#it's the cheapest EV you can get | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zvaigzdelasas · 2 months

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You can’t buy the Seagull in the US. But I bet you wish you could.

A small hatchback around the size of a Mini Cooper, the Seagull is a fast-charging electric car and claims a range of up to 250 miles [...] BYD, its Chinese manufacturer, claims it can go from 30 percent to 80 percent charged in a half-hour using a DC plug. It’s hardly a luxury car but it’s well-equipped, with a power driver’s seat and cruise control. “If I were looking for an inexpensive commuter car … this would be perfect,” veteran car journalist John McElroy said after taking a drive.

The best part? Its base model costs about $10,700 in China.

That’s about a third of the cost of the cheapest EV you can buy in the US. In South America, it’s a little pricier, but still fairly affordable, at under $24,000 for a top-trim version. Even in Europe, you can get an entry-level BYD for under €30,000. These are absolutely screaming deals — exactly the kind of products that could turbocharge our transition away from gas and toward electric vehicles.[...]

The problem for Americans? The Biden administration is hell-bent on preventing you from buying BYD’s product, and if Donald Trump returns to office, he is likely to fight it as well.

That’s because the BYD cars are made in China, and both Biden and Trump are committed to an ultranationalist trade policy meant to keep BYD’s products out. [...] Shipments to Europe have increased astronomically; Chinese companies sold 0.5 percent of EVs in Europe in 2019 but they’re already over 9 percent as of last year. Companies like BYD make cheap, reasonably good-quality cars people are eager to buy.

In 2018, Trump imposed, and Biden has since continued, a special 25 percent tax on Chinese-made autos, on top of the ordinary 2.5 percent tax on foreign-made cars.

That has so far prevented BYD and its Chinese peers from trying to enter the US market. US customer tastes are different enough that Chinese manufacturers would probably prefer to make cars tailored to them — but US policy has been so hostile toward cheap Chinese EVs that so far, the companies haven’t wanted to bother.

So, the result is that we’re left out of the bounty of cheap EV options created by BYD and others. “If you’re a consumer right now, the best place to be right now is China, because you have the best choice of EVs,” Ilaria Mazzocco, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and an expert on Chinese EVs, says.[...]

Still, China’s price advantage is big enough that even the extreme Trump-Biden import tax might not be enough to deter companies like BYD from entering the US market. Even with the tariffs, Chinese cars might be cheaper than their rivals. “Subsidies most likely won’t be enough; Mr. Biden will need to impose [more] trade restrictions,” climate journalist Robinson Meyer predicted recently. The Biden administration is already making noise about imposing even more draconian taxes or trade restrictions against these vehicles. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has described Chinese-made cars as a national security threat, and recently announced an investigation into the vehicles’ data collection abilities and the possibility they could send movement data to Beijing.

On the one hand, Biden is offering Americans up to $7,500 per vehicle to buy EVs (provided they meet certain made-in-North America rules). On the other hand, he’s imposing massive taxes to keep Americans from buying EVs. It’s a bizarre policy that makes no sense from a climate perspective.[...]

[The Biden Administration] has proven shockingly willing to sabotage its own climate policy if it gets to stick it to the Chinese in the process.

“There’s almost an across-the-board apprehension about Chinese EVs, even though they would make an important contribution to [lower] CO2 emissions,” Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a veteran trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says.[...]

Realistically, Helveston argues, BYD might not sell something like the Seagull in the US because it’s smaller than most cars Americans buy. They’d probably build plants in the US instead, or its free-trade zone partners Canada and Mexico, to build vehicles tailored for Americans. “If you’re going to really enter a market, you have to make it locally,” Helveston explains. “US automakers like GM sell and make millions of cars in China to sell in China.” BYD would do the same. Indeed, it’s already reportedly scouting sites for factories in Mexico.

If they ever were to set up shop in North America, BYD and other Chinese car companies would still have a major price advantage versus American EVs. They have years more experience and a much more successful track record of building batteries and EVs at low cost.

“Part of why they’re so successful is they’ve been thinking outside the box on cost reduction for a long time,” Mazzocco says. They took the “opposite of the Tesla approach”: starting not with luxury vehicles but ultra-cheap cars fit for taxi fleets and not much else, and constantly improving their early inexpensive prototypes. The result is that Chinese firms have gotten extremely good at making inexpensive EVs, at a time when Ford, by contrast, lost $28,000 for every EV it sold in 2023.[...]

“If you have more affordable EVs in the United States, no matter where you come from,” Gopal says, “that’s better for the climate.”

Still, the Biden administration reportedly wants to restrict Chinese car companies’ access to the US even if they do set up shop in North America. Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the Biden administration is formulating rules that would limit US sales of Chinese-made parts, even if they’re in vehicles ultimately assembled in the US or Mexico.[...]

But the Biden administration’s objections to Chinese EVs are also ideological. The Biden administration represents the victory of a protectionist, trade-skeptical wing of the Democratic party that was relegated to the sidelines during the Clinton and Obama years.[...]

[O]ver 90 percent of American households have a car, and surging car prices were a huge contributor to the 2021–2023 rise in inflation.

Barriers to importing cheap cars make inflation worse and reduce the real incomes of the middle class.

Not only are the administration and other left-leaning institutions opposed to Chinese EVs, but hardline conservatives at places like the Heritage Foundation are calling for outright bans on Chinese EVs as well. Their rationale is security, another theme the Biden administration evokes often. On Thursday, the Commerce Department announced it was beginning a process to “investigate the national security risks of … PRC-manufactured technology in [internet-connected] vehicles.”

6 Mar 24

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going-to-ikea-for-the-fries · 3 months

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Home Pt.9 - END || cbf!Simon "Ghost" Riley

Rating: E Words: 1.8K Pairing: cbf!Simonxafab!reader / teen!Simonxteen!Reader Summary: Teen Simon and his best friend often spend their nights away from their respective houses because they found a home in each other… CW: death, death of a CHILD, house fire, corpses, grief, cemetery, some smut. Tags: you/your pronouns, SOME SMUT, ANGST, HURT NO COMFORT, heartbreak, grief and loss, loss of identity, canonical Ghost backstory, UNHAPPY ENDING. a/n: not proofread. THIS IS THE END (it WILL be angst and nothing else... but I'll write a happy ending alternative soon).

[← Previous] || [MY MASTERLIST]

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Is it macabre to attend your own funeral? Probably.

Nonetheless, Simon Ghost found himself standing near the back of the cemetery, watching on.

His family wasn’t particularly well-loved in the neighborhood… but when a tragedy like this happens, especially one involving a boy so young as his nephew Joseph… everyone and their mother comes out to pay respects. It’s the “proper thing to do”, they say, even though it’s only out of pity.

However, he has to admit that seeing Oliver, Archie, Jack and Harry, his old mates, come to pay respects, accompanied by their respective families, pulled at his heartstrings a bit. Especially when Archie tapped Oliver in the back while the latter cried.

He’s been here the entire time watching the people come and go, flowers being thrown down into the holes of the Riley family communal grave, and other arrangements being spread all over and around the headstones. Four holes in total. First, ‘Simon’, then his mum Joanna, then Tommy… Then Beth and Joseph in the same one.

It was close-casket, the bodies too badly burned to allow anything else. The fake Simon has the cheapest coffin he could get, leaving the best for his mum, Tommy and Beth… And he had forced himself to pick a beautiful little white coffin for Joseph. He didn’t even think they made coffins that small.

Per his request, they lowered Joseph into the hole first, Beth’s larger coffin covering the little boy’s. Just like she was when Ghost found them. Her lifeless body curled over Joseph’s, cradling him tight to keep him safe below her own chest… It was fruitless.

Ghost allows himself to take a deep breath as, finally, the last few people have walked off. The sun is starting to set and people can only pretend to grieve for so long before the cold wind and the darkness makes them go back home.

In his skull-printed balaclava, black beanie, and black hoodie, Ghost basically blends into the shadows that are starting to take over the cemetery, standing under a tree as his eyes trace the last people walking away from the open graves.

Just days ago Ghost himself was in one of these… buried alive. That’s the night Simon Riley died, he’d say, though, officially, he died in the house fire that took his entire family… A faulty heater during Christmas Eve, you see?

Lost in thought, Ghost doesn’t realize it until now that someone lingered behind. A woman. She moves slowly, tentatively, in the direction of the graves, carrying a couple of bouquets.

More of the same, he thinks… Though he secretly admires the commitment to stay here as the sky is darkening and the air is cooling down.

She places one of the arrangements near the headstones, somewhere amidst the mess of all the other ones…

She flicks on the torch on her phone, to read the names on them… And very gingerly crouches, right in front of ‘his’ grave. She lowers the second bouquet onto it and tosses it carefully on top of the coffin.

Then, she lays her forearms on her knees, letting her hands hang between her legs as she remains crouched in front of his grave. Only to then watch her fold her hands and bring them up to her mouth, to hide the fact she’s crying. He can tell from the way her shoulders rise and fall and and her whole form shakes.

From this distance, he can’t hear her speak, and with the darkness, he can’t see her face.

But he knows.

He knows it’s you.

He watches you fish something out of your pocket and, slowly, toss it down onto the grave too.

He feels his breath being taken away torturously slowly… It feels like someone has grabbed his lungs and forcefully wrung out the air from them like water off a wet rag.

He’s suffocating.

“Merry Christmas!” You cheerfully squealed as you tossed your arms around his neck from behind, strangling him a bit and, shaking him from side to side.

It was freezing outside and you had rushed out in the early morning so you could exchange gifts.

You were twelve, he was thirteen.

“Bloody hell, Y/N, are you tryin’ to kill me?!” He complained playfully as you let go and fake pouted… Then you both broke into laughter.

He tossed a bag of Cadbury mini-eggs at you, which you caught with a giggle. Then, you carefully handed him a little box with a Terry’s chocolate orange in it.

It was all either of you could afford.

“Merry Christmas, you pain in the arse.” He grumbled at you… As if he didn’t have a massive crush on you.

You were thirteen, he was fourteen.

“Merry Christmas, Sleepin’ Beauty.” He said it first, as he watched you sneak out the door carefully at 1:30 A.M. You had agreed to meet at midnight but you took your sweet time because you accidentally overslept.

“Shut up, you tosser.” You scoffed as you stopped in front of him, exchanging your gifts.

Terry’s chocolate orange, Cadbury mini-eggs.

“Go back inside, it’s freezin’.” Simon added as he watched you shiver in your pajamas. Poor thing, he thought, as if he hadn’t been here, in the freezing cold, waiting for you for over an hour.

“I will, I will!” You announced dramatically. “Merry Christmas, Riley.” You added as you reached up and kissed his cheek.

Then you turned and rushed back inside. Leaving him outside... but the chill in his bones was long forgotten.

You were fourteen, he was fifteen.

The wall clock at your local pub announced it was midnight.

“Merry Christmas, love.” He told you as he surprised you by dangling the Cadbury mini eggs bag in front of your face.

You leaned up and stole a kiss off his lips, his mouth melting into yours. Your friends around you complained in mock disgust at your PDA.

You pulled away and stuck your tongue out at them, mocking them back, before you turned all your attention to Simon.

You reached into your little shoulder bag and pulled out his chocolate orange, handing it to him. “Merry Christmas.” You told him and smiled sweetly.

You were fifteen, he was sixteen.

You were cuddling in the backseat of his dad’s Renault Clio, smoking together.

You had dozed off a couple of times by now, feeling warm and cosy in his arms, as usual.

Simon looked out of the window, enjoying the sight of the empty farm fields, lightly speckled in white snow.

“Darlin’?” Simon called for you and you stirred awake again.

You lifted your head from his chest, ever so slightly, where you had been lulled to sleep by his rhythmic heartbeat.

“Hm?” You murmured groggily.

“Merry Christmas, lovie.” He whispers as he kisses your forehead.

“Merry Christmas, Riley…” You return as you nuzzle up to his neck, your nose rubbing against his skin.

You’d exchange your gifts before he dropped you off at home…

You were sixteen, he was seventeen.

It was tight in that backseat, his body no longer fitting lengthwise across the backseat and yours just barely fitting too.

Simon thrusted into you, holding one of your legs over his shoulder, while the other wrapped around his hip. His knees were bent and his head was pressed flush against the smooth roof of the car.

Your moans were loud and almost pornographic, forcing him to have to kiss you to shut you up. But even then, he kept up a hard and unforgiving pace, his hips slamming into yours feverishly.

It all stemmed from the undeniable hunger you felt for one another after three months apart while he was in Basic Training.

He couldn’t get enough of you, the way you looked up at him with those tear-filled eyes, your face red from the heat, your breaths erratic, your forehead dripping with sweat…

“Been… thinking… about this… for so long…” He grunted through the strain of trying to hold back his orgasm.

“Simon!” You moaned, your voice jumpy and high-pitched as he kept the rhythm that was driving you both to the brink of exhaustion.

“Three… bloody… fuckin’... months… without you…” He groaned. “God…” He grunted. “Keep moanin’ for me, darlin’... Show me who you belong to.” He demanded.

And you did. You made sure to make yourself heard, calling his name and whining, desperately so, as he made you both reach your limits.

As you both winded down, your weak legs wrapped around his hip, his head lying on your sweaty breasts, he looked up at you. “I love you.” Simon told you.

Your eyes softened when you looked down at him, his brown eyes seemingly even more beautiful that night than they ever had been. “I love you too.” You told him softly.

He pushed up and kissed you sweetly and, after glancing at the dash clock out of the corner of his eye, he chuckled against your lips.

“Merry Christmas.” He murmured. You probably replied something of the sort as well, though he kissed you back into silence.

You would exchange your gifts soon after.

You were seventeen, he was eighteen.

Simon was at the mess, shoulder-to-shoulder with his fellow Corporals, squeezed tight so they could all fit at the table.

His rifle hung around his back, as he lowered his head like an obedient dog while shoveling mashed potatoes and slices of roast turkey into his mouth.

The CO had barked a hurried “Merry Christmas” to the troops before allowing them to dig in.

They hurried to eat.

Simon was one of the first to stand up and rush his tray to the tray return trolley, and then slap his helmet on.

Then, he dashed out the door to join his platoon in the frontlines, swinging his rifle forward.

There was no Terry’s Chocolate Orange that time…

There was never going to be another one.

By the time Simon Ghost finally catches his breath again, you’re pushing back up onto your feet. He imagines you’re about to walk off and leave… But you don’t.

The sun has fully set by now, bathing the cemetery in darkness… And there you are. Still standing.

Grieving over him.

His chest hurts, his heart squeezing with the realization that you are not taking his death well… Even after 15 years.

He wishes he could go forward… To tell you he’s not actually dead… that he just needed to pretend.

He wants to ask you how you’ve been, what you’ve been up to, to tell you how grateful he is that you came, how proud he is that you’re alive and healthy, by the looks of it.

He wants to tell you about his regrets, he wants to apologize, he wants to tell you he wanted to marry you, that he's never loved another woman like he's loved you.

But he doesn’t.

He simply continues to watch you from a distance as you hang around for a long, long time. Longer than anyone else. Hell, longer than Oliver did.

He watches your figure seemingly take a deep breath… And then… you start walking off toward the car park

He’s tempted to follow after you, even if just to watch… just for a moment more.

But he doesn’t.

Instead, he walks up quietly toward 'his' grave, spotting what you threw into it easily.

He recognizes the shiny foil of a Terry's Chocolate Orange amidst the flowers without any issue.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before turning and walking away.

There was a time when you found a home in each other's arms...

But that's dead and buried now... Just like the chocolate orange will be.

And that's for the best.

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[← Previous] || [MY MASTERLIST]

taglist: @iite-cool , @spicyspicyliving

Thank you so much for reading this fic, to the people who've read it here and on AO3! Your support mean the world to me!

#ikea writes 💚#home cbf!simon fic #cod fanfic #tw child death #tw death #ghost cod #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x you #childhood best friends to lovers #cbf #cbf!simon #teenage love #masterlist #angst #heartbreak #time skip #graveyard

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cvrnelians · 1 year

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if the fates allow - chapter one

dark!bucky barnes x reader: As could be expected, you were just a tad upset about having to spend Christmas in a mental health facility. On the brightside, you didn’t have to spend it alone. Your friendship with Bucky Barnes, another patient on the unit, brought you a certain level of comfort during your stay. When you are discharged from the hospital shortly thereafter—and Bucky is forced to remain—you promise him you’ll be his pen pal until he gets out, after which, you’ll meet for coffee and catch up.

But when things don’t go quite as well as Bucky had hoped, he takes drastic measures to ensure that you remain the integral part of his life he always envisioned you to be.

warnings: stalking, kidnapping, suicide attempts, and non-con elements. proceed with caution.

(gif is not mine)

chapter two // chapter three // chapter four // chapter five

chapter one: losing time

music

🎄DECEMBER🎄

“So. I got you a little something.”

Bucky smiled at you expectantly, clearly very eager for you to investigate further. You raised your eyebrows at him. It was just so ridiculous. What could he possibly have gotten you, a magic marker from the craft room? A rogue oreo from the kitchen? There weren’t many gifting options to choose from. But then again, maybe he had a creative capacity you were unaware of.

It was only seconds later that you were presented with an origami folded together on the cheapest construction paper known to man.

“Is that…oh, it’s a dog!” you said, carefully picking it up out of his palm.

“A wolf,” he corrected you. “See how it’s howling at the moon?”

That it was.

“That’s actually pretty impressive.”

Bucky looked at you sheepishly. “I can’t exactly take credit for it. I asked MJ to make it for me. I tried to do it myself, but well…”

He motioned towards himself. You didn’t know the specifics of what happened to his left arm, just that there was an accident while he was deployed overseas. He was hesitant to be fit for a prosthetic even years later. He said he had a bad experience with the first one he had tried, that he felt like he hadn’t healed quite well enough to be fitted for another one just yet.

“…you get it.”

You hated that Bucky was so diligent about letting you know what day it was. You already knew what day it was, but you figured if you pretended that you didn’t know it was Christmas Eve, then you wouldn’t feel so sad. So there you sat, side-by-side with your backs pressed up against the radiator in the group room. You were trying to derive as much heat as you could from that ancient radiator, but you knew Bucky was only sitting there for your benefit. It had to have been uncomfortable for him. He was always warm.

He just didn’t want you to feel alone.

“I didn’t get you anything, Buck. I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “You can make it up to me one day.”

The gesture was sweet, so sweet that it almost made you tear up. You tried your best to ignore him as he observed you, shifting your focus towards the inflatable Christmas tree in the corner of the room. You were amazed that MJ hadn’t tried to pop it yet. She had been particularly bothered by the “tree” when she discovered it that morning. At first glance, she greeted it with a cheerful “what the fuck is this?”

You glanced up from your sketchbook (which wasn’t really a sketchbook. It was a marble composition notebook that you and Bucky had both been sharing for the last two days to write each other notes and play tic tac toe) and raised your eyebrows. “A tree apparently.”

“No, it’s not,” she said flatly. “Why can’t we have a real tree?”

Bucky sighed. “Isn’t it obvious? They’re afraid we’ll try to hurt ourselves with the glass ornaments or the branches or something. So we get whatever this is.”

“Come on, guys,” Sharon, one of the psychiatric technicians chimed in. “I think it’s cute. Cleaner than a real tree, too.”

“Sharon, seriously?” MJ scoffed. “This is insulting.”

At first, you thought the hot mess of a “tree” was actually kind of funny. But looking at it now—cheap and partially deflated with stickers and paper ornaments plastered all over it—you would have to agree with MJ. This was a downright shameful excuse for a Christmas tree.

All of it was shameful, really. Here you were, scratching away in your notebook with yet another dull pencil, trying as hard as you could to distract yourself from yet another painful wave of emotions. The “tree,” the “sketchbook,” the pencil. They all looked almost about as pathetic as you felt.

Almost.

Bucky was eyeing you carefully, just as he always did. You had a few friends in the past that were pretty empathetic. Bucky, though…

He was on a whole different level.

He was particularly perceptive when it came to picking up on others’ emotions, namely yours. When you first arrived on the unit, you felt an instant kinship with him. You weren’t sure what he was like with people on the outside, but any time you were together, you felt like the only person in the room. It was equal parts comforting and unnerving. He shone a light on things you weren’t willing to say, things most people preferred to ignore. You wondered if that sense of intuition had anything to do with his military training, with his PTSD. It had to have been. Or maybe he was just always like that and those things amplified what was already there. You would never know for sure.

Sharon sat on the bench nearest to the door, fully absorbed in her sudoku book. You turned to look out the window, slowly clenching and unclenching your fists as you tried to hold back tears. It was snowing outside. Not the ugly kind of snow, either. It looked soft, like it would be easy to shovel or build a snowman with. Was it sad that you would be more than willing to shovel the parking lot just to have an excuse to go outside?

Tomorrow would mark six months since your mother passed away. Half a year. You hadn’t seen or spoken to your mother in half a year. Worse yet, tomorrow was her birthday.

It should’ve been, anyway.

Before you could stop yourself, you let out a sob that clearly startled Bucky. Your voice sounded strange and shallow, and as you continued to cry, you began to breathe faster and faster. It didn’t take long before tears were streaming down your face uncontrollably.

“Hey, hey, no! Come on, don’t do that,” Bucky said, turning to face you. “Hey, come on. Don’t cry.”

You shook your head, raising both hands to cover your face. Your notebook slid to the floor, the pencil rolling across the room until it bumped up against the inflatable tree. The notebook and your new gift fell to your side. You felt resistance against your fingers, like Bucky was trying to pry them away from your eyes, but you kept leaning further and further away from him. You curled yourself up closer into the corner of the wall, pressing your forehead up against the cool glass of the windowpane. Your chest was starting to hurt from the hyperventilation.

Bucky closed in on you, his chest pressed up against your back as he rested his chin in the crook of your neck. He had never been that close to you before.

Shannon immediately perked up. “James, back up right now. Don’t touch her.”

Bucky ignored her, hooking his arm around you and squeezing onto you even tighter. “Shhh. Come on, cheer up. It’s not so bad.”

After a great deal of squirming, he finally managed to pull your hands away from your face. You turned your gaze towards him and he nodded towards the window.

“See, you’ve got the nice view of all the snow out there, you’ve got your new Christmas present, you’ve got your book here.”

“Our book,” you corrected him, your voice thick and pitiful.

“Ah, there she is,” he chuckled. “Our book. And, uh, you’ve got the…you’ve got the tree.”

You let out a sound that was halfway between a sob and a laugh. You felt unbearably hot, and Bucky was only making it worse with his warmth. Somehow, though, you didn’t mind. You clung onto him even tighter, a wave of exhaustion rushing over you. You wanted to melt into that exhaustion, into that warmth.

“You’ve got, uh…”

You suddenly felt pressure against your arms, someone’s fingers pressing into them. They were attempting to shake you away from Bucky’s grasp, but he wouldn’t budge.

“James, get off her now!” Sharon yelled.

“Sharon, h-he’s fine,” you stuttered, clutching onto his shirt. You were coughing, struggling to breathe as she yanked on your arms. “Seriously, he’s—”

“No, he’s not. Boundaries, James!” she shouted. “We’ve talked about this! Scott, get in here!"

“Let’s see what else,” Bucky continued, his voice low and soothing in comparison to the yelling reverberating off the walls. “We’ve got Sharon over here, our babysitter.”

Maybe it was the way he was joking around with you, maybe it was his warmth, maybe it was finally getting the chance to experience intimate human contact in such a confined, depressing place. Maybe it was the intention behind it all, a genuine attempt at comforting you. The concentrated effort to get you to stop crying. You weren’t quite sure. But in that moment, you were struck by something you thought had withered and died in you long ago.

The eager and persistent desire to live. To be alive. And not only that.

To be wholly, completely, fully alive.

“And I’m here. You’ve got me. See?” he mumbled. He was so close his lips were almost pressed against your neck. “Nothing to worry about.”

For just a split second, you actually believed him.

It didn’t take long for reality to set back in.

Sharon started violently pulling on Bucky’s arm. At a certain point, he chuckled and rolled his eyes, shifting away from you. Even with one arm, he was still ridiculously strong. He let his limbs go slack and allowed her to pull him up with one quick tug. Her eyes widened, perplexed by his sudden obedience. He rarely, if ever, did what anyone told him to do. You partially wondered if that was why he had been there for so much longer than everyone else.

Staff rushed into the room, followed by a few nosey patients. Once they entered, Bucky raised his hand up in front of his chest defensively, meandering towards the doorway as if nothing had happened. Much to your chagrin, he would probably be monitored more closely when he was around you now.

They couldn’t stop you from talking to each other, though, could they?

Right before he was escorted into the hallway, he looked over his shoulder at you and winked.

“Merry Christmas, doll.”

❄️JANUARY❄️

You hadn’t composed a handwritten letter in a very, very long time. You had a penpal when you were growing up, a boy you befriended at summer camp. From what you could recall, it had been a fun experience. You loved the anticipation of waiting to receive another letter, and the rush of excitement you felt when it finally arrived. The writing part was fun, too. You loved the process of filling Peter in on whatever was going on in your life at the time.

You would never forget how sad you were when Peter stopped writing back. You sent him three letters in a row before your mom finally convinced you to give up.

“He probably just moved away and doesn’t remember our address,” was her explanation. “Or maybe it got lost in the mail. He’ll get back to you eventually.”

You were all too happy to accept her version of the truth back then, delusional as it was. Every once in a while you wondered what Peter was up to nowadays. You once even considered looking him up on Facebook or something, but then you realized how psychotic that was and refrained from doing so.

As you stared at the little origami wolf sitting on your dresser, the prospect of writing to Bucky felt a lot less joyous to you. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to hear from him. You did. It just hurt you to think that he was trapped in a hospital during the most depressing month of the year. It was just so unfair. You had only been there for a few days, and you got to leave before he did. Granted, his situation was much more dire, and perhaps he only had a few more days left before they were going to let him out.

Likely not, though, based on the fact that he asked you to send him letters. That implied that there would be ongoing correspondence between the two of you, meaning he somehow knew that he’d be there for a while. You just wondered for how long. He probably wondered the same.

He was a “repeat offender” in that particular hospital, meaning he wound up there following a suicide attempt more than once. He had been a prisoner of war, and with that came severe PTSD. You would never be able to forget the sound of him screaming in the middle of the night, waking you up out of a dead sleep from several rooms away. Out of everything he endured, all of the symptoms he had been living with on a daily basis, he always said the nightmares were the worst.

“Hey, on the brightside, they let me have the room all to myself this time,” he had said the morning after one particularly rough night.

Bucky had been suffering so much, and for so long. He didn’t deserve to be under anyone’s control anymore. He hadn’t deserved it to begin with. However, you knew that his physical safety took precedence over everything, and if he posed a threat to himself, maybe it was better that he was there—as upsetting as it was.

To get yourself in the spirit of writing, you had purchased a set of multicolored gel pens. You sent three to Bucky and kept three for yourself. Yours red, orange, and yellow, and his green, blue, and purple. You thought he might get a kick out of them. You hoped he would, at least. When you were in a place that was so bleak and void of color, it was the little things that stuck out to you. They were ballpoint pens, not exactly sharp and lethal instruments, so you were hoping the staff wouldn’t intercept them.

You kept your first letter short and sweet, just so he wouldn’t feel any pressure to write you a mile-long response if he was tired or disinterested. You felt awkward and self-centered writing him a three paragraph update on your life, so you ended it with some questions about how he was, what he had been up to. That was what you really wanted to talk about.

As you went to put his name on the envelope, you stopped yourself short.

Bucky

Sgt. James Buchanan Barnes

You received a reply in less than a week. You were delighted to find that your wish had come true. He had been allowed to keep the pens. Not only that, he had used them to write to you. You thought your decision to give Bucky the cool colors while you kept the warm colors for yourself was an apt one. When you were in the hospital, he was always wearing dark colored sweaters, most of which were black and gray. He told you that when he was first admitted, one of his friends had stopped by and dropped off a bunch of clothes for him to wear. There was one blue sweater he owned that you particularly liked. You weren’t sure why he didn’t wear it more often.

He looked nice in blue.

Hey dollface,

Sergeant Barnes, huh? And here I thought we were on a first name basis!

How are things on the outside? Miss me yet?

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate you writing me this letter. Not sure if you’ll think this is pathetic or not (and even if you did, you probably wouldn’t say anything, would you?), but it gives me something to look forward to. I was having a pretty horrible day—and let’s be honest, every day is a horrible day in this place—but when Sharon told me I had mail from you, my mood was instantly lifted. It reminds me of when my pal, Sam wrote to me back when I was in basic training. That feels like a lifetime ago. It kind of was.

God, I feel so old lately. And I’m only getting older. I’m becoming more and more aware of that with every minute I spend here, the fact that I’m losing time. Wasting time. My sisters came to visit me the other day. I haven’t seen them in a while, probably a good year or so. You’ve only ever known me with long hair, but they were shocked when they saw me. They were absolutely relentless about it. It was strangely comforting.

Sometimes I wish I would have met you when I looked the way I used to. Back before all of this happened. Way back, before I was ever deployed. I was a completely different person then.

Although maybe you wouldn’t have liked me so much back then. I was much more sure of myself. Probably too sure of myself. I had a lot to learn.

You seem to like the person I am now.

I’m not so sure I agree.

I’m slowly but surely getting better. At least that’s what everybody is saying. I’m feeling a bit calmer, less jumpy. Even Dr. Banner can see it. I think the meds are working. They have to be at this point, right? The nightmares are still there, of course. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever stop having those.

Oh, before I forget - MJ won’t admit it, but I can tell that she misses having you around. She made a little sketch of everyone on the unit the other day, and she included you in it. I might miss you a little bit, too.

Come visit me sometime, won’t you?

James

P.S. - Ever seen a decorated soldier write a letter in purple gel pen before? If I could roll my eyes in writing, I would.

Only for you.

this is a reupload of a story i wrote over a year ago. it's good to be back on this hellsite lol. thank you for reading 💌

#yandere bucky barnes #yandere bucky barnes x reader #dark!bucky barnes #dark!bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x reader #yandere marvel

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froggibus · 2 years

Note

it’s time for obey me christmas,, u can pick whoever but i am holding u at gunpoint for mammon to be in there somehow ok ok thank u bye

Obey Me! + Christmas

Includes: Mammon, Levi, Beel, Belphie

Genre: fluff headcanons!

Word Count: 650

Summary: how would Christmas Day go with the boys

CW: fluff, mammon being a bastard (affectionately), levi being a crybaby, beel force feeding you?? belphie being sleepy + kinda suggestive (levi's)

thank you for the request my liege I hope it is up to par. also thank you for feeding my christmas brain rot..we’re skipping halloween this year and going straight to christmas. also I have horrible Leviathan brain rot rn oops

————

Mammon:

definitely the type to shake all of his presents before Christmas

gets everyone the cheapest presents ever too

enjoy your keychain and pack of gum

he lowkey spoils you tho

like half the gifts under the tree are for you

definitely wakes up at like 5am on Christmas morning like a little kid

“darlin’ wake up”

try to ignore him and go back to sleep? that’s ok he’ll just drag your ass down the stairs

ranks the gifts he gets based on how expensive they are and keeps that list as a guide for shopping next year

hits the rum and eggnog a little too hard and gets kinda weepy towards the end of the night

“y/n you’re the best gift I coulda ever asked for”

will deny it the next day though

Levi:

also would shake all of his presents (but very carefully in case there’s any figures in there yk)

is still awake early but not nearly as early as Mammon

weirdly thoughtful with his gifts??

like will get you something that the two of you can do together even tho it’s probably something he’s interested in lol

wants you to sit in his lap while you open presents and will whine if you try to move

“but y/n we have to spend the holidays together” “and that means I have to be touching you at all times??”

immediately retreats to his room after opening gifts so he can play with his new stuff

you try to get him to spend time with you but mans is hyper focused on his new game

so you just end up going to hang out with his brothers in the kitchen and get sloshed off of rum and eggnog

of course this ends with Levi being a whiny jealous brat until you give him special attention

Beel:

could care less about the presents tbh

if you wrap them too nicely tho he can and WILL try to eat them

lucifer def makes some kind of weird breakfast casserole for Christmas

and Beel only wakes up once he smells that cooking

even though he doesn’t really care about them he still gets you a gift

probably something really sweet too like candy

he uses the holidays as an excuse to eat absolutely everything in sight

but also wants you to try everything with him so he can spend time with you

will just be force feeding you bites of different fancy foods he bought specifically for Christmas

doesn’t matter if you say you’re full

“baby you just have to try this it’s so yummy”

there are no leftovers because he just eats them all once everyone is done

he carries you to bed when you inevitably fall into a food induced coma

cuddles you and rubs your tummy all night

Belphie

MATCHING PJS!!!

like he would get you them to unwrap on Christmas Eve so you guys could wake up all cute n matching on Christmas

he sleeps like the dead but he’s so excited that he’s actually up before you??

he gently shakes you awake even if he is really excited

would probably bring his blanket downstairs and wrap you guys in it while you sit on the couch together

he’s very sleepy and cuddly since he was up early so expect him to be resting his head on your shoulder/lap

would get you something you hadn’t even told him you wanted cause he just knows from your dreams or whatever

you’re really emotional about it too

once gifts/breakfast is done he’s back in his room to take a nap

you come with him tho even if you’re not tired and just lay your head on his chest

he manages to stay up pretty late for you

you guys just play board games with the family until it’s time to go to bed

masterlist

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attorney-anon · 4 months

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Hey, I’m a law student and I’m also autistic and ADHD and I was wondering if you have any tips for working in law as a neurodivergent person? I love my course and I can’t wait to work but the 85% unemployment statistic really scares me.

This is a long answer, so I'm going to cut it for the sake of mobile users. I do link some products below; I'm not getting paid, and I'm only linking them because they honestly work for me. Also, as a caveat, a lot of this advice assumes that you're American and/or working in-person at a private law firm; unfortunately, that's my only experience other than a month doing part-time intake for my regional legal aid service.

The biggest hurdle you will meet is the bar exam*: you need a study buddy who does not have ADHD and can help keep you on track. Don't study separately then meet up; do things like watching lecture videos together and keeping pace with one another in person. I'm not ADHD myself, but my best friend and forever study partner is, and she struggled to self-start.

Buy a bar prep course. This is not the time to be a scrooge; don't buy Kaplan just because it's cheaper (it also sucks). Barbri and Themis are both good - of these, use whichever you can get for cheapest or, if the costs are comparable, use Barbri if structure gives you comfort and use Themis if you need some control over the order in which you do things. Also use Themis if humor engages you; the Property and Contracts lecturers are hilarious. Stick to your bar prep program, but be gentle with yourself if you fall behind pace - realistically, you need to get through all the topics at least once, but you don't have to do every practice MPT, every practice essay, and every practice MBE quiz. Use the same study techniques that got you through law school. IMO, useful supplemental tools include the Critical Pass flashcards (get them used if possible, or get a referral code from somebody) and the Finz Multistate Method guide. Do your best to treat the bar exam as a game - because it is one.

There's a strategy for every section, and you should practice these strategies. For the MBE, use the Finz method - it works. For the MEE, or any other essay exam, use IRAC - and make up the R if you need to. The UBE, and most state bar exams, are graded such that you do get more points for knowing the rule, but you can still get points if you make up a reasonable-sounding rule and then apply it correctly. For the MPT, just throw in as many case and rule cites as possible. Try to cite every document you're given.

Join a bar prep FB group if you use FB; I was in Themis Memes for Should-Be-Studying Teens, but I know there's a Barbri group too. I found that being able to laugh at my bar prep course made it less miserable to do it. Don't be afraid to turn the videos on 2x or 0.5x speed - or faster or slower as needed. Some of the Themis lecturers talk to slowly that we went up to 3x; one of them talks so fast I had to slow him down.

Practice for the test in as many different environments as you can. I took the 2020 Pandemic Bar, so my bar was different than standard (I took it in a hotel room with my back to the door and proctors patrolling the hallways, it was mildly traumatizing fun), but I highly recommend getting used to noise while you're taking the test. Your ADHD/Autism hyperfocus will help here - make the bar exam your hyperfixation to the extent possible.

Once you pass the bar exam, your next hurdle will be the job search. You are going to have to mask for interviews, there's just no getting around it, but how much you mask will depend on your area of law. Big Law firms and intense, litigation-focused practice areas (e.g., business lit or criminal law) will expect you to be gregarious, friendly, and charming from the get-go; less litigation-focused practice areas (e.g., probate or family law) will often have more tolerance for quieter, less aggressive types.

Do not panic if you wind up at a less-than-favorable firm on your first or even your second job; a lateral shift between firms won't kill your resume as long as you can give a tactful reason you left (e.g., "I found that I prefer to focus on X instead of Y," or "I found that I had more opportunities to explore X at Y firm, and I am interested in focusing on X"). It is not normal to cry every day after work. It is not normal to routinely have panic attacks in the bathroom.

Once you have a job, billing is going to be difficult unless you gamify it. I use the Finch self-care app, so I have a task at the end of every week to make sure I have billed my time. My friend rewards herself for every day she bills by buying herself a new pen. Some people thrive off of timers (MyCase and Clio are popular case management software programs; both have timers built-in), but if nothing else, simply note when you start tasks and when you finish them by sending e-mails to yourself (or others, if relevant) at the end of every task. If your case management software can integrate with your e-mail (MyCase can integrate with Outlook, for instance), then use that to tag outgoing e-mails so you can be sure each one gets billed.

Outside of Big Law or intense practice areas, very few people bill 8 hours per day - a lot of the work you do will be non-billable, but also you will suffer from exhaustion or burnout if you try to bill 8 hours per day (my minimum is 20 hours per week, which is just 4 hours a day). You also will usually have some discretion in billing - use that to make yourself feel better if inattention issues make something take longer than you feel is fair. As for billing enough, if you find that you are most productive outside of work hours, find a firm that will let you access client files offsite - work at home if they'll let you.

I do a lot of my best billing either in the mornings right when I get to work or at 10:00 at night. That's okay so long as you take breaks during the workday (I watch a lot of TikTok during my breaks, but I also fiddle with various online games and such); you'll need mental rest to reset between cases. If you struggle with task-switching, use a break to help reset your focus. I strongly recommend setting an alarm for yourself during breaks so that time blindness doesn't derail you. Make your alarm kind of annoying; something you won't just mindlessly ignore.

Let yourself hyperfocus on things; all of that time you spend researching and drafting and correcting and perfecting that motion or brief is billable, and it's also good practice of law - your client and your partner will appreciate your thoroughness, and the judge will almost never hate it (some judges prefer brevity, but I've never had a judge upset at me for wordiness).

I also recommend getting apps that can automate things for you; I use Espanso to make my life easier by having easy-to-type shortcuts for common phrases and information (e.g., the current date, my bar card number, my work e-mail address, etc.). You can customize these things to make sense to your own brain - your process doesn't have to work for anyone but you. Similarly, I use macros in Word to make drafting go faster by letting buttons do all my formatting for me.

Excel sheets make excellent task lists because you can split them up by case, and set them up to highlight things (e.g., today's date) automatically. Most firms will have some kind of "docket meeting" where everyone goes over the status on each case - some people prefer handwritten notes (my best friend does), some people prefer digital notes (I have an excel workbook I use). Find a method that reduces distractions but lets you keep up with the flow of conversation.

On the topic of technology, if your firm provides a computer for you, or if your firm will provide accessories to supplement your own computer, push to have multiple monitors - I use my own laptop, but my boss provides monitors and I have two plus my laptop screen. It is WAY easier to keep up with billing if you can keep your time entry software open and visible on one of your screens.

You will be spending a lot of time in your office; make it comfortable. Once you are making enough to get by, invest in a good office chair (that you own, so you can take it with you if you leave the firm) and some basic office supplies that you like, such as a post-it note dispenser (mine is a cat!). My office chair is designed to let me sit cross-legged - I highly recommend having an office chair that matches your most comfortable sitting style. Having some things that are yours will make any future moves less awkward. I also strongly, strongly recommend getting some simple and quietish fidget toys - I have several spinners, wacky tracks, tangles, and clicky fidgets in one of my desk drawers, amongst others, to help me self-stim, as well as a sensory sticker on my desk pad (on the linked set, I have the rough version of the bottom middle sticker, the rainbow finger labyrinth one).

For me, I find that actual litigation requires scripting. Whether it's an oral argument or just a temporary orders hearing, I typically have every word I intend to say written down as much as I can (re-direct examination or re-cross examination can't be scripted before the day of, but I usually at least scrawl a summary of the question I need to ask as I'm taking notes). I don't necessarily read from it, and sometimes I veer off-script, but there is a specific comfort in having the words scripted out. On the few occasions I have ad-libbed things, I find that I come off less authoritative and confident, which gives the judge the impression that I am guessing. I also find comfort in having a copy of the code I need (which is always the Texas Family Code for me) on-hand at the counsel table. You are allowed to tell the judge you'd like to consult the statute when the judge asks you a question.

I also find that, for courtroom litigation, it's worthwhile to make sure your court clothes are comfortable. Courtrooms in my area are universally a little too warm, so I have a linen blazer that breathes and a variety of shell tops that don't have sleeves. I also have bad ankles, so I wear exclusively flats despite the fact that I am less than 5 feet tall. For me, heat sensitivity is a part of my sensory issues so I am all about setting myself up for success. It's also worthwhile to bring extra water bottles; at my firm (we are almost all ND in some regard), the standard is 2 per attorney and 1 for each support staff, then 1 for the client.

For out-of-court days, even "business" can be comfortable if you're a creative shopper. My last firm required business attire, though not necessarily courtroom attire. I wore a lot of dresses to stay cool, and a solid-color dress in a modest cut paired with a black blazer (which you can remove when you're just working in your office) almost always makes the cut. For those who don't like or can't wear dresses, comfortable slacks and a modest blouse or dress shirt, paired with a blazer, also works. My current firm only requires business casual for client meetings, courtroom attire for court, and otherwise as long as we cover our shoulders and don't wear shorts, we're good to go. I use a cardigan to cover my shoulders when I'm outside my office, as most of my blouses are sleeveless. It's worthwhile to invest in a good office sweater anyway; I like a thin t-shirt material cardigan for me, but my officemate uses a pullover knit sweater. Do what's comfortable.

Office meetings, or even court hearings, can sometimes get loud and overstimulating - buy you some Flare Audio Calmer ear inserts, they really do help take some of the 'sharpness' off of the noise. I also recommend a playlist that contains binaural beats (assuming you like them) or colored (white, brown, pink, etc) noise and a solid pair of ANC headphones or earbud, depending on your preference (the linked products are far from the only options, they're just reasonably-priced options that I know work; I personally use first-gen Airpod Pros). If you don't like binaural beats or white noise, instrumentals of pop songs are also excellent.

You can also get phone apps that layer binaural beats over your music - I find that it sometimes helps me calm down when I'm close to a meltdown, though I personally feel worse at the lower frequencies (I usually stay around the alpha-beta frequency line, but ymmv). I think there are probably also some apps for colored noise over your music, but I haven't looked. If you haven't before, I recommend experimenting with binaural beats and/or colored noise - I find that they can help calm down some of the staticky feeling I get from overstimulation.

Offices also sometimes involve other sensory dangers - like, for instance, food texture issues (another big one for me). You can often get out of things like that by simply explaining that the food doesn't agree with you, or that you're not very hungry - or, if your boss knows that you have sensory issues (mine knows I'm autistic), you can just quietly explain that it's a sensory problem and you have it under control. Keep some safe snacks in your office. You can avoid alcohol, if you're picky about it or just don't like it, by explaining that you're not in the mood to drink (or that you don't drink, period) and that you'll stick to soda/tea/water/whatever. Only major assholes will push past that.

Most coping mechanisms for sensory issues can be justified with "I don't feel good" or "I have a headache."

If your office chair hurts your back, get up and walk around. You are not in elementary school; at most firms, you can step out and just let your coworkers know where'/how to find you, and when you'll be back.

For intra-office and extra-office communications, if you have any doubts about the quality of the communication, you can put it in writing afterwards. A quick e-mail saying, "Okay, so this is my understanding of X, please let me know if I've misunderstood anything or if anything changes" is a good CYA to cover any communication difficulties; don't use idioms or shorthand in these e-mails - actually spell out exactly what you think happened, or what you think you've been asked to do.

If you're worried about your tone in written communications, Chat GPT is good at doing a first draft. It can also do a first draft of your attorney bio, if you're asked to write it yourself. Tell it the message you want to convey, and the tone in which you need it said. For instance, if you need to convey to a pro se opposing party that your world does not revolve around them, but you want to do it professionally, you might tell Chat GPT, "Write a professional e-mail to my opposing party conveying that my world does not revolve around them and that I will get to them when I get to them." That won't give you a perfect e-mail, but it gives you an idea of how to set the tone. Never trust any citation the thing gives you, but you can also use it to simplify complex thoughts for motions that you need to be simpler.

Law practice is also emotionally draining. Take the time to cry if you need to, or to go outside or into a breakroom and breathe.

Essentially, working in law when you're ND means finding tools to help you. It's definitely doable (as I said, most of my current firm is ND), but you'll need to find coping mechanisms to soothe yourself. If you've gotten into law school, I think it's clear that you're competent enough to work. The trick is not burning yourself out entirely, which I hope the above can help with.

* - This is not and never will be an endorsement of bar exams as a measure of competence for new attorneys. The bar exam is a racist and classist institution born from the desire of old white men to keep their good-ol'-boys club exclusive. Fuck the NCBE and abolish bar exams nationwide.

#lawblr #real lawblr #ask anon #anonymous ask #bar exam #attorney

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cpunkhobie · 10 months

Text

Analyzing an entire song through roninpluralau lesgo ^_^

Song: Things to Do - Alex G

Ok so “only the cheapest things left for you” is a line for Donnie, because throughout his life he’s been the one to pick last. He picked his weapon last, he gets to be the one who deals with most of the after effects of his brothers actions. BUT it’s also a Ronin in general line, because throughout their life they were basically living off of leftovers from other people. Their favorite stuffed toy was stolen off a porch and their first blanket was a sock

“And the only thing I learned from you…” this is a splinter and ronin line specifically from Ronins feelings of splinter leaving them behind throughout their childhood. but largely with how splinter fucked up his own life before Ronin was born, and how they’re now dealing with the consequences of it. Sins of the father and all that

“I was asleep for days…” I’ve mentioned this briefly before but throughout Ronin’s life, largely due to trauma-related developmental issues, they’ve struggled with chronic fatigue and chronic pain. Pain to a lesser degree but the fatigue is really what hit them the hardest. When April first appeared in their home she helped with a lot of depression symptoms that came with their fatigue and generally helped them get up in the morning. This can also be related to Raph and Casey’s relationship, as Casey helped alleviate a lot of Raphs dissociation and anger issues, generally helping Raph feel more grounded and awake to the world

“The calculator will make the same mistakes…” 100% a Karai and Ronin lyric. It’s about generational trauma and repeating the history of their parents, and trying so hard not to repeat that history because they both love each other so much. But their parents loved each other once too, and they'll stumble and trip over some places but it’ll be ok in the end. It has to be. Also the calculator line being about how Ronin (Raph in particular) and Karai felt more like Machines or Soldiers being raised under their parents than actual children. “Yeah I see it in its face” is specifically Ronin @ Karai

Ok so if you’ve heard this song then you know that this part sounds like it’s pitched up/sung by a child so imagine this from child Ronin

“Hold on tight to this time this place…” so at Ronin’s old home them and Splinter only had a few months to a year of actual stability and safety before they were attacked by Shredder, where Splinter was almost killed. So this would be from the perspective of a younger Ronin talking to an older Ronin and reminding them that’s this won’t last. Since the period where Splinter, Ronin, April, Casey, and Karai all got to be together as a family was only for about a year or two before disaster struck again. “Cause everything you know will be erased” *Spoiler.*

“You were born inside your head…” They’re a system, they’re plural, all of them were quite literally born inside their head. This is a reminder that no matter how much they want to escape themselves that they can’t, that this is how they have always and will always exist, even if they don’t want to. Which is especially the case for Donnie and Leo. They will exist like this no matter how much they change. No matter what happens or how little they want to, they will persist, they will survive and live and persist. "Despite not wanting to" being especially true for Donnie. “That is where you’ll be when you are dead” they can’t escape themselves.

"You're just a boy you are no man..." they're just a kid. They've always just been a kid, they've never stopped being a kid. They've had to grow so much so quickly and no matter what they're not grown up yet. It's both a remorseful reminder but also a wake-up call to their own misplaced confidence in themselves. It's a smack in the face to say "you're a kid and you don't know shit" and that's ok. Because they're MEANT to be a kid. They're meant to be learning and making mistakes and they don't have to do everything right or know everything or be the most competent person in the room all the time. They're just a dumb kid. And that message is sympathetic but frustrating

"Nobody you know will understand" this is also about being a system. Being plural can feel so isolating because no one will understand the inner-workings and relationships in their mind as much as they do. They barely even understand themselves or how their trauma effects them. It's complicated and loud but so quiet to those around them. It's something constantly going on in the background that's invisible to other people. A vast innerworld that only they have access to. But it's also about how those different traumas effects each of them. How their life gets split up between 4 different people each with different ideas of how their life even happened.

Raph's experiences and Leo's experiences are so different from each other, and it's hard for them to mesh their memories in a way that's accurate to real life. This constant internal turmoil, "it's not what actually happened, but it's how it happened for me." Raph remembers getting the shit beaten out of him, he remembers hurting and hurting back and he remembers falling and getting up, and falling, and falling again and again and still having to get back up. But what Leo remembers is the way their dad cradled them and tended their wounds afterwards, he remembers how Splinter would bring meals into their room when they couldn’t get out of bed, how’d they chat over breakfast, how he sliced fruit for them, how he'd read to them and tuck them in. How their dad did this for them even on days where they knew he barely could.

They know it's not what technically happened, but it still happened. And it's hard for those memories to co-exist with each other, and even harder for other people to understand how those memories exist within each of them.

This in when it goes back to the regular singing voice.

"The only one that you have ever known.." it was just them and their dad for the longest time.

"The only one that you will ever know." They have to make a new home again, and again.

"Welcoming you back home" They find a new home, and they persist, persist, persist.

#jonah with a megaphone #tmnt #tmnt iteration #tmnt au #roninpluralau #I LOVE THEM SFM CANNYOU TELL

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anonymusbosch · 8 months

Text

have seen the "you really bought a tesla?" post a couple times now and it's another one of those things that I think people often have misconceptions about

1. the cheapest Tesla (model 3) was the world's bestselling electric car from 2018 to 2020, when it was ousted by the 2nd-cheapest Tesla (model Y). the model Y was the single best selling car in the world in the first quarter of 2023. they are very popular.

2. the cheapest Tesla is $40,240 new. with the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles, a price tag of $32,740 puts it on par with the Honda Odyssey minivan's base price or with slightly nicer trims of SUVs like the Subaru Outback or Toyota RAV4, and only about $100 more than a new Prius Prime. People in California may also qualify for an additional $2000-$5000 rebate for buying one, bringing the price down to $27,740 - just $1000 more than a new Toyota Camry.

3. the concerns about safety are often weighted against an incorrect baseline - so far, current data show that electric vehicles aren't more likely to catch fire in an accident than gas vehicles and are actually less likely to do so (but this is difficult to get solid data on. there's a bunch of articles reporting on a study by an insurance company showing a massive reduction in fire risk but the underlying data are highly suspicious).

4. the big point of distrust that I think is grounded: recalls. some of the 22 (22!) model 3 recalls are ~trivial, like "the driver's side sun visor may be missing the airbag warning sticker", but some are more serious, like "the airbags might not be correctly connected to the car." it seems like a lot of the issues have been addressed on the current (2023-2027) line, but the recurring problems with things ranging from minor software issues to pretty serious function issues are good cause for concern. None of the ones I've read about seem as severe as Toyota's "oops the accelerator gets stuck and your car can't stop moving forward" recall or Ford's "oops the engine explodes" recalls [plural], and even the worst ones are on par with things we've seen before especially from US automakers (glaring at Ford, GM, and Ford again). Ford and GM are both guilty of continuing to use known bad parts for >5 years with (in one case) thousands of fires and (in another) over a hundred deaths. moreover, GM's Bolt EV is under a 100% recall for the 2017-2022 model years for high fire risk and Ford recalled over 100,000 hybrids for fire risk - so is Tesla worse than GM or Ford? I don't know if I'd say that, but I'd really want a car I buy to live up to a higher standard.

in short, the most popular teslas by a huge margin are the two most affordable ones, which are fairly accessible to consumers (especially in California). the risk of a tesla exploding or catching on fire is not, as far as I can tell, higher than other cars (and it appears to be less likely per million miles traveled than some other EVs on the market). teslas still have a bunch of quality issues, and they still have some stupid design choices - but you can easily buy a shittier car for a lot more money, particularly an American-made one.

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footballffbarbiex · 3 months

Text

player: rodrigo de paul words: 916 request: Rodrigo de Paul - she / her - 500 - 900 - sitting by the tree and exchanging Christmas gifts. He gets her a set of holiday-themed lingerie, which is honestly a gift for them both

a/n: a huge thank you to @percervall for helping me with this when I was stuck in my head and couldn't get ideas flowing.

Rodrigo knows his ass is pushing it this year. She’s been frequently reminding him that he needs to get a move on if he wants to have all of his christmas shopping wrapped up and completed but in true Rodri style, he’s been dragging his heels with every gift so far.

And now here he is, pushing through the Madrid crowds 5 days before Christmas in a bid to try and get everything he needs in one day. With his personnel running along beside him to take everything back to the car so he’s not overrun with gifts, he’s in a hurry to finally finish up. Every year he does this and every year he wishes he hadn’t, either because the stores are running low or are completely out of stock, or because he’s finished it incredibly quickly that he wonders what the fuss was for to make him drag it out until now.

He’s just handed over a new set of bags to his entourage and continued down the street before taking hesitant steps and coming to a stop. The window display is half naked mannequins adorned with beautiful, expensive lingerie. Bursts of pale pink, deep velvet and moss greens are demanding his attention.

He sucks in his bottom lip, tongue smoothing over a dry patch and his teeth nibble on it until it’s smooth again as he debates whether or not to go in. People are milling around, most are trying to get to where they need to be that they don’t pay attention to the 6” frame standing in the middle of the pavement - they’re too busy trying to get around him to really care who the pervert is staring at the lingerie.

Rodri’s help is barely around the block when he steps inside and by the time he’s reemerged, his credit card has a new, hefty charge and there’s a fancy bag swinging from his fingertips.

Within a matter of days, gifts had been placed under the tree before he went to bed on Christmas Eve and the automatic timer put the tree’s lights on in case she came downstairs before him. And just as he’d finished arranging them all, he slipped the new gift bag amongst the rest and couldn’t wait for her reaction.

“I thought we agreed on a budget Rodri,” she states, wording it like an accusation more than a question.

“We did.” He's trying to control his excitement but she can see it in his face, the way his voice waivers as he attempts to remain calm. He’s wanted nothing more than to wake her up and give her the present early, but instead he’s had to sit on his hands and wait with a leg that would not stop bouncing as he eagerly watched her open every present before it. Only stopping when that one remained.

“So what is this?” she asks, gesturing to the delicate looking bag with the soft paper stuffing. She recognises the logo and while it’s not a store that she would be able to purchase anything from with her own account, she’s seen some of the other WAGs being gifted such items and often thought about what it would be like to own such lingerie. She rarely asked Rodrigo for anything and although her girls would say underwear is the one thing that he should be buying you; after all, jewelry was an “I fucked up” gift, lingerie was an “I need to fuck you” gift.

“Oh that old thing?” He laughs it off, but she’s not oblivious to how much the cheapest set is from there after hours pouring over their website and new releases. Even their accessories are several hundred, and their negligee is even more than she could stomach to spend.

“Can I?” She gestures, fingers aching to tear through the paper and see what he’s purchased.

“I didn’t buy it so you could look at the bag, baby.” he chuckles to himself before pushing the bag towards her and watches as she begins to open it.

As eager as she is to see what he’s purchased, she wants to be respectful at the same time. And so she takes her time to open it up and slowly pull the set from the confines of the gift wrap. It’s perfect. The material is soft, almost butter-like as she runs it between her fingers and thumb. The colour isn’t one that she’d pick out for herself but holding it against her skin, she wonders why ever not.

“Rodri…” it’s a sentence that doesn’t need to go anywhere, but says so much in a single word.

“I need to see you in it. Haven’t stopped picturing you in it since I saw it.”

“No, you want to see me in it for a few seconds and have it lay on the bedroom floor for the rest of the time. There’s a difference.”

“Might let you keep it on this time.” He says, grinning at her while biting down on his lip. I want to make sure you leave them on, have you laid out on the bed, pulling them aside while I enter you.” He stops what he’s saying and groans as he shifts in his spot. “I need to stop otherwise…”

“No. You need to wait right here,” she taps the spot where he sits as she gathers up her things and begins to get to her feet, “be patient and wait to see if reality is better than fantasy.”

#rodrigo de paul one shot #rodrigo de paul imagine #rodrigo de paul blurb #rodrigo de paul drabble #rodrigo de paul fanfic #rodrigo de paul fanfiction #football imagine #football one shot #footballer imagine #footballer one shot #football blurb #football fanfiction #football fanfic #footballer fanfiction

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docholligay · 1 year

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AND THERE IS OUR SIX HOURS!

Did we enjoy? I really thought this was, so far, a great show, and I would love to make the time to watch the rest of it. Anon nominator, please come forward and accept my praise!

If you enjoyed, I would love to hear it! It always makes me feel good to know you’re loving what I’m doing.

I have a tip jar! You can tip me at either Ko-Fi, or, since Ko-Fi has recently started running through Paypal as goods and services, thus taking a fee from my tips, you can just directly tip me at Paypal under @docholligay I have two things I am raising money in my tip jar for this year:

A Garmin Venu sq, the cheapest smartwatch that will work with my Stryd. I am an avid runner, and something I’m missing with my current setup, though it is great, is a way to glance at my times while running, which makes tempo work tough 10/120 (If you want your tip to go to this, put a heart emoji in the comments)

Three months of weekly pole dance class: I am working on strength and such, my traditional weak point, and I think weekly pole classes could be a fun way for me to build that! 18/154 (If you want your tip to go to this, put a smile emoji in the comments)

I also have a wish list of 8 Things For Hanukkah Under 40 Dollars for those of you who’d like to get me a physical little something I need or would like.

Tomorrow is Jewlet Recommendations! I have already read The Lightning Thief, and watched Wolfwalkers. I’m going to TRY and watch Animals of Farthing Wood tonight, but it is very difficult to get, so we’ll see how much luck I have. Join me tomorrow!

Tonight I’m working on that and also getting out the rest of the Shamash stuff! We’ll have one more chance to enter tonight, and then the drawing for the winner will take place SATURDAY MORNING, WHICH IS CHRISTMAS EVE. YOU WILL HAVE UNTIL CHRISTMAS NIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT YOU’D LIKE, AND IT MUST BE SOMETHING THAT WAS NOMINATED.

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erigold13261 · 1 year

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If you could live in Vinyl City, which district would you choose? Cast Tech (DJSS), Akusuka (Sayu), Natura (Yinu), Metro Division (1010), Dream Fever (Eve), or Mamak/Festival Plaza?

Probably Natura. It seems like it would be the darkest and most quiet, though I bet you Akusuka has the best and cheapest internet access, so maybe closer to Akusuka side than to Metro Division side.

Actually, I'd probably stay way clear from Metro Division. Way too much noise from the rides and screams of people having fun. Maybe a day trip there will be fun, but living there? No way.

The other districts all seem meh to live in. At least with Natura it is like, in the center of the rings of the city, so I can get to any district relatively quickly (unless the rings rotate, but even then I feel like it would be closer to be in Natura spun then in any other district spun).

So yeah, Natura.

#nsr #eritalks #noart #asks #plus neo classical is my fave of the nsr genres given #like i love whatever genre eve has #but if i had to choose one to stick with #and constantly be playing around me where i live #it would be yinu's music

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texas-electricity-ratings · 12 days

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Compare Best Abilene 12 Month Rates

Who Has the Best Abilene 12 Month Rates?

Keep your AC bills cooler this summer when you compare Abilene 12 month plans at their cheapest rate. Shop rates to save more now!

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The cheapest plan is the Simple Savings 12 plan. With an average bill of $152, this plan offers straightforward pricing after a $4.95 monthly base charge. With a slightly higher rate and a $30 bill credit at 2,000 kWh, the Savvy Value 12 plan is also a good option. This plan’s average bill is $153, so some high usage months may make this plan better for you. The Simple Green 12 plan rounds out the best TriEagle plans. It offers 100% renewable content at a penny higher and no bill credits to factor in.

Shop low priced Abilene 12 month plans and beat the heat all summer long!

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While TriEagle has great plans, they don’t have the market cornered on the best Abilene 12 month rates. The Chariot Energy Solarize 12 plan gives customers 100% green energy with a straightforward pricing method. The average bill is $161. And no bill credits or tiered rates will surprise you with a big bill.

On the other hand, the Rhythm Powershift EV 12 plan has a complicated pricing formula. Your price depends on what time of day you use power. Electricity is most expensive during the evenings (on-peak) and cheapest overnight (ultra off-peak). Off-peak hours occur when most people are getting ready for work, during the normal work day, and when late-night TV shows air. Even though the average bill is $161, read the plan’s electricity facts label and determine whether this plan aligns with your usage pattern.

Cool Off Your Electric Bill

You may not be ready for summer’s oppressive heat. But today’s best Abilene 12 month rates are a tall glass of lemonade for your power bill. Explore all the plans at http://www.texaselectricityratings.com/electricity-rates to see which plan is the right one for your home.

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2ndbyteofapp1e · 3 months

Note

I heard a rumor that the ribs you enjoy eating so much are actually made out of your own ribcage. Guess it makes sense, since the Bible says one of your ribs were removed to make Eve. Is it true though?

"Listen, I only removed ONE of my ribs to make my second whore of a wife, and it hurt so bad, I refuse to do it again. I'm living the bachelor life from now on. Much less drama that way."

Adam sits up, composing himself before getting to the second part of your question. Mentioning Eve left a worse aftertaste than even the cheapest barbecue sauce.

"They're just normal beef ribs. Well, I say normal. It's wagyu. Best Texas barbecue sauce you can find in Heaven drenching them. I live in well-deserved luxury."

#answered #sweet-and-insane

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thedigitalanjali · 4 months

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Wayonaa Electric Scooter: Ride 80 kilometers in just Rs 10!

Nowadays, many electric vehicles are being seen in the market and there are scooters of many brands which are available in good quality at low prices. Like the EV scooter of Wayonaa company. Which is a scooter that gives good mileage with very good looks at a low price and many features will also be seen.

So now let us know the complete information about WayonaaEV Scooter.

WayonaaEV Scooter:-

Wayonaa company is a Surat-Gujarat-based company. Which manufactures different models of electric scooters and this company has also received an award. WayonaaEV scooter is eco-friendly and also stylish.

WayonaaEV scooter gives you a mileage of 80 kilometres, which means you can drive up to 80 kilometres with a single full charging. And it takes only 1-1.5 units for full charging which costs around Rs 10.

WayonaaEV Scooter Price

Talking about the price of the WayonaaEV scooter, it starts from 74,999 INR, if you take it in the name of a student, then you will get a student subsidy of Rs 12000. So you will get the scooter for 62-63 thousand. Which is the cheapest scooter among all the scooters in the market and you will get a great scooter.

WayonaaEV Scoter Features

Load Capacity: 160 kgs

Motor Power: 250W BLDC Hub Motor

Headlight: LED with DRL

Battery: 48V 30Ah NMC

Suspension: Front Forks, Rear Shock Absorbers

Range Per Charge: 70 – 75 km

Top Speed: 25 km/h With Reverse Mode

Tyre: 90/100 – 10 Tubeless Tyre

Front Disc Brake: 80mm Front Disc Brake

Vehicle Weight: 80 – 85 kgs With Battery

If we look at the weight of the scooter, it is only 80 kg. And can lift a weight of 160 kg. That means a person weighing up to 160 kg can either sit or lift goods weighing that much.

You do not need to do any RTO or any kind of registration for this vehicle. And maintenance is also very low.

Talking about keys, the keys of the car are exactly like Four Wheeler keys in which you will get the feature of lock, unlock and sound. Due to this even if someone touches your car, a sound will be made which reduces the chances of theft. And no one can do anything to your car.

Special Features

You will get to see some special features in WayonaaEV Scooter which are not available in petrol vehicles. for example

Parking light

Smart Digital Meter

reverse gear

3 different speed gears

Sporty Design

160 kgs Load Capacity

WayonaaEV Scooter Modals :-

Recently there are 4 types of scooter models.

G-One

G-Lite

G Razor

Astino

You will get to see the WayonaaEV scooter as the Best E-scooter in India at the Lowest price. If you want to buy this scooter then you can visit the website or you can contact from the contact details given below.

Become A Dealer

If you want a dealership of the E-Scooter from WayonaaEV Company, you can get that too. And for that, you will not even have to pay application fees. You can apply for the dealership for free. This company is trusted for dealerships. Besides, you will also get good ROI from the dealership of this company.

Presently the company has more than 10 dealerships in the market, which means the company is making a good presence in the market and is making efforts to ensure that WayonaaEV scooters are seen all over India.

If you want to take a dealership of this company, you can also contact us at the contact given below.

WayonaaEV Company Contact Details

Company name: Wayonaa

Website: wayonaaev.in

Address:- G-19, Opera Business Hub, Lajamani Chowk, Surat-394101

Phone No:- +91 97266 99200

Email: [email protected]

End Note

Electric scooters in India start at Rs 1 lakh, but you will get WayonaaEV Scooter for Rs 75 thousand, along with all the top features available in other expensive companies, you will get to see them in this scooter at a lower price.

#electric vehicles #electric scooter #wayonaaev

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beckleysbooks · 5 months

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The Summer Kitchen

Somehow "the holidays" and food have always gone hand in hand with one another. I fondly remember that after the traditional Christmas Eve service with the annual cantata being sung by the church choir, the focus of our family shifted to what we were going to eat the next day - for breakfast, lunch and dinner - and who was bringing which dish. Food featured perhaps even more so than the exchanging of gifts.

The anticipation and planning for the Christmas Day meal was both a good thing and a bad one. As kids, our mouths watered at the thought of all the ham, shrimp cocktail and scalloped au gratin potatoes that we could eat. We also knew there would be the presence on the table of the dreaded salads, one that was always made with grapes and walnuts in a mystery white sauce, another featured orange jello with cottage cheese and shredded carrots on top for good measure. Do you remember the log roll of cream cheese that had walnuts and maraschino cherries stuck on it and in it? Don't even get me started with the mince meat and Christmas cake offerings. Those gems could've been used throughout the new year as doorstops if it weren't for those red and green jellies on top.

I hate to admit to this, but one year I traveled back to Ohio from New Zealand at Christmas, and I had been "persuaded" by my significant other that the easiest and cheapest way to arrive with gifts for all of the USA family, was to simply bring mince meat and Christmas cakes for everyone. Been out of the country too long, I guess, for I agreed and we arrived "bearing gifts"; gifts that everyone tossed in the bin once we left.

Christmas hasn't always been associated with special meals. For quite some time early in the 19th century, it wasn't celebrated at all in America. Then, immigrants began introducing their Christmas traditions here. Germans introduced their fondness for decorating pine trees. The English meanwhile showed us what a feat could be.

In the winter of 1863 when things were going poorly for the Union soldiers, Harper's Weekly commissioned Thomas Nast to draw his now famous image of St. Nick, from within his sleigh flying over rooftops, tossing out gifts of socks and clothing to the beleagured troops. This marks the start of what was to become an American-styled Christmas.

I devote an entire chapter in my historical fiction, "Oh! Susannah", to this topic and you can see pictures from this era from the photo gallery of my website - www.beckleysbooks.com

I also talk alot about food in my book, describing how the differences are from today to back then. For instance, many families found there simply wasn't enough space in their home's kitchen. It was quite common for there to be a separate building, which was called the summer kitchen. "Usually a brick structure found only a few feet away from the home and connected by a path from the back porch, the summer kitchen was comprised of a large room with wood or kerosene oil stove, work counters and lots of windows for a good breeze to blow through." There was not only cooking done here, but its where "the family soap was made and the clothes, once washed, could be dried." Fruits as well as herbs were hung from the rafters in the ceiling to be dried too.

But, let's get back to the food. In Chapter 7, Susannah decides to make for her family a special meal; calf's head. "Calf's head should be cleansed with very great care, particularly the lights. The head, the heart and the lights should boil full two hours; the liver should be boiled only one hour. It is better to leave the windpipe on, for it hangs out of the pot while the head is cooking, all the froth will escape through it."

You know, on second thought, come this Christmas, with all the focus on the food that will be on offer for this special meal, go ahead and pass me the mince meat. Times could be worse.

#beckleysbooks #historical fiction #ohio history

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