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[stone-cold-groove]

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[avastrasposts]

The Pilot and his Girl - ch. 25 **

Dealing with the aftermath of the fall of the Arlington QZ, the four make their way towards a new destination.

Series Master List

Warnings have their own post, please heed them (this chapter contains smut, yay!)

Word count: 9.1k (jeez...)

Convincing three ex-soldiers that you were in fact just as perfectly capable of doing watch duty as they are, hadn’t been easy. But simply refusing to go to bed and standing up eventually worked and now each night was split into four shifts, all of you taking turns on the different slots. Although you quickly figured out that if you had the shift right after Frankie, he’d try to stay up, claiming he couldn’t sleep while hiding increasingly massive yawns. 

This night you found yourself at the window of a cabin Frankie had spotted late that same afternoon, the three men sleeping in the two bedrooms just off the main room. Benny’s soft snores rumbled through the half open door to the room he shared with Pope. In the other room, you could hear Frankie tossing and turning, not sure if it was a nightmare or if he was having trouble falling asleep. He’d done the first shift tonight and should be fast asleep by now, it was your turn to take the third shift before Benny took the last one tonight. 

You hung Frankie’s rifle over your shoulder and quietly made your way over to the bedroom door. Frankie is asleep, but he’s tossing, his hands twisting the blanket under him. Softly stepping inside, you sit down on the side of the bed, gently running your fingers through his unruly curls. Over the years you’ve learnt that it’s the best way to calm him without startling him. Sometimes just the feel of your fingers through his hair is enough to calm him, without even waking up. 

Fingers carding through his curls, gently scraping against his scalp, you sit back so that you can see the front door. Being on guard duty never became easier, you always felt on high alert, but it kept you from falling asleep, your constant ready state preventing you from giving in to the fatigue your mind felt. In truth, you were perpetually tired, ever since the mad dash from Arlington, constantly on alert, only sleeping when Frankie was next to you and one of the others on guard duty, but even then your sleep was fitful. You knew the events of Arlington had left a mark on you, the last twenty-four hours in the QZ replaying on a loop when you closed your eyes. Frankie noticed it too and although he hadn’t said anything yet, you could feel him watching you more closely.

Pope had led you out of the QZ, mainly through abandoned, closed off buildings and across rooftops, following routes he and Frankie had used many times to avoid FEDRA. Now you were hiding from the infected that were spreading through the QZ. The screams you heard from behind you were heart wrenching, but there was nothing to do but run.

Eventually you’d all scrambled down a well hidden ladder into an old car tunnel, Benny pulling the heavy crate that covered the opening back in place. Once outside the QZ, you’d kept jogging along the highway it turned into. This close to the QZ the highway was cleared regularly of any infected that might stray onto it, but as you ventured further away, you had to move slower, be more careful. 

“The grim silver lining of what Cox did,” Benny said at one point, “is that most of the infected in the area are now on the inside of the QZ, and I shut the gate behind them.”

“Yeah, but pretty soon the entire QZ will be infected, all those people,” you’d replied, “I just hope they don’t get out.” 

“And let’s hope no one tries to get inside the QZ either,” Frankie said, the thought of what that person would face giving you shivers. 

Since then you’d been traveling for a month or so, walking most of the way, but getting lucky and finding a car that worked and had gas twice. Taking turns driving, you’d covered a lot of miles until you were forced to leave the cars behind when the roads were blocked. Soon after leaving Arlington, Frankie and Pope had led you to three of their caches that they’d stashed between the QZ and their regular meet up points. Their supplies meant the four of you were well equipped, although pretty heavily loaded, your muscles ached under the weight of the backpack but you refused to complain. You pack was lighter than the others, you could barely lift Benny’s pack, but he shouldered it every day like it weighed nothing. And if you said anything, all three would immediately volunteer to take more of your share. You adored them, but their tendency to self sacrifice for your comfort made you want to smack them, lovingly, including Frankie. 

Frankie settled down under your hand as his breathing grew more even and you stopped stroking his curls, just sitting next to him for a little while. When you were certain he was sleeping soundly again you snuck out, leaving the door slightly ajar behind you. Back out in the main room you silently opened the front door of the cabin, stepping out onto the porch. The cabin sat under large oak trees, right at the edge of a forest and tucked into the tree line. The wide open field in front was well lit by the full moon, giving you a clear view of the surroundings. Closing the door behind you, you quietly walked around the cabin, the porch wrapped around it all the way, and you stopped when you came to the back. The forest behind the cabin was dark, none of the moon light managed to penetrate the thick canopy and it made you uneasy. You peered into the blackness, your ears straining to hear anything apart from the usual sounds of the forest. The night time sounds had petrified you the first few nights but now you’d learnt to discern the rustling of animals and trees from anything more sinister. This forest was quiet, you heard an owl hoot nearby, and then the soft swoop of its wings as it swept down from the trees. 

“Hey,” 

Benny’s soft greeting behind you makes you jump and spin around, startled, and you hear his soft chuckle. 

“Jeez, you're too silent, Ben,” you hiss at him as he comes to stand next to you. 

“Sorry, old habit,” he apologizes and leans against the railing of the porch, “All quiet?” 

“Yeah, nothing all night,” you reply, mimicking his stance. “I didn’t realize it was time for a shift change already?” 

“I’m a bit early, another old habit,” through the dim light you can see his crooked smile, “Go to bed, I’ve got it from here.” 

“Thanks, Ben, I owe you one,” you give him a pat on the back and head back into the cabin. 

Back in your room you softly close the door and start unlacing your boots. Pulling off all of your clothes except a soft t-shirt you push back the covers and carefully slide in next to Frankie. You think he’s still asleep but as soon as you’re close enough, his arm comes out and pulls you closer. 

“Hermosa,” he mumbles, his eyes still closed, “all quiet?” 

“Yes, baby, go back to sleep, Benny’s got the watch,” you whisper, kissing his forehead as he circles your waist and hooks his leg over your hip. 

“Mmmok…” is his only response and you feel his body relax, growing heavy again.

 It takes you longer to fall asleep, you try to relax, listening to Frankie’s calm breaths, but your mind doesn’t want to shut down. The third shift is always tricky, sometimes your brain seems to think you’ve slept enough and you have to face two hours of staring into the dark room before it’s time to get up. You carefully turn in the bed, onto your back, Frankie’s leg slips off your hip and lays heavily across your belly. You stare up at the ceiling for a while, watching the moonlight trace patterns across it through the crack in the curtains. With a sigh you roll over on your side, your back against Frankie, sleep still eluding you and you feel Frankie shift behind you, his arm tightening around your waist. 

“Can’t sleep, amor?” he mumbles, his voice is rough with sleep but he sounds awake this time. 

“No, I’m not tired enough,” you turn around so that you’re facing him and he tucks his arm under your head, his fingers brushing through your hair. 

“Wanna take advantage of being in a bed for a change?” he asks, nudging his nose against yours, “I know a very good way to get you to relax.” 

“Benny is right outside and Pope is sleeping in the next room,” you smile, he’s already started trailing little soft kisses along your jaw, you can feel the tip of his tongue slipping out and licking your skin while he grins. 

“So? We’ll be quiet, we can do that, can’t we?” he breathes into your ear, sending a wave of shivers down your spine, making you break out in goosebumps that Frankie notices. With a smile he runs his tongue over them, they’re pebbling your throat and with a soft hand he tilts your head back so that he has better access. A gentle nip with his teeth makes you inhale sharply and he chuckles. 

“Cállate, cariño, quiet now.” 

“Stop doing that then,” you whisper with a moan, his mouth is leaving damp marks all over your throat as he moves up towards your ear again, making you bite down on your lips as he sucks a mark into your sensitive skin. 

“Do you want me to stop?” he asks and  you can feel his smile against you, he’s buried his face against the crook of your neck and his hand on your waist is slipping under the covers, tugging your leg over his hip. 

You consider it for a second, Benny is really just outside with sharp hearing and on high alert for any noise, but on the other hand, Frankie’s hand is now caressing your thigh, curving around your ass and opening you up enough to feel his rapidly hardening length against your core. 

“No,” you murmur, dipping your head against his curls, heat is pooling between your legs as he rocks his hips into you, “please don’t stop.” 

“Let’s just hope this bed doesn’t squeak,” he smiles under you, testing the springs of the mattress with an experimental thrust. The bed groans but stays silent and you choke down a giggle. Frankie’s hand is sliding in under your t-shirt, not wasting any time in finding the edge of your panties and slipping his fingers inside. Gripping his curls with your hand you pull his face up to yours, making him swallow down your moan when the rough pad of his finger finds the top of your slit, pushing in to find you hot and wet. The feeling of your silky folds makes him hum into your mouth. 

“Either you’re always wet for me, hermosa, or you get really turned on by the idea of Benny hearing us.” 

“Shut up, Frankie,” you smile against his soft lips as he slides his fingers further down, grazing over your clit with his palm. The contact makes you shiver, a small spasm traveling through your body and Frankie gently tugs on your bottom lip, a smile curling up the corners of his lips against yours. Hiding your whimpers when two of his fingers slowly push inside, you press your mouth to his, finding his tongue and toying with it. He lets it follow the rhythm of his fingers, sliding in and out, and curling back over a soft spot deep inside that he knows makes your pussy clench hard around him. Another spasm racks your body and your whimper into his mouth, his name escaping with a moan. 

“Sshh…” he mumbles, “stay quiet for me, baby.” His fingers are slowly pumping, his hips rocking against you as he tries to give some friction to his hard length pressed between your bodies. “I want you to come but you need to stay quiet, or I’ll never hear the end of it from Benny.” The heel of his hand comes down over your clit, sharp pleasure spiking through your system, making you keen against his mouth. His hand in your hair presses against the back of your head, pulling you closer and muffling your whimper but he doesn’t let up his pace, slipping deep inside you, aided by the heated liquid that’s leaking over his hand, making his palm slip over your clit. 

Pulling back a fraction from your mouth he glances down between your bodies, “Fuck, I wanna taste you so bad, you’re dripping for me,” he pants, rutting his cock against your hip in a desperate attempt to alleviate some of the pressure making the head slick with precum. He can feel his boxers slip over the sensitive tip. “Next time we’re in a safe place, I’m spending an hour between your legs before anything else.” 

His words make you whimper again and he quickly presses his mouth against yours, his tongue slipping between your lips and licking against yours. You can feel your climax building rapidly now, moaning into his mouth as he pushes a third finger inside, making you buck your hips into his hands as the stretch around him shoots electricity through your system. His thumb replaces his palm, circling tight and fast around your clit and you squeeze your eyes shut, digging your finger into his shoulder, your heel into his leg, to bring him closer. 

“Frankie,” you moan, lips pressed against his, “please…” 

The tension breaks like a tightly wound coil, making you throw your head back and bite your lip hard, hissing out a long held breath as Frankie pumps his fingers, making your climax drag on until you curl back around him, melting into his arms, panting into his chest. Only then does he pull out his fingers, greedily licking them with a grin as you watch with half closed eyes. 

“Good?” you ask with a smile, and he nods, smacking his lips. 

“I meant what I said about an hour between your legs, it’s high on the list of my priorities. But first,” he lifts your leg off his hip and tug down his boxers, hissing gently when the fabric catches his aching cock, “Let’s test the springs on the bed.”

“Or, let’s test Benny’s hearing,” you grin as you shimmy out of your panties, tossing them over the side of the bed. 

“I hope he’s on the other side of the build- oh fuck that feels so good, cariño,” Frankie inhales with a hiss as you wrap your fingers around his cock.   

“I love how hard you get for me, Frankie,” you whisper, moving closer again so that you can put your mouth on his neck as he tilts his head back. 

He only whimpers in response, biting down on his plush bottom lip as you swipe across the head, the pad of your thumb sliding over the slit and gathering a fat drop of precum to slide down the length. 

“Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck,” he groans in a low rough growl as your fist squeezes him, making him buck into your warm hand.

“Cállate, Francisco,” you tease him with a giggle, sliding up and gathering more of the slippery liquid, “How do you want me? From behind? On top? Or maybe like this?” You hook your leg over his hip again and run the tip of his length through your folds, breath catching as you graze over your clit, but it’s Frankie’s moan that’s loud this time, before he can catch himself it slips out. 

“Shit, he must’ve heard that,” he pants, grabbing hold of your hip, “LIke this, please, mi amor, I- fuck-” he groans as you guide him to your opening, his fingers digging in to your hip as the blunt head stretches you, pushing in. 

The angle makes it a tight fit and Frankie tugs your knee up higher on his hip, thrusting into you as you press your forehead to his, your fingers tangling in the damp curls at his neck. He feels impossibly big as he rocks his hips and drives deeper, low groans escaping him. His breath fans over your face and you see his soft pink lips, half open with every gasp, the tip of his tongue peaking out. He looks pained and exquisite at the same time and you lick into his open mouth, catching his tongue between your lips.

You can feel him moaning into you every sharp slap of his hips, at the back of your mind you know both Benny and Pope can definitely hear what’s going on, but at the front of your mind is only the mounting pleasure surging through your limbs. Frankie pulls away from your lips, his hand leaving your hair and grabbing hold of your shoulder as he buries his face against your neck. The fingers on your hips will leave bruises tomorrow but so will your grip on his back, you’re trying to meet each thrust with your own, the wiry curls at the base of his cock grinding against your clit every time he bottoms out, making your whimper into the top of his head. 

“I’m- I’m, fuck, close,” he grunts, still trying to keep his voice low, pressed against your neck, “pl-please, come- you first.” His teeth grazes over the spot just under your ear that he’s made his personal favorite, loving the way it makes you wet if he puts his mouth on it. When you’re this close to coming, the feeling of his teeth leaving a mark there, a sharp, pleasurable pain that makes you gasp, tips you over the edge. He plows into you, his cock burying itself deep inside, and he feels you clamp down around him, his hips stutter as you convulse, your nails digging into his shoulder as you keep a strangled cry pressed against his hair. His own release is only moments away, he pumps once, twice, before wrenching himself out and taking his cock in hand. He spills himself over your belly, your thighs, gritting his teeth and pulling your lips to his in a frantic kiss. Your breath is hot on his mouth, flowing into him as he breathes into you. His head is spinning, heart pounding and with a groan he forces himself to relax, the last of his orgasm ebbing away. 

You feel Frankie’s hand leave your shoulder and slip into your hair, his large hand cupping the back of your head as he holds you to his forehead. 

“That…” he breathes heavily over you, “was not quiet.” 

You suppress a giggle, your heart still racing, “We are gonna get so much shit for this tomorrow,” you whisper, “but it was worth it.” 

“Anytime, hermosa,” he chuckles, “Do you think you can go to sleep now?” 

“Yeah, a couple of more hours would be nice,” you roll over onto your other side and search for Frankie’s arm, pulling it over your waist as he cradles you from behind. 

“I love you, Frankie,” you mumble, pressing your lips to his hand, “you being here makes this whole shit show of a world worth it.” 

He nuzzles his nose into the back of your head, “I love you too, mi amor,” he whispers, “We’ll get to New York soon, and hopefully things will be ok, we’ll be safer.” 

You hum a low response, sleep already pulling you under.

It feels like no time has passed but it has been a couple of hours when Pope’s knocking wakes the two of you up. 

“Time to get up, sleepy heads,” he calls, “coffee is almost done.” 

“Thanks, Santi,” you mumble as Frankie growls into the back of your neck. Pushing yourself up you feel the dried remains of the early morning activity stretch your skin. 

“I need to wash off,” you murmur, “can you come with me?”

“Kiss me first,” he mumbles, trying to pull you down again, wrapping his arms around your waist as you sit on the edge of the bed. You bend down and put your hands around his cheeks, smushing his plush lips together before you kiss them. Frankie chuckles and pulls you closer, his hands slipping up along your back. 

“You’re always extra warm and soft in the mornings, even now,” he mumbles against your lips, “can we just stay here?” 

“Sure, if you want Benny walking in on your morning wood,” you smirk, letting your hand cup his half hard length under the covers. 

“I can’t wait for us to have our own apartment again,” Frankie sighs and you push yourself off him again. 

“Clean up time, my sweet, dirty man.” 

Getting clean while walking cross country was a bit of a challenge. You’d keep watch while all three guys shamelessly stripped down and scrubbed off in any lake or stream you happened to come by. You kept your back turned as much as possible but it soon dawned on you that neither Santi or Benny were bothered if you accidentally saw a butt or two, Santi even told you to check him out because; ‘I know my butt is better than Frankie’s so please enjoy some primo ass for a change, hermana.’ earning him a quick slap over the head by Frankie while you and Benny doubled over laughing.  

You’re not as comfortable about getting naked in front of the two of them so they walk away and Frankie stands guard while you clean up, taking the opportunity when you could. This cabin had a stream nearby and yesterday you’d all filled a few buckets and hauled them over to the porch. While Santi and Benny made breakfast, Frankie and you took turns washing off. The cold water woke up and by the time you got back in again, dressed in fairly clean clothes, you felt pretty good. 

“Morning,” Benny greets you both in the kitchen, “sleep well after your shift?” he asks, his attempt at an innocent look ruined by the grin that’s threatening to take over his face. 

“Thank you, Benjamin, very well,” you say pointedly, your eyes telling him to keep his mouth shut. Although you knew it was pretty much useless to try, he might give you a break but Frankie would hear it all the second you were out of earshot. 

“Coffee, cariño?” Frankie asks, holding up a mug, speaking over Benny who’s opened his mouth again to reply to you, smiling from ear to ear. 

“Thanks, I’d love some,” you say as Pope walks into the kitchen, carrying his and Benny’s backpacks. 

“You two were way too fucking loud this morning,” he growls, Santi’s morning temper isn’t great and today he seems to have woken up on the wrong side. Unfortunately Frankie and you were probably the reason behind that and you feel a bit guilty. 

“Sorry, Santi,” you say, handing him your coffee as a peace offering, which he accepts, still frowning, “we were trying to be quiet.” 

“Hermana, I love you, and I love Frankie, but please…” his frown melts into a pleading look, “I do not need to hear him make those noises.” 

You bite your lip to stop from grinning and Frankie shuffles behind you, “Lo siento, Pope,” he mumbles and as he passes you to grab the freeze dried rations, you see the deep flush of his neck. 

“It won’t happen again, Santi,” you say, your grin is definitely breaking through again but you can hear Benny snickering by the camping stove and his mirth is making it very difficult to suppress your own giggles. 

“Oh it will definitely happen again,” Santi says with an exasperated sigh, “Please just don’t do it with me sleeping next door.” 

“I thought it was great!” Benny chirps, “took me like ten minutes to figure out where the noise was coming from, I thought it was maybe bear mating season or something.” 

“Can we just drop it now?” Frankie moans with a pained look on his face, “I need breakfast, Benny, here’s the rations.” 

“Of course you need breakfast, Fishsticks, hard work making your girl come twice in like five minutes,” Benny slaps his shoulder with a chuckle and you feel the heat rising in your own cheeks this time. 

“Ok! I’m going outside now,” you say, ducking out of the front door, but not before catching a glimpse of Frankie’s beet red cheeks and what is definitely a bit of a proud smile. 

Shortly after you’d all left the Arlington QZ you’d decided to try to get to New York. The city had been hard hit on outbreak day and consequently bombed heavily in the following days. Most of the city’s inhabitants had been killed, either by cordyceps or the bombs. Only those fortunate enough to leave early enough to escape the gridlock on the bridges and in the tunnels survived, the rest were essentially trapped on the island as the infection spread and then killed as the army bombed as much as they could. According to Benny, Manhattan had been close to a wasteland, a no-go zone until FEDRA moved in a few months after the outbreak. They’d spent considerable resources and time clearing the city, erecting a wall and turning it into one of the largest QZ:s. Thanks to the layout of Manhattan, literally an island, it was fairly easy to contain. Bridges and tunnels had been destroyed to prevent infected from getting across the water and the wall had been erected on the northern border of Central Park, leaving most of Manhattan inside the QZ zone. Thanks to radio contact Benny knew that Central Park had been turned into farmland to contain the small QZ population and that they were taking in new inhabitants to help rebuild the city. 

At the back of your mind you also thought that maybe you all wanted to go to New York because any word you’d ever had about Will, was a rumor about a man that fitted his description during the early months of the outbreak. Outwardly Benny had been dismissive but Hannah had told you that he’d never given up hope that he would at least find out what had happened to his older brother. So when Benny suggested New York might be the best destination despite it being a very long journey, you’d all agreed. 

After breakfast was done and packed up you left the cabin behind, although a bit reluctantly. It felt safe, tucked away at the end of a long winding trail with no other houses nearby and plenty of game in the forest around you. It was tempting to rest here for a few weeks, gather supplies and prepare more dried meat while the summer fruits and berries came into season. But being out in the open, continuously vigilant, put a strain on you all and getting to New York felt like a priority, to get behind the relative safety of walls again. 

As usual, Frankie took the lead. All three men were able to navigate using the sun and natural markers, but to Frankie it seemed more like pure instinct than skill. He always knew where north was and could read the terrain to lead you all to water or high ground without even thinking about it, his sharp eyes always spotted danger or shelter first. So he took the lead, Benny or Pope behind him, and you, always in the third spot, protected from the front and the back. 

Today’s goal is to reach a low mountain top Frankie had spotted yesterday, the aim was to climb it to get a good lay of the land before he adjusted the course to continue heading north east up towards New York. It took you most of the morning to get to the mountain and climb it, you made camp for lunch just below the ridge, looking out in the direction you needed to go. For the first time in what felt like weeks, you saw something other than just woods and fields, in the distance you spotted houses, the early signs of what used to be civilization, and on the horizon, high rises. 

“Do you know what city that is, Frankie?” you ask him. You’re sitting on a flat rock, he’s sunk down on the dry grass below it, leaning against your legs while he chews the dried meat that Pope has handed out for lunch. 

“With a bit of luck, Philadelphia,” he replies, “but if we’re too far south, Washington.” He squints his eyes and tries to make out any landmark among the indistinct high rises in the distance. “I’ve tried to make sure we crossed Lebanon Valley but I didn’t see any signs to confirm it.” Frankie had led you all west of the Appalachian mountains for weeks, wanting to avoid the more populated areas to the east of the range. A week ago he’d finally decided that you were far north enough to turn east and cross the mountains, seemingly able to find trails that took you through the passes and avoided the high mountain tops as if he’d lived in Appalachia his whole life. 

“Once we get close to populated areas again we’re gonna have to be very careful,” Pope commented, looking over at Benny. “What do you know about the area?” 

“Hit hard during the outbreak,” Benny says, “I mean, it was one of most densely populated areas in the country, millions of potentially infected. But it was also bombed heavily, just like New York, so hopefully not that many infected, but on the other hand, it’s going to be a bitch to traverse.” 

You look back out over the landscape in front, nervously chewing on your lip, as you imagine the hordes of infected that stand between you and the New York City QZ. 

“You’ll draw blood, hermosa,” Frankie’s soft voice interrupts your dark thoughts as he gently tugs your bottom lip from between your teeth. “We’ll go slow, be careful, as always,” he says, taking your hand as you slip down onto the grass next to him and pull his arm around your shoulder. 

“I’m scared,” you whisper, low enough so that only Frankie can hear you. “I wish we could stay at the cabin.” 

“Me too, cariño, but you know it’s not safe enough in the long run,” he pulls you closer, leaning your head against his shoulder as he kisses the top of your head. “I’ll keep you safe, mi vida, I won’t let anything happen to you.” 

“Don’t let anything happen to you either,” you whisper, closing your eyes to the view in front of you and focusing on Frankie’s soft shirt and warm smell. 

That night you bed down in a derelict camper van you find crashed on the side of a small forest road a few miles from a town. It was the closest you’d been to any town in weeks and it made you all jumpy. Everyone slept in their clothes, boots on, and guns next to the bed, ready to get up in a split second. It was your turn for the final shift and Frankie got up when you did, despite your whispered protests, but he was stubborn. Together you stood outside the camper van door, leaning against the side of it, while the sky gradually lightened. The night had been quiet, it had been a long time since anything had disturbed a watch, but Pope had been nervous when he handed over to you. 

“I didn’t see anything but…I don’t know, something doesn’t feel right,” he said as you and Frankie stepped outside. It was his unease that made you stop telling Frankie to go back to bed, Pope was right, it felt like something was perpetually just out of sight. You stood silently side by side with Frankie, straining your eyes into the darkness, a forest on one side and the road heading east, over a small clearing in the distance. Everything around you was silent, a noticeable lack of any noise, even the soft rustling or low cracks you’d come to expect from unseen animals moving through the darkness. It made your hair stand on end and when Benny appeared at the door, announcing that it was time to get going, you were relieved.

Skipping coffee in favor of just chewing on beef jerky while you’re walking, you soon leave the camper van behind and it doesn’t take long before you get close to the small town and have to detour to skirt around it. The four of you had decided early on that any town you came across was avoided unless you absolutely needed to find supplies. So far you’d managed to avoid all towns, looting farm houses and cabins instead. You’d been lucky too, only twice had the houses you’d entered had infected in them, both times you’d heard them before they attacked, making it easier for the guys to take them down. 

So with the town to your right, you follow Frankie’s lead and skirt around it, staying hidden as much as possible. Everyone’s head is on a swivel, but Frankie’s more than usual. He’s looking up at the sky and over towards the horizon and when you’re in a small cluster of trees he stops. 

“We’re heading towards the river,” he says, pointing towards a highway bridge in the distance, “and that bridge will be our only way across.” 

“Not ideal,” Pope rubs his hand over his face, scratching at his beard, “We’ll be exposed and it’s impossible to see what we’re walking into with all the cars and trucks.” 

“But the option is the town, and that’s just as bad, right?” you ask and they all nod. 

“Yeah, the town is even worse,” Frankie says, looking towards the bridge again, “The problem is, I don’t know if there’s any other way for us to cross, I don’t think we can swim it with the gear, our backpacks won’t float.” 

“Any other bridge further upstream?” Benny asks but Frankie shrugs. 

“I don’t know, I saw this bridge from the mountain but we were too far away to make out any other.” 

“So the options are; town, which is a no go,” Pope holds up his index finger,” The bridge, better than the town but still risky,” he holds up a second finger. “Or walk upstream, hoping for a bridge or a boat,” he holds up a third finger. “I vote bridge, we don’t know how long we’ll have to walk to cross the river otherwise. Anything comes at us on the bridge, we’re equipped to handle it.” 

“I think I’m with Pope on this,” Benny says, looking at Frankie who nods. 

“Yeah, bridge. If we keep walking upstream we’re heading back into the mountains.” 

“Ok then,” Pope says, “let’s prep and get ready.” 

‘Prep’ you’ve learnt means to double check all guns and make sure they’re loaded, easily accessible and everyone is on high alert. It’s become standard procedure every morning and before each watch shift, but also when you’re walking into something that could potentially develop into a situation. It also means you take up your spot as third in line, Frankie in front of you, while Pope or Benny lead. 

It doesn’t take long to get to the bridge, using one of the highway ramps to get up to it. All conversation stops as you’re surrounded by stranded vehicles, moving as quietly as possible and staying low. The vehicles around you have all been looted, suitcases and bags lay open next to almost all cars, picked over by whoever else has covered this stretch of highway since the outbreak. Several vehicles have dead bodies in them, withered and decomposed, picked clean by animals and birds over the years, but you barely register them anymore. As long as they’re not sporting any cordyceps growths, they don’t bother you. 

The four of you reach the top of the bridge and start making your way down, the highway stretches out into the distance but a short way down you see the first off ramp. It’s blocked by a big eighteen wheeler truck standing sideways, but it looks like you can get past and Pope leads you towards it. 

The gunshot comes out of nowhere and makes you jump, it hits the asphalt a few feet in front of Pope who instantly drops and raises his rifle. The nearest cover is behind you, a row of cars some thirty feet behind Benny, but as he turns another shot rings out, landing in front of his feet and this time you see where it comes from. Three men are ducked behind the cars and as you all raise your guns, a voice calls out from behind.  “You’re surrounded, put down your guns!”

You look behind you as Frankie drags you against him, pulling you in between himself and Pope, you can feel your heart racing, and Frankie’s hand is digging into your wrist. Pope’s turned towards the voice and up on the eighteen wheeler you see rifles and the heads of three more people. Six guns are trained on you and there’s no cover. You glance at Frankie, he’s following Pope’s lead, and you all lower your guns and drop them on the ground, raising your hands over your heads. Frankie is pressed against you, Pope on your other side and you can feel the determination in both of them to turn this situation around. Glancing over at Benny you see him give Frankie a quick nod, his jaw clenched tight.

“Secure them!” the man on the truck calls down and the three men behind the cars come forward, their guns still aimed at the four of you. You feel Frankie shift his weight closer to you and turn his head slightly to Pope, there’s a quick nod between them. 

“Drop to the ground when we move,” he whispers to you and you nudge his foot with yours, letting him know you heard him. 

“Step away from the guns,” one of the men on the ground calls and you all obey, stepping closer to the three men. 

“Spread out and turn around, face the truck,” the same man says again and you reluctantly do as he says, the guys step into positions almost willingly, but they’re unarmed now and there are six guns aimed at you. You know they have a plan but you don’t see how they'll get all of you out of this unharmed, no matter how good they are. You bite your lip, panic is rising and you glance over at Frankie, he looks determined, staring straight forward, waiting for the man behind him to step forward and grab his arm. 

“Cariño,” he whispers, barely moving his lips, “drop, now.” 

It happens so fast you can’t really say how it happens. When the man reaches up to grab Frankie’s arm he swings around and you drop to the ground and from the corner of your eye you see Pope move too. A body drops to the ground next to you and a hand grabs the back of your jacket, yanking you backwards, cutting into your throat for a second. . 

“Don’t shoot!” someone yells and the hand at your back pulls you up to your feet again. Frankie’s got his arm around your waist, putting himself between you and Pope. You glance at Benny, he’s got one of the men in front of him, the man’s body like a shield between himself and the men on the truck. The man’s gun is now in Benny’s hand and pointed at his head. Pope’s got the second man in the same position and the third man, the one that reached for Frankie’s arm, lies dead on the ground, his head at a wrong angle. 

“Lower your guns and come down here!” Pope calls up to the men on the truck. “Or you know what will happen.” 

You feel Frankie push you backwards, keeping himself in front of you until you reach the cars and you crouch down. 

“Stay here,” he mumbles, before he rejoins Pope, aiming his rifle back at the men on the truck. They’re nervously looking at each other. 

“Get a move on,” Pope calls impatiently, “you’re outnumbered and seeing as you’re the ones who attacked us, I’m not feeling very charitable!”

The three men seem to shift, glancing at each other and Frankie loses patience. 

“Get a fucking move on,” he snarls at the men, “or one of your friends gets a knee capped.” The rifle in his hand shifts to the knee of the man Pope’s holding and the man whimpers. 

“Don’t, please don’t,” he begs. 

“Tell your friends to hurry up then,” Frankie’s rifle is pushed up against the soft cartilage of his knee. 

“Please, get the fuck down!” he yells, his voice cracking, and the men on the truck seem to come to a decision, laying down their guns and shifting towards the edge. 

You peek out from over the bonnet of the car as the men slide down to the asphalt of the highway. 

“Turn around, on your knees,” Pope orders and the three men reluctantly comply. Frankie turns back to you and motions for you to come forward. 

“Grab my rifle, aim at them while I tie them up,” he says and you nod, shouldering the heavy weapon. Grabbing the cable ties from the dead man on the ground he makes quick work of tying the men up, pushing them onto the ground once their arms are done and securing their ankles with cable ties too. He then does the same to the two men Pope and Benny are holding, until all five men are lined up on the asphalt. 

“Now what?” you ask as the four of you gather out of earshot from the men on the ground, “We just leave them here?”

 Frankie frowns, glancing over at Pope and Benny and then back at you. 

“We can’t,” Benny says, “if they break free or they have friends nearby who come find them, they’ll come after us.”

“We interrogate, get as much info as possible and then we eliminate,” Pope glances over at the five men, “and we bring one with us as insurance.” 

“And a guide,” Benny nods, “this was a planned ambush, they probably have a base nearby so they know this area, a guide would be good.” 

Pope nods but Frankie looks unhappy, you’ve been staring at him as the other two talk but now your eyes snap back at Pope. 

“‘Eliminate’?” your eyebrows shoot up into your hairline, “you mean ‘kill’?” 

Pope looks at you, as if he’s suddenly remembered you’re not trained the way they are. “I’m sorry, hermana, I know it’s cold but what options do we have?” 

“They were going to rob and kill us,” Benny says, “at least the three of us, you they probably would’ve kept alive and you know what that would’ve meant.” 

You look over at the five men trussed up on the ground, they’re quietly struggling against the sharp bite of the cable ties around their wrists. The sight of those white plastic straps shoot a jolt of panic through your limbs, you remember all too well how those same kind of cable ties bit into your wrist as the rancid blonde man groped you after the ambush on the way to Franklin. You know Benny is right, this would’ve been the same thing but maybe with a less fortunate ending. 

You grit your jaw and nod, looking over at Pope, “Ok, do it.” He nods back and looks over at Benny. 

“Let’s start with the leader, the guy who called the shots from the truck, we make him break the others will follow, I think.” 

Frankie reaches out and takes your hand, giving it a gentle tug, “C’mon, cariño, you don’t need to see this. We’ll check the other side of the truck while they get on with it.” 

Shaking your head, you don’t let him move you, “No, I want to see how you do it, I need to learn this too.” 

“You shouldn’t,” he pleads, squeezing your hand again, “please, cariño, c’mon.” 

“I should know how to handle dangerous people, how you get information from them too,” you reply, shaking your head as you pull back your hand from his, looking over at Pope and Benny, as if you’re asking them to step in and take your side. But they drop their gaze, Pope glances over at Benny, before retreating back towards the five men on the ground, leaving you and Frankie to stare each other down. Frankie’s jaw ticks as he grits his teeth, shaking his head at you. 

“I don’t want you learn this, this is the kinda stuff that fucked me up, this broke me,” he steps closer, looking down at you with an anguished look in his soft brown eyes. “Please, you’re the one thing that’s still truly good in my life, I want to keep you safe from this too.” His hand comes up and cups your cheek, he’s really pleading with you now and you feel your resolve crumbling. 

“We do what we have to do to survive, hermosa, and sometimes that means we’re ruthless,” his thumb is stroking over your cheek bone as he speaks, his voice soft and imploring, “but it takes a toll on us and we all pay that every day. I’ll do anything to avoid you having to go through the same thing. Please, let me protect you from this.” 

You glance over at Pope and Benny again, they’ve pulled the five men around and they’re now sitting with their backs against the wall of the highway, looking up at the two Delta Force soldiers towering over them. You can see the fear in their eyes already and you look back at Frankie. 

“Ok, Frankie,” you say and you see relief wash over him as you nod, “I trust you.” 

“Thank you,” he replies, dropping his hand to your waist and guiding you away from the men and towards the truck. There’s a gap big enough to pass through between it and the highway wall and Frankie goes through first, quickly covering the area with his gun. You step through after him and look down over the highway off ramp. There are vehicles all along it but the nearest one is a camper van with an open door and a backpack outside. Tapping Frankie on the shoulder, you point to it and he nods. Quietly advancing with his handgun raised, you’ve got yours out too, he listens for a minute before he quickly scans the inside. 

“It’s empty,” he says, waving you inside as grabs the backpack from the ground outside. “Six backpacks, six men, I think we found their camp,” he motions to the packs on the floor. “Or at least their temporary camp, we’ll see what Pope and Benny find out. C’mon, let’s see if there’s anything useful.

Just as you climb inside you hear a man shriek in pain from the other side of the truck and you wince, Frankie grabs your arm and pulls you inside, pulling the door closed. 

“Will they torture them for information?” you ask, trying to keep your voice level as you open the nearest backpack. 

“Not unless they have too,” Frankie mumbles, pulling out items. “They, we, always tried to scare them enough so that we didn’t actually have to do anything, but that doesn’t always work.” 

“Doesn’t seem to be working now,” you say, as another scream cuts through the badly insulated camper van walls. 

Frankie sits down on the couch next to the window and discards a rusty looking knife from the pack before he puts it down. 

“Will used to say that the effects of committing extreme violence on other human beings are biological and physiological, that it was the price we paid for being warriors.” 

You stop and look over at him, he’s rubbing his hand over his face, down over the scruffy beard, before he looks up at you again. “When I was on a mission I’d just be focused on finishing the mission. Alive. I did what I had to do and what I did didn't catch up with me until afterwards, when I was back home and safe.” He puts out his hand for you, “Come here, I need to talk to you about something.” He scoots in on the couch, making room for you next to him and he turns as you sit down, facing him. 

“When you fought Myers, I never got a chance to talk to you about that afterwards, what you did to him, how it made you feel.” 

You swallow and drop your gaze onto your hands, you know Frankie’s noticed a change in your behavior, especially your sleep pattern. You didn’t exactly have nightmares, but your mind would refuse to shut down, leaving you overly tired and stressed as you slept less and less. More than once you’d notice Frankie watching you during the day, a worried look on his face, but he’d never said anything, until now.  

“I play it on a loop, the fight,” you mumble, and Frankie’s hand finds yours, his thumb stroking soothing circles into the skin, “and Benny’s gun aimed at him, and then Pope, when he killed Cox. I keep seeing it when I try to sleep. And I can’t sleep if you’re not with me,” you admit, looking up at him again and Frankie nods. “I’ve noticed, you’re always awake when I come back from my watch,” he puts his arm around your waist and pulls you closer, tucking you in under his arm. 

“I know you’re right there, either just outside or standing just by our camp, but when I close my eyes,” you swallow, a lump has formed in your throat, “I keep seeing Myers and I keep thinking I’m there on my own, that none of you were there, and then I remember that you were there but then I can’t stop thinking about all the the ways you could’ve been killed or all the ways you could’ve been killed today or can be killed tomorrow and then-” your words are rushing out and Frankie can hear the panic rising in your voice, gently he puts his hands around your face, holding your gaze up to his as you blink back tears. 

“Breathe, just breathe, cariño,” he whispers, leaning your foreheads together so that you can see his warm, brown eyes staring into yours. He breathes in and you mimic his rhythm, without realizing your fists have grabbed onto his shirt, bunching up the fabric as you cling to him, but he holds you steady, his warm hands on your cheeks as he makes you follow his slow breathing. 

“Tonight I’m going to start teaching you some techniques Herb taught me,” he says when you’ve calmed down a bit. “I should’ve thought of it earlier, I didn’t realize how bad it was,” Frankie runs his thumbs under your eyes, drying the tears that spilled out and you lean into his touch. 

“I thought it would pass, that I just needed to get somewhere safe and I’d feel ok again,” you admit as he pulls you into his chest so that you can rest your cheek against his warm flannel shirt. 

“You spent all that time with me, the fucking king of PTSD, and you thought it would pass by itself?” he chuckles lightly above you and you smile. 

“Good thing I’ve got you then.” 

“Yeah, at least I can help you now, silver lining and all that,” you can hear him smile into your hair as he presses a kiss to the top of your head. “Let’s go through the rest of the bags before we have to leave.” 

You pick through the supplies in the camper van and as you leave, you see Ben coming through the gap by the truck, followed by the youngest looking of the five men that had ambushed you. Pope’s right behind him, pushing him through the gap. The man’s hands are tied behind his back and there’s a rope attached to the cable tie around his wrists. 

“This is Morrow,” Pope says, nodding at the man in front of him, “He claims he can guide us right to the New York QZ gates so we’re gonna see how far his word is good for.”

Morrow looks petrified, but otherwise unharmed, but there’s splashes of blood on his cheek and jacket. He throws a nervous glance back at Pope who motions for him to start walking. 

“Did you find anything useful?” Benny asks you as you fall in line behind Pope and Morrow. 

“A few bits and pieces, some food, some ammo,” Frankie replies, keeping an eye on the prisoner guide at the front. “Can we trust him to not lead us to more of his friends?” 

“Yeah, from what the others said, there was only them,” Benny nods, “They’re part of a smuggler gang in New York that came out here for a trade. The trade went bad, they were attacked but managed to kill them. The fire fight left them low on ammo and alerted FEDRA so they decided to try to gather resources and lay low outside the QZ for a while. They’ve been ambushing travelers for a week only so we got unlucky, or lucky, depending on how you see it.” 

“How do you know what they tell you is true?” you ask Benny, glancing back at him and you notice his eyes flicking to Frankie’s back before he clears his throat. 

“We separate them, and then ask one guy to tell us what they know and tell him that if the information he gives us doesn’t match the information the other guys gives us…” Benny trails off as if he’s considering his next words, “so, we- we tell him there will be consequences if the answers don’t match up.” 

“I’m guessing those consequences aren’t pleasant,” you ask, but it’s rhetorical, you already know, the screams you’d heard told you that. 

“Yeah, pretty much,” Benny mumbles, catching the frown Frankie gives him over the shoulder. 

“Ok, silence now, please,” Pope calls softly from the front, as you reach the end of the highway off ramp, faced with an urban landscape that stretches to the horizon where you can just about make out a familiar skyline, New York City.

Chapter 26

Taglist: @pimosworld @i-own-loki @casa-boiardi @littlenosoul @stormseyer @mxtokko  @javicstories @nunya7394 @welcometothepedroverse @harriedandharassed @meveispunk @hiroikegawa @jwritesfanfics

#frankie morales #frankie morales x you #frankie morales fanfiction #frankie morales x reader #pedro pascal character fanfiction #frankie morales fanfic #frankie morales fluff #the last of us #the last of us fanfiction #frankie morales x f!reader #frankie morales smut #frankie morales angst #frankie morales x reader (you) #frankie morales x fem!reader #triple frontier #triple frontier fanfic #triple frontier fluff #triple frontier fanfiction #triple frontier fic #the last of us fanfic #the last of us au

[pwlanier]

Cox Thimbledrome 'Champion' gas powered tether race cars, American, 1950s

Bonhams

[socialjusticeinamerica]

It’s still a small number and they’re being heavily outsold by hybrids and traditional gas vehicles. Electric cars are still too expensive, have relatively short range, and charging can be problematic. Further nobody wants to buy exploding cars from Muskrat.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 17/02/2024 (Beyoncé, VULTURES 1)

For a seventh week, Noah Kahan stays strong at #1 with “Stick Season” - but it’s Bey season and Ye season… no, those words don’t rhyme, and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

Welp, as always, we start with our notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, after five weeks in the top 75 and a peak in the top 40, and this week, we bid adieu to: “HISS” by Megan Thee Stallion (that was quick), “Gas Me Up (Diligent)” by Skepta, “Feather” by Sabrina Carpenter, “When We Were Young (The Logical Song)” by David Guetta and Kim Petras, “Surround Sound” by JID featuring 21 Savage and Yung Baby Tate, “Northern Attitude” by Noah Kahan, “Runaway” by Ye featuring Pusha T, “Can’t Catch Me Now” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Is it Over Now?” by Taylor Swift, “Black Friday” by Tom Odell, “Agora Hills” by Doja Cat, “My Love Mine All Mine” by Mitski and finally, “Baddadan” by Chase & Status and Bou featuring IRAH, Flowdan, Trigga and Takura. Yeah, bit of a bloodbath here.

You know, we actually have barely any returns or gains as a result of the influx of 13 new songs, so we have some vague post-GRAMMYs impact and that’s kind of all, with it mostly being in our returns - “Coal” by Dylan Gossett at #73 (probably not GRAMMYs), “FE!N” by Travis Scott featuring Playboi Carti at #71 and on a much more positive note, Tracy Chapman’s classic original version of “Fast Car” all the way at #38. It first charted at 1988 and peaked at #5 (when Glenn Madeiros’ schmaltzy “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You” was #1) and then returned in 2011 and peaked at #4, when… “Party Rock Anthem” was #1. This won’t last or peak nearly as high, but it improves the net quality of the chart for the time it’s here. As for the gains, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift at #57 and “Home” by Good Neighbours at #34. Yup.

As for our top five, we see Mr. YG Marley creep in maybe in part to his grandfather’s documentary as “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” is at #5. Then “Lose Control” by Mr. Teddy Swims is at #4, “Beautiful Things” by Mr. Benson Boone is at #3, “Murder on the Dancefloor”by Sophie Ellis-Bextor breaks my gag at #2 and finally, Noah is building his seven-week ark at #1. Now our real stories, of course, are in our influx of new entries, many of which are pretty damn high and have exceedingly more to talk about than I wish they did, so I suppose let’s start rounding those off.

New Entries

#64 - “ONE CALL” - Rich Amiri

Produced by Rio Leyva and Zuko

Now, I am not familiar with Rich Amiri, which is a pretty generic rap name all things considered so for all I know, I’ve listened to his mixtape, but I am familiar with some of his producers. Rio Leyva has credits across a lot of recent pop-rap mainstays like Lil Tecca, The Kid LAROI and even Yeat, and he tends to produce in a style many would say is rage-adjacent… so it makes sense that this is a rage song, with some genuinely wiry, menacing leads in the synths and a dirty, factorial trap skitter. The song’s barely two minutes, so it doesn’t really give Mr. Amiri much time to even finish his one verse, which is full of personality-void Auto-Tune and mindless repetition, but he isn’t exactly derivative of any specific person, it just sounds like he hasn’t figured out his exact voice yet, which is expected with up-and-coming rappers. The content obviously isn’t worth speaking of - it’s just flexing and violence and sex all delivered pretty plainly - but he’s not the worst at it? I don’t know, this is great production but I feel like there are rappers who could make this pop out a bit more. Maybe 454, SoFaygo, someone with a high-pitched squawk to make this feel dynamic? If you still want to go for relentless cool, get Thouxanbanfauni on the remix and this could be a slam dunk.

#62 - “Made for Me” - Muni Long

Produced by Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox and JordanXL

“Hrs and Hrs” is not a song I remember much at all let alone fondly, but the voice behind Muni Long is Priscilla Renea, a very prolific songwriter, so I imagine that with Jermaine Dupri on the boards, there could be some R&B wizardry to make her chances at a second hit much more solidified. As for if I like it or not, well, I can see it being a hit considering the 2000s throwback sound with the classy (yet almost basic-sounding) pianos, even down to the groove and the incessant sound effect that’s a bit distractingly loud in the mix, but by the end of the song, you almost forget it’s there and think it would sound weird if it wasn’t. Even if I generally like this song, I don’t really think it fits the song too much, which is about finding your soulmate and… NOT losing them. There should be some grandiosity to this, especially with that powerful voice and chorus, but it feels a bit lost in its own attempt to be “cool”, which… I don’t know, will it be a theme this episode? Probably not, but the first two songs definitely share the element of just not going far enough with good ideas. This is still a solid tune, though.

#60 - “Dance Alone” - Sia and Kylie Minogue

Produced by Jesse Shatkin and Jim-E Stack

Sia. Kylie. Two pop stars of very, very different prepositions but ultimately in the same niche. I have no hopes for anything Sia does, pretty much, never liked her, but what else would I have to say at this point? Her songs produce so little analysis from me because a lot of the time, it’s just kind of immediately obvious what will happen and what I’ll think. There are painfully basic vocal melodies, very typical disco-house beats, and Sia tries to actually play down the hamming but lets her natural characteristic of her voice end up preventing her from doing so because, well, that’s just how her voice sounds. A “subtle” Sia is just an awkward fit, and she may be trying that on purpose so she doesn’t put off pop listeners, but it just results in her being completely outclassed by Kylie, who eats this up as expected. That little “woo!” in the pre-chorus is to live for, as is the “(dance)” ad-lib in the final chorus, but by the time we’re in the “bridge” (see: the post-chorus again, same phrase repeated ad nauseum), Sia’s clipping in the mix again and nothing sounds like it cares about me caring, so I’m not caring. It’ll go hard in the Mumsnet forum voice chats. Do they have those? They should have those.

#55 - “Birds in the Sky” - NewEra

Produced by Karl Durkan and Ben Williams

Okay, I’ll bite: Who are NewEra? Well, according to Genius, they’re an EDM production duo from Dublin and this track from last year is their only song to appear on streaming, yet it’s released on Warner interesting. Either way, it’s clearly blown the Irish duo up a bit, so there must be some merit and well, the sample - wherever it’s from, I genuinely can’t find it - is about as weirdly mixed as they always are on these piano-led EDM cuts, but it doesn’t stick out too much amidst the more typical trance grooves and very basic, almost preset-sounding drums that lead into a constant anticlimax, leading the pianos and barely impactful drop sound like they’re teasing you into a false sense of confidence that the song is at all moving. It damn well works though, it’s pretty hypnotising, so when I was lulled into the drumless glitching section where the cheap pianos actually build up to a pretty good pounding drop, I was thoroughly immersed. These guys have done something right.

#50 - “Make You Mine” - Madison Beer

Produced by Madison Beer and Leroy Clampitt

Madison Beer is one of those ostensible “pop stars” that don’t exactly make innovative, experimental or often even interesting music but still exist only on the peripheries of the mainstream, many of which eventually get some kind of breakout chart hit, and this might just be Ms. Beer’s… well, if this is supposed to convince me on the personality and character of Madison Beer, I am not impressed at all, she doesn’t sound interested in developing that. If it’s supposed to convince me on her production ability… yeah, I’m hopping on this train. This is incredible. My comment on her vocal performance is not a detracting remark of the song, her emotionally confused, at times static and always intimate vocal take adds a lot of depth to the intense, but more accurately hallucinatory sensuality of the song. There’s a lot of staccato repetition, sure, I mean, it’s deep house, but it’s all a luring act as you can “slip inside her mind” (sure), against the warped synth basses, echoed and fuzzy vocal production, mesmerising synths that are incredibly well panned and mixed - the sound design is immaculate, and that’s not even mentioning the incessant groove or one of the catchiest nonsense hooks in pop of recent years. The drop barely registers as such, it feels like a natural climax that the song just slides into, despite all the little intricacies in both the build-up and the catharsis that transform the song into a fizzling journey of sexy club-pop that goes a lot harder in the details that I expected it to. I mean, the overdubbing of synth leads and curious glitches in the outro - nothing’s going to go exactly “wrong” in this hook-up, but it’s not where either expected to be… and for that night, it’s life-changing. I didn’t think I’d like this as much as I do but oh, my God, please make this a hit. ASAP.

#47 - “Heaven or Hell” - K-Trap

Produced by Nathaniel London, Jester Beats and Godwin Sonzi

Well, K-Trap’s back, this time without Headie One, and I guess this is his song for the ladies. There’s a swash of R&B keys, a Central Cee acoustic guitar - or an *NSYNC acoustic guitar relistening - and an actually interesting choice in making the drill hi-hats and really the rhythm section in general a bit papery, with a bass that feels mixed a bit too low yet still being relatively busy. K-Trap is just rambling misogynistically over all of this, and not just in a typical rap way, it’s a bit distracting and groan-worthy, but his comical delivery of some of this as well as the female spoken interludes kind of explain away his hypocrisy a bit. Not too effectively, of course, but it’s worth pointing out that it’s somewhat of a two-way street. I still find the soft percussion resemblant of sample drill pretty refreshing and enjoyable, I just wish maybe there was a more melodic presence of a rapper on it. Still okay.

#44 - “16 CARRIAGES” - Beyoncé

Produced by Beyoncé, Ink and Dave Hamelin

So, Queen Bey released two country-influenced songs on the Sunday - one’s in the top 10, the ballad is at #44. I will wait until this act two of RENAISSANCE is actually out before making any statements on Beyoncé doing country outside of that I hope she ends up shouting out or giving chances and/or feature spots to other Black women in that field, as a way of propping up that community within an industry that pretty flagrantly prevents that instead of just doing a genre switcheroo because she can and convincing nobody about anything systemic in the meanwhile. Hell, that’s more for me, personally, because I’d like to know a lot more Black country artists, and given that I’m obliged to listen to this album, I mean if you care about the genre, Bey, it’d be cool to point me in some directions. Not that it’s her job, but it would be a worthwhile light to shine especially since Beyoncé is both a hitmaker and a bit of a tastemaker.

As for the first of her country efforts though, this is a pretty heartfelt southern soul track that could almost act as a campfire song if not for Bey just not being in that zone as a singer, but it definitely has the clapped rhythm of one and some compelling lyrics regarding her time touring with Destiny’s Child. Now it’s less smoky than I’d really want a song like this to be, it doesn’t sizzle as much as it stagnates, particularly with that crash into the guitars and church organs that doesn’t really surge the way I so badly wanted it to. I do find the vocals excellent, the narrative interesting and still surprisingly relevant to her as a modern touring act as well, and the rapping is surprisingly well implemented, it feels just like she’s shooting the shit in the middle of her country storytelling song. In that regard, I’d like there to be a lot less grandiosity to the presentation, maybe do without the soaring overdubs or horns, make this more of an explicitly acoustic effort. I know it wouldn’t fit Beyoncé and all her harmonies and belting, as her presence isn’t always fit for minimalism, but she could pull it off. The problem with that would be is it doesn’t emulate the theatrics of a stage performance and the abrupt shock of showbiz being put onto her at an early age, so there’s some great mirroring there that almost makes up for me not being greatly into the actual sound of these tracks. Regardless, it does have me excited for the more solemn moments on this album, but we won’t be covering that until the end.

#37 - “Abracadabra” - Wes Nelson featuring Craig David

Produced by Mike Brainchild and Rndm Beats

CRAIG DAVID?! And it doesn’t appear to be a sample? The crowd says “bo selecta” indeed. Whatever about this Wes Nelson guy, he sounds like an AI amalgamated what every R&B singer has sounded like since the planes hit, or realistically, just Jeremih, but the beat is a rough-around-the-edges 2-step jam with harder bass than you’d think and some blocky space synths. It’s all very rote but it’s also Craig David and man, you can put however many filters on his voice, it’ll still sound like Craig David, and I can’t even seriously critique him anymore. I’m sure he’s a complex, nuanced human being with flaws and feelings but to me, he’s just an unexplainable deity figure. Also, there is a moment during the drop of this song - and the outro - where the beat cuts out for Craig David to say “Bruh”, and I just needed to point this out.

#31 - “Forever” - Noah Kahan

Produced by Noah Kahan and Gabe Simon

The Vermont singer-songwriter has released what appears to be the final deluxe edition of his #1 album Stick Season, subtitled “Forever”, henc ethe name of its sole original song. I’m honestly surprised this didn’t debut higher, but there is a lot debuting above it, and Kahan tends to have sleepers. Speaking of sleepers, I’m not really feeling this one as much. It’s got the wistful acoustics but it’s a lot slower in its pace, especially for its first half, which makes Kahan’s frail, nasal vocal that I’m still not that big on not nearly as ignorable, especially as it punctuates the lyrics so exactly and ends up making the harmonies, especially in the pre-chorus, somewhat haunting, which given the deterministic lovelorn lyricism, doesn’t seem to be the intention? It eventually picks up a nice little bluegrass-esque groove but nothing too far from an average Lumineers track in terms of just lacking bite and punch, whilst forcing Kahan to strain more than he needs to, to sell pretty resonant content.

#18 - “BACK TO ME” - Adolf Hitler and Ty Dolla $ign

Produced by Hitler, Ty Dolla $ign, 88-Keys, Wax Motif, AyoAA, Feez, Nic Nac and James Alex Hau

88-Keys, huh? Now, I’m not saying that Kanye West is Hitler, I’m just doing him a favour and comparing him to his idol. There are a lot of things that he loves about him. In a perfect world, I have the choice to completely ignore this album, especially since two of the debuts from VULTURES 1 (debuted at #2 on this week’s album charts) are considered widely to be the best tracks by both me and a lot of the fans, though I am a sucker for the darker, problematic last quarter that people don’t tend to like that much. I don’t want to admit that, of course, and I’m kind of torn between not feeding into exhaustive discourse by not mentioning any controversy and then feeling bad for not doing so because I’d be supporting his cult of fans who supposedly only care about the music, regardless of how his music is constantly reminding you of his controversies. It’s also not easy when you have two pretty damn good tracks from an album that largely consists of the man embarrassing himself and, well, Ty Dolla $ign, who sounds wonderfully smooth on this track and many others. He stands out particularly well over the punchy breakbeats and bass that entrench the mix. Hitler does embarrass himself as usual, but the minute-and-a-half Auto-Tuned quoting of an old comedy movie that he probably doesn’t even remember the rest of is an almost poetic reflection of where he is as an artist and a man. Oh, and Freddie Gibbs shows up to steal the show so effortlessly with his tightest, rapid flows I think I’ve heard from him in years, some excellent, topical wordplay that feels like it’s what the album wanted to be: playful and effervescent in its hedonism. He steals the show so much in fact that the song just ends after he does, he takes complete ownership. Nice one, Gibbs, do it on someone else’s album, for the love of God.

#17 - “BURN” - Adolf Hitler and Ty Dolla $ign

Produced by Hitler, Azul, Morten “Rissi” Ristorp, Chrishan, The Legendary Traxster and Leon Thomas III

This is just what this guy’s album used to sound like. We have a mid-album reminder that he can still do it, but only for two minutes, and half of that is Ty the Tasmanian Tiger over here carrying the album with his sloppily-mixed but still incredibly passionate and incessantly catchy chorus - I’ve had it in my head for the whole damn week, pretty much - over a very conventional, punchy chipmunk soul beat that lasts less than two minutes and it just ends up on a bittersweet note. The Hitler verse is his most coherent during the whole album, it’s pretty fun, it’s pretty traditional, not worth the attention paid. And neither is…

#12 - “CARNIVAL” - Adolf Hitler and Ty Dolla $ign

Produced by Hitler, TheLabCook, Ojivolta and Digital Nas

Now, thankfully, there really is nothing of value to cover here regardless of how and where you slice it. The song is like 60% Rich the Kid, which should show you how inspired the former GOAT has been lately. Hitler spends most of his verse just being cheaply transgressive for attention, pretty much explaining why I’m not a fan of prominent critics covering this album, dignifying it as more than an ego trip surrounded by yes-men. That’s not to say transgression can’t be art, there’s a lot of discussion to be had about the value of transgressions against the audience. And Hell, maybe a rage song about riding dick featuring Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti warrants that level of analysis, but that’s exactly what Hitler wants me to do here, and I’m not taking instructions from Hitler! I’m not following orders!

#9 - “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” - Beyoncé

Produced by Beyoncé, Killah B and Nathan Ferraro

Alright, this is just fun. I’m sure someone more equipped than me to talk about country than me will have a lot to say about this song, but I just got a kick out of Bey’s sultry voice, as always perfectly layered with energetic ad-libs and riffing, over that acoustic rolick and clearly programmed thumping production and generic country ambiance. You can tell that this isn’t produced by Nashville staples as much as it’s a semi-outsider attempt at fusing country with Beyoncé’s more natural pop and R&B territory, but it doesn’t detract from it being a sick groove about just having a lot of fun on the dancefloor, boogieing with somebody who makes you forget about everything that’s going wrong. That whistling post-chorus with all the traditional fiddle - if I’m getting that correct - in the background is such a cool little moment, especially with the panning that replicates the live hoedown feel. It absolutely feels much more like a costume party than “16 CARRIAGES”, but to be honest, I might prefer this one just because of how easily Bey dresses up in this particular set of clothes. That’s not derogatory either, she literally lists off “hoops, spurs, boots” in that gorgeous outro. I’m actually glad that such a large, potentially problematic but still full of music to discuss ends on such a delightful, carefree note. Love it.

Conclusion

It’s not getting the best, though, Best of the Week is going to… surprisingly enough, Madison Beer for “Make You Mine”, but Bey obviously grabs the Honourable Mention with “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”. As for the worst, I mean… there is a song with Rich the Kid on this week. “CARNIVAL” is a shoe-in, but given this was actually a pretty great week in terms of overall quality, it’s difficult. I think I want to give it to K-Trap for “Heaven and Hell” but that’s really because it appears as the lazier, less interesting of the songs I wasn’t a fan of. On another day, it probably would have been Sia, but K-Trap doesn’t have a Kylie Minogue feature. Anyway, with all of that chaos out of the way, thank you for reading, rest in peace to country legend Toby Keith, and I’ll see you next week!

#uk singles chart #pop music #song review #ye #ty dolla $ign #beyonce #k-trap #rich the kid #playboi carti #freddie gibbs #madison beer #wes nelson #noah kahan #craig david #newera #sia #kylie minogue #muni long #rich amiri #vultures 1

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Scott Horton  · Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 25, 2023

Heather Cox Richardson

Yesterday, the chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, James Comer (R-KY), the chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, Pete Sessions (R-TX), the chair of the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, Glenn Grothman (R-WI), and the chair of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, Nancy Mace (R-SC), along with seventeen other extremist Republican members of Congress, sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

The letter complained that the federal government had not responded effectively to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. It referred to a preliminary report by the “D[epartment] O[f] T[ransportation]’s National Transportation Safety Board” and demanded Buttigieg provide “[a]ll documents and communications regarding NTSB’s progress on the cause of the derailment.”

The NTSB is not part of the Department of Transportation.

The NTSB is part of the government, but it is an independent agency, charged with investigating civil transportation accidents. It is also in charge of investigating the release of hazardous materials during transportation. Congress deliberately set it apart from the Department of Transportation to guarantee unbiased investigations.

A 150-car Norfolk Southern train was traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania on Friday, February 3, when 38 cars derailed at about 8:54 p.m. Those cars caught fire, and 12 cars that had not derailed also caught fire. The NTSB responded immediately and, the following afternoon, held a press conference explaining that it was collecting perishable evidence to determine what caused the accident and to make appropriate recommendations for safety upgrades if such recommendations were warranted.

Nine NTSB investigators and four engineers in labs have been involved in the accident review. They have reviewed footage of the derailment, interviewed train staff, and examined the train event recorder, a device similar to a black box on an airplane.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal agency in charge of responding to the release of hazardous substances and leading cleanup efforts. Its personnel were at the site by 2:00 on Saturday morning, about five hours after the derailment. It has had six staff and 16 contractors on the ground since the crash.

The Department of Transportation has two agencies that are appropriate to deploy for this kind of an accident. The Federal Railroad Administration enforces safety regulations for railways, and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration enforces safety regulations for hazardous materials. Those agencies have deployed ten staff to help NTSB investigate. They will figure out if Norfolk Southern ignored any regulations.

This letter is not about the derailment itself, or the dangers, or the cleanup, or even the history of deregulation.

It is about the careful way generations of Americans have tried to create a government that could support progress while also guaranteeing oversight, and it is about the lawmakers who wrote the letter to Secretary Buttigieg.

Either 21 Republican lawmakers charged with oversight of our government don’t know how the government works and didn’t care to find out, or they are deliberately misleading their loyalists.

We are becoming accustomed to certain Republican lawmakers saying ridiculous things. Just two days ago, in a now-deleted tweet, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) claimed that “6 billion” people have illegally crossed the border since President Biden took office. (There are slightly fewer than 8 billion people on earth.)

But the letter these representatives wrote shows such a profound disinterest in how our government works that it suggests these representatives have no real interest in the job they were sent to Washington to do, and instead are weaponizing the government to mislead their followers into believing things that are not true.

Buttiegieg responded: “I am alarmed to learn that the Chair of the House Oversight Committee thinks that the NTSB is part of our Department. NTSB is independent (and with good reason). Still, of course, we will fully review this and respond appropriately.”

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Heather Cox Richardson #Letters From an American #Department of Transportation #deregulation #NTSB #Buttiegieg #Corrupt GOP

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

Average monthly prices for regular-grade retail gasoline in the United States could increase by more than 10 cents per gallon (gal) if refinery output is lower than expected, according to an analysis we published on May 14(..)

P.S. Americans are pretty dumb society in general! In America, according to recent data from Cox Automotive with the average transaction price for new cars is $47,244 USD, ... and they still complain that gasoline is expensive and electric cars are expensive... although it IS POSSIBLE TO FIND good ICEs in the car market and electric cars for daily commuting at much more reasonable prices without the need to take out a stupid loan...Americans are pretty dumb society in general! In America, according to recent data from Cox Automotive with the average transaction price for new cars is $47,244 USD, ... and they still complain that gasoline is expensive and electric cars are expensive... although it IS POSSIBLE TO FIND good ICEs in the car market and electric cars for the daily commute to work at much more reasonable prices without the need to take an unreasonable loan... In the case of electric cars, there is no longer any need to worry about gasoline prices....

#USA #car market #loan #ICE vehicle #ev sales #expensive gasoline

[paincorpsrarefinds]

Cox Sandblaster vintage package art 2x3" fridge magnet .049 gas powered car

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[stone-cold-groove]

They’re first. They’re Cox.

#cox #vintage advertising #cox gas cars #cox gas planes #slot cars #cox cars #cox planes #.049 engines #model planes #model cars #l.m. cox

[leutjaneausten]

Open in app or online

February 25, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

FEB 26

Yesterday, the chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, James Comer (R-KY), the chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, Pete Sessions (R-TX), the chair of the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, Glenn Grothman (R-WI), and the chair of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, Nancy Mace (R-SC), along with seventeen other extremist Republican members of Congress, sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

The letter complained that the federal government had not responded effectively to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. It referred to a preliminary report by the “D[epartment] O[f] T[ransportation]’s National Transportation Safety Board” and demanded Buttigieg provide “[a]ll documents and communications regarding NTSB’s progress on the cause of the derailment.”

The NTSB is not part of the Department of Transportation.

The NTSB is part of the government, but it is an independent agency, charged with investigating civil transportation accidents. It is also in charge of investigating the release of hazardous materials during transportation. Congress deliberately set it apart from the Department of Transportation to guarantee unbiased investigations.

A 150-car Norfolk Southern train was traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania on Friday, February 3, when 38 cars derailed at about 8:54 p.m. Those cars caught fire, and 12 cars that had not derailed also caught fire. The NTSB responded immediately and, the following afternoon, held a press conference explaining that it was collecting perishable evidence to determine what caused the accident and to make appropriate recommendations for safety upgrades if such recommendations were warranted.

Nine NTSB investigators and four engineers in labs have been involved in the accident review. They have reviewed footage of the derailment, interviewed train staff, and examined the train event recorder, a device similar to a black box on an airplane.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal agency in charge of responding to the release of hazardous substances and leading cleanup efforts. Its personnel were at the site by 2:00 on Saturday morning, about five hours after the derailment. It has had six staff and 16 contractors on the ground since the crash.

The Department of Transportation has two agencies that are appropriate to deploy for this kind of an accident. The Federal Railroad Administration enforces safety regulations for railways, and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration enforces safety regulations for hazardous materials. Those agencies have deployed ten staff to help NTSB investigate. They will figure out if Norfolk Southern ignored any regulations.

This letter is not about the derailment itself, or the dangers, or the cleanup, or even the history of deregulation.

It is about the careful way generations of Americans have tried to create a government that could support progress while also guaranteeing oversight, and it is about the lawmakers who wrote the letter to Secretary Buttigieg.

Either 21 Republican lawmakers charged with oversight of our government don’t know how the government works and didn’t care to find out, or they are deliberately misleading their loyalists.

We are becoming accustomed to certain Republican lawmakers saying ridiculous things. Just two days ago, in a now-deleted tweet, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) claimed that “6 billion” people have illegally crossed the border since President Biden took office. (There are slightly fewer than 8 billion people on earth.)

But the letter these representatives wrote shows such a profound disinterest in how our government works that it suggests these representatives have no real interest in the job they were sent to Washington to do, and instead are weaponizing the government to mislead their followers into believing things that are not true.

Buttiegieg responded: “I am alarmed to learn that the Chair of the House Oversight Committee thinks that the NTSB is part of our Department. NTSB is independent (and with good reason). Still, of course, we will fully review this and respond appropriately.”

—

Notes:

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000186-8539-de7f-a9ee-b5fdb28f0002

Twitter avatar for @SecretaryPete

Secretary Pete Buttigieg

@SecretaryPete

I am alarmed to learn that the Chair of the House Oversight Committee thinks that the NTSB is part of our Department. NTSB is independent (and with good reason). Still, of course, we will fully review this and respond appropriately.

10:41 PM ∙ Feb 24, 2023

62,690Likes11,433Retweets

https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20230214.aspx

https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-mocked-tweeting-6-billion-crossed-us-border-1783508

https://www.govexec.com/lmanagement/2023/02/federal-agencies-responding-toxic-train-derailment-ohio/382955/

[cksmart-world]

SMART BOMB

The completely unnecessary news analysis

by Christopher Smart

February 7, 2023

TOP 10 REASONS TO LIVE IN UTAH

10 – Tequila, Lime Jell-O Shooters  

9 – Pregnant women and their fetuses driving in car pool lanes  

8 – Ponzi schemes and the real Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

7 – Proposed $550 million gondola up Little Cottonwood Canyon

6 – Disappearing Great Salt Lake

5 – Best alfalfa (upstream from Great Salt Lake)

4 – Insurrectionist and great American Mike Lee

3 – Greatest Air On Earth

2 – U.S. Magnesium Corp. (upwind from the Wasatch Front)

1 – And the best reason to live in Utah: The State Legislature

UFO COVERUP

They're here! Have you seen 'em. Maybe not. They reportedly have cloaking devices, like the Klingons on Star Trek. (We are not making this up.) Republican Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett accused The Pentagon of “a huge coverup” following the release last month of a report for the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) that acknowledged hundreds UFO sightings last year alone. Some could be plastic bags or those Trump diaper balloons but at least 171 were deemed to be what the military calls "unidentified aerial phenomena" (UAP). “If you were human and made the turns that have been seen in some of this footage, you would literally turn into a ketchup packet,” Burchett said. Yes, Wilson, he said, “ketchup.” And no, they weren't Chinese spy balloons. Ronald Moultrie, under secretary of defense for intelligence and security, said there is no evidence that "would lead us to believe that any of the objects are of alien origin." Sure. Burchett isn't convinced — he doesn't trust the feds when it comes to aliens from space. What's hard to figure though is why they never land and say, hi, like in the 1977 movie, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Or maybe they're already here, as in the 1993 sci-fi film, “The Body Snatchers.” That at least would explain Marjorie Taylor Greene.

HOUSE GOP CONDEMNS STALIN, MAO, MEDICARE

For anyone who thinks Republicans with their new majority in the House aren't accomplishing much, think again. They approved a resolution condemning the 1917 Russian Revolution. Bluster? No way, getting tough on Vladimir Lenin after 105 years is, let's see, unfriggin' real. The brave GOP caucus also went after Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong and Pol Pot. If that doesn't strike fear into the hearts of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping what would. But maybe it should give Democrats pause, as well. Hey stupid, don't look at the man behind the curtain. The demonization of communism and socialism couldn't also pertain to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, could it? Mmmm... Some 109 Democrats voted with Republicans, not figuring the swinging door of faux patriotism could smack them in the ass. Republicans despise Medicare and Social Security — although they won't say that out loud. It's all mind games, of course, but when the GOP damned communism, and socialism — again — some wobbly Dems followed suit fearing they'd get punked. But they got punked anyway, joining the “America the Beautiful” chorus... “and crowned thy good with brotherhood not stinkin' commie commradhood from sea to shining sea.” Obamacare — what's that?

Post script —  That's a wrap for another wintry week here at Smart Bomb where we keep track of Chinese spy balloons so you don't have to. THE SKY IS FALLING! Yes Wilson, we've all had a gutful of Chinese balloons. Truth is they've been floating overhead for years but the Pentagon didn't tell Trump because... well, the less he knew the better. And speaking of brave men, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) was handing out assault-rifle lapel pins on Capital Hill because they're so good for mass shootings. After the Jan. 6 insurrection he said the rioters were just tourists taking a stroll through the historic building. But video of that day shows him cowering behind an officer as the mob pounded on the House doors. Maybe a dog-poop lapel pin would be more apropos. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox recently proclaimed that “we,” — apparently himself and GOP lawmakers — would not let the Great Salt Lake Dry up. Meanwhile, the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment committee voted down a proposal to keep the lake level at a minimum of 4,198 feet. All Republican members voted against the plan. Wonder if they represent alfalfa growers. Not to worry, Cox has an ace up his sleeve — he met with LDS Church leaders to aid him seek help from a higher authority. We'll see how that goes.

Hey Wilson, we earthlings should do more to entice the aliens to come on down. Well OK, maybe we could invite them to the Sturges motorcycle rally. But that could be confusing. The first alien might say something like: What are those humanoides doing on those two-wheelers. To which the second alien might respond: I don't know but the ones driving call the ones on the back, Mama. Alright, instead maybe you and the band could invite them down with a song:

Woke up this morning with light in my eyes And then realized it was still dark outside It was a light comin' down from the sky I don't know who or why Must be those strangers that come every night Whose saucers shaped light put people up tight Leave blue green footprints that glow in the dark I hope they get home all right Hey Mr.Spaceman, won't you please take me along I won't do anything wrong Hey Mr.Spaceman, won't you please take me along For a ride Woke up this mornin', I was feeling quite weird Had flies in my beer, my tooth paste was smeared I opened my window, they'd written my name Said: "So long, we'll see you again". Hey Mr.Spaceman, won't you please take me along I won't do anything wrong Hey Mr.Spaceman, won't you please take me along For a ride

(Mr. Spaceman — The Byrds)

[deltabusinessadvisors]

Tesla Is Still The King Of EV Sales

Here in Scottsdale you can't drive a mile without seeing a tesla. Yes we joined the fold a couple of years ago and enjoy never visiting a gas station and charging up at home. Lisa was a little sad seeing her 911 head into the sunset, however with 112,000 miles it was time. Tesla hit record 4th quarter of 405,278 units however still missing its target. With all the negative headlines surrounding Tesla and its increasingly controversial CEO Elon Musk in recent weeks, it’s easy to forget that the company’s cars are still very popular. While it’s too early to say whether Musk’s Twitter takeover and the turbulences that came with it will have a significant negative impact on demand for Tesla’s cars, its current position as the maker of the most popular electric cars in the United States and in many parts of the world is clear. According to data from Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book, four of the six best-selling electric cars in the U.S. in the first nine months of 2022 were Teslas, with the company’s most popular Model Y and Model 3 towering head and shoulders above the competition. In total, Tesla captured roughly two thirds of the EV market in the first three quarters of 2022 and full-year delivery figures don’t indicate any significant changes in the fourth quarter. Tesla Still Dominates the U.S. EV Market Statista by Felix Richter,Jan 3, 2023 Tesla reported its production and delivery numbers for the fourth quarter of 2022. From the table below, we can see Tesla reported total production of 439,701 vehicles, which significantly outpaced deliveries of 405,278. Both were record numbers, with deliveries beating third-quarter results of 343,830 units. Tesla: Q4 Delivery Miss - Granular Breakdown And Advanced Valuation, Seeking Alpha Read the full article

[oliviajames1122]

Drivers overpay for petrol

The RAC has accused petrol retailers of ripping off motorists by refusing to pass on wholesale price cuts.

The motoring organisation said unleaded petrol fell by 2p a litre but should have come down by 12p.

It estimated drivers were overcharged by £5m a day in December as retailers made an average of 16p a litre on petrol instead of the normal 6p.

The Petrol Retailers Association objected, saying drivers were likely to have benefited more than that many business listings.

"December was a rotten month for drivers as they were taken advantage of by retailers," said the RAC's fuel spokesman, Simon Williams.

In the past, he said, retailers had always reduced pump prices when wholesale prices dropped.

"This time they've stood strong, taking advantage of all the media talk about 'higher energy prices' and banked on the oil price rising again and catching up with their artificially inflated prices, which it has now done," Mr Williams said.

·Retailers make shocking petrol profit, says RAC

·Petrol prices hit a record high, says RAC

·Why it's the end of the road for petrol stations

But Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said: "December's pump price data is less reliable because it is taken from fuel card transactions, and there have been far fewer of these transactions because of the reduction in business activity between Christmas and New Year."

He said the retail fuel market remained "extremely competitive" and said supermarkets did not use artificially low fuel prices to lure shoppers into their stores at Christmas.

"The costs of running petrol stations rose all year, with electricity up 19%, vastly reduced margins from fuel cards, increased national insurance and wage inflation," he added business listings.

Prices dropping

The RAC said unleaded dropped from 147.47p a litre to 145.48p when drivers should have seen prices nearer to 135p.

Diesel dropped by just under 2p a litre from 150.80p to 148.92p, when drivers should have been paying about 142p, it said.

The RAC's data suggested that the price of a litre of unleaded on the wholesale market, including delivery, averaged 106p across December.

It said that had a 6p margin been taken by retailers, drivers would have seen an average petrol pump price of around 135p after applying VAT at 20%.

The average wholesale cost of delivered diesel was 112p a litre which, with the usual 6p retailer margin, would have given a pump price of about 142p.

"This means it has cost petrol car drivers £6 more to fill up a typical 55-litre family car than it should have (£80 v £74) and for diesel nearly £4 more, with a tank costing £82 at the end of the month instead of £78," the RAC said...

It estimated retailers' refusal to reflect lower wholesale prices at the pumps cost petrol car drivers £156m in December or the equivalent of £5m a day.

Regulation call

Howard Cox, the founder of campaigning group FairFuelUK, called for the government to create an independent pricing watchdog.

"If gas, electricity, water and telecoms get price protection bodies, why shouldn't motorists have one too?" he said.

He said that if prices at the pumps were "honest and transparent and open to scrutiny", inflation could fall by as much as 1% free business listings.

"Pump prices should be 10p lower per litre if the actual wholesale price falls had been passed on honestly."

"Sadly, the government's efforts to work with the fuel industry so that pump prices are competitive, and market-driven, ensuring consumers benefit from lower prices, is not working," said MP Craig Mackinlay, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Fuel for Motorists and Hauliers.

More on this story

·Retailers make shocking petrol profit, says RAC

·Petrol prices hit a record high, says RAC

·Why it's the end of the road for petrol stations

#Many business listings #business listings #free business listings #promote your business

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich

* * * *

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) explicitly called for dividing the nation. She tweeted: “We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this.” For once I will spare you my usual lecture on how elite southern enslavers in the 1850s made this same argument because they resented the majority rule that threatened their ability to impose their will on their Black neighbors.

(I will note, though, that former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) helpfully reviewed “some of the governing principles of America” for Greene, tweeting: “Our country is governed by the Constitution. You swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Secession is unconstitutional. No member of Congress should advocate secession, Marjorie.”)

What Greene had to say next is of more interest in this moment. The Munich Security Conference, the world’s largest gathering for international security discussions, has just reported that the Russian war on Ukraine is a war of authoritarianism on a rules-based international order. At that conference, Vice President Kamala Harris said the U.S. had determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity and noted that the bipartisan U.S. delegation to the conference was the largest we have ever sent. The U.S. president has just entered a war zone to declare U.S. support for democracy and is now in Poland, where he will speak with the leaders of the nine countries that make up NATO’s eastern flank and will deliver a speech that Blinken has described as “very significant.”

In contrast, Greene echoed authoritarian leaders Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Putin himself when she called for splitting the nation over “the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats” and “the Democrat’s [sic] traitorous America Last policies.” Authoritarian leaders insist that the equality that underpins liberal democracy threatens traditional society because it means that LGBTQ people, women, and minorities should have the same rights as white men. Greene appears to be taking the same position.

[Letters From An American :: Heather Cox Richardson]

* * * *

You may have seen a statement by GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calling for a “national divorce” between “red and blue states.” The only reasonable interpretation of her comments is as a call for secession. Her comments were so extreme that at least one Republican leader called them “evil.” See The Hill, GOP governor says Greene’s call for ‘a national divorce’ is ‘evil’.

         Greene’s comments are dangerous, reckless, and shameful. Greene’s views are likely shared by a significant part of the GOP grievance caucus but will never result in any steps toward secession. It is fantasy-based ideation by people who are happy to share such views with pollsters and drinking buddies but have car-payments and little league teams to coach. It is just talk, but it is dangerous, shameful, and reckless, nonetheless.

         Greene’s comments are so outrageous that Kevin McCarthy will not defend them—widening the incipient rupture that began with their disagreement over Greene’s comment that a Capitol Hill police officer “murdered” Ashli Babbitt. When McCarthy fails to endorse Greene’s “national divorce” comment, both McCarthy and Greene will be weakened politically. It is a win-win for Democrats. There will never be a “national divorce,” but we may be able to get rid of both Greene and McCarthy because they disagree over something that will never happen.

         As Republicans divide over increasingly militant and unpopular statements by Greene, America is witnessing a good man and remarkable leader do extraordinary things. Whether you support Biden in 2024 or not, his actions are setting up a path to success for Democrats in 2024. It is hard to ask (or expect) anything more from Joe Biden than he is delivering. Joe Biden is a gift to America that it was not expecting—but desperately needed.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

* * * *

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) on Monday hit back at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s calls for a “national divorce” of Republican and Democratic states, saying the lawmaker’s rhetoric is “evil.”

Greene on Monday suggested the U.S. “separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government,” re-upping her suggestion of a “divorce” to solve the nation’s division. Cox countered that the country needs “marriage counseling” instead.

“This rhetoric is destructive and wrong and—honestly—evil. We don’t need a divorce, we need marriage counseling. And we need elected leaders that don’t profit by tearing us apart. We can disagree without hate. Healthy conflict was critical to our nation’s founding and survival,” Cox wrote on Twitter.

The Republican governor shared images of the Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington memorials in the nation’s capital, and quoted former GOP President Reagan in calling D.C. a “shining city on a hill” for Americans across the political spectrum.

Greene repeated her national divorce calls Monday as she criticized President Biden’s trip to Kyiv for a surprise meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the one-year mark of Russia’s invasion.

“Impeach Biden or give us a national divorce,” she wrote.

Cox said he saw “American Exceptionalism at work” at the National Governors’ Association winter meeting earlier this month, sharing photos of himself seated alongside Democratic colleagues, including shots featuring Biden and Vice President Harris.

“We didn’t agree on everything, but we disagreed better. And we found ideas to bring us together. I still believe this is what Americans want… I don’t just mean civility and kindness (although we definitely need more of that too). I mean passionate disagreement that doesn’t destroy our souls and our country,” Cox said.

[The Hill]

#The Hill #Utah Gov. Spencer Cox #MTGreene #clown caucus #sedition #the US Constitution #destructive rhetoric #the US House of Representatives #Mike Luckovich #Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson

[constructioandchemicalblog]

Diesel Exhaust Fluid Market 2022 | Global Growth by Manufacturers, Major Application Analysis 2028

In addition, the diesel exhaust fluid market is expected to rise at a CAGR of 8.4%, with a value of USD 30,643.9 million over the estimated forecasting year of 2022-2030.

The International Organization for Standardization has standardized the diesel exhaust fluid as an aqueous urea solution. This consumable fluid is used in conjunction with Selective Catalytic Reduction technology, employed in diesel-powered automobiles to minimize hazardous pollutants in the exhaust. The exhaust fluid from a diesel engine is kept in a separate fuel tank attached to the exhaust pipe and is triggered as soon as the engine is started.

Environmental sustainability is one of the most important issues entrusted to various automobile manufacturers and fossil fuel energy corporations to reduce harmful chemicals such as NOx, COx, and unburnt particles from the vehicle and other machine exhaust, primarily by the NOx emissions act enacted in 2010 by the Environmental Protection Agencies around the world. The growing demand for diesel engine exhaust treatment fluid in end-use sectors such as marine, automotive, and aerospace propels the worldwide diesel exhaust fluid market forward. Strict limitations on greenhouse gas emissions and rising demand for this product from the automobile sector are propelling the market forward.

In 2020, the year-on-year growth rate of the diesel engine exhaust fluid market was predicted to fall, based on present conditions. The recovery of the automobile sector is predicted to boost DEF demand, which will, in turn, drive the recovery of the diesel exhaust fluid market. Due to issues with the supply chain, labor, and government preventive standards, vehicle sales and production are not likely to fully restart even once the lockdown is removed. The coronavirus outbreak is projected to have a minor impact on the diesel exhaust fluid industry in this scenario.

Market Segmentation:

The global market has been segmented into two sections technology and regional basis. With the technology section, the global market has been divided into five sections selective catalytic reduction, lean NOx trap, exhaust gas recirculation, diesel oxidation catalyst, and others. On a regional basis, the diesel exhaust fluid market has been divided into five sections Asia-pacific, North America, South America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa.

Regional Analysis:

The diesel exhaust fluid market is predicted to develop rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region in the coming years, owing to rising sales of passenger and commercial cars, particularly in emerging nations such as India and China. Furthermore, in the next years, the Asia-Pacific diesel exhaust fluid market will likely benefit from the rising prevalence of natural gas cars in several countries.

Alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas are being utilized in a few nations, necessitating changes to the fuel distribution system. As the usage of LNG cars grows in the future decade, the market for automotive fuel delivery systems is likely to rise dramatically.

According to statistics from Global Trade Tracker and China's General Administration of Customs, China imported more liquefied natural gas in 2021 than any other country, according to the US Energy Information Administration. As a result, the considerations mentioned earlier and advances point to a bright future for vehicle fuel delivery systems throughout the predicted period.

Industrial News:

Many variables influence diesel exhaust fluid market aftermarket demand, including the growth in average vehicle age, infrastructure development, the increase in the number of cars on the road, average mileage, DEF replacement cycle, and increased attention to vehicle maintenance.

Read More: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/diesel-exhaust-fluid-market-5034

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#Diesel Exhaust Fluid Market

[perssonmccaffrey]

Auto Salvage Yards - Better Than Spurious Parts

Greater Reach - Distances Don't Matter: Who said that the automobile industry was a local phenomenon? You can place an order from one part of the world to a seller located at the opposite end of the globe. This is a great facility, especially for business buyers, or who place orders in bulk. However, even consumers or "DIY buyers," can search nationally or internationally for products they need.

As soon as you come across a few good and reliable stores, you can look for the auto part you need. Check out all its details as well as the price. It is important to check more than one site so that you can compare the prices of the cox moultrie ga and settle on the right option according to your need and budget. While junk yards are one of the most common places where you can find used parts, they're not the only places. Though, you will always get much better deals at junkyards than any other place. Most of the damaged and old vehicles always have a number of spares that work perfectly well. Sometimes these parts are almost new. The only problem with junkyards is that at most of the times you will have to locate and remove the spare part yourself. On the flipside, this saves your money on labor charges that some other dedicated stores might charge you. Know the Pros and Cons. One obvious advantage in getting a salvaged car in seized car auctions is that you get to own a car and amazingly save money without having to go through an irritating dealer. Buying a salvaged car is not really as cheap and fun as it may seem. You may not be able to get full liability car insurance. You will have to shoulder the expenses for the repairs. These repairs may sometimes cost you much. And you will be required to pay on the spot immediately after the bidding process. So you need to bring with you cash, checkbook, or pre-approved loan from a financing institution before attending an auction. But where would you find salvage motorcycles? The best places to look for salvage motorcycles are at your local junk yard, your local newspaper or auction sites. I personally recommend auction sites. Mainly, because junkyards in milwaukee is so good. You can probably find anything that your looking for from a honda to a Suzuki to a Ducati. with so much of a selection it will probably be very easy to find exactly what you want. If the car is running it may be cost-effective to drive it around to local recyclers to gauge the general selling price. If it is unable to be driven, many scrap yards offer towing services and are willing to visit the location of the vehicle and perform an inspection there. Calling around and giving recyclers a general idea of the vehicle works just as well since most of them have preset prices based on a per-pound scale. An extra tip is to try and locate salvage yards that specialize in that particular brand or model. If all else fails then there's the internet. So, what happens is often times the car will be issued a salvage title instead of a regular one. This type of title is meant to protect buyers so that they know the vehicles history and are aware of any potential problems. If this happens it can be well worth it to keep the car even if it gets a salvage title. Many times the car can be rebuilt depending on the original damage.

#pull a part #cash for junk cars #junkyards near me #junk cars #junkyard #salvage yard #auto salvage #cars #sell my car #we buy cars #we junk cars #local #closest #sell #parts #auto yards #catalytic converter #converter #convertor #pull a part knoxville #knoxville #salvage yards near me #cash for cars #we buy junk cars #cash cars #buy junk cars #junk my car #junk car removal #junk cars near me #cash for junk cars near me