#And this lawsuit was coming a mile off

[gaymelie]

Awww i got blocked I think that means i won the argument. I don't think they had a good comeback for "bruh I never even argued with your opinion i just said your information is wrong" and yet somehow they assumed i was the idiot here. Like is it so hard to make your point with correct information?

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Truthout:

Rural La Paz County, Arizona, positioned on the Colorado River across from California, is at the center of a growing fight over water in the American Southwest. At the heart of the battle is a question: Should water be treated as a human right, to be allocated by governments with the priority of sustaining life? Or is it a commodity to be bought, sold and invested in for the greatest profits?

As the West suffers its worst megadrought in 1,200 years, investors have increasingly eyed water as a valuable asset and a resource to be exploited. For years, investment firms have bought up farmland throughout the Southwest, drilling to new depths for their water-hungry crops and causing nearby wells to run dry. Now, new players have entered the scene: “Water management companies” are purchasing up thousands of acres of farmland, with the intention of selling the water rights at a profit to cities and suburbs elsewhere in the state. Some argue that treating water as a commodity can efficiently get it where it is needed most. But others fear that water markets open the door to profiteering and hoarding, leaving poorer communities in the dust.

In 2013 and 2014, GSC Farm, a subsidiary of a water management company called Greenstone Resource Partners, which is backed by MassMutual, bought nearly 500 acres of farmland in Cibola, a tiny town in Arizona’s La Paz County, for just under $10 million. The farmland comes with the rights to more than 2,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water a year. (An acre-foot is the amount of water it takes to cover one acre with one foot of water.) Then in 2018, Greenstone sold the water rights, in perpetuity, to Queen Creek, a rapidly growing suburb of Phoenix nearly 200 miles away, for $24 million.

The transfer marked the first time a water management company sold Colorado River water rights. La Paz and two other counties sued to block the transfer, arguing that the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that oversees water resource management, had conducted an insufficient environmental review before signing off. The counties’ request for a preliminary injunction was denied in April 2023 by a federal judge, and three months later the water began flowing down the Central Arizona Project, a 336-mile canal. Then, the judge seemingly backtracked in February 2024, ordering a more thorough environmental review.

“In the meantime, they’re still allowing for the water to flow, which we argued should have been stopped completely until the complete environmental studies have been done,” Holly Irwin, a La Paz County supervisor, told Truthout. “It’s really frustrating, not only for myself, but for the other leaders and elected officials in what we refer to as the river communities.”

The ultimate results of the lawsuit could affect how easily water management companies are able to transfer river water rights for profit in the future.

“I’ve had people already contacting me, asking, ‘Hey, look, I’m looking to buy this piece of property. It’s got water rights. Can it be transferred off the Colorado River?’” said Irwin. “Which is what we knew was going to happen. They just opened up Pandora’s box.”

Companies like Greenstone are betting that the price of water will increase. Western states generally allocate water through a “prior appropriation” policy of “first in time, first in right.” In times of shortage, those with the most senior water claims — often farmers and ranchers whose ancestors claimed Native land — are allotted their full share of water first. Now, companies like Greenstone are lining up to buy those increasingly valuable water rights.

The Colorado River provides drinking water to 40 million people across seven U.S. states, two Mexican states, and multiple tribal lands. Since 1922, its water has been allocated among the states through a framework created by the Colorado River Compact. But river volume has decreased 20 percent since the beginning of the century, leading to tense renegotiations, with the three “lower basin” states — California, Arizona and Nevada — agreeing to reduce their water shares.

Compared to Colorado River water, groundwater tends to be less regulated. Major investment banks have spent hundreds of millions buying up farms with claims to the groundwater beneath them — part of a larger movement by investors into physical assets like lumber, buildings and infrastructure.

Once pumped, groundwater aquifers in warm, dry places can take thousands of years to replenish. In an effort to conserve water basins, Arizona passed the 1980 Groundwater Management Act, heavily restricting groundwater pumping in several urban “active-management areas” (AMAs), including the Phoenix and Tucson areas. It also mandated that developers obtain a state Certificate of Assured Water Supply, demonstrating their new projects have enough water for 100 years. The law is credited as a success for protecting water levels in urban areas. But its lack of restrictions on groundwater removal from rural basins has become a concern as the state population swells and rural wells run dry.

[bts-0t-7]

So What? | MYG | Chapter 13

Pair: Hybrid Cat Yoongi x F Reader 

Summary: Running from a past that foreshadows him, Yoongi is adamant about ever turning back to his human counterpart form, in hopes that nobody would recognise him and take him away. You worked at a cafe with your best friend. As a more-than-normal day seemed to go by, you discovered something amidst your housing block. Perhaps - just perhaps, the nighttime is where the angels arrive. 

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hybrid, non-idol au

Warnings: Contains explicit language, abuse

WC: 2.2K

Taglist: @bearr02 @svnbangtansworld @vintageoldfashion @rkivemaar @bontensbabygirl @codeinebelle @ldysmfrst @idkjustlovingbts @popcatx0 @yoonjinsgirl @marblemoonstones

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You thought that constantly moving your body - or doing something - would take your mind off the elephant in there. But it doesn’t. You were trained to multi-task, your brain was trained to move miles per hour and it used to be one of your favourite traits. Now, you absolutely hated it. 

You didn’t know if Yoongi was coming back or if he was completely out of your life. No matter how hard you try to distract yourself, your brain circles back to him. You just couldn’t seem to forget the one thing you don’t want to remember. 

It was infuriating. 

The very fact that your own body would betray you like that. Your rest was ripped from you. 

You have cleaned the house from top to bottom, not a single dust in sight. From vacuuming the floor to wiping the tiny edges around the corners, washing sheets and curtains to cleaning the windows and grills. The only room you didn’t dare to touch was his room. You cleaned the floor but did not wash the sheets. You left the cat stuffy on the bed, still lying on the bed, belly up. You had spent the most time in that room. It hurts to see what belonged to him still lying around when his very own presence was not around. 

It sure was not easy to forget someone who doesn’t want you to. 

You were not certain about what had happened after the lawsuit and all Namjoonw told you was, “Yoongi is doing okay.” You didn’t quite know how popular he had gotten until Seokjin had rushed over in the afternoon to check on you. He had slipped that Yoongi giving talks on speaking up for oneself on hybrid platforms. 

Call you stupid for making yourself remember the very person you want to forget. Yet, you were here, lying on the sofa, scrolling through the comments on the latest magazines. 

You had realised that Lillianne and Seokjin came out with some sort of schedule to check on you and as much as you claimed that you were more than capable of taking care of yourself, you were grateful for the company you had. Seokjin had originally banned you from work, wanting you to take some time off and process the lawsuit. But you had done all that you could do in the house and sat in a bundle of blankets most of the time, you begged him to let you come back. 

No, supposedly one wouldn’t call it begging. But it is his company after all and you could only work if you turned up. So you did. Turned up one of the days and clocked in. You worked until Seokjin figured out that you were not home and went down to the shop. You had expected him to be furious but all your brother did was sigh and sat at one of the benches to continue his work. 

But the distraction at work could only last so long. 

When you get home, aching body, you still lay in bed to scroll through your social media platforms. While you had your fair share of time online before you took Yoongi in, you didn’t need much of it. You’d rather spend more time with him than spend time scrolling mindlessly on that little device. 

Seokjin had dropped you off that night, reminding you to take care of yourself. Namjoon had called you a few hours after the lawsuit, telling you that the process of finalizing was going to take more time than expected due to its further complications behind the doors. Jimin and Ji-Hye had called you occasionally to check up on you. Hoseok called to keep you as updated as possible. 

Not that it made anything easier for you of course. Ending things on a bad note is not the way you like to have things. You wanted to have some time with Yoongi, to express yourself and apologise to him. But Namjoon told you that it was better to not be seen with him for the time being as people may take it the wrong way and see it as you hurting him. 

“You gotta remember that he is no longer under your care. People would take it that you want him back and now it is a sensitive topic with the facility abuse he has gotten. People might think that you are no different from his previous owners and you will get yourself in further trouble that way.”

That day the fight occurred, Yoongi had made it extremely clear to you that he didn’t want you - as a mate or an owner. These thoughts circled you, constantly hovering over like a dark cloud. It was essentially living in your mind rent-free. 

Trying to keep yourself as updated as possible on the process of finalisation, you were constantly slapped with how well Yoongi was doing. Hunting Namjoon for some slick of information also came in useless. He does not even give you so much of a hint as to what is coming next.

But Hoseok had called a few hours ago during your dinner break, informing you that Yoongi’s tracker is located at Jimin’s house. At that moment, you wanted to barge in and demand why the Parks didn’t let you know. But you restrained yourself. If Yoongi felt that their house was a safer space, he was free to stay and you did not want to intrude in his space any further.

But it was a frazzled Jimin who reached out to you just as you were about to head to bed, that ticked off a box in your head. 

They didn’t know he was coming either. 

“Y/N! Oh god, finally! I have been trying to reach you for ages! I even called Seokjin but he said he didn’t know where you were!” Jimin screeched. “Are you okay? Home? Safe?”

“I'm fine, Jimin. I was at work so I didn’t manage to pick up the phone.”

Oh, Seokjin definitely knew where you were. You rolled your eyes. At least he saved your ass from crying at work. 

“Yoongi - He, he is over at my house. I just wanted to let you know.”

You sighed. “Yeah… Hoseok managed to reach me during my break time and informed me about the situation.”

“Oh.”

The silence through the phone was uncomfortable. 

“Well, I’ll talk some sense into him. I promise.”

“Jimin, don’t.” You held out your hand in front of you like he could see it. “Just - Just leave him be. If he wished to come back, he’d come back. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. I will not force him and be a tethering burden to him anymore.”

“You’re not a burden!” 

“But Yoongi might feel that way. Opinions can be easily changed. Just leave him be.”

You were so close to crying. The very fact that Yoongi doesn’t want to come home has already pushed you to exhaustion. You didn’t even know if he chose to remain with you or to be a free hybrid. The choices of the lawsuit stayed fresh in your mind, plaguing both your consciousness and subconsciousness.

“Okay.”

Jimin swore he said okay but he wouldn’t be okay. 

He was a man of his word and he hated to go back on any of his promises. But this time, he would. He would not sit and watch you and Yoongi grow further apart, yearning for each other but never trying because of the lack of communication. 

But he could understand why it turned out like this. When he told Ji-Hye that he was a hybrid, and showed her, he was so afraid that she would leave him. And when she told him that she needed some time to think again, Jimin was absolutely crushed. 

He felt like his whole world had crumbled beneath his feet. 

But he couldn’t stay away from his mate for a very long time. He tried to gain back her affection but what he didn’t know then was that Ji-Hye never did lose any love for him. They had a - luckily - happy ending. Not all the time do humans and hybrids come together. And he could see - as clear as day - that the both of you loved the other deeply. 

So much so that you made up assumptions about the other and caused pain. 

Jimin put down the phone and sighed. 

Fluffing up his hair, he got up from the comfy confinements of his bed and headed over to Yoongi’s. No, he would not stand around idly and watch the show. 

Knocking his knuckles against the door of the guest room, he heard a muffled “Come in”. Slowly opening the door, he spotted Yoongi at the edge of the room, curled up with multiple blankets on top of him. 

“Is the bed not comfortable?”

Yoongi shook his head. “I just got used to sleeping beside Y/N and the bed feel big right now. If you don’t mind, I’ll sleep on the floor instead.”

Jimin nodded. He understood how he felt. The house always felt lonely when Ji-Hye was overseas or working the night shifts. 

“I just wanted to talk to you about something. It -”

“If it’s anything about Y/N, I don’t want to hear it.”

(Well, you certainly can hear a pin drop after that.)

“It hurts as much as it is already. Stop. Everybody is telling me about Y/N, Y/N. What you guys don’t understand is that I have already lost her. I hurt her. The one person who showed me the world. So I’m trying to give her space - because I know that if I go back, I’ll be kicked out immediately. I just want to savour it for now.” Jimin’s heart clenched at the way the cat hybrid sniffled in the jacket. “Y/N doesn’t want a bad kitty and I’ve been a horrible one. So just leave me alone. Please.”

By now, tears were streaming down Yoongi’s face non-stop. 

Jimin knows that it is important for people to cry - that it is a way of expression. And by no means does he want to stop Yoongi from doing so. But he needed to clear the air even if it meant so. 

“Yoongi.” He called out the cat’s name and only when he saw no resistance, ears tilting in his direction, did he continue. “Y/N-” Jimin’s throat closed up. He knew there were a few ways that this conversation would go and he was hoping for better options. “Y/N would love you home.”

“That’s not true. Y/N doesn’t want a bad kitty.” The way the last two words rolled off Yoongi’s tongue felt venomous to him. 

“Yoongi, Y/N would rather you be home with her than on the streets. That girl loves you so much you have no idea. And I’m sure you love her the same. The both of you are trying to give each other space but right now, space is not what you need. The both of you need to work it out - to understand each other.”

“You are hurting and so is she. Being away from each other isn’t helping the case either. Y/N does not know whether you have chosen to stay or leave. No information was put out and due to the NDA, even Namjoon and Hoseok are not allowed to talk about it. Her heart hurts every day. She is not given the news and only if you had chosen the option of becoming a free hybrid, she would receive termination papers.”

At this, Yoongi shot up, the blankets around him falling onto the floor. His red-rimmed eyes puffed up even more as his lips wobbled, an indication of another waterfall. “But - But - I didn’t choose that!” Yoongi bawled into his hands. “I chose to stay! I swear, I swear!”

All Jimin wanted to do was to bring Yoongi in for a hug but he knew he needed to stand firm for now. Balling his hands into fists at his side, Jimin continued. “She has not received the papers and she hopes to never. But it is the anxiety of it being at her doorstep every day that is starting to wear her down.”

The sound of crying and whining echoed in the room. 

Sighing, Jimin walked over to Yoongi, bringing his arms over the man and pulling him in for a hug. The both of them swayed side to side until Yoongi’s cries subsided to sniffles. Short and harsh, he was still trying to catch his breath. 

Jimin pulled away, earning a stumble from Yoongi. “Go talk to Y/N, Yoongi. Trust me, she wants nothing more than you in her arms, back home all snuggled up.”

Yoongi only turned back and walked towards the bunch of blankets, starting the process of wrapping them around himself again. Jimin sighed softly and left the room, turning off the lights. Only as he closed the door, did he hear Yoongi say, “I’ll think about it.”

[midnight-blue-goth]

Hawaiian Havoc: The Aftermath Episode

Chapter 1: Behind The Scenes [Preview, Full on AO3]

The crew team was coming and going, running out of time. The show is about to start, the Aftermath.

Generally, these types of episodes are easy to handle. On set, no movement. But this one comes with a challenge, brought to you by the sadistic boss, Chris Mclean. And clearly, it involves wild animals.

Not even the fantastic environment that Hawaii offers can make this more relaxing for anyone. “There are only four hours left.” an intern repeats to themselves, holding the leash of a highly dangerous crocodile trying to push him slowly off the shore.

Another group of animals will be joining the peanut gallery, they meant to land in a couple minutes. The episode starts at six and Geoff, sitting on a pink couch, is reading the script while being fixed up by his makeup department.

According to the script, Bridgette should be back from Siberia. Everyone seems to think that this was orchestrated or a complex plan implemented by the producers. How could they let a participant be in the coldest place on Earth without protection? But no, Blaineley really sent her to the most secluded place.

The rest of the contestants are making their entrance as one of the producers guided them through their assigned seats. Everything has intention in this show, nothing is accidental.

Especially to that one girl sitting on the upper side, close enough to hear the production crew conversation. Her new boyfriend will be arriving in a couple minutes.

Gwen hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him; this sudden fixation has increased since her elimination. Thinking about all the things she wanted to say to him while recalling their secret meetings. At least she is glad that those meetings stayed secret.

Her fidgeting fingers couldn’t stop moving as the time of going on air was getting closer. “You seem kinda nervous, girl.” Leshawna started to speak up, breaking her train of thought. “You need to stop shaking so much or we are gonna slip out from this couch.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“No need to apologize. You may want to reserve those when that stuck-up spitting-fire dragon enters the scene. Believe me, unfortunately she will let herself be known and heard. Especially heard.”

“Yeah.” Gwen seems rather absent in the conversation. Ignoring the current situation until now made her be able to stay where she is.

Leshawna takes a side look at her, she still has her guard up. “Gonna be honest, Gwen.” She let out a heavy sigh and continued “I do not wish to be in your shoes right now, you will have to sleep with one eye open from now on... maybe two. She definitely has sent you a defamation lawsuit at your house door.” Gwen made no comments.

Leshawna shakes her head “I hope he is worth it; I hope he is. And if he is not, you know what to do. And I’ll send him to the closest hospital around.” Gwen left a chuckle. “I’m not kidding. You may be dumb choosing men, but that doesn’t mean I would let them do whatever they please.”

“Don’t worry, I have got you in my speed dial. You will be the first to know, I promised.” Gwen knows Leshawna meant well, even if she uses her distinctive tough love.

“Good, good.” Now that she has shown more than a frown, Leshawna is feeling better.

Suddenly, a loud metal noise makes them turn around at the same time. It is not usual for the crew member to mess up with the equipment, they know Chris is looking from every angle. He always ends up knowing everything and he will make sure that you pay for it. But as Leshawna and Gwen can see, none of them are.

“You can recognize that green mohawk from a mile away,” Leshawna adds as Gwen’s smile begins to form in her mouth. He appears to be in a heated argument with ‘more likely than not’ innocent assistants’ producers.

Gwen’s eyes shift from him to the floor, where lies a broken television. “So that's where that loud noise came from.”

“Hm, those make-up people must be new. Don’t know how they dared to touch him.” Leshawna let out a laugh. “Why don’t you go there before he rips someone’s head off?” 

She doesn’t need too much convincing; she only needs a reason to not look too needy. Gwen is already looking at the producer to find a way without being noticed. Luckily, they are more worried about the wild animals than anything else. And without any push back, Gwen is sneaking out, making her way to Duncan.

That's it! Check it out the full version on AO3! First fic I've ever published. There is going to be a second chapter, maybe even a third. But I needed to cut it out there or it was going to be too long imo. I hope it was worth the wait!

[capseycartwright]

“I wish I was enough for you” because I’m in feels and I want to CRY.

Eddie looked sad. Not in the way he had been before the summer, strung out and holding on for dear life as he battled with his PTSD – no, Eddie looked sad in a dejected way, and Buck hated that he was the one who was responsible for that dejectedness.

“I wish I was enough for you,” Eddie admitted, and he sounded as though he’d come to terms with the reality of their situation – his situation. “I wish that you saw me, and Christopher, as being your family – the way we feel about you. I’m not – I’m not saying that to be accusatory, or make you feel bad, Buck. I just wish that what I am offering you was enough.”

Buck swallowed, the lump in his throat turning to a concrete block as he tried to process Eddie’s words. He – he’d been caught up in his own world, these last few weeks, and he knew that wasn’t a bad thing, necessarily: but maybe it had been. He hadn’t seen the affect his decisions, his words, had on Eddie.

“I…” Eddie trailed off, glancing down at his hands, first, and then back to Buck, as though he needed to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to say. Maybe – maybe he did. Buck was realising that he and Eddie had been drifting in a way they had never drifted before, these last few weeks – not even during the lawsuit. That had been enforced distance. This – this was distance that Buck had put between them in the name of finding his place in the world.

“I will be here, waiting, if you decide that I am enough for you – that you, and me, and Christopher, is what you’re looking for,” Eddie said, eyes wide, and sincere, as he confessed something bigger than Buck was ready to deal with, or even comprehend. “But if you – if you need to do this, if you need to go down this road to search for something you think you’re missing, I’m not going to stand in your way. Okay? But just – just think about it, please? Properly think about it. Because I – I think I could be enough, for you, and I wish I was, and I want to be, but it’s got to be your decision, Buck. You – you know how I feel, now, and so – the proverbial ball is in your court, I guess.”

He stood up. Eddie had a new sweater on – a forest green that complimented the healthy way that Eddie carried himself, these days. Buck was glad – glad that Eddie was healthier, and happier, even if Buck felt like he was breaking apart at the seams. One of them, at least, deserved to be happy, and it wasn’t going to be Buck, there and then.

“I’m going to go,” Eddie said, and he paused, as though he was waiting for Buck to say something.

Buck didn’t know if he had anything to say.

“I’ll go,” Eddie said. “And I – you know I’m here, when you do figure out what you’re searching for.”

With that, he left –

And Buck somehow felt he was a thousand miles away from figuring out what he was searching for rather than being a single step closer to knowing.

send me a sentence and i'll write you a mini fic

[levans44]

Damage Control - Chapter 1

She’s never going to a Stark party again.

9:54 pm, Yesterday

He had lured her in the same way he always does, with sparkly words and false promises of an “intimate gathering.”

“C’mon, it’ll be real small. Promise.” Tony Stark’s sly smirk crawled through the phone, soft jazz and the rustling of pre-party preparations filling the background. “Exclusive guest list, VVIPs only. You know me! Plus I think Brad Pitt’s coming. You like Brad Pitt right?”

From all of the commotion behind him, she could already visualize the state of his mansion - extravagant bottles of champagne lined up along sleek bar tops and 40ft limos pulled up on his shiny marble driveway, ready to greet a dazzling guest list that would put NYC’s 1 OAK to shame.

Yeah. Intimate gathering her ass.

She snorted, rolling her eyes “Tony, you and I both know that’s bullshit.”

“No, seriously! Apparently his kids love me and are dying to get a signed mask, I mean who wouldn’t-”

“-you know that’s not what I meant.”

“So you’ll come?” She opened her mouth to refuse, then closed it, hesitant to give him a straight answer. This bastard knew perfectly well what he was doing. He was waving the guaranteed sophistication of a signature Tony Stark party in front of her face, and no matter how much she told herself not to, she knew she’d end up chasing after it like a dog every time.

She let out an exasperated sigh, head hitting the back of the couch with a ‘thud’.

“I don’t know Tony, Anne’s been up my ass all week about finishing the Times Square write-up, which is your fault by the way.” She poked the air with an accusatory finger.

Working under SHIELD’s Damage Control division had its ups and downs, but it was no easy work having to cover for the Avengers and the wreckage they left after every battle. Just this past month, a battle on 45th street between the team and the Kree had only lasted 20 minutes, but had caused her weeks worth of paperwork and overtime. Handling a million lawsuits, mending financial deficits, and approving blueprints for reconstruction, she couldn’t remember the last time she went to bed before 3 am.

“Hey, Squidward attacked us first! Something about the Avengers being the first step toward world domination.”

“Well, you should have killed him and his friends when you had the chance, cause thanks to them, I now have a 30-page writeup to edit” she glanced down bitterly at the open computer in her lap, glaring at the document in scorn.

Tony chuckled through the speaker. “So come to the party, it’ll help take your mind off things.”

Despite her annoyance, she appreciated the familiar sincerity in his voice — Tony had always been somewhat like a father figure to her away from home.

Miles from her family living in a tiny New York studio, she met Tony her sophomore year of college working as a nervous intern for Stark Industries. A few summers later and she was promoted to the grand title of personal assistant, attending boozy galas and benefits alongside New York’s famed billionaire.

At the time, she wouldn’t have missed his parties for the world. It would have been weird if she had, considering how most people her age spent their Friday nights in lines for dingy clubs with overpriced drinks. Her Friday nights were spent on private flights to Amsterdam or Paris.

But alas, she slowly departed from the fleeting materialism of her youth, and took off in search of a job where she could step away from the spotlight for a while. She landed her current job at Damage Control under Anne Hoag, an old business partner of Tony’s, and had slowly lost memory of the glamorous Stark parties over the years. Now, the opportunity to revisit that time in her life had arrived at her doorstep, all wrapped up in a pretty package, daring her to refuse.

Tony’s smug voice interrupted her thoughts, sounding satisfied with her long pause. “Great, knew you’d say yes! 11 PM tonight, don’t let me down Manhattan.”

Before she could protest, Tony had signed off with a click. He left her with a surprise there, using that nickname; she couldn’t even remember the last time she had heard it. The origin story for that nickname was a long one, but it had essentially started when she accidentally fixed him a Manhattan instead of an Old Fashioned (but really, what was the difference?). As much as she had been annoyed with Tony for using it back then, she had secretly grown fond of it over the years. Hearing it now struck a nostalgic chord in her that made his offer a bit more tempting.

Shutting her laptop, she let it flop down on the couch next to her. She let out a small sigh, surveying her cold, empty apartment. Dishes piled up in the sink. A small pile of laundry she’s avoided folding for weeks. When was the last time she had dressed up for anything, let alone for a fancy party? Massaging her neck, she let out a low groan, feeling a dull ache throb in her shoulders as she dragged herself sluggishly to the shower. Maybe she did need a few hours to destress.

One night couldn’t hurt, right?

5:31 am, Today

Fuck, everything hurt.

Her head pounded behind her eyes, blinding light shining through the windows.

What time was it?

Ugh, whatever it was, it was way too early. Draping a heavy arm over her eyes, she desperately trying to shield the light from her eyes. Why was it so damn bright? Her tiny apartment barely got any natural sun.

She rolled over to the edge of the bed, squinting up to realize that her alarm clock wasn’t on her bedside table. Instead, it was replaced by a greek-looking marble statue and a plant instead. She didn’t own any fucking plants. Frowning, she smoothed down the front of her sheets, feeling the luxurious satin glide against her palm and realized she wasn’t in her bed. This wasn’t her room. Last night, she had left Tony’s party early with… fuck.

Her stomach gave a sudden jolt as she frantically turned to the space to her left. She let out a sigh of relief, finding it empty. She ran a slow finger over the neatly folded corners, not a single fold out of line, before she sat up in the bed, clutching the expensive sheet to her chest as she took in the unfamiliar room of the Avenger’s compound. She’s made some questionable decisions in the past, but this beat everything else by a mile. She dragged her hands down her face exasperatedly, letting out an internal groan. She was used to handling shitty situations: wrecked buildings, stranded helicarriers, and alien hostages.

But how on earth was she going to handle this?

She thought about leaving a note, but the idea of trying to find a pen and paper in this gigantic space intensified her headache. Maybe a voicemail but… she didn’t have his number. Great. Where was her damn phone anyway?

Another jolt of panic ran through her before she remembered that it was probably in her purse… which was somewhere downstairs. She hadn’t managed to keep track of it after, well, how quickly shit escalated last night.

Snatching up her dress from off of the floor, she hastily pulling it over her head and stumbled out of the wooden slide door. It revealed a long hallway, mostly empty save for a few giant, expensive-looking paintings. She clambered down the nearest staircase she could find, her heels sliding against the sleek glass and scraping the back of her feet.

The second floor of the Avenger’s Compound was a huge, not to mention bright, open lounge, equipped with a bar, pool table, a meeting room, and probably a million other facilities that she couldn’t afford to stay and gawk at right now.

Spotting the steps leading down to the first floor, her only way out of this mess, she started to scramble toward it.

“Going somewhere?”

A smug voice called from the kitchen countertop. She jumped, sleep suddenly cleared from her eyes, swiveling around to see Tony slumped over the countertop, cradling a glass of water in one hand and an aspirin in the other. What was he doing at the compound so early? She felt a flicker of pity at his bed head and dark circles, but then again she would’ve given anything to be getting over a hangover instead of being in her shoes right now.

On his smug, exhausted face was a shit-eating grin, stretching the dark lines beneath his eyes, eyes that told her that he remembered everything from last night. That he remembered… shit.

She let out a small gasp.

“Tony,” She jabbed an accusatory finger in his direction. “You cannot tell anybody.”

His grin widening, he shrugged, feigning innocence. “Tell what?”

Oh, he’s gonna play that game? With a hangover?

She groaned, dragging her hands down her face. “Where is he?” She asked quietly into her palm, praying that Tony would give her a straight answer.

“Who, loverboy? He wasn’t in bed with you?”

She jerked her hands away from her face in disbelief, raising her voice “Tony-”

“Relax, relax,” he chuckled, clearly enjoying her torment. “He’s probably out running his daily fucking marathon or something. Should be back soon.” A pause, before he added with a devilish smile.

“Guess you didn’t tire him out enough last night.”

“Tony, I swear to god.” She rolled her eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Ok. At least God gave her one thing. Seeing as he wasn’t here, if she leaves now she’ll be able to avoid one awkward conversation.

She sighed, running a hand through her no doubt messed hair as she tried to gather her thoughts. “Have you seen my purse?”

Twisting around in his stool, he lazily pointed to the couch, sat in the middle of an appallingly clean living room. Swiveling back around, he winced as if the movement made him dizzy.

Serves him right.

Snatching up her purse from its spot on the expensive leather futon, she made her way to the stairs and down to the first floor, away from what seemed to be the most humiliating moment of her life.

Tony’s mocking voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

“Where you headed?”

Her eyes fluttered closed, questioning why she hadn’t poisoned the man the countless times she had brewed him coffee or freshened his drink.

Taking a breath to compose herself, she turned around slowly, putting on the most neutral expression she could muster.

“I…” She stalled, trying to dig as far down her mental vat of ‘excuses to get out of shit’ as she could.

“I’ve got a client meeting.”

“Really? On a Sunday? Must be some damn important client.”’

Well, shit.

Tony must have sensed her desperation as he tsked, leaning forward on the table.

“Come on, I gotta tell him something, Manhattan”

“I…” She spent another moment trying to come up with a decent enough excuse, fumbling with the clasp on her purse, before giving up altogether, letting out an exasperated sigh.

“Just… just make something up for me, ok? I-I gotta go.”

“Go where?”

She whipped around, bug-eyed, stomach dropping through the floor at the man standing at the top of the stairwell. Biceps bulging through a ridiculously tight workout shirt, sweat glistening down his neck as he tilted his head back to take a swig of water, and god, did this man ever take a break?

She realized she had been ogling while he watched her expectantly, so oblivious to her horror.

He swallowed his water, neck flushed pink, before giving her a rather shy smile.

“Hi.”

She barely responded with a curt ‘hello,’ unable to meet his innocent eyes. This has got to be the world’s most pathetic walk of shame, she thought—she’d crawl into the nearest hole if she could.

The unbearable silence between them was suddenly broken by an overdramatic cough from behind her.

“Well, this has been delightful to watch, but this superstar’s got to catch up on his beauty sleep.” Tony slid off languidly off the stool, yawning dramatically as he stretched.

Oh, so now he wants to leave?

Glancing back in their direction, he winked, looking straight at her.

“Gosh, what a night, huh?”

She felt her face burn a deep crimson, and couldn’t even bear to check what hue of red Steve’s face was.

As Tony shuffled upstairs, she heard Steve clear his throat. Out of the corner of her eye, he started to take a hesitant step toward her, glancing down at his feet.

“So… about last night.”

Fuck. 

She’s never going to a Stark party again.

Damage Control Masterlist

[a-ladyofwar]

I miss being excited about Overwatch. I miss getting hyped when the new skins dropped, and fanart would swarm the tag on Tumblr. I miss reading theories on the lore when new cinematics and comics dropped because there was so little of it, and what we thought the world of Overwatch could be kept us all invested. And despite some of the toxic side, I miss the in game interactions as people showed off their new skins and emotes; while they were only accessible through lootboxes and gambling, at least everyone had a chance to get them when they played the game and they didn’t have to pay to get that chance.

I just feel like now, it’s so soulless. Yeah it’s free but all the hype and excitement is gone. There’s some fanart but it’s not the same. New characters come out and it’s just like, “oh, cool.” There’s story mode and more voicelines and character interactions but they came years too late and it’s just sort of a neat little feature of the game now; there’s no fans eagerly dissecting them and carrying the new information to a new personal level. Especially for veteran players like me, it’s more of a fun little game I play with my friends, but I don’t care to go further than that.

The battlepass, the in game purchases, the sloppy debut with broken UI and characters and inaccessibility and overloaded servers, not to mention the miles long list of Blizzard’s crippling wrongdoings (sexual assault and harassment, “frat boy” culture, the lawsuit from the California government, the Free Hong Kong incident)…like for fucks sake, Blizzard just seriously fucked with what was such a beloved franchise all because of corporate greed and desire to hold power over marginalized groups. So pathetic.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A Massachusetts district attorney said Friday that his office is investigating Florida's decision last year to send flights filled with migrants to Martha's Vineyard.

Cape & Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois also threw his support behind a group of public officials from California and Texas calling for a federal investigation into the flights.

"I am conscious of my obligation to investigate any potentially criminal activity that occurs within my jurisdiction," Galibois said in a statement. "[I] am aware that immigrants were tricked and fooled into boarding planes that ultimately landed in Martha's Vineyard, a part of my jurisdiction. I believe this falls within my purview as District Attorney to investigate. Given that much of the information that I seek to review as part of my investigation falls outside of my jurisdiction, I stand behind California and believe in order for a full and proper investigation to occur, the Department of Justice must be involved. I stand ready to cooperate with the Department of Justice."

Two planes filled with undocumented immigrants landed on Martha's Vineyard last September, leaving the island scrambling to prepare emergency shelters to help them.

The office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was responsible for the flights, with a spokesperson saying that night they were "part of the state's relocation program to transport [undocumented immigrants] to sanctuary destinations."

DeSantis, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has touted the flights to Martha's Vineyard in his campaign speeches, falsely claiming island officials "deported them the next day." In reality, they were brought to an emergency shelter on Joint Base Cape Cod before alternative housing was arranged.

Galibois' announcement comes a day before DeSantis will be on Cape Cod for a fundraiser.

In a class action lawsuit, migrants said unidentified people working with DeSantis had been "trolling streets outside of a migrant shelter in Texas and other similar locales, pretending to be good Samaritans offering humanitarian assistance."

The migrants said those people made false promises that if they were willing to board airplanes to other states, they would receive employment, housing, educational opportunities and other assistance.

They also said they were told they would be flown to Boston or Washington, D.C., but were dropped off on Martha's Vineyard without food, water or shelter.

DeSantis' move was widely panned by Massachusetts lawmakers as a "cruel stunt."

"History does not look kindly on leaders who treat human beings like cargo, loading them up and sending them a thousand miles away without telling them their destination," Rep. Bill Keating, D-Massachusetts, said in a tweet.

Earlier this summer, Florida also sent flights filled with migrants to Sacramento. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta both likened the action to kidnapping.

In a letter earlier this month, Newsom and Bonta joined Sheriff Javier Salazar of Bexar County, Texas, to call on the U.S. Department of Justice "to investigate potential violations of federal law by those involved in this scheme."

Salazar's office announced last month that it had recommended criminal charges, including misdemeanor and felony counts of unlawful restraint. No suspects were named. The Sheriff had previously opened an investigation into the flights after saying the migrants were "lured." Charlie Baker, Massachusetts' Governor at the time, said he was supporting that investigation.

[tractorbeamofwoe]

Igloos Together | Blurb #3.1

Short little wintery Bondy fic to kick off the new year :)

word count: 557

***

This was the first Christmas you'd spent with Bondy since moving in with him up north, and the weather was full of surprises. So when you woke up one morning to see your garden covered in a blanket of fresh snow you jumped out of bed and practically threw yourself down the stairs to check it out.

Barefoot and still in your dressing gown, you stepped out onto the lawn, instantly cringing from the cold that shot up through your legs. You didn't hear him come down the stairs, but Bondy chuckled behind you and coaxed you back inside with a gentle hand on your shoulder.

"We can go out there, just promise me you'll wrap up first." He said, playfully flicking your nose with his fingertip.

Now fully dressed in your coat and boots, knitted jumper tucked into your jeans, you practically dived face first into a pile of snow that had accumulated in the corner of the garden. Bondy was somewhere behind you scraping together bricks of snow. 

Eventually you waddled over to him after flailing around in the snow and coating your clothes and hair in the cold powder. 

"Want a hand?" You offered, curiously leaning over his shoulder and observing the spherical wall he'd begun making.

"Yes please love." He said, taking a few steps back to admire his progress so far. He gave you a few pointers and you got to work, packing the snow into solid rectangles and stacking them delicately on top of each other. 

Eventually you’d developed a sort of system, you scrape snow into fairly even piles for him, Johnny does the more complicated job of making them into bricks before handing them back to you to add to the wall. You added the finishing touches by smoothing out the top and filling in the cracks with more snow to make it more “structurally sound” as Johnny had put it, before crawling inside. You both sat with your legs crossed, knees hugged closely to your chest as you chatted and watched your breath freeze as it left your lips.

“Hey, this isn’t half bad. I’d say we did a pretty good job.” You commented optimistically.

“Mhm and I think we should christen it with a joke”

“Oh god…” You roll your eyes

“How does a penguin build its house?”

You blink at him silently, preparing for the punchline

“Igloos it together” Johnny answers with a smirk

“I saw that one coming from a mile away”

“Did not.” He retorts like a child, playfully nudging you.

“Did too,” You argue back “anyway, ours doesn’t need glue. See? It’s rock solid-”

Just as you said that you knocked on the wall with your first to prove your point, however ended up putting your arm through the snow and causing the whole wall to collapse. Johnny chuckled as you struggled to free your arm from under the snow.

“Careful love, that could’ve been a lawsuit.” 

“Shame it didn’t all come down on top of you, then you wouldn’t be laughing I bet.”

“You’re right I wouldn’t, I’d probably suffocate instead.”

“You wouldn’t suffocate, because unlike you I’d actually be concerned and help you out.” 

When he eventually does rescue your arm from the rubble of your lovingly crafted igloo, he taps on your arm a couple of times.

“Hmm, looks like we’re gonna need an amputation.”

“Which I’ll pay for with the money I win from suing you.” You grinned

Touché

[syn4k]

as much as i fucking hate living in the good ol u.s of a and despite how much of a fascist nightmare this shithole of a country is becoming day by day, i can't pretend that this isn't funny in a backwards sort of "making jokes about the titanic sinking while sitting on the deck" way. like come on. disney (corporation) (famously only gives a shit about profit) (homophobic) (notoriously ruthless legal department) is literally running a lawsuit against THE ENTIRE STATE OF FLORIDA (state in the united states of america) (65,758 square miles and 170,310 square kilometers) (run by a Literal Fucking Fascist that is even more homophobic than Disney) (desantis honey good luck trying to fight The Mouse with nobody backing you). my state shares a border with florida. i'm sitting here with a bowl of popcorn and some m&ms watching it all go down. the memes are legendary. i'm so fucking sick of this shit it makes me spiral every time i have to think about it. desantis is still a fascist. i hope they bite his dick off

[nicoline1998enilocin]

Yours, Forever | Chapter 13

PAIRING | Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader

WORD COUNT | 3.2K

SUMMARY | The case Tony brought Y/N on to has turned out the be a successful one once again, and Y/N and Bucky agree to go out for a few drinks to celebrate. When he brings her home, things get rather steamy, and they can't keep their hands off of each other.

WARNING(S) | This is your official trigger warning. Do not proceed if any of these topics upset you. Thigh riding and an orgasm.

A/N | This kind of got away from me a little bit, so I apologize for that! But the angst will be mostly over for this series, for now there are mostly fluffy and smutty times ahead in the next few chapters so I hope you will enjoy it with me! 🖤

Likes, comments and reblogs will be very much appreciated 💜

Main Masterlist | Bucky Barnes Masterlist | Series masterlist | Chapter 12 | Chapter 14

Less than a week passed before you got the phone call early in the morning. ''This is Y/L/N, how can I help you?'' you say as you pick up the phone, not recognizing the number. ''Good morning Ms. Y/L/N, this is T.J. Garcia from Garcia Lawyers Inc.'' he started, and you immediately recognize the name of the lawyer who's defending the opposite party in the lawsuit the Avengers are tangled in at the moment. ''I'm calling you regarding the lawsuit that you and the Avengers are a part of. I have discussed it some more on our side and we have decided to settle out of court, but only if your party pays us a fee of $750.000 in settlement,'' he says, and on the one hand you're happy, but on the other hand you realize it's quite a smack of money.

''Uh, is it okay if I come back to you about that? I would like to discuss it with my clients first,'' you say and he agrees. The first thing you do afterward is call Tony and explain the entire situation, and he says you should do it. ''Accept the offer, I can have it done by the end of the week as long as it stays out of the press,'' Tony presses and you immediately work on it. Less than an hour later you're all done, the offer accepted and paid for by Tony. You can finally breathe again as the relief washes over you. You love your job, but this is just something that is less fun.

Tony informed everyone since you're working from home today - or you should be, at least. You decided to take it a little slow today, because you're finally back in your apartment, and it just doesn't feel like home anymore, so you're wanting to give it a complete makeover after everything that's happened. God, if these walls could talk, they would be filling the silences with nothing but horror stories. You're in the middle of rearranging furniture when you hear your phone ring and you run into the bedroom since it's charging there. ''Tony, hi, what can I do for you?'' you say as you're trying not to sound out of breath from the short run you just had.

''Are you okay, honey? You sound like you just ran a mile or something,'' he asks with a chuckle. ''Yeah, fine. The phone is charging in the bedroom and I was in the kitchen,'' you tell him. ''But I assume you're not calling me to see where my phone is charging, huh?'' you tease and Tony boasts out in loud laughter. ''Of course not, I'm taking everyone out for drinks tonight, and you're coming too. I'm sorry, but tonight you don't have a choice, because we're celebrating the win you gave us this morning, so we're celebrating you and all your hard work,'' he said, and you sighed. ''Fine, but I won't stay long,'' you said before saying goodbye and hanging up.

Around 6 PM you got quite hungry and decided to order some Chinese food for yourself, after which you would get ready for your night out, it might be nice to get out of the house for some fun things as a change of pace. You decide to shower before heading out and you change into a bit of a fancier outfit, one you haven't worn in forever, and it feels just like the old days when nothing was wrong, and you were just working for S.I. as the head of the legal department. No involvement with the Avengers, no circumstances that would need you to stay home. It feels like you found yourself again, and it carries through in the way you walk and talk, too.

Since you're on medication for your endometriosis you rarely drink, even though you're allowed to. It's the perfect excuse to not have to worry about things like that, and you decide to take your car to the bar Tony told you about, which is close to the Compound. For your safety - and that of your car, it's still New York after all - you figure you park in the garage of the Compound and walk the short 5-minute walk to the bar. When you arrive you see that Nat, Clint, and Bruce are already there, so you join them. ''Hi guys!'' you say with a cheery voice, and Nat immediately notices your newfound confidence.

''Damn girl, looking good!'' she says as you walk in, carrying yourself like you're a million bucks. ''Thanks, I feel good actually. It's been a while since I felt like this, but something about this outfit just brings it out in me,'' you said with a laugh. ''Can I get you all something to drink before the rest gets here? I don't want to buy drinks for everyone or else my bank account won't be too happy with me,'' you joke and all three of them laugh, and you can tell they're happy to see you like this. ''Just beers,'' Clint said, and Bruce and Nat nodded in agreement so you walk over to the bar, ordering three beers and a virgin mojito for yourself. When you're waiting for the drinks, you suddenly feel someone's breath on your ear and before you know it, you hear Bucky's voice whispering something in your ear.

''Hi doll, can I just say how marvelous your legs look in these pants?'' he says and you smile. ''Yes, Buck, you can say that,'' you say before turning around and wrapping your arms around his neck in a hug. ''God, I missed you so much,'' you tell him as he pulls you tight against him, and when he lets go you put a kiss on his cheek. ''Can you make it one more beer?'' you ask the bartender and he nods, handing you a tray with the drinks as you give him the cash to pay for the drinks. ''C'mon, Clint, Bruce, and Nat already found a table,'' you say and Bucky puts his hand on the small of your back, guiding you through the crowd and it sent sparks up your spine.

''Alright, four beers for you guys, and one virgin mojito for myself,'' you say as you hand all of them a beer. The conversation flows very easily as you talk about some of the missions everyone's been on lately, and even though some things aren't easy to talk about, you still laugh at the funny parts. ''It suits you when you're feeling this good,'' Bucky whispers in your ear, and just when you're about to answer him, Sam, Thor, Steve, Peter, Wanda, Vision, and - last but not least - Tony walk into the bar, right over to where you guys are. ''Oh my god, Y/N, you're here!'' Wanda says as she almost runs to you and you get up to envelop her in the biggest hug you possibly can.

''Lady Y/N, it's good to see you again. I'm glad you're doing better,'' Thor says as he pulls you in for a hug too. ''I'm glad to see you too,'' you smile up at him as you let him go. Sam's next and he doesn't say anything, but he just pulls you in for a bone-crushing hug, and you know it's okay. ''Happy to see you too, Sam,'' you say as he gives you his signature wide smile. Next up is your other favorite supersoldier, and you almost jump into his arms when you see him. ''STEVE!'' you say and within less than a second your arms found their way around his waist, your face plastered against his warm chest as you feel the rumble of laughter going through his chest. ''Hi Sunshine, I'm glad to see you too. Lucas said hi by the way, he couldn't make it tonight but he misses you too,'' he says, and your eyes widen a little at the mention of his fiancé. ''Please tell him I miss him too, I need to catch up with both of you soon,'' you say and he nods.

Peter and Vision give quick hugs before sitting down after saying it's good to see you, and now there's only one person left. Your best friend in this whole world, the person who's been by your side no matter what. Tony Stark. ''Hi honey, I'm so glad to see you again. I can see you're feeling good tonight,'' he says at the sight of you feeling happy and confident tonight. ''Yeah, I am. I don't know why, but for some reason, I feel like I'm carrying myself with a lot more confidence and I'm happy about it. I honestly started to dislike the person I'd become lately,'' you say and he nods. ''Well, that's not weird seeing where you're coming from, but I have to say that this look is everything on you, you're practically glowing,'' he says as he puts a kiss on your cheek. ''Thank you, Tony, it means a lot coming from you,'' you say as you sit down again, Bucky kept the seat next to him open for you.

The entire evening is filled with laughter, stories, and nothing but pure love for every one at this table. You all have been through hell and back, and that is exactly what makes you such a strong team together. You may not be an Avenger, but that doesn't change the fact that you're still their favorite person, like ever. During the evening Bucky always had one of his hands on you, either on the small of your back, wrapped protectively around your shoulder, or creeping up your thigh a little higher each time. You've gently nudged him off your thigh a few times, but he doesn't seem to care all too much. He knows that if you didn't want it, you would put a definitive stop to it, and you haven't so far because you kind of don't want to.

By the time 1 AM rolls around, you're getting tired, and decide it's time to go home. ''It's been amazing catching up with all of you, but I need to head home now,'' you say as you yawn. ''Let me take you home, you shouldn't go home alone at this time of the night,'' Bucky said and you agreed. ''What about you though? I came here with my car,'' you say. ''I'm a super soldier and former assassin. If someone wants to try something with me, they're making the wrong decision,'' he chuckles and you laugh. You say goodbye to everyone, and you and Bucky leave together, but the hand in your back pocket doesn't go unnoticed by any of the Avengers. ''Looks like they're doing better,'' Sam jokes and everyone agrees.

When you're in the car, you rest your hand on Bucky's thigh and he put his hand over yours, enveloping it in the warmth he always seems to radiate. ''It was nice to see everyone again like this, out and about. Not a care in the world,'' you say and he nods. ''I like seeing you in your element the most though, doll. I'm really happy to see you were feeling so good tonight, it suits you,'' he said as he looked at you while you blushed deeply. The rest of the ride was silent, but it didn't last long since you were home already. ''Let me walk you upstairs, it's the least I can do,'' he says and you agree. When the two of you are in front of your door, he grabs your hand and you turn around. ''Please tell me to stop if you're uncomfortable,'' Bucky says before slowly pushing you against your front door with his body.

You gasp a little and your eyes widen in pleasure, it feels good to feel his firm body against yours again. His hands leave your waist and slide down your hips and to the back of your thighs so he can lift you. You instinctively wrap your legs around his waist and your arms around his neck as he holds you, before closing the gap between you, moulding his lips perfectly to yours. The kiss isn't rushed, or desperate, instead, it's sweet, slow, and soft. It's everything you need right now and more. When Bucky pulls away for air, you can only smile at him, words having escaped your mind entirely. ''I love you, Y/N, I always have and I will prove it to you every single day if you let me,'' he says and you nod.

''Bucky, go on a date with me, please. It's all I'm asking, one date with you before we go any further,'' you say and he agrees before giving you one more slow kiss. He sets you down on the floor and lets you open your door before walking through. ''I'll text you,'' you say before it's his turn to nod and you close the door, still coming down from the feelings you just got. You needed to talk to someone about it, but first, you would sleep, your body was starting to shut itself down. Talking could wait until later today, your body was in desperate need of sleep first.

~ A week later ~

It's time for your date with Bucky, and the weather in New York is rapidly changing from autumn to winter. Bucky arranged for the both of you to see the musical Wicked on Broadway, and you practically jumped in the air when he said that, because you've been wanting to see it for years, and to see it there is an extreme dream come true. He let you know he would pick you up on his bike so you dressed accordingly, going for a black outfit with a thick scarf, your hair loose around your shoulders and your make-up simple but elegant. When it's time to pick you up, Bucky knocks on your door and you open it to see him looking beautiful in his outfit, which fits him perfectly in all the right places. ''Hi doll, are you ready?'' he says and he's not sure if he should kiss you or not as a greeting. You see him thinking and take matters into your own hands by pulling him in for a soft kiss.

The ride to Broadway was quick and before you were ready, the musical was over. ''God, that was an absolute dream come true! Thank you so much for taking me here, Bucky, I don't think I'll ever be able to top this if I'd ever take you out on a date!'' you say and he shakes his head. ''It's okay, you don't have to top this, but you can always top me if you want,'' he said low enough for just you to hear, making you blush from the tips of your ears down your chest. The drive home is just as quick as the ride over there, and before they know it, they're almost in the same position as they were a week ago, but now the kisses were a little needier and more desperate after he shoved his thigh between your legs.

He was guiding you back and forth over his thigh while he kept kissing you, and you moaned into his mouth at the feeling of your cunt rubbing over his thigh, your orgasm slowly creeping up on you. ''F-fuck, Bucky! Gonna cum!'' you say and before you know it, he held you close as you rode out your orgasm on his thigh. ''Christ, doll, I can't believe we just did that...'' he said with a bit of a shy voice, but you're not having any of it. ''How could I not with a man like yourself?'' you say before kissing him again, and when you've gone inside, you immediately walk to your fire escape where you can see him get his bike. ''Bucky! Up here!'' you yell at him and he looks up at you, a big smile on his face. You blow him a kiss and he pretends to catch it before putting it in his pocket, and he blows one back up to you. It was enough to make your insides melt into a big puddle.

~ The following day, at dinner with Tony and Pepper ~

''I went on a date with Bucky yesterday,'' you tell them when the three of you are having dinner. Morgan is at a sleepover with a friend of hers, so you three had all the time in the world to discuss everything. ''And? How was it?'' Pepper said, after seeing the sparkle in your eyes. ''He took me to see Wicked on Broadway, which as you know I'm a huge fan of, and it was amazing! And afterward, when he brought me home we kissed, and it honestly felt like fireworks were going off around us,'' you said, thinking about the previous night. You didn't mention the amazing orgasm he gave you, that would be something only the two of you needed to know.

''Do you think the two of you will give it another shot? I would hate to see you get hurt again like that, honey,'' Tony said and you thought about what he said. ''I'm thinking about it, but I'm not jumping into anything if that's what you're wondering. If I do start dating him again I want to take it slow, because I realized last time we went too fast, and we all know what came of that,'' you sighed and they nodded. ''Well, I'm happy for you, Y/N. You deserve to be loved by someone who loves you as deeply as he does,'' Pepper said and that made your insides feel like they were on fire. You nodded as a thank you, and all you could think about was the fact that you would marry that man one day.

~ Meanwhile, Steve and Bucky are having a conversation too ~

''So, how was your date with Y/N yesterday?'' Steve asks as both he and Bucky are eating dinner together. Bucky asked him for help to come up with the perfect plan and it worked out well, so he needed to know what happened. ''It was perfect, you're a genius for getting us those tickets for Wicked, I still owe you by the way!'' Bucky says but Steve shrugs it off. ''No, you don't, Bucky. I mean it. All I want is to see you happy, and Y/N seems to be the key to your happiness,'' he says and Bucky nods softly, you truly are the key to his happiness.

''Well, the date itself was all fun and laughter, but afterward, we kissed and honestly, it kind of felt like fireworks going off around us. We have kissed before, obviously, but it never felt like it did yesterday...'' Bucky reminisces as he plays around with the food on his plate. ''Are you two going to give it another shot?'' Steve inquires and Bucky nods in response. ''God, I hope so, because if she wants to, I won't let her go again. I'm going to marry that girl one day,'' he says while a blush creeps over his cheeks. ''I want her to be mine, forever,'' he said before finishing his dinner.

[beardedmrbean]

I was talking with my brother about the submarine and apparently his roommate recently broke that exact type of controller

He described it as cheap and easily broken

Company makes a lot of stuff, I've had good luck with most of it personally.

Like I'd said yesterday, other than the main hull of the sub which is a combination of titanium and a carbon fiber material they came up with that should be good around 3 miles down I think it was, most everything looked to be off the shelf, which is wild.

I get that we're past the point where NASA needs to come up with a special control yoke for whatever they're flying out with, but still picking up what literally amounts to a playstation controller is wild to me.

Read a snippet of a interview with one of the dudes that went down in the thing the last time, said everyone involved was well aware of the risks involved in what they were doing, they had full disclosure of what the deal was and what could go wrong and they still got into that tube.

Gonna make getting a life insurance payout rough I'd guess, that and any lawsuits for negligence will wind up in the circular file most likely.

[danwhobrowses]

My Highlights from Royal Rumble 2024

So it's people throwing season again, soon to be sign pointing season

The Royal Rumble remains perhaps the secondmost highlight of WWE's calendar, mainly as it sets the wheels for Wrestlemania. This one however has a stacked amount of names but an air of distaste given the lawsuit against Vince McMahon, allegations which are horrid and egregious and would justify anyone who sought not to watch the show in response to it.

Still, the PPV was something to check out...albeit not through paid transaction, so let's talk about the positives of the show

Spoilers for the PPV

The Pre-Show is worthless save for Paul Heyman who always delivers on the promo

Pat McAfee always feels happy to show up at least

Nice to hear Naomi get a pop again

Even though it failed in the end, Kairi's hold-on was pretty cool

Showing the top 3 active wrestler's times was a nice bit of information too

Big ass wings from Zelina

Shotzi got a bigger tank this time

Oh Truth...

Bayley was very much the right call to win too

They at least explained why the count wasn't made during the stack, even if it's bull

Oh Hey Logan Paul actually has some decent gear...

Putting the Usos to start the Men's Rumble is a clever move

Andrade's extra headpiece for his mask was cool

Reminder that technically since nobody entered in place of Rey Mysterio last year and that Cody left over the top rope that he technically won last year's Royal Rumble

Kaiser with the casual sidestep as Lashley brawled with AOP next to him

GUNTHER, that is all

Truth trying to tag in XD Then doing the Cena 5 moves of doom

Gotta hand it to him Dom sold the hell out of being thrown over

SAMI, would've been a great surprise winner

'Sami Zayn used to have a windpipe'

The mini match of Cody and Punk started well, kinda showing that really they could've had a Mania match and left the rumble winner a surprise because they got too obsessed with each other

Conclusion

Eh, I didn't have as good a time as I'd hoped I'm afraid. A lot of dead space or things not clicking; the US title and UNI title matches were forgettable, the former's finish was awful. Jordynne showing up was a surprise spoiled already but even then it happened last year with Mickie anyway, not much novelty there, plus she eliminated nobody and was felled in a minute against Belair, classic WWE-ism of 'oh this is a top person for you? Well they're not as good as our non-champion'. Pat eliminating himself was a waste of time, and as much as Jade had a good showing like, Nia? Really? We've seen many pick up Nia Jax let's be serious here. Also neither Jimmy or Jey eliminated each other, what was the point of them as the first two? GUNTHER deserved better than being eliminated by Cody yet again and Drew and Punk literally did the same thing before they were eliminated.

I suppose it'd be enjoyable if you were a WWE-only who believes everything commentary says, even when they contradicted themselves on the night when Waller and Theory referenced Luger/Hart's win and then later Cole went 'no rumble has had 2 winners'. But even then the men's rumble was woefully obvious, Cody winning back to back just feels uninspired too, they're literally trying to run it back after dropping the ball last time - except, with no WWE championship anymore Cody can't really finish the story of winning the title his father was robbed of winning now can he? It's just, not surprising, and that's been the theme of this entire event because you saw most of it coming a mile off; Jade, Naomi, Jordynne, Andrade, Cody/Punk final two, Solo interferes in Roman's match, Logan Paul wins beat cheap means it's just meh, the only genuine surprise was Sami coming back and he barely lasted. Also I gotta say that WWE's method of lying to media to try and put people off the scent; 'Ronda Rousey isn't returning in the rumble' (not this year ofc), 'oh Punk talks fell apart he won't return at Survivor Series', 'Cody's not finishing the story this year', it isn't a misdirect it's just fucking lying. And man Punk's credibility continues to drop when he talks about how great it is in the company that he accused of making him mentally ill and then doing a Pedigree in the ring, bad enough that Cody does one as a face after he kept teasing it as a symbol of a heel turn in AEW and then left before he did.

On the plus side at least, Bayley deserved that win.

[againstthegrainphoto]

Is this a concert photog blog? Is this a ghost blog? Is this now a kraken blog?

I don’t fucking know.

I’ve had almost a 2 month break from concert photog since no one is touring to Seattle these days. The music industry right now is a complete shit show. Long time veterans are losing thousands of dollars trying to tour. And my next shoot isn’t till February 4th.🫠

Ghost is out there doing jack shit. One poster in one city with a cryptic “jesus is coming”…..it’s been a year since they’ve been within a 1600 mile radius of my city. With nothing but shitty merch drops of things I’m not even interested in buying to hold me through. 😖😤 The sustainability of my ghost posting is still ok. At the rate I’m going I’ve got at least another year of content available, so no panic just yet.

….but now….there are kraken games like 3-4 times per *WEEK*. There is so much happening. So many personalities to enjoy. There’s open practice where they let any dipshit with a pro camera in. (Me. I am any dipshit) and then there’s games you can go to (for a price💰💰💰…I say that like I didn’t drop $350+ the last time I saw ghost….) regularly available and they allow toy cameras. Their merch is so so so much nicer than band merch. And about the same price(aside from jerseys).

Will I invade the world of hockey photog? I don’t think so…I rather enjoy capturing moments and experiences that I don’t feel obligated or am payed to share. I already have a few moments that only my close friends have seen proof of and I think I’d like to keep it that way.

And I’m 127% sure that these views and opinions are brought to you by ✨MY✨ moment with The Favorite Ghoul™️ that has been bastardized and stolen and my name cropped off and spread throughout the entirety of the ghost fandom. That was ✨MY✨ moment. That I shared with MY Favorite Ghoul™️. And no one respects that. I regularly wish I never uploaded that fucking image. Ghost fans have never been *great* (re: lawsuit circa 2016-17) but it’s gotten so bad ever since tiktok. The amount of misinformation spread. The twisting of facts and lore. Making of “informational documents” that don’t even have the fucking facts correct. It pisses me off. I’m tired of it. The lack of respect. For the band themselves. For creators. For other fans. There is a bootleg vinyl out there covered in my photos that I didn’t even get credit for let alone paid.

I’m saltier than I knew I was before I started this post, and it turned into something way more than where I started from. 🤷🏻‍♀️ whatever I’m just here to scream into the fucking void anyway. Nothing matters on this godforsaken website.

That said. It’s probably gonna be a bit kraky around here going forward. Take it or leave it. 🦑🏒

[lboogie1906]

Calvin Lockhart (born Bert McClossy Cooper; October 18, 1934 – March 29, 2007) was a stage and film actor. He was known for his roles as Reverend Deke O'Malley in Cotton Comes to Harlem and Biggie Smalls in Let's Do It Again. He was born the youngest of eight children in Nassau. His father was Eric Cooper, a Bahamian tailor. He moved to New York City when he was 18. He spent one year at the Cooper Union School of Engineering, then left to pursue an acting career. He made his Broadway debut, playing a gang leader in The Cool World. He traveled to Italy and formed his own theater company in which he both acted and directed, before moving to West Germany and then England, where he landed various roles on British television and small roles in films such as A Dandy in Aspic and Salt and Pepper. His first notable screen role was in Joanna, followed by Myra Breckinridge. His first lead was in Halls of Anger. He starred in Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) as the Reverend Deke O'Malley. In 1974, he became an actor-in-residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. In the 1980s he was a guest star for seven episodes of Dynasty, playing Jonathan Lake. He is familiar to horror film fans after his performance as the millionaire big-game hunter in The Beast Must Die (1974). He headed a Los Angeles campaign called "Getting Off Drugs," an anti-drug effort to get teenagers off drugs in the late-1970s. He returned to the Bahamas in the late 1990s and worked as a director on several productions of the Freeport Players Guild. His last film role was in Rain, a movie that was shot in the Bahamas and was released in 2007. His character's name in Let's Do It Again, Biggie Smalls was used by musical artist Christopher Wallace for his 1991 demo, and was still used by media and friends after a lawsuit forced Wallace to change it to Notorious B.I.G. He married Jamaican model Thelma Walters (1972-1978); British businesswoman Lynn Sloan (1982-1987); Jennifer Miles (2006-2007) which led to the birth of actor Julien Lockhart Miles. He has another son named Leslie Lockhart. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj2jXdQrqOD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[the-firebird69]

Well, our son had the sewer clog, and he had to fix it, and he should not have to. And then. thing is not in the working order, and it hasn't been from day one, but going to have to file a lawsuit. It's ridiculous I'm sick of seeing this idiot next door come out while he's doing stuff and saying he's catching him and Stan saying he's getting something He's going to get something. All right, I'm so sick of these people. We're going ahead with our clan. We're going to take all sorts of stuff from them. Nobody is going to these cities except groups, and they try and get there and make things like the divergent series. And when they go, they die. The cities are dilapidated. to the point they don't work. But there's bucket systems down below, and they're pretty big and they're not in them. And the cities are not walled off but there's some walls up. most cities are not walled, but this city is devastated, and there's people driving around trying to blow the place up. And there's nothing below. There's just jerks. We're gonna take care of it, and we're gonna take care of the problem here. These people don't care what they do or who they do it to, and they're very rude. And we're gonna fire a stand in this idiot next door isn't do a damn thing. He's a lazy **** **** ****

---Right now, the eastern hemisphere.the psuedo empire fals and is in bad shap. are a shamble. and dont work well with each other and are infected at the top down. and suck. They're falling to people like John Remallard and BJA and company, and they're not very good at it out there. Right now, there are bases and bunkers are at about 28% And going down still, and the day is not even half over. there are several other things happening, but this is. huge It is the fall of one of their empires. My son will be directly affected. It's going on right now. Now we're gonna have to go after these idiots. They think they're on the free range. He says it too. And then. they're not. But we need to go after them now. they are losing their bases. and they're losing a lot of them. They're attempting to refill and they're holding at 30% a little. less and they're not gonna make it. They are little kids, and they're miscreants and they're murderers, and they need to leave our son's presence and we need to get together and decide what to do. And We need to go after them. right now.. The Pseudo Army is taking a pounding and. it is not a good one. The laser bases are under attack. to the tune of approximately around 40% under attack. and about 20% of them are not functioning and they're fighting war in space and the ground bases are being used and these guys are going after those Bases because they're firing on macmorlcok spaceships. tons see it no but her and go after them. rightnow the spcce war is full bore between the three. and morlock lose an billy z no are a match. all go down. He started with about 33 million mac Morlock ships. Now they're down to about 21 million. And it started with about 12. million clone ships, which are a little bit more powerful than BJA had at the start. Now they're down to 6 million.. Yeah, it's always been millions. And they also. are hitting the pseudo empire which started with about 35 million and they're down to about 22 million. And it's fairly even but it is heating up right now and it is because of the storm and you're trying to get here and the firing is intense. we estimated in two hours they'll be cut in half again. and John Remalard is wrong again. They're going to fight over stuff not nothing. and you have the stuff and they're coming for you..

-- The storm is a mere 70 miles to the South. And that's to the center of the eye. It is heading north pretty quickly. and it's very mild compared to what people were saying. It's not heading right towards Tampa, like the clone was saying. And he got people going against clones. Ohh yeah, it was John Remaard. We're going to take out this stupid house situation on people starting right now and we're going to make you pay. The septic has failed 29 times since he moved in And in the call was answered twice. And one time they almost got into a fight because they refused to fix it That's extremely illegal. And we're going to sue him. And yeah, we're going to put lawsuits in It's ridiculous. Oh, OK, you're poor. So we're gonna take all your ships over doing that already. We should take some of his bases. Stop this crap. It's a good idea. The Pseudo Empire, and these guys are losing bases. We start taking them over. These nuclear bunkers that are defunct are completely contaminated. And the rad levels are very high in. it's about a six throughout the facility. Anybody that went in there at any point would be dead. Except we can use it. to irradiate and build next to them. We're going to do that now.

--- The Pseudo Empire. And we have new information is to 27% bunkers and bases the people. are leaving the cities. and they are going to try and shore up their bunkers and bases. And they are meeting them in the field of combat and dying. It's a big war. It is. coming to a close, it appears. the general population of the pseudo empire is about 3.75 percent. in the Western Hemisphere, they're building up for an attack on them. And they're going to follow the same. manner as the Eastern Hemisphere

---. The Trump Stashes and cashes in the Eastern Hemisphere are once again infiltrated at 20% But there are, they're functioning at only about 35% of all of them. all of them that remain. And that's most of them. pretty soon there will be two week to hold it. and he won't have to blow them. Donald Trump is gearing up for a counter strike with troops and very heavy equipment. and very heavy ordinance, meaning to wipe them out. The nuclear bunkers. are at 25% in their infiltrated 20%. All of them will fall shortly. Not all of them are contaminated. We will start occupying them right now and seeing some military mission. We're going to use absolute force and annihilate whoever shows up to reduce and that's a good idea. And we're going to use it. I'm so sick of these idiots.

--- We have some other things that we are taking care of These **** here need to leave. And we mentioned it a lot. And our father and mother said, please, just get rid of them. We don't want to talk about them. They're ugly people. It's making us sick. We're too young, and we get that. We are sending in people to take them out. We have a lot of plans and things that are starting to run that get rid of them. And we're doing so. The big plans are running, and there's cities are falling in the eastern hemisphere. He. had 10 out of 20. of the very large last we spoke in the cities and city areas. Now he has 8 out of 20.. 2 more may fall before nightfall tonight in the Western Hemisphere. And out of the large he had above. 50 to start out of 70. Now he has 30 out of 70 and he lost 10 more. Early this morning and 10 more later this morning Totally loss of 20. so he only has 30 cities out of the 70 large.. And his people are flowing out. of regular areas to try and keep the stashes and cashes and the cities And they say they'll be just enough room on the ships. and to shut him up and stuff. And they hear ohh joined Remalard. and they say no. The other guy Dave the ones having everybody say stuff. Anyone can see it. A little baby can see it. Are you worse than a baby? So listen, what is he doing that for? He's trying to implicate me. for some reason to try and capture me and he's a moron And he said, well, that blows. So that's going around and they're examining it and they're finding out it's true. And they're losing their lives for no reason. The medium cities on there about. 70 in this possession, and he used to have two 100 out of 300. And it is progressing that way. rapidly.. And he is losing troops very quickly. His percentage of population off island is reduced to 4.1%. from 4.5% two weeks ago. And it's going faster now. See BJA is most likely gonna break into several large bunkers. Possibly tomorrow. or Saturday and John Remelard will have to try and counter.. His forces will begin to get wiped out very quick. And BJA 2. But he doesn't really keep track of that and stuff like that. It's coming to a head right now. There are a couple more things.

Thor Freya in a moment

Olympus