#homes under $400K

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This is a very interesting home. Built in 1895 in Davenport, IA, the architecture is superb. 8bds, 8ba, 4,124 sq ft, $399,900.

The foyer is interesting, as soon as you step inside. Look at the built-in hall tree on the left, and that has to be an original light fixture.

An oversized wide door opens directly to the living room. Look at the inlaid floor.

I've never seen such an unusual layout. This is a living room with a semi-enclosed staircase and a hall along the side. The stairs have a built-in bench and note the pocket doors on the right.

Down the hall behind the stairs, there's a guest powder room.

The dining room is amazing. Look at the fireplace- beautifully carved wood and bright blue tile. Plus, there's a built-in China cabinet. And the wallpaper mural is lovely.

I think that we can all agree that the kitchen remodel fits nicely. The wood matches, they left the fireplace, and there's a stained glass window. The granite counters fit much better than if they were stark white, but I don't care for the color of the ceiling.

Love the copper double farm sink and the backsplash.

Original pantry. This is wonderful.

Cute little breakfast room/every day dining room.

Next to the dining room there's a lovely pastel blue family room.

Look at how delicately carved the spindles are, and there's the beautiful bronze statue on the newel post.

Wow. Fancy primary bedroom. I like the paint and fireplace, but there's a little too much fabric for me.

This is a very nice room. I like the ceilings in the bedrooms.

Rounded wall with a pretty sink in the room.

There are more bedrooms in the finished attic.

Plus 3 modern baths up here, also.

The back of the house is nicer than the front- look at the beautiful round porch.

There's a large, shady yard. I like the lattice, too.

This rusty little gazebo has so much charm.

.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.

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.

[indigosabyss]

With over 400k words under my belt of purely crossover fanfiction (no really) I feel like I've dabbled enough in the genre to pinpoint three distinct types of Crossover Fanfiction Setups. With no one else to rant about this, and the hopes that this will be helpful to someone, here's you go:

A Breakdown on All Three Ways to Cross Fandoms Together

1- Fandom Fusion

My favorite type. This is where the worlds are happening on the same plane, simultaneously with one another. So, both stories are happening, or have happened, or will happen, without meshing with each other. Except they don't. Characters from each world meet, and get pulled into the other world's shenanigans. Very easy to do when both stories are both taking place in modern day Earth. Or in similar time periods of Earth.

2- Portal Crossover

Breaking out the isekai trope here. It's a classic work, with a built in setup in stories where grand cosmic scale is introduced. I'm talking the Gate sending Edward Elric into another world, or jonmartin finding Somewhere Else to be another medium entirely. Or Amphibia's music box, or Owl House's Between Dimensions or- or- or- you get it.

It's easy to do, and people are generally willing to accept PORTAL happening esp in superhero media and the like. You dont have to figure out how to make the fandoms compatible either, and gives a good common goal for all parties to work towards (i.e. return the interloper home)

Doesn't have to be a trans dimensional portal. Could be a time travel thing. Or visions. Or whichever plot device you find fits most. I enjoy this a lot because it forces characters who would never normally meet to interact and we need that. The two fandoms being transported could easily be fictional in each other's universes. Or not. The possibilities are endless with this one, just on a surface level.

3- Scenery Change

Last, there is the Alternate Universe Setting. Or, as I prefer, the Scenery Change. This is where the characters from one fandom are taken wholesale and translated into another setting, never having experienced their Original World. You know which ones I'm talking about. The Percy Jackson AUs where characters from another fandom are given godly parents. The Hunger Game AUs. The fandom w four easily separated groups that we do not talk about anymore but is prolly still v prevalent.

There's a lot that can be done with this, ranging both from fluff oneshots to 100k plots, but I've found that this is most effective when unique characters are placed into a very structured setting from another media, where their unique perspectives and reactions will color the overdone situation and give it life. The appeal of these crossovers lie solely in this: "We've seen it happen before, but what would happen if these characters were here?"

And. It. Works.

--------

So, yeah, careful observation has made me categorize these three premises. Tell me if you think there are more. Probably might do some breakdowns on the themes and the possibilities each premise holds the best weight for, and what goes into a crossover AFTER the two fandoms meet.

[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.

[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.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This 1940 house, clearly built with architectural salvage, looks pretty much like a shack in Ashland, OR, but the 2bd, 2ba 1,368 sq ft home is surprising. I didn't expect the interior. Asking $365k.

Look at how nice this is.

They should've put polyurethane or something on the cabinets, though, b/c they got dirty.

It's a sunny house, b/c of all the windows.

Nice big wood stove.

Cozy corner living room.

Room for laundry in the bath.

Large flex-space on the 2nd level.

Look at the cute vintage bath up here.

This is bedroom #1.

The larger bedroom is on the top floor.

This counter overlooking the lower floor is nice.

Very pretty window.

There are several outbuildings. That looks like, maybe a water tank?

5.12 acre lot

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1720-Colestin-Rd-Ashland-OR-97520/82338195_zpid/?

[renegade-skywalker]

about me ~ my writing

my (old) poetry blog my cats🥰 ginger tabby: Kaito, 4 years old white&black: Chani, 7 years old white&grey tabby: Finn🌈2016-2022 (little love of my life)

Interview with the Vampire/Vampire Chronicles

In Her, I Had Eternity (Claudia/Madeleine, one shot, POV Madeleine)(AO3)

BG3/Gale x Tav fics (AO3 links)

Home is Wherever I'm With You

Another Night With You

Let Me Count the Ways

Experiments in Idle Pleasures

Forgive Me

Submission and Surrender

Sweetness of a Waking Dream

Heat of a Stolen Moment

A Soft Proposal

One of Many Mornings

Tav/OC Meta

Merit Meadowlark 1/2/3/4/5

Lyric/Durge 1/2

Kotor 2 / Atton x Exile fics (AO3 links)

On Call

A Fool's Wager

The Scoundrel and the Jedi

Best Left Unsaid

The Calm Before the Storm

Before You Go (Prompt: "I fucked up")

"You'd hate it here,"

"There are those who wage war, and those who follow them."

"Figured I'd find you here,"

"“It's like you've got this glow, but only when I see you out of the corner of my eye.”

Other Kotor 2 Fics

Out of the Abyss (my ~400k+ word still-ongoing magnum opus lol) (AO3)

A Curious Thing (this is Mira/Brianna but Atton/M!Exile is still implied; completed) (AO3)

Ghost in the Machine (rebuilding HK-47, Revan reveal) (AO3)

Dragon Age fics (older ones are on AO3, c. 2014)

What You Take With You (DA2, multi-chapter, in progress, Carver/Merrill)

The Rains of Highever (DA:O one shot, vengeful Cousland, POV Morrigan)

The Splendor of Lost Hearts (DA:I multi-chapter, completed. Blackwall character study)

more under the cut!

SW fics/meta/prompts (older, pre-2018) (AO3 links)

Warm (Finn/Rey)

Midnight Flight (Finn/Rey)(link is to the final chapter on tumblr but the post includes an entire fic directory and the AO3 link(s))

Fatal Flaw (Bodhi Rook/Galen Erso character study)

Like My Mother Before Me (Luke and Padme character study)

A Heavy Inheritance (Leia and Padme character study)

What I Meant to Tell You (Finn/Rey)

Free (Finn character study)

Random Kotor/SW meta posts

"Well he definitely gets that from me," (my most popular post for some reason...)

thoughts on kotor 2/TLJ/Atris and the Jedi

I'm a Mira/Brianna truther at heart

Vader recognizing Padme and himself in Leia

Luke Skywalker feels

Revan vs the Jedi Exile and the kotor-era Jedi Order

Kreia thoughts

Mical/The Disciple Appreciation Post

More Mical love

How Atton factors into Kreia's end game plan

Why Finn and Rey should have been co-leads in the sequel trilogy

My AO3 (all of my stuff is site-locked btw so you'll need to be logged in to see it all)

❤️ttfn :)

[reincarnatedonthefirst]

Client Recap, The Republican - Part 3

Part 1

Part 2

Part 4

I also found The Republican very intriguing because I’m 95% sure I don’t know his real name.

Now, before you jump on me for taking a client without being sure of his real name, if you’re provider, you know that there are ways to verify clients so that you feel safe. This one chose to go the reference route. References checked out but that didn’t mean I got his real name.

Anyway, I actually realized that I didn’t have his real name when he let slip that he hides under different “layers of identities” (if I’m even quoting him correctly).

The conversation around his identity was interesting…

First, he talked about how one of my verification options were tough and no one with a lot to lose would willingly go through that process…

What could he possibly stand to lose that my other clients don’t have? Family is definitely worth protecting and all of my clients have wives and children and still verify with me so he can’t be referring to family.

Is he referring to money?? Possibly. Most of my clients are not rich… So, maybe this guy is rich. He could also be referring to his career. His coveted career is not worth the risk… Whatever his career may be.

Secondly, all of his secretiveness leads me to believe that he’s more “important” than I realize. The name he gave me doesn’t turn up shit on Google and his background check leads to another dead end. His name is definitely false so I’m intrigued.

Okay. Next thing. His job or occupation is a mystery.

On this note, I’ve at least narrowed down the industry he works in. He tried to hide his occupation from me but he couldn’t because he kept using language that is normally used by someone in his industry. And I also found out he loves what he does because people who love their jobs are so immersed in that world that their jobs inject themselves into conversation when they’re not at work. So, I definitely know what he does for a living. He also gave me some business advice that clued me in even further as to what his occupation is.

Anyway, the more he sees me, the more he’ll learn to trust me and eventually reveal who he is. He is proud of his accomplishments and he loves his job.

But I’m gonna laugh out loud if I find out his salary, house, and car is “mid” at best. (“Sir, you were guarding your identity when all you make is $300K annually, drive a Tesla, and live in a $400K home??? Okay…”).

Anyway, he came through wearing Prada loafers so I’m going to guess the following about him: he makes at least half a million annually, drives a $80-90K car, and lives in a half a million dollar home.

I love material possessions so all of this is fun for me to wonder about. Like, sir, how much money DO you make!?!?? I wanna know! 😂

[lucysweatslove]

We may have to move because finances, and I’m very anxious.

When we moved in to this place, rent was 1800 or 1850/month (honestly can’t remember). This was mid-2020. We have lived here for 3 years, and rent has slowly increased, I want to say it was 1950 our second year and 2100 this year. My husband pays the rent in full so I really don’t remember.

We will be here for 4 more years for my med school, so we were talking about do we try to buy, do we rent, etc. Initially we got excited about buying, but lo and behold we cannot find any place even 30 min+ outside of town that is actually doable… nothing that could work is under $400k (what we can currently afford a full 20% down payment on), and even condos are in the $450-500k range. We could put less down and then have PMI, but estimates for monthly cost are like $3000-3500/month depending on closing costs, APR, etc. Which we feel like we can’t do financially. So back to renting.

We don’t know how much they will ask us for rent… so we were looking around. The townhouse next to us was just rented for $3000.

That is a 40% increase from our current rent.

And given that we would be renting and not putting equity in a home, Rob is adamant that if they are asking 3k, we WILL find a cheaper place.

If the idea of moving my family 2 weeks before school starts didnt terrify me enough, I don’t even know where we can afford to live anymore. I found one place that is just over half this size but still has 3 bedrooms (so we can each have our space- rob works from home and I have school…) that is approx what we pay now, but it’s in an apartment complex proper with no garages, and my car doesn’t reliably start in the winter if it’s parked outside overnight. 🙃 The next cheapest is $2750/month, but it already has 4 applications in which means it’s gonna be gone before we know if we need to move. It’s also further away from campus but I could still make it work.

The issues:

The university here is admitting more students than they can house. There was some mad dash for who could live in dorms and apparently everything was gone within like 5 min. TONS of college kids and grad students need housing now so there is a huge demand for rentals thus driving prices up. FWIW, the people who are renting the place beside us are college kids.

People. Keep. Moving. Here. First it was people trying to get away from ridiculous housing prices in CA, and now it’s from the east coast. I can’t blame them for moving to find affordable housing. But what they are doing is driving demand up and prices up- people will make a first offer in a house at 10-20% higher than asking IN CASH. Locals cannot afford it. The newcomers “affordable housing” is creating the problem they are trying to get away from in a new area. They are displacing their housing insecurity onto us. Who is to blame? Greedy property management / development companies, probably.

Three weeks ago my anxiety was SO low. I was feeling great overall, sleeping super well. Now I literally cannot sleep because of just the potential of this housing insecurity and I am so angry.

FWIW: median family income is ~63k, and we have state income tax. Mean income is much higher at $85k because of higher outside earners pushing this up. How is a typical local family of 4 supposed to afford 3k housing. How are they getting approved for that? They aren’t. Even 2 beds are going for ~2300. Can a family making 63k even get approved for THAT?

This all makes me so sick.