whose existence I was not privvy to prior to this incident) and no third-party retailer has these. Not even Google images will show me the hypothetical existence of Sasuke Penis Costume. Every few months I look it up, trying to find evidence that it can be bought, that any of this was ever real. My bond, my friendship, and dare I say even love for Sasuke Penis Costume feels as tangible as the boxes they came in, and yet the universe will give me no closure of their fate. Less and less frequently I search for them, each time becoming more and more discouraged that I will ever find them, but unlike their substance on this earth, one thing is inarguably certain. Sasuke Penis Costume exists to me, and it will live on firmly and resolutely within my memory and within my heart.

[mcmoussa]

Doodleoze review

INTRODUCTION

Hey there! Have you been keeping up with the latest and greatest in online marketing? If not, you may have missed out on the latest craze: hand-drawn doodle videos. These videos are taking the internet by storm, and for good reason. They're engaging, they're fun, and they boost sales. If you're interested in learning more about this new type of marketing, Doodleoze is a great resource. Check out our review for all the details!

WHAT IS DOODLEOZE ?

If you're on the lookout for the next big thing in online marketing, you've come to the right place. Hand-drawn videos with full-motion and animated doodles are all the rage right now, and for good reason. They're incredibly effective at boosting viewer engagement and sales. I'm excited to share with you how you can get in on this new wave of internet marketing. Be sure to check out my Doodleoze Review for all the details. Thanks! WITHOUT requiring hours of training or technical experience. WITHOUT requiring special set of software. WITHOUT requiring spending hours upon hours and hundreds to thousands of dollars getting a doodle video created. Doodleoze is super easy to use and helps you create amazing doodle videos that get you more leads and sales. With 500 images and the Doodleoze software, you can start making videos in minutes. The best part is that you don't need any technical or design skills. Just choose a template and start animating. Thanks for choosing Doodleoze! Doodleoze creates awesome doodle videos that help you get more leads and sales. With 500 sketch images and our easy-to-use software, you can start making doodle videos in no time. Plus, our proprietary animation technology lets you create truly customized videos from templates, so anyone can make professional, realistic doodle videos quickly and easily. Doodleoze is the best way to create really cool engaging videos that will affect your viewers in a positive way. You can use it for sales videos, social media videos, special occasions, or just for fun! With just a few clicks, you can tweak a video by changing the text, images, and/or videos, changing the positions of elements, adding a background video or image, and animating them. After you're done, your doodle videos will both look amazing and convert. Doodleoze's online animation software allows businesses to easily create professional animated videos for all industries and job roles, like marketing, training, and eLearning. Doodleoze videos are the best! And now, creating them is easier than ever with our simple online Doodleoze video maker tool. With years of experience, we've developed a user-friendly tool that anyone can use to create professional quality videos. Our market-leading program offers both amazing hand-drawn images and sketches, as well as full-featured key frame animations with over 245 text effects. So check out the next parts of this Doodleoze Review to see how powerful it really is!

ABOUT CREATOR

Andrew Darius is well-known as a professional in digital marketing as well as software development. If you have been working in that field for a period of time; maybe you have ever used one of his product. You can refer to Explaindio Agency, Storyxy, Vidently, etc.

KEY FEATURES

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READ MORE ABOUT DOODLEOZE

#product review #buyer beware #no idea what to tag this as #I'm also replacing my gas stove #with electric #because this is the third time this year the gas company have had to come to our house #doodleozeinformation #doodleozereview #doodleozepreview #information #doodleoze #software #because of the gas stove #and I just can't take it anymore #Video #Doodle video #video link #Doodle video creator #Doodleoze

[apprenticestanheight]

THE FIVE DAYS OF SMUTMAS QUEUE: DAY ONE

Bad Decembers - Adam Stanheight x gn! reader

OKAY!! I would not be me if I did not find a way to worm my love for the holiday season into my love for writing, so that's what the fics coming out in this queue are going to be—not all of them will be the pinnacle of the christmas season but all of them will at least be set in december and mentions of the holidays will probably worm their way into several, but the guarantees I can make are that the fics will either be close to or more than 1k words, and that there will, at a minimum, be snowy weather in the fics because we have gotten snow maybe twice where I am and I can't resist.

This one stems from a thought that I had on the sixteenth where I was like "okay angry and aggressive sex with adam, talk it out, then make up sex for round two yay" but it did change a little bit as things do when they start as ideas but get turned into fics! It's not that different from the original concept—the idea is the same it's just that round two is a little different than how I'd originally intended because I believe in my heart of hearts that Adam would be a fiend for giving oral so this fits that headcanon.

lastly, this fic is meant for audiences of 18+! Minors, DO NOT INTERACT.

Fic type- this is smut!

Warnings- adam is a guy with anger issues and they get the best of him (it is mentioned a couple of times that he punches a coworker in the face after he was provoked, and the work environment Adam is in is implied to be shitty anyway, as someone slapping someone else is also mentioned) the reader is gn for all intents and purposes but as I know the anatomy best, they're AFAB but referenced with gn terms and petnames (aside from the word pussy, which only gets used once), Unprotected sex, rough sex, reader is a masochist and Adam is kind of sadistic, oral sex (m! giving) bruises do happen because adam gets a bit manhandl-y and bruises and rough biting ensue, as does rough groping. Pet play is also in this one a few times (in use of the nickname puppy only, gn terms when smut writing aren't my strongest suit so puppy is for some reason my go-to)

December, despite all of the cheer and festiveness it usually carried, was just not your month, so it seemed.

Work was very, very difficult for you, which really shouldn't've come as a surprise come the last month of the year, but somehow always did.

Crappy coworkers always became the crappiest versions of themselves with the onset of the holiday season, and by December, amidst having to listen to your coworkers complain about how difficult their relatives were to shop for, several HR-funded Christmas parties where you and Adam would drink some of the cheapest booze and listen to your crappiest coworkers complain, and a Secret Santa gift exchange with a minimum—yes, a minimum, which to you seemed kind of ludicrous, though a max amount was certainly something you understood—spending allowance of $150 and a maximum of $380, you were angry and exhausted and looked forward to the nine days off you took between the twenty third and the thirty first like nobodies fuckin' business.

The only bright side to working in that company was the fact that you'd gotten the opportunity to get your secret santa—and one of the few decent coworkers you had in your offices, one named Claire who was actually breeching close friend territory more and more by the day—a bundle of things she'd mentioned really needing in those past few weeks thanks to the budget imposed by your offices.

You'd had the chance to get her a couple of the books she liked in addition to a couple of gift cards to grocery stores and gas stations as she was in a very tight situation with her mooch husband who refused to work point blank period. You'd gone over budget with her gift, actually, and it was the first and last year you'd ever do that.

You were working in marketing and sales and you made $2000 biweekly, which covered your half of rent and utilities, groceries and other bills with something like six hundred to spare to use as fun money. When you'd brought it up with Adam, who'd met Claire a good couple times at those Christmas parties and thought she was great for your morale, he'd supported you, said to go all out because you'd have the money back in your account two weeks from your latest paycheck anyway.

So, grocery cards, gas cards, books and around $100 in stowaway cash later, you'd gone over budget by $80 but had zero regrets because of how happy it made Claire at the end of the gift exchange.

For what it was worth—you were gifted a Nespresso and five boxes of Nespresso pods from someone who practically loathed you and probably wanted you to refuse it, but by the 21st you were so sick of work and people and everything else that you just faked a smile, said your thanks in a way that seemed just a little too sweet and definitely a bit too happy, and knew that you and Adam would cherish that Nespresso for all of the glorious coffee it made on your latest nights until it broke in the years to follow.

Getting home from the gift exchange at six, you were tired and angry at the world, pretty much, and it seemed—based on vibes alone—that Adam was much the same.

For Adam, though, it had definitely been work. After the trap, he'd switched from working as a glorified snitch for far less money than all of it was worth to working closely with a gallery that liked the shots he took enough to commission him for collections of photos. The commission money was certainly more than enough—from commissions, he got $3000 a month for 300 photos, which were typically displayed for six, eight, or ten months before he had to pick a new theme and the cycle repeated—but the gallery people he was working with were much like your coworkers in that they became the worst versions of themselves in the holiday season.

The collection he'd been trying to get together had been one part of a four hundred photo collection that captured Jersey in the winter which was due to start displaying on the 23rd and would stay up until the second of January the following year. He was working with three other people and the gallery staff and all of them were too stuck up to actually cooperate with him.

To that point, it had been twenty-one days of screaming matches, crappy coffee made worse by the bitterness Adam felt, and fighting day in and day out to keep his anger internal while he was in the apartment you shared because yelling at you, when he'd worked so hard to keep his anger issues in check? That was, under no circumstances, an option.

The first four months of your relationship had been spent with fights once every two weeks because Adam was still trying to learn how to keep his anger in check after letting it go unchecked for so long, and you'd been dating for five years. In those five years, after that rocky four months, you'd both found a balance and you both loved that balance. Adam wasn't going to fuck it up because he was angry at people who existed in a realm completely othered from the one where you were.

Well—he was going to try to avoid fucking it up for himself.

He's sitting on the couch, stewing in his anger when you come home. You grin at him, exhausted, and Adam leaves to the kitchen before you can get a word in—he'd been warned to expect a joint call sometime before midnight in relation to the collection that he had to take 100 photos for and he was antsy as well as angry, and he doesn't want you to see him like that, spiteful and angry at anything that breathes the wrong way.

He tries to make coffee with the pot you'd taken when you'd moved out of your parents place eight years prior, though the coffee machine seems to have a disagreement with Adams idea as it refuses to work, which causes Adam to snap.

"Fuck!" He shouts, hitting the coffee machine and regretting it because damn, plastic meeting knuckles is a horrible feeling. "All I need is some goddamned coffee, but no! The fucking machine—"

You step into the kitchen. When Adam hears your footsteps, he turns on his heels to face you, sees your grin.

"The coworker who loathes me gave me something that will definitely make your night a bit better," you say. "He probably wanted me to refuse but I figured we would need a new one soon anyway. It's a Nespresso, there are five different coffee types to choose from, and all you need to do is set it up. Shitty month?"

"Shitty is a fucking understatement," Adam grits his teeth. "I'm just so pissed off at the world right now, Y/N. I wouldn't be around me if I were you—when I get like this I am a flight risk because I tend to want to break things. Punched a guy in the face today and was reprimanded for an hour or three, which just made my day a lot fucking longer than it needed to be, and everything is shitty all the goddamned time and I'm sick of it."

You nod, further enter the kitchen and set the Nespresso up while Adam stews in his anger, trying to calm himself down in the ways he normally does only to find that nothing is working. He's frustrated with everything that's happened in the past three weeks, and the more he reflects on that time the angrier he gets.

And then, something happens. You accidentally sidestep onto his foot and the floodgates open, and he snaps. He screams for a solid five minutes about shit that doesn't even relate to you and you just—you just let him. You do fight back but it's like part of you understands that not all of it relates to you anyway so you just let him say his peace, and when he storms off, you don't follow him.

He goes to your bedroom, angry now with the events of the past three weeks, and the fact that he punched someone in the face, and with himself for snapping at you instead of just communicating, and he sits on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall and stewing within his anger until you're opening the door, poking your head in and meeting his gaze.

"You're still angry?" You ask, tone calm and even.

Adam nods, pursing his lips. He doesn't want to be angry anymore, doesn't want to do anything other than let everything go and apologize for all of the shit he berated you for, but he's still angry. Something within him isn't letting him let it go, even as much as he wants to.

"All right," you step into the room. "Would sex help? That way you can just get your frustrations out while also getting endorphins and all that other health shit."

Adam clenches his jaw. "No," he says. "We've never fucked while one of us has been angry, Y/N, and if I'm willing to punch someone in the face while I'm pissed off, I'm a little scared to find out how rough I would be willing to be with you if I did that while so mad I could smoke two joints and still feel it."

You shrug, leaning your back against the door to close it. "So be rough," you suggest. "I don't care, Adam—I think we've discussed it before, but I do like being manhandled. You can leave bruises, too. I don't care how rough you are with me, I just hate seeing you like this and if sex will take your mind off it and if it's something you're willing to do, I want to do it."

"I don't wanna leave you bruised," Adam says. He hates how obvious it is that he's half-lying. He doesn't hate the idea of you bruised—it's just how you end up as such—if someone else hurts you, he'll be ready to commit murder. But if he were ever to do that? He would feel immeasurably guilty.

"You're lying to me," you say, catching onto it immediately. "You don't want me bruised as in black eyes or punches or something else physical and abusive and you would never, ever do that to me so I'm not at all worried about that, but you would absolutely cherish the bruising on my hips and arms from holding onto me that tight during sex. I would cherish them, too, actually."

Adam tsks, "masochist," he says before biting on his bottom lip. He gets to standing, crosses the room and closes in on you, grinning as he feels your breath against his face.

"If I'm a masochist, you're a sadist," you whisper pointedly. Adams hands go to your hips, holding them tightly, thumbs pressing into your skin until he finds your hip bones and you moan just low enough for Adam not to hear it at the contact.

"Mhm," Adam whispers as he leans in so that his lips are millimeters away from your pulse point. "Gonna let me use you, puppy? Need an outlet for my anger, and you did offer."

"Yeah," Adam can't help but smile as he presses himself up against you and notices the way that your arms clench at your sides because you're physically trying to keep yourself from leaning into his touches, not wanting to give into it as quickly as you might've when he called you puppy. "All yours to use, Adam. Please. Don't want you to be angry anymore, and if using me is what it takes then go ahead."

Adams left hand moves from your hip to your face, thumb tilting your chin up and to the left so that he has better access to your neck.

"Good puppy," he whispers, this time close enough to hear the quiet moan that the praise pulls out of you. "That's all you are, isn't it? Just a good puppy, reliant on praise and my cock."

You haven't had sex since early November, so both of you are sexually frustrated, which is the icing on the fucking cake.

You moan in response, grinding your hips against him. He pushes his leg between your thighs as his tongue presses flat against your pulse point, the grip he holds on your hip remaining steady. The hand thats on your face moves down to your hip again, thumb pressing until it finds the bone.

"Mine to use," Adam says after a couple of seconds. The anger that's within him exists like a fire pit in his stomach, burning bright and burning hot and burning unrelentingly. "Right, Y/N?"

"However you want," You don't know how you're managing to speak. "As rough as you want, Adam—fucking hell. Please."

"You're perfect," he loosens his grip on your hips, kisses down your jawline until he's back at your lips again.

When he kisses his way up to your lips, the kisses he leaves in his path are rather sweet. His hands are groping aggressively at just about anywhere they can get to, and when his hands settle on your hips again, your lips are on his and the kiss he pulls you into, tongue sliding into your mouth as you open it in a quiet moan, is enough to leave your lips bruised.

Adam doesn't pull away until you're starting to and he's realizing that he can't really breathe. You press your forehead against his shoulder and take a deep inhale, arms settling around his waist.

Adam pulls away, cups your face in his hands. "Getting submissive on me already?" He asks teasingly, grinning at you a little. "Oh, Y/N. You're so easy."

You hum your agreement. "You always manage to make quick work," you murmur, moving to lay down on the bed that you share. Adam stops you, unbuttoning your work shirt and tossing it into the farthest corner of the room before you can go any further. You lay on the bed as Adam takes off the granddad sweater he'd chosen to wear after having absolutely nothing else in his closet during what would later turn into a laundry evening, happy to stare at the ceiling while you wait for your beloveds next move.

His lips are on yours again seconds later, one hand roving over your chest while the other is near your face after he'd bent his arm at the elbow to hold himself up.

After he's kissed you sufficiently, he moves his lips down your neck, kissing and biting and sucking at the skin mercilessly. You wonder, for a second, if he wants to draw blood and decide that if he does, you'll let him because the pain feels so good.

Adam laughs after he's bitten down on your collarbone particularly harshly and you've moaned lewdly, rolling your hips against his half hard length without thought.

"You're such a slut for pain," he nips at the skin again gently. "I really do think that I could cut you to pieces and you'd thank me for it, Y/N."

the thought of it makes your core wet, and so you give an embarrassed nod. Adam just laughs again, lifting your hips while still maintaining an aggressive hold on them and releasing that hold to take off your pants and underwear, leaving you completely open and bare in front of him.

You shiver as a gust of cold Jersey air gets through the room through the slightly opened window, nipples hard as pebbles from Adams ministrations, and watch him take his own pants and boxers off.

"Want me to wear a condom?" Adam asks.

You shake your head. "I can take a plan B pill," you respond. "Just--please. Please don't make me wait. Need you."

"Good puppy," Adam breathes. He goes back to kissing you before his lips move to your chest, biting and sucking at your nipples in the way he knows makes you melt the quickest. "Gonna let me do whatever I want, mm? Even if it means you're in pain?"

"Adam," you moan as he presses his cold tongue flat against your warm skin. "Fuck—mmm, whatever you want. Please, just—please don't stop. Please don't—"

"Pain slut," Adam laughs a little. "You love this, yeah? Love me using you, manhandling you, not giving a fuck if you get bruised up?"

You moan, pressing the back of your head into the pillow.

"Speak to me, baby," he murmurs, pressing kisses down your navel.

You whimper, bucking your hips against Adams shoulders and Adam repositions himself so that he's eye level with you again, holding your chin lightly.

"Use your words for me, baby," he says. "I know you love how this feels, yeah? I know you love it when I bite you because you like the pain that the biting draws out, but how am I supposed to know you want me to keep going if you don't tell me? How am I supposed to know you're not whimpering, not squirming, because the pain is too much?"

"Adam," you moan, rolling your hips against nothing. "Adam, it—you—oh my fucking—" you moan again, and Adam smiles.

He moves back to where he'd been before kissing down your navel to the place where you needed him most, kissing back up to your lips again and wetting his dick with the wetness from your folds before he thrusts into you in one fell swoop.

He gives you maybe three seconds to adjust to his length before he sets a quick, aggressive pace, one hand on your hips to keep you steady while the other sits on your breast, first finger and thumb pinching your nipple with as much force as he can muster. He needs the anger to be gone, needs it to be replaced by the comfortable, airy feelings that come with sex and post-sex glory, needs to get his anger out of his system before he's at risk of snapping at you again.

He thrusts with as much fervor as he can, trying to rid the anger from himself with each thrust. It works, for the most part, and when his hand finds your throat and presses on the sides but is careful to avoid the front, most of the anger goes out of his system completely.

You lean up into his touch, and Adam laughs at it.

"Pain slut," he whispers, leaning down to bite and suck at your nipples.

Adams release triggers yours, and Adam thrusts through the aftershocks before he pulls out, falling to your right and wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you close.

A few minutes pass by. You get up to use the bathroom and return to Adams embrace, press a kiss to his lips and look at him like you want to talk.

"You've been angry for three weeks," you say. "If you're in a talking mood, let's talk, yeah?"

"I know that photography is what I'm good at, and normally I love it but I think I have something of an independence issue with regard to working there," Adam admits, moving the hand that's on your waist up to your face. He just wants to kiss you senseless, kiss you until he forgets his own name and how to speak words other than yours, but he knows he owes you a conversation—an explanation, mostly, and an apology. "I just can't do it. I can't work with other people. Three people on this project besides me and all of us are in conflict day in and day out because we're all apparently averse to compromise, and yeah, I punched Harry in the face but he smacked Kelce the other day because he didn't agree with one of Harrys ideas. It was payback, which I know doesn't excuse it for shit, but—I just—"

You press a kiss to Adams forehead. "I'm sorry that work has been so terrible," you murmur. "Soon as you get this installation done, though, you'll be able to work on your own again. Gotta practice a bit of optimism, baby. Gotta see the bright side and all that."

Adam laughs. "There is no light at the end of the work related tunnel," he says. "I'll be due in to work with the same group of people in the spring, and then in summer, and then in autumn. I've been told I'll have to do my own installations on top of that, which will mean picking more themes, dealing with more disagreements."

He props himself up on his elbows, presses a quick peck against your lips.

"I'm sorry," he says, green-blue eyes meeting yours. "About earlier—snapping at you like that? It was a dick move, and with the coffee—I flipped my lid in a way that was completely unfair. I'm sorry you had to get screamed at like that, everything just boiled over and taking it out on you is the last thing that I should've done."

You nod. "It was a dick move, and you do kind of need to work on talking it out with me before the shit hits the very angry fan, but you're forgiven," you grin at him. "If it helps, work hasn't been a picnic for me either. Never is during December."

Adam groans. "You work in an office," he notes. "How many of your coworkers complained about how difficult it is to buy gifts on their salary?"

"Everyone who had anyone willing to listen," you laugh. "Claire liked the gift I got her for the Secret Santa gift exchange, though. Glad I was hers—were it Leon, I fear she would've gotten a book on being a housewife or some shit like that. James was the guy who got stuck with me, which means we have a Nespresso. Bastard probably wanted me to reject the gift, too, because he scowled from the window at me while I loaded it into the back seat of my car."

Adam laughs. "Good thing the old coffee machine broke when it did, then," he pecks your forehead, feels the desire to kiss you senseless evade all of his senses. "A broken coffee machine turns into a Christmas miracle! Oh, glorious day."

You laugh, hand moving up Adams shoulders until your cupping Adams face, hand resting against his jawline.

"Was my apology good enough?" Adam asks, dipping his lips to your neck as your hands slide back down his and you let your arms drape over his shoulders.

"Why do you ask?" You know why he's asking, but you want to hear him say it. He had his angry fun, and now you get a shot to have a bit of fun of your own.

"There's something that I haven't tasted since early last month," he kisses until he's at the center of your collarbone. "Miss it, is all. Had a bit of a craving lately too, if I'm honest."

You spread your legs on impulse, already weakened and ready to let Adam give in to his whims. It makes him laugh because of course the bastard notices the movement, and he nods.

"You're amazing," he presses kisses down your chest, careful to kiss lightly over the places where light bruising has started because of how aggressive he was with his groping, kissing delicately over the places where the bite marks remain. You hate how quickly he can get you hot and bothered but admire it all the same, hate how you thrive off the feeling of his wet kisses and his perfect tongue moving down and across your torso.

"You're depraved," you try to say it, but it comes out as a moan, and you feel Adams smile against your navel. "Absolutely fucking depraved, Adam."

"Well, if you weren't so fuckin' ethereal, I might be less depraved, but every time I look at you all I see is perfection. Can't help it, baby."

He kisses across your lightly bruised stomach to your hips, careful to kiss lightly over the already-forming bruises that match the shapes of his thumbs.

"'M sorry about these," he says. "Sorry about all of it—the bruises and the bite marks. I didn't mean to hurt you this bad."

"It doesn't hurt," you assure. "And even if it did—I like the pain, Adam. The pain is good, I promise."

He kisses the bruises on the sides of your hips, too, nods. "I momentarily forgot about the masochism," he admits. "They do look nice, but I just can't help feelin' bad about being that rough."

"Focus on how nice they look," you hope it comes out reassuring. "They don't hurt, Adam. I promise. If I tell you not to worry, will you listen?"

Adam hums, kisses along your stomach to your other hip and takes his time there as well.

By the time Adams gotten to your thighs, you're wet and aching and just about ready to start clenching around nothing. He's got you needy and wanting, which is what he wants, and he loves it.

He turns his gaze to yours as he presses his tongue flat against your clit, loving the way that you writhe, clenching around nothing in response.

"So wet for me," he says, kissing along the outside of your pussy. "Good God, you're perfect."

And then he's licking at your folds, eating you out like he's a man starved, and you're not even trying to be quiet because of how consumed you feel by his lips and his tongue.

He moans against you, clearly getting off from getting you off, and can't help but buck your hips against his face.

He laughs, pulling away for a second. "You're so fuckin' needy," he says, bringing one finger to your gaping hole and slowly pushing it inside you.

You clench around the digit, moaning. "You're the reason. You and your perfect tongue, your amazing lips," you moan, arching your back off the bed for a split second.

He brings his lips and tongue back to your clit, thrusting into you with one finger, doing as you wish when you start begging for a second and a third.

"Adam," you moan, "fucking hell—Adam,"

Your orgasm crests, and you feel Adam moan against you with his own release as you cum over his fingers.

Breathless, your gaze moves up to the ceiling as you feel Adam pull his hand away. You turn to him as you hear him get up, watch him make something of a show out of licking your cum from his fingers.

"Just as good as I remember it," he grins teasingly at you, leaves to go to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, he's telling you that a bath is ready and you're leaning against him as you walk to your bathroom, sinking into the hot water and pressing your back against Adams front.

"I'll get better at communicating before it boils over," Adam murmurs, pressing an open mouthed kiss to your shoulder. "Promise, baby."

You hum, leaning against him. "We can work on it together, yeah?"

Adam nods. "That sounds like a nice idea," he says.

Silence lapses, though its comfortable. You get out of the bath tub and stumble back to bed because of how jello-y your legs feel, which Adam laughs at even though he knows he's to blame, and when you steal a pair of his boxers and one of his button up flannels, he doesn't object, merely pulls a pair of boxers and sweatpants on himself before joining you in bed and pulling you close.

The two of you fall asleep early that night, curled up together in the quiet of a Jersey evening in the tail end of December. Adam sleeps through the call from the gallery and you sleep through the call that Claire tries to get to you to talk about the aftermath of the Secret Santa gift exchange, but the sleep you get is so good that the missed calls feel entirely justified.

#adam stanheight #adam stanheight x reader #saw (2004) #saw posting

[axelsagewrites]

Could I ask about something fluffy for Halfdan the black from Vikings please for the V day creations 😁🥰🥰🥰🥰Thank you 🥰🥰🥰

Halfdan*Lofn

Pairing: halfdan x goddess!reader

Word count: 1352

Warnings: forbidden love, made up norse festival bc they didnt have valentines (or anything similar i could find)

Masterlist Here

Halfdan never felt the need to make friends. Not in the way his brother Harald did at least. Halfdan had drinking buddies, war buddies, hell even fuck buddies, but he did not see the point of befriending another lord just for his company. Though Halfdan was not the brother destined to be king.

Halfdan quite frankly didn’t understand why they even had to stop in this godforsaken village. So, when his brother told him they had to stay another five days to take part in their festival he found himself groaning and whining like a toddler.

The only reason he hadn’t abandoned his brother and went elsewhere was because of you. well, he didn’t know your name only your face. But the gods had made it the most beautiful face he’d ever seen.

When he asked his brother about the festival even Harald seemed to know nothing. your village had been named after Freyja so every year you would honour her but neither knew what to expect.

-

The bonfire was higher than any house with children dancing around the flames and drinks flowing freely with the adults. As Harald nursed his third cup his eyes fell upon you and finally, he felt like this may have been worth him staying.

You were sat alone, a few feet away from most on a fallen tree staring into the flames. Before he could think the alcohol had decided for him and he was crossing the grass towards you. “May I sit?” he asked, trying to act nonchalant but he felt an odd blush raise in his cheeks as you lifted your gaze.

Your eyes scanned over him for a moment in silence, from his tip toes to his hair, before finally you gave a small nod. “I’m Halfdan,” he said, breaking the silence once more as he sat down, and he felt relived you gave your name back. “Why are you sitting all alone?” he asked making you laugh a little, “What?”

“Nothing. I like someone who does not beat around the bush,” you said, a twinkle in your eye that made him blush again before your eyes returned to the fire, “I like to sit with my thoughts especially on days like this. Everyone seems so happy,”

“And you, are you happy?” he asked, his gaze fixed on you even if you do not return it.

However, he did notice the smile that tugged on your lips, “I can be at times,” usually he’d roll his eyes at an answer like yours, but this felt different.

“You never answered my question,” he said, and you hummed in response, “Why are you alone?”

“You were the first person to ask to sit,” you replied, finally turning to face him, “I think the better question is why did you?”

Up this close Halfdan could see the flames reflected in your eyes despite the fire being so far away. he could feel its warmth as if it was sat next to him, “I suppose I just wanted to meet you,” he said, his head becoming hazy.

“Are you well? you look like you may faint,” you said, brow knotting in concern.

“I don’t know,” he muttered, “It is very warm is it not?” he said, pulling at his shirt to fan himself.

He only stopped when you stood up, “Come with me. I know where you can cool down,” you said, and he did not need to be told twice.

He followed you down the hill the bonfire was on down to the edge of the shore where you slowly walked along as the breeze from the water finally cooled him down, “I’m not sure what happened,” Halfdan said when he finally felt he could breathe again.

Your smile almost took it away though, “It’s alright. Many become overwhelmed by the end of the night. The fire can burn awfully hot,”

“What is the fire for? I know your celebrating Freyja but why?” he asked, pausing in his tracks when you laughed softly.

You stopped as well and turned to face him, “We do not only celebrate her. well, I do not at least,” you said, turning your gaze to the sea, “We celebrate love. Freyja is of course only one of the three we celebrate,”

“And the other two?”

“Well one is Sjöfn though some rumour she is just Frigg in disguise,”

“Why would a goddess need to disguise herself?” Halfdan asked, suddenly very interested in every word you had to say. “Is she not the goddess of marriage?”

“She is. as well as prophecy and motherhood however sadly, love does not always lie in the marriage. That’s where the third comes in. Lofn,”

“I recognise the name,” he said though he could not place from when.

You chuckled however, “Many do. Few know why. She is protecting the forbidden love. The true love. The love that cannot always be, but you will never lose. She is who I celebrate on nights like these,” you said as your eyes turned to gaze back at the fire.

Halfdan felt a flare grow in his chest, “Why is that? I cannot imagine a man loving you and letting you go no matter the reason,”

Your lips quirked into a smile as your eyes turned to him, “I am not in a forbidden love. Not yet at least. Though I do find the notion romantical,”

“Romantical?”

“Romantical. Mesmerizing. Enthralling. Whatever word you choose. The notion of a love so strong it breaks the rules,”

“You do not like to follow the rules?”

“I do not see why I would,” you said.

Halfdan found himself cracking a slight smirk, “I knew there was a reason I liked you,” he said before you decided it was finally time to head back to the fire. As you began to walk up the hill, he decided to ask another question, “Why the bonfire?”

“They say no matter how far you are from the flames you will feel them on your skin if you’re sat with your one love and if you feel a chill stood beside it then it is not meant to be,”

“Is that why there are so many girls sat around it?” he snorted when he noticed just how close to the flames some of them sat. you however chose not to respond to that, and it was enough to make him swallow hard. “Do you believe in it?”

“I do,”

“Why?”

“Because I know it’s true,”

“How?”

“I just do,” you said with a small smile as you arrived back to your original seat, “Your brother is looking for you,” you said, nodding over at the dark-haired man motioning to Halfdan to come over. “I’ll wait here,”

Halfdan sighed, “I’ll only be a moment,” he said as he stalked over to his brother.

“I was wondering where you went,” Harald said as he held out a drink to his brother, “Another?”

“I went on a walk,” he said as he took the cup.

Harald made a face however, “By yourself?”

Halfdan rolled his eyes, “No with…” he said, turning to point to you only to realise the space you once stood was empty, “She was right there,” he muttered before telling Harald your name.

Harald just shook his head, “You weren’t with anyone brother. I saw you walk up the hill yourself,”

“That’s impossible,” he muttered as his eyes scanned the crowd.

His attention was only drawn back when he heard Harald shiver, “You’d think that fire would feel warmer,” he said making Halfdan’s eyes widen.

His eyes turned to the bonfire, staring into the flames. He saw you through them like before but this time he did not see you on the other side. Perhaps he’d drank too much Harald suggested when he assured him no one had been sitting on that fallen tree. However, when Halfdan saw the tree standing unbent and unwavering the next day he knew he had met you. he just had not realised you were a god. A god who he could never love. It was all so romantical he thought.

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#vikings #vikings tv #vikings x reader #vikings imagine #halfdan x reader #halfdan imagine #halfdan the black #halfdan the black x reader #halfdan the black imagine #halfdan fluff #halfdan the black fluff #vikings fluff

[theaceofskulls]

On the subject of restaurants these days, food delivery service apps continue to become my most hated thing in the world.

Yesterday we got through one of the worst experiences at a ramen/sushi place that was only partly the fault of the 20 something year old that sat down next to us and put some shitty youtube quality podcast interview on full blast on their phone.

Food places aren't staffed for handling full capacity seating and constant orders coming in and watching your order get deprioritized because of doordash/grubhub/popup app #26 fucking sucks.

I ordered an appetizer because I was starving and the fact that a few apps had a "warning, this will take 15 minutes" warning made me feel confident I would get it in a reasonable time, not 40 goddamn minutes later.

But you get to see roughly a dozen bedraggled delivery drivers rush in and get handed a plastic bag in that time frame.

Half the restaurants I've been in have also had to slow down the staff to handle these orders because it turns out that any of them that put up shelves for the drivers (usually in the most awkward spot for the staff to actually put them on) ends up retiring the system due to the amount of food stolen.

As for actually ordering through the app, it's just as miserable. Because of the shit pay, all the good drivers have either left or have to basically plan an entire route. I hear constant horror stories about misdeliveries, drivers stealing food, delays because someone grabbed the wrong bag, and so much more. All this for fees that pretty much double the cost of the food.

And the drivers barely see a cent. I know because I drove for one of them and the tip system is awful. Upfront tipping on top of all the fees means half the trips aren't worth the gas, you encounter the worst apartment layouts you'll ever see, you're constantly being rushed, and most of the food places you go to are still barely able to handle this system because it's stapled onto them by a third party.

This entire ecosystem and how it's been handled has actively made everything about restaurants worse for the sake of minor convenience because the entire thing is a way to funnel money to the top of a couple of shitty app companies.

[mr-entj]

Hi Mr. ENTJ! Long time follower here :) I’m an INFJ woman who currently works in tech. I wanted to ask for your advice on how to handle burnout and your advice on my situation.

I’ve realized that the tech layoffs and also being a contractor in this environment have all led me to become extremely burnt out. Im still relatively new to my career, but I feel like I’ve pushed myself so hard these past few years because I hoped it would lead me to becoming an FTE. When I first got hired, I was told I would most likely get converted and that it was almost a guarantee. However, things have changed due to the macroeconomic environment, and I feel bamboozled and betrayed. Ive lost enjoyment in my day to day life, and I feel that I’m pushing myself so hard and repressing my feelings because of my fear of the alternative: feeling helpless and being jobless

I have enough savings for a year, and a part of me wants to just quit my job to travel, rest, and rejuvenate. The logical part of my brain says I should stay in my job for the financial and career stability. However, the emotional part of my brain is realizing that this is not sustainable for me. Thank you, and I hope you, INTJ, and Kobe are doing well.

Hey there, thanks for supporting the blog.

To start, you have a right to be pissed off because contractor to FTE conversions are often dangled in front of contractors to keep them motivated even when the company knows it's an unlikely outcome. It doesn't financially make sense most of the time to convert contractors to FTEs because it increases costs (benefits, taxes, severance, PTO, etc.), it decreases staffing flexibility (ease of layoffs, ease of swapping out resources, etc.), and it increases effort (performance management).

With that said, not getting converted isn't the end of the world, it's just a minor setback due to economic circumstances. Tech isn't crashing (i.e. it's not failing-- it's still making an obscene amount of money), it's just correcting for overhiring in 2021 and once the situation stabilizes you'll be in a much better position with the experience you've accumulated than someone who has no tech experience. You also still have a job, a paycheck, and financial security which is more than many people in this world can say.

Consider also a third option: use the skills, experience, and network you currently have to apply to many new jobs. Start with less desirable companies first as practice interviewing, then work your way up to more desirable companies once you've had enough practice. Target only full-time roles. This resource post I wrote a few years ago and the following tags have more: #job hunting and #career. Once you secure an offer, push the start date out and a vacation in between.

I don't know your exact financial situation so I can't advise if quitting your job without anything new lined up is a wise choice, but it's something that I'd never do. Keep in mind that hiring bias exists and that unemployed people have a tougher time finding a job than employed people whether it's due to voluntarily quitting, being laid off, raising a baby, or another reasons. It may be difficult to return to the workforce after your sabbatical especially if you don't have many years of experience and an extensive network to help you.

In the short term, I'd try the third outcome first and see what offers come your way. Ease up at work (without dropping any balls) and focus on your wellbeing. The worst they can do is fire you and you're already applying externally with a year's worth of savings as a cushion.

In the long term, hold companies to their promises and advocate harder for yourself. If they promise a conversion or a promotion or whatever, then demand a timeline and get it in writing. If not, leave situations when they no longer benefit you before they become so intolerable that you burn out. Burnout is like an empty gas tank in a car. There are many warning signs long before that happens-- heed them and course correct.

#burnout #burn out #career #careers #work #transition #job #faq

[beauty-and-passion]

What am I currently doing?

What am I even doing? Am I dead? Have I left the fandom?

The answers are writing, no and no.

The long answers are:

What am I doing?

First I collected all answers from the survey for the fanwriting of Sanders Sides Season 3 (aka Fanders Sides Season 3). I checked them all and planned what to do. I already wrote a post with all the details, so I won’t spoil too much here: everything will be explained in due time.

I also finished the analyses of the remaining episodes.

And in the last weeks, I’ve started writing Fanders Sides Season 3. Today I finished the first 9 episodes which ideally close my first “arc” of the season finale. One third (more or less) is done.

However, these things should still be reviewed and proofread and I can do it only after I finish writing the whole FSS3. So for now it’s just a good draft.

Am I dead?

Eurovision 2023 almost killed me and the aftermath left me crushed. It has been a couple of terrible weeks and I managed to get out of them, only after a while - and after the true winner got back on his feet.

In the meantime, my job contract ended and the company did not renew it. Why? Oh, no idea. They need a person and yet, they decided to fire one they spent 6 months training for that role. The bullshit they told me was “there is no money”, which is ridiculous coming from a growing gas and oil company.

The truth is probably that the heads of administration are complete idiots and have no idea about the situation. The place I worked for is a branch of the company and the administration center for the whole Italian division of said company.

When I started working there, the administration office was down to three people (they had retired) and they really, REALLY needed help. I did my best and, thanks to my and another person’s help, the workload was reduced.

So, since now things are somehow normal, they told me that hey, the problem is solved. Which proves they have no idea how an administration works, because reducing the workload now doesn’t mean the workload is reduced forever.

And even though they do not know that, my colleagues do. And they’re all pissed. They protested and did everything, so... who knows?

In the meantime, I decided to try another route, which means teaching. I am currently studying to take a few exams and, hopefully, get into a course. If a company calls me, I will ponder the decision, but in the meantime, I’m focusing on my studies.

And writing, of course. Always writing.

Heck, this sudden change in my life gave me somehow the idea I was looking for for 10 years. I don’t know how, but I just... thought about it, wrote down a couple of things and bam, in less than one hour I had a working plot. Just like that. As if I haven’t spent YEARS thinking about how to make that fucking plot work. But that’s another story I will probably explain one day.

Have I left the fandom?

Of course I haven’t left the fandom, I’m writing FSS3!

And even after that, I will still keep an eye on Sanders Sides, waiting for the faithful day in which Mr. Sanders will finally decide to work on the season 2 finale. I will post other stuff too and other analyses I’ve planned long ago, but one part of me will still wait for the next update.

However, since FSS3 might take a while, I would like to start posting the episode analyses. But I’m also on a writing spree for FSS3 and I don’t want to lose the momentum by shifting my attention to something else.

So the answer is that, for now, I probably won’t post anything. The analyses should be proofread first, but I’m writing now and I don’t want to lose the moment. I will keep going on with FSS3 until I’ve finished it, then I will start proofreading and once an analysis will be ready, I will post it.

So if you’re still following me, please wait a little bit longer. If I start something, I finish it. All you need is just a bit of patience.

In the meantime, of course, you can ask me for updates, details or anything else. It might take me some time to reply or I wouldn’t be able to tell you everything, but I will try my best as always.

And, of course, thank you all for your time and your patience 💖

#sanders sides #blog update #fss3 #thomas sanders #seriously thank you for dealing up with me #I hope my work will be appreciated! #<3

[mariacallous]

The EU consumes 4 times less Russian gas then before the war, dropping from 40% of EU gas consumption to just 9% while the bloc continues to aim at stopping all Russian gas imports.

now my understanding of the Russian economy is that its largely a "petrostate" so I just wonder whats the economic effect of the loss of this major market, can they replace Europe, or even come close to it with China? I saw a piece saying Russia was headed toward being North Korea extra large, poor, isolated, and paranoid, is that level of economic fall out even possible for Russia? or... I've seen a lot of reports and images of Russia outside Moscow and St. Petersburg where corruption and neglect has left these areas outside the main (showcase) cities grindingly poor and under developed, will we see more of the same, the Provences starving while the main cities are able to more or less keep their standard of living up.

European countries have been slow to work out how to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels in response to the war in Ukraine. In August, EU countries agreed to reduce supplies of Russian gas by two thirds over the course of 2022, and to put a cap on the price of Russia oil. Coal imports were banned. A full embargo on crude and petroleum products won’t take effect until 2023. In May, EU leaders announced plans for a sanctions package against Russia. At the moment, however, companies are able to legally import Russian fossil fuels essentially as they were doing before the war.

Pipelines between Russia and Europe have been shut down since the war in Ukraine began, but maritime shipping routes remain in operation. The investigation found that between the invasion and the end of August, 40 percent of Russia’s seaborne energy exports went to the EU. 

Researchers estimate that energy sales to Europe brought Russia $285 million daily between the invasion and the end of August. The Netherlands were the biggest importer, followed by Italy, France, and Germany. Imports declined sharply after August, though some European nations, including Italy, Greece, and Denmark, continue to import Russian fuel ahead of the winter.

...

In August, the International Energy Agency said there had been fewer declines in Russian fuel shipments “than previously forecast.” Though sales to European markets have declined sharply, much Russian oil is rerouted, rather than off the market altogether. Says Dr. Adnan Vantsever, Reader in Russian politics at the Russia Institute, King’s College London, Russia “has a massive surplus capacity in terms of its export infrastructure and so rerouting the oil for Russia is not really a difficult task.” He adds that if Russia continues to export large amounts of oil, but earns much less per shipment than it did previously, the sanctions will have had their desired effect.

Maritime trade in Russian oil continues despite sanctions: Europe still buys millions of dollars of Russian fuel daily

---

Overall, Russia has cut it supplies of gas to Europe by 88% over the past year, according to David Fyfe, chief economist with research firm Argus Media.

This has caused the wholesale price of gas to increase by 210% over the same period.

In 2021, the UK imported 4% of its needs from Russia. Nowadays, it imports none.

However, gas prices have also soared in Britain because when Russia restricts supplies to mainland Europe, that also creates acute shortages on the international gas market.

...

Helped by soaring energy prices, Russia received an estimated €400bn ($430bn, £341bn) over the past year from oil and gas exports to Europe.

David Fyfe of Argus Media says that high global prices of oil have pushed up the amount Russia earns from crude oil exports by 41%.

The EU says its latest sanctions could cut the amount of oil it buys from Russia by 90%. However, this will take months to come into full effect, and even then Russia will be able to sell oil elsewhere in the world.

Russia sanctions: How can the world cope without its oil and gas?

---

G7 leaders, already facing recession and high inflation at home, are keen to avoid exacerbating the problems created by gas shortages. If fully implemented, the ban on insuring Russian oil shipments would have deprived the market of 6 million barrels of oil a day (the total volume of Russian oil exports minus pipeline and railroad shipments to China). It would have been impossible to substitute such a significant amount on today’s market, which would inevitably have led to sharp price increases: J.P. Morgan forecasts prices of up to $380 a barrel.

The current developments on the gas market only make such an outcome more likely and provide a glimpse of the scale of potential damage to the global economy. In addition, such a steep rise in oil prices would create too much temptation to violate any prohibitions and sanctions. To maintain global economic stability, therefore, the G7 states are seeking to preserve the current volume of Russian oil shipments, but at significantly reduced prices, calling for the creation of a broad coalition of buyers.

It appears that responsibility for ensuring the price cap is not breached will be put on the insurance companies of the countries that join the coalition. After all, insurers know the value of the insured shipment and the cargo capacity of the insured vessel, which should allow them to determine the purchase price and deny their services if it’s above a certain threshold—or else risk incurring penalties from their countries’ governments.

The proposed restrictions could also be easily circumvented. Whenever countries on sanctions lists face difficulties in selling their natural resources, creative minds will find a way to thwart the proposed measures with help from companies prepared to turn a blind eye to the shady elements of ostensibly legal transactions. Oil shipments could be bundled with some symbolic but pricey services, such as customs services, laboratory analysis, or document translation. Another scheme would involve loading a supposedly full 80,000-ton oil tanker with only 50,000 barrels of oil, bringing the cargo price per barrel closer to the market price. 

Such schemes would, of course, require some collusion on the part of intermediary countries, but that is unlikely to be a problem. In recent months, Malaysia’s oil exports to China have exceeded the country’s actual oil production by one-third. Malaysia also cooperates with Iran and Venezuela in contravention of sanctions regimes. 

It’s also unclear how seriously Russia will resist the imposition of a price cap. The plan’s architects claim that the capped price will still generate enough profit for it to be worth Russia’s while to sell the oil. But that logic assumes that Moscow will act rationally and try to maximize its economic gains. That might be how the economists in the Russian government think, but it’s visionaries rather than pragmatists who determine Russia’s policies now. The country’s behavior since February has demonstrated that it’s prepared to sacrifice its economic interests for the sake of political and military goals. 

Russia is also willing to suffer economic losses if they mean privations for the West. In the Kremlin’s logic, Russia—with its wealth of energy and food resources—is in a better position to weather the crisis than other countries. Therefore, Moscow should sabotage any attempts at reconciliation and seize opportunities to create crises not only on the gas market, but on the oil market too. 

Paradoxically, Russia may get some help from the OPEC countries here. For them, an emerging buyers’ cartel risks potentially manipulating the entire oil market and its prices. If the cartel succeeds in forcing Russia to obey its rules, the Arab countries may be next. If Russia counters the price cap by reducing its output, therefore, Saudi Arabia may be reluctant to increase its oil exports to compensate for the reduction, whether it has sufficient available production capacity or not.

Finally, the jury is still out on whether India and China, the biggest new buyers of Russian oil, are prepared to join the price cap coalition. To persuade them to cooperate, the West might use the threat of secondary sanctions as the stick to accompany the carrot of low prices for Russian oil.

If Russia resists the pressure and cuts its supply to the global market, India and China may decide to stay out of the fray and sign separate agreements with Russia, as well as offer to insure oil shipments. In that case, the G7 states will be saddled with the tough choice of whether to impose sanctions on their largest trading partners and risk waging an economic war on several fronts. The Trump administration dared to impose sanctions on the Chinese tech giants ZTE and Huawei for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran with no significant pushback from China, but the world has changed a lot since then.

The Flaw in the Plan to Cap Russian Oil Prices

India, China, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and several other countries have already said they would not only continue to buy Russian oil but increase the imports due to energy prices, and as we go into the winter, energy prices are not likely to drop anytime soon, so even though the US and Europe (and probably Canada and Australia) have drastically reduced their Russian energy imports (the US may have ended them entirely at this point, I don't remember) the impact is being cushioned by other economic factors.

That's in addition to those same countries largely stepping forward in other ways regarding Russian imports and finances and economics. There are also several African countries which aren't participating fully in sanctions or blocking Russian trade for historical and investment reasons.

Additionally, Hungary and now Italy and potentially Bulgaria are led by Putin-friendly governments, which means that the potential to disrupt or negate further sanctions and unity has increased.

Plus, economic reality hasn't mattered much to the regime since February.

The situation in the areas outside Moscow and Saint Petersburg will likely continue to drastically worsen, and in places like Dagestan and Buryatia, the corruption and economic deprivation was already pretty awful (which is why places like that both have the highest number of Russian military enlistees and draftees and also the most unrest and opposition to what's going on).

For there to be that kind of a drastic blow to the Russian economy, there'll have to be a drop in energy prices and less countries accepting Russian energy. I think the exodus of people from Russia, both since the invasion began (exacerbating a brain drain) and since mobilization was announced, and a lack of major investment and business operation in Russia, and further domestic and civil unrest will probably have a bigger impact at this point.

#russia #invasion of ukraine

[recentlyheardcom]

By Marek Strzelecki, Sabine Siebold and Anna KoperWARSAW/BERLIN (Reuters) - Fighting to win an unprecedented third term in office, Poland's nationalist government has seized on a target close to home: Germany, its NATO ally and biggest trading partner.In a tight race ahead of Poland's Oct. 15 election, leaders of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party have accused Germany of trying to dictate Polish government policy from Berlin on anything from migration to gas.The feud has frayed Europe's broadly united front supporting Ukraine against Russia's invasion, shredding a plan for a joint Polish-German tank repair plant for Kyiv's benefit.The populist PiS leadership also says Germany is plotting to install the party's main electoral opponent, the liberal former prime minister Donald Tusk, back in power.PiS has tapped into a mistrust towards Germany that still runs high in part of the electorate, above all elderly conservatives who remember the devastation of World War Two."Do you know where you can read the (opposition's campaign) programme? In German newspapers," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a campaign event.His party casts Tusk, who said his grandfather was forcibly conscripted into the Nazi Wehrmacht during World War Two before escaping to the Allied side, as a German puppet and the "political husband" of former German chancellor Angela Merkel. A campaign video also mocked Merkel's successor Olaf Scholz.Months of spats between the two neighbours have tested the solidarity of the Western alliance that rallied around Ukraine after the Russian invasion last year. They have come at a time when other issues, including the election of a pro-Russian leader in EU member state Slovakia, are threatening disruption.IMPACT ON UKRAINEThe quarrel has already impacted efforts to help Ukraine.In April the defence ministers of Germany and Poland, with a smile and hug of solidarity, announced the creation of a joint hub in Poland to repair German-made Leopard tanks damaged in battle in Ukraine.But the deal quickly collapsed. In another dispute, Warsaw resisted a German offer to station Patriot missile air defence units in Poland before eventually agreeing to it."It's very unhelpful that Poland, the people from the Law and Justice Party, continues to criticize Germany in such a harsh public way," U.S. General Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. Army forces in Europe in 2014-17, told Reuters."It's unhelpful because it puts strain on the relationship between two NATO allies, which therefore puts strain on the overall cohesion of NATO."The tank plant would have been a joint effort by German manufacturers Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall, neither of which responded to a request for comment, and the Polish defence conglomerate Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ).Among the sticking points, one German source said Poland was asking for too much money for the repair works. Another source, a German diplomat, said the talks failed partly because German companies were reluctant to share technical information."But it also showed a little bit the same thing we had for the Patriots, a general mistrust on the part of the Poles and a sort of being in the habit of treating a partner in a way that is not usual for a partnership in the EU or in an alliance."As things stand, PGZ is repairing some Leopard tanks using spare parts supplied from Germany."To some extent, it depended on the speed of action and decisiveness of the German side. We were negotiating. Unfortunately, we have a slightly different view of what it should look like," Sebastian Chwalek, PGZ's CEO, told Reuters.Other tanks will be repaired elsewhere, "which is maybe a little bit more costly and maybe a little bit more time consuming but it's happening anyway," the German diplomat said."It's a sign of the present relationship that we cannot agree on such things."Polish government officials did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.A German Foreign Office spokesperson said Berlin

and Warsaw work closely together on European security and defence but declined comment on "current domestic political debates in Poland".SOURING RELATIONSWhile ties between Poland and Germany have been frosty since PiS first came to power in 2015, Poles now see them worsening. Just 47% think relations are good, according to a German Polish barometer poll this year, down from 72% in 2020.Many Poles, included 56% of respondents in the opinion poll, feel Germany has not done enough to compensate for the damage inflicted by the war. PiS has called on Germany to pay over 1 trillion euros in reparations, which Berlin rejected.A PiS source who requested anonymity described relations as "competitive", saying Berlin and Warsaw "could work together on many issues" but others were divisive, including reparations.Two German lawmakers privately told Reuters that Berlin could have been more forthcoming in addressing Polish concerns and take conciliatory steps over the issue of reparations."I think we should be looking beyond the cartoonish (Polish policy) that this (election) campaign has put in front of us. It's the moment for Germany to look into the mirror," said Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff of the German Marshall Fund.Scholz's government has largely brushed off the attacks from PiS. A government source said Berlin was extra cautious not to even inadvertently provoke Warsaw."We're treading on egg shells," the source said.To be sure, some analysts believe the Polish rhetoric towards Berlin could be dialled down after the elections.But irritants on both sides are likely to persist, including over migration, which again mushroomed into a flashpoint over a cash-for-visas scandal in Poland last month."Now, to be honest, what I hope will happen is that my president will invite the two leaders kind of the way he did the leaders from Japan and South Korea, invited them to Camp David,” Hodges said."You know, maybe at some point President (Joe) Biden meets President (Andrzej) Duda and Chancellor Scholz and says: Fellows, we have got to fix it."($1 = 0.9549 euros)(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak, Marek Strzelecki, Anna Koper, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Alan Charlish in Warsaw; Sarah Marsh, Sabine Siebold and Andreas Rinke in Berlin; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Mark Heinrich)

[mangodestroyer]

Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure my store would still be making lots of money if my wage was doubled.

Yes, I am aware that there is a fuck ton of labor that goes into running a clothing store. You have to pay the accountants, marketing team, upper management, truck drivers, customer service representatives, supervisors, and so much more. And sometimes, merchandise gets handled quite a bit. It needs to be kept neat, organized out onto the floor, go through price changes now and then, etc.

Thing is, I, a single employee, work with LOTS of merchandise everyday. Mere penny's worth of my labor goes towards a single unit, if even that. And the raw materials and labor that went into PRODUCING those clothes probably isn't as much as people think. It's pretty obvious these clothing items are being marked up at absurd prices so that you think you're getting a deal when you get a 20% off coupon or whatever.

Also, I wasn't even hired on as a service desk employee. And yet I often find myself working the till during a 4-8 hour shift. This isn't even the busiest time of the year for us, but it's really not uncommon for the place to be bustling with activity. And while working the register, I easily ring up tons of orders that are at least $50. Hell, I often find myself ringing up orders in the $150 to $300 range, with the occasional $500+ purchase. I'm also selling credit cards on top of that, which also earn the company lots of money because of the fact that these cards have a high interest rate and most people wait to pay them off when their bill arrives in the mail/online.

Not only that, but I also fill online orders sometimes. Whether that be through store pickup or through mail.

So I pretty much know how to do almost everything in the store. Aside from supervising and some operations tasks (even if I still help out with trucks and whatnot). I can do all of this fairly efficiently. ESPECIALLY since I've been working here two years. And within an hour, I can easily end up selling so much merchandise, that the money earned just from me alone ends up being far, FAR more than my weekly wage. Just in that hour.

So, yeah. How can you even justify giving the average worker a measly $12.50 an hour? Let alone one who is more experienced and efficient? With the cost of living these days, it just isn't ethical. Rent is insanely high, gas prices have gone up, and food isn't getting any cheaper. If my wage was doubled, I might actually be able to live on my own.

No, shit. Companies are greedy af. This is why I'm happy for the worker strikes and hope they do cause serious damage for the CEOs. The U.S. owns 25% of the world's wealth, so poverty shouldn't even be nearly as much of an issue as it currently is. And no one needs a billion dollars. Give me a break!

I've also become disgusted by how materialistic we are as a culture and try to cut back on frivolous purchases. I mean, I see people come here multiple times a month, buying so much dumb shit for their wardrobes that they really don't need. I once had a girl come in purchasing $400 worth of clothes. Admitting this wasn't the first time she'd done so that month. That she'll have to get a third job to support her shopping addiction when she already works 60 hours a week. Ngl, I kind of wanted to slap some sense into her right there and then. Just why??? She's already so busy, so she probably doesn't have much time to even enjoy the outfits she's wearing. And tbh, I doubt many people are giving it much thought either. And if you don't need to work more than 60 hours a week to survive, why the fuck would you? Wouldn't you rather, idk, pick up a hobby or something? Hang out with some friends? Spend some time out in the sun?

I guess capitalism isn't my thing.

[vivacapital19]

Factor Accounts Receivable Task Without Recourse

This continues until you have fully repaid the amount of your factoring advance. It’s fairly clear that 2020 was a yr during which factoring providers proved to be an important tool for apparel corporations. We basically witnessed 10 years of change crammed right into a 10-month period, which resulted in a large increase in retail bankruptcies. The consumer shift toward direct-to-consumer purchases at the expense of bricks-and-mortar retailers was pronounced and doesn’t look like a quick invoice factoring la lived pattern. Companies that had been able to depend on the support of things found that, regardless of the significant enhance in retail insolvencies, they had been able to move forward due to the credit score protection provided by their factors. As attire companies regain their footing in 2021, their administration of price range, inventory and accounts receivable might be important to recovery.

Fast A/R Funding offers accounts receivable factoring providers (also called “invoice factoring services”) to Los Angeles’ small businesses daily. We purchase your invoices for up to 95% of their face value, offering the capital you should hold your small business working in just invoice factoring los angeles days. Another necessary good thing about factoring pertains to the collection-and-cash-application providers that a factor provides. Every apparel company in 2020 was forced to take a critical have a glance at head rely and effectivity.

As with all financial solutions, there are numerous invoice factoring pros and cons. You should contemplate whether the advantages outweigh the dangers if you request funds. Invoice factoring and invoice financing are related, however they have some key variations. Invoice factoring requires that you promote your company's invoices to a third celebration. Your invoices turn out to be collateral, which has similarities to the mortgage course of we discussed earlier. Aside from the quick approval time, factoring is different from a mortgage because you are selling a product -- your invoices.

Factoring companies—located in Los Angeles or otherwise—fund quite lots of enterprise in a plethora of industries. To get started, fill out a web-based form or give us a name to talk with one of our factoring specialists. We supply Factoring company los angeles "Fuel Card Service Through our Partnership with Electronic Fund Source [EFS] controlling gas usage and numerous over-the-road costs are some of most necessary features of running a trucking operation.

Generally, there are two major methods to factor building invoices – spot  factoring and contract factoring. Many online lenders supply quite so much of loan products, including ones particularly for debt consolidation. Interest charges Factoring company in los angeles, ca and terms can range widely, so it’s important to do some research earlier than making use of. #DidYouKnow Factoring corporations generate income by charging fees for each invoice.

The technique by which he hopes to beat it accommodates a valuable lesson for anyone who owns a enterprise. By utilizing straightforward paperwork, a lot of the stress and uncertainty that comes with building cost goes out the window. Risk-shifting contracts don’t do a lot to forestall disputes from happening, and pleasant, clear, concise paperwork helps to construct belief. When parties can belief one another, they will collaborate extra simply – and collaboration kills fee disputes. Traditional lenders, such as banks or credit score unions, supply these merchandise.

Learn how Single Point might help level your business in the proper course. Payments come slowly, and that makes it onerous to maintain a enterprise — a lot much less grow it. To combat this drawback, there are a number of authorized tools obtainable, such as immediate fee legal guidelines, mechanics lien legal guidelines, and retainage laws, to name a few. Factoring can be an intimidating topic, however at its core, it couldn’t be less complicated. Factoring invoices is a financial transaction during which a enterprise sells its accounts receivable (invoices) to a third celebration, known as a factor. This permits businesses to entry instant cash move with out waiting for purchasers to pay.

With the continued restrictions associated to COVID-19, as we’ve entered 2021, there's little doubt that the retail panorama remains considerably challenged. While many retailers have been able to benefit from an already-robust direct-to-consumer business that increased as a end result of COVID-19, those that didn’t have these capabilities have, in some circumstances, continued to struggle. Further, factoring corporations are typically pretty wary of coming into the development space in the first place. There’s an entire market of businesses from other industries who are keen to factor their receivables which have much steadier money flows and fee phrases than in building. So, even where a construction business has decided to factor their invoices, it might not be so easy to discover a factoring company keen to work with them. A factoring company is much like a group agency in that they each present invoices for work that you’ve already completed.

[mcmoussa]

Watch the full vedio by clicking here : WATCH NOW

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[savofid]

Something of a letter that'll never be sent, I suppose. Hell, even my friends don't even know my name here.

K, where do I even begin? Yeah, I knew you were a little bit crazy when we met. "Well adjusted" people don't vent about their marriage problems to a random gas station cashier, cry on their shoulder, and try to hold their hand. It doesn't matter how drunk one might be. The closest thing to that I've ever experienced was the night that I walked a girl back to her dorm and she kissed me as a thank you for getting her home safe. Yeah, I found you attractive, but the moral dilemma of even waiting to be with a married woman weighed heavily on me for weeks. Everything about you is my weakness, and I just fell into your trap.

I feel like you use men in a way. It's not intentional, I don't think. Is it some form of magic? Are you like me in that your very touch is addictive? Is it because I'm like you that I didn't lose my mind completely? Something about you screams afoul, and not in the directly insulting way. There's something about you that's very different, and all I feel is jealousy and fear that he's going to hurt the one I love. Part of me doesn't even care that I've been bewitched, but the rest of me doesn't want to be controlled in that way again. I want to be sure that it's entirely me.

Is it because I didn't completely lose myself to you that you've tossed me aside for someone weaker, someone more malleable? Can you not accept love unless it's been forced into the minds of your prey? I cannot get you out of my mind, and yet my entire being wants to forget you. I almost empathize with the ones that I so unknowingly did the same to, if this is the case.

I've had my fair share of breakups over the years, many of which were hard for me to endure, but I found myself able to move on in much less time. This isn't the case now. I used to, at least, be able to distract myself from the pain. This isn't the case now. Why can't I shake you from my mind?

With my first, I was naïve. It took me a long while to end things, and I even made the mistake of going back to her. Twice. However, I was able to move on literally that same day. With my second, it was simple: we realized that we didn't have any feelings for one another other than lust, so we both walked away. With my third, I ended things because of the way she treated me. I was supposed to marry my fourth, but she found someone else two days before I was gonna be home. My fifth nearly drove me to suicide, but I was back on my feet in, at most, two weeks. It felt like an eternity, though. With my sixth, I only ended things when I was certain that she wasn't going back to who she used to be. I knew my seventh was going to go back to the guy she was with before me. I'm not an idiot, and I told her what I knew.

And now we're here at my eighth. How am I worse than he is? It's not about comparisons this time. How terrible must I be that an abusive guy is better company than I am? Did I not make you feel safe? Feel loved? Feel provided for? Feel special? He won't give you those things, but you know that. You chose to let him back into your life. You begged him to come back. And what of me? I tell you goodbye and you just try to defend him?

I may love you, but I doubt you ever really loved me. I wasn't your rock, but a stepping stone towards something else. I wish I could hate you. I wish I could be angry with you, but I can't. I'm not worth defending, anyways.

I doubt that I'm wrong about him. I know his kind all too well. Any time that he even thinks you're seeing someone else, he's going to hurt you. It only ends in one of three ways: you get away, you end up battered, bruised, and stuck with him for the rest of your life, or you end up dead. All I can say is that I hope you get away safely, because I can't protect you anymore. You're making your bed and you can lie in it. You can face the consequences of your decisions, of your actions. I'm not here to make those for you. Next time he hurts you, don't call me. Don't get drunk and call me all sad and ask me for help. Don't call me for a friendly game of Mario Kart. Don't call me to walk your dog.

Don't call me. Let me forget that I had to walk away from another person I cared about just so their abuser wouldn't hurt them because of me. Gods know how much damage it's already done and how much more I have to face on my own.

Goodbye.

[karen-anti-r-cml]

October 28, 2022 Exxon Mobil Corp Officials.: announced they raked in a stunning $19.66 Billion in 2022 third-quarter profits... The company with a 152-year history has never seen so much profit in one quarter 

After a year of unnecessarily high gas prices, the unprecedented profits prove Price Gouging, which republican/trumpublicans helped them pull off. After this shameful year of robbing the Majority of United States Citizens, darren woods, ceo of Exxon Mobil Corp. had this to say

woods: “There has been discussion in the US about our industry returning some of our profits directly to the American people. That’s exactly what we’re doing in the form of our quarterly dividend.”

Top 10 Owners of EMC: All are million/billion dollar companies

Top 10 Mutual Funds Holding EMC: All are million/billion dollar companies

Individual Shareholders of EMC: Only make up about 0.83%

EMC is a U.S. Company, but Shareholders: EMC is Internationally Traded and Shareholders are from all over the world. No matter how we look at woods is simply trying to Gaslight US

Thankfully our President Joe Biden is calling out woods and other U.S. Oil Companies Official!

Biden, last week during a White House speech: “My message to the American energy companies is this: You should not be using your profits to buy back stock or for dividends. Not now. Not while a war is raging. You should use those record-breaking profits to increase production and refining. Invest in America for the American people.”

October 27, 2022: Biden highlighted gas prices have come down in recent weeks, but stressed they’d be even lower if not for industry profiteering.

Biden: “There used to be a direct correlation: A barrel of oil goes down, the price at the pump goes down at the same time. If we’re taking average profits they’ve been making over the last 20 years instead of the historic profits they’re making today, the price of gas would be down an additional 40 cents today.”

Biden: “Can’t believe I have to say this but giving profits to shareholders is not the same as bringing prices down for American families,”

October 28, 2022: Sad to write, but it’s not just EMC 4 of the world’s 5 largest Oil Companies Exxon, Chevron, Shell and  Total reported nearly $50 Billion in combined third-quarter profits,... All because of Price Gouging. 

Shell took their profit and made the obscenely Rich, even richer by raising its dividend and in the 4th quarter they plan to buy back $4 billion in stock

Robber Baron John D. Rockefeller made his immense riches from monopolizing America’s oil industry. 

1890: The Sherman Antitrust Act was made law for because of people like him: The law banned businesses from colluding or merging to form a monopoly. The law prevented these groups from dictating, controlling, and manipulating prices in a particular market.

Robber Barons Are Back and They Are A Threat To All Of US

October 2022: It seems the world’s top 5 have found a work around and it’s time for a new Law to Protect We the People from their greed

“ Biden Spars With Oil Executives Over Industry's Record Profits” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-oil-companies-record-profits-dividends_n_635c122be4b0cf522df875a5

“Earnings Call - 3Q 2022″ https:/corporate.exxonmobil.com/investors/investor-relations

“Exxon Mobil Corp” https://money.cnn.com/quote/shareholders/shareholders.html?symb=XOM&subView=institutional

[vrjust]

Hasten down the wind cover

#HASTEN DOWN THE WIND COVER OFFLINE#

“I believe that today’s a great day, two years too early,” Wakai said. But there wasn’t the political will in the legislature to extend the life of the coal plant and doing so would have resulted in pushback from environmentalists committed to action on climate change. The legislature’s coal shutdown mandate should have been contingent on having enough renewable electricity to fill the gap, Hawai’i Senator Glenn Wakai told Canary Media after the ceremony. We do know, over the next 12 to 24 months as those projects come online here on Oahu, that our residents will begin to see more stable energy prices and ultimately a reduction in their energy bills.” ​“I don’t think anyone anticipated Russia invading Ukraine and all of the turmoil and price increases that have been driven by that activity. “This has to be the most tumultuous time in terms of the energy space,” Governor Ige noted. The new Inflation Reduction Act cures that defect in federal policy and should encourage an explosion of new clean energy projects in Hawai’i and throughout America. Hawai’i Governor David Ige told Canary Media at a ceremony marking the end of service at the Barbers Point facility, “It’s about having a North Star and being clear about what the long term objectives are so that we can make generational decisions that will provide long term stability and support for our communities.” In other words, government should act on facts, not opinions expressed on Fakebook, Twitter, or Faux News.ĪES, which owns the Barbers Point facility, has been deeply involved in the transition to renewable energy in Hawai’i, starting with the solar power plant and battery storage facility that has been powering the northernmost island of Kauai since 2019.Īny blame for the fact that fewer solar projects have been completed in Hawai’i than could have been built under ideal circumstances can be laid at the feet of Congress, which for many years has failed to establish clear renewable energy policies with a long enough timeline to allow developers to plan, permit, and complete them in time to qualify for favorable tax treatment.

#HASTEN DOWN THE WIND COVER OFFLINE#

In the meantime, taking Barbers Point offline will add about $15 a month to the average residential electric bill. As more renewable energy comes online, rates will drop and future price hikes will be avoided. The closure of the Barbers Point coal generating station will unfortunately inflict further pain on Hawaii’s long suffering utility customers. One of the long term advantages of renewable energy, of course, is that it is produced locally, so its price is not impacted when tyrants like Pooty Poot have a hissy fit that drives up the cost of coal, oil, or unnatural gas. But Hawai’i does not yet have enough renewable energy to meet all its needs. Renewables are cheaper in the long run because once they are built, the cost of fuel is zero. Once access to Russian oil was cut off, utility companies were forced to seek other suppliers and pay significantly more for oil. It costs a lot of money to ship coal and oil to the islands, which is the primary reason utility rates are so high. Much of its electricity is made by burning oil - one third of it from Russia. Hawai’i has always had some of the highest electricity rates in the nation. A subsequent law enacted in 2020 moved the timeline for the transition to renewables forward, which forced the closure of the Barbers Point coal-fired facility. Hawai’i began transitioning to renewable energy as the result of legislation passed in 2015. Hawai’i, like all islands, is at extreme risk from rising sea levels, largely due to higher average global temperatures related to greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide. Annually, it spews about 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is a tragedy for one of the most beautiful spots on Earth. The AES facility at Barbers Point on Oahu serves about 300,000 customers and has been in operation for 30 years. Environmental groups are celebrating this week because the last coal-fired generating facility in Hawai’i will be shut down by September 1.

#Hasten down the wind cover

[gogomains]

Chikara phonebox shirt

#Chikara phonebox shirt pro

#Chikara phonebox shirt professional

Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone were introduced to join Excalibur for AEW Dynamite.Taz was introduced as the special guest commentator to join Excalibur for AEW Dark.I almost didn't go because I wake up at around 4 am for work, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the first AEW show in Philadelphia, and to support this incredible company. Yesterday was the third episode of their new weekly TNT series, AEW Dynamite. I look like an absolute dork, but this is what a happy wrestling fan looks like.

#Chikara phonebox shirt professional

The show was phenomenal, and it developed into a new promotion that has made professional wrestling fun again - All Elite Wrestling.Ĭody is a really awesome dude. That all changed just over a year ago when Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks self-funded a show called All In. I began to wonder if I had just outgrown wrestling. These days, companies like ROH and TNA are a shell of their former selves, and the only programming I truly enjoyed was NXT. As for the new material, the wrestling matches themselves were usually very good, but the storylines, the writing and the commentary was so horrible that it became hard to watch. I subscribed to the WWE 24/7 premium channel, and then the WWE Network when they moved to a streaming service, but I found that when I had time to watch, I would gravitate toward the older shows that I watched when I was a kid.

#Chikara phonebox shirt pro

I ended up going to just about every ROH show in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey for the next few years, and as I became more familiar with their wrestlers, I was exposed to other promotions that they worked, like CZW and Chikara.Īfter college, I started to work for Nestle and I didn't have as much time to keep up with pro wrestling as I once did. I bought tickets and had an incredible time. Then, in 2005, I saw that Kenta Kobashi was scheduled to appear in a Ring of Honor show in Philadelphia. I still kept up with it, but not like I did when I was a kid. I was burned out a little bit in the early 2000's after WCW and ECW went out of business and the WWF/E product started to be disappointing with poor writing and continuity. When I first got on the internet in the late 90's, I joined a couple of tape trading message boards where I got my first exposure to lucha libre and puroresu. I mainly watched WWF when I was in elementary and middle school, and I got into WCW and ECW in the mid 90's. I've been a fan of professional wrestling since before I was in Kindergarten. Until then, I will always have a quarter and a few minutes to forget about the modern world and just play. One day, the last of them will stop working and these once iconic parts of our culture will truly have disappeared. I imagine that some of them haven't been moved in decades and have become as much a part of the permanent surroundings as the restaurant booths and cash register that they stand watch over. Not a lovingly restored cabinet at a retro arcade, but a game that is still in service at a public place, waiting to be played, and periodically emptied of its quarters. Once in a while, I come across a machine out in the wild. Now, in 2019, arcade cabinets become almost as rare as jukeboxes or pay telephones. I stood there for over an hour breaking bricks with the paddle and remembering what it was like to find these games all over town, in every town. I stopped at a gas station in Ohio and there was an Arkanoid machine. It was 2002 and I was driving on I-80 West from Hazleton to Omaha. I remember the day that it occurred to me that they had almost all disappeared. Their disappearance was so slow and gradual that I didn't even notice it happening. They were outside convenience stores and gas stations, and in the entrance way of drug stores and grocery stores. They were in the lobbies of diners and restaurants. When I was growing up in the 80's, it was not at all uncommon to see arcade machines all over town at various places of business.

#Chikara phonebox shirt