#fuel pricing

[artisticdivasworld]

The Ripple Effect of Fuel Costs

Fuel pricing is one of those unpredictable forces that every trucker wishes they could control but can’t. It’s like trying to plan a picnic while watching storm clouds roll in—you know something’s coming, but you can’t be sure how bad it will get. For truckers, this unpredictability doesn’t just dampen the day; it can completely throw off budgets, schedules, and sometimes even livelihoods. When…

[vicariousresearcher]

Neighbour!141 and how they get your attention.

Neighbour!Price who is constantly offering you help. Sees some furniture boxes at your door and is offering to put it together for you. No? Well surely you need some tools at least, make it all easier. No no he doesn’t mind truly. He doesn’t want you trying to fix everything up with just an allen key now does he?

Shovels your side walk, up to your door even. When you come to him the next day all apologetic and saying that you were just about to do it, seriously he didn’t need to. He just brushes you off saying that ‘birds don’t need to be out doin that.' It‘s okay, he was doing his anyway. 

Listening when you complain about your shitty landlord who has yet to do anything about your faulty water heater. You’re in those shorts he’s only seen through the window, arms crossed and rambling as he thumbs at the valves. 

“It’s a no go bird. You gotta buy a whole new heating element and get it put in dere. If you’re needin to, you can shower at my place till this gets figure’d out ya?”

Neighbour!Kyle who honestly you see more outside of your neighbourhood than in it. You have no clue how but you two always end up in the same place at the same time. 

Grocery shopping? Oh he's here too, it has the best deals on produce! Excursion? Oh he just wanted to see the new exhibit at the aquarium just like you, great minds think alike. Eating something in your favourite cafe during your lunch break? He slides in the seat across from you with a playful smile saying ‘how its nice to see you here neighbour’. 

You don’t even know he slipped a tracker in your purse during one of these bump ins.

That's how it starts. A friendship with a man you apparently have so much in common with. You have to with how much you see him at your favourite places. Even that niche little diner that you love as soon as you mention it he’s finishing off its name and talking about how their sweets are so good.

“What do you mean you haven’t had any? Want me to grab you some next time I go-actually no how about we just go together. I need to see what else you’ve been depriving yourself of. Come on, we’ll go in the evening when it’s nice and quiet so it’ll just be us.”

Neighbour!Johnny who sees the sweet thing living next door and knows he needs to get his hands on you. But he’s smarter than those pretty eyes and dumb grin would let you think. He wants you to come to him. He just needs to prove what a prize he is first. 

So he finds every chance possible to workout outside. 

Deliberately does his stretches for his morning run where you’ll be able to see while you make your coffee for the morning. Absolutely chuffed when he makes eye contact with you while he’s mid shirt pull. The way you go bug eyed when caught ogling has him ready wanting to ask if you liked the show.

Now, god forbid you have a dog. He’s making friends through the fence, coming up to your door offering to take the sweet thing on a walk if you want. Truly he would love to have a running buddy please let him take your pupper out. It becomes normal enough that you don’t even bat an eye when he’s offering to take your baby out when you’re not home. 

“I don’t mind taking my boy out once in a while. His mama’s busy but I’m not. Where’d you say you keep your outside key?”

Neighbour!Simon who quickly learns that he can’t offer to help you round because it comes off as….creepy. He’s the one you think is going to tag you with a tracker or follow you to work. The one that has you holding your keys between your fingers when pulling in at night.

So he takes a different approach. Needy, confused, and helpless. A military man entirely unacquainted with domestic duties.

He’s pathetic in a stuck racoon kind of way. You know you shouldn’t trust him but the way you’ve heard his smoke alarm go off 3 times in the time you’ve been here has you messaging if he wants some of your supper since you made too much. You catch yourself adding far more while cooking just so you have something to drop off to his doorstep. 

You don’t even know how it happened but now you’re in his kitchen teaching him how to make some easy meals with your chicken marinade recipes. Something he won’t burn or over salt. He’s got you rambling away, so blissfully unaware. Safe in his home, so trusting of him now.. He’s made so much improvements with you, no more scurrying away the minute he’s a couple feet away. 

“‘m sorry for needin so much from ya. If there's anything I can do just message me ya? Don’t matter what time, I’ll come. Anything you need.”

[mothiepixie]

I need Fae Nightmare in glamour upset about the prices of a single breakfast burrito nowadays

[ohworm-writes]

Just thinking about veteran and or retired neighbor Price right now *sighs dreamily while twirling my hair*

Like, okay - imagine having a house next door to Price situated in a small, cozy village up somewhere in Northern England, surrounded by nothing but green, grassy plains and dense forests with a stream that runs through the small village. I see him living somewhere cozy... quiet. Away from the loud, noisy environments that he'd been so used to, finding somewhere calm to settle down.

I see him having a pet. Maybe a lazy dog or a farm cat, something that'll follow him around and take a nap with him after a long day, either laid across his body or beside him. But, at the same time, maybe he'd like a pet that has a bit of energy - you can take a man out of the military, but you can't take the military out of a man. He still has so many traits and habits he's picked up from the military, and if you know anything about older, retired men, it's that they always need something to do and busy themselves with.

RANDOM THOUGHT but I feel like he wouldn't retire unless Laswell grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and forced him out of the military, likely for his own good. If it were up to him, he'd stay in the fight until he died, so I'd think that him getting close to it was what pushed for the decision to be made for him to retire - maybe he was injured to an extent that it wouldn't be smart for him to keep going or something of the like - I could totally see him with an amputation of sorts (like, twinning with Alex lol).

I think he'd like to keep to himself for as much as he could. I don't see him as one of those super friendly, "oh, let me help you with that" type of neighbors unless the situation is right, or, rather, unless he's called upon for help. Like, he's grumpy and stoic, but only until somebody comes to him asking "hey, sorry to bother, but can you help me with something" and he'd soften up - begrudgingly, it seems, but, really, he's happy to offer some assistance. It makes him feel useful.

God, imagine moving in next door to him and struggling to unload your car of all the boxes and things that are haphazardly packed inside of it, and him walking out of his house, seeing the way that you're struggling, and letting out a heavy sigh - just like "welp, suppose I know how I'm spendin' my mornin' now" and coming over to offer his assistance, a little awkward at first, but that quickly melts away as he settles into comfortable conversation with you.

*slamming fist against the table repetitively* BRINGING HIM FOOD OR TREATS AS A MEANS OF THANKING HIM FOR HIS HELP! A little reusable container held between your hands, to your chest, walking over to his place and knocking on the door, outstretching it towards him and being like "thank you - for your help... I wanted to show my appreciation, you know? so, I made you this" and giving the container to him.

AND WHO IS HE TO SAY NO??? (He tries, believe me, but that sweet, eager look on your face, wordlessly begging for him to take it... he can't deny you). AND HIM RETURNING TO YOUR PLACE A FEW DAYS LATER WITH THE CONTAINER IN HAND, BEING ALL GREATFUL AND STUFF. God, someone let him be real, pleaseee.

Becoming comfortable neighbors with him, spending rainy afternoons over at his house, or, in contrast, him at yours, sat on the front porch with a cup of tea or coffee or hot chocolate in hand, gossiping about some of the neighbors that live within the houses along the street, the both of you sharing your own life stories here and there, him divulging about his time in the military without shame.

Okay, I know a lot of people like to think that he wouldn't ever share or talk about it, but I can't see that. It's not like he's ashamed of his time - he's proud of the work he did, if anything, and it's all behind him now, so why should he be shy to share about the things he did? Of course, I don't think he'd go into gruesome detail about it or share about everything he's seen, but he'd totally be like "yeah, I've been all over the world - did a few OPs in X, Y and Z countries, took down terrorists, et cetera" and answer any questions with pride.

Him totally being The Man™ who you can go to if you need help with anything. Need help with a leaky sink? Give him a few minutes and he'll be over with a toolbox. Want to do an oil change on your car but have no clue where to start? Don't worry, he's got an oil pan, jack and a few rags around somewhere, he's sure - he'll be over in a few. Want some simple, good ol' company? He's outside the door already.

He'd be more than happy to give you a tour of the village if you ask, pointing out which neighbors to trust and which to be wary of, telling you about his favorite pub that's posed all the way on the far side of the town, but he promises you that the food, drinks and atmosphere are like nothing else. Walking with you down the stone pathways, footsteps clacking against them, taking in the sights with you and answering every question you may have, or, simply settling into a comfortable silence with you. At peace. Comfortable.

I'm so *laying on my bed on my stomach and kicking my feet slowly in the air behind me* I need him.

[deadpresidents]

TIME Magazine on "soaring" gas prices potentially approaching the shocking price of $1/gallon! (March 19, 1979)

[hide-your-bugs-away]

the blog vs. the blogger (link to the picrew!!)

many thanks for the tag @unchaineddaisychain !! may the cozy and comforting vibes of passionate-songwriting-gays settling down in a scottish cottage be with you ALWAYS 🙏

Tagging: @hilton-my-luvx @gasstationwomen @angrytranspossum @majito18

[miioouu]

Hear. Me. Out.

Mean Ghost from DBF tries to sneak in your house while your dad is out of town…only to find you with daddy John 😮‍💨, may or may not join in. Definitely need some more of sweet/maybe a little mean John🥴🥴

gworl, this is what keeps me going in life ok?! please this made me gasp irl and open my laptop again after swearing that I'd take at least 2 days off of writing after that painful 3rd part!!!

but omg yes, imagine him walking in on John eating you out, kissing your inner thighs tenderly as he always do. Ghost get jealous, why though? because he never tasted you before? because you're moaning another man's name? because you two made eye contact and he can't see the usual devotion you had for him?

and trust me John is mean, but he knows when you need a little sweetness in your life. but you'll slowly discover how evil he can be too. The complete opposite of Simon, his cruelness comes from giving you much more than you can handle. while Ghost usually leaves you high and dry, the captain makes you squirm and beg him to stop abusing your oversensitive wetness AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH PLEASE I NEED TO BE PUT IN A CAGE!!!!!!!

[gomzdrawfr]

thirdly, a free way to get a (or more) cool new scars

this is the last of the three scheduled kitty!Raven post

compiled version:

oh wait i forgot about this one, kitty!Raven stealing things she shouldn't 2.0(that's raw chicken):

[panchulien]

Not Part 3, but I'm thinking Hitman AU again. part 1 for context

After a while, Price's contractor would notice something is off. He's taking too long to kill just one guy. I imagine the man is like, another boss from a rival gang who wants Nikolai dead. But it's not happening anytime soon. So he ups the bounty on Nikolai's head, this time it's a full on hunting game. Nikolai's security is naturally heightened as well, as nowhere is safe for him, and while he and Price are busy trying to figure things out in their little "fuck or kill" game, more people are sent after Nikolai.

I imagine Price would be fuming when he catches the first attempt. As a professional assassin he knows the signs better than anyone. Signs someone is after you, you're being followed and about to die soon. And he feels sick, for a moment, because that's his kill. His capture, his prey. This isn't just about his contract anymore, it's long become personal, and he hates the idea of someone taking Nikolai away from his hands. If there's one person who's going to kill the man, it's Price.

So what if Nikolai walks in, to I don't know where, only to find Price strangling a man with his bare hands. There's blood all over the floor, Price's suit is all messed up and his knuckles are bruised, but he seems satisfied enough as he watches the life leave the strangers eyes. Takes Nikolai a second to realize it's only another assassin, and takes him another to realize that it's Price who handled it for him. Not his men, nor his guards. Price, the very same man who was sent after him to kill him.

And he feels a sick thrill at the sight of that.

Grins proudly at Price after the man slumps down against the wall to catch his breath, and walks over to offer his hand to him. Price takes a minute to breathe, before his bloody hand comes up to accept the offer. Nikolai squeezes the mans hand as he pulls him closer. A silent deal is sealed in between them, both of them knowing there's no going back from whatever this is now.

[possible-werewolf]

Chat, I think I'm cooking.

Please stop me.

[phantomrose96]

Oh while I'm on U.S. economics, I have another thing that bugs the hell out of me: the hiking of mortgage interest rates.

For those who don't know, mortgage interest rates dropped low during the pandemic. Which is not all sunshine since it resulted in many bidding wars and a ton of way-over-asking offers in competitive areas, but it put home-ownership way more within reach for a lot of people.

Then the fed started to pee their pants over inflation, and hiked their rates up, prompting mortgage companies to follow.

Here's a chart of mortgage interest rates over the last 4 years

It hit a trough at 2.65% on average in early January 2021, and then you see it hiked itself way back up, now chilling at 6.27%

For context on how different these are: let's use an example of a $400,000 home - someone pays 20% down ($80,000) in cash, and finances the remaining 80% ($320,000).

Monthly payments at 2.65%:

This results in paying back, in total, $464,040. You'll notice that's well over the initial $320,000, and that's because of the interest paid over those 30 years.

Now, monthly payments at 6.27%:

This results in paying back, in total, $710,640. That's more than twice the initial loan of $320,000.

And, of course, it means the same exact property which could be paid for with a monthly budget of ~$1,300 in early 2021 now requires a monthly budget of ~$2,000 in 2023.

Also, those pandemic lows were an anomaly... Historically, mortgage interest rates were on average HIGHER than 6.27% - but also, historically, wages were much better relative to the prices of homes and people could afford the high interest rates (with the exception of the people who got screwed over in the 2008 housing market meltdown... There's a really good Cold Fusion video on that.)

And because these low interest rates were an anomaly, they may never come back...

So with mortgage interest rates going up, home-buying becomes harder. When home-buying becomes harder, rents increase (because renters have no alternative).

So who DOESN'T get affected?

ENTITIES THAT CAN PAY IN ALL CASH.

They need no mortgage. They pay the sticker price on-spot with no interest applying to them. And I say ENTITIES because, sure, some people can buy their home in all-cash. But a huge number of the entities that can buy in all cash are BIG investment companies--the Blackrocks and the Mega-landlords who scoop up properties to sit on, rent out, and turn for a profit later like it's a piece of stock, and not a habitable property...

Anyway I don't have a conclusion for this. Fix wages, or bring interest rates back down, or kill Blackrock. Preferably all 3.

[sapphoshands]

intrigued by what the heck you could be up to with something titled "in a white suburban town"

this one really piqued some interest, eh!

so @fuel-prices got the reference - the title is from the marianne faithfull cover of "the ballad of lucy jordan."

this started because i had a lot of fun writing agnes in a wand and a rabbit and i thought i would like to do more of that, basically. i'm fascinated by what being agnes felt like to agatha, during and after. i abandoned a piece a few months ago about what coming out of the spell did to her, but some of that might play in here. (i also remember writing a warehouse 13 fic about how coming out of the bronze fucked with h.g.'s senses, many years ago, so this is clearly something that interests me - what is it like to be in a state like that, and to have it lifted, and to have had your self and your surroundings changed without your notice or consent.)

i also got in a conversation about points of view a few months ago that made me think that an agnes fic would be the perfect place to experiment with second-person pov. i haven't done that in what i've started for this fic, but i feel like this is one that i will have to write around/rewrite a lot until i figure out what to do with it, so maybe i will play with pov a bit.

i don't have much yet and i don't have anything even resembling a plot, but i have a handful of questions i want to answer and an opening that will almost certainly change:

Agnes’ eyes pop open as the first rays of the sun peek into her bedroom.  She sits up, feeling a smile stretch her lips.  It’s another beautiful day in Westview!  She’s so lucky to live here.

thank you all!

ask me about my WIPs

[exactlyspookykxala]

dare I say this patch is better than the entire penacony arc, for me at least. idk, it feels less dialogue-heavy than penacony. the characters are still using more words than they need to, but not to the point where i question if their throat is getting dry. except aglaea, I think 😭 but i think that part was intentional lmao. all in all, definitely left an impression, but a foreboding one.

[remyfire]

Sorry I just remembered the moment where Hawkeye and BJ said "Margaret, we would like to double team you in the shower," and I had to let out a huge sigh

[consciousexe]

so, I have a few things to say

141 power rangers somehow manifested in my brain without any remorse, mainly because I was pissed that two of the original zord powers/suits werent dinosaurs and were mammals. so now we got Ghost(Ankylosaurus), Laswell(Pterodactyl), Price(T-rex), Soap(Triceratops) and Gaz(Stegosaurus). I also switched the Pterodactyl colours because as much as I love pink, it is a little too on the nose with the whole stereotypical gender colours and also I dont think Laswell would appreciate that. Yeah anyways so the way that rangers become rangers is they have to die so that the government cant have any identification ties to the current rangers. If they die with the core values that rangers follow there is a chance for them to be ressurected as a ranger(if there is a spot open on the roster, and its not 50/50, more like 13/87, it can take a good 20-30 years for the roster to be full) where they get their body modified to endure the battles and become retroactively immortal(NOT PERMANENT, they can die from really severe injuries, but then they get ressurected again, but are put out of commission for like a good week(they can also die on the spot when they retire their abilities(this is for comedic purposes)) The suits have a catalyst item(usually an item that was on their person when they die) that the rangers must wear if they want their suits, which they can morph into the three different options on command, usually verbal, with Ghost as the exception(for plot reasons(trust me)) The very patterned suits are what they wear if they are doing like, public service, since the rangers do some o that in the series, with the whole like, entertaining the idea of interviews and putting on little shows for kids. Those suits arent meant for battle because I keep twitching while watching any fight scenes because the suit fabrics look so thin. So in this the suits are more to appeal to the public eye more if they appear because they are percieved as more friendly and approachable. And then there are the battle suits(which Ghost is wearing in the second drawing), those are fully armoured but still flexible for the battlefield. There are two versions, day camo(havent drawn yet) and night camo. oh yeah and these guys are shapeshifters, with or without the catalyst they can morph, contrary to expectations, small AND large forms are the hardest to morph into alone. They can also morph into a conglomerate and manage the form coodependantly while doing things independently so that less time is wasted on just one persons reaction time hindering an attack(This is my version of the Zords in this AU) anyways that is my yap fest over.