#or bring big bucks to buy water

[fhroggy]

Apple Rot: MLP Infection AU - Parts 1-6

Moving my infection au over to tumblr from deviantart! All six written parts are included below, hopefully soon I'll get the time to keep working on this lol

Part One: Introduction

It's cider season at Sweet Apple Acres. The apples are ripe, the barrels are ready, and the ponies are thirsty. It's hard work, bucking down the apples and bringing them inside to press into cider, and Applejack is exhausted. It's hot, and the work she usually enjoys has grown tedious in her misery. She brings the last of the apple buckets inside, coat slick with sweat and hooves dirty and sore. She tosses the bushel of apples in with the rest of them, only to notice a strange apple sitting on top. It's a pale, sickly pink, with oozing black spots. She groans. She'll have to toss it, and thoroughly clean the rest of the bushel to avoid any contamination. But she's just so thirsty. She'll just leave for a moment, just long enough to get a glass of water, then come back and sort through it. She leaves the room, promising to herself that she'll be back before Granny Smith and Big Mac start pressing the cider. 

Applejack has barely left the room when Granny Smith and Big Mac come in to get started. They're both excited for cider season, talking back and forth and keeping only half their mind on their work. Without more than a cursory glance at the harvest, the apples are loaded, the cider squeezed into barrels, and the lot ready to drink. Granny Smith, as always, tests each batch before approving it for sale, and though one of the barrels has a strange sweetness she can't quite place, the taste isn't unpleasant, and the barrel goes along with the others outside, where the line of ponies waiting to buy is over the hill and out of sight. One barrel of cider only supplies about fifteen large wooden mugs, and and while it's impossible to tell which customers happened to get the extra-sweet batch, no one complains, and the Apple family considers the day a rousing success, even if Granny Smith had to go inside early since she wasn't feeling well. 

The Apple Rot has begun.

Part Two: Unwell

As the sun goes down at Sweet Apple Acres, Granny Smith seems to feel worse with each passing hour. It started with a stomachache, just a few hours into their big cider sale. A barely uncomfortable twinge in her gut, something she could easily ignore with interesting enough conversation. She was old, sure, but she wasn't frail. As she thought this, the twinge in her gut became a writhe, a rolling boil of pain and sickness that progressed into nausea, nausea which she could control only long enough to run out of sight of the customers, spitting up apple chunks, cider and froth as her cider samplings and breakfast expelled from her. A violent upheaval like that was enough to get her inside for the rest of the day, leaving her always-honest and always-steadfast granddaughter Applejack to hold down the fort. In the back of her mind, as she crawled into bed, was that the poor girl deserved a day off. Perhaps tomorrow, when she was feeling better, she'd surprise the dear thing with some apple fritters and insist on taking her chores for her. She was old, sure, but she wasn't frail. She could handle the farm work for one day, at least.

As the night wears on, Granny Smith starts to get…flashes. Flashes of…something. An urge in her gut, a need to feed- but on what? The very thought of apples, carrots, and oats makes her want to throw up even more- but she's hungry. Her bedroom floor has become a shallow pool of black, bloody bile, and even still, she's so hungry. She paces the wooden floor, hooves squishing in her sick, a steady growl in her stomach and in her throat, neither of which she can control. The door creaks, letting a sliver of light into the pitch dark room. Her darling Apple Bloom stands on the other side, coming to check on her dear old Granny.

Granny Smith knows what she's hungry for.

Part Three: Stone Content Warning for Violence/Gore/Death

As screams fill Sweet Apple Acres, miles away in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie and her family are none the wiser. In between planning their wedding and keeping up with their event schedule, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich have taken a few days off to welcome Maud into their home while she visits between geological expeditions. She isn't in town often, not since her promotion to Lead Field Researcher, and Pinkie wants to make the trip super-duper special. How lucky it was, then, that Maud would arrive in Ponyville just in time for the Apple family's cider season! Bouncing alongside the ponies she loves most, she took Cheese and Maud to the farm and bought them each a large mug, sipping from her own and pausing when she notices the strange taste on her tongue. It's...not unpleasant, exactly, but it's a little too sweet, even for her. As it slides down her throat, her Pinkie Sense tingles, and she gets the distinct feeling that she should not have swallowed it. But- it's probably fine, right? Cheese has nearly finished his mug, and Maud's is empty- though she doesn't recall seeing her sister drink anything. Maud gives her a look, stern and knowing, and does Pinkie see a little bit of concern in her sister's eyes? She shakes the worry from her mind. It's fine. She's fine. 

Hours later, now, she and Cheese have been throwing up what seems like buckets of cider, frosting and cake. Maud sits quietly as Pinkie and her fiance take turns in the bathroom, though her poor Cheesie is far worse for wear. He's been positively green in the face ever since they got back, and he's been acting...strange. He's twitchy, and he keeps trailing off when he speaks. The way he looks at her, looks at Maud...there's something in his expression that Pinkie can't place, and she doesn't like it. He's been shut in the bathroom for some time at this point, and she knocks on the door, voice sweet and loving. 

"Cheesie? Everything okay in there?"

He doesn't speak, but she can hear a low growl from the other side of the door. It's obvious that he isn't doing well, she needs to take him to Nurse Redheart. She'll have to talk with Applejack about the cider- she loves her friend, but this is ridiculous! It was clearly an off batch, and the Apples should never have put it out for sale. She's disappointed in them, and worried for her fiance. She opens the door, and before she can get a word out, she hits the ground. 

Cheese Sandwich is above her, eyes milky white, bloody yellow-white bile dripping from his lips. He snaps his teeth at her, trying to bite her, and she's screaming and crying and what's wrong with her Cheesie and why is he hurting her makeitstopmakeitstop- 

And then it does. With a heavy thud, Cheese Sandwich hits the ground, dark blood pooling from the back of his head. Maud stands over him, holding the heaviest stone she could manage. For good measure, she hits him again, and again, mashing him until Pinkie has to look away. She drops the stone on top of him once more, looking to Pinkie. They're both splattered with blood, their eyes wide and afraid as they meet each other's gazes. Maud says the only thing she can think to say. 

"I'm sorry, Pinkie."

Part Four: Help

Fluttershy's cottage isn't far from Sweet Apple Acres. She can see it if she really looks, just barely able to make out the outline of the barn against the horizon line. As far out as the Apples are from town, she's even farther, her cottage so remote that only Zecora lives more isolated than her. She likes it that way- she loves her friends, but, she's also a very introverted and private pony, and thrives best when she doesn't have to worry about the way others perceive her. The only company she never truly minds is Discord's, and even he is free-spirited enough that he often disappears for days or weeks at a time. Other ponies might mind the frequent absence, but, to her, it's nice to get the space to herself. She trusts him, loves him, and is glad for the breathing room. 

She's just thinking about how nice it is to have such a quiet night after the hustle and bustle of cider season when she hears a pounding on her door. It's a loud, desperate sound, and to her it sounds as if somepony is beating their entire body against the wooden door, forgoing knocking in favor of trying to take it off its hinges completely. She trembles next to her fireplace, legs quaking as the sound beats and beats and beats...

"Fluttershy! Open the door, please!" A familiar voice calls, and while Fluttershy has a sense of immediate relief knowing that she's not in any danger, the fearful edge in Applejack's voice puts her on guard. She goes to the door and opens it up, taking a step back as her friend nearly collapses at her feet. 

"Applejack? What's wrong?"

Her friend looks up at her, and Fluttershy gasps. 

Applejack is splattered in black bile and blood, and her eyes are wide and fearful. She's never seen a pony look so afraid, and the expression looks foreign on Applejack's face- Applejack is always strong and brave, what in Equestria could have her so meek and desperate that she needs Fluttershy's help? 

"It's Apple Bloom," Applejack wheezes, barely able to get the words out between catching her breath. "Granny- Apple Bloom- something's wrong with Granny Smith, she's," Applejack shakes her head. "Granny Smith has lost her Celestia-forsaken mind. She was feelin' sick, I told Apple Bloom to leave her well enough alone, but she went in and Granny bit her!" Applejack wipes the blood from her cheek, smearing it across her face. The substance is thick and congealed, and Fluttershy notices absently that she recognizes the smell. She's smelled it before, whenever she found hurt and sick animals that were too far gone to save. It's the smell of death. 

Applejack continues. "Granny just- started tryin' to tear into her, Big Mac got Granny off of her but she's bleedin' real bad and Nurse Redheart is too far away," she's crying openly now, tears cutting through streaks of bile and blood and leaving trails down her cheeks. "I know you take care of the animals, stitch 'em up sometimes, please, Fluttershy, she's my baby sister..." 

Fluttershy cuts her off, voice meek but determined. 

"Okay. Take me to her."

Part Five: Feed Content Warning for Violence/Gore/Death

Twilight knows she's somewhat of a workaholic. She's been that way for as long as she can remember, and though making friends did help her balance her life more, that curious, studious streak never fully left her. She's up late, later than she should be, and she's about to call it a night when she hears a loud banging on her castle doors. She groans. She loves helping the citizens of Ponyville, but, well, it's always something with them. She calls to Spike, who's been helping her find and return books as she's been going through them. 

"Spike, do you mind getting the door? I swear, there's always somepony with a problem that needs fixing...You can take them to the throne room, I'll be down in a sec."

With a nod, Spike leaves the library to go down the spiral staircase and receive their guests. It's only a few seconds later that he screams for her, voice so loud and so panicked that she doesn't even bother running downstairs, using her magic to teleport her to the doors instead. 

"Spike? What's wrong?"

He points to their guests, and Twilight turns her head to see Pinkie and Maud are standing in the doorway, both covered in blood, looking positively traumatized. Whatever they've been through must have been absolute hell, and the moment they lock eyes, they both immediately start yelling for her to shut the door, lock the door, keep them out- 

"Them?" She interjects, looking over their shoulders into the Ponyville streets. She supposes it's a little unusual to see ponies up so late- upon closer inspection, the way they walk is a bit odd, too- they're...twitchy. Their movements are stilted and stiff, lacking in the fluidity that most creatures have. One walks into a wall, and then just stands there, face pressed to the brick and hooves shambling forwards as if they're trying to walk through it. 

A cry in the night snaps all of the strange ponies to attention. Lyra bursts out of her home, screaming and crying for help as Bon-Bon gives chase. She doesn't get far. Another strange pony, Twilight thinks it's Junebug, heads her off and tackles her to the ground, biting into the flesh at her shoulder and tearing it from her in bloody chunks. Lyra is screaming and begging for somepony to help her, her eyes follow the light coming from the palace and Twilight swears that they look at each other- Lyra starts to cry out again, shrieking a pleading "Princess-" before Junebug bites into her throat and severs her vocal cords. More of the strange ponies pile on top of her, Bon-Bon bites into her cutie mark, Clover into her side- and all Twilight can do is stand there and watch. As they feed, she hears sobs, she hears muffled and distorted voices speaking around mouthfuls of flesh, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm hungry," wailing and biting and wailing some more. Once Lyra is nothing but a carcass, they finally pull away from her, and as they finally notice the light from the castle and look in her direction, Pinkie and Maud take it upon themselves to shut the doors themselves, locking and barricading it while Twilight's brain screams at her to get herself together and stop being so useless. 

What is happening to everypony?

Part Six: Sorry Content Warning for Violence/Blood

Apple Bloom doesn't feel good at all. Applejack's gone, promising that she would go get help and that Apple Bloom would be okay, she just has to hold on- but Apple Bloom can feel her strength waning. She's trying, trying as hard as she can to stop her mind from swimming in and out of consciousness, and she's trying to keep the pressure on her bandages like Big Mac told her to before he left. He was supposed to stay with her, but the crash from Granny Smith's room had been worrying enough that he'd decided to check on her, promising Apple Bloom that he'd be right back and to just keep holding her hooves down against the wound so that it wouldn't bleed so much. She's pretty sure he's been gone too long, but she's having trouble keeping track of the time. Maybe it really had only been a few minutes. 

Really, the bite wasn't too bad, all on its own. Sure, it needed stitches and wouldn't stop bleeding, and its position on her neck made it hurt to turn her head, but it was just a bite. She'd been injured worse by farm animals, and she'd always been okay then. And for a little while she did seem okay- but then the fever hit her, and she got dizzy and collapsed, Applejack crying out for her as she hit the ground. Now her small body flipped back and forth between overheating and freezing, her coat slick with sweat. And she was getting...weird thoughts. Thoughts she couldn't control, thoughts that scared her. Images of her turning and attacking Big Mac and Applejack, the same way Granny attacked her. She didn't like it. 

She was jolted from her thoughts when her door creaked open, and a high, lilting voice cut through the eerie silence.

"Apple Bloom? We knocked on the door for ages, and no one answered. I hope it's alright we let ourselves in."

Apple Bloom's glazed eyes slide over to the doorway, where Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are grinning and holding sleeping bags. That's right- they'd agreed to have a sleepover tonight, didn't they? Granny Smith had promised them the last of the cider, and Applejack was going to let her stay up late...in the commotion, they'd all forgotten. She shook her head slowly. 

"Guys, I don't think y'all should be in here. I'm sick, and so is Granny..."

"But you were fine when we saw you earlier," Sweetie Belle cuts in again, approaching the bed. "Maybe you ate something bad? I could get you some water and crackers, that always settles my stomach." She hasn't noticed the bite, with Apple Bloom's hoof over it. She gets closer still, and Apple Bloom squeezes her eyes shut as she gets those weird thoughts again. 

When she looks again, Sweetie Belle is by her side, but she notices that Scootaloo is hanging back in the doorway, looking around nervously. Scootaloo, to her credit, has picked up that something is deeply wrong, her wings twitching as she takes a slow step back. A part of Apple Bloom is relieved. Good, Scootaloo, She thinks, Back up. You'll need the head start. For what, she isn't quite sure. 

Sweetie Belle coos over her, taking on that sugary-sweet caring role that she does when she's trying to be like her big sister. She reaches up to feel Apple Bloom's forehead, and Apple Bloom gets another one of those bad visions. She imagines herself lurching out of bed and biting Sweetie Belle's leg, and when she hears Sweetie Belle scream, she realizes that it wasn't a vision at all. She tastes the coppery blood in her mouth and she's ashamed and afraid but also hungry for more. 

"I'm sorry," Apple Bloom chokes out, eyes wide as she sits up, the bite mark on her neck glistening in the moonlight. "I'm so sorry, Sweetie Belle, I don't know why I did that-"

Sweetie Belle is sobbing now, and Scootaloo just looks at Apple Bloom with wide, terrified eyes, frozen in place with fear. Apple Bloom's limbs are twitching, now, trying to force her out of the bed to finish what she's started, and it's all Apple Bloom can do to hold herself back- though she's unable to stop herself from licking her lips. 

As the screams and cries and apologies fill the house, Apple Bloom can hear a loud thumping and a crash from the far end of the hall, and all the sudden Big Mac is standing there, covered in blood with a shovel in his teeth- a shovel also splattered in blood and black bile. He drops it from his mouth as he takes in the scene, metal clanging against the floor. When he speaks, his voice is heavy and authoritative, and Apple Bloom has never heard him sound so angry and afraid at the same time. 

"Get the hell out of here! Get out of this house and don't y'all ever come back here again!" He yells at the foals, not out of malice but out of concern, and his booming, deep demands have their intended effect as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo run out of farmhouse and down the road, running home to their warm beds where they can try and forget what they've seen. 

Apple Bloom looks up at Big Mac, and her eyes fill with tears. She has blood smeared around her mouth, and a dark part of her revels in the lingering taste. "I'm so sorry, Big Mac, I don't know what happened, I don't- I'm scared..."

Big Mac looks down at her, his eyes so soft and so sad, and, slowly, he picks up the shovel again. 

#mlp #mlp infection au #mlp fim #mlp g4 #mlp redesign

[endless-summer-soldier]

fair catch

pairing: CollegeFootballPlayer!Bucky x CollegeAthlete!Reader

summary: Y/N joins the football team to prove a point and the last thing Bucky expected out of the season was to fall for the new kicker

warnings: slight injury, slight alcohol use, mostly fluff though

word count: 5.7k

taglist: @tellmealovestory @mrs-bucky-barnes106 @charmedbysarge @theroyalmanatee @ozwriterchick @aya-fay @differenttyphoonwerewolf @sebsgirl71479

Coach Fury blew the final whistle, signaling practice was over. Bucky sighed in relief and jogged over to the bench to dump a cup of water on his head. This was their last two-a-day practice due to the semester starting the following day. 

“Listen up! I have an announcement to make.” Fury was standing there with the other coaches and a small female, probably a student. Bucky figured she might be the new manager of the football team, a spot typically occupied by co-eds who wanted to hook up with football players. 

Once the team was circled up, Fury continued, “I’d like you all to meet Y/F/N Y/L/N. She’s our new kicker.”

Bucky felt Sam suppressing a cough as his water went down the wrong pipe. There was silence as the new teammate stood there, smiling confidently at them all. 

Bucky’s first thought was that she was adorable, but she was tiny. She certainly didn’t have the build of a football player. 

Steve was the first person to speak up, “Coach, Parker’s our kicker.”

“And Parker couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a frying pan.” The group chuckled and Peter shrugged, knowing he wasn’t a skilled kicker. “With Y/L/N as our kicker we can move Parker to holder.”

It wasn’t a bad thought. Parker missed more field goals than he made but he had good hands. He could catch and place the ball in the proper place pretty quickly.

“Y/L/N will practice with us tomorrow so you can all evaluate her skills then. Anything you’d like to add?” He asked her.

She provided them with a tightlipped smile and said, “Happy to be here.”  The huddle evaporated as the team collected their things and headed to the locker room. Bucky wasn’t surprised when Steve approached Y/N immediately and shook her hand, acting as the captain and welcoming her to the team. 

“Well this is new,” Sam said.

Bucky shrugged, “I mean as long as she can put points on the board, I don’t mind it.”

“Are you worried?” he asked.

“Worried? What would I be worried about?”

“I don’t know, Buck. She seems like your type.”

“I don’t have a type,” he responded.

“Sure you do. Dark hair, small stature, dry sense of humor.”

“How could you possibly know what sense of humor she has?”

“Oh, I don’t. I’m just speculating.”

“You are something else,” he said, shaking his head. They made their way into the locker room and ran into Steve on the way.

“Hey, you two busy after this?” Steve asked. Bucky and Sam both shook their heads and Steve added, “Good, because I told Y/N I’d take her out for a drink. Just thought it might be nice to get to know a few people off the field.”

“How captain-ly,” Sam mocked. Steve could read their expressions and knew they weren’t stoked about the situation. 

“Come on, just come by for one drink. Be good teammates.”

“One drink, and you’re buying,” Bucky said. He could never say no to Steve.

“Deal,” Steve replied. 

“So, why join the football team?” Sam bluntly asked. Steve had been driving most of the conversation, asking Y/N about where she grew up and her major. But Sam didn’t have the patience for pleasantries. Steve shot Sam a look as soon as the question was out of his mouth, and Sam merely shrugged.

“I’ve been waiting for that one,” she grinned, taking a big swig of her beer. “You probably won’t like this answer, but it's a bit of a political move. I was the captain of the women’s soccer team and we just found out that our program was cut, along with a few other women’s sports teams. Apparently we didn’t bring in enough money for the school, despite making the playoffs the past eight years. I couldn’t just sit back and let the administration win, so I figured I’d join the football team, try to get some media attention so I could talk about the lack of funding for women’s soccer.”

Whatever answer Bucky was expecting, it certainly wasn’t that.

“That’s pretty badass,” Bucky said.

“So…you don’t have any interest in football,” Sam stated, more than asked.

“Look, I’m an athlete. Every time I step out onto the field, I’m playing to win. And I’m actually pretty decent at kicking a football. I grew up with three older brothers so I was practically raised on the football field. Even though my motives may be a little murky, I am fully dedicated to this team.”

“Now that’s what we like to hear,” Steve said, grinning. 

“But actually, where do we fall within the division?” she asked.

The three players looked at each other, trying to determine how to answer that question.

“We have solid talent, we’ve just been…unlucky the past few years,” Steve said.

“What does that mean?” she retorted, with a raised eyebrow.

“Sam was injured most of last season and he’s our best and fastest wide receiver, so that hurt,” Bucky said.

“You're telling me,” Sam agreed.

“Then we went through a few offensive coordinators until we found one that…meshed with the team.” Steve said.

“The team or the coach?” Y/N bemused.

“The coach,” they all mumbled in unison.

“So Fury’s a hard ass?”

“You could say that. He’s harsh, but fair. And he genuinely knows his way around the gridiron,” Steve stated.

“He is a great coach, just not everyone appreciates his coaching style,” Sam added.

“Coulson has been a great addition so far. He’s kind of balanced Fury out a bit. And his offensive routes have been working pretty well so far,” Bucky commended.

“Got it, so don’t get on Fury’s bad side. Is there anyone else I should be worried about?”

“Just Bucky. He gets cranky if he hasn’t eaten enough,” Sam joked. Bucky nudged him playfully while his teammates laughed.

“We’ve got a great squad. And we really do need a strong kicker. So if you can prove to the guys that you have talent, you’ll earn their respect and they won’t mess with you.”

“Good to know.” Everything about her demeanor was calm, cool, and collected. She didn’t seem to be the least bit intimidated about joining the team. She was able to hold her own and didn’t care about what the guys thought of her. Bucky couldn’t help but admire that energy. He sensed that his friends were fond of her too and he expected they’d defend her if any of the other teammates decided to get mouthy.

“Well, I appreciate you guys taking me out for a drink, but I do need to get back. Still have some unpacking to do.” She left a few dollar bills on the table to cover her drink, even though Steve told her it was unnecessary. She was just as stubborn as he was.

Once she left the bar, Steve was the first to speak. “I like her. I think she’s going to be really good for the team.”

“I think she’s going to be trouble,” Sam said.

“Trouble?” Steve echoed, looking for an explanation.

“Half the team is going to fall in love with her. Including this one,” Sam said, signaling towards Bucky.

“What? You’re crazy, man,” Bucky argued.

“Alright, whatever you say. But I’m going to reference this moment when I give the best man speech at your wedding.”

Bucky rolled his eyes as Steve studied his face, trying to figure out if Sam was right. As Bucky’s oldest friend, he could usually read him like a book when it came to women. Which is why Bucky avoided eye contact, trying to hide any tells he might have.

Steve let out a knowing smile, realizing Sam was right.

It was the day before their first game of the season and they had just finished up practice. Bucky felt oddly content with the team. They had finally gotten into a good rhythm and he felt they were prepared for their first game against Millersville, which was one of their local rivals. They had lost that past few match ups, but Bucky liked their chances this time around.

As the team drank down their water and collected their belongings, Steve cleared his throat calling their attention.

“Listen up. Y/N has something she’d like to say.”

“Thanks Cap. I want to let you know that there will be an article in the Inquirer about me and I felt like I should explain myself to you before you read it. The reason I joined this team is because I was the captain of the women’s soccer team on campus, before they cut the program for budgetary reasons. Several sports teams were cut, all of them being women’s sports teams. There are so many female athletes here on scholarship that are now going to have to transfer out and qualified coaches are now out of a job, and it's completely unfair. So I joined the team, knowing it would get people talking and hopefully some attention would be brought on this injustice. I’m hopeful that some prominent alumni might make some donations to save some of the programs.” She paused, trying to read the reactions of her teammates, but she was mostly getting blank stares.

“I want all of you to know that I take my spot on this team very seriously, and I will do my job to help us win tomorrow. I am committed to all of you and to Coach Fury. I don’t want you to think of me any differently, I just want to be treated like a teammate. So if any of you have any questions or want to say anything, feel free.”

It was silent for a moment. Bucky exchanged eyes with Sam, wondering if they should be some of the first ones to speak up.

“That’s awesome,” Peter said, breaking the silence. “I mean not the part about the soccer team, but the other stuff.”

“Badass,” Sam said, hoping to influence the others.

“Just don’t go leaving us once the soccer team comes calling, okay?” Bucky joked, shooting her a smile that she returned.

“Alright, bring it in,” Thor directed, fanning the team into a sweaty, smelly group hug around Y/N. She tried to protest but it was no use. She emerged from the group gagging and inhaling the fresh air.

Bucky caught up with her as she collected her water jug and helmet.

“That went well,” he commented.

“Honestly, such a relief. I thought Tony was going to have me exiled.”

“Nah, he loves to stick it to the man.”

“Well, thanks for the support.”

“I’m your teammate. I’m always gonna have your back.”

The game was tied 17-17 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Bucky was correct in thinking they were pretty evenly matched against their rival. Their defense was struggling a bit, but the offense was doing well putting points on the board. Bucky had scored a touchdown in the first half and Steve had rushed one in on a quarterback sneak play. Y/N had pulled her weight by making both extra points and a field goal right before halftime. And now they were running on third down at the 30-yard line, hoping to pick up a few more feet so that she could easily kick another field goal. Scott ran the ball another few yards and was tackled down at the 27, which put them in good field position for a field goal. The refs moved the chains and the offense ran off the field, as the field goal unit ran on.

“You got this,” Bucky said to her, giving her a pat on the shoulder as she ran out to her position. Peter knelt on the ground, ready to receive the snap as Y/N lined herself up and took a few steps back.

Peter called for the ball, essentially starting the play and Bucky immediately saw one of the defenders jump over one of the lineman, clearly crossing the line of scrimmage before the ball had even been snapped. Yellow flags were flung in the air by the refs and gently floated down, but the play was already in motion and couldn’t be stopped. The ball reached Parker and he deftly turned the laces, as Y/N ran forward and kicked the ball, aiming between the uprights. Her laser focus betrayed her, as she didn’t see the defender making a beeline for her. Her leg was fully extended when he made contact, bringing her lithe form to the ground with ease. The ball had been tipped by another defender, but it hardly mattered as the ref’s whistles were sounding.

The defender who made the tackle was easily three times Y/N’s size, and Bucky watched as he got up with ease and Y/N laid there, motionless and broken. Peter was immediately at her side, checking to see if she was okay. He looked to the sidelines and waved a hand toward Fury, signaling him to send out the trainer. Helen grabbed her kit and sprinted out alongside Fury. 

Rage crept up on Bucky quickly, but what set him off was when the defender high fived his teammate, proud of himself. The attack felt personal. He knew he left early and continued on anyway, determined to pin the female kicker.

Bucky dropped his helmet and sprinted out onto the field shoving the defender to the ground. “What the fuck was that!” Bucky grunted. He wanted this guy to take off his helmet so he could give him a black eye.

Suddenly Steve was in front of him, separating Bucky from his new enemy. Sam must’ve been behind him, giving him a bearhug and pulling him backwards. Bucky wasn’t giving up though, he fought his two teammates trying to get through to the defender.

“Bucky, it’s not worth it,” Steve said, pushing him backwards. “Let it go.”

“She’s not moving, Steve. He did that to her!” 

“She’s gonna be okay. Cho’s out there.”

“Who does that guy think he is!” Bucky seethed.

“He’s a jackass. But don’t stoop to his level,” Sam said. More of the players had come out to break up the fight. The refs were directing both teams to go back to their benches. They should all be taking a knee right now, but the tension was too high. 

Then the ref pointed toward him and pointed to the locker rooms, ejecting him from the game. He did the same for the defender who tackled Y/N. Sam walked him toward the locker room to ensure he wouldn’t stage another attack. Steve corralled the rest of the team back to the bench to take a knee.

When Bucky got into the locker room, he had to let out his frustration. He punched his locker until his knuckles started bleeding. He barely felt the pain, he just kept thinking about the asshole who laid out his teammate. He finally calmed himself down with some deep breaths and decided to take a shower. As soon as the game was called, he was going to check on her. 

Y/N woke up lying on a bed in the training room and immediately felt the pain in her head. She let out an unconscious groan and suddenly two figures were by her side.

“Y/N! You’re up,” Steve said, still fully dressed in uniform. Helen started checking her pupils and did a basic examination.

“What happened,” she mustered. Helen handed her a bottle of water and placed two pills in her palm. She swallowed the pills without question and chugged most of the water.

“One of the defensive lineman was offside for the kick and laid you out. Ended up with a roughing the kicker penalty and he got himself ejected.”

“But did we win?” she asked. 

Steve chuckled, “Yeah, the 15 yard penalty gave us a new set of downs and Lang ran it in for the game winning touchdown.”

“Thank god. You wouldn’t have heard the end of it if you let that guy lay me out and then lost the game.” Steve smiled at her again. At least she seemed to be in good spirits. Helen placed a cold compress on her forehead and concluded her examination. 

“I’ve never seen a brawl breakout like that on the field,” Cho stated.

“A brawl!?” Y/N clamored. “And I missed it? What happened?”

“Bucky charged the field. He pushed the guy that tackled you and almost knocked his head off. Took Sam and I to hold him back. I’ve never seen him like that before.”

“Is he okay?” Y/N asked.

“Oh he’s fine. Refs ejected him and the other guy before it got too out of hand.”

“Y/N, how are you feeling?” Helen asked.

“I mean my head hurts like a bitch, and I feel a little sore on my sides. But I think that’s about it for now.”

Helen nodded, “I think you have a few fractured ribs and you might have a concussion. I recommend that you go to the hospital.”

“Oh. Do I have to go now?”

“That would be best. You should get x-rays done for the ribs and you need to be on concussion watch the rest of the night.”

Y/N felt uneasy, the last thing she wanted was to spend the night in the emergency room by herself. She just wanted a warm bed to rest in for the night. Steve read her expression and tried to help.

“What if one of us stayed with her all night? We’ll make sure she doesn’t fall asleep and if she starts exhibiting more symptoms of a concussion, I’ll take her to the hospital.”

Cho considered his proposal and eyed Y/N, who was currently pleading with her best puppy dog eyes.

“I suppose that would be fine. But she needs to get x-rays done tomorrow.”

“Absolutely,” Y/N agreed. 

Just as Helen was packing up, Bucky burst through the door.

“Is she okay!?”

“Course I’m okay, I’m super tough,” she smiled.

“And that should be the painkillers hitting,” Cho explained.

“She has a few fractured ribs and she might have a concussion,” Steve explained.

“I swear to God, I’m gonna kill that guy,” Bucky muttered, his hand clenching into a fist.

“Easy Buck, it could’ve been a lot worse,” Steve rationalized.

“You’ve got her for tonight?” Helen asked. Bucky shot a look at Steve, confused but Steve just nodded. “We’ve got her.”

Helen nodded and packed up her things, heading home. 

“I told Helen we would stay with Y/N tonight, to make sure she doesn’t fall asleep. And we can take her to the hospital tomorrow to get some x-rays done.”

Bucky nodded in agreement.

“I still need to get showered and pack up. Buck, can you give Y/N a ride to our place and I’ll meet you there?”

“Sure, of course.”

Steve departed for the locker room, leaving just Bucky and Y/N. He walked over toward the table where she was sitting and helped her onto her feet. She was initially unsteady, falling into him slightly as she gained her balance.

“Okay, that is not going to work…”

“What?” she inquired.

“Come here,” he put his hand behind her back and reached down to collect her legs, picking her up easily in his strong arms.

“This is not necessary.”

“You can barely stand up straight, I’m not risking you getting hurt even more.”

She didn’t have the energy to fight back. It would’ve been useless as they quickly approached Bucky’s black Jeep.

He gingerly placed her on two feet and opened the passenger door for her. He was ready to wrap an arm around her waist to aid her into the car, but she brushed him off and easily climbed into the leather seat. Bucky shut the door behind her carefully and walked over to the driver’s side of the car.

It was silent for a few minutes as he drove them the short way to his house. Once they were inside, Y/N made herself comfortable on the sofa and Bucky retrieved her a glass of water. 

“So…” Y/N started, eyeing Bucky, “I heard you got tossed from the game.”

Bucky let out an unconscious chuckle. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Oh, do you make it a habit of starting brawls mid-game?”

“This would be a first.”

“What the hell happened?” she asked.

He let out a deep sigh, placing the glass in front of her. “I don’t know…I just snapped. I saw my teammate lying there, not moving, after a cheap shot and I needed to do something.”

“So you did that to protect me? Because I’m a woman?” There was an edge to her voice and he knew he had to tread carefully.

“Honestly, I think that asshole laid you out because you’re a woman. It was fucked up. And I didn’t want him to think he could get away with that. You’re part of the team and I’ve got your back.”

She studied him for a moment and let out a small smile, accepting the answer he provided.

“Thank you,” she said plainly. 

“You’re welcome.”

They were quiet for a moment and Bucky spoke up again, “Steve should be home soon. Did you want to watch TV or something?”

“Sure.” Bucky handed her the remote and let her click through the channels until something grasped her attention.

“What the fuck is this?” Bucky asked, stunned by the blurred nudity on his television.

“You’ve never seen Naked and Afraid?” His expression answered the question for her. 

“It’s like a survivalist show. They spend 21 days trying to survive in the wilderness.”

“And they're naked…”

“Yeah, they don’t really explain that logic. Something having to do with primitivism. I think it's just for shock value.”

“Makes sense.”

“But yeah, it’s oddly addicting.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Despite his apprehension, he settled in and focused his attention on the TV. The two made comments and jokes to each other while watching and it wasn’t long until Bucky was drawn in.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Steve came in and found them on the couch, watching the reality TV survival show.

“What on Earth…” Steve said.

“Naked and Afraid,” Y/N and Bucky said in unison. Steve wordlessly dropped his things and joined them on the couch, asking questions about the show and the episode.

“Why is this so addicting?” Steve finally asked.

“I have no idea, but it’s so good,” Y/N said. The three of them sat and watched episodes for hours, but the time flew by with ease. But the drugs and pain was starting to take a toll on Y/N. Bucky could sense she was close to drifting off, and every time he saw her head bob, he nudged her shoulder to make sure she was still awake.

“I’m just so tired…” she would say. Bucky looked at Steve for guidance. He wanted her to get some rest, but he didn’t want to risk breaching the concussion protocol. Steve pulled out his phone and did a quick Google search.

“It says that technically she can sleep, she just needs to be woken up every few hours.”

Bucky turned to Y/N, checking her reaction at the good news, but she was already in a light sleep.

“I’ll take her to my room, she’ll be more comfortable there,” Bucky said.

“Do you want me to stay up with you?” Steve offered.

“Nah, I’ll set an alarm and wake her every two hours.”

“You sure?” Steve was more than happy to help out, but he also recognized the sparkle in Bucky’s eye.

“I’ve got it,” Bucky replied. Steve nodded and gathered his things before heading to his room. Bucky approached Y/N and picked her up carefully, so as not to wake her. She easily fell into his arms and he navigated to his room. He carefully placed her onto his unmade bed and pulled the sheets over her. She sunk into the mattress and continued to sleep, curled up in the blankets. Bucky glanced over his room and realized it could use a little tidying up. The last thing he wanted was for Y/N to wake up disgusted at the mess. He set a timer on his phone, cracked his knuckles and started cleaning up.

The first two hours went by surprisingly quickly. It helped to have a task he was focused on and he put his headphones in to listen to some music as he worked. He was shocked to find it was nearing 3AM. 

He sat gently on the bed and carefully shook Y/N’s shoulder, calling her name as he did so. She groggily opened her eyes, clearly annoyed at being disturbed from her slumber.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked.

She squinted at him, “Tired.”

“I know, I’m sorry to wake you.”

“It’s okay,” she responded, stretching out.

“Do you want something to eat or drink?”

“Mmm, a bottle of red wine would be great.”

Bucky stared at her before she added, “I’m kidding.” He was glad to see her sense of humor was still intact.

“How about a grilled cheese?” he offered.

“Oh that sounds amazing.”

“Coming right up.” He stood from his desk chair and was surprised as Y/N followed him to the kitchen. He poured her a large glass of water and placed it in front of her selected seat at the kitchen table.

Bucky moved around the kitchen with ease as he collected all the necessary ingredients for their midnight snack.

“Do you cook often?” she asked him.

“I try to. I like eating healthy when I can and it's easier if I just cook for myself instead of eating out all the time.”

“What’s your go-to meal that you cook when you’re trying to impress a girl?”

Bucky turned back to her, “You’re about to find out.”

She scoffed, “Grilled cheese is not your signature dish.”

“Sure it is.”

“So if you were going to cook dinner for a date, you’d make her grilled cheese?”

“Absolutely.”

“You’re full of shit.”

“It’s a great test of character. I want to be with a girl who is down to earth and appreciates a good grilled cheese.”

“No girl is going to be impressed by grilled cheese.”

“Talk to me after you’ve tried it,” he smiled. She continued drinking her water and watching him work. Her headache was fading away but her ribs still hurt a bit and watching Bucky distracted her from the pain.

Soon enough, Bucky placed a plate in front of her that held a perfectly made grilled cheese. The bread was a rich golden brown and there was the slightest bit of cheese oozing off the crust. 

“How do you want it cut?” he asked. 

“Triangles,” she responded, smiling back to memories of her childhood. Bucky slid the butter knife diagonally across the sandwich, creating two right triangles.

He placed his own plate in front of the neighboring chair and joined her at the table. She picked up the sandwich and bit off a corner.

“Oh my god…” she gushed.

Bucky merely shrugged and said, “I told you.”

“How? How is this the best sandwich I’ve ever had?” She continued to eat her grilled cheese, moaning in delight after every bite. 

“I’m just happy it lived up to expectations.”

“Oh, it exceeded expectations,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked, as he collected the dishes and loaded the dishwasher.

“Good, but tired. And sore.”

“You want to go back to sleep?”

She simply nodded and he held out his hand to help her up. She took it with ease and he walked her back to his bedroom, pulling down the sheets so she could climb in.

As she made herself comfortable, James let out a deep yawn.

“Are you going to sleep?” she asked.

He nodded, “I’m gonna pass out on the couch for a few hours, then I’ll check on you.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“Well, I just want to make sure you aren’t concussed.”

“No, I mean you don’t have to sleep on the couch.”

“You are not sleeping on the couch.”

“I don’t mind sharing the bed. It is yours.”

“Y/N, I really don’t mind.”

“Stop arguing and get in the bed,” she demanded. 

He wasn’t expecting her to be so direct and found he followed her direction without question. Even though Y/N was tiny, it was still tight in the twin bed considering Bucky’s bulky frame. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get comfortable. Y/N was curled up under the covers, fast asleep, and he was worried that any shift he made might wake her up. So he just stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore her sweet scent and delicate breathing. And then she turned. She instinctively pulled herself closer to him, resting her head on his chest and placing her arm around his rib cage. He carefully placed his arm around her and gently ran his fingers up and down her torso. He focused his attention on his movements and soon enough, he was drifting off to sleep.

He was startled awake by the chime of his alarm and he didn’t want to move. He quickly turned off the ringer, not wanting to wake up Y/N just yet. She was the little spoon to his big, her petite body fitting perfectly in his. 

“Y/N,” he whispered, scratching her shoulder gently to wake her. He wasn’t sure if she was a naturally heavy sleeper or if it was a side effect from her injury, but either way his job wasn’t any easier.

“Y/N,” he called again, shaking her shoulder ever so slightly. This time she stirred, turning so that she was facing him. “Are you awake?” he whispered.

“No…” she replied. 

“Don’t make me bring in reinforcements,” he added with a smile.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she challenged.

“Only one way to find out,” he smirked. He leaned in close to her and started tickling her torso, playing her rib cage like it was a piano. She immediately squirmed, trying to evade his attack unsuccessfully. As she squealed, she also let out a breathy giggle that was music to his ears. She flipped back over so that she was facing the edge of the bed and Bucky took this moment to ease up on the tickling and squeezed her tight in his arms. She leaned into his arms before calling, “Okay, okay I give.”

“You awake now?”

“Yes, I’m awake,” she laughed. He loosened his grip and she turned back to him.

“That was not a fair fight. You’re like twice my size. And I was half asleep.”

“All I’m hearing are excuses,” Bucky countered. She pouted at him and Bucky couldn’t help but smile. “Are you feeling better?”

She nodded, “No more headache, still a little sore in the ribs.”

“My attack probably didn’t help that,” Bucky admitted.

“Definitely not. But I didn’t mind too much.”

He studied her face, counting every freckle and memorizing the pattern of her irises. He smiled noticing the twinkle in her eye had returned; it had dimmed after she took the hit but now it was glimmering again. Bucky couldn’t believe how quickly things had changed between them. He never saw it coming. Yesterday she was just his teammate, and now he couldn’t imagine a life without her. He’d always heard about people falling so fast that they don’t realize it until it was too late, but he’d never experienced it before. He leaned in closer, pulling her in tight to his chest, taking in her natural scent, and he planted a protective kiss on her hairline.

“Why don’t you rinse off in the shower before we head to the hospital,” he suggested.

“Hospital?” she whined, “I’m really fine.”

He looked at her sternly, “We’re going.”

“Do we have to?”

“Yes, I’m not taking no for an answer. I promised Cho I would take you in.”

She rolled her eyes before climbing out of bed, “Fiiiine.” 

Bucky followed her into the bathroom to grab her a fresh set of towels. As he handed her the small stack, she looked at him with a look that he couldn’t quite place. He guessed she had something she wanted to get off her chest, but wasn’t sure if she should proceed.

“What is it?” he asked, hoping his comment would encourage her.

She hesitated for a minute, weighing the pros and cons in her head. “It’s nothing,” she settled on, giving him a fake smile.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders.

She let out a sigh before saying, “It’s fine if you want to keep last night between us. Not that anything happened, but we can just go back to normal.”

The comment should’ve stung, but Bucky wasn’t letting her get out of things that easily, “Is that what you want?”

Her eyes told him everything. “I don’t mind either-”

He cut her off, not willing to accept her non-answer. He shook his head, “What do you want?”

He was pushing her, he knew that, but he wanted her to hear her say it, to make sure it wasn’t all in his head.

“I want a thousand more nights like last night. Just without the whole concussion part,” she added, with a smile.

“Only a thousand? We’re capping it there?” 

She let out a teasing laugh, “Let’s start with a thousand. If you do well, we can discuss a contract extension.”

“Trust me, I’m getting that extension. How about I give you a little preview…” he suggested, moving in closer towards her.

“Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?” she smirked. He placed his hand on her jaw and gently ran his index finger in circles behind her ear. 

“Maybe something like this…” he whispered, words grazing her lips. She closed her eyes and waited until he finally brushed his lips up against hers. He pulled her in tighter towards him as he continued kissing her. She couldn’t help but smile as he caressed her lips, knowing full well she never wanted him to stop. 

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky barnes x y/n #football player bucky #bucky oneshot #bucky fluff

[nats-firefly]

7 and 8 with mommy wanda making r say it 🤭 thanks for being a whore ily 💕

live laugh be a whore, also this is ceo!wanda and assistant!r from the obey universe

as part of the friends and family special, this is a little longer than a blurb

warning: fingering (r receiving), mommy kink, office sex, strap on use (r receiving), a little humiliation, light spanking, orgasm denial

7. “You can take it.” / 8. “I can take it.”

"Come to my office, Y/N," Wanda said, bringing your attention from your computer screen to her as she walked past your desk into her office. She had just returned from a meeting and by her tone of voice it did not go her way. She slammed the door once she was fully in her office, making you flinch and turn your eyes to Celeste who was sitting across the room from you.

Celeste sipped her water with wide eyes, her eyes moving from Wanda's door to you. 'Good luck,' She mouthed across the room. You swallowed hard, standing up and fixing your attire before walking into her office. You were hesitant to breathe as you softly closed the door behind you.

"Leave your underwear by the door," Wanda said, barely even acknowledging you as her fingers typed away on her keyboard. You were frozen in place, earning a hard gaze from the older woman. "Now."

"Mommy," You voice was soft as you slid your underwear down your legs. You didn't understand why she was mad at you. You swallowed hard as you approached her desk, she sensed your hesitation and took a deep breath.

"Come here, baby," She said, leaning back on her chair so you could sit on her lap. She instantly slid her hands around your middle, snuggling her face into the crook of your neck. "You're gonna have to be very quiet, we're still on the clock."

"Mommy," You whispered as one of her hands drifted down to between your thighs, causing your skirt to bunch up by your hips. You released a shaky breath as her fingers started circling your clit. Her lips sucked on the skin of your neck, being careful not to leave a mark. It would be suspicious if you went into her office with a (rare) clear neck and returned with dark bruises littering your neck and cleavage.

"Shhh," She groaned into your neck, speeding up the pattern on your clit. You release a small breathy moan, bucking your hips into her hand.

"Need more," You whined, gripping her arm. "Please, Mommy, I need- I need your fingers."

"I know what you need, baby," She whispered in your ear, teeth tugging at your earlobe. She spread your legs over hers, pulling your underwear to the side so she could run her fingers over your soaked cunt. "All this for me, baby?"

You couldn't help but moan. You could feel her lips on your neck as her fingers continued their movements. It wasn't long until Wanda grew frustrated with your underwear getting in the way. You heard fabric ripping with Wanda's grunt into your ear.

"Mommy," You whined. "That one was new."

"I'll buy you a new one, baby, you don't have to worry," She said, pushing you off her lap and bent over her desk, knocking some of her things off the surface. "Now you just be my pretty little play toy and stay quiet."

Your gripped the edge of her desk as you felt her run her fingers over your pussy, spreading it between her two fingers. She stood up behind you, slowly sliding the tip of her strap over your folds. Your eyes went wide as you looked back at her.

"That's- that's too big," Your voice shook in anticipation, arching your back to give her more access. You couldn't wait to be filled with her strap.

"You can take it," She said, starting to slowly push the strap into you. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as she continued her movements. "Can't you baby?"

"I can take it, Mommy," You moaned as she suddenly snapped her hips into you.

"Be quiet, baby," She gripped your hips as she pulled back out, the strap already completely covered in your arousal. "You don't want the whole office to know you're my little cockslut do you?"

You whined, biting down on the edge of her desk as she started to pump into you. Her hand came down against your ass, making your skin burn. Her manicured nails dug into your hips as she continued to fuck you, grunting under her breath as she let out her frustrations. It was hard to contain your moans, the strap hitting all the right places as you neared the edge.

"Mommy," You whispered, looking back at Wanda, her eyes glued to the way you were taking her cock. "I-I'm gonna c-cum."

"Not yet, baby," You whined as she pulled out of you then turned you around on her desk. She pulled your shirt open, popping the buttons on your shirt. Her hands groped your chest as she pushed the strap back into you. Your hands held onto her wrists as you arched into her touch, doing your best to stay quiet. "You're doing so good, princess."

You were barely coherent, mind focused on the way she was making you feel. You were so close, desperate for a release.

"Look at you, all spread open for Mommy," Wanda pulled out her phone, quickly snapping a picture of you taking her. She couldn't help it, you looked so perfect just like this, trying your best not to cum with your he thrown back and clothes half ripped off your body. You couldn't help but release another moan, forgetting the office was, in fact, still full of people. Wanda smacked your face before gripping your chin, pulling you up so you could look in her eyes.

"Mommy told you to be quiet, slut," She pulled out of you, your eyes filling with tears at the loss of contact. Wanda pulled on the bottom drawer of her desk, pulling out a vibrator and slipping it inside you. "If you can't learn your lesson I'll put that pretty mouth to good use."

She moved you to kneel on the floor, clicking on her phone screen a few times before you felt the vibrations start. You looked up at her, a few tears rolling down your cheeks. She cupped your chin and cooed.

"You did this to yourself, baby," She sat back on her chair, roughly gripping your hair and guiding your mouth to the strap. "If you suck Mommy's cock well enough, maybe I'll let you cum."

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x reader smut #wanda maximoff #bonk.wanda #bonk.drabble #bonk.au #bonk.ww

[godesssiri]

10 Thrifting Tips – Part ? I lost count just check my thrifting tag

1) Make friends with the staff. If you go into a particular thrift store frequently it’s well worth it to get friendly with the staff. Ask them about their day, chat with them about what you’re buying, infodump if you’ve found something exciting and unusual. When the staff get to know you and know what you buy they’ll start pointing out things in the store that have come in since the last time you were there, that fit your interests. They may even start putting things aside for you. Recently I walked into my favorite thrift store and had 2 separate staff members say ‘Oh I’ve got something for you’. Plus having the staff greet you by name and having little inside jokes with them just makes the whole experience more fun.

2) Brita jugs turn up at the thrift store frequently. If tap water in your area is safe but has A Taste, keep an eye out at the thrift store.

3) Coffee making equipment. Capsule coffee makers, the wire racks that hold the capsules, French presses, these all get donated frequently. The occasional espresso machine comes in – and goes out very quickly. Now and then you’ll find pour-over coffee equipment. If you like your bean juice you can get the equipment you need to make fancy bean juice at the thrift store.

4) Handmade pottery mugs. Story time: About 6 or 7 years ago I went into a thrift store and someone had obviously just cleaned out their mug cupboard and donated a pile of handmade pottery. I bought 4 because I thought they were cool, very tactile, nice to hold. This AWOKE something in me. Humans have used handmade pottery for thousands of years and there’s something about holding a handmade mug that sparks a genetic memory of warmth and comfort. Pottery also has much better thermal properties than mass produced ceramic, hot stays hot longer and vice versa with cold. Build up a little collection of handmade pottery mugs from the thrift store, each one has its own personality and it brings joy using them.

5) In the same vein: teaspoons. Build up a collection of fun teaspoons and take joy from using different ones depending on your mood. I have one with an owl on the end and another with a rose, a brass one with a wiggly handle in the shape of a snake, one that has the branding of an airline that now only uses wooden stirrers - probably because people kept pocketing the stainless-steel teaspoons (I always wanted to steal one as a child but never had the nerve). Whenever I need a teaspoon it’s always a little endorphin boost to open the drawer and select the perfect one for today.

6) If you need something to do a specific job, be patient, you will find the perfect thing eventually. I switched to solid shampoo and my old soap dish wasn’t big enough to hold my shampoo bar and my regular soap, so I waited and watched and found the perfect little glass tray that was exactly the right size and fits perfectly on the shelf in my shower. I could have bought a brand new made-for-that-purpose multi soap holder, but it wouldn’t have been as cool looking and when I’m done with it, it wouldn’t necessarily get another life.

7) Gift supplies. Thrift stores often have a selection of unused gift wrap, bags, bows, cards. It’s worth it to sift through what they’ve got and buy any you think you might use – even if you don’t have an immediate use for it. That stuff can get expensive so if you can create a small stash then, when you need it, you won’t have to shell out $$.

8) Look for things that can be made over – or thrift flipped as the DIY content creators like to say. There’s so much satisfaction from looking at something that was plain ugly when you bought it and you’ve turned it into something pretty. It doesn’t need to be a major transformation that requires 5 different power-tools and 100 bucks worth of supplies. It can be as simple as a lick of paint, but every time you look at you will feel good about it.

9) Sometimes it’s worth buying something that’s just really cool and figuring out a use for it later. I bought the coolest little silver plated mustard pot; it has 3 legs and at the top of each leg is a lion head. Do I eat mustard much? No. Did I know what the heck I would use it for? No. I get bad indigestion and keep antacids on hand, I hate how once you tear open the roll, they tend to spill everywhere so I like to put them in something. Guess what holds exactly one roll of antacids? If something is just freaking awesome but you don’t know what you’d use it for, you will find a use (and it will be so much cooler than anything else you might have bought for that purpose).

10) Use the fancy stuff. Don’t ever look at something in a thrift store and think: that’s too fancy, I’ll never use it. If it’s not bought and used it ends up in landfill. Save it from the landfill and use it. Today I bought the most OTT fancy silver pepper shaker to sit next to my stove and hold ground pepper for cooking with, one of my housemates never puts the damn pepper back in the cupboard when he’s finished with it, so now we have this ostentatious silver shaker next to the stove top. One of my dogs can be relied upon to get half of his food on the floor before he hoovers it up, I could have got a plastic mat to feed him on but I had a spare thrifted marble cutting/serving board (I have a problem, I own 3, I have so much trouble resisting them), and another plus - he can’t destroy it like he would a plastic mat. I keep my toothbrush in a crystal bud vase. I decant my micellar water into a bottle shaped like a seahorse. I eat off pretty vintage pink glass plates. Using the fancy stuff from thrift stores both helps you romanticize your own life and it gives these items another life. Do be sensible though, some items made before the early 1970s including glassware and dinnerware contain lead in the decoration so do your due diligence and be safe.

#thrifting #thrift shopping #solarpunk #solarpunk tag #eco home #fuck capitalism #reduce reuse recycle #sustainability

[robinsvoid]

⃗ *ೃ༄ taste of your smile !

p. robin buckley x fem!reader

request. a festival date with her + having her first kiss with you on top of a Ferris Wheel. her winning you a big insert your fav animal plushie and being so proud of herself,stealing kisses in private where no one can see you, getting cotton candy and her getting it everywhere (even in her hair ngl) and having to helo her wash it off as soon as possible cause she hates being sticky (i mean who does) and finally going on a ferris wheel with her and kissing her at the top while the sun is setting <33

content warnings. very short and subtle mention of homophobia, other than that, just fluff and unproofread content ( again ) !

a festival date with robin would be so wonderful :( it’s in the middle of october when the festival starts, when people start wearing jackets that are a little bit thicker, when people bring their families, their dates, and friends out to enjoy the american festivities and rides and food all in one night. and there’s no other person robin would be spending her day at the fair with. robin pouts when you link your arms together as the two of you walk around, because she would much rather prefer to hold your hand instead, wishing that the eyes that would judge the two of you if you happened to do so ceased to exist. but, it wasn’t really a problem all that much, because your bodies would still be close together, sides pressed against each other as you walked around, looking for things you both wanted to do.

it’s when you tell her that each time she won a game, you’d reward her with a kiss on the cheek, she would get so competitive, overly confident that she’d win a couple despite how rigged these games were. she would tell you that she figured it out; how to win. but much to her disappointment, she lost the first several games. she would get so pouty whenever she would turn around and see you smiling at her. poor baby wants those kisses so bad. and you can’t help but give in, pulling her behind the tents, where the lights don’t hit, away from everybody, hiding out in the darkness, only for you to press a few innocent kisses against her cheek before heading back out into the crowd. her heart flutters every time you got close to her face, making her all nervous and what not. it brings her mood back up drastically, almost giving her an ego boost, making her want to try more games again.

and it’s the ring toss game she wins, scoring one of the most, dare you say, luckiest—robin would say skillful—shots you’ve ever seen. the oversized plush toy would be sitting in your free arm while the other links itself with robin’s and she won’t stop giving you that smug look, proud of herself for earning you that toy. and god, the look you had on your face when she handed you the plushie had her soaring. she stared at you, like nobody else was there, mouth parted slightly as her eyes scan over your features, how you can’t help but close your eyes for a moment because you were smiling too much. it was your smile that made her want to try and win more for you, to make you smile like that again and again as much as she could.

when the time for snacks and food comes around, robin doesn’t hesitate to buy cotton candy first; it was blue and pink, bigger than the size of her head and she spent like five bucks on it. she would share it with you, pulling it apart to hand it to you only for you bite it directly out of her hand, and the laugh you let out was pure bliss in her ears, distracting her from the fact that her hair had suddenly stuck to the side of her cotton candy. she would panic, wanting it out of her hair immediately. and it’s when you rush to open the bottle of water to dampen the parts of her hair that was sticky, when she felt your hands in her hair, when your skin grazing her cheeks where you had kissed her earlier that she realizes that she was holding a breath in, making her feel like she was dreaming.

before you know it, the sun starts setting, right at the moment when you both take your seats on the cramped ferris wheel. as the ride gradually took you both up higher, you wouldinch your hand closer and closer to hers.

“hawkins is prettier than i remember,” you say, looking down at the tiny people beneath your feet all the endless trees trailing so far away, too high up to even recognize them.

“yeah… it’s pretty…” you hear robin agree, but for some reason, your gut was just telling you that she wasn’t looking at what you were looking at.

it was the way she slurred her words, talking slower than she usually did, and so you glance over at her for a quick second to prove yourself right; robin turned away from you at the last second, clearing her throat nervously. you can’t help but smile. you finally put your hand gently on top of hers. you bite your lip to stop yourself from smiling even wider when her fingertips play with yours, running her hand along the skin of your fingers nervously as she stares off into the distance where the sky was turning pink, and the sun fell slowly past the horizon. all she had on her mind the whole day was kissing you. not on the cheek. your lips. your lips have been on her mind endlessly, driving her crazy every time she thought about them, about how soft they would feel pressing against hers, wondering how you would taste. she thinks it would be divine.

“robin. what are you thinking so hard about, babe?” and it’s when you call her name, when you called her babe, when she turns to look at you, when you smile, that damn smile, when she finally gets the courage to tell you, to ask.

“a lot of things… you mostly, to be specific. i’m just.. is it okay if…” her voice trails off for only moment when she feels your fingers brush over her palm and she loses her train of thought for a second, making her swallow the lump in her throat as she stares into your eyes, “i-is it okay if i… kiss you?”

your lips curve, giggling slightly before leaning your head in towards her, pressing your lips against hers.

and her theory was right. the taste of your smile was the best thing she had ever experienced.

✦ navigation ! © ROBINSVOID

#rv; robin <3 #robin buckley #robin buckley x reader #stranger things #robin stranger things #stranger things x reader #st x reader #blurb #robin buckley x female reader #robin buckley fluff #one shot #fluff #robin buckley imagine #fanfic

[saltysideblog]

Salty imagines...

Sick Basterds

Inglourious Basterds x Reader

Request: Yes! By anon 🤍

What would the Basterds be like with a cold?

During the war, there's no time for whining. Expect lots of spent tissues being hastily stuffed into coat pockets in between rounds of fire and more than one Basterd nearly choking to death trying to keep a cough quiet...

Aldo:

Even before the war, Aldo was a resilient little bugger. Has hundreds of absolutely vile tasting home remedies he swears by and will refuse your help.

"S'jus' a cold, sunshine, ah can take care of it..."

His voice is rougher than usual and his nose is lookin' a little red, but he promises to rest if you insist. When he lays his head in your lap and feels your fingers threading through his hair as you coo about how strong he is, he feels like a million bucks. His very favourite home remedy. No fish oil required.

Donowitz:

When Donny gets sick, he reverts back to his ten year old self; a spoiled mama's boy. Will insist on wearing his pajamas all day, pouting,

"I'm sick..." is his only reply when you ask him to put on some real clothes. Will come up behind you and wrap his arms around your waist when you cook,

"Come back to beeeed..."

"Don, I'm busy."

"I want ice cream."

"I'm making pasta."

"But I'm sick..."

Kiss his forehead and serve him some matzo ball soup just like his ma did. It'll buy you a few moments of peace... until...

"Babe?? Come cuddle with me..."

And if you don't answer immediately,

"I'm sick..."

Wicki:

The only way you know Wicki's been sick is when you get sick after kissing him. When you confront him about it, he just shrugs,

"I didn't want you to worry."

Loves when his partner dotes on him. He thinks it's very sweet that you care, even if he can handle it. Will probably end up taking care of you instead, bringing you hot cups of tea and honey and running you a bath (to be shared, of course.) The bathroom windows are all fogged up as you both sink into the warm water,

"Feels like a lot of steam."

He'll kiss your shoulders and chuckle,

"Yes, but I can breathe again."

Stiglitz:

No one has ever seen Hugo get sick. But as his partner you know the truth; he just secludes himself in the guest room until the illness passes, like a wounded animal crawling into a hole. Will not let you near him,

"You will get sick."

And that's final.

He becomes a spectral figure, a vampire stealing food from your kitchen and retreating back to the shadows. Only emerges once he's his usual chipper self. He appreciates all the little notes you slip under the door more than you know; keeps them all in a shoebox in the closet.

Utivich:

Tries to soldier on, will wrap himself up in a big blanket, walking around like one of the caped heroes he writes about. You'll find him half asleep at his typewriter, barely holding onto his cup of now cold coffee. He will never ask you to take care of him, but he makes it difficult not to. You get him over to the couch and tuck him in, he lets you know just how much he appreciates what you do for him, sleepily mumbling,

"I love you so much..."

Before dozing off.

In a few hours, you'll have to do it all again, but you wouldn't trade it for the world.

Omar:

Very difficult to wake up in the morning... or the afternoon... or any time he dozes off. Omar's a sleeper and whether or not you dote on him makes no difference to him... because he'll be asleep. It does put a smile on his face when he wakes up in the middle of the afternoon and there's a box of his favourite snacks with a glass of water on the coffee table for him.

Feel better!

He runs his fingers over your handwritten note.

He likes knowing you think of him, even if he's not the most interesting conversationalist at the moment.

Hirschberg:

Does not cover his mouth when he sneezes so you will get sick at the same time he does. Gets a little upset about it, because who's gonna take care of you now?

"I can't, I'm sick too!"

"Sweetie, we're adults, we'll take care of each other."

Pouts and whines about it but it makes his heart flutter when you say things like that. Each other... he's not a romantic by any means, but the thought of there always being "each other" could make him swoon. Still won't cover his mouth.

"It's nasty! I don't want that all over my hands!"

Doesn't seem to understand that he can wash his hands but you can't wash the air.

Sakowitz:

Much like Wicki, Sakowitz doesn't want to bother his partner with a silly little cold. The only time he might ask for anything is when you're walking past him and he grasps both your hands, looking deep into your eyes with a sadness only known to orphaned pups... it makes you a bit worried,

"What is it, honey?"

He holds that serious look on his face as he very delicately and politely asks if you could make him a cup of hot chocolate,

"If it isn't too much trouble."

He's more than happy to dote on you when you're under the weather though,

★ Bonus ★

Hicox:

"Stiff upper lip, luv, won't let a little cold bring me down."

*immediately gets upset because he can't taste his tea with a stuffy nose*

#salty ​imagines... #inglourious basterds #inglourious basterds x reader #canon x reader

[geocait0815]

The Heist - Chapter 21

This is a fanfiction game which starts here.

You can find all previous chapters here: Masterlist

A few hours before --- Jake's POV

The Mustang crashes through the ticket onto a grassy clearing. I can see a dead end with a ditch approaching fast. “Jump now!” I call to MC. And thankfully, she does without any further discussion. By the time she dives out the passenger door, I am already leaning back to grab the bag with my laptop, the foot still on the gas pedal. To my dismay, I realize that the strap of the backpack has caught on to something and is stuck. I take the foot off the gas and pull as hard as I can until I feel something rip. As I turn around, the car bucks and I can feel it crashing over the edge. I clench my teeth and brace for impact.

It turns out that this is one of the few moments in which luck is on my side. The ditch must have been used as a landfill. The car had slowed down a bit after I went off the gas pedal and it drops only a few feet down onto a heap of old garbage. From there, it slides to the bottom of the pit. I open the door and scramble out of the car, still in disbelief that I survived this unscratched. Relieved, I take a deep breath. That was a mistake. The air is filled with the smell of rotten leaves, garbage and ... dead goat?

But all this is forgotten when I hear MC scream. Ignoring the stench, I scramble up the landfill back to the edge of the ditch. Up there, the next surprise is waiting for me. MC lies unconcious in the arms of my old friend Kyle.

******

“We brought you here in Kyles car.” Jake finishes his recall of the events. Only now I realize, that my hands are balled into fists. “Are you kidding me? You almost got yourself killed over your laptop?” Jake looks flustered. “We would have been screwed without the computer and all the data I have on there.” “You. Could. Have. Died.” I press through gritted teeth. Jake pulls me into a hug. “I'm sorry, MC. I guess I wasn't really thinking at that moment.”

After he releases me, I turn to Kyle. “How come you were there? Weren't we supposed to meet you in Raderdorf?” “That was more luck than anything, to tell you the truth. I was already on my way to the old factory, when I got wind of Marks men catching on to you. I was able to follow their movements and cut your path using some side streets. Your car was anything but subtle, so spotting you and following was a piece of cake in the end.” “Do they know you were there, too?” I ask. He shakes his head. “Unlikely. I left all devices, that could potentially be tracked, behind. And the car is a rental.”

“I could really use a drink right now.” Walking past Jake I leave the room and find myself in the kitchen of a run-down shack. “We only have water, sorry” Kyle chuckles and points to the table where a few bottles are lined up. I grab one of them and take a big gulp. The cold liquid makes me feel a bit better and helps clearing my head. “So, what is the plan now?” Eyeing Kyle again, I come to the conclusion that I can't fully read him, yet. But Jake seems to trust him and buy his story of wanting to bring down their former mentor as well. I decide to do the same, for now.

“James filled me in on your situation. I know what evidence the FBI is after to be able to nail Marks ass to the wall. Noone, except Mark himself, has access to the system containing the data. But I do know where it is and how to get to it.” Kyle stops and takes a deep breath. He gives Jake a look as if saying 'You are not going to like what comes next.' Then, he continues: “We can't have you just walk onto the farm. Especially not you, Jake. Everyone is on the lookout for you, Mark made sure of that. With her, on the other hand...” he points at me “...we have a chance to get her in unnoticed.” “There is no fucking way, I'll allow that.” Jake interupts him. “Are you trying to get her killed?”

Kyle crosses his arms in front if his chest. “Let me finish, before you rip off my head. Mark has summoned everyone to the farm, for some sort of big announcement. I know, this will make it more difficult for us. But at the same time it is our best chance. There will be a catering company. Every employee has been screened, but I managed to set up everything to sneak in an additional waitress. I just need a foto of MC, to make an access pass. James and I will monitor everything from the inside and cause a distraction, if the need arises. MC will get in, sneak to the server room and access the data with your remote help. She'll wear a wire and a small body cam for you to communicate.”

“Over my dead body!” Jake bursts out. “I won't allow risking MCs saftey like this.” The two of them are getting into a heated argument and look like they are about to throw hands, while I feel anger rising up in me. I smash the water bottle onto the table in front of me, causing the others to topple over.

“Enough!” Both men flinch. They obviously forgot that the subject of their argument was standing right there. “Don't I get a say in this?” I put my hands on my hips and look from one to the other. “I'm in this shit as deep as any of you. And you can be damn sure that I'm going to pull my weight. This is what I signed up for. And I'm not going to chicken out, now that we are getting close.” For a long minute, both Jake and Kyle stare at me in shocked silence. It seems as if noone dares to speak. So I say: “Let's get to work, shall we?”

@renneiscent It is your turn ;)

#duskwood #duskwood everbyte #duskwood jake #duskwood jake x player #duskwood fanfiction #duskwood mc #jake x mc #duskwood jake x mc #duskwood the heist #duskwood fandom #duskwood game

[madame-mongoose]

Buy metal dice (d20-d100's) and put them in a blender to make a homemade grenade. I learned this from experience, I got bored and wanted to do a "will it blend" at home, very dangerous, put bleach in as well for added damage. Chlorine mixed with bleach makes chlorine gas! (careful around public pools, I'm not sure how it would work with the water but sheesh.) Styrofoam + gasoline (equal parts) makes homemade napalm! Fire exits in shopping malls and big stores tend to remain locked for 30 seconds when you push the door handle so be careful leaving through those exits when robbing! Machete's actually cost like 5-10 bucks at Walmart but flare gun's are 50. Make sure to double tap because when an unconscious person falls over the blood will rush back to the head because the body is flat and they will wake back up! Get glass string lights and break all the bulb's to make an electric whip! ( also learned from experience) our bodies can choke to death on nitrogen gas and not even realize it! so if you want to kill somebody in their sleep flood their room with nitrogen gas! When punching go for the liver, if you get a good punch it will fucking suck! DO NOT TALK TO THE POLICE, SAY NOTHING, CANNOT SAY THIS ENOUGH. Your phone tracks your every position, so do other devices like smart watch's so if you are going to a protest or going to commit crime, leave it at home. (OFC do not bring your ID as well). This last bit is just a funny thing to do but, steal random peoples license plates (In rich neighborhood's of course, have standards!). I am only remaining anon because I don't want authorities to have an easy time tracking me down. but I do interact with you a decent bit so take your guess BUD.

WOW!! Thanks for the information bro I'm gonna commit SO MUCH CRIMES *makes chlorine gas like a boss and fucking dies*

#monnie answers

[pargolettasworld]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMR4KrBXucY

If you’ve taken an introductory ethnomusicology or world music class, you’ve probably heard a famous recording of postal workers in Ghana making music as they cancel stamps. It’s sort of the archetypical way for ethnomusicology professors to introduce the concept of “work music” to undergraduates.  This video is in a similar vein.  What’s happening here is that the Mishkoltzer community is making matzo for Pesach.  If you’ve ever shelled out beaucoup bucks for shmura matzo, this is how it’s made.

The thing about making matzo is that it’s a mitzvah -- you need matzo to keep Passover -- and it’s also very intense work.  There are lots of rules about how matzo should be made (far more than you’d expect for a recipe that includes only flour and water), and one of these rules is that the matzo needs to go from flour and water to finished cracker in under 18 minutes.  Really, the only way that handmade matzo can get done is in a big group party like this.  And what better way to keep everyone’s matzo-rolling and matzo-shaping and matzo-stabinating energy up than a rousing nigun?

The song not only keeps the bakers’ energy up so they can get everything done in their 18-minute window, it also helps remind them why they are doing this.  It’s a mitzvah in preparation for a holiday that is both very important and lots of fun, so why not make your matzo to music?

Before the pandemic, we used to have matzo-making day at my synagogue.  Parents would bring kids, and we’d buy wheat and grind it ourselves.  The rabbi would get our kosher ovens cranked up to high with the special Passover pizza stones getting hot inside.  We’d all assemble around the big table in the kitchen.  The rabbi staffed the oven, his son manned the stopwatch, and two guys would take up water and mixing duties.  The rest of us waited with rolling pins and forks.

When we were ready, the stopwatch would start, the flour and water would be mixed, and then it was glorious chaos as the mixing guy tore off little dough balls, tossed them down the table, where we’d grab them, roll them out, stabinate them with forks, and bring them to the oven.  The rabbi would yell “Clear!” and then open the ovens and toss our matzos on the pizza stones.  They’re so thin that they’d bake in about a minute, and the rabbi would take them out and toss the next ones in.  And we’d get the whole batch of dough done in eighteen minutes.  Then we’d re-set everything, put more flour into the mixing bowl, and go again.  That was some of the best matzo I’ve ever eaten!

We now have a different rabbi, and he doesn’t know how to make matzo, so we haven’t done it in a while.  But maybe I’ll convince him to bring that party back.

#jewish music #my synagogue is pretty cool

[fangsforthevenom]

honestly im not vibing with the fact that the first hangout option my friends think about is going to the mall. oh yes you want me to go to the money spending complex where you have to spend money to do things. all things really. i do not have 20$ to spend randomly!!! everything is so expensive also even getting a water's like 4 bucks and if you get a water cup the employee stares at you the whole time like girl i know you're not getting paid enough for this.

not to mention the sensory. and all the walking!! if i wanted to have to walk around for an extended period of time i would want to do it outside im sorry. my joints can't handle all of this especially when i know im not getting any sun. i would truly much prefer the option of dropping like 4 bucks on a bus ride to a local park and playing board games there. we live in a place where there are quite a few large parks. man. i mean even going to the library. it is SUMMER!!! if you want to stay inside we can do it at a LIBRARY!!! where we dont have to spend MONEY!!!! i can't stand having to spend so much just to see friends this shouldn't be normalized (going insane)

the thing is when i bring this up and im like "hey the mall is really expensive and you can't do stuff when you don't have money" they're like "uh huh" and then later they'll suggest it again. last time we did this at the end of the trip i walked over to a secondhand bookstore and bought ten books for 6$. compared to the 8$ i dropped on a pair of earrings in the mall. girl. i dont think i can stand this.

like if you're so obsessed with spending money buy from etsy or direct from small businesses or artists!!!! i know yall love hot topic but it's high prices for very cheaply made stuff like. i am begging you to buy from small businesses. for that amount of money you can get something thats better made and also supporting the people who actually need it and not some giant monolith. theres a reason “mall goth” was snide!!! most people DO NOT have this kind of money!!! it's truly all "omg i hate capitalism and fast fashion and big business" but when it comes down to it youd really rather buy from hot topic and abercrombie than the many thrift/secondhand/small stores in the area. jesus christ.

#and by thrift stores i dont mean goodwill and shit i mean actual community-based thrift stores #im not struggling but i sure don't have 20$ just lying around like they seem to have! #this is really just a vent post im really frustrated #archilles is posting #rant

[photog-crafty]

You'd think a big, spiked behemoth like the Future Shock Cerberus would have packed some serious firepower, wouldn't you? Nope. You and your passenger each got nothing but a dinky flamethrower that barely reached beyond the chassis and couldn't singe the wings off of a mosquito. In fact, the Cerberus' weapons were more prone to damaging itself than its aggressor, and you couldn't even switch to handheld weapons as a backup. Nevertheless, it still looked totally badass, especially flying through the sky at the hands of someone who had mastered the shunt boost.

Sasquatches were a common sight among friends and crew, because a giant jumping monster truck is something everyone can enjoy. I went with the Apocalypse variant, because the Future Shock was a little too weird, even for me. Strangely, GTA monster trucks were never much good at crushing cars, typically pushing them around and occasionally toppling over instead, but at least the Sasquatch could jump on top of them like Goombas. I wonder if it was a subtle metaphor for IRL monster truck shows moving away from car crushing and shifting to racing and stunt-themed events. As long as I can still BUY THE WHOLE SEAT BUT ONLY NEED THE EDGE SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

The Wastelander was such a goofy thing. It was used in scripted missions as a vehicle transport, but there was no way to actually transport vehicles with it in regular gameplay, so you were just left with this oversized hauler that took up two lanes. When we pulled it out of the garage, it was usually to ford one of the western rivers or to bring an obnoxiously huge vehicle to a car meet.

Sometimes I thought about buying a Technical just for the fun of it, but I could never justify the purchase, because I didn't need it and the Insurgent did everything it could do. Then the Technical Aqua was introduced, which solved the dilemma cleanly. Once it was in the water and not getting the barrels hung up on streetlights and pieces of geometry, it was a good time. The game really could have used more things to do in the water on the main map.

Most of the special vehicles that came with the Import/Export update were used to test and try out new features on cars, like the Phantom Wedge's plow, or in this case, the Rocket Voltic's jet engine. This car was literally just a Voltic with a rocket engine installed in the back. It took a little while for it to recharge, but back then, we didn't care and just had a good time with it. Even after newer and better vehicles with rocket boosts were released, the Rocket Voltic still had a niche in baiting griefers hiding in passive mode into taking a ride and being forcibly ejected without a parachute 400 feet above the ground.

To this day, the Ruiner 2000 remains the single most expensive land vehicle in the game at 5.7 million GTA-bucks, or 4.3 million with the trade discount. That's on top of the 2.5 million you needed for the office and warehouse to store it. All those millions didn't really seem worth it until years later, when it was discovered to be one of the best ways to bully Oppressors. The Ruiner 2000 was nothing special by today's standards, with only eight missiles, a jump function, and a parachute, but owning one opened up access to the Fully Loaded VIP job. Fully Loaded gave the player who started it a unique Ruiner 2000 with infinite missiles, Mobile Operations Center armor, and immunity to missile lock-on, in addition to turning off police for everyone in the session for 20 minutes. Seeing those two words pop up was like hearing Gabriel blow the trumpets, and every crew member in the session knew it was time to bring about the griefer's personal Götterdämmerung.

The last Ruiner in my collection is this one here. The ability for muscle cars to wheelie was added to the game a few years after it came out on PC, breathing new life into the class by adding a traversal option, so I needed a Ruiner that didn't date back to 2015. Much more care was put into its appearance, with true white crew paint, glass t-top panels, and a drink in the cupholder for that extra lived-in touch. It was my daily driver for quite some time and eventually retired to a place of honor next to my nightclub's office, where it could still be part of my GTA life up until the very end.

One of my all-time favorite IRL cars is the Ford RS200, a 600HP monster masquerading as a quirky '80s grocery getter to the untrained eye. GTA paid respects to its Group B origins with the GB200, and the conversion was pretty darn faithful. It was a little pokey at the top end because it was released during the developers' obsession with "advanced" handling flags that only served to hamper performance, but that didn't stop me from throwing it down the dirt roads and beaches all day.

The Brawler was another obscure off-road sports car that only a game like GTA would feature. It was based on the Local Motors Rally Fighter, a lifted limited-production car powered by a Corvette motor. It was just as fast as its real-life counterpart, but in a twist of fate the Rally Fighter is likely much safer to drive as the Brawler was infamous for having brakes made of gas station toilet paper. You needed a co-driver to watch the trail well in advance or you'd be parking it in a ditch, which was a fate worse than death in the dark ages of 2015, well before the ability to dismiss personal vehicles was added.

Sometimes you just want a truck. The Caracara 4x4 was added to the game well after the original Caracara failed to sate demand for an F-150 Raptor, and it was an apology well accepted, with great aesthetics and capability. I'm not really a fan of CCSB trucks in real life, but the four seats were welcome here because I drove this thing everywhere. Lots of other people did too, and the Caracara 4x4 was a regular sight in public lobbies well after it faded out of being the new hotness. Flying in the face of memes about American truck owners, people who drove trucks in GTA were almost always total bros and very chill. It spoke volumes about someone's personality when, in a game full of multi-million-dollar exotics and futuristic wondercars, they chose to drive a good ol' pickup truck.

[sumeragi-hokuto]

I fully understand if it’s impossible but do you plan on finishing this project?

Hi to you and everyone else still following this blog. It's probably been what, almost two years since I last posted anything?

Short answer: probably not, though I want to.

Long answer: So a lot happened. I got my laptop back after the water damage and everything was wiped. Everything. Not just TB. I DID have some backups of the raws for volume 5, but I lost the rest of the completed pages that I'd been working on which put me back several weeks. Combine that with the stress of starting a new semester of college with a broken laptop, in a new place, with COVID messing everything up... I basically lost all motivation to keep working on TB. Time passed and I got more and more guilty about not posting, so I told myself that I would just work in larger batches that meant when I did post, I could post a ton in order to make up for all the time when I did not. Of course, that started to stress me out too, and so all it meant was that I kept delaying everything even more because the idea of doing MORE than usual after being gone so long was so daunting I couldn't bring myself to make the first step. Time passed. I got a job and was doing both school and work, which took a lot of time, and ended up committed to a group that took 9 hours per week minimum. The semester went by, and the next, and then was my final semester and my thesis. Keep everything from before and add in *that* time commitment...

By the time I was ready to get back to TB, I'd graduated. And my school pulled my Photoshop license basically the second my diploma was in hand. Buying Photshop will take me $22-35 a month, and Adobe is so weird with their commitments and forcing you to keep it for a long time or putting a cancelation fee on you that I keep worrying I'll miss something in the fine print and end up having to pay way more than anticipated. So basically, trying to get Photoshop back would cost a lot of money that I don't exactly want to pay given how long I think it'll take me to do these scans. It's just me working on this. There is no one else. I have a lot of things I want to do in my life, and paying for another year or two of Photoshop will put me out a few hundred bucks that I would like to put in savings. I guess I could really buckle down and try to get huge chunks done at once, but I need some other life things to calm down a bit.

If this seems like excuses excuses...yeah. pretty much. I have a million excuses and none of them are great. I loved this project and it brought me a lot of joy, but now I've come to a financial decision that has kept me from coming back to this.

That and the other big thing, which was the idea of "Oh. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this." Because while I may not be earning any money by doing this, I'm also not paying anything to do this. The profits aren't going to CLAMP or anyone official. People are reading their material without them earning a single penny. And sure, I read every CLAMP manga I've ever read on unofficial online sites before buying them myself (so, I read without paying before I fell so in love that I did). But should I be doing this? What happens if CLAMP or whoever owns the licensing does a crackdown one day?

I'm already so far in it probably doesn't matter. I'm not going to go delete everything I've ever posted. So why not just finish what I started?

I think it comes down to shoving down the guilt of the absence and the worry of whether I should or shouldn't be doing this and figuring out financially (and time-wise) if it's truly worth it. Like I said, I loved this project. I love TB. I have a ton of fun making the pages. But it takes a lot. It will take more from me now than it ever has with the added financial burden and the fact that I have way more commitments than I did when I started (which was, I think, actually in high school. And here I am now with a college degree and a real world job).

So that's the long answer: Will I finish this? I don't know. I really want to. I just need to figure out a way to make it work. That'll require some shuffling on my part. Some figuring stuff out. Some weighing my options. I can't say yes because I don't want to promise something and not give it, which has historically been what I've done when promising more frequent updates that never increased in frequency.

So to both you and the few other people who've messaged me in this long gap, or to the ones who said such nice things when I first mentioned my broken laptop and losing everything and all the kind of sucky stuff that happened nearly 2 years ago now...Thank you for caring. It does mean a lot. It's really nice to know that people actually appreciated the effort I put in, and that they're still thinking about me (or at least, about what I can do for them). I've never stopped thinking about this blog. I used Photoshop for my thesis and every time I opened it I told myself, "maybe next time I open this will be for TB." It even was. I think I did one more set at some point, never posted because of that thing I mentioned about feeling guilty and wanting to make a mega post.

With that I'll finish off for now. Apologies for the giant blob of text. I don't feel like proofreading this right now. I still have stuff I need to get done today. Real life calls. I hope that one day I will be able to get back to this. I'm just not sure when, or if it's even feasible.

Thank you,

Mariyekos.

#not a set #ah.

[smartmoneywoman]

The Secret to Forex Trading Success: Go Big or Go Home

Are you looking to become a successful Forex trader? If so, then it's time to take a risk - go big or go home! Forex trading is a volatile business, and the only way to see real success is to be willing to take big risks. It's not an easy road, but by taking calculated risks you can increase your chances of seeing significant returns. So if you want to get into Forex trading, now is the time to take the plunge and start investing in the right strategies.

1. Forex Trading Basics

So you've decided to take the plunge and dive into the world of Forex trading. Good for you! But before you start throwing your money at the screen, let's cover some basics. Forex, short for foreign exchange, is all about trading currencies. You buy one currency and sell another, hoping to profit from the changes in exchange rates. It's like a game of "buy low, sell high," but with currencies instead of Monopoly money. Now, I know what you're thinking. "But I'm not an expert investor or a financial advisor! How am I supposed to navigate this crazy market?" Well, fear not! With the help of forex brokers and some clever trading bots, you don't have to be a financial genius to get started. The first thing you need to understand is that Forex trading is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes time, patience, and a lot of practice. So start small, with small trades, and learn the ropes. You wouldn't dive headfirst into a pool without knowing how to swim, right? Once you've got the basics down, it's time to think big. Small trades may be safe, but they won't make you rich overnight. If you want to see significant returns, you need to be willing to take some risks. Remember, fortune favors the bold!

2. The Problem with Small Trades

Are you tired of playing it safe with small trades? Well, my friend, I've got news for you. Small trades are the problem, not the solution! Let me break it down for you. First off, small trades may seem safe and manageable, but they won't make you rich. It's like trying to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool with a teaspoon. It's gonna take forever! If you want to make some serious dough in the forex market, you need to think big. Like, skyscraper big! Secondly, small trades won't help you build confidence in your trading abilities. You'll always be second-guessing yourself, wondering if you made the right move. But with bigger trades, you'll have more skin in the game. And trust me, that extra adrenaline rush is what separates the winners from the losers. Now, I know what you're thinking. "But I'm not a financial genius! How can I navigate this crazy market?" Well, fear not! Thanks to forex brokers and trading bots, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to get in on the action. They'll guide you through the treacherous waters of forex trading, like a wise captain on a stormy sea.

3. Why Big Trades are Key to Success

Let's talk about the secret sauce to Forex trading success - going big with your trades! You see, my friend, when it comes to making those big bucks in the forex market, small trades just won't cut it. You need to think like a high roller in a casino, throwing caution to the wind and going all-in on that winning hand. Now, I know what you're thinking. "But I'm not a financial genius! How can I navigate this crazy market?" Well, fear not! You don't need to be a financial advisor to make big trades. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, forex brokers and trading bots are here to hold your hand through this exhilarating journey. So why are big trades the key to success? Well, let me break it down for you. First off, big trades have the potential to bring in big profits. It's like betting on a unicorn winning the Kentucky Derby - the payoff can be astronomical! And who doesn't want a piece of that pie? Secondly, big trades build your confidence like nothing else. You'll feel like a Wall Street hotshot, making moves that could make or break your bank account. It's like being a daredevil on a tightrope, and that rush is what separates the winners from the losers.

4. Overcoming Fear of Risk

Are you trembling at the thought of taking risks in the forex market? Do you break out in a cold sweat every time you contemplate making a big trade? Well, my cautious friend, it's time to conquer your fear of risk and step into the exciting world of forex trading. Sure, the idea of losing your hard-earned money can be terrifying. But let me ask you this: when was the last time great success was achieved by playing it safe? Exactly, never! It's time to channel your inner adrenaline junkie and embrace the thrill of taking risks. Think of it this way - life is full of risks. Every time you cross the road, you're risking getting hit by a car. Every time you try a new dish, you're risking an upset stomach. So why not take a risk that could potentially change your life for the better? Now, I'm not saying you should dive into the deep end without a safety net. It's important to do your research, educate yourself on the market, and develop a solid trading strategy. But once you've done your homework, it's time to put on your big-boy pants and take that leap of faith.

5. The Importance of a Solid Trading Strategy

Alright, buckle up, because we're about to dive into the importance of a solid trading strategy. Listen up, my fellow forex traders, because this is where the rubber meets the road. You can't just waltz into the market without a plan and expect to come out on top. That's like trying to win a game of chess blindfolded - it ain't gonna happen! Having a solid trading strategy is like having a secret weapon in your arsenal. It's the blueprint for your success. It's the GPS that guides you through the treacherous waters of the forex market. Without it, you're just shooting in the dark, hoping for the best. And trust me, my friend, hope is not a strategy. So, what makes a solid trading strategy? Well, first and foremost, it's all about doing your homework. Research, analyze, and crunch those numbers until your brain hurts. Get to know the market inside out. Study the charts, follow the trends, and identify those sweet spots where the big bucks are hiding. But here's the kicker - a solid trading strategy isn't set in stone. It's a living, breathing document that needs constant tweaking and adjusting. You see, the market is like a mischievous toddler - it's always changing its mind. So, you need to be flexible and adapt your strategy as the market ebbs and flows. And last but not least, stick to your strategy like a limpet to a rock. Don't let fear or greed sway you from your path. Emotions are the enemy of success in forex trading. Stick to your plan, trust your research, and let your strategy be your guiding light. In a nutshell, my brave traders, a solid trading strategy is your ticket to success in the forex market. It's the secret sauce that separates the winners from the losers. So, do your homework, stay flexible, and never stray from your path. With a solid strategy in your corner, you'll be unstoppable!

6. The Role of Discipline in Successful Forex Trading

Alright, my fearless forex traders, let's talk about the one thing that separates the winners from the losers - discipline. Now, I know what you're thinking. Discipline sounds about as fun as watching paint dry or attending a seminar on lint. But trust me, my friends, it's the secret ingredient to your forex trading success. You see, in this crazy market, discipline is like the Gandalf to your Frodo. It's your guide, your mentor, your wise old wizard that keeps you on the right path. Without discipline, you'll be like a ship without a rudder, drifting aimlessly in a sea of chaos. So, how do you cultivate discipline? Well, first off, set some ground rules for yourself. Establish a routine, stick to it, and never deviate. Treat your trading like a business, not a hobby. That means showing up on time, doing your research, and sticking to your trading plan. Secondly, resist the temptation to chase after shiny objects. Stay focused on your strategy and avoid getting caught up in the latest trading fads. Remember, consistency is key. And lastly, don't let your emotions get the best of you. When the market is going crazy and your heart is racing, take a deep breath, step back, and analyze the situation with a cool head. Emotions are the enemy of discipline, so keep them in check.

7. The Power of Compounding Returns

Now, my fearless forex traders, let's talk about the real secret sauce to forex trading success - the power of compounding returns. Picture this: you make a big trade and rake in some sweet profits. But instead of splurging on a new sports car or a lavish vacation, you reinvest those profits and let them grow even more. It's like planting a money tree and watching it sprout dollar bills! Compounding returns is like the gift that keeps on giving. You see, when you reinvest your profits, they start earning more profits for you. It's like a never-ending cycle of financial abundance. It's the financial equivalent of getting a free refill on your soda - why settle for just one cup when you can have an endless supply? But here's the kicker - compounding returns require patience and discipline. You can't expect to become a millionaire overnight. It takes time for your profits to accumulate and multiply. So resist the temptation to cash out too soon and let those profits ride the wave of compounding returns.

8. Staying Focused on the Big Picture

Now, my fearless forex traders, let's talk about staying focused on the big picture. You know, that thing that's so easy to lose sight of when you're knee-deep in the forex market. It's like trying to find your way out of a maze with a blindfold on - you're gonna stumble around and bump into walls. And trust me, that's not a pretty sight. So, how do you stay focused on the big picture? Well, first off, don't get caught up in the daily ups and downs. The forex market is a wild rollercoaster ride, and if you let every little dip and spike throw you off balance, you'll never make it to the finish line. Instead, zoom out and look at the broader trends. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is your forex empire. Secondly, don't get distracted by shiny objects. You know what I'm talking about - those hot tips and insider secrets that promise quick and easy riches. News flash: they don't exist! Stay true to your strategy, stick to your plan, and avoid getting sidetracked by the latest fads. Trust me, my friend, consistency is the key to success. And lastly, keep your eye on the prize. Remember why you got into forex trading in the first place. Maybe it's financial freedom, maybe it's the thrill of the game, or maybe it's just because you want to show off to your friends. Whatever your reason, hold onto it tightly and let it guide you through the ups and downs. So, my focused traders, don't lose sight of the big picture. Stay calm, stay focused, and stay committed to your goals. With a clear vision and a steadfast determination, you'll be on your way to forex trading greatness. Good luck, my visionaries! Related Posts Money Mindset: 4 Tools To Help You Manifest The Life You Desire Short-Term Loans One Of The Fastest-Growing Companies Today Read the full article

[comparebuy-in]

Smart tech gadgets under $200 worth buying in 2023

In the fast-paced world of technology, you can easily access smart gadgets that can make your life easier and add a touch of sophistication. If you're on a budget, don't worry! There are plenty of great smart gadgets available under $200 that are worth considering in 2023.

Amazon Echo Dot (4th generation) — $50

"You have the Amazon Echo Dot, a small smart speaker with Alexa, which is Amazon's virtual assistant. You can employ it to enjoy music, make calls without using your hands, manage smart home gadgets, and do even more. The fourth-gen Echo Dot has a fresh round shape and better audio quality, giving you excellent bang for your buck."

Fitbit Inspire 2 — $100

"You can use the Fitbit Inspire 2 to monitor your everyday movement, heart rate, and sleep. It's resistant to water, and the battery lasts a while, so recharging isn't a daily task. With a colorful screen and GPS link, it's ideal for outdoor exercises."

Anker PowerCore 10000 — $30

Also read :Fitbit Charge 3 vs Fitbit Charge 4: Which Fitness Tracker is the Best for You?

"Imagine having the Anker PowerCore 10000, a portable charger that can power up your smartphone thrice before requiring a recharge. It's compact, light, and even has its own built-in cable. You can conveniently take it along in your pocket or bag. If you're someone who wants to stay connected while on the move, this power bank is a must-add to your essentials."

Samsung T5 Portable SSD — $120

"You can use the Samsung T5 Portable SSD as a quick and dependable external drive to keep lots of pictures, videos, and files. It's little, light, and has a USB-C port, so you can simply attach it to your laptop, tablet, or phone. The T5 is tough and has a password guard, ensuring safety for your private information."

Sonos One — $149

"You have the Sonos One, a clever speaker with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. You can enjoy music, do hands-free calls, manage smart home gadgets, and more. With its stylish look and top-notch sound, it's perfect for any space in your house."

JBL Flip 5 — $120

Also read :Top Smart Tech Gadgets Under $200 in 2023

"Imagine having the JBL Flip 5 – a small speaker with big sound. You can carry it around easily and enjoy strong audio. Plus, it's waterproof, so feel free to bring it to the beach or shower. With a lasting battery, you can groove to tunes worry-free all day long."

Read More ..

#blog post #affiliatemarketing #make money online

[death-by-paperwork]

Gertrude's Mint Hydrosol:

"Alright kids it's getting hot, Muggy, and My joints are cramping up something fierce. Cause spring has sprung, So I'm gonna give y'all a life hack. It's called a Mint Hydrosol. Great for spritzing youre face to cool off, and you'll have nice clean pores like me.

Alright honey, listen up 'cause I'm about to spill the tea on how to make a bomb-ass mint hydrosol. First things first, you're gonna need some fresh mint leaves - none of that dried up crap. Head on over to your local farmer's market and pick up a bunch of the freshest mint you can find.

Next, grab a big ol' pot and fill it up with distilled water - tap water won't cut it for this, trust me. Add in your mint leaves and bring that baby to a boil. Once it's boiling, turn the heat down and let it simmer for about an hour.

After an hour, take that pot off the heat and let it cool down to room temperature. Then, strain out all the mint leaves and pour the liquid into a clean spray bottle. Congratulations, you've just made yourself a mint hydrosol!

Now, I know what you're thinking - "But wait, why would I bother making this when I can just buy it at the store?" Well because that shit costs 20 bucks for a 2 once bottle.