#garbage scrounger

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Isac Friedlander, Golddiger, 1931. Engraving.

Photo: 1st Dibs

[honourablejester]

Starfinder Character Concept: Vercite Ice Trucker

Because I saw an image of a research ship stuck in arctic ice, this island of yellow light amidst black water and white ice, and it reminded me that I love Verces, Starfinder’s tidally locked Pact World whose dark side is an icy industrial hellscape. And I still want my ice trucker, since Xalke turned out more of a stationary industrial worker out on one of the ice rigs. I want a tough little hover trucker making deliveries to the industrial platforms out on the endless midnight ice.

I did want to build this around trucking. Vehicles. The Piloting skill and the Ace Pilot theme. And that suggested a Dex build, so, you know. Let’s go Operative. For fun points, Operative actually has a Driver specialisation, so yeah. That fits nicely. And then I just had to decide her race, and …

Did you know Space Goblins get racial bonuses to Engineering, Survival and Stealth? Because they’re tough, scrappy little buggers who are used to roughing it out in the holes and garbage pits where other species are disinclined to venture. And, like. Who takes a shitty job that nobody wants, driving out alone onto vast icy hellscapes where no one wants to be? A goblin, is who.

I did, mind you, also consider a dwarf. Because dwarves just feel like science fantasy truckers. But I think goblin wins here.

Character Concept: Girta Highhands, Vercite Ice Trucker

Name: Girta Highhands

Age: 34

Starting Statistics:

Strength 10, Dexterity 16, Constitution 14, Intelligence 12, Wisdom 12, Charisma 9

Starting Skills:

Ranks in: Acrobatics, Athletics, Computers, Culture, Engineering, Medicine, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth

Specialisation Skills (Skill Focus plus auto rank per level): Piloting, Survival

Skill Bonuses: +2 to Engineering, Stealth & Survival (Goblin Scrounger feat), +1 Piloting (Ace Pilot), +3 to Piloting & Survival (Skill Focus), +1 to everything (Operatives Edge)

Race: Space Goblin

Starfinder goblins are stowaways and scavengers and clever little buggers who eked out a whole civilisation for themselves in the maintenance ducts and mechanised bowels of other species’ homes. They’re tough, smart, tenacious little buggers, and they go where they’re not wanted, and they stubbornly survive regardless. Not even necessarily out of spite, but just because what? This is liveable. Y’all don’t like it down here? I love them. Them and ysoki fill a particular niche for me.

And I do like the Scrounger feat for an ice trucker. Bonuses to Engineering, Stealth and Survival. What better set of skills to get bonuses to when you’re piloting a lonely vehicle out over monster-infested ice sheets? If your truck breaks down out there, you’ve got the skills you need to stay hidden, stay alive, and get it moving again.

Granted, goblins aren’t naturally found on Verces. Absalom and the Diaspora are more their sort of haunt. For a start, they don’t have any form of cold resistance, and Verces’ Darkside is fucking cold. But. That’s what technology is for. And goblins hitched rides on ships (not always with the ship’s knowledge) and wound up pretty much everywhere, so this tough little goblin wound up on Verces, and there were shady companies offering money for shitty, dangerous work, and you know what? She can do that. Don’t even worry about it.

Description:

The heavy door of the truck popped open with a pneumatic hiss, and out of the reasonably large opening a surprisingly tiny bundle of armour and snow suit hopped down onto the ice, clicking its heels together to deploy the ice spikes in its boots. A surprisingly well-tended laser pistol jostled for position with a collection of tools on a grubby belt as the figure turned, a gleam of scowling red eyes the only visible feature under the weather gear. Even that was abruptly obscured, however, along with pretty much everything else, when the creature activated the light projector in the armour and blinded everyone in a fifty foot radius.

“Well?” a surprisingly high, growly voice asked, hands on hips while they all blinked the dazzle out of their eyes. “What are you all waiting for? Shit’s not going to unload itself!”

(Notes: among her equipment I’m giving her Frosthiker Soles, because ice sheets, and the Light Projector armour upgrade, because midnight ice sheets. She’s a one-woman floodlight. Also, obviously, Environmental Clothing (cold climates) and an Engineering Kit. I’m not fully sure how to go about functionally equipping a Starfinder Character, beyond armour, weapons and ammo, but I figured I’d throw in a few bits for flavour).

Theme: Ace Pilot

Trucker! Ice trucker! Also goblin, so she just likes vehicles. Mostly self-taught regarding how they work and how to drive them, there may or may not have been a large amount of dismantling wrecked (or not-so-wrecked, at least before she got her hands on them) vehicles in her youth, but she just likes mobile machinery. And the bigger the better, so a good solid slab of a truck is quite appreciated. Might make climbing in and out of cabs a little tricky at 3ft tall, but don’t worry about it. She’ll make it work.

Class: Operative (Driver Specialisation)

I love the description of Driver subclass. “Your lightning reflexes and cool-headed judgment are without equal when you’re behind the wheel.” It feels somewhat geared towards getaway driving, which you might not think makes too much sense for an industrial ice trucker, but do you know what’s out there on the Vercite ice sheets? Trust me. A good (read: living) ice trucker knows when to get shit in gear real quick. Heh. Operatives also have several exploits that double down on the vehicle thing, but that might be overkill. I just wanted her to feel like a trucker first and foremost. A professional driver.

That operatives are also skill monkeys and potential snipers is also not a problem. There are a lot of problems out on Verces’ ice sheets that are best solved with a nice sniper rifle from a comfortable distance away. Like from the nice warm cab of a hover truck, for example. Heh. Not that I think I’d be starting her with a sniper rifle or anything. Probably small arms. But she would vibe with the sniper ethos, for sure. Quick, quiet, and preferably a long way away, that’s how we roll.

Summary:

Verces is just really pretty? In a bleak, industrial, horrifying sort of way? It might be my second favourite Pact World after the Diaspora, although Liavara and the Sun are also in the running there. I just really vibe with the midnight icy and the floodlit industrial platform aesthetic of Darkside. And I know I already did Xalke, another Darksider, but she was stationary, an industrial station worker, and I wanted to go back to the ice trucker idea, the lone traveller out on the ice, doing a shitty job in a scary place. And you just. You gotta love goblins? They’re tough, they’re scrappy, they’re willing to wade through shit, they’re a lot smarter than you think. I deeply enjoy them.

Verces also just warps people, I think. Like Xalke, I want Girta’s first feat to be the Toughness feat. Darkside is about survival. Industry, horror, and survival. So a goblin really does fit. Engineering, Stealth and Survival. The perfect trifecta of Darksider skills. Heh.

So. Have a frozen bundle of goblin grit bombing cheerfully along in a hover truck across the midnight, monstrous ice sheets? Girta Highhand, a goblin Vercite ice trucker!

[keanbeanproduction]

Man after March 2023

Day 1# Specialized

For this prompt, the Evolved or genetically altered human I’m going with is specialized in recycling.

They are called the scroungers.

Both genetically altered, as well as mechanically altered. These humans live on trash world, and resemble more leach, like in appearance, their mouths filled with rotating sharp teeth, as well as their organs now evolved and modified to be able to filter out the pollution of the world, as well as try to make it cleaner.

The way they’re able to rotate their teeth is new organs that have adapted into themselves. They completely have no tongue anymore and body wise. They just kind of crawl around having arms to pull themselves, but their legs evolving into almost a serpent like lower half the eyes on her head have a almost shielding, so not to become damaged their bodies are soft and slick to be able to squeeze through all the trash that is dumped on the planet

Scroungers are rather timid creatures, not even resembling really human anymore besides the vocalizations of singing in particular, while they eat. The waste that they produce from the plastics, and even sometimes metals that they eat from the garbage dump there along with food waste is turned into a fine fertilizer after going through their bodies, which is filled with enough chemicals to break down whatever they can eat.

Problem is, however they can choke if they do not chew their food with the almost circular garbage, disposal, mouth of theirs, and on occasion, tougher metals have been known to cause them to suffocate and choke.

[sociomi]

Facts About Animals You Probably Didn’t Know

Reality: Pandas are jeopardized. Reality: Pandas are Charming. Reality: Pandas don't simply eat bamboo, as the vast majority of us have been persuade to think (despite the fact that bamboo involves an incredible 99 percent of their weight control plans). As a matter of fact, monster pandas are omnivores and when they can get their paws on different edibles, they likewise appreciate noshing on little creatures and fish.

Indeed, they eat roadkill (really helping us out). In any case, that is not the least party-accommodating way of behaving showed by vultures. As per Creature Planet, since these huge birds have no perspiration organs, they're compelled to track down one more method for keeping cool in the hot months. Like that: crapping on their own feet.

As per an article in Current Rancher magazine, sheep have significantly more going for them than may be promptly clear. Indeed, they "have rectangular students that give them astonishing fringe vision — it's assessed their field of vision is somewhere in the range of 270 and 320 degrees; people normal around 155 degrees — and profundity discernment." Best of luck surprising these herbivores!

Not to be outshone for bizarreness in the yard, goats have a couple of odd qualities themselves. First of all, they have no teeth in their upper jaws. They've additionally got emphasizes, which change from country to area. Furthermore, as though all that wasn't sufficiently curious, reports Mental Floss, one types of goat is known to have its muscles freeze up when it frightens, making it fall over in a weak like activity.

Ends up, people aren't the main creatures that experience REM — the fast eye development of rest during which we dream. Chickens have REM rest, as well, says ThePoultrySite. Furthermore, more than that, they additionally experience something many refer to as unihemispheric slow-wave rest, in which one portion of their cerebrum stays conscious while the other one rests.

Sure it's irritating when the raccoons get into the garbage bin and make a dinner — and a wreck — out of your week-old trash. However, track down a little spot of esteem in your heart for these veiled scroungers — some of them have been seen dunking their food in water in an activity that seems as though they're giving it a primer wash. Check out spesies hewan langka.

Barely any people since the conclusion of the Victorian age, when bloodsuckers were (misguidedly) utilized as a healing, have any affection for these savage worms. What's more, it ends up, the abhorrence for them is very much established. As per the American Exhibition hall of Normal History, leeches have "three separate jaws with 100 teeth each… [E]ach of the jaws and teeth makes a different cut"… all the better to suck out your blood. Emergency room, pass.

Bumble bees living in a settlement play out a wide range of undertakings — cleaning and monitoring the hive, taking care of hatchlings, gathering dust and bloom nectar. In 2012, researchers at the College of Illinois detailed their discoveries that honey bees have characters that make them get along admirably at the positions they're the most ideal to, with "daredevils," for instance, succeeding in investigating new home locales.

Confronted with the apparently unthinkable undertaking of entering the hard shells of pecans to eat to sweetmeats inside, crows in Japan have figured out how to spread the nuts out in the center of the street so vehicles can run them over and separate them open. However, maybe generally astonishing of all, as per a PBS report: the crows are perusing traffic signals to know when it's protected to orchestrate the nuts, and when it's protected to bounce down and eat them up.

[winteirsa]

felix    gaeb.ras     channels     such     racoon     energy    to    me     ://

[monstersdownthepath]

5e Otherworldly Patron: The Mother of Filth

scratching squirming skitter gnawing swarming stalking slither clawing wasting breeding dripping screaming rotting feeding sickness dreaming

Something is wrong with you. There’s this itch, this... foulness you cannot alleviate. You picked it up from somewhere, something, someone, and it hasn’t lessened in the time you’ve had it. A persistent cough, a rash you cannot get rid of, some sour taste at the back of your throat, some crawling within your ears, or nose, or behind your eye. It’s something, it’s there, it won’t go away. An illness, you’ve told yourself. A simple disease. It will pass, you’ve said, it will pass in time.

it has been years.

Years of this. These symptoms, these rashes and sores and blisters, this coughing and sneezing and aching and fever. It’s made you pitiful. No one will look at you anymore, not directly. They’ll talk to you, yes, but only if you talk to them first. Sometimes, though, they’ll act like they can’t hear you. Many of them don’t even seem to notice as you move towards them, silently standing aside to let you pass without interrupting whatever they were doing. Sometimes it seems like they don’t even know they’re ignoring you.

Maybe you’ve started taking advantage of that, maybe you cannot stand it, but once you realized it was happening, something in you changed. Your sickness became worse, the symptoms more pronounced. Nothing could alleviate them. And then, a... thing formed inside you. A lump or a weight in your belly, or your chest, or your head. Now that it’s here, it feels... strange. It’s not comforting, but you feel it’s natural. Like this was supposed to happen, some logical progression of whatever foulness has seeped into you. In a way, you feel like you expected it. Maybe you were even waiting for it.

Now, in your fevered dreams, you swear there’s something else in them with you. Something trying to communicate with you. There are no words you understand, merely feelings. Ideas. Sensations. Some sort of... directions or instructions. In your addled mind, you’ve found yourself wondering: just what would happen if you followed them?

EXPANDED SPELL LIST The following spells are added to the Warlock spell list for you:

1st: Grease, Ray of Sickness

2nd: Web, Blindness/Deafness

3rd: Stinking Cloud, Feign Death

4th: Greater Invisibility, Giant Insect

5th: Cloudkill, Insect Plague

-Miserable Pity

By 1st level, you’ve already lived with this illness for years. It’s made you an unapproachable creature, a leper, something that mortal minds view with a mix of pity and fear; others will interact with you if you interact with them, but most of them will unconsciously avoid looking at you, listening to you, and especially avoid touching you.

This does have its benefits: Once per short or long rest as a reaction to being targeted with an attack or a spell attack, you may force the attack roll or spell attack roll to be made with disadvantage by momentarily revealing your pitiful nature. In addition, this pity largely prevents you from suffering penalties when interacting with other living creatures, as they subconsciously refuse to notice how much the sickness has taken from you. In their minds, while you don’t appear healthy, you at least resemble a functioning member of society. Undead, constructs, and most animals can see through this aura; aside from verminous creatures or well-trained mounts, animals will often refuse to approach you, shrinking away unless pressed into the interaction, which could have consequences. Certain other creatures, such as Fiends or Celestials, may also see past this aura of pity as well at the DMs discretion.

-Averted Eyes

This subconscious ignorance of your presence has an additional benefit: At 1st level, you gain proficiency with Stealth. If you are already proficient, your proficiency bonus for this skill is doubled.

-Scratching Squirming Skitter Gnawing

inside you feel them inside chewing eating everything else that would hurt you. they’re your allies, not your enemies. Certainly, it may have hurt at first, it may have been repulsive at first, but they’re here to help. They’re here to provide for you, protect you.

At 6th level, your body plays host to grotesque parasites that conditions you to things far worse. You’re bolstered against foul elements, if only because there’s less of you to affect. You become resistant to Poison damage, have advantage on saving throws to avoid becoming Poisoned, and you are unharmed by any disease you contract, though you still bear their symptoms and contagious diseases you contract remain contagious. Diseases you contract never heal on their own.

-Swarming Stalking Slither Clawing

Some days in the past you’ll wake up to find a rodent or roach perched on your chest. Now, though, there’s significantly more. Vermin crawl within your clothes, skittering across your skin, nesting in your hair. They mean you no harm, nor will they cause any. In time, you may grow used to them. You may love them as they love you.

At level 10, each time you complete a short or long rest, vermin will gather onto your person, attracted by the call of your illness. They move to shield your body from attacks, granting you temporary HP equal to your Warlock level. While you have any temporary HP from this ability you have resistance to Necrotic damage. In addition, verminous creatures (such as rats and mice, centipedes, flies, spiders, etc) will never willingly attack you unless you cause them harm first.

Your Miserable Pity ability keeps others from noticing your vermin coating just as easily as it kept them from noticing your pox.

-A Mother’s Love

New life. That’s all that it is. New and beautiful. Others call it Filth, call it garbage, or waste, or even worse: A plague, an infection, a cancer. They can’t understand; this isn’t a plague, it’s a blessing.

At 14th level, the Mother gives you a grand gift. A piece of her manifests within you, a tumorous growth that partially emerges from an unobtrusive location on your body, such as your stomach or back. This bloated thing alerts you to incoming danger and can even take hold of your spells for you should your attention falter. You gain Blindsense out to 10ft, able to sense hidden or invisible creatures within that radius. In addition, if your concentration on a spell is broken, you may use your reaction to re-establish a hold on the magic, as though your concentration was never lost. Once you do this, you must complete a long rest before doing it again.

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INVOCATIONS

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Hacking Cough Prereq: Mother of Filth patron

As an action, you can share your misery, retching and coughing upon a creature within 10ft of you. That creature must succeed a Constitution save versus your Warlock spell DC or become poisoned for 1 minute. A creature poisoned in this way may make a Constitution save at the end of their turn to end the condition, but they take 1d4 Poison damage on a failure. Once you’ve used this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, you must complete a long rest before doing so again.

Scrounger Prereq: Mother of Filth patron

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and you have been desperate for a very, very long time. You gain proficiency in Constitution saving throws, and can consume rotted or diseased food and drink without suffering any consequences. 

Record of Roaches Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, Pact of the Tome

Your Book of Shadows is replaced with an unnerving, chitin-covered tome. While in possession of this tome, you may conjure a swarm of ravenous roaches in a 10ft cube within 30ft of you as an action. This space is difficult terrain, and creatures entering it or beginning their turn in it take 1d6 magical slashing and 1d6 Poison damage. This corrupted space lingers for 1 minute, or until you use this ability again. You may use this feature three times, and regain all uses after a long rest.

Dripping Blade Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, Pact of the Blade

Your pact weapon becomes coated in a layer of toxic grime. A creature damaged by your pact weapon takes an additional 1d6 Poison damage. If you critically strike an enemy with your pact weapon or strike a creature who is not aware of you, that creature becomes infected with Sewer Plague, which incubates and progresses as normal.

Fecund Familiar Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, Pact of the Chain

When summoning a new familiar, instead of choosing an empowered familiar from the Pact of the Chain, you may instead summon two of the following in any combination: a spider, a rat, a bat, or a cockroach (use the statistics of a crab). Both of these creatures are your familiars and share a mind split between multiple bodies. At level 10, you may maintain three familiars at the same time. At level 16, you may have four.

Filthy Friends Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, level 5

Sometimes they were all you had. As an action, you may command vermin from your surroundings to a single point within 60ft of you that you can see, summoning either a Swarm of Insects or a Swarm of Rats in that space. These swarms will obey your mental commands until brought to 0 HP or until 1 minute passes, at which point they disperse. Once you use this ability, you must complete a short or long rest to do so again.

Tatterdemalion Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, lvl 6

Over the course of a long rest, you can construct a piecemeal armor for yourself from rags, scavenged leather, and broken metal bits. Wearing this makes your AC equal 10 + your Constitution modifier + your Charisma modifier. Only you or another Warlock of the Mother of Filth can benefit from this armor, and it may be enchanted as normal armor can be, if you desire.

Pernicious Poison Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, lvl 7

Poison damage you inflict with your Warlock spells and abilities does full damage to creatures with resistance to Poison, and upon reaching level 12, your poisons deal half damage to creatures immune to Poison. In addition, once per long rest, you may use your bonus action to select a single creature within 100ft that you can see, infesting them with insidious Filth. That creature loses any immunity to the poisoned condition it has and gains vulnerability to Poison damage. At the start of that creature’s turn, it may make a Constitution save against your Warlock spell save DC to end this effect.

Don’t Ignore Me Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, lvl 8

If they won’t look at you, you’ll take advantage of it. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 2d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon. You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll. At level 12, this damage increases to 3d6, and it increases to 4d6 at level 16.

Vermin Lord Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, level 10

You can cast Dominate Beast at will as a 5th level spell without expending a spell slot, but only to control verminous creatures (an insect, arachnid, or rodent Beast with an Int of 2 or less). This control lasts for 10 minutes and requires no concentration from you, but you may only maintain control of up to 5 creatures at a time (a swarm counts as 1 creature). Controlling a new one ends the oldest instance of the effect. You cannot target the same creature with this effect again until you complete a long rest.      

Retching Wretch Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, level 10, Hacking Cough

Your Hacking Cough’s range becomes 30ft. Whenever you successfully poison a creature with Hacking Cough, choose one of the following options:

Clawing, Gnawing: The creature is wracked with muscle aches. As long as it is poisoned, it takes a -2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity-based attack rolls, skill checks, and saving throws.

Dreaming, Screaming: The creature is afflicted with a terrible delirium and fever. As long as it is poisoned, it takes a -2 penalty to Intelligence and Wisdom-based attack rolls, skill checks, and saving throws.  

Plaguebringer Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, level 10

You add Infestation and Contagion to your list of spells known. These are Warlock spells for you, and do not count towards your total spells known. You may cast Infestation as a bonus action so long as you still have temporary HP from Swarming Stalking Slither Crawling.

Contaminate Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, lvl 12

As an action, you can will the Filth to well up from the world around you, choking the ground and air. The Filth coats a 30ft radius around you with noxious gas, slick muck, and crawling things, transforming it into difficult terrain for everyone but you. Any creature besides you moving into or within the area takes 1d8 Poison damage per 5ft it travels. This supernatural muck lasts for 24 hours before fading away. You may use this ability once, regaining its use after a long rest.

Wasting Breeding Dripping Screaming Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, level 15

The lump or weight within sups upon your flesh and blood in amounts so minute you likely won’t even notice, but it’s always hungry for a more substantial meal. If you take slashing or piercing damage from an enemy adjacent to you, you can attempt to feed it by using your reaction; a Swarm of Rot Grubs erupts from the wound into the space of your attacker, and the swarm immediately uses its reaction to attack them with advantage.

This Swarm of Rot Grubs is friendly to you and any creature you designate as an ally, and will follow you telepathic commands. If left without orders, it will crawl towards the closest living enemy it can perceive to attack them, or to the closest pile of carrion within 30ft. After 1 minute passes, the swarm is too consumed by hunger and turns on itself, dying messily. Once you spawn a swarm in this way, you must complete a long rest before it can be done again.

Sire of Stagnation Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, Contaminate, lvl 20

Patches of Filth created by Contaminate last until cleaned up by an outside force, such as a massive storm, powerful magic, or the concentrated efforts of a group of people working for 12 hours. Each day the Filth patch remains, it spawns a swarm of Filthbreed Vermin (roll 1d6; 1: swarm of rats, 2: swarm of insects, 3: swarm of maggots, 4: swarm of spiders, 5: swarm of scarabs, 6: swarm of rot grubs). A Filthbreed Swarm creates a 5ft patch of Filth otherwise identical to the one spawned by Contaminate when it is slain, requiring a concentrated effort to clean that takes 4 hours.

At the DMs discretion, more powerful Filthbreed creatures may arise from especially massive patches of Filth.

Hive Mind Prereq: Mother of Filth patron, lvl 20, Vermin Lord

You may maintain control of up to 25 creatures at once with your Vermin Lord ability, and the effect lasts indefinitely until dispelled. They no longer receive saving throws.

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Fun author’s note: Going to make a more generic version of this Patron later to fit into other people’s sessions without relying on my cosmology; you can indeed just use this creature as a different spirit of pestilence and filth, but I’m also just creating a Horseman of Pestilence-esque patron later as soon as I’m more inspired which shuffles a bunch of stuff already present here around while adding some new, more obviously vile options.

[curious-menace]

Telltale riddler X reader

as promised

synopsis 

you are a meta human with healing/mending powers, mostly new to gotham and a little out of the loop. you usually work in a hospital but you've headed to the scrapyard after work to find some useful parts to repair and few side projects. that's when you find a most unusual box buried under the trash.

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Scrounger they called you. Scavenger, trash rat people said. You didn't care, desperate times call for desperate measures.  Since waller came to town, Gothams villainous underclass could hardly scratch their ass without her knowing. You weren't a criminal, far from it. You were a meta human; a healer, a mender of broken things. Your powers could put anything back together: from bones and minds to fenders and fixtures . Heroes and villains alike came to you ; for aid, for repairs and occasionally, just for the attention. That’s what brought you back to the junkyard night after night. Things were becoming scarce, it was harder to find parts to fix things, even harder to find the supplies to fix people. You had some equipment, but right now you were barely keeping the lights on. So off to the gotham trash heap You went, slipping the gate guard some home made cake to keep his mouth closed while you picked through for something usable. Decent things could be repaired, repaired things could be sold. 

You were about to call it quits when you saw it. A Coffin, or at least you thought so . Hopefully it was just a storage pod, maybe with goodies in it. But this was Gotham and luck wasn't on your side: no one ever threw away anything good. Finding a dead body would put you out on the wrong side of midnight and you were in no mood to deal with the gcpd. You hated late nights.

It wouldn't have been so out of place in your day job, people tended to die in hospitals. But after hours? rummaging through a scrap heap for spare parts? now that was concerning. You nearly ignore it, make a mental note to call the cops and head on your merry way back home.  But You can't; the temptation of supplies is too great to ignore. Besides, even if it was a body, the thought of someone being thrown away like garbage is too much to handle. “Just a peak” You promised yourself, just to make sure it’s not a body. You can always come back tomorrow if it’s anything good.

It takes you a while to clear all the rubbish from the lid. It was buried under weeks if not months of trash and refuse. The thought of a person winding up like this made your stomach turn. You’d heard of people winding up in dumps before, but usually they were in pieces, maybe in a suitcase or a fridge. You’d never heard of a whole casket turning up in one.

not till now at least. 

Up close, it does look more like a fridge. It's cold to the touch too, colder than it should be in mid september. A thin layer of condensation is trickling out of the seams, a faint red battery light flickers every now and then. You stick your thumbs into the slim opening and pull. The lid doesn’t budge. Frustrated you stand back in your precarious foothold in the trash, cans and bottles rolling to the ground from under your feet. You could pull it down to ground level, have a better standing to pry it open. But disturbing the trash mountain could bury you and the box before you ever get a look inside. 

Running your hands along the edge, you look for a way in. There’s what looks like a turn dial on top, like on an old safe. Could it be that easy? You flipped up the handle and pressed your ear to the cold metal to listen for the gentle click of mechanical parts. You’re about to start turning when the box hisses, frigid air ruffles your hair and sends a shiver down your spine. The box begins to unfurl, spider like latches spread out snagging your jeans as they went. “Damn it!”  you swore, grabbing at your shin as a thin trickle of blood made its way down and into your boot. That was your last good pair of trousers too.  You lent against the edge of the box for balance to examine the cut. But when your hand brushed something soft, you froze in place. Mousey  brown hair tinged silver at the roots, a domino masked face fixed in place by rigor mortis.  

As you feared; A body.

You might have suspected as much, but it still wasn't a pleasant find. The man looked as though he was sleeping, only a few patches of bruising, a little decay and a thin layer of frost that covered his body suggested otherwise . Fans whirled, frost began to evaporate from his skin leaving it a sickly gray. But this poor soul wasn't the only horrifying thing about the coffin. All along the inner walls were deep gouges that could only have been made by him “god…” you murmured crouching down beside him. A quick glance at his bloodied hands confirmed the worst; whoever this was, they’d been alive when they’d been put inside. “poor thing.” you reach out to gently thumb a split just under his eye “who did this to you?” Between your thumb and his face there was a tiny, almost imperceptible blue spark.

Now. you would by no means call yourself an expert, but you weren't fumbling in the dark with your powers. You could fix a lot of wounds, most non fatal injuries. But you’d never brought someone back from the dead.

Especially not by accident.

When your hand made contact, the person jolted awake like they’d been hit by lightning. The man lurched to life, gasping like he hasn't breathed in weeks. Colour came flooding back to his face as he claws at the air for purchase.  He whips around frantically, face smeared with dry blood and green eyes faintly milky in colour “HOLY SHIT!” You yelled. Panicked he throws himself over the edge of the coffin, knocking you back in the process. Together you tumble down the rubbish pile landing in a heap at the bottom “ow.” you breathe, hoping the pain you feel is just a bruise forming and not cracked ribs. As the dust settles you heave yourself upright, looking around for the man “ shit.” you murmur watching him squirm away, obviously scared and confused out of his mind. He face-planted in the dirt  once more as he makes stuttering attempts to get to his feet, barely managing to crawl along the ground. He’s hyperventilating, head on a swivel as he tries to take in every angle at once “hey” you call, lifting yourself up “ are you hurt?!”  The man twists around on the spot to look at you, face a picture of terror “n-nuh!” he holds up a hand in defence as he tries to back away“st-stay awa-aw- its ok!” he has a shard of broken glass clutched in his hands, so tightly they’ve started to bleed. Or so you think, It's hard to tell with all the blood that is already staining his clothes. Despite all logic telling you to run for the hills, you crouched down to his level, hands out to show you meant no threat “ i'm not going to hurt you” you soothed staying very still.

As quickly  as he had sprung to life, he suddenly went motionless again. He sagged the rest of the way to the ground, whimpering like a kicked animal as he retracts his hands to his chest. He’s making noise, muttering incoherently, his eyes flickering left and right blindly and unseeing. He’s wide awake but nowhere near conscious. The lights are on but it seems like no one's home. 

Sighing deeply you roll your shoulders.

This was going to be a late night. 

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

its only part 1! please dont hate me, ill be working on the rest as soon as i post this.  also im a little bit sorry for torturing riddler like this. 

and im going to make it worse because im terrible >:)

[soil-boy]

My dad was a janitor at this place called Keddies. I think he might still be the janitor there. 

Now, the place is a feedlot owned in my hometown by a wealthy family. My mom cleans their house for them, and my dad cleans their business. My dad is the sole janitor of this massive feedlot, he goes in and cleans it EVERY day after closing and gets paid month to month.

One (or several) of the office workers there chew their pens habitually. Like... OBLITERATRE their pens they chew them so hard. They don’t want to be reminded of this habit or whatever so they end up throwing out these pens with the chewed up ends. Now, the catch is, they’re still perfectly good pens.

My dad takes the damn pens out of the garbage and uses them, because they’re perfectly good, why let them go to waste? My mom hates this, she thinks he’s a hoarder.

This story isn’t really going anywhere I’m just talking.

Anyways, so she thinks he’s a hoarder, and I’m kind of the same. All through high school, I never bought school supplies, I just scrounged around. Not out of necessity, if I ever needed anything my mom would surely supply. I scrounged because I like scrounging. Me and my dad are scroungers.

I think it’s in our blood, honestly. I don’t remember being taught to scrounge, I would just pick up pencils and pens and scraps of paper here and there as a child. I’d fold all the scraps of paper into origami, that was my hyperfixation for so many years, origami. 

I’ve always loved paper, I’ve always been drawn to paper. I like to draw, and I’m not too bad at drawing but I don’t do it often. I like calligraphy because it’s beautiful and I like folding paper because that’s nice too. 

I’m on mushrooms right now, I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t this, haha

[theramseyloft]

Yikes.

Dove Mom-

I have no idea how people think they just eat garbage by choice.

The “scroungers” are the “producer”’s wives and weanings...

I’m... I’m just disgusted.

[peachyteabuck]

Doctor Strange and Nebula

doctor strange: what’s an occurrence of everyday magic you’ve experienced?

maybe finding what i need in thrift stores or garbage picking? my old desk chair i used for years was garbage picked, so is a lot of my kitchen ware. maybe i’m just a good scrounger but it’s always a very :D moment when i find something for free that i want/need 

nebula: do you believe a person can truly change?

i very much do, not only because i’ve changed quite a lot, even in the past few months, but because i believe in the inherent good of people and our desire to contribute positively to society. however, i think it is the responsibility of the person who has changed to prove that to whoever necessary. i.e., i shouldn’t have to dm girls i went to high school with why they use she/they pronouns when stood silent when their boyfriends called me a tr*nny in middle school

marvel character asks!

[dailyadventureprompts]

While a war rages, a battlefield scrounger has gotten it into his head to pretend to be a questing wizard. He’s grown a long ratty beard, trained raven to seem as if it can talk, and wanders from town to town selling weapons to gullible chosen one “heroes”.  He has a few tricks up his baggy sleeves to fool the rubes, and is always moved on by the time his wares get anyone into trouble. 

A sacred sword has been lost in battle and is found in the “wizard”’s pack. The cheat has no idea of its magic or its importance, but is happy to sell it to the party at a small markup from a regular blade. Later the family of its previous owner comes looking for it using a seeking spell, thinking the party are the thieves. 

Taking swords from the recently dead is a good way to get cursed, however the wizard is miserable enough that he doesn't notice misfortune, but will pass that on to the players if they purchase from it. 

The scrounger has picked up a few magical trinkets in his days, and is willing to part with them dearly. For special occasions, he’s also aqired a few scrolls of “identify”, in case any gullible adventurers believe his ruse and bring him their latest haul from a dungeon. Willing to sort through their “garbage” for them, he’s as liable to pass off any truly valuable item as junk as to tell them its real effect. 

In a stroke of Karmic justice, the scrounger finds himself in possession of a demonic, willsapping sword that slowly drives him away from petty con-jobs and into more and more dangerous situations in the hopes of freeing it from its metal prison. 

[kaz-astrophic]

Little Goblin I decided to draw up, she's just a little garbage scrounger who wants to help https://www.instagram.com/p/BroJz4mg8FX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=rb22jvrv6q9c

[mizzsmack]

The Great Downfall... and Oprah

Let’s talk about why the BRF has endured so successfully, to this point. Come sit, sweetie. Alphozo will refresh your mimosa. This is a bit of a read. ALPHONZO!

The Brits are a strange little group. Oh, I know full well I’m lumping them all in together, here. Stay with me. The UK has more in common with its individual parts than differences, so I am happily going to tar the Welsh, Scots and English all with the same sticky brush… not so much the Northern Irish though, because that is another conversation for another day, darlings.

Anyhoo, on we go. British people are funny, because although they loathe being seen as classist, snobs or complainers… at their core, they *are* all classists, snobs and complainers. They complain like it’s a national sport! It’s a culture that very much likes to champion the underdog in its psyche and celebrate the visionary rebel, yet they will suspend and send home a thirteen year old for not having the correct shoelaces in their school uniform shoes, and if a neighbor dare build an enclosure for garbage cans without council planning permission, the pack mentality will ensue; “What? Do they think they’re better than me?” It’s a bizarre combination of overconfidence  and “Tallest Poppy Syndrome”. Nobody does neurosis better than the Brits, darling.

Which brings us back to why the BRF has endured for so long. The key word is “mystery”. Because for all the moaning the Brits love to do about how it’s the taxpayer footing the bill for the royal scroungers, the gnashed teeth about how someone born into one particular meatsuit over another is magically ordained as their social better, and the unfairness of a genealogical jackpot granting a family jewels and servants and multiple stately homes and land ownings half the size of Ohio… the Brits *need* to be “kept in their place”. It’s a deeply seeded desire just as real and visceral as damp tweed and dry scones. It’s that delicious tension between refusing to take orders and having a stiff upper lip, with the resigned if not excitable acceptance of being put over Misses’ knee for a bare-bottomed spanking when caught being naughty.

The Brits love their royals. They love the pomp and finery, they love wondering if Camilla plays with the Crown Jewels and rides Charles around naked like a pony around Highgrove with a tiara on her head. They love the thought of uppity courtiers infighting over who is beneath licking envelopes versus fixing gin and tonics versus cleaning up Lupo’s magnificent garden turds. They love not knowing what exactly goes on beyond palace doors, not knowing what the Queen privately thinks about any given subject, and her omnipotent, ever-presence in day to day life; the all seeing eye on every postage stamp, pound note, and biscuit tin. Saying nothing but ever watching.

And now it’s all going to shit with Markle. And this is why this woman is just so damaging. She’s not just giving up the mystery, she’s giving it up wholesale to the lowest bidder: The Media. She’s merching religious iconography to the best upper-suburban mall jeweller, Birks, which is essentially Canada’s red-haired stepson to Tiffany & Co. She’s forcing her California nonsense of chia seed smoothies and gratitude journals on Britain’s penultimate aspirational “Lad’s Lad” and she’s doing it with her muddy little stiletto pointed on the top of his back like he’s a Botswanian safari trophy. She’s making the private very, very public, and this will be equally the most lauded thing that will also become her downfall. She’s gone to spill the beans to Oprah, with Momma, and the British public is going to eat her alive with a ferocity unlike anything we have witnessed before.

I keep hearing people say, “Oh, the BRF has survived Diana. They have survived Fergie. This will be more of the same.” I vehemently disagree.

We are in another timeline. News cycles are swifter and sharper. Memories longer. Grudges deeper. Our idols are on much shorter pedestals. The public is far less forgiving. In the 80’s and 90’s, there was a certain level of respect that was felt towards the BRF, even with all the escapades and shenanigans in which the press and public respected certain distinct boundaries. It was the Nation’s Family, not just the Royal Family. And even when somebody royally fucked up, the nation might chuckle or cringe, but god help anyone who would legitimately seek to undo or brow beat centuries of tradition and history in attempt to humiliate the Crown through becoming “too familiar”. This goes double for the foreign press.

And now we have Media Meg who is clearly out of her depth, who has miscalculated all of this so, so badly, saying it’s a trainwreck is the understatement of the year. This is a bozo millennial cable actress, thinking the rules of Hollywood equally apply to all of life and to every culture. American arrogance at its finest. And now she’s running off to Oprah, patron saint and guardian of leftwing American media popculture, ready to air the pre-wedding dirty laundry, all smiles, suitcases and grilled burgers. I cannot even tell you how much I’d give my left tit to be a fly on the wall in BP right now, counting the aneurysms. THIS is why she secretly flew into Chicago for her “visa”. And I guarantee you Buckingham Palace knew NOTHING about it.

Now that they have caught wind of it, watch what happens next. Again, the gloves will be off. The test and betrayal this time is too deep. She was given enough rope and she freely and stupidly chose to hang herself, as well as all of them by proxy. All the protectionism we have seen up until now is going to stop. Pictures will leak. Stories will be said. And mark my words, none of this may stop a wedding, but it will stop the further humiliation and denigration of a family in an existential crisis of survival.

[radnewworld]

On one hand, I fully support the (very, very ambitious) efforts to clean up the Pacific garbage patch... But on the other? I really like the idea of having the garbage patch become a floating settlement of sea-going salvagers and OldTech scroungers.

[critterpricker]

Dispose of raccoons with the best raccoon impediment gadget

Some of you may discover raccoons adorable, however they are perilous creatures that rabies sickness. Raccoons resemble scroungers. In case they are ravenous and found even a grain of left out food, they will quickly draw to your property.

They can do significant harm to your nurseries. They burrow vegetable beds, infiltrate into human-occupant spaces, and so forth. They leave a colossal wreck in the wake of taking care of up themselves with trash extras. Raccoons are the sort of creatures that can get into even those spots that are obstructed and concealed. Furthermore, the most noticeably terrible thing about raccoons is that they are illness transporters, which isn't anything not exactly to be considered as a wellbeing peril. In this way, the end is that the raccoons are quite possibly the most ruinous shaggy animals. Looking for food, raccoons can go spaces of up to 20 miles.

They are destined to discover in the rural regions rather than the metropolitan ones. Their eating regimen for the most part incorporates plants and creatures like berries, grain, natural products, eggs, mice, trash, bunnies, pet food, and bugs that are not difficult to track down in rural regions. They can adjust to any climate, this is the motivation behind why they are turning out to be more normal in urban communities. You need legitimate arranging and execution to get them far from your property. 

Quite possibly the best apparatuses that will assist you with repulsing a raccoon away from your home is a raccoon repellent. It is made particularly for hindering raccoons. Use it in the nursery or in the storm cellar of your structure. It is durable and will get the raccoons far from your property.

A safe and savvy raccoon hindrance. What else do you require? It is the best arrangement. Managing a raccoon can turn out to be so disappointing at times. You every day need to deal with another issue. Also, it won't make any actual mischief the raccoons since killing raccoons ought not be our lone answer for ward them off. Its establishment interaction is really simple and doesn't cost you much. 

Do you need a commonsense answer for raccoon crap? 

In the event that indeed, Critter Pricker is the best answer for your concern. 

You ought to consider it as an extra preventive instrument for the most part utilized in the wake of catching. This hindrance will assist you with repulsing raccoons and keep them from entering your pools and property. You can likewise utilize it in the upper room and around garbage bins. 

Up until now, the raccoon spikes have performed so capably.

For more info :-How to get rid of raccoons

best raccoon repellent

critter pricker

critter control California

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: A guest contribution from David Hoes to The Prepper Journal. I love this. Goes well as a supplement to the recent post on Prime Locations for Post Disaster Salvage. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share then enter the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards  with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.

Okay, I admit it. I am a scrounger. I don’t do it out of necessity; I do it because I enjoy getting a bargain and building my prepping stockpiles. Now, I need to clarify that I do not steal things. I do not take towels from hotels or silverware from restaurants. I do not find and keep items such as wallets, credit cards, or electronic devices that can be traced to an owner. I do not keep anything that someone is likely to try to reclaim. Such items I will turn in somewhere. If I see someone drop something, I will tell them.

I’m also not going to discuss using coupons or discounts. These are both good ideas, but have already been covered.

That said, I do take items that are unlikely to ever get back to their original owner, and things that I am allowed to take or that are come with something I have purchased. If in doubt – I ask. Here are some ideas:

Personal protective equipment: Most hospitals and some doctor’s offices now offer free respirators to visitors. I’ve picked-up several of these. Protective gloves are often available in the ER or in patient rooms, and some give-out small bottles of hand sanitizer. I have a little psoriasis on my hands, and they are happy to give them out. In the quantities a hospital purchases them, they are almost free.

Wipes and anti-bacterial solution: Doctor’s offices and medical facilities often have solutions or wipes available for free. They bill your insurance $150 for a few minutes with a doctor. They don’t sweat the little stuff. Heck, ask your doctor for appropriate medical samples while you are at it. You never know what you may get.

Gauze, wipes, Band-Aids, and surgical tape: I have asked if I could take a few gauze pads, alcohol wipes, and mostly used rolls of tape when I have gone to labs and imaging facilities. They are normally okay with it.

Salt, pepper, sugar, condiment packets, and straws: These all have survival and medical uses. Grab a few each time you go to a fast-food place. During the depression in the 1930’s, those down on their luck would go to a diner and order a cup of hot water for a few cents. They would then add ketchup and other condiments to make a sort-of tomato soup. There is actually enough vitamin C in a few packs of ketchup to prevent scurvy. Is this stealing? If taken in reasonable quantities, I do not believe so. If I order a cup of coffee, part of the price I pay goes to cream and sugar. My ex used to take her coffee with 4 creams and 4 sugars. I do not use either, so I do not think taking one or two of each is stealing. Now, taking a handful? Yes. That is stealing. Asking for salt and condiments at a drive through? Nope. What they put in the bag is yours.

Soaps and shampoos: Yes, in a motel I take what they put in my room. I do not consider it stealing; I believe that I have paid for it and can take it. When I or a loved one is in the hospital, I take whatever they give as well. Hospital staff has told me on numerous occasions that insurance paid for it and if I don’t take it they will throw it out. Also, many hotels provide courtesy tooth brushes, tooth paste, and combs upon request. If they give it to you, it isn’t stealing, even if you don’t really need it. But no, I don’t take towels or rolls of toilet paper.

Candles at church: Many churches toss-out candles after one or two uses, and may give-away the used ones for free if you ask. Although some now use propane or natural gas simulated candles, those that still use candles tend to use ones of very high quality. Small stubs can be melted down and used to create larger candles. My church had a Christmas Eve service where everyone was given a candle to hold. They were lit for about 10 minutes and not reused. Hundreds of good candles were thrown out.

Community events: Where I live, they have several free community disaster planning, home and garden, and wellness events each year. They give-out items such as samples of seeds, dental floss and toothbrushes, band aids, energy bars, bottled water, samples of vitamins, water bottles, and other swag. At one event, the first 50 people through the door got a bag with some very nice stuff.

Food banks: I have been fortunate enough to have survived without going to one. However, if you are looking to build a small emergency stockpile, why not go and pick-up a few cans of food? They will probably mostly have items near or past the expiration date, but canned food is generally safe to eat long after the expiration date. I have eaten MRE’s and canned foods that were 10 years past their expiration dates and suffered no ill effects. The exceptions are if the can is damaged, in poor condition, or if the can contains acidic products such as tomatoes. Is it wrong to take food from a food bank if you are not immediately facing hunger? I think the answer is, it depends. If you are sufficiently wealthy to purchase your food and have plenty of money to stock-up on prepping supplies, I would say that it is wrong. However, if you can buy all you now need but are unable to afford to purchase a enough for a 72 hour emergency supply of food to see you through a disaster, I would say not. I donate money to food banks, and I give so that people do not go hungry. As a donor, I am not bothered by those who use the food bank to prepare for future hard times.

Wooden Pallets: I live near a business that sells pools and hot tubs, and another that sells paving stones. They dispose of dozens of wooden pallets each week. I have used them to create raised garden beds, for firewood, and for woodworking projects including building a bed frame for a futon.

Road Debris: When I drive, I keep an eye on the shoulder and medians. I frequently find bandannas, bungee cords, tools and knives, Bic Lighters (still good), coolers, storage totes, thermoses, 5-gallon plastic buckets, gas cans, and a variety of other items. Bandanas are my favorite find; I have found 30 or more. Bikers lose bandannas like crazy. Wash and reuse them. They have lots of survival uses. One of my favorite finds took place a few weeks ago. I found a Camillus Titanium folding knife lying in the road. It was a bit scuffed-up and not very sharp, but I cleaned it up, sharpened it, and it has become my EDC knife.

Post-disaster giveaways: Here in Florida, following Hurricane Irma, the County and many different organizations gave-out a lot of food and water to anyone who came by. No questions were asked. A friend of mine got dozens of bags of cookies, boxes of Pringles chips, ten cases of Civilian MRE’s and ten cases of bottled water. It is unfortunate, but the ones who give and the ones who distribute often have very different goals. Churches, civic groups and charities may raise money for 1,000 meals. They want to see 1,000 different people get food. Those who distribute the aid may not care. If one person arrives with a truck that can carry 1,000 meals, they may let them have it all. They don’t want to carry it back at the end of the day. They will report back that the food was distributed and everyone will be happy. Don’t be a pig, but if you can put it to good use, do so.

Free bicycles: I am only speaking about Florida, but I think this is true for other areas. Law Enforcement departments recover a huge number of bicycles that have been abandoned, discarded or stolen and that are not claimed by owners. In some places jail inmates repair them as part of a work program. It is not widely advertised, but there may be periodic giveaways where serviceable bikes are distributed on first come basis. I once had two bikes stolen in a particular county. One of the two was recovered, but I had already replaced it, so I donated it to this program.

Why am I mentioning bicycles? Well, because I believe that in a TEOTWAWKI situation, they may become the most important method of transportation.

Complaining about lousy stuff: I wrote a negative review about a pair of gloves I bought on Amazon. I included a photo clearly showing the defect. They sent me a new pair without making me return the old pair. The old pair went into my preps box.

I have complained about the quality of canned or packaged foods. They sent me coupons for free products. I DO NOT invent complaints to get free stuff. In some cases, the original product was so nasty I did not want coupons for two free ones. That was the case where I bought a can of collard greens that contained a large cockroach. Still, if you pay for a product and you really get something nasty, complain. Then add it to your preps. If SHTF and you have nothing else, you may be willing to risk eating a cucaracha. Even sending a suggestion may earn you a coupon for a free product. I told a company that sells crackers and tuna snacks that the crackers crumbled too easily. They send me a coupon for a free package. I did not lie and I did not steal.

Garbage day: I’m not going to go into the finer points of dumpster diving, but the finds possible on garbage day are incredible. I have changed residences 18 times since leaving High School. Many were interstate moves. When your car and U-Haul are packed to the max and there is still more stuff, you put it on the curb. I once had a Saturn so overloaded it could barely make 50 mph on an Interstate. I left a lot of valuable stuff behind that could have really helped some prepper. If you see a big pile of stuff waiting for the garbage truck, most of it probably still works.

I realize that my suggestions may be distasteful to some. It is much more fun to purchase prepper items from Amazon or WalMart. In America, second-hand, discarded and used are bad words. Nevertheless, if SHTF, scrounging skills will become more valuable than shopping on-line with a credit card skills. And if you have some more ideas, I would appreciate hearing them.

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from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag