#Towing Chain Factory

[skiddertirechainssd]

Alloy steel chains are made for repeated lifting

Obtaining Chain Slings Chain slings certainly are a very versatile and reputable tool. They can be used to lift objects that Towing Chain Factory other slings aren't able to handle. Nevertheless, it is important to remember likely designed for professional don't use anything but. Therefore, they must be carefully inspected before being employed. Alloy steel chains are made for repeated lifting. There're specially made to be abrasion resistant and still have the capability to adapt to the shape of this load being lifted. Although these chains are perfect for overhead lifting, they probably should not be used in chemically active environments. Alternatively, wire mesh slings can be bought in many different types. They're usually made from alloy steel or carbon steel and are also often zinc-plated for enhanced corrosion resistance. When purchasing chain slings, you should choose the type in which best fits your job application. Some of the most usual choices include adjustable, solo, triple, and double-leg slings. According to the application, you also can want to consider using a basket or vertical problem. If you need additional flexibility, you can purchase chain slings that could be fitted with a sequence shortener. It is important to always follow the manufacturer's instructions when exercising on chain slings. This includes inspecting the chain for wear and tear and ensuring that this master link articulates freely about the lifting appliance. A sling shouldn't be loaded beyond their working load limit. On top of that, you should be absolute to check the attachments regarding damage. The manufacturer will in addition provide a "No-Go" determine. As with all rising equipment, it is crucial to perform a thorough inspection of your respective chain sling before every use. Even if that sling is new, you should still take some time to check for deterioration. You will need to know the maximum load you possibly can handle and the quantity of attachment points. Alloy steel slings should be properly lubricated. If they have confronted chemically active conditions, they should be cleaned and relubricated seeing that necessary. Also, you should be careful not to load them over its rated load, as they should stretch when under an excess of stress. Alloy steel chains can be purchased in a variety of shapes and grades. Grades 80 and 100 would be the most commonly used. Generally, a higher grade indicates a stronger sling. For instance, a grade 120 chain is 20% stronger over a grade 100 chain. In spite of the size or grade of chain you ultimately choose, you will find the sling is reasonably major. To ensure that you will not damage the sling, you need to measure the chain's length when it can be new. That will assist you to estimate the angle between the sling along with the load you are weightlifting. In addition to checking your chain sling, it is necessary that you check the particular attachments for cracks, deterioration, and other signs of usage. If you notice a dilemma, you should remove the sling from service instantly. Using a sling which is not suitable for the load you will be lifting can cause a crowd of damage.

[tarithenurse]

I see fire

Fandom: D&D 5E/homebrew campaign. Word count: 2309 Contents: Still that questionable justice system, probation, new people, gross food. A/N: This is the first bit from the actual campaign. Any questions are welcome. Please comment and like and reblog. Let me know if you want a tag. Divider by @firefly-graphics

IV

Zilvra has been listening to the distant sounds of the city for several days, unable to get a glimpse of the sky through the bars in the window unless she were to stand on the shit bucket – not an appealing thing to do so she has refrained.

Then one day a couple of guards come with a finely dressed man in tow who explains that it’s time for her to work off her debt.

Silently, she follows them through the city, blinking in the sharp sunlight as she tries to get her bearings along the way to a large building with a sign hanging by the door. It’s adorned with crossed weapons (a sword and a mace) upon a shield and beneath it are the words “Adventurers’ Guild”.

She can’t help to hesitate for a moment, not having expected this but rather some factory or maybe work at the docks, but she’s only given a few seconds before one of the guards pushes her forward and across the threshold.

The room is big but also tightly packed with smaller groupings of equally excited and nervous looking people. Most of them are humans but there are a few elves too...and two very colourful individuals – a male and a female who appear to be feeling out of place judging by the way they are looking about.

The male is blue skinned with poofy white hair that he’s tried to comb. He’s well armoured but oddly lithe. Allowing her gaze to travel the length of his body, Zilvra notices that his leather armour appears to be fitted with extra nobs and switches and he has some unidentifiable items hanging from his belt. She is unsure what race he is.

The female on the other hand is elvish although she is far from the race of either drow or High Elves...even Wood Elves would look different although her green colour scheme might be well suited for a life in the forest. Long hair (a darker green) is loosely braided and pushed to one side, allowing a view of a light leather armour and flowy clothes that still seem practical.

That’s all Zilvra has time to take note of before she’s pushed in their direction.

“These are your new friends,” the neatly dressed escort explains, returning from a desk where a rough looking man with black beard and hair is sorting through stacks of papers.

Handing a key to a guard, the escort watches as Zilvra’s manacles are unlocked, freeing her of the chain and ball she’d been lugging around for a long time. Oh, it feels wonderful and the drow can’t help but relish the feather light feeling of freedom only to have it snatched away as the man steps over and conjures new bonds on her wrists and neck. Lighter and without the heavy ball, they manage to remind her of her current status just as well as the previous tethers. At least, though, her items are returned to her and she quickly dons them all.

“They will tighten with time, eventually killing you if you don’t check in with the right people to have them loosened once more,” the escort explains, motioning to the bonds, “we will arrange for that...but make sure to make it to your destinations in time.” Then he turns to the two colourful people: “You now have a full group. Take some time to get to know each other.”

Slinking off to join the guards, the wizard (or whatever he is) gives the three strangers a chance to greet each other.

It turns out the female, who is green skinned, is called Morella and that she’s an eladrin – a Fey elf. She’s a bit vague on some subjects of her life but Zilvra writes it up to nerves and the fact that you don’t tell strangers everything right off the bat. Goodness knows Zilvra won’t.

The blue male is an air genasi by the name of Anvindr Hayate and while he is from this realm technically, he has chosen to embark on a journey of knowledge and research to ultimately help his kin return to where they came from. He doesn’t go into further details but prompts the drow to explain who she is, looking pointedly to the bonds on her wrist and neck.

“My name’s Zilvra Shadowsong,” she offers truthfully, “I’m...also on a bit of an educational quest. I know this first impression is probably not favourable but I promise the wrongs I’ve been accused of are...” she hesitates, looking for the right words, “I just wanted to admire the stars and while I may have been trespassing to get to the roof to do so, I’ve done no harm.”

A discreet snort of either disagreement or incredulity makes the three look over, finding the wizard to be looking at them intently. Noticing that he’s been spotted (although he was obviously not trying to hide it), he steps over.

“Even if you hadn’t trespassed, Roof Walking is still a crime and, in fact, you��ve been let off easy,” he claims. Then his expression softens a bit. “I’m curious to see what the three of you will accomplish as the oddball trio that you are.”

“Excuse me?” Morella bristles at his words.

He just smiles. “Look around. You’re all...misfits compared to the rest and that’s why we’ve placed you in a group together. You’re group D now. Master Tio will explain further once you’re ready,” with that he motions towards the large desk and the bearded man there, “but fear not...I have a feeling you’ve got potential.”

Watching as the man strides off out the door, it takes a moment for the newly made Group D to gather their thoughts.

“D,” Morella mocks, “what a lame name.”

Anvindr shrugs. “Guess we can have it changed?”

“To what?”

He looks both women over. “The misfits? The...rebels?”

Both females perk up at the last suggestion and the trio decides to go with that. Then they approach the desk.

Master Tio is a stout man with clear eyes and several scars that probably can be attributed to a life of adventure for himself. Straightening from his hunched position, he looks over the odd trio with a crooked smile.

“So you’ve accepted working together? Good good.” He ruffles through one of the stacks of papers on the desk, eventually procuring two documents but then shakes his head at one of them before returning it to the stack. “I got a job for you, if you want it.” His eyes are on Zilvra, and she picks up on the unspoken meaning: she doesn’t have a choice. “I want you to head to Heartwell Shire – it’s three or four days’ travel from here if you head east to Oldgarde and north from there. In Heartwell, find Deputy Willem and Marshal McBribe, they’ll fill you in on the rest but I can say that it’s something about the mine up there.” He explains more about the trip: people who can help them with shelter and food in Oldgarde thanks to the way the system is set up with identifying tags (they’re copper rank), the fauna of the region which is unfamiliar to them all, and the time pressure that at least Zilvra is under. “You’ve got five days so you want to get there to get the bonds extended.”

The newly acquainted outsiders exchange glances, at least one of them having a clear preference to make the trip as quick as possible.

“One thing before we leave,” Morella asks sugary sweet, “while walking from the harbour I couldn’t help but notice the damage to the city?”

Something dark crosses Tio’s face. “Yeah...long story short, a rebellious group of masons went amok and caused quite a bit of destruction. It got so bad the king had to intervene and they killed him. It’s best not to talk too much about it for now.” He slumps back in his chair, staring fixedly on a bare spot on the desk. “Just know that the guilty have been dealt with under orders of the widower queen. Now git.”

Not daring to push the subject further, the trio exits the Guild House, finding themselves on a street that has truly woken up. Already having all they need, the three of them thankfully agree to set off towards Heartwell Shire along the route suggested by Tio.

As the group walks, they slowly begin chatting more openly. First contemplating the system for adventurers, they can’t help but wonder what it takes to rise in the ranks.

“So if we’re copper,” Morella contemplates, “and we already will get free food and lodging...what will we get at silver and gold ranks?”

“Actually paid?” Zilvra suggests, thinking of her empty coin purse.

The male nods. “I’ve been told, and I hope it’s true, that you’d get access to places like the library and such.”

“Why do you hope that?” the eladrin asks curiously.

“I need to do some research...” Sighing, it’s evident that he takes the moment to consider what to tell them. “I...my people have been forced to flee our home. We come from another plane of existence and...let’s just say it hasn’t been pretty. I want for us to take back our home.”

The women nod.

“I come from a different plane of existence too,” the colourful of the females admits to no one’s surprise, “from the Fey Wild.”

“Why’d you leave?” Zilvra asks.

“...I don’t know...I can’t remember.” Stunned silence forces Morella to elaborate: “I just...I know I was there one moment and the next I was on a ship in the middle of the ocean. The people onboard were kinda shocked at me appearing out of nowhere. They were nice though, told me we were headed to Stouvania.”

The two other share a glance.

Anvindr is the one to speak up: “So you need to get back home.”

“Nah, I kinda like seeing new things so this is exiting,” the Fey elf grins, “besides I wouldn’t know where to go there either so might as well enjoy this for a while. Maybe I’ll remember something eventually.”

“But won’t people be looking for you?”

She seems surprised at the idea as if she hadn’t considered that before. “Maybe?”Then she turns with a smile to the drow. “And you?

Zilvra doesn’t quite like the beaming attention. “Well...as I said: I didn’t intend to do anything illegal. Yeah, alright, I might have been trespassing but I just wanted to look at the stars! We don’t have them in the Underdark.”

“Underdark?” Morella wonders.

Explaining briefly about the world below ground where she’s from, Zilvra manages to avoid further questions about her past. For now.

---

They walk the entire day, arriving at Oldgarde by sunset.

The place is nothing more than a village, though, with only one bigger building – the inn which clearly has been expanded in recent years and bears the sign “Lion’s Pride Inn”. Several of the city’s guards can be seen strolling or loitering, making Zilvra slightly uneasy, tugging at her sleeves and hood to hid the bonds. As the trio is about to enter the inn, they spot one of the other newly formed adventuring groups.

They’ve barely stepped into the crowded place before a boisterous woman bears down on them, presenting herself as Malikka. Showing her their tags, she verifies that food’s on the house and that they can sleep in the basement.

Checking out the quarters, the trio is utterly dismayed (and grossed out). What once might have been a coal or root cellar has barely been cleared out and in one corner there’s still a pile of refuse with plenty of fat rats. Not to mention the half full piss pot.

It is free, though, and none of the trio has money to buy a room instead so they accept, returning to the main room of the tavern for the promised meal only to be disappointed once more by stale and moulding bread and ale gone bad. Thankfully, Morella has a few tricks up her sleeve and is able to create a tiny but filling meal of Goodberries.

While nibbling, Zilvra points out the other group of adventurers and eventually Anvindr walks over to them, the rest of the trio in tow, and suggests an arm wrestling match so he can test out something about his armour.

The group consists of three male humans called Owen, Hayden, and Adam. Owen, a strong guy who might be a fighter, accepts the challenge after downing his expired beer. The other two discreetly push their mugs towards their friend, too disgusted by the contents to want to drink it, making Owen beam happily. Perhaps that joy is what carries him to a hard earned victory despite the steam slipping from Anvindr’s armour as they compete.

“Where’ve you got that armour from?” Hayden asks, fidgeting with the rings of his own.

The air genasi smiles proudly while rubbing his hand where it got slammed into the table. “I made it myself. I’m a bit of a tinkerer.”

It turns out to be a merry evening. No one but Owen drinks the ale, making sure that nothing goes to waste, and eventually everyone finds their way down into the basement to get some rest – the two of elven kin taking turns to rest so someone is awake at all times...and good thing too because during Zilvra’s watch, Owen wakes up: sick from the beer he pukes in the corner before she can do anything, barely acknowledges her help with cleaning him up after (long live magic) and eventually falling asleep again.

The only other thing that happens during the night is a strange metamorphosis of the eladrin as she changes appearance during her restful trance: from verdant greens and pinks to flaming hues that could match the warmest fire.

[soul-eater-novel]

P202

「わかった。では、屋上で」 “All right. Let’s go to the roof.”

根を携え、カイが広間から出ていった。 Kai left the hall, carrying his staff in hand.

ティルは椙を握り、その後を追った。 Gripping his own staff tightly, Tir followed him.

それからというもの、ティルはカイを相手に棒術の稽古に打ち込んだ。 From that moment on, Tir devoted himself to studying bōjutsu under Kai’s tutelage.

身体中があざだらけになり、手の皮もすりむけた。 His body was bruised all over, his hands blistered.

新たにティルはいくつかの奥義をカイから授かったが、それよりも今は、くたくたになって泥のように眠れればよかった。 Tir did learn a number of secret techniques anew from Kai, but he was simply glad to be so bone-weary exhausted that he collapsed into bed and slept like the dead.

ティルがそうして過ごしている間に、一人トラン湖を船で渡り、パーンが居城に帰ってきた。 While Tir spent his days training, Pahn crossed Toran Lake alone and made his way back to the castle.

皆に喜んで迎えられた。 His arrival was met with cheers.

ハーンは傷だらけだった。 Pahn was covered in cuts and wounds.

クレオに包帯でぐるぐる巻きにされ、ベッドに横たわったパーンは、テオとの一騎打ちを振り返って大きくため息をついた。 Cleo wrapped him in bandages. Laying in bed, Pahn sighed as he recounted his one-on-one battle with Teo.

「あの戦い、到底俺が勝ったとは思えません。もしかしたらテオ様は、俺のことを見逃してくれたのかも……」 “Didn’t think there was any way I was comin’ out of that fight alive. Lord Teo must have let me get away…”

父ならそうするだろうと、ティルは思った。 But Tir wasn’t so certain.

テオは全力でぶつかってこいと、ティルに言っているのだ。 After all, Teo had told Tir he would strike them with his full strength.

またそれから三日後、湖賊を訪ねたヤム・クーが一人の男を連れて城に戻ってきた。 Three days after Pahn came back, Yam Koo returned from his visit to the pirates with a guest in tow.

額に青の鉢巻を巻き、青い長羽織を着たその男は、湖賊の頭領アンジーと名乗った。 It was Anji, the leader of the lake pirates. He sported a blue headband and wore a long, azure haori coat.

もとはトラン湖の船商人だったが、帝国の横暴に耐えかね、仲間を集めて湖賊をはじめたという。 He said he had originally been a Lake Toran merchant but, unable to stand the violence of the Empire, had gathered together like-minded comrades. This was how the lake pirates started.

「いけすかねえ帝国のヤツらにひと泡吹かせてやりましょうぜ」 “Let’s blow those dirty Imperial bastards outta the water!”

P203 アンジーはそう言って解放軍への力を約束し、���千の兵を提供してくれた。 declared Anji, pledging two thousand of his men to the Liberation Army’s cause.

そして自分は、部下の怪力男カナック、鎖鎌の使い手レオナルドと共にソニアの砦を攻めると言って湖賊の砦へと戻っていった。 Before returning to the pirate stronghold, he explained how he would attack Sonya’s fortress alongside his crew; Kanak, a fearsomely strong man, and Leonardo, who wielded a sickle and chain.

そして二十日が経過し、フリックたちが戻ってきた。 After twenty days, Flik and the others returned.

彼らは六百本の火炎槍を、秘密工場の主モース、そのお手伝いの女格闘家ロニー・ベルと共に、無事に居城まで運んできた。 Together with Mose, the head of the secret factory, and his assistant Ronnie Bell, who was a female martial artist, they came bearing six hundred fire spears and safely transported them to the castle.

ティルの根を一回り太くしたような長い銀の柄。 The spears were long and silver, one size larger than Tir’s staff.

その尻には紋章片が入っているのか、小さな球体が取り付けられている。 There was a small globe on one end, apparently embedded with a rune fragment.

柄の中程には仕掛けを作動させるスイッチがついていて、先端には炎を吹き出す小さな口が開いていた。 The shaft of the spear contained a switch. When flipped, flames would spew out of a small opening in the tip of the spear.

フリックが言うには、火炎槍はずっと使えるわけでなく、紋章片の力が尽きたところで効力を失うということだった。 According to Flik, this ability was limited. Once the rune fragment’s power was used up, the spears would no longer be able to shoot flames.

彼らは火炎槍を運んだだけでなく、北方から新たな有志で連れてきた。 In addition to the fire spears, they also brought new volunteers with them from the north.

キーロフの街からは洗濯上手のセイラ、カードゲームが得意な遊び人のジョルジュ、料理人のレスター、音楽好きの少女メロディ、タイ・ホーの顔見知りの船商人のクン・トーが参戦した。 These new recruits included Sarah, an expert laundress from the town of Kirov. Georges, whose skill lay in card games. Lester the chef. Melodye, a young woman who loved music, as well as Kun To, an acquaintance of Tai Ho and fellow sailor.

荒廃したカレッカの町からはマッシュの叔父に当たる軍師レオン・シルバーバーグ、農夫のブラックマンが参加し、秘密工場のモース、ロニー・ベルもそのまま合流した。 From the ruins of Kalekka came the renowned tactician Leon Silverberg, who also happened to be Mathiu’s uncle, and Blackman, a farmer. They were joined by Mose and Ronnie Bell from the secret factory.

山賊のケスラーとルドン、そして忍びのカゲという男も、秘密工場で仲間になった。 At the factory, they also befriended the bandits Kessler and Ledon as well as the ninja Kage.

しかもキーロフの街の船商人クン・トーは、腕に覚えのある船乗り二千を解放軍に合流させた。 Moreover, the sailor Kun To of Kirov brought with him two thousand men and women skilled with ships and added their numbers to the Liberation Army’s ranks.

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[shanks42]

Shanks: The ancient prophecy of the missing millennia

This is the first time I am posting. I appreciate feed back and I can do separate one-shots with character if you'd like to place a request. This is a ongoing story with many chapters to come. The story is about Shanks getting Captured, tortured and rescued. Shanks has a relationship with Nami and Robin and history during the 2 years they were gone. Stay posted for more :)

Chapter  1: Shank’s battle with The Blackbeard Alliance

Shanks was currently involved in a battle with Blackbeard, Burgess, Flamingo and Kaido all at once barely dodging attacks. “That was close” painfully exclaimed Shanks after barely escaping a direct hit from Blackbeard. He was barely conscious as it was since his crew had all been wiped out by Kaido and Blackbeard. “Well looks like you dodged that hit and is still conscious I see” snickered Flamingo. Shanks glanced up and gasped when he saw Do Flamingo coming in with his string shotgun. 

Oh no, when did he get up there. I was barely able to stop Blackbeard's attack, I don’t think I can dodge this one. I can’t move and my vision is blurry, I didn't even detect him thought Shanks as he attempted to stand and failed falling to his knees. “Looks like this is the end of the road for you red hair” boasted Flamingo as he sent his string 72lb shotgun straight towards the yonko. “Aaaaaahhhhhhhh” screamed Shanks as it hit him dead on. He flew back and smashed into the ground, blood spraying across the air from Flamingo’s attack. 

Shanks vision is extremely blurry and fading into blackness, the last thing he remembers was Blackbeard walking up laughing “Oh the fun has just begun” was the last words he heard before succumbing into darkness. “Wakey Wakey, don’t want you missing out on all the fun now do we” laughed blackbeard as he punched the red haired yonko in the stomach with his blackhole causing Shanks to jolt awake.

 “Aaaaaaahhhhhhh blahhhh” screamed Shanks as he spat up blood. “Oh good, you’re awake just in time for the party” snickered Kaido from the corner of the room. Where am I, what happened? Last thing I remember was Flamingo attacking me and the “huh” it dawned on him. BLACKBEARD!!! Everything came back to him at once. 

“What did you do to my crew?!?!?!” weakly demanded Shanks, earning him a sharp kick to the chest by Bellinger. It was at that moment Shanks realized his cape, sword, shash and shirt were all gone leaving him bare before his torturers. “Oh, your crew??? Don’t worry about them, we left them to die back there!!” laughed Kaido right before he delivered his gorilla punch right to the side of Shank’s heading. “Uggghhh” groaned a semi conscious borderline delirious Shanks. Blood ran down his face and onto the floor as he realized he was suspended in the air and chained down. 

“W-wh-where a-am I??” weakly groaned Shanks, trying to blink the blurriness out of his eyes. His head was throbbing from the gorilla punch by Kaido. “You are at the new location of the smile factory. PUNK HAZARD!!!” maliciously laughed Flamingo. “Don’t worry, no one followed us so we have all the time in the world to spend time together” laughed Burgess landing  a 1 ton gravity kick masked in armament Haki and lightning to the yonko’s gut. Shank’s head flew back and a blood curdling scream came from the young redhead “Aaaahhhhhhh Aaaahhhhh” screamed Shanks as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he splattered up blood.

“I think he wants more. Bellinger hit him with your double bull horn head butt” said none other than his stepmother, the one who tried to kill him when he was a boy. “Y-Y-You B-Ba-bastard” wheezed Shanks. “OKIE-DOKIE!!” exclaimed Bellinger, hitting shanks and piercing his chest with his horns. “Aaaaaauuugggggggghhhhhhh” was all that came out before Shanks succumbed to the darkness taking over from the pain he was in. “Oh no, we're not done yet” was the last thing he heard from Flamingo before passing out watching a string pistol shot heading towards him.

This is a ongoing series, let me know what you think. I am currently working on it and will take requests for any pairings for other stories including once shots. Enjoy!!!

[instructionsnotincluded]

State of Grace

Chapter XVII

Excerpt:

Victor Shoupe stood in front of a map of Kildare County, arms folded as he stared blankly. It had been almost five days since Audrey sat in his office. Four days since they filed the missing person report. Four days since his deputy was last seen. Four long, long days.

Shopue had no idea where she was—he wasn’t even convinced she was on this island anymore, which frightened him more than he wanted to admit. Max had basically disappeared into thin air. His apartment was empty, his cruiser in the parking lot that they’d since towed back to the station. Shoupe even tried tracking his department issued smartphone, but his deputy had left it in the car, the device reset to factory default. None of Max’s neighbors ever talked to him and the few people he was friendly with in the department didn’t ever do anything with him outside of work—so it was just dead end after dead end. Shoupe knew that all eyes were on him and he could feel the tension coming off the other deputies, everyone walking around on eggshells now that the State Bureau of Investigation was involved, all of their work under an even larger magnifying glass.

Moving away from the map, Shoupe took a seat at his desk and glanced down at the evidence bag of items they’d taken out of Deputy Whitehall’s locker. There wasn't much—a fresh pair of white gym socks, a tube of deodorant, a thing of hand sanitizer and a photo of him and an older man taped to the door. But what really interested him in the bag was a small, beat up looking ring attached to a silver chain. It was far too small to fit Max’s fingers, looking more like it was made for thinner, smaller fingers. If Shoupe ran his thumb across it over the plastic of the Ziploc, the ring itself changed colors, but only slightly. It’d been awhile since he saw a mood ring, and even longer since he wore one, but it was definitely the kind kids got out of machines for a handful of quarters. It didn’t fit with Max’s clean and tidy appearance, and Shoupe couldn’t help but keep looking at it, as if it had all the answers to this horrific situation.

[docnomore]

Thinking about the differences Mrs. Doc and I had to work through over the years. Our childhood years were dramatically different. Her father was the VP of the wealthiest bank in the US. That translates to, a father never present. Up before dawn, gym bag, brief case and suit in hand. Home by 5, locked away in the study, drinking martinis and doing paperwork. Unavailable until 8 PM when he was sufficiently numb and time for bed. He did everything he’d been taught: he was a great provider. Mother, went to school, got her M-R-S degree, did finishing school and all of that. She graduated to become the consummate, bored to tears housewife. Always dressed in pearls, always at the ready with starched shirts, impeccably clean house and the meal at the last minute when he’d call to inform he was bringing a client home. Mrs. Doc did the private school, the riding club and country club with the parents. She and her friends hung out at the pool. Mrs. Doc from an early age would slip into her father’s study and eat the very “wet” olives from the martini. By 9-10, she was an alcoholic. Mother decided she wanted more. Took up stage acting. That was not befitting a banker’s wife. They soon divorced. She met and married a Harvard man. A socialist, Kennedy man. Given her options, Mrs. Doc chose to stay with mom over dad. That essentially cost her her inheritance from her father. Mom left an inheritance of $2 million but step dad remarried and divided that up between the new wife and her brood. Mrs.Doc’s step brother being the executor saw what dad had done and made attempts to make things right. She received nearly. $70,000. Staying with mom also meant moving as a late teen to Colorado with the whole John Denver movement. She married and her alcoholism caught up to her. She married a second time to a guy who was a total manipulator. He was a long haul truck driver. Together, they had a daughter. Not exactly sure, but there’s a strong possibility that he molested her. By this time, Mrs. Doc was a recovering alcoholic but still had her vices - namely cigarettes and work. She was managing a corporate chain restaurant and was averaging 12+ hours a day. Closing one day and opening the next. Her daughter in tow, the child had no idea what stability was. That marriage failed and then came me.

Six months older than Mrs. Doc, she came from one side of the state, I came from the other. Dad was illiterate and always searching for work. He had many jobs. A friend from school got him a job as a pit crewman on an Indianapolis 500 race team. They won in 1949, 1951 and again in 1952. He also worked a printing press, driving a fire truck and as a TV repairman. Things were always tight but they managed to make it work. Mom had a mental illness and could never tell the truth. We grew up believing we were direct descendants of frontiersman Daniel Boone. Dad continued to work Indy for several decades and as soon as we boys were “old enough”, would take us to the track. People with a little money, do crazy stupid stuff. And at Indy, the infield gets raunchy and wild. Dad would take us around the track and taught us both to drive race cars there. I’d been driving since the age of 12 on the neighbor’s farm. They had a Volkswagon Beetle with no doors. When it was time to bring the cows in, we’d drive them in using that car. In ‘75, things got really hard. A fire retardant known as PBB was mixed in with the cattle feed and everyone’s herds had to be Slaughtered. Using a bull dozer, someone from the government would order a trench dug. The cattle were herded in and we sitting up on the sides would open fire. We were paid 22 cents a bullet. Dad was working a factory job and that factory closed. More government policy gone bad. Literally, we were left to starve. Mom had a job at a doctor’s office. It wasn’t enough to keep the creditors at bay, they lost everything but the house. As kids, we hung out in the back pastures, having bonfires and a keg of beer until the cops showed up. It would always turn into a free for all of underage drinkers wildly driving through corn fields trying to lose the cops. More of dad’s driving lessons put to use. Come the next morning, the chief of police would show up at the coffee shop, lay an ear of corn in front of dad and tell him hame had to go square up with the farmer whose field we tore up the night before. I was a lousy student, in part because dad never allowed homework to be done at home. “School is for school work. Home is for home.” He would say. Report cards would go home and mom and dad would have their arguments. Mom would slap us around a bit and life went on. Like my sister and brother before me, I graduated to essentially nothing. I worked as a dishwasher, a banquet porter, room service and as a cook. Factory work had left the state and farmers had lost their farms. I floundered for a few years then ended up in the military. I’d never been “college material”. In the military, everything is premised on rank and rank is premised on the amount of education one has. Having nothing more than a high school diploma and ranked at the bottom of the class, I was literally little more than cannon fodder. I began as a deck seaman on an ammunition supply ship sailing the Pacific. I got orders to attend Hospital Corpsman school while docked in the Philippines. I still wasn’t much for education, but sitting in a classroom for 13 weeks sure beat working Deck. I and another guy teamed up with a merchant mariner expat living in Manilla. He had a van, and we chipped in for gas and we drove across Luzon to get from Subic Bay to Clark Air Force Base. We hopped a C-141 to Travis AFB. Somewhere over the Pacific, that plane blew an engine and we found ourselves on Guam. We talked our way into first class tickets aboard a PanAm 747 to San Francisco. I attended HM school in San Diego, where my immaturity nearly go the better of me. I’d skip out of school around noon, change into a swim suit, grab a cooler full of beer and a surfboard and would spend the day and night surfing and getting drunk. Hung over, I graduated and they sent me to Camp Pendleton where I learned how to work with the Marine Corps. After that, Chicago, where I met a girl and married her. We hardly knew one another. Soon after, she was pregnant and she lied to get out of the Navy. That marriage failed.

[allaboutmarketing4you]

Ford Motor : Supply Chain Strategy & Challenges | Harvard Business | MBA Solved Case Study analysis

"Traditional methods for managing supply chain risk rely on knowing the likelihood of occurrence and the magnitude of impact for every potential event that could materially disrupt a firm’s operations. For common supply-chain disruptions—poor supplier performance, forecast errors, transportation breakdowns, and so on—those methods work very well, using historical data to quantify the level of risk.

But it’s a different story for low-probability, high-impact events—mega disasters like Hurricane Katrina in 2005, viral epidemics like the 2003 SARS outbreak, or major outages due to unforeseen events such as factory fires and political upheavals. Because historical data on these rare events are limited or nonexistent, their risk is hard to quantify using traditional models. As a result, many companies do not adequately prepare for them. That can have calamitous consequences when catastrophes do strike and can force even operationally savvy companies to scramble after the fact—think of Toyota following the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami.

Ford’s supply chain, like those of many other companies, has become increasingly globalized, complex, and extended. This has had the effect of introducing more potential points of failure that Ford must recognize and manage.

This video describes Ford's examination of its supply chain to evaluate whether the company should "virtually integrate" on the Dell Computers model."

Source: 5 Minutes Learning

#ford#supplychain#harvard#business#businessanalysis#casestudy#facts#learning#mba#new#businessstrategy#trending#scm#strategy

And please, share Marketing 4 You . Tanks

#mktmarketing4you#corporatestrategy#marketing#M4Y#lovemarketing#IPAM#ipammarketingschool#ContingencyPlanning#virtual#volunteering#project#Management#Economy#ConsumptionBehavior#BrandManagement#ProductManagement #Logistics #Lifecycle

#Brand #Neuromarketing #McKinseyMatrix #Viralmarketing #Facebook #Marketingmetrics #icebergmodel #EdgarScheinsCultureModel #GuerrillaMarketing #STARMethod #7SFramework #gapanalysis #AIDAModel #SixLeadershipStyles #MintoPyramidPrinciple #StrategyDiamond #InternalRateofReturn #irr #BrandManagement #dripmodel #HoshinPlanning #XMatrix #backtobasics #BalancedScorecard #Product #ProductManagement #Logistics #Branding #freemium #businessmodel #business #4P #3C #BCG #SWOT #TOWS #EisenhowerMatrix #Study #marketingresearch #marketer #marketing manager #Painpoints #Pestel #ValueChain # VRIO #marketingmix

[veghelyicsaba]

Cruising through Budapest's Festive Spirit: A Guide to Car Service During Christmas Holidays

As the magical holiday season descends upon Budapest, the city transforms into a winter wonderland adorned with twinkling lights, festive markets, and a cheerful atmosphere that permeates every corner. Navigating the bustling streets of Budapest during Christmas can be both enchanting and challenging, making reliable transportation a crucial element of your holiday experience. In this guide, we explore the benefits of opting for a car service in Budapest during the Christmas holidays, ensuring a seamless and festive travel experience.

Comfort and Convenience:

Budapest's Christmas festivities spread across the city, from the iconic Christmas markets in Vörösmarty Square to the stunning lights along the Danube River. A car service provides the luxury of door-to-door transportation, allowing you to travel comfortably between these festive attractions without the hassle of public transportation or the stress of finding parking spaces in crowded areas.

Exclusive Sightseeing:

A car service not only offers convenience but also the opportunity for a personalized and exclusive sightseeing experience. Escape the crowds and explore hidden gems as your chauffeur guides you through the city's festive highlights. Picture cruising along the glittering Chain Bridge or admiring the panoramic views from Buda Castle – all from the comfort of a private car.

Efficient Shopping:

Budapest's Christmas markets are a shopper's paradise, offering unique handcrafted gifts, traditional Hungarian delicacies, and festive souvenirs. With a car service at your disposal, you can efficiently transport your holiday finds without the worry of navigating public transportation with bags in tow. Your chauffeur can assist with loading and unloading, ensuring a stress-free shopping spree.

Safety and Reliability:

Winter weather can be unpredictable, and navigating through Budapest's hilly terrain during the holidays may present challenges. Opting for a professional car service ensures that you have a reliable mode of transportation, especially during inclement weather. Experienced drivers are well-equipped to handle the winter conditions, providing a safe and secure journey for you and your companions.

Customized Itinerary:

Whether you're planning a romantic evening cruise along the Danube or a family-friendly visit to the Santa Claus Factory, a car service allows you to create a customized itinerary tailored to your preferences. Your chauffeur can adapt to your schedule, ensuring that you make the most of Budapest's festive offerings at your own pace.

Embrace the holiday spirit in Budapest with the added comfort, convenience, and luxury of a car service. Navigating the city's enchanting Christmas celebrations becomes a stress-free and enjoyable experience, allowing you to focus on creating lasting memories with loved ones. Elevate your holiday adventure by choosing a car service that combines efficiency with the magic of Budapest during the most wonderful time of the year.

Car Service Budapest - We offer door-to-door private transfers with sightseeing & tourist stop options between Budapest and Vienna, and across the Central-European area at best prices.

[infinitiresearch]

Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market| Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Share, Trends, Analysis, Growth and Forecast, 2023 – 2027

Originally published on Technavio: Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market by Product, End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2023-2027

### **Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market Research Report**

#### **1. Executive Summary**

- Overview of the AGV market. - Key findings and market trends. - Growth prospects and emerging opportunities.

#### **2. Introduction**

- Definition and significance of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). - Historical development and evolution of AGV technologies.

#### **3. Market Size and Forecast**

- Historical market size and growth. - Current market size and trends. - Future projections and factors influencing growth.

#### **4. Market Segmentation**

- Types of AGVs (tow vehicles, unit load carriers, pallet trucks, etc.). - Key players and market share in each segment.

#### **5. Competitive Landscape**

- Major AGV manufacturers and suppliers. - SWOT analysis of key companies. - Innovations, partnerships, and technological advancements.

#### **6. Industry Applications**

- Trends in industry applications for AGVs (manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, etc.). - Market share and growth in each industry vertical.

#### **7. Technology Trends**

- Trends in technology adoption in AGVs (autonomous navigation, robotics integration, connectivity, etc.). - Impact on efficiency, safety, and adaptability.

#### **8. Regulatory Standards**

- Overview of regulatory standards for AGVs. - Compliance challenges and advancements.

#### **9. Integration with Industry 4.0**

- Trends in integrating AGVs with Industry 4.0. - Impact on smart factories, data analytics, and supply chain optimization.

#### **10. Market Dynamics**

- Drivers of market growth (increased automation demand, labor shortages, efficiency gains). - Challenges and obstacles (high initial costs, technical complexities, scalability). - Opportunities for market expansion (emerging markets, customized solutions, predictive maintenance).

#### **11. Impact of COVID-19 on the AGV Market**

- Assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the market. - Trends in disrupted supply chains, remote operations, and market recovery.

#### **12. Environmental and Sustainability Impact**

- Trends in environmentally friendly and sustainable AGV technologies. - Impact on resource conservation and corporate social responsibility.

#### **13. Customer Case Studies**

- Successful implementations of AGV solutions. - Challenges faced by users and lessons learned.

#### **14. Distribution Channels**

- Trends in the distribution channels for AGVs. - Impact on sales, marketing strategies, and customer support.

#### **15. Future Technologies in AGVs**

- Trends in emerging technologies impacting AGVs. - Impact on flexibility, adaptability, and artificial intelligence.

#### **16. Future Outlook**

Anticipated trends in the AGV market. - Potential disruptions and areas for future growth.

To Learn deeper into this report , View Sample PDF

#### **17. Recommendations**

- Strategic recommendations for AGV manufacturers and users. - Areas for further research, development, and collaboration.

#### **18. Conclusion**

- Summarize key findings. - Concluding thoughts on the future of the AGV market.

For more information please contact.

[thecleverqueer]

The more convoluted aspect of “The Wrong Jedi” arc that I struggle with is not why Barriss bombed the temple, but why she opted to frame Ahsoka for it.

Honestly, on the surface level, it makes literally no sense. Based on the few interactions that we do have between Ahsoka and Barriss, they have some sort of magnetic attraction, a clear level of respect, trust, “friendship” and understanding between them. They’re pitched as “close”, but we’re not sure how close because outside of “Weapons Factory”, “Brain Invaders” and a comic where Ahsoka is being a flirty show-off, we don’t see them interact (but as I have elaborated before, based on Ahsoka’s reaction to everything, they were probably much closer than cannon lets on). And, honestly, none of that is relevant unless Barriss is either being made into a springboard to further Ahsoka’s character development, or it somehow plays into her decision to screw Ahsoka over.

So, why frame your friend/ girlfriend?

Truly, I know what cannon says, but I’m not wholly confident that it was Barriss’s intention to frame Ahsoka.

The problems start when Tarkin calls Ahsoka over to speak to Letta at the high security military prison, and then Letta gets force choked on video while Ahsoka is in the room alone with her. I tend to think he and Palpatine had something to do with this chain of events because the sound recorder in the room was not working, and the video alone made Ahsoka look undeniably guilty. I struggle to determine if it was Barriss or Palpatine that did the force choking. Once again, I don’t think it was Barriss’s intent to frame Ahsoka. Barriss wouldn’t likely know that Ahsoka had gone to the prison in the first place. So from the start, I think Ahsoka was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Then, thing spiral… Someone helps Ahsoka escape the prison. Theoretically, Barriss could have been making an attempt to save Ahsoka by breaking her out of jail, but how in the hell did she get into a high security prison to do that without getting caught? I mean, Barriss could have mind-tricked her way into the prison, I guess, taken Ahsoka’s shit from holding, found the prison cell door key card, got caught doing all of that shit, and killed all of those clones which only served to make Ahsoka look guiltier. Bad improvisation? Still, there are security cameras everywhere in the facility. It was all on video, and there is that pesky fact that Tarkin lied to the Jedi council about how Ahsoka actually escaped. So, either way, there was an internal cover-up.

Ahsoka then makes a daring escape into the under city where she contacts Barriss twice, once on her Jedi com-link and once via holo-booth. Barriss seemed legitimately concerned about Ahsoka’s safety and well-being. Barriss, if her goal was to frame Ahsoka, fooled me by the way she and Ahsoka interacted on the calls, especially through the holo-booth call where Barriss looks as though she wants to reach out and touch Ahsoka’s face. Barriss recommends that Ahsoka go to a munitions factory to look for clues to find the real killer. Ahsoka goes. She has Ventress in tow. They fight Plo’s clones in the alleyway. Ahsoka is doing too much. She ALWAYS does too much. It is, once again, only making her look worse.

Finally, we get the scene in the munitions factory. Why did Barriss lure Ahsoka there? This is where everything gets confusing for me, and it gets really complicated for me to work out.

Up until this point, Barriss seemed to just be a willing and cowardly participant in Ahsoka’s downfall. Barriss was “the perfect Padawan”. She didn’t want to own up to her actions, but she seemed to be doing what she could for her girlfriend that was doing too damned much. Why couldn’t Ahsoka get on a ship, fly away and just drop it? What does Barriss decide to do to rectify all of this? She goes and savagely beats the shit out of Ahsoka disguised as Ventress in the factory. The fight is particularly ruthless. Granted, once again, Ahsoka is doing too much, but Barriss is just straight up barbaric in her kicking of Ahsoka’s ass. It’s unfettered rage, and I’m not sure where it comes from. She doesn’t show the same brutality in her fight against Anakin. It’s personal.

Why? Is she THAT frustrated at Ahsoka? Is she THAT upset that Ahsoka won’t let it go? Does she think Ahsoka is boning Ventress and is jealous? Does she want Ventress to take the fall for all of it, and if so, why does she run when the clones show up to take Ahsoka back into custody (conveniently where she fell right into the nano-droid weaponry)? Did Palpatine pull the string? Did he convince her that Ahsoka did something to betray her? Was it mind control? This is where better writing would have been helpful. Why is that fight happening, and why is it happening like THAT? I don’t know.

In closing, I think the framing had more to do with Tarkin and Palpatine trying to get Ahsoka out of the way, and less to do with Barriss who just clearly had no improvisational skills and was terrified of getting into trouble.

[skiddertirechainssd]

The Forestry Tire Chains Survey report offers a great in-depth evaluation involving

The Global Market to get Forestry Tire Chains is really a highly dynamic markets, with many components influencing the sector. The study insures key trends and also drivers, as well since the market's current state and Towing Chains Type Of Transport Chains Factory In China future prospects. It also presents market scenario through country and area, and provides a detailed competitive analysis of the industry. For case in point, the report evaluates market segmentation by means of type, application, plus company, as well as analyzes macro plus microeconomic factors to view the right organization strategy. The Forestry Tire Chains Survey report offers a great in-depth evaluation involving demand and consumption for any products on the market. It provides info on industry segmentation, important players, and prices analysis. The article also highlights your emerging and established players' business techniques, and the corporation's brand image. At the same time, the report targets the leading messages and trending designs to forecast the particular market's future. What's more , it contains detailed information on the sales channels as well as product launch events. The Forestry Strain Chains market is segmented within the basis of area and country. The Europe spot is further segmented to the U. K.,Italy, Germany, Italy, plus the rest of European countries. The Asia Pacific region is further divided into China, India, Asia, and South Korea. The center East & Africa region is further categorized into your GCC, South Africa, and the rest of the MEA. The Forestry Fatigue Chains market is split into 4 main regions, in addition to each region will be further categorized directly into countries and zones. The Europe place is further subdivided in to the U. K.,France, Germany, and Croatia, and the rest of Europe. The particular Asia Pacific area is further cut into India, Southeast Parts of asia, and the remaining Asia Pacific spot. The Middle Far east & Africa spot is further segmented into South Africa, GCC, plus MEA. ​ The Forestry Stress Chains market is segmented within the basis of spot and country. This Europe region comprises the U. K.,France, Germany, plus Italy, while the North america region comprises the others of Europe and also the Asia Pacific region. The report additionally provides insight in the market's regional in addition to country-level competitive landscape and the competitive landscape. That identifies emerging people in each place, as well as being the countries that are likely to be profitable for the sector. A comprehensive report on the Forestry Tire Chains market features a comprehensive assessment from the industry. It likewise covers the industry chain structure as well as its major sections. Its strategic analysis covers the main element factors driving expansion and innovation in the Forestry Tire Chains market. In add-on, the report is targeted on key segments and also their respective growing prospects. It also looks at the trends and opportunities for the sector. The global current market for Forestry Tyres chains is worth USD million throughout 2020.

[whisperlullaby]

Just Say It And I’m Yours- Ch. 4

Summary: You and Steve decide to go on an adventure that ends in a new revelation.

Warnings: Trespassing, explicit language, angst, pining

Words: 1619

A/N: Okay so we’re getting into it now. Thanks to @river-soul​ for beta reading this for me and @dreamslikeaheartbeat​ for the BEAUTIFUL banner! Um.....I hope you all like it! If you are under 18 please do not interact with me or this story. This chapter is in Steve’s POV

The credits started rolling on this week's movie. Steve popped the last dumpling in his mouth as you let out a big stretch. After you let out a satisfied groan, you started searching through the take-out containers.

“Are there any more dumplings, Steve?”

“Uh, I don’t think so.” Steve swallowed hard, almost choking.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “You ate the last dumpling didn’t you, asshole?”

Steve laughed as you playfully swatted his chest. He grabbed your hand and held it on his chest for a moment, rubbing soft circles on the back of your hand. You let out a content sigh as you withdrew your hand to find some fortune cookies. Steve looked at the time and noticed it was still a bit early, he was going to suggest another movie when you spoke up. 

“Hey Steve, wanna go on an adventure?” You said through a mouthful of fortune cookie.

Steve cocked an eyebrow at you. “What kind of adventure?”

“The kind that’s a surprise,” you wiggled your eyebrows at him. “So, are you in?”

Steve sighed heavily and gave you a sly smirk. You knew you had him in the palm of your hand, he would follow you anywhere.

“Great! Get your coat, a flashlight, some band-aids, and maybe a granola bar. I’ll meet you in the car.”

You jumped up to grab Steve’s keys and ran out of his apartment as he shouted after you, “Why do we need band-aids?!”

After about an hour-long drive out of the city, you pulled off on an abandoned access road and stopped in the middle of nowhere. Steve watched as you unbuckled yourself, grab the flashlight and your backpack, and hop out of the car.

“Are ya comin’, Cap?” You laughed in excitement.

Letting out a heavy sigh Steve stepped out of the car and followed you. He kept his distance behind you as you led the way, keeping an eye out for any trouble. After about a quarter-mile, you came across a chain-linked fence and an abandoned factory. Steve surveyed the scene as you tossed the backpack and flashlight over the top of the fence and started to climb.

“Y/N I’m not sure we’re supposed to be here,” Steve whispered as you scaled the fence.

When you asked him to go on an adventure he didn’t think you meant trespassing in an old warehouse an hour away. This didn’t seem safe and all he could think about was making sure you didn’t get hurt. Now he was looking around anxiously, hoping you would give up and you both could find a diner somewhere and get some dessert. He knew that would never happen though. Not when you got that determined look in your eye.

“Sure Cap, you’ve never in your life done anything remotely illegal. Never aided and abetted a fugitive, or lied on your draft papers in the ‘40s, or I don’t know, destroyed an entire airport?” You teased.

Steve shook his head. “That was a long time ago, things are different now. I can’t just trespass for fun.”

You landed on the other side of the fence and shrugged your shoulders. “Well, you can either follow me or stay here, alone, in the dark. I’m pretty sure I saw wolves on our way out here, but whatever you want to do. I’m heading inside!”

With that, you bounced backwards towards the abandoned building shooting Steve a gaze full of mischief. Steve huffed and raked a hand over his face. He thought you were absolutely out of your mind but he would follow you straight through fire as long as you kept looking at him like that.

He climbed the fence and jogged over to you. You reached out and grabbed his hand to drag him along, and as your fingers intertwined with his Steve couldn’t help but notice how effortlessly your hand fit in his. 

“What are you smiling at Cap?” You cocked an eyebrow over your shoulder and giggled. 

“Just thinking how completely insane this is, but as long as you’re happy,” Steve responded.

“Damn straight as long as I’m happy, now come up and pick up the pace Rogers! I thought you had super stamina or something,” you joked. 

Leading him further into the building, you expertly dodged the debris and made a show of looking in each room with the flashlight like you were on one of those cop shows. Steve thought you were the most free-spirited person he ever met. The further you led him through the building the further he found himself falling for you.

“You’re out of your mind doll. We should probably get out of here before we get arrested for trespassing.” Steve tugged on your arm causing you to trip and stumble back into him. 

You pressed your free hand to his chest and looked up at him. Steve's heart started racing as you stared up at him with your brilliant eyes that seemed to glow in the low light. His eyes flickered down to your mouth as your lips parted slightly. He started to lean into you and was close enough to feel your warm breath on his lips. Watching your eyes flutter shut in anticipation, he wrapped his other hand around your waist and pulled you flush against his body. Closing his eyes he could hear your heart start to race as your breath caught in your throat.

“HEY! What are you two doing!” 

Both of your eyes snapped open. 

“Run!” You shouted.

As you sprinted through the building with Steve in tow you were laughing like a hyena. Once you both exited the building Steve spotted a piece of fence that seemed to be pulled apart and beelined for the opening. When you made it to the fence Steve let go of your hand and pulled the fence open a bit more for his large frame to fit through. He slid through and reached back to pull you into the opening. As you started making your way back to the car you jumped on Steve’s back. 

“Come on Steve get us out of here!” You hollered.

Steve grabbed your legs under your knees and jogged towards where you parked the car while you rested your head on his shoulder. Steve felt you nuzzle into his shoulder and your breathing evened out by the time he made it back to the car. He gently set you in the passenger's seat realizing you were out cold as he started the engine and began to pull back onto the road. Steve was completely envious of your ability to fall asleep anywhere smiling at the memory of last week in the park when you had just gotten ice cream and the second you sat on the bench to eat it you fell asleep on his shoulder. The ice cream went everywhere and when you woke up you threw puppy dog eyes at him until he bought you a new one.

He watched you while you slept off the adrenaline rush thinking about the almost kiss. He was completely captivated by your spirit. Your ability to help anyone who needed it without a second thought left him feeling nostalgic. Whenever Steve was around you he felt a little more like he did when he knew who he was and what he was fighting for. He knew he needed to talk to you about the almost kiss. 

About 45 minutes into the drive, Steve’s phone started vibrating and he answered it in a whisper.

“Hey Buck, everything okay?” He glanced down to make sure you were still asleep.

“Yeah but we kind of need you to come back. I know you’re supposed to be taking a break, but we have a lead on a new Hydra group and need your help.” Bucky said exasperatedly. 

Steve sighed. He knew this is what it would be like for him, a life resigned to fighting wars. As much as he enjoyed his time away from The Avengers he knew he would always be pulled back. He couldn’t bring you into that, he wouldn’t subject you to even more violence on his behalf. You deserved a normal, stable, happy life. One that was lost to him when he went into the ice all those years ago. If you were with him you would never have that and he knew how desperately he wished for the chance to live his life. He wouldn’t place that same burden on you. 

“Alright Buck, I’ll come to the compound in the morning for the briefing.”

He hung up as he pulled up to your apartment. He gently caressed your cheek, relishing the feeling of your skin on his for a moment before you stirred.

“I’m up!” You snorted.

Steve smiled. “Just in time too, this is your stop.”

You looked out the window unclicking your seatbelt, you were biting your lip when you turned to him. “I think we should talk about what happened back there.”

Steve took in a deep breath. He knew this was the right thing to do, but God it didn’t make it any easier. 

“I think we both just got caught up in the adrenaline. It can mean nothing, we’re still friends.”

Steve didn’t miss the way your breath caught or how tears sprang in your eyes. You cleared your throat and threw him a brilliant smile.

“Whatever you say, Cap,” you ruffled his hair, “best friends it is.”

You pushed open the door and slammed it shut. Steve waited for you to enter the building before he slammed his head on the steering wheel. This was for the best, he needed to protect you, his little spitfire.

[nightingaletrash]

why work on wips when I can feed my new hyperfixation instead? :)

AO3

---

It was like someone was raking a nail against the inside of her skull, and the more she tried to ignore it, the more insistent it became. A hollow shriek that verberated against her brain, and a throbbing pain blossomed behind her eyes.

Lorna turned onto her side for what had to be the hundredth time now and screwed her eyes shut, willing herself to fall asleep. Just for a moment. But no such luck was had, and the irritating raking at the inside of her skull continued.

Finally sick of lying in bed with no resolution to the god-awful noise, she sat up and pushed away the bedsheets. She dragged her feet over the side of the bed and held her hands to her face, fingers pressing into the inner-corners of her eyes as a sigh dragged itself from her lungs. The pressure didn’t relieve the deep-seated exhaustion behind her eyes, but it helped… somehow. Like causing a brief reset of her senses.

Behind her, her sleeping companion whined and pawed at her hip as he stretched out to settle at her side. His wet nose pressed under the hem of her night shirt and he snorted inquisitively.

“I’m fine, Lexel,” Lorna giggled, scratching behind his ears; his tail thumped happily against the mattress in response, but he kept his big brown eyes fixed on his mistress nonetheless. 

She heaved another sigh - something that was becoming all too common place as of late with the threat of the Crawler looming over her - and felt around for her slippers. It didn’t take long, as they’d been placed at her bedside by the servants who were seemingly determined to ensure that everything was perfect for their new Queen, though she doubted that it was loyalty or their work ethic that drove them.

The apprehension that lingered in the castle was beginning to thin as life resumed its course, but Logan’s tyranny had left a mark here. The day that Logan had Elliot executed was the day that everyone in the castle realised that they were expendable; if the King was willing to have a noble killed, no one was safe, maybe not even the Princess. Her running away with Walter and Jasper in tow had not helped things, and that was before she had returned with an army at her back.

It would be a long time before the wounds truly healed and the staff trusted their Queen, if they ever did. She’d been Queen for little over a month. There was still plenty of time for her to become her brother and no doubt there were bets being made over how long it would take.

But that wasn’t something she could afford to be worrying about right now, she reminded herself as she slipped a gown over her pyjamas and beckoned Lexel to follow as she left her chambers.

The cool night air nipped at her skin, and there was a promise of winter in its teeth. Even so it was preferable to the stuffy confines of her chambers. 

She would have thought that she’d enjoy being able to sleep in her own bed again, surrounded by all the comforts of home, but now it didn’t feel like it fit anymore. She’d gotten used to sleeping above barrooms full of drunken singing and the rustle of a tent over her head. The castle was too quiet. Too static. Her time with the rebellion had seen her outgrow her childhood home, and now she was chained to it.

Her hands ran over the cold stone of the balustrade and she gazed out over the garden below. Logan’s statue was still in place on the plinth in the centre of the courtyard, despite numerous questions over when she planned to have it removed. The answer… well, she wasn’t sure of it just yet. It kept getting pushed further into the back of her mind where it would gather dust until there was nothing else to preoccupy her. By not deciding, she could still decide how she felt about her brother. 

What Logan had done, she still struggled to forgive. As angry as it had made her, as righteous as the rebellion had been in overthrowing him, in light of what they knew now, it was easier to empathise with her brother and the enormity of the task he had faced.

Lorna and Walter’s encounter with the Crawler had been brief, but it had made an impression all the same. The suffocating darkness, the rasping voice crying out in mockery of her fears, Walter - fierce, unyielding Walter who never flinched away from his duty - screaming as his nightmares came to life; whenever sleep did find her, it always brought her back to Shadelight. To the Darkness. And she imagined it was no different for her brother or her mentor.

No one who brushed with such horror emerged the same person. She hadn’t, Logan hadn’t, and Walter hadn’t either, no matter how much they all tried to pretend otherwise.

Her fingers curled and her nails dug into her palms. Why hadn’t Theresa warned her as she had warned Logan? Why did she and Walter have to stumble blindly into that creature’s lair to learn the truth? Why did she have to stagger across the sands alone, tormented by the wailing cries of the friend she had abandoned and the dead whispers of the Darkness?

Before her bitterness towards the Blind Seer had a chance to take hold of her mood, however, she was drawn back to reality by Lexel, who was barking from the top of the stairs.

“Is something the matter boy?” she asked, moving away from the balustrade to follow.

He just barked again and bounded down the steps with his fluffy white tail held high. Once he was sure that Lorna was following, he took off at a swift trot into the gardens themselves, barely pausing to make sure that she was keeping up.

Lorna shivered with cold but followed regardless. Anything to distract her from own dark thoughts.

The gardens were usually a bustling hub of activity, where visiting nobles milled about and exchanged the latest gossip, or the gardeners pruned the rose bushes, tended the flower beds, and generally kept the space immaculate. Guards would stand at attention, eyes sharp for trouble, but always amenable to a quick greeting from their Princess. It was a place of community within the castle, and it was odd to see it so empty. 

That being said, the quiet wasn’t unwelcome. The trickle of fountain water, the whistle of the wind and the crunch of gravel under her feet kept it from a stifling silence that allowed the raking nails in her head to grow overwhelming, but it wasn’t so loud that it hurt.

Lexel disappeared into the hedgerows, the tip of his tail whipping around the corner just as Lorna caught up. He led her towards the overlook, where the garden fell away to a lower rung and Bowerstone Industrial was visible in the distance.

A year ago it was where she had met Elliot on that fateful day. The day that had changed everything. He’d been waiting for her with news of the rumours regarding the fate of a factory worker and asked her to speak with her brother about it. He’d really thought that Lorna could get through to Logan… And she had believed the same. 

Funny how innocent they had been back then. Funny how quickly it had all changed.

But tonight it wasn’t Elliot standing at the balustrade, staring out over the city below. It was Logan.

It was funny really. He didn’t look nearly so intimidating as he had when he was King. Maybe it was the way he was slumped against the balustrade, staring blankly out at the city. Or maybe it was the fact his hair was tousled and he was wearing his pyjamas instead of his usual regalia. 

All things considered, it was probably both. He cut a much less striking figure now than he’d done in years. But then maybe that was just how he looked since coming back from Aurora, and it was only now out here, in the dark of the deserted garden, was she getting to see it.

Lexel bounded over to Logan’s side and barked in greeting. Logan startled and, in a moment of raw instinct, leapt away from the dog and reached for the sword he usually carried at his hip but was presently absent. Then he blinked as he processed what he was looking at.

“Ah, Lexel. Shouldn’t you be with Lorna?”

Lexel just barked again and bumped his head against Logan’s knee insistently until he acquiesced and reached down to pat the collie, his long fingers digging into the ruff of fur around Lexel’s neck.

Lexel sat, then edged closer to Logan, his tail thumping the ground in joy as he revelled in the attention. It had been a long time since the former King had bothered to give him any attention beyond a brief brushing off or to send him back to his mistress, and he was taking full advantage of the rare display of affection.

Lorna lingered at the periphery, unwilling to intrude right away. Only when Logan glance up at her did she move forward.

“You should be asleep,” he said, straightening up even as Lexel whined in protest. “A queen needs her rest.”

“So do her advisors,” she shot back.

He jerked his head and turned away, resuming his vigil from the balustrade. But there was no clear dismissal as he might have previously offered, so she decided to join him. 

For a while there was silence, and not the companionable kind that felt comfortable and unintrusive. Instead it was awkward, festering in the air with a growing awareness of each other’s presence.

It was rare for them to be in the same room before she’d left, and now their conversations often revolved around policy, budgeting, and strategy. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like a brother rather than a guardian, or an advisor. Or an enemy.

“You didn’t even listen to Reaver’s proposal in court today,” Logan pointed out. “He barely got to speak before you decided to agree to Samuel’s request.”

Her jaw clenched at the mention of Reaver; she found the man to be completely repugnant, and if it weren’t for the looming threat of the Darkness and the lack of anyone more suited to head up Bowerstone Industrial, she’d have had him arrested by now. He was an unpleasant necessity within the court… for now.

But as sleepless as she was, she was too tired to defend her decision to steamroll over Reaver.

“Can we just… not talk about work? For once?” she sighed. “I made my decision, it’s done. Now we move on.”

Logan paused for a moment, then nodded.

“Of course. Though your assistant, Hobson? He was telling anyone who’d listen how you’d so generously donated to the royal treasury to cover the costs of reopening the Academy. If you were wondering what people are saying.”

She had been, and rarely did her mind come up with anything good to say. A little confirmation of the opposite ought to have been a relief, but she’d learned quickly to not put too much stock in Hobson’s flattery or his criticism. He was, as he’d said so himself, a toady, so he’d say whatever kept him in her good graces all while remaining fixated on the state of the treasury.

For a while they lapsed back into silence as they stared out over the city. In just under a year, it would be a warzone. And unless they could build the army they needed before then, it would become a graveyard. Ravaged and lifeless with only the remnants clinging to life on the fringes, trying to hold out against a foe they knew almost nothing about.

The task seemed insurmountable. The money she had raised to aid the rebellion had found use in keeping the coffers full, but would it be enough? How many could she save, realistically? How many would they lose? Would there be a kingdom left to salvage when it was all over?

She wasn’t the only one consumed by such thoughts. 

At her side, Logan had gone stiff, and his blank stare was fixed on one spot. His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had gone white, and after a moment passed, Lorna realised that he wasn’t breathing.

“Logan?”

He didn’t respond and when she placed a hand on his shoulder, she could feel him trembling in spite of himself. His face had gone white and whatever facade of self-control he had managed to maintain had finally began to crumble.

“Logan. You need to breathe,” Lorna said with a gentle firmness, squeezing his shoulder. “It’s not here yet. We’ve got time to prepare. Breathe in.”

It took him a moment to do as she instructed, and it clearly took a lot more effort than he would ever admit to.

“In. Then hold it. And out slowly.”

Her hand slipped into his, and he unconsciously gripped it as a drowning man might grip the hand of his saviour as he was pulled from the depths. Lorna squeezed back and continued to repeat the simple instructions.

Bit by bit, Logan began to uncoil. The tension trickled from his frame and the trembling in his grip finally began to subside as the colour returned to his face. He blinked hard a few times as if to clear his eyes of the stray tears that had gathered there, then flinched slightly when Lorna reached up to thumb them away before melting into the contact.

A low breath shook itself from his lungs.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “I shouldn’t have-”

“It’s okay.”

When she had faced the Darkness, she had had Walter and Lexel at her side throughout the ordeal and they had come out the other side alive. Logan had gone to Aurora with his men and returned alone as the sole survivor of the Darkness, only to be burdened with the knowledge that it would follow him back to Albion. She might begrudge her brother for many things, but this wasn’t one of them. She didn’t want to imagine how she’d be dealing with all of this if she had been in his shoes.

Still… it was so strange to find herself standing opposite him like this when so much had changed. From brother and sister to King and Rebel Princess to Queen and Advisor… When was the last time they had just been siblings?

She was drawn from her thoughts when Logan addressed her again.

“Strange how well you remember that exercise,” he murmured. “Do you remember where you learned it?”

She paused then shook her head.

“It was after Mother died. You were inconsolable for months. Every time you wanted her and realised that she wasn’t there anymore, you had a panic attack,”  he explained soberly. “I remember asking everyone I could think of if they knew anything if there was anything I could do to help. A friend of mine had the answer, funnily enough. Lady Shaw. She said that breathing is key to keeping a level head.”

“Smart woman, Lady Shaw,” Lorna said with a small smile.

“She was.”

A ghost of a melancholic smile touched his lips before he straightened up. His hand slipped from Lorna’s and all too quickly he began to reclaim that facade of calm control.

“It’s late, and we have much to do tomorrow,” he said evenly. “You should get back to bed-”

“Logan, wait.”

He froze, and Lorna swallowed hard.

“I just…” 

She floundered, unsure of what it was she actually wanted to say. That she wanted him to be her brother again? That he didn’t need to carry his burden alone anymore? That no matter what, they were in this together? That she needed him?

Ultimately words were insufficient. Too clumsy, too formal, too limited. So instead she wrapped her arms around him, buried her face into the crook of his neck and held on tight. 

Logan was all angles and lean muscle, wound tight like a spring at first, before he surrendered to whatever base desires he had long deprived himself of and gripped Lorna tightly to his chest, firm and solid and warm. Once he had been a place of safety; a place to flee when the world was dark or overwhelming and she needed someone to turn to.

Maybe he could be again. And maybe now, she could be the same for him.

[mari-vargas]

Ok so I’m sitting waiting for my car to get an oil change (yes…the alert popped up Monday afternoon…just a day after my whole tire adventure), and since I just told this story yet again recently (to my tow truck driver on Sunday) I figured I’d share one of my “when it rains it pours” stories about my car. This is the story I mentioned in the teaser/reminder post, about my car transmission.

So I was headed home from university for winter break one year, and I had my two cats and a friend from high school that wound up eventually following me to university. Wow I just realized how much I’d love to tell the story about this friend of mine, but it’s a whole thing in and of itself so I’ll get into that another time…maybe soon so I’ll make a bit more sense…idk it’ll be fine I’m sure.

Anyways, we lived about an eight and a half hour drive away from our university. We were about an hour and a half to two hours in to our drive, in an area looking just like any other on the main stretch of the journey and I had no clue where precisely I was. All of a sudden, my car started making a weird noise. I’m not even sure I can describe it, but I absolutely will still recognize it to this day and am terrified of hearing it. When my tire was about to blow out it started making a similar noise and it’s only because it was missing the next few things to happen that I didn’t freak out as bad as the first time my battery died. ANYWAYS after it started making a sort of…clunking sound, it started revving (which I will be perfectly honest, happens sometimes with my car especially going at higher speeds with resistance like air or a slight incline or a slight decline), but the next two things were especially weird. The needle on my rpm meter started hard swinging back and forth like a pendulum on a grandfather clock even though I was keeping a steady pressure on my accelerator…and then my acceleration started rapidly declining.

I was in the far left lane of a three lane section of the freeway, and I was rapidly decelerating without any idea why or any ability to get myself to go faster. Also couldn’t find my hazard lights because it wasn’t in the same place as the car I had learned in. Anyways…somehow, miraculously, and with an awful lot of anger on other drivers parts (mostly towards the end because I was freaking out and didn’t just stop) I managed to get all the way over before the next exit, exited, waited at a light to turn left like an absolute dummy, and very very slowly made it into the parking lot of some sort of mall or shopping center thing. Where I then parked, and proceeded to freak the heck out. My friend was freaking out too and honestly I think I had more knowledge about what to do than he did, which considering the near white out panic I was in for at least a moment there is kinda saying something. I didn’t know what was wrong with my car. I tried to compare it to things I’d seen happen and just…didn’t know. My gas was full, the battery seemed to be working, tires all fine of course (don’t even remember if I’d even thought about tires at the time). All I knew was that my car had stopped accelerating at all. Maybe there was something wrong with my accelerator? I just didn’t know. It was out of my depth for what I knew how to deal with.

I started messaging everyone—texting because autocorrect could carry me through the worst of my hands shaking, fingers slipping, and eyes blurring which were all getting in the way of my ability to call anybody. I remember talking a lot with my sister, and a bit with my dad, probably even my mom at some point (who would’ve had a significantly leveler head and some more info than my dad). My sister meanwhile was talking and relaying information back and forth with my niece’s dad who was a mechanic at several points before and during the time we knew him (honestly don’t know if he currently was or wasn’t at that exact time but knowledge and skill like his doesn’t just go away). But whatever I’m amongst all that my sister was also the first to remind me about the AAA our grandma has gotten for all of her grandkids as soon as they start driving (yes, same grandma I travel with all the time. Makes sense, no? Always glad she’s able to do that for the five us).

So I call AAA and my friend is on the phone talking with his mom. My dad, knowing I could get a tow up to 100mi, sends me the address for a steak house exactly 100mi from the shopping center I was in (and had a decent sized parking lot for trucks). Tow truck pulls up, finds out I actually really am aiming for the full 100mi, calls his boss to get clearance for the long distance tow rather than the in town tow he was told he was cleared for because he didn’t want to pass us off to someone else since I guess he was sorta attached to making sure we got through this after hearing probably a full blown spiel from me, gets the OK and loads up my little red spark which I had cracked the windows of for my cats. We all hop into the cab of the truck and he goes and gasses up and as we’re pulling out of the truck gas station, I realize where I am. My car had died just past the exit I usually would stop for coffee at. Needless to say I was a bit superstitious after that and always stopped at that coffee shop either direction after that, whether I needed coffee or not.

So he tows us to the steak house a hundred miles away and it’s dark and the tow truck driver is concerned about leaving us in the middle of nowhere but I reassured him that I have someone with a car trailer on their way already. In case you’re wondering, that would be my sister’s coparent (here on referred to as B) with mechanic experience who would also fix up friends’ cars on the side and even had a couple of project cars.

So yeah we’re waiting there my cats are fine, frustrated over not being done with being in a car yet but seemingly understanding something unusual and out of my control had happened. It’s dark and around late dinner time. There’s a chain restaurant of some kind across the way, so my friend and I walk over there to get some dinner. Before that though, we had a talk because well…we’re wandering around in the dark. Now my friend, he’s tall like super tall and has a face that would at least warn away casual glances. However. He cannot throw a punch or literally defend himself in just about any way whatsoever. Me on the other hand, I unfortunately look like easy pickings. But I can throw a punch and otherwise escape an attacker and potentially help others get away too. So we had an agreement. He’d be there looking big and tough and warning away people, but if anything actually happened I’d be the one throwing fists and feet and getting us out.

I mean, we were fine. Got our food, got back to the car, no problem. But fact remains we had to have that conversation. Anyways it was another 2-4 hours before B showed up with the trailer. But show up eventually he did and he got us loaded up and into his truck (with my cats WITH me this time) and we hit the road, dropping my friend off with his mom at around 0100 and I finally made it home about half an hour after. He left my car on his trailer to get in the morning to take to the dealership.

So the dealership takes a look at it and says “well the transmission is completely dead, good news it’s still covered under the factory warranty.” It took a good while to be replaced but it was and again it was all on warranty.

Now I said “when it rains it pours”.

I could’ve just meant it was something major, out of nowhere right? But no…unfortunately, no. This was the winter break I’d been volunteering at that museum (have I mentioned this before? Eh….) and since I didn’t have my car I borrowed my mom’s. When I finally got my car back, we decided to keep having me use my mom’s car because I’d had to register it with security so they’d know not to charge me for parking. So my car sat in the driveway for the next…let’s say two weeks before I had to head back to university (again with my friend and cats in tow).

So it’s now I think the day before I leave and my dad takes my car to the grocery store and to gas it up for me while I’m working. Only…it doesn’t start. Or gives him problems or something I don’t even know the specifics. B can’t look at it before I have to leave, so we decide to just have my mom and I swap until spring. B came over maybe halfway through my drive and found a rodent nest in the engine compartment (rabbit or rat, we’re not entirely sure). Abandoned, but it looked like they’d chewed through some wires and other connectors to make room for their home. B got it taped together just enough for it to be taken back to the dealership to be properly fixed. It was.

BUT THEN (oh you thought it was over? Haha eh… almost)

It’s not quite spring break yet so my mom and I still have each other’s cars. My mom went to turn the key (on or off I honestly don’t know) and it broke. It was apparently a bit of an adventure for her involving at least three different shops but she got it replaced.

My little red car was running beautifully by the time I got it back 🤣

[kn1feinthec0ffee]

in too deep (part 2) - jules

jules x reader

warnings: drug use, very very slight violence, that’s pretty much it

notes: this is LOOOONNNGG probably the longest thing i’ve written,, ever and i apologize!! there was nowhere satisfying to stop in between the markers i’ve set in my mind for these chapters without creating two unsatisfyingly short chapters instead of one satisfying long one

***********

“fuckin’ score!” you squealed as jules let you down from the garage window. “now we just gotta get in there.”

you walked along the path towards the front door, rolling your eyes at the stereotypical garden gnomes with their happy painted faces.

jules held the crowbar towards you. “need this?”

“babe, please. we’re not barbarians,” you pulled out a paper clip from your jacket pocket, unfolding it and maneuvering it into the lock. you heard a familiar metallic tapping noise, prompting you to scold your girlfriend. “jules, please stop fucking with that, it’s gonna wreck your enamel.”

she mumbled an apology and you heard the lock click successfully. “yes! yes, i fucking got it!”

“you did it baby! you’re so fucking good!” jules kisses all over your cheek and jaw, pulling you in for a smooch on the lips. you wanted to lose yourself in her touch, but you remembered time was of the essence if you wanted to get the fuck out of here.

you yanked on the handle, but to your surprise, the door remained shut. “what the- it’s fucking dead bolted. who the fuck deadbolts their door? this is a great neighborhood!”

“take this,” jules thrusted the crowbar into your hands, watching as you pried the thing open, the wood splintering to the ground.

the both of you entered the home cautiously, peeking around corners as you held the gun up in self defense. jules headed into the kitchen, searching for a likely spot for some car keys. you surveyed the dining room, finding that nothing particularly stuck out to you during your search. 

  “find anything?” you asked your girlfriend. she shook her head no, eyeing around suspiciously before casting her gaze on the bowl of fruit perched perfectly on the countertop. 

  “it’s fake.” she stated seriously. you fought the urge to smile at her goofiness, choosing to nod affirmingly before heading upstairs. you rifled through countless dresser drawers, hoping to come across a set of goddamn keys. you came across an old video camera that appeared to be from 2004, but upon further inspection, the battery seemed to be dead. you tossed it over your shoulder, hearing the equipment land with a thud on the carpeting behind you. 

you unceremoniously plopped down on the couch next to jules, leaning back with a heavy sigh. “nothing?”

  “yo tengo nada.” she mumbled before stuffing a heaping spoonful of cereal into her mouth. you glanced down at her sour expression. 

  “stale?” you queried. “stale.” she affirmed, spitting the sugary wheat back into the bowl and tossing it over her shoulder. 

  “okay, time to think. no keys, so we gotta come up with something else.” you suggested, slinging an arm over her shoulders. 

  “it might help if we have a creative boost, you know?” she smirked, placing the bag onto your lap. a devilish grin made its way onto your face as you kissed the corner of her mouth.

  “mmm, i like the way you think, babygirl,” you took out a vial of coke and a credit card, dividing the substance up into lines on the back of some travel guide on the coffee table that looked like it was from the 70s. jules ripped a page out of another magazine and rolled it up into a tube. she went first and you followed, snorting a line as an idea popped into your head. 

  “gas! we’ll siphon the gas!” you shouted, turning towards your girlfriend to see what she thought. 

  “what? oh, that’s great, baby!” she leaned in for another kiss, but you were already up and pacing the living room floor. 

  “yeah, yeah, that’ll work. we just need, like, a gas can or something to put it in, and then we can put it back in the car!” you grinned, looking to jules for some input. 

  “yes! we don’t even need that much, we can just- fuck, you’re so fuckin’ smart, baby!” she slammed you into the wall, furiously smashing her lips to yours as she reached into your back pocket to grope your ass. 

  “mmmph! wait, baby- wai- we c-can’t do this now,” you managed between moans.

“what, you don’t want it?” she pouted, pulling away from you.

“no! fuck no! you know i want it, you know i fuckin’ wanna fuck all over this place, but we have to get back to the car before it gets towed or something.” you reasoned, pulling her hands back into yours.

“you’re right, i’m so sorry, baby.” she averted her gaze towards the ground, picking at her nails nervously.

“don’t ever apologize for that shit. that’s love.” you smiled, cheeks turning pink when she smiled back at you. you pressed your lips to hers, savoring her taste as you kissed her slowly.

you decided to head into the basement to find a hose and, after a debate over who should go down first, jules bravely headed down into the darkness. the two of you split up, figuring you could cover more ground separately. she crept up behind you, groaning when you jolted and shifted the beam of your flashlight into her eyes.

“there’s nothing down here. come on, babe,” she moved from your field of vision, the flashlight suddenly casting on a little girl chained to a pipe, her sudden presence making you scream.

“what?” jules turned around, practically jumping out of her skin when she saw the child.

“w-what the fuck?” you exclaimed. “what the fuck?” you asked her if she was alright, but she stayed silent, looking at the two of you as if she’d just seen you flush her pet fish down the toilet.

“y/n, we have to get her out of here,” jules stated firmly. “look at the lock, can you pick it?”

“can i pick it? baby, that fucker’s industrial. not gonna happen.” you crossed your arms. “and besides, we don’t know where her parents are, or why she’s chained up in the fucking basement! that’s a huge fucking red flag, julie! i mean, this- this is practically a red flag factory!”

“baby, i love you, but there’s no fucking way i’m leaving if that little girl isn’t coming with us. can you figure out some way to get the chain off her? pretty please?” she begged.

you tapped your foot anxiously, eyes darting around the open space in the basement. you sighed, looking back at her pleading expression. “fuck you, and fuck those goddamn puppy eyes of yours.”

her face brightened, clinging to your side and pressing kisses to your cheeks lovingly.

“okay, the chain is connected to the pipe, so we don’t have to pick the lock, we can just cut the pipe. we just need a saw of some kind.” you looked over to her.

  “that’s my girl,” she grinned widely. “it doesn’t really look like there’s any tools down here. maybe a knife would work?”

you headed up to the kitchen, rifling through drawers and drawers of utensils. you quickly grew frustrated with the lack of anything sharp in this seemingly childproof home. “butter knives! just fucking butter knives! what, do these people not eat steak?” you growled in irritation. you looked over to jules who had a shocked expression on her face as she stared at something behind you. you spun around to see a couple standing there, a baby in the woman’s arms. 

you grabbed the nearest object, which turned out to be a meat tenderizer and held it threateningly towards the intruders. the man took a step forwards, triggering your protective instinct as you aimed the gun at him. 

he held his hands up in defense, backing away from you. “alright, easy now. we don’t want any trouble. take what you want; money, jewelry, whatever you’re looking for just take and go on your way.”

  “we don’t want your money.” you stepped towards them, standing in front of jules and trying to assert your dominance. 

  “you can have the mallet if you’re keen on it.” the man assured. you shook your head, tossing it to the floor with a metallic clang. “is this your house?” the man nodded. “you live here full time? this isn’t a rental situation?”

  “no it is not. what exactly is going on here?” he asked curiously. against her better judgement, jules stepped out from behind me, her brows furrowed. 

  “okay then. we wanna know why the fuck you have a little girl chained up in your basement, that’s what we wanna know.” she shouted, crossing her arms aggressively. “tell em’, babe.”

  “y-yeah, what the fuck?” you gestured towards them with the gun in confusion. you wanted to look over to your girlfriend, but you didn’t want to take your eyes off the suspicious couple. 

  “oh lord, and here i thought you were gonna rob us,” the man laughed in relief. “that’s just sweetiepie. she’s been acting out at school, that’s just what we do to discipline he-”

  “chaining a child to the floor is no way of disciplining her! we’re getting her the fuck out of here and taking her somewhere safe!” jules cut in, fiery with passion. 

the man’s wife joined the conversation, shouting something about coming in uninvited and kidnapping her daughter before her husband calmed her down. “no! don’t you dare take her away from us! i won’t have that poor girl subjected to your sinful lifestyle!”

“watch your fuckin’ mouth, lady!” jules pointed at her angrily.

you and george pulled your partners away from each other, calming them down before continuing to speak. “listen, we have a second car in the garage. and if for one reason or another, that second car were to go missing, we might not report that incident for some time. but if you were to take my daughter with you, you’d be forcing my hand to call the police in a much more timely manner.”

your shoulders sagged, looking over to jules as she stood strong. you admired her for her ability to never take shit from anyone. 

  “you can’t stand here and tell me you don’t wish you never went down those stairs.” he was right and he knew it. you were stuck between a rock and a hard place, so you decided to do what you did best: break the tension.

  “i just realized nobody knows each other’s names here. i’ll start. i’m y/n, and this beautiful thing is my girl jules.” you exhaled through your nose. you turned to see jules looking pissed off, whether at you for opening your mouth or the situation. 

  “i’m sorry, i can’t believe we haven’t introduced ourselves! i’m george, and this here’s my wife, gloria.” george proudly announced, tossing an arm over gloria’s shoulder. 

  “nice to meet you, george and gloria. now that we all know each other, let me tell you something.” your face fell serious. “we’re taking that girl and you’re not saying shit to the police. you wanna know why you won’t say shit? because you’re fucking psychopaths with a little girl chained up in your basement! and there’s no way you can call the police without risking them finding out about the fact that you’re fucking psychopaths with a little girl chained up in their basement!”

you watched as they shifted uncomfortably, feeling pride in your words against them. you spared a glance towards jules, grinning inside when you saw the proud look on her face. 

  “get the fucking keys, george.”

you found yourselves in the basement, watching george’s every move as he unlocked the girl. jules stood a few feet behind you, pinning gloria’s arms to her back.

  “you’re free, come here!” she didn’t move. “chains are off dude, let’s get the fuck outta here!” 

the girl clung to george’s leg in fear, causing a prideful grin to appear on the man’s face. 

  “you can come with us now! we’ll have fun, we can find you a great family. hey, we could even get burgers and ice cream, how does that sound? have you ever even had a burger?” you joked. 

you placed a hand on her shoulder but she turned and bit it, making you squeal and jump back from her. george took this opportunity to slam his head into yours with such brute force that you blacked out on impact as you fell to the ground, the gun clattering out of your grasp. 

jules’ muffled voice frantically screaming your name was the last thing you heard before you fell completely unconscious. 

**************

i had to make a few changes, some for creative purposes, some just bc i felt like it

and yES i CUT OUT THE SCENE WHERE THEY READ EACH OTHER IM SORRY IT WAS GETTING LONGER AND LONGER AND STRESSING ME TF OUT

also i don’t like how long this is writing things this long stresses me out and as i’m typing this at 7:24 i realize this was supposed to be out 8 hours ago

also also for my taglist, i’m adding people who either liked or reblogged, but feel free to message me if you do/don’t want to be tagged!!

tags: @emmyrosee @bill-skarsgard-owns-my-ass @flowers-in-your-hayr​ @willyourecognisemee​