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thebibliosphere · 4 months ago

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Whenever I post about house stuff there’s always some well meaning people and the occasional vindictive shit head who thinks we didn’t have our home inspected before we bought it.

We did. It passed the private inspection we paid for in order to get our mortgage and two inspections done by the city.

The problem with my house is that it was owned by a landlord who did all kinds of illegal and sketchy shit to maximize capacity and resale value but also would require you to take down walls to find. And for those of you unaware, they don’t let you walk around with a saw and cut holes to inspect behind the drywall.

The shithead hid things behind fake walls. Literally. He put a bunch of chemicals and paints into a crawl space then drywalled over it. There is drywall on top of drywall (or there was before we took it down). He put carpet over the asbestos tiles—which is technically fine. It’s safer to seal asbestos away than remove it… except he also covered the drain for the house so the basement floods and then the carpet rots and in turn starts breaking down the asbestos tiles, making them into a hazard. He built the basement himself so that the drywall was sitting on the concrete slab—something we couldn’t see without removing the trim—causing them to wick moisture from the floor and rot until we had black mold everywhere.

The electric parts that were visible were all up to code, but again, anything that could be hidden was done so, hiding shit like a dishwasher that had been hot wired into the wall through a light plate fixture under the sink. Or the 240v socket that used to power an electric stove which had been pulled through the floorboard to power the tumble dryer. (Or the gas stove that we swapped for electric because it kept trying to kill us and then we realized he’d run a gas pipe from the water heater to power it. The plumber swore a lot about that one when he finally realized that one.)

Plumbing all looked good until you realized some of the new pipes were just pvc cut to go around the old lead pipes. Something you couldn’t see unless you got up close and personal during the inspection, and we’re talking up on a ladder jiggling the pipes around which is also generally something don’t let you do. Not to the extent we would have needed to.

The man was unhinged. And there’s very little we can do about it because we signed an “as is” thing on our mortgage thinking most of the repairs we’d need to do would be minor. Only to find out the house which looked fairly modern and well kept on the surface was actually a fucking Saw trap. And now because of all the shit we’ve uncovered, we have to fix it before we can sell it because no one in their right mind will buy a house with declared asbestos—even predatory developers hesitate on that one.

So if we’ve got to fix this place up, we’ll fix it up for us because god knows, even if we managed to sell this place, we can’t afford the mortgage rates right now. (And while yes, apartments are an option, they make my MCAS a lot less stable because you can’t control the shit your neighbors use, nevermind things like a shared laundry facility where everyone wants to smell like “a spring summer breeze” that to me smells like death by fragrance induced anaphylaxis.)

So yes, we’re stuck with this place. For now. A place we had inspected multiple times and were still let down by the reality that people hide things and will do so in the most imaginative ways possible if it means they can make a profit.

The furnace dying the instant we moved in wasn’t a good sign, but shit happens. That’s home ownership. The gas leaks we had last week? Also home ownership. It had passed yearly inspections up until now. Appliances break down and require maintenance, especially gas ones. In an ideal world we would have gotten another five years out of the furnace, but alas, it chose death so we had to yeet it.

So, yeah, if you’re the shithead currently going off in my inbox about “stupid people winning stupid prizes” I’ll take that apology now.

#the house that Cthulhu built

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mockerycrow · 2 years ago

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PACK CUDDLES (Hybrid!141 x GN!Human!Reader)

multiple characters masterlist

summary; the base’s heaters have all broken and aren’t due to be repaired for a week—it’s the middle of winter and you’re one of the few humans on base.

[WARNINGS; hybrid stuff, can be read as platonic or romantic, fluffy, sickness.]

THE BASE HEATERS decided to break at the worst possible moment—during the harshest part of the winter. They’re baseboard electric heaters that line every barracks room; the general community rooms such as the common area and the training rooms have central air and heating, but they didn’t decide to provide the barracks with the same luxury. It was never much of a problem, really. Nearly everyone on base was a hybrid of some kind, usually a bigger animal due to the needs of the military so they would produce body heat hot enough to keep them warm for the duration of when the electrical technicians would come in to fix the wiring, or replace the heaters.

Unfortunately for you, you are not a hybrid. You were born to completely human family members, and you have no hybrid genes in your chromosomes. Also unfortunately for you, you were for some reason one of the ones tasked with shoveling the pathways and roads on base—your station has no snow plows as the winters are usually mild to moderate, but this year decided to fuck you over harshly. You spent hours outside in the snow, bundled up in your warmest uniform with a winter coat, boots, gloves, hats, and even a balaclava on to keep as much warmth as possible.

On day 2 without a heater, you woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe through your nose. Your face is aching terribly—likely your sinuses—and it feels like you swallowed glass and gargled salt water right after. Your chest aches and you overall feel terrible, and you feel both hot and cold at the same time. Even after bundling up in your warmest hoodie and sweatpants—you slept with socks on, too—you just could not evade the sickness. Harsh coughs rack your body, your eyes tearing up as pain shoots through your chest and your throat to your ears. You groan and press your face into your pillow for a moment before you slowly kick your blankets off, pulling your hood up after sitting up.

You slip your feet into your slides and you check the time—0328. Fuck. The boys should be returning from a short mission soon. You hold in a sigh in fear of further hurting your aching throat, making your way towards your bedroom door. You grab your keys on the way out, letting your door close behind you. You squint as the hallway lights irritate your eyes, but you lay them no mind, walking down the hall to seek out the kitchen. Luckily, this base allowed basic medicines in a cabinet in the kitchen, so began your search for some cold medicine, and perhaps some sinus medicine too if you can take both at the same time.

To your sickly delight, no one seems to be awake right now—or at least hoarding the kitchen—despite many of the hybrids on base being nocturnal. You aren’t in the mood to really talk.. Not like you could, anyway. You shuffle your way to the counter with a harsh sniffle, opening the cabinet and rummaging around. You find some compatible cold and sinus medications, and you decide to grab a tea bag and the little plastic jar of honey, deciding that you want to soothe your throat. The air running through your throat makes it ache more.

You put your forearms on the counter and arch your back, laying your head down as you wait for the electric kettle to heat up the water. At least the kitchen is warm. You holy a bit after it must be a few minutes, hearing the kettle heating up. You lift your head and see steam emitting from the opening, so you switch it off and begin to make your tea, stirring honey into the mug. You shove the pills into your mouth and swallow it down with a wince, using the tea. You sip the tea slowly until the mug is empty, so you quickly wash it out and put it in the sink to properly wash later. With your throat feeling a little better and a handful of paper towels, you head back to your room to go back to sleep.

The next time you wake up, it’s slow and uncomfortable. You’re on your back and you first feel the pain rippling through your throat with every wheezy breath you take—it’s a bit harder to breathe than before, even with the sickness—and then you notice the heat. Wait.. the heat? Isn’t the heater broken?

Your eyes flutter open, unfocused and bleary, with twinges of pain due to the dawn shining through your poor excuse of black-out curtains. Something shifts on your chest, causing you to glance down. When your eyes focus, you’re face to face with a wolf looking husky—striking blue eyes that are peering into your soul, the wolfdog’s fur being thick; white and grey, his ear twitching as he stares back at you. It takes you a moment before recognition filters through. It’s Soap!

A lazy smile spreads on your face as you pet his head between his ears, causing him to lick his snout. “Hey, Soap.” You croak. You sound absolutely dreadful. Three more heads pop out of view, making you flinch ever so slightly. “Jesus!” You hiss, looking at the other three. You’re met with a Grizzly bear, a Barbary lion and a Jaguar; Price, Ghost, and Gaz. Your bed springs croak under the weight of all of them—they broke your frame a year ago, still in the search for a frame that can handle a bunch of weight—and they shift closer to you. A low, rumbling noise comes from Ghost. There’s not much noise he truly makes in his lion form, he often is silent—except for the occasional chuff or intimidating growl—so you know the rumbling means something.

You reach out to him with your other hand, tangling your fingers in his mane, feeling the rough texture between your fingers. His dark eyes stare at you and if you didn’t know Ghost as well as you do, you would likely be shitting yourself right now. He pushes his snout into your palm for a moment before his rough tongue peaks out and licks over your palm, making you wince from how prickly his tongue is. Ghost then lets out a huff, his breath reaching your face as you watch the Jaguar—Gaz—slink up to your face, the three of them; Gaz, Soap, and Ghost invading your personal space. No doubt that they can smell how sick you are. You think absentmindedly about when they returned from their mission.

“I’m okay.” You say, your voice hoarse. You can’t help but wince at how you sound, but you don’t dwell on it too much when Gaz’s hard head pushes into your cheek, making you smile. “Yes, I promise.” You add on, moving your hand from Soap’s head to Gaz’s neck, your other hand still attending to Ghost’s mane. You glance over to where Price is, seeing his two little ears peering up behind Ghost. You groan dramatically and pat the spot next to yourself. “C’mon, Captain. You guys can be my heaters, I guess.” You weakly joke, earning a whine from Soap, who hasn’t moved an inch from laying on top of you. You make a noise in return, your eyes feeling heavy once again when the heat surrounding you finally becomes comfortable. “Supposed to fix ‘em soon.” You mumble, already half asleep by the time you feel Price’s nose sniff your cheek, checking in on you.

#call of duty #call of duty mwii #cod mw2 #cod #mw2022 #modern warfare ii #mw2 2022 #tf 141 x reader #task force 141 x reader #task force 141 #ghost x reader #soap x reader #gaz x reader #price x reader #ghost x gn!reader #price x gn!reader #soap x gn!reader #gaz x gn!reader #hybrid!au

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stuckonthisgoddawnearth · 17 days ago

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Why my Date Everything! Hear me Outs are amazing

Sorry for yapping, I am just excited!

Chance, the D20

Do I really need to explain why this baby girl is worth it? Well, he is into Role Play Games (I am huge dnd nerd, so this is green flag for me), he’s caring and charming (he literally calls us PERFECT) and he is flirty! His “other…sheets” line got me rolling on the floor, and I am 100% liked that. Chance, be prepared, once the full game comes out, I am going after you.

Volt, the electricity

(sorry for bad quality)

He gives me HUGE VIBES of Elliot from Stardew Valley (you know: mannered long-haired man and pompous manner of speaking). As much as I love him, I want to take him to therapy, cuz he and Eddie are workaholics and this is not good. I will dance with him, visiting all Breaker Box’s shows just for him to be happy!

Dasha, the desk

This woman can smash me with her arms and I will thank her. Seriously, Slavic strong woman is something I wasn’t expecting to be hot and cute. She lifted us in the first meeting and I was on my knees already… Also, her playing G&G with us is one of the most interesting experiences i ever had. I luv her so much

Daisuke, the dishware

So, where should I start? Asian dedicated and hardworking man? I’m in. He is so calm and cool that I am questioning myself being aroace (all of these bros in list making me do this). I think he’ll be a good lover to us, but he has this ‘strict Asian parent’ vibes…

Winnifred, the water heater

Hot and cool simultaneously (that was a bad punchline). She is my mommy and I am no ashamed of it. ALSO SHE IS SOUTHERN!!! What can be better?

Connie, the game console

Just AHHHHHHHHH! SHE IS SO CUTE, SO SWEET, SO FINE. I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT MORE: BE HER OR WITH HER! Ahem, she looks really nice (giving a smooch to character design), her manner of speaking like she is game character (all of them) is really interesting. Also, I headcanon her as asexual (self projection…)

Captain Jacques Pierrot, the ship in the bottle

Long live the short king! “Fight and flirt” is the style of my life now. His threats are terrible (affectionately), I want smash him in the wall. Or give him a kiss in wrist. Depends on a situation.

Mateo, the blanket

This bro is so nice, his attitude towards inanimals is so cute! And when you ask him on a date he is so blushy cinnamon roll! Also, if we won’t find Davi in full game I will cry like a loser on the floor. And I realised that his VA is Kaveh’s VA, so maybe I have some problem with Ben Balmaceda’s characters…

Maggie, the magnifying glass

Oh, she is beautiful. Detective girl who is obsessed with us (her squeak on second day is everything). She reminds me of very old detective books where the teenage girl were the investigator (I don’t remember the name tho).

Diana, the diary

Alice in wonderland themed beauty. Her speech is terrifying sometimes tho. And she thinks that all that happened to us happened to her… That makes me scared of background mc has.

Tyrell, the towel

Holy moly, he is hot. His towel-made animals are nice and cute! His phrases about “warming us” are ohhhh damn. He is the cutest man in the bathroom (maybe Johnny Splash is on 2nd place).

Lyric, the books

Oh man, as a book worm, I am ready to die in this man’s arms. His writer’s stuck is my biggest relate, I feel him for 100%. I really hope that we’ll help him in the full game. Also he reminds me of Ulysses Wilhelm, so it’s another advantage!

Rainey, the record player

Oh, the old fashioned woman. As a person who has record player, I felt so relatable with her. I will give her all my money to buy new records, I like her so much. Also, her 80s or something slang is catchy!

#date everything game #date everything #date everything!#chance date everything #volt date everything #dasha date everything #daisuke date everything #winnifred date everything #connie date everything #captain jacques pierrot date everything #mateo date everything #maggie date everything #diana date everything #tyrell date everything #lyric date everything #rainey date everything

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letsquestjess · 4 months ago

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The Bad Batch and Out in the Rain (TBB x GN!Reader)

Summary: The Batch each have different experiences with the rain.

Warnings: Little bit of angst with Tech's.

Hunter

For Hunter, storms and rain can cause a plethora of problems. He senses when bad weather is nearing, and depending on the severity, it can irritate him. On Kamino, he had his brothers to help him, and as soon as you notice his discomfort, you’re there for him too. He feels electricity in the air and so he’s usually clocked some shelter along the way that you can duck into the moment the first few drops fall. On the occasions where there is no shelter, he finds something to cover you with to ensure you stay as dry as possible.

The first time you both got caught out in the rain, he had seemed on edge. His hand in yours tightened a little and his jaw stiffened. It wasn’t until the dark clouds rushed in and unleashed a torrent of rain that you realised he’d sensed the storm. He hurried you under the awning of a closed-down shop, safe from the pelting raindrops. After a bit of fussing, you took his hands in yours, brushed your thumbs across his knuckles, and encouraged a calm into the anxious jitters alight in his senses. Luckily, a lull in the downpour appeared, but as you rushed home, you ended up caught in the second wave of rain. Hunter navigated you through it to your shared house and set about running a bath for you both, sinking into the warm water to soothe the chill in your bones and settle his anxiety.

Echo

Mostly, Echo finds rain comforting if he can listen to the pitter-patter from inside a building or on his ship. Being caught out in it is another matter entirely. A downpour limits his vision, impedes any travel, and tactically, it raises a lot of problems. Being the soldier he is, he’s more than prepared for turns in weather, but it causes more issues for him now than it did before the explosion.

Considering the sun had graced you all day, and the weather promised to be temperate, the abrupt surge of rain came as a surprise to both yourself and Echo as you travelled back to the ship with important supplies. With no cover and your vision reduced in the deluge, he huddled you close and searched for some sort of shelter to wait out the worst. Out in an open field, the surrounding land offered nothing. You assured him you were heading in the right direction, shielding your datapad from the heavy droplets as best you could. It offered Echo some reassurance your equipment could withstand harsh weather, and he trusted you to the ends of the galaxy and back. You found him something from your supply boxes to cover his head with to protect his implants and followed the lines on your map. On the ship and out of the persistent rain, Echo fetched you both some warm blankets to dry off and set up the spare heater, telling you stories about Kamino and the terrible rains the planet suffered, his reminiscent tales warming you just as much as the blanket and the heater.

Wrecker

If it is one thing Wrecker loves, it’s storms with their big, booming rolls of thunder and rapid strikes of lightning. As a cadet on Kamino, he would sit at the windows overlooking the sea and try to predict where the next lightning strike would hit, a tradition he followed as he grew. More than once he tried to sneak out, managing to reach a grasping hand into the falling droplets before he got caught either by a Kaminoan or a passing trooper and escorted back to the dormitories. Not that that ever stopped him from trying again later.

Day drew into night, rain relentlessly pelting the land and making it impossible for take off. After checking the inventory, monitoring any potential damage done to the ship, and planning your route once the conditions cleared, you sat in the cockpit with Wrecker, guessing where the next fork of lightning would spear. For the most part, Wrecker correctly predicted each strike, but he let you in on a few tricks. You had lowered the ramp to keep the machinery inside cool, and with no more lightning for the time being, Wrecker shifted to the door. He wandered out into the rain and invited you to join him. Carefully tottering down the slippery steps, he scooped you into his arms, droplets flying from your bodies as he began dancing with you in the rain. You had to admit, seeing him soaked and catching raindrops on his lashes was quite endearing, but not as sweet as the peal of laughter as he twirled you under his arm and danced as though nothing else existed.

Crosshair

Crosshair pretends to be indifferent to storms, but he secretly loves them. He’s not a fan of overly loud storms, but he finds a regular downpour to be settling. He can tune out for a bit and focus on something constant. At times, if he needs some focus and the weather is pleasant, he’ll play some rain sounds on his datapad while going about his day.

You paid little mind to the rainstorm outside. The weather had been bleak for days, storms swelling and dropping every few hours. This one was no different until you heard the hatch lowering. Peeking around the open door of the medical cupboard, you saw Crosshair reaching out into the rain. To him, rain was tangible, something he could see and feel, and catching him like this felt like a moment you shouldn’t intrude upon, but you had never witnessed such calm in him. Acting on the occasion, you took his hands in yours and led him out into the drenching elements. It soaked through your clothes in seconds, but a small smile etched its way onto Crosshair’s lips. You stayed outside for a short while, quietly enjoying the calming nature of the rain. After heading back inside, you both showered to get warm, grabbed some snacks, and snuggled into his bunk to watch your favourite movie as the night swiftly swept in. Cuddling close, Crosshair thanked you for always supporting him and being a source of hope for him when times felt dark.

Tech

Tech doesn’t really care much about rain. For him, as long as it doesn’t hinder him too much, it doesn’t matter. But deep down, he finds a relaxing nostalgia to it that reminds him of where he came from and how far he has come. Remembering the rain he grew up with during a downpour on a faraway planet helps him feel that connection to Kamino again.

During an expedition, droplets slowly began to descend, hitting the portable work surfaces and the equipment Tech had set up. You were both quick to act, covering the most sensitive machinery and putting up coverings to keep the worst of the approaching storm at bay. Settling back into your joint work, he offered some interesting facts about storm types and correctly predicted when the rain would pick up and calm again. His knowledge poured from him like the rain from the bloated clouds, and he appreciated your follow-up questions. Soon, though, his wisdom turned to nostalgia as he recollected the storms on Kamino. Tipoca City was gone now, he would never get to experience a storm at home again, but your presence kept him warm, your hand on his even more so as the memories dripped unbidden and hurt more than he was willing to admit.

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three--rings · 7 months ago

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When you read a lot of fanfic, there's always a risk that some random detail from a fic just STICKS in your brain forever.

And moreover it can sometimes get wrapped up in Important Moments in your life.

Once upon a time, 20+ years ago, I read a fic written from Severus Snape's POV, that included a long and detailed rant about the proper way to brew tea. Like, clearly this author had gone online and found some very very picky and pretentious instructions for tea-brewing along with all the reasonings for it, and just inserted it into their fic.

Which is fine. But my brain was like, yes, you will internalize this rant about making tea.

And then my father died, 19 years ago now. And I was at my mom's house in the days afterward, and an old family friend came to the door as soon as he heard. He was English, and so when we invited him in and asked if he wanted anything to drink, he asked for hot tea.

I naturally said, no problem, I'll get it for you. And he gave me a little smirky look and asked if I even knew how to brew a proper cup of tea.

And the ghost of fucking Fanfic Severus Snape just popped into my skull and took over. So instead of doing what I normally would have done in my mom's house, microwaving a mug of water and plopping in a tea bag, I used the closest thing to a proper kettle my mom had, a glass kettle with no lid, which I had to heat on the stove and took literally forever, and then had a small crisis about how to add milk because Snape said it had to go in before the tea.

While my grieving mother watches me like I'm insane, and the Englishman just sorta looked indulgent about my American foibles. (Look, it wasn't my house! I own an electric kettle now. And back then had a little one cup water heater thing. My mom didn't!)

And now when I think about the days after my father's death, that's one of the most vivid memories. Me in the kitchen trying to follow directions I got from a fucking wizard fic and being so embarrassing the whole time.

So just be careful out there, y'all.

#threerings' stories #fanfiction #honestly there's so much about my dad's death that is tied to Harry Potter #unfortunately #like this was before HPB came out and dumbledore's death destroyed me cause it was like a month later #and my dad loved the HP audiobooks #and one of the first things my husband said was 'he'll never get to hear the end'#so yeah it's BIZARRE #obviously I spit on JKR's once and future grave #but this was 20 years ago and we didnt know

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bottledpeaches · 9 months ago

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an eye for an eye

SYNOPSIS: what happens when you stick your nose where it doesn't belong?

CHARACTERS: dr ratio

TAGS: major character death, small town horror, murder mystery, 2.6k+ wc

TAGLIST: @tragedy-of-commons, @mitsvriii, @harque, @akutasoda, @hazyue, @gabile18, @khoncore

NOTES: I procrastinated real hard on this and managed to thug it out in the span of like.... four days

written for @/stellaronhvnters’ stellaween festival event! I chose the prompt skeletons

special thanks to my dearest pookie @tragedy-of-commons once again for proofreading this for me so last-minute!

It’s never a good sign when a small town ends up on the map, for one reason or another. Small towns are small for a reason. They keep to themselves, its residents living peaceful, crime-free lives and concern themselves with their own problems.

So when news of skeletons being discovered in people’s yards in a small town that isn’t even listed on the maps makes it onto national television, it takes the entire nation and even the world by storm.

It’s all people can talk about as the case unfolds. Reporters are flooding into the town until they outnumber the residents living there. With the sudden spotlight, it was revealed that the town was so small it had a police force that consisted of a handful of members and a single car. And with a police force that small, a proper forensics department was out of the question.

Hence, where you and your colleague, Veritas Ratio came in. The town council had called in for a detective and forensics team to assist with the investigation. When he saw the state the lab was in, he had sighed louder than you’d ever heard him.

“The absolute disarray of this place! Barely any equipment either! How in the world do they expect me to properly work with this lack of resources?”

You have to pointedly glare at him.

“Veritas, have you forgotten they’re painfully underfunded…? They probably had no need for police and forensics either.”

He merely clicked his tongue and glared back at you.

There’s not much that points toward a bright future for this town. It’s so isolated up in the mountains that the nearest town is an hour drive away. There’s only one stoplight and one stop sign. (Not that there was much traffic to begin with…) The largest store around is the dollar store at the end of the only street running through town. Restaurant options are equally limited. There’s a 24/7 diner that’s staffed by one person, a twitchy-looking waitress, along with some fast-food options here and there. A second-run movie theater is the only option for entertainment around here. A single-track railway with a train that only stops once per day is the only way in or out of here besides car. Coniferous and evergreen trees surround the town like a cage and it’s always foggy. Sunlight rarely peeks through the thick cloud cover and there’s a persistent smell of smoke from something burning elsewhere on the mountain. The most important building is the church located on Main Street. Sometimes, its spire is the only thing visible amidst the heavy fog and smoke.

There’s only one place for lodging- a run-down motel with a flickering neon sign and always vacant. A dingy room quickly becomes your home away from home. It always smells mildly of mold and mildew with a strong floral smell that seemed like an attempt to cover up the neglect, but failed miserably at doing so. The electricity frequently spikes or cuts out, meaning you’ve already fried the motel’s hot water kettle that you relied on for your morning coffee. The room itself looked like a relic from the past, with its yellowing pastel wallpaper, an uncomfortably lumpy mattress that the two of you are forced to share, floral sheets, and threadbare patchwork quilt. The cheap carpet looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since it was installed and the heater hacks and shudders to life like it’s on its last legs. There’s always the distant hum of fluorescent lights and it’s like a persistent itch at the back of your mind that you just can’t scratch and it’s driving you insane.

This town is unwelcoming, and so are its residents. Silence follows you and Veritas wherever you go. Shopkeepers are as rude as they can be without getting a complaint filed. When passing through a neighborhood, mothers rush to get their children inside the house and openly glare at you from their rotting porches. Witnesses were downright uncooperative during questioning, even rude at times.

This town is hiding something, and you don’t like it.

But even with the increased police presence in town and nightly neighborhood watches that have been set up, the cases kept piling up. Every morning a call would come in from a panicked resident about a fresh mound of dirt in their yard that only meant one thing. Someone would head over to dig it up and sure enough, there’d be a skeleton there. Some were yellowed with age, but most of them were new from their glistening ivory hue, Some of them were pristine while others still had bits of flesh and blood clinging to them. Forensic analysis revealed that the skeletons belonged to people of all ages too. No one was seemingly safe.

Some of these victims had been alive the day prior too. Meaning that not only were you dealing with a potential case of illegal exhumation, but also first-degree murder.

A small team of forensic scientists working with Veritas would accompany you, where they’d gather samples before heading back to the lab while you and your partner would spend the rest of the day questioning people.

But while he was in the lab, you had discovered something very interesting during questionings.

“Madam, it would be in your best interests if you would cooperate.”

You fixate the trembling woman before you with a piercing, unblinking gaze. She pointedly avoids your eyes, but you’ve always had a way with extracting information from the most uncooperative of witnesses.

“...”

“F-Fine! I’ll speak! That man was a longtime business rival of ours! He died several years ago of a heart attack, but I have no idea how he ended up in my front yard, I swear!”

So the deceased all had some connection with where- or rather, who- they were found. A victim of a greedy loan shark drowning in interest, a bitter and jealous ex-husband, and so on. It keeps popping up so often that it’s not a coincidence anymore.

Still, there’s one thing that sticks out to you.

“Were all these bodies exhumed? I noticed that cremation is almost unheard of in this town in the coroner’s reports that you sent me, despite the crematorium being conveniently located in the church and a cheaper alternative to a traditional burial,” you say one night as you’re cross-examining testimonies with newspaper clippings. Veritas looks over at you from where he sits on the bed. “Do we have a potential gravedigger on our hands?”

He pauses.

“Perhaps a visit to the town cemetery is in order.”

The next day, the both of you arrive at the cemetery soon after the gates open.

The first thing that stands out to you is how small it is. It’s smaller than the average cemetery, with very few tombstones. The only thing breaking it are the small farms here and there.

“Well, this certainly doesn’t line up with the amount of skeletons that have been discovered as of late,” you grumble as you get out of the car. Ratio nods and shields his eyes from the early morning sun that’s already beating down onto your backs.

The weathered faces of some of the tombstones as you walk by makes you pause. They’re ancient.

You shudder. You try not to think about decomposing bodies inadvertently becoming fertilizer for the farms next door…

Clearly, this town has had a long history. Perhaps it was prospering long ago. But now, it’s on the verge of becoming a ghost town with only spiteful, suspicious people left. And in a place as small as this, history must be traceable for at least several generations back.

As you walk amongst the tombstones, you notice that very few of the graves have had the earth in front of them disturbed.

“So maybe we don’t have a gravedigger after all,” you murmur as you pull out your phone. A quick phone call to the church later and you learn that yes, the church is aware of what’s been happening. No, they did not receive or approve any requests to exhume a body, much less several.

You click your tongue irritatedly after hanging up. There goes that hypothesis. It’s clear that while some bodies have been exhumed, most of them were not.

So now what?

Later that night at the 24/7 diner, you discuss your findings so far while sipping on reheated instant coffee and trying to stomach dry pancakes. The sun has already gone down and the street lights outside flicker weakly to life.

“The biggest discovery my team and I have made is that this all seems to be the work of several different people, but that was at the start of the case. There has not been anything groundbreaking since then.”

You raise an eyebrow. He senses the question in your gaze.

“Forensic testing has revealed that maceration has occurred through several different ways. Bleaching, boiling, and crude hacking are the three most common ones. There have been some attempts at more sophisticated methods, such as enzymatic and chemical maceration, but those have been crude at best. It got the job done, but the bones had severe surface damage and were shrunken. Meanwhile, some were in pristine condition and barely damaged.”

“So they know about the various techniques, but they don’t have the knowledge and experience to carry it out properly?”

He nods. “Precisely. And even within the three most common methods, there were varying degrees of success present.”

“That… certainly doesn’t seem like the work of one person.”

You sip your now-cold coffee and wince at the sour aftertaste before pulling out your findings.

“Here’s what me and my partner have discovered. The biggest thing is that every skeleton seems to have a connection to where they were found.”

“Elaborate.”

“All of them have been found in people’s yards, and it turns out the deceased had some sort of connection with the homeowner while they were alive. A bitter ex-husband, a family feud that has stretched back generations, the sole surviving member of a family that was murdered several years ago…”

You sigh. “The connections are endless. I could go on forever.”

You cast your gaze around the diner. Your nails drum against the red formica tabletops and you tap your foot absentmindedly against the checkered floors that are slightly greasy and sticky. The only other people there are a family of four with shifty eyes and the waitress that’s been here since you arrived. She jolts and looks the other way.

“For a town this small, it sure is harboring a lotta desire for revenge,” you murmur, more to yourself than to him. Your gaze lazily drifts around before landing on the lighting fixture above the bar and settles there.

…

Your eyes narrow as your tired mind begins putting the seemingly unrelated pieces together. Veritas’ sharp eyes don’t miss it.

The actions of several different people with varying degrees of success… a collective desire for revenge…

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“This is just a thought but…you don’t think it’s the whole town that’s in on this, right…? I mean-”

He suddenly shushes you as he gets up. It’s only when you return to your room that he gestures for you to continue speaking.

“- I mean, the one thing unifying everything is the desire for revenge, which every resident seems to harbor a bit of,” you continue as you get ready for bed. “Cremation is an unusual option here. Most people are buried instead. But the cemetery is also surprisingly small. But why is that? The answer is that most people are not dying of natural causes. Most people are being murdered out of a desire for revenge with no hope for any sort of burial or funeral. So my earlier gravedigger hypothesis is incorrect now. Did your analysis reveal signs of skeletal trauma on some of them?”

“Many of them,” corrects Veritas.

Despite the late hour, your mind is fully awake as all the pieces finally start falling into place together.

“Relationships are messy and the residents of this town are no exception. The deceased often had multiple conflicts and grudges with other people. What I suspect happened is they were murdered and then dumped into someone’s yard that the deceased also had connections with to pin the blame on them. Which begs the question: where were the police in all of this?”

You pause to catch your breath.

“But the police mean nothing if everyone is in on it, even if unknowingly, correct? This also explains the absolute disrepair the police and forensics department are in as well.”

Veritas meets the knowing glint in your eyes.

“Let’s say that I’m the murderer. I killed you because of a grudge I bore, stripped you of your flesh until only skeletal remains are left, which I then buried in your neighbor’s yard that you also had some conflict with to pin the blame on them. The neighbor then calls the cops, but both they and the cop at the scene have done the same thing before, even though they don’t know of the other’s actions. Someone will be sentenced to jail, but they will inevitably end up getting killed by someone else for another grudge before they’re off to jail and out of reach for good. The body gets hacked away and planted into someone else’s yard and the cycle repeats. Everyone has gotten their hands dirty. There’s no way for this to be closed because everyone has played a part in it. It’s like trying to untangle a never-ending knot.”

The exhaustion of the day is beginning to catch up with you. You climb into bed next to him, shifting to avoid the lumps in the mattress that’ll give you a backache tomorrow morning.

“Revenge is a scary thing. They’ll wipe themselves out at this point,” you sleepily murmur.

Veritas doesn’t meet your gaze. You can see the gears rapidly spinning in his mind before arriving at the same conclusion.

“... It’s best if we leave as soon as possible,” is all he says.

The next morning, you authorize a search warrant on every household in town. There, they find incriminating evidence. A butcher knife and cutting board with dried human blood seeping into its cracks. A stock pot with bleach still in it. Scissors, knives, and scalpels with hardened chunks of human flesh still stuck to them. Guns, knives, and other weapons of murder.

A mass arrest is carried out to the flashing cameras and interest of the nation. You and Veritas are congratulated on your work and rewarded with a shiny promotion. You’re finally able to head home, much to your joy. You’re eager to leave that unsettling place behind for good. The case is closed and it’s time to relax before moving onto your next assignment.

At least, that’s what you had anticipated.

The town’s residents wiped themselves off the map. It’s now a ghost town. Cars rust from the assault of the elements and ivy begins to overtake the brick buildings. Shops and houses are broken into and pilfered. In a matter of weeks, the town is forgotten by the few that still remember it. The only people its shattered windows see now are curious urban explorers.

But nothing stays buried for long. Bodies, grudges, secrets. They stay buried for a reason though, until an unfortunate soul decides to wander along and unearth them to satiate their burning curiosity.

And who said grudges were confined to one region only?

So is it really that surprising when your body ends up in his yard, neatly diced up and packaged into a box, miles away from that cursed town?

An eye for an eye. That’s the town’s motto. Nothing stays buried for long.

He stumbled upon something he shouldn’t have seen. Now, they took something equally valuable from him in return.

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rjzimmerman · 1 year ago

Text

Excerpt from the Substack Distilled:

In the last few months, the Biden administration has quietly passed multiple federal policies that will transform the United States economy and wipe out billions of tons of future greenhouse gas emissions.

The new policies have received little attention outside of wonky climate circles. And that is a problem.

Earlier this year, I wrote that Biden has done more to mitigate climate change than any President before him. For decades, environmentalists tried and failed to convince lawmakers to pass even the most marginal climate policies. It wasn’t until Biden took office that the logjam broke and the climate policies flowed. And yet few American voters are hearing this story in an election year of huge consequence.

It’s been two and a half months since I wrote that article. In that short time, the Biden administration has passed a handful of climate policies that will collectively cut more than 10 billion tons of planet-warming pollution over the next three decades, more than the annual emissions of India, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the entire continent of Europe—combined.

One climate policy that flew under the radar recently was the administration's latest energy efficiency rule, unveiled at the beginning of May. The new rules will reduce the amount of energy that water heaters use by encouraging manufacturers to sell models with more efficient heat pump technology. The new regulation is expected to save more energy than any federal regulation in history.

Most people give little thought to how the water in their homes is heated, but water heaters are the second-largest consumer of energy in the average American home and one of the largest sources of climate pollution in the country.

A few days before the administration announced its water heater efficiency rules, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced another sweeping policy.

According to the new rules, existing coal power plants will need to either shut down or install carbon capture technology capable of removing 90% of their carbon pollution. The policy will also require any new natural gas power plants that provide baseload power—the ones that run throughout the day and night, as opposed to the peaker plants that only run for a small fraction of hours in the year—to install carbon capture technology.

The new power sector rules are effectively a death blow to coal power in America, which has slowly faded over the last two decades but still emits more carbon emissions than almost every country in the world.

The water heater rules and power plant regulations will help the country meet its goal of cutting emissions by 50% by 2030. But impactful as they will be, they weren’t the most important climate policy that the Biden administration passed in the last two months.

That honor goes to the EPA’s tailpipe rules, which are set to transform the auto industry over the next decade.

Today the transportation sector is the largest source of climate pollution in the United States. Within the sector, passenger cars and trucks are the biggest contributors to emissions. While electric vehicle adoption has grown in recent years, America lags behind many other countries in decarbonizing its vehicle stock.

The EPA’s new rules will force automakers to reduce the amount of pollution and carbon emissions that come from their vehicles. The federal policy doesn’t specifically mandate that automakers produce EVs or stop selling gas-powered cars but instead regulates the average carbon emissions per mile of a manufacturer's entire fleet over the next decade. That means automakers can still sell gas-guzzling, carbon-spewing trucks in 2035. They’ll just need to sell a lot more EVs or plug-in hybrids to bring their average fleet emissions down if they do.

Like the power plant rules, the EPA’s new auto regulations are designed to avoid being thrown out by a conservative and hostile Supreme Court.

#President Biden #climate action

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