#acts of service and gifts may have overlapped a little

[courtesanofdeath]

Inukag Week 2023: Day One - Love Languages @inukag-week

[windvexer]

categories of offerings within witchcraft

This has been on my mind a little bit and recent magical shenanigans (magnanigans?) have brought it again to mind so here is a concept that you might make sense for your style of practice (using the relationship with the familiar spirit for examples)!

Basically, we might be calling too many things "offerings" when in reality there could be a variety of discrete functions that need to be fulfilled, and doing one doesn't automatically fulfill them all.

Here are some examples of different things that I think are all lumped into the category of "offerings" even though IMO they aren't even that related:

Devotional and relationship-building offerings, offerings meant to provide metaphysical energy, and offerings meant as gifts.

Devotional and relationship-building offerings may be better reframed as acts of connection.

Example: Making art with your familiar. Meditating with your familiar. Going on a long walk and asking your familiar what it thinks about the landscape.

These acts of connection aren't replaced by simply giving gifts (anyone ever had an absent person in their life that replaced real connection with gift-giving?).

The true "exchange" here is not moving around sorcerous energy, but rather the exchange of a healthy interpersonal relationship.

Offerings meant to provide metaphysical energy can be reframed as feeding or charging.

Example: Offering your familiar a delicious sandwich so it gains the dense, earthly energy required to carry out your will.

As opposed to devotional offerings, these offerings need to contain actual metaphysical energy, because if they don't, the function of the offering remains unfulfilled. Here, a long walk with your familiar is not a suitable offering when they require sorcerous energy in order to work on your behalf.

These offerings may not even be considered "gifts," because they are necessary in order to perform various acts of sorcery. Your boss isn't giving you a gift when they sign off on your paychecks.

It's for this reason that we see offerings within spellwork often contain consumable substances like food, water, alcohol, tobacco, incense, and candles, which are often considered to be spiritually consumed by the spiritual forces present for the spell, so that they are empowered to get the work done.

And finally for this short list of examples, there can be offerings which function as gifts.

Such offering often include things which A) aren't spending time with that entity, and B) don't provide the entity with direct energies to consume.

Example: Buying a very fancy, ornate altar cloth for your familiar's shrine. Speaking well of your familiar spirit in public so they gain desired fame. Adding something enjoyable to your familiar's spirit home.

Such gifts certainly show appreciation and gratitude, yet in and of themselves they are neither direct communication and connection, nor feeding that entity.

Even so, such signs of appreciation may be necessary in order to establish and develop important spiritual relationships.

Additional examples can include payment for services rendered, which may include paying an entity with something it may find value in, but does not consume (such as coins or artwork).

Anyway,

This post is not meant to be a guide on how to interact with spirits or dictate how they should be approached, but rather is only trying to demonstrate that "offerings" may be an umbrella term that couches separate acts which may overlap, but are not interchangeable.

[courtofmatchups]

Can I have a romantic male matchup please

Gender: cis female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: heterosexual ally

Zodiac: Capricorn

Appearance: 5’2 African American hourglass body (although I’m more top heavy if you know what i mean) black curly wavy hair blackish brown eyes chubby cheeks wears glasses sometimes (im far sighted so it’s usually when driving in class or at the theater)

Mbti: infj

Enneagram: 2w1

Personality: kind smart funny motherly responsible empathetic anxious emotional moody perfectionist helpful people pleaser caring compassionate nerdy curious protective polite respectful indecisive fearful nervous introvert shy awkward clumsy low self esteem low confidence (more pertaining to my talents or personality then my looks) sassy sarcastic (I’m mainly these things with people i feel comfortable with like friends or family) soft spoken cute (my friends think im cute because i can be pretty innocent plus I’m small physically)

Likes: animals books reading writing fantasy magic sci fi anime music video games friends alone time learning personality quizzes sweets and bread helping being a part of something bigger than myself

Dislikes: spiders loud sounds people who harm others people who don’t take others into consideration (like make insensitive jokes or don’t consider the comfort of others or are mean just cause they can) people i care about not caring for themselves (im a hypocrite on this i take care of everyone else but not me) not being listened to weird holes and patterns math and tests (I’m being tested for a math disability and i have test anxiety)

Love language:

Giving: acts of service gift giving and physical affection (if they’re ok with it)

Receiving: words of affirmation and physical affection (although i can be shy about it)

Extra: i pace a lot i sing when im alone i talk to myself im a picky eater (mainly with textures) i have a cat i have minor ehlers danalos (a hyper mobility disorder) but it doesn’t hurt me like it does my sisters i get abdominal migraines which is basically like a migraine but instead of headaches it’s nausea

It seems to me that you've captured the heart of...

The Lone Flame

Lance Ira!

Hear me out! Lance has a soft spot for cuteness, and you are no exception. You might need to make the first move though, and it is highly unlikely the two of you have met in class for the first time

You may have encountered him sometime out in the forest grounds as you were helping a small animal in need. Lance wondered where this little guy was, and it seemed it was in good hands, so he gave you a small thanks and then left. You couldn't get a word in before he left though

One day the headmaster asked you to get the rest of the C-ranks to join in on special lectures.

Well. Dang. You were not looking forward to this, as this was a collaborative project. Oh well, you summoned your courage and went to round up the C ranks. Lance was not exactly willing at first, but he gave in eventually

You and he were paired up to work on this project, so you kind of HAD to get to know each other to better get your project done. After much reluctance on Lance's part, he finally caved in after your insistence (read anxiety with this project)

Outside of the project, you've come to be quite fascinated by him. As intimidating as he came across, he's actually quite the softie. He cannot help but find comfort in being in your presence also. So much so that once he feels that he is absolutely sure you're trustworthy, he'll open up to you more and more

Eventually he cannot help but fall for you. As if the overlap between your interests and his wasn't enough. Neither of you could stand injustice, so you've climbed pretty high up in his ranks. Your snarky side does catch him off-guard at first, but he does quite like that about you

He does notice that you often neglect your own needs in favour of taking care of others around you, so don't be surprised if he drags you to someplace quiet so you can catch your breath and properly rest

He does also enjoy hearing you rambling about your interests, even if he might not always understand what you're talking about (*cough* video games and movies *cough*). When he learns of your low confidence, he cannot help but feel sad for you, and he will prove you wrong.

All in all, a very comforting relationship between the two of you

[frodo-with-glasses]

A Word About Love Languages

Also this just solidifies for me that Frodo’s love language is “words of affirmation” and Sam’s are “acts of service” and “physical touch”. And like. Wow. Could you choose a more potent combination to absolutely kill me on the spot.

I already screamed about this in my chapter review, but I feel the need to scream about it some more.

One of the things I wanted to do in this reading was take an honest look at the text and see if I could figure out which of the five love languages was each character’s strongest. You might be familiar with the list already: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. Most people respond to all five of these to some degree, but you’ll probably have one or two that make you feel especially loved whenever they happen. Likewise, most people will do all five of these things to express affection at one point or another, but there might be one or two that are your defaults.

I also have a theory that outgoing love languages aren’t always the same as incoming ones. For instance, I respond best to Quality Time and Physical Touch, but if I’m trying to express that I care about someone else, it’ll probably come out as Acts of Service or Words of Affirmation. However, there’s usually overlap between the two. We often show love the way that makes us most feel loved as well.

What happens when Frodo wants to express how much he cares about Sam? Words. Words come out. “Samwise Gamgee, my dearest hobbit, friend of friends.” Frodo is a scholar, and language is his forte, and that in turn manifests in how he expresses love. He uses Sam’s full name, and then heaps on the pet names and endearments, and then repeats one with more emphasis, and basically does everything in his power to leave me face-down on the floor trying to recover. Just how many times does “my dear Sam” pop up in the narrative? The elves praised Frodo for his fair tongue, but they may have been more right than they realized; even in the common language of hobbits, he has a skill for turning his words to the use of something beautiful.

What happens when Sam wants to express how much he cares about Frodo? Aside from the incredible act of service of literally going to Mordor with him, Sam always reaches out to touch him. He takes his hand in Rivendell. He takes his hand here. Holds it close, bent over so far that his own tears fall on Frodo’s knuckles and run down in rivulets between the bones on the back of his palm. Sam doesn’t have nearly the same academic background, but his emotions are potent, and the way he expresses them is both simpler than language and even more powerful than it. After all, it’s the way we’re first shown love, isn’t it? Right after we’re born. Our needs are served; our little bodies are held close to someone’s chest; we feel the warmth and closeness of another living person, and that’s how we learn that we are loved, even before we have the words to express it. Where language and culture barriers cut communication off, service and a loving touch leaps across the gap and keeps running.

Frodo expresses his affection through language. It’s high and cerebral and elvish and beautiful. But Sam strikes at a chord that is simple and base and physical and grounded—the language that thrums under all other languages, and therefore reaches even further than they do. Frodo is like the sky and air; Sam is like solid stone and earth. One fills our lungs and fascinates our minds; the other holds us steady, real and solid and firm.

The beauty of it is that each seems to recognize the beauty in the other. Sam is moved to tears by Frodo’s words. Frodo, in return, accepts Sam’s service with humility and gratitude; he sits quiet and still and lets Sam weep onto his hand, receiving his touch. Instead of clashing into confusion and hurt feelings like differing love languages often seem to do, they instead work together.

That’s harmony. Not when the same note is played or sung by everyone, but when different notes ring out—some lower, some higher—and yet they all come together and make something beautiful. Maybe the brown earth looks up and wishes it could be the sky. Maybe the sky looks down and wonders why it can never touch the ground. But when they come together, each reaching towards the other, they both can make a tall green tree.

Not SamFro!

[van-zieksy]

Hello Zieksy! ✨💖 How are you doing? I hope your day/night is doing well!

If I may, could I please ask this question? I have high hopes for Barok becoming a husband and father after he heals from the wounds caused by the past (because let’s face it, he’ll be a great one! I know he will!) What do you think are Barok’s love language? My take is that his love language consists of acts of service and quality time but more actively on the ‘acts of service’. What do you think? I love listening to what opinion you have on this, and thank you for your time! 💕💖

Hello my Angel!

I am doing pretty well. Thank you for asking. I hope all is well with you. I am always so happy to hear from you because you are such a wonderfully positive person. It’s a joy to see your name pop up on my dash.

A very interesting question! So, let’s see. The five love languages are (in no particular order):

- Words of affirmation

- Receiving gifts

- Physical touch

- Quality time

- Acts of service

I definitely do agree with your assessment. Barok is an „acts of service“ person first and foremost, with „quality time“ coming second. I think „acts of service“ and „quality time“ can also sometimes overlap, depending on what someone is doing for another person as an act of service. Further, I also wholeheartedly agree that he’d be a great father and husband (I’ve been meaning to share my thoughts with regards to this in a post, so I will do that eventually).

Overall, I think it’s a little bit of everything.

Words of affirmation: Barok does have a way with words. He puts lots of thought into his words. While the way he expresses himself in court is sometimes overly dramatic and flowery for effect, there’s no doubt in my mind that a man as educated and well-read as he is just loves playing with words, even in his private life. As a young noble he was introduced to a variety of literature and has learnt to write his own works (poetry etc.). While his words can come across as harsh/annoyed at times, this is more a reflection of his frustration with the court system and people who he thinks are not as committed/dedicated/knowledgeable as he is. It’s also that once he assumes the identity of the well-known prosecutor, everyone automatically refers to him as the Reaper and approaches him as such. After a while, that just gets on your nerves and you really don’t want to have anything to do with people anymore. Why waste your breath on niceties when everyone just sees you as a cursed murderer anyway? It’s draining. So his public persona is not necessarily an indication of how he is as a private person.

What does this mean for his loved ones? While Barok is more on the quiet side and prefers to only talk when absolutely necessary, because – to him - actions speak louder than words, he knows that his partner and children are deserving of words of affirmation. He set himself the goal of saying at least one nice thing about his loved ones every day. This can be „I love you“, „I am so grateful for you“, „Thank you for being so wonderful“, or really anything else. He likes getting creative in that regard. Sometimes his words take on the form of written notes or poems, as he loves expressing himself in writing. Every now and then he uses his free time at work to draft small love letters, which he then puts on his partner’s pillows or places them next to their cup of morning tea. Because he is also a talented singer, he enjoys surprising his loved ones with self-written songs dedicated to them. On days when our prosecutor has to spend more time at work than he would like to, he sends telegrams to his loved ones at home to let them know how much he misses them and how much he is looking forward to holding them in his arms later. There are many avenues Barok likes to explore.

Receiving gifts: As an aristocrat with too much money to spend, he has grown up with gifts. While it was never as important to him as the other love languages, he is well aware that in certain situations, a gift can express more or be more appropriate than other forms of expressing love. All of his gifts are carefully selected and bear an important meaning. Instead of gifting often, he prefers to gift in special situations, so as to not make his loved ones believe that their love can be bought. Too much of anything can be a bad thing. Barok pays close attention to what his loved ones desire. He picks up on little hints in their everyday life, such as when one of his children is shyly glancing at a particular toy in a toy store, or he notices how his partner seems to be sitting uncomfortably in their current lounge chair. It's within his nature to address such matters and surprise his loved ones with the gift they secretly long for. He himself doesn’t care much about receiving gifts. Not only because he can buy anything he wants himself, but also because physical possessions do not mean much to him. He has a few things he cares about, which are mainly his wine-related possessions and objects that hold a sentimental value. Now, if a loved one gifts him something very special, that is different. It’s the thought that counts.

Physical touch: This is definitely something he struggled with initially. Having your loved ones taken away from you and having spent over a decade as the Reaper, he couldn’t help but feel as though everyone is just trying to stab him in the back. He was also scared that he was cursed and his touch could mean death, so he thought it would be best to not get intimately involved with people. Luckily, he slowly got over this after the second game and now has a close circle of people he trusts and treasures.

Barok is a giver, not a receiver. He enjoys making his partner feel good physically in the way they desire. He has studied them long enough to know what brings them joy. The first thing he does every morning is to lean over to his partner for a morning kiss. They spend a few minutes in bed just embracing each other’s company, because being married to a prosecutor who takes on high-profile cases, you just never know if something may not happen to him, so every moment counts. He approaches them from behind randomly to place a kiss on their neck. He caresses their hair as they rest their head in his lap. Some nights he has to spend in his study to prepare for an upcoming trial, whether he likes it or not, but even then he makes it a point to get up from his desk every once in a while to spend a few minutes enjoying his partner’s warmth. Every morning before he leaves for work, he places a gentle kiss on his children’s foreheads. Every evening when he gets home, they jump into his arms as they greet him. It’s a good thing he’s built the way he’s built, because that allows him to carry all three little rascals at the same time.

On the other hand, our man also enjoys being on the receiving end of phyiscal intimacy. It’s just been too long since someone actually showed him how much he is appreciated, loved, respected even. Sometimes it still feels like a fever dream to him, but he gets used to it more and more with each day that passes.

Barok missed those displays of physical affection during his time as the Reaper. While he wasn’t all alone during those years, sadly most relationships quickly fell apart due to the stress involved. Getting to share physical intimacy now with the most important people in his life means so much more to him. Selfless love is a beautiful thing.

Quality time: Like you’ve already said, this is very important to him. He feels as though he has previously lost a whole decade, so all the time he is now able to spend with the people he cherishes, is the most valuable thing in the world to him. While his job keeps him busy, he knows that he could stop working at any point if it would interfere with his private life too much. It’s not as though he needs the money, but he enjoys helping to make London a safer place to live, an aspect his family can also benefit from, so he’s not ready to retire just yet.

His whole weekend is dedicated to quality family time. They do a variety of things: go on trips, visit the family vineyards, travel out into the countryside, attend performances, explore exhibitions and museums (much to his dismay, his children are obsessed with the infamous wax museum because they want to go see wax figure daddy as often as they can), enjoy ice cream during the short London summers, go horseback riding, and so forth. Even during the week, Barok spends as much time with his family as possible. He is happy to support his children’s hobbies and teach them new things, as he wants for them to expand their own horizons. Thanks to Klint’s positive influence when he was younger, he is a well-rounded person, which is something he wants to pass on to his own children. Every night he sets aside some time that is dedicated to his partner alone. They read together, discuss philosophy or literature, sing, dance, play the harpsichord (a family heirloom that has been passed down from generation to generation) or the piano, take strolls through their very own garden, and Barok’s partner happily agrees to some blind-tasting of his new wine creations. Despite having his own staff usually cooking for them, sometimes Barok escapes into the kitchen with his partner and children to conjure up recipes that align well with his wine creations. With his sleeves rolled up and hair secured under a hair net, his creativity knows no boundaries. The fact that he spends time with his children, even displays physical affection, sets him apart form many other Victorian era parents.

If Barok knows one thing in life, it’s how precious time is. He has experienced firsthand what it means to have your life slip away from underneath you. You can’t make up for lost time. You can only make the most out of the time you have. He also wants other people to be able to enjoy their life and treasure their loved ones, so he has granted each member of his staff four weeks off during the year that they can spend doing anything and with whom they desire. During the Christmas Holidays he doesn’t expect them to be present so that they can spend those days with their own families. Cooking, decorating, planning the whole festivities, it all falls on him. Everyone only has so much time in their life, which is why he believes that everyone deserves to allocate at least some of their time to the things that they hold dear.

Acts of service: Barok’s specialty. This is what matters most to him. He has always believed that actions speak louder than words. Words are meaningless if not supported by evidence, which may very well be the attorney in him that’s speaking here. But because he’s always been more on the quiet side, he always found it easier to display his feelings rather than talk about them. Barok is not your typical aristocrat, father and husband. While absolutely a stickler for etiquette – he just can’t help it -, he also likes being unconventional. He is very involved in household chores and dedicates much of his time to his family, much more than some of his friends dedicate to their families.

Let’s start with his staff. He knows that they are only doing their job, but because he’s compensating them well and treating them much better than some other nobles he’s familiar with, they often go out of their way to show him that they appreciate their Lord for who he is. Whether it’s baking his favourite biscuits or scones after a hard day at the Old Bailey, or fixing something around the mansion before he even had the chance to address the issue, it’s little acts of service that fill Barok with joy, as he knows that people are doing them out of an intrinsic desire. As for his children, it makes him so proud when they offer to help their daddy or his staff with chores. He sometimes has to chuckle when he sees the end result of their „work“, but it’s more out of adoration than anything else. Barok is very well aware that his partner isn’t required to do anything around the house. They could fully focus on themselves and their interests, which is exactly why it makes him so happy when he gets home to a meal they prepared, or when they have developed a new system for arranging his wine barrels, which happens a lot because he changes his mind so often (it's his decision in the end, yet he wholeheartedly appreciates the schematics his partner has drawn for him).

In turn, it is also of the utmost importance to Barok to be the one who provides these acts of service. Yes, he does have his own staff to take care of everything. They’d do really anything for him, which is a little scary to him as well. While he trusts them, in the end you just never know. Not to mention how particular he is, so he’d rather let in his own bathwater, clean his own bedroom and whatnot. But it’s also that he simply doesn’t expect his staff to do everything. They really do appreciate that their Lord is so involved. You often see him tend to the flower and vegetable gardens, dust off books in the library, clean his chalice collection, help with the dishes, get the children ready for bed, help his partner get dressed in the mornings, fix a leaking tub, things like that. He doesn’t feel like he is above any everyday tasks, no matter how mundane they may seem. It’s his way of showing affection, and he certainly doesn’t expect anything in return.

In a nutshell, yes, I do see him as someone who embraces any love language to varying degrees. Acts of service and quality time are at the top. Thanks again!

(Happy Barok is best Barok, so I really appreciate that you allowed me to think about a future, happier Barok.)

[aaetherius]

@cxffexngel​:

“ Ah, Lucifer! ” The young man would stammer while holding an arm up, from the door’s frame after the bell has rung announcing the barista’s presence. It was one of those days their schedules connected, with the visit paid to the other still in his mind as a dear memory - their shared little secret of awful coffee cups and laughs, to the hoodie the other had allowed the smaller to keep for the time being, indefinitely despise Sandalphon’s best efforts to give it back, much to his disdain. The barista, with at least all of his uniform sported except of the apron to be taken from the cafe’s restrooms for the staff excuses himself, clicks of his heels echoing within the peaceful quiet of the cafe as he makes his ways towards where the other stands, a delicate assortment of flowers tenderly tucked on his other arm, letting the free one fall to his side – heart pounding loudly against his ears and lips quivering with the thought of simply placing the bouquet right there and run to be never found ever again.

Really, it was in a whim that much confidence was gathered from a fateful morning where his energies had been much higher than the usual, and had taken the initiative of not using someone as a proxy deliveryman ( not that he blames Hal and Mal’s disappointment when he had informed them that their services were not needed for now, the two girls having grown fond of these favors knowing how much they enjoyed it. ) and walk past the door, with the poem of the day and the flowers for Lucifer. Gerbera Daisies proudly displaying their delicate petals at the front, contoured with an assortment of blue Irises delicately painting the Daisies white in a deep hue of a early night’s sky. They helplessly shelter the man’s chest that he feels as if it’d burst from the now rising fluster and shyness that paints in its entirety his heart, but easily balanced with what remains of the confidence grown on Sandalphon. “ I… Hope I’m not imposing too much, but these are for you. And, Good morning. ” And he really, really hopes at least this hints more clearly what months of flowers, each handpicked carefully and with the same passion and understanding evolving within the man’s heart is enough to convey his feelings – maybe, this would be the day. If not? surely it’d hurt, but nothing Sandalphon couldn’t handle, what he’d like to think. Able to shoulder many delusions even if they slowly poison his soul, where silence suffocates his otherwise homely place Lucifer had seen, from outside at least once when he’d taken the turn of accompanying Sandalphon back home much before - or the times he believes there’s something more in the way Lucifer looks at him, yet reels back the moment clouds fog those dazzling eyes that, even now, look as beautiful as ever.

[ cxffexngel || because modern verse lucifer needs also some love! ]

  His back is turned to the door - the morning still early enough that the cafe hasn’t opened just yet. His elbows leaning on the back counter as he takes a manual tally of supplies to ensure there’s enough sugar, cocoa powder, coffee beans, and everything else one can imagine to get them through the rest of the day, and, hopefully, the remainder of the week as well. The soft tune he hums vibrates in his throat, but is largely drowned out by the call clink of wind-chimes, and the tap of shoes against the pavement outside of his humble shop. There’s a hint of joy in his mellow voice, though; one that’s reflected in his glimmering irises. One that us always present whenever his shift happens to overlap with Sandalphon’s, and he can feel the unreliable pace of his heartbeat quicken at the thought. Straightening his back, he inhales against the scent of fresh coffee grinds and cream, but the action does little to quell the ache beginning to form in his chest when he hears the pleasant chime of the bells tied to the door, and the rattle of the glass as it opens. And, just like that, the mental total of each supply he had counted thus far - the very one he had been keeping track of since sunrise that morning, is gone.

    Instantly, he perks up at the sound of his name, leaving behind any chance to finish what he had been doing to turn, and move to greet the other with a sincere smile few were privy to. It’s the same, gentle tilt of his rosy lips that the barista is always offered - the same shimmer present in his otherwise hazy eyes that are always still a bit sleep-kissed from nights he spends coming up with new ideas for coffee recipes or running his fingers through Ellie’s fur to put off the actual act of resting, and the same, but ever faint color that makes his glossy skin look somewhat human instead of like porcelain crafted by the most skillful of hands. “Good morning, Sandalphon.” The same warmth, and fondness that always seeps into his tone whenever he speaks to the other. Though, perhaps, this time, it’s even softer - the memory of the day they had spent together still ever present in his mind. But he welcomed it. To him, it was something soothing in an otherwise tumultuous sea of thoughts.  

     After a moment, his eyes fall to the flowers tucked carefully beneath the other’s arm - his head tilting in a quizzical manner as he admires the collection of flowers. Even now, he’s still not familiarized himself with their meaning, though he knows how much a single flower is capable of conveying without uttering a word. He supposed he could have done more research on such a thing when the anonymous bouquets had become commonplace in the cafe, but he rather liked hearing Sandalphon point it out to him, so he would always, instead, choose to ask the other about them. Seeing them with the barista; however, was new. The flowers had always been delivered to the cafe by a pair of flower shop employees who were always eager, and giddy to hand them over to him. Ah, then, perhaps these flowers weren’t from the sender, and rather a gift from Sandalphon himself - the other had mentioned tending to flowers before, and he seen the shop linked to his home before. But, oh, that thought serves to make his heartbeat race, as well as make it drop to the pit of his stomach at the same time, and he doesn’t quite understand why. A part of him had always imagined that, perhaps, Sandalphon had been the sender, but he had always dismissed that theory - he might have wished for it to be true, but that’s all it was. A daydream. A wish. For there to even be the slightest possibility that all oof those flowers had been from the other, why, it brings him more joy than he believes anything else could have or would have been able to. Yet. in that same breathe, the chance that Sandalphon isn’t the one sending them is enough to make his heart shatter. But those flowers so closely resemble the ones he’s been given in the past - carefully arranged, and breathtaking. 

      He pulls himself away from his worries just as the other speaks up, and his heart quickly leaps from his stomach to his throat, and he’s beginning to wonder if he truly had caught a cold after all of the fretting he had done over Sandalphon’s health when the other had visited him in the middle of a storm. “I see. Thank you, they are truly beautiful,” he exhales, his voice still soft and full of warmth, though it trembles slightly as it leaves his lips, and he gingerly accepts the flowers, holding them close to his chest as his eyes dance over their lush petals. Fingers lift to trace their leaves so lightly that they dare not even sway, and he can feel his chest tighten when he spots a poem tucked away amongst them. It’s enough to make him hope, perhaps a bit too much, as he slowly lifts his head to look at Sandalphon once more. “Are these ones from you, Sandalphon?” How dearly he prays they are. He holds the flowers as carefully as he can, not wishing to grip them too tightly. “May I ask you, once more, what they symbolize? I am afraid, in my research, I have yet to come across them.” Perhaps, just this once, he can allow himself to dream. It was the other, after all, who had reminded him that such a thing was still possible.    

[allicekitty13]

A Garden On My Skin

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In a world where every scar produces a floral mark on the body of your soulmate in the same spot Alice Brandon tries to find the one who's caused her body to look like a garden.

Alice was strange; her skin was covered from head to toe on almost every surface of her body in flowers. Alice, like so many others, was blessed with a soulmate. Every beautiful flower on hey body represented a scar received by the individual to whom her heart was connected.

It started when she was a baby, at least that's what her mother had told her. At just five months old, the first flower appeared on Alice's shoulder. It was a reasonably common occurrence; her mother assumed her daughter's soulmate must have been in their terrible twos, causing trouble that ended in injury.

Alice was one when her mother woke up to find that a dahlia had surfaced on her daughter's leg overnight. Two flowers on a one-year-old was less common but not entirely unheard of. Lilian Brandon hoped that her daughter's soulmate would grow to be a bit more careful. 

By the time Alice was of school-age, however, Lilian was fretful. Her daughter now had six flowers; a number most people would accumulate over their lifetime, not in only five short years. She dressed her daughter in long sleeves and pants to cover as much as possible, leaving only the rosebuds that framed her left eyebrow exposed.

Lilian didn't mind her daughter's floral embellishments; it wasn't something that could be helped; instead choosing to teach Alice to appreciate the gift. Her husband looked at things differently. Edgar had always hated the flowers; the small lilac on Lillian's left knuckle had always been a source of tension between the two. Not everyone had a soulmate, and Edgar had no flowers while the local librarian had a small scar on his left knuckle. Lilian did not go to the library often. 

At sixteen, she was old enough to understand what the markings meant. Old enough to recognize that most people didn't have a soul mate, to fully know that people treated those with markings a bit differently. It was a societal standard to keep your marks concealed wherever possible, never to discuss them. Alice couldn't do that. There were lilies on her cheek, a rose above her eyebrow, a lilac on her neck. Her arms long since covered by so many overlapping flowers, it was hard to identify them all. 

She didn't allow herself to be bothered by the marks, the stares she got on the street, or how people in her town did not want anything to do with strange little Alice. She loved the garden on her skin, spending a lot of time alone thinking about what must be happening to this person. Why and how they must be getting hurt so very often. It seemed as though a new mark would appear every few months. She worried for them, were they safe, did they think about her. She often wished she could skip all the in-between and go find them.

She was sixteen when her life took a dark turn. One morning, she had woken up to find the police in her living room carrying the news of her mother's passing. I was a car crash, deemed an accident, but Alice couldn't quite bring herself to accept that. A week later, the library closed temporarily; the librarian had drowned. His death had people talking; the townsfolk gossiped about Lillian Brandon having an affair with the librarian, how the man had drowned himself out of grief when he had heard of her passing.

Alice had other suspicions; she had felt that her father had a hand in her mother's death from the get-go. He would put up a good show of playing the part of mourning husband with the police and the mourners who came to pay respects, yet acted as though nothing was wrong when it was just he and Alice alone in the house. 

She felt as though her suspicions had been confirmed the day after her mother's funeral. She witnessed her father handing a strange envelope to a shady stranger at the memorial service. A week later, he moved a woman named Anna-Marie into the home. They were engaged within the week, married within the month.

Alice hated her new step-mother, the way she would dote on her in public, playing the part of a loving parent. At home, Anna-Marie was distant, cold; she wanted nothing to do with Alice. Sadly it seemed neither did Edgar. The only solace she took was in the genuine care and adoration given to her younger sister. At least no matter what happened, Cynthia would be Ok.

Alice knew what was coming long before it actually did. She'd had her escape planned out for weeks. Alice would wait for Edgar and Anna-Marie to leave for town without her, then grab the pre-packed backpack hidden in her closet and run. She would go through the woods and search the country for her soulmate; surely, they would care about her. Surely wherever they were would be better than here. 

She had made it just far enough into the woods that no one in town would hear anything that may transpire deep in the woods. Whoever her father had hired to follow her wasn't very discrete. She'd heard the footsteps long ago, the crunching of leaves and occasional snapping of a twig. She'd tried to lose them but had been ultimately unsuccessful. She recognized the smell of gunpowder first, hearing the sound of the gunshot mere milliseconds later. Alice understood what had happened before registering the pain letting out a soft chuckle as she fell to the ground. She felt as though she lay there for an eternity silently crying as the life faded from her body before everything went black. Unconscious, Alice didn't notice the strange man who silently approached. Didn't feel as he bent over, sinking his fangs into her throat. However, she did notice when he unclenched his jaw from her neck, and the most intense pain she believed possible spread through her body like fire.

----

When Alice opened her eyes, she was alone in a small, dark, wooden shack. She looked around at the space from the bed she had been placed on, trying to figure out how she got here. The last thing Alice could remember was the bullet hitting her back, and then... so much pain. Now, her throat was burning; she needed water. No, not water... but what? 

Alice stood, needing to find something to relieve the pain she felt in her throat when a man entered the one-room shack; he held his hands out, indicating he was not there to harm her. He tossed an unconscious rabbit at her feet. She immediately understood what to do, picking it up to drink deeply; the blood coated her throat, ceasing the burning sensation temporarily. 

Alice would spend the next five years with this man, whom she learned to be named Carlisle. He explained how he'd found her bleeding to death in the woods and turned her into a vampire just before she had passed on saving her life. Carlisle taught her about vampiric customs, how they lived in secret, and how to hide in plain sight amongst humans. How he fed off of animals and how to hunt. 

As much as Alice enjoyed her time with Carlisle and eventually, his wife, Esme; she still wanted to find her soulmate, as new flowers continued to show up every day. So she bid the couple farewell, promising that she would return one day.

Three years later, she met Charlotte; Alice was working as a sketch artist in Philidelphia when she encountered the woman on a walk late at night. She had never seen another person with as many marks as she had and immediately approached the woman. Charlotte was kind, explaining how she and her soulmate Peter had been involved in vampire wars in the south. They had both been bitten numerous times during battle; consequently, they both had gardens just like Alice. 

She stayed with the pair for a month when she approached Charlotte with a question. Alice pulled down her sleeve to expose a long scar on her left shoulder blade. She wanted to know if Charlotte or Peter had ever seen anyone with a matching mark during their time in the south. Maybe just like the pair,  her soulmate had been involved, thus the reason for her floral prints. The couple shared a mutual look of realization; Peter nodded in affirmation before leaving abruptly.

Charlotte sat down with Alice, prepared to explain some things. She told her about a man named Jasper, a man who'd had his entire worldview shaken apart the day a rose vine appeared on his shoulderblade. Not only was Jasper involved in the wars, but he was also a significant player. Jasper was the right-hand man of the leader of one of the most powerful covens in the south, the very same coven from which Peter and Charlotte had escaped. Charlotte confided in Alice that he had been questioning his role in the disputes for decades, how Peter had gone back countless times, risking his life in attempts to convince Jasper to leave. It had taken that rose vine to change his mind, to make him realize just maybe there was something better out there for him. He had been looking for her ever since.

When Peter returned alone, Alice wished she could cry; she had wanted desperately to find this man ever since the day her father had brought Anna-Marie into their home. She wanted someone to honestly care for and understand her. When Peter told her Jasper was waiting at the train station, she'd never run so fast in her life in her haste to get there. 

He was waiting as promised; suddenly nervous, she hid behind a stone pillar just hidden from view, taking him in. He was a tall, stoic man; even from a distance, Alice could make out a rosebud on his neck in the exact same spot Carlisle had bitten her years ago. When he turned his head slightly, she was able to make out a pair of striking red eyes and an expression of apprehension. With a sudden surge of courage, she stepped out into full view, taking cautious steps toward the man who now stared at her. 

They stood there for a moment, each taking the other in neither speaking, both of them just existing in this long-awaited moment. The instant Alice looked into his eyes, she felt comfortable; he seemed so familiar as though she had known him her entire life. It was an instant, overwhelming connection, and in that moment, she knew that she would never leave his side.

"Hi, my name is Alice." She broke the silence, finally extending a hand.

[reading-writing-revolution]

Heather Cox Richardson:

24 Aug 2020

Trump is running far behind Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the polls. In early February 2020, at its best, his overall popularity rating hovered close to 50%. In the same month, according to a Gallup poll, 63% of Americans approved of the way he was handling the economy. To keep this economic success story going, Trump downplayed the coronavirus, leaving us wide open to its devastation. It hit the U.S. in earnest shortly after this poll was taken. The economy shut down, and we plummeted into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

But Trump is determined to be reelected, so determined that he has begun to suggest he will not accept a Biden victory as valid. There is room to speculate about why he is so obsessed with reelection that he took the unprecedented step of filing for reelection way back in January 2017, on the day of his inauguration. One possible answer is that campaign money can be used to pay for lawyers under certain circumstances. As of May, the campaign had spent more than $16 million on legal services—in comparison, George W. Bush spent $8.8 million; Barack Obama spent $5.5 million; and, in May, Biden had spent just $1.3 million. Another possible answer is that the Department of Justice maintains that a sitting president cannot be indicted.

To pull off a win Trump is trying to guarantee loyal Republican voters will show up to vote. To that end, he is favoring evangelical voters, his most loyal bloc. Last week’s posthumous pardon for Susan B. Anthony was a gift to anti-abortion activists; yesterday Trump explicitly called the attention of evangelical Christians to his lie that “The Democrats took the word GOD out of the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democrat National Convention.” (They didn’t. The Muslim caucus and the LGBTQ caucus, both of which met privately, left the words “under God” out. All the public, televised events used the words.)

This morning he was more abrupt. He tweeted: “Happy Sunday! We want GOD!” And then he went golfing.

He is also trying to consolidate power over Republican lawmakers, making the party his own. The Republican National Convention starts tomorrow night, and it seems it will be the Trump Show. The convention was initially supposed to be in Charlotte, North Carolina, and then Trump moved it to Jacksonville, Florida, when North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, would not guarantee he could have full capacity despite the coronavirus. Finally, in the wake of the under-attended Tulsa rally, Trump recognized that the convention would have to be virtual. But this has left planners scrambling to plan a convention in four weeks, when planning one usually takes a full year. No one seems quite sure what is going to happen.

It is traditional for a candidate to put in a short appearance to acknowledge the nomination and then give a keynote acceptance speech on the last day. But the RNC’s announced line-up features Trump speaking every night in the prime-time slot. The speakers include the First Lady and all of the adult Trump children, including Tiffany, but do not include any of the previous Republican presidents or presidential nominees, which is unusual.

Trump will speak live from the White House. This raises legal questions because while the president and vice-president are not covered by the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities, the rest of the White House staff is. Further, it is against the law to coerce federal employees to conduct political activity.

Vice President Mike Pence will also speak from federal property—possibly Fort McHenry— the First Lady will speak from the newly renovated Rose Garden, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will apparently speak from Jerusalem while on an official trip to the Middle East, although secretaries of state generally do not speak at either political convention. Democrats have raised concerns about the overlap between official property and business and the Trump campaign.

The Republicans have written no platform to outline policies and goals for the future. Instead they passed a resolution saying that “the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President’s America-first agenda.” The party appears now to be Trump’s.

But….

The Republicans’ next resolution calls on the media “to engage in accurate and unbiased reporting, especially as it relates to the strong support of the RNC for President Trump and his Administration.” And a final resolution prohibited the Republicans from making any motions to write a new platform.

If you read that carefully, you see people trying to convince everyone that they are united, when they are, in fact, badly split.

Trump’s extremism is alienating the voters that other Republican lawmakers need to stay in power, and those lawmakers are trying to keep their distance from him without antagonizing his base. Yesterday, in Portland, Oregon, the police refused to respond as neo-fascist Proud Boys and armed militia members staging a “Back the Blue” rally attacked Black Lives Matter protesters, who fought back. It is a truism in American history that violence costs a group political support, and militia groups are angry because Facebook has banned them, hurting their ability to recruit.

Today, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officers shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, in the back multiple times in front of his children; the shooting was caught on video and has sparked outrage.

Tell-all books are also undermining the president. Yesterday, it came out that when researching her book, Mary Trump, the president’s niece, recorded her aunt, Maryanne Trump Barry, Trump’s sister, discussing Trump. “All he wants to do is appeal to his base,” Barry said. “He has no principles. None. None.” “Donald is cruel,” she said, “he was a brat.” A new book by CNN reporter Brian Stelter shows how Trump simply echoes the personalities at the Fox News Channel. And former Trump fixer Michael Cohen is about to release his own book about his years working for Trump.

Trump also took a personal hit tonight, when advisor Kellyanne Conway announced she was leaving the White House. Both she and her husband, George Conway, a co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, are stepping away from the public eye to deal with family issues exacerbated by the political drama of the past several years.

And the Russia story, revived by the fifth volume of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on Russian connections to the 2016 Trump campaign, is not going away. Tonight, the Daily Beast reported that Jared Kushner—who after, all, could not get a security clearance until Trump overruled authorities-- has been using a secret back channel to communicate with a Putin representative. According to the story, Steve Bannon, who was arrested on Friday by the acting U.S. Attorney at the Southern District of New York and so now has an excellent reason to flip, knew all about it.

This afternoon, Trump tried to change the news trend when he called a press conference to announce what he called a “safe and effective treatment” for Covid-19. The FDA has approved an Emergency Use Authorization for convalescent plasma, a treatment involving giving anti-body rich plasma from those who have had the virus to those ill with it. Studies show that the treatment has some potential, but there has been little scientific study of it, and it is certainly not established as an effective treatment. Federal health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have objected to the EUA until there is more information; Trump has accused the doctors of delaying approval for political reasons. He walked out of the press conference after a reporter asked about the discrepancy between his triumphant announcement of a treatment and a doctor's explanation that plasma has potential.

So the best option for the president to win in 2020 might be to keep Biden supporters from voting. Yesterday, the House passed a bill committing $25 billion to the United States Postal Service and to stop Postmaster General Louis DeJoy from making more changes that are delaying the delivery of the mail. Today, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refused to take up the bill.

But Americans have figured out that they can avoid using the slowed USPS by turning to Ballot Drop Boxes. So today, Trump tweeted that “Mail Drop Boxes… are a voter security disaster,” that are “not Covid sanitized.”

Twitter slapped a warning on it: “This tweet violated the Twitter rules about civic and election integrity.”

[grimoiresontape]

Reading Room: Demetrius Lacroix

This week I am delighted to be joined by my dear friend and godbrother-twice-over Demetrius Lacroix, to talk about good divination practices, client care, and combining community-minded charity and spirituality. Demetrius is a Tarot Reader, an Oungan Asogwe in Haitain Vodou and the co-owner of Botanica Macumba, an up-and-coming spiritual supplies store and community space down in the New Orleans.

Al: Laroye! Thanks for having this conversation with me. You are a great reader in many different styles and systems of divination. How do you help a client decide which kind of divination is best for them? When do you recommend, say, tarot over palmistry?

Demetrius: I try to guide all my clients to the information that will help them the most: Tarot and Palmistry are two of the prime examples that people have come to expect and ask for. Many of them are not aware of the ways these two divination systems work. Tarot for me is highly detailed, and lays out a very wide story and can tell the story with depth. Palmistry lays out many details as well, but they pertain more directly to the client themselves, their likes and dislikes, and the general things they can expect throughout their lifetime. The time-line of the information is much broader, much longer, and therefore not always totally helpful. Many of my clients are looking to know what is happening in the right now, this coming week, their relationship today, and I find that for me Tarot answers this more clearly than palmistry.

A: That makes a lot of sense, palmistry being more concerned with the individual’s whole life. If I have a case that needs concrete specificity cartomancy is usually my go-to. I am very much a fan of Professor Porterfield’s cartomancy as taught in his A Deck of Spells book - very historically-grounded Hoodoo style of reading playing cards to answer questions and remediate problems. 

Geomancy is also good at delivering perspective on particular plans and projects, but is still a little less well known unfortunately. So, hey, what’s the weirdest form of divination you’ve ever heard of or seen?

D: My Mambo in Haitian Vodou reads with people’s left shoes, I’m not sure how that works but she can do it!  And while not necessarily being weird, it reading of molten tin or lead, when it is poured into water. The results are determined much like in Ceromancy, divination through candle wax.

I sometimes wish I could sit in a cave with lots of fumes of various burning organic matter and scry into a mirror or darkness, giving messages of fortune, for now I'll stick to my reading room in Botanica Macumba.

A: What do you find to be the the subtlest or trickiest kinds of questions or clients?

 D: I find that questions about love tend to be the most overtly tricky – I always try to divine on relationships from the perspective of both individuals, so I can try to read with balanced perspective. I feel like some people try to use divination as a way to get someone to validate or confirm plots and decisions that may not be given approval by their friends or other associates.  I have found that in readings, the client may not be willing to tell the full truth about a situation, and that they may be reactionary when you tell them news that is contrary to what they want to hear. Even though I have a tendency to be direct and straightforward where someone may feel like my message is an insult to them or what they value, it’s rarely my goal to.offend, it is my goal to interpret the information to you as is being presented. I believe the client wants a genuine reading, not just a cheerleader for bad habits and decisions.

 A: I like this technique of divining on the relationship from both perspectives. That’s really neat. So much helping people navigate their current relationships is about identifying unspoken projections and expectations, and the bridges and gaps and overlaps between two people, not some simple pronouncement on The Relationship as an abstract concept. 

D: It takes two to tango: I can’t place a value of helpful/not helpful good/bad without seeing both dancers moves across the floor.

 Also, I find that some people become obsessed with mysterious life questions like "when will I die?"

 A: That’s a puzzling one isn’t it? I’ve only ever been asked that by troublesome “clients” to be honest; specifically ones not taking the reading seriously. On the other hand, I’ve also heard answering that question described as The Worstest Immoral Thing a diviner can do. Personally, I think there are more unethical practices than that. Historically, it was a common question, and especially the particular variant “Will my spouse or I die first?” It was considered a pragmatic question; a matter of making informed decisions and making life plans. That said, I also accept it’s a pretty morbid and potentially saddening thing to know, of course.

D: It’s not that I don't think it should not be done, or entertained as an idea; just that usually the people asking won't profit from that kind of information, nor do I believe that tarot is going to draw that out clearly.

A: How much ritual do you do around your reading? Do you light a lot of candles, invoke anything particular, or just flip cards straight off?

D: I have very subtle rituals, I read both in stores, private homes and outdoors. I usually have a candle and water, maybe use some incense to clear the air, and to make a space somewhat suitable to the Spirits, and Ancestors. I also use cloth that I have done value spiritual work on top of. Also a lot of the seemingly random items I bring with me generally serve some purpose for me during before or after the reading.

A: What are your go-to sorceries and tricks to keep your divining muscles fit and active?

D: first thing is to make sure you are taking care of your self, and your Ancestors and Spirits. There are a lot of baths and observances you can do. I have a regiment of baths, special cleanings, ways I treat my cards, and the maintenance of amulets and rituals. For people who read like you or I, I also recommend downtime, I like to take long walks, have peacefully silence or music something that allows me to collect myself so I can be in peace and centered with my own spirit so I can continue giving quality readings. 

A: You co-run Botanica Macumba down in New Orleans - a magic shop everyone should go check out! - and have an upcoming event combining charity work for local underprivileged kids and celebrating the Lwa. Could you tell our readers a little more about that?

D: Vodou, along side many of the West African Diaspora Traditions talk a lot about community which is seen in action in their places of origin like Haiti, Cuba, Brazil etc, where people are coming together to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others. It’s important to me, and my business partners that we do the same. In these traditions, the spiritual work is not always an elaborate ceremony, sometimes it’s the work that lets us connect people with blessings, that helps feed a person who has nothing, or in the case of our next event, the prayer service to the Marassa, it allows us to help children. The Marassa are the Divine twins, and are the spiritual representatives of the potential power of children. Children during the holiday season all over will be given gifts, and it's a sad day when a child doesn’t have a gift to open on a day when all their peers across the country will open presents and be surprised. To give a moment of joy to a child is an act of service to the Marassa and the many other lwa. Mindless religious observation - while not taking into account the living world, and considerations made for humans, or the world around us - is often the norm, but we're proud to not be normal.

Toys for Blessings: A Service for the Marassa, The Divine Twins Botanica Macumba, in conjunction with Crescent City Conjure and Alombrados Oasis O.T.O., will be hosting a charity toy drive, prayer service, celebration, and blessing for the community on Sunday 8 December at 7:00pm. The service will include a ritual blessing from the Marassa and a celebratory feast in their honor after the service. Entrance is free for everyone who brings a new unwrapped toy for donation to help children who would otherwise go without. Alternately a $20 donation for toys is also welcome. This is traditionally known as an Action de Grace ( an action of grace). We offer this act of charity in exchange to receive blessings from the Marassa for ourselves and for the community. The Marassa are the Divine Twins and are the Spiritual force of children. They are seen as givers of blessings, they multiply blessings, and duplicate and continue to replicate the way they are interacted with; just like the way we treat children will reflect in how they will develop. To help children experience joy and happiness is the ultimate service to the Marassa and this joy is multiplied by them. It is our hope to elevate the children of today to a station beyond even what is attainable for us. Please bring a new unwrapped gift, or cash donation. Botanica Macumba is located at 3154 St. Claude across the street from the Family Dollar.

[och-ako]

Flames That Don’t Burn

04/02/19

@xmagicxshopx

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RACHEL! I hope you have an amazing day! I wrote you this little Jungkook fanfic as your gift. I hope you like it! It’s basically a Jungkook/Rachel fic just for you heheh <3 

Genre: Fantasy, Romance Word Count: 3,895 Rating: PG-13 Plot: nephilim!jungkook. I blinked, taking a few deep breaths to try to calm my racing heart. “But you … you saved me,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper and he nodded again. “Why? H-How? You … You’re not human, are you?” Content Warning(s): violence and blood and stuff like that

It was always the same: wake up, brush my teeth, fix breakfast and pack lunch, and go to the same job where I sat at the same desk and did the same thing. It was starting to get tedious, to say the least. I was desperate for something—anything—to snap me out off this endless loop because I was starting to feel like a hamster running around in a wheel: no matter how much I ran, I stayed in one place.

Sighing, I tightened the strap of my purse on my shoulder, making my way out of the elevator and into the parking garage, car key in hand. At least when I got home, I could do whatever I wanted. Read, write, anything. And the best part? I could change out of these uncomfortable clothes. The sun was setting, but the day was far from over. There was so much I wanted to get done. If I didn’t fall asleep, that was.

My shoes click-clacked against the ground, echoing throughout the practically empty parking lot.

“Excuse me? Miss?”

I practically jumped out of my skin when I heard the voice so close to my ear. I stepped back, looking at the stranger with wide eyes and tried to calm my now racing heart. I could have sworn I was the only one in this parking lot just now, so where did this strange man come from? He looked innocent enough, though. Scruffy blonde hair and glasses that sat crookedly on the bridge of his nose.

I blinked a few times before I found my words again. “Y-Yes?”

“I was wondering if you could help me. See, my car ran out of gas and I’m kinda stuck. My phone doesn’t have service in this garage, either, so I can’t call anyone. Can I borrow your phone?”

It was a bit of an odd request. Most places had cell phone service these days, but maybe he had a smaller, cheaper network. Judging from his mud-stained jeans, he wasn’t rich like the CEO of the company I worked for. Most people weren’t. And besides, I hated turning people down, especially when they were in need of help. Surely letting him borrow my phone for a couple minutes would be fine.

“Oh, uh, sure,” I said, rummaging through my purse and deciding that I definitely needed to clean it out because there were a few too many loose receipts piling it. I finally found my phone at the bottom of the bag, unlocked it, and handed it to the young man, a smile pulling at the corner of my lips. “Here you go,” I said and he smiled back.

As he reached out to take the phone, however, he grabbed my wrist instead, squeezing it hard and making me yelp. I tried to pull away, but his grip was like stone and, for some reason, his palm was scorching hot. It felt like I was leaning against a seatbelt on a particularly hot day.

“L-Let go of me,” I said, still trying to pull away as the young man’s smile twisted into something much more sinister.

Then something in his face changed and my throat was so dry that I couldn’t even stifle a scream for help. His canines grew an extra inch and the whites of his eyes turned completely black, an abyss of nothing, my terrified reflection staring back at me. His ears grew pointed and a cloud of black smoke appeared around him, circling him like a lioness circled her prey.

My eyes lined with tears as I tried with all my strength to pull away from his iron grip, but the more I struggled, the tighter he held on. Opening his mouth, he let out a menacing laugh that sounded like two different laughs from two different people overlapping each other.

“You can see my true form now,” the young man said, his voice sending a thousand shivers down my spine. ���Good. I love it when they sweat with fear. Makes them taste better. Saltier.”

I whimpered, looking down at my wrist. His hand was still wrapped around it, his nails suddenly long and black, the ends digging into my sensitive skin so hard they left little droplets of blood behind. My normally pale skin was turning purple where he touched me and the color seemed to be creeping further up my arm the longer he held on.

“Help!” I managed to yelp, but my voice was so hoarse and barely there that no one in the building could have possibly heard it. The young man—or whatever he was because it certainly wasn’t human—laughed, mocking me.

“Humans are so fun to hunt,” he hissed. “Dumb as shit. I’m tempted to give you a head start so I could chase after you. That would be fun, don’t you think?”

“Wh-Wh-What are you?” I stammered, putting all my weight into trying to free myself from his tight grip, but to no avail.

The thing tilted its head, its snake-like tongue escaping between its teeth and running up the side of my cheek, making me wince.

It hummed as its tongue slipped back into its mouth, its face so close to mine that I could feel its breath on my cheek as it spoke so nonchalantly. “I’m a demon. And pretty human girls are a demon’s favorite snack.”

I hated how weak and vulnerable I felt in this situation. With his grip on me, there was absolutely nothing I could do to defend myself. My purse and my phone were dropped onto the ground long ago and my voice seemed to be betraying me every chance it got. Not to mention my legs, which felt like jelly, so even if I wanted to kick him where the sun didn’t shine, I was stuck like a deer in headlights, completely helpless.

About to die.

I squeezed my eyes shut as those canines inched closer to my neck, bracing myself for the pain. I thought about my family and my friends and all the people I loved. And I thought about how I may never get to talk to any of them again and my chest felt heavy, like my heart was a giant weight sinking all the way down to my feet. A scream bubbled in the back of my throat, but before I could release it, the pressure on my wrist was released and I fell back, stumbling over my own feet and falling hard on my backside. I opened one eye before the other, trying to figure out how in the world I was still alive when I saw the blue flames.

The blue flames danced around a broad, male frame that stood between me and the demon, sword in hand and pointed right at the demon’s throat.

The world around me began to spin out of control. It was so bad that I couldn’t get a good look at my savior’s face when he slit the demon’s throat and turned around to face me, dark black blood oozing out of the demon’s wound and forming a puddle on the floor around it.

The man surrounded by flames had dark hair, his almond-shaped eyes wide and full of concern, but I was so dizzy that I was seeing three of him. Something about those eyes was familiar, like I’d seen them before. Did he work in a cubicle close to mine? Then he opened his mouth and I heard my name, but it was like I was listening to him from underwater.

Rachel. Rachel.

“Jung…” But I didn’t finish the last half of his name because the world around me went black and I fell into nothingness.

~~~~

I woke up to the sound of running water, my right arm feeling as though it were on fire. I hissed as I sat up, my head still spinning. When I was finally seeing only one of everything again, I looked down at my arm and saw that it was bandaged up, little spots of red dotting the otherwise clean bandages in a few places.

“Ah. You’re awake.”

I jumped out of my skin as the sound of the voice, ready to fight if it was that gross thing again, but it wasn’t that thing. No, it was a handsome young man carrying blankets into the room. He had a smile on his face and he looked completely normal … aside from the fact that he was surrounded by small blue flames.

They weren’t as strong as they were in the parking garage, but they were still there, clear as day. And he was acting like he was totally fine, as if fire that hot wasn’t burning him at all.

He placed the blankets down on the edge of the bed and sat next to them, turning his attention to me and that was when I recognized him. Jeon Jungkook. He worked in the same building I did. I didn’t talk to him much, other than the occasional good mornings and nods in the kitchen area. I knew his name and he knew mine, but that was as far as our relationship went. I always noticed him, though. He was handsome and when he smiled, it lit up his entire face to the point where him just accidentally brushing against my arm caused butterflies to erupt deep in my tummy. There was a part of me that daydreamed about him, wondering what it would be like to hold his hand or to feel those long fingers brush through my hair. Just thinking about it again now made my face turn thirty shades of red and I moved back against the headboard.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice dripping with kindness. Did he not see the blue flames resting on his shoulders? Or the ones resting on top of his knuckles?

“I … uh …” I stammered, clearing my throat. “I’m … just kind of sore,” I admitted. “Though, uh … I’m also a bit thirsty.” In fact, my mouth felt like a desert, completely full of sand and a bad taste. Would it be rude to ask for an altoid or something?

“Ah, I have some water for you,” Jungkook said, getting up from the bed and walking over to the sink, which was where the sound of running water was coming from. He filled a glass and turned off the tap, slowly walking to the bed and handing me the glass. I gladly took it with my good hand and downed it in a matter of seconds, immediately feeling ten times better than before.

Jungkook took the empty glass from me and placed it on the bedside table, his lips pressed together. “Rachel, I…” He started the sentence, but he didn’t finish it, instead sighing and running his fingers through his hair, making it stand up in three different directions.

Honestly, I was kind of surprised he knew my name.

“What’s going on?” I asked, finding it much easier to speak now that my mouth was no longer full of sand. “And what are these … things flying around the room?” I swatted at a small, fly-like creature. It didn’t sound like a fly, though. No, it didn’t buzz like flies did; it hummed, kind of like it was singing a song.

“They’re nano-demons.”

“Nano-who?”

“Demons,” he repeated, speaking slower this time.

It was weird to think about: demons being real. I’d heard stories and other folklore about them and saw them portrayed on fantasy TV shows, but they weren’t real. Then again, if demons weren’t real, what was that thing that attacked me in the parking garage? And what were all these things that were suddenly flying around me, trying to attach themselves to me like leeches? And why was Jean Jungkook surrounded by blue flames? What the hell was going on?!

“When that demon in the parking garage cut your skin with his nails, he tainted you,” Jungkook explained, going back to his spot at the end of the bed and sitting down, the mattress bouncing with his added weight. “When a human receives a taint from a demon, they are suddenly able to see creatures of the underworld. Like nano-demons,” he said, pointing to one of the small, black, humming creatures as it swished around the room. “But it also means you can see past a demon’s glamour and see its true form.”

The more he spoke, the worse my headache got because it seemed like the more he explained, the less everything made sense. “Wait, I … What?” I let out a shaky breath, pulling my knees to my chest. “You’re telling me that not only do demons exist, but they roam earth hiding behind glamours that make them look human? And I was attacked and tainted by one?”

Jungkook nodded slowly, a sort of sadness in his eyes that made my chest ache. “Not many humans are tainted because most humans who are scratched or cut by a demon don’t live to tell the tale.”

I blinked, taking a few deep breaths to try to calm my racing heart. “But you … you saved me,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper and he nodded again. “Why? H-How? You … You’re not human, are you?”

Jungkook closed his eyes for a long moment and the silence that fell between us was so heavy it could be cut with a knife. It felt like a lifetime before he opened his mouth and spoke, his voice low and calming, echoing throughout the dimly lit bedroom I was currently sitting in. “You can see the flames now.” It wasn’t a question. When I nodded, he spoke again, “I’m what’s called a Nephilim.”

“Nephilim?”

“Yeah. It means I’m half human and half angel.”

My eyes widened. Of course! If demons existed, then angels must have, too! It was almost kind of exciting, mostly because all I knew about angels was that they were beings of light. The only one who wasn’t was the banished arc angel Lucifer.

“Angels are … surrounded by flames?” I asked.

Jungkook let out a breath through his nose, nervously pulling at his fingers. “No. That’s unique to me.” Before I could ask him another question, he said, “Blue flames are the symbol of Satan.”

My jaw dropped.

“My mother was human, but she bore an arc angel’s child. The blue flames are proof that I am Lucifer’s son.”

My head began to spin. It was all happening so fast. One second Jungkook was a kind coworker from my office who wasn’t too bad on the eyes and the next second he was the son of Lucifer?! This didn’t make any sense and, for a moment, I was sure I was going to pass out again.

“I heard you call for help,” he said when I obviously wasn’t going to say anything. My thoughts were too jumbled and the right words just wouldn’t come to the surface. “That demon that attacked you … it came looking for me. They always come looking for me, trying to take me back to the Underworld, back to my father. Usually I can track them down and fight them off before they cause too much trouble, but he must have caught a whiff of your scent first and couldn’t resist. I … I’m so sorry, Rachel!” he exclaimed, bowing his head. “You got hurt and tainted because of me. I’m so, so sorry.”

I blinked, staring at him with wide eyes.e was apologizing to me, fists trembling and everything? He was still so kind, even now. So it was never an act to hide his demonic self. He was truly a nice guy.

“Jungkook,” I said and he lifted his head, lip quivering. “I admit I’m … scared. Terrified, actually. But if you hadn’t saved me, I would be dead.” I slowly inched my hand forward, grabbing his fingers and giving them a soft squeeze. His eyes never left my face and I offered him the best smile I could muster in this kind of situation. “Thank you. For saving my life.”

His face twisted into something I couldn’t quite recognize. I was about to ask him if he was okay when he threw his arms around me and pulled me close, hugging me tightly, his neck buried in the crook of my neck.

My eyes widened, my heart jumping into my throat. For a second, I was so paralyzed with shock that I didn’t do anything. He was hugging me. Jungkook was hugging me and … were his shoulders shaking?

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of me,” he said, tightening his grip around my neck and apologizing again.

With shaking hands, I hugged him around his middle and hugged him back, my nose pressing into his shoulder. I noticed then that not only did the blue flames not burn, but he also smelled like firewood. His grip around me tightened and I found myself on my knees, moving closer to him.

“I’m grateful to be alive,” I whispered, reaching up with one hand and gently tangling my fingers in the bottom stands of his hair. It was soft. “And it’s because of you that I’m alive, so I’m grateful to you, Jungkook.”

Jungkook pulled back from the hug, but only a little, pressing his forehead against mine, his brown eyes scanning my face, taking in every detail he could. “You were always so nice. In the office. You smiled at me everyday. The last thing I wanted was for you to get hurt because of me. And I’m sure more demons will try to track me down again and now you’re caught up in the middle of this whole thing and—”

I hushed him when he didn’t seem to be able to stop rambling, offering him a smile to silently tell him that everything was okay. “Seeing these nano-demons and the flames on your body will take some getting used to, but you were always nice to me as well, so if I can do anything to stop these demons from coming after you, I’ll gladly do it.”

I could tell that, deep down, Jungkook didn’t want to be what he was. And even if he was the son of Lucifer, he didn’t seem horrible or evil in any way. In fact, he seemed like the complete opposite: caring, sensitive, wonderful.

Something in Jungkook’s face twisted and, for a moment, I thought he was going to cry, but he didn’t, blinking any possible tears away. “I promise to protect you,” he said. “I got you in the mess, so I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

I put my hand on his cheek, my thumb gently caressing his skin. “I’ll protect you, too, okay? I know I probably can’t do much being just a human and all, but—”

I couldn’t finish my sentence because he cut me off with his own lips, hands cupping my cheeks and I was sure my heart was going to explode right through my ribcage. The kiss is quick, so much so that I didn’t even get a chance to kiss him back by the time he pulled away, licking his lips and looking down at his lap, his ears a bright shade of red.

“Sorry, I … I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?”

Jungkook looked up from his lap, his eyes meeting mine and the second they did, my heart fluttered, heat rising to my cheeks. Sure, I may have had a little crush on him before, but this … this feeling was something different. Then he shrugged, scratching the back of his neck as he looked at the wall behind me. “Forcing a kiss on you, it … I don’t want to be rude and I’m sorry. It’s just that when you told me you would protect me, too, my chest felt all warm and all I wanted to do was kiss you.”

If I thought my face was red before, it was even worse now.

“I … don’t mind if you kiss me,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. When he met my eyes again, I sunk deep into my shoulders, feeling embarrassed. “And I meant it when I said I want to protect you. I can do it because I can see demons now that I’ve been tainted. You’ve always been so nice to me and everyone around you. I know you’re nothing like Lucifer.”

Jungkook was looking at me like I’d just sprouted a second head.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked.

“It’s just … no one’s ever said that kind of thing to me,” he said. “I’ve always hurt everyone around me, whether I wanted to or not. I’ve always told myself that I can never get close to anybody because I would just end up hurting them or killing them. But you, Rachel … there was always something special about you. You have such a kind smile and a kind heart and I-I know this is selfish of me to ask, but I really want you to stay by my side.”

Without saying anything, I reached out and grabbed his hand, lacing my fingers with his, my thumb caressing the back of his hand. “I’m not going to run away,” I promised.

Jungkook smiled then—a real smile—and it was like the room lit up and became ten times lighter. Who knew a simple smile could be so powerful? He scooted closer to me until his knees touched mine, not letting go of my hand. He pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes, a content look on his face as he let out a breath through his nose.

“Never give up on me.” It was more of a request than a statement and when I nodded, he leaned forward and softly pressed his lips to mine. This time, I was able to kiss him back, our lips moving together in a soft, perfect harmony.

I smiled against his lips and he smiled against mine and suddenly we were a mess of giggles, foreheads still touching and both of our hearts feeling full. It didn’t matter what Jungkook was. It didn’t matter that I was tainted. Nothing mattered to me except protecting that smile of his. No matter what came for him, I would make sure nothing wiped that beautiful smile from his face.

In a short amount of time, that smile became extremely precious to me. My life flipped completely upside down and suddenly I wasn’t so alone in this world anymore. I had someone by my side who was willing to protect me as much as I was willing to protect him. It was an amazing feeling, to say the least.

I pecked his lips again.

“You know,” I started, unable to wipe the smile from my face, “I think you should teach me how to use a sword like yours. A blade can protect you easier than my fists.”

“We can start your training tomorrow. For now, let’s just enjoy each other as much as we can. I want to know all about you and I’ll tell you anything you want to know about me. How does that sound?”

“Absolutely perfect.”

[octaviasandy]

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[southerngayprobz]

Here I am again :(

So, I haven’t posted in a while, which is typical on here. Tonight, I am here to get more things off my chest. By the way, thanks to all the non-existent followers who read these posts!

I have been dating this guy (we’ll name him Jack) for a total of two months, but over the span of three months. We matched on Tinder back in the middle of May, and went on dates for about a month before I decided that we’d be better as friends. Long story short, I was trying to keep my options open when dating so that I don’t rush into anything with anyone. The reason I ending things with this guy is because I decided to pursue things with one of the other guys I was talking to (we’ll call him Harry). I won’t really focus on Harry in this post. Now, for the record, both of these guys are wonderful and genuine people. So... some of you may be wondering why I am writing this post. Things should have worked out where there were two genuine guys I was talking to. Right? RIGHT? Wrong.

Jack (the main guy that this post is about) is a couple of years younger than me. He is genuine, trustworthy, caring, and a family-oriented type of guy. He’s about two inches shorter than me, has strawberry-blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. I’d describe him as the nerdy kind of guy who got no attention in high school and barely any attention in undergrad. Like I mentioned before, he is very genuine, but he wears his heart on his sleeve. We went on a few dates, I enjoyed them and enjoyed those dates and the time I spent with him. We went hiking a couple of times, and went to a cave. We went out to eat at a few places, and after a few dates, i realized that we had more things in common than I’ve had with other men I’ve tried to date. We like a lot of the same TV shows. We have an overlapping on music artists we like, and arguably the most important, we share the same top two love languages. [For those of you who do not know what the five love languages are, I’d encourage you to take the Five Love Languages quiz, so that you can have a better idea of how you like to express love. the Five Love Languages are (in the order of mine from highest to lowest): quality time, physical touch, acts of service, words of affirmation, and gift giving.]

I was elated to know that we clicked in many areas. I learned all of this within the first month of us dating, and before I decided that we’d be better as friends. Everything changed mentally for me one night when he told me about the deepest baggage he had. I tried for a couple of weeks to put that baggage behind me, but I was unable to do so. So, I told him that I felt like we should just be friends, but I didn’t tell him why I wanted us to just be friends (basically the baggage he told me about). Over the next month, we hung out a couple of times as friends while I was pursuing things with Harry. Before anyone jumps to conclusions, I had no intention of dating him after the baggage he told me about, but I felt like he was a very genuine person, so I decided that he’d be a fantastic friend. Well, when things fizzled out with Harry, I invited Jack to come hang out - side note: I had just moved into my own apartment a week before things fizzled out with Harry. So I’m hanging out with Jack, and I was really aroused, so I told him I wanted to try having sex with him. To this day, I don’t understand why I decided to go through with having sex with him.

After we had sex, I felt extremely terrible because, honestly, I was disappointed in myself. I will explain some of the reason why later. After that night, I invited him to come over again the next night so that we could talk about the previous night and bury the hatchet. That conversation ended with us trying to date again. Once again, I don’t known why I decided to do this. I was opening myself up to bad things, but I decided that he had a lot of good qualities that outweighed the bad qualities. We’ve been dating for another month or so, but I think I should call it quits again.

I guess, at this point, I should give a little more information about Jack. As mentioned before, he is very trustworthy and loyal; however, he is not the most cultured or aware person. This may be nit-picky, but he doesn’t walk with confidence. He walks like a geek. I don’t know how else to say it, but it feels like he’s unaware of some social aspects. He’s not dumb or slow by any means; he’s really intelligent. The best way to describe it is that he acts like a sheltered individual who went to private school, and never picked upon regular cues you learn in middle and high school (like how to walk confidently and not draw negative attention to yourself).

[Warning: some of the items I mention may be petty turnoffs, but are important to mention] In addition to some of the things that I expect the person I’m dating to generally be aware of, there were some hygiene things I thought were subpar. For example, he doesn’t use a washcloth, sponge, or other utensil when taking a shower. He only uses his hands. I’m not sure if not using anything when taking a shower is normal, but it just sounds gross not to use anything to scrub your body with when taking a shower. How are you scrubbing the bacteria off or truly cleaning your skin when you’re only rubbing your skin with you hands? Also, one of the first times we jerked off together, he had the intention of wiping off the cum, putting on his clothes, and heading to work before I told him to take a shower (he was working the overnight shift at his job). It’s one thing to cum, wipe it off, the go to sleep, but I think it’s unacceptable to wipe cum off and go straight to work smelling like cum and sex sweat. That’s gross, and a huge turn off. It makes me wonder how much he values smelling nice when going to work... Next, he never dresses up when coming down to go to dinner. The most he did was wear jeans and a t-shirt. If we’re going out, we need to look good. Call it shallow if you want to, but if I’m going out with someone I plan to refer to as my boyfriend in the future, I’d like to feel proud about how well he presents himself in public. No, the clothes don’t make the person, but they play an integral role in appearing put together in public. Especially in the south where people are already subconsciously judging us as it is. Lastly, he’s not the most attractive guy out there, he looks like he’s already aging, and his hair already looks to have a bald spot. Call me superficial all you want, but I feel like I could do better physically.

Long story short, I’ve put all these things aside because I was trying to value his good qualities and ignore the negative ones. I’ve been trying so hard to tell myself that I wasn’t settling, but after a phone conversation with my brother and his girlfriend, I’ve come to realize that I have been lying to myself. If I want my significant other to dress well and walk upright without having to tell him, then I need to re-evaluate whom I’m dating. He’s never been manipulative, mean, or disrespectful to me. He has never intentionally angered me, or try to make me feel bad. At the end of the day, I did the things I have done with him because I felt like he was a genuine guy who didn’t deserve to be labeled by things that happened in his past. But in all honesty, I feel like I did the things because I felt bad for him. Of all things, I think that shows a lack of respect for me and my self-esteem and self-love.

Big takeaway: you’re still settling, even when the person holds all the core values you need in a relationship (loyalty, monogamy, trust, honesty, respect, etc.) if that person doesn’t meet the primal things like attractiveness, confidence, awareness, and charisma. I care about him immensely, but I have to be realistic. Since all the grievances I mentioned above are important to me, there’s not much more to say. It hurts to write all this, but there’s no easy way to say this without it coming off blunt, insensitive, and shallow. Honestly, the main reason why I can’t keep doing this is because I just get easily annoyed and angered (on the inside) sometimes when he’s around and when he’s not around.

Fuck, I feel like this is an extremely unfair characterization of an amazing guy. I feel like crying for even typing all of this up.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: What Fees Are Associated With Selling Your House, From Start to Finish?

Like late fees, ATM fees, and shipping fees, the fees associated with selling a house can be hard to swallow. There’s a lot of people involved in the process from start to finish, and you’ll need to pay the folks who help you out along the way. Contractors, attorneys, the government, and your real estate agent who quarterbacks the transaction all take a cut.

You may offer to pay fees for the buyer to sweeten the pot and keep the deal alive, too; it all depends on how negotiations go. Plus, moving funds through a third-party escrow account won’t be free.

“Depending on the price range of the home, I tell my clients that they need to be ready to spend 9% – 10% of the sale price on selling costs, including the real estate agent commission and closing costs,” says Joanne McCoy, a top-selling real estate agent in Lincoln, Nebraska.

But just how do all these fees break down, and what can you expect to take home? HomeLight has a handy Net Proceeds Calculator that can help with that. Simply input some basic information about your house and mortgage, and we’ll estimate your final payout.

Below we’ll also spell out the main types of fees you’ll see on your balance sheet so you can understand each cost:

Staging and prep fees (anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple of thousand dollars)

Real estate agent commissions (5.8% national average)

Inspections and repairs (varies)

Closing fees (1% – 3% of the sale price)

Title fees

Transfer or excise taxes

Escrow fees

Reconveyance fee

Recording fees

Prorated property taxes

Seller concessions (2% – 6%)

Overlap costs (1% – 2%)

Moving and relocation costs (varies)

Mortgage payoff (varies)

Source: (Jean van der Meulen / Pexels)

Staging and prep fees (from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand dollars)

When it comes to selling your home, presentation matters. Now, that doesn’t mean you should drop everything to remodel entire rooms that aren’t perfectly modern. Research shows that you’re not going to make a profit on major renovations. You’re better off doing light prep work and keeping your spend to a minimum. Here’s where you should focus your efforts and about how much you can expect to spend on each project:

Deep clean and declutter

HomeLight’s research shows that the simple acts of deep cleaning and decluttering your home can add nearly $4,000 in resale value. Clear those countertops, organize the kids’ toys, and remove items junking up your floors. Scrub the bathrooms and clean the kitchen until it sparkles. Don’t forget easy-to-miss cleaning spots like baseboards, ceiling fans, and window sills.

Pay an average $167 for professional cleaning or $485 for someone to organize your home, or enlist your family to split up the chores. Just know that if you skip these steps, you’ll leave money on the table. DIYers can follow HomeLight’s deep cleaning and decluttering checklists for more guidance.

Apply a fresh coat of paint to interior walls

Loud paint is not a fan-favorite among homebuyers. In fact, 98% of top agents say buyers prefer neutral color schemes over bold ones, according to HomeLight’s Q1 2020 Top Agent Insights Survey. Even if you already have fairly neutral colors in your home, fresh paint can make homes look and feel fresher overall.

When you head to the hardware store, gravitate toward gray tones — 79% of top agents report that buyers prefer gray over white (11%) or beige (9%) at the moment. Expect professional painters to charge $350 – $800 per room, or to do the job yourself for $100 – $300 per room. For more inspiration, you can visit HomeLight’s post on the top home staging paint colors featuring exact swatches and guidance on how to select your paint finish depending on the room.

Freshen up your flooring

A 2019 survey of 4,000 homebuyers by the National Association of Home Builders found that hardwood floors are ranked in the top 10 of 175 features essential to buyers’ purchasing decisions. If you have hardwood floors and they’re in good shape, simply shine them up with some gentle floor cleaner. You can also opt to refinish them for $2,600 to fetch a 100% return on investment, according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.

Replace dingy carpets for $1,621 per room. If your carpets are decent, rent a carpet cleaner for as little as $22 (for four hours) or pay a pro at a rate of $25 – $70 per room. If you’re selling a high-end home, buyers will likely come in and replace any carpet with hardwood, anyway.

Boost your curb appeal

According to 76% of top real estate agents, improving your curb appeal is often the no. 1 thing you can do to boost the marketability of your home. In addition, 94% of top agents agree that curb appeal translates to resale value. Make sure you mow the lawn, fertilize the grass, edge your walkways and flower beds, and pull up any weeds. HomeLight data shows that if you invest just $300 in basic yard care you could gain an average $1,200 in value. Install fresh mulch for another $800 boost.

Stage your home to appeal to a wide range of buyers

Nearly 83% of agents say that a staged home sells faster than an unstaged home, according to HomeLight’s research. Top agents also report that 50% of sellers who pay for home staging spend less than $1,000, and 35% shell out less than $500. Work with a top agent and they may throw in staging as a complimentary service (75% have done so in the past for clients).

Source: (Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels)

Real estate agent commission (5.8% national average)

One of the first things you should do when you decide to sell your home is to hire a top local agent. According to HomeLight’s transaction data, the national average real estate agent commission is 5.8% of the property sales price. Over the past three years, commissions have averaged 5.47%. That commission covers the listing agent and buyer’s agent fees (it’s customary for the seller to pay both).

The commission pays for your agent’s assistance in pricing your home, marketing it to the masses, and negotiating with the other parties in order to get you the best possible price and terms, among other services.

Research shows an agent’s expertise makes a big difference: In 2019, agent-assisted sellers sold their homes for a median of $280,000, compared to $200,000 for FSBO sellers. To access commission data specific to your area, consult HomeLight’s commission calculator and enter your city.

Inspections and repairs (varies)

Once you and the buyer both sign the purchase offer, the buyer will schedule their home inspection to determine whether the home has any underlying issues that could impact its value or safety. You shouldn’t have to pay any fees for the inspection itself. However, the inspection does open the door for further negotiations before closing, which can impact your bottom line.

The buyer will make requests based on the findings laid out in the inspection report. According to a study by Porch.com, inspections save buyers $14,000 on average. However, how much buyers ask for and what you need to cover to keep the deal going will depend on your home’s condition and your negotiating position. With every request, you have essentially three options: Offer to make the repair before closing, offer to cover the cost of the repair at closing with a credit, or push back and tell the buyer no.

Source: (Pixabay / Pexels)

Closing costs (1% – 3%)

The act of transferring ownership of your home to someone costs money and as the seller, you’ll be on the hook to pay some of these associated fees.

Title fees: Before you can sell your home, the buyer will request a title search to make sure that you own the house free and clear of any liens, judgments, or bankruptcies. The buyer and their lender will also obtain individual title insurance policies for protection against fraud, forgeries, and other unforeseen title issues. Buyers will often pick up the tab for some or all of these fees, but norms can vary state by state and even county by county.

Transfer tax/excise tax/deed recording fee: Depending on where you live, you’ll need to pay a nondeductible transfer tax on the sale of your house to complete the transaction. The tax will be calculated based on the value of your property and may be imposed by your state, county, or city. The tax covers the costs of transferring the deed to new owners and is typically your responsibility as the seller to pay. However, several states don’t charge these fees at all. Refer to this table to see how your state handles transfer taxes.

Escrow fees: You and the buyer will likely split third-party escrow fees owed to the party responsible for handling the transfer of funds and documents during the transaction.

Reconveyance fees: When your mortgage loan is paid off during the sale, you will receive a reconveyance deed releasing you from the debt. The mortgage company has to record the deed with the county and there are fees associated with this.

Property taxes: Depending on where you’re located, and the time of year in which the transaction is closed, you might have to pay for the previous year’s taxes. The same applies to school district taxes, metro district taxes, and homeowner association dues.

You will get a chance to review all of these items in your seller’s settlement statement, a comprehensive list of fees, and credits that shows your net profits as the seller and summarizes the finances of the entire transaction.

Source: (Quark Studio / Pexels)

Seller concessions (financing and sales 2% – 6%)

Sellers sometimes “gift” money or offer other incentives to buyers at closing to sweeten the pot. This may not be necessary if your home generates a lot of interest from buyers right away and your property is clearly in high demand. However, if you’re struggling to attract an offer or in a slow market, offering concessions can help you negotiate a deal.

Seller concessions can fall into two different categories:

When you offer to pay a portion of the buyer’s closing costs (which can tally up to anywhere from 2% – 5% of the sale price), that’s called a financing concession. Financing concessions may cover origination fees, discount points, commitment fees, among other costs.

When you offer to give the buyer a non-realty item of value, that’s called a sales concession. Sales concessions may include cash, furniture, decorating allowances, or moving costs, among other offerings.

The rules around concessions depend on what kind of loan your buyer obtains, the type of residence that the loan is financing (whether it’s a primary, secondary, or investment property), and the size of the buyer’s down payment.

Fannie Mae guidelines as of Feb. 2020 cap seller concessions — also called “interested party contributions“ — for conventional loans like so:

3% max if the buyer put less than 10% down (on a primary or secondary home).

6% max if the buyer put down 10% – 25% (on a primary or secondary home).

9% max if the buyer put down 25% or more (on a primary or secondary home – however, note that this would be a very generous concession).

2% for investment properties with down payments of any amount.

Any seller costs that exceed these limits would require a corresponding reduction in the loan amount, dollar for dollar.

As of August 2019, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) caps seller concessions for FHA loans at 6%.

Homeownership and overlap costs (1% – 2%)

Depending on the timing of your home sale and how you orchestrate it with your next move, you may need to pay transition costs. If you bought a new house before selling your existing home, you’ll have to cover the principal, interest, taxes, utilities, and insurance on two properties for several months. Alternatively, you might need to rent a storage unit, put a deposit on a transitional short-term rental or pay for a partial move in order to stage the home.

Moving and relocation costs

There’s no way around it: Moving is expensive. It should be part of your budget as you look to sell your home. Move.org estimates the cost of a full-service move ranges from $550 – $12,000. But the cost of your move will vary based on how much stuff you have, the distance of your move, the time of year, and which types of moving services you opt for.

Source: (Pixabay / Pexels)

Outstanding mortgage

The day you sell your home is also the day your outstanding mortgage balance is due. Anything you owe will be subtracted from your home sale price. Contact your lender or servicer and request your payoff amount. The payoff amount is the total you’ll have to pay to satisfy the terms of your mortgage loan, including any interest you owe until the day you plan to pay your loan in full.

Selling your home: Lots of fees, so you can get paid!

Your individual fees throughout the process of selling your home will vary based on factors like the value of your property, your state and county’s regulations, the condition of your house, and how the housing market behaves. But no matter who you are or where you live, it costs money to sell your home. If this or that fee doesn’t apply to you, great. More money in your pocket. If you’re on the hook for each and every line item, at least you won’t be caught off guard — at least that’s our goal by providing you with this comprehensive rundown.

Header Image Source: (Expect Best / Pexels)

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/what-fees-are-associated-with-selling-your-house-from-start-to-finish

[drink-n-watch]

  Genre : Supernatural, procedural, mystery, action, urban fantasy*, yokai!

Episodes: 12

Studio: LIDENFILMS

  Are you the type of person that’s driven by a need to help others?  Arata is, this is why he became a civil servant in the first place. He’s just the type of guy that wants to make sure everyone around him is safe and happy. Even if the others in question happen to be “Anothers”. Yokai and the like from all around the world. These creatures are invisible to most people which is why the fine folks of Midnight Occult Civil Services employ only those rarely gifted few who can see them. But with the arrival of Arata, for the first time, they can also communicate with them. Well, this changes everything! But will it be for better or for worse?

Did you like my joke? It was the only family-friendly civil servant joke I know… Feel free to share considerably less family-friendly civil servant jokes with me! I love those.

I followed Midnight Occultist’s general reception from a distance as it aired. Since I knew I was going to watch it at some point, I tried to avoid spoilers so I didn’t look too closely into it but from what I could see, reviews were mixed at best and the season seemed to have a lot of ups and downs. I started the first episode with the knowledge that I may end up dropping this before getting to the second.

I didn’t!

I realized pretty quickly that this was a show on a budget. You can actually see the fiscal restraints quite clearly. And I won’t say it managed to handle that obstacle as well as other shows. The animation is lacking, and art quality goes through some dramatic dips. A lot of the visuals are uninteresting, and I can’t say I thought much of the soundtrack. Basically, the show looks a little cheap, there’s really no avoiding it.

That doesn’t mean it has no production strong points though. The character designs may be simplistic and not too varied, but I quite liked those face designs. It’s an unusual style I don’t see too often, and it really gave Midnight Occultist its own personality. The voice acting was pleasant enough, a bit too eager at times but I found it more charming than annoying. Moreover, although the soundtrack may not have been my cup of tea (mostly I didn’t notice it at all), I did really like the OP. I’m surprised I don’t see it more often in those favourite 2019 OP lists.

All in all, Midnight Occult Civil Servants is probably not a production that will amaze you. I doubt it will repulse you either though. As such, I figured the ambivalent reception I had noted must come from the story elements. The fact is, for all its failings, the production values do remain constant. What you see in episode one is pretty much exactly what you’ll get in all 12 episodes. There are no real ups and downs on that front.

the designs are more interesting than my caps make them look

The basic premise is what had made me single out the show in the first place. I’m a huge fan of both Yokai based stories and police procedurals. There were still a lot of ways for Midnight Occult Civil Servants to go wrong but if anyone was going to like this show, surely it would be me!

It was! I liked this show! I really enjoyed it a lot. I could tell that the writing was often weak, with little nuance or depth. The budgetary restraints meant that exposition was often the preferred mode of information sharing and characters are a bit shallow. And I still had a lot of fun.

My Yokai biased played a role, a lot of the stories weaved in and modernized figures from a wide array of mythologies. Kohaku (Huehuecoyotl of Aztec fame) was a major character and trickster gods are always fun. We also saw Greek and Roman myths, as well as traditional Eastern European (we never see those!) mingling with classic Japanese lore. This alone would have kept me interested in a while but Midnight Occult Civil Servants has more to offer.

that’s just cool!

Those shallow characters were still all likable folks and very shippable. I did wonder if the mostly male and occasionally touchy-feely cast may have been part of the problem for some viewers. Once again, the narrative flaws are apparent from the beginning and even improve over time. The only elements that appear and disappear or more for lack of a better word “intimate” moments. I cannot stress enough that there is nothing romantic in this show at all. Well, the Yokai fall in love a lot but it’s very secondary.

Finally, the story is structured as a series of cases/mysteries which can take anywhere from 1 to 4 episodes. This keeps the pace brisk and the plot focused, making it easy to just binge a bunch in order to find out what happens next. I know Midnight Occultist was a great show, yet I still really looked forward to watching the next episode. Something I can’t say for some truly excellent anime I’ve seen.

After having finished the series I looked into it a bit more. It seems Midnight Occult Civil Servants is based on a manga (shocker) which seems considerably more appreciated by fans. Normally I don’t overlap my anime and manga reading (i.e. I either read the manga or watch the anime but rarely both) in order to take in more stories but this show managed to intrigue me enough to break that tradition. I am most likely going to seek out the manga soon. I can see how the premise and stories hold a lot more promise than the anime could deliver. If the manga manages to do better, it would truly be worth reading.

sorry I didn’t use your pic sooner…

Favourite character: Theo

What this anime taught me: Urban fantasy may be my new favourite genre

Sometimes I wonder if beer thinks about me while I’m at work…

Suggested drink: Whisper

Every time anyone calls Arata “Abe no Seimei” or Seimei – take a sip

Every time Kohaku causes trouble – shrug

Every time Arata passes out – take a sip

Every time we get transported to the Heian period – take a sip

Every time anyone says “Ears of Sand” – listen

Every time Theo has a lollipop – get a snack

Every time there’s a possible BL moment – Just me? I blame Given!

Every time Kyouichi’s host past comes up – take a sip

If he has bleached blonde hair – laugh!

Every time they mention having to write a report – take a sip, it will help

 You must be getting used to this by now. I have an imgur gallery and a pinterest board if you’re interested. Here are a few caps as well!

Why do Midnight Occult Civil Servants Avoid Looking Out of Windows Before Lunchtime? So they’ll have something to do with the rest of the shift! Genre : Supernatural, procedural, mystery, action, urban fantasy*, yokai! Episodes: 12 Studio: LIDENFILMS Are you the type of person that’s driven by a need to help others?  

[stopsubstanceabuse1-blog]

3 Ways to Make the Good Parts of the Holidays Last All Year

New Post has been published on https://www.substanceabuseprevention.net/3-ways-to-make-the-good-parts-of-the-holidays-last-all-year/

3 Ways to Make the Good Parts of the Holidays Last All Year

The holiday season is a special time of year. Many people are celebrating both religious and cultural holidays in a concentrated few weeks. These celebrations help promote the “holiday spirit” where we often honor some of our most sacred values. But what if you could make the good parts of the holidays last all year long?

You can!

While there is no one way to celebrate the holiday season, here are some suggestions that overlap different traditions and cultures that you may want to incorporate in the coming year.

Embrace Intentionality & Focus

One of the biggest hallmarks of the holiday season is a sense of thoughtfulness and intentionally that doesn’t always carry over into other areas of our lives throughout the year. This is, in large part, due to diminishing work schedules and responsibilities around the end of the year.

The holiday season helps us slow down and move with intention. You can focus more on things you may not have been able to accomplish during your busy work week and day-to-day life. Also, you can be more intentional about the time you spend with loved ones and how you best spend that time to make lasting memories.

Embrace this type of focus and intentionality all year round by setting aside designated time for those things you often only do during the holiday season.

For example, when was the last time the whole family had a meal together? What about playing some fun games? When was the last time you read a book for fun, or took time to learn something new?

You don’t have to wait until the slower holiday season to engage in what you often see as sporadic indulgences. By planning out your time, you can enjoy more of these these things year round.

Quality Time

More than anything, quality time is one of the biggest perks of the holiday season for many of us. As work and school responsibilities dwindle, you are often allowed more time to spend with the people you care about and love the most. During the holidays you often find yourself sitting around for hours at a time, talking about new ideas or engaged in healthy debates about the latest news items.

This quality time often presents an opportunity to have more meaningful conversations about our lives, challenges, and struggles. We feel more space to talk about our mental health, challenges at work, or may even feel liberated enough to come out as LGBTQ. These conversations, however, don’t just have to happen during the holiday season.

Maintaining relationships also means maintaining intimacy throughout the year. That means that when you create ongoing opportunities to connect (and not just play catch up), you can maintain a closeness with those you value most. It’s often that sense of closeness, and knowing someone cares, that helps us feel less isolated and stressed when daily life becomes overwhelming.

By continuously creating space for meaningful conversations throughout the year, you feel more connected and remind those you care about most that you’re also there whenever they need you.

Gifts As Tokens of Affection

The holiday season is the biggest shopping quarter of the year. One could argue that this is a function of a consumer culture, which makes us overspend and place priority on material items and products. There’s some truth to that. Marketing is big business and many outlets online are designed to keep you hooked in so that you spend, spend, spend.

But the holiday season serves as additional inspiration to give. You share gifts as tokens of affection for those you care about and love. But consider this, what if you saw something in a store in March and gifted it to your friend for no special reason? Imagine the surprised and warm feelings that friend might feel. You could certainly do more of that year round, and without the obligation of a designated season. That might make your gesture feel more special. .

There are plenty of opportunities year-round that lead to gift giving. And gifts don’t only have to come in the form of products. They can also be acts of service too.

How about doing your friend a favor and picking up their dry cleaning as a nice gesture? What if you volunteered one day to dog sit so they could spend some time out practicing a bit of self-care? There are many examples of gift gifting that you can embrace throughout the year, so be creative. You don’t have to rely on the holidays to share your love and appreciation for those around you.

The holiday season is a special time of year and it often comes with a lot of perks. But, those benefits aren’t just relegated to the end of the year. With a little creativity you can make the holiday spirit last all year long.

Source: https://www.talkspace.com/blog/2018/12/holiday-giving-spirit-all-year/

[wildguyremington27-blog]

3 Common Reasons Why Your Events Isn't Working (And How To Fix It)

10 Tips For Bringing Your Event To Life

Your job as an event coordinator doesn't stop with the meeting in the business conference room. You may be hire to arrange an employee appreciation occasion, an awards supper, a product launch, the celebration of a business turning point, a gala recognizing a long time staff member's retirement, an incentive event for the company's sales force, a fundraising occasion, a holiday event ... the list continues.

These types of affairs vary from your normal corporate organisation meeting, and you deal with distinct concerns and pitfalls when planning them. Rave program evaluations are typically the outcome of the blood, sweat, and tears you dedicate to the project. A well-designed and well-orchestrated event is comparable to an excellent stage production. It's all about getting your act together and performing the right show for the best audience.

The following are 10 pointers that zero in on the nitty gritty elements that can help make your efforts glowing reviews (and make your mom really proud of you). As you start each planning program, a key question to ask yourself is, "how can each activity engage the participant's interest?"

Tip # 1: Choose When To Phase Your Event

Timing is everything. The decision about when to hold your occasion is determined in big part by what type of event it is. Ask yourself, is the event much better fit for the day or evening? Do you want to hold it during the week or on a weekend? If your occasion does not have a deadline, would it be best to hold it throughout a specific season or season? Make certain to check that your occasion doesn't overlap with any religious vacations, and it's probably best to avoid scheduling throughout significant sporting occasions.

Pointer # 2: Draw up An Area

The very first order of business is to choose whether to hold your occasion inside your home or outdoors. Nevertheless, outside occasions have a number of significant considerations, the components being number one on the list. Believe tents, portable flooring, electrical generators, and area heating units, in addition to a well considered contingency plan. Also, understand that speeches and audiovisual discussions are notoriously difficult to stage outdoors.

Tip # 3: Think About Unique Environments

Hotel conference room can get old extremely rapidly and the idea of an unique environment can instantly include interest and enjoyment. Consider retreat centers, cruise ships or yachts, museums, stately home, sporting locations, and theaters. Realize that many of these locations work well for special functions, but they do not necessarily have adequate conference centers and devices. Make certain you do your homework in advance and comply with the "Satisfying Coordinator's Principle" - never ever select a location without having actually seen it personally!

Tip # 4: Set The Phase

The program strategy you pick comes from the function and individuals. Your four primary considerations include:

What is the primary focus of the program-- instructional, organisation or social?

What are your monetary criteria-- produce earnings, break even, or be a business expenditure?

What are your participants' expectations?

What is the maximum provision of educational, service, and social programs?

Idea # 5: Produce The Right Environment

One key to a successful special event is to seek out entertainment or decors that are special and enjoyable to stimulate excitement and add the right atmosphere. Think outside package and think about all sorts of amusements-- walking artists, magicians, chefs' demonstrations, palm readers ... anything out of the ordinary. Novelty is the crucial to your success. Bear in mind that entertainment that rave about can likewise can be found in the kind of a sophisticated coffee shop or startlingly lovely champagne fountain. Remember to inspect all embellishing strategies with the place ahead of time since numerous have limitations on what they permit. For instance, numerous facilities forbid helium balloons.

Suggestion # 6: Produce A Memorable Theme

Developing a theme for your occasion assists make it easier to organize food, decoration, and other accessories, such as free gift products. Select a style that fits your participants. Consider selecting from the following categories:

Style: The Roaring Twenties or An Evening at Ascot

History: The Garden of Eden or A Renaissance Fair

Politics: Fourth of July Celebrations or Women's Lib (political and historical).

Popular culture: Wizard of Ox or An Evening with Dr. Seuss.

The arts: An Italian Affair or A Night at the Oscars.

Pointer # 7: Integrate The Theme.

Do not consider a theme unless you are prepared to follow it through your entire occasion. Don't restrict it to a couple of posters on the walls, which just include lip service instead of genuine atmosphere. For the most impact, incorporate it in the past, throughout and after the event. Reflect your theme in your invites and in any celebration prefers that visitors take home. Your theme must match the tone and content of your event. Encourage speakers and talk about with them how they can include, however not overuse it in their remarks. A few additionals to think about when integrating your theme:.

Make sure the style is basic enough that it is unlikely to anger anybody, which it is significant to your group.

Establish a meaningful slogan or message to go along with the style to add a little additional when you promote the occasion.

Think about having a special logo created to enhance the style and its possible message.

Suggestion # 8: Work With A Professional Professional Photographer.

A professional photographer is an excellent addition to nearly any occasion. Guests appreciate a visual suggestion of the fun time they had at your affair. Arranging to have actually household pictures taken at an employee appreciation occasion reveals your staff members that you care about them as people. Guests at more formal affairs enjoy having their pictures taken while they're dressed up for a night out. Choose whether you desire a professional photographer to wander among your visitors taking honest shots, to set up in a central location to take postured shots, or both.

Tip # 9: Amuse The Group.

Individuals eagerly anticipate the home entertainment segment of a program. They want to have a good time, enjoy themselves, and let their hair down, particularly after demanding and demanding sessions. So think what? Your participants' tension reliever now becomes your stress maker. You have a real responsibility to choose the ideal home entertainment for your group. Some choices consist of the following:.

Music: Your options include a band with or without singers, a musician (important or vocal), a disc jockey, and even karaoke.

Phenomenon: Think about hiring a magician, juggler, comedian, mime or hypnotherapist.

Theater: Set up a dinner theater performance, a one-person act, a murder-mystery experience, or corporate theater (which involves utilizing expert or amateur actors to dramatize a business's image, a brand-new item, or the history of a company).

Games: Include your individuals by planning individual video games, such as a treasure hunt, or an event with a video game show format, such as "Jeopardy" or "Hollywood Squares.".

Video or slide show: A photo deserves a thousand words. For a retirement supper, think about creating a slide program featuring the guest of honor's accomplishments. For a sales conference, offer a video presentation of a new product.

Pointer # 10: Work With The Right Skill.

As you think about hiring your entertainment talent, discover where and for whom they have actually previously carried out. Ensure that you view a demo video. Expect the quality of their performance and the audience reaction. Take a look at their references and ask some significant concerns:.

Would you employ them once again?

How flexible, dependable, and easy to work with were they?

How would you rate their act?

What do they succeed?

What part of their act could utilize improvement?

What were the demographics of your audience? (You want to make sure that this act would be a great fit for your individuals.).