#cleaning firearms
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
guardian-of-da-gay · 2 months ago
Text
It Don't Hurt Like It Used To
Read on Ao3
For Whumptober 2024 Prompt 16: Wound Cleaning
tw for assault with a firearm, secret injuries, medical procedures
Sonic was still showing his new friends all his favorite spots.  Like right by Green Hill’s park?  Just off the hiking trail by the river.  If you went down a little embankment, there were a few stones large enough that you could cross to an island.  It was barely more than a sandbar but a small tree had rooted there along with a few wild berry bushes.  It was a very chill place.  Tails hunted for rocks to skip across the water.  Sonic kicked back, sunbathing.  
Naturally, Knuckles couldn’t seem to sit still.  He’d gotten better at chilling out, but it seemed like every time he settled he’d jump up and start stalking around.
“Ya alright there, big guy?”  Sonic finally asked
Knuckles glared at the surrounding woods.  “Fine,” he said unconvincingly.  He jolted hard and slapped a mitt over his arm.
“We should leave this area,” Knuckles announced suddenly.  “There are stinging insects here.”
“Huh?”  Sonic looked up.  He hadn’t seen or heard any bugs other than the occasional dragonfly.
“There’s bees?”  Tails looked up as well, looking around in alarm.
“I don’t know the variety of insect,” Knuckles said, “but I have been stung several times.  We should move on.”
He didn’t need to tell them twice.  They hustled away from the creek.  Tails led the way, flying over the water to the bank.  Sonic followed, moving slowly for once, distracted by watching Knuckles.  Knuckles had the ultimate poker face, but if Sonic watched closely he could maybe see a little pinchy spot at the corner of the echidna’s mouth.  He hopped over the stones and arrived at the bank just before Knuckles.
“You okay?”  He asked.
“I’m fine.”  Knuckles stalked past him and jumped up the embankment, big boots landing with a heavy thump.
Sonic dashed up to stand beside him.  “Says the guy who got stung ‘several times’...  How many times is ‘several’?”
“More than once.”
“More than twice?”  Tails asked as he flew up beside them.  “Doesn’t it hurt?”
“It is a minor sting,” Knuckles started down the path, then paused.  He turned and put his huge mitt around Tails’ shoulder and pushed him ahead of him.  “We should leave,” he said firmly.  “A minor sting for me would probably kill a weakling like you.”
“Aw, you do care,” Sonic said, following the two of them.  “Thanks for the concern, big guy.”
Tails shot him an unimpressed look over his shoulder.
But Knuckles brought up an interesting point: a ‘minor sting’ for him probably was pretty bad for literally anybody else.  And bee stings sucked but they weren’t that bad.
“Did you see any weird bugs?”  Sonic asked.  “Huge brown spiders?  Tiny black spiders?  Big red, hairy ants?  Huge, shiny bugs like ye big–” He gestured to the length of his finger. “--with super big pincers?”
“A-are those real bugs out here?”  Tails asked nervously.
“I saw no insects.  I only felt the sting.”
“A sting bad enough to kill us?”
“Possibly.  Naturally, I can withstand it.”
“Okay.  Cool!  So–I know this shortcut?”  Sonic zipped ahead of them and directed them away from the path.  Knuckles followed easily, herding a more hesitant Tails.  The little fox shot Sonic a nervous look.  He had no need to fear!  Sonic had grown up in these woods.  He didn’t need a beaten path to find his way to Mom’s clinic.
***
“Why are we at Maddie’s healing hut?”  Knuckles asked.
“Because…” Sonic said, bracing himself.  “You should probably get checked out.”
Knuckles gasped in outrage.  “It is merely several minor stings!”
“Yeah, you say ‘several’ and ‘minor’ and I’m feeling some doubt.”
Another gasp.  “You doubt my word?!”
“What if whatever stung you left its stinger behind?  You could get an infection!”  Tails pointed out.
“I have never died of an infection!”
“There’s a first time for everything,” Sonic said.  “And it’d probably be… dishonorable?  To die from an insect bite?”
That stopped Knuckles.  Sonic had been reaching, but apparently the threat of dying a pathetic death was a motivating factor for their resident warrior.
Knuckles huffed.  “Very well.”
Of course things couldn’t be that simple.
Mom was in an appointment.  And not even an appointment she could duck out of–it was a farm call.  She wouldn’t be back for thirty minutes at least.  One of the other vets offered to check Knuckles over and Knuckles just about left the building.  He only trusted Mom to check him over.  Well… and Mom’s vet tech.
She wandered over in the middle of the conversation and jumped in with just the jist.  “What if I checked you over, baby?”  The lady asked.  Her name tag read ‘Jade’.
“I am still not a baby,” Knuckles said.  “... But that is acceptable.”
“Alright!”  Jade threw the doctor a smile.  “Thanks anyway, but I got it from here Dr. J!”
Dr. J shrugged.  “That’s fine.  Good luck finding the stingers.”  He walked away as Jade turned to them.
“Stingers?”
Knuckles looked offended to have to say it out loud: “I was stung by some insects.”
“Oh.”  Jade nodded, her eyes flicking over all of Knuckles.  She couldn’t quite hide her dismay.  They’d just brought her a guy covered in big pointy things and told her to find some tiny pointy things.  ‘Several’ needles in a bright red haystack.  She perked up quickly though.  “Well… I can at least look you over!  Come sit on the exam table.”
“I will stand.”
“Of course you will.”
Knuckles stood on the table with his arms crossed, alternating between glaring at Jade and glaring straight ahead.  Sonic stood by for emotional support while Tails shadowed him.
Jade took it all in stride.  She adjusted the height of the table so she could sit in a rolly desk chair and still examine their prickly little warrior.  Then she set out a metal tray and lined up a pair of rubber gloves, some scissor/tweezer hybrid things, a bottle of alcohol, and a little pile of gauze.  Then she produced a clipboard.  “So did you see what stung you?” 
“No.”
“When did it happen?”
“Not long ago,” Knuckles said unhelpfully.
“Like 10-15 minutes,” Sonic cut in.
Jade nodded and wrote that down.  “Where were you stung?”
“By the river.”
Jade’s lip quirked up.
“I think she means where on your body, big guy.”  Sonic cut in.
Knuckles hummed.  “Several places.”
“So you got stung more than once?  How many do you think?”  She started scribbling away.
“Several times.”
Jade looked to Sonic but he just shrugged.  He only knew that Knuckles had gotten stung more than once and one of those stings was on his arm, because he saw Knuckles react to that one.
“Do you feel hot or dizzy?”  Jade asked.
“No.”
“Nausea?  Muscle cramps?  Trouble breathing or swallowing?”
“No.”
“How much do the stings hurt?”
“One out of ten,” Knuckles said.
Jade paused her writing to quirk an eyebrow Knuckles’ way.  “I think I remember Dr. Maddie saying you weren’t allowed to use ‘one’.”
Knuckles scoffed and flung his arms to the side.  “Fine!  It is a two.”
Jade nodded.  “So probably a five.”  She started writing the number.
Knuckles sputtered.  “It is a three at most!”
“Okay!  A three then!”  She cheerfully wrote three on the paper like she wasn’t a sorceress genius who’d just tricked Knux into giving an actual pain score.
“Okay.”  Jade set her pen aside and picked up her gloves.  “I don’t know if you got any stingers to find, but we’ll see what they look like.  Can you point me to at least one of them?”
Knuckles looked down and perused his body, lifting a leg and setting it back down, holding up one hand then the other.  Clearly debating.
“Yikes,” Sonic said.  “He’s got one on this shoulder, I think,” Sonic said, pointing out the arm that Knuckles had swatted at earlier.
“Sure,” Knuckles said.
Jade shifted a bright overhead light to point toward Knuckles’ arm, then came in close.  “Where about?”  She asked, leaning in.
Sonic and Tails did too.  Tails was the first to spot it.  “Is that blood?”  He pointed to a tiny spot on the backside of Knuckles’ upper arm.  All three of them squinted while Knuckles did his best to scowl at them despite the awkward angle.
“It does look like blood,” Jade said.  She was really gentle but Knuckles still jolted when she touched his arm, parting his fur around the spot to reveal–
“Oh my god what is that?”  Sonic asked in disgust.
“Is that a bug?”  Tails asked, suddenly fascinated.
“What?”  Knuckles asked, jerking away.
“Hold still honey, I can’t see,” Jade said, pulling his arm back a little less gently. 
They all leaned in to look again.  It was hard to make it out, but there was definitely a tiny, pea-sized shape lodged in Knuckles skin.
“What is it?”  Sonic asked, quietly horrified.
“I’m not sure, but I know it don’t belong there.”  Jade grabbed up her tweezer scissors.  “Hold still for a second, baby.”
“I’m not a baby,” Knuckles growled.  But he held still while she struggled to get a grip on the… whatever it was.
Sonic gagged.
“I’ve been reading about Earth species,” Tails said, sounding almost excited.  “Could it be a botfly larva?”  
Sonic gagged again.  He didn’t like that Jade didn’t even answer the question.  He just about lost it when she pulled the tiny dark shape out.  Especially when she held it up to her face.
“Uh uh,” she said.  She sounded disgusted, but not the same way Sonic was.
“What is it?”  Knuckles asked, turned to glare over his shoulder at them.
Jade set the thing on her metal tray and it made a pretty obvious metal ‘ping’.
Sonic and Tails stared at it, Tails with obvious disappointment and Sonic with relief.  It wasn’t a bug.  But then Sonic recognized the dark little shape under the blood.  “That looks an awful lot like a BB,” he said.
“Yeah,” Jade leaned back in her chair.  “Dr. Maddie is gonna be pissed.”
Mom walked in, muddy coveralls under one arm and her field bag in the other.  “What am I gonna be piss–” She saw the three of them there. “--Mad about?”
Oh, how to delicately reveal this?
“I was stung by beebees!”  Knuckles reported.
“By bees?”  Mom looked between the rest of them to confirm.
If Sonic didn’t already know Mom wouldn’t like this, Jade getting all quiet all of a sudden would’ve convinced him.  She picked up the BB and held it out almost apologetically.  Mom stared at the mini bullet in Jade’s gloved palm for a second.
“How did this happen?”  Maddie asked in her ‘I’m inches from being furious’ voice.
Everyone started to explain:
“I don’t know!”  Knuckles said defensively.  “I moved away when I felt the first sting, but the insects followed me!  They only stopped when we left the river bank.”
“Knuckles said there were insects stinging him so we brought him here to get the stingers pulled out but–”
“We were hanging out by the river near Granite trail,” Sonic explained.  “We were just hanging out!”  He felt he needed to emphasize this.  Despite a long history of stalking, hunting, and terrorizing various construction workers and civil servants, Knuckles hadn’t been doing anything wrong this time.  “We were literally just vibing!”
The more Sonic thought about it, the more angry he felt.  He hardly ever got Actually Angry but here it was.  This just wasn’t fair.  It wasn’t nice.  It shouldn’t have happened!  Knuckles was supposed to be safe here!
“Yes,” Knuckles said, determined to keep misreading the room.  “I did not provoke the insects to sting!”
“Dude,” Sonic turned to Knuckles, exasperated.  “They’re not bugs!  They’re BBs–tiny baby bullets.  You got shot!”
“Several times!”  Tails chimed in.
Maybe Sonic should run down to the river and see if the jerk was still there.  It might be time for the return of Blue Justice.
“You got shot several times?”  Mom demanded just as Knuckles replied in a thoughtful tone of voice:
“Baby bullets?  That’s not so bad then.”
They all stared at him for a long moment.
Sonic covered his face with his hand.  “Oh my god,” he muttered into his palm.
“What?!”  Mom yelled.  “What do you mean–no!  No.  I–I need to make a phone call.”  She dropped her bag and tossed her coveralls on the exam table.  “Jade, could you get an x-ray?  Then get the pellet hunt started?  Oh–and let the girls up front know to block off my schedule for the next couple hours.  I’ll be back with you in a minute.”
She already had her phone out.  Stabbing the screen with her finger, she stormed away.  “Tom?  You need to get over to Granite trail.  Some punk ass kid–” she disappeared into her office.  Sonic couldn’t hear what words she used next, but he could hear she was saying them very loudly.
Jade decided to tell the girls up front about the schedule change first.  Probably a good call.  Sonic couldn’t imagine someone bringing their dog in for a cough when Mom was all fired up about Knuckles getting shot.  Sonic could still hear her angry voice.  He was really vibing with it to be honest.
He turned to a very concerned-looking Tails and was about to tell him to hold down the fort while he went and found the guy himself when Jade returned.
“Alright babe,” she said.  “X-ray time.”
Knuckles didn’t move.  “‘M not a baby,” he grumbled, crossing his arms.  He glared over her shoulder at the dark little room where the x-ray machine lived.
“Alright then, big guy,” she said.  “X-ray time.”
Knuckles’ lip curled.  He glanced to his left and saw Tails watching nervously.  Glanced to his right where Sonic was debating when and how to duck out.
Unfortunately, Sonic met Knuckles’s eyes.  One look at Knuckles squashed his visions of dipping to capture bad guys.  Knuckles of all people would probably appreciate him leaving for the sake of serving just desserts.  But his friend slash adopted brother wasn’t great with… unfamiliar situations.  Having another friendly face nearby was probably more important.
And Jade would need emotional support dealing with the Most Stubborn Warrior in the Galaxy.
“C’mon,” Sonic said.  “I bet it’ll be quick!”
It was not quick.
Jade didn’t say it, but Sonic could tell she thought x-raying a patient who understands what you’re saying would be easier than x-raying a dog or cat.  Unfortunately Knuckles was Knuckles.  He didn’t want to lie down and then he jerked away whenever she tried to reposition him.  Sonic and Tails weren’t allowed to help because ‘we don’t have lead gowns in your sizes’.  Sonic found himself debating leaving again, but stopped when Knuckles glanced over at them the second time.
Sonic just had to stand back and button his lips while Jade attempted to give orders to a guy who did not take directions well.  Asking him to ‘move up a bit’ just had him sitting up.  And several times he interrupted to demand what ‘scrooch down’ or ‘skosh’ or ‘titch’ or ‘tad’ meant.  
“Now don’t twist around, you’re all catawampus.”
“You are making these words up!”
Jade kept having to press a button overhead to project a cross on Knuckles’ chest.  The x-raying process was taking so long it kept turning off.  “This guideline needs to go down the center of your chest,” Jade said, pointing to the glowing cross shining down on him.  Knuckles scrooched down a tad and was apparently no longer catawampus.  Jade tapped a button on the floor with her foot.  The machine overhead beeped once.  X-rays complete!
“Now we need you to lie on your side.”
X-rays not complete!
“Are you still taking x-ray–No,” Mom said as she came walking up.  “Of course you’re still taking x-rays.”
Thus a new player entered the circus.
“Okay, Knuckles, head down,” Maddie gently pushed his head down as he turned onto his side.
Jade shifted Knuckles’ arm.  Knuckles raised his head to glare at her hand.
“Head down.”  Mom pushed his head down again.
Jade grabbed Knuckles’ shoes and shifted his legs to lie more centered.  Knuckles sat up to glare at her.
Mom sighed.
It felt like they took a billion pictures.  It was probably more like ten though.  Knuckles had been shot ‘several times’ and in ‘several different places’ after all.  Finally Mom pulled off her lead apron and let Sonic and Tails come into the room.  Knuckles hopped off the x-ray table and crossed his arms, making eye contact with no one.
They all gathered around the small screen to look at the x-rays.  Sonic didn’t know enough about reading x-rays other than to say what was bone and what wasn’t.  He could definitely tell what was bullet though.
Mom held up a finger and counted each BB pellet, clicking between the different pictures as she did.  “Four-five-six…seven. That’s seven ‘baby bullets’.  And,” she tapped the elephant in the room.  “What’s this?”
Knuckles looked at the screen.  Looked at her.  “An adult bullet.”
“Okay,” Mom said in her ‘I’m trying to treat this like a normal thing since that’s where we’re at,’ tone of voice.  “Why—No.  When did that happen?”
Knuckles shrugged.  “Long ago.  Before I came here.”
Ah.  A classic Knuckles story: messed up and doubly troubling because he was only a little older than Sonic so how old was he ‘long ago’ when he apparently got shot with an ‘adult bullet’?  He followed it up with little-to-no elaboration.  Also a critical aspect of classic Knuckles’ stories.
Mom tapped on the ribs in the picture.  “How about this?”
“I believe those are my rib bones.”
“Yes, I mean, when did you break them?”
Say what now?
Knuckles hummed.  “I wasn’t aware I’d broken them.”  He shrugged like it was no big deal.
“It couldn’t have been that long ago,” Mom said.  “It’s healed but it’s not old old...  Like these ones.”  She pointed to some lumpy looking ribs on his other side and shot him a look over her shoulder.  “Did this happen on that Reno trip?”
“What happens in Reno, stays in Reno.”
“Was it when I hit you with that car?”  Tails asked.
“I was merely winded!”
“Was it when I smashed you into those stone steps at the Master Emerald shrine?”  Sonic asked.
“You wish!”
“Was it when you fell off that airplane?”  Tails cut in.
“I did not fall!  That was intentional.”
“Okay, okay!”  Mom waved her hands in front of her like she could ward off the vibes.  “You’re a magnet for danger with a high pain tolerance.  Got it.”  She stared at the x-ray, tapping her finger to her chin and muttering something about gray hairs.  “Okay,” she said at last.  “Here’s what we’re going to do:”
***
Apparently the usual process for this sort of thing was: shave, disinfect, apply a numbing agent, remove the thing that shouldn’t be in there, stitch it up if needed.
Failed step one.
“No.”
“Knuckles.  We have to,” Mom said as she lined up her tools on the exam table.
“No.”  He had to speak up, on account of he was lurking at the door to the x-ray room.  It was as far from her as he could get without actually going into the room itself.
“I won’t be able to see as well with your fur in the way.”  Mom ticked off on her fingers.  “The fur could get caught in the incision when I close up your injuries and cause infections.  And afterward the site will need good airflow–fur won’t help with that and that could cause an infection too.”
“Let’s just leave them in then.  We’ll go home and I will recover on my own.  I’m fine.”
“We can’t leave them in.  You could get heavy metal poisoning.”
“… Heavy metal?  Like the lead aprons?”
“Yes, like lead.”
“Then I will be immune to the deadly x-ray machine!”
“No!  Not how that works!”
Hm.  Mom sounded like she was getting into the ‘genuinely frustrated’ territory.  Time for the peacekeeper!  Sonic zipped in between the two.
“Hey!  How about a quick time-out?  Just… for a little pep talk.”
He knew he’d made the right call when he saw the instant relief on Mom’s face.  “Okay,” she said.
“Alright!”  Sonic gestured for Tails to come with him and dashed to Knuckles’ side outside the x-ray room.  He touched Knuckles’ arm to steer him and the echidna jerked away.  Too late, Sonic remembered that arm had a couple baby bullets in it.  Oof.  Tails came over to stand on his other side, looking a little confused that he was part of the pep talk.
“Okay, it’s just us fur-havers now,” Sonic said.  Beside him, the confusion cleared off Tails’ face.  “I know it sucks to have chunks of your fur out.”  This wasn’t the time or place to explain his history of bad gum-related decisions.  “I know the feeling.  But it’s only temporary, you know?  Just a couple weeks of looking a little bit silly–”
“I will look weak,” Knuckles growled lowly.
“Weak?”  Tails repeated.
Sonic had to suppress a laugh.  “C’mon, Knux you think a couple of short fur patches is going to ruin the Most Dangerous Warrior in the Galaxy’s street cred?”
“I’ll look like something is wrong with me.”  Knuckles’ voice was just as angry but even quieter.
“What?”
“People will think I have the mange or some other sickness.  They will think I am weakened… And my unknown attacker will think they have won.”
“That’s… probably true.”  Tails nodded with certainty.
Sonic cringed.  It did kind of feel like adding insult to injury to have to get a funny haircut after some jerk shot at you.  And there was no guarantee that Tom would catch the guy.  Sonic wished he’d left to catch them.  It would’ve been so fast and easy.  Now Knuckles was kinda right–if they weren’t caught then that chump would get the satisfaction of seeing Knuckles with an embarrassing haircut around town and knowing they caused it.  “Maybe we could just… get you a big sweater?  A t-shirt?  Oh!  A bowling shirt!  You and Wade could match!”
Knuckles did actually raise his head at that.  “The bowling shirt is a high honor,” he said.  “I’m not sure I have earned that.”
“You could just not go into town for a little while,” Tails said.  “Nobody can make fun of you if they can’t see you.”
“Uh…” That idea didn’t sit well with Sonic.  Knuckles shouldn’t have to go into isolation just because of some jerk.
“I suppose that would be agreeable,” Knuckles said.
“But–”
But Knuckles was already stalking past him.  “I will allow the cutting!  Fetch your blades!”
Sonic glanced at Tails who watched him cautiously.  Sonic aimed for a smile and mostly succeeded.  “I guess… whatever works?”  It still wasn’t fair though.
Across the room, Knuckles stood at stiff attention while Jade very gingerly ran an electric clipper over a little spot on the outside of his leg.  His eyes flicked over to a very relieved-looking Mom who was using a syringe to draw a clear fluid out of a bottle.
“What’s that?”  He demanded.
“This is lidocaine.  It’ll numb the area while we get the BBs out.”
“No.”
Jade’s head dropped in defeat.  Mom let out a long breath.  “Knuckles… you are killing me.”
***
Knuckles sat, scowling on the exam table with the big, kinda hot surgery light shining on him.  Sonic knew it was hot because he was also sitting on the table.  Knuckles wasn’t gonna win any awards for patient compliance (unless they were awarding ‘worst patient’--then he was a shoe-in!)  The Most Obstinate Warrior in the Galaxy refused to sit down until Sonic sat beside him.  Then suddenly he was fine with it.  Sonic wondered if this was how echidna warriors showed their nerves.
Tails sat on a stool on Knuckles’ other side, watching Mom work with horrified fascination.
Jade was on standby, watching the whole thing like a hawk.  Anytime Mom lifted her head or raised a hand to reach for anything, Jade was there, passing over whatever she needed, often without being told.  Sonic was kind of impressed.  He was definitely impressed with Mom.  He was used to her being… well, his mom.  Here she was laser-focused and cool-headed.  Once they’d really gotten into it she’d hit a groove and had hardly said anything since.
That is, once they’d reassured Knuckles that he wasn’t actually killing her.  She explained that it would metaphorically kill her if she caused him more pain when she was removing the BBs, so please, let me numb the area?  It will make me feel better.  And Knuckles got all huffy and begrudgingly agreed.
Unfortunately taking BBs out wasn’t as easy as removing bullets looked in the movies.  Apparently when they got all bloody they were slippery.  Slippery round objects were not easy to grab.  At least they hadn’t gone too deep.  On top of his thick skin, Knuckles’ quills acted almost like armor.  One of the BBs they’d seen on x-ray was lodged in a quill.
It was all pretty gross, but of course the grossest part was after she’d taken the BB out.  Tails had watched between his fingers at first, but now he leaned in with horrified fascination.  Sonic avoided looking.  Because Mom was putting in stitches.  Again, movies lied.  She didn’t just use a regular needle and thread.  It was somewhere between thread and wire and it came attached to a super sharp, curved needle that she had to use two hand tools to maneuver. 
Occasionally she’d check in with Knuckles, ask if he felt that?   Anything more than slight pressure?  How are you doing?  Let me know if you feel faint.
Knuckles responded with one word answers and, occasionally, a grunt.
If Sonic was in Knuckles’ place he would’ve been nervously blabbing about anything that popped into his head.  Just the thought of those tools digging around in his skin made him squirm, numbing or no.  But Knuckles was Knuckles, so he sat stoic and silent, staring straight ahead at the line of cages on the back wall.  Even when Mom pulled one of his dreads out of the way and started digging the BB out of his shoulder blade.  It was… actually almost creepy.  But Sonic was used to Knuckles doing unusual things by now.
Knuckles’ quiet and Mom’s focus were kind of contagious.  Sonic didn’t know how long they sat staring in horrified fascination.  Mom had just gently squeezed a BB out when the quiet was suddenly interrupted.
“Hey guys!”  Wade walked through the door.  He paused and took in the scene.  “Uh… Tom said I should come pick up some evidence? … Evidence that like… has something to do with Knuckles?”  Wade’s expression pinched like he very much was expecting and didn’t like that Knuckles would be the perpetrator of whatever crime Dad was investigating.
Which was kinda fair.  The expression ‘woke up and chose violence’ was pretty much invented for Knuckles.  It was honestly shocking he hadn’t been charged with a crime before now, but you couldn’t be charged with a crime if you legally don’t exist!  Plus the town loved him! … Liked him?  Tolerated him… because they loved Sonic!
Wade took in the scowling Knuckles and Mom and Jade leaning over his back with the light.  “How’s it going, Knux?”  He asked.
Knuckles didn’t break his glaring contest with the cages.  “I feel regret for all that has led me here.”
“Oh,” Wade said in a very ‘that’s confirming my fear that you did something wrong’ tone of voice.
“He got shot!”  Tails said.
“With a BB gun!”  Sonic tacked on.  “And one regular gun apparently,” he muttered.
“What?  Like… by mistake?”
Jade let out a snarky laugh.  “If they shot him by mistake they shot him by mistake seven times.”  There was a metal clack as Mom set another one in the tray.
“Technically eight,” Mom said, her voice surprisingly sharp.  “You took one out before the x-rays.”
“Big whoop,” Knuckles said.  “That’s not that many!”
“Uh,” Mom stopped.  “Yes, it is!”
Sonic cringed.  Okay, maybe she hadn’t been super calm and focused this whole time.  Maybe she’d just been simmering.  And Knuckles was nudging her up to a boil.
“It is ‘many’, Knuckles.  Do you know how many BBs I have been shot with?”
Knuckles looked to Sonic like Sonic could save him from the situation.  Sonic subtly shook his head.  “...Two?”
“Zero!  The number of bullets in your body should be zero!”
“I didn’t put them there!”  Knuckles snapped.  Too late, Sonic realized he was also at a boiling point.  “I didn’t even choose to come here!  I’m going home!”  He jerked away and stomped toward the clinic offices.
“Uh…”  Wade looked between Knuckles and Mom and back.  “Should uh… Are there still bullets in him or…?”
“Yes.”  Mom sighed as she set her tools down.  She took off her gloves and flexed her hands, Sonic could hear things cracking from where he stood.  “But I think we need to take a break.”
“You said you needed evidence?”  Jade asked.  “I can get you started.”
Wade frowned, looking toward the door where Knuckles had disappeared.  He trailed after her out of the treatment room, in the opposite direction that Knuckles had gone.
“I’ll go talk to Knuckles!”  Sonic said.  “...Again.”
Mom sighed.  Then she actually gave Sonic a little smile.  “I’d appreciate it… You’re doing really great today.”
“Aw, I’m always doing great,” Sonic said with a smile.  “You’re doing great too!”
“Yeah…”  She rubbed her forehead and looked at the tray of BBs absently.  “I don’t know about that.”
Sonic turned to Tails.  He pointed at himself, a little nervously and Sonic nodded.  Sonic followed after Knuckles while behind him Tails flew onto the exam table.
“That was really impressive, Maddie!”  Tails started.  “Gross… but really cool!”
The office hallway led to the backdoor, which let out into the employee parking lot.  Sonic glanced around, gearing up to run homeward and hopefully catch Knuckles on the way.  Except Knuckles hadn’t left.  He was standing just to the side of the back door, in the shadow of the building.
“I thought you were going home,” Sonic said.
Knuckles scowled at him.  “I was, but then I remembered that somebody talked me into getting shaved so I look like a mangy, forest beast.”
He did look pretty not-great.  On top of the bald spots, he also had a bunch of slightly bloody, stitched up spots.  “Yeah…  Sorry,” Sonic approached, leaning against the back wall beside Knuckles.  “Today has not gone to plan, huh.”
“I regret coming here.”
Yeah, Sonic almost regretted it too.  But he would’ve hated it if those BBs went undetected.  The guy who did it would definitely never be caught then, and Knuckles would’ve just had seven–technically eight–more bits of metal in his body.  He told Knuckles just as much.
Knuckles sighed.  “I don’t like everyone making a fuss.  I just want to go home and be alone.”
Sonic frowned softly.  “You don’t need to be alone, remember?  You’ve got us now.  Look, I know accepting help after you’ve been going it solo a long time… It’s hard.”  Taking care of himself, by himself, had been a tough habit for Sonic to break.
“I don’t care about that, I care about the noise.”  Oh.  Nevermind then?  “Why must they all gather out in the open and paint pictures of all my injuries?  And Maddie announces all of them!  People will think I am weak.”
“This again?  Knuckles, nobody would ever think you’re weak.  You’re probably one of the strongest people on the planet.”  Not the fastest, of course, but strongest?  Sure, Sonic would give him that one.
“Vulnerable then.”  Knuckles straightened, his eyes flicking around as he did.  “Not that I am vulnerable.  Nothing can defeat me.  But if people think I can be hurt then they’ll get ideas.  And it starts with everyone yelling about how I’m full of bullets and lead and damaged ribs.  My enemies will find out I am vulnerable to beebees.  I can survive further attacks, of course.  These are pathetic weapons.  But I would rather not!”  The last part came out almost whiny.
“So…”  Sonic mulled it over in his head.  “Your issue is that everybody is making a fuss and you’re afraid some… mysterious enemy will somehow observe this and realize you can be hurt and try and take advantage?”
“I’m afraid of nothing,” Knuckles said.  He banged his fists together to emphasize: “I know a mysterious enemy will observe this and realize I can be hurt and take advantage.  I have seen it before!”
“Ah… so this is a grounded-in-reality concern… great.”
Knuckle scowled at him.  Then his expression shifted, thoughtful.  “… Did you never face such trials when you lived alone in the wilds?”
Sonic hesitated.  “I… don’t know.  I mean… I guess I’ve never felt like I had to hide being sick or hurt because… I was hiding already?  But I guess that’s a similar ‘trial’.”  He shrugged, a little self conscious.  “I was so used to ducking out of sight whenever someone approached.  Kinda took a while to break the habit and stop vanishing whenever Tom or Maddie walked into a room.”  He let out a little laugh so Knuckles would know that this was totally not something he felt weird about sharing.
Knuckles shook his head.  “It is not quite the same,” he said.  “Lowering your defenses around Tom and Maddie is warranted: they are no threat to you.  Unknown enemies uncovering vulnerabilities in me is a threat.”
Not for the first time Sonic was reminded that he and Knuckles were alike, but opposites too.  They’d both grown up alone, but also kinda surrounded by people?  But while Sonic’s people didn’t know he’d existed, Knuckles’ had very much known about him and weren’t nice about it.
“You probably won’t believe me if I just tell you that you’ll be safe, even if people know you’re hurt now, right?”
“You would be correct.  I was not safe from the beebees even when I was uninjured.”
Sonic winced.  Knuckles had him there.  And that also meant Sonic couldn’t convince him that there were no ‘mystery enemies’ hiding in the shadows waiting to attack.  Someone had literally used him for target practice just that day!
Sonic clenched his fists.  Why’d they have to do that?  Knuckles had enough problems seeing enemies where none were without people coming out and being actual enemies to him.  Why was it every time Sonic tried to teach his friend to relax someone came along and un-taught him?
He sighed.  It wasn’t a problem he could solve right now.  Maybe not even a problem he could solve ever.  What he could try and fix right now was this situation.  “I’m sorry I brought you here,” he said.  “I thought it was just a small problem with an easy fix… Maybe we can talk to Mom?  I mean, we can’t ignore the actual bullet stuck in you.  Probably.  But we could make less of a spectacle?”
He thought about the treatment room.  Only a year ago Sonic had entered every situation looking for the exits or hiding spots.  He couldn’t be seen after all.  Even after he’d ‘come out’ he’d had to break himself of the habit of ducking out of sight.  Where would he go in the clinic, if he didn’t want to be seen?
Below the prescription food shelves.  Under the vet’s desks.  Above the extra kennels in the back laundry room.  Behind the laundry machine.  The employee bathroom had a high window he could squeeze through.  Really, getting outside would be the best thing.  He eyed the cars.  There were plenty of places behind or under them where he could stay out of sight.  His eyes landed on Mom’s minivan.
He wasn’t alone and in hiding anymore.  He belonged in one of those cars now… And so did Knuckles.
“Okay, so I might have an idea.”
When he came back inside, Wade had already left and Mom was gone.  Jade was cleaning up the procedure area and pointed back toward the vets’ offices.  Sonic and Knuckles found her and Tails there, sitting at her desk and doing some deep breathing exercise off of Youtube.
Mom looked up when they came in.  “Okay,” she said.  “Knuckles?  I want to talk to you.”  She stood and looked at Sonic.  “Alone.”
Tails hopped off his seat obligingly, but Sonic stayed put.  Knuckles had gone tense beside him.  “You can talk in front of them,” he said.
Tails paused and looked up at Mom.
The corner of her lip twitched down but she nodded her head.  “Alright then.  I just wanted to apologize for getting short with you.  I know you’re sca–uncomfortable–in the clinic.  I should’ve been focusing on making you feel better instead of feeling mad…”  She looked down at Tails, her expression softening.  “Tails helped me realize that you probably don’t understand why I’m upset.  Do you?”
Knuckles crossed his arms.  He was quiet for a long moment.  “I lowered my guard and got shot and that has caused trouble for you?”
Mom’s face fell.  She didn’t look surprised though, just disappointed.  “No, Knuckles, no.  I don’t blame you for getting shot.  I blame the person who did it.”
Knuckles threw out his arms and snapped.  “Then why are you mad at me?!”
“I’m not mad at you!”  Maddie snapped back.  She stopped.  Closed her eyes.  Took a deep breath.  Opened them again.  “I’m not mad at you,” she said in a carefully calm tone of voice.  “I’m mad for you.  And you’re acting like… like it’s no big deal.  Like we should all just ignore it and go home like everything’s fine and normal and that’s–okay.  Yeah.  That’s making me a little bit frustrated with you.”
She knelt so she and Knuckles were more at eye level.  Oh.  Serious times then.
“I’ll never be mad at you for getting hurt,” she said.  “But I’ll definitely get mad at people for hurting you.”
Sonic nodded along as she spoke.  Knuckles looked at him, questioningly.  “We’re your tribe now,” Sonic reminded him.  “We don’t just let someone in our tribe get hurt.”  Knuckles opened his mouth to speak.  “Or let someone try to hurt somebody in our tribe.  Even if it doesn’t hurt them that badly.”
“You told us when you were getting stung,” Tails added.  “You wouldn’t let someone be mean to us.  I don’t like that somebody was mean to you.”
“Yeah!  How would you have reacted if one of us had gotten shot?”  Sonic asked.
“I would have enacted swift and terrible vengeance.”
Sonic nodded.  That’s what he thought Knuckles would say.  Tails caught his eye and the two of them made eyes at each other.  It was really good they hadn’t been hurt…
“That’s kind of what Tom and Wade are up to,” Mom said.  “I mean… not vengeance, but… They’re looking for the guy who did this so he can be punished.  That’s their job.  My job is to take care of you… Could you help me do that?”
She looked Knuckles in the eye.  Their big echidna warrior tucked his chin and crossed his arms.  He looked away.  “Sonic… had an idea,” he said quietly.
Mom turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.
***
Knuckles took up his spot in the shadow of the building, his back to the wall as he purveyed the employee parking lot.
The trunk of Mom’s minivan sat open while Mom lay down the seats.
Sonic had been worried that she wouldn’t agree to his idea.  It’s not like the car was sterile.  But as she explained: “I did ten bull castrations in a field this morning.”  Which was horrifying, but her point was made.  It might not be super comfortable for those of them over three and a half feet tall, but it would work to make Knuckles a little more comfortable.
Sonic still wondered if he’d done the right thing.  He’d brought Knuckles here, blundering into a bunch of baggage that he still didn’t quite understand.  And then he hadn’t gone after the guy who did it.  There was no telling if that would ever get resolved.  But this would get resolved.  If he hadn’t brought Knuckles in, who knew when they would’ve found out about the BBs.  Maybe never!  And if Sonic hadn’t stayed with him, Knuckles probably would’ve left the clinic a while ago.  
Under Mom’s direction, Tails carefully unfolded a bunch of towels to cover the bottom of the car.  Jade came outside carrying a tray with all the supplies.
Sonic was on Knuckles-duty, seeing as he was kind of on a roll with him today.  He glanced over at the big guy and saw him frowning as he watched the other two work.
“What’s up?”  Sonic asked.  “Are you having second thoughts?”  He really hoped not.  He didn’t know if he could keep pulling out successful pep talks.  “The windows are tinted so it’ll be hard for people to look in and you can look out.  Tails promised to keep watch outside.  And I’ll sit with you and watch your back.”
Knuckles shook his head.  “I have no second thoughts… I just… everyone is… doing so much…”
Sonic smiled wryly.  Knuckles didn’t get it yet… maybe someday he would.  “You know, we all make a fuss because we all care.”  He watched as Tails looked over the tools they were going to use and Mom knelt to explain them.  “It’s kinda nice, right?  Having people who care now?”
He watched as Knuckles’ frown shifted from something perturbed to something thoughtful.  His hand touched his side, almost subconsciously reaching for the spot where Sonic now knew he had an ‘adult bullet’ lodged between his ribs.  “I… am not used to it. But… I suppose it is nice.”
13 notes · View notes
crazycobaltman · 1 year ago
Text
Do you ever just feel a machine in your hands, feel the *motion* as you manually run it through its paces, the cool metal burning against your hands as you tenderly handle it, feel the mechanisms slide against each other in perfect harmony as you make sure it’s working- until it isn’t, a tiny imperfection in your perfect system, so you take it- take *her* apart to find the bug on your sculpture of steel and machined iron, and then destroy it, destroy what dares ruin your perfect set, and then return her to perfection? Bathing it in lubricant and solvent, then feeling as you not only cleaned and bathed her, but improved her, waiting- itching for you to use her again…
Or are you normal
39 notes · View notes
originalpear · 1 year ago
Photo
Tumblr media
The Korhonen A37-2, like any other firearm, requires routine upkeep to prolong its lifespan and prevent long-term damage. Prue always starts with the bolt.
[ID: Landscape illustration of Prue, a bat-eared werefox with short, black, flat hair with short-cut bangs, wearing a white T-shirt and dark gray disposable gloves. She is sitting on a chair, leaning on a table in front with her left elbow, and cleaning the bolt of a rifle with a cotton cleaning patch. On the table in front is a black, bolt-action rifle laid on its side with the bolt removed, as well as other cleaning brushes and oiling cans, all on top of paper towels. The background has a cross hatched gradient starting at the top and getting darker further downwards. End ID]
Posted using PostyBirb
26 notes · View notes
preppers-will · 11 months ago
Text
3 notes · View notes
historyofguns · 25 days ago
Link
The article provides a detailed guide on how to disassemble and clean the popular Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm pistol. Written by Steve Horsman, it is part of a series from The Armory Life, focusing on the care and maintenance of Springfield's firearms, including the SAINT, 1911, M1A, and XD-M. Horsman underscores the rise in gun ownership in 2020, particularly among first-time buyers, reinforcing the importance of firearm maintenance knowledge. The article offers a step-by-step process for safely disassembling the Hellcat, emphasizing the need to follow the four rules of gun safety and to consult the owner's manual for proper care techniques. Readers are guided through the disassembly process, cleaning, and recommended equipment, and are advised on the frequency of cleaning based on usage. The piece highlights the practicality and popularity of the Hellcat as a concealed carry weapon (CCW) while promoting responsible maintenance practices.
0 notes
theroguebanshee · 2 months ago
Text
Is Your Gun RUINED After A Flood? Expert Advice Inside!
In this episode of For the Love of Guns, we sit down with Rod from Aegis Gun Care to discuss the essential aspects of gun maintenance, particularly in challenging environments. Whether you’re dealing with rust from harsh weather, long-term storage issues, or extreme cold, Rod shares invaluable tips and insights for keeping your firearms in top condition. Rod also reveals some impressive freeze…
1 note · View note
greatwyrmgold · 5 months ago
Text
youtube
This is the future the NRA wants.
0 notes
northcountyshootingcenter · 5 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
🧼 Light Cleaning Special!
0 notes
weirdsociology · 2 months ago
Text
hey writers we have to talk.
if you've read any romance or fanfic in the past twenty years (i know you have), you know that there are a certain number of scents associated with hot dudes. you can probably recite the list of Things Men in Fic smell like in your sleep: leather, black pepper, pine, sandalwood, "something uniquely him", clean sweat, and if the character has ever fucking been within 50 yards of a firearm, something called "cordite".
here's the thing.
NO ONE SMELLS LIKE CORDITE.
cordite was a highly specific type of smokeless gunpowder developed in the 1890s by england specifically and used mostly in wwi.
if your good-smelling guy is not (a) english (b) using a very specific type of british rifle (c) dying in a trench in flanders, he does not smell like cordite. technically even if he does meet all those conditions he still doesn't smell like cordite because he smells like trenchfoot.
the point is, cordite is so far from universal that no one but the most hardcore gun nerds give a single shit about it. making your Sexy Hero smell like cordite is like naming a cassette-only bootleg live recording from the 1970s as your favorite grateful dead album. everyone at the party hates you immediately and knows you're doing it for clout. also, it's just factually... wrong. please stop. i know everyone else is doing it, but you can do the right thing here, i believe in you.
so what do people who are using guns smell like?
well if your story is set before the late 1880s, the smell of a fired gun is black powder, which, unfortunately, smells like seventeen flatulent cows have been shoved in a tire factory. trust me, you do not want your Hot Dude to smell like black powder. it's b a d.
if your story is set after the late 1880s, guns are using some variety of modern 'smokeless' powder - which speaking broadly doesn't really have a ton of scent when used. it does have some, but it's sort of non-descript: the best way i can describe it is the sweet, ozone, hot-plate smell of popping your car hood with a warm engine.
people who use guns a lot don't smell like fired guns all the time anyway, so while those scents might work in a fight scene, they're not realistic all the time. but there are some things that your Sexy Shootist will smell like basically 24/7 and that's metal and gun oil. metal you can go and sniff (i recommend non-stainless steel), but if you want a reference, most gun oils have a sharp, organic smell that's not dissimilar to canola oil but muskier and with a tang overtop. it's not unlikely leather is in the mix as well due to routine handling of leather equipment and gear. modern gear also tends to have a certain smell although it varies by production country and storage conditions - lots of opportunities there.
in conclusion: gunslingers and hired killers and military folks can be sexy and smell great on page, but i am begging you not to say "cordite" when you mean "gunpowder" ever again. we can do this. we are writers and therefore pedants. i believe in us!
4K notes · View notes
summerlinarmory · 1 year ago
Text
Enhancing the functionality, comfort, and overall experience of firearm ownership often involves investing in key accessories that complement your weapon. Whether for practicality or personalization, these must-have gun accessories can significantly elevate your shooting experience. Fortunately, our gun accessories in Nevada are within your reach.
0 notes
attactica · 1 year ago
Text
Bolt-Action Rifle Cleaning: How-To Guide
Keeping your rifle in tip-top shape is not as hard as some may think, and the benefits to accuracy and longevity are substantial. Follow this guide to start cleaning your bolt-action rifles. (Photo by Alfredo Rico) By Alfredo Rico / Guns & Ammo I don’t know why gun cleaning is a controversial subject. Even among my firearm colleagues I often hear, “My rifle shoots better dirty.” The fact is…
Tumblr media
View On WordPress
0 notes
gaysindistress · 10 months ago
Text
Things that I feel like would happen when you’re in a relationship with Simon Riley.
Simon Riley masterlist
Tumblr media
1. First off he hates the word ‘boyfriend’.
Maybe it’s because he’s in his mid thirties or something but he can’t stand being called your boyfriend. He’s more than that but also not at the same time. You live together, have access to each other’s bank accounts (which is only because he hates it when you try to fight him about him giving you money), and you’re each others emergency contact. He thinks of himself as your husband. The man wears a silicone ring when he’s home and a necklace with the ring that’s totally not a wedding band when he’s working. Price has seen the chain once or twice and smirks, shooting him a knowing look but never says a word.
Simon cannot stand it when people get nosy and want to know what your relationship status is. You’re together and that’s all that matters. No one needs to know that you’re the beneficiary of his will and life insurance policy or that he’s put you on all of his accounts. No one needs to know that he buys you anything you want but has only ever bought you two rings; a thin gold band with a flower engraved on it and its twin a matching emerald ring. No one needs to know that when he gifted them to you, there were tears and promises of safety, love, and happiness whispered against feverish skin. No one needs to know that he has your name woven into his chest tattoo.
No one needs to know any of that because your relationship is between him and you only.
2. You are not some submissive little house wife. You are a strong independent woman and he prefers it that way.
I know this one goes against what most people say but hear me out on this. Simon has been independent since birth practically. He’s only had himself to count on for years. Even in the military, he’s only been able to rely himself. Sure the others watch out for him but if it came down to it, he’s the only one who’s going to get himself out alive.
The thought of someone else relying on him in that way is terrifying. He can’t even fathom what it would be like to look at another person and fully trust them in that way. Half the time he feels like he can’t even be trusted to take care of himself let alone another human. In theory a sweet docile housewife is great with the meals and clean house but not for him. He needs to know that you can hold your own. He needs to know that you can be independent and carry on without him if something happened while he was working. He needs to know that you will be okay if he doesn’t come back.
You have to be okay without him no matter how much it pains him to think about it.
Like I said before, he’s made you the beneficiary of everything so he knows you’ll be set financially but that’s not enough. He’s made Price promise to keep an eye out for you. He’s made you promise to let Price do that and you agreed because it’s Simon who’s asking but you’d tell anyone else to fuck off.
In addition to all of that, he’s installed the best security system the government has to offer in your house. You have a very expensive and large safe in your shared closet that he’s instructed you to only open if you feel unsafe. While you might not like it, you agree to go shooting with him so he can sleep at night knowing that you could protect yourself if he’s not home. He’s gone as far as to make sure you have all of the licenses and certificates that are needed to legally own firearms in the UK.
He’s not leaving any opportunity for you to be vulnerable or have your ‘safety checks’, as he calls them, taken away.
3. Simon Riley is a godless man…until he meets you.
Now this is entirely my own headcannon with no evidence to support it so bear with me.
Simon had a shitty childhood where his mom would pray to a god who never listened and his dad would shout verses at him when he was drunk. God was a mythical figure that he was told stories off with nothing to show for it. He did believe at one point but then his dad never got better, his mom wore bruises of every shade, and his brother found comfort in drugs.
He found himself praying when he was being tortured by the Mexican cartel. Between the flashbacks of his abusive past, he prayed to a god who had failed him so many times before to help him. He prayed again as he dug himself out of that Texas grave with the major’s jaw bone. He wailed his prayers when he found his family executed after Sparks tried to kill him.
After that he deemed himself a Godless man. Years of praying had passed with nothing. This god had decided that Simon was not worthy of a miracle so why would he continue to worship him?
That was until he met you. He finds himself praying before every mission, every time he has to leave you, every time he’s on his way home, and just about any other time he thinks of you. He doesn’t know what exactly he’s praying for other than for you to be there when he gets back.
He whispers his prayers to an absent god against your skin as he worships your body, soul, and heart. He promises to be devoted to you until his last breath and vows to find you again in whatever afterlife awaits you. He pledges to find solace in you and only you when his haunting nightmares return. He makes an oath to your heart that it will never weather another storm alone again for his will take whatever beating that comes your way. He shows you that he will love you in the same manner as a Hozier song; putting you above all else because you have become his religion, his faith, his beliefs, his life.
You have become all that he is and he thanks the god he once believed in for you. He prays again but to you, his heart, his love, and his beacon through the enteral storm of life.
8K notes · View notes
batboyblog · 6 months ago
Text
Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #24
June 21-28 2024
The US Surgeon General declared for the first time ever, firearm violence a public health crisis. The nation's top doctor recommended the banning of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, the introduce universal background checks for purchasing guns, regulate the industry, pass laws that would restrict their use in public spaces and penalize people who fail to safely store their weapons. President Trump dismissed Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in 2017 in part for his criticism of guns before his time in government, he was renominated for his post by President Biden in 2021. While the Surgeon General's reconstructions aren't binding a similar report on the risks of smoking in 1964 was the start of a national shift toward regulation of tobacco.
Vice-President Harris announced the first grants to be awarded through a ground breaking program to remove barriers to building more housing. Under President Biden more housing units are under construction than at any time in the last 50 years. Vice President Harris was announcing 85 million dollars in grants giving to communities in 21 states through the  Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO) program. The administration plans another 100 million in PRO grants at the end of the summer and has requested 100 million more for next year. The Treasury also announced it'll moved 100 million of left over Covid funds toward housing. All of this is part of plans to build 2 million affordable housing units and invest $258 billion in housing overall.
President Biden pardoned all former US service members convicted under the US Military's ban on gay sex. The pardon is believed to cover 2,000 veterans convicted of "consensual sodomy". Consensual sodomy was banned and a felony offense under the Uniform Code of Justice from 1951 till 2013. The Pardon will wipe clean those felony records and allow veterans to apply to change their discharge status.
The Department of Transportation announced $1.8 Billion in new infrastructure building across all 50 states, 4 territories and Washington DC. The program focuses on smaller, often community-oriented projects that span jurisdictions. This award saw a number of projects focused on climate and energy, like $25 million to help repair damage caused by permafrost melting amid higher temperatures in Alaska, or $23 million to help electrify the Downeast bus fleet in Maine.
The Department of Energy announced $2.7 billion to support domestic sources of nuclear fuel. The Biden administration hopes to build up America's domestic nuclear fuel to allow for greater stability and lower costs. Currently Russia is the world's top exporter of enriched uranium, supplying 24% of US nuclear fuel.
The Department of Interior awarded $127 million to 6 states to help clean up legacy pollution from orphaned oil and gas wells. The funding will help cap 600 wells in Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, New York and Ohio. So far thanks to administration efforts over 7,000 orphaned wells across the country have been capped, reduced approximately 11,530 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions
HUD announced $469 million to help remove dangerous lead from older homes. This program will focus on helping homeowners particularly low income ones remove lead paint and replace lead pipes in homes built before 1978. This represents one of the largest investments by the federal government to help private homeowners deal with a health and safety hazard.
Bonus: President Biden's efforts to forgive more student debt through his administration's SAVE plan hit a snag this week when federal courts in Kansas and Missouri blocked elements the Administration also suffered a set back at the Supreme Court as its efforts to regular smog causing pollution was rejected by the conservative majority in a 5-4 ruling that saw Amy Coney Barrett join the 3 liberals against the conservatives. This week's legal setbacks underline the importance of courts and the ability to nominate judges and Justices over the next 4 years.
4K notes · View notes
shareyourideas · 1 year ago
Text
Gun Cleaning Mats: A Shooter's Best Friend
0 notes
historyofguns · 26 days ago
Link
The article, authored by Steve Horsman and featured on The Armory Life, provides a detailed guide on how to disassemble, clean, and maintain the Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm pistol. Part of a five-part series covering the care of popular firearms from Springfield Armory, the guide is particularly aimed at new gun owners amidst the record number of first-time pistol purchases in 2020. It emphasizes the importance of adhering to gun safety rules, such as treating all guns as if loaded and maintaining muzzle control. The article recommends first reading the owner's manual and then offers step-by-step instructions for disassembling the Hellcat, highlighting the need for proper tools and minimal lubrication during cleaning. Horseman underscores routine maintenance as essential for those using the Hellcat as a concealed carry weapon (CCW) to keep it free from dust and grime, thereby ensuring its reliability. The piece is part of the Springfield Armory Workbench video series, which also covers the SAINT AR-15, the 1911, the M1A, and the XD-M models in subsequent parts.
0 notes
avis-writeshq · 5 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
pairing: pre-seasons!spencer reid x sunshine!fem!reader genre: fluff, roommate au warnings: spencer and reader are roommates !!! reader wears Miss Dior. a/n: so very sorry for not posting in so long! got busy with extracurriculars and uni started up again :( big thank you to @januaryembrs and @hotchfiles for reading through this first !! wc: 1.04k you are on part 1! | part 2 | part 3
Tumblr media
Spencer officially joins the BAU late July once he completed his time at the FBI academy. It wasn’t necessarily fair for the other agents who hoped and prayed that they would be the lucky someone who would get to join the extremely elusive Behavioural Analysis Unit upon graduation, especially because he was the one who was chosen by name by the esteemed Jason Gideon. It also wasn’t necessarily fair to get home after four long egregious months of constant movement and firearm training to his roommate.
“You’re home!” 
He grimaces a little bit, dropping his heavy suitcases and bags at the doorway with a heavy sigh. “I’m exhausted.”
“I’d bet! You’ve got more things than you left with!” You’re beaming, taking his new FBI registered duffle bag out of his hands and into the living room. “Your hair is so long now.”
“I feel like a wet dog,” he grumbles, pushing the strands out of his face. “Were you okay with rent? I’ll pay you back and everything–”
You laugh, shaking your head and pulling him to sit on the couch by the wrists. “It’s okay, Spence, relax. One of my friends needed a temporary place to stay, so I really only needed to pay a couple weeks of rent by myself. You’re probably starving, aren’t you? I’ve got pizza on the way.”
His cheeks burn at the contact, his throat going dry and his head almost as if it’s about to explode. “Yeah.”
“Yeah,” you repeat, beaming. Your fingers tug at the FBI windbreaker he’s sporting– big on his shoulders and long at the hips. “This is new. You went shopping without me?”
“Gideon insisted I get more FBI uniform,” he explains hurriedly, “he said it’d made me feel more ‘official’. They didn’t have any more in my size.”
“It’s cute! Give us a spin, Walter.” 
He does it half-begrudgingly, rising from the couch pillows and doing an awkward spin. He used to be used to it, before he went away for four months to train at the academy. He’ll need to get re-used to it, he supposes. 
“You look very official,” you say with genuinity, grinning ear to ear. “Got anything else?”
His nose scrunches in distaste as he sits back down. “There’s meant to be more?”
“The uniform isn’t just a jacket, is it?” You ask with furrowed brows. “The bag is a nice touch, though.”
“They said that I should get the polo, but I don’t think I’d ever wear it,” he explains, going through his things. They’d all need a good wash, he decides, throwing his clothes onto the floor. “There isn’t a uniform policy at the BAU, though. Just to be clean and tidy.”
“You’re already a pro at that, aren’t you, Walter?” 
His cheeks glow at your jest and he kicks at the pile of clothes at his feet. “You don’t think I’m weird, do you?”
“Weird for… being clean and tidy?” You blink, poking at his shoulder. “If that’s what weird is, then I hope there are a lot of other guys who are weird.”
“That’s an oxymoron.”
“Exactly.” He catches your smile as you speak. “It’s not a bad thing to be different. You know that, don’t you?”
“In theory,” he responds vaguely.
You huff, “You ought to remember it with that big brain of yours.”
“There’s no significant correlation between brain size and intelligence,” Spencer reminds you again, shrugging his jacket off. “You should remember that, too.”
*** 
It’s an incredibly cold November morning, just a couple of days after Halloween, and Spencer has been tearing up and down the apartment in search of his windbreaker. The team are set for Alaska this time around, and though his sweaters and wool socks provide some warmth, it was nothing compared to the inner pockets of his FBI assigned windbreaker that hold heat warmers. 
“Have you seen it?” He asks hurriedly, rushing through the living room. “I need to leave in three minutes or I’ll miss my train–”
“Seen what?” You ask, frowning as you fill his travel mug with hot coffee and sugar. “What are you looking for?”
“My jacket,” he explains halfheartedly. “You know the one.”
You let out a breath of a laugh, moving to the bathroom and pulling it off the hook. “Spencer?”
He visibly relaxes, taking it from your hands with a hint of embarrassment. “Oh.”
“You let me borrow it after you picked me up from the Halloween party, don’t you remember?” The corners of your lips quirk upwards in jest as his expression shifts into that of realisation. “I put it behind the door so that you could find it easier. Not that it helped, clearly.”
“Sorry,” he mumbles, cheeks pink in the light. “Thank you. See you later.”
“See you later,” you agree, and he’s already out the door, his jacket and travel mug in tow.
*** 
“Good morning,” JJ says, her bright blue eyes drowsy with sleep despite her greeting. “Are you guys ready to go?”
Spencer nods, zipping up the windbreaker and snapping the buttons together. Even in Virginia it’s still freezing. He doesn’t want to imagine how cold it’d be in Alaska. 
“Someone smells nice,” JJ chirps with a grin. “Is that– is that Miss Dior?”
“What?” Spencer sniffs, frowning. “Who?”
“The perfume?” She repeats the name, her brows flushed together. “I’m not crazy.”
“Is that Miss Dior?” Hotch asks in bemusement, sniffing the air. He looks at Jennifer with a mix of appreciation and a nod to say good taste. “Haley used to wear it all through college.”
“I’m not wearing it,” JJ insists, shaking her head with a laugh. “Spence?”
He’s barely paying attention to the conversation, frantically Googling an image of whatever the hell Miss Dior is. He’s met with the familiar rectangular bottle with pink liquid and a bow on the neck, something that he’s seen on your dresser multiple times. 
“My roommate,” he groans, covering his face with the palms of his hands. “She borrowed my jacket a couple days ago.”
“Ooh, a lady friend,” JJ snickers, “and she borrowed your jacket. How gentlemanly of you.”
Spencer sends you a long text message about the importance of not spraying perfume on clothes once he gets off the jet.
Tumblr media
reblogs are always appreciated !!
you are on part 1! | part 2 | part 3
Tumblr media
1K notes · View notes