#Auto Parts Warehouse

[seoautoparts]

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[ms-demeanor]

How do I explain to a reseller that possibly the last thing that I want when browsing their private business marketplace, where I have to be assigned an account number and am required to do a certain number of sales a year, which I sometimes browse while on the phone with customers - and the phones are zoom, and are thus outputting audio on the same channel as my browser - is an auto-playing one-minute long unskippable, unmuteable ad for the product that I just searched by the manufacturer part number?

I got here by plugging in the exact part number; you do not need to advertise the product that I have just searched by exact part number. If I am here you are not going to be able to sell me the part any better than you have already done. I am either here to check what warehouses carry this, what specs the product has, or to verify a price, or to add the product to my cart because the customer has approved the purchase. NONE of those are experiences that are improved by playing a minute long video that is stills of the product combined with royalty free music and a voiceover pitching why the product is going to revolutionize my throughput and increase stability in my business.

Anyway, a thousand praises for ublock, because i found the site that was hosting these videos for the vendor and blocked it.

However, I SHOULD NOT NEED TO BLOCK ELEMENTS OF YOUR WEBSITE TO USE YOUR WEBSITE WHILE I'M ON THE PHONE WITH A CUSTOMER IF YOU HAVE VIDEOS THAT AUTOPLAY WITH AUDIO ON YOUR WEBSITE YOU ARE A JOKE AND I WILL GO OUT OF MY WAY TO BUY FROM OTHER VENDORS.

[oneknightstand-if]

One Knight Stand Update 4

Chapter 2 Part 3 - The Forest & the Warehouse

Featuring...

Merlin's Guide to Minor Neutral Parties

New text messages and phone calls from non-dead people you haven't ghosted. And maybe some not-so-living ones too.

MC may appear on TV! This might not be a good thing. And they aren't the only one, cameo appearances from a future RO

Duel of AoE spells while frolicking through the magical forest. Your past decisions totally can't bite you in the ass here.

Attempt to summon Cthulhu. Dance the macarena. Have I mentioned posterior-biting consequences here?

Also an abandoned industrial warehouse is the best place for a leisurely stopover.

Icebreaker games stop staring at the noises with mini stat boosts as prizes!

Oh yeah, RO #4 finally joins the crew.

Before you play the game with an old save, you'll want to clear your cache for the oneknightstand.co website and then check that the game's frontpage is displaying Version 0.23. Then after loading the save, check the Status Page to make sure that your stats haven't reset back to the default ?¿?¿?¿.

If your variables have reset back to the default, then unfortunately that save file has corrupted (it happens to the best of us for unfathomable reasons) and you'll have to reload another save file. It you try to play the game through a corrupted save, you'll just get a bunch of non-existent errors. Please do the entire clear cache + confirm non-corrupted save file before reporting any potential errors. Then report the errors... all the errors!

Play the Updated Beta Test

(Since there were bugs & typos still reported & fixed throughout Chapter 1 & 2, your current saves are probably going to reset to the beginning of each section of the game. If things get too wonky, you might want to try restarting from the beginning. )

Additional Word Count (Sans Code): 84,000+

Additional Word Count (With Code): 107,000+

New Total Word Count (Sans Code): 900,000+

New Total Word Count (With Code): 1,227,000+

Average Playthrough: ~70,000+ words

Note: You can view the game code on my site the same way you do on Dashingdon just add /scenes to the end of the URL.

Link to New Polls on the Update (Which don't auto close in a week like the Tumblr ones)

Next Update

Merlin's Guide to Minor Unavailable (the final part of the guide! 🥳)

The first appearance of the Free Time Hub (god help me) Featuring...

Getting romantic with Merlin

Having The Relationship Talk with Adrian

Doing stuff with RO #4 because they're totally here now

Getting help with that entire changeling, amnesiac, lucid dreamer thing

Researching suspicious things you've noticed up to this point

Boosting those stats (with the help of the ROs if you can't bear to be away from them for a few minutes)

Also quick reminder that the Alpha Build of the game on Patreon updates as I complete each section, so the first part of Merlin's Free Time section is already available.

[ggomos-maribat]

10 | in which Marinette Dupain-Cheng submits her resignation

Part 10 (Last Chapter) of No Mr. Wayne You Can't Adopt Me! | Masterlist

Marinette ticked off her mental checklist. Lights? Here. Stage? Ready. Food? All served. She clenched her jaw. Bruce Wayne, her boss, the single most important person for the night?

Missing in action.

She tapped her heeled foot on the ground. It was twenty minutes already, but the entire night's schedule was officially in disarray. Sooner or later, the guests would be asking. She had relentlessly called Bruce's phone over and over again that she didn't even know how many times it was. Even Damian she called a few times yet there was no answer.

She had a guess on what the reason was, but she expected more sense from Bruce—even if it was late at night, he would not be out there fighting crime.

Soon, she waved the figurative white flag and called Alfred after sneaking off somewhere quieter.

"Where is he?" she asked. Straightforward and simple.

"I'm sorry, Miss Marinette. I understand Master Bruce has an event today but . . ." Alfred trailed off. "He is currently unavailable at the moment."

"No, Alfred. Where exactly is he?"

A long pause followed. Then the elderly man spoke again. "I'm afraid he's caught up in a situation. They went out for patrol and seemed to have underestimated their targets. They are currently in a warehouse right now."

"What?" Marinette rubbed her head. Bruce, just. . . how?! "They, as in, all of them?!"

"Yes, Miss Marinette."

"Can no one get them right now?! The event was supposed to start ages ago!"

"Master Duke, Miss Cassandra and Miss Stephanie are all out of town unfortunately." Alfred sighed. "Actually, may I trouble you to rescue them? It will be faster than calling for backup from the Justice League."

Marinette bit her lip. Kwamis. How could all of them get captured?! What's stopping me from walking out from my job right now, huh, Bruce? I could leave you to your kidnappers all night long.

"I apologize, Miss Marinette, but they cannot seem to get out themselves. I will personally make sure Master Bruce gives you a bonus within the week—"

"Okay, send me the coordinates."

Marinette changed into a dark vigilante-type outfit as fast as she could. Alfred sent an auto-driven ride to her location and she floored the pedal all the way to the warehouse. Relax, Marinette, she told herself, you asked Tam to stall the guests. If we finish this in fifteen minutes and Bruce gives some sort of half-assed excuse to the attendees, it'll be fiiiine.

She pulled down her mask when she arrived at the warehouse. Going into it, she exercised a little bit of caution. But later on, she realized that taking down the men was a piece of cake and maybe the boys just got a little but unlucky.

She slammed the doors open to one room and saw the vigilantes all tied up.

"MMmmf mmff mmm?" Batman asked, but his mouth was duct-taped.

"That's not important right now." Before Marinette cut off their binds, she threw them one by one into the car: Batman at the passenger seat and Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin at the back.

"Who . . .?" Batman started again. The rest seemed speechless with shock (except Damian perhaps, who likely already figured her out).

"How, just how?" Marinette slammed the driver's side door loudly and twisted the ignition with her pent-up rage. "How did all of you get caught up in that?! Did you decide to play along with your kidnappers?!"

". . . Marinette?"

She huffed and drove, calculating the shortest possible route to the event venue. "Did you forget what was tonight, huh? Couldn't resist getting into your fursuit before a big launching event at WE?"

"But . . .but—"

"You literally have no excuse!" Marinette expertly swerved around cars, even nearly running a red light.

Batman reached for the car radio, which was playing a news update covering the WE event but she slapped his hand away.

"I thought I could make it in time," he helplessly explained, pulling his cowl down. "How did you know?"

"No, in case you didn't know, you're not making it in time." She instantly honked the car when another vehicle cut in in front of them. "Don't mess with me tonight, fucker!" She cried out the half-open window.

She swore she saw the boys at the back visibly gulp.

Marinette exhaled a steady breath. "Look, we'll talk about this some other time, but for now, you will go into that event, be a good CEO, and get treatment for your bruises the minute you get home, comprendre?"

"Com—comprendre . . ." Bruce repeated.

Marinette halted at the back of the venue, pulled out a formal outfit from a compartment and threw it at Bruce. Thankfully, he seemed to get the hint and bolted out of the car without complaints.

Marinette directed a glare at the boys through the rearview mirror. "Damian, switch with me. Jason, don't move and keep pressing on that wound. I'll give you first aid but we have to take you to Alfred to get that checked out."

"You got stabbed?!" Tim exclaimed.

"Um yeah." Jason sucked in a breath as Marinette hopped into the back and Damian took the wheel.

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

"You'll make a big fuss out of it." Jason rolled his eyes. "It's no big deal."

Marinette flicked his forehead while Tim helped get Jason's clothes out of the way. "It is a big deal; it looks pretty serious."

"I've had worse." Jason made a face as she treated his wound.

"Okay just because you died once already it doesn't mean you can get overconfident," Marinette sassed.

Tim stared at her with wide eyes. "How the hell did you know that?"

"I know everything." She finished off by wrapping the bandages around Jason's torso. "Sorry Dames, can you drive faster?"

With a nod, Damian sped up, replicating the rush from earlier. Jason also had his jaw hanging. "Demon spawn listens to her."

***

"How long have you known?"

They finally had the chance to sit down and talk the following day in the office. Marinette had her hands calmly folded on top of her lap, while Bruce was looking at her intently on the seat across.

"Ever since I started working for you."

Bruce blinked a few times, as if getting his identity discovered easily was news to him. Marinette continued, "You're not exactly sneaky about it, you know. It was very obvious. Who do you think was covering up for you?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Bruce asked.

She sighed. "I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I wanted to help you from the sidelines like Alfred does and I thought you'd fire me if you knew that I knew."

By the look on his face, he was probably doing a quick flashback to all the times she messed with him as Batman. Bruce opened his mouth for a reply but she interrupted him. "And before you start suspecting me of doing anything bad, I want to let you know that you can trust me with your secret. If I had any ill intent, I would've acted on it a long time ago."

"It's—it's not that I don't trust you . . . it's—well, what made you break last night?"

Her gaze was glued to the floor. "I called Alfred and he told me where you were. I just . . . uhm, aside from the money he offered, I was really upset. The company prepared so much for the event and I put so much time making sure it was perfect. Then you don't show up."

When she looked up, the sting of guilt was evident in Bruce's eyes.

"I'm not faulting you for trying to fight crime," she added. "I just thought you'd be more responsible with your priorities."

"I'm sorry, Marinette," he said softly. "I didn't mean to disappoint you like that."

"Are you mad at me? For not telling you?"

"Mad—? I . . . I'm just surprised, really. But I should've known better. You helped us escape last night and you treated Jason's injury. I shouldn't be angry for that."

Marinette nodded slowly, satisfied with the apology. "I appreciate what you're doing for Gotham, so I'll make sure to keep you and your family's identities safe." She pulled out an envelope. "On a completely unrelated note, I think it's time I give you this."

Suffice to say, Bruce looked like he went through a storm of emotions whilst reading the piece of paper. "Your resignation letter?" He set it down. "If this is because of last night—"

"Nope, it's not because of last night." She smiled. "I just think it's time for me to look for a different career path. I do love my job right now, but I don't see myself as a PA forever."

Bruce's shoulders sagged. "Where will you go?"

"Hmm, recently Queen Industries sent me a good offer—"

"How much did Ollie offer you?" He sprung from his seat. "I'll pay ten times that!"

"Mr. Wayne," she motioned for him to sit back down. "I really do want to explore other options. I think I can get more experience with another company."

"But you'll need to leave Gotham."

She shook her head. "Mr. Queen allowed me to work remotely from Gotham. I'll be a consultant of sorts for their fashion department."

"But . . . but . . ."

"I'll be leaving in about a week. Don't worry, I'll make sure everything's in order for your next PA."

He's really sulking, Marinette observed. I feel a little bad . . .

"Any chance I can still adopt you?"

"Mr. Wayne."

"Fine." He raked a hand through his hair. "Then, will you at least join our family brunch this weekend? As a last 'thank you' to you."

Marinette thought for a moment, remembering a similar invitation from Alfred that Damian relayed earlier. "Sure, I'd love to go."

***

"Are you sure about this?"

Marinette checked her reflection on her phone. They arrived pretty early, but that meant she could help Alfred out for the food prep. Damian parked the car right in front of the manor. "Why? I already submitted my resignation."

"You were forced to quit your job because of me."

"I chose to resign not only because of you, but also because I did want to take Oliver's offer." She reached over to squeeze his hand. "If I stay as your father's assistant, there will always be a professional boundary I can't cross regardless of what's in the contract. You'll always be my boss' son, and I’ll just be your father's assistant. Without that now, I can actually act freely around you. I can even help with vigilante stuff if you need me."

He squeezed back. "Are you not worried about what people will say?"

The headlines flickered in Marinette's head: Bruce Wayne's former PA nabs the billionaire's son.

"Are you?"

"No. I couldn't care less."

"Then I'm not." She beamed. "I've already seen how harsh the media can be. If all goes to shit, we sue the hell out of them."

"Father will be devastated when he finds out."

She shrugged. "He should've seen this coming, honestly."

"Hmm."

"Why?"

"When I marry you, he will have the satisfaction of having you as his daughter however."

"M—marry?" Marinette squeaked. "You're already thinking about marriage?"

"Is that bad?"

"No . . . wait, sorry I was just caught off guard." Her chest fluttered at the thought of their future. "Of course Damian, I'd love to marry you someday."

A small smile played at Damian's lips, the subtle kind that she loved so much. "Now that you're not bound by contract, does that mean I can kiss you anytime I want?"

Marinette answered him with her lips, softly kissing him as his hand lifted to hold her cheek. They parted for a second before he started peppering kisses on the corner of her lips, on her nose and her forehead. She pressed a long kiss on his cheek in return.

"It looks like we won't need to break the news to Father anymore."

"What?"

When Marinette turned around, Bruce was just at the front steps of the manor, disheveled and clad in pajamas and an old bathrobe, plus Robin-themed fuzzy slippers. At his feet laid pieces of a shattered mug, which he had seemingly dropped out of shock.

Marinette laughed. "Oops."

She pressed the button to roll her window down and waved at the dumbstruck Bruce Wayne. "Morning, Bruce! Cute slippers!" 

End AN: That wraps up NMWYCAM! Thank you for reading, commenting and kudos-ing this fic; I didn't expect it to blow up this much😮 If you want to know about my next upcoming fic, check out this poll of mine in Tumblr🙂

[ofsunnydays-and-moonlitnights]

Of Playful Days and Silent Nights

Chapter 1: A Robot Teacher?

You look up from your HoloScreen and the work your grading as a knock sounds through your room.

“Come in?” It must be one of your fellow teachers here to bug you, you assume.

You stand immediately as the Headmaster clears his throat. He's always demands respect he doesn't deserve.

“How can I help you sir?”

“Would you mind working a little late tonight?”

“I could make that work sir, what extra work do you have in mind?”

“Something quite special. I have a solution for the nursery class.”

“Oh? A new teacher is joining us?” What does that have to do with you?

“Something like that. Just follow and you'll see.”

He leads you into the nursery class. Sat there half out of its box is a robot? A dark yellow robot that resembles the sun if it was personified and dressed as a court jester of long ago.

“Oh is this a new model? I've never seen one like this.” you ask but as you inspect it closer you notice the layer of dust covering it… now you feel silly.

“On the contrary, This is a vintage animatronic, A fazbear original.”

“Oh wow.” Fazbear rings a bell in your head but you’ve never really been big into the whole robot industry all you know are from the adverts on the Holovision if you’re being honest you weren’t all that keen on them. You know Mr. Moosifer is very into his vintage robots though so it must be a big deal.

“Someone bought a warehouse and found it full of these old animatronics. Would have bought them all if I had the budget, they were all far too expensive. I charged this one on the school account, He was a daycare attendant, apparently has a security mode as well, perfect since I almost had to hire a security guard since the graffiti incident last week, who even sells spray paint these days. Anyway, Two birds one stone, and it’ll be cheaper in the long run.” he looks so smug and full of himself. “At least I can say I technically own a vintage robot,” he laughs. “Wait till the others at the digital Golfing Alley hear about this.”

Oh finally he stopped talking...

“And what do you want my help with?”

“Clean it and reboot it would you. It might need a debrief or something. I don’t care how long it takes but I dismissed the substitute so have it ready for the morning class.” He hands you a very thicc manual book.

“Sure thing.” you smile, the most fake smile you could muster.

He leaves. You hate being such a suck up to that old man. The new powerplant isn’t the only reason Patrick left in a hurry.

It’s just you and the currently lifeless robot. You hope it’s lifeless, robots are lifeless right? It looks like it's looking at you... If its vintage could it be haunted?

You’ve heard of some people thinking robots have life, some going as far to advocate for robot equality and rights, others even pushing for robot marriage, that's just how far advanced AI is you suppose, either that or the worlds just that delusional, you can’t imagine an antique like this being so advanced, you doubt it can even keep up with the children nevermind teach them. Bur your experience with robots isn't extensive at all since the cheaper models you've met in the lower city aren't even advanced like at all, most are just glorified auto machinery.

You sigh, enough stalling...

"Better check this manual for how to clean this thing." You grumble.

You need this job, you remind yourself.

You pick up the book, it’s heavy. Under the title that reads ‘The Daycare Attendant’ sits a picture of two similar robots, one blue and starry the other a match to the one in front of you, it must be part of a series or something?

You flick through looking for cleaning instructions. Finally you find them.

‘Instructions on cleaning the Sun daycare attendant.’

That's got to be this one right? He’s definitely sun themed.

‘Use Fazbear SunShine gentle multi surface cleaner, or SunShine soap for tough dirt and grime. If these are not available please order them at Fazbear.org/shop/cleaning/dca using your staff assigned code. In the meantime these suitable substitutes should be used (in order of most suitable to least): SunShine bubble bath, SunShine hand soap, SunShine shampoo, SunShine laundry soap, SunShine dish soap, SunShine wood polish, any SleepyTime products suitable for the moon DCA, regular dish soap, or any Gentle multi surface cleaner. Caution avoid harsh chemicals to avoid damaging the paint or irritating the skin of any children coming into contact with the daycare attendant. None of the SunShine kitchen or toilet and bathroom lines of cleaning products are suitable for cleaning the DCA, Never use bleach. Always use warm water and a gentle cloth or sponge. Never use a scourer or brush to clean the DCA. Elbow grease is all you need.’

You're curious about this Fazbear sunshine cleaner so you Holo it on your Holowatch. The website doesn’t exist but you can find old posts about the nostalgia and recipes that give a similar smell. Oh the channel NostalgicScents has a few bottles of the laundry soap on sale. Oh ouch a million credits for a small bottle of 10 units is ridiculous. It is a vintage product so maybe you shouldn't be surprised.

What were the alternatives? Dish soap or multi surface cleaner…?

You’re pretty sure there's some dish soap in the cafeteria so you head in search of some. You find said soap and a washing up bowl, filling it with warm water and bringing it all the way back to the nursery classroom.

Re-thinking your plan, it might not be best to wash him on the colourful dinosaur carpet so you instead decide to drag it into the little kids bathrooms.

It's heavy and lanky, it bends in way too many places making it difficult to keep a grip. But you manage and lean it against the bath tub....

You face palm at the realisation that there's a bath in here to clean up any bad messes the kids get into, odd for a school you know but this was pre-K nursery. Toddlers had a way of making the worst messes.

You place your bowl in the bath and using the dish cloth start wiping the dust and grime off the robot. You wonder if it’ll even work, you hope it’s waterproof, the Manual told you to use soapy water so it can’t be wrong could it, did soap and water mean something different back then? You shake away your worries, It’s too late now, the worst that could happen is you get fired, that doesn't sound too bad about now. You would have left this town a long time ago if you had the savings, then again... you’d rather not be homeless.

You wipe away the grime on its face revealing a bright yellow. It looks friendly if not ever so slightly creepy. You move onto its arms, underneath the dust on its right arm is a series of numbers carved into the metal, it looks like your birthday? The month and day that is. What a weird coincidence it must be a serial number of some kind. You finish cleaning it up and turn back to the manual to know how to turn it on. You follow the instructions, taking a small piece of metal from the shoulder and using it to press the button through a hole in the back of its head just as the book had told you to.

Start up commencing. . .

Connecting to Faz network….

No Faz network detected…

Connecting to the local network…

Connected…

Estimated storage time 50 years…

Please wait as calibrations commence.

“Wow…” 50 years you think to yourself. He wasn’t kidding when he said it was vintage. It should teach history class, not the nursery. Maybe he’d know what fish were like, were there fish in the wild back then. You shrug, who knows.

Calibrations complete…

Rebooting…

Rebooting…

“S-starshine?” it stammered.

“Huh?” you wonder… Is that it’s Catchphrase?

Its voice was masculine but very chipper with the metallic robotic tone earlier robots were known for. It seems confused.

“Oh… oh um... Hello new friend!” its voice had a surprising amount of expression.

“Hi…” you hesitantly reply.

“You look familiar…” It taps its chin as it thinks? “Have you ever visited the daycare before?” it adjusts its position crossing its legs.

“Nope, not me.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry, new friend. Let me introduce myself, My name is Sun, you can call me Sunny if you like but never Sundrop.” It points its finger up. “That’s the line of sweets named after me, not the other way.” it smiles at you, it seems too warm for any robot you’ve ever met. “Would you like one?” it reaches into its pocket. “Oh I’m out, sorry I’ll have to go restock.” It stands about to walk around before pausing. It’s ever so tall, it must be at least 6ft tall.

“Yeah about that.”

“Where… Where am I?” Its tone was darker, almost worried. It steps out of the bathroom into the class.

“Welcome to Angel Valley Primary school?” you shrug.

“Where’s the daycare?” It clutches its hands in front of itself… anxiously? “Where’s the pizza plex?”

“Closed? I assume? You’ve been in storage for like 50 years.”

“50 years!?” It rubs its right arm. “That’s so long…” It drums its fingers on its teeth. “Do you work for fazbear entertainment? Are you opening up a new daycare? It's a little small, where are the play structures? I'm not ready for a new handler, when are the kids coming? Where will they have naptime? There's not even a stage…”

You watch as it paces and rambles, it almost looks like a panic attack or something. Surely a robot can’t have one of those right.

“Hey!” you call out. “Stop that.”

It stops and looks at you, practically shaking as it tries to stay still.

“There’s no daycare, or fazbear whatever. You have a new prerogative as a teacher at this school.”

It sits, closing its eyes and takes a breath? Maybe it's cooling its system or something. Does overheating make a robot jittery?

It starts counting.

“It has anxiety? of course it does.” That’s just your luck…. Wait... Unless it's a count down???

It puts it’s hands down. “Excuse me, that was very rude.” it's tone miffed but still polite, the kind of voice you’d give a parent if you were allowed to correct them.

Wait… you said that out loud….

“I’d rather not be called IT. Although as an animatronic we have no gender.” he says with air quotes. “We prefer the pronouns he/them. Thank you.”

Great, the robot has pronouns. How much more human can they get?

“Surely if you're from the future you should have more respect for robots by now, I’d expect robots would have become much more sophisticated in the last 50 years.” They turned away crossing their arms almost as if he was in a strop.

“Not the ones you see on the streets of the lower city. Most sophisticated robot I’ve seen is a store stacker.”

“What's one of those?” he tilts his head curiously.

“Exactly what it sounds like. It stocks shelves, if you're lucky you might meet one sophisticated enough that it can direct you to the soup aisle in the soup store.”

“Oh…”

“The rich in the upper city have shiny new robot assistants that are almost human-like. But your average Joe like me probably won’t ever get to see one.”

“I see…”

“But you should still be more polite.”

“You're right, I'm Sorry.”

“Thank you.” he sighs.

“Soooo uh… Are you calmer now?”

“I guess.” he sighs.

“Good because I need to show you around and let you know how to do your job before I can go home tonight.”

He stands up. His expression is now blank. “Alright.”

“So this is your class, you’ll be teaching the nursery or Pre-school class, most of your students are two to four years old, they do half days, so you’ll have group one come in during the morning and group two in the afternoon. We do learn by play here, It can’t be that different from daycare work. Basically entertain the kids. Make sure they don’t unalive themselves.”

He nods. “Where are the arts and craft supplies? Do we have paper and Oh, tell me we have glitter glue.” he looks over the colourful room, looking at the bookshelves and the toy boxes.

“No... Art supplies like that are pretty scarce, we keep them only for the fourth grade. We let the little kids play art games on they’re SlimNote jr though” you take an electronic notebook and show him.

He looks disappointed, dejected even.

“Plus it’s less to clean up.”

That doesn't seem to cheer him up.

“So no finger painting?”

“What’s that?”

“Oh my stars… you don’t know?” he drags his hands down his face.

“You’ll have to tell me another time we should move on.”

“Right.”

“So the room we were in earlier was the littles bathroom, it includes three big kid toilets and a handful of potties, there is a bath for emergencies but you have to have parents and kids consent for bathtime, most say sure others would rather let their kid sit in his own poop for the rest of the day, but anyway, moving on, your desk is there, the toys there, you can see it all.”

You gesture for him to follow as you lead him out of the room. You turn left to your class.

“This is my class.”

He looks around your space themed classroom and his eyes sparkle.

“Here I teach the first and second grade English, Maths and Space science.”

“Are these actually from space?” he asks as he looks over your wall of space trinkets, three shelves and a table are all adorned with rocks, crystals and other trinkets.

“Eeeek.” he jumps, “it moved.” He points to a tank.

“That’s our little alien specimen, We call him Greg, he’s a space slug.”

The slug-like creature covered in fluorescent colours munches on a piece of metal that you fed him earlier.

“And yes most of these came from space explorations, though some are only replicas, every school has a collection ours is pretty small if i’m being honest.”

“Wow.”

You can’t help but yawn, normally you’d be home by now having eaten your rations and gone to bed. “Can we finish here? You probably don’t need to know any more than this but you can wander around tonight unless you need to recharge or something. Just don’t touch anything. Oh and the headmaster said something about night guard or security or something. Can you do that or whatever.”

“Sure thing…” he rubs the back of his neck.

“Cool the kids will be in at 9 AM. I’ll see you at about half seven though.”

“Okie dokie.”

With that you collected your things and headed home.

This part of the city was almost quiet, the usual hustle and bustle reduced to about a dozen vehicles including your single drive, at least there wasn’t much traffic. Your little two door, one seater car was great, it was sort of old but reliable. You finally arrive at your building, it was one of many in your sector. In sector 10 they build as tall as they can and then crammed as many tiny apartments as possible in there. Your building was nice enough to spare a little room for an elevator you know of many who couldn't be bothered. Your apartment if you could call it that was on the 9th floor you couldn’t imagine how many steps that would be. Imagine bringing your food order up all that way Ooof. You make your way past dozens of other apartment doors until you arrive at yours. You unlock it with your finger print and step inside. It really wasn’t much but it was yours. You’re welcomed by your tiny shoe box of a kitchen, you head into the door to your left, your bathroom, or shower room you suppose, it’s far too small for a bath, you clean up after a hard day's work and heat your rations for dinner. It was supposed to taste like chicken soup but it beats you what chicken is supposed to taste like. You’ve heard it’s a rich man's delicacy, apparently it’s a bird, you can’t see how a bird would be very practical to eat. You've only ever seen wrens and crows though, apparently the really desperate even eat those, you suppose it would probably be better then rat. Your thoughts? You’ll stick to your lab grown rations.

Then it was time to snuggle into bed. You open the door to reveal a bed, that's almost all you can fit in the incredibly small bedroom. You managed to squeeze a bedside table and a lamp in the room, but it was quite the squeeze, at least you have a window. Many aren’t as lucky. You flop on the bed pulling the covers over you and turning your lamp off. Hopefully you’ll sleep soundly. You’d press X to doubt but you can dream harold.

Or not. Hours tick by and you turn over once again. There was no point in laying here bored so you instead scroll through the Holoweb.

Articles on extinct animals, news of a possible storm later in the month, more news on the rich getting richer, more robot rights protests in the upper city again. Oh a couple articles on soulmates interesting, are soulmates real? if you were immortal would your soulmate keep coming back? Can robots have soulmates?

Surely you need a soul to have a soulmate no? As interesting as those articles seem, you'd rather just keep scrolling. Is caffeine plus affecting sleep? That could be it but there is no way you could drop it now you’re in too deep.

You read article title after article title until eventually you tire your eyes out and finally drift to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read the rest of the fic here ⬇️

[greenunoreversecard]

My headcanons for mutant mayhem/tottmnt bc I watched part of it and am a high schooler: (my opinion is just as a high schooler and what I think they'd end up doing in highschool, fuck off. Seeing as most hs experiment with weed and nic don't judge me opinions)

Raph:

-mlm, alt fashion style, and ADHD with impulsivity and anger management issues.

- def joins the smoke circles in the bathrooms, and gets invited to hang with popular kids to skip class and drink in the woods by the schools (this happens so often at my school and I'm not cool so I'm not invited)

- as a jock, he def has a lot of jock friends and they do all that dumb shit you see on stories. (Like the ones they post on them skipping class, smoking a teacher walks in and they cram 10 people in one stall and hide)(Or raiding Walmart)

- chronic skipper and chronically late (me)

- not allowed behind the wheel.

- has dyslexia. But is actually pretty good in his auto shop class.

- curses a bunch.

Leo:

- autistic, anxiety, straight (?) but bi questioning.

- enjoys fanfiction.

- doesn't really make friends, has to much social anxiety for that, but if you walk up to him he's actually pretty chill.

- also is always late.

- TAs for a class but the teacher lets him do whatever so he honestly leaves school and goes to Walmart.

- always gets first row seats to record fights, and has juicy gossip because people see him as a good listener.

- has his driver's license.

- his brothers nicknamed him ikea

- curses second most next to raph, but only secretly.

Mikey:

- nonbinary, (they/he) adhd.

- chronic skipper. Hides in the theater Green room.

- gets stoned with the stage crew after shows.

- befriends a lot of seniors and gets adopted.

- is in like 20 friend groups and is always aware of gossip and drama, and sometimes is in the drama.

- is super pedantic about snap streaks.

- learns stage tech on the side of being a actor.

- was gifted unrestricted interest access as a child and has seen shitTM

- is scared of driving but is a resident passenger princess.

- relies solely on test grades and refuses to do homework.

- does standup comedy.

- talks in a valley girl accent when bored.

Donnie:

- bisexual, autistic.

- bit of a loner, but befriends some people in compsci.

- mods a fandom discord server.

- self insert fanfic reader (and author)

- sometimes fixes issues with the theaters tech, and has befriended a senior tech crew member who invited him to something mildly illegal (got crossfaded for the fourth of July at a abandoned warehouse and accidentally set a bush on fire with fireworks. Mikey was there. Yes it was recorded. No Leo and raph don't know.)

- closet cosplays, but is working on getting more of a budget for bigger cosplays.

- teaches himself kpop dances.

- has his driving permit

- takes .5 of all his friends.

- sassy but only quietly.

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

"…guess we'll be out of project ideas for a couple of months."

"…this is so COOL!" screeches Jay, vibrating in his seat at the very idea of getting to be a pilot. "So, what, we can just whip up vehicles like this anytime we want?!"

"Somehow I doubt that, but I won't pretend this instance isn't incredible." Zane runs his hand along his tank's dashboard. "To think these are tailored specifically for us!" genuinely, aside from plot convenience, why can't the ninja use the tornado of creation to make mechs whenever they need?

(although now that i think about it the whole point of these last few chapters has been to prove that the ninja dont need their mechs)

A) they have to be in perfect harmony to achieve the Tornado of Creation to begin with, and the risk of screwing it up when they have other, less dangerous options (as opposed to being forced into a corner like the previous times they’ve used it) isn’t a worthy risk to take all Willy nilly (which the negative effects of an inharmonious ToC we’ll get to see in S3, wheeee)

B) the Tornado of Creation functions under the same rules as Lloyd’s capability for Creation does, since the ToC is literally the process of invoking the Green Element via the Core Four. I.E, in order to create something new, they need pieces to work with/something to already be destroyed first. Creating the mechs the first time around starved the warehouse of extra ‘pieces’ to work with, hence why they’ve been struggling with maintenance/having to go find parts they need throughout Book 3 (I.E. especially in the case of Jay’s jet and Jay’s science fair project). This is also why the transport tubes were built over the course of the summer break, as they (Jay) had more time/space to gather parts (from Jay’s parents, even if they didn’t know for what and where lol) and built the thing directly.

C) following the above point, a lot of the things the group winds up making require a lot of precision and specification that can’t just be left up to whims, magic, and whatever is just lying around, which Nya and Lloyd discuss in Book 2 when debating on a mech-built-from-scratch vs one that’s Master Built and/or manifested, and it’s also brought up again concerning Jay’s science project. Sure, whipping up what you need is easy and convenient in the short term, but if you don’t know exactly how it ticks, then it becomes difficult to fix for one (leaving Lloyd to have to step in to just Master Build a fix but that technically turns the thing into something else, even if only minutely, so there’s a net zero solution there) or you don’t know how the thing functions at all (as seen in them struggling to work the Sonic Raider the first time given all the mishmash they put into it lol).

Plus, they all like the process of actually making something (Jay and Nya moreso than the others, but I can easily argue that everyone’s got shades of creativity in them), and relating to Point A, just whipping out the ToC just because they can isn’t something to constantly take advantage of

D) This isn’t really a spoiler since I assume everyone/anyone possibly reading this post has at least seen S2 of the show lmao, buuuuuut the ‘secret project’ Nya’s been working on at her auto body shop job is a redux of the Ultra Sonic Raider (though it’s called something else here and will function slightly different to canon but ooh I’m excited) which would render any new mechs kinda pointless (especially since the Double Trouble events, which are literally next, is the first time we get to see/use it). And also they get it like 3-4 days after the last battle with Garmadon which for two of them they were mostly resting/recuperating anyway, so they weren’t really in dire need of a mech

(And, like you said, this loops back into enforcing the point that they don’t need mechs to be effective, but even if they do have some kind of vehicle under their belts, it shouldn’t be their only viable method of fighting/protecting, etc.)

So yeah, that’s why they haven’t just made new mechs :3

[simspaghetti]

The warehouse workers ask Poppy to stay late and help out with counting the loot on her very first day

I guess it's a good thing they're accepting her as part of the team, but she leaves work super stressed and exhausted!

As some stress relief, she heads around town and commits a few grand-theft-autos, she feels much better afterwards!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Sam Delgado at Vox:

It’s been another big week for the UAW. Over 5,000 auto workers at the Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Vance, Alabama, have been holding their union election vote with the United Auto Workers (UAW); ballots will be counted when voting closes today.

It’s the UAW’s second election in their campaign to organize non-union auto workers, with a particular focus on the South — a notoriously difficult region for union drives. They won their first election with Volkswagen workers last month in Tennessee with 73 percent of workers voting to form a union. What makes the UAW’s recent success compelling is that they’re finding big wins at a time when union membership rates in America are at an all-time low. But each union drive is a battle: With our current labor laws, unionizing is not an easy process — particularly when workers are up against anti-union political figures and employers, as is the case at the Alabama Mercedes plant. So if the UAW can win another union election in a region that’s struggled to realize worker power, it could mean more than just another notch in their belt. It could offer lessons on how to reinvigorate the American labor movement.

What’s at stake in Vance, Alabama?

Unionizing nearly anywhere in the US will require some sort of uphill battle, but this is especially true for the South. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, most of the South had unionization rates below the national average in 2023. Alabama resides within one of those regions, at a union membership rate of 7.5 percent compared to a national rate of 10 percent. This is the result of historical realities (see: slavery and racist Jim Crow laws) that have shaped today’s legislation: Alabama is one of 26 states that have enacted a “right-to-work” law, which allows workers represented by a union to not pay union fees, thus weakening the financial stability and resources of a union to bargain on behalf of their members.

Prominent political figures in Alabama have been vocal about their opposition to the UAW, too. Gov. Kay Ivey has called the UAW a “looming threat” and signed a bill that would economically disincentivize companies from voluntarily recognizing a union. Workers say Mercedes hasn’t been welcoming to the union, either. In February, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz US International held a mandatory anti-union meeting (he’s changed roles since then). Back in March, the UAW filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Mercedes for “aggressive and illegal union-busting.” And according to a recent report from Bloomberg, the US government voiced concerns to Germany, home of Mercedes-Benz’s headquarters, about the alleged union-busting happening at the Alabama plant.

The combination of weak federal labor laws, a strong anti-union political presence, and a well-resourced employer can be a lethal combination for union drives and labor activity — and have been in Alabama. Recent examples include the narrow loss to unionize Amazon’s Bessemer warehouse, the nearly two-year long Warrior Met Coal strike that ended with no improved contract, and even past failed unionization drives at this Mercedes plant.

[...]

Where’s this momentum coming from — and where is it going?

The UAW is in a strong position after a series of wins. First they won their contract battle with Detroit’s Big Three automakers last year. Then they successfully unionized the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in mid-April (the first time a non-union auto plant in the South was unionized in around 80 years). Later that month, they ratified a contract with Daimler Trucks after threatening to strike, securing a wage raise and annual cost-of-living increases among other benefits. Where are these wins coming from? A big part of the momentum comes from Shawn Fain, the president of the UAW. He’s ambitious and a hard-nosed negotiator, isn’t afraid to break from the traditions of UAW’s past, and perhaps most importantly, is also the first leader of the UAW directly elected by members.

The UAW is leading a unionization drive at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama. Hope it wins. #UAWVance #UAW #1u

[ekleiipsis]

ten people i would like to get to know better <3

i was tagged by @bluegarners @boudicca @vechter and @aalghul 🫶🫶🫶

last song: it almost worked by tv girl <- saki damianbugs bruce & jason edit…

favorite color: blackkk! or brown i think. i used to be a huge green girl before black became my fav so maybe that…

last book: the circuit by francisco jimenez <- had to read it for one of my classes in order to write my midterm. the last thing i read, however, was reading lolita in tehran by azar nafisi for the book club i’m in :}

last movie: dinner in america <- angel vivisection-gf recommended it to me and i finally got around to watching it but that was in mid october so it’s been awhile since i’ve watched anything else. i’m planning to watch the 1931 frankenstein adaptation because i love the way karloff made his eyelids heavy in his portrayal of the creature<333

last TV show: the walking dead <- i’ve watched it a dozen times but this time i’m watching it with my siblings<3 my brother stopped mid s8 and we’re finally passed that mark so i’m excited to see his reactions :3

sweet/savory/spicy:

relationship status:

last thing i searched: articles sharing recovering addicts’ stories for an english essay about motivation

current obsession: lydia from twd <- ties in to the recent twd re-watch i mentioned in one of the previous questions, kyle.

looking forward to: the end of the semester i am readdyyyyy get me out of here

bonus topics!!!

favorite drink:

song playing on a loop in your head 24/7: the first 15 seconds of like him by tyler the creator and lola young. i adoreeee the way smith delivers her lines<33 technically no one’s singing yet but it is part of a song

current favorite character: kyle rayner which mostly has to do with the cosmic art of him i’ve been seeing lately (it’s jtodd 4ever tho unfort)

fun activity you would like to get into: knitting and crotcheting

last video game: grand theft auto 5. sort of. began playing it for real in 2023 and stopped on one of those beginning missions where franklin, lamar, and michael (?) go to that warehouse. used to play it when i was younger but i only ever killed people and drove around, sometimes stopping at that one fair on the pier. i just rlly like trevor he’s such a terror i plan to finish it eventually just for him<3 i also played a bit of rdr2 but i was so ass at the controls that i just gave up and went back to gtav zhskka i figured i would pick rdr2 back up once i was more familiar with playing

last comic/graphic novel: uhhh i think it was a skim of red hood lost days? i go back to this comic often especially those first two issues and if i reread red hood lost days then i most definitely also read those two utrh annuals as well

tagging @hineinihineini @dustorange @hangingoffence @arostormblessed @vivisection-gf @dandeeliion and @rostii <33

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

Sir Vival, the two-piece safety Hudson

Sir Vival, Walter Jerome's Hudson-based concept for the ultimate safety car, last moved under its own power sometime around when he showed the car at the New York World's Fair in 1964 or 1965. Since then, it's been split apart, reassembled, shuffled all over eastern Massachusetts, and remained hidden more or less in plain sight, but nobody's made an attempt to get it running again. That'll change now that longtime owner Ed Moore of Bellingham Auto Sales has sold Sir Vival to Jeff Lane of the Lane Motor Museum.

"It'll be the perfect fit," Lane said. "I've been pestering him about it for a while."

Moore, as we reported in November, has decided to close the doors at Bellingham, which he considers the last active Hudson dealership in the world, and has been either selling off his inventory of cars and parts or transferring portions of his lifelong collection to his house nearby.

In 1958, Worcester-based Walter Jerome decided it was about time somebody built a car designed primarily for safety and not for looks or speed. Rapidly increasing numbers of highway deaths - especially in the postwar period - led many to call for greater automotive safety as early as 1947, but the response from Detroit was tepid at best throughout the Fifties. Ford made a few gestures at improving automotive safety, including funding a study on safety cars at Cornell, but it largely fell to independents and individuals to build cars with safety features designed into the vehicle.

Jerome decided to start with a step-down Hudson - which he bought from Bellingham - and split it into two sections "to anticipate the possibility of collision from any angle." Similar to Bela Barenyi's idea for the crumple zone, Jerome intended the front section, mounted via a hinge to the rear section, to absorb a collision rather than deflect one, noting that the rigidity of typical cars was what led to injuries and deaths in collisions. To each of the two sections, Jerome added steel bumpers that acted, in his words, like a second frame, and rubber bumpers around the steel designed to redirect all but direct collisions. Yes, he built a full-size bumper car.

He didn't stop there. The driver controlled the car from a turret-mounted central driver's seat surrounded by a "full circle" windshield for greater visibility. (According to Jerome's literature, the windshield itself rotated past stationary windshield wipers as part of Jerome's quest for maximum driver visibility.) The exterior is fitted with high-visibility marker and signal lamps; the parallelogram doors are designed not to pop open in a crash; and the interior features seat belts, padding, and even a rollbar.

"It is all too obvious that Detroit has no plans to come up with anything really new," Jerome wrote. "Their 1964 cars are already on the drawing boards and spring from the same rigid frames. I hold that human life is important, far more important than Detroit's worry about the cost of retooling to produce an automobile which will save human lives. Adoption of the flexible Sir Vival design would make rigid vehicles obsolete and create a new market, almost immediately, for 65 million vehicles."

Moore and his family assisted Jerome over the years with Sir Vival, including one episode Moore recalls in which he went to Worcester to retrieve the vehicle from the fourth floor of a warehouse, where Jerome had stored it in two pieces, so it could be reassembled and transported to Jerome's house on Cape Cod. After Jerome's death in the early 1970s, the Moores took possession of Sir Vival and brought it back to Bellingham. While Moore had hoped Sir Vival would have gone to Eldon Hostetler's Hudson museum, it turned out fortuitous that he didn't donate it to Hostetler, given that the museum was closed and liquidated in 2018. Sir Vival has thus primarily sat in its pride of place in Bellingham Auto Sales's garage ever since.

"It needs gone right through," Moore said. "It's not really something I want to take home and just let it sit there. Jeff, he's the guy who'd really appreciate it. He'll build it and do it right."

Lane said he's only seen Sir Vival once in person, when he spent an entire day up at Bellingham Auto Parts four or five years ago. "I recall it as not terrible, but also not in great condition," he said. "It's not like it's been outside for 40 years, rusting away." While he won't have a more definitive plan about what to do with Sir Vival until he picks it up later this month, he said he wants to go through it mechanically without restoring the entire car, if possible.

"I'd say the closest it comes to any other vehicle in the (Lane Motor Museum's) collection is the Dymaxion," Lane said. "It's a really interesting story but it's really been pretty much hidden away from the general public."

Moore, for his part, said he'll continue selling Hudsons from his home garage even after the Bellingham Auto Sales property becomes a warehouse. "I still have my new and used car licenses," he said. "I know I can't keep them all, but I've tried."

UPDATE (6.January 2023): The Lane has started restoration on Sir Vival, according to a Facebook post from the museum. "Sir Vival has been separated into two pieces, and the automotive archaeology begins!"

[a-roguish-gambit]

Turn of the century thoughts: Romy edition vol 1

So cars were hella expensive relatively speaking until Henry Ford started using assembly lines, but in the Sears and robucks catalogue you could basically buy every part to build one from scratch and have it delivered to you via mail. There were towns literally built a round a Sears warehouse, not for jobs or anything, but because you could literally buy a do it yourself kit house through sears and pick it up at a wearhouse or have it plopped down on your plot of land from the wearhouse.

Anyways, Remy figuring that out he can order every single piece and the manual for an original Ford car bit by bit for much less than an actual car and all he has to do spend a couple dollars a week to do it.

After almost a year of spending 10$ a week for parts he finally has everything and after convincing kitty to help him put it together with forge's tools in secret, a couple days before the fourth of july the following summer he's got a fully functioning car, tested and ready to go. He's read the driver's manual top to bottom, taken it for test drives, he's all set.

The following day he asks rogue if she'd attend a fireworks festival in upstate New York.

She raises an eyebrow at him. "How we gonna do that? It's half a day ride by carriage and I doubt Logan will let ya take Blackbird out."

"that be so Chere, but it a much shorter drive by car,"

"and how ya plannin on gettin ahold of one, oh prince of theives? Ah ain't doin no auto thefts."

"who said anything about stealin Chere?" He says before showing her the car he had been assembling, " this should cut it down to a few hours. Reckon you'll join Gambit now?"

She gives him a sly smile and gives him her gloves hand. "Ah reckon ah shall!"

[thatsmarttechtypeuser]

Okay, so recently i had this really weird dream that i think might have to do with a certain someone's tickle monster.

It started off somewhere near a Trans-Atlantic Highway-esque area, with me in some sort of auto-driving electrical car, relaxing to the latest psychedelic rock hits while (most likely) off a chocolate weed edible. Eventually, it starts to slow down and i make a stop to recharge it. Little did i know a certain nefarious nightmare lad has a cunning plan laid out, and somehow zaps himself into the charging station, gaining free reign over my electric car. After i finish charging, i take the charger out and get back in, only for the car to start auto-correcting it's navigation a few times. After the 5th, i start getting pissed bc i think it's some kinda technical malfunction, only to hear this.

"NAH. This ain't your grandparent's spam mail! Keep those seatbelts on tight, pal! WE'RE BURNING ALL KINDS OF RUBBER TONIGHT!"

Cue the car speeding off at "i'm-so-fucking-dead" MPH, dangerously skirting near crashing off-road and ramping off the backs of (conveniently placed) carrier trucks all the while i'm screaming my head off and trying not to faint over the fact that my car has apparently decided to start a new career as a daredevil. However, because I've got a secret adrenaline-junkie in myself, i'm actually having the time of my fucking life. Things go to 11 once it hauls ass to a non-descript city and starts going haywire, speeding through (thankfully empty) outdoor cafe's and plowing through (ALSO thankfully empty) buildings like the transformers version of the Hulk. Finally, things go past 11 and straight to one-thousand once we reach a very industrious part of it, and i'm nearly overstimulated by the amount of unhinged chaotic bs going on (pipes bursting, the entire plant being demolished, etc. etc.)

FINALLY it stops, but only once we've got a straight shot towards a comically-oversized Acetylene storage warehouse, and i soon realize what's going on once Ragaeli's stupidly-charismatic grin appears on the dashboard. I straight up BEG for him not to do what i think he's going to do, but he just lmao's and says that he's gonna do it anyways.

"Yer' final tour of the evening's here! Don't chicken out now!"

The car seems to gun straight for the warehouse, and i immediately get the fear of god put into me as that plus the Maximum Overdrive music frightens the living daylights out of me, bc HOLY CRUD WE'RE GONNA CRASH. Thankfully, he doesn't, and the car gets these weird blackout windows placed over it as it speeds somewhere else. Turns out, Rags fibbed the entire thing just to get my adrenaline up, and BY GOD DID IT WORK. Still, my nerves are rattled, so…

"Don't worry! As your totally trustworthy smart AI, i'll make sure you get alllllllllllllllll the relaxation you need~"

The lights dim to an unironically warm hue, and the seat suddenly enters a reclining state, a seat warmer beneath providing ample muscle relaxation. It's so good that i actually blank on the fact that the automatic seatbelts (which are a thing apparently) have snaked themselves over me and locked me to it, and only AFTER that did i realize my plight. The following went something like this.

"W-what the hell?! I can't move! Turn off the auto-seatbelts!" "I'm sorry, you're gonna have to speak up, i couldn't understand that command." "I said turn off the automatic seatbelts and unbuckle me!" "Did you say "Turn on the automatic spa features and tickle me senseless"~?" "N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" (holy shit this gave me a fuckin lee panik my god)

Immediately after that, a bunch of automatic showerheads and other such spa equipment emerge from underneath the seat as the car seems to expand from within and i immediately realize that my ass is about to be sent to heaven. I get a bunch of sensory-enhancing oils before i'm immediately hosed down by a bunch of showerheads, the oils making me laugh harder bc of how tickly the streams are. I'm then flipped onto my back and have a bunch of sauna stones rubbed along my back while a few grabby hands massage my sides (and occasionally play my ribs like a piano-AGH LEE PANIK AGAIN), sauna stones tickled too. Finally, my feet are locked in a stock and what i can only describe as the "Pedicure from Tickle Hell" happens, by the time it's over i'm left partially giggle-drunk and waaaaaaaaaaaaay too stimulated.

The car door then opens, allowing me freedom to my conspicuously-absent house, which is equipped with more smart technology that i know that fucker's going to exploit against me. As soon as i enter…. Nothing happens, i make my way up to my bedroom and access my computer, only to notice that there's a notification. I click it and-

"Ragaeli.EXE has been successfully downloaded" "Pray for your life"

I've never hit google search faster in my entire life. I try searching something up, only for a notepad document to open and for Rag's face to literally be typed into existence in ASCII. He then does some grabby hands and i instinctively clamp my hands around my sides over fear of getting tickled to oblivion, thankfully he doesn't, and i decide to head to bed. Before things can get all inception, i notice that my star machine has a weird patterning-oh who am i kidding it's that nightmare fucker again.

"Y-you?!" "That's riiiiiiiiiiiiiight~ Thanks fer' giving me access to all your stuff by the waay~" "N-I didn't mean tooooooooooooo!" "'Course you didn't~! Now then, let's see if i can't make you scream, shall we?"

Immediately, i get up and start running, darting into the kitchen. What follows next is what i can only describe as "tickle slapstick" as i'm repeatedly gotten by Rags and tickled mercilessly by various smart appliances.

-In the kitchen, i'm spooked behind the table by a non-infected fridge fucking automatically opening it's door, then i'm given a (non-lethal) nom on the side with a waffle iron that starts giving me more noms. I try getting it off but the thing won't budge, and i slip on a rolling pin and stumble face first into a microwave. My head get's stuck, and my sides and soles are attacked by a pair of whisks and tickly rubber spatuals while Rags makes awful cooking puns at my expense. -In the area just above the living room, i find out that the nightmare remodeled the place to resemble an art studio, and i immediately realize what's going on. I try to run but the door locks itself and my body is used as a canvas for Rags to do his tickly Jackson Pollock work all over. -In the living room proper, i'm immediately strapped down to a gaming chair and sat before a different computer, forced to place a hero-shooter game based on tickle stuff. Everything goes well until Rags challenges me to round two, with the added rule being i have to play the game in VR while also wearing a haptic feedback suit, i barely even make it to the second round of Payload before i'm a shrieking mess. -In the basement, i try to avoid his gaze by going into part of it, only for the entire area to instead be a tattoo parlor. This freaks me tf out because of the new Final Destination flick giving me a temporary fear of them. However, Rags manages to make me overcome said fear by (asides from disguising as Reggie) giving me a VERY ticklish tattoo session and a frankly absurd demonstration of his own brand of piercing's strength (seriously that septum piercing had me hanging from the fan like Homer Simpson that shit was WILD)

Finally, i escape to my bedroom, thinking that it's over and done with… If only i knew better. As i lay down and try to get some sleep, I'm immediately attacked by a bunch of ticklish tendrils, and Ragdoll immediately starts cheesing. "D'awwww, is the writer scared that the big bad tickle monster's gonna drag him under the bed~? Well too bad, 'cause I'm gonna~" "OHOHOHOOHOHOH NOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" I'm dragged off the bed and slowly pulled underneath the bedframe, assaulted by seemingly omnipresent tickles as i continue to laugh my heart and soul out… And then, i woke up.

[kiragecko]

What does the batfamily do when they get too hot on patrol?

Dick - gets grouchy, but otherwise seems unaffected? He sweats a lot, and drinks more, and dramatically flops onto furniture when patrol is over, but that's it.

Babs - her genetics are optimized for -5 to 15℃ (20 to 60℉). She finds this VERY annoying. Dramatically swooned off a rooftop once, and got caught by a panicking 15 year old Dick. So embarrassing. The clocktower has extremely good temperature control, but she never found something that worked on patrol, and is defensive about it.

Jason - has a variety of chemical icepacks that he can fit into his suit. Which is important, because he gets dizzy FAST when he's hot. Adds electrolytes to his water, and tries to get out of the heat as quickly as he can. Doesn't patrol on really hot days.

Tim - starts mentally redesigning his costume AGAIN. When it gets really bad, he starts a list on his wrist computer of snarky comments about every piece of gear that is bothering him, and why Bruce was wrong to include it. This is set to auto update the computer, so he doesn't second guess himself once his brain is no longer melting.

Steph - buys popsicles and cheerfully complains. If it gets bad enough, she finds one of the warehouses with cooling units that blast freezing air year round, and turns into a puddle for a while.

Cass - removes parts of her costume. Fights in her bra. Raids civilians' apartments for lighter clothing. Drinks LOTS of water.

Damian - goes quiet and still. Extremely high heat tolerance, so other people usually get concerned long before it becomes a major issue.

Duke - uses his powers to create a sun-blocking shield. Hides in a corner with his little patch of darkness and lets the air cool down. Then, if that doesn't work, dramatically rips vents all over his costume and just tries not to get hit. He has pretty good heat tolerance, but when it gets over his limit, he is DONE.

Bruce - Turns on his suit's cooling system, and then dissociates from his body even more than usual. Tries to predict what Tim's comments are going to be. Makes sure the Batmobile is stocked with icepacks, popsicles, and icecream. Checks the Batmobile computer to make sure all his kids are conscious and okay. Mentally rewrites his pitch to convince his children that THEY would benefit from cooling systems, even though he still hasn't found technology that would make the added weight and bulkiness feasible for anyone but Jason.

Alfred - the one time the heating system in the Batcave broke and started pumping out constant heat (and eventually flames), he covered anything delicate and then adapted the sprinkler system into a mister (that misted AROUND his usual locations, so he stayed mostly dry). Then he fixed the heating system.

[tia-amorosa]

🌴Lucky Palms🌴

Marisol - Saturday Night Fever (long) Part 1

It's just before 7 pm. The old warehouse, which has been converted into a discotheque/bar/arcade hall, is expecting many guests today. Clark and his band have invited virtually the whole town. Anyone who wants to come is welcome. And nobody knows how this evening will end….

"Man, don't overdo it now, Ozzy, do you hear me?"/ "Why… It's all for shit now anyway…"/ "But you're not doomed to die, now come back down and put the bottle away again. You'd better take care of the music system". Oscar received two pieces of news today that threw him off course. Not just him… but also his future wife and all his other close friends.

As no DJs were available today, the decision was made to use the Auto DJ system. Lots of music, put together on the computer and now played via USB stick. "System running"/ "I can hear that too, at least turn it down a bit so that people can still talk".

Shortly before 8 p.m., Marisol enters the hall. The music is loud, but not booming. She looks around, not too many people, but at least there's a bit going on… She was almost two hours late. But there was no need to get upset… "Hey…".

After she heard his voice and then saw him, she went to him. "Well, it's a bit lame, isn't it?"/ "yeah, but I'm sure there'll be more going on later. I didn't realize that the Super Bowl was still on TV today… Are you okay?"/ "mhm. Are the others here too?"/ "Only Oscar, the others had other plans today".

"So, are you excited about the tour yet? How many gigs do you have?"/ "um, I think 23 or so…". She raised an eyebrow with a grin. "You don't know exactly?"/ "Spike has more of an overview. Do you want a drink?"/ "hm, if there's something non-alcoholic here, you know…" She pointed to her stomach with her two index fingers. "Oh, sure, we don't want our child to become an alcoholic, right? There are non-alcoholic drinks upstairs".

After a few minutes, Vivienne, Oscar's fiancée, also arrived at the bar. "Hello you two, have you seen Oscar?". Marisol looked over at her in astonishment. "Vivienne? No, I've only just arrived…". Quark reacted a little annoyed, because things are always a little tense between him and Vivienne. "He must be buzzing around here somewhere, what are you doing here anyway, didn't you want to watch your show?"/ "You know I'm not at peace about my future husband at the moment. Well, I'll find him". After Vivienne was out of sight, Marisol turned to Clark again, "Is everything okay with them?"/ "Yes, yes… Shall we go upstairs?".

Slowly the hall filled up and people went to the bars, or to the dance floor if they felt like dancing. But the drinks here are the best in town at the moment. Clark is nervous on the one hand, but on the other, at least outwardly, calm…a few things have had to be sorted out in the last 24 hours. "hi, one orange juice with elderflower, please".

The barman looked at her, somewhat perplexed. "Elder… What?". And Clark immediately intervened. "Are you deaf? Elderflower, the syrup, is downstairs, front row, I filled it up the Bar myself…". The barman was a little piqued. "Are you the boss here?". Clark grinned a little. "Almost, so, what is it now, the lady is thirsty"/ "o.k. o.k.… what mix ratio?"/ And again Clark had to shake his head . "Haven't you studied the recipe book? Oh man, what's wrong with you?".

It took a while for the guy behind the bar to finally finish making the drink. He searched for the recipe, which was actually quite simple, for almost a minute: "I think I need to talk to your boss, apparently you've only had a crash course. Marisol looked over at him and had to laugh a little: "hnhn, hey, don't get upset, Clark, the drink tastes good, really".

Clark also had a drink made. Then they both got up and carried on talking. "And otherwise… everything okay?". Marisol took a sip from her glass. "mhm, yes… I'm just writing the last chapters of my new book" / "o.k. …. What's it about?" / "hm, about a broken family" / "Oh, o.k., and, is there a happy ending?"…

"Do you think I'm going to tell you the ending now? You should just read it when it's finished…"/ "Do you know when I last read a book? Just tell me"/ "Nope, I'll let you stew. There are definitely a lot of twists and turns in the story, it's exciting…"/ "hehe, and then you just grin like that". It was a casual conversation between the two of them. And they made jokes from time to time. And so Marisol continued in a cheerful tone. "Yes, because I'm convinced it's a good book."/ "hnhn, you know I only read the newspapers or something on my smartphone, but never a book"/ "hm, but on a long bus journey, from city to city, it certainly wouldn't be wrong…"/ "hnhn, yes, maybe. ". Clark finished his glass and placed it on the bar. "Fancy a bit of dancing?". She smiled and nodded.

Before they could even reach the stairs, they heard Vivienne shouting loudly. "Oscar! My God…" . They saw her bending over him, he seemed to be unconscious.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

What happened? We'll find out in the next part…

@cozygirlsimmer

Note: Sometimes things happen unexpectedly when I'm doing story or gamplay. And when I saw Oscar lying there on the floor, I thought to myself, that's so fitting right now! I had a similar scene in my head, but I dismissed it again. He gave me a good template, so to speak, and that's how this and the subsequent scenes in the next part were able to come about. 🙂

[brins-rogers]

paper rings ch. 01

{ azalea x edgar }

Warnings: swearing?? Slowburn, enemies to friends?? Friends to lovers???, mentions of addiction/substance abuse(character parent), sunshine x grump

Bullworth wasn’t a big town by any means, but somehow, she was lost. Not just a ‘oh, I’ll keep looking around and maybe find a landmark’ type lost, but lost where everything was unfamiliar, a growing pit of anxiety in her stomach as her head whipped around. All the rusty warehouses looked the same, too many docks that were all empty.

It didn’t help she was getting stares by most of the workers and people on this side of town. Blue Skies, the Industrial Park. Azalea had been lost in thought, walking and trying to clear her head at the news her best friend and longtime crush, Casey Harris, wasn’t into her. That he was dating Angie Ng, and what little chance she had with him was squashed.

Azalea stopped on a corner, trying to scan and see if maybe there was a bus stop that could take her back to the school, but she saw nothing. Busses didn’t even run to this part of town, and she could tell why. It was sketchy!

Hearing a loud gruff voice curse and a clang, she turned around to see some guy in an orange button up slam his fist down on the hood of his car. “Fucking piece of shit!” He exclaimed, running his hands through his buzzed hair before stomping to the drivers side. The engine sputtered, coughed, and went dead.

Azalea knew what that sound meant, she’d been working on cars with her dad since she was twelve. She tried to see what the guy looked like, maybe he would give her directions out of here? He didn’t exactly look friendly, but it was either ask him or ask the creepy adults that were staring at her a little too weirdly.

“Uh, hi?” She crept up quietly, his head snapping towards her. “What?!” He exclaimed, making her jump. He couldn’t have been that much older than her, thank god. He had a scar running down the left side of his face, and two tattoos on both his forearms. Was this one of the dropouts she’d heard Casey talk about so much?

“I … I was gonna say I could take a look at your car if you wanted? I’m pretty handy.” Azalea was literally shaking in her boots from just the way he stared her down. God, was he going to jump her? Mug her?

“Tch, yeah fucking right, kid.” He stated, popping the hood and motioning towards it. “Be my guest.” Oh, well, at least he wasn’t going to beat her ass. Azalea looked at him then to the car before padding over, sticking her arm elbow deep into the engine block.

Pulling out the all but destroyed radiator hose, she turned back to the guy with a shy smile. “Hose is fucked up. I can replace it easy. Just uh, stay here?” It wasn’t like he could just drive off. Thankfully she knew a trick to pop it back on with zero tools. Ricky actually taught her this one.

“Sure,” he folded his arms, leaning on his car as he watched her scurry off to the nearby auto store. Azalea had purchased a new hose, returning and replacing it quickly. Her tongue poked out of her mouth in thought as she screwed it back on snugly, feeling a few other things that weren’t too good.

Pulling her hands out and wiping them on her jeans, she looked up at him. “Crank it?” The guy shot her a sideways glance before huffing and sliding into the passenger seat. He cranked the car, a look of disbelief on his face when it actually sputtered to life. Azalea grinned to herself in triumph, thank god. She couldn’t replace his whole engine in the middle of the street, but thats damn near about what he needed.

He stalked towards her, looking at her with those narrowed brown eyes. He looked … angry, but what was new? “What’s the catch? Why did you do that? Who—who are you, actually? One of those stupid ass academy kids?”

She felt so small in his gaze, like he would devour her. A wolf stalking a little lamb. “I’m Azalea Collins, and … yeah, I go to Bullworth,” Azalea answered softly, struggling to maintain the intense eye contact with him. “There’s no catch, really! I’d just appreciate if you could maybe … just get me out of here? I’m really lost and bad at directions.”

His glare softened only slightly, looking down at her. “You just want a ride outta here?” She nodded quickly, her hands covered with oil and grease fidgeting. “Please?” He scoffed and turned his back towards her, stalking off to his car.

That’s it? He was just going to leave her after she’d so kindly fixed his car? What a dick!

He leaned over, opening the door for her from the driver’s side. Her heart damn near did a flip as she slowly approached, sliding in and carefully shutting the door. “Thank you,” her tone was soft as she buckled up. He turned to look at her before scoffing again.

“Whatever. What’s your address?” Azalea quietly told him, the two driving in an awkward silence. “You need to change your air filter, it’s gross. Actually, you need a lot of work done. It’s only a matter of time before your car just gives out completely.” She said, looking at him through her peripherals. He snorted, looking at her when they hit a light. “Do I look like a fucking mechanic to you? Or that I’m made of money?”

Normally, she’d shrink away when someone yelled at her. But for some reason unbeknownst to her, she kinda trusted this guy. Especially as familiar landmarks began to make their way past them. He really was taking her home.

“I can replace it. I have a spare in my garage.” She offered. He stopped a little harsher than necessary at a stop sign, hand on the back of her seat. “I’m not some fucking charity case, school kid. I don’t need your help.” He spat.

Azalea turned to face him, eyebrows slightly knit together. “Evidently you do. Like you said, you’re not a mechanic, and you’re not made of money, and I’m offering you free help. So why don’t you suck up your weird pride and just take it?” Her words shocked the both of them.

A grin spread across his face before he laughed, shaking his head and continuing to drive. “You’ve got guts kid, I’ll give you that.”

They were in her driveway not long after, Azalea unbuckling. It was a little disappointing she was home so soon. “What’s your name?” She asked, making him knit his brows.

“Why you care? You a fucking cop?” The redhead couldn’t help but smile, shaking her head. “No, I wanted to thank you for giving me a ride home.” “Then just say it, say thank you.”

Azalea just looked at him and blinked, smile not faltering. “Ugh, fine. Edgar.” She grinned a bit wider, turning to face him.

“Thank you for driving me home, Edgar.” He turned away from her, grumbling a little. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t mention it to anybody, school brat.” He paused for a moment before side eyeing her. “Thanks for … fixing my car, kid.”

Azalea beamed, opening up the door. “You’re welcome.” As she stood to get out, something came over her. God, this was a bad idea.

“If you need more help with your car, I can work on it, on the weekends? I just finished my project car so I have time on my hands.” She offered, heart pounding in her chest. Edgar turned to look at her and chuckled.

“Maybe. Get inside, school kid. And hey? Stay outta my turf.” The threat hung loosely, and quite frankly, it wasn’t a threat at all. Azalea could only grin. “Bye, Edgar. See you later.” She walked up the steps to her front door, shutting and locking it behind her. Once she was inside, she heard him pull out of her driveway.

Maybe he wasn’t such a dick after all, making sure she got in her house safe. Even if it was a bad idea, she really hoped he would take her up on that offer.