#ups inverter charger

[xindunpower]

Xindun UPS Inverter Charger Solved Ukraine Power Outage

At present, as the attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure continue, all nuclear power plants and most thermal and hydroelectric power plants in the country have been temporarily shut down, and power transmission facilities have also been damaged.

Ukraine's population is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis as power shortages worsen due to shutdowns at several power stations in Ukraine, and electricity consumption continues to grow due to deteriorating weather conditions.

In response to the power outage in Ukraine, why not use an ups inverter charger?

You can consider WD series power inverter from Xindun Power:

1.Pure sine wave output, any type of loads adaptable;

2.High efficiency toroidal transformer lower loss;

3.Intelligent LCD integration display, easy operation and date checking , can set each function and date directly ;

4.AVR function; UPS function;

5.Three types of working modes adjustable: AC first, DC first, energy-saving mode;

6.Frequency adaptive function, adapt to different grid environments;

7.Added fault code query function, facilitate user to monitor the operation state in real time;

8.RS485 communication port/APP optional.

If you are interested in our solar products, welcome to contact us any time.

[eastgroup]

DC Charger 360-480kW

The function of remote service with firmware updates and upgrades can realize the unattended commercial application.

[neolithicsheep]

Ok so you're looking at the aftermath of Helene and you're thinking "shit, how would I keep my phone charged? What about my neighbors?" and you have some outdoor space and some cash. Your friendly formerly off grid sheep farmer is here to help.

You need this set up right here:

To that you will need to add:

Y connectors:

The 100aH (amp Hour) deep cycle battery of your choice - lead acid AGM will be cheaper, lithium (LiFePo) is more expensive but lasts much longer.

Finally, you need a small pure sine wave inverter like this one: https://a.co/d/70vRd79

Plug the panels into the Y connectors then into the single wire to run to the charge controller. They are now connected in parallel. Take them outside to a sunny spot and face them south and prop them up at about a 45 degree angle. This isn't perfect but it will be good enough.

Connect your battery and charge controller. Connect the panels to the charge controller. All of the places to do this are labeled and all you need is a Phillips screwdriver. I recommend doing it once in a non-disaster situation so you know you can do it but you'll be fine. Boom, you are getting electricity from the sun!

The inverter draws power even when it's not running so don't leave it hooked up when you're not using it. When someone needs to charge their phone, put those alligator clips on the matching color battery posts, turn the inverter on, and plug in the phone/radio. Voilà! A single 100aH battery is not going to run a bunch of things but it will help keep cell phones charged without using up the gas in your car.

The panels are weatherproof but everything else needs to be protected by the way so you'll need to set this up in a shed or garage or in the house. Lead acid batteries can produce hydrogen gas when being charged but just having one isn't a big risk.

FAQ:

Yes, you can permanently mount the panels to your roof if you own your home etc. They're designed for that!

It is true that places sell "solar generators" - those are a charge controller, battery, and an inverter in one box at a very high price point. When a component goes bad you will be unable to replace the component and must replace the entire $1000 box. They are also not upgradeable or expandable, this is.

You do not have to buy Renogy, I recommend them because they kept me in electricity for the years I was off grid.

You do not have to buy the kit, you can buy the components of it as and when you can afford them!

Remember to keep your battery on a trickle charger.

[archivalofsins]

Gunsli as a Mikoto enjoyer you must be losing your shit now that his second trial is drawing closer and closer! You're going to avidly defend him, right?

Meanwhile

Me *carrying a large stick around the panopticon*: FUTA, MU I JUST WANT TO TALK COME OUT! GET THE FUCK OUT HERE!

Futa & Mu: We're not on trial anymore-

Me: The phones...

Them: Huh?

Me: WHOSE FUCKING PHONES ARE THESE?!

Them: ?!

Me:

Well?! Any answers?

Mu: You already did this with me during my trial?!

Yeah, it wasn't really about you it was just for the bit-

So, huh Futa?! Huh whose phone, is it?! Because I know this isn't your phone for several reasons!

So, let's run this down from the beginning-

Question 1

Which cellphone is Futa's?

Sorry, to disappoint but in the battle between iPhone and Android Futa is firmly on the side of Android.

This is made abundantly clear by the fact that unlike Yuno who owns wireless earbuds, Futa's owns wired ones. Something not supported on Apple devices since 2016.

So, why did someone who owns an android phone have what appears to be an Apple charger plugged into his laptop near that flash drive? Well chances are he hooked up that iPhone to his computer to get some information off the phone, erase that information, then move it from his laptop to that flash drive.

We also know this iPhone isn't Futa's because he displays the UI of his actual phone while looking through the color inverted version of twitter-

At which point we can see his UI is completely different from the phone we see breaking at the end of Bring It On.

Futa's phone is also put on full display at the beginning of Bring It On and in other instances showing multiple physical discrepancies between it and the phone that breaks at the end.

From camera placement to general make of the phone and the brightness on the red of the phone case. All things that have remained consistent over the course of Milgram. Making it more apparent which phone is his.

Question two,

Why would Futa take someone else's phone and what information could he need?

He states what he needs and what he's using the phone for at the beginning of Bring It On,

"Found one…! Countdown till I make you say sorry. Let’s go! A victory march! Dan-Da-Dan. Eat this! Don’t act like you have no idea! We won’t forgive you. You’re the crazy one! Ban-Ba-Bang." - "All evil hypocrites should disappear. I won’t stop until you say “sorry”. Now let’s begin to hunt down the liars."

He's using it to get information on the people involved in the incident and track them down.

The rest of the members of the party he was working with for a time. That ended up putting all the blame for that incident on him. This is probably why he's not hanging out with them when he goes to the arcade and is instead watching from a distance.

Using the situation to get rid of two people at once since the hat girl was possibly involved with the group as well hence the line,

"Flames closing in, are both sides losers?"

"Fuck it! You won’t be forgiven; it was stupid licking each other’s wounds." - "You can’t escape, how do you like the taste of punishment." - "You gotta be kidding, I’m an undead hero!"

I've already speculated that Futa's murder was the result of him reacting to the outcome of the hat girl situation and that Futa and this other victim were a part of the same group before.

(I have made way too many posts on Futa: X, X, X, X, X, X, X and many more. Back to the topic at hand though.)

However, the hat girl could have been uninvolved with the group as well. Yet, taking into consideration the very targeted and extreme harassment the group is depicted doing in Backdraft while Futa is looking on in shock and terror I think it's hard for me to not consider this being personal in some way.

That display perfectly calls back to these lines of Futa's in Bring It On,

"I won’t stop until you say “sorry”." - "Now, let’s be reasonable. We are the ones that blow the horn for justice. We will punish you down, this is a warning."

Futa has made it abundantly clear he only does this until the other party apologizes or backs down. Something the hat girl was already doing while the others continued to attack her anyway.

In Backdraft, Futa also spray paints the ones who did this in black as they were doing it. Then we see their tags on the image of the victims have been spray painted over on the wall with black as well once it cuts to the girl.

Black is used as the color to highlight the words on Futa's second trial CD as well,

I believe this color is being used to highlight Futa's version of justice. Just as he says in the voice drama that Es and him are no different, both simply stating that something was bad and things going out of control.

Adding to this Es (and the audiences) judgement of Futa is represented with the same color at the end. As if visually stating the judgement the audience gave to Futa should actually be given to these people instead and reiterating the little difference Futa sees between what he did and what Es and the audience is doing now.

Backdraft even going as far as to have the eyes behind Es be the same color as the spray paint, the people in the group are portrayed using to harass that girl. Making it seem as though by punishing Futa we're supporting the people who did this instead of the other way around.

This makes Futa's question of,

"Should I succumb, make your wish come true?"

Come off as though he's not only speaking about Milgram (Es, and the audience), but the others involved in the harassment of that girl who may have begun doing the same to Futa hoping he'd react in a similar way to their previous victim.

Something alluded to through this image and messages at the end of Bring It On.

QRT Storm Pazuzu　（＝Futa）            I think I’ve got all her details now. Based on her previous tweets I’ve worked out her school. The fact she lives so close is hilarious lol Judgement☨Onizuka You’re the worst offender of all.

"Full of yourselves, are you?" - "Bye bye idiots and devils with the faces of angels." - "You gotta be kidding! I’m the real hero!" - "You gotta be kidding, I’m an undead hero!" - "You’re the crazy one! Ban-Ba-Bang!"

Also we see in Bring It On through Futa's inverted colored phone screen that his icon looks like blue fire or mirrors JudgementOnizuka's normal colored one and vice versa. Implying some sort of connection between the two of them.

It's also telling that Futa is represented by fire and Onizuka water especially given the repeated line of,

"Can't douse this fire."

Within Backdraft.

The lyrics,

"Don’t get cocky, you in that cypher!"- "Holler-holler from safety, so worthless."

These lines can not only refer to the audience or Es but the people he used to hang out with or individuals getting overzealous/too confident with their harassment online. Something the group he used to be in did.

Backdraft also shows off Futa's willingness to just fight head-to-head about it through the line.

"The fight’s up here! Come up to the ring and face me!"

"You won’t be forgiven, a coward, never!"

Question 3

How did he get the phone? Whose is it?

"Are both sides losers?" - "The fact she lives so close is hilarious lol."

It's more than likely the hat girl's phone. Just like the phone we see get smashed in After Pain appears to have belonged to Mu's victim and former friend. Once again, making this another way Futa and Mu parallel each other and why they were paired up.

If the hat girl were also in the group or followers of these people before she began getting harassed, Futa would have an easier time looking over, keeping up with, and figuring out who was responsible for the harassment. That is if he did get her phone after she died.

It would also be similar to how Mu's victim seems to have been involved with Mu or the friend group Mu was in before she passed away as well. However, the phone could belong to Futa's actual victim then when we see it falling to the ground and breaking in Bring It On could be during the altercation portrayed in Undercover.

One thing is for sure Futa and Mu both use breaking phones as imagery for silencing others-

That and they both have a very firm grasp of framing.

Futa would still be able to look over old interactions he was in from his own phone. So, like with Mu in After Pain and It's Not My Fault there may be some playing around with time. In fact, I think there may be playing around with time present in all the prisoner's music videos that becomes more overt depending on the prisoner's personality.

In Futa's case, this is probably why the interactions on his own phone have those inverted colors while the interactions on the one we see break later does not. This coloring choice could denote that these interactions happened before what we are witnessing now. You know how flash backs are usually put in grey or muted colors.

Just as it's implied through After Pain that the messages on Mu's phone happened before her bullying. Futa just goes about displaying this in a vaguer manner.

There are also these things from Bring It On as well that I covered elsewhere before, but I believe it was in reply to someone else's post or something because I can't find it in my archive.

These read,

WARNING [FUTA'S TWITTER ICON] "CONGRATULATIONS [REDACTED]! YOU BROUGHT JUSTICE TO THE WORLD!!! CONGRATULATIONS [REDACTED]? YOU BROUGHT JUSTICE TO THE WORLD???" WARNING [FUTA'S TWITTER ICON] CONGRATULATIONS [REDACTED] YOU BROUGHT [REDACTED] TO THE WORLD!!! CONGRATULATIONS [REDACTED]? YOUR BROUGHT [REDACTED] TO THE WORLD???

I also mentioned this before with this but again can't find it but on the map during the final fight we can see Futa's indicator moving away while appearing to spawn back in.

Also the D in world is styled after his twitter icon-

And at the beginning of Bring It On his phone switches between the Bring It On screen and his twitter feed each time the video glitches before he heads out-

So, yeah- Some credit for all the work Futa did trial one trying to cover up the truth is long overdue.

Whelp that's it. Fuck you Futa for pulling one over on me though really thought that was his phone he dropped.

[bluewren]

Happy DADWC Wren! Gimme a job that the Chargers took part in, using this DA Lore prompt: "In the Mists: The Windline Marcher. A ghost ship." Because Bull freaking out on a ghost ship sounds hilarious.

THANK YOU FOR THIS PROMPT! It's been so much fun to write. @dadrunkwriting wc: 3521, a hefty one.

Lex has heard every story about the Windline Marcher. When he worked for the Kirkwall Merchant Guide, everyone had a bet placed on what was carried by that ship. Jerrik thinks it's cursed gold that some sailor tried to mutiny and sail away with. Korpin is adamant that it's Antivan sex toys, her explanation, 'Antivans are strange creatures.' Lex has no actual coin on that wager though. He was surprise to find Korpin at Skyhold, working as a direct lyrium trading line for the Inquisition. They chatted on a few occasions, Lex even mentioned this job the Chargers are sent to do. She's still betting on sex toys.

There's been rumors that the ship is now appearing more frequently. Hurricane season is more intense this year than others. With the intrusion of red lyrium and rifts into Thedas, Minaeve and the Helisma have been looking through the weather data to see if it affected the weather in any way. Their recent findings have uncovered an unlikely connection, there are mana streams resonating out like an inverted whirlpool. It overlaps with sightings of the Windline Marcher. The researchers considered it one mystery solved and were ready to move on, but then a large sum of money gets dangled in front of the treasury. A nobleman caught news of their findings.

They promised funding for the Inquisition if they captured the Windline Marcher for him. With sparkles in her eyes, Josephine sent the Chargers to do the job. The main forces are with his sister fighting Red Templars, and he's out here adding a vanity piece to a nobleman's collection. This has to be most self flagellating job he’s been on.

The Chargers and the researchers get shoved onto a longboat and sail for the Windline Marcher. They needed Minaeve and Helisma there to correct course on the ship when if the mana changed its concentration. The Chargers mages are pushing the sails with magic, the winds are harrowing and unpredictable during the hurricane season. Every hand needed to be on deck in case something goes astray. It's been trial keeping their boat in the right direction, the storms have been thrashing them in all directions and the swaying has made steadying themselves difficult. Lex would rather let the Windline Marcher stay as one of Thedas's great mysteries, happily so… If only a certain nobleman hadn't offered the Inquisition enough gold to feed the troops for a year.

But even the most jaded of sellswords have to admire how uncanny it is to actually see the ghost ship up close. It has two masts that still stand and fluttering, though the heavy wind seems to have stopped. From his cursory glance, the ship's strutting and placement of rivets look significantly less intricate than their third of the size boat they ride on. Taliesen can probably gosh over all the exact little design details, but isn't here to do so.

The most eerie feature is the glow the ship has. Not a trace of mildew or seaweed growing on its hull, it has the look of never being seaborne. Whatever secrets it holds, it hides them well.

The Chargers begin their plan to scale the ship, beginning shooting grappling hooks tied to crossbows.

"I finally understand why he wanted it so badly." Dalish remarks, she stretches in place to prepare for the jump.

Lex merely shrugs, keeping his attention on aiming. "I'd still much rather throw a fireball at its hull and call it lost."

Lex, Krem, and Skinner are first to ascend the ship, checking that it's safe for everyone else to enter. They arrive to a deck as empty and as clean as the hull, they drop done the rope and ladder for the rest of the Chargers. Minaeve and Helisma stay on the longboat, if the Chargers get overwhelmed they will have the best chance to leave and tell what happened.

Bull is the last to ascend, he immediately starts shivering as soon as both feet meet the wood.

"Alright Chargers! Dalish and Lex stay top side, everyone else begin searching the ship." Iron Bull commands, he speaks with a bold voice and hiding his fear admirably well. "If you see any dead shit in the rooms, tell the mages immediately."

We all knew the captain is pissed scared and had a quiet chuckle to ourselves, but everyone followed and got to work.

The big qunari can still be seen teetering his feet at the front of the ship when we left.

"It's hard to believe we're barely half a days trip from Kirkwall." Commenting as his eyes stayed trained on the horizon. "You can still see hightown. Have you noticed yet, that the sun isn't in the right spot?"

Lex smirks, their captain is clearly trying to distract himself. "You know if we get lost out here, there'd be no way to send people to reach us."

"Lex! I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to scare the piss out of your captain." He furrows his brow, his voice sounding parched. "Get back to your patrol before I make you scrub our whole living quarters with your hairbrush."

Worth every bit of that reprimand.

"Point taken." Lex backs away, leaving with a big smile.

Top deck guard duty has been the most uneventful part of the job, the horizon as calm as a summer hiking day. The sun highest in the sky, and not one drop of salt water on the wood. Anywhere else they would lie down to take in the sun, though knowing that the hurricane that they pushed through to get here, they're likely in the eye of the storm.

The one peculiar sight they can find is that the ship's wheel seems to be missing, no sign of it ever being mounted on its base.

"Another 'wierd shit' job to tell Varric." Lex side eyes the missing wheel. "What's your take on this?"

Dalish shrugs. "Always so negative. Maybe the sailors whacked the wheel off with a stick."

"Sure. Sure. Probably knocked off with a bow too. Not like we already know this boat is cursed."

"They could have knocked it off to protect everyone on land."

"Always the optimist." Lex chuckles, he stretches out his stiffening shoulders. "But you do know that a spirit wouldn't need a wheel to steer the boat."

"Shush now." Dalish smirks, giving him a swift slap on the shoulder. "You should try hoping for things to go better, it’s possible."

It didn't take long for the rest of the Chargers to resurface. They needed the mages to burn away some corpses before they can turn undead. Stitches and Rocky staying topside, this time.

"I'm surprised you're coming downstairs with us." Lex says, trying to not giggle.

"I wouldn't much of a leader if I let my band do most of the fighting due to some demons." Bull grumbles, he still steadfast in drawing his axe.

"I never count the Iron Bull out of a good fight."

Everyone started with slow tiptoe steps into the lower deck. The scouting group has already informed everyone of the suffocating air below, feeling more alive than up top.

The floorboards creaks in ripples in the water, repeating like a pulse. Nothing aligning with their steps. It's difficult to tell the direction of the sounds.

"Through there. Be ready."

Krem leads us the first right door, immediately Lex, Dalish, and Bull winced. Though there is no smell, a few skeletons laid in this room. Decayed to nothing, not even a smell nor untarnished rags, there is nothing to identify them.

Lex feels the goosebumps rising up his neck, he didn't move any closer.

"Everyone, cover your noses or get clear." He raises his palm to set the bones ablaze.

It'd be pointless to recover anything from their bodies, now four centuries lost. There priority is to stop any demon possession from happening. If the Chargers get careless, then this will be their fate.

"Everyone doing good?" He asks.

"Swell." Krem replies, though clearly close to gagging.

Lex closes the door, ready to be rid of this room too.

"I hate to wonder how they passed on." Dalish sighs, lowering her palm with a flame still contained. "Some of them look at peace."

"You've noticed that too?" Lex raises his brows. "Everything's awfully neat for boat caught in a storm."

"Be on your guard, but try not to worry." Bull hushes."Focus on the bodies, us with blades will keep you two safe."

Both mages nodded, they split into two teams to check the next set of doors. Grim and Skinner follow behind Lex, exploring a supply room inside the ship. The creaking comes from this room too. The shelves still holds the former crew's rations, but not enough to rattle loudly. It's difficult to determine if there is an origin at all.

"Check this." Skinner snatchs a bottle. "Don't think anyone has Antivan vintage this rare."

"Who'd want to drink wine from a ghost ship?"

"It could still be good for a fire." Skinner adds.

Lex chuckles, somehow Skinner always comes up with the most amusing ideas.

They find more bodies on the far side of the room, leaving it to Lex throws another fireball at them.

After the bodies are burnt through, they hear a loud cracking sound coming from the wall they learned on.

"Pass me the bottle." Lex trains his eyes at that wall.

He throws the wine, a fireball ignites it. The fire should have spread to the walls, but it does not take. His flames smothering when meeting the wall, it let's free a grumbling. The owners clearly didn't like someone setting their home on fire.

Grim grumbles, disapprovingly.

"Think you made this it mad.” Skinner chuckles.

“What?” Lex raises a brow. “You would have done something different.”

“No. No.” She shakes her head. “I would have done the same thing.”

Lex snorts, somehow they've always been of the same mind.

The three are ready to leave this miserable room and rejoin the rest of their companions. Likely they'll want to know about the sound.

"Shit!" Bull is the first to run for answers, almost snapping Lex's back when demanding them. "Did you hear that sound? It sounded like a roar, ship's shouldn't be roaring?"

"Calm down. We all knew this ship wasn't normal, we needed to get out in the open."

The roar comes again from he far side of the hold, a hand constructed of stone reaches forward. The demons haunting this ship takes the form of golem, summoning more of its kind to push out it's intruders. Skeletons come from the rooms they hadn't checked, one of them wields a scimitar with a jewel and gold encrusted hilt. That's likely the former captain.

Worse yet is the swords flying free from the rooms they burned the corpses from, wielded by spirits taking the impression of humans. Their work has been shown fruitless, the demons have a liking for hosts without a pulse.

Atleast the monsters finally decided to come out of the shadows.

"Shit!"

Bull finally lets free of Lex's collar. He frantically begins hacking at the floating swords.

The abstract forms of the possessed swords fall easily, one strike from Bull's wide swing is all it takes to smother their connection to Thedas. Though their severed connection reestablish fast, another spirit pushes through the Veil and picks the sword back up.

Worse are the foes with more solid forms, slowly close the distance. The amorphous spirits were little trouble for their blades, the skeletons have an unnatural strength to them. Skinner dashes to cut more holes through their tattered leather armor, she is pinned to a wall when the demons lunges its bones in her direction.

Krem is close enough to shield bash the demon away.

The tight corridors give little room to maneuver, one misstep and the demons will overwhelm us. And will have even less room as the golem closes the distance.

“Bull!” Lex shouts, his blade sets ablaze surrounding spirits. ”We can’t stay here.”

“Bah!” Bull growls, his swinging gets his axe stuck to a wall. “We need more room. Everyone get upstairs!”

The Chargers retreated, Lex needing to run his blade through a skeleton blocking Grim from leaving. The whole team is able to see daylight, though the demons are close behind.

“Rocky! Clear the tunnels.” Bull commands.

When the last of the Chargers is safe enough distance, Rocky drops an explosive through the door. There is a bout of clattering and clinks from flying swords, it worked to clear some of their foes. It wasn’t enough to finish them off, the same roar from below deck is heard again.

The golem reaches out, it’s stone hands pull the rest of itself through the door. A scattering of spirits and skeletons follow behind.

Another bomb would have cleared them, but the golem is smart enough to use its giant body to shield its friends.

We continue our skirmish, the demons using the same strategy as before. It’s an effective one, the spirits are plentiful and cutting one down isn’t enough to stop the weapon from being reused. While the skeletons wait for the moment when fatigue sets in.

They’re now losing daylight with little to show of their battle.

“This isn’t working.” Bull grimaces, holding back a skeleton.

“Got any better ideas, Chief?” Krem shouts, striking down a few more spirits down. “Would be open to a Chargers high roller.”

“Just one. The golem is probably in charge. Get Lex and Rocky to it, blow up its head.”

"Got it." Lex and Rocky dash for the golem, the other Chargers clearing the path for them.

Grim and Skinner cut down the spirits in front. Krem and Stitches raise their shields, blocking the skeletons from reaching the runners.

"Dalish!" The mage pulls up icewalls, they have a direct line to the golem now.

The last thing that is now between them and the demon is the captain's skeleton, pointing its decorated sword at them.

Lex kicks up a fire jet, dropping his sword on the skeleton.

Rocky has his opening to throw his bomb in. After his sword runs through the skeleton, Lex sidestep to ignite the bomb with his fire magic. The explosion is massive, enough to cause Lex's ears to ring but it is able to crack the golem.

The demon is extricated from its homely pile of rocks, now fluttering for safety and something new to latch onto in the physical world. It make haste for Bull, the sudden flash scaring the piss out of the qunari. But for some unknowable reason, it flies past the horns and into his axe…

"Shit!"

The Iron Bull breaks into a cold sweat, his weapon uncontrollably flailing at the rest of the Chargers and too mortified to let go of his grip.

"It's got my axe!" Bull heaves, hiccuping every time the axehead drops. "Shit. It's on the tip of my blade! Its got a mind of its own! Help! Help!"

It's rare for demons to act like this much of a nuisance. Lex dashes under Bull's shadow, readying himself for the axe to land over him. He prepares a telekinetic spell for that exact moment, enough to knock it into the opposite direction.

"Let go!" He commands his captain, throwing his spell when safest.

The axe flung backwards, through the air, into the sea. Ridiculously, it still isn't enough to stomp the demon. The possessed axe gathers a watersprout. The long neck spreads out and freezing over into scales with a reptilian head enveloping the axe. A sea serpent, it's like an ex that won't leave you alone.

The boat starts to tumble, shaking like it's falling. Everyone tripping and losing their footing, head first onto the floor. It's likely that this boat dropped into the water, probably the first time the boat has actually been seaborne in years.

"This fucking demon really needs to die." Lex coughs, completely exasperated by their foe. "Bull, do you need my weapon?"

"I liked that axe, first time I had one perfectly balanced." Bull growls, seeming more angry than frightened now. "Thanks. Appreciate it. You never quite see a demons this tenacious, I'm wringing its neck."

Angry is not the right word. To be exact, he's got a hard on for fighting a sea serpent. Lex hands over his sword, Bull revels in this moment. Although he now needs a new weapon, he remembers the possessed ship captain carried an elegant one.

A scimitar, gem encrusted, more fashion piece than tool, that'll be the one. Lex finds it amongst the bones, picking up and igniting it with his fire magic. He's now ready for this grand final hunt, but not without some censorious looks from the others.

"You couldn't have set something else on fire?" Bull narrows his eyes. "Something more practical. Less lavish."

"We're moments from taking on a giant water lizard, why worry about ruining an expensive sword?" Lex trains his wicked grin at the giant beast. "It's much more fun this way."

"Can't say I disagree." Bull chuckles, he takes stance to point Lex’s sword. "Chargers! Go for its head, knock that thing back into the sea."

The sea serpent summons tentacles to defend itself, made the same way that its body was. The ice is made resilient by the magic, the Chargers hacking away at the appendages barely cut through them. By Dalish’s fire magic, she’s able to soften them enough to amputate. Lex’s flaming sword sword has been able to do similar, although one clumsy slash is enough to flash melt the ice.

It’s enough to splat his eyes, momentarily blinding him. He gets slapped down to the deck by one of its tentacles, striking with enough force to fling him to railing.

While picking himself up, he notices the rattling of their grapples hooks attached to the ship. He peaks over the edge to find that the researchers and ship captain are in a struggle with shades as well. He hacks off the hooks, freeing their longboat.

"Get to safety!" Lex shouts to them.

The Chargers will have to win against this demon to get home. At least now, they only need to worry for themselves.

“Bull, get me to its head.” Lex huffs.

The battle is now taking the air out of him.

“Gladly.” Bull nods, his axe slices through another of its icy tentacles.

The Chargers attack the neck. Fire weakening the ice, arrows chipping it away. Whenever close enough, the warriors swing their swords at it. It lets out meager scream unlike its earlier form. Eventually the head slumps itself enough for Lex to reach.

He puts the last of might into the fire enchantment. His scimitar’s blade becomes indistinguishable from starlight as it cuts through the serpent’s head. The demon’s head falls backwards, finally losing the will to fight. Its ice shatters, finally dropping the possessed axe into the sea.

The battle is finally over, and Lex is ready to vomit.

“Strange that after all that work, it’s our boat tugging us back to land.” Lex remarks.

“We are still missing the wheel to steer the ship.” Dalish adds.

“This boat’s old.” Bull points out. “It’s much faster to have our’s do the heavy lifting. The masts catch more wind.”

All the ship's anomalies have vanished, the demon probably took all its mana back when forming the sea serpent.

“Fair point.” Lex is finally able to kick his feet up, though Stitches keeps a watchful eye on his bandages after getting thrown by the sea serpent.

The Charger’s job is finished, but the researchers are still busy on their work. Studying the clouds, measuring wind speed, gathering data. It’s perfect time to learn more about weather patterns in this part of the sea.

“I’m glad you two are unharmed.” Lex waves to the researchers.

“Thank you for helping us when you did.” Minaeve grins back, her head seems stuck in her notebook. “And I’m grateful for you and Helisma.”

Lex turns his head to Minaeve’s companion, the tranquil?

“The demons avoided Helisma, she’s the one to guide our boat to safety.”

“Have you found anything interesting?” Lex asks.

He has trouble, shaking the feeling of being perturbed though he still has gratitude to the other researcher helping the Chargers.

“Something, yes.” Helisma nods, pointing out to the sea. “I spotted the glow of a unusually large lyrium deposit when we ran. We can’t be certain, but it’s possibly how the demon had so much control over this ship.”

“That’s certainly interesting.” Lex asks, wide eyed. “Is there anything more that we can learn?”

“Again, there’s no way to be certain. The demon is gone, its host sank to the bottom of the ocean and the deposit is too far out to excavate. We can only theorize.”

Lex sighs, it’s expected though dismal that there isn’t any good answers for this headache of a job. Still there is one last mystery that needs answering, Korpin wants her answers.

He makes his way to the hold again.

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

Well I got a little carried away again… part 10! There’s so many moving parts to this now, but hopefully everything will be coming to a tipping point again soon. Here’s part 1 of you need some reminders of what’s happened so far.

Pairings: Sam Kiszka x Danny Wagner, Jake Kiszka x fem OC ***more Christmas slash

Warnings and tags: absolutely no minors!! 18+ only please!!, m/m sex, oral (m rec), hand jobs, smoking and drinking, brief talk about deceased loved ones, slash of course, slight jealousy, third person POV Sam, Jake, Danny, and Kim, restaurant AU, if I missed anything please let me know

Word count: 10k

“Coffee?” An angelic voice broke through Kim’s crippling headache. She peaked her eyes open to see Jake offering a paper cup filled with the piping hot liquid gold.

“Thanks” she groaned, but carefully took the cup in her hands and settled back into the corner of the couch she had found herself sunken into ever since Jake picked her up from her apartment at the crack of dawn and brought her back to his. “You sure your brothers don’t mind me coming along?”

Jake scratched the back of his head as he searched through his small weekend bag, making sure he had all the essentials, toiletries, extra underwear, phone charger. Even if he did manage to forget something, he was sure his mom had stocked up on everything in anticipation for their arrival.

Truthfully Jake hadn’t really thought through what it meant inviting Kim along with him, Sam, and Danny on their trip back home for Christmas when he’d made her the offer. He’d had quite a lot to drink last night, same as Kim who was now currently fighting for her life through a hangover, and he might have gotten a little caught up in the moment after the display of affection he’d put on.

“Well Sam did have some reservations at first” he thought back to the heated conversation they’d had last night.

“You’re a real hypocrite, you know that Jake? Gave me so much shit about Savanna and now here you are inviting the chick you’ve been banging for less than a month to our family Christmas!” Sam unleashed on Jake right in the middle of the dance floor as soon as Jake broke the news.

“That chick is Kim. She’s a friend to all of us. Don’t act like she’s just some random person” Jake spat back, unsure why Sam was so on guard and defensive all of a sudden.

“Yeah” Sam scoffed and rolled his eyes, “and we all know how you treat your friends”. Jake’s eyes flashed to Danny who had followed Sam over, but just stood back while he and Jake hashed it out. Danny was uncharacteristically quiet, distant, and distracted. Jake couldn’t put his finger on it, but he was more used to seeing Danny stepping between them before they could all but break out into a fist fight like they would when they were kids versus whatever this act was.

“What the fuck is your problem right now?” Jake turned his attention back to Sam since Danny was being no use. “We’re taking my car to Michigan tomorrow. I wasn’t asking your permission to invite her; I was telling you she’s coming”.

“Right, cause we all have to act and feel the way you think we should all the time! We’re all just pawns in Jake’s little world. Fucking hypocrite and a narcissist”.

“Sam…” Danny finally piped up, though still very mello and hollow with his tone. Sam was taking his frustration out on Jake, and he knew it wasn’t just about inviting Kim.

Danny hadn’t said anything to either of them about what Kim had told him. That she had seen Sam and Savanna kissing while everyone was opening their secret Santa gifts. He had once tried to imagine how he would react if Sam and Savanna hadn’t gotten over each other, but he stopped himself before he could get too far thinking he was just being over anxious. Now that he knew his fears were true though nothing could have prepared him for how he really felt. His entire world inverted in on itself and he was trapped inside his own head while everything else slowed and blurred around him.

“Jesus Danny, you need to do something with him before he fucks up”. Jake gave his last input and stormed off leaving Sam still fuming and Danny there to heartlessly calm him.

Yeah, he did need to do something because Sam had already fucked up. For some reason though Danny didn’t feel anger like the other two did. He felt like an idiot. He felt like he should have seen this coming and that he didn’t blame Sam for slipping up, as pathetic as that sounded. He loved Sam and he resolved himself to believe that this didn’t have to ruin everything.

“He will get over it though, he just had his head in his ass for whatever reason last night”. Jake shrugged it off. He’d had plenty of fights with his brothers over the years that he’d learned to not take anything to heart that Sam especially said when riled up.

Kim shrunk down further into the couch as she tried to sip on the coffee and wake up a little. A lot had happened last night. Jake being her secret Santa and the sweet gift he gave her made her lips pull into a smile at the memory of it. Then there was what she had seen and accidentally ratted on. She thought about the past few breakfast dates she’d had with Danny where she mused on and on about being with Jake, and not once did Danny ever mention that he was in turn dating Sam, her friend's ex.

She wondered if that was the argument she had seen, though it seemed weird that Sam and Jake would be the ones fighting instead of Danny. Regardless, she hoped they were able to reconcile last night before they all got stuck in a car together for the next nine hours. Not to mention, their childhood home for the weekend.

Jake’s phone buzzed on the table in front of the couch and he leaned over to place a reassuring kiss on her forehead before checking the notification. “Alright, they said they’re ready. Let’s go”.

Danny slid into the backseat next to Kim with a merciful smile as he took in the state of her. She was bundled in the buggiest fluffiest sweater she could find in her closet this morning. A pair of what was obviously Jake’s dark sunglasses perched on her nose, hiding red baggy eyes.

“Party a little too hard last night?” He chuckled as he got situated, buckling up and angling his knees towards her so he wasn’t so scrunched up.

“I’m hanging in there” she gave him a faux excited thumbs up but jumped at the sound of Sam hopping into the passenger seat and slamming the door shut.

“Oh, my bad” Sam gave Kim a hardly convincing apology when Jake shot him a dirty look. “So, passenger gets control of the radio right?”

“Sure, just don’t play anything too loud for now. It’s still early” Jake replied as he waited for Sam to connect his phone to the Bluetooth before he started to back up and officially hit the road.

“Come on! It isn’t a Kiszka road trip without a little jam session. Isn’t that right Danny?” Sam looked through the rear view mirror, he and Danny making eye contact for a brief moment before Danny looked away. Kim watched as his chest rose and fell in a silent sigh.

Kim set her nearly empty coffee cup into the cup holder on the back of the console between her and Danny and sat back, leaning her head against the window and letting the vibrations of the tires against the rocky asphalt lull her to sleep.

Kim woke up to her head bouncing again over a patch of bumpy highway. Only this time instead of leaning against the cold hard glass she was resting on a shoulder. She’d expected it to be Danny’s shoulder she was snuggled against, he was the one who had been sitting in the back seat with her at the start of the trip.

When she opened her eyes she saw Danny instead sitting behind the steering wheel. One hand was focused on driving, and the other was laying against the console where he had his elbow propped, his fingers laced together with Sam’s still sitting in the passenger's seat. Looked like they were out in the open now as well.

With Sam and Danny in the front, that only left one other option for who she was now sitting with. “Feeling any better?” Jake whispered, his fingers gently brushing a lock of hair off her forehead and tucking it behind her ear.

“How long was I asleep?” Kim asked, sitting up and trying to take in the unfocused landscape flashing by outside the car to attempt to discern where they were.

“Three hours” Jake replied.

Kim rubbed her sore eyes. Sometime in her sleep, maybe during the stop when the seats were switched, Jake had stolen back his sunglasses.

“Are you hungry? We can stop again and get some lunch”. Kim nodded her head and everyone collectively agreed to pull over in the next town somewhere between the border of Kentucky and Ohio.

After food and more fuel they all piled back into the car. Jake stayed in the back with Kim and this time it was Sam’s turn to drive.

The next five hours went by pretty smooth, and Kim was surprised that Sam was able to finish out the drive with only one more quick stop. She was thankful that she was fast asleep for the first good bit of it, because by the time they finally breached Michigan territory the three boys were jumping in their seats with excitement and dying to get out of the car.

She was glad she was awake for this last part though. When they arrived in Frankenmuth she stared out the window with wide delighted eyes. Jake had told her about the place he grew up in, and she’d googled it to get an idea of the picture he was painting from his memories because she never thought she’d actually have a chance to visit herself. Yet here she was, and it was exactly like she’d seen in the pictures, a real magical place.

“We’re dropping Danny off at home first” Jake leaned over and informed Kim once the car started to slow to a roll through normal looking neighborhoods compared to the intricate Bavarian designed buildings of the town itself. Eventually they parked in front of a house right in the middle of the block. “I’m going to take over up front”. Jake hopped out of the car and helped Danny get his bags out of the trunk.

Sam got out too, walking around to the other side of the car to give Danny a hug before they parted ways for the evening.

“Tell Lori I said hi” Sam requested when Danny squeezed back into the backseat to grab a few things he’d left in the seat back pocket.

“I will” Danny replied, haphazardly stuffing his things into the front pocket of his bag, clearly eager to get inside and see his family again.

“Lori? Is that your mom?” Kim was suddenly reminded that she was an outsider here. That they all grew up together in this funny little town and all knew each other's families inside and out.

“Yeah” Danny looked up at her with a fond smile “when we come over tomorrow, I want you to meet her, and my Dad, and my sister”.

Kim smiled big in return. This was going to be so different for her, spending the weekend with not only one, but two functional families that all loved and cherished each other. It made her heart ache for her family that didn’t see her as a valued enough member to ever stop and include her in holidays or celebrations.

“Have fun at the Kiszka household! If you need me to come save you just text” Danny waved bye one last time and started his walk up to his house.

Once he’d disappeared safe inside Jake backed out of the driveway and they made the short drive over a few blocks to their destination. Their neighborhood was similar to Danny’s, though their house was near the end of the block. It was a two story house, though nothing extravagant, definitely a home for a big family with a wide yard and a detached garage at the end of a long driveway.

“You guys go ahead inside I’ll start carrying in the bags” Jake offered as they pulled in. Kim wanted to say that she could help, but as soon as the car parked Sam threw the door open and jumped out. She figured it would be best to follow him and let Jake do his thing.

“Mom!” Sam hollered into the open home the second he stepped through the front door.

“Is that another one of my babies?” A sweet and warm voice called back from somewhere inside.

“Only your favorite!” Sam replied, following the direction of the voice, Kim trailing behind. “Did Josh beat us?”

“You bet I did!” Sam’s oldest brother jumped out and attacked him with a hug and a rough ruffle of his hair. Sam returned the favor by wrapping Josh’s head in a lock until he was tapping his side to surrender, repeating “not my hair!”.

“There you are darling!” Their mom rounded the corner to find two of her boys already roughing each other up. “Hey you know the rules, if you’re going to fight do it outside”.

“Later?” Sam let Josh go and he agreed “later” both backing down so that Sam could give his mom a hug next.

“Where’s Jakey?” She questioned, knowing that he and Sam drove together.

“Oh he’s getting the stuff, he’ll be in any second now” Sam replied, throwing his arm against the banister of the staircase and leaning back.

She shook her head and turned around, suddenly noticing there was an unfamiliar face in her home. “Oh, you must be Savanna!” She smiled and held her arms out in a welcoming hug.

“Umm, no” Kim awkwardly glanced between Sam and Josh for help in correcting their mom who both just shrugged and started their own little conversation. “I’m Kim” she meekly introduced herself.

She looked over at Sam in confusion who didn’t seem bothered enough to clear anything up. “I’m sorry sweetie. You came in with Sam so I just assumed”.

“Actually mom” Jake stepped in to join everyone, setting down all the bags at the foot of the staircase “Kim is with me”.

“Well isn’t that lovely” she smiled and reached her arms out again, offering another hug to which Kim accepted before quickly pulling back to let Jake get his turn.

“I had no idea you were bringing anyone Jake, you should have told me!” She smiled as he spoke and squeezed her arms around her last son indicating that she didn’t mind at all.

“Thanks for having me Mrs. Kiszka” Kim tried to be as polite as possible hoping to ease her own embarrassment.

“Mrs. Kiszka! Oh my I haven’t been called that in a long time. Please, call me Karen, or mom”.

Kim smiled and nodded and Jake moved to her side, taking her hand in his own.

“Kim and I have been dating for a little while, she didn’t have anywhere to go for Christmas so I invited her to come along”.

“The more the merrier!” Karen gleamed, “come on, I’ll show you around while the boys get settled”.

After a tour, and a speed round of questioning about how Kim and Jake had met, how long they’d been dating (which really did only sound like a short amount of time when said out loud) they all settled into the living room just as the sun was starting to go down.

“You all must be starving, I didn’t cook anything because I didn’t know what time you’d all be getting in, but we have plenty of leftovers from closing the restaurant this morning”.

“It’s fine mom, you will be cooking all day tomorrow we can handle ourselves tonight” Jake replied.

“Well let me go warm some things up at least” she stood up and left for the kitchen, Josh knocking Sam on the shoulder as soon as she was out of range.

“Go help her!” Josh ordered to which Sam rolled his eyes but got up anyways and followed.

“So Kim, it’s good to see you again, and with my brother nonetheless” Josh turned his attention to her who sat alone in a chair, still trying to quietly take in all her surroundings.

“Yeah, I’m glad you remember me, I wasn’t sure if you would”. She replied, speaking about the time she had met him at his going away party.

“Of course I remember you” he flashed a toothy smile and chuckled, “I also remember us having a pretty intense conversation about philosophy while high off our asses that night”.

Jake butt in leaning over the armrest of the couch to whisper over to Kim, “You didn’t tell me you smoked? I have a surprise for you later then”.

Hopefully Jake was insinuating they could have a little smoke sesh later, because that would certainly relieve some of the tension she felt.

Everyone was extremely nice and welcoming. Even their Dad whom she spoke to for a moment during the tour with their mom, but still she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was a little out of place.

Once Sam and Karen had set the table Kim took a seat next to Jake who began a long conversation with his dad about all the new dishes they had started at the restaurant since the last time they talked.

“Jake’s always been just like his father” Karen leaned over and spoke to Kim who was enjoying just sitting back and listening.

“I can see that” she replied, smiling over at Jake who was now arguing with Josh over the benefits of organic versus locally grown. “He’s a really great guy, you raised him right. All of them”.

Kim really was thankful for the opportunity to meet such great encouraging parents. Karen actually reminded her of her mom a little bit in the way she always smiled and called everyone sweetheart, darling, my baby. That was making it easier to get comfortable interacting with them.

It was a breath of fresh air compared to the couple of intense and uptight dinners she’d had with Courtney and Paul who only ever wanted to talk about politics or which investments he was making and why. Only one person talked at a time at their table, usually Paul who demanded attention more than gave it. The Kiszkas weren’t like that, the sound of laughter and multiple different conversations happening simultaneously filled the dining room and made sharing a meal together feel less like a chore and more like an opportunity to enjoy each other's company.

“Come with me, I want to show you our hang out spot” Jake whispered into Kim’s ear, wrapping his arms around her waist and placing a kiss behind her ear. She relaxed into his touch, they were alone in the kitchen right now, and she breathed a sigh of relief at his touch.

“I was going to help your mom with the dishes” Kim replied, leaning back against his chest, completely giving up on the glass she was drying with a towel she’d found hanging on the oven.

“That’s Sam’s job” Jake turned her around, examining her expression for a moment. “You hanging in there? You’ve been quiet”.

“Yeah, I’m fine” she knew that was probably the worst response she could give him, but she didn’t really want to get into all the feelings she was having right now.

“Well let’s go, maybe this will make you feel better”.

She knew exactly what that meant, and when she followed Jake out the back door and through the yard to the garage they found Josh already waiting inside, meeting them with the familiar smell of a freshly lit joint.

“So this is where all the cool kids go?” Kim gladly took the piece from Josh, and plopped down onto the old raggedy couch next to him taking one long hit before passing it to Jake who pulled out a folding chair and propped it up in front of them.

“Yep, this was the spot back in the day” Josh replied, kicking his feet up on a crate, already having had a few puffs alone. “Jake and I used to stuff a tarp under the garage door and hot box this whole thing. You remember that?”

Jake laughed, taking a few hits then passing it along. “We thought we were being sneaky but mom knew the whole time. Told us as long as we didn’t light the place of fire and didn’t let our grades drop then she’d keep pretending she didn’t know”.

“I used to smoke with my mom” Kim started on a story of her own. Everything about the evening reminded her more and more of the last few months they shared together in their small two bedroom rental house at the edge of Nashville. “When she got diagnosed, it was already stage four, she tried chemo for a while but it wasn’t working so she stopped after just a little while. Shortly after that she started smoking to control the pain”.

“Damn” Josh exhaled, Kim quickly realizing that he didn’t know that about her.

“Sorry if that sounds like I’m being a downer, but I’m actually really happy every time I think about her”.

Josh pat her knee and shook his head, “no you’re alright, you want to tell us more about her?”

She looked over at Jake, making sure she really wasn’t ruining the mood, who smiled and sat back in the chair making himself comfy.

They shared one more joint between the three of them, all getting sufficiently high as Kim recounted stories of Christmases and new years, birthdays and even just any old day, living alone with her mom. Needing no one else, just the company of one another.

Jake and Josh shared stories of their own in between, even some about Sam and Danny joining them in the garage, or past flings whom they’d shared their first kiss with on this very couch.

After it started to get a little too cold, the garage door not doing much to keep out the frozen Michigan air, they headed back inside and regathered with everyone in the living room.

Kim curled up on the couch this time next to Jake, Josh taking the chair instead, their mom and Dad sharing the loveseat and Sam must have already headed upstairs to his room.

“I think she’s about ready for bed honey” Kim barely heard Karen mention to Jake. Her eyes were heavy and unfocused as she leaned her head against Jake’s shoulder and stared ahead at whatever they were watching on the TV. “I’ll go get some extra pillows”.

Jake helped Kim up, taking the stack of mismatched sheets and blankets that had already been set out. “I hope you don’t mind, but you will have to sleep on the pull out in the basement”.

“That’s alright, I know I was a last minute addition”.

“Don’t be silly, we’re so glad you’re here, but if you guys have a September baby then I’ll at least know it wasn’t at my house”.

“Mom!” Josh groaned, oddly enough being the one freaked out about the comment while Jake just blushed and smiled as he took the pillows from her and showed Kim the way.

The descended the carpeted stairs which took a turn at a 90 degree angle about halfway, revealing a fully finished room which looked like it had t been touched since the early 2000s.

Jake went to work on the couch, pulling out the bed and fixing the sheets onto the thin mattress as Kim walked around and took in all the pictures hanging on the walls.

“Is this you?” She asked, pointing to the first baby picture she saw.

“No, that’s Josh” he chuckled, gently grabbing her shoulders and guiding her a few paces to the left. “That’s me” he pointed at another picture. A little boy no more than two or three holding a toy guitar with a huge smile on his face.

“You were cute” she giggled, staring at the picture with a tired grin.

“I still am” he teased and pulled her away, guiding her now to the set up bed. “I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well because tomorrow will be a lot”.

A lot it was. From the moment they all came stumbling out of their rooms, wiping the sleep from their eyes drawn to the kitchen with the smell of breakfast already filling the entire house, it was game time. After breakfast they each took a shower and got to work preparing for the party Kim learned that the Kiszkas hosted every year.

Jake helped in the kitchen, Josh decorated just like a professional, and Sam was the errand runner picking up last minute ingredients from the store. Kim helped anywhere she could, mostly trying to not be in the way of their systematic way of working together.

The Wagners arrived at the party first, followed by a few other friends of the family, each of them so thrilled to be seeing all the boys home again.

“Here, this will take the edge off” Danny snuck up behind Kim who was leaning on the door frame just outside the living room that was filled with unknown people. He handed her a wine glass and placed his hand against the small of her back, guiding her away from the busy room and over to a quieter area.

“You guys do this every year?” she sighed nervously, taking a sip of her wine glass wishing it was a cup of one of the stronger cocktails she’d seen Josh mixing up earlier.

“Usually they have the party at the restaurant but I heard they’re doing a few renovations next week so they’re hosting everyone here instead. It is kind of a lot of people for one house” he agreed, drinking on his own glass of sparkling white.

Truthfully he wasn’t in the mood for a party today. Danny enjoyed his time at home yesterday. He always missed his family terribly when he was away for a long time. He hadn’t had the chance to talk to Sam yet, but his Dad had pointedly given him a few ideas for jobs after graduation that involved him moving closer. Graduation was just around the corner, and he was anxious that neither of them had talked about what their plans for the future were.

Sam had actually been on his mind a lot since arriving home. Danny had hoped that he would have enough distraction to not think about what had happened at the Christmas party in Nashville, but he found that the turmoil in his mind was too strong.

Now being in this house again, surrounded by Sam’s family and friends, his things, the memories of their past, it was all coming to a sharp point pounding against his forehead. He needed to do something to stop the pain, and soon.

“Hey, there you are” Danny heard Jake’s voice from behind him. He turned around to greet him, but quickly realized Jake wasn’t talking to him, but to Kim.

“Talk later?” Kim asked Danny before taking Jake’s hand and letting him pull her off to some other part of the house, leaving Danny alone.

He slipped unnoticed in and out of the kitchen, trading his wine glass for a green plastic cup full of what he’d heard Josh call his secret Christmas punch.

The liquor was helping clear his head, one cup having been enough to get a buzz going as he walked around the house and took in all the familiar furniture and frames.

“Miss it yet?” He heard another familiar voice speak up as he stood in the hallway waiting to use the guest bathroom.

“Miss what?” Danny asked his sister who leaned against the wall across from him, taking a break from socializing for a moment to check in on her big brother.

“Being here” She motioned around to the house they were in, Danny’s second home away from home for the majority of his life.

She had known something was up with him last night, and after they had dinner she had done a good job at wringing the truth out of him.

He confessed to her that he and Sam had been dating for a couple of months, but that he was afraid Sam wasn’t over his ex.

“Sam broke up with her for you right?” She’d asked, trying to get all the details in place before she offered her words of advice.

“Yeah, but kind of told him to”.

“No, you gave him an ultimatum. Her or you. He chose you. Sam has always been there for you whether you see it that way or not. I know you think you are the dependent one in the equation, but I think it’s really the other way around. If Sam did something to weaken your trust in him then I don’t think he did it on purpose”.

Danny had been thinking about what she’d said last night all day. He didn’t do it on purpose. He believed his sister's intuition, even though he knew it was maybe a little stupid and naive of him.

“I think you should go find him and just talk to him ok?” She suggested, kicking his boot with the pointed toe of her heel before leaving him be.

She was right and he knew it, he wouldn’t be able to go on much longer sulking like this before other people started to pick up on it too. Only he had another idea in mind that after getting Sam alone wouldn’t involve much talking.

Sam had been stealing bites from the kitchen periodically throughout the day, so by the time the party started he wasn’t even hungry. That left room for him to drink while he mingled around the house with all the people he hadn’t seen in at least a year.

By the time he saw Danny making his way through the crowded living room he was already feeling pretty drunk off of Josh’s popular cocktails.

“Where have you been all night?” Sam tried to ask nonchalantly when Danny finally stood beside him. He wasn’t sure why, but he’d had the suspicion that Danny had been avoiding him since he arrived.

“Around” Danny replied, taking Sam’s halfway finished drink from his hand and setting it on a random nearby surface. “Do you want to get out of here for a bit?”

“Are you not having fun?” Sam pouted, obviously not picking up on the insinuation of getting out of here.

“No I am” he lied, “but I could use a little fresh air, go for a drive. You won’t believe it but my parents got me a car for Christmas”.

“A car! I want to see it!” Sam exclaimed excitedly, drawing some attention with his raised voice.

Danny shushed him and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the closet that held their coats. “It’s parked outside, let’s go I’ll give you a ride”.

“Where are we going?” Sam giggled loudly while Danny continued to try and hush him as they made their way out the door.

“For a drive, you said you wanted to see the car”. Danny replied, clapping his hands on Sam’s shoulders and pushing him along.

“You do not want me driving right now” Sam joked as he was marched down the sidewalk leading from the Kiszka’s porch to the end of the driveway where the sleek black car was parked last. He let out a whistle when he saw it and Danny wedged his elbow into his side to shut him up.

“Are you trying to let the whole neighborhood know what we’re up to?” Danny was speaking in a hushed tone, like any of the neighbors were going to leave the warmth of their colorfully decorated homes to come outside.

“You sound like we’re up to no good. Thought we were just going for a drive Daniel?” Sam wiggled his eyebrows but finally obediently got into the car. How in the hell did he know? That Danny was indeed up to no good.

Danny got into the driver's seat and backed out of Sam’s driveway, letting the small drive ahead give him the courage and control he needed to follow through with his plan.

Sam stared out the window, starry eyed at all the glittering lights hanging from the rows of houses on the streets they grew up on. Danny stole glances in his direction every chance he got. He beat himself up over how much he’d let himself be negatively affected when he knew he should really be spending his time cutting loose and having fun with family just like Sam was.

Sam looked over at Danny when he started to recognize the next street Danny turned down. “Why are we going to your house?”

“No reason” he tried keeping up his calm indifference, but the ruse was slowly fading as he actually started to grow excited. “Just want to show you a few things”.

Danny pulled the single key from the ignition and stuffed it into his front pocket, making a mental note to attach it to his keyring before he lost it. Sam had already flung the door open and threw his legs over the side so Danny hurried over to offer his hand, which Sam just cocked an eyebrow and took with a roll of his eyes. Danny closed the door behind him and they held hands as they walked up to the front door.

“Okay, wait right here for a second” Danny stopped before unlocking the door, positioning Sam to stand across from him on his porch.

He took a step back, not even worrying about checking to make sure the street was empty, just looking over at Sam who was standing there with a confused grin, staring back at him with glazy doe eyes.

He took in Sam’s entire figure, from his messy lopsided bun that he’d thrown up at some point during the party, to the way his facial hair had grown longer in the past few days since he’d been too swept up with everything to care about trimming.

Around his neck was the scarf his mom got him last year, he hardly took it off once the weather turned cold enough. He was wearing an old corduroy jacket over his sweatshirt, probably something he’d found at that flea market when he’d gone back to see the lady they’d bought their rug from.

That was just one of the special things about Sam. He cared so much about any and every little thing that even the most uninfluential or unexpected people he met became another thread in the weft of his ever-loving personality.

“Can I?” Danny asked, bringing his cold numb fingers up to the thick elastic in Sam’s hair and carefully pulling the long chestnut locks free to fall around his shoulders.

“Hey” Sam welcomed Danny with a smile when he stepped closer, letting one of his hands linger on the back of Sam’s neck cradling his head.

“Hey” Danny smiled back, chuckling a little at the way Sam ran a hand up his chest and started to play with a twist of Danny’s hair in return.

“Can I?” Danny asked again, looking down at his lips to insinuate the reference to his question this time.

“Stop asking so nicely and just kiss me already” Sam’s hand shot up to pull him down, but Danny reached around with his free hand and wrapped it around Sam’s, bringing it back down between their chests.

Danny eased into the kiss, hardly grazing his lips over Sam’s, nudging his nose against his cheek with each gentle pass until Sam was shuddering underneath him. Sam inhaled a shaky breath and before he could exhale Danny’s lips were attacking his. Danny took command of Sam’s bottom lip, slotting it between his own as he continued to cradle the back of his head in one hand and Sam’s hand in the other.

When Danny pulled back he was suddenly transported in time. He opened his eyes and the Sam that he was holding onto wasn’t the Sam he’d been so upset with up until now. In his place was his younger self, with his smooth baby face and chin length hair, oddly straighter than when it was long but choppy after the fresh cut.

His eyes were the size of saucers, the creamy whites as crystal clear as milk glass.

This was the Sam Danny had fallen in love with. Created a whole fantasy in his mind of what it would be like to be lovers like they were now.

His vision blurred and he closed his eyes again, fighting back a few tears as Sam freed his hand from Danny’s grip to cup his face.

“I wanted to kiss you right here” Danny began, keeping his eyes screwed shut so he could revel in the image his mind had tricked him into seeing for just a bit longer. “When I told you I was going to Nashville with you”.

“Really?” Sam responded, now picturing it in his mind as well. It was the week before Christmas then. He’d made his routine walk through the snow to Danny’s house who was outside checking the mail when he arrived. They walked together to the door when Danny stopped in his tracks and opened a letter. He’d been accepted into the same university as Sam, and although they hadn’t talked about moving together yet, Sam was so excited to hear that Danny had even applied and better yet gotten in.

Sam had no idea about his feelings at the time, and Danny had just been coming to grips with it himself.

When Danny opened his eyes again Sam was back to normal. Gone was the image of the boy he once was, and gone was the grief Danny had been holding onto along with it. He let go of Sam and turned to unlock the front door, holding it open for Sam to take the first step.

Once inside they shed their outermost layers, leaving Danny in a sweater and Sam in his sweatshirt.

“So what else did you want to show me?” Sam stood awkwardly at the door, like he’d never been in the Wagner house before. His eyes flicked around the house, remembering how warm and inviting it had always felt. The house wasn’t cluttered like his was with three boys all living under one roof, but it was still filled with years of love and use.

“Come on, in here” Danny waved Sam on to follow him through the front of the house and into the cozy living room. The remnants of a fire from the night before still sat in the fireplace, leaving behind a slightly smoky, almost cottagey smell.

He took a seat on his couch, patting the spot next to him for Sam to join him. “Remember that first year Jake and Josh couldn’t make it back up for the holidays, so you spent nearly the whole week here?”

Sam nodded as he took a seat himself. A little far at first but then scooting over until their thighs were flush against each other.

Danny reached behind himself and pulled out a quilt, the same one that sat in his family’s living room over the years, ready for anyone’s use. He didn’t unfold the blanket, just set it in Sam’s lap, letting him feel the fabric and remember the time he was referring to. “Yeah, we watched movies every night in here until I’d fall asleep and your mom would offer for me to stay the night”.

“I’d tell myself every time that I wouldn’t let you fall asleep. That once you started looking tired I’d stop the movie so you could get home. Then each and every time I’d see you relaxing underneath that quilt and I wouldn’t say a thing, because I wanted you to stay”.

“I wanted to stay too” Sam admit. Though maybe it hadn’t been for the same reasons then, he wanted to be sleepily drug off by Danny to his room. His childhood bed had never been quite big enough to fit the both of them, especially not when they grew into themselves, but Danny never once complained about sharing.

“I wanted to kiss you here too. Every night when you fell asleep I’d watch you and try to keep myself from imagining if you’d wake up if I tried”. Danny leaned over and gave Sam another kiss, this time letting his tongue glide along the crease of Sam’s lips until they parted and let him inside.

Sam sighed into Danny’s mouth, the quilt falling to the ground as he moved to sit on the edge of the couch, wrapping his arms around Danny’s shoulders and squeezing.

Danny grabbed Sam’s hips and lifted as they stood up together, never breaking the kiss. He backed Sam out of the living room and down the hallway towards his bedroom. Sam’s feet remembered where they were going after all the years of making the same trek without him having to even think about it.

His back was being pushed up against the door while Danny fumbled with finding the doorknob.

Sam took the momentary halt to claw at Danny’s back, digging his fingertips into the plush of Danny’s knit sweater and pulling it up and over his head.

Danny managed to get the door open and reconnected their lips as soon as his sweater was discarded onto the floor.

They found the bed quickly, Sam bringing Danny down on top of him as he fell back onto the old worn in mattress. “Did you want to kiss me in here too?” He teased, making a little joke out of the sentimental story Danny had been trying to tell. He appreciated the extent of love Danny had held for him for so long, but it was also a little overwhelming at the same time. So like usual he used his humor to mask his nerves.

Danny’s form loomed over him as he smirked and shook his head. “I wanted to do a lot more than just kiss you in here”.

Sam took a steadying breath, his blood was pumping quickly, still feeling warm with alcohol, or maybe the warmth was coming from Danny who had his entire body laid out flush against his.

Without another word Danny snaked his hands between their bodies and lifted the hem of Sam’s shirt. The cold air in the still room hit his stomach, making him squirm as Danny lifted it the rest of the way over his head and down his arms until it was falling to the floor.

“Let me know if you want to stop, okay?” Danny’s voice was hushed now, putting the point in just how far he was willing to go by grinding his hips down against Sam’s.

“No!” Sam’s hands frantically flew down to grip Danny’s hip, guiding him to put more pressure again which elicited a small breathy moan from above. “No, I don’t want to stop” he repeated again with a little more reserve and control.

Sam was surprised with how narrow and delicate Danny’s waist was in his hands. He was used to being the bigger person in his relationships. Though he was skinny and lanky most of his life, his limbs grew like a tree from the moment he hit puberty, quickly surpassing his older brothers. He always had his broad shoulders, large hands, and long strong legs, at least compared to a woman’s physique.

With Danny though he was matched. His hands traced up Danny’s arms, twisted around dense bones were thick ropes of muscle, only visible when he flexed like he did now holding himself up. His hands continued their exploration, arms connected to vast wide chest, smooth along the edges then decorated with coarse patches of hair as you reached the center and trailed lower… When his fingers met the front of Danny’s pants he paused, remembering the last time he’d tried to undo his pants in a hurry only to be stopped before he could get very far.

Danny didn’t move to ease him this time though, just watched with slightly hooded eyes as Sam’s deft fingers popped the button open and pulled the zipper down exposing the large bulge in his boxers. His breathing quickened as the feeling of panic started to spread and consume him again. He knew Danny was well endowed, Sam was pretty gifted in that department as well, but what was the dynamic here? Like he said, he was used to being the bigger person, the lead, but with Danny, and especially in the position he was currently in pinned to the bed on his back, he felt like he didn’t have any control.

“Can I be on top for a bit?” Sam spoke, his voice sounding loud and out of place.

Danny smiled fondly and flopped down onto his bed next to Sam, waiting patiently for his counterpart to sit up and roll over on top of him. What was it with Kiszka’s and always wanting to have the upper hand in the bedroom?

Sam flipped up and onto his knees, sitting at Danny’s side as he took the opportunity to look him over, matching what his hands had felt just a moment ago to what he could see in the dark room.

He knew Danny’s skin was slightly tanned like his own, the result of all the time they spent outside walking to class or just trying to soak up as much nature as they could when they could.

With the only light being the moon hanging just outside Danny’s window, his skin actually glowed. His eyes were dark though, like raw jewels, muddy with longing desire as he stared at Sam watching to see what he would do next. His hair was dark as the shadows of the room, mixing into the faded navy of his blanket.

In slow testing movements, Sam reached over and started to tug at the waistband of Danny’s pants. He lifted his hips in response, helping Sam as he guided the pants down his thighs. Sam abandoned them once they fell loosely around his knees, but crawled down the the edge of the bed and gripped at the hems around his ankles instead, pulling until Danny’s pants came sliding clean off.

“Take yours off too” Danny requested, propping up a leg to try and hide the fact that he was palming himself over his boxers.

Sam stood up off the bed and undid his pants too, easily dropping him down to his feet where he stepped out of them before rejoining Danny on the bed.

Danny sat up quickly, meeting Sam midair and clashing their lips together. His fingers tangled in Sam’s hair, leaning back to ease them down into a lying position again. Sam fumbled, trying to watch where his knee fell for fear it might land somewhere sensitive, but Danny only chuckled into the kiss, finding Sam’s clumsiness endearing and cute.

“Don’t laugh at me, I’ve never done this before” Sam pouted, ending up with one leg between Danny’s, their hips asymmetrical to each other.

Danny reached up and tucked a lock of Sam’s hair that he’d tousled behind his ear. He was kind of glad that they weren’t doing this for the first time without either of them having any experience, otherwise it might’ve proved to be an awkward and exhausting ordeal.

“Don’t act like you’ve never had sex before Sam” Danny teased, letting his hand wander down his back and around his side, it was his turn to explore Sam’s body.

So this is what we’re doing. We’re having sex. Sam finally got the answer to his question from when they pulled into the driveway. Danny brought him here to have sex together for the first time.

Sam experimentally rut, his hardening length sliding from behind his tight underwear into the groove between Danny’s hip and pelvis.

Danny groaned his approval, lifting his knee again causing Sam to fall further into him. He let Sam hump him for a bit. Although he wasn’t getting much friction of his own from this position, he was enjoying the choked whimpering sounds coming from Sam and the way they turned him on even more.

“Tell me what you want Sam, I want to give it to you”. Danny knew what he wanted. To bend Sam over this tiny bed and give it to him. He knew that would be too much for Sam right now though, so instead he resolved himself to letting Sam make all the decisions this time.

Sam slowed his movements, thinking about Danny’s offer for a moment before he got the right idea in mind. “Do you want to, I mean, would you give me head again?”

Danny smiled and pulled Sam into a tight hug, kissing him a few more times before his mouth got busy somewhere else. “Do you want to lay back down then?” He asked when Sam’s lips were nice and swollen and glossed with spit.

Sam nodded, dazed and out of his mind with need. They traded positions again, Danny waiting for Sam to get nice and comfortable against the pillows before he started to peel back his underwear, removing them completely.

He kissed all along Sam’s hips and the tops of his thighs, trailing inwards until he placed the last right against the tip. He watched in awe as Sam’s dick twitched in response.

“Sam” he whispered, getting his attention before he began. When Sam looked down they made eye contact and Danny held it as he started to gently stroke with one hand. Sam sighed and let his head fall back. “Sam” Danny called him again, more depth in his tone this time.

Raising his head they made eye contact once more and Danny started back up, waiting and hoping that Sam had gotten the memo eyes on me before he focused on his task and took him into his mouth.

After a few minutes of sucking and swirling his tongue to his best capabilities his eyes flicked up. Saw was propped up on his elbows now, but his eyes were closed, mouth hanging agape. Danny stopped once more and Sam's eyes sprung open. With a raise of his brows he started over again starting with his kisses, then a few more barely there strokes.

“You like getting sucked off don’t you?” Danny teased, running his lips and just the tip of his tongue up and down the side of Sam’s shaft.

Sam groaned, bucking his hips up against Danny’s mouth but retreating quickly when Danny pulled his tongue back and let his teeth just barely graze him next. “You like your body being worshiped, and I like being the one doing the worshiping”. His grip tightened and the stroking became more serious, more calculated, as his mouth moved lower until he was kissing and licking at Sam’s balls.

A moan fell from Sam’s still parted lips, but this time he kept his eyes obediently on Danny, now knowing what would happen if he didn’t watch.

“You know, there are a lot of ways I can worship your body. Like sucking on your pretty little cock, and…” he moved his thumb underneath his balls and pressed deeply, trying to angle his massage in just the right spot.

Sam had likely never had his prostate stimulated before, so Danny definitely felt the pressure to make this as gentle as possible and hopefully a mind blowing experience for him.

He replaced his hand with his mouth, freeing up his fingers to continue their work while he bobbed his head up and down.

A moan got caught in Sam’s throat, turning up in pitch as he fought to control his voice. Danny wanted to tell him to let it go, to let him hear his desperate noises, but he was too busy tasting salty precum.

Danny rocked into the mattress, he was throbbing. The last time he’d done so well in controlling himself but this time he was aching to receive some attention himself.

He pulled off Sam, but this time not to his alarm. In fact he breathed a sigh of relief because he’d been so close to cumming already. Danny moved to a sitting position between his legs and extended his hand in Sam’s direction. “Come here” he implored, his own voice losing its strength as he descended further and further into the pit of his own body’s hunger.

Sam took his hand and Danny pulled him forward, wrapping the other arm around his waist and sliding him into his lap. He hadn’t even stopped to remove his own boxers yet, but that didn’t matter at this moment he could deal with that later. He just clung onto Sam’s body like a wet rag, arms wrapped around his waist and chin resting on his shoulder, listening and feeling Sam’s breaths return to a normal pace.

“I love you Sam”. He squeezed tighter. “I want you- I need you to know that I love you”.

Sam hugged Danny in return, patting the back of his head and smoothing his wild curls. “I know Daniel, I love you too”.

Danny felt like his heart could stop and he worried that his mind had made up Sam’s words like it had when he saw the younger Sam standing with him outside on the porch. Sam nudged the shoulder he was resting on, getting Danny to pull up and look at him. Once he had eye contact again (something that was a lot easier to hold without Danny having his dick in his mouth) he repeated his words so Danny knew they were real. “I love you too”.

Sam leaned in for the kiss first, not shying away from letting his tongue glide into Danny’s mouth. He didn’t think Danny could hold him any tighter, but he didn’t mind at all.

“Now” Sam pulled back just the few inches that Danny’s iron grip allowed him to, “say something filthy again”.

“You liked that did you?” Danny chuckled smugly like he wasn’t even surprised. He moved his kisses to Sam’s collar, working on sucking tiny light pink bruises he hoped would last at least a few days so he could remember this moment every time he saw them.

“I never knew you had such a dirty mouth” Sam giggled as well, partly from his juvenile use of ‘dirty mouth’ but also because Danny’s kisses were tickling him.

“There’s a lot you still have to learn about me Sammy, but I know you. I know everything you’ll like even before you know you’ll like it”. He sucked one last love bite into Sam’s chest and leaned back to admire his work. “Just like you’re going to love this”.

Sam smiled wildly, eager to see what Danny had in store next. He’d all but forgotten that he was sitting naked in Danny’s lap, that was until Danny dropped his head and let a trail of saliva fall from his mouth onto Sam’s still hard length.

His strokes had intent this time, no longer worried about anything other than getting Sam, and himself, to the finish. One hand worked Sam while the other slipped under the waistband of his own boxers.

“Here, let me” Sam reached over and tugged the waistband down, exposing Danny’s hand and his erection in its full glory. He wasn’t panicking anymore, only worried that he could make Danny feel good too.

How hard could it be though? He knew how to make himself feel good, all he had to do was apply the same techniques and surely that would do the trick.

So he reached forward, taking over for one of Danny’s hands, stalling a second to let his mind take in all the subtle differences between Danny and himself. He squeezed a little tighter, the way he liked it, and Danny inhaled in then exhaled a moan as he mimicked the same grip on Sam.

The room filled with the combined sounds of heavy breaths, moans, and sloppy open mouthed kisses until Danny gripped Sam’s ass hard enough to elicit a surprised yelp from him and pulled him closer until he could get his fingers around himself and Sam at the same time.

The feeling of their heat pressed together as Danny pumped sent a slur of thoughts that short circuited Sam’s mind. Like how could this feel so good when all they were doing was essentially jerking each other off? Or how he never expected himself to be having sex with another man, let alone Danny. Yet here he was leaning back onto his hands and thrusting his hips upwards into Danny’s fist.

“That’s it Sam, don’t stop, fuck you’re so sexy”. Danny abandoned himself for a moment and wrapped his hand fully back around Sam, running the other up the expanse of his tight stomach. Sam thrusts stuttered and he let out one more cry before coming undone and falling back onto the bed.

Using his cum slicked hand Danny continued to finish himself, shooting hot ropes of milky white across Sam’s sore thighs.

Spent and tingly all over Danny laid down next to Sam, their shoulders touching since they hardly fit side by side.

“That… wasn’t what I expected” Sam spoke up after a few minutes of catching their breaths.

Danny’s stomach flipped. He knew that wasn’t exactly the Earth shattering orgasmic sex that either of them were capable of, but now that the door had been opened it could only get better from there, right?

“I’m glad we waited” he blindly reached around on the bed at his side, finding Danny’s hand and giving it a squeeze. “You were right, the build up was worth it”.

Danny let out a gust of air followed by a trail of laughter, catching Sam completely off guard. “I thought you didn’t like it”.

“I’m covered in jizz, what’s not to like about that?” Sam jested then drug his fingers along the mess and smeared it all over Danny’s stomach. “There, now we’re even!”

“Sam! What the fuck!” Danny shoved his shoulder and Sam overreacted like he’d tried to push him off the bed. He rolled over, over correcting until he was practically on top of Danny again and attacked him with kisses.

Although all Danny wanted to do was lay in bed naked with Sam for the rest of the evening, he knew their time alone would need to be coming to an end. “Come on, let’s go get cleaned up and head back”.

“You think anyone noticed we left?” Sam questioned as he followed Danny across the hall and into the bathroom.

Danny flipped on the light and Sam got a good look at himself in the mirror, his eyes immediately zeroing in on the necklace of hickeys. “Oh absolutely, Josh doesn’t miss anything”. Danny came up from behind him, and pressed a kiss into his shoulder.

Sam smiled, not only because he had proof of their little shannagains, but also at the thought that if Josh knew, then Jake probably did too.

After a speedy shower, trying not to get their hair wet so that they wouldn’t be too suspicious when rejoining the party, they got redressed in Danny’s room. Sam was chatting away like he was entirely unphased about what had just happened, but Danny couldn’t help but get lost in every single detail.

Once he got his pants pulled up and his sweater back on he stopped to take it in one last time. He felt like everything had finally come full circle. He’d fallen in love with Sam here, back in the living room on his couch, on the front porch. Here, everywhere, at home. It only seemed fit that he sealed his love in the flesh here in his old bedroom.

And he shut the door behind him.

@alwaysonthemend @twistedmelodies @heckingfrick @psychedelicstardust-gvf

[arjunvib]

How does an engine contribute to a car's powertrain?

The powertrain in a vehicle is the system responsible for generating power and delivering it to the wheels to propel the vehicle forward. The operation of a powertrain can vary depending on whether the vehicle is powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE) or an electric motor (in the case of electric vehicles). Here's a general overview of how a powertrain works in both types of vehicles:

Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Vehicle - Combustion Process: In an ICE vehicle, the powertrain starts with the combustion process in the engine. Fuel (gasoline or diesel) mixes with air in the combustion chamber and is ignited by spark plugs (in gasoline engines) or compression (in diesel engines).

Power Generation: The combustion process generates energy in the form of mechanical power, causing pistons to move up and down within the cylinders of the engine. This motion drives the crankshaft, converting linear motion into rotational motion.

Transmission: The rotational motion from the crankshaft is transmitted to the transmission, which consists of gears that allow the driver to select different ratios (speeds). This enables the engine to operate efficiently across a range of vehicle speeds.

Drivetrain: The transmission sends power to the drivetrain components, including the driveshaft, differential, and axles, which transfer power to the wheels. The differential allows the wheels to rotate at different speeds, enabling smooth turns.

Wheel Movement: The power transmitted through the drivetrain causes the wheels to rotate, propelling the vehicle forward or backward depending on the gear selection and throttle input from the driver.

Electric Vehicle (EV) -

Battery Pack: The primary source of power for the EV, storing electricity in chemical form.Powers the electric motor and provides electricity for all electronic devices within the EV.

Battery Management System (BMS): Monitors battery cell conditions, including voltage, current, temperature, and state of charge (SoC).It protects the battery against overcharging, deep discharging, and overheating and helps balance the charge across cells. Ensures optimal performance and longevity of the battery by regulating its environment.

Inverter: Converts DC from the battery pack into AC to drive the electric motor.Adjusts the frequency and amplitude of the AC output to control the motor’s speed and torque. Critical for translating electrical energy into mechanical energy efficiently.

Onboard Charger: Facilitates the conversion of external AC (from the grid) to DC to charge the battery pack. Integrated within the vehicle, allowing for charging from standard electrical outlets or specialized EV charging stations. Manages charging rate based on battery status to ensure safe and efficient charging.

DC-DC Converter: Steps down the high-voltage DC from the battery pack to the lower-voltage DC needed for the vehicle's auxiliary systems, such as lighting, infotainment, and climate control. Ensures compatibility between the high-voltage battery system and low-voltage electronic components.

Electric Motor: Converts electrical energy into mechanical energy to propel the vehicle. It can be of various types, such as induction motors or permanent magnet synchronous motors, each offering different efficiencies and characteristics. Typically provides instant torque, resulting in rapid acceleration.

Vehicle Control Unit (VCU): The central computer or electronic control unit (ECU) that governs the EV's systems. Processes inputs from the vehicle’s sensors and driver inputs to manage power delivery, regenerative braking, and vehicle dynamics. Ensures optimal performance, energy efficiency, and safety.

Power Distribution Unit (PDU): Manages electrical power distribution from the battery to the EV’s various systems. Ensures that components such as the electric motor, onboard charger, and DC-DC converter receive the power they need to operate efficiently. Protects the vehicle's electrical systems by regulating current flow and preventing electrical faults.

In both ICE vehicles and EVs, the powertrain's components work together to convert energy into motion, enabling the vehicle to move efficiently and effectively. However, the specific technologies and processes involved differ significantly between the two propulsion systems.

[sasquapossum]

Still on this de-cluttering thing. Sorry not sorry.

It's important to have as many places to put stuff as you have categories of stuff. For example, here are some of the categories I've been using lately.

Mementos, important papers, foreign money

Hardware - tools, screws, hex bolts and keys

General housewares - clock radios, curtain ties, coasters

Power stuff - bricks and inverters, cables, international adapters

Mice, trackpads, and keyboards

USB chargers

USB cables of several different types

Headphones and earbuds

Other audio stuff - cords, splitters, Bluetooth bridges

Other adapters and dongles

Hiking/camping stuff

Sports clothing

Other clothing

Drugs, prescriptions, and supplements

That's the stuff I'm keeping. The stuff I'm getting rid of is almost as complex.

Things valuable/useful enough to sell or donate individually

Paper for shredding

Paper for recycle

E-waste to keep because it might have important data on it

E-waste to drop off at the next drive

Fabric and shoes for donation

Old glasses for donation

Neither of these lists is exhaustive; I could easily make them twice as long. I also haven't even gotten to the kitchen or the basement "resin lab" yet.

The point is: if you don't have enough places your de-cluttering is going to be difficult. Sometimes the very first step in such project will be to buy or build new shelves or containers, though you have to be careful that those don't become clutter themselves. Other times you can create new places as you go along, such re-using a just-emptied box to hold a new category of stuff. Yes, this often means moving things multiple times, through a series of ever bigger containers. It might even mean having to re-sort things, to split an overpopulated category into two or more. And that's all OK.

The important thing is to keep making progress, to keep turning disorganized space into organized or empty space, bit by bit by bit. Clean up an area, celebrate that, probably take a break, then tackle the next. If you've accumulated a lot of stuff, this is going to be a long process, so might as well settle into a good rhythm.

[hackercult]

how do you hide a solar panel bro like the engineering constraints on this project are fucked up. maybeeee if i separate the inverter and charger and just make the charger be like , on top of the utility building, and the inverters inside and when i wanna use it i lug the car batteries around? seems. un ideal. i COULD just. run new fucking wire? down the tunnel? if it looks OG and is annoying to get to, or even see, probably wont get stolen. way better sources of copper in the building. but fuck dude wiring up a whole building is hundreds of feet of wire minimum and none of the original wiring can be trusted. but a girls gotta have a hobby. so i'll figure something out

[lucky3721]

Here is a van created to make you feel like you are still in the old cabin while parked at a wayside. This van has a gas-powered heater to keep you warm, a powerful fan to keep you cool and even a hideaway toilet! Complete with a sink and a fridge, this small kitchen also has an induction stove built into it. The bed space is a queen size, with a pull-out drawer directly underneath. This nomadic vehicle is equipped with solar panels and a DCDC Charger to keep all of its 4 12v batteries charged. As well as a shore power plug for when it's a bit cloudy and you don't feel like driving around. There is also a 28-gallon fresh water tank which can be put to use through the sink or the spigot installed near the fill point. With a grey water tank at 25 gallons. They both empty the bottom of the van, for convenience and stealth. With just about as many screws as you can see, this is mainly held together by Festool Dominos and Titebond Type 3 Wood glue. A beefy wooden domino-shaped dowel that takes the place of an otherwise squeaky bolt or screw. Ensuring this furniture will hold up to bumpy roads as long as you can hold onto the wheel.

Practically off the factory line with less than 500 mi to the engine. Grab this gem and take it out on an adventure before someone can claim your untold quests.

Contact us for more details, price is flexible and negotiable. Delivery will add miles to the vehicle, but distance isn't an issue by land.

Heater = Webasto 2500 gas-powered heater, temperature controlled. Automatic low gas sensor so it won't run you dry

Fan = Maxx fan deluxe dual-direction, temperature controlled

Electric (Victron)

- Multiplus 3000A ACDC inverter

4 GFCI outlets, 10 USB ports

- Tri smart DCDC Alternator charger

Charge your batteries while driving

- 150/50 Smart solar charger, Renology solar panels

Borrow some of the sun's energy to charge your batteries very quickly

- Cerbo Gx monitoring system

The brains behind the electrical labyrinth

- GX touch display

Bluetooth compatible, as well as remote control of van electronics

-4 Victron LiFePo4 Batteries

12v 100 amp hours each

Pre-assembled metal drawer glides = Moryde latching drawer slides

Blum under-mount tandem full extension drawer glides

Blum Soft-close concealed cabinet door hinges

Tensioned upper cabinets that stay closed and open with ease

Pressurized spigot in the rear along with gauge for water tanks

More pictures

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RGr2dM5GHtm4898w50TDwOCCi3x7IapW

Contact me for more details, or if you've got a van/camper/off-grid design in your head that I can help come to life.

Email me at

gypsyvanz414@gmail.com

Also posted on this site, which offers financing through their website

https://thevancamper.com/post/6336/ram-promaster-3500-for-sale

Financing website for RVs and Boats

https://marinebk.com/borrow/personal-loans/boat-rv

Ebay posting

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364205089899?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=4we391NtRzG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=4we391NtRzG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[atan-orofarne]

That's a full wave bridge rectifier. It's a (now somewhat outdated in most applications) method of getting a steady DC (or DC-ish) current from an alternating current. The transformer to the left of the diagram (basically two big coils of wire with a specific number of loops relative to each other) gets used to step an AC voltage up or down to a peak voltage a little above the final desired DC voltage. Then the diode circuit on the right has the effect of letting the positive part of the wave through and inverting the negative part of the AC sine wave.

Paired with a capacitor and a voltage regulator, you can get a pretty clean DC voltage out the other side with a well-designed rectifier.

But we tend to use a more modern circuit design now, which doesn't require the big, bulky transformers used in linear power supply circuits like the above. The new ones still need a transformer, but it can be much smaller. That's why phone chargers and other chargers got so much smaller and lighter recently — there's just a lot less copper wire inside.

And not to burst any bubbles, but in practice, rectifier circuits aren't physically laid out like the diagrams. Here's one, with the capacitor, but without the transformer component. That would get hooked up to two of the screw terminals, and the other two are the DC output.

i unironically believe electricity is the closest thing we have to magic in this universe. consider:

it's basically what human "souls" are made of (your consciousness is the result of miniscule amounts of electric charge jumping between neurons in your brain)

when handled incorrectly or encountered in the wild, it is a deadly force that can kill you in at least half a dozen different ways

when treated respectfully and channeled into the proper conduits, it is a power source that forms the backbone of modern society

if you engrave the right sigils into a rock and channel electricity into it, you can make the rock think

there is a dedicated caste of mages (electrical engineers) tasked with researching it in ivory towers

whatever the fuck Galvani was doing with those frog legs

look at this and just try to tell me it isn't a kind of summoning circle

[howzitsa]

GIZZU 296Wh Portable Power Station 1 x 3 Prong SA Plug Point The Gizzu Portable Power Station offers power on the go in a compact design. This portable power station is ideal for emergency needs, power outages, camping trips, or whatever else electricity is needed as it allows you to power up small appliances. With three USB ports and a PD port, you can keep your phone, tablet, notebook, and camera charged. Thanks to the 230V South African plug, two DC ports, and one 12V auxiliary power outlet, you can power your mini-fridge, internet router, lightbulbs, and other small electronics and appliances with ease. This rechargeable battery-powered model features a robust design, and built-in LED flashlight and has three methods of charging, including car charging, solar power charging, and traditional wall charging. When using a third-party solar panel, the voltage range needs to be between 11V – 30V with a maximum amperage of 3.3A. Get off the grid and enjoy the great outdoors while keeping your essential gear powered & charged. With four USB ports including one USB 3.0 Quick Charge port and a PD port, this household essential is ideal in the event of a power outage or load-shedding allowing you to power up devices such as your router, TV, notebook, and other small appliances. Please note: Ensure the total power consumption for all connected appliances is less than 300W prior to connecting the device to the AC port. If the power requirement draw exceeds 300W, the device will shut down and this may cause damage. The device is recommended to be used as a Power Station; not as an always-on, pass-through solution. It is not recommended to use the device while charging or to leave it constantly plugged into the mains, as this can cause battery to degrade. FEATURES: 296Wh 300W Power Output Lithium-Ion Battery Technology LED Flashlight Powers Various Small Appliances and Devices Portable Wherever and Whenever You Need It Ideal Power Solution for Power Outages Supports Solar Charging (Solar Panels sold separately) Rugged Design SPECIFICATIONS: Battery Capacity: 80000mAh / 296Wh Lithium-Ion Inverter: Pure Sine Wave PD Input/Output: 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, 20V/2.25A USB QC 3.0 Output: 5V/3A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A USB Output 2/3: 5V/3.1A (Single Port 2.4A Max) DC Output: 12V/12A (Single Port 10A Max) AC Output: 230V/50Hz/300W (Single Port) Lifespan: 1000 Charging Cycles Dimensions: 23 x 20.3 x 14 cm Weight: 3400g CHARGING TIMES: AC Adapter: 18V/3A (6.5hrs) DC Car Charger: 12V (9.5hrs) DC Solar Panel: 60W (6.5hrs) PD Port: 45W (7.5hrs) AC Adapter + PD Port: 18V/3A + 45W (3.5hrs) ESTIMATED RECHARGES (SINGLE DEVICE CONNECTED): Smart Phone (3500mAh): 23 Tablet (7000mAh): 11 Portable Speaker (7500mAh): 10 Action Camera (1250mAh): 64 Head Lamp (2200mAh): 36 ESTIMATED RUN TIME (SINGLE DEVICE CONNECTED): Laptop (50W): 6 hrs Lightbulb (11W): 27 hrs Internet Router (12W): 25 hrs 42″ LED TV (100W): 3 hrs Portable Fridge (100W): 3 hrs PROTECTION FEATURES: Short-Circuit Protection Over-Current Protection Over-Voltage Protection Under-Voltage Protection Over-Load Protection Temperature Protection WHAT’S IN THE BOX: Gizzu 296Wh Portable Power Station x1 AC Adapter x1 12V Car Charger Cable x1 2-in-1USB Charging Cable x1 Accessory Storage Pouch x1 User Manual x1

[costapowerindustriespvtltd-blog]

CPIPL provides solution for Emergency backup power systems are crucial to maintain water system security in the case of natural disasters or system tampering. These systems should be able to automatically switch on without causing any system alarms or loss in security functions. The three most common backup power supplies are uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), engine generators, and batteries. CPIPL provides UPS are generally placed between the systems and the power supply, and contain a system of batteries, chargers, switches, and inverters to maintain charge while conveying power to systems. Generators are typically diesel engines and should be designed to meet the load requirements of the security system. Batteries are typically set up in parallel to the load and source to allow for float charging and to seamlessly power the system when necessary. CPIPL engaged in Backup power supplies in secure facilities with intrusion detection and surveillance system. For any requirement i.e. ups system, ups supplier, ups dealers & distributors and ups battery dealers & distributors in Mumbai as well as India will be fulfilled by Costa Power Industries Pvt Ltd as per your allocated budget and application. For More details – Visit – www.upsbatteriesindia.com Enquiry – sales@upsbatteriesindia.com Call – 9820710392 / 9320710392

[generousthingarbiter]

Exploring Solar in Victoria: From Solar Panels to Full Home Electrification

Switching to solar in Victoria is becoming more and more popular nowadays since this offers a less expensive way to generate and use electricity. The leading companies install tier 1 solar panels that generally have substantial performance warranty. Nowadays, one can choose from different solar solutions for residential buildings like only solar systems, solar + battery, and full electrification. Only solar system option comes with solar panels and inverters to produce and use electricity whereas in the battery option, one can also store electricity for future use.

In the full electrification category, a complete sustainable home system that can run on solar is installed including EV charger, heating and cooling system, and hot water heat pump. One can also change hot water system to a more efficient one that can be paired with solar solutions and many households are even eligible for rebates for installing such systems. These solutions are available for both businesses and residential buildings and professional teams can offer both supply and installation services.

Switching to Sustainable Energy Systems for Reduced Electricity Bills

Home EV charging solutions offer unparalleled convenience for electric vehicle owners and also save on charging bills. Leading companies specialising in top-tier EV home charger installations offer options like outright purchase or leasing. Homes equipped with EV chargers have increased property value and one can reduce carbon footprint by pairing the charger with a solar panel system. Tesla’s “Charge on Solar” can help EV owners in maximising the use of surplus solar energy.     

Reverse cycle air conditioning systems can provide both heating and cooling and are a popular choice as it has the ability to reduce environmental impact. These systems can be powered by solar energy for even greater sustainability and one may be eligible for government rebates as well. The Victorian Energy Upgrades program provides rebates of up to $10,290 for installing efficient reverse cycle systems, making upgrades more accessible.

Heat pumps nowadays can reduce energy consumption prices by up to 76% compared to traditional electric systems. Eligible households in Victoria can receive up to $3,000 in government incentives for transitioning to heat pumps, further lowering the upfront costs. Nowadays one can have options ranging from 160L to 315L capacities and one can choose either integrated systems or split systems.

Contact the leading suppliers and installers of sustainable energy products supplier and installation companies and get proper details about rebates and a price quote as well.

Source

[sungoldpower]

Unlock the Potential of a 2000 Watt Inverter for Your Energy Demand

The 2000 watt inverter by SunGoldPower is particularly flexible and effective for off-grid living or guaranteeing a consistent backup power system at home. RV aficionados and homeowners will find it a dependable friend since it can run basic appliances like microwaves and power tools as well as lights and fans. This inverter guarantees flawless operation for devices needing additional energy during startup thanks to an amazing surge capacity of up to 300% of its power rating.

Why the 2000 Watt Inverter Charger Perfect Fit

The SunGoldPower  2000 watt inverter charger is an all-in-one solution rather than only a power supply. Including an inverter, battery charger, and auto-transfer switch helps to easily meet a variety of needs. The 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter offers the best balance of power and adaptability, unlike smaller inverters that might lack the capacity to handle many devices or larger ones that are unnecessarily complex. Its capacity to prioritize between AC power and battery mode guarantees customized energy management, ensuring efficiency and performance fit for your situation.

Building Peak Performance 2000 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter

Maximizing the advantages of your 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter depends on proper installation. Select a well-ventilated area to guarantee simple monitoring access and help to prevent overheating. Smooth running depends on the correct wiring to your battery and power source. Furthermore quite convenient is the automatic generator start feature of the SunGoldPower inverter. This function ensures continuous power without human involvement by turning on the generator to recharge batteries when their voltage falls below a specified level, so saving off-grid living and RV adventures from certain death.

Excellent performance, flexibility, and dependability abound from the Sun GOLDower 2000 watt inverter charger. This inverter provides flawless energy support for every need whether you are running your RV or building a consistent home backup system. When you need constant, reliable power, choose SunGoldPower.