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asokatanos · 4 years ago

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do you have any fic recs for the mentalist?

I told you I’d post some for you tonight and here they are!! Unfortunately I did a lot of reading while I was still obstinately REFUSING to make another ffnet account, so I didn’t save like a good 90% of what I read, some of which was excellent. But here are some of the ones I did +fav or whatever they call it there. No particular genre since your ask was open ended, but, well-

(sorry in advance - these are mostly ffnet links but they’re worth braving that site I swear)

((also this is definitely a non-exhaustive list. there’s some real talent in this fandom))

Consummate Connection Confrontation - these are three separate fics in that order by the absolutely inimitable @hardlyloquatious. Literally everything they’ve written is amazing. I’ve completely exposed myself because my first rec is sort of. uh, lightly 18+. But I had to put this author at the top of my list because I love them so much. The way Jane talks in Consummate has literally kept me awake more than once. It’s honestly more sweet and touching than anything but it’s definitely uh. not something your boss should catch you with I guess.

Long Lost, Long Last - same author. This was written and posted before My Blue Heaven aired, but it has the same vibe as that episode, except deliciously drawn out. It starts off with Jane being his kinda silly self and deciding he wants to try his hand at letter writing, so he writes little notes for the whole team. Lisbon is the only one who gives him a note back, and they take to leaving each other lil notes - until RJ is killed and Jane disappears to do some soul searching. This fic is so... beautiful and I think about it with some frequency. “Consummate” is hot but Long Lost Long Last is why HL is my fave TM author.

Practice - okay one last one from this author. This one isn’t like, groundbreaking, but it’s just the SWEETEST look at how much Jane tries after they get together. I’m a sucker for Jane being sweet. Clearly, since that’s why Consummate is at the top of this list.

Blood Red Moon - the author is 221b Baker Street. Their fics are a LOT more heavy. But they’re so, so good. Their mastery of language is incredible and their fics read like professionally written books - and they do Jane/Lisbon banter incredibly well. Some of the imagery they use has genuinely stuck with me. Also see Sacraments in Scarlet (Jane pretends to be a priest), Arsenic and Red Lace (murder at an assisted care facility and Jane being the cheery and extremely sad bastard that he is), Jonathon Redding (a take on Red John that is deeply clever), a Road lEss traveleD (this is. unsettling. it’s extremely good but save it for the last from this author, wait until you love them first. The payoff for not-as-it-seems comes towards the end but it really is worth waiting for).

Blood Wind - by Gone2Far speaking of unsettling. THIS ONE. God this fic is so good. Spooky as fuck in a way that’s a little X-Filesy and incredibly well written. I want to live very far from this fic while at the same time wrapping myself in its words so I can borrow a crumb of talent.

In Case series - @halfagonyandhope (yay, they’re on tumblr). This rec list isn’t necessarily in any sort of order because after HL, halfagonyandhope is second fave author. This particular series is SO ROMANTIC and LOVELY and I kinda wanna cry kinda wanna read it again and again. My favorite one in the series is Ya’aburnee but you have to read the ones preceding it to make any sort of sense. Also now that I’m looking at all of these again I’m realizing that apparently the second installment stuck with me more than I expected because I wrote more than 10k words of something that has a vaguely similar theme (which I will post later).

Qumran and Reset - by J. Roddam. This author only ever seems to have written these two but they’re fucking EXQUISITE. I generally avoid AUs in this fandom because the concept of erasing Jane’s past does NOT sit right with me but Reset is one of the only exceptions I’ve made. It has soulmate vibes without being like, a tumblr soulmate story. Both of them are living SUCH different lives than their canon counterparts but somehow it actually works and it’s beautiful. Qumran is similarly without peer.

Pretending, I: Witness - @inkstainedfingers97. I wouldn’t even know where to start but I love every single thing about this fic - and it’s recently been completed! I was lucky enough to get to binge read a majority of it but waiting for updates was also genuinely thrilling too. Fake/Real Married for WITSEC reasons, real love for obvious reasons. Also the Lorelei dynamic is way more intense than on the show in a way that’s at once very uncomfortable and very believable.

27 Minutes - by Idan. Okay. Okay so this author commented on one of my fics and I almost lost it because I really love theirs. I was smiling for like an hour when I saw the notification from them!! 27 Min is my favorite one but In The Cards is widely rec’d by others for very good reason, it’s so good. The Pretender is also excellent, written based on promos of Orange Blossom Ice Cream and so a bit AU from there.

Eighteen Hours - I would definitely be remiss if I didn’t mention @leafenclaw (and actually, I was remiss because I realized while making this post that theirs were some of those early fics I read that I never +fave etc, so ty for the ask so I can do it now, anon). Leafenclaw writes SO well and I have an extra soft spot for them because they pointed me in the direction of a lot of fics and were one of the first ppl I ever spoke with in this fandom since luckily they’re on tumblr too. Also Kindred (note - both of these are still WIP but being updated/worked on!) Chasing Storms is complete, incredible, angsty, beautiful. Also I kind of want to borrow the idea of writing one story around a set of many prompts like this. I don’t actually think I’ve ever seen anyone else do that?

The Long Way Back - by LouiseKurylo I consider them sort of a friend because they’ve been SO supportive while I was writing Saving Grace but even before that with a new suit, another pair of socks, and a terrible couch. And I’ve seen them supporting everybody else too - they’re just SO NICE. Their fics are also very interesting, and they sort of bring Jane and Lisbon much more into the real world. There’s more real life problems to go hand in hand with mentalist plot type problems, which makes for very interesting reading. Fischer in this particular fic is FASCINATING. Also, a hot tip @leafenclaw shared with me: Louise’s faves list has 500 stories in it and pretty much everything in there is worth reading.

Last but OBVIOUSLY not least I wanna mention some of the very cute and talented and actively posting people here on tumblr in our little mentalist squad of approximately 12 people lmao. You probably already know @gracevanpelt aka LilyThistle’s Big Blue, Red Road, Breathe, and Collusion. I have an especially soft spot for Breathe actually even though it’s the least plotty of the lot. I just think it works so perfectly on its own, as is, like a quiet little interlude. No muss no fuss as Jane would say - and I love it a lot. @asambergs aka cmbing’s how glad i am that you exist is actually the FIRST piece of Mentalist fic I ever read, and then I was pulled down this slippery slope to end up posting this at 11:52 pm on a Thursday night. And I’m not about to forget @pjane aka epaynter whose words are so beautifully atmospheric and who writes the softest Jane (I love Soft Jane and will fight anyone who disagrees about it!!)

Aaaand a nice and shameless self plug in the form of ao3 links: Come Fly With Me (this is the softest thing I’ve ever written), Saving Grace (an actual, complete, fully plotted fic. 14 year old me is SHAKING), a new suit, a terrible couch, another pair of socks (this last was inspired by @asambergs fics actually, and was the first thing I wrote in this fandom!)

#the mentalist #the mentalist fic #PLEASE let the readmore work this is a longass post #long post #i will be reblogging it at least once so you see it anon - idk what time zone you are!#Anonymous

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stilydinski · 5 years ago

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Anime Pretty Boys™️: A List

So basically no one asked but all of a sudden I felt the need to make a top 10 ranking list of some Pretty Boys in animes I could think of so why not share with the weebs.

To clarify: When I say Pretty Boys I mean pretty and not hot in general ! There are so so many more attractive characters out there but this is a list of guys that just look so incredibly beautiful it makes me want to bawl my eyes out. While I ofc would sell my organs for tons of anime boys, these are just the ones that make me go "mmhhhmm pretti" before thinking they're hot or whatever. I hope this makes sense aha ha.

10. Chisaki (My Hero Academia)

Those of you who haven’t seen the show might be asking yourselves what’s up with that mask but let’s just ignore it (masks are a thing everywhere now anyways right? man’s just staying safe ssjsj). Basically when I first saw this man I was speechless because wow his face is so ?? intense and pretty at the same time. The hair is casually messy, the eyes boring into your soul and the ear piercings are just hot. Also his style??? hot damn?? i mean the jacket he always wears looks so mf expensive and the suits like Yes Sir fuck me UP but at the same time he is so intimidatingly pretty that I wouldn’t mind joining the bad guys here. However because of the high hotness factor he’s lower in the list might be the dangerous aura who knows

9. Sesshomaru (Inuyasha)

Basically this man has more elegance than anyone could ever obtain. The way he always wears this fur thing on his shoulders just as a statement and never gets it dirty or loses it? an icon. Everything from the hair to let’s call it the “make up” to the outfit is just on point and you won’t ever catch the man slipping. This is the only character ever that could make me disregard the fact that he’s technically a dog demon and over 500 years old and just let him step on me.

8. Daisuke (Fugou Keiji: Balance:UNLIMITED)

I don’t think I need to say much here. First time I saw this man I was legit already on my knees without knowing a single thing about him. Some of you might say he’s more hot than straight up pretty but I beg to disagree because he is genuinely one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen. Now I do agree that in comparison he certainly can be considered more hot which is why he’s a little lower on the list however you can’t tell me that his face wasn’t shaped by God personally.

7. Usui (Kaichou wa Maid-sama!)

ON GOD if this man asked me to marry him I would not hesitate for a single second. Effortlessly pretty, the flavor is immaculate, never tasted anything like this before. Not only is he the perfect man but his face is so insanely pretty. Now Usui’s more of a casual beautiful because his face doesn’t necessarily have something outstandingly special but as a whole there is just not a single flaw.

6. Victor (Yuri!!! On Ice)

Now, you can’t tell me the hair doesn’t hit different. The man literally looks like a Greek God like that’s just a FACT we all know that, he knows that, Yuri knows that, the other Yuri knows that. Man's literally chosen to do the most elegant sport looking LIKE THAT as if he wouldn’t completely change figure skating forever. His face is so pleasing to look at because he just has this angelic aura around him that makes you think he came down from heaven personally to raise the bar for us all.

5. Yato (Noragami)

Let me just say what we are all thinking: EYES. I can’t think of anyone with prettier eyes and that’s for a good reason. Yato’s not a God for nothing, the godly looks are very evident even if he’s a little bruised up in the gif. His face is perfect, the hair looks elegant and yeah the eyes are just mesmerizing. Homeboy might be spotting a track suit at all times but damn he can wear it while living his Immortal Pretty Boy Life.

4. Guren (Owari no Seraph)

This one’s a funny one because let me tell you I know absolutely nothing about this man. I have not seen the anime and I barely know his name but I saw this man a few weeks ago and when I tell you I almost started crying I mean it. It’s hilarious how this man could be the biggest asshole who murdered my family and I’d still think he’s insanely beautiful. Now I sadly can’t get into this as deep as with this others because I have zero knowledge about him but the fact that he was the third person I thought of when making this list even if I don’t know him should say enough for now. Face is 10/10, he’s living that pretty boy lifestyle doing whatever it is that he does but god does he look graceful while doing it.

3. Shoto (My Hero Academia)

Now THIS. This is interesting because can you BELIEVE that this incredibly handsome boy does not even KNOW how pretty he is? Looking like that he would be allowed to have such a huge ego but he isn’t aware of the facts??? The two colored hair and eyes are both iconic and groundbreaking. His face just screams pretty boy in every possible way and on god i would do anything for him to realize that. Everyone in Class 1A knows how beautiful he is except him?? I could write you a three pages essay on how beautiful he is and that would just be the outer appearance without getting into his great personality. I would be ready to declare my love for him on 10 pages in four different languages but let’s not get into that now.

2. Akaashi (Haikyuu)

I honestly don’t even know how to start this. Akaashi is one of a kind. I lie awake at night thinking about the fact that he is so insanely beautiful and I wonder what the creators were thinking. Imagine you wanna create a volleyball anime and while drawing someone who is not even on the main team you come up with this? What kind of process goes through your head?? How could you publish a character like this knowing no other character you ever draw will ever live up to his pretty face? I wouldn’t know how to act. Looking at Akaashi is the most pleasing thing and the fact that he is not only crazy pretty but also has the best personality just sends me over the edge. No one’s doing it like him. This man can have my credit card, my house, my family and my liver, he can take it all and I would still worship him like the God he is, thank you.

1. Howl (Howl’s Moving Castle)

Ladies and gentlemen, may I announce the prettiest Pretty Boy of all time. This wouldn’t be a list of Pretty Boys without Howl. The man literally invented being pretty and god is he dramatic about it. Most of us probably count him to our childhood crushes. Remember when he said “I don’t see a point in living if I’m not beautiful” because he accidently dyed his hair black? I have never seen anyone this dramatic but of course his ego is big with a face like that I mean if I looked like THAT I would act up too. I would drop everything for this man and that’s on Sophie leaving behind her life to live in his castle yeah i know she didn’t do it for him back then but lbr i would. Anyways Howl literally said I support the ugly community but it ain’t me and it’s true, if you look up Pretty in a dictionary his picture will show up. I honestly don’t know what else to tell you because Howl leaves me speechless on a regular but that’s fine.

This marks the end of my list, please let me know if I forgot someone. If you made it this far with reading this mess thank you for keeping up with my amazed ass, i’ll go cry over how beautiful everyone on this list is now. I will probably regret the rankings in a week from now so don't mind them too much

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bookshr-blog · 4 years ago

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vignetted · 4 years ago

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I was more talking about saying stuff like "people who think x are too logged on" or "who even cares about y" and then post about butch/femme discourse, pan/bi discourse, whatever. but sure, just pretend i had an issue with saying you shouldnt bully people lmfao

i mean. yeah. i’m unsure what the problem is? i Do think some lgbt “””discourse””” topics are silly and shouldn’t be issues at all - pronouns, nb lesbians, etc. and i do see patterns with designated discourse blogs on here and elsewhere that i don’t think are practical or healthy. i can point that out without giving up my right to ever refer to topics that are considered discourse

like... yes i learned abt how butch/femme is for general wlw relationships, and i made a Singular post about that bc i was happy to have learned and grown.

yes i put a few thoughts on the climate surrounding pan/bi discourse in the TAGS of a reblog - if there was anything inflammatory in those tags, you’re welcome to tell me! pretty sure i just said biphobia, transphobia, and picking on kids just for IDing as pan are all bad. if that’s discourse to you, weird but ok

and yes i posted about people who get aggressive/weird abt people’s pronouns online and how that wouldn’t fly in a regular lgbt space - again, not really nothing groundbreaking lol. that’s genuinely the only other topic i remember touching on in past months.

this isn’t a discourse blog. i have less that 500 followers, i generally don’t try to provoke arguments, i don’t post these in public tags where anyone can see them. i don’t even have all my views in my carrd because it really isn’t a big deal what i think of ace discourse or whatever. i’m allowed to say "you shouldn’t be arguing about other people’s pronoun choices” and then comment on other things with my views every so often. and i’m allowed to criticize the lgbt Discourser climate based on what i see and my past experiences. idk what the issue is here

#(again i apologize to my followers !!!)#the difference is that when i comment on stuff #it's a brief aside or a personal thing #i'm not looking to argue #and usually the root of my point is just 'respect other people'#im kinda baffled at this tbh like if you don't like my views i get that #but acting like im a hypocrite is odd

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reallookingfakebills · 5 years ago

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Passport to Wealth

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dracusfyre · 6 years ago

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Square R3: A Cinderella Story

Rating: M

Warnings: None

Relationship: Tony/Bucky

Tags: Modern Cinderella story; based on the tween movie; not the fairy tale

Summary: Tony Stark comes home from his parents' funeral to find out that both he and Stark Industries were on the brink of bankruptcy. After months of slaving away trying to save his family's company, he decides to let himself have one night of fun at a masked ball to benefit military veterans.

Bucky Barnes doesn't know much about the sexy stranger from the masked ball, except that his name is Tony and he has an ass that makes him want to get on his knees and give thanks. When he ends up with the man's cell phone at the end of the night, he hopes that this will give him a chance to learn more.

Link to AO3

@tonystarkbingo I finally have BINGOOOOOOO! All of the R column, whoo!

Chapter 1: Clock Strikes Midnight

Tony groaned and rubbed his eyes, leaning back against the couch which, like the floor and the coffee table and almost every other available source, was covered with papers from his parents’ estate. This particular stack was Howard’s R&D pipeline, a bunch of designs that were fascinating, brilliant, and entirely impractical.

“This is just like those goddamn flying cars,” Tony said aloud to the room. “Flashy but ultimately a waste of money. Goddammit, Dad, what in the hell were you thinking?” He stared at one of the missile designs that would have been groundbreaking if the necessary propulsion, you know, existed. Flipping through the paperwork, he saw that somehow Stark Industries had spent 25 million dollars developing a missile that couldn’t fly. He put that in the “what the fuck” pile, which was already way higher than it should be, and dug out the next folder. This one, excitingly, turned out to be pages and pages of coordinates that had been crossed through; when Tony looked them up on his laptop, they were all locations in the Arctic Circle. Stuffed in with them were yellowing receipts from a charter boat company in Newfoundland, Canada, spaced out over years. Tony sighed and set that one in the trash pile. “You and your stupid quests,” he muttered, and picked up the next file. Tax receipts from 1976, it looked like.

Joy.

“Hello?” Tony jerked awake, dislodging a stack of papers from his lap, as a voice called out from the front door. “I knocked, but…”

Tony scrubbed a hand over his face and went to the door. “Can I help you?” He asked when he saw the intruder, a tall, willowy woman in a stylish but off the rack suit, red hair up in a chignon.

“Mr. Stark?” She asked, and when Tony nodded she held out her hand. “I’m Virginia Potts, from Stark Industries. I was sent here to help you sort out your parent’s estate.” When Tony shook her hand, she squeezed it lightly with a soft look in her eyes before letting it go. “I’m sorry for your loss,” and when she said it Tony’s throat got tight from the sincerity and sympathy in her tone.

He just nodded and avoided her eyes as he gestured for her to come inside. “So what, are you the CFO?” he asked, clearing his throat.

“Um, no,” she said, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. She came to a sudden stop when she saw the chaos in Tony’s living room. “But I do work for him.”

“So, a vice president or something?” Tony started gathering up papers from the arm chair to make a place for her to sit.

“No.”

He stilled and glanced up at her. “Then what in the hell was your job?”

“I’m an auditor. Was an auditor,” she amended. “Now I’m your personal assistant.” She forced a bright smile as she glanced around the room. “Where should we start?”

“Well, aren’t you peppy,” Tony said sourly as he headed to the well-stocked liquor cabinet, which had been the only saving grace of the whole situation. “You know you got sent here as a punishment, right? This isn’t a promotion. You’re going to die here with me, buried under decades of paperwork.”

“I’m sure that’s an exaggeration,” she said. “This doesn’t look so bad. Now that there’s two of us…” she faltered in the face of Tony’s flat stare.

“Follow me,” he said, grabbing his glass of whiskey. Ms. Potts followed him through the echoing halls of the mansion to the garage, and when he turned on the lights she gasped. There were boxes stacked as high as her head all along the wall of the garage and between the flashy, expensive cars. There was no way to get to the far end of the room without literally crawling on top of the cars. “Research notes, correspondence, tax documents and other financial instruments…all from the past three decades of my parents’ life. Stark Industries is drowning in debt,” he said honestly, “and so am I. I need to go through this and find out where all of our money went and if there’s anything left so that I don’t have to declare bankruptcy.”

“Oh my God,” she said faintly.

“Yeah.”

They contemplated the overwhelming pile of boxes in silence for a while before Ms. Potts raised her chin and said, “Then I guess we better get started.”

***

Three months later, Tony made the mistake of telling Obie that they were almost done going through the boxes in the garage. He smiled and congratulated them, and then a week later a box truck was beeping loudly as it backed up into the garage.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Pepper said as she watched the delivery men carrying more boxes of paperwork, stacking them chest high in the garage.

“I hate my life,” Tony said, already heading for the liquor cabinet.

***

Tony rubbed his eyes, which felt like they were going cross-eyed from reading so many bullshit financial projections. “I gotta get out of this goddamn house,” Tony said, tossing the file on the stack for the burn pile, which was already big enough to probably require a permit from the fire marshal.

“Are you sure?” Pepper said doubtfully. She lowered the lid of her laptop so she could see Tony. “It doesn’t really seem like this is the time for partying. The investors need –“

“The investors need to mind their own goddamn business for just one night.” Tony rolled his shoulders and massaged the back of his neck, trying to get his headache to ease off. “I haven’t had a day – or night – off since Mom and Dad died. I think I’ve earned at least a few hours with people who aren’t associated with Stark Industries.”

“Sure, I guess so.” Pepper put down her pen and stretched. “So where are you going to go?”

Tony got up and dug through the junk drawer in the kitchen, where he’d put all the invitations to parties and fundraisers and galas that kept streaming in even though he’d yet to attend any of them. He had no money to spend on new clothes and too much pride to go out and listen to people gossip about why he was wearing something from last year’s designer. He tossed out all of the ones that were expired but lingered over one of three invitations for this evening. “How about this?” he suggested, handing her a glossy stock card.

“Fundraiser costume ball,” Pepper read. “Proceeds to benefit disabled military veterans.”

“I could wear a mask,” Tony pointed out. “The gossip rags and therefore the investors would never know I was there.”

“That’s true. But tickets are $500 a person,” she said, showing him the fine print at the bottom of the invite, “and you need a costume.”

“But they take donations for the charity auction in lieu of cash,” Tony called out over his shoulder, already heading for his parents’ rooms, which he still hadn’t gotten around to boxing up yet. “I can give them one of Dad’s watches or Mom’s antiques or something. As for a costume, let me introduce you to my attic…”

“I may have made a terrible mistake,” Tony said faintly when they walked into the main hall where everyone was gathered, mingling and eating the hors d’oeuvres. Pepper coughed trying to cover her laugh, because she knew exactly what he meant. Half of the people were wearing a variety of cute or sexy or revealing clothing, but the other half were wearing uniforms, a dignified smattering of dress blues and whites.

Tony had always had a weakness for a person in a uniform.

“You can have your fun tonight, Tony – I mean, not too much fun,” she said. “I think the last thing you need right now is to try to juggle a relationship along with everything else.”

“I know, I know.” Tony adjusted his Venetian mask, one of many from his mother’s collection, and took a deep breath. “I’ll behave. Just a few drinks, a little chit chat with a handsome military guy, and I’ll go home and get back to the grindstone in the morning.”

“Good plan.” Pepper was also wearing a mask, along with a beaded and embroidered gown, both stolen from his Mom’s closet. Tony was wearing the deep burgundy and black tuxedo he’d worn to his prom, which Pepper had assured him still looked great, especially with the simple black-and-white mask he’d found. “You have until midnight, remember? That’s what we agreed.”

“Yes, Mom. I mean, ma’am,” Tony said, smiling at the glare he got from Pepper. He gestured with his phone. “I set an alarm to remind me in case I start having too much fun.”

“And if you have a hangover in the morning, I’m not going to have any mercy on you,” she warned.

Tony turned to face her, taking her hands and kissing the back of them. “Don’t worry about me. You’re supposed to be having a good time too, you know.”

Pepper took a deep breath and smoothed the look of worry from her face, replacing it with a smile. “You’re right. I will.”

“Too many handsome men and beautiful ladies here to be so stressed.”

“Exactly.” Pepper’s eyes flickered over his shoulder and when she looked back at Tony, her smile widened. “One of them already noticed you.”

“Yeah?” Tony smothered the urge to look over his shoulder. “Who?”

“Dark hair, blue eyes, lips that look like sin and one of those dimples in his chin but in a cute way. Army uniform with one sleeve pinned, has been staring at your butt since we came in.” She straightened his tie and picked a piece of lint off his lapel. “By the bar. Go get ‘em, tiger.”

“You’re the best.” He grinned and kissed her on her cheek. As he turned towards the bar he saw the man Pepper had been talking about, leaning against the bar and watching him with unabashed interest.

Pepper was right. The man’s mouth really did look like sin, especially as he bit his lip and looked away when he realized he’d been caught staring. So Tony did a little staring of his own, taking in the shoulders that filled out the blue dress jacket and the long, long legs, made longer by the stripe on the side of his pants. As Pepper mentioned, the left sleeve was pinned up close to the shoulder, but the man’s right hand was cradling a glass of champagne, looking strong and capable against the delicate glass stem.

He only had a few hours until midnight, so he was going to be damned if he was going to waste time being coy. He made his way to the bar, not even being shy as he pushed his way close to the guy, who was still trying to pretend that he hadn’t been staring. “Hello, Sergeant Sexy,” Tony said, praying he read the man’s rank correctly. “Is this spot taken?”

The man’s eyes lit up when he saw Tony. This close, Tony could tell that Pepper had been wrong about his eyes, which were a beautiful gray instead of blue. “Hello, Mysterious and Handsome,” the man returned, moving over to give Tony a little more room. “Sergeant James Barnes, at your service. Can I buy you a drink?”

Tony struggled not to smile. “Isn’t it an open bar?” He pointed out.

“Yeah, but I’ll pay the tip,” Sergeant Sexy said generously.

Tony couldn’t help himself. “Just the tip?”

“No, I’ll put in however much you want,” he promised, lips twitching as he set his glass down to reach for his wallet. “I’ll give you everything I’ve got.”

“And how much is that?”

“More than enough,” he said as he gave Tony a broad wink. “At least, I’ve never had any complaints.”

“Good to know.” Tony stuck out his hand. “I’m Tony, and I’ll take a glass of champagne, if it’s any good.”

“Well, it’s no Dom Perignon but it didn’t come out of a box,” the man said, shaking his hand. His palms were warm and slightly rough, grip firm. It felt good enough in Tony’s own hand that he was reluctant to let go. “And my friends call me Bucky.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Bucky.” Tony accepted his drink from the bartender, thanking her with a smile, and watched as Bucky tucked a five into the tip box. “So what do you do?” Tony asked, moving out of the way of the next person in line.

“I’m a professional baseball player,” Bucky said with a straight face. Tony stared at him blankly, trying to imagine how one would swing a bat one handed, before he noticed the glint in Bucky’s eye.

“Interesting,” Tony said, taking a sip of champagne. “So are you a pitcher or catcher?”

That made Bucky choke on his drink and it was a few moments before he could laugh without coughing. “Smooth,” he finally managed.

“I’m surprised you don’t get that all the time.”

“Well last time I said massage therapist-”

“Because you don’t have any problems getting people to get naked and lay down for you?” Tony said without missing a beat.

“-and before that it was HVAC technician.”

Tony nodded wisely. “I can believe that you would like helping people out once you get them all hot and bothered.”

“That’s a good one,” Bucky said in admiration. “I didn’t think anyone could make air conditioning sexy, but you managed.”

“Are you kidding? Air conditioning is sexy all by itself. What’s better than getting all hot and sweaty and the stretching out across the bed naked to cool off?”

“Hot showers,” Bucky returned immediately. “Swimming pools.”

“When you’re right, you’re right,” Tony allowed. “Next time your job could be pool boy.”

Bucky gestured to his mostly missing left arm. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I’d look good enough in a swimsuit to qualify for that.”

Tony raised his eyebrow and his gaze raked Bucky from head to toe. Then, keeping his eyes steady on Bucky’s, he threw his napkin over Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky rolled his eyes but obediently bent over to pick it up, letting Tony get a good look of his ass in his dress pants. “Oh I doubt that,” Tony said in a low voice when Bucky straightened and handed him back his napkin, “but if you’d feel self-conscious about it, I would build a pool in my back yard and keep you all to myself.”

“A kept man, huh,” Bucky said, and was he blushing? “Flattering. I’ll keep it in mind. So what do you do?”

Tony grimaced, playful mood deflating a little, and took a sip of his drink. “I work too much for a bunch of ungrateful assholes. I mean, I own my own company, but the shareholders are real bastards.”

"I know what you mean. Well, not about shareholders, but working for assholes." Bucky held out his hand and said, "Wanna complain all about it while we dance?"

"Oh, boy, would I." Tony set his drink down on a small table tucked between a pillar and a ficus tree so he could put his hand in Bucky's. To his surprise, Bucky paused for a moment, listening to the beat of the music, and then whisked Tony onto the dance floor, seamlessly stepping into the slow waltz that the orchestra was playing. "Oh, is this how it is?" Tony asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yep," Bucky said with a smile. It took Tony a moment to kick his instinct to lead and instead follow Bucky's guidance as he wove them around the other dancers. As they danced, Tony was level with Bucky's mouth and could see the slight darkening of Bucky's five o'clock shadow along his jaw; he wanted to press his lips to it, feel the slight stubble against his skin, but instead he dragged his gaze up to look over Bucky's shoulder when he realized he'd been staring. He swallowed thickly, suddenly aware of how long it'd been since he'd been this close to someone.

"I hope this doesn't come out insulting, but you seem really young to have shareholders," Bucky commented, breaking Tony's thoughts. He raised his hand to guide Tony into a spin before bring him back in close. "Are you one of those young prodigy types?"

"It's my Dad's company," Tony said, lengthening his stride to match Bucky's as he maneuvered them around another couple. "He died recently, and I, uh, found out he wasn't as good a businessman as I'd always thought, so." He shrugged, trying to choke down the bitterness that welled up at the thought. After his parents’ funeral, when the hammer had dropped that Stark Industries was struggling on the brink of bankruptcy, Tony’s own plans - his whole life really - had gone up in smoke. "I spend almost all of my time these days trying to clean up his mess."

“Sorry to hear that,” Bucky said sympathetically. The waltz ended and turned into something slower, so Bucky moved them to the edge of the dance floor and put his hand on Tony's waist, letting their waltz turn into more of a sway. Tony went with it, looping his hands around the back of Bucky's neck, fingers brushing the short hairs there. Bucky's woodsy cologne made him want to lean in closer. “So you’re, what, a princess locked away in a tower, slaving away under your cruel stepmother? And tonight you ran away to the ball?”

“I think you’re mixing your fairy tales up a bit, but pretty much,” Tony said ruefully. Bucky's fingers were moving in small circles on his waist, and it was incredibly distracting in the best way. Tony retaliated by raking his fingernails down the nape of Bucky's neck, relishing Bucky's sharp inhale and the way his eyes grew darker as they met Tony's.

“Well, obviously I’m no expert, but in most fairy tales I think there’s a curse that can only be lifted by a kiss from a handsome prince,” Bucky said, voice rough.

“Oh yeah?” Tony had to bite his lip to keep from smiling. “I have been feeling rather cursed lately.”

Bucky's eyes fell to Tony's mouth and he licked his lips. “I’d be glad to offer my services, if you think it will help.”

“Very generous of you. It can’t hurt to try, right?”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Tony glanced around the room, which had, if possible, gotten even more crowded. “So are you going to invite me somewhere a little more private?”

Bucky pulled away and laced his fingers in Tony’s. “I know just the place.”

“I hope it’s a coat closet,” Tony said as he followed Bucky through the crowd. “I’ve always wanted to make out in a coat closet.”

“Yeah, but people always get walked in on. Where I have in mind is better.” It only took two turns before the muted rumbled of the crowded ballroom faded away, but the hallways weren’t quite deserted. They walked for a few more minutes before Bucky finally stopped.

“A bathroom?” Tony said incredulously, seeing the discrete sign on the door.

“You have to check out this bathroom,” Bucky promised as he opened the door. Sure enough, as he hustled Tony inside Tony had to admit that it was a good spot. This was one of those restrooms that for some reason had a sitting room attached, with a fancy oriental carpet on the marble tile floor and couches that looked more fancy than comfortable. The stalls and sinks could barely be seen through a curtain on the other side of the room.

Tony turned around and laughed when he saw Bucky moving one of the couches in front of the door. “I like the way you think,” he said as he helped pull it into place so they couldn’t be interrupted.

“I like you,” Bucky said simply, sitting down and patting the space beside him. “Join me?”

Tony smiled. “I’ve got a better seat in mind,” he murmured, and climbed into Bucky’s lap, kneeling over him. “Is this okay?”

“More than,” he murmured, making a noise deep in his chest as Tony settled his weight on Bucky’s thighs. “Am I going to get to see your face?” He asked, cupping Tony’s jaw with his hand and tracing Tony’s cheek at the edge of the mask with his thumb.

Tony hmmmed thoughtfully and started to loosen his tie. “You know, I’m really enjoying this mysterious stranger vibe I’ve got going on,” he said, when what he really meant was I like not being Tony Stark for a while and I don’t want to ruin it. He held up his tie and said, “Do you mind?”

Bucky shrugged. “If it would make you feel more comfortable,” he said, fingers moving to trace the outline of Tony’s lips. “But, um, I gotta ask – this isn’t because you’re married or anything, right?”

“No, nothing like that, I promise,” Tony said, turning his head slightly to kiss Bucky’s fingers. “I’m just not ready to have the fairy tale be over yet.” At Bucky’s slight nod he draped the tie over Bucky’s eyes, tying it behind his head. When he was sure that Bucky couldn’t see, he untied his mask and set it on the couch. Bucky’s hand had drifted down to Tony’s chest, palm flat over his sternum; Tony wanted to lean into the warm weight of it, greedy for more.

He framed Bucky’s face in his hands and leaned down to brush his lips over Bucky’s, feeling Bucky’s soft sigh wash over his skin at the light contact. Bucky let his head fall back against the couch, seemingly content to let Tony set the pace. His hand smoothed over Tony’s ribs to his back, stroking up and down Tony’s spine as he pressed light kisses to Bucky’s mouth.

“It’s been so long since I’ve had something like this,” Bucky said softly, breath feathering against Tony's cheek.

“Me, too.” Tony suddenly wished he could see Bucky’s eyes, tempted to take the risk that Bucky would recognize him just for the chance to feel the sense of connection. “It’s like I’ve been drowning for months and this is my first breath of air.”

“I haven’t been with anyone since I lost my arm,” Bucky confessed. “Guys on the dating scene don’t seem to be thrilled about going out with a disabled veteran. And the ones that are…” Bucky shrugged. “They’re all weird about it.”

Tony snorted and kissed the corner of Bucky’s mouth. “The world is full of idiots and cowards. They must not have ever spoken to you.”

“No, that part was all you.” Bucky turned his head, chasing Tony’s mouth. “You’re easy to talk to, you make me feel charming.”

“Well, you’re my Prince Charming,” Tony said, and slanted his lips over Bucky’s. When Tony’s tongue came out to trace over the softness of Bucky’s lower lip, Bucky groaned and opened his mouth, chasing Tony’s tongue with his own. His hand tightened on Tony’s back, pulling him closer, making Tony moan when he realized Bucky was hard. He rocked against him, chasing the intoxicating pressure as Bucky’s tongue curled against his own, tasting faintly of champagne.

“Jesus,” Bucky said with a gasp, fingers curling to rake down Tony’s back. He huffed out a laugh. “I want to touch you all over but I only have one goddamn hand,” he complained.

Tony put his hand over Bucky’s and moved it down to cup his ass. “You can start here, if you want,” he said with a smile. “Since you were staring at it earlier.”

“I couldn’t help myself.” Bucky squeezed the rounded muscle under his hand. “Rarely have I seen a more perfect ass. These thighs, too.”

Tony’s laugh at that was a little breathless, because Bucky had moved his hand around to Tony’s hip, thumb stroking the inside of his thigh and making his blood sing. “Not fair,” he said, acutely aware of the place where Bucky kept idly stroking, teasingly close to where Tony’s erection was pressing against the front of his pants. He tugged at the thick fabric of Bucky’s dress jacket. “You might as well be wearing body armor.”

“Not everywhere,” Bucky said with a sly grin, pulling Tony down as he thrust his hips up. Tony bit back a gasp as the sensation of Bucky’s hardness against his own made his head spin. He felt his eyelids slide lower, getting drunk on the sensation as he rocked against Bucky. He pressed kisses to Bucky’s cheek, along the edge of the makeshift blindfold, before he found Bucky’s lips again. Bucky made a sound deep in his chest and his hand came up to cradle Tony’s head, fingers burying themselves in his thick hair, and held him still while he ravaged his mouth. For long minutes Tony's world narrowed to the warm glide of their lips and tongues, Bucky's hand on his body and the feel of his short, silky hair against his fingers, the tempting muscles and hardness between Tony's thighs.

Then a shrill beeping split the soft silence, making both of them jump.

“Goddammit,” Tony cursed against Bucky’s mouth, pulling away to find his phone.

“What’s that for?” Bucky said as soon as the alarm was silenced. Tony fumbled for his mask, sliding it on so that he could uncover Bucky’s eyes.

“I gotta go,” Tony said regretfully as he stood, trying to fix his clothes so he didn’t look too disheveled from Bucky's wandering hand. “I promised a friend we would leave at midnight.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Bucky got to his feet as well and tilted Tony’s chin up one more time to press a lingering kiss on his lips. “Am I going to see you again? So to speak?”

Tony paused, torn. Pepper had been absolutely right when she said he didn’t have the time or resources for a relationship right now, but Bucky was hot and sweet and funny and looking at him with so much hope in those beautiful gray eyes.

“I can’t make any promises,” he said finally. “But I do want to, so I’ll try, ok?”

“I understand,” Bucky said with a sad smile. He dug out a from his pocket, jotted down his cell phone number, and tucked it into Tony’s jacket. “My number is on there if you want it.”

Bucky watched Tony hustle out the door, tie still askew, and went to the mirrors to make sure his uniform was still regulation and his medals were straight. As he pushed the couch back to where it belonged, he felt his foot hit something on the floor.

“Uh oh,” he said, picking up Tony’s phone. Guess I’ll be seeing you again after all, he thought, feeling a bit guilty about how happy the prospect made him.

#winteriron #tony stark #bucky barnes #tony x bucky #tony stark bingo 2018 #prompt fill

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mysticsparklewings · 6 years ago

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Faber Castell Polychromos First Impressions

I've been threatening it, and nowhere it is at last--a test piece for the Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils! (And also probably my last piece of art for 2018...) Some of my watchers may remember that I've been stalking the internet for months and waiting with very bated breath to get my hands on these famous pencils. Finally, the holiday season came and after cross-referencing no less than three different websites (at least), we ended up paying about $140 for the 120 set off of Cheap Joe's Art Stuff. Which is still more than I wanted to cough up, considering my 150 set of Prismacolors was purchased off Amazon for around $80. But after months and months of waiting and searching and checking, it seemed to me that was about as good as I was going to get if I wanted the full set. (Which because I suffer from what Coloring Bliss on YouTube has dubbed "Full Set Syndrome," of course I wanted the full set). And to be fair, $140 is still way better than the almost $300 price tag some websites place on these, or if you buy them in the special wooden box--which some places can top out at over $500. So let's talk about how they perform first, and then I'll go back to the more superficial things like appearance, packaging, etc. Since the most important thing is performance. But a disclaimer--this is the first piece I've done with these, and they've intrigued me, so I want to work with them more and maybe do an update/follow-up to see if my opinions change or anything interest comes up. (Hence why I'm calling this a First Impressions and not a Review.) Do I think these pencils are super magical and the best-colored pencils I've ever used? No. They are pretty good, but Prismacolor remains my favorite. These are probably my second favorite of the pencils I've tried, but Prisma is the clear winner for me. My main issue is that they're just not as soft as the Prismas, but I did kind of expect that going in because I've watched and seen a few different reviews for both and comparisons, and it comes partly because the Polychromos are oil based and the Prismacolors are wax based. The oil base just makes them a harder pencil. The reason this ended up bothering me personally to the extent it did has to do specifically with the white pencil. My poor white Prismacolor pencil that is so small I had to put it in a pencil extender to be able to continue to use it will tell you first hand that I'm pretty abusive to that color of pencil. I like to use it for blending, as a base on my toned tan and toned gray papers, and for highlights. Now, from what I've already heard about the Polychromos, I knew the white was going to be second fiddle to the Prismacolor--And I have yet to see anyone anywhere make a compelling case for any white colored pencil other than Prismacolor as "the best." To be fair, if you want a white for blending, I actually think this one is better because as I was working and trying to do highlights over other colors, I noticed it liked to blend. But if you're like me and you want the strong white highlights, you're better off to get the Prismacolor white. In fact, I would say if that's what you want and you're going to invest in the Polychromos, I would recommend also purchasing just the white Prismacolor to go with them. And I don't think this is unreasonable since some would also recommend buying separate blender pencils like those by Prismacolor or Derwent (which for the record I say Derwent; that one seems to work better for me). Now that I'm aware of the issue, I should be able to work around it accordingly, but going in blindly I ended up putting an uncomfortable amount of pressure behind the white to get the results I wanted, and even then I had to supplement more than I expected to with my white gel pen. Other than that, I did discover one other issue that isn't that big of a deal, but I thought was interesting to note because this is one thing I haven't really seen anyone specifically test or talk about: The back of the tin specifically says that these pencils are "Smudgeproof." This could be useful if you're like me tend to drag your hand over your work as you go or you really want your colors to hold still. However, I specifically tested this with some swatches. Maybe I don't know what "smudge" actually means, but with a bit of pressure, I did get the pigment to move outside of the swatch by dragging my finger over it. I do think that's probably more pressure than you'd naturally apply while drawing, and this could also be useful in different blending techniques or to get different effects. So while they may be "smudge resistant," they do not appear to be "smudge-proof" as far as I'm concerned. Not that big of a deal, but definitely interesting. Other than that, I really can't complain about performance. They blended and layered quite well. Usually, I see people raving about layering specifically with these, and even I have to admit I feel like I was able to add more layers that actually made a difference with these than I normally could with Prismacolor. At first, I was a little skeptical about blending, but they ended up pleasantly surprising me. Ultimately, I can see why these seem to be competing with Prismacolor in terms of "Most Popular Artist Quality Pencils." But for me, the key difference is just the softness, and that leads me to believe that these might work better if you tend to be heavy-handed and might have issues with just how soft Prismacolors are (like you might have issues with those breaking or coming out too dark/saturated, so the harder nature of the Polychromos would help you not have those issues). I mean, this doesn't really look any different from my other colored pencil drawings, but that's partly because I know what I'm doing and have a few tricks up my sleeve if pencils aren't behaving the way I want them to. However, this time around I wanted to really push these to see what they could do and I did my best not to give them any help. My procedure was pretty normal; White base to neutralize the tan paper, then I cut straight to coloring, lightest areas first, then touching the darkest, and then marrying the two together. The most difficult area was the mountain at the bottom, but that was partly because of my issues with the white and the fact that I don't have much experience with drawing realistic rocks/mountains. But my white gel pen made up for most of that, I think. (Seriously, never underestimate the potential of a good white gel pen). On to the more superficial things: I will give these one major point over Prismacolor; the packaging for the largest set is much better. This 120 set comes in a tin only slightly wider than a 13" laptop. In the tin, there are three layers of plastic trays filled with pencils. These trays feel a lot sturdier than most because they have built-in little elastic handles on either side to pick them up, and that is strictly necessary because the trays are sized pretty close to the tin. I'm not really a fan of the hinged lid just because you can't set it underneath like you might with a shoebox and the hinge makes setting the top tray of pencils back in the box a little fiddly, but it's not the end of the world. For Prismacolor, the 150 set comes in a thick paper/cardboard box with a total of six trays--three stacked on each side--that's almost twice the width of this tin. That's fine if you've got plenty of room to open the box and carefully move the trays around to get what you need and not spill the pencils, but I myself ended up investing a zipper case specifically for my Prismas because that whole set up is more work than I usually want to deal with. The Polychromos tin, at the very least, I can carefully balance in my lap and I'm less concerned about spilling or dropping them because of the way the tin and trays have been designed. I may end up investing in another case just for the Polychromos if I continue to find the one for my Prismas so much to my liking, but it's not a worrying issue like getting one for the Prismas was. Still, I'd much rather have good pencils and have to go find a better case than have a great case and pencils that suck, you know? On that note, the other area where the Polychromos have a leg over the Prismacolors really comes down to the presentation. If you want to feel fancy, the Polychromos are where it's at, from the packaging--that goes so far as to include a little pamphlet about the pencils and company in the tin--to the pencils themselves that have little gold accents and closed-cap ends, and even a lightfast rating on each pencil. (Though at this point in my life that's more of a fun bonus that a selling point for me). And I personally find most of the color names to seem on the fancier side too. I do think I should note also that the Polychromos pencils are a little bit bigger around than the Prismas, but this doesn't really amount to much. The core size is the same--3.8 mm, which is a pretty decent size--and they fit in a standard sharpener seemingly just fine, no issues. (Which the Polychromos do sharpen really beautifully and hold a point well, but I don't feel like that's groundbreaking information.) I think from a technical standpoint it might give the pencils more strength and protection to hold up to breaking, but on the surface, it doesn't make that much of a difference. I didn't feel a noticeable difference while I was working with them. As I stated at the beginning, the Polychromos have intrigued me and I want to work with them more to see if anything changes or comes up, but for now, my final thoughts are that Prismacolor is still my favorite, even though these are really nice. Do I think they're worth $140? That's more difficult to answer. I don't doubt that at least that much money went into making them based on the presentation alone, but my issue comes in with comparing them to the price of Prismacolor and other brands that aren't that far behind in terms of performance. Right now on Amazon, the 150 set of Prismas is $76.02. Almost half of the 120 Polychromos price and you get 30 more pencils. The highest I've seen it get to there is around $100. If you really want oil based pencils, I will vouch for the Schpierrer Farben pencils, which I've tested before and are officially back in stock!, their 72 set is currently $29.78 on Amazon. Half the price of the Polychromos 60 set. The highest I've seen for those is around $40, which is about what I paid when I got mine. (Though I got mine second-hand when it was uncertain if they'd ever be coming back). For comparison, the 120 set of Polychromos is currently sitting at $145 on Amazon. Yikes! That is honestly the only thing holding me back from really recommending these, much like my love/hate relationship with Photoshop. Beautiful tools, ugly, ugly price tags. Maybe my opinion will shift a bit as I work with these more, but as it stands now I'd still recommend Prismacolor as the best value for the price in terms of the pencils I've tried. With that, excuse if the picture quality isn't that great here; I really wanted to include the pencils instead of just scanning it, since the pencils are so gorgeously designed. And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to close out 2018 with my favorite tradition of watching the Twilight Zone marathon on SyFy and maybe try to squeeze in one last drawing before the year's over. (Or start off 2019 with a brand new piece of art if I'm too slow ) ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

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askmegambler · 4 years ago

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Playamo Casino

Playamo Review 2021

Playamo Casino is claimed and worked by the eminent gaming organization Direx N.V. also, has been working since 2016. As a moderately new expansion to the gambling club market, it's maybe obvious that Playamo is responsive to tolerating cryptographic forms of money. There are a lot more motivations to join the activity as well, from a stunning library of online club games to various rewards and advancements. We suggest going through the full Playamo Casino survey here!

Programming and Range of Games

The administrator unites a considerable lot of the top programming suppliers on its foundation. There are 53 studios accessible at Playamo Casino at this moment and it isn't unprecedented for new suppliers to join the gathering. The absolute greatest designers found here incorporate Playtech, NetEnt, Microgaming, Quickspin, Play'n GO, Pragmatic Play, Yggdrasil, Evolution Gaming and iSoftBet. The rundown goes on and the anteroom includes every one of the studios as sifting alternatives.

There are devoted classes in the entryway that incorporate comparative gaming alternatives from all suppliers. You can likewise look for a favored title to discover it immediately since it can require some investment to peruse a few gatherings. The product upholds demo play so clients can look at the greater part of the games practically speaking mode without marking in.

Given the way that Playamo has in excess of 3,500 games, the reach is certainly noteworthy. It's generally made out of spaces however is positively not restricted in such manner. You can practically discover a wide range of online club gaming alternatives here, from spaces to live games and everything in the middle.

Reformist Slots

Playamo Casino has a few reformist spaces in its assortment. Notwithstanding, it does exclude the vast majority of the more famous titles from studios like NetEnt, Microgaming and Playtech. The choice doesn't satisfy its expected given the accessible studios.

Regardless of this, you can in any case discover some groundbreaking bonanzas here. The greatest one is the hot reformist space Mega Moolah Absolootly Mad. This extraordinary rendition includes similar reformist big stakes as the other Mega Moolah spaces thus it can grant prizes of more than $20 million. Another multi-million reformist opening found here is Diamond Wild, with a big stake that as of now surpasses $4 million.

Table Games

Fanatics of blackjack and roulette will discover committed classes in the primary hall for these two notorious table games. That is on the grounds that there are around 100 forms for each, blending in standard tables with live ones. The scope of table games doesn't stop there. You can discover a wide range of alternatives by just looking for them on the site. Baccarat, poker, sic bo, craps, and numerous variations of video poker are accessible at Playamo Casino.

Live Dealer

The Playamo Live Casino profits by the multi-supplier approach also. The part has above and beyond 150 live seller games from any semblance of Evolution Gaming, Lucky Streak, Ezugi and other confided in designers. Blackjack, baccarat and roulette are consistently the most mainstream alternatives however there are likewise a lot of uncommon live games to look at and appreciate. Dream Catcher is consistently fun and MONOPOLY Live acquires another method of dominating live matches.

Rewards and Promotions

Playamo Casino is presently offering an extraordinary reward bundle for rookies, alongside week after week rewards for continuous players. Each offer is not difficult to guarantee and can help increment your bankroll fundamentally.

The fundamental fascination here is the invite bundle. It has two store rewards and gives clients a 100% match on their first store, in addition to half more on the subsequent store. The most extreme cutoff for every reward relies upon the nation of home. For clients in Ireland, Germany and other European nations, the primary reward is covered at $500 and the second can go up to $200. For Canadian players, the rewards can go up to $500 and $1,000 separately. Regardless, the bundle likewise incorporates an extra 150 free twists for chosen spaces.

Hot shots can select the restrictive invite reward of half on the main store for up to $3,000. You simply need to enter the Playamo reward code HIGHROLLER.

Monday Free Spins

To get the week going right without fail, Playamo Casino allows individuals to get up to 100 free twists. The measure of free twists granted relies upon the size of the store. Anything under $75 will grant 20 free twists. Stores somewhere in the range of $75 and $125 create 50 free twists, while bigger exchanges accompany 100 free twists.

Friday Reload

Subsequent to getting gotten comfortable, Playamo gives clients a week by week reload reward of half up to $250. It likewise triggers an extra 100 free twists for a chose openings game. The code for this reward is RELOAD and every client can utilize it once per week.

Celebrity Program

Playamo's VIP Club is accessible for all players and offers rewards dependent fair and square of movement. The framework utilizes focuses to monitor the number of wagers every part makes. In the event that you acquire enough focuses, you'll advance to a higher VIP level and improve prize. The prizes procured so far will be accessible in the record and you can guarantee them whenever. You can even win a Ferrari 488 GTB by arriving at the tenth and most significant level in the program.

Banking

The financial framework is easy to understand and includes a lot of store strategies. We tried it altogether during the Playamo online gambling club survey and everything went easily each time. There are more than 30 acknowledged installment choices on the stage. Notwithstanding, the ones accessible in the clerk for every client can rely upon the nation of home and on the chose cash. The absolute most every now and again utilized techniques are MasterCard, Visa, NETELLER, Paysafecard, Skrill and Interac Online.

Playamo Casino likewise acknowledges banking through a few digital currency wallets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The administrator guarantees quick withdrawals and will once in a while cycle demands in only a few of hours. This permits clients to get their money out promptly to e-wallets and crypto wallets. Withdrawals to cards or financial balances typically require up to three working days to finish.

Security and Fair Play

The online club has demonstrated that it's dependable and safe. The site is consistently secure and associations are encoded appropriately. It utilizes current SSL encryption innovation at 128 pieces to keep touchy data hidden.

Playamo Casino is claimed and worked by the famous gaming organization Direx N.V. This is a known administrator with workplaces enrolled in Curacao. It has a permit from Antillephone N.V. under the locale of the Government of Curacao.

The club guarantees that clients feel comfortable and treated well. The help administration is only a couple clicks away by live visit, with the expert group prepared to assist consistently. Despite the fact that you won't probably ever have to utilize it, it is ideal to realize that client assistance is consistently accessible.

Versatile Casino

Playamo offers a heavenly versatile gaming experience with its improved stage. Despite the fact that it doesn't have downloadable applications, the portable viable site certainly compensates for it. Clients can interface in practically no time and effectively peruse an immense assortment of versatile gambling club games. The interface is pleasantly coordinated, with a conservative menu button at the top and brisk access catches at the base.

The versatile entryway is part into two principle areas, for spaces and for the live club. Be that as it may, clients can in any case look for games or select their #1 suppliers. You can even store genuine cash and pull out the rewards from your telephone, whenever. We tracked down the equivalent rewards, advancements, races and unwaveringness awards during the Playamo versatile audit.

End

So, Playamo is certainly a gambling club worth considering in 2021. It takes things higher than ever and remains in front of the opposition with its games, banking framework, advancements and versatile stage. You can discover in excess of 3,500 club games on the site, given by the best studios around. You can store safely through traditional installment strategies and through digital forms of money. Furthermore, you can get an incredible invite offer, trailed by week after week reload rewards and different advancements.

The entirety of this consolidated makes Playamo Casino a top gaming site. In the event that you actually aren't persuaded, look at it for yourself at this moment. Register and guarantee your first store reward of 100%, in addition to 100 free twists, today!

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chakadola1998 · 4 years ago

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AS Technolutions – Reinventing Offline Card Payments

Today, AS Technolutions' Anubhav Saxena is revolutionizing the way retailers, businesses, and professionals accept card payments from their customers and customers using a unique, secure and user-friendly scan-based hardware less soft PoS.

INSELLERS-AS Automation is nothing less than a breakthrough in card payments. AS is a recent groundbreaking technology that seeks to replace existing card swiping devices. It would be great if we could hear more from you about it.

ANUBHAV SAXENA-Absolutely, yes. AS is an award-winning Gurgaon-based fintech start-up pending a patent. Back in 2016, the concept was planned. It came into being because of the void in the demand we are seeing. For starters, if I were to buy anything from Amazon or Flipkart or some other online marketplace online, I need to tell the rider to take the card machine with him so that I can make the card payment. I was really curious to know why it wasn't apparent to all these businesses to bring a computer, what was a huge thing about it, that's when I started reading about it and I also noticed a similar difference in the Kirana shops and salons neighborhood.We are now in the growth phase and plan to touch >500 crores of GMV in the next 24 months. In this period AS has plans to launch another 4 solutions to increase the portfolio offerings and revenue sources.

INSELLERS-How was this major business segment segmented and which segment did you approach first? How was the trip, which stores or which metrics did you use to measure your objective geographically?

ANUBHAV SAXENA-We are not going after the major stores, they are not my clients, large chains such as Spencers or Reliance. AS is a natural match for micro-small, medium-sized retailers-spread everywhere, if tier one, tier two, tier three, does not matter, but internet connectivity in remote areas have now gotten much stronger.Apart from these three segments, we are also focusing on collaboration with the banks and the fintechs. We are collaborating with fintechs and providing our software to them, which they can pass down to their already existing network of retailers.

INSELLERS-We would like to hear about your major rivals, such as the conventional computer maker alone, or are there any related services?

ANUBHAV SAXENA- In the US, there is a firm purchased by PayPal that wanted to venture into the same technology as we are. Obviously, however, in India, because we have the patent, no other company is in this so far and even if someone is in this area, I'm sure it won't be there for a long time because we have the benefit of having the patent, which can restrict the entry of any such company

INSELLERS-Have you implemented any special approach to combat the competitors?

ANUBHAV SAXENA- Then the secret is constant creativity and reinvention, if you look at the dynamics. Looking at the market, it is important that even POS manufacturing firms will have to join the soft POS category. So obviously, to keep ahead of the other rivals that we are constantly innovating, we are currently working on a very powerful NFC product, which is a tap and go, micro ATMs, supply chain dealers, loans, etc.

INSELLERS-Did you face any reluctance when you went to the market, or were the individuals with your offering coming forward?

ANUBHAV SAXENA-.Yeah, absolutely, The way, people were apprehensive. Why isn't there a machine there? And what are you going to do with the scanning? Is that safe? Is it permitted? We received all kinds of questions from individuals. That's when we began bringing products on the market at the retail level; we have put a lot of sales force on the ground to create trust and gain market knowledge and trends of purchases. It was an absolute pleasure to see the surge in transactions once the retailers got their hold on it.

INSELLERS- Have you ever talked of outsourcing any of the verticals while talking about the different verticals in your company, such as when it comes to digital media or field sales?

ANUBHAV SAXENA-For some time, we had outsourced our sales force and digital media, along with our on roll staff, we had had a few third party salespeople. I assume you can't get employees all the time on board, or you can't keep recruiting more workers to the squad. So if you don't have you outsource it, so the hardware and processes should be the focus of the workers.

INSELLERS-What do you think are this industry's emerging developments and your roadmap for the future? Are you searching for items to diversify a bit?

ANUBHAV SAXENA- In the coming future, there are two trends-one is absolutely the offers, you see all the players provide more than expectations; you can't just offer transactions. It is important that our goods and services become a one-stop solution. The second trend is consolidations. In the future, you may see mergers and acquisitions because working in silos will not make sense for anyone.

INSELLERS-You would like to give other aspiring entrepreneurs some other suggestions you would like.

ANUBHAV SAXENA-A few things, first of all, the most important thing is to attempt at a really early stage to join an incubator or an accelerator, it is not like they need anyone to lead them all the time, but because of this they merge quicker to the ecosystem. The second is that before the launch of the startup, the entrepreneurs should aim to get rid of all kinds of liabilities. The third will be that don't wait for the item to be 100 percent finished, no item is 100 percent ready, launch your product when it is 75 percent complete, and be very quick to implement and learn, integrating the modifications and learning back into the product.I would like to add one more point. Learn to be visible. Do not feel shy, be shameless, and learn to be visible to your customers, investors, and your ecosystem. These are the four things that new entrepreneurs can take into consideration before or while they are on their journey.

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infoworld34-blog · 4 years ago

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15 Benefits of Dry Herb Vaporizers

Smoking has been around for a considerable length of time, going back to our precursors. Setting something ablaze and breathing in the smoke is really simple to do. Nonetheless, we never approached how great is it for us? Up until the 1980's smoking was only natural. Individuals would smoke in strange spots like eateries, planes and even medical clinics. It never occurred to us that it can cause unfriendly impacts. Specialists were in any event, empowering smoking during the 1940s and 1950s.

Quick forward to the most recent decade and life has changed gigantically. From drinking soft drinks to watching what we eat, everything is changing to better us. Vaporizers are one of the most up to date innovations to come out. Numerous smokers are going over to encounter the advantage of weed vapes. This is a similar precise motivation behind why a large portion of them stay vapers. Here are the 15 advantages of dry spice vaporizers.

Points of interest OVER SMOKING

Smoking itself doesn't have numerous points of interest over vaping. Now and then it very well may be speedy or in some cases you can smoke more in a littler given time. Nonetheless, disintegrating your spices will beat from multiple points of view.

Breathing in fume not smoke

One of the most evident ways that they vary is one produces fume and different produces smoke. Smoke contains a ton of cancer-causing agents and poisonous synthetics originate from ignition. Changing to vaping can chop down the harmfulness. Cigarettes murder around 480,000 individuals just in the United States. In spite of the fact that cigarettes contain more harmful substance than cannabis, breathing in high warmth isn't useful for your throat.

Cleaner with better taste

Smoking regularly annihilates the flavor of your spices. Smoking two diverse dry spices will give various flavors however utilizing a vaporizer will show the genuine taste. The primary contrast is you're not utilizing high warmth. High warmth causes ignition which can deliver benzene. Ignition likewise can crush the dynamic fixings in your spices. You will get a snappier inward breath however you're executing a ton of what you can utilize.

Less waste

Since smoking slaughters off so much dynamic fixing, it squanders a ton of spices. Disintegrating not just loosens up the measure of hits you can remove a solitary bowl you pack yet it endures longer. Since you're not warming the spices up so high, it transforms into fume gradually.

Simpler on your body

Vaping is a lot simpler on the body and numerous individuals experience this very quickly when utilizing it. A great many people who smoke cigarettes talk about how it makes them truly drained. Vaping has no proof or account of this. Another advantage of vaping weed is on the off chance that you have issues with your lung or throat, this can help. Since there is no smoke, you won't feel the fume experiencing your mouth, throat, and lungs. Another advantage is that the fume doesn't get to a high temperature. Vaporizer by and large go up to 428°F to 500°F. This isn't sufficient to feel a lot of warmth go through.

Prudent

Vaporizers are excessively tactful from that point structure to the smell. Despite the fact that there is as yet a smell to your fume, it is substantially less than smoking. Smoking flows all around as well as it sticks to garments. The visual distinction in fume and smoke is the surface. Smoke moves increasingly slow smell will in general wait. Fume moves speedier and disperses a lot quicker. The structure of a vape pen is likewise exceptionally prudent. Spot it around your work area close to a lot of pens and basically nobody will take note. The size is practically indistinguishable. You can even keep it on your ownership and it will never show.

Comfort

The helpful factor in a vaporizer is a lot higher. Essentially use it and put it into your pocket immediately. You can't do that with a channel. The bowl is still extremely hot so you need it to chill off. You additionally don't need to stress over the breeze blowing your lighter out. Regardless of whether it's breezy or chilly, your vape will in any case light up. Placing it in your pocket is likewise not a serious deal. They're generally so thin or short, essentially slide it in.

More control

Having more authority over your dry spices fume gives you more force. Not exclusively would you be able to portion better yet you can pick how much fume you need. Change the temperature somewhat higher and you will get more fume in a shorter measure of time. Bring it down a piece and you can get less fume. Less fume basically implies you need to control how you feel with your spices. Cannabis can be an excessive amount to deal with on the off chance that you do it extremely snappy.

More affordable

Costs on vapes can be everywhere. They start from around $25 and can go towards $700 for a very good quality work area vaporizer. By and large, it is substantially more inexpensive than a water pipe. They cost more than $60 and can break without any problem. You don't get guarantee with that. Smoking expects you to continue purchasing lighters, moving papers and glass product on the off chance that it breaks. You additionally squander more spices so you continue purchasing more, snappier.

Spices last more

Spices can last longer when you're not consuming them at 1000°F or higher. At the point when you consume them they transform into singe. At the point when you wrap up your bowl, they're not roasted however semi-earthy colored. You can take the vaped bud and make edibles in case you're vaping cannabis. As of now Vaped Bud (AVB) is what's left of your spices when you get done with vaping.

Small scale Dosing

Small scale dosing is a groundbreaking thought that individuals are executing and it works truly well with clinical maryjane. A few people don't have to vape or smoke until they get the full impacts. You can pull off utilizing an extremely insignificant sum. Microdosing works by utilizing such low measure of dosages to not feel the impacts on your body. You despite everything get a type of cell reaction that despite everything takes a shot at your body.

Better for restorative purposes

Utilizing a vaporizer for clinical pot or therapeutic uses gives you a favorable position. Not exclusively would you be able to portion it yet you will be simpler on your lungs or throat. Essentially pack less in your natural chamber and vape at a lower temperature.

Less tar and cancer-causing agents

Smoking produces substantially more tar than vaping. Since vaping doesn't comprise of consuming anything, you're not creating any tar. Indeed, even cancer-causing agents from vaping have been viewed as a legend. There will be some gunk or buildup shaping in your home grown chamber. This is on the grounds that the warmth is making the oils from the spices gradually discover out.

More choices

Smoking doesn't give a wide range of alternatives. You have moving paper, stogie leaf, and channels however vapes come in various kinds. Not exclusively would you be able to pick between vape pens, versatile vapes or work area vapes. At that point you can pick which highlight or innovation you need in your gadget. Most accompany temperature setting alternatives and some accompany worked in processor or programmed shut-off.

You don't smell

As referenced previously, smoke waits around longer. It likewise sticks to garments and dividers. Far more terrible is the smell of your fingers after you get done with smoking. It smells like an ashtray. Washing it with cleanser scarcely works. Vaping doesn't do this. You can limit the smell being around you by utilizing a dry spice vaporizer. One of the advantages of a weed vaporizer is that you can do your thing and leave without any smell.

Various impacts

Probably the greatest contrast among smoking and vaping is the impacts of your fume. The impacts of the psychoactive fixing in your fume will give you an a lot more quiet impact as opposed to conveying it at the same time. This is the reason microdosing is well known with vapes.

For more: Distillate Pen

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