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pandorashbox · 2 years

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Pairing : Seungcheol x afab!reader

Summary : Seungcheol tried a google search to ease you from your troubles.

Genre/CW : smut (minor dni!), established relationship, period sex, fingering, praising, blood (obviously)

Word count : 1502

Notes : Second fic ever posted here and I swear this is gonna be the last on that theme for a while ahah, I hope this isn't too sloppy.. Enjoy! :)

Seungcheol was focused on you, but feigned indifference throughout the evening, stating he was only admiring your features to remember your pretty face for the times you weren't together when you asked about it. The fact that you couldn't focus on the movie tonight bothered him. You were scrolling on your phone, his arm behind your head resting on the sofa as your favorite movie was playing and you couldn't care less about the TV.

He found out this morning that you were on your period and he knew you'd be in pain for at least two days but usually you could still manage to do any activity with him. "Baby does it hurt that bad?" You barely looked at him. "It's fine." But it wasn't and he knew it. "Can I do anything?" "No" You answer coldly and your unyielding tone makes him frown. "I insist."

He had your attention with how his tone was so confident on what he could do for you. Your head turned to look at him and your hands put your phone on your lap. "Oh yeah? How exactly?" He smirked, smug, his finger playing with your hair. "I did some research... and you'd never guess what I found... Actually maybe you know already but hear me out: Orgasms."

What did he just say? You thought, loudly enough that he could read it on your face. Your brows were raised too high to miss it anyway. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you between my legs at that moment..." Your voice was low, almost a whisper. "Does it really work?" His nod was determined, his eyes still focused on you and his hand coming to take yours. "We could try, if anything bothers you I'll stop right away." You smiled and squeezed his hand in agreement. "Okay."

He left you alone in the bathroom for a while, Seungcheol tidying up the bed and laying a towel right in the middle in case it gets messy - and it will get messy, both of you knows that - making sure everything is in place and comfortable for you. Even fluffing your pillow to give it more volume. "Are you okay babe?" he called from the connected bedroom, making sure you were still good for what to come. When you opened the door to reveal yourself in a brand new black period panties and one of Cheol's tee he bit his lips to contain a whistle. You kept thinking it wasn't the sexiest thing to do, you felt like he was interested now but once between your legs Cheol would be disgusted... all those thoughts spiraled until you saw his reassuring smile.

He tapped the bed lightly to ask you to come here and you did, laying on your back in the center of the bed, your pelvis right on the towel. You sighed, nervous, a hand on your chest. The pain was lighter as you laid down but not enough for you to relax so you winced. "Do you trust me princess?" at your whispered answer he put his hand on your lower stomach, soothing it with his warmth and circling slowly. "Let's get rid of that..." Seungcheol tugged at your underwear, drawing it slowly down your legs to reveal your soft mound.

"Let me help you feel better, baby" he whispered in your ear, his fingers trailing down your stomach to end between your legs and you whimpered when you felt his finger in your folds, searching for your clit. "You're so wet... how's your back?" He smiled at how cute your pout was to show your discomfort, his finger pressing lightly on your bundle of nerves, making you gasp. You discovered Seungcheol's skills a year ago when you first got together and had sex for the first time in the comfort of this same room. He was as dedicated as he is now to make you squirm and moan his name over and over. "Seungcheol-" you whined, buckling your hips as his fingers went lower to his favorite target, entering the place responsible for your monthly struggles. You didn't think it would feel good at all, but it did. Your boyfriend breath against your neck, his light kisses and nibbles of your skin made your mind go crazy and your pussy clench around his finger. When he finally pushed another finger inside you, you couldn't hold it anymore, your voice letting out a loud "fuck".

His other hand went to your lower stomach to keep you from bending your back and it made you feel crazier about the whole situation. The warmth and pressure made your cramps feel much better than before and you were longing for some relief. You sighed but the comfort didn't last long as Cheol's fingers pace quickened and he cooed at your moans and whimpers. "You're such a good girl... taking my fingers so well..." His eyes were looking between your legs, his bloody fingers appearing and disappearing at the speed of light. It didn't disgust him, quite the opposite. This was a total new experience and he was living for it, his cock twitching in his tracksuit. "You're so pretty Y/N, I want to fill you up." You barely heard him, your own voice taking over his, you were feeling lightheaded, your orgasm coming faster than expected but cut when he withdrew his fingers. "No no no no no" You complained, tears threatening to spill, but soon enough you felt his dick pressing against your slit. "I told you I got you" Seungcheol breathed as he pushed and finally bottomed out inside you, his tip nestling against your cervix. Your legs began shaking when he finally hammered at the same pace as his fingers went. You let out a manic laugh, the pleasure overwhelming you, his tip hitting your g-spot over and over, making you clench around his girth.

"Am I making you feel good?" at your silent nod his lips went down your neck to mark you, sucking your skin gently and driving you insane as he was pumping inside you. It was so nasty, the sound of your bodies slamming into each other so wet, echoing in your whole apartment. Your legs wrapped around his hips and your nails dug into his shoulders as you approached your climax but he didn't mind. He was here to make you feel better after this awful day and he was willing to go through pain himself to alleviate yours.

"Cum for me, baby" he groaned low, hitting one last time your sensitive spot and making you reach your breaking point. "C-Cheol!", you managed to call, your walls spasming around his shaft, triggering his own release, filling you up with his cum as he promised. Feeling his warmth spilling inside you made you moan and tightening the grip your legs had on his hips.

Seungcheol pressed his forehead to yours, pumping slowly into you to help you ride you high for a moment. Then he pulled out and gently kissed your lips. "You did so well. How do you feel?" "Better," you panted, "much better... thank you Cheollie..."

You could see in his eyes his happiness and relief that he could finally do something for you. It changed from feeling helpless every time you were on your periods and having to look at his puppy eyes. He was thoughtful before, with the snacks, water, taking care of the house himself when you couldn't, let it be cleaning or doing the laundry. How lucky were you to have him by your side. He definitely tried everything to make you comfortable and feel as happy as possible.

Seungcheol rose to wash and put back on his underwear before coming to you with a damp towel. You didn't move an inch, your eyes fixated on the ceiling and your breath still heavy. You didn't dare look at the mess but it was huge, as he was now not only cleaning your mound and inner tights but also your legs and lower belly. You hid your face in your hands in shame and let out a pitiful whine. "You're too self-conscious," he laughed "please let me see your face" You let your fingers open to peak with an open eye. "You're beautiful." Cheol got you smiling again, giggling like a little kid on the bed. He put your underwear back on you "Hey! I can do it myself!" "But I'm here to take care of my princess." He removed the towel and put it in the laundry basket.

You sighed once you were alone, Cheol back in the bathroom for a moment. Turning and crawling up, you placed yourself on the bed, head on the pillow, and yawned. It tired you quite a bit, you didn't see yourself fall asleep. Next time you open your eyes, you see Seungcheol's face on your own as he cradles you against his chest for a good night's sleep. It felt like heaven and in a sense, it was.

#seungcheol smut #scoups smut #scoups x reader #seungcheol x reader #seventeen fic #seventeen smut #seventeen x reader #svt smut #smut #an.dy writes

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tarotoftheendless · 11 months

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So, someone went to write a fuck ton of ill informed barely functional blog articles about Tom Sturridge and those he may or may not be connected to. I check Tom Sturridge news periodically on Google to see if there is something new at all online, though English Google still doesn't have anything from when he went to that rugby match in France, but whatever.

But yeah, someone wrote a fuck ton of stupid meaningless articles on Tom and or people he's connected to that gummed up about 2 pages of the most recent results of you search for news about him on Google. And they got so much wrong; his birthday, they thought Sienna and him got married, they literally thought that Tom was in Twilight with Robert fucking Pattinson and that's how they met (which if you are a true fan, you'd know that isn't fucking true) and they surmised that Tom played a Voltori (spelling? I'm not that big of a Twilight fan...)... They even thought Tom might be the father of Sienna's second child, which obviously isn't true as she is with Oli Green! Like did this person even do their research? Fucking hell. Never write shit passing it off as fact if you in fact don't even have the facts because you didn't do your fucking research.

This is almost as bad as when recently the Daily Mail thought Tom and Alexa were engaged because Tom seemed to be wearing a "matching gold ring". Bitch, I get Rome probably had journalist that didn't know Tom that well before hand before the articles and pic were taken, but if they had done even a modicum of research they would know that Tom has had that ring for fucking years, way before him and Alexa ever got together. I think I have seen pics of him with it on back during his Sea Wall/A Life days and even before that. If he isn't wearing the ring on his hand, then he has it on a chain around his neck.

But seriously, I know he is a private man, but there are some clear facts out there about Tom if people actually did their due diligence and did their fucking research. Fact check, fact check, fact check.

And pay fucking attention. The facts are there if you actually look. Jesus Christ.

Sorry, it's just frustrating that so many articles were made by one lady and she got so much wrong because she didn't do her research.

#tom sturridge #tomsturridge #alexachung #alexa chung #sienna miller #robert pattinson #andrew garfield #do your homework #do your own research #fact check

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karizard-ao3 · 6 months

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I love how much effort you put into researching for each of your fics. You have talked a little about this before, but could you share some fun facts about your fic researching?

Sure! Let's see...

So I mentioned the ketchup research, but for the Lady's Liaison I spent more time looking up Regency facts than I did creative writing. For instance, I was originally going to have them run for the coast in a private carriage the whole way, but then I was like, "No, I'd better check." So I spent probably an hour or more reading up on Regency modes of travel, and then also to see whether there would be possible boat routes to get to Scotland, because I wanted it to be plausible for Jean to believe that they might sail there instead of going over land. I also looked up Regency outerwear and undergarments to ensure that they were undressing each other in the most historically accurate way possible.

For Little Mice, besides reading the book on the topic, I searched old newspaper articles on the Boston Molasses flood, read up on racism against Asians (and Italians) during the early 20th century, miscegenation laws, Italian anarchists, typical courtship and honeymoon traditions, etc. I also found a website with a transcript of an old document by a social worker of the period going over what a typical Italian immigrant family ate in a day. For that little bit at the end when Eren and Mikasa are talking about what to get at the lunch counter, I looked up old restaurant menus of the time period to see what kinds of meals they could order.

For my cabin fic that I don't like to talk about I watched several videos about traditional salt production.

For Clueless Teens I watched several videos about how to use a Ouija board to commune with spirits and did some reading on runes and rune magic (although I forgot most of what I learned).

For Anamnesis... Oh boy. I was looking up how to destroy DNA evidence, what kind of bullets could cause the kind of injuries I was picturing for the characters who got shot (it's hollow points. If you want the bullet to be doing significant, explosive damage, you want a hollow point or one of those illegal butterfly bullets). I also looked up the statute of limitations for different crimes, whether you could survive a slit throat, what kinds of injuries would necessitate stitches (to make sure it was reasonable for Mikasa to have gotten stitches on her hands without having any significant damage to her muscles that would require PT), different kinds of scarring, gubernatorial term limits... I tried reading up on quantum theory but the scientific articles I found were all a bit over my head, so I figured I'd just have to go on vibes for that one. I've read plenty of fiction books featuring quantum universes so I was just like, "I won't stray too far from the typical rules and won't get into the theory. I should be fine."

Let's see if I can think of any other research I've done. I don't know, I am often popping over to google to look something up when I write, so it just kind of blends together. I've been looking up developmental milestones a lot for the single parents au to make sure what I'm describing is accurate, such as Eren's daughter being bad at jumping and how many words she should use in sentence lol. Of course, some of that info is based on my own parenting experiences, but it's been a while since my kid was 3.

I'm not sure those are fun facts, actually. So, here we go:

Historically, there are multiple types of ketchup. Mushroom, walnut, tomato, anchovy (I believe), and sometimes you can still find the lesser known versions. In the Philippines (?) they have, I want to say, banana ketchup. It was originally a fermented fish sauce from China and ketchup or catsup is the anglicized version of the original name (which I cannot remember). Ketchup was a popular condiment in Regency England.

You can "make" your own salt by collecting sea water and boiling it in a pot until all the water is gone, leaving just the sediment behind.

Keloid scars are not the only type of protruding scars. Hypertrophic scars also heal incorrectly so that they kind of bubble from the skin, however unlike with keloids these scars are soft, typically fade from pink to blend in better with your skin, and often will flatten out somewhat over time. Some people are gentically disposed towards keloid scarring and I want to say it is more common on certain parts of the body but I can't remember what exactly those parts are.

In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, the newer, Western states were the ones that had laws against interracial marriage because they included them when they took on statehood. In the East, despite being equally racist, they did not tend to have laws against interracial marriage because the original state founders did not anticipate it would become a "problem". I just find that interesting, since the West Coast is supposed to be so liberal, but look at how they started.

There are only three Japantowns left in the US and they are all located in California.

Regency men's shirts did not have buttons all the way down. They were more like tunics, so a solid panel over the belly and then perhaps buttons at the top over the chest. I can't entirely remember, but I know because of it I nixed a scene I'd been thinking of where Mikasa rips Eren's shirt off and the buttons fly everywhere, then later we see her sewing them back on lol.

#writing research #ask me things #my asks #answered asks #fun facts #writing #fic writing #research

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writingwife-83 · 11 months

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Hello! 🙂

Fic: Look At Me

I really like chapter 12 because of the reylo wedding and also because of all the traditions you wrote about in the chapter.

1. Could you tell us a little more about these traditions?

2. Are they all traditions from the medieval period?

3. Or is there something that was created by you for this chapter?

Traditions that are written in the chapter:

- The color of the bride's dress

- Game of stacking cakes

- Guests carrying the newlyweds to the bedroom

- The continuation of the celebration by family and guests to muffle noise

- Gift for the bride after the couple's first night

4. Is there another tradition written in the chapter that I haven't identified?

Working my way backward, to answer #4 first, I think you got em all! 😁 For #3, no these were all things I found from good old google searching. And #2, I’m not sure how long they continued in history of course, but I was searching medieval wedding traditions and looking at sites that talked about that specifically, so I know it was for that time period. And as far as #1, I’m certainly not an expert in history lol! But here’s what I learned just from the searches I did.

The color of the bride’s dress- blue was symbolic for purity so that’s the reason behind that color, but I believe green was also common for it’s symbolism of growth and new beginnings, though I can’t find that reference now. 🤔

Stacking cakes game- this just seemed like a cute game and I guess it was considered bad luck if the cakes fell while the couple kissed above them. And supposedly this is part of the reason for tiered wedding cakes that are traditional even today!

Carrying newlyweds to the bedroom- I don’t know that they were always carried, but a lot of Europe at the time did have ceremonies to escort the couple to bed, and some sources used wording like “place them in bed.” And from the research I did, observed consummation was not actually common, even though a lot of people talk about that part of the tradition. Tbh, I wouldn’t have included that even if it was commonly done because… ew no. 😆

Celebration to muffle the couple’s noise- This was a thing at least in parts of Europe I guess. And I mean, houses were pretty quiet in that time period (think about all the things that create general background noise now that didn’t exist then) so I guess I get it. Apparently in some places the couple was expected to rejoin the party… afterwards. Can you even imagine?? That’s a big nope for me, I’d die of embarrassment lol!

Gift for bride- I guess I don’t know for sure that this was always done after the first night, but I did find one site that specified that it was a custom for the groom to give his bride a gift to compensate for the loss of her virginity. It could be something small or a piece of furniture. That kinda made me laugh, though I get the practicality of it. Because a couple might literally be setting up a home. But for the sake of the intimacy of the fic, I went with a necklace instead of like… a table. 🤣

Hope you enjoyed the answers! ❤️

#reylo #fic: look at me #wifey answers things #medieval au #medieval weddings

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proficient-in-hoarding-deadlines · 1 year

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Do you ever see an unfunny meme

and feel the overwhelming urge to destroy its (attempt at) humor by treating it as a research prompt? That happened to me recently when I saw this:

If I had to place my discontent with the punchline, it’s that it enforces a stereotype instead of breaking it. What’s more, as one of my friends noted upon seeing the meme, it employs the picture to power the punchline. The style of ukiyo-e prints does generally make faces look similar.

The only catch is, there are other ways to distinguish characters in a picture, and ukiyo-e artists weren’t afraid to overuse them in order to make everything crystally clear to everybody even half-literate. The first clue are the clothes & accessoires. They let the viewer guess the characters' gender and social status. The style of the clothes and its colour, as well as the presence of heraldic symbols or class symbols (like swords) are the things to look at. If we’re talking famous characters, they may have certain fixed poses/attires/objects by which they are easily recognized. Another important clue is when the artist puts the name of the person in the picture right next to them on a special plaque.

All this is not to say that all faces in ukiyo-e prints are the same. Sure, from early on in Japanese visual art there is a trend of drawing faces in as few and as simple lines as possible (引目鉤鼻, hikime kagibana, or, "slit-eyes and hook-nose")*. But by the late Edo period (to which this print belongs) it is customary to add some individuality into the characters’ features. I think the influence of Sharaku’s caricature-like portraits** here.

In my experience, the two types of sword-wielding characters that come up in such prints are famous martial heroes and actors. The actual warriors are often depicted alone in detailed, dynamic poses***, while actors can come in groups, acting out famous scenes from various plays. (Needless to say, prints were published in thematic albums). In this particular print, we see a pair of actors. First, they are wearing some elaborate costumes (not regular clothes, nor armour, as it would be appropriate for famous warriors). Second, their faces are clean (and warriors in prints are often bearded and wild-looking to reflect their warlike attitude). Third, the pose looks theatrical in its stillness. Certainly, the artist was good enough to make it as dynamic as was custom for that period, should that have been necessary. Also (and this is more of a gut feeling) the bamboo and the lantern in the background seem like something to do with the theater, too.

Now, the only question that remains is, what’s the play? To answer it I had to scroll quite a bit through google images search until I found the original. It, as expected, came with many inscriptions.

Utagawa Kunisada, 1856

As the cool red lion-plaque in the right corner indicates, the series this print is from is called Seven calligraphic variants of the iroha (清書七伊呂波). Next, a title says that what we see is a scene for the character tsu (つ) from the Kabuki play Tsuzure-no nishiki (襤褸錦, roughly translates as "The brocade of rags"). Which explains the clothes. Next to the title of the play the names of the characters are listed. The black squares on the left (to the best of my understanding) contain the names of the actors.

More pictures and links under cut!

*hikime kagibana

a close-up of a court lady from Genji monogatari emaki, 12th century (source)

**an actor's portrait by Sharaku

Arashi Ryûzô II as Ishibe Kinkichi, 1794 (source)

***a warrior print

石橋山伏木隠　大場三郎景親 (Ishibashiyama: hidden under a bowed tree; Ōba Saburō Kagechika), by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, mid-19th century (source)

And also

the same scene from Tsuzure-no nishiki in larger scale (same artist, but from about 30 years earlier). The lantern, bamboo and the straw... something seem to indeed be stage decorations/props (source)

P.S. Just remembered that i made another iroha-related post a while ago

#japanese art #ukiyo e #edo period #音topic #this has no structure and also is badly written but i can't look at it anymore #sorry for the unfunny meme #should i put a racism cw on this one or something?..

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madhukumarc · 1 year

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Is SEO worth the money?

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Image Source - Ahrefs

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Image Source - The State of Technical SEO Report 2023 from Aira & Women in Tech SEO.

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Of course, these charges vary geographically depending on the market and the level of competition.

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However, it's important to remember that investing in quality SEO services is an investment in your business's success.

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“For SEO, test a budget increase for 6 months. Commit to a grace period no matter what happens. 6 months is a good time frame because it allows you to hit at least one Core Algorithm Update and see if it gives you a boost based on the work you did with more budget” – Kevin Indig, SEO expert

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Just be sure to do your research and choose a reputable SEO agency or company that can provide quality services tailored to your specific needs and goals.

Here's related information that might be useful to you – Does web hosting affect SEO?

#SEO and Online marketing #search engine optimization #digital marketing

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jadenightthewriter · 2 years

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Okay I know I'm sending these in all different rlly long asks which is probably a little annoying. HOWEVER. Sep and marcellus don't even rlly need to scheme bc a) marcias way less stubborn in this au than she is in canon. Like she's still super stubborn but if marcellus specifically brings an idea to her then she will genuinely consider it and also b) despite being 10 years younger than her, marcellus is Super strong from carrying around loads of gold all the time (and marcia. Lost a lot of weight in dn1) so whenever marcias. Neglecting her basic needs like food or sleep he can just pick her up and carry her to wherever she needs to be abdjfbfnfn. He doesn't do it in public tho he has Some respect for her dignity <3 also yeah their rooms r just. Full of random magyk/alchemy stuff like maybe marcellus has more alchemy when marcia has more magyk but honestly they use each others rooms to store stuff just as much as they use their own so it's all kind of mixed in.

AND YEAH UR SO RIGHT I have been making designs for them (+esmerelda) and I'm having a lot of fun I've given Marcia the curly toes. I think marcellus gets red python skin. I've got a baby marcellus design done and coloured that I put like. The smidgiest bit of effort (<-read:1 google search) into making period accurate as well as I could. But older marcellus is free game bc who knows what they dress like in the modern day castle it all seems a bit mad tbh

And. Yeah <33 septimus is having a better time in this au than in canon. Not that he was having a Bad time in canon especially (besides the horrors) but marcia in this au has some idea what she's doing (<-did frantic research on how to help traumatised kids when she first met marcellus) and marcellus also knows what he would've wanted to happen when he was in the same situation. So it's just. Nice?? Idk. Marcia has done this before and she knows at least some of the mistakes not to make again basically. Septimus is just happy and also kind of overwhelmed to have so many ppl care abt him

no it's ok lol, it helps me stop my brain from running too fast in too many directions

i meant more as in septimus wants a pet lizard or smth and they just trick her into thinking it was her idea lmao. but also it's So Nice to realize that in this au marcia has someone who's actually capable of making her take care of herself. in canon lots of people tried but they just didn't have the ability to actually Make Her. i feel like in thm the reason why she's doing pretty well and looking after herself is because she sort of had to after sep became eow and she was left to sort herself out.

marcia and marcellus absolutely do matching sibling outfits. they probably make sep join them <3 (the shoe guy terry or smth hates this whole family)

designs 👀👀 can i,,, see them,,,,, mayhaps

marcia and marcellus probably have lots of conversations about how to look after sep, and they probably cry a little bit about how marcellus only had marcia (which, i love her and marcellus loves her and she's super great, but also she was a singular traumatized person with 0 experience with children)

#M&Ms au

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idigitizellp21 · 2 years

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Plant care for dummies

Not everyone is born with a green thumb and not everyone is a natural gardener who will grow the most attractive and healthy urban garden. So, while being able to buy gardening plants online has become ever so easy, taking care of the same plants may be a whole new and different ballgame altogether. We feel your pain when a loving green doesn’t make it not due to lack of effort but due to lack of know-how which is why we thought it best to help you out with some easy, basic, and simple gardening tips and tricks to ensure that your plant babies don’t just survive, but actually thrive.

Research before you bring home a plant

Before you bring home your new plant, take a few minutes and do a quick Google search for your plant and its needs. Some trendy plants will look gorgeous but will have specific needs that might be too much work for newbies. Other plants may need huge amounts of humidity or long periods of bright light. If you live in a different climate, chances are your home’s air will be too dry and the only way tropical plants will survive is if you use a humidifier. Too much work if you ask us.

Don’t rush to repot

When you first bring home your new plant from the online nursey, keep it in it’s grow pot for a while. It’s been growing in perfect nursery conditions for some time, so bringing it home will be enough of a shock at first. Allow your new houseplant to get used to its new home and adjust. Plus, more indoor plants like being snug and rootbound than you would think.

Less Water is More

One of the biggest mistakes people make when caring for plants indoors is overwatering them! Most plants will generally do way better with too little water than with too much. Think of it this way – it’s always easier to give them more water than to take away too much water. Compared to outdoor plants, indoor plants are dealing with less direct sunlight and heat, and no wind – meaning they don’t dry out as fast. You can usually tell the difference between overwatering and underwatering pretty easily. If the plant foliage and stems are limp and wilted, this means it’s suffering from too much water. Conversely, if the leaves feel crispy, dry, or delicate, then this is a signal that your plant needs more water.

Clay Pots are the best

Using a clay pot is probably the easiest trick to growing indoor plants and keeping them healthy. They dry out the soil faster by pulling away excess moisture from the soil. Most beginner houseplant parents tend to over water their plants at first, so using a terracotta pot (instead of plastic or metal) is like an added step of protection. Plus, when you use a clay pot, it’s easy to tell when your plant needs water. The soil will start to pull away from the sides of the pot. You can buy plant pots online from Ultima Gardening in both clay and other materials.

Regular Maintenance

It’s normal for mature and bottom leaves to turn yellow and slowly die off. I recommend pruning these back to help direct more energy into helping your plant grow instead of trying to keep the dying leaf alive. You can do this year-round. Plants also like haircuts! Pruning them back can help shape your plant before it gets too out of hand. Ultima Gardening is an online gardening store that sells both plants and easy and affordable maintenance packages.

#gardening #gardening tools #home gardening #plants

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transmasc-wizard · 2 years

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i remember you saying that you did a lot of research for gfs, and lately i've been thinking of writing a more historical story so i was wondering if you had any tips for thoroughly researching a specific time period? literally anything will help, i'm horrible at research lol

i have a normal and logical level of love for research. I am not absolutely gleeful over this question to an amount far higher than normal. i am NOT--

yeah no i love this question

SO. I am going to answer the question that writers everywhere cry themselves to sleep over (probably) (maybe)

How The Fuck Do I Research Stuff For My Story? (Specific Time Period Edition)

1: know it's not just one thing.

you're not just "researching". That's a big, big umbrella that holds a LOT of things inside of it. You're researching clothing, politics, economic state, government, food, weapons, societal values at the time, and significant going-ons, among other things. It's better to break that into pieces than to try and tackle "research" as a whole.

Also: HAVE A RESEARCH DOCUMENT. Seriously. Write down anything that could be relevant. Also, have a table of contents or something similar and keep it organized. It helps, trust me.

2: Now, here's your pieces. Go in order.

1) ERA IN GENERAL.

So, you've told me (thanks to my frantic asks to you) that your story in particular is around the 1880s-1900s and takes place in the USA, Britain, France, and Japan. That means your story will exist in the gilded age (rich people! but also poverty), the very end of the Victorian era (she lived so fuckin long bro), the formative years (wooo France is full of communists) and the Meiji period (Japan gets to be powerful!).

No but really you picked a bunch of very.... interesting eras to collide all at once in your story skdjfskjfhk

In general, when it comes to researching the era, you want to look at the big picture of what was going on. You can first search "what era was [time period] for [country]", and then once you have the name of it, go wild: e.g. with the gilded age, you can go "advancements in the gilded age" "politics in the gilded age" "social issues in the gilded age" "the gilded age", and so on and so forth. Put the era's name in your search and you'll find results a lot quicker.

Era will include the economic state, political state, significant historical events before/after (aka events that have influenced your age or that are being influenced by your age), what the era is generally known for, advancements at the time, and relationships with the other countries your story is focusing on.

2) EVERYDAY THINGS AND/OR VERY IMPORTANT THINGS.

Food, fashion, common jobs, family structure, architecture & buildings, societal views, and other things that are addressed almost every day in some way. This is where you want to take the societal positions of your characters into your mind; a poor Jewish immigrant man and a high-class young white woman are going to have very different lives, even if they both live in NYC in the USA's Gilded Age. They'll eat different food, wear different clothes, be expected to have different skills, have different cultural beliefs/practices, have different jobs, and likely have very different political views.

So, when looking things up, think whether or not your characters would actually have that in their lives. There are people in ballgowns and people in rags, and you've got to figure out which one your character will be wearing.

Don't just research something like "1890s clothing". You want to find what is worn in that age by the types of people your characters are. So, "what did people wear in the victorian era" is a bad thing to google and expect precise results. "what did poor men wear in the victorian era" is a lot better.

Now's the time to do your research for some really big things, too. Say you have a scene that happens in a mansion in America, and it's a SUPER IMPORTANT SCENE. You're going to want to look up what American mansions in the Gilded Age often were like beforehand, even if none of your characters live in one or will have seen one beforehand.

3) MUCH MORE SPECIFIC THINGS.

Ok, so you know what a rich woman in the Meiji period would wear every day. Cool. But do you know what she should be wearing in that one scene with the super fancy event? Do you know what music would be playing? Do you know what weapon she could best have in that event?

It's ok if the answer is "no", even after your general research. Specific research is best saved for when you have to know it. Getting bogged down in research is a real thing, and it's very, very frustrating. So, either look those details up when you outline the scene (if you outline it) or when you actually need to write it. Like, say your characters end up in Paris in 1888 for a scene or two. Well, that's when the Eiffel Tower was built! You knew that already, because you looked up 1880s-1900s France and know quite a bit about it!

... what you don't know yet is what the construction site of the Eiffel Tower looked like. And that's fine--it's until it's time to actually focus on that scene.

3: Make Sure Your Sources Are Legit.

This can be hard, but in my experience, good sources will 1) list their sources and not try to hide them or just not have any, and 2) their information will agree with the info in other good sources. Basically, if 4 sources say XYZ and 1 says ABC, you can probably believe that ABC is wrong.

(Reading published books can help with this, though they're not always true, either. Basically: compare, compare, compare.)

4: Know This Takes Time.

It's ok to look at this and go "haha.... maybe I won't write anything historical". It's daunting! It can be a lot!

But it's all just pieces.

You read a couple articles and watch a video about clothing worn by Japanese peasants. You borrow a book that talks about food in the Gilded Age. You get lost down the rabbit hole of Victorian high-society politics. You write it all down in that trusty research doc.

And suddenly, you KNOW THINGS. You know things!! And videos that hinted at X but didn't quite talk about it lead you to researching X, which hints and Y and leads you to research Y, and so on and so forth.

It takes a long time, definitely. You'll be researching before you write, while you outline, and when you're writing. You'll research when you're editing and rewriting, too. But even if you don't particularly like it, you can find comfort in the fact that it just involves searching the right phrases and sitting down to watch some videos or read a library book. And in the end, you'll have a well-researched story--and that info doesn't go away! If you ever have to know something about the Victorian age, you'll be able to look back at what you learned awhile back. (Especially because you have your research doc, right?)

5: TLDR.

know research isn't just one clump, it's a lot of different things you look at

research the era, then general things, then things you need to know in specific situations only

use specific phrases, not just general things; "what jobs did men have in France in the 1880s" is lots better than "French jobs"

make sure your sources aren't just people lying on the internet for fun. comparing what your sources say and using a lot of them can help with this!

know it takes time, but don't stress. You don't have to get it done all at once.

have your motherfucking research doc. are you listening to me. WRITE DOWN THE INFORMATION THAT YOU FINDDDDDD

OK. This was a SUPER long post, but!! I really hope it's helpful!! If you have more questions, feel free to ask away :D

#researching #writblr #writeblr #nico yells writing advice into the void #long post #asks #luce!#i am. so sorry #i cant shut up </3

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unolvrs · 2 years

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yk so much and study so much for fics and i just wanted to ask, what is your source? like where do you read them from???

the capricorn in me doesn’t like being told that i’m doing things wrong or i’m getting things wrong so i really like research prior in case i’m doing something that needs research.

but most of what i know (because i’m assuming this is the japanese references in my stories) comes from my cultural background because i am half-japanese, so i somewhat grew around the culture. aside from that, i really, really like reading and picking up random pdfs from who-knows-where. i like knowing a lot of things because i hate missing out / missing an important detail that could’ve been a good addition to the plot. and i like being praised.

anyway, i actually know very little about buddhism in general and surprisingly, lots of people think i’m an expert at it but i’m really not. most of my knowledge about buddhism comes from media, then i double-check it by researching in google, then triple-checking in other websites to confirm. but usually, it ends up with me in a random pdf that’s crappily scanned that most likely comes from a really old book. i actually know more about shintoism (ironic bc my dad’s buddhist) than buddhism.

my sources for shintoism mostly comes from these two sites: the actual kojiki pdf, and japanese-wiki-corpus. but corpus is somewhat badly translated / google translated so i read it in japanese most of the time if i really don’t get what the english translation is saying. the actual kojiki pdf link is hard to read too because of the format but that’s where i originally read it from. nowadays i just read here: x.

my favorite japanese buddhism site is this: x. and it’s honestly the best thing ever. everything you need to know about japanese buddhism is all in there, crammed in one place. it’s my go-to source, then i double-check and triple-check by doing a quick google search and go “ok, is this true??” and yeah, so far, it is.

if you’re wondering about history, don’t be shy and just use wikipedia. it’s very reliable and if you think it’s not reliable, there are references at the end of wikipedia where you can follow up. and then, look double + triple-check somewhere else.

a good reference is also literature during that time period. for example, since i’m going to write about the heian period soon, i’m reading kagerou nikki though i’m definitely searching for another translated version because the translator is lowk icky. i’m probably going to do some heian poetry readings too which you can find here: link. there’s also tales of genji and the pillow book. kagerou nikki, tales of genji, and the pillow book are all, fun fact, written by women back in the heian period and were all noble ladies. most men and women in the heian period could read and write too.

i also pride my special skill that i can learn anything within a span of a few days :D like, i mean, get into a fandom without actually watching anything. i tend to do that tbh. like, recently, my friend who was really into assassin’s creed wanted to talk to someone about it and now i know the assassin’s creed timeline very well. learning is very fun <3

#問 ━━ answers #助 ━━ tips & advices #or mayb it's just the need for validation talking #anyway <3 #learning is very fun

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softprincesso · 4 years

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✨HOW TO BECOME A WEALTHY MIDDLE-AGED MAN✨

PT.2: Overview to understanding different saving/retirement methods, investments, and forms of income

2.1 Savings and Retirement

Welcome lovelies to (what I hope will be) a helpful series on gaining wealth and becoming financially literate and independent!

*disclaimer: while this advice can generally apply to many it will not apply to all. Everyone is in a different situation and should do their own research before they take what ANYONE says as fact or law. This is also coming from the perspective of a young, biracial, first generation female business student following a hypergamous lifestyle and who does sw so some advice may be specific to my like-minded ladies, but for the most part I just love money and want to help others find joy in their wallets as well. I am also operating in the US so things regarding accounts, stocks, and certain laws will vary by your country. Also, this is just a fun thing I wanted to do because talking about leveling up and learning and growing and money are my favorite past times. None of these pictures are mine, however I am using some links which may compensate me in some way, but I only used links which were mutually beneficial and would help you gain something as well, they are still just actual sources I use for myself.

✨THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND✨

Financial independence is different than financial confidence.

Financial Independence: “The most common sense of the term is that someone has enough wealth to live as they wish for the rest of their life without having to work.” -Investopedia https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0611/declare-your-own-financial-independence-day.aspx

Financial Confidence: “We define financial confidence as having three aspects,” says Miler. “The first is awareness of how money can be a tool for helping you reach your goals and dreams. The second is financial literacy and understanding economic factors. The third is trust and knowing where to turn for financial advice.” -Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelleyzalis/2018/06/16/women-money-8-steps-for-growing-your-financial-confidence/?sh=2175b65e2468

While the ultimate goal is financial independence, financial confidence should be the main focus. I’ll give an example why. Imagine there are two people: Rhonda and Jill. Both of them like nice things, love to shop, and participate in the occasional splurge. Rhonda works a regular 9-5 and has a decent salary. She doesn’t have much financial knowledge (translation: financial confidence), but she has a savings account at her local bank and puts a couple hundred into retirement each year and she thinks that's enough. Suddenly, Rhonda wins the lottery. Overnight she has become a millionaire, so she quits her job, moves to LA, and goes on to live life to the fullest. She would now be considered financially independent. However, Rhonda has no idea how to manage all that money. She puts a small amount into that bank savings account and takes the rest to do what she will. One day she tries her luck at a casino, in less than five hours she has lost all of her money and has to start back at square one with no job, only a few thousand to get her through, and no-good way to explain to employers that she just wasted the last 5 years spending money on handbags she now has to sell at a depreciated value. (BTW you would not last not working with only a million dollars in LA for that long)

Now, let’s look at Jill. Jill is an independent contractor and has a relatively steady income. She knows very little about finances, but she actively learns how to manage what she has and keeps up to date on the latest money news. The day that Rhonda won the lottery was just another Thursday for Jill, the only unique point for her was that she opened a savings accounts with a high APY (we’ll say 1%) and put in $5000.00. A little later she also opened a Roth IRA and puts in the maximum yearly allowance of $6000.00. Along the way she opened a brokerage account of her own and started trading in the stock market along with investing in real estate which has given her some extra income to play with each year. Unfortunately, another housing crash occurs, and all of the money Jill invested into real estate is gone. However, since Jill learned the skills behind her choices early on, she is knowledgeable and understands the ups and downs of the market and how to invest her money in other places in the meantime. And, that High yield savings account accrued around $50 more without her doing anything and she has that to fall back on, or worst case she can take out part of her principal Roth IRA contribution. 10 years from now Jill should start to see a steady increase in her Roth IRA that by retirement will be a little over 1 million and she should be comfortable and invested enough into stocks that she gains around $200-1000 extra each month.

I think you understand why you want to be Jill.

✨HAVING ADEQUATE SAVINGS = BEING YOUR OWN LIFEGUARD✨

As discussed in Pt.1 the first goal you should achieve is securing an emergency fund that could sustain you for a couple of months if things were to ever hit the fan, and starting a retirement fund should be in your top 5 goals to complete. The saying, “the rich get richer” is popular for a reason. Wealthy people know how to make their money work for them instead of them having to work for money. An easy way anyone can do the same is by opening the right accounts for your savings and retirement.

Savings:

All of your savings should be in a high yield saving account or split between different high yield accounts. This is an account which will reward you some interest every period for having money in your account with them. This is incredibly easy to do. You can either research/ask your bank about their high yield accounts or do some googling to find some other bank. Then transfer your money and there you go! When looking at banks understand that the highest Annual Percent Yields (APY), or the interest they will reward you, are going to be from online banks because they have less operational costs than a brick and mortar, but they will also come with their own disadvantages, like less ATMs to access or the inability to use when outside of your country so make sure to look into that. IMPORTANT: Make sure that whatever bank you choose is FDIC-insured so if the bank were to ever collapse or lose your money you have insurance up to $250,000.This won't generate a lot of extra cash, but an extra $20 every year is better than $0.

Retirement:

These accounts usually go by your current situation and what you see for your future.

401K: Probably the most known (I believe it’s only in the States but there might be something close to it in other countries) and that’s just because this is what employers usually offer if they offer anything. It is a retirement fund that your employer will set up and you can predefine how much of your paycheck you want to automatically go into it every time. Sometimes, the employers will also have a match program, and if they do you better max out the money they will contribute because that is FREE money! Most advice that I have seen has said to really only focus on this fund if your employer has that match program, otherwise I would focus on one of the accounts below. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/08/401k-info.asp

IRA: An IRA stands for Individual Retirement Account. There are three kinds…

Traditional: This IRA lets you put in pre-tax money and lets it grow tax-free until you make a withdrawal. Once you make the withdrawal that money is taxed at the current rate of your income at the time. Your contributions are tax deductible so you can write them off of your taxable income of that year. There are limits to how much you can contribute depending on your income, status, and whether you have another retirement fund as well.

Roth: With this IRA your contributions are taxed, but when you withdrawal money later on it is tax free. For those of you in a lower tax bracket than you believe you will be in the future, this IRA makes the most sense as you will pay less taxes now than you will when you are 59 ½ (The official age of retirement in the States). There are limits to how much you can contribute depending on your income, status, and whether you have another retirement fund as well.

SEP: Simplified Employee Pension. This is also an employer-based plan and may also work better for my self-employed gals out there. I don’t really know a lot on this one so I’ll just leave a link you can look into if it interests you: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/102714/how-does-simplified-employee-pension-sep-ira-work.asp

You can have both a traditional and Roth IRA as long as you are eligible for both. Anyone with earned income (with a job or can prove a steady income) can contribute to a Traditional IRA, however with a Roth IRA, as a single you can earn up to $139,000 and contribute. Personally, if you are just getting started with all of this just set up one IRA and as you learn more you can take steps to get another or switch accounts.

https://www.investopedia.com/retirement/roth-vs-traditional-ira-which-is-right-for-you/

There are a plethora of other accounts, but they are more specialized and the top four should get you started on the right path to saving for retirement. I’m guessing that the majority of the audience reading these are women between the ages of 20-30. Trust me when I say that I love to spend money as much as the next girl, but I also would like to be completely comfortable should anything happen in my older years that screws up my marriage or job, and no one is going to secure that for you.

Also, I’m sorry this is so US-based, but once again it is all I know. I believe IRAs are more widespread than a 401K, but all that takes to find out is a Google search on your part.

Either way, make sure you have a plan going into 2021 for your savings and retirement because this economic whirlwind is far from over and there is always a chance for another recession, depression, or disaster. (Wow O, way to keep the mood light)

This was getting way too long with the investments added so look out for Pt.2.2 on the overview for investments (where the actual fun begins and I can stop being such a stick in the mud)…

VOCAB TO KNOW/RESEARCH:

Financial independence

Financial Confidence

APY

Roth IRA

brokerage account

High yield savings account

principal

401K

Traditional IRA

Once again… if in these posts I ever give bad advice, F- something up, or am just generally ignorant PLEASE call me out! Remember that just like you I am a young woman figuring everything out and while I am confident when talking about money, I am by no means a genius (only in spurts) so any chance to learn I appreciate. I hope you all learned something new today and as always…

With Love,

#how to become a wealthy middle aged man #wealth #money #money management #wealth management #finances #hypergamy #affluence #heauxlife #heaux advice #heaux tips #spoiled girlfriend #spoiled gf #spoiled heaux #black woman in luxury #luxury #sugar tips #oadvice #softprincesso

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derangedhyena-delphinidae · 4 years

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numerous issues with “The Aftermath of Seaworld”

When I get time to do so (aka when I’m done with the documentary), I’m likely going to make a video version of this going into the details.

But for right now, I’ve made this. Both as a guideline for me and so everyone can begin to get an idea of the severity of issues involved.

Researching things is time-consuming and can be very difficult - believe me, I know. But I’m of the mind that if you’re making content with the intent of educating people, you have a responsibility to perform a certain level of due diligence. It IS okay to express uncertainty or doubt if you have it. It is NOT okay to confidently assert things that you do not know with certainty.

The video has an anticap slant, and I’m obviously not disagreeing on that front. But again: if you’re gonna go through the trouble of teaching people something. Bare minimum... please make sure it’s actually correct. *** 1) x ‘founded in 1964 and based out of Florida’ - ???? Seaworld definitively began on the west coast, in San Diego, CA. And given that the first park opened in early 1964… things came together before that. Uh? 2) x ‘four people founded Seaworld [...]’ For one… it wasn’t originally conceived as a restaurant, it was originally conceived as an underwater bar/lounge. Two… calling the four guys involved in founding the place “frat brothers” is fucking ridiculous and completely overlooks a) how each was actually involved and b) the overall significance of their contributions to the field as individuals. Hint: like it or not, they were important and did a lot!

3) x If one is going to bring up SWBGCF/rescues while talking about the literal founding of SW, it gives the impression that it’s been around for that duration. It hasn’t. It’s actually a bit unclear when SW started an organized rescue program, but the Fund itself and all that it did came about much later. The rescue information and how it’s presented is actually INCREDIBLY complex, nuanced, and has a fascinating history (from a “bad company behaving badly” perspective). Oversimplifying this, to this degree and in this misinformative way, does the facts of the situation an INCREDIBLE disservice.

4) x [assertive statement about what the name Shamu means] ….Uh actually there’s several explanations for the name Shamu, and the most likely one IMO seems to be the “she-namu” one, not the “friend of Namu” one(? What is this even based on.) 4b) It’s not quite clear if she’s saying “Namu was the first ever orca to be displayed and perform shows” or or Namu was the first to be displayed and, like Shamu, performed shows. Either way, Moby Doll was the first to truly be displayed to the public, not Namu.

5) x ‘Namu died after one year in captivity and you’d think that this might deter Seaworld from doing the same thing again…’ Seaworld truly had nothing to do with Namu. And they leased/took possession of Shamu before Namu died. ‘Again’? What?

6) x “Now, PETA paints a pretty disturbing picture…” [while showing Okura’s artwork] This video segment is, and this is putting it nicely, a pile of poorly-researched BULLSHIT. -Yes, PETA talks about Shamu’s capture, re: the harpooning of her mother. This Youtuber cannot apparently be arsed to look more than 1 Google search into this, as she proceeds to dismiss the information as potentially fabricated. There are two detailed accounts of Shamu’s capture that I’m aware of - in books - and though they have some slight conflicts, it’s absolutely NOT in doubt that the female who was very likely Shamu’s mother was 1) harpooned, 2) died from her injuries and 3) this had been done to make her easier to catch/locate because there was a fucking buoy attached to the harpoon. Which she dragged around for at least 24 hours prior dying. So maybe don’t dismiss that as PETA hysteria, maybe TRY to determine the truth of the matter, which would inform one that it is both true and completely horrifying. -In addition, Okura is an awesome individual who has worked very hard to create a variety of informative artwork for our cause. Okura is NOT associated with PETA and it’s borderline libel in my eyes to use their artwork in this dismissive manner when the primary sources of it can be easily identified online, with full explanations and everything. Do I take special offense to this because of the misuse of artwork? Absolutely. Artists get disrespected enough online. I’m tired of it. This kind of laziness IS NOT acceptable.

7) x ‘timeline is fuzzy about when Shamu died’ …………… it’s…. It’s really not … newspapers are pretty clear about it…..

8) x [complete and utter oversimplification of the lifespan issue, which is not acceptable for anything published in 2020. It just isn’t. If you’re going to bring it up like this, either do the legwork and get into the weeds or stay out.] 8b) [same for reproductive ages. sigh]

9) x if we’re going to talk about when Cornell was involved with Seaworld it’s very important to specify when Cornell was involved with Seaworld and not make it seem like it’s present tense.

10) x “both were rescued by Seaworld” - uh? no. Zero orcas have been rescued by Seaworld. Literally none. The infected-jaw orca was Sandy, whose story is complex and certainly does not involve Seaworld until much later. And many of the orcas in that time period had bullet wounds, often only identified post-mortem because they didn’t seem to hurt the animals much. Also, unflinchingly blending 70s captivity ethics with modern ones is also complete nonsense?

11) x [tilikum coming from sealand] inhales I am going to make an entire video centered on this fucking subject because it’s one of the single most profound arguments for Seaworld being garbage as assessed by US government agencies in the 90s yet everyone utterly fails to mention this. Why?!

12) x what on earth is this nonsense re: quoting a quote from Zimmerman’s article - which has already been removed from its original context, so the original context is not available - and then penalizing the quote for existing as if Zimmerman’s article were the context? That is offensively disingenuous. I honestly don’t know what the original context is, either - but it’s wildly inappropriate to act as if the Zimmerman article is.

13) x this is relatively minor but ‘Paul Sprong’? You literally have his name on the screen. And then mis-reading his age too? While asserting it from a static article published years ago? Effort? Where is it?

14) x ‘another trainer, Peter’ ….. Ken Peters….

15) [weirdly glossing over the widely-available list of orca-trainer injuries/aggressions, despite it being central to the point.] 16) x This pilot whale outrage certainly happened but it was pretty clearly Blackfish that started the cascade of woes for Seaworld. Who has ever asserted this?

17) if you’re gonna just rehash blackfish, tell people to go watch blackfish.

18) x I’ve already gone over the context issue with Seaworld calling out Howard’s statement in Blackfish here (point 23). Which is to say, IN CONTEXT in Blackfish it’s clear what Mr. Garrett is talking about but, divorced from that, it sounds incorrect. But this Youtuber AMPLIFIES the issue by doubling down on the assertion with “no record of a killer whale doing any harm to anyone in the wild.” The surfer event should always be mentioned. Yes, there’s absolutely room for doubt. But there’s also a clear demarcation between an accidental attack (eg mistaken identity, as was likely for the surfer) and intentional one (eg the incidents at marine parks.) Why do people kneecap themselves on this point 18b) please stop acting like Luna represents orcas in general.

19) x “Howard, for all of his research…” … while referring to David Duffus’ b-roll and statements. Uh. 20) x Apparently this Youtuber has single-handedly resolved the dorsal fin issue. You know, the thing that hasn’t been properly researched ever, that has been subject to a ton of debate, that isn’t 100% settled for a variety of reasons, and almost everyone talks about in terms of theories and likely possibilities. 21) x Alexis Martinez wasn’t “torn to shreds.” In a space where even moderate exaggerations are often penalized harshly by the opposition, this kind of blatant nonsense is not welcome. Plus, the reality’s bad enough… you don’t have to make anything up!

22) x *sighs. points at own webpage*

23) Talking about the shows stopping without acknowledging how that’s a bit of a farce is something else. In addition to apparently just flipping to buying what Seaworld’s selling re: its ‘improved image.’

*** Tl;dr video is so unrelentingly full of errors ranging from small to egregious it makes me seriously concerned for the veracity of the rest of this person’s content. The maker of the video provided a list of their sources in their video description, which I will have time to look through in detail later. The above is solely a response to the information they present IN THE VIDEO - which, is very important because let’s be real: a lot of people are not going to look at the list of sources. People don’t even do it when citing papers (no really, you’d be surprised, fml.) For anyone who wants to whinge that I haven’t linked or asserted any sources of my own for my claims… well, remember what I said about time-consuming and ‘I’m busy’? Yhea. Getting all of that together will be part of making a video. So if you want to shrug loudly at my list here… you can, that’s your prerogative, I’m happy to say I DGAF if that’s your takeaway.

What I hope, is that if there’s anything I’ve made clear over the While of running this blog, it’s that I don’t fuck around when it comes to sources and information and do my best to provide what information exists, all of it, not just cherrypicked bits and bobs. Anyways. Here’s step 0 at least. Please don’t share that video. Pretty please.

#seaworld #grumble

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libsterslobsters · 4 years

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Whole Lotta Love

Synopsis: For some people, Valentine’s Day is another word for "stress", especially when you don't know what the other person is expecting. Several years into their relationship, Bucky’s pretty sure he has a good understanding of the Reader, until a word from Sam makes him question everything he thinks he knows. The race is on to make their first Valentine’s Day since saying their vows a special one, but as per usual, fate has it's own ideas about what will make the holiday truly memorable

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem! Enhanced! Super-soldier Reader

(Reader can see bits and pieces of the future in visions as well as speak every language)

Warnings: Smut, Fluff

Author's note: This fic contains references to earlier stories. For more information, click the series masterlist link. As always, the reader is unnamed so that this can be read as a self-insert, but at this point, I think of her as an OC.

The song referenced is Hearts Don't Break Around Here by Ed Sheeran

Series Masterlist

A The Song Remains The Same Fic

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“So, Valentine’s Day.”

Bucky doesn’t look up from his laptop (or more specifically, the field report he’s typing) at Sam’s words. Despite his concentration, he can tell that his partner is staring at him, boring holes into his back with his gaze.

“Uh-huh.” He’s listening, but so far, he doesn’t care.

“What are you doing for it?” For Valentine’s day? Um…

“Not much.” It’s a Tuesday this year, right? Then probably working, like most other people, he’d imagine.

The room is silent as he types, so Bucky assumes that settles the matter. That is, until Sam mutters a quiet, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“About what?” How many paragraphs does he have to type before he can pass this off as a full report? When he joined the Avengers, he thought the hardest part of his job would be the bad guy of the week, not doing paperwork!

“You’re really not doing anything for Valentine’s Day? Seriously?” He nods absentmindedly and clicks the save icon. He’ll finish this tomorrow. It’s five o’clock. Time to head home. Home to-

“What’s your wife gonna think about that?” He shrugs and cuts the power to the laptop.

“She thinks that the whole holiday is a rip-off. See you Monday?” He turns around for confirmation, only to catch Sam staring at him, mouth hanging wide open. “What?”

“A rip-off?” Is he just going to be stuck repeating himself?

“Yep.” Told him that the first February 14th they spent together.

“And you actually believed her?”

He nods. “She’s not one to lie.”

Sam nods incredulously. “Uh-huh. And are you planning to ever have sex again?”

He’s not going to dignify that with an answer (because really, isn’t it obvious?).

“Fine.” Sam shrugs. “You do you, man. All I’m saying is, if I had a wife who looked like that-” he indicates the lock screen of Bucky’s phone (a picture of her laughing, telling him to put away the damn camera after wrestling the dog for the tie to her favorite robe). “-I’d have my V-day plans set up a month in advance.”

Normally Bucky would take what Sam says with a grain of salt, but he is after all a man out of time, so maybe it’s worth considering that his partner may be right.

“What would you suggest I do?”

“Outside of the bedroom?” He narrows his eyes at the Falcon. “Okay, bad joke.” Sam scratches at the back of his head, thinking. “I don’t know, man. That’s your girl. You know her best, but flowers are always a good place to start.” Good to know that hasn’t changed since the 1940s. Although, last time he brought her flowers, she spent the afternoon sneezing until he eventually convinced her that it was okay, he wouldn’t be offended, she should throw the damn things out. Then again, that was before she was a super soldier.

“Flowers.” He repeats, earning a nod from Sam.

“You can get creative. Do a little research. But I’m just saying, when a woman waits five years for you to reappear, the least she deserves is a few flowers.” On that, they can agree.

He must bid Sam some sort of goodbye and make his way through the Avengers compound, but he’s unaware of anything until he’s in the parking lot, sitting behind the wheel of his car, googling “What to do for your wife on Valentine’s Day.” There’s a web page that boasts twenty different selections. Might as well give it a look.

___________________________________________________________________________________

She’s nearly home when her phone dings with a text from Barnes. “Just got in. Forgot to get milk. Can you swing by on your way, or should I go to the gas station and pick up a gallon?” A frown forms on her face. It’s pretty rare that Bucky forgets things. Must’ve been a hell of a day at work, then. Either that, or his brain has completely turned to mush thanks to typing out field reports. Either way-

“I got it. See you in twenty.” She thinks about tacking on a “love you”, but the light turns green before she can.

The grocery store is packed thanks to so many people getting off work. There’s only three carts left, all with bad wheels. She chooses the least squeaky option and, grabbing an add on her way, heads into the grocery store. Milk, and if she remembers right from this morning, they’re running dangerously low on coffee and tea. Despite caffeine having absolutely no effect on their enhanced bodies, both of them are nightmares to be around in the mornings without their beverages of choice. Force of habit and all.

She’s halfway to the checkout when she sees it. A sign, decorated in garish shades of red, pink, and purple. “All Valentine’s Day chocolates 10% off.” Shit. Yeah, that is coming up. To tell the truth, she’d completely forgot all about that day halfway through February. For most of her life, it only meant giving homemade cards at school when most kids had store-bought. Then, once she reached adulthood, it was a reminder that she was destined to be alone. Who would want someone who’s on the run, and what’s more, sees the future? Once she and Barnes got together, it didn’t change much. That first Valentine’s Day, he mentioned the holiday, and she shut it down immediately. They were both broke (or at least, he had no legitimate way of making money while she was broke), and celebrating a mostly commercial holiday seemed like a waste. Plus, she didn’t want to put a strain on a new relationship. Over the years, the subject never came up again, and she’s content for it to stay a non-starter, thank you very much. In her opinion, you should show your partner you love them every day of the year, not shoe-horn it into one twenty-four hour period. Call her unromantic if you must.

She’s completely immune to the various displays of cheap chocolate in heart-shaped boxes and overly sentimental cards as she approaches the register and starts to unload her items. Milk. Tea. That one specific brand of coffee that he likes because, “It tastes like what we drank in basic training. Terrible, but I kinda got used to it, so now everything else tastes like it’s trying too hard.” whatever that means. He’s right; she’s tasted it, and it’s fucking awful. Still, every morning, he drinks at least three cups while she drains her pot of tea.

“You got a hot date for Valentine’s Day, hun?” The cashier asks her, never breaking her rhythm as she rings up the items.

She chuckles. “As a matter of fact, yes.” The cashier’s eye go wide, and she holds up her left hand. “And every other day.”

“Ooh, nice. How long have you been together?”

“Nine years.” Wait… “Or four years, depending on which of us you ask. He blipped, I stayed.”

The cashier nods. “So are you older than him now?”

Physically? They’re not completely sure, but if you calculate the times he was off the ice with HYDRA and add that to the age he was before the serum, then they’re not far off. But chronologically- “No, he’s still older.” And yes, it will always be funny that Sam responds with “Okay, boomer” whenever Bucky makes an outdated reference (even if he’s off by a good twenty years).

With a little more light chatter, she pays for her items and leaves. Now, for home.

As soon as she opens the front door, she’s greeted by their dog, Sarge, barking excitedly and hopping around like he’s on a trampoline despite missing a leg. Bucky’s not far behind, placing a quick peck on her forehead before taking the bags from her and unloading them in the kitchen. Tonight’s his night to cook, but unless her nose has suddenly decided to give out, he hasn’t started dinner yet. She doesn’t mind taking over tonight, and when he sheepishly apologizes while she begins her preparations, she brushes it off. Although, for the second time in an hour, she’s seen proof of his unusual absentmindedness. Oh well. She’ll ask him about it later.

Despite being relieved from tonight’s chef duties, Bucky stays in the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast bar scrolling through his phone as she cooks. His expression is neutral, which can mean one of two things; a) he’s just killing time and there aren’t any interesting posts or articles vying for his attention, or at the opposite end of the spectrum, b) he’s deep in thought, possibly angry, sad, or even frightened, but he’s gone into Winter Soldier mode and shut down so that she won’t pick up on his mood. Damn the man and his poker face.

Eventually dinner is served and she sends him off toward the fridge in search of two beers while she serves their plates. Just as she’s spooning a generous helping of salad into her bowl, it happens. A vision, but a limited one. All she’s seeing is a phone. Well, that and the hand holding it. She’s not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed that she immediately recognizes the hand as Bucky’s, but that goes by the wayside as she takes in the article he’s reading. “Should you do something for Valentine’s Day even is she says no?” It’s a thread on some anonymous discussion board. The reply that has his attention is in reference to a now divorced individual who “was dumb enough to believe that, on our first V-Day as a married couple, she didn’t want anything.” Oh boy. Not good. This will be their first Valentine’s Day since exchanging vows, and if the fact that he’s read this reply (if not already read, will read soon) means that it’s at least crossed his radar that she might be feeding him bullshit. That’s not the case, but after his research, she knows from experience that no matter how much she tries to convince him otherwise, a small part of his mind will be stuck on, “But what if this is a big deal?” Which means-

“Doll, are you just gonna stand there with the salad tongs in your hand?” That snaps her out of it.

“No. Just a vision.” He frowns as she passes him his plate.

“Anything important happen?” Should she say?

“No.” She’s not sure if the smile or not, so she takes a bite from her roll to cover it. “Random sneak peek.” It’s not a lie. What she saw really isn’t important. Still, if he’s in that mindset, she should probably go on and do something for him just in case. After all, why should it only be the ladies who reap this holiday’s benefits?

___________________________________________________________________________________

Not flowers. That’s the one thing that, after copious amounts of research Bucky is one hundred percent certain about. They may still be a common romantic gift, but since they were also a go-to back when he was courting girls in the 1940s, it’s safe to say they’ve been overdone. Plus, he doesn’t really want to remind her of that time she had such a severe allergic reaction to the flowers he picked her on a walk through the park in Bucharest that her eyes nearly swelled shut and she sneezed herself sick. That doesn’t exactly seem like prime romance.

Chocolates or other candies have the same issues as flowers. Contrived and predictable. A bottle of wine is nice, but neither of them can so much as get mildly tipsy thanks to the super serum. The fourteenth is his day to cook, so he guesses he could do some reading and try to create something a little more special than spaghetti (he thought about going to a nice restaurant for dinner, but there’s a few issues with that, not the least of which is they’re likely to be recognized without their disguises, and he’d rather not look at his wife through sunglasses on Valentine’s day), but that seems a little underwhelming.

As he loads the dishwasher (she fell asleep half-way through the third episode of whichever nonsensical comedy they’re watching this week, so he sneaked back downstairs to clean up the dinner dishes), he thinks back to the dozen separate articles he read on the subject of Valentine’s Day gifts. Jewelry was a common theme, but that’s out. She’ll say thank you to his face, but worry about the cost behind his back. Plus, he has absolutely no idea what she’d like, and there’s no sense in purchasing something only for her to hate it.

Another common one was lingerie. Bucky almost choked on his tongue when he saw some of the examples given with that option. None of it looked comfortable (in fact, he’s still scratching his head about how you even put on one of the pieces that popped up on the web page) and he doesn’t want to give her the impression that she has to dress up for him. Even putting all that aside, he has no idea what size she’d even wear. He likes to think that he knows his wife pretty well, but somehow, in all their years together, it never occurred to him to ask her for her clothing sizes. That, and have you even seen the bra sizing system? Does it make sense to anyone, because to Bucky, it’s all gibberish. 32 B? 36 DD? What the hell? Somehow, when HYDRA was training him to extract information, they failed to go over the translation of a woman’s bra size. He supposes he could ask, but he’s not sure there’s a non-suspicious way to work, “Hey, sweetheart. What size are your breasts?” into casual conversation.

Sam said to get creative, so he tried to think outside the box. What’s something she really needs? A new vacuum cleaner is the first thing to come to mind, but he’s not stupid enough to think that would make a good gift. He knows she’s had her eye on a set of throwing stars, but that doesn’t seem to correlate well with what this holiday is all about. That’ll keep until her birthday.

He’s still wracking his brain for anything at all that might work when he feels a wet nose poking at his hand. Sarge. “Hey, boy. Has your mom gone to bed?” The response is a quiet “woof” and lick to his palm. He scratches the mutt behind the ears, smiling to himself as Sarge’s back leg thumps at the treatment.

“What do you think we should get our girl? Huh?” There’s no reply (of course not, he’s talking to a dog), but he nods, pretending all the same that Sarge has offered up a suggestion. “A bone. Yeah, somehow I don’t think that’s her thing. Try again.” The dog blinks at him lazily. “No, you’re the one who wants new tennis balls. Not Mom. Although you’re right about her liking peanut butter.” At this rate, he might as well get her a bone and some tennis balls, because he’s sure not coming up with any ideas.

She likes music. The thought pops into his head while he’s brushing his teeth. All sorts of music. Over the years, he’s tried to make sense of the songs he’s heard her listen to, but has yet to find a discernible pattern in her listening habits. She doesn’t seem to stick to just one genre or era. More like she picks songs by how they relate to what she’s feeling at the moment. Wait a second-

“A mixtape.” His reflection mouths the words back at him. Despite technology having moved on from the days of burning CDs, she still has a thick stack of the disks stored in a cabinet and plays them on the regular. He’s even seen a few that she made herself, pasting together the songs she likes to make a “Cleaning mix”, “Workout Mix” and “Pissed off Mix”. Bucky’s sure he could figure out how to burn a CD, but it’s not like she’d be able to listen to that everywhere she went. That leaves a playlist. She uses one of those apps to listen to music on her phone, right? Surely he can put something together for her using that.

Quietly, he climbs into bed next to his sleeping wife and pulls her back against his chest, slinging one arm over her waist as usual. He closes his eyes, but his mind is alight with activity. A playlist. Of course. He’ll put some extra effort into whatever he cooks that night, stop by a bakery and pick up some sweet treats for dessert. Hell, maybe they’ll both dress up and act like they’re on a date. Then, once they’re sitting down to their meal, he’ll pull out his phone and hit play. It’s perfect. At least, he hopes it is.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Putting on a lacy bra and panties set underneath her regular work attire seemed like a brilliant idea this morning. Today’s a short day; she’s only got three classes to teach, and Rhodey called last night to tell Bucky that he’s suspending work hours at three pm “Since most people have holiday preparations to make.” Her plan was to be waiting on the sofa in the living room when he arrives home, professional button-down blouse open just enough for him to get a good look at what’s underneath, pencil skirt pushed up enough to reveal the stockings and garters she’s donned for the occasion. It’s fun, with just enough cheesiness to match this whole holiday. And, well, it’s a guarantee that by the end of the night they’ll be in bed together, both rumpled, sweaty, and satisfied. Perfect, right?

Wrong. On her drive to work, her skimpy underwear began to ride up, giving her a wedgie, and there was no way to adjust without running the risk of wrecking. She was so distracted by her discomfort that she missed her exit, and by the time she arrived at the college, she was running so behind that she didn’t get the chance to run to the bathroom and readjust. Her lecture on sentence diagrams was pure torture before the underwire from her bra decided to join in the fun and poke her directly in the ribs, but with that addition, she was especially impatient with her students’ tendency to joke around a little too much in class.

Luckily, she had just enough time to wrap the exposed metal bit in tissues before her next class, which eliminated the pain in her chest, but did nothing to alleviate the discomfort once her stockings began to slide down, having at some point disconnected themselves from the garters. She taught like that for the next two classes, but as soon as they were over, she pealed the whole ensemble off in the teacher’s restroom and changed into her gym clothes. Alright, screw the whole seduction routine. She needs to blow off some steam and fast, or else she’ll be in a bad mood all night.

That’s why, thirty minutes later, she finds herself in the training room of the Avengers compound, working over a punching bag. “Fuck-” Her fist connects, making the bag swing crazily from it’s hook. “-this- whole- day!” It goes sailing, and she feels a little better.

“Ouch!” The voice comes from behind her and she whirls around, gaze resting on-

“Sam.” The man in question holds up his hands in an “I surrender” gesture.

“Don’t shoot! I come in peace.” Rolling her eyes, she holds up her middle finger, receiving a snicker in acknowledgment.

“Just working off a little frustration before I head home.”

“Good.” Sam chuckles. “’cause otherwise, I’d be worried that when Barnes pulls out his dick tonight, you’ll bite it off.” She thinks about telling him that there’s no chance of that, but she might just cut off his if he crosses her. However, that jogs her memory.

“Has he left yet?” Sam nods.

“About an hour ago. Said he had to pick up groceries.” Shit. There goes her plan to shower, throw the damn lingerie back on and proceed as planned.

Bidding Sam a hasty reply, she makes tracks towards her car and, once inside, heads for home. Fine. New plan. She’ll shower once she arrives and then when the evening is drawing to a close, wait for him in bed. Nodding to herself, she puts the car in park and climbs out. Now, to psych herself up enough in the next few hours to put the damn lingerie back on.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Where did he go wrong? It takes all of Bucky’s self control not to spit out the spoonful of sauce he just tasted. This was supposed to be an easy recipe for Chicken Alfredo (or at least, that’s what the website boasted; he should’ve known better than to get his information from the internet and stuck to a good old-fashioned cookbook from the library). Not… whatever the hell this is. Maybe even if the sauce is nauseating, the chicken is okay?

He pulls open the oven door, and immediately smoke billows out, making his eyes water. Okay, chicken’s a little well-done. Who is he kidding? Black. The chicken is burned black. And the pasta… he lifts the pot lid and stirs, only to come to the realization that the pasta is completely stuck to the bottom of the pot. Wonderful.

It’s inevitable; over the years, he’s had his fair share of cooking disasters, but usually he does okay. Tonight though… who the hell up there did he piss off, because the only explanation for how badly this is going is his karma coming due.

Still holding the offending spoon, he looks over at Sarge, who’s staring at him, long pink tongue sticking out as he pants. “Trust me, boy. You don’t want any of this.” There has to be something else he can pull together on short notice. Normally he’d be worried that she’s running late without so much as a text, but today he’s relieved. At least if she’s running behind he’ll have time to… what? Maybe order takeout? Before she gets-

“I’m home.” Shit.

Sarge yips, shaking with excitement, and starts towards the kitchen door, then turns back, uncertain. “Go on. I know you’re dying to jump on her and lick her face.” Something they really should be training out of him because he’s getting too big for that sort of behaviour but, well… there’s a reason they call them “puppy dog eyes.”

Not needing to be coaxed, the dog takes off, tripping a little in the momentary lapse in his memory that he’s a tripod, but easily catches himself and goes on his merry way, leaving Bucky to clean up his mess. From the sound of things, a game of fetch is going on in the living room, so she should be distracted for a while.

He manages to pour the sauce down the drain and scrape most of the pasta into the trash while Sarge is acting as a decoy, but there’s absolutely no way he can dispose of the chicken without tipping her off (damn enhanced senses, it’s a wonder she hasn’t already smelled it). Finally, he decides to just go for it. She’s going to notice whether he throws it out now or two hours from now. Might as well get a head start on cleaning.

Sure enough, not ten seconds after he empties out the oven, he catches a movement in his peripheral vision, and the familiar sound of her breathing tips him off that he’s no longer alone.

“Hey, Doll.”

“Hey, Bucky. Did something burn in here, or-” He holds up the pan for her inspection before continuing his scraping.

“That’s one way to put it, yeah.” He slams the lid back on the trashcan and turns on the tap, intent on rinsing out the pan. “Another is whoever the god of culinary arts is has it in for me today.”

She chuckles. “You know, that would be funnier if we didn’t actually know a god.”

“Yeah, but he’s in control of thunder.” He meets her eyes, smirking slightly. “Although it did look like I electrocuted the bird.” Her lips quirk up into a smile, and he takes the opportunity to kiss her, cupping the back of her head gently to hold her in place when she tries to move away, muttering something about being sweaty.

He’s not entirely sure how it happened, but by the time they come up for air, her back his pressed against the wall and he’s got her pinned in place. Not that he’s complaining.

“Anyone ever tell you that the tip of your nose turns pink after you’ve been kissed?’ Her cheeks go rosey in response.

“I think so. One guy did. I told him it’s only when I’m kissed properly.”

He really would like to continue the playful banter, but there’s still the small matter of whatever it is they’re going to eat.

“What do you feel like for dinner tonight?”

“Apart from electrocuted chicken?” He responds with a swat to her ass, which earns him a snicker. “Let’s keep it simple. Pizza. Your choice of toppings.” Right, that’s easy enough. Plus, if they have to wait longer than thirty minutes, it’s free.

“Okay. I’ll order while you shower?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

He’s just pulled up the menu on his phone when the sound of her clearing her throat attracts his attention. She’s standing in the doorway, combing through her freshly let down hair with her fingers, a playful look in her eyes.

“Or you could join me. Just a mild suggestion.”

Dinner can wait for a while.

___________________________________________________________________________________

The Brooklyn townhouse they live in has many nice features. There’s a functional if small screened in back porch, big enough to hold a table for two and a grill. Two bedrooms, on the off chance someone from work needs to crash for a night or two. A kitchen with a dishwasher. A working fireplace. Good closet space. And an en suite bathroom.

Maybe it’s a little ridiculous to call a bathroom luxurious, especially when, in comparison to what’s featured in many brownstones, it’s more than modest, but she can’t help but think of it as such. There’s a double sink so that in the morning rush to get ready, Bucky’s able to shave and brush his teeth without having to wait for her to finish applying her makeup. Shelving above the toilet makes certain that even if the last person to shower took the towel with them, another one is on hand. Speaking of the shower, it’s not the largest one in the world, but both of them can fit in comfortably at the same time, which is what’s lead to their current situation.

She’s just finished allowing the water to course over her body, easing the sweat from her skin, and is about to begin the process of washing her hair, scrubbing her body, but she hesitates. She might as well ask. It’s only practical after all.

“Do you want to start now or get cleaned up and have dinner beforehand?” It’s obvious what she’s referring to, so she doesn’t bother to spell it out.

His brown knits, and if she didn’t know him as… intimately… as she does, she’d actually believe he’s confused.

“Oh, so you’re just assuming there’s gonna be sex involved at some point tonight?”

She shrugs, wringing out her hair.

“Seemed like a safe enough bet.” She glances pointedly between the two of them. “After all, we’re already undressed. “

His laugh is a quiet huff, barely discernible over the sound of the water. “Then I’d say start now, have dinner, then go for round two. Sound about right to you?”

She nods. “Solid plan.”

“Then get over here.”

Unlike the welcome home kiss they shared not half an hour ago, this one is less tender, more electric. Hands twist in hair, bodies press together. Tongues begging for entrance quickly give way to teeth nipping at bottom lips, an unspoken sparring match for who’ll be in control this time around. Ultimately he wins, grasping her hips and lifting as she wraps her legs securely around his back.

There’s no need for prep; the teasing of their earlier words is foreplay enough. Back pressed against the wall, her body easily welcomes him in as she braces one arm against the glass shower doors for balance. Any concerns about slipping and falling wash away as they move together like so many times before. She’s sure her nails will leave marks on his back, fingertips digging in for purchase and it’s a guarantee her hips will be littered with fingerprints from his grip, but she can’t find it in her to care, and if the desperate, bruising kiss assaulting her lips is anything to judge from, neither can he.

“So damn good, Doll.” It’s panted against her neck. “Always. So damn perfect for me.” All she can manage is a moan in response.

She feels him twitch inside of her and knows he’s close. So is she, but she can’t quite get there without-

As if he’s read her mind, he reaches between them to touch her where she needs it most, and on instinct, she readjusts, locking her arm around his neck to stay in place. “Let go, sweetheart. Can you do that for me?” She couldn’t disobey if she wanted to.

“Fuck.” As her walls contract around him, he pulls out just in time to paint her middle with his release.

“That’s one word for it.” She’s still fighting to catch her breath, but she shoots him a shaky smirk, which he returns.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mrs. Barnes.” Snickering, she releases him to stand on unsteady legs and pecks his legs.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mr. Barnes.” Maybe there’s something to this holiday after all.

___________________________________________________________________________________

“You want the last slice?” Bucky considers it for a moment before deciding-

“Nah. You can have it.” It may not be exactly what he planned, but it’s been a good night. Between the two of them, they’ve gone through two large pizzas while watching the new version of Beauty and the Beast (she rolled her eyes when he asked if this was her way of saying he reminds her of a certain hairy, horned character) in their pajamas.

“No, really. You take it. I don’t want it.” She nudges the mostly-empty pizza box towards him. The noise makes Sarge lift his head from where he was snoozing beside her on the sofa. That gives him an idea.

“I don’t want it either, but I can think of someone who does.” He cocks his head towards the now-drooling dog. “How ‘bout it, boy? Wanna help us out?”

Snickering, she picks the pepperonis and pieces of sausage and ham from the pizza, forming a pile. “Here, Sarge. Catch.” She tosses a coveted treat in the air, and Sarge’s jaw snaps, swallowing it whole. “Good boy.”

They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes before she speaks again.

“You know, I actually did have something planned for you.”

“Oh, yeah?” She nods.

“Absolutely. Had a whole seduction plan laid out. Tiny underwear, lacy bra, and stockings with garters included.” Huh. Guess she wouldn’t have taken the “lingerie” option the wrong way. He’ll file that away for future use… along with a mental note to ask her bra size. “That is, until I tried wearing the damn things for longer than an hour. Turns out, hiding a dirty secret under your clothes is more itchy than sexy.”

He can’t help it. He laughs, producing a pout from her which quickly turns into her own quiet laughter.

“Well, that fits in perfectly with my fancy dinner going up in smoke.”

“We really do have shitty luck with the whole “romance” thing.” She’s joking, but he decides to respond anyway.

“I don’t know about that.” Entwining his fingers with hers, he lifts their hands, twin wedding bands catching the light. “You waited five years for me to reappear after the blip, and I convinced you to elope with me. Seems pretty romantic.” Although, that reminds him…

“Don’t move.” Releasing her hand, he stands and goes in search of his phone.

“Bucky, what-”

“Don’t move, Doll. Stay right where you are.” Ah. On the kitchen counter, just where he left it. Jogging back into the room, he resumes his place on the couch next to her. Ignoring her questioning gaze, he pulls up the app and, selecting the correct playlist, hits play.

Immediate recognition blooms on her face at the opening lyrics. “She is the sweetest thing that I know. Should see the way she holds me when the lights go low.” He’s not one for modern music, but when he was googling “songs for Valentine’s Day” and this one popped up, he couldn’t help but think that the lyrics were fitting.

“I didn’t know you’d heard this one.”

He chuckles. “Even old men have a few tricks up their sleeves. That, and a wifi connection.” She rolls her eyes but leans closer, which he takes advantage of to show her the playlist.

“This is the app you use, right?” Receiving a nod, he continues. “Feel free to scroll through and add whatever you want. I haven’t listened to all of them the whole way through, but they seemed to fit the mood.”

Her hand closes over his, covering the phone. “Thank you, Bucky. It’s perfect.”

As the singer goes on about how hearts don’t break around here, he presses his lips against hers.

“I love you, Doll.”

“Love you.”

Not bad for a disastrous Valentine’s Day. Not bad at all.

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