#self-service gas stations suck

[trekwiz]

No, actually, that's the fastest way to lose an election here. Those who want to pump their gas in NJ are a (very loud) minority. But they consistently lose.

Parts of the country where self-service gas pumping is illegal.

[nemesyaaa]

buffalo 66' au ! old!serial killer!rafe x young!sugardoll!reader (how they met, and their first night together.)

you were red and you liked me 'cause i was blue. but you touched me and suddenly i was a lilac sky.

warnings : lmfaooo this part always killing me but here it is....rafe being 90% of the warning part and the menace he already is, kidnapping, daddy issues, urge of sexualing your own self, slight of stockholm syndrome, dubcon, smut, dark!rafe, violence, mentions of threats, r being a missing girl, age gap, size difference, choking. rafe being mean to the reader. slight of daddy kink. sick attitude. dirty talk. attention whore. just minors DNI. (why it's bigger than my grocery list actually...). please carefully pay attention to the tags !!?

author's note : it's my first time writing a dark fic so don't expect too much 🙏🏿 you can read this without watching buffalo 66.

some girls were the trailer park princess, and others the queen of the gas station.

as the girl of the gas station, you were there all day on the road of these men much older than you, who had and drove pretty vintage cars who were literally bigger than you. those rich daddies surely had more money than your poor father who was always sitting behind the desk of his shop waiting for the night.

your father never gave you any attention, not even a look, he didn't care about what you did on your summer days as long as he never saw you. so you stayed all day at your playground queendom across from the pitiful, filthy motel where you lived. because here at least the men were looking at you.

of course they were looking at you, you always gave them something to look at with your tiny dresses that showed your naked thighs, your tits pressed together in that backless top. you always dressed in that soft and milky blue shades. as the sea and the sky, you were blue.

while their wives found you sick, you could feel their stares every time you leaned down to grab the keys that they forgot to give you each time. you could feel their eyes completely charmed by the way your summer dress rode up above your ass, and your panties stuck out.

fully bent over, you could hear the groans of these old men, the way they forced their hands themselves to not touch you when you wanted nothing more than to see them give in to the young temptation that you were.

you had a power in them and you loved to see them completely crazy.

you worked as a gas pump attendant. in reality, you did it behind your father's back because it allowed you to stay in the company of these men who only had eyes for you.

you always put on a show for them, and it always worked because you were irresistible.

but there was this guy every time, a regular customer, cold and short-spoken who never spoke to you.

he had a beautiful and luxurious car and you always wondered what job he did to drive such an incredible vehicle, and to spoil you so much with all this money.

he never said thank you for your service. after all, you were paid for it. his eyes were blue as you. he could park and glare at you for hours, sitting deep in his seat, a cigarette stuck between his opened lips.

he was so much older than you, so much to the point it was indecent. when you had first seen him, you had melted like sugar.

as you were coming back from the ice cream parlor, your lips sucking that delicious vanilla ice cream, you sat on the edge of the gas station, right in front of his car, your legs completely spread, white cream melting and dripping between your thighs. he rubbed his painful boner through his boxer.

you were sick, you let him look at you with this completely perverted stare while you let chunks of ice fall into your cleavage.

his eyes were all over you, but this time it was different, because this time it was him who was thinking about you while touching himself. this time it was him who was sick about you , him who had all these furious ideas about you. he pumped himself so hard, biting his lips harshly. and you continued your depraved show, while he jerked off, his big cock shaked and leaked in his own hand, his thick and already experimented fingers moved around his length faster and faster, the sweaty and dirty sound of his balls slapping, the squeaking noises of his chair, his arched back making the chair shaking. you thought of the veins of his dick engorged of blood pulsated against his hefty strength. that was enough to make you fully wet.

you wanted nothing more than to make this old man reach for you. but the problem was, you were too young and naive to know how mad he was, and what he really wanted to do with a pretty doll like you.

you stood up when you finished your ice cream, putting your dress back on neatly, and leaned down, leaning your porcelain princess arms over his car window.

you shuddered when he spread his cum on your face without any warning, smeared the remains of vanilla ice cream over your sloppy lips gloss with lick of drool.

he pushed his big thumb against your little mouth, pushed it into an o shape, and you closed her to start licking up the drops of his cum.

but like every time he came here, he never spoke to you. you had just seen the car leave, while you still had the taste of him on your lips. it was rude.

the next day, your father sent you out to do some groceries on a sweltering hot summer day, tired of seeing you around doing nothing. what he didn’t know was that this was probably the last time he saw you. and even shoupe that you had seen earlier in the morning, and who had told you to be careful, something with a killer around.

when you were done with the grocery, you started walking through the empty parking lot.

you thought you were alone, even though there were a few empty cars.

but it was a mistake, a terrible mistake that you were going to regret.

“didn't shoupe tell you to be careful this morning, sweetheart ? because i'm pretty sure, he did. ”

you screamed when the man grabbed you by the waist, pressing your little ragdoll body against his chest much stronger. the stranger quickly covered your mouth, and bruised your pretty lips with violence without any caring, shoved down his fingers between them to the point that you almost choked with your own breath and saliva.

“ you hurt..me…! ” you tried to say with a lot of difficulty, as his firm grip crushed against your breasts.

“ not yet actually, doll. but i promise, i will if you continue to fight. so beware, or i will fucking kill you. not a threat, sweetheart. it's a promise. “ and you knew that even god couldn't save you at this time.

you tried to bite him, but your teeth barely touched his skin. his lips hovered above your ear, you could hear his deep older voice warned you.

" bite me one more time, and i will break you. i love wrestle with you little girl, but i think you will really hate the way i fight. because when daddy fight sugardoll, he kills. and tiny things like you are so easy to wreck. and you dont want to die today, right ? you're too young for that. do you got it ? nod if you got it, yes. smart baby, understand easily that she needs to listen and not fucking run away. ”

his strength was heavy. you had stopped resisting a few minutes ago, even when he put you in his car.

he started driving, with a smirk, he looked in the rearview mirror before telling you.

“ what's the matter, sugardoll ? don't want to put a show for me, anymore ? ”

he had taken you to a shitty old motel down the road, where no one would be able to pick you up here. you knew he was intelligent, you knew it because you understood that every time he came to see you, he tried to learn more about you, but not to know you no, but to know when would be the right time to kidnap you. you knew it because he had stalked you carefully.

he had tried to tie you up while you tried to struggle one last time. but he had grabbed your jaw so violently that you felt your face shiver in his hands. “one more move, and i’ll show you how dolls are really treated, how i have no fucking bother to kill a tiny thing like you. ”

“i’m not going to run away.”

"i know.” he shushed you with a sick evil smirk. “ but it's not because you don't want to, sugardoll .but more because you can't.” he said, while releasing your jaw.

“ that's the small but important difference. i kidnapped you. do you even know what it means ? "

you started to cry, tears running down your cheeks.

“ you want a real reason to cry? fine. i can do that for you. i kidnapped you but you want to know the big part of all this? is that no one will come for you. your father doesn't love you , and that's why you work in this stupid gas station. you love the attention of these men so bad that you feel obliged to sexualize yourself to feel desired but me, i wanted you the first time i saw you. i let you do it, i let you play with them, but now it's all over. since i own you, this game is fucking over. ”

“shoupe will come after me ! ”

“but maybe you won’t be around to see it anymore.” he looked at you, and shushed your tears, while staring in your wet eyes. “ yes, i really like when you give me those tears, cry to me, little girl i'm the only men that really got you. ”

you glared at him as if he had fallen from the sky.

“ but now you have to be careful, don’t get on my nerves. i know it's hard for you, but don't do stupid things. ”

he placed your hand on his lower back, where you had felt the metallic coldness of the gun. and you shivered.

"yes, you got it. don't ever get on my nerves.”

“ how can i get on your nerves ? you don't really seems like a bad guy. more like a sweet guy ? ”

“ i'm not. and i'm not trying to be so watch your mouth. “

“ but i really think you are. can i hug you ? ”

“ try it, doll, literally try it. just try to touch me, i dare you. and i bet you will never tell me i'm the sweetest guy again. ”

“ can you at least bathe me ? ” you asked seriously.

“ jesus, do you think i'm your slave or whatever ? do you forget which position you are in ? in the captive one. so do not ask me those stupid things again. and don't try, no, never try to run away because, i can promise you that when i will find you, it will not be a pleasant time for you. and not even a little, but to the point, you will ask me to kill you. and i will be in a mood to accept your request ? yes, me. ”

you nodded as the kind and little girl you are who cannot argue against this tall man. he released your small face, and you were bathing alone. while you were taking your bath, alone in the tub, you heard rafe on the phone without being able to understand what he was saying but after that call, he left the room.

you had decided to buy some food with the little money you had at the food and drink vending machine.

with a happy smile, you went back up, hoping to please him. but you had found him on the chair in front of the TV.

“look, what…”

“i think you’re really nice. but not at your own good, sugar. ”

“ i just wan…”

“ get on the bed, now. ”

he couldn't help but relaxing when he saw how your blue dress was so tiny, already showing your soaked underwear.

" no whining. " he said as he shoved himself deeply in your tight abused cunt, your ragdoll body pressed down in the mattress, his thick stronger arms hugged your small waist, while thrusting harder and harder, your walls clenched around his fat cock. you can felt the size growing bigger in your wettering pussy, as he turned you into a real crybaby, tears flowing down your cheeks. you were caged by his beefy and muscular body on the bed, gasped on the edge. “ you wanted to act like a big girl ? then take it like a big girl. no fucking whining, i'm just giving you what you want. ”

he was literally buried inside you, snapping your hips, moving in and out. the atmosphere was hot, you felt the heat, there were trails of saliva around your mouth. “stop whining babydoll, daddy is not at his worse actually. and you don't want to see this happen.” you wanted to hate him but it was like you appreciated him being so mean to you, your pussy was dripping, your fluids drenching him, your sticky walls surrounded his girth. " yes, that's it. pull up some juices for daddy, make it easier for him to destroy you. "

everytime you runned away from him, he lifted your head with a grunt, and with a wild thrust inside of you, making you drip even more as his glistening tip reached your spot, the dirty and wetness sound of his moves echoed in the room, your body trapped against his taller one.

with a hand on your throat, you were arched to the point where he could see your wetted eyes rolled up. "try to run away again, and you will have the fucking pleasure to be a momma, as well as a missing girl. i'm not asking you to take my cock better.” he said with a threat. “ no, i'm telling you to do it as your fucking job. ”

all teary, you could bet that rafe didn't know how big he was for telling you this. you were trying your best actually. he was rutting in you, holding your tiny size with one big hand, getting so feral everytime he saw your small body twitching when he pushed himself further. your moans were loud, as your squirted more than one time on him, your dripping walls clamped his hard cock. even when your third orgasm flowed against your bulging pussy, creating a mess at the surface, he continued.

" you know sugardoll, you better work faster for my cum, because i will only stop when i will see how creampie your pussy is for my dick.”

he stuffed your puffy messy cunt, while your pumped his fingers who slidded deep down in your throat, your warm and bullied tongue fighting to not dropped them.

you slobbed more with the overstimulation. you felt like this man was insatiable. rafe loved to see you, his sugardoll in pain, taking so much for him.

when he finally stopped teasing you, and fighting himself to not cum, and clearly toying you, he exploded, making you cried out. all your body was filled with spasms.

you expected something from rafe when he pulled out, a little soft spot, or at least, just one look but he just went to the bathroom. alone.

you expected him to be sweet for you, like the sugar you were for him. and you knew, that you will work for this later.

when he came back, you looked at him, always attracted by his charisma, the way he made you felt so tiny by his big size, the way he was old enough to make you feel like a little girl, just the way his raised voice made you feel so small.

“ can i sleep with you ? ”

“ whatever. just don't touch me. ”

“ you're not gonna be my big spoon ? “

“ what the fuck is this ? i'm not gonna be your spoon. jesus, can you just sleep and not ask for any stupid things that you think i will do because you're already so obsessed with me ? and give me your hands. ”

he tied them up on the bed with your little blue ribbon.

“ just in case you think you can escape me. ”

“ i can't sleep like that ! ”

“ i fear it's not my fucking problem, sugardoll.”

“ fine. i will talk and talk all night. ”

“ i can fuck you all the night too. but one of us will not survive this. so stop being so damn annoying. ”

“ what if i want to pee in the middle of the night ? ”

“ you're strong enough to hold it. and you fucking better be strong enough to hold it. ”

“ why are you so mean to me ? why you kidnapped me ? ”

“ sugardoll, listen to me. look at me, yes. eyes on daddy right now. i swear, and you need to listen carefully because i will tell you once, just once, so your dumby brain need to pay attention, if you're talking another time, even if i see your lips moving, just a twitch, i will put my dick right in your mouth, making you suck it for without a break until the sun rises again. and i can promise you that after, you will never talk to me because you will never be able to open that mouth again. do you got it ? nod your head if you got it, doll.”

and you nodded.

as a doll, you were conditionned to listen to your owner, even if he was so mean to you. but you were as soft as sugar, always melted around, already thinking he was the best guy around.

“ sweet dreams, sugardoll. ”

i promise one day i will write something very good, just give me a chance. i think the only sweet thing in this work, it's rafe calling r " sugardoll ", he's so mean please 😭😭 i think i make him a little too dark to the point, i'm questionning about how he can be sweet to the reader now ????? but i guess, it's part of the game. tysm @bunnyrafe and @fae-of-prey me a lot !

[themoontaxi]

hellooo, i love your café so much i just couldn’t stay away ☺️

🍷cyma - detailed moments where time/life doesn’t feel real (i.e. leaving the cinema; going outside at night while it’s snowing and hearing absolutely nothing while there’s a pinkish-orange hue to the sky, visiting the gas station at 1 am, etc) thought that would be a little different for ya ;)

🍷cyma - as studio ghibli movies if you watch them, if not, then just animated movies

🫐 category: interests/hobbies

take your time with my order and feel no pressure to serve little ole me. you have the right to refuse service after all 😌

tiana!! i finally did it! those were so original, i loved wracking my brain! beware of the madness under the cut <33

🍷 - cyma detailed moments where time/life doesn’t feel real:

you as deep talks that come at such random moments so neither you or your interlocutor are prepared but the convo is so good you end up putting your whole schedule on hold and never reget it even if you stood in the middle of a doorway for two hours and caught a cold from it

@ropoto as waking up in the morning having to fact check if any of the weird stuff you dreamed actually happened, realizing it didn’t and then being half glad half disappointed about it and having to continue with your day as if your existence wasn’t just turned upside down by your weirdly imaginative subconscious

@emforevermore as ascending into orbit thanks to a particularly otherworldly tune that makes you see stars and breathe in fairy dust while your body is lying motionless in bed not being able to cope with anything and if someone would speak to you you’d probably not notice

@sadgirlml as having just finishing a book that sucked you so far into another world that you feel disoriented for the rest of the day and try to decide if you wanna keep it to yourself and treasure it quietly or tell the whole world about it cause you’re so glad to have felt these emotions that you feel like others should too

@temilyrights as night walks alone in the city enjoying the peace and quiet and discovering how the streets look when only illuminated by lamps and moonlight while also always having to watch your back and thinking that every little sound is a bad omen

@originalvampireslut as driving at a deserted highway alone at night being able to finally forget just how many people there are on this fucking planet and using this opportunity to blast music on full volume and maybe even scream out all the pent up frustration

@ssabelova as days spent at the beach that simultaneously feel like an hour and like a whole lifetime spent watching people of every generation interact and enjoy their lives for once while the waves keep you grounded rhythmically crashing onto the shore and being sucked back into the ocean

🍷 - cyma studio ghibli movies:

i gave y’all some thoughts i had on them and how i feel they relate to you, then a letterboxd review i loved at the end that encapsulates the movie well and added some scenes to give you a general aesthetic in case you’re not familiar with the movies :)

you as the tale of the princess kaguya. the divine one. protagonist is from the moon. gets many marriage proposals but would rather stay alone with her garden. has a kind childhood friend who wants to run away with her. very cunning, sometimes a bit cold but feels deeply. review

@originalvampireslut as castle in the sky. the punk one. protagonist is an abducted princess. gets chased by pirates but later befriends them. has a cool friend who’d literally die for her and follow her anywhere. damn fearless, has trust issues but not regarding her own instincts. review

@ropoto as the wind rises. the sober one. protagonist is a kind workaholic. gets send to another country but returns for their loved one. has a talented partner who loves them unconditionally. determined, usually stoic but with a soft heart. review

@sadgirlml as my neighbor totoro. the tender one. protagonist is excited by everything. gets told to not be selfish but is a misunderstood selfless sunshine. has nice neighbors who’ll always help her out. busy bee, cutie pie and very very soft. review

@temilyrights as spirited away. the weird one. protagonist is on an acid trip. gets forced into labour but really only has to work for a day. has a friend who’s a dragon but also a river they once fell in as a child. open-minded, very shy but grows more confident in the process. review

@emforevermore as kiki’s delivery service. the sanguine one. protagonist is a witch. gets stranded in an unknown city but makes friends right away. has a lil black pessimistic cat who balances out her personality perfectly. very eager to learn, kind and generous. review

@ tiana my guess is that princess mononoke is your favorite so i refrained from assigning that to anyone hehe. i’ve only watched 11 ghibli movies as of now so this is not conclusive but i do feel like they fit quite well. let me know your thoughts!

🫐 - a bingo witht the category interests/hobbies:

ahhh i finally did it! thanks for sending something in, it was a blast! the movies were so good ugh thanks for making me appreciate them again or for the first time <33

[e-102]

all the gas stations in oregon now are self service or a choice between self service or not (transitioning into self serve only) which is meh whatever but also 🤕 all those attendants are gonna lose their jobs man that sucks so bad

[crys-cornflakez]

hiii i would like to hear about these ocs you speak of… if you don’t mind!

Omg omg omg okay someone actually asking about them makes me so legitimately happy 😭😭💕 thank you

For context:

Spidernote was a fanfiction I wrote in middle school about live action light turner, Peter Parker, and regular light yagami and Zac Efron going to high school together. I’m not sure why or how it started. It was supposed to be this joke or prank or smth on my friend but idk how???? Lmao. But I grew too starched to the characters and they became near unrecognizable from any source material and I’ve been rotating them in my head for years like a little eternal microwave plate.

(I apologize in advance. Some of this will be told through screenshots because last time I tried to copy and paste my Tumblr crashed 💀)

Leon and Lottie

This relationship is a bit iffy but I believe I still did alright haha.

They look very similar and they’re both very extroverted people.

But I also enjoy the alliteration here, both focus on L.

Saying Lo and Lee together brings to mind the ideas of Nabokov’s Lolita (and his use of ‘master hand’ throughout is something I’d want to mimic, to make the artist intrinsic to the work) (sorry im just ramblinfnffdhdh)

Oh! Their sounds are also mirrors here as well!!! Leon (eee-oh) and Lottie (oh-eee) (although hers is more of an ah/aw)

The main focus though is on the double L, they’re connected. They’re similar.

(Also Charlotte has French origins and Le is the in French so)

Leon and Agnus

Agnus may seem like the odd one out of the bunch here and she very much is. She’s been separated from reality/the rest of the world on and off again the past few years and is very different from others.

But my favorite thing here is this:

Leon means Lion but Agnus means Lamb. Like ISNT THAT SO COOL!!!!!!! I could go into their dynamic and how that relates but aghheheh

Agnus and Lo

Charlotte is actually a diminutive of Charles and means "free man" and "petite"

The focus here is on petite. Lottie is obsessed with her self presentation and her execution of femininity. She feels inadequate as a woman. Agnus is the opposite and has lost her ability to truly care about anything. The idea of being little/small is something that drives Lo a lot in her search to be the perfect woman. Agnus represents pureness and chastity (lamb symbolism as well as name meaning). Anyways i could write a lot here about the two views and performances on/of feminity and actually how el and Leon execute masculinity differently and how that’s a connecting point between them and aghhahhh)

(Info abt Elliot I wrote to myself in the iOS notes app when I was insane:)

ELLIOT RAMBLINGZ

elliot did not grow up in a stable environment. his parents weren't exactly poor but they aren't like rich. he lives with his mom and her brother so his uncle but they weren't super stabel because his father died in military service when he was young. he grew up in a not great neighborhood. part of the military service is like elliot's grandparents were immigrants from china i still have to flesh out stuff. it was about the idea he had to earn his place in the united states...anywayz he has like really messed up views on masculinity because his father died "bravely" in combat and his mother and uncle had really high expectations and he just never was that good at school and his uncle never liked that he was so weak and frail. he didn't have the best constitution. as a kid he'd get sick a lot and not interract with others. he felt like he had to fend for himself a lot growing up and constantly worried about being part of other's lives but could not find stability. he learned to shut himself up. to suck things up. one very kdfjdlskfjsdf okay sorry like words cant rn. there was an extremely formative experience he had when he was younger of going into a convenience store gas station place and was upset and anyways a gunman bust in and he was held up (along with everyone else in the store) and he froze up, he started to cry and he gave his money to the guy ebcause he was so scared. and his uncle was not happy and bad stuff happened sorry this makes me sound so dumb and lame im like "erm i have such ocol charactersz" but theyerelrkelkh

anyeays ermm he was physically abused and traumatized but felt so insecure about not being brave like those around him, not protecting himself. his whole life he was called not a real man, he wasn't brave enough or strong enough. he's seen people hurt people he liked, people he had once liked hurt him. the earth hurt too much. he is like one of those cynical edgy teenage boys who's not exactly an incel but like you know the vobeim talking about? he hates himself. he feels like hes not enough and is constantly suffering under this toxic idea of masculinity and projecting an image of strength despite being scared. but he projects all of this insecurity outward. he can't trust people. he sees any kindness as faking he sees niceness as all for a manipulative reason and he projects it as like violence sometiems like he genuinely ahas thought about killing people but is too much of a "coward" to actually do it. He’s not a great person but he’s caught in this constant spiral.

erm but anywayz its going to utilize a lot of the techniques established by nabokov in lolita and marquez in 100 yrs of solitude. these are the characters, but its kind of like a story about the individual who would write this. interlaced throughout is the idea of writing, the impossibility of what's written. these are characters in a story (not going completely into brecht's Verfremdungseffekt but definitely pulling attention into how the ideas and temperments of an individual influence the work.) how the ideas of story is magic, how storytellers take part in stories and how audiences take part of them. this is actually very similar to some of the topics addressed by ryukishi in the no naku koro ni (wtc) series especially in umineko. and spidernotes like ties into this idea of identity in story...which retroactively its just...really cool....spider (weaving webs, creation, the tangled and complex nature of the self) and notes (stories, ideas, writing) the transfixing of the soul into the written form...like. like all of the characters have a piece of me (me as in the personnae of an author, as in the narrator in a sense, even if me isn't the narrator) i as a creator and fundamentally tied to this. this may seem in contradiction to barthes "le mort d'author" (the death of the author) and his post-structuralist ideas to connect my work so intrinsically with my life, but i disagree. i find lolita, for example, to be an extremely post-modernist work. they are ideas that can be interpreted beyond their logical symbols. the story is not without this ability for interpretation, like that,, it's about inrerpretation and kdjfkdjfh the mutability of peoprkerek. though i do need to look bsck on the ideas of literary theory as posited by the framework fathers of modernism,,cannot remember his name. i believe it was richard. in a sense i wonder if brecht would think in a more modernist perspective rather than postmodernist because the initial language of symbols (as that is what modernims is based on) would be like bsed on the dichotomy of theatre vs life. like the idea of modernism is very interesting, especially, liek the dichotomiy sorry OFF TOPIC OF MY OWN RANT.

Writing them out makes my ideas seem very shallow lmaoo 😭😭😭

But anywhozzley, literally every part of this stuff pretty much has a thematic or character reason for existence. Like their appearances aren’t arbitrary and each choice is deliberate and. I just have thought about them too much and literally any questions about them or this concept or what the story is about I shall cherish forever. So feel free to analyze or critique or comment or ask questions because this made me so happy to have an excuse to talk about them but also obviously you don’t have to. Thank you 😭😭😭😭

(Agnes and Leon. They never have the right hair texture for them it’s so sad. Their hair is more curly😔)

[technicallyoneofakind]

Yeah, it sucks. Also, I'm aware this isn't the point, but I want to remind people that Firefox for android allows you to use the Ublock Origin extension. If you're looking for a way to block ads on YouTube. You have to use Firefox and not the YouTube app but eh. I'm of the opinion that not everything HAS to be an app when browsers are ubiquitous and often use the most up-to-date configuration ANYWAY. As for every app on the phone and computer and so on?

I hate it here.

I do not feel like buying your product because you shove it onto every program on my personal devices.

I do not feel like buying your product because you put it everywhere including the self service screens at the gas station

STOP SHOVING ADS EVERYWHERE IN MY FRICKING LIFE!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT HAS THE INVERSE EFFECT ON THE PEOPLE YOU'RE MARKETING TO!!!!

Do we seriously have to skip both ads on YouTube now. Like we press skip on the first then we have to wait five more seconds to press skip on the second. Are you actually fucking kidding me

[easeun]

Explore the right-hand man in the industrial field-the oil suction gun

In the rapidly developing industrial field, efficient, safe and environmentally friendly production operations are the goals pursued by every enterprise. In this context, the oil suction gun, as a tool designed for liquid transfer, plays an indispensable role in mechanical maintenance, oil management, environmental protection cleaning and other aspects with its unique advantages. This article will explore the working principle, application field, advantages and characteristics and future development trend of the oil suction gun in depth.

Working principle of the oil suction gun The oil suction gun, as the name suggests, is a tool that absorbs and transfers oil Heavy Duty Pistol Grip Grease Gun or other non-corrosive liquids through a specific mechanism. It usually consists of a pump body, an oil suction pipe, a handle, a valve and other components. When working, the user drives the pump body manually or electrically to generate negative pressure, so that the air in the oil suction pipe is discharged to form a vacuum state. Subsequently, the oil suction pipe extends into the liquid to be transferred, and the difference between the atmospheric pressure and the negative pressure in the pump body is used to suck the liquid into the pump body, and the flow direction is controlled by the valve, and finally the liquid transfer process is completed.

Wide application fields Mechanical maintenance: In scenes such as automobile repair and engineering machinery maintenance, oil suction guns are often used to replace engine oil, gear oil and other operations, which greatly improves work efficiency and reduces oil waste. Oil management: In gas stations, oil depots and other places, oil suction guns are important tools for oil packaging and transfer, ensuring the safety and cleanliness of oil during storage and transportation. Environmental cleaning: When dealing with environmental protection tasks such as oil spills and oil pollution cleaning, oil suction guns can quickly absorb and transfer leaked oil pollution, reduce environmental pollution, and protect the ecological environment. Chemical production: In the chemical industry, oil suction guns are also widely used for precise measurement and transfer of non-corrosive liquids to ensure the stability and safety of the production process.

Advantages and characteristics Efficient and convenient: The oil suction gun is easy to operate and transfers liquid quickly, which greatly improves work efficiency. Safe and environmentally friendly: Through precise control, oil waste and environmental pollution are reduced, which meets the requirements of modern industry for green production. Durable and reliable: Made of high-quality materials, it has a compact structure, wear resistance and long service life. Versatility: It can be equipped with different specifications of oil suction pipes and valves according to different needs to meet various liquid transfer needs.

Future development trend With the continuous deepening of industrial automation and the increasing awareness of environmental protection, the oil suction gun industry is moving towards a more intelligent and environmentally friendly direction. In the future, we are expected to see more oil suction gun products with integrated sensors and intelligent control systems to achieve accurate monitoring and automatic adjustment of the liquid transfer process. At the same time, the application of environmentally friendly materials will further reduce the carbon footprint of oil suction guns during production and use, and contribute to sustainable development.

In short, as a powerful assistant in the industrial field, the importance of oil suction guns is self-evident. With the continuous advancement of technology and the continuous expansion of the market, we have reason to believe that oil suction guns will play a greater role in more fields and contribute more to the efficiency, safety and environmental protection of industrial production.

[platypanthewriter]

Spring Break (and Pinky Swears)

For the Harringrove April prompt month!  Post S2 fixit of sorts, getting together

It took some doing, after everything—after Tommy, after Billy—to be King Steve again, but Steve did it.  He threw the parties, he invited the hottest girls he’d dated—they still had a soft spot for him, sometimes, and he knew which ones to ask—and after a couple of weeks, Tommy was the one everybody ignored in class, and Billy was the one popping up at lockers, asking girls about their spring break plans, and getting ignored.  

Steve enjoyed it.  It was great walking into a party and knowing the shithead who’d beat his ass wasn’t there, or seeing Tommy try again and again to talk to Carol, while she said things like “I swear there’s a huge fly in here, I keep hearing this noise.”

Coming up on spring break, though, Billy was everywhere.  He was leaning against lockers that got slammed in his face, and once Steve walked down the hall and through an argument he was having with a girl where she said “I said maybe, not yes—and I decided no.”

“At least a night,” Billy said, through clenched teeth.  “You said I could stay at least—”

She smiled over at Steve.  “Go to hell,” she said to Billy, and Steve tensed, but the bell rang right then, and the hall flooded with people.  

Steve even saw Tommy shut him down, which was just—funny.  Tommy told Billy to get the hell away from his bicycle, since Steve wasn’t driving him everywhere anymore.  

“I’ve got a car, come on,” Billy hissed.  “I can do taxi service, just lemme—”

“Screw you,” Tommy hissed, shoulder-checking him before squeaking away on his bicycle.  Billy watched him go, then turned on his heel and saw Steve. 

Steve tensed for impact—he wasn’t gonna treat Billy Hargrove like a reasonable person the next time, he’d sworn to himself, he was gonna belt him with the first heavy object that came to hand the second he looked aggressive—but Billy lowered his head, clenching his fists, and stalked quickly away.  

Billy hit Carol up next—it wasn’t that Steve was following him around, he just kept a wary eye out for Billy’s denim-covered self out of the corner of his eye—and he seemed less willing to be put off, carrying her stuff to classes, and whispering to her in the halls.  She just walked away, leaving her locker open and Billy with an armload of her books, and he yelled “Bitch!” so loud the whole hallway went quiet.  

Billy was quiet too, the last few days until spring break, slouched in his seat and staring blearily past the teacher, and through the chalkboard.  He’d tried to talk to Tina, she told Steve, like Steve would be happy she’d walked away—and he was, kind of, glad she was loyal—but he was starting to actually feel weird watching Tommy standing alone even in gym class, or everybody slamming him too hard on the court, when he had the ball even though nobody would pass to him, either.

 After school got out on the last day before their ten-day break, Steve went to a party at Tina’s.  He actually only stayed until a little after midnight—made out with a few people—before Carol and Tommy got into a screaming fight and he decided to leave.  He was driving home when he saw Billy’s car parked on the side of the road.  

Steve eased off and pulled up behind it, his hands drumming the steering wheel.  It just seemed...weird, was all, Billy just...sitting out here, after midnight, on the first night of spring break.  Steve took a deep breath, and got out of the car.  He gave Billy’s car a wide berth, at first, but in the light of his headlights, he could see Billy’s legs folded against the passenger side door, and when he leaned closer, Billy lying on his back across the seats, tipping back a bottle Steve recognized from the cheap liquor shelf at the gas station.  

He knocked on the window, and Billy scrambled up and away, flattening himself against the passenger-side door.  He stared, then squinted, wiping his eyes, then started laughing, curling in on himself and reaching down to roll the window down.  

“What the hell, Harrington,” he said hoarsely, and Steve walked around to hear him, keeping warily out of reach.  “The fuck do you want,” Billy muttered, taking another swig.

Steve bit his lips, his hands shaking with the memory of the floor against his back, Billy’s fists against his face—the lizard-brain part of him wanted to grab the bottle and hit Billy with it, while they were alone, for once—but Billy had tears dripping down his cheeks freely, and he looked like a cornered animal, sitting there with his face turned a little away and his whole body tense.  “...is something wrong with your car?” Steve tried, grimacing, and Billy laughed.

“Fuck off,” he said, slurred.

“Um,” said Steve.  “You, uh, you shouldn’t...drive like that, right, do—d’you need me to call your house and have your dad pick you—”

“Fuck off, Harrington!” Billy yelled, fumbling to roll the window back up, and cranking the wrong way, so it rolled down.  Steve watched him struggle to turn it the other way, half falling off his seat.  The bottle fell off his lap onto the floor of his car, and Billy stopped, burying his head in his arms and taking shuddery breaths that sounded like he was crying.

“...Hargrove,” Steve said, grimacing, and Billy flinched.

“Lemme the fuck alone,” he whispered, hoarsely, and through what sounded like a lot of tears and snot.

“Uhh,” Steve said, then rubbed his face, biting back a groan.  “...shit.  Just—lemme take you home, okay.”

“No,” Billy said, and when Steve sighed and opened the door, he yelled it, scrambling back against the driver’s side door.  When Steve leaned in to argue with him, though, he went still and stiff, mumbling “...no, no, no—” and half-fell out the driver’s side door, stumbling out into the road.  

Steve ran around to yank him out of the road—not that anybody much was out driving so late on a Wednesday, but just their luck, somebody’d come around the corner and splatter Billy Hargrove all over Steve and his car.  He shoved Billy back against the Camaro, and Billy didn’t resist, he just grabbed Steve’s hands, breathing shakily.  His eyes were closed, his face tense and turned away like he was expecting a blow.

“...shit,” Steve whispered, and Billy laughed, his jaw working, but he didn’t open his eyes.  “Fuck,” Steve added, leaning to see whether there was anything—he stood back up.  “Grab your bag,” he told Billy, who nodded, his mouth quirked, but more tears spilled out of his eyes.  

“You—you can come back to my house,” Steve told him, grimacing.

 The ride was tense and quiet, with Billy staring at him the whole time like an expressionless creep.  When they got there, Steve waved at the couch, and Billy gave him a wide berth walking over to it.  He threw himself down on it with a creak of springs and a long sigh, and Steve remembered the sleeping bags in the garage, and went to find one.  He returned to find Billy snoring with his shoes still on, and just threw the sleeping bag over him.

The next morning he’d almost forgotten he’d picked up Billy Hargrove, drunk asshole extraordinaire, when all of a sudden his shower door opened, and Billy came in, naked, shoved Steve against the wall, and dropped to his knees.  He looked half-asleep.  He also ignored Steve’s bewildered gibberish, grabbed him by the hips, and put his whole mouth over Steve’s dick, sucking him down like a fucking porn star as Steve yelped and smacked his head.  

It was so good, though, his whole goddamn cock down Billy’s throat like the guy’d never heard of a gag reflex, and Steve couldn’t help relaxing into it, letting himself thrust a little, since Billy was holding his hips where he wanted them.  He swore nonsensically as he came, and Billy pulled off, licking his lips, but he didn’t look up.  Steve hadn’t ever thought of Billy Hargrove as someone with no expressions, but Steve didn’t know how to read Billy’s face as he left.  

When Steve staggered into the kitchen still loopy from a great morning wakeup call, Billy was back on the couch, wrapped entirely in the sleeping bag like a cocoon.  He didn’t emerge until hours later, when Steve was unwrapping a TV dinner, but then he walked in and grabbed him by the fly again.  

“What the hell are you—” Steve started, but Billy kissed him, all heat and mustache, yanking at Steve’s jeans until his cock was out again, and then dropped—again—and sucked him down.  “What the fffff—” Steve tried, grunting at the hot, wet suction.

Billy pulled off.  “Tell me I can stay for a couple days,” he said, his eyes intent.  “I’ll stay out of the way.”

“What,” Steve whispered, and Billy licked up the vein on the underside of his dick, tonguing the slit until Steve’s head felt like it was full of fireworks.  “...jesus,” he moaned.

“Just one night,” Billy hissed, his fingers bruisingly tight against Steve’s hips.  “One more night, don’t throw me out yet, Harrington—give me just—”

“Yes, yeah, fuck,” Steve gasped.  “You can stay, you can stay here.  I’m not throwing you out—”

Billy sighed shakily against his thigh.  “I’ll make it worth your while—”

“Jesus,” Steve breathed.  His cock was drooling pre-cum, but he squirmed out of Billy’s grip, watching his jaw work.  Steve half-stuffed himself back in his briefs.  “You—you don’t have to suck me off, Hargrove, christ.”

“...like you aren’t into it,” Billy snarled back, clenching his fists as he rose.  “A mouth’s a mouth, Harrington—”

“Y-yeah,” Steve panted, unable to stop looking at Billy’s lips, red where he’d mouthed over Steve’s stubble.  “But—but you can just—stay.  How—all break?”

Billy went still again, glancing up at Steve’s face and back to his dick.  “...all break?” he repeated, softly.

“You need to stay the whole spring break?” Steve asked again, watching Billy’s face as he frowned, and shook his head warily, like he was thinking to himself.  

“...the hell do you mean, stay the whole break,” Billy growled, vaguely at the counter next to Steve, clenching and unclenching his hands and then frowning around like it might be a trick.  “You—your parent’s’ll throw my ass out.  Don’t fuck with me, Harrington—”

“You can stay the whole break,” Steve told him, backing away a little as Billy took a step towards him.  “It’s fine, I swear.”

“You pinky-promise?” Billy asked, sneering at the floor, but his breaths were getting shaky again, the way they had in the car.  

“Yeah, I do, I fucking pinky-swear,” Steve said, feeling tired, and Billy looked up, finally, swallowing hard.  He stuck his hand out in the air so fast Steve thought he was getting punched somehow, for a second, from too far away, but then he realized Billy had his pinky out, his jaw set and his eyes shiny.  What the hell, Steve thought, bewildered and a little annoyed, but he stuck his pinky out and twined it around Billy’s.  

Billy pressed their thumbs together grimly.

“...d’you want a TV dinner?” Steve asked, to break the weird tension, zipping up his jeans, because Billy’s weirdly aggressive crying wasn’t sexy at all.  The silence stretched, and finally Steve turned to see Billy glaring at him, his arms crossed.  “I’m gonna guess that’s a no,” Steve sighed.

“...I’ve got some money,” Billy said.  “Not enough for a motel, but.  I can pay you for food.”

“What,” Steve bit out, casting a bewildered glower over his shoulder.  “Pick out a TV fucking dinner, man, you don’t need to pay me.”

“...suck you off again after lunch,” Billy offered, and Steve made a face.

“Is that how you get things?  Shit, man, I don’t know if I want that mouth on my dick.”

Billy swivelled in place and stalked out of the kitchen.  “Gonna get my car,” he growled back, slamming the door.  Steve sat staring after him and chewing salisbury steak, but when he heard the Camaro pull up, he stuck another one in the microwave.  When Billy came back in, Steve handed him the tray and a fork, and Billy stopped to stare at it for a long moment.  He reached for it slowly, like Steve might yank it away, and when Billy had both hands on it securely, he stepped closer, weirdly intent, and kissed Steve again, right on the mouth.  

Steve hadn’t been expecting that at all, so he drew a breath in, and Billy turned his head to kiss him deeper.  He was a good kisser, Steve thought, blankly.  He had no idea what to make of how gentle Billy’s lips were, like he was hoping Steve wouldn’t notice, somehow. 

Billy didn’t even put the TV dinner down, so he had to lean around it.  Up close to Steve’s bewildered eyes, his lashes were long and kinda wet, like maybe he’d cried some more, and Steve reached out and just touched his shoulder, carefully.  Billy flinched, going still, but then opened his eyes for a second, panting as he narrowed his eyes at Steve’s face, before setting the TV dinner aside on the counter, and leaning in again.

“Let me,” he whispered, licking his lips, and Steve echoed the motion, not sure whether Billy was still trying to pay for his damn TV dinner—but he made a soft noise in his throat as Steve licked his lips, so Steve leaned in too.

“Yeah, okay,” he whispered back, and Billy kissed him again, his hands shaking as they brushed over Steve’s shoulders and jaw, his breath already uneven.  

His kisses were soft and open-mouthed, and he tasted salty.  When he pulled back, he just stood there for a long second, his eyes shut tight, his lips bit together.  “...thanks,” he gritted out, and his eyes spilled over again, dripping off his chin.  “Fuck,” he whispered, rubbing his sleeve across his face.

“...anytime,” Steve whispered back, a  little shell shocked.  

Billy laughed wetly, grabbing his TV dinner, and stood over the sink to eat it, but when Steve went in and turned on the TV, he came out and hovered.  

“Sit down,” Steve growled, and Billy did, inching closer from the middle of the couch.

“I could blow you again,” he whispered, smirking between Steve and the screen, his knuckles clenched white on the couch, and Steve thought about it—about Nancy, who wasn’t coming back, and Billy, who hadn’t made an aggressive move since Max had faced him down, and was sitting next to him, with shiny, red-rimmed eyes. 

The kisses had felt good, and Steve leaned in for more.

The other Harringrove April prompts I’ve done

[sailorsilverladybug]

Now that it's all over, I wanted to let you in on the past couple of weeks of my life. It's been rather stressful and hectic, and some of it rather frightening, so please bear with me. I doubt this is a surprise to any of you, but we are living in the middle of a pandemic.

Unfortunately, it is not under control. Not even close. And while I won't go into politics in this venue, I will say that I am both angry with how this has been handled in my country, and afraid of what the future will bring.

So, here goes. Last week my sister-in-law convinced me to go with her into one of the nearby cities to shop and go to a local casino (which practices social distancing and refuses entry to anyone not wearing a mask). We had been out before, and I needed things for the house, so I went. And I had a blast. We had a lot of fun and just got to hang out and spend time doing girl things.

But this past Friday, the 14th, around mid-morning, I started feeling ill. I had a headache that was nothing like my migraines or a stress headache. It centered just behind my eyes. I started to have a runny nose and felt strangely out of touch with my surroundings. Worse, I started having trouble breathing. I told my husband, who called his work and warned them he might be infected. Then we started calling the local hospital to find out about testing.

We registered to get tested. The woman who registered us said there would be a sign on the side of the primary care physician's office that we should call when we got there Monday. Because we live in a tiny rural town, the hospital only does testing between 9:00 and 12:30, Monday through Friday.

We had to wait until Monday to get tested. An entire weekend, wondering if I was going to get sicker and sicker. With my pre-existing conditions I was sure if I had Covid-19, it would be a death sentence.

Added on top of that, my husband totally lost it when I tried to talk to him about my wishes if something happened to me. He absolutely refused to listen and for a moment I thought he was going to throw himself on the ground and throw a real fit like our son did once when he was small. So, I started putting everything in order, just in case. I spent most of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday putting together my own memorial service, just in case. I made written notes to doctors and made sure our life insurance was all set.

All of this took an even bigger toll on me than the continued headache and the congestion. Then, probably because of stress, I started feeling sick to my stomach. It wasn't pleasant. The stress got so overwhelming, and nothing wanted to go right, and I was just ready to tear my hair out and run down the street screaming. That would have been a rather embarrassing arrest, so I'm glad I had some self-control.

While we were waiting for the testing to start, I worked for several hours to put together a back-tracing list that had everywhere I had been for the last three weeks, where my husband had been, and even the places I knew my sister-in-law had gone. Then, on Monday morning, at just before eight, Steve and I left to go and get tested. Since we were afraid of exposing anyone else, we walked (and I walked up a very big hill almost completely without help!)

By this point, I firmly believed I didn't have Covid-19, but I wasn't about to take chances with anyone else's health and safety. So we got to the hospital, saw the sign on the side of the primary care physician's building, and made the call that we were there... except, we hadn't found the right sign. The one we were reading was the one ON the side of the building. Not AT the side of the building. So, after my husband discovered our mistake (forty minutes on hold later), we called the second number and waited for a response.

Now, I'll be honest here... by this time, I was hot, tired, afraid, and just plain mad. I held it together, but I'm pretty sure my diatribe on anyone refusing to wear masks was heard ten miles away. By the end of my rant, both the others waiting in their cars to be tested had rolled up their windows (it went on for a REALLY long time).

Then a nice gentleman came out. I turned to my husband in a panic and made him promise he wouldn't let me bite the poor guy (which is a tendency I have when I am in extreme pain and a doctor gets too close). He walked us through what would happen and I asked if he would let my husband hold my head, partly to avoid biting him, and partly because Steve just makes me feel better. The man agreed, Steve leaned my head against his chest, and I sat on my walker and waited with my eyes closed for the torture to begin.

I'll be honest, while it totally sucked, it wasn't quite as bad as I had made it in my head. It felt like he was trying to tickle my brain, and I think I begged him to stop and said "oh S***" A LOT, but in spite of the discomfort, I survived it. Watching Steve go through it a minute later was almost worse, because I knew how much it sucked. He had his hands fisted and was shaking the whole time. He was stoic about it, but afterwards, when I made the quip about tickling the brain, he said "more like drilling," and just shook his head.

The gentleman we had been speaking to (I call him a gentleman because he was incredibly kind and gentle) said we might have our results as early as today, which was both a surprise and a blessing, because without Steve going back to work, we weren't sure how we would even manage to get food next week, let alone pay our rent, electric, and other bills, or set money aside for winter heating.

We were on our way back when my sister-in-law (Steve's brother's wife) drove past. She yelled at us to stay where we were, and we did, because we were friggin' exhausted by this point. She picked us up and drove us home after taking her own test about ten minutes later.

So, we waited. Now, I'll be honest. By this point I was about 98% sure that none of us had Covid-19, but we didn't take chances. Steve works in a grocery store. Sometimes he is stocking shelves, sometimes running a register, and sometimes he is out at the fuel island (the store gas station) pumping gas for people, and taking their money. So we knew if he went to work he could expose a LOT of people. We were very careful.

At 9:00 on the dot this morning I received the phone call telling me that I was Covid-19 negative! I bounced in my seat through the whole call. She didn't have Steve's results yet, so we waited. Around eleven, my sister in-law got her results. And then around one Steve got his. None of us are infected, thankfully. Steve called his work and let them know he is free to return (not a moment too soon) and will be going back tomorrow.

In the meantime, all the things we couldn't do because we had to self-isolate need to be taken care of, including several errands like getting dog food. So he has been rushing around getting things done all afternoon. Then I sat down and started writing, because that is just how I process things. I put on some music and just let my fingers fly over the keyboard.

My week sort of sucked, but the bright side is, I don't have Covid-19. Now that you know that, it's time I got into a subject that has really been bothering me. If you don't want to read further, you don't have to, but I really wish you would, and that you would spread the message along.

Every single person who chooses to wear a mask in spite of the annoyance it causes, is a hero to me. Every one of you who has gone without going to the club, who hasn't been going to church, who hasn't done any of the other things that happen in big groups. All of you who have been frustrated, but who know that your actions can either protect or harm other people... You are all heroes. You make a difference. Just as much as necessary workers. Just as much as doctors and nurses. You are heroes.

For those of you who don't wear masks, social distance, or use proper protection procedures, I am begging you, don't let this disease take away what you hold dear. Be safe, be smart. Listen to the doctors and nurses. Listen to the people begging you to wear a mask. Don't put yourself (or your loved ones) through what I just experienced.

Each time you get out of your car to go in a store, put a fresh mask on. Each time you touch something that has been touched by other people, use hand sanitizer. Stay at LEAST six feet apart. Wash your hands constantly, and thoroughly, for at least 20 seconds. Avoid touching your face (or the outside of your used masks!) and be very careful.

You don't want to go through the worry and the fear that you might have been exposed. But more than that, you don't want to be worried that you gave Covid-19 to someone you love. Please, be careful, be kind, and be safe. I don't want to lose you from this world. Every single one of us is special and has a purpose. Don't let your light go out. Take care of yourselves, and the rest of us.

Now, I'm going to climb off my soap-box and go do something completely unrelated to death and dying for a few hours. I might play a video game, or write a funny story. I might blast some music and sing off-key (loudly). Who knows. All I know is, I've had enough of fear and death to last a lifetime.

I wish you all well. God bless you.

Tori

Sailor Silver Ladybug

[cosmonaughtt]

hitch-hiker (steven universe future/dannny phantom crossover)

ao3

Danny's lost, thanks to the help of another ghost patrol gone wrong. Luckily he finds a kind driver who's willing to take him to the next town. But is this driver just as "normal" as he is?

Hitchhiking was NOT the way that Danny wanted to get back to Amity Park, but he was left with it as his only option, because;

1. He was exhausted. His powers could still work, sure, but he didn’t want to risk trying to fly back home, transforming back mid-flight and taking a tumble to the earth, and

2. He didn’t know where he was and what direction he had to go to in order to find his way home.

Danny tried to pull out his phone and check its signal; no luck. It wasn’t a dead-zone, but his phone was dead. Hah. Funny.

What did he have on hand? Well, he always had the thermos on hand, in his other form. He had his phone and a wallet. And that’s it.

Just his luck. 

He sent a few texts out to the ghost hunting group chat. They wouldn’t send until he had some kind of connection again, probably, but it eased his heart to 

And. And, to top it all off for his current situation, he hadn’t even found the damn ghost he’d been fighting originally! Stupid Skulker. The wild chase (of which Danny was, unfortunately, hunted again) took him back through the Ghost Zone and out through a random door. 

Which led him to this current moment. Standing on the side of the road trying to catch a lucky ride to the next town to figure out how long it’ll take to fly home.

The road was pretty empty. It was inching closer to midnight by then, and he was probably going to have to transform to try and get at least to the next town where he can break into a motel and catch up on a little bit of sleep before trying to get home.

Damn his luck. 

Danny glanced at his phone again. Now it was midnight. Hopefully, his messages would send in soon, but he was going to give it until… 12:20 until he gave in and flew. Try and recover some energy so he wouldn’t suddenly decide night-time sky diving sounds a lot of fun in the middle of nowhere. 

12:01.

12:02. 

12:04.

12:10.

The sound of a car’s engine brought Danny up from the crude drawing he was doing in the dirt by his feet. He stood, and glanced down the road. A single car, brights on, was making its leisurely way down the road.

Danny stuck his hand out and waved. Please, please, please…

To his luck (thankfully), the car slowed down as it neared him. It was a compact Dondai of sorts, but Danny never paid much attention to the different kinds of cars. He had to think of more important things, like the different kinds of ghosts. 

The passenger side window rolled down to reveal the driver.

Who looked not much older than him.

“Hey, are you okay?” The kid asked, quirking an eyebrow. He looked really young, but maybe it was bad genetics. 

“Uh, yeah, I’m good. Could I get a ride, though?”

The boy didn’t look immediately distrustful of Danny, at least. He even smiled and nodded. “Sure! Hop on in!”

The passenger side unlocked with a click-- it was one of the older cars, where you had to manually roll down the windows and had a cassette deck, but other than that you couldn’t tell. It was really nice inside, and Danny jumped into the plush seat and smiled at the driver.

“I’m Steven, your humble new chauffeur.” He introduced, with a cheeky wink. 

“Thanks. I’m Danny.”

“It’s good to meet you. Where are you heading to?”

“I just need to get to the next town. Do you know how far that is?”

Steven thought for a moment, before leaning over to Danny’s side and pulling out a map. Really off-road, but then again, Danny didn’t have any service, so the odds that Steven had some were slim as well. He didn’t bother turning on any lights in the car to read the map, but it only took him a minute to figure it all out. “An hour or so, I’d say. If I’m doing the math right.”

“I’ve got a C minus in math, I doubt I’d be much help,” Danny said. “Is that on your way? If it isn’t, I can try and--”

“No, it’s fine!” Steven interjected. “I’ll probably gas up there, and probably rent out a room to sleep.” He laughed nervously. “All buckled up?”

Danny nodded.

And off they went.

…

….

…… It was weird.

It only took a few minutes of being in this stranger’s car to realize how weird this situation was.

He was in the car with a boy, probably barely a year older than him. In the middle of nowhere. In the middle of the night. It was not some horror movie concept (and frankly, Danny hadn’t been scared by one of those in months after all the shit he’s been through), but it was just. Really, really, really weird. 

Steven hadn’t asked why Danny was out in the middle of nowhere. He hadn’t asked Danny’s full name, he had provided his own and hadn’t hounded Danny with any questions. He also didn’t explain much about why he was out in the middle of nowhere, either, just driving in the middle of the night.

Maybe not all things needed answers. 

“Do you mind music?”

Danny shook his head. He’d be listening to his own music, had he not broken his earbuds in the latest fight with Technus. He was going to get more tomorrow, since it was officially a weekend and he and his friends could go to the mall and he could buy them, hopefully without any fights along the way. 

“Sadie Killer and the Suspects cool?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Sam had gone through a brief time of being obsessed with that band, and when she showed Danny the music he had to admit, it wasn’t that bad. 

Steven reached into the compartment by his arm and pulled out an old cassette, switching the one that had previously been in it with the new one with seasoned ease. 

Disobedient. Hm.

Again, another pause of silence. 

“So… You’re not going to ask me why I was out in the woods? In the middle of the night? Alone?”

Damn it, Danny is so awkward. But he can’t help but be confused by the stranger who took him in without questions.

Steven shrugged. “I mean, yeah, it’s kinda weird, but I’ve seen weirder.”

Oh. Now that piqued Danny’s curiosity. 

“So you pick up hitch-hikers often?”

“Eh, you’re only my third,” Steven replied. “The first was a guy who needed a ride to the hospital, I couldn’t just say no, you know? And then there was the woman who broke down on the side of the road, on the way to the car dealership. Talk about bad luck…”

“And you weren’t… afraid that they’d like, kill you or anything?”

“I can protect myself.” Danny tried to ignore the slight flinch that Steven had, but it was noticeable.

They settled into another beat of silence. Another song-- G-G-G-Ghost. Oddly fitting for Danny’s situation.

He didn’t even turn the question around and ask why Danny was in the middle of nowhere. He just… took it, as is. Might as well throw Danny’s cover story of getting lost when he got up in the middle of the night to pee while camping out the window, because Steven didn’t seem phased by anything at all.

Heh. Phased.

The thought of Steven being the maniac serial killer came, but Danny shot it down. The other teen-- he had to be a teen, or at least in his 20s, with a super bad case of Baby Face-- gave off some kind of vibe that he wouldn’t hurt anyone. 

But he could. It was extremely powerful; but not threatening. More like royalty, if anything. 

It was strange. Danny never got it confirmed as an official “ghost power”, but being able to just sense people’s vibes were definitely not a human thing. 

Then again, what was a human thing? It’s been almost two years since The Accident. 

Tucker called it being able to vibe-check people. Steven’s vibes were powerful, but not malevolent. 

“So… Steven, where are you going?”

“Eh. I don’t really know.” He gave off a smile, but it was different than his tone. “I’m trying to go on a journey of self-discovery right now? Just going where-ever the road takes me.”

“Really? Don’t you go to school or anything?”

“Eh-- uh, kinda. I’ve taken up a few online classes I can get with free wi-fi and stuff, you know?”

“How old are you?” 

“Almost seventeen.”

Alright. Danny knew some kids in Amity Park who dropped out of Caspar High. Some of them took up jobs at the Nasty Burger, others in various gas stations, and grocery stores throughout the city. So Steven must’ve been a well-off kid to just drop out, take online classes, and travel the country.

Danny was kind of jealous. Being able to just drop everything and go somewhere else, and make a new identity for yourself?

But he’d be leaving Amity Park defenseless. No, bad idea.

Danny checked his phone again for the time-- ah, finally. Connection again.

big titty goth gf: danny? helloooo?

t.f. as in the fuck: you’d think he’d be back by now.

big titty goth gf: yeah, well, he isn’t if u hadn’t noticed

t.f. as in the fuck: ………. Yeah

t.f. as in the fuck: usually he’d be out of the ghost zone by now if skulker’s got him going. think something happened?

big titty goth gf: i hope not or else jazz is gonna start yelling at us for letting him go into the gz alone

big titty goth gf: danny tuck and i are headin back to my house let us know when you’re ok?

Oh, his messages are finally going through. That’s good.

sad ghost club president: hey SHIT guys uh i got out of the ghost zone but uh. Don’t know where i am and don’t know where skulker went i’m gonna try and find a way back home. can either of u cover for me while i’m gone? Idk when you’ll get this massage

sad ghost club president: *message fuck tonight sucks

It wasn’t long until someone responded. They were teens, they were up late on a weekend night. No rules.

big titty goth gf: oh thank GOD its been like two hours 

t.f. as in the fuck: good to hear you’re ok! sam and i got ya covered. But where are you?

sad ghost club president: tuck i just said i didn’t know. but a kind samaritan stopped and i’m on route to the closet down 

t.f. as in the fuck: you’re HITCH-HIKING?

sad ghost club president: well it’s either that or having a fun trip skydiving tonight, so yeah

big titty goth gf: just be safe danny, don’t fall into a horror movie

sad ghost club president: remember i’m scarier than anything they can throw at me owo

sad ghost club president: plus this guy doesn’t look like he’d hurt a fly

sad ghost club president: or, well, he could if the fly hurt him first. Vibe Check is going off yall

big titty goth gf: i still cant believe u refer to that as ur Vibe Check

t.f. as in the fuck: sam its a good name

big titty goth gf: I Beg To Differ

t.f. as in the fuck: anyway if his vibe check is clear then you’re probably ok danny

sad ghost club president: yeah but its still super weird. he hasn’t asked why i was in the middle of the woods or anything, he didn’t ask me any questions about whio i am?? he’s also like. jazz’s age at MOST. just driving nowhere in the middle of the night because apparently he’s on some sort of journey of self-discovery

big tittyy goth gf: yeah thats weird but also danny?

sad ghost club president: yeah sam?

big titty goth gf: stop being paranoid

big titty goth gf: also ur cover story is being at my place with tucker for a movie night like we originally planned until He came around.

t.f. as in the fuck: fuck skulker

sad ghost club president: skulker does not have rights

He could chill now, that he knew that Sam and Tucker have his back (like always, they always have his back) and a cover story already set up. His parents didn’t question his whereabouts usually on Friday nights, because he usually spent them with his friends and they were usually too buried in research to notice him not there.

Sad, but true.

Steven changed out the cassette tape for another, continuing the quiet drive down the road.

This is okay. They were probably only half an hour away now. Once they got to the city, Danny could look it up on his GPS app and see how long it’d take to fly back home. He couldn’t have ended up too far away from home, but with the Ghost Zone, he had doubts sometimes.

Of course just as everything seemed to be okay, everything had to go downhill immediately.

It started with his ghost sense going off. Steven was preoccupied with looking at the road, listening to the music playing through the speakers. Luckily. 

Danny glanced out the window.

Skulker’s face materialized through nothing and threw his robotic body at the car.

It was a shake, but the sudden force against the poor car sent it sliding across the road. Steven grasped the wheel hard and hit the brakes, and Danny braced himself and held onto whatever he could.

Luckily it was midnight in the middle of nowhere, no one else was on the road.

“You okay, Danny?” Steven asked, looking around with frantic eyes.

“I’m-- yeah, I’m good.” Danny took a deep breath. He glanced out the window again. Skulker was still around, no doubt about it, and Danny’s ghost sense went off again. He’s close.

“What was--” 

Danny didn’t want Steven to have to deal with ghosts, on top of his existential cross-country trip to find himself. For all Danny knew, the kid didn’t even believe in ghosts! He unbuckled his seatbelt and threw open the door.

“Thanks for the ride, goodbye!”

He didn’t want to deal with Skulker, once Steven was out of the way he’d go ghost and try and fly to the town nearby and figure out where he was, then let Skulker hunt him all the way back to Amity Park. All in a night’s work.

“Wait, Danny--?”

He ducked into the brush by the side of the road, trying to lure Skulker away from Steven. He didn’t want more normal people to get involved in his problems.

But apparently the other kid didn’t take goodbye! very well, Danny turned his head around and saw Steven following him carefully into the woods by the side of the road.

Before he could tell Steven to turn around and go, Skulker appeared. Of course. Steven was immediately drawn to the sight of the sudden floating, glowing robot in mid-air, of course, but it didn’t go the other way. 

“You’re too out-of-range to have your friends help you with that stupid tablet now, whelp.” Skulker had somehow got re-synced to one of Tucker’s tablets, and it was good while it lasted, but it seemed Danny was out of time. And even if they were still synced up, they were too far away from Amity Park for it to connect.

Damn it. Just his luck.

“Let’s make this quick, shall we?” Skulker added before Danny could interject with a witty remark. He raised one of his DALV-made ecto-guns and it shot.

Go intangible, his instincts said.

FUCK, his brain said, helpfully.

He closed his eyes and braced for whatever was coming-- intangibility, pain, whatever. Hopefully, Steven got the idea to run--

No pain came. He wasn’t intangible.

Danny opened one eye.

And then the other. 

Steven was standing between him and Skulker, and a weird… It wasn’t ecto-energy, but it was some kind of pink energy, forming a barrier, taking the hit from the ecto-gun too easily.

What.

The fuck.

Steven turned around to Danny, eyes wide. “Danny, are you okay?”

“Uh-- the-- what.” Skulker looked as annoyed as he usually did, if not more, and tried to phase through the pink barrier. “Are you-- what-- uh. I think my brain has officially had it. Yeah, you know, this might as well happen.”

Steven cringed. “Oh, the shield. It’s a, uh… Long story.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll take your word for it.” Danny replied. He looked back at Skulker. He didn’t want to transform right in front of Steven, but the barrier probably wouldn’t hold forever, or Skulker would just go over it or under it eventually. 

Steven could clearly protect himself. This is what he meant, it seemed.

“Well. I didn’t freak out on you. So don’t freak out on me now, okay?” Danny looked to Steve, who nodded.

“No freaking out, got it!”

Danny allowed the familiar rings to transform him. Why he was trusting this random kid with the biggest secret he had (well, one of the biggest secrets, technically), Danny didn’t know.

But the kid obviously wasn’t normal himself, as evidenced by the glowing pink barrier between him and the ghost.

And to his word, Steven did not freak out. His eyes did glimmer and he did look at Danny with an odd sort of familiarity to it, a sort of kin-ship of weird teenagers with weird powers. Apparently.

Skulker broke through the barrier. He looked down at Steven, then to Danny. “Looks like I’ve got two pelts to add to my collection.”

“Ew, gross?” Steven replied, looking a bit sick to his stomach. 

“Yeah, you get used to it after a while.” Danny shrugged, before turning to Skulker again. “How many times do I have to tell you, Skulker, that you’re never gonna get your hands on my beautiful hair?”

Danny charged ectoblasts into his hands. Steven allowed more of that weird-pink energy form around his fists, like boxing gloves. Ah, not just a one-trick show pony. 

“I’ve got your back, Danny.”

And for once, Danny didn’t feel alone in his ghost-fighting.

----

Skulker was taken down easily with two people fighting instead of one, especially with barriers that could take hits from both ecto-gun blasts and normal ecto-energy blasts pretty well. It was probably not even five minutes until the pesky hunter was sucked up into the thermos and stashed back in the safe space along Phantom’s handy belt.

Steven didn’t even look fatigued. It looked like he had more energy than he had started with originally-- probably the adrenaline high that came with every ghost hunt. 

“Alright. I was trying to not be too nosy, but what was that?” 

“A ghost.”

“A… a ghost?!”

“Yup. Not the whole horror-movie, boo and spook ya kind of ghosts.” Danny said, floating down to where Steven stood. “You’re taking this well.”

“You’re taking this well.” Steven wasn’t even bruised and he’d been thrown into a tree during their fight. He wasn’t even bleeding, but one of his fists was still covered with the magic-bubble glove. He flexed and it popped, fading away.

“Well, at this point, anything might as well happen.” Danny landed, allowing him to transform back. “You can’t tell anyone about this, alright?”

The sudden harsh tone in Danny’s voice startled Steven, and he straightened up. “Scout’s honor! Even though I was never a scout.” Steven shrugged. “And, well, I never kept my gem powers a secret, so I don’t care if you tell anyone or not, I guess?”

“Gem powers?” It was the word that Skulker had thrown out during their fight, but Danny was just trying to take him down quickly so he could get home quickly so he could take a nice, long nap. 

“Oh, yeah. I’m half-gem.” To prove, Steven lifted his shirt and showed that, in the placement of his navel was a bright pink gemstone. “Half-gem, half-human.”

Wow.

The only experiences Danny had ever had with other hybrids like him-- halfas-- were Dani and Vlad. Dani (or, Ellie, as she said last in one of her letters) was his clone, for starters, who was taking soul-searching to a whole new global level. Vlad was an egotistical maniac who wanted to kill his dad so he could date his mom.

“I’m… I’m half-human, too. Except, half-ghost instead.” He could feel a few tears welling up, but he pushed them aside. “Normally I’d say you’re going to have to wait a little longer to unlock my tragic backstory, but after tonight I’d say we both have stories to tell.” 

Steven smiled. “I still owe you a ride to the next town, don’t I?”

[artificialqueens]

Can’t Breathe Without You (Shalaska) - Citrus

A/N: a while ago an anon requested recently-broken-up shalaska sharing a tent during a school camping trip and still having feelings for each other, and i wrote it almost immediately but haven’t yet posted it. extra special thanks to kacie (pureCAMP) for giving me the confidence to post this, and also for screaming about this au with me. <3 enjoy!

Alaska sighed as she dumped her duffel bag on the ground, grimacing at the thud it made when it hit. She’d been looking forward to this school trip for weeks, but now she’d really rather be anywhere else. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to spend a weekend in the woods, surrounded by nature and her friends and not a cell tower for miles; she didn’t mind that so much, except the part about no cell service. No, it wasn’t the lush green forest that made her want to stalk off to the nearest gas station and hitch a ride with a stranger. It was her.

The camping trip had been announced a month and a half ago as a mandatory field trip, and with Alaska’s current grade in her biology class, she really couldn’t risk skipping it. Not that she wanted to, anyway. She’d been super excited at first, and was one of the first people to write on the signup sheet that would determine which students slept in which tents. She’d scrawled her name down eagerly, and she’d written Sharon Needles right next to it. They’d been elated to spend a weekend away from their parents and most of their teachers, and Alaska remembered Sharon sneaking up behind her in class and whispering filthy things to her about just what they would get up to that weekend.

Now, however, Alaska cringed at the memory. Just a week before the trip, Alaska had found Sharon behind the bleachers with a pretty blonde leaning against her and wrapped in Sharon’s leather jacket. She’d watched in horror as Sharon kissed the top of the girl’s head and put an arm around her, and then tears blurred her vision and forbade her from seeing any more. She didn’t have to, though, and Alaska was satisfied to see that Sharon was still sporting a small cut under her left eye, a souvenir that one of Alaska’s long nails had left behind when she slapped Sharon across the face and told her that they were through.

Less satisfying was how Sharon looked beyond the small injury. Her makeup was immaculate, she was wearing her usual getup of fishnets, combat boots, and a band tee, but her usual ripped jeans were replaced by a tight black skirt that definitely went against the dress code. She was bright-eyed and grinning as she laughed at something one of her kind-of-friends said, and she looked better than ever. Alaska didn’t want to feel resentment, didn’t like the way her stomach twisted as she watched Sharon go on as if nothing had changed, but she was powerless to stop it. She knew she looked like a mess compared to Sharon, her dark circles showing through her concealer and her mascara a little smudged from the third time she’d teared up that day alone. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she wore sweatpants and a crop top, mixing comfort with the desire to look cute in the hope that it would make her feel better. It wasn’t really working so far.

Alaska’s two best friends appeared at her side, throwing their bags down to join hers on the ground. Courtney put an arm around her, and Willam just looked sad. Alaska wanted to scream at them that she didn’t need their pity, but she knew it wouldn’t do any of them any good. They were trying their best to help Alaska, even though nothing they could do would make her feel better.

“I grabbed your pillow from my car,” Courtney said, indicating the cushion tucked under the arm that wasn’t draped around Alaska’s waist. “You look super cute, by the way.”

Alaska snorted. “Please. I look like shit.”

“Yeah, hot shit,” Willam said, popping her gum. “It’s like you’re hiding fuck-me lingerie under your sweatpants or somethin’.” Alaska laughed at that, a genuine laugh that felt amazing as it bubbled out of her. She hadn’t laughed like that since… Well, since about a week before.

“Maybe I am,” she grinned, pulling away from Courtney and twirling in place. Her friends grinned, happy to see a spark of her old self again.

“You look even better when you’re smiling,” Courtney encouraged her. “Come on, help us set up? I know for a fact that Willam has no sense of direction, so she’ll be useless in trying to find our tent.”

“Do I look like I know how to read a map, Court?” Alaska snickered, ignoring Willam’s indignant huff. “Aren’t Australians supposed to be outdoorsy, anyway?” She picked up her bag and was about to follow her friends when she heard a cough behind her. Spinning around, she saw Ms. Visage, clipboard in hand.

“Aren’t you supposed to be helping Sharon, Alaska?”

“I was just trying to-” she stopped when she saw the look on her teacher’s face and sighed, defeated. “I’ll be right there.”

Shrugging her bag over her shoulder, she joined her ex by their tent and grimacing at the fact that it was orange. Really? Orange? Sharon seemed equally dissatisfied with the color, but barely even acknowledged Alaska as she approached. Alaska hated that Ms. Visage hadn’t been able to switch her with another student, even though she knew it was hardly the teacher’s fault. It was so last-minute that nothing could be done, but Alaska still wasn’t looking forward to spending a weekend in an ugly tent with the ex-girlfriend who had cheated on her.

“Need a hand with that, Thunderfuck?” Sharon drawled, gesturing to the duffel bag. Alaska rolled her eyes.

“I would, but I don’t know whose skirt it’s been up lately,” she retorted, watching in satisfaction as Sharon’s jaw slackened and her shoulders slumped.

“Lasky, I-”

“Don’t call me that,” Alaska interrupted, throwing her bag into the tent. “Nevercall me that.”

“Alaska,” Sharon tried again, “How many times do I have to try to explain before you’ll actually listen to me?”

“I’d answer, but I don’t think you can count that high,” the blonde snarked.

“So you don’t care that Katya had just-”

“You wouldn’t even let me wear that stupid fucking leather jacket, Needles, so what made her so special?” Alaska snapped, balling her fists at her sides as she finally broke. “Tell me, did you say the same stuff you used to say to me, while your hand was on her thigh, or did you even bother to come up with new lines? You’re so full of shit, Sharon Needles, and I don’t wanna hear it.” Sharon reached out to grab Alaska’s arm, but the blonde yanked it away. “No. You don’t get to fucking touch me. Fuck. You.”

Alaska stormed off, not even caring about unpacking anymore. She just needed get away from the brunette before she could see the tears in Alaska’s eyes. God, she’d never hear the end of it if Sharon found out she’d cried over her for even a second. She was Alaska Thunderfuck, who didn’t cry over stupid girls that cheated and then came crawling back with fake apologies. Away from the campsite, however, she was Alaska Thunderfuck, who cried until her throat was raw over the first and only girl she’d ever loved, the girl who had seen her as nothing more than a pretty face and had dropped her as soon as someone new came along.

She didn’t know how much time had passed since she’d left, probably only a few minutes, but she was still surprised when someone sat down on the ground next to her. When she saw the familiar head of messy blonde hair and the telltale scent of cigarette smoke, she looked away.

“Did Sharon send you?” she muttered bitterly, trying to wipe the black tear tracks from her cheeks.

“Нет,” Katya answered. “I came by myself. I was looking for firewood when I heard a bird crying, but it wasn’t a bird at all. Just a sad girl.” Alaska couldn’t help but laugh ruefully at the Russian’s description.

“I’m fine,” she insisted. Katya scoffed.

“You’re an exceptionally bad liar, Alaska. Tell me what’s wrong and I can try to help, да?”

Alaska shook her head. “You can’t help. Leave me alone and go suck face with Sharon..” Alaska watched Katya’s eyes widen, and the Russian scooted closer.

“Sharon’s just a friend,” she insisted earnestly. “She was the first person to be nice to me when I came to the US. She fights people who call me names, keeps my secrets. She’s a good friend, a good girlfriend.”

“Then tell me why I found you guys cuddled up behind the bleachers,” Alaska replied bitterly. “She’s not exactly the cuddly type.”

Katya sighed. “I got a call from my family in Russia. My мама was sick, and I was worried. Sharon helped me through it, talked to me about it. She… she’s the only one who knows how much I worry about something happening to my family. She’s probably my best friend.”

“She’d hate that,” Alaska laughed in spite of herself. “Sharon doesn’t want people to like her.”

“I know,” Katya said quietly. “We talk a lot, Alaska. She’s like my sister. I would never do anything to come between you. I guess you caught us in the wrong moment. She wasn’t trying anything with me, I swear. She’s… she’s been really torn up about it. She’s just as upset as you are, especially when she knows there’s nothing she can do to convince you that nothing happened with us. We both know how much she hates being powerless.”

“I had every right to be angry,” Alaska argued. “What I saw was pretty self-explanatory.”

“Or so you thought,” Katya finished for her. “Yeah, well, trust me when I tell you that I’ve never seen her like this.”

“I know you’re just trying to make me feel better, Kat,” Alaska sighed, standing up and turning to leave. “Thanks, though. She doesn’t really seem to care, but I appreciate it.”

Katya shrugged as Alaska looked back at her. “You might be a bad liar, but Sharon’s a really good one.”

When Alaska returned to the campsite, she ignored the stares from her classmates. She knew her mascara was running and she looked like a fucking mess, but she couldn’t really bring herself to care. She was too focused on her conversation with Katya, about how nothing had happened with her and Sharon. The realization brought a wave of guilt crashing down on Alaska as she thought about how their breakup was all her fault, a stupid misunderstanding that could’ve been easily solved if she’d just let Sharon explain.

She wanted to apologize, but at the same time, her pride stood in her way. Sharon was the proudest person she knew, and Alaska couldn’t just apologize and act like everything was fine; the brunette would never let her. She wouldn’t want her back, anyway, Alaska told herself. Why would she?

Still, Alaska couldn’t help but watch Sharon as the students sat around their self-made campfire, talking and laughing and swapping stories. Sharon stared into the flames in silence for most of the night, only breaking her focus to chuckle at something Katya or Trixie said from either side of her. Trixie brought out her guitar halfway through, plucking out quiet melodies until Katya convinced her to lead them all in a sing-along. Alaska couldn’t keep her eyes away from Sharon, however, who got up to make room for Trixie’s guitar and was leaning against a nearby tree, watching the rest of them. Either Alaska’s eyes were playing games with her, or Sharon’s little leather skirt had been hiked up a little shorter. She tried her best to ignore it.

When it came time to retreat to their tents, the other students chattered amongst themselves; Sharon and Alaska were mostly silent, entering their shared tent at almost the same time. Sharon took her sweet fucking time stripping down to change into pajamas, something Alaska both enjoyed and absolutely despised. Sure, they weren’t together anymore and were both too proud to apologize, but that didn’t mean that Alaska couldn’t sneak glances at Sharon as the brunette rolled her fishnets down her legs, or suck in a quiet breath when she yanked her stupid band tee over her head. Especially frustrating was the fact that Sharon had the nerve to ask Alaska for a makeup wipe and remove her makeup while wearing nothing but a black bra and panties. If Alaska didn’t know better, she’d almost think Sharon was doing this on purpose.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Sharon murmured as she wiped her makeup away. Maybe she was doing this on purpose, since she’d clearly noticed Alaska’s staring.

“I have enough, trust me,” Alaska replied, mentally kicking herself for saying something so stupid.

Sharon smirked. “Yeah, I bet you do. Haven’t deleted them all from your phone in a fit of rage, then, have you?”

“I only hated your guts, not the rest of your body,” Alaska responded breezily as she unclipped her bra under her tank top and yanked it through one of the arm holes. Going to bed in her sweatpants was easier than changing into something else, anyway. Sharon raised an eyebrow at that, crawling forward until she and Alaska were only a hair’s breadth away from touching.

“That’s funny, because I distinctly remember you feeling my guts and loving it,” she said coyly. Alaska snorted, but she couldn’t hide the rush of blood to her cheeks. “What, no snarky reply? Don’t make me worry that you’re losing your touch.”

“Aw, you worry about me?” Alaska mocked, trying to sound confident despite the heat pooling at her core. “Didn’t seem like you worried about me much when you were cuddled up with Katya.”

“We’re just close friends, Thunderfuck, it wasn’t like that. You must be blind to not notice how she looks at Trixie. And besides…” her hands skimmed Alaska’s hips, and suddenly the blonde forgot how to breathe. “It’s you and me, baby. No one else can make me feel what you make me feel.”

Alaska didn’t know how to respond, but luckily she didn’t have to, because Sharon swiftly closed the gap between them. The brunette kissed her like Alaska was her lifeline, and Alaska didn’t even hesitate for a moment before kissing back. Sharon’s hands slid under Alaska’s tank top, cupping her breasts and massaging them gently as the blonde deepened the kiss, letting a little whimper escape her.

“Shhh,” Sharon grinned as they broke apart. “We gotta be quiet, sweet pea.”

“I missed you,” Alaska mumbled, burying her face in Sharon’s shoulder for a moment. “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.” Sharon chuckled.

“I missed you too, Lasky,” she responded simply, and Alaska kissed her again. Sharon pulled her hands away from underneath Alaska’s top and carefully helped lay her down on her sleeping bag, kissing her neck sweetly and relishing in the way that her breath caught in her throat. Sharon kissed down her stomach, pulling Alaska’s sweatpants down her legs and rubbing her over her panties. “You’re so wet already, baby,” she teased, “I guess that little striptease did its job, huh?”

“You did do it on purpose!” Alaska hissed. Sharon snickered, tugging Alaska’s underwear down and sliding it off. She wedged a thigh between Alaska’s legs and the blonde pulled her down for a kiss, grinding against her.

“Christ, you’re so fucking pretty,” Sharon mumbled as Alaska desperately sought more friction, not getting enough from just her leg. “Tell me what you want, baby. Mouth or fingers?”

“F-fingers,” Alaska whimpered, blushing. “God, please.” Sharon nodded and used the leg between Alaska’s thighs to nudge them apart, bringing two fingers to her mouth and sucking on them before trailing them down to Alaska’s core. The blonde bit her lip to keep from crying out as Sharon carefully entered her with one, soon joined by the second, pumping them slowly. Her thumb traced lazy circles over Alaska’s bud, making her hips stutter as she struggled not to make noise. There was something wildly exhilarating about fucking in a thin-walled tent, just meters away from their friends and teachers, and it only heightened Alaska’s flushed cheeks and racing heartbeat.

Sharon was gentle and slow, taking her time and watching Alaska’s expression as she made love to her, willing her to understand that she loved her, and that she was sorry, even if she couldn’t express it aloud. “It’s you, baby girl,” Sharon whispered as Alaska clenched around her fingers, her pleasure nearing its peak. “It’s only you. It’s only ever been you.” Alaska nodded silently, unable to hold in a soft moan as Sharon curled her fingers against the spot she knew would drive Alaska over the edge. She came with Sharon’s lips against hers, muffling her gentle cries.

“I love you,” Alaska whispered as soon as they broke apart. Sharon smiled, pulling away and wiping her fingers against her thigh, and Alaska made a face. “Even if you’re gross.”

“The human body is beautiful,” Sharon protested with a laugh. She kissed Alaska’s forehead, and the blonde grinned before sitting up and beckoning for Sharon to straddle her lap. Dipping her hand into Sharon’s panties, Alaska found that she was already dripping, and the brunette moaned as Alaska’s fingers circled her clit.

“Now who’s the one who has to shut up?” Alaska murmured. Sharon snorted, rolling her hips.

“Just fuck me, Christ,” she mumbled.

“I prefer ‘Alaska,’” the blonde snickered, slipping a finger inside Sharon as she continued to rub against her bud. Sharon was struggling to keep quiet, little whines escaping her as Alaska brought her to the edge, only to let her come down before building her back up again. It was a vicious cycle that Alaska would’ve kept up for longer if Sharon hadn’t been so fucking loud; she was much more vocal than Alaska had been, and the blonde briefly wondered if a gag would have been appropriate.

“Lasky, I’m gonna- shit, babe- I’m gonna c-come,” Sharon managed to whimper before Alaska felt her come with a shudder and a soft groan.

“That was quick, especially for you,” Alaska teased as she withdrew her hand from Sharon’s panties and sucked her fingers clean.

“Look who’s gross now,” Sharon retorted weakly. Alaska laughed, locating her underwear in the corner of the tent and sliding it on before helping Sharon push their sleeping bags side-by-side. They collapsed on top of them and Alaska curled around Sharon, entwining their fingers. “I guess we’re back on?” Sharon asked, only half-joking. Alaska chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess we are. It’s not like I could stay away for long, anyhow.”

“Me neither, baby,” Sharon murmured, allowing herself to snuggle closer to her girlfriend. “Get some sleep, okay?”

“If I wake up to you summoning the devil in the middle of the woods, I’m dumping you again,” Alaska giggled.

Sharon snorted. “Don’t even joke about that.” Alaska could hear the grin in her voice, telling her that Sharon was anything but serious, and pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“Love you too, sweetheart. Now shut the fuck up and go to sleep.”

[expatimes]

Singapore is building a 42,000-home eco 'smart' city Written by Oscar Holland, CNNIn a country where over 80% of residents live in public housing, a government commitment to sustainable urban design could have huge implications. And when it's a tropical country where convenience and air conditioning are a way of life, the impact could be greater still. Promising 42,000 new homes across five residential districts, the eco-town of Tengah -- the Malay word for "middle," though it's in the island's western region -- will be the 24th new settlement built by Singapore's government since World War II. It is, however, the first with centralized cooling, automated trash collection and a car-free town center, which conservationists hope offers a roadmap for slashing carbon emissions in the Southeast Asian city-state. The development is being dubbed a "forest town" by officials, due to its abundant greenery and public gardens. Once home to brickmaking factories, and later used for military training, the 700-hectare (2.7-square-mile) site has been reclaimed by an extensive secondary forest in recent years. A 328-foot-wide ecological "corridor" will be maintained through its center, providing safe passage to wildlife and connecting a water catchment area on one side to a nature reserve on the other. Planners say the town has been designed with pedestrians and cyclists in mind. Credit: Courtesy The Housing & Development BoardThe project has proven a tabula rasa for urban planners advocating green design principles and "smart" technology, according to Chong Fook Loong, group director for research and planning at Singapore's Housing and Development Board (HDB), the agency overseeing the country's public housing. "Tengah is a clean slate," he said in a video interview, explaining that roads, parking and utilities are being pushed beneath the town center. "We're going for the ideal concept of segregation of traffic, (with) everything underground and then the ground level totally freed up for pedestrians -- for people. So, it's a very safe environment for all. "We want a town that allows walking and cycling in a very user-friendly manner," he added, saying that cycling has "taken off" in Singapore in the "last three to five years especially." The master plan will see the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, while the streets are also being "futureproofed" to accommodate emerging technologies, Chong said. "When we planned the road network, we envisaged a future where autonomous vehicles and self-driving vehicles will become a reality," he said. Cooler by design Although comparatively small, with a population of under 6 million people, Singapore's per-capita emissions are higher than those of the UK, China and neighboring Malaysia, according to the country's National Climate Change Secretariat. That's due, in part, to air conditioning, which accounts for more than a third of typical household energy consumption. Global warming will only exacerbate this dependence. The Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) has predicted that, by the end of this century, average daily temperatures in the city-state may be at least 34.1 degrees Celsius (93.4 degrees Fahrenheit) "almost every day" during the eight warmest months of the year. An artist's impression of the 2.7-square-mile site. Credit: Courtesy The Housing & Development BoardAs such, keeping cool will, increasingly, be a necessity for residents. Rather than demonizing air conditioning, Tengah's planners have instead sought to reimagine it. Cold water, chilled using solar power, will be piped though the district's homes, meaning residents don't need to install inefficient outdoor AC condensers (though they can still control the temperature in their own apartments). According to the town's energy provider, SG Group, this will generate carbon dioxide savings equivalent to taking 4,500 cars off the roads each year. The state-owned energy company reports that, of the apartments already sold in advance, 9 out of 10 future residents have signed up for centralized cooling. Planners used computer modeling to simulate wind flow and heat gain across the town, helping to reduce the so-called urban heat island effect (whereby human activities and structures make urban areas notably warmer than the surrounding nature). Elsewhere, "smart" lights will switch off when public spaces are unoccupied, and trash will be stored centrally, with monitors detecting when garbage needs collecting. "Instead of using a truck to collect garbage from every block, we will suck all the garbage through the pneumatic system to a chamber that serves several blocks," Chong said. "From time to time, the (garbage) truck just needs to collect from the chamber." One of the town's five residential districts, known as the Plantation District, will offer community farming. Credit: Courtesy The Housing & Development BoardOf the 42,000 homes being built at Tengah, more than 70% will be made available through the HDB on long-term leases. Prices for two-bedroom apartments currently begin at just 108,000 Singapore dollars ($82,000), with the first apartments set to complete in 2023. All residents will have access to an app allowing them to monitor their energy and water usage. ("You empower them to take control of where they can cut down their energy consumption," Chong said.) Digital displays in each block will meanwhile inform occupants of their collective environmental impact, which could even encourage competition between residential blocks, according to SG Group. Regardless of whether the use of smart technology can significantly dent greenhouse gas emissions or not, engaging residents with their own consumption could instigate behavioral change, according to Perrine Hamel, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University's Asian School of the Environment. This, she added, is a crucial part of Singapore's goal of reaching peak emissions by 2030 and reducing them thereafter. "Thinking about food consumption and thinking about the way people use air conditioning is all part of (achieving climate targets)," she said. "Changing behavior is going to be an integral part of it and, of course, urban design is the first way to affect and change behavior." Dubbing the project a "forest town," planners aim to retain some of the site's natural greenery. Credit: Courtesy The Housing & Development BoardConnecting with nature For Hamel, the integration of nature and residential areas -- which creates "more opportunities for people to interact with nature" -- is where Tengah's plan excels. In addition to the aforementioned forest corridor, the town's residents will have access to community farming in the so-called Plantation District. Beyond promoting and protecting biodiversity, conserving nature on the site can lead to further behavioral change, Hamel said. "There are a lot of examples, from around the world, showing that changing our relationship with nature through everyday encounters does help people take environmental action," she said. "On that front I think the biophilic design and (Tengah's) master plan actually does a good job.". The Nature Society Singapore (NSS) has nonetheless criticized the plan for conserving too little -- less than 10% -- of the site's existing forest. The environmental group has proposed two additional "core forest areas" at either end of the green corridor to promote biodiversity and protect migratory species. Related video: How to design the perfect city The government said it is "refining" its plan based the NSS report, though Singapore's Land Transport Authority has since disclosed that even more of the remaining forest -- about 3% of the proposed corridor -- will be felled to make way for viaducts connecting the town to a nearby expressway.(In an email to CNN, the agency said it will later replant the trees in the cleared area and create "suitable temporary wildlife crossings ... to provide a safe passage for animals during construction.")Yet, even Tengah's critics have broadly welcomed the eco-town, with the NSS concluding its environmental critique by stating it is still "heartened by this bold plan." What these urban design initiatives mean for the rest of Singapore remains to be seen. When Tengah was first revealed in 2016, it was the first new town announced by Singapore's government in two decades, meaning every other neighborhood was designed long before the era of autonomous vehicles and internet-enabled amenities. Chong readily admitted that "it's not so easy" to retrofit underground road networks and pneumatic trash chutes in existing towns. Nevertheless, he struck a positive note when asked what Tengah's model offers future residential projects. "We try to bring all the lessons forward -- whenever we can and to the best of our ability," he said. "You look at Tengah and, in a nutshell, you're seeing the future of what the (government) is trying to build: the future of towns." Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=17504&feed_id=31367

[besseme-blog]

Introduction

Let me introduce myself i was born and raised in the good ole US of A. When you think of an American I am what you would picture blond hair blue eyed white boy from small town USA population 7,000 three traffic lights a pigglie wiggie and two gas stations. I grew up the typical American life conservative Christian background Roman Catholic to be exact my grandma was strict and staunch go to church or burn in hell. My parents not so much they believed in god but never forced a certain religion on me honestly later I learned from them they believed in god but not in religion I wish I knew that then it would have saved me a lot of pain over the years. I grew up playing outside with my friends running the neighborhood and swimming in the local swimming hole things that small town boys do. As I started to grow up it was then I was exposed to organized religion and at the time standing in a corn field in Georgia with a redneck with a shotgun cradled in his arms preaching god and Jesus to me that only his religion is the chosen one and all others that don’t believe in his way will burn in hell and die! Needless to say for a twelve year old boy it scared the shit out of me and till now I believe it started to shape me to the mind set I have now.

More to follow.....

Growing up I was the typical all American boy playing baseball football and volleyball chasing girls and drinking beer (When I can get it) smoking a little wacky tobacco it was an amazing childhood even today I think back on my years growing up and I realize I caught the tail end of the days when being a kid meant being a kid. Mom and dad never forced religion on me actually they tried to keep away from it realizing that I should make my own choices in life and that someone else shouldn’t tell me how to live my life by what a book written thousands of years ago tells me I should and I shouldn’t do I appreciate that their mind set is find out yourself if that’s how you want to live. If I only could have realized that they were doing it for my own good and well being I wouldn’t have been thru the hell I have been thru or current predicament I’m in now.

I had a childhood roll model my uncle I’ll leave his name out of this due to fears of my identity being discovered. He was a true blue all American born in raised in the Deep South total Christian till end enlisted in Army voluntary when the Vietnam war was raging on served honorably highly decorated on the battlefields of SE Asia and continued to served till he retired from active duty at 35 yrs in uniform. He inspired me he motivated me and I made my mind up my senior year to join the military and serve my great nation like my uncle.

More to follow.

Senior year in high school and let me tell you what a year it was! I had really bloomed into a man I was working out every day and sometimes even the night I was 6 foot and 220 lbs of solid muscle had a few of the local girls I went to school with on each arm was popular in school and one hell of a football player but I was barely making it thru school. My parents decided to get me a tutor to help me pass I’m not stupid or dumb I just hated school I hated learning about things that I knew I would never use in the outside world Algebra 🤣 please when have we ever used that? Maybe if you were an engineer or scientist but me I had only one goal in life get into boot camp and get my hands on a M16 rifle.

As the year progressed my first report card came out well it wasn’t pretty a couple of B’s in subjects I liked namely social studies, English, History and our extra curricular classes like PE and auto mechanics. Math and Spanish I barely passed D in both. My parents sat me down and told me if I didn’t start passing these two subjects I either had to quit my part time job ( That meant bye bye truck ) or agree to being tutored in both subjects once a week. Ok that’s easy I loved my job and my truck so let’s do this and I’ll get a tutor.

My math tutor was this sweet lady former math teacher at our local high school well liked throughout town and well respected she whipped my butt in shape with math and there was no cheating or half ass processes it was show her how you did it and you better get it right the first time or your butt was doing it over and over again till it’s burned in your brain and she would keep me there till pass ten at night sometimes till I got it right!

Hey sounds tough but I passed!!

Spanish same thing one of the local ladies from town Rose was her name her mother came from Havana Cuba fled the country as Castro and his his rebels were beating Batista’s army back to the sea. Her father was a Major in Batista army and fought against Castro’s rebels. When Santiago fell to Castro’s forces he traveled to Havana mainly hitchhiking rides and if that didn’t work he would jam his service weapon in their face and make them take him. He was a total badass soldier and after two months finally made it to Havana as much of the country was in Chaos. He went to the airport trying to find a flight out of Havana but to no avail. As Castro’s forces encircled the city and people started to grow desperate namely Government, Military and the richest of Havana he caught a lucky break he heard of a freighter anchored off Havana buying up as much rum cigars sugar as they could get their hands on. He as a Major in the Army still had some power so he contacted the freighter and made a deal take me and my pregnant wife with you and I’ll help you raid one of the government warehouses on the wharves. They agreed the crew and him raided the warehouse at midnight and even convicted the army guards posted there to help in the raid in exchange for safe passage to the states. Christmas Day 1958 the ship pulled anchor and steamed towards Miami Jan 1st 1959 Cuba fell to Castro. Her father ( My Tutor ) was a legend in my eyes so I studied my ass off with them to pass my Spanish and got a B! And he presented me his his Cuban issue Army cover as a gift and shared a shot of rum. I will always respect that man. Rest In Peace Armando you were a true badass soldier and family man. More to come........

Work and I guess you can call it lust love.

Once my midterms were finally over and I got sort of good grades my parents were finally off my back. I didn’t have to go to the tutors during midterm break and was able to work full time at my high school job. Most kids my age in school were working at Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Blockbuster and some of the other popular places. Me on the other hand I wasn’t like the normal kids I found that flipping burgers and asking for your order too boring and meaningless so I went to work at one of the local boat yards. Being surrounded by water there was a boat yard almost on every street most of them catered to tourists renting boats or the snow birds that migrated down to warmer climates every years. I got hired at one of the smaller but nice boat yards that had slips for rent or own that people lived full time on. Boats everywhere and of every type nice multi million dollar types with more luxury than the Hilton to small sailboat types that a single person could live on. We did the maintenance around the yard the occasional maintenance on the slips and boat maintenance when paid enough.

I was hired for one purpose only that’s to dive in the harbor and to not only clean the pillions on the piers but the harbor it’s self. And let me tell ya’ll that’s some nasty ass work and quite honestly dangerous. Visibility sucks mud silt seaweed and harbor trash everywhere and the local sea life which includes things that sting things that bite and things that can and will eat you if they have a chance. Next to the harbor was a canal and there are residential homes and condos on that canal and almost all of them had boats and they loved to fish not in the canal but out in the ocean and they would bring their fish back clean them fillet them and throw their carcasses into the canal which created a god awful nastiness in the canal and attracted predators.

Barracudas- imagine a silver arrow underwater full of teeth and a bad attitude that is a Cuda. They could be small as 6 inches or as long as 6 feet. I ran into all the sizes diving the harbor and most just left me alone but sometimes there would be one that would follow me and in that inky darkness it’s not a good feeling.

Sharks- Yup they were there too every time you say shark someone would think of Jaws lucky that where I grew up there were no white sharks but there were others.

Bulls- Meanest damn things you can imagine honestly I think they are more dangerous than any other sharks and they have a bad temper too. Ran into them a few times while scouring the bottom and one chased my ass right up the boat ramp.

Tigers- bigger than bulls but equally as dangerous but not with the attitude of a bull they are the types that check you out first before they attack ran head on to a big one while removing a palm frond from the bottom he was probably around 9 foot long and I almost shit myself he swam right past me and I’ll never forget that tail it was so strong I moved when he swam by me. I was lucky three yrs after I enlisted a guy that lived on the canal where the recreational boats were lost a leg to a bull shark when he jumped on top of it by accident.

I loved my job I had a great time with a great group of guys. Mr. Smith he was my boss he was the nephew of the owner of the boat yard from Buffalo NY he was a hard ass worker day and night he had a wife and two kids a boy and girl and he was a family man even though he worked 7 days a week he always made time for them.

Mr. Mark- Army veteran served in Nam ground pounded in the rice paddies he saw some pretty hardcore action there but he never acted weird and crazy like some do after a few beers he would be back in the rice paddies chasing the Cong quite a few nights we had to carry his ass back to his truck take the keys make sure there was no guns nearby and let him sleep it off.

Mr. Jaime- Young guy 22 served in the Air Force got out had no goal in life but to work and live in a warm climate I asked him onetime what did you do in the Air Force and he said as little as possible.

The Boat yard people

They were a mixed bunch there were two types the year round residential ones they had the Beverly Hills of the boat yard the far end docks with the shore power and potable water hook ups. They were the ones who had more money than they knew what to do with and the multi million dollars live aboards most of them were really likable and easy going they were all pretty much retired with nothing really to do all day but ride around the boatyard on their bikes or electric carts most would start drinking at noon and by 6 pm were pretty shit faced. There was this nice couple from New York Ike and Fran they were Jewish but not very religious Ike used to say that why should we follow a book written 3000 yrs ago by a group of sand people living in the most inhospitable place on earth that thought when water fell from the sky (Rain) it was a gift from god. Ike make a ton of money in the real estate industry up north and they would always meet me at the docks before I would start diving to clean the basin and would always tell me what ever shellfish (Crabs and lobsters) or snappers or groupers I catch they would pay me for. Ike was scared of the ocean he served in the Navy and had a bad experience while swimming in Guam he told something dragged him to the bottom he swore up and down it was a giant shark ( Personally I think Ike was drunk and imagined the whole thing) I used to bring them conches stone crab and lobster every dive I did and he would always give me 25 dollars for my catch no matter how small or large. Ike didn’t believe in the whole kosher thing he thought it was a scam and a way for religious Jews to make money off people who believe that they will burn in hell if they don’t follow the ways of sand people 3000 yrs ago. They were good people and later on I found out they had both passed on and I hope the Rest In Peace. There were the Domingo brothers Hector and Juan two Cubans ran away from Cuba when Fidel took over these two practically swam in money both made their fortune by running dope from the Bahamas to the keys and Miami they had fast cars tons of gold and after Federal agents raided their yacht in the marina they had an arsenal of high powered military type weapons I remember a DEA agent bringing out AK’s M16’s UZI’s and all sorts of handguns. I didn’t have much dealings with the brothers they kept to themselves most of the time from what I read later on they both got twenty years in jail and the feds confiscated their boat and cars.

Terry and Trish

Well picture this two old party hard lesbians that was Trish and Terry they were in their 60’s made their money in hair dressing salons in New Jersey and they were always the life of the party they would start drinking at 1200 pm then they would start smoking weed around 3 pm and by 8 pm both were so wasted I had to make sure they got on their boat and in bed before one of them fell over and drowned or eaten by a damn shark. They were good people never found out what happened to them they were always against me joining the military they couldn’t understand why I wanted to go to war and die for someone else.

Karen and Tony

These two people were the youngest ones in the Beverly Hills in the marina Tony was 55 and Karen was 48 Tony served in the army during Vietnam as a MP I suspected there was much more to that story I’ll explain why later on. Karen who would alter my life and have a huge impact on me was a former teacher in Pennsylvania and a former hippie girl Tony and her met when he was on leave from the Army in the late 60’s. Tony made his fortune in boat batteries and had offices in Florida, Belize and Thailand Tony used to split his time between them two months in Belize and two months in Thailand and the rest in Florida they lived aboard a very nice yacht custom made job with all the luxury and comfort you could ask for. They both liked to work out in the local gym same place I worked out in and when tony was around they would bike ride around the island. Karen was an attractive woman between the bike riding and the gym she kept her self in shape and she always wore a two piece bikini either black or white and she liked her wine a lot she would usually start drinking after her morning or early afternoon bike rides. Tony hardly drank only once and awhile he would have a beer or two but other than that he kept himself sober most of the time.

The ghetto docks

The Beverly Hills section is the high rent district of the marina the upper shelf of the place the lower dock slips were the low rent section they were the part timers usually the drifters who floated in or snow birds from up north escaping the winter. Their boats well let’s just say from small sailboats to regular fishing boats with a small cabin with barely enough room to move around. The low rent docks didn’t get the service like Beverly Hills did they were responsible for their water their power and garbage removal and sewage removal no pumping into the basin they had to call the local honey pot to come pump them out. Beverly Hills they had power and water and sewage removal provided by the marina and garbage removal three times a day they just had to place it in the trash bins placed at the foot of the dock plus they had twenty four hour service if their power went out or water they could call Ralph and he would have one of us reset the breaker or restart the water pump. There were some interesting creatures in the low rent district for sure just a quick list.

The felon-

He was on the run from the law in Maine from what we found out later he shot his brother in the chest and fled he was halfway to freedom when he ran aground off the lower part of Florida and had to dock till repairs were done. He almost made it to South America the Panamanian coast guard caught him illegally fishing in their waters and arrested him. He was deported back to America minus his sailboat and is serving a 30 yr sentence for attempted murder.

The gay pedofile named skip-

The name same says it all he drugged and raped a 16 yr boy in NC and fled from the police he kept a low profile till one night he invited me over to his place to watch porn and have a beer of course. I declined and he left the marina a week later he didn’t make it far his boat caught fire off an reef at 2 am and he had to abandon ship and was never seen again. Police found the wreckage and identification number on the boat and declared him lost at sea.

The mentaposal married drug addict-

She was a trip OMG that woman was something I will never forget she was hooked on something and she didn’t care one way or the other about anything her old man was locked up in jail awaiting trial for drug dealing and looking at a lot of time. She was high almost 24/7 she had no money she couldn’t hold a job she would get fired after a a few weeks she always had the shadiest characters coming in and out from her boat she was trading sex for drugs and had no cares in the world. Jaime used to give her 20 dollars for BJ’s in the work shed after hours and bragged how he used to make her throw up by rough throat sex she was finally evicted from the dock she didn’t pay her rent for 6 months we had to call the sheriffs department when she started throwing things into the basin. She died after I joined the Navy overdose of cocaine.

More to come.......

[aikungfu]

The Walmart+ membership program launches September 15. Can it offer an alternative to Amazon Prime? | Walmart

One Walmart executive says the new program is “the ultimate life hack”

Walmart’s much-anticipated membership program, Walmart+, will finally launch nationwide September 15, the company announced today, about six months after the Covid-19 pandemic pushed the retailer to delay its original timing. The brick-and-mortar retail giant needs the program to be successful to stop top-spending customers from fleeing to Amazon Prime.

Walmart+ will cost $98 a year, or $12.95 a month, and focus mainly on unlimited delivery of groceries and other general merchandise from Walmart stores that will be delivered as soon as the same day they are ordered. Members also get fuel discounts at Walmart gas stations and those of partners, as well as access to “Scan & Go” technology which allows shoppers to use smartphones to scan goods at Walmart stores and exit without stopping to pay a cashier. The company says it will add more perks in the future. Recode previously reported these may include a branded credit card, early availability on product deals, and potentially access to a popular streaming video service.

Walmart wants the membership program to be “the ultimate life hack” for customers, Walmart Chief Customer Officer Janey Whiteside told Recode in an interview on Monday, arguing that its perks will save customers both time and money.

At the same time, Walmart+ will undoubtedly attract comparisons to Amazon’s Prime program, the ultra popular delivery and entertainment membership program that boasts more than 150 million members worldwide and has developed into a retail industry wrecking ball since its launch in 2005. Amazon Prime includes express delivery of millions of products (including groceries), video streaming of a large library of TV shows and movies, music streaming, and other perks. It now costs $119 a year, and Prime customers spend more and shop more frequently than non-Prime members.

And, most importantly for Walmart, more than half of Walmart’s top-spending families are now Prime members, as Recode previously reported. Which begs the question: Will they really subscribe to both membership programs?

When asked about comparisons to Prime on Monday, Whiteside told Recode that “we didn’t necessarily launch Walmart+ to compete with anything else.” And that answer makes sense; the head-to-head comparison between the services does not look great for Walmart when considering online customers who value the widest selection of goods or the longest list of perks.

In addition to the unlimited delivery perk — which is basically just a rebrand of Walmart’s existing Delivery Unlimited membership — Walmart+ only features two other benefits at launch. One is fuel discounts of up to 5 cents per gallon at Walmart, Murphy USA, and Murphy Express gas stations (Sam’s Club gas stations are slated to be included soon). The other perk is access to Walmart’s “Scan & Go” technology for in-store shopping, which allows shoppers to scan items with their phone, scan their phone at a self-checkout kiosk, and walk out of the store without stopping to pay. Walmart briefly tested, but discontinued the tool, two years ago. Walmart’s bet is that the mix of online, in-store, and on-the-go perks, like fuel discounts, will carry unique appeal. Whiteside said that “deepening a relationship further will mean we will get an even greater share of wallet from those customers.” Of course, some Walmart shoppers will also value the $21 difference between the annual fee of Walmart+ and Amazon Prime.

Amazon has made moves in recent years for Prime to appeal to households with less disposable income that historically have favored shopping at Walmart. Amazon added a monthly payment option for Prime fees in 2016, a 45 percent Prime fee discount for those on government assistance in 2017, and most recently, ways for Prime customers to pay for orders with cash. By early 2017, Amazon Prime membership growth was strongest in the US for households making less than $50,000 a year, according to a study by Robert W. Baird & Co.

The success of Walmart+ will likely hinge on how many customers are attracted to the core grocery delivery component of it. While Walmart’s overall grocery business is larger than Amazon’s and its prices are often cheaper, one fear is that top Walmart customers could eventually turn to Amazon for groceries as they get sucked further into the Prime suite of perks. Sources previously told Recode that some Walmart execs believe that top-spending Walmart families that subscribe to Amazon Prime will still be attracted to Walmart+ because its fresh grocery prices are often lower than those Amazon offers.

In the past, some Walmart executives have opposed a paid membership program, seeing Walmart’s competitive advantage as giving shoppers everyday low prices without the need to splurge on a membership fee. Whiteside promised that the low prices will remain even for those who don’t splurge for the bonus services.

“In no way does this membership program take anything away from customer who don’t choose to, or can’t afford to, engage with this,” he said.

On the company’s earnings call earlier this month, CEO Doug McMillon stressed the flexibility of Walmart’s customer offerings.

“We’re going to have multiple ways to serve them, and those families will decide in that moment how they want to shop,” McMillon said. “And sometimes they’ll be in the store, and sometimes they’ll do pickup, and sometimes they’ll do delivery, and many of them will buy a membership, and when they do they’ll get benefits from that.”

from Vox - Recode https://ift.tt/3jylCkd via A.I .Kung Fu

[fuck-customers]

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these gas station attendants from the swift completion of pumping gas

I started working at this gas station in late fall when it was already getting pretty cold outside. I’d get this regular customer who was easy to remember because she’d always request that I come out and pump her gas for her, saying that she was allergic to gas. I’d never heard of a gas allergy (and the station I work at has a really state of the art vapor recovery system, so it never even smells like gas which is slightly unfortunate because I love the smell, haha), but honestly I didn’t question it. For all I knew she had a really serious allergy and couldn’t even risk contact or inhalation. We’re self service but if someone is elderly or disabled or even just requests that we pump for them, we do it no questions asked. We’re not required to do this by corporate and in fact they’d probably prefer we didn’t since there’s only one person on shift at a time and leaving the booth is a security risk, but we like to be courteous and help people out. It would kill me to sit on my ass and just watch as someone elderly or disabled struggled to pump their own gas. So I pumped her gas for her every time she came, which was about once a week. In the freezing cold, rain or snow, I’d pump for her. And let me tell you, it could be really unpleasant. Like as soon as I’d step outside the snot in my nose would freeze, or it’d be snowing so hard that it was like the equivalent of standing in a rain shower once I got back into my heated booth and all the snow that’d stuck to me melted. But then spring rolled around and she miraculously recovered from her gas allergy and started pumping her own gas. So literally all that time she was lying or exaggerating about her allergy so she wouldn’t have to get out of her warm car and stand in the cold (oftentimes nasty) weather. Me being in a booth, all she had to do was pull up to one of the closer pumps on either side of me and get my attention and I’d come out, without her ever having to exit her car. Now that it’s summer I’m just waiting for fall to come back around in anticipation of this woman’s allergy mysteriously rematerializing. And maybe she really does have a gas allergy, idk, but she definitely milks it depending on the temperature. Which is pretty shitty because we pump gas for people who can’t, not for people who’re just lazy. Stop abusing the system. If one of us were to slip on ice or something and injure ourselves I could easily see corporate implementing a rule that we’re not allowed to go out and pump for people, which would really suck for those who legitimately can’t pump their own gas. And she was really frequent in comparison to everyone else who needed help. Like for every ten times she’d come in I’d have maybe one other customer who needed me to pump for them, so statistically if I were to get hurt it’d most likely be while going out to pump for her. And on top of all this, while pumping for her there’d often be other customers who went to the booth to pay with cash who’d have to wait on me to finish. Can’t really be helped if someone legitimately needs me to pump for them, but if you’re just lazy or don’t want to stand in the cold it’s hugely shitty to make other customers have to wait in the cold so you can have the luxury of sitting in your warm car.

[greekowl87]

Fic: Chicago Layover Pt 3

Catch up.  Part One. Part Two.

A/N: This is shorter than I intended but I have writer’s block. Also, another confession, I suck at writing smut. I’ve written it twice if you include the last chapter. So that’s what the next part will be, once I move past that writer’s block.

Disclaimer: I still own nothing. Borrowing.

Morning.

Mulder could hear the soft snoring coming from next to him. Somehow during the night, Scully had rolled over and taken a majority of the blankets with her. He chuckled softly to himself. This would make for some interesting teasing if he ever choose to use it. In fact, he wished he had a polaroid camera with him just so he could have that moment to keep forever. He got out of bed slowly so not to disturb her, throwing his legs over the bed to stretch his sore muscles. He padded to the other side of the bed and took one more gander at Scully.

She literally looked like a burrito, or a piece of sushi, with the only part of her sticking out was her head. Her red hair fanned out around her face like a lion’s mane, with her mighty small snore sounding just like a roar. The past thirty-six hours had been so worth it.

Mulder shifted his gaze from her back outside. The storm still showed no signs of letting up. He flicked on the tv to the local news. He watched the unfamiliar Chicago news team.

“Well, if you’re just joining us, we hope you are still safe and sound,” the woman anchor started. “Because this snow won’t let up.”

“That’s right, Carol,” the man continued. Footage flashed of cars stuck in snow, hazardous road conditions, the airport frozen, and a few brave souls trying to make it in the streets. “The city and airport are still shut down. O'Hara isn’t expecting flights to resume for at least another 48 hours. Unless it is an absolute emergency, city officials and emergency services are imploring people not to go out. With that being said, let’s go to our weatherman, the man with the plan, Don Henderson. Don?”

“Thanks, Jim.”

Mulder watched the aged meteorologist babble on about the forecast, how the weather was not getting any better. The snow totals were mounting close to two feet but the snow would be ending in the evening and then they were going to attempt to try and catch a flight back to Washington. Honestly, though, he wouldn’t mind spending one more day in this little hotel room. He debated attempting to get the Bureau to reimburse him but he found himself a little prideful and considered this entire thing as something he was doing for Scully.

They still had a full day left and weren’t supposed to leave until tomorrow afternoon. He had only seen the tip of the glacier of what they could be. All the day was cuddle and he got to fulfill one of his fantasies with her, and it had been amazing, to say the least. He felt his heart grow even more, filling with love, pride, and gratefulness. He could not the remember the last time he had felt like this. Just this contentment, warmth, and happiness. He liked it.

“Mmm…” He heard the very uneloquent grunt come from the blanket burrito. “Fuck. Mulder!”

He kept his chuckle silent as he stood over his partner. “You ringed, Scully?”

“What did you do to me?” She was squinted at him and made a useless effort to untangle herself.

“Stay still,” he said softly. He bent down and kissed her before his deft hands began to unravel her from the blanket burrito. “As much as you want to blame me, I wish I had been in there with you. How did you manage that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She relaxed as Mulder helped untangle her and felt her heart jump when his warm hands caught hers. “I don’t snore, contrary to what you say, and I most certainly did not do that.”

He held his tongue but merely smiled and he felt her instantly relax. He liked the rare, relaxed Scully. It was a true joy. “We still have a full twenty four hours, Scully,” he teased.

Scully felt emboldened with the moment, almost reckless, but she knew she was safe because it was Mulder. “Twenty-four hours?”

“Twenty four hours,” he parroted.

“Twenty four hours to be as platonic as possible,” she teased. “I am going to take a shower and change into something else. Do you mind if I borrow a tee shirt, Mulder?”

He licked his lips at the thought, which was not lost on Scully. “Of course,” he coughed, clearing his throat. He went to his bag and grab one of Knick’s tee shirt and handed it to her. “Um, would you like any help?”

“Maybe later,” she said, walking past him. “We could go searching for Big Blue in the whirlpool. In the meantime, why don’t you order us some breakfast?”

There was going to be a later.

“I’ll run downstairs and see if they have a newspaper as well,” he said softly.

She nodded and got on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Don’t take too long.”

… .

Mulder could not help from grinning as he hit the down button on the elevator. This was still happening. He and Scully and they hadn’t even gotten to grand finale yet. He really just wanted to take her to bed right now and be done with it. While he suspected…no, he knew. He knew it would be mind-blowing. Six years of foreplay and verbal sparring between them to come down to one moment. Why not prolong it a bit more and play this platonic friendship game? Even though there had been nothing platonic about yesterday afternoon when he got to act out one of his fantasies.

The elevator finally landed in the lobby and he stepped out to see it just as desolate as when they checked in. He walked to the front desk and smiled slightly seeing the young lady that had to check them in the night previously.

“Just get here?” Mulder asked casually.

“Never left,” the front desk person replied. “But the hotel is good. They give us food and board when the weather gets like this and I’m getting paid time and a half during this storm so I can’t complain. How is everything so far, sir?”

“Fine,” he replied, smiling. “Just fine.”

The front desk woman chuckled and went back to her work. He wondered if it was that obvious. Mulder picked up one of the complimentary copies of ‘The Chicago Tribune.’ He glanced at the little shop next to the front desk that held basics like toiletries, candy, soda, and even bottles of wine. He nodded to the goodies. “Do you all do room charges?”

“Yes. I just need a card for the account.”

“Can you use the one I gave you at check-in?”

“Yep.”

Mulder went over to the little shop and picked out a bottle of red and some of Scully’s favorite chocolates. She would probably kill him. But he remembered there time chasing mothmen in Flordia when she brought him mini bottles of chardoay and cheese from the gas station and he ignored the obvious sign. Like hell he was going to make the same mistake twice.

… .

Scully’s shower was quick. She just needed to feel human again after almost going 36 hours without a shower. She toweled herself dry, combed her wet hair back, and pulled on Mulder’s pilfered Knick’s shirt. She sighed, looking herself in the mirror. She did not see Scully staring at her. She saw Dana. The Dana that enjoyed cuddling in bed, sleeping in, doing nothing, and just being carefree. But the part of her self that she normally kept hidden, Dana the woman, was peeking through the cracks too. She wondered if Mulder saw her like this too.

“Scully, I’m back. I got us the paper too.”

She smiled to herself. Well, if he didn’t see her now, he would. She left the bathroom and saw him stop dead in his tracks. Oh yeah. He’s noticing. She took the newspaper from his arm and the plastic bag from him, feeling his eyes roam her body. “What did you get?” she asked.

“Um…” Mulder coughed, trying to clear his throat. “To quote you, it gonna be a part-tay.”

She arched an eyebrow and looked down into the bag and saw the wine and her favorite chocolates. “Part-tay,” she mumbled affectionately. She looked back up and saw something in his eyes that made her feel hot to the core. “You’re not going to run off looking for some ghost ship or Chicago yet, are you, Mulder?”

He shook his head wordlessly. She took a few steps forward and picked imaginary fuzzies from his tee shirt. She trailed her fingers lightly southwards down his chest. His breath hitched and he tensed as she lightly caressed his thigh instead. She nodded in approval. “Best order breakfast again,” she said, walking away. “I imagine we have a lot of platonic activities planned.”

God, was she trying to kill him, he thought giddily.