#homes under $400K

[hometoursandotherstuff]

How is this gorgeous 1895 Queen Anne Victorian in Davenport, IA $399,900? It has 8bds, 8ba, 4,124 sq ft, and tons of original built-ins. This would be over $1m somewhere else, but it didn't sell, was taken off the market, and just relisted 2 days ago. Look at this.

Nice entrance foyer with room for coats, boots, umbrellas, etc.

Then, step into the cozy sitting room with wainscoting, a fireplace, built-in benches, pocket doors, and the stairs to the upper floor. All original.

The dining room features muraled wallpaper, and a beautiful fireplace of carved wood, blue tile, and a painting.

The remodeled kitchen fits in flawlessly with matching wood cabinetry, stained glass, beautiful tile, copper double farm sink, and original fireplace.

And, look at the beautiful butler's pantry.

Here's a pretty breakfast room. This is so sweet.

Right off the dining room, thru pocket doors, there's a comfortable pastel family room.

Behind the stairs and 2 steps down, they put a powder room in an open nook.

On the stair landing, the newel post features an original bronze statue.

The primary bedroom is a fancy room with a stained glass tryptic window and a fireplace.

This pink bedroom is beautiful, also. Each of the 8 bedrooms is decorated.

Every room in this home features a beautiful original lighting fixture.

The attic is finished and has some lovely bedrooms with their own baths.

Nicely updated attic baths.

The back of the house features a turret and rounded porch.

Isn't this cute?

Large, pretty yard has a patio and a gazebo.

It's located in a lovely neighborhood, but not far from the city area, the Mississippi River, and the bridge to Illinois. .28 acre lot.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/817-W-7th-St-Davenport-IA-52802/76856252_zpid/

[fazcinatingblog]

Sophia said the budget for the week is $38k (most ridiculous target she's ever come up with) and I did that and she didn't mention if she was pleased with it or will she just continue giving me ridiculous targets every week like $40k then $50k then $103k and then if ever I don't meet her dumbass target, I get fired that's it, it's that easy

[grunge-mermaid]

so this just came up on my pinterest feed:

the average individual income in my nearest major city is $64,500 and average household income is $126,700. (according to Career Beacon, whoever they are)

assuming Career Beacon means that is the average gross salary, at 2.5x that's $161,250 and $316,750 respectively.

if they mean that is the average net household income, that bumps it up to $87,500 and approximately $200,000. So according to the pinterest advice, your budget for a house should be $218,750 or $500,000.

average house price in that same city? close to $700k

In my old neighbourhood in that city, condo PARKING SPACES were regularly listed for $40k-$75k. you can't even get a reasonable studio condo anywhere in the city proper for $316,000. in the outskirts, like out past the suburbs...maybe. but then you're paying through the nose for transportation.

you can get a nice (and I do actually mean nice, I'm not being sarcastic or snarky at all I swear) trailer home in the middle of fucking nowhere in a 55+ community for $150-$300k. good luck accessing transit though.

[spookyserenades]

im sure youve been asked this before but how do you write so much!!! it's honestly incredible im in awe

First of all THANK YOUU so much honey 🥺 I can't believe how much I've written either I think Trouvaille is like over 400k words 💀

I'm gonna keep it cute and keep it real: I got the most work done when I was at an emotional and physical low (2022- just moved back home, diagnosed with a condition that didn't allow me to eat anything but liquids). Goes without saying but I was post-undergrad and unemployed so I had nothing but time to write!! Trouvaille came together roughly while I was reading old BTS hybrid fics ( such as @jincherie ) and wanting to distract myself from my health.

I didn't actually start posting until I had about 8 chapters of Trouvaille done. After that, the self-imposed monthly deadlines had me racing to finish on time, while taking music production classes and working towards getting my condition under control.

It wasn't until I got on the right medication to eat real food again (this time last year!) that I was able to start enjoying my 20's again YAY! I was excited to have more energy to write, but I also didn't have 14+ hours a day to type like a maniac. Updates have slowed down in consequence, but I still like to maintain the length of the chapters especially now that there are significantly fewer updates per year.

In a nutshell, past circumstance allowed me to write untethered, which was cool but made me feel like The Yellow Wallpaper 💀 You can totally write lengthy chapters at a normal pace, even if you are a student/have a career, just set aside chunks of time when inspiration hits.

I'm not a huge outliner for chapters, I'll spend more time in the beginning of creating the fic doing basic world/character building in a Word doc. I usually make a bulleted list of what I want to happen (roughly) in a chapter and then it's off to the races let's see what happens!! Sometimes updates hit that 20k mark, sometimes I get out everything I planned at 16k. I wouldn't focus too much on length as a requirement; don't force yourself to get to a certain amount of words and stuff your work full of filler (I've been guilty of that!!) I find getting started with a work is all about inspiration from life and various forms of media. Make a mood board, a playlist, make SIMS of your characters if that's what gets you fired up!

[unforth]

On Friday night, we had a family outing to visit the home of my kids' classmates, my daughter's best friends. We're also friends with the grown-ups - it's nice to have another two-mom family in our social circle. We built a fire! We made s'mores! The kids got glowsticks!

Remember, I warned them: glowsticks last about a day, so don't be upset when it's no longer glowing tomorrow night.

Now, this other family, they've got bucks. They're not rich, not by modern standings, but if their combined income is under $400k a year I'd be shocked. They're both surgeons in specialized fields, and they work hard, but they also have a lot of time too. When they're needed, they gotta be on the clock, but when they're not...they're not. They live in a McMansion facing the woods. They go on lavish annual vacations. They have a fulltime nanny. They spend the winter skiing.

And these fucking glowsticks? THEY ARE STILL GLOWING. IT IS TUESDAY. THEY'VE GLOWED FOR MORE THAN THREE DAYS.

I've never in my entire goddamn life had a glowstick last more than about 12 hours.

And idk I'm just so mad about the inequality of it all. Not at our friends! These ladies are awesome! But why is what they do valued so much higher than the expertise of my mother, who was a high school teacher, or my father, who was an accountant for the military, my wife who is a lawyer for the state, my own ass running my own business and unable to afford to pay myself for four fucking years. I get that I could have made the choices our friends made. I didn't want to. What I don't get is why those choices lead to so much more income than other jobs that also require advanced degrees and specialized experienced-based knowledge to do well.

And again. They're not rich! That's not ~the wealthy.~ These people work for a living. They're fucktons closer to me than any of us are to a Bezos or a Musk. We're all working shmos. So why does our system reward that work so much higher? Why can't more of us have lives like theirs?

Even their glowsticks are better than any glowstick I've had in my entire middle class life.

I'm tired, yall. I'm so fucking tired.

[thievinghippo]

State of the Hippo - March Edition

So I realized that I've basically been MIA this past week. I've been lurking, but interacting with people? Yeah, that hasn't been happening

Some discussion about family, medical and financial shit, and hoarding behind the cut. I'm basically using this as a dumping ground to get out some feelings, so you are welcome to skip this one!

Ten years ago, we realized that my my aunt, my mother's sister, had a hoarding problem. My mom and I were grateful that she let us know. It took us months to clean out her condo and to get it to a place where she could actually be comfortable. She regressed, and by the time she died more than five years ago, things were bad. We managed to just clean out her condo right before covid hit

A week ago, we couldn't get a hold of one of my uncles (one of my mom's brothers. She has two that still live in her hometown). The other uncle went over to check on him and discovered him unresponsive, having fallen coming out of the shower (dude is almost 82 years old)

Turns out, older uncle was having financial issues no one knew about and was trying to stretch out his insulin. Well, when he went into the hospital, his sugars were almost 600 (which is very, very bad)

(His sugars are down to under 300 now, which isn't great. But not as bad)

Since going into the hospital, we've discovered that older uncle is about 50k in credit card debt, because he's using all of his cash on lotto tickets and charging everything else

(To be fair, the dude actually has won the lotto twice, once for 50k and once for 400k. All that money is gone now. He kept hoping to win a third time to fix his financial issues)

We discovered that he is also a hoarder. And if I thought my aunt's condo was bad? His situation is so much worse. At least my aunt only had a one-bedroom condo and a storage unit. My uncle has a three-bedroom house with a basement and a garage, and he's collected so much stuff that we can barely walk through the house

My mom and I went to his house on Friday and I just about burst into tears seeing everything. I didn't think I would ever have to go through this again. I don't know if I have the strength to go through this again

But we don't have a choice. Older uncle will be in a nursing home for a couple of weeks, which will hopefully give us some time to figure out a game plan. We need to figure out how to handle his debt and how (and honestly if) we can make his home into a place where he can realistically live alone

(The best solution would be for my two uncles, who are brothers, to get a two bedroom apartment and live together. But older uncle refuses as of now. He may not get a choice in the matter)

One thing I did learn about older uncle is that he loves the romantasy genre. He absolutely adores the Fourth Wing series. Did not expect that one!

So that's been my week. If you've read this far, thank you. It helps just to write this all out. I know this won't last and I just need to be there to help support my mom as best as I can. She's turning 80 in April. I have to be careful that she doesn't overwork herself

(And she wonders why I lose my shit when she starts to show hoarding tendencies of her own! Sorry, mom, we are cleaning the house out every six months, no questions asked!)

[allthistrashtalkmakemeitchin]

Well, is that all she wrote?

just me playing with some meta idea that popped into my head for tasw's second anniverysary!! @myloveforhergoeson you've written and iconic banger if im being honest. Also, I took the summary.

dividers: cafekitsune

Ronnie tucked her legs under herself as she settled on the brown sofa in her living room. Armed with her laptop balanced precariously on her leg, there was no other way to pass the time by reading. James hadn't stopped going on and on about this fanfiction he read that he promptly emailed her the link to. Since the band was in a downtime period, she figured she might as well look at it. Although, she was a little concerned when he told her it was fanfiction of the band.

What she wasn't expecting was that her friend linked her a 400k+ slow burn featuring James as part of the main pairing. The word count didn't scare her, but of course James somehow found this. It might not even take that much time to find it on the internet but that wasn't the point.

After taking her chances at a nationwide talent competition, songwriter Roxanne Somerset finds herself moving across the country to sunny Los Angeles, California with four singing strangers to help assist the brand-new boy band Big Time Rush. Unexpectedly thrown into the glamorous L.A. music-pop scene, the five must work together to navigate their new home, new relationships, and find out just what it takes to make it big time.

The premise was cute, and there was a lot to be curious about. In a way, Ronnie felt like without knowing the character she was able to relate because she had moved across the country to write songs for this boyband. She didn't regret it, but it was nice to see it written out. She had to admit, James had some taste when it came to finding something interesting to read. Leaning back and settling in she scrolled down to where the story started.

The opening scene made her heart clench. Gustavo was such a jerk, yet here he was being such a jerk to this girl. Whoever Roxanne Somerset was, she loved her. Although this was fanfiction, Ronnie couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if she met someone like Roxy. The stories they'd share, and finally she'd have another writer in the room who isn't intimidated just from having her around. Before she knew it, she was sucked into the story.

Her heart went out to Roxy, so determined to hold onto this chance to be famous. They seemed similar, and maybe that just fueled how she felt thinking about if she were real. But the way this author portrayed Gustavo was absolutely amazing. It was clever that Roxy pointed out how desperate Gustavo was. The fact this seemed like his last chance was pretty high stakes that left Ronnie on the edge of her seat.

Next thing she knew, she hadn't moved from her spot on the couch. Only adjusted how she sat, the only thing on her mind was reading this fanfic.

When she got to the part between Dak and Roxy, their failing relationship and James' hidden feelings that were tucked away not-so-subtly, Ronnie was doomed. It was midnight, the light from her screen illuminating her face and nearly scaring her father as he came home from work. She hadn't noticed, nor really cared that she hadn't moved all day. Roxanne was her favorite, and she just needed to know more.

A couple of days later, after taking a break, she was sitting in apartment 2J when Roxy and James finally got together.

"Yes!" Ronnie jumped up, almost dropping her laptop on the floor. Carlos, Logan, and Kendall gave her weird looks but James careened his neck to look at the computer screen.

"It's so good, right?"

"Good? It's amazing!" Ronnie gushed happily, bouncing off of his enthusiasm. "The yearning, the pining. The intricate way all these relationships intertwine-"

"What are you talking about?" Kendall rose a brow, tearing his eyes away from the video game on the television now that he died.

"It's not important, don't worry about it." Ronnie dismissed his curiosity and picked her laptop up off the floor, dusting off the screen.

"Wait, wait! Keep reading. You have to keep reading." James giggled, trying to contain the rogue burst of energy surging through him.

Ronnie raised a brow, but she continued reading. She needed to catch up to what he was thinking of, she needed to catch up to him so they could talk about it without him being worried he was going to spoil her.

And then Ronnie did catch up.

Being overwhelmed at parties. She had been there. Being around people who've hurt her in the past. She's been there. All this culminated and resonated with her so deeply. Ronnie found herself holding her breath until she finished the last sentence. But it wasn't finished. It couldn't be finished.

"Hey! Ronnie!" James barreled through the front door, out of breath and followed by the other guys. "There's a new band singing with Gustavo and they just checked in! You have to look at this!"

Curiously, she left her laptop open on the couch and followed the four to the lobby. Three teens with band gear in somewhat punk attire were checking in at the desk with Bitters' but only one teen caught her eye.

Long brown hair and a rather preppy style with checkered vans, a pink sweater hung off her shoulder and she clutched her leatherbound book. Ronnie couldn't see her face, but for some reason, she had a feeling she knew who this was.

She loved the guys, but having someone else around who understood would make things seem a lot less lonely. So, when the brunette turned around Ronnie couldn't stop her jaw from dropping.

This had to be Roxanne Somerset. She can't not be real, can she? There's so much more to what she wrote. That can't just be it.

[esta-elavaris]

Part Nineteen [2,416 words] ~ James Norrington/OC

An AU of my completed, 400k+ word fanfic Catch the Wind [AO3], in which Elizabeth, not James, is the one to discover Theodora Byrne after she crash-lands into the world of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Page breaks by cafekitsune.

Also now on AO3 and FF.net.

Masterlist of all chapters.

Tag list [let me know if you want to be added!]: @teawithshakespeare @missfronkensteen @dancerinthestorm

A/N: I did not intend to take such a long break from this – but I’m so grateful for how patient you all were!

When Theo received her own personal invite to Amelia Simmonds’ garden party a week after the incident, she had no idea if it was because of the incident and the boundless gossip opportunities it presented, or because Port Royal couldn’t keep a secret for shit and it was now common knowledge that she was being courted by Captain Norrington.

Back home, a garden party would be a boombox in the garden with a cooler full of beers, and a few different choices of Dorito flavours artfully bowled across a white plastic table. It was a bit of a different affair here. The patio doors were flung open and a string quartet was on standby to greet the guests as they filtered out into the hot Caribbean sun under blindingly bright dresses with matching parasols, where canapes and fine crystal glasses of indistinguishable beverages awaited them.

It wasn’t surprising to Theo – and it was probably less surprising to everybody else – that she had no idea how to act. Oh, in settings such as these she had long since learned to follow Elizabeth’s lead, but there was no lead to follow when it came to her new status as far as Port Royal’s most beloved captain was concerned. And not knowing how to act while also being under such heavy scrutiny? That was yet another source of pressure.

Yes, she could follow James’ lead, as well as guessing based on how they’d conducted their visits – for he had visited at least once every day while she ‘recovered’, even if his schedule meant that visit was a mere ten minutes between other things. And she’d found she’d begun to actively look forward to those visits, and was disappointed when they were over.

Oh, she was completely doomed.

Still, that doom came to her dressed dashingly as usual in his full formal get-up the moment she was alone, wielding a glass with some indiscernible liquid in each hand.

“For you,” he handed her one of the tiny glasses.

Theo peered at the glass, barely bigger than her thumb, her brow furrowed.

“It’s Bénédictine,” he said.

“Oh, I know, I just…I don’t know if I can manage all of this,” she said.

James sighed his impatience – fondly, at that – and she continued.

“I mean, look at that. You could drown in there. No, it’s just far too much. I get bored of all drinks after the first mouthful, and this? This has two. Maybe even three. I’ll never manage it.”

“I see you’re feeling better,” he said, a note of humour breaking up his rueful tone. “You must be, if you’re back to teasing me.”

She did feel better. Whatever she’d been plied with for the sake of her ‘nerves’ had, at the time, left her feeling a little foggy, and with a sense of contentment too blankets like and hazy to be real...and once it’d worn off, she’d paid the price for that. Something to do with burning through too much dopamine in too short a time, she suspected, leaving her to do without after the fact. That had been rough. But it hadn’t lasted long, no more than a day, considering she hadn’t been on the stuff long enough to warrant proper withdrawals. Mostly she’d been tired.

...And a little scared. All right, more than a ‘little’ scared. Of what was yet to come. Of the mess she’d gotten herself into. Of the choices she was still making, to be ‘courted’ by a man from the eighteenth century, who should not exist, who was doomed to die, who would hate her if he knew all she kept from him...and who she couldn’t possibly actually have any future with, even if she did manage to circumvent his fate. Right? Staying with him would mean...staying altogether.

And worse still, she wasn’t standing here wishing that she’d done anything differently. Was it any wonder she hadn’t had the heart to needle him?

“Did you miss it?” she asked. “The teasing?”

“More than I should admit.”

All those in attendance at the garden party – all of the eyes who sought to discern just how Port Royal’s newest courting couple would behave around one another – would have no difficulty seeing how she blushed then.

Clearing her throat, she did her best to ignore that blush and spoke. “No regrets on not choosing team shark, then?”

“None thus far. Ask me again in a week or two,” he said drily, a small smile playing on his lips.

“A week?” she gasped. “You think it’ll take that long? You absolute saint, you.”

That earned her a full-blown smile. At least until he made the mistake of casting a glance about those gathered – all of the eyes flickering to them from beneath parasols, over fans, and across drinks. It was enough to dampen his joy, a little, for he straightened, but the smile didn’t fully disappear. Discomfort, it seemed, more than embarrassment. That was a relief. An Irish castaway with no social standing, save for Governor Swann’s daughter having taken a fondness for her, was an unconventional choice, and James Norrington was nothing if not conventional. Or, well, that was how it was supposed to be for now.

“I do hope I’m the only one between us who has the feeling of being an exhibit at a zoo,” he remarked.

“You get used to it,” she offered quietly.

“I...yes. I suppose it’s been that way for you here since the beginning. And my saintly behaviour did not help.”

“Eh, it was a welcome distraction. Passed the time.”

“You’re too generous.”

Feeling bold, she disguised her next words behind a sip of the drink he’d brought her. “You’re too handsome.”

A shocked laugh sprang forth from him, followed by a good deal of spluttering before he finally cleared his throat and shook his head, pretending to find the nearest patch of grass incredibly fascinating. Her smugness lasted about as long as it took her to actually taste the contents of her glass, though, after which her nose wrinkled and she went back to nursing the glass, wondering how exactly she could get rid of it without looking like even more of a wildly uncultured swine.

“There was a matter I wanted to raise with you, while you’re here. I didn’t want to trouble you with it before, nor ruin our visits together...but...well...”

Now she was standing in the garden of the House of Simmonds, there wasn’t much to ruin. She didn’t voice that fact, but the knowing look she cast about the setting seemed to show him that she understood well enough.

“Your father,” he said finally.

“My father?” she echoed weakly.

“I know there are things you have yet to share with me,” a note of sourness threatened to seep into his voice, but he fought it valiantly. “And I shall not rush you. But...you were trying to reach him, yes? And he is...he is a military man? Those are parts of your tale that I never doubted.”

“Yeah- yes. Yes.”

“Would you allow me to begin the process of attempting to find him?”

Theodora stared. And he apparently took that as an answer, continuing quickly but firmly.

“I will not rush you, I spoke truthfully when I said that, I swear it. Not in this, nor in...nor in this,” he motioned, barely, in a way that indicated between the two of them. “But I am keenly aware, as I’m sure you are, that this is a process that may take some time. A long, long time. By the time letters fall into the wrong hands, then reach the right ones, and then receive responses. Is it not better to begin it now? And then the rest of the timing will be at our leisure. At your leisure.”

Pragmatic to a fault. And still too, too fucking good. Whatever he saw in her face, he apparently disliked, for he adjusted where he stood so that his back would block her face from the view of all others in attendance.

“The last thing I wish to do is make you uncomfortable. I’ve done enough of that. And I do not ask this for my own sake, so that we might- I wish to reunite you. Only that. And what else it may or may not bring can be discussed at a later date.”

“Can I think on it?” she asked quietly, finding herself completely unable to look at him.

The correct thing to do, from a standpoint of cold hard logic, would be to agree. To let this already impossibly busy and dutiful man take on extra work, chasing down someone who had not yet been born, for a woman he likely would no longer regard with any affection once he knew the truth. Because what reason could she have to disagree? His patience, on this matter, was a finite thing, and sooner or later he would need an explanation. Telling him no would shorten that span of time, but telling him yes would only have her deserving his hatred twofold, should the truth come out and he realises it was a pointless venture from the very beginning.

“Of course you can.”

Sighing, she almost brought the glass to her lips for another sip, just for something to do with her hands, before she remembered how foul it tasted and dropped it again. “He’d really like you, you know.”

“Only if you mask some of the finer details of these last few months,” he mused, though his eyes remained trained on her features, seeking out any hint of what she really wanted to say.

“I may be open to bribes.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

A few beats of silence passed, and then Theo straightened, hesitated, and sighed.

“James...”

“Hello, you two!” Elizabeth was on them then, lowering her voice after her initial sunny greeting. “I am here in a glowing display of proof that I am neither spurned nor offended. How am I faring?”

James coughed, his current resolution towards candour challenged by Elizabeth’s bluntness, but when his eyes found Theo’s face again, she met his gaze and found he was doing his utmost to show through eye contact alone that he was not angry with her. Frustrated, perhaps, but not angry. 

“Valiantly. You haven’t slapped me or anything,” she answered Elizabeth, spirits bolstered enough by that reassurance to joke a little.

“Miss Swann must be too frightened to do so, after your victory against your last foe.”

“The shark? That was your victory,” Theo pointed out.

“I shan’t claim it. Consider that my first of many bribes,” he replied drily. “And this the second.”

As he spoke, he plucked the glass from her hand and, after making sure the view of the others was fully shielded, emptied its contents into the grass. It was criminal for a grown man to be that adorable. Especially when his face softened at how his actions had her fighting back a smile.

“I’ll leave you two in peace. Miss Swann. Th- Miss Byrne.”

“You know, I never thought I’d see the day when anybody could make him forget formalities so easily. Perhaps you really are a witch,” Elizabeth murmured conspiratorially – mercifully, once he was out of earshot.

Theo didn’t respond.

“The two of you really are so precious, you know,” she prodded again.

“He wants to track down my dad.”

“What?”

“My father. He was asking permission to get the ball rolling to track him down, and reunite us.”

“Oh that’s so romantic!”

“Elizabeth.”

Never before had she felt such a keen need to monitor herself so closely – her tone, her expressions, her body language. For not only were all gathered here watching, but she knew James would be too, trying to get a sense of her reaction when she mightn’t feel the need to filter it for his sake. For he knew that Elizabeth knew everything. And she could therefore be more forthcoming with her. If she freaked out now, if she spoke in anything other than a casual tone, with anything but a smile on her face, he’d grow more suspicious. He’d demand answers sooner.

And if he did that? She’d have a mind to just tell him the bloody truth and be done with it. But that wasn’t possible. Was it?

“What? It is! I’d never say it in front of him, I know how easily he embarrasses, but even you can’t deny it’s terribly sweet-”

“Elizabeth.”

“What, Theo?” Elizabeth laughed impatiently, evidently frustrated that she was equally thrilled alongside her.

“What am I supposed to say?” she said through a smile that was more just like gritted teeth. “What am I supposed to tell him?!”

“The only thing you can tell him. Yes. It’ll be a grave insult otherwise,” Elizabeth replied as though it were obvious. 

“So I’m supposed to just let him chase after someone who doesn’t exist?”

“It’ll make him happy!”

“And then when he finds out the truth?”

“...If he finds out the truth, you can handle it when it comes.”

There were times, when she spent time with Elizabeth, where she marvelled at how all of the divides between them made little difference. Those of the times, lifestyles, wealth, and even age. This was not one of those times.

“It’s not that simple.”

“Of course it is!” Elizabeth insisted, appearing irked at her now. “Enough of this, for now. We can’t be seen to be bickering now, they’ll assume the worst. We can discuss this later, Theo, but really you do have to tell him yes. He’ll think you’re not serious about him, otherwise! And then all of this heartache will have been for nothing! When you’re both so happy!”

We can discuss this later sounded a whole lot like I can explain why I’m right later, but Theo shoved down her annoyance, and her panic, and mostly just wished she’d suffered the damn Bénédictine after all. Maybe it would’ve been strong enough to chill her out.

That wish doubled in on itself when she noticed Groves weaving his way through the crowd, and Elizabeth murmured.

“I suppose I’m not the only one who needs to put on a show of not feeling spurned. Although mine may have been rather more truthful.”

Theo said nothing. At this rate, she’d be checking to see if Amelia was stocking vodka.

[plokoonsdisapprovingeyebrows]

FIC: Where Angels Fear To Tread

>> Chapter 1: The Detritus of Empire >> Chapter 46: The Inevitable Present

Rating: T Characters: Plo Koon, Commander Wolffe, the Jedi Council, assorted Jedi & Clone side characters, a whole bunch of OCs Chapters: 46/? Fic Contains– star warstrek crossover, a whole lotta culture clash, discussion of genocide and war and other Clone Wars-typical topics, Jedi culture/worldbuilding, and the authors playing fast and loose with both canons.

THEN: In the midst of the Clone Wars, a newly-minted Jedi Knight vanishes, suspected of defecting. But the woman brought back to face the Council is not Knight Tulin, but an officer of an extragalactic organization that calls itself ‘Starfleet’. Curiosity, and a determination to rectify the mistake, drive Plo Koon to take the lost Commander Chester under his wing. But between Republic Intelligence’s sinister interest in their extra-galactic visitor, the growing Separatist determination to capture her for themselves, and the good Commander’s own determined escape attempts, keeping Chester alive is hard enough–let alone getting her home. NOW: In the horrific wake of Order 66, a badly injured Plo Koon stakes his survival on one last desperate hyperspace jump, to a mysterious anomaly that might offer hope for him–and for what little remains of the Jedi Order. For Captain Diane Chester, Plo’s arrival is confirmation of all her fears. Now, she’s got to keep the Empire’s grubby hands off the Alpha Quadrant with only one ship, one Jedi, and that greatest Starfleet tradition–a hell of a lot of showmanship.

…

As of today, we return to the current timeline! Plo wakes up in another galaxy after surviving Order 66...

We have also reached not quite 220k words published, and not quite 320k written. Guess we're heading for 400k, probably XD

[robinasnyder]

Okay, this needs some explaining.

I have a big fic I've been working on for the past couple years, (like the most recent chapter I posted put me over 400k words big), and the most recent arc involves Jon Kent and Jay Nakamura. They get dragged from what's functionally the current comics universe (or close enough) to what's supposedly a kinder universe. Except for a few problems. First, Lois and Clark only recently got married, and Jon Kent doesn't exist in this new timeline. Second, their original timeline was destroyed, so Jon and Jay are the only survivors from that world. Third, Gamorra doesn't exist.

Oh, the land mass exists. It's just that the land has always belonged to Japan, and Kaizen Gamorra was never able to gain power. Functionally, this place is so different that there's almost not a drop of shared culture with Jay's home.

Let's just say the Gamorra/Krypton parallels are really strong in this story.

He is, understandably, having a really difficult time dealing with this. While Jay is Gamorran, he can't really identify as such in public. And every time someone calls him Japanese or Taiwanese, he wants to scream. He's wondering if all the pain and struggle he went through trying to save Gamorra and his mother even matters, especially bc his mother was murdered and his country was occupied again before he and Jon were taken to this other timeline. He's still grieving because there's no way to get justice, since in this new timeline there's nothing to get justice for. Despite the fact that he and Jon are the only survivors from their timeline, Jay still feels like he lost more. Jon lost his family, but there's still a Clark, Lois, Ma, Pa, Kon, and Kara in this timeline. It's not the same, of course, but Jay doesn't even know yet if his mom exists in this timeline or not.

Jay's having an easier time relating to Clark, who's also a child of a culture that doesn't exist in this timeline.

Anyway, way, way earlier in the story is an arc about the Green Lanterns and the creation of the Red Lanterns. For those who don't know, the Oans, who created the GLs, first created a group of these like robots called the Manhunters to keep galatic peace. The Manhunters all had a "malfunction" at once and committed something called the Massacre of Sector 666. They completely wiped other every person and species in sector 666, except for the Five Inversions. The Oans proceeded to go, "Oh, whoops, so sorry," and swept it under the rug as a tragedy it did no good to dwell on. They created the Green Lanterns as a way to still keep galactic peace, but also not have another "malfunction" as the GL have their own wills.

One of the Five Inversions was Atrocitus, aka: the guy who made the Red Lanterns as a way to fights the Green Lanterns. And let me be clear, Atrocitus sucks. The RL rings literally replace their bearer's heart, so if they don't feel rage all the time they'll die. It means Atrocitus can control all of the RLs.

But in the story, the Oans and the Massacre of Sector 666 were exposed to the wider galaxy, and a lot of people don't trust them right now. This is also shortly after the schism of the Yellow Lanterns. Anyway, there's upheaval, and Atrocitus wants to recruit new people.

Now, this is not what's going to happen in my story, as I don't think it fits his character, but I now can't stop imagining Jay as a Red Lantern. Like, Atrocitus comes to Jay as another survivor of a dead culture, who's people were attacked by outside invaders, and the people responsible were protected from consequences due to their power.

And like, Jay's abilities allow him to pass through things. If he keeps those abilities, along with having the powers of a Red Lantern. Like, can Jay pass through Green Lantern constructs? And if he can, that means he'd be a real terror to fight. He can slip through through a GL and then shoot them in the back. He'd be able to slip out of all restraints, and slip through any defensive constructs. Like, how do you stop that?

And how does he get free of the ring? Generally, the only way to manage is to have a Blue Lantern help, cause otherwise, if a Red Lantern loses their ring, they just die. And Blue Lanterns haven't been established as existing in this story yet. If Jon's able to get through to him and soothe him, does Jay start to die? When Jay realizes what he's really signed up for, does he start to plan how to betray Atrocitus? Is he able to communicate that to others?

Like I said, I don't think it fits Jay, but I also keep spinning this idea around in my head.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I didn't expect this little 2009 hobbity house in Keene, CA to be so big inside and so new, especially for the price. 2bds, 2ba, 849 sq ft, $380k.

Isn't this amazing? It looks so small from the outside. Very nice fireplace and love the sweeping staircase around the tower.

Entering the front door, the living room area is off to one side and the dining/kitchen area is on the other. That's some regal looking dining set.

I didn't realize that they were still installing those dated oak cabinets in 2009. I thought that they were much earlier than that. I like the round windows, though. Oh, look at the cute little teapot fixtures over the counter.

Bedroom 1 is on the main floor. Don't like that it has an outside door, though.

It has an ensuite and a hall w/an accordion door closet. Ooh, I wonder where they got that stand. That's the size of my makeup case.

Upstairs there's room for a sitting or small office area on the mezzanine.

Bedroom 2.

The ensuite is a shower room.

Smaller room is used as a home office, but it could also be a nursery or child's bedroom.

This is lovely- a terrace that has doors from the bedroom and the home office.

The shape of the home is interesting. So, under the terrace, there's a patio accessible from the main floor bedroom and the kitchen.

Lovely rock garden with some cute statuary decor.

Cute little barn-like storage shed and what appears to be a greenhouse.

Plus, a large metal utility/garage building.

2.50 acre lot.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/29502-Cassie-Ct-Keene-CA-93531/240693399_zpid/

[torque-witch]

LONG POST - election topic

Anyhow I ended up talking to my mom about the election results for a little bit the other day and it was some good (considering) and some bad.

My dad voted for orange man. He’s totally bought into whatever Muskrat is touting after decades of AM radio listening. Because he owns a business probably, but he does not make over 400k if my mom is concerned they’ll lose the house over an $800/month mortgage plus whatever mortgage he has at his building. He’s the only employee, for reference. Just a one-man show. He doesn’t socialize. He doesn’t have friends. He just isolates in his photo lab and comes home for dinner maybe and then sometimes sleeps at work.

My mom voted for Kamala, which is nice but she’s still conservative. She’s been trying to subtly or un-subtly get my dad to read non-right wing media on things like tariffs because he doesn’t understand how it will affect his business.

She also acknowledges that both me and my sister would be at risk, but moreso my sister because she is on disability and can’t work. If she can’t get her meds but is forced to work, the cycle of her being homeless will continue because she becomes violent without meds. She could be thrown in jail again.

My dad just wants economic benefits and I guess forgot about his only daughters.

My mom isn’t great though. I’m still not able to tell her all my beliefs because she’s not a safe person at the end of the day, even though I don’t think she would not speak to me or anything.

She thinks abortion is disgusting - BUT agrees that ectopic pregnancy shouldn’t be a part of the conversation because there is no “baby.” Almost had it haha.

She also made her and my dad leave their current church because they were turning into vocal Trump supporters, which she rightly doesn’t think belongs in church. She also was pretty upset that trumpers at church and the Christian school she teaches at are calling liberals “satan worshipping trash” because I and her sisters/extended family are liberal. But ALSO

So my dad sent me a text about Musk’s $200 incentive to sign a petition or whatever - he also sent it to my sister, who is not mentally stable for a good portion of the time. I just said thank you, didn’t sign it and went on with my day. As my mom said, he conveniently didn’t send it to her because he knows she would shut him down.

Anyhow - this text caused a whole breakdown with my sister because she’s on disability, she can’t accept money without it affecting her benefits. She signed up for it. Hasn’t received money obviously. But she as afraid if she did receive money what would she do? What if she won a million dollars? And my mom had to talk her down and explain that she wouldn’t even get the full million, she could just rip up any check and that she shouldn’t accept money from Elon Must under any circumstance.

And my dad just…didn’t think ahead about how the potential for a large sum of money might mentally affect someone with a) grand delusions and b) on disability and c) always threatened with homelessness.

My mom KNOWS he’s just dumb as bricks and under a LOT of propoganda … SO JUST LEAVE HIM.

I feel like if she left him (she won’t because divorce is a sin in her eyes) and moved to the city she would probably learn that she’s actually liberal and highly educated too (she has a masters degree) but the threat of hell is strong for her.

I get it. But I don’t. And I’m grappling with how much I can interact or should because I’m also the executrix of the (paltry) estate. Do I want that future labor? Prob not. But also if it helps us in the future idk.

Idk if it’s worth it to keep holding on because she’s been learning a lot, but at the very least I’m glad that I live 6 hours away. I can’t be doing that kind of socializing anymore.

[itmeblog]

Honestly I'm just going to be a mess on politics for a bit

Like, idk what to tell y'all.

Really something to be said about people I see still hating on Kamala for decidedly non-Palestine related things, how she was a shit candidate (truly she was fine. I liked her domestic policies, [$5000 for parents of newborns, expanded medicaid(Care?) that would cover at home care, expansion of green energy programs, solutions to the border crisis, funding schools, common sense gun laws, searching for ways to deter landlords from owning so much property, tax credits for first time homeowners, taxing people making $400k and lowering taxes for those under that bracket, keeping FEMA funded] thought she was prepped, thought her capable, and most importantly I felt safe with her as a choice. BUT even now, even I feel the need to denigrate her because if I say I liked her fine, I worry about fucking backlash from people I don't even know and who sure as hell don't care about me. "The lesser of 2 evils" I called her and like yeah every US president is gonna be sort of evil until we fix this stupid fucking system [which by the way there'd been noise about ranked voting for a second there], but also she was a good fucking candidate okay? I think she would've been good. I think things would have been good.) and how she should have done this and should have done that or might have blah blah blah. If she had presented better, if she was smarter, if it wasn't for that laugh...

The fucking laugh, I swear to god.

Meanwhile Elon's up there doing nazi salutes and a constitution hating nationalist just became the head of defense and it just feels like her true crime was really just being black and a woman and imperfect.

Because, like we're living with the alternative. People really would want nothing than her. They'd risk Trump instead endorsing her. They'd risk their disabled neighbors, their Hispanic friends, their LGBTQ+ relatives, their POC coworkers, their elderly parents, their minimum wage buddies, their own kids who could die at gunpoint any day... just to not have her.

And I am... trying to come to terms with that. That people hate her so much that they'd risk all this to make a point.

BuT PaLeStInE. I refuse to believe that those people give a fuck about Palestine, because if they did they would have listened to the Palestinians and they'd have known that they wanted us to vote Kamala. They could have been bothered to look.

It was a five second google search. I know because I checked in the middle of the campaign, because I was curious about how the Palestinians felt knowing that neither option promised to save them.

Their preference was in the first result under the ads.

Most wanted Kamala.

So people hated Kamala so much and needed to prove their virtue so badly that they talked over the people they claimed they wanted to protect in the first place and then didn't even manage to act in their best interest...

I...

...like... I get the 92% rest thing. Looking at a world that would rather destroy itself than trust you is... certainly a feeling. Like I don't even know if I'm sad about it. I'm just tired. Everything just seems like so much effort for a society that would (and did) throw me under the bus for some GP.

For "morals"

For tax free tips

For tax free Social Security

For deporting "the enemy within"

Those three last things were literally his entire campaign... in case you forgot. Trump wasn't running on "save Palestine" (Jill Stein was but she's making money off the war) he was running on Tax free tips, tax free Social Security, and deportation.

Kamala was running on some of the things I listed above.

I keep hearing about how these two are the same and people are full of shit.

[lurkingteapot]

Kidnap the Novel ch. 3: The Deal

Chpt 3, or the one where I realise I must've misunderstood something in ch. 1.

Have about 1.5k of summary under the cut! SPOILERS for chapter 3 and as such, also for episode 3 of kidnap.

Min wakes up to an empty bed and laughter downstairs. In the living room, Men and Q are sitting around, talking to James. Min rushes James outside, where James chews him out for the blood on the picture looking fake as hell, not tidying up ANY of the things he used at the place he first held Q including the water bottle, and for his naïvité about "talking to" the people who contracted him to kill Q. James then concludes that it's his own damn fault and he should've known Min wasn't cut out for this. He agrees to help Min contact the employer to pay back the money he owes anyway.

Min gets on Q's case about letting randos into the house. Q is deeply unimpressed and straight-up goes "he's the one who helped you kidnap me, right? I recognise his voice". Min grabs him in a chokehold, trying to impress on Q that he cannot trust anyone in this situation, not even Min, to which Q's reaction is just to calmly challenge Min to kill him now. Min has no idea how to react to that and lets Q go.

That evening, Min stays out late on the pretense of needing to practicea fight scene. When he comes to his room, Q seems on the edge of another night terror, tossing, turning, starting to flush, and then to cry. Q sobs so hard it reminds Min of how he felt just after his parents had died. He tries to comfort Q, holding him and stroking his hair.

At his job the next morning, Min is tired and distracted, and it leads to both him and the lead actor getting injured. Min gets furloughed until the cut on his face heals. James reassures him that the crew will absolutely want him to come back to work and reveals that the person who contracted Min and James to abduct Q has agreed to take the money back.

At home, Men is alarmed at the state of Min's face. Min tries to play it off with a "oh, you just need to kiss it better" (literally blow some air on it, but same concept), Men is like "ok clearly it's fine". When Min enters his bedroom in the evening, Q is sitting on the bed with a first-aid-kit open in front of him. He tells Min he assumes that Min got injured at work because he couldn't sleep due to Q's parasomnia. Min tries to deflect saying he was up late running lines. Q calls bullshit because how many lines will a stuntman have? Min gets annoyed and relents: yes, he messed up because he didn't sleep because of Q's parasomnia. Q looks at him, sticks a plaster over the cut on his face, grabs his jaw and leans in close … to blow on the cut. Min blushes scarlet and completely loses his composure. Q just grins and comments with an air of superiority that Min said earlier that it'd be okay as long as someone blew on it/kissed it better … so Q did. (Q's having fun teasing Min over that, especially since he remembers what Men said about Q being Min's type).

Q then asks how Min's going to get the money to pay his employers back if he can't work atm, and tries once more to sell Min on his scheme to 'kidnap' Q and extort money from his dad. Min says he can't do it since he doesn't even understand why Q would want to do that. Q asks whether he'd be on board if he told him, and proceeds to explain that he wants to take revenge on his dad. Min suggests he find a different way to do that, one that doesn't bother anyone else. Q challenges him to suggest something.

Min goes back to Siia Muu and asks for another loan. Siia Muu is like "fucking hell kiddo, I told you I never wanted to see you here again!", and tells Min to go ask for work at the Hidden Dragon.

Min goes there and gets put in a room with three guards and Yada. Yada tells him sure, he can have 400k. Min is surprised, but supposes Siia Muu put in a word for him. He then carefully inquires after the interest. Yada waves him off -- he can have the loan free of interest … if he punchs one of the guards in the face right there. Min is kind of like ????. Yada tells him she'll pay him 50k per punch. Min still hesitates. Yada kind of shrugs, makes to walk out, and tells him, over her shoulder, "Oh, I forgot … that goes for them, too". The other guards start moving in on Min, Min ends up fighting them (after apologising first, this kid is2g). He gets six punches in and receives 300k from Yada. She tells him he needn't return it, he just needs to come back to work for her. It doesn't seem like a suggestion.

Min gets fancy Japanese food on his way home and tries to pass it off as food support food, but Men isn't buying it. Min makes up something about a new job at a restaurant. Men gets excited and wants to celebrate.

When Q is in the bathroom that evening, Min calls James to make an appointment to return the money. James says the employer is willing to meet, but he wants Min to bring Q. Min refuses. James relents.

Before they go to bed, Min tells Q that he'll go tie up things with the person who hired Min tomorrow. We learn that they've come to always talk before they sleep, mainly because the atmosphere if they don't while tying their arms together gets really weird.

The next day, James and Min go to meet Phum, the man who hired Min and James. Phum immediately asks where they left Q. When they tell him he escaped, Phum points a gun at them. They try to calm him down, he threatens to shoot them. At that, Q, who followed them, shouts for him to wait, and walks out into the open.

We learn that Phum wanted to take revenge on Big Kachaa, who he holds responsible for his son's imprisonment. His son got indicted on drug trafficking charges, and he believes it's because Yada paid Kachaa off to do it and that his son is innocent. He wants Kachaa to feel as bad as he does. At first, he doesn't react to their attempts to reason with him. Q calmly tells him to just shoot him, then, and let the others walk. Min gets frantic because he knows there's no way out for Q if Phum really does shoot, but James has grabbed him and is not letting him move. Q continues to near-taunt Phum, saying that even if he shoots him, it won't achieve a fraction of a difference. Phum clings to the idea that it'll be revenge. Q reasons with him some more (in a nerve-wrackingly reasonable tone that borders on provocative with how calm it is). Phum realises it won't help, empties his chamber into the ceiling/sky, and starts to cry.

The sound of gunfire and the darkness threatens to trigger a PTSD flashback in Q. He tries hard to stay in the present. He tells Phum that his dad did not take any money from Yada, or anyone else, so if Phum's son really is innocent, he'll probably walk free very soon.

Min tells James to take Phum back and turns to Q, then yells at him because what the FUCK was he thinking, but then he realises Q is not looking so hot. Q brushes it off saying he's used to it and it isn't the first time. Min calls him on his "wanting revenge on his dad" shtick. Q feels uncomfortably seen and tries to push Min away, saying they should just part ways right here if Min still didn't want to do it, he'd find someone else who would.

Min is seriously concerned for Q, because he's now seen Q ask someone to kill him very very calmly twice. Q doesn't seem afraid to die at all, and Min cannot have that, so he agrees to take the job. It's at least partially because he'd hate never to see Q again.