#best share to buy today for long term

[dmwealth]

14 Best Stocks for Long Term Investments in India

आज में आपकों 14 Best Stocks for Long Term Investments in India के बारें में बतानें वाला हूँ मुझे उमीद हैं की यह आपकों पसंद आएगी। भारत में लंबी अवधि के लिए निवेश करने के लिए सबसे अच्छे स्टॉक्स कौन से हैं? यह प्रश्न हर निवेशक के मन में होता है, जो अपने पैसों को समय के साथ बढ़ाना चाहता है। लंबी अवधि का निवेश का मतलब है कि आप कम से कम 1 से 3 साल तक किसी स्टॉक में पैसा लगाते हैं, और उसकी कीमत में…

[news-today-florial-blog]

Stock to Buy Today- SBI

Stock to Buy Today- SBI

MO Investment Idea – SBI (CMP : INR 612   TP : INR 700, 14% Upside, Buy) SBI delivered robust Q2 with PAT up 74% YoY to Rs13265 crore led by margin expansion and lower provisions. NII grew 13% YoY as margin expanded 30bp QoQ to 3.3%. Fresh slippages moderated to INR24b, which coupled with healthy recoveries/upgrades resulted in GNPA/NNPA ratio improving 39bp/20bp QoQ to 3.5%/0.8% in 2QFY23,…

[or0ch1maru]

Could you write an angst to fluff fic where mihawks wife gets injured and maybe he's like depended on her and now he has to manage while she is maybe in a comatose state with a happy ending

hiii babes :3

I would just like to start this by thanking all of who wished me a happy birthday yesterday. My day at work was great, and I gifted myself 2 pairs of hello kitty sneakers ^.^

Warnings: none

Let’s get into it🫵🏻

•

-you and Mihawk met a few years back. Running into each other after being set after the same bounty. And neither of you have looked back since.

-married life has been great, your husband being the absolute best man. Treating you with such care, love, and respect.

-both of you sharing the household duties, cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc.

-Mihawk always called you his sunshine, as no matter what, you always brought light into his heart. Which, over time, caused him to be more and more open about his past, and, his feelings

-which many would say is rare. No one living long enough to see any other type of reaction from him besides his usual stoicism

-but you, you got it all and a part of him knew he’d become dependent on your love that he’s not really sure to handle the situation he finds himself in currently

-both of you got called to handle a rather ‘difficult’ bounty as the marines put it. And things were going well until your opponent got the upper hand on you

-causing you to miss calculate your neck move and resulting in you being in a comatose state.

-Mihawk’s private doctor said you’ll come out of it, it just depends on when. He unfortunately wasn’t sure. It was a waiting game

-you had your own private room set up in the castle, being hooked up to this and that. A nurse would come by everyday to check in on you and handle a few things

-Mihawk would stand in the doorway every time like clock work. Watching as she tends to you

-it’s only at night, when it’s just you and him that he sits in the chair beside your bed and talks to you. He’s unsure if you can hear him but he doesn’t care. He speaks all his worries, about how much he misses and needs you. Scared that he won’t be able to do this much longer without you

-explaining that he’d wait as long as you need for you to come out of this. As long as he gets to hear your voice, witness your smile, be able to feel you touch and hug him back

-during the day, he keeps himself busy. Cleaning, reading, paperwork, more reading, going into town to shop, buying things for you, anything to keep his mind preoccupied

-he has good days and bad, most of them blending together

-poor guy has used dissociating to get through most of this as he truly doesn’t know how to come to terms without you

-the castle is too quiet, he misses hearing your sweet voice bouncing off the walls when you call for him, or when you come bounding down the hallway towards his office to ‘annoy’ him

-when he’s tossing and turning in your shared bed, he has one of your shirts or hoodies with him. One that has the scent of your perfume lingering on it. Which eventually gets him to sleep

-now, today has been a particularly difficult day for Mihawk. Marines constantly on his ass, giving him shit for not handling every single bounty they’ve been giving him. It annoys him as they know of his personal situation and don’t show any sort of respect towards it

-so by the time he gets back home, his mood is sour. He stands in the doorway, watching you as the nurse tends to you once again

-“any change?” He asks, and even though he already knew the answer. Watching the nurse shake her head and reply with her usual “no, I’m sorry”, is when the damn breaks

-no one has seen him cry, you witnessed a single tear roll down his cheek the day you two wed but that’s it

-he waits until the aid is gone for the night and that’s when the tears come flowing. Hard, and heavy.

-he’s sitting at his desk, his chest heaving as he tries catching his breath, and every time he thinks he’s calming down, more tears come

-Mihawk doesn’t realize it’s a panic attack, as it’s his first time experiencing one since he was a boy

-this goes on for hours, before he eventually falls asleep at his desk, his forehead resting against his forearms. A single hand resting on the photograph he keeps on his desk

-but he’s jerked awake around 3am. At first he thinks it’s a dream when he heard your voice from the room next door

-but when he hears a choked “baby?” He almost falls from his chair

-he wastes no time running into the room you’ve been treated in all this time

-and that’s when he sees you. Your eyes open, a look of confusion on your face as you take in the tubes you’ve been hooked up too

-“my love?” Are the first words that fall from his mouth and he nearly collapses when you look over at him. A small smile forming on your face when you see your husband

-as bad as he wants to run over to where you’re laying and hug you. He keeps himself composed. Approaching the bed slowly, sitting down beside you

-his large hand engulfs yours. His thumb rubbing circles against the inside of your wrist.

-after asking if you’re okay, and giving you some water, he catches you up on everything that’s happened the entire time you’ve been out

-you can see the toll this has taken on him and you feel horrible. You’re so used to your strong and composed husband, that seeing how stressed his been breaks you

-your free hand comes up, cupping his cheek. Something you’ve done during the entirety of your relationship. He instinctively nuzzles into your palm and that’s when he begins to cry

-you’re slow with your movements, being careful as you sit yourself up before having him climb onto the mattress beside you. Your arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him against your side as you hold him

-listening to his broken sentences of how scared he’s been and unsure.

-he stays there for a long time before lifting his head to look at you. Pressing his lips to yours after not feeling you kiss back in what felt like forever to him

-“maybe it’s time that I retire.” You murmur against his lips before kissing him again. You’d hate to have something like this happen a second time.

-you never liked seeing your husband worried, let alone about yourself.

-“I think I might just join you.”

•

Okayyyyyy so it’s been a while since I’ve written any angst so I apologize if this isn’t great😭😭

[migosis]

after a long, hard day at work (erik killmonger x OC)

summary: exactly the title. Nyla treats her man after a long hard day at work.

warnings: D/s, smut, c*ck worship, alladat nasty sh!t, its k!nktober!!!!

When he arrived home, she was to be kneeling at the door upon his arrival.

She figured today must've been very busy for Erik since she didn't hear from him at all since the morning. He hadn't even replied to the lovely photos she'd sent fresh out of the bath. She'd oiled herself up and admired herself in the mirror. She looked so good it that it would be selfish not to share it.

After dressing, she kneeled at the elevator entrance awaiting Erik's arrival, a ritual she performed daily. She was in lounge clothes since she stayed at home today and did some light cleaning. She wore a soft v neck t-shirt that hugged her torso with loose-fitting pajama shorts that tied at her waist. Her back was straight, and she allowed her hands to rest palm up on her knees.

She was thankful to hear Erik's voice on the other side of the door within minutes. She tensed a little, already sensing his frustration from the tone of his voice. He breezed in, acknowledging her with his eyes only. He sat his briefcase down haphazardly and paced the room as he spoke firmly.

"T, I get it, but we're not folding. The terms of the contract stay the same. They will sign it if they know what's best for them."

"We wait it out until midnight. They really don't have a choice unless they want to be indebted to colonial forces forever. Trust me on this. They think they're going to force our hand, and that's not the precedent I'm trying to set."

Now Erik paused in front of her as he listened to the voice on the phone. She proceeded to carefully untie the laces on the oxford dress shoes before he stepped out of them. He sighed harshly and hung up the phone. He ran his hand over his face, and his shoulders dropped a little, decompressing from the day.

He used the back of his hand to stoke her cheek. His knuckle tilted her chin upwards as he leaned over to kiss her intently. Relief flooded through her body when he touched her.

"I'm sorry about that princess." He held her elbow as he straightened his back, pulling her to her feet.

"That's okay. I hope everything works out. Are you really sure they'll sign?"

She helped remove his suit jacket and hung it up in the closet. He nodded.

"You're trusting your gut. That's all that matters." He smiled at her, happy that he had her to come home to.

"How was your day?"

"It was fine, a bit restless. I mostly just organized and cleaned a little. I got some of the holiday decorations out, but there's a couple of boxes I can't get to, so I'll need your help."

"Baby, it's only October."

"Yes, but I need to take inventory of what I have so I know what else I need to buy. They're already putting the Chistmas decorations on the shelves."

"Alright, Alright. Have you talked to Pandora lately?"

"We talked a little last week."

"You should link up with her soon."

"Okay. She's pretty busy with the baby, but I'm sure she probably could use some support." She hadn't seen her best friend since her baby was born 8 weeks ago since they we're hours away from one another.

"How about when I get down those decorations, I pull out your art supplies?"

She didn't want to be disrespectful by rolling her eyes, so she just looked away with her arms crossing her chest. Anything that required much of a creative drive hadn't been on her radar lately.

"I just don't want you in this big ass penthouse lonely and bored."

"I'm not lonely or bored." She defended.

"But you're isolated, and I don't like that for you."

"I get out... I go to.. the store. And on walks." She tried to sound convincing but failed miserably. "I've been filming more book reviews for YouTube."

"You have and that's great. But that same community you're building online is just as important in real life."

She raised her hands in surrender. "Okay, I get it. I'll reach out to Dora."

"Did you see my pictures?" She said with an upbeat lilt in her voice.

"I did. They were real nice baby, made my day." He pulled her close to him, arms resting on around the small of your back. Her eyes sparkled at his praise.

"I can make it some more, that is, if you have time for me, Sir? It seems like you had a rough day."

"I have a few loose ends to tie up, then I'm all yours. Wait for me in the office?"

She kneeled at Erik's desk, but when he walked in, he relieved her, insisting she sit in the armchair near the corner of the room. That meant he'd probably be longer than she wished for. She cozied up with a blanket and a book while Erik typed and took a phone call. After reading two chapters, she glanced at him over the book. He was concentrated on whatever he was doing as he looked between two monitors. She strolled over, settling behind him. Briefly, she looked at the monitors, but the spreadsheets that overflowed with data made her head hurt. Knots of tension in his shoulders began to unravel while her hands worked. Once her fingertips kneaded his temples, he sighed in relief and relaxed in his chair.

"Thank you, princess. I'm almost finished. Please be patient."

Since he said please, she didn't allow her disappointment to show.

"Kneel next to me. Legs open, head down." He kissed her on the forehead before turning back to his screens. The command ushered in wetness between her legs. Her heart beat quickened with so much anticipation that she had to focus on her breath to stay calm. About ten minutes later, she saw Erik's footsteps move around her. The room was still before he returned again. She heard the book she was reading earlier plop closed, then clinking over near the bar cart.

"Look at me." He sat relaxed in the armchair she occupied earlier. He leaned back slightly, chin up, shoulders back, and arms propped up on both sides of the chair. His button-up was untucked, the first few buttons undone, and the tie he'd worn earlier was no longer confining his neck. He beckoned her to come to him with one hand motion.

She crawled over to where he sat, maintaining eye contact with him. He admired her as she kneeled before him. She smelled the bold amber liquor in the tumbler Erik sipped on.

"Would you like a taste?"

"Yes, sir." He held the glass to her lips for her. When he pulled the glass away a few dribbles flowed down her lips. Erik caught them with his tongue before they could even reach her chin. His lips enveloped hers, demanding entrance. She allowed his tongue to survey her mouth, their tongues wrestling like this until they were out of breath. Erik's hands groped her breast, which made her nipples press firmly against the fabric of her shirt. When his lips left hers, she let out a small breathy moan.

"Take this off." When her top half was exposed, she grasped her breasts roughly as she bit her lips, demonstrating how needy she was.

"That's my job, hands at your knees."

She whined but the sounds soon turned into pleasurable hums as his lips sucked her nipples. He nipped at her flesh with his teeth, it causing her stir underneath him. From the table beside him, he picked up a ball gag and brought it to her pink lips, already plump from their kissing. When she did not open her mouth him he looked at her curiously.

"What is it?"

"I don't wanna wear that. I just want to taste you." She placed her hand on his knee, brushing against the fabric as she moved up his thigh.

"But you were so good just now, waiting on me. Can I say thank you first?"

"You've just been on my mind all day." Her doe eyes made it hard for him to refuse, but the truth is that he'd been craving to see the face she made when she came.

"It'll be quick then. That means you're already wet for me. Plus, I want that mouth nice and messy. Now, move your hand until I give you permission."

She retracted her hand placing it back on her knee. This time when he brought the gag to her mouth she opened it. When Erik peered at her he saw gratitude in her eyes.

She looked beautiful. He reached inside her shorts, easily accessing her, as she was free of underwear. His fingers pressed into her folds. She mewled and melted into him. Her essence glistened on his fingers when he pulled them out to examine them.

"Look at that princess, I was right. You want me to keep going?"

"Uhm huh." She slurred behind the gag.

"Say please."

"Puhles." She struggled.

There he was at her entrance again, slipping in two fingers this time. Her eyes fluttered, then closed completely as she focused on the sensation. She pushed downwards, encouraging him to go deeper. His fingers curled inside of her, pushing against her pillowy folds. Her moans rang in his ears despite the ball gag. A pool of saliva that collected began to ooze from her mouth onto her chin and dripped on her chest. The messier her chest got, the more her pussy seemed to follow. Erik had easily slipped another finger inside of her and she'd been so close to cuming that Erik needed to support her weight. He could feel her clenching around him periodically.

"Be a good girl and cum for me." The hand that wasn't inside of her rubbed against her clit. Her warm juices splashed as kept his pace, even as her insides contracted against him. Indistinguishable sounds broke free from her throat as her body seized. He watched in satisfaction as the meat on her pudgy thighs and backside shook. Her empty, unfocused gaze stared beyond him, drunk with pleasure.

Erik removed the gag from her lips replaced it with his fingers. She sucked them slowly and hummed in delight.

"I love seeing you on your knees. It makes me want to fuck you."

It was times like this when the words he said sent shivers down her spine that made her wait worth it. She loved that he wanted her, she loved being a slut for him. Erik stood from his seated position, allowing her to see that he was fully bricked up inside his pants. Her mouth watered in excitement. She looked up to him eagerly, anticipating his movements.

"Fuck my throat," She pleaded, "Please, Sir." She had almost forgotten her manners in her desperation. She rose on her knees so that she was eye level with his dick. She watched as he took his time unbuttoning his shirt. The more of his skin that he revealed, the more she craved contact. His frame was thick, and sturdy. It became hard for her to sit still and she no longer knew what to do with her hands, so she went back to squeezing her nipples that were slick with drool. It was when he removed his undershirt and began to unbuckle his belt when she interrupted.

"May I?"

He dropped his hands at his sides and moved closer towards her obliging her. Her fingers couldn't move fast enough to unbuckle his pants, and move his boxers out of the way. Her mouth was on him immediately, the pants and boxers still hung around his hips. She swallowed his length entirely. He let his head hang back as he growled under his breath. When he looked back down at her, he struggled to keep his composure at the sight. Her pretty chestnut eyes blinked up at him through full, curly lashes. She engulfed him again, and remained here until her throat strained. When he left her throat she gasped and moaned out.

"Take your time, baby. I'm not going nowhere." She nodded, only slightly embarrassed at her neediness.

"I love this big dick." She took him in her hands and slapped him against her tongue a few times. "You making me so wet."

She lifted him up and slowly glided her tongue under his shaft up and down, feeling each and every vein there. She left soft, wet kisses on his balls before licking them lightly, suctioning them with her lips. Her tongue rhythmically massaged the flesh. His groans only fueled her to take more of him into her mouth, as much as she could fit. She focused her lips again at the tip of his dick, while one hand massaged his balls. She tightened her lips around the head of his dick and watched him. His eyes were low but focused. His abdomen tensed beginning to thrust further into her as her teasing would only suffice for so long. She allowed him to set the pace, and when he began to hit the back of her throat, she nearly orgasmed to the lewd noises that came from her mouth. It was like there was a secret g-spot there that made her insides do summersaults when Erik poked it. He gently guided her movements with his hand on the back of her head. He felt amazing gliding down her throat, but she could take more. She dropped lower under him, sitting on her ankles, and placed her hands on the outside of his thigh, encouraging his movements so that he could literally drop the dick down her throat.

He groaned as he slid down her throat. "You are my lovely little cocksleeve. How's that feel angel?" She moaned and blinked back tears.

"Move your hands so I can give you what you asked for." She relaxed her muscles as best as she could and concentrated on breathing in through her nose when Erik would slide out. She loved the sensation of her heavy tits bouncing each time he'd hit the back of her throat. Saliva rolled down her chin and collected at he base of his dick. When he slid out of her, her only purpose was to clean him off.

Nyla was perched in front of him, watching his muscles move as he removed his clothes completely. He stepped backwards and sat down. When she tried to come closer to him, Erik shook his head. "Stay." His eyes were dark and stern.

She pouted in protest. He leaned back and stroked himself as he took in her body. The evening sunlight that filtered through the curtains hit her perfectly, amplifying the warm red undertone of her skin. Swollen lips, wet eyelashes, and a complete mess all over her breasts. Hesitantly, she moved her hand down her body into her shorts. She looked him in his eyes and raised her eyebrow as if to ask, 'Is this okay, is this what you want?' Her clit was moist and puffy. She circled her clit and cried out with need. When he did not stop her from touching herself, she took the lenience and ran with it. She leaned back, removed the shorts and it was a matter of seconds before her pussy welcomed her fingers inside. She did not take her eyes off of him or his dick. His chest moved up and down as he breathed and his forehead was now covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He looked so strong and godly gazing down at her while his muscles worked to pleasure himself. She took note of his movements so that when she took over, she could recreate them herself.

"Can I please cum? Can I cum with your dick in my mouth Sir?" He made her plea a few more times before he called her over with a hand signal and a nod. She crawled the short distance to him. She kissed his feet, his calves, and all the way up his thighs. Before she could begin, Erik grabbed her by the neck and kissed her sloppily. She used the wetness between her legs to make his dick shine before taking him in her mouth. Once she found her rhythm she played in her pussy until she came again. Her eyes rolled and fluttered with him still inside of her. She felt Erik's dick twitch in her mouth at the sight. She brought her face close to his and encased his dick between her breast, moving up and down slowly.

"Don't cum yet, cause then I'll have to stop. And I still haven't decided where I want your delicious cum? What do you think?" She licked her lips. Her movements, paired with her provoking words, were hypnotizing.

"Its your world baby." Is all he managed. She smiled internally, feeling empowered. His orgasms was hers. All hers.

"Good, I just want you to relax honey." Erik smiled at her endearment, her care meant the world to him. "I love you," she said lowly.

"I love you." Moments between them like this made the world feel like it was at a standstill, like only he and her existed and nothing else mattered. She took him in her hand and rubbed him against her face, scattering warm wet French kisses all over his groin and dick. She massaged him, only using her hands for a while, returning to his balls and further down to his taint, pressing gently.

"Fuck, baby." His breathing hitched and his toes curled so she took it easy in that area. While one hand stoked him, the other gently made its way up his torso. You brushed your lips and tongue against his torso, the sensation of her breath made goosebumps spread across his body.

"You are so handsome, you know that? I don't know how I got so lucky." Erik's head rested against the chair with his legs outstretched. His eyes were closed, only opening occasionally. She used both hands, twisting and stoking, letting her mouth drip onto him to keep it moist. She applied slight pressure to the tip, and when she noted Erik's hips tilting up towards her, she slowed her motions again.

"I could do this for hours. You taste so good."

She circled his dick around her lips basking in how nice and hard he was. When he briefly opened his eyes and saw the pleasant smile on her face, he began to moan, knowing she truly enjoyed this did something to him. Her intimacy and devotion made him feel seen.

He slid into her mouth with ease. She allowed herself a moment to rest there, paying him true tribute. She hummed and slowly began bobbing her head up and down, then added her hands to the combination.

"Mmmm, just like that." He groaned. "I think I want my cum down your pretty throat, would you like that?"

She moaned in response.

"Hands behind your back." He grabbed the curly bun and guided her head down his shaft, his hips thrusting up slowly. Her mouth opened wider and wider, and her tongue moved out to accommodate him. She held her head there until she began to struggle for air. He repeated the same again, leaving her gasping for air. As he held his position in her throat, he pinched her nose for a few seconds. Her throat spasmed around him before he released her and pulled away. Warm strings of saliva hung from her lips. The whites of her eyes turned began to turn crimson.

"Please, give it to me." He soothed her, wiping a tear that began to form at the corner of her eye. Her begging made his dick ache in bliss, a culmination of how he'd felt the past thirth minutes bathing in her mouth. He was back inside of her mouth, fucking her throat rapidly. She held her head still for him like a good girl would awaiting his cum. On her tongue, she felt his dick begin to throb. She could feel warm spurts ooze from him, marking her throat, and she swallowed each one as they came. His moans of satisfaction made her more fulfilled than she could ever describe. He squeezed the tip so that any remaining landed on her tongue. She licked her lips and placed subtle kisses on his dick that laid in his lap.

Her eyes ran over his body. He laid back, limbs limp in exhaustion. Once he gathered himself, he looked at her in pure amazement and appreciation. He could tell she wanted to be close to him, occupy his space.

"Come."

She straddled him, laying her head on his shoulder. He palmed her thighs, giving them a nice jiggle before lightly rubbing her back.

"Are you good princess?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you for letting me please you."

"Thank you, princess. Where'd you learn to be so attentive?"

"What do you mean?"

"You anticipate my needs. And that... that wasn't no regular head."

"Well, you anticipate mine too. You deserve honor. Just because you're my Dom doesn't mean I can't reciprocate. I belong to and submit you, without you asking."

"Damn, say that last part again?" He bit his lip before meeting your eyes and joining you in laughter.

"I belong to you, Sir." He traced her features with his eyes before gracefully placing pecks all over her face.

--

Several hours later, chimes from Erik's computer caused him to stir in his sleep. They'd fallen asleep in his office. He was disoriented until the glow of the screen caught his attention. He shifted under Nyla's weight causing her to grip him tighter and persuading him back to his sleep. It was 12:05am and chimes became continuous beckoning him to the computer. He sat her down where she curled into ball and sulked over to the screen. Several new emails sat in his inbox. The first was the official signed contract agreement. The next was a link to an article from T'Challa headlining to new deal.

Wakandan officials agree to allow U.S. based descendants of slavery asylum after rampant white supremest attacks.

"Damn these muthafuckas are fast. I knew those terms were fucking irresistible."

He picked Nyla up to carry to to their bedroom. She groaned at him disrupting her sleep, but he ignored it. "Baby, guess what? They signed the contract."

"Okay baby. Just have them call me tomorrow, I'm sleep."

Erik laughed off her nonsense and covered her body before sinking into the bed himself. He closed his eyes, noticing how light and refreshed he felt. Although he felt a sense of relief about this deal he groaned internally when he began to think about work. He recalled Nyla's words from earlier about honor. He knew that he needed to honor his body and mind because the exhaustion that encompassed him at the moment was not for the weak. He felt a sense of calm wash over him as he made the decision to take some time off of work, perhaps go on a vacation for the holidays.

-

taglist: @hearteyes-for-killmonger @loveeeeandaffection @iamrheaspeaks @adasosweet @goddessofthundathighs @thiccdaddy-mbaku@nahimjustfeelingit-writes @eye-raq @madamslayyy @sweeter-thejuice @wawakanda-btch @theunsweetenedtruth @wokeblock @smutty-smut-smuty @wakandamaybe @stainontheground @killmongerkink @soufcakmistress @mysticbear21 @nickidub718 @blackpinup22 @killmonger-fics @goddessofthundathighs

[rg-notes]

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter 2022, Reactions

Every year I enjoy reading Warren Buffets' predictably charming annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder letter. I dare you to find another annual investor letter you can remotely describe as charming. Anyhow, this year's letter published February 23 was another winner. As a builder turned investor I can't look to a better influence on my decision making than Warren and his partner Charlie Munger. Their humility, their focus on long-term relationships, and their emphasis on pragmatism alongside an expectation of excellence are all values I hold dear and hope to instill into Saltwater and our businesses for years to come.

Here's what stood out to me.

Hammering home the basics

We’re reminded that these gents look at companies, not stocks… “Charlie and I are not stock-pickers; we are business-pickers.” Buying a stock is just a tiny fraction of the company you’re getting, evaluate it as such. So why buy stocks vs majority ownership? A question we ask ourselves at Saltwater often? There is but one critical difference for the critical eyed investor. The difference between public "stocks" and privately owned businesses based on Warren’s insights… “stocks often trade at truly foolish prices...while a controlled business gives no thought to selling at a panic-type valuation.” Good enough for me. We’ll be keeping our eyes open for foolish prices.

Shareholder financial education

Warren shares an anecdote about share repurchases and the misled villainization of them.

“The math isn’t complicated: When the share count goes down, your interest in our many businesses goes up. Every small bit helps if repurchases are made at value-accretive prices. Just as surely, when a company overpays for repurchases, the continuing shareholders lose. At such times, gains flow only to the selling shareholders and to the friendly, but expensive, investment banker who recommended the foolish purchases. 

Gains from value-accretive repurchases, it should be emphasized, benefit all owners – in every respect. Imagine, if you will, three fully-informed shareholders of a local auto dealership, one of whom manages the business. Imagine, further, that one of the passive owners wishes to sell his interest back to the company at a price attractive to the two continuing shareholders. When completed, has this transaction harmed anyone? Is the manager somehow favored over the continuing passive owners? Has the public been hurt?”

We were able to execute a value-accretive share repurchase in a portfolio company this year and while it wasn’t a smooth process, it was a very good decision for all our shareholders. Thanks Warren.

Praise of his best companies

How many times have you heard Warren discuss Coke, Amex, and See’s Candies? Effectively every time he or Charlie open their mouths. Charlie’s personal fav is Costco based on my experience with him. This year Warren reminds us that in 1994, BRK completed a 7 year buying spree of over 400 million shares of Coke stock for a total of $1.3B. He reminds us the value of those dividends almost a billion, as well as stock price appreciation, that 400 million share position is worth >$25B today. 

He doesn’t paint this investment as an obvious or easy one however. “The weeds wither away in significance as the flowers bloom… it takes just a few winner to work wonders.”  

Endless love for his partner Charlie Munger

I love looking for how many times Warren uses the phrase, "Charlie and I...", this year it was 10. He's clearly smitten with his long-time friend and partner for good reason, but this was my favorite tidbit of Charlie appreciation...

"Find a very smart high-grade partner – preferably slightly older than you – and then listen very carefully to what he says."

He includes a response that Charlie will often use back to Warren when they are in decision-making mode.

“Warren, think more about it. You’re smart and I’m right.”

See what I mean… charming. Greater than the Coke investment, or the Costco investment, Warren's appreciation of Charlie's wisdom & friendship are what anchor his brilliance in my mind.

The elephant in the room… transition insights

With Charlie at 99 and Warren at 92, every communication is reasonably analyzed for hints around their transitions. I don’t believe there will be one until one or both pass. Sad, but likely true.

Charlie talks about Berkshire in the general sense a few times in this years letter where it feels like he’s writing rules to operate by for others versus telling the shareholder how “he” specifically will operate.

Our CEO will always be the Chief Risk Officer

At Berkshire, there will be no finish line.

Our CEOs will have a significant part of their net worth in Berkshire shares, bought with their own money.

I certainly hope there is an internal rule on the last point and it would be helpful to know what that $ amount is. While these aren’t all that telling as to the timing of a transition of either partners health condition it’s clear that Warren’s thinking is still spot on.

I hope you enjoy and absorb these letters as much as I do. 

[dduane]

Hi! This might end up a super weird question, sorry in advance!

So just came across your twitter today and seeing your profile pic my brain is now convinced that you were the person who years ago shared this one really good bread recipe with oven baked garlic in it? Is it actually you? I tried to look through your tumblr but I didn't find anything so I'm so sorry if it's not you? But man that was the best bread I ever ate so I really want to find the recipe again! Thank you so much in advance... QvQ

No, it's not weird at all! Don't sweat it. :)

I've been baking for a long time, and have posted enough recipes now, here and there, that it's hard to keep track of them all sometimes. So I feel your pain. :)

...That said: I don't think I've done a recipe that involves actually baking garlic in the bread. ...Roasting garlic and then squeezing that into or onto already-baked bread, that I've seen around... though not in any of my own recipes. (Not that it's not a good idea: I just haven't been down that road myself.)

... @petermorwood just sent me this really quite sensual-looking garlic bread TikTok that does involve the roasted and squeezed-out garlic approach. I'll reblog it after this post, as I'm not sure how to pull the embed out of his.

Meanwhile, here's a garlic bread thread I did on Twitter some time back. (Pulling the images and contents into this post, because who knows what's going to happen to Twitter in the medium term...? But the thread starts here for those who want to link to that.)

"Tonight's garlic bread. Method follows. :) "

"...RIGHT. So this is based on many warmed-over/reheated Manhattan-based pizzeria dinners back in the 70s, when I was still doing hospital work and you were glad to either (a) reheat what you had from last night, or (b) make something very like it, but hotter and fresher.

"The basic approach: Buy in small cheap store-baked baguettes. (There is no POSSIBLE point in you using good homebaked bread on these. Buy cheaply made spongy bread that will SOAK UP THE GARLIC BUTTER SOONEST.)

"Slice each one more or less into five or six thickish slices (NOT all the way through, just 5/6 of the way to the back of the loaf.) Warm them a bit in the oven or microwave if they're cold.

"Mix together: Six to eight cloves of freshly chopped garlic: at least 300g but maybe more like 500g of butter. Some coarse-ground pepper: some salt: a little bit of onion powder. Herbs to your preference (oregano, parsley, whatever...).

"Additionally, as we did tonight: brown 6-8 slices of bacon by your preferred method. (I did it in the microwave because I could *not be arsed* to get involved with the frying pan.)

"Set up each sliced baguette in a piece of foil big enough to fold loosely around it (to keep the butter in) and undo without a whole lot of trouble. Pry the bread slices apart and stuff at least a teaspoon of butter or two between each pair of slices. (OR MORE.)

"(In our tonight-variant: Stuff a crumbled slice of bacon into the garlic butter between each slice.) Preheat the oven to sort of 180C/375F. Put each baguette and its foil in a baking tray. Shove the whole business into the oven and give them 10 minutes or so with the foil on.

"Pull the garlic breads out and unfold the foil from around them. Shove them back into the oven and give them another 10 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they won't burn. (f you want to put some cheese on top of one, this is your time.)

"Pull them out and let them cool enough not to destroy the human beings intending to eat them. After they cool (if anything's left) put a *faintly damp* tea-towel/dishtowel over them to keep them nice. If coming to them again later, heat them gently at first, then FIERCELY.

"...And now the pics. Mine:

"His (with the cheese):

...The roasted-garlic garlic bread follows in the next post. :)

("Why is this shot like a porno?" someone says plaintively in the comments. Well, why indeed? And why not.)

[gabessquishytum]

I hope you are having a better day today!

I'm dropping off a plot bunny.

So an ABO verse with alpha Dream and omega Hob in a long-term relationship where they are basically husbands and mates except that Night and Time would disown Dream for tying himself to Hob because Hob would not advance the Endless's standing at all. So Dream and Hob have just been rolling with it, because as much as Hob loves Dream and believes in him Dream would not survive a day in a service industry or office job and needs that family money. Dream's art supplies are not cheap, and Hob does not want to see Dream deprived of the joy of creation.

Their relationship had been ignored previously but Night and Time are getting pushy about getting Dream set up with a proper society omega and not some random guy who only avoids assault charges because no one wants to admit having their ass handed to them by an omega.

So it's a stalemate, if they get married they lose near everything and a stable life, if they don't they lose each other and their happiness.

But then Hob has a thought. Every time Desire has had a pregnancy scare with a partner the first thing Time and Night do is try and get them married because a bastard out of wedlock is worse in their minds than marrying down.

So a child would solve their problems, as long as it looked accidental because if it comes out as a planned defiance Dream would be disowned. They want kids but were planning on it once Hob had his teaching degree and they were both settled in their careers. After talking about it, Dream agrees because a child and a marriage is the best kind change that can come out of the situation.

So they put the plan into action, switching cycle suppressants for just scent suppressants and waiting for Hob's heat to start. They both barely succeed at not being totally insane around others about the fact that they are going to have a kid. Hob changes his diet and starts taking supplements to "combat the exhaustion of late night study sessions." Dream has to refrain from searching out and buying a ton of baby stuff.

When the heat hits, it's a total hormonal overwhelm for both of them. If they do it right, Hob will be pregnant at the end of it, and it's a heady thought. They will finally be tied together permanently in a way no one can deny them. All Dream wants to do is bite Hob's mating gland and claim him fully but a cycle suppressant would stop the gland from swelling so he can't bite if they want to pull off the whole accidental birth control failure angle. Dream is pulled between the absolute abandon of knocking Hob up and the restraint of not biting him even when Hob is begging for it.

After the heat life keeps moving, and they hope but they can't buy pregnancy test because the parents might find out so they have to wait for something that might send someone to the doctor to check out. The scent suppressants mean they can't rely on smell either. Hob has never wanted to puke so much in his life.

Eventually, one of Hob's classmates drags him to the health clinic because he might not be throwing up, but he has looked bad in the mornings for weeks now, and that is not normal. Of course, Hob is pregnant, and he has to act panicked about it in the clinic when all he wants to do is celebrate.

They reach out to Desire on the basis of being the only sibling who has dealt with a scare, and also Dream knows they will tell Night and Time immediately as an attempt to get Dream disowned from the family.

Dream and Hob end up getting everything they wanted, continued acces to the Endless funds, a marriage dated to before Hob's heat, a mating bite when Hob's pregnancy hormones swell up the mating bond and of course a child that is both of them that they get to love and spoil.

-💥

This is such an absolutely genius concept, and you've written it up so perfectly, I honestly couldn't stop reading it (which is why I've been hoarding it in my ask box for a few days, heh). Thank you so much for sharing it with me.

I'm imagining many, many years down the line when Dream and Hob get to relate all of this backstory to their kid(s). The two them going all soft and doe eyed as they tell the story. The kid pretending to gag but secretly loving how their parents went above and beyond to be together, and to have their own beautiful little family <3

[rin-and-jade]

So, you're a system.

How do you keep a properly working (team/coop wise) collective? How can i establish a foundation for my system? How can having sys rules be beneficial, compared to the freestyle form? How can i propose and create foundations/rules to others?... Today, i will answer all of these questions. For those who are searching a comprehensive guide + awareness 'round this topic, this post is for you!

About working together..

Ofcourse, teamwork plays an important factor on how well we can tackle problems or obstacles in real life, no one can handle too much workload all at once,, so its obvious that we need help from our other parts.. but how can it be better? It could look like:

Assigning specific parts that does best at something to take over a situation, do not brave your way through if you're not great at it,, let someone else do the job for you, it keeps miscalculation and etc away.

Initiatively ask for a collective opinion if you feel unsure, it's not best to forcefully do it yourself as it might be a rash decision or missing a couple insights that's needed.

This should already be sufficient, but it can get even better if you have rules, as everything can be organized with protocols and doing work without having to be asked again, give those gatekeepers a break will ya.

Introducing the idea..

Have you ever spot some inefficiency, conflicts, and recklessness of safety and problems with switching/fronting in your system? Why not bring those concerns and tell that you have a great idea (even though its just by you reading this) by establishing a foundation, it should work.. but if it hasn't yet,, i'll tell you why having one is beneficial.

Rules are meant to be broken!.. Or actually not?

I'm not saying freestyle is a bad way to live your plural life, though, it does mean you will still have to face some consequences due to that result of freedom.. Some few examples can look like this:

Fronting without being recapped by others.

Fronting without your own notice and now you're confused.

Someone did some impulsive buying when you're away (the realest one i've seen amongst my friends)

Missing out extra details that should be important to be aware of.

The front being hogged all the time. Yikes.

Having a confusing timeline and memories scrambled everywhere.

And more..

With established rules, these problems will go away and its one more extra less headache for your life,, rebellious acts is still possible but remember that breaking them means there's responsibility to come. As a system with a great foundation for long-term efficiency and handling problems, not following the basic rules can cause some trouble in daily performance. Do you still want to be in freestyle?

Alright, how do i make one..?

To make a foundation, we'll have to encapsulate some aspects such as communication, switching and fronting etiquettes, ways to resolve, emergencies or backups, and anything else you can think of. I'll provide my system's rules in hopes you can take inspirations and grow your own according to needs!

Switching: We're gonna have to tell the others if we're done fronting. It's highly adviced to recap the person who wants to be out next, sure amnesia barriers are low enough to be aware, but the point is the person doesn't fully know of what had happened or needed to know, so this one fixes the problem.

Fronting: We have minimum and maximum lengths for someone who can be out, for the least as 3 days and max as 2 weeks. This prevents too many switches that will disrupt memory formation that will be shared for communal reasons and also means people don't have to fight for front and call dibs to have their own time, in turns.

Resolution: If it's something minor and can be done in it's own power, there is no need for intervention. We're not allowed to bail responsibility and double it to the next person, instead, a higher up will either come by itself as because its the job, or should be called to provide assistance.

Conflicts: Not like we're immune to having fights, but getting reminded by someone else that it is not the best way to solve things helps diffuse lots of unnecessary problems. This rule was made because back then my people would fight over each other and run to the front, do its thing, to spite the other.. even worse if what it did was rash and caused more issues.

Health: It is also necessary to let others know our own status (level of fatigue from being out, mental and emotional being) and depending on the situation, the person should switch out to get a break and rejuvenate,, forcing ourselves to function beyond our capacity will cause a burn out and no one wants that, right?

Backups: This is used when someone at front passed out or become distressed for all kinds of reasons, then need someone else that is safe to takeover and mask in real life, most of my system's work is internal so the one being out (external) is also an important role because they have to do the things, guided from inside.

I hope these will serve as an insight for you,, remember that we have to strike a balance between being adaptive and structured.. which means we can't rely too much on rigid rules or the lack of structure at the first place. Rules are always changed and updated depending on outcomes and leaving room for improvisation and creativity. So remember, yes you can kick the red cones on the street but never should you defy sys rules,, see you next time!

- j

[alexa-santi-author]

@mermaidsirennikita's posts earlier about outdated (and often offensive) themes and plot points in romance novels that sometimes require cultural context to really understand made me think of the book that was my ur-book, the one that really kicked off my love of historical romance. Almost no one has heard of it, because the author has wisely allowed it to go out of print. I'm going to share what it is, what the context is that it was written in, and why it was best to let it go out of print.

The book is Bitterleaf, and it was published under the name of Lisa Gregory in 1983. Lisa Gregory was the original pseudonym of a historical romance author still popular and publishing today: Candace Camp.

I'm going to be up front with everyone and put the rest of this essay under the fold so you can stop reading if you want: this book takes place on a South Carolina plantation before the American Revolution, and the storyline involves slavery. The heroine owns slaves.

If you want to nope out now, please feel free. I'm going to go into some of the cultural context about why this book was written with this plot in 1983, but you don't have to keep reading.

One thing to understand about the early 1980s is that Gone With The Wind -- both the book and the movie -- was still hugely influential in terms of historical romance. Many, many historical romances were written about antebellum plantations in the American South, and pretty much all of them hand-waved slavery away.

Except for Bitterleaf.

What's pretty wild for a historical romance novel published in 1983 is that slavery is central to the storyline of this book, and the hero, Jeremy Devlin, is the one who mostly carries that storyline. The reason it takes place prior to the American Revolution is that Jeremy arrives in South Carolina as an indentured servant. He has been kidnapped from his homeland, thrown onto a ship, and dragged in front of a crowd to be sold at auction. The "meet cute" is when the heroine Meredith's stepfather buys Jeremy, along with several Black captives.

Much of the plot seems to be modeled on the movie The Long, Hot Summer. You have the father figure who decides his daughter needs a Real Man to marry her instead of the milquetoast who refuses to propose and the irresponsible rake who decides to take the old man up on his bargain but ends up falling in love.

But slavery and discussions of slavery continue to play a huge role in the story. Jeremy is freed once he marries Meredith, but after his own experiences, he's uncomfortable owning other people. We're also introduced to the story's B or secondary couple, who are Meredith's lady's maid Betsy and a recently enslaved man, Neb. To have two enslaved people as the secondary couple of a mainstream romance written by a white author is pretty ballsy in itself for 1983, but add in Jeremy's decision to free everyone on the plantation (which requires Meredith to spend days writing up manumission papers for them) and you have a book that, however clumsily, actually does attempt to grapple with American slavery and give us lead characters who don't just go along with what most books normalized at the time.

Is is perfect, especially by modern standards? Hell, no. It's pretty cringey, and that's even before you get to the forced kisses and other standard historical romance tropes of the time. Camp's writing is much better now than it was 40 years ago.

But I have never run across another historical romance published in that time period of the early 1980s that took place in the American South before 1865 and even attempted to deal with the moral implications of the lead characters literally owning other human beings.

The book is very much a product of its time, in that it's making an implicit argument against other books on the market with a similar setting, but if you read it as a standalone today without any cultural or historical context, it's just a weird book that has slave owners as the central romantic couple for no apparent reason and what the hell did I just read?

As I said, the book was republished at least once under Candace Camp's name (I have copies of both the original and the reissue on my keeper shelf), but she seems to have let it fall back out of print. She has released two of her other Lisa Gregory books as ebooks (one of which has a free Black couple as the secondary romance), but not Bitterleaf.

And that's probably a wise decision. As we get further away from the cultural context in which she published it, the book becomes more and more offensive instead of being seen as the corrective it was written to be.

Why do I love this book? Because it's one of the first books I read that helped me understand you don't have to knuckle under to what's most popular in the genre. You don't have to accept that the model for your subgenre (in this case, Gone With The Wind) is above critique and you can only imitate it without questioning it.

It's also a harbinger of why American historical romance had a huge dip in the 1990s -- white authors and publishers realized they would need to grapple with slavery and the effects of it on our society as a whole, and they didn't want to do that. After that, we pretty much only got Western historical romances until Gilded Age romance that took place safely after the Civil War finally came along.

So there it is. The book that changed my life and made me a historical romance fan for life is one that most people have never heard of and likely will never read because of the culturally offensive content. For me, it will always hold a place in my heart for what it tried to do even if, with the passage of time, what it tried to do is no longer enough.

[moonjxsung]

Hey Star, I wanna ask you some silly question lol hopefully this is fun to answer!!

What’s your favorite hair color/style Jisung has had?

What’s your favorite Jisung solo song?

Favorite Jisung fancam?

Do you like it better when Jisung sings or raps?

Favorite Jisung era?

Do you think you and Jisung would make a good couple? (lol this one is for our delulu sides 🩷)

I have a conversation like this with my friend today where we asked each other silly shit about our biases and we legit talked for hours about it. I wanted to share some questions with you 💗

~🌷~

OH LOVE THISSSSS 😭🫶 my sister and I always talk about our biases for literal HOURS and it’s actually insane how long we can talk about the simplest little things pertaining to them. Thank you for asking these ahhh these were so fun to answer!! Here are the most condensed answers I came up with (bc let’s be real I could write paragraphs about this man😮‍💨☝️)

1. I love love LOOOVE Jisung’s natural hair, either black or a lighter brown. I always tell my sister his natural hair reminds me of a Korean Flynn Rider (the smolder and everything😭) and I think it suits his prominent eyebrows so beautifully and he just looks so boyfriend!! Second fav is the silver/blonde hair… he literally looks like AI with silver hair like he does NOT look real 😧🫶 Jisung definitely sits on my personal list of top 10 best looking idols and he also looks UNBELIEVABLE in person. Pics for reference but there were so many to pick from omg I had a field day on Pinterest fr

2. I’m obsessed with Run!!!! I think it’s such a fun song to listen to while I work or run errands or something. It has such a unique beat and it just feels very Jisung to me. Also I know it’s not technically a solo song but huge Muddy Water enthusiast too specifically for Jisung’s part 😵‍💫🤌 I died hearing it live at the Maniac tour he is SO talented

3. THIS WAS HARD…. I’m gonna go with the Maniac fancam for Show Champion OR the S-Class fancam for Mcountdown. I love when Jisung knows he looks good and just exudes confidence and talent like the Maniac one, he’s so sexy fr ☹️ the S-Class fancam is one of my fav outfits he’s ever worn I just think it’s so unique and the whole vibe of it feels so space-like 🪐☄️ fun fact I actually tried to buy his exact vest SO many times but they were always out of my size so I ended up getting Felix’s Psychonaut vest instead (by the same brand) their stylists should’ve gotten a raise for those outfits fr

4. I love both so so much but I’m very partial to his rap! I think he has one of the most unique voices amongst 4th gen in terms of rap and he just has such an effortless and smooth flow. Such an ace in so many ways and his rap really solidifies that for me every time I hear it. He also sounds exactly the same live and it’s so clear he’s just naturally gifted when it comes to his rap !!

5. Honestly it sounds like a copout but I have to go with Rock Star era only because he seems so HAPPY??? I know 5-star was a pretty rough era for him and we barely heard from him + it was clear he was maybe going through something (Jisung my beloved ☹️) but it was so good to see him smiling so much this comeback and just joking around with the members again and enjoying his stages. Happy Jisung is the best Jisung 🥹 also his stylists did NOT hold back with the fashion like we got slutty little Jaist™️ for so many stages and his outfits were all so god-tier

6. Ahhh my favorite question 🫶👼 and I have to go with a resounding no unfortunately 😭 I would LOVE to say we’d make a great couple but honestly I think Jisung and I are too similar in so many ways and we would get sick of each other pretty fast. Or at least he would get sick of me ☹️ we’re both often the entertainers among our friends/family or always the ones making others laugh and just being silly, and I think together it would hinder one of us to only let the other be the entertainer. We also both tend to get a little moody (not that it’s a bad thing!) but I feel like our communication skills wouldn’t be great when we need to be left alone or we’re just experiencing a low before we feel high again. I think we’d also spend most our our relationship asleep (I’m like 24/7 tired I think I have hypersomnia or something lol) and we probably wouldn’t make a great effort to spend quality time together or plan cute dates. People always say you’re very similar to your bias and compatible to your bias wrecker (in my case Felix) and I think that’s so true! That would never stop me from trying with Jisung though we can just take naps and be goofy together for however long we can stand each other 🤭

TYSM FOR ASKING BESTIE I LOVED THIS SMMMM I LOVE YOU 🫶😭🩷

[catgirltitty]

MOCHA'S BEST STREAM

Mocha starts her weekly stream like usual, but a wardrobe malfunction arouses her viewers' curiosity!

[breast expansion, lactation, milking, furry]

“Meowdy gamers! I’m Mocha, and this is The Mo-Show! I’m gonna jump in and play some Shaftcraft, today I thought I’d just chill and answer some Q&A while I work on my zombie farm.”

Mocha eyed her setup, making sure everything was perfect. The half-cat, half-cowgirl had soft, cream-colored fur, with a chocolate-brown spot right on her snout. Not a hair of her bangs was out of place, and her gold-blonde streak caught the glow of her ring light just right. Her white work blouse was in place, showing just the right amount of cleavage. She adjusted her posture, making sure her whole chest was in the shot.

While she was looking, a pop-up played across the top of her screen.

@moofan7 donated $1

“Thanks for the donation, friend! Remember, every dollar you donate to the stream goes to the charity of the week. Plus, every dollar gets matched by our anonymous partner. This week, it's all going to help trans kids buy new clothes!”

Mocha was fairly proud of the amount of money she raised for charity every week. She didn’t feel the need to share that the ‘anonymous partner’ was, in fact, herself.

"If you have a question, share it in the chat! If it gets 10 upvotes, I’ll answer it! Please, nothing too personal and no sexual stuff. If you do that, you’re gonna get banned. Seriously, that shit’s not cool.” A frustrating number of people online thought it was okay to ask invasive questions about her body, or try to get her to indulge their kinks on stream. Luckily, she had a great team of mods that nipped those viewers in the bud. Mocha was happy to use her attractiveness in her streams—on her terms, doing the things she wanted to do when she felt like it.

She didn’t owe her viewers anything else. Most of them respected that. Those were the ones she was streaming for, and the ones who made streaming something she looked forward to.

“Alright, first question! ‘Can we ask about demihuman stuff?’ Absolutely, just be respectful.”

These were some of the more common questions she got in her Q&A sessions. Sometimes it got on her nerves, but she tried to keep in mind that her human fans were just curious.

@moofan7: whats it like having fur?

“It’s pretty great if you ask me. I put a lot of work in to keep my coat this lustrous, though. As long as you keep it clean, it’s like wearing a cozy blanket at all times.”

@9tailtrouble: demi here. what products do you recommend for fur care?

“Great question, 9tailtrouble. It really depends a lot on your species, but FurLux is a good brand that covers a wide range. My personal favorite is Taúr-faire, but that’s specifically for cows. I assume you’re a fox? I’ve heard from other foxes that Red Coature is pretty good if you’re willing to spend a bit extra.”

Chat started excitedly popping off. Little emotes of a gray cat with a confused look on her face dotted the messages.

@tinkretor: :joule: :pog: @momijams: JOULE SIGHTING @moofan7: girlfriend jumpscare @moofan7: jk joule im ur biggest fan @theinfirminator: :joule: :joule: :joule: :joule: :joule: :joule: :joule: :joule: :joule: :joule:

Mocha looked at her stream feed. Sure enough, Joule was visible making dinner in the kitchen. Mocha couldn’t help but smile; her newest girlfriend had already wandered into frame so many times it had become a running joke.

After the chat calmed again, 9tailtrouble responded.

@9tailtrouble: yeah im a fox :D i really love yuor streams!! I admire you so much 0///0 @9tailtrouble donated $5

“Thanks, 9tail, I’m so honored to hear that! Let me know if you try those products.”

@theinfirminator: you have two gfs, rite? wats that like @subbywoofers: mo is so cool

“It’s the best. I love them so much! It takes a lot of love and trust to make it work, but it’s so worth it.”

@theinfirminator: how did you meet?

“Pap and I met in college. We were both skipping the same lecture and decided to hang out! That was… something like eighteen months ago. Then we met Joule when she became our roommate, and she started dating us around a year ago.”

@momijams: yall are adorable together! @theinfirminator: will we get a paprika sighting tonite?

“Not tonight, she’s out with a friend. I’ll let her know you asked, though!”

@momijams: its ok if this is too personal but. im dating a cowgirl and i want to learn more to about what its like so i can take care of her when were married @momijams: ive heard that its.. a lot @momijams: do you have any tips??

“Wow, congrats momijams! It's a bit too personal for the stream, but message me after and I’ll give you some advice. I think it’s really sweet that you’re trying to learn to take care of her!”

@momijams: thank you :) i want to treat her right @momijams donated $10

Mocha continued answering her viewers' questions. Before she knew it, an hour had already passed. It was probably the best stream she’d had in a while.

Until one message caught her eye.

@9tailtrouble: maam. your shirt

Mocha checked her feed. A pair of wet spots had soaked through her blouse, revealing the pink bra beneath. Twin white streams trickled off her chest and into her lap. Blood rushed through her cheeks. Fucking hell, when did this happen?

In a panic, she made to shut down the stream. And I was having such a good time, too, she thought. Her mouse hovered over the red "END STREAM" button. She hesitated.

“You know what?" She turned to the camera. "You all have been so lovely today. Here’s a little treat.”

She began unbuttoning her top, only now noticing how tight it had gotten; it was near to popping open, anyway. Her breasts had swollen several sizes up throughout the stream. No wonder I'm leaking...

Once her shirt was fully unbuttoned, she let it fall to either side, revealing her straining bra, dark and damp from the lactic bounty leaking from inside. Milk streamed down her belly, dampening her fur.

Chat was going wild.

“That feels better. Now back to the Q&A.”

@momijams: can we ask about… this

“I’m in a good mood, so go ahead! Don’t go overboard, though.”

@momijams: okay so. wow. i heard cowgirls produce a lot, but i wasnt expecting this muich @momijams: is this a normal amount??

Mocha blushed, hoping it wasn’t too obvious. She always enjoyed it when people commented on how much milk she made.

“Yeah, this is a pretty normal amount for a cow my age. Usually I take suppressants to keep it down to a manageable amount, but I think I’m a little late this month!” She gestured to her leaking tits.

@theinfirminator: how does it feel?

“Pleasant, most of the time. Most of the day I can hardly feel it. But this,” she hefted her boobs. “If they get much bigger than this, they start to ache.”

That got them curious.

@9tailtrouble: they grow? @tinkretor: mocha is so PRETTYYYY @moofan7: BIGGER THAN THIS? They’re already so big! @momijams: how big do they get?

Mocha was getting just as excited as them. This is fun! I should talk about this stuff more often! She would be lying if she said this wasn’t turning her on a bit, as well.

“Judging by the G-cup bra they’re about to destroy, right now they’re probably about a K-cup. The biggest I’ve ever gotten is a Q-cup.” She held her hands out several inches from her bust.

@momijams: how doyou deal with them? @9tailtrouble: thats so huge, omg @9tailtrouble: i wish my tits did that!! @tinkretor: do you have to. Express? srory if thats too much

Mocha was really getting going, now. “Mm hmm, every day I have to-” Mocha had an idea. A grin spread across her face. This is gonna get me suspended for sure.

She put a finger up to her lips, pretending to think about it. “Well,” she drawled, “maybe it would be better to demonstrate. Joule, love! Can you come over here?”

@moofan7: is this really happening? @9tailtrouble: no way. our mo? @momijams: what an exciting new direction for the channel @momijams donated $25 @subbywoofers donated $50 @subbywoofers: mo this is so cool tysm

Joule poked her head out from the kitchen. “What’s up, Mo?”

“Come over here. Say hi to the fans!”

“Hi, fans! Thanks for supporting my girlfriend!” She reached the desk, only now seeing Mocha’s state of undress. “Oh. Since when is this that kind of stream? Not that I mind.”

“I’m trying something new.” The swollen cowgirl unstrapped her bra, letting it fall. “Now, if you would please milk me?”

Mocha’s tits heaved as her breathing suddenly got easier. I didn't realize just how tight that bra was getting… Her nipples, thick as little brown thumbs, were spraying arcs of milk now.

Joule visibly gulped. “Yes, please!”

The lanky catgirl stood behind Mocha’s chair, wrapping her arms around. “I almost can’t reach! You’ve let them get way too big today.”

Her paws found the leaking teats. Mocha gasped as Joule’s fingers expertly worked the swollen breasts. The spray turned into a hose, shooting milk warm milk across the desk, the keyboard, the monitor.

“As you. Can. See,” the breathy cowgirl had trouble forcing herself to speak through the stimulation. “The best. Way. To express. Is through. Hand. Milking.” She let out a low “Moooo~” as Joule rolled a thick teat between her knuckles.

@momijams donated $40 @subbywoofers: good work, joule :joule: @moofan7 donated $25 @9tailtrouble donated $75

After a minute, her breasts had visibly gone down in size. Mocha held up her hand, signaling Joule to stop for now. The catgirl obediently let go, releasing the heavy, wet breasts with a PLAP.

“That’s the most effective way to do it. On suppressants, I need to do that for about an hour every night. Without suppressants, like right now, it’d probably take two or three hours to get me back down to normal size.”

@moofan7: doesn’t seem so bad @9tailtrouble: that was. wow. @9tailtrouble: im kinda jealous NGL @tinkretor donated $100

“It does have its perks,” agreed Mocha, reading the chat. “It’s not always easy, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” She looked back at Joule, thoughtful.

“I’ve had a lot of fun tonight. And you all have been so generous with the donations! I can’t thank you enough.” She sighed.

“But I’m gonna try. Here’s one last treat before I log off. Joule?”

“Yeah babe?” the catgirl licked her lips.

“Show them what happens when you suck a cowgirl’s tits.”

Joule didn’t hesitate. She pounced on Mocha’s left tit, wrapping her lips around the stiff nipple. She began slurping down milk, rolling the teat with her tongue. Her hand reached up to stroke the right teat, tugging and playing with the spraying bud.

Mocha began growing. Each boob was quickly regaining the mass it had just lost, swelling outwards as they kicked into overdrive to feed the hungry mouth. Mocha moo’d frantically, grabbing her girlfriend by the scruff and pulling her tight against her growing flesh. The exposed right nipple was growing alongside its breast, nearly two inches long and spraying cream from a dozen thick arcs. Droplets of milk flecked the camera lens. Soon, each breast was the size of a prize-winning pumpkin and still growing.

@9tailtrouble donated $75 @momijams donated $120 @momijams: educational :) @theinfirminator donated $90 @theinfirminator: we love you mo! @9tailtrouble: not how i expected tonight to go. thank you mo, you rock!! @moofan7 donated $50 @subbywoofers donated $500 @tinkretor donated $100 User @xXTheMoShow94Xx suspended. Chat log ended.

***

“Well, that’s a new record.”

Joule held the measuring tape around her girlfriend’s bust. “109.4 inches.”

Mocha sat on a groaning stool in the master bathroom, watching the stream recording on her phone. She wanted a measurement before they got to work at milking her down to size again. It’s gonna be a long night. I don’t think Joule minds, though. Paprika won’t mind when she gets home, either.

She set down the phone, looking out over the expanse of her bust. “I’m fucking huge.” She grinned, then moo’d with an aftershock of the last climax.

“Well, only one thing left to do about it.”

User: Mocha @theMoShow 9:47 pm (PST) What a great stream tonight! Thank you so much to all my amazing fans. For those who missed it, future streams will be going in a slightly new direction. Next week’s show will be on our new channel at onlyfurs.com I’ll see you all then!

***

This one was a lot of fun to write! It ended up being like 4x longer than I initially planned, and I think it's all for the better. I really enjoyed making the stream chats in particular. Oh btw, sex workers are workers and deserve rights. Thank them for all the amazing things they do!

[news-today-florial-blog]

Stock to Buy Today- Axis Bank

Stock to Buy Today- Axis Bank

MO Investment Idea – Axis Bank (CMP : INR826   TP : INR975, 18% Upside, Buy) Axis Bank delivered a stellar performance in 2QFY23, driven by margin expansion and a significant decline in provisions along with improving trends in cost metrics. PAT grew by 70% YoY, largely driven by higher NII and lower provisions, which declined 51% YoY. The business registered robust growth of 18% YoY growth in…

[lifespectator]

Let Me Be

Martha X GN Reader

Summary: A Martha Marcy May Marlene Christmas special ;)

A/N: I dedicate this one to @gingerninja-93 @aloneodi @therealdisneyfan2319 @kram6496 @jgmg10 @jacelion @imaginationeuphoria and everybody who read my fics. All of you are awesome!

Christmas

The holiday when family unites, have a great time and the most fun, get presents! But most importantly, the family members have a memorable time that can be described as warming.

Every house on this day only radiates happiness. Christmas is a happy holiday, after all. But when people have gone through so much, their fears tend to get the best of them.

This is what is happening today at Martha's and Y/N's households.

-

Y/N opened their eyes after a long sleep, eyes darting straight to the ceiling of their shared cozy bedroom. They stretched their arms to their left only to feel that side of the bed empty.

The only thing they felt was the humid-like feeling of the bed sheet. They sighed. They quickly connected the dots to what happened.

They got up from the bed, went to the closet, picked up a towel, and headed to the bathroom.

Once inside the bathroom, Y/N's theory was confirmed: Martha had awakened before them.

They proceeded to brush their teeth and take a shower. The warm water falling from the showerhead and eventually soaking their body relaxed them.

Y/N stepped out of the bathroom as they dried themselves with a towel. They picked a navy blue long-sleeve t-shirt and blue jeans, which they completed with brown ankle boots.

Before they made their way out of the bedroom, they opened one of the drawers, moved some stuff out of the way, and pulled out a red velvet box.

Next to the box was a small note that read:

Don't worry much; she'll say yes. Beware my speech for you tonight.

- Lucy

Y/N smiled at the last sentence. It was heartwarming to see how Lucy cared for her sister. They crumbled the paper as they focused on the red velvet box.

They opened the box containing an engagement ring surrounded by emerald-cut diamonds. They saved up to buy it and asked Lucy to help them pick the best ring.

Lucy was the only person who knew that Y/N planned to propose to Martha on Christmas Eve. They had managed to keep it a secret from Martha, or at least they hoped.

They didn't like keeping secrets from Martha, but they made an exception in this case.

They closed the box, slid it into their pocket, and made their way out of the bedroom and into the living room.

As they entered the living room, they noticed the brown-haired woman whose hair barely touched her shoulders. She wore some gray pants, but her red cardigan stood out the most.

They smiled at the view of the woman they truly loved. They went to comfort her. They knew damn well how she was feeling.

Y/N approached Martha, sitting on the carpeted floor in front of the Christmas tree the couple had decorated together a week ago.

They sat to her right on the carpeted floor. Martha held a small ornament of 'Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer'. She was observing as her thumb slowly caressed it.

"Nightmares again?" Y/N questioned in a soft tone.

Martha didn't respond. She kept her eyes on the ornament she was holding.

Y/N sighed. Martha would close off whenever she had nightmares, which happened very often. It would take some time before she would open up. They couldn't blame her for it because they would also try their best to avoid talking about the nightmares they get from time to time.

"It's ok, baby if you don't want to speak now." Y/N continued, "I understand how you feel."

Despite looking like she wasn't listening to Y/N, Martha was very attentive to their words. Their words sounded simple, but they meant a lot to her.

"They're the same nightmares," Martha said unemotionally.

"It's ok, Marty." Marty was the term of endearment Y/N called Martha. "You must remember that those nightmares are caused by stress and anxiety. They're fake." Y/N placed their hand on Martha's back to comfort her.

Martha's eyes darted straight to Y/N's.

"I know, and I'm sorry. It's just that they get the best of me most of the time." Martha murmured.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Y/N started stroking her back. "Just don't let those nightmares ruin your day. It's Christmas, after all."

Martha smiled and rested her head on Y/N's shoulder as they stroked her silky hair. She was glad to have them by her side. They were the only ones who understood what she had been through and how she felt about it.

Y/N rested their head on hers. "How about we go to the mall to buy something nice for your niece." They suggested.

She removed her head from their shoulder and gave them a weird look. Martha had started to go to places accompanied by Y/N slowly but was still wary of going out. She was afraid of encountering her past. Martha wasn't scared of what they would do to her; she was afraid they would try to harm Y/N.

"It will be ok, Marty. We'll stick together the whole time." Y/N reassured. "Go get ready while I wait here." They beamed a smile.

Martha put the ornament down and got up from the carpeted floor. It was evident that her mood had improved. She stopped and looked back as she made her way to the bedroom.

"Y/N," She called their name as they hummed in question.

"Don't abandon me," Martha said as she locked eyes with Y/N.

"Never."

-

Y/N was surprised to see that Martha had enjoyed herself in the mall. They both visited many stores and even shared an ice cream. Martha ended up buying a black dress and a doll for her niece. Y/N helped her wrap it when they got back home.

One thing that stuck with Y/N was how Martha had played 'hide n seek'. She ran inside a toy store and waited for Y/N to find her. It was a sign of improvement.

Y/N was finishing dressing up as they looked at themselves one last time in the mirror. They had never been to those upper-class social parties. So this was a whole new experience for them.

After spraying perfume, they walked out of the room expecting to see Martha excited. It was the contrary.

Martha was sitting on the edge of the couch. Emotionless. Similar to how she was this morning. She was wearing the black dress she had gotten at the mall. Next to her is a makeup bag. It was rare when she used any cosmetics.

Y/N walked to the couch and sat next to her.

"You need help with the makeup?" Y/N asked, trying to distract her from whatever was on her mind.

"Last time I was at one of these, it didn't end too well." Unlike the morning, she had spoken her mind this time.

"Marty, we don't have to go if you don't want to." Y/N turned their body to face her. "You being happy is the best present I could have for Christmas."

Martha looked at them, her eyes getting watery. "I don't deserve you; you deserve better." She said in a trembling voice as some tears rolled down her cheek.

Y/N couldn't hold it anymore. They knew they were supposed to do it over at Lucy's house. But this was when they wanted to tell her how much she meant to them.

They got on their knees in front of her and grabbed both her hands.

"Martha, ever since I met you. I immediately knew you were special in many ways. One of those is that you're a strong woman who deserves everything good life can give her." They brushed away tears falling from her face. "I know that you were taken advantage of by people who claimed to care for you. They made you believe that many things are fake, and it's time we leave them in the past."

Y/N reached for their pocket and brought out the red velvet box. Martha was left in awe expression when she saw it was a ring.

"I want you to let me be the person who will take away your fears because I will be here to protect you. The person who will teach you that you deserve this and much more. But most importantly, let me be the person who will always love you no matter what." Y/N grabbed Martha's left hand and gently slid the ring onto her finger. "Let me be your partner in this life."

Martha's face was now covered in tears. This time the tears were of happiness.

"This all I ever wanted with you," Martha said in a low sweet voice.

Y/N rose a little and connected their lips with Martha's. They were feeling each other's lips. Enjoying the moment This was all they both had ever wanted. To have someone that would love them till the end of their days.

As they broke the kiss, Y/N stood from the floor and sat next to Martha on the couch. Pulling her close to them in the process.

"Can we stay?" Martha asked as she relaxed onto Y/N. "I want to savor this moment."

"Of course, Marty. Your happiness is also my happiness."

Y/N and Martha still had many obstacles to overcome, but it did not matter now. They had just written a new chapter to their story on Christmas Eve.

-

A/N: Thanks for reading! I, LifeSpectator, wish you all some Happy Holidays :)

Masterlist

[tea-and-finalfantasy]

My Akatsuki Gift Exchange 2023 piece for @rukosband; domestic Kakuzu/Hidan with Fū as their child (and Deidara as her fun, chaotic uncle). Hope you like it and have a happy holiday season! :D

Read on Ao3 | @akatsuki-gift-exchange | @foriamproud

It’d been long enough since he’d left his home village for the trauma not to trail behind, to make marks in the dirt right beside his own footsteps, the two almost one singular thing, but sometimes he still wakes in the morning in a particular headspace, as if something lost completely to his subconscious makes him start the day out of body.

Hidan's always been more comfortable with the lively parts of romantic, domestic life: the long, enthusiastic conversations when there's a topic they're both—oddly or understandably—passionate about, like the need for better streetlights in their part of town, it being particularly out of the way and thus relegated to the dark, or whether the definition of a sandwich is reliant on the type of bread, if necessitating bread at all (would two pieces of pizza pressed insides together count as they’re bread-based? if not needing to be bread, what about lettuce as a bun substitute? if—)

Or the kind of spontaneity and innocence that comes with raising kids, especially one as rambunctiously curious as Fū, having Hidan's self-awareness—knowing exactly what she wants and being set on getting it—and Kakuzu's commanding presence, similarity solidified in their shared skin tone and eye shape, but with a loud friendliness all her own.

Whenever things got a bit too serious, being a comforting presence was difficult for Hidan, regardless of Kakuzu’s attempts at reassurance, they two entangled in their own concerns and insecurities, forming a circle where either one could feel a poor support or a burden.

He tried and tried hard but Kakuzu could tell in the way he held himself—tensely, nervously, as if both on edge and unsure throughout the entire ordeal no matter how insignificant the annoyance in Kakuzu’s mind—that he was unconfident, even as he brought his partner a mug of smoked tea with frothed milk the moment he noticed the other stiff and silent in bed, unable to get up.

“Hey, I know we were supposed to go skating today but if you—”

“No, Fū’s been waiting for this all week and she shouldn't have to miss out because of me; you and Deidara will be more than enough company for her. I'll do my cooking and see you both tonight.”

Cooking. His cooking. Something with ownership and purpose and choice; a comfort, a routine, a distraction—but an involved one, not merely something he’d settle for, something that would barely beat back the anxieties, a second of lapsed focus enough to make his hands begin to shake.

Getting up was a blur, the heat of the mug the only thing to ground him and it rapidly going cold, but Fū’s voice from the kitchen broke him out of it, her footsteps clunky against the wood floor, her gait affected by the big boots, by the puffy jacket weighing heavy on her shoulders.

"Papa, Daddy says you're not coming ice skating?"

"I'm sorry, sweet pea," he says as he squats to meet her face to face, his knees cracking when they bend. He speaks quietly, these affectionate words ones only she's allowed to hear—the same reserved, shy attitude he takes when using terms of endearment for Hidan, unused to intimacy no matter his constant longing to practice it.

"Papa had a bad dream last night and needs to rest at home today. Your uncle Dei will keep you company and you make sure to tell him I said to buy you a churro and a big apple cider with whipped cream.”

She gasps and hops excitedly in place, sharing the same mischievous smile with her Papa—she excited at getting the good snacks, he happy because she’s happy (and because Deidara is paying).

"Just don’t eat too close to suppertime, ok?" he says, addressing them both, both Fū and Hidan replying in turn that they won’t, promising to be on their best behavior.

"See you later, love you," Hidan says in a low voice—comfortably, naturally, solid in routine—as he and Kakuzu peck each other's cheeks, as Hidan pulls his coat on and readies himself to leave.

Kakuzu holds Fū's frame gently as she hugs him around the calves and he makes sure to watch them carefully as they go, all the way down the driveway and then out of sight, past the trees, before settling into himself, alone.

One of the first things he gravitated towards once he moved, once untethered from the constricting expectations of his homeland, was cooking. He’s a homebody by nature so the change was immeasurably difficult at the time, softened only by the recipes he scribbled down before he left, but it ultimately allowed for much greater freedom in the long run, the ability to break the constraints of both gender and tradition.

Here, he took whatever wasn’t tainted, wasn’t molded over by abuse, and cooked the liquor off. He learned to knead and leaven like a woman of his village, learned to lay patient overnight and be rewarded for it. He stirred and sat and salted until only the good kept, added and added and added, refusing to mask the taste of his previous home or to remove it altogether, until he could taste the person he was then within the person he is now, could taste the saltwater brine of his youth amongst the garden growth curling against the windows of their home.

-

“Here, I’ll help you,” Fū beams, genuinely trying to help Deidara up from the ice, despite her small stature, while Hidan laughs, only having a moment to do so before he slips as well.

“Maybe you should teach us how to skate,” Hidan says, letting her help them both onto their feet and guide them towards one of the rink side benches. She’s a natural, just from the few visits here from previous years, but would’ve still benefitted from someone more skilled holding her hand and keeping her steady, picking up the slack when her little legs got tired, someone unusually skilled in many particular things, things necessitating care and meticulousness and grace—someone like Kakuzu.

But beyond the issue of it being a poor mental health day for his partner and the anxiety for both of them over not knowing how long it would span, they’d fared fine today in his absence, Fū glad to see her Uncle, glad to watch the ducks and geese on the other side of the rink’s edge, glad she could get a large drink and a snack, Hidan upholding Kakuzu’s word, even if she only finished part of each, saving the other portion for her Papa.

“That’s real nice of you, sweetie,” Hidan says, patting her head and tugging her close where she falls in height at his knee. “Are you sure you don’t want Uncle Dei to just buy another one?” he half jokes, meeting Deidara’s pout with a lopsided smile.

“No, I want him to have this one. I want to share mine with him because I miss him.”

Hidan and Deidara share a look, rubbed tender by the sentiment, and both move to comfort Fū, no matter how steadfast she is about it on the outside, Hidan smoothing a hand over her cheek and Deidara patting her back.

 “Should we bring it back to him while it’s still warm then? I’m sure he’s almost done making dinner by now.”

Fū makes an affirmative noise and heads excitedly towards the concrete outside the rink as Hidan and Deidara cling to one another, mostly unmoving.

“If we ever actually make if off the ice,” Deidara says, grumbling, Hidan chuckling at their predicament, unable to make it a few strides without sliding.

-

Kakuzu heard footsteps outside crunching over the days-old snow and realized just how dark it’d gotten already, quickly flipping on the porch and kitchen lights, having been cooking and baking just by the inner light of the oven and the delicate decorations strung around the ceiling skirting. He takes stock of what he’s made and piles the used bowls into the sink, content to leave them until later, before sitting down at the kitchen table, humming in relief as he finally gives his shoulders and lower back a break.

“What, does bread not rise with the lights on?” Hidan jokes upon entering, finally getting the door unstuck, a comment, accompanied by Kakuzu’s (and Deidara’s) subtle eyeroll, gone somewhat ignored in favor of Fū’s firm enthusiasm, as if utterly untouched by the fatigue of the day.

“Papa, I brought you a snack! I know you said not to eat close to suppertime but you always cook for us before you eat so you must be hungry,” she says, encouraging him to have a little bite, to take a sip while it’s still warm. She insists like an old grandmother would and Kakuzu can’t help but smile, despite his neutrality on sweets, at both her caring nature and the resemblance to his own attitude, at least in proximity to the elderly.

“How’d your day go?” Hidan asks, pulling up a chair at the table while Deidara helps Fū out of her jacket and boots, letting her lead him by the hand into the other room, he just as eager to see her drawings as she is to show them off.

“Made liver pâté with mushrooms, onions, and bacon—fresh bread for it too—chicken marsala with the rest of the mushrooms as I thought you could use the carbs from the pasta after all that skating,” to which Hidan almost laughs aloud, considering he and Deidara together did about as much successful skating as Kakuzu did today, having been entirely absent.

“Some rum tile cookies but they’re still in…” he continues, rubbing the bridge of his nose and suppressing a yawn.

“But how do you feel?” Hidan asks, wanting to share in the recounting of today’s events for sure but more immediately concerned with his partner’s wellbeing within it.

“Fine. Tired. Took more on than I thought I did but I’ll be fine after a rest. Was thinking of making gingerbread too so we could—"

“Oh, I wanna make gingerbread houses! Daddy says I’m big enough to hold the hammer now!” Fū pipes up from the living room, settled neatly into Deidara’s side on the couch, the two scribbling out a game of Pictionary.

Kakuzu snorts at this, despite his lingering hesitation to give their child (their unreasonably strong and fiery child) a hammer, because not only is the point of gingerbread houses, foremost even to the consuming, the building process, Deidara put this ridiculous idea into her head that part of the fun was to destroy the finished product as aggressively as possible—something immediately solidified in their household as tradition.

“Okay,” he concedes, remaining unable to keep himself from chuckling at her outburst, “you and Uncle Dei can make a big one to smash tomorrow because it’s already late, even for Papa. But you let Uncle Dei help you hold the hammer—and tightly so you don’t get hurt. Don’t put your fingers near the flat part and make sure not to hit your head swinging it back.”

Deidara agrees to the conditions as enthusiastically as Fū does, as if similarly warned against injury, as if similarly given the go-ahead to play, and wraps her in a tight hug before being led over to her drawing table, ready to help draft designs for the most-involved gingerbread house yet.

“You must be in a better mood than I thought to give her clearance for the hammer,” Hidan jokes, taking a swig of mulled wine, just warmed, before offering the same glass to Kakuzu who takes an even larger gulp, lips laid over the afterimage of Hidan’s.

“Oh please, she begs for it year-round. I don’t even think she made any holiday wishes—just completely distracted by the prospect of wielding a weapon.”

Hidan snorts, wine threatening to burn the edges of his nostrils, and wraps an arm fondly around Kakuzu’s shoulders, taking a moment to shut his eyes, to rest his head in the crook of his partner’s neck, to feel him skin on skin at the rare section unobscured by thick, knit fabric, their cheeks overly hot from the fast transition from chill to warmth, from the overwhelming heat of the oven, high in demand tonight.

“I’ll take those cookies out and then we can start on the gingerbread. Just tell me what to do and I’ll handle it even better than I handled skating today.”

“Why, what happened at skating?” Kakuzu asks dryly, once again settling into his personal spot at the kitchen table, wood creaking comfortably, being well-used. Hidan flashes him a goofy smile, twinged with good-humored embarrassment, and lifts the side seam of his shirt while simultaneously tugging the waistband of his pants down, revealing a sizeable bruise extending from his hip to his ass.

“Safe to say Fū’s the only one making the Olympic team this year,” he says, fixing his clothes, and this time it’s Kakuzu’s turn to feel the wine prickle at his sinuses, it threatening to come out of his nose.

[neuroticboyfriend]

I have no clue how to want to quit. I am addicted to nicotine, and while I know it's not the most "dangerous" addiction, it fucking hurts. The reason I've quit alcohol for now is because I can't let myself be addicted to two things at once (also my mom is an alcoholic, which is morally neutral, but it's to the point it hurts me and my little sibling bc she makes the choice to buy alcohol rather than financially support us, and that choice makes me feel such disgust for alcohol that I won't drink excessively if at all.) But disgust doesn't work for me as a long term solution, because when I do relapse, my shame is doubled because I see myself as disgusting while also being ashamed of my addiction. So I guess what I'm asking is, how do you take back your life from addiction without disgust being the main motivator?

I still function off a lot of shame, so I understand in a way. Even though I'm sober now, not only do I still vape, I very much fear judgement & consequences if I relapse. I take it out on myself. But that shame and excessive fear only works to bring me back to using, eventually. Living this way keeps me stuck, not really able to move on to a better life - one where my best self gets to come out.

And that whole pursuit of a better life thing... that's where it goes from not using to avoid consequences (internal or external), to actually leading a sober life. So even though I do have a lot of shame and guilt, I still try to focus on making today better (progress, not perfection). These 24 hours only. Cause we only have today.

Not focusing on tomorrow, it hasn't happened yet. Not focusing on yesterday, it's already gone. I guess what helps me is letting go and taking it easy. Accepting I'm a person, I'm gonna have flaws, I'm gonna have bad days, and hell, I might relapse. But my journey to recovery won't be over til I'm dead.

We're both doing this ultimately because we want better - for ourselves and our loved ones. We don't want the pain. So it makes more sense to focus on the positive than beating ourselves up. But we gotta work for that. The disgust won't disappear overnight, but if we make even the smallest effort each day to just be a bit kinder to ourselves, we'll get somewhere.

Also: if you recently stopped drinking, I want you to know it's okay if you aren't ready to quit vaping yet. It hurts for me to vape, too. I tried quitting and I caved because the withdrawal is too much for me to handle right now. And that's okay. Better for me to vape than drink. If I do the work on myself now, my future self can tackle the vaping. If you do quit, there's nicotine replacement and meds to help cravings.

I'm not sure if that helps bc I can only share my experience but. I hope you can find a way to feel better. You matter and I'm proud of you for all the work you've put in so far. Addiction is rough no matter what you use. You're so much stronger than you could ever know. ♡ And there is nothing disgusting or shameful about having an illness.