#buy grocery online Red bank

[axeeglitter]

Back from the Vault: LifeX

Nathan Brown sat hunched over his desk, the glow of his laptop screen illuminating his tired eyes. His San Francisco apartment was a mess: clothes strewn across the floor, empty takeout containers stacked on the kitchen counter, and a half-empty coffee mug perched precariously on the edge of his desk. Nathan's bed was unmade, a tangled heap of blankets and pillows. The room smelled faintly of stale air and sweat, the result of a broken air conditioning unit and a lack of motivation to clean.

Nathan was staring at his laptop screen, scrolling through yet another round of job listings. His bank account was dangerously low, and the anxiety of unpaid bills was gnawing at him. He was 26 years old, recently graduated with a degree in communications, and he was struggling to find any kind of work. His YouTube channel, where he reviewed video games and shared walkthroughs, was his only source of income, but the revenue it brought in was barely enough to buy groceries, let alone pay rent or bills.

Nathan was average in build, with a light tan from his Latino heritage, and short, dark hair that he usually kept neat. His face was lightly stubbled, a sign of his growing indifference to grooming as stress took over. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, feeling the weight of exhaustion settle into his bones. He was on the brink of giving up when a notification popped up on his screen, breaking his focus.

"Subject: Exciting Opportunity for Collaboration!"

Nathan hesitated, then clicked on the email. It was from a company called LifeX. He didn’t recognize the name, but curiosity got the better of him.

“Dear Nathan,

We’ve come across your YouTube channel and believe we could work well together. LifeX is launching a groundbreaking new game, and we are looking for individuals to help us with beta testing and promotion. Your content aligns perfectly with our vision, and we think this could be a great collaboration. If you accept, you’ll also be able to help us optimize the AI of our games by creating your own NPC character, it’ll be later implemented in the game when it’ll be released. Of course, we offer financial compensation for your work.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards, The LifeX Team”

Nathan’s first instinct was skepticism. It sounded too good to be true, and he’d heard horror stories of scams and phishing attempts. But the desperation for money overrode his better judgment. He quickly searched for LifeX online, finding only a sparse website filled with vague marketing speak about “immersive experiences” and “cutting-edge technology.” There were no reviews, no user testimonials, nothing solid. This should have been a red flag, but Nathan was too desperate to care. He needed this. He needed a break.

Nathan decided to respond. He typed out a quick reply expressing his interest. Almost immediately, another email arrived, containing a download link, setup instructions, and a NDA requesting his personal information: name, age, location, and other details. Nathan filled out the form, barely thinking about the potential consequences. He selected the longest trial period possible: one month, hoping it would give him enough content for his channel and enough time to determine if the collaboration was worthwhile.

As soon as he submitted the form, a melodic chime sounded from his laptop, followed by a smooth, professional voice:

“Thank you for signing up, Nathan. To begin your experience, you will first create the NPC character, and then you’ll be ready to start your experience in the environment you’ll choose. For the trial to run successfully, please ensure that your computer remains on for the entire duration of the test period: one month. Any interruption may result in data loss or corruption. Welcome to LifeX.”

Nathan frowned at the last part but shrugged it off. He figured it was just standard legalese, probably meant for immersion. The screen changed to a character creation window, displaying a basic human figure in a T-pose. Nathan leaned forward, curiosity piqued, and started customizing the avatar.

He named the avatar “Cody,” envisioning him as the polar opposite of himself. Cody would be everything Nathan wasn’t: confident, athletic, and effortlessly cool. He adjusted the height to 6'4", pushed the muscle sliders to the maximum, giving Cody bulging biceps, a broad chest, and thick, powerful legs holding a perfectly muscled ass. From the corner of his eyes, Nathan spotted a slider on the groin area. He laughed as he understood he could also determine how big he could adjust Cody’s penis and balls. Smiling, he selected the largest option possible for his dick and added a huge heavy pair of balls to go with it, watching it grow in proportion to the rest of his body. He added bright hazel eyes, bushy eyebrows, and messy dark brown hairs that would contrast perfectly to the pale sun kissed skin.

After the body customization, Nathan saw a new window open: Clothes and accessories. After thinking about it, he chose a pair of denim shorts that ended mid-thigh, showing off Cody’s muscular legs. Nathan opted for no T-shirt, exposing Cody’s ripped torso and added a ripped sleeve shirt opened on his muscled hair pecs. He then moved on to accessories and decided to put a loop earring on his right ear and a silver chain around his neck.

After the customization was done, it was asked for Nathan to enter some information about the NPC he just created to create a base behavior for him. After a while, Nathan decided to go for the stereotypical fratbro behavior to go with the appearance he just did. He started typing, adding details about Cody’s lifestyle. He entered notes in the behavior interface: “Cody is dumb as a brick. He loves gym, training and being barefoot, feeling the ground under his calloused feet.” He laughed as he added another line: “Cody never takes showers, loves the smell of his own musk, enjoys sniffing his hairy armpits after a workout and scratching his big dick every couple of minutes after what he smells them and always smile enjoying his own musk.” Nathan chuckled, amused at the thought of creating such a ridiculous character. It was so far removed from his real life that it seemed like a fun NPC to talk and interact with. Just a dumb easy-going character that is always down for a fuck and a drink after a gym session barefoot in the woods.

Satisfied with his creation, he confirmed the settings. The game prompted him to select a location, and he chose the Secluded Forest Realm, envisioning Cody as a carefree physical trainer just out of college living in a cabin in the wilderness.

The screen went black for a moment, and the professional voice returned: “Now that your character is complete, it’s time to play! Please keep your computer running at all times to maintain synchronization. Any interruption may lead to data corruption. Enjoy your month-long experience, Nathan, and welcome to LifeX.” Nathan was really getting excited now. He conder what kind of character he would create for himself when he saw a flash of light on the screen. It looked like some kind of swirling mesh, almost like a blackhole. For a moment Nathan thought it was kind of a cool effect, but everything changed when he went to grab his half drink cup of coffee sitting next to him only to realize his right hand was tingling and tiny particles were escaping his nails, flying straight to his screen.

A sudden wave of fatigue hit Nathan, and the lights in his apartment flickered briefly. A sense of unease washed over him, making the hairs on his arms stand up. Before he could react, the tingling sensation spread from his fingertips up through his arms. He stared in disbelief as his fingers began to dissolve into streams of glowing white code, spreading quickly across his body. He tried to scream, but his voice caught in his throat. His vision blurred as the Life X logo was pulsing in bright light in the center of the screen with a loading bar under it going up further and further. The last thing he saw was the 100% before everything went black.

Nathan found himself suspended in a void. He was floating, naked, surrounded by darkness. Panic set in, his heart racing as he tried to move, but his body was frozen in a T-pose. The sensation was bizarre, as if he were trapped in a dream. He wanted to call out, but his voice was muffled, like shouting underwater. The smooth, professional voice returned, echoing through the void:

“Welcome to your new life, Nathan. Don’t panic; this process is normal and painless. In a few moments, you will begin your ideal life in the Secluded Forest Realm. Relax and feel calm. Avatar synchronization will begin in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…”

“What the fuck, where am I? What is going on? Why can’t I move?! HELP!!” thought Nathan as he tried to scream even though his face remained frozen.

Nathan’s body suddenly stiffened. A pressure built inside him, starting at his core and spreading outward. His bones stretched and cracked, lengthening to match Cody’s new height. His arms and legs grew longer, muscles bulging and expanding to fill out his new form. Nathan could feel his muscles tearing and healing at an accelerated rate, becoming stronger and more defined with each passing second.

His skin began to tighten, smoothing out imperfections and leaving with a perfectly smooth skin all around his muscled body. Nathan would be screaming if his voice mas not muted. Everything was burning and it was like feeling his DNA being rewritten while still being conscious. As he felt tears rising up his eyes, a new sensation invaded his newly modified skin. In his pits, legs and between his pecs, he felt like thousands of needles were piercing holes. The sensation was only multiplied as he started to feel hair sprouting from the holes. They were dark brown and thick but worst, the sensation of piercing needles started to appear around his groin too. Still wondering what was happening to him, Nathan tried to connect the elements he could find and that when he realized. The secluded forest, the muscles, the hair; that was Cody’s information, which means… Just enough time to understand what was happening to him when the hair started to sprout in abondance around his dick and nuts and climbing up his sculpted abs in a thin happy trail. After the hair, the modifications started to appear on his face. His jawline becoming sharper and more angular, his cheekbones more pronounced. His lips filled out, becoming more defined, while his eyebrows grew thicker, framing his eyes. His vision sharpened, colors becoming brighter and more vivid. His brown eyes shifted to a bright hazel as he lost vision for a moment. Everything was happening all at once and still, Nathan felt like it was an eternity of pain.

Nathan’s hair thickened, turning into soft, dark strands that fell casually over his forehead. His ears reshaped slightly to match his new head structure. A sensation of warmth spread through his throat as his vocal cords tightened, his voice box reshaping. When he tried to speak, his voice was deeper, richer, and carried a slight accent, a relaxed, Western drawl.

Nathan felt a growing warmth in his groin and realized what was about to happen now. All of a sudden, he regrated giving Cody such a big dick and heavy nuts. His cock thickened and lengthened, becoming larger than Nathan had ever been. He could feel the veins snaking down his growing dick as his cock head started to grow thicker and bigger. He could feel the cold air surrounding him as the head sneaked out of his foreskin. Wait, his foreskin? He didn’t remember going this far in details. His nuts fall down and grew thicker and full of potent cum as he could feel them going overload working on creating new manly sperm nonstop. Nathan could feel the horniness starting to rise as his body was assaulted by huge amount of testosterone. A drop of precum appeared at the tip of his cock as he could feel the weight of it between his legs, an odd sensation that both embarrassed and intrigued him. His buttocks tightened, becoming firm and lifted, while his thighs and calves thickened with muscle.

The transformation was almost complete when Nathan felt a sharp pain on his left pec. He wanted to scream, but his body was still frozen. The pain was like a branding iron pressing into his skin. “What is this?!” screamed Nathan in his new deep voice. A voice appeared from all around him “Dear user: NATHAN BROWN, as talked with you earlier on, you agreed to review and help us create the new generation of AI used for our NPCs. For that, your character, CODY, will have to be monitored. This assignation, XXIV, is the link to your identity and allow us to track your character. Please relax as your actions will be tracked and then saved. The program will make sure to copy all your movements, thoughts and everything that your character, CODY, might do to make sure to copy human mechanism that will be implemented in our NPCs later on. Thank you for your service.” When it subsided, a Roman numeral tattoo “XXIV” was there, bold and black, as if it had always been part of him. Nathan could feel the tattoo pulsing with energy, as if it was more than just ink on skin.

As his body finished transforming, clothes materialized around him. He now wore a sleeveless, open checkered flannel shirt and a short pair of denim shorts. Then he felt his ear being stabbed as the earing appeared in it and the coldness of the silver metal appeared around his neck. His feet then started to tingle as Nathan could feel the skin of his sole getting thicker and denser to better serve his barefoot lifestyle in the forest.

Nathan was terrified about what he just heard; his humanity was going to be used to program AI that will be implemented in NPCs. How is that even possible? Does that mean he was Cody now? And for a whole month? He didn’t agree to this. He had a life outside, friends, job to find, maybe some interviews if he was lucky. And about the bills? What was he going to do?

As all the questions were swirling in his head, Nathan fell the restriction holding his body in place as it was being modified lift. He could move on his own again, and the first thing he tried to do was take of his shirt or necklace. But every tug on the clothes or metal fell like he was trying to rip a part of him away. The clothes were part of him now. Nathan started to feel tears rise once again in his ears as all he could see around him were the infinite void of this artificial world. “Modification process terminated, Assimilation to the realm starting in 3,2,1…” Out of nowhere, the ground started to shake under Nathan’s barefoot. Then he saw light pierce through the ceiling. As a reflex, he put his hands to cover his bright hazel eyes but the light was way too bright. Nathan could see entire walls of darkness vanish and being obliterated by this bright light coming from above and fear started to raise in him. Nathan closed his eyes as all he could see was the infinite light engulfing the void and him with it. When he opened his eyes, Nathan was alone in a cabin in the woods, standing in front of a mirror. For the first time, he could see from the first person point of view what the body he created really looked like. Everything was looking so life like, even scent of pine and dirt were coming from the opened window next to him. He could smell the woods, feel the sun on his skin, the wood under his foots. Everything was lifelike. As Nathan sight started to look what his transformed body looked like, his head started to spin. Nathan grabbed it with his two manly hands but the pain was growing stronger. And in the blink of an eye, Nathan was no more. Cody stared at his reflection before smiling and flexing his biceps while smiling. His right hand lowered to get inside his shorts and scratch his hairy dick before putting his fingers under his nose to smell his musk. Cody laughed as he walked away, grabbing a snack on his way out to go exercise a bit in the nature.

“New NPC starting test phase. Remaining time 30 days, 23 hours 59 minutes 23 seconds. Behavior analysis… Acting following user NATHAN BROWN encoding. Tester assimilation… Assimilation stable, user will turn back when tests are over.”

______________________________________________________________ Hey guys! Here's another story back from the Vault, and it's my first ever published story: LifeX Hope you guys enjoy this new version of my story. Let me know what you think of it. As always, my asks are open and i'm always looking for new ideas and prompts from you. I try to answer them all and I love to read your ideas so please, don't be afraid to send anything you'd like me to write and I'll do my best to do it :) Take care of yourself! P.S. A follow up to this story should arrive soon ;)

[bonny-kookoo]

Does someone older JK spoil the OC sometimes? Like surprise her with something which he considerd to be nothing it would mean so much to her?

Oh he does, ALL the time! Warnings for a bit of angst, beginnings of a panic attack but Kook handles it well

"...we can go there again, maybe before new year's if I can get a table on short notice." He simply says as he drives you both back to his place, radio playing quietly in the background.

You're still a little overwhelmed.

He does things like this a lot- expensive dinner dates in restaurants he either knows or wants to try out, randomly buying you clothes or jewelry he finds online and deems pretty, or he just changes things in his house to adjust it more towards you and your preferences. Like the pillows in his bedroom, the by now multiple pairs of thick socks for your cold feet, or the baking supplies he bought for you now stacking up in his kitchen.

It's things like that you're not used to. In the past, it has always been you who needed to adjust and do things for your partner- not the other way around. So now, you feel almost guilty whenever he does something- like a bank account draining, slowly going further and further into the negatives, red numbers piling up and making you anxious as to when he'll want it all payed back.

"Did you not like it?" He wonders, taking your silence as a sign of discomfort as he pulls up on the expressway. "You don't have to lie." He chuckles, reaching out to hold your hand.

"No, it's not that." You deny, letting him warm up your cold fingers. "It's just.. it was a little expensive, no?" You wonder, and he shrugs.

"Was it? To be honest, I don't think it was considering what we ate." He just brushes off. "I've been to steak restaurants that were a lot more expensive and half the quality. And the service was great too, so I didn't mind." Jungkook explains, and it's now that you realize once again that you and him live in quite different worlds. Or at least, used to.

For him, money isn't an issue. He's made and is making enough of it to live comfortably, he doesn't have to really worry about running out of it anytime soon, even if his company was to go bankrupt next week. And he's also got enough saved up, has invested with good tactics in mind, so it's really no wonder he doesn't see a problem in spending the amount that he does.

But you aren't used to that. You have been living paycheck to paycheck with barely anything left over at the end of the month, needing your bonus desperately as to not fall behind on any payments you have to make regularly. You've lost your apartment before, had to sleep at friend's places to get by, and even ate only at the company cafeteria to save money usually spent on groceries. All of this feels almost excessive, and you also worry.

What if Jungkook starts spending too much on you? He shouldn't fall into a habit of mindlessly throwing money out.

"What's on your mind, darling?" He wonders, lifting your hand to kiss the back of it, before he changes lanes.

"I just.." you fidget a little. Jungkook isn't a bad guy. He won't get mad. He won't scold you. You won't have to endure being lectured for the rest of the ride- you know all this, and yet again, the past haunts you and makes your breathing pick up as you begin to chew on your lip.

Suddenly, you realize he's pulling up to a gas station, parking on the side. He gets out to get something from the backseat, before he walks around the car to open the passenger door where you sit, unbuckling your seatbelt. "Here." he offers the bottle of water, having opened the cap for you. "Put your legs out like that- there we go. Breathe baby." He gently tells you, squatting down a bit to make himself look smaller. "Take your time."

You feel embarrassed. How do you explain to him that you were feeling like a kid about to confess a bad grade just now?

"We can keep it a one-in-a-month thing, maybe, if that makes you more comfortable." He proposes. "I didn't take into account that it might be overwhelming to you- I'm sorry." He apologizes, but you shake your head, looking down at your knees.

"I just.." You mumble, unsure how to really explain. "I feel.. back then, you know.." You sigh, having trouble finding the proper words. "Talking in the car makes me.. anxious." You admit. "Because you know, when you get mad.. I can't escape.." You say. "I can't get away from it."

Jungkook kindly takes the bottle away from you to put it on the backseat again, before he's back in front of you.

"Thanks for telling me. I had an idea it might be that, but I wasn't sure." Jungkook says, hands on your knees. "I promise you I'm not mad. And I'm in no position to be mad at you for having opinions or personal taste that might differs from mine. We're two different people-" He chuckles. "-of course we'll have different views on things."

"But I really liked the dinner too." You say. "I just.. I don't want you to start.. spending so much money on me to the point of, I don't know, losing sight of it." You confess. "And maybe, we should keep stuff like this a bit rare? So it doesn't become routine. I want to keep it special.." You say. "I'm not.. I don't really know much about this stuff, because I never had enough money to go to these fancy places, and get designer clothes, or plan vacations in different countries and all that. I feel.. stupid sometimes?" You spill, making him lean his head a bit to the side. "Like, what if you one day take me to a company gathering or something, and someone asks me something and I can't answer or I say something dumb-" You rant. "-or maybe you won't ever take me because I'm too young? Maybe Eve is right and I'm not really the kind of-"

"Baby, darling, stop-" He chuckles, pushing your shoulders back a bit to look at him. "-take a good breath. You're panicking." He worries a little, but tries hard to stay composed as to not make you spiral any further. "Eve is wrong. If you're okay with this, of course I'll take you to company events. Why wouldn't I show off such a beautiful women at my side? I'd never pass up a chance to make those stuck up geezers jealous." He jokes, making your crack up a little. "Let's keep the dinners to special occasions. Keep it special, like you said." He offers, holding your hands now. "And I'm also.. the fact that you worry about me makes me feel.. very special." he chuckles. "I appreciate you looking out for me."

"I always look out for you.." You mumble. "..I just don't want to overstep any lines. You know. Since you're older than me-"

"Just because I'm older doesn't automatically mean that I know everything better." He reassures you. "Our age gap has nothing to do with any sort of power balance. Please don't think you can't speak your mind just because I was born earlier than you."

"..okay." You nod, and he leans forward to peck your lips, before he closes the door for you after you pull your legs back in and buckle your seatbelt, him getting back into the driver's seat to do the same.

"You know.." he starts, as he pulls out of the gas station to continue the drive back home. "..I'm really falling in love with you." He chuckles, dimples of his cheeks showing with how hard he smiles.

"Huh?" You wonder, taken aback by the sudden confession.

"I mean it." He nods. "I really am."

"I'm glad then." You admit. "..cause I am too." You admit, making him grin before he reaches over to hold your hand again.

Knowing that he really won't ever let you go again.

[sin-cognito]

Kustard week 2023 day 2: the Little Mermaid

Wordcount: 1739

~The little mermaid left her life and fortune behind so she could be with the Prince~

@kustardweek

READ ON AO3

Being a scientist at SOUL, Sans had theorized a formula to calculate the mathematical relation between wealth and his numerous fucked up relationships.

Sans himself wasn't rich per say, but his father was. Obscenely so. Sans had thus experienced from a relatively early age what it was like to try to date when you are the heir to one of the top 10 richest families in the country. He could do a whole presentation about it, with excel sheets and google docs and all. First there were the wealthy datemates. He naively thought that money wouldn't be a problematic topic if he was to date someone from the same privileged background as him. So wrong. So many of them were stuck up assholes who didn't have an inkling about their own privileges. With them, Sans couldn't even go buy a bottle of ketchup at the grocery store, they always had the urge to flaunt their (usually parents') wealth and hire a professional cook to fix Sans some high quality ketchup sauce made from scratch, when all he wanted was to go grab a burg from Grillbz'.

Then he naturally turned his attention to people from a more regular background, trying not to worry about the influence his overwhelmingly bigger wallet could have over them. He very quickly realized this was a mistake, as he was either seen as a walking ATM machine, or as a condescending asshole, no matter what he did. If he hid the fact that he was rich, his date would be mad, and if he was open about the sum of money that was in his bank account, his date would get insecure about their own lack of money and end up resenting him for it. It was a lose-lose situation for him.

Around the time he reached 20, Sans decided to go for a third option: anonymity. He began to hang around dating sites and forums about science, and found actual friends who would appreciate him for himself, regardless of who his father was. And boy was that nice.

It turned even nicer when he 'met' Red, another science aficionado with whom he got along very quickly. They would spend hours and hours chatting about science, shows, their lives, and it was no surprise to anyone in their friend group when they developed feelings for each other and started dating, even if it was strictly online at the beginning.

Red lived on the other side of the country and had a demanding job. He was high hierarchy in a big company that he was legally forbidden to tell Sans the name of, but that was enough to assuage Sans' fears: finally he had met someone like him. Red was wealthy but down to earth, and learning that made Sans all the more eager to meet him.

Finally one day Sans summoned the courage to ask Red if they could meet, and he was elated to learn that Red had already started making plans to be able to visit Sans before the end of the year. They met during the Gyftmas vacations for the first time, and those memories would live forever in Sans' SOUL. Everything was perfect. Red had booked a suite in a fancy hotel that even Sans was impressed by, they went to the best fine dining places in the city, did shopping in high end stores where nothing's under the 5 digits price tag. But more than that, Sans enjoyed listening to Red's voice for real, feeling his hand in Sans', abandoning himself to a night of burning passion with Red. Sex had never been as amazing as that night and Sans knew then that Red was the one.

That trip was unfortunately too short, and Red had to go back to work, promising he'd do his best to find a way to take another vacation together the next year. It unfortunately didn't happen, but they managed to find a good time to see each other the year after that. This time, Red took Sans abroad for a trip that he entirely covered. Sans suspected that, had they not met, Red would've become a sugar daddy to a low income student or something, seeing as he always rushed to pay for anything Sans expressed the faintest interest in. Honestly it was cute.

When their 5th anniversary approached, Sans decided that he didn't want to live away from Red anymore. Even if he had to drop his career, family and everything else, he was determined to move with Red on the other side of the country. He wanted to wake up in his bed every morning and make him burnt pancakes before sending him off to work with a kiss on his teeth.

Sans' father made a big deal out of this decision. He wanted his oldest son to take up after him in running the family company, and he was distrusting of a skeleton monster that his son had met online, even though Sans had already met Red twice by that point. Gaster was just from another generation. He kept reminding Sans that he was making a mistake and that he would not contribute to this silly idea, and even promised to cut Sans off and write him out of his will, but Sans had made up his mind. He would be with Red, even if that meant cutting off his father from his life. Announcing his plan to Papyrus had been much harder, but there was nothing that would deter Sans.

On his 26th birthday, Sans packed his bags, said goodbye to his disapproving father and hugged his brother, before he made his way to the airport.

After a long flight, he finally arrived in the city Red lived in. After a lot of digging and asking around, Sans had figured out where Red worked, one of the tallest building in the city, made of glass and steel and that reeked of wealth. Just like the kind his father worked in. Sans made his way inside and went straight up to the reception.

"hi, i don't have any appointment but could you tell Underfell Red that Undertale Sans is here?" He asked the employee. "he'll know who i am."

The employee's smile twitched. "You're here for Red? I don't think you need an appointment to see him... Would you like me to page him for you?"

Sans was taken aback that she'd so casually drop a higher up's last name like that, but he shrugged it off and nodded. She invited him to get a seat by the waiting area and he thanked her. He only had to wait a couple minutes before a back door opened and a familiar skeleton made his way to the receptionist to ask why he had been called. The employee replied something but Sans couldn't focus on much of anything when he saw what Red was wearing: dirty beige overalls with a belt packed with all kinds of tools, hammers and screwdrivers mostly, as well as a couple rags that were loosely tied around the belt. Sans could see dark stains of what seemed to be some sort of oily stuff all across the back of his skull, like he had had his head stuck in a piece of machinery all morning and hadn't had the time to clean it up.

Red was very much the opposite of the elegant prince he had been when they had met irl a couple years back.

"red?" He asked in a small, broken voice.

Red startled and whipped around, only now noticing his small boyfriend. Red's mouth worked in silence for a few seconds before all life seemingly left him and his shoulders sagged in the most depressed and resigned stance Sans had ever seen.

"i'm sorry..." He blurted out before grabbing Sans' hand in his and pulling him quickly through the back door.

They went through a few corridors, until they reached what seemed to be a small and stinky break room.

"red, what's going on?" Sans asked, utterly confused.

"i lied to you. i'm not a ceo or a higher-up, i'm not even a real employee here. i fix the lights," Red blurted out, looking at anything but Sans, who blinked a few times while Red's words sank in.

"so you're... not... rich?" Was oddly the first question that came to mind.

"no. i lied because i wanted to impress you."

"but... when you visited..." Sans started, unable to finish his sentence but Red apparently didn't need him to.

"i worked my ass off to have enough money to spend on you," he sighed as he collapsed on a chair. "i borrowed money, from the bank, from friends and relatives, from anywhere i could. put a mortgage on my home too."

"why?" The single word was breathed out so quietly it was a wonder Red heard him at all.

"because i... i just wanted to give you nice things..." Red replied before he bent forward and took his skull in his hands. "but now i'm struggling to give back all the money that i owe, i have nothing to my name and i sleep in my car," he grunted. "just, give me like, a couple more years and i can get more money, and then we can pretend you never saw me here and i'll be able to get you everything you want."

Sans went to stand right in front of Red. He knelt down before him and gently pried off Red's hands from his skull. He needed to see Red's face and eyelights for his next question.

"red, be honest. you lied about your situation. did you also lie about your feelings for me?"

Red's answer was immediate and final. It left no room for debate.

"no. i love you. i would've never done this if it wasn't for you."

Red's deadpan reply and his honest expression made Sans chuckle, before he threw himself into Red's arms.

"you idiot. i love you too," he said, his SOUL beating happily in his chest when Red returned the hug. "i left my father and his fortune behind so we could be together. i don't care that you have no money, red. i don't care about anything as long as i can be with you."

Red's embrace tightened around him and Sans realized that his love formula had been wrong all along.

All he needed was Red.

[accountingacademic]

New Year, Fresh Start

Daily Reflection Monday, 1 January, 2024

Things I'm Grateful For:

Having my ever-growing to-do list written down in my planner, so I don't have to forget those things I need to do.

Highlights:

Since I was up past midnight with friends, I made a final "fuck it, I'm staying up all night." After everyone logged off, I had a spurt of productivity and got a bunch of little odds and ends taken care of.

Even if it only really amounts to $1 per day, I enjoy the feeling like I'm setting myself up for success when I transfer some money into my investment account each month. Because January has 31 days, I transferred $31 this time. It's in a TFSA so I won't be taxed on what the money earns, and it's a zero-commission account, so everything that is put into that account will be mine when I withdraw it.

I didn't get everything on my to-do list done for the day, but I still managed to do quite a bit! I don't mind carrying over two tasks, especially when one of them is 90% done.

Challenges:

I couldn't get my money stuff taken care of when I first wanted to because my bank's online portal was down for maintenance. Bit of a nuisance, even though it's not really a huge deal--I don't have to deal with my money at 4:00am, it can wait until a more reasonable hour.

I accidentally ended up napping in the middle of the day. I laid down around 11:00am, and then dozed off and slept until about 2:30pm. So that took a chunk of time away from me that I could have used, but after an all-nighter, three and a half hours won't ruin everything.

Emotions:

I feel like an asshole, and a terrible friend. A friend of mine is going through a rough patch because a woman ran a red light the other day and fucked up his car. He's going through the process of trying to get proof for his insurance that he wasn't at fault, and trying to figure out what's going to happen to his car (he spent all his savings on it less than two months ago, and the odds are pretty much 50/50 that it could be written off). I fully understand that he needs to vent, but I just really don't like listening to that kind of thing. I want to just go and tune him out so it feels like a win-win (he gets to vent, I don't have to actually listen), but that also feels like a terrible thing to do.

The shoes I ordered with my Christmas money are supposed to be here tomorrow, according to FedEx. It's hard to say how accurate that is though, as it's been "we have your package" since the 28th, with the order itself placed on the 25th. If it's not in tomorrow, Wednesday would also work. I just want them in before I go back to school on Thursday.

Lessons Learned:

For all that my friends are usually there for me when I need it (even though I will rarely ask for help), I'm not great at doing the same for them. I think that's part of why I don't ask for help; I don't want to be one of those people who ask for help all the time but never offer anything in return. I want it to be fairly balanced, and unfortunately, holding back on my end is how I can help keep it that way.

Today's To-Do List:

Completed

Readjust the cat feeder to dispense at night.

Reorganize phone apps.

Find new wallpapers for my phone and laptop.

Divide my second student loan disbursement into GICs.

Pay board.

Clean out my D&D binder and prepare for the new campaign.

Renew my FitBit Premium membership.

Add $31 to my investment account.

Give the cats baths.

Put together the grocery list.

Uncompleted

Clean out my school binder and prepare for the new semester.

Finish catching up on laundry.

Tomorrow's To-Do List:

Buy a mirror that hangs off the door for my bedroom.

Buy a notebook to start a commonplace book.

Get groceries.

Nana's housework.

[gay-kurapika]

Whatever, under the read more I'm going to talk vaguely about my emotional abuse. This is more of a vent and I'm not going to tag it.

It took place over a long period of time, about two years, but I was literally a different person before I met Jayne. Nothing I ever did was good enough or even good at all for her, and I'm convinced that she thought anyone who wasn't literally exactly like her was wrong and bad. One of the things she drilled in my head, literally in these words, is that she was the best friend I was ever going to have, and that I didn't deserve her. She convinced me of this. She told me that I was awful, that my friends, family, girlfriend, and coworkers only liked me because I was lying to them and if they knew what I was really like they would never talk to me. I mentioned my dad and I didnt really get along and that he had been abusive when I was a child and she convinced me to stop talking to everyone in my family for over a year. She wanted me to break up with my girlfriend. She said my friends weren't real because we only spoke online, so I left the discord server and I've literally never rejoined it. I was cut off and only had her and she did this on fucking purpose!!!

I was constantly losing weight, partially because of my addiction, but largely because I literally couldn't afford to buy food because she was financially starving me. If I bought groceries that I would be likely to eat, she ate all my stuff before moving to her stuff. She didn't pay rent on time ever, and for several months didn't pay at all, so I was paycheck to paycheck covering the $1600 a month myself on fucking fast food wages, $14 an hour, and all the bills. I couldn't afford more food after she ate mine and she knew it. I even once went to the food bank and she ate everything I brought back from there too, and you only get one visit per month. I weighed like 90 lbs at this point.

I was not a tidy person at all and I admit that but she told me I didn't deserve my cat if I couldn't clean the litter box, and she constantly called me disgusting, to the point that I internalized that and just genuinely believed I was a disgusting irredeemable person.

And the worst fucking part is that I should have seen it coming. There were red flags everywhere. She was only moving in with me because her ex girlfriend had filed a restraining order against her because she wouldn't fucking leave her house. She told me her ex girlfriend had been abusing her and what a fucking lie that was. I believed it because I had no reason not to, but I learned afterwards her ex was a disabled woman who had been completely financially supporting Jayne for YEARS while Jayne didn't work at all and sat around the house drinking and smoking. Seriously this woman had a fucking chronic pain condition and she was the breadwinner while Jayne did nothing, no fucking wonder she got sick of her. And the restraining order that Nicole got against Jayne was because Jayne had physically assaulted her! She had a criminal record for assault and disorderly conduct and she didn't fucking tell me! I should have done a fucking background check.

She committed fraud in my name and didn't tell me about it. Literally forged letters and my signature to get "rent" money during covid from the government, except she literally didn't pay rent with that money, she kept it, and I just had to pay taxes on it. Are you fucking kidding me?!?!

And she was constantly belittling me for my view on like humanity and life and she wanted me to change it so bad but fuck her, because I will never become the selfish disgusting bitter old hag that she was. I truly believe that most people are good and want to make the world a better place, that the core nature of humanity is to form communities and help each other. She thought humanity was inherently evil and that only animals are innocent. We had multiple arguments about how she thought every animal deserved life and all humans should die and that made me so fucking mad, how fucking disgusting and selfish and privileged do you have to be to say that? You a fucking white American think all humans should die and that would make the planet better? Oh except you right? Fuck you, sitting here in your comfortable life and saying everyone else should suffer but dogs should live or whatever. God I hated her so much for that I wish I had said it to her face that she was a disgusting selfish person.

And one other thing I wish I'd told her was how much I truly fucking hated her dog. I pretended to like him because she was obsessed with him but that dog was NOT FUCKING TRAINED IN ANY GODDAMN WAY!!! It was so codependent that if she left the house without it it would whine loudly THE ENTIRE TIME! Even if she was gone for 10 hours it would not stop for longer than a few minutes I swear! It barked at everyone who came to the door. It wasn't house trained and when I stopped coming home on my 30 minute lunches to walk it she let it pee on the fucking carpet instead of paying a dog walker $5 a day to just take it out. God that animal was unable to function how it should, it really needed a far better owner than her.

She suicide baited me and she would argue that that's not what it was but it absolutely was. You cannot repeatedly say to someone "I'm going to come home one day and you're going to be dead," and not call that fucking suicide baiting.

And i hate that she took advantage of my kindness and faith in humanity to do all this. She told me she was bpd and I know how stigmatized that disorder is so I wanted to just believe her that her ex was lying and she wasn't an abuser, but she fucking was. It had nothing to do with being bpd, she was just a terrible selfish person, and she used that as a shield to claim she was misunderstood. This bitch knew exactly what she was doing.

Also, I take responsibility for my own relapse into addiction because ultimately I do not have to drink and I'm the one in control over that, but she absolutely manipulated me into getting worse. Every time I tried to quit again she would buy me liquor as a "treat" very clearly hoping I would forget she owed me fucking rent. I was a lot easier to manipulate if I wasn't sober. And I greatly resent her demonizing me for my addiction so often when she literally drank every single day after she took her fucking meds and then DROVE TO WORK! She was worse than me! The night she called the cops on me for literally pushing her away from me after she had screamed at me for 4 hours straight and suicide baited me and thrown dishes and yelled at me as I cleaned up the glass from the floor, she had in fact already drank an entire bottle of tequila and had opened a new one. That is not an exaggeration. The only reason I got arrested is because i didn't tell the cops the entire story, I didn't tell them everything before I pushed her, and I should have. I should have watched them drag her out of the room drunk off her ass in handcuffs.

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

my personal good things of 2022 list

Made some banger art this year!! I took a bunch of skillshare classes to learn digital art better and I think it’s paid off. I remember wanting so badly to make digital art in the past but not having the resources and being intimidated by it. And look at me now, babey!

I’ve been having a great time watching JJBA with my girlfriend; it’s been insane and so much better than if I had watched it on my own

Tried a handful of new recipes! My homemade Irish soda bread was my fave but I enjoyed the other ones too

Absolutely loved continuing online yoga sessions from 2021 in the first few months of the year. I actually really missed it when it ended. I plan to get into doing more yoga next year

Went on a lot of solo adventures in the downtown core of my city, which felt very refreshing and just fun to do every once in a while

Made my first budget sheet 🥴 Just Adulting Things

ADORED Turning Red like seriously, that movie was like a love letter to me

Made my website and linktr.ee hell yeaaahhh. I was putting it off for a long time

Uploaded art to Redbubble and INPRNT!!

Finished reading soooo many amazing books this year, which was awesome. I love reading but reading constantly in school drained me last year, so I’m glad I got into a comfortable groove this year. Best book I read this year was Eat Up! by Ruby Tandoh, which was totally up my alley and very informative and wonderful to go through

KINGDOM HEARTS IV????? MISSING LINK??????

EPHEMERA HAS A BIG FAMILY (SOURCE: ME)

Got some of my work featured in different publications :^))

Volunteered at a food bank, which was really awesome. I got to work with lots of kind people and talk to the people who were just so grateful to be able to get free groceries for their families

Year of Spy x Family lol, it’s just such a feel-good anime to watch

[trigger warning for life-threatening surgery; hospital setting] June was a hard month, physically and emotionally. My dad had 3 heart surgeries, and thank goodness he’s much better now as a result of them. But I almost lost him. It’s something that continues to weigh heavy on me. The long commutes to visit him and stay with him in the hospital every day took a toll on my mom and I too, but there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be there for him every step of the way. And I was.

Had a reunion with my high school band mates. We had so much fun chatting and drinking after a performance for our old band teacher’s retirement party

got hooked as shit on Legends Arceus, what a lovely game. It was everything I hoped for and more in a pokemon game and it was SO fun to play

Watched Amphibia omggg…it was so funny and heartfelt, and something I love going back to to just sit and relax to

Had an absolute banger of a day at Anime North with my friend. I got such a good merch haul

Dark Road gave me psychic damage but it was awesome. Completely changed my outlook on Xehanort and now I find myself wanting more of him

Helped my friend buy furniture from IKEA for her new apartment. It was a pain to get all of it up to the 10th floor but fulfilling in its own way 💅 Just Adult Things

Saw a bunch of cute ducks at the park!!!! It literally can’t get better than this 🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆

Finally started publishing A Light That Never Goes Out. I’ve been having a great time writing it and filling in some sections I had written already in the past

Had my make-up graduation in person (as opposed to online) which was nice :)

Overall, a great year. I had a lot of struggles and days where I could’ve done more, but I also tried a lot of new things, helped a lot of people, and made lots of good memories. Fingers crossed that 2023 brings more of that positivity!!

[krackerz1]

How to Find an Affordable Digital Marketing Agency in Bangalore

Finding the right digital marketing agency can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack, especially in a bustling city like Bangalore. With so many options around, how do you choose the best one without breaking the bank? Here’s a guide to help you locate an Affordable digital marketing agency in bangalore that meets your needs.

Understanding Digital Marketing Needs

Before you start looking for an agency, it’s crucial to know what your digital marketing needs are. Do you need help with social media, SEO, or maybe website design? Knowing this will make your search easier. Imagine trying to find the right key without knowing what lock you want to open; it’s pretty tough!

Researching Local Options

Bangalore is overflowing with digital marketing agencies. Start by browsing online directories or searching on Google. Use keywords like "affordable digital marketing agency in Bangalore" to narrow down your options. Pay attention to reviews and ratings. Think of this as checking the weather before going out; it helps you avoid unnecessary surprises.

Evaluating Agency Portfolios

Once you have a list, check out the agencies' portfolios. Look for previous work that resonates with your brand. A good portfolio is like a treasure map; it shows you what the agency can do. Are their designs appealing? Do their past clients look happy? This step is all about seeing if they can deliver what you need.

Comparing Budgets and Services

Don’t just settle for the first agency you find. Get quotes from multiple agencies and compare their services and prices. Some agencies might offer packages that fit your budget. Think of this as shopping for groceries; you want the best value for your money.

Asking the Right Questions

When you talk to an agency, ask them questions that reveal their expertise. Questions like, “What strategies do you use for SEO?” or “Can you show me case studies from similar businesses?” will help you understand their approach. It’s like getting to know a new friend—asking the right questions will help you see if you both align.

Checking for Transparency

A trustworthy agency will be open about their processes and pricing. If an agency seems vague or hides information, it’s a red flag. Imagine buying a car but not knowing its history; you’d want all the details first, right?

Getting Client References

Don’t hesitate to ask for references from past clients. Speaking directly with previous clients offers insights into their working style and effectiveness. It’s the difference between hearing a story and reading a firsthand account.

Finalizing Your Choice

After doing your homework, it’s time to make a decision. Choose an agency that fits your needs, budget, and vibe. Trust your gut feeling—if it feels right, go for it! Remember, this partnership should feel like adding a new team member, not a burden.

Conclusion

Finding an affordable digital marketing agency in Bangalore doesn't have to be daunting. By knowing your needs, doing thorough research, and asking the right questions, you can uncover an agency that aligns perfectly with your vision. So gear up, and start your search today! Your brand deserves it.

[real-news-20]

Oppo F25 Pro 5G Launches in India: Powerful Performance, Sleek Design

Oppo has expanded its F-series lineup in India with the launch of the Oppo F25 Pro 5G. This feature-packed smartphone arrives with the powerful MediaTek Dimensity 7050 processor, a sleek design, and a host of exciting features. Let’s take a closer look at the specifications, pricing, and introductory offers.

Key Specifications

Display: 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and punch-hole design

Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC

RAM: 8GB

Storage: 128GB (expandable via microSD)

Rear Cameras: 64MP primary sensor + 8MP ultrawide + 2MP macro

Front Camera: 32MP

Battery: 5000mAh with 67W SuperVOOC fast charging

Operating System: Android 14 with ColorOS

Colors: Lava Red, Black

Design and Features

The Oppo F25 Pro 5G boasts a slim and lightweight design with a premium finish, adding to its aesthetic appeal. The 6.7-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display features vibrant colors and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, ideal for gaming and multimedia. OPPO has included advanced camera features, and the battery supports super-fast charging for power users.

Pricing and Launch Offers

The Oppo F25 Pro 5G is available in India at a starting price of ₹24,990 for the 8GB + 128GB variant. Introductory offers include:

Instant discount for ICICI Bank, SBI Cards, Kotak Bank, Bank of Baroda, and IDFC First Bank cardholders

Exchange offers

Other additional discounts and benefits

Where to Buy

The Oppo F25 Pro 5G is now available for purchase via the Oppo India online store, Flipkart, Amazon, and major offline retailers across the country.

Should You Consider the Oppo F25 Pro 5G?

The Oppo F25 Pro 5G strikes a good balance between performance, features, and design, making it a compelling option in its price segment. If you’re looking for a stylish smartphone with a fast processor, versatile cameras, and a long-lasting battery, the Oppo F25 Pro 5G is certainly worth considering.

Read More News-

[spyranretailar]

Spice Up Your Dishes Buy Red Chilli Powder Online from Spyran Retail!

Are you tired of bland meals that lack that fiery kick? Look no further! Spyran Retail brings you the finest quality red chilli powder to spice up your culinary creations. Our premium selection of spices guarantees to elevate your dishes to new heights of flavor and excitement.

Why Choose Spyran Retail for Your Chilli Powder Needs?

Unmatched Quality: At Spyran Retail, we understand the importance of quality ingredients in cooking. That's why we source only the finest red chillies to create our powder, ensuring maximum flavor and potency in every pinch.

Convenience: With Spyran Retail, buying chilli powder online has never been easier. Skip the hassle of crowded grocery stores and long checkout lines – simply browse our online store, select your desired quantity, and have it delivered straight to your doorstep.

Wide Variety: Whether you're looking for standard chilli powder or the rich, smoky flavor of Kashmiri chilli powder, Spyran Retail has you covered. Explore our extensive selection and discover the perfect spice for your culinary adventures.

Freshness Guaranteed: We take pride in our commitment to freshness. Each batch of chilli powder is ground to perfection right before packaging, ensuring that you receive the freshest product possible.

Exceptional Value: Quality shouldn't break the bank. At Spyran Retail, we offer competitive prices without compromising on quality, giving you the best value for your money.

How to Buy Red Chilli Powder Online from Spyran Retail

Visit our website at www.spyranretail.in.

Browse our selection of chilli powders, including red chilli powder and Kashmiri chilli powder.

Select the quantity you need and add it to your cart.

Proceed to checkout and complete your purchase securely.

Sit back, relax, and await the arrival of your premium chilli powder – it's that simple!

Don't settle for bland meals any longer. Elevate your cooking with the bold flavors of Spyran Retail's red chilli powder. Buy chilli powder online today and embark on a culinary journey like never before!

[kashmirevergreen]

Unlocking the Flavorful World of Online Shopping: From Dry Fruits to Indian Spices.

In today's fast-paced world, convenience and accessibility are key factors that influence our shopping choices. The internet has revolutionized the way we shop for groceries and pantry essentials, and it's no different when it comes to dry fruits, dried herbs, Indian spices, almonds, or even the price of turmeric powder. In this comprehensive exploration, we delve into the world of online shopping, its advantages, and how you can make the most of it.

The Convenience of Buying Dry Fruits Online.

Dry fruits have long been cherished for their taste and nutritional value. When you buy dry fruits online, you open the door to a world of convenience. No longer do you have to rush to the local market or specialty stores to get your hands on your favorite almonds, cashews, or raisins. With just a few clicks, you can have these healthy snacks delivered to your doorstep.

Exploring Dried Herbs Online in India.

Herbs are an essential component of Indian cuisine. The rich tapestry of Indian flavors relies heavily on aromatic herbs like coriander, cumin, and fenugreek. When you buy dried herbs online in India, you're not just purchasing convenience; you're investing in the authenticity and freshness of your dishes. Online platforms offer a wide variety of dried herbs, making it easier than ever to explore new recipes and add depth to your culinary creations.

A Journey Through the World of Indian Spices Online.

Indian spices are renowned worldwide for their rich flavors and vibrant colors. Online shopping brings this treasure trove of spices right to your fingertips. Whether you're seeking the fiery heat of red chili powder, the earthy aroma of turmeric, or the warmth of cardamom, Indian spices online offer a comprehensive range. With the option to buy in bulk or small quantities, you can tailor your spice purchases to your specific needs.

Finding Affordable Almonds Online.

Almonds are a beloved snack and a nutritional powerhouse. But finding affordable almonds online can be a game-changer for your budget and your health. Online retailers often offer competitive prices and discounts, allowing you to enjoy this heart-healthy snack without breaking the bank. Plus, you can buy almonds online cheap and explore different almond varieties, from raw to roasted and salted, to suit your taste.

Understanding the Price of Turmeric Powder.

Turmeric is more than just a spice; it's a golden treasure with numerous health benefits. As you explore the price of turmeric powder online, you'll find that it varies based on factors like quality, source, and packaging. The advantage of online shopping is that you can easily compare prices and read product descriptions to make an informed choice. Whether you're buying turmeric for its culinary uses or its potential health benefits, online platforms offer a range of options to suit your needs.

The Online Shopping Advantage.

Online shopping offers several distinct advantages. Firstly, it saves you time and effort. No longer do you need to navigate crowded stores or marketplaces; you can shop from the comfort of your home. Secondly, it provides access to a broader range of products. When you buy online, you can explore different brands, varieties, and price points, giving you more control over your choices.

Additionally, online platforms often provide detailed product descriptions, customer reviews, and ratings. This wealth of information empowers you to make informed decisions. You can learn about the quality, source, and packaging of the products you're interested in, ensuring that you get exactly what you need.

Making the Most of Online Shopping.

To make the most of your online shopping experience for dry fruits, dried herbs, Indian spices, almonds, and turmeric powder, consider the following tips:

1. Read Product Descriptions: Take the time to read product descriptions carefully. Look for information about the product's origin, quality, and packaging.

2. Check Customer Reviews: Customer reviews can provide valuable insights into the quality and taste of the products. Pay attention to both positive and negative feedback.

3. Compare Prices: Don't settle for the first option you see. Compare prices from different sellers to ensure you're getting the best deal.

4. Look for Discounts: Many online retailers offer discounts and promotions. Keep an eye out for these to save on your purchases.

5. Check Shipping Policies: Ensure that the platform you choose offers reliable shipping options to your location. Look for free or discounted shipping offers when available.

Online shopping has transformed the way we procure pantry essentials like dry fruits, dried herbs, Indian spices, almonds, and turmeric powder. The convenience, variety, and accessibility it offers are unparalleled. With careful consideration, you can make informed choices and elevate your culinary and snacking experiences.

So, whether you're looking for the perfect ingredients to spice up your dishes, boost your health with nutritious snacks, or simply enjoy the convenience of doorstep delivery, the online world has you covered. Dive in and explore the wealth of options available to enhance your culinary journey. Happy shopping!

[gothhabiba]

[ID: Instagram post from wizard_bisan1 with a header of 8 Palestinian flag emojis. Red text on a black background reads "Global strike week, 21-28 January!" White text reads "Ceasefire now!" Subsequent slides have the same header image and text, but the body text continues: "After my survival with a miracle tonight while being stuck in the hospital until now, it's time for this to end! It is justice against injustice and good against evil! It is a war against humanity and the world, not just against Gaza! Here, We are now all under bombardment and are at risk of death at any moment! And you can make a difference!

We civilians across the world do not have the tools of war! We do not thirst for killing and death! We only have our throats in the demonstrations and our boycott of the economic movement in our countries, especially those that support the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza!

Strike from the economic movements, work and your normal life because nothing is normal in this life! Strike as much as you can and protest... for a whole week or until this madness ends! You can disrupt the economies that support genocide and make your voices and our voices heard! Call for strikes during the next week for an immediate and permanent ceasefire!

We are human beings like you. We had beautiful cities, many lives and dreams. They were destroyed in front of you and are still being destroyed. You can make a difference and stop the genocide. Do not despair and continue until the ceasefire. End ID]

What participating in this strike looks like:

To whatever extent possible:

Organise a walk-out with coworkers or students. If that isn’t possible, call out sick.

Contact your union, if you have one, about going on strike (also in regards to the every-Monday strike that the PFLP have called for (English source 1) (English source 2))

If you're an independent contractor or freelancer, cancel your appointments

If you're a content creator, don't upload or stream anything

Withdraw as much as possible from the economy: don't buy anything, in stores or online (stock up on necessities such as groceries ahead of time)

Don't transfer funds, pay off bills, or otherwise interact with a bank or banking app

Find a demonstration near you

Call or fax your representatives (here's a call related to a recent bill in the U.S.)

During the December 11 strike, people called for no social media posting that wasn't about Palestine. Post using the hashtag #strikeforgaza (on twitter) to get it trending

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bisan’8 - حكواتية (@wizard_bisan1)

Bisan's words from this night, after she survived an attack on Al Nassr hospital.

[exitofreshmarket]

Top Benefits to Buy Grocery Online Red Bank

Shopping of the Grocery arrives with its own challenges- carting groceries, parking, handing kids, pushing trollies, and further family members, tackling crowds at the billing counter & so on. All such problems are the reason why Buy Grocery Online Red Bank is a favoured way to go for a lot of consumers

[cagestark]

Winterspider prompt if you're game! There's a meme about a poor college student being robbed; the robber, upon learning just h o w poor, stopping and giving the (empty) wallet back and being sincerely concerned. "You... you live like this?" What if the winter soldier/bucky barnes breaks into struggling college student Peter parker's apt and all his pre-serum steve instincts are triggered by the state of the place and how /tiny/ Peter is (abo/soulmates/soulmarks/werewolf au for spice up to you)

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five

This prompt came into my house and stole my money. This is CHAPTER ONE. Because I was so inspired that I’m officially making this my first multichap fic. I hope this will appease you for now…And I hope you can forgive me for making it winterironspider (I’m a sucker for starker/winteriron so it all just clicked together nicely). Please come back into my inbox and let me know what you think so far.

Warnings in this chapter: graphic descriptions of being poor. Bucky says fuck A LOT. Peter is 24 but Bucky keeps calling him “kid” because he’s so small. Sickness. 4.1k

-

Bucky can pick a lock in ten seconds flat.

It’s a science: tension wrench goes into the keyhole, the slightest torque is applied, then his favorite pick—the Bogota with three rakes, as of late—goes in and he scrubs the hell out of it until the plug turns. Easy as fucking pie.

The hard part (and he’s not counting the guilt, the horror he would feel if Tony ever discovered how Bucky makes the money he uses to buy his lover trinkets) is scoping out the right apartments. He sticks to NYU residence halls, early mornings and late at nights because the security is usually lax enough to let him through without even checking his ID—if they ask? Oh fuck, I left my wallet in my Uber. Maybe he hasn’t left yet, one sec—and then he’s out of there.

Today, it’s the Lafayette Hall between China Town and TriBeCa, reserved for graduate students seeking their Master’s Degrees in science fields.

It should be empty. On campus is an expo featuring innovators from Sphere Fluidics, Fasmatech, AcouSort, and NanoTemper Technologies which—according to the flier Bucky read online—are huge names in the science industry, all displaying their scientific discoveries from the last business year and scouting for fresh blood.

Any science major worth a shit will be there, he imagines. But it’s mandatory for NYU grad students. Score. ��

Content that the apartments will more than likely be empty, Bucky chooses the first hit at random after taking the elevator up: apartment 2B. It’s furthest away from the security camera at the other end of the hall—not that Bucky has ever left behind a reason for those cameras to be checked. It’s the principle of the thing, really. He keeps his back turned, hair in his face, both hands gloved (thank God it’s always cold and dreary in NYC, so his gloved hands don’t draw any attention) while he scrubs the lock. It takes him no longer than it might for anyone with a legitimate key, and then the door is open and he is in.

Bucky can see decently in the dark, the light from the hallway disappearing as the door is carefully closed behind him. Holding his breath, he stills himself, calls upon his enhanced senses, and listens: but there are no sounds coming from the apartment. Empty.

Then he actually takes in the place, and he realizes that that word fits in multiple ways.

The apartment is vacant, he thinks at first. There is the basic furniture all the NYU apartments come with: a refrigerator, a couch, a coffee table. But there is no television, no end tables. There are no curtains on the window across the room—and wow, what a lovely view of the brick building across the alley. The entire place smells musty and unused. Maybe it really is empty—

But no. Little signs of life appear. There are shoes by the door, ones that saw better days many, many days ago. On the wall, a photograph is tacked there, unframed, of two boys on either side of a pretty, dark skinned girl. A plastic grocery sack is dangling off of the drawer handle of one kitchen cabinet, sagging with contents that he can’t make out through the opaque plastic.

Someone does live here, they’re just terrible at decorating.

With careful, silent steps, Bucky moves deeper into the apartment. He doesn’t bother looking for a wallet—that will be with the owner—but usually there is money somewhere else. If he’s really lucky, he’ll find whatever he’s looking for.

Today, he wants blank CD’s. Last night, Tony showed him a movie where the teenage love interest burned—(“why’s it called that, Tony? You don’t burn the thing, do you?”)—a CD with love songs. It was real romantic shit; something Bucky never got to do. Something that he longs to do with this amazing man in his life. He can imagine the look on Tony’s face when he listens to a compilation of all the awesome music he’s introduced Bucky to, and it makes his heart race.

The Best Buy downtown sells a pack of five CD’s for $6.99 plus tax which brings the total to $7.61. That’s all that he needs. He could probably take that and more from any one of these apartments and the occupants would never notice. He isn’t hurting anyone. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone.

Then—jackpot. On the counter is a line of change: neat stacks of quarters and dimes, taller piles of nickels and pennies. Palming it, he cups one hand under the counter and slides the coins home into his hand. A quick count tells him that it’s just $2.30. It’s probably change for the vending machines downstairs, maybe fare for the bus. Nothing that will break this grad student’s bank.

For a moment he contemplates leaving the apartment. He’s almost got a third of what he needs for the CD’s. But breaking into another apartment just escalates the risks he takes, unnecessarily so when the rest of the money could very well be in the bedroom or even in the pocket of some jeans resting on the bathroom floor. No. He’ll press on.

Walking silently, he brings up the floorplan of the apartments in his mind (NYU had all that shit online; didn’t they know how unsafe it was? This world made information so available). The bedroom is on the left, past the kitchen. In the dim light through the window, he can see the door, open, a dark gaping mouth that he slips through soundlessly. It is even darker here, and he stands still waiting for his eyes to adjust further. It’d be no good to go fumbling around in the dark, knocking into furniture.

It only took moments, but as soon as he could make out dim shapes, he heard it. A little whimper. The rustling of sheets. Everything in him went still except for the blood in his veins, propelled by his furiously pounding heart. Someone is here. Bucky broke into an occupied apartment. He is standing in the doorway to a bedroom and there is someone sleeping in the bed.

He gets a glimpse before he can slink back into the living room, and what he sees stops him in his tracks. It is a boy—or a very small man, perhaps, considering these apartments are for graduate students only. The boy is wearing just a pair of boxers, some dark color—red or navy or even black, perhaps, since colors are distorted in this low light—but there is no hiding or distorting how thin he is. The shadows between his ribs are little valleys to the pale, jutting mountains of bone, rising with his fast, shallow breaths. The collarbones protrude, limbs fine-boned and so skinny that Bucky could probably wrap his fingers around an entire ankle or bicep. His face is smushed against one pillow so features are indistinguishable, but the mop of messy curls on top is unmistakable.

There is no bed. There is no bedframe, no mattress, no box spring. A pile of threadbare blankets and sheets are entwined into a makeshift nest, like the kid is some little bird.

After taking in the sights, he takes in the smell. It’s strong—damp and musty, like the windows have never been opened. The pungent scent of sweat. The overly sweet scent of cough syrup, though the two bottles on the nightstand are upended and empty.

Mostly, the acrid smell of sickness. A bucket is beside the bed, and the smell of vomit gets stronger the closer he comes—why is Bucky walking forward? He should be walking away, far, far away.

The boy whimpers again, rolling onto his back more. Sweat coats his skin, and the rapid rise and fall of his chest is even more pronounced in this position, tummy a hollow little thing. This boy is sick, very sick from the smell and the heat that Bucky can feel when he places his hand above the boy’s head, hovering over the skin.

“Ben!” The boy shrieks. Bucky jerks away and nearly topples the trash bin of vomit. His heart is pounding, thinking I’m so sorry Tony, so sorry that I’m going to get caught and get arrested and that you’re the only person in the world I’ll have to call, and if you don’t want to bail me out I’ll understand, I really will—but the boy sleeps on, lips moving. He is dreaming the feverish dreams of the sick.

Carefully, Bucky stands. He backs from the room. On his way out, he takes in more details even if he doesn’t want to: a name-badge for the building and NYU campus (which he takes, which he should have seen on his way in and known that it would be wherever the student was—complacent, he’s gotten too fucking complacent), the silver duct tape on the bottom of the kid’s shoes which holds them together. The past-due notices on the refrigerator. The paper plate resting in the sink, plastic cutlery that has been washed and re-used countless times. The kid is poor. So fucking poor.

And he can’t help that it reminds him of another sickly poor boy from nearly a hundred years ago. He remembers it like it was yesterday, fuzzy memories that Princess Shuri helped turn clear: a thin pale Captain America, the chest-deep coughs that would rattle his whole frame when he was sick, sitting by his best friend’s side through the night just to mop his brow and make sure he didn’t choke on his own sick. His stomach aches, twisting inside out with phantom hunger pains. Stepping into that apartment made him feel like he’d entered a time machine back to the Great Fucking Depression.

Another thought comes: what if the kid needs a fucking ambulance? What if he’s in there, brain frying from his fever? What if he throws up and aspirates? That will be on Bucky. There’s no way that he can walk away from this—not if it could add an(other) life, like a notch, to his murderous bedpost.

Palms sweating, he looks down at the badge he left with. Peter B. Parker. It’s a cute name—Bucky’s always had sort of a thing for alliteration. The picture of the kid is shy with the closed-lip smile and the rampant curls falling onto his forehead. He was skinny to begin with, but not malnourished like he is now. The badge will let him come in through the back doors. Because apparently he is planning on coming back.

Bucky pulls out his cellphone, mostly unused, and makes a call. While he talks, he takes the stairs down so that he doesn’t lose the call in the elevator.

Tony picks up on the second ring. “Hey Bucky, everything alright?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” In the background he can hear the sound of a door closing, and Tony’s voice grows more familiar, softer and more comfortable. He must have been around company but left.

“You only ever call if you’re about to break the law,” Tony says fondly.

Is he really so predictable? Well, in this case, he’s already broken the law, though that’s hardly a point that he wants to make. “No. it’s—nothing like that. I was just wondering about the credit card you gave me.”

“Oh? Thinking about blowing the dust off it?”

“Yeah,” Bucky mutters. He hates it—hates being like the other million people in Tony’s life who just take his money. The fear that this man who has helped Bucky salvage himself, salvage the will to live life, to carve out a life he wants to live…the fear that he’ll think Bucky is just with him for the money is unconquerable. Tony gave him the leather wallet and the credit card years ago, and Bucky has never once used it. “Just a bit. Twenty dollars. Thirty at the most, Tony, and I swear I’ll pay you back—”

“Hey, hey, no need for the freaking out. Mi dinero es su dinero, polar bear. Buy whatever you need.” He pauses. “Are you in any trouble? I don’t know if you need me to emphasize this, but there’s probably no trouble you can imagine that I can’t get a person out of.”

“I’m not in trouble,” he says, hoping Tony doesn’t notice the unconscious inflection on the word I’m. “But I’ll remember that. I promise.”

“Okay. Great. That’s all I need to hear. Thai, tonight?”

Bucky can’t help but smile. He pushes open the back door to the building and steps out into the street, angling his face away from the security camera at the alley entrance on instinct. The wind is blistery, whipping his hair around his face. “I’ll be there.”

Tony hums. “I can hardly wait.”

They exchange declarations of love and say goodbye. Bucky feels a little choked up, how he always feels after hearing Tony say that he loves him. His eyes sting—but that’s just the wind. Honest. Down the street is a pharmacy and Bucky ducks in, head down. There’s an entire aisle for cold medicines, and he takes far too long examining all the bottles. Thank God there are ones that seem to treat everything: headaches, fever, nausea, cough. Everything except for the kid’s destitution.

He sees the chicken noodle soup and he grabs some of that as well.

Checking out is awkward; Bucky slides the card upside down at first. Then he’s unsure: credit or debit? He clicks credit since it’s first, but then he has to sign and he has a new dilemma. Should he forge Tony’s signature or put down his own? The card has his name on it, but it’s Tony’s money. In the end, he writes his own name. Forging feels too…familiar.

With less than twenty dollars spent, he trudges back down the block to the apartment building, and it isn’t until he’s swiping the key to get into the back door that he realizes he has no fucking idea what he’s going to do. Knock on the kid’s door? Hey, I broke in earlier and saw you were sick and out of medicine, here’s some. I’ll put the change I stole back on the counter. Sorry to fucking bother you?

Bucky Barnes, former assassin for Hydra, absolute dumbass.

Absolute persistent dumbass. Because he knocks on the door. He really fucking does. And when no one answers, he knocks again and again until he hears movement on the other side of the door (a chest-rattling cough that makes him shudder) then the door is cracked open and a bloodshot, honey-brown eye is staring out at him.

“Hi,” Peter croaks. His voice is wrecked, and it immediately does things to Bucky. Things that are wrong, especially considering that his voice isn’t croaky because of a cock nudging too persistently at the back of his throat, but because he is fucking sick. “Can I help you?”

“I’m here to help you,” Bucky says. Peter’s eyebrows furrow. It’s cute. He’s wearing a shirt that is far too large for him, and pajama pants so long they slip down past the backs of his heels. “I’m—visiting one of your neighbors down the hall. You’re keeping everyone up with your cough, kid. I brought you some medicine.”

Peter opens the door wider, so that Bucky is seeing all of him instead of just a two-inch section. He rests against the doorframe because he’s swaying, struggling to keep on his feet, and he is so tiny, so, so tiny. The smell of him is foul, but Bucky would never mention it. “Gosh,” Peter says, and Bucky is horrified to see tears, real fucking tears fill his eyes. “I didn’t know I was keepin’ everybody up.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Bucky says. People say that, sometimes, to horses that are likely to buck off their rider or men who pull out guns in gas stations. Bucky figures that he should probably use either of those situations as reference for what to do now, because how to comfort a crying kid was not in the Winter Soldier’s repertoire. “Don’t shoot.” Fuck. Try again. “I mean—it’s not your fault. You’re sick. Obviously.”

Fat tears roll down Peter’s cheeks. It impedes his breathing even more, until Bucky is afraid that he’s going to choke on his own phlegm. When he speaks, he tries to keep his voice even and clear through his hitching breaths. The shirt slips off his shoulder, bones protruding. “I-I-I know. It hit m-me a-all of the sudden. But now it won’t go away.”

“Have you tried going to the doctor?”

Peter’s smile is downright tragic. He looks like he wants to reach out and pat Bucky on the cheek, call him a sweet summer child, ask him what pipe he smoked to have such a dream. “I d-don’t have insurance. I’m still trying to p-pay off my debt from last year when I had my tonsils removed.”

“And they—what—they won’t treat you? Just because you needed treating once before? They’re fucking doctors!”

“I know,” Peter whines, rubbing a wrist at his leaking nose. The door opens even wider. “Would you like to come in?”

Bucky sees the irony. He really does. A half hour ago, he was in this apartment robbing the kid. Now he’s standing at the kitchen counter watching Peter make ramen noodles (“my aunt always said that when someone is in your house, you should treat them like they live there”). He nearly burns his hand on the pan, and that’s when Bucky moves to take over, stirring when appropriate, adding a packet of flavoring. Peter pulls one bowl down from the cabinet—the cabinet that is unbearably empty from the quick glimpse Bucky gets of it.

“I only have one bowl, I’m sorry,” Peter says, face red, eyes downcast. His hands shake while he ladles the soup and noodles in. He gives Bucky one of the plastic spoons—it’s clean, he knows—but the whole thing is so fucking sad. When Peter glances over the counter, muttering something about some missing rent money, that’s it. That’s it for Bucky.

I’m taking him home with me, he thinks, nudging his spoon against the noodles in his bowl.

“I’m Peter, by the way,” the kid introduces himself. Then his face goes white, shaking intensifies. “Excuse me.”

Bucky hears him vomiting even through the walls between them. There isn’t much to come up, but the retching lasts forever it seems, the boy dissolving back into tears. Instinct says to go to him, but Bucky doesn’t want to be anymore of a fucking creep than he already is. When the vomiting turns to coughing and then to gasping, Bucky decides fuck it. He is a fucking creep. But he’s not going to let the kid pass out and crack open his head.

Peter is in the bathroom, bowed over the toilet, curls matting to his forehead with his fever. Bucky goes through drawers until he finds a washcloth and wets it from the sink, the water stinking of iron, to at least dab at the back of the kid’s neck. He shivers, but sighs into it, his wheezing breaths slowing.

When at last he leans back, his cheeks are red and wet. “Thanks,” he croaks. Bucky just mops at his forehead, avoiding the comical look of relief and pleasure on his face.

“You need a doctor.”

“Can’t afford it,” Peter mutters, reaching out to flush the toilet. Bucky practically carries him back to the kitchen-living room combo, setting him down on the threadbare couch.

“I’ll pay,” Bucky says. Then he winces—because it isn’t really his money. It’s Tony’s money. How can he just promise Tony’s money to this kid? But he can pay Tony back. No matter how long it takes or how hard he has to work. He’s got decades and decades left to live. He’ll spend them all trying to repay Tony’s kindness and love as it is. What is this one extra debt?

“What?” Peter asks, his eyes glassy with fever. “You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“A trip to the doctor costs hundreds of dollars, not to mention if I’m really sick, I’ll need medicine which will cost even more. I’m not taking that kind of money from you.”

“I’m rich,” he half-lies.

Peter looks him up and down, the worn boots, the soft but unremarkable jeans, the gloves that he’s still wearing even though they are indoors. While he doesn’t look destitute, the idea comes across loud and clear: Bucky sure doesn’t fucking look rich.

He sighs. “Fine. It’s my boyfriend. He’s rich.”

“You want me to take your boyfriend’s money? I’m—what? I don’t know you. I don’t even know your name.”

“My name is Bucky,” says Bucky. “And my boyfriend is Tony Stark.”

Peter’s mouth clicks shut. His eyes clear a little, the name cutting through the sickness. “Tony Stark.”

“Yeah.”

“The billionaire.”

Bucky can feel himself smile against his will. “Genius, billionaire, philanthropist, superhero. Yeah, he’s the one.”

Peter reaches out and puts his burning hand against Bucky’s forehead. “Maybe you’re the one who is sick,” he teases weakly.

“I’m serious,” Bucky says. He pulls out his phone and Googles it—hopes the kid doesn’t see the tab of Lafayette Hall dorm room floor plans that was previously open. Then he brings up the tabloids. He and Tony aren’t in the news as often as they were years ago when they first started leaving the Tower together to do couple-things, but the articles last forever. There’s a nice one detailing all about Tony’s promiscuous love life, how everyone thought the bisexual ways of his youth were just a phase. Until Bucky.

The pictures are clear. Peter’s eyes nearly pop out of his head. “You’re dating Tony Stark. Oh my god. I’m—I’m his biggest fan. Oh my god. I think I’m going to pass out. I’ve—” the kid goes red as a beet, “I’ve had a crush on him since I was like, like this tall.”

Judging by the height of his hand when he holds it up, Peter’s been harboring his crush on Tony since ever. And yeah, Bucky gets it. His lips can’t help but quirk upwards—Peter is so fucking cute, even with he way his cheeks are hollow, eyes sunken. He lights up when he talks about Tony. Bucky is the same way. Tony inspires that in people.

“I’ll pay for you to go to the doctor. See? I can afford it.”

Peter gnaws at his lower lip. “But why? I don’t get it. Because I’m keeping everyone on the floor up? That doesn’t—this is weird.”

“Because you remind me of someone I used to know. My best friend, from when I was a kid. He’s—he’s not around now. But you two would have gotten along well, I think. And he would’ve kicked me in the ass if he knew I just walked away when I knew you need help.” He can see the indecision on the kid’s face, the wavering teeter-totter of what he wants to say (yes yes yes) versus what he thinks he should say (no, but thank you). Bucky has an ace up his sleeve: “Why don’t you come back to the Tower with me? Meet Tony. He’ll tell you all this himself.”

“I couldn’t!” Peter nearly shrieks. He coughs, and Bucky waits patiently for him to finish.

“You could. You totally could. You will. I’ll call a car—”

“Oh my god,” Peter whispers under his breath, his whole tiny body going lax and weak like a woman from Victorian times, likely to swoon at any moment. Where are Bucky’s smelling salts? “Oh my god,” he says, soft and to himself. “I’m going to meet Tony Stark.”

Bucky can’t help it. He grins, pats awkwardly at the kid’s shoulder—and Jesus, he’s a tiny little thing, still burning up under Bucky’s grip. “He’s going to be thrilled to meet you.”

-

Peter insists on showering and changing his clothes. Bucky steps out into the hallway to call Tony back and warn him—and ask him to send Happy or one of the self-driving cars. Anything to avoid taking a cab or the subway.

“Twice in one day,” Tony says when he picks up the phone, forgoing a greeting. “Aren’t I a lucky man?”

“I’m the lucky man, ‘s far as I can tell,” Bucky says lowly. If he closes his eyes, he can imagine Tony’s expression, the ridiculous fond face he makes when he looks at Bucky. “I had a favor to ask of you, though. A big one.”

“Anything for you, frosted flake.”

“Send a car to the address that I text you? And—order Thai for three?”

[etherealwaifgoddess]

Run To You - Chpt.1

Summary: Bucky has had the day from hell and all he wants is to buy what he needs and get home to his sick kid. Enter Steve Rogers in the wrong place at the wrong time and Bucky’s day goes from bad to mortifying.  Master list is HERE :)

Content Warnings: A smidge of bad language, but really ya’ll should expect that from me by now lol

Word Count: 2.3k

Author’s Note: Hello lovelies! Who’s ready to start a new adventure with me? I knew I wanted to write a kid!fic with Bucky and Steve but I didn’t expect it to go quite this way until I jokingly called a friend “Captain Clueless” and then couldn’t get that name out of my head in relation to Steve. I fell completely in love with this little universe as I went and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. XOXO - Ash

Chapter One

Bucky Barnes is not at his finest. He just got off a sixteen hour shift from his job as an ER nurse and can barely keep his eyes open. The shift should have ended four hours earlier, but a tour bus accident had them overwhelmed on what had already been a busy night. Bucky was looking forward to catching a few hours of sleep while Becca was at preschool but nope, he came home to a frazzled best friend/ babysitter and a sick four year old. It was always something with Becca, her immune system just wasn’t what it needed to be. Bucky couldn’t fault her for that, she had been born premature and that unfortunately resulted in a whole host of health issues for the little girl. He would never regret adopting her, it was the best decision he’d ever made, but some days parenthood wore on him. 

Bucky moves the load of laundry Natasha had started for him into the dryer. It smells clean but there will forever be a slight stain from puke on the ladybug print sheets. He can try his heavy duty stain remover on it later, but he knows there is only so much that can be done for white fabric and bodily fluids. There’s a reason most of his scrubs are black. After checking in on Becca, Bucky begs Natasha to stay a little longer so he can run down to the bodega to pick up a few things for when Becca wakes up. He would have sworn they had an extra bottle of Pedialyte, but apparently they’d used it up during Becca’s last bout with the flu. 

Natasha waits patiently, listening to Bucky complain about his shift while he quickly changes out of his scrubs into a pair of soft grey sweats and an old Blink 182 tshirt. She’s been his best friend since their first year of college when they met in Intro to Biology. The two of them have been inseparable ever since, both even choosing to stay in Brooklyn after college instead of going back to where they were from. Natasha’s family was from Russia but traveled a lot so she was happy staying in the city that felt like home to her, and Bucky would have done just about anything to avoid going back to the tiny town in Indiana where his parents were still selling drugs out of their trailer and making each other miserable. 

Bucky had thought he was free of his family forever when NYU accepted him into their nursing program. It was his way out of a poverty stricken little town that people rarely escaped from. Bucky had left home at eighteen with no intentions of returning, and he probably never would have, but during his last year of nursing school he found out through Facebook that his thirty eight year old mother was pregnant. To no one’s surprise, his mom was still dealing, still with his deadbeat dad, and was too far along when she found out she was pregnant to have any other option than having the baby. It was a repeat of the situation she’d found herself in at sixteen when she had Bucky. Knowing what it was like to grow up in that house, Bucky couldn’t allow another child to be brought into such a toxic environment. As soon as his mom confirmed the news was true, he hopped on the next flight out to Indiana and started the process to legally adopt his sister once she was born. 

When Rebecca Grace Barnes came into the world nine weeks early the doctors said it was a miracle she survived. She was so small, just barely three pounds, and needed to stay in the NICU for just over a month. Bucky had made arrangements with his professors to turn in exams and papers online, barely managing to finish up his nursing degree while biding his time before he could go back to Brooklyn with his baby sister. It had been a wild ride trying to get his nursing career started while caring for a newborn but Natasha had been a life saver. She and their other friend Clint had stepped up in a huge way, helping to watch Becca when he needed to work and daycare wasn’t open. Their schedules had gotten even messier recently when Becca started preschool. Bucky is counting down the days until kindergarten starts so their schedules will align enough for him to only lean on Nat and Clint one or two days a week at most. 

“Are you even listening to me?” Natasha throws a balled up Minnie Mouse sock at Bucky who’s too tired to dodge and instead gets a face full of pink fleece. 

“Yeah, Nat,” Bucky sighs, wishing he could take off his aching prosthetic but knowing he’ll need both hands for shopping bags. “I’m getting you a choco taco and a red bull this time. I got you.” 

Natasha nods happily, completely unphased by Bucky’s eye roll. She’s getting her wake up juice and her crunchy chocolatey sugar, and that is all that matters.

Bucky rushes around the bodega grabbing everything he’ll need to deal with a sick kid, throwing things in the basket without even bothering to check price tags. His bank account will hate him, but he doesn’t exactly have time or options to find the best deals. Grabbing Nat’s items and an iced coffee for himself, he waits in line as an older man chats with the clerk while the teenager rings up his order. The television in the corner is playing the local news, apparently Captain America visited a rec center in Brooklyn recently. There are sound bites from elderly residents and young kids fawning over him, and one of the Captain himself extolling the importance of community and keeping kids off the streets.

Bucky thinks his eyes will get stuck in the back of his head with how hard he rolls them. “This fucking guy.” Bucky grumbles as he places his basket on the counter, unloading his stuff. 

The clerk nods in silent agreement.

“I’m sure he was a ‘bright shining beacon of hope’ back in WWII but he has no clue what’s going on in the real word nowadays.” Bucky continues.

The clerk nods once again and Bucky, feeling particularly exhausted and grumpy, yells over at the TV, “It’s not all rainbows and sunshine Captain Clueless!”  

“Captain Clueless?” A deep voice rumbles from behind him, “I’ve been called a lot of things over the years, but that’s a new one.” 

Bucky sees the clerk's face go pale and the kid freezes, confirming what Bucky feared when he heard that rich baritone behind him. Oh fuck. 

Turning around, Bucky prepares himself for the worst. Instead, he finds an extremely amused looking Captain America holding a bottle of water and a bag of swedish fish. 

“I’m… I… I didn’t mean…” Bucky stammers. He doesn’t know how to politely explain I meant every word but never meant for you to hear it. 

The register pings as the clerk frantically finishes ringing up Bucky’s order, trying to get both men out of the shop before the situation can get any worse. The sound startles Bucky and he turns around to see the green blinking $58.79 on the little box. His stomach sinks, there went grocery shopping for the week. But, he reasons, Becca won’t want much for a few days while she recovers and he’s no stranger to a ramen-only diet. They’ll get by, just like they always do. 

Before Bucky can hand over his last three twenties, a sleek black card taps against the card reader and the machine starts blinking, processing it. Bucky spins around in surprise only to literally face plant into a solid wall of muscle. Muscle that smells like tea tree and mint, yum. Bucky moves backwards in surprise, bumping into the counter but getting himself away from the giant of man who’s also moving backwards after their collision. 

“It’s on me.” Steve tells him with a shrug. 

“You didn’t have to do that.” Bucky insists, “I insulted you.” 

“You were just being honest.” Steve reasons, “I don’t get to hear people’s honest opinions all that much.” 

“That has to be weird.” 

Steve chuckles, “Pal, you got no idea.” 

“Well, thank you. And I am sorry you heard that.” Bucky collects his bags, still dumbfounded by the whole experience. 

“I’d like to hear more about why you said it. Whatever you think it is I’m missing about the twenty-first century. I’m just out for a run so if you don’t mind company on your way back to wherever, maybe we could talk?” 

Bucky shakes his head. The man actually wants to learn how to be a better person after being insulted by a random grungey stranger in a bodega. “You really are Captain America.” Bucky murmurs, still stunned. 

Steve chuckles again; a deep, throaty sound. “Yeah, guilty as charged. But you can just call me Steve.” Steve winks conspiratorially and Bucky thinks he might actually combust. No one should be allowed to be that good looking. 

Bucky waits as the cashier rings Steve up for his things and Steve taps his card again to pay. “I thought it was weird enough getting a card that swiped when I came out of the ice, but now this one doesn’t even swipe. It just taps and poof, done.” Steve says with a faint tone of awe. 

Bucky can’t imagine how many things Steve needed to adjust to after waking up from the ice. “Far cry from what you were used to, huh?” 

“Well, it sure beats keeping coins in old coffee cans.” 

Bucky glances over at Steve as they leave the bodega together, “You do that whole ‘awe shucks, man out of time’ thing really well. Is it real though? No offense, you can’t really be that well adjusted. You’re still human.”

Steve meets Bucky’s eyes for a moment, crystalline blue piercing into smoke grey-blue, assessing him. After a few beats he decides Bucky is someone who can handle the truth. “It’s a lot easier to do that than to curse up a storm every time some piece of tech pisses me off. Plays out a lot better with the whole Captain America image too.”  

“I didn’t think Captain America even knew how to swear.” Bucky teases. 

“He doesn’t, but Steve Rogers does. I grew up in Brooklyn, I know how to curse.” 

Bucky laughs, swinging his bags idly as they walk in silence for a few steps.

Steve breaks the silence, reminding him of why they’re walking down the street together in the first place, “So really, why do you think I’m so out of touch? Because I thought SHIELD did a bang up job teaching me about the world and what I missed while I was out.” 

“I’m sure they did, but SHIELD is still an agency with their own ideas and agendas. I promise you, you got a watered down version of real life. Do me a favor; when you get home look up what they say about The Great Depression and WWII. Do a little research on how we look back at those times. Then think about how it really was back then when you were living it. I would bet you lunch that the two don’t line up.” 

“I never thought about it that way.” Steve admits. “I’ll look it up today, promise.”

They arrive on Bucky’s stoop and he climbs up a step, looking down at Steve instead of up at him. He wants to know what Steve thinks once he does some research but doesn’t know how to ask. Luckily, Steve beats him to it. 

“I’m going to need your number if you’re taking me out to lunch.” Steve says casually, a light hint of teasing. 

Bucky blushes, trying to remind himself that he was the one who threw the lunch bet out there. Steve Rogers would never just ask him out like that. “I… uh… um…” he fumbles anyway.

Steve takes a step back in retreat, his own cheeks flaming. “I’m sorry, that was. I’m sorry. You clearly have a sick kid to get back to, and I’m sure a lovely wife waiting for you too.” he motions at Bucky’s bags. “Thank you, for being honest with me.” Steve turns to hurry off and, thankfully, Bucky’s brain catches up with him.

“Steve, no.” he blurts out. “No wife. Sick kid, yes. But no, um, no one else. If you want my number, I’ll give it to you. My schedule is a little weird because of my job but I do want to know what you think when you get done looking things up.” 

Steve smiles up at Bucky, soft and hopeful and genuine. It isn’t the All American facade grin he uses for the cameras, and it feels all the more special to Bucky because of it. Steve hands over his phone to Bucky so he can enter in his contact info and then sends him a quick text so Bucky has his number too. “So, I’ll call you later then?” Steve tries, sounding a little unsure still.

“Yeah, I’ll look forward to it, Steve.” Bucky looks up at his doorway, knowing he needs to get back to Becca but not wanting Steve to leave quite yet. 

Steve takes the hint and gives him another soft smile and a small wave as he turns and heads off down the bustling city sidewalk. 

Bucky stands there a moment, collecting himself and trying to process it all, before hurrying back upstairs to his little apartment to relieve Natasha of babysitting duty.

*** New chapters will be posted on Sunday and Wednesday nights until the fic is complete ***

[southeastasianists]

Under a bridge on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur sits a small huddle of dilapidated shipping containers – each divided into two levels, carpeted with canvas sheets and ventilated by small whirring table fans.

For 65 Bangladeshi construction workers these containers are home, and as Malaysia enters its sixth week of a national lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19 – during which most workplaces are closed and non-essential activities suspended – migrants living in these cramped, close quarters are beginning to feel the pangs of hunger as their money slowly runs out.

“We have not been paid since February because of the lockdown in mid-March,” said Mohamad Hanif, who has been living in one of the containers since he arrived in Malaysia last year. Although as a group they have scraped together everything they had to buy groceries during the lockdown period, nothing lasts forever.

“We cook communally. Our meals are usually rice, some vegetables with lentil curry. But it is difficult now because there isn’t money, there isn’t enough food to go around and we are all hungry. We need help.”

Mohamad Hanif’s situation isn’t unique. Malaysia is a temporary home to an estimated 5.5 million migrant workers – more than half of whom, about 3.3 million, are undocumented – from countries across Asia, but mostly Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal. They are employed in sectors such as construction, security and manufacturing: jobs that employers refer to as “3D” – dangerous, dirty and difficult.

Activists say many of these workers are subject to numerous human rights violations, from non-payment of wages by unscrupulous bosses to physical abuse, trafficking and debt bondage. Now, as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe, their cramped living quarters mean they are at greater risk than most of infecting each other.

The lack of space for any sort of physical distancing is even more keenly felt under lockdown, as these small rooms become workers’ quarantine cells. Before, many would have spent much of the day working, running errands or spending free time outside.

“Others were shift workers so the house was never too full at any one time,” said Sumitha Shaanthinni Kishna, director of Kuala Lumpur-based migrant rights NGO Our Journey. “But now that everyone has to stay home with the lockdown, conditions are far more cramped.”

Although Sumitha’s NGO was primarily set up to help with legal matters, since the lockdown began on March 18, its members have been hand-delivering groceries to migrant workers across Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, after obtaining permission to do so through various countries’ embassies.

For most areas, she and her volunteers collect addresses and phone numbers before dropping off groceries individually, but in some government-designated “red zones” – high-risk areas with more than 41 active cases – her team leaves dry goods such as eggs, potatoes, rice and oil with representatives from the Department of Social Welfare to distribute.

One such red zone encompasses Selangor Mansion and Malayan Mansion, two blocks of flats offering low-cost accommodation that have been placed under an enhanced movement control order which prohibits anyone from entering or exiting. About 5,000 people – mostly migrant workers who average 10 people to a three- or four-room unit, for which they typically pay about 2,500 ringgit (US$575) per month – live in these buildings, which are now barricaded with barbed wire and patrolled by security forces.

“The most packed unit I have encountered had 24 residents. People living in Selangor Mansion have told me they feel claustrophobic, that it’s become very noisy,” Sumitha said.

Another red zone is in the township of Selayang, which straddles Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia’s richest state. An enhanced movement control order in this area has seen an entire wet market cordoned off, as well as nearby residential buildings. Shamim Miah, a Bangladeshi student who shares a flat with five others in one of the buildings, has been unable to leave to get food for days, and soon it will be the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

“We have no food, we are scared. Help us, please,” he said.

For now, no infection clusters have emerged among migrant workers in Malaysia, unlike in neighbouring Singapore, where some 80 per cent of its more than 10,000 infections emanate from the 320,000-strong migrant worker community.

The city state, whose partial lockdown termed a “circuit breaker” was this week extended until June 1, now has the most cases of any country in Southeast Asia. It is screening thousands of workers every day and Malaysia’s top health official last week said it would “learn from Singapore” and embark on large-scale screening of the community.

The surge in infections in Singapore this month has sparked criticism of the government there for not taking action earlier to stop the spread of the virus within its 42 huge dormitory complexes, where thousands of workers sleep on bunk beds – between 12 and 20 to a room – and hundreds share communal bathroom and kitchen facilities.

Singapore also houses low-wage workers in about 1,200 industrial or warehouse developments which have been partially converted into dormitories that typically house 50 to 100 workers each, as well as in temporary living quarters on construction sites that have room for around 40 workers.

Residents’ groups in the city state have begun raising funds and collecting donations of food to help migrant workers.

In Malaysia, similar awareness of the dire living conditions of low-wage foreign workers is spreading.

But this has yielded a mix of both compassion and xenophobic sentiment. Earlier in the month, misinformation about urine-filled plastic bags being hurled at armed forces personnel patrolling the grounds of Selangor Mansion had to be refuted by Malaysia’s defence chief after online commentators accused foreign workers of being ungrateful, while some Malaysians questioned why the government had to supply food to these workers.

Migrant workers are disproportionately affected by the government’s lockdown, said M. Ramachelvam, deputy president of the National Human Rights Society. Besides a lack of decent housing and precarious employment, access to health care is a concern: under Malaysian law, doctors must report undocumented migrants seeking health care to the authorities, creating a culture of fear.

“There should be a moratorium against the arrest and detention of migrants for immigration related offences during this pandemic, ” said Ramachelvam, also urging the government to not discriminate when providing health care. So far, more than 14,000 migrant workers have been tested for Covid-19 virus, with 676 positive cases.

In early April, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the welfare of foreigners was the responsibility of “their respective embassies”, just days after promising that the government would provide these workers with food supplies. Currently the areas under enhanced lockdowns are receiving food from several sources, including NGOs and public donations, as well as government agencies.

Now, with tensions at a high as the lockdown begins to bite, incomes depletedand the threat of an economic recession on the horizon, rights groups have expressed the concern that migrant workers will become scapegoats.

“The sentiment to deny aid to those without documentation in our country is based on xenophobia and will harm those who are most in need in these difficult times,” said migrant rights group Tenaganita in a statement, pointing out that undocumented migrants and refugees without stable work or who rely on a daily wage were disproportionately affected by the movement control order.

“There have been countless reports from the migrant and refugee communities of people going hungry and there are no government policies in place that protect them.”

Tenaganita and other NGOs have rallied together to ensure that aid is doled out. Organisations or civil society groups such as the Malaysian Trades Union Congress, Bersih and Engage have collected money or groceries from members of the public to help vulnerable groups. However, because of travel restrictions under the movement control order, only so much ground can be covered.

“We have to adhere to social distancing and other guidelines, and go to homes one by one. Some workers are too scared to leave their homes because they don’t have their passports. Some don’t even know how to tell us their house addresses,” said Sumitha of NGO Our Journey.

The fact that migrant workers were scattered across the country was another barrier to them receiving help, said Indonesian migrant rights activist Nasrikah, who goes by only one name.

“It’s very difficult to get aid to rural areas even though NGOs and the embassy are giving some support.”

Women’s rights groups say female migrant workers are particularly vulnerable in this period.

Liezl Galdo, who heads the organising committee of AMMPO, an organisation that lobbies for the rights of Filipino domestic workers in Malaysia, has received complaints of employers refusing to give them food.

“One woman who reached out to me said that when she rested on Sunday, her legally mandated day off, her employer withheld lunch and dinner. Another was not allowed to leave the house to go to the bank to send money back to her family,” she said, pointing out that as domestic workers are stuck at home with their employers, they are more vulnerable to abuse.

For other migrant workers such as Sulaiman, 42, housing is not the main issue, although the small two-storey house that the Bangladeshi construction worker shares with 29 other men – all sleeping upstairs – is certainly cramped

Their more pressing concern, however, is that food is running out – the men keep meals to a bare minimum so as not to use up everything they have left.

“We eat bread, rice. We haven’t had vegetables or meat in a while. We didn’t receive any sort of allowance when the lockdown was declared,” said Sulaiman, adding that it was difficult for some of them to even leave the house as their employers had kept their passports.

“We give each other space as much as we can, and have moved some chairs to the veranda so we can at least get some fresh air. We pray together upstairs. We can survive these housing conditions, there is nothing wrong with the house. We can endure – right now we just need food.”

[prithvithakur1]

Five Long Term Positive Effects of COVID19

COVID19 had a very bad effect on the economy of the world and is causing a lot of distress all over the globe there were a lot of deaths and people were getting infected with the virus at a very exponential rate, till the mid of 2020 the world was in a complete shutdown and we did not know when we will be free to go out. The economy was all time low, many lost their jobs and many migrated due to loss of job and no place to live.

But even in this pandemic while facing the grave danger of becoming the number one in the infected by the virus, India did a very brilliant of holding the virus outbreak at bay, many necessary and important steps were taken in time which prevented the  death toll and the infected cases to a minimum. Here we will discuss about the 5 long term positive effects of COVID19.

1) A more digital economy Demonetization was the shock that pushed India into the digital era as people adopted online payments in the absence or short supply of cash. Covid-19 is the shock that is forcing everyone to adopt digital in everything — from buying groceries to seeking online consultations with a doctor for minor conditions. India's total e-commerce shopper base, at 30% of its online population, is quite low when compared with 78% in China and over 70% in the US. In a 53-page report on 'India's Digital Economy in a Post-Covid-19 World', Morgan Stanley has projected that India's online shoppers will jump to 590 million from 190 million in 2020. The average spend per online shopper is also projected to nearly double to $318. 2) Global supply chains will be redrawn China has been the factory of the world for quite some time now and as a result it has become the pillar of global supply chains for everything from chips to drug APIs. The world has realized that it might not be a good idea to put all eggs in one basket. This would mean that countries like India that have long waited for their turn to make for the world would increasingly see more foreign businesses set up base and generate large scale employment. 3) Policy reforms gathering pace The coronavirus pandemic has led India to initiate reforms that have been stuck in red tape for decades. For instance, the government has liberalized the coal sector and changed certain labor laws that were said to have been hindering businesses. Moreover, the government has also announced  agri market reforms such as bringing in legislation that will allow farmers to sell their produce to whoever they choose. 4) Liquidity rush in the capital markets Central banks all around the world have cut interest rates and launched borrowing programs to inject cash into the capital markets. The Reserve Bank of India came out with a plan in March to supply Rs 3.74 lakh crore of liquidity to the financial markets. While banks may have not been lending off the bat, their cash reserves — coupled with low interest rates — will mean that individuals and businesses will be afforded a huge breadth in borrowing once green shoots start to appear in the economy.

5) Nature of jobs will be transformed The coronavirus pandemic has led to a lot of companies rethinking office spaces and on-site work. Tech bigwigs such as Facebook, Google and Twitter have already made announcements regarding giving staff the option to work from home in the long term. It’s only a matter of time that many more companies follow suit as they determine that spending on office spaces can be cut and productivity can be measured better in terms of to-do timesheets. More workers are also finding out that the gig economy perhaps offers a lot more flexibility to earn money and follow passions.

In conclusion we can only say that we just have to look forward for this transformation to happen. #positivelife #effectsodCOVID19 #Changes